UniGirl: I can't believe it's already been three months since my last update! I guess you were all wondering where I was. Sorry for being so late…Schoolwork, writer's block, viruses, Ty Kamara (I'm not allowed now. ;; I guess it's the better for you, since then I don't have other occupations), sheer laziness and obsession, (Did I tell you I have a new obsession? Gundam SEED. Athrun is so cool…so I spent a lot of time looking up pictures and spoilers) got the better of me. But anyway…I think you all want the update.

Oh, I'd like to take this time to thank Nessi who reminded me many times this fic existed, in one way or another. (Oh, and anyway, I did plan on Tala/Marina in the beginning, I was looking at my plan, so that's where I think you picked it up. Thankfully, it's not the case now.) Thank you so much for your continuous help and support!

Chapter…There'll be a lot of Carolyn's past revealed here. Unfortunately, whatever is up with Mariam will not be until later. The pasts of Tomas and Marina will be revealed in this fic, particularly Marina, whom I made up. I'm planning on revealing Britt's either in the very end or in the sequel. The latter is 99.99 going to happen.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

There was a knock on the door, causing Ray to scream about a dozen swear words and how people will never leave him alone.

The doorknob turned and Ray angrily faced the person who had just walked in. "Oh," he said, turning slightly pink.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Faces of Light and Darkness

"Hi Lin, Mariah…"

"Ray, I didn't know you knew how to swear," said Mariah accusingly.

"He picked it up from Kai," said Lin

Ray sighed, frustrated. "Look, I don't want to listen to you two babble. If you have a point, get to it."

"Ray, what's with you lately?"

"You've been avoiding us."

"We're on your side, if you're wondering."

"It's not your fault."

"Don't act like it is."

Ray sighed. "Look, you've told me this before; I don't have time for this again."

"Where are you going?" asked Mariah as Ray stood up.

"Away from you," he glared at the two girls sitting on the bed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Lin looked at Mariah. "What was that about?"

Mariah sighed, "I think he just wants to be alone. He's got a lot to think over, added to the fact that Yaleri will be furious once he finds out that his…you know, got in the hands of someone else. He'll probably know already, he probably knows when the light goes out."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ray stared at his jewel. It was bright green already, though not the same furious olive tinge that it had been before. What would Yaleri do?

He chose this path. He could have just refused it. But he chose it, and in doing so, the responsibility of keeping it safe.

And now, Kenny knew. It could mean two things – that he had started the end of the Guardians' hiding, or that he had started the end of the Guardians' lives.

Both would mean that the world would know of the Mages' existence, after centuries of living in secret, and both would mean that, at long last, the Guardians would reveal themselves.

Only one would mean that they'd destroy the Demons…and the other would mean the Demons destroyed them.

In a way, the Guardians had already revealed their existence. At least, Eltila had. For he, Ray, knew the secret of that bit beast. That was Harpona. Harpona had no form. She was a shapeshifter, and that was what differentiated her from all the others. Even though most of the audience at that time did not know what that meant, he was pretty sure the people who shouldn't know, did.

Maybe the time they were waiting for had at last arrived. Maybe the Guardians were back.

But Kai, Tala…Ray thought, Why? What did they know? But then, Mariam had been… Even now, it was very hard to believe. All he could do was to wait for the battle this afternoon. If what he had been told was true, then things would unfold from there.

Ray was dimly aware that he was in a long, dark corridor. It was totally unfamiliar. Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps. Whirling around, he hastily put the green jewel back into his pocket.

"You really don't have to do that, Ray...Quaiyu" (Kway-you)

Ray jumped.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hey, what's up with Ray?" asked Tyson as Lin and Mariah entered again.

Mariah shook her head.

"Did it have something to do with what I showed him this morning?" asked Kenny

"I think so," said Lin.

"Hey, do you two know something about this?" asked Hilary accusingly, "Have you been hiding it from us all along?"

The two girls looked at each other. Lin was a Mage of Eltila's. She couldn't lie or else endure her unending wrath. Mariah had long since wanted the rest of them to know what was up with Ray, but numbly shook her head.

Kenny sighed. "If you do…We won't tell anyone.

Max stayed silent. He knew what was wrong with Ray. But he had Ray to consider. If Ray didn't tell them, no one else deserved to.

Mariah shook her head again. "It's okay."

Kenny looked doubtful, but didn't say anything.

Just then, the door opened and Carolyn stepped in. The rest of them whirled around. If a stranger just came in, they wouldn't have guessed that this girl was the same girl who had battled on the Celestials. Her pure white hair swept to a side as she closed the door behind her. The rest of them stared until she said, "Hi."

Max glared. "What now?"

"I was looking for your captain."

"You mean Ray," Tyson replied. "He does have a name."

Carolyn nodded.

"What do you want with him?" asked Max.

"That would be none of your business."

"How's your buddy Kai doing?" piped up Tyson, ready to hit Carolyn

"Tyson!" cried Kenny, pulling him down. "You know that she can really hurt you if she tried."

"WHO CARES?" demanded Tyson

"You will. As for your earlier question, he's doing very well. At least he gets enough to eat."

"Why you…"

"Now, since Ray's not here, I guess I should back out," said Carolyn as she headed for the door.

A blade flew by her right ear and out the open door.

Carolyn turned to face Tyson. "Excuse me, but was that aimed at me?" then she turned and walked out of the room, careful to step on Dragoon as she walked out.

Tyson clenched his fists. "I hate her…" he said, "I hate her almost as much as I hate Kai…"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The crowd cheered as Brad Best and AJ Topper introduced the teams. Four players stood on each side of a gigantic bowl, ready to launch.

Boris walked to the stadium. "Before we start, I'd like this to be a fair match."

Tyson coughed.

Mariah was practically hanging onto her seat with excitement. Ray, on the other hand, looked worried.

Tala and Marina's eyes widened as their bit beasts returned to them.

Carolyn narrowed her eyes. This is some sort of trick, Boris. We know…

The eight players launched. Carolyn and Kai went to one side of the dish, while Tala and Marina flew to the other.

Vipe, show me what you got.

Yeah, Shade…

Carolyn didn't bother to tell him off. She looked straight at Tomas. "You won't be getting off easily," she said

"What of it?" he shot back, "You'll be worse than dead by the time I'm done with you, excuse for a human."

Carolyn let the insult slide off her back. Meanwhile, Spencer and Kai were engaged in a glaring contest, their blades ramming against each other.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Traitor…" Bryan muttered. The redhead across from him was panting. "This is what a traitor gets…what a traitor deserves…" he screamed. "FALBORG!"

Tala looked up. There was to be no bit beasts, if he could help it. The match had only started, and already, Falborg had been summoned. He wasn't going to risk losing Draco in the first match, not if he could help it. Keeping close to Marina, he chanced a look at how the others were doing. One glance told him it did not look good. The blades had already been separated, and they weren't working together.

She didn't listen. I told her to fight with Marina. But no. She had insisted on Tala and Marina taking one side of the dish.

The two of them were probably in a mental argument already.

"Ice princess," Ian sneered.

"Princess? Why, thank you," Marina responded.

"We miss you, you know. You could come back…"

"In your dreams," was the blunt reply.

"What? In love with Tala now?"

Marina withdrew, shocked at this new insult.

"He's my team mate."

"We know. But we also know how much time you spend with him."

Marina shook her head. Ian had never gotten to her nerves, and she wasn't about to let him start. "Esbyiar, do what you need to. And just finish him," she said exasperated.

Ian's eyes widened in mock surprise. "What? No trying? No effort? WYBORG ATTACK!"

Marina and Tala looked at each other. Two bit beasts. This was going to be ugly.

I…stinking…wish I could do something. Marina thought

Truth is, you can't. Play it safe or regret it later, was the blunt response.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tomas rammed at Carolyn's blade. She shifted uncomfortably. She couldn't let them see Harpona again unless it was absolutely necessary. At this moment, all she could do was to take as much of these blows as possible. All she could do was to wait until Tomas ran out of steam.

A blue streak caught her eye. Kai.

Kai, I need your help here.

The great Shadow Sabre needs my help?

You were always better than me. Admit it. Now help me.

Kai gritted his teeth. If I wasn't busy, I might consider it.

GET SERIOUS

Getting mad will do you no good. A new, oily, feminine voice came in.

SHUT UP Carolyn panted heavily. She was loosing control. She couldn't go on like this. She just couldn't. "I can't see myself lasting another thirty seconds at this rate," she muttered, "I knew I should have trained for something like this." KAI HIWATARI!

What now? I'm busy, if you haven't noticed.

Dranzer. I need her here. Harpona can't defeat…

Dranzer can't either. I can't call her out of her bit chip, remember?

Curses.

Kai watched Carolyn out of the corner of his eye. She wasn't faring well. If it was another situation, and she was another person, he wouldn't have minded. His childhood rival was getting beaten up. But here, now, they were facing a common enemy. He turned his attention back on his own blade to find that Spencer was intently staring at him.

"This is getting easy, Kai."

He made no reply, but increased the rotation of his blade. Dranzer started pushing Seaborg backwards towards his edge of the dish.

"Is that the best you can do?" Spencer tried another technique of intimidation.

Suddenly, Seaborg stopped about three quarters of the way to the dish. No matter how hard Dranzer pushed, it wouldn't budge.

"What?" Kai couldn't keep him self from asking, in disbelief.

"Surprised? Thought so." Spencer chuckled. "You're going down. And I mean it. SEABORG ATTACK!" The ancient whale appeared, surrounding himself with water and plunging at Dranzer.

"DRANZER FIRE – …" he caught himself in time. "HOLD ON THERE!" he screamed.

This time, there were no remarks from his teammates. They were too caught up in their own battles.

"HARPONA RAPID SPIN!" he heard Carolyn scream as invisible strands of wind entwined themselves around the base of her blade. Forcefully, it got away from Black Dranzer, into the path of Spencer's Seaborg.

"What?" he asked in disbelief

"Kai, stay behind me."

The blue haired boy nodded, but was hit by a black blade. He glared at the silver teen, who had a smirk on his face. "That's for slacking."

"You twerp…" Dranzer rammed the black blade three times, and then retreated.

"You know that Black Dranzer was made from your bit beast. There's no way she can lose."

"Dranzer was the original."

"And Black Dranzer is new and improved."

"No one improves on Dranzer. You got that? NO ONE! ATTACK!"

"BLACK DRANZER ATTACK!"

And the two powers rammed at each other in blazing balls of red light. Kai bit his lip. He wasn't going to let Dranzer show herself, no matter what it took. But he was going to win.

An explosion. Then another.

Carolyn struggled to stay on her feet, noticing that all the other players were doing the same. She wouldn't be able to keep that wall of wind up for long before her bit beast appeared in the shape of a white hawk. That was Aquilla's move. But Aquilla had died. She had died saving the friend that didn't care about her.

::::::::::Flashback::::::::::

Carolyn stood outside the iron gates of the Balkov Abbey. She held a white blade in her hand. The bit chip inside it was a blank one.

Her pocket grew warm.

Carolyn, go in.

Aquilla, you know what will happen if – when I manage to find Harpona.

I know.

It'll be like the old days. She can do everything you can.

I know. The bitterness in her voice was, though suppressed, hard to miss.

I just want to thank you. I could only show loyalty to Harpona…

You thought about her every day. I know. I know you can't love me the way you do Harpona, because I am BioVolt's creation. I want you to be happy, Carolyn. And you can't be happy without your bit beast.

But you betrayed them to help me. You betrayed those who actually respect you, and showed loyalty to one who never did.

Carolyn, just hurry up and go in.

Aquilla…thanks for everything.

:::::::::::::::End Flashback::::::::::::::::

She had gone in. She had gone in to make her life whole again. And she had taken Harpona back. She had put her onto her blade before the monitors had set off the alarm.

She had panicked slightly. She could still run…maybe…

:::::::::::::::Flashback::::::::::::

A door opened. Men came in, holding guns.

Carolyn held her launcher to eye level.

"Who's there?" one asked.

Another door opened, this time, Boris had walked in, first surveying the smashed video cameras and locks, then at her.

"Carolyn Loana. The Shadow Sabre. Nice to meet you again."

Carolyn glared. "You don't want me to hurt you, Boris."

"Really? What might you be doing here?"

"Claiming what belongs to me."

Boris didn't even bother to glance at the tank where Harpona had been. He knew. "Injure her. Don't kill her. Bring her to me," he told his men, then exited.

Carolyn ran. A knife went by her right cheek. She smiled. At least she didn't have to dodge the inhuman speed of bullets, which they couldn't use, for fear of killing her. She gripped her ripcord. "LET IT RIP!" She ran, trying to keep eye contact. For not using Harpona for such a long time, it wasn't as smooth as she had imagined it. Her blade deflected a few slashes, and she was able to dodge punches and kicks, but she also set of a few booby traps, and blades lashed at her.

"HARPONA!" she screamed for her companion. She then realized her blade had already gone out of sight.

A glass shard hit her on the shoulder. Suddenly, her pocket went warm.

Carolyn, run. I'll take care of it.

Aquilla…I can't. Harpona's in there somewhere.

So you plan to die here with your bit beast?

No, but…

RUN!

Even if she had tried to stay, she wouldn't have been able to. A strong barrier of wind blocked her off, and she looked back to see the hawk flying against the people, smashing objects and cases.

Carolyn ran. She ran down the familiar corridors, trying not to remember the horrifying things contained within the place. When she finally looked back, before she took at turn, she saw someone plunge a silver blade into Aquilla's chest.

Bit beasts don't die…do they? She asked herself. No…not in the way humans do, at least…but…

::::::::::::::::End Flashback::::::::

She had run for her life until she was outside the abbey, looking once again at the iron gate that barred her from her bit beast. That attempt was all in vain…and she had lost Aquilla, too.

:::::::::::Flashback::::::::::::

Sitting down on a rock nearby, she drew her knees up and rested her head in them. She could already feel the hole where Aquilla once been. She had been told that humans never appreciated what they had until it was taken away. She knew that now. All her life, Aquilla had been a nuisance. She didn't like restraining Harpona to the form of a hawk, even if she did grow to like it. She had wished that Aquilla never existed. And now, all she wanted was for her to come back.

An awkward breeze passed overhead, and Carolyn lifted her head. She saw something glinting in the snow. Picking it up, she examined it in disbelief. It was her bit chip. She squeezed it in her hand.

Another awkward breeze made her look up. She saw a beautiful, yet sad, glittering bird in the sky. Her black tipped wings were torn, her breast feathers were faint. Carolyn could almost see through the beast as it opened its eyelids and looked at her longingly with dull amber eyes.

She blinked, and it was gone. All that remained was tiny sparkles, hanging in the air.

So that was how a bit beast died.

And Carolyn threw herself onto the snow and did something she had not done for a long time. She cried her eyes out.

The bit chip in her hand glowed and a ball of light appeared out of it. It took the shape of a white haired woman with a long gown. Her skin was pale and her hair was silky. The Guardian of Air knelt down beside the crying girl and embraced her like a mother.

:::::::::::End flashback::::::::::

Carolyn had to hold back tears. "THIS IS FOR AQUILLA, YOU JERKS! ATTACK!"

The wall of wind became stronger. She called on the technique that she had trained for years on, the technique that she had mastered so completely that she didn't require a bit beast. The technique that the whole team shared.

The four blades gathered into one spot and started rotating around each other, red, white, brown and blue strands intertwined. "ATTACK!" they screamed in unison.

Crashes were heard from above. Loud, destructive crashes that the Celestials did not hear. The Demolition Boys, on the other hand, did.

Bryan looked to his teammates, and they all called their blades to withdraw.

"What?" The winds died down from the other blades, and so did the determination in their eyes.

"We forfeit," Tomas said, smirking.

Another crash shook the stadium. Then debris started falling in. A ladder hung from the hole in the ceiling, suspended by a helicopter. Spencer hopped on, followed by Tomas, then Ian, then Bryan.

"Have fun, guys," said Ian as they were lifted out of the stadium – and Danger's way.

Boris had disappeared.

The Celestials called their blades to their hands. Kai's free left hand was instinctively rubbing the outside of his boot.

There was a deafening "Boom" sound.

A voice came from one of the exits. "They've set fire all around the dome. We're trapped in!"

The four bladers looked at each other, puzzlement replaced by determination.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ray stood up. "You creeps! You planned this all along!" he screamed, angrily.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

UniGirl: How's that? Cliffy again. The Aquilla part was cheesy. I need to go to bed now, I'm very, very sleepy. I know it wasn't my best writing. The Demolition Boys are now the Blitzkrieg boys in the anime, but I'm not changing the name because of Nelvana. Sorry.

Also, I will put this up tomorrow or the day after. Because "just happens" to be doing upgrades right now.

Please Review. Make my day.

Vampyre Neko: This time it's even worse. So no, not soon. Let's see…two and a half months? I promise it'll be sooner.

Spyrit Phoenyx: There will be a sequel. You love it? :hug: You do not know how that makes me feel, especially since I'm a big fan of your writing. I didn't update sooner. In fact, I updated a lot later. No, I do feel ashamed of myself.

Dranzen: I'm not going to talk about the Demon part. YTV has aired half of Grev already. I don't like Lee and Michael's personality changes. Lee and Mariah are siblings, yes. They told that in the Manga. That's one of the reasons why I oppose Lee X Mariah. Incestness…

Phoenix the 1st: You know, I'm glad you review. I love reading your comments, it's very inspiring. Plot…I guess so. More answers, at least. Reiven's ended…I look forward to the new one. She's a really funny person, especially when she gets annoyed. Sarcasticness… no, I had the pleasure of talking to her…on a few occasions. She's really nice except when you spell her name wrong.

Nessi: I took longer this time. I was writing this chapter with our conversation in the All the People (Or was it another) thread. So yes, if it weren't for you, this wouldn't be up at all. Ian disappears. No idea. Ask Rubellite. Oh, do you want anything specific for Tomas' background? Or else it's all made my me…

TNTiggris: The character designs for Vforce…I didn't like. I hate MingMing's voice. I want to see Wolf's Rain…but after I see Gundam SEED and Witch Hunter Robin. And I want to finish KiddyGrade.

Britt: Vacation? Oh, that. I forgot. Too long. I should update more often, ne? Mariam? Answers later…

Kayla-m.f : Thanks. I'm glad you like it.