Tolly: This was going to be a separate story from "The mystery poem" but then I decided not to make you confused. I mean, it's quite enough to be shocked, without being baffled as well.

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Hay Lin regarded the new girls with interest. The one on the right had bright blue eyes, short, tousled hair, and seemed to be overflowing with energy. The other girl, however, was completely indifferent, and dressed entirely in black. The teacher introduced them as Emily and Salom, explaining that they were exchange students from Canada.

Hay Lin's friend Irma, raised her hand. "What part of Canada are you from?" she asked.

Salom's gothic mood seemed to literally lighten. The expression on her face looked almost cheerful. She opened her mouth and started to say something, but suddenly glanced at Emily, who was glaring at her. There appeared to be a silent exchange between the two before Emily said, "Vancouver." Salom darkened again.

As Emily and Salom took their seats, Hay Lin and Irma looked at each other. "What happened?" whispered Irma.

Hay Lin shrugged and turned around to look at their friend Taranee. Taranee looked a little confused and seemed to be thinking about something. Then Hay Lin heard Taranee's voice in her head.

Something's up with those two. said Taranee telepathically.

You're telling me. said Irma.

Did you see how Salom changed? asked Taranee.

Yeah.

There was a weird, I don't know, vibe or something, when she did that.

Do you think we should investigate? asked Hay Lin.

Yes.

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After school, Hay Lin and her fellow Guardians were watching Emily and Salom as they left the school grounds. When they got near the bike rack, Uriah and his gang appeared. Uriah was an orange-haired, zit-faced boy who enjoyed tormenting those weaker than him. The Guardians moved closer to watch.

"Hey, new girl," Uriah sneered at Emily.

Emily sighed. "Get lost, creep."

"Why don't you make me?"

What happened next went so quickly that the girls almost missed it. Uriah was leaning against the bike rack. Emily reached her hand out and touched it, and Uriah jumped away with a yelp.

"Leave me alone, will you?" said Emily, as if nothing had happened. Uriah and his cronies scrambled away. Hay Lin and her friends exchanged glances.

"You shouldn't have done that." said Salom, as Emily giggled mischievously.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Blondie." Emily said, still grinning.

"Oh, shut up. You know that was an accident."

"Whatever. Let's go home." The two girls started walking and the Guardians followed them, remaining far enough behind so as not to be conspicuous, but close enough to eavesdrop. They noticed that the belt on Salom's black skirt had mirrors on it, which started to glow as she spoke again.

"You know, she can't control me as well in this world." said Salom with a giggle, before turning dark again. She scowled. "At least, not yet anyway."

"Is it just me," whispered Cornelia. "Or is the goth bipolar?" Will shushed her.

Emily and Salom, as it turned out, lived in an apartment above an electronics store. Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin stood outside the door going up to the apartment, debating what to do next.

"We should transform, bust down the door and kick some monster butt!" said Irma, getting a little carried away.

"But what if they're not Metamoorian?" said Will reasonably. "Why don't we just go up there, show them the poem, and if they know anything about it, then we can transform."

"What, and give them a chance to attack us?" asked Cornelia, always skeptical.

"Well, we do outnumber them." said Taranee.

"Right," agreed Hay Lin. "Let's go with Will's idea."

"Alright." Irma sighed.

The five of them went cautiously up the stairs, and knocked on the door. It was opened by Emily.

"Oh, hi! I saw you guys at school, didn't I?" she said. She opened the door wider. "Well, come on in." The guardians stepped inside.

"Sorry about the mess and all. We're still not done unpacking." Emily moved a box aside. Looking around, the Guardians saw more boxes, some furniture, books, and leaning against the wall, a bright yellow electric guitar.

"Salom!" called Emily. "Come and say hi to… um,sorry, I don't know your names yet."

The girls introduced themselves as Salom walked into the room. "What do you want?" she asked.

Will glanced at her friends. "Actually, we were wondering if you knew anything about this." She held up the poem they had found near the portal.

Salom took it and read it. "I didn't know you wrote poetry, Emily."

"So you wrote it?" Irma asked Emily, half-accusing.

"Yeah, I guess it fell out of my pocket when…" Emily trailed off. "Oh."

Salom swore, but the Guardians were already transforming. They grew taller and stronger and power surged through them. They were ready for battle.

The trouble was, so were Emily and Salom.

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Tolly: ha ha! Next chapter! How will the battle end? More surprises await you…