1Hey everybody! I would have posted this yesterday, but my computer was down. Then the website was down! This is part one of chapter 3 because it was too long. Part two won't be too far off.

Chapter 3: A Surprise Guest Part One

Hay Lin's POV

Hay Lin sighed with happiness as a gentle wind blew across her face. Air is so wonderful, she thought as her hair tickled her body. It's so powerful and it lets you fell so light and free! I guess that's why I'm air girl! It seems to make sense that I'm the only one breezy and happy here.

Hay Lin looked around at her two friends shivering next to her behind the construction site that they had been going to lately for magic practice. Irma, the water baby, had her face in a pout as she rubbed her hands together to try to get warm. She was a real comedian cracking a joke even in bad situations.

"Man it's freezing!" she whined jumping from foot to foot. "It's almost summer vacation! What's the deal!"

Taranee rubbed her hands together and concentrated. Suddenly, a small flame of fire flickered in her hands. She smiled, just a little, and held it out to Irma.

"Here Irma. This should help a little. I would have made it bigger but-"

"Yeah, yeah I know." Irma huffed, though taking the warmth gratefully. "Our stupid powers are busted! We get them and then we lose them!" she yelled.

Hay Lin's smile started to stiffen when she realized that Irma was right. Not all of their powers were gone, but they definently didn't work like they used to. Her grandmother said it was because their was a trace of darkness in their friendship, that they lacked a group spirit. They needed Cornelia.

Her thoughts went back to Cornelia sitting locked in her room moping. She understood how she was feeling after losing her true love, Caleb, and everything. What Hay Lin couldn't understand was why Cornelia would lock herself in her room and refuse to speak to her best friends and then yell and argue at them. Yep, she thought dryly. Our team isn't as strong anymore.

Hay Lin shook her thoughts away when Taranee began to speak.

"We need to try to make things better though, I mean with Cornelia. Since our friendship isn't as strong, neither are our powers."

They both nodded and fell silent for a while. It had seemed like a long time since they were all just friends, average teenage girls who went to the Sheffield Institute, girls who complained about schoolwork and gossiped about crushes. Hay Lin knew that they all missed it every now and then, but those days were so over. Hay Lin rolled her eyes when Irma started pouting again.

"You know, it makes sense to me that Corny would rather spend her time with a flower than with us!" she finally blurted out.

Hay Lin gaped at her. She couldn't believe Irma was saying that, again.

"Irma! Those are the kind of things you say that get us in even more trouble! Remember last time?"

Irma was about to protest , but when Taranee placed a threating hand on her shoulder she sighed grumpily.

"I know, but I just wish that she was more like you. You know, with the whole losing people thing "

"Yeah except that I get to see my grandma every now and then!" she exclaimed reasonably with tears streaming down her face at thinking of Yan Lin. Remember, she told herself. She's watching over me in Candracar where I can see her again. Don't go breaking down again.

"Hay Lin, you know I wasn't trying to be mean. It's just that, well you coped with it to do what you knew was important. Cornelia just doesn't seem to care about us anymore."

Hay Lin really didn't want to think that way, so she pasted a smile on her face and tried to change the subject. "Come on!" she said jumping off the pillar she was sitting on. "We came here for magic practice, so lets get to practicing!"

She started to move, but tripped over a large tree branch that had fallen from a nearby tree.

"Whoa!" she yelled as she tumbled over it and landed on her back. Taranee and Irma looked at each other and then started laughing while they walked over to help her.

"Sorry!" Irma giggled while giving her a hand to get up.

"Yeah, right." Hay Lin said, creasing down her skirt grumpily. That of course made them laugh harder.

"Hey, at least you didn't trip the other way! Landing on that pillar would be nasty!" Taranee laughed. Hay Lin looked behind her and gulped. Yikes, that would hurt! Taranee stopped laughing as she looked around the site.

"What?" Hay Lin asked.

"I was just wondering. Where's Will?"

"She said that she was coming ten minutes ago. I thought that she would be here be here by now. Speaking of-"

Will ran in panting and almost tripped on the branch by the pillar.

"Yikes!" she exclaimed as she side stepped the branch. When she saw the girls, she waved nervously and walked to them. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had a couple of problems."

"What kind of problems?" Irma asked while trying to turn on an old water fountain.

"Oh, I was having a talk with my mom." Will explained.

"About moving?" Taranee asked gently.

"Yeah. She's closed the subject! I can't move though!" uncontrolable tears came rolling down and she wiped them away angrily. "No, I can't move!"

Taranee came over and put her arm on Will's shoulder to comfort her. She had a small smile when Taranee spoke softly.

"We'll do something. I don't know what yet, but we'll make sure that it never happens."

Irma called it quits on the fountain when only a little bit of water sprouted out and turned to Will.

"Yeah little-miss-keeper of the Heart!" she joked. "We'll be together forever!"

They all gave her a big reassuring smile that made her feel a lot better. Yeah, Hay Lin thought. We'll work out our problems like real friends do. Even if other real friends didn't have the problem of saving the world from evil!

"Hey, there's another problem. I think my mom is getting suspicious." Will admitted.

"What do you mean! How?" Hay Lin asked eagerly. "We can't let anybody know our secret!"

"I know! Okay, here's what happened."

Flashback

Will was trying to find a way to explain to her mother, but it was hard. She couldn't know where Will was really going.

"Come on Mom! You don't have to go through all this trouble for me. I can walk from here." she pleaded.

"Why? Are you going somewhere you're not supposed to be?" Susan asked with her voice full of sarcasm but also full of suspicion.

Uh oh, Will thought. She's trying to break me down.

"No it's just that-"

"Do you have to do something alone, something that you don't want me to know?"

"Yes, I mean no!"

"Tell me Will! Why are you so persistent that I let you walk to a place that you, for some reason, don't want me to be?"

Will gulped and Susan narrowed her eyes.

"You're hiding something from me."

Oh no! Those words. How did she know! How do mothers always know! I have to get out of here, fast!

"Uh, this is my stop. The coffee shop. Um, see you later Mom!" Will squealed giving a wide, fake grin and running into the shop to hide from her mother who seemed furious that she was so close to hearing the truth. She's just lucky that she didn't hear it.

End of Flashback

"And I waited until she left and I started running over here. It was a really close call."when Will finished, they all had a sigh of relief.

Hay Lin was breathing heavily at Will's story. Would if Susan had found out something! Their whole life would be in chaos, and that's a fact! She couldn't even think clearly with all of the problems on their hands. She just hoped it all wouldn't get worse. Those agents from Interpool are already snooping on us and now Will's mom. Our powers are pretty much gone and Cornelia won't speak with us. If you ask me, I would say things weren't good.

Okay, here's part one. Up comes part two, that I will get up tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! The next part gets interesting.