Chapter Twenty Three:

The Guardians' Task

"I'll go first." Said Ingrid. Cerella and Shegon nodded.

"Be careful!" Irma's worried voice came from the side.

"Don't worry Mom, I inherited your strength and will power." Ingrid smirked back with a wink.

Lillian was strangely quiet through all of this.

Ingrid turned back to the lake, facing it with conviction on her face. Then she took a step in to the water.

Immediately something started happening. The water which had been smooth and crystal clear moments before was moving with waves that rippled and shook the flowers around the surface. In the center of the lake rose a rotating pillar of water, which then fell back in to the lake after it reached the height of a human being.

"I am the Guardian of the Moonflower Lilies found only on this island." The figure said as it took form, revealing that of a woman. "Why have you come to disturb the peace in this oasis?" She was tall, with brown hair held up in two braided buns on either side of her head. Three shoulder length braids hung on either side from the buns. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green that seemed to glow. Her shirt was ultramarine blue, with long bell sleeves and pink trim on the v-neck line as well as the sleeves, and she had a pink crisscross halter top in the front. Her skirt was knee length, with two layers in flower petal or a wave form. The top layer was pink, with the bottom being ultramarine blue. The slit in her skirt in the front to the left made it look like flower petals because of how light the fabric really was and the top of the skirt was lined with the straps of fabric in the shape of two crescent moons facing each other right around her belly button. She wore light green and dark green striped tights like the Guardians of Meridian, and her shoes were knee length, pink boots. Her wings were like Wanda's current, larger wings. Her skin was pale peach, and she looked like she didn't have a tan even though she lived in Hawaii.

"Please, we need the nectar of the Moonflower Lilies to save our friend." Cerella said as calmly as she could. This woman had to be a former Guardian of some kind, judging by her outfit.

"Ah..." The woman looked up to see the stand off currently taking place between Tress, Mimiru, HuiLing and Wanda. "But I cannot simply give you the flowers." The woman said.

"What?" Exclaimed Ingrid, almost indignantly.

"As the keeper of this special flower, I must see that you are indeed worthy of taking it from here." The woman smiled kindly. "My name is Galena Foteini. If you can give me your names, and defeat me in a fair battle, Guardians, then I will be willing to give you all the Moonflowers that you need."

"Ingrid Tubbs." Smiled Ingrid, seeing the logic in Galena's statements.

"Cerella Hale." Nodded Cerella. "But if you don't mind me asking, how is two against one counted as fair?"

Galena smiled, a simple yet sweet thing from her.

"Don't you worry about that. Now... Let's get started, shall we?" Smiled Galena once more.

She raised her right hand, and Cerella and Ingrid tensed up at once. Two pillars of water came from the pond without disturbing the flowers this time.

"A water user...?" Blinked Ingrid, raising up her own right hand, directing the palm at Galena.

At that same time in the skies, Wanda finally broke the standoff that she was having with the three guardians. Raising her Crystal of Cepheus, and sending a large wave of violet lightning not at HuiLing, but at Mimiru, who was forced to dodge out of the way and send a giant tornado at Wanda.

Tress took advantage of Wanda's distraction by sending at least twenty fire arrows at her.

Wanda gave a small smile, before bringing up her Crystal in a great sweeping motion in front of her, causing violet lightning to streak around like a whip that met with the tornado, then the fire arrows- which caused at least half a dozen explosions.

Next thing the girls knew, they saw Wanda flying through the smoke and fire at them, her eyes narrowed as she focussed on HuiLing now.

HuiLing held up her hands- there was no time for incantations- then sent a wall of white lightning at Wanda the same moment she brought up her whip of violet lightning.

There was a brilliant flash of white and violet.

"Girls... I hope you don't mind a change in plans..." HuiLing said, looking at Wanda who had pulled back to figure out a new strategy of attack. "But I think this should be between the two of us."

Tress and Mimiru looked at each other, then nodded with understanding expressions on their faces.

"We'll be here for back up if you need it, though." Mimiru put a hand briefly on HuiLing's shoulders before flying over to be next to Tress.

"Thanks... But I won't. I know Wanda... She's my best friend. This can't last forever." HuiLing mumbled, before her eyes snapped back over to Wanda.

"Are you done talking? This is getting dull already." Huffed Wanda, who indeed looked bored.

It was time for HuiLing to use this power how she used her original element- Air. Now that she was more comfortable with Quintessential power, she was able to switch back to her original fighting style. She balled her right hand in to a fist, before white lightning hissed and crackled in to existence around it. If she could just get at the Crystal of Cepheus, there might be a chance at freeing her friend from Phobos' control.

Wanda's eyes went wide momentarily in surprise when she saw HuiLing flying right at her this time, instead of waiting to be attacked. The sound the lightning made in her hand was deafening as the Chinese girl flew through the air at top speed. This time Wanda was forced to block, as the black sphere appeared around her.

HuiLing didn't stop her attack though, just because the protective sphere formed around Wanda. She put even more strength behind her fist as violet lightning erupted around the protective sphere, sparking and hissing as the girls fought in midair. Slowly, HuiLing felt she was making progress. But that progress wasn't fast enough for her liking. She could see the Crystal of Cepheus glowing a bright violet light as lightning of the same color erupted around her.

Galena looked at Ingrid and Cerella, who were both fighting rather well. Cerella bent to a kneeling position on the ground, with one palm on the black sand. Seconds later vines came shooting up out of the water, forcing Galena to the sky as the thick green vines threatened to wrap around and strangle her.

As Galena rose, so did the water without disturbing the lilies. She sent a giant wave at the pair of girls.

Ingrid acted fast, bringing up her hands as though lifting something heavy. At the last second when the water was about to smash in to the two girls, it froze in midair, before shooting back at Galena, who was forced to summon another pillar. The two water attacks collided in mid air, causing water to shower down on them all.

"Thanks for that... I needed that shower." Mumbled Cerella. In her temper, she directed her left hand- still in the kneeling position- at a nearby coconut tree. The tree rose out of the ground, then shot at Galena. "I'll show you just how dangerous coconuts can really be..." She lifted her other hand off the ground, as the tree continued flying at Galena, who's eyes were wide in alarm. Having a giant coconut tree with coconuts still attached was not her idea of a good time.

"Volleyball, Cerella style." Ingrid couldn't resist the comment as some of the coconuts came flying off, nearly hitting some of the bystanders.

Galena bent her arm back, before raising it like it was a windmill, stopping halfway through the spin. What looked like about a dozen whips of needle sharp water went zooming at the oncoming projectile, then sliced through the tree.

Cerella smiled as the tree split in to dozens of chunks upon contact with the sharp water whips. She prevented the chunks from falling all around, then sent them at Galena once more this time forcing Galena to swerve and spin to avoid being struck by the flying pieces of debris.

"Nothing wrong with dodgeball, is there?" Smiled Cerella. "Sports are fun in Hawaii."

"So long as you don't try hitting your family again." Ingrid commented.

"Sorry bout that." She glanced back at her parents before looking back at Galena.

There was a ground shaking explosion from above that caused everyone down below to stop what they were doing, and look up.

HuiLing had managed to finally break through the shield after several minutes of being electrocuted by the violet lightning. She had burns all over her body from the attacks, but she looked quite satisfied with herself as she looked at Wanda- who was staring with an unreadable expression on her face. HuiLing still had her hand up, even though the lightning had faded completely.

Wanda had sweat coming down her forehead, and she was paler than usual as she looked at HuiLing, managing to mask the surprise at her shield being broken through. HuiLing was stronger than she'd given the girl credit for. The moment of surprise ended quickly, however, when HuiLing resumed attacking. She wondered why she sensed sorrow from the girl as they fought, since they had never been friends before now. But then again, perhaps this girl didn't take quite such an enjoyment out of battle than she did. That had to be it.

Galena stared up at the Crystal Wanda held in her hands. There was something she didn't like about it. Then she remembered.

"The Crystal of Cepheus...!" She growled. "So Phobos is using it to control your friend?" She asked.

"Yes. As well as some kind of poison from one of his warriors, Rhea." Nodded Cerella, seeing a moment.

"I see..." Galena looked saddened when she thought about everything that had transpired since she was last a real Guardian of Kandrikar. She regained control of herself, and looked at the two before her. "This changes nothing... if you can defeat me, then you can take the flowers that you need."

Cerella and Ingrid nodded, preparing for round two. This time Ingrid didn't wait for Galena to attack. She bent down, then flew along the water surface right at Galena, as what looked like over a thousand needles of water shot up around her, and shot at the woman.

Galena knew those needles would mean bad business should they touch her. She brought up a wall of water around her like a large shield and watched through the water as the needles made contact, sounding like dozens of loud water droplets landing on a lake. She then sent the wave right at Ingrid in return.

Cerella in the meantime bent down on both knees, placing both palms of her hands on the black sand. A low rumbling shook the Earth beneath them, and made the water in the pond tremble. What looked like a wall of black sand rose up around her, then shot towards Galena while avoiding Ingrid. She had to end this fight quickly if they were going to succeed.

With the attacks from both Ingrid and Cerella aimed right at her, Galena had no options for ducking for cover. There was a loud crash, a shriek, and when Cerella brought the sand back to its original place along the beach side of the pond, Galena was kneeling on the water, out of breath and bleeding from dozens of scratches.

"You have bested me..." She mumbled. "I must be rusty. I haven't been disturbed like this in many decades." She smiled. "Take what you need, Guardians."

Cerella and Ingrid were blinking. Had Galena let them win? No, she had held her own against the girls rather well.

"Thank you!" Cerella gave her best smile. The moon was high up in the sky by now, as Ingrid waded in to the pond, and looked around at all the Moonflower Lilies. She too went in to the water to look around at their options.

Cerella found one near the center of the pond, which was the largest, with the thickest petals. Ingrid picked one nearby. They cradled the flowers carefully in their hands and looked up at the battle going on.

"HuiLing! We have them!" Ingrid called.

"Great!" HuiLing said, ducking a blast of violet lightning from Wanda as Tress sent a pillar of fire at the girl. "As soon as we're done here, we can get to Kandrikar and give the Oracle the flowers." HuiLing looked at Wanda. They'd managed to keep her busy long enough that Cerella and Ingrid got the flowers they needed.

"You're not getting anywhere with those things!" Exclaimed Wanda in rage as she looked down. She bent her free hand towards the ground below. "Quintessence!" She hissed, and violet lightning shot down at the pond, before expanding and striking everyone in the oasis.

"I'll be so glad when she stops using that against us!" Will had her hands up over her face in order to keep it from getting struck by the lightning.

"Ditto." Irma agreed nearby.

HuiLing had had enough of Wanda attacking everyone. She brought her hand in an under-hand swing like she was throwing a baseball, but instead she was throwing white lightning. It hit Wanda square in the stomach, before engulfing her.

The violet lightning soon stopped after that attack. And with a final glare at HuiLing, she vanished through a portal made by the Crystal of Cepheus.

"Phew..." Mimiru sighed.

"Let's get these to Kandrikar straight away." Cerella said, as she and Ingrid flew up to the rest of the group. "We'll be back in a bit, mom." She looked down at the adults, who looked relieved that no one had gotten severely hurt in that fight.

"I'll go with you." Shegon said, flying up to them as HuiLing swiped the Heart of Kandrikar through mid air, creating a glowing portal for them to pass through.

"Well done, Guardians." The Oracle took the flowers carefully from each of them when he came to greet them. "It will take two days to make the antidote. So until then, I suggest you rest and relax yourselves. You've earned a break."

"Sweet!" Ingrid couldn't help herself with that exclamation.

"Wanda was there, trying to stop them. It won't be easy to administer the antidote with her so steeped under Phobos' control." Shegon commented.

"Yes... your real fight is yet to begin..." Agreed the Oracle.

"But until then, let's relax and get our strength back up. We still have another whole day left at Hawaii!" Cerella said excitedly.

"Yes. I shall summon you when it is time." Nodded the Oracle with a small smile.

HuiLing was strangely quiet. She didn't feel that this battle was such a victory, being forced to fight her best friend wasn't the best feeling in the world, and she also hurt her. Which would make their case even harder to prove on their end, that they really did care enough that they wanted to risk everything to get her back.

"Well, let's get going. It's been a long day." HuiLing yawned, and the others nodded.

When they returned back to the oasis in Hawaii, then to their hotel rooms.

"Make sure to get plenty of sleep. We're getting up bright and early tomorrow."

The next morning, HuiLing was woken up by her mother HayLin at six a.m., and a grumbling HuiLing sat up in her hotel room bed.

"Make sure to have your bathing suit on. We're going to the ocean today." HayLin smiled.

HuiLing flopped backwards back in to her bed, then five minutes later HayLin came in to check on her.

"DON'T GO BACK TO SLEEP!" She roared, causing HuiLing to jump and fall out of her bed, tangled in the bed sheets.

When everyone was awake- if not alert- and gathered outside the hotel, Lillian-who had been waiting outside for them- announced that she was taking them to one of the black sand beaches in Hawaii owned by the Hale family.

"Sweet! None of those tourists to harass us!" Tress said excitedly.

"But that means we can't ogle the hot guys." Sighed Cerella, sounding a little disappointed.

"Hey, you have a boyfriend." Ingrid pointed out irritably.

"No law against ogling." Cerella flipped her golden yellow hair around imperiously. She smiled when Ingrid rolled her eyes.

When they got to the beach at half past seven, everyone filed out, now in their swimsuits- and in the boys' case, swimming trunks. They carried surf boards- having stopped at a rental shop on their way to the beach- and back packs full of the things they would be using throughout their day.

HuiLing wore a teal blue one piece suit that had triangles cut stylishly in to the right and left of her sides, with a v-neck. Ingrid wore an ultramarine blue two piece suit with sky blue polka dots, Cerella wore a single piece light pink suit, Mimiru wore a violet one piece suit with a v-neck that had black horizontal, thin stripes. Tress wore an orange two piece suit with a thin, yellow halter top. Will wore a red single piece swim suit, Cornelia a sapphire blue bikini that had light blue flowers all over, Irma an ocean blue two piece with a dark blue halter top, HayLin wore a suit similar to her daughters', and Tress' swimsuit was yellow instead of orange, with orange trim along the v-neck line.

Ingrid went straight to the ocean with a large blue and white striped surf board in tow that she'd rented from a shop earlier on their way over to the beach, then dove right in.

"Like mother like daughter." Smiled Cornelia, as Irma soon took the plunge after her daughter.

"It's so beautiful here!" HayLin exclaimed, pulling out a tall easel and her painting supplies when she was at a safe distance from the water with people diving in and out of it.

Mimiru set her surf board aside, and dove head first in to the ocean with her hair being held back in a pony tail. Most of her kind avoided the water, but she rather enjoyed it. She swam below the surface, watching the aquatic life below with interest for a while before she had to surface for air.

Cerella decided to sun bathe, and set up her towel on the black sand with a light pink parasol handy in case things got too hot for her. She pulled out her fully charged iPod Touch, set her music selection for that morning, put in the headphones, then laid on her stomach, closing her eyes for a morning nap. Her mother had pulled out a magazine on the latest in fashions, as well as her own iPod Touch, and was reading while sun bathing.

Lillian clicked her tongue impatiently at her older sister- she was wearing a light purple swim suit with thin lilac stripes- and grabbed her surfing board, diving headlong in to the warm ocean water nearby, resulting in Cerella and Cornelia both being splashed rather thoroughly with water.

"LILLIAN!" Cornelia screeched at her sister.

"I'm just glad I've got a water proof iPod." Cerella commented, unable to resist smirking at her mother who was raging at her aunt. She had gone to certain lengths to ensure that her iPod had been waterproofed before coming to Hawaii, with protective clear film over the screen, and a waterproof silicon blue, pink and light green jacket over the rest of it. She closed her eyes again after earning a glare from her mother.

Taranee had taken an interest in what HayLin was painting and watched her friend over her shoulder, while Will dove in to the water to join the others. The three boys- Matt, Caleb and Derek- were playing frisbee by the ocean with a neon orange colored frisbee.

The morning passed quickly for the group, and HuiLing received a shock when her mother was calling her in from the ocean for lunch already. Taranee and Tress had got a good fire going, and had cooked up the hotdogs they'd brought with them by the time the girls had waded out of the water.

HuiLing had brought her favorite rose tea with her to drink, while Ingrid worked on a bottle of diet pepsi, Tress drank apple juice, and Cerella drank plain water. Lunch was a noisy affair that day, with everyone talking about their plans for the rest of the afternoon and evening. They were staying until well after sunset, wanting to see a Hawaiian sunset first hand.

Taranee had taken out her camera, and was shooting pictures with it all morning after she got bored with watching HayLin painting. She switched out the data cards with a fresh one while they were eating to prepare for another several hours of photo-shooting.

"Hey, while we're here, let's get some training in, eh?" HuiLing suggested.

"I don't see why not." Nodded Cerella, this time eager to take part in the training. She also wanted to see how her Guardian outfit would look against the black sand beach, and the gleaming blue Ocean behind them.

They finished eating, then Cerella, Tress, Ingrid and Mimiru surrounded HuiLing.

"Guardians Unite!" HuiLing called out. When they reemerged as the Guardians, Cerella looked around.

"Sweet!" She said, liking how her outfit felt and looked right now. "Time to add a little decoration to this joint." She looked around, looking for the perfect spot for what she had in mind.

Then she found the perfect nook- a small corner surrounded by coconut trees and tropical ferns. She raised her right hand, directed her index finger at it, and a giant flower root sprouted from the black sand. From the root was a bud the size of a small car, which bloomed magnificently in to a large, tropical white rose streaked with orange like a blazing sunset.

"Nice work!" Mimiru commented.

"Thank you, thank you very much." Cerella bowed to the praise, apparently quite proud of herself.

Ingrid looked at the water, then raised her hands. A giant sphere of water formed above.

Mimiru looked at the glimmering sphere. She balled her hand in to a fist and shot a blast of ice cold air at it, turning it in to an orb of ice. Tress then shot several fire arrows at it, which shattered the block of ice in to thousands of shards that created prisms, and beams of colorful rainbow light that appeared as the shards fell to the ocean. HuiLing sent a blast of white lightning at the shards, causing them to be even more numerous than before as they fell.

"Nice." Commented Irma.

"Thought that would liven things up a little." Smiled Tress.

"And without destroying part of Heatherfield this time." HuiLing added.

Derek was a little more solemn through the day, finding himself thinking about seeing Wanda enjoying herself by the beech like this, not back at Phobos' castle injured from a fight. He gave a sad smile at the thought that Wanda would never be able to enjoy something like this. Who knew the next time they would get to come back to Hawaii. It wasn't exactly the cheapest of vacation spots.

"Hey, why so glum?" His sister appeared behind where he was sitting, staring out at the ocean. Her long sheet of golden hair hanging over her shoulder. "Here, have a drink. It's Pineapple, Apple, and Citrus juice." She smiled. It was all of his favorite fruits, he shouldn't have a reason to reject his favorite juice.

Wanda looked away from Cybelle as the girl tended to the wound around her middle where HuiLing had injured her. They were sitting on the balcony just outside Wanda's room after she had given Phobos a report on the Guardians' movements and plans, what she could gather from tailing them the last several days until she fought HuiLing. What she didn't understand is that if HuiLing valued their friendship so much, why did she do this?

"There we go... Something on your mind, my lady?" Asked Cybelle, a concerned expression on her face as she stood up, wiping her hands- which were covered in remnants of blood and burn marks- on a blue cloth.

"Nothing." Wanda shook her head. She didn't want Cybelle to think that she had traitorous thoughts running through her head, because those thoughts would most likely reach Phobos. Something wasn't sitting right about him in her opinion. It was all too good to be true, how she was treated. She'd seen the resentful looks that Rhea and Cedric gave each other when she was around getting preferential treatment above them. She had the feeling that they would be glad to see the back of her if she ever left.

Cybelle looked down at Wanda, seeing the pensive look still on the girl's face, and wondered if Phobos' lies and manipulation was worth what it was obviously doing to the girl. She seemed to be getting more and more confused and lost looking the more she went out in order to follow or confront the Guardians. And Wanda really was a sweet person, who didn't need this put on her. Cybelle found herself growing more loyal to Wanda than she was to Phobos as time went on. There was something about how Wanda's red eyes seemed to be staring in the distance, looking for something that couldn't be found, right now that got to her.

"You know... If there is anything you need me to do, just ask." Cybelle knew Wanda wouldn't be able to leave for at least a day while she healed.

Wanda looked back at Cybelle in surprise. Not at the statement, but the sincerity behind it. It caught her off guard apart from everything else. At first, without knowing Cybelle, she would have said that there was nothing that could be done for her. But now, the door had been opened.

"I... I wish for you to deliver a message... To the guardians." She mumbled, and Cybelle smiled, kneeling down to hear her better since she knew Wanda was beyond tired from her last mission for Phobos. "Tell them their attempts at whatever they are doing are useless. I don't remember them ever being in my life before now, and after what HuiLing did... why should I trust them?" The image of the man sitting next to Derek on the air plane flashed in her mind briefly, but she shook it off mentally. Before, HuiLing had flat out refused to fight her while professing the fact that they were supposedly best friends from childhood. But seeing as Wanda didn't have any memories of her childhood, and her thoughts were starting to get more confused by the minute it felt like to her, she didn't know who to trust or turn to. Even that boy Derek seemed frightening somehow, since their last fight in Hawaii.

"Consider it done, my lady." Cybelle bowed before leaving Wanda in peace.

Wanda nodded at Cybelle, and turned to look out from her balcony once more, leaning against the railing at the edge feeling more lost and alone than before now that Cybelle was gone. She wondered where the truth lay about who she was, where she belonged. She was starting to feel that it wasn't here, certainly not here in Phobos' castle.

The day ended on a rather quiet note for the gang as they stood on the black sandy beach of the island, the Guardians were back in their civilian forms, watching the legendary sunset as it bleached the sky bright orange, neon yellow, and streaks of neon pink. The colors and shapes were reflected in the ocean water, while the intensity seemed to paint everything with a light hue of orange or yellow. Taranee and Tress seemed to stand out particularly well in this setting as HayLin finished her painting at last.

"I can't wait to show Odin some of the pictures that were taken!" Cerella sighed dreamily as she admired the sunset.

Derek remained silent as he took a sip of coconut juice. He wasn't thinking about any of the others as he stared out at the tie-dyed ocean and sky. He was thinking about Wanda, how he would like to share a moment like this with her, and only her, in the future when they got her back. He felt increasingly bored and lonely without her around sparking fights or getting in to fights with her friends, or enjoying walking with her, and just being with her. It would be something that he wouldn't take for granted again. He would make sure she understood that fact. He wished he'd told her he loved her sooner, they could have had more time together before this incident with Phobos. Now that was too late. He only hoped she would understand, once she was brought back. He turned away from the awe inspiring sun set, not in the mood to truly enjoy something like this without Wanda being there. He didn't see how the others could stand it with their friend being gone. He knew it had to be hard for HuiLing, though, having been her best friend since the first time they met. The others were never quite as close to Wanda as he and HuiLing had been, but still...

"Hey, Mr. Sulky-pants..." His little sister saw him leaving the group looking upset over something. She leaned over his shoulder with a bright smile. "What's wrong."
"None of your business." He snapped moodily.

"Come on... you can't fool me..." Cerella poked her brother in the cheek. She earned such a dirty glare that she took a step back. "Ok... Too pissed to talk right now. I'll try the assault later." She winked at him before turning away and leaving him in peace.