Chapter 26:

B is For Betrayal

Phobos now stood before what looked like a simple slab of stone with the name of Ila Nur engraved on it. This stone was set in place in the center of a small field of grass and wildflowers which were in bloom. Behind him were now standing Helena, Tuula, and Galena. This time he did not need Rhea or Cybelle. With the three former Guardians standing behind him with the other two. He raised his staff above the tombstone, and lightning shot from the violet stone that sat atop of his staff.

"Now... you will rise and join your fellow Guardians." He stated.

What appeared to be a crimson, yet faded and transparent head started to rise from the tombstone, followed by the rest of the head, the torso, then finally the legs and feet. This woman was much different than her companions. Her hair was crimson red, with bangs that were wavy in the front towards the left and strands on either side of her face that hung to her shoulders. The back of her hair was held up in a loose blue pony tail which meant her hair went to the nape of her neck. Her t-shirt was a pink u-neck, with an inch wide ultramarine trim at the neck line. The sleeves of her shirt resembled a rose petal on either side of her arm, and the shirt cut off two inches below the breasts with an upside down v-trim. Her skirt was a three layered mini skirt, the bottom layer being ultramarine, the middle pink, and the top a combination of ultramarine and pink, slanted from right to left. Around her waist was an ultramarine belt half an inch wide that held her skirt on her waist, and the skirt itself was light and airy, resembling a flower. She wore the apple green and dark green Guardian style tights, and her wings were the smaller set of Guardian wings. Her shoes were pink dress shoes with high heels, with two pink bands on either ankle wrapping around like anklets, and on either foot were two straps that crisscrossed at the toes. Her skin was pale peach with a light tan, while her eyes were a brilliant emerald.

She blinked at the sight that was before her when she had fully emerged from the tombstone, and saw the three women who were once her friends and allies on the battlefield.

"Tuula, Helena, Galena!" She exclaimed. Her eyes went wide when they gave no response, and did not even appear to recognize her. "Who are you and what have you done with them? Why did you disturb their rest?"

"The same reason I have disturbed yours, my dear." Phobos hissed. "If you wish to rejoin your friends in glorious conquest, all you have to do is say so."

Wanda was still sitting at her table two hours later, her papers and notes were now spread out as she struggled to come up with some sort of lyric for her first song. There was a pile of crumpled up papers in the garbage can nearby, which was close to overflowing.

"Wanda, might I suggest-" The voice of her iPod began to speak.

"Say anything, and I will personally throw you down the school toilet." She muttered before letting out a yell of frustration, crumpled up the paper she'd written two lines on, then threw it right at the garbage can and slamming her forehead on to the table.

"Woah..." Ingrid blinked over at the noise. "Talk about temper tantrums."

HuiLing smiled, going over to the soda machine, putting in the proper amount of change and selecting a bottle of twenty ounce Diet Pepsi for her friend.

"Here you go." HuiLing tapped her friend on the shoulder, then handed Wanda the bottle when she looked to the side that she was at. "I don't drink the stuff, but I know you inhale it."

"Thanks." Wanda gave a small smile, took the drink, and downed nearly half of it in just a few large gulps.

"Thirsty much?" Cerella had wound her way over to the table. "Listen, I have a bone to pick with you, girl." She went on before Wanda could answer. "How come this is a big concert, yet you haven't asked me to design you new outfits for the performance?" She put her hand on the table, glaring at Wanda as though daring her to say she had not been.

Wanda glanced over at HuiLing who shrugged, with the expression 'Don't look at me' quite plainly on her face from behind Cerella's back. Finally, she sighed in surrender.

"Fine, you can design new outfits for me. But no dresses! God help you if I find any dresses." She warned, which got HuiLing cracking up with laughter behind them.

"What's so funny?" Nigel came over to the group.

"Oh nothing, Wanda here just went all Stewie Griffin on us." Cerella huffed at HuiLing, who was now laughing uncontrollably.

"Settle down there, sparky." Matt grabbed HuiLing by the collar of her shirt.

Two voices in heated argument carried over to them, and they looked over at Ingrid and Tress.

"I'm telling you, people will love the balloons!" Ingrid was saying.

"Ingrid, this is a CONCERT, not a festival." Sighed Tress.

"Balloons are what's gonna make the concert fly though! Come on... think of it, at the very end, red, pink and white balloons falling from the ceiling on top of everyone! Oh, that's gonna be so much fun." Ingrid looked wistful for a moment.

"Maybe fun for you." Tress stared as though she couldn't really believe how someone so single-minded had become her friend. "Not everyone is a balloon obsessed geek."

"Tress, you truly hurt me with your lack of faith in the power of the all mighty balloon." Ingrid had a look of mock sorrow on her face.

Derek was bored out of his wits that afternoon, with Wanda and the girls busy with a project at school, and he being done with homework, he had nothing to do. Then he blinked suddenly, pulling out his cell phone.

"Hey, Stevie. You were wondering when your next training would be? Well, how about now if you're free?" He paused as Stevie answered that he was. "Great. Meet me out back of the condominium where I live in half an hour." He hung up, then headed back to his home to prepare.

By the time he was done, he had rigged what looked like a dummy that Caleb had once used to train Matt in battle years ago, sword and all, in the back lot of the building.

When Stevie arrived, Derek had a number of weapons spread out in a row, and Blunk sitting cross-legged since he had to use his tooth in order to fold back and forth between Earth and Meridian for a short time for Derek to get what he needed from his room in the castle for this particular lesson.

"So... what's with the arsenal of weapons?" Stevie asked, pointing at the mace. Today he wore a white t-shirt, and blue jean pants with a pair of black shoes. "And what the heck is that?" He pointed at Blunk, the stench of the Passling reeked in his nose.

"That would be Blunk. Without him, I'd have to rob a history museum to get these. And since you've completed the basics to training, I'm going to teach you how to use every weapon in Meridian that way you won't be caught unawares when you do finally start to join us in the battles." Derek explained.

"Have you ever considered throwing him at the enemy? He'd be more than enough to topple them with just the smell alone." Stevie looked at the various weapons, which in a row right to left were a crossbow, mace, sword, bow and arrow, and an axe. There was also a long metal rod. Each had a mate, except for the mace. He had always secretly loved medieval weapons, and now was his chance to learn how to use them in order to impress HuiLing the next time she saw him.

"Blunk already hero in Meridian!" Exclaimed Blunk. "Blunk just here to make sure not-so-funny Derek can get home."

"R-i-i-g-h-t." Stevie shook his head at Blunks exclamation. He picked the sword first, and Derek spent the rest of that late afternoon, in to the evening teaching Stevie the basics of sword battle.

By the end of it, Stevie was exhausted and full of sweat and dirt from the times the dummy had rotated at the wrong time for him, which resulted with him falling face first in to the ground, Blunk bursting out in laughter until Stevie threw a handful of mud in his own face.

"Not bad for rookie." Derek nodded. "You might want to get home before your mother throws another fit about the state of your clothes, though." He pointed at the rips and tears in his shirt and jeans from when the dummy had caught the fabric, or the multiple times he face-planted on the ground. "We'll be doing the same thing tomorrow, though. You've still got a long ways to go."

"Right." Stevie looked rather unenthusiastic about another day of this kind of training. His muscles were sore and aching, and Derek had managed to kick his ego down a notch.

"By the way, what are you telling your parents what you're doing?" He asked.

"Training for medieval fairs." Stevie grinned. "Would you mind if I took the sword with me as proof? My Mom is rather interested."

"Sure." Shrugged Derek. "Maybe tomorrow you should bring them by, and I'll just tell them I'm your personal trainer since you're going to be the star."

"Sounds great. That would get my Dad off my back about coming home looking like I've been in fights every day. Anyways, see you later." Stevie waved as he heaved the heavy sword over his shoulders for easier carrying.

Nearby in the trees, Eva stood, hidden away having watched the whole training session. So the star of the football team was involved in the secret too? And what on Earth was Meridian? The name of some stupid club they were in? The man in that little costume was a bit overkill if it was indeed a Medieval club.

Blunk suddenly caught the smell of something unfamiliar.

"Blunk, what is it?" Derek turned at once, reaching for his own sword at his waist. He heard the sound of a twig cracking as someone backed up.

"Someone new watching us, over there!" Blunk pointed a gnarled, green hand directly at Eva's hiding spot.

"Crap!" She muttered, tripping as she stepped backwards, and fell on to her backside right as Derek and Blunk came around the corner. She brought her arms up to protect her face, but the blow from Derek's sword never came.

"Eva... What the hell do you think you're doing?" Derek frowned after making sure to kick Blunk out of sight. He did not offer a hand to help her to her feet, instead he stood there stock still, clearly angry at her. Which was something Wanda had never seen before, his anger.

Once Eva was certain that she was not going to be on the receiving end of his anger, she stood up rather quickly and dusted herself off.

"I told you I'd figure out what you're up to. So you're part of some geeky Medieval thing? I never would of thought that the hottest guy in school was involved in something. And what about the girls you surround yourself with?" Eva got in to her stride. "And anyone else in school? Why doesn't Principal Knickerbocker know about this?"

"The girls know about this, and Knickerbocker doesn't need to know since we're not doing something to cause trouble." Derek frowned. He did not like having to lie, but it had to be done.

"Not doing something to cause trouble, right." Eva imitated him annoyingly well. "I said I'd find out what you're really doing, Derek."

"Is there any trouble?" Caleb had seen his son head out in the direction of the trees behind the condominium building, and wondered what was going on.

"Mr. Hale!" Blinked Eva in surprise, seeing how much like Caleb, Derek did look. Except for the eyes, she saw that Derek had his mother's blue eyes. "You do know your son and Stevie, the star of the football team, are involved in some kind of fighting program?" She said before Derek could say anything.

"A medieval group if I recall correctly. His girlfriend, and her friends and my daughter are all in on it." Nodded Caleb, seeing that this girl was trying to cause trouble. "Now unless you want to help out in picking up the heavy weapons, I suggest you get out of here and stop harassing my son. I am quite aware of the fact that you are trying to get his girlfriend in trouble."

Eva's mouth hung open for a moment in silent outrage, but she saw she had no choice but to leave. She stomped her foot with a yell of frustration, before turning on her heel and storming away.

"Thanks for the save, Dad." Derek scratched the back of his head.

"No problem." Caleb shook his head. "Listen, there's another reason I needed to talk to you- don't worry, you're not in trouble-" He added at the worried look on his son's face as Blunk untangled himself from the bushes he'd been kicked to. "The Oracle has sensed a disturbance in the balance of power here on Earth. He wants you and the Guardians to check out what Phobos is up to."

"How was he able to contact you then?" Blinked Derek.

"He didn't. He spoke to Elyon, who in turn spoke to Cornelia. You get the picture." Shrugged Caleb.

Wanda had finally finished the first of her three songs by the time dinner rolled around. The pile of garbage inflated twice the size it had been before by the time she was done, however.

"Thanks for your help," She said to the iPod as she put the technology in her pants pocket.

"No problem hon," The iPod's voice replied. "I enjoy our time together like this. Next time, though, make sure I'm fully charged. I'm completely drained... Drained, get it?"

"Ugh..." Sighed Wanda as she pulled out her phone. She was about to call her mother when it lit up, to show that it was Derek. "Derek!" She exclaimed in surprise. "Hi! What's going on?"

"Wanda, Kandrikar wants us to investigate what Phobos is up to. There's been an upsurge in power here on Earth. Can you ask your friends if they've felt anything?" Derek asked her.

Wanda felt a slight pang.

"So you couldn't just call to tell me hi, huh?" She muttered.

"What?" Came Derek's voice in surprise.

"Nothing, nothing. Hold on, I'll check with the girls." She said rather quickly. She found HuiLing, Cerella, Tress and Ingrid gathered around a table pouring over notes of their own kind in regards to decorating the auditorium for the concert. "Hey guys, the Oracles have felt a surge of power here on Earth, have you felt anything out of the ordinary lately?"

"You mean besides disgust at Ingrid's choice in the shade of red for the streamers?" Cerella looked revolted at the shades on the table.

"Come on, I'm serious." Wanda blinked at the glare Ingrid gave Cerella.

"Come to think of it, I sensed something weird yesterday..." HuiLing piped up. "It was like a chill through the wind, but there weren't any open windows in Mr. Collins' class."

"Tell me about it. My skin dried up." Cerella looked at her hands.

"Cerella!" Tress said in a 'stop joking around' tone of voice.

"Fine, if it makes you feel any better, I did feel a tremor in the Earth earlier." Cerella rolled her eyes. "It wasn't like an earthquake, otherwise we'd have been tossed under our desks. But it made my legs shake, how violent and cold it was."

"And I felt something in history class, like a cold fire being lit inside me." Nodded Tress, glad that Cerella had taken the hint finally.

"What I felt was more like a ripple through the water... the foretelling of a tsunami." Said Ingrid.

"So everyone's sensed it too... Apart from the oracle... I'd say it's time for a trip to Kandrikar." Derek's voice came up over the phone.

Wanda's eyes were narrowed. "I haven't felt anything. I'm not sure if we should be so concerned..."

"Come on, let's just go and see what's going on." Cerella flipped her hair around.

"Remember, when in doubt, check it out." HuiLing smiled broadly.

"Right... We'll meet you at Kandrikar." Said Wanda to Derek on the phone.

"See you there." Replied Derek.

"Now what's up?" Matt came over when he saw the girls all gathered around the same table. He recognized the look that something was wrong, having seen it so often on Will's face during her Guardian days.

"We've got a nine one one from Kandrikar, Dad. Can you cover for Tress for us? Come up with something so her Dad won't worry?"

"Sure thing. I'll make sure to tell your Mom to have a warm meal waiting for you." Nodded Matt, wanting to go with them, but he did have responsibilities here.

"Thanks!" Wanda gave her father a big hug around the middle before being dragged away by HuiLing.

"Hey Matt, where'd the girls run off to?" Nigel came over with the other band mates.

"Oh, they had to go grab something from my house for me. I'm not sure how long it's going to take because it's buried in that mess of an attic." Matt said quickly.

"I didn't know you had an attic." Blinked Nigel.

"Yeah, we've just never shown it to anyone because it's so dirty and cluttered... Anyways, let's get to packing up, shall we?" Matt made straight for the stage, and his band mates looked at each other.

Just outside of the school, Wanda, HuiLing, Tress, Ingrid and Cerella were standing in an alley way preparing themselves for the jump through the Portal.

"Ok, so everybody ready?" Asked Wanda, now that the girls had all called their Mothers to inform them what was going on.

"Yep." Ingrid nodded.

Not far was a very irritated and annoyed Eva, who had been stalking the town since she was booted from the condominium building grounds. She heard Wanda's voice saying something about being ready, and she hurried over to see what was going on. She saw the five girls standing there. Then she heard a sound like a thousand zippers being pulled all at once, a bright flash or sliver of light appearing on the brick wall, and then the five girls all walking in to it.

"What the...?" Eva stared, her heart hammering as she watched the girls vanish in to the light. She had no clue what was going on. First a weird creature Derek called Blunk, now this talk about Kandrikar and Meridian. She ran towards the portal, but by the time she reached it and tried to walk in to it as the five girls had done, all she found was solid brick wall and a massive headache. "I knew something was weird about them." Even as she tried pounding her fist on the brick wall, she couldn't help but think there was something familiar about that sliver of light. It was almost like a sense of

de-ja-vu.

Phobos looked at the four guardians that now stood before him, while Rhea and Cybelle stood on either side of him.

"Now, you will tell me where the resting spot of your leader Leila Corine is." Phobos said to the women.

"We cannot." Helena said after a long silence. "Because she went on to live a long, peaceful life after her duties had been passed on to another."

"I see... so after she retired from being a member of the Council before Halinor, Leila returned to a normal life in Heatherfield?"

"Yes. She gave up her powers, and had a family." Nodded Ila.

"Then I just need to find her descendant... And infuse them with Leila's spirit." Phobos muttered, more to himself than to Rhea and Cybelle.

"Hey." Ingrid waved at the Oracle as moments after the five girls arrived in Kandrikar, so did Derek and Blunk.

Wanda walked over to Derek and surprised him with a hug.

"What's with you?" She asked when she saw him blinking down at her.

"Nothing." He said, having half expected her to start yelling at him- for what he didn't have a clue- but he was relieved to find out she wasn't upset with him. He had heard her disappointment in him when he only called to talk about Kandrikar, and something that was wrong with it than themselves. He observed more than he let on, but he knew now wasn't the time for relationship woes. He would have to deal with that later.

"You wanted to see us, Oracle?" Asked Wanda after she broke the embrace.

"Yes." Nodded the elderly man, with Halinor standing close by. "Follow us."

They led the way to the room where the Oromirs were kept. There was something different about this room, though. It was not as bright as it had been the last time the girls had visited.

"What's going on here?" Asked Tress.

"We suspect that Phobos has been here, and now he is tampering with sources of magic on Earth." Halinor explained.

"Come again?" Blinked Ingrid.

"Several days ago, Phobos appeared on our doorstep. Before we could retaliate, however, his servant had poisoned us. We were knocked out for several hours, and the only thing we could discover being disturbed or damaged was the library." The Oracle went on.

"Wait... this servant of his, what did they look like?" Cerella blinked.

"We do not know, their face was hidden behind a mask. All I remember is seeing the form of a woman in black clothes before she sent a needle at me, then everything went black." Halinor answered this time.

"Rhea." Cerella balled her hand in to a fist. "Oh I'd love to pound her face in to the ground, then give her the ultimate fashion make over." She said as she slammed the fist in to the palm of her hand.

"Dude... rage much?" Blinked Ingrid at Cerella.

"Well, a first for everything." Shrugged HuiLing, earning a glare.

"We need to find out where Phobos is at and strike him before he can strike us." Said Wanda. "Nothing like a bit of aggression to catch the enemy off guard."

"There is one problem... We have not been able to locate him since his attack on Kandrikar." The Oracle said cautiously.

"Great... Hide and go seek with the most evil dude to threaten Earth, Meridian, Kandrikar AND Earth. Life's never dull for us." Ingrid rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest.

"You must use caution the next time you meet with Phobos. The surges of power you've felt could mean he has tampered with the Oromirs, or the sources of power on Earth.

"No worries, now we've got Wanda back, our group is more alert and tighter than before." HuiLing said cheerfully.

"In fact, we're so tight, in a few weeks we're taking a two week vacation to Disney World in Florida." Tress put in.

"Yes, I can see how a couple weeks of relaxation can be of use to you after what you've been through. Enjoy your time, but do not let your guard down even while you are there." The Oracle added.

"In the meantime, keep us informed of what happens with Phobos, and what he is up to. Derek, how is the training with Stevie progressing?" Asked Halinor.

Derek blinked, having recalled mentioning the training to them at one point.

"Huh? Training?" HuiLing stared between the two.

"Well, he's making progress. He's mastered the basics, and I've started him on the weapons handling." Derek said after a long pause.

"What's going on?" HuiLing hurried up to his side. "Huh? What kind of training?" She stared at him with big, black eyes.

Derek blinked down at her, then over at Wanda who had raised her eyebrow as a show of her own curiosity.

"Um... Let's just say Stevie wanted to be trained how to fight properly, that way he can be of some use to you, HuiLing. He wants to be part of... well, every aspect of your life." He admitted finally.

HuiLing stood away from Derek, looking pleasantly bewildered with a slight tinge of pink on her face.

"He's going through all that training just for me?" She said finally.

"Wow, HuiLing speechless... Never thought I'd see the day." Ingrid couldn't help the grin on her face.

"By the way, does Phobos know I have the Heart of Cepheus yet?" Asked Tress.

"No, and we would like to keep it that way as long as we can." The Oracle shook his head, and Tress nodded.

"Well, we should get going." Wanda said. "I'm not sure how long Dad can keep Grandma and Grandpa in the dark that we bailed on them." She summoned another portal, which would open up in her back yard.

"Right! Ok, let's get going guys!" HuiLing said, an oddly loud and high pitched tone to her voice as she went in the opposite direction.

"Um, HuiLing, the Portal is over here." Cerella pointed as the group watched her walk right in to one of the pillars.

"Ouch!" HuiLing exclaimed as her body made contact with the pillar that proved to be quite solid.

Wanda had to withhold her laughter at HuiLing's misfortune as a result of getting butterflies in her stomach. Which gave her the impression of looking like someone was strangling her for a moment.

Derek grabbed Wanda by the back of her shirt as HuiLing came pelting forward at top speed, so the two friends wouldn't crash in to each other.

The group reappeared in the back yard of Wanda's home. Once they were all through the portal, it vanished.

"Well, I'm beat. I'm going to head in for the night." Yawned Wanda.

"Yeah, and I've got to finish my homework too." Said Tress.

"I've got...uh... things to do too." HuiLing still looked as though she was excited beyond belief, and thrilled about what she had learned.

"And the sooner we can get away from Captain Giggles-a-lot, the sooner I can get my sanity back." Ingrid shook her head. She waved at the group before walking out of the backyard with Tress following shortly after.

"Yo, you coming?" Cerella asked Derek, looking back at her older brother.

"In a bit." He waved at her in clear dismissal.

Cerella shrugged, then followed HuiLing, Tress and Ingrid.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Wanda called, waving after them. Next thing she knew, Derek had wrapped his arms around her in a hug from behind. "Derek?" She looked up at him, an awkward thing to do from this position.

"Just wanted to say goodnight, is that a problem?" He smiled down at her, a gesture which she returned.

"I guess not." She reached up to tap the bridge of his nose.

He couldn't help but chuckle at her bit of sarcasm now that things had calmed down enough for them to spend some time together. He had a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him gently, then was about to kiss her when a voice from the back door caught them by surprise.

"Ah-hem."

"Mom!" Wanda jumped, and Derek gave an annoyed sigh.

"You'd better get in, it's getting late." Will said. She smiled at Derek before turning and walking back in.

"Sorry, parents are a pain." Wanda wrapped her arms around Derek in a tight embrace.

"Don't worry, I know she's just looking out for you. Like me." He bent down and kissed her before pulling away. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Uh... yeah." Wanda was smiling, her face pink just like HuiLing's had been. At least she could understand how HuiLing could become so flustered and hyper. She watched Derek follow the path his sister had taken a short time earlier, then the voice from her iPod brought her rudely back to reality.

"Are we heading in, or are you just going to keep standing here in a daze?" The voice in her pocket reminded her that she had put her iPod in the pocket earlier.

"Oh, r-right!" Wanda hurried inside. When she got in to the kitchen, she saw Susan, Dean, her mother, father and... "Uncle Bill? What are you doing here?" She blinked. Even though she had not seen her Uncle in years, she had no problem recognizing him as her Uncle, since he was pretty much a clone of her grandfather, but without the mustache. "If this is about Derek keeping me out late on a school night-" She began hastily.

"Don't worry, sweetie, we know he's a good guy." Susan couldn't help as she laughed.

"Then what's with the look as though you're sentencing me to life in prison?" Wanda stared around.

"Because, we have a surprise for you." Matt spoke up this time.

"And that is... not being grounded for life for being out later than the norm?" Wanda looked around hopefully.

"That...and...Um... Will, you tell her." Matt looked rather awkward suddenly, and Wanda had never seen this particular side to her father before.

"Let's just say you're going to be a big sister in about nine months." Will's happiness and excitement was apparently hard to contain.

Wanda stood there, flabbergasted and blinking.

"So, how'd it go?" Cerella had been waiting for her brother at the corner of the street, just out of sight.

"Not bad, could've been worse." Derek smiled nervously.

"Great. Listen, I'm working on a special project for Wanda and I'm going to need some input from you since HuiLing is currently on cloud nine over Stevie." Cerella started leading the way back home.

"Input about what?" Blinked Derek, his curiosity peeked.

"Her favorite colors, the styles you notice her wearing most often than not- both on Earth and Meridian- I mean." Cerella reeled off on her fingers as they walked side by side.

"So... you're cross-examining me about my girlfriend when you could just call and ask her yourself?"

"I'd rather keep my future sister-in-law in the dark about what exactly I'm planning." Cerella flipped her hair around.

"Sister-in-law! Who the hell said anything about MARRIAGE!" Derek demanded, his voice raising uncontrollably. He was particularly glad that it was getting darker by the minute, as his face had turned bright pink faster than a street light.

"Oh please, I can't really see you with anyone else, even if her tastes in fashion do need a bit of help. Besides, I'd much rather have her in the family than some snot-nosed little brat like Eva." Cerella smiled elegantly.

"You mean you'd rather avoid having a twin sister, right?" Asked Derek, earning a glare from his little sister.

Wanda fell backwards on her bed as the white cat transformed in to Mimiru.

"Long day?" Asked Mimiru.

"Very. Not only do I have Phobos to worry about around every corner I turn, now I've got a pregnant mother to keep away from him on top of all this. AND we've got to figure out a way to keep Phobos in the dark about us having TWO Crystals." Wanda pulled her iPod out of her coat pocket before plugging it in to her lamp.

"Child, if I might suggest some quiet music to help you relax? Maybe your collection of Yokko Kanno and Celtic Woman?" The iPod said in a helpful, quiet voice.

"Anything, so long as it helps put me to sleep and forget about today." Nodded Wanda as Mimiru turned away from her. She went over to her dresser drawers, and picked out a violet nightdress with a t-shirt top that went to her knees, untied the ribbon in front of her hair, then put the Heart of Kandrikar necklace on the table next to her as her favorite tracks started playing from Yokko Kanno's collection. She flopped on to her bed with a large yawn, enjoying the softness of her Afghan, which was quickly becoming her favorite blanket since her birthday.

Mimiru transformed back in to her cat form, and curled up in a patch of moonlight on the window sill next to Wanda's bed as Wanda got under her covers.

"Goodnight. And thanks Max," She said to the iPod.

"No problem kiddo." The iPod replied.

"I'll be waking you up at six thirty sharp, so sleep well." The Alarm Clock said as Wanda yawned, turning off her bedroom light, which flooded the room in darkness and pale blue moonlight.

The very next day at school, Wanda looked around for her friends, and saw them gathered around the bulletin board. Today she wore a purple t-shirt with a v-neck, a blue jean jacket, navy blue flared jeans, and white tennis shoes. Her hair was held back in a pony tail with her ribbon given to her by Derek, and she had her backpack slung around her shoulders with her beaded lizards jingling from the zippers.

HuiLing was wearing her Teal Blue Chinese style t-shirt with yellow gold trim, black shorts, and matching blue flat-bottomed shoes. Her black hair was up in pigtails today rather than the normal Chinese style braids.

Ingrid wore a horizontally striped dark blue and cerulean blue long sleeved shirt with a u-neck, flared blue jeans, a light blue belt around her waist, and cerulean blue tennis shoes. Her hair was held back in two short pig tails that day.

Tress wore a yellow ochre long sleeved, shoulder-less shirt with crimson red straps at the shoulders, blue jean shorts, orange and yellow horizontally striped socks that went just above her knees, and crimson red inch-thick platform shoes. Her hair was held back in a pony tail today, and she wore her glasses as usual.

Cerella wore a rose pink blouse with pouffy sleeves at the shoulders, a white skirt that went to her knees, and high heeled blue dress shoes that matched the shade of blue that her eyes were. Her hair as tied back in a single, yard long braid that day.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Community Service day this Friday. That's what." Ingrid sighed in dread.

"Community Service? Isn't that the same as Career Day?" Blinked Wanda.

"No... No, no no no no..." Cerella shook her head. "Career Day is what the school uses to show us how bright our futures are for those of us who want to make a living off of our hobbies and dreams."

"Right. Community Service day is to show us how bad life can get if you drop out of school early, fail to get a life, and wind up as a burden to society." HuiLing put in.

"Otherwise known as slow and painful torture for a whole freaking day." Nodded Tress. "Last year I had to stamp and close the envelopes at city hall. My hands were so sore and my fingers felt like noodles by the time I was done."

"We need to get here early if we want to get the jobs that don't totally suck." Cerella shook her head. "I am too pretty to be cleaning up the sewage pipes."

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!" Wanda said suddenly as Derek came up to the group. "My mom and dad are having another baby!"

"What? And you're just NOW telling us this?" Ingrid stared.

"Sorry, I was really tired this morning." Blinked Wanda, looking slightly windblown as Ingrid had shouted in her face.

"Oh! Is it going to be a boy or a girl?" HuiLing asked.

"We don't know yet. Mom's going to the hospital to look at it next week." Wanda was now smiling.

"Oh this is great! In a few years' time you'll have a loyal minion to do all your bidding without question!" Said Ingrid, earning four stares from her friends. "What? Doesn't anyone ever think outside the box?"

"You mean like you should once in a while with that poor sense of fashion?" Eva had come up to the group after hearing all the exited voices down the hall. Today she had her golden yellow hair in pony tails, and wore a light blue shirt with a v-neck, and a pattern dark blue butterflies on it, with a light blue, knee length skirt and dark blue pair of high heels.

"Oh look who's talking miss 'I just crawled out of a dumpster to look at last year's fashion.'" Cerella scoffed at the girl, who frowned. "I mean, look at that shirt... It looks like it's spent a year on that island from Lost. Gagariffic."

"For your information, this shirt comes from the highest rating French Magazine that can be imported in to this country, and another-" Eva began, but she was interrupted.

"Oh give it a rest, blondie- No offense Cerella-" HuiLing added and Cerella smiled kindly. "At least we're all cute enough that we don't have to dress just to impress."

"No offense taken." Cerella flipped her hair with her hand in her most imperial manner that she could muster for the moment.

At this point, Eva had stormed off.

"Well, that got rid of miss nosy." Smiled Ingrid as she watched the girl rejoin her small knot of friends by the lockers. The group made their way to the lockers from the bulletin board as well.

"Say, Wanda, what do you do with your Crystal when we're at school? Keep it in your pocket?" Asked Tress.

"So that it can fall out when I'm on the Porcelain Express? No way. I keep it safely hidden away in my backpack, which is in my locker." Wanda shook her head.

"But what if Phobos or one of his minions attacks us?" Derek looked alarmed at the thought that she didn't have the Crystal on her at all times.

"Please... what's going to attack us in my Grandpa's classroom? A blackboard eraser?" Asked Wanda, which caused HuiLing to burst out in a fresh fit of giggles from Derek's other side as she was trying to grab her history textbook. "We're far safer in school than anywhere else. No need to worry." She leaned forward and kissed Derek before closing her locker, her arms full of notebooks, textbooks, and a Sailor Moon manga Pencil Case that Tress had got for her on her birthday. "I'll see you after class." She said, smiling at his doubtful face.

He sighed, and returned the kiss nonetheless, watching the five girls make their way down the hallway to Professor Collins' classroom.

When Derek went down the opposite end of the hallway than the girls, Eva snuck out from her hiding place on the other end of the wall of lockers.

"A crystal, huh?" She muttered, and once the hall was cleared of all students and teachers, she went straight to Wanda's locker. "Good thing I know how to break in to these." She looked at the locker. Instead of being one with a code to crack, these had levers which lifted up with a key like a door. She pulled from her pocket a credit card.

"Good morning class," Mr. Collins was saying as Wanda took her seat next to the window as was her usual spot. "Now today I have something rather special... Since we've been covering the Civil War, I have a movie set that we're going to start. It's one of the best documentaries on the Civil War to date, and the assignment I have for you during the movie to make sure you're paying attention is to make at least three pages in notes on each section. Because at the end of this segment, there's going to be a test that will determine your grade for the first half of the school year."

This news was met with a loud groan of mutiny and dread from his students.

"Great, no pressure." Cerella sighed, her voice loaded in heavy sarcasm.

"If I know the documentary he's talking about... I've seen if fifteen times already." Wanda said, a look of dread on her face. "But this time I've actually got to take notes on it? Ugh! Grandpa, you know I'm terrible at note-taking!" She called out.

"That's why this will be great in learning new skills, Wanda." Dean smiled at his granddaughter as Odin set up the television- which was a large flat screen with DVD and High definition capabilities. "Since you'll be doing twice as much note taking in your later years of schooling than you have been."

"You know what? A mutiny is starting to sound pretty good right about now..." Ingrid muttered. "First Community Service day is looming on the horizon, and now this? Could this week possibly get any worse?" She asked as the lights went out in the classroom.

"Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Tell Donald I said hi." Dean dismissed Odin, who nodded at him in return, and smiled at Cerella who's face went the same shade of pink as her blouse as he left.

Eva had managed to break in to Wanda's locker within half an hour with no teachers or hall monitors finding her. She dug around in the front pocket of the backpack, pulling out Wanda's cellphone, her iPod, and calculator.

"Hey, hey! What's going on here?" Max's voice went unheard by Eva since only the Guardians could hear him. "Certainly not Wanda..."

"You should get some pictures of the thief, kid." Suggested the iPod.

"I'm on it, and without the flash that way she won't be alerted..."

Eva's hand finally wrapped around what felt like a jewel in the front pocket of the backpack. She pulled it out, and stared at the red jewel in awe before closing the locker door quietly. She nearly let out a yell of shock when she realized it was glowing brilliantly in her hands.

Mimiru was glad that she was always at the school, even if as just a friendly cat who liked to wander far from home. She knew Derek was outside for physical education first period, and he had to get to him first after she saw Eva steal the Heart of Kandrikar from the locker. Hiding in the bushes near the basketball court, she waited for when the basketball rolled near her.

"I'll get it!" Derek called to his teammates. He currently wore the school sports uniform- a red t-shirt, white shorts, and white tennis shoes. He received a terrible shock when Mimiru popped apparently out of nowhere. "Don't do that!" He gasped, looking around to make sure they were out of sight. "Now, what is it you need?"

"It's the Heart of Kandrikar. I saw that girl Eva break in to the locker and steal it." Mimiru said.

"What?" Exclaimed Derek in outrage. He checked his watch. They had fifteen minutes until break. And then he would only have five minutes to find the girls and come up with an excuse to leave the school building. "Go follow her, here's my cellphone." He handed it to her. "I'll find the girls as soon as I can and have Wanda give you a call to find out where Eva's taken the Crystal."

"Right." Nodded Mimiru. She put the phone in her pocket, before she transformed back in to the white cat most humans saw her as.

"Hey, Derek, what's taking so long with that basketball?" One of his teammates called after him.

Derek blinked, realizing what he was really supposed to be doing.

"Sorry, it got lodged in a weird spot!" He shouted back. He looked over at where Mimiru had been, but she was gone already. He grabbed the ball, then hurried back to the court thinking this class couldn't get over soon enough now. "Here." He tossed it back to Stevie, who caught it without a problem.

In Phobos' hidden palace on Meridian, a large group was gathered in the throne room with Phobos on the throne itself, Cedric standing to his right, Rhea and Cybelle on his left, and the four revived and entranced former Guardians directly behind him.

"The Heart of Kandrikar is on the move." Cybelle said suddenly. "And it's not on its usual schedule."

"Really now...?" Blinked Phobos. He glanced back at the four Guardians who stood behind him, stalk still. "This could prove to be beneficial." He raised his left hand, and the sand he used as a window in to the mortal world poured from it. "Show me the Heart of Kandrikar, and it's current bearer."

The image on the screen was that of a girl with golden blond hair in pigtails, and brilliant blue eyes. She stood on what looked like a green hill at the park in Heatherfield, while holding it out, looking as though she were trying to figure out how to use it.

"Guardians, is this girl a descendant of Leila Corine?" He asked.

There was a long pause.

"Yes. I can sense the same bloodline flowing through her veins. She is the great great granddaughter of our friend and ally." Tuula finally answered.

"Excellent... Now we shall go. Cedric, you, Rhea and Cybelle will stay here and guard the Castle in my absence." Phobos instructed. "I will have no intruders while my collection is incomplete." He stated.

"Yes, My Lord." The three bowed as he stood up. "Come, my Guardians. We shall welcome the fifth and final member to our little group."

Helena, Tuula, Galena and Ila lifted from the ground as Phobos used his staff to open a portal in front of him.

Wanda was digging frantically in her backpack after History class.

"You mean it's really not there?" Ingrid demanded.

"No! I normally check in between each class to make sure no one gets in!" Wanda said, her eyes wide in panic.

"The cell phone doesn't lie, sweet cakes!" The voice from her phone spoke up.

"Thanks for taking those pictures, Rob. Eva is SO dead when we get our hands on her." Wanda stomped her foot on the ground.

"Let's hurry and slip out while we still can." Derek said.

"Uh, you just had to say something earlier, didn't you Ingrid?" Cerella shook her head.

"What?" Blinked Ingrid, wondering what on earth she could have said.

" 'Things can't possibly get any worse'. Ring any bells? Thanks a lot for jinxing us." Glared Cerella in disbelief.

"Ok, caught red handed." Ingrid held her hands up in an 'I surrender' sort of way.

"Rob, can you get my mom on the phone?" Asked Wanda as the group snuck through the crowd of students that filled the halls.

"Sure thing, hon." The phone replied.

Moments later, Will's voice came on the phone.

"Wanda, what's going on?" She asked, sounding worried.

"No time to explain, Mom, but just to let you know, let's just say a certain Crystal's been stolen right from my backpack from a certain Eva from school and now we have to get it back. Can you come up with some sort of lie for us when our teachers realize we're not there anymore?" She asked quickly as Derek grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in to a hiding spot as a teacher walked by. She had no choice but to hang up on her mother before she was overheard.

"Great... how are we going to get to the doors without being seen?" Whispered a panicked Ingrid.

"Can we still use our powers to make some kind of a diversion for the teachers?" Asked HuiLing. "I mean, even though we don't have the Crystal on us or anything..."

"Worth a shot..." Muttered Tress. "Let me have a go..." She pointed her hand like shooting a gun with her pointer finger and middle finger, and found her target. There was a garbage can right outside the Principal's office, and down the hallway. She shot two balls of fire in their direction, and moments later...

"Ew, burning garbage. I thought my job on Community Service day last year stunk." HuiLing held her fingers to her nose to block out the smell.

As soon as the fire got large enough, the alarms in the school blared and the sprinklers started raining on them.

"Now's our chance, go!" Derek said, and the six friends hurried out the doors.

"Boy am I glad they haven't installed those new security cameras yet." Ingrid sighed once they were out of the building with the teachers now panicking and calling out orders.

"Thank you cuts in school funding." Nodded Cerella.

"Hurry, before they see us!" Derek ordered, and the group hurried off the school property, and in to a secluded alley way.

"Wanda, I gave my cellphone to Mimiru, so just call it and she should be able to answer and tell us where Eva took the Crystal." Derek said.

"Right." She dialed Derek's number, and indeed Eva answered. "Mimiru, thank goodness. Where did Eva take the Crystal?"

"She's at the center of the park, hurry! There's not much time before Phobos finds out somehow!" Mimiru's unusually panicked voice was on the phone.

"Do what you can to keep Eva from doing anything stupid with it! Let's get going!" Wanda hung up, putting the phone in her pocket. "Anyone know any shortcuts to the park?"

"Please, you've got a girl who used to play hooky from school when she was younger." Ingrid raised her hand as if to say 'well duh'.

Ingrid took the lead, and showed them through several alleyways in Heatherfield that made what would normally have been a long half hour run to a short fifteen minute trot.

In the meantime, Mimiru transformed in to her human shape, today she decided to wear a pink shirt with a u-neck and white trim, a pair of blue flared jeans, inch thick flat bottomed platform shoes with blue soles, and her silvery-white hair was up in a pony tail.

"Eva, put down that Crystal!" She called out as she approached.

Eva spun around when an apparent stranger called her name.

"Who are you? Do you know how to work this thing?" She asked, keeping a firm grip on the chain of the necklace.

"I am Mimiru, and I was once a guardian of that Crystal that you hold in your hands. Please, return it to me." Mimiru held out her hand to the girl as she reached her.

"No. I found this thing, and I know it holds some sort of secret that could really get my classmates in trouble if it was found out. So I'm going to keep it till I do." Eva stepped back from the woman.

"Please, Eva, you do not know the kind of powers you are tampering with!" Mimiru exclaimed, keeping her voice as steady as she could.

"I have a sense of it. I saw Wanda use it to make some kind of portal that she and her girls vanished in to. And something feels familiar about it that I can't quite place." Eva would have continued to step back, except for the fact that she heard the familiar sound that she had heard just the previous day, this time from behind her.

And instead of people going in to the portal, someone came out of it. A man in black robes with long gray hair, and dark narrowed eyes who carried a tall staff with a violet stone set in to the top in his right hand, followed by four women in the strangest outfits she'd ever seen.

"Hello, dear girl." Phobos said as the four women landed behind him. "You will hand me the Heart of Kandrikar now. Or face the consequences if you do not."

Eva stared at the man, thinking he looked as though he came right out of some medieval-based movie.

"Eva!" Wanda shouted when they reached the scene, clearly out of breath from having run the whole way.

"Wanda?" Blinked Eva, staring between Phobos, Mimiru, and now Wanda.

"You ok?" Cerella looked at Wanda, who already looked exhausted from the running.

"I'm a short distance sprinter, not a long distance runner." Gasped Wanda before looking back up. "Eva please, don't give the Crystal to Phobos! That's exactly what he wants you to do!"

Eva frowned. She'd never once listened to Wanda, so why should she now? Besides, Wanda had

stolen Derek from her when she came to Heatherfield, and she wasn't about to take any kind of advice from the girlfriend of the boy of her dreams.

"Sorry, but I don't take orders from fashion rejects and boy stealers." Snapped Eva.

"Yes..." Muttered Phobos. "Jealousy and spite are powerful things, especially when they fuel betrayal at its deepest levels." He held out his left hand. "Now, child, just give me the Heart of Kandrikar and you can be on your way."

Wanda burst in to a run even though she felt like she could not run another foot. She was up the hill as Eva held up the Crystal necklace. She was across the field, reaching out her hand as the necklace hung between Eva and Phobos, and felt her hand wrap around the Crystal.

"GUARDIANS UNITE!" She called out the moment her hand grabbed the crystal and she spun around on the spot.

"No!" Phobos shouted in rage as Wanda, Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing reemerged as the Guardians of Meridian and Kandrikar.

Eva stared, wide eyed and open mouthed at what she saw before her.

"I knew it! You're super powered freaks!" She said.

"Brilliant deduction, genius." Ingrid shook her head.

"Eva, please, you do not know what you are doing." Wanda walked up to Eva. "I understand your jealousy. I'd feel the same if I were in your shoes."

"What are you saying? You don't know anything about me!" Exclaimed Eva.

"And you don't know anything about us. I guess that makes us even." Shrugged Ingrid.

"Enough of this... Eva, are you really going to sit here and listen to them as they try to emphasize with you when they have no right to do so after what they've put you through? Or do you want to know more about yourself, and why these girls and Derek have had to lie to everyone, including their own teachers, as to who they really are?" Phobos interrupted the arguments going on.

"Eva please, don't listen to him. His words are like a snake, if you let him in too much, he'll strangle you the moment you let your guard down." Wanda said.

"What do you know? You've never even talked with him I bet!" Eva snapped, her voice oddly high.

"You're wrong. I was once captured and imprisoned by him. He tortured me, and put me under his spells to control me and force me to fight the ones I care about the most. Please don't let that happen to you, Eva." Wanda looked at Eva, trying with all her might to will her to see reason.

"Too late. I want power, I want knowledge of what it's like to be more than just a rich, popular girl. I want everything..." Eva sneered.

"That... is just what I needed to hear." Phobos raised his staff.

"No!" Wanda shouted as the lightning shot from the violet stone on the staff, and engulfed Eva who screamed out in pain for a brief moment.

"Get out of there!" Derek pulled Wanda from the hill top from behind.

"But Eva-!" Wanda exclaimed.

"It's too late for her." Shegon's voice came from behind Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing.

"Dad!" Wanda looked up from her spot in Derek's embrace before turning to watch what was unfolding on top of that hill. "What are you-?"

"I got here as soon as I could, Wanda, once your Mom filled me in." Shegon explained.

"Guardian from another generation, rise from your slumber and wake in the form of this girl willing to accept your power!" Phobos was chanting as the lightning continued to pour from his staff and wrap around the girl, who's eyes were now closed. "Rise up from your eternal sleep and serve Phobos the true heir to the throne of Meridian, with the power of the Scepter of Phobos as your Heart!"

Now Eva was completely engulfed in the lightning, the sound echoing eerily around the park. When she reemerged, she looked like an entirely different person. Her golden yellow hair was now hanging loosely to her waist, with a slight wave to it rather than being straight as it had been just a short time ago. Around her shoulders was an ultramarine blue cloak that went to her waist as well and held in the front with a pink chain that glimmered in the light around her as the lightning was fading, while her shirt was more like a pink tank top with blue trim, a v-neck, and it cut off two inches below the breasts, revealing her bare stomach. Her skirt went down to her feet, with two layers. The main color being pink with blue trim on the bottom, and the top of the skirt was ultramarine blue. The skirt itself had a slit in the front nearly up to her waist, which gave the impression of a blue and pink rose petal, and revealed that she wore the apple green and dark green horizontally striped Guardian tights, and her shoes were ultramarine blue, knee length boots with high heels. Her skirt at the top had the upside down crescent marks around her belly button in the shape of a heart, and were ultramarine as well. Her Guardian wings were the smaller set as well. Her normally bright blue eyes were now lifeless, empty and did not recognize anyone that stood before her.

"Eva! What have you done to her?" Demanded Wanda.

"Master, shall I attack them now?" Asked the woman, in a completely different tone of voice than that of Eva's.

"No, for now, we will return to my Castle. You are not yet strong enough to face them in battle." Phobos replied.

"Eva, wait!" Wanda shouted as the group turned from them on Phobos' command. She broke from Derek's grip and flew right at the five unfamiliar Guardians that were under Phobos' spells, and Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing were quick to follow.

But Phobos was already gone, through the veil along with his Guardians, by the time they reached the spot where he'd been moments before.

"Oh boy..." Muttered Ingrid.

"This can't be good." Wanda landed on the ground, falling to her knees with a look of utter defeat on her face.