New Powers
Wyatt couldn't believe his eyes. The girls he saw looked exactly like a few girls from the neighborhood, only older, and with wings. There was Cornelia, which every freshman boy had had a thing for at one point in time. There was Irma, who had lived across the street from him for as long as he could remember. Hay Lin, the girl whose family owned the best Chinese food restaurant he had ever been to. And Taranee, who had been in his math class for several years in middle school, despite being a year younger.
And then, of course, there was Will Vandom. She wasn't exactly new anymore, though everyone still thought of her as the new girl.
The four girls that had apparently turned into fairies turned, though Taranee turned back to Will. The other three all smiled.
"Hey, Cornelia, check me out," Colin said, a smirk appearing on his face before he ran his hand through his black hair.
"I don't think she's interested," Issac said. And then a huge root shot out of the ground. The boys all jumped, but Harris was caught.
"Hold still," Colin said, and held his hands out, before pulling them back. The root loosened and Harris jumped up, and then hovered in the air as his wings began flapping.
"Hey, I can fly," Harris said.
"So can we," Irma said as she, Cornelia, and Hay Lin all lifted off the ground. The three all flew at the boys, more roots coming alive, while Irma was shooting water at them from her opened palms and Hay Lin became the center of a small tornado.
"Oh, this is so not fair," Colin said. He dodged roots as best he could, jumping higher than he could have ever jumped before. Issac held his hands out against Irma's onslaught, though he couldn't match her powers and skill. As for Harris, his wings couldn't keep him up against Hay Lin's winds. Even Todd was trying to fend off a stream of fire that Taranee was shooting off. And though he had new muscles, Wyatt didn't know if he had any other powers.
"I could use a little help here!" Todd called out, and Wyatt could see that he was struggling like the others. Behind him, Will looked on the verge of passing out.
So, Wyatt dodged underneath Cornelia and Irma and tackled Taranee. They fell with an 'oomph' and Taranee's flames went out.
"Get her out of here," Wyatt said as Taranee struggled to get out from under him.
"On it," Todd said, swinging Will up into his arms. He turned toward the fold, thinking it would be safest to get her back to a place he knew, but when he ran, it was much faster than he had ever run in his life, and within a second, he had overshot the fold by over a hundred yards. He noticed that Taranee was following, so he kept running, going faster and disappearing into the dense forest, barely able to dodge the branches and bushes.
Colin was distracted for a moment, seeing his best friend disappear so quickly, that he didn't realize the root flying at him until it hit him, pinning him down to the ground. Cornelia laughed and flung her long blonde hair off her shoulder as Colin struggled to get out. His efforts to wiggle out were worthless. He placed his hands on the root, but for all his efforts to control it, Cornelia had the upper hand. Finally, rather than trying to control the tree, he just pushed up. The whole tree began to lift, and after a moment, he was standing, holding the whole tree above him.
"Looks like someone got some super strength," Issac said, dodging one of Irma's blasts.
"Yeah I do," Colin said, tossing the tree up and catching it again with ease. "Batter's up!" he called and swung the tree hard, knocking Cornelia, Irma, and Hay Lin right out of the sky, all three getting stuck in the branches and flying off with the tree as it sailed over half a mile of forest.
"Dude, what'd you just do?" Harris questioned, his brown eyes going wide.
"Let's just get out of here," Wyatt said and took off in the direction Todd had gone in. The other three boys quickly followed. Wyatt chanced a glance back to where Taranee was. She, however, flew off in the direction her friends had been flung. He released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, and then kept running.
"This way," they heard Todd after a few minutes of running. They dodged into a small opening against a tall hill. Will was up and on her feet, pacing and talking to herself.
"Girls, aren't the guardians always girls?" She was muttering. "But then again, maybe it just happened to be two in a row, but now it chose boys. But why would it choose boys that I kinda, sorta know?" She turned to the five boys for a moment, before continuing her pacing and talking to herself. "And why not Matt? He already has powers. Or maybe that's exactly why not. But where's the continuity?"
"Uh, Will?" Colin said, but she didn't respond.
"I tried that," Todd said. He looked at her for a moment then turned back to the boys. "I have no idea what she's talking about."
"Will," Wyatt said, walking up and placing a hand on her shoulder.
She jumped a bit, seemed momentarily stunned, but then took a few deep breaths. "So, you're probably wondering what is going on," she said.
"And you're not?" Issac asked. "Because, you know, the talking to yourself."
"We... we need to get back to Ea-Heatherfield," she said. She had almost said Earth, but caught herself on time to realize that knowing they were in a different dimension might make things worse.
"And, how do we do that?" Issac asked. "Because, honestly, I don't know where we are."
She looked at them, then turned to Wyatt. "May I?" She asked, holding her hand out for the necklace.
"Oh, sure," Wyatt said, taking the necklace off and handing it to her.
Will nodded, then slashed her arm through the air, creating a fold. She held the Heart out for Wyatt again. "By the way, never give it to someone again," she said, before jumping through the fold. The other five followed and found that Will was already back on her phone.
"Yeah, the basement of the Silver Dragon," Will said to whoever was on the other line. They heard a murmuring. "No, I haven't seen either of them. Did you check the junkyard for Blunk?"
"What's a blunk?" Todd asked, turning to the others. They all shrugged.
"Not a what, a who," Will said, looking at them. She hung up the phone. "Well, I guess Blunk is a what as well. We'll get into him later."
"Did I hear you correctly say that we're in the basement of the Silver Dragon?" Issac asked.
"You heard correct," Will said. She gestured to their surroundings. "This is Headquarters... well, the Earth headquarters."
"Earth headquarters?" Wyatt asked. "As compared to where?"
"Meridian," Will said. She said it with ease, as if it were something she spoke of often. "Which is where we just were."
"Okay, this is getting too weird," Issac said. He looked around. "How do we get back to ourselves?"
Will blinked a few times. "Oh, um, you kind of just call the power back into the Heart."
"The what?" Colin asked.
She pointed at the Heart which Wyatt had put back around his neck. "That is the Heart of Kandrakar. It is a very powerful item." She frowned a bit. "It will take some getting used to, but I can help you to learn to use it." She took a deep breath. "Now, uh... Wyatt, right?" The dark boy nodded. "Take a deep breath and just... will the power back to you."
Wyatt looked at the others and they all shrugged. So, he did as she said. A moment later, he felt the power leave him and when he opened his eyes, they were all back to normal.
"Aw, man," Colin said, looking at his arms, then down at his body. "You mean the muscles aren't for keeps."
"Still wouldn't get you a date with Cornelia," Todd said.
"I think throwing a tree at her knocks his chances with her out," Harris said.
Will shook her hands a few times, pacing again. The boys watched her for a moment.
"Would you stop pacing and try explaining?" Issac finally said.
Will nodded. "Yeah, I can do that," she said. She looked around and finally took a seat on a couch. She gestured for them to do the same so they each did.
"So, I guess I should start with the fact that there are many realms," she said. "Earth is just one. There's also Kandrakar, where the Heart," she gestured to Wyatt and the Heart of Kandrakar, "comes from. And then there is Meridian. Meridian has been the unfortunate realm to be attacked by a series of dark overlords. Some more successful than others." She stopped for a moment. "Enter the Guardians. Kandrakar empowers five people using the Heart to protect all the realms and restore order."
"Are you following?" They all sort of nodded.
"Remember Elyon Brown?" Will asked.
"What does she have to do with anything?" Colin asked. "She moved away last year, right?"
"Well, yes and no," Will said. "She is actually a queen... the Queen of Meridian, in fact. And her rule has been attacked, well, three times now. First it was her brother, Phobos. Then it was an old Guardian, Nerissa. And now there is a new threat, Deimos."
"Deimos, as in the Greek god of terror?" Issac asked.
"Do you always have to be such a smarty pants?" Colin asked.
"No, no, hear me out," Issac said. He stood. "Now, I am in no way admitting this isn't some huge hallucination—"
"One we're all sharing?" Todd said.
Issac held his hand up. "But, like I said, Deimos was the Greek god of terror, son of Ares. Ares, however had two major sons, and the other was the god of fear, named Phobos."
Will's eyes widened. "Are you suggesting that Deimos could be Phobos's brother in Meridian as well?"
"Well, it would first be good to know what either of them looks like," Issac said.
"Well, I think Hay Lin might have a drawing or two of Phobos," Will said. "But, I am not an artist."
"I am," Harris said.
Issac, Todd, Colin, and Wyatt all turned to Harris. "I'm sorry," Todd said. "Do you know what Deimos looks like so you can draw him?"
"Well, I'm better with a camera," Harris said. "If I can get there, I can snap a picture and get out of there so we can compare him to Hay Lin's drawings... how do we get her drawings?"
"I ask Yan Lin," Will said.
"Ask Yan Lin what?" Another voice came from the top of the stairs and then a door mouse was scurrying down the steps. It looked around for a moment, then returned to the boy walking down the steps.
"Matt!" Will cried and ran up to him, throwing her arms around him. "It's so horrible. Deimos had enthralled them all."
Matt held her tightly for a moment, before looking over her shoulders and noticing the five boys. "And, do I want to know about them?"
"Oh, well, funny story," Will said, releasing him. "So, I thought I was about the be captured, and I couldn't let Deimos get the Heart, so I sent it to find new Guardians and..." she threw her arms out as in presenting them, "ta da."
"It chose boys?" Matt asked. "I thought it was always girls."
"Honestly, I did too," Will said.
"And why not me? I already have powers," Matt said. "Or maybe Caleb... he at least lives there."
"Can you imagine Caleb with powers, Matt?" Will asked.
"Now that you mention it," Matt said, looking as if he was thinking.
Wyatt turned to the other boys as the two kept talking. "I think they've forgotten about us," he said.
"Hey, can we get back to us," Todd said, standing up.
Matt glanced at Todd, then said quietly to Will, "Remind you of anyone?"
"Okay, well, first things first," Will said, clapping her hands together. "You guys need to train. Believe me, WITCH was a train wreck when we first started using our powers, and I have reason to believe you'll be any better."
"What about the picture of Deimos?" Harris asked. "I just got a new camera with a great zoom."
"You don't even know where the castle is in Meridian," Will said.
"But I do," Matt said.
"What are you suggesting?" Wyatt asked.
"How about I go and take the picture?" he said.
"Um, how about not?" Will said. "I don't need you going dark on me again. You've been enthralled once already."
"And I am not lending you my new camera," Harris said.
"Or, how about they go together," Wyatt suggested. "Matt can lead Harris to the castle and even inside, and Harris can take the picture... oh, wait, Harris can fly."
"So can I," Matt said. "Just watch." He yelled and transformed. All five guys jumped back. "See," he said, his voice changed as much as his body. "Wings."
"I still can't get over this," Issac said shaking his head.
"Dude, what's with the tail?" Todd asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Matt looked back at it for a moment, before looking forward. "It's not like I got to choose it," he said, his Shagon voice sounding a lot more threatening than his human voice.
"But, we're not going to discuss tails now," Will said. "We're going to find a place for you guys to practice, and Matt is going to help you."
"I am?" Matt asked.
"Yes," she said. "As will Huggles."
The five boys looked at the door mouse. "I'm not exactly okay hurting animals," Harris said. "I'm actually a vegetarian."
"Huggles can fend for himself," Matt said. He returned to his human form. "Let's go. I know a place where we can practice without being observed."
A brown-haired teen gritted as he climbed up the side of the castle, slowly climbing. He was mad at himself, believing her should have known the moment he saw him, that the man would be evil. But, it felt like he couldn't trust anyone. Nerissa had hidden for years under a disguise of someone helping the rebellion. Blunk had abandoned him the first sign of danger, though that wasn't a surprise. And, last he saw Cornelia, she had attacked him.
But that was before he saw Cornelia and Irma attack Taranee. He had gotten in a huff when Elyon allowed the man into the castle, and left for a few days.
Apparently, all hell had broken loose since then and he had been hiding out, gathering forces from back during the Rebellion against Phobos. He was trying to get into the castle, hoping that Rathor could help from the inside... assuming Rathor wasn't being controlled.
He felt a rock break loose right as he was about to reach an open window, but was caught as he started to fall. He sighed and looked up, coming face to face with someone he had not expected.
"What a lovely surprise to see you here, Caleb," she said. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me."
