A/N: Okay… It took me 8 months to write, re-write, and then post this chapter. Right… I'm doing good! Anyways, I hope you all haven't really given up on me. I'm finding much more time to write my stories, and I want to get this one wrapped up before I do anything else. I'm sorry if you have to go back and read a few chapters before you can read this one. Where was I? Oh yes! Waiting for your reviews!

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"Mysteries Revealed"

The lights in the Silver Dragon cast a soft glow on the dinners as they merrily ate the delicious food they had been served. The buzz from the dinners talking filtered into the kitchen where the Guardians, minus Will, sat around talking.

"Well, how are we going to help Caleb and the Rebels? We can't just leave them!" Cornelia said glaring at the others.

"But we need Will to turn us into the guardians to do anything useful. Otherwise we will probably just be lazing around and getting in the way." Irma replied in kind to Cornelia.

"Not necessarily Irma. We don't have to be guardians to help them. From what I heard he needs more men to help scout out and protect the rebels as they move." Taranee said calmly.

"Well how come you can't just turn us into the Guardians Taranee! You returned us back to normal when Will was hurt." Cornelia said turning her wrath upon Taranee.

"I don't think I could do that. Will is the keeper of the Heart. The Heart just kind of did the work for me turning us back to normal." Taranee stated shaking her head.

"Well, what ever we decide, we need to hurry up on it. Caleb is expecting us soon." Hay Lin piped into the conversation trying to break up the hostility.

"I agree with Irma, horsing around talking is not going to get anything done. I say we just go and see if we can help out. Even if we aren't in guardian form we should still be able to help Caleb." Irma said surprising everyone with a spurt of maturity. Cornelia just shrugged at this.

"Well how do you propose we get to Meridian Einstein?" Cornelia said mockingly. "Only Will was able to open up and close the portals."

Irma just icily stared at Cornelia as the statement hung out in the air. Everyone was reminded of how they all depended on Will, not only as their leader, but also to help them become the guardians and get to Meridian and back. Hay Lin sat in thought for a few seconds before scampering off and yelling back, "Be right back!"

"She have to go to the bathroom or something?" Cornelia asked as she watched the Asian girl's pigtails disappeared around a corner.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go." Irma replied looking back at the others. But Hay Lin returned shortly carrying a rolled up piece of parchment.

"Ta da!" She said unrolling it to reveal a map of Heatherfield. Everyone looked at it dumbstruck while Hay Lin explained. "I still have this! We can use it to hunt down an open portal. I'm sure that we haven't closed all the ones we were supposed to close."

Taranee nodded looking at the parchment.

"But of course! It probably still keeps track of all the portals in Heatherfield." Taranee voiced to the girls agreement all around her. "Good idea Hay Lin."

The map Hay Lin had retrieved was the one her Grandma had bestowed upon her to guard, which kept track of all the open portals in Heatherfield. It was a little wrinkled around the edges but in otherwise good condition. The black ink was as sharp as ever as if the map had been drawn just yesterday.

"Alright, Lets get set to go help Caleb and the Rebels. Meet back here at 8?" Cornelia asked around the table. She got affirmative replies from the rest of the guardians, who then left to go collect supplies for the task that lay ahead.

Ω

All Hospitals have a smell that is common to all of them. It's that, clean sterile smell. Detective Ethan didn't like that smell because it brought back memories of the day his father was killed. Shaking his head he stepped into the corridor that held Senator Petersburg's room. To his merry surprise there were guards posted at the ends of the hallway, and one at the Senator's door. And they knew what they were doing too.

"Can I see your ID sir?" The man who was guarding the senator's door asked as Ethan approached. Nodding his approval, Ethan took out his police badge and showed it to the man. "The senator is waiting for you sir."

Ethan stepped through the door into the well light room. There was another guard in a chair waiting by the door. Upon seeing Ethan he stood up and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Ethan could hear the beeping of the heart monitor and see the light's blinking on the medical equipment. Lying in the bed was the senator, an I.V. in his arm provided a clear looking liquid in the drip bag a way to get into his system.

The senator had brown hair cropped close. He had intelligent brown eyes that measured Detective Ethan up and down, not missing a single detail. His face was clean shaven and showed how truly tired he was.

"Welcome Detective to my humble abode. Come please, take a seat right over here." The senator said his voice rough, probably from not using it in some time. His hand gestured to a chair by his bed. "We have much to discuss, you and I."

"Senator Petersburg, it's good to see that you are doing alright." Ethan said while moving over to the chair and sitting down.

"Call me Jonathan. Senator Petersburg becomes tiresome after awhile." He replied to Ethan's comment. "It feels good to be alive. You don't know how good."

"Well, why don't you tell me how good it is to be alive?" Ethan said slipping into his 'detective' mode.

"Very good. That is why I wanted to talk to you." Jonathan said looking over to Ethan.

"You wanted to tell me that you feel good to be alive?" Ethan asked wondering if the senator was just wasting his time.

"That and more. I need to talk to you about a conspiracy… and why someone wants me dead." Jonathan said looking up at the ceiling, as if preparing himself for the conversation ahead. "Well, to be exact, someone is too few. Why a lot of people want me dead."

This of course sparked Ethan's curiosity. Not only did Senator Petersburg know who wanted him dead, but probably knew why and was about to tell him. "Do tell Jonathan. I need to know who, what, when, where, and why to get this case solved to keep you safe. I don't want another assassination attempt to occur." Ethan said, his voice showing some concern.

"Alright… where to begin? Oh I know. Detective Ethan, do you believe in mind control?" The senator asked catching Ethan completely off guard.

"Uh… Mind Control?" Ethan asked confused. The senator probably had gone off his rocker, or maybe that bullet did more damage then the doctor knew about.

"Yes! Mind Control! You know? Controlling other people's actions through hypnosis, devices… etc. etc. etc?" The senator continued on.

"I wouldn't necessarily say that I believe in it. But I have read a few sci-fi novels about it." Ethan replied to the senator's brief explanation.

"Well, what I'm about to tell you is not a Sci-fi novel. No no no… what I'm about to tell you is one of the biggest conspiracies in all of the world possibly." The senator said, his eyes returning to Ethan.

"You see Detective Ethan, I belong… well used to belong to a group of 12 men. It was an exclusive group… a secretive group. Kind of like the Knight's Templar, only it was for business." Ethan continued, taking a short breath.

Great… I have a lunatic senator who believes in mind control and the Knights Templar. Ethan thought to himself. This was going to go badly, he could tell already.

"I know, I know… you're probably thinking that I'm some crazed guy who should never have been in office, but what I'm telling you is the truth. I have evidence to back up my claims, and ones I'm about to make.

"You see Detective, this group has connections everywhere; their fingers are in all the pies they can get their hands on. The members are Wealthy CEO's to Fortune 500 Companies and Politicians like me. The members of this group are exclusive, seek power, wealth, and domination. Quite frankly, I believe they already have world domination, but that's beside the point I'm trying to make." The senator said, taking a pause to re-collect himself.

"Alright then, what is the point you are trying to make?" Ethan asked in this brief pause.

"The point I am trying to make is this, that group has the resources, power, and lack of moral values to do whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want, and get away with it. They were here long before me and will be here long after I'm gone, unless something is done." The Senator said, looking from Detective Ethan to the window and back.

"And what is the name of this mysterious group, if I may ask?" Detective Ethan asked, playing along for now. If the Senator really was crazy, he would be hanging himself.

"Black Magic. That is the name of the group. Don't ask me where the name came from, because I don't know. All I know is that long ago, maybe hundred's of years ago they were established. As members of the 12 died off, another is recruited into their midst. I was recruited not too long ago, and I dearly regret it." The senator said, anxiety covering his face. Detective Ethan only nodded, allowing the senator to continue with his Narration.

"The group would meet once every month to discuss business of Black Magic and make executive decisions. Most of their decisions are business based, and aimed towards securing their control of the world. Money is power, and so they expend large amounts on research and development of new technologies to sell, or use to gain more power." The senator said, his gaze never leaving Ethan's face. "They can pull off assassinations with out it ever falling back on them. That is how powerful they are."

"This is where Mind Control comes into it. Mind control, while a 'science fiction' favorite, is actually a wonderful idea. Think of it Detective! If you can control people to make decisions that would be beneficial to you, you automatically remove many obstacles! Mind control is a must have if you are bent on world domination." The Senator gestured enthusiastically with his hands.

"So they found a way to do Mind Control?" Detective Ethan asked, wondering if this was going where he thought it was going. Little did he know it was about to take on a whole new dimension.

"Exactly! One of their facilities out here in Heatherfield discovered how to do it. By accident, but they figured out how to do it! It happened while they were doing an experiment for…" The senator started to say and then faltered. A dark expression came over his face.

"For what?" Detective Ethan asked, curious. If it was all fake it was turning out to be slightly interesting.

"For who." The senator said barely in a whisper.

"For who?" Ethan asked confused.

"Yes, for who. They were doing an experiment for the 12th member." The senator did not sound happy when he said this.

"The 12th member? Who is that?" The Detective asked, wondering who this was and why he caused so much strife.

"You have to understand detective, that as a safety precaution, we all keep our Identities for the most part secret from the majority of the group. It's to protect us in case someone were to be captured and questioned. When we all meet, it's in the shadows, but eventually we all end up knowing who one another is. Everyone except the 12th member. That is what he wants to be called, the 12th member. We never see him, only his lackey." Jonathan said staring off into the distance.

"Lackey?" Ethan asked prompting the senator to continue.

"Yes, Lackey. He never comes to the meetings in person. He has a tall blond hair, blue eyed man deliver his orders, and requests. Out of the 12 he is the most demanding and self centered. His lackey isn't any better. We don't know his lackey's name, only that he has a book store here in Heatherfield." The senator said looking anywhere but at Detective Ethan.

Great… owns a bookstore in town. He'll be easy to find… Ethan thought sarcastically to himself. Even though Heatherfield was a small town, it had a lot of bookstores. He then asked the senator, "Do you know where his bookstore is at?"

The senator only shook his head no. "We tried following his lackey to this bookstore, but were never able to completely follow him. He somehow always disappeared in mid-air, gone! We even had our professional do it…" Jonathan said with a tired sigh.

"How did this 12th member come into the group?" Ethan asked wanting to know how he was recruited.

"Contrary to popular method, he recruited Black Magic. I know it sounds weird but he approached us and wanted to join. One of our members had just died and well, we were looking for a new one. We had several candidates, but this… this 12th member knowing about Black Magic completely blew us out of the water. Black Magic decided to keep him since he knew about us before we even approached him. Heck, Black Magic didn't even know he existed till he approached us.

"The 12th member is the one who started the chain of events that has lead to my assassination attempt. You'll never be able to catch him though… I don't think anyone will. But yes… it was researchers on his project that brought about the discovery of Mind Control." The senator reached over to the stand next to the bed and grabbed a glass of ice water, and started to suck the cool liquid with the straw. Detective Ethan took this as a chance to ask a question.

"So, what are the events that lead up to your assassination attempt?" he asked impatient for a reply. He really needed to move on to some paperwork that he had to complete.

"I'm getting there. Just please take a few moments and listen please." The senator said looking harried. "Where was I? Oh yes… Mind Control and Black Magic. So yes, they had discovered how to do mind control… but it was limited in the test subjects. Adults it seemed were pretty immune to mind control. Something about nuero-pathways degrading or something like that with age. So the researchers decided to test their method's out on children." At this Jonathan cleared his throat and said rapidly. "Several of the umm… younger subjects died painful deaths."

"You used children in experiments?! And some of them died from it?!" Ethan's voice rose quite considerably at this.

"Ethan… The work going on wasn't under my control… I may have been 1 of the 12, but 11 vs 1 easily beats me. The other eleven, especially the 12th member wanted us to push forward. I believe this is where plots to have me assassinated came into play. I wasn't a team player anymore and therefore was a threat. I know information that can bring the entire organization down." Jonathan gestured widely with his hands, as if conveying an entire library of books of the crimes committed by Black Magic.

"But they were children… how can you do that to children?" Ethan asked taking a new view of the senator. He was no longer the warm adoring man who worked to better the world… but a man who with cold heartedness could condemn children to painful deaths.

"I couldn't, and never will. All I could do was watch in silence as the progress reports rolled in, and the death toll rose. Eventually the team assigned to the project made a break through. Children stopped dying and they had stable results. We could now brain wash children to do our bidding. But what can Children do? They are weak, small, can be overpowered easily… The fruits of mind controlling a nation of children would take years to fulfill. And not to mention the fact that not all the children you mind controlled would ever reach places of power." Jonathan said, as if presenting a problem to the Detective. "What are children, Detective?"

"Umm, Cute, adorable, innocent, not murders." Ethan said to Jonathan wondering where this was going.

"Exactly Ethan. Not murders. No one ever expects a child to kill someone. There have been times yes, when children have committed grave crimes. But come now? Who would think a child was a murder? And thus was born Project Innocent Assassins." Jonathan said giving the first clue to what he was leading up too.

"Innocent Assassins?" Ethan asked. "You mean turn children into killing machines?"

"Exactly Detective. Did you know it only takes 5 pounds of pressure to break the skin with a knife? A goal a child can properly accomplish with the correct amount of force. And when you look for a killer, you're not going to look for a child are you? No! They are the perfect assassin. Young, Innocent, Invisible. Children are a natural part of our lives and we expect them.

"You take a child and mind control it. You then teach the child how to do various things with knives, guns, sniper rifles and viola! You have a trained assassin who will do your bidding whenever you want. In fact I do believe that my attempted assassin was one of these innocent children."

"Your joking right? Turn a child into a crazed killer with no remorse?" Ethan asked reverting back to his belief that the senator really was crazy.

"No I'm not. Hitler did a sort of mind control of his own, brain washing the youth of his nation to commit terrible deeds in World War 2 through propaganda. The fact of the matter detective is that there are children out there who not only can kill, but will kill. They do it because it is what they have been trained to do. I believe Will Vandom is one of those children." The senator said looking at the detective for is reaction.
"What? Will Vandom? But… she's in a room not too far away?" The Detective said trying to piece together what was once reality to him.

"Will Vandom, graduated the top of her class, exceeding endurance and strength tests of all the other children. Her skills are remarkable. She is the perfect killing machine. When children are tested, they are tested according to the bar set by Will Vandom." The senator said explaining to Detective Ethan.

"But she's in a room not to far from here… and if she is a trained assassin as you say, we should put her under lock and key!" Ethan exclaimed standing up, about to just go do that.

"Sit down detective, she is no threat anymore… as far as I can tell." The senator said gesturing to the chair Ethan had just vacated.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked sitting back down in the chair.

"Let me explain more about this mind control process, and the safety measures put in place. A child is taken into a room where they are hooked up to a machine that does the brainwashing. It partitions their brains, sort of like a computer, splitting it into 3 parts. The first partition, the main one, is the personality of the child, the child's memories, thought's feelings. Everything who the child is, is placed in that main portion. This is very easy to do as a child has very little experiences, or memories to deal with. Are you following about what I am saying?" Jonathan asked Ethan to make sure that he was understanding everything.

"I guess. I have a home PC and the example makes a little sense, but what does this have to do with Will?" Ethan asked.

"I'm getting to that. The next partition is smaller then the first, but still quite large. If you cut up the brain's memory capacity into sections, the first partition occupies 50 of that. The next partition is about 45. This portion is where the child receives its dead memories.

"Dead Memories?" Ethan prompted, the meaning evading his grasp.

"Dead Memories. Memories that are asleep or dead. A child's training, experience, alternate life." The senator explained, taking a sip of the ice-water on the table next to him. "You have to realize Ethan, that if a child is doing their normal routine and they remember killing someone amidst it, not only would it jeopardize the operation going on, it would cause trauma that would destroy all the work that had been done on the child."

"So, Dead Memories. The experiences that you don't want to interfere with keeping the child's cover?" Ethan added questioningly.

"Correct, if the child doesn't remember anything, he or she won't blow their cover." The senator affirmed Detective Ethan's thought process.

"What about this '3rd' partition? What does it do and why is it so small?" Ethan asked wanting to continue on.

"The 3rd partition is the programming. The instructions that run, and respond to certain keywords. Kind of like writing a program for a computer. When certain event's happen, different actions are taken." The senator explained drawing on his little knowledge of the program, and someone else's explanation.

"Certain Keywords? Like passwords?" Ethan asked continuing with the computer comparison

"Yes, kind of like passwords. Black sun, Purple Lama, Words that would never normally be said to a person. And when the subject hears them, it triggers certain responses based upon their programming." John replied, finished with that.

"But how does that improve safety?" Ethan asked, still focused on the Senator's Safety.

"Oh, Yes I forgot. That programming I talked about has one other function. It looks for signs that the brainwashing is slipping. It then executes a mind wipe of the dead memories and triggers a 'kill' switch. A little device embedded in the brain that causes hemorrhaging, which would result in death. Doctor's would diagnose that as a stroke." The senator replied answering the safety question.

"The doctor said Will nearly died of a stroke!" Ethan exclaimed, surprised. "Does that mean all her dead memories are gone?"

"Yes, and no. Going back to our computer analogy, when the memories are deleted, erased, wiped, however you want to call it, they still exist in bit's and pieces. I'm sure that Will still has flashbacks of rogue memories." Jonathan said turning to look out the window on the other side of his bed. His gaze watched the blue sky and his voice never faltered as he continued, "Will Vandom is in a struggle to survive, just as I am. Black Magic's top student in project I.A. is still living with training to infiltrate, find, and kill target's. Even though she has lost her dead memories, the reflexes that were ingrained into her still exist. I guarantee that Black Magic will continue to haunt her until she or them are eliminated. The same for I, since I'm sure by now that they have found out I'm still alive."

"Black Magic knows you are still alive? But how? And how do you know?" Ethan asked surprised and now weary of his surroundings. The senator's survivability depended on keeping his recovery a secret. If people knew he was still alive, that chance to continue living greatly decreased.

"Very few secrets are kept from Black Magic. And if they don't know I'm still alive yet, they soon will. They have eyes everywhere, willing and unsuspecting ones. The fact that I'm still alive bears proof that the ruse has worked for now, but that will change in the future." Jonathan said finally returning his gaze to Ethan. "Trust few people Ethan, especially the children. Countless numbers have been turned to Black Magic's cause."

"So what am I to do? If you are in danger I should probably add more security or something… And you said something about a professional?" Ethan said finishing lamely as he recounted the power that he was told that Black Magic held. It seemed as if Black Magic held all the cards and would win.

"Yes, before we had innocent children to do our killing, we had a professional hitman do it. His line of work is flawless, until now. From what I've heard about Ms. Vandom, it was surely him who did that to her. It's his signature style. Ms. Vandom is lucky she survived the attack." The senator answered, holding up a hand to forestall any other questions the Detective might have.

"For now you have to secure evidence against Black Magic. It can be found in my home office. Records, paper trails. It's all there. It should be enough to open an investigation on some of the various 12 of Black magic." Jonathan said to Ethan, holding him in his gaze. "Then you must get that evidence to the public. Black Magic must be brought to justice for their deeds."

"Alright, I'll do that. Will you be fine here?" Ethan asked as he stood up, preparing to leave to collect the evidence required to prove that Jonathan wasn't crazy, and save the world from apparently a powerful organization.

"My safety is irrelevant. What has been provided is enough for now. Black Magic may be able to pull off assassinations without it falling on them, but they like to work from the dark. I'm in the limelight, not such an ideal place to kill someone. But you on the other hand must be careful. Just as they have found out that I'm alive, I'm positive that they will find out that you know of their secret." The senator replied gesturing for Ethan to leave. "Leave while time is on our side."

Ethan only nodded as he left the room. The guard who had left earlier disappeared inside to continue his job watching the senator, and keeping him company. There were still many questions burning in his head, but his drive for evidence and proof override the need to know more. He left the hospital and got in his car to drive off to the Senator's Residence. He was so preoccupied with what had occurred just then, or he would of noticed the beat down car that followed him.

Ω

The moon was suspended above the town, its pale visage keeping eternal watch as life continued on below taking for granted the beauty of the sight in the starlit sky. The streets were cast in a mellow glow from the yellow light of street lamps as they provided light to those few who wandered after dark. Dark shadows playfully darted here and there as trees swayed in the light breeze that cooled the night.

Few people took notice of the troop of 4 girls that briskly walked the streets in their warm attire, or of the parchment held in the hands of the one with pigtails. If they did notice, they shrugged it off as teenagers being teenagers and thought naught of it again.

"This way," Hay Lin said, her nose glued to the map as she made a right turn down a dark alley. "It's just up ahead."

"Are you sure Hay Lin? This alley is awfully dark and spooky," Cornelia asked, as the wind swirled leaves and bits of trash around them. Wisps of her blond hair tried to follow the leaves as they made their journey to some unknown destination.

The Asian girl nodded affirmatively as Irma made a sarcastic response, "Is Corny afraid of the dark and the big bad boogey man?"

"For your information my name is Cornelia and no, I am not afraid of the dark." Cornelia replied, taking a tentative step towards the dark alley. She wasn't afraid of the dark per say, but afraid of what might be in the dark. She also didn't want to give Irma the satisfaction of being right. Taranee saw her dilemma and looked around. Finding a small branch that was laid against the white washed wall of an old garage, Taranee summoned heat into her palm and was able to light it on fire with some effort.

"There, we now have light to see by, though why we forgot to bring a flashlight with us is beyond me," Taranee said walking into the alley a few feet, then looked back to see if the others were following her.

"Hmph, 'cause no one told me to," Was Irma's remark as she began to follow Taranee into the alley. "Coming Corny?"

"Yes!" Cornelia said affirmatively trailing after Irma and Taranee. Hay Lin herself looked up and down the intersecting street before following them into the alley.

"We just need to keep going this way and it should be right here," Hay Lin offered as the four huddled around the meager light that the makeshift torch provided. Hay Lin was proven right as a soft bluish glow issued from ahead. The light grew brighter and brighter making the torch that Taranee carried obsolete.

"Well, here it is," Was all Taranee could think of saying. They were about to go through a portal that they all had done countless times before, but this time was different. They didn't have Will with them, who was still hospitalized from whatever had happened to her. Coming back to the present, Taranee dropped the branch and stamped out the fire that had helped them make their way to the portal.

"See you on the other side!" Hay Lin yelled bounding through the portal disappearing into the world beyond, Meridian. The rest followed suit and emerged into a sunlit day with rays of light filtering through the fauna. Hay Lin was already striping all her clothes that had kept her warm on earth off. Here it was nice and warm, much too warm for the sweaters and coats that they had all worn to keep off the nights chill.

"So hear we are. I guess we should find Caleb now to help with the move." Irma said scratching her head. Since the rebel's were constantly moving, this could be a chore. But before they could even start they heard rustling in the leaves around them. "And I wish we'd brought Will with us!"

Blunk burst out from the bushes next to them giving the girls a little fright. "Blunk found portal! Blunk found girls!" And from behind him Caleb appeared dressed in his usual rebel garb and carrying a pack.

"Good Job Blunk! I'm glad we found you! Phobos has increased patrols since he is still unsuccessful in trying to find us." Caleb said in greeting the girls.

"Caleb! It is so good to see you!" Cornelia exclaimed ecstatically, while the other girls nodded their heads in affirmation.

"We were just about to start looking for you and the rebels when Blunk startled us," Taranee offered as Caleb nodded. But then he noticed a few out of place details.

"Why aren't you in your guardian forms? And where is Will?" Caleb asked curiously. He hoped that Will wasn't hurt to badly from their last encounter when she had first attacked him, the collapsed.

"She ended up in the hospital because she had a stroke." Hay Lin piped up for the group. "So we decided to come without her."

"What's a stroke? Is it related to what happened when you were last here?" Caleb asked curiously.

"It's where there is bleeding in the brain," Taranee answered, her thoughts shifting to that night. "It might be related, but we don't know for sure."

"Alright, we'll just have to be extra careful since you aren't in your Guardian forms," Was Caleb's reply as he gestured for them to follow him. "Let's head to the camp to get started.

They all wandered through the variety of plant life farther and farther away from the portal until the sounds of a camp could be heard. The sound was quite, solemn, and tense all at the same time. It was the sound of people with a black cloud of depression hanging over their heads from the constant danger.

They broke through a row of bushes to find a clearing with tents, people, animals, and subdued children. People came out of their tents to see the new comers and Caleb. Seeing that it was the Guardians a small crowed of people approached Caleb and the girls as they moved towards the center of the clearing where the command tent was.

"Okay, over here everyone," Caleb said to the group gathered about him. He moved to a table that everyone then gathered around. On it was detailed maps and a path marked out in red. Pointing at the red line marked on the map he continued. "This is the trail to the Infinite City. Here, Here, and here are where patrols have been sighted along this path."

Looking to where he pointed, they all could see little blue X's placed along the red line that marked the trail. He then continued, "We will need scouts to make sure that there are no troops near the column as we pass by. If we are seen we will have to incapacitate the guards."

Hay Lin piped up dying to ask a question that she was sure on some of the Guardian's minds. "Why not just choose another area to go to travel to the Infinite City and avoid the guards all together?"

Caleb nodded at her question acknowledging that it was a good one. "The reason why we don't go a different way is because every other route to the infinite city has many more patrols then this route, and also there are obstacles that the wagons can not easily get around."

Before anyone else could ask another question though there was a commotion from one side of a camp as a man ran towards the command tents. Guards appeared around Caleb and the group at the table to protect them just incase this was an attack. But it turned out only to be a messenger from the city around the castle.

"Caleb! I have grave news!" The man yelled, quite out of breath from all his breathing.

"Easy friend, take a seat and have some water." Caleb replied offering the man a cup of water someone had poured from a water skin. The man gulped the water plainly thirsty from his quick paced journey. "Now what is this grave news?"

"The coronation of Elyon will be taking place tomorrow! Phobos has stepped up his plans and the princess is in grave dangerous!" The man shouted nearly choking on the water he was drinking. Cornelia was the first to respond.

"What?! Tomorrow? We need to go help Elyon now!" Was her fevered response to what she had heard.

"I agree! We need to help her now!" Hay Lin agreed nodding her head in agreement with Cornelia.

"But girls, you don't have your guardian forms!" Was Caleb's response to them. "The guards will tear you to pieces because you haven't had any training with sword and shield!"

"But Elyon needs our help! We don't want her to die!" Was Irma's response to Caleb.

"But you won't be able to give her any help if you are all dead!" Caleb snapped. "It's a lose/lose situation if you don't go back to Earth and get Will. Otherwise the fate of meridian will be sealed for all time."

The girls looked at each other and recognized the futility of trying to help Elyon without their Guardian forms. They had been completely defenseless when Blunk had burst through the brush. If he had instead been a guard, they probably would have been killed or captured.

"Alright, we'll go back to Earth and get Will. Then we will come back to save Elyon!" Cornelia stated as the four of them collectively moved back towards the direction whence they had come.

"Take Blunk with you, he will help you find the portal. I will stay here and arrange for a plan to get into the castle for when you return." Caleb said as Blunk rambled forward.

"Blunk find portal! Blunk help girls save Elyon!" Blunk shouted happily as he took up the lead. Looking at themselves before looking back at Blunk, the girls followed him into the plant life that was unique to meridian in every way.

"Take Care!" Cornelia shouted back at Caleb as she disappeared into leaves. Caleb only nodded as he set together a plan to move the rebellion in closer to the castle, and to prepare for the fight that was surely to come.

A/N: Exciting, Isn't it? Lol so maybe not. Just an FYI, I'm going off the events leading up to the coronation, and all that nice fancy stuff that happened before leading up the coronation happened. I just didn't want to re-write it in here. And I may have modified events on how they actually learn when the coronation is going to take place. I needed it to fit in my story lol. Well review if you will. I'm pretty sure I chopped this one up really bad.