[A/N]: so, after finally getting the time (and the mood) to write, I managed to finish another chapter of this story. Probably should write another chapter for Jin too. . Anyways, in this chapter, N is finaly going to assemble the guardians. Or, well, one of them. Enjoy! [A/N]

The next day, N walked to his chamber, to check upon Taranee. N opened the door with his staff, verifying it was him with his voice. The door opened and he saw Taranee, asleep in the chair. Multiple books were on the desk in front of her, opened and well. N shook his head. He walked over and tapped his staff against the back of the chair, right where her head was. The shock was lightened so it didn't hurt, but it let her awaken.

"Huh…what?" Taranee said, immediately summoning a bunch of fire in her hand.

"Morning, sunshine." N said.

Taranee recognized the voice and smiled. "N! Oh, I'm so glad you're here. Did they do anything to you?"

"Calm down, Taranee. I'm fine, thanks for asking. But how have you been here, have you used my chamber to study fire?"

Taranee nodded. "I have been using your chamber well. I have studied all of these books. I didn't know you had so many books of the elements. It even had a book of an element I had never heard of before, Quintessence."

"Yes, I see." N said, nodding at the books. "I see you used the bookcases well. But I said you could use the chamber. Did you actually look through the chamber? Experiment? Or have you been caught up in the books again?"

Taranee opened her mouth to give an answer, but then closed it again.

"I thought so." N said.

He walked around, looking at the stuff in the chamber.

"You used the bookcases well. You studied a lot of books with a fire theme. Though you did not experiment, presumably because you are afraid to damage the chamber. Also, you were so caught up in the books that you failed to see the hidden defensive chamber."

Taranee remained silent. She rose an eyebrow. "I think you're not feeling too well, N. I've examined the room once before with every spell possible and even took the effort to try and find one, but there's no defensive chamber."

N smiled, walked to a wall, became horizontal with it, took a step and disappeared. Taranee was dumbstruck. "Wait, what?"

N took a step backwards and became visible again. "Sometimes the most hidden of things is in plain sight."

N waved for Taranee to come over and when she did, she was placed horizontally with the wall. And then she noticed the small crack in the wall. She wanted to lay her hand against it, but her hand went through it. "An illusion? But, when I checked for a hidden…"

"Illusions can be made to be found very hard. I'm an archmage, so I put a very powerful spell on it." N said, before he disappeared in the illusion. Taranee walked after him and found a dark room, lit by a candle. N murmured something and lightning shot from his fingertips to the remaining candles, lightening them. He walked over to a table with something on it, hidden away by a cover. N removed the cover and revealed a crystal ball. Taranee gasped as she came closer. N placed a hand on top of the ball, closed his eyes and started chanting.

…

Phobos walked down the stairs into the dungeon that held his sister. He walked towards her and saw her sitting in the corner, half in the shadow, half in the light.

"Phobos…" She whispered.

"Elyon…I'm sorry." He started. "I have tried reasoning with our great grandfather, but, he won't listen. It won't stop me from trying though. I won't give up until I've freed you!"

Elyon weakly smiled. "Thank you…it means a lot to me that, even when I'm all alone here, I have at least somebody to count on."

Phobos returned the smile. "That's what big brothers are for, right?"

"Right." Elyon said.

Phobos noticed the jewel around Elyon's neck. "What's that?"

Elyon rose an eyebrow. Phobos pointed at the necklace. "Oh, I got that from a recent prisoner. He said it was a family heirloom of his. I thought it was nice, so he gave it to me."

"And did he do anything…funny…with it?" Phobos asked.

Elyon looked at him. This was her brother. The one who had been trying to get her out of this prison for a long time. Her only connection with the world above. And yet, she doubted if he could ever free her, and she placed more trust in that nice archmage, Nicholas. She then shook her head.

"Then you won't mind if I…test that?" Phobos asked, almost sweetly.

Elyon feared, but hid it. She shrugged. Phobos rose a hand and his eyes glowed blue. "Revalio."

Nothing happened.

"Reveal your secrets." Still nothing happened.

Phobos then started chanting for a while and when he then looked at the jewel, nothing had happened. He seemed satisfied. He did, however, start chanting again, and after looking at his sister and the jewel, he was completely calm.

"It seems like it is indeed just a regular necklace and jewel."

"Why would that have mattered?" Elyon asked.

"Perhaps it is somebody trying to hurt our great grandfather through you. I didn't trust it and wanted to make sure. But it seems nothing is wrong with it. Then he truly was a nice person to give you that."

Without saying another word, Phobos turned around and walked up the stairs. His shadow became increasingly larger and eventually overshadowed the part of Elyon that was in the light. The door closed. Phobos nodded at Cedric, who was waiting outside.

"The spell is still intact. I am still draining her. But still, I don't trust that archmage…"

"Did you find anything on the jewel?" Cedric asked.

"No, I did not."

"Then it must be alright, my lord." Cedric said. "If not even you could find a spell, then there couldn't be one, right?"

Phobos' eyes narrowed while he thought. He then got a smile on his face. "Yes, Cedric. Indeed, you are quite right. It is totally safe. But still, I want that archmage out of here…"

…

N took his hand off the crystal ball. "Well then, I might leave sooner than you think, prince…"

Taranee rose an eyebrow. "Wha…"

"No time to explain." N quickly said. "Go to Caleb. He'll either be at his house or in the throne room with Escanor."

"What are you going to do?" Taranee asked.

"Gather the rest of the Guardians." N quickly said as he left the room.

"The Guardians?" Taranee wondered. "What are they? Wait, did he just say gather the rest? I wonder who he means…"

N walked towards the exit of the castle. He knew where each of them were located as he had searched them all a long time ago. He then had to decide if he would take them with him and train them under his tutelage in the castle, or leave them with their parents. As it became clear very soon, the first option was impossible for a number of reasons. And since he wasn't so great with power…he decided not to risk it. He played safe. But when the young Taranee came to him and wanted to become his apprentice, he tested her for her potential. She was extremely potent and eager to learn. And as an added bonus, she was a Guardian. He had one under his tutelage and would teach her everything he knew. He had one of the five, and now, he was about to gather the rest. Which would mean facing his past again…

He was now standing in front of a small house. He dreaded the next moment, but he had to go through with it. She had always been a little…resisting. He knocked on the door.

"Coming!"

N waited for a few seconds and when the door opened, he looked at the face of the old air guardian, Yan-Lin. Yan-Lin immediately got big eyes and slammed the door in his face.

"As expected." N said, slightly sad.

"Who was there grandma?" a voice asked.

"NOBODY, ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!" Yan-Lin screamed.

"You don't have to scream, grandma." The voice said.

N could imagine how the girl was putting her fingers in her ears to block some sound.

"Yan-Lin, you know why I am here. You can't deny Hay-Lin's destiny. Now open the door."

"He seems to know your name, grandma." Hay-Lin said.

"Many people know my name dear, but I definitely don't know who that is." Yan-Lin said, still refusing to open the door.

"Yannie. I'll be clear with you." N said, as he heard Hay-Lin chuckle about her grandma's nickname. "If you don't open this door, I'll blow it open. Hay-Lin's destiny lies with me. Now open this door in three seconds."

He heard Hay-Lin scream. "Grandma, he's trying to take me away from you!"

"Like HELL he will!" Yan-Lin screamed. "Stay behind me, Hay-Lin."

"I probably shouldn't have said that Hay-Lin was coming with me…" N mused.

Since the door didn't open, N used some magic to pull the door out. He stepped inside the house and was immediately assaulted by a strong gust of wind. He quickly summoned a shield and the wind rapidly declined. He saw Yan-Lin panting and Hay-Lin looking worried.

"I am not here to hurt any of you." N said, trying to calm Hay-Lin, while he lowered his shield as a sign of peace. "Yan-Lin. I know you don't trust me…"

"For good reason." Yan-Lin said.

N silently admitted that, and was about to continue when Hay-Lin stepped in.

"Why don't you trust him, grandma?"

"He became corrupted by power and brainwashed us all into following him in his attempts to claim more power. We were eventually freed and he was locked away." Yan-Lin said.

"And I am freed. I have been given a second chance, Yan-Lin. Himerisch has given me one, Cassidy has given me one…" N said.

"Cassidy loves you and Himerisch is a sucker for true and impossible love. No, Nicholas, you deserved to rot in that cell forever. You made us lose two of our friends and I dreaded the day you would ever break free, expecting calamities to strike the lands once more."

"Do you not think I regret what I have done. Do you not think I miss them too!" N said, enraged and sad. "When I was in that cell, all alone, I raged, I cursed, I tried blasting it open! I would have given anything to have been freed out of that cage! Luckily I wasn't locked in a tomb inside that as well, for then my rage would have never settled down! Instead of craving for revenge, I started thinking more rationally and saw everything that I had done, and everything that I had lost! Kadma, Halinor…You have NO idea what they meant to me!"

Both the Lin's were silent after that little outburst.

"Cassidy…" Yan-Lin started, "How is she now? Is she happy?"

N looked at Yan-Lin. N nodded. "She's fine. She's at her house, probably catering our son."

"You have a son?" Yan-Lin asked.

"Yes…" N whispered. "She asked me one day to have one for a higher purpose. We're still aiming for that, but…we both came to love him…truly love him…"

Yan-Lin and N stared at each other for a little while.

"Cassidy has given you a second chance and you apparently took it really well, N. For now. But who knows if you'll fall back in your old habits." Yan-Lin said, still a little suspicious.

"I am not planning on keeping them with me or training them. One has come to me out of her own free will and I've trained her to make sure she's capable of training them. And…I'm going to abdicate my position." N responded.

"Abdicate? You mean your position as archmage, right?" Yan-Lin asked.

N shook his head. "My position as Keeper."

Yan-Lin's eyes shot open. She only now noticed the Heart was the jewel in his staff.

"Himerisch remade you Keeper?" she hissed. "He's crazy."

"I was given a special task and he's able to take it from me the moment I go down that dark path again. I vowed to never do that again. Memories are making me keep that promise…" N said, reminding himself of his encounter with Elyon.

Yan-Lin was silent and then sighed. "Hay-Lin…I think you should go with this man. No, not with this man. With my friend."

Hay-Lin's mouth fell open.

"Oh hell no! I am so not going with this 'friend' of yours! I just heard he's hurt you and some other of your friends, apparently killed two of them and just because he's making some 'Oh, I am redeemed now, trust me, I'm good!' argument, I should go with him? Like hell!"

Yan-Lin sighed. "I, too, am not very pleased with the decision I have made. I, indeed, feel not very convinced by anything he has said. Especially not the redemption thing. You know, old habits die hard."

"Oh," N said, in a dark tone, "A Shagon quote. How very amusing."

"I thought that we, when we're revisiting old memories anyways, could also call on some old adversaries, can we not?" Yan-Lin asked, darkly, with a glare to N.

"Not when I made them." N replied.

"See!" Hay-Lin squeeked, "Now you're even saying he, HE, made your enemies! He made people to fight you! And you still think I should go with him?"

"Yes." Yan-Lin said, calmly.

Hay-Lin sputtered. "You make no sense, grandma! You hate this man, but want your granddaughter to go along with him anyways? For what reason? What could possibly be important enough to let me go with this man?"

Yan-Lin thought of that. Why exactly did Nicholas think of assembling the Guardians right now?

"Actually, that's a very good question. Why exactly do you need the Guardians?"

"The what now?" Hay-Lin asked.

N gave Yan-Lin a sharp look. She tilted her head slightly.

"I told you I had a son for a purpose. The Guardians are there to help us reach that goal Cassidy and I had in mind."

"Which might be?" Yan-Lin asked.

'Marcus Escanor.' N said through telepathy.

Yan-Lin looked shocked. 'This link is still intact? After all those years? And you're targeting the Grand General?'

'I have my reasons. Let's say living for 150 years is suspicious. Also, he's probably the worst and most egocentric ruler ever. Don't say you're not glad to see him be dispersed of.'

Yan-Lin nodded at him.

"Okay, back now. What are these 'Guardians'?" Hay-Lin asked.

"The Guardians are a group of five, each chosen to wield a certain element and protect the dimensions. They are united by the Heart of Kandrakar, chosen to be held by a Keeper. Which was me, until recently." N explained.

"You may have noticed, Hay-Lin. The magic of air flows through your veins. It's why the house is turned upside down when you sneeze." Yan-Lin said.

Hay-Lin thought of this, and only now did she see the links in her life. She remembered a lot of small incidents, which could easily be explained by air currents. She decided to test it anyways, and tried shooting a little stream at aflower. The flower went along with the gentle wind, but then snapped in half when the stream became stronger.

"See, Hay-Lin, it is your destiny to become the Guardian of Air, one of the five mythical Guardians of the Dimensions." Yan-Lin said. "I have held that position before. I already suspected that Himerish, the Oracle and head of the Guardians, would choose you when you were barely born."

Yan-Lin smiled. "I thought it to be your destiny at the time. And now here…is Nicholas. Not really who I was hoping to see, but, he's still here with the news I thought about all those years ago. And even though I don't trust him…

"Sheesh, thanks, Yannie. Thanks for the confidence and giving me a second chance." N interrupted.

"…He's still here with the message I thought you would get once. It's part of your destiny. It'll be a hard journey…but you'll never feel so alive and never have so much fun."

Yan-Lin sighed and had a smile on her face as she remembered earlier times.

"You wouldn't want to miss out on that. And while I still don't really trust Nicholas…"

"Come on! No second chance at all?"

"…But I trust Himerish's judgement. Even if he's often wrong, makes stupid decisions and is sometimes utterly useless." Yan-Lin said.

"It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" N asked, getting a nod and a small smile from Yan-Lin.

Hay-Lin looked at the two old friends. "Should I go?"

Yan-Lin looked at her. "It is of course your choice. But you should go. It's a chance you'd never want to miss."

Hay-Lin looked at her grandmother. "I'll miss you…"

"And I'll miss you, dear." Yan-Lin responded, hugging her granddaughter.

N thought of Caleb and smiled. He himself would not have the time to say goodbye to Caleb, before he would go North into the desert.

Hay-Lin and Yan-Lin looked at each other for a while and N started to get impatient.

"Are you done yet?"

Yan-Lin gave him a destructive glare, while Hay-Lin nodded. "I think I'd like an adventure. Better than just sit indoor all day."

"Hey, I thought you liked helping me make paintings!" Yan-Lin said, crossing her arms and smiling at her granddaughter.

"I do!" Hay-Lin immediately said, showing her hands in defense, "It's just that this is an opportunity I shouldn't miss."

"I know." Yan-Lin said, while Hay-Lin relaxed. "Now go and kick some butt for me."

Hay-Lin looked at N. "Do I need something?"

"Anything of importance you should take along. Clothes, toothbrush…teddy bear…" N responded.

"How do you know I still sleep with a teddy bear?" Hay-Lin asked.

"Because you just told me so." N responded.

Hay-Lin looked annoyed at the fact she walked right into that one and went away to get her important stuff.

"Also, an old comrade of mine was the exact same…" N continued, with a playful smile on his lips as he looked at Yan-Lin, who looked at him in an annoyed fashion.

Hay-Lin returned with a backpack and walked over to N.

"You got everything?" N asked, getting a nod. "Are you sure? I don't want to have to turn around while we're halfway."

Hay-Lin rose her hand. "I solemnly swear I have everything I need."

"Very well then." N said.

"Hay-Lin, dear, can you wait outside? I have to say something to Nicholas." Yan-Lin said.

His full name alarmed N. Hay-Lin nodded and went outside.

"Nicholas…" Yan-Lin said. "If anything, ANYTHING, happens to my granddaughter because of you using her for a scheme or whatever…if you dare do what you did to me…then I solemnly swear I have everything I need too. To kill you, that is."

Yan-Lin came closer and looked N in the eyes. "Am I clear?"

N sighed. "I cannot ensure her protection in battle. I will be leaving her with my son and my apprentice. But I am sure that they will try to protect her to their best ability."

Yan-Lin seemed confused. "You're not going with them? But I thought…?"

"There are more Guardians than just my apprentice and your granddaughter, like you should know, Yannie." N said.

"Yes, but I thought…"

"One is so far off that I have to make an enormous detour to get there. I am not going to take them with me that far. I am sure they can take care of themselves when I leave them behind. But don't worry, the Guardians of Water and Earth will join them as they are on their way. I hope…that Earth Guardian might not want to leave her house so easily. I'm pretty sure I only have to say 'I can get you out of here' to the Water Guardian and she'll be like 'Ok, let's go. Thank goodness.'" N said, with a smile.

"Who are the Earth and Water Guardian then?" Yan-Lin asked.

N whispered it in her ear.

"Oh, yeah, I can see where you're coming from. What was Himerish thinking when he chose the Earth Guardian?" Yan-Lin said, with an annoyed sigh. "Although I would love to be there. I like to see you get annoyed by her."

"Thanks, Yannie, always the brightest star in the sky." N said.

The two stood there and looked at each other in silence after that. Both hoped the other would say something, but it was N who did so.

"Yan-Lin…I'm truly sorry…for what I did to you. I have never been so mad at myself as I am now. I have broken your trust and you have the right to be mad at me. Especially for what happened to Kadma and Halinor. I am truly sorry and I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me. And if you cannot, then I will understand that too."

Yan-Lin looked at him, showing no emotion at all. "We will see."

It was all she said, and then she walked away. N didn't see her again and, frankly, he didn't want to wait for her to come back. With every look N did in her direction, he felt regret, self-blame and anger. Not to her, but to himself. He had this with Cassidy too. He remembered every second of her defiance of him, how he manipulated her and…He had once agreed to not have any secrets with Cassidy, but this was once he had to keep. Every second he looked at her, he felt joy, warmth and thankful for the second chance she gave him. But he also felt the pain of his mistakes. He regretted every moment of that time in his life and if he could do it again, with the knowledge he had now, he would have told Himerish what he felt when he was with the Heart. He looked at the Heart of Kandrakar in his staff and its calm pinkish glow calmed him. He would have to give it to someone else soon. It would be his ultimate test. Would he be able to let go of his powers? Would he keep the Heart and go power mad again? He…wasn't sure. Only time would tell.

N was pulled out of his train of thoughts by a knock on the window. It was Hay-Lin, who was becoming impatient. N smiled at her, opened the door, went outside and closed the door.

Yan-Lin appeared from the kitchen. "So you really do feel regret, N. I had to read your thoughts and feelings to know the truth, but finally, I can say, that I forgive you…best of luck Hay-Lin…"

[A/N] One down, four to go. And again, it seems like Nicholas' past is dark. Will we find out what happened? Only time will tell. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And don't worry, another chapter of Jin's story is in the making. I'm 1/3rd already while I'm writing this. I hope getting it out in the next two weeks, but don't quote me on that: it might take longer due to school. Anyways, have a nice day and until next time. [A/N]