Sorry it took so long to update, I've been so busy and my laptop got broken so I'm uploading this from my iPod. Just to apologise, I will be uploading this chapter. It's kinda short but I hope you like it. I tried giving it a good twist, not sure if t worked or not...but I have realised I left out Blunk...like a lot so he's making a reappearance soon with some interesting news...So..here it is...

Yan Lin busied herself in the basement, cleaning it up. It bothered her how messy the Guardians' base of operations was. Her son had just left to drop Hay Lin off at school a while ago so she was left to her peace. Times like this, Yan Lin often pondered her words of wisdom. We're they ever truly right? Had she really learned so much from being a Guardian that she could give such advice to the new generation?...Of course she had learned a lot but would that ever be enough? 'It will have to be,'she thought to herself as she fixed the wooden cot that had served as Caleb's bed. Everything she knew would have to be more than enough for the Guardians. Or at the very least, everything she knew would have to be enough to sate their hunger until the Keeper was ready.

***Flashback***

Hay Lin walked inside, her shoes squishing with the heavy water in them. It started raining again and she was sure it was Irma. "What is wrong, child?" The girl jumped as the kitchen light turned on, revealing Yan Lin in her flower printed dressing gown and curlers. Hay Lin breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh Grandma, it's just you!" "Well, I've always thought I was quite a pleasure to see...But if you really don't need little old me..." The old woman turned to leave, attempting to hide the wild and teasing grin on her face when Hay Lin called out,"No wait!" The elder woman spun around to face her, concerned by the desperate tone to her voice. Her eyes, ever questioning, drew the answer from her immediately. "It's really bad," she muttered before pouring herself into an explanation, refusing to exclude any details. She told Yan Lin about Cedric, about their fight, about Will's breakdown and Irma's freakout: she told her everything.

The Asian girl expected her Grandmother to be shocked, but she was anything but. "It is my mistake." "What is?" "I should've warned your friend. There was a reason the Heart chose the Water Guardian to protect it. While she has clarity, it runs out eventually and the nature of her element will seize her." The girl cocked her head to he side, confused. "I don't understand." "Look outside, Hay Lin, tell me what you see."

"Rain."

"Rain is water in a new form. It is the harshness of rain that you saw in your friend. It is a reason she was chosen." "And another reason?" "What is rain loyal to, child?" "Gravity?" Yan Lin chuckled but shook her head. "Rain is loyal to the lands of thunder and lightning. The planes of a Keeper's power." Yan Lin nodded her head slowly. "...So Irma will be loyal to the Keeper?" Her Grandmother nodded, proudly almost. The girl saw what truth there was to be seen. "I get that...But why did Irma 'seek council' with you?" Yan Lin paused, wondering how to answer such a question. Sure, she and Halinor were prepared for any question the girls may ask, but such answers often fled, afraid of being uttered from liars' mouths. "Water is a river. It searches and searches for a path to the sea but it encounters many things that prevent it from finding such a path. Irma is a river and the Keeper: her sea. As Irma searches, she encounters enemies, problems, questions. All of which need to be dealt with or a river may overflow and break their banks..I merely helped deal with a small portion of such issues, to reduce her stress. It is part of my duty to you girls: to keep you sane."

Yan Lin opened her arms, allowing her granddaughter to step into a well needed hug. A large yawn left her mouth as she blinked her tired eyes. "When will Irma be back to normal?" She whimpered, replaying the fight in her head. "My little Hay Lin," she spoke gravely, "I fear, without your Keeper, you shall see her this way far more."

****Rebel Fire****

Luba, a cat-like council member, approached the Oracle with shaking hands. The aurameers, the source of the Guardians' powers, were acting up. Something they had not done since the Guardians were first created. "Yes Luba?" The Oracle enquired. He sat before his viewing pool, eyes unwavering as they watched Halinor explaining to Raythor about Candrakar. He didn't care to watch , but he had seen the great ability of Will's sensing and couldn't risk checking in on her now. "The aurameers, sir, they are changing." "Is that not what they are supposed to do, Luba? Change and balance?" "Not in this way. They are dimming, sir. Falling into the deepest negativity." "What do you mean, Luba?" The woman frowned, glaring stiffly at him as if she knew a great and terrible secret. "It has not happened now, but it will soon." It. But what was it? What did it have to do with the aurameers?

"The aurameers will side with the heaven's child, Oracle. They will join together to spare her from her fate." The man nodded, feeling what little control remained slip, as he smiled. Emotions were not to be shown when one was the Oracle. "I hope that she may be spared. A daughter of Candrakar is rare and one is not to be a sacrifice." "I agree. But I must ask...if you truly believe that is so, why did you decide to make her one?"

****Rebel Fire****

The school hall was packed, filled to the brim with students, practically overflowing. At the front of the hall, in front of a large podium on stage stood principal Knickerbocker and several members of faculty. The Guardians sat clumped together, Hay Lin, Taranee and Caleb sitting in between Cornelian and Irma. The two still hadn't gotten over certain events, although they weren't alone. Will, who sat three rows behind them, also hadn't forgotten the events of the portal caper. But she refused to. She wanted to remember it with hatred, with sadness, with whatever emotion available, as long as she could feel. She'd been having some difficulty with her feelings. She was hurt again on her birthday, not that it was an unusual occurrence, but it was a different type of pain. It burned deep in her stomach, it pulled at her heart strings and cut deeply into her lungs, making it hard to breathe. She wanted it to end, to turn it off. She wanted to feel numb, deathly cold. But she couldn't.

Jacked up on caffeine and sugar, her body twitched as her eyes struggled to stay open. Coffee and sweets were horrible ways of staying awake. They just lulled her mind to sleep, urging her body to follow. But she couldn't fall asleep in the middle of the assembly, Halinor would scold her and senior students would prank her. And there was no way in hell she was getting pranked again. "Good morning everyone! May I say, it is an absolute pleasure to be here, it really is. My name is Mr Collins and I'll be the new history teacher." Urgh! This guy...Snapping her fingers in front of her face, she encouraged herself to stay awake. Come on Will, she chanted, awake, stay awake, jut stay awake.

Taranee daintily fiddled with the hem of her shirt as Irma glared at Cornelia. Caleb, who seemed oblivious to all kinds of tension, was muttering angrily to himself about Will ignoring him. She'd apparently left for school without him and hadn't spoken to him since the fight with Cedric. Taranee personally couldn't blame her. The douche was leading her on when he clearly liked Cornelia. Like seriously, who wouldn't ignore him after that? Hay Lin sat beside her and Cornelia, happily drinking a juice box as she swung her legs back and forth, listening to the new teacher's speech. He seemed overly enthusiastic about joining the school but he obviously loved his job and Hay Lin didn't see the problem. She was more enthusiastic than Gandhi and as long as Mr Collins didn't try to compete with that, he'd be fine. "-and I'm pleased to announce, Community Service day will be a month early! I was surprised to hear that people of your age group would rush into school so they could sign up, but I'm glad to hear it-" Taranee slapped her friend's back to attmept to stop her choking on the straw of her juice box while the others remained frozen in shock with the rest of the school community, all except Caleb who merely glanced at them curiously. He was lucky he hadn't experienced it before, even if he didn't know how lucky he was. "What's community service day?" "A new and improved torture device." He seemed interested then, cocking an eyebrow while Taranee merely stared at him. How could he be so interested in helping a rebellion he wasn't invested in? If the last few days they'd spent together as a group with the 'rebel leader' proved anything, it was that he didn't care about the rebellion, he only fought in it for his father who had done the same before him. "From where?" he enquired suspiciously. The quartet shared a look, Cornelia grimacing as Irma answered, "The darkest catacombs of hell."

"So what's the deal with community service day? Why is everyone reacting so badly?" Irma turned to the red head with a comforting smile. She knew Will was still upset, no matter how much she tried to hide it. "Here's the dealio. Tomorrow morning, there'll be a sign up sheet on that board," she gestured to the green pinboard on the wall with a dismissive hand as Will frowned. "Four hundred jobs for four hundred kids. You have to be here early!" "Why?" "Because the last kids to sign up get the worst jobs," Taranee interjected as the other girls...and Caleb...approached with solemn expressions that radiated agreement. "Last year," Cornelia whined, "I was a monkey bar scraper at the zoo. Those chimps thought my hair was a banana!" "You think that's bad? I was a sewer ladder painted! Sewer. Ladder. Painter! The place smells worse than passling!" She was going to start a fight. Taranee could see the rise Irma was getting from Cornelia as the blonde ground her teeth together, clenching her fists. She was no doubt frustrated and upset. The fact that the duo fought like cats and dogs meant nothing. Taranee knew, deep down, the two girls were sisters and it hurt Cornelia that her sister was siding with someone the blonde considered a stranger and an enemy. "Guys!" Will soothed, "Just calm down, you're friends, don't fight!" Cornelia glared at her, silently communicating with her eyes. 'You're the reason we're fighting.'

****Rebel Fire****

The Oracle frowned, following Cornelia's thoughts. "I fear, Yan Lin, that she will never truly accept the Keeper." The Oracle and former Guardian were sitting before the viewing pool, just watching and waiting, talking about the future that was to come. Yan Lin, worried about the Guardians and her granddaughter, had seeked out the Oracle, but instead found herself answering some of the wise man's doubts. She had the most insight to the group of heroines and the Oracle welcomed her opinion and worries with open arms, though he had no intention of revealing the full tragedy of future events to calm her. "What has Phobos planned for them, Oracle?" "The leaders are in danger, Yan Lin," he muttered, glancing at her with the ghost of a smile as she nodded, eyes on the viewing pool, "you know so very well. Phobos' desperation to find his sister and bring her back to his side reflects in such actions as those of the research mission he launched." Yan Lin nodded her head again. She had heard the whole story from Hay lin. It was another reason she was worried. Phobos had chosen his sister's birthday, the most miserable day of her year, to steal the files about the lost princess. It meant he was intentionally trying to hurt Will, something that had never been heard of before. "He wishes to harm her?" "He wishes to weaken her, make her want an ally, a family, a brother. She always leaned on him in her weakest moments after Diana died, she will lean on him again." The ex-Guardian frowned. According to the Oracle, Will would betray her friends, but the old woman knew he was wrong. These were Will's first friends after Diana. They were real friends, they loved Will as their sister, even Cornelia would eventually, and there wasn't a chance in hell that Will would betray them. "Oracle," she grimaced, "It appears your gifts are failing you." The bald man cocked an eyebrow as Yan Lin altered the viewing pool, moving it back to Will's birthday. The image froze as the Water Guardian drew Will into a hug and the Oracle looked to Yan Lin in childish wonder. "You are wrong, my friend. In a moment of weakness, Will shall lean on her sisters."

****Rebel Fire****

Elyon watched the group of her friends as they huddled around a tree in the yard, talking. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. The young blonde could tell that there were two people bitching at each other in the huddle. Probably Irma and Cornelia. Ever since September 17th, two days ago, Cornelia had been more annoyed than normal and unsurprisingly it was because of Irma. Apparently, they'd gotten into an argument, which was more one-sided yelling than it was an actual argument, over Cornelia winning the affections of a boy Irma's best friend Will liked. It seemed a bit harsh for Irma to yell at Cornelia over a boy, but then again, Elyon had only heard Cornelia's side of the story and sometimes her friend...exaggerated just a tad. "-Bitch! Get lost!" Elyon's eyes widened as her best friend screeched out those three words. Cornelia may be mean sometimes, even cruel, but she'd never heard her speak like that to someone -anyone. Her voice was-so full of hatred and it sent chilld down the girl's spine. "No fucking way, Cornelia! Will's my friend! She can stay if she wants to!" Irma shouted as Elyon jumped to her feet. It would be best if she prevented this argument getting any worse, they were already drawing the attention of those outside. "Irma, calm down. You guys don't need to fight. Cornelia didn't do anything wrong, neither of you did. Just stop yelling and make up!" "You're damn right I didn't do anything wrong, wimp! It's not my fault you started crying!" As Elyon got closer she cpuld see two more people; one a girl with short fire red hair and the other, a brunette boy who stood more to the side. It appeared the red haired girl was trying to diffuse the situation but Cornelia wasn't making it easy. Taranee slapped the taller girl in the arm, telling her to shut up and give over but Cornelia refused to take orders. This girl had stolen her best friend and now she expected Cornelia to hand over the leadership of the group too? No way.

Just as she opened her mouth, Elyon jumped over, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Hi, I'm Elyon. You must be Irma's friend Will." The girl nodded, looking at her with big brown eyes, cinnamon in colour that seemed to flash dark brown and then...purple...for a second. They were so...familiar...like she knew those eyes from somewhere. Elyon stared at her for a minute as the group went silent and she could've sworn she saw the same blue of her eyes in this girl's. "Do I -do I know you from somewhere?" she muttered, just loud enough for the girl to hear as she nodded. "Maybe? I mean...you look really..." "-familiar?" Will nodded. This girl, Elyon looked exactly like Phobos would as a girl. She had the same blonde hair and blue eyes, the same friendly smile he used to always wear...the same curiosity. Cornelia watched their interaction with a deepening frown as Elyon removed her hand from the taller girl's mouth. She kept a steady eye on the two as they looked each other over in puzzlement. 'No,' she growled, 'not Elyon too.'

Just as she was about to interrupt their staring contest, Caleb latched on to her arm, telling her with his smouldering green eyes not to intervene. Cornelia was going to tell him to take a hike, she honestly was, because if she wouldn't listen to her friend's and she certainly wouldn't listen to Will, then she shouldn't listen to Caleb, a strange boy who wasn't an enemy but wasn't exactly a friend either. But one look in those eyes, those pleading green eyes and she crumbled, nodding her head as she discreetly stepped back, away from Elyon and into Caleb's side. Will continued to look at Elyon, still staring at her in confusion, but caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. It was something bad, she knew as the minute she allowed herself to realize what Cornelia was doing exactly, a dull ache built up in her chest as pain entered her being. It was quickly noted by Elyon who stepped forward, hand outstretched as Will stumbled a step, shaking. "Hey," Elyon muttered as Irma caught the red head from behind, stopping her from tumbling to the ground. "Are you okay? You look a little faint."

Faint. The word caused her head to thump as she forced herself to stand. Her day of weakness was over, finished until next year. She wasn't used to being strong all the time, Phobos did that for her. But he wasn't here now, she was on her own and it was about bloody time she toughened up. "I'm fine, thanks." She stated, removing herself from Irma's grip as the others cocked an eyebrow. She could've sworn she saw concern in some of their eyes, including Cornelia's, but it was a stupid belief. They just...She sighed. They were her friends. Belief in that wasn't stupid. They were just worried for her. And they had every right to be -she was without a doubt, odd, but that was just putting it nicely. "I'm just a little tired," she fibbed, grasping the strap of her bag as she smiled softly at the group, a strong sense of familiarity radiating from it towards Elyon. "I'll see you guys later. I gotta get to class." Taranee glanced at her watch, about to say they had time when she heard the bell ring. She watched the others gather their stuff, her bag already on her back, waiting for Irma and Hay Lin. The trio had maths together while Cornelia and Elyon had english. "C'mon guys, let's go!" Irma made a gesture to the school building with her free hand, motioning in the same direction Will had walked in. Caleb took one look around and quickly found his favourite red-head amongst the flock of kids entering the school. His eyes glazed over with a shower of emotions as he stared after her and his body moved on its own accord, moving forward a step only to be caught in firm and nasty thorns that dug into his skin, clenching an ice cold vine...oh, it's just Cornelia. "Caleb, hang on a sec!" She put herself in front of him as he looked down at her in mild annoyance. "Yes?" He enquired. Her hand gently carressed his arm which tensed in reaction as she smiled at him, innocently. "I know you have class with...Will, but," she paused, her voice like gravel to his ears in comparison to Will's bell like, angelic voice. His ears shrieked in protest against her voice, that shrill high pitched, ear shattering girly squeal that sounded like nails drawn across a black board and so, he tuned her out.

He stared at her for a mere second before his mind was overrun with images of Will and his emerald eyes dove back into the crowd to seek her out. He found her again, just entering the school, now at the front of the wave of students. Her shoulders were stiff and tense, her posture rigid as she walked -no, strutted inside, her head held high. He thought it resembled the way a princess or noble might walk, but quickly shook away the idea. He'd met a few in his time, a few very snobby, very spoilt, princesses and nobles, none of which he liked. And though he knew it was wrong, petty even, he judged that from the many he'd encountered, all princesses and nobles were like that. And Will, she couldn't be one of them. "So what d'ya say?" Cornelia enquired as he blinked heavily. What should he say? He needed to appear as though he'd been listening or she'd blow a gasket and Irma would be even more annoyed with him, (though he didn't know why she was annoyed with him in the first place), and he couldn't have that. "Sure," her eyes lit up with glee as he heard a shocked gasp and indignant 'hmph!' come from behind him. He glanced at the group; Irma's back faced him as well as a glaring Hay Lin, shocked Taranee and intrigued Elyon. He'd done something stupid.

"Caleb why don't you go find-" He ran off before Elyon could finish her sentence, calling out to Will who was already long gone. It just raised her curiosity. If he'd just agreed to a date with Cornelia, why did he look so desperate to find Will? To help her? Unless...he'd tuned her out! The petite blonde's eyes widened as she clamped a hand over her mouth, deperately trying to stop the laughter leaving her. Cornelia spun to face her, anger written all over her face. "What're you snorting at? He agreed to a date with me! It's," her facial expression changed to a giddy smile as she breathed out, "amazing." She clasped a hand over her bag strap, still beaming as she skipped off to class, Elyon falling into step with Irma as she muttered, "What's amazing is that he could tune her out without getting slapped." Irma looked at her in confusion, but the blonde merely kept walking, not noticing her friend's confusion as one thought danced through her mind. 'Maybe, just maybe, Cornelia might finally understand what it's like to lose the guy she likes.' And maybe, just maybe, she'd finally stop stealing all of Elyon's.

****Rebel Fire****

Will smiled stiffly as she walked to Irma's house. Halinor and Raythor were going out to dinner with Irma's parents, Anna and Thomas Lair, and the red head had been sent to help her friend baby sit Chris. Apparently, he was a hell child, but the name -Chris Lair- sounded familiar, just like Elyon. 'Well,' she supposed, 'I'll soon find ou.' She approached the door, inspecting the house and feeling another slap to her memory as she rang the doorbell. Maybe it was..."Will!" Irma dragged her by the arm into the house -well, it used to be a house. It looked like a bomb site. "Jesus! What the hell did you do?" "Not me, him!" The brunette panted, shoving Will into the living room only for a flying body to tackle her to the floor. "Oompf!" She thudded to the ground as the small person squealed. "Whoah, boy'yo, off the best friend!" A harsh tug and the little body was thrown on to the couch as Irma helped her up. "Irma! I'm telling mom!" He complained before turning to glare at Will only for her to beam at him in recognition. "Chris!" "Willsy!" He cried, latching on to her as she gave him a hug. Irma stared at them in confusion. Chris hated her friends, especially when they were stranger to him. So that meant- "How do you know my brother?" Will stared at her in soft realization and shock as she replied, "How could I not know my cousin?"