Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot and my own characters.


And the Moon was in her Soul

.o.0.O.0.o.

The stars are dying. The spirits that have dedicated their lives to shining even a small amount of light into the darkness are slowly being snuffed out. One by one, their light is diminished and extinguished, and the darkness that rolls through the universe is still not satisfied with all it's taken in its hunger for control. There are many stars, too many to count, that much is obvious. But the darkness only takes what it needs, those that we can see from this tiny little planet of ours. There is no point in wasting energy on a task that does not need to be completed. It is ridding us of our light, our hope, and it is becoming angrier when we still have enough to live by. So it continues destroying, continues searching the night sky for the light that still evades him.

But why would you hide something in a place someone is bound to look?


Apotelesma payed no mind to the hushed whispers that followed her. It was completely understandable, when she thought about it. She was a complete stranger who showed up without warning and who had known information that hadn't even been disclosed yet. That didn't mean it didn't bother her. She continued her short journey around the workshop, at least the level she was on, both to sate her curiosity and to wait for an opportunity to slip into the conversation.

It was difficult to hear them at first, as they tried to remain discreet, but with a subtle glance to a faint, lonely star she could see through the skylight straining against the darkness in order to be seen, their voices gained in volume almost unnoticeably and she could hear them easily. It was mainly the flying lady, whom she really needed to learn the name of, and the one that they called Bunny who were speaking. The others were acting a bit more casual. The young man with the white hair, Jack she now knew his name was, just stared at her curiously as he flew around, terrorizing the yetis and elves, and occasionally Bunny, much to her amusement. The big man, North she had overheard someone say, was giving her an impromptu tour, but she was not oblivious to his questioning glances and the hand that never strayed from the hilt of one of his swords. They were all like that really. On edge but pretending not to be. All except for the quiet man.

He was very small, that much was obvious, but he was very interesting besides that fact. His clothing, his hair, even his skin were all made of the same golden material, sand almost. It seemed so familiar but she doesn't know from where she would know it from. But his eyes were the fascinating part. They showed how truly ancient he was, all that he had seen, all the happiness and sadness he had felt. It was all there, clear as day. He was the only one who did not seem to be questioning her presence. On the contrary, he seemed almost happy that she was here, much to her confusion, but also guilty, of what she could not be certain. But she was tired of waiting for someone to say something, so she decided to initiate the inevitable conversation.

Stopping in front of a toy display with North, she waited a few moments for the others to look away or pretend to not be watching her intently before saying anything.

"If you would like to know something, I do believe you are all capable of asking questions, so I don't see any reason for you all to be whispering about me while thinking I can't hear you." All motion around her stopped at her sudden words. Seeing as everyone was too shellshocked at her blunt statement to respond in any way, she continued. "I understand why you all would be confused and wary of me for crashing in here so unexpectedly, but there is no reason for you all to be thinking that I am here to harm you."

For a few moments, no one moved. It was a very strange situation to be in really. No one quite knew how to handle this strange spirit that no one knew the first thing about. Luckily, out of those of them that could speak, one managed to make their tongue function enough to form a coherent sentence.

"Well then I got two questions for ya Sheila," Bunny abruptly stated, breaking the trance that had fallen upon the Guardians, "How is it that ya knew what North was gonna say earlier about the stars and darkness? There is no possible way that ya could've known that." Some tension seemed to drain away at that, as they all wanted to ask the question but had no idea how. "And," he continued, "How did ya hear what we were saying? You were too far away and the workshop is way too loud for you to have heard anything."

"Well I believe I already answered that question. Well, the first one anyway," Apotelesma stated, but with a put upon sigh at seeing Bunny's not quite angry face, she continued,"but I guess I could go into further detail." Making sure that she had everyone's attention, including the quiet man's, she went on, "It just seems like common sense to me. Stars give off light. Looking for stars in a bright place would be like looking for something camouflaged in the jungle. It would blend in so you wouldn't be able to find it. Stars need darkness in order to shine." Seeing as they were grudgingly accepting her answer, she breathed a silent sigh of relief. She really didn't know why or how she knew what North was going to say. It was almost instinctual, that knowledge that came to her mind so easily. She would have to watch her tongue from now on.

"Alright, I guess that's acceptable. Now what about the second one?" Bunny asked grumpily. "Don't go thinking that ya can get outta that one."

"Well that's simple really," she paused, moving to sit on a nearby railing. "I wished to hear you, and so I did." She began to idly stroke Keahi's feathers, only pausing when she realized that no one had said anything in response, as they were too busy staring at her incredulously. "What?"

"Sweetie," the flying lady started with a gentle voice, seeming as if she spoke any other way it would hurt her feelings, "That's just not how things work. You can't just wish for something to happen. It just doesn't work that way."

"Well it's worked pretty well for me so far," Apotelesma said as she hopped off of the railing and deliberately stretched her wings before returning them to their previous position.

"You mean-" Bunny began after a moment of shock.

"You just asked for your wings," North continued, seeming just as shocked as Bunny, and everyone else really, "And you received them? You were not, for a lack of a better word, born with them?" Apotelesma nodded, confused as to why this was such a difficult concept to grasp. After all, wishing and receiving had been a constant since she first awoke just mere hours ago.

"But when I wished to hear you," She began again, "I didn't just wish. I wished on that star," she finished, pointing to the dim light still visible through the skylight, hoping that the extra information would help her case.

"Well then Sheila," Bunny voiced. "Someone might as well try it out. I've been dying for this to happen for ages." Bunny stepped forward, and looking to Étoile, he asked, "Just wish something to the star and it'll come true?" With a nod of confirmation, he looked up to the sky and ignored all of the incredulous glances sent in his direction from the other guardians. It then came as a shock to them, as Bunny lowered his head after a few moments, when both he and Apotelesma began to glow with a slight silvery sheen, and then it left as suddenly as it came. Everyone stayed still for a moment, waiting for something to happen.

And then Apotelesma's giggles broke the silence, seemingly laughing at her own joke.

Ignoring her amusement, Jack spoke up from where he crouched lightly on top of his staff which stood impossibly still despite the weight. "Is that it? Because if it is then I'm sorry 'Telesma you must be mistAK-" and for the first time in centuries, as Jack spun down from his perfectly balanced position in order to land on the ground, his foot slid out from underneath him on a patch of ice he'd forgotten he'd lain down, lost his balance, and despite his pinwheeling arms, fell face first onto the floor.

And Apotelesma's giggles morphed into full blown laughter, her form shaking with the force of the hilarity.

It was contagious. Soon everyone was laughing. Even the quiet man, whom she desperately wanted to know the name of, shook with silent laughter. Jack, who had luckily not broken his nose in the fall, rose up from his position on the floor, laughing as well, and stared at Apotelesma incredulously. "Did you know that was going to happen? Is that why you were giggling?"

She managed to calm her laughter, though a few escaped here and there. "I heard Bunny's wish. How could I not laugh? He sounded so grumpy when he said it too." Screwing up her face into the best impersonation of the rabbit that she could, she growled out in a very Bunny-esque voice, "I just want Frostbite ta fall flat on 'is face. Just once. I wanna see him make a fool of himself." And then she resumed laughing, holding her stomach and doubled over, oblivious to the confused glances that she was receiving. When she had finally calmed down, she took a few breaths and then looked up to see everyone staring at her once again.

Seeing her questioning glance, Bunny spoke up. "I didn't say that out loud, Sheila. I don't know how ya heard that." Looking to the others, she saw them nodding, as they hadn't heard Bunny's wish and were obviously confused as to how she had.

"Well of course I heard your wish," Apotelesma stated. "I'm the one who granted it."


Yeah yeah I know. It's been a while. And sorry for the sorta cliffy there too. Don't worry. There'll be an explanation next chapter. Anyway I hoped you all enjoyed it. Hopefully there will be a lot more excitement next chapter. Who knows? Maybe this mysterious 'Darkness' will be revealed.

As always, please review!