Chapter 6:

"Huh?!", Taranee asked.

"I said, what about you and me?", Malcom asked. "Do you think there's a chance of us getting together, after all we both been through?"

Taranee didn't see this question coming. To be honest, she didn't see it being asked to her by Malcom.

"To be honest, I'm not sure.", Taranee said sitting up. "I mean there's a part of me that wants to give it a try, but, what if you and the other Vanders decide to leave after a year passes? Then, what will I do?"

"By the looks of things, right now, I don't see any of us leaving anytime soon.", Malcom grinned sitting up as well. "Besides,no offence, I can feel your emotions whenever I come near you,Taranee."

"You can?!", she asked feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Yes I can.", he said. "I feel that you're glad to see me, yet you remember something that happened to you, involving the "me" of your world."

Taranee knew that she had to face her past about what happened with the Malcom of her world. She just didn't think it would be this soon. She decide like always, to be straight forward with things like this.

"Something did happen between me and the Malcom of my world.", Taranee said as she brought her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.

"What happened?", Malcom asked with concern.

"Have you ever used you powers to go into somebody's head and male them see things that weren't real?", Taranee asked Malcom.

"I only had to do that a few times.", Malcom replied. "And, they were on really evil people. Why? Is that what your Malcom did to you?!"

Taranee simply nodded her head as the tears started to flow, remembering what happened.

"Aw, Taranee.", Malcom said sadly as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her in comfort.

"He had me thinking my friends and family were being cruel to me, hatting me, leaving me to fend for myself against a cold cruel world.", Taranee said between sobs. "He did it over and over, until my spirit nearly broke! But, with a lot of praying, I held on to that little glimmer of hope! That was something he couldn't take from me!"

"And with that hope, you beat him.", Malcom said as he held her close. "You proved that no matter how bad things got, you kept your faith, and you pulled through. And that shows true character."

"Thanks.", Taranee said as she wiped the tears away. "But, I sense that you went through something with the me of your world. And don't lie. Remember, you're not the only telepath here."

"So, your telepathy goes beyond your fellow Guardians too.", Malcom deduced as he released his hold on Taranee. "Just like the Taranee of my world."

"Well, as we get older, our powers grow.", Taranee explained. "At first, I could only talk to the girls telepathically. Soon, it was with those close to me. Then, within time I could talk with just about anyone telepathically."

"The Taranee of my world proved that.", Malcom said.

"What did she do?", Taranee asked as she turned to face him.

"She tricked me into attacking my brother and cousins.", Malcom said.

Taranee gasped in shock as she place her hands over her mouth.

"She used her telepathic powers to make me think they were four of our enemies.", Malcom continued to explain. "In one moment of weakness, she was able to do that much damage to me and my family. When I figured out what was what, I was pretty devastated. But, in time, I got stronger. But, I'll never forget that feeling of betrayal. It'll make sure that I don't do that to a friend or loved one."

"I can't believe she would do such a thing!", Taranee said still shocked about it all. "I mean she's me for crying out loud!"

"No! She's not you!", Malcom said. "She's a totally different person from you! She, along with the other Guardians of our world, did the dirty deed. Not you."

"But, I could easily turn into that kind of Taranee!", Taranee said fearfully.

"And I could become like the Malcom in your world!", Malcom countered. "But, I'm not! And that's because, I made a choice! Just like you did! When you get right down to it, it's all about choice."

"All about......... choice?", Taranee asked staring at Malcom.

"Yes.", he said calmly, with a smile. "It's all about the choices we make that define who we are."

Taranee moved closer to Malcom as he looked up at the sky. When she was close enough, she rested her head on his shoulder.

'I feel safe with him.', Taranee thought to herself.

Malcom looked down to she her eyes closed, with a smile on her face.

'This feels so right.', he thought to himself.

'I don't want this to end.', they both thought in unison.

They both then looked at each other after hearing each others thoughts.

"Did I just hear your thoughts?!", they asked each other.

They both grinned after asking the same question at the same time. They then looked into each others eyes wondering if they could talk to each other mentally.

'Can you hear me?', Taranee asked Malcom mentally.

'Yes I can!', Malcom answered mentally.

'Wow!', they both thought together.

They then leaned in slowly and kissed each other. Both not caring about who saw them at this point. They realised that their link was strong when they could feel each others strong emotions as they continued to kiss.

'This is bliss.', Malcom said mentally as they kissed.

'I second that.', Taranee agreed mentally, causing them both to grin.

As they slowly ended the kiss, a puff of smoke came out of their mouths, floating up into the air.

"Wow!", they both said seeing the puff rise.

"I guess we really are hot stuff.", Malcom joked, getting a laugh from Taranee.

"No matter what happens, good or bad, I want to stay here for as long as I can.", Taranee said getting closer to Malcom again.

"I couldn't agree more.", Malcom said as they began to kiss again.

'May this never end, God.', they prayed as they kissed.

"Where could he be?!", Will questioned as she searched around the area for Angelo. "He has to around here somewhere!"

Without looking where she stepped, Will tripped over a rock and onto the ground. Angry, Will got up and brushed of the dust from her clothes.

"Why am I out here anyway?!", Will yelled in frustration.

She then looked up at the sky to see a falcon fly over head. She then let out a deep sigh.

"You know why you're out here, Will.", she said as she continued her search. "You're out here because you went and opened your big mouth. If you didn't say anything about him getting caught by the army, we wouldn't of yelled at each other. And he wouldn't of flew off!"

Will then, walked around some large rocks to see Angelo, in his normal clothes, sitting up on a hill, getting a good view of the city of Heatherfield. Will carefully climbed the hill and within minutes, she was at the top.

"I finally found you!", Will said as she sit next to him.

Angelo, after hearing Will's voice, snapped back to reality, to see Will sitting next to her.

"What are you doing here?!", Angelo asked surprised to see Will sitting maext to her.

"I came looking for you.", Will said, with a small smile. "I came to say that I'm sorry about starting that argument."

"Forget about it.", Angelo said. "We both said some mean things. And I'm sorry too."

Will then looked down at Heatherfield along with Angelo. It truly was a sight to behold. She could see why he came up here to cool off. The sight was truly beautiful. And seeing as the sun was about to set, made it even better.

"If I may ask, what did 'she' do to you?", Will asked Angelo.

"She?", Angelo asked.

"The Will of your world.", Will said. "What did that Will do to you? Besides give the military the dark matter stone, for their blaster."

"My cousins talk to much.", Angelo replied leaning back against the rocks.

"Sorry.", Will said leaning back with him.

"It's cool.", Angelo said placing his hands behind his head. "So, you want to know what the Will of my world did to me, huh?"

"It'll help me get to know you a bit better.", she replied.

"Remember that blaster, my cousins told you about?"

"Yeah."

"She's the one who blasted me with it.", Angelo said.

Will looked at Angelo in shock.

"Why would she do that to you?", she asked.

"You really want to know?", Angelo asked.

"Yes.", she said, waiting for the answer.

"For a chance to swim in the Olympic Games, when the time came.", Angelo said sitting up. "They made a deal with her, saying, that if the Guardians helped them capture me and my cousins, that she'd be able to swim in the Olympic games when she becomes of age."

"It can't be true!", Will said in shock.

"But it is.", Angelo said. "She threw away years of friendship to benefit herself!"

Out of anger, Angelo smashed a nearby rock with his fist. Seeing this made Will jump back from him. Angelo saw this out of the corner of his eye.

'Did that scare her that bad?', he thought to himself.

He then noticed Will rubbing her left shoulder while shaking a little.

'Or is it more?'

"Will? What happened back in your world?", Angelo asked, snapping her back to reality.

"Huh?", she asked not paying attention to the question.

"I said, what happened to you in your world?"

"Oh, that.", Will asked not wanting to relive those painful days. "It's not that important."

"Oh really?", Angelo asked. "Then why did you start rubbing your left shoulder when I smashed that rock?"

Will then looked at Angelo, not knowing what to say. Angelo noticed her look of fear in her eyes. It was the same look she had, when they fought in Kandrakar.

"It was the "me" of your world, wasn't it?", Angelo asked.

Will just held her head down, not saying a word. Angelo gently placed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to look up at him with widened eyes.

"Just tell me what he did to you.", Angelo said in a calm tone. "He can't hurt you now."

Will then gave in and decided to tell her story.

"It all started when the army found out about my power.", Will began to explain as Angelo released his hold on her. "They figured that they could use it as a power source, for their weapons. When they had me power their machines, I gave them more than they could handle."

"You gave them an overload of power.", Angelo figured.

"Yeah, and 'that' Angelo didn't like that, seeing as it made him look bad seeing as he couldn't get me to do what they wanted.", Will grinned softly.

"What did he do to you?", Angelo asked.

"Do you have a move, you call, Solar Shocker?", she asked as she felt the tears about to flow.

"You mean the one where can I trap someone in a energy ball and shock them, knocking them out?", Angelo asked. "Wait! He used that on you?!"

Will then nodded sadly as the tears began to flow down her face. Seeing this, Angelo embraced Will, holding her as she cried.

"What made it hurt so much was that he didn't care how bad it hurt me!", she cried. "There were times he made the ball slam against the wall, making it hurt worse. I felt so helpless! And the fact that it was him of all people that was doing this to me, broke my heart the most!"

Angelo then saw part of a bruise on Will's left shoulder.

'Why would he do this to her?!', he asked himself. 'It's like he just took his anger out on her, just to prove a point!'

Angelo then felt Will wrap her arms around him, clutching onto the back of his shirt as she continued to cry. Angelo just stroked her hair, in comfort, as she cried.

'I won't let him hurt her again.', Angelo thought to himself. 'If he ever finds a way here looking for her, I'll do my best to protect her from him!'

A/N: Will and went through some crap! Holding it in like she did wasn't he;ping her. At least she got it all out. Not to mention what happened to Angelo! And look at Taranee and Malcom. Their inner fire is a blaze! Things are looking up!