Chapter 4

Domestic Disturbance

Balsilide

As night fell on Balsilide, the Guardians found themselves doing an all too familiar task. The city square of Balsilide had been destroyed by the Shadow Walkers' attack, and the unique powers of the girls were required to assist with initial cleanup. Normally they would be happy to help, but the night had been long, and with all of the questions in their head, the girls were in no mood to waste time clearing away rubble. When it was mercifully done, the Guardians, followed by the Honor Guard and the R.E.G, trudged back to Meridian. Both Queen Elyon of Meridian and President Rikar of Balsilide were waiting for them.

"Relief efforts are preceding smoothly, sir." Balken said, saluting his president.

"Excellent, thank you Balken." President Rikar said, approaching the R.E.G. "If things are as you say, then let us be off. I sorely wish to return home."

"With all due respect, Mr. President, I think it would be safer if you didn't return to Balsilide until the morning." Will said diplomatically, causing Rikar to stop.

"Nonsense. I see no reason not to return home immediately," the President said.

"Uh, remember the whole bomb thing? With the explosions? Yeah, that's a pretty good reason." Irma said, slightly less diplomatically then Will.

"We're happy to provide you with anything you need here at the castle." Elyon offered.

"No thank you." Rikar said, turning up his nose. "Don't you think Meridian has already provided us with enough for one day?"

"Sir, I think it's best if we…" Wilder, the military commander for Balsilide, began desperately, but it was too late.

"What do you mean by that?" Elyon said, fixing Rikar with a glare.

"Balsilide has known nothing but peace for decades, but as soon as we start trading with Meridian, we're surrounded by murders and attacks." Rikar replied.

"And you blame us for that?" Elyon said icily.

"I don't believe in coincidences, do you?"

Elyon and Rikar stared at each other, neither daring to blink. The Guardians wanted desperately to help their friend, but also didn't want to make things worse. Most of them knew that it wasn't their place to intercede in a political issue. Most of them. Irma was tired, and refused to put up with anything from the man she had helped save.

"If you really think any of the stuff going on has to do with Elyon, then you Balsilide people are crazier then I thought!"

Irma knew she had made a mistake as soon as she stopped talking. President Rikar turned his attention away from Elyon, and turned his glare to Irma.

"Little girl, you are no longer simply having adventures with your friends on the playground. You are not here on behalf of Meridian. You have no allegiance to Elyon. You are here to do a job, tor protect those that need it. This is a world of adults, and for whatever reason, you find yourself a part of that world now. Which is something you should remember next time you decide to open that mouth of yours."

Irma retreated silently, and an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. By this time, Elyon had composed herself, and once more approached Rikar.

"Mr. President, as I have said before, Meridian is happy to offer our services during this time of crisis."

"I understand that, and…" Rikar began, but Elyon cut him off.

"That being said, I think it would be best for you to return home before it gets too… dark."

Rikar eyed the young girl suspiciously, and then turned away. Will opened a fold to Balsilide, and the President quickly stepped through, followed by the R.E.G. Wilder was last to leave, turning just before she stepped through the portal.

"Queen Elyon, Guardians, on behalf of, well, myself, I'd like to personally thank you for your assistance."

Elyon gave a nod and a smile, and Wilder disappeared through the fold.

"I'm really sorry everybody." Irma said once the fold had closed. "I shouldn't have said what I said."

"Don't worry about it too much." Will said, putting her hand on Irma's shoulder. "We all wanted to say it."

"Yeah, but I think I really messed up this time." Irma replied. "Once again I opened my big fat mouth and made the wrong choice."

"If I may, you stood up for your friend, Irma." Walli replied. "In my experience, that's never the wrong choice."

Irma gave Walli a small, but genuine smile.

"Unfortunately, Rikar was right." Elyon said. "You did make a mistake Irma."

"Elyon?"

"Although I would have worded it much differently!" Elyon said, giving Irma a smile and a hug. "It's just that… you girls can't take sides anymore. I know you want too, but there are a lot more worlds outside of Meridian. You can't appear to be our personal bodyguards anymore. It's… bad for business, so to speak."

Will opened her mouth to dispute Elyon's words, but closed it just as quickly. Elyon was right, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. Their world was changing around them. The universe was bigger and more dangerous then any of them had imagined, and Will could do nothing but wonder if they were ready for it.

Heatherfield

The following afternoon, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin met outside the school. The final bell had rung, and the weekend had officially begun. While they were all grateful for the weekend, there were obviously more important things on their minds.

"It's evil I tell you! Pure, absolute, unforgivable evil!" Irma said loudly, attracting some odd stares from those passing by.

"Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Taranee said, trying to calm her friend down.

"I'm sorry Taranee, but I stand by my beliefs. No one should be aloud to make people suffer the way he did without serious consequences!"

"Are you still talking about the Shadow Walker?" Will said, joining the group.

"No, someone much worse." Hay Lin said with a smile. "Mr. Faulkner."

"He gave a surprise math test. On a Friday!" Irma said, waving her arms to emphasize what an atrocity this was.

"I keep telling you Irma, it wasn't a surprise test. Everyone knew about it!"

"As horrifying as that sounds," Will interrupted, "we have bigger fish to fry. Namely, the fact that some guy just bombed Balsilide and we couldn't touch him. I, for one, have a lot of questions about that."

"Well the only place with answers is going to be Kandrakar." Taranee said. "Guess that's our next stop."

"Weren't we going there anyways?" Cornelia said. "To find out about the Heart of Balsilide? In case you guys forgot, there's that slight matter of us killing everyone in the universe."

"It's only a prophecy." Will replied. "And we'll make sure we ask Yan Lin about that when we go to Kandrakar tonight."

"Tonight?" Irma said. "Sorry, no can do. I've got work tonight."

"Aw, can't you take the day off?" Will asked.

"No, Will, I'm not taking my second day of work off." Irma said, crossing her arms. "Besides, if I took off everyday we went on some adventure, I might as well be unemployed."

"Alright, we'll go tomorrow then." Will said.

"Great!" Hay Lin shouted, perking up.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry Irma, but if you're working, and we're not going to Kandrakar, that means I can go on a date with Eric. Hey! There he is now! Hey Eric! Eric!"

"And… she's gone!" Cornelia said, watching Hay Lin speed into the distance.

"I'm off too." Irma said. "Gonna try and catch some shut eye before work. See ya."

"Well, looks like it's just the three of us." Taranee said as Irma left.

"Two." Cornelia corrected. "My dad's has a friend from work coming over, and that usually means our chef makes something special. Bye."

Taranee and Will watched Cornelia go, leaving them alone.

"Well, I'm sure the two of us can figure something out." Taranee said.

"Sorry Taranee, I'm calling it a day as well." Will replied, getting to her feet.

"What? Will? Don't you want to figure out who this Shadow Walker guy is? Or where the Heart of Balsilide is?"

"Sure, but I can't." Will replied. "Sorry Tara, but I've got nothing. The only place we can get answers is Kandrakar, and we're going there tomorrow, so for now, I'm going to do what I feel is most productive."

"Which is?"

"Convincing my mom to order a pizza, then watching a Chick-flick marathon. Wish me luck."

Taranee watched as Will left her alone outside the school. At first, she frowned at her deserting friends, then sighed and smiled. She didn't like it, but they were right. She was so used to being pressed for time, that she had forgotten what it was like to just relax. And pizza didn't sound too bad right now.

Cornelia cautiously pushed open the door to her apartment and peered inside. Trying to be both silent and casual, she moved into the living room like a ghost. It was not a rare occurrence for her father to bring home colleagues from work. In order to be one of the city's top investment bankers, Harold Hale had to have friends in all sorts of different places. When she was younger, Cornelia had been paraded out to these guests as daddy's special little girl, but as she grew older she learned that by keeping to her room, she could avoid the situation entirely.

As she passed through the living room, she glanced over at the couch to get a better view of the guests. The man on the left looked like many had before him. Thin, middle-aged, bald and with coke-bottle glasses, he was the very model of a modern banker. The person beside him, however, was much more unique. He was a boy, no older the Cornelia, with short blonde hair and an expensive suit. Two years ago, this was the type of boy that Cornelia would dream about, but she had matured, and more importantly, found Caleb.

"Cornelia!" her father said, causing the girl to freeze. "I'd like you to meet George Derringer, and his son, Timothy."

Cornelia gave a polite wave, and a casual hello, and then quickly headed for the kitchen.

"I do wish you had have gotten home from school more quickly, I'm afraid the Derringer's are on their way out." Harold said, getting to his feet along with his guests.

"Oh, that's a shame." Cornelia said, head buried in the fridge. Internally she celebrated her good luck.

"Yes, business before pleasure I'm afraid Harold." George said, shaking Mr. Hale's hand. "Still, we'll become more acquainted with your daughter on Monday, won't we?"

If Cornelia had been listening, she might have been concerned by this sentence. As it was, she was too involved with the makings of her sandwich to pay any attention as the Derringers left.

"Such delightful people." Mr. Hale said, shutting the door. "You'll be thrilled to know that they've invited both of us to dinner on Monday."

"Uh-huh." Cornelia said absentmindedly before snapping to attention. "Wait, I'm sorry, what? 'Both of us'? What do you mean 'both of us'?"

"Why, you and I of course." Harold responded. "Father and daughter, dinning with father and son. It will be a delightful evening."

"But why me?" Cornelia asked, beginning to panic. "Why do I have to go?"

"We thought it might be a good idea for you to get to know George's son, Timothy." Harold replied. "He's your age, he goes to the finest private schools in Heatherfield, and his family is very well respected. He's quite handsome, and…"

"Handsome?" Cornelia said, finally clueing in. "Wait a second, are you setting me up with this guy?"

"No, of course not." Harold said reassuringly. "But, he is a very nice boy, so if something were to start between the two of you, you would have my full blessing. And it's not as if you're seeing anyone, right?"

Cornelia opened her mouth but stopped herself. What was she going to say? 'Actually dad, I do have a boyfriend, and the reason you've never seen him is because he's from another planet'? That was not a conversation she was willing to have.

"Right." She said quietly, heading for her room.

She quickly closed the door and began to calm herself. After all, it wasn't so bad. She'd meet this guy once, say it didn't work out, and that would be that. Besides, she thought with a smile, Caleb should get a laugh out of this.

Night had fallen over Heatherfield when Irma finally got home from work. Although the hour was approaching midnight, she found her parents waited up for her. The look on their faces made Irma think that this wasn't exactly something she wanted.

"Hi guys, everything okay?" she asked cautiously.

"No, Irma, everything is not okay," her father said, crossing his arms.

"Mr. Faulkner called. You failed your math test today." Anna Lair added.

Irma's heart sank.

"We didn't even know you had a test today, so I don't like the surprise of hearing you failed it." Tom said, getting to his feet.

"I'm sorry." Irma said weakly, simply because she could think of nothing else to say.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Irma!" Tom said, raising his voice. "School is the most important thing in your life, but you don't even seem to care."

"I do care."

"Then why are you failing all these tests? I asked, and your other marks aren't much better. Irma, university is only a couple years away. You won't be accepted with marks like these."

"I understand."

"So why are you failing? Why are your marks so low?" Tom yelled.

Irma could feel the anger swelling up inside of her. All the stress of a long day, and the knowledge that her parents were exactly right was too much for her. She stared at the ground, trying to keep calm.

"Is it your job? Is it too much for you?" Tom asked, now inches from his daughter.

"No, it's not…"

"Is it your friends? Are they distracting you?"

"No, they're…"

"Then what, Irma? Your teachers? Us? What? Why are you failing?" Tom yelled.

Irma looked up with both tears and fire in her eyes.

"You ever stop to think, dad, that it's nobody's fault? That maybe, I'm just too stupid to pass? Did you ever think that's why I'm always failing?"

As her parents watched in stun silence, Irma climbed the stairs, threw herself on her bed, and silently cried herself to sleep.