The Knights of Vengeance had gathered around a campfire in an ancient ruin on Meridian. There, Nerissa was chanting an ancient spell. She grabbed something inside her bag and threw it in the fire. As soon as they connected, the fire grew and created a small blast and the flames became green.
"What were those?" Frost asked.
"Hairs from the head of Meridian's beloved Queen." Nerissa answered with an evil grin.
"How'd you get a hold of that?" Frost asked in disbelief.
"Patience, Frost. All shall be revealed!" Nerissa anwered briefly. "Now, douse the fire!"
Frost put out the fire, revealing the ashes that had been left behind. Nerissa aimed her hand at it.
"Quintessence!"
Her hand began to get surrounded by electricity. The ashes started to burst out and it eventually took on the form of a humanoid, encased in cloaks. But not just one. Multiple. At least ten of them. A yellow eye sparked under their hoods.
"Behold!" Nerissa said. "A sight not seen in eons! The Annihilators!"
"I thought they were just a myth!" Frost said in awe. "What will you use them for?"
Nerissa looked at Frost with a look that made him shiver.
"Vengeance?" He said, realising how stupid his question was.
Nerissa paid no more attention to Frost and instead turned to the Annihilators.
"Hear me, Annihilators! Mach on Elyon's palace. Destroy anything and anyone that gets in your way!"
The Annihilators all turned around at the same time and started marching towards Elyon's palace, as the Knights of Vengeance watched in awe.
*Meanwhile, in Heatherfield*
The Guardians and Jin were sitting on a table in the school cafeteria.
"So, if x equals 6 and y equals x squared…then…you, must equal a genius, cause you get this and you're not even in eight grade!" Will exclaimed, while looking at Taranee.
"You can do this too, Will." She responded.
"Yeah, even I can do it." Jin said.
Everybody looked at her in disbelief.
"Oh, how I wish I could see your faces right now, that would've been hilarious." Jin said with a smile.
Caleb approached the table.
"Mind if I join you?" He asked with a smile.
"Um, as honoured as we are with the thought of you sharing our space, I'm afraid there's only six chairs allowed per table. School rule." Cornelia quickly responded.
"But Jin's here too." Caleb quickly retorted.
"You know, I'll sit with you Caleb. Can you lead me there?" Jin asked.
"Sure." Caleb said with a sad sigh.
Caleb and Jin went to the nearest table.
"You know," Caleb said, just loud enough so Cornelia could hear it, "We have rules on Meridian too. No pillaging your neighbours farm, so sacking your neighbours village, but nothing about sitting on you neighbours luch table!"
Cornelia did as if she hadn't heard it, when Matt came passing by.
"Matt, Matt, over here!" Will shouted.
"Uh, thanks, but I'm gonna keep my boy Caleb company. Oh, and Jin's there too." He responded.
"Since when are they best buds?" Will asked, more to herself than anybody else.
Taranee coughed.
"X Y plus X Y?"
Matt took a seat across Caleb, next to Jin.
"So, how's Sheffield treating ya?" He asked Caleb.
"Is there really a six chair rule?" Caleb asked a bit sad.
Matt looked at him.
"No idea what you just said. But, speaking of the Guardians…"
"We weren't." Caleb remarked.
"I wanna be a part of this whole thing, fight alongside them!" Matt said with eager in his voice.
"Oh, that's cute, Matt!" Jin said, getting a look from Matt.
"You're not a warrior!" Caleb responded, pointing at him with his fork.
"That's why I need you to teach me!" Matt said. "I'll tell you what. You train me, and I'll show you the ropes of Sheffield."
"Ropes?" Jin asked, while Caleb was taking a bite of his meatloaf.
"For starters, I wouldn't eat that meatloaf." Matt said, pointing at Caleb.
"Why not?" Jin asked.
Suddenly, Caleb's face contorted. It looked like he was going to throw up and it was hear able.
"Oh…I see. Or better said, hear." Jin responded with a smile.
"So, we got a deal?" Matt asked, getting a nod from Caleb.
*That afternoon*
Caleb, Matt and Jin went to Elyon's house. Caleb created some dummies for Matt to train on. But he first showed Matt how it was done. He ran towards one, blocked the sword and then struck for the head. Matt looked in awe.
"See, now try it yourself." Caleb said.
Matt ran towards the dummy and hit the sword. However, he did it improperly. The dummy turned around completely and hit Matt on the back of his head with the shield in its other "hand". Jin and Caleb laughed.
"Sorry," Matt said, while rubbing his side, "This is tougher than I thought."
"Well, he is a cunning opponent." Caleb said.
"I second that," Jin said.
Matt's cell phone went of. He answered the call.
"Hello? O, hey Will. Oh, I'm just hanging. Eh, sure." He said.
He then gave the phone to Caleb.
"For you. Don't tell Will about this, she'd just freak!" Matt said pleadingly.
"Hello?" Caleb said.
"Caleb," Will answered over the phone, "Blunk just arrived from Meridian."
Caleb heard Blunk through the phone: "Nice, juicy mousey." And then a little scream.
"Right, on the way." Caleb said and hung up. "Meridian business, sorry."
"Wait, I'll come with you!" Jin said. "Sorry Matt."
"No problem. I'm not ready yet. I'll just keep on practicing." He said with a sad smile.
He struck at the dummy again and got hit with the shield for the second time. "Aw…"
*Meridian*
A woman was making dinner, when suddenly the right side of the house got blown away by a yellow beam. The woman and her children, which had been in the living room, ran away as the Annihilators passed through her house, not paying attention to them anymore. The guardians arrived through a fold and saw the Annihilators. The Annihilators simply ignored them and walked past them, blasting an obstacle in front of them.
"The bad guys, I presume?" Irma asked sarcastically.
"Yeah," Will said, "Let's fly."
Another fold opened and Caleb, Jin, Blunk and Elyon passed through it. Suddenly, the Annihilators disappeared. They had turned into dust. The guardians looked in awe at what had happened. Elyon, Caleb, Blunk and Jin looked at eachother. The wind blew the dust of the Annihilators away. The guardians came towards them.
"Wow," Irma said, "Guess you don't need us."
"The way you just blew those guys away. That was just amazing!" Hay-Lin said.
"I didn't even see anything." Elyon said.
"But something was here," Jin responded. "I felt their vibrations but they quickly disappeared again."
"Wow," Cornelia said, "Firing blind no less. Pretty impressive."
"Yeah," Will quickly responded, "But who were they? What were they?"
They saw the destruction the Annihilators had caused. There was only one way to figure out what they were. They went to the castle and went to the library.
"From your description, they sound like something I never thought to see in my lifetime. Annihilators." Julian said. "Fearsome, powerful juggernauts of evil. It's a good thing you annihilated them, your Highness."
Jin pulled on Caleb's sleeve. "May I ask who he is?"
Caleb smiled. "He's my father, Julian."
Jin nodded. "Do you like him?"
Caleb nodded and thought the deal finished, then realizing she couldn't see through this floor made of wood. "Yes, I like him very much."
The next day, Caleb was training Matt again. Jin was watching through the ground while Blunk was sitting next to the pool. Matt could attack pretty well with the wooden pole that he had been given, but his defence was lacking. Caleb stroke back with his own wooden pole, hitting him three times before he was caught of balance. He then fell in the pool. Blunk started laughing, but his smile soon disappeared when he got wet. Jin was looking at the place where she had seen Matt for the last time. She saw some white dots floating above the ground, but there were only a few of them. "I wonder…"
"Attacking with this weapon seems fine. Now let's work on defence." Caleb said, getting a smile and a nod from Matt.
The Annihilators were rampaging through Meridian again. They were blasting their way through a building, when a fold opened. Caleb jumped out, ready to strike. He ran towards them, but before he could strike, they turned into dust again. Caleb looked at it in awe. He then heard some cheering behind him and turned around. Elyon was standing there, shaking her head at Caleb. She didn't understand what was going on.
*Heatherfield school gym*
Caleb was keeping his end of the deal, so Matt kept his. They were having gymnastics and they were playing basketball. Caleb got a ball in his face, which was then picked up by Matt. He passed the ball to Martin, who ran past some of their opponents. Caleb saw that Cornelia was looking and tried to impress her. He ran towards Martin and tackled him. He then took the ball and ran to his own side, throwing the ball in the basket from the wrong position. He then started cheering. Everybody was looking at him with a weird look, and he realised he did something wrong. Matt placed his hand on his forehead while Cornelia looked away. Caleb felt embarrassed. Matt walked towards him.
"Come over to my place tonight, and I'll teach you how this game works, okay?"
Caleb nodded. "But first, I'll teach you to fight with real weapons."
They went to Elyon's house again, and Caleb showed Matt how to use a mace. However, when Matt tried it, he fell into the pool again. Blunk got wet again, which he didn't particularly like, and he started scolding Matt for it, who was simply laughing.
*That evening*
Susan had invited Taranee to have a dinner with her and Will, to celebrate Will's good results in the last few tests.
"A toast to A-minuses. And good friends." Susan said.
"Thanks, Mrs. V," Taranee said, "But Will did all the work!"
"Well, I couldn't have done it without…Matt." Will responded, looking past everyone with a smile on her face.
Susan looked at her daughter. "Matt?"
Matt and his grandfather were passing by, when Will said: "I mean, Taranee. Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Will then quickly left the table, heading to the restrooms.
Matt saw Will in the edge of his eyesight, waving at him to follow her.
"Just gonna wash up, grandpa." He said against his grandfather, standing up. His grandfather nodded.
"Hey, Will. What's wrong?" He asked innocently.
"That's what I wanted to ask you." Will replied, looking a bit angry. "It's like you can't be around me lately." A spark of electricity went through her hair as she blew some hair out of her face.
"What?" Matt asked in disbelief. 'No, I've just been…busy."
"Doing what?" Will asked.
"You know, eh, stuff?" Matt said with a slight undertone of fear.
At Will's table, Hay-Lin whispered something in Taranee's ear.
"I've lost mister Huggles!" Hay-Lin said.
Taranee excused herself and left with Hay-Lin. Matt's grandfather then came towards Susan.
"Hello, you're Will's mother." He said, while trying to shake her hand.
"Yes." She said and she shook his hand. "Oh! You're the owner of the pet store!"
"I am also Matt's grandfather."
Susan nodded. "Matt again. That's the boy you came in with?"
"You mean you haven't been introduced? I thought that when he gave Will that dormouse…" Matt's grandfather started.
"Matt gave Will mister Huggles?" Susan interrupted.
"Well yes. It was right before they started dating."
"Dating?" Susan said with a frown.
"Oh, dear. I've upset you!"
"No, it's just…Will never hid things from me before we moved to Heatherfield." Susan replied, a bit sad. "Well, that won't be a problem much longer.
"Did I do something wrong?" Will asked insecurely.
"No!" Matt said, trying to release her from her feelings. "It's nothing like that! I've just been practicing. I mean, rehearsing…with the band."
Will still seemed insecure about if it was her own fault. Matt tried to grab her hand, but got a shock of electricity running through it. He screamed out of slight pain.
"Sorry! I've been a little static-y lately." Will replied.
Suddenly, they heard a bang and went to look what was happening.
Hay-Lin and Taranee had tried jumping onto mister Huggles, but had missed. A few chairs had fallen over, causing the bang. Mister Huggles ran away and a woman saw him. She screamed and got on top of her chair, throwing her food all over a serving Yan-Lin. As soon as she proclaimed: "A rat!" The entire restaurant went berserk. Everybody tried to climb on top of their chairs, throwing over tables and chairs in the process.
Hay-Lin sighed and then tried to catch mister Huggles again, but he escaped. "Come back mister Huggles!"
After everyone had calmed down and Huggles had been caught, the visitors went to complain.
"Don't tell me about family pets and don't tell me to calm down!" A woman yelled at Hay-Lin's father.
"I'm sorry, Hay-Lin," Yan-Lin said, "But a restaurant is no place for a rodent!"
"But who will take care of him?" Hay-Lin asked. They all looked at Susan, but she shook her head. They then looked at Taranee, who started shaking her head.
"No, can't do. My dad's allergic to fur."
"But there's just a little bit of fur!" Hay-Lin stated with a smile. "And it's so cute and cuddly and cute."
"No way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way. No way!" Taranee said.
"I will call the health department!" The woman who was complaining stated.
The group looked at Taranee again.
"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Okay. I'll do it." Taranee said with a frown and a sigh.
*The next morning*
Taranee woke up and put her glasses on. She pulled away her sheet, which was covering Mister Huggles' cage. Only to notice he had disappeared again.
"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" She moaned in terror.
She quickly started to look for him. She looked in her closet, under her bed, but he was nowhere to be found. She then took out some Mouse Munchies, food for Mister Huggles, and tried to lure him with it.
"Come here boy!" She yelled. Her father opened the door.
"Good morning, sugar plum!" He said with a weird voice. "Breakfast is almost ready." He then sneezed a few times and used a handkerchief to snout his nose.
"Oh, eh, dad!" Taranee said with a bit of distress in her voice. "Hi. You look…well."
"It's my allergies." Her dad replied.
"Spring time pollen, eh?" Taranee asked innocently. Her mother came to stand next of her father.
"He's not allergic to poll…" She then noticed the Mouse Munchies in Taranee's hand. "Taranee Cook, what is that in your hand?"
"Uhm…Mouse Munchies." Taranee replied innocently.
"Are you having a mouse in my house?" Her mother asked with suspicion.
"A mouse? Mom, no! Mouse Munchies is…just a catchy name. All the kids are eating it!" Taranee replied. Her mom still wasn't convinced. Suddenly, Mister Huggles showed up and took a few Mouse Munchies. Taranee looked a bit scared while her mother was a bit angry.
"Well, technically he's a dormouse." Taranee replied, trying to save the situation.
"He's cute!" Her dad said and then started sneezing again.
"Technically," Her mom said, "He's out of here. Now!"
*At school*
Caleb and Matt were training to fight barehanded in the gym. Matt seemed to be a talent for this. He could dodge Caleb's punches and make some of his own. He managed to use Caleb's attack against him, but Caleb dodged the kick Matt tried to make and took the upper hand by disenabling Matt to use his right arm. However, Matt jumped out and ran towards Caleb again. Matt spun around in the air and hit Caleb's arm, who then quickly used this to his advantage and brought Matt to the ground. Caleb laughed.
"I stink." Matt said, obviously annoyed.
"Hey, nothing worth doing is easy." Caleb replied, "And you really are improving, mainly because I'm a great teacher."
Caleb reached out with his hand, which Matt grabbed. Matt quickly pulled Caleb over and rolled him over, making Caleb land a few feet behind him.
"You are inspiring." Matt said. They suddenly heard a 'psh' coming from behind a door.
"Hey, hero boys!" Blunk said, running towards them, "Annihilators in Meridian Market. And not hunting for bargain!"
"Blunk, open a space fold to Meridian." Caleb said, "Matt, fine Elyon and the Guardians."
Matt nodded. "I'm on it."
Matt ran away as Blunk opened the fold.
*At the schoolyard*
Taranee and Will were looking at Cornelia. Taranee was holding mister Huggles high.
Jin was staring at where the cage was.
"What's in that?" she asked.
"A dormouse Matt once gave to Will. However, it's a menace and nobody wants to have it. It's been causing a lot of trouble." Taranee replied.
Jin nodded.
"Please take it Cornelia." Taranee begged.
"Soooo not interested." Cornelia stated.
"Please, you're the only one who hasn't taken him yet." Will begged.
"Yeah. It's like a line of passage." Taranee said with a smile.
Cornelia sighed. "Fine, whatever." She took the cage from Taranee.
"He won't be any trouble at all." Taranee lied with a big smile.
"Matt's coming." Jin said. "I can feel it."
Matt appeared.
"Told you." Jin said with a smile.
Matt looked at her, not understanding.
"What?"
"Nothing," Will replied, "What's the matter?"
"The Annihilators are attacking the Meridian Market place." Matt said.
Immediately, the rest was on the alert. Will took out the heart.
"Find Elyon, Hay-Lin and Irma." She said.
Matt sighed. "What am I, the messenger boy?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else. He then ran off.
"Matt, wait. Take Mister Vermin!" Cornelia yelled at him. The rest was laughing.
*Meridian*
A fold opened and Will, Taranee, Cornelia and Jin came out of it. They were standing on top of a hill. They saw no sign of the Annihilators.
"So, where's the panic?" Cornelia asked. Jin tapped their backs and pointed backwards.
"Stop them at the mill!" a voice yelled.
A blast was heard and the Guardians turned around, only to see the Market Place covered in black smoke.
"Gotta work on choosing my destinations." Will said shyly. The Guardians then took flight as Jin rushed there with earth bending.
The guards were being pushed aside as if they were nothing. They were no match for the Annihilators. Julian was trying to fend them off with an arm in a mitella, when suddenly a sea of fire engulfed the Annihilators.
"Guardians, thank goodness." Julian said with relief. The Annihilators simply walked through the fire, shooting laser beams out of their eyes at the Guardians and Julian. Taranee quickly grabbed Julian and flew him to safety.
"Annihilators are forged in fire. It cannot hurt them!" Julian said.
"Great." Will said.
Cornelia was still standing on the ground and Jin joined her. They nodded at each other. Together, they created a giant anvil out of earth. Cornelia let it fly over the heads of the Annihilators and then let it fall.
"Perhaps they haven't had enough iron in their diets." Cornelia asked.
"Then this should solve it." Jin responded as the anvil dropped on the Annihilators.
"Not so tough. Just cranky." Cornelia said with a smile at her.
The Annihilator reformed and Jin felt it. She quickly threw Cornelia aside as the Annihilator tried to smash her into the earth. Cornelia made a little scream.
"Thanks, Jin."
"Never yell like that again. I'm blind already, I don't want to be deaf as well." Jin responded, rubbing her ears.
Cornelia, Jin and Mister Huggles, who had been being carried by Cornelia all the time, were being surrounded by the Annihilators. Mister Huggles escaped his cage once more and ran towards the Annihilators.
"Yeah," Cornelia said, reflecting what Taranee had said earlier, "No problem at all."
Jin quickly bent the earth, creating a local earthquake which sent Mister Huggles and the Annihilators flying. The other Annhilators tried to shoot their lasers at Cornelia and Jin, but a couple of hand quickly pulled them away. Cornelia looked up to see it was Caleb who had just saved her.
"Nice of you to show up." Cornelia said.
"Blunk still got bad aim with Tonga Tooth. Being late all Blunk's fault." Blunk said in an apologising tone.
"Well then make up for it," Cornelia said, "find mister H."
"Mouse for Blunk?" Blunk asked while the other Guardians came towards them, "Yum."
"Mouse is not food!" Will replied. "Mouse is pet. You eat mouse and you're toast!"
"Mouse with toast yummy too." Blunk said, more to himself than anyone else.
Suddenly, they heard a child crying. It was lying on the ground in the middle of the road. They quickly took off. Will took the child and flew him to safety while Taranee landed on the child's spot. She breathed fire at a nearby pillar, causing the pillar to crash down on the Annihilators. They then quickly reformed.
"Alright," Taranee said with an annoyed tone, "Who keeps hitting the reset button?"
Caleb ran towards the Annihilators with a trashcan and hit an Annihilator at the back of his head. The Annihilator didn't even respond to it. Cornelia sighed.
"If you're not gonna help, then get out of the way."
She pulled Caleb over, and started bending.
Luckily, Cornelia ignored Caleb and entangled one of the Annihilators with vines.
"Come on," Caleb said, "You can't still be mad at me! I'm on Earth every day!"
Jin sighed.
"Is it always gonna be like this?" Jin asked annoyed.
"You haven't seen half of it." Will replied.
The Annihilator Cornelia had entangled turned his head around and freed himself.
"Yeah, for your Queen's sake. Not mine." Cornelia replied, not paying attention.
The Annihilator shot laser beams at Caleb who dodged them.
"You wanted me in Heatherfield and now I'm there. What difference does the why make?" Caleb asked annoyed.
Will spotted Blunk trying to catch Mister Huggles. Blunk caught him by jumping on Huggles from a direction he didn't suspect. The Annihilators appeared behind him and started shooting laser beams at him. Blunk quickly ran away, holding Mister Huggles tightly. A fold opened next of him and Irma, Hay-Lin, Matt and Elyon appeared. Immediately, the Annihilators turned to dust. The Guards and the people started to cheer.
"All hail Queen Elyon!" they yelled.
Elyon sighed. "Not again."
Matt ran to Will, but got intercepted by Caleb.
"Okay, mister Show-me-the-ropes, why are Earth-girls so…impossible?"
Cornelia hit Caleb on the back of his head with her hair.
"Dude, books have been written." Matt responded, while Caleb was spitting out some leaves.
Jin was laughing at the scene while standing next to Will. Will quickly took of and went to Matt.
"Matt, what are you doing here?" She said while placing her hand on his shoulder. "Don't you realize how dangerous…"
Suddenly, Matt got zapped by some sort of electricity and he fell to the ground. Will gasped at what she had done and placed her hand in front of her mouth.
"Okay, I get it." Matt said, his hair being all messed up. "Matt go home."
Will shuffled her feet as she apologized.
"You should all just go home." Elyon said with a bit of disappointment in her voice. She created a fold behind the rest. They all looked at her and nodded.
"At least Blunk didn't eat mouse." Blunk said, trying to cheer everyone up. "That good right? Blunk still hungry but…"
"Can't we just set him free here?" Cornelia asked, clearly not wanting to keep mister Huggles.
"Cornelia, just take him." Taranee said annoyed.
"Yeah, you and the rodent will make a fine couple." Caleb said, getting a death glare from Cornelia.
Jin sighed. She got Will's attention. "I'm glad I haven't seen half of it." She said, getting a grin from Will.
"Don't worry, they'll get over it soon enough." Will responded. "And then all will be normal again. Or, as normal as it can be with the two of them, at least."
*That evening, at Cornelia's house*
Cornelia was looking at mister Huggles cage. It was empty. She sighed. "No problem at all. Houdini's got nothing on Huggles."
Lilian entered and saw Cornelia looking at mister Huggles' cage.
"Looking for mister Huggles?" She asked. "I let him out so he could meet Napoleon. I think they'll be great friend!" She said happily.
Cornelia's pupils suddenly enlarged in terror. "You did what? You set a mouse loose…with a cat? Don't you watch cartoons?"
They suddenly heard a cat meowing. They looked in terror.
"No. Bad Napoleon!" Lilian exclaimed.
"Stop them!" Cornelia yelled.
Their parents came to see what was happening, when they saw mister Huggles chasing Napoleon. Napoleon was running away in terror, while Cornelia and Lilian tried to catch them. Cornelia sighed.
"This can't possibly get any worse."
She then heard something fall on the ground and saw that it was a vase. More things started to fall on the ground.
"Shouldn't have said that." Cornelia said with an annoyed tone.
*The next day, at school*
The Guardians, Jin, Matt and Caleb were sitting on a table, looking to a tray.
"Okay, so this is Meridian." Caleb said, "The Annihilators attacked the farm, the forge and the Market."
Suddenly, Matt noticed something. "You know…"
"Yeah," Irma interrupted, "but how do we stop them?"
"Listen…" Matt wanted to start again.
"Maybe if we combined our powers!" Hay-Lin interrupted him again.
Jin pinched Matt.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed. "Why did you do that?"
"I'll get their attention, and then you can say what you want, okay?" Jin said with a serious tone. Matt placed his hand on hers as a sign he agreed.
"I have an idea!" Jin said. The Guardians and Caleb immediately looked at her with eyes full of anticipation. "We should use an apple for the Market instead of a bottle of milk."
They all were silent. Matt chuckled. Great plan, Jin, great plan. He quickly grabbed the sandwich which was 'role-playing' as Elyon's palace. Caleb noticed this.
"Hey, that's Elyon's palace!" He proclaimed, while Jin smiled.
"Yeah, figured I'd eat it before the Annihilators did! These attacks aren't random!" He said, getting the attention of everyone, "They're on a straight line to the palace. The Annihilators vanish when you go to Meridian and return the second you leave! They're not afraid of you, they just don't exist when you're there. I mean, magic, right?"
Elyon's face suddenly got grim. "I can never leave Meridian again!"
"Do you want to make yourself a prisoner of your own kingdom?" Jin asked.
"What else can I do?" Elyon asked in great distress.
"Leave it to us." Jin said. Matt nodded.
"If you really want to end this, stay away from Meridian. Trust these guys to finish the job." Matt said. "It's the only way."
"Of course," Irma said, "You have been at school for a few hours, so the Annihilators could be attacking the palace right now."
Elyon gasped in terror. "You have to stop them!"
They quickly went to an empty room and transformed.
"Do me a favour," Cornelia said to Elyon, "And take the most destructive dormouse in history." Elyon nodded.
Will shuffled with her feet. "And, Elyon? You're so much better in folding than I am. Would you…?"
Elyon sighed. "Sure, bare-handed folding. My one talent."
"She didn't mean…" Jin started, trying to explain what she could feel.
"I know. Just kick some Annihilator butt for me, okay?" Elyon asked, creating a fold.
They went through the fold. Will and Matt went last. Matt wanted to go through, but he was stopped by Will.
"Will, this is my idea! Don't say…" He started.
"It's too dangerous!" They both said at the same time.
They looked at each other for a short while. Matt realized he wouldn't win this at this rate and left. Will went through the fold.
The Annihilators were rampaging through Meridian again. Julian, who had his left arm in a bandage, and some guards were trying to fend them off. The Annihilators shot a laser beam at him. In his weakened state, he knew he couldn't dodge it. He had already accepted that this might happen. He straightened his back, not wanting to go down like a coward. Suddenly, he got pushed from the side. Caleb had saved him just in time.
"Dad, are you alright?" Caleb asked, getting a nod from Julian. "I am now. Thank you, Caleb."
They saw how the Annihilators simply passed by when they weren't in front of them.
"They ignore us if we stay out of their way. I think they're aiming to bring down the palace!" Julian said in distress.
Caleb nodded. "We know."
Irma and Hay-Lin landed in front of the Annihilators, getting their attention. Hay-Lin created a tornado and shot it at the Annihilators. One got caught in it and Irma shot a jet of water through him. The Annihilator turned to dust and fell on the ground. It reformed and immediately shot laser beams at the two Guardians. They quickly dodged them, but the beams instead hit the houses behind them.
*Meanwhile, on Earth*
Matt bonked on the garbage can Blunk normally was. Blunk shot out and looked at him. "Funny Matt!"
Matt sighed. "Yeah, funny Matt. Blunk, you have to take me to Elyon's palace." His voice sounded determined. "The Annihilators are attacking!"
Blunk blinked a few times. "Doesn't sound so funny to Blunk."
"I'll give you this." Matt said, giving Blunk a water hose. He walked away, while Blunk examined the hose. When Blunk had the end of the hose at his ear, Matt spoke into the other end.
"High tech Earth spyware. You can eavesdrop from fifty feet away!"
Blunk looked delighted and took out his Tonga Tooth, while Matt had a big grin on his face.
Blunk created a fold and they went through it. As soon as they were through it, they had to dodge a laser beam. Blunk quickly ran away to find shelter, while Matt picked up a knot and a shield. Will saw them from her position in the sky. She quickly flew to Matt and landed next of him. Matt was running towards a roof.
"Matt, wait!" Will yelled.
Matt saw the Annihilators marching forward. Matt turned to Will and gave her a wink. He placed his shield on the ground and used it as a board. He then went off the roof. He shot the shield at one of the Annihilators, but it didn't wince. Matt tried to hit an Annihilator, but it quickly dodged, as he was now 'in its way'. Another Annihilator quickly turned to Matt as well. Both Annihilators shot a laser beam, but instead of Matt, it hit the other.
Matt got up and got his shield back up. "Yeah!"
The Annihilators reformed and one shot the shield away. Matt looked at it. "Uh-oh, this can't be good."
Will dove towards him, yelling out for him. The Annihilators both charged a laser beam at Matt, who was trying to dodge them. Suddenly, lightning enveloped the Annihilators. Matt looked up, seeing that the source of the lightning was Will's hands. The Annihilators fell to the ground and turned to dust.
"Did I just…?" Will asked in disbelief, more to herself than anyone else.
"Shoot lightning?" Matt said. "Yeah! Explains why you're so static-y I guess."
Matt then noticed something.
"Wait. Those Annihilators you just blasted. They didn't come back!"
Matt noticed Caleb and Blunk.
"Guys! Force them together and keep them together. Let Will do the rest!" he yelled at them, receiving nods.
"I don't know if I can…" Will started, sounding insecure.
"She can." Matt yelled.
Caleb took Blunk's hose and threw it at Taranee and Hay-Lin. They used it to bind the Annihilators together. Cornelia created a fissure in the ground, which the Annihilators fell into. The Annihilators broke the hose and tried to climb out of the fissure. Taranee created a glass like substance which disenabled them the ability to climb out. However, not all Annihilators were in the fissure. So Irma shot water jets at them to make them slip into it, Hay-Lin blew them there with gusts of wind and Jin simply shot them there by launching the earth beneath their feet towards the fissure.
"This is fun!" Jin exclaimed, getting nods from Irma and Hay-Lin.
"I could do this all day!" Irma responded with a smile. Irma then started filling the fissure with water.
Will flew above the fissure. She exhaled. She concentrated on the water in the fissure and suddenly felt something. As soon as it had come, it had went away again. But she didn't have time to think about that now. She concentrated again, electricity starting to envelop her. She then shot the lightning through the water, creating explosions in it. Matt started celebrating and slipped and fell right into the fissure. He came up to the surface again and tried climbing out, while Blunk was laughing right next of him.
*Later, in Heatherfield*
A fold opened above Sheffield Institute. The girls came out of it, only to notice they were on the Institute's roof. Will nearly fell off, but Matt grabbed her just in time and pulled her back up.
"Thanks. I guess I still need to work on my folding." She sight shyly, with a slight blush.
They went downstairs and met up with Elyon. They told her the happy news.
Matt and Will wandered off.
"So, you've been blowing me off to learn how to fight?" Will asked with a small grin.
Matt sighed. "I was feeling useless…"
Jin came to them. "But he wanted to feel dangerous. Isn't that right, Matt?"
Matt nodded. "Of course now I just feel stupid! I mean, I learned to fight, you learned to shoot lightning bolts."
"Matt…" Will started, blushing, "You so measure up. Besides, dangerous is not what I'm looking for. I get enough of that from the Annihilator-types."
Suddenly, they heard an uproar behind them.
"Oh no!" Elyon exclaimed. "He's gone!" They all started looking around. The same question was going through their minds: where was he this time?
Huggles climbed up Matt's legs to sit on his shoulders.
"How about I take him back?" Matt said with a small smile.
"Good luck." Cornelia said with an eyebrow raised, "That mouse is a menace."
"Yeah, well," Jin started. She looked at Matt, who understood the hint.
"I live dangerously." He said with a wink.