CHAPTER THIRTY

Zack's eyes immediately flashed to red as the stone glowed a very bright color. The others shielded their eyes as the light continued to shine brighter and brighter. As they watched, Zack started to let out sounds of pain, gritting his teeth, his fingertips tightening on the edges of the stone.

All of a sudden a wave of energy tore through the room, knocking everyone off their feet. Zack fell onto his side, losing his grip on the stone. He let out a few gasps of air, his eyes returning to its normal color.

"Are you crazy?" Zack rolled onto his back to see Julius and Maddie standing in the middle of the room. Julius lowered his arm, his hand, which was glowing a dark blue, was returning to normal. He then reached out and grabbed onto Zack's arm, lifting him to his feet. "You don't know what kind of power this stone has; you don't want to suddenly jump into using it."

"Julius!" Patrick hurried over to his eldest sibling and gave him a hug.

"How'd you guys get here?" Crystal moved over to Maddie and gave her a hug as well as the others crowded around to greet them. "Do you know what's been going on?" She took a step back, regarding the two of them. Their clothes were torn and they looked exhausted, even more so than the rest of them looked. "What happened?"

"Long story," Julius said. He looked around, his eyes narrowing. "Where's everyone else?"

"That's a long story, too." Cody scratched his neck. "The quickest way to say it, we found out Mother Nature is going to do something to earth in about a week's time, we have one element stone, we're trying to find the others, and the government were trying to find us for us to help them." He thought for a moment. "I think that's just about everything."

"Just about," Bailey agreed.

Julius sighed loudly, running his hands over his face. Maddie moved across the room to sit down in a chair Aaron had offered her. Julius opted to slide down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. Cody conjured up a water bubble and handed it over to Julius, who levitated it up above his hands. Julius moved his head forward and took a sip of the water before turning it to ice and pressed it against his forehead.

"And to answer your first question…" Julius looked over at Crystal, regarding his cousin with a weary look. "I bent time and space to be able to get here."

"Must be good to know you can control all of the elements," Tapeworm remarked.

"You'd think." Julius shook his head. "No. If anything, it makes me weaker than you guys. I have to use so much power to be able to tap into one of them with so many to handle, it takes a lot out of me." He removed the ice from his face and held his hands out, spreading them apart. The ice dropped towards the floor and before it connected to the ground, it turned back into water.

Maddie rubbed at a bruise on her shoulder and then placed her hand, which was glowing pink, on it, causing it to heal. She let out a sigh as she rolled her shoulders. She sat up and stretched her back, wincing at a cracking sound and then lowered in a hunched over position, resting her forehead in her hands.

Zack's hand glowed red as he used his abilities to make his hand warm to the touch. He then pressed it to Maddie's back, the heat loosening her muscles.

They had been through all kind of horror, but somehow, even with her blouse filthy, her blonde hair hanging lank and greasy, her face smudged, she looked beautiful to him. All of the girls looked beautiful in their own way; it was as if he was just noticing them for the first time. As if everything that had happened was making things ten-thousand times clearer for him.

He looked over at the stone lying on the ground. He felt nothing but anger towards himself at that moment. He couldn't believe he allowed himself to be walked all over just because he was scared of what his powers could do to people now. He couldn't believe he allowed himself to back off from what he did best; making decisions and having plans work out. Not that he didn't trust Cody to make decisions when they needed one to be made, but they couldn't wait to look at all the facts anymore. They had to get ready for this upcoming battle and they had to get ready now.

"All right!" He turned from Maddie, clapping his hands together. "First thing we have to do is figure out where the others are. And I mean everyone, especially Christian and Sydney. If they were caught by these people, god knows they're using their smarts and experiences for something and we need to know what." He thought for a moment. "Julius and Maddie will stay here so they can get some rest." He pointed to himself. "Bailey, Tapeworm, and I will go and try and find someone we can talk to about their plan against Mother Nature. Cody, Patrick, and Crystal will go look for the stones. Aaron, you'll stay here with Maddie and Julius and watch over them."

His eyes shifted back and forth before he moved over to Aaron and leaned down so he was whispering in the younger boy's ear. "Only use your powers when if you necessarily have to. Attack anyone that comes in through the door, even if it's one of us."

Aaron nodded silently.

Cody went over to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's good to have you back, buddy."

Zack smiled and nodded. "It's good to be back. I just lost my head there for a second."

"Well, let's be honest." Cody smiled. "You were never really there for a long time."

"But thanks for stepping up." Zack turned back to the others. "Do you all understand what we're doing?" They nodded back. "Good, let's go. Keep your eyes and ears open for the others, if you find them, send them to Julius and Maddie so they can get some rest, too." He cracked his knuckles. "It's time we start getting some answers."

Sydney poked his head out of the door and then pulled back when he heard footsteps heading his way. He pressed his back against the door and waited for the soldiers to run by him. He then stuck his head out of his door once more, being careful not to accidentally press his face into the burning metal. He had used his powers to burn the lock off of the door, so he was able to get it open. The blueprints for the weapons were stuffed into his shorts pockets and all of the leftover materials the soldiers had given him had been hidden around the room.

He was tired of making weapons for them when he knew they would use them badly; it would be better if his friends and family used them. That way he would know his plans would be successful. He reached into the bag he had on his back and tugged on the fabric inside, making sure he remembered to pack it. On one of the many visits he had in the room, to get the weapons he made, taken away to be mass produced, he asked for some fabric and a backpack. He was genuinely surprised to see they had given it to him, but chalked it up to doing a good job with the weapons they asked for.

Now he just had to get back to the others and he could show them what he had made.

Sydney listened for a long moment before he fully pulled himself out of his room and into the hallway. From what he could tell, something was happening so everyone was being dispatched to certain parts of the building, waiting for more orders. That's all he could understand from the hushes voices that went by his room. He hadn't been checked on in hours, so it was the best time to make his escape. Even with his powers and his guardian back, he still felt completely vulnerable. They soldiers could come back and attack him for trying to leave or it would be someone who hadn't seen him before and immediately started to shoot. Either way, it wouldn't end well.

Sydney hitched the backpack up his back and started to run down the long hallway, his footsteps echoing over the ground. He continued to run, not going up to his maximum ability, only because he had no idea where he was going. His breathing became ragged as he continued to run, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. He slowed down to a walk when he went out to an open area. Gasping for air, he looked around and realized he was in the main hall of the State House, the first place you would see when you went inside the building.

A shadow moved across the floor and he looked above him to see something circling the giant dome that encompassed the top of the building. "Unfading Promise," he whispered, his staff appearing in his hand.

Sydney backed up into the shadows, holding his staff out in front of him as more shadows appeared above the dome. He flinched and pressed himself against the wall as there was a loud crashing down and glass rained down onto the floor. He watched, breathing out a sigh of relief when he spotted DeathLiger, DalFang, and SilverTatsu gently float to the floor, holding their masters and mistresses on their backs. Tori and Tora came next, holding onto Caos and Shadow, Reihu was on DeathLiger's back.

Sydney moved his staff in a circle, creating a large arc as he walked towards his brother and sisters, creating a dome around them. "Kazuki, Kazuaki." Two, white, snake-like creatures appeared beside him, floating in the air. "Make sure no one can see us." He then held up his staff. "Non envisibis."

Kazuki and Kazuaki floated around the dome Sydney created and glowed a bright blue, almost white, causing the dome to create the same shade as Sydney walked inside it. To anyone that passed by, they wouldn't see anything but broken glass in the main hall, but if they tried to walk through the dome, they would be unable to and be forced to move around it.

Sydney hurried into the dome and over to his brothers and sister. "Are you ok?" He asked before throwing his arms around Rhuben's waist in a hug. He frowned and took a step back. "Something happened," he noted. "I can feel it."

"We'll explain that later," Noah said. He reached out and gave his brother a hug before allowing Riley to get the chance. "Where's everyone else? They didn't answer when we tried to use our watches."

"Probably to make sure they didn't get caught," Sydney said. "Long story short, the government weren't trying to hurt us, they want us to help them. Something's going to happen in a couple of days in the Element World and here and Mother Nature is behind it all."

"She must be the one who sent me the message then," Rhuben said. She grimaced, a hand to her head, her arm around Reihu's upper back, holding her up. "She said the prophecy won't come true and there's no reason to try and stop her."

"That's fighting words if you ask me," Riley remarked. She let out a sigh before turning to Tori, Tora, Caos, and Shadow. She nodded at them and the four nodded to each other before the twin girls took the two boys by the arm and blasted back through the hole in the ceiling, quickly disappearing from sight.

"What's going on?" Sydney asked.

"They don't need to be stuck in this," Reihu shook his head. His hands clenched into fists. "We already lost Koto from this…his brother and cousin went into hiding. Those four never wanted to help Core…I don't want them to get sucked into this too." He shrugged, ending the conversation there.

Sydney nodded. He tightened his grip on his staff, twirling it in his hand. "The others are being held here somewhere, we all have been, we need to find them now so we can all find out what each other knows so we can figure out what we want to do." He licked his lips. "But we have to do it fast or we won't have be prepared." He shifted the backpack on his back. "And I'm sure as hell not going to be unprepared when everything starts to fall apart."

Zack sighed warily as he walked in to the room he and Cody had commandeered for their own. They hadn't found anything when they searched the State House. It was like everyone had suddenly disappeared on them. It just made him even more anxious than he already was. If they building had been deserted, there wasn't a lot of time left for them before Mother Nature started her attack and if they didn't get the Element Stones soon, all of them, they weren't going to win.

And they were all trying too hard to give up at that moment.

"Hey." Zack jumped when he heard the voice. He turned and rested a hand on his chest, calming down when he saw who it was. "So you managed to get the Element Stone of Fire," Riley said, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked towards him. "I heard you all tried to use to use it to find the other ones." She raised and lowered her shoulder. "It'd be too easy if that ended up working."

"How'd you-"

"We found the other group first," Riley explained. "And Julius and Maddie. Have they told you anything yet?"

"Not yet." Zack shook his head. "Yeah." He gave a tight-lipped smile. "Things are never easy." He frowned as he tapped his pocket, feeling the stone add weight to his already loose shorts. It just reminded him how long they had been going at the one goal and how much of a toll it had taken on their bodies. "It was hard to try and control to find the others…it felt…too powerful to try." He shook his head. "That's why I've been hesitating so much. I already killed a guy in the worst way imaginable…I didn't want the power to take me over."

"Power corrupts," Riley said, dropping her arms. She thought for a minute, turning her gaze to the ceiling. She then lowered it to Zack, giving a half smile. "I forgot who said that."

"I make a lot of mistakes; I don't want to make that mistake." Zack cracked his knuckles. "I don't want to be that guy. I want to…" he spread his arms wide, a gesture of helplessness. "I just want to sleep." He gave a weary laugh at the way the words sounded. Out of everything in the world he could ask for, at that moment, all he wanted to do was get a good night's sleep.

He would kill for those peaceful hours of slumber.

"You won't be corrupted, Zack," Riley said. "You wouldn't do those things." He had moved back. She moved to close the distance.

"How can you be so sure?" Zack raised an eyebrow.

"Well, two reasons." She held up her thumb. "First, it's not your character. Of course you felt a rush from the power. Then, you pushed it away. You didn't grab at it, you pushed it away."

"Don't be so sure," Zack muttered.

"And reason number two;" she held up her index finger before pointing at herself. "You have me."

Zack looked skeptical. "Do I?"

"Yes." Riley nodded.

That drained the anger and frustration from him like someone had pulled a plug. For a long moment he was lost, gazing into her eyes. She was very close. His heart shifted to a deeper rhythm that vibrated his whole body. There were just inches between them. He closed the distance by half, stopped.

"I can't kiss you when I know DalFang is glaring at me like that," Zack said as he motioned to the wolf who was sitting on the floor behind them.

Riley turned and looked at her guardian sharply; he rolled his eyes and pressed his muzzle to the floor, moving his paws over his eyes.

"How about now?"

A/N: And everything starts to come to an end. Also, in case you haven' heard (or follow us on twitter) I've got an idea for a third story in the series. It stems off an idea I've done in a SLOZAC/SLOD-Elemental story only once so I'm excited to try it again. When I'm done with this story I should have it up shortly after.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter; I've got more pairings and more fights happening in the next chapter. Also, Sydney's spirit guardians Kazuki and Kazuaki are based off of Kikyo's soul collectors in the manga/anime Inuyasha, in case anyone wondered.

Cheers,

-Riles