Under the Bridge of Heatherfield…
The three sons of Phobos were looking around the area in their monstrous forms and were impressed by what they've seen.
"Huh, are you certain that this is Earth, Father? It doesn't look like the Mirror side of home." Bronwen admired as she feels the earth on her claws.
"It had been some time since our kind set foot here, much will change. I wonder how their cuisines taste." Severin wondered.
"Oh, you idiots. Focus on killing them then we can explore!" Tristan ordered as he freed a snarl from his lips!
Hay Lin, by instinct, blew the creature back as Cedric hissed! The serpent man growled in anger at them as he tried to swat the guardian away.
"Do not underestimate them, my sons! Quickly, take the rebel leader and leave! We must warn your father of the new guardians' arrival!" Cedric growled as he tried to capture the rebel only to be attacked by the others!
Cornelia managed to reach the boy who was shocked to see him. That boy, the dreamy boy in that charming and strange place in her dreams… it was him.
"It's you." They said at the same time but were interrupted as the others were forced to fight.
But lack of experience and harmony proved fruitless as the three brothers managed to capture the rebel, Caleb.
"Quickly, we must go!" Cedric ordered before retreating with the boy.
In Prince Phobos' Palace…
The rebel leader was brought before the King of Monsters and his powerful offspring.
Caleb looked around to see the monsters that tormented and enslaved the Children of Escanors…
Dominic the Prince of The Fallen Star.
Orla the Princess of the Serpent King.
Ivo the Jungle's Wrath.
Abel the Breath of the Storm.
Cecily the Harmonious Siren in the Deep.
Llewellyn the Volcanic Blacksmith.
Eve the Lunar Dancer.
Adam the Solar Singer.
Tristan the Lion's Might.
Millicent the Nymph of Illusions.
Oona the Black Rose Princess.
Constantine the Celestial Philosopher.
Mirabel the Mayhem Bringer.
Bronwen the Wolf's Fang.
Severin the Bear's Claw.
Emeric the Charmer of Souls.
Corisande the Fauna Master.
Justus the Bane of Infidels.
They were gathered around their father, who sat comfortably on his throne.
"This is the leader of the resistance? A child?" Phobos questioned as he stroked his beard, "They are forcing children to fight their battles? How pathetic and obscene."
"No one forced to! I did this to take back our world!"
"Take back your world? It is never yours, to begin with. This world was stolen from the Galhot long ago by the Children of Escanors. I only want to return what's ours." Phobos scolded, "But you are just a child, you don't understand how important this is. Just a poor puppet to them."
"What should we do with him, My Lord?" The guard requested.
"Have him placed into one of the cells in the palace dungeon for now until I can find a suitable punishment for the child."
Caleb struggled as they dragged him to the dungeon.
"Speaking of children… It seems that new guardians have finally emerged. A red-haired girl carrying the Heart of Kandrakar." The serpent informed the King.
"How young do you say they are?" Phobos wondered.
"Probably old enough to be friends with your sister. Speaking of… I did feel her presence." Cedric informed his husband.
"Hmm… maybe we should arrange a meeting with their latest leader and see if she can be reasoned with."
"To see if she will not try to interfere with our plans for paradise."
At Earth…
Will didn't know how to make of so many things and getting grilled for not being able to help that boy didn't help either, and she separated from the other girls by going into an alleyway.
How was she even dragged into this?
"How can you explain all of that or the magic that Hay Lin's Grandma did," Taranee questioned as she remembered setting things on fire.
Out of all the elements, she gets the one she's most afraid of.
"Pallor trick, it was all a conscience." She tried to explain while she spotted Will looking at the necklace she was given.
"…I don't think this is just a joke. This feels real… It's weird but, I can feel what's inside this pendant. It knows my name, all of ours." Will hummed as she sees the power within.
"Okay… she's clearly lost it-hey! Hey! Get off!" Cornelia gasped as she sees roots growing upwards, pushing them away to transform into a beautiful patch of land, flowers, bushes, and a willow tree.
"Woah, that was awesome." Hay Lin complimented.
"Well, it does someone as beautiful as me to make beautiful things." Cornelia boasted to her friends.
"So now you believe. Anyway, I'm not complaining, I like this." Irma presented as she summoned bubbles into the air and began shooting water at them with her fingers.
The girls were really enjoying their powers, but then Will sensed something.
"Something's coming." She gasped when a vortex appeared, and a strange boy floundered out!
"It's you," Cornelia whispered to herself.
The boy pulled himself out of the ground and saw the girls before him.
"The new Guardians… you're real! I knew it wasn't just a dream!" He grinned but then it disappeared when his pursuers appeared.
"You'll wish it was…" Cedric hissed in his snake form while his children were prepared to fight.
The three sons of Phobos were looking around the area in their monstrous forms and were impressed by what they've seen.
"Huh, are you certain that this is Earth, Father? It doesn't look like the Mirror side of home." Bronwen admired as she feels the earth on her claws.
"It had been some time since our kind set foot here, much will change. I wonder how their cuisines taste." Severin wondered.
"Oh, you idiots. Focus on killing them then we can explore!" Tristan ordered as he freed a snarl from his lips!
Hay Lin, by instinct, blew the creature back as Cedric hissed! The serpent man growled in anger at them as he tried to swat the guardian away.
"Do not underestimate them, my sons! Quickly, take the rebel leader and leave! We must warn your father of the new guardians' arrival!" Cedric growled as he tried to capture the rebel only to be attacked by the others!
Cornelia managed to reach the boy who was shocked to see him. That boy, the dreamy boy in that charming and strange place in her dreams… it was him.
"It's you." They said at the same time but were interrupted as the others were forced to fight.
But lack of experience and harmony proved fruitless as the three brothers managed to capture the rebel, Caleb.
"Quickly, we must go!" Cedric ordered before retreating with the boy.
Will breathed as she felt overwhelmed by everything.
When she first came into town, she and her mom came for a fresh start after their family fell apart. Her father encouraged her to go as he believed that her mother would give her what he couldn't but promised to always write and visit her as much as possible. But now, she felt like she just slipped into another reality. Guardians, magic, dimensions, warlords… it seemed too much.
As she was trying to wrap her head around everything… was when she was taken!
At the castle…
She struggled and tried to fight back but she didn't have that weird power that she had before, dragged by crazy-looking monsters and creatures.
Then pushed before the throne was the ruler of them all, Monster King Phobos. This was the radical tyrannical ruler of an entire world? He didn't look evil… he looked kind of cute.
"Bow before the great and just liberator of Meridian, King Phobos!" The blue monster man declared but the man with silky white hair waved his hand.
"Now, now, Vathek. No need to be a brute to this young lady. She knows naught of this world or why we fight for it. You may go and enjoy some leisure time." The king offered gently to the creature and then floated down to the girl.
"Woah." Will breathed.
"Be naught overwhelmed by my presence for I am not one to fear. You must be the one who fought my husband and my sons." He greeted the woman.
"Husband? Wait, son? But you-."
"Look young? No, I am a demigod. Despite my appearance, I am much, much older than most. So, I am King Phobos of Meridian, Monarch of the Galhot, the true inhabitance of this world." He introduced himself to the girl.
The girl grinned weakly.
"Y-yeah… I'm Will." She answered as she looked around the throne room.
"Do not fear me, child for I am not an enemy but rather a man trying to give back what was stolen." He explained as he showed his kingdom to the girl, "You may have been told that I enslaved the Children of Escanor, but it was the Children of Escanor that enslaved the Galhot in the first place!"
He snarled at the injustice as Will took a step back to give him space. He then regained his composure as he allowed his emotion to slip from him.
"But how rude of me? Would you like some dinner?" He offered and then led Will on a tour.
In the Dungeons…
Caleb was in one of the more 'child protective cells' as the warden saw not a threat but a nuisance.
"Shame that children were dragged into our battles."
"Yes, real shame. But there is not a lot you can do. King Phobos is hoping to coerce the Guardians to leave things be as they are."
"They are kids too. Phobos is against harming children, but he must do what he must in order to-."
"We've got another prisoner… look alive!"
The guards then brought in a trash-hungry creature and shoved him into a cage.
"Him again? Wasn't he just here for stealing food for the royal banquet?"
"A repeat offender, I see."
Caleb groaned as he missed the important details of Phobos' plan but knew he had to reach the guardians in the hope of stopping Phobos from brainwashing them.
Within the Kingdom of Phobos…
The rest of the newly formed guardians managed to find a portal to another realm as they were all terrified and nervous of this new place.
There was a sense of darkness and grim nature in this place, but also some sense of beauty and charm that glimmered underneath the shadow. Mostly a gothic form of Renaissance to the décor and though the residents were not humans, they didn't seem to be monsters. It almost seemed like a strange but nice place, until they saw how the more human-looking people were treated. Abused and forced to serve, they seemed to be shown no mercy from their oppressors. It was such a horrible sight to see such cruelty.
"Okay, looks like whoever is ruling this place is twisted in the head." Irma pointed out, feeling bad for the people.
"Get out of my way, Child of Escanors!" One of them snarled.
"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to-!"
"Just get back to work! The sooner we are rid of you, the better…" The Galhot Lord sneered as the guardians frowned.
"Keep calm, the king will get rid of them soon enough and the world will be ours once again." A Galhot Lady sighed as she was reading.
"That doesn't sound good. Let's find Will and that boy and get out of here."
At the Dungeons…
Caleb was watching the guards, who were not a bit fazed by his glare.
"Kid, understand. This world belonged to us once and now, King Phobos and Cedric are taking it back. Though there are those who held such great malice for your people, they do not-."
"I don't want to hear it."
They frowned as they moved the latest prisoner to a smaller cage.
"Blunk, again?" One of the guards moaned, "Great, what did he steal this time?"
"Three pounds of Mutton and the skivvies of King Phobos himself." He answered.
"Oof, good thing we found him rather than Cedric. You would have your head mounted on the wall." The other laughed.
The guards laughed as it was known that the king was still being sought after even when he was happily married.
"Glunk did no such thing! Glunk took for another!" The strange creature pleaded.
"Let me guess, a lord? Well, you'll do time in here."
Glunk was placed in another cell as Caleb looked at the other prisoner.
At the dining room…
Will was surprised by the treatment she was given.
First, she was kidnapped.
Then she was brought to the throne room of Phobos.
Then Phobos treats her like a guest.
And now… she was being fed a big feast?
This didn't seem right…
"You do not like the entrées. I could ask the cooks to make something to your requests." The King offered.
"No, no, it's not that. It just, well… You don't seem like a bad guy." Will answered.
"Should I?"
"Well… I don't know. I didn't even know about any of this stuff. Days earlier, I was just a normal girl going to High School. My only problems were fitting in and my parents' divorce. Now-." Will explained, "I'm told I'm supposed to be this new guardian that was going to save the universe from-."
"Me?"
"Yeah, but I don't know. You don't seem like a bad guy."
"Simple put, it depends on perspective. I didn't what I thought was best for my people." King Phobos answered, "The reason I brought you here in the first place was to simply ask you not to come back."
"Really?"
"Indeed, the guardians are not needed here. You can return to your life as it was before and forget about this place forever. After you are finished eating, you can return home."
"Wow, thanks. That's really cool." Will thanked the man, who smiled.
"Yes, um… cool. Indeed." Phobos answered though he seemed to be a tad confused by the lingo.
Will was more than happy to leave and forget all this stuff. But her tune soon changed when Phobos made a request.
"All I ask is that you leave the Heart with me."
The Heart.
"Since the Guardians are not needed and to be certain that no more misunderstandings are made, I asked that you leave the heart in this box." He requested as she was shown a jewelry box.
She was tempted to do so but… this didn't seem the right choice to make.
'Do not let him have it… without the guardians, this world is doomed.'
"I-I can't," Will answered.
"Miss. Will, please reconsider. As you have said, this is not your destiny, your destination. You can return home and I can continue to save mine."
"No… I won't give it to you."
He then breathed in disappointment.
"Then you leave me no choice child…"
Later, after the rescue and battle…
Phobos looked at the gaping hole the guardians had created as they fled from his world.
"Dear children, you do not understand what you have gotten yourselves into…"
I may continue it as a series if it gets popular enough.
