Chapter 35: Taking An Inevitable Step Forward- Pt. 1

April 12th-17th

The recent defeat of the Being of Darkness brings about no new changes. The monsters refuse to be dormant, they are either scouring the skies or the streets of the small town in hopes of spotting a two-legged prey to satisfy their never-ending hunger. However, not one human is outside on this chilly morning. They are all at the Marsh's abode, more specifically, in the living room.

There, Sharon re-emphasizes the ground rules for the newcomers. She only has two and they are simple.

"If you want to go out to eradicate monsters, you must report to me before doing so," is her first rule. "You can either have your Inner Guardian notify me or you can come to me in person." No one has any objections or questions to voice out because the reason she set this edict is quite obvious—it's to assure everyone's safety as well as repress the daunting thoughts from her mind all the while they were gone. "And my last rule is," the woman's austere frown loosens into a slight smile. "Be very careful while out there."

Afterwards, a group volunteers to exterminate some monsters. They are Bebe, Clyde, Wendy, and Tweek. Craig returns to Wendy's home to get some more sleep. The others go off to train.

Stan stays behind. Once it's just him and his mother left, his body tenses up and he declares, "There's something I need to tell you." Now is the perfect time to relay the information he received from the fake Kyle to his mother.

"I can tell it's important."

Stan nods his head, but keeps silent for several moments. He is unsure how he should refer the spirit as. He doesn't know who they really are and if he were to tell his mother that a young, fake Kyle was the one who explained the current situation of the darkness to him, it will probably raise doubts. He's going to need to think up someone else, someone who's more likely to have given him such information. The right person instantly springs to mind. "Chris found out that the darkness is no longer moving."

.

.

.

Outside of the Stotch's house, Cloud is teaching Leopold how to wield Light magic. Raven is there with them, observing from the front porch with crossed arms. More than a couple pairs of red eyes are looking at the three in the distance from a high viewpoint.

Leopold is having difficulties trying to force the saintly element out into the open, as well as maintain his focus amid the struggle. The pure magical energy Cloud inserted into his Magical Core just refuses to come out, similar to how Clyde's question from yesterday won't leave his head space.

Tweek denied they were dating, saying they were just friends, but Leopold still wonders why Clyde even asked such a thing in the first place. Instead of elaborating to rid away their confusion (and Leopold's blush), Clyde moved on to a different topic.

"Focus, Leopold."

Cloud's voice rattles Leopold out of his thoughts. "S-sorry." Closing his eyes again, he shakes his head and takes a deep breath. He refocuses solely on the small portion of the Light magical energy within his Magical Core to fire an Orb of Light, but feels no warm surge.

Cloud sighs as he scratches the back of his head. "I feared this would happen. You're too in tune with your Dark magic." Leopold knew this wasn't going to be an easy task, but he remains intent on mastering the element he was predestined to harness. "Fortunately, your Dark magical energy didn't shun the Light magical energy as soon as it entered your Magical Core."

"Is that rare?" Leopold asks.

"Oh, it most definitely is. Usually, once the contrasting element is injected into a host's Magical Core, their dominant attribute would overpower it in an instant, practically sensing that there would be no compatibility between them."

Cloud's description made it seem as if the Dark and Light elements are sentient life forms that hate each other. They may be polar opposites, but they can surely get along if they work together. Leopold understands what he meant and thinks he is very lucky. He still has a chance to use Light magic alongside Dark. "Is there another way Aah can go about this?" He asks.

"There are two, actually," Cloud says. "The first is continuing what we've been doing. If there's still no progress after a while, then we're going to go to my realm to hasten your training. Though, don't expect things to go smoothly there either."

Leopold nods, undeterred. He's eager to see the Realm of Light, but he contains the interest from visibly showing. He can't allow anything else to distract him from his training. After taking another deep breath, he resumes his concentration, yet again attempting to exert even the faintest bit of Light magic from his palm.

/

For the remainder of the week, everyone with the exception of two either trained the day away or killed monsters as a means to hone their skills and keep their small town safe. The teenagers that came back to their ruined home planet soon fell into the everyday routine Stan and the others have been doing for years, fighting heinous species that weren't just crow monsters, but were surprisingly less of a threat.

April 18th- Stan

"When Are You Going To Tell Me The Truth, Stanley? Who Really Discovered That The Darkness Has Become Stagnant And Knew That Another Spirit Has Been Assisting Us On The Sidelines, Because It Certainly Wasn't Me."

Stan sighs for what feels like the seventh time today, earning a chuckle from Kyle, who's walking up the stairs in front of him. They're both heading to their bedrooms to clean and change out of their slightly dirty clothes. They just got back from a monster incursion that took two hours to complete; Bebe, Clyde, Craig, and Wendy participated as well. The four of them went to Wendy's house.

Stan and Kyle announced their success to Mrs. Marsh upon entering the house, who was sitting on the couch in the living room as per usual, though this time, she didn't greet them with a relieved smile for she appeared absorbed in her thoughts. She's dressed in a fuzzy, light blue sweater, dark jogging pants, and white socks. She almost didn't notice their return until her son asked her what was on her mind. She merely said that she would tell him and the others later.

Kyle enters his and Ike's bedroom, shutting the door all of the way as he flips up the light to brighten the room. Stan wants to retort to Chris by bringing up the moon's demise, but refrains the urge. He'll save that for another day. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't know who they are? They never told me their name, so just take the credit for now."

"Then You Better Come Up With Another Lie In Case The Others Want Proof Of My So-Called Findings."

Reaching the door to his own bedroom, Stan bothers not to as he prepares to walk inside. He left his lamp on. He is immediately startled when he sees a girl with shoulder-length black hair standing next to his bed. She's wearing a greyish-white dress and white flats. "Huh?! Who're-"

"There's no need to be alarmed," the girl says, turning to face Stan. "I'm Yuna." Her small smile and maroon-colored eyes show a hint of exhaustion. Around her neck is a glittery, light blue choker in the shape of a butterfly.

Stan blinks, still processing the Inner Guardian's sudden presence, but manages to move his legs, so he can shut the door. "Oh...What are you doing here?"

Yuna frowns as she looks back at Kenny. Stan approaches her. The dining table chair is in the corner of his room. "I'm here to speed up this meathead's recovery," Yuna says.

"Will you be able to pull it off?" Stan asks. "You look pretty tired."

"Oh, that's because it took a lot of begging for me to be allowed to leave the spirit dimension." She sighs, annoyed. "I hope I never have to do that again."

Stan chuckles, though it does suck that she had to go to such lengths just to be closer to her host. "So Inner Guardians still aren't permitted to come to earth yet, huh?"

"Hmph, unfortunately, no. But the rulers of each realm will make an exception for us depending on the importance of our intentions."

Stan nods. "I see." Perhaps they are also aware of the current state of the darkness. But if so, then it would be better for them to let all of the Inner Guardians come to earth, so they can take advantage of this situation while the chance lingers in their favor. Unless, they have other plans. "Will you have to go back to your domain once you're done?"

"Um..." Stan and Yuna turn around to see a redhead peeking through the doorway. Seems he got curious as to who the second voice belonged to. "Who is that?"

"Yuna." The spirit revealing her name is enough confirmation for Kyle to know her identity.

He frowns. "Has Kenny's condition worsened or something?" He asks, concerned. He'd been checking on Kenny every now and then.

Yuna shakes her head. "It's not that. I'm just going to replenish his Magical Core, or he won't wake up for another few weeks."

Her last statement strikes a worried feeling within Stan. "Seriously?"

"Yes." Yuna turns back around and extends her hands over Kenny's torso, her palms radiating in a soft grey glow. "He used up way too much magical energy, and being in 'Forced Power Link' took an even greater toll on his body. So did the injuries he received. Had it not been for someone's healing, h-he..." The sadness does not only affect her voice, but her body as well.

Stan completely understands how she feels. Kenny has never been so close to dying before ever since the entire world changed. The deaths he constantly underwent when they were children dwindled significantly. Kenny rejoiced being able to live longer than a week without anything trying to kill him out of nowhere, however there were some moments during training when the new spells he tried to learn would backfire on him, but none left him with severe contusions that endangered his life. Now that they are all older, Kenny's immortality is something they should treat more seriously and they have, ever since it was made known that he could potentially be an indomitable tool for the Dark Master. Stan will make sure Kenny doesn't go anywhere near that bastard, no matter the cost.

"Kenny's a tough cookie," Kyle says, stating it as a fact. "It'll take way more than all of that to kill him."

"Right," Stan says. He faces his unconscious best friend. "He always bounces back from anything that knocks him down." However, given what happened two days ago, Stan is positive Kenny won't feel an ounce of mirth when he wakes up.

A smile tugs at Yuna's lips. "I know, but..." She frowns. "He needs to be mindful of his own constitution. His habit of putting others before himself will one day lead to his undoing..."

"Even so, Kenny won't ever stop being a selfless person."

Stan feels Yuna's eyes on him, but his attention is on Kenny. Kenny's appearance may change, but his personality never will.

"Yeah, even if you practically beg him to," Kyle says. "Well, I'll be on my way now."

Stan hardly hears the door close, that's how lightly Kyle pulled it to its frame. Yuna looks to Kenny again. Stan watches her refill the teen's Magical Core with her own magical energy in silence.

"...I envy you and Kyle," Yuna murmurs longingly. Before Stan can say anything, she continues speaking. "I'm not leaving. I'm going to stay, to fight with you all instead of just offer support." She sounded determined.

Stan is happy to hear that. "Okay. Be sure to tell my mom. I'm gonna go shower and change my clothes." Yuna nods. Stan walks away towards his dresser, first removing his stained sneakers next to it, then opens the drawers for some clean clothes and underwear. Once he has those, he heads to his bathroom, suddenly getting an odd feeling.

Leopold

"How's your training going?"

Leopold ends his concentration when he hears Tweek approaching. They're the only ones outside, standing in the front yard of Leopold's home. Raven and Cloud went to get rid of as many monsters as they could, that's why there are none around.

"Not so well," Leopold says, frowning at his palms. It's been six days and countless hours, yet he still can't channel the Light magic out. No amount of attempts made any difference. Its pure essence has become weak, and he's afraid of it getting swallowed up by his Dark magical energy.

Tweek gives Leopold's hands a dull stare. "...You should try moving your Dark magical energy away from the extraction point."

Leopold raises an eyebrow at Tweek. "That's possible?"

"Yeah," Tweek nods, then he does something Leopold least expected him to do. He conjures three white particles from his hand, and they hover in the air over his palm like shimmering stars.

"Wha...h-how?!" Leopold asks, raising his voice a little, so it doesn't echo through the silent neighborhood.

"I found out that my spell, Rest In Peace, uses both Dark and Light magic."

Leopold's shock doubles until he recalls the scintillating barrier breaking down into sparkly pieces. He smiles fondly at the memory. "No wonder the spell was so pretty."

A bright blush blooms on Tweek's cheeks, his lips a faint smile. "T-thank you." He closes his hand into a fist, whisking away the stars that were once observable from afar on a clear night sky. He lowers his arm. "I feel a very faint presence of Light magical energy inside of my Magical Core, I was able to draw it out by shifting my Dark magical energy away from the extraction point."

Leopold gets the gist of it now. Tweek's detailed explanation simplified the process for him. "Okay, Aah'll give it a shot." He closes his eyes, putting his utmost focus on the Dark magical energy within his Magical Core. He visualizes the circular container that resides deep within the middle of his chest in his mind's eye, there's a white dot in a sea of blue. His face scrunches up even more when he tries to move a portion of the hazy mystical energy. He doesn't feel it budge.

"You don't need to concentrate so hard," he hears Tweek tell him. "It's difficult at first for a while, but forcing it will only tire you out quicker. Relax a bit and focus only on one section of your magical energy that you want to move."

Leopold heeds both Tweek's advice and instruction, releasing a quiet breath while directing his mental attention to the blue energy that's blocking the extraction route near the bottom.

He doesn't know how much time has passed when, suddenly, he feels something from within. A thin line is slowly forming in his Dark magical energy. The line gradually stretches up to the bead. Once it's close to its target, the blue energy begins to split apart, creating a wide enough gap for the intangible object.

Leopold shifts his focus to the Light magical energy, his desire to utilize it prompting the bead to slip down the passageway towards the exit.

The kindling warmth extends to one of his arms. He raises his arm, turning his palm to face upwards as he opens his eyes, widening them with glee when a small Orb of Light shines an inch above his palm. He breaks out into a big smile. "Aah did it!"

"Nice work," Tweek says.

The excitement abates. Leopold looks at Tweek, his smile appearing greatly appreciative. "Thank you so much for helpin' me."

Tweek blushes again, the scarlet color expanding more throughout his cheeks. He bashfully avoids eye contact. "I-it...was the least I could do after everything you've done for me."

Leopold frowns. "You don't have ta feel indebted ta me. We're friends, it's only natural that we be there for each other."

"S-still..." Tweek's mind doesn't change.

Aware of this, Leopold bothers not to push the issue. Tweek can be very stubborn on this matter. Looking back at the beautiful projectile that looks like a snowball, Leopold asks, "How did you know we could move our magical energy?"

Tweek doesn't express his relief now that the topic has been switched. "Clyde told me about it, after I...told him about my fight against my parents."

So that's how people with both Light and Dark magic alternate between the two, Leopold realizes. Now he knows why Raven said it's rare for someone to acquire a Mixed Inner Guardian.

"I see your efforts have borne fruit."

Leopold and Tweek turn their heads to look at the sidewalk, seeing Cloud and Raven walking over to them. Not a speck of purple blood or any other grime mar their being.

Leopold smiles a little. "It was actually thanks ta Tweek. Without his advice, Aah would still be strugglin' right now."

"Oh?" Cloud cocks a sliver eyebrow, intrigued. He and Raven stop, the distance between them shortened. "What advice did he give you?"

"Ta try movin' mah magical energy away from the extraction point."

Cloud puts a hand up to his face and shakes his head. "Damn, I forgot about that method."

"Tsk, tsk."

"Quiet, Raven," Cloud grumbles, removing his hand from his face. He frowns, genuinely ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Leopold. Your training would've went a whole lot smoother had I provided better guidance."

The blonde shakes his head, not at all disappointed. "It's okay." He looks at the Orb of Light one last time, then cancels the spell, forcing the white ball to shrink out of existence. "You still have more ta teach me, don't you?"

With a slight smile, Cloud nods. "Of course I do, however..." His lips straighten into a line. "We have more pressing matters to attend to."

Leopold doesn't like the sound of that. "Did somethin' happen?"

"We've been summoned to Sharon's home," Raven says. "She has something to discuss with us and everyone else."