I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment purposes only, no money involved.

Edited by Xbox432

Elyon was back at the book store in the morning before school. She couldn't exactly say why she was there at the time. She usually only went there after school, but she felt compelled to go there that morning.

But that wasn't the thing that was on her mind. No, she couldn't stop thinking about how Danny was cheating on her with Will.

"Of course it would be Will," Elyon couldn't help but think. Will seemed to take everything that Elyon had ever had or wanted. After Will had first shown up all of her old friends started to become more distant as they all started to hang out with Will more. Even her best friend Cornelia would just up and vanish on her, leaving her all alone to hang out with the 'other girls'.

Will had also won the affection of Matt, the boy Elyon used to have a crush on before she met Danny. Elyon had been crestfallen for days after she had realized that the guitarist only had eyes for the red haired girl but she had tried to move on.

Now it seemed like the girl had her sights set on Elyon's actual boyfriend and was getting her way.

"Elyon, you need to go to school soon," Cedric said as he organized the new books into piles, depending on what shelf they were to go on. All the years spent tending to Phobos's library had been good practice for the snake-man.

"Do I have too?" Elyon whined looking more than a little depressed about it.

"School is important. For now anyways," the book seller said, adding the second part as more of an afterthought.

Elyon sighed and sat down. "I used to love going to school, seeing all my friends. But now it feels like I just don't belong there. Or anywhere really," she admitted.

"I am sure that you will soon find a place where you truly belong, and where people understand you," Cedric said slyly. It had been so easy for him to use the power of ritual in order to make the girl more suspect able to his words. He might not have even needed the spell to have turned the girl again the Guardians. Not with Elyon's own hormones and teenage drama problems doing most of the work for him.

"Well, I think you understand me," Elyon said, rubbing one arm.

"I am glad you think that," Cedric said with a grin. It was just two more days until the spell reached its zenith. Once the light from the day moon turned completely red.

That would be when he would strike. And then the heart of Meridian would belong to Prince Phobos.

A red moon. It peeked through between the clouds in the early morning sky. Only a small sliver of blue on its northern tip was stopping it from being pure red.

Danny stared at it as he sat on the roof of the school building before the start of classes. Even though he had always been fascinated by space, this moon felt wrong to him. As he stared at it the whispers of the Ring of Rage became louder and louder.

Danny knew the scientific explanation for the current condition of the moon. It was the angle the light was coming through the earth's atmosphere that cause the moon to seem colored. But he also knew that some of the natural phenomenon in the world could have effects on the more mystical aspects.

Such as the way the Ring of Rage effected his emotions. He had been in control for weeks as he went through the unfair treatment he had received from his old friends out of their fear that he would become like Pariah. Or his sudden movement from Amity without his consent. Or being attacked for no reason besides racism by a bunch of girls that looked like fairies.

Sure Danny had felt sad, or just annoyed, but never angry, never furious. But the night before he had nearly been pushed over the edge by something as simple as a memory. His rage quickly building up and getting out of his control as the Ring of Rage tried to take advantage of it. It was reveling in his anger.

Danny could feel his emotions getting twisted as the Ring's whisper grew louder. 'Kill... kill... kill the guardians... KILL THE GUARDIANS!'

"Shut up..." Danny hissed he pulled off the ring and made to hit it against the stone ceil but his hand stopped.

'They will attack you again... don't be fooled... Kandrakar cannot be trusted,' the ring said. 'She will betray you.' An image of Will in her Guardian form appeared in Danny's mind.

"I said shut up!" Danny yelled and smashed the ring against the roof. Its voice halted and Danny found himself panting as if he had ran a marathon, clutching the ring between his fingers as he tried to regain his self-control. He could not lose himself. It was just want the ring wanted.

"Are you alright?" Danny turned his head to see Will on the roof behind him. She had a concerned look on her face.

"I'm... I'm fine," Danny said as his breathing became steady. "How'd you find me?"

"Besides the yelling, you have the strongest Aether around, so when you are off on your own, it is pretty easy for even me to spot you," Will pointed out with a shrug. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"I'm sure. It's just... the ring," Danny said, loosening his grip so that the glow of the ring shone through his fingers. Will flinched away at the sight of the thing. Danny wasn't surprised. "I assume you know that the Hearts of Worlds have minds of their own. A consciousness, and its own agenda."

Will nodded. "I can sometimes tell what my Heart is thinking, but it's never speaks to me," Will said before correcting herself. "Not in words at least."

"Be glad. I find it hard to get the Ring of Rage to shut up," Danny chuckled, but his expression was one of sickness as he looked down at the ring in his hand. "It is always trying to get me to do horrible things. It twists my emotions, trying to get me to snap," He said sounding tired, not the bored tired that Will was used to seeing from him, but a spiritually drained sort of tired. "Ironically, I think the only reason I haven't yet, is because of the hatred I feel from the Ring. It truly hates me more than anything else in the world."

"It... hates you? But I thought you were its guardian," Will said confused.

"I own the Ring by right of conquest. I took it from its previous own when I beat him. But that doesn't mean the ring likes me," Danny said. "It hates that someone like me owns it. Someone who doesn't have any interest in power or in conquering the universe or whatever. I think it might even be afraid."

"Alright, now I know you are just messing with me. Why would it need to be afraid?" Will said raising an eyebrow.

"Because I am only mortal," Danny said. It took a moment for Will to realize he really meant it. "Someday, I will die from old age or disease, or an accident. And since the ring will have never been taken away from me by force, it will no longer have a master, and it will simply disappear. It is so scared that it is trying to corrupt me, so that I will use its power to strip myself of my mortality, so that it can continue to exist... I'm not even sure that I won't someday."

Will thought back to her vision. The scene of the emotionally torn Danny taking the ring, believing that he should have just died so that it would have disappeared, but even Danny, as strong as he was, was still afraid to die.

"Why do you keep it?" Will asked him. Danny looked a bit surprised at the question. "Why do you keep the ring if you hate it so much? Couldn't you just get rid of it? It isn't like anyone else could use it before they beat you."

"I guess, but there is a problem with that too," Danny said, rolling the piece of metal between his fingers. "A year ago I was in an accident that turned me into a halfa. During that accident, the barrier that separated the Ghost Zone from Earth was torn to pieces. Portals began to open between the two worlds, and Ghosts began to invade our planet."

"What!?" Will shouted, thinking back to the Ghost dog that Danny had chasing her around. He had told her that it was one of less dangerous Ghosts. She couldn't imagine the whole world being invaded.

"That is why I need the Ring's power. It is the only way to stop the Ghosts from coming through. I am using it to create a Veil of my own that holds the Ghosts back. And that is the reason I can't let myself lose the ring. Because if I do, who knows what will happen to Earth. Not to mention the rest of the universe," Danny said as he spread his arms wild and let himself fall down onto the roof were he lay with his arms still stretched out and his eyes closed.

A few moments passed while Will considered what she had just heard. It went against everything she thought she knew about Danny. She had also seen the boy as untouchable, a symbol of power so great that he could just laugh off any form of attempt at his life. To think that someone so invisible, could be so damaged. He was holding onto the ring for dear life, but he was so terrified of possessing it. Being made to put on a strong face all the time to stop the ring from messing around in his head.

"Jeez, let's just get off this depressing subject," Danny said simply, closing his eyes to block out his view of the red moon.

"Well... open house is in just a few days," Will said, changing the subject.

"Uhhh. From one depressing subject to another," Danny grumbled.

"Yes, but at least this one is universally depressing," Will joked. And just like that they were back to being just your average teenage kids, with normal teenage problems; embarrassing parents, unfair teachers, and dealing with the dreaded monster of the parent teacher meetings. Talking about the more mundane problems that came along with being a secret teenage superhero.

They chatted for around twenty minutes until the warning bell rang for everyone to get to their first period classes. After that the two of them went off to their first period.

But when they entered and Danny spotted Elyon, he walked over at sat down next to her. "Hey Elyon. It's good to see you. I tried to call you last night, but your mom said you weren't feeling well," Danny said, his usual cheerful self. But Elyon didn't respond, she just turned her head away from him. "Elyon... something the matter?"

"Just leave me alone," She said in a voice that was close to a growl. Danny blinked in surprise and shut his mouth.

'What did I do wrong?' He wondered, going through a possible list in his head. He couldn't think of anything, unless that day was their one month anniversary, but he didn't think he had been in Heatherfield that long.

He briefly considered using his powers to try to figure out what was wrong. But decided against it. Even if he hadn't worked up the courage to tell her about him, it still wasn't right to using your powers on your girlfriend.

As for Will's part, she sat with Cornelia in an equal awkward silence. The words from the night before still hanging in the air, the week of Will moving around behind their backs. The lack of trust. Not to mention the threat of leaving W.I.T.C.H.. The mood was rather grim for everyone.

When lunch time rolled around, none of the girls felt hungry. And even though they didn't plan it, each ended up in the courtyard behind the school. "Hey guys..." Will said as she noticed them.

They nodded and gave some small greeting, but they all looked drained. If anything, Will was the best off out of all of them, having experience in losing sleep over the questions that now plagued all of them.

"Um... Hay Lin... Would it be okay if I went over to speak with your grandmother after school today," Will asked nervously.

"Why? So you can accuse her of plotting evil again?" Hay Lin said, uncharacteristically sharply. It might have been the first time the Chinese girl had ever glared at Will.

"I just... I want to apologize to her," Will admitted. "I wasn't in my right state of mind yesterday after... well, you know, and I took it out on her. Yes I had questions, but I took it too far."

"Too far? If anything you didn't go far enough!" Taranee said angrily, fire clear in her eyes. "I can't believe she has been hiding all this information from us all this time. How are we supposed to trust Kandrakar? How do we even know what we are doing is right?"

"Wow, calm down there, Brainy. I'm upset too, but that's going a little bit overboard. You've seen Meridian. It needs to be freed from Phobos, that's something even a straight C student like me can get," Irma said as she tried to wave down the Guardian of Fire.

"And protecting Elyon is also a no brainer," Cornelia added crossing her arms. "We can't let Phobos capture her."

"That's why I didn't mention anything the moment I found out that Kandrakar was not exactly in the straight and narrow. Because Kandrakar or no Kandrakar, Meridian needs our help," Will said looking over all of them. "So let's just put all this business behind us until after we put Phobos down." None of the other girls looked very happy, but they still nodded in agreement, Kandrakar could wait. "And to that end... I'm suggesting taking Danny with us to Meridian for a final battle."

"What!?" The other four girls shouted.

"Will, just because we can't trust Kandrakar, doesn't mean we can trust Danny," Irma said crossing her arms.

"Irma, Danny is the fastest solution we have for this problem. With his help we could beat Phobos, no problem," Will reasoned. "We could end it all now, then Meridian and Elyon could be safe, and we could go back to our everyday lives without worrying about being called away for W.I.T.C.H. business anymore."

Will could see it in the other girls' eyes, the temptation of being freed from ever having to see the horrors of Phobos's rule again, and maybe, the fear of dying before everything was over. She remembered her vision of Danny as he was offered the Heart of Tartarus, hope mixed with fear and desperation. "What do you girls think?" Hay Lin mumbled looking over to the other three.

"He's... probably more powerful than Phobos... and he was alone with Will for a week. And he hasn't tried to steal the Heart of Kandrakar yet," Irma reasoned, biting her lip. "We... everything could be over."

"I don't know... it's so risky. I mean, he's the Ghost King," Taranee said, too stubborn to admit that she might have been wrong about Danny.

"...We'll talk to Caleb about it." Cornelia said, as a means of putting off making a decision. "We'll see what he thinks and ask how long it would take for him to gather up the other rebels. But we won't tell Danny until we are sure."

It wasn't an outright yes, but Will would take it. She was too relieved not to. Soon, she would be able to tell Danny the truth. She just hoped that everything would go smoothly.

'She apologized. What had she needed to apologize for,' Yan Lin couldn't help but think as Will had left the elder Guardian.

Yan Lin couldn't help but feel guilty. Kandrakar was not evil. Yes they had a stick up their collective butts and were bound by long standing laws rather than good common sense, but they weren't evil. It was just so hard for her to explain that, since she was not permitted to tell them any of her history as a Guardian, or the laws of the greater universe.

She was hiding so much from these little girls who were being made to fight a battle that was as old as they were and that they didn't even understand. Watching it was pulling the old woman's heart apart, but there was nothing that she could do.

"Grandma," Hay Lin said a little shyly as she approached the older woman.

"Oh, Hay Lin, what can I do for you?" Yan Lin said, keeping up her cheerful act. Trying to free her spirit of the guilt that plagued her mind.

"Um... so for parent's night, we're supposed to fill out a family tree, but mom and dad are busy with the restaurant right now. So I was wondering if you would help me fill it out," Hay Lin said, pulling out the instructions on how to make the family tree.

"Oh of course I will help you. We've got a big family photo album in the closet. I'll go get it," Yan Lin said, gesturing to the closet. She walked over and opened up the door only for a land slide of junk to come falling out of it. "This might take longer than I thought," she said a little embarrassed as her granddaughter giggled.

After a few minutes they found the photo album and were starting to sort through the pictures, it was full of cousins, uncles, grandparents and beyond. They started to make photo copies of the pictures they wanted and putting them in the correct spots.

But soon Hay Lin noticed one spot that was being left open. "Hey Grandma. Why don't we have any pictures of grandpa?" Hay Lin asked. "Now that I think about it, you never did talk about him." She said thinking back. "What was he like?"

"Oh... he was a kind old soul. Though he was always thinking too much, and didn't get out enough. But he had a presence that could be felt for miles. I doubt he would have ever smiled if I hadn't always been there to cheer him up, the poor fool," Yan Lin said, smiling over at her granddaughter. "Himerish was literally a man who was out of this world."

Hay Lin's eyes widened as she realized what her grandmother had just said. "You mean, my grandpa was from another world?" Hay Lin asked. "Uh, does that make me part alien or something?"

Yan Lin started to laugh. "I suppose it does," she said before looking away. She was pushing what she was allowed to tell the girls before they were deemed worthy Guardians, but this was nothing about her time as a Guardian or about Kandrakar's laws, so she was technically not breaking the rules. "I met him in Kandrakar, and we had a thing going on for a while. It's just too bad that I was the only one that grew old."

"You mean... he didn't die, did he?" Hay Lin asked solemnly.

"Nah, he just never aged," Yan Lin said. "People in Kandrakar don't grow old like the rest of us. He is the same as he's always been, but he's still alive in his own way. Hopefully you will get to meet him someday. Though I know for certain he has always been watching over you." Hay Lin looked shocked so Yan Lin just continued her confessions. "He actually offered to let me stay on Kandrakar with him, to be with him forever, but I couldn't. Your old grandmother has always been a bit of a free spirit, and Kandrakar just wasn't ready for me yet. Besides, Earth was my home, it still is my home." Yan Lin put her hand on Hay Lin's. "Don't forget that you always have a choice. No one can make you do something, if you don't want to do it."

Hay Lin smiled. "Thanks grandma," She said, hugging her grandmother. "It's too bad that we don't have a picture for him though."

"Yes, that really is a shame," Yan Lin admitted before the two of them continued on with their work.

But even as filling in the family charts brought Yan and Hay Lin closer together, it was doing the opposite at the Browns' house.

"Dad, Mr. Hoffman has taught me so much about family histories and how important it is to know your roots. He especially wanted to see my family chart," Elyon said. The straw haired girl was visibly upset but trying to control herself.

"I'm sorry honey, we did the best we could..." Elyon's mom said guiltily. She was a thin woman with reddish brown hair that came down to her shoulders.

"There are no photos here except for ours," Elyon pointed out dumbly, pulling away the family chart from her mother. "Where are the pictures of Robert, and Claudia, and great aunt Milacent," Elyon said angrily as she read off the names on the paper. "And why haven't I ever seen any of these people before?"

Her parents exchanged nervous glances. "It's a small family. You mother and I were both only children," Elyon's father said. Mr. Brown had the appearance of a common enough man, average high, weight, face, and nondescript brown hair, he was the kind of man who would have gone completely unnoticed in a crowd.

"I think there was a fire fifty years ago. Your great aunt Sylvia lost a lot of documents," Mrs. Brown tried.

"And her phone, and her car!?" Elyon nearly shouted in an agitated voice. "You know what, forget it. I guess I'm not even worth the bother," Elyon said before storming off in tears, leaving her parents feeling ashamed.

"Maybe it's time she knew," Mrs. Brown whisper to her husband.

"Yeah, that we're not Human and that she's from a different planet," Mr. Brown said a little bitterly as the weight of all of their lies pressed down on him.

"I hoped that we would not have to explain to her that we brought her here to save her life," Mrs. Brown said with a sigh. Her husband placed a hand over hers and they looked into each other's eyes, each seeing through the glamour that had been placed around them to their true selves, a pair of beings with lumpy lime green skin and pointed ears.

They both knew that they were not Elyon's real parents, but they still would do anything to protect their little girl. Even if she ended up hating them for it.

Hay Lin couldn't understand what was happening. Everything around her was out of this world. Large white towers surrounded her, each growing to heights beyond what her eyes could see. She turned in a wide circle, letting her eyes drink in this pure world, until she noticed two figures in the room.

One was a young man, looking as if he was only in his mid-twenties. He was bald with odd tattoos that reminded the Guardian of Air of the Heart of Kandrakar. He was dressed in a plain white robe and was talking to a young woman, one who made Hay Lin's eyes widen with shock.

She looked as if she was around nineteen, Chinese with short black hair and soft features. She was dressed in the standard uniform for a Guardian of the Veil. "Grandma..." Hay Lin whispered as she recognized her from some of the pictures from earlier that day. She floated up towards the two, fully realizing that she was just in a vision and that she couldn't interact with the rest of them.

"Yan, please reconsider. Please stay here with me," the man said, his eyes pleading with the young Yan Lin's.

"Himerish, you know I can't do that," Yan Lin said sadly as she lifted up a hand and placed it on the bald man's cheek. "You know I can't. I have a life back on Earth, and besides, this place is so boring," she said with a smile.

It earned a smile in return from the man that was Hay Lin's grandfather. "I know. But that is the thing that is making this so hard," Himerish said as he touched the hand that his love had put on his check. "But that is exactly what makes this so hard for me. Because without you, this world has no life for me. But I can't follow you."

"Himerish... Give me a hundred years to live out my life on Earth and when I die my spirit will join you here. But until then, I cannot stay," Yan Lin said her free hand lowering to the lower part of her stomach. "This world is no place to raise a child."

Hay Lin's eyes moved to her grandmother's stomach, as if she could see through it to the baby that would one day develop into her father.

"I will miss you every day you're gone," Himerish said sadly.

"I won't give you the chance to. Until the Heart of Kandrakar moves on to the next generation I will continue to visit. So don't get to complacent while I'm gone. And you better not let your eyes wonder," she said in a fake stern voice. Then she laughed the same laugh that Hay Lin had heard hundreds of times since the day she had been born, before throwing her arms around the man's neck. "Just make sure you keep yourself happy. And that you are ready for me when I finally do come to stay."

"I will always be watching over you, as well as our son and granddaughter," he said, it surprised Hay Lin to hear that. How had the man known that she would be born?

"Oh poo, I was hoping to have a daughter. Oh well, guess I will just have to play dress up with our son until our granddaughter is finally born," Yan Lin giggled, a gentle breeze moving around them. "But you were just being a bad boy, telling me what the future holds," she said as the two of them leaned in together. "Let me give you a reward, bad boy." They shared a kiss, one that was deep enough for Hay Lin to blush with embarrassment and turn away.

The dream ended and Hay Lin found herself looking up at the ceiling of her room. She sat up and looked around the room, wanting to do something before the memory faded away.

She spotted her sketch pad nearby and grabbed it. She flipped it open and turned on her bedside lamp, before quickly starting to draw. She would have her picture of her grandfather.

Yan Lin woke up in the night with the standard old woman problem; bladder needed to be emptied. She hadn't minded growing old that much, she knew that her spirit was eternal and that was the only thing that truly mattered. The physical shell was nothing too important.

She had finished up her business and was heading back to her room when she noticed the light on in Hay Lin's room. She opened the door and looked in to find that her granddaughter was a sleep with a sketch pad in her lap and a pencil still in hand.

Yan Lin smiled as she walked over to tuck her granddaughter more properly into bed when she spotted the picture and gasped. It was a perfect drawing of her Himerish, the same as he had always been.

"It looks like you take a bit after your grandfather after all," she said more to herself than to the sleeping girl. She put the pad away before leaning down and kissing the girl on the forehead. "Our granddaughter always was special, Himerish."

The school gym was filled with hundreds of people, milling about and looking at the various family charts that had been set up there. But to Danny, everything seemed so distant, as if their hundreds of footsteps where echoing on the other side of a vast canyon.

He hadn't been able to sleep lately due to the near constant whispers of the ring, trying to tempt him and break his spirit. He looked paler than usual and his eyes were unfocused. As the moon had become more and more red, the whispers grew louder and louder.

'Look at them, so weak and fragile. So completely unaware of how small and defenseless they are in the wake of the greater universe...' The ring whispered to Danny as he stood in the middle of the crowd. It was true; each and every one of the Humans didn't have a clue just how small their world was, how easily they could be destroyed. 'You should show them. Free them of the blinds that have shielded their eyes from the truth and become the shadow that will save them from the light.'

"Shut up..." Danny moaned weakly.

'Do not pretend like you have not realized this. The only way that you can truly protect them, it to sit above them on a throne made of the bones of your enemies...' The whispers never stopped... never. Danny's head was ringing as the volume of his surroundings seemed to be getting louder and louder, hundreds of voices bleeding together into an ocean of static.

Danny clasped a hand to his head as his feet began to sway. But before he could fall over he felt a light touched on his shoulder and a caring voice asked. "Danny, are you okay?"

Danny turned his head to see his sister Jazz looking down at him with a concerned look. 'Sure, I'm fine, just a little dizzy...' that's what Jazz expected to hear in replay. Danny had always put on a grin and pretended like everything was alright just so that Jazz wouldn't worry about him. So she knew things must have been really bad when he responded with. "I... I don't know."

Jazz saw her younger brother's hand going to ring around his neck. "Danny... please just take it off. The world can survive without the Veil for a day or two, just take a break. If not for yourself, then for the people who love you." Jazz said hoping that her words would get through to him.

Danny gave a halfhearted chuckle. "You make it sound like I'm an alcoholic." He said a little warily. "The red moon will be over after tonight. I just have to last a few more hours without being driven completely insane." Danny tried to smile, but it didn't stick very well. "Thanks for caring though."

"Danny and Jazz! We found our chart!" Maddie shouted across the room at her children as she stood in front of one of the boards. Both her and Jack were still dressed in their brightly colored jumpsuits, which drew nearly every eye in the room.

"Hopefully our parents won't drive you insane first," Jazz said with a sigh.

"Well, that is why you tagged along, isn't it?" Danny joked weakly as he followed his sister through the crowd.

Danny didn't even notice Will and her mother walking around the gym looking at the various family charts. "Mom, don't you think omitting dad's whole side of the family is a little immature? You could have at least left grandpa on." Will said as she momentarily glanced at her own chart.

"I think it's a little soon for you to be lecturing me about maturity. And besides, I'm an adult, I'm allowed to be as immature as I want," Susan said with a lopsided smile at her daughter. Will's mother and father had never officially become divorced. Even so, Will hadn't seen or heard from her father in years. Her mother didn't like to talk about why, but it was obvious enough that something happened.

"I don't think that's how it works," Will said drily as her mother moved further on.

"Oh really? Because I don't think it's Halloween," Susan said while she pointed in front of them. Will looked at where her mother was pointing to see Danny's mom and dad dressed in their usual clothes. She wondered how she hadn't noticed them sooner given how loud they were.

"Oh wow, poor Danny," Will said in pity.

"What? Is that boy a friend of yours?" Susan asked her daughter.

"Yeah, Danny's Elyon's boyfriend. He moved here just a little while ago," Will explained, making sure to point out that Danny was already spoken for so her mom wouldn't get ideas.

"Well then, why don't we go say hello before we go and speak with your teachers," Susan said with a smile. Will inwardly groaned, not sure what she was more worried about, her mother meeting the Fentons, or her mother meeting with her teachers.

As she walked towards them with her mother she could feel the Heart of Kandrakar screaming at her to turn around, but that really wasn't an option at the moment, and besides, Danny wasn't going to do anything bad.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" Will said as she got closer, getting the boy's attention.

Danny looked over towards her and she was surprised by the lack of energy in his face. "We're at a school on a Saturday. Obviously something is very very wrong," Danny said trying to keep up a pretense that everything was alright. But it was pretty easy to tell it was just bravado. His Aether was flickering as larger than normal wavers of mystic energy leaked from the Ring of Rage around his neck. Will saw the boy wince a little, a hand going over his chest as he mouthed the words 'shut up'.

She hadn't seen him since that day on the roof, but his condition seemed to be deteriorating. He had canceled his training with her, in personal at least, opting to give her a lesson over the phone on 'Aether finger printing'. It was a concept where an object can hold onto the pattern of a Aether of someone who had used it over and over again. Explaining why her powers seemed to be giving personalities to the random objects that was not her own, when she put her Quintessence powers into them. Because they were imitating the nature of the people who had used them over the years.

It had also meant that by connecting to Raiden with her Aether, should could make use of the memories of the previous master's skills in battle. Though she still needed to practice midair and long ranged attacks.

"Who's this Danny-boy?" Jack asked as he turned to them with his huge grin. He looked as much as a grizzly bear as he had before as he towered over everyone else in his bright orange jumpsuit.

"Hello, I'm Susan Vandom. I'm Will's mother," Susan introduced herself to Jack and Maddie. She made the mistake of offering her hand to shake to Jack.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Jack Fenton, and this is my wife Maddie and our two kids, Jazz and Danny!" Jack said, probably louder than necessary as he grabbed the poor woman's hand and nearly ripped her arm straight off as he violently shook it.

"The pleasure is all mine," Susan said as she rubbed her sore arm once Jack had released it from his death grasp.

"Sorry about that. Jack gets really excited about meeting new people," Maddie said as she stepped forward and shook the other woman's hand, a lot more gently.

"That's... alright," Susan said trying to stay polite in front of her daughter. "So, what do you do for a living?" She asked hoping to start up some small talk. Danny and Jazz both groaned that she had actually asked that.

"Oh, we're professional ghost hunters." Maddie said with a smile.

"Ghost... hunters?" Susan said looking down at her own daughter, as if for confirmation that she had heard right.

"Yep! The Fenton Family are the best ghost hunters you'll ever find!" Jack shouted, gesturing to the family chart. "All the biggest names in ghost hunting, right here! Go ahead and take a look!"

"Ri...right." Susan said looking at the chart as if to humor them. But her eyes widened as she recognized one of the names. "Vlad Masters!?"

Will's eyes also widened at that and looked at the chart. In the position of godfather was the name Vlad Masters.

"Yep. The V-man was also a great ghost hunter. Fought off quite a few of the things. We all started together back in college, but Vladdy stopped after he was swamped with work. Being a billionaire must have been a lot of work," Jack said sounding both proud and a bit disappointed.

"He got back into the swing of things in that last year of his life, but sadly the ghosts got him," Maddie said, shaking her head.

"What do you mean, 'the ghosts got him'?" Will asked glancing towards Danny who was looking away. She was shocked to see his Aether turning a dark red as he listened.

"They say it was an accident, but an accident doesn't destroy an entire acre of land," Jack said, sounding furious. "If I ever find the ghost that did it. I'll..."

"I've got to go get some air," Danny said, interrupted his father walking away from all of them.

"We shouldn't have brought it up in front of him," Maddie said, sounding a little guilty. "He and Vlad had been so close. He didn't talk for a week after it had happened. I suppose he must still be sad about it."

Will watched as Danny walked away. His Aether was a dark crimson red. He wasn't sad, he was enraged. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," Will said, reaching for the common excuse before running off after Danny. She didn't know exactly what she was doing, but she felt like she had to follow him. She didn't even realize she was leaving her mother with Jack and Maddie.

Elyon was in a horrible mode. She was being forced to listen to everyone talk about how great their extended family was, while she didn't really have any. She had run off away from her parents, not caring what happened.

She didn't even understand why her mood was so horrible, but she didn't really care. She hated everyone at the moment.

Her mood only got worse as she saw Danny slipping out of the gym and then Will following him. It was just as she thought; Will was trying to take Danny, just like she took everything else. She hated both of them for it, but for some reason she wanted evidence. She wanted to see it for her own.

So Elyon followed them as they made their ways separately towards the roof. She was determined to get to the bottom of everything.

Danny stood on the edge of the roof, looking out at the red moon. He could feel it, whispering to him, calling out to him, just as loudly as the ring around his neck. It seemed so much bigger than before, three times larger than a normal moon, though that was all simply in Danny's head. His eyes were dilating rapidly as hot anger pumped through his blood.

Vlad's mocking laughter echoing inside of his head, the finally pleading words of Dani as she lost her hold on life and slipped away into a puddle of ectoplasm, the feeling of being completely powerless to save her. What good was all this power if he couldn't save one little girl?

'But you could have saved her,' the ring seemed to whisper, 'You would simply have had to kill the man who hurt her before he managed to get his hands on her.'

"Shut up... shut up..." Danny said over and over again. His body was shaking. It was true. Danny couldn't help but to feel like it was true. If he had simply dealt with Vlad once and for all before it had come to that, then Dani would still be alive.

'You must put a stop to though who would betray you. Show them that you are their rightful ruler!' the Ring of Rage growled into Danny's mind while playing the voices of Sam and Tucker as they had turned their backs on him, Cornelia's voice as she declared him to be a threat, his own father labeling him a monster.

It hurt so much. The knowledge that no matter what he did, people would fear him, they would always hate him. He just wanted the pain to stop. He didn't want to feel this anymore.

'I know how you can get away from the pain,' Danny's heart sank as he felt the words passing through his spirit, 'Just let it go. Let go of this humanity that binds you. Let go of your emotions and be free of death.'

"I... I..." Danny mumbled, his will slowly but surely breaking down. He knew just what waited down such a path. The destruction and evil that would come from him giving up his mortality. But at that moment, with all the hate and the pain flowing through him. The idea of no longer feeling the pain... it was tempting. The voices were growing louder and louder, along with the promise of an end. Danny's right hand started to move up towards the ring, the knowledge of how to remove his own humanity flickering in and out of him consciousness.

"Danny?" Danny froze and the voices stopped short as he heard her voice. Danny turned his head to see Will standing on the roof behind him, a look of concern clear on her face.

"W...Will," Danny said in the dazed voice of a half drowned man, "What is it? Why did you follow me?"

"Danny, what's the matter with you?" Will asked, "I can sense your Aether, you're anger." Danny looked down at his own hands, seeing the flakes of dark red aura in his Aether. He was angry, but he couldn't stop it. "You started losing control when your parents brought up Vlad Masters." Danny twitched at the name and looked away from the girl, not wanting her to see the anger and pain in his eyes. "They said he was murdered by a ghost. Is that why you are mad? Was he one of the people you couldn't save?"

"No," Danny said his anger continuing to rise. The Ring of Rage laughing as its job was being done for it. "I don't feel sorry for Vlad. That bastard got what he deserved," Danny said his hands clenching into fists and his body shaking in anger. "He should be grateful I finished him quickly. It was more than he deserved."

Will's eyes widened in shock. "Danny?"

"I should have killed him slowly! I should have draw it out and made him suffer, just like he did with Dani!" Danny shouted, his voice echoing as his eyes turned red from his dark Aether. "He was foolish enough to anger me, and for that he earn his death!" But his anger hesitated when he looked at Will and saw pity in her eyes.

"Danny, this isn't like you," Will said, "It's the ring. You need to fight it. Don't let it control you." He knew it was the ring. He wanted to fight it. But he was so tired of fighting. Hadn't he earned the right to rest? To give in and just let what happens happen?

He had once tried to be a hero, and all that did was cause him pain. He didn't want it any more. He didn't want the responsibility. He didn't want the heartache. He didn't want the pain. He cared this burden because he had to. He had to. He had to keep the ring. Danny started to shiver as the weight of his burden pressed down on him. The ring whispering words of temptation into his mind.

"Danny, give me the ring," Will said holding out her hand. Danny froze at her words. "You need to take a break from this. I'll hold onto the ring for you and..."

"Is that it..." Danny said, Will stopped at the anger in his voice. The shadows on the roof top began to shift around him as his Aether grew more and more unstable. "You are just trying to trick me into giving you my right to the Heart. I should have known I couldn't trust you."

"Danny, that's not what I..." Will started but Danny won't let her finish.

"If you want it then you will have to take it from me!" Danny roared angrily, his dark power exploding around him, becoming easily visible even to the untrained eye in its sheer quantity. The dark greens and purples rimmed in black covered Danny's body as the shadows started to move out of the ground and form in the air. "The Heart is mine! And Kandrakar will never take it! Not through trickery or through force! I will destroy anyone who tries to take it from me! I... I..." Danny's words petered out as she saw the sad expression on Will's face.

"Will... I'm sorry... I'm..." Danny turned away from her. "Go... just go. It isn't safe around me. Just go." He pleaded with her, trying to regain his self control.

Will opened her mouth, trying to find words to say, but then just closed her mouth and nodded. She turned back to the door to go back down into the school but before she went down the stairs she turned back to the Ghost King, who looked more like a scared by than ever before. "Danny, I know you wouldn't hurt us. You're a good friend, and I trust you." Will said before closing the door behind her and leaving Danny to vent.

Elyon was terrified. What the hell was Danny?

She had expected to find him having a romantic meeting behind her back with Will, not that he would suddenly confess to murder and start to give off an evil glow.

'The Heart is mine!'

For some reason those words echoed in the young blonds mind as she ran through the halls, not even sure where she was running to. She just had to get away from that thing.

How could she have been dating that for all this time? What even was Danny?

Not paying attention to where she was going, Elyon ran straight into Cedric. "Elyon, what is the matter?" The blond man asked in his deep voice.

"It's I... Danny was... He was glowing and... and..." Elyon's words came out disjointed and confused, a mild sob forming in her throat, stopping her from breathing properly. "He and Will were on the roof and... and I followed them and... Danny is some kind of monster."

Cedric had to surprise a grin as he tried to keep on a comforting face. "You saw what he is really like," Cedric said in a forced pained voice. "I know how terrible he truly is."

Elyon blinked up at the book seller. "You... you knew?"

Cedric nodded before looking around. He grabbed onto Elyon's hand and started pulling her away. "Come, I'll explain everything, but it isn't safe here."

Elyon was confused and scared, but something inside her made her feel like she could trust Cedric, that he would never lie to her. And so, she followed him, completely oblivious to the wicked grin that crossed his face.

Cedric's eyes flashed a reptilian yellow as he glanced around the hallways of the school, tasting the air to make sure that no one was following him as he lead the princess to a place where he could tell her 'the truth'. His month of waiting was finally paying off.

"Elyon. Before we began, I just want you to know that I wanted to tell you everything the moment I was sure of who you were, but I couldn't risk it. Not with that... boy so nearby," Cedric said as he pulled Elyon into a classroom and knelt in front of her.

"Cedric, what are you talking about?" Elyon said still jittery from fright after seeing Danny unleashing his dark power. His strange echoing voice ringing in her ears.

"I am sorry to say this Elyon. But everyone has been lying to you," Cedric said, pulling out a list of birth records of the town. "You were not born here in Heatherfield. You were not even born in this world."

"What!?" Elyon shouted in shock, though for some reason, she didn't doubt it for an instant.

"I know this will be hard to accept. But you were not born in this world. You were born in a wonderful kingdom far away from here, to the royal family of Meridian," Cedric said try to keep up a fast enough pace to get everything out. "You were stolen from us as a baby by the Guardians of Kandrakar who wished to use you in their games of power."

"I'm... I'm a princess!" Elyon stammered out.

Cedric nodded, "That and so much more. You are the center of the entire world of Meridian, it's very mystical Heart. And nearly everyone in your life has been trying to get that power from you."

"I... I don't understand. How could this be happening," Elyon said shakily.

"Elyon, I wish I could have told you, but it wasn't safe. I was always afraid that the boy would realize who I was and destroy me before I could explain everything to you," the serpent book seller said in what he believed to be an apologetic voice. Not that acting skills were needed when your audience is under a spell that forces them to believe your performance.

"You mean Danny," Elyon said latching onto that. "What is he? I thought he was just another kid."

"That boy is the most dangerous being in all the worlds, the Pariah, ruler of the land of Tartarus, the King of Ghosts," Cedric said, not having to fake his shiver at the thought. Elyon's eyes widened. "He found out that Kandrakar had taken you from us and wished to seize the power that is your birth right for himself. But it can only be given to him willingly, so he sought to trick you into believing that you were in love with him, when really it was simply the Heart of Meridian he was after."

'The Heart is mine!' Danny had shouted in his blind rage, not realizing that Elyon had been watching. "When he was talking to Will about the Heart belonging to him... he meant me."

Cedric grinned and nodded. "Yes. That is exactly right. Will and her friends are the new Guardians of Kandrakar, servants of the realm that kidnapped you. In fact, Will is their leader," the snake man said playing off the girl's hate for the red head, "Kandrakar and Tartarus have been at war for longer than recorded history, and each of them wished to use your power to overwhelm the other."

"But I don't have any power. I'm just a normal girl," Elyon said, sounding as she desperately wanted that to be true. But somewhere deep inside her, the knowledge that she had power was starting to turn up the strength that lay dormant inside of her, breathing new vigor into the spell that held her mind and heart captive.

Cedric could taste the flow of magic starting to gather around the child of light. "That is where you are wrong Elyon. You are the Heart of Meridian, the greatest source of mystic energy that Meridian, our home world, knows," Cedric said as he lowered himself to look into her eyes, pressing the magic of the Amalgamation to its limits. "The moment your brother caught wind that you were still alive he sent me to find you and bring you home. Princess Elyon."

"Br...brother." The words formed on Elyon's lips and a deep longing started to build up inside of her, urging her to move forward, to return to where she had come from.

"Please Elyon," Cedric said offering the girl his hand. She had to take it. She had to come willingly with him in order for the protections around Meridian's Heart to allow her free passage between worlds. For a second, it looked as though Elyon really was going to take his hand. She was reaching out for it, hesitantly, as if something deep down told her not to, but her conscious mind was struggling against that gut instinct.

"Elyon!" The girl's hand snapped back as she heard her parents' voices calling out in the hallway. "Elyon!" "Sweetie, where are you!?"

"My parents," Elyon said in surprise. They must have gotten worried when she disappeared on them and they are now looking for her.

Cedric's upper lip twitched, he had been so close. But then again, this was just another thread that tied her to this world and her old happy life. One more thread for him to sever. "No they aren't. And it is time you see them for what they really are," Cedric said as he went to the door, glancing out to see Mr. and Mrs. Brown walking by.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, the beast pulled out a glowing green stone laced with Styx magic similar to the Tracker's flail. A magic artifact that could be used to dispel glamours.

Elyon peered out around the door as Cedric moved in behind her parents and lifted up the stone above him, letting its light fall on the couple. Mr. and Mrs. Brown gasped as if stung by something and their bodies shimmered.

Elyon let out a scream as the parents she thought she had known her entire life were replaced by two twisted figures with toad like green skin and stony plat like warts. Their hair had become a disgusting mop of green seaweed and their faces were narrow with big lips and teeth.

"You have been lied to all your life, Elyon, but the truth will finally set you free!" Cedric said with a twisted grin as he looked down at the terrified faces of the creatures that had been the Browns.

"Ce...Cedric," Mrs. Brown gasped, trembling in fear as her husband tried to shield her with his body, but then her eyes found Elyon. "Elyon, get away from him, he's dangerous."

"What are you!?" Elyon shouted in fear. As the two figures that she had once thought were her parents started towards her she panicked throwing up her hands. "Stay away from me!" A pulse of mystic energy shot out of the girl, pushing the two hard against the wall. As the two creatures slide to the ground, Elyon looked down at her own glowing white hands in shock. "How... how did I do that?" She said, sounding like she was in more awe than fear at that moment.

"The Heart of Meridian is waking up inside of you. It isn't safe for you here anymore," Cedric said. "If the Ghost King or Guardians sensed that little display, then they will know that you are awakening to your powers and that they can now be stolen from you." He held out her hand once again to the scared girl. "Trust me Elyon, and I will bring you home safely to your real family."

Elyon looked up into the book seller's golden eyes and this time, nothing stopped her from taking his hand.

Caleb cursed under his breath as he moved though the school searching for Elyon. He couldn't believe that he let the princess get out of his sight. If it hadn't been for that small group of giggling girls trying to flirt with him, he wouldn't have lost track of one of the only important ones.

Honestly, this wasn't what he was trained to do. Shadowing people was more of Blunk's field, Caleb was a breaking and entering and improvised combat kind of guy. But unfortunately, the toad wouldn't be able to go unnoticed in a school. Not with the lack of open air to hide his stink.

But he stopped grumbling about his lousy luck when he heard a girl's scream. Rushing off in that direction, Caleb arrived on the scene to find two lowland Meridianers lying on the ground. "What happened here?" Caleb said in shock as he checked on them.

The man's eyes opened as he looked up at Caleb. "Cedric. He has Elyon," the man said in a panicked voice, "Please, get the Guardians."

Caleb's eyes widened as the words registered with him. Phobos had made his move.

Will walked back down towards the gym in a sort of haze of her own. The guilt of not being able to do anything to help her friend when he was falling apart like that weighed on her, and the constant screams of terror coming from the Heart of Kandrakar didn't help it any.

She was actually not scared herself. Throughout their training, Danny would randomly throw intimidating auras at her to help her build up a resistance to them, so even when his Aether had gone out of control and he had his panic attack, it only made her feel sad instead of frightened. A sadness that was deeply inset into Danny's own aura that had been leaking into her.

Danny wouldn't hurt her, not on purpose, for some reason, Will felt like this was true. That Danny was a friend and could be trusted. If he wasn't, he would have never let her see him in such a weakened state.

Maybe that was the reason why Danny wasn't that frightening to her now. Because he lacked that cool confidence from before. Sure he might still be far more powerful than she was, but he wasn't as strong as he usually was, she could tell that much.

Will froze on her heels when she sensed a sudden flare of raw magic power. It was strong, and not coming from the roof where she could still feel Danny. "What was that?" She mumbled in confusion.

It wasn't like anything she had ever felt before. It was pure raw power, not the refined energy of the Guardians or Danny. But it disappeared just as quickly as it had come, before Will could even get a good sense of where it had come from. The Heart of Kandrakar was going insane, though not with the same fear as just a minute ago.

"Maybe I should get the other gir..." Will didn't even have time to finish that thought when her mother's voice shouted out at her.

"Will! There you are!" Will turned to see Susan walking briskly towards her. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Why didn't you come back to the gym after your bathroom break?"

"Well... I was heading back to the gym right now," Will said nervously.

"You sure took a long time. Maybe you were hoping to go off and talk with your friend while his parents kept me busy," Susan said putting her hands on her hips.

"Not at all," Will said, wincing as she remembered that she had left her mother with Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. Hopefully they didn't do anything to horribly embarrassing.

"Either way, I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with those two on a daily basis," Susan said shaking her head, "Their daughter was alright though, and I'm sure your friend is a good person."

"Ya... he is," Will said, trying to keep the regret out of her voice.

"Alright, now that I found you let's get moving," Susan said grabbing Will's hand and starting to pull her along, "We still have to talk to your teachers about how you are doing."

Will's heart sank at those words and all other troubles seemed a lot less important. She hated open house.

Will was trying her best to not let her emotions run wild. She could feel the temptation of just shock everything and everyone as her mother sat down with her teacher, Mr. Collins, in order to discuss her performance in his history class. She could feel the static running through her arms, giving her goose bumps and making the hairs stand on end.

It wasn't like she was terrible at history. The problem she had was that the two of them were dating, and the atmosphere was less than professional. Will had never really liked the idea of her mom dating again, it just felt wrong, and the subject being her history teacher just made it more wrong.

Sure it was selfish to not want her mom to try to find someone special, but she was fourteen, she was supposed to be selfish. She couldn't be selfish all the time because of being a Guardian, so she had to make up for lost time whenever she could.

"It's good to see you again, Susan," Mr. Collins said putting his hand on Will's mom's and smiling through his stupid mustache. Will wanted to gag at the corny love. She would do anything to get out of this.

"Move it!" Someone shouted in the hallway as a hole was pushed open in the line leading into the classroom and Caleb muscled his way in, not caring at the angry comments of the people he pushed aside. The brown haired boy ran straight up the leader of the Guardians and grabbed her arm, pulling her up out of her seat before leaning in and whispering in her ear. "Lord Cedric is here, he's got Elyon."

Will's eyes widened as she nodded, quickly moving to follow Caleb. "Will, where are you going? Get back here!" Her mother called out to her.

"Sorry, something important, can't explain, have to go!" Will shouted over her shoulder, though she didn't slow down, she knew she was going to be in trouble later, but now was not the time to care. She had to go and find the others. They couldn't let Cedric take Elyon back to Meridian. They had to keep her safe.

She just hoped that they could save her before Danny caught wind of this, in his current state of mind, she wasn't sure he could handle the shock of Elyon being the Heart of Meridian.

"Come on already!" Will hissed as she had to drag Hay Lin away from her mom and dad.

"But I haven't shown them my volcano yet," the Wind Guardian whined as she grudgingly followed her leader. She was the only one of the girls who had resisted leaving their parents alone out of a desire to actually show them the school and how they were doing rather than strictly damage control as they interacted with teachers and other parents.

"Hay Hay, we have more important things to do than show your parents your exploding dirt mound," Irma said as she ran up with Caleb to join them, "Caleb says that old scale face has grabbed Elyon."

"We need to move, if she gets taken to Meridian things are going to get really really bad," Taranee said, visibly nervous about the possible consequences.

"Why is he acting now? I mean, parent's night?" Cornelia said as they all reached the front entrance and rushed out into the night, "How are we even supposed to find them?"

"I'm not really sure. I checked the map, but no new portals have shown up, so I have no idea where they are going," Will admitted.

"So we are just running around hoping to stumble across them, oh that's just great," Cornelia said angrily. Will thought about snapping at the Earth Guardian, but a glance at the blond guardian told her just how worried the girl was about her friend.

"We need a way to track them. There has to be a way," Caleb said.

Will thought about going to Danny for help. He could probably do it. Probably. But he was in no fit state to be finding out about Elyon. She had to do this herself, he had trained her, so she had to put it to use.

She could still remember the sudden feel of raw mystic energy pulsing through the air. The heart of Meridian must have been reacting, but even though Elyon had all that power, her Aether hadn't yet adapted to control it, so Will couldn't just look for the girl's Aether. But maybe there was another way.

Since the mystic energy was still in its raw state, wouldn't it be drawn to a powerful source of Aether? If Will could draw up enough Quintessence, then perhaps she could pull in the mystic energy that Elyon was leaking and find out where she was from that.

"We should split up. Cover more ground," Hay Lin suggested.

"What would we do if we did find them then? It isn't like any of us can fight Cedric one on one." Taranee pointed out.

"Do you have a better plan brain girl?" Cornelia said sharply.

"Guys, quiet down I need to concentrate," Will said as she closed her eyes and started to draw on her power. Cornelia was about to snap at her when she saw electricity flickering around Will's body, dancing through the air and causing ribbons of light to appear around her. Will took a deep breath and opened her eyes, glancing from one ribbon to another until she saw one that was much stronger and more solid than the others. She got used to the feel of how it reacted to her own Aether before dropping the electric field around her. "They're this way!" she shouted before running on ahead, leaving the others to follow behind her.

"Hurry Princesss..." Cedric had to chomp down on his snake's tongue as he moved as fast as he could make the girl follow through the streets towards his bookstore. With the objective so close at hand, he was starting to lose his nerve. If the Guardians or that Ghost King found him at this point, he would be dead and all of his work would be undone. Well, maybe not dead if the Guardians were the ones that found him, but trying to steal something from a Ghost King was suicide, only a complete fruit loop would even consider it.

"Cedric, where are we going?" Elyon asked as she stumbled along in the dark. She was trembling from a mixture of cold and fear.

"To the bookstore. Once there we can take a portal back to Meridian, your one true home," Cedric said, wishing he could just pick the girl up and sprint for it, especially when he heard the familiar voice of a cocky rebel brat behind him.

"There they are!" Caleb shouted, pointing them out as the Guardians came up with him.

"It's the book seller!" Taranee said in surprise.

"He's the beast? But he was so cute," Cornelia said in disappointment.

"Co...Cornelia. What are you doing here?" Elyon said in surprise.

"Run Elyon! They are the agents of Kandrakar, the ones who stole you away from your real family," Cedric said trying to pull the girl away from them, as his own heartbeat started to quicken. He couldn't transform, not in front of Elyon, but without his true form, he was no match for the Guardians.

"Oh no you don't!" Caleb shouted as the rebel tackled Cedric to the ground and away from Elyon who look on in horror. "You left me in a dungeon to rot!" He shouted as he struggled to get a hold on Cedric, but the beast used his inhuman strength to quickly get the upper hand on the human boy.

"We need to help him," Cornelia said as she watched Cedric twisting Caleb's arm.

"Right. Guardians Unite!" Will shouted as she pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar. The girls were obscured from vision by a bright flash of pink light, and when the light disappeared they were flying ten feet in the air with wings growing out of their backs.

Elyon trembled as she looked at Cornelia, someone she had thought she known her entire life. "What are you!?" She cried in panic.

Hay Lin summoned up a strong gust of wind to pull Cedric and Caleb apart before throwing the snakeman into a wall where vines emerged from the ground to bind the beast. "Hold him still!" Will shouted as she moved in with the Heart of Kandrakar to reveal Cedric's true form.

"Stop it!" Elyon shouted as she saw Cedric struggling against the vines while Will went in for what she believed was the kill. Elyon just wanted it to stop. Everything. She couldn't take it anymore, all of this lying, all of this betrayal. And she wanted to stop everyone from hurting Cedric.

She threw up her hands as her mystic energy rushed to the surface, racing quickly out of her. The ground underneath her feet cracked under the pressure of the girl's magic and the nearby street lamps were twisted into odd shapes. Entire cars were lifted from the ground to go hurtling through the air underneath the force of her power.

The Guardians were taken completely by surprise and sent flying into the air as the Heart of Meridian unleashed her true strength. And once it was done Elyon stood there staring at her own hands which glowed a startling white. "Cedric... what did I just do?" She asked looking up at the book seller as he started to push himself up.

But Cedric only looked on in open mouthed terror, his eyes fixed on a point right behind the princess.

"Elyon?" a stiff, echoing voice said. One that sent a shiver down the girl's spin. She turned around to see a boy standing there in the middle of the street, his dark green eyes staring at her with an uncomprehending expression, dark wisps flouting around him as his negative energy flowed out over everyone in the area. A sickly green ring dangling from around him neck.

The King of All Ghosts had arrived.

In the end this chapter was a little over 12K words long. Though it could have been longer if I had chosen to keep it going until after Elyon was in Meridian.