AGITΏ: Warriors of Creation.

Heatherfield was for all intents and purposes a pretty nice place to live. It had a lot of places where people could hang out for the various ages of people who had decided to make this place their home. It had a good school in the Sheffield Institute. The Silver Dragon Restaurant was one of the better known places to eat since it was know to have some pretty good food. Sure, the occasional odd thing happened in this town, but didn't every town have their own little oddities? Lots of people thought so or else they would have moved away a long time ago.

It was a beautiful spring day but today was a school day too so almost every kid in town was at school. The Sheffield Institute was no different. Today though, there would be some surprises waiting for the students. The biggest surprises though would come for five certain girls who were the Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions (formerly known as the Guardians of the Veil but since the Veil had been dropped a new title was given to the girls).

"All right, everyone!" Ms. Parker, their math teacher, called out to the students. The students began paying some attention to what the teacher was saying now. "I have an announcement to make today."

Now the students were paying attention, especially Irma Lair. She always was one who disliked being in this section of the school. The classes were always a pain. Anything that made the time with the teachers in this part of school go by faster was welcome to her. Daydreaming about Joel Wright sometimes wasn't enough.

"Now that I have your attention," Ms. Parker nodded. "We are going to have a new student joining us."

That got everyone's attention. Many students began wondering what kind of person this new student was. Taranee gave the thought a passing glance. She wanted to get to her math lessons already. She was having trouble with some problems with a few of the homework questions and she wanted to get the details hammered out.

Hay Lin entertained thoughts about the new student and took a marker out. If she wanted to remember his or her name then she would have to write them down or else she might end up insulting the newbie if she had to show him around but ended up forgetting his name.

Irma was a little excited to see the new student. Maybe the new student would be a cute boy. If she was lucky then he might ask her out, but she would have to consider it. Being cute definitely got you points, but being a nice guy got you a lot more.

Seeing that the class was paying attention and anticipating the arrival, Ms. Parker went to the door to welcome the new student in. Almost everyone in the classroom was leaning on their desks to try and see who was coming in.

He was DARK. He was wearing black clothes. Around his wrists were silver bracelets and leather wristbands. He wore a black t-shirt and jeans with equally black shoes. Silver necklaces were wrapped around his neck with gothic crosses on them. He had black hair which he had brushed to cover his eyes. Still, everyone could see his dark hazel eyes which seemed to have a hidden depth to them. His eyes looked like they could almost be red by the shade of brown they were. His posture was slouched and his hands were in his pockets. A backpack was slung over his shoulder where he was keeping his books.

"Why don't you introduce yourself," Ms. Parker spoke up.

The boy looked to the class and sighed before he started speaking, "My name is Adrian Carter," His voice sounded deep and mature. Some of the girls already liked the sound of it. "Beyond that, I don't think there's anything of interest about me."

The classroom had their usual amount of murmurs as they started talking about the new boy. Ms. Parker let them continue for a minute before she coughed to catch their attention.

"There," she nodded. "Now, you can sit in the free desk next to Ms. Lair. She's the short-haired brunette."

Irma immediately snapped to attention as she heard her name. Adrian looked to her and saw the empty desk. He gave a small nod of thanks towards his teacher before walking to the empty desk and sitting in it and putting his backpack on the ground. Irma waited for some kind of greeting, but Adrian didn't even take one look at her. His eyes were glued to the front of the room.

"All right, class," Ms. Parker spoke as she turned to the chalkboard. "We're going to begin by taking out yesterday's homework..."

The day continued and soon the lunch bell rang, releasing the gathered students for the brief time they needed to get something to eat so they could continue with their day. At one table, five girls in particular were eating together like they usually did.

"I heard there's a new guy in school," spoke short-haired redhead, Will Vandom.

"There is," confirmed the dark-skinned Taranee Cook as she munched on a sandwich. "A boy."

"Really?" asked the long-haired blonde, Cornelia Hale. "Is he cute?"

"Mn," the short-haired brunette, Irma Lair shrugged. "I guess so, but he's a complete Goth. Kinda creepy really."

"I think he's cool," the long-haired, oriental Hay Lin smiled. "He has his own thing going on. Dare to be different!"

"If he's so cool then why are you sitting with us and not talking with him?" asked Irma with a slight grin.

"I don't have a clue where he is," Hay Lin shrugged. "After Math class ended he was gone like a shot. I don't think his locker is near mine so I couldn't even catch him between classes."

"Where do you think he went?" asked Cornelia.

"Who knows," Taranee shrugged.

"Well, you guys can figure it out yourselves," Will shrugged. "I need to hit the little girls' room. I'll be back."

Will left the table and began walking to the school. She was rather relieved that things were finally calming down. After Elyon had ascended to the throne of Meridian, things had been tense for the Guardians for a while due to the conflicts created by Nerissa, a former Guardian who had fallen to the dark side. Cornelia had her heart broken when Caleb decided to stay in Meridian. She was in a bit of funk, well, until she had a slight interest in Taranee's brother Peter. Nothing serious, but enough for the other girls to tease her about it. That relationship did not last long as Cornelia and Caleb eventually patched things up and mended their relationship.

Dating, school, boys; it was something girls their age did all the time. It made them feel normal. At times like that they could almost forget that they were the newest generation of Guardians, had magic powers, and seen things that a lot of people in Heatherfield would never dream existed.

Will made her stop and came back outside through a side door since it was closer. As she was walking past a tree, she noticed someone was sitting on one of the thicker branches. Her first instinct said it was something weird again, but after a moment, she saw that it was just a fellow student who was lounging. Seeing as how he was very much a Goth, Will assumed that this was the new boy.

"Um...hello?" Will called up the tree. The person in black stirred and looked down to see Will.

"Can I help you?" he asked. He seemed barely polite with his words.

"Yeah," Will nodded. "You're the new guy, Adrian, right?"

"Adrian Carter," the Goth introduced. 'That's me. I doubt you'd find someone else dressed like me out here."

"Probably not," Will shrugged. "By the way, my name's Will. Will Vandom."

"Pleasure to meet you, Will," Adrian shrugged. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Not really," Will shrugged. "Just thought I'd be friendly and say hello. Seems like a nice thing to do anyway."

"Well, I appreciate the thought," Adrian sighed. He didn't sound very appreciative at all. "How'd you learn my name anyway?"

"Oh, my friend's Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin have Math class with you," Will answered.

"Irma?" Adrian blinked. "Oh, the brunette. Right. So that's where you got my name."

"So, you want to eat with us?" Will asked. She may not be the most open person in the world, but the least she could do is give the new guy a chance to make some friends.

"I already ate," Adrian replied evenly. "Thanks for the offer."

Will frowned slightly at his tone of voice. He sounded so pessimistic! Well, maybe if his clothes were any indication, he had that attitude down like an art form. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked away with a wave goodbye. This left Adrian alone, just the way he preferred it.

Adrian though was thinking again. That Will girl was the first person who actually had enough nerve to actually talk to him. Granted, they were alone so there was no risk of social fallout happening. He had met girls her type, girls who had their own little social circles who they were dedicated too. Granted, some were a lot nicer than others, but they were terrible gossips. If he was seen in their group then either Will or her friends would be made into pariahs or people would start bugging him. Neither option was acceptable.

Adrian had his reasons for being alone. Some pretty good reasons if he thought so himself. He looked up to the branch above him and stared at the leaves on the branches. Several leaves then broke off from the branches and began shooting through the air like small jet fighters. They were moving in a straight line and there was no wind blowing to move the leaves. Adrian was doing it all with his mind. He's had the ability since he was young. It took a while to develop the ability though. It first appeared when he was younger when he managed to pull a toy car out of a hole that was three feet deep when he was five years old. His parents were thankfully understanding about his gift, but Adrian wasn't so sure the rest of the world would understand.

Adrian was pessimistic by nature. Now that didn't mean he didn't have his own hopes. You had to be a really messed up person if you had no hope. Adrian always held some hope for the best, but he knew things didn't always turn out that way so he would always steel himself for the worst no matter what he did. That way, when it turned out good, he was satisfied. When things went bad, he would get over it faster and fix it if he could.

As he brought the leaves into his hand with his telekinesis, his thoughts turned to Will again. He knew he couldn't develop a crush on her just by meeting her, but something in his gut seemed almost drawn to her. Now that she was gone, so was the feeling, but it was an unexpected sensation that jumped him when she was around. It was like something in his stomach was doing flip-flops. He had almost accepted her invitation when she asked him. He was lucky his mind still worked properly or else he would become the prey for who knows how many girls.

The bell rang again and the students reluctantly went back into the building. Gym class was next and it was something that Cornelia found that she liked. It wasn't like ice skating or anything that she felt she was spectacular at, but it was a definite challenge to make her gym clothes look stylish.

Looking over the large gym, she found that there was another class working alongside them. The girls' gym teacher informed them that they were going to be working alongside them. A few of the girls giggled as they saw some of the boys stretching. Cornelia didn't give the boys much of a glance.

Why? Well, she was now dating Caleb again. Things had been a bit rough between the two a few months ago. After Phobos had been defeated the first time and Elyon took her rightful place at the throne of Meridian, Caleb decided to stay. This made Cornelia angry as he had chosen Meridian over her! They then began to bicker and act hostile to one another when in fact they still shared some feelings. Things took a turn for the worse when Cornelia decided to date Peter, Taranee's brother, under the name 'Lillian' as Peter had seen her in her more grown up form. It wasn't until that fateful day at the skating rink that Cornelia realized who her heart belonged too.

"Okay, everyone!" Ms. Bane shouted, catching the girls' attention. "We'll be working with Mr. Gregor's class so all of you will be partnering up in groups as I number you off."

The teacher then began number off students in groups of five. Cornelia secretly hoped that she wouldn't be partnered up with some dork.

Soon, she was numbered as '4' and went off to gather with her fellow team mates in team 4. Overall, she was grouped with some boys and some girls she didn't know al that well. One person that caught her eye was a boy with black hair. From what Will told her and the others when they came back, this was that new Adrian boy.

'Well, he seems pretty cute outside his Goth stuff,' Cornelia observed. 'Definite potential.'

As usual, her sense of fashion came up to the surface when she met someone new. She personally had nothing against Goths beyond their weird looks. They were a complete crime against fashion in her opinion.

"May I ask why you're looking at me like you're dissecting a frog or something?" Adrian asked irritably.

"Huh?" Cornelia blinked. She had been staring too long. "Oh. I just figured that you're that new guy, Adrian."

"You must be friends with Will," Adrian commented.

"How'd you know?" Cornelia blinked.

"She's the only one who introduced herself to me," Adrian shrugged as he gazed lazily looked to where the two teachers were talking.

The two teachers suddenly called out for the students to pay attention before they called for a basketball game to begin. Huffing in annoyance, Cornelia and her team took to the court against team 1, with more people she didn't know and Adrian.

The game began and soon Cornelia was huffing and puffing to keep up. She wasn't out of shape by any means. She just wasn't fit for sports.

Adrian on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine. He was tearing up the court. Cornelia silently added 'athletic' to the list of things she now knew about the new guy.

Adrian lined up for a long shot and tossed the ball for the net. Cornelia saw the ball land against the rim and she was sorely tempted to use her telekinesis to give the ball a little nudge into the hoop. However, it seemed the ball didn't need it as it fell straight through.

Adrian smirked as the ball fell in. Sure, he knew that what he just did could be considered cheating, but he needed the practice of his powers and there was no guarantee that the ball wasn't going to go in anyway.

Best of all, no one was the wiser.

Sam Hayner was not one whom people called extraordinary. He was rather plain and he didn't like to stand out. He was generic looking with jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and a single hat on his head.

Lately though, things were acting really weird around him. Whenever games of chance would show up, he would be able to predict the outcome. Granted, he still got it wrong sometimes, but the result was so close to his prediction that his answer could have been mistaken for what was the result. His accuracy was slowly getting better too. Sam figured that he would be able to get down perfectly before too long.

Sam walked through a parking lot as he made his way back home from work. He just wanted to get home to rest. It had been a stressful day and he was looking forward to sitting down.

"I wouldn't count on that," a raspy voice spoke.

Sam immediately turned around and found himself facing a wall of black. He then felt something bury itself inside of his chest. He couldn't even scream because it had hurt so much. It wasn't long before the poor man passed out from it all.

The dark figure pulled his hand out of Sam and didn't even leave a blemish or rippled clothes. In his hand was a shining light which would have blinded a lot of people who would look at it.

The figure didn't seem affected by the light before he clenched it in his hand. The light immediately died down before reigniting as a deep purple glow. Satisfied that it worked, the figure kneeled down to Sam before sticking the purple glowing object back into his chest.

Sam's body began to convulse as purple smoke began to engulf him. The dark figure stepped back as the process began. A hissing sound began come from the smoke as two yellow eyes could be seen from within the smoke.

"Rise, my Otiga," the figure chuckled. "You are the first in my army of perfection. You will serve me well."

Cornelia wiped the sweat off her brow as she looked at the score. So far during the whole game, Adrian had scored a perfect basket for their team each time. She had to admit that he was good at what he did. If only he wasn't so cold then maybe he could be considered someone cool to hang out with.

As Adrian lined up for another basket, suddenly he felt a pulse in his head. It caused him to drop the ball as the pulsing grew louder and constant. He grabbed his head and fell to his knees, howling in pain. The windows of the gym also began to crack and then they shattered. Students scrambled to safety screaming in confusion as to what was happening. The raining glass made everyone immediately run for cover. Adrian was still on his knees, clutching his head. The pain going through his whole head was unbearable. He tried to endure it but the more he tried the more it came. It was like a broken dam and there was no failsafe.

"Adrian!" Cornelia cried as she ran over to the boy. He was still crying out and holding his head. The social-wise blonde grabbed Adrian's shoulders and got him to his feet before dragging him over to the wall where the glass hadn't showered hard.

"Just what was that?" Cornelia asked herself.

Adrian just continued to clutch his head and groan in pain.

The darkened figure and what was deemed an Otiga, still in the black smoke, turned their heads as they felt a pulse.

"Hm… a potential," the figure pondered. He then turned to the Otiga. "I have your first mission. You are to find this potential and destroy it. If you see any other potentials like this one, destroy them as well."

The Otiga nodded and growled before it leaped from the smoke and into the distance. It had moved too fast for anyone to see. The figure snickered as he waked away. He still had many things to do and NO ONE would stand in his way.

"So all the windows in the gym were destroyed?" asked Irma with some amazement.

"For the third time: YES!" Cornelia snapped.

It was now after school hours and the girls were meeting up at the Silver Dragon restaurant that Yan Lin, Hay Lin's grandmother and the former Guardian of Air, ran. Business was slow for the moment so Hay Lin was able to sit with her friends and talk.

"So Adrian was clutching his head and screaming," Taranee muttered to himself. "Do you think that he might have had something to do with it?"

"Well, duh," Irma snickered. "He starts freaking out and suddenly the windows crash wide open? I'd say so."

"What happened after that anyway?" asked Will.

"Well, after a few minutes, he began to calm down," Cornelia recalled. "But he seemed a little freaked out. He took one look at me and backed away. He wouldn't go near anyone. It was like he was scared of the contact."

"Well that obviously means he has an idea about what happened," Taranee commented.

"Think we should confront him?" asked Hay Lin.

"I don't think we should," said Will. "I mean, it sounds like he knew what happened, but not why it happened. If we go at him about it then he might snap again."

"And then who knows what he'll break after that," Irma shivered. She didn't fancy getting battered like the windows were.

"Now, come on!" Hay Lin argued. "How could he have done it? He'd have to have superpowers or something."

The other four Guardians stared plainly at Hay Lin. The oriental girl sweatdropped before laughing slightly. She of all people should have known that a lot of things were more than they seemed.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I have homework to do," Taranee sighed as she stood up.

"Ditto," Will mumbled sadly. "Mr. Rydinger likes to lay it down hard."

"I guess the meeting is adjourned then," Irma shrugged.

"Still, I wonder if he's okay," Hay Lin pondered as she got up with her friends. "From what Corny said, he sounded like he was in a lot of pain."

"Don't call me that!" Cornelia huffed angrily.

The girls said their goodbyes to Yan Lin before exiting the restaurant. They began walking down the streets towards their houses. Heatherfield was in a magic moment that was between the day life and the night life. The streets were relatively calm for the time being.

The Otiga was on the prowl. It had been ordered to hunt down the potential it and its master had sensed earlier. It had been traveling on rooftops all day, but there hadn't been another pulse all day so finding the potential was getting harder.

As it stopped for a moment close to an intersection, it began to feel something. It quickly grew excited at the sensation. A potential had to be close by!

Peering down to the streets from its angle, the Otiga began searching for the source of the sensation. Looking around, it saw nothing of interest. Then, it noticed five girls turning a corner and walking down the street in front of it.

All of the girls had the sensation in them. It was faint in four of them, but the full sensation was radiating from the red-haired one. The sensation was getting stronger as the girls got closer. There was no doubt about it. These girls just had to be potentials.

Only a small part of the Otiga's mind registered that the sensation wasn't quite the same as the one it had felt earlier. The rest of the Otiga's mind squashed that thought down by saying that they were closer to it now.

Adrian threw his book bag across the room before collapsing onto the bed. After what happened in the gym, he decided to keep his distance from everyone, pushing them away again. He could not risk it. He had been checked by the school nurse since he complained about a headache but nothing to warrant as an excuse to return home early. Then again, what would he say? 'Hey, by the way, you should send me home quick so I don't end up blowing people up.' He rolled his eyes. Yeah, that would be a conversation he would like to have.

" Adrian?" he heard a female voice call and he turned his head towards the door.

"Yeah, mom?" he asked. "What do you want?" he didn't mean to be so cold but after what happened, it was safer if she kept her distance. His mother entered and frowned sadly.

"You just came in and up to your room without a word. Not even a hello," his mother said. "What happened?"

He turned away, "Nothing."

"I'm your mother, young man," she spoke firmly, "And I know that it's not 'nothing' as you claim."

Adrian sighed. Somehow, his mother could find out what was bothering him. He then confessed, "I lost control."

"Oh," she realized.

"Mom, I could've hurt everyone in the gym when I made the windows shatter!" he shouted, looking at her. "Don't just say 'oh'!"

Adrian's mother shook her head, "What else am I supposed to say, Adrian? It wasn't your fault. You lost control."

"I don't belong with normal people, mom," he said. "I should just be sent away and locked up where I can't hurt anybody! I'm just a freak!"

"Don't you dare say that!" Adrian's mother raised her voice. He was shocked but then he was surprised again when she wrapped him in a hug. "You're not a freak. You're our son. Our little Addy."

Addy…their nickname for him when he used to be small. He had outgrown it but they still called him that sometimes. He could feel her tears so he delicately wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry, mom."

His mother pulled away, smiling. "I'll get you a treat. I just baked a chocolate cake that's heavy on the chocolate…DARK chocolate, just the way you like it."

"Thanks, mom," Adrian said before she left the room. He could smell the aroma and…

His eyes widened as he clutched his head again. The pulsing was back! He gritted his teeth, trying to not cry out in pain. He rolled around in his bed, trying to keep the pain in or else he'd destroy the house. His window swung open and he fell off the bed with a thud. Something…was calling him…something was calling out to him…He took a single look at his window and stood up, walking towards it.

His mom came in a few minutes later to see that he was gone.

To say the girls were sufficiently spooked would be an understatement. They had just been walking back to their neighborhood when all of a sudden, something big crashed onto the sidewalk in front of them.

The creature itself definitely wouldn't win any beauty contests. It was donned head to toe in reflective black armor that looked like a beetle's carapace. Its chest was covered with segmented plates which would allow it movement. Its legs were donned in the same black armor and it was spiked at the joints. It likewise had spikes on the joints of its arms and razor sharp claws. Its face was insect-like with two narrow eyes and a large horn jutting from its head. It was hissing wildly. An odd thing was the silver belt that was wrapped around its waist. It had a dull-looking crystal embedded in the centre as well.

"Ew!" Cornelia shrieked. "What is that?!"

"It's ugly that's what it is!" Hay Lin cried.

The creature didn't seem to take kindly to the insult and hissed angrily. It raised its claws and charged at the girls with murderous intent.

"Look out!" Irma cried as the five girls managed to evade the strike.

All five of them were now circled around the creature as it looked wildly around, as if trying to decide which one of them to try and take out first. Will had no intention of letting it try without a fight. She pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar and held it high, letting the energies that inhabited it begin working.

"Guardians, Unite!" she cried loudly, releasing the ancient energies.

Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin were engulfed in the ancient energies which were infused in them. The Otiga was blinded by the five simultaneous flashes of light and struggled to get its sight back. As the light died down, the girls reappeared, but they had changed.

"Fire!"

"Water!"

"Earth!"

"Air!"

"Quintessence!"

Each girl was now donned in their Guardian outfits which each had the common theme of blue, purple and green. Another noticeable change was that the girls appeared to have aged as well. Rather than the fourteen or fifteen year olds they were before, they looked like they were all seventeen or eighteen. Each girl likewise had a pair of wings on their backs which gave them all the appearance of fairies.

The Otiga hissed angrily as it got its sight back and saw the girls. Now it knew they just HAD to be potentials. They could change their forms!

"Time to squash a bug!" Taranee grinned as she summoned fireballs to her hands.

"Sounds good to me!" Irma agreed with a predatory grinned.

The Otiga snarled before it lunged for Will, who had the strongest sensation in it mind. The red-headed guardian fluttered her wings and took to the sky. The other Guardians followed their leader and likewise went to the air to try and get a better view of their foe.

"Ideas?" asked Hay Lin.

"Just smash it and see what happens!" Cornelia cried as dove down for the ground again.

The Otiga watched the Guardian of Earth coming down for an assault. It would have snorted in amusement if it could. Letting its legs tense, it took a leap at Cornelia with its claws outstretched, ready to tear her apart.

Not expecting the power of the leap, Cornelia was caught by surprise, "Yow!"

She was able to get out of the way, but the Otiga kept going upward toward the other Guardians.

"Scatter!" Will cried as she and the other Guardians flew off in different directions.

Eventually, the Otiga began to fall back to earth. Taranee took her chance for an attack and hurled a large fireball at her foe in hopes of damaging it. The Otiga witnessed the attack coming and turned its back to her. The fireball came and made impact against the shell, but it seemed to slide off as it made impact and continue flying in a new direction before fizzing out.

"What the-?!" Taranee gasped.

"So…we can't crack the black stuff covering it?" asked Hay Lin.

"But it's almost covered in that stuff!" Irma cried hotly.

"Then we go for the silver parts!" Cornelia grinned as she landed on the ground. She planted he hands on the ground before concentrating.

The street began to rumble as chunks of concrete broke from the ground and flew threw the air towards the Otiga. The creature was preparing to land when it saw the chunks of stone coming. It was caught by surprise so it wasn't able to turn again. The stone chunks made impact against its chest, earning a sharp squeal of pain as it crashed to the ground.

"All right, Cornelia!" Taranee cheered. She and the other Guardians flew to the ground

"Aw, he wasn't that tough," Cornelia smirked, obviously happy over the victory.

Another hiss told her she spoke to soon. The five Guardians turned to see the Otiga getting back onto its feet and glaring at them with what looked like utmost hatred.

Knowing that it might need a weapon now, the Otiga raised its hands and slammed them onto the sides of its belt. A purple light erupted from the dull crystal. Something about that light made the girls start feeling uneasy. It was like the light wasn't meant to be like that. From the purple depths, a long black and silver spear came out and into the waiting hands of the Otiga. The tip was liked like it was jagged and the same shape of the Otiga's horn.

"What the heck?!" Irma cried. "Where did he get that thing from?!"

"Okay, it looks like things are a little tougher than we thought," Cornelia gulped.

The Otiga hissed loudly and pointed the spear at the girls before stabbing the weapon into the ground. Cracks erupted in the ground and headed straight for the girls. Before any of them could react, the ground beneath them erupted. Dirt and stone pelted them and sent them all sprawling.

Irma coughed to get some dust out of her throat and she looked around to see if her friends were okay. She spotted Will and Hay Lin face down on the ground to her left. Cornelia and Taranee were groaning, but seemed to be okay. Lastly, she looked to see where their opponent had gone.

She got her answer when a large armored foot slammed down in front of her face. She looked up and saw the Otiga staring down at her. Its spear was raised and looked ready to be plunged into her back. It was about to but then it froze as it stared at something up ahead. It then spoke for the first time and said, "A…Gi…To…"

All the Guardians were rather surprised at the Otiga suddenly stopping its assault. They had heard the whisper reverberate from the back of its throat. Of course, Irma wasn't one to kick a gift horse in the mouth as she squirmed away from the Otiga.

"Agito?" asked Hay Lin as she helped Will to her feet. "What's an Agito?"

"You're asking us?" asked Cornelia sarcastically.

Irma managed to get back to her feet when he noticed something moving behind her friends. Once she was properly on her feet, she got a good look at who was coming.

"I'm guessing that's an Agito," Irma spoke as she pointed behind her friends.

The girls turned to see where the Guardian of Water was pointing and found themselves surprised. Walking calmly towards the battle was a figure donned in black armor that highlighted at points with silver. At first the girls thought that he was another one of the things they were fighting, but that thought was squashed when they saw that it was actual armor and not carapace.

He was wearing a mostly black bodysuit with black torso armor, shoulder guards, kneepads, gauntlets and boots. However, silver highlighted the different sections, revealing how well the armor accented his body, revealing him to be well toned and obviously strong. The sides of the armor were all silver. Around his waist was a belt similar to the Otiga's, but this one had a bright shining crystal in the centre. A silver rectangular stone rested in the centre of his chest. His face was covered with a black helmet that had a silver mouth guard. There were also two pointed horns sticking up from the front. The only thing that wasn't either silver or black on this new arrival was the large red eyes his helmet sported.

This…was Shadow Agito

"Who is that?" Taranee blinked.

"Don't know, don't care at the moment," Irma frowned. Just by being there, this new arrival had managed to save her life.

"AAAAAGIIIITTOOOOOOO!!" the beast roared, snapping the girls back to reality.

The Otiga dashed forward with its spear raised, ready to put the new arrival down. The Guardians prepared to fire some of their elements at it when it completely ignored them and continued running towards Shadow Agito.

"Does anyone else feel completely blown off?" asked Cornelia with some annoyance.

"There's no way he can take that thing alone!" Will cried as she began to follow the Otiga. "He'll need help!"

The Otiga lunged with its weapon, but Shadow sidestepped the blow before retaliating with a punch to the side, which caused the Otiga to groan in pain. The monster in question tried to swing its spear around, but Shadow moved under it as he came back up and lay down several punches across the Otiga's face with enough force to actually send it stumbling back.

Meanwhile, the Guardians were somewhat stunned to see the creature that was giving them trouble being beaten snotless through the thorough beating it was receiving.

"Uh…you sure he needs our help, Will?" asked Hay Lin.

The redhead in question could only watch in amazement with her fellow Guardians.

The Otiga managed to get some space before it tried a downward swing to get Shadow on the head. The black-clad Agito leaped back to avoid the assault as the spear dug into the hard asphalt. Acting quickly, Shadow dashed forward before stomping on the shaft of the spear, snapping it like a toothpick.

The Otiga stumbled backwards as it lost its main weapon. As it was stumbling, it tripped on the hole that Cornelia had made and fell on its back. Thanks to its rounded carapace, the Otiga was having some slight trouble getting back up. This was the opportunity that Shadow needed. He stood up straight as two new pairs of horns unfolded from his main pair with a metallic sliding sound.

Shadow then placed one foot in front of the other as he began to bend at the knees, taking what looked like a martial arts stance. As he was doing so, silver energy began to collect on the ground under him, creating a glowing symbol that resembled the current state of his helmet. The Guardians could actually hear him breathing as the energy began to rise in his body.

The Otiga was finally able to get to its feet as Shadow began holding the stance. The insect-creature took one last look at Shadow Agito and it understood what was happening. It had to get out of there! It quickly turned around and began to run.

"It's getting away!" cried Will.

"That poser!" snorted Hay Lin.

Shadow instantly looked at the retreating enemy as the symbol under his feet was absorbed into his body. To the girls' amazement, Shadow took a flying leap towards the Otiga, a distance that no one would be able to make without lots of momentum or wings.

Shadow's leg was outstretched into a kick that was aimed right at the Otiga. The insect-creature didn't even see the attack coming as the kick collided. The Otiga let out a screech as it was sent flying a short distance before skidding down the street a few more feet.

"Wow," Irma blinked.

"Some kick," added Taranee.

As Shadow landed back on the ground on his feet, the Otiga was getting up as well. It was thrashing wildly and the Guardians thought that another fight was about to start up. The thought was enforced as they saw the violet light from before spilling out from the creature's buckle. To their surprise, the violet light began to turn into a bright white light. The Otiga seemed to be in pain as this process continued before emitting one last final screech and exploding into a small blaze.

"Woah!" Hay Lin cried in surprise. "That was cool!"

The other girls were shell shocked by the explosion. The flames were quick to die down, but the one who had saved them was still there. His extra horns folded back into the initial pair as he turned to the side and began walking.

"Wait!" Will cried as she dashed towards Shadow. Her cry snapped the other Guardians out of their shock before they began to follow their leader.

Shadow turned his head slightly so that his red eyes were gazing at the Guardians for a brief moment. It was almost like he was considering them for a minute before turning his gaze back to in front of him and walking towards an alley.

The Guardians tried to follow, but when they reached the alley, they found that it was a dead end and that their savior was nowhere to be seen.

"What the-?" Irma blinked.

"Shoot. He's gone," Hay Lin sighed in disappointment.

A soft groan caught the girls' attention as they fearfully turned back to where the Otiga had exploded. With the flames as small as they were, they could see that there was a person in the epicenter where the creature had been before.

"Oh my gosh!" Will cried as she and the other Guardians rushed to the man's side.

"How could someone have gotten caught in the blast?" asked Taranee. "We didn't even see him!"

"He wasn't even there!" added Hay Lin. She gasped as a thought suddenly came to her. "You don't think….that HE was the monster, do you?"

"That actually makes sense," Irma agreed. "I mean, he's right in the centre of this little mess where the monster was before that guy took it out."

"But how can he be a monster and then a person?" asked Cornelia. That doesn't make sense!

Will immediately took out the Heart of Kandrakar and held it close to the man. If he was some kind of monster in disguise, then it would be able to tell them. She held it close for a minute without any kind of reaction showing through.

"Well, he's human now," Will frowned. "If he was that monster then it might not have been willingly."

Sirens began to echo in the distance as the emergency services began to come closer.

"Someone must have called the police when they heard that explosion!" cried Hay Lin.

"Then we'd better get out of here!" cried Cornelia.

The other girls didn't argue as they took flight away from the scene. There were still flames in the street and the blackened sidewalk was a pretty big clue to anyone who was near about something had happened. The man would get help soon enough.

Shadow Agito appeared in front of a house. He then walked over and began floating up towards an open window before pulling himself inside the room. The black armored Agito then stumbled towards the bed and collapsed on it. As soon as his helmet covered head hit the pillow, the light in his belt flashed and when it faded in his place was none other than Adrian Carter.

Adrian's mother had been so happy to see her little Addy was back that she smothered him with motherly hugs and kisses. At least it was more bearable than the headaches he'd been getting.

Above the chaos where the paramedics were loading the unconscious man into a waiting ambulance, the dark figure who had created the Otiga was watching.

"So, a new Agito has awakened," he sighed with some agitation. "How troublesome."

As the ambulance drove away, the dark figure turned away from the unfolding panic with some measure of distaste. Humans were such timid creatures. They panicked over every little thing in their insignificant lives. It was tiresome.

At the Silver Dragon, the girls had changed back to their normal forms and discussing what they'd experienced with Yan Lin and Mirra.

To recap, Mirra was actually an altermere created by Nerissa to replace Yan Lin as one of her Guardians who she'd mind controlled. After Nerissa's entrapment, the altermere was renamed Mirra and known as Yan Lin's identical twin sister. Only the Guardians and Yan Lin knew the truth as did their closest allies while Hay Lim's parents were none the wiser.

"So to recap," Yan Lin spoke as she got the facts. "As you were walking home, this….thing appeared out of nowhere and just started attacking you."

"Yeah," Cornelia nodded. "Just looking at it creeped me out. Ew."

"And it had used powers you were unfamiliar with in its attempts to destroy you," Mirra continued. "In the end, when it looked like it had the upper hand, this fighter donned in black appeared and the creature suddenly lost all interest in you five."

"That's right," Taranee nodded. "It just took one look at the guy and it was like we weren't there anymore."

"You all witnessed the fight up until this fighter managed to destroy the creature with a single kick," Yan Lin spoke. "He the left without a word and you found that the monster may in fact have been a human trapped inside."

"That about sums it up," Will nodded.

"So was there anything special about this fighter's attack which destroyed the creature?" Mirra asked.

"His horns," Irma replied. "They spread out as he started using it."

"Horns?" Yan Lin and Mirra blinked.

"Yeah!" Hay Lin agreed. "Then there was this weird symbol that appeared under him before he absorbed it and used the attack."

"A symbol?" asked Yan Lin. "That might be useful. Do you think you can explain what that symbol looks like?"

"Better yet, I can make a picture!" Hay Lin smiled before she took out a napkin. Popping the cap off one of her markers, she began to doodle on the napkin. It was a pretty easy symbol to remember so she had no problems recreating it. After about a minute, she was finished.

"Tah-dah!" Hay Lin smiled proudly before she presented the picture to her grandmother.

"You know, the monster called him something," Taranee spoke up. "What was it again?"

Yan Lin and Mirra had stopped listening. As the two identical women gazed down on the symbol they gasped in shock. This was a symbol that they knew of. It was one only few ancient scholars knew of intimately. Yan Lin and Mirra were not of these people, but they knew enough to know whom this symbol belonged to.

"Agito," they gasped in shock.

AGITΏ