Butterfly

"Guardians…we have much to discuss…"

Irma crossed her arms defiantly, but nonetheless, calmed down to let the Oracle speak. He glanced at Phobos's unconscious body for a moment and then stared back at the guardians. He then glimpsed at the rebels, who were standing awkwardly in the presence of the Oracle. He noticed the other monsters fleeing to the other cities, but it didn't matter; he had his own plans anyway. Oddly, he was still smiling, obviously proud at what they had accomplished.

"As I said before, I knew you could do it. I knew you were capable of accomplishing this war. I had complete faith in you," he stated, getting blank stares from everyone. "And I see we have new heroes…"

Joel and Nigel shifted uncomfortably, finding it hard to make eye contact with the Oracle. They cleared their throats, nodding with him, trying to seem more triumphant then they looked. The Oracle even glanced at Lillian, who seemed very proud of herself at the moment.

"So what's going to happen to him?" Elyon asked, looking at her brother.

"He will go to Kandrakar where he will be imprisoned and kept away from the rest of the universe. He will no longer be a threat," the Oracle answered. "Cedric will join him. The rest of the creatures will be imprisoned back on Meridian where they came from." Elyon nodded in agreement.

The Oracle surveyed his surroundings. The destruction Phobos left behind was pretty desolate. He took a deep breath, looking at the guardians with a serious stare. His eyes flashed once, as time literally began to slow down. The rebels and other creatures were frozen in the same place suddenly. The guardians looked around very confused.

"You stopped time," Will deduced, looking around to her still surroundings. She gasped slightly, seeing Hay Lin, Joel, Nigel, and Lillian also frozen in time. Their unmoving bodies seemed to slightly scare her, for she didn't know why he was doing this. "Sir, I don't understand…"

"Why are you doing this?" Taranee asked, waving a hand in front of Nigel's face. Irma, Cornelia and Eric looked up at him questioningly, wondering why they were frozen along with the rest of the world.

The Oracle's brilliant smile suddenly faded, "As I said, we have much to discuss. But first…" He stretched out his hands to his sides, as they glowed a soft white. The shield was taken down from the school. Then, a bright wave of light shot out from his powerful hands. Where the wave went, grass and trees suddenly grew. Flowers sprouted from the ground, and the walls of the buildings formed back once again. Soon, Heatherfield was built back to the way it was before Phobos infiltrated. Everyone couldn't help but smile brightly.

"Thank you…I thought we would have to rebuild the city again ourselves…along with the people," Will smiled, looking around with happiness. The Oracle's face remained the same, but almost more hesitant.

Eric took note of this, "What's wrong, sir?"

"Things…cannot remain the same, guardians…" he replied tentatively. Yan Lin nodded, turning to her still granddaughter, frozen in place of time. Silence remained amongst the group. They did know where the Oracle was going with his thoughts.

"Please explain," Will finally got the courage to speak up.

"There are many things that need to be discussed. One is the people of this city…" he began to explain.

"What do you mean?" Irma asked, glancing at Joel.

"They know too much…" he stated calmly, gazing at all their faces.

"Oh…I thought it was going to be different now," Will said with disappointment.

Cornelia nodded, "I kind of wanted it to be this way." She stood next to Lillian, brushing her short blonde hair. Caleb put a hand on her shoulder for support, looking back to the Oracle.

"I know…but I do have an explanation," he sighed, as the Earth's sun was slowly rising in the distance, creating a soft orange sky. The scene was beautiful, and the guardians couldn't help but watch. The mesmerizing scene gave them a sense of assurance, nodding to the Oracle for him to further explain. "Earth has always been out of the loop from the mysteries of magic and so forth. If humans knew the discoveries, it would put an unbalanced rift in the universe. Earth is known for its secrecy…we can't just change it so suddenly. The humans aren't ready for such extreme changes. It would not set well."

Will took a deep breath. Everything the Oracle was saying was true; humans were not ready. Even though her own mother told her she was fine with her risking her life on the line for the universe, her mother still had to be left in the dark for the time being. Earth wasn't ready; it was simple as that. They weren't ready for the many findings magic could give them. That being, look what Phobos had done. He destroyed an entire city in a few hours just because he wanted Earth's powerful magic. It was better if Earth didn't know about its capabilities.

Will nodded sternly is assurance, agreeing with the Oracle, "He's right. It's better this way."

"Of course he's right…" Irma mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"So nobody's going to remember anything?" Taranee asked, looking the Oracle right in his eyes. He shook his head in response, receiving some nods in agreement.

Eric's eyes suddenly widened, as the turned sharply toward Hay Lin. He let his mouth hung open for a moment. "You're…you're erasing their memories as well, aren't you?"

There was silence among the group once more. Irma grabbed Joel's arm defensively, while Taranee was looking at Nigel and the Oracle back and forth. Cornelia snatched Lillian's shoulders, glaring at the Oracle.

"Do you have any idea how much they contributed?" Taranee shouted loudly, standing in front of Nigel.

"Lillian's the Heart, she has a right to stay this way now," Cornelia argued. "You can't do this."

"You guys…" Will sighed sadly. "There's obviously something wrong with them…"

"They can't remember any of this," Halinor spoke up. "It's not safe for them, or for you." Irma was about to blurt something inappropriate out of her mouth, when the Oracle spoke.

"I don't believe you realize the emotional scars that has been left on your three friends. Though they have lost their enhanced powers, remembering all that they have done will not be tolerable for them. Their powers may have been removed…but I believe the evil is still lingering somewhere inside."

"What? No…no that can't be," Taranee said fearfully.

"I'm not saying they would become blinded, as they were last time, on their own free will. I am mainly worried if something else were to figure out their secrets and cause them harm or damage. It's all just a matter of keeping them safe. They could never know what happened here, for their own sakes. It's just too much to bear…" the Oracle finished, glancing towards Hay Lin's peaceful face.

"And Lillian?" Cornelia wondered.

"I will be turning back time…she will not remember anything either. I figured this would be giving you your own chance to tell her she is special. Clearly, she is ready," the Oracle smiled reassuringly, as Cornelia sighed, but nodded nonetheless.

"So…they aren't going to remember anything? At all?" Irma frowned, absent-mindedly taking Joel's hand.

"I am resetting everything to a few days ago…" the Oracle smiled knowingly, along with the others. "I do believe your friends knew your secrets before this time, correct?"

"Supposedly, they knew for a whole month," Eric grinned, despite the circumstances that were happening.

"But what about Phobos? Hay Lin is going to think he is still out there…" Matt spoke.

The Oracle shook his head, "Their minds will be imprinted with a different ending. As far as they knew, Phobos was defeated a couple of weeks ago…"

"So that's it? We just pretend as if nothing happened? That's going to be so…difficult," Will pressed. "I don't like keeping secrets from my friends."

"Especially a big one like this," Cornelia added.

"Until I can figure out a way to extract every single magical fiber I can…you will have to hide things from them. I know it sounds…"

"Stupid?" Irma spoke up, shaking her head.

"Yes…but if you care for them, then you will be able to accomplish this task," the Oracle finished, watching the sun officially full in the sky. "It is time. Guardians, I can't thank you enough for all you've done. Now, I shall see you another time."

There was a giant flash of light that spread throughout the entire city, and probably more. Everyone covered their eyes from the intense light. It lasted for many seconds, almost as if they were winding down into a long spiral into nothing. They seemed to be falling down, slipping into the intense light. It took some time to realize that their feet were grounded once again on the floor, and music was playing in their ears.

Will opened her eyes with a flutter, looking around and seeing that they were back at the winter formal dance at Sheffield, as she danced with Matt in her arms. The students remained the same as if nothing happened. The lights were dim as the slow music played, and she couldn't help but look up at Matt to make sure everything was all right.

"Just like the Oracle said…everything is back to normal," Matt answered.

"You powers…?"

"Still there," Matt nodded with a smile. He looked up and saw Joel dancing with Irma, and Nigel dancing with Taranee. Both seemed normal as well, as if nothing had ever happened. He locked eyes with Caleb and Cornelia, as they nodded to one another, assuring them that things were back to normal.

"So are you going to tell your sister now?" Caleb asked, wrapping a piece of hair around her ear.

Cornelia nodded, "Definitely. She's ready." Caleb smiled and kissed her soft lips, so happy that everything was back to normal.

Eric had Hay Lin in his arms, still dancing slowly with her. He was in a daze, unsure if she remembered anything or not. She looked up at him quizzically, confused for some reason. For a split second he thought she remembered everything, but his theory was wrong when she spoke.

"Aren't you going to finish?"

"Finish what?" he asked, completely confused.

"You said you had something important to tell me. You never finished," she replied, still looking at him in a bizarre manner. She probably thought he was acting totally weird right now and he wasn't acting smoothly according to the plan. He did remember what he was going to say to her, and stumbled with his words.

"Oh…um…see well, I thought this was going to sound better then it does but…" he shook his head at how ridiculous he sounded, but took a deep breath and whispered, "I love you."

She smiled knowingly, which made his brows rise slightly. It wasn't a smile that he saw everyday; it was a mischievous smile that caused him to shutter, as if she knew more then she let on. However, instead she reached up and kissed him quickly saying, "I love you too."

Whatever was going through Eric's mind stopped right then and there. The world was right again, and that's all that mattered. He was going to kick himself in the future for lying to Hay Lin about the defeat of Phobos, but if that meant keeping her safe, then he would have to do it. His grandpa was going to get an amazing story later, one that he will never believe…

It was a beautiful day in Heatherfield. The sun was shining brightly, as the snow was slowly melting away. Spring was finally on its way, as the birds chirped and the flowers blossomed. The crisp air was soothing to inhale, and the wind blew gently against the city. The people walked along peacefully, enjoying the gorgeous day.

Joel and Nigel stood together, looking into the blue sky and its puffy clouds flow along the endless blue. The crisp wind blew gently against their skin, touching it ever so gently and causing their hair to billow softly. A sigh escaped out of Nigel's lips, as both waited patiently without any disturbances or talking. Being that they were standing on top of a tall skyscraper building, the wind was much more brisk. They stood quietly, never making a sound and thoroughly enjoying the wind's presence.

Hay Lin floated down on the roof of the building, slowly walking to the both of them without saying a word. She stared at the sky with them, enjoying their presence with the wonderful breeze hitting them. Joel finally turned to Hay Lin.

"So…" he began slowly, thinking of the right words to say. "They think we forgot everything?" She nodded in reply, not taking her eyes off the sky. "And now we have to pretend we forgot everything…" She nodded once more, looking at him with a smile.

Nigel visibly shook his head in disagreement, while Joel frowned in frustration. They appreciated the Oracle and all, but sometimes his judgments didn't make sense. They were sworn to keep a secret from the others, something they weren't willing to do, but did so reluctantly. The fact that they had to hide things from one another scared them, for if there were secrets amongst the group, then the bonds they shared wouldn't be as strong.

"Why again?" Nigel asked, looking at Hay Lin.

"The Oracle has his reasons. If I knew what he was up to, trust me I'd tell you. Consider ourselves lucky he didn't take away our memories," Hay Lin replied. "But it's going to be hard to fake everything, especially if Taranee can read my mind when she wants to."

"Do you know how difficult it's going to be to hide my energy from Will?" Joel asked rhetorically, sparking his hands with lightning. His eyes glowed a bright yellow, as he charged his whole body with volts. He calmed down, sighing in frustration once more, hating the fact that he had to hide things from his friends. "This isn't going to be as easy as the Oracle thinks."

"We're all in the same boat. Everyone has secrets now," Nigel said, grabbing Joel's shoulder. "It's not going to be fun, but I think the Oracle has the best interest for us."

"He told us to check in with him periodically. We have to make frequent visits to Kandrakar under the radar now," Hay Lin informed.

"At least you can create portals now," Joel mused, looking back into the sky. Joel and Nigel always used to love clear days such as this, but now it was different. Joel loved to surf, where Nigel loved to play basketball in the bright brilliant sun. Now, their natural instincts were craving thunder and lightning. Joel turned to Hay Lin with a grin, "You made it a little too sunny today, don't you think?"

"We needed a beautiful day after all that's been happening. I think it was well deserved. Why? You want me to put a few thunder clouds in there?" Hay Lin asked with a smile.

"I wouldn't mind," Nigel shrugged.

She shook her head, "Have to follow the seasons, boys."

"At least we'll have some spring showers," Joel muttered, itching for a lightning storm right about now.

"It still confuses me how we still have our powers. I thought when Phobos was defeated, our abilities would go away too," Nigel pondered, looking toward his leader.

Hay Lin shrugged, "It wasn't Phobos's power to give I guess. The skies appreciated its keeper."

"Just be grateful, dude," Joel grinned, levitating off the ground a bit. "Can we still transform into our ultimate?"

Hay Lin took off the gloves she was wearing and opened her palms. On each palm was a butterfly's wing sketched on her pale skin. Each wing was an intricate design that was beautiful, but mysterious. Joel and Nigel stared at it questioningly. She put her palms together, as the butterfly formed fully and glowed softly against her skin.

"I found this the next day after we defeated Phobos. This proved to me that we still have our powers. I've been trying to make the marks disappear, but it's going to take some time. It's a symbol of our gifts and what we gained. Both of you are connected to it, as well. I believe we can change into our ultimate…"

Nigel nodded, "I can feel the thunder's strength."

"And lightning's agility," Joel added.

"A butterfly is a part of the sky. It didn't make sense to me at first because I didn't know why it would be placed on my hands," she began, grabbing Joel and Nigel's hands. Joel and Nigel grabbed hands too, forming a circle. "But now I see. We are bonded. We are connected on an intimate level, just like me and the other guardians. If we are apart, we're weaker. When we're together, we're stronger. We hear each other's thoughts, feel each other's failures and strengths, and we can become the sky. We are bonded…"

Joel and Nigel looked at her with a smile, nodding together and feeling the bond grow just by holding each other's hands.

"Joel…Regent of the Skies and Keeper of Lightning," Hay Lin titled him, as he nodded proudly. She turned to Nigel, "Nigel…Regent of the Skies and Keeper of Thunder. We protect he skies of any worlds or folds. It is now our job to do so."

"Sweet," Nigel smiled, as they powered down and let go of each other's hands. "Hay Lin…Heart and Keeper of the Skies." Hay Lin giggled, finding it ridiculous how the title sounded.

"This is cool and all…but we still can't tell anyone," Joel sighed, looking back into the sky.

"Although I'm sick of saying it, Joel's right. I still wonder why the Oracle did this is the first place. There's got to be a reason…" Nigel agreed, looking at Hay Lin.

She sighed, "You want my opinion?" Both nodded frantically, their eyes full of anticipation. "I…I don't think this is the end. I think another darkness is stirring that is ready to break open. I think it's finally awake and ready to strike. Phobos wasn't the end…someone else is out there and now the Oracle is protecting us."

"Someone else? Like who?" Nigel asked.

"I don't know," Hay Lin frowned. "That's why I'm not sure of anything anymore. That's why I trust the Oracle so much…"

"Well, even though I still think he's creepy…the least I can do is believe him…for the time being, that is," Joel nodded, glancing at Nigel who sighed and nodded as well.

"Do you ever think we'll be able to tell them though?" Nigel asked, thinking of Taranee suddenly.

"I think one day we will," Hay Lin smiled hopefully. "Come on, we have guardian practice and I think you two were actually invited this time…"

The two guys grinned with excitement, as all three of them turned invisible and flew off into the sky towards the beach…

Elyon grumbled at how nasty and dirty the castle had gotten since Phobos's reign on Meridian had occurred. Everything was a disaster, and frankly she didn't want to clean it up; as if anyone could blame her. Procrastinating, she went to her balcony and looked outside. The skies were finally clearing up from the dark clouds and the golden sun was shining. She smiled as her people were already rebuilding their lost shops and houses, as they worked hard down below. She was so glad all of them were safe from the Infinite City and well on their way to make Meridian a better place once again.

After going over the rebuilding plans with Vathek, she jumped on her bed and lay down for a minute of two. Things were going back to the way they were and she was happy. No more games of being sad or alone was possible now. She had her life back and that's all that mattered.

She sighed with a smile, gently taking off her crown and setting it on a pillow on her nightstand. She took off her heavy robe, revealing a small dress underneath. She took off the small necklace that was around her neck, the Jewel of the Crown, while putting her hair behind her back. She was about to put the Jewel away when she froze in place, examining the jewel.

She always kept the Jewel on her because of what was kept in it. However, ever since her absence, she hadn't kept a close eye on the necklace that she kept around her neck. But now…now as she examined the jewel, she noticed a large crack running straight up it.

She didn't know what exactly that meant, but as her hands shook holding the delicate jewelry…she couldn't help but know something was definitely wrong.

The girls laughed lightly, flying through the air as quickly as possible. Zipping through the wonderful air was exhilarating. Joel, Nigel, and Caleb sat on the beach sand, watching the others soar through the air. Being on the desolate island across Heatherfield's lake, the girls practiced for a few hours.

"I wish I was up there…" Joel sighed.

"Patience dude," Nigel grinned, patting his back.

"What are you two talking about?" Caleb asked, being nosy.

"Oh nothing…just how foreign and alien you really are," Joel replied, smirking widely.

"What?" Caleb asked, narrowing his brows.

"Nothing," Joel said quickly, stopping himself from laughing. He smiled fondly, watching Irma dive into the sea without any hesitation. He watched Matt chase Will playfully, flying through the air. He then smiled at his new leader, Hay Lin, seeing her fly the fastest out of everyone. She flew so fast, the air moved clearly around her.

"Damn she's fast," Caleb nodded.

"Fast as lightning…" Joel mused, grinning wider. Caleb turned sharply towards him, looking at him questioningly. Joel never looked back, as he continued to watch his own girlfriend fly out of the water and back into the air with Taranee. Caleb shook his head, looking back up towards Cornelia. Nigel rolled his eyes when Caleb looked away, shaking his head towards Joel.

'I like picking on him,' Joel said telepathically, smiling wider.

'You could be a little more subtle,' Nigel replied, shaking his head some more.

Hay Lin spiraled up in the air, feeling the sky's love and affection. She could become lost in its atmosphere and literally live in it. But instead, she flew back down, closer to the water.

"Are you done?" Eric asked playfully, pulling down his hood and smiling at her. She sighed deeply, admiring his handsome face and body, while his long blue cape billowed in the wind. Star blinked at her, as if knowing her secret. She smiled at him, floated slowly toward him.

"I love to fly," she replied simply, wrapping her slender arms around his neck.

"Well yeah…but I guess I put on this cape for no reason then. I mean, if my girlfriend won't even fly with me around the lake for a few minutes…"

"Eric…"

"I mean, I only look this way because of Star, but if that didn't happen, I guess I'd be sitting down with those three down there…"

"Eric…"

"I realize we're 'practicing' right now, but we could have some fun…"

"Eric Lyndon," she stated, putting her hand over his mouth. "Just fly with me…"

Eric smiled, taking her hand and flying into the sky with her. Just months ago, he was a normal kid with no powers whatsoever, living with his grandpa in the observatory and having a normal girlfriend while living a normal life. Now, he was the Warrior of the Stars, soaring with his guardian girl. Normal wasn't exactly his life description anymore. His life was completely different, and he couldn't help but thank his uncle and grandfather for giving him the knowledge. He looked at his friends sitting on the ground and created disks of light for them to stand on, so that they could fly with their girlfriends as well. Soon, everyone was flying in the brisk air…

He looked into the sky, now thinking everything was going to be all right.

Cause I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings

And time held its breath so I could see

You set me free

Chapter 18:

I did set it up for a sequel. I may or may not do it, but be on the lookout for it just in case.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the end of the story. I hoped you liked and enjoyed it. I would like to personally thank Lexvan, Yellow 14, and Lucky OCB for being there since the beginning and reviewing every chapter.

Thanks again…

Wtncgirl09