Disclaimer: If I owned W.I.T.C.H. wouldn't be posting here.

Yes, I made it to the final chapter. When I first started I didn't think it would go on this long but I really got into writing Matt's inner struggle with Shagon and his atonement afterwards. I'm thinking about writing a side story about the Regent of Earth and I'm planning on writing "The Heart of Earth" name pending, sometime in the near future when Lillian is 13 and regains her full powers. I can just hear her shouting…

Regents UNITE!

Chapter 10

"What is your wish?" It was the same voice from before. I still didn't know who it was but it had a warm comforting feeling whenever it spoke. This time though I had an answer.

"You know, I really don't want anything. I have Will who loves me and even if I have no power I can still be there for her."

The voice had another question. "What do you fight for?" I paused but only for a moment.

"It's not just for Will. I know what it's like to be a victim of Nerissa's cruelty and I don't want that to happen to anyone else. I may not be the strongest player in this game but I don't want to see this world, or any other suffer. So I'll do what I can, whatever I can." There was almost a smile in the voice's response.

"Will you fight for ME? Will you protect me as you do her?" Now, I was getting a bit unnerved.

"Wait. Who are you?"

"Don't you remember? We've met before and now I know you're the one I was waiting for."

"Wait, what do you mean? How do you know me?"

"Find me! Hurry, before it's too late." There was now an urgency in the voice that had replaced the comforting energy I had grown accustom to.

"Where are you? Who are you?" Suddenly my vision was obstructed by something dark. It took a moment before I realized it was a set of black wings sprouting out of my back.

"HURRY!"

I awoke with a start and bolted up from my bed. The dream was already staring to fade from my mind. I tried to remember. I thought it might be important somehow. But it was no use. The only thing I could remember was something about wings. I sighed and flopped back down. "I gotta stop watching anime before I go to bed."

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The next day was Saturday and everyone was trying to relax. We were all still a little stressed not knowing what Nerissa's next move was, so even on a "Day off" we were still jumping at shadows. I treated Will to an after dinner ice cream in the park where we were casually talking. Soon enough the topic turned to the subject that was really on our minds.

"It just seems like for every victory we have Nerissa still comes out twice as strong." Will said as she licked her dripping cone. "She has twice our power and knowing her she's probably going to go after more. I just..." She cut herself off and shoved what was left of her cone in her mouth clearly frustrated. I put a hand on her shoulder and she seemed to calm down.

"Sorry, I know this was suppose to be a night off but I just can stop thinking about her."

"It's OK, you're not the only one." I assured her.

As if remembering something she looked up then at me. "Oh, I spoke to Hay Lin earlier today."

"How's she doing?" She seemed to be doing better after our little talk the other day but how was she really doing?

"Still upset but she's handling it a lot better."

"That's good I was getting worried about her and her grandma."

"She told me you talked with her last night, I think it really helped her." I really was glad that she was doing OK and that I could help.

"I'm just glad she doing better." Suddenly Will cell phone went off. She groaned as she saw who it was.

"It's Cornelia give me a minute." She hit the talk button as she answered the blond. "Hey Cornelia, what's up?" I couldn't hear the conversation on the other end but it sounded a little strange.

"OK calm down, your cat's what?" I could hear Cornelia yelling something on the other end but I still couldn't make it out. "Cornelia are you feeling alright?...No of course I believe you it's just...where?" She tossed me a confused look. "Mr. Olsen's shop why?" Will rolled her eye. "Alright alright I'll be there in a few minutes...Yes I'll bring Matt with me...OK I'm hanging up now, I'll see you soon." She hung up, sighed deeply, and rubbed her forehead.

"What was that about?"

"Apparently her cat's started talking to her."

I blinked. "Come again."

"I think she's as stressed as the rest of us. Napoleon's probably sick or something and she letting imagination run wild." We had already started walking to the Hale's apartment building when curiosity got the better of me.

"OK so what did she want to see me for?"

"Because it came from your Grandpa's pet shop and she wants to know if it's built on an Indian burial ground or something."

"Not to my knowledge but I could at least take a look at the cat. I'm not as good as Grandpa but I can at least spot some of the more obvious problems. If not I can take him to my Grandpa's shop tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me." She stopped suddenly and gave me an odd look. "Ah Matt, your backpack seems to have a stowaway."

Confused I took off my pack and opened the flap. Out popped Mr. Huggles gasping for air. "Huggles? What are you doing in there I thought I left you at home?" He chirped and nuzzled his head under my chin before making his way to his costmary spot on my shoulder.

"Sorry I think he's just lonely. Should I take him back?"

"No you might as well bring him along, not like we're going off to battle Nerissa or something."

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We arrived at the Hales' apartment building were we ran into Hay Lin, Irma and Taranee. Irma was the first to spot us.

"Let me guess, Corny call you about a talking cat too?" We nodded as Irma pressed the intercom button. "Cornelia we're all here but didn't I warn you about brushing your hair too hard?" We could hear Cornelia grumble something on the other end.

"Just get up here and hear for yourself." So she beeped us in and we entered her apartment. We all stood around the little black cat casually licking it's paws clean.

Taranee was the first to respond. "The cat talks?"

"No..." But it wasn't Cornelia who responded. "Ricky Rodent over there's a ventriloquist." What do you know the cat really does talk. He spoke in a low gruff voice like that of an older man.

"Um, no offence, but this just isn't normal." Irma said as I felt Mr. Huggles start to shake. Not as bad like when Nerissa was around but he was still a bit uneasy. I petted his head trying to reassure him.

"Yeah, Mr. Huggles doesn't like it either." Napoleon paused and looked up at me.

"Well your rat can just get over it."

"He's not a rat, he's a dormouse-" and suddenly I realized how stupid this was. "and I'm arguing with a house pet."

"Not just a house pet Mack. I'm a familiar, Lillian's familiar." We were all a bit surprised and confused at this bit of news.

"Familiar?" Asked Will as Hay Lin replied.

"Oh, a familiar is a magical animal sprit that attends and protects a witch." Cornelia wasn't taking the news too well.

"My sister maybe a brat but she's no witch, not a real one anyway."

"Well she's something, gave me the power of speech just by wishing. That kid was marked for greatness, otherwise she wouldn't have wound up with me. I'm thinking her powers surfaced ahead of schedule. Extreme mystic might in the paws of an eight-year-old? Bad medicine. My two cents, keep her in the dark until she's older and can handle it." This was a lot to take in but there was still so much we didn't know.

"In the dark about what exactly? So far all we have are questions." Said Cornelia as Will opened a fold, presumably to Candracar.

"Then let's go find some answers." But the blond hesitated.

"I can't leave Lillian alone, especially not now." I put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll cover for you, go." They didn't need me to question Luba and I know I could be of better use as a baby sitter. Will smiled as she left.

"Thanks, Matt." As soon as the girls had left I realized I might have been a bit too hasty when I volunteered. I had only met Lillian once before, unless you count the time Shagon was hanging out her window, and that I was hoping she'd forgotten. I was helping her sister get ready for Will's birthday party over a year ago. I really hope she doesn't get scared and freak out.

"Ah...Meow." Was Napoleon's subtle way of letting me know Lillian was in the room.

"I heard voices and...where's, where's Cornelia?" Silently I cursed myself and the blond for not telling her sister she was stepping out and leaving me to try and explain everything.

"Um, she'll be back soon. She just stepped out to um..."

"Ditch me for her friends? Big surprise." She said sadly and I felt a little sorry for her. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulders and tried to cheer her up.

"Hey, you still got me." I glanced at the little dormouse and figured maybe he could help. "And Mr. Huggles." Just then Napoleon jumped onto my other shoulder startling me. "Ah, and your familiar...that is you're familiar with Napoleon of course." I said stumbling over my words after almost slipping. She smiled and seemed to relax a bit.

"You're Matt right? Will's boyfriend?"

"Ah yeah. How'd you guess?"

"You came over for that party Cornelia was planning. Everyone else either told me to stay out of the way or ignored me. You were the only one there who was nice to me."

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I thought back and remembered the little girl standing in the corner watching the crowd of people getting the decorations and food together. She looked so forgotten and lonely. I don't know what made me go over to her but I knelt down to her level.

"Hey there princess, why the long face?" She shifted and looked down at her feet.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"That's a good rule to follow."

"It's a stupid rule, everyone there's a stranger. My sister never introduces me to her friends. It's like she doesn't even want me around at all."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"Is so! I just came in to find Winston my teddy bear and she just told me to wait in the corner." A teddy bear?

"Hang on a second." I remembered seeing a worn little bear by the stereo while I was picking out the music. Sure enough there it was so I brought it back to the now smiling little girl. "Is this Winston?"

"WINSTON!" she cried happily as she snatch him from me and gave him a big hug. "Oh thank you, thank you. I was afraid my sister threw him away like my old doll." I heard Cornelia telling everyone to head out to the van to load it up.

"Well glad you and Winston are reunited but I have to get going." As I started to walk away she shouted back.

"Wait!" I turned around to see her hiding slightly behind her bear. "Winston wants to know your name."

"I'm Matt, Matt Olsen."

"And I'm Lillian, Lillian Hale. There, now we're not strangers any more."

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I was surprised she remembered that. Heck I had almost forgotten about it but at least she felt safe around me which would make my job easier. "So were you getting ready for bed?" I said noticing she had her P.J.'s on.

"Yeah Cornelia's making me go to bed early." She pouted but then looked up at me. "But since she's not here can I stay up just a little bit longer? Please oh please oh please!"

"Sorry Princess, but like I said she'll be back soon and between you and me, I'd rather not get on her bad side." She chuckled but still pouted. "Tell you what, you hop into bed and the three of us will tell you a bedtime story." I said pointing to Huggles, Napoleon and myself.

"Is it about a princess?"

"Sure is."

"O.K. deal." Well that wasn't so hard. I just had to make up a story on the fly, pretty much what I've been doing since I learned about W.I.T.C.H. I had her all tucked into bed with Huggles on my shoulder and Napoleon snuggled up to Lillian on the bed. And so the story began.

"OK there, so. Once upon a time in a beautiful castle there lived a magical Princess, who's name just happened to be..."

"Lillian!"

"Ha, how'd you know?" Just then Cornelia appeared at Lillian's door.

"Hi, hate to interrupt but I have news for Matt." She looked really concerned so I went to the door just out of hear shot form Lillian.

"We're on a Nerissa alert, the others are at the Dragon working on a Strategy. I'll take over from here." This sounded bad. Was Nerissa really going to go after little Lillian for her power? Well the Guardian of Earth was a much better protector for her own sister then a last minute baby sitter. She really did care about her even if she didn't always show it.

"Right." Suddenly Huggles started hissing so I picked him up and headed for the door. "Take care Lil."

"You're going?" She sounded disappointed. "But you just started the story. Cornelia you ruin everything." I left the room ready to head over to the Silver Dragon but Huggles jumped out of my hands and started scampering on and around my head.

"Ouch Huggles what are you-" Suddenly I realized he never acted like this. The only time he ever went this nuts was when... "Oh no." That wasn't Cornelia in there with Lillian. Oh this was bad, really bad. But what could I do against Nerissa? I had to think fast, that witch was probably already trying to trick Lillian into giving up the power she didn't even know she had. Well I'll be damned if I let that happen, not if I could help it. She wasn't going to hurt little Lil on my watch. I did the only thing I could think of. I had to stall and pray the others would get back soon.

I let Huggles go and he made a beeline for Lillian's room. This gave me an excuse to slip back in. "Ah, my bad Cornelia, Huggles got away from me. Come here you." I lunged for the dormouse missing on purpose. The little guy ran around the room like mad. Napoleon seemed to take the hint and ran out of the room causing Huggles to follow. They did their job well, now it was my turn.

"Oh, great now the whole Menageries' gone berserk." I grabbed 'Cornelia' and dragged her out of the room with me. "Help me out C." Once out of the room I shut the door and tried to think of a good reason for pulling her out. I couldn't let her know I knew who she really was, not yet. Right now she wasn't a happy camper.

"What are you doing? We can't leave Lillian alone, not now." Suddenly I saw a fold open with the girls and the real Cornelia stepping through. Thank God.

"About time didn't know how much longer I could stall." Cornelia spotted her evil twin and quickly realized the situation they'd just interrupted.

"Is that?"

"Yeah, Huggles tipped me off. Didn't have the power to risk a fight so I had to riff." The little dormouse climbed back onto my shoulder a lot calmer sensing the danger had passed. I gave him a reassuring scratch behind the ears letting him know he did a good job.

"Nice try Nerissa, but even a mouse can see I'm better looking than that." Realizing her cover had been blown the witch dropped her disguise.

"Then perhaps I'd better change."

"Wow I'm still better looking." The ex-guardian frowned at not getting the reaction she was hopeing for. "The Guardian make over, so not working. The dried prune look was so much more you." Nerissa decided to retreat for now and try her luck with Lillian another time.

"Petty insults will hardly protect your sister. I will be back." And then she was gone but her threat still linger with all of us especially Cornelia.

"She won't give up, will she?"

"Give up on what?" Uh oh, how much had Lillian heard?

Maybe it was fear or the tension in the air but Cornelia snapped at the sister she was trying to protect. "None of you business. What are you doing up anyway? Get back into bed!" I could see the devastated look in the poor girl's face.

"It was all a trick I knew it! I knew she didn't mean that stuff about being a better sister!" It was almost like she wanted to cry but refused to show anyone. I know Cornelia didn't really mean it but right now we really needed Lillian to trust us.

"Aw, come on now Princess. We still have a bedtime story to wrap up." I led her back into her room trying to distract her.

"I thought you had to leave." I gave her a reassuring smile.

"I don't have to go just yet." She was looking for a friend and I could be a friend to her but what she really wanted was her sister. Cornelia came back into the room with Napoleon looking sheepish.

Lillian ignored her sister and crawled back into bed. "Humph. Matt can I have more story please." Both the Hale sisters were stubborn and if I had to help point them both back in the right direction, so be it.

"Actually why don't we let your sister spin it." Lil folded her arms discouraging her but I led her to the edge of the bed anyway.

"That's OK I missed chapter one."

"Hey we barely got passed once upon a time. The was a Princess named Lillian when a certain 'Cornelia Hale' interrupted." I gave her a wink letting her know what Nerissa had tried.

"She won't do it." Ironically this got Cornelia's attention more than any of my pleads and hinting.

"Don't tell me what I won't do. If I wanna tell you a story I'll tell you a story." Oh boy these two were more alike then they thought. Not that I would tell them that. "It's um...its...it's about an evil sorceress named Nerissa. Who wants to drain Princess Lillian of all her magical power." Ah, smart idea. Warn her about Nerissa without actually telling her. "But lucky for the Princess, she has 5 fairy protectors. Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin."

"No way you'd protect me." We both rolled our eyes. I guess you can't expect miracles over night.

"Ah, fine FOUR protectors." Baby steps, that's the ticket.

"That's better. I might like this story. I just wish it were true." Well at least they were talking to each other. It was a start but not half way into the tail I felt something buzzing around my ear. I almost swatted it away when I realized it was calling my name.

"Psst, Matt." I turned around and there was Will the size of a small fairy. I gasped but she closed my lips before I could make a sound. "Shhh, can't let Lillian see me. Grab Napoleon." I took the cat but left Huggles with Lil. I doubt Nerissa would try the same trick twice but I wasn't taking any chances. If she came back Huggles would know and tip off Cornelia.

The moment I stepped out the door the apartment vanished and I found myself in the walls of a great castle. "What in the..."

"Took the words right out my mouth Mack." Said Napoleon while jumping out of my arms. Will fluttered up to my ear.

"We think it's Nerissa. Luba thinks Lillian may be the Heart of Earth and Nerissa wants to add her power to her collection."

"The Heart of Earth?" I had noticed each world seemed to have a mystic heart. Never thought the heart from our own world would be so close without us realizing it. Napoleon settled down on a thrown like chair that was once a sofa and looked around.

"The good news is Nerissa didn't do any of this. The bad news, Lillian did." It was then I noticed that my outfit had changed to fit the surrounding. I rolled my eyes, a jester? Couldn't I have at lest been a knight, a squire. Heck I'd settle for a messenger boy. "The castle, the fairy protectors, Cornelia's bedtime story got the kid wishing again. And she turned you little dolls into...littler dolls."

"But how?" Hay Lin asked.

"She created a glamour zone around the building. From a distance, nothing looks different. As soon as anyone enters the zone they see a castle and they won't even notice the change. And the kid did it all by wishing, that's how powerful she's become." Oh boy, no wonder Nerissa's after Lil.

"I guess Lillian really is the Heart of Earth." Said Hay Lin. If Lillian was causing this much trouble now with out even knowing it, what was going to happen when she grew up and knew what she was capable of.

My thoughts were cut off when Will and the others suddenly disappeared. I looked around in a panic not knowing where they went. "What happened?" I asked the magical black cat. "Where'd they go?" Napoleon frowned.

"Seems like Lillian's bedtime story is reaching it's climax and the heroes are now in play."

"But if Cornelia made the guardians the heroes then that means...oh no." The cat nodded.

"Then Nerissa's the villain and has begun the attack."

"We have to stop the Cornelia from telling the story."

"Just make sure Lillian doesn't find out."

"Yeah she might panic and make the situation worse. We'll just have to get Cornelia to realize the story is coming true. Shouldn't be too hard."

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"Then what happened?" I didn't know what Cornelia was telling her but it had to stop now.

"Nothing, nothing else happened." I said coming back into the room. I glanced back at my clothes relieved that I was back to my regular wardrobe.

"You can't end the story there!" Lillian protested.

"Ah, how about a different story one a little less Glamorous." I looked at Cornelia who was barely paying attention. Lillian flopped down on the bed a bit annoyed.

"He really doesn't get the whole bedtime story deal does he."

"Oh I get it Princess." I kept my eyes on Cornelia trying to calmly signal to her that I was trying to get her to stop the story. "Stories can be very POWERFUL they can literally change your life. Everyone who agrees meow three times."

"MEOW, MEOW, MEOW!" I couldn't believe it. I knew she was blond but she's looking at me like I'm nuts.

I have never wanted to hit a girl more in my life then right now. Well maybe Nerissa but she's not the one that keeps making this story go from bad to worse no matter how much I hint.

"Matt you're really not helping. Besides its story telling 101. Things always look bad for the heroes early on." Oh that was it. "Ah!" OK so it was just Winston the teddy bear I hit her with.

"And getting worse all the TIME!" But maybe now she'll get the point. I tried turning the story around myself but what does she do?

"Fairytales have Fairies, Prince Charming, OH, and dragons." Oh no, stop putting ideas into your sister's head!

"Ooh, Dragons." I cringed not being able to stop what was about to happen.

"No, please, no dragon."

"YES DRAGON!" God help us all. No matter what I did to keep Will and the other out of harms way 'little miss Blondie' would just keep writing them into danger. I was about ten seconds from dragging her out of the room and telling her straight out when suddenly she closed her eyes as if trying to concentrate on something. She looked up sharply and glanced from me to Lillian with a look on her face to match mine.

"Oh, my gosh." She looked at me with a guilty look on her face. "What have we done?" Ah, Taranee must have gotten through. Kind of wished she would have done that from the beginning but...

"We gave Nerissa a dragon remember?" I gave a fake yawn and tried to convince the child that it was time for bed. This time Cornelia fallowed along but Lillian protested. "You can't end the story there I'll have nightmares." Oh boy, if a controlled story was causing this much damage I don't even want to think about what happened one of her dreams became ramped. Her sister apparently was thinking along the same lines.

"And you having nightmares I'm guessing wouldn't be good."

"We have to save princess Lillian!" I was at a loss what to do. And what was going to happen if when we weren't around she wished for something else? How were we going to keep her in the dark about her powers and keep them under control? More importantly how were we going to protect her in the future if Nerissa or someone else comes looking for her. Surprisingly it was Cornelia who had an Idea.

"And keep her safe." Oh boy, that look on her face tells me she has an idea. This is either a really good thing, or a really bad thing. "It's not enough to defeat Nerissa this one time, she'll just keep coming back." At least I didn't have to spell out the problem in Morse code but what is she going to do about it? She gave me a knowing look and smiled. Was I supposed to pick up on something or did she just forget I can't hear her thoughts like Taranee?

"So what do we do?" Now with Lillian at full attention Cornelia laid out her plan.

"Princess Lillian can still save her Kingdom if she'll lend her power to someone else." She frowned at her sisters' plan.

"To who, you?" Cornelia just smiled.

"I don't want your power sweetie, but what about your loyal knights?"

"I have knights?" Yeah, what is she talking about, what knights? Was she planning on Lillian making someone hold her power?

"Of course! Sir Mathew, Sir Huggles and Sir Napoleon." She smiled in my direction. Wait, does she mean to give me Lillian's power. I knew I didn't really have a lot of time to think it over not with Nerissa just outside. I fell to one knee like a knight would greet his princess.

"Princess Lillian, it would be an honor and privilege to serve you." Huggles and Napoleon joined me on the floor. She still had to agree even if she thinks this is just pretend.

"Why not make them your regents?" Cornelia nudged gently but Lillian was a little confused.

"What's a Regent?"

"Someone who holds your power until you're old enough to wield it yourself." This could work. This way we could use it to fight Nerissa and keep her safe, and she would be able to reclaim it when she's older.

"But if I have all this power, should I really give it up?" Uh oh, this wasn't going to work if she says no.

"Lillian, honey." I said gently even as I was starting to panic. "Not to pressure you but you kind of need to decide SOON!"

She turned to her older sister. "I don't know Cornelia, what do you think I should do?" Cornelia seemed surprised that Lillian was coming to her for help.

"You're asking me? Well then I think it's a good idea." She seemed convinced but she still needed to say yes out loud. She wandered over to her toy chest and started rummaging.

"Where is it, where is it? Aha!" She was wearing a fake crown and held up a toy wand. Standing in front of her three soon-to-be-knights she began her pretend spell. "Sir Mathew, sir Huggles, sir Napoleon! I princess Lillian make you Regents of my power, Regents of my Kingdom...uh, what's the name of my Kingdom?"

"Earth."

"Wow, BIG Kingdom. You are now the Regents of Earth! Go save my Kingdom save my fairies!" The moment she said that we were now Regents I felt this rush of power flow through me, becoming a part of me. It was different then when Nerissa had empowered me though. This felt warm, almost innocent yet extremely powerful at the same time. So this is what Will feels when she wields the Heart of Kandracar. Even if this was only 1/3 rd of the Hearts power it still felt almost over whelming. I kept my eyes shut instinctually knowing that if I opened them they would glow with this new power.

"I must serve my Mistress." Whoa, didn't expect my voice to sound so much like Shagon's.

"Cool, how'd you get your voice to echo like that Matt?" While Lillian remained innocently unaware Cornelia look like she was about to wet herself. Guess she didn't expect that either. I'd deal with her later though. With the power now in the Regents hands we could stop this story and save Will and the others. Huggles hopped onto my shoulder as Napoleon came to my side.

"We shall take leave my Princess, and we shall vanquish the evil witch Nerissa and protect your kingdom."

"OK see you later." She said as we left the room. The power that had been building with in all of us, was almost bursting out. Like when Nerissa had first changed me into Shagon I began to transform. It was a bit painful at first but the pain soon disappeared as I took on my former form as Shagon. There was a moment of panic when I saw what I had become. But inside it was still me, there was no demon trying to control me nor did I crave hate as I once did. It was really me. I wasn't the only one going through some growing pain. Huggles, like me, had once again become Kor. Napoleon was now the size of Kor looking like some kind of were-cat creature. He looked at me and Kor and smiled.

"Come on Mack, you and the rodent need to help me get rid of this glamour zone." Huggles huffed but joined hands with Napoleon and me. Again it was instinctual, no one needed to show me how, we just did it. In only a few moments the castle and dragon were gone. The guardians would now be their right size and Nerissa is going to be in for a shock.

"Let's go and say hi to our former Mistress Huggles." I said as I flew up towards the roof. The other Regents quickly followed. As I got to the top of the Hale's building I could hear Nerissa ranting.

"Fools! The Heart of Earth, it's power has been siphoned." That was my queue.

"And you'll never guess by who." As I made my entrances all eyes were on me, most wide with shock.

"Shagon?" Poor Will said obviously shocked to see me back in this form again.

"Little Lil gave us her power and look what happened. Guess old habits die hard." I didn't mean to sound so harsh but Shagon's form still has that rough tone to his voice. I noticed Nerissa looked more curious than startled.

"You said, 'Gave us her power.'?" On queue the others joined me on the roof.

"Myself, Huggles, and Napoleon. Did we miss much?" I didn't miss the shocked look on the Guardian's faces or the sinister one on Nerissa's.

"I missed you Dear Heart." Again with that strange pet name why does she keep calling me that? Although now the name seems to fit better. "What do you say we destroy the Guardians together, for old times sake." I knew she couldn't see the ear to ear grin on my face. So she thinks I'm still under her control?

"I say..." BLAST! I've been wanting to do that to her for the longest time. I hit her with one of my strongest eye beam blast and she went flying. Damn that felt good. "Sorry Nerissa, under new management." Huggles and Napoleon took full advantage of the confusion and attacked Kadma and Halinor. We seemed to work pretty well as a team. "We're the Regents of Earth. And you're trespassing on our Mistresses turf!" I made it clear she wasn't to come anywhere near Lillian again. Will seemed to recover from her shock and jumped into the fray.

She shocked Cassidy and Yan Lin and then rounded on me. "You SO freaked me out with that old habits thing."

"Old habits, new tricks." I said apolitically. "Looks like I'm hard wired for the Shagon morph, but I control the on/off switch. I'm still Matt inside." I assured her. "And I don't feed on hate, just Lillian power." She looked at me thoughtfully the full extent of this situation now coming to light.

"You're, like a guardian." I smiled behind my mask.

"I know! Are we like, perfect for each other or what?" OK, not my best line, but that's the way I was feeling. It wasn't long before we had Nerissa on the ropes. And she was pissed off about it.

"These fires will never contain us my seal contains the power of two hearts!" Wasn't she paying attention or did I smack her harder than I thought.

"Wake up call Nerissa. We've got two Hearts now too." Will said tossing me a knowing glance. Nerissa was beaten for now and she knew it. Sure enough she opened a fold and ordered her thralls to retreat. "But there are other worlds and other hearts, you cannot save them all. And soon you won't even be able to save yourselves." And with those parting words she vanished.

With the enemy gone the guardians understandably had a few questions for me. "OK, what the heck was going on back there?" Irma asked me. "I thought you were suppose to clue Cornelia in on what was going on. So how did a babysitting gig turn you back into Mr. Dark Angel."

"It's a long story but let's just say Cornelia can't take a hint."

"Yeah that sounds like Cornelia." Irma answered back but Taranee was still a bit confused.

"Yes but how did you three end up with the Heart of Earth's power?"

"Long story short, Cornelia figured that the only way to keep her sister safe was for her to give her powers to someone else until she's older."

"And she didn't keep them for herself? Now that doesn't sound like Cornelia."

Hay Lin put a hand on Irma's shoulder. "Come on Irma. When she accidentally got all five powers from the heart of Kandracar she didn't keep them either. She didn't even seem like she wanted to."

"Yeah I guess."

Taranee put out her fire making sure to not leave burn mark that may have to be explained later. "Lets get back to Cornelia and Lillian and make sure nothing else popped up while we were away." As we were heading back Will stopped me before I had a chance to change back.

"We'll be right with you guys, I just need a moment." The others nodded and headed back inside. Without warning Will punched me in the arm.

"Ow, hey, what was that for?"

"For scaring the crap out of me you jerk! Do you have any idea what was going through my head when I saw you like...like that!" I gathered her up in my arms. She stiffened at first but then relaxed.

"I'm sorry Will, I wasn't exactly expecting to suddenly gain this power. And I was just as surprised as you when I changed back into Shagon." She sighed and looked up at me.

"I'm sorry too. Been a little stressed lately."

"I can sympathize." She back away slightly never taking her eyes off of me.

"Take off your mask." I was a bit taken aback by her request. I had never taken off my mask in this form. The truth was, it was easier to separate Matt from Shagon and the mask was a type of barrier. "Please, I just need to see."

I hadn't taken it off for anyone but Will wasn't just anyone. Slowly I reached up and pulled the golden mask away from my face. I honestly didn't know what Will was seeing. I didn't know if I looked like a man or a monster and I kept my eyes shut not wanting to see her reaction.

"Matt, open your eyes." She said gently as she laid a hand on my face. It gave me the confidence to open my eyes. I was greeted with her smiling face.

"Well how bad is it?" My voice was still a little deeper then normal but not as distorted as it was with the mask on.

"Aside from the glowing green eyes, it's you, Matt. It's all you." She took my mask from me and held it in front of my face. "Here, I think you need to see this more than me." In the reflection of my own mask I got my first look at the man behind it. It wasn't what I had always imagined I looked like as Shagon. I looked like, well, me only older more mature. Kind of how Will and the others looked as Guardians. The only real different was my hair in dreadlocks and, oh yeah, my eyes shining bright green. But Will was right I needed to see this. It was like she was showing me myself both physically and emotionally. And it was then I knew. I was still me no matter what I looked like. The war was still far from over but now I could be more than just moral support. I could be there for her as a warrior as well. It looks like I really did get my wish after all.

Will leaned up and gave me a deep kiss. I really meant a lot to me that she was comfortable enough to kiss me in this form. If she could accept this new change I could as well. The kiss was nice and sweet like it always was with Will. My canine teeth were a little sharper than normal but I don't think she even noticed. But all too soon we broke apart knowing we had to head back. We both changed back and held hands as we quietly snuck back into Lillian's room.

The others were gathered around her bed as Cornelia was winding down the non-glamoured story. Cornelia saw us come in holding hands and smirked. "And now Sir Mathew could fight along side of his beloved fairy warrior Will and help in the battle against the evil Nerissa." Lillian was half asleep and starting to nod off, but still smiled when she saw me enter the room. "And now Nerissa can never steal the princesse's power, because the wise young girl willingly gave it to her Regents three." It was good to see the sisters getting along better. For now little Lil was safe and sound and with no power to steal Nerissa had no reason to come after her again. She would regain her powers when she was older but hopefully by then she would be ready for the responsibility. Until then let her enjoy a happy innocent childhood. Now that was something to fight for. Cornelia tucked her in as she finally fell asleep.

"Plus the Princess's big sister promises to always be there to protect her." Well said. Sleep well princess and I promise to protect your power as well as your kingdom and everything in it.

'I know you will.' I blinked. Did I really just hear that or has all this fairytale stuff starting to get to me.

"And they all live happily ever after. So any tuna in the house?" Said Napoleon, breaking my concentration. It must have just been my imagination. Right now I had Will, a new set a powers and a big responsibility. It's been a long journey but in the end I think I'm stronger for it. Not just because of my new powers but what I learned about myself along the way. This all started one night when my own doubts threatened to consume me. Now I've managed to turn those doubts into courage with the help of the ones I love. In short, I had come full circle.

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From the darkest regions of the most hidden corners of Matt's mind someone was watching closely to everything the boy was seeing, experiencing and feeling. The demon, known as Shagon, trapped so deep within the boy he may as well not exist. But he did exist. As long as Mathew Olsen lived on he would as well. He admitted he made a lot of mistakes dealing with his 'light side' as he now called it. Trying to dominate him only made the boy's resolve stronger. No, the only way to truly regain control was for his 'light side' to let himself be consumed by his own hate.

Right now Will was the center of his life and her love for him was much too strong to fight. So he would wait. He would let his own hatred fester and collect. He would nurture it and help it grow until he was ready. It may takes some time but right now time was all he had. Love maybe a very powerful emotion but so was hate.

"And there is a very thin line between love and hate. Wouldn't you agree? MATT!"

The end?

Well that wraps up this fic. I personally don't believe we've see the last of Shagon and neither has Matt. Where he will turn up again is anyone's guess. I would like to thank my new beta for helping me edit this fic. I've decided to write another story about the Regents of Earth this one taking place after season two. After that I'm planning on writing The Heart of Earth Saga set in the future when Lillian is about to regain her full power. It may take a little time but I hope you will join me when it is complete.

Thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed this story it was fun. Thank you and Good Night.

?: I will give a cookie to anyone who can guess who I am.

Misa: I want a cookie

?: Well, umm I only have one cookie

Misa: Give it to me

?: Ahhhhhhhhhhh

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