Chapter 1 (one)

The Secret

Will and the Guardians were in the Silver Dragon, a restaurant that Hay Lin's parents owned. Taranee and Irma were talking about their latest issues. Taranee went first.

"My mom caught me talking to Nigel on the phone. She confiscated my cellphone. She is SO unfair! I can't believe she's banning me from seeing Nigel."

Irma moaned with guilt in her eyes. "I made a huge mistake. I called Martin a loser, and now he won't talk to me! What do I do?"

Will suddenly gasped. "What time is it?"

Hay Lin looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's six thirty now. Wanna stay? I ordered pizza for dinner."

Will just smiled sheepishly. "I gotta a lot of homework to make up and a bunch of chores to do. See you girls tomorrow!" With that, she jumped off from the couch and dashed out of the door. She hopped onto her red bike and rode off to her house.

The other four Guardians decided to take a walk together, but they were all speechless. This had been going on for at least! The first three times they let it go, but on the fourth day... they became suspicious. Will's trouble in school was test grades, not homework. At school, she seemed to hand in all her homework assignments to her teachers on time. Plus, her only chore was to clean her room every other night, so her mom wouldn't get annoyed.

Cornelia finally broke the silence by stating what all four had in mind: "You know what I think? Will is just pulling out that same excuse, just so she can ditch us!"

Frustration and confusion hung in the air. Suddenly, they caught sight of four people, no creatures. One of the creatures, who had a gold mask, shouted "I am Shagon. And this is Tridart, Khor, and Ember. We are Nerissa's Knights of Destruction. Prepare for your doom, Guardians!" However, he muttered "one is missing". With that, he shot a green light beam from his eyes. Taranee created a fire shield at the last second. "Quick! We have to get Will." Cornelia nodded in agreement as she saw Khor destroying the fire shield. He snarled and started to running to Taranee, who was knocked out by the impact from the fire shield getting destroyed.

"Great. Now, how are we going to contact Will without telepathy?" Cornelia thought as she used her earth powers to make a wall. Khor smashed against it and rubbed his head.

Meanwhile, Will put away her bike, when she finally made it to home. The sky was already getting dark and even the full moon was up. She tossed her bag into her bedroom, which was cleaned last night. She already did her homework before going to the Silver Dragon. Then, she announced to her mom, who was in the other room reading a book, that she was going for a long walk.

Mrs. Vandom looked up and just nodded. "You've been taking a walk around this time every day lately. Usually, you stay at your friend's house until 8:30. 10 pm on weekends. You used to even call me to tell me you want to stay at the Silver Dragon for dinner. Now, you're coming home around six fifty! What's going on? Are you hiding a secret?"

Will just shrugged. "Sorry, mom. I can't help it! I guess I just want some alone time."

Mrs. Vandom just rolled her eyes and nodded her head yes. "Just remember that you better come home in time for-"

Will interrupted and finished her mom's sentence without any hesitation "dinner, which is 7 pm. The food would be already on the table when I walk in this house. Come home any later than seven fifth-teen, I'll be grounded for at least a week. I know the drill."

She casually walked out the door and around the corner. Then, she ran behind two large trees. Making sure no one was around or watching her, she took a peek. The street was empty. She closed her eyes and felt the familiar whooshing feeling, as she transformed into her other self: Zafyra. She had straight black hair that's as long as halfway between her shoulders and elbows. Her eyes were fierce red. Her sharp, pointed teeth made her looked like a vampire. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt and long pants with shiny black boots. In replace of her ten fingernails, she had ten long black claws that looked so sharp, they could tear apart metal. She even topped off the outfit with large black wings.

Will's eyes flashed in delight and couldn't help it: she looked down at herself. Then, she flapped her wings effortlessly and launched into the sky.

"Time for some fun!" she thought excitedly. With that, she flew right below the clouds and gazed down at the city. No one seemed to see her. She eagerly took a deep breath to relax. Suddenly, the Heart flashed pink light and mentally told Will about the ambush.

Will rolled her eyes. "They could take care of themselves. After all-" The Heart then sent her a mental video that showed the Guardians, including Taranee who was now awake, cornered and were badly hurt.

Will sighed and headed to rescue her friends. Soon, she was hovering above them. She saw Shagon shoot a laser beam. It would have hit the Guardians, if black-colored colored lightning hadn't hit and stopped it. Will flew into sight. Nobody moved. Her black hair and red eyes sparkled in the white moonlight. Suddenly, Will flew toward the Guardians and Knights of Destruction. She flashed a grin to both teams. Her sharp teeth, that shone in the moonlight, made the Guardians' eyes grow wide and Knights of Destruction gulp. Will cleared her throat before she spoke.

With a mischievous tone in her silky voice, she asked breezily to both teams "You never seen a superhero before or what?"

Will stood on the ground between the Guardians and Knights of Destruction. Irma flew by her side and gasped "Will, is that you?"

Will smirked. "Yep! When I'm in this form, call me Zafyra. Anyway, aren't you forgetting to thank me?"

"For what?"

"Duh! For saving your lives from Shagon's laser beam!" Will replied, letting the sarcasm give them a hint.

Hay Lin stared at her in awe. "How did you know his name?"

"Maybe it was a lucky guess? Will suggested.

"You knew the Knights of Destruction were attacking us! How?" Taranee realized, dumbfounded.

"Why didn't you warn us before?" Cornelia cried angrily.

"I didn't found out until after they attacked you" Will snapped.

Shagon asked as calmly as he could "when did you get these looks and-" He stopped dead in his question as the Heart angrily shoot powerful blue-whitish lightning. "Damn! What was that for?"

The Heart was shining brightly against the darkness of the night with incredible power. "When could the Heart do that?" Ember wondered out loud.

Will just stared at her, as if she had ten heads. "Duh, before! How did it stop Shagon's laser beam?"

"Oh, the Heart shot that lightning!"

Khor, enraged that his master had been hit, began running toward Will. Will just slashed her claws at him, which somehow grew longer, across his face. He roared, fell hard on the ground, and desperately tried to stagger back on his feet. Taking advantage with this distraction, she shot black-colored beams from her hands.

Boom! Khor went flying and landed with a thud, next to Ember. She hissed "you'll pay for that" and flew to Will. This time, Will just snickered and suddenly, there were three of her. Ember shot a fireball to one of them, but it just bounced back. The fireball hit Khor, who didn't jump back in time. The three clones of Will quickly faded away with a zing.

"Show yourself!" Ember screeched, frustrated.

A glamour ring appeared behind Ember and quickly lowered without a sound, revealing Will. Ember didn't turn around.

"She didn't see me" Will thought.

"Look out!" Tridart warned.

Ember looked at him, puzzled. "Look out for what?"

Will opened her mouth and out came large black circular rings that hit Ember on the back. It blasted Ember to the ground. Tridart caught her and set her down gently.

"Wake up!" he repeatedly said, concerned, as he was shaking her. Ember didn't open her eyes, let alone move.

"She's knocked out. Probably because of the impact of the blast" Cornelia informed him. "I guess you know how we felt when Taranee got knocked out by Khor."

Tridart stood up to glare at Will. Then, he growled as he flew up to her. "She is a weakling, you know" Will taunted, with glee.

Tridart shot ice in response. In seconds, she was frozen, trapped in a block of ice that began to fall to the ground.

"HA! Who's talking now?" he asked.

Suddenly, the block cracked into smaller pieces as it hit the ground. Will broke free and flew up to him.

"You call THAT trapped? THIS is being trapped!" Will raised her left hand and shot out black lightning at his face to weaken him. Then, she raised her right hand and shot out a blue-colored energy ball. It began to grow into a bubble as it headed toward Tridart. Before Tridart could fly away in time, he was sucked into it. Tridart was shooting ice on it, hoping to make a hole in it, but he didn't even make a scratch. So, he began screaming to the top of his lungs (if he had any) it seemed, but no one can hear him. Will kicked it to the ground. It landed with a thud. The noise woke Ember up.

"The bubble is unbreakable and soundproof inside, but not outside. I'm still trying to learn how to make these bubble prisons unbreakable inside and outside."

Then, she held up the Heart. "Guardians Unite!"

The four Guardians transformed immediately. "Wow, that was fast!" they all exclaimed.

Will dropped lightly on the ground and faced Shagon. "I don't want to fight you." she said firmly.

"Will, you can beat him! He can't be any stronger than the other Knights! Attack his sorry ass!" Irma urged.

"Yeah! Come on, Shagon! Let's see how strong YOU are against Will!" Hay Lin added eagerly. With that, the four Guardians began to chant "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Will just shook her head no. She continued to stare uneasily at Shagon while she spoke, even though she was addressing the Guardians. "Listen. I only fought them because they were attacking me. But, they're not anymore. If you wanna fight him, I won't stop you. But, count me out!"

"You were great when you were fighting the other Knights. Why not fight Shagon?" Cornelia suggested.

"NO! None of you know anything about me! Never forget I'm still new to this power! Never forget I have the power over dark, the most uncontrollable element! I only fought them because they were attacking me. I had no choice! I am more than what you think I am!" Will practically screamed. The Heart shot blue-whitish lightning to Shagon. It hit Shagon dead center of his chest. "What was THAT for?" Desperate to escape, Will used the Heart to make a fold and she jumped in it. It disappeared as soon Will went through it.

Everyone was silent, trying to process what happened. Hay Lin's cellphone began to ring. Hay Lin put it in on speakerphone for everyone to hear before answering it. Yan Lin, Hay Lin's grandmother, spoke frantically. "Hay Lin, where have you been? It's eight ten right now!"

Hay Lin turned around and looked at the Knights of Destruction, who were watching her, for two seconds before replying.

In a shaky voice, Hay Lin told her the truth. "Nerissa sent her Knights of Destruction to attack us, but Will showed up in time and beat them up. She revealed her secret that she had another form named Zafyra. She looks different. Will defeated the Knights with her new powers, but then she wanted to go home and left us here. The rest of us, except Will, are a mess and all of the Knights are injured. Did I mention they're standing right behind us and they're watching me while I'm speaking right now?"

"Come back to the Silver Dragon immediately! You four girls have a TON of explaining in DETAIL to do!" Yan Lin shouted. With that, she hung up with a loud clang.

The Guardians began to run to the Silver Dragon, where Yan Lin would be waiting. Shagon made a fold to Mount Thanos, where their master, Nerissa, would be waiting for them.

Epilogue

The Knights of Destruction slowly approached Nerissa. She sharply turned around to face them. The Knights quickly bowed to her, respectfully.

"We know we have failed you. We are deeply sorry." Shagon apologized.

Nerissa laughed. "Never-mind that. I knew you had lost the battle to her from the start. Perhaps I have underestimated Will and her abilities. Why? Because of her parting words before she retreated. That was the giveaway to her weakness. She has not fully mastered her powers in her recently-discovered form. Do you know what this means? It means we have the opportunity to tamper with her mind. Make her feel insecure of her powers. Make herself doubt if she is really worthy of her role as the leader of the Guardians. Make Will believe her so-called boyfriend, Matt, doesn't love her anymore. In order to achieve these three key guidelines, you would have to separate Will from the other Guardians as much as possible. Put lies in her head of hers. Our goal is to corrupt her to our side by convincing her that we are the only ones that understand her!"

That's it for the first chapter! Is it decent? Okay? Amazing? Please don't say it's bad or worse than bad... I'll be working on a new chapter soon. Honestly, I don't know when exactly, so don't ask me! This chapter is called "The Secret" because of two things. If you read the whole chapter, the first reason is Will's other identity, Zafyra. And the second reason is Nerissa reveals her plan to her Knights. This is my question: What should the NEXT chapter be called? Put answers in your reviews as well. (Remember to stick with the plot so far, or I'm afraid to say I can't consider it!) Again, special thanks to TTigerz for letting me borrow the original idea of Zafyra. Check it out in TTigerz's story "L is For Losers REWRITTEN". Also, some thanks to my best friend (not going to name her) who helped me think of the plot.

UNTIL WE MEET NEXT TIME, PEOPLE! :D