Young Guardian Trilogy by Lady Adellandra Dratianos (read aloud .txt) 📕

thinking aloud.
"Go ahead." Aaron said.
"Don't you guys think this Damian character is making our little treasure-hunt too easy?" Mark asked. "What if it's a set-up?"
"Doubt it." Derrick said knowingly.
"Hope you know where you're going, because I sure don't." Aaron said sarcastically, frightened.
"Trust me." Derrick said simply.
Nearly half an hour later, the group ran into Katherine and Wolf.
"Any luck, Katherine?" Mark asked.
Sadly, she shook her head. "I believe we may already be too late." Katherine continued by telling the group what she had overheard Sabrina and Grand Psycho talking about.
"How awful!" Mark cried. "We've got to find Ariana now!"
Katherine nodded. "From where we are, I can find my way to the dungeon."
Wolf was astonished. "I thought we were lost?"
"I just was not calm and able to think, Wolf." She smiled at him. He laughed.
"Shall we be on our way, then?" Wolf asked.
"Show us the way, Katherine." Derrick teased.
When they reached the door to the dungeon, Wolf screeched it open, looking inside with his lantern.
"She should be over there, if I remember correctly." Katherine replied, showing them.
Both Wolf and Derrick shone their lanterns, surprised when they saw the empty cage with melted bars.
"She's gone!" Aaron cried.
Mark gasped. "Where's Luna?"
Both girls were gone. Were they lost in the dark caverns of Dark Tower, or were they taken somewhere else – perhaps to Damian's own suite?
The group left and hurried back through the cavern, carrying the two lanterns to show the way.
"Do you know how to get to the Gate from here?" Derrick asked Katherine.
"I could give it a try." Katherine replied.
"Go ahead, my love." Wolf replied, giving her nose a gentle kiss.
Katherine purred, and led the way.

IV

"This place is creepy," Luna told her sister as they walked through the dark cavern. "Not to mention dark."
"Let's try to find a lantern or something so we can see where we're going." Ariana suggested, her sleuthing instincts triggering.
Luna stood close as she could to her. "I don't see any, do you?"
Ariana recalled the day she first met Katherine and what the Ancient Mystic Sisters had told her. "Let me try. Maybe my powers are charged enough from the escape I can make a flashlight?"
"Okay, but be careful.” Luna cautioned. “I don't want anyone, mainly Damian or Sabrina, to find out."
Ariana closed her eyes and thought of a flashlight, but all she could get was a pen-light. She looked at her sister. "Sorry, Lu. It's the best I can do. I guess I'd better rest my powers until I get back home."
"If we ever make it out of here, that is." Luna replied, scared.
Suddenly, the girls heard talking coming toward them. Ariana shushed Luna. She pointed at her ear, and Luna nodded. Listen.
"We'll never get out of here!" A boy's voice groaned. "Face it, we're definitely lost."
"Calm down, Heart-Brother." Another voice growled in annoyance.
Ariana recognized the last voice belonging to Wolf Stargazer. She yelled. "Hey, guys! Wolf! Over here!"
"We're coming, just stay there!" Derrick yelled.
"We're saved!" Luna exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Not yet, Lu. We have to go home, remember?"
"Oh."
The boys and Katherine found the twins.
"Ariana! Luna!" Derrick cried, hugging both girls. "We thought you were with Damian."
"We were, but we escaped." Ariana told him, kissing Derrick extra long. "How did you know where to find us?"
"I didn't. We just ran into you here." Derrick held her close. He was never going to let her out of his sight again.
"Let's hurry and head home before its," Luna started, but was cut off by the evil male voice of Damian.
"Not so fast, Crappy Crusaders." He cackled, revealing himself for all to see.
Luna groaned. "Too late." She gulped.
"Thought you could escape, eh?" Damian laughed.
"You said if we found the treasure, you'd let her free!" Mark screamed.
"I lied." Damian cackled again.
Derrick held onto Ariana, as did Wolf to Katherine and Mark to Luna.
Aaron wasn't afraid. "I'm not afraid of you, Damian!" He cried. Remembering what the Sisters told them, Aaron shot green lightning bolts from his fingertips.
"You have not seen the last of me!" Damian cried as he retreated. "I will be back!"
He disappeared then, taking the Crusaders along with him.
The group landed in front of the opening to Lava Wood.
Aaron fainted on the spot, his energy drained. After a look from her twin, Luna ran to help him.
"Are you okay?" Derrick asked Ariana, concerned. He helped her up as the group stood up, brushing themselves off.
Ariana brushed what was left of the mud off her pant-leg. "I'm fine, my Love, but I won't be better until I can return home."
"Why can't you?" Mark asked.
"Sabrina is in my body and this moment." Ariana told him. "I can't go back, and neither can Mark."
"Why not?" Mark asked.
"Wherever Sabrina goes, Grand Psycho follows." Luna concluded, helping Aaron stand. "This Grand Psycho guy must be in your body, making it impossible for you to return home."
"Great, we're stuck here." Mark moaned.
"It'll be okay, Mark." Ariana told him, giving him a hug. "I feel them weakening right now."
"Pretty soon, Sabrina won't have enough power left, so she'll have to come back here and recharge!" Derrick cried, excited. "Brilliant darling." He kissed her again.
Ariana blushed. "It was nothing, really Derrick." She said modestly. "I was just able to sense they were here, at this spot," She ran to Lava Falls, "or this spot, rather, before going into each of our bodies. The one thing Sabrina and her pal don't know is that it takes special powers, like Katherine and Wolf have, to stay in our world coming from the Dream Realm for more than a day."
"If you sensed something that means your powers are returning." Aaron replied softly, hanging on Luna for balance.
Ariana and Luna nodded.
"All thanks to my identical twin sister." Ariana smiled, hugging Luna. "If it hadn't been for her wanting to be a heroine, I would never have gotten my self-confidence back. It was Luna that gave me the idea to use our powers together in order to escape."
Luna blushed.
"We just have to wait for them to come back before we can make our move." Mark replied, finally getting this Ancient Mystic, Dream Realm jargon. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get back into our bodies before they do."

In the Outer Realm, Sabrina and Grand Psycho indeed were tiring, so they decided to lie on the couch-bad, taking a quick rest.

They didn’t know Ariana and the other Crusaders were waiting for them to return to Lava Falls to replenish their powers. When they returned to the Dominion’s Lava Falls, they were surprised and confused.
"What are we doing here?" Sabrina asked her confidant.
"Exactly what we're about to do. Go back, for good." Ariana told them, and they disappeared, returning to the Outer Realm.
When they were gone, Sabrina saw her cousin and Wolf standing there with smiles on their faces. "You little brat!"
Katherine waved goodbye, she and Wolf shifted to their full animal forms and disappeared to the Garden.
"Wait until I find you, Katherine Hawk!" Sabrina yelled into the air. "You are going to pay for this!"
It was too late; they were already gone.
"What happened, Sabrina?" Grand Psycho asked, curious.
"What do you think happened, you idiot?" Sabrina huffed. "Those Crappy Crusaders got away. This is all Damian's fault. He allowed those brats to escape. He's more of an idiot than you are!"
Sabrina stomped away, furious. As always, Grand Psycho followed.

V

Back in the Outer Realm, all awoke safe and sound in their bodies at the kitchen table.
Mark woke up beside Ariana on the couch bed, waiting for her to wake up. It wasn't until Aaron, Luna, and Derrick were in front of them that she finally did.
Slowly, she blinked open her eyes, moaning as she stretched. As she yawned, she sat up. Her friends bombarded her with questions.
"Are you okay?"
"How do you feel?"
"Why are you down here?"
"I hope she didn't make you two, well, you know."
"Quiet!" Derrick yelled, sitting beside her. "Now, are you okay Ariana?"
Ariana nodded, holding her head. She had a little headache, but was otherwise in perfect condition. "Yeah."
"That's good." Derrick whispered.
"You guys want something to eat?" Mark asked.
Luna, Aaron, Ariana, and Derrick nodded.
Ariana and Derrick didn't stand when Luna and Aaron started to leave.
"Are you coming?" Luna asked.
"We'll be right there," Derrick winked at Luna. She smiled and left them alone. Derrick turned to Ariana. "I've waited a year to do this."
"What?" Ariana asked.
"This..." Derrick said softly, planting a real, spine-tingling, earth-shattering kiss on her lips. "I love you, Ariana."
"I love you, too, Derrick." Ariana held onto his hand, not wanting to let go. "I've missed you a lot."
"I've missed you, too." Derrick kissed her again. "Now, I don't ever want to let go."
They looked deep into each other's eyes. "I don't want to be let go." Ariana replied softly, giving him a hug. "Let's go eat."
Half-way through the meal, Ariana looked at her friends. "Thanks a lot for caring, you guys."
"I'm sure you would've done it for any of us, Ariana." Aaron replied, winking in friendship at her.
"Are you glad you're an Ancient Mystic?" Luna asked her.
"Yeah, are you?" Ariana replied with a smile.
Luna nodded. "I'm a little jealous, though."
"Of what?"
"Of you." Luna replied simply. "I mean, I knew more about it than Shannon did. I knew before you did, and the Sisters say you're to be the Young Guardian."
Ariana looked down at her plate. "I never knew you felt this way."
"Neither did I." Derrick whispered. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I was afraid of what you'd think of me." Luna started to cry, and Mark wrapped an arm around her shoulders, comforting. "I didn't want you to hate me when we first met."
"We couldn't hate you, Lu. Stop thinking that." Ariana replied, placing a hand on her sister's.
"Come on, you two. This is a celebration." Aaron replied.
"He's right. We've beaten Sabrina and her clan, rescued a beautiful maiden in distress," At that, Ariana blushed. Derrick continued. "We came back home without any visible scars."
Luna nodded, agreeing. “I’m curious about you, Aaron.”
“What about?” He and Ariana exchanged looks.
“What was that green light, and how did you know to use it?” Luna asked.
“That green light was the color of Unicorn Magic.” Aaron supplied. He looked to Ariana for approval. When she nodded, he continued. “Before Ariana left the orphanage when she was thirteen, she bound my own twin Aimee and myself to her through blood. That Blood-Binding gave us a few of the Ancient Mystic’s own powers. Empathy, Telepathy to each other only, Healing and even a little Premonition.”
“Basic powers.” Aluna remarked. “Go on.”
“Since then, Aimee and I have been honing our own powers. We’ve had to teach ourselves in this Realm, and be taught by the Sisters and Lord Guardian in the Dream Realm.” Aaron sighed, looking at Ariana. “Thanks to my Ariana Moon, we’re able to help people, just like she does.”
Ariana looked down, embarrassed as both Aaron and Derrick looked at her lovingly. Mark, who had felt romantic over Ariana since he'd met her, looked at his lap.
"You know what, though." Ariana said, addressing the group after a moment of thought. "We haven't finished dealing minds against Sabrina, Grand Psycho, and the