You know what's really ironic…?

I've had this chapter and Fallen 4 done for the last week but something is always stopping me from putting it up.

The first day I tried putting this up… Fiction Press wouldn't let me update and upload word documents into the Document Manager

The second day... uh.. It still wouldn't let me.

Third day... I didn't have enough time to check it but on the...

Fourth day... It still didn't work so I assume that the third day it probably still didn't work.

Fifth day. It was kinda working. One in 80 documents you tried to upload came through.

Sixth day... Was only allowed on the comp briefly, to check email.

Seventh day... Uh... it still doesn't like we a whole lot and it didn't let me upload it... so here I am.

I'll quit ranting.

Here's the chapter... and please review!

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One of a Kind

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Chapter Seven: Reeling Back Time

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The bright fire danced in the ever so slight breeze, the wind singing its own tune. The balancers and the other immortal sat around the fire, somewhat seeming at ease.

"Kazru, if you were alive all these years, why didn't you find me, or any of the demons of darkness?" Whispered the only girl in the group.

The brown haired male sighed, seemingly having dreaded being asked this question. "I was reincarnated in a way. Your father, Mar, my friend, was nearing his time to go, and he knew it well. He summoned some of his final power and sent a request to the spirits, to bring someone back in his place after he died. So he defeated the creator of "evil" beings, Akatra, and soon after he died himself, but he gave his immortal powers to me as I was still a spirit in the world of the dead, making me swear I'd find you and, well, give you protection that it seems that you don't need."

Mar sighed gloomily. "So that's how you came back."

The blonde broke the silence. "So we are going into the Glacis Mountains to find the remaining angels hiding within the city of Tranke, the city of Rankins, and to talk to the Rankins themselves, the neutral immortals."

The youngest man within the small circle protested. "It's a frozen dome!"

No one seemed to pay attention to him. Mar spoke again. "Yes hopefully we'll be able to convince them to come back out of hiding, Derek."

Derek spoke again. "So how are we getting there?"

Kazru spoke solemnly. "We'll have to walk. It's impossible to fly over."

The man protested again. "Walk? That's suicide!"

His brother gave him a hard look. "You're immortal. And you call yourself a demon of darkness."

Derek nodded to Kazru's comment. "Have you heard from Jonathan...? Didn't he go up into the Glacis to try to get the angels to come back into Adritin Mar?"

"Yes Joey did go there, but he just disappeared right after."

"See our chances?" The youngest yelled out again.

His brother shoved him harshly. "What are you made of Shadow, jelly? Get some guts."

"Shut it Rath."

Suddenly the girl seemed to freeze, looking with a stunned look to Kazru. "When my father died, who was named the new demon of darkness Kazru?"

Kazru drew up his sleeve, revealing the long ancient marking that crawled up his muscular arm but differed from the similar markings on the right arms of the two other demons of darkness. "I said your father gave me his immortal spirit."

Shock was splashed across her face, but her happiness overrode the shock for a second before a new thought struck her, causing her to frown again. "Oh my god Kazru... But what about the other three?"

"Nobody knows Mar. We're lucky we have three with us now."

Mar fell silent, staring at the fire with an out of focus look on her smooth face. She caught Derek's gaze suddenly and jerked as if hit.

"You didn't..."

"What...?" He protested.

"You called Kia."

"So...?"

"We don't need her here Derek."

"We need all the help me can get," he snapped back, his eyes glowing an inhuman electric blue, flowing with an inhuman power.

"Well not her."

"Why not? Why do you suddenly have such an opposition to her coming? The king and queen would never be able to help us and Jonathan is obviously for the time being nonexistent."

Mar looked away, her face tired and pale. "It's not that."

With a snap of realization, his face softened. "Oh Makeav..."

Rath and Shadow both looked at him questionably. "Who's Makeav?" they asked in complete unison, both their faces struggling with confusion.

Her face was slightly pale still, ignoring the questions of the brothers. "He'll know. But I believe it's time for Makeav to come out of hiding. He's been trapped in those clouds since the king banished him, Derek."

Derek sighed. His eyes still carried the inhuman electric blue sheen. "I agree. We will need his help. He knows this place much better than any of us do. Will you call him sister?"

Kazru's eyes widened comically, the red brown orbs sparkling with an amused interest. "Uh... Mar you have a brother?"

Derek glanced at him with a small grin; his eyes still a bright blue, the color of a neon-untainted sky that they had never seem before actually in a sky, but only in dreams of which they glimpsed. "Derek, prince of Adritin, her half brother."

Kazru nodded once. "We haven't been introduced properly. My name is Kazivrain, of the demons if you're blind, for even if you were color-blind you could have realized that."

Rath suddenly interjected, his eyes appearing tense. "The priest's son?"

Kazru nodded. "The supposedly dead one, yes."

Rath went back to staring at the fire. "Uh-huh... We're cousins then." The group looked at him with a range of looks, from a startled confusion to a suspicion. Even Shadow, his own brother, was sending him a startled look. "The priest was Shadow and my mother's brother. I only heard of your disappearance and death. We were too young to really know what happened then. Shadow was ten; I was twelve. Both of our parent's were dead. I heard of your death from some merchant I was trying to bribe food off of."

Next to Rath, Shadow shifted uncomfortably at this, apparently forever ill at ease and perturbed with his painful past.

Out of the blue, a pained strangled yell split the clearing, almost an inhuman sound. Mar was the first to her feet, easily putting out the fire with a swipe of her hand. Now only the small crescent moon illuminated the clearing.

Her dangerous red eyes narrowed, in the depths a light coming from them, a red luminance. From her back, her long wings unfurled, stretching out through the slits in her leather jacket, made for the enormous wings. The wings just rested there though, seeming to wait.

Derek's silver wings split through his jacket, expanding through the holes in his jacket as well. Mikhail followed suit, though his wings weren't nearly the size of Derek's, but almost. Rath rolled his eyes at the unneeded interruption and called upon his wings, the black wings spreading quickly, as dark as the night itself. Shadow and Kazru also summoned their wings, just as dark as Rath's.

Mar let out a low chuckle. "Well this is amusing." The group gave her a weird look. "Well let's go see this fight, shall we?"

They flew into the sky, the only sound the ruffle of leaves that were moved by the powerful upstrokes of their wings. They stopped not half a mile away, coming to rest on a tree overlooking the blood covered clearing they had fought a battle in just a few hours ago. Mar motioned for them not to intervene, her eyes narrowing at the scene, but cocked in amusement as well.

The angel was locked in a sword fight with a demonic male. Well she had a sword, and he did not. The girl had him on the bloody ground, the male apparently shot from the sky since the male's wing was shot by an arrow for it was still there, broken by the impact, and the wing was pierced and still bleeding.

Her face was a picture of tension, trying to kill the male. The male had caught the side of the sword before it had killed him and was struggling against it, his arms a weird silver, protecting his hands from being sliced off as well.

Well really, do you think normal hands could hold the edge of a sword? No, typically that would always be a definite no.

Mikhail, realizing who it was, made a move to help him. Mar grabbed his wrist, silently telling him not to. Mikhail looked at her in bewilderment, but her face remained as blank as stone. "Why, Mar? Why let them kill themselves?"

"They can fight for themselves," was her reply, short and snapped out.

The male was shaking in the effort to keep his life and finally threw her away with a jolt of power, his masculine strength overcoming hers. His breath hissed out in an angry spurt, standing back up again without of trace of exhaustion. "Angel."

The girl looked shaken at his sudden strength; both though were unaware of the spectators. "Demon." She regained her confidence as he glared at her defiantly. "Come on, fight me. What are you, a coward?"

The male's nose wrinkled in disgust. He let out a deep breath, but then he let out an inhuman hiss. His eyes began glowing a deep jade, shining with anger. His canine teeth lengthened and his fingernails turned to claws. He let out a yell, kneeling under the huge power, gritting his teeth and gripping his shoulders as his body began to change, his claws digging into pale skin, drawing blood.

He leered at her nastily, his eyes narrowed with distaste. His body rippled with power, his muscles now more pronounced, the disguise of a human discarded. His ears were tipped with a demon appearance, and he had ancient crypt writing written underneath his right eye.

The blonde haired angel seemed to be slightly taken back. She shook her head once, seeming to clear her mind, and lunged bravely at the male. The male easily whisked his arm around, summoning a ray of solidifying liquid ice and blocked the blow, sending her flying at the force of the impact.

The angel gritted her teeth and her wings propelled her into the air. She drew her bow, knowing with the demon's injured wing, he couldn't follow.

Mar suddenly spread her wings again; the massive black and gold feathers glinting brightly even despite the lack of light. She launched herself into the air with an amazing speed. She intercepted the arrow, just using her mind to freeze it and send it lifelessly falling to the ground.

She stood between them with a stone look, also having pulled both of her swords and had it pointed at both of them. Both demon and angel seemed to realize that the fight was over and that the swords were conductors, magically able to shoot rays of energy if an enemy was at a long distance.

The angel suddenly realized who it was, wheeling back in surprise at the half sister of the angel prince. "Mar... get out of the way... the demon."

"No..."

"What are you doing Mar?" Asked the demon in a curious voice, also managing to break from the power surge and the bitter drive to kill.

"This fight is over."

"Couldn't it have been done ages ago?" Asked Mikhail from his spot on the tree. The demon and angel seemed to pale at the look of the other five guardians standing there.

"Well... I didn't feel like interrupting their oh so pleasant reunion."

The pair that had been locked in a death and life battle looked at her with a weird look that plainly said, "You've lost it." All drifted to the ground, angel guardians on one side, the demons of darkness on the other, and Mar standing in the center. "Reunion Mar?"

"What are that you dull? Or are your memories dead...?" Blank looks. "Kia, this is Makeav. Makeav, this is Kia..."

The angel paled, her face ashen. She pointed a shaky finger at Makeav. "You're... you're dead..."

Mar snorted. "Yeah... and I thought Kazru was too but look at where that got me..." Kazru tossed her a friendly glare, which she returned.

Makeav's dark hair drifted over his tired face. "Kia."

Kia seemed to be in a panicked state. "No... You're dead."

Derek looked at Mar quizzically. "You never told me you saved him either... But you know I kind of figured that out. You probably should have told her."

Mar shrugged. "Wasn't much time for that. Two days later I was banished as well... so ya know... Kinda hard. But anyway, he's alive. And well, by the looks of it. The king proclaimed him banished and killed anyway, mainly to save his own pride."

Kia's eyes were still unbelieving. "You don't know how many tears I've shed for you... if it's even you." She shook her head again. "I'm going back. For all I know, you all could be demon imposters."

Mar suddenly was in front of her, her speed rivaling light. "Don't leave now. If we were we would have killed you already. Makeav's been in hiding for so long, and you don't even give him the chance he deserves. If you didn't love him anymore, you would have gotten someone else."

"Guardian's aren't supposed to love; they aren't even supposed to marry," Kia replied in a dead voice.

"Look at my mother, my father. The king even. Who abides by that?" Mar replied.

Kia looked up, tears streaming from her soft baby blue eyes, making her whole appearance fragile. "How are you so strong, Mar? You live your life as an outcast, but somehow everything boils down to being tied to your fate. Can't our lives be simple Mar?"

Mar looked down at the girl, her eyes softening at the younger girl's tears. She was taller, and at that second seemed to loom over the fragile girl.

"Give him a chance..."

"But you don't know what it feels like to lose Mar."

She shook her head silently. "No... Remember the day the king locked me from my own kingdom? The clouds turned black. No, I lost. I lost everything Kia." She backed away from the girl. "Talk to him. We'll be back about a half mile to the north east."

The rest of the guardians followed her, leaving the two in the battlefield coated in red from the previous demon slaughter. They walked silently, not bothering to fly.

"Is that smart Mar?" Derek asked.

Rath snorted. "Really they just tried to kill each other."

Shadow gave him a hard glare. "No way."

"Yes way."

Kazru chuckled. "Well, look at that. I find out I have a whole family of guardians and next thing you know there's two former lovers trying to kill each other while completely not recognizing each other."

Mar rolled her eyes. "It's fine, and five years can change people a lot. In every possible way. You wouldn't believe what a shrimp Makeav used to be."

Derek sighed. "I know; he was my best friend."

Mar raised a questioning eyebrow. "That goes for you too."

As they rambled on, Mikhail rolled his eyes as well. "He looked so different when he harnessed his power..."

Mar looked at him with a sullen look. "Remember it's not like your curse. He wasn't turned into a demon. He was just partially made to look like one. It's a permanent curse."

Shadow shook with a weird tone. "Well I get that. But why didn't Makeav recognize... what's her name...? Kia?"

Mar stopped, staring at the crescent moon with a look of regret. "Makeav left before Kia was... given the duties of a guardian of light. She's changed so much. She lost what she loved the most, and now she's afraid of heartbreak." Mar closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh. "It was a different world before that day. It turned everything upside-down."

Derek took his sister by the shoulder, making her look at him warily. "You should tell them your story, our whole story... just so they know what our lands have gone through, Mar."

Mar nodded once, the briefest of nods, consenting.

Her voice began at a whisper, gradually growing with confidence. "My story in a way ties all your lives together from the beginning. It started while I lived in the Adritin lands. I was born there, if you didn't guess. I was born after my mother, the queen, remarried, so everyone believed I was a daughter of the king as well, but with a curse placed on me, but since I was a princess they kept me just for that sole reason. After a while, the queen sent me to a neighboring country... Well... sort of. It depends how close you call Nazdirith. My father was Atkinson, my protector. He got Kazru to be my babysitter as you may call it for a while, just to make sure no one tried to figure out where I was from. He created the portal to the clouds... Just play along here for all that don't know," she said in response to some bewildered looks from Shadow, Kazru and Rath.

"So that's why you vanished all the time..." Kazru muttered with a hard accusing glare.

Mar continued her story, her eyes still closed, but she folded her arms, hugging herself in the chilly breeze. "I couldn't use any of my powers then, so nobody cared or noticed me or my comings and goings. I wasn't important. The war was. Even balancing the universe was more important. I didn't lie to any of you, but it's how life goes. I wasn't lying to you Rath when I acted as though I didn't know my father was dead. Something in me knew he was, but I always refused to admit it before then and all guardians' deaths are kept secret. Mikhail, I didn't lie to you either. I was sent back to Adritin after Kazru died. By that time, yes, Shadow, Rath, you had been pushed out into the world on your own. When I was sent back my power had suddenly appeared, rising from depths of the unknown. The king feared it more than anything. That's why he killed the last two half-breeds. It's what he planned with me. Makeav and Kia were together, happy as anybody ever was. But then Makeav was cursed while he was on a mission. He went back to the city, covering up the curse with a long jacket the best he could, and went directly to Derek, who in turn, knowing I could help him, begged me to save him. Kia never knew. She thought he had been banished and killed as the king told everyone," Mar muttered lowly, her voice ragged the pain of many years.

Everyone was silent; all the pieces to a forgotten puzzle being put together.

"I was banished not long after, in turn scheduled to be put to death, but Derek argued my way out with the help of the queen. The king just banished me, never to return to my home. But you know how that went. All that went by in about a month. I was a wanderer for about five years after that... maybe more. When all this started, it was when I went to Trek Lake, aiming to find the last angels there... and to find out about the angels that fled. I found the cursed Mikhail there and shortly afterwards met up with Rath, who just out of curiosity of my mixed blood didn't kill me as well. Then I was dragged back to Adritin, faced with death again for reentering the lands. And then came the time that Derek, dear Derek who had finally mastered his once uncontrollable powers, argued with the king for our lives... mine once again. And then I teleported out, taking Mikhail, and then, you know the rest."

Rath started to talk. "Mar..."

"I was given many prophecies at my birth, many of which weren't true. One was to destroy. The old or the new. To save or to kill. I would choose my path. And so for it's for the new, to save our world. In a weird way, it destroys the old. Another was based on the war. Some predict the end of this as my death. Most aren't very pleasant and depict someone's demise."

Recovering quickly and not missing a beat, Kazru looped an arm around his old friend's shoulders. "So what's the next move Mar?"

Mar let out a deep breath, opening her eyes to look at him. "Wait for Makeav and Kia to figure out that they don't have to be worst enemies and travel up through Glacis, but before that feel free to pray to any God up there that you can think of that we make it through this mess."

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The review...! For chapter ONE of all things!

Mss. Story Writerr- It's freaky and good...? Just choose one! But you rock anyway for reviewing! Did you like it?

So there you have it. I finally got Kia in there...

I didn't like her just because she seemed so fragile, not at all what most people expected. But, you say, come on, she just learned that a guy she loved years ago was alive. Well I see your point.

Tell me what you think.

For all those peps that kinda liked this story I recommend two others if you have time...

Immortal Wars- Things are changing. Things are no longer what they were written out to be. Two warring kingdoms are about to find that out the hard way. A friendship formed between six nobles of different heritage are put to the test as they are forced to decide whether to go with what they love and trust or with their heritage that has caused so many deaths before.

The Tip of an Iceberg- It was unplanned, unexpected. Really, it wasn't my choice that I wasn't informed that I had a twin brother until the age of nineteen. So here's the deal, my grandfather, drunken idiot he is, thinks he can overwrite my parents will by forcing me to sign over the whole fortune to my brother, who on invitation arrives on my doorstep with his friends. Can life get any worse? Hell it can.

Review!

-TAD-Phoenix Keeper