It became evident to the Guardians that this was a fight that they could no longer control. The Balance was broken and now the First had returned. Everyone had gone their own ways, going to their respective homes. No one had said anything after Marina revealed the truth of their disposition.
It was so clear that not one among the Guardians could hope to stop Ceres. It had crossed Caitlin�s mind that she could invoke Jai, Ceres� balance, but she had heard for herself that Jai was only a sliver of what she had been. After, 2,000 years of being passed on from generation to generation, becoming smaller with each generation, left Jai so small that no microscope could ever hope to see it, no matter how powerful.
The night wore on without further movement from Anne�s department. It was a cold and harsh night. The city, due to the incessant raids by creatures of the night, had grown vacant of people. Only the Guardians remained, knowing that this was where Anne would appear.
Kashya and Morgan had made their way to the graveyard, for that is where the song brought them too. And there, they saw the woman neither had seen in over 350 years. They knew she was changed and it was for the better, at least for the children of the night. Morgan smiled gently, happy to see his mother again.
�Mother, I�ve missed you so much.� He said. Kashya rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Anne stood and returned Morgan�s smile. The two embraced tightly. Morgan had grown tall, like his father(author�s note: Shall I remind you that Morgan�s father is also the father of Katar and Cestus and brother to Tenaka?). His long hair was a reddish-brown, a combination of his parent�s hair colors. However, his eyes were his mother�s, just like Kashya�s.
�I missed you too, Morgan.� Anne cooed gently. She was filled with something she had once called joy at seeing her children again. �I know you only came because of the call, but I�m happy to see you both.� Anne said, after pulling away from Morgan. She looked at Kashya and longed to hold her in her arms again, but knew Kashya hated her, so Anne didn�t move.
�Don�t think that anything�s changed between us.� Kashya said forcefully.
�I know nothing�s changed, Kashya. I know you�ll never forgive me and I accept that.� Kashya was thrown off-guard by that. She had never expected Anne to say anything like that. She always expected Anne to try to get Kashya to forgive her.
�You accept the fact that I�ll never forgive you? What�s gotten into you?� Kashya blurted out before knowing what she was saying. Anne grinned.
�My ancestor�s what has gotten into me. I�m here to bring the eternal night. The sun will never be seen again. The children of the night will never again fear the daylight.� As Anne spoke, her eyes began to glow and a violet-black light. She assumed her Guardian form. Her black demonic wings sprouted and flared behind her. �And now, my children, watch as I cover the Earth in eternal darkness.� Anne lifted into the air and flew into the sky.
Anne flew higher and higher into the air. She flew until the moon cast her shadow over the entire city below. Her black wings spread wide, her eyes glowing violet-black, Anne gathered her powers together.
Suddenly, each of the Guardians felt a zap got through them. They each rushed to the nearest window and looked up at the sky. They each saw Anne floating in the air. They all wondered what she was doing. One by one, they all left their houses and went to find out what was going on.
Anne was above the graveyard, so that�s where everyone headed. They each came to a dead stop when they saw two others standing there, watching Anne.
�I thought everyone except us had left the city.� Liesl said. Morgan and Kashya turned and saw all the Guardians, in human form, gathered there. They all seemed to gasp at the same time upon seeing Kashya and Morgan. Kashya was the spitting image of Anne. Morgan didn�t resemble Anne that much, but there was something in his eyes that gave it away that Anne was his mother as well as Kashya�s.
�Who are you?� Marina asked the two.
�My name�s Kashya and this is my half-brother, Morgan.�
�Your assumptions are right, Anne is our mother. Lantis is Kashya�s father.� Another gasp passed through the Guardians, except for Cass who didn�t know who Lantis was. Marina was the only one not surprised on seeing these two for she all ready knew their tales. She knew of Kashya�s hatred for her mother and of Morgan�s love for his mother.
Their attention was deterred by the Earth shaking underneath them. They looked up and saw a ball of black gathering around Anne. They heard her voice, chanting in a language only Kashya and Morgan recognized but didn�t know what she was saying. It was an ancient language spoken only by vampires.
�What�s going on?!� Heather exclaimed, trying to keep her balance.
�She summoning the eternal night.� Morgan replied.
�What? Why?� Liesl demanded.
�She�s plunging the Earth into eternal darkness so that the children of the night won�t fear daylight anymore and so that they can pillage the Earth and terrorize humans without end.� Kashya said.
The Earth stopped trembling. Anne�s chanting stopped. There was a momentary lull before the black sphere around Anne began to melt outwards.
�I, Guardian of Darkness, command you to bend to my will. Cover the Earth in a blanket of Eternal Night!!� Anne exclaimed. With that, the black orb seemed to explode outwards. The blank stretched into the atmosphere and wrapped itself around the entire Earth. The darkness blacked out the moon and stars. Anne�s demonic laughter echoed across the sky. �It is done! No longer must we fear the day, my brothers and sisters! Come forth and put the humans in their place!! Show them who rules the night!!� Anne exclaimed.
Again, the ground shook. The Guardians knew that this must be meant to awaken the zombies and other sleeping creatures of the night. However, the Guardians had all ready extracted a good portion of those things from this town. So, there was nothing else they should worry about right now.
Suddenly, someone was leaping into the air towards Anne. In his hands he gripped a two-handed long sword, ready to cut through Anne. His long brown hair flowed behind him. Everyone could only watch, wondering who this new man was.
Anne saw the attack coming the entire time. She let him get close before she knocked him down with a blast of energy. D took the hit in his chest and he immediately fell back towards the Earth. Anne grinned widely and darkly.
�You should know not to mess with me, dhampir. You don�t stand a chance. Either you�ll die like your human parent or you will succumb to my call like all vampires. It�s your choice.� D flipped and landed on the roof he had leapt from. He glared darkly at Anne.
�I will never succumb to your call. Your call only brings poison.� His voice was deep. Anne�s eyes narrowed slightly.
�You choose death. So be it. Die along with the humans you have sworn to protect from my kind.� D�s eyes narrowed. His grip on his sword tightened. Anne grinned darkly and lowered herself to the ground. Her Guardian form melted back into her vampire form. Anne�s eyes swept across the Guardians. �So, you�re all here to fight me, then?� Anne�s lips pulled away from her teeth in a cruel sneer. Her sharp incisors were bared and seemed ready to taste blood at any moment. Anne slid her tongue along her teeth. �I will fight the Guardians of Fire and Water first. And to make sure the rest of you don�t get involved...� Anne snapped her fingers and Katar and Cestus stepped out of the darkness behind her. They stood on each side of Anne, looking at the Guardians, excitement almost bursting from them.
�Cestus, you can take the dhampir and those three. I�ll take the others.� Katar said. Cestus grinned at her sister. Anne stepped back. Katar stepped to her sister, grinning. �Make sure you have fun, but remember, you can only kill the dhampir.� Cestus nodded, wrapping her arms around Katar�s shoulders. Katar wrapped her arms around Cestus� waist and pulled her close. The two kissed deeply. Katar slid her tongue inside Cestus� mouth and gently caressed it with her tongue. Cestus captured Katar�s tongue with her own, wrapping hers around Katar�s.
�That is so disgusting.� Liesl said, growing ill at seeing the twins kissing each other. The other Guardians nodded their agreement. After a moment, Katar broke the kiss, grinned darkly at her sister, then flew into battle with a roar and blinding speed. Cestus flew after her, splitting the Guardians.
Cestus went after Liesl, Cassandra, Marina and D, who had jumped down and joined the Guardians. Katar took Heather and Caitlin. All the Guardians transformed into their Guardian forms. Fire and Water stepped forward to do battle with Anne. Anne grinned evilly at them, arms crossed.
�Now, let�s see how well you can handle my vampiric powers.� Anne�s grin grew wider and more dangerous. Abby and Anna prepared for a battle they both knew they couldn�t win. Anne was just too powerful for them. And Anne knew this and would just toy with them until she wanted to put them out of their misery.