2.27 The Guardians

Five figures sat in the large room, waiting. These people called themselves the Guardians. Those entrusted to care for the future and well being of ALL species and races. There were seven in total, each guarding a specific world. Two late comers were preventing the meeting from happening altogether. Xerxes and Emit Relevart.

Seated to the far left was Frostbite. She herself, was an ice being. Her skin was completely frozen to the touch. She preferred being in the comfort of a cold shower, or snow storm. Ice beings were originally elemental lab experiments. Everyone thought that Professor Smerts was insane, but he had created a race different from what we were accustomed to. Ice beings lived their lives out just as every other race on planet earth, substituting hot meals for cold ones. Frostbite represented all of the ice-beings in the worlds. Her main concern was keeping the newly formed race/species in existence and providing them a voice.

Next to her was Ivy League, a plant sim. Her kind were also science experiments. Ivy, in particular was a different kind of plant sim. There were no others like her in any of the worlds. She was able to communicate with all of nature, including animals. Her tears, depending on whether they were happy or not, had the power to make a plant instantly bloom or die. Ivy joined the Guardians to keep nature alive and well in the world. Nature was a part of the world, and plant sims thrived to keep it beautiful for all.

To the far right was a young man named Zerg Tron. He was an alien, specifically one whose descendants had an impact in bringing over the technology that made Oasis Landing what it was today. Similar to Ivy, he was unique to the other aliens around him. He was the only one born with a bluish-galaxy skin tone rather than green. Ancient legend attributes that to regality and strength, thus Zerg's quick acceptance into the Guardians. In the future, Aliens' were vital in the function of society. They provided much needed resources to run everyday objects in Oasis Landing such as the jet pack. Zerg's job was to look after the intergalactic trades and keep technology in the future striving.

To his left was Roxana, the Warrior Princess. A couple of decades ago, a few settlers bowed down from the budding government of Oasis Landing. They were against the overly lavish lifestyle that the people craved, seeing the lack of physical and emotional connection that could result. These people formed a small settlement going by the name of "Warriors" (which included all genders) in which they reverted back to ancient barbaric behaviors. Leading them currently was Roxana, the third generation of the settlers. Though disconnected from society, the Warriors still wanted a say in worldly matters. After all, the future affected everyone. Her job in the guardians was to communicate ideas between the two groups in an effort to create a self sufficient civilization.

Sitting right in the middle was the leader of the Guardians, Angel. She was a light fairy. Light fairies were tasked with keeping the settlement well lit, until technology began to grow and expand. Now, the fairies who were once a vital part of society, now found themselves settling in their own little niches around all of the worlds. The most common being Moonlight Falls and Dragon Valley. Angel not only represented the future of fairies, but vampires, werewolves, witches and ghosts as well. She was the most rational and kindest of all the guardians, which is why she was unanimously elected leader.

"Nice of you to join us, Xerxes." She smiled to the newcomer.

Xerxes was from Midnight Hollows. His job seemed to be the most important of all of theirs. He was in charge of the wish bank. As people's wishes came true, more and more magic was placed into the wish bank. The more power there was, the better all of the worlds were able to run. Wish power was fragile, and thus placed in the wrong hands could be lethal. Xerxes attended these meetings to ensure the safety of all people and the wish bank.

"I apologize, your excellency." He bowed his head in respect.Now they were waiting on the last guardian, Emit Relevart. He was the time keeper. He kept the timelines in check, and was the only person authorized to change time. His loyalty remained with his own race, the humans.

"Your highness." Emit bowed.

"Of all people, the Time Keeper is the one who's late. Go figure." Angel cracked a small smile.

"I apologize deeply ma'am."

"It's alright Emit. We all have things that we must take care of."

"Can we just get on with the meeting? We all know the real reason we're here,"Roxana commented bitterly.

"Tame yourself you bestial human..." Zerg murmured.

"Excuse me? The Warriors are not bestial in any way! We have chosen a simpler life style for the betterment of the human race. We're closer and more passionate than your unfeeling alien race!" 

"Hey! We will not be fighting! We are all representative of a common interest. All of our races are special in their own way and we are fighting to protect each and every one of them!" Angel said sternly.

"Everyone except Emit!" Roxana accused. "He only cares about Oasis Landing!"

"What are you talking about?" Emit asked, bewildered. "I've been working my butt off to protect the future of everyone."

Roxana opened her mouth to speak but Angel held her hand up. "We will conduct this matter in an orderly conduct. Mr. Relevart, we as a group, feel as if you've been neglecting your duties as a Guardian. As the only one able to manipulate time, you're a valuable asset to our team. But.."

"But?" Emit frowned.

"But," Angel continued, "You have been exhibiting a bias in your actions."

"How so? I don't understand."

"Come, I will show you."

 Angel had everyone gather round on the floor and listen.

"Is this necessary? We aren't children..." Xerxes remarked.

"Oh hush!" Frostbite grinned. "Storytime!"

"Storytime?" Ivy frowned. "Oh great."

"Listen up! Many many years ago, there was a human being who decided to expand their horizons and search for other worlds. Everyone thought they were crazy. Riverview was their home, there was no way there was anything else but them in this big planet. This person, over several hundred decades was able to discover several different worlds in this galaxy. There was people living in Sunset Valley, Apaloosa Plains, Lucky Palms, Aurora Skies, Starlight Shores, Bridgeport, Sunlit Tides, Isla Paradiso, Monte Vista and Twinbrook. Of course by this point, the original explorer was dead and his descendants had taken on his life work. With more work they were able to find places such as Dragon Valley and Roaring Heights which seemed to be stuck in the past. They had been unaware of other civilizations around them and thats what all of the worlds had in common.  Each had created their own societies of isolation, unaware of the customs and cultures around them. This man's work had brought along the meshing of several cultures. People were traveling to other worlds and bringing back things from all over the place. Then, one fateful day, this man's descendants thought it time to try their biggest endeavor yet. Teamed with other's in Riverview, they traveled to outer space, farther than they ever had before. People thought they were crazy, and when they didn't return, they assumed the people had died in travel. It was the exact opposite though. They had made it to a massive world known as Lunar Lakes. They populated a small section and created a growing civilization. They did not have the technology or brains to create the life they had in Riverview and were thus starting from scratch. They couldn't return to the other worlds because their ship was broken. Tales were told of these other worlds, but without seeing it themselves, people began to become wary and unresponsive. They took these tales as legends and not facts."

"This is all facts. We know of all of this already," Roxana spoke up.

She stepped in front of the crystal ball and motioned for everyone to follow her. With a little fairy magic, she was able to create an image. "Xerxes, if you will lend me some of your powers?"

"Of course your excellency," He bowed and held his hand on the crystal ball.

Blurred images became crystal clear and those images became short clips.

"Lunar Lakes eventually fell due to corruption and no one was able to stop it. It foresaw the fall of several alien races that lived farther than the original settlers had ventured towards. They were strangers in their own homes. The fall of Lunar Lakes led to distrust and animosity between all races.  The ice-beings, plant sims, the supernatural, aliens, and humans. The discovery of Moonlight Falls and Midnight Hollows after the fall of Lunar Lakes had been a shock to several. It brought about fear and discrimination. Imagine the culture shock, finding out that the people they thought died several centuries ago had actually made it to another world and that by the time they found out it had already been destroyed. The attacks had been attributed to us and now our own people are fighting against each  other," Angel continued.

"Emit, you had the very important job of rewriting the past. To prevent this all from happening, we agreed that something drastic had to happen in the past. You presented us a situation that had made itself clear to you, a legacy. Focus on one family that could ultimately change the path of Lunar Lake's destruction. Athena Gray, had so much history rooted in the corruption of the government and your accidental meeting gave us a great opportunity. Thanks to your help and our former member, Levi, we were starting to see great progress. Athena Gray had already changed the isolationist policies of Lunar Lakes. People were traveling from other worlds and trading with Lunar Lakes." 

"What's the problem then?" Emit asked.

"You've changed the direction of progress. The Grays have forgotten all about Lunar Lakes!" Roxana scowled. "You have left the founders of the legacy in Lunar Lakes but the heir, who is supposed to change the path of history is now in Sunlit Tides."

"Emit, we feel as if you've been acting the way you have because Noah is married to your daughter," Angel concluded.

"They have their own lives that they're living. You can't tell people not to do things their way," Emit defended.

"You're supposed to guide them in the right direction, Emit," Ivy said sadly.  No one in the Guardians had wanted for this to happen. "But you've left them to their free will completely, to let your daughter live a happy life. They have the right to make their own decisions but please let them do it after they hear the facts about the future so that if thats what they truly choose, we can change our course of action."

"I understand that, but I have full faith in Noah."

"Unfortunately, Faith isn't enough. Noah is in a place where not even faith can help him. He's stuck." Angel shook her head grimly. She pointed to the crystal ball and showed a video of Noah in jail.

"We can't even do anything about it. You know what happens when we interfere directly in the lives of these people in the past," Zerg shrugged. "Athena was the only exception to get our plan off the ground, but even then...you saw what happened to Levi when he got too close. Mortality."

"Though, Levi did give up his mortality and spot in the guardians, he had thought long and hard about it. Without his love, none of this could have happened," Frostbite said.

"Yes, you're all absolutely correct. But, the real issue right now is what will happen to the Gray legacy," Angel intervened. "Unfortunately we can't interfere and bust Noah out of prison. He has to carry out his sentence on his own. Emit, this is a really hard decision on our part, but as a group we have decided that you should pass the legacy into our hands."

Emit was shocked. "I don't understand. I haven't done a bad thing. Noah is strong enough, when he comes out of jail, his legacy will continue unhitched. The values his parents instilled in him will carry on to his children."

"Emit, we all know this isn't the timeline you foresaw for the Gray family. We trusted you with returning Noah's memory and you had worked brilliantly. But, now that your daughter is involved, you've spent your time watching from the sidelines. This isn't a doll house. You don't get to watch the happy family play out. Yes, we're not allowed to physically interfere, being Leia's father could have been your advantage. You could have worked closely with the Gray's and used your relationship as an excuse. We all hoped you would see the loophole, as Levi did. But, your fear of letting your children down kept you aloof and damaged the Grays more than it helped them." Ivy pointed out.

"I....but, I thought I was helping?" Emit sighed. He had Leia and Lorie's best interest in mind. If he had shown himself to them more, they'd have gotten use to his presence and because of the time difference, their relationship would never work. Ultimately, they'd have expected to see him more and he would have gotten too attached to his precious girls and  had to give up his spot as the time keeper, with no one to take over. His two apprentices had bailed on him. Levi, giving up all time capabilities to be with the woman he loved and Mason, who was working adamantly against him.

"Look," Angel motioned to the crystal ball once more. "Leia is broken beyond repair at this point. We're relying on Caleb and Lorie to snap her out of her slump. She clung so closely to Noah because of the lack of a male influence in her life. Though indirectly, this could have been avoided. It isn't fair for us to put this blame all on you, but we have no choice Emit. Life for the Grays now will be drastically different and we can only hope that in ten years time, Noah will be accepted back into his family with open arms. We have no idea how his family will react. Will Leia be able to cope? What about his children who are growing up without a father? We cannot tell, but the damage is already done and as their guardian, you've left too many questions for us to say this was a success."

Emit's eyes glided to the image of his daughters, both in tears. He had failed not only as a guardian but as a father as well. He had been so concerned with trying not to break his daughter's hearts another time, that he had inevitably caused a destructive divide in the family. He had always noticed Lorie's distaste for Leia's inability to accept her father's validity and existence. Though he didn't fully understand the guardian's ludicrous reason for deferring his role as the legacy's guardian, he had accepted it. Maybe he should have done more. Maybe he should have been more influential. Whatever the case, it wasn't in his hands anymore.

"We want the Gray family to go back to their original goal in Lunar Lakes. We know Leia is your daughter and out of respect, we'll let you watch over the Gray family until Noah's children are old enough to take over. From that point on, Frostbite will deal with the next heir and we'll decide what happens after that depending on how well she does. We are also loosening up our rules. Starting with the third generation, we will be directly dealing with the family. Frostbite will be a present part in the heir's life, if she so wishes to."

"How is that possible?" Emit frowned. "The people of the past aren't ready to accept other species. Not yet...Believe it or not, the future is much more plausible for humans to accept than a person made of ice."

"Rules are that only the heir can interact with the guardians. None of us left can pass for a human other than Xerxes and Roxana. The rest of us have to be careful."

"So, what am I supposed to do after the baton is passed?"

"You take care of Mason. He is a major threat to the future of Oasis Landing. You should also take up someone as an apprentice unless you'd like to stay the time keeper forever."

Emit sighed. He had some time still with the Gray family but he couldn't do anything drastic. His loyalty was still with the Guardians, as he looked out for the well being of the future. "Thank you, your excellency for your kindness in the face of trouble."

"I'm truly sorry Emit, but you of all people should know that sometimes sacrificing a single person is better than destroying an entire race..." Angel smiled sadly.

Emit just nodded. He wasn't completely convinced that they were doing the right thing. Emit had slightly become attached to the Gray family, not only watching over them but meeting them face to face as well. They were now a part of his family. He resolved to just watching the Guardian's plan crash and burn, as he realized it was impossible to tell a Gray how to live their life.

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Woah, that was a long one. I decided that I had to go back to the roots of the legacy, as Noah did kind of stray from the original goal of having ten generations to ultimately stop the destruction of Lunar Lakes. I also hope I was clear with why Emit was deferred from his job. What I was trying to say was that the Guardians aren't allowed to expose themselves to the people, thus directly going to the past and getting Noah out of jail is impossible. But, being Leia's father, he could have interacted with the Gray family (and them alone) a bit more than the others would have been allowed to do and done something more than what he did.  But, now the other Guardians realize that leaving everything up to the Grays without their influence might not be the best course of action. The guardians will take a back seat for awhile while the next chapter will focus solely on the Gray family. Thanks for reading!