Hello, all! Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that, as I mentioned in the last author's note, my Dad had heart surgery, and then everything conspired against getting this story finished. New Fandoms to check out, my own surgery (foot surgery) and I just lost inspiration for this fic. However, now that I have regained some semblance of time management (and found my outline for this story- I hand write my outlines, when I probably should be putting them on a hard drive) It's all systems go!

Now if only inspiration would come back for my other stories that I haven't finished . . .

Gathering Threads

Earth:

Martin made it to his bedroom without much incident, and collapsed fully dressed on the bed. He hadn't been able to heal Stonebark from whatever Noros' disease had been, and until Nigel and Eric had helped him, he hadn't been able to heal Apate, either. Well, that wasn't really true- he hadn't really been able to heal himself when Oizys stabbed him. Martin removed his glasses, blinking at the now slightly blurry ceiling. He hadn't had trouble with any other injuries- he'd been able to heal his own cuts and those on others, too.

"Wish Alectra had come with us, she's easy to talk to." He fell asleep not long after he closed his eyes.

He was surrounded by glowing strands- each one a different color. Everything else was white. Curious, he reached out to touch them- for a moment, he thought he held one, but the strand escaped him. "What are these?"

"Possibilities." Martin whirled, seeing the Oracle. "There are millions of possibilities that the future can hold- just because you see something does not mean it will happen."

"See . . . You mean the dreams . . ." Martin blinked. "I saw Oizys attack me before we ever got to Zamballa." The memory of the storm, the flash of lighting as a man lunged with a knife-

"Yes."

"So, uh, why are you here?"

"As the Oracle of Candracar, in the Center of Infinity- I am capable of connecting with those who are able to see the future. My predecessor was a former Light Sentinel from Arcgen, and he taught me some tricks." The Oracle smiled gently. "Normally, I would not do this, but there are no functioning Arcgenian seers for you to go to, and it would take you much too long to learn from someone in another world- techniques differ, and your connection to a world's heart would make it difficult for you."

"You're going teach me to see the future?" Martin blinked, surprised.

"Not exactly. The Future is in constant motion- every breath, every action no matter how small, affects what might happen. I am, as you might say 'hardwired' into Candracar, so I am able to see infinite amount of futures and possibilities without losing my mind. Time is fluid in Candracar- a day on earth could translate to a thousand years in Candracar, if I wished it, so I can focus on nothing but the ebbs and flows of the worlds. You do not have that broad of an ability, You can only see the things that might happen to you and those you care about." The Oracle sat down, as if on a bench. "What I'm going to teach you, is control. Instead of seeing things in dreams, I will help you learn to consciously call up the possibilities." He gestured to the air infront of him, and Martin moved to sit on the white space across from the Oracle. "I'll start with a possibility that you saw before- a possible future that now will not happen."

Martin stared in renewed horror as he was once again standing in an abandoned Heatherfield- Skeletons with clothes and hair lying on the street or in cars. "This is a possible future?!"

"Was. It cannot happen now. Focus on moving the vision, and not yourself- make it move around you." The Oracle whispered, and Martin took a deep breath, remembering that he had gone to the school in the dream. The Scenery shifted dizzily, moving past him, before he was once again staring at the bodies of his classmates and teachers. "Good, Martin, now move it to the next part." The next part . . . Martin wanted to refuse, but moved it to just outside the mall. He stared, feeling sick as he now knew who the bodies belonged to- well with the exceptions of the beasts, but the guardians probably knew them. "You have to go inside Martin."

"No, I can't . . ."

"Martin, none of this will happen, this is just a fragment of a possibility- it won't happen." Martin took a shaky breath, and moved the vision into the Mall- into the mock throne room. "Martin, you have to look at the throne." On either side of thrown hanging spread-eagled in chains were Eric and Nigel . . . but sitting on the throne itself-

"Me. I did all that." The Possible future version of himself was in sentinel form, holding a staff that somewhat resembled the heart of Zamballa, though there were now silver swirls in the purple ball and the Heart of Candracar around his neck.

"No, Martin, you've never done anything like this, and you never will." The Oracle objected as Martin eagerly pushed away the vision. "It was a possibility that vanished when you and the Others went to Zamballa together, and you went with Irma."

"Maybe, but still doesn't change that I apparently had the ability to do all that . . ." Martin rubbed his eyes. "What now?"

"Now, let's see you call a different possibility, one you've never touched."

For Martin, the lesson with the Oracle lasted an entire night. For the oracle, however, it happened as he closed his eyes and turned away from the livid Fire Guardian as the others tried to call her down. To everyone else, it seemed as if he stood with his eyes closed for just a minute, before opening them and returning his attention to the now talking Keeper of the Heart.

"Look, we won't get anywhere arguing like this!"

"Alright, but where do we even start?"

"Mount Thanos." The Oracle held out one hand, and created a swirl of fog that showed Aldarn holding Lyssa. "Bring them here, guardians."

Antique Store:

Apate heard a soft groan and a moment later realized that it had been her own. She lay with her eyes closed for a long moment, confused and with a strange ache that filled her entire being. Nyx threw me away. She didn't feel anything about that, actually- but she did feel the strange ache increase when she realized that Sylla was now in her creator's hands. I thought I was going to die. Why hadn't she? Nyx had clearly thrown her away, had ripped a huge chunk of her out before tossing her back on earth, so how was she still existing? Slowly her eyes opened, to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Good, it worked." An old woman came in.

"What?" It came out as a croak, nothing like her normal voice.

"There are a lot of magical artifacts one can use to temporarily prolong one's life and lost magic. Took Shade all night to find one that was similar to the magic of Eclipse."

" . . ." Apate looked at her, then looked away, forcing herself to sit up. "You should've let me die."

"You don't get off that easily, Apate." The old woman frowned at her. "Not when you've already betrayed your creator."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Then you'll talk when the Sentinels return."

Mount Thanos:

Aldarn had never been more relieved to see the guardians than at that moment. Lyssa/Mandy had finally calmed down and fallen asleep, but he was running out of ideas on how to get back.

"You're alright . . . how is she?"

"Really confused, half the time, she barely makes sense." Aldarn stood, picking her up. "She doesn't seem inclined to attack me anymore, at least."

As they entered into Candracar, Lyssa began to stir. When her eyes fully opened, however, she screamed and clung to him.

"It's okay, Calm down!"Aldarn forced her to look at him. "It's okay, no one's going to hurt you here, so just relax, I promise, no one's going to hurt you." He kept his voice level, and Lyssa just whimpered.

"What did Nyx do to her?" Aldarn glanced at Matt, who had powered down and was obviously torn between taking a step forward and staying where he was.

"He gave her a power linked to madness." The Oracle took several steps forward, stopping just short of actually touching her as she clung to Aldarn even harder. "As a result, her mind, unprepared for such a dangerous power, began to shake apart."

"Father wouldn't hurt me!"

"Intentionally, perhaps not." The Oracle agreed, and Lyssa blinked at him in confusion.

"So, how do we help her?" Aldarn asked, and Lyssa looked back up at him. "You have to know a way."

"You are already helping her. The magic Elyon gave you is already reaching out and keeping her mind from slipping farther into madness." Aldarn frowned at that, but it was Will who asked the question.

"Isn't there a way to cure her completely?"

"Magic, when it effects the mind, is not as simple as removing it." The Oracle began, looking at the group. "There are often ill-effects, such as lost memories and confusion. But the biggest problem of all, is that unless the person rejects the magic, and wants to be free of it, there is no way to completely remove it from them."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if I hadn't started fighting back against Shagon's hate, I might not have come back at all, same with the former Guardians." Matt answered, looking thoughtful. "And since Mandy is literally half mad because her magic is messing with her mind, outright curing her might lead to her losing all her memories, or making her completely mad."

"Though that doesn't mean I can't offer some help, I think there might be some else a little more capable. But Aldarn should stay with her." Lyssa was surrounded by a soft glow for a moment, before closing her eyes with a soft sigh.

Earth:

Apate was awake when the Sentinels returned, and for a long moment, no one said anything. Weatherbee had asked her questions about her cover so she could call in and let the school know that 'Dea Eppson' was sick and unable to come in, but then had mostly ignored her.

"You said you wouldn't set us up for anything, but that didn't mean you wouldn't set anyone else up, right?" Nigel finally asked, moving to sit down.

"I guess that moving Shadow has told you then." Apate could barely sense him when Shade was in the room, and several times she had gone out after dark to complete her hunting.

"What happened to them?"

"Nyx made them into his own soldiers, Children, he called them, while I was just a Crow." Apate looked away from them. "He gave them powers that matched what they wanted or felt at the time. But you've already fought them."

"Apate, do you know what Nyx is planning?"

"I only did as told, it was going against his will that got me like this." No magic, a weak body, and the curse he'd uttered just before throwing her through the portal. Apate was angry, and she was going to repay Nyx in kind. "But I can help you find Eclipse."

" . . . Then we're going back to Candracar." Nigel powered the Sentinels up. "But Apate, you have to swear to tell the truth this time, no more lying, half truths or omissions."

"I swear." Apate agreed, ignoring the ache that briefly increased.

"We shall be coming as well." They all glanced at Shade, who moved to hover by Eric. "I can help remove the veil that keeps Eclipse out of the Oracle's sight."

"Alright then, lets go." And after quickly forming dopplegangers, they returned to Candracar.

Dun Dun Dun! Okay, now ladies and gentlemen, next chapter should have a glimpse into Nyx and Company's plans, and the begining of the end of this lovely story.