Soooo apparently I didn't post this one before 30??? If I didn't I apologise.
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The cliff's edge drew near, a distant memory at mind.
The Wanderer sighed, as they struggled against mankind.

'How is he so difficult to beat?! Seriously, it's three against one!' Preston groaned, ducking just in time to avoid a shadow ball. Rueben was still using Lachlan's form to attack, so they were quite hesitant when it came to attacking 'Has anyone found out where Vik and Lachlan went?'
'Possibly, but we're not - Heads up!' A dark green vine smacked a handful of shruikens out of the air, and the Texan nodded to the girl in gratitude 'Thanks, Amelia. How's Nathan holding up?'
'We can't get anywhere near him, it's like... I don't know, there's some kind of barrier around him' To prove her point, she jogged close to the boy and pushed her fist into the air - Before a dirty gold flash shoved her back 'See what I mean?!'
'Of course you wouldn't be able to reach him,' Rueben spoke, his blue eyes gleaming with malice as the girl growled softly 'Did you honestly think I would make this easy for you? Wow, you really are stupid'
'Call me stupid one more time, and I'm going to slap you into Hell'

The boy snorted, sending out a strong wave of darkness that sent Rob and Mitchell slamming into a nearby wall, followed by two consecutive groans and a pained yelp 'What are you going to do about it, Stupid?'
'That's it!' Preston saw the girl running towards them, and decided to take the much wiser option of backing away and turning to look at the Thrones. He saw Landon climbing up the slightly taller chair, reaching for a dark wisp hovering just above the backing 'Landon, be careful!' He called, and his younger Cousin sighed 'Yes, Preston...'
Of course, instead of doing the sensible thing of getting down to the ground - The brunette jumped for the smoke 'What the - Dangit, Landon!' The Texan yelled, running for the boy before a small geyser broke through the ground beneath him 'I swear getting into trouble runs in the family' Kenny chuckled, commanding the water to set Landon onto the floor before turning to his best friend 'How the fight with Rueben going?'

'Amelia's currently trying to rip out his innards' He deadpanned, turning back to the fight to see a large bush growing around the Trickster. This attack was countered by a small explosion, causing even more ceiling tiles to fall 'Just stay still and let me kill you!' The girl yelled, a ring of poisonous flowers sprouting around her old "Friend" who simply shrugged 'How about... No'
'I'm not sure who's more sassy, to be honest' Choco joked, joining the Ignis and Atlantean Prince's as they two nodded 'Hm... If I didn't know better, I'd say that they were doing it on purpose'

Meanwhile.

"Okay Lachlan, your friend just killed an evil version of himself and is currently not responding to anything I say. Hm, totally normal - Oh who am I kidding, he might be dead!" Nervously glancing over to the Void Prince, Lachlan groaned and ran a hand through his golden hair "Well - He's breathing I guess. But still, what he did... He seemed so angry. It wasn't like Vik at all, I've never seen him act like that before"
With a quiet sigh, the Australian looked back over to his shorter - Yet older - friend. He was in the same position as when this first happened, but for some reason Lachlan couldn't get close to him. It was as if there was a clear shield around the boy, blocking any physical contact from reaching the Indian teenager 'Vik...' He spoke quietly, as if afraid of someone hearing them 'Why did you do that? Before, you would have just left me there, or told someone else with you to help out - But you defended me. Why? Was it because they were impersonating you, so you were angry?' As expected, he didn't get a reply.

'I hope you're okay... Sometimes, I worry about you. You always act so confident, yet I know you're hiding something. I'm afraid to ask, because I don't want a repeat of what happened all those years ago'
A dim blue light began to emit from the air above Vikram's head, followed by a red and a green "W-What the..."
A red and white glow appeared, and soon a gold light joined its side. This was accompanied by a black glow, all surrounding the Void Prince and fidgeting in the air. Lachlan took a few steps back, before crying out in surprise as they all slammed into Vik's chest 'Vik, no!'

For a few moments, nothing happened. The two stayed exactly where they were, one too scared to move while the other was literally incapable of movement 'V-Vik?' The Australian squeaked, pushing himself up just in time to see his British friend's eyes flicker '-I'm sorry...' He muttered, falling to the cold, hard ground a second later.
'V-Vik? Are you okay?' Jogging to the mocha-skinned Prince's side, he knelt next to him and gently shook his shoulder 'Vikky, c'mon' The Brit didn't reply, but Lachlan could feel him jolt under his touch 'Are you awake? Can you hear-'
'Please, just... Leave me alone'

Flinching at the sound of his older companion's voice, the blond quickly pulled himself back together and shook his head 'No, I'm not leaving you in a place like this. Vik, you... Hey, what's wrong?'
'N-Nothing'
'The sound of your voice says otherwise. I've known you for... Well, forever, and I know when something's wrong. You can't keep pushing people away like this, it's not safe'
'But whenever I get close to someone, they either get hurt or die! I can't put anyone through that again, I just... I just can't!' A semi-translucent barrier - The same shade of red as the second light - Placed itself between the two, pushing Lachlan away as the ebony-haired boy continued to cry.
"This - This isn't Vik's magic"
'Hello, can you year me?' With a startled yelp, the Aether Prince turned to see a blue figure standing a few feet away. They sounded young, around Lachlan's age - But like most, they were shorter 'Uh... Hi?'
'Hey, it actually worked! Anyway, hi - My name's Harry. I used to be one of Vik's friends'

'Wh-What are you?' The blue figure simply laughed, shaking his head and uncrossing his arms 'Technically speaking, I'm a ghost. Or a guardian angel. Or-'
'Okay, let me rephrase that - Who are you?'
'Like I said, my name's Harry. I'm surprised Vik didn't tell you about us, but I suppose it was hard for him. Still is actually, but eh - Who are you? I know you're close to Vik, but I never heard your name ; The others don't tell me anything'
'M-My name's Lachlan, Lachlan Power. Is... Do you know if Vik's alright?' The blue spirit sighed, sitting cross-legged on the ground with a mournful expression 'To be honest? I don't know. I think seeing us brought back some memories, but he seemed fine before the fight'
'What fight?'
'While he was unconscious, Vik had a fight with this weird demon thing - Who had also taken the form of someone from his childhood'
'So Vik's been haunted for all these years, and I never noticed? I'm a terrible friend!'
'No, you're not. You've actually helped him through a lot, so... Thanks for that' Lachlan merely nodded, running a hand through his hair and glancing across the room to his British friend. The barrier was still there, but the Australian could faintly see four translucent figures on the inside 'Quick question ; Why did you put a barrier up?'

'Vik wanted to talk with the guys for a bit, and I didn't want to be the... What can I say, "Elephant in the Room". He hasn't known me for as long as the others, plus I'm not really... Like them'
'How so?'
Harry looked down, playing with his hands as his glow significantly dulled. He wondered how he could explain it, before choosing the simple explanation of ; '...I'm not dead'

Meanwhile.

'What do you mean?'
'What Rob's saying, is that fire creates light. Since a Voidblood's magic is linked to darkness, it's immediate weakness would be light - Your powers weaken him, Preston'
'Well yeah, I got that - But why's he telling me? He hates-' Kenny groaned, dragging a hand down his face and looking at his Texan friend with a look if exasperation 'He doesn't hate you, dangit! He's been trying to apologize ever since you got back, but you keep ignoring him!'
'No I do not! When was the last time, apart from just now, that he tried to talk to me?'
'Hm, let's see - As soon as he healed you, when you teleported in, while you were taking a break from fighting Rueben... Whenever he tried, you would just walk away'
'Because this isn't real! Rob would never be nice to me, just because of what my Dad did to his!' The blond simply raised an eyebrow, looking towards the Canadian to see him walking away. He was gripping his left arm tightly, and Kenny could barely see his shoulders beginning to shake - Was Rob crying?

'Robert, wait!' He called, jogging after the brunette who merely slowed his pace 'We need to talk. Preston's-'
'Right. Preston's r-right, an-and I need to get that in-into my thick skull' Robert muttered, and the younger of the two sighed 'Rob, it's not like that. Preston... Well, he just has some trust issues, but he will forgive you soon - I can at least promise you that. You can't beat yourself up about this'
'What is-is there to beat m-myself up about? It-It's not like I've be-been acting like a j-jerk all the time we-we've known eachother!' Yes, definitely crying. Taking a deep breath, the teal-eyed Prince put a hand on his friend's shoulder and stopped him in his tracks 'Stop it, Rob - This isn't like you, something else is getting into your head'
The Canadian shook his head, looking away as Kenny frowned 'You know you can tell me anything, right? I may not have known you for as long as the others have, but I'm always here if you need me'
'I-I just want to say I'm sor-sorry, is that t-too much to ask?!'
'No, even I think he's acting more stubborn than usual... You're right, but at the same time? You need to rest, Rob, you look way more tired than you usually are'

'I... I'm not-'
'Heads up!' Amelia screamed, unable to move as one of Rueben's attacks ricocheted towards them. A water wall rose up a few metres away from the duo, but the smoking knife barrage simply tore through it 'Duck!'
Too late.
Six of the weapons were heading straight for Prince Robert's chest, but the Canadian couldn't move. It was as if he was frozen, eyes wide as the daggers flew towards him... Before an unnatural occurrence stopped them. A mixture of orange flames and violet sparks jumped up from the ground, knocking most of the sharp - Possible murderous - objects out of range 'Leave them alone!'

'He's furious' Kenny noted, tugging his friend away from the blaze as he shook his head 'Hm...? What-What just-'
'Preston. Preston happened. Now come on, we should probably move'
'Why?'
'I would listen to the Atlantean if I were you, Rob!' His Sister yelped, her vines withering in the heat as she groaned and stumbled back 'Forgot about that...'
Pulling his friend a safe distance from the fireball now encasing both the Ignis Prince and Rueben, furious yells and pained cries emitting from it as Robert blinked 'Uh, what just happened?'
'Your friend Preston just saved your life. By creating that barrier, he blocked any of the daggers from hitting you' A new voice spoke, and Amelia's jaw dropped. She began to shake as she turned around, expecting to be hearing things - Yet there he was. Leaning against a wall, clear as ever - Her Best Friend 'S-Seto?'