Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers. They belong to Saban, along with anything you've seen in any of the shows. I do however own Ahzza, Sedra, and Locan. And anything else you haven't seen on the show. I'm not doing this for profit. I'm not getting paid for this. This is for entertainment only. If you would like to use any of my characters, please let me know. Thanx.
Author's Notes: In this timeline, T:APRM does not happen. This is the fourth story in my Ranger of Light series, after Intercalate Maleficence. Pleas read it first before you read this, or you will be totally lost. If you like this, please let me know. This has been a really hard fic for me to write.
Have fun reading. :)

Ranger of Light Saga
Part Four: Dawning Light
by Cinders

Ahzza sat on the river bank, tossing stones into it's clear depths. She watched as the stones took up their new place next to those worn smooth by the river's waters.

No matter how much she tried, she couldn't get the image of the evil woman standing over Billy, out of her mind. What was going on? Why did that woman come here, and why did she want the Powers of Light? They didn't even exist...yet. If they ever would.

Carefully, Ahzza reached into the cool water of the river, to retrieve one of the shinny stones. As her finger touched the water, a thin sheet of ice began to form on the water's surface, around her finger.

Surprised, Ahzza plucked her finger away from the water, watching as the water on her finger, began to run down her hand. Then it slowed, turning into ice. Fear took over, and she wrapped her other hand around her finger. With amazed fear, she watched as a small stream of steam rose from her hands, and disappeared. When she released her finger, the ice was gone, and her hand was dry.

What was going on?

She always had, had special abilities, but never, never had she been able to manipulate the elements before. Then she remembered something that had happened a couple of months ago. When she had met Tommy's friend Billy. When she had shaken his hand. She had been shocked. She had passed it off as static electricity, for that's what she truly thought it had been. But, thinking back on it now, she realized that it was stronger than a simple static shock.

Carefully, she stood, backing away from the water's edge, her hands held out infront of her, like they were something unfamiliar to her. She could feel the panic rising in her chest, but she couldn't make it go away. It seemed to grow stronger.

"What's happening to me? What's going on?"

"The Prophecy." Came a voice from behind her. Spinning, she lost her balance, falling into the same cool water she had been trying to get away from. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Ahzza looked up to see a tall, young man standing at the waters edge, hand extended to her. He was tall, and well muscled. He had deep blue eyes, and black hair. And he wore a pair of jeans and a white tee-shirt. A pair of hiking boots protected his feet from the sharp rocks on the waters edge.

Carefully, she took his offered hand, letting him lift her from the cold waters of the river. She was surprised when she didn't feel the same shock she had, when she had taken Billy's hand.

"Thank you." Ahzza said, wringing the water from her hair. As she looked at the man before her, there was something unearthly about him. A slight glow of light seemed to frame him. Shaking her head, she next began to wring the water from her shirt. "What's your name?" She asked.

"I am Zarion. I've been waiting for you." Ahzza looked up, shock on her face. A new fear replaced the one from moments before.

"Waiting for me?" Slowly she began to back away from him. He looked harmless, but those were the ones you had to look out for.

"I've been waiting for the Prophecy to be fulfilled. For the time that the Wolf and the Light would embrace, and bring back the Powers of the Light. You are the Light." He looked at Ahzza, and could clearly see the fear, and confusion in her eyes. There was no way to say it, without making her afraid. He wished there was.

"What do you mean? I'm not the light. I'm just a mortal, human woman. It's all just a story that my people have been passing down to each other for centuries."

"No. It's not a story. It's very real. And the Light...you are."

"What?" Ahzza couldn't believe what she was hearing. At first look, this...Zarion, looked harmless, but Ahzza was beginning to have a few reservations about it.

"You don't believe me." His words were not a question, but a statement of fact. Ahzza couldn't stop the sarcastic snigger that erupted from her.

"You thing?" She started to walk away.

"All you have to do, is prove it to yourself." Ahzza stopped at the edge of the trees, and faced him.

"How?" Slowly he approached her. Holding a small stone in his hands, he gently tossed it from one hand to the other.

"Close your eyes, and think about you and your clothes being dry." Ahzza folded her arms. Then letting out a sigh, she stood straight, arms placed at her side. Closing her eyes, she began to invasion wearing dry clothes.

Very faintly, she could hear what seemed to be a hissing sound, and suddenly, she wasn't cold anymore. As she opened her eyes, she could vaguely make out what seemed to be fog, moving away from her. When she looked down, her clothes were dry. As if she had never even fallen into the water.

Zarion stood quietly, waiting for Ahzza's response. He expected to see her surprise, and even a little awe. But he was unprepared for what she did next. Screaming, Ahzza tore through the trees toward the reservation.

"This isn't going to be as easy as I had hoped. I only hope the Wolf is more responsive, when I find him or her." Slowly, Zarion disappeared, leaving only the sound of the running river behind.

Sam had just returned to the reservation after his walk. As he neared his lodge, he spotted Ahzza stumbling down the hill behind it. He quickened his pace a little more. Sam and Ahzza reached the door together, and he was surprised to see pure fear on her face.

"Ahzza? What has happened? Are you all right?"

"Wha...yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Sam questioned. He was truly concerned about her. Gently, he place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I...am...fine. I've just been stuck on this reservation for too long. I can't wait to start classes at AGU next week."

Before Sam could say another word, Ahzza moved past him, away from the house. He should have known better than to press her, but he had seen the fear. Now she wouldn't talk to him for the rest of the day, as well as avoid him.

Shaking his head gently, Sam opened the door and disappeared inside.

Billy sat quietly, and alone within the depths of the Power Chamber listening to the news. It seemed that another young man, age twenty, had been pronounced missing. These men usually came up missing around the time of one of Sedra's visits.

Luckily, for himself, he had kept himself out of Sedra's clutches after the incident at the reservation. He'd spent most of his time in the Chamber, or he'd teleport out, straight to where ever it was that he needed to go.

Sure, it seemed cowardly, but the fact was, Billy had been afraid of her the minute he she touched him. There was an icy darkness that tried to reach out to consume him, and the darker, unexplored part of him, wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Sighing, he reached out, shutting off the news, and plunging the Chamber into silence. "What does Sedra want with all of those men?" Billy asked himself. He'd been asking himself that same question for days. But this time, when he got a response, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"She's trying to create the DarkChylde."

"Alpha? You nearly gave me a heart attack." Billy sat up, looking at the small droid, who in the past years, had become his closest friend.

"I'm sorry Billy. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I thought you heard me come in."

"It's all right Alpha. I was just deep in thought. What did you say about a child?" Billy turned to face Alpha completely. The droid shuffled the rest of the way into the room.

"I found it in the data base of the computer system. When the Powers of Light are created, the only being that can defeat the Powers, is the DarkChylde. A being born of evil innocence." Billy mulled the words over in his head.

"How can evil be innocent?"

"There are some ways, but this particular way is, the mating of an evil being to a virgin. The data also says something about there being something different about the virgin that is chosen, but it gave no details."

"So, that's why all of those men have disappeared. She's trying to create the DarkChylde, and has been unsuccessful so far."

"Yes. I believe it is."

"Then, we've got to stop her. If the DarkChylde is born..." Billy didn't need to finish, even if he could have. He looked at Alpha, who only nodded in response.

Sedra lounged in her black, velvet, lined throne. She gazed around at the beautiful tapestries that now covered the sparkling walls of the once filthy castle. Oriental rugs covered the bare stone floors, and rich chandeliers of gold and crystal, hung from the cathedral like ceilings, to light the rooms below.

But, all of this could not dispel the dark feelings within her. Why wasn't it working? Evil innocence. There was no one more evil than herself, and she had mated six times with innocent men. All of which were very difficult to come by. And she had yet to carry the seed that would grow in her womb, that would become the DarkChylde.

Sedra had read over the journal's entries, time and time again. Worried that she had somehow over looked something.

"My Queen. This prophecy is of the Indian's legend, right?"

"Yes." That was the only thing the journal was precise in. That the Indians knew the most about the prophecy. Yet, she could not get any information from any of them.

"The Earthlings places of learning might have the information we need." Now Locan had her full attention. Sedra rushed to the telescope, and began to look at all of the places of learning, that she could find.

Mr. Caplin had just finished gathering the papers that were to become packets for the students, for the new school year. He was in the process of finding a stapler, when a flash of light momentarily blinded him. "I'll have to talk to the custodian about replacing those bulbs." Blinking the spots from his eyes, he picked the stapler up off of the top of his desk, and headed back out to the main office. As he reached for the papers, he found that more than half of them were missing. "Now, who would want to steal student packets? Now I'll have to copy and gather more." Frustrated, he plopped the stapler down on the counter, grabbed up the original copies, and began to warm up the Xerox machine once again.

Meanwhile, at AGU, the Dean had just placed a stack of white mailing envelopes on his secretaries desk. Each containing brochures and catalogs of classes offered by the University.

Satisfied that the secretary would get them out in the mail, once she got back from lunch, he stepped back into his office, and closed the door. No sooner had the door closed, than in a flash of light, the stack disappeared. Within moments, the office door opened, and a middle aged woman entered, opened a desk drawer, deposited her purse within it's depths, took a seat in her chair, turned the computer on, and began to work away. Totally unaware that anything unusual had even happened just moments before.

This same phenomena was happening all around the area. Unnoticed by anyone.

Back in the castle, Sedra sat amongst towers of papers. Their height becoming unstable, toppled, sending papers flying everywhere.

"This is hopeless. Don't they teach their young anything about Earth's History?" Sedra complained, throwing another catalogue over the top of one tower, only to have it smash into another tower, toppling it, and sending more papers flying.

Sedra felt like screaming, but undaunted, she picked up another stack of papers. Locan watched a the once towering stack of papers came to a sliding halt at his feet. Reaching down, he plucked up a large white envelope from the mess.

"I'm sure there must be something in all of this mess." Locan said encouragingly, as he motioned to the room full of papers. When he received no response from her, he began to tear open the envelope, pulling from it's tattered remains, a AGU catalogue. Curious, he began to thumb through it. The loose papers that were with it, were of no use, so he tossed them to the floor, where they settled, unnoticed, amid the other various papers already covering the floor. Taking the catalogue in his hands, be began to look through it's numerous pages.

Sedra tossed, yet another, stack of papers on a pile she wasn't sure she had or hadn't gone through. The organization of it all had long since been given up. As she reached for another stack, a book was trust before her eyes. Feeling a bit of anger, at the intrusion, she gazed up at Locan, who continued to hold the book before her, pointing to a page.

"Here." Was all he said, as he pointed to the pages in the book. Sedra glanced down to where Locan was pointing, and eagerly ripped the book from his hands, his claws tearing the pages.

"Yes! What would I do without you Locan?"

"Go crazy?" He watched as she stood and waded out of the sea of papers. Her eyes lighting up.

"AGU has a new class this fall. How quaint. Native American History." She closed the book as she looked up at Locan. "I can disguise myself as one of those...kids, and get in that class and find out just what I need to know." Her smile had never been brighter.

Sam Trueheart watched as Ahzza and David drove off. They were on their way to Angel Grove to start their first year of College. Both would be living in the dorms on campus during the week, then they would return to the reservation on the weekends.

He would miss them, but they were grown now, and had to make lives of their own. He only hoped that there would be a future for them to live in. Things were changing. And weather they were for good or bad, Sam couldn't tell. All he knew was that the Powers of Light were returning, but so was the DarkChylde. Which would happen first...

He didn't want to think of what would happen if the DarkChylde came first. Putting that thought behind him, he returned to his lodge, to prepare for his first class that he would be teaching. He would be teaching the class once a week. His friend George Onefeather, would teach the class on the other four days. Sam's job was to teach about the Native American legends. He was looking forward to teaching. Now that David and Ahzza were gone.

David looked over at Ahzza, who had been unusually quiet and jumpy for the past week. He watched as she turned in her seat to look out the window behind them.

"You want to talk about it?" He asked, hoping to get a few words from her.

"No." She faced forward once again, crossed her arms, and stared straight ahead at the road.

"Hey, if you don't want to go, I'm sure that Sam would understand."

"Believe me, I couldn't be happier to be leaving at this point."

Ahzza began to panic, as the jeep began to slow and pull to the side of the road. "What are you doing?" Ahzza questioned. Venom in her voice. Quickly, she looked around, making sure that the strange man was no where to be seen.

David killed the engine, turned off the radio and turned in his seat to face her. Ahzza finished her observations, and settled herself back in the seat, arms crossed and looking straight ahead. "Okay. Spill it!" David demanded.

"There is nothing to spill." Ahzza responded sarcastically, between clenched teeth.

"Don't give me that crap. I've watched you give everyone the silent treatment for a week. As well as jump at every little sound. You've never been like this before."

"I...I can't tell...you. Because...I'm not sure...myself. I think...I might be going crazy." She tried to smile, and a pathetic laugh escaped her. But David couldn't ignore the single tear that slid down her cheek.

"All right. I won't push you anymore. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk." David turned around and started the jeep up. Checking behind him, he pulled slowly back onto the road.

As he started down the road, he felt a slight touch on his arm. He looked over to see Ahzza's hand on his arm. "Thank you." She said silently. Carefully, David placed his larger hand on hers.

"You're welcome."

Silenced stretched between them once more, but this time, it was comfortable, and welcome.

One by one the Rangers fell. In all the years that they had protected the Earth, they never really thought of themselves. But, immortal, they weren't. Their bodies lay twisted, broken and bloody on the ground. Standing amongst them was Sedra and Locan. Locan raised his blood stained sword in a roar of victory, that echoed around the area.

Sedra moved through the bodies, never looking down at them, a sinister smile curving her blood stained lips.

"You are mine...forever." She said, though there were no words to be heard. Her lips moved to form the words, but there was no sound.

As she drew closer; arms reached out to her, pulling her into an embrace. Sedra looked up at the figure holding her, and reflected in her eyes, Billy saw himself. As he drew her to him, pressing his lips to hers, he could taste the coppery sting of blood. From a distance, he could hear the cries of a baby...

Billy sat bolt upright in his bed. Beads of sweat ran in rivulets down his pale face. "No." He whispered to himself. He tried to slow the beating of his heart, and catch his breath. He had thought that the dreams were finally gone. He hadn't had not one, since he'd had his talk with Sam Trueheart two months ago. But, none of the others had ever seemed so real. He could still taste the blood.

Billy stood, a bit unsteadily, as he looked down at the clock by his bed. Five-thirty in the morning. Deciding that he might as well stay up, he headed to the bathroom to shower. Today would be the first day of college, and his classes started in two hours.

Slowly, Billy6 crossed the hall, flicking on a light switch as he went. He pushed open the bathroom door, switched on the light and fan, slid back the shower door and turned on the water. He then moved to the sink, still not quiet fully awake. Slowly, he turned on the cold water, letting it run into the sink for a few moments. Then, cupping his hands, he filled them with the cool water. Leaning forward, he splashed the water on his face, bringing himself wide awake.

The shock of the water, startled him, making him draw in a deep breath. Little rivulets of water passed over his lips, and he could taste the blood even more strongly. Blinking open his eyes, he saw red drops of water dripping from his chin, to splash into the basin of the sink, and disappear down the drain with the running water. Quickly he jerked his gaze upward to the mirror, shock filling his eyes. Blood, from a bloody nose, was caked on his upper lip. The realization that it was only a bloody nose, didn't stop the sudden panic he felt.

"I've never had a nose bleed before." With renewed vigor, Billy washed the remaining blood from his face, and stepped into the shower.

There was a deep sigh of breath as Sedra lowered the lifeless form to the ground. Locan watched as Sedra began to transform. Her long white hair began to turn to a blackish, red, then receded to become straight and short, just barely touching her fuller shoulders. Eyes that were once black, became pale and blue, the lashes becoming thicker and black began to frame her eyes.

Her once oval face began to fill out, cheek bones rising slightly, nose broadening, and lips becoming fuller. A groan of pain escaped her lips as her once, narrow waist, became a bit wider, and her hips were fuller. Her legs, arms and torso were longer. Finally, the transformation was complete. Sedra no longer stood before Locan, but in her place, was an exact duplicate of the young woman lying at their feet.

Without a word, Sedra began to remove the girls clothes, adoring herself with the items. When she was finished, her eyes were rimmed in dark shadow, lips painted a deep red that nearly appeared to be black. A small white stone pierced her left nostril, and two large, silver hoops hung from her ears.

"It's not exactly what I wanted, but it will have to do. But, I do like the memories I stole from her. In a few more years, she might have rivaled me for the position of being the most evil being ever."

Sedra reached down with black tipped fingers, to lift the black backpack from next to the body. Locan watched as the black and red clad Sedra disappeared in a flash of fire. Moving past the body, he stepped up to the telescope to witness Sedra's first day as a human.

Billy moved through groups of students, his mind elsewhere. He was headed to Chapman Hall, where his first class of the day would be. As he gazed around, he realized how different being at AGU would be from High School. All of his friends were still in High School, finishing out their senior year. Everyone here, was strangers.

It almost felt like it did when he was a young kid who had just moved to Angel Grove from Chicago. But, he couldn't let it be like that again. He was different. Hell, he'd been a Power Ranger. How could this bother him, if fighting monsters hadn't?

Before Billy could get his thoughts back on track, he crashed into another student, sending both of their books flying, and papers starting to blow away.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Billy apologized, as he immediately stooped down to gather up the papers and books.

"I'm sorry too. I'm just a little lost."

Billy stood, books and papers, jumbled, in his arms. "Um...maybe you should pull out the books and papers that belong to you." He looked at the girl he had crashed into, for the first time. He wasn't into the whole 'Goth' thing, but this girl seemed to carry it off quite nicely. He couldn't help himself. He had to smile.

After a moments hesitation, the girl began to carefully pull her books and papers from his arms.

"Thanks again." Quickly, she straightened them up, as Billy did the same with the books and papers he was left with.

Positioning the backpack on her shoulder, the girl held out her hand, bedecked with several rings. "I'm Christie Harlan." Billy took her offered hand, shaking it gently.

"Nice to meet you. I'm William...Billy, Cranston."

"You're the first person I've met so far. This sure is a big place."

"Yeah. You said that you were lost? Where were you..."

"Billy!" Before Billy could ask where Christie was headed, he heard his name called out. He looked in the direction of the voice, to see David and Ahzza heading his way.

"I'm sure glad that there's someone around here that I know." David said as he and Ahzza came up next to Billy and Christie. "Who's your friend?" He asked, motioning to Christie.

"Oh, Christie, these are my friends; David and Ahzza Trueheart. David, Ahzza, this is Christie Harlan."

"Nice to meet you." Ahzza said, shaking Christie's hand. David followed her lead.

"Trueheart? Are you two married?"

"No!" Ahzza said, a little too quickly. As soon as David stopped chuckling, he responded to her question.

"No, we're brother and sister."

"Oh. I see. Well, it's nice to meet you too. Thanks Billy."

"Wait. I'm sorry for the interruption. Where were you heading?" Billy asked, taking Christie's arm to stop her from leaving.

He pulled away when he felt a slight tingling sensation in his fingers. What was it with girls lately? Every time he touched one, he seemed to get shocked.

"Oh a..." Christie dug a pink piece of paper from her pack, looked at the list of classes written on it. "Native American History."

"Oh, that's where I'm headed." Ahzza spoke up. "We can find it together. But, we'd better hurry, or we'll be late." Ahzza said checking her watch.

"Great, thanks." Christie started off with Ahzza next to her. She hesitated for just a moment, looking back at Billy, and flashing him a smile before she continued on.

"How is it that you are taking college classes, and Tommy's still in High School? Aren't you two twins?"

"We are, but there's something to be said for home schooling." He looked at Billy, who didn't seem to even be listening to his response. "I didn't know you were into the whole 'Goth' thing?" David asked, teasingly.

"I'm not. But, for some reason, it works on her." Billy replied with a smile.

"Yeah, it does. Well, I guess I'll see you later."

"All right." Turning, he patted David on the back, and they headed off in different directions, to catch their classes before they were later.

David watched as Ahzza and Christie disappeared around the corner of the building. There was something bothering him suddenly, but he couldn't figure it out.

Gazing around, he located the building his class was in, and headed in that direction.

Christie stepped into the noisy room behind Ahzza. Students were milling around, looking for a seat on one of the upper most levels. Several levels descended down to a raised platform. The only furnishings on the platform was a small table and a podium with a microphone.

Feeling a nudge on her arm, she looked at Ahzza. "There's a couple of seats over here." Ahzza pointed to two seats next to each other, on the outer edge of the aisle. Quickly they slid into the seats, placing their bags next to their feet.

Ahzza looked up to see a distinguished looking Indian man, approaching the podium.

"All right class. Everyone please find a seat. Assume that where you are sitting now, is where you will be sitting for the duration of this class, in this quarter."

Christie watched the remaining students stumble past legs and books to occupy the last remaining seats.

"Must be a popular class." Christie commented, noticing that only two or three empty seats were left in the room. Another observation that she made was that nearly half of the class was Native American. "Why are all of these Indian kids taking a class about their own history? Shouldn't they already know most of this stuff?"

"We do. But, we are always taught to never forget who and what we are, and to never loose touch with that. So, we're always learning about ourselves and our culture."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound the way it must have." Christie apologized.

"Forget it." Ahzza said, forcing a slight smile.

"All right. This is a new class called Native American History. So, if this isn't where you're suppose to be, then you'd better head to where you are suppose to be. All right, we will be exploring the various areas of Native American History. The history we all know, as well as the legends," Christie sat up straight. After all, that's why she was here. "My name is George Onefeather. I will be your teacher for this class. And once a week, we will have a special guest who will teach about the legends of this culture."

Ahzza watched, a smile on her face, as Sam Trueheart stepped up onto the platform and shook Onefeather's hand. "This, class, is Sam Trueheart. He will be teaching you about Native American Legends. I guess, one way to start this class, is to let the students start asking questions."

A large boy; who seemed to be the 'jock' type, next to Ahzza, raised his hand.

"Yes?" Onefeather called.

"Can we ask anything, or just about this class?"

"Anything. About the class, about the history or about the legends. The floor is yours for today. Anyone else?"

Christie glanced at Ahzza out of the corner of her eye. Taking a deep breath, she rose her hand.

"Question?" Onefeather pointed to her.

"Um...I've heard of a legend about a...Power of Light? What is it, exactly?"

The hairs on Sam's neck rose. But he approached the podium and began to tell the class about the legend that was suppose to have happened several years ago, but had been postponed because the two halves of the Power went to two different bodies, because two babies had been born on the same day at the same exact time. "Is the Power of Light unstoppable when it happens, or can someone or something stop it?" Christie continued. Ahzza gazed at her. A feeling of fear and near panic coming over her.

"Yes, the Powers of Light are virtually unstoppable. There is only one thing that can stop or destroy the Powers, and that is the DarkChylde."

Before Christie could continue with her questions, another young man, close to the front, began to speak.

"I've heard of the DarkChylde somewhere. Isn't it suppose to be born from evil?"

"Evil innocence, to be exact." Onefeather added.

"But, how can evil be innocent?" A girl toward the back, asked.

"A being of evil must mate with someone who is innocent."

"Innocent? You mean...like a virgin?" Another young man asked. The class erupted into laughter. Another voice to the left called out, "Like you'd find someone like that anymore." The laughter continued.

"Yes, a virgin." Sam stated, as the laughter began to die down.

"But, if that's all it takes, then the DarkChylde should be around somewhere. Right?" The same young man asked.

"No. If the DarkChylde was here, right now, we would all be dead, or in slavery of evil. The DarkChylde is a being of such great power, that it is the only being who could destroy the Powers of Light."

"Then the DarkChylde could be created at anytime. All it would take, is someone who worships the devil, to have a one night stand with a virgin?" Came the response of a girl infront of Christie, who seemed to be looking a little pale.

"It's not that simple. The evil being has to be purely evil. And they must not be of human origins. The innocent must be of human origin, under the age of twenty-five and also be of rare blood."

The debate went on for some time. Ahzza, glanced over at Christie, who was scribbling notes just as fast as she could. A dark fear began to wash over her. Glancing around, she spotted a familiar figure. Zarion. He sat to the very back, corner of the room, dressed as he had been the day she met him. He kept looking straight at her, a pensive look on his face.

Turning to face forward, she found herself breathing heavily.

"Are you all right?" Christie asked, looking concerned.

"I've got to get out of here." Ahzza stated as she grabbed up her backpack. Quickly she stood, and pushed past Christie, and headed toward the doors at the back of the room, her eyes riveted to the man in the corner.

"I'll see you later." Christie called out to her. Ahzza didn't reply, but pushed quickly through the doors at the back of the room.

Ahzza stumbled down the steps of the building, in flight. Once she was a the bottom, she looked back. There was no one there. Quickly, she scanned the area around her. In the distance, she could see students rushing to classes. Otherwise, she was alone.

Quickly, she found a bench under a group of trees. Tossing her bag on it's weathered seat, she settled herself down next to the bag, leaned over and placed her head in her hands. Slowly, she began to breath easier.

"A great start to what appears to be a great year." She said to herself.

Finally, getting control of herself, she leaned back, gazing up at the mural of leaves above her.

"Ahzza." Ahzza started at the voice, and looked over to see Zarion standing next to her. Quickly she grabbed up her bag and prepared to leave. Before she could take two steps, Zarion took her arm in his hand. "Please. We have to talk."

"What do you want from me?"

"Only for you to understand who, and what you are. And the grand purpose you are to serve."

Slowly Ahzza faced him. Fear flashing in her eyes. "I am Ahzza Trueheart. What else is there to know?"

"Your mortal self is Ahzza Trueheart, but there dwells within you, the being of Light."

"I don't understand. What are you trying to say?"

"You, Ahzza, are the Light. You are the first half of the prophecy."

"No! You're wrong. I'm just a normal girl, and I have classes to get to." Again Zarion stopped her.

"You have to believe it. The fate of the world depends on you knowing it."

"I don't want it! I don't want to be part of this prophecy! Don't you understand? There's nothing special about me!" Ahzza pulled away from him.

"You have to believe it, or all that you know, that you are, will be gone." Zarion turned from her and walked away.

Ahzza watched him go. A great fear threatening to swallow her up.

"Are you okay? Was he hurting you?" Ahzza jumped at the touch of the hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Christie standing behind her, and Sam Trueheart heading her way.

"I'm fine. Really. He...he was just asking for directions." Ahzza stumbled out.

"Okay. I'll see you later, all right?" Christie said, looking unconvinced.

"Yeah."

Christie walked away as Sam came up beside Ahzza. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around her. "You know, don't you?" His words were filled with relief.

"Yes." Was her only reply.

"You must not let anyone know. If the wrong person found out who you are, the world would be doomed."

For the first time in her life, Ahzza felt the pain of caring such a heavy weight on her young shoulders. She only hoped that Zarion was right, and that she was worthy enough to carry it.

End