Episode 9

Explanations

The five united Guardians tore through the forest as fast as their bruised and battered legs would carry them. They felt like they were in a horror movie; the victims running for their lives, unsure whether or not they'd make it out of the scary woods in one piece.

“That could've went better,” Rob huffed.

“Yes, Rob,” Tami said, slightly annoyed by the obvious remark. “Yes it could've.”

“I've always wanted to go out in a unique way,” Chip groaned, “but this wasn't quite what I had in mind.”

“Don't talk like that,” Rob said sternly. “We're gonna get out of this. Just keep limping.”

“Limping only does you so much good when you're being chased by a freakishly powerful psycho,” Wyn grunted, sounding a lot calmer than he looked.

“Maybe that Clonar guy decided to let us go,” Brittany insinuated.

Rob stared on ahead. “You can ponder that when we get out of this forest.”

Much to their relief, they did. And, strangely enough, without any sort of resistance. Perhaps Clonar really didn't think they were worth the trouble. Whatever the case, they weren't going to complain.

“I don't know about you guys, but I have a lot of questions, and not very many answers,” Tami said.

Brittany nodded in agreement. “I think we all do.”

“There is a lot we have to talk about. Should we find a nice, quiet place to talk things over?” Chip suggested.

“Personally, I'm not quite up to talking right now,” Wyn said tersely.

Brittany arced her back. “Me neither. I'm aching all over.”

“I hear that,” Rob said. “It's still fairly early. Do we want to maybe rest for a few hours, then meet up somewhere?”

“It's going to be hard to explain to our parents why we look so beat up,” Chip said.

“Okay, a few hours to come up with convincing alibis and then rest,” Rob said.

The five Guardians went their separate ways and cleaned themselves up, then gathered at the park, a nice, peaceful place conducive for quiet discussion.

Rob started things off. “So, we have a lot to talk about, I suppose.”

“First I think we need to establish what we know thus far,” Wyn said. “The five of us all have Guardian powers, as do Trey and Troy. We don't know where they came from or what their purpose is. Clonar is a wacko from another dimension who has the power to take control of weaker-minded creatures. He's sending these Creturian monsters to snuff out our powers and us with them, since he sees them as a threat to his rule. Did I forget anything?”

“How about the fact that Clonar is freakishly strong and he could wipe all of us out in an instant?” Chip added.

“Okay, since I've been in the middle of everything since it began,” Rob said, “I can say that I'm well aware of how Brittany, Tami, and Chip got their Guardian powers. I've told Chip pretty much everything, so he's more or less knows as much as I do.”

“But we don't,” Tami interjected.

“Yeah. How'd you get mixed up in this whole thing, Rob?” Brittany asked. “And you too, Chip?”

Rob gazed into the air as if he was going to recount his life's story. “Man, it feels like so long ago...”

Rob proceeded to tell the story of how he gained his Guardian powers, how he met Wyn, Trey, and Troy, and how he helped Chip with his powers. “And then Tritails was like, 'Give me the Guardian power now!' and Wyn was like, 'I work alone, blah blah,' and Trey and Troy were like, 'Please don't hurt us anymore!' and Chip was like, 'You're not gonna hurt my friend anymore!'...so yeah, that's about it in a nutshell.”

“I got a kick out of your pink bike helmet disguise,” Brittany said with a giggle. “I wish I could've got a picture of that.”

“Interesting story,” Wyn commented, “save for the blatant lie about how I begged you to take down Trey and Troy for me. I was going to ask you when we first met about how you got your Guardian powers, but trouble kept coming up.”

“Say, that reminds me,” Rob said, “I've been meaning to ask you the same question. Where'd you discover your Guardian power? Come to think of it, we don't know anything about you at all. Where'd you even come from?”

“I suppose it's only fair to tell you.” Wyn sighed, then began his story. “I come from a tribe of people far away from here. We lived a peaceful, simple life...until one day, when I was out gathering food, I discovered a strange band lying in the middle of the forest. Before I knew what was happening, a strange creature appeared and attacked me. It seemed like it was after whatever I had stumbled upon. I was more than willing to give the band up to the creature, but the next thing I knew, I was in a life-or-death struggle with it. And then...my life changed forever, as the Guardian power overtook me for the first time. I knew things would be different from then on. I could help defend the tribe against any force that may come against it.

“Then...the unthinkable happened. It was a day like any other. We went about our normal routines, and then...the Creturians attacked. Three of them. They nearly destroyed the entire village, all because they wanted the Guardian power for reasons then-unknown to me. It was a long, hard battle, but our tribe proved to be victorious.

“The village leader was just glad that we had all survived the ordeal, but I knew in my heart that wasn't good enough. For the safety of my village...my family...I left, never to return.

“I proceeded to wander the countryside with nothing more than the clothes on my back. I climbed mountains, crossed lakes and rivers. I endured the blazing hot and frigid cold. I fought with anyone or anything that dared stand in my way. The days turned to weeks. The weeks turned to months. Before I had realized it, over a year had passed. Finally, I made it to this town. Little did I know what I would find here.”

Rob leaned over to Tami and whispered in her ear. “Good grief, no wonder he's such a grouch.”

“That's a pretty sad story,” Chip said. “I'm sorry you've had to deal with so much.”

Brittany smiled warmly at him. “It's okay now, though, Wyn. You have friends here.”

“I vowed never to forge close relationships with anyone again,” Wyn said, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground in front of him. “I can't risk anyone else getting hurt because of me.”

“News flash: you're not the only one in danger anymore,” Rob said. “We all are. You have no reason not to be friends with us.”

“No. I...I can't.”

“I can understand you feel uneasy after being alone for so long,” Tami said, “but now's the perfect time to change things. Everyone needs friends, Wyn.”

“Yeah, and we Guardians need to stick together anyway, right?” Chip added.

“That's right,” Rob agreed. “We can't beat Clonar without you, Wyn.”

Tami glared at Rob. “Beat him? We can barely touch him, let alone beat him.”

“Now, maybe, but with a little bit of training and learning to work as a team, I know we can take him down.”

“What makes you so sure?” Brittany asked.

“Clonar came out of left field for all of us. We weren't ready to fight him. Plus, we had so many questions still running through our heads, we were far too distracted to give him a good fight. Next time, we'll be ready for him.”

“I don't know about you, but I really don't want to fight him again,” Chip said.

“Weren't you listening to what I said earlier?” Rob asked. “Clonar has the power to detect otherworldly energy signatures. He could track our every move if he wanted to. Let's not forget that Trey, Troy, and all the monsters can detect where we are, as well.”

“So I gather you have some sort of big idea?” asked Wyn.

“I'm just thinking...Clonar controls the Creturians, right? So if we get rid of him...”

“Then his control over them will be gone,” Tami finished.

“And they'll no longer have the ability to detect us!” Chip threw in.

“Exactly.”

“So...do you have a plan, or what?” Wyn asked impatiently.

Rob held up a finger. “It's quite simple, really. We train, learn to better control our powers and work together as one, then take Clonar on again and blast him back to where he came from.”

“I don't know...” Brittany said.

“There's nothing else we can do, Brittany. The Creturians are going to keep attacking whether we're prepared or not. The more we train, the stronger we'll become. Then when we learn to fight as one, no one will be able to stop us again.”

“This whole thing just blows my mind,” Tami said. “And here I was all psyched up for a vacation to the Bahamas...”

“All the more reason we need to beat Clonar as soon as possible,” Rob said. “Who's with me?”

Everyone slowly nodded, except for Wyn.

“Wyn, what about you?”

“I agree that Clonar needs to be dealt with as soon as possible,” Wyn replied, “but I refuse to train with you guys.”

“What? Why?” Brittany asked.

“I told you already; I made a vow never to form close relationships with anyone ever again.”

“Fine, then, you don't have to have a close relationship with us,” Rob said. “Train with us, help us beat Clonar, and go on your way if that's what you want.”

“Ever since I've discovered this Guardian power, I've relied on nobody but myself,” Wyn said. “That's who I am now. That's who I'll stay. I will train on my own. I'll grow stronger, to the point that I'll be able to defeat Clonar on my own.”

Rob threw his hands up in the air. “C'mon, Wyn, that's ridiculous. He beat all four of us without even trying. Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Stuff it, Rob!” Wyn snapped at him. “You're not changing my mind on this. Even if I did train with the lot of you, I'm so much stronger that all you would do is hold me back. I mean, look at you!” He gestured at them wildly. “A computer nerd, two girly girls, and...a delusional nitwit!”

“Nitwit?! Why you--” Rob angrily stomped towards Wyn, but Chip and Tami held him back.

Wyn huffed. “I'm gone. Later.”

“Please stay with us,” Brittany called to him as he walked off. “We need you!”

Wyn ignored her and kept on walking.

Chip and Tami let go of Rob. “Fine!” he yelled to Wyn. “Get out of here! Who needs you?” He turned his back and snorted.

Brittany gazed at Wyn sadly. “How sad...he doesn't even remember how to have friends.”

Rob waved his hand behind him. “Don't feel sorry for that jerk. We're better off without him, anyway. Yeah. Why bother trying to like the guy if he's just gonna act like that? The four of us can train and beat Clonar.”

“If only we could get those other two guys with Guardian powers to help us,” Chip said.

“You mean Trey and Troy? You know, I never did ask them where their Guardian powers came from or why they're in cahoots with Clonar. Come to think of it, I don't know anything about them. Well, besides the fact that they're total dorks.”

“Do you think we might be able to convince them to join us?” Tami asked.

“Pbbt, I doubt it,” Rob replied. “Still...I do have some questions I'd like to ask them.”

“But how would we go about finding them?” Chip asked. “I'm not about to head back over to where Clonar is.

“That's a good question...” Rob said.

“So you're the Dimensional Guardians!” came a cocky-sounding voice. The Guardians turned to see a strange-looking tiny giraffe-like creature that walked on two massive feet.

“What on Earth is that thing?” Tami asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Whatever it is, I think it's creator lost the instruction manual,” Chip commented.

“Aww, it's cute!” Brittany said.

“My name is Maffe,” the giraffe thing said. “I've heard about you guys. Finally I have an opportunity to destroy you myself.”

“You're kidding, right?” Rob asked.

“I'm kidding wrong! You'll be bowing before my awesome might! Prepare yourself!”

Rob grinned.

Within a minute, Maffe was face-first in the ground, Rob's foot planted firmly on top of his head. “Fine, you win!” Maffe cried. “Just let me go!”

“Sure I will,” Rob said. “If you do me one teensy tiny favor.”

“Name it!”

“We request an audience with Trey and Troy. Tell them to come to this park. We want to have a little chat.”

“Those humans? I don't know why you'd want to talk to them, but fine, I'll tell them.”

“Don't be long now.” Rob removed his foot from the Creturian's head, and Maffe hopped off into the forest.

Chip chuckled. “How convenient can you get?”

---

Back in front of Clonar's fortress, which was once again camouflaged by the fake crag, Trey and Troy relaxed in lawn chairs. They probably should have been working to help Clonar with his latest tasks, but they felt like they needed a well-deserved break after—as they said—kicking so much butt over the last several days. Plus, their boss had everything under control when it came to those Dimensional do-gooders. Their awesome confrontation was still fresh in their minds.

“And then when Clonar flung that one guy into that other guy--” Trey said excitedly.

“Aw, yeah, that was a great move,” Troy said. “How about when--”

“Help! Help!” Maffe waddled out of the forest and up to them, panting heavily.

“What's going on?” Trey asked the Creturian.

“You're just the guys I wanted to see. I have two important things to tell you!”

“Go for it.”

“Okay. First of all, the other Dimensional Guardians have requested a meeting with you.”

“A meeting with us? What for?”

“I dunno, I didn't ask any questions.”

“They think that just because they've teamed up they can take us on?” Troy asked. “What a laugh.”

“I have one more thing to tell you,” Maffe said, taking in another breath. “There's a large group of humans coming this way. It looks like some kind of defense force!”

“What?!” the boys exclaimed in unison.

“Could the cops have discovered our whereabouts?” Troy asked.

“Maybe those other Guardians narked on us,” Trey said angrily.

“That's probably it. What a bunch of wimps, getting the police to fight their battles for them!”

“They have big guns and everything!” Maffe wailed. “I don't think you two can handle them alone.”

“You're probably right.” Trey turned to his brother. “You think we should get the boss?”

“He's pretty busy with other stuff.”

“But this is an emergency! We've been found out!”

The small squad of about twenty policemen traveled through the forest, massive weapons in tow.

“This is it,” the captain said. “Those vile monsters won't know what hit them.”

They came to the edge of the clearing to see nothing in sight.

“ ...that's the spot, right?” an officer asked. “Do we know we have the right clearing?”

“Of course we do!” another spouted.

Derek felt himself shiver with anticipation. “This is so exciting!”

“Keep your guard up, Derek,” the captain said. “All right, men, ready bazookas.”

Ten officers stepped in front and set their bazookas—which the government had kindly given them specifically for this mission—on their shoulders, and prepared to fire.

“Why can't we play with the shiny new toys?” an officer in the back whined.

The officer beside him looked at him quizzically. “How old are you?”

“Hey, I'm just saying.”

The captain sweeped his arm forward. “Ready. Aim. Fire!”

The blasts flew towards Clonar's fortress.

The battle was on.

Trey and Troy banged their fists on Clonar's door, yelling excitedly. “Sir! Sir! Please come out, sir!”

In response, Clonar blasted the door down directly on top of them, then emerged from the resulting smoke. “How dare you bother me when I'm busy! What do you want?”

Trey pulled himself out from under the door. “We're under attack, sir.”

“What?”

As if on cue, the fortress rocked and shuddered, nearly knocking the three of them off their feet. Clonar jetted down the hall, his lackeys tailing loyally behind him.

Back outside, one of the officers pumped his fist. “All right, we got it good! ...didn't we?”

“I think so,” another said, unsure.

“No resistance so far,” the captain said. “Prepare to fire again.”

Just then, the image of the crag shimmered and shifted as it was replaced by that of a strange black fortress. Derek pointed to it. “There's the fortress! We must've damaged it's cloaking mechanism...or whatever.”

“Fire!” the captain commanded.

Clonar stood atop his dark stronghold, nearly falling again as another round of blasts rocked it. “Pathetic humans!” he yelled. “You dare attack me?”

An officer tried to make out the figure standing in the distance. “Look up there. Is that a human?”

The captain strained to see. “A pretty funny-looking human. Give me the loudspeaker.” An officer complied. “You up there! State your name and tell us why you are here.”

Clonar answered. “My name is Clonar. And soon, everyone on this puny planet will know that name.”

“Are you...um...a human? Or some kind of strange monster?”

Clonar put one hand on his hip. “Though I may look like one of you humans, I'm a far superior being. I suggest you cease your attack now, lest you feel my wrath.”

“What is your relationship with the monsters that keep attacking our city?”

“Why, they're my servants, of course. And neither they nor I will stop until your entire world is in my total control!”

The captain turned to his men. “This guy's nuts.” Then to Clonar, he said, “We will not surrender our city to the likes of you. Surrender yourself and all of your...servants to us, or we will have no choice but to continue our attack.”

Clonar slanted his eyes at the pitiful humans daring to threaten him. “We'll see. Beam of Darkness!”

Clonar's black beam crashed into the ground in front of the squad of police officers, barely missing them. “You've asked for it now!” the captain shouted. “Men, fire again!”

Clonar fired back at the men, and the officers' volley of blasts were swallowed up in one massive beam. “You'll pay for your insolence with your lives!” he called to them.

“Aw, forget this!” One of the officers, seemingly having had enough, bolted back towards the city. Several others followed suit, wailing in fear.

“Where do you think you're going?” the captain exclaimed. “Cowards! I'll see to it that each and every one of you is kicked off of the force for such unbecoming behavior!”

Another beam landing in front of him quickly convinced him to join his men in retreat.

Trey and Troy rejoined Clonar at the top of the fortress. “You never cease to amaze us, sir,” Troy said.

“Spare me your mindless flattery and go after them with your sleeper gun,” Clonar ordered. “I don't want them to remember any of this.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Trey said. “It just so happens I got it on the way up here.”

He grinned at his boss, and his boss glared at him. “You want a medal?” Clonar barked. “Go after them now!”

The officers continued their retreat. “What are we going to do now, sir?” an officer asked the captain.

“I don't know,” he replied. “As much as I hate to say it, we may have just opened a huge can of worms. Someone radio headquarters and tell them to call in reinforcements, all the reinforcements we can muster.”

“I'm on it, sir.” Just as he pulled out his radio, however, he and the rest of the squad stopped cold in their tracks. Trey and Troy, who had raced ahead of them with superhuman speed, stood in their way.

“Going somewhere?” Trey asked.

“W-Who are you?” the captain asked.

“We'll ask the questions here. I'm afraid you aren't calling any reinforcements today.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Set the gun to wide range,” Troy said to Trey. “Let's take them all out in one shot.”

The officers didn't know who those seemingly human boys were, but a threat was a threat, and anything that posed a threat to the safety of Feldnaut City had to be dealt with in one way or another. “Don't do anything stupid, kids,” the chief said, motioning for his men to point their guns at them. “We don't want to have to hurt you.”

Trey stood fast. “I was about to say the same thing to you. Troy?”

Troy suddenly disappeared.

Everyone looked around in confusion. “Where'd he go?” the captain asked.

“Burning Wheel!”

A ball of fire crashed through the tree branches above, sending the officers scrambling for safety. While they were distracted, Trey began zapping them to sleep one by one.

“Open fire! Open fire!” the captain yelled in a panic.

The men begin firing wildly every which way, but they fell to the ground in rapid succession, fast asleep. Eventually, only the captain was remaining. “M-My men!” the frazzled captain exclaimed. “What did you do to them, you monsters?”

“Calm down, they're fine,” Troy said. “They're just out for a little bit. And when they wake up, they won't remember ever having attacked our base at all.”

“I won't let you get away with this,” the captain snarled.

“Oh, won't you?” In a flash, Trey whisked behind the captain and put him to sleep before he had a chance to even notice. “That was easy enough.”

“But what'll we do with 'em?” Troy asked.

“Eh, let's just leave 'em. I don't think they'll be bothering us for a while. We have ourselves a date with the other Guardians.”

Little did they know, a short distance away, Derek, who had managed to escape amidst the confusion, was watching. I have to warn the others, he thought. But I dropped my radio. Oh well, I'll just have to do things the old-fashioned way.

“Hey, looks like we missed one!”

Oh no.

“We can't let him get back to the city and tell someone,” Trey said.

Derek swallowed hard and took off for his life.

Brittany turned towards the forest a short distance away. “Did you guys hear that?”

“Whatever it was, it didn't sound good,” Chip said.

“Uh oh.” Rob stood up. “I think it came from the edge of the forest. We'd better check it out. C'mon.”

They had just made it to the edge of the forest when they saw Derek racing towards them.

“It's a policeman!” Tami exclaimed.

Rob studied him. “Hey, that guy looks familiar. I think I know him! But it looks like he's in trouble.”

“I thought cops were supposed to protect people from danger,” Troy called to Derek in a mocking tone, “not run from it!”

“Well, it looks like Trey and Troy have shown up,” Chip said.

“What're we going to do?” Brittany asked. “We can't let him know of our powers, but someone has to help that poor guy!”

“We don't have a choice,” Rob said. “Let's go save him.”

Derek stopped in front of them. “Yo, officer, where's the fire?” Rob asked.

Derek gestured wildly towards the forest. “Behind me! You kids can't stay here! Run and get help as fast as you can!”

“Uh...right. We will. You go ahead, we'll get going in a sec.”

“Don't be crazy, man. You have to get out of here now!”

No, you get out of here. Rob thought. We can't transform with you just standing there.

“Well, if it isn't you guys again,” Trey said, stopping in front of them, as well. “Get out of our way. Let us handle this guy, and then we'll have our little chat.”

Well, so much for hiding their secret.

“I don't think so,” Rob said. “You want this guy? You gotta get through us.”

Troy shrugged. “'Kay. Let's get 'em.”

The four Guardians prepared themselves for battle once more. “Dimensional Guardians, power up!”

Derek freaked out after their transformations. “Y-Y-You're...like them!”

“I know we've got a lot of explaining to do,” Rob said, “but now's not the time. Get out of here! Quickly!”

Derek squared his shoulders. “N-No. If civilians are willing to fight these guys, then there's no excuse for me not to.”

Rob chuckled nervously. “Well, we do have super powers...”

“Electric Shock!”

“Burning Wheel!”

“Watch out!” Rob tackled Derek to the ground as the attacks hit behind them. “Brittany, take this guy to a safe distance,” he said.

“Okay,” Brittany pulled the officer to his feet. “Please, come with me.”

“But...but...”

Brittany pulled the reluctant Derek away.

Rob sighed. He still wasn't in the mood to fight, and Trey and Troy were formidable opponents that nearly killed him last time. But maybe having Chip and Tami by his side would give them an edge. “Let's triple-team these punks. Laser Blast!”

Rob, Chip, and Tami fired, but Trey and Troy's attacks, being stronger, canceled them out. “Now this is my idea of talking!” Trey said.

“Why are you guys working for Clonar?” Rob asked his targets as he continued to fire and miss.

Trey ducked a kick by Tami. “What?”

Rob kicked Troy, who ducked. “You heard me!”

Troy punched him in the gut. “Clonar took us in when we had no one else. We owe our lives to him.”

“But you're Dimensional Guardians like us,” Chip reasoned, shooting a spiral at the tree branch Trey was standing on.

Trey leaped from the falling branch. “So what? No one said the Dimensional Guardians had to be good guys. For all we know, the Dimensional Guardians could be a group of cold, heartless mercenaries.”

“I guess we just assumed the Dimensional Guardians should all be good guys,” Tami said, shooting another ice blast at Troy.

Troy ducked and socked Tami with a flaming punch. “You know what they say happens when you assume...”

The boys backed away and fired massive blasts of fire and electricty at the Guardians, who dodged. The two groups stared each other down as the smoke cleared.

Instead of attacking again, Trey dusted himself off. “Well, it looks like you've succeeded in saving your cop friend. I'm not in the mood to play with you guys anymore. Unless you have any more questions, I think we're going to split.”

Rob paused for a moment before answering. “I guess...that just about covers it.”

“Fine. Let's go, Troy.” Rob noted the strangely angry glare Trey casted at him as he and his brother walked back into the darkness of the forest.

“That was weird,” Chip said. “They seemed really annoyed answering our questions for some reason.”

“There must be more to the story than what they're telling,” Tami said. “I don't mind waiting for the answers, though. I'm beat.”

“Me, too,” Rob said. “We've had a long day. I guess we should go see how Brittany and that cop guy are doing.”

Trey and Troy sulked as they made their way back to their stronghold. “Haven't had to explain why we work for Clonar before,” Troy said.

“I know,” Trey agreed. “Nothing like remembering repressed memories to ruin a guy's day.”

“So, we failed in our mission to stop all of the cops. What're we gonna tell Clonar?”

“Eh, what he doesn't know won't hurt us. They're bound to attack us again, anyway.”

Rob, Chip, and Tami walked up to Brittany and Derek, who looked completely baffled. “How's it going?” Rob asked Brittany.

Brittany sighed. “I had no choice but to tell him everything, Rob.”

Rob shook his head. “That's fine. There was no way around it, really.”

Derek shook his head also. “That's one crazy story. But if there's one thing I've learned in the last several weeks, it's that nothing's too crazy in this town.”

“So...what're you going to do now?” Tami asked him.

“My first thought was to tell headquarters everything that happened,” Derek replied, “but it sounds to me like that wouldn't be good for you guys.”

Chip rubbed the back of his neck. “It sure wouldn't...”

“The rest of my comrades apparently won't remember anything that's happened,” Derek added. “I guess I can fake memory loss, too.”

Everyone smiled in relief.

“Yeah, I don't know what HQ will do when they find out about this,” Derek continued, “but I'll do my best to keep them from staging another attack. It's pretty clear to me the best chance we have of beating these freaks is standing in front of me.”

Rob nodded vigorously. “We'll do our best.”

“I'm sure you guys can handle things,” Derek said. “I'll help you in any way I can. By the way, the name's Derek.” He extended his hand to Rob.

Rob shook it. “Pleased to meet you. I'm Rob.”

“I'm Chip. Hi there.”

Tami blushed. “I-I'm Tami.” Derek didn't seem to notice.

Derek gestured to Brittany. “And I've already had the pleasure of meeting this fine young lady. It's a pleasure to meet all of you.”

“So, I guess we'll see you around?” Chip asked.

Derek nodded. “You can count on it, my man. I need to call HQ and have them bring something to pick up my friends. You all take care.”

Tami and Brittany gazed lovingly at Derek as he walked off. “I love a man in uniform,” Tami swooned.

“He called me a fine young lady,” Brittany said.

Rob and Chip snickered. “As unlikely as it sounds, it looks like we have ourselves a new ally,” Rob said.

Chip looked at Rob with Bambi eyes. “A cute new ally.”

The boys laughed, and Brittany and Tami ignored them, continuing to swoon over their newfound friend and love interest.

What deep dark secrets do Trey and Troy have? Will Derek prove to be a valuable ally? Will the Guardians' training bear fruit? Keep reading Dimension Heroes to find out!

TO BE CONTINUED...