Authoress's note: Thank you for the reviews. -bows- I'm so happy the story has you interested!

----

Smiling from one Hero to another, the Elder continued, "You've all come to become Heroes, to defend the land of Fabell and its citizens, am I not right?" He walked to stand in the middle of the rows. "And, it is my duty to split all of you up into pairs, and to create a team worthy of becoming great. And, perhaps receiving the 'Hero Duo of the Year' award as well." There were excited murmurs exchanged between the Heroes-to-be. "And, remember our motto, 'Strength and Mind Combined, Make a Team Divine'." His eyes flicked to the 'Strengths' and then the 'Minds'. "And so, let the pairing begin."

The Soon-to-be-Heroes jabbered amongst themselves, and their eyes flickered to who they wished to be paired with. The Raelik girl smiled and waved at the boy with the battered clothes, and he gave a small wave back. The tall mage was eyeing the blonde Welet girl with interest, while she in turn was glaring back. She soon made a gagging motion, and turned stiffly to talk to her friends again. The mage looked as if he had been slapped, and actually rubbed his cheek, before glowering at nothing in particular. The Uptoe seemed more interested in measuring how long his hair was, and whether or not it reached past his ears. Though, through his mop of hair, you could see he was glancing at the Memor from the corner of his eye. The Welet boy smiled at the Memor, and she waved excitedly back.

The Elder observed as the glances were exchanged, as considered his choices. But no, he was firm to his thoughts. He would go with what he had first decided. "Young Heroes, quiet please." he announced, looking from one To-be to another. "Listen carefully, here are your partners...All partners are final, so there is no need to complain, for you cannot change." He managed a small smirk, that the wild haired girl noticed. Her mouth gaped a little, as she stared, and then, glared.

He saw her, what with her mouth wide open and agape. And, he decided to call her name first...Out of respect, you could say. "Nez."

She gathered herself, and straightened up. Pointing to herself, she replied shakily, "Me...?" He smiled slightly, and nodded. His eyes flickered to the Welet boy. "Xen." Said boy looked bewildered, as he half shouted, "HUH?" and looked, unbelieving, at Nez. The Elder raised a finger, and sniffed. "Quite." The two grumbled, as the Elder moved on.

"Luz..." he mused. Said Memor squeaked slightly, as she stood up as tall as possible, and waited anxiously. "And Mocre." Mocre, who was currently tugging softly on a strand of red colored hair that passed his eyes, jumped when he heard his name, yanking out the hair he was grasping in the process. The Uptoe yelped as he rubbed the sore spot on his head, and glared at the Elder. He didn't seem to notice that Luz was standing right beside him, practically hugging his leg. He was too preoccupied with nursing his forehead.

"Hymber." The blonde, shield wielding 'Strength' looked up, intrigued as to exactly who he'd be spending the rest of his career with. "And...perhaps...Valen." The patchwork wearing boy looked at Hymber with interest, and smiled thoughtfully. Hymber, in return, scowled at the ground, before glancing at his partner and smiling ruefully.

The tall mage seemed hopeful, as he gazed at the blonde haired Welet and grinned. She looked positively disgusted, as she turned up her nose and scoffed. "Let's see, who's left?" The Elder looked at the Raelik girl, and then at the last remaining mage. "Dansel and Lakin." Said Heroes started, before looking at each other in disbelief. Lakin rose an eyebrow at the Raelik, while Dansel simply nodded at the Elder. She gave a small wave to Lakin, and gained a slightly puzzled look on her tanned face. He snorted, and crossed his arms, before giving her a small smirk.

Now here was where there was a problem. There were no more 'Minds', and there were three 'Strengths' left to be paired up. The black haired Welet spoke up, seeing his dilemma. "Sir, ya know, we could all be stuck together as a trio. Who said there were only Hero Duos in Fabell?" The Elder smiled at her, and replied, "As of late, everyone. But, there was once a trio of thieves that were paired in this very place." He gestured around at the flowered terrace located at the end of the two rows, and the wide open meadow to the east. "Sankey, Beb, and Mel, they were called. Of course, they were mischievous Uptoes, unlike you three." The black haired girl looked at her peers, and said, "We could continue their legacy. We really could! Me, Winx and Velle can cause all sorts of mischief!" The Elder rose an eyebrow. "You're missing the point, young Brink. But, I suppose I could give you three a chance." Velle looked up, her brown haired tangled and obstructing her face. "Really?" she whispered, perplexed. Winx looked down at her nails, and caught sight of her slightly purple skin tone. "Agh! I'm turning blue!" she wove her hand in front of the Elder's face, while he gazed, annoyed, at her. She rubbed her arms, yet the color remained. She looked petrified, and actually froze. Brink, in turned, smacked her while Velle looked on, amused. "Very well then," the Elder began, "Brink, Winx, and Velle." The three, excluding Winx (She was still inspecting her skin tone, and screaming a silent scream.) did a small victory spin, and yelled, "Go Jackals!". The Elder walked to the front of the two rows, muttering "Teenagers..." all the while.

----

Authoress's note: Now, this is where the different 'Parts' start. Now, in order for you to better enjoy the story, which 'Part' would you like to see first? The story of Valen and Hymber? Or the tale of the Jackals? It all depends on what you would like, so please vote for your favorite!