Aura! Youre supposed to be on my side Aitan pouted.

Arell, please try to be a little more considerate, we completely invaded their bodies without asking, its a fairly traumatic experience, and Eden, please try to be a little nicer to Arell, for everyones sake. Try to understand weve been trapped as disembodied spirits for decades Darya scolded the two heroes of light

*Wow, I kinda wish Aura was my spirit now, she seems much nicer than this punk* Damien said. *Ill sleep on the floor* Damien volunteered. Compared to some other places hed Slept, the floor was a top luxury.

*Khione is already sleeping on the floor, we can just leave her there, I wouldnt want to take her up* Ana suggested, knowing that Khione could sleep through any sound, but the lightest poke could wake her. *Im going to grab my spare clothes* Ana said, referring to the bag of clothes she left at Dianas house since she stayed over so often.

Fine, Arell muttered begrudgingly, before returning to silence.

"Fine." Eden agreed, trying to find a place to glare at, but upon realizing that Arell was in his head, crossing his eyes. He gave up soon enough and stood, heading towards the guest room.

"She's too chipper if you ask me." Diana said to Damien with a sigh.

In her head, Aura chuckled, keeping her voice only to Diana. You'll get used to me. Besides, I come with the amazing ability to-

I'm going to stop you right there. I don't want more surprises until tomorrow morning. Diana thought back to the Spirit of Air. Suddenly overcome with feelings of empathy that she didn't even know she had, she walked to each of the teenagers with her in this unfortunate situation.

First she went straight to Ana, giving her a quick hug, and then another one for Kale, and then a final awkward embrace for Damien. Eden was gone and Khione was asleep, so her symbolic gesture wasn't exactly complete.

See? Sometimes it's good to be happy!

"Oh? So you made me do that?" Di was surprised, to say the least. "You can control me?"

No. Kian answered for Aura. She can influence your actions with or without wanting to, because her emotions mix in with yours. So if she has a strong need to do something, you'll feel like doing it. Now, you all need some rest. Say your good nights.

"Uh... good night then." Kale stood up, yawning and stretching. Diana's dog stayed curled up on the carpet, apparently asleep. "Thank you for letting me stay here Diana." He followed in the same direction Eden had gone.

Diana smiled at Ana and Damien, and then Khione's sleeping form. "Good night- we'll all talk in the morning, over homemade blueberry pancakes."

"Influence, huh? Maybe that's why I'm craving pancakes with maple syrup now, despite never having it before" Ana said, her eyes looking up to her forehead.

"Sorry, Diana just mentioned pancakes, and it's been a long time since I've eaten... I think we should still be able to taste things through your bodies... also, can we eat sushi? Cerina says it's really good, but I have-had a seafood allergy" Darya requested.

"Well, 'night guys, I'll see you in the morning" Damien waved goodbye. "Aitan's excited for you to try sushi, he's not saying it but I can feel his excitement and a sudden craving for nigiri, I know a good place we can call" Damien said with a slight chuckle, walking out of the room before hesitating, his eyes widening. "We need to go back to the forest tomorrow." He said urgently. "I just realized I left my jacket there."

"Well, I'll go change, then come back and go to sleep" Ana said, going to the bathroom to get out of her dress.

(skip to morning?)

"That jacket smelled terrible anyway!" Eden yelled from the other room before Diana felt herself drift off to a peaceful and also restless sleep, the two sets of thoughts and emotions unwilling to combine just yet.

___

Kale had been awake for a few minutes now, and was sitting in Diana's living room, staring out the window. He was wearing the button down and slacks from last night, still, though he didn't seem that uncomfortable. I still can't believe that all really happened, he said to Kian.

I am truly sorry. Kian apologized. Once again, you are the last hope to fight back the darkness that will soon arise. It may have already found a host- and you haven't even begun to activate your True Power.

"True Power? Darkness?" Kale wondered, his voice hoarse.

As he spoke, Diana descended the stairs, carrying a tube of toothpaste and a full new pack of toothbrushes. "Good morning. Is anyone else awake?"

He shrugged. "I don't really know. Kian and I are."

Good morning from me as well! Now, for those pancakes... Aura's cheerful voice sounded, as if she hadn't been in a stump for decades.

"Good morning Diana, I am over here." Khione piped up.

Yeah, we were the first ones up. No one else noticed us Cerina spoke up.

"Good moooooorning everyone!" Ana chirped as she came down the stairs. "Did everyone sleep well?" She asked, looking around. "Eden and Damien are still sleeping, huh, well, good thing I'm not the last one up!" Ana said cheerfully, as she was a morning person. "Hey Didi, lets go get those pancakes started, who wants to help?" She asked

"Hard pass, I genuinely cannot stand the smell of pancake batter" Khione said

"I know Khione," Diana said, smiling stupidly because she was glad to have some familiarity with her at that moment. "Alright, Ana, I have some sifted flour, and then here's the salt and sugar, and of course, baking powder!" She put the ingredients out for her friend to mix while she prepped the pan.

"I'd usually love to help but my head really hurts." Kale said, relaxing back onto the couch after waving to Khione and Anahita. "I'll just pour some orange juice for you all then."

See! Already working like a team! Kian sounded satisfied for now, and Aura's humming could be heard in Diana's head as she worked.

"And now I'm awake." Eden declared from the top of the staircase. He began an ungraceful descent, his feet slipping on the marble of the steps.

Me too. Eden here isn't a morning person- one thing we both agree on. Arell piped up.

"Shut up." He growled, before collapsing on the couch again next to Kale. Kale had flicked on the morning news, and there was obviously something important that had happened yesterday.

The power outage last night was reported to have hit almost the whole state- something that has never been seen before, especially without any known cause-

Kale flicked the TV off, turning to raise a brow at the rest of the group.

*Arell, how do you even remember if you were a morning person or not? We havent slept in decades* Cerina commented.

*I believe I speak for all of us when I say, sincerely, from the bottom of our hearts- our bad. Probably.* Darya spoke up, believing that the spirits were most likely the cause of the power outage.

Ana just nodded as she vigorously stirred the ingredients in the mixing bowl. *Hey Di, remember the first time we tried making pancakes? Khione kept telling us be careful with the eggs or they might scramble in the pancake but of course I thought I knew better, and then the eggs scrambled and she didnt let it go for a week?* Anahita reminisced on her old childhood with a small smile.

*Anahita, you have made that mistake three times, it is not like it only happened that one time you absolute dunce* Khioke said, pulling plates, forks, and knives out of the cabinets and drawers, looking around. *Speaking of absolute dunces- is Damien still asleep? Should someone go wake him?* Khione asked the group as she set the table

Doesn't mean I don't remember! He retorted, and Eden's arms crossed without him wanting to.

Stop it! I'd like to keep control of my own body, thank you very much! He then spoke to the rest of the group. "Also since you guys woke me up with the chattering, I think the dunce'll be awake soon too."

"Maybe he's a sound sleeper?" Diana wondered, giggling a bit at the banter between the two cousins. "Alright, since Khione's setting the table, Eden's being a not-morning-person, and Ana and I are cooking- Kale- and, umm, Kian too I guess,- can you go wake him up?"

Sure. Kian's voice projected to the whole group, the same time Kale said, "Of course." He hurried up the staircase, heading to the bedroom where Damien was.

"Hey, Damien?" He asked, knocking on the door first.

(please excuse any mistakes I make while typing today, I'm really sick and my brain just is't functioning)

"Go away, we're sleeping" Aitan said grumpily, not wanting Damien to be woken up too early. "I don't think this brat has gotten a proper night's sleep in months" He said quietly to Kian and Kale.

"I just remembered, Aura, you mentioned you had something to tell us that you wanted to save for the morning. Well, it's morning now, so spill the tea" Anahita asked.

"Oh, right, I nearly forgot we still had to tell you that!" Cerina piped up, and a brief moment after saying that, Khione's eyes widened suddenly, dropping a plate.

"We can WHAT?!" Khione shouted, confusion and bewilderment all over her face.

"Whoops, sorry, didn't mean to spoil the surprise" Cerina apologized

((It's perfectly alright! Get well soon!))

"Oh. Alright, sorry about that." Kale turned to leave, tiptoe-hurrying back down the stairs. "Aitan says he should sleep longer," he announced, leaving out the 'proper night's sleep in months' part.

After he had reached the bottom of the staircase, Aura spoke. Umm, well, you see... being the Hosts of the Elements doesn't just mean you're carrying around a second conscious in your head. You have abilities, and they each tie to your element. They'll show up soon enough. But they're there for a reason. Your purpose is to save the world from an impeding force of destruction, the Element Darkness. We do not know who Darkness is, but the spirit is someone we supposedly knew in our past lives. Darkness will rise soon and you must learn to control your abilities and stop it.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, before Arell's voice piped up, more energized now. Okay and also we disappear as soon as you guys reach full potential.