✧*~☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ - .*☆

"Arlight let's get you cleaned u-"

Steve froze mid sentence as he came back from his room holding a change of (his) clothes in his hands.

"Oh my god Allie you- you-"

He quickly turned around, mainly to hide his pink cheeks from her.

"Where is your shirt?"

He finally asked.

"You said I needed to clean up."

She replied,

"I was cleaning up."

she added, holding a wet towel in her hand.

"Asling, you don't just take your clothes off in other people's living rooms."

He said, trying to hand her the pair of sweatpants and t-shirt he grabbed for her.

"Why not?"

She asked, genuinely curious.

"It's a livingroom isn't it? Cleaning up is part of living. So is changing clothes."

She added.

"Just turn around and put these clothes on."

Steve said much more sternly.

"Fine."

Asling said with a huff, took the clothes, and turned around so Steve wouldn't see anything.

"Almost done."

She said and Steve turned around, catching a glimpse of her bare back before she slipped the sweatshirt she game him on over her skin. His eyes noticed a large tattoo on her back in the shape of a dragon.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo."

He said and Asling turned to him.

"Hm?"

She hummed.

"On your back."

Steve said.

"You have a tattoo."

He said.

"Oh my dragon."

She said with a nod.

"All apprentices have the marking of their spirit animal on their bodies somewhere."

she said.

"It's different for each patron. Jupiter's a dragon, Mercury is an Owl, Venus is swan, Scanthia is a griffon, Mars is a serpent, Neptune is a dolphin, Uranus is a pegasus, Saturn is a bull, and Pluto is a raven."

She explained.

"But I thought you said dragons were extinct."

Steve asked and she nodded.

"They are."

She replied.

"Which makes me the only apprentice to never meet my spirit animal."

She added. Steve would have asked her more questions, her world was so different from his and so fascinating, but before he could get the words out of his mouth there was a knock at the door. He wasn't particularly fond of his home becoming the now hotspot for everyone who knew about the upside down but things weren't exactly normal for him right now, especially since he was housing a magical girl from another world.

✧*~☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ - .*☆

"Nancy?"

Steve said with wide eyes but it wasn't just her at his doorstep. Nancy, Jonathan, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, and Max were all there.

"Hey steve."

Nancy replied.

"Let me guess."

Steve said as he sighed.

"You're all here to see her."

"I told them everything."

Dustin said with a wide grin.

"Of course you did."

Steve replied.

"Come on in. She's in the living room."

He said as he stepped aside to let the company in.

"Allie,"

He called as he followed them all into the living room of the house.

"You have some visitors."

She stood as she heard them enter. This was the first time she had seen Jonathan or Nancy. She awkwardly held onto one of her own arms and her long golden blonde curls cascaded over her shoulders like the vines of a weeping willow tree. Nancy was the first girl she had seen from this dimension that was her age. She looked at her curiously, studying her.

"Steve,"

Nancy said as she tore her eyes from the girl from another world to look at her ex boyfriend.

"What on earth is she wearing?"

Nancy said and Steve hesitated.

"Uh... my clothes."

✧*~☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ - .*☆

"So this master of yours-"

Nancy said, after hearing the whole story of Asling's arrival to their world,

"He's evil?"

She asked and Asling hesitated.

"Well... not necessarily."

She replied.

"He kind of sounds evil."

Jonathan said with a scoff.

"Well he's not, or he wasn't. I-"

Asling stopped, her voice failing her and Steve placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Asling sighed, thatnkful for the support from Steve.

"I don't know what he is anymore."

She said.

"The kierran I knew that trained me was an amazing man, like a brother to me. But looking back on it- things don't add up."

She said.

"Like what?"

Nancy asked.

"Well, I was always taught that the guardians were always supposed to be keepers of peace, helping the goodness of the Magick to shine and keeping the darkness at bay, not soldiers. But all Kierran ever trained me to be was a warrior, a soldier. There was a darkness in him since the beginning. I just didn't see it I guess."

Asling was slowly coming to terms with the notion that the man who trained her was never the man she thought he was, and it was painful. A scolding hot fire of realization was lit in her soul, burning away all that she thought she knew.

"So what does this mean for us?"

Jonathan asked, pulling Asling from her pain. She looked up at him.

"What?"

She asked.

"Well this man is loose in our world now? He has no world to go back to since the upside down has practically claimed it as it's own now."

Asling sighed.

"I suppose,"

She began as she thought about it all, the master plan, Kierran's master plan.

"He will take this world next for the 'upside down'. He will unleash war with the monsters and wont stop until he has made this world like Scanthia."

"How do we stop him?"

Mike asked.

"We fulfill the prophecy."

Asling said.

"And awaken the First guardian."

She added.

"Like it or not, I will be the apprentice to carry out the prophecy."

Asling said, mainly to herself as a reassurance.

"The other keys to the prophecy are the Wisest Will,"

She pointed to will,

"The Mage with no master,"

She pointed to Eleven,

"The apprentice who lived,"

She pointed to herself,

"the wolf in sheep's clothing is obviously Kierran."

She added.

"I just still can't figure out who the villain turned hero is."

"Oh that one is obvious."

Jonathan said And Asling jerked her head up to look at him with confused green eyes.

"It is? Who?"

She demanded.

"Well it's obviously Steve."

He noted.

"Steve?"

Asling said as she looked from Jonathan to Steve who merely shrugged.

"I mean, no offense dude, but you were kind of an asshole last year."

Jonathan noted.

"He has a point."

Nancy added.

"How could we be so stupid! Of course it's Steve!"

Dustin shouted.

"Okay I get it I was a bad guy last year."

Steve said.

"But villain? Really?"

"Steve you were a total douche, we all know it. I don't think villain is any worse."

Dustin said.

"Then that's it then."

Asling said.

"We have all that we need to fulfill the prophecy."

"Then let's get to it."

Dustin said with a grin.

"But uh, how do we do it?"

He added and all eyes looked to Asling.

"I don't know."

She said and multiple sighs could be heard around the room.

"The prophecy doesn't give a clear how. I mean, most of it didn't even make sense until now."

She added.

"Something about it, all of it- the prophecy, the past, Kierran- just doesn't add up."

She said with a huff.

"The past is not what it seems."

She mumbled.

"I fear to fulfill the prophecy I must unlock the truth about the past."

She said.

"Okay great then let's do that."

Lucas said.

"Yeah you magicked up a book the other day all about your home, can't you just do that again and we'll get to reading?"

Steve suggested and Asling shook her head.

"I am afraid it's not that easy, Steven."

"Steve."

"Right."

Asling noted.

"The secrets of the past are deeper then anything in a history book. I fear to learn what truly happened I will have to return to where it all took place."

She said.

"Back to Scanthia."