Casey/Crystal the search for Excalibur

                   Cassidy Stonehenge A.K.A. Crystal Star Gazzer

                   The Search For Excalibur

Summer vacation finally arrived, and for Casey it couldn’t come sooner.

This summer Casey would be fifteen and be spending that summer B-day out at her cousins who had a farm by open plains, forests to hike through, mountain sides to climb and a minor rock formation by a cliff over looking open water.

The big rumor going around town is that the Stonehenge family or Camelot family had direct heirs of Arthur Pendragon, and that something might happen this year.

Unfortunately neither family heard about said rumor, and both families were gathering for a party for the early summer/late spring babies - Cassidy Stonehenge and Bryce Camelot, Bryce would be sixteen this year, one year older then Casey.

On the way, Casey and her parents discussed whether they would tell the rest of the family about her powers or not.

Casey leaned on the back of the front seats, giving her vary strong opinion on the matter “I only told you because you saw me change back, if I had any choose on what happened I would have tried to hide it longer, and don’t give me that look you’ve seen ‘them’ and that without powers anyone is open to being attack.”

Her mom, Emily, turned back to watch the road and give Trevor directions “and I think your father’s side of the family should know. I mean, you got your powers at Stonehenge, the family namesake. As far as we know, you got your powers from that side of the family. As for those things, I will admit they can be scary and am glad we are out of the city, they seemed to like it better there then in the country.”

“Well, I don’t think we should be the ones to tell them” Trevor said, watching Casey in the rear view mirror, “you should be the one to choose and tell them when you are ready.”

Casey first looked happy, then hearing the end of her dad’s statement crossed her arms and looked out the window “I don’t think they ‘need’ to know. If they find out the same way you guys did then I’ll do something, not before?”

Trevor gave her one last glance in the rearview before looking ahead for any roaming cattle on the road.

Casey and her parents arrived an hour before lunch.

Casey jumped out of the car and started to run up to the house when she sees Bryce, and comes to a fast stop.

~<>~

Casey and Bryce had only met once before at a wedding that was held in America, both their parents had been friends to the couple that was getting married.

They were the only kids at the wedding so they were put in a makeshift nursery.

Casey played quietly in a corner with a doll she brought and Bryce sat in the middle of the room doing nothing.

He didn’t think to bring anything.

When she was distracted, Bryce snuck up behind her and grabbed her doll.

When she tried to get it back, he just laughed at her attempts, until she stumbled back on to her bottom and started to cry, loudly.

Several people, including her parents, the couple getting married, his parents and a few other guests came to see what was wrong, and found Bryce holding Casey’s doll out of her reach.

Her dad walked over to Bryce and took the doll then walked over to Casey and picked her up and gave her back the doll.

Bryce’s parents though, thought that Casey had overreacted, which then caused both of the mothers to start fighting over the proper up bringing of a child.

Soon after both Casey and Bryce’s families left, going in different directions, and never really saw each other again.

Since that wedding, there had been a silent feud of avoiding one another.

~<>~

They both stared at each other for a moment until their parents came up behind them.

Their parents gave small hellos then lead the kids inside to find the rest of the family.

After a quick lunch, everyone headed out to help with some of the chores.

The family that lived there tried to tell them not to bother themselves, but they ignored them and continued to work.

The next mourning though, they told everyone to go outside and relax. The couples went to find some privacy, and the kids went to play and explore.

Lounging in the sun on a wide field felt like parodies to Casey, after fighting monsters and who knows what else, anything would feel like parodies. She was barely asleep when a shadow blocked out the sun and made her open her eyes.

It was Trevor, “having fun I hope,” he asked with a wide smile on his face.

She giggled and sat up “I see nothing that needs my attention, where my powers are needed, or any ‘things’ to fight. This is what I call a vacation.”

Trevor helped her to her feet “you lay around to much, you might get lazy. The mayor has called a town meeting and asked for our family to be there.”

“OK. Lets go” Casey said. They headed back to the house to find Emily waiting in the car with the rest of the family. At the square, everyone had gathered for the meeting.

Casey stayed with her parents, she knew she could find them with her powers but no one in town knew about her powers so thought it best not to use any and instead just stick with them. She then heard a voice say, “sticking to your parents like glue eh”. She turned and found Bryce just half a block away, with a smirk on his face. She started to head towards him but Trevor held her back.

Soon Bryce’s parents appeared with equally smug looks on their faces.

The crowd eventually moved to the edges to allow the Camelots and Stonehenges forward so they could see what they had ‘set up’. In the middle of the square sat a large round-ish stone with a sword sticking straight up out of it.

Casey saw it and knew what it was instantly “this looks like…”

But Bryce stepped forward and cut her off “like the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur.” he turned to her with the same smug look as before, and she just looked him straight in the eye, almost in a staring contest.

The mayor finally came forward and said, “This is a replica of the sword, yes. This is a reminder of what has gone on here in the past, and what may happen in the near future. I assume both families and children alike know the Arthur, Merlin and Camelot tales quite well by now. I also assume that both family have heard the tale about a new heir that would return and claim the sword as their own?”

The two families looked at each other with confused looks, the mayor continued “ah, so you haven’t. No matter, whatever happens, happens. Right?”

Casey looks at her parents, but they both looked as perplexed as she did. She turned back and almost stumbled back in to her parents from seeing a man standing behind the sword who had not been there before.

The man moved his hands in a strange pattern.

Casey could feel her powers reacting to something then they seemed to heat up inside her and fell against Trevor to hide her reaction.

When the heat was gone Casey opened her eyes, and saw that they were in an open field just a few steps away from some large stones. She turned to ask her parents where they were, but only saw Trevor.

Both started to look for Emily.

Like wise were Bryce and his mother (his father).

Casey and Trevor stopped after several minutes, and sat on the grass trying to get their bearings.

The only thing that looked remotely familiar were the rocks that looked like the ones that over looked the open water.

They started to make their way over to them, when Bryce and his mother blocked their path.

“Ok, someone better tell me what is going on right now,” ordered Bryce’s mother!

Almost as if to answer her question, the strange man from before appeared and said, “You were brought to fulfill a prophecy.”

Trevor opened his mouth to ask him what he meant, but Bryce’s mother spoke again and louder “doesn’t this qualify as kidnapping or something. I order you to take me, and my son, back this instant!” her face got redder as she got louder.

The man simply stood there until she was done, then waved his hand again putting her in to a sleep state.

Trevor chuckled “that’s one way to quiet her down, thanks. But really, where are we and where is my wife Emily,”

The man smiled at Trevor “you, I like. First, my name is Merlin, and yes, the same one from the Arthur tales. As for your wife, she is fine, she and everyone else are in a time freeze of sorts, they will resume as soon as the prophecy is fulfilled.”

Casey glanced at Bryce, who was pacing back and forth a few feet from his sleeping mother, who was snoring. She laughed and looked at Merlin, he seemed different some how. But before she could ask, her powers flared again and she curled in to a ball and fell to the ground.

Trevor knelt down next Casey and felt her forehead, but she seemed to radiate heat from allover. He picked her up, turned to Merlin and asked, “do you have any place that I can tend to her near by.”

Merlin quickly lead Trevor over to a group of trees, behind them was a small house.

In side were herbs and spices for whatever was called for, a fireplace of sorts, and makeshift beds of piled straw bundles.

Trevor laid Casey down on the one closest to the fire and gathered up some rags and water to try and cool her down.

As Trevor used the water to cool Casey, he asked Merlin “what is going on here? And why did Bryce’s mother and I come with them? For most, why is Casey so hot?”

He walked over to where Casey lay and stated, “I cannot answer all your questions, but I can help with your daughter’s fever,” and started to move his hand towards Casey.

Trevor didn’t trust him though and pushed him away “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but I won’t let you hurt her.”

Merlin shook his head “I do not want to hurt her, I want to help her” and this time moved Trevor aside and pulled down the collar of Casey’s shirt, reveling her gemstone.

Trevor tried to move over to him and push him away again, but found his feet stuck to the floor; all he could was watch.

Merlin place his fingers on her gemstone, making it shine brightly, but also making Casey moan.

Trevor thought it was a moan of pain and said, “If you do anything to harm her I’ll…” but Merlin ignored him and continued.

The gem got brighter the longer he had his fingers touching it.

As soon as it got bright enough to light up the small room, Merlin removed his fingers and stepped back, causing the light to fade back into the gem.

Within seconds, Casey opened her eyes and sat up, looking startled at where she was.

Trevor, finally able to move his feet, grabbed her in a hug and asked, “Are you ok?”

Casey pulled out of his hug and said “yeah, I think so, but what happened. One moment we’re standing out in a pasture, the next I wake up in a small hut.”

Before Trevor could attempt to explain, Merlin said “I believe your powers were trying to take you home, but a much stronger power is at work here. I simply ‘told’ your powers what was going on and to bear with things, and they complied.”

Trevor and Casey stared at him, not knowing what to say. This man was impossible, no one else knew she had powers, and he just talked to them somehow.

They all turn when they hear footsteps outside the hut, and see Bryce and his mother. Bryce looked annoyed that this man showed them where a dwelling was and left him and his mother outside. Red in the face, he stated “shouldn’t you have shown us this place. If this is the only place to sleep, I request another room. I nor my mother could even think of sleeping in the same room as them” and motioned to Casey and Trevor.

Casey tries to stand but Trevor held her in place, and instead Merlin said “they were in need of them, if they had not needed them I would not have said anything until nightfall.”

Bryce crossed his arms “I demand another room, away from them.”

Merlin shook his head and lead Bryce and his mother outside to find somewhere else for them to rest, leaving Casey and Trevor alone to talk.

Casey layback down and let Trevor cover her with a blanket he found. She rubbed her gem and asked “do you think we’ll find out where my powers came from while were here.”

Trevor lightly kissed her head before saying “I’m sure we’ll learn something, maybe not what we wanted or expected, but something.”

Casey smiled at Trevor then closed her eyes to try and get some sleep. Trevor grabbed his own blanket and lay down on a bed that was sitting on the other side of the fireplace, and joined Casey in getting some rest.

The next mourning, they awake to a rooster crowing.

They walk outside to a beautiful view of the rocks and a sunrise, but soon hear the annoyingly familiar sound of Bryce and his mother grumbling.

They head back to the hut and see some elderly women standing around outside the hut holding baskets.

Trevor realized that Bryce and his mother were inside, probably complaining about their sleeping arrangements.

Casey walked up to one of the women and asked what was in the basket; all the women lowered their basket so they both could see.

There were not only fruits and vegetables, but also meat that had been dried, and tools for cooking anything they found in the woods they could eat.

Casey reached for a green apple, Trevor tried to stop her but one of the women said “its fine, she asked kindly, she may have her fill. So may you, since you are protective of her.”

Trevor blushed, making the others laugh. He then reached for a green apple as well, and bit in.

They ate several more apples, veggies, and some meat before Bryce and his mother came out.

“Why did they get food and not us?” Bryce asked and reached for some meat. But the women grabbed their baskets and lifted them so they were hard to reach, making Bryce mad again.

Bryce’s mother ignored the lot of them and turned to Merlin “take us to were ever we need to go to do this prophecy thing so we can go home.

Merlin smiled and said “it is only Casey and Bryce that will take part in the tests to find the true heir to the throne, you and he are here for support and aid.”

“right, so when do they start these tests” Bryce’s mother asked, in an annoyed tone.

“In the mourning. But first, we need to get to the testing area” Merlin lead them to a castle with vary large courtyards on all sides.

Merlin showed them were they would do most of the tests, in the training grounds for the guards and archers.

Bryce took the lead until they reached the throne room. He and his mother argued over who had the right to sit in the throne.

Casey, Trevor and Merlin stood there and watched for about two seconds, then Merlin showed them where they would eat.

“Most of the meals will be aimed at helping them be at their best for the tests. And if things get to noisy, you may eat in the courtyard. Once they finish their squabble, I will show you all where you will sleep and dress.”

Soon enough, they joined them in the dinning hall, but were back to yelling at Merlin because he showed Casey and Trevor were the food was and didn‘t wait for them. They stopped when the food came, and all ate in silence.

When all were full, Merlin showed them to their rooms, “Casey and her father have the room facing the sunrise and Bryce and his mother the room facing the sunset. Have a good night sleep, the maids will bring you cloths you can wear during your stay, but hold on to your other cloths for when you go home.”

During the day, Bryce and Casey underwent the tests that someone had setup for them.

Most were about fighting skill and defense, the others were held inside the main hall and were over etiquette.

But when night came, Casey and Trevor would sneak in to the library to see if they could find out anything that would tell them something about Casey’s powers and/or gemstone.

One day when the tests finished early, Casey and Trevor head to the library to continue their search.

They had already sifted through books on the tales of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

This time they went straight to a darkly lit area they knew didn’t have Arthur tales or battle/etiquette books.

Trevor sat down and started to thumb through a book as he said, “you know we may not find anything about your jewel.”

“Yeah, but we may find a fable that sounds like my life or something. In the end, we should be enlightened in some way,” Casey said in her most dramatic voice, and dodging a pillow that Trevor aimed at her for it.

Trevor pulls out a old looking book, “hard to believe one is here in this time,” and carefully opens it to try and read it. The pages flutter for a moment, then settle on a passage written in English but old style. “Casey, over here.”

Casey runs over and looks over his shoulder, “it’s hard to read the hand writing. What does it say?”

Trevor hummed as he tried to read it himself, “not easy for me either. I can see something about the stars. Arthur line, and maybe Merlin to. Calculations in years, with a few cross outs which must mean they are not sure about it. Something about powers, a little on Excalibur, over all looks like a prophecy about the Pendragon line.”

Casey took the book to get a another look, “Excalibur can only be wielded by one from the Pendragon line, related to Arthur. Everyone keeps mentioning something about the Stonehenges or the Camelots having a child from that line, so it could be referring to that. The stars could mean stars or meteorites, like the one that gave me my powers. Are we related to King Arthur?” her eyes were wide with wonder.

Trevor bit his lip to keep from laughing, took a breath and said, “no one can track their family that far back. There maybe more then one ‘tale’ on that page for all we know, one about the family line and another about the stars. Let me put it back so we can keep looking.”

They looked for another few hours, but in the end head for bed so Casey could get as much before the tests tomorrow.

When they had finished the tests for the day, Casey fell onto her bed and almost fell right to sleep, but soon heard footsteps. She sat up and readied herself for anything, but it was only Trevor checking on her. She fell back down, this time on her side, and let Trevor rub her side as he talked “another set of tests done. There seems no end to these tests, how do they determine who is right with all this.”

Casey shrugged “I don’t know how they grade the test, they may be seeing if we are able enough to do something” but ended with a big yawn.

Trevor laughed, and she tried to close her eyes for only a moment, but is woken to find Trevor holding her in his arms in the castle gardens.

Casey looks around and sees the sky filled with dark storm clouds and hears some commotion coming from somewhere. She tries to ask what is going on, but her powers flair again and grits her teeth to keep from screaming.

Trevor sees and makes a run for a door to the outside, dodging a few scattered guards makes it to the door and outside.

Outside though, nothing looks the same as when they arrived.

Casey grits her teeth again and whines in pain.

Trevor ran for the tree line thinking that the trees would give them plenty of cover. He laid Casey down and looked at her gem, it pulsed in an irregular pattern. He knelt down and listened to her heart, it was beating faster but not in the pattern of the gem.

Casey and her gem were out of sync again; he looked around but knew that there was nothing in this time that would help her. He leaned against a tree and held her close while she fought whatever was going on.

Trevor was nearly asleep when he hears a twig break. He grabs a thick stick and holds it like sword. He glances down only once when he hears Casey moan again, then looks up to see Merlin standing there exhausted. He asked “why are you here?”

Merlin sat down next to him and stokes Casey’s hair “we must finish the test now. The powers at work are falling apart, and Casey is a good example. Her powers are trying to compensate for the power going haywire, but they are against her again because of it.”

Trevor looks at Casey as he asked “can’t you do what you did last time.”

Merlin shook his head “that was to tell them that they are in a different time, I don’t know what to tell them to calm down now.”

Casey pushes away from Trevor and warps her arms around her self.

Trevor reaches for her, but is stopped by a force field. He looks to Merlin, who only shrug’s.

Moments later she roars and the force field shoots outward blowing anything within several yards of the them away. She collapsed into Trevor’s arms and slowly opens her eyes and says “we have one week” then faints.

Trevor and Merlin looked at each other with shock, then Trevor carries Casey to a hut that Merlin knows about.

By nightfall, Casey recovered from her powers restoring the ‘spell’ that had brought them all here.

Bryce and his mother walked in on them as they started to pack for the trip to the next, and hopefully last test. After some gripping from his mother, they packed a few things they thought they might need. At first light, they ate a small breakfast and set off.

Over the next few days, Casey, Trevor, Merlin, Bryce and his mother made a slow trek to the last testing area.

After a few stops for when Bryce and his mother needed one thing or another, they made it by sunset on the third day.

The test area was set by some stones that resembled a newer looking Stonehenge.

Merlin said that it was fine to sleep by or within the circle of stones, but Bryce and his mother slept by the trees while Casey and Trevor slept within the shadows of the stones to avoid the rising sun.

Well before sunrise, Casey wakes to see a shadowy group around the outer edge of the tree line. She quickly woke Trevor and pointed out the group, he then called for Merlin to ask him what was going on.

Merlin didn’t show up, and the group grew closer.

Trevor went to wake Bryce and his mother, but they just shoved him off and told him to get lost.

Trevor grabbed Casey by the hand and ran into the circle of stones to try and hide from whoever was out there.

As they stood waiting for the group to leave, they see something materialize in the center of the circle of stones.

Casey and Trevor move towards the center and see a roundish stone where a light is shaped like a sword sticking out of it.

Without knowing why, Casey walks up to the stone and tried to touch the lighted sword, but it sends out an even brighter light when she does.

Trevor grabs her and covers her with his body as the light seemed to spread out past the stones and into the trees.

The group then vanishes just as the light wakes up Bryce and his mother.

Bryce and his mother march over and start complaining, “what was that about? We were trying to sleep, a little consideration would be nice.”

They keep going well after Merlin shows up and motions for Casey and Trevor to join him outside the circle of stones. “So you saw Excalibur in the stone, pretty exciting right.”

Casey looked at the circle of stones as she said “yeah cool, but what was with the light. In the tales, Excalibur was given to Arthur by Merlin who got it from the lady of the lake.”

Trevor cleared his throat and stated “Merlin placed Excalibur in a stone and enchanted the stone so only the one who was worthy of wielding it. But he more or less rigged it to come out only for Arthur” he then gave Merlin a side-glance to see what he would say next.

Merlin stood tall as he said, “I never rigged anything. Arthur was the right man and the sword knew that. But now we must see who is the one to wield Excalibur and its power.” He then walked past the still complaining Bryce and mother and entered the circle of stones.

Casey and Trevor soon followed, with Bryce and mother close behind them.

The stone sat in the center with a few small stones around it like seats. Trevor and Bryce’s mother sat down, while Casey and Bryce stood on either side of the stone.

“So now what” ask Casey, looking to Trevor and Merlin for a lead.

But Bryce stepped up to the stone and grabbed the hilt, “you take it and run,” then pulled with all his might.

Excalibur though had other ideas, and sent Bryce flying.

Casey ran back to Trevor as the ground around the stone started to shake and quake.

They all ran outside the circle to avoid any fling debris, and when they turned back they saw the stone with Excalibur now on a high mound of dirt.

Bryce ran back even as his mother shouted “its to dangerous, come back” she then fell and rolled to the trees.

Trevor stared at her then at Bryce, ‘he just left his mother to get the glory’.

Casey grabbed Trevor and said “we need to get away from here, and take her with us. Bryce may have left her without a thought but we can’t” then walked over to her to see if she was all right.

Trevor joined her and stated, “We’ll be fine, go and take Excalibur. I think you’re meant to have it.”

Casey looked confused, she looked back at the hill and watched Bryce trying to climb “but what if it is meant for Bryce, I’d just be in the way.”

Trevor grabbed Casey’s shoulders and stated, “You have powers that no one else has. You should have Excalibur and defend people with it. Like Arthur, you’re the only one worthy, at least in my eyes.”

Casey hugged Trevor one last time, before starting the climb up to Excalibur.

Bryce sees and tries to slow her down by dropping rocks on her.

Casey blocks with her shield and keeps moving.

Bryce then slips and slides passed Casey and down another few feet.

Casey glances down to see him right himself, but continues. She is within grabbing distance of Excalibur, when she feels something grab her ankle. She looks down to see Bryce trying to pull her off the hill.

Casey just forces his hand off her ankle with her powers and pushes him down out of arms reach.

With Bryce wondering what just happened, Casey made a beeline for Excalibur.

When she got there, she stood there looking at it. She still wasn’t sure if she was the one that they all were searching. But then she heard Bryce behind her, and rolled away just before his hand came down. She looked and saw that he had a rock in his hand; he was trying to harm her. She knew she couldn’t use her powers on him so she dodged his efforts.

But after several minutes of this, Casey was growing tired.

Bryce saw his chance and shoved her with his foot in the chest.

Casey fell against a stone, a little out of breath from his kick. When she looked up and saw Bryce ready to hit her, she reached behind her to find her own rock to block his. She brought her hands back in front of her and sliced the rock with Excalibur from the stone.

Bryce staggered back then fell to the ground staring at Casey holding Excalibur.

Casey looked at the Excalibur in aw, she had heard all the tales of king Arthur, and know held the sword he used. She stood up and held it to the sky and it lit up like a floodlight.

Trevor and Merlin covered their eyes, while Bryce cowered in fear.

When the light faded they saw the area the same as before the earthquake with Casey looking down at Bryce.

Trevor ran over and said, “I knew you were meant to have it. Now we can go home, right Merlin.”

Merlin walked over supporting Bryce’s mother and said, “only Excalibur can take us back.”

Everyone then stared at Casey; she was the only one who could use Excalibur. She looked at it and smiled “I think I know what to do. But just in case, everyone close your eyes.” everyone did, except Trevor. He gave her a look of ‘are you sure’; she winked and held Excalibur in the air.

Trevor closed his eyes, and felt energy flying all-around him.

When the feeling was gone, they opened their eyes and found that they were back at the square, but everyone was still frozen.

Trevor looked around and saw Emily and ran to her with Casey close behind.

Trevor stated in an angry voice “Merlin said that everything would go back to normal when this whole thing was done, but they’re all still frozen. What do we do?” he stoked Emily’s check as a tear rolled down his.

Casey looked around but didn’t see Merlin, ‘no doubt hiding’ she thought, then turned her attention to Bryce and his mother. She had never really wiped some ones memories, but if they saw anything she did she had to make sure they would never remember. She raised her hand but felt something tickle her mind. She searched for the source, it was Excalibur.

It showed her what to do, and with it wiped Bryce and his mother’s memory of the whole event.

The sword then showed her how to release everyone from the frozen time state.

Within seconds everyone was murmuring about what just happened.

Casey turned when she heard her parents call and joined in a group hug with them.

Back at the house though, everyone was cross because somehow they knew what had happened.

Casey looked around for an escape, but knew she had to come clean.

Over the next few hours she explained how she got her powers, how long she has had them, and showed some of her abilities.

Her relatives then questioned her on what why and how, this time her parents helped.

By the time supper came, everyone was congratulating Casey on being the chosen one to wield Excalibur.

But once everyone was lounging after eating, she snuck up stairs to relax and figure out Excalibur.

Casey sat on the bed in the room her parents were using to sleep in during their stay, while her parents relaxed in the living room with the rest of the adults most likely still talking about Casey and her powers. She smoothly swung Excalibur like she had been doing it for years.

Looking closely at the blade she sees an etching and tries to read it, and managed to read ‘{



(find a site that turns English into Latin)



}’. She had no idea what it meant. She then tried to talk to it. She reached out with her mind and touched the jewel that was in the hilt and was thrown back into the pillows that were a couple feet behind her and sent a signal for help to her parents out of reflect.

Trevor runs in and holds her still while she gets her head back to normal.

After apologizing for bothering them, he leaves and lets her get back to her work. She took Excalibur in her hand and this time talked to it mentally as if she was talking to a person.

“So, your Excalibur” Casey began “have any good stories about Arthur that your willing to tell?”

Excalibur made a mental hum before saying, in an odd voice “I have stories not only about Arthur, but of Merlin and the lady of the lake. First things first, you and I have to form a bond/pack of sorts so we can ‘talk’ more easily.”

Casey looked at Excalibur confused, saying in return “we already worked together to get home, I don‘t see how…” but before she can finish her thought, she slowly lies down on the bed and falls into a light sleep.

*Casey first sees her parents sitting in the living room talking but can‘t hear them, then {is almost} pulled out of the house and flies through what looks like a warp hole.

When she stopped moving she saw Arthur and Merlin standing within a circle of stones. She wished she could see what exactly they were doing, blinked and was then next to them.

Though she was next to them she couldn‘t hear them. She looked around and saw that they were at Stonehenge. As they started to move she moved with them further into the circle.

As they neared the center, she felt a rise and fall of power all around her then screams mentally.*

Casey opened her eyes and sat up covered in a cold sweat. Excalibur vibrated in her hand and made a link to it, she asked, “What just happened?”

Excalibur stated, “Morgan le Fay was trying to get to you. She wants either your powers or mine. You have to…” At that moment, Casey let go of Excalibur and held her head as she screamed over what she was feeling.

Her parents and the rest of the family ran in to see what was going on.

Casey shifted from screaming to crying and curled into a ball on the bed. Her uncle and cousin carried her downstairs and placed her on the fold out bed in the living room.

Trevor sat next to her and tried to get her to tell them something, “Casey, please try to tell us what‘s wrong. Why did you scream? What is happening? Casey can you hear me?”

Casey only mumbled “Excalibur, where is Excalibur” she started to open and close her hand as if she was grasping onto something.

One of her older cousins brought it in and placed it next to her and moved her hand onto the hilt.

As her hand closed around the hilt, she seemed to settle down and regain her self. She looked at Excalibur with glowing eyes, then tried to sit up but was stopped by her parents on either side.

“Your not going anywhere until you tell us what just happened” Trevor ordered.

Casey looks at Trevor not with her normal strong eyes, but with tired and scared eyes as she said, “according to Excalibur, Morgan Le Fay wants something from me. But something tells that I should not give whatever it is to her, she might use it against the world”.

As she tried to make her way to the door, she stumbled again and this time was carried up to her room.

With several of her cousins keeping an eye on her, the adults gather in the den and try to understand what it all meant.

Trevor sat staring at Excalibur as he listened to everyone talk. “What would Morgan Le Fay want from her, she is only a child”, “yes, but a child with powers that no one else has. Maybe Morgan wants her powers to do something, and whatever it might be it can’t be good”, then someone who didn‘t really believe the tales of Arthur and all said “how do we know she hasn’t gone crazy or something.

Trevor looked at him with dagger eyes, and Emily turned to him and stated “Casey has a more sound mind then anyone I know, ever with the power to read minds. If she says that something is going on, then I believe her 100%.”

Trevor stood up saying “whatever is going on, I‘m not letting her go out in her currant state” he then took Excalibur in his hand “maybe I can use Excalibur to fight what ever…” he stopped mid-sentence and his eyes dilated for some reason.

Everyone stood there, and watched to see what will happen next, and help if he needed I any.

*Trevor looked around; he was somehow in a courtyard of a large building. He blinked and was somehow moved inside a small hut, where two men were talking.

One man at the fire, like he was gazing into the flames, the other man was sitting on a stone with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Trevor looked more closely and noticed that the sword looked exactly like Excalibur. Trevor‘s eyes widened, the man with the sword was Arthur and the man at the fire was Merlin.

Before he could voice his thought, he felt wind whip around him.

When the wind settled he took a look around but was now in open plain. He clenched his hands and felt Excalibur in his hand, but when he raised it to eye level he heard someone say, “your daughter maybe hardheaded, but you should be of more sound mind”.

Trevor spins around and sees a woman coming towards him.

Where most men would have fell for the woman’s beauty, Trevor found nothing that drew him to her.

The woman spoke again “why don’t you just give me Excalibur and I’ll leave you all alone. You don’t need it, and I can put it to better use” she then reach out to take it.

But Trevor knew what she was trying and stepped out of her reach, “my guess is your Morgan Le Fay, the one who is after my daughter. I will fight you if I have to in order to protect her.”

Morgan Le Fay threw back her head and laughed like it was joke “how sweat. But you can‘t do a thing, the reason being because you’re in a dream world. But I can do what I want with you.” she started to chant a spell.

Trevor started to panic, he didn‘t know how to handle psychic powers, let alone magic spells. He raised Excalibur hopping it might help. Morgan let loose a thunderbolt headed straight for Trevor. He closed his eyes, waiting for the worst to happen, but at the last second he felt a familiar swirl of energy surrounding him. He opened his eyes to see a purple-blue being blocking Morgan‘s attack.

It turned towards him and said in a clear voice “get out of here while I have her covered.”

Before Trevor could think about how to get out, he blinked and found himself back in the den*. He laid Excalibur back on the table and took Emily in his arms.

Keylee glanced at Excalibur before asking, “what happened? You OK Trevor.”

Trevor said in a serious voice “I saw Morgan Le Fay, and I know what she wants. She wants Excalibur.”

Before they could talk further, some of the younger kids come in saying “we think Casey is having a nightmare.” Trevor and Emily ran out of the den and headed off to check on Casey.

Up stairs they saw most of the kids waiting outside the room Casey was resting. Inside Casey was covered in sweat and breathing irregularly.

Emily felt her forehead and said, “she has a fever, maybe Morgan Le Fay’s earlier attempt is causing it.”

But Trevor thought otherwise and said “when I blackout downstairs, I saw Merlin and Arthur with Excalibur on Arthur’s belt. Then a wind changed where I was and I saw Morgan Le Fay. She tried to tempt me into giving her Excalibur, but when it didn‘t work she attacked. A blue person stopped the attack, and I think it was Casey taking the full force and now she paying for it.”

Emily‘s eyes widened at what he said and turned back to Casey. She pulled down Casey‘s shirt to see what the gem was doing. When she did, both Emily and Trevor stepped back in shock.

Casey gem was almost completely blacked out, only a small light in the center showed that she still had power.

No one knew what to do or how to help.

One of the adults ran to get a thermometer to check Casey‘s temperature, while several of the kids ran to get blankets and hand towels.

Those who were left just standing quietly left the room, if anyone had any idea how to help her they did.

Moments later one of the older kids brought Excalibur in since it did something around both Casey and Trevor.

Now that it was only the three of them, Trevor pulled a small table over and set Excalibur on it. He then sat down opposite Emily and asked “do you think I would be able to take on Morgan Le Fay by myself?”

Emily looked at him with wide eyes and said “you may be the reason Casey was chosen, but you don‘t have anyway of using the power that might be…”

Trevor turned to Emily when she said ‘might’ and stated, “it showed me the past as if I was really there, and I felt Morgan‘s power. Casey is the only one who has a chance of beating her, but she can‘t do anything the way she is right now. I just thought that maybe I can use the power in Excalibur to fight her in some way and protect Casey, since she has protected just about everyone at one point or another.”

Emily stood up and walked over to where Excalibur sat and reached out a hand to touch it. When her hand was inches away, a large spark arced from the hilt and hit her in the middle of her hand.

Emily jumped back and rubbed her hand with her other hand.

Trevor walked over to Emily and rubbed her hand as he asked, “What happened?”

“I just wanted to look at it, but when I got close it shocked me. Does it do that to those that aren‘t worthy?” Emily asked as she looked at Excalibur.

Trevor held Emily as he said “maybe. I held Excalibur and it didn‘t hurt me. It may be that Casey and I are actually descendants of Arthur, and it somehow knows the difference between us. What am I saying, I don‘t have a clue how it knows.” he walked back and sat down on the bed and took another look at Casey‘s gemstone, hopping it had changed in some way. Someone finally came with a thermometer. She did have a fever, nearly 101.9`.

Trevor rubbed Casey’s head and said, “we can’t do anymore tonight. I say we carry her back to our room and have her sleep with us incase something else happens.” and takes Casey into his arms. Everyone stayed out of his way as he made his way back to the room that he and Emily were sleeping in. He set Casey down in the middle of the bed, and covered her with the thickest blanket in the room.

Emily checked her temperature again, “its gone up. Its now nearly 103`! If it gets any higher…” but covered her mouth to try and stop from sobbing.

Trevor draped a blanket over Emily as he said, “we can’t do anything now. All we can do is stand by and wait to see what we can do to help her. This might be her toughest battle, and I don’t know if she has her powers to help her or not,” he adjust the blanket over Casey, “please hang on baby, please.” then sat down next the Emily, to wait out the night.

*Casey didn’t know where she was or how she got here.

The last thing she remembers was entering Trevor’s mind and stopping Morgan-la-fey from hurting him.

But when he woke up, she felt something grab onto her. She tried to get out and wake up, but it was like a wall was holding her back. She reached out with her powers, and realized they didn’t work in this world. She sat down on what she thought was the floor, and tried what Trevor sometimes did when he felt stuck.

Think things through, there is likely a simply way out.

She didn’t feel a wall, but she didn’t feel herself in another place either. Her telepathy didn’t work, but maybe it worked differently here.

This time she didn’t simply reach outward, she focused on her parents.

Slowly she could see an image of them sitting by their bed, with her under the covers sweating and breathing hard. Her body was under one kind of stress, and her mind was held in another. She went further by touching Trevor’s mind, he was more receptive when she used her powers on him. He jerked awake, looked around, then went to the bed and rubbed the side of her face. This was her chance.

She called out, ‘dad, can you hear me?’

Trevor’s eyes went wide, but he nodded.

‘I am trapped in a dream world, or something. Where is Excalibur?’

Trevor took the sword from the table and laid it next to Casey, then set her hand on the hilt of the sword. She tried to get her hand to close around the hilt, but it didn’t budge. ‘my body wont respond to my mind. What do I do’ she sounded desperate to Trevor.

He placed his hand over hers, and gently closed both their hands. She instantly felt a surge of familiar power, and grabbed onto.*

Casey gasped awake the next mourning. She may have gotten back in her body, but the whole thing may have taken all night and she just slept through the rest. Her mom and dad were asleep in each other arms.

They had stayed with her through the night, they had to be tired. She tried to sit up, but she ached all over from the fever she was just getting over. “what a night. I still would like to know how I ended up there, outside of my body.”

Trevor moaned awake, and smiled as he saw Casey awake after the long night. “good to see you awake, and in full control of yourself.”

Casey managed a small laugh, “if I was not so sore from an apparent fever I had during the night, I would toss a pillow at you. My powers are so drained I can’t do a thing.”

Trevor pressed his hand against Casey’s forehead, “your fever seems to be gone. I’ll double check once I wake your mom, and show that you are ok.”

He tried nudging, pulling at the blanket, and rubbing Emily’s shoulders but she just snuggled down for a bit more sleep.

“ok then. Hold this under your tongue, and I will see if I can find some food for you. If she wakes up before I get back, I should hear her thankful squeals and you struggling to breath in her overjoyed hug.” he stuck the thermometer in Casey’s mouth, pinched her chin and nose to make sure her mouth was closed, and finally headed to the kitchen.

Casey stared at the bedroom doorway waited for Trevor to return. She glanced at her mom, still fast asleep in the oversized chair they had slept in while keeping an eye on her.

They all still had a huge problem. Morgan-le-Fay was after Excalibur, and would do anything to get it.

If she did plan on taking Morgan down, Casey would need to be at full strength of both body and powers.

Casey slowly brought her arms up under her armpits, then pressed them into the bed to try and sit up. She was nearly upright, when one elbow gave out and she leaned hard to one side and yelped for help.

Emily jerked awake at the sound of Casey’s cry, and immediately helped her back into bed. “oh baby, I am so glad your ok,” and hugged Casey tight.

Casey giggled, “I love you to mom.”

Trevor walked in to find Emily hugging Casey like she was a stuffed toy. “Emily let her breath,” he set the tray of food down, and gently nudged Emily away so he could get the thermometer. “you are back to normal temps.”

“great, so now I can…” Casey threw back the covers and stood on her feet, and immediately grabbed her head, “wow, head rush.”

“take it easy, you will stay in bed for a few more days before we even think of letting you back outside. Now sit down and eat something. Emily keep an eye on her while I go find some coffee for us,” Trevor turned back to the door, and tried to cover a big yawn.

Emily pulled Trevor back to the bed, “you need rest as much as Casey. Both of you stay here, I will see about getting some food for you and me, and something to drink.” and shut the door as she walked out.

Casey turned and saw Trevor staring dropped jawed at the door. “was she like that when you first met?”

“what was your mother like when we met? That is more then a few days of chatting there. Now back to food. I know chicken soup is not the normal thing we give you in the mourning, but figured good starting meal after everything you went through. I think I got it at the right temp,” Trevor handed a cup of soup to Casey, watching her hands steadily hold the cup.

Casey breathed in the smell of the soup, and felt herself relaxing. “chicken smells really good,” she took a big gulp, “and just the right temp. is there anything you can tell me before mom comes back?”

“we’ll save that long talk for after everything settles back down. Right now drink as much as you can, then we’ll see how you are feeling,” Trevor brushed Casey’s hair away from her face, and double checked for any side affects of the fever.

Casey was halfway through the soup when Emily came back with two mugs in one hand, and a sealed pitcher of tea.

“there is enough tea downstairs for both sides of an army. Have you checked her gemstone yet?”

Trevor slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, “hadn’t crossed my mind, till now. Excuse me Casey.” he pulled down Casey’s shirt, and saw the gemstone nearly completely lit. “that is a vary good sign, but I am still not sure about you facing Morgan le Fay.”

“I’m not sure myself. I have faced a wide range of bad guys, every someone who was using the black stone I am weak to, but feeling her inside my head was vastly different. She has so much power, and controls it with ease. I feel like an amateur compared to her. If she does come for Excalibur, I don’t think I can stop her,” Casey kept her eyes down, looking at the soup left in the cup.

Trevor lifted Casey face up by her chin, looked her in the eye and said, “that maybe, but you are on the side of good in this case. In all the legends she is known to manipulate things to do as she wanted. I think the saying is, good will triumph over evil.”

“I think that is from the bible Trevor,” Emily commented as she poured tea for them both.

“I believe you are right. Wait, the legends. We maybe able to find her weakness by reading the old tales,” Trevor nearly jumped to his feet, ready to do something.

Casey cocked her head to the side and asked, “what language are they in? the tales.”

“there…in old English,” Trevor sat back down on the bed, looking crestfallen, “someone did try and teach me, but I had no interest at the time.”

“is that person still alive? Maybe we can, oh,” Casey looked at Excalibur laying on the table. She made a simple link and asked, “can you read old English?”

Excalibur thrummed, “I can not read, but if you hold me I can help you read from the old days. If we are to beat Morgan, we must form bond/pack just as Arthur and I did.”

Casey furrowed her brow, “how do we do that? We can talk via my powers. What else is there?”

Excalibur remained silent.

Casey sighed heavily, “they tell you have to do something, but not how.”

Trevor glanced at Excalibur, “did I miss something?”

“he said he can help me read the old English, and something about a bond/pack. I thought Arthur just drew the sword from the stone,” Casey said while trying to make the spoons in the cups spin around, but nothing happened.

Trevor shook his head at Casey’s attempt, took the nearly empty cup from her and stated, “there are different versions. One has him drawing the sword from a stone, others getting it right from Merlin, yet another right from the lady of the lake but that last one gets confusing. Most all of them say he could do several things with that sword, including shooting lighting.”

Emily crossed her arms as she looked at Excalibur, “who named Excalibur?”

Trevor opened and closed his mouth a few times before saying, “no idea. Everyone thought it was called that before Arthur got it.”

“aren’t some bonds/packs given names for one reason or another. Some old houses have names. Is it the same thing?” Casey crawled to the end of the bed, trying to get closer to Excalibur.

Trevor grabbed Casey around her middle, and put her back by the pillow, “stay put. You might be on the right track with the name thing. A family bond/pack is the name, our last name is Stonehenge so that would be our bond/pack. Maybe you have to form a bond/pack, by giving him a new name; you must name him.”

Casey groaned, “I have trouble naming my stuffed animals. It has to be as amazing as it’s first name, if Excalibur is it’s first name. now you’ve got me calling him a it!”

“it should fit with you, or the other you; as in Crystal. Maybe some old fairy tales will help. I’ll go see if they have any here,” Emily ran out of the room before Trevor could say, “we don’t read those books to kids here.”

Trevor rolled his eyes, “I better go help her. Stay in bed,” he kissed Casey on the forehead, and then ran to catch up to his wife.

Casey laid back down on the pillows, already feeling pretty tired. She mentally went through all the tales her parents had red to her over the years, from princess to mystery to try and find a good name. She drifted to sleep as she whispered one word, “dragon”.

Excalibur vibrated for a brief moment, as if it felt something, but went still again.

*Crystal fought back the monsters with energy orbs, firing them as fast as she could.

The orbs hit the monsters, and splattered everywhere before sliding back together and reforming the monsters.

‘sense when could they regroup like that?’ Crystal wondered, firing more orbs.

After several more monsters splash into some buildings, they all join into one big thing. Morgan-le-Fay.

Crystal fired orbs in rapid succession, trying to take Morgan down.

Morgan laughed as the orbs bounced off her without doing a thing. She reached out and grabbed Crystal in both hands.

Crystal screamed and tried to break free.* Casey whimpered in her sleep, her dream making her feel like she couldn’t move.

Trevor walked back in, with Emily right behind him. He stated, “those are not the tales we read around here. Now lets sit down and…Casey you ok?”

Emily tried to lift one of Casey’s arms, but it didn’t budge. “is she holding her arm down or what?”

Trevor tried lifting Casey up underneath, but couldn’t get his hands under her. “she must be dreaming of something holding her.”

Emily asked wide eyed, “do you think it is Morgan, attacking her in her dreams?”

“I don’t know what to think. Casey you have to wake up. Can you hear me? It’s dad, wake up,” Trevor took Casey’s face in his hands, tears well up in his eyes.

Casey felt a surge of energy run up her spine and gasped awake, eyes wide. She stammered, “dad? Where’s Morgan?”

Trevor shook his head, “no one has been in this room Casey. You fell asleep, and Morgan may have attacked from inside your dream.”

“what happened in your dream,” Emily asked, rubbing Casey’s freed arm.

“I was fighting bog beasts, like always. Whenever one of my attacks hit them, they sprayed out onto the buildings. Eventually they joined together and became a huge Morgan. I attacked her, but she just laughed and grabbed me in her hands. Guess she held me in place with her vast powers,” Casey sunk back into bed, feeling down.

Trevor took Excalibur from the table, and set it next to Casey. “I don’t know if you are related to Arthur or not, but Excalibur chose you over several others. If you two work together, Morgan will not stand a chance.”

Casey smiled, and hugged Trevor around the neck, “thanks dad, I needed that. As for the bond/pack thing, I still can’t think of a good name. I shouldn’t use a name that can be used in everyday conversation to avoid confusion, but I am not one for making up names. Did either of you have pets when you were younger?”

Emily shook her head, “I never had a pet. Some relatives did, but I never heard them call for them by name.”

Trevor cleared his throat before answering, “we had a few dogs, and one was name Beowulf after the story. The others were named, but not in easy English.”

Casey felt a buzz from Excalibur. “I am not calling him Beowulf. I am feeling better, so can we go for a walk through town and look around.”

Trevor pulled the sheets back, “after we see if you are up for some walking. Walk to the door, chair, and then back to the bed. One stumble and your back in bed.”

Casey held Excalibur out for Emily to take.

Emily looked the sword up and down, unsure after what happened the last time she nearly touched it.

Casey smiled, “he knows who you are now. Just hold for me till I’m done.”

Emily slowly closed her hand on the hilt, and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt no jolt going through her body.

Casey pushed herself off the bed, and did the small track Trevor told her to go. She only stumbled once, as her feet brushed over a pillow. She got back to the bed, and stated, “I would call that rigging the track, dad.”

Trevor picked up the pillow, and covered his face with it, “yeah, should have cleaned up a bit in here. You are clear, and as soon you get dressed we will go out for some fresh air.”

Casey cheered up as she barreled out of the room, barely avoiding running into her cousins who were just walking around.

After thudding around for some cloths, Casey makes it downstairs where Trevor and Emily are waiting for her.

In town everything looked peaceful. The people were going about with their daily lives, getting food and chatting about this and that.

Casey kept glancing around, not being able to feel if something was coming. She looked back, and walked into Trevor’s back. “sorry dad,” she blushed a cherry red.

Trevor hugged Casey with one arm around the shoulders, “if I remember, it took your gem thing a few days before it would sense anything.”

“but I know something that might put you at easy, just a little,” Emily said, and held Excalibur out for Casey to take back.

Casey slid Excalibur into his hide away sheath, “thanks mom. Now I’ll be ready if…anyone tries anything out of the ordinary.”

Keeping her hand on Excalibur’s hilt, Casey did a little sight seeing with her parents.

Just about everyone knew Trevor, so Emily and Casey were left waiting for him to finish talking about the local ‘gossip’.

Emily said to Casey, after Trevor had been pulled over to talk for the tenth time, “is he the celebrity around here or what? From what he told me of his time in America, he had a small group of friends, and then just liked hanging with me.”

Casey shrugged, rubbing the jewel at the base of the sword with her thumb, “he was new in America, so whoever was his friend probably knew and understood. As for here, he has been gone for years, so there are bound to be several people who want to catch up with him and catch him up on what has happened around here.”

Trevor finally tore himself away from his ‘fans’, “sorry, again. Most everyone seems to be repeating the same few topics, and mention one or two new ones before I can get away. How would you two feel about a walk outside of town?”

Emily and Casey exchange looks, and then chuckle when they both say, “we’re good with that.”

Taking back streets, they reach the outskirts of town with few interruptions.

Trevor breathed deeply, “feels good to be home. Oh, Em, sorry I didn’t mean.”

Emily leaned in and kissed Trevor for a long moment, “I am happy wherever you are, as long as I’m with you.”

Casey could see them getting a lovey-dovey look in their eyes. “I would say get a room, but we just got out of town. I am going on ahead while you two…oh my head!” she fell onto her knees, holding her head in pain.

Emily and Trevor immediately went to Casey’s side. “Casey what’s wrong?” “Casey what is going on?”

Casey could feel Excalibur trying to make contact with her, but it felt like something else was screaming inside her head. “I just hear something loud, and screeching. Is there anything nearby?”

Emily and Trevor looked around.

Trevor spotted only one thing, but he was scared to tell Casey or Emily.

Several yards away, stood Morgan-le-Fay in cloths from the time of King Arthur.

Trevor called out to Morgan, “doesn’t seem right, using your powers to more or less disarm my daughter and take Excalibur from her.”

Casey suddenly fell onto her side, exhausted. She looked at Trevor, and could just see someone behind him far away. “please tell me that is not Morgan standing behind you dad.”

Trevor brought his ear close to Casey’s ear, and said, “it is her, and you know why she is here. Your mom and I can try and distract her while you try and get away.”

Casey pushed Trevor away as she got back on her feet, “no dad. You and mom get back to the house, I’ll take care of her.”

Trevor stepped away from Casey, taking Emily by the arm and heading back to tell the family what was about to happen.

Casey slowly drew Excalibur out of it’s sheath, and drawing on the power in the sword shifted to Crystal.

Morgan clapped her hands, “that is quite a trick you have there. Now there are a few options for you to choose from. 1, you can just hand over Excalibur. 2, you may place it in the tree that is just behind me.”

Crystal raised Excalibur, and saw her face reflected in the blade, “option 3, you can try and take him from me.”

“him? Why would you…doesn’t matter. You want to do this the hard way, fine by me.” Morgan changed into a dark spirit thing, and shot into the air.

Crystal said to Excalibur, “if I turn into energy, will you somehow come with me?”

Excalibur thrummed in her hands, “send some of your energy into me, and I will come right along with you.”

Crystal took a deep breath, and changed both her and the sword into energy then followed Morgan.

After a brief moment of feeling like she was going through something thick, Crystal found herself on what looked like the same hill with a tall tree not far from her.

Crystal asked, “where are we? It doesn’t look like we went anywhere.”

“you are so wrong child.” Crystal spun around, sword high, and saw Morgan coming towards her.

Morgan continued, “this is what you would call, the energy world. Only those, like us, can come into the this freely. Here, our powers are multiplied, though it may not help you. You must be trained to handle the power given, and I have had eons to learn and practice. Cense it is your first time, I will let you make the first move.”

Crystal surveyed this new world.

Everything pretty much looked as it did in the real world, but she could feel her skin tingle from the energy in the air; she almost felt over loaded from the feeling of it.

Excalibur buzzed Crystal awake. “this world is a prison, and she is the prisoner. We must beat her and get back home, to your parents.”

An image of Casey’s parents played through her head.

Crystal closed her eyes and focused, “thanks. She has me beat in knowing this world, but she doesn’t know what I can do with my powers.” she pointed the end of the sword at Morgan, and fired a beam of blue energy right at her.

Morgan smirked, and simply turned the beam away from herself. “now it’s my turn.” she vanished for a second, but then reappeared right in front of Crystal.

Crystal jerked back a step, but Morgan aimed her open palm at her and fired a black energy orb at close range.

Crystal flew back, dropping Excalibur, and hit the tree hard. She fell onto her side, stunned and dazed.

Morgan laughed, “and here I thought you would be a challenge, my mistake. Now to claim my prize and finally leave this cursed world.”

Crystal could see Morgan walking toward Excalibur, but did have energy to even blast a orb at her.

Crystal knew she had to do something, but what? She looked at Excalibur, and remembered he told her they had to make a bond/pack between them. She racked her brain for names she could call him, but her mind was a utter blank. She shut her eyes and wailed, “I failed, I failed everyone, just because I can’t think of a simple name.” she clenched her hands into fists, grabbing the grass. She looked down, and saw her tear falling into a shape of something. She started to wipe the tears away thinking it would be a star, but stopped and really looked.

Slowly the tears rolled into the shape of a…dragon?

Crystal jerked her head up, and saw Morgan reaching for the sword. She shouted, “DRAGON-BLADE!”

A loud hum echoed through the world, making everything vibrate.

Morgan looked around, confused, but bent over to grab the sword anyway.

The sword raised off the ground, and flew to within inches of where Crystal lay.

Crystal looked at the sword, and noticed the gem was now the same color as her own gemstone. She grabbed the hilt with one hand, and felt her powers merge seamlessly with the power of the sword.

The sword glowed bright as it under went a change of appearance. From the old broad blade and ornate hilt, to a ever changing blade and a hilt that looked like the head neck and wings of a dragon.

When it done, a much thinner long blade came out of the hilt.

Crystal could hear a higher hum from the blade, and heard a more female voice, “now we are one, and can take Morgan down.”

“then lets do this, together,” Crystal took the hilt in both hands, and let the sword do the rest.

Morgan backed away, now truly afraid of the new pair.

Crystal held the sword straight up, and called up a huge thunder storm over head. “time to end this for good,” she swung down hard, swinging a beam of her own power and at the same time sending down a lighting bolt at Morgan.

Morgan screamed as the combined energy somehow burned her from the inside out, and then fell onto her knees her head just hanging. A breeze picked up, and carried her body away like she was a pile of dust till there was nothing left.

Crystal let Dragon-Blade hang by her side as she breathed a sigh of relief, “was not positive that would work. Oh, I should ask. How do you like you new name?”

Dragon-Blade giggled in Crystal’s mind, “it fits us. Here’s a bit of info, Arthur meant to say Excelsior but it came out sounding more Excalibur and it just stuck. I never felt one with him, but then again he didn’t have his own powers to complement mine.”

“someone is getting a big ego, or blade. But now that it is all over, how do I get home?” Crystal asked, wondering how she got in here before.

Dragon-Blade laughed, “no problem there.” the blade became a column of energy, and then zipped back into the hilt. The two wings flip up and formed a triangle at the top of the hilt. “just looked through the triangle, and you’ll see the way back.”

Crystal lifted the hilt and looked through the angle, and saw a ripple in the tree she had slammed into before. “how come I didn’t get thrown back before? Whatever. Time to get home,” she ran at the ripple, and came out heading for town.

Crystal shifted back to Casey and tried to slow herself down, but just ended up rolling down hill. She was soon feeling sick, “can someone put on the brakes?” suddenly she came to a stop.

Casey opened one eye, and saw Trevor smiling down at her.

Trevor gathered Casey in his arms, happy to see her in one piece, “you had me, and everyone worried.”

Casey put her arms around her dad’s neck, and rested her head on his shoulder, “your not the only one’s. at first I was sure she had me beat, she even tossed me like a old shirt. She nearly had Excalibur, but then I came up with a name. Dragon-Blade. What do you think?”

“it fits you baby. You can tell the rest of what happened when we get back, and if you are still awake.”

Casey yawned, “maybe a nice nap first.” she closed her eyes, and softly snored.

Trevor kissed Casey on the forehead before making his way back home.

Everyone came at once when they saw Trevor coming back, with Casey in his arms. “is she ok?” “what happened?” “did she beat Morgan up?” “why is she asleep?”

Emily waited at the door, and watched as Trevor threaded his way to her. She asked, stroking Casey’s cheek, “how was she when you found her?”

“alive, and rolling down a hill. Lets all bunk in our room tonight,” Trevor suggested, still hearing a hundred questions being asked behind him.

Emily laughed and nodded.

They quickly walked back to their room, shut and blocked the door, and then finally settled into the large chair together. With Casey on their laps, they all fell asleep and only woke when someone knocked on the door rather loudly.

Trevor heard his dad shout through the door, “come down if you three want something to eat.”

Casey stretched and slid to the floor.

Emily laughed, “careful baby. Is your dad always like this?”

Trevor looked at the door with a glare, “unfortunately, yes. Casey, you hungry? Be warned your family may have questions, and they will come a mile a minute.”

Casey sat up and reached her hands up, and fell on her back, “might as well get it out of the way. Oh, I haven’t shown you Dragon-Blade.”

Emily mouthed, “Dragon-Blade,” to Trevor as a question, but he just shrugged.

Casey stood up and drew the hilt from behind her head, “Dragon-Blade, the former Excalibur.”

The wings flip out, and a thin long flat blade shot up.

Emily and Trevor’s jaws dropped.

“are you sure that is, was Excalibur?” Trevor asked, looking the sword up and down.

“maybe Morgan switched them,” Emily tried to reason.

Casey grinned, and focused on the blade.

The blade shrank back into the hilt, then came back out as board blade shot instead.

“it’s like me, lots of tricks. Hope you two don’t mind if I fudge a few details,” Casey asked as she put the now just hilt back behind her.

Trevor cleared his throat, “you may have to. I don’t think even my family will believe even half what I just saw, let alone what you will say about where you went.”

Casey locked her fingers together and placed them behind her head, “yeah, hopefully D-B can help me keep it believable.”

Trevor grabbed a pillow, and threw it at Casey as she ran out of the room. “she is such a smarty pants.”

Emily pushed herself out of the chair, “she gets it from your side of the family.”

Trevor jumped out of the chair, and playfully pushed Emily back into it as he ran after Casey.

Emily laughed as she ran after Trevor.

Casey started by telling her family where she thought she had gone to fight Morgan. “we were in a kind of energy based world. Everything looked the same, except only natural elements existed. She did hit hard, but I won with…Excalibur’s help.”

The questioning began.

“how did you get into the other world?”

“I followed Morgan and ended up there.”

“who made the first move?”

“she allowed me to attack first, though she knew I had little know how of how to fight there.”

“how did you win?”

“using a combo of my powers and Excalibur’s thunder trait, we burned her. No other way put it.”

“how did you get home?”

“I went back through the way I came in, but I was going to fast and rolled down the hill.”

Trevor added, “and into my waiting arms.”

The questions went on, but none of them made sense to Casey.

Finally Trevor’s father gave the order to go to bed, and put an end to the questioning.

Dragging a sleeping bag to her parents room, Casey slept through the night with no fever or fear of anyone or anything coming after her.

For the rest of their vacation, Trevor Emily and Casey relaxed and even did a little shopping in town.

Trevor introduced his wife and daughter to anyone who said hello to them, and then had to give lengthy tale of how he met Emily and his life sense then.

In the last week of their stay Trevor went for a walk along the plains, and found Casey lounging in the sun again. He leaned over her, blocking the sun, and asked, “having fun I hope?”

Casey giggled, “you get the feeling this has happened before?” she put her hand out for a help up.

Trevor grabbed Casey’s hand and pulled her onto her feet. “well, you do deserve some rest during your vacation, in more ways then one. Care to join me in a walk among the hills?”

Casey gave a mock curtsey, “thank you good sir, I would love to,” then made a run for it as Trevor tried to tickle her for the sarcasm.

After running for several minutes, Trevor dived at Casey, and holding on to each other rolled down the hill behind the house. They stopped feet from the back door, but didn’t move feeling like everything was still spinning.

They do hear, “you two look like your having fun.” they cautiously look up, and see Emily standing in the doorway with a wide grin on her face.

Casey laid her head back on Trevor’s chest. “can we stay right here, for a moment longer?”

Trevor groaned in agreement, “rolling down a hill sounds like fun, but the end result bites hard.”

“fine, just came to tell you I made snacks. Peanut butter and caramel, with bananas mixed in, all in a pie crust with cinnamon crumble on top,” Emily stated, and just walked back inside as if nothing happened.

Casey and Trevor looked at each other for a second, then he pushed her off him then stumbled onto his feet.

Casey got to her feet, but walked sideways and just fell over within a few steps.

They both struggled and stumbled their way inside, where three smoothies sat on the kitchen table.

Trevor glared at Emily, took one step and fell against her.

Not ready for the move, Emily lost her balance and the two fell onto the floor.

Casey sat in one of the chairs at the table, and sipped her smoothie while watching her mom try and figure out how to get dad back on his feet when he couldn’t stand up to well. “you got your ‘just desert’ mother.”

Emily only glanced at Casey, trying to help Trevor off her by pushing him upward, “I wanted to talk about our plans for when we got home. The only thing I could think of to get you both in the same room was mentioning your favorite treat. You should be fine by now, so get off!”

Trevor easily stood up, and helped Emily to her feet, “had to teach you a lesson, don’t make up such good sounding deserts. I thought we weren’t going to worry about any of that till later. This is our vacation, we should enjoy ourselves, and maybe have some of the made up pie.”

“just tell me if you are going try and have more kids,” Casey stated, and blushed deep pink.

Emily got a evil look in her eye, “more kids, that is an idea. Lets start right here.” she put her arms Trevor neck.

Casey shoved her way out of her chair, and ran out of the room.

Trevor shook his head, “she doesn’t have a very good memory. After struggling to have her, we never thought of having another kid. Shall we try and make that pie now?”

Emily bit her lip, “they only have a few ingredients here, not enough to even try and make the pie. How about a movie instead?”

“sounds good,” Trevor led Emily into the living room, one arm around the middle of her back.

For the remainder of the week, Trevor and Emily relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the town; Casey and the rest of the kids and teens helped around the house and town, feeling like they had to do something other than just laying on the grass doing nothing.

Trevor Emily and Casey make it home a few days before school starts.

The night before school, Casey had a nightmare that the whole world found out her secret. She told her parents the next mourning. “do you think it means anything?”

Trevor leaned on the kitchen table, thinking over what Casey said, “it might not be anything. My family found out who you were, but they didn’t have a problem. You maybe stressing because school is starting today.”

“don’t worry, everything will be fine. I’ll come with you to school, cense it really doesn’t start till tomorrow and I need to meet your teachers and all that. Go get dressed,” Emily waved her hand at the stairs, signaling Casey to leave.

Once Casey was upstairs, Emily continued, “do you think she could have had a premonition?”

“no, I think she is still stressed about my family finding out. She is vary careful, and it is unlikely the whole world would ever find out. You better get ready to go out, or she may try and get in your head,” Trevor said with a chuckle.

“she wouldn’t dare, I am her mother. Your right, we are over thinking this dream thing.”

Casey came bouncing downstairs, turned and ran for the door.

Emily grabbed her coat and keys, and ran after Casey out the front door.

Trevor raised an eyebrow, “she may have gotten her powers from me, but her endless energy maybe from you Em.”