It was the middle of a bright day when the Berrygrewd children played around in the Marketplace, a large shopping center that most people go to, and yes, that was the name that the founder thought was easy to remember. It may be far from their home, but the kids sure had fun riding the carriage, after all, the Capital Marketplace was the biggest branch there was in the land of Etheron.

The twins, Rose and Pansy Berrygrewd, couldn't stop changing their pace from one market stand to another. Poor gentle Rose being dragged by brash Pansy as their energy of excitement does not match enough of their curiosity. In other words, these two were the opposites: Rose had smooth, light, red hair while Pansy had curly, dark, brown hair. Rose wore a vivid warm color dress, while Pansy wore dark, cool overalls. Rose was conservative, while her twin… not so much.

"Whoa, look at these fruits!" Pansy's eyes widened at the sight of them on each of the trays displayed on the stall.

Rose had enough of her twin's sweaty hands grasping her arm, but she had no other choice. "Mhm, I can see it, Pansy. Can you let go of me now, please?"

The oldest child, Holly Berrygrewd, kept telling them not to crash into someone, to watch over the bumps, and even telling Pansy not to touch or steal any exotic products and put the blame on Rose. Like a typical elder sister, she was the responsible one. She liked to wear pastel colors (especially green) and keep her brown hair’s length not closer to her shoulder. For the occasion, she wore a pastel green dress. Holly made sure that those two weren't far enough from their dear mother, who was busy picking apples. "You two, slow down, will ya?"

Catching up to his sisters, MaXabiere Berrygrewd, or Xabe for short, carried two bags, each containing fruits, vegetables, garments, and even other meats which were not available at their home. "Yeah, slow down," the boy panted.

"Xabe!" He turned around to see his dear mother, Elise Berrygrewd, waving at him. "Tell your sisters I'm almost done, okay?"

"Okay, mom." Xabe wanted to reach his voice to her, but couldn't cup his hand at the side of his mouth because of the bags. He looked around to see his sisters were far beyond the crowd. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," he muttered.

Despite the weight of the bags, Xabe didn't even think of letting go as if his hands did not need resting- like carrying four bags at once wasn't a big deal for a ten-year-old boy.

Soon he noticed that more crowds began running behind him and in the direction of where his sisters were. He scanned their smiles and excitement. Xabe decided to join in by passing through them to see his sisters standing in awe.

His eyes gazed at a large street. The young boy saw criminals arrested by none other than the magical heroes known as the Flash guardians. As far as the Berrygrewd family knew, they were not specific individuals, who, as long as they had the nerves of steel, hearts of gold, souls of platinum, and the minds of titanium, possess magical abilities and practice spells to aid the ones in need and stop whatever threatening peace not just in Etheron, but in the entire Enchanterian world.

Xabe came close to them. "What's going on?"

"Raiders. They show up very often, don't they?" Pansy finally let Rosie's arm go, so she could put her fists beside her waist.

"Who can blame them?" Holly tossed her head. "Ever since the Dragon war. Those who are unfortunate from their wrath had no place or food."

They continued to watch as one of the Raiders kept struggling. There were three of them. Despite a few numbers, there had been chills in the atmosphere in the area. First was an older man with built muscles that could rip you in half.

The Raider was silent and didn't glance at any of the common folk, for his eyes dropped while his gray hair hung over. His arms were held by two male humans, and one elf guardian, who was just walking right beside them. "Not so tough now, are you, mister Raider?" The elf guardian looked over the large man.

"Don't tease him," says the shoulder-length, black hair guardian on the right.

"You are still scared?" The guardian on the left with a faded haircut smirked. "Come on, he's not going to do anything."

"Can you stop jinxing this?" The guardian at the right darted back.

The second was a teenage girl, much older than Holly. Unlike the man, this one wanted to kick the other guardians and curse them. "Let go of me!" She struggled from a young, muscular man. "Let your rough hands off me, you orc-elf hybrid freak!" The girl was not wrong, though. The young man had a blocky facial structure of an orc and the sharp, arrow-shaped ears and slightly angled eyes of an elf. There's a sense of strength and gentleness within the Flash guardian.

The third was a teenage boy. His shaggy hair covered his dirty face. He was tangled by black bendable branches by the witch guardian's spell. Like the older Raider, this one was also quiet, but something tells Xabe that this Raider might do something. Also, accompanying the witch was a black cat. "Careful, kitty cat," she said with a tiny voice to her feline pet as it got closer to the Raider. "I don't want your claws on this one."

Then, to Xabe's eyes, he saw another guardian with black armor that shone with violet hues. He and the teenage boy glared eye-to-eye for a short moment. Later, Elise Berrygrewd finally came in as soon as the guards barged into the crowd and started to take the Raiders into custody. Their white armor and winged helmet glistened from the sunlight. Same with their white spears. Just by their sword with open wings insignia told the crowd, not by words, but by presence, that they were the royal guards of Ascentilia. Where did they come from?

"We are grateful, Flash guardians." A royal guard with a longer wings on his helmet and a red cape nodded to the black-armored hero. "These Raiders won't terrorize places like this any longer."

"Don't mention it, sir." A smile brightened behind the black helmet of the hero. "My team and I are always here. If it wasn't for the queen, our tasks may be harder."

Speaking of, behind the Raiders and the Flash guardians appeared a velvet cloaked woman. She pulled back her hood for everyone to see her wavy, shoulder-length, violet hair and light green eyes. Even her white tiara was compact enough when wearing the hood.

"I hope that's the last of you Raiders. Taking something from others won't make the harsh world better. Praise the Heaven, there have been no causalities."

The queen of Ascentilia was like a goddess in disguise. As if she was radiating from the pure rays of the sun. The girl Raider continued to struggle, unbothered by the queen's presence. "Stop acting like you know any better!"

Before the royal guards made any move, the queen raised her hand to halt them. "I'm not," she said. "And stop acting that your actions are justifiable." The crowds let out a loud cheer as the Flash guardians passed the Raiders to the guards. While they took the three Raiders away, the queen remained with the heroes.

The black-armored guardian, who seemed like the leader of the group, crossed his arms as he glanced at the queen. "Their bitterness got the better of them."

"But they still deserve help," says the queen softly. "No one asks to be a victim of the Dragon war and started raiding everyone else's things out of desperation."

"It's as if they tried to copy Sir Robin Hood's example, but only they make things worse." The hero stretched his jaw. What amazed Xabe was that behind the black helmet were heterochromia eyes. Burning orange on the left and shining blue on the right.

The black-armored hero spotted Xabe staring at him. The queen looked and scanned the crowd. They do not need to kneel before her. She rather be seen as an equal- with higher aspects of her position.

Children began to gather around her majesty. They watched their playmate as she offered the queen a basket of heathers. "Why thank you." She let out a bright smile.

"For good luck, also it's because of your name, Queen Heather." The young girl tip-toed and smiled with her broken teeth.

The black-armored guardian brought out a smirk and chuckled, "I think they thought of this for a while now."

"Where did they even get those flowers?" Rose muttered.

"Darn it, if I could've known Queen Heather to be here, I would've snatched some heathers and given them to her." Pansy glared with envy.

Elise held MaXabiere's shoulders. She knew very well that Queen Heather was fond of children. Behind the queen's smile was a hidden melancholy, ever since the Dragon war- "Hey mom, do you think one of us can be Flash guardians too?" Xabe looked up at her.

Elise looked back. "What makes you think that?"

Holly intersected with another question. "Is dad really even one of them?"

"Um-" She was then interrupted by the twins.

"Does dad have a magical pet?" Rose squeaked.

"Does he secretly have magical weapons?" Pansy beamed.

Elise just sighed with the questions. As Queen Heather got up from talking to the kids, she glanced at the boy, who was overwhelmed by the three girls' running mouths- even the mother kept telling them one at a time. The poor boy didn't get to ask their mother more because of them.

She scanned his short, chocolate caramel hair and those turquoise eyes. He shared the same serious face of a special someone whenever he ponders. The black-armored hero read what was on the queen's mind. He wanted to approach her, but all of a sudden… something stopped him.

Xabe wanted to intervene in order to hear their mother's voice, but he somehow sensed this strange feeling. His sense of hearing grew stronger, and his tingles started to crawl up his spine.

The once bright sky began to dim. The chirping birds turned into thunder. The cheers turned to gasps. Instinctively, Xabe looked up and over his mother's shoulder. Clouds began to form while red lightning exploded in a blur.

Elise held her kids as they hurried to her side quickly. Behind the clouds was an enormous silhouette, three heads began to expand and each burst with burning eyes. Its two gigantic wings towering the entire place followed by a familiar terrifying roar that shook the surroundings like an earthquake.

This happened six years ago… a time when danger returned.