Phoenix moved to stand by Maverick at the hearth, her heart thumping and nerves jittery. Eric joined her on his other side, a similar wave of emotion emanating from him.  The dark little room almost shrunk around them, not enough to contain their excitement and anticipation. 

"We're really doing this?" Phoenix asked, and Eric nodded. Maverick's jaw remained tense, and he didn't look at either of them when he spoke.

"Whatever you're doing, stop it," he said under his breath.

"What?" Eric and Phoenix said together. Phoenix glanced around the room and saw that those in attendance were either fanning themselves or shivering. "Oh. Sorry." She took a steadying breath and Eric did the same.

"Now that everyone has returned," Maverick said, glancing at Bainon, Gwen, and Finny. "Can we do this?"

"We can do this." Altair turned to Castor, who nodded. 

They first moved all the furniture out of the center of the room, pushing it back against the walls, away from the fireplace.  They then did the same with the people, asking everyone to sit in a chair and be still.

"This isn't normal," Finny said, hands lifted as if to keep everyone calm. "We don't meet indoors for a reason." 

The three of them stood together on the rug in the center of the room. Bowing their heads, they murmured something in a language Phoenix didn't understand and then stepped backward in three giant steps, leaving ample space between them.

A high-pitched squeal filled the room, and Phoenix had the sensation she was being pushed through a tight tube, turning into putty before coming out other end. She wasn't the only one. The mortals had their hands to their ears, teeth bared and eyes screwed shut against the noise. After several eternal seconds, it eased.

And was followed by a blast of light so bright it nearly knocked Phoenix off her chair. 

Had her eyes been closed like the others, it would have been bad enough, but the full force left big black splotches in her vision, and the room seemed too dark. After several blinking moments, she realized the three Ancients were no longer alone.

The circle had filled, with five other Ancients having appeared, all bathed in light. Now Castor and Altair stood opposite each other, Finny one away from each of them. There were two obvious gaps in the circle--Tremaine and Helix's places.

There was a murmur as they all got their bearings. Phoenix could tell they were shocked by Altair and Castor's unmasked faces.

"You're Youlden?" One of the light beems asked, pointing at Altair. "You were Youlden all along? How did I not notice that? Am I an idiot?"

"Maybe," a female voice standing across from Finny said. "It wouldn't be the first time." 

"We aren't the only ones who need to be revealed," Altair said, his mouth set in a grim line. "The time has come to stop hiding. The traitor is gaining power, and there's no time to waste. The future king of Braskey has called your loyalty into question, and his Guardians--the son and daughter of Selene and Elyo--want to face you."

A round of "what?" and "that's absurd!" went around the circle. Bickering and arguing broke out among them, Finny in the middle of it.

"You're all fools if you think you can stay hidden forever!" 

"This isn't your call, Finnestra. We can't all be as brazen as you."

"I don't really see the harm in it."

"No harm? How can exposing ourselves when one of us might be a traitor not be harmful? Any one of us could be next!"

Castor, Phoenix noticed, remained calm and still, even as Altair's temper got the better of him. With barely any movement--a faint flick of his wrist--a breeze swept through the room, silencing all of them. 

"Reveal yourselves or face their wrath. Your choice." 

He kept his voice level, didn't even bother looking up at them, his focus on the center of the rug. His words had an effect all the same, sending a ripple through the circle. Despite being the youngest, something told Phoenix Castor was the strongest.

Selene and Elyo lost their masks first. "It's not like we'll be a surprise to them," Selene said, waving her fingers at them. "Our children know us." 

"Wow." Gwen's audible gasp drew everyone's attention. Her eyes were large and mouth open. "You're so beautiful! I mean, no wonder--the pair of you. These are your kids. So I guess I knew, but still--Youlden and Samson look so normal. I mean, I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just..." she trailed off, looking down at her feet. Bainon let out a guffaw and patted her on the back.

"Questions now," Maverick said, "and then we'll move on. I think it's best to not be too distracting. And remember, if you refuse this, you're essentially outing yourself as the traitor." 

"I'd be surprised," Selene said, stepping forward and standing before where Mav, Phe and Eric sat together on a couch, "if the traitor were in the circle. I'd hoped I'd have noticed their deceit." 

"Not if they've been careful in their lies," Eric said, offering her a small smile. "But this should be easy enough. Elyo--are you the traitor?"

"Nope."

"Not lying," Phoenix and Eric said together.

"Selene?"

"No. Like I'd do anything without him." She jerked her thumb at Elyo and Gwen and Bainon made "awwing" sounds. 

"Have a seat, stand somewhere, do as you like," Maverick said to them. "We weren't too concerned about you two anyway."

"I don't think any of us were," Altair said from his place still in the circle. Selene and Elyo returned to their places, filling their gaps. 

"Finny, you next," Maverick said, but a huff came from the opposite side of the circle.

"No. I'm not standing around here to be questioned in order in front of everyone," the female voice across from Finny said. "You want to see us, then see us. All of us. If you're so sure one of the circle is the betrayer, then face the circle. I'm not standing before you and your couch, your highness."

"Watch it," Finny said, pointing at the other star. "That's my boy you're talking to." 

"And that's my girl. Your point?" 

Gwen sat up straighter. "Me? I have a Watcher? What?" 

"Are you coming, or not?" the voice asked, facing Phoenix and the others.

Without waiting for the other two, Eric popped up out of his seat and entered the circle through one of the gaps. His actions seemed to take the fiesty Ancient aback, and she quieted down as he faced her. Phoenix and Maverick followed him, and Phoenix had a strange feeling entering the circle meant more than they knew.

"I'm Ares," Eric said, facing off with the beam of light. "I am a seeker and bringer of truth--future leader of the king's Army. Who the hells are you?"

The beam of light faded and a woman with hair and eyes as dark as Narissa's stood before them, dressed all in black. She was a head shorter than Eric, but her lips were twisted in a smirk. 

"I'm Qi," she said. "Knowledge personified." She gave a little flip of her wrist, turning on the spot for their benefit. "Watcher of Gwen Tremaine." 

"Auntie Quinn?" Gwen's mouth popped open, but she didn't leave her chair. "I thought you died!" 

"How are you Gwen's Watcher?" Finny asked, hands on hips. "You were Ares' before Castor."

"No, Castor was always Ares' and I was always Gwen's. It was double duty, in a manner of speaking. I sensed something dangerous coming, and Adonai swore us to secrecy." Qi glanced at Selene. "Aren't I a fantastic half-truth teller?"

"And you never told me?" Altair asked Castor, who shrugged. 

"Seems you all have more secrets than you like to pretend," Maverick said, eyeing Qi.

"Fine." A booming voice from behind them brought them round. Another Ancient had revealed himself. He was large--as big as Altair--with skin so deep it was almost blue. He had no hair and wore all white. "Zenith. I watched over Clarice Tremaine, your mother."

"I remember you," Maverick said, pointing at him. "From when I was little."

"You should. I came around to check on your mother from time to time. She never knew who I was, though."

"My turn?" The final Ancient, who had been mostly silent, let her light fall away. 

"Mrs. Vue?" Eric and Bainon said together, mouths dropping open. Phoenix didn't recognize her--she had a pinched, pert face and didn't look like someone to cross. 

"Who?" Maverick asked.

"She was the head of the castle--made sure everything ran smoothly," Bainon said, gaping at her. "No wonder we could never find you!" 

"I had to keep an eye on you," the Ancient said, almost smiling. "You're rather a difficult charge, you know. You never listen. I tried to tell you." She shook her head. "I'm Juno." 

"You think one of us is the traitor?" Zenith asked, frowning the three of them in the center of the circle. "How could you possibly find them when we've not found them. I know what will come, yet I cannot see the traitor."

"I know what has been, and I cannot see them either," Juno agreed.

"And I have the power of knowledge." Qi rested one arm on the other, smirking at them. "And even I can't figure out who it is."

"Making you three the prime suspects," Maverick said, turning in place to look them all in the eye. "Any of you could block the other two from seeing."

"Or the traitor could be powerful enough to hide," Finny said. "There are ways--and once one has fallen, they aren't connected to us anymore."

"Yet they're all here. Isn't that proof of a connection?" Gwen asked.

"Unless it's an Ancient outside the circle," Phoenix suggested.

"Who could be powerful enough for that?" Juno folded her arms. "The point of the circle is the original, the powerful, the united." 

"But when a star goes dark," Phoenix said, "who knows what lengths it would go to in order to become powerful. What if killing Helix and Tremaine gave them a sort of power? Like they absorbed the energy of Helix's life force and that was enough to take Tremaine's?"

"And with both of them they have enough power to do more damage," Altair said. "But why? Why kill those two and leave the rest? They've never gone after Finnestra, who doesn't hide herself."

"Of all of us," Juno said, her words slow as she considered them. "Helix and Tremaine were the most likely to fight. None of us would ever risk falling for the sake of our charge." She gestured around the circle. "Tremaine would have done it for his children. He would have fought the traitor, even knowing what was at stake."

"And Helix would have fought for Tremaine," Qi agreed. "Their bond was as strong as Elyo and Selene--if someone went after Tremaine, knowing he would be in their way if they wanted power, Helix would have fought at Tremaine's side."

"Taking out Helix and Tremaine would take out their only true threat in Braskey," Juno continued. "We would do all we can to equip our charges and protect them, but we aren't killers--we wouldn't come down to fight a traitor."

"Helix and Tremaine would have. With them out of the way, no one would be strong enough to kill the traitor."

"Until now," Zenith said. His eyes were fixed on Eric. "Your birth dawned a new age--an age of Guardians strong enough to match even ourselves."

"I told you," Castor said to Altair. "I told you he could do it."

"The two of you together." Zenith gestured to Phoenix and Eric. "Could be unstoppable. With the boy at your side, you are strong enough to stop the traitor."

"Which is why Trey was sent to die," Eric said, glancing over at where the little boy stood with his mother.

"And why Narissa took you," Juno added. There was a surprised murmur at her statement. "She knew what you were."

"How?" Bainon asked, bewildered.

"I told her." Juno faced Selene and Elyo's shocked faces. "I didn't know what she would do. It was a mistake. She came upon me at the moment the realization hit me, months after Ares was born, days after the Guardian massacre. She was still so torn about the death of her aunt. She knew someone powerful was behind Tarvril and Helena's madness, and she wanted protection." 

"So she stole my son."

"She hid his identity. I didn't know it was him." Juno shook her head. "Had I known--had I realized--I would have returned him to you. Her magic is not of these lands, and she fooled us all." 

"By hiding him, she protected him without knowing it," Qi said. "If the traitor knew you were still alive, she would have come for you. And if Narissa hadn't taken Ares, you never would have hidden Phoenix, Selene."

"No, and the traitor would have discovered her." Selene stared at her children, paler than normal.

"Just as the traitor discovered Trey," Elyo said. He glanced around. "I think it's time we go."

"Go?" Selene turned a questioning glance at him.

"If one of us has betrayed us all, I don't want them to hear any more of what has to be said. We all go, and they move ahead without us. If any of us gets in the way of whatever it is they're about to do, then we'll know who the traitor is."

"Then we go," Qi said with a nod. 

"And we don't meet again until it's all over," Zenith said. "We do our parts from afar." 

There was a burst of light and the Ancients disappeared, only Castor and Altair remaining. Altair glanced around the room.

"We could leave if you wanted, but we already know the plan. So..."

"No. Stay." Eric glanced askance at Castor. "We trust you, and if one of you is the traitor, I'd rather you be close at hand."

"It's probably not us," Castor said with a shrug.

"But whoever it is thinks I'm dead," Phoenix said, a thrill fluttering in her stomach. "And if they've paid any attention at all to what Eric's been up to, they probably aren't terribly worried about him, either. They think he's cracked." 

"And Trey has disappeared." Eric nodded, a hesitant smile spreading. "Which means they won't expect us."

"And our plan can still work."

Maverick put a hand on both of their shoulders. "I say we leave at dawn."

Now everyone is more or less up to date on what's going on and why. Now that you've seen the circle again...do you suspect any of them? Call out your guesses in the comments - if you don't guess, you can't claim you were right when all is revealed ;) 

Could it be a major trick and be Selene or Elyo? Could it be Juno, Qi, or Zenith who have the powers to hide what they're doing? Could it be one of our trusted three: Finny, Castor or Altair? Or could it be someone outside the circle - maybe the parent of one of the other guardians we met at the Militia?

Also, who is ready to get Phe, Mav and Eric back to Osha to try and save Noelle and Roman?