Hello, hello! My name is Sylph Dancer! (Well... not REALLY...) Yes, this fan fiction was originally called 'Kissing Material', but I changed the name because I thought it sounded more fitting to what this story is really about.

Just a warning, there's a lot more romance than supernatural biz for like the first ten chapters at the beginning, but it gets more magic-y (is that even a word?) as the story progresses.

I do not own Shugo Chara! or Shugo Chara! Encore!

Prologue

They say that all the stories are true.

Even the tallest tale, the wildest myth, has a drop of reality hidden within the fantasy. Every story from around the whole world, from folk tales of kindly lumber-giant people sixty-three axe handles high that roam North America to wizards in Europe, to whispered rumors of a man with sand to help children sleep, to beings that take childrens' teeth and leave things in their place; the world is filled with fairy tales.

Of course, we all know that this could never be true. There are no vicious werewolves roaming the Black Forest. There are no bloodthirsty vampires hidden in Romanian castles. Fish-tailed sirens do not sit on jagged, rocky coasts and lure men to their deaths. No lady waits on bridges waiting for men to dance with and toss over the edge to drown if he refuses. The Great Sphinx of Egypt does not constantly riddle tourists and then eat them when they get the answer wrong.

And most certainly, little guardian angels do not follow children around to help them become their would-be-selves.

But even though the people of the world know this, we still dream. We still fear the Dark and the secrets hidden within it, still burned and hanged innocent people for fear they were satanic witches, hunted dragons and dress up as monsters on Hallow's Eve, hope for a man in fur from the North Pole to bring us all presents on Christmas night. We do not forget the world of fantasy. The beauty of magic is as real to us as it will ever be, lighting up our war-torn, divided world where children are forced to kill their parents and unwanted souls kill themselves. It represents our dreams. All of our dreams.

Even the nightmares.

Oh, yes. We cannot forget the spirits that lurk around graveyards, the murders buried at crossroads, the monsters that lurk beneath our beds and in our closets. With red, malicious eyes, cackling laughs, and sharp claws, they await us, reminding us that none of us can escape Fear itself. But of course, we know that magic does not exist. Everyone knows none of the stories are true, right?

And this is just another story, waiting to be heard.

It's been four years since the fall of Easter. Four years since the Seiyo Academy Guardians graduated, since Kairi came back, and since Ikuto left. All was safe and well, we and our guardian characters were content, and love was finally beginning to blossom among us.

But everything changed.

An improbable girl appeared, one who shouldn't even exist, with a terrible secret. A prophecy was unearthed, which warned of the death of the "Lock and Key". The supernatural world was revealed, and suddenly magical beings were popping up... and an ancient evil returned for revenge. The monster had to be stopped at all costs before it took over the world and rules in shattered dreams and Fear.

There was no way we were going to let that happen. But when shocking new information came to light from an unlikely source, we began to question what was real and what was illusion. The secrets of the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key were revealed... and the truth threatened to tear us all apart forever.

This is the tale of the ten character bearers, and their final adventure, from surprise birthday parties to convenience-store ghosts, from masquerade balls to evil monsters, from getting drunk to X-Eggs and Easter. This is the tale of the Road of Stars, of destiny and the Lock and Key Guardians. This is the tale of how everything fell apart and got put back together again.

This is our story.

And it begins on a hot spring day, in the middle of Seiyo Academy's running track...

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