A man stood between them and the carved jade doors of the Cathedral. His dark blue hair, was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore armor and carried a sword. His armor was reminiscent of that Dal Lafarga had worn, as the Pillar's bodyguard. His arms were crossed, and there was a dispassionate look in his eyes.

But he could not maintain that look for long.

"Clef!" he gasped.

"Aston," Clef breathed.

"We must get inside," Ferio said. "I have to open the door!" The man stepped out of the way, and Ferio placed his hands against the doors. White light blazed out around them, turning the dark green jade white and changing the picture carved into them. Instead of the three Magic Knights and the Mashin, there was a long table, with many people sitting around it. Most were unfamiliar, but at one end of the table were images of Cressida, Emeraude, and--

"You?" whispered Hikaru, looking to Miata. Miata shook her head.

"Aurora," she corrected the Magic Knight. The doors swung open, and Ferio entered first, followed by the others.

"What are you doing here, Aston?" Clef asked the man in blue. "Everyone thought you were dead!"

"My lady has awakened me, and summoned me to come here," he replied distantly. "Where our son will awaken her."

"So you're Ferio's father, Aston!" Miata gasped. "How do you know Clef?"

"Dal Aston is my older brother," Clef explained.

"I can't believe I never knew..." Miata breathed. "I should have guessed, but...Cressida must have kept it from crossing even my mind."

Meanwhile, Ferio walked forward as if in a dream. "Ferio," Fuu said softly, following him. He didn't acknowledge her, only continued to move forward, toward an altar in the center of the Cathedral. The other two Magic Knights followed her, and Ascot and Hayase trailed after them.

"Now he will bring about the Return," Miata whispered. The white doors slammed shut behind them, leaving them in total darkness. A moment later, the altar began to glow from within, casting an eerie light around the Cathedral. Everything seemed to center on Ferio, as he knelt before the altar. The Magic Knights made a triangle around him, each kneeling and glowing with the light of their magic. Fuu sat to one side of him, a green flame glowing from her heart, and Umi to the other side of him cast a blue light. Hikaru knelt behind him, casting a red glow. Their magic reached out to touch the other Knights', making a glowing triangle around Ferio.

Then something shifted. For one second, time seemed to lurch, producing a feeling not unlike a sudden drop of several feet. As suddenly as it began, it stopped, and light flared around the room. The altar opened to reveal a staircase, and Ferio stood and stepped aside.

People began to come out.

The Priests and Priestesses of Cephiro long past looked as if they had gone through nothing more than a long nap—never mind that it had been one that lasted thousands of years. The high council emerged first, and then the others, in order of their induction into the Priesthood. The very last was a green-haired young woman with amber eyes. She ran to embrace Aston, tears stinging her cheeks.

"If only Emeraude could have been so lucky," Ferio murmured as he watched his parents embrace. The final pillar of Cephiro had not emerged from the altar.

"Emeraude gave up her chance of a new life in her wish to be with Zagato," Cressida told her son. "Let me introduce you to your father. This is Aston. He’s the best swordsman in Cephiro."

"Well, I might have been at one time, but I’m a bit rusty now," Aston replied, shaking Ferio’s hand. "I’m glad to finally be able to see you, my son."

"I’m just glad we’re all here and alive!" Ferio replied happily. Fuu hung behind him, thinking he didn’t remember she was there, until, all of a sudden, he put his arm around her and hugged her against his side. "And, Father, this is Fuu. She’s one of the Legendary Magic Knights, you know."

"Is that so?" Aston asked.

"Hi," Fuu said shyly.

The Highest Priest of the Council looked at Miata, staring her in the eye. She met his gaze levelly and calmly.

"I apologize, for treating you so badly, Aurora," he said.

Miata sighed. "As you know her, Aurora is dead," she told him. "My name is Miata. Byrde no longer, as the Forest of Songs no longer exists. Simply Miata."

The High Priest nodded and strode towards the white jade doors. They opened before he reached them, and he gasped.

Camaro and Camry stood in the doorway, waiting.

"No more playing around," Camaro snarled. "This time, Cephiro will be ours." He fired a shot carelessly, melting part of an ornamental railing. "If you resist, you’ll end up like that…uh…like that…" He was unable to come up with a name for what he had just shot. "Like that thing, whatever it is, okay?"

"Shardora!" Clef cried. A spell hurled at Camaro and Camry, only to be stopped by an invisible shield. Camaro laughed and fired in Clef’s direction. The Guru dodged.

"Sheiro!" Miata cried, casting a glowing shield around Guru Clef. Though her magic was no longer quite as strong without the Forest, she still had enough power to be effective.

"Red Lightning!" Hikaru cried, attacking the two intruders. Their shield repelled her magic.

"Your magic is no match for our technology!" Camaro laughed. "Give up now, it’s useless!"

Hayase drew his sword and charged at him, ducking the bolt Camaro fired at him. His sword hit the shield and stopped, and he struggled, pressing against it, sweat beading on his forehead.

"What do you want?" the High Priest demanded.

"Cephiro," Camry sneered.

"I can’t believe we’re actually winning!" Camry gushed. "I don’t think we’ve ever done this well! Most of the time we’ve already failed before—"

"Shut up!" Camaro screamed at his brother.

"Sorry," Camry said meekly.

"You’re outnumbered and surrounded," Miata said sardonically. "If that’s what you call winning, I’d hate to see what happens when you lose."

"This is our cathedral, so let us handle this," the High Priest said, stepping in front of her. The other priests and priestesses nodded and formed a circle of twisting light.

"I don’t like the look of this," Camry muttered. An insane gleam lit Camaro’s eyes, and he pulled something from the pocket of his uniform.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked. "It’s called lillis, a powder made from the lillis flower that grows on your very own planet. When treated with the right chemicals, it becomes one of the most powerful explosives known in the galaxy. There’s enough here to blow this whole place to bits, and I won’t hesitate, if you attack. My shield will protect my brother and I, but you won’t stand a chance. Or will you test me?"

Miata froze, but she noticed a figure moving up a staircase behind Camaro and Camry. Guru Clef climbed up to a high balcony, moving cautiously and purposefully.

"The Cathedral can withstand far more than you think," a priestess cried defiantly.

"Oh, really?" Camaro chuckled. He took a few grains of the powder and threw them onto the ground in front of the priestess. She jumped back as each exploded and formed a crater a few feet wide and deep. "I can do a thousand times that, at the very least. So why don’t you just make it easy for yourselves and give up now?"

Clef stood on a balcony high above Camaro and Camry, whispering a spell and holding his staff out in front of him. Miata watched him, holding her breath.

"What are you looking at?" Camaro sneered, and turned to see Clef standing on the balcony. Just as Clef finished his spell, Camaro hurled a handful of powder at him, and there was an explosion. The stone and crystal of the balcony crumbled, and Clef fell to the ground.

"What?" Camaro gasped, and he had time to say no more. He and his brother vanished suddenly, with no more ceremony than a popping sound as air filled the space they had vacated.

Miata didn’t see it. She saw a scene from a life long gone, a vision that was all too familiar—

*

She ran through the cloud of dust and debris where the balcony had collapsed, digging through it, tears running down her face. She didn’t want to see what she found. With agony and hopelessness, she pulled his lifeless body onto her lap. The dust was beginning to clear, and the Magic Knights were the first to reach her. Ferio, Ascot, and Hayase followed, and Aston and Cressida after them.

"Oh my God," breathed Fuu, covering her mouth.

"Don’t just stand there, Fuu, use Healing Wind!" Umi shouted at her. Fuu shook her head, but could not force words out of her throat.

"Healing…cannot bring him back, now…" Miata whispered.

To Be Continued...