With a final turn of his trusty screwdriver and a hot zap from Robotus' soldering gun, Erik deemed his project complete. Setting down his tools, he picked up the small device, inspecting it in his palm. It looked good. Immaculate even —if he did say so himself— with the smooth, round face and intricate buttons. It was the pinnacle of perfection. But none of it mattered if it didn't work…

Sending his mini guardian a hopeful look, Erik crossed his fingers before lightly tapping the azure, domed face. A tiny whirr hummed within the device's core and the face lit up with a soft glow.

Erik whooped. "It works!"

Robotus chirped happily.

"We just have to make sure the sonic waves are compatible with the old models." Erik fiddled with the side buttons as he eyed his communicator on the other wise of the table. "Hand me that, will ya, buddy?"

The automaton nodded obediently and waddled across the table. He returned with the communicator in his arms. Erik took it gently from him. "Thanks."

He tinkered between the two devices, switching from one to the other as he aligned the wave-lengths. After a few minutes, he announced them synchronized and tossed the old, bulky communicator to Robotus, the mini guardian nearly toppling from the inertia. Once stabilized, he shot his owner a glare.

Erik grimaced. "Sorry."

Huffing as much as a robot could, Robotus hauled the communicator further down the table and set it down. Pressing a button, the top piece jumped in the air to hover a foot above the base, a blue light glowing between the two pieces. Erik pressed buttons on his end of the table, his eyes darting from the holographic screen of Robotus' communicator to the now glowing one in his hand.

Suddenly static buzzed in the almost palpable beam in his palm, cutting an image in and out in three-dimensional particles. Frowning, Erik adjusted a knob slightly to the right and the image cleared, displaying a hologram of his guardian's torso. The blonde's eyes flickered to the old communicator to find his projected face staring back at him.

Erik thrust a fist into the air. "Yes!" he exclaimed exuberantly. "It works! We did it, Robotus!"

The little robot did his best to appear joyful, but the best he could do was close his eyes happily and whir in celebration.

"Just wait until the others find out," Erik grinned. "These are going to revolutionize the team!"

A steady chorus of humming that could only belong to the engines of the sigil stormers chorused from outside. Erik's head snapped up at the sound and a grin stretched his lips. "They're back!" He smiled to Robotus, set his tools on the table and made for the front doors.

He threw them open to reveal his friends. They looked harrowed and weary from their mission but none the worse for wear. He grinned. "Hey guys! How'd it go?"

The others didn't respond. They shared a look between themselves and suddenly Erik could feel the tension in the air. They had dismounted and grouped together before he had arrived as if huddling would protect them from some unseen force. The blood had drained from their faces and they shifted on their feet. "What is it?" Erik chuckled nervously. "It looks like you've seen a ghost."

The rest of the team visibly cringed. They kept looking at each other uncertainly. It unsettled the blond. "Come on, guys, seriously. What's wrong?"

The mood continued to worsen. Finally Seth ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Erik. Something happened in Sumos…"

"What do you mean? Did someone get hurt? Are you all okay?"

"We're fine," Mel said. "But we… we ran into someone."

The mechanic quirked an eyebrow. "Ran into someone? Who?"

"You have to promise not to freak out," Adam said. "We were just as surprised... Rion almost fainted."

"Rion almost what?" Erik's yellow gaze drifted to the shortest Defender, only now noticing the boy's hand reached behind him as if he had pulled something back so he could use his body as a shield. "What is going on?"

The thick silence that followed coated Erik's mouth and lungs so he could barely breathe. His friends were glancing at each other anxiously and it made his stomach turn.

Eventually Rion side-stepped and revealed what he had been protecting.

Bile burned Erik's throat. He was going to be sick.

Kara, his sister, his dead sister, was standing before him, smiling carelessly as she always did.

Swallowing the throw-up, Erik whirled upon the others, his expression uncharacteristically dark. He growled. "If this is supposed to be some kind of joke, it's way out of line."

"It's not a joke, Erik!" Seth exclaimed. "We found her in Sum-Para."

"So she's a…"

"She's not a ghost," Mel said. "I've already run a few tests. Her flesh is firmly formed, her pulse is steady, her brain activity is normal… She's real."

"She can't be real!" Erik yelled. "My sister died!"

The pseudo-Kara reached for him, her eyebrows furrowed in grief just like his sister's use to. "Erik…"

"No!" he snapped at her. "Get away from me! You've got some nerve to impersonate my sister! And you!" He turned on the others again, his expression one of hurt at such betrayal. "How could you do this to me?"

"We haven't done anything but bring Kara back!" Rion insisted, stomping his foot. "You should be thankful that she's alive!"

"I will not thank my friends for ripping my heart out!" Erik shouted, his eyes beginning to mist over. "You've taken this too far. Don't give me hope when there is none."

The Kara replica looked downcast, her expression sorrowful. "Erik, please…"

"This isn't a joke, Erik," Mel insisted. "She has all of Kara's skills and memories. Her aura is the same. And look," she tossed a green guardian stone in the air. There was a flash a giant hybrid insect appeared and fluttered before the mechanic. It offered him a buggy blink before its antennae twitched and it turned. Spotting the small Defender, it made an excited beeline straight to her, nuzzling her head affectionately. "V-Moth is drawn to her."

Erik narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't prove anything."

Seth growled. "You're being ridiculous! Kara is back, Erik. Stop being so afraid. Your sister is alive! Embrace it!"

"It's impossible!" Erik bellowed, the dam finally bursting. "When someone dies, they are gone forever! They can't ever come back! I saw my sister vanish! She died right in front of me and she's never coming back no matter what I do… no matter how much I want it to happen…"

The group was silent, sharing hopeless, despondent glances as their friend suffered.

Kara approached tentatively, reaching to put a hand on Erik's arm when she was close enough. He flinched away but wasn't able to reject her further attempts. He watched her through the watery haze of tears with suspicious distrust and gut-wrenching pain. Her expression was hesitant and imploring.

"Erik," she began carefully, "I wish I could tell you what happened… I-I wish I could explain how I came back, but I don't even understand it myself. I'm so sorry I left you, alone. I did what I was meant to do. It was my destiny. And I can't apologize for performing my duty, but I can apologize for making you feel abandoned. But you were never really alone."

Through bleary eyes, Erik looked from his sister to his friends. They watched him with hopeful concern, surrounding him protectively and supportingly, there for him in this instant as they had been since the beginning. He gave them a teary smile before addressing the ghost before him. The smile morphed into a grimace as his lip trembled. "I just wanted my sister alive and safe. Our family should never have suffered. We were all heartbroken."

"It would have lost a member regardless, you or me."

"It should have been me," Erik croaked, tears slipping from his eyes.

"It couldn't have been you," Kara said, reaching up and wiping the shed tears from his face. "You saved the realm. You couldn't do that if you were dead."

"I just missed you so much."

"I know," she said, her own eyes welling. "I'm sorry. I really missed you too."

A sob wretched from Erik's throat and a new rush of tears ushered down his cheeks as he pulled his sister, his flesh and blood and miraculously alive sister, into his arms. "Kara!"

There wasn't a dry eye outside the Dojo as the little defender hugged the machinist in return. "I'm back, big brother."

When he opened his eyes, he was first struck with the fact that they opened at all. A dead man's eyelids were meant to stay permanently closed. He then noticed that both pupils were functioning. That wasn't possible. It had been a year since he had the ability to see from the left eye.

Surely he was dreaming. Could dead men dream?

He knelt to the ground and dug his fingers through the earthy dirt, sifting it around and concentrating on the feeling. Each granule of grit tumbled through his grasp, tickling the nerve endings in his palm and fingertips. It was too real. He wasn't dreaming. But that meant…

Dazed and confused, he got to his feet. His gaze roamed the area as he attempted to piece together the situation he miraculously found himself in. Foliage surrounded him on all sides, trees towering above, their leaves failing to block out the moons and stars. The light triggered a memory in him. He had been encompassed in darkness, falling into an eternal sleep. He had been suddenly roused by a brilliant light to find himself in the forest.

He blinked the light and thought away. He would not look this gift horse in the mouth. He was back. That's all that mattered.

He wandered through the woods, trying to get his bearings. His stomach growled fiercely, having been deprived of food for who knows how long. A small village would likely take pity on a homeless drifter (which he realized he now was) and offer him a meager meal. A longing rumble from his stomach at the prospect spurred him forward.

An intense glow cut through the dense foliage, catching his eye as he trekked through the woods. He ventured closer, believing it to be a lantern illuminating a tavern or town square. When he broke through the brush, however, he was met not with a friendly storefront, but an impressive stone temple. The glow came from an energy fence that blocked the entrance.

He frowned, wondering about the impracticality of such a bright counter-measure. What was the point of having a fortress so far out in the forest if one could be led by the door? Unless…

He crept closer, stepping carefully, wary of traps embedded in the ground. His gaze darted frantically, searching for trip-wires, pressure plates, or indicating henges. His caution got him to the entrance without trouble, but now he faced the greatest barrier. The energy fence glared at him, crossing its white arms defiantly. He knew one touch of the hot light would result in serious injury (and even death if hit in the wrong place).

He checked his pockets for his di-gata stones and was not entirely surprised to find them missing. He doubted blasting his way into the temple would work anyway.

He examined the stone perimeter, looking and feeling for an engraving. Running his eyes and fingers against the rock, it wasn't long before he found it. He glimpsed the ridges and immediately brought his hand to it. Yan, infinis, yan. He smirked.

Tapping the henge with his fingertips, it lit. The glow transferred from the rock onto his hand, creeping up to his wrists before halting. When it accepted his sigil signature, the light receded and within three seconds the energy fence fully deactivated, leaving the entrance wide open.

Excellent.