A few months had gone by since the defeat of Zagi, and the re-sealing of the Grongi. During that time, both Rose and Kevin had attained a certain degree of celebrity among their peers, and other assorted adults. News reporters flocked to their homes, traveling theologians from Corneria asked them constantly about the source of their now-dormant powers.

But their respective families did their part to keep this from going all to the heads of their respective teens. Ned had to keep Kevin under tight wraps for quite some time. Anyone wanting to see Kevin had to through him first.

As for Rose, Fox even went as far as to scare off one nosy reporter with a (unloaded) blaster. All this, of course, flattered Rose but she hoped that this would all blow over soon. She would soon get her wish, when a border dispute suddenly broke out near a neighboring planet, diverting all attention from New Cerinia.

Kevin was especially relieved when all the attention ceased. He could now submit his application to the Academy in peace. The new recruitment rounds were going to start in just a few weeks now.

Rose had considered joining her friend, along with Jimmy, who had also submitted his own papers. She was in the process of filling her own out, with a little assistance from her parents, and was one day away from turning them in…

That was, until she had another vivid dream, one night.

She was asleep in her room, Amy now sleeping two rooms down, before the light entered her subconscious once more. In her mind, she was wandering through the now familiar midpoint between life and death. It was there that she found Kuuga standing in front of her, with another familiar figure.

"Grandma!" Rose exclaimed. Surprised, but happy to see her again at the same time.

"Hello once more, child." Aida smiled to her. "Congratulations once more on what you've accomplished."

Rose walked closer to her and Kuuga. "What have you brought me back here for?" She tilted her head. "I thought we sealed all of the Grongi."

"You did child." Aida nodded. "And that seal will stay in place for another 500 years, just like before."

Rose shrugged. "So?…Why did you bring me here then? It wasn't just to say congratulations, was it?"

"You're very perceptive, Rose." Aida smiled lightly. "I brought you here to bring you a fair warning…"

"A warning?" Rose pulled back, as her eyes widened a bit.

Kuuga nodded gently as Aida spoke for her. "It concerns the remnants of the Arch-Grongi leader, Zagi."

"But Grandma…" Rose interrupted. "You know both Kevin and I destroyed him, and Kevin absorbed his spirit."

"That is true." Aida spoke again. "You did defeat him, and Noa did indeed absorb him forever…but that was merely his spiritual core." Kuuga flexed her wings slowly as Aida spoke for her. "If you recall, his physical form was obliterated just outside of the planet's atmosphere…"

"And?" Rose furrowed her brow.

"An Arch Grongi's physical remains will disintegrate inside of an atmosphere once its manifestation is destroyed." Aida continued. "In space, however, it's different. They break down very slowly, not to mention that pieces can be scattered across the galaxy."

Rose opened her mouth slowly. "Are you saying there's some way in which Zagi can come back?"

"We're not sure yet…" Aida shifted her position a bit, pacing a little. "All we know is that Noa has contacted Kuuga, and told her that he can sense parts of Zagi's consciousness in the universe. Just little pieces, mind you, bit still enough to cause concern."

Rose thought this over. "Well, if it was Noa that sensed all this, why didn't bring Kevin to this place as well?"

Aida walked closer to the teen vixen. "Kevin has his own path to pursue in life. Noa has stressed this to me numerous times. He does not wish to interfere with that."

Rose looked to her grandmother. "You mean, going to the Academy?"

Aida nodded slowly.

The scarlet vixen thought this over. "So what about my path? I'm planning to go to the Academy to, you know…are you gonna interfere with that."

Aida sighed and rubbed her shoulders a bit. "Child, please…understand your position." She walked around her granddaughter a bit. "You are one of the last of your kind in life…and like it or not, your Cerinian mother is not going to live forever…"

"Grandma, I'm only half-Cerinian…" Rose shot back.

"That is still better than no Cerinians, Rose…" Aida answered her, firmly. "And you have a unique position over the child of Topaz, the only other half-Cerinian." She gripped Rose's shoulders. "You are the daughter of a wise Cerinian mystic, and the carrier of Kuuga's spirit on top of that."

"What do you want from me, Grandma?" Rose was getting impatient. "Do you want me to stay at home all my life?"

Aida's look softened a bit. "Not all your life, Rose…just until you've learned enough." She rubbed Rose's shoulders again. "Learned about our past, our people, and our ways…the Cerinian ways."

Rose looked right into Aida's eyes. "How do I go about doing that?"

Aida smiled. "The answer lies in your own home, Rose…your mother has much she's wanted to tell you about her old life on Cerinia, but until now, she's let you go your own way in life."

Kuuga looked on, flexing her wings as Aida spoke.

"I think the time has come to finally engage her, Rose…" Aida spoke to her granddaughter once more. "She has all this knowledge inside of her. Knowledge that could be very valuable in case Zagi does revive somehow…and she wants to give it to you. Why not engage her?"

Rose thought this over, and nodded slowly. "I see you're point. I'll think about it, Grandma."

"Don't think for too long, child." Aida smiled as she began to vanish with Kuuga. "A few moments of thinking can easily become a lifetime of wasted opportunity if you're not careful."

Rose smiled and nodded, waving to her grandmother, as she vanished with Kuuga once more.

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"Are you sure about this?" Kevin asked Rose as she walked, along with Jimmy. It was the next day, following her dream, as she explained it all to the two other teens.

"I'm sure…" Rose nodded gently "Aida made a good point last night. I think I need to go back to my Cerinian roots for a while, in case anything should ever come concerning Zagi."

"Aw man…" Jimmy lowered his head a bit as he walked. "I was so looking forward to going to the academy with you, Rose. I was looking forward to racing cadet ships with you."

Rose giggled. "Cheer up Jimmy…I'm sure you'll make other friends to do that with. Besides, you can't go around clinging to your 'cousin' forever, can you?"

"No…" Jimmy chuckled a bit. "I suppose not…"

"While I share in Jimmy's disappointment…" Kevin spoke up. "I can see the logic in you wanting to stay behind. I hope it all goes well for you."

Rose patted his shoulder some. "It won't be permanent, Kevin…Once I've learned what I need from my mother, I'll join you all out there in space as soon as I can…that's a promise."

Kevin nodded softly. "Ok then, Rose…go and do what you need to."

Rose smiled as she hugged both her friends, and walked back to the area behind her home. Sure enough, she found Krystal, who was once again attending to some of her plants, making sure they were getting just the right amount of vitamins.

"Mom?…" Rose slowly approached her mother.

"Oh, Rose…" Krystal smiled to her daughter as she turned her head, still on her knees. "I left your application on the table. If you could be so kind as to put it in the mailbox for me…"

"Yeah…" Rose walked closer. "That's what I wanna talk to you about…"

"Oh?" Krystal perked up a bit as she stood to face her daughter. "What's wrong, hon?"

Rose sighed gently. "I had another vision last night. Grandma and Kuuga came to visit me again."

"Really?" Krystal tilted her head. "Whatever for, I wonder?"

Rose twiddled her thumbs a bit as she looked down. "Well…they said there's a chance that Zagi might not be completely gone…" She looked to her mother's stunned, silent face, before continuing. "It's not definite, they said…there's just a chance."

"I see…" Krystal simply responded.

"There's not only that, but…" Rose put her hands behind her back. "Well, with everything that's happened here, people are gonna get really curious. Curious about our kind…about old Cerinia, it's past, it's spirituality…and the only ones who really know about it are you and aunt Topaz…"

Krystal blinked a bit. "What are you trying to tell me, Rose?"

Rose looked down a little more as she stood. "Mom…for such a long time, you've simply let me go on my own path, not binding me to your past…your Cerinian heritage."

"Rose…" Krystal placed a paw on her daughter's shoulder. "All I wanted was for you to fit in a little better with the people of this new world. I remember how rough it was for me to fit in with the Cornerians, among others, after what happened on Cerinia, and the Dinosaur planet."

"I know…" Rose smiled a bit as she looked back up at her mother. "But things are different now. The attack of the Grongi, and the appearance of Kuuga, as well as the return of Noa…all those events are going to spark a real interest in Cerinian culture, and spirituality. These people are going to start asking questions, they're gonna need a teacher…"

She humbly lowered her head to her mother, still smiling as tear ran down her cheek. "And I think with all I can learn from you…I can become one of those teachers."

Krystal was stunned at what her daughter now desired. She stood still for a moment, before the realization of this all sank into her…her daughter now wanted to learn the ways of the old Cerinians, willingly.

Happy tears began to slowly stream down Krystal's face, as she pulled her child in for a hug.

"Oh Rose…" she spoke softly. "Words can't describe how happy you've made me today…"

Rose nodded softly as she pulls back. "I hope you don't mind, but I told Kevin and Jimmy I'd go and join them, just as soon as my work is finished here."

"Of course I don't mind…" Krystal laughed happily, wiping a tear away. "You're a Cerinian, to be sure…but you're also a McCloud…it's only natural that you want to fly!"

Just as she spoke, her husband was now walking to the backyard slowly, observing this tender mother/daughter moment.

"What's going on here?" Fox enquired with a smile, looking to Krystal. "Experiencing empty nest syndrome already, hon?"

Krystal giggled a little, and walked over to her husband, as Rose stood at her side. She looked her father in the eyes with a smile.

"Dad…we need to talk…"

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A few days had passed, as the first group of New Cerinian youths walked into the special recruitment ships on the base. They were now moments away from taking off, and transporting them all to the academy very quickly. Among these first passengers, walking side by side, were Kevin and Jimmy.

Jimmy looked off to the side, seeing her mother, Topaz, waving to him with a big encouraging smile. She was proud that her little boy was finally growing up…not only that, but he reminded her so much of her father now…back when he was kind, caring soul. Fulton nodded him on encouragingly as well, confident now that his son possessed all of his own technical expertise.

Kevin walked on placidly, as he looked out and saw his adopted father standing near the ship. He looked down at the mark on his hand, the symbol of Noa having been painted there by Rose, as a reminder of what had happened, and where he came from. Ned simply waved his adopted son off with a smile, knowing now that the son of Wolf O'Donnell had his own destiny to pursue now. All he could do at this point was pray that it took him to a better place than it did his father, and his mother.

Kevin and Jimmy soon disappeared onto the ship, finding their seats with the other aspiring cadets. Both of their minds were fixated on the friend they were leaving behind…at least for now.

The ship then fired its thrusters, as all the other non-passengers left the hangar. It took off slowly from the ground, before quickly exiting the atmosphere, and heading off into space.

As all this was happening, Fox was sitting on a chair outside of his home, with little Amy sitting on his lap. The two watched on, happy and mesmerized at the same time, as the figure of Rose McCloud approached a pair of lanterns, set up by her mother.

The flames in the lantern shimmered as they illuminated the nearly 18-year-old Vixen. She was not dressed in her usual clothes, but now dressed in traditional Cerinian garb, specially woven by her mother. Krystal soon appeared afterward, dressed in her old Cerinian garb as well, which Fox remembered well from their first encounter. She held a wooden bowl in her paws, filled with what looked like a kind of white paint.

"The voices and spirits of our people echo inside of you, Rose…" Krystal spoke solemnly, picking up a paintbrush as she dipped it into the bowl. "And from this point, they will echo inside you forever." She then picked up the brush, and looked for a spot to begin. "Listen to them, and gain strength…"

With that, she began to paint all manner of Cerinian symbols on parts of her daughter's body. Rose simply stood still, remembering the seriousness of this ritual, as she tried not to giggle from the brush's tickling. As Krystal painted, the substance bonded to her fur, and changed its color on certain spots. The tattoos settled in, and slowly became permanent on Rose.

The scarlet vixen gave a light smile as she faced her mother, standing still. Krystal returned the smile, as she walked over to what looked like a pile of blankets. Fox watched on with Amy, as Krystal began to pull away many of these blankets, revealing something underneath.

Rose kept herself from gasping aloud, as her mother slowly revealed a staff. It was not Krystal's own staff, or even Topaz's…it was a brand new staff, fashioned with gems that Krystal created, using fragments of her own staff as a source…just enough not to weaken the old staff, of course.

Krystal slowly approached her daughter, and held the new staff at her side. "Within time, my knowledge shall become your own…my power will increase your power…remember to always use it wisely, and justly, Rose…"

She then slowly held out the staff to her daughter. Rose nodded gently with the same small smile.

"I will mother…I promise…" She then reached out with her own paw. Slowly, she pulled the staff from her mother's grasp, taking possession of the weapon for the first time. She held it at her side, and examined it, before looking to her mother.

"This is the beginning of a new life for you, Rose…" Krystal smiled. "As well as the beginning of a new spiritual line for New Cerinia. May it shine brightly, and continue to illuminate this new home of ours, for many generations to come."

Rose nodded and smiled as she looked back up to the sky, remembering those who helped her reach this point…she knew she could somehow succeed in this brave new world she had introduced herself too…with a little assistance, of course… as she could, even now, feel the warm glow of Kuuga's eyes upon her…watching her now, and forevermore.

THE END

(Author's note: I may or may not decide to continue this another day…as of this point, I plan on taking a hiatus from making Starfox fics. I hope you all enjoyed this story, and I would like to thank all of you who voiced your praise and support throughout my process of creating this, and my other stories. It's your support that kept me going right to the end

Thank you all again so very much!)