A/N: After years of dreaming. After months of waiting. After weeks of anticipation. I will finally get to go and see... THE EAGLES! Live in concert! So if you don't hear from me this weekend, you know where I'll be. And if for some reason I don't show up sometime after that, I'll probably have been abducted by aliens, the CIA or a bunch of angry farmers for stealing their vintage cans…. Umm… yeah. So who wants a T-shirt?

XIX

"Banishing me, are you?"

"We have no choice."

"Of course you do."

"Death is not an option."

"Oh no?"

"I know you're under some sort of trance, Astral. It's the amulets. They're corrupting you. We've managed to collect all but one."

"And you think I have it?"

"I know you do. Hand it over and we can help rehabilitate you. Start over and--"

"I'm sorry but no."

"Then you leave me with no alternative."

"Tarkin, wait." Another councilman interjected. "If we banish him, who knows what kind of damage he'll cause in the outside world?"

"He only has one amulet."

"One may be enough."


"Then again, it may not."

"Are you willing to risk the lives of countless innocents outside our walls rather than force this man to cooperate with us?"

"And what did you have in mind?"

"We can convince Astral to hand it over." Another chimed in. "By any means necessary."

"I will not have bloodshed in my province!"

"A little too late for that, don't you think?" Astral chuckled.

"Not on my hands. Not ever."

"Oh, what a pity…" He rolled his eyes.

"Astral Fulgore, I hereby banish you from the city of Mutari."

"…Hmm."

The ground suddenly shook as a mound of rock and dirt lifted from beneath the councilmen's seats. As they were thrown about, Astral attempted to reclaim Khan's amulets through Tarkin but the older man was wise enough to counter his attacks. With each green blast that emanated from Astral's hand, Tarkin deflected them with his magic wand. Furious, the young magician pounced on his enemy and rolled along the dirt floor with him as an invisible presence watched on.

Chameleon stood by and studied their every move, waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump in and snatch Tarkin's wand. When he saw his opening as Astral pinned Tarkin's arm outward, a stray energy blast from the wand forced him into a corner, where he was then trapped by a wall of rock that suddenly fell from the impact.

"No!" He growled under his breath, blending in with the orange colored rocks.

The two magicians, meanwhile, had each other in an arm lock until both their magic energies combined and pushed them back in opposite directions. When the centurions arrived, Astral knew he was in trouble. Facing defeat and fearing for his life, Astral turned around and fled down the halls of the golden city. There they chased him until they reached the gates, where Astral's speed picked up and helped him through to the other side.

"ASTRAAAAAAAL!" Tarkin cried.

He was now standing at the edge of a mountain, the circular door wheeling shut behind him for good. Slowly he moved himself along the sides of the rocky path as an icy breeze blew past him. Using the Earth amulet, the only one in his possession now, Astral created a stairway that helped him get to the bottom. When he grew tired of just walking, he forced out a few steps with his magic and stood on them, levitating himself the rest of the way down. When he reached the wilderness that awaited him, he tucked the amulet back into his pocket and realized he was holding an extra item in his other hand.

"Tarkin's wand?" He held the metal rod closely and chuckled. "The fool."

--

Astral opened his eyes and blocked out the painful memories and focused on the meeting that was taking place in the king's study room. Everyone gathered around and studied a 3-dimensional map that was being projected from one of Claudette's devices but Pixel, on the other hand, focused mainly on the beautiful scientist standing before him.

"If I remember correctly, the caves should be just beyond this wooded area here." The king pointed with a harmless red laser.

"And you're certain the amulet will be there?" Demetrius asked skeptically.

"Not exactly. But it's worth taking a look."

"Are the caves dangerous?" Trixie pondered aloud. "I mean is there a chance that we might run into trouble there?"

"While no one in a physical form hangs around there spoiling for a fight, there are certain dangers that need to be taken in consideration."

"Right. Well that does it for us, I guess." Stingy threw his hands up. "Trix, looks like you and I are sitting this one out."

"What? Don't be silly, Stingy. We're going in that cave with Stephanie and her team--"

"Yeah but how do you know we're even on her away team?"

"She just finished going over it two minutes ago!"

"Huh? I must have missed that one. Well whatever! I don't want us going! No! I don't want you going!"

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous!"

"Stingy--"

"No need to thank me! I'm just looking out for you is all!"

"Stingy--"

"Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll stay with you!"

"Stingy, please!"

"What?"

"Just… stop it! All right! God!"

And with that, she stood up and stormed out of the room. Confused, Stingy looked around and finally went after her. Nobody said or did anything for a few moments until Bob hopped over to the mini-bar and fixed himself a drink.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I think there's trouble in paradise, ha ha!" The chubby pink rabbit chuckled. "Hey! Who wants a White Russian?"

"Stephanie?" Hal turned his attention to the pink-haired young woman as she leaned against a wall, her arms crossed and gaze directed towards the hovering map. "Are you sure you want to start there?"

"Oh yeah." She grinned. "Definitely."

"Very well. Ozymandias?"

"I'll have some men escort you and your team on the way to the cave." The majordomo nodded. "There should be no problems but we can't risk your safety, now can we?"

Stephanie felt a bit uneasy about his remark but shrugged it off with a grin. "That's fine."

--

Later that night, as the moonlight made its appearance within the mountain city of gold, Tarkin stood by his balcony and watched as reparations in the town square came to an end. Morrissey, Chaplain and Kalgon, three other members of the Mutari council approached their colleague, whose gaze was fixed on the area that was once demolished by both Khan and Astral.

"Alfonse?" Kalgon cleared his throat. "Alfonse, are you all right?"

"…How long can we keep doing this?" He replied softly.

"Pardon me?"

"How long can we keep wiping off the same mess over and over again and pretend like it never happened? People are dead now because of our inability to act on time. I suppose it's my fault, really."

Chaplain raised a suspicious eyebrow. "How so?"

"I should have seen the signs, Chaplain. There was no way Khan's students could have forged those amulets at such an early level. That's why he took it upon himself to create them all when they continually failed time and again."

"I don't understand."

"It was his project from the start. His theories on elemental control beyond the use of our wands and spells were shoddy at best."

"You doubted his abilities?" Morrissey pondered.

"Not his abilities. His intentions."

"What?"

"I found it odd that a man would obsess for complete control over all four elements. Like a fool, I shrugged it off and thought nothing more of it.

"Then why did he take in a group of students? An alibi, perhaps?"

"I see no other explanation." Kalgon nodded. "But what about Astral?"

"His only real student…" Tarkin sighed. "Loyal to the very end."

"So what now, Alfonse?" Chaplain stepped closer to him. "What do we with the amulets? We tried destroying them but their magic is too strong."

"We hide them." He concluded. "Scatter them throughout the region, where they may be safe from those would abuse their power."

"I disagree." Morrissey shook his head. "If we are to scatter the amulets, they must be as far away from Mutari as possible. Perhaps in another part of the world where little is known about it."

Tarkin suddenly got an idea. "…But remains a watchful eye nevertheless."

--

He entered the nursery quietly and placed his arms on her shoulders. She smiled at his warm touch and greeted his lips with hers as she cradled their brand new baby boy before placing him in his crib.

"Our Jonathan." Jezelle whispered. "He looks so peaceful."

"Indeed he does." He smiled as he gently stroked the boy's face.

"Oh, Hal…"

"You want another one, don't you?" He grinned.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Oh yes."

"Ma…ma…" Another voice said.

Jezelle turned around and smiled at her firstborn, who was crawling at her feet and looking up at her with a drooling smile.

" Look at it this way, Hal." She picked up the infant and kissed him on the head. "At least Berto will have someone to play with."

"I've no objections whatsoever." He brought the two closer and kissed them both.

--

"Anything?"

"…Hmm…"

"Anything at all?"

"…Uhh…"

"This was your favorite room."

"…I believe you, I just… I just don't remember anything. Sorry."

Jezelle sighed and looked down as she leaned against the door to the nursery. Robbie stood in the middle of the room, examining all the old toys, furniture and wallpaper he spent a lot of time around as a child. But nothing clicked in his mind. Rottenella was in the room as well, being painfully reminded of the one thing she could never have. After a while, she shook off the feeling and took her beloved by the hand.

"I think I'm done in here, uhh, mom." Robbie cleared his throat.

"Yes, of course." She nodded. "I just thought… you know what I thought."

"Don't worry, though." He gave her a smile. "I'm sure something around this palace will jumpstart my memory."

"I hope so." She gave him a quick hug and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night, son."

"Good night."

They exited the room and bumped into Sportacus and Helmina, who were just coming back from another part of the palace. The two brothers exchanged glances but nothing more. They all stood in an awkward silence until Helmina broke the ice.

"Well it's good to see you again, Berto." She took him by the hand. "And it was nice meeting you, Rottenella."

"Yeah. You too." She smiled back and shook the violet-eyed woman's hand. "Good night, Sportacus. Jezelle."

As the engaged couple left, Sportacus closed his eyes and exhaled deeply while his mother shook her head in disappointment.

"Magnus."

"What?"

"When are you going to get over it and face the facts?"

"There are no facts. Just theories."

"He's your brother."

"He's… Oh, I can't believe we're having this talk again. Good night, mother. Good night, Helmina."

As he stormed off in the opposite direction, the two women looked at each other with a look of concern on their faces.

"Maybe he's not ready to accept the truth just yet, miss."

"Helmina, he's as stubborn as his brother was."

"Oh yes." She smiled. "I remember Jon being a bit pigheaded himself."

"What happened to our family, Helmina? I suppose it's my fault for losing Berto in the first place."

"You didn't lose him, miss. He ran away. You know that."

"But I can't help wonder why he ran away. Perhaps it had something to do with us. Did we say something? Did we push him too hard? I just wish I had the answers."

"And they'll come to you soon enough, miss. He'll remember his past. And Magnus will forgive him and accept him."

"I hope you're right."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING!?" They heard a voice shriek from another part of the castle.

--

"What?"

Out in a hallway, Ziggy stared at Pixel as he wore his blue and purple whale costume the Piranhas had provided him with several days ago. Pixel just shook his head in disbelief and total disgust.

"Ziggy, why are you wearing that!?'

"Why not? It's comfy!"

"Yeah but… but why!?

"Well I forgot to pack my pajamas and I tried sleeping in the nude but that didn't work out. I mean you try sleeping with a dozen chocolate wrappers sticking to your butt!"

"Aah! Ziggy! No! No! No! NO! Shut up! Stop talking! Just… ugh… whatever."

"Hey! I brought yours if you want to--"

"NO!"

"All right. Well good night, Pixel!"

"Yeah, yeah…"