It's Charities Week at school! That means the Slave Auction! The many sweet stalls! The Sixth Form Uniform Swap! And…Non-Uniform Day! WOO HOO! I love Charities Week! And, to reflect my good mood, here is the next chapter!

Chapter 29

Zane's Decision

BOOM!

CRASH!

KRAK!

"We've gotta be getting closer now!" Jaden yelled, dashing through the city, along with the rest of the gang. "The explosions are louder!"

"What about Daisy and Hiruko?" Jesse asked.

"Don't worry! Meno is staying with them! They'll catch up to us!"

"Plus…" Hassleberry narrowed his eyes at Zane. "Zane stole Kai's sword."

"Not stealing! Borrowing!"

"Um…" Jaden stopped when the path they were running on divided into two. "Which way?"

"Up there!" Selena pointed up at the sky. The giant pink monster and Aster in his phoenix form were battling it out in the air.

"That's Aster?" Zane gasped.

"I told you he was strong." Jaden said, folding his arms. The giant phoenix landed feet first on the ground heavily, causing the gang to jump back in surprise.

"Sorry, guys. I don't know how powerful this form really is." Aster apologised.

"Are you alright?" Hassleberry yelled up at him.

"Yup." Aster made an OK sign with his right hand, and the phoenix did the same. The pink monster landed onto the ground and faced Aster. "How are Daisy and Hiruko?"

"No worries! They're a-ok." Jaden grinned.

"I see. That's good." Aster turned back to the monster. "Now I can go all out." Aster's eyes glowed white, and the phoenix charged towards the monster quick as a flash and head-butted it in the stomach.

"WOO!" Jaden cheered. "GO ASTER!"

"RAWR!" The monster roared, attempting to kick the phoenix back, but it flew up into the air, and fired a blast of fire from its hand. It hit the pink monster head on, and the pink glow faded slightly.

"The glow is getting lighter." Syrus noticed.

"That means that Aster is winning." Hassleberry beamed.

"But…it's taking too long. At this rate, the city will be destroyed."

"What do you mean, Jesse?" Selena asked.

"I'm saying that Aster will have to be a lot stronger than this to defeat the monster. That means destroying the city."

"Should we try making him mad?" Syrus suggested. Everyone looked at him, confused. "I mean, he's powerful when he's angry, right? So…maybe…we can provoke Aster?"

"He does have a point." Jaden nodded.

"But what's going to provoke him enough to get rid of that…that…whatever that thing is?" Hassleberry asked.

"Who knows?"

Meanwhile, while the gang were talking, the phoenix had fired the smaller phoenixes from the tips of its fingers, and they all simultaneously attacked the pink monster with a barrage of fireballs. Each time one of them hit, the glow faded ever so slightly, until it was a dark pink. Aster made the giant phoenix raise one hand into the air. The smaller phoenix flew in a twister shape in the sky, and the fire they were made from melded together, and the result was one giant phoenix.

"Go!" Aster yelled. The phoenix obeyed, and collided into the pink monster. The monster roared in pain as the pink glow surrounding it grew even duller.

It's working! Aster thought. But it's taking too long. If I let loose, I could destroy this whole city. What should I do?

"Aster!"

"Huh?" Aster looked over his shoulder, and the phoenix he was inside did the same. "Daisy!" Sure enough, Daisy was running down the street towards the rest of the gang, Kai in hot pursuit. She was still slightly dirty from the battle, but otherwise, she was fine.

"Daisy, are you alright?" Selena asked. "Where's Hiruko?"

"Don't worry. He's on his way. More importantly, how is Aster getting along?"

"Great!" Jaden exclaimed happily. "The monster is nearly gone!"

"But he needs a more powerful attack to get rid of it permanently." Jesse said.

"Aw, come on. Don't be so…so… hmmm." Syrus held his chin thoughtfully. "What's that word? Melancholy? Yeah! Stop being so melancholy!"

"Hey, I'm just saying it as it is." Jesse protested.

At least Daisy is alright. Aster thought, relieved. He turned back to the monster. His eyes widened. Wait, what's it doing? The monster was pointing at Aster, and a small blast was charging up at the tip of its finger. That blast is way too weak to damage me. So why is it…? Hold on a second! Don't tell me!

"Everyone! Get out the way!" Aster yelled, turning around in the sky to face everyone. But, the monster fired the pink blast straight after Aster gave the warning.

"Watch out!" Kai yelled, pushing Daisy out of the way of the blast. It pierced Kai straight through his stomach, much to the horror of the rest of the gang.

"!" Aster gasped, his eyes turning back to the blue colour it was originally.

"Wh…what on…?" Jaden stuttered, eyes wide.

"Kai!" Hassleberry caught Kai before he had a chance to hit the ground, and he laid him gently onto the road.

"He's in really bad shape!" Syrus turned away from Kai's injury. "He's barely even conscious!"

"GACK!" Kai coughed up several drops of blood. "D…Da…"

"Don't talk!" Jesse yelled. "You'll only kill yourself!"

"Da…Daddy?" Daisy whispered, crawling over to Kai's side.

"Da...Dai…sy…Are you…there?" Kai's right hand twitched.

"I'm here." Daisy lightly gripped Kai's hand with her own. "I'm here." She said again.

"You…you're…not…hurt…are…you?"

"Dummy." Daisy said quietly. "It's you who's hurt."

"Oh…That's good."

"What's good about that? You got hurt trying to protect me! Why would you do something so…so…reckless?"

"Why else?" Kai answered simply. "Because…you are…my…my precious daughter." Kai turned his head to look at Daisy. "You…you look just…like your…mother. It's too bad…that she can't see you now." Kai squeezed Daisy's hand. "If I ever…had any…regrets…it would be…that we never properly…recon…ciled."

"Stop it!" Daisy yelled. "Stop talking like you're about to die! It's not too late!"

"?" Kai raised an eyebrow.

"I know. Let's start over. You and me. Together. You hear me? I don't care if you turn into a cripple, as long as we can be the family we should have been from the start!" Daisy closed her eyes tightly. "Just don't die. Please! Don't die!"

"No…You have to…live for me. Okay?"

"I can't!" Daisy cried. "Not without you!"

"Daisy…I…" Kai smiled, his eyes closing. "I love you." Daisy's eyes widened. Kai's eyes were now closed, but he still wore a smile on his face.

"H…Hey. Stop messing around. This isn't funny." Daisy shook Kai's shoulder. "Wake up!" Daisy let go of Kai's hand and shrunk away. "No. This isn't happening." Tears filled Daisy's eyes. "No. Not now! Daddy!"

"Oh no…" Jaden said. Jesse hugged a sobbing Selena, and Hassleberry stared at the ground, fists clenched.

"He's…He's gone." Syrus said quietly, trying extremely hard not to cry. All Zane could do was place an arm around his little brother's shoulders.

"DAAAAAAAADYYYYY!" Daisy screamed, burying her head on top of Kai and crying loudly. Aster had seen the whole thing, and he stayed where he was, completely horror struck.

Kai… Aster thought, his eyes wide. I'm not sensing anything from him. He's…He's dead!

"Grrr…" Aster growled, his eyes going back to their white glow. "This is…" He turned back to face the pink monster. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Aster yelled, a huge pillar of fire surrounding him and the phoenix.

"What the…" Hassleberry started, looking back up.

"Aster!" Syrus gasped.

"Syrus, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you were right!" Jesse yelled. "Aster's gone crazy, which means…"

"Which means this will finally be over!" Jaden yelled, grinning.

"THIS IS FOR MENO!" Aster punched the monster on its left shoulder, as it disintegrated on contact. "THIS ONE IS FOR ATTACKING OUR CITY!" The next blow was a kick to the monster's stomach, and that too created a massive hole where the phoenix made contact. The phoenix threw a fireball half the size of its own body, and hurled it at the monster, which could not dodge it, and then its legs disappeared. "THAT WAS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE YOU'VE KILLED. AND THIS…" Aster crossed his arms across his chest, the phoenix copying him. The phoenix' body began to glow white. "THIS IS FOR MAKING DAISY CRY!" The phoenix thrust its arms out, and the white glow filled the entire sky. The monster roared in pain as the light completely wiped it from existence.

"!" The gang all shielded themselves from the bright light.

"Now what's going on?" Zane yelled.

"Aster is finishing this battle!" Jesse yelled over the roar of the power that was surrounding them.

"It's so loud!" Syrus shouted, covering his ears.

"Don't worry! It's almost over!" As soon as Jaden said this, the light began to fade. "See?" When the light finally died down, Aster still remained floating in the air, the phoenix now gone. He floated down to the ground, where his feet barely made a sound as he touched the road. His eyes still glowing, Aster pointed his right palm into the sky. A yellow ball of light took form, and hundreds of small light beams shot out of it, into the sky and across the city. Some of the balls hit the damaged buildings, and a soon as they did, the buildings were repaired as if nothing had happened. The rest hit the ground, where many humans suddenly materialised onto the road, lying on the road unconscious.

"Aren't those the…?" Jaden started.

"They're the humans that were trapped in that thing!" Jesse gasped.

"Huh?" Daisy looked, still crying. "Ah!" She gasped when one of the balls of light hit Kai. Instantly, his wound healed, and his eyes snapped open.

"What?" Kai sat up, confused. "Wasn't I dead?"

"Daddy!" Daisy cried, throwing her arms around Kai, bursting into tears again.

"Amazing." Zane breathed. "He can even bring the dead back to life." Zane turned to look at Aster. The ball of light in his hand vanished, and he lowered his arm. "Is this really Aster?"

"Aster?" Jesse said nervously.

"Yes?" Aster said, looking over his shoulder with his eyes back to normal. Everyone, except Zane, looked dumbfounded. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Aren't you supposed to…you know…collapse or something?" Hassleberry asked.

"Should I? I don't feel weak. I feel right as rain, in fact." Aster looked at his hands. "So that was the phoenix fire? Unbelievable. I can…I can remember everything that happened."

"EH?" The gang exclaimed.

"Y-Y-You can remember?" Hassleberry stuttered.

"Yeah. Every single detail. I can even remember bringing everyone back to life."

"Wait, does that include the Kishido's?" Zane asked. Aster shook his head.

"They became one with that thing, so their bodies no longer existed. I couldn't bring them back."

"Syrus!"

"Huh?" Syrus looked behind him. Meno was standing with the rest of the gang now, James and Hiruko standing behind her. "Meno."

"Give them some space." Jaden said quietly, beckoning to Zane, who stood back from Syrus.

"Meno...what's with that look on your face?" Syrus asked. Meno's eyes shone as she stared at Syrus.

"Syrus...I...I turned you into a Kishido." She said quietly.

"It wasn't you, it was Voice...Omen...Whatever her name is, she did it." Syrus protested.

"I...I'm sor..." Meno started. "..." Meno turned away, her body shaking. "I...I..." Meno closed her eyes, tears falling down her face. Syrus' eyes widened. Without thinking, he ran up to Meno and hugged her tightly.

"Syrus!" Meno gasped.

"You've got nothing to apologise for." Syrus muttered. "I don't have another side like you used to do. And anyway...now, I can protect you and Zane. So, please, don't apologise and blame yourself anymore."

"Okay." Meno smiled, wiping away her tears. "But…what about what I said earlier?"

"Huh?" Syrus blinked, pulling away.

"What's this? What's this?" Jaden said eagerly, overhearing.

"Well, I…" Meno blushed. "You know, I…I…"

"What's wrong?" Zane asked.

"I said the L word!" Meno blurted out, her blush going from pink to bright red.

"HUH?" Aster exclaimed.

"T-T-T-T-The L word?" Jesse stuttered.

"The shy Meno told Syrus she loved him!" Hassleberry yelled. "It's the end of the world!"

"Who are you and what have you done with Meno?" Jaden demanded, pointing at Meno, who blushed even harder.

"You guys are totally over-reacting." Syrus muttered.

"So…um…" Meno continued, fiddling with her hands. "W-W-What do you think? Do you f-f-feel the same?" Meno asked.

"…" Syrus closed his eyes. "Later."

"Eh?" Meno blinked. Syrus opened his eyes, smiling.

"I'll tell you when the time is right. I mean, if that's okay with you." Meno nodded.

"Okay. I'll wait for you to tell me."

"Um, sorry to interrupt this tender moment, but er…" Aster brought his hands up to shoulder height. "I can't find the silver phoenix."

"You what?" Jaden yelled, almost falling down.

"Yeah. It's gone."

"How can you have such a calm look on your face?"

"Um…I think I know where it is." Selena said nervously, raising a hand in the air.

"Where?" Jesse asked.

"It's just a thought but, maybe…remember when the phoenix fire was complete? Aster grabbed it with his right hand, so maybe…it's…"

"No way." Aster muttered, looking at his right hand.

"She is correct, Master. The moment you grabbed me, I became one with you. In other words, my crest form is now in your right hand." The phoenix said inside Aster's head.

"Huh?" Aster sweat dropped. Silence. "WHAAAAAAAAAT?"

"What's wrong?"

"That wasn't part of the deal!" Aster yelled at his hand.

"But how else am I supposed to merge with you?"

"I don't want nickel poisoning, or lead poisoning, or whatever-metal-you're-made-from poisoning! Get out!" Aster shouted, shaking his right hand furiously.

"Ha-ha! See you later!"

"What the…you just laughed at me, didn't you? You heard him, didn't you guys?"

"Nope." Jesse shook his head.

"I think it's talking to you in your head." James said.

"Has he gone crazy, bro?" Hiruko asked Jaden.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Aster exclaimed.

"Aster, if it'll help you calm down, how are we going to deal with the people in this city? I mean, they saw you flying and using your powers, so what will you do?" Zane asked.

"Huh?" Aster blinked, no longer yelling at his hand. "Ah, don't worry. When I defeated that monster, those balls of light I released erased everyone's memories of this ever happening, and repaired everything." Aster grinned. "In other words, everything is back to normal! Now, you'd better give Kai his sword back." Aster glanced at Kai, who was glaring at Zane fiercely while holding Daisy. "He's giving you "The Look". Seriously."

Fine." Zane threw the sword behind him, and it wedged into the road in front of Kai. "Now that that's done, I believe you have a lot of explaining to do."

Two hours later, back at the apartment

"And…that's it." Aster finished. "At least, I think it is. Um…Zane?"

THUMP!

"AH!" Aster yelled. The armchair that Zane was sitting in had collapsed on its back. "Zane!" Aster peered down at Zane. He had collapsed onto the carpeted floor, and while he was still conscious, he was so overwhelmed his eyes were practically spirals. "Are you okay?"

"Uwaaaaah…" Zane moaned.

"Information overload, huh?" Aster staggered backwards when Zane suddenly sat up.

"Of course it is! How could I not be overwhelmed after what you told me? More importantly, why aren't you overwhelmed?"

"I guess it's because I'm used to it. And let's face it, when was the last time you saved the world?"

"I'll have you know I protected one of the seven spirit keys!"

"And lost after the first duel. In short, you hardly contributed at all."

"It's not like that!" Zane turned away.

"So what are you going to do?" Aster asked. "Are you going to take Syrus back to Duel Academy?"

"No." Zane shook his head. "He's already made his mind up. There's nothing I can do to convince him otherwise."

"I see."

"Aster…I want to speak to your father for a moment."

"What? Why?" Aster asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Just get him for me."

"Alright, alright. Yeesh." Aster opened the door that lead to out of the living room. "Hey, Dad!" Aster yelled. "Come here a sec!"

"Yes?" James entered through the door.

"Zane wants ya."

"Thank you, Aster." Zane stood up from the floor. "If you please, I want to be left alone with him."

"Okay, sure." Aster shrugged. He turned towards the door James entered from, but stopped. "Ah, what the hell?" Aster turned back around, walked towards the bookshelf and pulled on the book that led to the chamber where the rest of the gang was staying.

"What the…" Zane started. "Oh, yeah. The bookcase is magic too."

"So, what is it?" James asked, walking to where Zane stood.

"Mr Phoenix…"

"Please, call me James."

"Okay... James… I have to know. You had powers like Aster too, right?"

"That is correct."

"Do you…Do you still have some of them left?" Zane asked.

"A few remnants. It's not very strong, but it's enough so I can defend myself."

"I see." Zane muttered. "In that case, I have a request."

"Yes?" Zane hesitated for a moment, clenching his fists.

"Teach me!"

"Excuse me?" James asked, taken aback. Zane looked directly into James' eyes, his own determined.

"Please! Teach me how to fight!"

"So, it was just a small fever? Jeez, stop worrying us like that!"

"Lay off, Jay. He's probably exhausted. Hey…" Jesse elbowed Jaden playfully. "Maybe he should wear a blindfold whenever he leaves the flat. OW!" Jesse was interrupted when Haru punched him behind the head.

"I absolutely will not." Haru grumbled angrily.

"But it's caused when you see people die, right? It'll help." Jaden protested.

"Yeah," Haru slumped onto the sofa in the passageway next to a worried Aiko. "But I'll end up fainting from walking into so many lampposts. Did you ever think about that?"

"Uh…" Jesse and Jaden said at the same time.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aiko asked. "I heard it was a high fever. You shouldn't be walking around so soon."

"I'm fine, Aiko. I'm feeling a lot better now. Anyway, this usually happens if I faint two days in a row, and I always recover in a few hours."

"But still..." Aiko started, but she stopped when Haru placed a hand on her head.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I'm okay now." Haru said with a smile. Aiko blushed lightly.

"O...Okay."

"Hmmm...Did you see that, Jay?" Jesse asked mischievously.

"I did I did." Jaden said thoughtfully.

"But it's a little fast for you to recover, isn't it?" Aiko leaned closer towards Haru. She moved some blonde hair out of Haru's face and leaned even closer until their foreheads touched. "You're still a little warm."

"Ah!" Haru quickly turned away from Aiko, red faced. "I'm sure it's nothing. I mean, I can shrug off a cold in like three days. Yeah, it must be like that." Haru said quickly.

Too close! Too close! Haru thought.

"Hmmm..." Jaden held his chin thoughtfully, grinning.

"Methinks we have a romance developing."

"Now you're face is red." Aiko said. "Are you okay?"

"Um..." Haru started, his face lightening until it was back to normal. "I'm...fine. Thanks."

"No means no Hiruko!"

"Huh?" Haru and Aiko looked over their shoulders. Hiruko and Aster were directly in the middle of the hall of the passage, glaring at each other.

"I thought we had a deal!" Hiruko yelled.

"The deal was that you'd make sure Zane wouldn't find out about us!"

"And I did just that!"

"But he found out, therefore the deal is void!"

"What about those times I helped you out?"

"You call locking me in a closet helping?" Haru yelled.

"I still say you owe me fifteen dollars!" Hiruko continued, ignoring Haru.

"Well I say I don't owe you fifteen dollars!"

"Wow. They're really going at it." Aiko muttered.

"I'm rooting for Aster on this. Definitely." Haru grumbled angrily.

"You know, Jay. They do go well together." Jesse said quietly, not paying attention to Hiruko and Aster arguing.

"Yeah, I thought so too. Hey, I've got an idea." Jaden whispered into Jesse' ear for several seconds. "Alright, play it cool for now."

"Hey, Haru, old buddy, old pal!" Jesse exclaimed happily, throwing an arm around Haru's shoulders, surprising him. "How's it goin' with ya?"

"Why are you acting so pal-y all of a sudden?" Haru asked suspiciously.

"Okay, getting to the point…" Jaden stood behind the sofa Haru and Aiko were peering over, placing both of his hands on them. "How do you fancy coming to beach with us tomorrow?"

"Huh?" Aiko and Haru blinked, confused.

"What's with those faces?" Jaden asked.

"Why…would we go to the beach?" Aiko asked.

"Because it's summer, you goof!" Jaden exclaimed. "Take advantage of this gorgeous weather and chillax on the beach!" Jaden threw his arms up into the air. "It's not every day you get sunny weather like this, you know! And we'll ask the others to come too; we could all use a break from all this fighting, don't ya think?"

"Um…I guess." Haru said.

"The beach!" Hiruko exclaimed, over hearing. "I'm in!"

"And me!" Aster yelled.

"Great! It's a date!" Jaden proclaimed. "We'll see you then!" Jesse and Jaden turned around and walked towards the corridor that led to the flat. On the way there, Jaden and Jesse gave each other a high five.

"What's with them?" Haru asked Aiko. Aiko shrugged.

"So…you're going home now, huh?" Daisy said. Daisy and Kai were now standing together at the top of the steps that led into the tall building that held the gang.

"Yes." Kai nodded.

"Say…what you said earlier…did you…did you really mean it?" Daisy asked, playing with a strand of hair that fell in front of her face.

"Of course I did." Kai reached up to Daisy and moved the strand of hair behind her ear. "Any father would feel like that to their daughter."

"I guess." Daisy stared down at the ground. "It was…it was sweet of you." Silence.

"Well I…I guess I should be going." Kai turned around and walked down the steps.

"Wait!"

"Huh?" Kai turned around as soon as he reached the pavement. Daisy ran down the steps until she was directly in front of Kai.

"You know…you can always, like…visit…or something." Daisy said.

"!" Kai's eyes widened. "Sure." Kai smiled warmly. "I'll be going now."

"Take care of yourself." Kai disappeared in a flash of light. "I love you." Daisy finished.

Rumble

"Eh?" Daisy looked up at the sky. "Was that thunder?" The clouds began to turn grey and get heavy with rain. "Looks like rain tonight. I hope Aster will be alright."

Several hours later

"Aster…" James started, his arms folded. He was standing to the left of a double door wardrobe in Aster's bedroom. It was pouring with rain outside in the night, and the raindrops hammered on the window. "How long are you going to stay in there"?

"I am going to come out!" Aster's voice protested from inside the wardrobe. "Just…Just not right now!"

"Come on, Aster." James sighed. He glanced at the ceiling for a moment. "You know Meno confessed to Syrus, right?" James asked. "Well…they're about to have their first kiss right now."

"SAY WHAT?" Aster exclaimed, shoving the doors open with full force. Unfortunately, one of them slammed straight into James' face.

"Ack!" James covered his nose with his hands, dropping onto his knees.

"Ah! I'm sorry Dad!" Aster crawled out of the wardrobe and onto the floor. "Are you okay? Did I break anything?"

"Ugh…That's quite a lot of strength you've got there, son." James gasped. "By the way, I lied."

"Eh?" Aster blinked. "That was a dirty trick!"

"But I got you to come out." James pointed out, looking up at Aster with one hand still on his face.

"I…I guess." Aster glanced away from James.

FWASH!

"GYAH!" Aster yelped. "Um…sorry, but I've got something to take care of. Bye." Aster said quickly, crawling back into the wardrobe and closing the doors behind him.

"Why are you going back in there?" James exclaimed. No response. There was another flash of lightning.

"!" James heard Aster's muffled yelp inside the wardrobe.

"Aster…" James started, removing his hand from his face, revealing a rather red nose. "Are you scared of thunderstorms?"

"M…Maybe." James stood up.

"I see. I guess you're starting to remember."

"Huh? Remember what?" Aster asked.

"When you were little, you were afraid of thunder. I think it was after you went to some hostel with your mother. Every time you heard thunder, you would freeze up and then hide somewhere until it was over. Just like you are now." James heard a wardrobe door click, and Aster stepped out of it slowly.

"I…I was like this before?" Aster asked.

"Yes." James nodded. "The fact that you are scared of thunder again means that you're memories are returning."

"Weird." Aster sat down on his bed. "I wonder why?"

FWASH!

"AH!" Aster covered his ears with his hands. "I shouldn't have come out!"

"H…Hey." James said, reaching out towards Aster and touching his shoulder. He gasped.

He's trembling. James thought. Aster's terrified. When was it? When was the last time I saw Aster so scared and so vulnerable?

FWASH!

"Why won't this storm be over already?" Aster yelled. Suddenly, Aster felt himself be pulled into a hug by James. "Dad?"

"I'll stay with you." James said quietly. "I'll stay with you until it's over."

"You must think I'm acting like a little kid, don't you?" Aster muttered.

"Not at all." James shook his head.

"So…do you know why I'm afraid of thunder?"

"No. That's something you'll have to find out for yourself. It's up to you to regain your memories. I can't guarantee it will be easy, though."

"Heh. After what I've been through so far, I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake."

"Hn. Maybe. But, I still believe you can do it."

"Really?"

"Of course. I am your father, after all. And you are my son."

"Yeah, of course."

FWASH!

"Yipe!"

"Don't worry." James reassured, keeping his hold on Aster's trembling body firm. "I said I'd stay with you until the end, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but…" Aster started, still shaking. "What if I become something I don't like if my memories return?"

"That doesn't matter." James smiled. "You're my son, and I will always love you, no matter what you remember."

"Thanks, Dad."

"I think it's calming down now." James said, looking outside the window.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Aster looked up at James, or rather, his red nose. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Aster burst out laughing, pushing himself away from James and landing on his back. "You look like Rudolph! HAHAHAHA!"

"It's only like this because you opened a door in my face!" James exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it's funny!" Aster gasped.

FWASH!

"AH!" Aster yelled. "Where'd that come from?"

"Oh!" James slammed a fist on his palm. "What if we got ear plugs?"

"O-Of course! That would work! Tie this pillow on my head! Gah, it's not working! Forget it!"

"What about headphones?"

"Dad, you're a genius! Where are they?"

"Not here! Not here! Not here either!"

CRASH!

"Whoops. Whatever that was, I think I'm gonna need a new one, Dad."

"I've found them! Here!" James placed a pair of DJ style headphones on top of Aster's head.

"Ah, that's much better." Aster sighed, relieved. He surveyed his bedroom. It was now a huge mess from the frantic search James and Aster just performed. The drawers were half opened, clothes decorated the floor, the bed was unmade and a lamp lay broken on the floor. "But…we made a huge mess."

"You could always fix it with your powers, Aster."

"Meh, tomorrow." Aster collapsed back first on the bed. "It's too late into the night."

"You can hear me but not the thunder?" James said, confused.

"Yup." Aster nodded, linking his hands behind his head.

FWASH!

"?" James blinked. Aster didn't even flinch. "You're right. It does work!"

"Well, it was your idea." Aster pointed out. "Looks like I'm gonna sleep easy tonight." James glanced out of the window.

"If you want to remember on your own, I think going to the hostel is the first thing to do." James said. "But, you shouldn't be afraid to get the help of your friends. You're lucky to have them. And of course, I'm still here. So, don't worry about changing after remembering, because I know that nothing will be different. Okay, Aster?" No response. "Aster?" James glanced back at Aster. "Oh," Aster had already fallen asleep on the bed, the headphones remaining on his head as he rolled over onto his right side.

"Heh." James smiled. "Even when he's asleep, he's just like I was." James picked up the duvet that was half on the floor, and he gently placed it over Aster. James moved a lock of silver hair out of Aster's face. "Sleep well, son."

The next day

Are you sure about this?" James asked, facing the bookshelf. Behind him stood Zane, who nodded, determination in his eyes.

"I'm sure."

"Good. Because at this point onwards, there is no turning back." James opened the bookcase as though it were a door, and walked through the corridor decorated with torches and Celtic patterns. Somewhat nervously, Zane followed him. "This path that you take is full of destruction and pain. You may be faced with death, and possibly even die. Does this not bother you?"

"Of course it does." Zane answered. "But, what bothers me the most is my brother."

"Oh?" James looked over his shoulder at Zane.

"Yesterday, my little brother put his life on the line to protect this city. My brother, who couldn't even defend himself against bullies. What's worse, all I could do was watch as my brother and my friends fought that thing. Aren't older brothers supposed to protect their younger siblings?" Zane clenched a fist. "I want to protect Syrus. And to do that, I need your help."

"I understand." James smirked. "Ever the dedicated older brother I see, Zaney."

"What's with that look on your face?" Zane exclaimed. "You sound just like Aster!"

"Like father like son, eh?" James said, raising his eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zane muttered.

"We're here." James said, ignoring Zane and walking into a large room.

"Hey, don't ignore-whoa!" Zane was interrupted from his sentence when he walked into the room. It was the very same storage room that the gang had gone into before rescuing Daisy to receive their weapons. "Un…Unbelievable. This place is in your flat? What the…that whip has an axe on it!"

"This is the same place Jaden and his friends got their weapons." James said. "Jaden's gun, Jesse's bow and arrows and his Glove of Rai, Hassleberry's headband, Syrus' sword, Hannah's bag of sparrows, and even Aster's manacle; all of them came from this room. And yes, Jaden wanted that whip himself."

"Amazing." Zane breathed. "So…this is where I learn to fight?"

"No." James shook his head. "We'd only destroy it. We are here to determine what weapon you have. Of course, if you have hidden abilities, we are here to determine what they are."

"Hidden abilities?" Zane repeated. "You mean, like that shrimp Hiruko?"

"Yes. It could be anything."

"Oh," Zane stared up at the ceiling. "Wait a sec, who's Hannah?"

"AH-TCHOO!"

"Eh?" Zane spun around. Hannah was just emerging from around the corner of a bookshelf, rubbing her nose with her hand.

"Here I am, Uncle James." Hannah sniffed.

"Uncle?"

"Yes. She is my niece, and Aster's cousin. Also, she is the second of the two phoenix warriors; the phoenix warrior of wind and fire."

"You mean this little Shorty?" Zane asked, pointing at Hannah.

"SHORTY? WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHORTY?" Hannah yelled, fire surrounding her entire body. "I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT AGAIN, YOU BLACK BASTARD!"

"Ack!" Zane staggered back, stunned.

"Oh, yeah. Don't provoke her. If she's in a good mood, she'll give you the option of either burning you or cremating you." James said, staring at a long blue crystal in his hand.

"Don't say that with such a calm expression." Zane said, sweat dropping. "Anyway, how does this work?"

"See this crystal?" James held up the crystal in his hand. It was glowing a little bit in James' hand. "This can reflect how much power one person has. As you can tell, I have some power, but not much. Hannah, however…" James threw the crystal to Hannah, and as soon as her hand held it, the glow became even brighter until Hannah's hand was surrounded by light blue light. "She clearly has a lot more power than I."

"What if Aster held it?" Zane asked, curious.

"At my guess, the glow would fill this whole room. Now, for you. Hannah, give Zane the crystal."

"Alright." Hannah threw the crystal at Zane. "Catch." Zane cupped his hands around it, and as soon as he did, there was a crack sound. "Huh?" Zane lifted one hand off, and his eyes widened. The crystal had shattered into hundreds of shards. "Um…it broke. Is that good or bad?" Zane asked nervously.

"It means that you have untapped power inside of you. Something that this crystal is unfamiliar with. It's an older model, so it's to be expected." James opened a box on a bookshelf and shuffled through it until he held a small round green crystal in his hand. "Try this one."

"Wh…What about this one?" Zane indicated the shards in his hand.

"Just drop it on the ground and it will reform." Zane did so, and as the shards landed on top of each other, they moulded together until the crystal once again took shape. "See? Here." James threw the crystal to Zane, and when he caught it, nothing happened. After a few seconds the crystal began to glow white. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. This has never happened before." James held his chin thoughtfully. "Green would mean that you could use elemental magic, red means shape shifting, and blue would mean your powers were that of a guardian or charmcaster. Yet this time, it is neither. What could this mean?"

"Don't you have, like, a book that tells you what it means?"

"Here it is." Hannah waved a small book the size of her hand in the air. She immediately began to flip through the pages. "Good thing I'm learning how to read. Let's see…white…white...white…white… Bingo!"

"Well? What does it say?" James asked.

"Um…it says…it says…" Hannah squinted at the writing. "Uh… Uncle James, what does this word say?"

"Let's see." James peered over Hannah's shoulder. "It says…" James suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked. "Is it bad?"

"It may very well be." James looked up at Zane, eyes wide. "Zane Truesdale…you possess Lost Magic!"

Lost Magic? What could it be? Ah, the tension is killing me! Well, stay tuned in the Easter, for we will find out what this "Lost Magic" is! (what do you think it is? Feel free to leave guesses in the reviews.) And, we get to see Aster and the gang finally start to relax. Until next time, you guys!