Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny ❯ Wrath of God Story, part 2: The Pillar of Cephiro ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]


Disclaimer:
This fic uses characters, places, themes from franchises that are the property of others. This chapter features Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP. I do not own these franchises.

Special Thanks to:
Charles Xavier, Fanfiction.net author: For writing an awesome crossover with anime and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Suikosource website: for providing great information that made this fic possible.

The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny
By: RB3


Wrath of God Story, part 2: The Pillar of Cephiro


Even the destruction of Ba Sing Se and the Great Blue's World Government building couldn't satiate the bloodlust of those who controlled the Eye of God. Their next target was the fantastic world known as Cephiro. It was a world of magic and fantasy, a world where science had largely fallen to the wayside. A world of the will, those who live on Cephiro can shape things through the sheer power of imagination. In the past, this beautiful land was supported by a succession of nearly omnipotent individuals known as the Pillar. Through their prayers, they sustained the existence and peace of the world.

However, tragedy struck with the second last Pillar of Cephiro, Emeraude. In truth, although the Pillar system of Cephiro granted near omnipotent powers, it was also a prison for the Pillar herself. As the Pillar, she had no choice but to think of Cephiro's well-being, lest it fall into ruin. However, that was what exactly happened during Emeraude's tenure as Pillar. Having fallen in love with her high priest, Zagato, she could no longer maintain her thoughts on Cephiro's well-being. Until she died, no one else could replace her as the new Pillar. She summoned the three Magic Knights to her world, the only individuals who could end her life.

However, that was only the start of Cephiro's problems. After Emeraude's death, a new evil known as Debonair terrorized the now crumbling world. In addition, three foreign nations from across space planned to invade the world and place one of their own as Pillar. In the midst of the conflict, it would be the Magic Knight Hikaru Shidou who would ascend to the position of Pillar. As her only official acts as Pillar, she used her power to annihilate Debonair and forever abolish the Pillar system which had caused so much grief and suffering. Peace returned to Cephiro once again, or so everyone thought.

In a repeat of the attacks by the three nations, the Eye of God materialized in the space surrounding Cephiro. Down below, the lush green world seemed so peaceful and blissfully unaware of the danger that was to befall them. A great sphere of darkness formed over the muzzle of the Eye’s cannon and burst forth. Death and destruction was the only thing left in its wake. Upon descending to Cephiro, the sphere expanded to a massive size, swallowing a stone governmental building within a great city. Fierce winds began to drag anything and everything around ground zero into inevitable doom within a black hole.

Houses and people were ripped from the streets and pulled into that black, hungry maw. In the violent, deafening swooshes of the wind, no one could hear the horrified screams of the citizens. In but a few minutes, it was all over and all that remained was a barren crater. However, that would not be the end of Cephiro's danger. Following the Eye of God's attack were hundreds of Abh drop ships, which descended onto the planet surface. The Abh and their Omnipotence allies crushed all who stood in their way. Their troops flooded into the crystalline Palace of the Pillar and had overrun it within an hour.

The Abh led Acme to the centre of the palace, where the door to a special chamber was located. "Ah, so this is the Pillar room," he remarked.

"Yeah, but there hasn't been a Pillar for quite awhile," said the Abh beside him.

"Ah, but that's only for the time being," said Acme. "My men are working on a way to rectify that problem. When they succeed, I will become the new Pillar."

"So you're interested in becoming the Pillar? What good will that do?" asked the Abh.

"My Chimera, you're far too short-sighted for your own good. Who said I wanted to be the Pillar of only Cephiro?"

"Ah!" replied Chimera. "But what will we do about Valiance? Their interference had compromised our operations. In time, they will learn of our presence here and come to drive us out."

"Don't worry, the Eye of God will take care of them long before that happens."




It was a peaceful day as usual in the city of Tokyo within yet another version of Earth. The Tokyo tower stood over the rest the city as a symbol of Japan's economic might. Foreigners from countless countries toured the great structure and looked outside to the rest of the city from the tower's observation lounge. Among the tourists were a trio of teenaged girls, all visiting the tower on their vacation. This place was a place of countless memories to them, since they were in this tower before they were brought to Cephiro for the first time ever. They were the Magic Knights, Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuzaki, and Fuu Hououji.

The first, Hikaru, was the shortest of the three, which gave her a pixyish, child-like exuberance. She was also the fieriest of the three girls with hair to match. The second was Umi, the tallest of the three and carried herself as one of high birth normally would. Her hair was flowing blue like the water she commanded with her magic. The last was Fuu, the most intellectual of the three, as suggested by the large glasses she wore. Unlike the other three, she seemed far more meek and reserved compared to her friends.

"Umi, Fuu! Over here!" cried Hikaru.

"Hikaru! It's great to see you," said Umi.

"It's so nice to be back here!" said Fuu, looking over her friends and the Tokyo Tower.

"So how have you been?" asked Hikaru. An impish smile crossed her face. "Did you meet any cute guys?"

"Well..." began Umi, reluctant to speak any further.

"Oh, please tell us," begged Fuu.

"Nah, it's too personal," said Umi. "I'm not the type to kiss and tell... Oops!"

"You kissed him?" asked Fuu.

"Oh please tell us! We want to know all the juicy details!" pressed Hikaru.

"Magic Knights? Magic Knights, can you hear me?" asked a mysterious male voice.

"Clef?" asked Umi. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it is me," replied the voice. "Cephiro is in great peril. We need your help immediately."

"We'll come right away, we just have to..."

Before Hikaru could finish her sentence, the floor suddenly disappeared from underneath them! They found themselves tumbling down the azure sky of Cephiro. When they finally reached the ground, they landed in a pile on top of each other. "Ow!" groaned Umi as she arose to her feet. "You'd think Clef would find a better way to bring us to Cephiro than this..."

"Oof, I don't mean to be rude, but please get off!" said Fuu's muffled voice from somewhere unseen.

"Sorry!" said Hikaru as she got off of Fuu, who was at the bottom of the pile. Hikaru extended a hand and pulled her friend off of the ground.

The three dusted off their Magic Knight regalia and looked around. "Well, we're in Cephiro again. I wonder what's going on?" asked Umi.

"Magic Knights, can you hear me?" asked Clef.

"Yeah, we hear you!" replied Umi. "Where are you?"

"Magic Knights, I am in a cavern in the mountains north of your location. Please go there, but be careful. The enemy wanders the lands in search of us. They will attack if they find you. Hurry!"

The Magic Knights looked to the north, where they spotted the mountain range from Clef's instructions. It was at the end of the grassy plains that they were currently standing on. The girls rushed to the north as quickly as they could. Before they could reach the mountains, they heard what sounded like air whirling and rushing through a vent. When they followed the sound to its source, they found a strange, futuristic vehicle much like a helicopter hovering through the air. The vehicle had an organic, rounded design with air vents clearly visible under a pair of wing-like protrusions.

"You are under arrest! Surrender or we will open fire!" demanded a voice over a speaker.

"We can't let them take us. We have to get to Master Clef as soon as possible," declared Fuu. "Winds of Protection!"

A barrier of visible, swirling green air surrounded the Magic Knights. The hovering vehicle fired on them with bolts of energy, but they merely deflected off of the barrier. Hikaru cast the Ruby Lightning spell, which sent tendrils of crimson electricity surging forth from her fingers. The Ruby Lightning blew out one of the craft's rotors. Smoke and flame billowed from it as the chopper began to flounder unpredictably through the air. The Magic Knights scattered as the vehicle suddenly nose-dived towards them. When they checked on the wreckage, all that remained was a pile of twisted, smouldering metal.

"What was that thing?" asked Umi.

"I'm not sure, but it looked like a helicopter," replied Fuu.

"We'd better get to Master Clef before more of them show up," urged Hikaru.

The Magic Knights reached the side of the mountain and searched the area. "Where's the entrance?" asked Hikaru.

Suddenly, an illusory portion of the mountain vanished, leaving behind a cavern entrance lit by torches. The Magic Knights rushed into the cave before its inhabitant, Master Clef, restored the illusion once again. "Master Clef, are we ever glad to see you! We were attacked on the way here. Who were they?" asked Hikaru.

"These enemies of Cephiro are an alien race known as the Abh."

"Are you saying they're like Eagle from Autozam and the other countries that invaded Cephiro the last time we were here?" asked Hikaru.

"No, they even from any of the worlds you know. They are from another world known as the Blue Stars. Our spies have reported that the Abh appear to be merely puppets of a greater evil. Another force controls them. I heard word that their leader is not a Toon at all."

"Then is he a human?" asked Umi.

"That's what I've been told."

"Why are they here?" asked Hikaru. "What do they want?"

"According to our spies, they seem interested in Cephiro's Pillar system."

Hikaru was surprised. "The Pillar system? Why would they want that? It doesn't exist anymore!"

"You're correct, Hikaru, the Pillar system is gone as you wished. However, not only do they intend to restore it, they also seek to expand it past the borders of Cephiro," informed Clef.

"How will they do that?" asked Fuu.

"The enemy has been stealing items from other anime worlds for research. So far, it seems they've made many enemies who are resisting them. Nevertheless, they are continuing with this foolish goal. If they succeed, the consequences would be dire for all of the worlds."

"What do you mean?" asked Umi.

"In every anime world, there are rules that describe how special powers work. Our magic has rules of their own describing how it works and what it can do. When we use powers outside of our sphere of influence, we break these rules and suffer consequences known as 'Paradox.' What the Abh leader intends to do is effectively rewrite the rules governing a world's powers, allowing him to expand the Pillar system to that world. The other worlds were never meant to have a Pillar system like Cephiro did. Forcing our Pillar system upon them would cause Paradox so great, that it could eventually destabilize and collapse all of the worlds involved!"

"He would endanger every world just to become the Pillar? What does he hope to accomplish by doing that?" asked Hikaru.

"That I don't know, but we can't allow him to continue this mad quest. That is why I will send you to join a special group of people. They are known as the Stars of Destiny. You, the Magic Knights, are three of the Stars of Destiny. Learn about the enemy's true nature from them, and help them against it. I will remain behind to help Cephiro's resistance. Good luck!" Clef chanted an unknown spell which created a ring of azure light around the Magic Knights.

"Clef wait! We..." Before Umi could finish her sentence, she had already been whisked away by his magic. The Magic Knights found themselves in a room in a strange land far from Cephiro. From the decor, it looked like a room belonging to a little girl. She was seated facing away from the Magic Knights writing a letter.

"...I think the war will be over soon. Love, Sakura," wrote the girl while reading her writing out loud.

Kero looked over her shoulder. "Sakura, we've got guests!"

She turned around and nearly fell out her seat. "Wow, when did you get here?"

"We've been standing here for awhile," replied Fuu.

"Wow, Sakura? I didn't expect Clef to send us to you!" remarked Umi.

"Why? What's the matter?" asked Sakura. The Magic Knights told her about what had happened in Cephiro. "They attacked Cephiro too?"

In turn Sakura, related all of the hardships she had gone through fighting Omnipotence from Valiance's formation until now. "We're not the only ones they've attacked..." muttered Hikaru.

"The three of you should really speak to the boss," said Kero. "I'm going to show them to Eddie. Will you be okay Sakura?"

"Sure, go ahead," replied Sakura.




At the devastated city of Ba Sing Se, sadness was the feeling of the people. Omnipotence's use of the Eye of God had left Ba Sing Se a shadow of its former glory. Despite the desire to grieve, the Earth Kingdom's people endured every hardship sent their way like the element they were named after. Earthbenders began to clear the area of any debris caused by the attack and fill in the crater left in the ground. A tourist looked on and aimed his camera at one of the devastated buildings being cleared away. With a snap, the camera captured the scene on a picture.

Eddie Valiant gazed over the picture and dozens of others like it on his desk. "So it's really that bad over there..." he remarked.

"Yeah," replied Kakashi. "They're blaming anime Toons for this in the Tooniverse, but the Bender Nations don't buy it, especially not with the anti-occupation sentiment and riots."

"Neither would I," said Eddie. "Those are quite some upgrades to the Eye..."

"Although we've have much to worry about, I do have some good news. We've managed to gain the support of a mole within Omnipotence," announced Folken.

"Good," said Kakashi. "We've always wanted to get a spy inside Omnipotence for a long time."

"We managed to arrange a meeting with our mole tomorrow at midnight. He will be waiting behind the locked green door at the back of the Mamma Mia Pizzeria, which is in Reedington in Tarota. Knock on the door three times and announce your presence."

The sun set on Tokyo city in Sakura Avalon's home world of Tarota. Per Folken's instructions, Kakashi made his way to the Mamma Mia Pizzeria, which was a typical pizza joint. The store had closed for the day and its lights were out. The store was completely vacant, as were the streets of Tokyo. Kakashi made his way through the alley and found the green door right where Folken said it would be. Kakashi gave three light knocks to the door. "Hello?" asked Kakashi.

"Tsk tsk, I'd think you'd be happier to hear from me," replied the mole, who sounded particularly sly and cunning.

Kakashi somehow knew that the voice was familiar, but couldn't attach a face to it. After a few seconds, it hit him like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened in shock. "You!"

"Yes me..." said the voice. "I can't fool you, now, can I?"

"I never thought it would be you of all people. Well, now I'm here. Let's get down to business."

"Indeed," replied the mole. "My information concerns the metal eye. I'm sure you know by now that your enemy has taken control of it. When our employer paid us a visit, we formally presented this weapon to him. You will be surprised to learn who he is."

"Who is he?"

"He is Adam Acme."

"Adam Acme? You mean the President of the Tooniverse; that Adam Acme?"

"That's correct," replied the contact. "I was surprised myself to learn who he was, but nevertheless, he is the one who is employing my group. I thought that he had merely contracted my group to acquire the metal eye, but as I looked further into this, I found that his involvement runs far deeper."

"...And just how far does it go?"

"As far back as the beginning of Omnipotence," replied the contact. "I suspect he was one of the earliest members if not a founder. He has moved his hideout to the world Cephiro as well as most of his forces. I don't know when, but he intends to use the metal eye in a final strike against your base. Be prepared."

"I see," replied Kakashi. "You took a great risk to tell us these things. We are grateful." All Kakashi could hear was the subtle shifting of the air behind the door as the contact left.




Somewhere in the Appalachia, the rebelling Justice Leaguers had finished construction of a new hi-tech headquarters. Built entirely under the ground, this headquarters was a place where they would coordinate the resistance against Acme. Workers moved several carts filled with new equipment and gear into the hollowed out mountain. This new base had everything a Superhero could want. It had private quarters for rest and training rooms for exercise. It also had state of the art medical facilities. The central planning room was already complete and the Justice League splinter group held their first meeting in this room.

"Now that we have our base, what should we call ourselves?" asked Green Arrow.

"I was thinking that our name should reflect that we hold the core values of the Justice League, but also that we aren't the same as them," suggested Zatanna.

"How about the Justice Society?" offered Supergirl. "This name shows that justice is important to us and that we're a different group from the Justice League."

"Justice Society," mumbled Green Arrow. "I kinda like the ring to it..."

Thus did the League's splinter group christen themselves the "Justice Society." The Superheroes continued their preparations for their rebellion against Acme and the Toon government. Batman oversaw a group of workers clad in fully sealed protective suits. These workers were carrying a lead case filled with radiation warning labels. "Radioactive stuff?" asked Green Arrow. "You're not thinking of building a nuke, are you?"

"No, it's just a little safety precaution should we be forced to fight our old comrades," replied Batman.

The workers took the lead case into a specially sealed laboratory in the heart of the base. Once in the lab, the door sealed shut, ensuring no radioactivity would escape the room. The workers unseal the box and pulled out a chunk of green stone much like emerald. It seemed to glow with a vibrant light which betrayed its dangerous radioactive nature. The workers began to divide the chunk of rock into smaller, more portable samples that a person could easily conceal within a pocket. Green Arrow watched in awe as the men worked on the stone.

"Kryptonite?" he asked.

"It's our insurance against Superman," said Batman. "Everyone in the Society will be taking some for their protection."

Green Arrow stroked his chin in contemplation. "Hmm, maybe I should be getting an insurance policy of my own..."




Back at the Valiance home world, Valiance had begun preparations for the inevitable arrival of the Eye of God. The Clow Magicians began work on a special magic enchantment to help defend the home world. On the ground of a cavern in hidden in the mountains of the home world, Meilin began to inscribe a magical symbol with chalk on the ground. It was the same one on the back of the Clow Cards, a symbol of concentric circles with astrological symbols. Clow Reed chanted magical words and imbued the circle with the magical power of his cards.

Sakura and the other magicians tested the circle by using to amplify a summoning of the Thunder Card. In their minds, they could see the deadly electricity arcing in outer space with the moon in the background. The bolts of lightning seemed to emerge from nothingness and jumped around chaotically, only vaguely guided by the will of their summoners. If an object had been in the location of the lightning storm, it would have been devastated by the Thunder Card. They repeated the test with the Firey Card, consuming the immediate area in a massive nimbus of flame.

"This magic circle works. Great work everybody," complemented Reed. "Take a break before we start the next round of tests."

Sakura walked out of the magical ceremonial room. To her surprise the Magic Knights came to visit her. "Oh hi!" said Sakura.

"Hi Sakura," said Hikaru.

"So you're taking a break from testing that magic circle?" asked Umi.

"Yeah, we managed to get it to summon Clow Cards in outer space now," said Sakura.

"You did? That's good!" said Fuu.

"You know this is just like that trip your dad and Master Reed took last summer," said Hikaru, who began to make scary faces at Sakura. "There were zombies and they wanted to eat your braaaiiiins!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed and her complexion went white. "Oh don't please remind me..."

The incident that Hikaru mentioned took place last summer in Cephiro. Clow Reed and his students bust through a stone wall, allowing them to enter a gigantic underground cavern. They, their archaeological team, and the Magic Knights were the first to set foot on the land of this lost civilization in a millennium. This city was known as Ignusia, the capital of the namesake civilization. At one time, they were at war with those who followed a previous Pillar of Cephiro. In a single night, Ignusia vanished not by any act of the Pillar or his followers, but by their own corruption.

The buildings had been preserved intact, safe from the ravages of the elements in the outdoors. There was nary a person alive in the silent streets of the lost city of Ignusia. The city's unusual intactness and the silent absence of any activity filled the air with an eerie quality. "Careful everyone, I sense tainted magical energy present here," said Reed.

"Uggggh..." came a muffled groaning from somewhere in the city.

"What was that?" asked Sakura, nearly jumping out of her skin.

A clay pot shattered somewhere in the city. Hikaru readied her sword. "I don't like the sound of that..."

Suddenly, Sakura felt something grab onto her legs. "EEEEK!" she screamed as she pried herself free.

Hikaru found desiccated hands jutting from the dirt on the ground. The hands helped their owner, a human corpse, climb out of the ground. Hikaru flung a Flame Arrow at the zombie, incinerating it instantly. "There's more of them!" cried Fuu. Inch by inch, a sea of zombies lumbered in from every direction. They converged on the exit to the outside world, where the group formed a line to fend them off.

"Ha ha ha," laughed Kero, back at the Valiance mountain base. "I guess zombies still aren't your thing." Sakura, still pale from the being reminded of the experience, didn't answer.

"Even with that many zombies coming at us, we still beat them all in the end," said Umi.

"Good thing for Sakura," said Kero. "We explored the city and found out who was making all of those zombies."

The group made their way through the lost ruins of Ignusia. Unfortunately, the city was far from being deserted. Along the way, they were beset by legions of undead monstrosities, the first of which was the horde of zombies at the entrance. They were once the inhabitants of the city that defied the Pillar of Cephiro, but have long since died. They were corrupted by the same object that had granted them power, a giant ruby. The priests of the city had used the Ignusian Ruby to amplify their magical powers in a bid to usurp the Pillar. The plan backfired and caused Ignusia's fall.

The group came upon the palace of the late King Ignusia, still preserved under the ground. It was a castle consistent with those found in the Middle Ages and most high fantasy games. The castle was made entirely of stone and mortar, but was very dirty from lengthy neglect. It had been preserved fairly intact largely due to it being underground, away from the ravages of the natural elements. Suddenly, several undead soldiers took positions around the ramparts of their leader's home. They rained arrows down at the group, who took raised magical barriers.

"Firey, purge the land of these foul creatures!" called Reed.

The spirit of Firey erupted from its card and swooped onto the undead soldiers. One by one, each soldier lit up in flames which burnt them completely into ashes. The castle's draw bridge lowered and out came several armed undead soldiers. Hikaru cast the spell Ruby Lightning upon them. The bolts of crimson electricity arced from her and danced around from undead to undead. Each of them struck by this powerful spell burst into roaring flames, as they were highly vulnerable to the fire. When many of the undead were alit, the fires were as beautiful as a vibrant field of flowers.

"You zombies won't scare Meilin Rae, away!" cried Meilin, as she activated the Fight Card. She dashed at a soldier and delivered a series of punches and kicks. Being too slow to dodge any of these attacks, the soldier took each hit in full before Meilin tossed it into its comrades. The soldier bowled over a line of undead soldiers, revealing an undead magician hiding behind them. The lich released a Green Hurricane spell upon her, blowing her back.

When she hit the ground, Fuu went to check up on her. "Meilin are you okay?" she asked. "Winds of Healing!"

The wholesome green winds swirled around Meilin, healing the scrapes she had sustained from landing on the ground. "I'm fine now. Stupid magician hit me when I wasn't expecting it. I'm gonna show him!"

"Yeah," said Fuu, back at the Valiance base. "She wasn't hurt that badly but I healed her anyways just to be safe."

"You three were looking for the Ignusian Ruby too, weren't you?" asked Kero.

"Yep, Master Clef was concerned about its evil spreading throughout the land," said Umi. "He wanted us to check it out and take care of it before things got too bad."

The archaeological group fought their way past King Ignusia's legion of undead warriors. They soon came face to face with the king himself. Unlike the noble human ruler of old, they found a shrivelled, skeletal monstrosity in the throne room. His skin was blackened and mummified by the foul magic he invoked with the ruby. He had no eyes save for a pair of burning red lights. His robes were tattered and his golden crown had long lost its lustre. He carried with him a magical sceptre with the Ignusian Ruby set at its top.

"There's the ruby!" said Hikaru.

"Foolish archaeologists, you have trespassed into my kingdom. Now you will never see the light of day again!" hissed Ignusia. "Ruby Lightning!" The king hurled Hikaru's trademark spell at the team, who took shelter behind magical barriers.

Hikaru struck back with Ruby Lightning of her own, but Ignusia blocked that attack with Winds of Protection. "He can use Fuu's spell too?"

"I think he can use all of your spells," said Shaoran. "We know King Ignusia was a very powerful magician. He might even know spells you've never seen before."

"If magic won't cut it, maybe my sword will!" said Hikaru, who charged at Ignusia. Just as her blade came down upon him, Ignusia vanished. Hikaru ended up slicing the ground while Ignusia reappeared three metres away. "Hold still!" Hikaru charged at him once again, but he just teleported away like last time.

Ignusia chanted words to a foul spell. Hordes of undead entered the throne room to support their undead king. "Great, more of them!" said Umi.

From Reed's Firey burst the spirit of the card. It swooped at the undead horde like an angel of flame visiting retribution upon the creatures of the night. As the angel leapt from zombie to zombie, each burst in a plume of fire. The monstrosities screamed in horror as the magical flames seared the flesh off of them. Hikaru slashed at King Ignusia, who parried the blow with his sceptre. With a swift gesture, he knocked Hikaru away, only for Umi to join in afterwards. She lunged at his body and then his head, but Ignusia parried each hit with his sceptre and forced even her to back away.

Ignusia cast the Water Dragon spell, which Shaoran stopped with a quick barrier from the Shield Card. In turn, Hikaru sent Ruby Lightning at the undead king. The sheer power burned the king's body, but did less harm due to the king's magical prowess working to minimize the harm. Umi sent a Water Dragon at him while Shaoran followed slightly afters with the dog-like Thunder Card spirit. The Water Dragon lunged at the king successfully. The Thunder Card spirit jumped into the water, scattering its electricity all around the dragon, electrocuting the king in the process.

Ignusia dropped his sceptre on the ground and his ruby shattered into countless fragments and disintegrated. All of the zombie soldiers immediately crumbled into dust and vanished with their undead king. The taint of the ruby's foul magic over the lost city vanished with its destruction, restoring a cleaner, more wholesome sensation to the atmosphere. After more than a millennium of cursed servitude, the souls of the people of Ignusia were finally free to pass on to the afterlife. The threat of Ignusia's second rise was no more.

"Yep, those were good times," remarked Kero. "In case you were wondering... Master Reed learned a lot about the city and Cephiro's magic after studying Ignusia's libraries."

"Yeah," said Hikaru. "If you ever need our help, don't be afraid to ask. We're your friends. You did more than enough to help us in Ignusia."

"Oh look at the time!" said Kero. "Our break's over. We have to get back to work."

"It was nice talking to you all, see ya!" said Sakura, waving back at the Magic Knights as she ran back to the magic symbol.

While the Clow magicians worked to perfect their magical circle. Other Valiance members stepped up preparations for the Eye's inevitable arrival. In the same mountains, workers moved boxes of ammo and other supplies up the dirt roads. Ed and Al Elric each approached a gun turret hidden within the side of the mountain. Invoking some alchemy, they turned the turret into the same colour as the surrounding environment. If it weren't for outlines and cracks which were obvious at such close range, the Elric brothers would have a very hard time seeing them.

Behind the Elric brothers, Winry entered a tunnel entrance. The cave within was lit by fluorescent lights supplied with power by wires which ran along the corners and roof of the tunnels. The tunnel was actually part of a large network with many counterparts which ran through the mountains and under the ground past the forest to Valiance's base. Deep inside the solid earth, dozens of Bugrom drones were busy at work, fortifying the tunnel network against enemy attack. Jinnai unfolded some blueprints and examined them for every minute detail.

Jinnai began to dole out orders. "Okay, Groucho, work on the forest tunnels is a little slow. Please help them out. Marx, help out at the tunnel to the base."

Groucho the Bugrom travelled down the dark tunnel to an area where roots of trees and plants hung from the ceiling. He eventually reached a hub area which led to three other tunnels being worked on by Bugrom diggers. Groucho chose the one leading to the south and joined the Bugrom there to help them strengthen the tunnel. He began to spray a special goo which was secreted by the Bugrom naturally. In another part of the tunnel, closer to the Valiance base on the surface, Folken was overseeing the preparations for the Eye of God. Progress was swift and steady, ensuring that Valiance would be done by the end of the week.

Two weeks later, Folken made his way to what would be considered the nerve centre of Valiance. It was a room filled with sophisticated electronics. From here, Eddie and Folken had a centralized area from which to direct Valiance's defence of the home world. "So what's the status?" asked Folken.

"Everything is clear at the moment, sir," replied the operator. His control panel suddenly beeped indicating detection of several unidentified objects. "Sir, we've detected over a hundred bogeys approaching the fifth planet. More bogeys just appeared on the radar. We have nearly a thousand bogeys entering the solar system and the number is still climbing. An extremely large energy signature has just entered the solar system. Sir, it's the Eye of God!"

"How long until they reach our front line?" asked Folken.

"Estimates indicate that at their current speed, they will reach firing range of our defences within 3 hours."

"Go to yellow alert!" ordered Folken. The entire command centre flooded with amber light which flashed on and off slowly.

END OF CHAPTER

New Stars of Heaven/Heavenly Leaders:
None

New Stars of Earth/Earthly Warriors:
#50 Chikyou, The Strong Star: Hikaru Shidou (Rayearth)
#58 Chibi, The Least Star: Umi Ryuzaki (Rayearth)
#74 Chii, The Peculiar Star: Fuu Hououji (Rayearth)

Spotlight: Magic Knight Rayearth

Three junior high school girls, Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuzaki, and Fuu Hououji are summoned to the world of Cephiro, which is in crisis. Cephiro is a world influenced by the will of its inhabitants and supported by the greatest will of all, that of the Pillar. However, Emeraude, the previous pillar, fell in love and could no longer keep her mind on praying for Cephiro's stability. Since the Pillar had to die before a new one could emerge, she summoned the Magic Knights to end her life. Hikaru became Emeraude's successor and abolished the Pillar system which had caused so much grief for everyone.

Origin:
Even before coming to Cephiro, the Magic Knights had some familiarity with the arts of war. Hikaru grew up in a family that ran a Kendo dojo, where she learned how to wield a sword. Umi was part of the fencing club in her school while Fuu was a member of her school archery club. They acquired their magical powers from Master Mage Clef, who also gave them their evolving armour. After a brief journey, they met Presea the blacksmith, who gave them their first weapons and forged the Escudo weapons they currently use. As part of their quest, they earned the right to use the techno-magical machines known as the Rune Gods.

Powers:
Cephiro is a land of magic, where the will determines what reality is. It is a world of swords and sorcery where heroes fight dragons and wizards cast powerful spells. Interestingly, it also has technology far greater than that of the world the Magic Knights originally came from. The Rune Gods were constructed from this lost technology blended with magical artifice. Cephiro's ally, Autozam, is a space-faring world where advanced technology and science is common in the people's daily lives. The world the Magic Knights came from is a technologically similar to the normal, modern day world.