"So, I don't want to ruin this whole family reunion thing," Banksy said as he nudged a sword with the toe of his boot, drawing the attention of the Spirits as their task came to an end. "But I don't really think we should hang out around here much longer. That door isn’t going to hold much longer and I'm willing to bet they are going to be looking for fancy-pants over there and I doubt they are going to be pleased that he's a bit... dead."

The door behind him rattled and a blade pierced through as if to confirm his suspicions.

"Well said!" Rah nodded, looking around the room and seemingly noticing the carnage for the first time. He lifted his hand towards the door before shaking his head thoughtfully. “There will be time for that later. Yes, I believe it is time to leave." He turned to Aria. "Would you care to the do the honors, or are you still too weak?"

Aria flashed a dazzling smile and beckoned everyone towards her. "No, I feel stronger than I have in years. A displacement spell should be nothing."

A nervous look passed over Banksy's face. "Should be?"

"Be easy, human. She knows what she is doing. Mostly likely! She's only a hundred years or so out of practice!" Rah threw a giant arm around Banksy's shoulder, pulling him towards Aria.

On the floor, Cross glanced over at Lexi who was already working her way to her feet. She thrust her hand out and pulled him up with ease.

“Your injuries…?” Lexi reached out and touched his arm.

Cross gave her a half-grin. “Magic?”

Lexi pulled her scarf back into place, but not before he caught the large smile on her face. Together, they made their way to Aria and the others. The Goddess gave them a warm smile.

"Now." Aria lifted her arms up and the air in the room began to whip around in a frenzied vortex. "This might feel a little bit… tingly."

xXx

The morning air was fresh and cool as it washed across the plains. Cross vaguely recognized it as the area he had first found Makina. Tilting his head up, he could just barely make out the smell of smoke. A train must have passed by recently.

Cross looked to the side. Lexi was standing, ever vigilant, over Banksy and Romeo. The pair had fallen to the ground exhausted. A few paces away the Spirit Gods were in deep conversation. They had been since Aria had transported the group from Ash back into Voy.

The trip could simply be described as unique.

It could also be described as having your body sucked through a vacuum made entirely of light, followed by a long seemingly endless fall that abruptly ended with being deposited on the hard earth in a matter of seconds all while listening to the booming whooping and laughter of Rah.

Either way you described it, the trip was not a particularly pleasant experience and none that any of the humans would be eager to repeat.

Romeo could attest to this fact as he had spent the last few minutes emptying the contents of his stomach and letting out a chorus of pitiful moans. Banksy had astutely deduced, while holding his own stomach and losing a touch of color in his face, that Romeo's discomfort may have stemmed from his lack of magical experience. Romeo had found Banksy's conclusion to be of little importance as he continued to retch pathetically before finally collapsing at Lexi's feet with a dramatic cry, giving anyone who would look at him a pathetic and pleading look.

"Cross! Come!" Makina broke away from the group and bounded over to the courier. Reaching out she took his hand and tugged him towards Lexi. Grabbing her by the hand as well she pulled the pair over to the waiting Spirit Gods.

"This is my servant! His name is of little importance," Makina said proudly, holding up Cross's hand for the Spirits to see. She lifted up Lexi's hand. "And this is my friend, Alexis Shadowhart."

As Cross let out a sigh, Lexi bowed her head.

"I'm honored to be in your presence," Lexi said softly as she lifted her head.

"No bowing!" Rah boomed. "You saved us after all. So no need to be so formal! This one gets it, I can tell."

He clapped Cross painfully on the shoulder. The force almost buckled the clairvoyant's knees.

"Rah!" Makina whined. "Do not be so casual with my servant! You'll undermine my authority. I am the only one of us to currently even have a servant. You must respect that!”

"Oh yes, Rah," Aria said as she swept forward and pulled Makina into a tight hug and ruffled her long hair. "Don't embarrass the little one in front of her friends."

"Aria stop! He really is my servant." Makina tried to bat her sister's hands away, but the elder Goddess was assisted by the two others, who quickly descended on the smaller Makina. Terreh grinned impishly as she tugged on Makina's cheek.

"Tell me, Makina," Terreh stage whispered. "If he really is what you say, why did you pick a male as your servant? Isn't it more acceptable to pick a female so they can become your priestess? Unless, of course, you had other thoughts in mind for him?"

Typhi grabbed onto Makina's other cheek. "Well, he is rather cute for a mortal. I’m sure I could find more than a few uses for him. I wonder if he would be my servant instead?”

"Aria!" Makina cried out as she shook her tiny fists. "Make them stop!"

"Now, now,” Aria said, pushing away Terreh and Typhi's hands gently "We shouldn't pick on her too much. After all, without Makina we would still be trapped. She saved us and we owe her our gratitude."

That's right I did." Makina pouted.

"I suppose," Terreh sighed. "I still cannot believe those fools were able to capture us so easily."

"How did you get caught?" Cross said, trying to steer the conversation in a new direction as Makina continued to glower at her siblings. "It doesn't seem…possible."

"Ah. I can see why you would think that. However, we are not all-powerful, nor are we all-knowing. We could not even fathom an attack coming from the humans. We were unprepared, and the Sons were ruthless in their hunt.” Aria let out a soft sigh as she pulled Makina closer and began to idly braid the younger Spirit's hair.

"They came when we were at our most vulnerable." Terreh continued, she waved down at her body. "When we take our human forms, we can be separated from our element, weakened. They isolated us from our powers. Without our connection to nature, we simply fade away. They watched and waited for us. Rah was the first to go, then myself. They were able to capture Typhi only a day later. Aria tried to flee, but she couldn't leave Makina behind."

"Makina is quite a young Spirit Goddess," Aria explained as Makina began to fidget. "Not long ago, she was simply a winter wind blowing across the sky. When she gained her human form, it took nearly all of her power just to stay alive. For her to leave that form again, at the time, it would have been impossible without ending her life. Despite her status as Goddess, Makina's powers can still be considered quite fragile. She has not even completed her first ascension.”

"Fragile, or pathetically rudimentary." Terreh grinned.

"With all her failings, I never would have thought the runt of the litter would be the one to save us all." Typhi giggled before running off as Makina lurched at her with an angry little shriek. Terrah chased after the pair with Aria following with a small shake of her head and a gentle chuckle.

"It's good to see them happy again," Rah said, his voice soft, yet somehow still just as loud. He turned to look at Cross and Lexi. "You have done this world, and us, a great service. One I doubt we can ever truly repay."

"Not as great as you," Lexi replied quietly. "You've brought it back. You’ve brought magic back.”

"Brought magic back? Magic never left." Rah laughed and spread his arms wide. "It's lived in this world long before we came to be and it will be here long after we have passed. It is all around us, even at this very moment! We've simply opened the door between you and it. Though, it would seem some people refused to let the door shut entirely in our absence." He leaned towards Lexi and gave her a once over. "I can see, clearly, that you are one of them."

Even though Lexi had long since wrapped her scarf protectively back around her face, it was clear she was blushing at Rah's words. She reached up and fiddled with a tassel.

"What will you do now?" Cross asked.

"There are others still imprisoned, as we were. Lesser Spirits, like Makina, that the Sons captured after us. We will free them and make right what was wronged."

"Then you will be taking Makina?" Cross said, shifting his weight from one foot then the other.

"Actually, I do not believe we will." Aria said, appearing suddenly beside Cross. She moved unnervingly fast and Cross took a step back. "I do not believe it would be in Makina's best interest to leave your guild just yet. She is still quite weak from the ordeal and there is much we must still do. I'm sure she won't object too greatly."

Taking a step forward, Aria leaned towards Cross until their faces were quite close. She stared deep into his eyes for a long time and he fought not to blink.

"Makina has grown quite fond of you, and your guild," Aria said, her eyes locked with Cross’s. "It would be wrong for us to take that away from her. It will also serve as an excellent chance for Makina to better understand the lives of mortals. She sometimes can be a bit…"

"Bratty?" Cross supplied. Lexi gave him a swift punch to the ribs, but Aria laughed.

"Yes, she is a feisty one, but that is what I love about her." Aria fondly looked over to where Makina was still chasing her older sisters, though now in a more playful manner. "She will make a fine Goddess one day, I have no doubt.”

"But for now, she is still our little runt." Rah said, sweeping forward and placing a large hand on Cross and Lexi's shoulders. "So keep her safe until she's ready. Can I trust you both with this?"

"Of course," Lexi said, pulling her head up and standing as tall as she could muster. "I swear on my sword, I shall protect her."

"She'll be safe." Cross nodded.

"Good!" Rah boomed, releasing Lexi and pulling Cross into a tight side hug and beginning to walk. Unable to free himself Cross was simply dragged along for the ride, his feet a few inches off the ground, as Aria began to speak with Lexi.

"You know, most humans are not naturally attuned to Magic. They cannot find the way though the barrier to access the power." Rah lifted up his free hand and poked Cross on his left temple, hard enough to leave a bruise. "Not like you and the dark one. Lots of power flowing through both of you. I felt it as soon as you stepped foot in Trinst. But you’re different from her."

Rah released Cross after carrying him a short distance.

“Is that so?”

“It is! It was people like the two of you, and your friends you know," Rah said as he turned his back to Cross and stared up at the fiery sun. "People who are willing to risk your lives for others. People like you who made us think giving greater control over magic to mortals was the right thing to do. We thought it could create so much good, and help so much… and despite all that has happened, I believe you still deserve this gift. But I have been gone from this world a long time, and while I can clearly see in the dark one's heart she truly believes magic is a gift, you I am less sure of. So tell me, honestly, what do you think?"

“It’s a bit late to be asking that, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps, but just as easily as a blessing can be given, it can be taken away.”

Cross went silent as he turned his head and stared at Lexi. Her eyes were crinkled into a smile as she manipulated the shadows in her hands with Aria watching and making small comments, augmenting Lexi's shadows with small bursts of wind. Behind them, Banksy and Romeo watching with exhausted interest, talking in low voices to one another. At some point they had both sat up and leaned against each other

A slight smile tugging at his lips, Cross swung his eyes over to where Makina was spinning round and round, hand in hand with Terreh and Typhi, the wind whipping wildly around them as the three danced around happily.

His gaze found its way back to Lexi.

In the end, he had already known the answer.

“You made the right choice.”

"I am glad to hear that, though I must warn you, there will be trouble from this. There are many creatures that have long been hidden from your sight. Creatures of darkness and light. Some good, but many, many bad." Rah’s voice filled with concern. “You will see them now, and they will see you as well. Most likely as a threat to be exterminated. The balance shifted the moment humans began to lose their power. I would like to say everything will be alright, but I cannot make any promises."

Cross gave him a wry smile. "Can't just solve all the worlds problems with your godly powers?"

Rah let out what was likely supposed to be a soft chuckle. "We do try not to personally interfere too heavy in the mortal world. In the past, admittedly, we were much more proactive, but we've found that course of action to be quite dangerous. It's impossible to tell how far reaching our actions may be. When we long ago gave the gift of magic to you mortals, it was meant to be a parting gift of sorts. A way for us to retire from actively participating in matters best left free of our influences."

"But you will take care of the Sons?"

Rah nodded, his cheerful nature disappearing for a moment. "Yes. We will deal with them. I promise, they will not be a threat to you or your friends for quite a long time. If ever."

"Even if you do that, aren't you worried?" Cross asked, looking up at the large Spirit. "That magic will ever be used against you again?"

“No.” Rah's smile returned as he shook his head. "No. I simply trust magic will be used for the betterment of this world. For you and for us. That said… this is going to be a very dangerous period in your history. People are going to need help. Lots of it."

Kosu's words drifted through Cross's mind and despite the small feeling of worry coiling in his stomach, he felt his mouth curl into a half smile.

"Well, isn't that what a guild is for?"