Zodiac Force Cyberstars

[CyberstarAries]

Finally... some down time where I can really focus on this series. I started writing this way back in Spring 2005 as a continuation to my prior Cyberstars series, Sky Force, which was loosely based on the characters and costume/mecha designs from Chojin Sentai Jetman.

I had worked a few times on posting this but life happens. I'm a full-time musician so that doesn't give me a chance to really write fanfictions, or date, or... well, you get the idea. Well, it's back... again.

For some of you who are familiar with this story, be aware that it now incorporates some of the major changes I implemented in October 2005. For those of you who are not familiar with this incarnation of Cyberstars, it's an original story with young adult themes and character-driven episodes rather than what gadget or gizmo or special power that is to be obtained that particular episode.

NEW READERS:
Before reading this story, you should first check out the prequel, a.k.a the finale to the previous storyline, Sky Force Cyberstars. You can read it here - http://www.rangerboard.com/showthread.php?t=59503 - otherwise you'll be lost as to what's going on at the beginning of the Zodiac Force story.

I will do my best to keep a better hold on the series, and below I have posted a character guide for the main characters.

-Omar (Cyberstar Aries)

*****

ZODIAC FORCE CYBERSTARS
The Cyberstar Character Guide
(Current as of story revisions on 10/20/05)

Omar - Cyberstar Aries (Red)
An accomplished violinist, he was the Red Hawk SkyForce Cyberstar from 1999 to 2000, and was the original Red Cyberstar before that (since 1997). He lost his powers when Prince Nefarius, the heir to the Necronian Empire, infiltrated their SkyForce Jetbase and used it to attack the Cyberstars, who crashed their RoboJets into the Jetbase to destroy it and take out the Necronian Prince. Princess Celestia then used the Zodiac Force to save him and the other four Cyberstars from death. When the mysterious Marauders began their attack on Earth, Celestia reawakened his memory and empowered him with the Zodiac Force, turning him into Cyberstar Aries. He is openly gay, but his focus is more on his music and his friends than his lifestyle.
-----
Age - 26
Height - 5'9"
Weight - 150
Eyes - Brown
Hair - Brown
Sign - Aries
Transformation Phrase - "Aries Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Flame Boomerang!" (when used as a weapon); "Revolution Flame Boomerang!" (used to revert Marauder zombies back to their original human form); "Flame Boomerang Slash!" (a destructive finisher used in tandem with the Cyber Starlancer)

*****

James - Cyberstar Taurus (Green)
Epitomizing the shy, strong, silent type, he was the original Green Cyberstar from 1997 until 1999, when the Necronian Empire attacked and he received the powers of the Black Condor SkyForce Cyberstar. Like Omar, he lost these powers when Prince Nefarius, the heir to the Necronian Empire, infiltrated their SkyForce Jetbase and used it to attack the Cyberstars, who crashed their RoboJets into the Jetbase to destroy it and take out the Necronian Prince. Princess Celestia then used the Zodiac Force to save him and the other four Cyberstars from death. When he was captured in the park by the Marauders Dimensia and Saurak and taken to the Twisted Dimension, Celestia reawakened his memory and empowered him with the Zodiac Force, turning him into Cyberstar Taurus. James loves animals and the outdoors, and works full-time at the -Humane Society, and is a part-time "dog walker" as well.
-----
Age - 25
Height - 6'
Weight - 180
Eyes - Green
Hair - Black
Sign - Taurus
Transformation Phrase - "Taurus Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Seismic Bull Stampede!"

*****

Maricela - Cyberstar Gemini (Purple)
Her past is as of yet unknown to the Cyberstar universe, but she performs with the Dreamsound Orchestra as one of their two featured solo violinists, the other being Omar. Prior to Omar's transformation into Aries, she was partnered with Matt in their search for the Red Cyberstar, one of the main reasons they formed a close bond with Omar. A world-famous performing in her own right, her past, like Matt's, is unknown to the Cyberstar universe, but it is rumored that she was the first of the Zodiac Force to be awakened.
-----
Age - 33
Height - 5'10"
Weight - 140
Eyes - Dark green
Hair - Jet black
Sign - Gemini
Transformation Phrase - "Gemini Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Twin Illusion Typhoon!"

*****

Matt - Cyberstar Leo (Gold)
His past is as of yet unknown to the Cyberstar universe, but he performs with the Dreamsound Orchestra, of which Omar is a member, as their electric guitarist. Prior to Omar's transformation into Aries, he was partnered with Mari in their search for the Red Cyberstar, one of the main reasons they formed a close bond with Omar. He also entered into a romantic relationship with Omar, and his interference with Celestia's mentorship of Aries has proved to be a dangerous distraction.
-----
Age - 28
Height - 6'
Weight - 165
Eyes - Golden-hazel
Hair - Dirty-blonde
Sign - Leo
Transformation Phrase - "Leo Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Thunder Lion Roar!"

*****

Rachelle - Cyberstar Virgo (White)
She is the newest character in the Cyberstar universe. She is a college student and ex-gymnast who is very driven, independent, and outgoing, working two separate jobs (at a coffee shop and at a hotel). Six months before the Marauders attacked Austin, her best friend Lacey was killed in a drunk driving accident, and the Zodiac Force Medallion of Virgo (which Lacey had found during a vacation before she died) was given to Rachelle as a token of their friendship. Celestia then informed Rachelle that she was destined to become Cyberstar Virgo. She is very close with Gwyn, Cyberstar Aquarius.
-----
Age - 20
Height - 5'5"
Weight - 125
Eyes - Hazel
Hair - Dark Brown
Sign - Virgo
Transformation Phrase - "Virgo Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Natural Beauty Burst!"

*****

Nick - Cyberstar Libra (Yellow)
Athletic, boastful, and flirtatious, he was the second Blue Cyberstar from 1998 until 1999 (replacing Omar's nephew, Jordan), when the Necronian Empire attacked and he received the powers of the Yellow Owl SkyForce Cyberstar. Like Omar, he lost these powers when Prince Nefarius, the heir to the Necronian Empire, infiltrated their SkyForce Jetbase and used it to attack the Cyberstars, who crashed their RoboJets into the Jetbase to destroy it and take out the Necronian Prince. Princess Celestia then used the Zodiac Force to save him and the other four Cyberstars from death. When he was captured at a restaurant by Dimensia and taken to the Twisted Dimension, Celestia reawakened his memory and empowered him with the Zodiac Force, turning him into Cyberstar Libra. Nick is very protective of Omar as his best guy friend, and recently relocated from the West Coast and is into rock and roll drumming.
-----
Age - 26
Height - 5'10"
Weight - 165
Eyes - Brown
Hair - Sandy Blonde
Sign - Libra
Transformation Phrase - "Libra Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Gravity Balance Beam!"

*****

Dana - Cyberstar Sagittarius (Pink)
A street smart, wisecracking and professional young woman, she was the second Pink Cyberstar for a short time from 1998 to 1999 (replacing Heather), when the Necronian Empire attacked and she received the powers of the White Swan SkyForce Cyberstar. Like Omar, she lost these powers when Prince Nefarius, the heir to the Necronian Empire, infiltrated their SkyForce Jetbase and used it to attack the Cyberstars, who crashed their RoboJets into the Jetbase to destroy it and take out the Necronian Prince. Princess Celestia then used the Zodiac Force to save her and the other four Cyberstars from death. When she was captured at a restaurant by Dimensia and taken to the Twisted Dimension, Celestia reawakened her memory and empowered her with the Zodiac Force, turning him into Cyberstar Aquarius. She is a young divorcee who is an avid painter and sculptor, and has a bad habit of driving recklessly.
-----
Age - 24
Height - 5'7"
Weight - 125
Eyes - Hazel
Hair - Dark Brown
Sign - Sagittarius
Transformation Phrase - "Sagittarius Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Lightning Arrow Pierce!"

*****

Gwyn - Cyberstar Aquarius (Light Blue)
Typical ditzy blonde but very booksmart, she was the original Yellow Cyberstar from 1997 until 1999, when the Necronian Empire attacked and she received the powers of the Blue Swallow SkyForce Cyberstar. Like Omar, she lost these powers when Prince Nefarius, the heir to the Necronian Empire, infiltrated their SkyForce Jetbase and used it to attack the Cyberstars, who crashed their RoboJets into the Jetbase to destroy it and take out the Necronian Prince. Princess Celestia then used the Zodiac Force to save him and the other four Cyberstars from death. When she was captured in the park by the Marauders Dimensia and Saurak and taken to the Twisted Dimension, Celestia reawakened her memory and empowered her with the Zodiac Force, turning her into Cyberstar Virgo. She loves to party and tries to cheer up anyone who is down. She is Omar's closest and dearest friend, although they quarrel constantly, and is an aspiring actress and singer, being reduced to managing her late mother's karaoke club until her dreams of fame are realized.
-----
Age - 22
Height - 5'8"
Weight - 130
Eyes - Blue
Hair - Blonde
Sign - Aquarius
Transformation Phrase - "Aquarius Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Morning Mist Aurora!"

*****

Jeff - Cyberstar Pisces (Dark Blue)
Omar's ex-boyfriend from five years ago, he recently returned to the city of Austin for mysterious reasons unknown to Omar or his friends. He was one of the only civilians aware of the true identities of the SkyForce Cyberstars. After being saved by the Zodiac Force Medallion of Pisces from falling off a cliff after a skiing accident, he was chosen to become Cyberstar Pisces by Princess Celestia, but his identity was kept from Omar at first due to Celestia not wanting their past personal situation to interfere with the mission of protecting the Earth.
-----
Age - 29
Height - 6'
Weight - 170
Eyes - Dark brown
Hair - Light brown
Sign - Pisces
Transformation Phrase - "Pisces Celestial Power!"
Cyberstar Attack - "Double Tidal Surge!"

[CyberstarAries]

ZODIAC FORCE CYBERSTARS
****** Prologue ******
A retelling of the events leading up to the current series...

THE CYBERSTARS (1997)

In the latter years of the twentieth century, barbaric warmongers known as the Hexists, servants of the evil deity Pandora Hex, descended on Earth, bent on plundering the planet's natural resources and enslaving humanity after obtaining a fabled jewel of evil, the Gem of Pandora. Hexicon, the commanding officer of the Hexists, and his minions - Vulgarr, the winged cyborg werewolf, and the spiderlike sorceress Arachnica - were met by resistance from an ancient sorcerer of the planet Estreia named Polycron, who had been moonlighting on Earth as the renowned astrophysicist and bio-technologist Professor Paul Edward Cronin.

Polycron and Hexicon had once been partners in developing the Cyber Cosmos, a virtual-reality universe of power where a mythical combination of elements known as Astral Energy was kept. Hexicon, determined to claim its amazing powers for himself, dispatched his warriors to Earth to claim the Gem of Pandora, which he used to destroy the Cronin Research Lab complex in an attempt to kill his rival. However, Polycron and his female supercomputer, Mainframe, based within the mountainside command center which was hidden underneath the laboratory, used the Astral Energy to empower five young Earthlings with the ability to transform into the Cyberstars - warriors equipped with a fusion of mythic powers and Earth's most powerful and raw elements - in order to defend their world against the onslaught. Omar, the young violinist, became the Red Cyberstar, with the power of Fire. James, the shy newcomer and lover of nature, became the Green Cyberstar, with the power of Earth. Jordan, the child prodigy, became the Blue Cyberstar, with the power of Water. Gwyn, the beauty queen, became the Yellow Cyberstar, with the power of Light. Heather, the streetsmart young journalist, became the Pink Cyberstar, with the power of Wind.

They piloted the Cyberstar Astral Beasts, mechanical embodiments of Earth creatures (Fire Phoenix, Terra Tortoise, Aqua Dolphin, Light Lynx, and Wind Pegasus) that combined into the Astral StarKing. As the five Cyberstars met the challenge of protecting their hometown of Austin, Texas, and the rest of the world against the Hexists, they were joined by Michael, an aspiring actor and a heart throb who become the White Cyberstar, wielding the power of the Supernova and the Nova CyberDragon. This assistance could not have come at a better time, for a fierce and skilled warrior princess named Seraphina had joined the ranks of the Hexists and soon usurped Hexicon's leadership, eventually using the Gem of Pandora, the collective embodiment of Pandora Hex's dark power, to evolve into Demonica.

THE CYBERSTARS: TECHNOFORCE (1998)

Demonica's attacks led the six Cyberstars to upgrade into the power of hypertechnology, becoming the Technoforce Cyberstars. They gained access to humanoid fighting machines known as the Techno Robos, styled after their original Cyber Starbeasts, which combined into the Technostar Robo. They also gained a new ally in Nick, the star athlete, who eventually replaced Jordan as the Blue Cyberstar.

Other changes came for the team in their personal lives as well. Now a college freshman, Omar had decided to accept a secret truth about himself by coming out of the closet to his friends and his family after exposing the attraction that he had felt for Michael, and although the two of them engaged in a brief flirtation, they decided it was best for the team to be friends. Heather had received an invitation to intern at a global newspaper following the completion of her senior year in high-school, and at the urge of her teammates to accept the offer, she left her powers in the hands of Dana, an artistic and independent young woman who had befriended the team.

Polycron was then summoned to his home planet of Estreia to deal with a threat that was looming over the horizon, and he left the Cyberstars and Mainframe in charge of his command center, while Michael decided to accompany Heather on a plane bound for New York City for her interview, unaware of the impending danger.

All the while, the activities of Demonica and the Hexists were under the surveillance of a far darker and more dangerous threat, the Necronian Empire. Their ruler, the cold-hearted Necron, sought to free his long lost love, Pandora Hex, who was the mother of their illegitimate child, the clairvoyant Prince Nefarius. Necron first hijacked the private jet on which Heather and Michael were flying. The White Cyberstar attempted to go up against Necron in his Nova CyberDragon, which was destroyed. Necron then kidnapped the former White and Pink Cyberstars and used their life energy to bring back the spirit of the defeated Hexicon, which haunted Demonica and drove her to insanity. Using the Gem of Pandora to kill herself, Demonica unleashed Pandora Hex herself upon the city of Austin.

In the battle which ensued, the Cyberstars lost not only the Superstar Technorobo but their command center as well. It was at this grave time that an enormous birdlike ship appeared in the sky, having received a distress signal that the Cyberstars had sent during their last battle against Pandora Hex.

SKY FORCE CYBERSTARS (1999-2000)
Omar, James, Nick, Gwyn, and Dana were taken into the mechanized avian and there, they reunited with their mentor, Polycron, who had designed the Sky Force Jetbase with the help of the people of Estreia. Seeing as how their old powers and uniforms were now gone forever, Polycron and Mainframe endowed the five young people with the energies of the airborne bird spirits of the Sky Force, transforming them into the Sky Force Cyberstars - Omar became the Red Hawk Cyberstar, James became the Black Condor Cyberstar, Nick became the Yellow Owl Cyberstar, Gwyn became the Blue Swallow Cyberstar, and Dana became the White Swan Cyberstar. They now had control of the Sky Force Robojets, birdlike flying machines which combined into the SkyRobo.

Engaging in a battle across the sky and outer space against the Necronian Empire's armada of Skullcruisers, the Cyberstars managed to save Michael and Heather, who both were grateful to their friends and decided to leave the team to return to their everyday lives - Heather accepted the job offer and Michael moved to New York with her to become a professional actor.
The Cyberstars had made a terrible enemy in Necron, who now focused his assault on Earth alongside Nefarius and their minions - the dark warrior KnightOnyx and the vampiric beauty, Krystl. Therefore, each of the young heroes put their personal dreams on hold - Omar was now actively playing with local bands, James was volunteering at a local animal shelter, Nick was attending college on an athletic scholarship, Gwyn had aspirations of becoming a lounge singer, and Dana was displaying her sculptures and abstract paintings in art galleries.

The Sky Force Cyberstars later gained access to the BlueBattler Robo, designed by Omar's nephew and former Blue Cyberstar Jordan, which enhanced the SkyRobo's power as a four-barrelled cannon. They were also joined by a sentient mecha, the Gold Thunderbird Robo, which combined with the SkyRobo into the Super SkyRobo and destroyed Necron after his many attempts to defeat the team and transform Earth into a frozen, barren wasteland, mirroring his own cold heart.

However, they never expected their most terrible enemy to be a child - young Nefarius assumed leadership of the Necronian Empire and evolved into an older and more powerful form. He attacked the Cyberstars from within at first, abducting Omar and masquerading as him in the human world and sabotaging the Red Cyberstar's relationship with Jeff, his first true love.

Successfully ending the romance and weakening his , the manipulative and vain Nefarius then eliminated Krystl, his primary detractor, by emplanting a vampiric virus into her body and causing her to sacrifice herself against the Super SkyRobo. KnightOnyx loved Krystl and was unaware of this plot, swearing vengeance against the Cyberstars.

In a turn of events which sent all of their worlds spiraling towards destruction, the cunning Prince then played his ultimate trump card, kidnapping Celestia, the beautiful granddaughter of Polycron, from the planet of Estreia in an attempt to secure the Orb of the Zodiac Force, which contained the twelve mystical energies of the Zodiac within jeweled medallions, from the Princess and use it to complete his father's mission of plunging the universe into darkness. He destroyed the BlueBattler Robo and damaged Gold Thunderbird Robo beyond repair, causing the Cyberstars to pursue him into outer space.

Meanwhile, Polycron himself engaged in battle against the evil armada of Necronian Skull Cruisers, sneaking onboard the Prince's battleship and attempting to rescue Celestia. However, Nefarius had assumed control of the Sky Force Jetbase, using it to attack the Cyberstars and disabling their Robojet weapon systems. Their mentor was badly wounded by KnightOnyx, so the Princess activated the Zodiac Force in order to destroy the entire battleship, just as Polycron used his last remaining energy to seal Celestia away in an escape pod which blasted away towards Earth.

The Cyberstars, faring badly against Nefarius, decided to sacrifice themselves and kamikaze their Robojets into their own command ship. Their lives would have ended, but Polycron's ghost appeared to Celestia and he told her to use the Zodiac Force Medallions which corresponded to each of his young charges to save their lives, thereby erasing their memories of ever having been Cyberstars. As the Sky Force Jetbase exploded, Prince Nefarius was sucked into oblivion and was not heard from again.

The five young friends lost contact with each other as they each went down their own life paths - Omar, not remembering his breakup with Jeff, became a star violinist, touring with the Dreamsound Orchestra - James went on with the animal shelter, also volunteering for PETA - Nick moved to the West Coast in pursuit of sea, surf, and gigs as a rock drummer - Gwyn took on management of her mother's karaoke club - and Dana put her artistic dreams on hold to get married.

Celestia remained on Earth to watch over them, completely unaware of a dark, shadowy new enemy that waited in the shadows for the right time to strike. The only hope of meeting this threat was in the twelve Zodiac Force medallions, scattered across the Western Hemisphere after having been separated in outer space.

And now, five years later... a new saga begins for the Cyberstars.

[CyberstarAries]

ZODIAC FORCE CYBERSTARS
****** Episode 01 ******
"Black Rose Revolution"

The blanket of the night sky was filled with stars over the city of Austin. The midnight party scene had long subsided and the city streets were now vacant, with only a few cars parked outside the empty clubs and beneath the looming high-rise buildings. The full moon, high above the city, cast a warm, white glow across the glassy surface of the tallest skyscraper, which resembled a massive blue sapphire reaching into the sky with the utmost top flowering out like a white-petaled magnolia.

Inside the atrium of this building, a lone female, dressed in a slimming gray pants suit and a silky white blouse, stepped slowly into the moonlight. The wind caught the loose strands of her shimmering white hair as her blue eyes reflected the stars in the sky as if they themselves belonged in the heavens.

"You are both here, I see..." she said softly. "Thank you for coming."

Two other figures turned around from the railing on the edge of the building - one, a beautiful, olive-skinned female with long, jet-black hair which seemed purple in the moonlight, and the other being a tall, hazel-eyed young man with shaggy, chin-length dirty blond hair and a goatee.

"We cannot stay long," the male, wearing a long brown leather coat and a black tee-shirt underneath. He wore faded brown corduroy pants with slick, brown leather boots. "Why have you called us here?"

"You know that our connection must be kept top-secret, Celestia," said the woman, who wore a knee-length black leather coat, black boots, and a shorter lavender dress underneath the coat. Her green eyes flashed like those of a cat in the reflected light of the night sky.

"I request that you leave Aries alone," came the reply. The other two humans didn't react.

"We can't do that," the young man said firmly. "I can't do that."

"Your proximity is endangering him," Celestia said, ignoring his reassurance, which came across as hostile and untrustworthy to her. "It is bad enough that you have involved him in your everyday lives, bringing him closer to danger than he needs to be... I did not give you these powers so you could put him in harm's way."

"Then perhaps you would like to try and take our powers from us, Celestia," the woman whom had been referred to simply as Gemini said to her comrade with a sly grin. "Then who will protect him? Who will protect you?"

"It is not my wish to undo what has been done," the lovely, fair-skinned girl said. "My only request is that you keep Aries out of harm's way. Please abide by it."

"Celestia," Leo replied, stepping forward and putting a strong hand on the woman's shoulder. She looked down at it and then up at him with a defiant gleam in her eyes. "We will do what we must. You should know, better than anyone else, of the danger that creeps upon us."

"We are only protecting him," Gemini continued in a thick foreign accent. "Isn't that what you had asked of me in the beginning?"

"Your influence has proved more of a hinderance than any help to me," Celestia sighed. "The fact that the two of you, bearing signs of Fire and Air, have succeeded in holding off the enemy thus far, I have decided to attend to Aries personally. Because of you, he may stray too far. Anything that either of you might do could prove disastrous."

Leo and Gemini just looked at one another, then back at Celestia. In flashes of golden and purple light, they were gone, leaving the former Princess of Estreia by herself on the rooftop deck of the immense building. She sighed to herself.

"This is becoming too complicated, Mainframe."

"You got that right," a metallic voice crackled from an earring that Celestia had on right ear in the shape of a six-pointed star. "Their energy levels are off the hook!"

"And yet they are so complacent about it... almost defiant. Don't they realize who gave them this power?" the girl whispered as she re-entered the elevator on the thirtieth floor of the high-rise.

"Sweetie, you didn't give them a damned thing. They found it and now they're using it. Just be glad they're not using it for the wrong thing. Somehow, those two know whose side they're on."

"But we can't have them fooling around with Aries or any of the others. It's too late. There has been too much time," Celestia said, shaking her head as she watched the digital numbers count down to the first floor of the building. "It would send them into shock to know what they went through."

"I feel you, girlfriend, trust," Mainframe's voice replied with an understanding unlike that of any other computer on the planet would have. "But soon, we're not going to have a choice, and it's going to be us or them that does the dirty deed." Celestia closed her eyes, and wished that things could have been different from the start.

"If only my grandfather had let me carry out my duty..."

"Celestia, don't be a fool!" came the frustrated voice of her digital friend on the earpiece. "Polycron may have been old, but he was no space case... like you. He knew exactly what he was doing. If he hadn't done what he did, you would have gone postal on the entire planet in a matter of minutes and gotten the place all to' up."

Celestia had to laugh. Mainframe was right - but she was right about too many things, now.

*****

The last note of the violin solo, together with the finale of the orchestra's melody, pierced the air of the concert hall as the audience erupted into applause. Center stage, a slender young man withdrew his bow from his red electric violin, sending everyone within earshot into an uproarious standing ovation. He then turned around and raised his arms as his fellow band and orchestra members stood proudly, calling for more applause. With a huge smile on his face, he looked across the stage to another violinist, a beautiful, long-haired female with dark skin who wore a long, shimmering purple dress, who nodded in encouragement of her young friend as she bowed as well.

Flowers and cards adorned the edge of the stage as the orchestra members began to exit, while the two main violinists held hands and bowed together one last time, then separated to exit on opposite sides of the stage. One last flower, a black rose, was placed gently on the stage, with the black fingernails on a slender white hand pulling back eerily.

The hand belonged to a mysterious woman in a black evening gown and feathered boa which was wrapped around her neck and pale white arms. Her hair was cut very short and was spiked upward with white highlights. Her deep red lips pursed tightly together as she watched the two violinists leave the stage, with her eyes flashing bright green. She then looked around to make sure no one had seen her drop the flower onstage, and smiled, walking away slowly.

Backstage, the young male violinist, still wearing his long red velvet coat and a pair of red wire-framed glasses, ran up to the older woman, who smiled and embraced him warmly after giving her violin to one of the stage hands, who took it away to put in its case.

"Mari! I can't believe it! Another hit!"

"You are performing way above and beyond what I'd expected of you, 'mi amorcito'," she said to him lovingly. "Wonderful job tonight."

"Thanks," he said smiling back at her, ecstatic about his performance. "You, too, were great as always... I owe all of this to you."

"We did it together, eh?" she said calmly in a thick Spanish accent. Maricela then looked up and smiled as the lead guitarist, a handsome young man with light facial hair and layered dirty blond hair that was pulled back in a pony-tail, came running up to both of them, his brown leather boots clacking on the concrete floor of the hallway. "Well, Matt, how's about our little virtuoso?"

"Omar, you pulled another one right out of nowhere, man," he laughed, giving Omar a strong hug and patting his back all at once. "That violin solo was screamin' - like from outer space!"

"Nah, I couldn't have done it without you guys... tonight was so much fun..."

"Well," Matt said, looking at the red-coated violinist and then at Mari, smiling. "How about we go tear up the town to celebrate?"

"Sounds great to me..." Omar replied. He then reached into his violin case to pull out a silver, clamshell-shaped mobile phone. "Hey, listen, mind if I call a few of my friends? They live here in town, so I was thinking..." Maricela cut him short, looking at Matt and trying to hide the worry in her face.

"Honestly, mi amor," she said, touching his shoulder. "We were hoping to just go out as the three of us, like usual!"

"Yeah, the three rockstars!" Matt echoed, nodding enthusiastically. Omar frowned slightly, then shrugged at his two fellow musicians.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, I can call them tomorrow... right?"

"Right," Matt and Mari said together, smiling.

As the three of them boarded a taxi to leave the concert hall's parking lot, the dark woman watched from behind a light pole, her arms crossed as she held another black rose in her right hand. She gripped it tightly, feeling the thorns pierce her white skin, but didn't grimace and dark red drops of blood fell to the dimly-lit sidewalk outside the lobby of the concert hall. The woman then put on a pair of silver sunglasses, which reflected everything around her, and faded into the shadows, laughing musically to herself.

"The three rockstars, eh? We'll just see about THAT."

*****

Omar's phone danced violently across the bedstand of his hotel room as he slowly reached for it, mumbling to himself as he looked at the Caller ID. Apparently, he had already missed a few phone calls from this same number, one which he recognized but felt guilty for not having answered in quite a while.

A voice called to him from the other side of the large bed.

"Who is it..."

"One of my old gal pals from high school," Omar replied, putting on his glasses and pushing the sheet back to turn and face Matt, who just smiled at him. The handsome, dirty-blond guitarist was shirtless and probably wore little more than the white sheets which were wrapped around his slender, tightly-muscled body. "What are you smiling at?"

"Just you," Matt sighed. "Little firestarter that you are."

"Shut up," the glasses-wearing boy laughed as the older one took him into his arms and planted a kiss right on his lips. "God, what's gotten into you?"

"Just seeing you in front of your hometown crowd last night. You tore it up."

"So did you, if you've already forgotten," Omar said resolutely, sitting up and getting out of the bed. Matt looked after him inquisitively, his hair falling around his handsome, gaunt face.

"So where you going?"

"To go see my friend, like I said," he replied to his lover, whom he'd met while on tour with the massive rock orchestra that he'd joined a couple of years prior to the momentous concert the night before. "I feel kind of bad for not going out with her last night, 'cause it's been a few years, so I promised we'd go to brunch this morning." Matt feigned a pouty face, putting on his boxer shorts and following Omar to the bathroom as he got in front of the mirror. He wrapped his arms around the smaller, more slender young man.

"Not without a kiss goodbye," he whispered.

"You already got a kiss good morning, dork," Omar laughed, washing his face and putting some hair product in his brown hair to make it spike upwards and outwards. "Now, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were trying to keep me from my friends!"

Matt looked hurt.

"Why would I do that?"

"Just playing," came the reply as the taller blond with the goatee crossed his arms and frowned. "Don't take it too seriously. Anyway, you're more than welcome to come if you want." Matt went and jumped back into the large, comfortable hotel room bed. "Or not."

"I'm still pretty blasted from last night. Kinda want to sleep in a little bit more."

"Sleep in!? It's already one in the afternoon, Matt."

"Yeah, well don't forget, we have another show tonight. I gotta save my energy. So do you."

"Don't you worry about little old me," Omar said, sitting back on the bed after putting on a pair of low-rise flared jeans and a tight fitting red and black tee-shirt. "I'll be just fine." He kissed his boyfriend on the forehead and smiled as he threw a pillow at him. "Now you go back to bed, little boy!" Matt chuckled as Omar grabbed his phone and his keys and waved, closing the hotel room door behind him.

His smile then turned into a frown. Mari was NOT going to be happy about this.

*****

A blond girl sat idly outside of a coffee shop, with her hair pulled back into a pony tail and white rimmed sunglasses over her forehead, smacking a piece of gum. A few people who were working on their laptop computers looked annoyedly over at her, then shook their heads in disapproval, but she didn't notice. She also had a small animal with her - a miniature Dachshund with black fur and a tan underbelly, but he was an older dog so some of his facial fur was starting to turn gray with his age. He wore a red collar around his neck.

She then smiled giddily and stood up with the dog, who barked and wagged his tail, as a familiar face came walking around the corner, his black leather sandals flapping on the hot concrete.

"Oh my God, look at YOU!" the girl screamed, disturbing more clients of the coffee shop. "Mr. Big Star!"

"Be quiet, Gwyn," Omar laughed. "You'll attract attention..." He then looked down and cooed at the small dog, who jumped up excitedly at him. "Well, look who came to see his Daddy!!!!"

"Oh, your Dad was super cool about letting him come with me. I figured Kooby would want to see you after you being gone for so long!"

"Almost seven months," Omar marveled. "And look at you, hotter than ever."

"Well, you know I'm good at that," she snapped with a smile. "Wow, it's been AGES since I've seen you. You look all grown up! I'm so glad you called." She gave him a big, tight hug, and he responded in turn, kissing her cheek, picking up his little dog who promptly began the ritual of licking his master's face and neck.

"Well, sorry for being late," he replied to his girl friend as they sat down together at a table underneath a tree. "It was a little hard leaving behind my total dish of a boyfriend in my..."

"BOYFRIEND!?" clammered Gwyn. "When did you go get yourself a man?"

"I kinda lucked into it, actually. He plays guitar - acoustic AND electric - for the band that I'm touring with, and we just totally clicked. He's super."

"Super... what?" the blond said, winking and crossing her legs as she leaned towards her friend mischieviously.

"Super nothing, I don't kiss and tell!" the boy laughed. "So how's the acting career?"

"Oh, it's acting. Got a couple of parts in some one acts out of the university... oh, and I'm still managing that Karaoke Club that my Mom used to run before she..." Gwyn paused and looked away. It really had been a long time since she and Omar had actually sat down and talked, instead of the quick phone calls to see where her former best friend from high school was playing that night.

Omar looked at her and his mouth fell slightly agape.

"Gwyn... I'm sorry... when did she...?" he asked.

"About three years ago," she interrupted, smoothing out her white and light blue sun dress. She looked around nervously and lit up a cigarette. "It's no big deal. She's probably better off now. Lung cancer, you know?"

"And YOU'RE smoking?" Omar asked with a frown. "That's a one way ticket to a mother-daughter party that no-one I know would want to be invited to." Gwyn shrugged. "I... I don't really know what to say..."

"Nothing much to say. There's a lot that's been going on." She paused and just looked up into the blue sky. "Not that you'd know. You're super busy, right?"

"Not busy enough to forget my friends..." he began. Kooby let out a vicious growl as a slender, fair-skinned waitress with short, spiky black hair came up to the table and brazenly interrupted him.

"Has anyone taken your order?" Omar looked up at her, and she smiled. He felt a chill run down his spine, even though she was quite attractive. Her green eyes seemed to pierce his own like daggers. The little dog just stayed underneath Omar's chair and growled again.

"Um, no ma'am," he replied nervously. "How about a tall mocha latte, no whip?" He then looked at Gwyn. "Want anything?" She puffed her cigarette one more, and shook her head.

"Nah, I'm all coffee'd out. I'm getting kind of hungry." Gwyn stared up at the waitress, squinting her eyes to eye a peculiar black flower that was on the lapel of her dress. "Is that a rose?"

"Why, yes," came the calm reply. "A black rose... very rare..."

"I've never seen one of those," Omar remarked. "Just red or white."

"Black roses are very special," the waitress remarked nonchalantly as she took down the order for the boy's latte. "Whereas red roses are symbolic of love, black roses signify revolution."

"Revolution, eh?" Gwyn sighed. "Well, let me tell you something, there'll be a revolution if I don't get something to eat. I'm starved!" Omar spoke up again.

"Yeah, can you bring us a menu?" The slick-looking waitress nodded with a sharp smile, and reached onto her lapel.

"Of course, and here..." she removed the black rose and placed it on the table. "For you. There are changes coming in your life - so embrace them and be ready." Without another word, the waitress then left the patio of the coffee shop, leaving both Omar and Gwyn stunned. Kooby growled once more, but under his breath, so as not to upset his master.

"What a weird girl," the blond said, putting out her cigarette.

"You got that right," the red-shirted boy said, shaking his head. He then examined the flower, not touching it. "I thought black roses signified death."

"So did I," shrugged Gwyn, putting the sunglasses over her eyes and chomping on another piece of gum, warranting some more annoyed looks from the studying and computer-ridden patrons. "Guess she's one of those new age freaks." Omar feigned his usual cheery smile, but he had a very strange feeling about the "changes" that this unusual waitress had spoken of.

*****

Maricela Nublado lay out underneath a floral-printed umbrella by the poolside of the lavish hotel in which she and the rest of the touring orchestra were staying, with a purple frozen cocktail situated next to her on a small white plastic table.

"Hey, Mari," a male voice greeted her.

"Hola, Mateo," she replied with a sigh, pulling her long black hair back behind her head. "Did you just now wake up?"

"Nah, a while ago now, I was watching some TV," Matt said, sitting on one of the reclining chairs as he watched some small children playing with inflatable toys and splashing noisily in the pool. "Did you sleep well?"

"I was restless," Mari answered, removing her deep purple sunglasses and looking up at him. "But then I..." She stopped speaking when their eyes met. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," he said quickly with a smile.

"Where is Omar?" she demanded, sitting up and spilling the purple drink as she knocked over the table. The blond-haired young man shook his head.

"He just said he would step out for a few minutes to see a friend, but that he'd be back and..."

"You let him leave?!" Mari snapped, her green eyes flashing. "You idiot! You're letting him get to you!" She quickly wrapped a towel around her tall, slender body and rushed towards the lobby. "I should have never trusted you!" Matt shook his head in disbelief and ran after her, only catching notice from few of the parents out by the poolside, who then returned to watching their children play their loud, splashy game in the water.

*****

An elderly Asian man was slowly pushing a large broom across the front of the stage in the enormous concert hall, preparing the venue for that night's concert spectacular. The janitor happily whistled a familiar tune to himself which was being fed through a pair of headphones over his ears, checking his watch every few minutes to make sure that he would finish in time to go home to his wife for dinner. As he pushed the broom further, he felt it stop upon something. He squinted his eyes and adjusted his glasses and pale blue overalls as he cast his gaze upon a mysterious object - a black flower which lay peacefully upon the edge of the stage.

He looked around curiously. The entire hall, which could easily seat two thousand people, was completely empty. The orchestra had not yet come for the dress rehearsal and sound check, but somehow this flower had found its way onto the stage without being noticed.

The old man set his broom on the wheeled cart that carried many of his cleaning tools and solutions and knelt down to examine his find. The flower was in actuality a black rose, with a long, dark green stem and dark red points at the tip of each thorn.

He marveled slightly at the black rose, and picked up to examine it.

Upon touching it, however, he let out a sharp yell as one of the thorns pricked his index finger, drawing blood. His wife owned a flower shop just north of the concert hall, where many of the season ticket holders would order dozens of roses at a time to be able to throw at the stage when a show such as the one taking place tonight was over. The janitor had pricked his thumb on a rose before, but had never felt a sensation like this.

It was like an electrical shock that seemed to go through every vein in his body all at once.

The old man shot upwards on his two feet, yelling once more, but this time in a tremendous amount of pain. His scream echoed throughout the concert hall as his eyes turned as black as coals and then gave off a bright green glow, as did the black rose which remained on the ground.

The only words came from his mouth were the following:

"Black Rose Revolution begins - death to the stars."

*****

Somewhere not far from the downtown area, two glowing green eyes were reflected in a mirror upon a wall.

"Reporting," a woman's voice hissed, that which belonged to the green eyed creature. "The revolution of the black roses has begun."

"Perfect," a deeper male voice replied from the shadows within the mirror, bearing no body or face. "Continue making the preparations, Dimensia. We are almost ready to strike."

*****

"God," Gwyn moaned in fake agony. "I am SOOOOOOOOO hungry. When is she bringing out that blasted menu?" Omar looked at the digital clock on his phone. He didn't want to be rude, but he did want to get back to the hotel to see his boyfriend, Matt, so they would have enough time to be together before they had to do soundcheck at the concert venue.

"Let me see if I can find our waitress," he said quickly. "I'm pretty hungry, myself, and she hasn't even brought out my freakin' latte."

"That's the trouble with these local spots," the blonde retorted. "Always taking their sweet damned time." Omar made eye contact with a young waiter with curly red hair and a goatee, and smiled, until the waiter came to their table.

"I'm sorry, can I help you?"

"Yeah," the glasses-wearing boy said apologetically. "For some reason, our waitress hasn't brought out my coffee or our menu, and we're about to go into tremors over here." Kooby whimpered and wagged his tail. The redheaded young man looked at both Omar and Gwyn in confusion.

"Um, did you say waitress?" Omar nodded, while Gwyn lit another cigarette in boredom. "Tiff, our only Saturday waitress, doesn't come in until five o'clock. It's just me right now. I can take an order for you if you like." The blond girl moaned again before Omar could say anything, removing her white plastic sunglasses.

"Oh, gimme a break," she cried indignantly. "Then who was the chick that brought us this stinkin' rose and fed us all that revolution mumbo jumbo?!" The waiter looked completely baffled, staring at the black petaled flower that sat mysteriously on the table.

"Hum, I'm sorry," he replied with a smile, reaching for the rose. "I don't know who that was, but she sure as heck doesn't work here. I'll take care of this for you." His smile instantly turned into an expression of pain and shock as his fingers made contact with the thorns on the rose, and gave a loud scream. Kooby jumped up and barked, while Gwyn was jolted by the noise.

Other customers looked up from their computers or their conversations and stared in surprise at the waiter, who clutched his hand in pain.

"Sir," Omar said, standing up slowly. "Are you okay?"

Gwyn came up behind her good friend, tapping him nervously on the shoulder.

"Dude, look at that flower... it's GLOWING."

Sure enough, the mysterious black rose was giving off an eerie green glow, as did the eyes of the poor waiter, who then feigned a horrific, twisted expression on his once charming face.

"Um, is this Candid Camera or something?" Omar asked slowly, backing away with Gwyn, while Kooby bared his teeth and kept barking. The waiter turned towards the both of them, gritting his teeth and muttering some very strange, disturbing words, and in a very different voice from that which he had earlier.

"Black Rose Revolution begins - death to the stars."

"Honey, it looks like he doesn't like superstar violinists," the blond said nervously.

"I don't know, Gwyn, something really strange is going on," Omar whispered.

As if almost on cue, the waiter's fingers erupted into large, twisted vines with glistening black roses on them, causing Gwyn to scream in terror as everyone within the coffee shop's outdoor patio began to panic at the horrifying sight of the insane, possessed man. Like the tentacles of a giant squid, the vines lashed out with dark red thorns, slashing through cars that were parked on the street and tearing into the patio furniture.

"Shit, run!" Omar commanded, grabbing his barking dog and his girl friend by the other hand and running for the valet stand where he had dropped off his car. Almost breathless, they arrived at the small wooden booth where a uniformed young man had his back turned to them. "Sir, I'm sorry, I need to get my car now, it's kind of an...." The valet driver turned around slowly. "...emergency..."

A black rose sat on the counter of the valet booth, and the man's eyes were also glowing with a wicked green light.

"Black Rose Revolution begins..."

"Oh, great, attack of the black rose zombies," Gwyn whined, tears welling up in her eyes as she grabbed her cheeks in despair. "What do we do?" The possessed, tentacled waiter was slowly making his way up the sidewalk towards the parking lot, while the valet driver also was transformed into a mutant rose bush with serpentine vines. Omar was virtually speechless at the nightmare that had become of his afternoon.

"Ummmm, I don't think either one of us have super magic powers, so I think the only option is..."

A powerful, womanly voice called out from nowhere, startling both Omar and Gwyn, causing Kooby to bark once more. His master looked down disapprovingly to reprimand him, but was then shocked by the appearance of two new figures in the sunlight, standing atop the building which housed the quaint little coffee shop.

"Stop right there, Black Rose Marauder scum!" The two mutant humans stopped short.

"Who in the world..." the blond girl marveled.

"Maybe not of this world," Omar whispered, trying to make out the two forms.

"I have been heralded by the celestial archer of love - I am Cyberstar Gemini!!!" A beautiful woman clad in a tight purple uniform, with a silver vertical stripe extending down her chest, wore a purple-visored mask with wings protruding from over the silver plates which covered her ears, but her long jet black - almost purple - hair poured out from behind it. She wore white boots and white gloves, and her silver, white-rimmed chest plate was encrusted with a purple amethyst inset with the sign of Gemini.

"And I have been summoned by the celestial lion of courage - I am Cyberstar Leo!!!" A tall, handsome man dressed in a uniform similar to that of Gemini, except that his had a black vertical stripe down the center of his torso, posed like a lion about to spring on its prey. His golden-visored mask, like that of a lion's gaping mouth, shielded his face, but his golden brown hair flew in the wind. His golden, black-rimmed chest plate bore the star sign of Leo within the center of a tiger's eye, and he wore golden gloves and boots with black lining.

"Cyber-whats?!" Gwyn whispered.

"Cyberstars, I think," Omar replied. Something triggered a memory in his head - but had no time to recollect exactly what that was as the black rosed tentacles of the valet driver lashed towards him.

"Take cover, let us deal with this!" Leo shouted down. The two friends nodded, sprinting as fast as possible for Omar's red sport utility vehicle which was at the opposite end of the parking lot.

"Leo, now!" Gemini ordered.

"Thunder Lion, roar!" came the man's powerful, deep voice.

Gnashing its teeth, the mutant human came face to face with a blazing, thundering image of a fearsome golden lion that seemed to eject straight from Cyberstar Leo's own hands. Before he could react, the beast was devoured from top to bottom by the spirit, which, as it dissipated, left only the unconscious body of the valet driver, having been returned to normal.

Leo then stood smiling, proud of his victory, when he was suddenly choked by the tentacles of the mutant waiter from the coffee shop, who licked his lips and prepared to move in for the kill. The black rosed vines began to tighten their grip around the gold-suited hero.

"Sag... help..." he gasped, clutching at his binds.

"Twin Illusion Typhoon!" came the voice of Cyberstar Gemini, who still stood atop the building. It was as if she had generated a clone of herself, as the two identical purple-clad heroines then generated horizontal whirlwinds of purple energy towards the mutant, slamming him into the ground. Moments later, his body returned to his original, redheaded self, sans zombie vines.

Kneeling on the ground, Leo looked up as Gemini joined him in the parking lot. Omar and Gwyn had left in his SUV, and the two Cyberstars were relieved. The purple suited female sighed, shaking her head as she helped her partner up. It was obvious he was still short of breath.

"Are you all right?" she asked seriously, looking into his eyes from her visor.

"I'll be fine... we were almost too late..."

"I know," Gemini said worriedly. "We have to keep a closer eye on him from now on. No more mistakes."

"No more mistakes," Leo agreed. In a flash of golden and purple light, the heroes vanished.

Meanwhile, the waiter sat up from the concrete, examining his surroundings and not remembering how exactly he had gotten all the way to the valet parking lot outside the downtown coffee shop.

*****

Celestia looked up from her meditation in a brightly-lit yoga classroom surrounded by many open glass windows, where she sat by herself in a very awkward, yet beautiful position, with her legs crossed over one another and her arms spread straight out.

"You felt that, didn't you..." Mainframe's voice buzzed in through the earpiece.

"Indeed," the girl replied. "A transformation has taken place again."

"There was an attack at the Little City Coffee Shop in downtown Austin," the computer continued.

Celestia's blue eyes widened and she released herself from her position.

"Omar is not far from there! Mainframe, we must act at once."

*****

The glowing green eyes reached out from the black void into the mirror once more, with the woman's voice hissing like a serpent.

"We were thwarted yet again, but we were close."

"Close is not good enough, Dimensia," the demonic, gutteral voice came from oblivion, shrouded in darkness. "Find Aries and destroy him before it is too late."

"The other two Cyberstars, Gemini and Leo, are already tracking him," the unseen creature only known as Dimensia replied. "And are hot on his tail. If all goes according to my plans, they will lead me right to him!"

"Do as you wish - in order to ensure that this comes to fruition, I am sending Saurak..." Dimensia's eyes seemed to communicate a frown, but blinked and the darkened face nodded in compliance.

"Yes, Master."

*****

Gwyn nervously puffed away at another cigarette - her third since their frantic getaway from the attack at the coffee shop - flicking the ashes out the passenger side window of Omar's red Nissan Pathfinder and looking in the rearview mirror to make sure no one - or nothing - was following them. She then exhaled a long flume of smoke and gritted her teeth.

"Okay, so obviously you've pissed someone off..." she said matter-of-factly. Omar looked at her in bewilderment as he made a sharp turn and headed down the street towards the hotel.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"Well, scary rosebush monsters pop up out of nowhere and you just act like it's normal," Gwyn replied, shaking her head. "You must be making some friends in low places."

Kooby looked up at her, his big brown eyes blinking innocently. "Isn't that right, little puppy puppy poo?!" The dog barked in reply. "See, even HE agrees."

"Oh, please," Omar groaned, teasing his spiky, messy hair and examining himself in the mirror before turning into the parking garage. "Kooby has no clue about what just happened." His little black and tan dog then looked up at him and gave a small growl, then put his head back on his master's lap.

"And then there's that spooky ass waitress," Gwyn mumured. "I wonder what she has to do with all of this..."

"Forget it for now. We have to pretend like nothing happened - put yourself together real quick. You're about to meet two very important friends of mine."

Gwyn just rolled her eyes, pulling some glossy red lipstick out of her small white handback and slathering it on her lips as she silently mimicked her friend. Kooby seemed slightly amused by this as the young man parked his SUV, picked up his dog, and went around the other side to let his pretty blond friend out of the vehicle. She hastily brushed her white and yellow sundress of and sighed.

Omar and Gwyn entered the hotel lobby, as the blond was completely awed by her gorgeous surroundings. Marble pillars supported an elaborately painted ceiling, and tall indoor plants stretched upwards along the walls. She sighed and tugged on her guy friend's red shirt.

"This is sooooooo cool... you're living like a superstar!"

"Yeah, I guess," Omar replied with a shrug. Kooby looked at both of them and wagged his tail. The three of them arrived at the front desk, and Omar greeted the attendant, a young, shoulder-length haired brunette in a pink vest and shiny white blouse over a pair of black slacks. "Hi there, Rachelle. Any messages for me while I was out?"

"Actually, Mr. Lopez, we left a message in your room's voicemail system a couple of hours ago, and with another gentleman, but since we didn't hear back we just decided to hold it here for you."

"Call him Omar - Mr. Lopez is too formal!" Gwyn chirped with a friendly smile, putting her sunglasses on her forehead. Omar gave his companion an annoyed look, and then back at Rachelle.

"Hold what?" he mused with a friendly smile. The clerk bent over behind her desk and returned upwards with a small box wrapped in glossy red paper, which she placed gingerly on the desk for him to see. "Oh!"

"This package. It arrived for you right after you left for your afternoon outing."

"Oh," Omar mused, examining the package first, then giving Kooby to Gwyn, who looked on curiously. "Who is it from?" The front desk attendant shook her head as she

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lopez," she continued, ignoring the blond girl's suggestion. "...but there was no name left with the delivery. There's just a tag here that says it's for you." Examining the little package, Omar discovered that Rachelle was right. There was only a golden tag attached onto the red wrapping paper with his full name name in very delicately written handwriting.

"Interesting," Omar remarked, rotating the cube-shaped package. It was roughly the size of an old music box that his stepmother used to have on her vanity when he was a little boy. He shook it slightly to see if any noise came from inside, but there was none. He then sighed and looked back at Rachelle. "Thanks, Rachelle. I appreciate it."

She nodded shyly and watched as Omar and Gwyn made their way to the elevators. Omar pressed the button to head to his upstairs suite, and sighed as he watched the golden doors close in front of him in his friend. He could have sworn that he saw a slender, fair-haired girl watching him from behind one of the ornate marble pillars in the enormous foyer, but the elevator was on its way up before he could look again.

Her platinum white hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and she had soft, blue eyes. She also wore a very slim-fitting white dress with a matching white jacket over it. She took great care to make sure she had not been seen by anyone in the lobby, including the Rachelle, the front desk clerk.

Celestia took a deep breath, and nodded to herself. It was done.

*****

In the darkness cast by the elaborate architexture of the immense concert hall, past the velvet red curtains upon the stage, a pair of glowing green eyes greeted their loyal servant, as a serpentine female voice reached out from the shadows.

"They will return soon, my pet..." hissed the voice of Dimensia. "And when they do, destroy them."

A vicious snarl emitted from the mouth of the little old janitor, whose eyes glowed in return at the command from his mistress. Her presence vanished, and the Asian man continued sweeping the stage, getting it ready for the musicians and audience that would soon arrive.

*****

"Hello... anyone home?" Omar called in almost a whisper into his hotel room, slowly unlocking the door with his key card. He knew that Matt slept late quite often, so he didn't want to disturb him.
Gwyn looked curiously around the gorgeous surroundings - white walls, soft plush carpeting, ornate mahogany furniture, and beautiful yellow lamps all around the room.

"Wow, these are some nice digs, babe!" she giggled.

"Shhhhh!" Omar said, putting in his finger to his lips. "We can't wake him..." He stopped short to find that the bed was empty, and there was a half-wet towel on the floor, indicating someone had already taken a shower and left for the afternoon.

"Hmph," Gwyn said, brushing her long blond hair back over her shoulder after placing Kooby on the bed. He scratched his ear with his right hind leg and made himself comfortable amid the large, fluffy white pillows. "Looks like your man left you high and dry." She then looked at the shiny red gift box that Omar held in his hands. "Well, aren't you going to open it?"

"I don't know," he replied. "After what happened earlier this afternoon, I'm not sure I want to be getting anything from strangers."

"What... you think that there's a black flower waiting for you inside that box?"

"Who knows what's inside that box," Omar said quietly, a bit unnerved at receiving an anonymous gift. He then looked at the little table, upon which sat the shiny red package.

"Well, why don't I open it FOR you," Gwyn volunteered cheerily. "That way if one of us turns into a rosebush monster, it'll be me first!"

That comment sent a chill down the young man's spine, and he quickly snatched it from his best friend, who looked insulted.

"Look, Gwyn, let's just not fool with this thing for now, okay?" He bent over and slid it on the carpet under the bed. "I'm going to go freshen up, now - don't touch anything!" The blond snorted and looked over at Kooby, who returned her gaze and wagged his tail happily. He seemed to be enjoying his new surroundings.

"So where'd your boyfriend go, anyway?"

"Dunno," Omar said with a shrug, heading for the bathroom and taking a jar of molding paste for his hair with him. "It's kinda weird... Rachelle said that she had left a message for him about the package, but he would have told me if he was going somewhere. Maybe he's with Mari."

"Mari?" his girl friend repeated the ethnic-sounding name curiously.

"Yeah, Maricela," Omar replied, checking the bathroom to make sure that Matt wasn't hiding in there and waiting to scare him. That was something that the older of the two young men enjoying to the brown-haired violinist.

"You're not talking about that super cool violinist, Maricela Na... bisco...?"

"Nublado..." the red-shirted young man with the red wire-framed glasses and outrageous spiked hair corrected quickly. "We just call her Mari." Gwyn was completely star struck.

"Oh, my GOD! You're touring in the same band as her!? Oh, wow...." she marveled, her blue eyes getting very large and her voice reaching a fever pitch. Kooby cocked his head curiously as his master put him down on the bed. "I saw her on television a few weeks ago on the fashion show, and her playing was totally out of this world!"

"Hey," Omar snapped, catching a look of dismay from his bubbly pal. "Don't get too amped up. You might scare her if you go on like this when you meet her."

"Omar, she is like the DEAL! Top chiquita banana... she's like the Mexican superstar of the violin!" She then made an enthusiastic, silly face at the dog, who wagged his tail.

"She's Spanish," Omar corrected once more. "You know, like from Spain?"

"Oh, whatever," she groaned, flopping down on the comfortable, unmade bed. "Same difference." Gwyn then thrust herself backwards into one of the large, soft pillows, and sighed dreamily. "So, is she the coolest chick ever... next to me?"

"She's a lot more calm and collected if that's what you mean," he called from the restroom, washing his face. He looked in the mirror and sighed. He loved Gwyn Hample dearly, but when it came to movie stars and recording artists, he could not stand to see her lose her head. After all, Maricela, no matter how famous she was, was now one of his closest, dearest friends. He heard the door open, then shut.

The bloodcurdling scream he heard next sent a chill up his spine as he ran out of the restroom, anticipating the sight of another one of the vine-fingered zombies from the coffee shop. The sight that awaited him was completely different.

"WOOOOOOWWWWWWW!" Gwyn screamed, grabbing the olive-skinned hands of a lovely woman with long, jet black hair and jumping up and down, shaking the very-surprised looking female as a taller male with dirty blond hair just looked on in amazement. "It's REALLY YOU! Oh, wow, Omar was just telling me about how you are like the coolest of the cool." She then dragged Maricela, who gave a blank stare at her younger, brown-haired friend, to the bed as the blond went to her purse and pulled out a pen. "Pleeeeeeeeeease, can I have your autograph?!"

"Um, I'm sorry, miss, where do I sign?" Mari asked plainly.

"Oh, wow, even her accent rocks..." sighed Gwyn dreamily. "Sign anywhere... here, sign my dress!" Omar and Matt perspired nervously as their lady friend complied with the young girl, who had gone completely bonkers over the appearance of the world-famous violinist. "To Gwyn... not Gwen. Gwyn, with a Y. Yeah, just like that. Oh, you are THE BEST!"

She then ran to Omar, hugging him tightly as he made an apologetic face to his older friends.

"Next to Omar, of course... I can never forget how awesome he is... especially for having such beautiful friends like you, Mari!!!! WOOOOW!"

"I... am pleased to meet you," Mari said, nodding politely. "Gwyn?"

"Oh, don't you love the way she says my name?!" the blond fawned. "And YOU..." She turned her attention to the handsome man with the pony tail and goatee, who wore a pair of light brown cargo shorts and a black tee-shirt. "Is this that hunka hunka burnin' love boyfriend you mentioned?!"

"Yeah... I'm sorry, you guys..." Omar began. "Matt, this is Gwyn - we went to high school together." He then stood next to Matt, who blushed.

"Oh, of course," the handsome young man nodded with a smile. "Yeah, Omar's told us all about you..." He winced as Omar elbowed him in the side. Gwyn just exhaled and gave another short scream, jumping around excitedly.

"Oh, wow... Omar, he is such a HOTTIE! I am sooooo jealous!" She then grabbed the slender hand of her friend's boyfriend, giving him a curious look. "So, gorgeous, what's your sign?"

"Um, my sign?"

"Yeah," the blond giggled. "You know, your star sign. Like I'm a Virgo, and Omar's an Aries. What's YOUR sign?"

"Oh, I'm a Leo, I guess," Matt fumbled. Maricela shot him another icy look, and he shrugged apologetically.

"Hmmm," Gwyn said, pulling at one of the strands of her long blond hair while chewing on her white plastic sunglasses. "I'll have to use my phone's net service to look up your compatibility when I get the chance. I'm dying to know what's in the stars for you two!"

By now, even Kooby had gotten excited, barking and wagging his tail. Matt knelt down and smiled, avoiding Mari's convicting eyes. "Look here, this must be... ummmm... Colby?" He pet the little dog affectionately.

"Kooby," Omar replied quickly with a smile. "The one and only."

"Now, he's quite the celebrity in our backstage conversations," Maricela marveled, sitting down gently on the bed as the floppy-eared dog sniffed her pretty hand and licked it. Gwyn was still marveling at the two beautiful strangers who appeared to be quite close with Omar. "Hello, Kooby. Nice to meet you, I'm Mari." The dog barked as if he understood every word she said.

Matt looked at his watch, then at Maricela and Omar.

"Hey, you two, pre-show soundcheck is in thirty minutes... we'd better hustle." He then smiled at Gwyn. "Why don't you come along?" The olive-skinned Spanish woman shot him a look with her sharp green eyes, but he ignored her. Gwyn beamed and nodded.

"You mean it? I can come to your soundcheck? And the concert!? FANTASTIC!!!" Mari gave her an icy smile, then brushed roughly past Matt as she walked at the door. The young man looked apologetically back at Omar and Gwyn, who was fastidiously putting her things together. Omar looked down at his little dog, who wagged his tail

"Sorry, boy," he said with a sigh. "Looks like you'll have to stay here - I don't think dogs are allowed in concert halls." Kooby's ears drooped, as if he knew exactly what his master was telling him. "Okay, let's go, peeps." Omar got up and smiled at his friends and followed them out of the hotel room, the door making a sharp clicking sound as it locked shut. The little black dog gave a small sigh, not liking to be left alone.

He put his head on his paws and closed his eyes to take a nap, when something caught his attention. A soft white glow was coming the floor around him. Kooby gave a confused growl, confused by what was happening, and quickly jumped off of the bed to examine the peculiar occurrence. He cocked his head curiously.

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of white light erupted from underneath the large bed, causing him to bark loudly. A bodyless voice greeted the dog as the room vanished around him, leaving his small form surrounded in only a warm, bright light.

"Hello, little one... Kooby, I presume. Do not be afraid... I will not hurt you. I am a friend."

*****

Atop the roof of the seven-story concert hall, in broad daylight, the waitress from the coffee shop crossed her arms, examining the beautiful city of Austin from where she stood. Her short black hair, flecked with white highlights, was styled firmly in several jagged looking spikes, and her dark red lips were pursed tightly. She had very sharp features, with a small, pointed nose and ears that also seemed to end in points, making her look like a cunning elf. She seemed very impatient, as her short black skirt blew in the slight wind around her slender white thighs, which were adorned in black fishnet stockings.

A voice greeted her from behind, but she wasn't startled in the least bit.

"I trust you've made all the necessary preparations, Dimensia," the voice said in a sharp growl

"So," she sighed, turning around addressing the strange-looking being that had appeared behind her, not in the least bit fazed by his grotesque appearance. "Malfeitor thinks I need a babysitter in order to do my job."

"Call it quality control, if you will," replied her new companion, a shorter male creature that resembled a hybrid of a reptile and a human, with long white hair pulled back from his forehead and webbed ears protruding from the sides of his scaly, green face. He wore a white cloak over a gray uniform which was tightened around the waist by a belt made of metallic silver loops. The long cloak itself was fastened by another silver loop. His yellow, reptilian eyes gleamed brightly even in the sunlight, and a long scaly tail dangled from underneath the rear of his uniform.

"I didn't need you here, Saurak. You're just going to complicate things further."

"It's already too late for that," Saurak replied to Dimensia, who scoffed in the other direction. "You struck too soon and alterted the Cyberstars to our presence. Now, we must complete the task at hand before another one of them is awakened..."

"There is no chance of that, I assure you, dear lizard," she hissed, walking provocatively up to him and sliding her long black fingernails up his shoulder and around his leathery face. "My plan is failsafe. All you have to do is sit back and watch the show." She then strode past him as he watched her disappear into the shadows from the corner of his eyes. A dark red tongue flicked out of his sharp-toothed mouth, and he vanished into thin air, only his voice remaining.

"Failsafe, eh, Dimensia... we shall see..."

*****

Maricela, who carried a glossy purple violin case in her right hand, and Matt, who had a guitar bag strapped over his right shoulder, gallantly strode side by side through the lobby of the hotel as Omar and Gwyn followed close behind. The blue-eyed blond looked worriedly at her friend.

"Are you sure it's okay that I come with?" she asked. "I mean, I don't want to intrude."

"If Matt said it's okay," the boy and the black-striped red tee-shirt said under his breath. "Then it's okay. Don't push the issue with Mari, though."

"I don't think she likes me very much." Omar stared at his old pal and shook his head.

"Well, after what you pulled in the room, I'm surprised she didn't call security on you." Gwyn was visibly embarassed, and put her white plastic sunglasses on to hide her mortified expression, but Omar kept walking until something caught his attention. "Oh, crap!"

"What?" Matt said, turning around and stopping, as did Mari.

"I forgot my violin upstairs," groaned the boy.

"Smooth move," Gwyn muttered. Omar shot her a look and then smiled sheepishly at his two older musician friends.

"I promise I'll hurry... I can't believe I forgot it in the room. I'm so sorry!"

"It's no problem, mi amor," Mari said calmly with a nod. "Take your time."

Kooby jumped up with glee as his young master re-entered the hotel room, wagging his tail.

"Hey again, boy..." Omar laughed, patting the dog's head affectionately. "Sorry, I can't stay long. I just forgot something."

"Oh, it's okay, I noticed the violin case under the bed right after you left."

"Right," Omar replied without thinking. "That's where I put it!" He then stopped short and looked at his dog, who looked back at him with big, brown eyes. The boy then laughed to himself and shook his head, making a funny look. "Omar, you're hearing things."

"You are?" the little dog asked curiously. "But there's only two of us here."

Omar screamed, jumping back in horror and landing roughly on the hotel room carpet, while Kooby sat down and stared at him with curiosity.

"What the..."

"Please don't look at me like that," Kooby said, shaking his head. "It makes me quite uncomfortable."

"I have GOT to be dreaming," Omar said to himself as he picked himself up from the floor, rubbing his behind. "Perhaps I had a bit too much to drink last night and it's just now catching up with me."

"Well, I did smell something on your breath but I just figured you hadn't brushed your teeth this afternoon," his pet continued, jumping off the bed and sitting in front of his master. "And you're not dreaming."

"Yes, this entire day has just been one big crazy fucked up dream... and if I pinch myself hard enough, I'll wake up..." Omar said to himself, nodding with a nervous smile, trying not too look at the dog. "And when I do, you'll not be talking, and there won't be monsters with black roses and vines for fingers, and that bubblehead Gwyn won't be driving me completely nuts."

"Well, about Gwyn, I can't do anything about that," Kooby said in a matter of fact tone of voice. "But about that waking up thing, and the monsters, I can explain all of that!" His voice was very uncharacteristic of his small body, being very gruff and resolute. It reminded Omar of one of the puppets on television from when he was a child. He would have expected his dog to sound more like a little kid, but of course, Kooby was already over nine years old.

Omar took a deep breath, and looked into Kooby's eyes.

"Okay, let's say for a minute that I'm not dreaming, and that you can really talk, Kooby."

"Okay..." the dog agreed with a nod and what seemed to be a smile. Omar couldn't be sure.

"Tell me what the hell's going on."

"Oh, it's all very exciting, actually," Kooby said, wagging his tail. "I even got a new dog tag. Look!" Sure enough, the old, oblong-shaped tag that had once dangled from Kooby's red collar was gone, having been replaced with a six-pointed star made of gold.

"Oh, are you Jewish now?" Omar asked, trying to play along and waiting for himself to snap out of this twisted daydream.

"No, silly. But look, you got a present, too!" Kooby gestured with his paw to the little box which had arrived at the front desk for Omar that afternoon. It had obviously been opened, since the glossy red wrapping paper had been torn open at the top.

"Well, who told you that you could open my mail?" demanded the young man with a frown.

"The Princess did." Omar shook his head in complete disbelief of what was going on, and ran his fingers in frustration through his spiked hair. First, his best canine friend since high school was talking and wearing a new dog tag on his collar, and now he was talking about Princesses that gave him permission to be disobedient.

"Right, and what else did this Princess tell you?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Kooby said happily. "She said that she wanted you to have what was inside the box, and she's also the one who gave me my pretty new tag." Omar stared blankly at the dog, then at the package.

"Let me guess. She also gave you the ability to talk."

"Correctamundo!" the dog nodded.

"Whatever..." Omar muttered dismissively. "So, Koob, what's in the box?"

"Why don't you see for yourself. I did you the favor of opening it." The red-shirted boy frowned again and reached down to pick it up, when Kooby interrupted him. "Don't worry, there aren't any black flowers in there, I already checked."

"That's a real relief," came the sarcastic reply.

"Seriously, O! Open it. You might like what you find."

Upon touching the outside of the package which was wrapped in shiny red paper, he felt something very strange, which terrified him. Kooby stood up and watched intently. Closing his eyes, Omar halfway expected his own hands to start mutating into vines bearing black roses, but nothing of the sort happened. In truth, the box itself was seemed to invite the boy to open it.

"See, it's not so bad, now, is it?" the red-collared Dachshund barked. Omar ignored him, gently pulling the rest of the red wrapping paper from gift until he discovered that this was not just any old box. He had expected it to be a few pieces of cardboard taped together, but this was not the case.

Omar held a silver metallic cube in his hands and on his lap, receiving a very warm feeling through his skin and his body. There were strange astronomical designs emblazoned in gold all around it, and there was a small button on the side which seemed to hold the lid shut.

"Wow... this is something!" Omar marveled. Kooby just watched, wagging his tail anxiously to see what Omar found inside. There was a button shaped like a six-pointed star on the side of the box, which Omar pressed to release the lock, and as he opened the lid upwards, he gasped in awe at what he found.

Inside, there was a golden chain, which looped through a tiny hole at the top of circular coin, not much larger than a silver dollar. However, this coin was remarkable in the fact that it too was made of a dull gold, not reflecting the light too much. In fact, it was quite dusty. What really caught Omar's eye was the red ruby which was encrusted into the middle of the coin.

"It's beautiful..." he marveled to himself, lifting the necklace out of the strange metal box. The ruby had a gleam like a burning flame, seeming to shine brighter than any other source of light in and making the rest of the dressing room look very dim. Omar then saw that the red jewel was emblazoned in gold with a very curious star sign in the center... that of Aries. "Wow. Someone must have REALLY gone out of their way to get this for me."

"The Princess seems to think really highly of you," Kooby commented casually as Omar looked in the mirror over the desk in the hotel room, fastening the gold chain of the necklace around his slender neck. The mystical medallion hanging right between the open collar of his red v-necked tee-shirt.

"Does she now?" Omar asked curiously, starting to believe his little dog, and starting to realize that perhaps after all this was not a dream like he had hoped it would be. "What'd she say?"
Kooby sat on his haunches, cocking his floppy-eared head and looking at the talisman in wonder.

"She wanted me to tell you that the Aries Zodiac Force medallion - that's what it's called - is for you, the fire star that burns brighter than any other," Kooby said, seeming to quote a sentence word for word in the way he pronounced it. "And something else about always keeping it with you, as it will bring you love, protection, strength, and much success in your future, no matter the hard times that may befall you. Pretty neat, huh?"

"Seems a little vague to me..." Omar mused, admiring the talisman in the mirror. "But it does look nice on me, right?" Kooby nodded again, as his master touched the medallion itself for the first time after fastening it around his neck. Everything else that happened after that seemed to take place so quickly, Omar thought he was hallucinating. "Whoa.... what's happening?!"

*****

As the room seemed to vanish around him and Kooby, images flashed through his mind, reflected in the large, ornate mirror . Like a colorful collage of memories of another life which Omar did not remember, the scenes changed so quickly that he could only remember parts of them... but they gave him peace and feelings of happiness and nostalgia.

First, there was a flash of five heroic figures clad in sleek, birdlike uniforms and helmets - with five separate colors illuminating some familiar young faces from Omar's teenage years, who were united around him in friendship and love - among them being the blond-haired and bubbly Gwyn in a sparkling blue light, the sharp-faced and self-assured Dana in a pure white shine, the shy and gentle James in a blackened hue, and the confident and handsome Nick in a bright yellow glow.

"My friends..." Omar whispered, reaching for those memories in his mind but not being able to touch them. This was followed by the roar of five sleek, birdlike aircraft which rocketed through the sky and outer space... and reaching their destination, a shimmering, larger fortress that was like an immense silver eagle. "The Jetbase... the Robojets..."

The next few images terrified and disgusted Omar, who was hypnotized by the magical slideshow of his mind... among them being an army of silver and black armored creatures which covered the horizon like dark clouds of an oncoming storm. "Oh, no..."

A beautiful girl glad in a tight-fitting white leather suit gave a sly smile, but became shrouded by the darkness of death as she revealed her vampiric teeth and the true evil within her soul. She was guarded by a formidable, red-eyed warrior clad in twisted black and silver armor. He wielded a deadly sword. "Krystl... Knightonyx..."

Then, there was an glowing image of a wise, bearded old man clad in a white uniform and cloak, with a kind, smiling face and gorgeous blue eyes that reflected the blue sky above him... and this man, a powerful sorcerer, faded into the stars, waving goodbye. "Polycron... where are you going? Don't leave me..."

Omar then saw a mysterious young woman, her milky white skin and silvery white hair shining with all the light of the stars as twelve mystical medallions bearing the signs of the Zodiac surrounded her. She smiled and Omar smiled back, reaching out to touch her delicate white hand.

Finally, the images of the five Sky Force Robojets crashing headlong into the birdlike fortress, exploding furiously and taking the lives of Omar's friends with them. Then came the flash of a handsome, but wickedly vain face - that of a silver-haired, leather-clad young man with the insane hunger for galactic domination, commanding these forces of evil and laughing maniacally as he charged forward with twin sabers, screaming as the boy tried to cover himself with his arms in fear. "Nefarius!!! NO!!!" He screamed in terror at this sight. A voice startled him.

*****

"Omar... OMAR!"

Omar was covered in sweat, and his brown eyes were wide with surprise. He turned around from the looking glass to face his dog, who jumped back up on the bed as Omar instinctively reached forward, picking the small animal up up to cuddle him close.

"What... what was all that?"

"That, Omar, was a recollection of your past life as one of the Sky Force Cyberstars." Cyberstars. Where had Omar heard that before? Ah, yes, he thought to himself. That's what the two strange people in uniforms who had rescued him and Gwyn from the mutants had called themselves, but those two characters didn't look anything like the ones from Omar's montage of memories. "I remember it well," the dog continued. "I was there..."

"I guess you would have been," Omar said thoughtfully. "It looks like it wasn't too long ago. But, why don't I remember any of this? I mean, it looks like I was having some pretty crazy times there, and that explosion at the end... and those scary monsters... I mean, why does it all still seem so foggy in my mind?" Kooby looked at the medallion of Aries which hung around his master's neck, and sniffed it.

"Dunno... maybe it's not time for you to completely awaken..." the dog said.

"Awaken? But I'm quite awake now... I'm sure of it..."

"That's not what I mean," Kooby shook his head. "The Princess said that your revival will happen when your old and new lives come together - although that didn't make much sense to me at first, I think I understand now after having watched you experience all of that." Omar listened to his dog. "Omar, it looks like your journey as one of the Cyberstars isn't quite over just yet. The Princess is just waiting for you to achieve this transformation... until then, she will not appear."

"Just who is this Princess, anyway? You've mentioned her way too many times now, like I'm supposed to know who you're talking about."

"Omar, you do, you just don't know it," the black-furred Dachshund replied, with another smile. "But you just saw her in your memories..." Omar closed his eyes, remembering the mysterious girl who was illuminated by the light of the universe. "You and your friends fought to save her one time, and it's because of that battle that your old self died, but in reality, it was just your memories of that time that went away. She saved you, and is the reason you are here now."

Omar felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. All of the events that had transpired over the last several hours seemed to indicate that Kooby was telling the truth.

"So where is she... the Princess?"

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you!" remarked the dog, shaking his head. "All I know is that one moment, I was checking out that package and the next, I was floating in all this white, warm, cuddly stuff, and she - the Princess - wastelling me about your medallion and about your awakening... and some other stuff about black roses... and she gave me my new..."

"What about the black roses?" Omar interrupted with an urgent look on his face.

"Why don't you think for yourself?" Kooby replied quickly. "The answer is inside you now..."

Indeed, the answer was all too clear. The creepy, dark woman who had posed as a waitress from Little City coffee shop had said something about black roses signifying a revolution. Now, the dark revolution was coming closer and closer, as was the awakening that Omar's dog was telling him about. Omar just didn't know if he was ready for it.

"Anyway, O, you've got somewhere to be, don't you?" snapped the dog. Omar gasped and nodded, reaching for his violin case which was underneath his bed.

"Yeah, my friends are waiting for me downstairs!" he cried anxiously. "They must be going nuts by now - I've gotta go."

"I'm coming with you," the dog said quickly as he hopped off the bed.

"Oh, no you're not, Koob. You're staying right here. The concert hall doesn't let dogs in, talking or not." Kooby whimpered, putting his paws upward on Omar's knees and wagging his tail. "Don't even try that, it didn't work before."

"That's another thing," Kooby said in an agitated voice. "The Princess told me that I couldn't let you go anywhere by yourself, and that I had to protect you." Omar laughed.

"No offense, boy, but you're no Rottweiler." The animal grimaced at this remark. "And I'll just bet that Princess also told you that you didn't have to stay on your lean kibble diet, right?" The dog shook his head.

"I wish!" he replied. "Seriously, though, O, I have to come with you. I promise I'll behave... but I can't disobey the Princess. She did give me the ability to talk, so I have to give her at least that."

"And that's the only reason why you're protecting me, huh?" Omar asked irritably. "Fine, but you have to wear the leash. You may be able to talk, but you're still my dog... oh, and no talking around my friends, capiche?" The dog seemed to frown, making his ears droop in disappointment, then nodded and gave a quick bark. "Good boy!"

Moments later, Omar dashed out of the elevator, his large double violin case strapped over his right shoulder and his left hand carrying a red plastic handle which connected a black leash to Kooby's red collar. In the enormous, marble-pillared lobby, Maricela, Matt, and Gwyn turned around with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Damn, Omar," Matt said, putting his arm around the boy. "Are you the Flash or something?"

"What are you talking about?" Omar demanded in confusion, out of breath from being in such a hurry. "I was up there for almost half an hour. We're going to be seriously late!" He knew that he had wasted too much time in having that long conversation with Kooby in the hotel room. However, Gwyn just gave him a funny look.

"Um, okay," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously!!!" Omar cried.

"Ay, mi amor," the dark-haired Spanish woman said, touching his forehead and smiling. "Are you feeling well?"

"Mari, I'm fine. But we're going to be late!" replied the younger of the two violinists. The dog barked in agreement.

"Babe," the handsome, blond young man with the goatee said, shaking his head. "You just got into the elevator like thirty seconds ago. Right, Rachelle?" The cute little clerk at the front desk, who had been listening to this interaction, nodded quietly with big, hazel eyes. "See?"

"Weird..." Omar commented to himself. Then, Maricela and Matt both saw what was around his neck, and looked at each other with worry in their eyes. Gwyn also noticed it, and instantly fawned over it.

"Hey, cute necklace! Is that what was in that box that arrived for you?" Omar nodded and smiled.

"Yeah..." he said, then glared at Matt. "And apparently YOU knew about it and didn't say anything." The longer-haired, black-shirted guitarist then caught the glares of both Gwyn and Mari - however, one was quite different from the other. The younger blond's was more of an accusatory look, while that of his longtime musician friend was one of disappointment and failure.

"Um... sorry," he said quietly. He then changed the subject. "So, you're bringing little Kooby now, huh?"

"Typical Leo," Gwyn mused cheerily. "Always avoiding the issue!" Omar gave her a bothered look and then addressed his boyfriend.

"Yeah, I don't want him to be cooped up for so long... I promise he'll behave. RIGHT, Kooby?" The dog wagged his tail, giving his master a knowing look.

Maricela just gave a quick scoff at Matt and stormed out the door, while Matt, Omar, and Gwyn followed in close pursuit. Within moments, the four of them had boarded a taxi to head for the downtown concert hall, which was not far from the hotel.

As the yellow cab pulled away from the curb, another figure watched them depart. Shrouded by the shadows of another one of the marble pillars, it stepped out into the light. However, it was not Celestia or Dimensia - it was a tall young main, with light brown hair and piercing brown eyes. He wore a tight-fitting dark blue tee-shirt under a dark gray windbreaker and a pair of black slacks. He watched Omar's taxi depart with wistful eyes, and then turned away, disappearing into the parking garage.

[CyberstarAries]

ZODIAC FORCE CYBERSTARS
****** Episode 02 ******
"Revival of the Red"

As the sun set on another day in the city of Austin, the world famous Paramount Theater in center of downtown was being prepared to be filled with hundreds of fans young and old. The massive, brightly-lit marquis above the elegant glass doors read in proud letters: TONIGHT - DREAMSOUND ORCHESTRA - SOLD OUT. Some of the attendees had seen the previous night's performance, while others had not, and were anxious to experience the prestigious Dreamsound Orchestra, live and in concert. The Paramount's lobby was already packed with well-dressed concertgoers, while the street out front was host to numerous taxi cabs and vehicles of all kinds that were dropping off ticketholders.

Gwyn had even taken the opportunity to dress for the occasion, wearing a shiny light blue dress and a white coat over it, and her blond hair was pulled up in a bun on top of her head. She also wore bright red lipstick, which she carelessly applied in the mirror of Omar's dressing room. She then turned around to face her best friend, and frowned.

"You have been giving me those dirty looks all day! Stop it!"

"Well, blondie," he said critically. "You're spackling that stuff on like a fresh coat of paint." Kooby barked in agreement, seated on a red leather couch next to Omar's double violin case.

"Hey, I have to look my best. Who knows what kind of hotties might be at the concert tonight!" Gwyn vamped, lustily adjusting her breasts and blowing a kiss at the mirror after winking her blue eyes at herself.

"Whatever - it's not like you're going to be onstage," Omar said with a roll of his eyes as he styled his brown hair in his trademark mess of spikes. He was dressed in black slacks and a matching black vest over a silky white dress shirt and the same red velvet coat from the night before. "And even if anyone did pay attention to you, they'd be laughing because you look like a clown."

"Ugh!" Gwyn said haughtily, disgusted at her friend's remark. "You're just jealous because I'm hot and you look like a cocktail waiter with an oversized jacket." They both stuck their tongues at one another until a knock came at the door, causing Kooby's ears to perk up.

"Come in!" Omar exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey there, gorgeous." The handsomely faced Matt, with his dirty blond hair pulled back in a pony tail once again and carrying a black and gold Fender Stratocaster electric guitar in his right hand, entered as Gwyn was starry-eyed at her friend's lover's good looks. He wore a slim-fitting pair of dark gray slacks and a shiny gold dress shirt which was unbuttoned to expose the matching hair on his tanned chest. "And hello to you too, beautiful." The blond girl swooned.

"You both look so amazing together," she sighed dreamily. Omar and Matt looked at each other with smiles on their faces. "I bet the two of you have some pretty hot romance going when you're all alone!" This comment caused the two young men to blush intensely and the little dog, whose golden star on his red collar sparkled brightly, wagged his tail, while the red-coated Omar shot her a humiliated look, then turned back towards Matt.

"Well, soundcheck was a breeze, wasn't it?"

"Sure was," Matt said. "I was pretty relieved." He then caught himself as Kooby cocked his head in confusion. Even Omar and Gwyn both gave him an inquistive look.

"Relieved?" the girl asked. "Did you think something was going to happen?"

"Ummmm, of course not," came the quick reply from the guitarist. "Anyway, Omar, curtain call for you and Mari is in five minutes - I'm taking the stage with the rest of the band now." Omar nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Gwyn giggled, covering her mouth.

"Cool... good luck."

"You too, O," Matt smiled, winking at his boyfriend. "Hey Gwyn, I managed to snag a ticket for you in the VIP section, so if you come with me, I'll make sure you get seated quickly." She nodded and gave Omar a wet kiss on the check as she took Matt's arm in hers, waving.

"Break a leg... errr... uh, a string... babe!!!!" she called back as the door closed behind them. Omar went to his double violin case, which was set on a red couch in the dressing room, and unzipped it to remove his violins and his bows from inside. He then paused, pulling on the small gold chain around his neck to reveal the golden, ruby encrused medallion from inside his shirt.

"Man," Kooby sighed, waiting until the lock on the door had clicked to make sure it was shut. "This no talking business is the pits."

"Well, it's the rule," Omar said, startled at his dog's human-sounding voice. He still had not gotten adjusted to his pet being able to talk. He continued examining his gift, which was emblazoned with his own star sign of Aries in the red jewel. "So don't break it or it's no table scraps for you for a week!"

"Oh, darn, I get to miss out on the nasty leftovers," the dog muttered sarcastically. "You know, your little snuggle muffin Matt seems a little weird to me." His master looked at him and smiled, patting him on the head.

"What do you mean, Koob?" The Dachshund shook his head.

"Just that comment he made about being relieved about nothing happening during the soundcheck. I watched him from the corner the entire time... he and that Mari lady both looked a little nervous about something."

"I'm sure they just want tonight's show to go well," Omar explained.

"No, that's the look that YOU had on your face during the rehearsal... which sounded great, by the way." This warranted another smile from Omar. "But the two of them... I have a funny feeling about both of them, just not sure why. It's like they were waiting for something bad to happen."

"You're just nervous because of what that Princess person told you, Koob," Omar sighed, taking his glossy red electric violin out of his case, followed by the natural wood-colored classical violin. He began plucking the strings on each instrument to make sure they were in tune, after which he removed two long wooden bows from the case. "Don't worry, boy, nothing's gonna happen. But if it makes you feel better, you can just hang out on the side of the stage and enjoy the show."

Kooby nodded and seemed to smile, the gray fur around his little snout wrinkling upwards.

"That does make me feel a little bit better, O... thank you."

"Okay, well, let's get this show on the road," Omar said, carrying his red violin under his right arm and the other in his right hand, while he had his index finger wrapped around the end of his bows. Kooby jumped off of the red leather couch, wagging his tail as he followed his master out of the backstage dressing room.

*****

Her legs crossed, Gwyn sat impatiently in a red velvet seat next to two elderly women who were whispering to one another about the famous faces they recognized down in the VIP section. Matt had lied to her and put her in one of the balconies above the main auditorium, and she swore to herself that she was going to give him a piece of her mind after the concert.

"Oh, and look," one of the ladies said to her overweight friend, who was wearing an orange floral-printed dress. She pointed down into the crowd at a platinum-white haired young woman who a couple of nervous ushers were helping to get seated. "Isn't that the granddaughter of the famous scientist who disappeared a few years ago?" Gwyn rolled her eyes, trying not to pay attention. These women were being very loud even though they were whispering.

"I think so..." replied the larger of the two gossips. "Dr. Paul Cronin, right?"

The blond girl in the light blue dress looked over at the two women, then down into the crowd at the lovely young woman who was now seated with her back to them. Her long hair was up in a pony tail, and she wore two golden earrings that were in the shape of six-pointed stars. Something about the name of that scientist had stirred Gwyn's interest. It was familiar to her.

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the first, nodding excitedly. "Apparently she's taken over his research observatory, but has been hiding from the media and her activities are quite mysterious!"

"What's her name again?" mused the tackily-dressed fat lady, causing a commotion as she opened her purse to find a stick of chewing gum.

"Celeste," Gwyn chirped with a smile. She then stopped herself. Was that it?

"Thanks, dearie," remarked one of the two women with an annoyed look on her face at the fact that the girl had been eavesdropping on their conversation. "Yes, Celeste Cronin." Her companion, dressed in a frilly blue dress, nodded.

Gwyn was confused at why she remembered that beautiful girl's name, although she felt she had gotten it wrong, but could not put her finger on the right name. She could have sworn she had never seen her before in her life. She stirred uncomfortably, and watched as the light dimmed and the audience fell silent. Instantly, her heart began beating as she anticipated the start of the concert.

The audience cheered as the world-famous Spanish violinist, Maricela Nublado, and her up-and-coming stage partner, Omar Lopez, entered the stage from separate sides, both bowing as they carried their prized instruments in hand. Even members of the orchestra and rock band known as the Dreamsound Orchestra were applauding the arrival of the two soloists.

Omar took his seat in the middle of the orchestra, directly in front of a drum set and the electric bass player and electric guitarist. He smiled at the audience as he adjusted his long red coat, while Mari took her seat on the left hand side of the stage in front of the violin section. Now, the Dreamsound Orchestra awaited their conductor to enter the stage.

The orchestra, consisting of a large string section and several horns and wind instruments, had already been tuned by both Omar and Maricela, who played their A notes on their violins first. The audience continued to watch as nothing happened. Several people began to whisper to each other, while Gwyn watched nervously. She was ready for the show, but nothing was happening.

From his position on the opposite side of the drums from the bassist, a well-built Jamaican man with dreadlocks in his black hair, Matt looked towards the right of the stage, where their conductor normally entered. He then made eye contact with Maricela, and she nodded worriedly.

Just then, an elderly Asian man carrying a flat pushbroom entered the stage from the left. He was wearing a black tuxedo jacket over his dark blue overalls and a messy plaid shirt. Some of the audience members clapped in humor, but the general state amongst the hundreds of concertgoers was one of confusion. For the conductor of such a well-renowned show orchestra, this strange man sure was not dressed like it. Some of the band members recognized him as the janitor of the concert hall as he took his place on the conductor's podium. He had a very disturbed look on his wrinkled face.

"What the... is this a joke?" Omar mused to himself, looking back at Matt. He then saw the expression on his boyfriend's face, and became very worried.

"Well, this is just great," Gwyn blurted, warranting some irritated glances from the people next to her. "First I get this crappy seat in the nosebleed section with the gossip patrol, and now there's some old guy with a broom conducting the damned orchestra."

Celestia, along with several hundred other people, heard the comment, and craned her head back to see where the voice had come from. Something seemed familiar about it, and her blue eyes widened as she recognized the voice immediately - the former Blue Sky Force Cyberstar. She then turned around to face the stage, the tension growing in her heart, and slowly rose from her seat.

"Excuse me," she said quietly, crossing in front of some of her fellow concertgoers. "Pardon me... sorry..." Slowly, she slipped out of the row of red velvet chairs and headed for one of the exits. Maricela, dressed in a dark purple gown and her jet black hair styled upwards and then cascading past her shoulders, could see quite clearly from where she was seated onstage and watched the well-dressed young woman exiting through a pair of double doors. She glanced up quickly at Matt, her green eyes also meeting with those of her young friend Omar.

Another thing that had caught the eyes of the perplexed musicians was that instead of a bright red rose being in the lapel of the black coat on the janitor, there was a black rose. The young violinist with the red electric violin in his right hand noticed it immediately and a chill ran up his spine.

Nodding at Maricela, the golden-haired guitarist with the goatee knelt down on the black platform and addressed his boyfriend.

"Omar... don't say anything... you need to get off the stage, now."

"Why? Matt... what's going on?"

There was a gasp from the audience as Omar turned around to see a very strange figure now entering the stage. He froze in horror. It was a slender, pasty-skinned woman with short black spiky hair, highlighted with white stripes. Her lips were dark red, and she wore a strapless knee-length dress with a black feather boa around her shoulders.

"Oh.... no...." Omar whispered to himself as the woman gave him a quick, malicious glance before addressing the people in the auditorium. Up in the balcony, Gwyn gasped in shock.

"The black rose waitress!" she exclaimed.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." the dark woman sighed apologetically to the audience members, all of whom listened closely. "The conductor of the Dreamsound Orchestra is a bit - how shall I say? - tied up at the moment, so tonight's performance will be conducted by a very dear friend of mine..." She then raised her slender hand with black fingernails up towards the Asian man who stood on the conductor's podium. "Black Rose Marauder Number One - Mister Garbage!!!!"

The janitor gave a twisted grin to the orchestra, and his head then rotated on its neck with a sickening crack as he smiled at the audience, warranting some fearful screams as he blinked his eyes, which were as black as coals.

The strange girl reared her head back, laughing maniacally as she lifted her arms into the air, startling the orchestra musicians and band members as her body glowed with a wicked green light and she was transformed into a tight black leather outfit with silver zippers. She also wore knee-high black boots with sharp heels, and she wore a twisted metallic tiara which wrapped around her forehead and down her gaunt cheekbones.

"Dimensia..." Mari whispered to herself, slowly placing her violin on the seat as she stood up.

The musicians of the Dreamsound Orchestra who had witnessed this up close were instantly mortified by this transformation as they scattered, overturning the music stands and chairs while Omar stood up, his glossy red electric violin hanging from his right hand . The evil Dimensia turned around to face him and gave him a serpentine smile.

"Hi, stranger," she hissed. "I told you a revolution was coming." The young violinist shook his head in horror, terror-stricken. "I told you to be ready. But look at you... you're looking at me like you have no idea what I'm talking about. Oh well, that's your own fault for being unprepared."

"No!" Matt gasped. "Not now!" It was too late as the possessed janitor began to mutate into a larger, ogre like form of his original self, with disgusting yellow skin and black eyes. His hands also grew monstrous claws as the broom handle which he clutched grew longer and more twisted, the ends of the floor brush transforming into metal spikes.

By now, the entire audience had gone into a complete panic. Men, women, and children tore over each other, trying to escape as the monster known as Mister Garbage gave a monstrous roar of a laugh, slamming his weapon into the conductor's podium and smashing it into pieces. Even people in the balcony struggled to exit as terrified screams arose from the auditorium.

Gwyn, however, was not trying to escape. Something told her that she had to get down to the stage as soon as she could. However, the performance area had been left in a complete disarray as the band and orchestra fled from the monster and his summoner, the leather-clad Dimensia, as she started walking towards Omar, maintaining the grin on her face.

"Stop!" Maricela commanded, pointing her finger at Dimensia. Omar's eyes went to the elegantly dressed female violinist in surprise as her jet black hair flowed around her. "Don't you touch him..."

"Maricla?" he asked curiously, trying to catch his breath. Mister Garbage growled in confusion as Matt jumped down and got in front of his boyfriend with his arms stretched.

"Yes, stay away from him!"

"Matt, what are you DOING!?"

"Oh, and who are you to try to protect this pathetic human boy?" demanded the alien woman, putting her hands on her hips. Maricela looked at her male companion and nodded, pulling a slick purple device resembling a small, clamshell-style flip phone out from behind her waist. Matt did the same with a similar device that he removed from his pocket, only in a shiny gold color.

"It's time," the female violinist said softly.

"I guess you're right," the handsome guitarist agreed, then looking at his boyfriend. "Omar... sorry about this..."

"What the..." Omar began.

Maricela and Matt gave each other a look - one of what seemed to be regret - before crossing their wrists over their chests in an x-formation, then thrusting their right hands into the air. Omar watched in disbelief as his two best friends flipped open their colored cell phones.

"Zodiac Force, transform!" the lovely, olive-skinned Spanish woman exclaimed with a striking voice that intimidated the young man in the red velvet coat.

What happened next was almost as if it were part of a strange dream. Matt Raymond and Maricela Nublado were instantly bathed in respective beams of golden and purple light.

"Leo Celestial Power!" the handsome, dirty blonde-haired young man who wore a golden button down shirt over dark gray slacks commanded.

"Gemini Celestial Power!" exclaimed the black-haired woman in the long purple evening gown.

There was a clap of thunder and a volcanic explosion from beneath Matt as he was surrounded in golden flames which at first rendered him without his performance attire. His body then glowed with golden energy as he posed with his arms outstretched like a lion about to pounce, and he was adorned in a tight-fitting golden bodysuit with a golden chest plate lined with black metal armor around his neck and over his upper torso. In the center of the chest plate was a golden tiger's eye, bearing the sign of Leo. The suit itself had a black vertical stripe which extended from underneath the chest plate and past a black belt around his waist. The belt was buckled by a golden, six-pointed star. Matt then received golden gloves and boots with black rims and knee cuffs, as his good-looking, rugged face then received a golden visor which covered his hazel eyes.

Maricela was showered with a blast of wind as her slender, naked body was then dressed in a purple bodysuit that had a silver vertical stripe down the middle of her chest. Fastened by a silver belt around her waist which was buckled by a similarly-colored six-pointed star was a purple skirt, underneath which were silver leggings. Her breasts and upper torso by a silver chest plate with white lining which had a purple amethyst bearing the sign of Gemini centered upon her now armored bosom - she then received pairs of white boots and white gloves that were also lined with silver rims and cuffs. Her transformation was completed by a purple visor which covered the green eyes on her beautiful, olive-skinned face.

"Damnit, it's them," cursed Dimensia, crossing her arms at the appearance of the two armored warriors - the male in the golden uniform and the female in the purple uniform. "Why didn't I think they were going to show up?"

"What's the matter, Dimensia?" Cyberstar Leo taunted with a laugh. "Did you forget to send us invitations to your stage debut?" This warranted an angry glare from the Marauder vixen.

"Looks like she did," Cyberstar Gemini nodded with a smile. "It's okay, Dimensia. But I think we're going to have to teach you a lesson for trying to get in on our own concert."

Suddenly, a long whip lashed out, causing the Purple Cyberstar to gasp in surprise as a strange hideous reptilian mutant with yellow eyes and a green scaly face coming from a head of bushy white hair emerged from behind the curtain, wielding the handle of the whip in one scaly hand.

"Oh, no..." the black-haired Gemini whispered to her fellow warrior. "There's already more of them..."

"Yeah, and they're getting uglier," Leo answered.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Omar cried angrily. "At what point were guys going to tell me that you two were parading around in spandex suits fighting evil aliens!?"

"We were going to get to it eventually, babe," his boyfriend, now in the armor of the Gold Cyberstar shrugged sheepishly. "Right now probably isn't the best time."

"And who... or what... are you?" Omar said, cringing in fear as Mister Garbage joined Dimensia's right side with a hideous, toothy grin on his putrid face, and the third creature, Saurak, readied his long bullwhip in one of his scaly, green-skinned hands and stood to his female companion's left side.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the evil female creature said. "In all this excitement, I forgot to introduce myself... I am Dimensia, field general and caster of spells for his Darkest Honor, Malfeitor, and the Marauders... and this delightful creature is my cohort and weapons specialist extraordinaire, Saurak."

The lizard-like humanoid bowed with a grin.

"Whatever you are..." another female voice exclaimed. "Leave my friend alone!" With a clatter of white sandals, the blond girl, Gwyn, appeared in front of the stage, throwing a peace of one of the red velvet chairs at the mutated janitor, who turned his head to face her. "Holy shit!" she screamed, stopping in her tracks.

"Gwyn, what are you doing here?!" Omar demanded, clutching his girl friend's hand. Apparently from the look on Gwyn's face, she too had witnessed her good friend's guitar-playing boyfriend and the famous female violinist Maricela Nublado, transform into the very same warriors from that afternoon - the ones who had called themselves Cyberstars Leo and Gemini.

"Oh, my God... did you see that?"

"Uh, yeah..." the brown-haired young man with the red wire-framed glasses stammered, completely in shock from what he had just witnessed. "My boyfriend and my mentor are superheroes..."

"Omar... " Cyberstar Leo called to the two younger people. "We're going to handle them. You need to get out of here... NOW!"

"He's right," the blue-eyed blonde in the blue dress and white coat nodded seriously. "We can discuss details later. Let's go." She reached out for her violinist friend's arm in order to take him to safety.

"Run, Gwyn!" Gemini ordered in her thick Spanish accent as Saurak tightened his grip around her, chuckling. "Leave this place before it's too late... it's dangerous!"

"Dangerous? You haven't seen dangerous..." Dimensia smiled. "Say hello to our little friends."

"Yessss," continued the reptilian mutant named Saurak, snapping his fingers on his right hand. "Marauder Sauroids - my darlings - come out, come out, wherever you are!"

There was a crackle of green electricity as several new forms materialized out of thin air - vicious-looking soldiers clad in hideous, twisted black armor over green bodies that seemed to be a hybrid of green reptilian skin and sizzling circuitry. Wearing black helmets over their faces, they seemed to have the same yellow eyes and fanged teeth as Saurak, but made strange metallic grunts.

"Eww, gross!" Gwyn repelled, still clutching her best friend's arm.

"What on Earth..." Cyberstar Gemini said as she reeled back in surprise at the new arrivals.

"Ssssauroids," Saurak said with a serpentine grin on his face. "My own creation... a hybrid of Saurian ssssoldiers from my home planet combined with the most advanced Marauder fighting technology."

"Yes," sighed Dimensia, surveying her new troops with evil satisfaction. "We figured that since you Cyberstars seemed to have the upper hand in past confrontations with our Black Rose Marauder zombies... we'd better even up the score. Aren't they lovely?"

"Not exactly the word I was thinking," Cyberstar Leo retorted, crossing his muscular, gold-clad arms.

This is insanity, Omar thought to himself, looking at the Gold and Purple Cyberstars on one side of the stage and the group of armored, mutated reptilians on the other. They're completely outnumbered!

"Get them!" ordered Dimensia, pointing a long black fingernail at the two new warriors. The Marauder Sauroids, uttering robotic hisses and snarls, charged forward with a speed unlike anything that either of the Cyberstars had ever seen.

"Thunder Lion..." Cyberstar Leo began. Bolts of yellow energy shot from the eyes of two more Sauroids, sending him flying backwards and into Omar and Gwyn's arms. In a flash of light, Leo's transformation was undone and the gold cellular phone rattled onto the floor as Matt hit his head on the platform.

"MATT, NO!" the boy in the red velvet coat screamed, struggling to hold him his injured boyfriend by his shoulders.

"Mateo!" cried Gemini, then glared angrily at Dimensia as she lifted her arms into the air. "Twin Illusion...." She was instantly tackled by three of the Sauroids, one of whom whirled around and sent her to the hard wood floor on her back with a whip of his tail. She let out a cry as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her, and her own transformation was undone in an instant.

Saurak's long whip lashed out, wrapping its leathery hide around the Spanish woman's arm and then the rest of her slender body as the purple phone, being her transformation device, clattered to the wrecked chairs below.

"Miss Nublado!" Gwyn screamed, giving a start. She screamed as several of the Sauroids started for her and Omar. There was a sharp bark from offstage as a little black dog with a red collar around his neck tore onto the platform, growling and baring his teeth as he locked his small jaws around Dimensia's ankle, causing her to scream in anguish. Maricela watched in shock at hearing Kooby speak in a human voice, and gasped at what happened next.

"Kooby!!!!!!" Omar exclaimed. "What are you doing... NO!"

"Disgusting mongrel," the dark woman said in anger as the eyes of the Sauroids glowed once more, sending searing beams of energy down from her pupils as the dog howled in pain, his body flying from the stage as he landed amidst the wreckage of the audience seating. Gwyn rushed to his side and picked up Kooby's trembling body.

"Gwyn, get him out of here!" Omar screamed at his blond girl friend.

"No, I won't leave you!" she cried, shaking her head as she cradled the dog. "They're going to hurt you!"

"Forget me, Gwyn... I mean it! Otherwise you'll get hurt just like Matt and Kooby!" the violinist returned with tears in his eyes as Dimensia stepped closer and closer to him and his unconscious lover. Gwyn shook her head quickly, clutching the dog's body close to her own as his black fur was shed on her dress.

"No!" she said again. Omar reached into his pocket, pulling out his silver clamshell cell phone.

"Take this and try to call for help..." he instructed.

"Who am I going to call... the police?!" Gwyn replied, examining the army of monsters that was attacking the group of musicians onstage, which now only consisted of Omar, Maricela, and the unconscious Matt.

"Call SOMEONE!" Omar cried out, throwing it at her as Gwyn reached up to catch it.

"Hah!" Dimensia scoffed, catching it in her hand. "Oh, look at this... it's so shiny and pretty." She then glared at Omar as he watched, shaking his head. "Well, dear Aries, I hope you didn't spend too much money on it, since it's going to be destroyed!" Dimensia then crushed the cellphone into pieces of plastic and metal as they fell to the ground.

Gwyn could only stare in open-mouthed shock. No woman she'd ever met had ever been able to do that - and this one hadn't even broken a nail!

"My name's Omar, not Aries!" the boy cried angrily, shaking his fist. Dimensia ignored him.

"Mister Garbage," she ordered her mutant creation, who gave a deep, gutteral growl in response. "Restrain the boy." The yellow-skinned beast, who stunk with the smell of putrid waste and rotting flesh, trudged forward and yanked Omar up by the hand as he shouted in anguish. "You are all MINE now... prepare to die..."

"Stay away from me... don't come any closer," the red-coated young man with the matching wire-framed glasses said angrily, fearing the worst for his furry friend. He then looked down at the body of his wounded boyfriend, whose chest heaved, then at Maricela, who could only watch helplessly. "Mari..."

"Mi amorcito," she whispered in return, helpless to save him. She then looked at Gwyn with a look of apology in her eyes. Gwyn could only fight back her own tears as she watched this horrible scene play out on the stage in front of her.

"Silence, human vermin... this boy's destruction will be the sweetest thing," Dimensia sighed to Omar, putting a black fingernail on the young man's chin as he struggled in the grasp of the giant mutated janitor behind him. "Now, my friend, if you are still, this will not take long."

"Quickly, Dimensia - enough with the small talk - destroy him before he is awakened," urged Saurak.

"No, please don't," Gwyn begged, her blond hair falling down across her face and shoulders. Dimensia ignored her pleas as she held out her pasty white hand, her glossy black fingernails glistening.

"You mustn't kill him... he's innocent!" Maricela screamed, the leather whip burning her olive-colored skin as she winced in pain.

Omar watched as a long, dark green stem with dark red thorns appeared in Dimensia's hand. She wrapped her fingers around it, maintaining the grin on her face, while the dark flower bloomed from the end of the steam.

"What... what are you doing?" Omar asked, petrified at the sight of the black rose. "Get that fucking flower away from me, you psychotic bitch!"

"Such nasty words from such a sweet face. I am deeply grieved to inform you," Dimensia replied as she touched the soft petals of the black rose to the skin on Omar's young face. "That your destruction must happen in order for his Honor's plans to be fulfilled." The purple-gowned Maricela struggled in defiance to free herself from Saurak's whip, but to no avail.

"NO!!!! Don't you dare!" she screamed.

"Omar!!!!" Gwyn cried, shaking her head and looking back down at Kooby's lifeless body.

"In the name of Malfeitor, Demon Overlord of the Marauders," Dimensia hissed with a smile. "I extinguish the light of a star with this black rose! Goodbye, Aries!!!!" She then lifted the rose's stem into the air as Maricela could only watch in horror. Saurak laughed wickedly while Omar watched and felt the rose's sharp stem, like a dagger, pierce the fabric of his black vest and silky white shirt. Gwyn closed her eyes, not wanting to see her friend be murdered at the hands of this leather-clad villainess.

There was a brilliant flash of red sparks as the rose's stem hit a metallic surface on Omar's chest, causing Dimensia to cry out in shock. Saurak released his hold on the defiant Maricela, who fell weakly to the hardwood floor of the stage as she watched in awe. The wicked Marauder female pulled the stem back, watching as the black petals of her weapon glowed with a pure energy, transforming the flower into a beautiful red rose.

"No... it can't be... impossible..."

Gwyn was completely baffled by what she had just seen, but Maricela knew what had stopped the sharp point of the stem, breathing a sigh of relief. Omar had felt no pain, and looked down at his own shirt. The golden medallion of Aries, encrusted with the red ruby, was emitting a fiery red light which caused Dimensia to cover her eyes, screaming.

"The Zodiac Force medallion of Aries... it's activating!!!!"

"Dimensia, what are you doing!?" Saurak, unafraid of the magical power that was coming from the young boy in the red velvet coat, demanded as he turned his yellow eyes on his partner.

"I can't... I'll be destroyed..." she whispered in fear, as even the hideous soldiers known as the Sauroids shrank back towards the shadows.

"That's right!" a strange, feminine voice called out from the top of the stage where the drum set had been set up. All of the heads turned to see a young woman standing proudly, clad in a gray pants suit and white blouse. Her platinum white hair was pulled up neatly in a pony tail, which fell down across her neck. "The Zodiac Force is too strong for any of you to handle, Marauders..."

"Celeste Cronin?" Gwyn cried out in shock.

The new woman ignored the blond girl and addressed Dimensia.

"The power of the stars is too great to be destroyed by a black rose!" she proclaimed.

"Not too great for a laser blast..." Saurak snarled. "DIE!!!"

With that, the Marauder Sauroids all roared and shot the energy blasts from their gleaming yellow eyes towards the brown-haired young man in the red velvet jacket, black slacks, and black vest. Omar closed his eyes, unable to speak as he anticipated the burning laser fire that would bring on his own death. What happened in the next few moments startled everyone who stood on the stage overlooking the vacant concert hall. Once again, the mysterious, fair-skinned woman's voice echoed out over the Marauders.

"Supreme Celestial... SHINE!!!!"

*****

Darkness.

Then light.

A very bright light that seemed to bring warmth and peace to Omar.

He opened his eyes, and he looked down at himself. With the exception of the circular medallion with the red ruby encrusted in its golden surface that he wore around his neck, he was naked. His red coat, black slacks, black vest, white shirt - even his underclothing - had all vanished, but fiery red ribbons of light unfolded around Omar, wrapping around his slender, masculine body. He remembered this feeling.

It was like the warmth of the fireplace in his father's house on a cold winter night.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the world between the spiritual and the physical planes," a calm voice said.

He then looked up as he saw her coming towards him - a beautiful, serene young woman wearing a flowing dress of silver and milky white fabric. Her long white hair shimmered in the bright light around the two of them as her kind blue eyes sparkled like the ocean. She was barefooted, and was bruised and her pure white skin was covered in dust and ash. Although she looked like she'd experienced something terrible, she still smiled.

Omar recognized her from two distant places in his own mind.

He had seen her behind one of the marble pillars in the hotel lobby as he got into the elevator earlier in the afternoon. However, he had also seen her when Nefarius, Prince of the Necronian Empire, had imprisoned her on his ship and held her for ransom.

"Princess.... Celestia?"

"Yes..."

"You... you're alive... we thought you were dead."

"No," she said with a soft smile, shaking her head. "As you can see, Omar, I'm fine."

"So, you did save me, like Kooby said," Omar said, smiling back and enjoying the warmth of the red ribbons around him.

"That, I did. It was my grandfather's last request."

"Polycron!" Omar gasped. "Where is he?"

Celestia sighed and hung her head sadly, as Omar's own heart sank.

"My grandfather, Polycron of Estreia, gave his life so you, your friends, and I could keep living. He was killed when Prince Nefarius's ship exploded." The young man bearing the Aries medallion was in complete shock and disbelief of what he was hearing.

"But how?"

"I had unleashed the Zodiac Force's true destructive power in order to vanquish Nefarius's evil once and for all, since grandfather had been mortally wounded by one of his soldiers," Celestia replied.

"Knightonyx?" Omar asked. She nodded in the affirmative.

"But by invoking this power myself, I would unable to stop it from completely destroying everything else along with the Prince's ship and your Sky Force Jetbase, which Nefarius had taken over to attack you and the other Cyberstars."

"I remember..." Omar mused, recalling that last battle against the maniacal Necronian Prince.

"Therefore, Polycron used what little life energy he had left and usurped my power over the Zodiac Force itself, controlling it long enough to use his own death in order to deactivate it."

"I... I'm so sorry," the former Red Cyberstar said, shaking his head. "He was such an amazing man, Princess. He treated us like we were his grandchildren... with so much love." Celestia's eyes sparkled as she smiled.

"He was that kind of man," she remarked with pride.

Omar sighed and reveled in the beautiful feeling around him. He then realized that something was different about this place. Besides him and Celestia, there was no one else within the white void of light.

"The others... my real, true friends..." Omar gasped, looking around him. "Dana, Gwyn, Nick, James... where are they?"

"That is part of the Zodiac Force's spell that I used to save you all from death," she replied softly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"They are all still sleeping."

"But Gwyn - she's not sleeping - she's wide awake, and back in the concert hall - isn't she?"

"In a way, she is," came the answer from the beautiful, shimmering girl. "But in another way, she, just like your other companions, is still under that same spell of protection."

"And what, pray tell," the brown-eyed young man asked in confusion. "Does that spell do?"

"I made it so that none of you would remember that battle or anything that happened in those few years, in order that you would be able to resume your lives as if you had never been Cyberstars," Celestia said with a smile.

"So basically, you used the Zodiac Force to put our memories of Polycron, and Prince Nefarius, and us being the Cyberstars from the beginning, all to sleep?" The Princess nodded again. "But why?"

"Because your Sky Force powers were completely destroyed. The battle was over. I wanted you all to have the chance to follow the path that you had chosen for yourselves long before any of you had met my grandfather."

"The battle was not over!" cried Omar in anger. "These creatures that call themselves Marauders are attacking... and one of them just killed me!"

"Omar, you are NOT dead," Celestia said firmly, her eyes piercing Omar's soul. "I have invoked my power once more to prevent your death."

"I see..." he said quietly, ashamed at having spoken that way to the one who had saved him.

"But in doing so, and in bringing you to this place..." she continued with a grave voice. "The memories of your former and current lives, like the pieces of a puzzle, have been reconnected."

"Princess, I apologize, but you're speaking in circles..."

"When you wake up, you will remember everything."

"I think I'm starting to remember everything now..." Omar whispered, looking down at the fiery energy that was wrapped tightly around his body.

"I am sorry to have done this," Celestia sighed. "But it was the only way to save you."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," he said, trying to smile, but feeling great sadness. "I'm sorry. I don't want you to think that I'm mad at you for saving me." Omar then looked away. There were some memories returning to him that he had wished that he would have remained forgotten. An image flashed in his mind of a tall young man with light brown hair, wrapping his arms around Omar and kissing him... loving him... then breaking his heart. "Jeff..."

"I see that I may have done you an incredible disservice, dear friend," the Princess said sadly.

"No, you haven't..." the boy answered, shaking his head. "It's just kind of hard to have the past five years of your life hit you like a ton of bricks."

"I can understand how that might feel," Celestia said with understanding in her sweet voice.

"It's hard to have your heart broken, and feel that pain for so long, then forget it, and then remember it all over again like it was yesterday..." The tears began to stream down Omar's cheeks as the Princess wrapped her arms around him. "It still hurts, Princess..."

"We all have pain that we have to endure over the course of our lives," she said, looking into his brown eyes. Her white skin glowed like the light around the two of them. "But what's important, Omar, is that you take those hard times, along with the good times, and remember what they have made you."

"What's that?" he asked with sadness in his facial expression.

"A much stronger person... and someone who will stand the test of time against any enemy."

Omar looked up at her, realizing what she was saying.

"You mean..."

"Yes," she replied. "It was your destiny to awaken once again and fight against those who threaten the peace of your planet, Aries."

"You're not the only one who's called me that," he remarked, remembering Dimensia's evil words.

"It is because it is the energy that surrounds and protects you," Celestia said with a smile. "The Zodiac Force Medallion of Aries chose you as its holder when I unleashed the magic to save the lives of you and your friends, the Cyberstars."

"But... I can't be a Cyberstar anymore... I've lost the power," Omar said in confusion.

"You lost the Sky Force powers," she corrected him, still smiling. "But the Zodiac Force is something much stronger - it protects your human spirit and your strength as a warrior - and you have been chosen by the leader of all the signs - Aries, the ram of passion!"

"I don't get it, Princess..."

"Omar, my young friend," Celestia said, putting her soft white hands on his shoulders, which glistened with the red ribbons of light. "Don't you see the color of the power that now envelops, strengthens, and protects you? From the very beginning, you were the Red Cyberstar, and the Aries medallion allows no exception in choosing you as its owner. Red, the color of the Zodiac sign of Aries, is what drives you and defines you... the color of passion, love, anger, joy... and even the deepest pain."

Omar took a few moments to think about what she had just told him, the spoke again.

"It IS my favorite color, but I still don't see how I can be a Cyberstar again."

"Silly boy," she laughed. "Watch." Princess Celestia revealed a tangled mess of silver plastic, wires, and a cracked screen in the palm of her hand.

"My... my digital cell phone!" he cried in shock. "But, it was trashed by Dimensia... how did you..." The lovely girl, surrounded by the light of the stars, put her finger to her mouth, signaling him to be quiet as the Aries medallion and the necklace which suspended it around Omar's neck vanished. He watched in awe as she now held the ruby encrusted talisman in her left hand, closing her eyes.

The two separate objects began to glow with a red, gold, and silver light as Celestia brought her hands together, cupping her left over her right as she smiled.

"I have something new for you," she said happily. "I hope you like it."

Omar's eyes widened as she showed him what she had created.

"Oh, WOW!" he cried.

"Omar, guardian of the star sign of Aries, this is your Zodiac Force Celestial Cell."

In her hand, she held a device similar to the one that the wicked Marauder villainess had destroyed only moments before. However, this one was far more advanced than the silver one. Covered by a gleaming red encasing, it also had an external display on the top of the outer clamshell, as well as a speakerphone above the screen. The antenna itself was topped with a tiny six pointed star, the symbol of the Zodiac Force. Omar reached out with both hands, treasuring his new phone as he opened it, revealing a silver inside with a keypad full of golden buttons.

"This... is sooooo cool..." he marveled. "And it matches my violin! Thank you, Princess!"

"You're welcome... very soon, you'll see that it matches much more than that," she replied with a nod. "All you have to say is 'Aries Celestial Power'. Now, the time has come to use what the Zodiac Force has provided for you. You have a fight to finish."

"I sure do, don't I," Omar said, nodding as the red ribbons of fiery light still wrapped around his body. He looked down at his Celestial Cell. "I guess it's back to battle."

"I need you to remember one thing, though..."

"What is that?" he inquired. Her face returned to being very grave, disturbing him as it had changed so quickly from the smile it had shown before.

"Do not fall in too deep with Gemini and Leo..." As if a spell had been undone, the light around them began to get brighter and the mists began to fade. The young man realized that he was being returned to reality. "And beware of Pisces?"

"Gemini and Leo? But Princess, they're my friends... and who's Pisces?" Omar's heart almost stopped beating. His memory flashed instantly back to the scene right before the beautiful young girl had transported him into her sanctuary of peace and light - he had seen his two closest companions and fellow musicians change with phones identical to his new Celestial Cell into the Purple and Gold Cyberstars. "Princess!"

"I know you will have many questions in the days and battles that will follow - but it is important that you heed this warning..." the Princess sighed. "Those questions will be answered in time..."

"Warning?" Omar cried, trying to shield his eyes from the glow of the white void, which was swallowing Celestia and his own body with it. He looked around in confusion, then back at the blue eyed Princess. "Princess, come back! Princess Celestia!!!"

In a flash, she was gone. The bright light faded like fog in the morning sun as Omar opened his eyes as if waking from a very long, dreamless sleep.

*****

The brightness dissipated around the stage as Saurak eyed the lifeless body of the violinist in the red velvet coat, which lay still next to that of his golden-haired boyfriend. The red rose, which had formerly been the black-petaled flower wielded by Dimensia, had fallen nearby upon the debris of the Dreamsound Orchestra's stage. The reptilian Marauder then looked at his female accomplice with a wicked gleam in his yellow eyes, then back up to the mysterious fair-skinned woman in the gray suit, who had seen Omar being struck down by a laser blast from Saurak's own hand rifle.

"You see, foolish girl?" he snarled, fighting back the drool that came from his serpentine mouth. "Nothing, not your white magic, can stop one of my laser blasts."

"Is he dead, Saurak?" Dimensia whispered, a sly grin forming between her red lips.

"Most assuredly, my dear... luckily for you," Saurak replied, pushing his frayed white hair back with one of his clawed, scaly hands.

"No, it cannot be," Maricela, weakened from the hold that the Marauder mutant had held on her with his whip.

"The boy is not dead!" exclaimed the platinum-haired girl, standing tall upon the drum riser. She then cast a brief glance towards Maricela, their blue and green eyes meeting as the female violinist shook her head.

"But you said..." Mari began.

"I told you to let me take care of my own business," Celestia reminded her. "Do not interfere again."

"I had sworn I would protect him!" the Spanish woman in the long purple gown said angrily, looking at the bodies of her two young male friends. "I will not fail in my mission!" She stood up, rushing towards Saurak and Dimensia with all the strength she had had left in her.

"Oh, please," the pasty-skinned villainess muttered with a roll of her green eyes. "I've just about had enough of you..." She reared her long hand back and let loose a forceful slap across the olive skin of Maricela's cheek as her assailant cried out in pain, flying backwards off the stage and landing among the wreckage of the front row of chairs. "...ouch..." Dimensia snarled.

Saurak's voice startled her as he grabbed her arm, pointing.

"Damnit, look!" he snarled.

Omar shook his head as if he were in a daze, turning around to look at the the classy, fair-skinned young woman in the gray pants suit. She stepped from atop the drum riser in the back of the stage, taking very delicate steps. From the auditorium below, Gwyn watched, gasping at her beauty. Dimensia and Saurak both glared at her with challenging gazes in their wicked eyes.

"It's... really you..." Omar said in awe. He then looked down at his body. Once again, he was clothed in his performance attire, as he stood up on his two feet. Matt's unconscious body still lay atop the platform.

"Yes, Omar," she nodded with a reassuring smile. "I have returned."

"He's still ALIVE?!" Saurak cried angrily, turning to Dimensia. "What was that you said about your plan being failsafe, Dimensia?"

"Never mind that..." Dimensia hissed to her reptilian cohort. "WHO IN THE HELL IS SHE? And how did she revive him?"

"I... I have no idea," the green-skinned creature stammered, squinting his yellow eyes at the mysterious girl, who calmly stood next to the red-coated violinist with the wire-framed glasses on his youthful face. "My weaponry is among the most powerful in the Marauder army!"

"He is protected by the Zodiac Force of Aries," Celestia said with her head held up high. "And he will bring an end to this terror that you have wrought upon these innocent people."

"Enough of this chit-chat!" the leather-clad vixen with the spiked hair and dark red lips said angrily, pointing one of her long black fingernails at Omar and his new female companion. "Mister Garbage, take care of them!"

"Garbage!!!" the mutated janitor, his putrid stench filling the air as he raised his spiked weapon. Cracking the floor of the stage, his enormous body charged towards them.

"Omar," Celestia whispered to her young friend. "Now is the time!" Gwyn, still holding Kooby's injured little body in her arms, stared open-mouthed at her good friend, who raised his right hand into the air with his transformation device.

"Here I go again..." Omar nodded and sighed, clutching his glossy red Celestial Cell, which she had given him in the world between the worlds, in his right hand. His star sign appeared in the outer display of the cellphone, which then flipped open, sending the sign of Aries spinning wildly into the air above him. "Aries Celestial Power!!!!"

"What....!?" Gwyn cried in shock.

Omar closed his eyes as he was once again stripped of his earthly possessions, his entire body glowing like a burning flame. He spread his arms up and outward with his fingers outstretched as the sign of Aries rotated above him, showering him with red and golden energy.

"I can't believe it," Maricela whispered, awestruck at what she saw happening.

"The... transformation..." Matt said weakly, opening his hazel eyes and looking upward at his lover. He then looked at Mari's unconscious body, which lay with the purple gown strewn about her upon the floor, in helplessness. "We... couldn't stop it."

Dimensia and Saurak could only shield their eyes from the bright light as Mister Garbage stared in confusion.

Holding his Zodiac Force Celestial Cell in a tight grip, Omar thrust his right arm down, dragging what seemed to be a massive ball of fire which trailed around his being as a ring of the same fire rose from around his feet. The magical flames saturating into his body, he was now dressed in a tight-fitting red suit with a long white vertical stripe down the middle of his chest which reached down past his waist, wrapping itself under and between his legs and up his back. Flames licked up his legs, adorning him in glistening white boots with thick golden rings at the top, while a similar pair of gloves adorned his arms and hands.

The fireball now blasted around his waist, granting him a shiny gold belt which was buckled by a golden six-pointed star, similar to that which dangled from Kooby's collar. The Aries medallion, encrusted with the fiery red ruby in its center, now positioned itself upon Omar's chest, sending a blaze over his shoulders which transformed into a red chest plate with a golden rim along its sides and bottom. He then crossed his arms and lifted them over his head as the messy spikes of his short brown hair burned like a torch, transforming into much longer fiery red and gold spikes. Omar's red wire-framed glasses had vanished, and as he opened his eyes and smiled, a glistening red visor shaped like a twisting flame fanned out over his brown eyes, connecting onto the rest of a golden mask which covered his cheekbones and his ears.

"I have been awakened by the burning ram of passion..." the suited young man commanded, his entire form glowing with red energy. "And guarded by the fires of love and war, I am Cyberstar Aries!"

"Okay, so since when could he do that?!" Gwyn thought aloud. She gasped as a delicate hand touched her shoulder and she turned around to see Celestia, the platinum haired beauty, standing beside her and smiling. She then looked at the little dog who lay unconscious in Gwyn's arms, and closed her eyes. "Oh... my God... you've..."

Kooby stirred and opened his own eyes, wagging his tail as he watched the completion of Omar's transformation.

"All right, O!" he exclaimed with a joyous bark. The blond girl's blue eyes rolled back into her head in shock and she collapsed in fright of hearing the little animal speak like a human. Kooby just stared in shock at her, then looked up at the mystical young girl who had reawakened him. He smiled. "Princess... you did it!"

"Good job, little one!" she exclaimed, then looked up to the stage. "Aries, it's time to protect your planet!"

"Right, Princess!" Cyberstar Aries nodded valiantly, turning towards Dimensia and Saurak, whose mouths were agape in sight of the newly-born hero. "Whoever you are, you are both at fault for ruining my concert and spoiling the peace of this beautiful city... the time has come for the fiery wrath of Aries to purge your evil!"

"Damn," the black-leather clad vixen of the Marauder forces cursed, clenching her fist. She looked at Saurak. "Saurak, why are you just standing there?!"

"I am afraid that having undergone this transformation," the reptilian mutant hissed at his comrade, who frowned. "His energy levels have increased times two thousand, so if you want a piece of him, go right ahead, my dear. I am finished for today!" He turned to his Saurian cyborg warriors. "Come, my Ssssauroids... we shall battle another day!" His vile green skin wrinkling into a scowl towards Aries and then Celestia, Saurak and the black metal-armored Marauder Sauroids vanished with a sizzle of dark green electricity. Dimensia screamed in disgust and crossed her arms.

"Looks like you've been left out in the cold, Dimensia," Cyberstar Aries laughed, pointing his gloved finger at the woman. "Or rather, in the heat!"

"Whatever - this battle is not over, brat," she said angrily. "Mister Garbage, finish him!"

"Garbage......" snarled the mutant that had once been the kindly old Asian janitor.

"Celestia," the red-suited warrior commanded. "Take Gwyn and Kooby and find someplace safe. This might get ugly!" Celestia nodded as she knelt next to the fainted blond girl, whose blue eyes opened slowly.

"I am glad you are awake," the Princess said with a gentle smile. "I was having trouble trying to figure out how I was going to pick you up."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Gwyn cried offendedly, sitting upright. "Are you calling me fat?" Celestia shook her head, her own light blue eyes widening. "That's what I thought. Shoot, you and your skinny little self had better recognize..."

"Silence!" the older of the two young women commanded. Gwyn was shocked. "Come with me... we must leave this place. It's dangerous."

"But... Omar... he's..."

"He's going to kick some butt!" Kooby barked happily, startling the blond girl in the light blue dress once again. "Come on, you and the Princess can't be anywhere near here!" The two girls clasped hands as they, along with the little black dog, hurried up the up the carpeted aisle which had been ravaged by Mister Garbage. Gwyn stopped, casting a brief glance towards Maricela and Matt's bodies.

"But what about those two... they're my friends too!"

"They'll be fine," Celestia said firmly, tightening her grip on Gwyn's hand and making her wince in pain. "Now come along!"

The monster clad in the janitor's overalls and plaid shirt roared, charging towards Cyberstar Aries and raising what used to be his push broom, now laden with deadly spikes.

"Hah!" Aries cried, flipping into the air and landing behind Mister Garbage, kicking his back and sending him falling face first into several music stands.

The Marauder mutant snarled, turning around from where he lay and burping loudly.

"BELLLLCHHHHH!"

"Oh, gross!" the hero whined, covering his nose. "Someone needs to give you a mint!"

"GARBAGE!!!!!" chuckled the monster, using his spiked weapon to get back on his booted feetHe swung the long handle of his staff under Aries's white boots, knocking him over on his back.

"Owwwww!" wailed Omar, rubbing his behind. "That hurt! You're going to pay for that!" His brown eyes, behind the red visor of his heroic outfit, widened as he saw Mister Garbage standing directly over him, the spiked broom raised above his ugly head. "Uh oh..."

"Hehehehehehehehe....." the Marauder mutant chuckled, his rotten teeth showing from his scowl.

"Bye bye, Cyberstar Aries," Dimensia laughed, crossing her arms and standing beside her creation. "Too bad your little romp in your new play suit didn't last long!" Aries flinched, covering his face with his gloved arm and expecting the worst. Gwyn, watching from the far end of the concert hall, shook her head and looked at the Princess in fear, then back at her old friend from high school. Even Celestia hung her head sadly.

Suddenly, something happened that none of them expected. A strange male voice echoed throughout the auditorium, causing Omar's hair to stand on end.

"Double....."

A mysterious wind blew through the vicinity of the Paramount Theater as Dimensia looked around in confusion, as did Mister Garbage, still holding the weapon in the air and preparing to strike down the red-suited hero.

"It smells like the ocean," Gwyn commented to Celestia, who nodded.

"TIDAL SURGE!!!!!" the voice finished.

Like two fire hydrants had accidently been knocked from their positions on a street corner, power twin flumes of gushing water blasted toward the two remaining Marauders, knocking the wind out of Dimensia as she was thrown back twenty feet across the stage. Mister Garbage was toppled from his position and sent spinning on his stomach in the churning flood as Cyberstar Aries got up, staring in shock at a stranger which had appeared at the corner of the stage.

"What in the..."

The taller, masculine body of this new hero was clad in an outfit similar to Omar's, except of a dark blue where that of Aries was red, and an ashen silver where Aries's uniform was gold. A deep blue, oblong-shaped visor covered the eyes of the mysterious new arrival, and he had short, light brown hair styled upwards in the front. The hair itself seemed to have a pale blue hue to it as well. He had a strong jawline and the mask which covered the sides of his face were of the same silver as his chest plate, which had a golden medallion with dark blue sapphire in its center. Celestia recognized the star sign which was emblazoned into the jewel almost immediately.

"Impossible..." she murmured, warranting a curious glance from Gwyn. "it's...."

"Surrounded by the dark oceans of the fish of redemption," the figure said in a dark voice. "I am Cyberstar Pisces."

"Pisces?" Aries asked in confusion as his new companion slowly walked and stood above him, extending a strong, white-gloved hand towards him. "Where did you come from?"

"Aries, don't let your mind play tricks on you during this fight," Pisces replied. "You must not let any distraction deter you from your mission." Aries's brown eyes tried to look past the cold blue stare of his rescuer, but couldn't see his eyes.

"Another one?" Dimensia said under her breath, wiping the water from her black leather suit which tightened upon her. "A fourth? This is too much for me..." Mister Garbage, still milling about upon the slippery floor of the stage, looked at her helplessly. "Screw you. You're on your own." She cast a vicious glare at the two Cyberstars and vanished in a blur of sizzling green electricity, as Saurak had only moments before.

"GARBAGE!!!" the mutant roared angrily, finally regaining his posture and shaking his yellow-skinned fists at the two male heroes. Aries whirled around in shock as Pisces put his hand on his shoulder. The touch was so strange, yet so familiar.

"Finish this now, Aries," he said in a brave, encouraging voice. "Don't waste any more time."

"Right..." Aries nodded.

Mister Garbage, slipping about on the floor on the water from Cyberstar Pisces's attack, started for the two of them. Omar closed his eyes within his red-visored mask, searching for the words. They came to him as if they had always been within his vocabulary.

"Revolution..." he said, touching his right hand to the edge of his flaming visor. "Flame..." He then removed the visor from his face, his brown eyes ablaze as he lifted the symmetrical form of his viewing glass into the air.

The Marauder mutant stopped short, as Celestia gasped. Was this the ultimate attack?

COLOR=Red]"BOOMERANG!"[/COLOR] Instantly, the former visor burst into flames as Cyberstar Aries reached backwards with his new weapon, which burned with red and gold fire, and twirled around twice before releasing his hold.

Like a spinning firestorm, the Flame Boomerang whipped around Mister Garbage's immense, overweight body twice before criss-crossing through his chest, causing the monster to scream in anguish as he burned with the fire of Aries's attack.

"The flames of revolution and rebirth," the Princess whispered.

"What's that?" Gwyn asked.

"It's like the story of the magical phoenix," Celestia said to her young friend. Kooby nodded, his golden tag ringing about on his red collar.

"Yes, I see," the little dog said in awe.

Aries grabbed the boomerang from the air as it returned to him, the red visor returning to his golden mask. Cyberstar Pisces watched with a smile on his handsome face as the body of Mister Garbage shrank, consumed by the inferno, until the the magical flames vanished, revealing the upright body of the old Asian janitor, who was unconscious. He collapsed weakly to the floor, muttering only one word in his sleep: "Clean...."

"You mean that Omar's... I mean Aries's... attack can kill the monster but bring it back to life, just like the phoenix did in coming back from its own ashes?" the blond girl asked curiously.

"Wow, she's not as stupid as I thought she was," Kooby said to Celestia, who smiled.

Cyberstar Aries exhaled and smiled.

"I did it... I'm back..." he said to himself. He then turned to his new companion, who still smiled at him. "Thank you..."

"It was no problem," Pisces replied reassuringly. "You did great, just like you always have."

"What do you mean?" Aries inquired. "You know me?"

"Another time, Aries," the new hero smiled at his younger companion. "Goodbye for now." Cyberstar Pisces, clad in his dark blue uniform with the long vertical white stripe down the middle of his chest, smiled and then turned away, vanishing into the shadows. Aries watched him go, and felt a pain in his chest, but had no idea where this heartache was coming from.

Kooby barked and jumped up to his master, wagging his tail.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Omar said, still wearing his uniform as he knelt down and picked up his faithful friend in his white-gloved arms. "I was worried about you. Don't ever do that again."

"Celestia saved me," Kooby said with a happy grin on his furry face, his ears perking up as Celestia and Gwyn both joined Cyberstar Aries on the stage. "Just like she did you." Aries nodded, his golden-flecked spikes of red hair bowing with him.

"Wow, and I thought blondes had more fun..." Gwyn marveled, looking at her good friend in awe.

"You know, Gwyn, Celestia saved you too..." Omar began. Celestia shot him a quick glance from her blue eyes, silencing him, while the blonde girl looked at the young, stately woman in curiosity. "...never mind."

"Um, okay, weirdo," Gwyn snorted. "Anyway, don't worry. I'll keep this as our little secret." Aries nodded, while she looked to the rear of the stage, and gasped. "Hey... where's Matt?" Aries looked behind him. Sure enough, his boyfriend's body had mysteriously disappeared.

"I... I don't know," he replied, looking around the ruined stage. "It looks like Mari is gone, too." He then turned to the Princess. "They probably saw what just happened to me... I've really got to find them, Celestia."

"Aries, you must remember what I told you..." the Princess sighed, looking way. "You have to be careful around them."

"Hey... I'll remember, I promise..." he said, holding back the feelings of dread in his heart from the ominous warning that his new mentor had given him after she had endowed him with the Zodiac Force of Aries. "But they're my friends. I don't think they'd try to hurt me, but if they're Cyberstars like me, then that means they're my teammates now... and I just want to make sure that they're safe."

"Everything is not as it always seems, my young friend," the blue-eyed, platinum-haired young woman said with a distant look on her face. "But do as you must... I just strongly encourage you to be very careful."

Meanwhile Gwyn ventured over to the kindly old janitor, who was rubbing his head in pain.

"I have bad headache," he said, struggling to get the words across to the young girl who was helping him to his feet.

"You've had a nasty fall," Gwyn said cheerily. The Asian man just looked at her with a blank look in his eyes. "But we'll take you somewhere where you can have a nice drink and I promise you'll be feeling just fine!" She looked back and smiled at Celestia and Cyberstar Aries, who held Kooby in his arms, as she escorted the old man down the steps of the stage and towards the exit. Soon, they were out of sight and out of hearing range. Celestia looked at her young charge and smiled.

"You did a wonderful job," the Princess said, touching her hand to Omar's.

"Thanks... I guess..." he sighed. "This is going to take some getting used to, again."

"I know it will. But I also know you will be just fine."

"I'm confused, though, Princess... why can't I tell Gwyn about what you did for her?"

"It is not yet time for her to awaken," Celestia sighed. Omar's brown eyes widened.

"You mean she'll be a Cyberstar too? And what about that other new guy... Pisces... do I know him, too?"

"I do not even know him," Celestia replied, recalling the dark blue-suited hero who had unleashed the powerful flumes of water upon the Marauders, stalling them in order for Aries to submit his fiery attack. "Mainframe and I will have to investigate this matter further."

"Mainframe?!" Aries cried. "She's okay?"

"I have so much to tell you, my dear," Celestia answered, her blue eyes sparkling again. "But yes, Mainframe is perfect... a little TOO perfect. In the meantime, however, it probably is best that you find your musician friends and speak with them... and more importantly, get some rest."

"You're right," the young man with the red hair yawned, trying to smile. "Maybe they went back to the hotel." He turned away, his armor glistening in the lights of the stage. "I'll see you soon, Princess."

"Indeed," she returned, nodding. The Princess then looked at a silver watch upon her thin, left wrist. It was midnight. "And by the way, Omar..." Aries looked at her once more. "Happy birthday."

Omar grinned. "Thank you," he said with a blush.

"No..." Celestia replied. "Thank YOU."

Within a few minutes, Cyberstar Aries stood upon the roof of the Paramount Theater, looking out into the night sky and onto his hometown, the city of Austin. He was alone, except for the small dog that sat by his side as his fiery hair blew in the night wind. He remembered the events from five years ago as if they were yesterday.

"It is your birthday," Kooby said to his master, wagging his tail. "You should be out celebrating."

"I don't really feel like celebrating tonight," Omar said, not even looking down as he stared at a large building which was made of sparkling blue glass and had a white, glowing structure that looked like a white flower budding from the top. "I feel like thinking."

"Well, O, you turn twenty six only once," the dog replied, pawing the white boot.

"Oh, Kooby..." he sighed, ignoring the comment of his dog. The black-furred animal looked up at him with big brown eyes. "What did we get ourselves into?"

"Nothing, silly," Kooby answered. "Just destiny."

Omar smiled warmly, a tear rolling down his cheek as he reached down to pick up his pet and snuggled him close. Kooby happily licked his master's tears away, wagging his tail. As Cyberstar Aries, Omar realized that things definitely were not going to be the same. However, he was not sure if he really wanted things to always stay the same. After all, as the cycle of the Zodiac had shown him and countless others across time, change was the only constant in this universe. And like the phoenix rising from its ashes, change would bring new and exciting things to Omar's life that he had never imagined possible. He was ready.