In the northern wing of the mansion, Jade is standing near a book resting on a stand inside her greenhouse.
"Oh, Mother Earth," She chanted, "Show me those who are blessed with your gifts."
As if bending to her will, a great tree made entirely of vibrant green energy appeared. A bud catches Jade's attention.
"Let's see who you are."
A vision of a young woman with a dazzling smile appears in her mind.
"Oh, Book of Pandemonium, bring forth to me a Spell for this human."
The book opened to a page, the writing on it turned into inky black smoke and gathered into Jade's hand.
"Let's see how the Zodiac Crusaders handle this one."
************
Daiki was running to their new campsite carrying bags of food and drinks.
"Why did I have to get picked for a food run?"
Daiki turned the corner and saw a young man being mocked for his dancing. Daiki observes the young man and is amazed at his skills. The young man looks at Daiki and immediately his sparkling eyes fixate upon Daiki.
"Ha," laughed one of the onlookers, "You think you could be a Magiboy with those pathetic skills? Give it a rest, Kohei."
"Yeah," said another onlooker, "A loser like you can't compare to the Magiboys."
Hearing that from them, Daiki felt sorry for Kohei. He also felt angry that those jerks were fans of his and the others. Daiki ducked out of sight and pulled out his phone. He switched to Idol mode and became Alex Sasori.
As Alex, he approached the group and Kohei and said, "Not bad."
Immediately the onlookers turned and gasped as Alex just complimented Kohei's dancing.
"That's Alex Sasori," said one of the onlookers, "and he just said Kohei's not bad?"
"And you lot," said Alex to the onlookers, "You dare call yourselves our fans with that type of behavior towards others? You should be ashamed of yourselves looking down on others."
The onlookers suddenly regretted their treatment of Kohei and collectively said, "Sorry, please forgive us." They fell into a kowtow position toward Alex as if he were their god and they angered him.
"You're forgiven," Alex said, "Now go and reflect on your actions."
"Yes, Alex-sama." They got up and left the area.
Alex turned to Kohei and said, "Also, I meant what I said, you're pretty good."
"Uh, thank you, Mr Sasori," Kohei said as he bowed respectively towards Alex, "It's an honor to hear you say that. It's been my dream to join you since it was only you. I can't wait to transfer out of here. In a few weeks I'll be going to Cornelia high school."
"Really?!" Alex asked. "Say, do you want to meet the others?"
************
In a hospital room, a young girl named Houka is in bed humming a tune and writing in her notebook.
"Kohei will love this song." She said.
She remembered her brother's words when she first came to the hospital.
"Just wait sister," he told her, "One day, I will join the Magiboys and we'll sing your songs. I will make your dreams come true."
She loved Kohei's burning desire to make people happy. She had always written songs for herself before. But when she fell ill, her brother said he would make her dreams of being a famous songwriter come true. Since then, she wrote songs specifically for him.
"Miss Hino," called the nurse, "You have a visitor."
A woman dressed like a powerful executive type entered the room. "Good day Miss Hino, I am Jada Tamaki."
"How may I help you, Miss Tamaki?"
"I am here to help you make your dreams come true," said Jada, "I understand you have an amazing gift with music. A truly divine gift. I can help you reach new heights, even with your condition, I can make your songs truly reach the hearts of others."
Jada hands her a notebook. The moment Houka touches the notebook, a powerful force invades her body and suddenly she feels like she's possessed.
"Thank you, Miss Tamaki," Houka said, a hint of maliciousness now in her voice, "I won't fail you."
************
Cosmo was not at all pleased that Alex brought an outsider to meet the other Magiboys, however they were not in Idol mode.
"Wow" Kohei said as he met the others, "You guys are so different when you're out in public."
"Well," Kairi interjected, "Better way for us to blend in when we do everyday things."
"Ah," Kohei said, "I get it. You guys need a break from the public eye and to have a place where you can relax without being hounded. If that's the case, why was Alex out like that?"
Alex then felt like he blabbed on a secret he wasn't supposed to and felt the piercing gaze of Cosmo and Daisuke.
"That's because Alex has a tendency to be an idiot at times." Joichiro said.
"Look," Daiki whispered to Cosmo, "He was being bullied and I couldn't just stand by and watch."
"I get it," Daisuke said, "I would've done the same. But you have to keep in mind your identities must remain a secret."
Cosmo studied Kohei and said, "Be that as it may, Daiki may have done us a favor."
"I did?" Daiki asked.
"This kid is a Zodiac Crusader."
"You mean," Daiki said, "He's one of us?"
Cosmo nodded, "But he hasn't awakened yet. Once he does, I'll know which one he is."
"Or we can ask him," Daiki said, "Hey Kohei, mind if I ask you something?"
Kohei looked at Alex and was about to speak when his phone rang. "Hello?"
Kohei hung up the phone and said, "I'm sorry, I have to go see my sister at the hospital. Something's happened and I have to go. Nice meeting you all." Kohei ran off to head for the hospital.
"Guys," Daiki said to Kairi and Joichiro, "Guess what? Kohei is one of us."
"Then we'd better go after him," Joichiro said, "I have a bad feeling that dark forces are at play as we speak, and we might need him."
************
Houka was scribbling in the notebook Miss Tamaki had given her. She was writing as if possessed by some unholy power.
"This will be the best song ever," Houka said, "It must be perfect. It WILL be perfect."
"Houka, sister," Kohei called as he entered the room, "Are you ok? The nurse said you've been writing nonstop."
"Don't bother me," Houka said, not taking her eyes off the notebook, "I'm busy writing the perfect song."
"Don't over do it, Houka," Kohei pleaded, "You're still weak from the therapy and.."
"I said leave me alone!" shouted Houka, "You do nothing but leech off me and drag me down with you. You're nothing but a parasite."
Houka's statement dealt a heavy emotional toll on Kohei. Tears began welling up in his eyes. He knew his sister would never say mean things to her. The medication or the physical toll of her illness was probably making her say these horrible things.
Either way, Kohei couldn't stand seeing her like this. He left the room, not noticing he ran past Daiki, Joichiro and Kairi. He ran to one of the hospital's atriums and began crying.
"She's right," he said, "I'm just useless."
"You're not useless," said Daiki, "You know it deep down."
"Alex," Kohei said as he saw Daiki, "You look different."
Daiki realized that he was in Civilian Mode and forgot Kohei had never seen the real him before.
"Yeah," Daiki said, "About that…"
Kairi put his arm on Kohei's shoulder and asked, "Your sister, is she ok?"
Kairi sniffled and nodded, "A couple years ago, my sister discovered she had leukemia, she has fought so hard to overcome it. She even put her dreams of becoming a songwriter on hold to take care of me and get better. That's why I really want to join your group. I can make my sister's dream come true that way. We can sing her songs and she can be happy knowing that her song is making people happy everywhere. I know it's stupid and you must hear this a lot. So I wouldn't blame you if you just laughed at me and think I'm some crazy fan."
Daiki, Joichiro and Kairi did something unexpected to Kohei. They all embraced him in a group hug.
"It's not stupid at all." said Kairi.
"You're working hard for your sister's dream," Joichiro said, " That is a very noble thing to do for anyone."
"You're more than a fan to us, Kohei," said Kairi, "You're basically a brother to us."
"Really," asked Kohei, "You mean that?"
Daiki asked the one thing that made Kohei's life so much better, "We'd be happy if you joined us."
************
Houka had filled the evil notebook from cover to cover.
"Now, Miss Tamaki," she said, "Use my song."
Dark, smoky tendrils of darkness emanated from the notebook and, like vines, entangled themselves around Houka and an explosion of Dark energy filled the room.
************
Jade felt her Spell finally achieve its goal.
"The Gift has fully matured. Come forth, Dark Spell, Siren."
************
The Dark Spell's manifestation was felt by Joichiro. Before Kohei could give his answer, Joichiro said, "There's a Dark Spell here."
Joichiro and Kairi ran in the direction of Houka's room. Daiki grabbed Kohei's hand and together they ran to Houka's room.
The group saw a demonic looking mermaid form from the dark smoke that left Houka's body, leaving her as a dried up husk.
"Houka!" shouted Kohei, "Sister! No!"
Daiki pulled his phone and called Cosmo. "Cosmo, we need you. Kohei's with us and he'll need his armor."
"Alright guys," Daiki shouted, "Transform, now!"
"Scorpio Constellation Power, Armor On!"
"Taurus Constellation Power, Armor On!"
"Cancer Constellation Power, Armor On!"
Crusaders Scorpio Taurus and Cancer rushed in to fight the Dark Spell while Kohei watched in amazement that his Idols had become armored knights.
The Crusaders fought with Siren and they immediately tackled her and broke through the window to take the fight outside. Kohei knelt by his sister's bedside as she was now a lifeless husk. He saw her usual notebook on the floor and picked it up. He read her last ideas for a song. He was touched that she wrote it especially for him.
"You didn't deserve this," said Kohei, "I will make this happen for you. Everyone will hear your song. I am a Magiboy."
A bright red light glowed on his right wrist and he heard a voice call to him.
"Kohei, catch," Cosmo shouted as he passed Kohei his Constellation amulet, "Transform and help the others."
"Houka," Kohei said, "I promise, I will make your dreams come true. Aries Constellation Power, Armor On!"
Kohei is surrounded by flaming red energy and he is transformed into a knight like the other Crusaders, but his under armor is red and his design is based off a ram.
Aries joins the fight and says, "Trampling on the dreams of a kind sickly girl for your evil goals is truly shameful. I'm the first Warrior of the Zodiac, ruled by the Planetary Guardian Deity, Mars. I'm the Confident Boy clad in Heavenly Light, Crusader Aries. You're now my problem, and I'm tackling you head on."
Siren glared at Aries and began to sing. Taurus, Cancer, and Scorpio are blasted back, leaving only Aries to face off against her.
Aries remembers the song in Houka's notebook and he is filled with fiery determination.
"Nice try," he said, "But there's only one song in my heart, and it's not yours. My sister's song gives me the strength to crush you."
Aries summoned his weapon, a staff with a ram's head on top and charged his attack, flames gathered to where the ram's head was on the staff, "Aries Fireball, Ignite!" The flames formed a fireball and with his staff, flung it towards Siren, completely engulfing her in flames. Siren then was burned to ash and was completely destroyed.
"Way to go Aries," Taurus called, "Welcome to the team."
Aries was still sad, "Shame my sister couldn't see this."
"She still can," Scorpio interjected, "Last time we fought a Dark Spell like that, the victim returned to normal."
"But," Cancer added, "You might want to turn back before you see her.
The four boys returned to find Houka back to her usual self.
************
Though Cosmo was against this at first, Kohei was allowed to reveal his Idol identity, Steven Maki, to her.
"I'm so proud of you Kohei," she said to her brother, "Use this song at your next concert. It's called Fun.
"Thank you for everything," Kohei said as he picked up his bags and bid farewell to his sister, "I love you, Houka, sister."
"We'll take care of him," Daiki said, "Just focus on getting better."
"Oh, I will," Houka said, "I have to see my brother do many things. See him in concert, win a grammy, and a gold record."
"I'll make it happen, sis," said Kohei, "Just you see."
As they left, a news broadcast played on the TV, "Today, another jewelry heist ring has been stopped thanks to the famous actor, Luke Futago. Futago, who is well known for playing the lead roles on many dramas always seems to be at the right place at the right time."