Thunder tore open the sky, splitting the clouds like something angry was clawing its way out.
Through the rain and fog, Don barely saw shapes — but he heard everything.
The storm. The wind. His torn tail dragging across the ground like a blade through water.
He told himself he made the right choice.
If they'd cared, they would've understood.
Now? He figured being alone was easier. Easier to accept, easier to weaponize.
A metallic clink broke through the storm.
Don's head snapped up.
A faint pink glow pulsed in the mud — a hexagonal gem humming like a heartbeat.
Another Power Gem.
His eyes lit with dark celestial current, the glow searing through the fog. He already felt its pull… just like the first one. The Incarceration Gem. The gem that had dragged every buried memory up and forced him to choke on them. The one that hollowed him out and turned him into what he was now:
Scourge Don.
Turning back wasn't an option. He'd tried. The gem didn't let him.
He knelt, rain dripping off his mask, and reached for the gem—
A scorch of red-orange fire cut through the fog, aimed straight at his skull.
He moved without thinking — one fluid step and the blast detonated behind him.
Two figures emerged from the haze.
Krane.
And Overbrawl.
Krane's violet-flame eyes cut through the fog like a threat he didn't bother to hide. Overbrawl's arms folded over his chest, grin wide and cruel.
"Took us long enough," Overbrawl said, voice dripping cockiness.
Krane cracked his knuckles. "Relax. I just want answers… maybe a warm-up."
Don's voice dropped, sharp as a blade.
"Ask."
Krane tilted his head, grin lazy.
"Incarceration's location. You've got the gems — spill it. Yes or no?"
"No."
Overbrawl snarled. "Don't play dumb with us—WHERE IS HE?!"
Don raised a brow, unbothered. "Why do you care?"
Krane shrugged. "We split the gems up."
Don scoffed. "Genius move. Why not just hide them? Splitting them is begging for a war."
Krane's smile darkened.
"We stole those gems from you idiots. Dreadixz wanted them back, but I had… other plans. Scattered them across Foreshade, Rufty Mountains, Scarletsville — anywhere Incarceration couldn't reach. Because if he gets his hands on them? Game over."
Don's jaw locked.
"Two ex-Zeniths on the run, saying they wanna kill Incarceration. Yeah. I'm definitely not trusting that."
Krane's eyes flicked, flames catching the wind.
"You don't have to trust me. But I'll be the one to take him down. Before he exposes something I'd rather stay buried."
"You're lying," Don growled.
Krane didn't blink. "Believe what you want."
Overbrawl stepped forward, chaotic energy crackling around him.
"You're wasting our time."
Krane's flames spiraled up his arms. "Agreed."
Don didn't even shift his stance.
A raindrop hit the dirt.
All three moved.
Don didn't back away — he advanced.
He blurred, vaulting over them, daggers flashing into existence as he landed. Steel kissed air.
Krane spun fast, fist slamming into Don's gut, detonating a blast that threw Don into the sky.
Overbrawl followed instantly, grabbing Don by the collar and hurling him like a comet. Don twisted mid-air, reappeared in front of Overbrawl, and kicked him so hard the valley floor cracked under the impact.
Krane opened fire — violet blasts raining like artillery. Don weaved through them, landed, and unleashed his celestial chains. They snapped around Krane's limbs and slammed him down.
Overbrawl charged.
Don yanked Krane into him like a wrecking ball.
Both crashed into the mud.
Don stalked forward, voice dead calm:
"That all you've got?"
They weren't done.
But neither was he.
The next minutes were pure violence.
Krane teleported.
Overbrawl detonated shockwaves. Don got slammed, blasted, kicked through the sky, smashed into the ground so hard the valley split open. Blood soaked his mask.
Celestial energy flickered like a failing star.
Krane held the new gem in his hand, smiling down at him. "Pathetic," he mocked. "Should we finish him?"
"On the house," Overbrawl sneered. Don's fingers curled into the dirt.
He rose — slow, shaking — but his eyes?
Sharp. Focused. Lethal.
"You two are hilarious," he rasped.
"Thinking this is the best I've got." The air rippled. His aura burst open.
Scourge Don snapped his fingers. Reality bent.
KX DON.
Even the rain froze for half a second. Krane and Overbrawl went pale.
Don vanished.
He reappeared in front of Overbrawl — fist already buried in his face.
"VIOLENT VIOLENCE." The ground ruptured.
Overbrawl flew like he'd been hit by a meteor. Krane tried to fire back. Don was already behind him.
Punch. Punch. Punch. A storm of blows nobody alive could track.
"RAVAGE!"
Krane's ribs bent around Don's fist. The explosion lit the valley in pink and violet fire. Don shot upward, overtaking him, eclipsing him, becoming the storm itself.
"365 DAYS!"
Ten colossal celestial fists materialized overhead — each one radiating enough power to level cities.
They fell.
One.
After.
Another.
The sky cracked.
The air shattered.
The valley cratered.
Krane's body flailed helplessly in the shockwaves.
Don wasn't done.
He descended like a falling star, spinning into a dark celestial cyclone.
"VIOLET VIOLENCE!"
The kick split the Rufty Mountains.
Actual mountains.
Split.
In.
Half.
Krane hit the ground like a corpse tossed from heaven.
He didn't get up.
Don walked to him, energy fading, breath heavy.
He reclaimed the gem.
"Call me pathetic again," he murmured, deadly soft.
"And I'm shoving a whole moon up your ass."
He turned away. "DON!" He stopped. That voice. Great.
He adjusted his torn mask, jaw clenched. "Not them again…"
Mason stepped through the fog, the rest trailing behind like ghosts. Don didn't even fully face them. "Get back on the team man!" "Never." His voice was cold enough to freeze the rain.
"I'm gonna finish—what I started…."
Mason's voice cracked. "Don… don' finish it…." Javier stepped forward. "You fought the Hydra alone." Lonnie: "You solo'd Overbrawl."
Sophia — after William elbowed her — muttered, "You're still our idiot."
Jocabed's voice trembled. "You saved us. All of us."
None of it hit him. Because nothing could. The gem had taken him. Hollowed him.
Rewired him. There was no "Don" left to hear their voices.
Only Scourge Don.
"Coming back to me…. when I tried to come back to you…."
He chuckled darkly, "How—ironic…."
He turned away.
"One of the changes—"
He didn't look back.
"—is that I learned to walk without any of you. Turns out it's easier."
***
They sat slumped against the cold stone walls, behind massive bars of solid rock. Two guards in black armor watched them with bored expressions. Foreshade was always dark, day or night, and nobody knew why. Olsen stared at the guards, eyes vacant.
One of the guards turned, annoyed. "What's with the staring?"
Olsen shrugged. "We've got nothing else to look at. Might as well."
The guard jabbed his spear toward him. "Keep it up, and you'll find out what happens to your face."
Olsen clamped his mouth shut.
Minutes passed in silence.
Then Dreadixz walked up in his human form, his gaze sharp.
"Alright, you two. Break time. Go."
The guards left without a word.
As soon as the door slammed, Prince broke the quiet.
"Baby Shark! Do doo do doo do doo! Baby Shark—"
"CAN WE NOT?!" Demaurion barked, veins bulging in his forehead.
Prince sighed. "Fine. Just trying to break the boredom."
Olsen tapped him on the shoulder, pointing past the bars.
Prince raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Look."
Everyone turned.
There, in a dusty alcove, was a preserved marble statue—of Queen Stellar's rear end.
They all stared, faces slack with awe.
Archie cleared his throat, adopting the tone of a posh nobleman.
"Magnificent. Truly."
Prince nodded solemnly. "The Lunaranites have impeccable taste."
Olsen wiped a fake tear. "Don's so lucky to be the next King of the Celestianites."
Ella slapped her palm over her face. "Can you all stop being weird and focus on escaping?"
"Nah. I'm not missing out on premium booty," Olsen said, deadpan.
Ella looked ready to scream, but then she spotted something glinting on the floor—a Power Gem, just out of reach beyond the cage.
"Guys, LOOK!"
Nobody reacted.
She smacked Prince in the back of the head.
He flinched, then followed her pointing finger.
"THERE'S A POWER GEM!" he whispered loudly.
Everyone's eyes snapped to it.
Prince glanced at Demaurion and grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
They all nodded slowly.
Archie raised a hand.
"While we're planning our daring escape…can we bring the statue?"