Thunder ripped the sky open.
Rain didn't fall—it attacked, slashing sideways, soaking the ground until it turned slick and hostile. Don stood across from Class 101, unmoving. Water streamed from his mask in steady lines, like something leaking that couldn't be sealed anymore.
No one spoke at first.
Mason finally stepped forward, hands shaking, forcing his voice into something brave.
"Don… come back. I know it feels impossible, but we can fix this. We're—"
"WHAT'S TOGETHER?" Don roared.
The word cracked louder than the thunder.
He took a step forward. Then another.
"If everything that broke me wasn't even my choice—" his voice dropped, trembling with fury, "—if you were the first ones to pull me apart while smiling and calling it help—what exactly are we 'together' in?"
Rain hammered the silence.
Faces tightened. Confusion. Guilt. No answers.
William frowned, desperate for logic. "What do you mean it wasn't your fault?"
Don laughed.
It was sharp. Ugly. Wrong.
"You really don't hear it," he said. "You never did."
Ryan's shoulders locked, gears grinding like he'd already decided. "Sorry, man," he muttered. "We're not letting you walk away."
Scourge Don flexed his clawed gloves. "Ryan," he said quietly, "don't."
Lonnie Mae's vines crept out of the mud, trembling. "Don… please. We don't want to hurt you."
Kwa'asja's glow dimmed, rain streaking down her face. "You matter to us."
Don looked at her.
Then past her.
"And that," he said, voice hollow, "is why this keeps happening."
He stepped forward. Dark celestial energy bled out of him, rippling with the storm like the sky itself was recoiling.
"Now that I'm a Chosen One," Don said slowly.
"Now that I'm broken—"
His eyes lifted.
"—let's see if you'll laugh now."
Something snapped in the air.
Ryan broke formation. "LEAVE THE PHASE, BRO!"
He launched—fast, desperate—swinging for Don's jaw.
Don didn't dodge.
He caught Ryan mid-air.
Claws drove straight through his chest.
Blood sprayed hot against the rain.
Don slammed him into the ground so hard the earth split beneath them.
Ryan screamed. Then choked.
Everyone froze.
Sophia stared, shaking. "You— you just—"
Don turned toward them.
"You wanted force," he said. "This is force."
They powered up all at once—panic dressed as resolve.
Rain screamed louder.
"Oh," Don muttered, celestial light flaring violently, "this is gonna be heavenly."
They rushed him.
William dove first, wind howling—
Don met him mid-air and drove a celestial strike straight into his stomach, slamming him into the ground like a meteor.
Sophia fired sound-blasts—
Don blurred sideways, ignited in dark flame, and blitzed her. One punch. She folded.
Javier swung—
Duck. Counter. Uppercut. Gone.
Anhia dropped hail—
Teleport. Kick. She crashed into the dirt like discarded gear.
Mason rolled in, shouting his name—
Don appeared behind him and launched him across the field without looking.
Daysni. Lonnie. Emely. Jocabed.
Don didn't fight them.
He cleared them.
Emely froze the field—
Chains snapped out instantly.
Jocabed fired beams—
Don hurled Emely into them. Ice shattered. Screams followed.
Lonnie's vines—
Flash-kick. Skyward. Out.
Drake charged—
Mud blasts missed as Don danced through them, grabbed him, and blasted him across the mountains.
"Hmph," Don said coldly. "That it?"
"NOT EVEN CLOSE!"
Keyler zipped in, spider-thread wrapping Don mid-air, spinning around him violently.
A kick landed clean on Don's jaw.
For half a second—hope sparked.
Then Don snarled.
Celestial chains fired.
Keyler was bound instantly—
—and slammed straight into Kwa'asja like a living projectile.
A portal ripped open above.
Angel dropped through—aimed.
Redirected mid-air. Kicked. Fired a portal-spear—
It pinned Don's shoulder.
For one breath, Don froze.
Then he ripped it out.
Angel teleported to flank—
Don predicted it.
He teleported first.
One punch shattered Angel's trajectory, sending him spiraling into the clouds.
Bodies hit the ground.
Mountains cracked.
Don lifted Drake again, juggling him mid-air with brutal precision, then summoned colossal fists from the sky that smashed down like divine punishment.
Smoke swallowed the battlefield.
Fedjina was still standing—barely.
Don impaled her with a chain and dropped her without a word.
He scanned the wreckage.
Krane wasn't there.
Overbrawl wasn't either.
Then—
BOOM.
A fire-coated fist smashed across Don's face, sending him skidding through stone.
Krane stood in the smoke, flames crawling up his arm.
"Bye-bye," he smirked.
The watch bloomed open.
A purple orb expanded—screaming with spiritual energy. A miniature moon of annihilation.
Don froze.
The black hole.
The silence.
The laughter afterward.
"I…" he whispered. "I've seen this before…"
The orb swallowed him.
Gone.
Krane snapped his watch shut like he'd finished a chore.
Overbrawl limped up beside him. "Uh… boss?"
Krane's eyes glowed violet.
"Scarletsville."
***
"Ooookay, can you actually snag that?" Olsen asked, nodding toward the rec hall mosaic—right in the center, Queen Stellar's painted eye had a tiny, wicked sparkle where someone had sunk a gem into the grout.
Archie cracked his knuckles, flames licking up his palms like he'd dipped them in pocket-sized suns. He grabbed the bars, heat crawling up the metal until it turned soft and glossy. The metal sighed and sagged, then gave. Archie squeezed through the gap like it was nothing, snaked across the room, and plucked the little jewel from the queen's eye.
Everyone stared—then absolutely lost it. "YOU COULD'VE DONE THAT THE ENTIRE TIME?!" Demaurion bellowed.
Archie flipped the gem between two fingers and shrugged, all chill. "I mean, I wanted to admire the statue vibe for a sec. It's aesthetic."
The others blinked toward the statue out of habit, then back at Archie as if he'd levitated the gem with jazz hands.
"Hmph, sounds reasonable enough."
"Great excuse."
"I'd do the same thing."
"He has a point."
Ella just gave them a look that could end wars. "WE'RE TRYING TO ESCAPE HERE! NOT STARE AT SOME SORT OF STATUE OF QUEEN STELLAR'S REAR E—nevermind…"
Everyone slowly walked out of the prison room with the silver Power Gem, and now they were free.
They looked around the dark and eerie place to see if anyone was there.
Luckily, there was nobody.
The place was dimly lit, cobwebs covered the ceilings, and dust drifted through the air. The sounds of prisoners yawning, some screaming in pain, and others crying filled the atmosphere.
Ella led the group as they followed her straight toward the black exit door. Archie also took the statue with him before following.
They moved through the door, sprinting silently, then stopped after a few minutes. Olsen slowly pressed himself against the wall while Prince peeked out of the exit door. He scanned the area, noticing that they were upstairs in the Storage Room. Prince peered over the edge, looking down at the ground.
He saw two Lunaranite guards in dragon form, holding their spears.
Prince smirked. "A piece of electric cake."
The others turned in Prince's direction, taking a peek before slowly stepping out. Just as Prince was about to snipe an electric spark at one of the guards, Ella grabbed his arm and told him to stop. One of the guards started speaking, and the crew listened carefully. "Go release Duke," one of the guards said, pointing his spear at the other.
"He's gonna be released for now because he's going to have a meeting with the king." Everyone started panicking silently, but Ella calmed them down—she had an idea.
As the guard walked up the stairs toward the prison room, the four clung to the ceiling, holding on so they wouldn't fall. The guard passed beneath them, entering the prison halls. Everyone sighed in relief, then quietly dropped to the ground.
Prince peered back down the stairs, and the other guard was gone. The four rushed downstairs, finding themselves standing on a red carpet with golden patterns. The walls were black and purple, and the lights were dim.
Barrels were stacked in the corners, and an arched entrance stood a few feet ahead of them. This led to a wide room with a stone battlefield in the center. Red banners hung from the walls, and a large throne sat to the right, connected by a circular bridge with many chairs around it. "That must be the Battle Room," Olsen whispered as he glanced through the entrance.
They quietly sprinted inside, making sure nobody was in sight. Taking out their weapons just in case, they began exploring.
Archie turned to the battlefield and eagerly ran toward it. He held the statue tight as he gazed at the floor, as if studying it. He whispered in awe, "This is amazing!"
"Archie! We're trying to get out of here, not scan the floor!" Ella murmured. Archie smirked as he put the statue down and looked around again. "It looks so cool!" The castle suddenly started shaking violently, as dust erupted from the roof.
Everyone slowly looked up and began backing away. Cracks formed above them—directly over Archie. The rocks were about to collapse, and Archie stood right on the battlefield, unaware.
Olsen dashed toward Archie, yelling, "ARCHIE, GET DOWN!" "Why should I?!" Archie whined. Olsen shouted as loud as he could, probably loud enough for the other Lunaranites to hear him.
"JUST GET DOWN—" Jagged rocks shot out from the ceiling, plummeting straight toward Archie's head. Olsen wasted no time. He leaped into the air like a superhero, his dark green ignited fists glowing as he cried out, "SPIKY GROUND!"
He hurled his fists at the falling debris, and large, jagged rocks shot up from the ground, completely shattering them into fragments. Landing right behind Archie, he huffed, "Next time, don't do anything stupid. How about that for once?" "Oh, come on, the battlefield looked cool," Archie said in a carefree voice.
"Survived? You kids are very lucky…" A deep, cold, sorrowful voice echoed from behind Archie and Olsen. Everyone froze for a second, then slowly turned to face the figure. He wore a mostly black and green-painted metallic suit, with a triangular emblem glowing green on his chest.
His armored legs were cybernetic, made of steel, patterned in black and neon green. A ripped black cape swayed behind him, tied to his neck. His eyes glowed an eerie green beneath a metallic helmet shaped like a bird's head, the beak also glowing neon green. The entire helmet concealed his mouth and face, except for his piercing eyes. He wore black gloves with glowing neon green lights. His fingers were sharp, and through his chest, a black heart with green outlines was visible, pulsing like a glowing shadow. Demaurion asked, his voice filled with suspicion and caution, "Who… are you?"