The two walked through Scarletsville like a pair of corporate mercs on a lunch break—calm, casual, and totally out of place in a volcanic warzone. The crimson skies loomed over them, smoke trailing like ink in water, and the molten rivers bubbled just beneath their rocky path.
Overbrawl turned to Krane. "Why are we searching for them again after just hiding them?"
Krane groaned, face-palming, "The gems can't survive long unguarded. Scattering them kept them from Incarceration, but left unchecked on the ground, they'll either sink or melt. Better to gather them before they're lost forever."
Still, they pressed forward, scanning the terrain with sharp eyes.
"We're close," he muttered.
Behind a sharp, diagonally twisted rock, they found it: a glowing orange Power Gem radiating wild, aggressive energy—the Fury Gem.
"Bingo," Krane whispered, eyes locked on the hexagon-shaped artifact. He snatched it in one smooth motion, examining it before glancing at Overbrawl.
"Looks fierce," Overbrawl muttered. Suddenly, jets roared overhead. The two snapped to attention. Krane braced his watch while Overbrawl powered up with explosive energy.
"COME OUT AND CATCH THESE HANDS!" Overbrawl roared.
The sound fractured the smoky sky. Thrusters blared, and a neon green comet cut through the clouds. "What the is that?" Krane narrowed his eyes.
Overbrawl instinctively grabbed the Fury Gem. As the glowing figure approached, Krane recognized the jet-propelled blur. Duke. In his Jetfire State.
Before anyone could blink, Krane launched. They collided mid-air with a shockwave so massive it vaporized entire ridges.
Duke countered, grabbed Krane's leg, and hurled him like a ragdoll. Krane ricocheted through stone and lava like a tossed coin.
Overbrawl lunged next, but Duke danced around his punch, responding with a savage combo: right hook, left hook, knee to the gut, elbow to the chin, and a spinning backhand that sent Overbrawl flying like a meteor.
Krane returned in a blink, only to eat a blinding flash punch straight to the face. The explosion lit up Scarletzville.
"No flashy entrance?" Krane sneered. Duke said nothing, his heart now visibly pulsing neon through his chest.
They clashed again, fists colliding in raw elemental fury. Krane ducked under a kick and countered with a spiritual strike to Duke's chest, launching him upward.
"SHOULD'VE THOUGHT SOONER!" Overbrawl appeared above and hammered Duke downward, creating an explosion that cratered half a valley.
Duke rebounded mid-air and tackled Krane, sending both plummeting into the molten earth. They brawled in the blazing core, flinging blasts and breaking rock.
"ZENITHS WERE NEVER A CHALLENGE TO ME!" Duke dodged, then launched back, grabbing Krane mid-air. They rocketed upward, trading rapid-fire punches, soaring back into the sky. "THEY WERE ALWAYS SO PITIFUL!"
Krane comboed with a punch, sidekick, and an axe kick that dropped Duke like a star. "You're a TEENAGER!"
Overbrawl struck again, but Duke teleported and launched a blinding combo from behind, sending Overbrawl spiraling.
Neon energy erupted from Duke as he threw Overbrawl like a ragdoll. Then Krane came barreling in, glowing like a comet.
Missiles screamed from Duke's arms, but Krane weaved through them, retaliating with a barrage of spiritual blasts. "RAGH!" Duke countered with a neon flare.
They clashed in the sky, fists blurring, the fight becoming a hurricane of blows. Krane landed a gut punch that made Duke cough blood and crater the earth.
"Your time has come—" Krane followed to finish it—but Duke vanished, teleporting away.
He appeared everywhere at once, like echoes of himself, fists flying. Duke sidestepped each one, then flipped behind him.
"NEON INSANITY!" A wild neon aerial kick bent the air itself, and Krane was blasted away, spinning like a cannonball through an entire mountain—slamming Overbrawl in the process. BOOM. The land erupted. Lava spewed. Layers of earth peeled upward.
Silence. Then dust settled. Krane and Overbrawl were down, tangled like discarded laundry. Duke stood tall, heart glowing, the only one unbroken. His heart throbbed faster—he was charging more energy.
Two Zeniths. Bloodied. For the first time in Avangard history.
Duke approached and took the Fury Gem from Overbrawl's hand. He grinned. "You two did great. Thanks for collecting these for me. Consider it… tribute." His jets shrank back into a pack, and he dropped into base form. "Two down. Seven to go."
Krane stirred, twitching. He activated his watch.
"Wait…"
The device turned red, glowing with unstable spiritual and fiery energy.
Duke raised an eyebrow. "What are you gonna do? Hit me with your puppy wa—"
BOOOOOM!!
A devious, cataclysmic blast engulfed Scarletzville. The air buckled. Lava erupted. Ground shook like jelly. When the smoke cleared, Krane lay gasping, on the edge of consciousness. And then… footsteps. From the flames emerged Duke.
Untouched.
Krane's cracked eyes widened. "No… way…"
Duke's eyes glowed neon green, his heart still pulsing visibly. He had lost his arm cannon thanks to Demaurion, but from his other arm, a black sword shimmered to life, glowing with green.
"Weaklings," Duke snarled. "You really thought that would stop me?"
***
The sky above was a blanket of stars, untouched by clouds or rain, the silver-white moon watching in silence. The battlefield was still—quiet, except for the occasional pained breath or shuffle.
Lonnie Mae used her vines to heal the group, wrapping them just tightly enough to stabilize wounds. It worked, mostly. Cuts remained, bruises still colored their skin, but the pain had dulled. Emely sat down with a tired exhale.
"He's really—done."
Kai peeked out from behind a rock—he'd been knocked out early and missed most of the fight. Javier scanned the area with tired eyes, then paused.
"Didn't anyone else see Overbrawl? And that other Zenith—the one with the watch?"
Mason nodded. "Yeah. They were here… and then they vanished with Don."
Lonnie Mae and Anhia helped Ryan to his feet. His chest was still aching, but he was alive. Barely. If Don's strike had landed just inches closer to his heart, he wouldn't be.
Kayson's phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket—cracked and scorched—and blinked at the screen.
"Olsen's calling."
Jocabed grabbed the phone and answered before he could finish. The screen lit up with Olsen's face, flanked by Prince, Demaurion, Archie, Eli, and Ella.
"You guys good?! What happened?!" Olsen's voice cracked through the speaker.
Kwa'asja stepped in. "We tried to bring Don back. Again. But he attacked us—he almost killed Ryan."
"And Overbrawl wasn't alone," Lonnie Mae added. "There was another Zenith. They vanished with Don."
Olsen paused, then rubbed his head. "Wait… who was the other Zenith?"
Javier leaned in. "He was purple. Wore a watch. Controlled fire and spiritual energy at the same time."
"That's the one who captured us!" Olsen exclaimed.
"You guys got captured?!" Emely hovered over the phone in shock.
"And imprisoned," Archie added, dead serious.
"We're calling to warn you," Olsen continued. "There's someone else—his name's Duke. He's hunting Power Gems. After our fight, he didn't finish me. He just took the Gem and left."
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
"Don had Power Gems too," Jocabed said. "One pink. One black."
Olsen's voice sharpened. "Then it's real. He's going after all of them. And if he collects them… it could be catastrophic. We have to get them to Celestia. Seal them away before any of these maniacs—Incarceration, Dreadixz, Overbrawl, Duke, that unknown Zenith, Dark Don, even Scourge Don—gets their hands on them."
He hung up.
"That's another crisis added to the list," Keyler muttered, checking off a spider-thread notebook.
Jocabed stared at the ground. "Don said something about free will."
"Incarceration manipulated him," Sophia added. "Maybe… he didn't choose this. Maybe he was forced."
"You're right," said a voice—low and familiar.
Everyone turned. From the shadows, a figure emerged. Silver scales shimmered faintly beneath the moonlight.
It was Dark Don.
His suit was cracked, caked with dried mud. His dragon mask mirrored Scourge Don's, but there was something different—less fury, more controlled. Calm.
"How are you—not—paralyzed?!" Mason shouted, tension coiling through him.
Weapons ignited, energy crackling in the air.
"Relax," Dark Don said, raising his hands slowly. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk."
Everyone hesitated, then lowered their weapons.
Dark Don nodded toward Jocabed. "He didn't turn on you willingly."
He stepped closer, voice steady. "I tracked him after the Grolian Forest incident. Planned to stop him myself if I had to. But what I found… was him tied in vines, hero suit shredded, clutching a Power Gem."
He looked up at the moon. "The Incarceration Gem. One of the darkest. It doesn't just corrupt—it amplifies fear, shame, doubt. Twists it into anger. If you don't know how to fight it, it changes who you are… violently."
Keyler stepped forward. "Then why did he call us 'friends'? He sounded… confused."
Dark Don's gaze was sharp. "He meant it. He always did. But the Gem doesn't let you think clearly. It magnifies every fear you have about yourself. Every failure, every awkward moment, every time you felt small or judged. It screamed at him that he wasn't enough. That he would never be enough."
Gasps rippled through the group. Emely swayed. Lonnie Mae's voice shook. "What did we do?"
Dark Don's eyes softened, still calm. "Nothing malicious. You laughed. You teased. You made mistakes around him. But the Gem twisted those normal moments into a narrative where he thought he was disposable, unworthy of belonging."
He paused, letting the weight settle.
"He didn't turn into Scourge Don because he hates you. He turned because he was terrified. Terrified of failing, of being judged, of letting everyone down. The Gem amplified it. It showed him a world where he belonged nowhere… and he fought that fear by becoming stronger—more violent, more untouchable."
Dark Don stepped closer, voice like distant thunder. "And I know this because I tracked him, felt the change in his aura, studied the way the Gem warped his energy. I know the real Don—the part that still cares, that still fights for you."
Sophia whispered, softly. "So he didn't betray us. He just… doesn't believe we're on his side anymore."
Mason crossed his arms, frowning. "Then how do we fix it?"
Dark Don turned, shadow stretching across the ground. "You don't fix fear. You face it. You show him that even when he feels small, even when he doubts, he isn't alone. That's the only way to pull him back."
He glanced over his shoulder. "Come along. The longer you wait, the harder it gets."