King Dreadixz sat on his throne, tapping his fingers on the armrests with a menacing look. He looked the same as always, but something was different—his eyes. His right eye had a red ring-shaped mark around it, an injury from Archie's explosion back in the ice storm at Eclitsic. He sat there, whistling a villainous tune in peace, until—
(KNOCK! KNOCK KNOCK!)
The portcullis rattled. Dreadixz looked down at the entrance from his throne and said, "Come in…"
The gate opened, and two Lunaranite guards walked in, dragging two prisoners in cuffs. Dreadixz clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Tell me, guards, who are these two?" he asked.
One prisoner was a female Celestianite dragon with white scales and a shimmering purple spine running down from her head to her tail. Her eyes were golden yellow, her underbelly was deep indigo, and she had long, sharp, curvy dark purple horns. A yellow feather sat at the tip of her tail, and her snout was bright yellow.
The other prisoner was a black-scaled Flamenite dragon with a red underbelly and scars covering his body. His snout was jet black, and his talons were razor-sharp, sharper than a Lunaranite's teeth. His horns were completely red, and his fiery orange eyes had a shade of black in them. He hissed at one of the guards, struggling against their grip.
"These dragons were caught sneaking into Lunaranite territory, also known as 'Foreshade,'" the first guard explained.
Dreadixz laughed. "Hah! What are these little wyrmlings doing in my kingdom? What do they want from us?"
"They were looking for something," the other guard added. "Like these."
He pulled out three Power Gems—red, blue, and green.
Dreadixz scoffed and turned to the prisoners. "Well, thank you for the gift, guards. You've actually done something useful for once."
"Just let us go already!" the Celestianite snapped, struggling against her cuffs.
The Flamenite roared violently, thrashing in anger.
Dreadixz smirked and snapped his fingers. "So, identify yourselves, wyrmlings."
"We're not wyrmlings!" the Celestianite shouted. "Just let us go, and we'll leave! You can keep the Power Gems if you want!"
"NOT until I know who you are," Dreadixz scowled.
The Celestianite was about to argue but signed instead. "My name is Starla…"
Dreadixz grinned. "Ah, so we've got the King's daughter here, huh? Where's your mother?"
"She's in Zeriath, fulfilling a long-forgotten promise," Starla replied.
Dreadixz clapped his hands. "So, you're a stray. You're all alone. King Vigilzante is dead, and your mother is gone. Guess you've got no one now."
Dreadixz turned to the other prisoner. "And who's the Flamenite?"
Starla growled but answered. "His name is Scorch. He's usually mute, and he has a condition that keeps him stuck in his beast form."
Scorch thrashed wildly as the guards struggled to hold him down. Then, he turned to Dreadixz and roared, filled with rage.
Dreadixz laughed. "So full of anger, isn't he?"
Then his expression darkened. "Well, you can let the Flamenite go, but kill the Celestianite."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Starla roared. "COME ON! LET ME GO!"
Scorch went berserk, his body shaking with fury. He turned to Starla as if to say, I'm not leaving without you.
Then, with a powerful shake, he broke free from the cuffs. Dropping onto all fours, he let out a fierce roar that sent the guards running. He locked eyes with one guard, cocked his head, then lunged at him with terrifying speed.
The guard barely had time to react before Scorch pinned him to the ground. The guard screamed in terror. The Power Gems slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor.
Then, without hesitation, Scorch sank his teeth into the guard's skull. Blood dripped from the top of the man's head down to Scorch's snout. With a slow, merciless pull, he tore the guard's head from his body. Blood gushed from the neck, staining the floor.
Scorch turned to the other guard and, with no remorse, devoured the severed head right in front of him. The second guard stood frozen, his legs shaking, his eyes wide with terror. Then, Scorch swallowed the head whole.
That was enough. The second guard bolted from the room in pure fear.
Scorch then turned to Starla and breathed fire onto her cuffs. The metal melted away, freeing her.
Dreadixz jumped up from his throne, his eyes landing on the headless corpse sitting on the red rug.
With a deep, guttural growl, he transformed into his massive Lunaranite Dragon form. His roar shook the entire room, louder than any Lunaranite's roar before.
He leaped from his throne, landing hard on the ground, and charged at Scorch. He swiped at him with his talons, then spun to strike with his tail.
Scorch staggered back, but when Dreadixz's tail swung toward him, he caught it in his jaws.
Dreadixz screamed in agony.
Then, Scorch did something no Flamenite had ever done to the King of the Lunaranites—he lit his teeth on fire.
The flames blazed hotter than any normal fire. Scorch bit down harder, and Dreadixz's tail began to melt. Blood dripped as the bones at the tip of the tail were exposed.
Dreadixz roared in pain and lunged at Scorch, sinking his own teeth into the Flamenite's neck.
He slammed Scorch to the ground, holding him there as Scorch flailed his talons frantically, feeling the fangs dig into his throat.
Scorch roared in pain, his tail thrashing wildly.
Then, Starla lunged at Dreadixz and bit into his throat. She tackled him down, whipping him with her tail.
Dreadixz tumbled back. Scorch got up, shaking with rage.
Dreadixz stood his ground, blood dripping from his wounds. He glared at them and growled, "Damn… you two are hostile dragons."
Starla turned to Scorch urgently. She grabbed the Power Gems and faced the entrance. "Let's get out of here!"
Scorch turned and followed as they stormed out of the throne room, leaving Dreadixz bruised and beaten on the ground—his tail destroyed. At The Grolian Forest (Nighttime): They were cooked. The group of young pre-heroes was surrounded by the Illegals. Vironos growled while Dark Olsen roared from above the trees.
"Shoot! We're gonna be chopped to pieces if we don't do something now!" Prince exclaimed as he held onto his lightning bolts, radiating with blue electricity.
Eli looked around frantically, trying to think of a plan because of the gravity of the situation they were in. Then something sparked in his mind. He turned back to the rest of the crew behind him, and then he used sign language and gestures that meant, "Get out of here, me and the other six will take on these fakes."
William cocked his head in confusion, "What is he talking about?" he whispered to Javier.
Javier shrugged.
Sophia looked back, and the forest was already foggy. Power had left to go find Incarceration and Scourge Don, and they were already alone with no leader. She clenched her fists, then she looked from behind again.
"He's saying we gotta go, just follow me, I can see through the fog!" she ordered.
She sprinted across the forest with everyone else following her, leaving Olsen (who was barely on his feet), Prince, Demaurion, Archie, and Ella. Ella looked at Olsen, worried.
"I don't know if he's gonna be able to fight. Will he be alright?"
"I'll be fine. As long as I can cover my legs with solid rock, I'll be able to move them again," Olsen reassured her.
Brown rocks started to form on Olsen's legs, slithering around them like armor. They stared at the Illegals with determined faces. Then they morphed into their beast forms, now standing face-to-face with their own dark counterparts.
Eli, as a pale green Wyvern with a long spiky tail and four horns on his head, stood tall. His scales were hard and rough, a dark green color, and hexagonal in shape. Eli crawled toward Vironos the Drake. They stood right in front of each other, snarling.
Eli flared his wings. "Let the battle begin…."
Power's Search for Incarceration:
Power ran through the forest at the speed of light, searching for Incarceration as he dodged trees and thorns. The raid fell on him rapidly as lightning flashed across the sky. Thunder boomed, and the trees moved wildly due to the wind. He got soaking wet as he sprinted across the rainy forest, surrounded by thick, dark trees and large thorn leaves. As he ran, he heard a stick snap.
He turned to the right, looking through the trees, and saw Incarceration standing alone in the rain, surrounded by tall, bark-covered trees.
Before Incarceration could leave, Power stopped him with a yell.
"HEY!"
Incarceration stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to Power, his eyes glowing a menacing red. The rain poured even more, and the storm intensified.
"You had something to do with this, DIDN'T YOU?" Power said, clenching his fists as he walked up to Incarceration.
Incarceration crossed his arms and scoffed, "Hmph. I don't know. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But don't worry, at least everything is in check."
Power gritted his teeth in anger and fury. "In check? IN CHECK?! You've manipulated this guy to the point where he's now broken!"
"You really are trying to get him to your side, and it seems like your plan has worked. Look, Incarceration, I know you're almost as smart as Intelligence, maybe even smarter, but if we try our hardest, I know we can get the old Don back. Instead of this reformed dark and edgy Don, we want the REAL Don back! So I'm only gonna tell you once. Bring. Him. Back."
Incarceration sighed, "You know, Power, you were such a 'lovable' Zenith back in the old days. But haven't you noticed the amount of power that has increased over the years?!"
"Well, I was tired of you from the start. Ever since you started leading the Zeniths, I was jealous of you…"
Power's anger slowly faded. He looked down, blinking a few times. Then he slowly turned to Incarceration.
"You were jealous? Why?"
"BECAUSE YOU HAD THE FAME, POWER!" Incarceration shot back with fury. "YOU HAD ALL OF THE GLORY! YOU HAD ALL OF THE PRAISE! I WAS IGNORED! AN OUTCAST! MOCKED BY MY OWN TEAM!"
Power was about to say something, but Incarceration interrupted, "AND YOU NEVER HELPED! LIKE A REAL COMPANION SHOULD'VE! OVERBRAWL WAS INSANE! FURY WAS WORSE! AND I CAN'T TAKE STRENGTH!"
Incarceration kicked a large rock, shattering it into pieces. He pointed at Power, full of anger and emotion.
"YOU NEVER HELPED ME! YET YOU HELPED EVERYBODY ELSE IN THIS WORLD BUT ME! I THOUGHT YOU WERE A HERO, POWER! A HERO!"
"The reason why I manipulated Don and made him go through all this to turn to me, is so I can feel better for myself!" A red tear started to fall from his eyelids, and his eyes flickered from red to blue. "IT WASN'T FAIR THAT NOBODY HAD THE PAIN THAT I WENT THROUGH! SO IN ORDER FOR IT TO HAPPEN, I HAD TO FORCE IT!"
"JUST REMEMBER THIS, POWER," he charged up nightmarish energy on his arms, glaring at Power as the black energy collided with red crackling energy. "EVERY VILLAIN HAS THEIR REASONS TO BECOME A VILLAIN! NOT ALL OF THEM BECOME VILLAINS JUST BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO! THEY COULD BE HURT, MISTREATED, MOCKED IN ANY KIND OF WAY! THEY CAN'T CONTROL IT! THEY CAN'T COPE WITH IT! THE ONLY THING THEY COULD DO IS TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS!"
His voice became shaky but still fierce and furious. "That's… a villain story…" He sniffed as he started to cry a little. "You'll never understand, Power… never understand the pain…."
Power looked down in sorrow, feeling guilt in his stomach. "Look, I'm sorry you were treated this way… I didn't realize that you even had emotions. Just come back to being a Zenith again… Let's just talk this out, and everything will be alright."
Power walked toward him, reaching his arm out. Then Incarceration looked up at Power, and his left eye began to grow larger and transform into a more circular shape. Cracks formed around the eye, and then he jolted up at Power, slamming his chin with an uppercut that shot Power into the sky like a rocket.
Power crashed into the trees like a blue lightning bolt. He got up, feeling the leaves falling on him.
"What was that for?!" Power yelled as he got up.
Then Incarceration teleported right in front of him. He struck Power with a punch to the gut and then an uppercut to the chest. The impact caused a huge black shockwave to ripple through the forest, snapping trees in half. Power was sent spiraling into the air. Incarceration teleported above him to dropkick him back to the ground.
As Power was being launched downward, Incarceration dashed toward him, dark energy swirling around him. Power crashed through a rock, but he got up instantly as Incarceration was already in front of him, ready to strike with a blow to the chest.
Power grabbed his arm, then twirled around, backhanding his body to the ground. Incarceration got up, dark energy charging in his fists. He struck Power's ribs harder than ever, creating an earth-shattering and air-splitting shockwave through the entire forest.
Power was still in the air when Incarceration started throwing rapid punches as fast as a bullet. Then he punched Power in the gut one last time, launching Power through the forest. Power got struck by a few trees as he traveled through the air.
Incarceration followed him, jumping from tree to tree, infusing his body with dark energy. He jumped off the last tree and aerial-kicked Power with one of his legs.
When the attack struck, Power's ribs felt like they shattered throughout his body. He was completely broken. Power crashed through the final tree, cutting it in half. He landed on the ground, sliding on his back through the dirt and mud. Incarceration stood right in front of him with his hands on his hips.
"Why need your help? If you just don't care?" he said, crossing his arms and glaring at Power.
"I do care!" Power exclaimed as he tried to get up.
Incarceration stepped on his body, forcing him down. "Yeah right. I'll make sure I remember that. You and your Zenith friends still think I'm weak. What is this now, Power? The one and only hero forced on the ground, trying to fight the 4th most powerful Zenith in the entire universe. And his name is Power…"
"I don't want to fight you!" Power said, struggling to get up.
Incarceration scoffed, keeping him down. He looked at Power with a glare and a frown. "You could've done better… brother…"
Incarceration wandered off into the deep forest. Power sat there, and then something struck his mind. It was Incarceration's voice, saying, "Also, Don's not coming back to you… never."
Blue energy burst out of Power as his eyes blazed with energy, like flames. Lightning lit up the entire sky as Power stood up. The blue energy surged through his body, and his patience was pushed to the limit.
This was his first time, his very first time being angry. He was all-loving, old but young, chill, and easygoing, but now he had to unleash his anger for the first time. He knew Don should be released from Incarceration's imprisonment. He knew Don should return to who he used to be, instead of the Don they had now: Scourge Don.
Power rushed toward Incarceration, his energy intensifying as he got faster and faster toward him. Incarceration looked behind and realized he messed up.
Through the thunder and lightning, through the rain and through the trees, through the chaos and destruction, Power jumped out right in front of him to throw in a devastating bone-shattering "OVERPOWERED OVERHAND PUNCH!" He smashes his first against Incarceration's face over him like an uppercut.
Then the fists acted like it was glued onto Incarceration's face, and then Incarceration shot up to the sky like a black shooting star as the impact from the blow created a land destroying shockwave across the forest. It flipped air and it broke the sky itself, shattering it. Wind started to go violent and it was thrashing around like crazy, whipping trees only to slice them and cut them. The air smashed the environment, flattening the area. He looked at his fists, realizing that Incarceration had vanished. He looked around confused, and then he yelled through the air, "I'LL COME BACK BROTHER!!!"