Rain poured down in relentless sheets, lightning tearing across the sky as thunder shook the Rufty Mountains to their core. Water sluiced over jagged rocks, carving temporary rivers that vanished into the cracks. The moon fought through the clouds, a pale disc barely piercing the storm, while wind howled like a beast, and the sky screamed in violent arcs of light and sound.
Amid the chaos, Scourge Don stood. His talons dug into the jagged stone, black scarf whipping behind him. Dragon-sharp gloves glinted with dark celestial energy, violet eyes glowing as they drank in the storm. Each step made the rain hiss across his scaled body, droplets sliding off his crumpled metallic snout.
A guttural roar split the air. "RRRAAAHHHH!" Don's muscles tensed beneath the pounding rain. From the shadows, a massive figure emerged:
The Razor Drake.
Colossal, its scales jagged as stone, armored like the mountains themselves. Yellow eyes burned through the deluge, jagged horns curving back, tail lashing violently. Water streamed down its angular jaw, and a black insignia flashed across its forehead with every lightning strike. Its roar shook the peaks. "RRRAAAHHHH! RRRRRAAAAARRRGH!"
Don adjusted his mask, talons flexing, wings unfurling. Dark celestial energy rippled across him, reflecting the storm's chaos. Daggers appeared in a blur, spinning with cosmic light.
"Beast of the Ruft Mountains… the Razor Drake," he muttered. "You'll live… for seconds."
He surged forward, a streak of black and violet. Daggers spun in lethal arcs as he leapt, diving at the creature. WHOOSH! The Drake twisted, slamming its tail into him. SMASH! Pain shot through him, but he recovered instantly, daggers twirling as he struck again. ZAAAP!
The Drake roared, jaws snapping. CRAAASH! KRAAACK! Don twisted midair, landing behind it. Daggers flew, metal clanging against scales. CLANG! SHHHINK! Timing his next move perfectly, he grabbed one dagger mid-flip, kicked off the slick rock, and slammed into the beast's flank. THUD! Sliding across rain-slick stone, daggers spun, crimson streaking across its armored body. SPLAT! SWOOSH!
Their clash became a ballet of claws, talons, steel, and cosmic light. Heads swung, tails whipped, wings beat, lightning split the sky. KRAAAANG! THOOM! CRUNCH! Don caught the Drake's snapping jaws between his daggers, teeth gritted behind his mask. ZZZAP!
Channeling dark celestial energy, he unleashed a devastating kick, flipping backward into a blaze of light. Dust, rain, and blood mingled as they skidded across the stones. BOOM! WHOOM! Don rose, daggers spinning, scarf soaked and trailing.
"If this is all you can do…" His voice cut through the storm. "…then you are a waste of my time."
In a blur, he teleported before the Drake, dagger plunging into its skull. SHING! KRAAK! ZZZAAAP! Lightning illuminated its final shuddering roar. Blood oozed down its neck as it hit the ground. "RRRAAAHHHH!"
Rain washed over Don's tattered form, wings spread, mask glinting, daggers poised.
"Thank you…"
STARLA AND SCORCH
The dragons cut through a storm so violent it felt alive. Rain slashed sideways, lightning ripped the midnight sky open, and thunder rolled across the heavens like a war drum. The clouds above writhed in shifting grays, drowning the world in a waterfall of cold fury. Trees bent under the weight of the wind.
Mud swallowed the forest floor.
Every raindrop hit like a warning.
High above, Starla and Scorch carved through the chaos, wings beating against the storm's wrath. Flashes of lightning lit their scales in shards of white and violet as they fled—fast, desperate. After the last attack, they both knew one thing:
Dreadixz would not let them get away.
Not for long.
Starla's ears twitched. She peered down through the sheets of rain. "Forest," she called, raising her voice over the thunder. "We disappear there."
No debate. They dove.
The wind clawed at their wings as they ripped through the treetops, crashing into the drenched underbrush. Mud splattered. Branches snapped. Shadows swallowed them whole.
"I think we're clear," Starla murmured, scanning the storm-dark forest. "I'm shifting."
Her body erupted into a soft white glow, the beast form dissolving into something smaller, more human, more vulnerable. Wings folded tight against her back. Her curled horns gleamed beneath blond hair streaked with indigo. Her tail flicked nervously. But the biggest change—
Her eyes.
Once golden.
Now a piercing, icy sky-blue.
Scorch eyed her, silently asking the question neither of them wanted to voice: What now?
Starla adjusted her jacket and stepped forward, slow, cautious—
Then she froze.
"You hear that?" she whispered.
A sound echoed through the trees.
Not human.
Not dragon.
A scream—raw, guttural, ancient.
Something that didn't belong here.
Scorch stepped in front of her, fire flickering in his throat. His growl vibrated the ground beneath them.
The scream came again. Closer.
Without speaking, they pushed forward, forcing their way through drenched leaves until the forest opened into the Rufty Mountains.
Titanic stone pillars towered over them, jagged cliffs stabbing into the storming sky. The canyon floor below was a graveyard of shattered rocks and torn plants, wind spiraling through it like a ghost.
The scream ripped through the mountains once more—much closer.
They sprinted toward the sound—
Thwip!
A dagger tore through the air toward them.
Scorch lunged, snatching the blade between his teeth, spitting it onto the mud with a metallic clatter. Both stared at it—double-edged steel, glowing with violent violet energy.
Blood stained the handle.
Old. Dried.
Not much.
Whoever used it didn't need weapons.
Starla looked up—
and her breath left her.
At the base of the mountain lay a Drake. A beast of legend. A titan of Rufty Mountain—
dead.
Its stone-like scales were cracked open like shattered armor. Its tail lay curled, unmoving. The dagger embedded deep in its skull pulsed with faint celestial light. A spear of earth jutted through its throat, planted into the ground like a grave marker.
Starla stumbled back, hands over her mouth. "W-We need to leave," she whispered. Even at twelve, this was too much. Far too much.
But then—
Snap.
Dark indigo chains burst from the air and wrapped around their bodies, yanking both dragons upward. They thrashed, suspended midair as celestial bindings constricted around their limbs.
Scorch roared, fire erupting wildly. The chains held tight.
Then—
someone fell from the sky.
A figure slammed into the mud with a heavy thud, rain splashing off his broken armor.
Starla twisted to see him clearly—
and her heart dropped.
He wore a once-heroic suit now torn to ribbons, soaked in rain, dirt, and dried blood. His dragon-like mask was cracked, barely hanging on. Blood dripped from beneath it, trailing from a wound near his right eye.
His left eye burned with purple celestial fire.
His wings—
one missing entirely,
the other dragging behind him in tatters.
A shredded violet cape clung to his shoulders. His gloves were ripped to claw-like shreds. His shoes looked half-destroyed.
"HEY!" Starla shouted, struggling against the restraints.
The figure lifted his head slightly. He tilted it. Then—snap. The chains vanished. Starla and Scorch hit the mud hard, gasping. Scorch stepped forward, flames lighting his throat again, but Starla threw an arm out, stopping him. Her eyes locked onto the stranger. Something about him felt familiar. Wrongly familiar. Like a memory that existed only in nightmares.
"What's your name?" she asked softly. "Did you… kill that Drake?"
The Celestianite coughed, his voice low, worn, and empty.
"Don," he said.
A beat. A shadow passed over him. "But I guess I'll be Scourge Don forever…" He turned away, dragging himself through the mud, every step heavy, every breath sharp.
Before he vanished into the rain, he shot her a sideways glare—cold enough to pierce bone.
"Who do you claim to be?"
Starla steadied her voice. "Starla. Princess of Celestia. And you're Don, right? One of the Chosen Ones? I… I heard about you. Just not like this."
Don shrugged, not bothering to look back.
"Whatever." He kept walking. The darkness followed. Starla watched him disappear into the storm—
and something unfamiliar twisted in her chest.
Fear.
Pity.
Curiosity.
Something else she couldn't name yet. Whoever Don used to be… this wasn't him. This was something far more dangerous.
Grolian Forest
In the Grolian Forest, thunder cracked across the sky, shaking the battlefield below. Claws tore through flesh. Metal screamed against metal. Roars and cries blended into the storm like a symphony of chaos.
Ella launched onto Rusty's back, claws digging deep into his hide as he bucked beneath her with a furious roar. Nearby, Olsen ripped into Dark Olsen's reinforced legs with pure primal aggression, teeth bared as sparks burst from every impact. Above them, the war spread into the heavens themselves.
Prince and Dark Prince—King—tore through the clouds like twin lightning strikes unleashed from the gods. Rain hammered against them as they zigzagged through the storm at impossible speed, their bodies flickering like living electricity. Prince's feathers blazed with raw current, while King dragged trails of magnetic lightning behind him, crackling like distorted blue comets.
King slowly rose from the shattered earth.
Magnetic electricity crawled around his body in violent spirals, distorting the rain around him as chunks of debris lifted off the ground piece by piece. His eyes locked onto Prince with cold intensity.
Then he spoke.
"Not bad."
He raised one hand.
The magnetic field around him exploded outward.
Bolts fired from his fingertips faster than bullets, ripping through the forest in glowing streaks. Prince barely reacted before the barrage engulfed him completely. Electricity wrapped around his body as King disappeared—
—and reappeared beside him instantly.
CRACK!
A punch to the ribs.
FLASH!
An elbow to the spine.
BOOM!
A kick to the jaw.
King moved with terrifying precision, every strike calculated, every movement efficient. No wasted motion. No emotion. Just relentless violence.
Prince crashed through a line of trees before skidding across the mud.
King descended slowly through the rain, magnetic force dragging rocks, broken branches, and twisted metal into orbit around him like satellites.
Prince spat blood onto the ground and smirked.
"Magnetic surge, huh? Do better."
The air suddenly changed.
Electricity erupted around Prince in spiraling currents, blue light flooding across his body as his energy climbed higher and higher. Lightning wrapped around him in tightening coils until the storm itself seemed to bend toward him.
Then—
FWOOOOOSH!
Prince exploded into pure electrical force.
His eyes burned bright, symbols glowing within them—a V in one eye, a P in the other. Energy crackled violently around his fists as his entire body radiated power.
Voltron Prince had arrived.
"You know what's funny?" Prince grinned. "I was just starting to get bored."
King stared at him silently for a moment.
Then magnetic lightning erupted around his body.
The ground beneath him cracked apart as dark electricity spiraled higher and higher into the storm clouds.
"If you're done talking," King said coldly, "come prove it."
The two vanished instantly.
BOOOOOM!
Their collision detonated across the sky, shockwaves ripping through the clouds as lightning exploded in every direction.
The battle became absolute chaos.
Voltron and King tore through the storm at impossible speed, fists colliding hard enough to shake the forest below. Every clash sounded like thunder detonating overhead.
Voltron shot upward before diving back down, tendrils of lightning wrapping around King midair.
"50 THUNDEROUS SEASONS!"
He spun into a vortex of electricity and drove King straight into the ground.
The impact unleashed a massive eruption of blue-white energy that lit up the entire forest.
Before the smoke could clear, Voltron appeared beside the crater.
"VOLTRON'S PROMISE!"
A devastating uppercut launched King into the sky.
Voltron followed immediately.
A punch to the stomach shattered the air itself.
Then he vanished.
FLASH!
A strike from the left.
FLASH!
Another from above.
FLASH!
Another from behind.
Voltron attacked from every direction at once, moving like a living thunderstorm as King struggled to keep up with the overwhelming speed.
Then silence.
Voltron pulled back his fist.
"The Third Chosen One."
The punch landed.
Light consumed everything.
King slammed into the earth below, bleeding heavily as smoke rose from his body.
Voltron landed nearby with a grin.
"Ooh. I thought things were finally getting interesting."
King coughed, slowly forcing himself back to his feet. Blood dripped from his mouth as magnetic sparks flickered weakly around him.
But his expression never changed.
"You still talk too much," he muttered.CLANK.
A metallic sound echoed through the trees.
Everyone froze.
CLANK.
Prince turned slowly.
A figure emerged from the darkness beneath the rain-soaked canopy, bathed in a glowing violet aura.
A Zenith.
His body shimmered like a living silhouette, glowing eyes locked directly onto Prince. In one hand floated all of the Power Gems. Wrapped around his arm was a futuristic steel watch pulsing with violet energy.
The figure smirked.
"Well," he said coolly, "if it isn't Avangard's favorite little heroes."
He glanced toward the Illegals.
"You guys can move on. I'll handle them."
Prince narrowed his eyes.
"Who the heck are you?!"
The figure tilted his head with a smug grin.
"Maybe you'll find out."
SNAP.
The moment his fingers clicked, eleven Lunaranites burst from the trees like living shadows.
The rain slowed to a drizzle.
But the sky remained black.
The crew instinctively backed together as the Lunaranites surrounded them from every angle, weapons drawn with terrifying precision.
No openings.
No escape.
The figure stood calmly in the center while a glowing violet orb floated above his palm, spinning rapidly with a low mechanical hum. Purple energy pulsed from it in waves, dancing between his fingers like it was alive.
Then he smiled.
Sharp teeth gleamed beneath the moonlight.
Everyone froze.
Olsen could barely stand upright anymore.
"Oh, awesome," he groaned. "Lunaranites everywhere. Exactly what I needed after getting folded by a metal brachiosaurus."
Archie pointed furiously.
"WHO EVEN ARE YOU?!"
The figure raised an eyebrow.
"Hm. You're thinking about running."
The crew stiffened.
Because he was right.
Then his eyes shifted toward Olsen.
"And the Earth guy's thinking about eating rocks again."
Olsen's eyes widened.
"HEY! YOU CAN'T JUST READ MY MIND! THAT'S WEIRD!"
The figure shrugged carelessly.
"Oh well."
He clenched the orb tightly.
Immediately, the Power Gems lit up with dark violet energy and began levitating higher into the air.
Ella stepped forward in panic.
"What are you doing?! Leave them alone!"
Too late.
Purple chains exploded from the ground like striking serpents.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
They wrapped around the crew instantly—arms, legs, torsos—locking them down before anyone could react.
Demaurion went feral.
The Leviathan roared from deep within his chest as he thrashed violently against the restraints, biting into the chains with glowing fangs.
Nothing happened.
The chains didn't even crack.
The figure laughed softly.
"You're all hopeless."
He looked toward the Lunaranites.
"Take them in, boys."
Then he glanced skyward.
"Power Gems… scatter."
The Gems shot upward like missiles before splitting apart across the clouds, vanishing into different directions like stars breaking apart across the night sky.
Prince's eyes widened.
"NO—NO! NOT THE POWER GEMS!"
Lunaranites descended from above moments later, landing around the crew with eerie silence, spears aimed directly at their hearts.
Eli said nothing.
He just kept pulling against the chains with silent fury burning in his eyes.
Then Vironos stepped forward, grinning.
"Thanks for your part. Finish the job. We're moving to Phase Two."
The Illegals disappeared into the forest.
And then—
BOOM.
Something massive landed nearby.
The ground shook beneath everyone's feet.
A towering shadow stepped through the mist.
The crew's faces drained of color.
"DREADIXZ!"
The name exploded from their mouths in unison.
He stood there with his wings folded behind him like a fallen god, towering over the battlefield with a monstrous grin stretched across his face.
"You know, Krane," Dreadixz said casually, glancing toward the orb-wielding figure, "there's a reason I hired you."
His grin widened.
"And you delivered."
Demaurion thrashed harder against the chains.
"LET US GO BEFORE I RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"
Dreadixz raised a hand calmly.
"Woah, woah, woah. Relax."
His voice dripped with amusement.
"We're just taking you somewhere special."
His eyes glowed beneath the storm clouds.
"A little place called… 'Foreshade'."
Silence fell across the forest.
And from the look on everyone's faces—
they already knew.
They were doomed.