At the Hydra Den
The cave was dimly lit and dark, the only things that could be heard were the faint dripping noises from the drops of water on the top below. Incarceration sat there, on a rock while watching the night sky fold into darkness. And there was something in front of him, the dead body of a Hydra named "Homicide". He glanced down at it, watching the blood slowly gush its way out of the body. He sighed, "Maybe, just maybe…. instead of targeting the Chosen Ones themselves, we're gonna have to target the one's feelings….." "Don the Celestianite…. you're mine to manipulate…"
At Musicia (Rainy and Thunderous Atmosphere):
Lightning cracked across the stormy sky as I stared upward. The Lunaranites were already out, spears drawn, scanning the clouds for us.
"We gotta get outta here," I muttered through clenched teeth.
Prince shifted into his Lightning Bird form, electricity crackling around him.
"Where we even gonna go? If we fly, what about Sophia, Javier, Ella, and Olsen? They're land creatures!"
I turned to the squad. "Alright, we split up. You four stay grounded. Me, Power, Prince, Demaurion, Archie, and Angel—we take to the sky."
"But Don, isn't that crazy risky? The Lunaranites could find you guys!" Ella protested, worry thick in her voice.
I looked back up. They were already searching.
Then I looked down. Come on, Don. You're the leader. You gotta get this right. She's not wrong. If we fly, it could end bad—but I'll take that risk. I have to.
I turned back to her, eyes sharp with purpose. "We'll be fine."
I morphed into my dragon form, wings unfurling wide. Everyone else shifted into their beast forms. The rain came harder, the wind howled louder, more hostile by the second.
Then—boom—we launched.
The storm swallowed us whole. Lightning barely missed me as I pushed higher into the clouds. Archie flapped close, flames flickering wildly around his Phoenix body. The winds howled, the thunder snarled like some ancient monster, and I had to dodge bolt after bolt like we were in some kind of aerial war zone.
"Dude, you sure we're gonna make it? This is hella dangerous," Prince called, voice shaking.
I didn't respond. I was locked in, brain locked on survival.
The Hydra ambush… that was Dreadixz. Or maybe… someone worse…
I tried to stay focused. Then I heard it—battle cries. Lunaranite Scouts. They were on us.
I spun my head—five of them, armored in silver, wings gleaming, spears glowing with violent intent.
"GET 'EM!" one shouted.
I flapped harder. "MOVE! We gotta get outta here!"
My instincts flared—I twirled, dodging a flying spear that whistled past my cheek.
No more playtime. I surged forward with everything I had, and the others followed.
Then—(BOOM!)—lightning nailed Archie. He shrieked and plummeted. "ARCHIE!" I screamed.
I dove beneath him, catching his falling body on my back. His flames flickered out—burned out. Now he was just a huge red bird, his Phoenix form dimmed.
But he was alive. I could hear his breath. Feel his heart.
I scanned the clouds for somewhere to land—nothing but storm.
Then, like a nightmare, a black figure riding a Lunaranite dragon slid up beside me. Dark energy coiled around him. Eyes glowing red. Feral. Focused.
"Tsk tsk tsk… well well well… what do we have here?" he sneered from the shadows.
"Who are you?!" I shouted through the storm.
He clenched his fists—dark energy cracked from his knuckles.
"You don't remember me? That's cold. I'm kinda famous, y'know… or at least I was."
He leapt off his dragon—punched me in the face so hard, I went flying down through the clouds.
"DON!" Prince screamed.
Archie slipped off my back. My wings buckled. My body quit.
No. No. No!
"I can't… I can't…"
Everything went dark.
5 Days Later – Eclitsic:
I snapped out of stasis. Ice cracked off my body. I looked around—icy wasteland. Flat terrain. Snowy igloos. Towering ice mountains. Blizzard winds screamed around me.
The sky was white with falling snow. I could barely see. I could barely hear. Snow piled high on the cliffs and frozen rocks, forming big soft mounds.
I was still in dragon form… but my wings?
I tried to fly—instant pain. Crashed back to the ground.
I looked—tiny ice spikes stuck to my wings. That's why I couldn't fly. I'd been in stasis too long—six days maybe?
I saw it—my own silhouette, shattered in the ice. Yup, stasis for real.
But no time to panic.
Find the beast. Then move to the next world. That's the plan.
Then—(CRASH)—a massive boom echoed.
My ears perked. My eyes locked on the source. I ran, even though the cold bit through my scales. Reached the edge of a cliff and—yo. I wasn't just on a frozen field. I was on a tower.
Down below?
Jocabed and Emely were fighting. Fighting him—the guy who punched me into next week. Or at least someone who looked like him.
Ice and snow clashed with shadow beasts. One lunged at Emely, snatching her by her trident and yeeting her across the ice.
Nope. Not standing by.
I morphed to base form. My hero suit clicked into place. Celestial energy surged through me, crackling bright.
I leapt from the cliff.
Energy trails flared behind me. I slammed into the field like a meteor. The shockwave shattered the air, knocking the monsters back and flattening the area.
I stood, hoodie flapping, breath steaming.
The enemy rose too—eyes glowing, hands twisted into claws, teeth sharp.
"Who are you?! Why are you hunting us?! I don't even know you!"
He smirked. "Alright, alright. Name's Incarceration. Villain name… Insane X."
My eyes widened. Incarceration… the Zenith traitor. The fourth strongest. This is bad.
I pulled out my daggers. Gripped them tight. Eyes locked.
I sprinted, blades behind me, flipped the dagger forward, spun—slashed his cheek.
Only a drop of blood came out.
He lunged. Right at me—he grabbed my body and hurled me across the frozen field like I was nothing.
As I flipped backward, I slammed onto the icy ground, skidding like a comet. I gritted my teeth, surged up, and infused celestial energy into my daggers while charging back at him like a blazing meteor. I slashed across his chest—blood sprayed out like fireworks—then slid on my heels and dashed in again.
I spin-dropped the dude with a crackling shockwave, but all it did was send him flying back a few miles. He skidded, stood up, and scoffed like it was a warm-up.
Snap.
"Hmph. You're pretty strong," Incarceration muttered, red eyes glowing, "but not strong ENOUGH."
His arm launched forward—and five shadowy chains exploded toward me, faster than thought. I dodged left, ducked right, teleporting between them like a blur. More came. I flickered around them, then reappeared right in front of him.
"50-50-50 CELESTIAL DROPKICK!"
My legs slammed into his chest, a celestial shockwave roaring from the impact as he tumbled across the battlefield, rolling like a busted wheel.
I holstered my daggers and charged again, energy snapping around me. Right hook—left hook—backhand to the face. I spun into a Galactical Uppercut, launching him into the sky, teleported above, and slammed him down hard into the frozen earth.
BOOM.
He got up, bloody and scarred, like nothing happened.
I blinked. "…Why aren't you fighting back?"
He laughed. Not a normal laugh. A vile, bone-chilling laugh. The snow around him cracked beneath his feet. His eyes flashed again.
"Don… you don't get it, do you?" he said, standing tall. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help."
I froze. "What are you talking about? You're a villain—not some motivational speaker!"
I hurled a celestial spear at him. He caught it mid-air and crushed it into atoms.
Then he blurred—bam bam!—two jabs and a spinning sidekick to my face. He grabbed my head, slammed me into the ground, spun, and launched me through an ice wall. I flew like a ragdoll, crashing through, ice shards raining down like glass.
He wrapped a chain around me, swung me like a flail.
Wind whistled past my ears. Everything spun. I was losing control. And then—
BOOM.
Dark energy erupted from him like a nuke, and suddenly, I was falling. Falling through complete nothingness. Just… black. Endless black.
Then—
SLAM.
I face-planted onto a cold, metallic floor. I groaned, pulling myself up—and saw nothing. Just darkness.
Until a million glowing red eyes blinked open above me.
Incarceration's voice echoed:
"You can't run, Don… you can't run from your past."
Suddenly, a massive bloody hand yanked me into the sky and hurled me through the void. I spun—and landed in my old 5th grade classroom.
"What the—WHAT'S GOING ON?! INCARCERATION! WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, STOP IT!"
I looked around. There I was. Sitting at my desk. Pulling out my folder.
And then it hit me.
The old crush moment.
"No. No no no—NOT THIS—"
The scene played out. Everyone laughing. Me dying inside. And then I heard his voice again:
"I'm not DON-e yet…"
Another shadow hand smashed me through the floor—suddenly, the school dance. Cafeteria lights. I looked at the stage. Oh god.
It was the time I sang. Badly. In front of everyone.
I'd had fun at the time… but when I got back to class? Laughed at. Mocked. I clenched my fists.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" I screamed.
No sign of him. Just his voice.
"Because… I'm trying to give you a recap."
Then it kept happening. Over and over. Memory after memory. All the embarrassing, painful ones. They swirled around me like ghosts in a storm. The void turned into soup—just… swirling shame and failure.
Incarceration's voice boomed again:
"YOU SEE THIS, DON?! YOU WERE A JOKE! LAUGHED AT! MOCKED BY YOUR FRIENDS! THAT'S WHAT THEY REALLY THINK OF YOU!"
"They were KIDS! They didn't mean it like that!" I shouted back. "They're my friends! It's just how they are!"
"RIGHT! RIGHT! When they LAUGH at you, when they EMBARRASS you, when they YELL at you for messing up—that's friendship?! You still call that loyalty?!"
"I'LL PROVE THEM WRONG! I'LL BECOME THE CELESTIANITE LEADER—I'M NOT WEAK!"
A pause.
Then Incarceration's voice, chillingly low:
"…No. I mean show them the other way."
I blinked. "Other way?"
Silence. Then—
"I want you to kill them."
"WHAT?!" I shouted, face twisted in horror. "NO! I'M NOT KILLING MY FRIENDS!"
"Very well," he whispered darkly.
Suddenly, I heard something whistling from the sky.
I looked up.
An AXE was inches from splitting my skull in half—
(In a Snowy Igloo at Eclitsic):
"AH!"
I shot up off the mat like I'd been blasted by a rocket—light speed, no chill. Huffing and puffing like I just ran a marathon in the Arctic.
I glanced around. Yep, small igloo vibes, walls made of those icy blue blocks that look like they belong in a winter wonderland ad. Outside, the sun was shining like it was flexing, crystal-clear blue sky with zero clouds crashing the party.
Penguins waddled outside, snow glittering like it was sprinkled with diamonds. I reached to check myself—no stab wounds, no leaks. Hero suit still fresh, clean, and intact. Relief.exe activated. Must've been a nightmare.
Then Jocabed slid in—she's the mixed-skin girl rocking long hair and a blue sweatshirt, Arctic Fox vibes with those ears and tail on point. She gave me the classic side-eye.
"Bout time, you've been snoozing forever," she said.
I blinked, still a little dazed. "Wait, what? Everyone's here? Prince, Demaurion, Archie, Olsen, Ella, Angel, Power—all of them? And Incarceration isn't around? He didn't pop up and start throwing down with you or Emely?"
Before Jocabed could answer, Emely strolled in, rocking a green fluffy jacket, frog hat, glasses, and clutching her trident like a boss. Mixed skin and long hair, too—she's basically winter's hype girl. She gave me a raised eyebrow and said,
"What are you talking about? Incarceration? No clue. That whole 'Incarcer-who' thing is news to me. But the rest? Yeah, they're already outside waiting for you. They've been hyped to see you after five days of total isolation—and—"
She kept rambling, words flying like snowflakes caught in a blizzard.
Jocabed cut in, "Don, you good? You've been tossing and turning since you woke. Where did you even hear about this Incarceration dude?"
Wait... HUH?
"You don't know who Incarceration is? He literally attacked us HOURS ago! Where am I? Why am I here? I was falling through some dark void!" I blurted out, voice rising.
Both of them exchanged looks like I just landed from another planet. Jocabed opened her mouth, hesitating, "Don, I think you need to rest…"
Hold up—no way. They have to be hallucinating.
I'm 99.9% sure I saw Incarceration. I definitely fell through a void after going toe-to-toe with him. And I'm super sure I crashed into the icy depths of Eclitsic, freezing solid for five whole days.
Wait—am I losing it? Or was all of that just some crazy nightmare? Did that Hydra fight even happen?
Shaking off the fog, I stood up, stepped out of the igloo, and headed straight for training.
Maybe... just maybe, I gotta stop overthinking all this and focus on leveling up my moves.
Yeah, maybe it was just a nightmare...