Hi guys, new story here! After Undeletable and this one, I realised I quite like writing about the units. So, I got this pairing from reading the lores of Maelstrom and Trans-core, where Trans-core is Maelstrom's student. And since I do have a Aqua Force deck, I ended up falling in love with this pairing. Please enjoy! -Soranryu

A roar rang through the dark ocean before giving way to silence, causing the dragon to sigh. The return call he had hoped didn't sound. How many times has it been? He didn't know, because it didn't matter; time just flew past before he knew it. Anguish filled his heart as he turned to return to where his clan is.

As the speed he's travelling, he soon found the settlement of his people. Even though he accepted the fact that they had fallen, he still couldn't help but felt shocked that his once great clan has been reduced to an unknown clan. To make it worse, they have lost their leader, their Vanguard and…his mate.

"Trans-core, you're back," another dragon questioned, swimming up to him. Sensing his anguish, the other dragon gave him a pat on the shoulder and led him back to his room. Once back in his room, Trans-core spoke, "You can go, Navalgazer, I'll be fine." The other dragon, Navalgazer, nodded and turned to leave, but then he turned back, "Tran-score, we know you miss him; he is your mate after all. Don't just worry about Aqua Force; remember to give yourself some time to grief as well."

With that, the other dragon left. He understood what Navalgazer was trying to say, but he can't just break down. He still has to look after Aqua Force, his clan, which his mate had spent his life to build and protect. Of course, he knows that the other dragons will take care of the weaker units, but he felt this huge responsibility to personally look after all of them.

Maybe…it's because his mate is the clan's leader. Blue-Storm Dragon, Maelstrom, is their esteemed Vanguard. Everyone in Aqua Force looked up to him, for he is the strongest and the smartest out of all of them. More importantly, it's because of how he respects everyone's abilities, even the weaker units, that everyone respects and loves him. That…is also why Trans-core had fallen for him.

Maelstrom had promised him to rule the seas together with their clan the night they became mates, but that promise became impossible when Maelstrom was captured by Void, who was also responsible for Aqua Force's downfall. Everyone became devastated and lost their will to fight when Maelstrom was sealed away, succumbing to the Void's attacks.

Even so, Trans-core refused to give up. He had fought vigorously with Void, unleashing his inner instincts, until his anchor was flung away. With his defeat, Aqua Force was truly defeated and the Void left them there, trapped forever under the ocean.

Lying back onto his bed, Trans-core stared up at the blank ceiling, "You have taught me all that I know. How am I supposed to defeat the Void when not even you can?" That's right, even since he could remember, Maelstrom was there with him, teaching him everything there is to know- fighting, battle styles, warfare etc.

To him, Maelstrom wasn't just a lover, but also a mentor and a friend. The blue dragon was a quiet dragon since birth, so he doesn't easily open up to anyone. That is, until he met Maelstrom, the charming dragon with maroon body, blue armour and huge cannons for wings. The first time he saw him, Trans-core was taken aback by Maelstrom's charisma and power, and he knew Maelstrom would be a great leader when he matures.

After their first meeting out of the settlement and in the ocean, when Maelstrom was taking a break from training and Trans-core out exploring, Tran-score became attracted to Maelstrom. He'd secretly wished that the older dragon would seek him out and hang out with him, only to push that thought away and deemed it impossible.

Who knew, Maelstrom did exactly that, approaching him the next day during his training. Since then, the maroon dragon always comes to him when he has the time. As they stayed with each other, the two dragons became closer and developed feelings for each other. On the day when Maelstrom stepped up to take the position of Aqua Force's Vanguard, he confessed his feelings for the blue dragon to the entire clan.

Even though Maelstrom was new at leading the clan, all their clanmates were generous and helped him learn the ways of being a leader. Under Maelstrom's rule, their clan slowly gained power and prosper, taking their time in conquering the seas. Because of their respect for Maelstrom, Aqua Force never caused any trouble, giving him much time to spend with Trans-core.

With that personal time, Maelstrom trained him and even helped him find his weapon, the Doom's Anchor. Unbefitting of its name, the Doom's Anchor is a bright shade of gold, and yet went perfectly with Trans-core's shimmering blue body. Maelstrom then voiced out that it was perfect for him, and he agreed wholeheartedly.

Ever since then, Maelstrom started to bring Trans-core out into the empty area of the sea near their camp just to train and spend time with each other. It was a selfish little request from the maroon dragon because he wants to keep his mate to himself, to keep prying eyes away from his beautiful mate.

It's true; Trans-core is really beautiful. As mentioned before, his slim body was covered in silver-blue scales, and when he moves in the water, his scales shimmer and change colours from blue to silver and back. Together with his Doom's Anchor, Trans-core is the embodiment of shining beauty. It was also because of his beauty that he was named the "Blue Flight Dragon, Trans-core dragon".

However, as Aqua Force became stronger and more well-known, Maelstrom became busier, planning attacks and conquering areas. Just like that, the amount of time he spends with Trans-core decreased. Not only him, Trans-core was also busy taking over the job training the units. It didn't matter, because their feelings for each other are as strong as ever.

Just when they thought things were going well, the Void struck. It was one of the rare moments Maelstrom and Trans-core were free, and they were just enjoying each other's company outside in that empty space. Maelstrom was just contented to hold Trans-core, and the blue dragon gladly complied, lying quietly in his mate's arms.

Everything happened in a split second. One moment they were eying the black mist suspiciously, and the next Maelstrom was ripped apart from Trans-core. They didn't have time to react and soon enough Aqua Force found themselves defeated and their Vanguard captured. As the Void left with Maelstrom, the units of Aqua Force could only stare helplessly.

As night fell, everyone started to head back into the fallen buildings of their ruined camp to seek shelter, no one having the mood to fix anything. By the time midnight came, Trans-core was the only one left in the middle, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. No one ever saw Tans-core shed tears, so everyone could tell the anguish he was feeling from losing his mate.

And that night, Trans-core, who always shines the brightest with his beauty in the dark, seemed to have lost his glow.

Gold eyes snapped open and stared blankly at the ceiling. Placing a hand on top of his chest, Trans-core tried to calm himself down by taking in deep breaths. He must have fallen asleep while reminiscing the past, when everything was okay, when…he still had Maelstrom.

Realising that his thoughts were straying again, he quickly shook his head and got up. It was about time to start training anyway, so he might as well get going. Even if Aqua Force is isolated without anyone's knowledge of them, they weren't giving up. All of them are still training hard, hoping to become strong enough to free their Vanguard.

"Trans-core, we're just about to start!" Revvon, another powerful Grade 3 dragon, called out to him. As Trans-core approached them, Cobaltwave, also a Grade 3 dragon and Navalgazer's mate, asked quietly, "You feeling better?" Trans-core nodded, giving him a small smile. If there's anything good about Maelstrom's absence, was that Trans-core had become closer with all his clanmates.

Giving a pat to his shoulder, Cobaltwave accompanied him to the rest. Once there, they all started training, which is just sparring between each other. Sometimes, the stronger units will teach the weaker units some advanced fighting moves or styles because the weaker units have a harder time with those. Other times, they will try to figure a new fighting style or a new skill. All in all, their training was not done half-heartedly.

In the middle of sparring with the other Grade 3s, a patrol of Battle Sirens swam up to them. "Everyone, we found where Maelstrom-sama was sealed!" Mallika, a Grade 0 Battle Siren, exclaimed excitedly. At this, all dropped whatever they were doing and gathered around the Battle Sirens.

"That's right; we found the cave where Maelstrom-sama was sealed up, but we weren't strong enough to enter the barrier," Callista confirmed calmly. She then turned to Trans-core, "Want to come and take a look?" The dragon stood frozen, thinking. He kept hoping Maelstrom would respond to his call only to be disappointed. And yet, they have found him, in the same ocean. Does he dare to see his mate, all sealed up and frozen in time?

In the end, Trans-core nodded to Callista's invitation and followed the Grade 2 Battle Siren when she started to swim away. They travelled for some time in silence, because Callista knew that the dragon needed some quiet time. They soon stopped in front of a wall of underwater mountains with no way to swim through it.

"What now?" Trans-core asked softly, looking over to the siren. She scanned the bottom of the mountains and started to swim down to the foot, coming to a stop at a hidden entrance. "It's a maze down in there, but we marked our way when we left. As long as we followed those markings, we can find him," Callista explained.

Trans-core nodded and held out a hand, asking her to lead the way. And then, they both went in, the entire maze big enough even for the dragon to enter and move freely.

They went through many twists and turns, but Trans-core was confident that they weren't lost. He had seen the Battle Sirens' markings and he trusts them; they know how much Maelstrom meant to everyone, to him, so they won't joke around with this.

Soon, they reached a space that was murkier than the other parts of the cave. "This is the barrier I'm talking about," Callista explained, holding her hand up to touch it. She quickly withdrew her hand with a wince when electrical sparks flew out. She then looked at him, "I barely made it in just now, but I saw him. Maelstrom-sama is really in there."

"Thank you, Callista," he nodded, stepping forward to the black mist. Reaching a hand up to it, he felt a tingling sensation, but that's all. And so, he pushed on and walked into the black mist. In the mist, everything was dark emptiness. There was no sound, no light, just empty void. If it wasn't for the Doom's Anchor emitting its light, he would have gotten lost. If it wasn't for his love for Maelstrom, he would have given up.

Gripping his Anchor harder, Trans-core pushed on, erasing all thoughts from his head. His persistence bore fruit when he saw a huge purple crystal ahead. Following his heartbeat, his footsteps increased before coming to an abrupt stop in front of the crystal. But…there's nothing inside it.

That's not right; Callista couldn't have lied to him, could she? Besides, Trans-core is picking up a presence in there. "Maelstrom…?" he whispered, placing a hand on the crystal. As if by magic, the black emptiness gave way to a familiar face at where his hand was. However, the face was frozen with eyes closed, as if it was a painting.

"Maelstrom!" a broken gasp escaped his lips once he saw his mate. Dropping his anchor, he leant forward and placed both hands and his forehead against the crystal, "I missed you so much…" Silent tears rolled down and mingled with the cold ocean, disappearing into the dark waters.

Trans-core stayed like this for some time, concentrating hard on the soft, almost inaudible heartbeat of his beloved. It was slow and regular, as if he was sleeping. Maybe he was, forced to sleep when he was sealed away. Just hearing that familiar heartbeat again gave Trans-core strength to carry on.

As much as he would like to stay here with Maelstrom, he knew it was impossible. He still has his clan to take care of, and the Void might return to check on his hostage anytime. Thinking up to here, he pulled away and stared at the peaceful face. Caressing the crystal softly with a lover's touch, he whispered, "I won't let you stay here too long, understand?"

With that, he picked up his anchor and left quickly, not looking back. Because if he did, he would have seen the small twitch of Maelstrom's arm. Because if he did, he won't bear to leave.

"So, come back soon…"

So..how was it? This is the first part of the trilogy, hope it wasn't too bad! I got inspiration for the title style from Beast(k-pop band)'s Say No/Take care of my girlfriend. Do check out the song, it's not bad (shamelessly advertising)! -Soranryu