Alright, on to the last part! Mentions of violence and abuse and death, but if you are already here, you should be fine :P Soranryu


Trans-core blinked slowly as the pain slowly registered in his mind. It was still dark out, so it's probably still too early to be awake. Gently, he removed the hand around his waist and slid out of bed, careful of the sleeping dragon next to him. The blue dragon covered Maelstrom with the blanket once again before swimming over to where the healers were staying.

This has become his normal routine ever since Maelstrom returned to them. The early hours after Maelstrom's abuse, he would head over to the healers to remove signs of the abuse. Then morning would come and he would act like nothing happened, staying quietly by their Vanguard's side. The Maelstrom now preferred him to keep his silence.

Reaching his destination, he gently knocked before entering. "Trans-core," the elder Ice Floe Angel greeted him, "Here, take a seat." He did what he was told and she started healing him. Silence ensued between them. This Ice Floe Angel was the oldest among all, being one of the first to be born when Cray started to exist. That being said, her healing power is still the strongest among all the healers and she herself was enough to heal his injuries.

Once she was done, Trans-core bent down to rest his cheek against hers as a form of thank-you and respect. "You can't keep this up forever, young one," she said softly, her heart crying out for him. "I know, but I will," the dragon replied, his voice equally soft. When he turned back to give her a small smile, the elder's heart broke.

Trans-core was so broken, there was barely any of himself left in that body. And yet, he continued to take the brunt of Maelstrom's punishment for them to protect them so that the maroon dragon don't regret his actions when he returns to normal. That conviction to protect everything despite his crumbling body and heart was too much for the elder and she turned to the heavens.

Interlocking her fingers together, she prayed, "Someone, please, stop that young dragon's sacrifice."


"Oh, you're back," Maelstrom's voice greeted him and he nodded silently. He felt slight fear creeping into his heart because Maelstrom never wakes up so early. Keeping his head slightly down, as usual, he stood and waited for Maelstrom's next move. The maroon dragon seemed to sense his caution as he chuckled coming over to him.

Wrapping gentle arms around Trans-core, Maelstrom crooned, "Cautious, are we? That's a good boy. I'm so sorry for being so harsh last night. Do you still hurt anywhere?" His voice was like soft silk, convincing Trans-core's tensed muscles to relax a little. Trans-core gave a small shake of his head to answer Maelstrom's question, not trusting his own voice.

Maelstrom scanned the blue dragon's body thoroughly. "I'm glad," he smiled in satisfaction when he found no remaining injury. He then raised a hand and lifted Trans-core's head gently so that their eyes met. Cold white bore into blank gold before Maelstrom leant down, giving his mate a sweet kiss. At once, Trans-core's body tensed up, going shock-still.

Unoffended, Maelstrom pulled away slowly, giving one last nuzzle to his snout before pulling away. "I made breakfast, so hurry up and eat before it gets cold. I'm going first, come once you're done," he instructed, his voice keeping the silkiness from before. Once Trans-core sat down and started eating, he left the house with a smirk.

Looking at him leave, thoughts hounded Trans-core. Even though the cold treatment he was now used to every morning was absent, the tender moment from earlier felt wrong. Very wrong. Indeed, that was how the old Maelstrom, his Maelstrom would act, but Trans-core knew it wasn't that Maelstrom is reverting back to his original self. It was entirely different, a warning to Trans-core not to do anything unnecessary.

Just give him up and leave; he is no longer the one we love. We do not have to do so much for him, a voice in his head piped up. It was his logic. I can't. I love him too much, his heart and instincts objected. What is the point in all this? We did so much for him, and yet not once did he return our love. Face it, our mate is gone, replaced by this monster. He's no longer coming back! His head screamed at him, trying to make him see reason.

Trans-core squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his head, no, I can't and I won't! He's not dead; he's there, somewhere within. He'll come back! I'll keep waiting until my last breath. With that, Trans-core steeled his resolved and shut his logic out. Shaking his head to clear it, he quickly finished his breakfast. Maelstrom won't like it if he's late.


As expected, Maelstrom was once again cold and distant when Trans-core took his place by his side. The maroon dragon did nothing, not even spare a glance, to acknowledge his existence. Disappointment and sadness grew within Trans-core, but he pushed them aside immediately, making sure that his emotionless mask was not broken. He knew this already, had seen it coming, no point getting upset.

Just then, Maelstrom snapped his head up and stared into the distance, as if waiting for something. A few moments of waiting and soon black mist was closing in on them. The sky darkened to a blood red, and the ocean followed suit. "Void," the word came out of Trans-core's mouth in a breath, but no one took notice.

"Since the battles on Cray are not wielding any outcome, that blasted lion had gathered humans to lead the battles! Your every move is now controlled by your human Vanguard! Have fun!" Void's voice cackled around them before the black mist engulfed Aqua Force's entire settlement. Screams from the weaker units can be heard as well as roars from the dragons, but they could do nothing.

Surprisingly, the mist cleared after some time later and Aqua Force found themselves fighting the Narukami clan, the clan of the Thunder dragons. Before he knew it, Trans-core was locked in a battle with Thunder Break Dragon, while Maelstrom and Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion faced off. "How dare you!" Kaiser Vermillion roared, his fury and anguish washing over them, "How dare you seal up Overlord to free yourself! What did my brother ever do to you?!"

Trans-core's eyes widened in shock at the news. "What?" he questioned under his breath. "Please drop the act," Thunder Break snorted in disgust, "Everyone knew that your beloved Maelstrom sealed up Overlord, Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark in exchange for his freedom." As he parried off the Narukami's blow with his anchor, he shook his head, "I'm not! I swear, none of us knew!" At his denial, Thunder Break snarled, "Lies! He's your Vanguard, how can you guys not know?!"

Now that he knew the truth, Trans-core can hear his heart beating wildly. All other sounds became muted and he was left with his thoughts, his body going into auto-pilot to fight Thunder Break. Maelstrom sealed three Leaders to free himself…It can't be…Maelstrom would never do that! As he thought that, he looked towards Maelstrom and inhaled sharply when he saw the crazed grin on his face.

"Who…are…you…?" he whispered brokenly. Maybe…his logic was right all along. Maelstrom IS gone. His kind Maelstrom that was loved by all is gone. Trans-core's mind and heart withered and shut down as he focused back Thunder Break. Leading his opponent into Maelstrom's line of vision, he said firmly, "We didn't know, none of us. He just came back one day, out of the blue."

Thunder Break did not take nicely his words, believing that he was still lying, let out an enraged roar and charged, his sword aimed at his chest. At the last second, Trans-core made eye contact with Maelstrom and dropped his anchor. The golden anchor landed with a loud "thud" and a sickening sound was heard when Thunder Break's sword impaled the blue dragon.

Coughing out blood, Trans-core maintained eye contact with Maelstrom, his gold eyes pleading and soft. Before Maelstrom could stop it, an anguished roar left his throat, "TRANS-CORE!" However, instead of stopping, due to Leon crossriding him, he transformed into his most powerful form - Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom.

All mundane thoughts were lost to him as he struck at his opponents. He only knew one thing – to pass judgement, and that he shall do. For the sake of his clan, he will pass judgement to those who had forsaken them. Anyone who tries to stop him will be defeated, friend or foe. With that sole purpose in his mind, he unleashed his power and took out the Narukami soon enough.


Maelstrom stared down at the dragon on the ground. Red was spreading on the white bandage on his chest. The silvery-blue scales had dimmed, becoming dull like waste metal. The golden eyes were shut and the face held a peaceful expression even though Maelstrom knew the wound hurt like hell. Trans-core's breathing was even, but shallow, showing how critical his condition was.

They have won against the Narukami, seeing that Leon had won against their human Vanguard, Kai Toshiki. As they could not go back to their settlement, stuck in this battlefield until the war is over, they made a temporary camp. "Sir, his wound is quite worrying. Hopefully, we can go back to the settlement soon," the elder Ice Floe Angel swam up to him, but still maintain a certain distance from him.

"Will his condition turn for the better if we return?" Maelstrom asked, devoid of emotions. The older unit nodded her head, "My herbs that are of better quality and effectiveness are all left behind. Not only that, I can't use any more of what I have on him, or there won't be any left for the rest of the troop." Maelstrom nodded his head and dismissed her, settling down beside the unconscious Trans-core.

"Why did you do that?" he murmured. There were two voices arguing in his head, one saying that Trans-core deserved it for doing something unnecessary, the other one saying that he's fault that Trans-core ended up like this. It was getting annoying, but before Maelstrom could dwell any further, or answer his own question for that matter, Leon called them to another battle.

This time, they were up against the Gold Paladin, led by the human Vanguard Aichi Sendou. Soon, both Maelstrom and Gold Paladin's Vanguard, Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel, were called out to battle. "Give up the fight, Maelstrom!" Ezel demanded, slashing at the dragon. Maelstrom dodged that attack and launched his own, "I refuse! I finally got out; there's no way I'm going back to being sealed!"

The lion shook his head, "No, you don't get it! Void was the one who sealed you, surely you remember that much! Work together with us! We'll defeat Void and free the Leaders!" Hearing that, Maelstrom sneered, "Work together?! That's just like you Paladins, all about working together! Things don't always go well when you work together! There are things that can only be achieved when sacrifices were made!"

When the word "sacrifices" came out of his mouth, his mind thought back to Trans-core making that deal with him, to hurt him and only him and spare the rest of the clan. That memory left a bitter taste in his mouth and he focused back on Ezel again, "And why should we help you? Where were you when Aqua Force needed your help?!" To emphasise his point, Maelstrom shot a barrage of missiles at the lion.

As the smoke cleared, Ezel wiped away the blood that had flowed down to his face via a superficial cut on his forehead, "I will admit that was a mistake. We did try to save Aqua Force, Maelstrom, but Void was too strong for us. But indeed, it was wrong of us to forsake you completely. We should have tried harder, longer, to look for you guys and free you.

"However, we are now paying for that mistake. Void is still too strong for us to take alone. We need your strength! If you stand together with us, all of Cray will once again welcome Aqua Force with open arms!" With that, Ezel charged forward, his blades forming an 'X' in front of him. Maelstrom took the hit and flung Ezel aside, sending the smaller unit crashing onto the floor.

He landed and pinned Ezel to the ground, hard, to the point of choking him, "You made it sound so easy, lion, but what do you know of our agony? We ruled the Seven Seas! The effort and time it took could outlive you! And then what? It was all gone in five seconds. I knew what was going on in that bloody crystal!

"I knew of my clan's anguish and confusion. I knew of their sufferings to survive. I knew of their dying hope as they tried and tried to get me out and still failed. You know what the worst was?" Maelstrom asked, snarling down on Ezel, "The worst, out of all, was the fact that my mate was crying out there and I couldn't hold him! He was the one who saw me got locked up by Void, and yet he was the one who never gave up on me!"

"Then…why do you…hurt him…?" the soft, pained voice of Ezel reached him and he froze. Why…? All the times he abused Trans-core swam into his mind. Why? "He's hurt…is he not? For you…" Ezel continued, stirring confusion in Maelstrom's heart. Why?Why?Why?Why?Why? The question kept repeating in his head, as Trans-core's silent screams of pain echoed in his mind.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "I DON'T KNOW!" he roared, his mind a torrent of feelings and thoughts. At that exact moment, Leon crossride again, and Maelstrom transformed into Glory Maelstrom, banishing all thoughts. Somewhere along the battle, Ezel had also transformed to Platina Ezel, due to Aichi crossriding him.

Ezel tried to talk to Maelstrom again, but a shimmering hand stopped him. He turned around to find Blaster Blade's spirit. He was shocked, to say the least, but then the spirit shook his head, "It's no point talking to him. In that form, he can't hear anyone anymore." Understanding that defeating the maroon dragon was the only way, he turned to face the dragon and charged.

It was true that Maelstrom can't hear anyone else, in the way that he refused to listen to anyone else, but for the first time in this form, he was thinking about something else other than judgement. He was thinking about the beautiful dragon that was his mate. His memories of the past were blurry, being tempered with before he was unsealed, but he remembered the soft touches of Trans-core.

He remembered the soft voice, the soft smile and the soft glow of silvery-blue. Everything about Trans-core is soft, except for his personality and strength. Then, his mind flitted back to the time after he returned, on how he treated the blue dragon. He was rough and he was sure everything he did to Trans-core hurt, but the blue dragon has never said a word, only returning gentle touches of his own.

"Welcome back," Trans-core had whispered, on the first night of his return, the night he promised not to hurt anyone else of the clan, after he fell asleep. He was barely awake and vaguely heard it, so he had dismissed it. But now, thinking back, he knew he heard Trans-core clearly. Even though he had been so cold and evil, Trans-core still loves him.

That thought hit Maelstrom hard, shattering the walls Maelstrom had built around his heart to lock away unnecessary feelings. With the walls down, everything was released and flooded his body. The anger of being sealed up by Void, the sadness and frustration of losing power and seeing his clan fall and the pain of losing and then hurting his mate gripped his heart, choking him. The feelings brought forth tears he never thought he was capable of producing.

Ezel started when he saw the tears dripping down from Maelstrom's eyes. However, it was too late for him to stop. Aichi had ordered him to attack, and this Maelstrom cannot escape. It is already their win. Once again, his twin blades sliced down in an 'X', squarely on the dragon's chest. There was no retaliation on Maelstrom's part, only a pain-filled roar.

It hurts…was the thought that popped out in Maelstrom's mind after Ezel's attacks. And yet, it seemed like his mind was much clearer, his confusion and anger gone. Peace settled over his mind when he knew that he no longer have to hurt anyone. He could hear Leon's shout too as Void fled from the human. However, things were not over yet, seeing that Void was gathering his mist.

"Ha! You think I would back off just because I lost! Never! Now, it is even easier for me to take over!" Void's triumphant laugh echoed all around Cray as he set his black mist. He had already covered half of Cray and know he was going to take the remaining half. "I won't let you!" Ezel turned into a ball of light and shot into the sky, standing in Void's way.

His light brought hope for everyone, but his power alone wasn't enough. "You're pathetic…" Maelstrom sighed, doing the same and joined the lion. With Maelstrom's added power, and slowly the other Vanguards started to contribute, they began to push Void's black mist back little by little. "Wha-? How-? No, I can't lose! NO!" Void's frantic cries only served to fuel the strength of theirs, and their light shone brighter.

Finally, with one last push, they managed to seal up Void, freeing the three Leaders. "Brother!" Kaiser Vermillion rushed forward to support Dragonic Overlord in a one-armed hug. "Blade! Dark!" Ezel, too, quickly offered support to his close friends. They quickly head for the ground so that the three Leaders can have a rest.

"Maelstrom," Blaster Blade stepped forward, offering a hand, "Welcome back to Cray. I am sure the ocean has plenty of space to accommodate Aqua Force." Surprised, Maelstrom looked at him with guilt, "Are you sure? My recent actions are not to be forgiven easily." "You were under the influence of Void," Blaster blade rebutted, giving him a friendly smile. Dragonic Overlord offered his hand as well, "If not, accept this as our apologies, for not offering enough help to your clan." Blaster Dark said nothing, but he offered his hand too.

Feeling thankful, Maelstrom shook all their hands one at a time. However, his good mood was sent crashing to the ground when a soft voice whispered in his mind, "I'm sorry…" He snapped his head in the direction of the temporary camp and dread filled him. "Trans-core…" he muttered, his heart going cold. "What?" Ezel questioned, a little startled.

"TRANS-CORE! NO!"


Skidding to a halt, his heart stopped at the sad looks his clanmates were giving him. "He…did not make it…" the elder Ice Floe Angel told him, breaking the news as gently as she could with tears streaming down her pink cheeks. Maelstrom sank to the ground, reaching out a shaky hand to touch the peaceful face. He cupped the blue snout gently in his hand and leant down tentatively, listening for breathing.

When he heard none, he shot up and stared at Trans-core's face, willing those golden eyes to open and look at him. Nothing happened and it finally sunk that Trans-core is dead, before Maelstrom could apologize for everything. "No…you can't…" Maelstrom could feel the sobs coming up, wrecking his body, "You can't leave me alone! Trans-core, please, you can't go! I haven't tell you how sorry I am for being such a bastard, for hurting you!"

"Please...Trans-core…come back…I beg you…" his cries filled the camp, and all of Aqua Force cried with him. They cried through the remaining day and cried through the night. The other clans wanted to help them move to their new home but decided to just let Aqua Force mourn first. Ezel and the three Leaders stayed and asked of their clans to camp further out until further notice.

It was the next day when Maelstrom sat up and got his clanmates to pack up and move. The Paladins and Kagero helped as well, moving everything from their temporary camp and their settlement to their new home. Maelstrom went back to the settlement to retrieve his and Trans-core's stuff before carrying Trans-core's body to their new home.

Once they settled down, the elder Ice Floe Angel quickly cleaned and sealed up Trans-core's wound and settled him in the middle of their new settlement. This is so that everyone can step forward to pay their respect to the blue dragon they have come to love. Not recovering from the grief of losing him, Aqua Force remained sitting vigil until it was time to bury him.


Trans-core groaned as he slowly stirred to consciousness. He opened his heavy eyelids by force only to see the ocean. It was calm; there was no disturbance whatsoever. The ocean was a beautiful turquoise and the soft sunlight that filtered in warmed his scales. His scales shimmered along with the ocean and he gave a sigh.

"Trans-core," a familiar voice broke the silence and he turned towards the source of the voice. It was Leon. Trans-core sat up from where he was lying and held out a palm for Leon to settle, "What are you doing here? Am I not dead?" Leon chuckled lightly and sat down, looking up at him with bright amethyst eyes, "Indeed you are dead."

The blond gave a smile, "However, I will not allow it. I promised you to get Maelstrom back. Now that he's back, I can't allow you to go." Trans-core blinked at his words, "Then how are you going to bring me back?" "Cards can be created through a Fighter's will. Just look at Kai," Leon chuckled again before resuming, "And hence, I am going to revive you using my will."

"Won't that be taxing on you?" the dragon asked in concern. The human waved it off, "I'll be fine. I want to do this as well. You have been a great mentor and companion, I will be upset if you leave us." Then, without waiting for Trans-core's answer, Leon stood and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his concentration and reopened his eyes, sending a wave of power over Trans-core. "Now go, return to your mate."

When Trans-core once again opened his eyes, the ocean met his sight again, but with the top of buildings. There was something heavy on his arm, and he slowly turned his head to see Maelstrom sleeping on his arm. Taking a shaky breath, Trans-core reached his other hand across his chest to gently stroke Maelstrom's cheek, ignoring the pain.

It seemed like Maelstrom wasn't really asleep because he snapped awake immediately at the touch. His wide eyes widened at the sight of Trans-core being alive and he just sat frozen, not knowing what to do. "Maelstrom…?" Trans-core called out weakly, hand reaching out for his mate. At the sound of his name, Maelstrom grabbed the hand and interlocked their fingers together, sitting closer to the blue dragon.

"You're alive…you're alive!" Maelstrom mumbled, repeating that phrase over and over again as he nuzzled Trans-core, breathing in his scent. When he finally accepted that Trans-core is very much alive, he helped Trans-core sit up and held him close, allowing the blue dragon to rest his head against his chest. "How?" he asked.

Trans-core sighed contently being in his mate's arms again, "Leon willed me back." "I see. He is a very good human Vanguard," Maelstrom commented, stroking Trans-core's head. The blue dragon hummed in agreement and they shared a silent moment. "You came back, young child!" the elder Angel swam up, her eyes shining with new tears, "Thank goodness!"

After that, more and more units woke up and soon everyone was celebrating that Trans-core was back from the dead. Since it was night, celebrations were postponed to the next night and all retired back to their new quarters. When they were back in theirs, Maelstrom gently set Trans-core down on the bed before climbing in himself, hovering over his mate.

"No mating, Maelstrom," Trans-core teased, his smile curving into a gentle smile. "I know; I wasn't planning to," Maelstrom replied, chuckling a little. Then, he looked into Trans-core's golden orbs as he said seriously, "I'm sorry, Trans-core, for everything. When I was trapped in the crystal, my anger and pain just kept growing. When I was free, together with my desire for revenge, these feelings completely changed me, turning me into that…monster. Void tempered with my memories as well, but that wasn't a valid excuse.

"Because of my own weakness, I couldn't fight the dark emotions and became a bastard to all of you. Especially you. Even till now, every time I remembered what I did to you, guilt starts eating my alive. Your death was the last straw; I was so ready to join you." Maelstrom then placed his forehead on Trans-core, closing his eyes.

"If you did take your own life, then you will have wasted my efforts," Trans-core said simply. Maelstrom pulled away a little to look at him questioningly. "I made that deal to protect Aqua Force so that when you come back, you won't feel guilty for hurting them. I was protecting them for you. If you were gone, then for what purpose have I sacrificed for?"

Maelstrom took some time to digest that before he sighed in defeat, "Alright, fine. I won't let myself die so easily in the future. But you can't just up and leave me either; you're mine." With a possessive growl, Maelstrom captured Trans-core's lips in a deep kiss.

"Welcome back…I'm sorry for everything…"


So...that's the end for this :( How was it? Hope it wasn't too bad. Do leave reviews ok? And also, if you have any unit pairings and want a story out of them, feel free to request! :D -Soranryu