After a very nice night, everyone was sound asleep in bed. But unbeknownst to them, their relaxation could only last so long. Right now, three dangerous looking beings were headed to Earth as they closed in on Edmonton specifically. Though why this area stood out to them was anyone's guess.

Either way, after a couple of hours, they crash-landed outside city limits, but despite the fact that they were not in a space shuttle, neither one seemed to have taken in any damage from this. As such, the female wolf looked at her arms while the male examined his shield-like mane.

The dragon folded his arms and said, "There's no need to examine yourselves. My power not only allows us to breathe in space. It also makes for a much smoother landing than if we came by spacecraft."

"Most impressive," the female replied with a nod, "And now that we are here in Edmonton, we can challenge the three who have given off such a powerful signal. I hope that they are as worthy as you say they are."

The dragon nodded and replied, "Worry not. I have no doubt in my mind that this trio will be perfect for what we have planned. After all, they not only have an interesting history but they have also earned themselves an amazing reputation."

The male wolf nodded and asked, "Should we issue our challenge now?" only for the dragon to state, "No. They are likely sleeping right now and I wish to face them at full strength."

With that in mind, all three strangers decided to wait outside in the cold. The male wolf sat cross-legged with his arms folded while the female rested against a nearby tree. The dragon, however, remained upright. While it was cold outside, all three of them had the perfect bodies for such weather.

Once morning came, Vaporeon awoke with a yawn and headed to the kitchen to start on breakfast. Sure enough, Scorbunny was already up and at it when she spotted the fox. She then approached her and asked, "Hey, Vaporeon. Want some help?"

Vaporeon nodded with a light smile and said, "Of course," bringing out some flour and adding, "I feel like pancakes today."

"Sweet!" Scorbunny squealed as she brought out the eggs and milk from the fridge. As it so happened, Rillaboom told Vaporeon how the rabbit had made breakfast for them during her time in the hospital and how good the overall quality was. As such, the two of them made it a habit to always cook together.

Just as they were about to start, though, Drizzile burst into the kitchen and gasped, "Guys, have you seen the morning news!?" holding up his cell phone and showing live footage of a big black hole that had formed in the sky. Surrounding it was what looked like reddish-orange fire as many people had exited their homes to gaze upon it.

Sure enough, the three strangers were both right underneath the hole as thankfully, it had not yet attempted to pull anything in. The dragon descended toward the ground after he spotted the nearby camera people, bringing the wolves with him and landing gently against the surface. Everyone stared in stunned silence while Vaporeon uttered, "Who are these guys?"

"Whoever they are, I have a feeling they're behind this," Scorbunny grunted only for the other two to stare awkwardly at her, Drizzile sighing, "You don't say."

Rillaboom soon entered the area and said, "Good morning," only to blink and utter, "What's everyone looking at?"

Morgrem spotted this when she looked out her window. As such, she immediately ran into Rolycoly's room and shook him by the shoulder, barking, "Hey, buddy, wake up! There's something going on!"

When the golem joined her by the window, his eyes and mouth were wide with terror. And it was not long until both suited up in their winter coats and headed outside, Morgrem riding toward the location of the hole atop Rolycoly.

After the dragon landed in front of the concerned citizens, he cleared his throat and stated, "Fear not, people of Earth. That black hole you see in the sky is my own creation, meaning that I can control it, and I do not wish to use it to consume your world."

The people were unsure whether to feel relieved or not. As such, one reporter approached him, held up her microphone and enquired, "If that's the case, why did you create the hole in the first place?"

"Well, perhaps I should be more specific," the dragon replied, "I do not wish to consume your world just yet. In fact, I'm not sure if I will. Right now, I'm waiting for three particular individuals to come here and help me make that decision."

Allie and her parents watched this from home while seated at the table for breakfast. The girl bit her lower lip as she had a good idea of which three he was talking about. As such, she turned to her parents who nodded before Brian rose up from his seat to get dressed into his daytime clothes.

Vaporeon narrowed her eyelids and growled, "Well, he's obviously referring to us," Rillaboom stroking her chin and replying, "Yeah, but why only three of us? And which three exactly?"

Scorbunny frowned and replied, "Well, whoever they're waiting for, it doesn't matter. We're all going anyway, right?" the other three nodding in agreement.

With that in mind, all four got dressed in their winter coats and headed out the door. After all, if they got sick on the way there, they would not be able to combat this threat as well as they would have liked to. Sure, by nature, Scorbunny could not get a cold, but it did not hurt to be careful.

Since Morgrem and Rolycoly were able to move faster, they were the first to arrive as the golem screeched to a halt. The goblin then leapt off of his back and pointed before she snapped, "Alright, two of the three you're looking for are here! Let me guess, you're here to challenge us, right!?"

The female wolf blinked and enquired, "Sir, are these two of the ones you're looking for?" the dragon folding his arms and remarking, "No," as both heroes could not help but feel insulted, though they were not entirely sure why.

Shortly after that, Allie and her folks arrived before the girl exited the car and ran toward Morgrem and Rolycoly. Both stared at her while she asked, "Hey, are the others here yet?" the golem replying, "No, though it seems this guy is waiting for three of them. I guess we're not good enough."

Thankfully, though, it did not take too long for Vaporeon and the others to arrive. All four breathed heavily before the male wolf turned and said, "Oh yes, surely those are the ones you wish to face, sir."

The dragon looked them over and replied, "As a matter of fact, they are," Rillaboom replying, "Well, what do you know? You were right on the money, Vaporeon."

"Well, of course," the fox replied with a shrug, "Who else would they want?" Morgrem and Rolycoly turning to her and barking, "YOU, TOO!?"

The dragon approached all four friends and said, "Oh yes, I can detect incredible power from the three of you. You are the ones with the stellar reputation here on Earth. And if I'm not mistaken, one of you is the world champion, correct?"

Drizzile nodded and replied, "Yeah, that would be me," the male wolf blinking and uttering, "Wow, I thought he'd be a lot bigger than that," the female shrugging and replying, "Guess it's true. You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Anyway," the dragon stated, "I apologize. Here I am prattling on about such matters when I have not yet introduced myself. I am Eternatus. And these here are my associates, Zacian and Zamazenta," pointing at the female and male in that order when he introduced them.

Zacian bowed her head and said, "It is a pleasure to meet three with such incredible potential," Zamazenta adding, "We have travelled all the way from Pluto to find you."

The people were truly amazed by all of this. Sure, super powered beings in their town were common. They had six living among them after all. But even so, something about these three in particular gave off a very impressive vibe, as if they were even more important than they already seemed.

"Can the pleasantries!" Rillaboom grunted, "We know you created that hole in the sky! What's it for!?" Morgrem and Rolycoly pouting and pressing their fingers together while Allie chuckled nervously and patted them on the back.

"Oh, yes," Eternatus replied, "This is the Eternal Vortex, also known as the Testing Void. See, I have been studying this planet for a long time, and it fascinates me. There is a lot of beauty on Earth, but out of all the planets in the solar system, it is also the most flawed."

"That is true," Zacian added, "From what he has told us, there are a lot of terrible people on this planet. In fact, many beings like us often try to enslave humanity for that very reason," Zamazenta adding, "Not to mention there has been a lot of war here in the past, or so I'm told."

"That is why I am strongly considering disposing of this planet," Eternatus stated as everyone gasped, "That is, unless the three fighters we have chosen can defeat us in a three-on-three match! You will join us within the void and face us!"

Vaporeon gritted her teeth and growled, "Fine! We accept your challenge! Now which three are you talking about!?" Eternatus sighing, "Right. I've beaten around the bush enough," thus he pointed his hands at Drizzile and Rillaboom before directing his tail toward Scorbunny.

Deep down, no one was really surprised by this, but it was still a tad difficult to process. Sure, Scorbunny, Rillaboom and Drizzile were very strong, but even they were unsure if they were truly worthy of such an important task. After all, there was far more at stake than usual this time.

But even so, Rillaboom took a deep breath and grunted, "Fine, then! If it's for the fate of the world, we'll do it!" Scorbunny adding, "Hell yeah! No one threatens our home planet and gets away with it!"

Drizzile took a deep breath and nodded as well, Allie uttering, "Wait, Mr. Eternatus, will we be able to see their match?"

"No," the dragon replied with a shake of his head, "The Eternal Vortex leads to a world that only I and anyone else of my choosing can access. I have heard about how many of you fighters often gain strength from the cheers of others. Therefor, I have chosen to even the playing field. In other words, these three will have to defeat us without anyone there to give them words of encouragement."

Zacian nodded and added, "Makes sense. After all, if these three really are the great warriors our leader thinks they are, they won't need such things," Zamazenta sighing, "I hope they at least provide a decent challenge."

Allie ran over to Drizzile and whimpered, "You'll be okay without me there, right?" the chameleon taking a deep breath and replying, "Yeah. I have the motivation and my friends helping me out. I'm sure we'll be okay."

The girl nodded and gave him a peck on the cheek before walking a small distance away from him. But just as Eternatus was about to activate his hole, Vaporeon snapped, "HOLD IT!"

Everyone stared silently at her while she grunted, "I'm not sure if you noticed, but there are six heroes stationed in Edmonton, not just three! I think at the very least, you shouldn't just decide to consume our world until you've gone through all of us!"

While this made sense to a lot of people, they were uncertain if Eternatus would agree to such terms. After all, he seemed dead set on the three he had chosen. Even the wolves figured Vaporeon's challenge was nothing more than a pointless gesture.

However, their eyes widened along with those of everyone else when the dragon folded his arms and replied, "Very well. I may not sense that great of potential within you, but your spirit is admirable. Therefor, you and your friends shall make for a good warmup."

Morgrem and Rolycoly blinked before he turned to them and added, "Yes, I mean you, too."

The golem tensed up slightly until Morgrem smirked and replied, "Well, then, you just made yourself a big mistake," cracking her knuckles while Zamazenta frowned and grunted, "Sir, with all due respect, this is a waste of time."

He then whispered into the side of Eternatus' head, "Besides, if we fight them first, those three will see our powers in action and will be able to devise a strategy based off of that. We agreed it would be best for all six of us to go into this fight blind."

"Yes, and we still can," Eternatus replied, Zamazenta retorting, "But how? You said the Eternal Vortex was only for the chosen fighters. Are you going against that, too?"

The dragon shook his head and replied, "Trust me on this one," snapping his fingers and forming three separate rings made entirely out of reddish-orange energy. Everyone stared as he gazed upon Vaporeon and stated, "Since I see the most potential in you, you shall be my opponent."

The fox smirked and replied, "You got a good eye," leaping into one ring before he flew into it.

The wolves also took to their own rings before Zacian said, "You intrigue me, little gremlin, so I pick you," looking at Morgrem who grinned and replied, "Fine by me," leaping into the ring and eyeing her sword. After defeating Grimmsnarl, she was certain she could overpower this blade as well.

Rolycoly then rolled over to Zamazenta's ring and pushed himself up into it, taking many deep breaths. But just as fear started to take over, Geneva just happened to arrive along with Bailey and gasp, "Thank god, we made it!"

The golem turned and smiled wide, exclaiming, "Geneva! You're here!" a grin crossing his face while he thought, 'Now I can't lose. After all, if I do, I'll look bad in front of my new friend.'

But just as he and the others were ready to begin, Eternatus snapped his fingers again before a stream of reddish-orange light rose up and covered each ring. It was much like a steel cage match only it felt more like each pair of fighters was stuck in a box.

Scorbunny's eyes widened as she spat, "Hey, that's not fair! Now we can't see what's going on!" Rillaboom sighing, "I think that might be the point."

Allie blinked and uttered, "But why, though?" before Drizzile stated, "Isn't it obvious? They came to test us. If we mentally prepare ourselves in advance, we'll have an unfair advantage."

Geneva and Bailey, meanwhile, were beyond disappointed. After all, they both wanted to cheer their friends on, but now they had no way of knowing if they needed it or not.

Either way, Vaporeon seemed fine with this as she smirked and said, "Such a shame that all these people won't get to see me wipe the canvas with you," Eternatus striking a fighting pose and saying nothing. He had already predicted this match would end soon.

Morgrem, meanwhile, sharpened her hair and smirked, saying, "Let me warn you in advance, Zacian. I'm tougher than I look," Zacian replying, "Well, good. I'd hate for this match to be a complete waste of my time."

In the third ring, Rolycoly took a deep breath and put on a serious look, grunting, "Just so you know, I beat an opponent made entirely out of steel," Zamazenta blinking and saying, "That's actually impressive. Maybe this will be worth it."

With that in mind, the male wolf held his ground while the golem took a deep breath and wheeled toward him. Much like when he fought Duraludon, he knew far better than to just rush into danger, thus he swerved to the side and sped behind him. He then pushed himself off the mat and spat, "MEDIEVAL SHARPENER!" planting his wheel into the back of Zamazenta's neck.

This actually seemed to deal quite a bit of pain when the male wolf's eyes widened with shock. But of course, Rolycoly knew better than to keep at it, thus he distanced himself from the wolf and sped sideways before he could retaliate. The golem then pushed himself into the air and crossed his arms together, ramming them into the side of Zamazenta's neck.

The wolf growled and swiped his arm sideways only for Rolycoly to distance himself just in time to avoid it. He then proceeded to come at Zamazenta again and deliver a karate chop to his ankle, thinking, 'Wow, this is surprisingly-'

His eyes widened when he noticed something off. While Zamazenta showed some signs of pain, it seemed as if Rolycoly's chop had only hurt him a tiny bit. This caused him to lower his guard just long enough for the wolf to take hold of his skull and lift him up with a cold look in his eyes.

"Just so you know, your hits have barely done a thing to me," he stated, "There's a reason my mane looks like a shield," before hurling Rolycoly into the ropes. After the golem bounced off, Zamazenta went down on all fours and charged toward him while his mane started to glow. Then when he was close enough, he barked, "BEHEMOTH BASH!" and rammed the lower part of the mane into the golem's face.

Rolycoly's eyes and mouth were wide with terror as he coughed up blood and flipped backward multiple times. And when he landed on his skull, a small crack formed on his forehead and he was out like a light, Zamazenta sighing, "Well, guess that was a complete waste of my time after all."

Meanwhile, Morgrem seemed to perform fairly well against Zacian. The female wolf tried her hardest to strike her with her claws only for the goblin to dodge each one. Then when she saw an opening, she leapt upward, clutched onto Zacian's shoulders and sunk her teeth into the area right beside her neck.

"FANG SUPLEX!" she exclaimed through clenched teeth before leaping into the air and leaning backward. But just as Zacian was about to make contact with the mat, Morgrem's eyes widened when her braids whipped forward and planted themselves firmly against it. Despite looking like ribbons, it seemed as if they were rather strong as they easily kept both from descending further.

Zacian bent the braids inward and used them to push herself as high above the ring as she could go, her feet touching the roof of the energy cage before she planted the claws on her toes into it. She then placed a firm grip against Morgrem and planted her claws into her back. This caused her to remove her teeth and cry out in pain while blood squirted from that very spot.

'I know claws are supposed to hurt, but it's as if she's somehow-' before she lowered her eyes and saw that Zacian's claws had, indeed, pierced right through her skin. It was just like Melmetal's makeshift claws. She was somehow able to make them longer while a pink energy surrounded them.

Zacian then lowered Morgrem enough for her skull to be closest to the canvas before she wrapped her braids about the goblin and herself like a cocoon. She finally let go of her grip on the roof and descended toward the mat, shouting, "FAIRY RIBBON COFFIN!"

Morgrem's skull hit the canvas hard as her eyes widened. Despite having only taken in two hits, she already coughed up blood before Zacian unwrapped her and allowed her to collapse. She then stood upright and sighed, "Zamazenta was right. This really wasn't worth the effort."

However, she froze when Morgrem slowly pushed herself up. She took many deep breaths and tried her hardest to ignore the holes covering her while she turned toward the wolf and panted, "I'll admit, I greatly underestimated you. But even so, there's a reason I'm a hero of Edmonton."

With that in mind, she leapt toward the ropes and bounced off with her hair at the ready and shouted, "GRIZZLY SCIMITAR!" Zacian noticing how sharp her hair was and thinking, 'I see. So it's a sword fight she wants. That I can oblige.'

As such, Zacian also leapt toward the ropes and bounced off before using her right braid to pick up her sword and place the handle into her mouth. A pink energy surrounded it before she grunted, "BEHEMOTH BLADE!" and swung it sideways when she was close enough.

Morgrem's eyes widened when, with no effort at all, the wolf managed to not only overpower her hair but also slash it open. Now it was completely short, but she had no time to be shocked by this as the wolf's sword had also put a huge gash in her upper back.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head before she fell flat on her belly. Blood covered her body while Zacian returned her blade to her braid and sighed, "You're lucky Eternatus does not wish for us to kill you, because I could have made that much more fatal."

And during all of this, Vaporeon seemed to have it the worst. She raced toward Eternatus with the tip of her tail covered in ice and swung it toward him only for him to easily block it. And despite how skinny his arms were, the energy that filled them made them really strong as each time he countered the ice, he managed to shatter it, which even Furfrou and Melmetal had not quite been able to accomplish.

After he pulled this off for the tenth time, he lifted his arm and lowered it, striking Vaporeon's skull with the karate chop. And despite how simple the move was, she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her, her eyes and mouth wide open.

When she saw Eternatus open his hand and reach for her skull, Vaporeon growled and dashed around him, forming the ice once again. And when she got behind him, she performed a handstand and sent the ice toward him, shouting, "TRAPEZE ICE WHIP!"

This time, she managed to strike him on the back of the head as he opened his mouth wide. However, he did not release a sound as if the move had not hurt him as much as his facial expression indicated. But even with that in mind, he still stopped for a few seconds and nodded.

"Not bad," he said while stroking his chin, "But not good enough, either. I'll admit, I detected so much more in you, more so than those other two, yet I'm a tad disappointed."

Vaporeon's eye twitched before she growled, "You want a challenge!? I'll give you a challenge!" racing toward him. And just as he was about to reach out and grab her, she dove under him and wrapped her tail around his ankles. She then yanked on them and caused the dragon to fall forward on his chin before she leapt onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

While this went on, the cages surrounding Zacian and Zamazenta's rings vanished while the citizens and remaining heroes watched. Rillaboom blinked and scratched her head, uttering, "That was quick," Scorbunny smirking and replying, "Damn. Those two must be amazing to have pulled that o-"

However, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she saw the wolves standing tall and proud and their opponents lying unconscious on the canvas. Sure, they had lost plenty of times before, but it had never been this bad.

Allie and Geneva stared in horror, the redhead racing toward Rolycoly while the tall girl headed toward Morgrem. They then stopped dead in their tracks only for Zacian and Zamazenta to nod their heads in approval. After all, they had no reason to forbid the humans from carrying their friends out of the ring.

And so, they picked up the heroes and noticed an ambulance nearby. It seemed as if someone had planned for this in advance, and this was just what they needed.

"Oh god," Drizzile uttered, "If they could deal that much damage in such a short time, I'm not sure if we're ready for this," Scorbunny whimpering, "I just hope Vaporeon's doing alright."

While Vaporeon pulled up on Eternatus' neck and legs, he stroked his chin and said, "Okay, that's a little better. But you seem to have missed one little detail," Vaporeon retorting, "And what would that be!?"

She would soon have her answer when the dragon spread out his skinny wings and exclaimed, "BONE SABERS!" scraping them against her back in an X formation. Thus blood spewed out before she screamed in agony and loosened her hold. This was just enough for Eternatus to wrap the wings around her and pry her off of him, tossing her into the air.

"I hate to end this so soon, but you're nothing but a warmup," he stated before soaring backwards into the ropes. He then leaned down and aimed his skull toward where Vaporeon was certain to land, launching himself forward and shouting, "ETERNABEAM!"

The energy that held his bones up soon expanded and covered his entire body, making him look like an actual beam of light. Sure enough, the fox could not do a thing when he rammed right into her back, blood flying from her mouth while her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

He then forced her up against the ropes and took hold of her wrists, pulling back on them and bending her back. As if that was not enough, the ropes caused her knees, midsection and face to cave him before her eyelids dropped and she blacked out.

With that, Eternatus released his hold and allowed her body to collapse before the cage around his ring vanished. Everyone stared in horror when they saw the condition Vaporeon was in. Even though Rolycoly and Morgrem's matches had ended badly for them, somehow this seemed even worse.

Drizzile tried his hardest to maintain the level of confidence he had built ever since his match with Runerigus. After all, he had become world champion. And yet just looking at the state of his friends caused a good portion of his old fear to return.

Nevertheless, these three could not be taken lightly. There was no doubt this would certainly be the hardest match they would ever partake in.