Gallano stepped forward and pushed the gates open. They all entered to see the empty kingdom's village.
"Wow... it's... really sad..." AJ sighed. "No life at all..."
"The illness is spreading, and the villagers are all in their houses," Gallano told them as he led them through the village.
"Will we get affected?" Gabby asked.
"No," Gallano shook his head. "Only naturally-blooded shapeshifters are affected,"
"So... you might?" Blaze questioned.
"...no," Gallano shook his head again. "My... magic causes me to be immune to the illness,"
"Aren't you lucky?" Crusher grumbled.
"Indeed, I am, aren't I?" Gallano smirked and kept walking forward. "Come on, the castle is this way,"
"Jeez, I thought Crusher was cocky..." Starla muttered.
"Why are we heading to the castle?" Blaze asked. "I thought we were finding a cure for the illness,"
"We are, but... the cure can be found at the palace," Gallano quickly spoke.
"Ooookay..."
The group exchanged glances as they drove after the shapeshifter. They soon made it to the castle, which was full of fog and was almost in ruins.
"Woah..." Darington gasped. "What happened here...?"
"It seems like the illness has caused the castle to crumble," Gallano huffed. "What a shame. Oh well, let us go,"
"Wai- ohh... all right..." Blaze wanted to at least prop the castle up for the time being, but the look he got from Gallano stopped him.
Crusher growled, an unsettling feeling on his stomach causing to hiss as they stepped forward. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing the group to gasp in shock.
"What's going on?!"
"WHO DARES TRESPASSES THE CASTLE?!"
The group yelped as a giant snake appeared in front of them, hissing in rage.
"We... we don't mean to to trespass," AJ said as they shook in fear. "We're trying to help Gallano find a cure."
The snake turned to Gallano and snarled. He grabbed the other with his tail and growled, causing the group to gasp.
"Hey! Let him go!"
"THIS BEING HAD BEEN BANISHED FROM THIS KINGDOM!" the snake hissed.
"Banished?" Blaze questioned.
"Indeed, he is." the snake soon shifted into a human form, revealing King Percy as he set the other shapeshifter down with a thud. "Aren't you, LITTLE brother?"
"BROTHER?!"
The group stared at Gallano in shock. Gallano snarled and stood up.
"Bold of you to call me your brother, Percy." he hissed. "especially after YOU banished me!"
"Of course I had to!" Percy snapped. "After the poison that you spread throughout the kingdom, I HAD to!"
"Wait... it was you?" Blaze questioned, shocked and teary eyed. "You were just... gonna use us and then destroy the place?"
"I KNEW there was something you were up to!" Crusher roared out, his form shifting into his dragon form.
He tried to attack the prince shapeshifter, but Gallano grabbed him with a pair of magical chains. Everyone gasped, eyes widening as Crusher was pinned down with the chains.
"CRUSHER!"
"Oh, you are all so good, it sickens me," Gallano groaned before turning to Crusher. "And YOU, I KNEW that you looked familiar..."
"What do you mean?!" Crusher snarled, eyes narrowing.
"An element dragon," Percy gasped, recognizing the dragon form. "You... You found an element dragon...?"
"Yes, brother, I DID!" Gallano laughed wickedly while everyone looked confused.
"An element dragon?" AJ asked.
"Element Dragons are protectors of our world," Percy explained. "They disappeared years ago after two of them went insane and tried to destroy all of the shapeshifters of the kingdom,"
"It was such a delight to see them savage," Gallano snickered. "Especially after the savage crystals I placed in their eyes,"
"You... you did that too...?" Blaze choked.
"Of course!" Gallano smirked. "And proud of it!"
Blaze only looked away, trying not to show himself crying. Darington drove to his side to comfort him, as did AJ, Zeg, Gabby, and Watts. Stripes and Starla growled as they came forward to fight the traitor. As they did, Gallano released a strong surge of magic, knocking them all down.
"Ha! Easy!"
Crusher snarled and tried to fight the chains, but Gallano took control of his actions as he gripped tighter to the chains with a smirk. He then turned to his brother and grinned.
"Come, brother, I offer you a deal,"
"And what is that?"
"Your throne for the life of everyone in your kingdom, of course," Gallano smirked. "If you hand me your throne, I MIGHT just cure everyone from the poison,"
"I..." Percy gulped as he glanced around, unsure of what to do.
Before he could make his decision, however, Crusher's eyes glowed bright and strong before he broke himself off from his chains with a roar. Gallano was taken back with a gasp.
"What?! No! These chains are unbreakable!"
Crusher snarled and towered over him, his whole body glowing in rage before he used his magic to slowly lift Gallano off the ground.
"No! Let me down!"
"NO!" Crusher hissed. "FIRST, YOU TRICK US INTO HELPING YOU THEN YOU ADMIT THAT YOU MADE MY PARENTS GO SAVAGE?! YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR! AND YOU SHALL PAY FOR IT!"
He lifted him higher into the air before blasting out white magic towards him. Gallano screamed as he felt his form slowly disappear.
"NOOOOOOOOO!"