Time continued to march along after the insect siege. Things continued to remain the same as well for the DDL members, which meant bad news for Aaron.

"ARGH! Not again!" he growled, as he slammed his head on the table. Nick was looking rather pleased with himself, and gathered his full set of Black Scorpion cards (4900/0).

"That's the fourth game I've lost to you! I know I'm the rookie around this place, but this is ridiculous!" Aaron muttered. The bright red mark on his forehead, though painful, wasn't affecting his complaining in the least.

"You've been slacking on your training. It's been what, 3 weeks, since you dueled against Tobias? Skills dull over if you don't practice more often," Nick lectured, shuffling his now-complete deck as though expecting a rematch.

I don't know what's more depressing, the fact he's the winner and giving me this lecture, or that he's younger than me and giving me the lecture, Aaron thought to himself. He rubbed his sore forehead a little.

"I mean, come on! What had you slaving away at that desk for this long? Your deck hasn't really changed at all, so what's the deal?" Nick inquired.

"I've been trying to see if I can some how make use of these cards. So far I've been unable to come up with an effective delivery system to use them," Aaron said. He took a bunch of cards out of his pocket and flashed them.

"Where'd you find these?" Nick wondered, wide-eyed.

"After I first came to live here, I scouted around the premise in case Dan had left any traps from his last visit. I found these scattered over a 3 mile radius while searching," Aaron explained. Nick shook his head.

"I can see why you're interested in using these, but without a deck made to work with them, you're bound to have some problems," Nick stated.

"At least I haven't lost my flare for dueling hopeless battles, back to the drawing board." Aaron said, picking up his cards and headed back to his room. Nick sighed.

"He may have something to do with ascending, but he really needs to get out more. He's been spending his time either doing chores, his duties, or deck construction," the teen murmured.

"Yeah, he's been all enveloped in his research. Even Kuro hasn't been able to get him to spend anytime doing anything he really wants," Vic added, turning the page of his magazine.

"Let him be, guys," Kuro ordered, strolling into the recreation center, feeling totally secure. "He's in doubt of his abilities, and losing that many times isn't helping."

"Well it won't be fair to let him win. He needs worthy opposition, and from what he said about the duel with Tobias, he didn't seem to feel the way he did against Viper. Tobias has been hiding in the shadows for a while now; his skills may have dulled over. I think Aaron believes that he only won because his opponent wasn't at his best," Nick calmly told her. She shot him a quick glare before moving away.

"We have to let him improve on his own. It's the only way he will learn anything," declared Jeregrine. He was reclining against a window, looking out to the vast stretch of land that surrounded the castle walls.

Up on the promenade, Jacob was watching Vaurnut stacking large blocks of ice in a row about 14 yards long.

"And what's this about?" Jacob asked, curious about what the relatively silent member of the league was planning.

"Just an experiment," V told him, as he walked over to the far end of the row, and ignited a small torch. A bright blue flame ignited at the tip. He then walked back to the other end of the ice, and his duel brace unfolded.

"Spirit Merge!" he called, as he placed down a card. A vortex of energy swallowed him whole for a few seconds. After the light that rivalled that of a small star cleared, he emerged as the Darkfire Soldier, with both of his blades burning furiously.

He sheathed both of his weapons and closed his eyes.His body began to dull like a used piece of charcoal. However, on the other side of the line of ice, the flame of the torch was beginning to burn fiercely. In an instant, he shot his hand outwards to touch the ice. The flame of the torch flew from its base, and sliced down through the ice like a hot knife through butter.The flame impacted the Darkfire, and set him back ablaze.

"So it appears to have worked," V noted.

"What were you trying to do?" Jacob asked.

"My abilities to control fire have never been tested with ice separating it from myself, but as you can see, it was a success," he indicated. A perfect 360 degree hole had been forged cleanly in the center of each of the ice blocks, all the way to the torch.

"You think you'll need that power soon?" Jacob asked.

"Not exactly, but to be ready incase is always a good thing Jacob, never take anything for granted." Darkfire said, as he pulled his left blade from its sheath, and in a single swing, he sliced the entire row of ice in half and evaporated into the air. Darkfire snapped his fingers and the torch puffed out. He reverted back to Vaurnut and walked away.

"Matt's funeral day is coming up soon; that may be why he's training himself. He could be trying to forget about it." Dalin theorized, watching from the fountain.

"No, he wouldn't do that. He bears the most respect for Matt and the most guilt for what happened," Jacob said.

Down in the Cafeteria, Paul and Jordan were sitting down at a table watching some Kenshin. Sarah and Amy were in the Kitchen with the Cook, Poineswine, preparing a batch of cookies. The girls were wearing chalk white, skin tight chef outfits. Poineswine, despite being a pig, had strict governing procedures involving the use of his kitchen. If so much as a crumb was left unswept, his wrath would be swift and furious.

"How long till they're done? I'm starving." Jordan complained. The faint wisp of baked good aroma was snaking towards him.

"You'll be dead before you reach your hand out to take one; Josh is taking them to Eliza. She had to be observed for more than a few days and is finally coming home today," Sarah warned, her frying pan glistening in the light of the overhead lamps.

"Burn," Paul stated under his breath.

"What was that?" she demanded. Jordan looked to his side, and saw Paul curled up in a ball, hidden under the counter.

"Oh come on Sarah, Paul rarely does anything bad enough to get chased around like Jordan," Amy beckoned.

Thanks a lot Amy, Jordan grumbled to himself.

"All men are the same, and all require some discipline in their daily lives or they become like Jordan!" Sarah preached, her finger pointing in the direction of the first offender. Paul thought for a second what it would be like to be Jordan, then saw himself being chased by whip, frying pan, and slap-wielding women. His face became very morbid.

Just then, a ding went off, the timer on the stove was done and the cookies were ready for eating. Amy opened the stove and released a powerful scent into the air as she took a plate of cookies

Jordan's nose and his hunger seized what little self-restraint he had. In a superhuman feat, he dove across 3 tables and into the kitchen. Paul took the opportunity to dive from his seat and ran towards the exit.

Sarah and Poineswine quickly grabbed the nearest cooking tools they could grab a hold of, including a roller and a spatula. With the speed of a fox, they swung and slammed Jordan against the roof. However, his dense skull nailed the sprinkler, which caused a rupture in the line. Water gushed forth from the leak, quickly flooding the kitchen.

Jordan looked up and saw something he shouldn't have: The water had soaked the chefs, and their outfits had gone transparent. Sarah's face was an expression of a fury that rivaled a volcano, and she rapidly snatched up a frying pan. Amy reached over the counter and grabbed a large wooden mallet, it about to come in contract with Jordan's head.

"Oh dear," Jordan breathed, as if that breath were his last. Paul made the cross as the beating commenced. Jordan's cries for help and bribes to the ladies ("OK, OK! Roses!") made him want to puke, yet left a slight karma-like feeling as well.

Just then, Jacob, Dalin, Vaurnut came down the hall. Aaron, Nick and Kuro were heading towards the commotion, each with their own reasons for doing so.

"V, it's a code blue," Paul warned, clutching V's shoulder.

"Oh!" V exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks. "Did you tell Aaron about the code system?"

"What? I though you did." Paul accused. The two stopped there. They promptly reached over to Aaron, and pulled him away from the crowd.

"Hey what's the deal?" Aaron demanded.

"You'll thank us, watch," V said.

Jacob, Dalin, Nick, and Kuro walked into the kitchen, "Hey what's going on?" Dalin asked. A yelp of pain turned their heads in the direction of the slaughter.

They looked over to see Sarah and Amy clubbing Jordan into a bloody pulp. Dalin and Jacob's noses started to run with a thin stream of blood at the sight of the girls' wet chests. Nick, on the other hand tried to sneak out of the room, only to be stopped by an enraged Kuro. Whip-chan in hand, she prodded him into the kitchen, and shut the door. The three outside soon heard Nick, Dalin, and Jacob's voices join the chorus of agonized screams.

"How often does this go down?" Aaron asked.

"About once a month, whether or not Jordan intends to," Paul replied. Jacob's voice was reaching record highs, and the sound of whiplash could be heard.

"Aaron, maybe you should get out of here. Staying in here will probably get to you," V suggested.

"I'd like to, but where would I go? I don't think a nature walk around here is safe or sane," Aaron surmised. The fact that monsters roamed the grounds made it somewhat risky for anyone not crazy.

"How 'bout you pay Ashley a visit? It's been a while since you last saw her at that train station," a voice invited from down the dark end of the hall. Aaron recognized the voice, although he had only really heard it once since he became a member of the Dark Dragon League.

"That you, Kyle?" Aaron called.

Out of the darkness came a kid about 17. His skin was a dark ebony. He wore a loose green t-shirt, brown cargo pants, a pair of black a purple shoes, a backwards baseball cap. His eyes were a faint purple shade. His long hair was a more striking hue than his eyes. His face was strangely familiar, but Aaron couldn't figure out why. He had a duel brace in the form of a Curse of Dragon, and around his neck was a strange pendant. It was in the form of a star, but it was made of a shimmering crystal.

"Aaron, you've spent more time here than Kuro and Vic when they first came here to stay. You should pay her a visit," Kyle offered. His voice was very calm.

"He's right Aaron," Paul urged.

"Don't worry about the guys either; the girls usually stop before killing," V reassured.

"Usually?"

"You'd have to ask Vic about what happened that time," Kyle said with a wink.

Aaron soon departed on the Zephyr Express. His mind leapt to the thought of Ashley, and the sad/happy face he saw before he vanished off the platform.

"I hope she's doing okay. It's been a while since I saw her," Aaron worried to himself. Kara stopped shovelling coal into the engine briefly.

"She sounds like a strong girl from what you and the guys at the castle have been saying. You can be sure she'll be all right," Kara chirped, throwing some more coal into the engine.

"I guess so, hey, you've been at the castle for a long time, what can you tell me about Kyle? I have barely heard a peep out of him from the day I came here," Aaron requested.

"Kyle is a strange one. He prefers his solitude in the castle's keep. He barely goes out on missions, just in case he thinks he needs to use his power," she told him.

"His power?" Aaron wondered.

"He is able to time travel. He needs a large amount of Rema in order to jump through time, but doesn't do it all too often anymore. When Matt died, he had just gone through a jump, and couldn't do another one for a least a week. He was a heart broken soul after that; both he and V felt guilty about what happened. He's gotten better and more approachable, but he still remains a mystery to everyone," Kara explained.

Aaron kept thinking about the strange feeling of familiarity he had noticed in Kyle, it wasn't the same feeling that he had when he had his original premonitions, but a feeling of deja vu. At that moment, his brace began to shine.

"It's my stop, thanks for the chat," Aaron thanked, as he faded off the train. He emerged on a trolley track. The large orange arches of the Golden Gate Bridge were clear in sight.

"At least I know I'm in the ballpark," he assured himself.

He began his trek down the downhill city. He had no idea where Ashley was, but he wasn't going to find out anything sitting still.A strange ripple in the air caught his attention, and he looked to the sky. Nothing seemed to be there, for the moment.

What's this feeling? There is a strong pulse of energy flowing through the air, but where's it coming from? he wondered.

Back at the Castle, Sarah stepped out of the girls' locker room, wearing her regular clothes.

"I wonder if I went a little too rough on Jordan?" she asked herself. Then she remembered the goofed out look on his face.

"Maybe not enough," she growled.

As that very thought escaped Sarah's mind, her duel brace's eyes began to pulsate. There's a disturbance in the world's Rema balance, she observed, a powerful drainage coming from Earth. What could be collecting that much Rema? She paused for a second, as if expecting an answer, and then headed down towards the elevator to the vault.

During this, Kyle stood a top the highest point of the castle's keep. The winds blew cold as ice, but it didn't seem to affect him in the least. He had his eyes closed as he stood atop the stone and clay spike. The powerful gusts of the high attitude attempted to push him off the spire. His body remained solid.

"I can feel you." He said to himself. "I know you've come back; I can feel your breath on the back of my neck. Where are you?" He opened his light colored eyes, and stared out towards the seemingly endless skyline to the north.

"There's a storm coming."

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Aaron had came to a stop on a patio that over gave a clear view of the bridge. Aaron's skin hair began to stand on end.

"That's an incredible Rema build up, but what in the world could be drawing so much towards it?" he wondered.

A bright flash appeared, shining from one of the bridge's arches. A massive white beast came flying out into the sky, its wings capsizing the cars like a tidal wave would do with a toy sailboat.

Aaron focused for second. The Rema level dropped a sizable amount when that thing showed up,he noted, but I can't sense any Rema being emitted from it. What the- oh this is not good!

Sarah, meanwhile, was down in the CRS. She was watching the cards beneath her fingers pulsate with powerful energy spikes.

"Some thing big is happening. The cards are responding to a violent presence in the world, but what is it?" Sarah asked no one in particular. Maybe the cards would tell her.

Just then, the array of cards vanished, leaving only 3 behind. Sarah looked in confusion, but then flipped the 3 over, and her eyes widened.

"What are they doing?" she gasped. Each was one of 3 different varieties of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"What the...why are they… Oh dear god no!" Sarah shouted.

Back on top of the roof of the castle, Kyle felt the dread in the air.

"So it has begun once more," he observed, as his duel brace began to simmer. He proceeded down the stairs. His mind was clearing, focusing on the task left to him.

Is it time to take up the fight I thought I left so long ago? Kyle asked himself.

Back at the bridge, Gearfried had already arrived on the scene. He was shocked to see everyone in their cars on the bridge were completely motionless, and their skins a pale white. In the hundreds of cars on the bridge, not one person was alive.

"What in God's name happened here?" Aaron wondered. He looked up to the powerful shining light shown above him. Its illumination was so pure it looked like a star had descended beyond the Earth's atmosphere.

"What power," he murmured. A force this strong is too unstable to exist for too long. What could they possibly be thinking? he pondered.

"Well what do you know? It's the trash can rookie!" A voice called out from above.

Gear looked up, and saw 3 figures. One was Dan, the horseman of War, the second was Tobias, the horseman of strife, but the last one Aaron didn't recognize. He stood about 5.7, about 153 lb, he was wearing a clean cut white shirt, and designer gray pants. A Rolex watch resided on his left arm, and a Duel Brace on his right arm. His face was smug with arrogance. His cold green eyes combined with his play boy blonde hair added to the impression that this kid had self importance issues.

"What the hell did you do to all these people?" Aaron demanded.

"They weren't very useful as people, but they were quite beneficial as fuel. You understand," the play boy sneered.

"What's with the pretty rich boy? He the last of you freaks?" Gear asked. He knew perfectly well that this boy had to be the last horseman.

"My name is Richard, the Horseman of Famine, and the South Guardian of the Daikai. I know of you, Aaron Audette, user of the Iron Knight. Strangely, the first of your group to ascend. I must admit, you have impressed me so far, for a common wretch," he boasted.

"Wretch, heh. What gives you the right to mock some one who wiped the floor with one of you the last time we met?" Aaron asked, arching his blade in preparation to strike.

"That defeat was a mistake, and you know it!" Tobias barked. He raised his right hand. "Do not think that your victory was without a cost."

Aaron looked up, and saw he was holding a card in his hand, a card that was dripping something red. He bent down, and in a massive bound, Gearfried soared to the arch where they stood. He looked at the card, the card was smeared with blood, but the purple card's face remained readable. It was a St. Joan. Aaron's face froze, his heart stopping for but a second.

"…Ashley..." he murmured, the name barely escaping his lips. That was the card he had given her the day he and she parted ways.

"Do you want to see her? Bigger or smaller pieces first?" Tobias teased, his voice filled with sadistic humor. The metal warrior in front of him was quaking in with rage.

"Yo…you…you...ma…mo…MONSTER!" Gearfried roared in anger, swinging his blade straight at Tobias. Tobias's gauntlet flashed with light as he swung his hand at the incoming weapon. A blast of energy emerged and slammed against the blade with an incredible burst, sending Gearfried off the edge. Gear's body plummeted straight down to the bottom of the bridge. His solid frame smashed the pavement with a thunderous crash.

"Leave him to me. This is personal," Tobias commanded, leaping off the edge.

"Heh, and what are we supposed to do in the mean time?" Dan asked.

"Guard our assets. It looks like she's about ready to complete the mission." Richard said, looking across to the bridge arch across from him and Dan between the light. There was a woman, skin lightly tanned with snowy white hair hanging in the air. She wore nothing and was bare as a newborn. Her stare was cold, her sapphire eyes looking at the light with anticipation.

Tobias's hand was burning with red energy. It had manifested itself in the form of a dragon's head, with its jaws open, ready to crunch the iron warrior open like a tin can.

Aaron, inside the metal warrior, was still. He couldn't move; his mind was overloaded with anger, regret, despair and rage. His body was being engulfed by the darkness, his eyes changing hue from brown to blood shot red.

"We have a BIG PROBLEM!" She screamed at the top of her voice, having leapt out of the vault with greatest speed. Her call attracted the other members to the room.

"Sarah, what's the matter?" Chuck asked.

"We're going to have a major disaster happen any minute now. The Daikai are-" Sarah was cut off.

"Creating a weapon that is going to back fire," interrupted Kyle's voice as he entered the room.

"You know what it is?" Sarah asked.

"An Ultimate Blue Eyes White Dragon. A real one that has the ability to exist in the human world. A force of more might than anything we have to stop, and it's unstable," Kyle explained.

"Unstable?" Vic inquired.

"In order to create the dragon, 3 real Blue Eyes have to be fused together. In order to perform that, a massive amount of Rema has to be used. With all that Rema, the beast's form will self-destruct, taking out what ever is in its blast radius. That kind of power may destroy the United States," Kyle stated, a cold sternness in his voice.

"I'm assuming we can't stop it now, so are you going to try again?" Vaurnut inquired.

"I'm afraid it's the only way. Aaron is on his own, and if we don't do something, it will be too late for him as well," Kyle informed. A few gasps were heard.

Jacob snapped his fingers, ordering, "All right everyone, we have an emergency to prevent! The less time we waste here, the faster it can be averted! Let's move!"

The members of the DDL took off towards the center of the castle. Only Vaurnut and Kyle remained in the room.

"Are you sure you can handle another jump?" Vaur asked.

"It looks like I have no other choice, Aaron and the country is counting on me, I can't let them down like I did with Matt," Kyle insisted.

"Take this with you. I think its time you return to the field." V said, handing over a small key.

"I'll see you on the other side." Kyle said, as left the room to rejoin the others. V remained in the room alone, but looked out towards the horizon, and wished. Matt, give him strength, it is time we return his spirit and his power.

Back at the Bridge, the dragon fist came swinging at Gearfried.

"DIE!" Tobias ranted in his madness. He felt an odd sensation, however, and it wasn't the sweet rush of victory.

Under him, the body of Gearfried spasmed with violent jerks.Aaron's body inside was swirling in black flames, he held three cards in his hand, and loaded them into his duel brace, which then began to burn with a dark blue flame.

Tobias's rant came to a sudden end as the knight's body erupted in the flames of Aaron's duel brace. The dragon duelist fell back on his thrust and landed few feet south of the burning blue blaze. The blaze shot up from the crater in the pavement. A rumble of heavy feet marching could be heard as it moved closer towards him.

I'm sensing a powerful emission from this thing.
What kind of force has this kid accessed? Tobias pondered. He wasn't about to take any chances, though.

"SPIRIT MERGE!" Tobias called out. His duel brace's light engulfed him, leaving behind a Lord of Dragons.

But the flames dispersed, to reveal Aaron's most powerful weapon, the Masked Beast. Its muscled form tensed with tremendous power and fury, and its faceless head gave off the distinct impression that there was going to be hell to pay.

"WHAT THE HELL?" The Lord shouted.

"THAT BRAT RITUAL MERGED?" Richard exclaimed.

Dan looked, and saw what had happened. He turned to Richard with only, "I'm going."

"What?" Richard wondered. However, by the time Richard had asked, Dan had already vanished.

Back on the pavement, the Masked Beast stood still, his club like staff in hand, waiting for Tobias to make the first move.

"Heh, that bitch's death was enough to make you a lot stronger, but don't think you can beat me with that monstrosity of a beast. I've still got more than enough power to beat you! Watch!" Tobias shouted, reaching to his waist to grab a Flute of Summoning Dragons. He blew into it, giving off a loud droning noise.

Two real Blue-Eyes White Dragons swooped around him. Their scales shined, reflecting the noonday sun. Though they roared at the Beast, as if daring him to strike, the Beast, still furious, remained still. Now was not the time to attack.

Just then, the light above them began to dim and focus itself into a solid form. Light slipped off of razor claws, glistening teeth, white scales, and azure eyes as a mighty roar shook all surfaces.

At the castle, The DDL had started to proceed even further underground. What they sought was even farther down than the vault and the C.R.S. put together.

They soon reached a spherical shaped room; the stone walls were smooth as ice. A small platform stretched across the room, and in the center was a large apparatus.They proceeded around it. It was a large pedestal, with a group of 3 large stone rings around the base. Surrounding them was a circle of a blue crystal.

"Are we sure this thing still works?" Paul asked.

"It fired up after 1000 years when it was last used before Kyle first tried. The warranty is probably still good," Nick stated.

"If not, we're all screwed," Kuro claimed as well.

"Thanks for the report Commander Obvious." Jordan sneared.

"Enough! Time is not on our side here, we still don't know when we should aim to go back to," Chuck shouted.

"Allow me to enlighten you," a familiar voice invited from the entrance. They looked, and were shocked to see Dan and Jeregrine at the entrance.

"What are you doing here?" Jacob demanded.

"Aaron has just ascended to become the Masked Beast. If he goes into battle with the Ultimate Dragon, the resulting explosion will generate a Rema Storm capable of destroying both worlds. If that happens, everyone will die. Now it's too late to stop the battle. The only way we can survive is if you go back and stop the calamity before hand," Dan told them, calmly stepping into the room.

"But how do you know that is what will happen?" Josh inquired.

"We don't have time, what time do we go back to?" Vaurnut demanded.

"This Morning at 6:12, San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, Tobias drained the Rema out of everyone on the bridge to fuel the creation of the Ultimate Dragon. Also, he took out his revenge on Aaron by murdering the girl Ashley Lovechild, who was aboard a bus crossing the bridge," Dan stated in a monotone voice, as though he were practicing being the worst teacher around.

"Oh my God!" Sarah gasped.

"That Son of a-" Jacob growled.

"Thank you Dan. We're go!" Kyle shouted as the crowd started to become unruly and he proceeded up the pedestal.

Back at the bridge, the three pale dragons swooped around the Lord. The Masked Beast remained at the ready, preparing for the imminent attack.

"The end is now! POLYMERIZATION!" the Lord called out as the 3 dragons were swept up into a powerful, swirling vortex. The swirling whirlpool of energy surged with unbridled power as the creature forming inside approached completion. With a burst of incredible might, the being emerged in a massive explosion, and floated above the Lord of Dragons.

It was a quarter of the size of the Five God Dragon, but still immense. Its was 3 times the size of the original Blue-Eyes to accommodate two more heads. The heads themselves had become more arrow-like in shape,their eyes had been sleeked, and each had a strange symbol branded on their foreheads.The Lord grinned as he jumped atop the middle head of his beast, and looking down at the demonic creature in front of him.

"You should have attacked me when you had the chance, for now I take you to hell with that bitch! ATTACK NOW!" he called out. The behemoth's 3 mouths came together, and they began to pool their energy together into a ball of blue energy of incredible magnitude. The Beast broke out into a running charge. Its massive form was sprinting its way straight for the dragon with impressive speed.

"What is he trying to pull?" Tobias asked himself.The beast then bounded straight up into the air, straight for the ball of energy.

Is he trying to kill himself? Wait a second, what's that? Tobias wondered, looking at the staff more closely.Silphs began encircling the Beast's staff, each bearing a letter.

He was saving up his Rema to use the Ouija Board! NO! Tobias screamed to himself.

It was too late, for the beast swung with all his might, and, with the added power of his Ouija Board, smashed his staff into the ball of energy, causing it to spread out of control.

In a matter of seconds, the air around them was drawn in, the space they were in exploding with a brilliant light. The spreading, destructive light was destroying everything in a 360 degree radius. Everything, including the bridge and its occupants, were merely fuel for it. The more it destroyed the bigger the storm became. The gale force winds were drawing everything into the light. The ground quaked with anger, and the waves of the ocean crashed. The tempest was growing stronger and more destructive with every second, expanding out of control.

Back at the Castle, The members of the DDL stood around the device. The blue ring underneath them glowed with tremendous force, as their collective Rema was sent straight into the machine. Dan watched, awestruck, as the stone rings lifted up into the air. Kyle floated off of the pedestal, and the rings circled around him. Each began to spin in a different direction, surrounding him in all three dimensions.

Jeregrine could feel the destructive storm come. It had already began to engulf the DM world as well, and was approaching fast. We have to hurry, he worried.

The rings began to glow with the collected Rema. The air around Kyle became a blue sphere, charging with energy as it began to collapse in on itself.

The storm was crossing the bordering mountains of the castle as they were reduced to sand. The storm forced itself forward like a stampede of caffeinated elephants as it shot across the ground and began to tear apart the stone walls.The tremendous rumbling was shaking the chamber with the force of a 10.1 earthquake. Everyone began to panic as the room dissolved in the maelstrom of energy.

Kyle shut his eyes and covered his ears as everything around the ball of blue light vanished. In screams of agony, he left in a blue haze. For the next few moments, he felt nothing at all. No thoughts. No air. Nothing.

Then the blue light faded away, leaving him standing on the stone pedestal. The room was still intact, but it was so quiet he could hear his own, somewhat shaky breath. He reached into his pocket, and took out a pocket watch. It read 5:27 A.M.

"It worked…" he breathed with a heavy sigh of relief.

He proceeded out of the room, and headed up to the main castle floors. Upon arriving ground floor, he saw that the sun had yet to rise. He dashed up the grand stairway towards the barracks, and knocked on Aaron's door.

"Wake up!" he shouted. He heard moaning and movement in the room. The door soon creaked open to see a half asleep Aaron in his pajamas.

"What's the emergency?" he wondered with a yawn.

"Ashley is in danger," Kyle alerted solemnly. Aaron snapped out of his daze in an instant. He pulled his glasses out of his breast pocket, and slapped them on his head.

"What did you just say?" he barked.

"Get dressed. I'll get what help I can muster at this hour." Kyle said, heading down the hall to Kuro's room.

Aaron looked over to his desk. Next to his Duel Brace was a small picture frame, holding a picture of Ashley and him from the dance.

"Please be safe, Ashely," he murmured as he closed the door.

To be continued…