Della


"This is so undignified! Put me down!"

Cyber Dragon pushed the windows open with its snout and then dropped Della on the floor.

"Oof!" she cried after landing with a thud. "You cut that out!" she shouted. "If I had my way, I'd turn you into scrap metal."

Cyber Dragon pulled its head out of the room.

"Hold on! I'm not finished with you! Come back here! I demand you take me back to Jaden and the others at once! Hey!"

Cyber Dragon roared in her face. Della whimpered and cowered behind a sofa. Cyber Dragon snorted and slammed the windows shut with its tail and zoomed into the clouds to remain out of sight.

"Oh!" Della groaned and crossed her arms. "Men! The world will be so better off without them."

She heard singing from upstairs. Curiously, she followed the melody up a spiral staircase into the laboratory where Zane worked on his Cyber Dragons. The music was coming from a room in the east wing. She walked down a long hallway with stone waterfalls on either side of the path. She slowly opened the door and saw the cause of the music. All around the room where holographic blueprints and windows of mechanical dragons and weapons systems. At the center was a girl in her pajamas singing and dancing as she designed a new beast for Zane.


Once upon a time, there was a boy. An innocent youth

Blessed and Born into our kingdom

This boy grew into a king, who saved our whole world

When the God Cards had rebelled

And burned the whole realm with a roar


Once upon a time, there was a King. A beautiful boy,

Who tamed the God Cards of Horakhty

They say he was a man who built his own realm

Surrounded by mountains and white glistening shores

With the Humans he freed and adored


Once upon a time, there was a boy. A glorious king

Entangled in the fury of an ancient war

He raised a mighty sword, burning like the sun

Symbolizing the might of his mighty reign

He charged into the fields and felled all his foes with its flames


"Oh!" Kara said. She removed her headphones. "You must be Della."

"And you must be Kara," Della replied.

She wondered at the lab and the strange gizmos and contraptions, hard at work on a new weapon Kara was designing for Zane's Cyber Dragon. Della leaned forward and examined one of the holographic screens projecting next to one of the machines. It read Photon Generator.

"What is all this? What are you doing?"

Della waved her hand around, creating a sort of lock, which logged her off a certain window with more private designs. "You think a numbskull like Zane could get those beasts running at maximum efficiency all by himself?"

Della rolled her eyes and scoffed. "After what he did to me, I don't know what to think."

Kara couldn't help but laugh at that. She saw what Della had gone through on the camera built into the Cyber Dragon's upper jaw. She told Della to take a hot bath while she prepared her soup and fresh, dry clothes, which turned out to be a long jumpsuit with hearts and flowers. Della found herself looking ridiculous. Kara's excuse for giving her that was that it was the only one she had. She wasn't all that into pajamas when she slept. In fact, the long pajamas were a joke gifted to her by Zane as a joke when she worked really late one night.

Kara watched as Della drank her soup. "So you're an Oracle, Zane tells me." She bowed. "It's such an honor. There are so few of you remaining in the world."

"The Orcs saw to our demise long ago," said Della, marveling at the blueprints of the dragons Kara was creating, floating around the room as if they were decorations. "This is amazing. You built all of these yourself?"

Kara got up to return to her computer. "I haven't built anything yet, dear. They're just some designs I hope to incorporate in the future. I'm working on a Cyber Dragon for my own."

"Will Zane approve?"

"He'd better if he wants me working on these things. Besides, watching all the cam footage of his battles stoked me to make one for myself. It looks like wicked fun."

Della pointed at one of the blueprints. "Is this one yours? The one you're building?"

Kara sat down in front of her computer. "Uh-huh. I hope Zane coughs up the money for him. I am so stoked about the design. I call him Seiger."

Della nodded. "Seiger. I'm sure he'll be born one day."

"Probably not," Kara laughed, touching the screen with her finger to access a bird's eye view of the city. "Those three Cyber Dragons Zane has. They cost us three hundred million gold to make."

"Gracious!"

"Yeah. And that was from Zane's private funds. It costs another three million to upgrade the damn things. Zane's rich, but he's a little paranoid about losing his status as a billionaire. One more big project and he's sinking to the bottom. It'll be a while before he finds any business ventures that will allow me to build Sieger."

Della rubbed her shoulder and tapped her foot on the ground, pondering what to say. "Perhaps the Queen will pay him a reward for rescuing the Princess?"

Kara laughed. "Zane's not doing this for a reward, hon. It's more of a matter of redemption. He wants to help people."

"Redemption?"

"Yeah. Before Zane started thinking about dressing up in fancy costumes and taking down bad guys, he was a designer of high-tech gadgets. He built drones that could increase the efficiency of our agriculture tenfold. In the sky, UAV's patrolled our borders and kept bandits away. Those robots you see cleaning up the streets. Yeah, those were made by him. By the time he graduated from Duelist Academy's grade-school levels, he was already a self-made billionaire; his fortune second to Seto Kaiba. Needless to say that Zane's status as a Pro Duelist helped a lot in that venture. As much as Zane loves his gadgets, he loves Duel Monsters so much more. Zane didn't waste his fortune on himself, though. He built schools, new Dueling Arenas that were affordable for anyone who wanted to play in them. And he added some new facilities to the Duelist Academy university level. Doesn't surprise me as he's going back there to learn Link Summoning and other stuff. Not to mention he's obsessed with Dueling Prince Yuri when he returns from exile. But something bad happened."

"Huh?"

"A year ago, some creep named Nesbit, one of the leaders of the Termnnian Bank, convinced Zane to start building weapons. And why not? War was on our doorstep. Prince Hector, Yuri's cousin, started marching on Emboldor to take the crown from him. And up north we have King Forrest and his 'Holy Crusade' ready to wreak their vengeance on us. Zane built drones and weapons to hold back our enemies. But evil has a way of getting its hand on what it wants. A fanatical terrorist franchise, known as Bright October, was able to highjack Zane's drones and even attack convoys carrying weapons he designed from schematics he acquired from the other dimension. Gold October used their new toys to assault the Elves of the Azure Mountain Realm. And they slaughtered them. None survived. Women. Children. Butchered like lambs."

Della gasped. "Oh no!"

Kara nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "I read in the paper that it hit Zane hard. He took responsibility for what happened to the Elves. If mere bandits could hack into his machines, he reckoned he wasn't so smart after all. Poor guy."

"Well, what does he expect to do with his Cyber Dragons?"

"Wipe away the cancer that plagues this city. And beyond," Kara answered. "Those dragons are like nothing I've ever seen before. And it's about to get so much better."


Zane


As usual, the docks of the Waterfront District was alive with activity. Zane watched as a force of a hundred men were loading cargo into trucks with the emblem of the PMC, Watch Tower, on the doors. What he saw next made him shiver.

"What the hell?" Zane muttered, zooming the camera towards the docks. "Guys, they've got Cuirasses."

"What?" Jaden asked. He was watching the activity on the pier from another building.

"Mechs," Aster answered from the shadows of an alleyway outside the docks. "Humanoid combat vehicles from Balodrum. Those babies caused lots of damage in the Crystal Wars up there. That was a civil conflict that nobody could win. These things are devastating."

"And they also aided the Covenant of Yeyu in wiping out the True Dragons in the Night of Flames in Tears," Zane answered. "Dragon slaying machines. It's because of these monstrosities that True Dragons no longer fly our skies. Not even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon could stand up to them. Hmm, judging by their sleek designs, these are Generation 10 models. That means they're going to have stealth capabilities."

Aster groaned. "I guess that's going to be hell for your targeting systems, huh?"

"We'll see what they can do," Zane answered with uncertainty in his voice.

"It should be an even fight," Nel-E explained. "Miss Kara took the liberty to equip your Cyber Dragons with a brand new stealth coating from Paradius. Your dragons will prove hard for them to hit as well."

Zane cringed. "Paradius. I can feel my bank account screaming."

Aster peered through a magical looking glass. "Hmm, that symbol on their shoulders. An ace of spades with two crossed swords behind a shield in the background. It's Albriet Squadron."

"Speaking of the Crystal Wars," Zane added. "Those guys were in the Battle of Silverwine River. They took down an army of hundreds with just five mechs."

"How in the hell did Watch Tower Security get their hands on Gen Tens?" Aster wondered.

"They can get their hands on anything if they put their minds to it," said Jaden. "So how are we gonna take these guys out?"

Zane radioed Kara. "Kara? It's Zane. Do you read me?"

"Lima Charlie," she singsonged. "Over."

Zane felt a tug on his stomach. He groaned, not in the mood for games. He silently muttered a prayer, hoping Kara was not doing what he thought she was. This was not the time or the place. He took a deep breath and asked her: "What's the status on Pharos?"

He heard a laugh crackling on his earpiece. "I didn't quite get that. Over."

Zane felt his blood boiling. He knew it. He just knew she was up to it again. Joking while he was on the field. "Are we really going to do this again? I don't have time for your games."

"Uh, time for what? Over," Kara joshed him.

"Kara?"

'What? Over."

He rolled his eyes. "Would you...Grrrr! Kara, does anything matter to you?"

"Does what matter to me? Over."

"Does the mission matter to you...O-ver."

"Ah, got that. Yes, it does. Over."

"Then can you PLEASE take this a little more seriously! If Pharos is ready to deploy...Over."

"Uh...gimme a sec. Over."

The radio crackled.

Zane groaned furiously. His helmet dematerialized so he could rub his temples.

"Where does she get these corny jokes?"Aster asked.

"Earth," Zane responded. "She's obsessed with their media."

Kara returned to the conversation. "It's going to be a while, Zane. I mean, Pharos is combat-ready, but in order for me to make the final adjustments on it. And with the delivery, I'm going to need another forty-five minutes."

"That's a hell of a long time," said Aster. "What exactly can this Pharos of yours do?"

"You're about to find out," said Zane.

Kara spoke. "I hope this will suit your needs for the next couple of weeks, Zane. I won't be able to come into the lab for a while."

"Why's that?"

Kara groaned. "Dude. I've got midterms. I need to study."

"Ah. I see," said Zane. "Yeah, you better get on that, then."

"Sure," Kara replied happily. "I'm heading out tomorrow morning. I don't want to miss Pharos in action. If my calculations are correct - and they are! - this should be most impressive. Boys, do your stuff. Nel-E, tell 'em what you've learned."

"The target is a Dwarf named Barrus Ironhorde, founder of Watch Tower Security and Logistics. They are under much scrutiny from the King for their ruthlessness and for numerous investigations of corruption. Watch Tower controls the Ka'l Kamoora District in the slums of the King's District. They run protection rackets on the citizens for security from the Royal Guard, desecrate Elven ruins for rare and magical artifacts, and aid slave traders to smuggle their cargo across the country to other regions, especially Naralia."

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this," Aster said, sneaking through the shadows of the pier. "Watch Tower was supposed to keep an eye on my father. But they walked out of him when someone gave him a better offer, giving his killer the moment to strike. He stared at his palm, already conjuring an arcane orb set to summon one of his Destiny HEROES."

"You sure your HEROES can handle this enemy?" Zane asked. "They've got mechs designed for killing dragons and wiping out armies."

Aster scoffed. "I traveled the world for years learning how to conjure only the best HEROES, Zane. I'm sure Jaden can say the same."

"Yup. I've got all kinds of HEROES ready to save the day."

Zane nodded. "Hold on. There's a limo pulling up by the pier. An armored truck limo of all things."

Aster rolled his eyes. "For the love of goodness," he groaned. "That just reeks 'Hey, I'm the bad guy!'. Don't these idiots know anything about discretion?"

Jaden chuckled. "This coming from a guy who can summon a giant hulk in purple shorts into battle?"

"Lock it down, both of you!" said Zane. He waited until the limo stopped in front of a warehouse. He felt his body freeze when Barrus Ironhorde walked out of it, surrounded by two mercenaries in thick, bulky, black bomb disposal armor. They had thick armored flaps over their shoulders, going down to their feet and they fielded miniguns. Zane held his breath as the Dwarf stroked his thick, bushy, red beard, waiting for the limo's owner to come out. The door opened. Aldric stepped out, followed by two girls. One of them was...

"ALEXIS!" cried Jaden. "Zane I see Alexis!"

"Yeah, so do I," Zane said, trying to quiet him down.

His visor zoomed in. There was no mistaking her. The golden hair, the glistening hazel eyes. It was her. He found her. But why would they bring her back to the surface? Zane guessed that Aldric was using her to make him look good. A mere accessory. It made Zane sick to his stomach seeing her beauty bastardized in such a way. He balled his fists, his knuckles cracking. If these cowards didn't have guns on them or cast magic, she would have beaten them senseless. He had seen her break the jaw of a poor fool who had the audacity to stalk her in school. Not to mention she was deadly with a sword, on the count that she trained with the Ebony Knights in Elleria with her friend, Princess Evelyn. Sadly, Alexis was no mage herself. If she was, the story would be quite different. Mayhaps he would have read in the papers about how Alexis would be saving him from them. Crow sure pulled him out of trouble with mere firebolts. Zane sighed, picturing Alexis blowing them up with magic. If only. If only.

Aldric and Barrus were just talking. Then they laughed and shook hands. Aldric walked to Alexis and dragged her forward so the Dwarf could see her. Aldric slid his finger down her chin then smacked her derriere.

Too much!

Zane snapped and took off. His two Cyber Dragons screeched from the clouds and thundered after them as fast as two jets. He activated his wrist-mounted laser cannons and started bombarding them with an aerial assault. He destroyed a few vehicles, a load of crates, and a jeep that sent two Watch Tower mercs flying in all directions.

"ZANE!" he heard Alexis cry out.

Barrus was already making for the warehouse. "Albreit Squadron! Where are those fools? Deploy! We're under attack! It's him."

Zane ignored him. He went straight for Aldrich. He was ready to punch him and beat him. Alexis grabbed a dagger from one of the dead mercs and jabbed it into his back. Aldric howled in agony as Alexis repeatedly jabbed him over and over again. He turned and swatted her away with so much force that she smashed into a crate and shattered it. Zane then plowed into him and smashed the Aeon King against the wall. He jabbed Aldric on the kidneys and his ribs. He was ready to smash his face in. He struck, expecting to see a cloud of red mist. Instead, Aldric was smiling at him. It took Zane a while to realize that Aldric had his fist on his grip. Then, a horrible pain went up Zane's arm. Aldric was crushing his gauntlet with his bare hand.

"Fool," he sneered and punched Zane halfway across the pier.

"This is not good," said Aster. "Come on, Jaden."

"I'm right behind ya! Appear, Elemental HERO Gaia!" He smashed his fist on the ground and summoned his HERO. Gaia raised his cannon, pointing it at the sky, and fired a salvo of missiles on the convoy of Watch Tower vehicles. He noticed a girl in flaming pink hair pulling Alexis away towards the park. "Stay here," he commanded Gaia. He then jumped from the building and summoned another HERO. "Soar on in, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

The one-winged hero appeared. He dove from a portal that appeared over the building and picked up Jaden. Jaden swung himself on Flame Wingman's back and commanded him to attack the mercs below with a rain of flames coming out of the dragon head on his right arm. He noticed the Albreit mechs taking off, ready to engage them in battle.

"Uh oh," said Jaden. "Aster, we need you, man. Flame Wingman, drop me off here. I'm going to help my friend." The HERO landed next to a parking lot. Jaden jumped off Flame Wingman's back and drew his iridescent sword.

"Look!" shouted Aldric, he could see the light of the blade from where he was. "That...that sword! It truly exists. The Sword of HEROES. It's beautiful! I want that sword! Get me that sword!"

"Aw, crap!" Jaden grumped, running off into the woods. Aldric's Aeons chose to go after him and left the pier and Zane to the Watch Tower mercenaries.

"Get me that sword!" shouted Aldric. He cracked his knuckles. "I'll take care of the Cyber Knight."

Zane was still trying to pick himself up. His visor showed him nothing but static and distorted graphs. Nel-E started giving him the damage report. When Zane learned that he had been hit with the force of ten tons of dynamite, he shivered. That was just one punch. The stone. It was giving him super strength. Aster was right. Aldric was walking towards him confidently, not caring that there were mechs and giant HEROES engaged with one another all around him. He grabbed Zane by the throat and lifted him up.

"So, you're the big hero everybody's talking about, huh?"

He tossed Zane like a toy towards a brick building. Zane smashed into it, breaking through the wall and causing it to collapse. Aldric held up his fists and laughed like a maniac. He felt a thud behind him, then slowly turned. Elemental HERO Flame Wingman stood behind him. The HERO raised his right arm and unleashed a jet of flames as hot as the surface of the sun. To this dismay, Aldric stood as though it was a mere gust of warm air. He sprinted towards Flame Wingman and smashed him in the chest with his fist. The HERO grunted and soared across the street, smashing into a crane and knocking it down.

The two Cyber Dragons swatted away two mechs and soared towards Aldric, assaulting him with their Strident Blast attacks. They did nothing to him.

Aster could not believe what he saw. "This can't be happening!" he cried. He summoned Destiny HERO Dystopia and told him to attack Aldric. Dystopia flew towards Aldric. Aldric raised his arms and held them over his fist. Dystopia flew smashed into him. Aldric dug his feet on the concrete and soared through it as though it was dirt. Then he grabbed Dystopia by the neck and threw him back at Aster. He tried to run, but the HERO soared towards him at great speed and knocked into him. Aster and Dystopia rolled to a stop. Meanwhile, mechs from Albreit Squadron flew towards Gaia. They took him down in less than a minute.


Della


"Can't you do something to get that thing ready quicker?" Della urged Kara. "They're getting killed out there."

"I'm working on it!" shouted Kara, fumbling on the keyboard. "I just... I never expected the Heart of Helios to be this powerful. Aldric has turned into a god."

Della gasped. "Don't say that! Remember, he only has half of the stone. We can still turn this around? Send me over there with your Pharos."

"That's out of the question, Della! Besides, it's not ready yet."

"I'm the only one who can help them, Kara. Please. Please, let me do this everybody, please."

"Just what do you intend to do?"

"Your machine still needs a boost in power. Perhaps my half of the stone could..."

"NO!" Kara knew at once what she was suggesting. "It's too dangerous. We don't know what your stone could do to Pharos. It's still unstable and with a boost like that, you can kiss the royal family and half of Domino goodbye."

Della got on her knees and prayed. "Ana. Please. I know I'm not ready yet. But I need you to trust me..."

"That's all we can do," said Kara. "I'm sorry."

Ana. Elenari un ammar. Vo yex vonno mas vuus venidicion. Vo liat detrimarus.

Kara froze. She turned to look at Della. "That's...that's Celtran. No one has spoken that language in years."

Della's hair started glowing like the sun. Her eyes turned a shade of amber with runes growing in the iris. She slowly turned and said: Kara. Awenneth yistar vionath.

Kara fell out of her seat and crawled towards the wall. "What the hell are you?"

Della walked out of Kara's room then touched the main computer of Zane's lab. Suddenly, all of her screens turned royal red with gold font. The lab started to shake, alarms wailed. Suddenly, Pharos' power levels reached the top of the charts and continued to climb.

Kara ran for her computer and typed the commands to launch Pharos. Far away at sea, a strange contraption broke the surface. It was colored bright white with glowing circuit board patterns. From the center of the platform arose a pointed tower.

"NOW ZANE!" shouted Kara. "ZANE ANSWER ME! ACTIVATE IT! USE PHAROS!"


Zane


Zane struggled to pull himself out of the rubble. His armor was ruined, but he could still hear Kara shouting at him to use the machine. Aldric was coming towards him, ready to finish the job. Behind him, the mechs from Albriet Squadron followed. His Aeons marched to follow their leader like mindless zombies. Zane choked from the dust. He noticed some of them carried sledgehammers and jackhammers, blowtorches and saws. This was it. Aldric was no doubt going to command his Aeons to tear Zane apart. He noticed a light from the corner of his eye and looked towards the distance. He saw a bright green glow radiating from out at sea.

"Pharos," he coughed. Then he smiled. "Now, it's time." Thankfully, the wrist-mounted computer on his gauntlet still worked. "Cyber Fusion!" he shouted.

Aldric stopped. Zane's Cyber Dragons loomed over Aldric. He laughed and held out his arms to taunt them. "You want to do this again, boys? Come at me! With the Stone of Helios! I am invincible!"

Suddenly a ray of green light hit the two Cyber Dragons. They screeched and then swirled together as if they were made out of liquid. A cloud of steam enveloped the pier and sparks of electricity snapped in the air. The light from the sparks revealed the silhouette a looming figure. It was Cyber Dragon but...it had two heads. Spikes went down its necks and back. The left head had a yellow orb on its head and burning yellow eyes. The second head had a protective dome with blue markings. Its eyes were dark green.

"Aldrich!" shouted Zane. "Allow me to introduce, Cyber Twin Dragon!"

The creature roared. The Aeons ran away, thinking it was best to let Aldric and his stone take care of it. After all, this thing had the power of two Cyber Dragons in one and it was much bigger.

"COME ON!" Aldrich shouted. "I can take you!"

The two dragons took that challenge and fired yellow lasers at him. Like before, he crossed his arms over his face to act as a shield against the blast. BOOM! He felt himself getting pushed back. It meant the dragon was strong, but if he was holding on to the blast, he was safe. Or so he thought. He felt a stinging pain and screamed. The blast subsided. Cyber Twin Dragon roared victoriously. Why? Aldric wondered. He looked at his arms.

They weren't there.

They were gone.

He screamed in horror, wailing as though he was a child who lost his favorite toy. He turned to look at Zane and fainted. Suddenly Zane heard music coming from Cyber Twin Dragon. One he heard many times when he worked with Kara in the lab. It was a song from Earth, the world beyond the Gate.

Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics.

It was a good tune, Zane thought. And he was not at all surprised that Kara chose it to play as his new Cyber Dragon fusion slaughtered their enemies. Cyber Twin Dragon fired its laser attack at a group of Watch Tower mercenaries. They screamed as they flew into the air, scattering in all directions. Cyber Twin Dragon then used his tail to whip at a cluster of Aeons into the horizon. Once again, Cyber Twin Dragon roared victoriously. Flames began to tower up into the air. Two black SUVs raced towards him. The tops opened to let gunners with miniguns rise up to take a shot at the beast. The bullets smashed against the dragon's armor, doing no damage to the beast. Cyber Twin Dragon snarled and unleased its double Strident Blast attack. The so-called legendary Albriet Squadron and their mechs were taken down in two minutes flat. Zane's beast was unstoppable. Pharos, with its combination of advanced technology and magic called Polymancy (The art of fusion), was a complete success. Cyber Twin Dragon was super smart. Super strong. And alive. It seemed more biological than mechanical the more Zane looked at it. It's reaction time was quick and it almost responded to enemy attacks with a cringe. From pain or disgust, Zane did not know, nor did he care. The Aeons and the Watch Tower mercenaries were being annihilated.

"Zane!" Alexis shouted, running through the chaos. Jaden was behind her, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman was soaring above them, bathing more enemies in flames while Cyber Twin Dragon was blasting away mechs. They were nothing to it. And he was keeping Alexis safe as she made her dash for Zane.

After many days, Zane could finally hug his friend. When he held her, he didn't let go. He didn't want to let go. It took him some time to grasp at the fact that this was real. He could control his emotions no more. He clamped his teeth shut to keep from sobbing. But he could not contain his tears. They dripped from his eyes, splashing on her forehead.

She tried to comfort him. "I'm all right. It's okay."

Zane collapsed to his knees, bringing Alexis down with him. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry!" He looked around. "Where's the girl that tortured you!?"

"You mean me?" Fahrenheit said approaching them.

"You!" shouted Zane. His photon blade morphed from his gauntlet and hummed violently. "I'll have her head."

"Don't!" Alexis said at once. "She didn't want to do those things to me. She didn't really have that much of a choice. She's the reason why I'm here. She helped me escape."

Zane looked at the pink-haired girl, who was uncaringly scratching her nose. "That's the way of it," she said. "I want my revenge against the Church. But Aldric's mind twisted to madness the moment he learned about the gem. I don't want to risk the open war and putting a madman on the throne to take down an organization. I was willing to go far, but I have my limit. Lex, no hard feelings, right?"

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "No. As far as I'm concerned, you enjoyed what you did to me, even if you were conflicted deep inside. Idrialla would not have approved of this. If you really want to keep her memory alive and avenge her spirit, you're going to have to find something else to do with your life. This is only going to get you killed. Look around you." She held her arm up at Zane's Cyber Dragon and the Elemental and Destiny HEROES standing around the group. "You'll be making enemies with the wrong people. They stopped Aldric's plan to be king. They sure as hell can stop you. I appreciate you helping me escape, but if I catch you with these scumbags again, I'm locking you in the dungeon for life. And if there's to be an appointment with the headsman, I'll gladly sign the document. Got it?"

Fahrenheit smiled. "You're a tough little bird when out of your cage, Princess. I have a feeling you can be someone even stronger. Am I free to go?"

Zane and Aster were about to protest, but Alexis held up her hand to silence them. "By order of the Princess of Lorin, I pardon you of your crimes, Fahrenheit. Go. Make something better of yourself."

"Do you have any idea of the atrocities this girl has committed?" Zane growled.

Alexis sighed. "She killed priests and members of the Church Militant. As far as I'm concerned, they're animals who needed to be put down. But those days are over, right?"

"No, promises, ya little cutie. So long as the Covenant of Yeyu is still active, I'll be hot on their trail."

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "Then I give you twenty-four hours to get as far away from me as possible."

Just then, Zane remembered something. The Heart of Helios. Aldric was still wearing it. Zane turned to look, but he was gone. He then spotted him running for a van. His arms were growing back. He gave Zane the middle finger and then flew away. The stone gave him the power to fly.

"NO!" Zane shouted. He tried to take off but his suit was too damaged.

Fahrenheit made a blowing noise through her lip. "Oooo, tough luck there, hero. Looks like this isn't the last you've seen of Aldric."

"Cyber Twin Dragon! Go...!"

"Let him go," Aster said weakly as he hobbled towards him. "Did you see the way he took off? He's long gone by now and out of your dragon's range."

"But he still has the gem," said Zane. "We have to stop him! He won't give up on getting the crown."

"He has part of the gem, remember?" said Aster. "He has a few good moves, but your Cyber Twin Dragon just proved he can be beaten. Unless he takes Della's half, Cyber Dragon is tougher than he is. The next time he decides to start a coup, we'll be ready for him. What matters now is that Alexis is safe. And I got this chump over here."

Destiny HERO Dystopia was dragging Barrus, who was tied up in chains. "I'm going to end him once and for all. As for you, Alexis, try to be a little more careful next time, huh."

Alexis laughed. "Hey, don't worry about me. Where you going Aster?"

"Well, there's still a big city full of criminals," he answered with a cocky shrug. "And they're all asking for a date with Destiny." He looked down at the Dwarf. "But this guy is gonna wish he was never born." He snapped his fingers, commanding Dystopia to follow him. The Dwarf mumbled and cried for help as he was dragged away.

Alexis cringed, watching them as they turned a corner. "Eesh," she said before looking at Jaden. "Glad to see you again, Jaden. I see your training in Rassay proved very effective." She marveled at his Flame Wingman, standing there in the flesh. "Using your newfound powers for vigilante work, huh?"

"You can say something like that," he replied, sliding his finger back and forth under his nose. "I mean, it wasn't my idea, but after seeing Zane and Aster in action, I've got to say it's cool to see my HEROES kicking butt outside of a Duel. I think I'll join in on the fun, too."

Alexis couldn't help but chuckle. "Man. Cyber Dragons. HEROES. And that Revendread guy I read in the papers. Aldric and the bad guys of Domino better watch out now that you guys are in town."

Zane formed a big grin. "I like the sound of that. Beats sitting in the office all day signing documents. And Prince Yuri is coming home soon. We need to get this city cleaned up for his arrival."

"Sweet!" Jaden said with a big leap in the air. "Count me in, Zane! What about you, Alexis?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to be the damsel in distress forever," said said. "But I'm not ready yet. Having skill with a blade won't do me good against criminals with Earth-based weapons and magic like the Aeons. I'm going to fix this problem soon and take my mom's advice."

"So you're finally going to study magic and take it seriously?" Zane asked, ruffling her hair.

"Hey!" she said, swatting his hand away. "Of course, I am. I'm going to be stronger than both of you, mark my words. Who knows. Maybe someday, I'll be the one saving you, Zane."

Jaden laughed out loud, rubbing the back of his head. "Man. Zane, I'll never let you live that one day, I'll tell ya."

Zane sighed and punched Jaden in the arm to shut him up. "Kara," he said. "Contact King Eldon. Tell him to let Queen Rhodes know we have her daughter."

She squealed on the radio. "Good job! I'll let him know right away."

Zane gave Alexis another long and affectionate hug. "All right, Alexis. Let's get you home."