Shu POV:

Kluke's party was amazing and she loved the flower that I got her, as it smelled like oranges, one of her favorites. Sahlia got her a gift in the form of her birthday cake, which she baked all herself for the occasion. It was filled with chocolate and vanilla swirls, creme icing, and had specially crafted flowers and leaves on it made out of dyed batter. Even Kluke was a bit surprised at Sahlia's gift and everyone was in agreement that it was the best thing they'd ever tasted. Anya's gift was something else, however. Something that she said was extremely precious to her that she gave Kluke. It was a book that she looked at with confusion before Anya smiled.

"This is my gift to you, Kluke. My most cherished possession that helped me through the tough decade long containment on Nene's ship. It's my dream journal. It's only halfway filled, but you can look at my dreams of my life and you can add your own dreams in there that you can hold onto forever," Anya smiled at Kluke, my girlfriend sniffling and hugging Anya afterwards.

"Thank you, Anya... this is a great gift," Kluke smiled.

"I wanted to give you something special... after all, we're best friends," Anya smiled.

"Yeah... best friends forever," Kluke smiled happily with some happy sobs.

"Damn... that gift is way better than mine," I said to myself softly, making sure it was soft enough that no one could hear it... Anya smiled at me, but I simply held my finger to my mouth so she wouldn't blab what I said. She smirked and winked at me afterwards, her not mentioning it at all.

...

A whole year then passed us by after the events with Nene and it seemed that everything had returned to its peaceful state. Szabo had been given a second chance of life by Zola and Jibral, him having some of his memory remain, but having some deleted at the same time while giving him a robotic soul. Once he was given it, Anya then tried to give Szabo a shadow, similar to what she gave Kesu after she had lived with us for a few months. Kesu's was that of a large whale and her magic was mostly magical... but Szabo couldn't get it for some odd reason.

"Damn... sorry, Szabo... I guess your soul isn't compatible to use magic with," Anya sighed with a frown outside at the lookout of Neo Jibral Castle, as we had been calling it since it had been inhabited by us for awhile.

"It is quite fine, Mistress Anya," Szabo said with his sternness as always... but then Anya gasped as she looked out the balcony and I wondered what she was hearing.

"Something is happening to the Engine Cube in the distance... can you see it?" Anya gawked as I looked out and I gasped as I saw it. There was a large cube that looked like an Eternal Engine falling into a recess into the bottom portion of the planet. And once it connected, we all gasped as a gigantic, 5-headed, purple-colored Balaur shadow emerged from it and the monstrous shadow roared so loud that we could feel a loud gust of wind before it disappeared back into the cube!

"Oh my god... the almighty Balaur shadow... we need to go to that cube and destroy it by any means necessary!" Anya said with fear in her voice.

"On a scale of one to one hundred, what's the danger verdict of this shadow?" Zola asked.

"On one to one hundred? One million," Anya said, me wondering if she was being cute.

"Are you being serious or sarcastic?" Szabo asked.

"Dead serious. Nene's old records in the Primitive Cube said that the Balaur Shadow is 100 times more powerful than Nene's Red Chimera shadow. And Nene actually required some effort to knock back with his shadow against ours, keep in mind. It took all six of our group to get on even ground with his Red Chimera until Mystic found an opening to smash his hand. This shadow is one hundred times stronger than the strongest Ancient in existence, so we need to go there with all of our might to defeat the shadow's owner... but before that, we need some kind of scouting team to see what we're going to be up against when we go there," Anya said.

"I'll go," Zola said.

"So will Maro!" Marumaro said as he appeared from around the corner.

"Always near Zola no matter what, I see," I smiled at him.

"In that case, I'll tag along and Szabo will, too," Anya smiled, Szabo doing his salute at Anya.

"I'm coming with too. Should we get permission from King Jibral?" I asked.

"No need. I saw it from here," Jibral's voice said from above us, him looking up from a much higher balcony.

"Okay then, let's proceed with a Mechat to go to the Engine Cube," Anya smiled.

Anya POV:

Upon arrival to the cube, our group got out and began our expedition, only for us to get jumped by a bunch of Mecha Robos!... But the thing that shocked all of us at the same time? They had Purple Dragon shadows! All of them!

"Impossible! How can every single one of these Mecha Robos have these shadows?! It's only supposed to apply to specialized robot souls and only for those with more work put into design! Mass-produced robots shouldn't be compatible!" I gawked at the sight while we began to take them out.

"We must destroy them before they get the idea to get to the other civilizations," Szabo said as we took out the last of them... but then something big and loud appeared.

"What was that noise?" Maro asked. We then got our answer as a gigantic robot wielding a long sword burst from the ground, creating a large hole and me sensing something on the robot's back. It was a self-destruct sac. One with roughly a thousand pounds of dynamite!

"SHIT! We need to demolish this robot! He's packing half a ton of dynamite in that large bomb on his back!" I exclaimed, all of the others gasping when I said what it was.

"A bomb?! We need to destroy it! Take this!" Shu yelled as he tried to attack it, but gasped when the armor seemed to be tougher than we could do anything to... for Shu at least.

"Leave it to me, Shu," I smiled as I then focused my power and slammed the robot directly in the chest with a super-powered punch from Mystic Mermaid, the blow managing to demolish the robot's outer shell and smacking him right into a wall, his eyes going blank once I did so.

"Very impressive, Mistress Anya," Szabo said.

"I've demolished monsters made of stronger metal than that creep. We should just be grateful that he won't be getting up again... let's go through this hole... I sense some kind of energy down there," I said, our group going into it and landing in a large, square-shaped arena that I could sense unease in. "Hmm... it's quiet... too qui-... AH! I sense something... rrrggh..." I growled lowly as I felt something that I thought I'd never feel again.

"What is it, Anya?" Marumaro asked. I rushed forward with the others following me and we eventually found what I was talking about.

"Is that a light sphere?" Shu asked.

"Zola! I thought you said this was in the ocean!" I yelled at her, Zola gasping when she heard that.

"I-I did throw it deep into the ocean! It was around the area of Jibral Castle, right by the Tsunami Vortex's last known location," Zola said.

"Damn it... then that means that it fell into this area when the world split in half. Castle Jibral was directly at the equator, after all," I grumbled... but then I gasped as I heard some skittering.

"At arms... I hear something..." I said, me looking around for the source before I looked up. And when I did, I narrowly dodged a blade going into my body from a robot I thought we'd never see again.

"ACK!" I exclaimed as I narrowly dodged it and the faces then appeared before us. "All of them?! But I can sense they aren't the same ones we saw before, especially Kesu. Look at those eyes. They're all red as sin!" I said with fear, all of the robots looking at me with a growl.

"Target sighted," Silent Kesu said.

"Unidentified intruders detected as enemies," Mai said.

"Initiating Battle Mechanics," the fake Kesu said.

"Commence battle," Heat Wave Sai said, all of their voices being completely monotone. It was as if they had no character at all anymore other than being machines of destruction!

"Let's take these thugs out!" Shu said as he, Marumaro, Zola, and I let out our shadows and Szabo pulled out his pistol and began to shoot at the robots along with us.

"Szabo. You are siding with humans now?!" the fake Kesu asked.

"Stop this madness! I have no memory of evil! I am loyal to the ones who saved me!" Szabo growled.

"You know what must happen," Ku said.

"We must..." Mai frowned.

"Become one..." Kesu said.

"AGAIN!" Sai yelled as they all then singled out Szabo from our group and then attacked Szabo and I gasped horribly as they almost immediately combined their bodies to Szabo's! Szabo looked at us in shock as he tried to fight the group that had got him turned.

"Szabo!" I gasped.

"Please! Save me! I do not wish to be used for evil again!" Szabo exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Szabo, we're going to free you!" I exclaimed as I then tried to connect a blow to the middle body of Ku and managed to do a bit of hurt to it, but then Szabo spoke again.

"Please... destroy me!" Szabo exclaimed... but then, before any of us could say anything, something happened.

"Silence!" All of the robot generals said at once as the fake Kesu then stabbed Szabo right in the chest and tore out his soul! After they did this, Szabo stopped moving... and then his eyes turned bright red.

"NOOO!" I yelled in shock and sadness as he then grabbed Nene's Killer Bat soul with no emotion.

"Now, the one true king will have his power once more," Szabo said, my Eternal Engine starting to smoke as I felt my spirit get hurt, the smoke visibly coming out once Szabo fled via teleporting.

"Anya! You're smoking!" Zola gasped at me.

"It only comes out when I feel incredibly sick... he said the one true king... he... I KILLED HIM! HE SHOULD BE DEAD!" I exclaimed angrily as I had to open my chest cavity to let the smoke out and cool my Eternal Engine.

"Nene?! He's still alive?! We need to go after him, then! Tell me, where do you sense he went?" Shu exclaimed.

"Rgm... I sense he's just in the next room... I sense... HIM too. Let's hurry," I said as we then rushed over to the exit to the next room as fast as we could. And when we arrived, we gasped at how we saw that Szabo and the four generals had found a very weakened Nene as he stepped out of a containment machine looking as old and aged as he did before.

"M... M... RGGGGHHH! NNNNEEENNNEE!" I exclaimed, me snapping as I finally felt something happen in my brain. Finally, after a whole year of willing myself, I had finally defeated the code to call him Master Nene. And just in time too, as I then tried to rush him quickly. Nene smiled as he then swallowed the Killer Bat spirit and I gasped as he immediately got his youth back and he created a pretty tough barrier around him that soaked up my attack.

"Dammit! Even with one part of five souls, your magic is still impressive... but how the fuck did you bring yourself back to life after I fired a bullet through your brain?!" I growled at Nene angrily, him laughing at me.

"You really think that such a blow would finish me off, Anya?" he said, my eyebrows being raised when he didn't call me by my model name. "I simply cast my own spell, which resurrected me in this containment unit to heal my wounds. The exact same one that I had awoken from all those years ago! But I must ask, where has my beloved Deathroy gone off to?" Nene asked.

"Oh, don't you know? He wasn't called Deathroy. He was actually named Destroy. Ring any bells?" I asked him, Nene gasping as he suddenly held his head while my allies attacked Szabo, the giant mech trying to attack me, but failing to do damage.

"You mean... all this time, I was keeping hold of the killer of all the Ancients?!" Nene hissed.

"That you were. Your memory was so bad, you couldn't even remember the true identity of the monster that killed everyone you ruled. As for what we have discovered, on the other hand... remember when you said that you and Himiko were the last known Ancients?" I smiled, Zola looking at me with a smile.

"What are you implying? Are you going to demonize Himiko once more?!" Nene scowled angrily.

"Oh no, I wouldn't do that. It's obvious you two cared for each other... in fact, we actually met at least 10 different Ancient families that had survived the war and were on the different cubes. And unlike you, they were quite content with sharing their presence with humans," I frowned at him, Nene gasping at that and looking at me with confusion.

"Are you being truthful?... You cannot fool me with your lies!" Nene growled.

"Apologies, Nene, but remember those codes that failed on me? All of them failed but one. I just got rid of the program to call you master... and the only one left is that I am forced to always tell the truth. My allies can vouch for me on that one," I smiled.

"Yeah! Anya told Zola that Jibral had a crush on her just yesterday!" Marumaro said, Zola stiffening at that.

"And she told me that you liked to read bedtime stories to Deathroy before going to sleep," Shu smiled, Nene gasping as he then frowned.

"So... you do speak the truth... if so, then tell me, Anya. What are the names of these Ancients and what is their story?" Nene asked.

"Now, why would I tell you that? If I did, there's a very good chance you'd want them to be swallowed by a man-eating tree. Maybe freeze them in place with ice... or maybe flood their entire existence of the face of the earth! Do any of those fucking instances ring any bells in that fat purple head?" I growled at him, Nene glaring at me before we then heard a voice out of bloody nowhere. It sounded unlike any voice I had heard before.

"You are still inferior..." the voice said, Nene gasping at that.

"W-Who dares?!" he growled before I saw something come out from the machine from behind him. Not thinking, I gasped as I then felt my body move unintentionally. "NENE LOOK OUT!" I exclaimed, my body trying to grab him before it was too late... but it was. Three large claws emerged from the machine and latched themselves to Nene's backside, holding him up and me sensing that they weren't actually hurting him, but copying images and experiences from his mind... I could feel the electricity in his brain being copied into the cords in his spine. But then I gasped as I saw that all of my friends had been trapped in between two giant pipes that were attacking them with noxious electricity!

"Ack! We need to retreat! Now! You guys won't be able to use magic for a few hours after touching that stuff! I'm sorry, we have to warp out of here now!" I exclaimed, me looking at the group and focusing their energies to the warp station I'd activated at the start of the cube. And once we escaped, we couldn't help but feel that something extremely bad was going to happen soon... very soon...