"Nnyygghhh…."

Mage gently lifted his head up from the ground. As he did, he blinked his way into focus. He was inside a tent, one that had a small fire burning near him that was providing light to the room. Mage looked around the room, trying to discern his surroundings. As he sat up, he felt a blanket on top of him slide away.

"Where, am I…?" Mage slowly stood up, stretching his body out. In doing so, his foot kicked a small metal bucket with water in it, sloshing some out. The noise caused a man dressed in the slick purple and gray robes of the Mind Tribe to open up the flaps and step inside.

"Dragon Lord!" The man bowed quickly, "You're awake! That's wonderful."

"Heh, yep, I am!" Mage smiled to him, "Are, we in the Mind Tribe?"

"Yes sir!" The man lifted up from his bow, "You have been asleep for almost two days. The operation has been moved here, for the time being, after the destruction of the Summit."

"It… was destroyed?" Mage stepped towards him, testing his footing, "Where's everyone now?"

"In the War Tent, sir!" The man turned, "Come, I will lead you to them!"

"Thanks..." Mage trailed off as he groaned into a stretch, letting the man lead on. The two exited the tent, revealing it to be one in a long line of them. The tents looked relatively new, or at the very least polished. People, notably the guards from the Summit, were running about the dirt of the camp, getting various tasks done. Down the way, Mage could see a massive set of weapons being prepared, while the opposite direction yielded what looked to be a cooking area. The man led him straight through the tents towards the center of the camp.

As they passed more and more guards, Mage got a look around. Off in the distance, he could see the skull of an ancient beast the Mind Tribe called its home, said to have been slain by his grandfather and left there for the Mind Tribe to eternally ponder what beast was bold enough to stand against him. The camp was set up on the outskirts of their territory. From the sun, he guessed the main road they had been protecting was on the other side of the towers.

Finally, the two reached a massive green tent. As soon as they opened it, Mage recognized it instantly as a recreation of the planning room Lloyd and Harumi had constructed in the Summit. Around a makeshift table from barrels was Monty, standing with Lloyd, Harumi, and Lulloyd. As Mage entered, the four looked ready to leave.

"Hey!" Mage called out, "You guys are okay! Thank goodness!"

"Mage!" Lulloyd smiled to him, "You're okay!"

"You slept for almost two days," Monty stated with a groan, "You were starting to worry them."

"You were worried too, Monty," Harumi frowned at him.

"How are you feeling, Mage?" Lloyd asked, "You must have really pushed yourself back there."

"Mhm, I'm fine!" Mage stretched his legs out, "Feeling pretty rested! Wait!" He raised one hand, forming lightning in his open palm, "Hrm… yep, I'm good now!"

"Good," Monty turned from him, "They apparently caught a Vermillion warrior wandering around the main road. We're going to interrogate him."

"Can I help?" Mage asked, "I can use the power of mind to make sure they're telling the truth!"

Harumi shook her head, "Neuro told us not to try that. He's still recovering in the Smoke Tribe right now. His group got ambushed pretty badly, but we're having them stay there for now. Karlof took his group to his tribe too."

"What about Skylar's group?" Mage asked curiously.

"That's what we're going to find out," Monty turned, "Let's go."

Mage blinked in confusion, but followed after the four. Lloyd led the way, leading them through the tents until they had long exited the camp. Using a side path, they wound their way through slopes until they reached a cave. Two Mind users were in front. They nodded to the group as Lloyd approached, letting them inside. Mage wasn't sure why they were keeping the warrior here, but he didn't want to say anything rude.

Inside the cave, the captured Vermillion was inside a glass box. Mage recalled that using fire and wind on sand could produce glass. Given the snakes could break apart, it made sense fora sealed cage. The warrior looked completely limp inside, as if his snakes had all just… died. As they approached, Lloyd turned to Monty, who blew out one of the torches on the wall to obscure Lloyd, Harumi and Lulloyd. He himself went invisible.

"We were planning on having a guard do this," Harumi explained, "But we can't let them see us. Can you try talking to him, Mage?"

"Sure!" Mage smiled, walking up to the glass and tapping on it, "Hey! Warrior! We need to talk!"

The Vermillion didn't respond. Mage blinked in confusion, then he leaned in and tapped harder. When it still looked limp, he frowned and reached out, "Okay… let's try this!"

With mind as the focus, Mage gave the warrior a little blast. At first, the warrior had no reaction. Then, steadily, as if it'd been turned on, the warrior raised its head. It opened its mouth slowly, its eyes dazed and confused. Mage blinked in confusion as the warrior twitched, as though it was almost… possessed by something.

"So sorry," The warrior spoke with an oddly feminine voice, "I had to arrange this thing's vocal chords to work. I've been waiting for you, Dragon Lord."

"Machia..?" Lloyd whispered in confusion.

"Huh?" Mage crossed his arms, "Why me specifically?"

"Because I know you loved the sight of watching your Summit burn… well, it's burned now," The warrior chuckled, "So sorry you weren't there to see the flames."

Mage's fingers tightened around his forearms. Lloyd frowned deeply, recognizing that same sort of goading used on him before. Mage, however, held onto himself just long enough to keep himself focused on the warrior.

"What message?" Mage asked calmly as he could.

"I have seen that your kind cares deeply for your bonds… and your revenge," The warrior relayed, "I have with me the survivors of a group led by that annoying daughter. Specifically, I have with me two speed wielders and a water wielder. I recognize the water one as one I once fought named Nya. They proved useful to me, so I refrained from killing most of them."

Mage's nostrils flared. The other four realized that Machia had not only captured Griffin and Nya, but Skylar's entire caravan group as well. It didn't take long to realize why Machia was telling them this. Mage, however, let her continue.

"If I see a single one of you here," The warrior purred out, "I will kill all of them. If you would like to try to rescue them, It shouldn't take you very long to figure out where we are. The blood of all those who died defending your precious Summit is already on your hands, Dragon Lord. If you do decide to mount an offensive to rescue them, I hope you're far less noisy than you were that day. Come after us… only if you're willing to risk that."

With that, the warrior suddenly let out a loud shriek. The five all covered their ears as, one by one, the snakes inside seemed to writhe and snap. Soon, the warrior was convulsing, and then it completely broke apart. The multitude of dead snakes left behind by what was clearly a forcible self-destruct was sickening to see.

"...Mage," Harumi stepped forward once they were sure the snakes were gone, "Are… you okay?"

"They captured Skylar's group…" Mage gripped his fists, "They burned down the Summit…?"

"We can rebuild the Summit," Lloyd quickly stated, "I learned that the hard way. Everything can be rebuilt. Everything but lives. We need to approach this carefully."

"Obviously," Monty sighed, "We need to get them back. She's using this as leverage to keep us from attacking them."

"Skylar's group…" Mage inhaled, "Where's Skylar? Why wasn't she there when I woke up?"

Suddenly, the room went deathly quiet. Lulloyd in particular darted his eyes to the side. All four of them didn't say anything. Mage, catching on quickly, turned towards them. The building anger and confusion inside him directed at them as his fists clenched even tighter.

"Skylar would be right by my side, if I got hurt," Mage gritted his teeth, "Where… where is Skylar?"

"I… Mage…" Lulloyd gulped, "We, I was going to tell you, after we'd talked about…"

Mage's eyes looked into Lulloyd. The sight made Lulloyd freeze. Mage turned away from them, stalking towards the entrance to the cave they were in. It didn't take long to figure out where Skylar was. If she wasn't captured, and she wasn't there with him…

"Skylar…" Suddenly, Mage flashed with the element of Speed, soaring his way back towards the camp. Lulloyd and Harumi quickly turned to race after him. Monty and Lloyd soon followed.

Mage ran as fast as he could. Something wasn't right. Why wouldn't she be there? He looked around the camp. It hadn't been that long since the battle, so there had to be some medical tents. She must have gotten hurt. That had to be it. They weren't telling him, because she was hurt. He had to go and see her then!

"Skylar!" Mage shouted as soon as he saw the medical tents. He ran towards them, seeing papers posted on each one. He went name by name, looking for her name. When he got to the end of the row, he saw a tent that seemed reserved just for her. He smiled, then gripped the flap and threw it open.

"Skylar!" Mage babbled out, "I was so worried about you! When I heard you were coming I thought you'd be hurt, but I knew you'd be fine, you're super strong and powerful and there's no way you could… could…"

Mage's grip on the flap loosened as he stared at Skylar's body. His words trailed off as he saw it. Or rather, what he couldn't see. It was a sight that chilled him. A sight that he had already seen before. A sight, he'd hoped never to see again.

"Mage!" Harumi shouted, finally catching up to him, "We, we need to tell you something before you see… her…" She lifted a hand up to her mouth, "..Mage…"

Mage didn't turn to face her. Instead, he slowly inhaled, and then asked one question. One question that was filled with so much hurt, shock, and confusion that it made Harumi shudder:

"What… what happened to Skylar?"

Mage stood motionless at the entrance to Skylar's tent. He didn't say anything, only stared into the soft light of the room at the body lying on the floor. It was a sight he had already seen once, and a sight that drained all of the light out of his face. His fists remained opened, his eyes wide, and his breathing shallow as he took in the sight.

Lulloyd and Harumi both stood on opposite sides of Mage. Lulloyd looked down, having been the one to find and carry her, while Harumi looked to be trying to say something. Mage's expression, however, was so devoid of emotion that it was hard for her to think of what would actually make him better.

"You…" Mage turned to Lulloyd, "You lied to me. You said… said she was fine."

"...I…." Lulloyd bit his lip, "It's, we were doing things and, we were working on that plan and…"

"You said, she was okay," Mage shifted his body to look towards Lulloyd in an intimidating sensation, "You lied to me. This… this isn't okay."

"You, you were, I couldn't…" Lulloyd sighed, "I, was going to tell you once you woke up but, you woke up too soon…."

"Mage," Harumi stepped forward, "I know, this looks bad, but the healers said she's going to be fine."

"You lied to me too," Mage didn't turn around, "Don't talk to me."

"What?" Harumi shook her head, "Mage, I never lied to you."

"You told me that my friends, wouldn't be in danger anymore… that I was strong enough to protect them," He spoke in a low tone, "You… you said that I could do this. That I was strong enough. But… but I wasn't. You lied to me."

"I didn't lie to you," Harumi inhaled nervously, "Mage, I know right now this looks bad. It was just, we didn't know they hijacked our own plan, we didn't-"

"Shut up!" Mage shouted, his words flaring with anger, "I said don't talk to me!"

Mage stalked forward into the tent. His hand reached out and placed itself on top of the mass of bandages that was covering Skylar's head. He focused hard. She was sleeping, so reading her mind would be easy. She couldn't throw up barriers like this. Lulloyd and Harumi looked on in confusion, too nervous to try to stop him.

"Well, I suppose that is true. He has known where we were this entire time, after all. Keep that in mind for me, Young Skylar."

"Krux…" Mage's other hand started to tremble, "Krux did this to her…"

"Krux was at the Summit?" Harumi blinked, "But… why didn't we see him when he attacked?"

"I don't have to have the power of time to affect the future anymore, so I'm doing what needs to be done. I'll make sure that boy doesn't forget this."

"Krux…. He did this to her…" Mage's blood began to broil, "Not… not again. Not… not to her. He… he's trying to send me another message…"

"That, doesn't make sense," Lulloyd shook his head, "If… if he was there we would have seen him. Did… did he go there just to attack her?"

"How could he have known she'd be there?" Harumi shook her head, "I'm not sure what's going on here."

Mage suddenly stormed past the two of them. He shoved them aside, moving to the tent that Acronix was still recovering in. When he emerged from it, he had something strapped to his back. Harumi recognized it as the massive sword that Acronix had always carried on him during their time in the Summit.

"Mage, what are you doing?" Lulloyd asked nervously.

"I'm going to find Krux," Mage stated flatly, "And I'm going to make sure he can't hurt my friends anymore."

"What?" Harumi stepped forward, "Mage, no! You can't go off on your own! Where do you even know where to look?!"

"Krux said I've been to where he's hiding before…" He nodded his head, "I always thought that cave was weird…" His eyes shook, "First Acronix… now Skylar…" Mage growled, "Who's next? Who else is going to get hurt? Skylar's team was captured. Who will it be next?"

"Mage, you can't think like that, we're working on a plan to get them back!" Harumi smiled gently, "Come on, we'll talk about this, we'll fix it together!"

Harumi reached out and placed her hand on Mage's shoulder. Mage's eyes lifted up, revealing them to be shrouded in shadow. He reached up with his own hand, gripping Harumi's wrist. In a flash, his hand turned metal, trapping her wrist in it. He lifted his eyes up to reveal the gunmetal color before he thrust Harumi back. She went flying, soaring straight away until she struck a tree. She let out a gasp of pain as she did.

"M-Mage!" Lulloyd stepped in front of Mage, "What are you doing?!"

"I'm through with plans…" Mage growled, "I have my own plan now."

"What? No!" Lulloyd shook his head, "We, we gotta do this together! You're the most powerful guy here! You can't-"

Mage suddenly reached out and drew Aevum from his back. The Time Matrix formed on Mage's left wrist, the arrows turning to the right. The entire thing went green. The blue shrouded blade soared right towards Lulloyd. Lulloyd, thinking fast, grabbed a stick on the ground nearby and rapidly swung to catch it.

As soon as the sword hit him, Lulloyd saw a flash of blue suddenly move and surround his body. His entire world went slow motion. He blinked in confusion, unsure what had just happened. Mage looked at Lulloyd cloaked in slow energy and nodded his head. He turned the sword around and used the blunt edge to hit Lulloyd in the chest. He sent him flying once the slow wore off, sending him off towards where Harumi lay.

"I'm going after those two…" Mage muttered, "I heard it. In her head. Krux sent me a message, through her."

"W-Wait!" Lulloyd wheezed, "At, at least let us go with you!""

"No," Mage began walking away, "You'd just get in the way."

"M-Mage!" Lulloyd gasped, "Wait, please, you need to!"

Mage shot his head to the side, showing a pupil trembling as he snarled. He raised his foot and slammed it into the ground. A crack shot across the earth, racing straight until it was right under Lulloyd. The earth suddenly shot up in a pillar, striking Lulloyd on the chin and knocking him backwards. As Lulloyd went onto his back. Mage turned around.

"Try to follow me, and I'm treating you like one of those snakes," Mage growled stalking away again, "I'll handle this."

Lulloyd was in too much pain to do anything about Mage. Mage lowered his head to let shadows cover his eyes again as he made his way through the camp. Those around him paid him little mind, which was more than fine with him. By the time that Lulloyd and Harumi managed to get to their feet, Mage had already left the camp and was walking his way out. Specifically, he was making his way towards the Firstbourne, who had stayed near the camp after delivering them to safety.

"Mage!" Harumi shouted. Mage didn't hear her and walked up to Firstbourne, grabbing hold of her reins and climbing up into the saddle. He turned to give the camp a long, dark, and pained look before he directed the dragon up towards the sky, taking off with three powerful beats of the dragon's wings.

Both ninja watched as Mage flew away. Within a few moments, Firstbourne was no more than a red speck that became lost among the clouds. The two remained silent, Lulloyd out of pain and Harumi out of a stupor. She gripped her fist angrily and turned towards the War Tent.

"We… have to tell Lloyd and Monty about this," Harumi growled, "It'll change our plans."

"I already heard," Monty's voice came from beside them, "And yeah, it does."

The two jumped as the canvas of a nearby tent turned green for a brief moment before Monty emerged from it. He crossed his arms and stalked over to between the two of them, watching the spot where Mage had disappeared. As he did, he looked on with a calm demeanor but anger filled eyes. Then, as he watched, he slowly drew in a breath, then exhaled with his power to send him a few feet up into the air.

"He knows where the Time Twins are?" Monty asked as he hovered there.

"He… must, if he's just charging out like that," Harumi mused, "He said, Krux told Skylar he already knew where they were. It must be someplace he's been before."

"Which is everywhere," Lulloyd pointed out, "And… I don't want to go trying to follow that dragon."

"I've seen people like him before," Monty mused, "He's the type of kid that's going to go in and either end this entire thing, or get killed trying. But getting in his way is just going to make this worse for all of us."

"If he's going in to fight the Time Twins, did, he forget about the fact Skylar's group was captured?" Lulloyd asked.

"No…" Harumi shook her head, "That's why he didn't want us to go with him. He wants us to go and deal with that so he doesn't have to worry about it."

"What?" Lulloyd asked, "How… do you know?"

"It's a guess," Harumi paused, "But, he's not just some excitable kid. He's been through a lot of battle by now. Let's at least give him credit for knowing how to plan a few things. If he did this intentionally, he's making sure he can direct his anger without worry. If not… well, it's just lucky then."

"You do realize that not only do we have less than half of the soldiers we called in for the Summit," Monty scoffed, "But we also have a good bit of them injured too?"

"Well what are supposed to do then, Monty?" Harumi turned to him, "What sort of thing do you suggest we do?"

"Nothing," Monty turned around, "We got too close to getting revealed at the Summit. We need to lay low right now and let Mage deal with this."

"So you'll just condemn the people that got captured to die?" Harumi threw back.

"They made the mistake of getting captured," Monty stated darkly, "This is just what they deserve."

Harumi and Monty were left at a standstill. They both stood firm at their impasse, their strong personalities refusing to budge. Monty held his apathetic stance, while Harumi had her fists gripped and starting to spark with black lightning once more. Both of them would have stared for much longer, had someone not spoken up.

"I… can I say something?" Lulloyd shook his head, "I, no, I'm going to say something."

"What?" Monty groaned at him.

"I… I haven't made any plans here," Lulloyd shook his head, "I haven't done anything. I've been training with Monty, playing chess and… and talking to people. All I've done while you all plan and fight is talk to everyone in that building. Everyone. I know almost all the guards' names. I wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for Rina helping me to you guys. I would… I would've…"

Lulloyd gathered himself, "Monty. I get, I get that this plan is important. We can't go and just, show ourselves off like we do. But, those people they captured, they're not unimportant. Everyone in that Summit, they all had a purpose, a life. I… I'm the ninja of life, and I can't sit by and say that we just let people go get hurt. It doesn't matter how much pain we go through, we have to protect their lives!"

Monty went to speak, but Lulloyd cut him off, "No, I'm, I'm not done. We've done nothing here but just, sit behind everyone else, let them do the work. Maybe it's time, we got in front of them and worked to fix this ourselves! We can't fight the Twins, but I'm not going to sit behind another operation and let them all get hurt! Mage is going off and fighting them! We can't sit by and let him do that all willy-nilly! We're going to help him by rescuing that group! And, and if you have a problem with that, you can stay behind!"

Monty and Harumi were left speechless by Lulloyd's sudden outburst. Lulloyd blinked, feeling his sudden wave of determination coming down off of him. The two stared at him, both waiting for more. When none came, Monty just slowly nodded his head.

"You got a plan then, bigshot?" Monty rolled his eyes, "Ronin would tell you it ain't worth talking a big game if you can't back it up. If you have a plan to get them all back, I'd love to hear it."

Lulloyd turned to Harumi for some help. She and Lloyd had been planning all of this. She, however, just smiled at him, as though encouraging him to keep going. That just made a pit of anxiety well up inside of Lulloyd's stomach. He took a few moments to gulp, forcing himself to think. He… he could come up with plans. He was just on the spot right now. He had to think of something.

"I… I think I might have something," Lulloyd nodded, "But we're going to need a form user for it. And all the speed users we can get our hands on. And… a few other random things. We need to know where they are, and once we do… we'll make it in full."

"Well," Harumi turned to look towards guards milling about, "We've been working on that. There are only a few places we think they could be. In fact…."

Suddenly, a woman in Nature Tribe garb rushed up, carrying in her hand a scroll. She looked to the group, then focused her sights on Harumi, holding the scroll out to her.

"Ma'am, we've deduced where they must be hiding!" The guard inhaled, "They're in the Toxic Wastes of the Poison Tribe territory!"

"How do you know?" Monty eyed her.

"It's the only tribe that hasn't been suffering as many attacks," The guard informed them, "They have to be operating out of there right now if they're trying to hide. We analyzed some armor and found the feet had acid splashes on them. The only area that can produce acid like that is the Poison Tribe. And if they've built a base, there's only a small patch of bog where they could have enough flat ground to make it."

"If we've narrowed them down to that area," Harumi turned to Lulloyd, "Do you think you can get us in there, Lulloyd?"

"I'm… still not sure I like being the one to do the plan…" He gulped, "But… I might have an idea."

"I'll get Lloyd and start getting all the form and speed users we have, then," Harumi nodded, "Let's go take down some snakes."

The wind buffeted against Mage's face as Firstbourne flew through the skies. The clouds had darkened, and rain was starting to splatter against Mage's face. Without thinking, he used his control over water to shield both his and the dragon's face from the downpour. He would normally fly above the clouds, but he needed to be on the lookout for the Vermillion.

The Firstbourne didn't speak as Mage flew her. He was normally gentle and calm, but she could sense the anger and barely restrained hatred inside of him. She ignored his harsh tugs and lack of words, instead flying under the clouds as directed. She knew the location that he was taking her to, and thus, there was no need to speak between them. Given how the terrain began to change from greenery to sharp jagged mountains, they'd entered Time Tribe territory.

If what he'd gotten out of Skylar's head was right, that meant that he'd already been to the place the Twins were hiding. Right now, he knew that if he found those Twins, he'd also find his Krux. Krux, he guessed, whatever the others called him. He'd find them all. His fingers tightened harder on the reins. He'd show them the power that he held and teach them a lesson not to mess with them again. He'd teach them a lesson they wouldn't need to remember for long.

Mage sensed it before he saw it. He gave the reins on Firstbourne a massive tug to the right, pulling her head just away from getting it taken off by a flaming cocoon. In rage, Mage reached his hand up and took control of the flames burning over the cocoon and flared them up. While one eye went red, the other went light blue as he twisted the rain around the cocoon to send it flying back towards where he'd felt it. As he watched it fall, the flames flared until they struck the ground far below him.

When the smoke cleared by the rain pelting the smoldering flames, Mage saw them. Three of those strange tanks, all lined up on a ridge. How they knew where he'd be flying, he didn't care. He snapped the reins again, making his dragon turn towards the ground. She gave him a look of annoyance at being commanded like that, but nonetheless flew straight towards the ground. Two more cocoons were set ablaze and came flying straight towards Mage.

Mage thrust his hands out, his eyes going copper. The two cocoons were sent straight towards the ground as the force of gravity overcame them. With a yell, Mage stood up and ran forward on the top of Firstbourne's head to leap off her snout. As soon as he was in the air, he immediately reached out towards the metal that the machines were made of and focused.

Suddenly, Mage felt a massive tug as he was sent soaring through the air straight away from Firstbourne. A pull was tugging on him, sending him straight for the tank. He was fast enough in his descent that when he landed against the tank, he heard several loud crunches and snapping as half of the contraption was completely caved in. He canceled out the magnetic poles between his feet and the metal of the tank, letting him leap off and hit the ground. Karlof had taught him that one when first designing the speed cars.

The two remaining tanks slowly began to turn towards him. Mage shot one hand out, eyes navy, causing the winds of the storm to wrap around one tank and send it slamming into another. The force didn't stop, sending the tanks flying about in a circular arc off the slope and into the air. Before they could go far, Mage gripped his fist, causing a massive pillar of earth to soar straight up from the ground and catch the two tanks. The earth squeezed shut around them, making snakes fall and pop out from the metal as he did.

"Using multiple elements at once like that?" A voice that made Mage inhale sharply came from behind him, "You'll wear yourself out before the true battle, Lloyd."

Mage slowly turned around, his expression darkened by the rain around him. When he saw who was there, his fists tightened hard. Krux stood in the rain, wearing his ceremonial armor from the Time Tribe. In one hand, he held a light blue blade with two prongs on it. His hair was slickened from the rain, and so he had it tied in a knot behind his head. He reached up with his free hand and flicked the water away from his eyes, the motion revealing a knife sliding out of his sleeve into his hand.

The Firstbourne landed hard behind Mage, causing the very ground to rumble. She turned her gaze towards Krux, holding her head high and letting the rain highlight the sheer size and power she held in just her jaws alone. She began to growl, taking one step forward to put her foot beside Mage.

"No…" Mage muttered wordlessly, "I'll handle him."

The Firstbourne lowered her head to put her massive eye beside Mage's head. Mage turned towards her, staring her down with the hatred that had begun to flame up inside of his own irises. After several seconds, the dragon let out a snort and slowly raised her head back up. She stretched her wings out and took to the skies, leaving the two of them alone.

"You…." Mage growled out hoarsely, reaching onto his back and drawing his Aevum sword in his left hand with a spark of blue energy, "I'll kill you."

"Is that what you should say to a former friend?" Krux frowned, "I see you have my brother's sword. Hmmph. I have no idea how you found my escort, but it seems I have no choice. I had hoped we could talk before-"

A ball of light shot up from Mage's hand, erupting like a flash of lightning. Krux threw the hand holding the blade up over his face to cover it. He turned around and shot his knife out in front of him. Mage, coming out of using speed, flipped backwards to avoid being gutted. When he landed, he held Aevum out behind him and raced towards Krux. Krux slid backwards across the rocks using the rain, causing Mage to stumble forward onto his hands and knees.

"I know what that sword does, Lloyd!" Krux shouted, "And I know you. I know that you only have so long before those powers of yours get exhausted. I thought I told you when we first met: fighting is about knowing your enemy."

"You don't get to say anything about when we first met!" Mage flung his arm out towards Krux, freezing the rain and causing an icy set of spikes to rapidly fly towards Krux.

Without missing a beat, Krux raised the blade, firing an arc of blue energy that struck the spikes. The spikes became trapped within a circular field, and Mage watched as they continued to grow but did so at almost a hundreth of the rate they were before. Krux simply stepped aside, then tapped the field with the blade. It vanished, and the spikes shot by his head so fast it caused his armor to rattle and his hair to violently flap about in the wind.

Mage let out a scream of rage, racing straight for Krux on his feet. He poured more forward energy into Aevum to swing it as fast as he could. Krux spun his knife around in hand to point it upwards, then shot it straight up in the air. The sword clanged against the knife and was slid up into the air as Mage closed in. Time seemed to slow down as Mage frantically leapt off his backfoot, stumbling away from Krux and onto his rear. As he got back up, Krux let out a simple set of 'tssks' at him.

"Keep trying to attack me, Lloyd!" Krux crossed his arms in front of him, "I have more training, more experience, and more planning than you do. You're running on anger right now! All I need to do is simply outlast that anger."

"You tried to kill your own brother!" Mage shouted at him, "You think I can get over that?!"

Mage pulled several rocks up from the ground with brown eyes and shot them towards Krux. With another flash of his blade, the rocks were slowed to a crawl midair in the field once more. Krux reached up with his arm, bracing it as he dropped the field. The rocks struck his armor, each one bouncing off without seemingly harming him.

"These blades are rather fascinating, if you ask me," Krux smirked, "It allows even one that was stripped of their birthright to use what was taken from them. Of course, they need to recharge… but if you use them in shorter bursts, it almost seems like it happens instantly. Aevum is sort of like that in sword form. It's a shame my brother never taught you how to fight with it."

"You destroyed my Summit!" Mage yelled, "Everything I worked so hard to build, you've been tearing it down!"

"Of course I have," Krux ran his hand across the blade, "You took everything from me, it's only natural I work to take everything from you."

Mage's body crawled over with a black mist as his eyes went black. In an instant, he seemed to completely vanish. Krux blinked in surprise, then his eyes narrowed. He waited for a few seconds, then he saw the blue flash out of the corner of his eye. His shadow was cast out far behind him, and he felt Mage emerging from it. Mage's expression was still filled with rage, and he brought Aevum down towards Krux's head.

He was too close to dodge, so instead Krux twirled his knife once more and thrust his arms up into the air. Krux had his arms raised in a guard over his head, knife in one hand. The action stopped Aevum, but poured the slow energy into his body. Mage, grinning in triumph, turned one of his feet metal and then kicked Krux right in the chest. When Aevum's energy wore off, Krux went onto his back.

"I know this sword can transfer slow energy into things I hit!" Mage shouted, "And that's all I need to know! You hurt your brother badly… I'm going to hurt you with his sword!"

"How… childish," Krux groaned out, "I overestimate you sometimes, Lloyd."

Mage was already racing forward again, this time with speed. He was starting to feel the wozziness of using his element, but pressed on. He shot his body all around Krux, not letting him see where he ended up. When he stopped, he brought the sword in a sideways slash at Krux's torso.

Krux caught the sword on the knife again, though far too close for comfort with the blade only a few inches from his arm. His other arm shot out and grabbed Mage's wrist. Krux yanked him forward, then thrust his head forward. Mage was caught off guard and his vision shook as he was headbutted. Krux reached out to grab his left arm and drag him towards himself. A searing pain shot straight into Mage's left shoulder. He looked down to see that the knife had been firmly plunged into the flesh.

With a heave, Krux sent Mage flying backwards. He rolled twice as he hit the ground. Mage began to get up, only to wince hard and grit his teeth. He turned to see the knife still stuck in his flesh, with lines of crimson steadily beginning to drip from it. Worse, it was in his left arm, the one he was using Aevum in. He wasn't skill enough with his right hand to fight! Slowly, Mage forced himself back up to his feet, his left arm hanging limp as he did. He slowly, painfully, slid Aevum back into its sheath.

"I could have just as easily put that anywhere I wanted, Lloyd! You can't win if you're fighting like that!" Krux reminded him, "You have no tact. I thought that your conviction to stop would have finally cleared your head… but it seems I was wrong. You followed your anger straight towards me."

"Shut up…" Mage took a step forward, his right hand reaching out to shakily grip the knife's handle.

"I bet you left without even asking for their help. You just took your dragon and flew off without thinking. And that means that right now it's just you…" Krux leaned against the crushed tank, "And me."

"Shut… up…" Mage gave the knife an experimental pull. The searing pain that it sent through him was enough to make his fingers start to unclasp from the knife. He forced them back around the grip.

"You should turn around and go back to your friends," Krux sighed, "You're heading down a dangerous path. Can you truly handle what's at the end, if you can't even get past me?"

Mage let out a long groan, then he set his teeth as hard as he could. With a hard yank, he pulled the knife out of himself. Blood splattered across the rocks as he did. He reached up to the now gaping wound, panting as a small outcropping of ice came to freeze over it. As he did, he forced his arm to move. The pain was enough to make him shake, but he slowly raised his gaze to finally meet Krux again.

"I don't care if I don't make it… to the end of whatever this path is," Mage growled, "I only care that you and those Twins hurt all of these people," Mage took a shaky step forward, "You hurt all of those innocent people that never deserved to be dragged into this!" Mage inhaled as he took another step, "And then, as if that wasn't enough for you, you went and hurt Skylar…"

"She's the only one that can rebuild her tribe…" Another step by Mage, "She's the only one left! It's my duty to protect her. To make sure that her tribe comes back. I have to be the one to make sure that all of the hardship… all of the fights… all of her pain was worth something!" His nostrils flared as he shot his face up, "I have to make sure I can give her a future! And you're the one standing in the way of that future! And if you are…." Mage's eyes glistened, "Then I have to remove you from that future!"

The entire field of rain around the two of them froze. Krux looked around in confusion, then shrugged. Mage took two more steps towards Krux again, the rain slowly beginning to shake again. Steadily, the droplets turned into what looked like small daggers, pointing towards Krux.

"I'm going to repay every single bit of pain that you gave them…" Mage inhaled and growled, "I'm going to do it, even if it means I have to kill you. I'll make sure that no matter what, you feel the pain that she did!"

"Then make me feel it," Krux narrowed his eyelids, "Your actions speak louder than words."

Mage let out a hard shout, his eyes flaring blue once more as the rain began to turn on Krux. The droplets soared straight towards him, each one a fine point. They whistled as they soared through the air, and Mage knew it would cut away all of the armor that he wore. He'd end this all in one strike. So he didn't hesitate, not even when Krux didn't move to intercept the attack.

A single heartbeat caused Mage to gasp hard. The water struck Krux, but this time as simple droplets. They began to slide down his armor harmlessly. Mage looked down to his hands, the coloration in his eyes beginning to fizzle out. He shook his head, feeling his control slipping for some reason. His hands began to become bleary and split apart into fuzzy images of each other. He tried to take another step, but his sense of balance caused him to fall to the ground.

"That took long enough," Krux sighed, "That venom I had on my knife was hard to come by. Certainly really hard to time how long it would take against someone that knew poison."

Mage's head twitched and trembled as he forced it to move up towards Krux. His body felt like it was going numb. He couldn't feel his legs. He tried to summon an element, but it fizzled in his eyes before it faded out. He couldn't connect to his elemental powers. He tried to move the rest of his body, but his fingers and wrists wouldn't respond to him. His breath was ragged as Krux got down on one knee beside him.

"Hard to come by since it can block elemental powers, that is," Krux explained, "Most of those bugs that secrete it were hunted down long ago. Thankfully, you can still find them, if you look hard enough," Krux moved his hand to grip Mage's chin, "Of course, I also mixed in a few things so you wouldn't be able to move either."

Leaning over, Krux reached out and gripped the knife that Mage had torn out of himself. He lowered the blade down towards Mage's chin, putting the point right against his throat. Mage felt his world go cold as Krux let the point just rest there, right against him. He let it sink in that Mage was helpless. His body wouldn't move. His powers were blocked off. His breath stopped as he worried that he wouldn't draw anymore.

"I want you to remember this moment, Lloyd…" Krux sighed, "Remember that right now, the only thing stopping me from killing you is for my own reasons. I have some reason to keep you alive," He pressed the knife a bit closer, "I think you can figure that out if you think hard enough."

Mage's eyes stared up at Krux in terror. Krux waited for a few more moments, then he withdrew the blade. Mage dropped his head to the ground, panting as Krux stood up. He looked down at the knife, then he dropped it right in front of Mage's face. The glint of the blade's edge flashed in Mage's eyes as it clattered to the ground in front of him.

"I'm sure you must be exhausted after that battle," Krux began to walk away, "That, and a side effect of that paralytic agent is drowsiness. It should take you a few hours before it all wears off. Maybe more. I'm sure that dragon of yours will be back soon to check on you."

With that, Krux began to walk away. Mage stared after him, but he felt a darkness begin to tug at him. His eyes began to grow heavy. He tried to follow where Krux was going, but the former leader wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead, he raised his hand, and several Vermillion warriors made their way up over the ridge towards him. Mage hadn't even remembered the warriors using the tanks when he crushed them.

Mage fought with all his willpower. He tried to say something, but he couldn't. He was unable to move. He told himself to stay awake, to keep fighting. Drag himself. But Krux was getting further away, just like his ability to think. He tried to say something, but he couldn't. He could only breathe. Slowly, as he watched Krux disappear off into the mountains, all he could do was manage one single 'Krux….' before he collapsed onto the rocks.

Lloyd looked up towards the man in front of him. It was just like all of the travelers said: he really was an exact twin to his brother. The only thing that distinguished him in the identical armor he wore was the fact it was colored orange and red instead of blue and green. If he couldn't see color, he would never have figured out how to tell the two apart.

"You must be Lloyd," The man bowed his head, "It's an honor to meet you. We have all heard the legends of the one with the power of the First Elemental Master… I never thought I'd meet him in my lifetime."

"Everybody says that," Lloyd waved his hand, "Don't think of me like that! Just think of me like a really powerful kid!"

"Oh?" The man looked up, "Then I suppose you shouldn't think of me as a leader of the Time Tribe. You should think of me as Krux, your teacher for as long as this situation permits me to."

"Mhm! Nice to meet you, Krux!" Lloyd held his left hand out, focusing until the Time Matrix had formed over it, "Your brother showed me how to summon this thing. I'm not sure how to use it, though."

"Acronix always did get right to the point," Krux mused, "I think we should first get a few important lessons out of the way."

"Lessons?" Lloyd unsummoned the Time Matrix.

"To be more specific, the first, and most important lesson," Krux got down on one knee to be eye level with Lloyd, "When you're dealing with time, it's best to not to ever touch it."

"Huh?" Lloyd cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

"What I said," Krux stood back up, "If someone ever throws time at you, it's best to fight them without ever touching it yourself. When two people bend the rules of time, the danger is doubled. Until you learn how to sense the flow of time around you, permanently, I will be spending my time training you how to sense and react to time-based attacks."

"Oh… okay," Lloyd frowned, "I thought I'd be learning pause and reverse from you though."

"In time," Krux chortled at his own bad joke, "But right now, you must learn restraint."

"Are you sure you'll have time?" Lloyd shook his head, "I'm doing my best to stop this war but… it's already starting. What happens when you need to go off to fight?"

"..." Krux turned his back to Lloyd, "If the time comes where that must happen, I… I will do what needs to be done for my tribe. Your training will be put on hold then. But until then… I'll be working to train you."

"Mhm!" Lloyd perked back up, "Then let's make the most of it!"

Mage shivered over the rocks as his dreams took him into his memories, to a time not so long ago that felt like years. As the rain poured over him, he couldn't help but remember the man that he had once thought of as his friend. A man that he thought of as honorable and kind. The rain continued to pour over him, just as Mage's memories poured over the angered mind of a broken child.

Author's Note:

Greetings everyone! This was another chapter that was given almost a complete overhaul. A lot of what happened here wasn't originally planned, but eventually came to be. I hope you enjoy! I also wanted to mention again that I have another fic called The Furthest Realm that features Lloyd and Akita during S11's story. If you're interested in those two, please give it a read! Otherwise, thanks for reading this far, and Ninja-GO!