The bells all over Domino rang 2. It was late and a blizzard was reported to be rolling in. It was the 10th day of the Blizzard Dragon's mating season, the most destructive time of the season. The storms they were conjuring in the mountains were growing fiercer. Aster definitely had no choice but to seek shelter immediately. He and Francesca snuck through really old buildings in the slums just like Kara directed. It was a very long and smelly road, but if it meant they would avoid trouble from DracoTEK or the Gremlin's bounty hunters, then it was worth it. Really sick people crowded in the ruins of what was once a luxurious suite. But with the influx of immigrants from Balodrum and Naralia pouring in, the arms were shut down to be made into a shelter for them. Despite this, it was a complete hell hole. There was no electricity or heaters to keep them warm. Everywhere Aster stepped there were puddles of urine and even human fecal matter piling up on the floor.

People coughed in their miserable corners. A few gas lamps, lanterns, and flashlights were all that lit the place. And barrels lit with fire provided some warmth.

"The Emerald Fire Slums," said Francesca. "What a piss hole. I feel I'm going to need three showers after we leave this place. Those politicians are such clowns. Why do you call those into a foreign country and claim to give them a better life just to leave them in misery? Despite all these years of hell and hunger, they still come. It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Politicians are fools," Aster commented, opening a window to a fire escape hatch. "To put your faith in them makes you an even greater fool." And that was all he had to say about that. They jumped over an alley into another ruined building that was part of the slums. This one was almost devoid of life, with a few squatters living here and there in their own little sanctuaries. After making it to the left wing of the building, they heard the rumble of a helicopter and bright lights dancing in the night. Aster and Francesca ducked.

"Shh!" Aster put his finger over his lips. Francesca responded by nodding her head in compliance. They both peered over the window and saw an old playground with rusty equipment. Soldiers in dark black armor and striped backpacks fielding Gauss Rifles formed a perimeter around two individuals who were arguing with one another.

"The objective is to take him alive!" shouted a woman, wearing a long overcoat with a brown fur collar and tactical shades with a HUD on the lenses. "Those are the doctor's orders and you…"

A man wearing a BDU colored in the company's custom camouflage pattern made a sharp about-face and looked at her. He was bald and sported a grizzled beard. A green shemagh scarf was wrapped around his neck. "No!" he roared with a thick accent from the swampy countryside of Bellethon. "Our orders are to take him down. I'm calling in reinforcements. We've got the all-clear to send half the company into Domino."

"I know her," said Aster. "That's Professor Fontaine from Duelist Academy. What's she doing here working for DracoTEK?"

"Stop and think about what you're doing Commander Ravenheart!" shouted Fontaine.

"Think about what I'm doing?" Commander Ravenheart shouted back, going right to her face and pointing right at her chest. "I know exactly what the hell I'm doing. Gray Prince is going down. And last I checked, our orders were Dead or Alive. Alive is no longer an option, Ms. Fontaine."

"Dr. Guarnizo wants…"

"Dr. Guarnizo said he wanted the Heart of HEROES and that's what he's going to get. I'm taking no more chances against this kid. He and that bastard with the dinosaur just decimated more than a dozen of my men. I'm not going to write any more letters to loved ones, telling them their sons or fathers or whatever were killed by psychopaths who think because they can summon monsters they're above the law. These kids are going to get exactly what they deserve!"

He signaled the pilot to spin the rotors of their helicopter. "Come on! Move it!" he shouted at the pilot to quicken his pace. "We need to get out of here. There's a blizzard coming."

"When last I checked!" Fontaine yelled over the engine. "We both answer to…"

"NO!" Ravenheart shouted even louder, spraying Fontaine's face with spit. "You are wrong there, Ms. Fontaine. You answer to Dr. Guarnizo. I answer to the members of the DracoTEK Board of Directors. And Senator Smitt and the Department of Eredian Defense. I don't give a flying fuck about what some mad scientist wants."

He sat down on the edge of the chopper.

Fontaine was not too pleased to hear that. She sat down next to him. "That 'mad scientist' is the majority shareholder of DrakoNET and Head of the Paradias Science Department. You'd better be careful how you speak or else Gray Prince isn't going to be the only enemy you'll have here."

"I am done talking to you, bitch! Shut your trap or I will!"

The helicopter took off into the night, leaving behind a squad of soldiers, some of whom were K-9 units.

"This is really bad," said Francesca.

Aster nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Dr. Guarnizo. Mother fucker. I should have known he was behind this."

"What role does he have in this I wonder?" Francesca asked.

"He's the one who helped my dad put the Heart of HEROES inside of me. Not from the goodness of his heart either. He could care less that I was having heart problems as a kid. I knew from the start that he wanted a lab rat to see if the heart worked or not. When he saw that it did, he's been after me since. I wouldn't be surprised if it was him who sent that assassin to my house."

"Yeah, me neither. Those Destiny HEROES of yours are something else, aren't they? I can only imagine the devastation they can cause in the wrong hands. The quicker I get you to your friend, the sooner we can get the hell out of here. Come on."

The two exited the ruined buildings and stuck to the shadows for quite some time. It was an even more miserable scene out there. Hordes of people were bundling up in cardboard boxes and tents. Aster took one look at them and figured they were doomed. The temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up. Indeed, a blizzard was on the way, and if that was the case, these people were not going to make it through the night.

"Hey, pretty lady," one of the homeless men said, sitting miserably in front of his makeshift tent of blue tarp, bags, and ragged cloth. "Mind warming me up with those legs?"

Francesca ignored him, then snapped her fingers to make the meager fire in front of him grow bigger so he could be warm. But her kindness came at a cost. She made sure the flames singed his eyebrows off and burned the tip of his nose. "Oof!" he howled, reeling backward and knocking down his shelter.

"Poor sods," said Francesca. Even though she looked like she should be doing late-night magi shows, the fabric was enchanted to make her feel as though she were taking a stroll in the middle of the summer. "I wish there was something we could do to help them, huh, Aster. Aster?"

Aster was not behind her. He was leaning against a wall, breathing heavily. He felt as though his body was both frozen and on fire. He was having difficulty walking and keeping up with Francesca.

"Oh no," said the magician. "This is terrible. We need to get you to shelter as soon as possible."

They heard a scream coming from down the alley. A woman was shouting for help. Her shouts were blood-curdling and mixing with malicious laughter. A little lad came running out of the alley with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Help!" he cried out. "Help! There's a lady getting mugged! Someone help her!"

"Someone needs our help," Aster grunted. "Come on."

"Aster, there is no time for this. We need…"

"It will only take a second," he protested. "There's a woman in trouble. Come on. She needs our help."

He struggled to stand up. When he was on his feet, he sulked toward the boy. "Hey," Aster called. "What's going on?"

"You...you're Aster Phoenix aren't ya!" said the boy. He wiped tears from his eyes. "Please! You gotta help that lady! They've got her overpowered and she needs help."

"Don't worry," said Francesca. "We'll help her. You stay here."

"Golly, you're the best!" said the boy. "Hurry! Hurry before they kill her or something!"

Aster and Francesca wasted no time and hurried into the alleyway where the woman was. The phone in the boy's pocket buzzed. He took the phone out eagerly and checked the message. As promised, he got 50 silver coins for completing his part. The boy sneered and disappeared into the night to spend his money on cards and candy.

Meanwhile, Aster and Francesca had to cross through another town of tents and cardboard huts. They entered the alley at last, then sighed in disappointment. They were too late. They saw a lifeless body facefirst in a black, glassy, puddle near a dumpster. Aster stomped his foot on the ground, angered that the perpetrators got away. Still, he had to make sure the woman was okay. He tried to run, but he couldn't; his limbs felt as if they were frozen together. Francesca gently pushed him toward the wall and told him to stay put.

"I'll check it out," she said. "You stay right here and relax yourself." She waited until Aster complied, and lightly slumped against the wall to show he wasn't going anywhere. She then hurried to the woman to see if she was still alive. "Ma'am," she said. "Is everything all right?"

She approached the body. The woman's clothes were torn and her flesh was white and cold as stone. Francesca flipped the woman over and froze solid upon seeing a plastic, lifeless dummy looking straight up at her. Even though it had no expression, Francesca felt as if the dummy was taunting her. She looked down its neck and saw a note pinned to the chest. Written in messy, but very threatening letters it read:

You're in my sights. Run!

Francesca looked around. Who? Where? She saw that the alley was open more than a yard long. Ahead, behind a small forest of oak trees and the Wall of St. Aveneccia were the buildings of the Star District. The tallest building, The North Diamond Tower, stood dominantly over the others; its upper half concealed by the clouds of the storm fast approaching. But there didn't seem to be anyone there. She turned - thankfully - and saw something dancing on Aster's face. A red dot.

"ASTER!" she shouted. "GET DOWN!"

He did and then a large chunk of the wall he was leaning against was blasted to pieces. Debris and dust scattered in the air. Francesca ducked as well, then crawled behind the dumpster. But what of Aster? No, there was not much she could do against a sniper. She didn't even know how far away he was or where he was. There was only one thing she could do. She took off her hat, reached inside to dig through its infinite inventory and uncovered a smokeball. She sent it rolling to the center of the alleyway and it burst, creating a veil of smoke. Aster rolled away from his position, again doing so in the knick of time; for the ground he laid on a second ago was blasted by the powerful bullet, leaving behind a deep crater.

Unknown to them, the frustrated sniper called for reinforcements. He had both Aster and Francesca cornered and wanted to take them down himself. Though under orders from the Gremlin to take Francesca alive, he couldn't find it in his broken code of honor to leave her to such a fate and would accept the deduction in his pay for killing her. He saw a convoy of cars approaching the alley where they hid. The Gremlin's med arrived to finish the job. Now all that was left was to keep watch and make sure they didn't get away.

"Aster!" Francesca cried out when she saw the headlights of the cars piercing the darkness, blinding her. She summoned the All-Seeing White Tiger to come to their aid, but a heavy gunner burst out of the car. He was equipped with a powerful vulcan, which he used to pepper the tiger to pieces.

"NO!" Francesca cried out as her tiger disappeared.

"It's the magician!" one of the thugs shouted. "We're coming for your little ass, girl!"

"Yeah! Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!"

"Ogre 1!" shouted an obnoxious voice on the radio. It was the Gremlin, overseeing the operation through their bodycams. "Don't underestimate them! You may have heavy firepower, but they can still use magic. Tire them out and then capture them. Kill Aster if you want, but bring me The Fantastical Francesca alive and unspoiled. I have a score to settle with her."

Thanks to Kara's technology, Aster was able to hear everything he was saying. "You are not popular around here, are you?" he tried to joke.

"Look who's talking," Francesca replied with a weak chuckle.

"They won't get you!" He held out his palm. He was going to summon something.

"Aster, no!" cried Francesca.

The summoning was complete. Aster regurgitated some sort of inky liquid and he rolled to his back. Something took form in front of them. At first, Francesca thought he conjured a giant wall of stone. It was actually a Destiny HERO named Defender. His sturdy stone body turned the bullets to powder upon making impact with him. His glowing red eyes pierced through a rusty metal grate he used for a mask.

"My elixir!" Aster groaned. "Give me...my…"

"No!" shouted Francesca. "Your condition will get worse."

A screech radiated from the sky and the thugs were showered with electricity. Cyber Dragon Nachster flew over them and screeched, drawing their fire.

"Aster!" shouted Kara from his wrist-mounted computer. "Aster! It's Kara. Come in!"

"We're pinned down!" shouted Aster. "We need help!"

"I know! I'm sorry I didn't pick them up sooner. They were hiding in garages all over the place."

"There's so many of them!" cried Aster.

"And it's only getting worse. More bogies are heading your way. They want to take you down. And squads of DracoTEK mercenaries are inbound to investigate the disturbance the Gremlin's men are causing."

Aster groaned. "Man, I just love the holidays. It really brings people together, huh."

"Sit tight, guys," said Kara. "You have help on the way. Prince Michael and Prince Jon of Riftgaard are here. They were sent by the King to investigate DracoTEK's activities, but they were ambushed by the Gremlin's goons and got trapped here. Now they're being hunted as well, both by them and DracoTEK. I'm worried. Whoever is in charge here doesn't want any survivors, and they don't care who they have to silence."

"Yeah," Aster agreed. "We're in deep shit."

The radio crackled. "I've informed Michael of your situation and he's on his way. Nachster will hold Gremlin's goons off for as long as he can until they arrive. Just try not to summon anything, okay?"

"Yeah, too late for that," Francesca shouted. "Aster called upon some wall and now he's in bad shape."

Kara sighed and pounded her desk with her fist. "Damn it, Aster. Just hang on, all right. Help is on the way."

Francesca smacked the back of her head against the dumpster. "Oh, you're an angel, Kara."

The puddle next to her rippled.

"Did you feel that?" Aster asked.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted one of the gunmen. Ultimate Tyranno came bursting out of an old building and started chasing away a second convoy of thugs, coming to help the others. Bullets lit the night, but they failed to penetrate the dinosaur's armor.

Just then, arrows flew from the shadows, striking more and more of the Gremlin's thugs. Their boss's cries flooded the radio channel. "Gremlin here! What is going on out there! Ogre 1! Ogre 1! Status report now!"

"Huh?" Aster said as another arrow flew out of the darkness and struck the heavy gunner in the throat.

"Aster Phoenix!" the cheery, southern, voice of Tyranno Hassleberry transmitted from Aster's computer. "Aster, Aster, Aster. So you're this Gray Prince I've been hearing about. Still needin' me to drag your ass outta the flames, I see."

"At least it's not Exodia coming to char you like last time," Aster chuckled. "It's good to see ya, buddy!" Aster felt like laughing. Instead, he could put his head down and relax. For the first time since this horrible night began, he felt safe.

"Care package inbound for yer lady friend!" Tyranno said. Something came falling out of the sky. A black case. White parachutes released and it landed safely in front of her. "Go on, open it," Tyranno urged her. "Yer gonna need it if ya want to help out Aster."

Francesca did. The case was lit up in white from the inside. And there was a collection of bottles with liquids colored blue, green, and red. And there were two that were iridescent, glowing in all the colors of the rainbow. Mana restoration potions in all flavors of potency. Francesca drank the blue one and felt herself feeling rejuvenated.

"Oh yes!" she called out. "Look out boys! Let me show you how it's done."

She stood up and strutted towards the battleground as though she were walking down a runway. Another convoy of bad guys was fast approaching. She wrinkled her nose and smirked arrogantly. She opened her hands, forming white arcane circles over her palms. Then a larger one formed in front of the convoy. She puckered her lips, making a kissing gesture and unleashed a rain of glowing white swords. There were thousands of them, slicing the vehicles into scrap. With a wave of her arm, she commanded them to flow back towards her. They surged toward her direction like a wave. She twirled and sent them flying back at another group of cars that tried to get away.

Then, an attack helicopter from DracoTEK flew out from behind a building and unleashed a salvo of missiles heading her direction. The swords flew towards the missiles and intercepted them. Then a Terrorking Archfiend jumped out from behind the helicopter and slashed it in half.

"Oh?" Francesca said. She turned and saw armored trucks and attack vehicles from DracoTEK coming her way. She would have like to use her Storm of Swords spell again, but it was sadly a technique she could use once a week. And it drained her.

Someone ran past her. Someone large and very muscular. He carried an ax shrouded with lightning. He jumped into the air and smashed the ax on the ground, creating a powerful quake that sent the vehicles flipping through the air like toys. He was clad in a gray cotton hoodie and jeans. Half his head was shaved while the other half had slick, dirty blond hair swayed to the side. A part of it formed a bang over the left side of his face. Terrorking Archfiend landed gracefully on the crater the young man created. The Archfiend's master came walking out of the shadows of a building, sporting a very classy jacket and tight black pants. He looked like he was going clubbing by the way he looked.

Francesca fixed her hair and bowed at once, realizing she was in the presence of two Princes of Termnnia. Michael Octavius Dalton, Crown Prince of Eredas. And the beast with the lightning ax was Prince Jon Jahangir of Riftgaard. Hassleberry came jumping down the top of a building to join them. He certainly looked like a soldier, clad in multi-cam trousers and sporting a custom vest to carry his things. A sword was sheathed to his back along with the quiver to hold the arrows of his compact bow.

"Lookie here, boys," Michael said, to which Prince Jon cackled, shouldering his ax.

Aster hobbled to join them. Michael spotted him and said: "And then, there's this asshole."

"Nice to see you, too," Aster croaked. "What the hell did you guys do to get caught up in this mess?"

"We were hoping you'd tell us," said Jon. "King Eldon wanted us to investigate why a PMC would want to close off large and very populated sections of the city like this without rhyme or reason. The next thing we know, an old foe of Prince Michael sends his armed band of morons to try and take us down."

"You'd think they'd stop trying right about now?" Francesca laughed.

Jon smirked. "Indeed."

Michael chuckled. "Well, it's good to see you again, Fran."

"You know each other," Aster sighed. "Typical."

"Not personally," said Francesca. "But I was hired to perform a show for his eighteenth birthday. What a night, eh?"

"One I'll never forget. Nor the maids. Took 'em a week to clean all that glitter off the floor. And the carpet. I told you not to pop out of the cake in that spot. If Mother saw that mess, she would have had you executed. What about you, Jon?"

"I don't remember much of that night, save Summer was having fun dancing with our magical friend here. That rum at your party was powerful stuff."

Hassleberry stepped in. "While it's nice and all to see y'all again, I don't think this is the best spot to be lingering. There are more DracoTEK dudes out there and twice as many thugs working for the Gremlin. And there's the matter of that sniper who had Aster pinned down earlier. I've been on his trail for days, but he always manages to slip away."

"I know who he is," said Jon. "And it surprises me not that he's been able to avoid you. He's a former member of my order. The Wolves of Riftgaard. I'll tell you more about him when we get out of here. Aster looks like he needs some medicine and some rest."

"Not you, too," Aster murmured.

"Don't worry," said Francesca. "My safehouse is down this way. It's guarded by a magic spell that only I can unlock. We'll be safe there."

"Perhaps there's a way we can regroup," said Jon. "We're going to need to if we hope to survive this night."

"Trust me handsome, I have all we need in there."

She led them through the park and into an abandoned theatre. After a short trek through the ruins, they stopped in front of a brick wall. Francesca placed her hand on it and it rippled away to reveal a door.

"Welcome to Casa de Francesca," the magician said, opening the door, leading her companions into a luxurious suite lit with crystal chandeliers and pink neon trimmed along the walls. There was a bar fully stocked with expensive brands and a fridge stocked with snacks. The den had a billiard table with a red glass lamp hanging over it.

"Very nice," said Jon.

As they got settled and helped themselves to refreshments, Francesca took Aster to her room and had him undress so he could lay in bed to rest.

"We're making a big mistake," he said.

"The only mistake is having you out there in that condition," Francesca said, her outfit was dematerializing as she walked behind a dressing screen. "Look at that weather," she added.

Aster looked out the window. The city was blanketed by a veil of ice and snow. He could barely see the buildings. "Just for a little while," he commanded. "I'll sleep for a little while and then we're heading out."

"You are in no condition to be commanding us, Aster. In fact, if it weren't for me, you'd be in the Gremlin's hands right about now." She walked out from behind the screen, now wrapped in a white towel. "Try and be a little more grateful and drop that 'I don't need help' bullshit. It's stupid and cliche."

"I know," Aster said with a sigh. "I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."

"Michael and Jon are Princes of Termnnia. Those two reek of incredible power. I'm sure they can handle themselves. We've got Hassleberry and his Ultimate Tyranno and that Cyber Dragon watching the sky. We're going to be safe here. You just rest. In the meantime, I'm going to take a shower. When I'm done, I'll make you something to eat. Any requests?"

"What can you whip up?"

"I can make just about anything in there. How about a burger?"

Aster smiled. "Sure. Sounds good. And thanks."

"You're welcome. Now get some sleep."

"That's going to be hard to do," Aster said, trying to close his eyes. "My visions keep me awake most times. One of them terrifies me more than all the evil lurking out in that city."

"Visions?"

"I don't know how, but somehow, I can see things that have not yet come to pass. Just recently, a tongue shriller than all the music has been haunting my nightmares."

"What do you see?"

Aster sighed. "Divine Beasts...mourning a dead King."