He awoke around five the next morning. His head hurt and his body ached. Rest, they said. You'd feel better, they said. No. He just felt worse. And his sleep did very little to replenish the mana he lost summoning his D-HEROES last night. Just as he feared, he saw a vision of a flaming world with mountains crumbling and the Divine Beasts crying out in agony for someone they held dear.

Aster felt the pit of his stomach growing cold at the thought of it. If the dead king from his vision was who he thought it was, then this world was in even more danger than he thought. Perhaps, he was killing himself for nothing. If the supposed Song from the Divines would not be enough to quell the evil in the world, mayhaps his D-HEROES were of no use either, and he was killing himself for nothing. He stretched, then stopped at once when his left leg touched something smoothe and surprisingly warm.

Slowly, Aster turned his head. It took everything inside of him to keep from screaming in shock. Francesca was sleeping right next to him. She was laying on her belly, her raven-black hair strewn all over the pillow and veiling her face in ragged curls. She was clad in a gray tank top, the strap dropping down her left shoulder. Other than that Aster had no idea what else she had on or if she anything else at all. He didn't even have time to think about it, for the shock of seeing her beside him caused him to fall out of bed. He landed on the floor with a loud chunk!

"Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head.

Infuriated, Aster stood up, fists balled in anger. He felt like screaming at Francesca and telling her to leave at once. The nerve of her laying in the same bed as he. Talk about invasion of personal space. But once he looked at her more closely, he thought better of it. She looked so peaceful. The magician cooed like a dove and nuzzled her pillow before laying still once more. Her mouth seemed to form into half a smile. Aster then looked at the night table beside the bed. There was a triple-decker cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, cheese, pickles, candied onions, and a yellowy sauce flowing down the side of the sandwich and pooling over stacks of fries. A bottle of Aster's own energy drink was there as well to wash it down. It was the meal Francesca promised him. Part of the sandwich was bitten off. A pink sticky note was placed on the energy drink. A message from Francesca in cursive letters read:

Sorry. I ate some.

"Don't be mad at her," Double Dude said, sitting by the fireplace as he read a book, detailing the long and complicated history of House Kaiba. "There was nowhere else for her to sleep. And that is HER bed after all." He licked his index finger before turning the page.

"Did she…"

"I kept a close eye on you all night, sir. And no, she did not take advantage of you while you slept. She is not that kind of person. The audacity of that mindset of yours, Aster Phoenix."

"I woke up next to a girl!" Aster cried out. "How did you think I was going to react!?"

"Shh!" Double Dude went, pressing his finger over his lips. "You'll wake her."

Aster growled. He sat down on the side of the bed and ate the meal as quickly as he could, then searched for his missing clothes.

"They're folded over there," Double Dude directed him towards the lighted vanity mirror, cluttered with Francesca's make-up kits. "I took the liberty of cleaning them for you, sir."

Aster wasted no time and put his clothes back on.

"I am happy for you, though, sir. She seems to have taken a liking to you."

"I'm not going to get involved," Aster said, putting his pants back on. "The only thing on my mind is finding Kyle. And then possibly going on the search for Plasma." He stopped talking, noticing that the safe house was quiet. "Where are the others? Are they asleep?"

"Your friends left early this morning," Double Dude replied. "There was been a spike in activity out there on the count of this...Gremlin fellow. Prince Michael left you a gift before he left. Here." He held up a black ring with a red ruby inserted inside of a skull's mouth. "It belongs to Her Majesty, Infernalqueen Archfiend. She thought it best that you take it since you are one with the shadows. Go on. Take it."

Aster did and he put it on at once. Suddenly, his aches and pains were gone. "Whoa!" he breathed.

"It won't stop the Heart of HEROES from killing you, but it will make summoning your HEROES as less painful experience."

Aster looked at his arm, which now had an even more sickly appearance to it. He didn't want to, but he had to do what he had to do. He injected Double Dude's elixir into himself. The arm's color hardly came back.

Double Dude closed the book and set it down on the table. "That should last you the whole day. So long as you don't summon anything too powerful like Dreadmaster or Dogma."

"I understand," Aster groaned from the sting the medicine caused him. "Nothing too big."

"I do hope you listen to me this time, sir. Your friends look like they are more than capable of handling those threats as well. You have allies. Use them."

"I will. But I still have to head back to my place and get my gear."

"Francesca already took the liberty of acquiring it for you."

"What?"

Double Dude stood up from the chair and opened a polished mahogany wardrobe containing Aster's set of four red-bladed swords and his layered orichalcum chestplate, shin guards, and vambraces. And the jacket with the white fur-trimmed hood with the D-HERO symbol emblazoned on a medallion in the front.

"She was out all night braving the dangers of the city and the blizzard getting your things. Show the girl a bit of gratitude, dear boy."

Aster put on one of his gloves with carbon fiber knuckles. "Gratitude. That's all she's going to get from me."

He suited up as quickly as possible.

"You're leaving?"

Aster turned and saw Francesca getting out of bed. To Aster's relief, she was wearing bright orange workout pants to sleep with that night. "I'm coming with you."

"That's not a good idea," said Aster, sheathing his fourth sword over the third, both hanging on the belt on the left side of his hip. "Before you say anything, I appreciate you helping me. You found me, fixed me up, fed me, grabbed my stuff, and I'm grateful. But I've wasted enough time. I've got only two days left to find Plasma. I won't last long out here without him."

"I can help you!" Francesca insisted.

"No. You can't. Last night. That was only the beginning. It's going to get far worse out there the longer Dr. Guarnizo goes on without me in his clutches. The same goes for those scumbags from DracoTEK. The storm's over. The sun's out. Their reinforcements are most likely crawling all over this area. It's not safe for you out there."

"Oh, because you really handled yourself out there really well, huh? When are you going to get this through your thick skull, Phoenix? You need my help!" Her nightwear vanished and in seconds, Francesca was back in her magician's outfit. She held out her hand, her top hat materialized in her fingertips. She gave it a spin and put it on. "Like it or not," she said. "DracoTEK is annoying, but Jon and Michael are going after the real cancer here. The Gremlin and his syndicate. Take care of him, and those bounty hunters will scatter back to where they came from like roaches. Then, let's work together to take down DracoTEK and kick them out of this city." She held out her hand. "Partners?"

Aster sighed. He shook it reluctantly. Her smile made his chest get tied in a knot. It was so condescending and arrogant. Like she knew her charms worked against him. He hated that look and said: "Alright. Just don't get it my way. Oh, and if I catch you sleeping next to me again, I'm feeding your ass to Dreadmaster."

They walked out into the city. Helios was high in the sky, bringing much-needed warmth to the cold morning. The snow was melting all around them. The sky was orange and pink, and a mist hung in the air. Ultimate Tyranno's footprints were embedded deep in the snow heading north toward the center of the King's District.

"What's going on over there?"

"Gremlin is said to operate there," Francesca answered. "Supposedly, he's hanging out in one of his many underground clubs overseeing the Op to take you out. But he's got another thing coming if he believes he can take on two Princes of Termnnia. I mean, how cool is that?"

"Yeah, sure," Aster replied, looking at the computer Zane gave him. Nachster was still in the sky keeping a close eye out for trouble. There were a few red rings on the map, but nothing to get excited about. So far, both the Gremlin's gunmen and the soldiers from DracoTEK were huddled in one area for some odd reason. "Sometimes, I wish life didn't have to be this complicated."

Francesca looked at him. She wanted to place her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he was still plenty mad waking up and seeing her beside him earlier. Even she had to admit, it was a tad much and disrespectful to not think about how he would feel, but she was so damn tired from being out in the city all night. She didn't even think about it. She just undressed, climbed into bed, fell asleep and that was the end of it. She didn't mean to insinuate anything.

"I think many people who fall on hard times wish the same thing," she said after a long pause. "But all we can do is decided what to do with the time that is given to us."

"Gandalf?" Aster asked.

"Yes. He's one of my favorite storybook characters. In fact, it was he who inspired me to be a mage."

"Well, it's in your blood after all," Aster said with a chuckle. They crossed through an abandoned basketball court. "You are an Axenion."

"I know, but I had a mind to be a Duelist than a mage. But reading about wizards in Earth Mythology, I couldn't help but want to be like them. Maybe someday I will."

"It's a beautiful dream," said Aster. "But one that might never come true if you continue living a life such as this. You should have kept to your studies in the Adamantium Citadel. You're a powerful mage now, but a few more years there, you could be a master wizard."

Francesca sniggered through her nose. "I didn't want to be there any longer, Aster. I'm too...adventurous. I'm nineteen-years-old. I've got my whole life ahead of me. I don't want to spend a majority of it with my nose stuck in books and scrolls until the Arch-Mage deems me ready for mastery. I wanted to entertain people with my spells more than I wanted to singe them into ash. And I wanted to teach those that fear magic that there is nothing to be afraid of. We can do beautiful things with it, which is why I traveled around doing shows with my gifts in illusion and charms. I have a bit of a sorceress in me, yes, but that's a side of me I want contained mostly. Magic is misunderstood. Some think of it as a weapon to bring chaos and death. But that's just an overused portion of what it can do. If used the right way, magic can build so many wonderful things."

She stopped and knelt down by a pile of weeds, killed off by the winter chill. With a wave of her hands, Francesca made them bloom to immense size and beauty.

"But, if there are those who need to be punished with it, so be it. And unfortunately, I've discovered way too many bad eggs in this city that need to be burned to ash."

"Ah, there you are," Prince Jon called out from the top of a building. "Did you sleep well, princess?"

"Like a log," Francesca replied.

"I was talking to Aster."

Francesca started laughing, to which Aster frowned. "Funny," he said. "So what's the gameplan for today?"

"We hunt for the Gremlin," said Jon. "I think we're in enough trouble as it is with those mercenaries running around. We should take him down first."

"Any idea where to start looking?" Francesca asked.

"No," said Aster, "but before we do any hunting, first thing's first."

"You've got to be kidding me," Jon said, sitting next to Francesca on the opposite side of the booth they shared with Aster. They were in a coffee shop owned by a kind woman named Celeste, who ran an inn and boutique up north in the countryside near the border to Elleria. During the holidays, she came down to the city to spread cheer and buy toys for the children. Fortunately for Aster, she was in town and opened up her shop.

"More orange juice, Aster?" the Sunborne woman asked, approaching their table with a pitcher filled with the ice-cold beverage.

"Please," Aster begged. "And thanks for the free slice."

"Anything for you, son," she replied filling up the cup. "If you another slice of pie, let me know. Horakhty knows I could use a customer right about now. Those mercenaries are making it hard for business. Whoever that fugitive they're looking for is, I hope they find him soon. It's almost Christmas."

"What is this Christmas?" Jon asked.

"Not from around here, is he?" Celeste asked.

"No," Jon replied. "I'm from Riftgaard. We don't have technology like this nor your holidays."

"It's an Earth-based tradition," Celeste replied. "One I find rather fun. We all do. With all the wars going on, we could use a little fun to cheer us up. Anything for you, honey?"

Francesca shook her head. "I'll have another hot chocolate."

"Make it two," Jon said.

"Four," Michael said, coming into the shop. "Mind if I sit down?"

Aster scooted over to give Michael his room. He was accompanied by girl with jet-black hair. She was bundled up in a black coat and a royal red scarf and a black beanie. "Aster, Francesca," Michael said, "This is my girlfriend Crow. She's gonna help us deal with the Gremlin."

"Hi guys," she said, with a timid wave of her hand.

Celeste clicked her tongue. "Doing some more vigilante work out there, young Prince?"

"You have no idea," Michael said with a chuckle. "How fortuitous that Aster craved some of your pie right now. I need some info." He handed Celeste a sack filled with rubies and coins.

She bobbed her head up and down, weighing the sack with her hand. "Ah, that kind of info," she tucked the sack into the pocket of her apron. "On your little Gremlin friend, I suppose?"

"Yes," Crow said, snuggling next to Michael. "Any info you can offer will be greatly appreciated."

Celeste bit her lip. "Very well, I'll let you in on what I know, but be very careful out there, kids. These are some really bad people. It may be fun for you smashing their hired guns, but I'm sure they've come up with ways to keep themselves safe from you. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You have to," Michael said urgently. "The sooner we do, the sooner we can kick DracoTEK out of Domino."

"All right," said Celeste.

"Oh, great," Aster groaned. "I don't have that kind of time left. I need to find Plasma now." He looked at Francesca. "I told you I didn't need any sleep. We wasted a good night. I could have been out searching for him."

Francesca crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "In that storm!" she yelled. "You are a fool. And don't get mad at me! If I hadn't pulled you out and dragged you to my place, you'd probably be dead and your heart would be in the hands of our foes."

"There's still time," said Michael. "Infernalqueen Archfiend bought you plenty of it."

Aster growled. "It doesn't matter how many magical rings you give me. I'm on borrowed time, Michael! Until I find Plasma, I'm a dead man walking."

Tears started coming out of his eyes. He scratched his head. "My life practically started. I'm supposed to live for thousands of years. I couldn't even live out twenty! It's not fair! Why is this happening to me? I didn't even get to do any of the things I wanted. I didn't get to spend time with my dad! I didn't start a family. I didn't see the world. Why?"

"Aster…" Francesca whispered.

"I'm scared…I don't….I don't wanna die!"

Michael placed his hand on top of Aster's and squeezed it. "Hey. We'll figure something out. Trust me. Trust us. We won't let you down, Aster. But it's going to be hard finding Plasma with all these mercenary thugs out looking for you. Let's deal with the root of this problem and take them down together. No one is going to get your Heart. And you are most certainly not going to die. I won't let that happen. You have my Archfiends and my sword."

"And you have my ax," said Jon. "And Gearfriend the Iron Knight will serve you, too. I won't let you get die."

"I won't either," said Francesca.

The door to the cafe opened. Hassleberry came walking into the shop, exhausted. "Guys," he said. "Sorry I'm late. I was trying to shake that sniper friend of yours, Jon. He's good."

"Gjallarhorn," Jon replied. "Yes. He was a fine marksman in my order. But his hate for the Covenant caused him to grow rebellious and corrupt. It wasn't enough just killing our enemies, he wanted to torture them. Make them suffer. I banished him from the Wolves of Rifgaard when he started shooting children."

"Did you try and stop him?" Michael asked.

"Yes. He was due for execution, but it was foiled when his radical followers helped him escape. We never saw him again. I heard nothing until Michael told me that Naralians and Covenant believers were being hunted here in Domino by a sniper. I just had to come down and help."

"I'll help you stop him," said Aster. "It's the least I can do for sticking your necks out for me. Well, then, I say we best get ourselves ready. Celeste, thanks for the meal. But I think we better get going."

"Very well. I'll send you all the info I have into that fancy wristwatch of yours. Be safe out there, kids. I'm rooting for you. And if ever you desire a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, my door is always open to you."

They paid her for the refreshments and left. But as soon as they stepped out, they were greeted by a most peculiar sight.

A Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared as it flew over them and soared off into the distance.

"You guys saw a Blue-Eyes White Dragon just now, right?" Aster said. They all nodded yes. "Good. I'm not going nuts."

After that odd sighting, they proceeded to the King's District to begin the hunt for the Gremlin and hopefully end this terrible nightmare.