"So, how do I look?" Jessica asks, having come out of her bathroom, fitted in her white tassel spaghetti straps crop top with a matching tassel miniskirt. She twirls around, showing off her outfit to her friends seated on her bed. In turn, her friends holler and whistle in awe at the girl.

"Holy shit! Jess, you look absolutely stunning!" May rushes to the girl, needing to see Jessica's outfit up close.

"Yeah, Mark won't be able to take his eyes off you!" Gina had to comment as she continues to work on her makeup.

Today was the big day. With weeks of planning, their night out at the Echo night club is finally upon them. The girls had all headed to Jessica's place to get ready. Cyrus' older brother would be driving them.

"Let me do your hair, Jess!" Serena calls, having plugged in her curling iron.

"Thanks, Serena but I'm thinking of just letting my hair down for tonight." With that Jessica removes her hair go-go, allowing her medium length blonde locks to fall to her shoulders.

"So, you're keeping it simple, huh? Me likey." Serena questions, having a sly grin on her features.

The girls proceed to get ready. Jessica heads into her separate closet, searching for her white high heels. May helps Gina with her hair and Serena places the finishing touches on her make-up.

"Guess who's gonna get fucked up tonight?" Serena says, having finished applying her lip gloss.

"Serena! You promised!" Jessica perks up from her closet. The last house party they went to, Serena got incredibly drunk. Jessica had to mother her for the entire night. Not exactly a great way to spend a party.

"But Jess…"

"No, Serena," Jessica, having found her heels, fits them onto her feet. "You promised you'd watch your drinks this time." Jessica strides to her full body mirror, checking out how her heels would look with her outfit. "Besides, you don't need to drink yourself silly to have a fun time."

Jessica's never drank even a sip of alcohol and she'd like to keep that way till she's legal. Though she's a party girl by heart, she isn't a total airhead. While her friends enjoy the sensation of numbing their brains with drinks, it simply wasn't for her. Frankly, she'd like to remember how her night went. At least Mark and Gina share her sentiment.

"Fine. But on one condition!"

Jessica rolls her eyes. Serena always has some wacky plan up her sleeve.

"You gotta give me the deets when you sneak out with Mark tonight!"

Jessica does her best impression of a lost seal. The other girls laugh at the display, prompting Jessica to cross her arms. These girls are as bad as Toby when it comes to her relationship with Mark.

"Girl, don't play dumb. We all know you're gonna go out somewhere with Mark for a little make-out sesh." Gina pushes, making kissy faces with May.

Jessica facepalms. She can't wait till one of them ends up in a relationship. They'll understand what it's like. Unfortunately, for Jessica, the teasing doesn't end there.

"Little? Nah, I think they'll go wild tonight!" Serena prompts, triggering the laughing.

Jessica, having heard enough, ignores them, fancying some make-up instead. But Serena's not done. "May's parents are out this weekend, Jessica. You know, if you and Mark wanna take it to the next level – HEY! "

Jessica hurls one of her pillows at Serena, hitting her face. "Shut up! It's not like that!" Sure, she and Mark like to get a little intimate here and there, but their relationship isn't physical. They both generally like to be around each other. If Mark was only in it to get into her pants, she would've known by now and dumped his ass ages ago.

Jessica stops applying her make-up, mind ridden with thoughts of Toby and Kagami. Those two, how would their relationship pan out? Would it be like her and Mark's or would it be more physical? Would Toby be attracted to Kagami in that way?

"Okay, okay. Sorry, Jess. We'll stop the teasing." Serena apologises, having seen how upset Jessica was back there.

"No, it's fine. Let's have fun tonight." Jessica forces a smile, ridding her mind of those thoughts from mere seconds ago.

"At least let me do your make-up!" Serena rushes to Jessica, not taking a no for an answer, already applying the foundation. Jessica's eyes land on the box hiding by her closet door. That prompts a flashback of her, Toby, Nick and Lucas from around 4 years back. She didn't party that much back in those days. Gina would invite her to house parties and Jessica would decline, stating she'd have something planned with the boys.

"Hey, eyes up here! I need to do your eye shadow." Serena says, directing Jessica's eyes away from her box towards Serena's face.

Jessica shouldn't dwell on the past. She's gonna have an awesome night with her girls right here. And hey, maybe while she's at it, have a make-out session with her boyfriend. She really needs it given these thoughts in her head.

Kagami sits by the steps, lost in thought. Ever since she's told Vestalt her plans on going to Gorm with them, things have taken a turn for the worst. The girl realizes just how serious the situation she's put herself in.

The girl was brought in what looked like a meeting room of some sort. Anchor pulled out a map of Venture Falls, rolling it out onto the round table. Flamma returned from her room with a pendulum.

"Are you sure, commander?" Flamma voiced, still uneasy over letting Kagami completely in on their mission.

"She has to know, Flamma. It's only fair."

Kagami's palms felt sweaty with anticipation. She could tell Vestalt right there and then that she changed her mind. That she wanted nothing to do with their mission out of fear. Vestalt wouldn't mind, Kagami knew. But she stood her ground. She was going to see this through the end.

Flamma swung the pendulum, chanting something in a language Kagami never heard before. The pendulum glowed a faint red. Flamma dangled the pendulum above the map and immediately it stopped swinging, pointing at a particular section of the map. Kagami scooted closer, trying to get a better perspective of where the crystal's pointing. She gasped.

It's her home. The pendulum was pointing to Shinzuku.

"What is this?" Kagami questioned. Was this some sort of joke to them? No, Vestalt wouldn't joke around. It wasn't in her nature. But how?

"It is what it is. The final piece is in your home." Vestalt stated. She knew Kagami must have mixed feelings over the whole ordeal, but this was the only way they can proceed in their mission. "I need you to cooperate with us, Kagami. Do you have any idea where the piece may be?"

That's what brought Kagami here. Though she didn't want to tell Vestalt, and the woman in question didn't pressure Kagami to say anything, Kagami did have some sort of idea where it'd be. So, she observed Oiji-san like a hawk.

At first, it was merely by accident. She woke up in the middle of the night again the next day. It was just a hypothesis at that point but she wondered if her Oiji-san would sneak out again like the first time she caught him. She went out to the kitchen and hid by the cupboards. Like last time, he snuck out again. And the next day and the day after that.

Now Kagami's put in a weird predicament. Her Oiji-san is acting strange and given what Vestalt showed her there was no doubt about it. Oiji-san is hiding the piece. But where?

And that's what led Kagami to this Friday by the steps. She's going to tail her grandfather and find out where the piece is stored. But Kagami's heart sunk at the thought. Her Oiji-san hiding all this from her. Plus, she didn't know if he was on Vestalt's side or Magor's. Or worse, he had no clue that he had a crucial object in the first place.

But something else tugged on Kagami's heart. Toby. She'd have to leave Toby if she found the orb. That hurt Kagami the most out of everything. It took Kagami a while, but she knew now, it's undeniable she has a crush on him. She at least wanted to confess her feelings to him before she left, whether he rejects her or accepts her doesn't matter. Maybe she should write him a letter.

Kagami shakes her head. She needs to focus. As she's about to sneak into the kitchen, the kitchen door opens hitting her on the head.

"Kusou! Kagami are you okay!" Shujin rushes to Kagami, hoping she doesn't have a concussion or anything.

"Yes, I'm fine," Kagami says, nursing her head. Doesn't seem like she has a bump.

Shujin helps Kagami stand." What are you doing here? Wait, are you looking for that old geezer too?"

Kagami nods her head. Shujin always calls her grandfather an 'old bastard' or an 'old geezer' but heck Kagami might be doing the same if she too had to spend more than one hour with the man.

"Great! He's at the basement. Could you tell him to get his ass over here? It's getting busy and we need all the help we can get!"

"Hai!"

"Oh and Kagami?"

"Yes?"

"I'll be at Kinkaede's tonight. You'll be okay with Oiji-san by yourself?"

Kagami nods in reply.

Shujin went back to work and Kagami heads to the basement. Another checkpoint to mark. Oiji-san always tends to flake. Either by skipping work hours or at home in general. Definitely suspicious.

Kagami reaches the basement. Boxes, more boxes and the freezer room. No Oiji-san though. Kagami has only been to the basement once since moving to Venture Falls and she recalls how uneasy she felt back then. Though she doesn't feel uneasy now, she does feel something. It was a similar feeling. Like a surge of energy but faint.

Kagami gasps. The piece to the orb. It's here.

The girl places a hand on her chest, closing her eyes. It's stupid and probably won't work but she tries to listen to the piece. Vestalt had mentioned she had a connection to the orb. It was the orb that led her to that bookstore. If that's the case, she must be connected to the piece. The piece should draw Kagami towards it.

Going with her instinct she closes her eyes and began walking. Letting the piece guide her towards it. As if having its own heart, she heard it beating. Each step closer, the beating would get louder, pounding at her ears still silence. She hit a dead end. A wall.

She could feel it, the piece, it's behind that wall! But how could she get through? Kagami slaps the bricks on the wall, hoping to find some sort of secret opening. But nothing happened.

She kicks the wall in frustration. This was stupid. Her instincts must've been wrong. Vestalt had to be wrong. Her Oiji-san may be crazy but all of this. It's too much. That is until a lock could be heard.

'Hide!'

The girl rushes to a pack of boxes, almost slipping on a wet patch on the floor. She makes sure to have a clear view of the wall. A section of the wall sinks back into itself before collapsing to the floor revealing a passageway. Oiji-san emerges from the wall and Kagami held in her gasp. He looked different, more solemn and serious.

"No new updates as usual." He says as he makes his way upstairs.

Updates? What does he mean by updates?

Kagami didn't have time to ponder as the passage closes before her eyes. The girl makes a mad dash to the hidden passage. Right as it's about to close, Kagami trips on her feet, falling right through the gate, then darkness. Generating a flame to light the path, she cautiously treads forward. A set of traps? A passage to Gorm? Or something entirely foreign? Kagami doesn't know what to expect.

Proceeding forward, the girl could make out some other source of light from the other end. She quickens her pace, wanting to get this done and over with, unable to withstand the anticipation. What she found at the other end though, she'd never fathom in her entire existence why Oiji-san would hide.

Flamma sat hunched over by the doorway of Vestalt's study. It's been a couple of days since Kagami first told them of her plans of returning to Gorm with them once they retrieved the final piece. Vestalt agreed for her to do so.

After Kagami left, Vestalt immediately heads to that place. Anchor, as usual, didn't dare disagree with their commander but Flamma, the supposed dumb one, couldn't help but jitter.

"Seriously, am I the only one who thinks this is a really, really bad idea?" Flamma couldn't help but comment. "We, well the commander, did lie to her about us being the supposed good guys."

"Flamma! Don't question the Commander!" Anchor scolds. He may be smarter than her but at least she's an independent thinker.

But Anchor knows Flamma has a point. In Kagami's eyes, they are fighting against Magor, not alongside him. The minute they reach Gorm the lie will be staring at the girl dead in the face and what she'll do next – nobody knows. Given her powers and connection to the orb, along with Magor's sudden decline in strength, there was no doubt about it.

Kagami is a Lord of Nature – the new Lord of the Volcano.

They needed her on their side no matter what, since Vestalt's heading there of all places, she also knows how important it is. Vestalt stops on her tracks as they approach a securely locked door with all different kinds of lock mechanisms. It's the door to the basement. She signals to the both of them to help remove the locks.

"No, Anchor, Flamma's right. This is a bad idea." Vestalt huffs having struggled to remove a rather heavy lock. She may have retained some of her powers as a Gormiti but in this meek form, she was rather weak. "That's why we need Kagami on our side permanently."

Flamma gives Anchor a puzzled look, not understanding what Vestalt's insinuating.

Anchor sighs, "She means we have to brainwash the girl!"

"Oh."

Now that makes sense. Except, it doesn't. "If we need to brainwash her then we could just use Firespitter! Or Cyclops or cast a spell on the orb-" Flamma continues to rattle on with potential ideas.

"Those won't do, Flamma," Vestalt says having removed the final lock from the door. She opens it, revealing nothing but darkness.

Flamma still doesn't understand what Vestalt's planning. "But, commander! You can't use the book! You know what happen -"

"Flamma, I said those won't do," Vestalt says, unusually stern. She conjures up a flame, using it as a makeshift light source before proceeding down a staircase.

Anchor gives Flamma a look before following his leader. Flamma shrugs her shoulders before chasing after the two, not wanting to be left behind. Whatever Vestalt's planning, Flamma didn't enjoy it one bit.

The group made it far below the surface before Vestalt finally explains to Flamma her plan. "Those other solutions you suggested; they can easily be undone."

The group encounter another door, again filled with locks. Vestalt was always the cautious type. At least this time there weren't as many. "For every curse Magor casts, there is also an antidote."

Vestalt fiddles with a lock pad, inserting the code to finally open the door. "So we'll need a curse that doesn't have an antidote. Or at least, one that hasn't been discovered yet."

They enter a small room. Anchor and Flamma have never been in here before, but they could feel it's energy. The room was desolate, with nothing in place except a book contained in a glass case on the wall. The book was designed with gold embroidery, fattened to the brim with a plethora of pages. However, what spooked both Anchor and Flamma was the single eye at the centre of the cover, staring at them as if expecting them to arrive.

It was the book of Tartarus.

"Commander, are you sure?" Anchor voices, for once questioning his Commander.

Vestalt grasps her fists, remembering the events of the last time she used the book. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure, Anchor."

Over the past week, Vestalt has taken a liking to Kagami. The girl reminded Vestalt of herself, back when she was just like the regular goons at Volcano Mountain, before being sucked into the depths of Tartarus. Using the book herself, though dangerous, won't have last longing consequences, Vestalt had hoped. Every time she used it, she would lose a piece of herself, of who she is. But what if Kagami used the book? Would she be strong enough to withstand the curse or would she turn into a monster like the others? She didn't want to put Kagami in danger, but the mission comes first.

"You two, keep running things as normal. I'll stay here and find something that'll work."

Flamma was about to question the Commander but the door was already shut, locked from the inside.

Four days have passed since then. The only time Vestalt emerged from that place was when Kagami showed up. Other than that, they hardly saw their commander.

Flamma could only stay by the counter. She could feel it. Whatever was about to happen to in the coming days, Flamma had to prepare herself.

"Haha! I won again!"

"That's not fair! You gotta be cheating somehow!"

In the depths of Volcano Mountain, a bunch of fire gormiti huddle together for their daily match of Tic tac toe. Though supposedly their jobs were to guard the gate, where the unfortunate ones subjected to the curse of Tartarus were held. No one was allowed in or out. But since nothing spectacular has happened since Vestalt left for Earth, the fire gormiti grew bored of their tasks, finding time to mess around or play games when the higher uppers weren't watching.

"Hey, do you think when Vestalt comes back we'll have to go back to fighting?" one guard spoke up in between a match.

"That's if she returns. For all we know, they defected like Lavor." Another answers.

"Maybe we should defect too, you know if Vestalt does return. We were lucky she didn't choose us to open the portal to earth. I don't want to turn into a monster like the others." The frightened gormiti recalls those events like it happened yesterday. Talking to his comrades as normal and the next thing, his brethren are faceless, mouth-eating monsters devoid of conscious thought. To wander the Gorm as a crazed beast – it's the worst fate imaginable.

"Stop worrying so much! It's been two years! Vestalt isn't coming back."

The guards return to their game while, unbeknownst to them, a shadowy figure approaches the gate. The figure lightly chips away at the lock, remembering the strict instructions he was given. Make it look like an accident – that the lock was worn down from prolonged use.

Having found the lock somewhat worn, the figure moved on to step two. Lure whatever is in there out. The figure pulls out a light crystal. Opening the door ever so slightly, he tosses the crystal inside the room before promptly closing the door shut. He looks back at the group of fire gormiti.

'This has to be the easiest job I've ever done.'

Camouflaging itself to fit the texture of the walls, the figure escapes, a little disappointed that he couldn't stay to witness the events about to occur. It's part of the job, so he couldn't complain much.

"I'm telling you! He has to be cheating!" one fire gormiti voiced after another round of their game.

"Nah, I'm just that good. You need to take some notes from your superior."

"Since when did you become my superior?!"

"Guys, that's enough." A different fire gormiti speaks up. They've spent enough time fiddling around. "We should go back to work. Armeggedon could show up any second now."

The rest of the group frown, none of them wanting to go back to their mundane tasks. However, before they could disperse, a loud booming sound is heard from inside the gate. The group freeze up, fearful of the worst-case scenario.

"I told you we shouldn't have slacked off!" one worrisome fire gormiti quakes out. He'd warn his comrades time and time again that something like this would happen, but nobody would listen to him.

A harsh slam vibrates through the room, almost knocking the group of gormiti off their feet. Another immediately follows and another with some gormiti falling to their feet. They all eye each-other, the same thought pounding through their heads.

'They're trying to escape.'

Rushing to the gate, as if their lives depended on it which frankly they did, the guards attempt to hold back the door, stopping the monsters from escaping.

"Someone go get help!"

"But if the higher-ups hear about this - "

Not having time to finish his sentence, the gates swing open, the sheer force dismantling the gates from the walls. A hoard of five monstrous entities, the size of elephants run rampant. Their squeals piercing the ears of the unfortunate few who didn't cover their ears.

After the entirety of the residents of Volcano Mountain went through a major panic catching the rogue monsters, the news did eventually reach Lord Magor. And the fiery lord didn't take the news so lightly.

"YOU IMBECILES!" Magor spat raising the lava surrounding him to almighty heights in a heated rage. "I ASK OF YOU TO DO ONE SIMPLE TASK! HOW DARE YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME!"

Well, technically, he didn't ask – Vestalt did, Obscurio had to point out in his head. While Armeggedon quakes in fear, Obscurio stood in place. He already predicted his Lord's reaction.

"B-but sir. We've caught all but one of those 'shades' as she calls them." Armeggedon pipes up.

That information doesn't do anything to ease the lord's anger. "And where is this beast?" Magor says, quelling his rage. He shouldn't use up so much of his remaining energy on worthless underlings.

Armeggedon hesitates to give his answer, knowing it goes against his master's orders. "I'm sorry to say but it left Volcano Mountain and is currently heading to the earth nation."

"INCOMPETENT, WORTHLESS BEINGS! DO YOU NOT SEE HOW THIS WILL EFFECT MY PLANS?!"

Vestalt's plan, Obscurio corrects again. That vixen has had his lord under her fingers for far too long. Pouring nonsense into his head. Their men could've captured all five if they haven't been slacking around thanks to her. But no more. This time, Lord Magor would listen to him, the supreme lord of darkness. "Lord, if I may speak, I believe it may be a good idea to allow the beast to run wild in the earth nation."

"What rubbish are you on about, Obscurio? I order your men to capture that beast and my decision is final!"

"But Lord, how long can we accept Vestalt's words? It's been two years of stagnation, of complete nothingness!" Armeggedon tries shutting Obscurio up, not wanting to anger Magor any further but Obscurio isn't letting up. This was his only chance to sway Magor away from Vestalt's grasp and he's not letting that go cause of fear. "Our soldiers have grown weak since the lords of nature retrieved their orbs but those monsters – they can be our salvation!"

Magor's lava calms down – He's intrigued by Obscurio's words.

"Vestalt wishes to hide in the shadows and observe! We overpower our enemies, showing the true strength of our nation! Vestalt has hidden these creatures for far too long in fear. If they're truly as dangerous as she deems them to be, then we should attack! Use them to conquer the Gorm! Then the Earth!"

Obscurio gets on his knees and hands, dishing away his pride for a second. He will not let Vestalt win this time. No, this is his time for Magor to listen to him.

"Please, master."

Magor pauses, considering Obscurio's speech. "Vestalt has taken too long in retrieving the piece of the orb. I'll consider this a warning signal to her."

Obscurio couldn't contain his smirk. Finally, the vixen has been dethroned.

"The lords of nature will undoubtedly hear of this beast terrorising the earthlands. Armeggedon, prepare a party to scout the earth nation. We'll consider this a test run of this monster's ability. You're both dismissed." Magor sinks to his pool of lava, already using up his energy and needing to rest.

Obscurio made a mental note to be there when the news inevitably reaches Vestalt. This was only part one of getting rid of Vestalt and her lackeys. Once he gets that book, Vestalt would be reduced to nothing but a speck of dust.

A/N: Another new chapter this week. For the next few chapters it'll be a bit more plot orientated. I know it's kinda a weird switch from what you all are used to but what I'm going for this fic will mostly resemble season 1 more than the other seasons in terms of there's a lot going on in earth and in the characters personal lives - probably even more so then in season 1 so if you're into the whole romance and teenage drama stuff don't worry - there will be plenty of that to come.

Thanks to my beta finalfanaticgorm for helping out.

See ya'll hopefully next week.