Chương 24: Episode 21: Starla Meets the Broken One

Rain poured down in relentless sheets, lightning tearing across the sky as thunder shook the Rufty Mountains to their core. Water sluiced over jagged rocks, carving temporary rivers that vanished into the cracks. The moon fought through the clouds, a pale disc barely piercing the storm, while wind howled like a beast, and the sky screamed in violent arcs of light and sound. Amid the chaos, Scourge Don stood. His talons dug into the jagged stone, black scarf whipping behind him.

Dragon-sharp gloves glinted with dark celestial energy, violet eyes glowing as they drank in the storm. Each step made the rain hiss across his scaled body, droplets sliding off his crumpled metallic snout. A guttural roar split the air.

"RRRAAAHHHH!" Don's muscles tensed beneath the pounding rain. From the shadows, a massive figure emerged: The Razor Drake. Colossal, its scales jagged as stone, armored like the mountains themselves. Yellow eyes burned through the deluge, jagged horns curving back, tail lashing violently. Water streamed down its angular jaw, and a black insignia flashed across its forehead with every lightning strike. Its roar shook the peaks.

"RRRAAAHHHH! RRRRRAAAAARRRGH!" Don adjusted his mask, talons flexing, wings unfurling. Dark celestial energy rippled across him, reflecting the storm's chaos. Daggers appeared in a blur, spinning with cosmic light.

"Beast of the Rufty Mountains… the Razor Drake," he muttered.

"You'll live… for seconds." He surged forward, a streak of black and violet. Daggers spun in lethal arcs as he leapt, diving at the creature. WHOOSH! The Drake twisted, slamming its tail into him. SMASH! Pain shot through him, but he recovered instantly, daggers twirling as he struck again. ZAAAP! The Drake roared, jaws snapping. CRAAASH! KRAAACK! Don twisted midair, landing behind it. Daggers flew, metal clanging against scales. CLANG! SHHHINK!

Timing his next move perfectly, he grabbed one dagger mid-flip, kicked off the slick rock, and slammed into the beast's flank. THUD! Sliding across rain-slick stone, daggers spun, crimson streaking across its armored body. SPLAT! SWOOSH! Their clash became a ballet of claws, talons, steel, and cosmic light. Heads swung, tails whipped, wings beat, lightning split the sky. KRAAAANG! THOOM! CRUNCH! Don caught the Drake's snapping jaws between his daggers, teeth gritted behind his mask. ZZZAP!

Channeling dark celestial energy, he unleashed a devastating kick, flipping backward into a blaze of light. Dust, rain, and blood mingled as they skidded across the stones. BOOM! WHOOM! Don rose, daggers spinning, scarf soaked and trailing.

"If this is all you can do…" His voice cut through the storm.

"…then you are a waste of my time." In a blur, he teleported before the Drake, dagger plunging into its skull. SHING! KRAAK! ZZZAAAP! Lightning illuminated its final shuddering roar. Blood oozed down its neck as it hit the ground.

"RRRAAAHHHH!" Rain washed over Don's tattered form, wings spread, mask glinting, daggers poised.

"Thank you…" STARLA AND SCORCH The dragons cut through a violent storm. Rain slashed sideways as lightning ripped the midnight sky open, thunder rolling across the heavens while the wind bent trees to their breaking point. High above the canopy, Starla and Scorch carved through the gale, wings beating against the storm. Flashes of lightning caught their scales in shards of white and violet as they fled—fast and desperate. After their last encounter, they both knew Dreadixz wouldn't let them go for long.

Starla peered down through the sheets of rain.

"The forest," she called out over the thunder.

"We lose him there." Without debating, they dove. Wind clawed at their wings as they tore through the upper branches, crashing into the drenched underbrush. Mud splattered and branches snapped around them until the shadows swallowed them whole.

"I think we're clear," Starla murmured, scanning the dark treeline.

"I'm shifting." Her body flared in a soft white glow as her beast form collapsed into something smaller and more human. Wings folded tight against her back, and her curled horns gleamed beneath blond hair streaked with indigo. But the biggest shift was her eyes—once golden, now a piercing, icy blue. Scorch eyed her, silently asking the question neither wanted to voice: What now? Starla adjusted her jacket and took a cautious step forward, then froze.

"You hear that?" A guttural scream echoed through the trees—something raw and unnatural. Scorch stepped in front of her, fire flickering in his throat as a low growl vibrated through his chest. The scream came again, closer this time. They pushed forward through the drenched foliage until the trees broke open into the Rufty Mountains. Titanic stone pillars towered over them, their jagged cliffs stabbing into the storming sky. The canyon floor below lay like a graveyard of shattered rock and torn plants.

When the scream ripped through the canyon a third time, right on top of them, they sprinted toward the sound. Thwip! A dagger cut through the air toward them. Scorch lunged, catching the blade between his teeth and spitting it into the mud with a metallic clatter. The double-edged steel glowed with violent violet energy, its handle stained with dark, dried blood. Starla looked up toward the base of the mountain, and her breath caught.

Lying in the dirt was a Drake—a titan of the Rufty range—stone-like scales cracked open like shattered armor, its tail unmoving. The dagger embedded deep in its skull pulsed with faint celestial light, while a spear of earth jutted through its throat, pinning it to the ground like a grave marker. Starla stumbled back.

"We need to leave," she whispered. Even at twelve, the sight was far too much. A sudden snap echoed in the air. Dark indigo chains burst from the mist and bound them tight, yanking both dragons upward. They thrashed against the celestial bindings, but the chains held. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. A second later, a figure fell from above, slamming into the mud with a heavy thud as rain splashed off his broken armor.

Starla twisted against her restraints to see him. He wore a hero's suit torn to ribbons and soaked in blood and dirt. His dragon-like mask was cracked, barely clinging to his face, with blood trailing from a wound near his right eye. His left eye burned with purple celestial fire. His right wing was gone entirely; the other dragged behind him in tatters.

"HEY!" Starla shouted, struggling against the chains. The figure lifted his head slightly, tilted it, and snapped his fingers. The chains vanished instantly. Starla and Scorch hit the mud hard, gasping for air. Scorch stepped forward with flames lighting his throat, but Starla threw an arm out to stop him. Her eyes locked onto the stranger. Something about him felt familiar—like a memory from a nightmare.

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

"Did you… kill that Drake?" The Celestianite coughed, his voice low and hollow.

"Don," he said. A shadow seemed to settle over his face.

"But I guess I'm Scourge Don forever now." He turned away, dragging himself through the mud, every step heavy and every breath sharp. Before disappearing into the rain, he shot her a cold glare over his shoulder.

"Who do you claim to be?" Starla steadied her voice.

"Starla. Princess of Celestia. And you're Don, right? One of the Chosen Ones? I… I heard about you. Just not like this." Don shrugged without turning back.

"Whatever." He kept walking into the dark. Starla watched him disappear into the storm, a cold twist of curiosity settling in her chest. Whoever Don used to be, this wasn't him anymore. Grolian Forest In the Grolian Forest, thunder cracked across the sky and shook the muddy battlefield below. Claws tore through hide and metal shrieked against metal as the storm swallowed the noise of the clash. High above the canopy, the battle spilled into the sky.

Prince and King tore through the clouds, their bodies flickering like living electricity in the downpour. Prince's feathers blazed with raw current, while King dragged trails of dark magnetic lightning behind him. King hit the earth below, rising slowly as magnetic force crawled around his body in violent spirals, lifting chunks of shattered stone into the air. His eyes locked onto Prince.

"Not bad," King said. He raised one hand, and the magnetic field around him detonated outward. Bolts of glowing energy fired from his fingertips, ripping through the treeline. Prince barely reacted before the barrage hit him, wrapping his body in current as King vanished—reappearing beside him in an instant. King drove a punch straight into Prince's ribs, followed by an elbow to his spine and a heavy kick to the jaw. He moved with terrifying precision—every strike efficient and cold.

Prince crashed through a line of trees and skidded across the mud. King descended through the rain, magnetic force pulling rocks and twisted metal into orbit around him like satellites. Prince spat blood into the dirt and smirked.

"Magnetic surge, huh? Do better." The air shifted as electricity erupted around Prince in tight, spiraling currents. Blue light flooded his body as his energy climbed, bending the surrounding storm toward him until he exploded into pure electrical force. His eyes burned bright, symbols glowing within them—a V in one eye, a P in the other. Voltron Prince had arrived.

"You know what's funny?" Prince grinned, fists crackling with energy.

"I was just starting to get bored." King stared at him silently before dark magnetic lightning erupted around his own frame, cracking the ground beneath his feet.

"If you're done talking, come prove it." They collided midair. Shockwaves tore through the clouds as lightning exploded in every direction. Voltron and King traded blows at blinding speed, fists hitting hard enough to rattle the forest floor. Voltron shot upward, then dived back down, tendrils of lightning locking around King mid-flight.

"50 THUNDEROUS SEASONS!" Voltron spun into a vortex of electricity and drove King straight into the earth, the impact unleashing a wave of blue-white light through the trees. Before the mud settled, Voltron appeared at the edge of the crater.

"VOLTRON'S PROMISE!" A brutal uppercut launched King back into the sky. Voltron followed immediately, driving a punch into his stomach before blurring through a sequence of lightning-fast strikes—left, above, behind—moving like a living storm while King struggled to block. Voltron pulled back his fist for the final blow.

"The Third Chosen One." The punch landed square, sending King crashing into the dirt, bleeding heavily as smoke rose from his armor. Voltron landed nearby with a grin.

"Ooh. I thought things were finally getting interesting." King coughed, forcing himself back up as weak magnetic sparks flickered over his arms. Blood dripped from his jaw, but his expression remained flat.

"You still talk too much," he muttered. A heavy metallic clank echoed through the trees. Prince turned toward the treeline. A figure emerged from the rain-soaked canopy, bathed in a glowing violet aura—a Zenith. His body shimmered like a living silhouette, glowing eyes fixed on Prince. All of the Power Gems floated around his right hand, while a heavy steel watch on his arm pulsed with violet light. The figure smirked.

"Well. If it isn't Avangard's favorite little heroes." He glanced toward the Illegals.

"You guys can move on. I'll handle them." Prince narrowed his eyes.

"Who the heck are you?!" The figure tilted his head with a smug grin.

"Maybe you'll find out." The moment Krane clicked his fingers, eleven Lunaranites burst from the treeline like living shadows. The rain slowed to a drizzle, though the sky remained pitch black. The crew instinctively backed together into a circle as the Lunaranites closed in from every angle, weapons bared. Krane stood calmly in the center, a glowing violet orb floating just above his palm. The orb spun with a low mechanical hum as purple energy pulsed between his fingers.

He smiled, sharp teeth gleaming under the moonlight. Olsen could barely stand upright, leaning heavily on his knees.

"Oh, awesome," he groaned.

"Lunaranites everywhere. Exactly what I needed after getting folded by a metal brachiosaurus." Archie pointed furiously at Krane.

"WHO EVEN ARE YOU?!" Krane raised an eyebrow.

"Hm. You're thinking about running." The crew stiffened—because he was right. Krane's eyes shifted toward Olsen.

"And the Earth guy's thinking about eating rocks again." Olsen's eyes widened.

"HEY! YOU CAN'T JUST READ MY MIND! THAT'S WEIRD!"

"Oh well," Krane shrugged carelessly. He clenched his fist around the orb. Instantly, the Power Gems flared with dark violet energy and levitated into the air. Ella stepped forward in panic.

"What are you doing?! Leave them alone!" Before anyone could move, purple chains burst from the mud like striking serpents, wrapping tightly around the crew's arms, legs, and torsos, locking them down instantly. Demaurion went feral. The Leviathan roared from deep within his chest as he thrashed against the restraints, biting into the chains with glowing fangs. The metal didn't even scratch. Krane laughed softly.

"You're all hopeless." He turned to the Lunaranites.

"Take them in, boys." Glancing skyward, Krane raised his hand.

"Power Gems… scatter." The gems shot upward like missiles, splitting apart across the storm clouds and vanishing into the night sky in different directions. Prince's eyes widened.

"NO—NO! NOT THE POWER GEMS!" More Lunaranites descended from the canopy, landing around the bound crew with eerie silence, spears held at the ready. Eli said nothing, pulling against the chains with silent fury burning in his eyes. Vironos stepped forward, grinning at Krane.

"Thanks for your part. Finish the job. We're moving to Phase Two." The Illegals turned and melted back into the dark forest. A heavy impact shook the earth as something massive landed nearby. The mud buckled beneath their feet, and a towering shadow stepped through the rising mist.

"DREADIXZ!" The name spilled from the crew in unison. He stood over the battlefield, wings folded behind his massive frame, a sharp grin stretched across his face.

"You know, Krane," Dreadixz said casually, glancing toward the orb-wielding figure, "there's a reason I hired you." His grin widened.

"And you delivered." Demaurion thrashed harder against his bindings.

"LET US GO BEFORE I RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!" Dreadixz raised a hand calmly, his voice dripping with amusement.

"Relax. We're just taking you somewhere special." His eyes burned in the dark beneath the storm clouds.

"A little place called…

'Foreshade'."