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Chapter Text

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Crellan drome
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"If I didn't know you better, Crellan, I'd say you were stalking those affiliated with Major Tom." That voice caught the attention of CodeMaster Crellan, interrupting his observation of the Chaotic match that was going on in his drome at the moment. The voice, however, was no cause for alarm as Crellan knew the owner of that voice, even with their helmet disorienting it a bit.

"You cannot blame me for doing so, Imthor." Said Crellan as he turned towards the CodeMaster of the Imthor drome, dressed in his usual golden helmet and gauntlets over the standard robes of the CodeMasters, who was walking towards him. "Major Tom and his group of friends are quite interesting. I've never seen such bravery and selflessness in any Chaotic player before. Not in the amounts they have shown anyway." Imthor just nodded in agreement as he joined in on the viewing of the match going on. If he recalled correctly the one affiliated with Major Tom was the one called PeytonicMaster. According to the teams, he was winning narrowly. He had three creatures to his opponent's two. However, it appears that the numbers have evened out as his opponent just casted the Mugic, Melody of Malady, healing the opponent as well as damaging PeytonicMaster's Siado. He then used his Viledriver to defeat Siado, coding him and leaving PeytonicMaster with only two creatures.

"Yes. Their empathy towards the creatures of Perim is admirable." Said Imthor, recalling all that they did for the creatures of Perim. "Even when it risked them losing their presence in Chaotic, they still chose to help the creatures of Perim in their plights. Such traits are quite rare to be found on Earth."

"Very." Agreed Crellan. "As well as Perim." Imthor nodded as they watched the next battle start.

"How is Perim, anyway. I've been too busy with CodeMaster matches to be up to date with the politics and situations regarding Perim." Said Imthor.

"Quite interesting, to say the least." Said Crellan. "The tribes, their greatest Muges at least, have banded together and raised an ancient city from its resting place. Long thought lost to history. Now it's a hot spot for Chaotic players as well as the creatures of Perim. I've even heard that the creatures are attempting to find the Cothica in the city, believing it's hidden in its walls."

"A fool's errand." Commented Imthor. "The power of the Cothica is something that no one, not even the most selfless of creatures, should attain. Power corrupts. You know it. And I know it. That's why it's hidden in the first place. Doom will befall on Perim if anyone acquires its power." Crellan nodded in agreement as the battle between PeytonicMaster and his opponent reached its climax.

"Yes. Hopefully, they won't find it. Otherwise, we may have to step in." Said Crellan as PeytonicMaster made a fatal mistake that caused his creature to be nearly coded. He managed to correct himself in time and got back in the game. Imthor nodded at that before looking back at the battle.

"I take it that this battle will qualify PeytonicMaster for a CodeMaster battle with you, yes?" Asked Imthor as he changed the subject.

"Yes." Said Crellan. "I'm quite eager to see if PeytonicMaster is as skilled and knowledgeable as he boasts. He will need it if he wishes to defeat me."

"Indeed." Said Imthor. "Just because his friend managed to defeat you once, doesn't mean he can achieve the same results."

"Nor does it mean that I have run out of tricks to use." Said Crellan as the match ended with PeytonicMaster winning it.
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Meanwhile

Port Court
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"Alright, Peyton!" Yelled Major Tom as he, his best friend Kaz, and Sarah, another friend, cheered on their mutual friend PeytonicMaster on his recent victory in his drone match. "Just one more creature and he'll win this match." While he was optimistic about Peyton winning, Kaz wasn't so sure.

"I don't know, Tom." Said Kaz as he observed the screen that showed Peyton's match. "He only has Mudeenu and Tianne left. And his opponent has Chaor with a Gigantroper as battle gear. And that thing has wiped out three of his creatures. Peyton's in for a hard battle Tom." Sarah, upon hearing that, smirked.

"Are you just saying that because you don't want to see Chaor lose to Mudeenu or Tianne?" Teased Sarah as both she and Tom looked at Kaz with looks of amusement, befuddling Kaz.

"Of course not." Said Kaz as he defended himself. "I'm just saying that Peyton has a hard fight or two if he wants to win. And for the record, Chaor can totally beat Mudeenu and Tianne at the same time without question. Without any difficulty."

"Really?" Asked Tom with a devious smile. "That's what you said before you lost a match against Bodal with Chaor in your last match."

"He didn't code me!" Yelled Kaz as he glared at Tom incredulously, as both Sarah and Tom laughed at his expense. "It was the location that coded me. There's a difference." After Tom and Sarah finished laughing, they all went back to watching the match. Meanwhile, back at the Crellan drome, Peyton was conversing with his opponent, a player from France.

"Got to say, man, this was a sick match." Said Peyton with a grin. "Kind of a shame that we got to end this so soon." His opponent just nodded in agreement as he spoke.

"Agreed. You've been a worthy opponent." Said his opponent, a teen by the name of Hugo. "But, to qualify for a CodeMaster match, I have to beat you."

"Same here." Said Peyton. "Guess we both have high stacks, huh?" Hugo just nodded in agreement. "Then let's get Chaotic!" Peyton then activated his location randomizer. Both players and their audience watched as the randomizer slowed down to reveal the next location.

"The next location: Iron Pillar." Said the Crellan drome's AI announcer as the location was locked in on the original Iron Pillar, before the sentient Gigantropers wrecked it and eventually became a part of it.

"Tough break, man." Said Peyton with a smile. "Battle gear doesn't work at Iron Pillar. So, your little bot won't work, evening the playing field."

"Ho, ho, ho." Said Hugo. "We'll see about that, Monsieur Peyton." Peyton just smiled even more before declaring the attack.

"Mudeenu attacks Chaor!" Yelled Peyton before selecting his Mudeenu card while Hugo selects his only creature left. Blue digital codes then began to surround them, turning them both into their selected creatures. Once this was done, Peyton, now Mudeenu in form, spoke out. "Now let's get Chaotic!" The drome then sent them to their destination.

Few minutes into the match, Peyton was climbing up Iron Pillar, keeping an eye out for Hugo.

"Now where is Mr. temper." Thought Peyton as he climbed up a support beam before landing on a stable, flat sheet of metal. On high alert, Peyton was about to move when his tail, Mudeenu's tail, raised up in alarm. Acting quickly, Peyton dived out of the way as a fireball blasted his original location.

"Nice dodge, Peyton!" Yelled Hugo, now Chaor, before firing a few more fireballs from a higher platform, forcing Peyton to dodge them all lest he gets hit. "But not good enough. Heat Ray!" Beams of flame erupted from Hugo's eyes, this time hitting Peyton and causing significant damage.

Shaking his head, Peyton roared out before launching a Flash kick at Hugo as he landed on the platform Peyton was on, hitting his square in the chest. Grunting at the hit, Hugo tried to dodge the blast of Iron Balls from Mudeenu's eyes, but couldn't as Peyton kept peppering him with the Iron Balls before launching another Flash Kick as he got close. The Flash kick nearly sent Hugo over the edges of the platform, almost causing him to fall to the bottom of Iron Pillar, which would have lost him the match.

Roaring out a challenge, Hugo launched an Inferno Gust at Peyton as he closed in. Peyton, deciding to take a risk, took the Inferno Gust square in the chest, reducing his Mudeenu to just ten energy, and causing him to spiral to the ground in pain.

"Why did Peyton tank the hit!" Said Tom in surprise as the trio watched this in surprise. "Mudeenu is down to only ten energy."

"He's got something cooking him in his brain." Said Sarah. "Though whether it's a good one is up for debate." Kaz just nodded as Hugo prepared to launch a final attack at the downed Mudeenu.

"Game over, Peyton!" Yelled Hugo as he was about to launch his attack. Before he did, however, Peyton suddenly got up and tackled Hugo over the edge, sending them plummeting to the bottom of Iron Pillar, where they both ended up code, causing them to be sent back to the drome.

"The match is over. The winner is PeytonicMaster!" Declared the AI as Peyton smirked at his victory. Because he was the only one with a creature left, Peyton was the winner of the match, thus securing his qualifications to challenge CodeMaster Crellan. After retrieving his scanner, Peyton spoke to Hugo.

"Thanks for the great match, man." Said Peyton. "You really gave me a good fight."

"Same to you." Said Hugo. "I didn't expect you to pull off such a move, Monsieur Peyton. Good lock on your CodeMaster match." Peyton nodded his thanks before leaving with his opponent in tow.

Upon arriving back at the Port Court, he looked around for his friends, eventually finding them and sitting with them at the table.

"Dudes, guess who's going to be fighting a code master soon!" Announced Peyton with a big smile on his face.

"That's great Peyton!" Said Tom with a smile. "If you win your battle, that'll be two people in our gang that's beaten a CodeMaster."

"You got that right, dude!" Yelled Peyton with excitement. "Imthor may have beaten me last time, but Crellan isn't going to escape me!"

"Well, in that case, you'd better come up with a good strategy, Peyton." Said Sarah. "And a good one, Peyton. Just because Tom beat Crellan doesn't mean that you can. Heck, for all we know, Crellans' got some new creatures, Mugic, and battlegear since his battle with Tom."

"Sarah's right, Peyton." Said Kaz. "Not only do we have to discuss a strategy for you, but we also have to get you some new scans."

"Not to worry, good dude." Said Peyton with a smile. "I've been making a strategy for this moment to come since the day I needed a seventh win in the Crellan drome. Not to worry, I got everything under control. Crellan won't know what hit him."

"Really?" Asked Tom in surprise. "Then can you tell what your strategy is?"

"No way, Tommy boy." Said Peyton with a wave of both his hands. "Got to keep it all hush-hush so as to prevent the CodeMaster from hearing about it." Upon hearing that, Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Peyton, the CodeMasters don't overhear all our conversations." Said Sarah in annoyance. "They're good, but they don't need to overhear all our conversations and strategies so they can beat us regular players. They're hard to beat because they're that good and because they have some hard-to-acquire creatures, battlegear, locations, and Mugic."

"Yeah, but you never be too sure, Sarah." Said Peyton. "But if you're right, then they'll be wishing they eavesdropped for what I got will surely get a reaction out of them." That caused his friends to raise an eyebrow, their curiosity growing.

"C'mon, Peyton, can't you just give us a little hint?" Asked Tom with a smile. "I mean, you do owe me one for getting you that scan of Mudeenu when he was powered up with Mugic."

"Sorry, Tom-o, these lips are sealed." Said Peyton, causing Sarah to grunt. "But trust me, you'll all be stoked to see what I've got in store for Crellan. Just you wait!" With that, Peyton then saw a girl who caught his eye and quickly left to go talk to her.

"*Sighs* God, I can't stand waiting." Said Sarah. "I got to see what he saw in store for Crellan."

"Well, we got no choice." Said Tom with a shrug. "If Peyton wants to keep it hush-hush, then we've got to respect it."

"Yeah, I guess." Said Kaz with a sigh. "Well, I've got to go to the Underworld. H'earring told me a while ago that Chaor made some improvements to his personal Viledriver and I want to get a scan of it. Want to come?"

"Actually, Tom and I have to go to Mount Pillar." Said Sarah. "Apparently there are some interesting developments going on there that involve the Overworlders and I want to go find out what it is."

"Yeah, and I want to figure out what the Danians are doing that's got Maxxor going there." Said Tom, causing Kaz to widen his eyes in shock.

"What Maxxor is going to Mount Pillar?" Asked Kaz. "How'd you figure that out?"

"Bodal." Said Tom simply, causing Kaz to nod in understanding.

"Figures." Said Kaz. "Well, tell me what you guys find out there when you get back. I'm actually eager to see if it's good news or not."

"Will do." Said Tom as they all got up and walked towards the teleporters, one heading to the Underworld and the other two to Mount Pillar.
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Mount Pillar
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Teleporting straight outside Mount Pillar, Tom and Sarah looked to see Mount Pillar in all its glory.

"Okay, so is getting to Mount Pillar still as difficult as before?" Asked Tom as they saw a couple of guards near an entranceway.

"Unfortunately, yes." Said Sarah with slight disappointment. "Even after the whole M'arrillian invasion and tribal alliance, the Danians are still hostile to outsiders, especially Chaotic players."

"Okay, so how do we get in?" Asked Tom, wondering how they'd get in this time. "Sneak our way in or convince the Overworlders to let us in on their behalf."

"Don't worry." Said Sarah. "Wamma and I already made arrangements. He'll be here soon to get the guards out of the way and we can get in. Just have to wait a few minutes." Tom nodded at that as the two waited for Wamma to come and deal with the guards.
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Few minutes later
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The two were still waiting for Wamma to come and remove the guards.
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Another few minutes
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They still were waiting, this time with bored expressions.
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Thirty minutes later
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"Argh! That's it!" Said Sarah in anger as she saw the guards were still there. "Where's Wamma!? That fat piece of larb better have a good excuse why he hasn't removed the guards yet?"

"Think he's busy or something?" Asked Tom as he scratched his head. He knew Wamma was lazy, but he was punctual enough to do something easy like getting guards away from their post to help Sarah out.

"He couldn't be." Said Sarah. "Last I heard from him, he got demoted back to Mandiblor after he helped get me a scan of Nom. So, he shouldn't be busy with anything."

"Well, unless you like to wait for an hour more, I'd say we should either try to get in touch with the Overworlders or try to sneak in. Got any other entranceways to Mount Pillar?" Asked Tom.

"Tons." Said Sarah with a smile. "Every Danian player has at least half a dozen ways to enter Mount Pillar undetected. Even Buzz junior and senior can get in without much trouble. Though they did nearly get caught the first time they tried it. And it was a very close call. Come on, I'll show you where the quickest one is."

"So what was the close call?" Asked Tom as they walked to the entranceway, curious on what the close call was. They have time to kill after all.

"They were trying to get a scan of Lore, the Danian's spiritual leader for a trade. Lore nearly caught them, but they managed to escape through a garbage chute." Explained Sarah before giggling. "Boy did they smell when they got back to Chaotic." Tom laughed a bit at that. Eventually, they arrived at a hidden crevice leading to the interior of Mount Pillar.

"Okay, this entranceway leads directly to one of the barracks the Mandiblors use." Said Sarah. "If we're quiet and lucky, we can get in and out without anyone noticing. So, stay close and follow me."

"Got it." Said Tom, trusting Sarah on this. The two then entered the crevice, eventually forcing them to crawl to get through. Soon, they were at the Danian barracks that Sarah talked about. Luck would have it, all the guards there were asleep. Telling Tom to be quiet, the two stealthily went towards the exit. Once the two were safely out of the barracks and a good distance from any Danians, Sarah spoke up.

"Alright, if memory serves me right, the embassy for the Overworld is several floors above where we are now." Said Sarah as she looked around their surroundings. "So, unless we want to stay hiding all the time, I'd say it's best for us to go to the Overworld embassy and try to get Maxxor to help us out."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Said Tom. "Know where the embassy is?"

"Of course." Said Sarah with a smirk. "Just follow me and don't do anything stupid." With that, the two walked towards the upper levels of Mount Pillar, careful not to alert any Danian guards on patrol.

"So, any ideas what the whole thing is about?" Asked Tom. "All Bodal said it was something important that involved Maxxor."

"No idea. Wamma didn't say much. Just that it involved the Overworld and that Maxxor would be here." Said Sarah. "Apparently, Queen Illexia's daughter asked Maxxor to come. With as many guards as he wished." Upon hearing that, Tom widened his eyes in surprise.

"Illexia has a daughter?" Asked Tom in shock. He knew that she was a queen and all, but he never thought she had a daughter. At least right now. Sarah saw his shock and understood.

"Yeah, it's a very closely guarded secret." Said Sarah. "Even Danian players didn't know about her. Heck, I wouldn't know about her if it wasn't for Wamma and he only got it through sheer luck. She's kept hidden from everyone, even other Danians. I guess it's because Illexia didn't want her daughter to be in danger from dissenters and enemies from the other tribes." That caused Tom to raise an eyebrow.

"So, if that's true, then why is she revealing herself now?" Asked Tom. "And what does it got to do with Maxxor?"

"That's what I want to know as well." Said Sarah as they climbed up some stairs. "I really doubt it's something as petty as teenage disobedience."

Tom was about to make his own comment on that when they heard some loud voices coming from the other end of the stairs. Sarah heard them too and the two looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Before either could make a plan, they saw who was making those steps and were relieved.

"Wamma." Said Sarah as she saw her Danian compatriot coming in full view alone. "You nearly gave us a scare. We thought you were another Danian."

"Sorry, Sarah." Said Wamma as he made his way to his human friend. "Things got a bit complicated and I was forced to stay around to guard the queen's daughter."

"Really?" Asked Sarah in surprise that a Mandiblor was stuck guarding the Queen's daughter as that was the job of the royal guard. She then noticed that Wamma still held a sash full of medals. Among those medals was a badge signifying that the wearer was a Battlemaster. "What's with that? I thought you got demoted from Battlemaster back to Mandiblor after you got me that scan of Nom?" Upon hearing that, Wamma scowled, both in sadness and anger.

"Oh, it's terrible Sarah. Just terrible." Said Wamma before motioning for both Tom and Sarah to follow, which they did after a look at each other. After a few minutes of walking, Wamma talked again. "You see after I helped you get that scan, Lore demoted me back to Mandiblor. There were a lot of disappointed Mandiblors about that because I was the first Mandiblor to become Battlemaster, but I didn't care. My old life was coming back to me. I can finally be back to being old lazy Wamma." Wamma then whined and placed a hand on his head. "But then the queen's daughter happened. She got me back up to Battlemaster and then used me to advocate her cause. *Whines* Since then, I've been put in charge of her personal guard. Going with her to political meetings. Guarding her when she sleeps. Even be forced to witness her speeches to the other Danians. *Cries* It's been awful." Although Sarah couldn't help but roll her eyes at Wamma's laziness, she was intrigued by what he said. If Wamma was this close to Illexia's daughter, then he must know what she's been up to.

"Wamma, as much as it pains me to see you like this." Said Sarah, trying to butter up Wamma. "What exactly has Illexia's daughter been doing? You must know with how close you've been around her."

"Yeah, and what does it have to do with Maxxor?" Asked Tom, catching on. "What does the Overworld got to do with the Danians?" Wamma took a minute to get ahold of himself before speaking.

"It's about the Danians usage of parasites and the princess' ascension to the throne." Said Wamma as he wiped a tear from his left eye. "Illexia's daughter, Aszil, has been advocating for the Danians to stop the usage of parasites and infestation, as well as improving our relations with the other tribes. Needless to say, that caused some controversy with the rest of the nobles and Battlemasters." That caused both Tom and Sarah to widen their eyes in shock.

"She wants to ban the usage of Danian parasites?" Asked Sarah. "Why? That's one of your most effective strategies. And she wants to get rid of it all?"

"Well, it's because of the M'arrillian invasion." Explained Wamma. "You see, during the siege of Mount Pillar, a M'arrillian managed to find Aszil and attempted to mind control her." That shocked both humans a bit. If a M'arrillian managed to brainwash someone, then that was bad news, especially if they were a political figure.

"Were they successful?" Asked Tom, concerned about this.

"Yeah." Said Wamma. "We managed to get rid of the mind control in time before she could do anything damaging, but the experience left her traumatized. Made her second guess everything about Danian warfare. Eventually, it caused her to try to advocate the discontinuation of Danian parasites as well as advocate stronger relations with the other tribes."

"Wow." Said Tom as he took all this in. "That must have made her a lot of enemies."

"Oh, you're understating it." Said Wamma. "If she weren't the queen's daughter, she would have her head on a pike or something. Things got worse when she began to garner support from most of the Mandiblors. She managed to get their support by promising better quarters and food for them. She even got most of the Battlemasters to side with her. Heck, even one or two nobles are backing her up. Oh, I'm telling you Sarah, things are getting quite hectic right now." Sarah hummed at that.

"Think it's going to lead to a civil war between those supporting Aszil and Illexia?" Asked Sarah, worried that all this will end in a civil war between those who support Aszil and those who don't.

"Probably." Said Wamma. "Illexia is in support of those who want to keep the old ways. She thinks her daughter's views are too radical. Too unrealistic right now. Sure, the tribes worked with each other against the M'arrillians when they invaded, but that doesn't wipe out generations of warfare between the tribes. At least that's what Illexia says. She also says the Danians need as many advantages as they can get with how cozy the Underworld and Overworld are getting with the Mipedians."

"Uh, they aren't that buddy with each other." Said Tom. "There are still some issues between the tribes."

"Yeah, but not enough compared to what the other tribes have against the Danians." Said Wamma. "Between the infesting of that Mipedian assassin and the infesting of the Overworld ambassador, and a whole bunch of stuff that's way beyond my time, we Danians got a lot of things to answer for. That's why Illexia is so against her daughters' plans. She fears that her daughter will weaken the Danians enough that our enemies will try to attack us."

"And is that why Maxxor is here?" Asked Tom, guessing why Maxxor was here. "On request of the Danian queen's daughter?"

"Yeah." Said Wamma. "She went to him first. I was there. Didn't hear what they said to each other. That stuff was kept between them, but it must have been enough to get Maxxor to come here." Upon hearing that Wamma didn't know why Maxxor was here caused Sarah to groan.

"Okay, Wamma." Said Sarah after controlling her temper. "How about you get us straight to where Aszil is. I want to scan her and figure out what she's up to."

"Where do you think we're going?" Asked Wamma. "We're going straight to Aszil's chambers." Upon hearing that, both humans widened their eyes in shock.

"She isn't going to do anything to us, right?" Asked Tom, placing a hand on his scanner just in case. Upon hearing that, Wamma shook his head.

"Oh no." Said Wamma as he waved a hand. "Aszil figured out my friendship with Sarah."

"Really?" Asked Sarah. "What did she say?"

"Nothing really against it." Said Wamma. "All she did was ask me to bring you here. Said that you can help with the situation here."

"Really?" Asked Sarah in surprise. She had helped the Danians before with the whole Mipedian assassination attempt, but that was complete without anyone asking for her help. This would be the first time that a Danian, baring Wamma, asked her for help. "What does she think I can do?"

"No idea." Said Wamma with a shrug. "Just said to bring you here as soon as possible. She said there's a reward for you if you come. So, come on, I told Aszil that you were here and to wait for you in her chambers. Don't want to keep her waiting. She's got a lot on her plate." With that Wamma urged the two humans forward, even gently pushing them forward with his weapon.

"Hey. Watch it." Said Sarah as Wamma pocked her back. She then looked at Tom. "Gonna guess what Aszil wants?" Tom just shrugs.

"No idea. Hopefully, it isn't something too dangerous." Said Tom as the two walked with Wamma behind them, urging them to go faster.

Chapter Text

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Underworld City
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In Underworld city, Kaz was conversing with his friend and scan provider, H'earring.

"Okay, you're sure that Chaor has his Viledriver upgraded?" Asked Kaz as they walked the streets of Underworld city straight to Ulmar's lab, where Chaor's Viledriver was according to H'earring.

"I was there when Chaor ordered Ulmar to upgrade it." Said H'earring. "Something about upgrading the cannons to fire more quickly and to include a missile launcher on the back as well as some more armor plating."

"Sounds like Chaor is preparing for war." Said Kaz with slight worry. He liked Chaor, idolized him in fact, but he can be quite aggressive if things don't go his way or something happens that puts the Underworld in jeopardy. "He isn't going to war, right H'earring?"

"Nah." Said H'earring with a shrug. "Probably just wants his Viledriver to be more unique after Ulmar and Khybon made a bunch of them for his commanders. Probably wants it to be distinguishable from all the others and show others whose in charge."

"I guess that would be the case." Said Kaz, slightly relieved. "Can't believe that I still have to sneak into Ulmar's lab though. It's been a whole two years since I wrecked his place with that Viledriver. Why does he still have a grudge against me for that?"

"Well, it's that combined with how you humiliated him in the coliseum." Said H'earring with a shrug. "And the fact you keep taking his stuff without asking."

"Okay, the last one I get but come on." Said Kaz, raising his hands in the air. "The first two are old news. And its not like I take all his stuff or anything too important. I only take things that I need to save other people. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Nope." Said H'earring simply. "Not with Ulmar. Especially since they keep getting destroyed whenever you take his things." Kaz then gave up and instead asked if Ulmar was around the lab. "Nope. Heard he caught Krystella trying to sneak in and get a scan of Nivenna while she was trying to get Ulmar to make her a new Whepcrack after she broke her last one." Upon hearing that Krystella was caught by Ulmar, Kaz looked at H'earring in surprise.

"Krystella?" Asked Kaz in shock, remembering the nasty brunette that pestered him and his friends since Tom beat her friend Klay, though they weren't friends by then. Constantly cheating them out of scans and, on occasion, being a threat to Perim and their Chaotic lives, she and Klay are a constant thorn to him and his friends that just won't go away. "What was she trying to do there?"

"I don't know." Said H'earring. "Just heard it from the barracks. Also heard Ulmar was planning on using her to test Chaor's new Viledriver." Much as Kaz would like for Krystella to get coded out of Chaotic permanently, he knew that it would not be good for him if he let her get blasted by Ulmar testing out Chaor's new Viledriver on her. He and his friends, much as he sometimes disliked it, were good people. And they didn't want anyone to lose their Chaotic life if it was taken away from them forcefully. No matter how slimy they were. So, with much reluctance, he asked her if H'earring knew where she was being kept. When H'earring asked why Kaz replied.

"Because it's the right thing to do." Said Kaz with so much reluctance in his voice. Upon hearing that, H'earring hummed at that.

"You sure you're an Underworlder player?" Asked H'earring with a small smile. "Because that sounds more like the talk of an Overworlder than an Underworlder."

"Just tell me where she is." Said Kaz in frustration, causing H'earring to snicker.

"Alright. Alright." Said H'earring before motioning for Kaz to follow him. "If memory serves me right, then Ulmar will more certainly put Krystella in the holding pen he has for those that anger him. He also uses it as a trash bin." Upon hearing that, Kaz snickered at the image of Krystella amongst a pile of trash. Just what she deserved.

Soon, the two were at Ulmar's workshop and ready to save Krystella. They soon entered the workshop and began walking towards the holding pen that H'earring spoke of. Eventually, they arrived at a door. Upon getting close, Kaz could smell the trash on the other side and was forced to pinch his nose to avoid smelling the stink. Knocking on the door, Kaz heard some shuffling and soon a face came to view. A face that completely shocked him.

The person on the other side of the door did indeed look like Krystella, but there were a few key differences that distinguished her from Krystella.

Instead of having brown hair, she was blond. Instead of purple eyes, she had pink ones. And although she wore an identical outfit to Krystella's usual wear, it was different enough in colors that Kaz can see she wasn't Krystella. She was Jycella, Krystella's twin sister.

"H'earring! This is Jycella! Not Krystella!" Yelled Kaz as he looked at his friend, who tilted his head in confusion.

"Who?" Asked H'earring, looking at Jycella and noting the differences between her and Krystella. Upon seeing the diminutive Underworlder, Jycella gave him a smile and a wave of her hand, slightly hopeful he's friendlier than Ulmar.

"Jycella. She's Krystella's sister." Explained Kaz as he looked at Jycella. He saw that she had a few stains on her face along with some on her shirt, but otherwise, she was fine, much to his relief.

"That jerk has a sister?" Asked H'earring in suprise, looking at Jycella with hesitation on account of his history with her sister. "So, uh, is she like her sister by any chance?" He recalled how both Krystella and Klay nearly allowed him to be crushed to death in Khybon's forge, which caused him to develop a grudge on them ever since. Rescuing Krystella's sister didn't sound appealing to the Underworlder.

"No." Said Kaz with a shake of his head. "If anything, she's the complete opposite of Krystella. Just imagine Krystella with blond hair and replace all her nastiness with a kinder demeanor. One that doesn't try to crush us just to get a scan." H'earring hummed at that before nodding his head.

"Alright, I trust you Kaz." Said H'earring before leaving. "I'll go get the keys to the pen. Ulmar usually keeps those things in his personal chambers. Probably has her scanner in his lab. We'll get it after we free your friend." With that, H'earring left, leaving the two humans alone.

"Thanks for saving me Kaz." Said Jycella with a smile. "I didn't think anyone would come for me."

"No problem." Said Kaz before frowning. "Why are you here in the Underworld? I thought you were an Overworld player." Jycella then sighed at that before speaking.

"I was trying to get a scan of Nivenna." Said Jycella. "I was experimenting a bit with my deck and I found that she goes well with her sister, Aivenna. So, after getting a brand new scan of Aivenna, I went to the Underworld to get a scan of Nivenna. I tracked her down to Ulmar's lab and this happened." She then sighed. "First time going in alone in Perim and this happens. I'm really bad at this whole Chaotic thing."

"Hey, you're not doing so bad." Said Kaz, trying to cheer up Jycella when she adopted a pouty face. "I mean, it's pretty common for players to get caught by creatures, especially ones like Ulmar. Don't worry. You'll learn how to tell what creatures want to hurt you and those that are fine to be around. It just takes time. To be honest, you got off pretty easy." Jycella then smiled upon hearing all that.

"Thanks, Kaz." Said Jycella. "You just know what to say to cheer a girl up." Kaz just blushed at that before rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, living alone with just your mother can do that for you." Said Kaz. "You just know what to say to get cheer her up when she's down. And sometimes you say things just to make her happy."

"Kaz." Said Jycella with a small smile. "I have a nasty sister and two brothers that are just the most selfish brats you've ever seen. With an overworked mother that tries her best to raise all her kids by herself while her husband is out in the military. Trust me, I know the difference between someone that's just saying things to make one happy and what to say exactly to really make them happy. What you did was the latter." Kaz was about to say that he didn't think so when he heard some snickering. Looking around, he saw H'earring snickering, in his hands was a key.

"If you're done wooing her, Kaz." Said H'earring as he went to unlock Jycella's cell. "We should go get her scanner so we can get out of here before Ulmar decides to use us all to test out Chaor's new Viledriver." Upon hearing what H'earring said, Kaz blushed hard.

"I wasn't trying to woo her!" Said Kaz as Jycella get out of the pen, blushing as well. "I was just trying to make her feel better H'earring!"

"Whatever." Said H'earring with a tone that said he didn't believe it. "Now let's get going. *Snickers* Love birds." Groaning at this, Kaz followed H'earring with Jycella in tow. As this was happening, Kaz wondered if Tom and Sarah were having a much better time than he was right now.
-----------------------------------

Meanwhile

Mount Pillar
-----------------------------------

"Here we are." Said Wamma as he, Sarah, and Tom found themselves in front of a large door guarded by a whole squad of Danian royal guards. "She's in there. Let me address the guards and we'll be on our way." Wamma then proceeded to walk towards the guards, ordering them to let them all pass, which they did. As she walked past the guards, Sarah noticed their armor and weapons were painted black as opposed to the standard colors of the normal guards. Ignoring that, she and Tom soon entered Aszil's chambers. Upon entering, Sarah could see just how large the chambers were.

It wasn't as large and expansive as the queen's personal chambers, but it was still large, almost the size of a typical high school classroom. Within the chambers, sitting on a small throne, was the Danian princess.

"And here she is." Said Wamma as he introduced everyone to each other. "Sarah and Tom, this is princess Aszil. Princess. This is my friend Sarah and her friend, Tom. He's an Overworlder player for that Chaotic game you know about." As Wamma was introducing everybody, Sarah took the time to look at Aszil.

She was a lot shorter than Sarah had thought she was, being two or three feet taller than her, the princess was still intimidating with how she looked. Appearance resembling Earth's Black widow spider, the Danian before Sarah and Tom were scary with her black and red exoskeleton complete with monstrous horns, multiple arms, and a monstrous mouth. Yet she was also elegant and slender with how she looked. Even her orange eyes were beautiful in some respect. In fact, out of all the Danians she met, this one was the most humanoid in her appearance. Even with all the extra limbs she had.

Raising a hand to silence Wamma before he could ramble on, Aszil spoke out.

"So this is the human that saved my mother from a Mipedian assassin." Said Aszil as she looked at Sarah. "I must admit, I thought you were taller than what you really are. The guards have truly overexaggerated your physique."

"Uh…thanks." Said Sarah, unsure of how to respond to all that. Aszil nodded at that before addressing both her and Tom.

"As Wamma has no doubt told you." Said Aszil as she addressed the two humans. "The Danian people are at a critical moment in its history. My mother and the majority of the nobles are against the number of changes that I'm advocating we partake in order to be better accepted by the other tribes as well as those involving the lower class of Danians. This has halted my ascension to the throne and has Danian politics centered around me and my changes. Therefore, I need your help in alleviating them."

"Our help?" Asked Tom in surprise, not sure what they can do to help in this situation. He and Sarah were glad to help any creature with what they wanted, so long as it wasn't something that threatened their favorite tribe or threaten Perim, but he wasn't sure how they could be of any help. "No offense, your majesty, but what can we do?"

"Yeah." Agreed Sarah. "Aside from Wamma, I'm not exactly viewed favorably by any Danian. No Chaotic player is. So, how can we help?"

"I'm glad you asked." Said Aszil as she stood up and began pacing around her chambers. "One of the primary critics against me is the banned usage of our parasites. Not only is it a valued tool against the other tribes, but it's part of our culture as well. Taking it away from its pedestal as both a cultural icon and military tool has driven away some Battlemasters and many nobles from my cause. Therefore, I wish to employ you two for the task to prove to them that we Danians do not need the parasites to win our battles. I can handle the cultural reason, but the military reason may cost us Danian lives, and perhaps more if we wage a small skirmish with the other tribes to test if we can win a battle without the usage of parasites.

"So why not just stage a mock battle with the Overworld?" Asked Tom, remembering that the Overworld was here, including Maxxor. "Isn't that why they were here?"

"No." Said Aszil. "The Overworlders are here for a different reason. One that I'll explain to you in due time. As for the question, I'm afraid that some nobles and Battlemasters will think that the mock battle was staged. They know that I went to the Kiru city and talked to their leader, Maxxor, in private. Even if I state that the meeting was for a different purpose, they'll use that meeting against me by stating that I asked Maxxor to have his warriors lose purposefully to my mine in order to make my cause look good." Both Sarah and Tom frowned at that, slightly angry at that supposed assumption. They both knew that Maxxor would never do such a thing, purposefully throwing a mock battle just to gain a new ally. After some thought, Sarah realized what the princess wanted.

"So, you want us to do it for you?" Asked Sarah, realizing what Aszil wanted. The Danian princess nodded before speaking.

"Wamma has told me about your Chaotic battles." Said Aszil. "How they allow you to become us and simulate our battle strategies without harm to your bodies or minds. Thus, enabling you to do what I desire without endangering anyone's lives." She then stopped her pacing to look at the two humans directly. "Therefore, I request that you do one of these Chaotic battles and do so without the usage of Danian parasites. If you win, you would prove that we Danians do not need our parasites to win our battles, thus strengthening my stance. And if you win against a fellow Chaotic player that uses Danian parasites, then it'll further strengthen my stance as well. Do this, and you will be given a reward of your choice for your services to me." Sarah gave the offer a thought before accepting.

"Deal." Said Sarah with a smile. There was no way she was going to pass an opportunity like this up. If she succeeded, she can request Aszil to be allowed free reign of Mount Pillar, making her scanning quests a lot easier. And, if that's not possible, then she can request some hard-to-get scans of Danian Mugic, Battlegear, or creatures. Whatever she wanted. All she had to do was battle another Danian player and win. Tom, meanwhile, was thinking of this plan and immediately saw a hole in it.

"Wait. What if the Danians do the same thing as they would if you do a mock battle with the Overworlders?" Asked Tom. "Wouldn't they just assume you would have Sarah pick a terrible player so she can win easily? Or assume Sarah would cheat to win?" Upon hearing those questions, Sarah glared at Tom. Wamma, meanwhile, just groaned and placed a hand on his face.

"Tom Majors! Why would you assume that I would do such things?" Demanded Sarah as she poked Tom's chest. "You think I would something like that just to gain an advantage over other players? You think I'm anywhere even remotely close to Krystella and Clay?" Tom just gulped as he looked at an angry Sarah.

"I'm…I'm just saying the Danian would…" Tom attempted to defend himself when Aszil spoke.

"If your courting ritual is over, then I can answer the human male's question." Said Aszil, interrupting both humans. Upon hearing courting rituals, the two humans blushed and attempted to protest, but Aszil spoke. "That is why both of you will fight together as one." That shocked both humans, enough to get out of their embarrassed state.

"What do you mean?" Asked Tom, confused.

"Initially, I expected only Sarah to be brought before me." Said Aszil. "However, you being here altered with slightly, but for the better. You see, to help compensate for the loss of the parasites as a weapon of war, I asked Maxxor for a defensive treaty. Hence my visit to Kiru City. If the Overworlders both agree to protect the Danians from any threats and help secure my ascension to the throne, the Danians will give them the cure to curing Danian parasite infestations and do the same thing with them. When I told the nobles of this, they were outraged, saying the Overworlders can not be valuable, strong, allies against the Mipedians and Underworlders." That caused some anger from Tom, something that Aszil wanted to see. "So, with this Tom here, I can not only prove that we Danians don't need parasites to win, but also prove that the Overworlders are valuable allies."

"So you want us to do a tag-team battle against two Danian players that use parasites. Is that right?" Asked Sarah, causing Aszil to nod.

"Exactly." Said Aszil. "Do this, and you will have my gratitude." Sarah hummed at that before looking at Tom.

"So, will you help me, Tom?" Asked Sarah, looking at her friend with a look of expectation on her face. Upon hearing the question, Tom nodded.

"You got it." Said Tom with a smile. "Anything to help out a friend." That caused Sarah to smile before she looked at Aszil.

"You got yourself a deal, Princess." Said Sarah before bringing out her scanner. "If it isn't too much trouble, but can I get a scan of you for the battle. I figured it would make a stronger case if I had you in the battle." Aszil just nodded at that, understanding what the human was saying.

"Agreed." Said Aszil before placing all her limbs behind her back. "Scan away." With that, Sarah scanned Aszil, getting herself the only scan so far of the Danian princess, much to her delight. "Use that scan well in the battle. Otherwise, I will be very displeased."

"Don't worry, Aszil." Said Sarah as she looked at the scan, not believing her luck. "You won't be disappointed." Tom, with a smile, then spoke up.

"And don't worry." Said Tom. "We'll win that battle for you." Aszil nodded at that, slightly appreciating the words before ordering the two to leave. With that, the two humans ported back to Chaotic, leaving both Wamma and Aszil alone. Once they were alone, Wamma spoke up.

"So…can I…"

"No, you cannot be demoted back to Mandiblor." Said Aszil as she looked at Wamma, causing him to whimper.
-----------------------------------

Few minutes later

Chaotic
-----------------------------------

After porting back to Chaotic, both Tom and Sarah were talking to each other as they walked to a table.

"Alright, so we just got to find two Danian players to play with Danian parasites and beat them." Said Sarah. "Then we can download the battle recordings to our scanners, port back to Mount Pillar, show it to the Danians, then boom, we get a nice reward from Aszil."

"That sounds great." Said Tom. "But how are we going to find two Danian players to play against and fast? Aszil probably wants results now rather than later."

"I got the two perfect candidates." Said Sarah with a smile. "Buzz senior and junior. Junior and senior have a good track record with Danian parasites after the battle with Kaz. We just got to request a two vs two matches with them in the Beta Drome, ask them to play with Danian parasites and beat them. Simple as that."

"That's sounds fair." Said Tom. "Been a while since we've seen them. Kind of eager to see if Buzz senior got better in the Dromes as well as junior." Sarah nodded in agreement at that before beginning to send the message to the two Chaotic players. As she was doing that, Tom asked a question. "Hey, how do you input battle recordings to your scanner anyway?" Sarah groaned at that before sending the message.

"Let's just discuss strategy first." Said Sarah. "Then I can show you a feature of the scanner you really should know about." Tom just chuckled nervously at that before following Sarah to a table.

Two hours passed and while the two were discussing strategy, a message came to Sarah from Buzz senior. It stated that their challenge was accepted and that they'll be at the Crellan Drome, making the double team match an official one. It also stated that they should be getting ready to lose because the team synergy between father and son made them unstoppable. With that, Sarah and Tom began to work extra hard to make up a winning strategy for them.
-----------------------------------

Meanwhile

Underworld
-----------------------------------

"Okay, there's your scanner." Said Kaz as he looked at the blue scanner of Jycella, just lying in a glass case on a table filled with Ulmar's tools. It would have been easy to get it if it weren't for Ulmar being nearby, working on Chaor's Viledriver and its upgrades.

Kaz had to admit, the upgrades were impressive. Back-mounted launcher. Upgraded fire cannons. And even more, armor mounted in the front to protect the driver. He can't wait to use it in a Drome battle.

"How do we get past Ulmar?" Asked Jycella in worry. Kaz can port away if danger comes, but she can't and so can't H'earring.

"That's easy." Said H'earring with a smirk. "Just got to distract him long enough for you to get your scanner, Kaz to get his scan, and for me to get out of here before Ulmar realized what's happening."

"Okay, so how do we do that?" Asked Kaz. H'earring just snickered before telling them the plan.

As this was happening, Ulmar was busy talking to himself.

"Can't believe Chaor wants all these while the tribes are at peace with one another." Said Ulmar as he worked on the Viledriver. It was almost finished. He just needed to finish installing the last bit of armor plating on the front. "Wants his Viledriver to be more special than everyone else. Wants it to be extra special. Wants it extra killy. That big jerk. Wish he got it when the M'arrillians invaded." As Ulmar was talking to himself, Kaz and Jycella were quietly walking towards a large cannon that Ulmar had around. It was a prototype battlegear that Chaor wanted built-in case an incident like the Gigantropers happened again.

Walking over to the battlegear, Kaz turned it around to aim at a nearby wall and soon activated it. As it hummed in power, Kaz took a deep breath before firing it. A large fireball then emerged from the battlegear and went straight towards the wall. As soon as it did, the two humans quickly moved away as the fireball hit the wall, blowing it up and causing so much noise that Ulmar yelped out in shock. Looking at the cause, he yelled out in rage as a massive hole appeared in his lab.

"Why!" Yelled Ulmar as he jumped down from the Viledriver and straight to the wall. "What could have caused this!?" As Ulmar was trying to figure out what caused this, Jycella was going straight towards her scanner while Kaz was making a scan of the Viledriver. It wasn't fully ready yet, but Kaz was confident that Ulmar finished the weapon systems first and that was all that mattered to him. As he finished the scan and Jycella got her scanner, the two heard Ulmar screaming.

"You!" Yelled Ulmar upon seeing Kaz. He heard some heard beeping noise and turned around to see, to his rage, Kaz, Chaor's favorite human toy, and that human female that he took captive. Remembering all that Kaz did to him, Ulmar launched several fireballs at him, not caring at all about the consequences for harming Chaor's favorite human. Yelping out, Kaz ducked out of the way of the fireballs as they landed near the Viledriver, creating a fire. This caused Ulmar to yelp and ran straight towards the flames in order to douse them before they could damage Chaor's precious Viledriver. Once he did, he saw Kaz going straight for the human female as she finished getting her scanner out of its case. Turning around to tell Kaz she got her scanner, Jycella's eyes widened when Kaz ran straight towards her. Before either could move out of the way, Ulmar fired a blast of lightning from his eyes near Kaz's feet, causing him to jump to avoid the blast. Unfortunately, this caused him to tackle Jycella to the ground, sending them both to the ground. And upon landing, their lips touched.

Seeing stars in her vision, Jycella saw what happened and blushed hard. Kaz, also seeing this, blushed hard as well as scrambled away from Jycella. Before he could say sorry, H'earring came to the rescue and fired an ash torrent all over Ulmar from a hidden location. As Ulmar was recovering from this attack, H'earring came over to the two and helped them up. The three then left the lab in a hurry before the smoke dissipated. When it did, Ulmar found that the two humans were gone, much to his rage.

"Argh! Stupid humans!" Yelled Ulmar as he kicked a scrap of metal on the floor, causing him to yelp in pain.
-----------------------------------

Later
-----------------------------------

After some time of running, the three were confident that they lost Ulmar. Catching his breath, he looked at H'earring and said thanks.

"No problem, Kaz." Said H'earring with a smirk. "Can't let you get cooked when you just got yourself a girlfriend." Upon hearing that, Kaz blushed hard enough that his face was redder than his hair.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Protested Kaz as he lifted his arms in the air while Jycella was listening. "We barely know each other and that kiss was an incident! There's nothing between us!"

"For now." Said H'earring with a smile. Groaning at his friend, he then looked at Jycella, who was blushing a bit at the kiss before.

"Sorry about the kiss." Said Kaz. "I didn't mean to kiss you. I just wanted to avoid Ulmar's attacks and get you away from him."

"It's okay," Said Jycella as she moved a strand of hair away from her face. "I understand. Plus, I can't deny that I kind of enjoyed it." That shocked Kaz a bit. That shock increased when Jycella blushed a bit and spoke up again. "You're a pretty good kisser. A lot better than my previous boyfriend." Kaz's face now resembled a tomato as he tried to get a hold of himself.

"W-well. I wouldn't really say that." Said Kaz as he tried to respond to that. "I never kissed a girl that wasn't my mom nor my grandma. I wouldn't think that someone beautiful as you would ever think me as a good kisser."

"You think I'm beautiful." Said Jycella with a blush, happy to hear.

"Well…yeah." Said Kaz. "Much better than Krystella at least. At least you can make friends that aren't total jerks." Jycella was very happy to hear that. Before she could make a comment, H'earring spoke up.

"Oh, do the love birds want some time alone?" Asked H'earring with a snicker, amused at all this. Never before had he seen his friend act up like this and it was funny seeing him like this. "If you want, I can show you two a rather romantic spot in the Underworld. You may not believe it, but there are some beautiful caverns that make for a good dating spot for humans. Even some spots that you can do the union ritual alone." Upon hearing that, the two blushed further until they both looked like extremely ripe tomatoes.

"H'earring!" Yelled Kaz as he looked at his friend in anger. Seeing that Kaz wanted to strangle him, H'earring simply ran away as Kaz went after him, snickering all the way while Jycella was simply looking at this with a smile.

"That would actually not be a bad idea." Whispered Jycella as she held her cheeks while Kaz was after H'earring. "Plus, Kaz is rather cute looking."
-----------------------------------

Meanwhile

Beta Drome
-----------------------------------

"It's so nice to see you both again." Said Buzz junior as he and his dad were creating their battle teams. "It's been a while. I can't wait to show you both how much my dad and I gotten better in Chaotic."

"We're both eager to see it as well." Said Tom as he also assembled his deck with Sarah. "In fact, we've kind of been counting on it." Buzz junior just smiled at that before continuing to assemble his deck in silence.

Truth be told, this was a first-time experience for all of them. Ever since the double team match between Tom, Kaz, Krystella, and Clay a year ago, double team matches have become more and more common in the Beta Drome as friends began to fight one another for fun or to test how good they at working with other people. Eventually, the CodeMasters, seeing the prevalent amount of tag team matches happening in the beta Drome, decided to implement tag teams into their Dromes.

Currently, only a single tag team victory can count towards the qualifications of challenging a CodeMaster, as one had to beat a CodeMaster with their skills alone with not substantial help from other players beyond advice, and tag teams are currently only done as challenge matches, but the implementation was enough for tag team matches every now and then in official Drome matches. Plus, they were entertaining to watch for the spectators, much like regular Drome matches. Thus, it's a win for everyone involved in Chaotic.

The rules were that one player, who is selected from the team that the Drome AI ordered to go first, from one team selects who to attack on the opposing team, then the remaining players choose which of their own creatures will support their teammates' attacking or defending creatures from any creature from their team, regardless of their position. Then the battle will start. Once both creatures of one team are destroyed the match is over. However, any creatures coded during that round will be coded for the duration of the match unless a special ability or Mugic brings them back, even if their team won. So, if one team beats another team, but loses a creature in the process, then they still lose that creature, thus the opposing team can get something out of the match. The first team to lose all their creatures first loses.

Setting up her team, Sarah was deep into thought.

"Since I can't use Danian parasites in my team, I'll have to get rid of my controller Danians." Thought Sarah as she put Wamma in the front lines along with Aimukk and Vollash. "Since Aszil boasts Earth attacks, not just give them to Danians, I'll have Ekuud in the mid position for that boast in Earth attacks along with Nukasai to get rid of an infestation in my team. And I'll have Aszil in the back to ensure that she keeps giving out those Earth attacks. Just hope Tom has a few Mugic users in his deck to provide some Mugic support. Going to need it with those Danian parasites that'll be coming our way throughout this whole match."

"Since Sarah said that she's going to try to center her strategy around Aszil's special ability, I'm going to have to provide some extra Danian parasite control." Thought Tom. "I'll have Maxxor and Intress in the front lines to help deal with Buzzs' frontline. Tangath Toborn should also be there to help out as well. And it's a good thing that I got a Rhaden scan last week. for the rest, I'll have Najarin and Aivenna to give out some Mugic support. As for Mugics got to have some that'll help with dealing with Danian parasites. Some healing Mugic will also help big time. I should also give Maxxor a skeletal steed so he can engage the Buzzs' Danian controllers to prevent them from doing much. With them gone, the parasites won't be as deadly as they can be. I just hope that this will go well as we think it will." Ten more minutes of assembling their decks, the Dromes AI soon told them to lock their decks. Once everyone did, the boards showed twenty-four creatures in all, six for each player.

On Buzz seniors side, he's got Lore in the very back with Odu-Bathax protecting him with Makrabon. For a frontline, he's got Galin, Dasalin, and Khritlaan. Junior has Yondaf and Dubin in the middle. The front line he has Tarbok, Kelvedran, and Irrabeq. Topar was at the very back.

"So Buzz senior has more variety in his team while junior focuses a lot more on infestation and Mugic denying." Thought Tom as he examined the teams that Buzz Senior and Junior have. "Going to be tough to beat, but I think we can manage." As he was thinking this, Buzz senior saw Aszil and immediately talked about it.

"Hey, what kind of Danian is that?" Asked Buzz senior as he pointed at his holographic screen. Knowing who he was referring too, Sarah smirked before replying.

"That is the Danian princess, Aszil." Said Sarah with a smile, shocking both Buzz senior and junior.

"That's the Danian princess?" Asked Buzz junior in shock. "I thought there wasn't a thing!"

"Oh, she's the real deal." Said Sarah, very proud of her scan. "And I'm the only one that has a scan of her. And I'm kind of eager to see how she plays."

"Well, missy, prepare to get schooled." Said Buzz senior after recovering from the shock of seeing the new creature. "Because we're going to school you and your boyfriend."

"We're not boyfriend and girlfriend though." Mumbled Tom before the Drome AI spoke out.

"As both Major Tom and ChaoticKween have requested the challenge match, the Buzzs' will pick first. Decide amongst yourselves." Said the AI.

"Junior, I picked our last match together. You do the honors." Said Buzz Senior with a smile. Nodding at that, Junior looked at who to attack first and decided to attack Sarah first. He then rolled up his location randomizer and soon got Mount Pillar, giving all Danians that will be participating in the first battle a home-field advantage.

"Tarbok attacks Wamma!" Yelled Junior as he touched his screen, selecting Tarbok while Sarah did the same with Wamma.

"And Galin will support Tarbok." Said Buzz Senior before selecting Galin.

"Then Intress will do the same for Wamma." Said Tom before selecting Intress. Once everyone coded into their selected creatures, Sarah, now as Wamma, spoke out.

"Let's get Chaotic!" Yelled out Wamma as the Drome took them to their destination. While all this was happening, Peyton was watching the match happen. He just got back from speaking with several girls and friends about some scans that he wanted for his match against Crellan soon and he spotted his friends, Sarah and Tom, battling against the Buzzs'. Intrigued at Sarah's new scan of Aszil, Peyton decided to have some fun watching it.

"Looks like the ChaoticKween got herself a new bug to play with." Said Peyton with a chuckle as he chewed on a mouthful of pizza in his mouth. As he was doing so, his table was soon set upon by Kaz and, to his surprise, Jycella. He was about to ask what was going on when he noticed that Kaz was burying his head in the table while Jycella was blushing a bit. "Hey, buddy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just got myself a date." Said Kaz while pointing a finger at Jycella. Peyton was drinking from his large soda when he heard that. When he did, he spat it all out in shock.

"What!" Yelled Peyton in shock as he slammed his soda cup in shock. He was about to ask more questions when he noticed that he spat out on both Kaz and Jycella, causing both to glare at him. "*Chuckles* Oops." He then quickly asked for a service bot to get him some towels to clean up his friends and to get them quickly before they decide to strangle him.

Chapter Text

---------------------------
Food Court
---------------------------
After getting some towels and cleaning up, Kaz and Jycella looked at Peyton, still, a bit peeved at him for spitting soda all over them.

"So, all good?" Asked Peyton nervously as he looked at his friends. Seeing them give him a mild glare, Peyton smiled nervously. "Uh…sorry?" Sighing at that, Kaz spoke up.

"Just don't mention it again. Nor let it happen again." Said Kaz, causing Jycella to nod in agreement.

"No sweat." Said Peyton, relieved. "But seriously, you two on a date? You two only meet each other once. How did you guys go from barely knowing each other to going on a date?" Kaz sighed again before explaining what happened.
---------------------------

Sometime ago
---------------------------

"Thanks again for helping me out of Ulmar's pen." Said Jycella after she and Kaz ported back to Chaotic. After getting tired out of chasing H'earring for a while, Kaz and Jycella decided to port back to Chaotic, both to freshen up and to get out of the Underworld before Ulmar finds them and make them pay for the damages in his lab.

"It's no problem." Said Kaz as they both walked off the transport hub. "Anything to help out a friend." Upon hearing Kaz refer to her as a friend made Jycella both happy and disappointed.

"So, you consider me a friend?" Asked Jycella, both in disappointment and happiness.

"Well yeah." Said Kaz, oblivious to the disappointment in Jycella's voice. "I mean, you're nice, beautiful, and fun to be around. A lot better than your sister, who only has one of those things." Jycella blushed at that before speaking up again.

"Yeah." Said Jycella before sighing in sadness. "Though she gets more dates than me. Heck, the only reason I even got a date was because of a double date with Krystella and it was possibly the worst night of my life. My date spent more time talking about himself than interacting with me in any meaningful way. And then he had the nerve to ask me to come to his house for some "quality time"." She said the last two words with disdain. Upon hearing that, Kaz narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Unbelievable." Said Kaz with a shaking of his head. "The nerve of that guy. If I saw that guy, I would punch his lights out. Someone like you doesn't deserve such an awful date. If anyone should get one, it's Krystella."

"You're sweet to say that, Kaz." Said Jycella with a small smile. "But I don't want my sister to suffer what I suffered. That guy was a real jerk. Like really."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Said Kaz. "Still, if I had a date, I wouldn't treat my date like that ever. Heck, I would be the best boyfriend ever."

"Really?" Asked Jycella with hope in her voice. "You really would be?"

"Yeah." Said Kaz, still not noticing the tone shift in Jycella's voice. "I would totally be a great boyfriend. Heck, if I went on a date now, I would totally get it right one hundred percent."

"Really?" Asked a passing Chaotic player as he and several others noticed the commotion that Kaz was making.

"Yeah totally." Said Kaz with confidence. "Name a time and place and I'll get ready for it!"

"Okay, how about a date between you and Krystella's sister." Dared another Chaotic player. "Tomorrow at noon in Eastern standard time." Upon hearing that, Kaz's eyes bulged from their sockets and looked at the one that dared him while Jycella blushed.

"Wait what!?" Yelled Kaz with a blush. "I didn't mean tomorrow. I…I…I got a scan hunt to do tomorrow!"

"Then just go on a scan date with her or something." Said a third Chaotic player. "Not like people don't go on dates in Perim."

"Yeah." Said the Chaotic player that placed the dare in the first place. "Unless your chicken, Mr. KidChaor. What would Chaor say when he finds out you backed out on a dare just because you were too scared of a girl." Upon hearing that, Kaz spluttered on the spot as a few other Chaotic players snickered at this.

"Yeah, lay off him." Said Jycella as she stepped in, glaring at the other Chaotic players. "Kaz has better things to do than go on a date. Right, Kaz?" Before Kaz could make a replay, he heard a voice that he really didn't want to hear.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Said Jycella's twin sister, Krystella, as she came into view, looking not too pleased with what was going on. Upon seeing her sister, Jycella glared at her, which Krystella returned back. "You're seriously going onto a date with this loser?" She pointed at Kaz, who glared at her while indignantly saying hey at the same time. "I knew you had poor taste in boys, but this takes it to an all-time low."

"And what's wrong with Kaz?" Asked Jycella. "If anything he's a whole lot better than the people you date or the company you keep around."

"For one, he's a nerd." Said Krystella as she started listing all the reasons she hated Kaz and his group of friends. "He's a loser, has low self-esteem, has his hair done in a stupid way, hangs out with a gluttonous idiot, is one of the most irritating people I've ever met, and has one of the worst win-loss records I've ever seen."

"Hey, I win most of my matches!" Yelled Kaz, offended with everything that Krystella said. Meanwhile, the other Chaotic players were backing off in order to place bets on who would win this catfight and if Kaz will get a date with Jycella.

"Those all sound like your problems, Krystella, not problems with Kaz as a person." Said Jycella as she placed a hand on her hip. "Besides, even if all that was true, Kaz's positives more than outweigh his negatives. He's funny, sociable enough to make friends with some creatures in Perim, brave enough to go up against some of the strongest creatures in Perim to help out friends, and he's quite cute in my eyes." Kaz blushed at those compliments, especially the last one, while everyone else either snickered or cooed at that. Krystella just gritted her teeth before speaking up.

"Then why don't you date him, then?" Asked Krystella. "See if he really is what you think he is? I bet, after the first date with him, you'll dump him and realize I'm right."

"I will." Said Jycella with confidence, not realizing what she was doing. "In fact, I'll have a date with him tomorrow. And it'll be the best date I've ever had. Much better than that last date I had." Kaz, upon hearing that, blushed and was about to protest when Krystella spoke up.

"Which was your only one." Said Krystella with a hand on her hip. Having enough of this, she left, too annoyed with her sister to really continue the conversation. "Good luck with your date with the nerd. Hope you get dumped by him." Growling at her sister as she left, Jycella looked at Kaz and apologized for Krystella's behavior. "I'm sorry for that. She can be quite awful at times." She then realized the blush on Kaz's face and was about to ask when someone spoke up.

"So, you and Kaz are going on a date?" Asked a female Chaotic player with a smirk while the other players began to laugh out loud. Upon hearing that, Jycella blushed as she realized she planned a date with Kaz, who was blushing since Jycella announced the date thing.
---------------------------

Present
---------------------------

"Oh my god!" Yelled Peyton as he laughed out loud. "You two are on a date because of Krystella? That's hilarious."

"Oh shut up, Peyton." Said Kaz as he buried his face on the table. "I don't need you to laugh at my expense."

"Sorry. Sorry." Said Peyton with a huge smile. "But seriously. This is good for you, bro. You're going on a date with one of the hottest players in Chaotic. Do you know how rare of an opportunity that is!?" Jycella blushed at that. She didn't really see herself as that attractive. "This is a big deal. Not only do you get a fun girlfriend, but also someone you can talk about Chaotic with! It's a huge score! You should be happy."

"I guess, but I don't know the first thing about dating." Admitted Kaz. "I only said that stuff at the moment. I've never dated before in my life. What if I mess up and Jycella hates me for it. Or worse, I embarrass myself in front of her."

"Oh, Kaz." Said Jycella as she placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a smile. "Just be yourself. I'm sure that everything will go fine if you just be yourself. I don't just think you're cute you know. I know that you're one of the bravest and selfless players in Chaotic. I heard what you did during the M'arrillian invasion. That was really brave of you. To go out and risk yourself for your friends."

"You got that right." Said Peyton. "Nine times out of ten, Kaz will be there for his friends when the going gets tough. I would say a hundred percent, but there was that time he didn't come to save me from a Mipedian quicksand trap. If it weren't for Major Tom and the lovely Sarah, I wouldn't be here right now."

"I told you before I was sick at the time." Said Kaz, annoyed. Sighing, Kaz spoke up again. "No matter how you look at it, I'm on a date and I have to prepare for it. Any tips, Peyton?"

"No can do, mate." Said Peyton with a shake of his head. "Got as much experience in the dating life as you do. Maybe Tom and Sarah can help you once they're done with their match."

"Speaking of them, where are they?" Asked Kaz, looking around. "They should be back by now."

"They're in a match." Said Peyton before clarifying more. "They're currently in a tag-team match against the Buzz Senior and Buzz Junior. Don't know why they're in a match with those two, but I think it's got to do with the new bug that Sarah has. Apparently, it's the Danian princess." Upon hearing that, both Jycella and Kaz got interested in what he said.

"Really?" Asked Kaz in surprise.

"She got a scan of the Danian princess?" Asked Jycella. This was the first time ever she heard of the Danian princess. So she must be super rare and to hear Sarah has a scan of her.

"Oh yeah." Said Peyton before looking at a monitor showing the match their friends were in. "She put the scan in the back of her team, so we won't be seeing it in action probably, but right now it looks like they got the advantage." With that, all three looked at the monitor and saw Wamma put the finishing blow on Galin, coding Buzz Senior. As this was happening, Intress was dodging all of Tarbok's attacks. Just as she dodged the last of the attacks, Tom noticed a loose chandelier above Buzz Junior. Acting quickly, he fired a hailstorm at the chandelier's chains that held it in place, breaking them and causing the chandelier to fall on top of Tarbok, coding him and ending the match.

"Alright." Said Sarah as she turned back to normal. "Good start for us."

"Oh, that may be true now, but just you wait." Said Buzz Senior with a smile. "Because Topar's special ability kicked in."

"That's right." Said Buzz Junior. "Since it was my turn, Topar can infect any one of your creatures and I choose Wamma." Wamma's card then showed an Infection token on it, signifying it's been infected. "That's going to stack up later, but for now, it's your turn."

"Sarah, ladies first." Offered Tom. With that, Sarah activated her location randomizer. Soon the location they received was the Mount Pillar reservoir. With that location, she wondered who to choose and who to attack.

"Okay, got to take down their creatures that can spread parasites." Thought Sarah. "That means taking out Junior first, as much as it pains me to say." With that in mind, she decided on who to attack. "Wamma attacks Yondaf!" With that, both Sarah and Junior selected the announced creatures while Tom choose Tangath-Toborn and Buzz Senior choose Dasalin. All four then were warped to the reservoir in random locations

Tom, now Tangath-Toborn was jumping from place to place, trying to regroup with Sarah so that the Buzzs' can't tag-team either of them.

"Never fought much in the reservoir." Thought Tom as he looked around. "Got to be careful here. Dasalin is in his element here." As he was about to move around, he heard a loud rumble and his fur went up in alarm. Without even thinking about it, Tangath-Toborn jumped out of the way just as a surge of water hit where he used to be.

"Nice dodge kid!" Yelled Dasalin as he appeared from a stalactite just above Tangath-Toborn. "But that isn't good enough with what I got in store for you. Infectious Melody!" With the casting of that Mugic, two creatures of Buzz's choosing can be infested. So he chose Aivenna, and Maxxor.

"Oh this ain't good." Said Tom as he knew what that Mugic did.

"No, it isn't." Agreed Dasalin. "But it's going to get worse! Riptide!" A surge of water then erupted from Daslin's hands, hitting Tangath right in the chest, forcing him into a vat of water. Recovering from the attack, Tangath-Toborn swam up, only to have the water around him suddenly reach boiling temperatures as Dasalin boiled the water of the vat of water with a Flame blade of Seeryn.

Feeling the water heat up more and more as he stayed in the water, Tangath Toborn tried to make it to the surface faster, but he was losing that battle. The heat was becoming too unbearable. If he didn't think of something fast, then he's going to get coded.

Just before he could even think of anything, a torrent of fire was launched at Dasalin, sending him flying away from the vat, thus stopping him from making the water boiling hot. This enabled Tangath-Toborn time to get out of the vat in time before he lost consciousness. Jumping out of the water, Tangath saw Wamma coming up towards the down Dasalin.

"Honestly, Tom." Scolded Wamma/Sarah as she got near Tangath. "Do I have to save your butt every time in this match? That's twice now."

"Hey, I didn't think he would pull like that." Said Tangath-Toborn as he summoned his battlegear, the Sword of Khy'at. "Now let's deal with this guy so we can focus on Junior." Sarah agreed to that and so the two creatures ganged up on Dasalin. Before either could do anything, Junior made himself known by erupting a slab of earth between them and Buzz Senior. Yondaf/Junior then landed on the slab and glared at his two opponents.

"Think you can just double team us like that." Said Yondaf. "Well guess again! We Danians are team players and I'm gonna show you why! Melody of Parasitic Mayhem!" Yondaf then casted Danian Mugic while also activating the Hive. Sarah, knowing what that particular Mugic does, warned Tom about it, but was too late. All the creatures currently infected on Sarah's and Tom's teams were cured of their infection, but this wasn't a good thing. No with each creature purged of their infection this way and with Hive activated, the Melody of Parasitic Mayhem can inflict damage on an engaged, uninfected creature with the damage increasing as more creatures were cured of their infestation. And the only uninfected creature was Tangath-Toborn. With that, a beam of light hit Tangath-Toborn that damaged him. This, combined with the damage he took from earlier, coded him instantly, leaving Sarah alone.

"Great." Said Sarah before summoning a StingBlade. Upon seeing it, Dasalin laughed out loud as he summoned his sword.

"Don't you know?" Asked Dasalin before activating his sword's special ability. "The Sword of Seeryn can destroy battlegear!" To demonstrate, he pointed at the StingBlade with the Sword of Seeryn and, with a flash, it destroyed the StingBlade.

"Even greater." Said Wamma/Sarah sarcastically as she readied for a fight. "Guess I have to win another match for us again."

"*Laughs* Yeah right. Without your boyfriend, you don't stand a chance against us." Said Dasalin as both he and Yondaf surrounded Wamma.

"Has someone been spreading rumors around Chaotic!?" Thought Sarah with annoyance. "Because if they are, they're in for a world of hurt." With that Sarah got ready for a fight as she fired a few fireballs at the two other Danian players.

"Oh boy, Sarah's got a big fight on her hands." Said Peyton as he watched Sarah duke it out on her own.

"She does." Said Jycella. "Buzz senior, from what I've heard, started doing badly in the Dromes, but after a few matches, he really became one of the best Danian players in Chaotic. And when he's in a tag team match with his son, they're hard to beat." Kaz had to agree.

"Yeah, their track record for tag team battles is pretty high in terms of victories." Said Kaz. "And this is Toms' second tag team match and Sarah's first. They're in for a tough match."

"That may be so but our friends have pulled through tougher matches than this!" Said Peyton, confident in his friends' ability to pull a victory. "We just got to be there for them. All the way!"

"Looks like they're going to need it." Commented Jycella as she saw Sarah get coded. She almost managed to get Yondaf, but Dasalin saved Yondaf at the last second.

"This is going to be a tough battle." Said Kaz. "Especially now that Topar's special ability is kicking off right now." Just as he said it, Topar infected Najarin. "This is going to be a while."

"Now it's even." Said Buzz Junior with a smile.

"Have to admit, you really got better, Mr. Buzz." Said Tom with a smile. "You've really come a long way since we last met." Upon hearing all that, Buzz Senior chuckled.

"Well, that just shows you just how good I am." Said Buzz senior with pride. "Now that I've gotten used to controlling creatures, Buzz senior is at the top of his game." Buzz Junior just smiled at his dad's enthusiasm before speaking.

"Anyway, you guys got a tough road ahead of you." Said Buzz Junior. "We get plenty of more infestation combos up our sleeves."

"Well, we got a few tricks up our sleeves too." Said Sarah with confidence. "Don't count us out just yet. Right, Tom?"

"You got that right." Said Tom back. "Your turn to attack." Since Junior went first for their team, Senior went. He then spun the location randomizer and locked in the next location.

"Let's get Chaotic!" Yelled Buzz Senior as he chose his attacking creature and who he was targeting.

Chapter Text

-----------------------------
Lava ponds
-----------------------------

"Rock Wave!" Yelled Maxxor as he launched a wave of rocks against Odu-Bathax, sending the bugman flying across to a rock wall. As this was happening, Ekuud was sending shards of rocks against Yondaf. Eventually, however, he sends a rock wave attack on Yondaf, which hit and sent him flying to a pond of lava, causing him to explode into blue and white numerals.

"Junior!" Yelled Odu-Bathax as he saw this. Before he could do anything, Maxxor launched streams of molten lava at Odu-Bathax coding him as well.

"The winners are Major Tom and ChaoticKween." Said the Drome AI as both Tom and Sarah reverted back to their normal selves.

"Another win for us." Said Sarah with a smile as she looked at the board.

So far, things were going well for them. The Buzzs' lost most of their teams. Only having Topar, and Yondaf for Junior while Senior had Dasalin and Lore around. Most of their Mugic was gone and their most of their parasite using creatures were gone as well.

For her and Tom they both had three creatures left each. She had Aszil, Ekuud, and Vollash while Tom had Maxxor, Najarin, and Rhaden left. If they kept this up, they're going to win this match and Aszil can use their match as proof that Danians can win without Danian parasites.

"Don't count us out just yet." Said Buzz senior. "We still got a few tricks up our sleeves." With that, he activated his location randomizer and soon got the old Mount Pillar. "Alright, Lore attacks Aszil!"

"And Yondaf will support!" Declared Buzz Junior as he transformed into his selected creature along with his dad.

"Then Maxxor will support Aszil!" Declared Tom as he selected his Maxxor card while Sarah did the same with her Aszil card. Once everyone was transformed into their respective creatures, the Drome AI took them to a simulated version of Mount Pillar, separating them in the process.

"Okay, first time ever using Aszil. So far so good." Thought Sarah as she climbed up Mount Pillar using her many limbs. "Got to regroup with Tom. It's too risky trying to engage in a battle right now." As she was climbing up Mount Pillar, she suddenly heard the sounds of battle. Thinking it was Tom engaging one of the Buzzs' she went towards the fighting as it grew. As she was making her way, the tips of her hair rose up and caused Sarah to jump off Mount Pillar and onto a platform. Upon landing she was hit with a fireball, causing her to crash into the ground.

"Ha!" Yelled Buzz Senior as he made his way to Sarah, a fireball in hand, while Buzz Junior was on Mount Pillar, eyes watchful for Tom. "Thought it would be your boyfriend that we catch, not you!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Yelled Sarah annoyed so much that people kept saying that Sarah and Tom were boyfriend and girlfriend. Sure, they had some moments together that may seem romantic, like that time Peyton and Kaz went on that stupid scan hunt for their dumb battle against each other, but aside from those, there were no indications that they were dating one another.

Besides, even if they did get together, they can only do it in Chaotic. They both lived in different parts of the U.S. Tom lived in California while she lived in Texas. Unless they wanted to do a long-distance relationship, where the only close moments they had was in Chaotic, then there was no way they can have a relationship. Which was too bad. Tom was a great guy and she wouldn't mind having him as a boyfriend. He's reckless, sure, but so was she with her constant attempts to get scans in Danian territory, who were, for the most part, hostile to Chaotic players.

Growing, Sarah was about to launch an attack on both Danian players when two hot streams of molten lava were sent towards them, sending Yondaf off his perch and Lore to the ground.

"You alright Sarah!?" Asked Tom as he landed next to Sarah as she got up.

"Fine." Said Sarah, grateful that Tom made it in time. "Now let's deal with these two!" With that, the two did battle with the other two Chaotic players.

"You can do it Major T and ChaoticKween! Blast those two down and you'll be one match away from winning!" Yelled Peyton as he cheered on his friends with Kaz and Jycella.

"You can do it!" Yelled Jycella as she watched Aszil and Maxxor battle it out with Lore and Yondaf.

"Man, this new Danian princess sure is strong." Said Kaz as he watched her perform an Earth attack that sent Yondaf plummeting to his death, taking him out of the fight and enabling both Maxxor and Aszil to double team Lore and code him.

"She sure is." Said Peyton before taking a big sip from his soda. "That special ability of hers is really spicy. Bet you a corndog that players from all over will want a scan of her."

"Yeah." Said Jycella. "By the way, Peyton, I heard that you have a CodeMaster match soon. Shouldn't you be getting ready for it?"

"No worries, Jycella." Said Peyton with utmost confidence. "The PeytonicMaster knows what to do to get his win from CodeMaster Crellan! Speaking of that match." Peyton then brought out his scanner to check the time. Upon seeing it, he got up from his seat. "I got to go get another new scan for it right now. Tell Sarah and Tom that I'm rooting for them just like they're going to do so for me when I battle CodeMaster Crellan! See ya later!"

"Bye, Peyton." Said Kaz as Peyton left. Once he was gone, he talked to Jycella. "I wonder what he has in store for CodeMaster Crellan."

"You mean you don't know?" Asked Jycella with surprise in her voice.

"No, he was convinced that the CodeMasters eavesdrop on our conversations so they can get an unfair advantage if we spill out our battleplans to our friends and whatnot." Explained Kaz with a roll of his eyes. "So, he hasn't told us anything about his strategy. He tried to convince him he's just being paranoid, but he wouldn't budge. So, we have to wait until the match actually starts to see what creatures, Mugic, or Battlegear he's using against Crellan."

'That's a little too paranoid." Said Jycella with a bit of amusement in her voice. "Guess he's really determined to win against Crellan."

"Oh, you bet." Said Kaz. "He lost to Imthor twice now, so he's determined to not let this CodeMaster match be a loss as well. I hope he wins, I honestly don't know what would happen if he lost to a CodeMaster again."

"Well, if he does lose, he's got some good friends to cheer him up." Said Jycella with a smile. "Just wish some of my friends are Chaotic players. They might help me out in dealing with some of the knowledge of just how nasty Krystella is along with her friend Klay. I heard what she and Klay tried to pull off with Dranakis Threshold. I can't believe she tried to change Perim so drastically just to get some scans. Urgh. Sometimes I wonder how we're related."

"Tell me about it." Said Kaz, unsure of how someone so sweet as Jycella had such a nasty twin sister. "Honestly, I'm not sure why the CodeMasters don't ban them from Chaotic. Especially after they tried to crush me and Tom that one time."

"Wait what!?" Yelled Jycella in shock. This being the first time she heard about this.

"Yeah." Said Kaz. "Tom, H'earring, and I nearly got crushed to code by Krystella and Klay one time. They wanted the first scans of the Phobia Mask, back when it was brand new. If it weren't for Khybon, none of us would be here right now." Upon hearing that, Jycella gritted her teeth. Her sister was many things, but trying to kill someone over a stupid scan was one of the few things she thought Krystella would never stoop to. Sure, it would just be their Chaotic codes, but to Jycella, that was still murder. Oh, she was going to have a talk with her sister about this.

"I can't believe she would do that!" Yelled Jycella, causing some players to look in her direction. "I know Krystella is bad, but I never thought she would go that far."

"Yeah." Said Kaz. "You think she and Klay were already low, but then they do something that stumps over whatever they did in the past. Honestly, I don't know why the CodeMasters don't ban them in the first place. Jerkish players are one thing, but players that try to drastically change Perim or kill other players just to get a scan, oh no. What's worse is that they perma-banned those players that were destroying locations for profit, but not Krystella and Klay. *Sighs* Sometimes I wonder if they have some dirt on the CodeMasters or something." Jycella was about to speak up when she noticed that the match between the Buzzs and Sarah and Tom started up again. This time they were taken to Kiru City with Maxxor and Aszil in play for Tom and Sarah while the Buzzs were using their last creatures. If Sarah and Tom win this one, they win the match.

"Let's talk after this battle as well as Peyton's match." Said Jycella, wanting something to take her mind off of imagining her sister doing what Kaz had just told her. Kaz, seeing how Jycella was so upset at this news, just nodded before going back to watching Sarah and Tom's match, also eager to get his mind off Krystella.
-----------------------------

Meanwhile

Tom
-----------------------------

"Okay, so far so good." Said Tom as he, in the form of Maxxor, ran up the stairs of Maxxor's castle. He hoped to acquire the Mugician there so he can use an extra Mugic. He only had one Mugic counter left so having a second can mean the difference between a loss and a win. As he was about to reach the end of the steps, he suddenly heard some crawling coming from the sides of the stairs. Thinking it's one of the Buzzs', Tom went to the left side of the steps and was about to launch a fireball when he saw that it was Sarah. That caused him to stop and watch as Sarah, as Aszil, climbed up the side of the stairs and towards Tom. Jumping towards and landing near Tom, Sarah spoke.

"I haven't seen or heard the Buzzs since the battle started." Said Sarah as she looked at Tom. "Have you?"

"No." Said Tom. "I'm guessing they're planning on ambushing us somewhere in Kiru City. Lots of places for them to do that."

"They're probably planning on ambushing us in Maxxor's castle." Said Sarah as she pointed at said castle. "Both of them have fought other Overworlder players before. They must know about the Mugician in there."

"Maybe." Said Tom, getting Sarah's logic. "Good thinking, Sarah. We should proceed carefully then." Upon hearing that, Sarah rolled her eyes.

"You were so going to charge headfirst without thinking about that, weren't you?" Accused Sarah, causing Tom to blink.

"Uh…well…yes." Said Tom, deciding that lying would be a waste of time.

"Of course, you were." Said Sarah. "Honestly, why the heck are you still making rookie mistakes? You've been in Chaotic for over a year now? How come you're still making these amateur mistakes?"

"Hey, just because I've been in Chaotic for over a year, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to make mistakes." Said Tom, a bit peeved. "And if I recall, you made a mistake two matches ago when you attacked me instead of Buzz Senior, coding me, and giving the Buzzs' the win. You make mistakes too and you've been here longer."

"That was a case of poor judgment." Said Sarah, defending herself. "Not a mistake. There's a difference."

"Not from where I see it." Argued Tom. "They're basically the same thing. Or at the very least, one leads to the other."

"No, they don't." Said Sarah stubbornly. The two would have gone on forever until they both got blasted, knocking them down the stairs of Maxxor's castle. Eventually, they stopped at the base of the stairs, but by then they had both lost half of their energy.

"Hah!" Yelled Dasalin as he and Topar arrived in a Flitflut. "Talk about giving us an easy shot. Next time, you shouldn't argue in the middle of a match."

"Because it leads to situations like this!" Finished Topar as he fired a power pulse at both Aszil and Maxxor, causing them to scatter.

"Pebble Storm!" Yelled out Aszil as she launched a barrage of pebbles at the Flitflut, trying to take it down. Topar, the one driving the Flitflut, flew out of the way of the attack. Maxxor then let out his own attack that hit the main rotary blade of the Flitflut, causing the thing to go out of control, forcing both Topar and Dasalin to jump out of the flying vehicle and to the ground. As the Flitflut crashed into a nearby building before exploding, the four Chaotic players looked down at each other before they began attacking the opposing team.

Dasalin fired a riptide at Maxxor, who proceeded to roll out of the way before countering with a rock wave attack. Dasalin jumped out of the way before bringing out his battlegear, the Sword of Seeryn, and fired a stream of fire at Maxxor. Dodging at the last second, Maxxor grunted as a nearby wall melted from the stream of fire that came from the Sword of Seeryn.

Roaring out, Maxxor launched another rock wave attack on Dasalin just as Dasalin was about to launch a Riptide attack. This time, the rock wave landed and Dasalin was sent flying towards a city window, which caused Maxxor to go in after him.

Aszil, meanwhile, was launching earth attack after earth attack on Topar. Buzz Junior, however, was dodging them all and was counterattacking at the same time. Fortunately, Sarah was also able to dodge them while also counterattacking, causing a small game of cat and mouse to occur between the two Danian players. Eventually, Aszil was able to trap Topar by using a Pillar Quake attack that destroyed the area around Topar and trapping him in a ton of debris, some of which caught some of Topar's legs, immobilizing him. With her opponent now immobilized, Aszil attempted to finish him off so she and Tom can finish Dasalin off, resulting in them winning the match.

Just as she was about to launch a rock wave attack on Topar, Buzz Junior used up his last Mugician to cast a Mugic.

"Song of Reversal!" Yelled Topar as Aszil launched a rock wave attack on him. Too late to do anything, Aszil could do nothing as a wave of light hit her with another hitting Topar. The two then swapped positions with one another. Gasping in shock, Aszil could do nothing as her own rock wave attack hit her and sent her flying across to a wall. Topar then launched an Iron Ball attack on her. The second attack left Aszil dangerously close to getting coded.

"This is bad! One more attack and I'm coded!" Though Sarah as she got up. She then watched as Topar launched another power pulse attack on her. Gasping, she couldn't do anything as the attack came after her. Just when it was about to hit her, Maxxor swooped in and took the hit for her. Yelling out in pain as the Iron Ball attack hit his back, he was forced back to Aszil, who he fell on top of.

Giving a grunt, Maxxor looked at Aszil and asked if she was okay. When she nodded yes, Maxxor spoke up.

"Good." Said Maxxor before getting up and facing Topar as he launched another attack. Roaring out, Maxxor slammed his fists to the ground to raise a pillar of rock to block the attack. While Topar's attack hit the pillar, Maxxor used up his last Mugician to cast his Song of Resurgence Mugic to heal Aszil. As streams of light hit Aszil, Sarah could feel her strength being revitalized. Soon the Mugic was finished and Sarah felt she was back in the game.

"Alright, Tom! You go low and I go high! Let's finish this!" Yelled Sarah. Tom nodded at that before summoning his skeletal steed and sending it forth to distract Topar. Neighing, the skeletal steed jumped over the pillar of rock to distract Topar.

Topar, thinking that Maxxor was on it, attacked the skeletal steed as it jumped over the pillar, only to realize his mistake several seconds later. Maxxor, jumping to the side of the pillar launched a Terraport attack while Aszil, jumping up, launched a pebblestorm attack. Gasping out loud, Topar felt the combination of attacks before being codded, resulting in the battle being over because Buzz Senior was already coded, which also resulted in the match being over with Tom and Sarah winning.

"The winner has been decided." Announced the AI once the simulation battle was now over and all the players returned to their normal selves. "The winners are Major Tom and ChaoticKween." Smiling, Tom gave the Buzzs' a thumbs up.

"That was a great game, guys." Said Tom. "It's really great to see how much you've improved, sir." Though he was a bit sore on losing, Buzz Senior couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah." Said Buzz Senior. "I really did. Same to you kids. That was honestly pretty fun." Buzz Junior smiled as well, happy with his dad's behavior.

"We'll get you next time, though." Said Buzz Junior with confidence. "Don't you worry about that." Sarah just smirked at that.

"Looking forward to it." Said Sarah before taking her scanner and leaving with Tom soon following. Once they were out of the Beta Drome, Tom spoke to Sarah.

"So, you going to take that match to Aszil right now." Said Tom as he walked with Sarah.

"Might as well." Said Sarah. "Peyton's CodeMaster match is tomorrow and it may take a while until Aszil can give free rein for players to access Mount Pillar without getting blasted by Danians so might as well give it to her now so we can get things moving." Tom nodded at that before shutting up. Soon they were at the Port court where they saw Kaz and, to their slight surprise, Jycella sitting at a table together. Curious, the two walked over to them and sat with them.

"Nice to see you again, Jycella." Said Tom in surprise. He was happy to see Krystella's nicer sister again, but he was surprised that she was sitting next to Kaz. "How have you've been? Last time we saw you, you went scanning with your sister."

"Good. Thanks for asking." Said Jycella with a smile. "And before you ask, Kaz had to rescue me from Ulmar. Got captured by Ulmar while I was trying to get a scan of Nivenna."

"Yeah." Said Kaz before groaning. "And one thing led to another and now we got a date with each other." Upon hearing that, both Tom and Sarah widened their eyes in surprise. They turned to Jycella, who nodded with a blush on her face. She then explained to them the situation regarding the date. Needless to say, they both were amused with it.

"Gee, Kaz." Said Sarah with a smirk. "If you wanted a date with someone, you didn't need to go and do that for them." Kaz was about to protest and defend himself when Tom spoke up.

"Man, Kaz. This is great news." Said Tom with a smile. "Now you don't have to deal with your mother anymore pestering you to get a girlfriend." Sarah began to laugh out loud upon hearing that, causing Kaz to glare at his friend.

"Thanks for saying that out loud." Said Kaz in annoyance, causing Tom to chuckle sheepishly. "Moving on, Tom, as much as it pains me to say, but do you have any advice on how to date a girl? I don't have any and I don't want Jycella to have another bad date?" Upon hearing that, Tom chuckled at that.

"Sorry, Kaz, but I don't have any real advice that can help you there." Said Tom honestly. "I never went on a real date myself either. Sorry." Kaz groaned at that before looking at Sarah, who just shook her head.

"Never been one either." Said Sarah with a shrug. "Guys don't typically go for the girls that have an interest in insects." Kaz groaned at that before placing his face on the table.

"Just great." Said Kaz before looking at everyone around him. "I got to go on a date with one of the cutest girls in Chaotic with no date experience or advice. And I got to go or people would call me a chicken in Chaotic, which I don't want. And to top it all off, I have no idea what to bloody do in Chaotic that can be considered date-worthy." Groaning, Kaz buried his face back onto the table. Jycella, feeling pity for him, patted his shoulder.

"If it helps, I can plan our date." Offered Jycella. "You don't have to be the date organizer, Kaz. I pretty much dragged you into this. It's only fair that I get you through it."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have to do all the work." Said Kaz as he looked at Jycella. "I also got us into this mess, so I have to help out. Plus, if I don't do anything, I'll feel pretty worthless through it all."

"Oh come on, Kaz.' Said Tom, trying to cheer his friend up. "You're psyching yourself out. You're a great guy. A little competitive and a loudmouth at times, but you're still a great guy. You'll do great on a date. You just got to keep cool and act your normal self. Jycella is a great and understanding girl. She'll cut you some slack."

"Yeah." Said Sarah, supporting what Tom said. "So man up and go out and plan a date with Jycella. If it helps, just take your date out in Perim. Get some scans while you're there. I've heard people do that with other players."

"I guess." Said Kaz as he got a bit more confident after hearing those words of encouragement from his friends. He then took a deep breath before looking at Jycella. "So, how about it Jycella? A scan date around Perim sound good?" Jycella simply smiled.

"That sounds wonderful, Kaz." Said Jycella with a smile. "How about a scan date in the Underworld and Kiru City? Heard there's some hot new scans from both the Overworlders and Underworlders that might catch your attention." Kaz nodded at that. At least he'll get some scans out of this date, even if it doesn't go well. "Great! Let's go out after Peyton's match with CodeMaster Crellan. I don't want you to not be there to support your friend during his CodeMaster match when he may need it. Besides, I kind of want to see what Peyton has in store for Crellan."

"You're not the only one." Said Sarah, in full agreement with Kaz.

"Alright, it's settled." Said Tom with a smile, happy for his friend. "Kaz goes on a date with Jycella to the Underworld and Overworld tomorrow. Good luck on it, Kaz."

"Thanks." Said Kaz, feeling a lot more confident. "Now, moving on, how did you get that scan of the Danian princess, Sarah? I've never even heard about the Danians having a princess."

"It's a bit of a long story." Said Sarah. "Basically, she wanted me and Tom to go do a tag-team battle so she can prove that the Danians don't need to use infestation to win battles and that the Overworlders will be there for them when they need it in case the Mipedians or Underworlders attack them."

"Really?" Asked Kaz in surprise. "Why would she want to do that?"

"Politics." Said Sarah before explaining the situation further. "The M'arrillian invasion really shook up the perceptive of some of the Danians with how they nearly mind-controlled Aszil and some of their people. This caused them to want to rescind usage of infestation and try to strengthen relations with the other tribes, particularly the Overworlders. Aszil is with that group and is being opposed by the Danian queen, her mother. I'll explain more in detail later, but I really got to show her the recording of the battle. She promised a reward if I show her this recording of her stance working."

"What's the reward?" Asked Jycella, curious.

"Don't know." Said Sarah truthfully. "She said anything of my choosing. I'm hoping it would be free rein of Mount Pillar, but failing that, scans of some hard to get Danian creatures, battlegear, or Mugic." She then got up from her seat. "I got to go. See you later."

"Bye Sarah." Said Kaz as Sarah and Tom left. Once they were both gone, Kaz looked at Jycella. "So…you want to grab a pizza?"

"I would love to." Said Jycella with a smile. "What are you thinking?" Kaz then took a deep breath before speaking up again. So far so good.
-----------------------------

Later

Aszil
-----------------------------

"As you can see, Danians can win without infestation as the main strategy." Said Sarah as Aszil finished watching the recording from her scanner.

"Impressive." Said Aszil as Sarah took back her scanner. "You have served me well, human. I can see why my mother spoke so highly of you. Your bravery and commitment to what you set your mind to are commendable." She then turned to Tom, who, for the most part, was staying silent. "And your dedication to protecting your friend from harm as well as helping them when you will get no reward is something I can appreciate as well. You have my thanks, human."

"It's no problem, your highness." Said Tom with a smile. "Anything to help out a friend." Aszil's many limbs twitched at that before she spoke up again.

"Maxxor seems to speak to you in high regard, human." Said Aszil. "When I last meet him, I told him of how I asked your help along with your mate." Both Sarah and Tom blushed at hearing Aszil refer to Sarah as Tom's mate but otherwise kept quiet. "He spoke highly of you and with respect. He is not someone that gives his respect lightly. You must have done much for him."

"Yeah." Said Tom, remembering all the times he helped out Maxxor and the creatures of Perim throughout his time in Chaotic. "I really did." Aszil nodded her head at that before looking at Sarah.

"As I mentioned before, you will get a reward of your choosing." Said Aszil. "Ask it, and you will receive it." Sarah smiled at that before speaking.

"If it isn't too much to ask, but can I get free rein to explore Danian territory?" Asked Sarah. "As you know, Chaotic players have to sneak around in Danian territory to get scans of your people and their battlegear and Mugic. I figured that, since I helped out a bit, you would give me a pass?" Aszil hummed at that.

"A bold request." Said Aszil as she thought about the request. "I don't know if I have the authority to give you such a pass, but I will try." Sarah was a little disappointed at that, but she figured that was as good enough as she could get. Danians really hated outsiders, baring a few exceptions. "However, I will give you a scan of some battlegear our smiths have been working on. Come back in a few days and I will have it ready for you for scanning. Hopefully, you'll also receive word of being given free rein to walk amongst my people in Mount Pillar."

"Thank you, your highness." Said Sarah with a bow, causing Tom to also bow. "It's been an honor to help you out."

"And it's been a pleasure to see you and your mate for the first time." Said Aszil, once again causing the humans to blush. "Good luck in your future battles, humans." With that both, humans ported back to Chaotic, flustered. Once they were back at Chaotic, Sarah spoke.

"What is it with people keep thinking we're boyfriend and girlfriend!?" Demanded Sarah with a blush. First the Buzzs and now Aszil!? What the heck was going on. "Can't people see we're just friends?!"

"I don't know." Said Tom while scratching his head, also a bit annoyed with it all, but also kind of fine with it. "I mean, it's kind of sweet. Don't you think?"

"I would if I was a little kid again." Said Sarah as she turned to look at Tom. "Tom, you're a great guy and all, but I just don't think it's a good idea to date. I live in Texas and you live in California. Do you really think we're capable of doing a long-distance relationship, where we're only meeting up in Chaotic?" Tom stayed quiet a bit at that, understanding where Sarah was coming from. He'd seen a few kids from his school try such relationships before. Most of them failed, but those that succeeded were some of the happiest relationships ever. Or so it seemed to him.

"I mean." Said Tom, not minding the thought of dating Sarah at all. "It wouldn't hurt to try, right? Unless you got a boyfriend back home." Sarah sighed before shaking her head.

"None." Said Sarah, not bothered at all with the fact she didn't have a boyfriend yet. "As I said before, guys don't like going for girls that like insects."

"Point taken." Said Tom before speaking up again. "I mean Jycella and Kaz seem to be trying it. Why not us?" Sarah opened her mouth to speak up but stopped herself. Humming a bit, Sarah snapped her fingers when a thought came to her.

"Alright, Tom." Said Sarah. "How about this? We go out on a double date with Kaz and Jycella. Try to see if we can make it work. If it does, let's keep doing the dating thing more. If it doesn't, let's try to convince other people that we aren't dating. That fine with you?"

"Sure." Said Tom after thinking about it for a bit. "I don't mind it. Just got to convince Kaz and Jycella to let us tag along."

"Looks like we'll be getting our chance soon." Said Sarah before pointing at Kaz and Jycella, having a pizza together and laughing over something. Seeing them so happy caused Sarah to smirk. "Guess they're already on a date." Tom, upon seeing Kaz having fun, smiled a bit before walking over to congratulate his friend as well as making a request to him and Jycella.

Chapter Text

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Peyton

Mipedian Desert
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"Okay, Peyton. This one for all the marbles!" Thought Peyton as he trekked through the Mipedian Desert. He was currently looking for a creature that can really help him in his battle against Crellan. A creature that no other Chaotic player had in their decks. Not even the CodeMasters had them. A Mipedian dragon.

According to old Mipedian legends, dragons were ancient and powerful creatures of the Mipedian tribe. Powerful in battle and were considered some of the most dangerous creatures in all of Perim. For some reason or another, they've disappeared one day and never returned. And that was what Peyton was looking for.

It's the dream of all Mipedian players to get a scan of a Mipedian dragon. Not only would it make them the most recognized player in all of Chaotic, but it would also score them a powerful creature in their deck. One that can surpass even the Warbeasts in power. At least Peyton hoped so.

And thanks to some of his Mipedian pals, Peyton got the scopes of the location of a genuine Mipedian dragon. They say that Mipedian scouts have found the den of one such dragon, even saying that they saw it with their own eyes. This caused prince Mudeenu to travel to the desert himself with a detachment of royal guards and Sobtjek. With Sobtjek as a friend, Peyton was sure that the Mipedians will allow him to get a scan of the dragon for his CodeMaster match with CodeMaster Crellan. And when he gets that scan, CodeMaster Crellan will be up for a tough match.

Walking through the Mipedian desert with his usual gusto, Peyton wondered how Sarah's and Tom's match went. He so wanted to be there to see if they won or not, but he had to get this scan of a Mipedian dragon. Not just for his CodeMaster match, but also for his deck. The sheer potential of what a Mipedian dragon can do for his future matches was something that excited Peyton. He just hoped it won't lead to an embarrassing loss like the time he got his first War beast.

As he was walking through the desert, he was suddenly tackled to the ground, making him yelp as he fell, face-first, to the ground. Before he could do anything, Peyton heard a voice.

"What are you doing here, human?" Demanded a Mipedian, wearing the uniform and armor of a Mipedian royal guard, as he decloaked along with several other guards. Spitting out some sand that got in his mouth, Peyton spoke up.

"I'm here to scan the Mipedian dragon." Said Peyton as he brought out his scanner, cooperating with the guards as that was the best way he can get both a scan of the Mipedian dragon and keep his butt intact. Most Mipedians were generally friendly, but the royal guards were all business, especially if a member of the royal family was nearby.

Upon hearing Peyton's words, the Mipedian guard grabbed him and hoisted him on his two feet.

"Follow me." Said the Mipedian as he forced Peyton to walk.

"Okay, okay. No need to push." Said Peyton as he walked with two Mipedians in front with the rest behind him. As he walked, Peyton hoped that Sobtjek would be able to get him out of this predicament he was currently in.
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Later

Sobtjek
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"My Prince, are you certain that we have enough warriors for this?" Asked the Mipedian mage, Sobtjek, as he looked at prince Mudeenu ordering some men to get ready.

"Yes, Sobtjek. I believe I know the capabilities of my own men." Said Mudeenu as he turned around to face the Mugic mage. "I'm also certain that, if we do end up failing, it'll be up to you to calm the beast enough for us to capture it and bring it back to the capital."

"But my prince." Said Sobtjek, protesting this action. "Bringing a being as powerful as a dragon can lead to the other tribes becoming suspicious of us. The peace we have will be threatened and war may be upon us all once again. Even if they won't, bringing a dragon to our capital can be dangerous, especially if this one is untamable." Sobtjek, much like other Mugic mages, believed that the peace that the tribes have attained with each other is being threatened.

Despite uniting to defeat the M'arrillians a year ago, the tribes have relegated back to having tense relations with one another. They weren't at war, yes, but it disheartened the Muges that their tribes were only a step ahead of what they used to be before the M'arrillians invaded. They had thought that rising Kaizeph would help unite the tribes together again, but instead, they took sections of the elemental city for themselves, especially once rumors began arising the Cothica was within its walls, unwilling to share their own sections of the city to the other tribes. It was only a matter of time, Sobtjek reckoned before war was upon them once again.

Mudeenu just chuckled upon hearing Sobtjek's concerns.

"We don't have to worry about the other tribes." Said Mudeenu before placing a hand on Sobtjek's shoulder. "So long as we invite the other tribes to see the dragon for themselves when we bring it to the capital, they won't mind us bringing a cultural legend into our capital." Sobtjek just hummed at that.

"This is a dangerous business, my prince." Said Sobtjek. "I hope you know what you're doing." Rather than get offended, Mudeenu nodded his head in agreement.

"I as well, Sobtjek." Said Mudeenu removed his hand from Sobtjek's shoulder. "I know the legends of the dragon. Of their power. I know full well that I'm risking our great capital by bringing it within its walls. But this is something that can't be ignored. The first sighting of a dragon in centuries and it's within our borders. This is a sign, Sobtjek. A sign that we must understand before it's too late."

"…Very well, my prince." Said Sobtjek after a moment of thinking it over. "If you believe it's something we must undertake, then I will do everything in my power to assist you." Mudeenu nodded at that in satisfaction. Before he could speak more a member of the Mipedian royal guard arrived in his tent.

"My prince, we caught an intruder." Said the royal guardsmen, catching both Mudeenu's and Sobtjek's attention.

"An intruder?" Asked Mudeenu as he and Sobtjek left the tent to see who this intruder was. Upon seeing the intruder, both Sobtjek and Mudeenu were surprised to see who it was. Between two Mipedian royal guards was Peyton.

"Peyton?" Asked Sobtjek in surprise.

"Sobtjek!" Yelled Peyton with a smile. He was tied up and sandwiched between two Mipedians, but he was still the joyful and upbeat person he normally was. "Man, am I glad to see you again. How're things since the M'arrillians got the massive butt-kicking?" Sobtjek just smiled at Peyton, pleased to see the human again.

"Fine. Things are acceptable for the Mipedians as of late." Said Sobtjek before looking at Mudeenu. "Prince Mudeenu, this is one of the humans that assisted me in both calming the Maelstrom and finding Owayki and his warriors. Without him and his compatriots, neither of those tasks would have been succeeded." Looking at Sobtjek at that, Mudeenu hummed a bit before motioning for his guards to let the human go, which they did without question. Once he was free from his bindings, Peyton got up and smiled at Sobtjek.

"Man am I glad to see you again." Repeated Peyton, causing Sobtjek to nod.

"As am I." Said Sobtjek. "However, I must ask, why you are here, Peyton? You should know, more than any other Chaotic player, that the Mipedian desert is one of the most treacherous places in Perim."

"I'm here for the same thing as you all." Said Peyton as he brought out his scanner. "I've heard that a Mipedian dragon was nearby, so I wanted to get a scan of it." Upon hearing that, Mudeenu looked at the human.

"You know of the dragon?" Asked Mudeenu, surprised and a bit suspicious. How could this human have knowledge of the Mipedian dragon? He explicitly ordered that any knowledge of it was to be kept secret until it was brought to the Oasis and it was fully tamed.

"Yeah, a few Mipedian friends of mine told me about rumors of a dragon here so I came scan hunting." Explained Peyton with a smile, oblivious to Mudeenu's intentions. Grumbling at that, Mudeenu made a mental note to interrogate some of his warriors about this as well as scold them on allowing a human to acquire knowledge of the dragon.

Mudeenu didn't like humans. He didn't mind them as individuals, no, but he wasn't exactly keen on them either. They always were trying to get inside secure Mipedian warehouses and locations just to acquire scans of them for their games. He knew some of his royal guards and warriors were friends with some humans, and he allowed them to occur, but he didn't like it when they allowed the humans to acquire scans of Mipedian battle gear or Mugic that was supposed to be kept locked safely away in their vaults. So, he was even more annoyed than usual that some of his warriors, most likely passed on information of the dragon to this human, even though it was supposed to be kept a secret to all but the most trustworthy of his guards and warriors.

"I see." Said Sobtjek, not minding this at all. "Well, you'll be pleased to hear that we're fast approaching the location of the dragon. It's within a cave nearby." He then pointed in a direction with rock formations nearby. "If you wish to accompany us, then you're free to come along." He then looked at prince Mudeenu. "Unless Prince Mudeenu wishes for you to leave." Upon hearing that, Peyton looked at Prince Mudeenu with a pleading look on his face.

"Please, Prince Mudeenu, sir. I promise that I'll only scan the dragon once and I won't reveal it to anyone. I'll even make a story up about how I got it! Just please let me scan it!" Said Peyton, trying to get Mudeenu to let him tag along and scan the dragon. Pondering on this, Mudeenu looked at both Peyton and Sobtjek, wondering what to do.

On one hand, this human more than proved himself to be a friend to the Mipedians when he helped ensure the success of Sobtjek's mission to the Maelstrom some solons ago. Then he also helped bring Owayki and his warriors to the fold against the M'arrillians when they invaded. Such courage was something that should be rewarded, but was it enough to allow him a scan of one of the Mipedians' most fabled legends? Especially when humans have a reputation of being untrustworthy when it comes to acquiring rare scans of various things in Perim, from creatures to locations?

Pondering it long and hard, Mudeenu eventually relented.

"Very well, human." Said Mudeenu as he pointed at Peyton. "You may have one scan of the dragon but be warned. If I hear even a single report of another human scanning the dragon before it's revealed to the rest of Perim, then I will personally order you to be banished permanently from Mipedian lands forever. To always be considered hostile to Mipedian interests and thus something my soldiers will deal with in accordance to how we treat our enemies, particularly the ones that we know for certain can't be reason with. Is that understood?" Though that punishment was a bit too harsh in Sobtjek's mind, Peyton didn't seem to mind. He was too excited at the prospect of being able to get a scan of a Mipedian dragon.

"You got it, Prince Mudeenu!" Yelled Peyton with a massive smile on his face. "I won't let anyone know about the dragon at all! You got my word on that. My lips are zip!" Mudeenu just grunted at that before venturing back into his tent, but not before telling Sobtjek that the human was under his care. Once Mudeenu was back in his tent, Sobtjek looked at Peyton with a smile.

"It's good to see you again, my friend." Said Sobtjek before ordering the Mipedian guards to leave, which they did without hesitation. "I must admit, I'm perplexed that you managed to acquire information about the Mipedian dragon. Only the most trusted and loyal of Mipedians know of it. How did you acquire such information?"

"I would say Sobtjek, but I don't want them to get into trouble with the royal family." Explained Peyton, causing Sobtjek to nod in understanding. "Let's just say that they owed me a favor and let's leave it at that." Sobtjek hummed at that before asking another question.

"If so, I suppose that this scan is of vital importance to you, yes?" Asked Sobtjek as they walked to the edges of the Mipedian camp. It was a sizable camp with dozens of guards, appropriate when it comes to the protection of a member of the royal family, especially when they're about to capture a legendary creature of their people.

"Oh yeah." Said Peyton. "I'm going to need this scan if I want to beat this super, awesome player in Chaotic! If I beat them, I'll get a super sweet unique location scan where I'll get even more unique cool scans. I have to win this and this Mipedian dragon will help get me that win!" Sobtjek nodded at that as they walked.

"I see." Said Sobtjek. "A word of caution, however, Peyton. Dragons have been reputed in many of our legends to be uncontrollable. They're revered, yes, but much like the warbeasts, they are beings of great power and are near impossible to control. Hence, if you are going to acquire a scan of such a creature, you should do so with caution." Peyton nodded at that, understanding what Sobtjek is saying.

"Don't worry, Sobtjek, I know what I'm getting myself into." Said Peyton with confidence in his voice. Sobtjek nodded at that before looking towards the rock formations beyond their perimeter.

"I hope so, Peyton." Said Sobtjek. "Not just you, but also Mudeenu as well." Peyton blinked in surprise at that before looking at the rock formation as well.

Soon Mudeenu ordered a scouting group to be sent ahead of them to check to see if the dragon was there or not. If it was there, then they can proceed. If it wasn't, then all this for nothing, and both Mudeenu and Peyton would not be pleased with that at all.
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Meanwhile

Sarah
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"So, what exactly is it about Kaz that you like?" Asked Sarah as she looked at Jycella as they both looked at their food. Both Tom and Kaz had left for either matches or more scanning out in Perim, leaving the two girls alone. This was perfectly fine with Sarah as she kind of wanted to know if Jycella and Kaz would make a good couple or not. Kaz was her friend, and she didn't want him heartbroken over a girl, especially if it was a sweet girl like Jycella.

"Well, call it lust, but I think he looks cute." Said Jycella as she stirred her milkshake a bit. "I guess I always was interested in the nerdy, cute ones. Never was interested in sports guys or those kids that tried to be cool to make up for something else."

"I heard that." Said Sarah with a smile. "Can't stand jocks. Always so sweaty and so busy to be a good boyfriend, even if most of them are smart." Jycella nodded in agreement before speaking up again.

"Plus, it sort of helps that Kaz reminds me of my father." Said Jycella.

"Oh?" Said Sarah. "I take it he's not around much."

"Nah, he's stationed in Europe for his two tours in the military." Explained Jycella. "And I miss him terribly. As I learn more about Kaz, I see more of my father in him. Competitive, but in a good-hearted way. Funny, but in an unintentional way. Plus being there for his friends when they need him reminds me of my father before he left for his tours." Sarah smiled at that.

"Well, I think those are good reasons to be interested in Kaz." Said Sarah. "And who knows? Perhaps you'll help him with his more negative traits."

"He has negative traits?" Asked Jycella in surprise.

"Well, he did expose the whole time-travel thing after a string of victories and all." Said Sarah, remembering that whole stint with Kaz.

"Oh yeah. I heard about that." Said Jycella, disappointed that she wasn't able to get any of those scans for herself. They were all-powerful from what she heard. "Don't worry, I have brothers that are just like that when it comes to winning."

"Shesh, brothers too?" Asked Sarah. "Are you the only good apple in your family?"

"My parents are fine." Said Jycella. "It's just Krystella that's the problem. My brothers are tolerable." With that the two continued to converse with each other, quite happy to get to know each other better.
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Meanwhile
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"Oh, this is just exciting!" Yelled Peyton as he walked with Sobtjek as they traveled along with Mudeenu and his guards. With them was battlegear designed to immobilize and stun something large, like a Mipedian dragon. "The first dragon sighting since who knows how many solons and I get to witness it in person! This is so exciting."

"Quiet, human." Said Mudeenu in annoyance as his forward guard looked around for his forward scouts. So far, they haven't reported in and it was starting to worry Mudeenu. Did they get devoured by the dragon or were they in hiding? Stalking the dragon and gauzing what weaknesses it had so that it would be easier for them to capture it? Whatever the reason, Mudeenu was prepared for anything. And the loud human wasn't making things easier for him.

Fortunately for him, Peyton got the message and zipped up. With that done, Mudeenu looked around his surroundings, keeping an eye out for the dragon. Much as they were revered, Mudeenu wasn't going to take chances if the dragon was hostile or not. He was a Mipedian prince. His demise would spell disaster for his people, even though he wasn't the crown prince.

As he walked alongside his men, Mudeenu suddenly felt a sense of foreboding and immediately ordered his men to get ready. While his men were getting ready for a fight should it ever come, Mudeenu looked around, keeping his eyes out for anything as well as using his superior hearing to try to detect things coming towards him and his men. After a few minutes, Mudeenu eventually relented and ordered his men to stand down and advance forward. Just as his men were about to move forward, Mudeenu heard something being thrown and some beeping noise. Before he could do anything, something landed near most of his men and exploded, sending tendrils of electricity across most of his men. They screamed in pain before falling to the ground unconscious.

"Ambush!" Yelled a guard before being blasted with a blue beam of energy and sent flying to a rock wall. Sobtjek was about to cast Mugic to reveal their attacker when he and Peyton were hit with an electrical net, trapping them both and shocking them to the point of unconsciousness.

"Sobtjek!" Yelled Mudeenu before growling as he heard some noise coming from his right. Having enough, Mudeenu sent a flash kick to his right. To his fortune, it hit something invisible and sent it back a few feet, the being revealed for a few moments to reveal that it was something metal. The being must have realized that being invisible was pointless and so revealed itself to the Mipedians. What they got surprised them.

It was indeed something metal, but it wasn't any creature that they have ever seen before. Towering even Mudeenu in size, the creature was completely metal, hinting it to be a machine, with a red visor that was looking at the remaining Mipedians with an emotionless stare. Its metal frame was colored appropriately for the desert climate of the Mipedian desert and looked a bit bulky. Its arms held five fingers and had what looked like attachments with gun barrels on top of its arms with fins attached at both ends of those attachments. Finally, it had its head inside a half-circle helmet, making it look like a half a sphere in appearance. Staring down at the remaining Mipedians, the figure aimed its arms at them and opened fire, revealing those arm attachments to be weapons.

Now seeing their enemy, the remaining Mipedians dodged the attacks before cloaking themselves to give themselves an advantage over their enemy. Seeing that the Mipedians cloaked themselves, the machine creature was about to cloak as well before it got blasted from the right. It then got blasted on the left before getting hit in the front. Letting out a metallic roar, the creature aimed at the ground and fired, sending sand and dirt everywhere, blinding the Mipedians and itself. The creature then brought out something from its calf, a human hand-sized capsule, before twisting it, causing it to expand a bit and glow blue before tossing the capsule to its feet. Soon the capsule then exploded sending out electricity everywhere. It let out a metallic screech as the electricity flowed around it, but it endured. The same could not be said for the Mipedians as they roared out in pain as the electricity coursed through their bodies and they decloaked. Eventually, they all began to pass out one by one until Mudeenu left. He glared at the machine and tried to unleash one last attack before he hit his pain tolerance and fell to the ground unconscious, leaving the machine as the only one still standing.

Looking at all the unconscious human and Mipedians around it, the machine began to grab them and drag them into a cave. Upon entering the cave, it spotted a figure of a Mipedian dragon sleeping in the cave. Rather than get nervous around such a large creature, it simply moved towards it. Upon getting close, it simply passed right through it, causing the dragon to flicker in and out of reality before going away completely. In its place was a small emitter that began to shut down, revealing the dragon to be fake all along.

Chapter Text

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Chaotic

Crellan Drome
--------------------------

"Where's Peyton?" Asked Sarah as she, Tom, and Kaz were amongst the crowd for the CodeMaster match between Peyton and CodeMaster Crellan. So far, Peyton hasn't arrived, and people were starting to whisper amongst themselves. Granted, the CodeMaster match wasn't going to happen for another couple of hours, but Peyton wasn't here, and it wasn't like him to not be at Chaotic when he had a CodeMaster match soon.

"No idea." Said Kaz with a shrug. "Maybe he's still out in Perim getting scans for his CodeMaster match?"

"If he was, he would have called us ahead of time." Said Sarah as she pursed her lips. "And there's no way that he would sleep in. Not when he has a good chance at beating a CodeMaster."

"Yeah." Said Tom, recalling Peyton's last match with Imthor. No way would Peyton be late if he had a decent chance at beating a CodeMaster. "I got a feeling that something went wrong with his latest scanning in Perim. If only I knew where he went, I could go in and check up on him."

"Same." Said Kaz, Jycella next to him. "I got a bad feeling Tom. If only we knew where he went." Sarah and Tom nodded in agreement at that. As the three waited, they hoped that Peyton was doing fine. Wherever he was in Perim.
--------------------------

Meanwhile
--------------------------

"Oh, man." Said Peyton as he woke up. He tried to stretch his limbs but found that he couldn't do it. "Hey, what the." That was when he realized what was going on. He was in some weird techy-looking ropes that wrapped around his body and prevented him from moving at all aside from his head. As he wondered what was going on, he remembered what happened.

He was out looking for the Mipedian dragon with Mudeenu when they were ambushed by something, knocking him out along with Sobtjek. Judging by his captivity, it seemed the Mipedians lost against whoever attacked them. Concerned for his friend, Peyton looked around for any signs of Sobtjek and the other Mipedians.

Looking around, he saw that he was in some large cave. He wasn't particularly far inside the cave as he could see the large entrance that led right out of it. Looking around more, he found, to his shock, Sobtjek and Mudeenu's guards all around him, similarly immobilized with similar bindings, only theirs were made of metal compared to his rope-like bindings.

Looking at the binds, Peyton could see that they were the color of steel with veins that glowed green. As he tried to move around, he noticed that some sounds were being made. Sobtjek was awakening.

"Sobtjek!" Yelled Peyton as his friend stirred. "You okay!?"

"Peyton?" Asked Sobtjek as he shook his head before looking at his human friend. "Where are we?" It was then that Sobtjek noticed their surroundings. It seemed that they were in a cave system, illuminated by both crystals and some artificial lights created by some sort of contraptions.

"I won't know, Sobtjek." Said Peyton honestly as he tried to recall what happened. "Last thing that I remembered was walking with you guys when zap! We got ambushed and knocked out." Sobtjek hummed at that, remembering what happened now.

"Yes. I remember now." Said Sobtjek as everything came to him. "We were attacked by something. I couldn't see what it was before I was knocked unconscious."

"Same here." Said Peyton as he looked around his surroundings, finding Mudeenu was nowhere in sight. "You think that whoever attacked us has Mudeenu?" Sobtjek hummed at that before counting the number of guards with them. Finding they were all accounted for, Sobtjek realized that Mudeenu must be with whoever attacked them.

'I'm afraid so." Said Sobtjek grimly. "I have no doubt they're interrogating Mudeenu right now, taking whatever information he was for themselves. We must save the prince." Peyton nodded in agreement at that and tried to figure out a way to get free. Looking around, he got an idea. Some of the crystals were sharp enough to cut through the ropes that tied him up and they were close and low enough that he can use them to cut through them. So, he went to the closet crystal and began to work.

"Don't worry, Sobtjek!" Said Peyton as the crystal did its work. "I'm going to get us all out of here." Sobtjek was going to respond to that when they heard the screams of Mudeenu from further away from them. That caused Sobtjek to widen his eyes in shock before yelling out.

"My prince!" Yelled Sobtjek as he tried to break free to no avail. That screams from Mudeenu caused Peyton to hurry up in cutting his ropes. Soon, he was free and went over to try to free Sobtjek, trying to find out how to free him. As the screams from Mudeenu continued, Sobtjek gritted his teeth before ordering Peyton to help out Mudeenu.

"There's no time for this, Peyton!" Yelled Sobtjek, catching Peyton's attention. "Prince Mudeenu is in danger. You must go and save him from whatever is responsible for all this." Peyton wanted to protest, but Sobtjek was firm in his orders. So, with reluctance, Peyton left Sobtjek alone and headed to where the screaming was. As he was running, he wondered what could possibly make Mudeenu scream.

"Man Mudeenu is one of the toughest Mipedians out there." Thought Peyton as he ran. "Whoever is out there putting the hurt on Mudeenu must be really scary."
--------------------------

Meanwhile
--------------------------

Mudeenu let out another scream as the perpetrator behind all this sent another jolt of electricity from a spider-like device attached to Mudeenu's head. Looking from a nearby console, the machine that attacked Mudeenu and his men observed the crystal-like screen of his computer. The two were located in a chamber within the cave, a fair distance away from Sobtjek and Peyton. With them were several machines and equipment whose design didn't match anything Mudeenu had never seen before. They were far too advanced to be from anything from the other tribes with a few exceptions. Perhaps Overworlder Mommark would have made computers and machines similar in design to the ones that the metal creature was using, but something told Mudeenu that this creature wasn't affiliated with the Overworlders at all.

"Your physicality is impressive." Said the metal creature in a deep masculine tone as it took note of Mudeenu still standing, held in place by the same bindings holding Sobtjek and Mudeenu's guards in place. "I had thought you would have fallen unconscious by now."

"You should not underestimate me." Said Mudeenu as he glared at the machine, bruised and exhausted, but still capable of fighting. "Release me from these bindings and I'll show you."

"I will not." Said the machine as it looked through its console, observing something on the screen. "My orders are to obtain a member of the Mipedian royal family and acquire all information regarding their plans as well as their fighting potential. I obtained both through that device attached to you. Now I will do the same to your Mugic user. Data must be acquired on Mugic." With that, the machine moved towards Mudeenu, detached the device before leaving Mudeenu alone, intending on bringing Sobtjek back for interrogation. Once the machine left, Mudeenu tried to break free from his bindings to no avail. It seemed they were designed specifically to detain him. As Mudeenu tried to figure out a way to escape, he heard the sounds of someone approaching. Thinking it was the metal creature coming back to interrogate him, Mudeenu saw, to his surprise, the human Peyton instead, looking a bit bewildered at all he saw.

"Man, I never thought I see the day that I see you in binds, Prince Mudeenu." Said Peyton before running over to Mudeenu and trying to find a way to free him. He was looking for the source of the screaming and eventually found Mudeenu and that metal creature nearby. After ridding himself of the shock of seeing just a mechanical being in Perim, Peyton went and hid behind a stalagmite until the creature was out of sight. Once he was sure the creature was gone, Peyton went in to free Mudeenu. As he looked around, he tried to find his scanner to no avail. That wasn't good. He could really use some backup right about now.

"Never mind that now, human." Said Mudeenu as Peyton tried to find out a way to free him. "Where are Sobtjek and my guards?"

"They're near the entrance of the cave we're in." Said Peyton. "They're all tied up right now, like you. I wanted to help them, but Sobtjek wanted me to save you first."

"I see." Said Mudeenu as Peyton scratched his hair in frustration, wondering how to free Mudeenu. He tried everything. From pulling the binds to touching its glowing parts. Nothing worked. Maybe it needed some sort of command or something for it to work?

Looking at the console nearby, Peyton ran over there and saw that it was still powered up. Looking at the glass screen, Peyton gave a slight noise when he saw the language on the screen, which was a bunch of symbols that he had no idea what they meant. Most of them glowed black in contrast with the green screen while others were red or blue. If Peyton had to guess, the latter colors were some sort of input keys, like those back on Earth with their computers, and the others were meant to be words or numbers or something along those lines.

"Oh, crud." Said Peyton as he tried to figure out the symbols. "I got no idea what any of letters mean. Uh…let's try pressing things at random. That's got to work right?" As Peyton typed random blue and red symbols, Mudeenu overheard the loud thudding from the metal creature returning, and based on the sounds of struggling, it was carrying Sobtjek with it. Gritting his teeth, Mudeenu ordered Peyton to hurry up.

"I'm trying!" Yelled Peyton as he kept pressing buttons, only to panic when he heard the sounds of heavy thudding getting closer and he found nothing was working. Eventually, the thudding came to a halt when the metal creature found Peyton touching its console.

"Foolish creature of Perim." Said the creature as it held Sobtjek in one hand while the other was aimed at Peyton, its arm-mounted weapon glowing dark blue. "When I saw you had left, I thought you would have tried to escape and find help. I did not expect you to be so foolish and try to access technology beyond your understanding. Stay back from the console or be killed." Peyton gulped before raising his hands and backing away from the console. Once he did, the creature walked over to Peyton and observed him, rather intrigued with him. To the creature, he never expected to find something like him amongst the creatures of Perim. At least those located in the desert.

Unlike the Mipedians, he seemed mammalian in origins. He had such pinkish skin and didn't possess any sort of obvious physical power in his muscles. If anything, he seemed rather fat and tiny for a creature of Perim. It piqued his curiosity. Enough that the creature took Peyton captive along with the Mipedians. To study why he looks weak compared to the Mipedians.

"You are worthy of study, creature of Perim." Said the machine as it kept aiming its arm-mounted gun on Peyton. "Therefore, your life remains vital to my mission and thus I cannot exterminate you." With that, the gun changed to a lighter blue color. "Stay still. You will not be harmed by this blast." Peyton panicked upon seeing the gun barrel while Sobtjek yelled out his name in concern for his friend. As the machine was about to fire, Peyton looked at the console next to him and had an idea. A stupid and idiotic plan, but a plan nonetheless.

Yelling out as the creature was about to fire, Peyton ran away as the creature fired, blasting a wall instead. Irritated at this, the creature aimed again at the cowardly Peyton and was about to fire again when Peyton suddenly tripped and landed behind the console. Stunned at this, the creature swerved its gun away from the console and towards the ceiling, causing a beam of energy to fly towards the ceiling and cause rocks and dust to fall towards everyone.

Annoyed even further, the creature tossed Sobtjek away, causing the Mipedian to grunt as he crashed into a rock wall, before going over to Peyton, who found a sizable rock next to him as a result of the last blast. Grabbing it, Peyton stood up and watched the approaching metal creature coming towards Peyton, its visor glowing red.

"Enough." Said the creature as went to grab Peyton, now not using its weapons in fear of destroying the console. "You are proving to be more trouble than you're worth. Continue and you will face extermination." Peyton just looked up at the big machine, bigger than Mudeenu, before replying.

"Yeah?" Asked Peyton as he looked at the console to his left. "Well, this will really get your gears grinding." With that he sprinted towards the console and smashed the rock directly onto the console, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

"No!" Yelled the machine as it went towards Peyton, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and glaring at him. Glaring at him with a red visor, the machine creature was about to do something to him when he was suddenly attacked by a flash kick attack, causing him to drop Peyton and crash into the ground on his right side.

"You will not touch that human!" Yelled Mudeenu, now free from his constraints. Growling at the freed Mudeenu, the robot got up and was about to attack by opening up an internal compartment on its calf when suddenly it was attacked by Sobtjek, causing it to fall to the ground, this time on its face, and causing something to fall out of the calf of the metal creature. Looking at it, Peyton gasped when he saw his scanner on the ground next to the creature along with some sort of capsule. Knowing that he needed the scanner and to get that capsule away from the creature, he ran towards both objects just as the creature got up and charged in at Mudeenu.

"Peyton!" Yelled Sobtjek in worry as Peyton grabbed his scanner and the capsule before running away to Sobtjek as Mudeenu fought off the machine, who was firing its arm weaponry at Mudeenu who dodged them all before attacking.

"Sobtjek!" Yelled Mudeenu as he fought. "Get the human out of here! As soon as he's out of our hands, find my guards and lead them here to assist me in dealing with this creature!" Sobtjek nodded at the orders from his prince before looking at Peyton.

"Mudeenu is correct at this, Peyton." Said Sobtjek as he led Peyton somewhere safe while also trying to find Mudeenu's guards while taking the capsule from Peyton. "You must leave here. You will do more harm than good in these cramp confinements."

Much as Peyton wanted to protest, he knew that Sobtjek was right. Things were rather cramped back there and he nearly got blasted by that crazy metal creature robot thing. Plus he had a CodeMaster match soon. He didn't know how long he was out, but he needed to get back to Chaotic soon if he wanted to have that match with Crellan. As much as his mind was telling him to leave, he just couldn't. He didn't want this trip to end without anything to show for it. He knew it was selfish and stupid, but he really needed a scan to make all this worth it. Plus, there was the fact it wouldn't feel right if he was safe while his friends were out fighting for their lives against an unknown creature.

He was about to explain this to Sobtjek when they heard screaming from Mudeenu. Turning around, the two found Mudeenu under some sort of electrical attack from the metal creature, utilizing both guns from its arms. Seeing this, Sobtjek yelled and was about to help out when Peyton got an idea.

"I got an idea, Sobtjek!" Yelled Peyton as he ran towards the battle. Sobtjek yelled at his friend before realizing what he intended on doing. Gritting his teeth, Sobtjek went towards another side as Peyton went behind the metal creature, got within scanning distance, and began scanning the creature. This, unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you ask, caught the attention of the metal creature. So it turned its head to see Peyton scanning it with his scanner. Confused at what Peyton was doing, the metal creature was about to do something to Peyton when it was suddenly attacked by an air attack by Sobtjek, causing the machine to crash into a wall, stopping its attack on Mudeenu in the process.

"Alright!" Yelled Peyton as he cheered on Sobtjek. Not only did they achieve their goal of saving Mudeenu, but Peyton got a sweet new scan. "Great job, Sobtjek!" Sobtjek, though exhausted from the attack, gave Peyton a weak smile. As the metal creature groaned and tried to get up, it suddenly saw the presence of even more Mipedians coming towards them. It was Mudeenu's guards. They all must have regained consciousness during the battle. Seeing the guards, Peyton smiled as he realized he can safely leave without being worried for Mudeenu and Sobtjek.

"Looks like the calvaries here." Said Peyton as the guards arrived in full. "Good luck Sobtjek." Sobtjek nodded at that before Peyton ported himself out. Relieved that his friend was now safe and out of harm's way, Sobtjek looked to see the machine getting up, a bit battered from the attack, but still capable of fighting. Seeing it still wanted to fight, Sobtjek ordered the guards to attack it for attacking their prince before doing battle with it.
--------------------------

Meanwhile

Peyton
--------------------------

Upon porting back to Chaotic, Peyton sighed in exhaustion.

"Dang. Talk about a major crazed event." Said Peyton as he recalled everything that happened. As he did so, he felt himself getting tired, the adrenaline from everything was starting to wear off and the exhaustion his body felt was starting to get to him now. "First I get knocked out and then I got captured by a strange metal creature that looked straight out of a Japanese anime that wanted to make mincemeat of me. And to top it all off, I didn't get my scan of the Mipedian dragon. *Groans* Least I got a sweet new scan." As Peyton was about to look at his new scan, a server bot immediately came up to him.

"PeytonicMaster, you're scheduled match with CodeMaster Crellan is starting soon." Said the server bot. "If you don't arrive in the Crellan Drome in the next five minutes, it'll be canceled and so will your chance to face CodeMaster Crellan." Upon hearing all that, Peyton's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"Oh crude!" Yelled Peyton as his energy went through the roofs upon hearing that. Without delay, he instantly took off for the Crellan Drome, not wanting to miss out on his CodeMaster match.
--------------------------

Four minutes later
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"Okay that's it, I'm going to Perim." Said Tom as he began to take off as the crowd around them began to disperse, sick and tired of waiting for a CodeMaster match that will probably never come now. If Peyton didn't arrive in the next minute, the match between him and Crellan will be forfeit and thus he'll have to win another seven times in the Crellan Drome before being allowed to face Crellan again.

"I'm coming with you too." Said Kaz. Sarah and Jycella nodded in agreement, also worried for their friend. Just as the four were about to take off, they heard yelling from a familiar voice.

"Wait!" Yelled Peyton as he ran towards the Crellan Drome, trying his darndest to avoid people in his way, not caring of how he looked and if he was making a fool of himself. "I'm here! Don't cancel my match!"

"Peyton!" Yelled Tom in surprise, even more so when he saw how dirty he looked. There was dirt everywhere on his clothes and face. It was like he spent a whole day in Perim in the desert or some rocky location in Perim. Tom and his friends then watched as Peyton ran into the Crellan door, the door barely opening in time for Peyton to go through without much hindrance. As the doors closed, everyone remaining looked at this situation in bewilderment.

"What the heck?" Asked Kaz as he tried to process this. "What just happened?" Jycella just shrugged while Sarah scratched her head in wonderment.
--------------------------

Meanwhile

Peyton
--------------------------

After inserting his scanner, Peyton was panting for breath while Crellan was looking stoically. Though it didn't look like it, Crellan was a bit concerned for Peyton. Both for his tiredness and for his appearance.

"Are you alright, PeytonicMaster?" Asked CodeMaster Crellan as he watched Peyton gather himself up before looking at Crellan with a determined look on his face.

"I'm alright, CodeMaster Crellan." Said Peyton with a smile. "Just had a rough time in Perim." Crellan nodded at that. He wasn't surprised. Perim was a dangerous place and, judging by Peyton's appearance, he had a close call with a creature in Perim. One that tired him out.

"If you need to rest, I can schedule a short intermediate period for you to recover your energy." Said Crellan. Although uncommon, breaks were allowed between matches on unexpected tiredness from players, usually on account of different time zones.

"Not needed, CodeMaster." Said Peyton as he looked at Crellan with a smirk. "Just the thought of beating a CodeMaster has got my blood pumping. Don't you sweat it!" Finding goodhearted amusement from Peyton's confidence, Crellan nodded before starting the match. As soon as both players' holographic screens showed up in front of them, they began selecting their creatures, locations, Battlegear, and Mugic for their match.

"Okay, I need to have a standard setup." Thought Peyton as he assembled his team. "I'll have Sobtjek and Tianne for Mugic support as well as some sweet sacrificing. Then I'll have Fivarth in the way back to keep him protected. As for frontline, I'll be having Blazvatan in the front along with Ario and that new creature I got from my recent trip to Perim." After getting his team assembled, he began to give them Battlegear appropriate for them as well as either covering their weaknesses or capitalizing their strengths. Things, however, got a bit awkward when he had to get Battlegear for his new creature.

"What!?" Screamed out Peyton internally as he tried to give his new creature Battlegear, only for all of them to be rejected. "Are you kidding me!? He can't accept Battlegear!?" To Peyton's confusion and frustration, his new creature wouldn't accept any of the Battlegear that he tried to equip him with. No matter the Battlegear, the system refused to allow them to be equipped with his new creature. Groaning inwardly, Peyton realized he had to go gearless with him. "Oh, this is going to go bad." He then went to set up his Mugics and locations for the match. Soon the Crellan Dromes drone AI ordered both players to lock their decks, which they did without question. Soon, everyone was able to see the creatures that both Crellan and Peyton choose for their match. Crellan's team was similar to the team that he used against Tom with some minor differences in terms of positioning and creatures. Peyton's was nearly all Mipedians and everyone was shocked to see his new creature. The one that both captured him and the Mipedian prince.

"I see that you acquired a brand-new creature." Said Crellan, observing Peyton's new creature with curiosity and surprise. Never before had he seen such a radically different creature before in Perim and he was quite curious about how Peyton obtained such a creature along with everyone else watching their match. Even now, Peyton's friends were wondering where he got it and if it was the scan that he was hoping to get prior to leaving Chaotic for Perim yesterday.

"Yeah, and he's going to help me out in beating you in this match." Said Peyton, hoping that his new creature wouldn't make him a liar and embarrass him. Crellan hummed at that before telling Peyton to make the first move, which he did gleefully.

Rolling the spinner to see which location they'll fight in first, Peyton was ecstatic when he saw that the first location they'll fight in was the old Iron Pillar.

"Yes, that's perfect." Thought Peyton as he saw Iron Pillar. "That means it'll be an even fight if I choose my new creature against any of Crellan's creatures! Let's hope he's actually good!" With a perfect location for his gearless creature, Peyton used his new creature, which he just now learned was called Phase, to attack Crellan's Smildon. The two players then selected their chosen creatures and changed into them.

"Let's hope that your new creature won't be a liability Peyton." Said Crellan as he eyed Peyton's new creature, amazed at its height. Though it wasn't the tallest creature in Perim, it dwarfed even Maxxor and Chaor in height, though only by a little.

"Yeah, you're not the only one." Said Peyton before gasping upon seeing a bunch of statistics and numbers all over his vision, which got worse when he looked over at Crellan, causing more numbers and statistics to pop up.

"Are you fine, PeytonicMaster?" Asked the Drome AI as Peyton tried to get the numbers and other scientific stuff under control. Eventually, he did.

"Yeah." Said Peyton as he shook his head. "Let's get Chaotic!" With that the Drome AI took them to a simulated version of Iron Pillar, the match now officially starting. As this was happening, Tom spoke to Sarah.

"I got a bad feeling about Peyton's new creature." Said Tom as he voiced his concerns to his friends. "Not a bad, bad feeling. Just I got a gut feeling that it's going to be more trouble than it's worth in this match." That got a few nods from everyone, remembering what happed when Peyton last tried to use an untested creature in official matches. He lost twenty of his best cards for a nearly uncontrollable beast without the right support.

"That's always the thing with using untested creatures in official matches." Said Kaz with a groan. "And I thought Peyton learned his lesson after the whole Warbeast fiasco." Sarah shook her head as she remembered that whole fiasco.

"We can only hope this one isn't as match costing as Blazvatan was in that match." Said Sarah as they matched Petyon's creature start on the very top of Mount Pillar.

"Yeah." Said Tom as Peyton started moving. "We can only hope."

Chapter Text

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Simulated Iron Pillar
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"Okay, so far so good." Thought Peyton as he jumped down from one platform to another. "These numbers and symbols take some getting used to, but I think I got the hang of them. Now if only I can find out how to use these things." Peyton then looked at the arm-mounted weapons he had. As much as he tried, he couldn't find a way to make them work. "C'mon, there's got to be a way to use these things?"

"C'mon, work." Said Peyton as Phase, his new creature, before pointing his guns at the air and tried to make them shoot to no avail. Groaning out, Peyton looked at one of his guns and scratched his head. "How does he manage to work these things?" He tried thinking of shooting them, but it didn't work. He tried making a gesture of them shooting but that didn't work also. If he didn't get these things working or find some other weapon to use against Crellan, he's doomed.

As he tried to wonder what to do, he suddenly received a power pulse to the back, sending him crashing into the floor. Turning around, he saw Smildon landing near him with a snarl.

"Always keep your guard up, PeytonicMaster." Said Crellan as Smildon now. "You never know when someone is waiting the perfect moment to ambush you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Said Peyton as Phase now. He tried to fire his guns again to no avail. "Oh c'mon. Can't this guy do anything?" Rather than waiting him to figure out how to use his new creature, Smildon attacked, forcing Phase to run away lest he gets coded. Jumping to a new platform, Phase ran as Smildon gave chase.

"Man, Peyton really has no idea how to use his new creature." Said Tom as he watched all this happen.

"No kidding." Said Sarah as she placed her hands on her hips. "New creature and he's putting it in a CodeMaster match? That's just asking for a disaster. What was Peyton thinking?"

"Guess he wasn't thinking at all." Said Kaz as both he and Jycella were looking at Phase's stats. "Peyton's creature has good stats, sure, but he can't take Battlegear. Like any Battlegear at all. Not to mention he can't take generic Mugic effects as well. I don't see the point of this guy at all."

"You serious?" Asked Tom in shock, having never heard a creature that can do that normally without any Mugic or special ability affecting them.

"He is." Said Jycella in slight worry for Peyton before showing Tom her scanner. "This Phase can't be affected by any type of Mugic nor can he take any Battlegear. That severely handicaps him in any type of battle. I don't honestly see the point in this creature."

"If that's the case, then Peyton made a big mistake in taking him." Said Sarah as she watched Smildon send Phase flying towards a metal pole.

"Dang." Said Peyton as he got up. Looking up, he saw Smildon coming towards him with claws at the ready. "C'mon new creature buddy. Do something cool." As if to answer his plea, his vision started to paint Smildon red with symbols all around him. Before Peyton can do anything, gun barrels one the sides of his head aimed and fired at Smildon. Caught by surprise, Smildon took some hits before he took cover behind a piece of metal. Peyton, stunned at this, just kept firing until the guns mounted on his head stopped firing. Wondering why this was, Peyton didn't get a chance to figure it out when Smildon pounced out of his cover and launched a flash kick at Phase, sending him flying off the ledge of their platform and towards the ground.

"Oh god!" Yelled Peyton as he fell. "C'mon, have something that'll get you out of this too!" Again, as if answering his please, his creature began moving upward before Peyton suddenly stopped midair. Shocked at this, Peyton looked around to see that his creature was actually flying and that he had thrusters mounted around key points in his body, mainly his back and legs, were keeping him airborne.

"No way." Said Tom in surprise as he saw all this. He thought that match was over when Peyton fell off the platform, but then he saw Peyton's creature fly around with thrusters, and his opinion instantly changed. "That thing can fly?"

"And not through any natural flight, it's got thrusters." Said Kaz as he saw the thrusters around Peyton's creature. "No wonder it can't take Battlegear. It's a walking Swiss-army knife."

"No kidding." Said Sarah as she watched Peyton goof around with his newfound power, also in awe of everything that was going on. "Let's just hope that's enough to help him through this."

"Alright!" Yelled Peyton in excitement as he finished goofing off. "Now it's time to beat a CodeMaster!" With that, he flew towards where he last spotted CodeMaster Crellan. Flying towards there, he found CodeMaster Crellan not there, having gone into hiding once he realized that Peyton wasn't coded.

Looking around for Crellan, Peyton wondered what to do when he was suddenly attacked by a Vine Snare. Shocked, Peyton couldn't do anything as he was sent crashing into another platform. Disoriented, Peyton received another Power Pulse as Smildon came crashing down.

"Your creature is durable, PeytonicMaster, but you clearly don't know its full capabilities." Said Crellan as he allowed Peyton to get up. "You should know better than to use an untested creature in a CodeMaster match."

"Yeah, well, I'm a quick learner!" Yelled Peyton as he flew up and tried to fire his weapons, to no avail. "Oh c'mon!" Feeling pity for the player, Crellan used Vine Snare again and used his vines to try and slam PeytonicMaster into the floor again. This time, however, Peyton grabbed the vines and pulled, causing Crellan to fly up to him, where Peyton grabbed him. As Crellan struggled to break free, Peyton flew way up Mount Pillar to the point that a fall would get either of them coded.

"Alright, take this!" Yelled Peyton before falling straight towards the ground. He remembered watching this from a show he watched. If he let Crellan go at just the right moment, he'll be the only one to take the hit while Peyton got away safely. He just needed to time it right. If he did, then he'll take the first win in this match, but if he didn't…well, his new creature is causing more trouble than he's worth so Peyton won't lose much if he loses him.

As Peyton got closer and closer to the ground, speeding up more as he did so, he looked at Crellan still struggling to escape, causing him to smirk. This victory was all his. Unfortunately, for him, his overconfidence was his downfall as, in his excitement, he forgot that he didn't know just how much his new creature was capable of and one of those features was about to come into play.

Whether it was bad luck or just a plain misplay, Peyton's creature Phase began to suddenly transform, his various body parts began either retracting back into his body or shifting into another location. His arms retracted back into his body, causing Phase to let go of Smildon, which Crellan took advantage of to Vine Snare back into Mount Pillar. He then watched as Phase transformed into an oval-shaped fighter jet with several wings and stabilizers made out of his various body parts.

"What the heck!?" Yelled Peyton as he accelerated even further to the ground. He tried to pull up but didn't know how. By the time he figured it out, it was too late and he smashed straight into the ground of Mount Pillar, coding him and ending the battle.

"Ouch." Said Tom as he watched that happen while the simulation. "That was…something."

"Something?" Asked Sarah incredulously. "That was beyond humiliating. What's more humiliating than getting yourself coded?"

"Getting coded while being watched by a crowd." Said Jycella as she saw a bunch of people laugh at Peyton's expense. Pursing her lips in anger, she looked at Kaz as he scratched his head, still examining Peyton's creature.

"This creature." Said Kaz as he pursed his own lips in thought. "It's clearly not natural nor from any of the tribes. His design doesn't match that of any inventions from Ulmar or Bodal."

"You're saying he's from a different tribe?" Asked Jycella, catching Tom's and Sarah's attention. A different tribe was something to both be excited and nervous about. After all, they all remembered what happened when the M'arrillians began to surface again.

"Has to be." Said Kaz. "But that leaves a bunch of questions that Peyton will have to answer later." Everyone nodded at this before refocusing on the match.

"That was a poor turn of events for you, PeytonicMaster." Said Crellan with a hint of pity in his metallic tone. "That is why you should have trained with that creature first before devoting him to this match."

"I know now." Said Peyton with understandable annoyance and sadness. Taking a deep breath, Peyton spoke up again as he tried to get back his confidence. "Okay. Let's get back to the game." Crellan nodded and looked at his board, noting in surprise that Smildon didn't move into where Phase used to be. He was about to ponder this when the Drome AI spoke up.

"Warning. Phase's ability activates." Said Drome AI as Phase appeared again in Peyton's team, shocking Peyton and surprising Crellan along with everyone watching. "The creature known as Phase instantly returns to PeytonicMaster at full health."

"You serious!?" Yelled Peyton before cheering. "Awesome." Crellan, however, knew that there was a caveat for this. And that caveat soon made itself known when Blazvatan disappeared, shocking Peyton. "What!? What happened to Blazvatan!?"

"Blazvatan was sacrificed to activate Phase's special ability." Explained the Drome AI. "Phase will be returned to with his normal stats, but only if the strongest creature in raw stats on the team is sacrificed. Otherwise, he returns with the sacrificed creatures stats."

"What!?" Yelled Peyton with bulged eyes. "You mean I lost my strongest heavy hitter for a creature that I don't know how to use!?"

"Correct, PeytonicMaster." Said the Drome AI, causing a lot of people watching to burst into laughter. Tom and Peyton's other friends, however, smacked their faces in varying intensity.

"This is going to end up more humiliating than Klay's match with Imthor." Said Tom as he heard the entirety of Phase's special ability with a frown. That sounded like a good ability at first, but if you lose even once with that creature, you're losing your strongest creature just to revive an inferior creature.

"You're telling me." Said Sarah as she tried to wonder what to do to help Peyton after this humiliating lost against Crellan. He was so pouty after his last lost against Imthor, she couldn't imagine how pouty he'll be after this one, especially when it's his own creature that caused his loss.

"And to make things worse, I think Crellan is going to capitalize on Peyton's inexperience with that creature." Said Kaz as Crellan picked Phase again, this time with Cromaxx and the battlefield was Prexxor Chasm. As the Drome began the simulation, the four heard some laughter. Laughter that they all knew too well.

"I should have known that you two would be here." Said Tom as he turned around to see Klay and Krystella laughing at Peyton's misfortune.

"Why wouldn't we here?" Asked Klay as he looked at Major Tom and his friends with an arrogant smile. "After all, it's always great to see you or any of your friends be humiliated for all to see. And it's all the sweeter to see that it was all because of his own ineptitude." That caused everyone to glare at him, even though he was right.

"I can't believe you're hanging around these people, sis." Said Krystella with a smirk. "I knew you like to hang around losers, but this is a new low, even for you." That caused Jycella to glare at her sister, angered with what she said.

"Peyton will come around this, I know it." Said Kaz, causing Sarah, Tom, and Jycella to nod in agreement. That caused Klay and Krystella to laugh out loud.

"That's doubtful." Said Klay as he looked at the battle that was occurring between Peyton and CodeMaster Crellan. "He lost his strongest member in his team in exchange for his biggest liability. Not to mention it also made another one of his creatures useless as well. And all that's on the first battle. It'll be a miracle for him to pull back from that."

"Peyton has the skills to pull it off, unlike you and Krystella." Said Sarah with a hand on her hip. That just made Krystella laugh.

"I like to see that happen." Said Krystella as she looked at the other female other than her sister. "Miss ChaoticKween." Sarah just glared at Krystella at that and was about to say something nasty when Kaz saw Phase and Cromaxx fighting. And Phase was losing.
-----------------------------

Meanwhile

Peyton
-----------------------------

"Argh!" Yelled Peyton, now taking the form of Phase, as he was sent spiraling to the ground from Cromaxx's latest attack. He tried to use his advantage of flight over Cromaxx, but he was sent crashing into the ground as a result of Cromaxx using Mugic to do so.

"This is over, PeytonicMaster!" Yelled Cromaxx before launching a Skel-Evolve Strike, a more powerful version of Skeletal Strike, attack on Phase. Instead of taking the hit, Phase flew up, avoiding the attack and firing his head-mounted weapons, the only things that he can use at the moment, at Cromaxx. The attack, however, only tickled Cromaxx and thus he was able to Arborsmash without too much effort and launch it at Phase, sending him flying to a wall, creating a crevice as he did so. Crashing into the ground, Phase weakly got up before looking over at Cromaxx as he readied a final attack.

"I can't lose to another CodeMaster again!" Thought Peyton as he saw the attack being charged. "Not again! Not without a fight at least!" With that in mind, he aimed his arm guns at Cromaxx, begging that, for once, his weapons fire. This time, the guns fired, and launched two bolts of pink energy at Cromaxx, hitting him in the chest, interrupting the attack, and sending him flying to the opposite wall.

"Oh yeah!" Yelled Peyton as he saw this happen. "Now to finish Cromaxx off!" With that, Peyton fired upon Cromaxx again as he flew up, he kept blasting and blasting Cromaxx until Crellan used another Mugic to save himself. Utilizing a song of reversal, he swapped places with Peyton so he was safe from the attacks. Though he was currently falling, Crellan used this to his advantage and sent a Skel-Evolve attack on Phase, aiming the attack in an angle that it'll use the momentum from the fall to send itself straight at Phase at full speed. Gasping out loud, Phase tried to escape but couldn't as the attack was upon him by the time he tried to escape, coding him instantly.

With the match over and the Drome returned in their view, Crellan spoke to Peyton as he returned back to normal.

"This match has gone poorly for you so far, PeytonicMaster." Said Crellan as he observed Phase returning back in Peyton's team in exchange for Ario. "Not only have you lost two of your best fighters in your team, but your newest creature has proven to be little more than a liability. Its special ability drains you of your team's strongest assets in exchange for a creature you haven't yet mastered. If you wish, you can surrender now, and I'll end the match now." The offer looked really tempting to Peyton right now as he looked at the board right now.

Not only did he lost Blazvatan, but he also lost Ario as well and he never got to actually use either of them because of his new creature's special ability. Both of those creatures that he actually knew how to use, unlike his new creature that caused him to lose his first two battles against Crellan because he didn't know how to use him. Things were looking grim for Peyton. Crellan had all of his powerful creatures still and he only had three support creatures and one frontline creature that he still didn't know how to use. He might as well throw in the towel.

As he was contemplating surrendering, he received a call from his pals from his scanner.

"Don't give up, Peyton!" Yelled Tom as he and the others were looking at Peyton as best they could with such a tiny screen. The scanner wasn't made to fit in more than three people at once. "I know things look grim right now, but you can turn things around right now."

"Yeah, you've managed to pull matches around before, you can do it again!" Yelled Kaz with a thumbs up. The cheering from his friends caused Peyton to smile and gain back his confidence. He then looked at Crellan with confidence before speaking up.

"No way!" Yelled Peyton as he glared at Crellan. "No way is the PeytonicMaster going to be the first Chaotic player in history to surrender to a CodeMaster. I'm going to fight to the bitter end, even if it means I humiliate myself more." Crellan couldn't help but respect that fighting spirit. He always respected those that will fight to the bitter end. He nearly lost several times in CodeMaster matches from those that never give up. He won in the end, of course, but they were lessons to him. That victory can be achieved from the jaws of defeat if one puts their mind to achieving victory. And, as grim as it was now, he believed Peyton can do the same right now. He only had to know how to utilize his creature's vast potential to his advantage.

"Then let us continue then." Said Crellan. "Your move PeytonicMaster." Peyton nodded at that before selecting Tianne to attack Smildon, knowing that he couldn't afford to figure out his new creature right now. He needed wins and he needed them now. With the creatures selected, the Drome sent both players to the next location, starting the third battle of the match.

Chapter Text

"Take this, Crellan!" Yelled Peyton as he fought Crellan with his new creature, Phase, using its superior mobility against Crellan's creature, Proboscar. Blasting the thing with his arm-mounted weapons along with everything else as well as constantly moving in the air, Peyton was doing everything he can to defeat Proboscar without giving him a chance to hit him. And it was working, Proboscar couldn't launch a single attack that could hit Phase while he's in the air. And to make matters worse, they were in Prexxor Chasm, which really helped Phase more than Proboscar.

Proboscar, low on energy, let out a roar of defiance before launching a Slash Claw attack on Phase, aiming high in the air. Phase, however, dodged it and continued to pepper Proboscar with attacks until it was coded, bringing both players back to the Crellan Drome.

"Alright!" Yelled Peyton as he cheered on his recent victory while looking at the board. "It's all tied up now!" Crellan just nodded as he recalled the last few battles.

It has been an impressive turnaround. After receiving encouragement from his friends, Peyton went and defeated Smildon, Ursis, Glektod, and now Proboscar, evening the score. To make matters even more exciting for the Chaotic player, he seemed to figure out how to properly use his new creature. Its purpose, it seemed, was to utilize its superior mobility, thanks to its thrusters, and pepper the small damage attacks without getting hit. At least from what Crellan experienced with how Peyton was utilizing him. The creature could potentially do more and that was unnerving to Crellan. If that creature can do more damage, than it could, combined with it's revive ability, it could be a very dangerous foe for anyone to face.

Fortunately, the battle was nearing its end as now. Despite losing most of his team, Crellan managed to take out most of Peyton's team as well. Both of them were low on creatures now. Crellan only had Cromaxx while Peyton only had Phase and Fivarth. With both players low on creatures, the next match could very well decide who will win the next match. And it was Crellan's turn.

Rolling his location randomizer, Crellan saw that it chose the Crypt of Eternal Echoes. Upon seeing the selected location, Crellan made his move. Since he couldn't go after Fivarth, the creature was protected by Phase, he had to go after the machine. And thus he did so.

"Cromax attacks Phase." Declared Crellan before choosing his selected creature. Once both players turned into their respective creatures, they both said good luck to each other before the Drome took them to their simulated battlefield.

"This is going to be the decider match." Said Sarah as she watched the match start. "Peyton can't lose this one if he wants to win this match."

"What do you mean?" Asked Kaz as he looked at Sarah in confusion. "Even if he losses, he'll have Phase thanks to his revive ability. So, what's the big deal?" Sarah shook her head at that.

"The big deal is the caveat to Phase's revive." Said Sarah, annoyed a bit at how Kaz missed that important detail. "Phase can revive, sure, but he'll come back with the sacrificed creatures' stats if they don't exceed his own. And since Fivarth's stats are way below Phases', then he has to take Fivarths' and the results are the same." Upon hearing that, Kaz realized Peyton's situation and could only say one thing.

"Oh." Said Kaz, causing both Klay and Krystella to laugh at him.

"You're almost as dumb as your fat friend." Said Klay. "No idea why you hang around these nitwits, ChaoticKween. Your IQ drains whenever you have to deal with their idiotic remarks and answers." Upon hearing that, Sarah glared at Klay for insulting her friends before speaking up.

"I spend my time with them because they're my friends." Said Sarah, annoyed with Klay's continued insensitivity. "They may not be the smartest people in Chaotic, but they more than makeup for it with their loyalty, morality, and just being fun to be around. I'd rather be with them than whatever friends you and Krystella have." Though the boys weren't sure if they should be offended or grateful for what Sarah said, Krystella and Klay laughed at her.

"Guess we see why you aren't as popular as you should be, ChaoticKween." Said Krystella with a sneer. "Hanging out with the dregs like this really impacts your popularity, you know. Maybe you should find some actual players to be around instead of these losers." Sarah, having enough of all this, spoke up.

"Why do you guys constantly belittle my friends?" Demanded Sarah as she glared at both Krystella and Klay. "From the beginning, you've been hostile towards them for no reason at all. You've tried to trick and get payback for Tom and Kaz for just beating you or just saving players from your tricks. Then you do the same for Peyton just for beating you or being affiliated with Tom and Kaz. And ever since you guys have been continually trying to get back at them for just being decent human beings. Just what is your problem with them? Just why can't you two let go of your grudges and just leave us alone?" Upon hearing all that, the two glared at Sarah.

"We refuse to let go of our grudge because you idiots keep getting in our way in getting scans for ourselves. If you dorks just minded your own business, we wouldn't be meeting as half as much as we do." Said Krystella, causing Tom, Sarah, and Kaz to glare at them.

"Well, we wouldn't be getting in your way if you guys just stopped scamming people for their rare scans and cards. Not to mention trying to exploit the creatures for your own benefit." Said Kaz, remembering the times that Klay and Krystella tricked people and creatures for their own gains.

"Yeah, if you guys just played by the rules and did not think about yourselves, then everything will be alright between us. You guys might even be popular around in Chaotic if you guys weren't so nasty." Said Tom.

"Oh, what do you know about being popular, Major Tom." Said Krystella. "I'm popular back home. Can you say the same or do your parents say you're popular for you just to make you feel better?" Upon hearing that, Tom glared at Krystella and was about to give her a piece of his mind when suddenly Jycella yelled out.

"Guys! You all want to see this!" Yelled Jycella as she pointed at the screen. When everyone turned around, they saw Phase getting hit by an Arborsmash, sending him crashing into a wall. As the machine creature went to the ground, its head-mounted guns fired at Cromaxx, who dodged them all before firing another log at Phase. Dodging it by jumping headfirst into the ground, Phase fired his arm-mounted guns, this time blasting Cromaxx enough to send him flying out of the hallway they were fighting in. Taking flight again, Phase went after Cromaxx, eventually finding him in a large, expansive room with multiple hallways leading to it.

"Impressive comeback, PeytonicMaster. You fought well and have learned the abilities of your creature, but I'm afraid that this match is at the end. Whoever wins this will assuredly win the match. Correct?" Asked Cromaxx.

"Yeah." Said Peyton, remembering Phase's revive ability and its caveat. "But I'm not planning on losing, Crellan. I'm going to win this match. So, prepared to get coded!" Nodding in respect at that, Cromaxx let out a battle cry before unleashing an Arborsmash at Phase. Seeing this, Phase flew up in the air before firing his arm-mounted guns at Cromaxx.

Forced to dodge them all, Cromaxx growled before hiding behind a pillar in the middle of the room. Taking a breath, Cromaxx looked at his options before deciding to use his last Mugic to end this battle now. Looking at the ceiling above them, Cromaxx attacked the ceiling with all the attacks he had, attacking at very random directions. At first, nothing happened, but soon pebbles began to fall all around him and Phase.

"Oh, don't tell me that you." Said Phase as he realized what Crellan did. Then, before his very eyes, large debris began falling down on top of him and Cromaxx.

"Whoa!" Yelled Phase as he started to dodge the falling debris. His energy was really low right now along with Cromaxx. One hit from one of those falling rocks and it was instant code for each of them. Unfortunately, Crellan knew that as well and was currently hiding behind the pillar, waiting for a piece of debris to fall on him. Sure enough, one such large debris was falling down a few feet in front of him. Realizing this, Crellan waited a few seconds before dashing over there and casting his last Mugic in this gamble of a move.

"Translocation!" Yelled Cromaxx, catching Phase's attention. Realizing what he just did, Peyton panicked as he wondered what to do as Cromaxx was casting the same Mugic that he used in Tom's CodeMaster match with Crellan. Thinking quickly, Peyton pondered his options and realized he only had one option if he wanted to win this match. He had to be quick because if Crellan's Mugic was cast before he could pull this off then it's over for him.

Looking at the closet entranceway to Cromaxx, Phase then transformed into his plane mode thing before firing his thrusters at the center pillar at full power. Just as he took off, Cromaxx finished casting his Mugic, and the two switched positions. Peyton screamed as he was sent flying towards a wall, passing falling debris in the process, while Crellan gasped out in shock as he was falling towards the ground. Landing roughly to the ground, Cromaxx watched as falling debris made its way towards him while Phase was sent flying towards the wall next to the entranceway he was going for. If he didn't alter course now, he'll get coded immediately.

"Not this time!" Yelled Phase before forcing himself towards the entranceway. Though he scrapped by the entranceway as he did so, he nonetheless made it and was flying away from the room while Cromaxx was evading debris until eventually he couldn't evade one big piece of debris and was coded, ending not only the battle but also the match as Cromaxx was the last creature that Crellan had. Thus, the victory went to Peyton. Upon seeing this, the assembled crowd of Chaotic players erupted into cheers for PeytonicMaster, including his friends.

"Alright, Peyton!" Yelled Tom as he cheered his friend.

"Show them how it's done!" Yelled Kaz at the same time. Meanwhile, Sarah was giving a smirk towards Klay and Krystella, both of whom were scowling at the win that Peyton pulled off.

"You see, you two." Said Sarah with a cocky smirk. "Maybe you should start the celebrations when the match has ended and the victor is clear." Scoffing at Sarah, Klay left, disgusted that Peyton won. Krystella lingered a bit longer to glare at her sister, who glared back, before leaving with Klay. Once they were both gone, the group of friends watched as both Crellan and Peyton returned back to the Drome and the Drome AI announced Peyton as the winner.

"Alright! I finally won a CodeMaster match!" Yelled Peyton as he cheered himself while hopping around in excitement. Crellan, finding amusement at Peyton's cheering, nonetheless congratulated the Chaotic Player.

"Well done, PeytonicMaster." Said Crellan. "You've managed to retrieve victory from the jaws of defeat. Much like Major Tom before you, you've overcome your lack of knowledge of certain elements of your team and learned about them in time for you to achieve victory. Thus, I'm proud to present you a location scan from my deck." With that, Crellan transferred a copy of Prexxor Chasm to Peyton's scanner. "Though your friend has one as well, I present you with your own copy of Prexxor Chasm. Use it well and perhaps you will discover elements of Prexxor Chasm that even Major Tom has yet to uncover." Upon hearing that and grabbing his scanner, Peyton smiled at his own scan of Prexxor Chasm before thanking Crellan.

"Thanks, CodeMaster Crellan. Thank you so much." Said Peyton, bowing up and down, before taking off. "I got to celebrate with my friends. We're going to party hard for this." Chuckling to himself as Peyton left his Drome, Crellan immediately thought of Peyton's new creature and where it came from. Such a creature was never seen before and he wondered where it came from and if he and the other CodeMasters have to worry about it like the M'arrillians.
-------------------------

Meanwhile
-------------------------

In a deep dark location, a single glowing eye was viewing a holographic screen, showcasing a picture of Phase along with several other creatures.

"Phase was captured by the Mipedians." Said a deep, metallic voice, the single eye blinking in and out as the voice spoke. "Plans to rescue him are in the making. For now, current scout missions are to resume without delay. Next reports are to be done in the next seven planetary rotations."

Chapter Text

Chaotic

"That was such an intense match, Peyton." Said Tom as he and the gang were celebrating Peyton's victory with Jycella in tow. "You had a rough start, but you really pulled through in the end. I'm proud of you." Peyton smiled at his friend before replying.

"You had no idea how difficult it was, Major T." Said Peyton, drinking a large amount of soda from his drink before replying. "My new creature gave me such a rough start at the beginning by making me lose two of my heavy hitters early on, but he eventually pulled through."

"And I hope you learn your lesson of using untested Creatures in official Drome battles, especially ones against CodeMasters." Scolded Sarah as she looked at Peyton in annoyance. "I thought you learned your lesson back with the Warbeast fiasco."

"I'm sorry, but I just got so excited about using it. Especially when my original plan was a bust." Said Peyton as he looked at his friend with an apologetic look on his face.

"Speaking of that plan, what was it?" Asked Kaz. Now that the Drome match was over, Kaz hoped to learn what Peyton's plan was in the first place against Crellan because he was certain that Phase wasn't a part of his original plan. Seeing no harm in telling his friends about his original plan, Peyton told them.

"Okay, so I heard from my contacts in Chaotic and Perim that a Mipedian dragon was located in the Mipedian desert." Said Peyton, causing everyone to look at him with more interest than before.

"A Mipedian dragon." Said Jycella in surprise. "I thought those things were just myths."

"Not myths, girl." Said Peyton with a smile. "The Mipedians think they're real and that they just disappeared one day. They even have a story that they'll return if the Mipedians are close to finding the Cothica. Anyway, if the rumors were true, then having a Mipedian dragon will really bolster my team."

"But you were planning on testing it first, right?" Asked Sarah. If he said no then he was in big trouble.

"Duh. Of course, I would, Sarah." Said Peyton with a smile before frowning. "But the whole thing was totally bogus. Turns out it was just a trap and me, along with the Mipedians sent to find that dragon got captured by that Phase guy."

"What?" Asked Tom in shock as everyone else looked at him in surprise and shock. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

"Nah." Said Peyton. "Though I had to leave the Mipedians to fight that Phase alone. I didn't want to without help, though. So I distracted the thing with a scan, allowing Sobtjek to get the jump on him."

"That was reckless of you, Peyton." Said Sarah as she looked at her friend. "Brave, but reckless."

"Oh, you would have done the same thing, Sarah." Said Peyton with a wave of his hand. Before Sarah could retort, Jycella spoke up.

"Are the Mipedian going to be okay?" Asked Jycella in worry. She wasn't a Mipedian player, but even she worried about them when they were in seemingly life-threatening danger.

"Yeah. They got that thing outnumbered and it looked battered from Sobtjek's attack. The last thing I saw was them surrounding the thing as it got ready for a fight." Said Peyton, silently hoping that his friend was okay. After thinking of Sobtjek, he looked at his friends. "So, anyway, what are you all planning on doing? Got anything special planned after my match?" Peyton's four friends looked at each other before shrugging. May as well tell him now.

"We're all going out on a double date." Announced Tom as Peyton was taking a bite out of his cheeseburger. Upon hearing that, though, he began to choke on his own food, stunned at what he just heard. Tom and Kaz went to help him after seeing this, but Peyton got it under control himself. After taking a big sip from his soda, Peyton flipped out.

"What!?" Yelled Peyton with bulging eyes and a gaping mouth. "You guys and gals are all going out with each other!? That's…amazing! My god! My Chaotic friends are all growing up! So, what's the plan? Going out on a scan date?! Going to one of the beaches in Perim!? Or just enjoying the scenery of beautiful Perim!?"

"We're all planning on going to Underworld and Kiru City for some scans." Explained Jycella. "There are some interesting new scans that we want to get our hands on."

"Plus, there are some rather good places for dating in both the Underworld and Overworld." Said Kaz. "So, that's our destination."

"And, for a finale, we'll go to a beach for some relaxation. See the sun set over Perim." Said Tom as he finished their planned double date. Upon hearing all that, Peyton gave a thumbs up.

"Awesome plan, Major T." Said Peyton with a smile. "I hope you all have a get time together and that you all become romantic partners. Oh yeah. I'm going to drink four milkshakes to help you guys get through this."

"Uh…yeah." Said Sarah, a bit unnerved upon hearing that. "Well, anyway. We'll be off Peyton. Don't go going on a sugar rush while we're gone for our sake."

"*Crackles* You should have faith in me, Sarah." Said Peyton with a smile as his friends left the table. "I live for sugar!" He then spoke to a passing service bot and ordered his milkshakes and a lot of food as well. Shaking her head at her friend, Sarah and the others went to the nearest transport hub and they all ported to Perim.

Later

Underworld

"Okay, welcome to the Underworld." Said Kaz after they ported into the Underworld. Specifically Underworld City. "I know it's not the most romantic of settings, but I think that there are some pretty cool scans to be found here for all of us."

"Did H'earring tell you some interesting scans to be found in Underworld City?" Asked Tom as he looked at Kaz with a smile, seeing that he was trying to avoid Jycella's gaze nervously.

"Actually yes." Said Kaz as he looked at his friend, telling him and the girls about some news that H'earring told him a week ago. "H'earring told me that Chaor scheduled Khybon to create a new battle gear tank for the Underworld army. H'earring heard that the prototype will be ready soon. He knows where Khybon is doing the finishing touches to it. His personal forge. Hopefully, it'll be finished enough for us to use it in Drome battles by the time we get there."

"Really?" Asked Jycella as she and others walked to Khybon's forge, Kaz leading them. "Didn't they just have a new vehicle made for the Underworld army? Why does Chaor need another one for his army when it's peacetime in Perim?"

"Beats me." Said Kaz. Chaor was his idol, yes, but sometimes his decisions baffled Kaz's mind. "Khybon must have convinced him that it's worth making a new thing for his army."

"In that case, it must be some cool new feature or upgrade." Said Tom with a smile. "Chaor is not exactly smart, but he's not wasteful. I think."

"Yeah." Said Kaz without much thought before processing the first thing Tom said about his idol and thus glared at him for it. "Hey!" As Kaz fought with his best friend over what he said about his idol, Sarah sighed in irritation while Jycella giggled in amusement at the two.

"C'mon you two, we're on a double date." Said Jycella as she looked at the two boys. "Let's not ruin it by fighting with each other." It took a while, but the two boys stopped and the group was making their way to Khybon's forge. As they were making their way towards the forge, they stumbled upon H'earring, happily munching on some Dractyl scales that he managed to acquire from Kaz sometime ago.

"Oh, my god." Said Jycella as she saw H'earring eating the scales out in a public area, uncaring to anyone that was passing him as well uncaring about his table manners. "Are those scales from Dractyl he's eating? Why is he eating those? Those are just molted scales for crying out loud!"

"You know, I've asked myself the same thing every time I had to collect them for him." Said Kaz as he saw H'earring eat the scales. Deciding that they may need him, Kaz went to his Underworld friend and caught his attention.

"Kaz!" Yelled H'earring happily as he saw his friend. Wiping his mouth with a free hand, he got up and smiled at his friend, even more so when he saw that blond Chaotic girl he saved from Ulmar. "Oh! I see you finally decided to get a mate! And it's the one that you saved too! Can't wait to tell Chaor that you finally got yourself a girl! He'll be so proud of you, he might actually give you his blessing!"

"H'earring!" Yelled Kaz in annoyance that he was still teasing him. In the meantime, his friends were holding back their laughter at his expense. Sighing, Kaz got right to the point. "Look, we're all going to Khybon's forge in order to get scans of the new Battlegear that he's building. Can you get us in there?"

"Sure! No problem." Said H'earring with a smile. "Now that I'm actually important in the Underworld after the M'arrillian fiasco, I can get us to see all of Khybon's new toys." Upon hearing all that, both Kaz and Tom smiled, causing H'earring to clarify a few things. "But you can't get anything there destroyed. Not only would Khybon have my head for any destruction in his forge caused by Chaotic players I'm friends with, but Chaor will have it as well. This new Battlegear he's got Khybon working on is really important to him. That thing gets damaged or even destroyed and he's going to have all our heads for it. Even if it wasn't caused by us."

"Got it." Said Kaz with a nod of understanding.

"Don't worry, H'earring." Said Tom with a smile of reassurance. "Both Klay and Krystella aren't around to go around sabotaging things for Chaor and Khybon. We promise. We'll check to make sure." Satisfied with the answer, H'earring lead them to their destination, Khybon's forge. As they were walking, Krystella decided to ask H'earring something that was bothering her and that was her sister and what she did a year back. She didn't want to believe that Krystella would actually do something that can not only kill a creature but also permanently prevent someone from ever entering Chaotic ever again. She knew her sister was nasty and mean but to actually commit murder on a sapient being and ruin's someone gaming life by preventing them access to a wonderful world like Perim by also committing murder somewhat, she couldn't see her doing that.

"H'earring. I know this may sound ridiculous to you, but I have to ask." Said Jycella, catching H'earring's attention. "Did my sister and her friend Klay really nearly kill you, Kaz, and Tom when they went scanning for the Phobia Mask? Did she actually help in all that and it wasn't all Klay's fault?"

"Yup." Said H'earring with no hesitation in his voice. "She may not have been the one on the controls, but she was the one that destroyed the Phobia Mask and got me in trouble with Chaor and Khybon with its destruction. Not to mention the damage to the forge. Plus, she didn't really do anything to stop that Klay guy from escalating things the way they did."

"Yeah." Said Tom as he entered the conversation. "I know she's your sister, Jycella, but there's no denying what she and Klay did that day. Like H'earring said, she didn't do anything to stop Klay from basically trying to kill us. I mean, he literally had the Phobia Mask in his grasp while also having boiling lava from a container pour near us, forcing us away. And then, to top it all off he had a bunch of machinery turned on when we were hanging on for dear life that would have crushed us if we let go. That stuff nearly crushed H'earring to paste and would have if it weren't for Khybon coming in to save us. And Jycella did nothing to stop Klay at all. She just stood there and smirked as we were put in danger by her friend."

"Yeah, all that stuff I said about your sister is true, Jycella." Said Kaz with a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm sorry to say, but your sister is an absolute…jerk."

"I…" Jycella tried to speak, but couldn't find the words. Looking at H'earring, who just nodded, Jycella sighed as she tried to picture all this. "I don't know what to say. I knew Krystella was bad and all, but to do something like that is just…*Sighs* I really need to talk to my mom and dad. I don't think this is something we can really let go of after all this. That if I can make them believe about Chaotic and all that."

"That's true." Said Tom. "As far as I know, there aren't a lot of parents or adults out there that know about Chaotic and Perim being real places. To them, it's just a card game for teens and kids."

"Yeah, especially where I live." Said Sarah, rolling her eyes in remembrance of her hometown and how a good chunk of it think Chaotic is for kids and teens just because it's a card game. "Anyway, you can talk with your sister yourself though. Anything to get Klay or Krystella to stop being what they are now will be a huge relief for everyone. Even the CodeMasters."

"Yeah, I don't understand why they don't ban or even just warn Klay and Krystella about their behavior." Said Kaz as he thought about it. "They did a lot of nasty stuff to other players and us, some of which they actually banned people for committing. Like, remember that time with that crazy band of location destroyers? Klay and Krystella destroyed a one-of-a-kind battle gear and nearly killed our Chaotic selves along with a creature. Why didn't they get banned for that?"

"I honestly don't know." Said Sarah in frustration. "Whatever their reasoning is, we'll have to ask them the next time one of us has a CodeMaster match with any of them because, mark my words, sooner or later those two will do something that will cost them a lot and will drag us all into it as well." Jycella was about to add something in when H'earring yelled out.

"We're here!" Yelled H'earring as they made it to the entrance of Khybon's forge, which was guarded by two guards. Upon seeing the humans, the guards were ready to aim their weapons when H'earring stopped them.

"Hey. Hey. Hey!" Yelled H'earring as he caught their attention. "These humans are my guests and I'm going to show them Khybon's new Battlegear to them for their Chaotic games. So let us through."

"No way." Said one of the guards upon hearing this. "We remember the last time you let some humans in here. Not only did the first Phobia Mask made got destroyed but the damages in the forge caused the production of other Battlegear for Chaor's army to get delayed. And guess who got punished for that?"

"Hey, I got punished too." Said H'earring. "Besides, that was a long time ago. Time to move on. Besides, I outrank you both. So step aside or else I'll report this to Chaor himself."

"Better that than risk the forge getting damaged along with that new battle gear." Said the other guard as he pointed his pyro blaster at them. "So take your humans and take a hike, H'earring."

Scowling at the guards, H'earring was about to yell at them when Khybon himself came to the entrance.

"I need one of you two to go and tell Chaor that…what are you doing here, H'earring?" Demanded Khybon upon seeing H'earring. When he saw the humans, Khybon realized what was going on and was not pleased. "Not again, H'earring! Do you remember the last time I let you bring humans to my forge!? Chaor punished all of us for the Phobia Mask's destruction. I didn't get a break for an entire solvurn because of you and your humans."

"Uh…" Said Tom when Sarah came to his rescue.

"About a week." Said Sarah as she clarified.

"Hey! It was those two other humans that your dumb guards allowed in." Said H'earring in annoyance, fed up with all this stalling. "If they didn't let those two in then none of that would have happened. Besides, you know about Kaz now. He's a big shot in the Underworld now after that battle in the coliseum sometime ago. And then there's the time he helped out in the M'arrillian invasion with his friends. And then there are the rumors that he's Chaor's favorite human. So, unless you like to incur Chaor's wrath, then let us in. Besides, you owe me a ton of favors Khybon. Do you want me to list them or are you going to let us through and let them scan the new Battlegear that you got cooking up in there?" Khybon growled at H'earring before thinking it over.

"Alright fine!" Yelled Khybon as he glared at H'earring. "But if this goes wrong like the last time, you're taking full responsibility for it. No exceptions. And this time, I'm going to be there to make sure you don't mess things up along with your humans. Got it!"

"Got it." Said H'earring with a smirk, satisfied with Khybon's answer. With that, Khybon allowed them all entry into his forge and only them before venturing with them to where he was building Chaor's new vehicle.

Unbeknownst to them, however, something was running around in Khybon's forge. Eager to complete its task there.

Chapter Text

Khybon's Forge

"So, what exactly are you making for Chaor, Khybon?" Asked Jycella as she and her friends were walking besides Khybon and Hearring as they walked around in Khybon's forge. As they walked, Tom and Kaz noticed just how different the forge was when compared to the last time that they were present at the forge. Khybon must have made some improvements to it after what Klay and Krystella did to the forge. Something that Khybon must still be angry about as he angrily muttered to himself about Chaotic players and how they always made his life more miserable than it needed to be. Despite that, Khybon responded to Jycella's question.

"Since I'm going to show it to you anyway, I'll tell you." Said Khybon before explaining what the new Battlegear was. "Since the truce between the tribes, Chaor has me making some new Battlegear that won't draw the ire and attention of the other tribes. Things like making stronger defensive Battlegear or upgrading our stocks of armor. Stuff like that. Not exactly where my talents are, but if that's what Chaor wants, then that's what Chaor gets."

"Really?" Asked Kaz in surprise. "Chaor has Ulmar upgrading his Viledriver. How come he has you working on defensive Battlegear?" Khybon just grunted at the question.

"Got Ulmar doing the more offensive stuff because Ulmar's work is just upgrading our arsenal. Nothing more." Said Khybon in annoyance. No doubt because Ulmar gets to work on the actual good stuff and not him. "Tribes aren't going to cause a ruckus over us upgrading our stuff. Besides, with Kaizeph discovered, Chaor and the other tribes are more focused on protecting our explorers and mapping that city over making weapons."

"So, the Battlegear you're working on will be used in mapping out Kaizeph?" Asked Tom, wondering how Maxxor was dealing with Kaizeph. He wasn't as privy to Overworld secrets as Chaor was with Underworld secrets to Kaz, but he did know that Maxxor was in talks with Aszil regarding establishing better relations with the Danians. Perhaps their talks are related to Kaizeph?

"You'll know when I show you the gear." Said Khybon as he took the group to a platform containing a sizable container in the middle of it. When he got close to the container, he pressed a button on the side, causing the entire thing to open up to reveal its contents. When the Chaotic players saw what was inside, they were in awe of what they saw.

Inside the container was a sizable vehicle with a massive drill at the front. Fully enclosed, the Chaotic players had no idea how many creatures it could hold, but it looked like it could hold at least four given its size.

"What is it?" Asked Kaz, having already brought out his scanner so he can scan the new vehicle that Khybon was making for Chaor. This must be something that can really help him in his drome matches.

"That's something Chaor has me making for our expeditions into Kaizeph." Said Khybon with some reluctance on his part. He still remembered the last time he let humans scan something that he was building for Chaor. "When Chaor learned how treacherous the environment was in our section of Kaizeph, he ordered the construction of a drilling machine that can protect his explorers and soldiers from the sheer heat while they're out exploring. Plus, if war ever comes again to the Tribes, he wants it to be used in battle. That drill can really wreck some fortifications and walls. Plus, I can retrofit a pyro blaster or two onto the front, making it an effective tank for shock assaults."

"As if you guys needed something like that." Muttered Sarah as she made her scan of the vehicle. Once she was done, she looked at Khybon. "So, what exactly will it do that'll help Chaor? Is he actually planning on leading expeditions to Kaizeph himself? Better yet, is he planning on tearing down Kaizeph in the process?"

"Can't say." Said Khybon before everyone finished their scanning of Chaor's new vehicle for his army. "Now that you got your scans, I want all of you out now! Before anything from my forge breaks! Especially this thing! It breaks down in any shape or form, Chaor will have my hide!"

Much as the gang wanted to protest, Khybon's expression made it clear that he wasn't going to take any protests, much less no, for an answer. He wanted them out now and he'll use force if he had to.

"Alright, we're porting out." Said Kaz as he typed in a new location that they all planned on going to next. "Thank for the new scan, H'earring. I'll be sure to get you some of that Fungus Fruit you like." Upon hearing that, H'earring licked his lips in anticipation.

"Good luck with your courtship ritual, Kaz! Don't go creating your spawn in your first union ritual with Krystell's sister. Unless you like to be a father early." Said H'earring, causing both Jycella and Ka to go bright red at H'earring's blunt works.

"H'earring! I swear if we weren't friends, I would…" Said Kaz before he heard some stifled laughter from Sarah and Tom. Glaring at his two friends, Kaz was about to retort back at them when the ground suddenly started to shake.

"Whoa." Said Tom as he was sent to the ground due to the shaking along with everyone else including Khybon and H'earring.

"Is that a fire geyser erupting?" Asked Kaz in worry, recalling the last one he witnessed a year ago.

"It can't be!" Yelled Khybon as he struggled to get up due to all the shaking. "If it was, we would be seeing flames everywhere right now! It has to be something else!"

"And what could that be!?" Yelled Sarah as she held onto a piece of railing along with Jycella. Thankfully both girls weren't in any danger of falling over the edge. Yet.

Sarah got her answer when something came out of the lava right in front of their platform. When both humans and creatures saw what it was, they were quite shocked at it.

Floating above them all was a massive metal monstrosity around the size of Chaor, perhaps a foot taller. But that was the extent of the similarities to Chaor, everyone else about it screamed different. Looking a bit like a human skeleton's torso with grey metallic skin, the metal monstrosity seemed to lack anything below the human torso. With the rest being replaced with a long scorpion-tail with a wicked looking stinger at the end.

Glaring at the gathered creatures and humans, the metal monstrosity red eyes glowed brightly before flying towards H'earring. Then, before anyone could do anything, it grabbed H'earring and began floating away from everyone else.

"Target acquired. Returning to base." Said the metal monster as H'earring struggled to get free from its grasp.

"H'earring!" Yelled Kaz in shock at seeing his friend snatched so quickly. Remembering how H'earring was mind controlled by the M'arrillians because of him, Kaz did something incredibly stupid and reckless. He ran towards the floating metal monster as it floated away with his friend. Then, just before he reached the end of the platform he was on, Kaz jumped as high as he could before grabbing the metal monster's tail just before it managed to escape his grasp.

"Kaz!" Yelled Jycella, Tom, and Sarah in shock at what he just did. They then watched along with Khybon as the metal monster began struggling to float on account of the sudden increased wait.

"Release me, idiotic one." Said the metal monster as it looked at Kaz as he began dragging him, H'earring, and the metal monster down into the lava slowly. "Do so or you'll kill my prize and yourself."

"Never!" Yelled Kaz as he glared at the metal robot thing as it tried to shake him off to no avail. "Either drop H'earring or we all go into the lava!"

"Kaz!" Yelled H'earring in shock at his friend's recklessness. He and his fellow Chaotic friends were doing insane stuff for Creatures, but this was high up there in terms of insanity. "Let go! I don't want you to get barbecued!"

"I'm not letting you get in danger again because of me, H'earring!" Yelled Kaz as the three were slowly descending to the lava. If this kept going, they'll reach the point of no return within a short time.

"I think your going to do that anyway with this stunt!" Yelled H'earring as he watched the metal monster pointed a slender arm at Kaz before, to his shock, the arm transformed into a scary looking blaster.

Once it transformed, the metal monster aimed the blaster at Kaz.

"If you will not release me, then I will force you to do so." Said the metal monster before charging up its weapon at Kaz. Gasping in shock, Kaz watched as the weapon glowed bright red with him unable to do anything to stop it. Before it could fire, however, he was suddenly saved by an unlikely source.

"Heat Ray!" Yelled Khybon before blasting the metal monster with a heat ray attack, causing it to stagger in shock at the sudden attack. Khybon then followed up with a blast from the cannon mounted on one of his arms. The combined attacks caused the metal monster to drop H'earring, causing him to scream out as he watched the lava approaching him.

"H'earring!" Yelled Kaz as he watched this happen. Fortunately, Khybon reacted in time to save H'earring with one of his extendable servo claws, catching the diminutive creature in time and pulling him out of danger onto the platform. Sighing in relief at being safe on solid ground, H'earring blacked out from the experience he just had.

"Kaz! H'earring's safe! Port to safety!" Yelled Tom as Khybon kept pouring in the attacks on this strange creature.

Hearing Tom's words, Kaz was about to bring out his scanner when the metal creature he was hanging onto suddenly flung its tail at Khybon in frightening speed and force, causing Kaz to lose his grip and be sent screaming towards Khybon.

Widening his eyes at this, Khybon couldn't react in time to save himself from the thrown human, causing both of them to be sent to the ground.

"You'll pay for that attack, foolish creature." Said the metal monster before looking at the vehicle at Khybon was making for Chaor's travels in Kaizeph. "And I'll start with that vehicle of yours." With that, the creature's red eyes began glowing bright red as it looked straight at Khybon's work. Sensing danger, Sarah yelled at everyone to get down as the creature fired a blast of energy from its eyes. Hitting the side of the new Underworld vehicle, the drilling machine was sent skidding across the platform's surface before breaking through the safety rails of said platform, sending it plummeting to the lava.

"No!" Yelled Khybon at this as he watched his latest work get destroyed.

"This will teach you to interfere with the work of Arkas, scout chief of the Mechanoid empire." Said the newly named Arkas before looking at the humans before it. "You strange creatures are brave, so I'll let you go along with my target for such an act of bravery, but know this. Interfere with Mechanoid business again and you'll be seen as enemies of the empire." Then, without further warning, Arkas dive straight into the lava for Perim knows where.

Once everyone was certain Arkas was gone, everyone got up from the ground.

"That…that thing. What was that thing?" Asked Kaz as he got off Khybon, who rushed towards the section of platform that his newest creation fell off of. Jycella, seeing him safe, rushed towards Kaz and gave him a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, Kaz!" Yelled Jycella in relief as she hugged him so tightly that Kaz was starting to turn blue. "I'm so glad that your alright! That was an awfully brave thing you did for H'earring! I knew you were brave, but I didn't think this brave! I should be mad you made be so worried for your safety, but I can't right now. I'm just so glad your alright!" While Kaz was trying to tell Jycella to stop hugging him or at least ease up a bit, Sarah was talking with Tom.

"That creature. Arkas. You think he has anything to do with Peyton's scan of Phase?" Asked Sarah to her friend/date. Tom, who was thinking the same thing.

"They may look different, but I got the feeling he is." Said Tom as he looked at where Arkas took off. "And with what he said about business and empires, I got the feeling we're going to see more of these…Mechanoids later on. If not soon." Sarah, also coming to this same conclusion, was about to add her own thoughts on the matter when Khybon began yelling.

"Again! You Chaotic players caused the destruction of my work again!" Yelled Khybon as he turned to glare at the four human teens in anger, catching all their attention. Marching straight up to the four humans, Khybon gave them a glare that just spelled big trouble for them. "I should have kicked you all out the second I saw you all!"

"But Khybon. We didn't do anything." Said Tom in protest. Kaz would say something as well, but he was recovering from the tight hug that Jycella gave him.

"Yeah, that Arkas was the reason for the destruction of your drill." Said Sarah in protest as well.

"I don't care!" Yelled Khybon, stopping Jycella and Kaz from entering the conversation. "Get out! And never come back!" Aiming his arm cannon at the Chaotic players, Khybon made it clear that they all needed to leave or else he'll shoot.

Realizing this, the four Chaotic players got their scanners and ported out, leaving Khybon alone with an unconscious H'earring, who actually was starting to come to.

"Oh…what happened." Said H'earring as he recovered from his black out. Looking around, he saw Khybon glaring at him. When he tilted his head in confusion, Khybon pointed to where the new vehicle for Chaor was sent tumbling down to the lava so H'earring can understand what happened while he was unconscious.

Feeling a sense of Déjà vu, H'earring gave a chuckle to Khybon.

"Before you do anything, Khy, I want to say that you owe me for saving your butt from Takinom when she found that note that contained some stuff you wrote about Nivenna. The kind that you don't want her learning about who wrote the note in the first place." Said H'earring, causing Khybon to growl.

"You have no idea how much I want to use you for target practice for my Viledriver right now!" Yelled Khybon, causing H'earring to gulp.

Meanwhile

Chaotic

Porting back to Chaotic, the four humans gave a sigh of relief at avoiding Khybon's wrath.

"Well, that was a good start to a double date." Said Sarah sarcastically, causing Tom to nod in agreement.

"At least no one got hurt." Said Jycella before grabbing Kaz, who muttered an ow when she touched a sore spot on his body. Curtsey of both him slamming into Khybon and Jycella giving him a bone-crushing hug. "Mostly."

"Still, what that Arkas said. About Mechanoids and business." Said Tom in a thoughtful look. "If he's anything like Phase when he captured Mudeenu, do you think another of his kind is going to do the same with Maxxor or queen Illexia?" Upon hearing that, Sarah hummed at that.

"Well…that is a possibility." Said Sarah, coming to the same conclusion as Tom. "But we shouldn't worry too much though. Maxxor is at Mount Pillar right now along with Aszil and Illexia. No way just one of those…Mechanoids as they call themselves will want to try and capture any of them. Mount Pillar is one of the most secure locations in Perim. No way you can just enter to try and capture something as important as Maxxor or Illexia. There's just too many guards and traps surrounding their chambers."

"Maybe, but Khybon's forge is pretty secure too and Arkas managed to slip in undetected. Whose to say the Mechanoids sent to capture Maxxor, Aszil, or Illexia won't account for all of that." Said Tom, still unsure about all this. Wondering if they should intervene like they did for the creatures of Perim so many times before, Tom was about to suggest they at least warned Maxxor and Aszil when they suddenly heard some screaming.

"What the…" Said Sarah in shock at hearing someone screaming in Chaotic. There was no danger here at all aside from some minor bullying.

"That sounded like Peyton." Said Kaz as he and Jycella looked at where the scream came from. The Port Court.

"Let's go." Said Tom before rushing towards the Port Court, hoping his friend was alright, with everyone else following soon after. Arriving to the Port Court, the two found Peyton at his usual spot with a mountain of used milkshakes at the table.

"Peyton! Are you…okay?" Asked Tom in shock upon seeing Peyton and who he was with.

"Peyton! Why did you…scream?" Asked Sarah as she came up behind Tom, only to stop her questioning when she saw who Peyton was with as well. It took awhile because she looked a little different, but Sarah can tell who it was. "Lulu!?"

Upon hearing her name, the girl with Peyton after tilting her head so she can see who just came waved her hand.

"Hi, Sarah. Hi, Tom." Said Lulu as she gave a smile at two of Peyton's closest friends. Speaking of Peyton, the bottomless pit that was their friend was slurping down another milkshake with the most satisfied smile they have ever seen on his face.

"This milkshake is heavenly." Said Peyton before resuming his sugar binge. Meanwhile, Jycella and Kaz were coming up behind Sarah and Tom with Jycella helping Kaz walk on account of his bruises slowing him down.

"What did we miss? Is Peyton okay?" Asked Kaz as he looked at the assembled group of Chaotic players, not knowing that Lulu was around as he focused on the mountain of used milkshake containers on the table.