Light Dragon Arc

## Part 1

### Start of the Second Triester

A conversation from some adventurers in the guild reveals that Cashel has the strength of a B Rank and is a Rookie Crusher. Cashel offers Kelvin to join his party; however, Ange admonishes it as the Blackghost Knight is reportedly stronger than the others. On the other hand, Kelvin declines the offer, and when Cashel still insists, Kelvin uses his **Appraisal Eye** on Cashel to learn his stats and ominous title. So, in light of this, Kelvin suggests they have a competition between them of who can defeat the Blackghost Knight first. Cashel accepts the terms with a tad of reluctance and leaves as Kelvin plots how he'll handle the situation.

Cashel regroups outside the guild with his two shady party members, Gimul and Raj. Gimul informs Cashel of Kelvin's stats and skills, and the other member, Raj, is ordered to be the "gentle" muscle against Kelvin. However, he refuses to be gentle and proclaims he'll handle it the way he does with the others.

Around dusk, inside the Wicked Spirits' castle, Cashel's group reaches the castle's hallway, just before the throne room, where they find the bodies of undead skeletons scattered across the floor. Kelvin comes out of hiding with his Verdant Staff in hand, and Cashel's group notice this internally, sighting that he's a Wind Mage and how they'll handle him. However, Kelvin calls out to the group that they're hunting him and they, in turn, believe that Kelvin is after the bounty on Cashel's party member's heads. Uninterested in that, Kelvin taunts the group making Raj step forth to try and attack Kelvin, only to fall into his swampy floor trap called **Mud Vine**. Cashel deduces that Kelvin cast the spell using his concealment skill, and following his instincts, Gimul fearfully flees the scene, only to be confronted by the recently evolved Clotho.

A flashback reveals that after Kelvin killed enough monsters, Clotho evolved from a Blue Slime to a Slime Gluttonia. Back in the present, Clotho easily defeats Gimul, and then Raj escapes his swampy confines only to be constricted by Clotho. Cashel is sequentially dealt with by Kelvin, who deduces his adversary's motives for hunting adventurers as they're all tied up.

Wasting no further time, Kelvin heads into the room where the Blackghost Knight stood and, after using his **Appraisal Eye** on him, learns his name is Gerard as well as his stats and skills. After he observes Gerard's skills, Kelvin notes his interest in recruiting him. This leads to the two having a civil conversation, and Kelvin learns a bit about why Gerard became a monster. Wanting to make a contract with Gerard, Kelvin duels with him, and with the help of Melfina's advice and Clotho. During the fight, Gerard recalls the memories of the fall of the kingdom he once served called Alcarl, when an Elven emissary from the western continent named Jildora came and asked him to join the Lizea Empire and destroy the Empire of Deramis. The king refused the offer, but Jildora warned of the consequences of refusing the offer. The kingdom fell to ruin shortly after, and Gerard's wife Betty and daughter Connie passed away. Back in the present, Gerard vows to avenge the land of Alcarl, which keeps him duty bound to the realm of the living; however, Kelvin defeats him with the combined efforts of Clotho.

The next day, Kelvin turns in the quest for the Blackghost Knight and learns that Cashel's group was imprisoned and will likely be executed for their crimes.

### Taichi's Story

When he goes on a date with new girlfriend Yuuma Amano, she suddenly asks him whether she can kill him. Yuuma sprouts large black wings and impales him with a light spear attack, blaming his imminent death on the potential threat the Sacred Gear within him posed to the Fallen Angels. Issei in his dying moments thinks about a certain girl from his school and somehow summons the girl out as he fades out. The next day, he is woken up by his alarm having assumed it was a dream, when he notes his sudden bursts of strength at night and spikes of pain during daylight hours on his way to school.

The first is to recover three items bound by Hiei's Jagan Eye Curse stolen artifacts from Spirit World. Koenma trains him by teaching him how to fire his spirit energy, energy possessed by humans and spirits, as a weapon. This technique is called the Spirit Gun, and becomes the signature attack of Yusuke. Yusuke attempts to combat these three thieves: Goki, who stole a soul-stealing article called the Orb of Baast; Kurama, who stole a mirror called the Forlorn Hope; and Hiei, who stole the Shadow Sword. Yusuke was able to defeat Gouki the aid of Botan (anime only) and his Spirit Gun. Kurama willingly turns over the Forlorn Hope, as he only wanted to use its power to save his mother's life. Kurama intended to sacrifice his life for the mirror to save hers, but Yusuke selflessly asked the mirror to take his so Kurama can enjoy his mother's life. The mirror granted Kurama's wish, taking half of each of their life force, but killing neither, and Yusuke took the mirror. Yusuke and Botan then went to fight Hiei, who kidnapped Keiko and tried to turn her into a demon by slashing her with the stolen sword. While Botan staved off the transformation, Yusuke fought the extremely-fast demon, and managed to defeat him by reflecting his Spirit Gun off of the Forlorn Hope, intentionally missing Hiei to strike it and causing the arrogant demon to believe Yusuke missed. They found the antidote in the hilt of the sword to stop Keiko's transformation. After the ordeal, Yusuke turned over the three artifacts to Koenma.

### Sport Festival

Dagmyer has given passage to the bandits, while Lan, a member of the bandits, is infiltrating Holy land Academy. Dagmyer persuades the Student Council to hold a warrior tournament, and all the female students and staff placed bets on Kenshi to win the race. As the race commences, it ends up being Aura and Kenshi as everyone cheers on, and later ends with Kenshi being the victor after Aura gives up. Because of a threat from Chiaia, Kenshi is unable to stop and begins running crazily around the Holy Land. Kenshi finally stops (thanks to another Chiaia threat) and collapses and Aura is beside him. Realizing that she is in love with Kenshi, she kisses him while he is still resting. Unbeknown to everyone, Ulyte and Dagmyer begin their assault with the enemy forces as well as the male Sacred Mechamasters aligning themselves with Dagmyer.

Dagmyer begins his attack on the Holy Land with most of the male Sacred Mechamasters of the Academy and has nearly taken over most of the Holy Land. The female students and staff are ordered to evacuate the Holy Land, which has now been captured by Dagmyer's father Babalun. All hope is lost until Kenshi reveals his true capabilities as he pilots the white Sacred Mechanoid once again to all the females' astonishment. While Kenshi has almost destroyed all the opposing Sacred Mechanoids with ease, it is revealed that Chiaia's big sister Mexiah is in fact Doll, who pilots the black Sacred Mechanoid and is being controlled by Babulun. As Kenshi and Doll fight to a draw, it is not long until Babalun reveals his true intentions, and with that Kenshi is ordered to retreat while thinking of Doll/Mexiah.

### Korin's Story

Yusuke then was sent to the compound of Master Genkai, an aged, experienced fighter who was looking for a successor to her powerful Spirit Wave technique (Reikō Hadō Ken or Spirit Light Wave Fist in the original Japanese version). To decide her successor she decided to hold a tournament which Yusuke and Kuwabara enter. Botan warned Yusuke that a demon named Rando would probably try to inherit her technique and it was his job to stop him. Yusuke fought through her tournament and defeated Rando in the end, becoming her successor. For the next two weeks (in the Japanese anime, it is a month and in the English anime, it is six months), Yusuke undergoes tough training with Genkai. As a result, his strength radically heightens, push him from a D-class to a C-class.

### Lost

Babalun succeeds in taking over the Holy Land and now has the Shield of Gaia in his possession. The Church begins debating on what actions must be taken to defeat him and take back the Holy Land. Meanwhile, Lashara is uneasy; after what happened with Kenshi revealing to be a Sacred Mechamaster and showing his capabilities, she is unsure as to whether he will continue to be her servant now that the other nations know about him. Chiaia, still reeling from Dagmyer's betrayal, has talked with Dagmyer about why he has aided his father, at which point she is persuaded to kill Kenshi. While Kenshi is asleep, Chiaia sets off to kill him, but could not do so after realizing that he is too innocent. Chiaia later tells Dagmeyer that she will not follow him, at which point Dagmyer reveals his true intentions and the Swan attacks at full force to get Chiaia back. Kenshi, already on the scene, defeats Dagmyer's guards and rescues Chiaia. Doll later appears before Kenshi with the Shield of Gaia, and its destructive force forces Kenshi and the Swan to make a hasty retreat to Shurifon, Aura's home. Late at night, Kenshi and Chiaia have a brief chat. During the chat, Chiaia recognizes the red cord on Kenshi's necklace and realizes she has feelings for him. After arriving in Shurifon, Kenshi is later challenged by King Shurifon, Aura's father, to see if he has what it takes to be a true warrior. Kenshi is easily passing every stage, beting the king to every checkpoint. But at the end barely misses out on first place. The king is confused until he notices that Kenshi had been taking detours in the final dangerous stage just to gather food (including the rare delectable mushroom the elves always go crazy for). The King laughs and admits defeat, and also decides to offer Aura to him as his bride.

Doll and Dagmyer launch their attack on Shurifon's castle and city. No one is harmed due to the competition between Kenshi and King Shurifon, and the King faces off against Dagmyer. However he is overwhelmed by Doll and the Shield of Gaia until Kenshi comes to his rescue. Meanwhile, after the Swan makes its escape, the Church is attacked by Doll.

It seems that Babalun had discovered a way to use forgotten transporters in each country's churches in order to make devastating sneak attacks in the surrounding territory's capital cities.

Outside the caves of Mt. Moon, the ground is sprawled with the gang of men in black suit that Red encountered in the Pallet woods. One of them is receiving orders via a walkie-talkie to scout for the mysterious moonstones and kill any intruders that get in their way. The rest of the team continue with their search in the maze of trees and rocks. Meanwhile, Red and Misty arrive at the place and immediately spot the gang outside the caves. Misty tells Red to scoot down in the bushes as they try to overhear what the men are talking about. Red says he recognizes their outfit and Misty remarks that they are probably members of Team Rocket. Red remembers the moonstone and is determined to get one of the rare evolutionary rock himself. The two slowly crawl their way around the TR men and make it into the caves.

A Zubat silently wings past Red and Misty in the darkness and the girl says they wouldn't be able to find anything with such poor vision. Red fumbles at his belt and releases his Pikachu, Pika, who still wears an attitude on its face when it pops out of the ball, and Misty worries that it is not very friendly. Red assures her that the little electric mouse is very good at acting and tells it to use flash. Pika charges up its tail and the room is instantly lit up with a bright light. The two continue to walk through the caves as more Zubats fly by. Red has turned around to joke with Misty when his back suddenly hits something hard and rocky. But no sooner has the boy complained about the geology of the place that the two realize it wasn't rocks that got in their way but a Rhyhorn that's glaring at them with gleaming eyes. A TR member wearing a ninja scarf appears next to the spiky pokemon and remarks that they would not let little kids interfere with their great plans. More TR members flood into the room and Red walks up to confront the guy with the scarf, who's apparently the leader in this expedition.

The man orders a rock throw from the Rhyhorn and the tumbling blocks immediately knock Pika back and bury it in big boulders, but a few seconds later a spark cuts through the rocks and the little rat hops out, twirls the boulders into rotation, and hurls them right back at its attacker, nearly fainting it. The TR man grins with surprise and says that Team Rocket always has back-up plans. He pulls out a syringe from his belt, plucks it into the Rhyhorn's back, and the creature instantly evolves into a ferocious Rhydon. Red and Misty stare in disbelief and the girl realizes her Gyarados must have been stolen by these same men and received a similar type of injection which accounts for its sudden change in behaviour. Her face reddens with fury and she orders a water gun from her Staryu which knocks the Rhydon back, but the TR guy has the drill pokemon retaliate with a horn drill that sends the stream of water surging back towards the two and knocks Misty unconscious against a wall.

Red starts to get mad as well and orders Pika to charge forward. The Rhydon stomps on the little rat and keeps hurling rocks towards the boy, but Pika protects itself against the big pokemon's weight with it sparks and slowly charges up an electric field to topple the Rhydon over. It then leaps high up and starts zapping the rocks above the TR members. The TR man is about to laugh at Pika's futile acts when he realizes the little rat to trying to set loose the ceiling over them. The top of the cave soon cracks and gives way to a huge boulder that plummets right between the Rockets and Red. With the enemies trapped on the other side of the boulder, Red quickly gathers up Pika and Misty and makes a run to the cave exit.

Outside the cave, Misty slowly awakes and is furious to find herself all muddy and dirty. The two start to make their way towards Cerulean but Misty is upset that they didn't manage to find the mysterious moonstone. Red giggles and pulls out a rock with a crescent moon carving on it. Misty is surprised and Red explains that he spotted the stone lying in a little pit after the ceiling fell off. Misty cheers up at the news and the two happily run off towards the next city, Cerulean... The episode starts with Ash and Pikachu looking over the sea, imagining the upcoming battle in the Orange League. They do a little gazing at the four badges pinned to the inside of Ash's jacket. A big wave splashes over them both, stunning them back into reality, so they both start walking back. On the way, Ash and Pikachu see Tracey making some sketches of a huge Vileplume. Ash calls out and runs towards the Vileplume, but he trips on a tree root, and smashes into Tracey. They both are all tangled up when they fall into the Vileplume's center. The shocked Vileplume suddenly uses Stun Spore while both guys are stuck in its center, so they get the full blast of it.

Misty and Togepi are walking along another path when Pikachu runs out from under a bush, calling out frantically. From Pikachu's frantic cries for help, Misty realizes that something's wrong.

Next scene, Ash and Tracey are laying down on mats on the floor of a small hut, covered with blankets. Both are shuddering from the Stun Spore encounter. Misty's dabbing wet cloths over both their heads, when Tracey (without his headband on, I might add) calls out to Misty, and tells her to get Ash's Pokédex out of his jacket. She goes and retrieves the Dex, and Tracey tells her to look up Vileplume antidotes. The Dex says that a special weed called Sangora Weed, which is found at the bottom of lakes, can help cure Stun Spore if boiled in water. Also, the weed is found wherever Poliwags are found. So leaving Pikachu behind to help Ash and Tracey, Misty takes off towards a nearby lake.

Meowth and James are in a different hut with Jessie lying on the ground. She too is blanketed and shaking. In a flashback, it depicts Jessie running in a flowery field. She leaps into the air, but lands headfirst into a Vileplume, who then uses Stun Spore. End of flashback. Meowth and James are wondering what to do, when James remembers that once when he was little, he got Stun Spored, and he was cured with Sangora Weed tea, which was the weed boiled in water. So leaving Jessie in the hut, they both take off.

Misty is searching amongst some lake weeds, but finding no Sangora weed. Frustrated, she sits down and takes a break. But just then, a Poliwag pops out of the lake and leaps on a rock, a sprig of Sangora Weed on its tail. Misty is delightfully surprised, and is about to ask the Poliwag to help, when James and Meowth appear, and try to capture Poliwag. It hides behind Misty as James and Meowth approach. They say they are there for Poliwag, because it is needed to find some Sangora Weed to help Jessie. A battle commences, but is ended quickly as James and Meowth fall down the side of a cliff. Finally able to talk, Misty asks Poliwag to locate some Sangora Weed, and Poliwag leads her down to the lake bottom, where Sangora Weed grows plentifully. Harvesting an armful, Misty and Togepi start running back towards the hut where they had left Ash and Tracey. James and Meowth are trying to find a way to get some Sangora Weed from Misty, and they get the idea to try and temp Misty into a trap with things such as cosmetics, dresses, and food, but nothing works, because Misty's resolve is to help her friends. Another encounter between the Rockets and Misty occurs again, and Poliwag, who has been following Misty all this time, Water Guns them away. Misty leaves a heap of weed in the path where she knows that James and Meowth will find it, and runs for the hut.

Meowth and James stumbles onto the path where Misty just was, and find the Sangora Weed in the path. They start saying some praise about her, that the two other twerps are lucky to have that twerp care for them so much. They take the weed and run back to their hut. Misty boils the weed, and gives the tea to Ash and Tracey, who both say thanks. The tea seems to work, because both guys are able to move around. Back in the other hut, Jessie receives the tea, and is also better. She realizes that if two of the twerps are ill, it would make them easy pickings, and drags the reluctant James and Meowth towards where Misty, Tracey, and Ash are. Meanwhile the two sick boys are finally going outside for some fresh air, when Jessie appears suddenly and says the speech. Everyone's on alert, but James and Meowth are hiding behind a boulder, too ashamed to even appear, while Jessie's shouting at them to appear and help her attack. James and Meowth pick her up and run off, with Meowth saying 'Thank you, oops I mean Team Rocket's blasting off again!'

Poliwag rubs up against Misty, even though she said that they all have to leave the island, but since Poliwag is so insistent on coming along, Misty captures it, and it becomes another one of her Pokémon.

### Solaria/Eve's Story

A narrator describes two royal sisters who ruled over the magical land of Equestria. The elder sister used her powers to raise the sun, while the younger sister brought out the moon at night. The younger sister became resentful because the ponies of Equestria relished daytime but slept at night. One night, she refused to lower the moon. She transformed into Nightmare Moon, a "wicked mare of darkness," and vowed to shroud Equestria in eternal night. Her sister used the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon, and took on responsibility for both sun and moon. The narrator’s voice changes to that of Twilight Sparkle, who reads that harmony has been maintained in Equestria ever since.

Twilight walks by Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette, who invite her to Moon Dancer's party. Twilight says she has to study and runs off.

She enters a library atop an ivory tower and instructs Spike to find a book called *Predictions and Prophecies*. Twilight realizes that Nightmare Moon will return on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, which is the day after tomorrow. She sends a letter to Princess Celestia to alert her. Celestia's reply to Twilight says that she trusts Twilight completely, but she has to stop reading "those dusty old books".

Spike continues to read Celestia's letter on the way to Ponyville. Celestia tells Twilight that there's more to life than studying, and tasks her with supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville. The letter ends with one other task for her: make some friends. She at first attempts to say "hello" to a pink pony, but the pink pony simply gasps dramatically and speeds off.

Rainbow Dash tries to fly towards Nightmare Moon, but Applejack pulls her back. Pinkie tries to guess Nightmare Moon's name, but Applejack shoves a cupcake in her mouth to stop her from doing so. Twilight declares that the dark Alicorn is the Mare in the Moon— Nightmare Moon. Impressed, Nightmare Moon asks Twilight if she also knows why she's here, but Twilight is too terrified to answer. Nightmare Moon proclaims that the night will last forever, and cackles as a thunderstorm builds up around her, with Twilight looking on in disbelief and fear.

At the Golden Oak Library, Twilight Sparkle and her friends find a book about the Elements of Harmony. They learn that the elements of kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty are known, but the sixth is a mystery. The book also says that the Elements are stored in the royal sisters' ancient castle in the Everfree Forest. The ponies decide to look for the Elements but are unaware that Nightmare Moon has been listening to their conversation the whole time.

The ponies enter the Everfree Forest. When they are walking on a mountainside, a cloud of purple smoke triggers a landslide. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash catch Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but Twilight slides to the edge of a steep cliff. Applejack assures Twilight that she will be safe if she lets go of the cliff. Twilight lets go, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy catch her.

An angry manticore confronts the ponies. When the other ponies try to forcefully subdue it, Fluttershy tells them to stop. She kindly approaches the manticore. It shows her a thorn stuck in its paw. She removes the thorn and the grateful manticore licks her mane. The thorn dissolves into purple smoke, which zooms away.

The cloud of purple smoke makes monstrous faces appear on the trees around the ponies. All the ponies except for Pinkie are scared. Pinkie sings the Laughter Song and teaches her friends to laugh at their fears. The friends' laughter turns the trees back to normal.

The ponies come across a river blocked by a sea serpent. The sea serpent is upset that a "tacky little cloud of purple smoke" whisked by and tore off half his mustache. Rarity generously donates her own tail to repair the sea serpent's mustache. The sea serpent, extremely pleased and grateful, helps the ponies cross the river.

When the castle ruins come into view, Twilight races excitedly toward them but nearly falls into a gorge, prompting Rainbow Dash to save her by the tail. As the ponies discover, the bridge leading to the ruins is broken. When Rainbow Dash flies to the other side to fix the bridge, three Pegasi appear and invite her to be captain of the Shadowbolts, their group of elite fliers. When Rainbow Dash learns that she must abandon her friends to join the Shadowbolts, she turns down the Shadowbolts and ties the bridge so her friends can cross. The Shadowbolts turn into purple smoke, which slithers away. Yusuke was then sent to Maze Castle in Demon City to defeat the Four Saint Beasts and stop them from

Taking over the human race with demon parasites. Kuwabara decided to go with Yusuke, and Koenma sent Kurama and Hiei, who were on probation in the human world, to assist. Yusuke and the others fought their way to Suzaku, the leader of the group, and Yusuke managed to defeat him, but at the cost of his own life energy. Kuwabara, the only human of the group, saved him by transferring part of his own life energy.

### Home

While Kenshi and Chiaia are scouting the area, an escape pod from a Church messenger ship is rescued by Kenshi. Rea Second, a member of the Church, is taken into the Swan. The Swan makes its way to Havoniwa and find the capital city in ruins. After the attack, Cordyline's bandits, took control over a Havoniwan defensive weapon called the **Meteor Fall** (a giant hovering platform, larger than the Swan, that drops giant boulders on anything below). Just as the Swan is about to be destroyed, Yukine and her Sacred Mechanoid saves it at the last minute, giving Kenshi the chance to take out the bandits and the weapon in one go. They reach the underground section of Havoniwa where Flora and Maria are currently residing, and after some debate, they come to the question of who owns Kenshi or whom Kenshi wants to go with. Kenshi is unsure to whom he should go with, even after seeking advice from the other girls. He finally goes to Lashara, who pleads for him to stay by her side. After telling her that he will protect her, Kenshi comes to the conclusion that he will "buy" the Swan from Lashara and make it an independent state where all people can take refuge.

### Barrier Workshop

As the group travel on the Swan, it is not long until trouble occurs when they see Ceres being attacked by bandit Sacred Mechamasters. Kenshi goes to aid Ceres, only to be trapped with Ceres from a Sacred Mechamaster reactor, which is overloading and about to explode. However, something changes inside Kenshi where he cannot forgive those who hurt Ceres and half of the white Sacred Mechanoid becomes black, where he then compresses the reactor and launches it elsewhere. Kenshi attacks the hideout while Ceres, Chiaia, and Aura rescue Hazuki. Kenshi goes berserk and takes out all the Sacred Mechanoids (even throwing Cliff Cleese to his apparent death with his disabled mechanoid, off a cliff) while hurting himself in the process and giving Dagmyer a traumatic experience. Ceres and Hazuki later join the Swan, and Kenshi and the group make their way to the Barrier Workshop to see Naua Flan, Chiaia's father. Naua briefs them on the history of Sacred Mechanoid, Sacred Mechamaster and the Sacred Mechalord. Naua also refers to Mexiah and the forgotten warrior (referring to Kenshi), but is unable to tell them about Kenshi. As Doll and the bandits come, Rea turns traitor and steals a mysterious object. The Swan and her crew manage to escape and Doll/Mexiah finds out from her father the truth about Kenshi.

## Part 2

### **Light Dragon**

Spyro decided to leave the Swamp soon afterwards in search of his true home; Sparx, though reluctant at first, decided to follow along. Spyro was soon pursued by hostile forces of the Apes, but eventually came into contact with a distraught Ignitus, who although pleased that Spyro is alive, feared that with the Dragon Temple under occupation by their enemy, led by a large black dragon named Cynder, their war was already lost.

The Fire Guardian was amazed to see the young purple dragon alive and well, but it took the persistent questions from Spyro to lift Ignitus out of his despair. He informed Spyro of what had happened to their race and about the evil dragon, Cynder. When he told Spyro about their home, Spyro expressed an interest to see it which Ignitus at first refused. But Spyro would not take no for an answer and together they reclaimed the Temple.

Once there, Ignitus showed Spyro what Cynder had done to the nearby islands, and after teaching him how to fly and use his fire abilities more effectively, he sent Spyro to rescue the other Guardians that were being kept on the other islands in the clutches of Cynder's forces.

### Lightning Empyrean

In the water city of Cerulean, Red and Misty has arrived at the big and grand mansion Misty lives in. Red gawks in awe as a line of beautiful maids come up to greet them and Misty introduces the boy to the ladies. A few moments later, Red has changed into a comfortable robe while his clothes are being tended by the maids and his pokemons being healed at Misty's private HP regenerating machine. Red makes his way to the dining hall and is shocked to see all the well-dressed guests as well as the extravagant layout of the room. Misty soon enters wearing an elegant silk dress and commences the dinner.

Half way through the meal, Red is still fervently talking about his journey so far as well as the battle against the Rockets at Mt. Moon, and all the guests seem genuinely entertained. Misty comments that people should try not to talk during meals but Red brushes it off with a laugh. Misty goes on to say that he should get enough rest that night because they will be starting on their special training the next day. Red gets confused and Misty explains that their strength right now is still no match against TR, especially the man with the ninja scarf at Mt. Moon, and that they would need to heighten their battling skills to help rid the evil. Red puts up an arrogant look and says he doesn't need any training as he believes in his own strength. Misty warns him of the greater danger TR houses but Red remarks that Misty simply didn't see his strength and skills because she fainted during their battle at Mt. Moon. This immediately outrages Misty and she runs off to her room teary-eyed.

Late in the evening that night, Red is lying on the bed talking to his pokemons about his plans to go out on dates with Misty's beautiful maids when the lights suddenly go off and a tornado sweeps in from the window, hurling everything in the room including the boy into a spin. Red's Bulbasaur, Saur, hops out from its pokeball and immediately grabs its trainer with his vines to pull him down. A shadowy figure appears briefly at the window and the wind dies down as quick as it comes. Red looks around his damaged room and wonders what could have caused the tornado when he spots a Gyarados scale lying on the floor.

The next morning by the light of day, Red is having breakfast at the dining room pondering on the events the night before. The maids look at him baffled and the boy reassures them that he is fine. He tells them that he will let them witness his strength later that day after his date with them because he will be challenging at the Cerulean Gym. The maids go silent for a moment after hearing this and burst out laughing. Red is still wondering what's so funny about his words when Misty enters the room with a dignified look and suggests him make the challenge now. The boy agrees and Misty takes him out of the mansion and into the woods. Red wonders why the gym is so far away from the city centre but Misty reassures him that it lies just at the border of the Cerulean.

A few moments later the two arrive at the Cerulean Gym and Misty invites Red in with a cold stare. The boy wonders what has caused the girl's sudden hostility as he follows her to the last room along the corridor. The two enter the empty room and Red asks Misty where the gymleader is, and the girl defiantly unveils herself to be the one he's looking for. Red still thinks Misty is joking but the girl has released her Starmie and ordered a water attack. The boy runs and dodges while the girl further reveals that it was her that attacked him the night before. Red starts to get mad and releases Saur to retaliate. He orders a vine whip but Misty has Stamie knock the two back with a strong bubblebeam. Red wonders why the girl has suddenly grew so strong and he suddenly realizes she is standing there motionless, trembling with soft sobs.

Misty replies with a cracked voice that she wishes Red would understand more of her reasons for having special training. She begins to burst out in tears and remarks that she lacks the skill to pull off effective attacks during intense battles like the one in Mt. Moon and that if don't take the matter seriously, they could never survive a combat against the enemies. She says she wishes Red would train with her for a while to exchange their different strength and skills, and slowly drops to the floor wiping her eyes. Red realizes the girl's good intentions and decides to put his journey on hold for a while as he extends his hand to help her up. He says he would cancel all his dates with the maids and focus on training with her in the coming days as the girl's face lightens up with joy.

One week later, Misty and Red shake hands outside her mansion and the boy prepares to continue with his quest to become the ultimate pokemon trainer. The maids ask why Misty is letting him go so soon and the girl says the two of them have come to fully learn all the special skills and tactics they each possess in the past week and that the rest would be up to their own training. The girl looks over the plains and ponders on their next meeting as Red waves goodbye with his pokemons from afar, the Boulder and Cascade badges reflecting the sunlight in front of his black T-shirt...

Ignitus sent Spyro to Dante's Freezer to free Volteer from Cynder's imprisonment. During their trek through the island, Spyro gained the elemental power of Electricity. The ruler of the island is the Ice King. Spyro would eventually rescue Volteer from the depths of Dante's Freezer and returned to the Temple where the Electric Guardian trained Spyro the art of Electricity. Afterwards, Volteer told Spyro and Ignitus what happened during his capture and Ignitus sent Spyro to look for the other Guardians.

### Water Empyrean

n his little house by the river near the border of Cerulean, the young and gifted inventor known as Bill is trying to fix the Pokemon Transfer Machine he has created for trainers all over the world. Crawling into a bullet-shaped cell of the high-tech machine, the young man moans how delicate inventions always take time to manage. Yet he fails to notice that the hook on the cell door has caught the tail of his shirt, and as he moves deeper into the confined little space, the door slams shut and auto-locks with a snap. Bill freaks out immediately and bangs around in the strong confinement of the cell helplessly as he watches the auto-timer slowly counts down. In an adjacent cell, a little Rattatta looks on, confused.

Out in the woods between Route 24 and 25, another pokeball falls off from Red's belt as the boy bends down to pick it up with an annoyed look on his face and complains how inconvenient it is to carry around so many pokeballs. Since his departure from Misty's mansion, Red has encountered various wild pokemons and made plenty of successful captures. He stuffs the fallen ball back in line with at least a dozen other pokeballs on his belt and notices an odd looking Rattatta walking by, pulling on a small piece of log with a rope. Red silently crawls up behind the funny creature that looks to have a human face, thinks of it as a rare specie of the Rattatta line and digs out a new pokeball to attempt a capture. Just then, the weird little thing starts talking to itself and the boy instantly freaks and bolts up from the bushes he's hiding in. The creature immediately spins around to calm the boy down and assures him that itself is a human being.

It turns out that the creature is Bill and he explains to Red about his merging with a Rattatta due to an accident in the Pokemon Transfer Machine. He introduces himself as a famous inventor and pokemon critic and just as he's about to go on bragging about his works, a Fearow swoops down from the sky and sweeps him up with its claws. Apparently the bird has mistaken Bill for a real Rattatta and the disfigured young man cries out for help. Red takes a look at his three still confused pokemon, Pika, Poli and Saur, and decides to help the man anyway.

Red orders a razor leaf from Saur but the Fearow soars even higher to dodge the spinning leaves. Bill yells out that the best way to take down a flyer is to freeze its wings or paralyze it and that grass attacks would be useless. Red withdraws Saur as Pika and Poli release a combined ice beam and thunder wave, but the bird tilts itself and the attacks hit Bill instead. Frustrated, Red gives chase after the Fearow and thinks on a strategy when Bill shouts out that the boy has to find some way to halt the bird's flight. Red gets an idea when he spots a cluster of dark clouds in the sky. He orders Pika to leap high up in the air and the little rat starts sending sparks to the clouds. This immediately triggers a thunder and zaps right down at the Fearow. The bird plunges to the ground in front of Red while Bill is thrown onto the edge of a cliff.

The boy walks up to examine the bird but it suddenly gets up screeching and prepares to attack. Bill looks down from the cliff as the bird starts to twirl itself into a spiral and the young man recognizes the move as the dangerous drill peck. He shouts out warnings to Red and the boy stands his ground alongside Poli, with a determined look on his face. Bill covers his eyes with its Rattatta hands as he watches the sharp beak of the spinning Fearow pierce right into the Poliwhirl, but a few seconds later he opens his eyes to discover that the bird has actually been frozen from its beak. It turns out that Poli has fooled the Fearow with a double team and frozen it with an ice beam. The young scientist sighs with relief as the boy chuckles light-heartedly.

Later, back at Bill's little house, Red pushes a handle on the delicate machine and lights begin to flash between the two bullet-like cells of the Pokemon Transfer Machine. A few moments later Bill emerges from one of the cells in his human form and thanks the boy for his help. Bill demonstrates the feature of the machine and explains that it can transfer both pokemons and items away for storage. The two formally introduce themselves to each other and Red tells Bill of his dream to become the ultimate pokemon trainer. Bill compliments on his great endeavor and says the machine and storage system should come in handy for him. He says that Red should lighten his load and rips a pokeball off the boy's belt, only to discover it contains the Fearow that attacked him earlier. The young man slips in fear and lands his bottoms on the floor as Red watches all this with a chuckle...

Cyril was imprisoned on Tall Plains by Cynder, with her dark forces of Apes roaming through the jungle, having captured the entire Atlawa tribe, overthrowing Kane, their proud chief, who was saved by Spyro.

Spyro saved Kane yet again from four Rubble Brutes by using a blast of ice to freeze solid the river that carrying an unconscious Kane, saving him from falling off the edge of the Plains. This was when Spyro first learned about and used his ice breath. Spyro then confronted the Stone Sentinel, a god who was worshiped by the Atlawas and became enraged when Cynder's forces arrived, but it proved to be weak and slow, yet large and made of stone. After rescuing Cyril from the Stone Sentinel, both Spyro and the Ice Guardian return to the Dragon Temple where the Cyril taught Spyro how to breathe Ice.

### Wind Empyrean

Kenshi and the group realize that they need to find another source of power to match Kenshi's strength. They go to Yukine's village, where they turn a monolith of sacred rock into a crude stone sword by condensing it with Kenshi's power. After the sword is made, Kenshi takes out Lan's awaiting enemy faction in one swing. Kenshi is reunited with the Lithia, Lapis and other members of Holy Land Academy. While everyone is vying for his attention, he collapses from fatigue and gets a fever.

While Kenshi is asleep, the girls all talk about how Kenshi has helped them even though he is not actually involved in their worlds' battle. King Shurifon and Flora make their entrance, telling them that both Aura and Maria are to be engaged to Kenshi.

While Kenshi is asleep, Mexiah visits him on his bedside and tells him the truth about what he is. He is the product of an artificial being, and that nature is ingrained in him. Doll cannot attack him, because the three artificial beings are programmed not to kill each other and that they should be together. As part of this explanation, she places an object that allows a projection of Babalun to appear in front of Kenshi. He tries to take control of Kenshi like he has done with Mexiah/Doll, believing that Kenshi too has a core crystal and can be controlled in the same way. But Kenshi is only an offspring of his mother and the only crystal he has is Ryo-Ohki's pendant. At first, it seems like it may work, as bands of Ahou energy writing seem to constrict him, but he is able to throw-off this partial control through his strong will, his Masaki blood and maybe some support from Ryo-Ohki's crystal.

Mexiah then attempts to take out the Swan by destroying the anti-gravity controls that hold the monolith sword. Though compressed, it still weighs the same as a tower of rock multiple stories high and its weight starts to take down the lighter Swan. But Kenshi gets into Seikijin and hold up the weight up both while the anti-gravity bands are restored.

### Earth Empyrean

Red stretches out and breathes in the fresh air as he arrives at the seaport city of Vermillion. The boy looks towards the harbour from the green meadows he's standing on and spots a luxurious liner with the name S.S. Anne printed on the side of the hull. He decides to check it out and dashes towards the seaside as Pika, Poli and Saur trot along happily. A few moments later, Red arrives at the harbour and is amazed by the size of S.S.Anne. A sailor walks by with a big box over his right shoulder and the boy decides to sneak into the ship by creeping alongside the big man under his right side. The man is preoccupied by his heavy-load lifting and never takes his eyes off his way, and this gives Red the chance to board the liner without anyone's notice. Once on board, the boy ventures along the corridors and finds stashes of boxes all over the place. Red thinks he saw some movement in the boxes for a moment but then decides he's just imagining it. He continues to walk down the corridor as something catches his eye in one of the rooms. He peeks into the oval window of the door but sees nothing in the dark room. Suddenly, the shadow of a mass creature looms into view and it roars at the face of the boy. Red falls back immediately and the noise causes sailors to flood in. They yell that the liner is currently restricted to non-crew passengers and kick the boy off the deck.

Sitting on the ground holding his painful bottom, Red hisses at the hostility of the sailors and wonders what pokemon it was that lurked inside the dark room. Suddenly, an odd-looking man in suit and hat with big sunglasses and a stick walks up to the boy from behind and asks him if he possesses any pokemons. Red says he does and the bearded little man fervently urges the boy to show him. Confused and annoyed, Red releases Pika, Poli and Saur as the little man's face lits up with stars. The man introduces himself as the president of the Pokemon Fan Club and immediately admits Red as his premium member.

Later, at the clubhouse of the Pokemon Fan Club, Red enters with the president to find a room full of pokefans. The boy watches the people exchange news of their own pokemons as the president stuffs the newest issue of their club magazine in his hands. The funny little man introduces Red as the newest premium member of the club to everyone in the room and in a matter of seconds, people's hands are all over Pika, Poli and Saur. A young woman asks Red how long has he owned Poli and the boy explains that he grew up with it when it was still a Poliwag and that it has helped him a lot throughout the years after its evolution, especially in battles recently. This remark gets the whole room silent. The president slowly walks up to Red and ask him if he really uses pokemons in battle and the boy nods. The man explains that the members of the club never engages their pokemons in battles, then embarrassingly says that as a result their pokemons are always weak.

The door suddenly slams open as a man rushes in and exclaims that his Exeggcutor has gone missing. Everyone in the room put on a serious look as the president sadly turns away to look at a photo on his desk. The people explains to Red that the president's Abra has been stolen a month ago and since then, more and more pokemons have vanished into thin air. The president breaks into tears and Red decides to help find the missing pokemons. The people says that the mass pokemon disappearances occur once every month and the boy wonders what means would the culprits use to house and transport away such a large amount of pokemons. He looks out of the window to see S.S. Anne and asks about the liner. One man explains that the ship belongs to the gymleader Lt. Surge and that he ships goods to Cinnabar Island once every month. Red remembers the strange creature he encountered on board and decides the liner must have something to do with the pokemon disappearances. He is about to leave and investigate when the president stops him and says he has one final request. Red listens intently to the man, only to hear that he simply wants to hold and play with Pika when the boy goes off to the ship.

Leaving behind Pika with the odd president, Red climbs onto the luxurious liner, S.S. Anne, with the help of Poli and Saur's vines. He tries to locate the room he encountered the dark creature but finds himself lost amid the countless doorways. Red finally finds the room he is looking for and he enters to see a pokeball lying on the floor. He bends down to pick it up, only to discover that it's actually a Voltorb as the ball pokemon zaps him. Poli sends it away with a water gun and Red wipes the sweat off his forehead, remarking that everything on the ship is treacherous. Suddenly, Poli collapses to the floor and the boy hurries over to hold it as an evil laughter echoes the little room. Red turns around to see Lt. Surge towering over him and the big man grins that the boy failed to realize whenever a water pokemon hits an electric pokemon with a water attack, the electricity would conduct through the water and hurt the attacker at the same time. Voltorbs, Electrodes, Magnemites and Magnetons begin to fill the room and the gymleader says unwelcomed intruders would be seriously punish on S.S. Anne. Red holds onto his nearly fainting Poli and glares in fury at the man...

On board the luxurious liner, S.S. Anne, Red and his Poli are surrounded by a gang of electric pokemons led by Lt. Surge as the sailors flood into the room. The gymleader promises a torturous punishment for the boy and questions his reasons for intruding. Red defiantly accuses Lt. Surge and his crew of stealing pokemons from the residents in Vermillion and the man laughs it off by saying they are simply helping the creatures out of their misery in a boring city of peace. Red gets up and prepares to face off the gymleader but the man says the boy stands no chance against the pokemon he has appointed to guard the liner. The shadowy creature Red met earlier appears behind Lt. Surge as the man says pokeballs can't even restrain this pokemon and that the boy wouldn't be able to survive a single attack. An electrabuzz looms into view as the handcuffs on its limbs snap open and the creature roars and hurls a thunderpunch towards Red. The boy narrowly escapes the attack and is shocked to find the ground of the room charred and cracked in an instant.

Poli secretly opens its eyes and begins to send a small pool of water towards Lt. Surge and his Electrabuzz on the floor as Red continues to stare down his opponents. Lt. Surge gives another grin and orders the electric pokemon to attack again but Red suddenly orders Poli to fire an ice bream and freeze the water under his opponents' feet. With the gymleader and the Electrabuzz both immobile, Red throws in a ball which explodes into a cloud of smoke and takes the chance to escape the room. Out on the deck, Red and Poli hides behind some cargo around the corner and the boy compliments on his pokemon's great work. The two look around to check on their pursuers but find only Magnemites scouting back and fro on the corridors. Red carries Poli on his back and silently crawls under the Magnemites to avoid being seen, but what he doesn't know is that Lt. Surge has already located him by the hidden cameras installed on the liner. A Magneton approaches the boy from behind and releases a sonic attack. The defeaning sound causes the boy to hold his ears as he feels his Poli being yanked away from him. The screeching stops and Red looks up to see Lt. Surge holding his Poli by the arm, with Electrabuzz behind him.

The gymleader grins again and tosses the Poliwhirl into the ocean. Red bolts up to stop him but three Magnetons release an electric field to confine him. The boy watches his pokemon plummet into the sea helplessly as Lt. Surge reminds him not to mess around with other people's business next time. The Electrabuzz then charges itself up and zaps the boy with a mighty thunderbolt, leaving the boy battered and unconscious. Lt. Surge grins a final time and orders the Magnetons to release the field, and the boy drops silently into the waters of Vermillion.

As Red sinks deeper and deeper into the ocean, he remembers how his Poli saved him once in his childhood when he nearly drowned in the river. His thoughts start to become blurry as a shadow approaches him. Back on S.S. Anne, Lt. Surge wonders if the boy is dead when a Poliwrath leaps out of the waters with Red under its right arm. The big blue frog places its trainer back on deck as the stunned gymleader orders another attack from his Electrabuzz. Powered up from its evolution, Poli wipes off the attack with a blow and charges towards the electric pokemon. The two clasp hands and arms as Lt. Surge prepares to make an escape. Poli's arm muscles slowly bulge out and it releases a seismic toss, crashing Electrabuzz into the gymleader and sending the two off the deck. Red awakes and stares in astonishment.

A few hours later, police are all over the luxurious liner and arresting all its crew members, but the gymleader is nowhere to be found. Members of the Pokemon Fan Club are overjoyed to find their lost pokemons in the cargo of the ship, but Red is still fuzzy about the things that happened. The president of the club rushes up to the boy and says his Poli looks as cute after its evolution, then fervently asks about his lost Abra. Red puts up a troubled smile on his face and reveals to the man that his Abra has evolved all the way to Alakazam while it was held captive. The odd-looking man immediately collapses to the ground as the members of the club gather around their awe-struck president...

Spyro would travel to the polluted Munitions Forge to save Terrador from Cynder's forces as the volcano Boyzitbig was preparing to erupt. Spyro was asked by Mole-Yair to save his people, who were imprisoned and/or enslaved by the Apes. After saving the Manweersmalls, Spyro found Terrador but he had to defeat an impeding Ape called the Conductor and his steam locomotive, Steam. The young dragon saved Terrador, but Cynder arrived and started to chase Spyro after retrieving the crystal that was used to sap Terrador's power. Spyro escaped seconds before the volcano erupted, but Cynder was still chasing him down. Ignitus intervened and attacked Cynder to save Spyro, but became captured in the process. Spyro wished to go back and help Ignitus but Terrador told him that they would never find Ignitus and Cynder in the chaos, and he was not ready to face Cynder yet. So Spyro decided to go rescue Ignitus at Cynder's Lair after Terrador taught him how to use Earth breath back at the Dragon Temple.

## Part 3

### Fire Empyrean-part 1

Vyse and I won our first ship battle today! I've never been so nervous in my life! On the Albatross, we usually just boarded other ships But, since we escorted the merchant back to Nasr, we can finally get into Valua with the passport he gave us! Yoko's inside Gurren with Kamina, but the former of takes up too much space. The reason is because the transportation vehicle (which is just a giant metal block) is painful to her butt. Kamina then says one too many big butt insults, and Yoko starts firing at him. Meanwhile, Leeron finds a patch of land that he claims to be unstable, but Kamina, who is currently being shot at by Yoko, steps on it and the entire brigade gets flung underground.

When they all come to they are in an underground village. Everyone thinks that they are angels because they came down in a Gunmen, whom they believe are Face gods. The first person they meet Rossiu Adai and 2 orphans named Darry and Gimmy. The head priest, Father Magin, comes to greet them and he and Kamina instantly get off on the wrong foot.

They get fed and treated very well. Then something goes wrong, the population of the city exceeds 50 and they have to draw lots to send 2 people to "heaven" but they really get exiled to the surface. The lots are drawn and the "winners" are the orphans Darry and Gimmy. Kamina starts to yell at the head priests that the surface is no heaven but closer to hell for young children.

Rossiu gets angry and Kamina is going to attack him, but then another Gunmen falls under ground. Kamina gets in Gurren and Simon gets in Lagann and they form Gurren-Lagann. They fight the enemy but then the Gunmen worshiped by the villagers gets up and attacks the Gunmen. He flings him down a gigantic waterfall, and then it turns out the priest is the pilot, and he asks them to leave. Darry and Gimmy are still forced to go above ground, and Rossiu decides to join them. The Gurren brigade decides to bring them along as they continue for the return point.

### Fire Empyrean-part 2

Aika was right... that kid Marco reminds me of myself when I was little. Just so much built up frustration... Once I was old enough to go sailing, I had a
way to vent my frustrations, but Marco... Maybe tomorrow at the Coliseum, I can convince him to not give up. Their victory, however, is short-lived because an energy blast soon sends them reeling. This blast came courtesy of Viral and his Enki, Viral says that it's been a while, and Team Gurren, along with the others are shocked to find out Viral is back.

Viral appears before the Gurren Brigade to challenge Kamina. In the midst of their fight, more details of the Beastman Empire are revealed. Suddenly, Viral's backup arrives, in the form of one of the Four Divine Generals-Thymilph the Crasher-piloting a massive mobile Gunmen fortress, the Dai-Gunzan. Leeron quickly realizes that this Ganmen is the return point that they’ve been looking for, and Kamina’s ready to take it on despite everyone else thinking that they should run away. Thymilph proceeds to shell the Gurren Lagann from point blank range. Despite Yoko’s pleas to run away, Kamina doesn’t give up.

Even when the Gurren Lagann’s left leg gets damaged, Kamina still refuses to back down, and his determination powers up the Gurren Lagann to self-repair. Since he can’t reach the top of the Dai-Gunzan by itself, Kamina uses the explosions from the enemy fire to propel the Gurren Lagann upward until he can make a flaming kick at the Enki on the Dai-Gunzan’s surface. The others, who were watching the battle from a distance, now get involved in the fight because the Dai-Gunzan launches three Ganmen at them. Fortunately, they are saved by the appearance of a new Ganmen who lands on one Ganmen and gets the other two to destroy themselves. This new Ganmen turns out to be piloted by none other than Kittan, the brother of Kiyoh, Kinon, and Kiyal. While this is going on, Kamina confronts Thymilph, the commander of the Dai-Gunzan and one of the four generals under the Spiral King. Kamina introduces himself and the jumps up towards Thymilph, but Thymilph has the Dai-Gunzan grab the Gurren Lagann with its large arms and smack it around. It then takes the Gurren Lagann and attempts to pull its legs apart. Luckily, Kamina and Simon are saved by weapons fire from another friendly Ganmen, this one piloted by Dayakka. It seems that everyone has been following Kamina’s example and have been stealing their own Ganmen.

When Thymilph decides to turn his attention to taking care of the Gurren Lagann first, Yoko calls Kamina to make him understand that he’s integral in keeping everyone together. Kamina still refuses to run away, and the Gurren Lagann soon gets knocked off the Dai-Gunzan. Things finally turn around when Kamina says that they can’t win as long as the Dai-Gunzan’s legs keep moving. This gives Simon an idea, so he has Kamina give him control of the Gurren Lagann. Simon proceeds to use the Gurren Lagann’s speed to avoid the enemy shells and then shoots drills around the Dai-Gunzan. With a ring of these drills surrounding the huge Ganmen, Simon only has to attack into the ground to crumble the earth under the Dai-Gunzan. Viral promises to be back tomorrow, but for now, the Gurren Lagann has won thanks to Simon.

### Fire Empyrean-part 3

That night, Kamina’s group sets up camp with their small army of new allies, each with their own Ganmen. While Leeron gets to work on the Gurren because the leg damage returned as soon as it separated with the Lagann, Dayakka explains that the Gurren Lagann is a symbol of hope for mankind now.

After Kamina gives a fiery speech to his new allies to get them excited for the impending fight tomorrow, Leeron explains that the Gurren-Lagann’s combination completes when Lagann takes control of Gurren’s system. Using this same logic, they could try to capture the Dai-Gunzan by combining the Lagann with it, though it will depend on Simon’s fighting spirit. Yoko meanwhile goes out to see Kamina who is admiring the moon in the clear sky. He feels that they have to keep fighting and win for the sake of kids like Simon living without worries. Yoko respects Kamina for saying this, but she also warns him not to repeat the reckless things he did today. He would have died today if it weren't for Simon, and that made Yoko really scared. After a long pause, Yoko seems ready to say something else to him, but they get interrupted when a distant mountain erupts in flames.

It is the night after Gurren Lagann temporarily disabled Dai-Gunzan, and Simon is lying in the Lagann atop a cliff overlooking the magma field. A knock on the cockpit makes him jump - Yoko has dropped by to talk. Simon admits that he's having trouble sleeping, which Yoko attributes to nerves over his pivotal role in the upcoming battle. Thinking back to all the time he's spent with Yoko, Simon realizes that he's in love with her; he prepares to say something, but he's interrupted by another eruption from the volcanoes in the field beyond.

Yoko comments that Leeron told her how the fiery mountains work; they're giant vents for the magma flowing deep beneath the surface of the earth. Simon notes that Kamina is much like a volcano - he was ablaze with passion while living underground in Giha Village, and burst up to the surface when he couldn't take it anymore. Yoko notes that Kamina made the same comparison about himself, wondering why men think like that before offering Simon a cup of hot soup to ensure that he has enough energy for the battle. She seems about to say something else, but decides that it's nothing, wishing Simon luck before leaving him to his thoughts...and a burnt tongue when he tries the soup.

Yoko heads to Leeron's mobile laboratory to pick up her rifle after a tune-up; she's pleased by his work, claiming that she won't miss a thing this time. Leeron idly comments that it's unlike Yoko to let someone else work on her beloved weapon; Yoko replies that she can't afford to make any mistakes in the coming battle. Gurren is much weaker when it's not combined with Lagann, which could be disastrous given Kamina's usual attitude. Commenting that she can't change his mind, she leaves the lab abruptly (to the confusion of Rossiu), prompting Leeron to muse that Yoko is "a troublesome woman" herself.

On another cliff overlooking the volcanoes, Kamina is eating a chicken leg when Yoko offers him another cup of soup, commenting that he won't be able to operate Gurren if he overstuffs himself. He comments that his power is at its peak, asking Yoko to watch his back while he takes out the enemies in front of him, when he turns around, Yoko suddenly gives him a kiss. She shyly comments that Kamina really isn't the type to watch his back, prompting him to return her kiss and promise that it will be "ten times better" when he sees her after the battle. A clearly flustered Yoko comments that she'll be looking forward to it as Kamina dons his cape and slides down the cliff...unaware that Simon has been watching them. He runs back to Lagann (nearly bowling over Kittan and Dayakka on the way) and curls up in the cockpit, desperately trying to be happy for his "bro" instead of jealous and heartbroken. He's snapped out of it when Kamina finds him to let him know that it's time to move out; he reassures Simon that everything will be fine, erroneously believing that he's scared about tomorrow's battle.

Team Dai-Gurren assembles as Kamina reviews their strategy; they'll draw out the enemy so Simon can sneak up on Dai-Gunzan and combine with it. Once the walking battleship is under their control, defeating the rest of the Beastmen will be simple. Leeron mentions that he's rigged the Gunmen with communication features, although he doubts anyone is the type to listen (a notion likely bolstered by Jorgun and Balinbow's violent attempt to psyche themselves up). At Kamina's command, the team boards their Gunmen and sets out; Kittan exchanges farewells with his sisters, entrusting them with defending their base camp; Yoko jumps aboard the Einzer, with Iraak commenting that it's his pleasure to carry a lady into battle. Gimmy and Darry wish Simon luck in the battle as he and Rossiu exchange a silent nod. Kamina reflects on how much the Gurren Brigade has grown from the duo that left Giha Village; at Boota's urging, Simon reminds Kamina that the pig-mole was with them at that time. Yoko chimes in that she was also present, but Kamina explains that she wasn't "officially" part of the team yet. The rest of the team has a laugh at Yoko's expense, with Leeron reminding her about their new communication features. As Kittan and Kamina express their confidence in their success, Simon mentally tries to keep himself focused on his role in the plan; back at base, Leeron asks Rossiu to help him operate a new system to monitor Gurren and Lagann's condition. Gimmy excitedly offers to help, only to be sent running from the base when Leeron threatens to eat him (to Rossiu and Darry's confusion).

### Fire Empyrean-part 4

When Team Dai-Gurren arrives at the pit where the Dai-Gunzan fell, they come under attack by a horde of Gunmen hiding under tarps to appear as lifeless debris. Viral says that he knew the humans were coming, but Kamina comments that he was expecting them to try an ambush. Team Dai-Gurren begins throwing boulders down at the Beastmen, mocking Viral's outrage at their "dishonorable" tactic. Thymilph reminds his fuming subordinate that boulders won't even scratch his Dai-Gun; this prompts Dayakka to open fire on its command tower with his Dayakkaiser. The assault knocks Dai-Gunzan around a little, but it quickly returns fire before literally throwing its troops into close-quarters combat. Yoko shoots down the first few enemies, but Viral's Enkidu blocks her shots with its arm shield before meeting Gurren in combat.

As he clashes blades with his human rival, Viral declares that he will reclaim his helmet from Kamina, but Kamina replies that he doesn't have it today. As Viral realizes that he's fighting Gurren alone, Simon burrows out of the mountain behind Dai-Gunzan. Thymilph orders his ship to open fire, but his crew reports that Lagann is in the battleship's blind spot, where none of the cannons can be brought to bear. In desperation, Thymilph yells at his gunner to "use fighting spirit, you idiot!", prompting Kamina to encourage Simon with the thought that they have the advantage in fighting spirit, too. With all the determination he can muster, Simon successfully performs Lagann Impact on the Dai-Gunzan - narrowly missing Thymilph when his drill splits the command tower in half - prompting Viral to wonder what the little Gunmen is doing. All the forces from various nations have banded together to take down Babalun before he can fully revive the Sacred Mechalord Gaia. They methodically foil all of the countermeasures they thought would make the Holy Land's fortress wall impregnable and are able to make their way through the first wall of defense. Forcing Lan and her bandit groups to flee.

It seems the Swan led army may succeed and they will be able to break in and stop Gaia's completion. Babalun says he just needs a little while longer. Dagmyer, being able to overcome his trauma, comes to his aide. In his Seikijin, he asks to duel Kenshi directly and if he doesn't, he says he'll overload another core reactor like the one they tried to destroy Kenshi with earlier. Destroying himself, everyone around, and obliterating the entire area.

### Fire Empyrean-part 5

Cynder took the Fire Guardian to Concurrent Skies in order to drain his energy into a crystal that would help free the Dark Master, Malefor. Spyro ventured to Cynder's Lair soon after to rescue Ignitus. After making his way through Cynder's towers, fighting her Ape henchmen along the way (including the Electric King), he soon found Ignitus, confined and his powers were being drained into a crystal. Cynder stopped Spyro from destroying the crystal, and after a short battle, she escaped with it. Spyro noticed that there was something familiar about Cynder by her eyes, and Ignitus told him the truth.

Cynder was actually born from the same brood of eggs as Spyro (they are not siblings), and she was taken by Malefor's forces, corrupted by his poisonous powers and becoming his tool of destruction. Malefor was using Cynder to gain the Guardians' powers so she could unlock the portal, which served as his prison, since only a dragon born in the Year of the Dragon, such as Cynder, could open it. As the vortex to the world of Convexity opened, Ignitus feared that they were too late, but Spyro refused to give up and followed Cynder through the portal to stop her from freeing the Dark Master.

It doesn't take Kenshi much time to defeat Dagmyer, but this small distraction was all Babalun needed. Gaia has been revived with Doll inside. It seems that within the completed Gaia she can overcome the programming that usually stops her from fighting him. Kenshi faces off against her and, with the monolith sword, he is able to fight on par with Gaia. As he attacks, he seems to be dealing it serious damage.

After gathering all four of the needed crystals, Cynder finally completed her task in freeing Malefor. As the portal to Malefor's prison opened, Spyro came to stop Cynder and battled her in a final showdown. Hearing the voice of Ignitus echo in his head, Spyro gained the energy to perform a powerful fury attack, which incapacitated Cynder and freed her from Malefor's control. Cynder returned to her true form, that of a small dragon the same size as Spyro.

### The Dark Master

Kamina explains that Lagann's combination with Dai-Gunzan will let Simon take control of the battleship for Team Dai-Gurren, prompting Viral to realize that he's been planning this all along. Kamina proudly confirms this as he renews his attack, striking with ferocity and skill that astounds Viral. Yoko continues shooting down Gunmen trying to ambush Gurren as the rest of the team battles elsewhere; Kidd Coega perforates two more enemies before his Kidd Knuckle is nearly caught in an errant blast from Dai-Gunzan. Simon frantically apologizes, admitting that he's still trying to gain control of the large mech; back at base, Leeron wonders why the Lagann Impact didn't work. The tables are turned when Babalun dissolves into goo and merges with Gaia, revealing that he is actually the personification of Gaia and its core crystal resides within his eye. Together with his Mechalord, he is able to heal the damage and begins to overpower Kenshi. Telepathically, Kenshi hears Doll/Mexiah asking him to save her from Babalun/Gaia. Recalling that Lagann's power is based on its pilot's state of mind, Rossiu wonders if something is worrying Simon - meanwhile, Thymilph is preparing to join the battle personally. As Kamina demands to know what the problem is, Simon desperately tries to focus himself despite his continued flashbacks to Kamina and Yoko's kiss.

Gloating that the humans have blown their endgame, Viral rallies his troops to secure Dai-Gunzan; in response, Kamina pins Viral's Enkidu with Gurren's sunglasses, telling the others to keep the Beastmen occupied before rushing to Simon's aid. He jumps on the deck of the Dai-Gunzan, launches out of Gurren, and orders Simon to open Lagann's hatch; when Simon does so, he's immediately punched in the face. Kamina tells him to "grit those teeth" and believe in himself, encouraging Simon to focus on his task and renewing his confidence. As Leeron and Rossiu watch the fusion's renewed progress, Kamina returns to Gurren with satisfaction. As he reflects on Simon's abilities and heads off to rejoin the battle, a powerful energy blast suddenly erupts from the deck below him, shooting right through Gurren and sending it flying.

The Brigade looks on in shock as a new mecha bursts out of Dai-Gunzan: the Byakou, piloted by Thymilph himself! Though wounded, Kamina readies himself for battle...only for Gurren to be struck by its own sunglasses, courtesy of Viral. The enraged Beastmen proceed to pummel Gurren, ending with Enkidu tossing his rival into the path of a vicious diving strike from Byakou. The attack sends both mechs straight into the ground, with Byakou's Alkaid Glaive impaling Gurren's cockpit...and its pilot.

As Kamina's agonized scream rings through the battlefield, his life signs drop to zero on Leeron and Rossiu's screens. The entire brigade is left aghast at their leader's apparent death, but none take it worse than Simon. With an anguished scream of "BROOOOO!!!", his Spiral Power goes haywire and Dai-Gunzan goes berserk. The battleship's remaining occupants are blown out of its windows as its whole body is engulfed in energy; the power even flows into the ground, causing a nearby volcano to erupt. Thymilph can only stare in bewilderment at the carnage as Viral pushes him out of the way of Dai-Gunzan's flailing arms - unfortunately for Viral, the battleship smacks him instead, sending him flying into the distance. The Dai-Gurren Brigade's cries fall on deaf ears; Simon has fallen into complete despair, oblivious to Dai-Gunzan rampaging towards the volcano...

...until Lagann is smacked by Gurren's severed arm and a familiar voice sounds over the intercom. To everyone's astonishment, Kamina has returned to give his "bro" another encouraging speech, telling him that he should be celebrating his success in taking control of Dai-Gunzan. Finding his lost heart once more, Simon finally completes the fusion process, allowing him to turn Dai-Gunzan towards his allies and strike a pose, announcing their victory and welcoming them aboard.

Before anyone can do more than cheer, they're attacked by an infuriated Thymilph, who vows to destroy Dai-Gunzan himself before he allows it to fall into human hands. Groaning at the General's persistence, Kamina asks Simon to combine with him one last time; they'll finish this fight with the power of Gurren Lagann! Simon needs no prompting; he grabs Gurren's arm and sunglasses (using the latter to take out two enemies trying to jump Gurren from behind) before launching into their famous combination sequence. As Gurren Lagann is formed, Kamina and Simon dramatically announce their ability to break through any wall with the power of their bonds and determination, ending with a shout of "Just who...in the hell...do you think we are?!" as their friends cheer once more; from her perch atop the Einzer, Yoko comments that the duo is truly unstoppable.

Thymilph sends all of his remaining soldiers at Gurren Lagann, but the dual-faced Gunmen launches drills from every part of its body, destroying them all in moments. Undeterred, Thymilph launches Byakou's Condemn Blaze attack, but Kamina simply catches the blast and crushes it to nothing with Gurren Lagann's hand. Thymilph can only gawk at the failure of his attack as Kamina tells Simon to believe...not in Kamina, but in *himself*. Simon has no time to inquire about this before Kamina throws Gurren Lagann's sunglasses at Byakou, impaling its limbs and suspending it in the air. With his enemy immobilized, Kamina unleashes Gurren Lagann's most powerful attack yet: the Giga Drill Break, which annihilates Thymilph and destroys Byakou. The Dai-Gurren Brigade celebrates, but Kamina slumps in the cockpit; it is only when he whispers "Later...buddy..." that Simon realizes that something is terribly wrong.

Amidst a torrential downpour, the Brigade gathers atop Dai-Gunzan to see their leader dead in Gurren's cockpit, his last smile still on his lips. As they mourn his passing - with even Gurren Lagann appearing to weep as the rain cascades down its face - Simon is heard in voiceover: "That day...we lost something that could never be replaced." Kenshi puts all he can into a swing of the monolith sword. The sword shatters, but in its place, for a moment, Kenshi generates a Light Hawk sword in its place, slicing though the mechalord's body and destroying it, saving Doll/Mexiah within. Babalun, barely able to control his human form, emerges from the scraps, vowing to kill Kenshi. Ulyte reveals himself and brings out the device Rea Second took from the Barrier Workshop, a beam weapon that can erase a core crystal. Pointing it straight at the crystal in his "brother's" eye, he fires, shattering it and finally killing the being that had been called Babalun. Ulyte collapses and transforms, revealing that all this time he had been sharing his body with Rea Second. Just as Babalun had Gaia's crystal implanted and Mexiah had Doll's crystal, he had been implanted with Rea's.

Lashara, Maria, Yukine, Mexiah, Chiaia, Aura and Wahan all fight over who holds a claim to Kenshi, at which point Lithia points out that she, Morga and all the other girls in the Academy also want marriage rights to Kenshi. They come to a decision that whoever catches him gets him first. Kenshi runs for it as Rea watches in amusement.

### Aftermath

On the sidelines of this, a despondent Dagmeyr finds a shard of the shattered Gaia crystal and cuts himself on it. A piece of the crystal seemingly infecting him. In the shadows, Lan spots Dagmeyr and decides she will capture him to get whatever she can out of him. What she doesn't notice is the loyal Emera coming up behind her, knife ready. The portal to Malefor's prison began to open, pulling everything, including Cynder, towards it. Spyro refused to leave Cynder behind, and he and Sparx escaped from Convexity with the unconscious Cynder in tow. As Kelvin celebrates his accomplished quest, Ange informs him that he's to be promoted even further by the Guild Master. Atop the stairway, Kelvin runs into a finely dressed older man.

Kelvin meets the Guild Master to Parth's Adventurer's Guild Leo, and he uses his **Appraising Eye** on Kelvin to discern who he is.

Within the Guild Master's room, Kelvin is served some tea by Leo as they discuss Kelvin's recent accomplishment in subjugating the Blackghost Knight and revealing Cashel's insubordination. However, Leo asks Kelvin if he is, in fact, a Summoner, and after following the advice of his tamed monsters, admits that he is, but asks why Leo did nothing about Cashel when he knew about his shady involvement. To that point, Leo confesses that he couldn't lay a hand on Cashel because he's a noble from the Militant nation of Trycen and needed solid proof for his claims.

Getting to the point of the conversation, Leo expresses his desire to become friends with Kelvin, noting he's met otherworlders in the past, being the Heroes of the Holy Empire Deramis. Melfina notes that she was the one who reincarnated them and promises to tell Kelvin more later if he's curious. Leo continues his explanation about the Heroes of Deramis, claiming that the Priestess there foretold of the revival of the Demon Lord. Kelvin deduces that Leo wants him to protect the town in the stead of the Heroes, and Leo confirms it. He does list some inciting incentives for agreeing to his terms, and Kelvin does.

Afterward, the innkeeper Claire congratulates him for reaching B rank in the guild. Enjoying his lunch in his room, Kelvin has Melfina disclose her information on the Heroes of Deramis to him. Her information on the heroes was vague, and they were chosen due to their good looks and knowledge. After hearing this, Kelvin decides to retrieve his reward money from Clotho and heads off to the alleyway where the slaves are being sold. Kelvin intended to enhance his party's strength with a rear guard and one that hadn't been purchased before by another user. That's because a Slave's master has complete control of where their Slaves skill points are allocated.

Upon reaching the alleyway, Kelvin spots the half-elf that he from the other day. The Slave Trader reveals that nobody wishes to purchase her due to her curse that burns anyone who touches her. Getting more information about the curse from Melfina, that it's the Fire Dragon King's curse and that the only way to break it is an A-Rank White Magic spell called, **Sacred Bless**. After leaving the scene, Kelvin later returns and purchases the half-elf named Efil, with whom they get acquainted midway through their return to the inn. Kelvin also casts **Sacred Bless** onto Efil, breaking the curse placed on her.

Afterward, Claire has Efil dressed in a maid's outfit at the inn, and they both enjoy dinner together. Later, in Kelvin's room, Efil is told all of Kelvin's secrets about himself and has her allocate her skill points to her choosing. However, one snag hit is that they have to share a bed, causing Kelvin to experience a sleepless night.