We stayed crouched behind the window for what felt like forever, just so they couldn't see us. It really was a long time—the sky stayed dim and dark, thunder rumbling and lightning flashing wildly. Light cracked across the sky, and the wind howled sharply. Shadows drifted through the air, and behind us, we heard the Lunaranite soldiers chanting, "All hail King Dreadixz". I also started hearing the memories of the people around me—it was like echoes in my mind. I tried my best to block them out. The windows were shattered, wide open. The building was filled with nothing but heaps of leaves spread across the floor, almost burying the place.
The walls were dusty, covered with layers of dirt and mud. Now I, Starla, needed a plan. After glancing up at the massive tower that stood tall in the center of Musicia, I realized something: I had to escape and help everyone inside win this war. I mean, yeah, maybe my Astral Element isn't super powerful, but it's useful—it worked against Duke.
The point of the plan? Get there without being seen by the Lunaranites or Dreadlock so we can escape and fight back. I leaned toward Ella and whispered, "Alright, I've got something that can get us out of here and to Celestia fast." "What is it?" Ella whispered back, leaning in close. I explained, "Prince, Archie, and Demaurion will distract the Lunaranites while you, me, Olsen, and Eli head to the tower. Eli will cover us with attacks while the others are being chased. Then Olsen uses his strength to throw us to the top where the golden stars are. After that, when the rest catch up, I'll use my astral tendrils and my horns to pull everyone up to us—then we escape to Celestia using the stairs!" Ella nodded and whispered to Archie, who nodded and passed it to Demaurion, who nodded and whispered to Prince, who nodded and whispered to Olsen, who nodded and whispered to Eli. Everyone got it. I peeked up through the broken window. The soldiers were still in formation, standing in a tight four-by-four grid. Dreadlock stood right in front. He suddenly turned toward the window, and I ducked down fast, covering my mouth, praying he didn't see me. After a few seconds, he turned away and went back to talking. I exhaled in relief and turned back to the others. They were already ready—elemental powers crackling around them. I looked through the empty doorway.
Loose papers and bits of metal flew in from the wind. I narrowed my eyes and looked at Prince, Demaurion, and Archie. A smirk crept across my face as glowing astral energy surged through my arms and face. "You heard the plan—NOW GO!" Cyan and yellow tendrils burst from my fingers, whipping through the air and grabbing them. Prince looked around, confused. "WAIT! WAIT! HOLD UP—I WASN'T READY—" "TOO LATE!" I yelled, flinging all three through the window. They screamed, flying sideways through the air and crashing onto the ground with a grunt. Prince stood up slowly, staring right at Dreadlock.
The Lunaranites all stopped, staring at him with puzzled, disgusted, and surprised expressions. Dreadlock gave him the most sinister, menacing smirk ever. Prince just stood there, awkward. Demaurion and Archie had already drawn their weapons. Prince squeaked, "Uhh… Squawk. I'm a bird." One soldier started to raise his musket, loading it fully. Prince said again, nervously, "Squawk. Squawk. I'm just a bird that looks like a human. You're, uh… imagining things."
(A few seconds later)
"AHHHH! YOU GUYS ARE SHOOTING AN INNOCENT ANIMAL!" he screamed and took off running through the city, a bright blue streak. Archie soared into the sky below the spinning storm clouds. "TAKE THIS!" he yelled, firing a massive fireball. Demaurion quickly blasted it away with a heavy water attack. "Not now, Archie!"
Meanwhile, me, Ella, Olsen, and Eli dashed out of the gas station, sprinting through rows of buildings. The buildings leaned and crouched like they were wounded—some crumbled, others already flattened. I leapt over one, the sound of gunshots echoing behind us, and I could still hear Prince begging for his life. We ran hard, weaving through the city, trying to reach the center. The whole area gave off a creepy, dystopian vibe—especially with beasts and monsters roaming nearby. I slid across a slanted rooftop and we landed in the middle of four buildings. "Great, great, great, GREAT—what do we do now?!" I shouted. Eli pointed up at the center tower in Musicia.
That was it. That was where we needed to go. I turned left and motioned for everyone to follow. We sprinted through the city again, dodging cars and crashing through debris. Olsen smashed through building walls with ease—each punch collapsed huge chunks. We stayed behind him, letting him clear the way. Then, suddenly, a fake Lunaranite dragon dropped in front of us, jaws wide open, showing its sharp, clean teeth. We screamed as it slowly crept toward us, wings flared and hissing. It tilted its head, eyeing us with creepy, beady eyes. Eli teleported right in front of it and slashed it with his Wyvern claws. The beast collapsed, blood spilling out. Eli scanned the area for more.
He nodded to us—coast was clear. Prince and the others were still fighting—not to kill, just to distract. Prince zoomed through the city faster than lightning as thunder cracked and the ground trembled. Then the rain started. It didn't just fall—it poured. It gushed down like a flood, waves crashing through buildings and sweeping away fake Lunaranites. Demaurion pushed the wave aside with his hand, steering it toward empty structures and demolishing them with sheer force. I squinted toward the city center—we were close. "COME ON! WE'RE CLOSE!" I yelled through the thunder and lightning. My hair and wings were soaked, but I didn't care. An alien bird aimed its cannons at us and opened fire, bullets ripping through the air at insane speeds. We ducked. Olsen shouted, "I GOT THIS!" and hurled his hammer at the bird. The hammer hit dead-on, and the bird spun down, blood spraying as it crashed.
The hammer returned and Olsen caught it, eyes wide. "WE FINALLY MADE IT!" We looked up at the tower. Rusty. Crooked. Covered in dirt and grime. Shattered windows. The entire thing creaked as it slowly settled lower. It was enormous—taller than anything else, making the rest of the city look like toys. "Now we just need to get up there—come on, Olsen!" Ella called. Olsen grabbed me and Ella and launched us into the air with full Earth-powered strength. We soared, wingless, through a hot, smoky breeze that stank of ash and destruction. I looked down just in time to see fake Lunaranites rushing toward Olsen and Eli. "OLSEN! ELI! WATCH OUT!" I yelled through the rain. Olsen spun around and slammed his hammer to the ground, sending a massive rocky shockwave that surrounded them with jagged stone spikes—like a fortress of stone. Prince's blue streak blurred around the battlefield.
Demaurion sent waves crashing. Archie threw fire like a madman. Dreadlock started using his stolen Fire Element—flames erupted from his arms, exploding toward Archie and blasting the city apart. Buildings leaned, cracked, and finally snapped in half. The destruction sent debris flying with violent force. "GUYS! LOOK TO YOUR LEFT!" Ella screamed. Olsen turned—and Eli froze time. The debris hung in mid-air, but only for a moment. He couldn't hold it long. Ella and I landed hard on the rooftop. I almost fell but caught myself. Eli was struggling to keep the time-freeze, so I used my tendrils to yank both him and Olsen up to us.
They landed safely—Olsen was heavier than expected. I turned to the others still fighting: Prince. Demaurion. Archie. I grabbed my horns tightly. Then they started humming. A mythical tune. I didn't recognize it. They glowed indigo. I shut my eyes tight and focused on pulling them toward us. When I opened them—they were already there. The Lunaranites looked totally confused. Behind us, golden stairs formed from divine metal forged by King Vigilzante himself. Wide as a mansion, glowing with light from the sky. But the wind still carried the cries of the dying—Lunaranites and Celestianites alike.
"COME ON, COME ON! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE ALL DIE—COME ON GUYS!" Demaurion shouted, racing up the stairs. Everyone followed. Archie yelled, "LET ME LEAVE A PRESENT FOR THEM!" He launched one last explosion that shook the entire city to ash. They all leaped into the air through the opening of the clouds, then before I went up, I slowly turned to look back down at the once living Musicia, burned and destroyed into ashes. Then a burning memory struck my mind, I held onto her head, shook it off, and hopped into the entrance with everyone else.
I felt my knees hit a hard, stone-like surface. My eyes fluttered open, and I looked around frantically. I was in a white void—nothing but blank, blinding white. A realm of emptiness. And I was alone. No Archie. No Prince, Demaurion, Olsen, Ella, or Eli. Just me. I slowly stood up from my knees, brushing dust off my clothes from the last action sequence.
I took a moment to scan the void around me. It stretched on forever in every direction. "Where... am I?" I whispered, wandering the nothingness. "I was just in a fast-paced fight! Why am I here?" I was confused. I didn't know where I was or how I ended up here. The last thing I remembered was... nothing. Just a blur. Everything had been moving too fast—too fast to even hold onto. Faster than real life. Was it too much? Was it all— "Starla." A deep, echoing voice rumbled through the void. I jerked my head left, then right. My eyes drifted upward. "Hello?" I recognized that voice. Deep. Wise. Heroic. My... dad? Then I saw him.
Far ahead, standing tall in the white void, arms open wide, was my father. He wore his usual golden king's armor, shimmering with light. A purple cape fluttered behind him. His eyes glowed bright, radiant yellow. A thick white beard wrapped around his chin, and in one hand, he held a long, narrow golden sword—dual-edged, with the Celestianite Emblem shining at its tip. My heart nearly burst. "D-DAD!" I cried, and I sprinted. Tears streamed from my eyes, trailing behind me in the air. I ran faster than I ever had, each step bringing me closer to him. Inches away. Ready to finally hug him.
But when I wrapped my arms around him... I felt nothing. He wasn't there. My eyes shot open—and he was gone. He'd never been there at all. Then—voices. Muffled. Distant. "Starla! Starla?" "Starla, are you okay?!" I blinked hard—and suddenly yelped. I was standing in the middle of a golden highway. My friends were all around me. Cars zoomed past us like comets, speeding through lanes as if we were invisible.
The road shimmered beneath our feet, gold and amber, while the sky above was a dusty orange haze, filled with smoke and gas. Blood stained the pavement. We were on the Celestia Bridge. The bridge towered in golden-yellow metal, glittering in spots, forged with a magical shine. Countless vehicles sped by—golden trucks, sleek bikes, cybernetic cars—all racing along both sides of the bridge. We stood in the center lane, the only strip left untouched. Sirens wailed. Horns blared. The roar of engines filled the air, louder than the screeches of alien birds. I covered my ears, about to faint—until Ella caught me in her arms. She steadied me, eyes locked on mine. "
Are you okay?" I didn't know. I was never really sure. "I thought I saw my dad," I said quietly. "But... he wasn't real." Then I looked around. "Do you guys remember going to Musicia? You know—where the alien Uragas were? The fake Lunaranites? Where Dreadlock was?" Everyone stared at me like I was glitching. "Yeah, I think the cupcakes messed you up a bit," Archie muttered, raising an eyebrow. Then I spotted it—a large gray van with glowing blue markings. It hummed with a pulsing cyan aura, cannons mounted on the roof. Some kind of cyber-van. It was just sitting in the middle of the road, untouched by traffic. I didn't know why it was there... but I didn't question it. Olsen shook his head. "I don't know what that was, but—aaaaand there it is." All of us snapped our heads up. Above us, Lunaranites and Celestianites were brawling. Blood splattered mid-air. Spears flew. Bullets screamed.
Then I heard it—loud stomps. Booming. Heavy. Getting closer. "You guys hear that?" I asked, eyes darting. Demaurion gripped his trident and crossed his arms. "I don't hear anyth—" ROARS. Far down the highway, cars flew into the air like toys, metal crunching and glass exploding. Three monstrous black bloodhounds burst through the chaos, covered in red stripes like demonic tigers. One stood upright on two legs, claws extended. The other two galloped on four, jaws snapping open, tossing cars into the sky like paper. Crashes. Fire. Mayhem. We all froze. Prince whispered, "Oh... shit." I spun around in panic.
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" The beasts roared again—then charged. Closer. Faster. Olsen's eyes locked on the van. Without a word, he sprinted, yanked the door open, slammed it shut, and grabbed the wheel. Ella shouted over the noise, "OLSEN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "JUST GET IN! WE GOTTA STEP ON IT!" None of us hesitated. We dashed into the van. I jumped into the passenger seat while everyone else piled in the back. The van's interior glowed with cyan lights, sleek and high-tech. Buttons covered the dashboard, lighting up like a digital control board. "ALRIGHT, GUYS!" Olsen shouted. "WE'RE ALMOST TO OUR FRIENDS—WE JUST GOTTA SHAKE THESE MONSTERS AND FLOOR IT!" He slammed his foot down. The van blasted forward. Behind us, the bloodhounds chased, tongues lolling like rabid dogs. They smashed through cars and hurled them like grenades, explosions erupting in their wake. Prince peeked through the back window. "THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER!" Olsen swerved hard, dodging an oncoming truck, then floored it again. Tires screeched. Smoke filled the air.
Then—click. He hit a red button near the wheel. The van's roof cannons whirred to life. "PRINCE—TAKE THE SHOTS!" Olsen barked. "ARCHIE, TRANSFORM AND BURN THEM DOWN! DEMAURION, LIGHT 'EM UP TOO!" The van roared forward, fire and fury chasing us from behind. "OKAY, NOW WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THE—" Prince's chair shot him straight through the roof, launching him up to where the cannon was mounted. The same thing happened to Demaurion. Prince screamed in panic, unsure whether to aim at the beasts or just shoot randomly. He was too freaked out to decide. Meanwhile, Demaurion—right next to him with a cannon in front of him—yelled, "JUST SHOOT LIKE HOW YOU DO IN VIDEO GAMES!" Prince nodded quickly, tightened his grip on the cannon, and yelled, "TAKE THIS, YOU BEASTS OF HELL!" He started unloading, bullet after bullet, while the sounds of screeching metal and crunching cars filled the air. Prince and Demaurion kept firing at the monstrous creatures. One of the beasts, running on two legs, nearly slipped but then hurled a car straight at them.
"OLSEN, DODGE!" Ella shouted. Olsen swerved the vehicle hard to the left, barely avoiding the car as it exploded in the middle of the road. He yanked the wheel dramatically, dodging chaos while Prince and Demaurion kept up the assault, shaking the monsters' balance. Then BOOM, Archie, in his fiery phoenix form, dove out of the van, hurling fire bombs at the monsters while yelling, "EAT FLAMES!" Explosions ripped through the highway. Cars crashed, windows shattered, and glass and metal flew everywhere as vehicles burst into flames. Demaurion fired off thousands of rounds while Archie kept spamming explosions.
One beast got hit by a massive firebomb from Archie, flipping over itself. Archie followed up with another blast, and BAM—it was completely obliterated. Blood splattered high into the air. The two-legged monster fought back, still throwing cars like they were toys. The other one, running on all fours, blasted a huge beam of energy across the highway straight at the van. "OLSEN, MOVE NOW!" I warned urgently. "HOLD ON!" Olsen shouted back. He jerked the wheel, crashing through several cars and trucks before drifting onto another road. He floored the gas pedal, sending the van speeding faster than ever. "SHOOT 'EM, PRINCE! SHOOT 'EM! SHOOT 'EM!" Olsen cheered. Prince locked the cannon and his sights on the beasts, sniping with precision. Each shot caused a catastrophic explosion that shook their bodies. Demaurion fired three rounds at once, and Prince followed with a huge blast that nailed the four-legged beast hard. Cars went flying, and the beast nearly slammed into the ground. Then Prince climbed onto the roof of the van, electricity crackling wildly around him, a smirk on his face.
"Let's take this to the next level…" he whispered, serious as ever. He jumped off the still-speeding van, lightning tendrils bursting from his hands and latching onto the four-legged beast. He landed on the ground, sliding across it as the van sped past. Golden rocks scattered into the air as Prince skated across the pavement, still holding the beast with his electric whips. "BLOW THEM UP, ARCHIE! NOW!" Prince barked. Archie fired another round of explosions at the beast, still charging forward. Prince was still being dragged along, gripping the tendrils tight. Blood sprayed as the explosions tore the creature's skin apart. Cars smashed into the ground and exploded as the beast hurled more at them, but Olsen swerved skillfully, dodging most of the debris. Then, BOOM!—Archie launched the final blast, a monstrous explosion detonating from inside the creature.
It expanded across the whole highway, shaking everything from end to end. Cars shattered, blew up, flew into the air, and slammed back down in fiery wreckage. Prince finally let go of his tendrils and flipped back into the van, shouting, "OH YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Archie flew back in, and Demaurion jumped into his seat too. The van was still swerving wildly, Olsen doing his best to maintain control. He scanned the distance, searching for the battlefield where the rest of the class was. Then he saw it—Celestianites and Lunaranites locked in chaotic combat. But his eyes locked onto something else—dark gray skies and flames erupting out of nowhere. He squinted. And there, in the distance, was Incarceration, fighting the entire crew and cooking while doing it. "I FOUND OUR STOP!" Olsen yelled, voice filled with wild victory.
He spun the van around—it skidded, spinning over and over. Everyone held on tight so they didn't go flying. Olsen smirked as he slammed the brakes. The van launched into the air, flying toward the torn-up battlefield below. Fire lit the ground, flames licking up from every direction. The sky glowed orange, thick with gray smoke. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Everyone screamed as the van soared higher than ever. All eyes on the battlefield turned toward the van with wide smiles and bloodied faces. The van slammed onto the ground, skidding on its side as Olsen clutched the brakes. Everyone gripped tight until finally—it stopped. Silence. A long breath. Then the van door exploded open, Olsen stepping out slowly like a total legend. The others followed him, one by one, walking out of the van like absolute badasses. Incarceration paused mid-fight, staring at them. "Well, well, well... look who's come to join the fight..." I clenched my fists. Olsen cracked his knuckles. Prince charged up with lightning. Ella already had her claws out. Eli charged up with time energy. Demaurion had his trident ready. Archie burned with flames.