Chapter 6: Junkyard Dogged

There we were, in another Battle Zone and protecting Earth from an extra-dimensional invading force. Though I have to say that how most of it went could've gone smoother. We were facing off against the Vandals in a Battle Zone that made me feel like I was in an MCEsher painting and the Vandals managed to get the Battle Key thanks to a little help from Kaze and Silvian, who used the Battle Zone's environment to their advantage. We tried to get it back, but this Battle Zone didn't really make it easy, especially with those floating rock formations. Though they lessened the number of Vandals we had to deal with, these rock formations block our own paths just as much as the Vandals'. I could barely make sense of how this Battle Zone worked.

"Element Gang, Battle Force 5, block him before he reaches the Stormshock!" I said as we followed behind Kalus, who had the Battle Key.

"We got him!" Trustin said to me as I watched him and Zoom start catching up to Kalus.

Trustin's view

"Hey, big bro!" Zoom said to me as we looked at a rock ring floating up ahead. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh, yeah!" I said as I returned the grin he was giving me.

With that, we rode on the ramp ahead, turned on our wheel spikes, and started riding on the ring, using it to get closer to Kalus.

Kaze's view

When Silvian and I were on our way to join Captain Kalus on the journey to Earth, I looked to see the scouts were closing in on him. When I saw a stone disk come into view, I went on to use it to keep those two away from Kalus. Bringing out my wings and using my spikes to enlarge my hand, I was able to grab the disk and toss it right to them. After that, I then returned to my Primal Bounty and Silvian and I went on to join with our warlord. I was actually taking a liking to this Battle Zone.

Trustin's view

Just as we were about to get the drop on Kalus, we looked forward…and saw a rock coming right at us.

"Incoming flying object at 12'o'clock!" I said before the rock hit the ring and knocked us off it.

Luckily, we were able to get our bikes in hover mode before we crashed and regrouped with the others, still on Kalus' tail as we saw Kaze and Silvian join him. Had to guess that no-good Dargon had something to do with that rock frisbee coming at us.

Sherman's view

After Zoom and Trustin got back with the rest of us, I focused on Kalus and the two Dark Gang members ahead with Spinner ready to fire a mace upon them.

"Ready to fire!" My big bro said as he got the Buster's launcher ready.

Though, when I saw a large, cylindric stone rolling by, I found a way to stop the Vandals from reaching the portal. Pulling back, I then got to work on calculating our distance from the stone and the speed of its momentum towards the Vandals to estimate the right moment for Spinner to shoot the mace. Kaze and Silvian managed to use the Battle Zone's environment to their advantage, it was time we did the same.

"Sherman, let's go, bro!" Spinner said to me as I checked the math.

"Calculating distance, hold on." I said as I worked on the equation before I found the estimation time for firing the mace.

"Sherman!" Spinner said to me as I then was ready to tell him to fire the mace, the Vandals closing in on the portal.

"Wait for it…" I said to him before the stone was finally into position. "Now!"

With that, Spinner fired the mace and watched as it punctured the stone in the correct spot. By doing this, we were able to use the momentum of the stone like a catapult and sent us towards the Vandals. Hearing Spinner cheer, I knew he figured out what I was planning as he disconnected the mace from the Buster, allowing us to be sent right in front of Kalus, Kaze, and Silvian. With that perfect landing, I then hit the brakes and let the Vandals do the rest of the work.

Kaze's view

"Hit the brakes!" I said after seeing that tank land in front of us and stop, trying to prevent all three of us from crashing into it.

Unfortunately, it was too late and the momentum of our vehicles sent us crashing into it, sending all three of us flying over it. After managing to recover and get back on our feet, Silvian and I got ready to attack the Element Gang until we saw them speeding towards us. After managing to dodge them, I turned back to see that rat use a metal whip on us and sent us crashing into Kalus. After all three of us recovered and got back on our feet, we watched as that tank took the Battle Key from Kalus' Fangore. I looked and saw someone take the Battle Key and held while looking back at us with a smug look. I saw that it was one of the human allies, the scrawny one that had a matching uniform with the muscular one. I had to bet that the muscular one was the driver and the scrawny one worked the tank's weapons. It was pretty simple to deduce that situation.

"What the…? How did they do that?" Silvian said, shocked by this.

"How do you like that?" the scrawny one said, no doubt talking to Kalus from what he said next. "All it takes is a little something called math, fuzz face!"

I saw Kalus glare at him as the Element Gang escaped through the portal before he roared out in anger. I just couldn't believe that they used math against us.

"How did they defeat you?" Hatch asked us as he and Krocomodo pulled over to us. "Magic?"

"No, not magic." I said, now feeling frustrated by this loss. "Math, a piece of knowledge on Earth."

"Always did hate that subject." Silvian said, feeling just as frustrated as I was about this.

"I hope you know a great deal of it." Kalus said to me, only turning his head to make eye contact. "We might need it for next time." He then turned to all of us. "Return to Vandal at once and prepare for the next Battle Zone!"


[Earth]

Axel's view

After clearing the Battle Zone, we all went to Zeke's for some celebratory pizza in honor of the Cortez Brothers' success in stopping the Vandals from reaching Earth.

"Awesome moves out there!" Vert said, congratulating the twins for their achievement. "Cortez Brothers crushed them!"

"Yeah! The way you catapulted yourselves and blocked Kalus and those Dark Gang clowns? Totally awesome!" Basar said, congratulating them.

"Oh, it was nothing." Sherman said, speaking with modesty.

"Nothing? Speak for yourself." Spinner said, feeling proud of himself. "I just saved the world!"

"Right." Sherman said sarcastically with a grimace. "All by yourself, huh?"

"Course not! I couldn't have done it without my little brother Sherman…" Spinner said as he put a hand on Sherman's shoulder, making his younger brother look at him in surprise, "for always believing in my supreme genius!"

That made Sherman scowl at him. Even I had to admit that Spinner was speaking full of himself. That made Sherman huff as he slammed his hands on the table, got out of the booth, and walked away. Me and the others glared at him after Sherman left, the older twin looking at us in confusion.

"What?" He asked us, clueless on why we were giving him those looks.

"Spinner, that wasn't cool." I said to him, pointing out what he did wrong. "You know that Sherman was of great help back there. It was your twin dynamic with Sherman's brains and your gutsy attitude that helped us back there."

"Yeah. I mean, seriously? You? A genius? Ha!" Basar said to Spinner. "Like anyone would call you a freaking genius."

"Oh, come on." Spinner said, not even sounding worried. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Hey, take it from the guy who's the youngest of three siblings," I said to Spinner, speaking from experience, "having your little brother walk out like that is not a good thing."

"Somebody order a maximum cheese overdrive?" Grace said as she came out and opened the pizza box she was holding to reveal a multilayer cheese pizza.

"Oh, yeah, that would be mine." Vert said as she then presented the pizza to him. Vert took a slice and ate some of it, enjoying the flavor before speaking with his mouth full. "Grace, this pie is sweet, mmm. How do you do it?"

"And the judges say…not really charming, Vert." Jay said to him. "Women don't like a man who talks with his mouth full." We all then watched Jay swiftly get out of the booth and stood beside Grace as he started flirting with her. "By the way, Grace, you look absolutely lovely today. Did you do something with your hair?"

"No, same as always." Grace said as she smiled at him.

"Hey, has anyone seen my new phone?" Stanford said as he held out his phone, giving a reason for us not to watch Jay flirt with another girl…again. "Not only does it place and receive calls, it tracks my ranking in Royal People magazine." After it beeped, he looked at it and gave a look of woe. "Oh, dear."

"What's wrong, Stanfy?" Mari asked him.

"It would appear that my great-great uncle Mortimer just passed on." Stanford said to us as Mari comforted him with a hug.

"Tough break." I said to him, knowing the feeling of having a relative pass on.

"Well, look on the bright side." Jay said to him, trying to seem nice in front of Grace. "You're now 189th in line for the throne."

"Is there any other features on that phone of yours, Stanford?" I asked, trying to both cheer up Stanford and trying to wait out until Grace had to serve more customers.

"Well, yes." Stanford said, sounding a little better. "It's also a remote control."

"Remote control for what?" I asked before Stanford pressed a button and the Reverb started playing some loud music which set off some car alarms.

"You had to ask!" Jay yelled to me, trying to make sure I heard him.

"What?" Grace yelled, no doubt finding it hard to hear anything over the music.

"Stanford, turn it off!" I said to him and he turned off the music.

We all then watched as Zeke and some other customers turned off the alarms of their cars.

"With that over, are you free this week?" Jay said to Grace, getting back to flirting with her. "We can take a cruise on my bike. It's one sweet ride."

"You know," Vert said as he stood up and Grace looked at him, "I've got a pretty sweet ride too. You want to go for a spin?"

"Allow me to answer that." Jay said to her as he wrapped his arm around her.

"No." Vert said before we all then heard some music playing.

It wasn't the music that the Reverb was playing, but it was definitely familiar. We all looked to the diner's ceiling mounted TV and saw on its screen that it was on a channel that was showing a concert. On the stage concert, I saw three familiar girls in black heels and their popstar outfits that bore black bodices while the rest was plain white, each of the outfits having the addition of lining in each girl's respective colors along with leggings and bracelets of the same color. Thanks to all of Tricha's talk of fashion, I was able to identify the parts of their outfits. Though, I would be lying if I said I knew how old they were now. At least two of them to be exact. It had been a while since me and the guys last saw them.

The girl in the middle has classic length red hair, light green eyes, fair skin, and a beauty mark near below her right eye. The outfit she was wearing had lining in the same color as her hair. The bodice of her outfit resembled the design of army corporal jacket with the collar and the elbow-length sleeves that were cut upward in the middle of the front, a scarlet band on her left shoulder, the front of the bodice starting at chest level on the right side horizontally to the middle before it declines down to waist level on the left. The rest of her outfit was white with a black flounce divided by a single line of scarlet. Her bracelet was on her left wrist. If I remembered correctly about her age the last time I saw her, I'd say she's about 18 years old.

The second girl to the redhead's left has waist brown hair with straight bangs, dark skin, and amber eyes. The bodice of her outfit was chest level, sporting azure lining, and short-sleeved with the right sleeve shorter than the left, said right sleeve exposing her shoulder. The front of the bodice was cut upward from the sides to the middle in a reverse V-shape. The rest of her outfit was pure white except for the visible crescent moon in the same shade of blue as the lining. She's the only one I wasn't guessing as I knew she was the same age as Mari and Stanford. How exactly did I know this? You can thank that certain lightning elemental friend of mine for reminding me. When I heard a sigh, I looked at Spinner who was looking at said girl with a blissful smile on his face. It was easy to figure out that he had a crush on her with the way he was looking at her, along with that faint blush too.

The third and last girl, who was to the opposite side, looked Asian with jet black hair tied in a side ponytail at the right with a pale yellow bow, light skin, and light brown eyes. You can tell she was the youngest member of the group as she was obviously younger than the other girls with her, kind of the same way with Zoom being the youngest on the team. The bodice of her outfit had orange lining which made it resemble the design of a Japanese gi. It had only one sleeve about elbow length with an orange cuff on the right side. The girl's left arm only had an orange band on her forearm and a fingerless, black glove with an orange cuff. The rest of her outfit was white strands of orange lining at the side of the waits and a black flounce. With my guess there, she was possible around 16 years old.

Though I guessed their ages, I definitely recognized them. The girl in blue was Damita, the redhead was Inara, and the Asian was Emiko, or as they are known as pop stars: The Domino. It appeared we caught a broadcast of one of their shows.

"Oh, yeah! New Star Generation! This is my song!" Mari excitedly said as she got out of the booth, getting ready to bust a move. "This is my jam!"

"You like Domino?" Grace said to her, sounding and looking surprised.

"Heck, yeah!" She answered her, almost ready to dance to the beat. "The Domino! Best pop stars in the world! You like them too, Grace?"

"Like them? I've been their fan for years." Grace to her with a smile.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Mari said to her, inviting her to join her in dancing to the music. "Come over and dance with me, sister!"

Just like that, Grace then went over and the two started to dance to the beat in perfect synchronization. They were actually pretty good there. Wouldn't have taken Grace to be dancing like that. I also didn't think any of us would bump into a Domino fan. After the song finally ended, the two actually struck poses like the pop stars they loved. A moment after keeping that pose, Mari and Grace had a little laugh, no doubt enjoying dancing together to Domino's song.

"You're a fan of the Domino, huh?" Jay said as we all looked to him walk over to Grace with a smug disguised as a friendly smile. "Well, I happen to be a friend of theirs."

"You're friends with them?" Grace said, surprised by this.

"Well, yeah. Me, Damita, Inara, and Emiko? We're like this." He said, crossing his fingers to emphasize how strong the relations he had with the girls.

"That is amazing." Grace said as she smiled, no doubt impressed by Jay being friends with the Domino.

"And I think I can be able to arrange some things if you want to meet them." Jay said as I then realized what he was doing.

He was using his connection to the Domino to win Grace over. Though it was kind of one of the oldest tricks in the book, it was actually pretty clever.

"Really? I can meet the Domino? In person?" Grace said with hope in her eyes.

"Of course." Jay said to her, no doubt getting overconfident by how much attention he was getting from her. "Just one call and I could get you a backstage pass to one of the Domino's shows."

"Oh, thank you!" Grace said as she hugged him in gratitude.

As he returned the hug, I managed to see him look over to Vert with a smug. When I looked to the leader of BF5, I saw he was glaring at the water elemental. Before he could go on with his "smooth talking", I felt another Stormshock and we all got an alert from Sage confirming it.

"Guys, we gotta roll!" I said as we all got ready to leave for the Stormshock.

"Where's everyone going?" Grace asked, making Vert stop to give her an excuse for our exit.

"We're, uh…" Vert said to her, trying to come up with a good excuse. "Needed back at the test track. I'll talk to you when I get back."

I stopped to make sure that everyone was here but found Jay missing. Already knowing where he was, I went back to the diner and saw that my suspicion was correct.

"Here. Just so you know it's me to tell you the good news." Jay said to her as he gave her a piece of paper, no doubt said paper having his phone number on it. "And I'll be free for you to chat with any time."

As I walked over to him, I watched him kiss Grace's hand like the gentleman he was pretending to be, which was where I decided I had enough of him and his hound dog antics.

"Come on, lover boy!" I said as I quickly dragged Jay away by the back of his collar.

"Call me." I heard him whisper, no doubt to Grace.

Once I got him outside, I tossed him onto his Wave Rider and got myself on my Fire Cycle. After we both got ready to roll with Jay placing himself properly on his bike, we both drove off to join the others at the base.

After getting to the base and we all got into our shock suits, we all then got back to our vehicles and drove off to catch the Stormshock. A while after in our search for the Stormshock, I called Sage to see if she could fill us in on the Battle Zone we were going to.

"Sage, is there anything you can tell us about the Battle Zone we're going to?" I asked her through the comm.

"My flash memory system has only given me partial data on this Zone." Sage answered me.

"Well, what do you know about it?" I asked.

"It was once a metal-recycling Zone." She answered.

"Metal-recycling?" I said as I realized what she meant. "You mean this Battle Zone was used as a junkyard?"

"The Junkyard Zone." Vert said over the comm, either simplifying the definition or coming up with a different name for the Battle Zone.

"Junk?" Spinner said, sounding worried. "But I haven't gotten my tetanus shot. What if I get lockjaw and I can't talk?"

"We'll through a party." Agura said, making a joke.

"Yeah, your silence will be music to ours ears." Basar said as we all then had a laugh from those jokes.

Only a little while after that, I looked forward and saw the Stormshock ahead, which meant only one thing to do.

"Stormshock, straight ahead!" I said as we all got ready to head into the Stormshock. "Okay, guys, into the storm!"

"Okay, crew," Vert said over the comm, no doubt speaking to his team. "Stormshock time!"

After the Storm Friction took effect and we all started driving to the eye of the storm, Jay pulled on the throttle and started heading to the front of everyone.

"Excuse me! Pardon me! Water elemental coming through!" Jay said as he drove past just about everybody, making it a little harder to for us to drive. "Gotta save the world and all that! There's a girl waiting for me back on Earth and I can't keep her waiting!"

I should've known. Of course, Jay would only be driving ahead if it means getting to his date faster. This was a habit of his we all hated for, when he does this in a Stormshock, he doesn't pay attention to anything. That including anybody he's driving in front of.

Zoom's view

Okay, I know that Trust told me to just roll with Jay when he's like this, but this was really getting annoying. Does he have to be a jerk while we're trying to save the world from invading aliens? It got worse when he drove in front of the Buster, the one car me and my big bro were driving behind and nearly made us all crash.

"Zoom, come on!" Trust said to me as I got myself back on track and tried to catch up. "The portal's gonna close at any minute!"

I tried to catch up, pulling on the throttle as hard as I could. But…I was too late. After my big bro went through with the others, the portal closed.

"Uh-oh." I said as the storm faded away.

Luckily, I managed to use the Chopper to get to the ground. Though I was safe, I was now stuck on Earth. Only one thing I could say right there, "Oh, man!"


Axel's view

After getting through the portal, we all saw that Zone looked just like we thought it would: a junkyard. There was so much scrap metal around that there mountains of it like the one I saw after we got through the portal.

"Here we are." I said, just astounded by all that was left for scrap in the Battle Zone. "Man, look at all of this!"

"Ha! You must feel right at home around here, huh?" Basar chucked, making a joke out of my salvaging habits. "Being around all this scrap, huh, Axel-vager? Ha-ha!"

That inside joke got Tricha, Mari, Jay, and Trust to laugh and me to smile in a bemused way as I rolled my eyes.

"Axel-vager?" Vert asked, confused by the nickname Basar gave me for my habits. "What's that about?"

"Was that a joke?" Stanford asked over the comm, not knowing what Basar meant. "What is he talking about?"

"Well, there's an easy answer for that." Jay said, ready to explain the joke. "Hey, Stanford, you remember the times Axel came up with those inventions of his?"

"You mean the ones that always blew up in our faces?" Stanford said, remembering the inventions I made. "How could I forget those?"

"Hey, not all of them blew up!" I said to him, reminding him that not all my inventions were failures. "Some of them worked. And I also found other uses for some of them too."

"Okay, I get it." Stanford said before getting back to finding the answer. "So what exactly does it have to do with whatever Basar just said?"

"Well, it's because the parts he got for them were things he salvaged from the local junkyard back home." Jay said to him, getting to point. "He did it so much that Basar came up with that nickname for him." He then started laughing when he got to the point. "Salvager Axel? Axel-vager? Get it?"

"Oh, now I get it." Stanford said, chuckling a bit.

"Wait, Axel? You went dumpster diving in a junkyard?" Vert said, surprised by this.

"I salvaged parts from a junkyard." I said to him, clarifying things to him. "I couldn't afford the parts I needed for my inventions, so that was the best option I could go with."

"Hey, where's Zoom?" Agura said as we all noticed that Trust's little brother wasn't around.

"He didn't make the jump." Spinner said, answering that question.

"Yeah, and it's all Jay's fault!" Trust said, sounding a bit angry.

"My fault?" Jay asked, surprised by this. "How is it my fault?"

"If you didn't drove in front of Sherm and Spin, Zoom wouldn't have missed the portal!" Trust said to him, not losing that anger in his voice.

"Guys, let's just settle down and focus." I said to those two, stopping that argument before it could escalate. "We got a job to do. We'll have to do this without Zoom."

"I'm picking up enemy readings." Vert said over the comm. "Come on, let's find that Battle Key."

"All the metal's interfering with my tracker. I can't pick up the Key's energy signature." I said as my tracker wasn't able to pick up the Key. "Sherman, you getting anything?"

"I think, uh…I have a bearing on the Battle Key," Sherman said, sounding a bit unsure, "but all the metal in here is distorting the signal. Looks like there's something…big near the Key. And it's moving."

"Axel? Ever heard of something like that?" Basar asked me over the comm.

"No. That's new to me. Never had a situation like that in a Battle Zone." I said as I truly didn't know what the situation with the Key was. "Judging by that analysis, I would have to say that the Key is with some large creature."

"You mean there's something alive here?" Trust said to me. "What could live in a place like this? There's nothing but scrap metal around here."

"I'm not sure." I said to him. "This could be an entirely new lifeform that can survive in such an environment like this Battle Zone."

"Not good." Jay said with worry in his voice as we all looked to him.

Vert chuckled before he said "Scared, Jay?"

"No. I'm not getting any reception in this Zone." Jay said as we all saw he was holding his phone.

"Jay, after the modifications I made to your phone so it could get reception from Earth in a Battle Zone, now you're trying to use it?" I said to him, surprised by this. "Why are you trying to make a call to Earth now? Your phone isn't even connected to the base's communication array."

"I was just making sure I could still use it." He said to me. "What if Grace tries calling me?"

"Really, Jay?" I said, feeling exasperated that he was using the modifications like that. "You're using the phone that I modified to enable you to get in contact with any team member that might still be on Earth just so you can call a girl you think you have a chance with?"

"What? A guy can hope." Jay said to me, trying to make an excuse.

"Wait, you actually upgraded his phone to work in a Battle Zone?" Spinner asked me over the comm.

"Yeah. I also gave those same modifications to my own phone, along with Trich, Mari, Base, and Trust's phones too." I answered him. "It was easy to do once I got my hands on the receiver and transmitting units from some wrecked Zurk and use them to upgrade the receivers and the transmitters on their phones. Hate to say it, but they really have some great communication range."

"Okay, but why did you make it so they could still use their phones in a Battle Zone?" Agura asked me.

"It's just so we can stay in contact with each other and be able to call back up if we need to, especially when we split up." I answered her. "Long story. I'll tell you all later." Then I got to Jay as I remembered what he said to Grace. "By the way, Jay, I just remembered that you promised Grace you'd help her meet Domino."

"Yeah, so?" Jay asked me, not realizing the problem with that.

"The girls don't use the comms I gave them for personal chats with us and you don't have their phone numbers." I said to him, pointing out the problem. "How exactly are you going to get Grace to meet Domino when you don't have any way of contacting them, genius?"

"Um…" Jay said as he took a moment to think before coming up with an answer. "I'll figure something out. Those girls are always up to help people."

"Okay, this has gone long enough." Stanford said over the comm. "How exactly do you know some of the biggest pop star idols in the world?"

"I can't really explain that." I said to him. "It's…complicated. It would be better if those three were here for it. I barely understand much about them."

"Hey, Vert." Jay said, sounding pretty smug. "How's it feel that I got a better chance at getting a date with Grace than you?"

Vert sighed in annoyance before saying "We're rolling."

"I'll try to see if I can find the Battle Key from the air." Trust said as he then went off, put his Ice Bike in hover mode and went off to survey the area.

With that, we all then got moving to find the Battle Key along with whatever had it in this Battle Zone.

Trustin's view

After getting high enough to get a good look around the Zone, I tried to see if I could find the Battle Key. After managing to see the others drive off to search on the ground, I looked to the ledge and saw something. It kind of looked like…there was someone watching Axel, Vert, and everybody else leaving. I shook my head to make sure my vision wasn't messed up before looking back at the ledge. When I looked back, there was nothing there. Had to guess I was seeing things. With that done, I then went on to keep looking for the Battle Key.


Kaze's view

Moments after getting to the Battle Zone, we managed to find a place where the Battle Key could possibly be held at. I certainly had the right idea to bring Silvian back as his scouting abilities managed to find the place. Though I regretted bringing Colt and Soloman instead of Berthona and Kura. The reason for that is the tunnel full of traps ahead of us that was between us and the Key. From where I saw it, it contained two sets of crushing walls and two rows of vents that unleashed streams of fire. Though, by listening to the sounds erupting from it, I could estimate the exact amount of traps this one passage contained. From what could be seen, it started with the first set of crushing walls, then went to a horizontal row of vents, then to the second set of walls, and finally ending with a vertical row of vents. Beyond it, I could hear another row of vents along with another set of crushing walls. Seeing as to how Captain Kalus wanted my mathematical expertise, I went on to figuring out the timing on these traps ahead of us. When I got to work on calculating on the precise way of getting through there, Krocomodo foolishly rushed into it. Needless to say, he barely got halfway through before coming all the way back to the rest of us.

"Had a fun time there, Krocomodo?" Soloman sarcastically said to Kalus' second-in-command before he laughed, making the crocodile growl at him.

"Are you sure the Battle Key is through there?" Hatch said to Silvian, questioning the ice elemental's estimating on this location.

"Of course, I'm sure." Silvian said to him. "What else could be behind those traps besides a Battle Key?"

"We will never get through those things." Krocomodo said as he put out a burning singe on the tip of his tail. "It's impossible!"

"It might seem impossible to you, Krocomodo," I said to him, continuing my calculation on the traps, "but one can slip through it with ease by the use of simple math. If you just waited for me to calculate the timing on the traps activation, you wouldn't have come back burnt and we all would have gotten to the other side by now."

"And I hope you used that math to figure out how to get us through there, Kaze." Kalus said to me as I could hear a threat in his voice. I sighed in worry before I spoke to him.

"Unfortunately, no." I answered him. "If I had a computer or at least a calculator, it would've been faster. Because we're not in possession of such technology on Vandal yet, I have to make the equations by hand. Calculating anything like this takes time and precision."

I turned around quickly after hearing a roar from Kalus, which pretty much spooked me, especially when I saw that he was glaring at me.

"Do not test my patience, Shutzman." Kalus said to me, no doubt not having enough patience for me to figure out the solution to our situation. "I will not take any more excuses for your incompetence."

"Captain Kalus, please, my mathematical knowledge is sufficient enough for the task. It'll just take more time to find a way through that passage." My worry soon faded away as I then remembered about the two who had managed to outsmart me, smiling at the thought that they could prove useful. "Or the answer can be found with some other math." With that in mind, I now had no regret bringing Colt and Soloman along as I looked to them. "Soloman, Colt! Go and find Battle Force 5. I need to borrow something from them."

"You got it, boss!" Colt said to me before he and Soloman got into their vehicles and drove off to find those rats.


Axel's view

"…gotta make our way to the lower levels." Sherman said as continued on searching for the Key, which apparently was beneath the surface of the zone.

It was only a while after getting to a canyon did I heard loud clanging, metal hitting against metal.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?" I said, wondering what that sound was.

After a moment, I saw some of the scrap metal that was around us being pulled upwards by an unknown force. With that sound coming with it, I was quick to realize what it was.

"Junkyard magnet!" I said as I looked above and saw a large magnet hovering over us. "Everybody out, now!"

With that, we all sped up to try and outrun the magnet before we were caught in it. We were cutting close to being stuck with the scrap. The Buster nearly got trapped on the magnet. Luckily, the magnet changed course and moved on to another part of the Zone. For why it changed course like that, I had to guess that magnet was automated and was set to randomly collect scrap within the Zone. From escaping it, I was able to hear the magnet drop the scrap and, with the loud sound of crushing metal, the crusher crush the scrap.

"Phew! A couple more seconds and we'd all be travel-sized." Spinner said with relief over the comm.

A moment after that close-call, we ended up finding a dead end for the path to the Key was blocked by a large pile of scrap. With our path blocked, we all had to stop.

"Oh, come on, guys!" Jay yelled out, impatiently. "Let's get going! I don't want to keep Grace waiting!"

"Sorry, Jay." I said to him. "But we hit a dead end. There's no way we can be able to climb that scrap pile. It's too unstable."

"Hold on, I'll calculate a detour." Sherman said over the comm.

Soloman's view

After seeing the Element Gang and those humans stop in front of our blockade, I went on ahead to call Kaze to tell him the good news. Thanks to Colt knocking all that scrap down onto the road, they'll have no choice but to go to that trapped tunnel and help us find a way through it.

"They've fallen into our trap, Kaze." I said to him as I managed to get him on the line.

"Excellent." Kaze said to me over the radio. "Remember to isolate the others and leave the brothers to the rest of us.

"With pleasure." I said to him gaining a grin.

"Hey, what's that?" Colt said as I saw him looking across from us.

I looked there and saw nothing which really annoyed me as I had to think he was pulling a trick on me again.

"Colt, are you making me look at nothing again?" I said to him, not really liking the trick. "You know Kaze doesn't like it when you mess around."

"No, I'm serious." Colt said to me, not sounding like he was joking. "I could've sworn I saw something looking at us over there."

"You were probably seeing things." I said to him, seeing that he was probably imagining things from being tired out. "That late-night hunting must be getting to you."

No one's view

"Just get ready to attack those losers when I give the signal." Soloman said as he and Colt got ready to attack.

Unknown to them, there was a mysterious figure hiding within the shadows of the scrap pile across from them, glaring at them with pale blue eyes.

Axel's view

"Hm. That's odd." I said as I noticed something off about the pile blocking our way.

"What is it?" Basar asked me over the comm.

"There are dents on some of the metal." I said as I noticed the dent marks on some of the metal. "They look fresh. Almost like they were moved here."

"It's a trap!" Vert said as we all looked to see Colt and Soloman jump off the pile beside us and head straight for us.

"Jay! Stanford!" I said to my teammates.

"On it!" Jay said to me as he and Stanford knew what I was gonna say, turned to face the Dark Gang elementals, and fired their cannons at them.

From there, we watched them dodge the blasts before giving us blasts of their own, Agura managing to knock one of Colt's away. I thought it would be a little easy until Soloman tossed something up and a squadron on fifty Darkbots appeared. This made things a little harder as the Darkbots were relentless, dodging our attacks and swarming us from all sides. Though I should've expected this from crooks like the Dark Gang. Hearing the screech of tires, I looked to see Stanford being pulled toward Soloman as Solomon used his grappling hooks to try to drag the Reverb into his Shredder Jaw's rotor blades. It was only for a moment until I saw put the Reverb in reverse and headed straight for Soloman. Just when he was only a few feet away from him, Stanford used the speaker under the Reverb to launch himself over Soloman, causing that cruel water elemental's car to flip over. Though that did help, we still had a situation on our hands. The area was too small for us to take on those two villains and all of their robotic soldiers. Seeing this, I knew we had to retreat until we could find a way to turn the tides.

"It's no use! We can't fight all of them like this!" I said, using the comm to talk everyone. "We have to retreat!"

"Axel's right. We can't face them while they have us cornered like this." Vert said before he made the call. "Everyone fall back and regroup!"

Colt's view

Once I saw the Element Gang and their pathetic friends start to turn tail and run with the Darkbots going into their new pursuit mode by turning into motorcycles, I then went over and got Soloman back up by flipping his car back over.

"Look at them run, Sol!" I said as we watched those heroes running like mice, both of us smiling as we did enjoy seeing this. "The plan's working!"

"Yeah. Now all we need to do is separate the brothers." Sol said as I then got back into my Terra-rizer and we both revved off to get those brothers away from their friends and right to Captain Kalus and the boss.

Once we caught up to them, me and Sol got to the brothers and pinned them. Thanks to the Darkbots, their friends were too busy to notice us take the brothers down the other path of the fork we got to. Though we didn't hold them for long for, once we got deep enough in the path, those brothers span us off. Though it didn't matter. We managed to get them as far away from their team, so our job was done. We then left and let the others take it from here.

Sherman's view

"Vengeance shall now be mine!" We heard Kalus yell as we saw him and Kaze on a wooden walkway nearby.

"Let's kick some Vandal butt!" Spinner said to me, ready to take on the strongest out of the Vandals.

"Wait!" I said to him, knowing that wouldn't be the wisest decision. "If we regroup with the others, we can launch a flanking pincer attack or…"

"Or we can—JUST TAKE THESE GUYS NOW!" Spinner said to me.

"Hope you know what you're doing!" I said to Spinner as I drove us towards Kaze and Kalus.

Kaze's view

"That's it." I said to myself as Captain Kalus and I watched the brothers come toward us, falling into our trap. "Take the bait."

With that, we then went down the wooden walkway with those two fools following behind. What they didn't know was that we had rigged the walkway. Before they arrived, I cut parts of two suspension poles that held up the walkway. I had to make sure I didn't cut too much for the brothers to notice, but also enough to where they can be pulled down. Even though the calculations were a bit slow, I managed to find the right portion I need to pull down and set it up to trap the brothers.

Sherman's view

A while after followed them onto the walkway, I watched as Kaze suddenly used his tail spike and launched two silver tendrils toward us. But, instead of hitting us, they went passed us. Seeing this, I wondering on why he did that when he could've taken us out with that attack.

Kaze's view

After managing to use my metalbending to latch onto the top of the poles, I was ready to spring the trap.

"Now time to set them where we want them." I said before I then pulled on the poles, pulling the right portion of them and sending them falling towards the walkway like two falling trees. With that, I then canceled my metalbending, transformed, grabbed my Primal Bounty and Captain Kalus and his Fangore, and flew us away to a safe location to watch the rest of the plan unfold.

Sherman's view

After seeing Kaze knock down those supports, I tried to drive as fast as I could to get me and Spinner off the walkway before it completely collapsed, the chain reaction caused by Kaze following close behind.

"Drive! Drive! Drive!" Spinner urged me.

"Oh, drive, Spinner? Really?! Maybe I should drive!" I sarcastically said, feeling something just snap in me.

It didn't seem like we had a chance to escape until I saw another walkway beside us. With the way it was elevated and seeing its stable structure, I managed to find our way out.

"Use the hammer!" I told Spinner and he managed to so, connecting us to a part of the walkway.

With this, I then drove off the collapsing walkway and used the momentum to swing us to a more stable one. After Spinner sighed in relief, I then went on to tell him the good news and the bad news resulting in all of this.

"Good news: we lost Captain Kalus and Kaze." I said to him with a smile before telling him the bad news, my smile fading away. "Bad news: we're exactly 10.2 clicks away from where we left the team."

"Yeah, but I saved us." Spinner said, getting full of himself again. "Bro, what would you do without me?"

"Live to see my next birthday." I said to myself.

At that point, I thought it was actually true. There were times that I thought I could be just fine on my own. It always seemed like that he needed me more than I need him. I had wished that he could just admit that instead of thinking of himself. Seeing as we had no choice, I pressed on the gas pedal and drove forward.


Axel's view

After finally managing to get to an open space, we fight against those Darkbots. It was a little rough but still easy to turn those gearheads into scrap metal.

"That's the last of them." Vert said as he got rid of the last two Darkbots. "Geez! Where do these guys get these robots from?"

"That's what I'm wondering as well." I said, still finding it peculiar that Kaze was able to make Darkbots at all on Vandal. "Even with getting tech from trashed Zurk, Kaze shouldn't even be able to make so many Darkbots by himself."

"Really freaky!" Mari said over the comm.

"Yes, but at least we don't have to deal with them as often as the Vandals themselves." Tricha said before she sighed with relief. "At least we were able escape in one piece."

"Hey, aren't we missing a couple of twins in a blue tank?" Basar said as we all looked around and saw that the Buster was nowhere to be seen.

"Basar's right." Agura said, realizing that BF5's strategic tactical and tech support were gone. "The Cortez Brothers are missing!"

"They must've gotten seperated from us during the retreat." I said before the sound of a phone ringtone came in.

"Jay, your phone's working?" Vert asked as we were surprised that Jay's phone was ringing, meaning he was actually getting a call in the Battle Zone.

"Yeah, it is." Jay said to us with a bright smile. "But how?"

"We must be in an area where the signal is stronger." I said, seeing how it was possible.

"Look at that! I can finally talk to Grace!" Jay said before he picked up his phone. "Hello, Jay Richey speaking." Thanks to my hearing, I was able to hear Grace's voice from the phone, but couldn't hear what she said as there was too much static. "Grace! Yes, it's me!"

Before he could say anything else, the call got cut off, meaning he lost the signal.

"Sorry, Jay." I said to him. "Looks like the signal wasn't strong enough to keep the call."

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll call back." Jay said, trying to hide his disappointment with a smile.

"Well, with that out of the way, let's find the brothers before the Vandals do." I said before I started using my communicator. "I'll try to see if Trust can find them. Hopefully the metal won't interfere the long distance communication."

Sherman's view

"Man! How are we gonna get topside?" Spinner asked as I drove through the Battle Zone.

"We don't want to." I said to him.

"We don't?" Spinner asked, confused by what I meant.

"We want the Battle Key," I said as I explained, looking at the radar, "and if my scan's right, I think we just found it."


Silvian's view

Hearing the approach of a vehicle, me, Soloman, Colt, Krocomodo, Sever, and Hatch looked to see the brothers heading to the pyramid where that trap was.

"Captain Kalus, Kaze, the brothers are heading your way." I said as I used my radio.

"Just as I predicted." Kaze said over the radio. "After they enter the tunnel, follow them in, but make sure you are not seen. Once they lead us to the Key, we'll corner them like rats and take it."

I actually gained a smile as we were gonna win this time until…

"Uh, Sil?" Soloman said as he tapped my shoulder before pointing to the sky behind us. "We got company."

I looked and saw that it was that poor excuse of an ice elemental Trustin, flying around on his motorcycle.

"Captain Kalus, Kaze, we got a problem." I said to them. "The Element Gang's scout is around."

"Blast!" Kaze said out of frustration. "If he sees the brothers, the whole plan will be ruined!"

"He won't be able to see them." I heard Kalus say over the radio. "Hatch, Krocomodo, Sever! Make sure that sub-creature does not interfere!"

"Yes, Captain Kalus." Krocomodo said before he, Sever, and Hatch drove off to deal with Trustin.

While they did that, the rest of us watched and waited for the brothers to get into the tunnel.

With that done, I then went on to keep looking for the Battle Key.


Sherman's view

"Oh, yeah." Spinner said as we reached pyramid made of pieces of metal. It had a clear rode with pillars with lit fires on them.

"Tracks leading into the pyramid." I said as I analyzed the road and found sets of tire tracks going into the entrance. "Looks like Kalus and Kaze have a head start. Radio for backup."

A moment after Spinner went on to use the communicator, he then said "No go, bro. Radio's toast. Too much interference."

"If we want that Battle Key, we gotta go!" I said as I then drove us into the pyramid.

Kaze's view

After seeing the brothers rushed inside the pyramid and Silvian, Colt, and Soloman arrived, we then followed them as the plan unfolded before us. Humans are so gullible.


Sherman's view

A while after driving, I managed to stop after seeing an obstacle ahead of us.

"Hey!" Spinner said to me, angry about the sudden stop I pulled. "Now what?"

With that, we both looked to see the large amounts of traps set before us. If we weren't careful, we either be crushed by closing doors or scorched by torrents of flame.

"Whoa! World's biggest barbeque!" Spinner said with shock. "The only way we're ever coming out of that is well done." He then yelped as he saw two portions of the wall move and collide with each other. "Scratch that! We'll only make it out there either well done or flattened!"

"There's a pattern to the blasts and when the walls begin to move." I said as I saw there was a way to pass through the traps. "If I can figure it out, maybe we can make it through." With that, I then started calculating the exact pattern the traps are set to go off. "The blasts are staggered based on prime numbers in their position and the doors are staggered based on composite numbers in their position."

"In English." Spinner asked as I figured out the pattern.

"Buckle up." I said before I then started driving, managing to dodge the torrents and go through the closing walls as they were opening. "Door closing at 5.3 seconds!" I managed to stop at the door as it closed and saw that we were beside a torrent. "Fire in 5.35 seconds!" The door then began to open as the torrent began to ignite. "Crusher in 2… 1…" It was a close call but we were able to make it through. After managing to go through more doors that were about to close along with a few torrents, we were able to get to the end and I parked the Buster on a switch on the floor which turned off the defense mechanisms. "Whoo-hoo! Yeah! The defense mechanisms are powered down,"

"Y-yeah. I knew we'd make it." Spinner said, looking pretty scared before I drove on.


Kaze's view

"Look at that." I said as Captain Kalus, my elemental brothers, and I reached the end of the tunnel, watching the brothers leave. "Not only did they manage to pass through the traps, but turned them off to allow us safe passage."

"Indeed." Captain Kalus said as he had the same smile I had. "I have to remember to thank these creatures for clearing the path to victory…after I dine on their bones."

"And we'll use what's leftover to use as bait for the next hunt." I said as my brothers and I were glad to finally be rid of two pests, even though the thought of a Vandal eating someone was disgusting to us.

"That'll be if there'll be anything left." Colt said, no doubt speaking about the little one.

With that, we drove off after them while ensuring our presence remained hidden.


Trustin's view

After a while of searching without finding the Battle Key, I was going to move on to search another part of the Zone when…

"Trust! Trust, come in!" I heard Axel's voice over the comm.

"What's up, Axel?" I asked him.

"We were ambushed by the Vandals and lost Sherm and Spin." He said to me. "Think you can find them?"

"You got it!" I said as started looking for the twins. "Now just where could they—Aah!"

Suddenly, something hit my Ice Bike and I looked to see one of the rotors was blasted at. With that I then started falling as I could hover without that rotor. Managing to think fast, I used my ice breath to create a ramp and slid my Ice Bike down it. The landing was a little hard, but I managed to make it out okay. Before I could get moving, I watched as Hatch, Sever, and Krocomodo appeared out of nowhere and surrounded me.

With how that looked, I could only think of one thing to say "Oh, crud."


Axel's view

"Sherman? Spinner?" Vert said, trying to get in contact with the twins.

"Any luck?" Basar asked him.

"No." Vert said, sounding worried. "I'm getting a faint signal from the Buster, but no audio."

"That's not good." Mari said over the comm. "Did Trust find them yet?"

"No and I'm afraid I lost contact with him." I said to her.

"We lost Trustin as well?" Stanford said. "Well, that's just bloody great."

Hearing a phone ring, we all looked to see Jay answer another call.

"Hello, Grace." Jay said, trying to sound suave.

Hearing Vert's groan of exasperation, I had no doubt that he was annoyed by Jay being able to talk to Grace. I was annoyed with Jay as well, but only because we were missing three of our teammates and he's trying to talk to his "date waiting for him back on Earth".

"Wait." Jay said, losing his smug. "No, I can't. Hold on a second."

"Jay, what are you doing?" I said as we all watch Jay leave his Wave Rider.

"I'm losing the signal again. Hold on." Jay said to me before he started climbing a pile of scrap and returning to his talk with Grace. "Can you hear me now?"

"Yo, Romeo!" Vert said to Jay as the water elemental was reaching the top, standing up in the Saber's cockpit. "Where you going?"

"I'm trying to see if I can get a better signal up here!" Jay said to Vert as he was reaching the top of the pile. "Can you hear me now? Now? What about now?"

"Jay, get down from there!" I said to him, but that hose brain didn't listen and kept going.

"Now? Now?" Jay said as he got on top of the pile. "Can you hear me now—Aaaaaaaah!"

"Jay!" I said as we all saw him slip off the pile and heard him rolling down the other side.

To make sure he was okay, Vert, Agura, and I left our vehicles to check on him. When we got on top of the pile, we saw that he was okay, but was stranded on a small scrap pile in the middle of a pool of some kind of liquid.

"Grace," Jay said as he stood up, "let me call you back."


Sherman's view

After sometime of traveling deeper into the pyramid, I had managed to find the location of the Battle Key. As the doors opened, we entered the chamber and looked around to see if we could find the Key. The room was large with a large pile of scrap metal in the middle of it.

"I don't see the Key." Spinner said to me as I kept looking around. "You led us into a dead end, Sherm."

"The Battle Key!" I said as I saw the Battle Key floating on top of the pile.

"Once again, I've led us to victory!" Spinner said, which just annoyed me.

"Spin," I said to him as he got out of the Buster, "wouldn't it be better if we…"

"Seize the day? You bet ya!" Spinner said as he started climbing the pile.

I was going to say take precaution for the radar indicated that the Key wasn't alone and we have no idea on what was with it to begin with.

No one's view

Not realizing what his brother was trying to tell him, Spinner continued to climb the large pile of scrap metal, determined to retrieve the Battle Key. While he was climbing the pile, unknown to him, three large yellow lights he passed suddenly turn on.

Sherman's view

"Almost there…" Spinner said as he tried to reach for the Key.

"Be careful, bro!" I said to him, worried that he might fall off the pile.

Then, suddenly, the pile started moving, rising in elevation to be exact. This allowed Spinner to reach the Key.

"Got ya!" Spinner said as he got the Key before the moving pile caused him to lose his balance and fall off. "Whoa!" He was okay after he landed flat on the ground and lifted himself up. "Why couldn't this be the Bouncy Castle Battle Zone?"

Though he was okay, we were still in trouble as I saw that the scrap pile wasn't a scrap pile. It was some kind of large canine made of metal. It had three yellow eyes and razor sharp teeth and claws.

"Spinner… Behind you!" I said before Spinner turned around and saw the creature, the very creature roaring at him.

"AAAAAAAH!" Spinner screamed before he started backing away. "Nice doggy! Good boy!"

"The Battle Key is mine, sub-creatures!" I heard Kalus say as I watched him, Kaze, Silvian, Soloman, and Colt drive past us and take the Key.

"Thanks for getting it for us!" Kaze said as they drove away.

Though, as they were, the creature looked at them and started running after them for some reason. With that, Spinner was able to get up and run back to the Buster.

Kaze's view

As we were driving, I looked back and saw the large creature was chasing us.

"What the heck?" Soloman said in shock. "Why's that thing coming after us?"

"Must be some kind of guardian for the Battle Key." I said as I realized it started going after us after Captain Kalus got the Key. "It'll go after anybody with it."

"Kaze, find a way to get rid of that thing or I'll feed you to it!" Captain Kalus said to me.

"Yes, sir!" I said to him as I tried to see if there was a way to elude this beast.

Sherman's view

"What the heck is that thing?" Spinner asked as we watched the creature go after the Vandals.

"Seeing how it went after the Vandals after they took the Battle Key, I would say it's some kind of guardian." I answered him. "It wants the Key back."

"Well, so do we." Spinner said. "Turn around and intercept!"

With that, I went ahead and managed to get us behind it and started closing in on it.

"Deploy the maces!" I said as I knew they would be better use in this situation.

"No way!" Spinner said to me. "This calls for a flash bomb!"

"Spinner, wait!" I said as I knew that wouldn't work. "At this range…"

But I was too late and he fired a flash bomb, but it was too far behind and detonated in front of us. Blinded by the light, I ended up crashing the Buster.

Spinner's view

"Sherm? You okay?" I said as I went on to check on my little bro.

"The flash charge blinded me." Sherm said to me after he rubbed his eyes.

I looked to where the Vandals were trying to escape the dog, but ended up losing the Key instead.

"The Battle Key!" I said as I saw our chance to get the Key back. With that, I went on to be my little bro's eyes. "Drive forward!" With that, my little bro drove us and we managed to get the Battle Key. "Keep going straight! Don't fear! Drive! Drive! Drive!" I looked and saw that we were heading for a scrap pile. "Sherm, hard left! Oh, look out!" Sherm turned right and we crashed into the pile. "I said 'hard left'!" Seeing that dog thingy coming towards us, I shot a mace at it, but it got stuck in its mouth and that thing tossed us away.

"We're…sideways, aren't we?" Sherm asked me.

"And in a whole heap of trouble!" I said before I got us out of the Buster, grabbed the Battle Key, and we made a run for it. "We got to get out of here! Go! Go! Go!" Though we ended up being cornered by that dog. And that wasn't even the worst part. "Hey! That's ours!"

The Vandals managed to take the Key, but that dog tossed them around like it did with me and my bro and they ended up corned like us.

"Yo, Kalus! Kaze! What up?" I said to them, feeling pretty good those two got what was coming to them.

"Ugh! This is hopeless!" Kaze groaned. "We'll never get out of here with that beast on our tail!"

"Perhaps if we throw the sub-creatures to the beast, it will give us time to make it to the door.

"How about a different plan?" I said, thinking of a plan that worked well for all of us. "Your rides are trashed, but you have the Battle Key."

"Yeah, so?" Kaze asked me.

"Well, our ride's still got a motor." I said to him. "We just don't have any firepower and, well, you do."

"Are you suggesting that an alliance?" Kaze said, sounding like he didn't like the idea. "I rather take my chance with that dog than to work with you!"

"The same goes for me." Kalus said before he crossed his arms and turned away, Kaze doing the same. "A Vandal warrior would consider total annihilation other than to endure such a dishonor."

"Fine. Just remember," I said to them, "that thing hates you more than it hates us."

When that thing roared at us, Silvian, Colt, and Soloman took a step back, afraid of being too close to it.

"Looks like we don't have much of an option." Kaze said to Kalus.

"What did you sub-creatures have in mind?" Kalus asked me and I then told them the plan.


Jay's view

After sometime of waiting for a rescue, I tried to get the signal back after losing it again.

"This is hopeless!" I said as I still couldn't get another signal. "Not even a single bar!"

Just then something grabbed me and pulled me into the air. I looked up and saw it was Axel, using his powers to turn his tail spikes into a claw to get me away from that pool of whatever it was.

"Thanks for the lift!" I said to Axel as he looked at me before I got an idea. "Hey, do you think you can lift me higher? I think I can get a better signal up here."

"This is no time for phone calls, Jay." Axel said to me with a scowl, putting me back in my Wave Rider. "We gotta find Sherm, Spin, and Trust!"

"How exactly are supposed to find them?" I asked him, not really seeing how searching this place would be any easier. "Trust's the only scout we got and he's gone too. It's not like he left bread crumbs for us to follow."

Axel's view

"Hey, what's that?" Basar said and we all turned to look behind us.

"It's Trustin's Ice Bike!" I said as we all saw our ice elemental's vehicle right behind us.

Getting back in my Fire Cycle, we all drove over to take a closer look at the bike.

"Looks like Trust was attacked." I said as I saw the damaged condition of the Ice Bike. "The Vandals must've ambushed him."

"Then where's Trust?" Basar asked me.

While I tried to figure this out, I heard some scraping and looked to see someone ahead of us. Couldn't really see much of who they are, but I could see them digging a bit at the dirt. It was only a guess, but there might've been a chance that whoever that was knew where our teammates were.

"Hey!" I said as I managed to get their attention as they looked at me. But after they did, they then ran off out of sight. "Hey, wait! Hold on!" I ran after them, but when I turned the corner, they were nowhere in sight. "What? Where'd that guy go?"

"Hey, Axel." I heard Agura over the comm as I went back to my Fire Cycle. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, but I think I saw somebody." I said as I got on my vehicle.

"Was it Trust?" Basar asked me.

"I'm not sure." I said to him. "I couldn't get a good look at them. And they ran off before I could even talk to them."

"Could've been the Vandals trying to trick us again." Stanford said.

"I don't think it was the Vandals." I said before looking to where that stranger was digging. "They were doing something to the dirt over there. Let's see what they were doing."

With that, we went over to where that mysterious stranger was and were surprised by what we saw.

"Is that…an arrow?" Jay asked as we saw a large arrow pointing forward in front of us.

"And it's not the only one." Agura said as we saw more arrows up ahead, making what looked like a path to follow.

"Okay, that's really freaky." Mari said and I had to agree. This was pretty strange. "Why are there a bunch of arrows on the ground?"

"Maybe whoever left these here is trying to tell us where Sherm, Spin, and Trust are." I said, only guessing on what was happening.

"You mean there is someone out there trying to help us find our comrades?" Tricha asked me.

"Maybe. Though we better be safe." I said before looking to Stanford. "Stanford, try to echo-locate the twins and Trust. If these arrows point us in the wrong direction, we'll know."

"I'm on it." Stanford said over the comm.

"Basar, get the Ice Bike strapped onto the Rockwheeler and move out."

"You got it, cap!" Basar said as he went over and got to work on strapping the Ice Bike onto his Rockwheeler.

Though, after getting the Ice Bike strapped onto the Rockwheeler and we followed the path with Stanford using his Reverb's echo-locater, I was beginning to wonder. Did the stranger I saw bring the Ice Bike over so we would follow the path? For what reason could it be? Though the biggest question to this: were they friend or foe?


Spinner's view

After telling the Vandals the plan, we then got ready to put into action. The plan was to take hook up the Vandals' rides with the Buster. Adding their firepower to the Buster, we could take down that metal pooch. Because there wasn't much room for those four, we decided to hook their rides up to the back and tow them out with us. Kaze and Kalus would run off with the Battle Key and allow me and my little bro to get to the Buster and get us all out of here. Though I was gonna have to drive since Sherm was still blind. Kaze had his goons "escort" us to the Buster in case anything went wrong.

"You sure you're up for this?" I asked the two.

"I am always ready for battle." Kalus said as he and Kaze were ready to run.

"Okay, on my go from 3, 2…" I said before those two ran right out there with the Key. "1, go."

"I fear no beast!" Kalus said as he and Kaze ran to his ride.

"Alright, bro, let's skedaddle!" I said as I got my little bro over to the Buster, Silvian, Colt, and Soloman following us.

"The twins are in, boss!" Colt yelled out after me and my bro got in and him, Silvian, Colt, and Soloman climbed on.

With that, I watched as Kaze took the Battle Key and tossed it over, where it stuck onto the Buster. I tried to get us moving, but I couldn't reach the pedals.

"Hey, get a move on!" Soloman yelled.

"I can't reach the pedals!" I said and Sherm slapped his forehead with his hand. When I got to the pedals, I then got ready to get us moving. "Okay, now I'll just put her in drive." I tried to put the Buster in drive, but it started making this weird noise.

"The clutch! Use the clutch!" Sherm told me.

"The clutch, you idiot!" Colt said to me.

"Forward!" I said before the Buster started going backwards.

We ended up going under the dog and made it slam into the wall. Just for the record, I meant to do that. Now with the dog out of the way, we got over to Kaze and Kalus and were ready for them to hook up their rides.

Kaze's view

Thanks to being in such close proximity to them, we were able to hear those fools talking to each other.

"Now, switch on the ramp!" The skinny twin said, making his brother groan in confusion. "The big, red button?"

"Dude! I can see any button!" the other twin said, making me, Silvian, Colt, and Soloman groan in frustration.

"Jeez Louise! I got to do everything?" the skinny one said as dropped down the ramp. With that and the turret raised, I linked our vehicles to each other through the turret while Captain Kalus worked on gathering them together. "Watch the paint job!"

"It's coming this way!" Colt said as we all saw the guardian running toward us.

"There!" I said as Captain Kalus, Colt, Silvian, Soloman, and I got to our vehicles, everything ready for us to leave. "Now let's get out of here!"

With that, the skinny one started driving and we tried to head for the exit, all while me and my fellow Vandals used our remaining artillery and powers to keep the guardian away from us as it chased us. I tried to shoot it with an arrow, but it bounced right off.

"Kaze, Kalus, turret's up!" the skinny twin said as we all looked to see the turret's moving.

"Brace yourselves!" I said as we all grab a hold of our vehicles before we were all lifted into the air.

Though I did not enjoy the experience, the tactic proved useful as the guardian couldn't reach us.

Spinner's view

The plan was working and now it was time to make this dog housebroken.

"Now kick it into overdrive!" Sherm said as I then punched it, the dog trying to keep up.

"We're going to crash!" Kaze said, not knowing how wrong he was.

"Not us, him!" I said before I turned, making that pooch crash into the wall, both K.O.-ing him and knocking down the door. With that, we stopped the turret and then got to driving our way out. "Good doggie! Good boy!"

Kaze's view

After our vehicles touched ground, I managed to get myself up and watched as the twins started towing us out with them. Though I saw Captain Kalus and I were able to recover, though the others needed a little more time to do so.

"Oh, I think I'm gonna…" Soloman said before he vomited to the side of his Shredder Jaw.

Though those fools think they won, they had forgotten that this was a temporary truce. One I tended to end once we escaped the pyramid.

Sherman's view

"Sherm, we made it!" I said as I drove us outside. "See, little bro? Not only did my genius plan get us away from the dog, but we also got the Battle Key. And I did it all by myself."

"Yeah, sure. All by yourself." I sarcastically said, disappointed that his ego hadn't gone away with just happened.

Kaze's view

After we got outside, I then went on to ending our alliance. Using my metalbending, I grabbed the Key from the twins.

"The Battle Key is ours!" I said as we all left our vehicles.

"Now to conquer Earth!" Captain Kalus said as I then placed the Key into the satchel I made back on Vandal. Glad to finally put it to good use.

"Hey!" I heard the skinny twin say before I brought out my wings.

"Thank you for helping us obtain the Key and distracting the guardian long enough for us to reach Earth." I said before I used my metalbending to grab Captain Kalus, Silvian, Soloman, and Colt and flew us out of there. "So long, fools!"

Spinner's view

Seeing that guy double-cross us and hearing that dumb bad guy laugh really ticked me off. I was gonna go after him when I heard that dog coming after us. I tried to lose it, keeping it away using those punks' rides again.

"Seriously? Why is that thing coming after us?" I said as that thing chased us. "We don't have the Key!"

"It must not realize that Kaze took the Key and thinks we have it hidden somewhere." Sherm said to me.

"Great. Can this get any worse?" I said before that Dog manage to grab one of Vandals' cars in its mouth. "Oh, crud."

Just like that, it then tossed us around before making us crash into a pile, flipping us upside down.

"We're… upside down again, aren't we?" Sherm asked me.

"Yep." I said as I saw that dog thing looking right at us. "And we're about to be dog food!"

When that thing started running at us, I thought we were done for. But, out of nowhere, a giant ball came in and hit the dog right in the face, knocking it back. When I got a good look at it, I saw it was a giant ice ball filled with more Vandal cars. I wondered where it came from and the answer came in when I saw a certain purple wolf with orange eyes land right where I could see them.

"Hey," Trustin said as he bent over to look at us through the windshield, "you guys need a hand?"

"Trust!" I said, pretty glad he was able to show up. "Perfect timing, especially with that ice ball."

"Well, I had some help with that part." Trust said before he stood up and this big black spot on the ground appeared.

I watched as something came out of it, the black spot shrinking as it did. When it was all the way out, the black spot disappeared and saw somebody wearing these weird two-toed, silver boots stand there. With the Buster upside down, I could only see this guy's feet. Though I didn't really have time to saying anything before that dog started getting back up.

"Looks like we'll have to save introductions later." Trust said, sounding like he was ready to fight. "Do you think you can be able to flip over the Buster?" Didn't really hear anything for a short while until Trust talked again. "Great! I'll keep Fido busy, you get the Buster back on its wheels!"

With that, Trust ran off towards that monster while the new guy spread his legs a bit while standing. For a moment there, I thought he wasn't helping until I felt the Buster moving. A while later, the Buster was back on its wheels.

"Whoa! Hey, thanks, dude!" I said as I turned and looked to the guy who helped us.

Though, when I did, I saw that he wasn't even a he. Heck, I didn't even know what I was looking at. For starters, what I was seeing looked like some kind of Vandal chick with white skin, black wings on her arms, three purple claws on her silver hands, and this black feathers on her head. With those boots, she was wearing some tights in a different kind of purple with some kind of long skirt that was the same purple as her claws. She also wore this vest that was the same purple as her pants with some kind of silver chest armor on top of it. To top it all off, she also had this bird mask in the same color as her claws and skirt with silver lines all over it. With the black mist coming off her wings, she actually looked pretty creepy.

"Um…I mean, thanks, dudette?" I said, not really sure if this chick was actually friendly.

Her mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear a single word she was saying. Before I could say anything, I heard Trust screaming and saw him flying toward us. Before he landed, that creepy chick flew and managed to catch him.

"Thanks, Raven." Trust said after she got him to ground safely.

"Guys, it's coming!" I said as I saw the dog running at us.

"No time to drive!" Trust said before she looked at the chick. "Raven, get us out of here!"

With that, she spread her arms or wings and that black spot appeared, only bigger. It was only a short while after it appeared that I saw we were starting to sink.

No one's view

As the guardian charged at them, the group continued to sink into the patch of black substance. When the guardian jumped at them, the group completely sunk into the black substance and it disappeared, leaving the guardian to crash and break a part of the scrap pile in front of it.

In a different part of the Battle Zone, the black substance reappeared and the group rose up from it. After they were completely out of the black substance, it shrunk down to its center and disappeared. The mysterious stranger then lowered her arms as FrostFang (Trustin) rushed over and supported her as nearly collapsed. He then went onto help her walk and got her to a safe, small pile of scrap metal for her to sit on. She used her clawed hands to support her as she sat up.


Spinner's view

After seeing we were somewhere else in the Battle Zone, I didn't exactly know what to say. It all happened so fast. Who exactly was that creepy chick and how did she teleport us like that?

"What is it? What happened?" Sherm said as he still couldn't see.

"I don't know, but I bet Trust does." I said as I went over, grabbed Sherm, and started getting us out of the Buster. "Come on!"

"You guys okay?" Trust asked us as he came over to us, turning back into his normal self.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Sherm said, looking away from Trust.

"Uh, Sherm? I'm over here." Trust said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry." Sherm said to him. "I guess my sight hasn't come back yet."

"Wait, you're blind?" Trust said, surprised by this. "What happened?"

"Well, I uh… kind of hit him with a flash bomb." I said to him.

"What?!" Trust said to me.

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to!"

"Geez, Spinner!"

"I did try to warn him, like I have always tried to do this entire time." Sherm said, standing up and walking away.

"How was I supposed to know that it was gonna hit ya in the eyes?" I said to him, not really seeing how it was my fault.

"You would've known if you had listened to me!" Sherm said, not knowing he was looking the wrong way. "Just like when you should've listened to me before you woke up the guardian and before you had us go after Kalus and Kaze instead of calling for help!"

"Wait, you and Sherm went after Kalus and Kaze by yourselves?" Trust said to me. "Spin, are you nuts? Those guys are too dangerous to take on alone, especially since one of them is a deadly psychopath!"

"And because of that, we lost the Key and now can't stop the Vandals from getting to Earth!" Sherm said to me, sounding pretty angry. "You actually think I need you? You need me more than I ever need you!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Not once had Sherman said that to me. That actually hurt. Really.

"You see, Spin? This is what Axel was talking about." Trust said to me. "You were so full of yourself that it's now gotten on Sherm's last nerve. Take it from me, I had almost the same problem with Zoom, so I know that the only way to fix this is to talk to stop thinking about your own pride and start being the big brother he knows you are."

There, I remembered how Trust nearly drove Zoom away from being so overprotective of him. I guess I did get carried away with trying to look great. With that in mind, I knew what I had to do and walked over to my little bro.

"Sherm, you okay?" I said to him.

"Look, Spin, I'm not mad at you." Sherm said to me. "I'm just…frustrated. You always think you can do things on your own, but I've always had to make sure you didn't get into any trouble. Ever since you got that big ego, it feels like that you don't appreciate everything I tried to do to help you. We're supposed to be a team and you just treated me like I was nothing."

"Sherm, I'm sorry. I didn't know I made you feel that way." I said to him. "But I guess you're right. I don't really think things through enough. I do need that big brain of yours. But, just because I didn't give you enough credit, that doesn't mean I don't care about you. You're my little bro and nothing is gonna change that."

It was only a moment before Sherm turned around and looked at me with a smile.

"Well, I guess I do need your help." Sherm said to me. "I mean, you've always done things that no one ever does. Sure, that does get you into trouble, but it does help to have that kind of confidence when it's needed."

"And that's why you make a perfect team." Trust said to us. "Axel told me that in order to survive in the Battle Zones, you got to have be able to think things out and when to act. You both help each other figure that stuff out."

"So we still good, big bro?" Sherm asked, ready to do a fist bump.

"Yeah, we're good." I said as we then fist-bumped. Though Sherm did it a little too hard and hurt my hand. "Ow!"

We had a good laugh about it for a while until…I felt something. Felt like…something was calling out to us.

"Hey, Sherm." I said to my little bro. "You feel that?"

"Yeah." Sherm said. "It's coming from…over there!"

We then ran over to the big scrap pile in front of us and started digging through it, trying see what was there. When we finally found them and pulled them out, I was surprised by what we found were shields. They were pretty old and rusty, but somehow they just felt right. They had this weird symbol in the middle, looked like two I's.

"Whoa! Awesome Shields!" I said as I held up my shield.

"Well, at least we have something to defend ourselves with when we can't use the Buster." Sherm said before that creepy chick appeared right between us and looked at and put her hands or claws on the shields.

Couldn't really get what she was saying because she was still giving me a creepy vibe and her whispering didn't really help.

"Whoa! Hey!" I said to her as I got the shield away from her before looking at Trust. "Trust, minding telling little Ms. Creepy over here to back off?"

"I wouldn't be calling that girl creepy if I were you, Spin." Trust said to me. "Especially when she's Black Raven."

"Black Raven?" I asked him.

"Yeah, that's what she calls herself when she's like this." He said.

"What? Being a creepy Vandal?" I asked as she looked at me.

"That's just how Black Raven looks and she's not a Vandal." He said.

"What do you mean she's not a Vandal?" I said, not really getting what he was saying. "She's looks like a freaking bird!"

"Uh, Fenn?" Trust said, looking to the Black Raven chick. "Maybe you should change back? I think Spin's a little uncomfortable with you like this."

The girl nodded before she got covered in black smoke. When the smoke cleared, instead of that creepy bird girl, it was this girl with short black hair with some purple in it, somewhat pasty skin, and blue eyes wearing a plain black t-shirt with a brown thin jacket, black short jeans, and pair of purple sandals. I gotta say…she looked hot.

"Is this better?" The girl said to me, sounding like a girl but a little gruff.

"Uh… yeah." I said, still shocked by what just happened. "I'm Spinner and that's my little bro Sherman. Who are you?"

"Thay call me Fennella. Fennella Joseph." The girl said to us. "Tis nice to make yer acquaintance."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." I said to her. "Guess you're not from Handler's Corner."

"Nah. Frae Scotland, I am."

"Okay so how did you do that…you know, that stuff back there?"

"That's her power." Trust said to me. "Fennella is able to control shadows. She's an elemental like me."

"Really?" I said before I spoke to the girl. "Where did you get those powers?"

"Get them? I was born with them." she said to me. "Had them since I was a wee lass."

"Well, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" I asked her.

"Oh, I was minding my own business when I got sucked up by this strange storm." She said. "Next thing I knew, I woke up in this overgrown junkyard. I've been stuck here ever since. A saw ye lot come here and saw ye were crackin' fowk. Thought that I could help, seein' how much trouble fur face an' his goons were making for ya."

"Yeah, she saved me from Krocomodo, Hatch, and Sever when they ambushed me." Trust said. "I promised her we'd get her back to Earth if she helped us beat the Vandals."

"Works for me." I said before thinking of something. "Hey, Fenn, do you think you can get us to the Vandals like how you got us away from that dog?"

"Sorry. Doing that with your tank there nearly worn me out." She said to me. "Though A did see where those bloats are going."

"Then let's get after them!" I said but, before me and Sherm could get back in the Buster, Fenn stopped us.

"Wait!" She said before she walked over and brought over a black wrecked motorbike. "Dae ye think we could bring this along? Tis the only thing I got to get me around."

"Really?" I said, surprised that piece of junk was her ride.

"Oy! It wasn't like this before!" she said to me. "That overgrown mutt used it as a chew toy when I got here. Once I get it fixed, it'll be smooth ridin' for me."

"Okay." I said.

With that, we hooked up her ride to the Buster and got ready to go. Trust turned back into his hero form and me and my bro got into the Buster. Though, before we got going, Fenn got in with us, sitting right in front of Sherm.

"Fenn, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"Oy! You didn't think I would be riding out there, did you?" She said to me. "I don't take much space. Besides, it seems like ya two need would need my help in here more than out there."

"Okay, fine. Let's just get going!" I said before I got us moving. "Hopefully the guys find the Vandals before they get to the portal."

"Um… about that…" Fenn said, looking a little nervous.


Axel's view

After a while of following the trail, Stanford spoke out through the comm.

"That's odd." He said.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"According to my scanners, Sherman and Spinner just moved somewhere else." He said.

"You mean they drove away from wherever we're heading?" I said after we all stopped.

"No, they just disappeared from one place and reappeared in another." He said.

"Where are they now?"

"Well, it looks like they're somewhere back the other way and they're on the move."

"Seriously?" Basar said, shocked by this. "How did the Buster get all the way over there?"

"Maybe it has something to do with our strange helper." I said to him. "I mean, they did managed to disappear without a trace."

"Well, let us hope that whoever this stranger maybe is a friend and not a foe." Tricha said, her voice sounding with a bit of worry.

Just then, we all heard a phone ringing and looked to Jay as he pulled out his and answered it.

"Hello, Grace?" Jay said before he smiled. "Yes! I can hear you. Now…"

Before Jay could "put on his charm", something roared out and it sounded close by.

"What was that?" Basar asked.

"Stanford?" I asked the BF5's artillery expert.

"Uh, lads?" Stanford said, some fear in his voice. "Not to alarm you, but I'm picking up something heading right for us!"

After he said that, we all heard some stopping and looked ahead and saw something large charging at us. It look like some giant, bipedal creature made completely out of metal. It resembled some kind of canine, though I couldn't tell what kind. It had sharp claws, razor sharp teeth, and three, big, yellow eyes. Even though it didn't make an expression (or possibly couldn't make one), I could tell that it was angry.

"Axel… what the heck is that?" Basar asked me.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look friendly." I said as it was beginning to close in on us. "Floor it!"

With that, we all drove off, retracing the path we took to try to escape that thing. It wasn't easy. We had to do some maneuvering. When we got into an open space, we spread out to try and confuse it while we tried to figure out if there was a way to beat this metallic beast. Though it went after Jay and knocked him away with a head-butt, sending him rolling into a scrap pile. Luckily, the Wave Rider's wheels hit the wall so he wasn't hurt. Though he was now in trouble for he couldn't move and that thing was heading right for him. Thinking fast, I drove over and used my metalbending powers to get him out of there, making the beast crash into the pile. Though it was able to recover, Stanford and Mari were able to distract it with their cannons and Basar was able to knock it down with the force of his Rockwheeler. With the beast down, we all saw our chance and got out of there as quick as we could. Once we got a good enough distance, we all stopped to take a breather.

"Everybody alright?" I asked.

"We're all good, Axel." Vert said to me.

"Okay, what the heck was that thing and why did it attack us?" Basar asked me.

"My guess is that it was the creature that was with the Battle Key." I answered.

"Okay, but why did that bloody thing attack us?" Stanford asked.

"Maybe it's because it thought we had the Battle Key." I said as I was beginning to realize what that creature was.

"Why would it attack us for that?" Mari asked, confused by this.

"Probably it's not a normal creature." I said as I explained. "I think that beast is some kind of guardian placed here to protect the Battle Key. If that's the case, it'll make sure that the Key never leaves the Battle Zone."

"Then let's find that Key before it does." Vert said before Jay spoke up.

"Oh, no!"

"Jay, what's wrong?" I asked him.

"My phone's gone!" He said, making me give him a look of exasperation. "It must've fell out of my pocket when that thing rammed me. I need to get it back!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" I said to Jay as I stopped him. "We still got a job to do! We need to find the twins and Trust, find the Battle Key, and get out of this Zone before that guardian rips us apart!"

"But Grace…" Jay said, trying to make an argument before Vert spoke to him.

"Jay, forget about Grace and let's get rolling! Talking to her isn't going to matter if we don't keep the Vandals from getting to Earth!"

With that, Jay gave a sigh of depression before he turned around and was ready to roll with us.

"Okay, let's roll!" I said before we all drove off to find the twins and Trust and, hopefully, find the Battle Key before the Vandals.


No one's view

In a different area of the Battle Zone, Jay's phone is on the ground with Grace speaking through it.

"Hello? Jay?" Grace said as the guardian stood over the phone. "You sound funny." The beast then ate the phone before giving out a loud burp. "Ew!"


Spinner's view

As we were driving, I tried to keep my eyes peeled for the Vandals, meaning anything that was flying in the air.

"Hey, Fenn! Are you sure we're going the right way?" I asked the hottie in the back with my little bro.

"Aye, I'm sure of it." She said to me. "I clocked those blokes going through here."

"Um…Fennella?" Sherm said, sounding a little uncomfortable back there. "Are you sure that… that you're okay being in here? Not that I have a problem with it or anything."

"Oh, sure, I don't mind." She said to him. "Besides, seeing how yer brother is driving there, it only makes sense I help with the weapons on this thing."

"Oh, sure." Sherm said to her, still sounding a little nervous. "I guess you have a point."

"Oy, are you alright there?" She asked him.

"Oh, sure, I'm fine." Sherm said. "It's just…"

"Hey, Trust!" I said, trying to get Fenn's focus off Sherm for a moment. "Do you see the Vandals yet?"

"Not yet—Wait!" Trust said to me. "I see them! They're heading for the portal!"

"Then let's get them!" I said before looking to Fenn. "Fenn, get the turret ready!"

"Aye!" She said to me with fighter's smile.

With all that, I floored it and got us heading straight for the Vandals.


Kaze's view

After flying around for such a while, I was finally able to pinpoint where the Stormshock portal to Earth was and began closing in on it, carrying Captain Kalus, Silvian, Colt, and Soloman with me.

"We are almost to portal!" I said, gaining a smile on my face. "Just a little further and Earth will be ours!"

It seemed as though victory was in our grasp until…

"Uh, boss?" Colt said, making me lose my smile.

"What?" I asked him as I looked and saw him pointing to my right side with a look of fear.

I looked to where he was pointing and was shocked when I saw…my Primal Bounty flying right at us! I managed to dodge it, but looked to see the vehicles of Colt, Silvian, and Soloman heading for us too. I barely dodged them, but I wasn't able to dodge when Captain Kalus' Fangore came at us and knocked us to the ground. We were lucky to have survived falling from so high in the air.

"Oh!" I said before I realized that the Battle Key was gone. "No! The Battle Key!"

I looked around and saw it a few feet away from me. I tried to grab it, but I watched as it was pulled away by an energy cable and soon attached itself to the casing of the one vehicle I thought was scrapped.

Spinner's view

"Hey, boys!" I said to the Vandals, feeling pretty proud that we managed to stop them from getting to the portal. "Missed us?"

"What?!" Kaze said while glaring at us as him, Kalus, and the other Dark Gang Vandals got up. "How did you escape the guardian?"

"They had a little help!" Trust said as he got off the Buster.

"The scout!" Kaze said, glaring at Trust. "So you escaped Sever, Hatch, and Krocomodo."

"Well, it's not like any of us were gonna sit around and allow you conquer Earth." Trust said.

"Yeah! You want to get to Earth?" I said to him, ready to fight. "You'll have to get through us!"

"You dare challenge us? Then you are fools!" Kaze said to us before looking to his goons. "Boys, destroy them!"

Just like that, those four Dark Gang Vandals transformed, turning into the bad guy versions of El Dragon, Apolloid, FrostFang, and Posidacus.

"I got Silvian!" Trust said to us. "You guys think you can handle the rest?"

"It'll be as easy as pie!" I said as I got ready to crash and bash.

"Great! Let's do this!" Trust said as we went at them.

Trust did pretty good against that FrostFang faker, going at him like a ninja. Though it was a little tough handling the others and Kalus, but we were able to pull through it, especially with Fenn working the weapons. I did have to tell her what buttons to push, but she managed to get the hang of it pretty quick. After doing this for a solid hour, it looked like we were gonna beat them.

"Yeah! You're a naturalist, sis!" I said to Fenn.

"Why, thank you." She said to me with a smile.

But, just when it seemed like things were pretty good, we felt the Buster moving. It was moving forward or backwards, but moving up. We looked to the side and saw Kaze and Colt lifting us up before tossing us at a wall of scrap. This time, the Buster was pinned on its side.

"What happened?" Sherm asked. "Are we…upside down again?"

"No, we're sideways." Spinner said. "But we're still pinned down."

"Then it's time to give this blokes a good wallop!" Fenn said before she started climbing out of the Buster and stood in front with Kalus and those Dark Gang punks looking at her. "Not another step, you scabby, no-good blokes!"

"What the…? A girl?" Soloman asked, surprised by this.

"See? I told you I saw someone!" Colt said to him.

"Who the heck are you?" Kaze asked her.

"The name is Fennella Joseph!" She said to them. "But ye can call me Black Raven!"

"You think you intimidate us?" Kaze said to her. "We are the Vandals! We fear nothing!"

"Oh, I think there's somethin' ye might be afraid of." She said before she changed into Black Raven and charged right at them.

"What?! An elemental?!" Kaze said as Fenn started kicking their butts.

Even though she looked a little creepy as Black Raven, Fenn really know how to fight. But that only last a little while before the Vandals were able to gang up on her. Seeing how she was starting to have trouble, I knew we had to do something. By that, I mean me and my little bro.

"Sherm, come on!" I said to Sherm, grabbing one of the shields we found. "Get your shield and let's help out Fenn!"

"But, Spin, I still can't see!" Sherm said to me, touching everything until he finally got his shield.

"Don't worry! Just listen to me and I'll tell ya where to start punching." I said to him. "Don't worry, I got your back."

"Thanks, big bro." Sherm said before we got out of the Buster and were ready to fight just as the Vandals surrounded Fenn.

"Hey, Vandals!" I said as I got the Dark Gang Vandals' to look at us. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

"Well, with Colt here, because no one's that big, man!" Soloman said to us.

"Really? You're facing us without your tank?" Colt said to us before he laughed. "Ah-ha-ha! You nuts? Ha-ha-ha!"

"How about you come over and say that to my face, dough boy?" I said as I gave him a burn, making the fake muscle fat boy glare at me.

"If you want to die, then let your wish be granted." Kaze said to us. "Captain Kalus and I will take care of the girl. Colt, Soloman, tear them apart!"

"With pleasure!" Colt said before him and Soloman charged at us.

When they split up and started charging us from the sides, I got to tell my little bro what to do.

"Sherm, 9'o'clock!" I said as the elemental wannabes tried to attack us, Soloman trying to kick Sherm and Colt trying to punch me.

We managed to block them and, surprisingly, they didn't even leave a single dent in out shields. And even more surprising, those two crooks actually hurt themselves doing it.

"Ahhh! My foot!" Soloman yelled out as he backed away and started hopping while holding his right foot, Sherm lowering his shield.

"Owww! That actually hurt!" Colt yelled out as he held his left hand, making me lower his shield. "What is that think made out of?"

"I don't know, but it's awesome!" I said before I then thought of what to do next. "Sherm, 6'o'clock turn, move four steps forward, and give a straight punch!"

With that, I slid under my little bro's arm as he did what I said and go after Colt while I went after Soloman. With that, I put up my shield and smacked that water elemental punk right in the face while Sherm made Colt take a punch to the face. Though they did get up, but that didn't stop us. I kept telling where to go and we were able to block those guys and land good hits on them, me using my shield and my little bro using both his fists and his shield. I even managed to smack Colt right in the gut.

Fennella's view

After Spinner and Sherman got half those dobbers off me, I was able to handle myself against the bloody bassas. Though, as I was fighting, I managed to look to see if the two needed my help. But it turned out they were doing just fine. Better than fine. Those two were really going at it, giving those red-eyed blokes a real wallop. I was really impressed. Looks like I picked the right folks to help.

Trustin's view

After a while of going hand-to-hand with Silvian, I looked when I heard some fighting and saw Fennella fighting against Kaze and Kalus and Sherm and Spin taking on Colt and Soloman. What I was really surprised by how well Colt and Sherm were handling themselves. They were really working as a team—no, as brothers. Axel didn't want to miss this. Though, when I looked at the shields, I saw that they were starting to glow in this blue light. Because the Cortez Brothers were so focused with the fight, they didn't even notice. The way those shields were glowing, it kind of reminded me of…the time Zoom awakened the power of that bow! But I didn't have time to think about those shields as I then remembered my battle with Silvian when I looked and saw him trying to tackle me. But he didn't get the chance as I saw him get blow away by a familiar water blast.

"Element Gang," Axel said as I looked and saw him and the rest of the team coming in, "let the elements strike!"

Kaze's view

When I heard that rat's voice, I looked and saw that the rest of the Element Gang and Battle Force 5 had showed up. Seeing how we were outnumbered, I knew I had no choice but to use my only Spike series Darkbots. It took so long to perfect the design on Vandal and create these three, but I had no choice for they were the only way to even things in this fight. With that, I tossed the orange spiked capsules into the air to activate the Darkbots and then sent them to keep the heroes busy.

Axel's view

As we tried to drive over to help Trust and the twins, we were soon met by three familiar, orange armored, spike-headed robots that each had a sword for a hand.

"Spike Darkbots, look out!" I said as we dodged the energy waves those Darkbots sent at us with their swords.

To explain, these were the strongest variation of Darkbots, capable of releasing waves and blasts of energy from their blades. They are so powerful that even one of them alone is enough to give you trouble and cause havoc. With three of them, they did make some complications for us even with everybody and their vehicles.

Spinner's view

After being able to kick their butts for so long, me and Sherm then pushed them back and stood in front of them, feeling quite proud of ourselves.

"Had enough?" I said to those two elemental posers.

"You think you beat us?" Colt said to us. "You didn't win anything! You wouldn't be acting so tough if you didn't have those weirdly strong shields!"

"Yeah, that's true." I said to Colt. "Me and Sherman aren't actually big, tough elementals like you. But as long as we got each other's backs, there's nothing we can't do.

Fennella's view

Just when I thought this fight was just about over, those two blokes just stopped and we're trying to look behind me. I turned to see what was going on and was surprised by the twins' shields glowing with this odd blue light. Seeing how neither them or the two blokes they were fighting noticed it, I guess the light wasn't bright enough for either of them to see. Though I was still what in the bloody world is going on with those shields?

Spinner's view

"He's right." Sherm said, managing to look forward with being blind. "Whenever my big bro needs me the most, I'll always be there to help him. As I know he would do the same for me."

Trustin's view

After fighting for so long, me and Silvian were ready to end this, but he just stopped and looked behind me with shock. While I was trying to figure out what got him so spooked, I felt this bright light coming over me. I looked behind and saw that it was coming from those shields, the light they were making was brighter and was still getting brighter by the minute. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Could those shields actually be…Sacred Cosmic Relics?

Spinner's view

"Sherm and I are the perfect team!" I said as those two punks started looking a little shocked.

"And nothing is ever gonna break us apart!" Sherm said, not wanting to back down just as much as I do. "We will protect Earth for we are…"

"The Cortez Brothers!" We both said at the same time. After we said that, the shields started glowing in a bright blue light. I had to cover my eyes just to make sure I wasn't blinded. "Whoa!"

Fennella's view

"Aah!" I heard those two blokes on the ground say, no doubt covering their eyes from that blue flash.

I couldn't really tell as that light made me cover my eyes. When it was gone, I uncovered my eyes and was shocked by what I was seeing. Those rusty old shield Sherman and Spinner were carrying now looked brand new. Just what in the bloody world just happened?

Spinner's view

Okay, I had to say it, I thought these shields were cool, but now they had gotten even cooler! I just couldn't believe they went from being old and rusty to being this totally awesome just like that! They both had the same colors as the Buster with some kind of lighter blue with them. The way they changed, they kind of looked like gears. That weird symbol at the center was actually glowing blue like most of the shield.

"Whoa! Awesome!" I said, really liking how cool these shields look now.

"What? What happened?" Sherm asked as he still couldn't see.

"I think we just leveled up, little bro!" I said to him. "These shields just went from cool to awesome!"

After a while of looking at it, I suddenly saw these two guys holding the shields that I had, but they looked different. They looked like when we first found them. One of them knock away some kind of blast with one of the shields while the other guy got up front and tossed the one he had. When it was coming right at me, the edges started glowing. After that light it was giving blinded me, I shook my head a bit as I looked to see Soloman and Colt getting back up. What was that?

"Whoa!" I said before I looked at Sherm. "Sherm, did you see that?"

"I think I did." Sherm said, sounding just as surprised as I was.

"Well, do you see this?" Soloman said as he started firing at Sherm.

"Sherman, look out!" I said as I got in front of him with my shield up to block.

I thought I was gonna be blow away from that, but after I saw I wasn't, I looked and saw that me and Sherm were being protected by some kind of blue force field that was actually holding back Soloman's blasts. After a little while of seeing that, I watched as those blasts bounced off the force field and headed right back at Soloman.

"What the—Aaaahhh!" Soloman said as he got blow away with his own attack.

He fell flat on his back and tried to get back up, but passed out from his own attack. He even turned back to normal. After that happened, the force field went away as I stood up. I had to guess that force field came from the shield. Seriously, how awesome is that?

"What happened?" Sherm asked as I turned to him.

"I'll tell ya what happened: I just took down a member of the Dark Gang with his own attack!" I said to him before looking back to fight Colt. "Now it's just you and us…" When I tried to look at him, Colt was gone and there was this big hole in the ground. "Hey, where'd he go?"

I got my answer when Colt popped out of the ground behind Sherm, grabbed my little bro, and tossed him into the Buster.

"Got ya now!" Colt said as he picked Sherm up and got ready to punch him.

"Hey!" I said as I charged at him, Colt looking my way as I did. "Get your hands off my little bro!"

Colt's view

Seeing that string bean coming right at me with that puny excuse of a fist, I didn't really see why I should be afraid of him when he was just gonna break his hand. My body was solid rock, literally. But, when he jumped to get his punch to my face, his fist was surrounded by this strange blue aura.

"Huh?" I said before that shrimp hit me right in the face. It actually hurt.

Fennella's view

Looking back, I was shocked that Spinner was able to land a punch on that behemoth. Didn't know he had it in him. Though I was wondering why his fist was glowing like a wisp.

Trustin's view

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Spinner punching Tristone, who is like a giant compared to him, square in the face. Though I'm sure my jaw hit the ground when I saw that punch sending Colt straight into the ground and sending him like a yard away. Though the most shocking of it was when I saw Colt getting back up and his left eye had a black spot on it that was covered in cracks. As Spin was breathing from doing such a hard punch, I saw that aura around his fist before it just disappeared.

Colt's view

After getting punched and back on my feet, I was about to charge that little pipsqueak when I started feeling pain in my eye.

"Aah! My eye! Aah!" I said as I actually held my eye in pain for the first time in ages.

Seriously, what the heck did that short stack do to me?!

Kaze's view

Now I was absolutely shocked by this. The strongest elemental I had with me and amongst the Dark Gang besides me was actually harmed by a human? How is that even possible?!

Silvian's view

I still couldn't believe my eyes. That scrawny, little shrimp actually gave Colt a black eye while he was in his full elemental form! But that's impossible! Nobody can do that! Not even the Element Gang's own earth elemental could do that!

Spinner's view

As that jerk was shouting out while holding his eye, I then went to help my little bro up.

"Hey, you okay, Sherm?" I asked as I held out my hand to Sherm.

"Yeah, thanks, big bro." He said as he grabbed it and I pulled him back to his feet. "How did you rid of Colt?"

I looked at my hand and tried to figure out what had happened but really couldn't see how I could do that. I thought my hand was actually gonna break, but I was able to punch Colt and even give him a black eye.

"I have no idea." I said to my little bro before remembering we were still in a battle. "We'll figure this out later. We need to help the others!"

"Right!" Sherm said before we then went off to do so.

Axel's view

After fighting for so long, we were still not even close to beating these Darkbots. They were relentless. Though we were ready to take them head on, even as they got ready to use one final blast. But, when they rose their blades to do so, something blue and resembling a disk came in and went right throw the wrists of those Darkbots, cutting their blades clean off! Those Darkbots were definitely shocked by that. Looking to where that disk-like object was going, I watched as some managed to catch it, revealing it to be some kind of blue, gear-shaped shield.

"There! I believe that even things up!" Spinner said to me and the others, grinning with Sherman beside him.

"Yeah, thanks, guys!" I said to him before looking at the Darkbots with a grin of my own. "Ready, Vert?"

"Let's crash and bash!" Vert said, ready to fight.

Thanks to the twins' help, we were able to turn those Darkbots into scrap metal.

Spinner's view

After helping the team, me and Sherm then went on to help Fenn. Though we ended up finding a little problem with Colt coming up behind us, getting ready to ram us.

"Bro, we got a problem!" I said, talking about Colt. "And it weighs like a ton of bricks, has one black eye, and is charging at us like a bull!"

"Wait, is Colt only able to see in one eye?" Sherm asked me.

"Yeah, it looks like it." I said after seeing his black eye was actually closed.

"What's it look like up ahead?" he asked.

"Well, it looks like Kalus and Kaze are starting to gang up on Fenn there." I said to him, seeing how Fenn's fight was going.

"Are those two focused on her?" he asked just when Fenn dodged a giant metal hammer fist from Kaze.

"Yep." I said to him.

"Perfect!" Sherm said to me. "Get us over to Fenn!"

"Okay!" I said as I got us over to her.

"Fennella, listen we got a plan." Sherm said to her. "Do you think you can teleport us again?"

"Yes." Fenn said, surprisingly sounding like she haves an echo with her. "Seein' it's just you two and not that tank of yers, it'll be easy."

"Good. Then once you see Kaze, Kalus, and Colt coming at you at once, teleport us." Sherm said to her.

"Oh, I see what you're planning." She said to him. "Alright, let's do this!"

I didn't know what exactly my little bro was thinking, but I hoped it wasn't for us to get into one bad dog pile. Fenn grabbed us and carried us as she dodge attacks from Kaze and Kalus.

"Um, Fenn?" I said as I saw Colt charging at us, getting a little worried by how close he was getting.

"Hold on, just a little longer." She said to me.

"Fenn!" I said as Colt was halfway to us.

"Almost there." She said as her last dodge put her back to Colt.

"FENN!" I said as Kalus and Kaze then charged at us, knowing that Colt was charging in from behind.

"There! So long, boys!" She said before she then teleported the three of us away.

Kaze's view

Just when I thought we had that pesky elemental, she disappeared into some kind of shadow with the brothers. Though Captain Kalus and I were confused by this even when the circle of shadows disappeared, we found out what she had done when we looked forward and saw Colt charging at us. We were unable to stop it as Colt rammed us and slammed us into a pile of scrap. Luckily for him, the pile had metal that couldn't puncture anything.

Spinner's view

After Fenn got us to reappear, she put me and Sherm down on our feet and we watched as Kaze started chewing up Colt for ramming him and Kalus.

"Colt, you idiot! You rammed us!" Kaze said before smacked Colt in the head with his fist.

"Ow!" Colt said as he let Kaze and Kalus back to their feet, backing away while rubbing his head. "Sorry, boss."

I gotta say, it was pretty funny to see this. And I can't believe Sherm was able to get Colt to slam Kalus and Kaze. I even heard Fenn laugh a little from it.

"Okay, that is awesome!" I said as I laughed before I looked Sherm. "How did you know that would work?"

"Well, when you told me about Colt's black eye, I had to guess he might've lost his depth perception." Sherm said, explaining his plan. "So he wasn't exactly able to see where he was going. With how he was going at us, it was perfect to trick him into attacking one of his own."

"Way to go, little bro!" I said to him, impressed by this.

"Uh, guys?" Fenn said to us as we looked and saw that Colt and Kaze sent to blasts at us.

"Sherm, head forward 12'o'clock and swing your shield!" I said as he did and I swung my shield with him.

Some of that force field that came around our shields and we swung them, knocking back those blasts back to the ones who sent them. Colt was knocked out as he turned back to normal, but surprisingly Kaze was still in the fight. Though, after he got up, a large black hand came up from out of nowhere, grabbed him, and tossed him over us. Though he was still in the fight, Axel managed to show up in front of him.

"I don't think so, Kaze." He said to him as he got off his ride. "You want to get to them, you have to go through me." As Kaze growled at him, he looked back at us and said "I got this guy! You think you can help out the others?"

"You got it, Axe!" I said to him before he then went off to fight Kaze.

"I can handle the furball." Fenn said, ready to fight Kalus. "You two help Trustin."

"On it, Fenn!" I said before me and my bro got going. "Let's go, Sherm!"

Trustin's view

After a while of fighting, Silvian managed to sneak up on me and tried to freeze me. I thought I was gonna be stuck in ice as I couldn't dodge until…

"Sherm, shields up at 12'o'clock!" I heard Spinner said as he and Sherm got in front of me and held up their shields.

Then this strange force field appeared out of nowhere and blocked Silvian's blast. I watched as it bounced off the force field and when straight back at Silvian, freezing him solid.

"You okay, Trust?" Spinner asked as he looked at me, him and Sherm standing up and moving their shields down with the force field disappearing.

"Yeah. Thanks, guys." I said as I noticed how the shields looked and knew I was right about them. "Looks like you two found some Sacred Cosmic Relics."

"We did?" Spinner said, surprised by this.

"Yeah, how else do you explain all they had did?" I said to them.

The brothers managed to look at each and smiled. I knew those smiles. I had no doubt that they were glad to be brothers. Though this moment was a little short lived when we heard screaming and saw Kaze flying over us followed by a screaming Kalus along with an unconscious Colt and Soloman. When they landed, Kaze and Kalus ended up in a pile up with Colt and Soloman landing on top of them. When there was screaming behind us, the three of us watched as Silvian was sent flying and landed right on top of the Vandals. Looking behind us we saw that Basar was there in his Rockwheeler. After that, Fennella and the rest of the team came over to us and we watched as Kaze pulled himself out of the pile still ready to fight while the rest of his "team" was still unconscious.

"Give it up, Kaze!" Axel said to the Dargon. "It's over!"

"Never! A Vandal never surrenders!" Kaze said before we saw him pick up his chariot and throw it at us.

Though when it was getting close to crashing on us, it just stopped. I mean, it literally just stopped and was just floating in the air. While wondering what caused that to happen, Spinner spoke up.

"Uh, guys?" Spinner said as we saw that he had his hand up in the air.

When we saw him move his hand, the chariot moved to where his hand was facing.

"Spin, how are you doing that?" Basar asked him.

"I don't know." Spin said, surprised just as much as we were.

"It must be that Cosmic Relic you have." Axel said as he explained. "It must've given some more of elemental manipulation over anything metal."

"I got a new weapon and a superpower? Sweet!" Spin said before he looked straight forward. "Hey, where'd Kaze go?"

We all looked and saw he was gone. We all looked around and I managed to find him.

"There he goes!" I said as we all looked and saw him running to the Buster. "He's going for the Battle Key!"

"Stop him!" Axel said as we were about to chase him.

But, before we could even move, a sideways column of rock rose up out of nowhere and hit Kaze square in the face, sending him flying back into the pile on top of his fellow Vandals.

"Basar, did you…?" I said as I looked to Basar as I thought it was him, but saw he was still in his Rockwheeler.

"Wasn't me." He said.

"But if it wasn't you, then who…?" Jay asked before Kaze got back up and glared at us.

But, before he could even move, a stone came in out of nowhere and knocked Kaze off the pile and onto the ground a few feet away.

Kaze's view

As I was getting up, only able to get up on my hands and knees, I had no idea what was going on. First, I got hit with a rising slab of stone and now a rock knocked me to the ground? I knew that it couldn't have been that earth elemental as he was still in his vehicles. Before I could even process and try to figure out who it was, a large shadow covered me. It wasn't that new elemental's doing for this shadow slid over me. Which meant it was being cast from above. When I looked up, I couldn't help but scream as it came crashing down on me.

Axel's view

After Spinner brought Kaze's chariot down on him. Though he looked like he was pinned, he started to get up, struggling to get his wrecked chariot off him. But, before he could even use his tail to toss his chariot off. Another big stone came in and hit him square in the face. That finally did the job and he fell unconscious, the Dargon collapsing and turning back into his human form. Looking to where that stone came from, we were all shocked and saw that it was Sherman who had a look of determination on his face with his eyes closed.

"Sherman?" Spinner said, still shocked by this. "You got superpowers too?"

"Um…what did I do?" Sherman asked, sounding confused and losing that look of determination.

"Dude, you just sent some rocks at Kaze and knocked him out!" Basar said, sounding impressed.

"Way to go, little bro!" Spinner said, slapping his brother on the back.

"Looks like you have the ability of earth manipulation." I said to him before Trustin spoke up.

"Wait, aren't you still blind?" Trust asked him. "How did you know where to hit?"

"Oh, yes, um…" Sherman said, unsure what to say. "I guess you can say I was going with my gut."

"What? But that doesn't make any sense." I said before Vert interrupted me.

"Guys, can we talk about this later?" Vert said to us. "We still need to clear this Battle Zone."

"Vert's right." I said as I got back to my Fire Cycle. "Let's get out of here before the Vandals wake up."

With that, we all got back to our vehicles, our mysterious ally helping the twins to the Buster and hitching a ride with them and Trust riding with Stanford. With that, we all headed for the portal and head straight back to Earth.

Kaze's view

When I awoke, I looked to see the Element Gang and Battle Force 5 leaving through the Stormshock.

"No!" I said as I saw the last of them go through and the portal close.

Hearing Captain Kalus and the others wake up, I then went on to get my Primal Bounty off me and back to my feet, dusting myself after I did.

"Kaze, what happened?" Kalus said, looking furious as he walked up to me.

"The Element Gang escaped with the Battle Key, sir." I said as he now looked like he was ready to rip me apart.

"Um, Captain? Boss?" Colt said as we both looked to him.

"What?" Kalus said as we saw Colt pointing forward in fear.

Turning to look, we too were frightened as we saw the guardian in front of us and growling.

"Oh, right." I said, actually shaking in fear from the beast. "Nice doggy. Good boy."

The beast then roared at us, surprisingly making our captain meow in fear. Seeing how we couldn't defeat it, we all then went running to try and escape to Vandal.


[Earth]

Axel's view

After we got through the portal, Spinner got out of the Buster and walked to the portal with a smug.

"Allow me to do the honors." Spinner said as he went to close the portal.

With that done, we all got over to him to congratulate him, Sherman getting help from our mysterious ally.

"Thanks, guys." Spinner said to us before he motioned to Sherman. "But Sherm deserves the credit. I couldn't have done it without him."

"Thanks, big bro." Sherm said to him.

"Okay, now that this is all done and with finding these Cosmic Relics, I still have one question." I said before motioning to our new raven-like friend. "Who's this?"

With that, Sherman back away from our mysterious helper before she was surrounded in some sort of black mist. It was only a few minutes before the mist started to dissipate and I was shocked to find that she had transformed into a human form. She was a girl with short, black bob hair with violet highlights, slightly pale skin, and pale blue eyes wearing what appeared to be plain black short-sleeve t-shirt with a dark brown cardigan sweater, a pair of black short jeans and a pair of violet glossy pump slip-on sandals. Though I was shocked by her transformation, I was even more shocked to find that she had such unexpected beauty. My other male teammates were shocked by this as well. Well, all except Trust, Sherman (who "apparently" was still too blind to see), and Spinner. Even the women in our group were shocked to see her appearance. Though I had to expect the girls were probably jealous of her for, when I looked around, I saw and heard Tricha smack Basar in head and Mari give Stanford a little shock.

"Fennella Joseph." She friendly said as she walked up to me and put out her hand, speaking to me in a Scottish accent. "People call me Black Raven. Nice to make yer acquaintance."

"Axel Frank. It's n-nice to m-meet you too… Ms. Joseph." I said to her, nervously shaking her hand which earned me a quick elbow jab from Agura. "Ow!" After I broke the hand shake, I rubbed the side of my ribs and looked to see my girlfriend facing away from me with arms crossed. I recomposed myself to speak to Joseph clearly as I started introductions. "This here is my girlfriend Agura. You already met Trustin, Spinner, and Sherman. Over there is my cousin Tricha and her boyfriend Basar and the girl with the curly hair is Mari with her boyfriend Stanford. And these two are…" I was gonna finish the introductions until Jay interrupted me. Of course, it didn't take long for Jay to step up to her and try to "turn on his charm".

"Hey, Jay Richey. The ladies call me Jay." Jay said to her with a smile. "Anyway, what's a girl like you doing in Battle Zone?"

"Got stuck there by mistake." She said to him. "Really appreciate you folks helpin' me out."

"No problem." Jay said to her. "You must have had a rough time there. How about I treat you to a nice dinner?"

"Jay, I think you forgot you already had plans with someone else." Vert said as he pushed the water elemental away, before speaking to Joseph. "Hi, Vert Wheeler. And I'm free if you like."

"Guys, give her some space." I said as I got Vert away from her. "She no doubt had a rough time back there." I then went on to speak to Fennella. "Now, those powers you have there. How did you acquire them if you don't mind me asking?"

"Girl was born with those shadow powers." Trust said, answering for her. "She's an elemental like us."

"Hey, Axel, how come you didn't tell us you had someone like Fenn here?" Spinner asked me.

"That's because there isn't." I answered him as I have never heard of shadow elemental lineage in the Element Gang or the Dark Gang for that matter. "In all Element Gang history, there was never even a mention of an elemental with powers like her. She must be an elemental outside of it."

"You mean like Specter?" Basar asked me, surprised by this. "How come we haven't seen her before?"

"Well, judging by her accent, I say she's from Scotland." I said to him before turning back to Joseph. "We'll take you back to our base, but I need to know if I have to call someone. I bet your family's pretty worried that you disappeared like that."

"Aye, they would…if I had any faimily." She said as she looked down in depression.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I…don't really have much anybody." She said, raising her head to show us the sadden look on her face. "My parents passed away when I was a wee lass. I've been on my own since then."

"You mean you're an orphan?" I asked her, to my surprise she nodded in confirmation.

I really felt sorry for her. Especially with the fact that, even though I was an orphan like her, I still had the chance to see my parents again while she couldn't.

"Oh, you poor thing." Tricha said as we all looked at her with pity.

"I'm sorry." I said to her. "Who raised you?"

"My teacher." She said to me. "She taught everything I needed to know about my powers. Don't really know where she is right now."

When she looked like she was on the verge of shedding tears, I decided on what to do for her.

"Well, if you don't have a place to stay, you can stay with us." I said to her.

"Really?" She asked, surprised by this.

"Of course, we have plenty of room back at base." I said to her. "Plus we can use someone on our team. Right, guys?"

After I said that, all my teammates spoke out in agreement which actually allowed the girl to gain a smile.

"Thank you!" She said, surprising me with a hug.

"No problem." I said to her with a smile, patting her head. After she broke the hug, I then decided it was time for us to head back to HQ. "Okay, let's rev up and roll on home. Sage is gonna want to see those Cosmic Relics."

With that, we all got back to our vehicles and drove right back to base.


After getting back to base, Spinner and Sherman gave Sage the shields for her to examine, see if they were really Cosmic Relics.

"Well, what do you think, Sage?" I asked her.

"Your assumption was correct." Sage answered as she was done examining the shields. "These shields are two of the Sacred Cosmic Relics. These two are the Twin Shields of Gemini."

"Twin Shields of Gemini, huh?" I said to her before looking to the twins. "Makes sense they would go to a pair of twins. Spinner and Sherman's bonds of brotherhood with each other must've awaken their power." As the twins gave each other fist-bumps, I looked back to Sage. "Is there anything else you can tell us about them?"

"Yes." She answered me, putting out the holo-screen showing the image of two men, one tall and muscular and the other being short a skinny, wearing golden clothing and armor similar to that of Zodiac Sagittarius, though they had more of a gladiator theme instead of a Sumerian theme. "Their previous wielders, the Zodiac Gemini twins Castor and Pollux, were known for their unbreakable brotherhood and their fighting prowess in combat. The older brother Castor was known for his strategic mind and his young brother Pollux was known for his immense strength that not even the strongest material can protect against."

"Hey, they look like Sherm and Spin!" Trust said as we all saw that those twins did resemble the twins we have in BF5.

"It seems we have more reincarnations of Zodiac Guardians. Ones that do proud in maintaining the legacy." I said, looking proudly at the twins before looking back Sage. "I don't suppose you remember the abilities of the weapons along with the other Cosmic Relic Zoom recovered yet, have you?"

"Unfortunately, no." Sage said to us. "But I have regained knowledge on the Zodiac Guardians and it would appear as though that they possessed elemental powers such as yours and that of the rest of the Element Gang."

"That explains why the twins were able to manipulate both metal and earth." I said, realizing what this meant. "Well, do you happen to know the powers of the other Zodiac Guardians?"

"I'm afraid not." Sage answered. "Though it seems with each of these Sacred Cosmic Relics you recover, I regain my knowledge of them. Hopefully, I will be able to tell you all that I know of the relics and Zodiac Guardians."

"I hope so too." I said to her. "I'm actually pretty eager to learn all about these Zodiac Guardians. I mean, elemental warriors who existed before the Element Gang? How amazing is that?"

"Nice place you got here." Fennella said as she came back from looking around the base. "Seems pretty cozy."

"I'm glad you like it." I said to the shadow elemental before I remembered one last thing we had to do. "Oh, that reminds me. If you're gonna be working with us, we should probably get you a vehicle."

"Oh, I already got one." She said before Spinner, Sherman, and Trust brought over a highly damaged, black and silver motorbike. Couldn't really tell what type it was due to all the damage it had. "Wasn't like this until that mutt got his gobblers on it. I was hopin' ya might be able to fix her up."

"Base, mind taking a look at this and see if there's anything we can do?" I asked my mechanic expert as he came over.

"Okay, let's see what we're dealing with here." Basar said as he started examining the motorbike. "Nope. Radiator's punctured, engine's been ripped apart, and the whole body's trashed. This thing's scrapped beyond being fixed."

"Well, there has to be some way to fix it." Trust said before I then figured out the solution.

"Maybe there is." I said before I turned to Sage. "Sage, you think you can repair Fennella's bike like you did when you modified our elemental vehicles and Vert's car?"

"It might possible." Sage said before she brought of the holo-screens she used for modifying the vehicles of me and my team along with Vert's car and creating most of BF5's vehicles. "I could be able to repair it using Sentient technology and possibly modify it to her needs."

"You mean you can be able to transform her bike into an elemental vehicle like ours?" I asked her, surprised by this.

"That is correct, but in order to do so, I will need to create a new power cell." Sage said.

"Why? Can't you just use one of ours?" Jay asked, confused by this.

"That's not gonna work, Jay." I said as I explained. "The power cell that were used for our vehicles were specifically designed for our power and our powers only. Because Fennella's got a different element than us, our power cells aren't be compatible to her."

"Axel is correct." Sage said to us. "In order to commence the upgrade, I will need to create a new power cell and customize to her elemental abilities. But, for the power cell to be complete, I'll need to copy the blueprints from another power cell, one belong to the Element Gang to be specific."

"You can use mine for it." Trust said, offering the schematics of his power cell for Sage to use. "She saved my life. I owe her that."

"Very well. Let us commence." She said as she got to work on the new power cell, creating a special holo-screen that had a triangular-shaped section (about the same size as a power cell) set on each side of a keyboard.

She then takes the power cell from the Ice Bike and places it in the left section of the holo-screen before she started typing. As she typed, we all watched as something was being materialized in the right section, no doubt the power cell being created through Sentient nano-tech. While that happened, the mechanical tubes came down and got to work with analyzing Fennella.

"Huh? What the…?" She said as she was surprised by this.

"Calm down, Fennella." I said to her as I explained. "It's all part of the process. You're being analyzed to where the designs for the upgrade are customized to both your abilities and your personality which will allow your bike to be as capable as you are.

"Oh, okay." She said as she allowed the process to continue.

When the process was done, the power cell was complete and sharing a violet color to the Ice Bike's power cell. Along with it, Fennella was now in a shock suit of her own, said suit being black and violet like her hair. On her shoulder, there was a symbol that looked like a circle within a crescent that almost resemble a bird, a raven to be exact. I had to guess that it was the Sentient symbol for shadow.

"Whoa!" Fennella said, amazed by her shock suit.

"A shock suit, absorbs the impact from either crashes or attacks to lessen the force and damage to you." I said to her.

"Hey, what's this?" She said, asking about the Element Gang symbol on her chest, which was in the exact same place as the rest of ours.

"That is the emblem of the Element Gang." I said to her. "You're now a part of our team."

"Indeed." Sage said before she started the upgrade. "Fennella, you are calm and collective, possess the power over shadows, and expertise in stealth tactics. It seems as though using the ice elemental power cell was the correct choice as you qualify for the roll of a scout."

With that, she then began the repair and upgrade procedures on Fennella's bike. Once the procedures were done, we all saw that the scrapped motorbike was turned into a cruiser motorbike with some similarity to the Ice Bike. Colored in silver, black, and violet, it had ghostly, raven-like design.

"Whoa!" Fennella said, the amazement sounding in her voice.

"There it is, your new elemental vehicle!" I said as she went over to her bike, the girl gazing in awe. "Now all you need to do to complete the upgrade is give it a name."

"I already got a name for her." Fennella said before standing up straight in beside it with her arms crossed, facing us as she spoke again. "The Shadow Cree."

"Shadow Cree. Nice." I said to her before speaking to everyone. "Okay, guys. Let's change out and head to Zeke's diner to celebrate."


After Sage put the shields with the bow and me and the other changed out, we all then went to Zeke's diner for a celebrator dinner in honor of our victory today and for the newest member to our team. Fennella went on to sit beside Sherman, making Spinner sit on the back of the seats again.

"Cheers, to another successful mission and to our newest teammate!" I said as we clang our drinks together before we all sat back down and I looked to the twins. "And nice job, Cortez Brothers. You really came through for us."

"Thanks and I couldn't have done it without my little bro." Spinner said. "With Sherm's brains and my bravery, we're the perfect team."

"Thanks, big bro." Sherman said to his older brother.

"And until your sight comes back, I'm gonna take care of you for a change." Spinner said before he grabbed Sherman's drink. "Now excuse me while I freshen your beverage."

After he left, I looked to Sherman and saw he had one eye open and started laughing. Didn't need to take long to figure out what was going on with him.

"What?" I said as I was shocked by this. "You're not blind anymore, are you?"

"Nope." Sherman chuckled before he whispered "My eyesight came back about a few hours ago."

"I knew you didn't hit Kaze with those elemental attacks blindly." I said to him.

"Wait, if you're not blind, then why are you faking you still are?" Trust asked him.

"I just want to get a little special treatment as all." Sherman said. "I'll tell Spinner…eventually."

"And I'll make sure Trust doesn't blurt it out to him until you do." I said as I put my hand for a high-five. "Us little bros got to stick together, right?"

"Man. Still can't believe I left my phone in the Battle Zone." Jay said after me and Sherman high-fived, sounding saddened by it. "All my contacts were on that phone, even Grace."

"Don't worry. We'll get you a new phone." I said to him before I looked and saw a certain waitress coming toward us. "Speaking of Grace, here she comes now."

"Oh, Grace!" Jay said as he turned and saw her, gaining a smile. "Hey!"

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Grace said as we saw she was angry at him. "First, you tell me to call you, then you don't answer, and then you burp into my ear? Real classy."

"Grace, I can explain." Jay said to her. "You see, I was having a little trouble with getting a signal and there was this dog and…"

"A dog? Really?" Grace said to him. "That's your excuse? I don't care if you do know The Domino, there is no way I'm going with someone as rude as you."

"So, Grace," Vert said as he stood up from his seat, trying to sound cool to get a date with her. "I guess you're free tonight then?"

Grace huffed before she said "Sorry, I've got a date with a real gentleman."

"What? Who?" Jay asked before the answered was revealed by a familiar voice.

"Ready? Movie starts at 7." Zoom said as he held a bouquet of flowers, Grace walking over to him.

"Zoom?" We all said, shocked by this.

"Whoa! Way to go, little bro!" Trust said, congratulating him. "Didn't know you had it in ya."

"The kid got a date with you?" Jay asked, still couldn't believe what he was seeing. "But-but…how?"

"Simply, he asked me out." Grace said as she explained. "Also he made me this amazing ice sculpture."

"Ice sculpture?" I said, surprised by this as me and Trust looked at each other before looking back at the two.

"Yes. I have no idea where he got the ice, but it was so sweet." Grace said before she glared at Vert. "At least someone around here knows how to treat a lady."

"Well, now we know what power Zoom's got." I said as I looked to Trust, Zoom and Grace walking out arm-in-arm with Grace holding the flowers. "Guess you guys really are brothers."

"Yeah." Trust said, still shocked by this.

"Vert," Jay said as he got up from his seat, stood by Vert, and handed Vert his drink as they both watched Zoom walk out with the girl they were fighting over, "from now on, we make sure everyone gets through every Stormshock, especially Zoom."

"Deal, Jay. Deal." Vert said as he took his soda before they both turned to Fennella.

"Not goin' to happen." Fennella said as she crossed her arms and turned her head away with her eyes closed. "I'm not goin' on a date with either of ya."

"Eh, worth a shot." Jay said as he and Vert gained saddened expressions, which me and the others had a little laugh about.


Author's Note: Hey, guys. Sorry it took me so long, I had a lot of stuff to do before getting this done again. Also I went on a family vacation, so there was a little delay with getting this done. Anyway, I'm alive and well and hope to keep giving updates to this story for you to enjoy. Credit goes to FoxyKhai0209 for her idea of the Zodiac Gemini twins, the Twin Shields of Gemini, and Fennella Joseph (the shadow elemental Black Raven). Give her a hand of applause, everybody. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Now with two more Sacred Cosmic Relics found, three members of BF5 gaining new powers, and a new elemental added to the team, things are about to get more interesting. Don't worry, you'll find out more about Fennella's powers soon. More excitement for the Element Gang and BF5 in the next chapter!