The first sign that something had gone wrong with Avalon City was the silence.

Blake Faust noticed it while standing beside his motorcycle on an overpass three miles beyond the eastern city limits. Traffic had stopped in both directions. Drivers had climbed from their vehicles and gathered along the concrete barrier, staring toward a skyline that no longer looked real.

Avalon remained where it had always been, but the world around it had changed.

A wall of darkness surrounded the city from the ground to the clouds. It was not smoke, fog, or weather. The barrier curved inward around Avalon like the edge of an enormous sphere. Green lightning moved through its surface without producing thunder.

Inside it, buildings flickered between two different states. For several seconds the city appeared normal. Then alien towers and jagged black mountains became visible behind the familiar skyline before disappearing again.

Blake removed his helmet.

Blake Faust: Well. That’s new.

A black SUV stopped behind his motorcycle.

Johnathan Angel climbed from the passenger side while Cole Beckett exited from behind the wheel. Neither man needed an explanation.

Cole stared at the barrier.

Cole Beckett: Tell me that isn’t Worzol energy.

Blake Faust: I could tell you that.

Johnathan Angel: If you want him to lie.

Blake Faust: Asher warned us about this, if anything happened to our pals at the Magnus Foundation.

Johnathan approached the edge of the overpass. From this distance, he could see something enormous moving behind the clouds over Avalon.

Johnathan Angel: The entire city is being displaced.

Cole looked toward him.

Cole Beckett: Displaced where? It's not a time issue.

Johnathan Angel: It isn’t completely anywhere right now.

Blake frowned.

Blake Faust: Explain in simple terms for our clock making friend, please. Johnny-boy can sort of see these things that we can't.

Johnathan Angel: I've never seen anything like this.

Blake Faust: Oh. Well never mind.

Cole stared at the thousands of people trapped beyond the barrier.

Cole Beckett: We need to get inside.

He started toward the SUV.

Johnathan caught his arm.

Johnathan Angel: Cole.

Cole Beckett: Don’t.

Johnathan Angel: I’m not telling you to stay here. I’m telling you that driving into that will probably not end well.

Blake looked toward the barrier.

Blake Faust: One way to find out.

Before either man could stop him, he placed his helmet back on, started the motorcycle, and accelerated down the empty highway.

Cole Beckett: Blake!

The motorcycle crossed the final exit and raced toward the darkness.

Blake reached the barrier.

Green energy struck the motorcycle.

The machine disappeared.

A fraction of a second later Blake and the motorcycle were thrown backward from the barrier hard enough to clear two lanes of highway.

He hit the pavement, rolled, and finally stopped against the median.

Cole ran toward him.

Cole Beckett: You idiot!

Blake slowly raised one hand.

Blake Faust: Science requires sacrifice.

Johnathan Angel: I'd figured you'd had enough of that in your life by now!

Blake Faust: I'm a glutton for punishment.

Cole helped him sit up.

Blake removed his damaged helmet and looked toward Avalon again.

His expression lost its humor.

Blake Faust: We’re not getting through that way.

Johnathan Angel: We'll find another.

Cole followed his gaze toward the trapped city.

Cole Beckett: They’re in there.

Blake Faust: Yeah.

The three men stood together beside the highway as green lightning spread across Avalon.



Blake Faust: Good luck, Kishirangers.




Episode 51: The First Gate

Inside the barrier, daylight had vanished.

Avalon City existed beneath a sky divided between two worlds.

Enormous black clouds stretched across the sky, illuminated from within by green lightning. Strange stars appeared between the clouds despite the remaining daylight.

Chunks of black stone floated between skyscrapers.

Entire streets occasionally shimmered and became cracked Worzol pathways before returning to asphalt.

People ran.

Emergency vehicles attempted to move civilians toward shelters while police officers directed traffic away from areas where the dimensional overlap was strongest.

Then the castle appeared.

It descended through the clouds above central Avalon.

Black towers surrounded a central keep shaped like several blades driven together. Green fire burned inside hundreds of narrow windows. Massive chains stretched from the lower foundations into nothing, as though the castle had once been anchored to another world and torn loose.



At its highest tower stood the crest of Worzol.

The Kishi Liner raced through the city beneath it.

Inside the command car, every alarm remained active.

Professor Haldren: They did it. They used a Rune Lens, and it's amplifying the Worzol gate across the entire city.

Roland looked toward the main screen.

Roland Vander: Which means what?

Professor Haldren: If the process finishes, Avalon becomes part of their dimension permanently, and that means a permanent gateway between the realms that can never be closed.

Miles stared through the forward windows at the floating castle.

Miles Rowan: And I’m guessing the giant evil fortress appearing over downtown is connected.

Lena Solis: Bold theory.

Miles Rowan: I'm trying not to panic. This is how I cope.

Lena Solis: ...Yeah, no argument here.

Trace stood at the center of the command room.

The exhaustion of Chemosh’s defeat had not left his face. None of them had slept. Less than an hour earlier they had believed the battle was finally over.

Now the ruined cathedral disappeared behind them while another war began.

Ray examined the image of the castle.

Ray Matthews: Vantrex.

Ashlyn looked toward him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I remember the last time we saw him face to face. It was at the dance. We were no match for him then. We barely survived.

Ray Matthews: A lot has changed since then for us...but it seems it has changed for him as well.

Professor Haldren changed the display.

A map of Avalon appeared.

Enormous concentrations of Worzol energy formed a line across the city. Each one stood between the Kishi Liner’s current position and the castle.

They were gates.

Fortified gateways.

The first had appeared several miles ahead.

Roland leaned closer to the map.

Roland Vander: They’re blocking the path to the castle.

Professor Haldren: Each gate stabilizes the dimensional bridge. Destroying them should allow the Kishi Liner to advance farther toward Vantrex’s fortress.

Lena looked toward the final marker.

Lena Solis: Hiding behind gates.

Miles counted them again.

Miles Rowan: This feels excessive.

Trace remained focused on the map.

Trace Mercer: Malachor survived. He escaped the last battle. He knew the Magnus Foundation's location. Chemosh attacks us, takes control of Der Gralsbund, puts the entire city into chaos, and keeps us focused on the cathedral.

Ashlyn’s expression hardened.

Ashlyn Westbrook: While Malachor waits.

Roland Vander: Then the moment Chemosh fell—

Ray Matthews: Malachor attacked Magnus.

Haldren nodded.

Professor Haldren: The timing was perfect.

Lena looked toward the castle.

Lena Solis: He told Vantrex where the Foundation was.

Miles Rowan: Worzol and the Void weren't working in cahoots, but they might as well have been!

Trace placed both hands against the command table.

He thought of Dorian.

Trace Mercer: Vantrex has been waiting for this moment.

Ray turned toward him.

Ray Matthews: So have we. We didn't want to admit it, but we all knew this fight was going to have to happen eventually.

Trace looked around the room.

Every member of the team was exhausted.

Every one of them looked ready to continue.

Trace Mercer: Everyone, listen to me. Ray is right. This is the fight we've been strengthening ourselves for. We're as ready as we can be. I trust you all. I believe in you all. Stand with me. Together, we take the gates. Together, we reach that castle. Together, we end Vantrex.

Roland straightened.

Roland Vander: Where you go, we go.

Ashlyn touched Evensong.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Where you fight, we fight. No more retreats.

Trace Mercer: No more retreats.

A violent impact shook the Kishi Liner.

Miles caught the edge of the table.

Miles Rowan: Please fasten your seatbelts, and make sure your trays are in the upright and locked position!

Lena Solis: I think that's airplanes!

Miles Rowan: What's the difference at this point?!

Rosine checked the forward cameras.

Sister Rosine: Dreadlings.

The display changed.



Hundreds of them filled the streets ahead.

Beyond them stood the first gate.

The gate had formed across Grand Avenue.

Two black towers rose from opposite sides of the street, connected by an enormous arch of Worzol stone. Green energy moved across carved symbols along its surface. Beyond it, reality looked different.

The buildings on the far side of the gate leaned at strange angles.

The road climbed upward despite the surrounding ground remaining level.

Pieces of the Worzol dimension had begun replacing Avalon.

Between the Kishi Liner and the gate, Dreadlings swarmed through the evacuation zone.

A city bus sat sideways across an intersection. Civilians poured from it while monsters closed in from both directions.

Something covered in burning orange armor landed on the roof.

Kamen Rider Ash drew one arm across his chest.

Flames gathered around his fist.

He jumped.

His punch struck the first Dreadling hard enough to send it through two others.

Ash landed in the street and immediately kicked another monster into a parked car.

Asher: Keep moving! East side! Don’t stop!

A mother pulled two children past him.

Another wave of Dreadlings rounded the corner.

Ash looked toward them.

Asher: Of course there’s more.

He rolled his shoulders, and looked back at the burning scarf, slowly but surely burning away at his life force. 

Asher: Fine.

The Kishi Liner came around the far intersection.

Its forward weapons fired.

Golden blasts struck the street around Ash, throwing Dreadlings into the air without coming near the civilians.

Ash looked toward the approaching armored train.

Asher: You all made it!

The exterior hatch opened before the Liner completely stopped.

Trace jumped down first.

Ashlyn, Roland, Miles, Lena, and Ray followed.

The six activated their Oathlinks while running.

Colored light swept across the intersection.

Armor formed.

Kishi Red drew Regulus.

Kishi Violet brought Evensong forward.

Kishi Blue raised Vanguard.

Kishi Green spun Gungnir.

Kishi Yellow lifted Aymr.

Silver Templar drew Absolver.

The team struck the Dreadlings from the side.

Kishi Red cut through the first line while Kishi Blue slammed into a second group with Vanguard. Kishi Yellow swept Aymr across the pavement, knocking three creatures off their feet before bringing the axe down between them and releasing a burst of yellow energy.

Kishi Green passed Ash at full speed.

Miles Rowan: Nice day for a dimensional apocalypse!

Ash punched another Dreadling.

Asher: Your sarcasm. It reminds me of Blake, but I'm assuming he and Johnathan are trapped on the other side looking in on this problem.

Kishi Green drove Gungnir through the chest armor of a Dreadling, lifted it from the ground, and threw it into the next group.

Kishi Violet reached the bus.

A monster climbed through a broken rear window.

Evensong flashed as Kishi Violent swung.

The Dreadling flew backward from the bus and landed unconscious in the street.

Kishi Violet opened the emergency door.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Everybody out! Follow the police barricades!

The remaining passengers ran.

Silver Templar joined Kamen Rider Ash near the center of the intersection.

Silver Templar blocked a Dreadling’s blade and cut through its weapon.

Ray Matthews: How long have you been here?

Asher: Long enough to regret coming downtown. I was coming to assist you, when I heard about the attack at the Foundation. They left after getting what they wanted. Now I can see why.

Ash caught a charging Dreadling by the face and drove it into the pavement.

Asher: They started appearing the second the sky changed. Every time we clear one street, another group comes through.

Kishi Red looked toward the gate.

The road beyond it was empty.

Trace Mercer: They’re protecting the entrance. All of them are on this side of the gate.

Ash saw where he was looking.

Asher: Then stop standing here talking to me, Trace. I'll hold them off as long as I can, while you force your way through to the castle.

Another enormous group of Dreadlings emerged from three surrounding streets.

Kishi Yellow tightened her grip on Aymr.

Lena Solis: We’re not leaving you with all of them.

Ash laughed.

Asher: Why not? They’re ugly, slow, and they keep lining up.

One Dreadling leaped from a rooftop.

Ash pulled out the Ashen Revolver and turned to shoot it out of the air without looking.

Asher: See? I have the situation here in my control.

Trace Mercer: For now maybe, but you're on a time limit.

Trace looked toward the evacuation route.

Most civilians had reached safety.

The gate remained open.

Asher: Just remember you might need to carry me home when this over. Go.

Trace hesitated.

Ash pointed toward the castle.

Asher: You know who’s waiting up there. Go!

Trace nodded.

Trace Mercer: Don’t die.

Asher: Great advice I intend to listen to. I assure you. Besides, if I died, Blake and Johnathan would just go looking for me.

The Kishirangers ran toward the gate.

Ash turned toward the approaching Dreadlings.

Asher: Keep lining up!

The horde charged.

Ash ran directly at them.

Crossing the first gate felt like passing through cold water.

The sound of the battle disappeared behind the team.

Avalon changed.

They still stood on Grand Avenue, but the buildings surrounding them were wrong. Familiar towers remained visible beneath layers of black Worzol architecture. Streetlights floated several feet above the pavement. Cars stood frozen in place with no drivers inside them.

The sky above the road curved toward Vantrex’s castle.

Kishi Green looked backward.

The first gate remained behind them, but Ash and the city beyond it appeared distorted.

Miles Rowan: I hate dimensional stuff.

Roland Vander: I find myself agreeing with you too much these days.

Miles Rowan: It's weird, isn't it?

Kishi Red opened communication with the Kishi Liner.

Only static answered.

Trace Mercer: Rosine?

The signal briefly cleared.

Sister Rosine: —receiving you. Gate interference is severe. We can follow once you destabilize—

Static swallowed the rest.

Kishi Blue examined the next path.

Roland Vander: The first gate remains active. Something here is maintaining it.

A laugh came from the rooftops.

Kishi Green stopped.

He knew the voice immediately.

Vire the Swift: It's showtime!

Green light moved across the side of a building.

Then the opposite building.

Then beneath a suspended streetlight.

Kishi Green turned, tracking it.

The light stopped at the center of the road.

Vire stood there.



Vire the Swift: Miles Rowan.

Kishi Green stepped forward.

Miles Rowan: Vire.

Lena moved beside him.

Lena Solis: We don’t have time for this.

Vire the Swift: Time will be irrelevant as it does not technically exist in the Worzol Dimension.

Vire raised one hand.

The street behind him split apart.

An enormous green barrier rose between the buildings, sealing the route toward the second gate.

Kishi Red raised Regulus.

Trace Mercer: Move or be moved.

Vire smiled.

Vire the Swift: Gladly.

He vanished.

Kishi Red barely turned before Vire struck his chest.

Kishi Red flew backward and hit a wall.

Vire disappeared again.

He passed the others in less than a second.

Sparks burst from each of their armor plates.

They staggered.

Vire returned to his original position.

Vire the Swift: Still slow.

Kishi Green tightened both hands around Gungnir.

Miles Rowan: You’re here for me.

Vire the Swift: Finally.

The others looked toward Kishi Green.

Vire pointed at him.

Vire the Swift: One final race.

Trace Mercer: No.

Vire the Swift: Face me, and I will lower the barrier. Your friends continue toward Lord Vantrex.

Vire looked at Kishi Red.

Vire the Swift: Refuse, and the gate closes permanently.

Kishi Blue looked toward the energy field.

Roland Vander: He may be telling the truth.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Or he’s trying to separate us.

Vire the Swift: Of course I am.

He laughed.

Vire the Swift: But I'll keep my word.

Kishi Green walked toward him.

Kishi Red caught his shoulder.

Trace Mercer: Miles.

Miles Rowan: I can beat him.

Trace Mercer: We all fight him.

Miles Rowan: Then Vantrex gets exactly what he wants. We waste time here while the city keeps moving into his dimension.

Kishi Red looked toward the castle.

The black structure had grown closer.

Another section of Avalon disappeared beneath Worzol terrain.

Miles Rowan: You have trusted me more than anyone in my life.

Trace Mercer: You earned that trust.

Kishi Blue almost spoke.

Kishi Green pointed toward him.

Miles Rowan: This is not the time to talk me out of a rash decision.

Kishi Blue closed his mouth.
 
Kishi Green looked at Kishi Red again.

Miles Rowan: Trust me now, Trace. Please.

Trace stared at his friend.

The first time they met Vire, Miles had barely been able to see him move.

Every battle afterward had become a measurement.

How much faster Miles had become?

How far he still remained behind?

Vire knew that too.

Kishi Red slowly released his shoulder.

Trace Mercer: Win.

Kishi Green nodded.

Miles Rowan: Yes...your majesty.

Kishi Red turned toward the others.

Trace Mercer: We move.

Kishi Yellow did not.

She stared at Kishi Green.

Kishi Green looked toward her.

Miles Rowan: Lena, I’ll catch up.

She walked toward him.

Miles Rowan: Seriously. I’ve got this.

She grabbed the sides of his helmet.

He stopped speaking.

She pulled him in and touched his helmet to hers. 



Miles Rowan: I—

Lena Solis: You come back.

Miles Rowan: Yeah.

Lena Solis: That wasn’t a suggestion.

Miles Rowan: Definitely coming back.

Kishi Yellow turned toward the others.

Lena Solis: Nobody says anything.

Roland Vander: I had no intention—

Lena Solis: Especially you.

Kishi Violet was fighting a smile.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We should probably go.

Kishi Yellow walked away immediately.

Kishi Red passed Kishi Green. 

Their fists touched once.

Trace Mercer: Second gate.

Miles Rowan: I’ll beat you there.

Trace Mercer: I’m counting on it.

The five continued toward the barrier.

Vire watched them.

He raised one hand.

The green wall opened just wide enough to allow them through.

Kishi Yellow was the last to cross.

She looked backward.

Kishi Green stood alone in the road.

Vire stood opposite him.

The barrier closed between them.

Silence filled the street.

Vire rolled his shoulders.

Vire the Swift: That was touching.

Kishi Green spun Gungnir once and lowered into stance.

Miles Rowan: You jealous?

Vire the Swift: I am wondering whether she understands what she just guaranteed.

Miles Rowan: That I’m coming back?

Vire’s smile disappeared.

Vire the Swift: That you will die and break her heart before we break her body. THINK FAST!




He vanished.

Kishi Green moved.

Their first collision shattered every nearby window.

Gungnir met Vire’s arm blade at the center of the street.

Both disappeared immediately.

Green trails crossed between buildings.

They struck the ground, walls, rooftops, and abandoned vehicles faster than the eye could follow. Every collision released another burst of sparks.

Vire appeared behind Kishi Green.

His blade cut across his back.

Kishi Green spun and thrust Gungnir toward his chest.

Vire moved aside.

The spear missed by inches.

Vire drove his knee into Miles’s ribs.

Kishi Green crashed through the windshield of an empty bus.

He rolled across the seats and kicked through the emergency exit before Vire could enter.

Vire appeared outside.

Kishi Green was already gone.

For the first time, Vire looked surprised.

Gungnir struck his shoulder from above.

Kishi Green landed on the bus roof and kicked Vire across the street.

Miles Rowan: Too slow!

Vire touched the damaged armor along his shoulder.

He smiled again.

Vire the Swift: Ha! Time to go all out! Finally! No more holding back! A speed battle to the death!

His body blurred.

The street exploded beneath his feet.

Vire struck Kishi Green six times before Miles completed a single step.

Chest.

Shoulder.

Ribs.

Helmet.

Back.

Knee.

Kishi Green hit the pavement.

Vire grabbed his ankle and threw him through a storefront.

He landed beneath collapsed shelves.

His armor flashed.

Vire the Swift: You will never be fast enough to stop me!

Kishi Green pushed himself upward.

Miles Rowan: You know what your problem is?

Vire the Swift: Enlighten me.

Miles Rowan: You're moving faster, but you're not thinking fast enough to keep up!

Vire appeared directly in front of him.

Vire the Swift: I THINK I'm about to enjoy this!

The blade entered Kishi Green’s side.

Kishi Green gasped.

Vire drove it deeper.

Kishi Green caught his wrist.

Vire the Swift: I'd call that a winning strategy. Stab you so quickly you couldn't see it? Why make it more complicated than that?

Miles looked directly into his eyes.

Miles Rowan: I saw that one. I let it happen. I didn't have to catch you. You brought yourself to me, big shot.

Vire the Swift: What?!

Gungnir struck Vire beneath the chin.

He flew through the storefront window.

Kishi Green pulled the blade from his side.

He staggered into the street.

Vire recovered.

The amusement had vanished.

Vire the Swift: Again.

They moved.

This time Miles stopped trying to chase him.

He watched.

Vire appeared near the left wall.

Kishi Green did nothing.

Vire crossed behind him.

Nothing.

Vire passed above him.

Nothing.

Green trails surrounded Kishi Green.

Dozens of false approaches.

Kishi Green closed his eyes.

Vire the Swift: Have you surrendered?

Miles Rowan: Nope.

He listened.

Every movement changed something.

Vire came from behind.

Kishi Green ducked before the strike arrived.

Vire’s eyes widened.

Gungnir struck his abdomen.

The spear released a green pulse.

Vire flew down the street.

Kishi Green opened his eyes.

Miles Rowan: Found you.

Vire stood.

His armor was cracked.

Vire the Swift: Luck.

Miles Rowan: Again, then.

Vire attacked.

Kishi Green blocked.

Again.

He turned aside.

Again.

Gungnir intercepted the blade.

Again.

Kishi Green struck him first.

Vire stumbled backward.

He stared at Kishi Green.

Vire the Swift: Impossible.

Miles Rowan: You taught me something.

Kishi Green raised Gungnir.

Miles Rowan: Every time you beat me, I tried to get faster.

Vire lowered into stance.

Green energy gathered around Kishi Green.

Miles Rowan: I don’t need to be faster than you everywhere.

His Oathlink flashed.

Miles Rowan: I just need to be faster where it matters, and more importantly, I need to listen...and sometimes even slow down.

Vire screamed and launched himself forward.

The world slowed around Kishi Green.

Vire crossed the final distance.

Kishi Green stepped once.

Vire missed.

Kishi Green appeared behind him.

Vire turned.

Kishi Green was already gone.

For the first time, Vire could not follow.

Green light crossed the street.

Vire blocked the first strike.

The second opened his shoulder.

The third broke an arm blade.

The fourth struck his knee.

The fifth launched him upward.

Kishi Green ran straight up the side of a building.

He passed Vire in midair.

Vire looked up.

Kishi Green was above him.

Miles Rowan: GUNGNIR! FINISH THIS!

Kishi Green descended.

The spear became a column of emerald light.

Vire crossed both remaining blades over his chest.

Gungnir struck.

The impact split the street from one building to the other.

Green light filled the entire dimensional corridor.

When it faded, Kishi Green stood at the center of a crater.

Gungnir rested against the ground.

Vire remained several feet away.

His armor was broken.

One knee touched the pavement.

He laughed.

Kishi Green looked toward him.

Miles Rowan: What’s funny?

Vire slowly raised his head.

Vire the Swift: You did it.

Kishi Green said nothing.

Vire looked almost pleased.

Vire the Swift: All this time, I wondered whether you would remain the frightened little Shade Hand chasing my shadow.

Miles Rowan: I stopped chasing you.

Vire the Swift: Yes.

Vire attempted to stand.

His legs failed.

He remained on one knee.

Vire the Swift: You surpassed me.

Kishi Green tightened his grip on Gungnir but did not attack.

Miles Rowan: It doesn’t have to end like this.

Vire laughed again.

Vire the Swift: Of course it does.

Cracks of green light spread through his armor.

Miles stepped forward. He looked at him, as he did his "brother" in Nightrook, Lucien Haze. 

Miles Rowan: Vire—

Vire the Swift: Go.

The barrier behind him began to disappear.

Vire the Swift: Your king is already climbing toward his execution.

Kishi Green looked toward the open path.

Then back toward Vire.

Vire the Swift: Do not insult me by being late.

Kishi Green lowered Gungnir.

Miles Rowan: Goodbye, Vire.

Vire closed his eyes.

Vire the Swift: Never stop...running.

His body broke apart into green light.

The energy rose into the black sky.

Kishi Green watched until it disappeared.

Then he ran.

High above Avalon, Vantrex sat upon the throne inside his floating castle.

The chamber was enormous and almost completely dark. Only the green Rune Lens suspended above the throne provided light.

Malachor stood several steps below him.

His armor remained damaged from his previous defeat. One side of his face was covered by a newly forged black mask.

Neither spoke.

A thin green light entered through the ceiling.

Vantrex opened one hand.

Vire’s remaining power descended into his palm.



The light resisted for a moment.

Then Vantrex closed his fist.

Green energy spread through his armor.

Malachor looked toward him.

Malachor: Vire has fallen.

Vantrex opened his eyes.

Vantrex: No.

The castle shook as the power entered him.

Vantrex: Vire has returned.

A display of green fire appeared before the throne.

Within it, Trace, Ashlyn, Roland, Lena, and Ray approached the second gate.

Far behind them, a single green light moved rapidly along the path.

Vantrex smiled.

Vantrex: Let them climb.

The second gate opened.

Something waited beyond it.

Vantrex: Every victory only brings them closer to me.

Outside, the sky over Avalon turned darker.

The floating castle continued descending toward the city.

To Be Continued...

Last edited by Machismo (8/14/2026 11:13 pm)

Episode 53: The Final Gate

The first gate had become a battlefield of overturned cars, broken streetlights, and Dreadlings packed so tightly across Grand Avenue that the pavement could no longer be seen beneath them. The last evacuation bus remained trapped near the intersection, its rear wheel caught against the fallen traffic signal. Kamen Rider Ash stood behind it with one shoulder plate missing and his scorched scarf reduced to a weak orange flame. He pushed against the bus with his good arm while the driver fought the wheel from inside. The siege creature recovered from Kamen Rider Omega Gauge's attack and shoved its way through the frozen Dreadlings surrounding it. Black plates covered its body from head to foot, and the cannon inside its chest began opening again. Kamen Rider Magnus Soul dropped in front of the weapon.

Blake Faust: Cole, get that bus moving. Asher and I will handle the large, angry problem with the cannon in its chest.

Asher: I'm beginning to feel my age, Blake.

Blake Faust: One more push with maximum effort, old timer! You can do this!

Kamen Rider Ash gave the bus one more push. The rear wheel climbed halfway over the signal pole before dropping back into the same rut. Kamen Rider Omega Gauge looked from the wheel to the advancing Dreadlings, opened his Driver, and turned one of the three Cores. A blue clock face spread across the pavement beneath the bus. The broken signal pole reversed along the path it had taken when it fell, scraping free from beneath the wheel and rising just high enough for the driver to accelerate. Kamen Rider Ash stumbled out of the way as the bus lurched forward and carried the final group of civilians toward the police barricade.

Cole Beckett: Bus is clear.

Asher: Good. Now we can stop being careful.

The siege creature fired. Kamen Rider Magnus Soul struck the blast with his sword. Silver fire split the green beam down the center and sent both halves burning past him. Kamen Rider Ash ran through the gap, jumped onto the hood of an abandoned truck, and launched himself toward the creature's chest. His armored heel slammed the cannon shut while it was still hot. Metal folded inward, and the trapped charge exploded inside the creature. Kamen Rider Omega Gauge stopped the Dreadlings trying to surround them. Blue clock hands appeared beneath their feet, holding the creatures in place for three seconds. It was all the time the other two Riders needed. Magnus Soul cut through the first rank. Ash landed beside him and emptied the Ashen Revolver into the second.

Blake Faust: Not a problem!

Asher: The large one is standing again.

The siege creature pulled itself out of the smoke with its ruined cannon hanging open.

Blake Faust: Alright, one problem!

Kamen Rider Ash reloaded the revolver. Kamen Rider Omega Gauge rolled his shoulders while steam left the vents along his armor. Magnus Soul raised his sword.

Blake Faust: We put it down together. The Kishirangers are still climbing.

Far above the first gate, the Kishi Liner carried the Kishirangers toward the final barrier beneath Vantrex's castle. The train climbed a shining track laid across the side of a street that had turned almost vertical. Avalon City stretched beneath the windows at impossible angles. Towers rose from the clouds, sections of highway floated between them, and the black foundation of Vantrex's castle covered half the sky ahead. The Kishi Liner had taken damage at both previous gates. Cracks spread across the forward armor, one of the side cannons hung uselessly from its mount, and the engine shook whenever Professor Haldren forced it to gain more speed. Inside the medical car, Sister Rosine finished wrapping Miles Rowan's side. He tried to stand before she tied the bandage, and she shoved him back onto the bench without looking up.

Miles Rowan: Some bedside manner you have!

Sister Rosine: Just sit down and shut up. I'm almost done.

Roland Vander sat across from him while Klara Morgenstern repaired the split straps on Vanguard. Lena Solis kept Aymr across her knees. Ray Matthews stood near the door with one hand braced against the wall as the train climbed, and Ashlyn Westbrook watched Trace Mercer through the open passage into the next car. Trace stood at the forward window with Regulus held beside him. He had not removed his damaged red coat or cleaned the blood from the corner of his mouth. The castle ahead grew larger by the second, but he remained still, studying the road and waiting for the third gate to reveal itself.

Miles Rowan: How is he still standing?

Roland looked toward Trace.

Roland Vander: The same way he always does. He finds the worst place to stand and puts himself there. It's in his nature.

Lena Solis: We did wake him up in a tomb and release his oldest enemy. He could have blamed us and walked away. Instead, he gave us the Oathlinks and started teaching us how to survive.

Miles Rowan: He trusted me with Gungnir when I had no idea what I was doing. At the first gate, he let me face Vire because I told him I had to. He knew I could win before I did.

Roland rested one hand on the cracked face of Vanguard.

Roland Vander: He trusted all of us before we had earned it. Every time one of us failed, he helped us stand and expected us to try again. He never used our mistakes to make himself look stronger. That's a rare quality these days. One not to take for granted.

Ray lowered his gaze. He did not need much time to choose the memory that belonged to him.

Ray Matthews: I tried to take his power from him. I called him dangerous and fought him because the Order told me it was right. When I finally understood what I had done, Trace forgave me. He did not make me beg for a place beside him. He called me his friend and gave it back.

Lena nodded toward the man at the window.

Lena Solis: When the coven within Haus Morgenstern threw me fifteen hundred years into the past, he was ready to tear Avalon Academy apart stone by stone until he found a way to reach me. He would have done the same for any one of us.

Ashlyn's eyes remained on Trace. She remembered his hand reaching for her when Gravebrand tried to take her mind. She remembered him following her into the underground tournament and supporting her. She remembered the mountain, the scars along her body, the corruption beneath her skin, and every time he had looked at her as though none of it made her less worthy of being loved.

Ashlyn Westbrook: He would give his life for us.

The others became quiet.

Ashlyn Westbrook: That scares me more than anything waiting in that castle. Trace thinks protecting us is part of his oath, but it stopped being an oath for me a long time ago. I love him. I love the man he was, the man he became, and the impossible man who will walk into danger alone if we let him.

Lena's tired expression warmed into a smile.

Lena Solis: You may want to say it a little louder. I don't think the man standing in the next car heard you.

Ashlyn's face turned red.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I was speaking to all of you.

Lena Solis: Of course you were.

Miles Rowan: For the record, we already knew.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Nobody asked you.

Trace looked back from the forward window. The smallest smile reached his face.

Trace Mercer: I heard you, my lady.

Ashlyn's blush deepened. Lena leaned closer to her with open satisfaction.

Lena Solis: You might as well be a second Kishi Red with that shade on your face right now.

Trace crossed the short passage and stopped before Ashlyn. The humor faded from his expression, leaving only the affection she had come to recognize when he stopped trying to hide behind the duties of a king.

Trace Mercer: I love you too.

Ashlyn took his hand. For a few seconds, the war outside the windows did not enter the car.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Come back from this one.

Trace Mercer: I guess you already know what's coming. Don't worry. We all come back. All of us.

The Kishi Liner struck level ground hard enough to throw everyone toward the rear of the car. Warning bells rang along the ceiling. Professor Haldren's voice came through the speakers.

Professor Haldren: Final gate directly ahead!

The team ran into the command car. The third gate filled the entire road beneath Vantrex's castle. It had been built from two ruined Avalon towers dragged together and joined by a black iron arch. Ancient red banners hung from the walls, burned down the center and marked over with the symbol of Worzol. Thousands of Dreadlings stood in ranks across the approach. Beyond them, at the foot of the sealed doors, waited Malachor. He no longer carried the axe destroyed during the battle at the Magnus Foundation. A long black sword rested against his shoulder. Its simple crossguard and worn leather grip belonged to an older age, while green cracks along the blade showed what fifteen centuries inside the Worzol Dimension had done to it. Lena recognized the weapon.



Lena Solis: He had that sword when he turned Vance against Uther.

Malachor: Trace Mercer! Would be King! Face me!

Trace stepped toward the exit. Ashlyn moved with him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You just promised that we all come back.

Trace Mercer: I meant it.

Ray Matthews: He wants you separated.

Trace looked around at all five of them.

Trace Mercer: The Dreadlings will close around the train when I step out. Keep the Kishi Liner safe and break their formation. Do not let them reach Haldren, Rosine, or Klara. I will take Malachor.

He opened the exterior hatch and jumped from the moving train. Malachor attacked before Trace landed. The black sword came down in a two handed strike meant to cut him from shoulder to hip. Trace brought Regulus over his head and blocked. The impact drove him to one knee and broke the roadway beneath his boot, but the red blade held. He turned Malachor's sword aside, rolled across the ground, and rose with Regulus ready. The Dreadlings charged the Kishi Liner. The other five leapt from the side doors and activated their Oathlinks before they hit the road. Violet, blue, green, yellow, and silver light swept through the enemy ranks.

All Five: Kishiranger, arise!

Their armor formed as they landed. Kishi Violet reached the ground first and cut through three Dreadlings with Evensong. Kishi Blue drove Vanguard into the next line, using the cracked shield as a battering ram. Kishi Green moved around him with Gungnir striking at every opening, while Kishi Yellow and Silver Templar guarded the train's damaged sides. Kishi Red and Malachor stood inside a widening circle as the battle moved around them.

Trace Mercer: King's Corronation! Kishiranger, arise!

Crimson armor locked around Trace. The King's Coronation crest opened across his chest, and his long red cape settled behind him. Malachor allowed him to complete the transformation. The dark knight wanted no excuse left when the fight was over.

Malachor: At last, the heir of Arcturus stands before me without an army at his back.

Trace Mercer: My team is never behind me. They stand with me, even when I fight alone.

Malachor rushed him. Their swords met three times in quick succession. Regulus stopped a cut toward Kishi Red's neck, turned aside a thrust toward his chest, and caught a low swing before it reached his leg. Malachor changed direction and struck with his shoulder, driving Kishi Red backward. He followed with a hard kick to the center of the red armor and brought the black sword down again.

Kishi Red moved aside. The blade split the road where he had been standing. Regulus struck Malachor's gauntlet, slid along the black armor covering his forearm, and cut across the joint beneath it. Malachor pulled free before Kishi Red could take the arm and answered with the pommel of his sword against the side of the red helmet. The blow staggered Kishi Red. Malachor pressed forward with heavy, disciplined strikes, each one aimed to force a specific defense before the next attacked the opening. Trace recognized the method. This was not the wild violence of a Dreadling or the blunt strength of Garrikus. Malachor had been a knight before either of them had taken their first oath, and he had spent fifteen centuries perfecting the worst parts of what he knew.

Kishi Red adjusted. He stopped trying to win every clash and gave Malachor the ground he demanded, yielding three measured steps while he studied the dark knight's rhythm. Malachor raised his sword for the strike he believed would finish the retreat, and Kishi Red moved forward instead. Regulus passed beneath the black blade and cut across Malachor's chest. Red sparks burst from the broken armor, and Malachor looked down at the wound and laughed.

Malachor: Uther's blood produced stubborn men.

Kishi Red's anger sharpened at the name.

Trace Mercer: Do not speak of Uther as though you were his friend. You were the reason my family was betrayed!

Their blades struck again. This time Kishi Red drove Malachor back.

Trace Mercer: You found a proud man who feared losing everything he helped build. You fed that fear until he turned on the people who loved him.

Malachor: Vance wanted the throne. I merely showed him the courage to reach for it.

Trace Mercer: You have blood on your hands. More blood than I can imagine, and you WILL pay for that!

Malachor forced Regulus aside and cut across Kishi Red's chest. The red armor split beneath the blow, and Trace crashed through one of the stone markers lining the gate.

Malachor: I do not want clean hands.

He walked through the falling stone with the black sword held low.

Malachor: I led Vance Lot toward the Worzol Dimension. I stood beside him when the first loyal knights turned against their king. I watched Avalon tear itself apart, and I would do every moment of it again. Everything I have done has been for Abaddon.

Kishi Red pushed himself out of the rubble. Malachor swung for his head, but Regulus stopped the blade inches from the damaged helmet.



Trace Mercer: Good.

Trace rose against the pressure until both swords stood between their faces.

Trace Mercer: When I cut off your head, I will send it back to Abaddon. He can keep it as a reminder for all time that Earth is off limits.

Kishi Red threw Malachor away and attacked. Regulus cut high, low, and across the center. Malachor blocked the first two strikes but missed the third. The red blade broke another plate from his chest. Kishi Red drove an armored fist into the opening, turned beneath the answering sword, and struck Malachor behind the knee. The dark knight dropped low. Regulus came around toward his neck. Malachor caught the blade against his own and twisted. Kishi Red's arms were pulled across his body. Malachor rose with an uppercut that lifted him from the ground, seized his cape, and threw him through the burned remains of an Avalon wall. The duel disappeared into the gatehouse. Outside, the five other warriors fought to keep the Dreadlings from following. Kishi Blue held the center while dozens of weapons struck Vanguard. The shield had already been broken once at the second gate, and every new impact widened the cracks left in its surface. He stayed behind it anyway.

Roland Vander: Ashlyn, left side!

Kishi Violet turned as a Dreadling captain jumped onto the train. She ran up the side armor, caught its hooked sword with Evensong, and pulled the creature from the roof. Silver Templar cut it apart before it reached the ground. Kishi Green appeared beside the rear wheels, where several Dreadlings were trying to force lengths of black iron beneath the train. Gungnir swept their legs out from under them. He planted the spear, spun around it, and kicked the entire group away from the track.

Miles Rowan: They are trying to derail us!

Lena Solis: I noticed!

Kishi Yellow buried Aymr in the road. A line of yellow light knocked the next rank into the air, but more creatures climbed over them before they landed. The entire army was pressing toward the Kishi Liner now, leaving the gatehouse to Malachor and Kishi Red.

Ray Matthews: They are not trying to help Malachor.

Ashlyn Westbrook: He ordered them to keep us away from Trace.

Kishi Violet looked toward the broken wall. Red light flashed inside the gatehouse, followed by the sound of swords striking hard enough to shake dust from the towers.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Keep moving! Trace is counting on us!

At the first gate, Kamen Rider Ash slid beneath the siege creature's arm and fired the Ashen Revolver into the damaged cannon. He threw it to Magnus Soul, who caught it without looking and fired the last chamber directly into the creature's face.

The siege creature swung blindly. Magnus Soul ducked, while Kamen Rider Omega Gauge caught the arm against both forearms. His boots slid across the road as the larger enemy tried to crush him beneath its weight.

Cole Beckett: Any time now!

Kamen Rider Ash jumped onto the creature's back and locked both arms around its neck. Magnus Soul drove his Geist branded sword through the ruined chest cannon. Omega Gauge released the arm, struck the hilt with both palms, and forced the blade through the creature's core. The siege creature stumbled. The three Riders jumped into the air and smashed into the siege creature with their devastating kicks. The giant enemy fell backward and exploded across the empty intersection. The three Riders landed together. Every Dreadling around them turned toward the castle. For one strange second, the army stopped fighting.

Cole Beckett: That cannot be good.

The Dreadlings began running toward the upper gates. Some climbed the sides of buildings. Others disappeared into green fractures opening beneath their feet. The entire force was being called toward one place.

Blake Faust: The Kishirangers reached the last gate.

Kamen Rider Ash nearly fell when he tried to follow. Magnus Soul caught him beneath the arm.

Asher: I can still fight.

Blake Faust: I don't think so, Asher. Power down before you die, please.

Omega Gauge looked up the road toward the dark shape of Vantrex's castle.

Cole Beckett: You take a breather, and we'll finish what he started.

Inside the final gatehouse, Malachor drove Kishi Red from one ruined chamber into the next. Their swords struck beneath torn banners and between broken statues of knights whose names had been lost with the first kingdom. Trace blocked a cut near his waist, but Malachor changed his grip and slammed the crossguard into his throat. The red armor absorbed part of the blow. The rest sent him hard against a stone pillar. Malachor thrust. Kishi Red turned sideways, and the black blade entered the pillar beside his head. Trace struck Malachor's elbow with Regulus, trapped the sword against the stone, and kicked him through a wooden door. Both warriors crashed onto the upper wall above the battlefield. The Dreadling army filled the road below them. Kishi Violet, Kishi Blue, Kishi Green, Kishi Yellow, and Silver Templar stood around the Kishi Liner, fighting back to back as the circle tightened. Malachor saw them and smiled beneath his mask.

Malachor: Look at them. Five soldiers dying because their king chose pride over sense.

Trace Mercer: They are not my soldiers.

Kishi Red attacked. Regulus and the black sword met at shoulder height.

Trace Mercer: They are my family.

He broke the lock and cut toward Malachor's ribs. Malachor blocked, punched him across the helmet, and drove his sword into the red shoulder plate. Trace pulled away before the blade entered deeper, but his right arm dropped for half a second. Malachor used that half second well. His boot struck Kishi Red's knee. The next swing broke part of the golden crest from his helmet. A third strike knocked Regulus from his hand. The sword spun across the wall and stopped near the edge overlooking the army below. Malachor seized Kishi Red by the throat and lifted him.

Malachor: Vance Lot thought loyalty made Uther weak. You have inherited the same disease.

He threw Kishi Red onto the stones and kicked him in the chest before he could rise.

Malachor: Every wound they suffer enters you. Every life you try to carry slows your hand. Abaddon has no family. No love. No fear of loss. That is why his will cannot be broken.

Malachor raised the black sword with both hands.

Malachor: Kneel before him now, and your death may still have purpose.

Kishi Red caught the descending blade between both gauntlets. The edge cut into his palms and stopped against the damaged armor above his head. Malachor leaned into it. Trace's arms shook. One knee struck the wall. Below, Kishi Violet looked up and saw him falling.

Ashlyn Westbrook: TRACE!

She tried to break from the circle. Five Dreadlings blocked her path. Evensong passed through two, Silver Templar cut down another, and Kishi Yellow threw Aymr through the last pair. More replaced them immediately.

Lena Solis: He would give his life for us! That means we do not waste what he is giving us!

Kishi Violet looked at her.

Lena Solis: Trust him the way he trusts you!

Ashlyn turned back toward the army. She hated every step that carried her away from the gatehouse, but she understood. Trace had not asked her to watch him die. He had asked her to keep their family alive. She raised Evensong.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Kishirangers, with me! We clear a road for Red!

Violet light crossed the battlefield. Kishi Blue pushed beside her. Kishi Green ran along Vanguard's upper edge and launched into the Dreadlings ahead. Kishi Yellow recovered Aymr and struck the ground beneath them, while Silver Templar drove Absolver through the center of the broken formation. The five advanced together, step by step, refusing to let the army close again. Kishi Red heard Ashlyn through the Oathlink. He heard all of them. Malachor forced the black sword lower.

Malachor: They are making you weak.

Trace raised his head.

Trace Mercer: You have never understood strength.

He shifted both hands from the blade to Malachor's wrists and pulled instead of pushing. The sudden movement dragged the dark knight forward. Kishi Red drove his helmet into Malachor's mask. The impact shattered what was left of it. Trace rolled aside as the sword struck the wall. He swept Malachor's legs, kicked the weapon from his hands, and threw himself toward Regulus. His fingers closed around the hilt. Malachor recovered his sword at the same time. Both men charged. Their blades collided near the center of the wall. Regulus held against the black sword as the two warriors pushed with everything left in them. Red and green sparks poured over the battlements. Malachor had greater weight and fifteen centuries of strength behind him. Kishi Red had spent the entire night fighting through two gates, and every breath pulled against the wound in his chest. Malachor began driving him backward.

Malachor: You cannot win.

Trace Mercer: I have heard that before.

Kishi Red gave ground until his heel reached the broken edge of the wall. The street fell away behind him as Malachor twisted his blade, forced Regulus out of line, and thrust the black sword into Kishi Red's left side. Ashlyn felt the strike through the Oathlink. Her next step faltered, and Kishi Blue caught a blow meant for her.

Roland Vander: Stay with us!

On the wall, Malachor pushed the sword deeper.

Malachor: Your king dies here.

Trace looked down at the blade passing through his armor. The pain brought back a field beneath an evening sky, Gideon's sword in his side, and the final lesson his father had given him. He remembered stepping forward when every instinct told him to pull away. He remembered closing the distance. He remembered Oathrender and Vowkeeper breaking together beneath the force of the strike. Kishi Red stepped into Malachor's sword. The dark knight's confidence changed to surprise. Trace caught the blade beneath his arm and held it inside the wound. Malachor tried to pull free. Kishi Red did not let him.

Trace Mercer: Gideon Mercer taught me never to fear the last step.

Regulus rose over his shoulder, and Malachor brought his weapon up to meet it. The swords struck with a sound that rolled across all three gates. Malachor's black blade shattered against the impact while Regulus remained whole. The dark knight stared at the broken weapon in his hands as Kishi Red pulled the remaining steel from his side and threw it away.

Malachor: Why?

Trace steadied Regulus. The red gem inside the pommel burned beside violet, blue, green, yellow, and silver light.

Trace Mercer: Oathrender broke because its journey was finished. Regulus will not break here. This is my sword.

Malachor roared and attacked with the jagged half of his weapon. Kishi Red moved through the strike. Regulus cut across Malachor's chest and opened every plate the earlier battle had weakened. The dark knight staggered, but he stayed on his feet. He swung the broken sword toward Trace's neck. Trace ducked beneath it, turned, and brought Regulus around with both hands. The blade passed cleanly through Malachor's neck. His horned head left his shoulders and flew through the open arch behind him. It crossed the threshold just as the darkness beyond the gate began to collapse, carrying the remains of Agravain Malachor back into the world he had served. His body stood for one final second before falling to its knees and striking the stones. Green fire left the empty armor, but it did not gather, rebuild, or rise. The flames burned down to nothing, and Malachor was dead. Kishi Red lowered Regulus.

Trace Mercer: Remember Earth, Abaddon.

The third gate split from top to bottom. Its black iron doors fell away from the castle road. The ruined towers leaned outward and collapsed into the empty streets below, while the burned Avalon banners tore free and vanished into the clouds. Sunlight reached one narrow section of Grand Avenue for the first time since the barriers had formed. Kishi Red dropped to one knee. Kishi Violet reached him before the others. She dismissed her helmet and caught him beneath both arms. She pulled him close enough that the damaged armor between them pressed painfully against both bodies, and Trace held her with his free arm. Lena reached them with Roland, Miles, and Ray. She looked from Malachor's empty armor to Regulus.

Lena Solis: His head?

Trace Mercer: Sent to Abaddon.

Lena Solis: You really do keep your promises.

Miles Rowan: Remind me not to make him angry.

Miles grabbed at his own throat as Lena elbowed him in the side. 

The Dreadlings surrounding the Kishi Liner stopped moving. Every creature turned toward Malachor's fallen body. The nearest Dreadling dropped its weapon and rushed toward another. Their bodies collided and locked together. More threw themselves into the growing mass. Arms, shields, blades, and pieces of black armor folded into one another as the army packed itself into the center of the road.

Miles Rowan: I was worried this might happen.

Roland Vander: Yeah?

Miles Rowan: Been a little while since they went big on us.

The mass rose above the gatehouse. Thousands of Dreadlings continued pouring into it from the lower streets, including those that had fled the battle with the three Riders. A broad torso formed from interlocked shields. Two arms dragged themselves free, each ending in a cluster of swords and claws. A head emerged at the top with dozens of green eyes opening across a single black face. The Dreadling Colossus planted one foot on either side of Grand Avenue and blocked the newly opened road to the castle. Klara stared through the Kishi Liner's forward window.

Klara Morgenstern: I preferred them separately.

Sister Rosine: This is big problem..

The Colossus struck the side of the road. Its fist was larger than the Kishi Liner. Trace forced himself upright.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You need the medical car.

Trace Mercer: I need True Krieger.

Ray Matthews: He is right. The castle road is open, but that thing will destroy the Kishi Liner before we reach it.

Ashlyn looked at the blood along Trace's side.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You lead, we follow.

The six raised their Oathlinks.

Trace Mercer: Stahlritter, deploy!

The rear cars of the Kishi Liner opened. True Krieger launched first in a trail of red fire. True Drakken followed in violet light, with Hector, Kestrel, Spiegel, and Silberritter leaving their bays behind it. The six machines climbed around the Dreadling Colossus as it reached toward the train. True Krieger caught the giant hand with both arms. The combined weight drove the red machine backward through the road, but True Drakken cut across the wrist and forced it away. Hector slammed Vanguard into the Colossus's knee. Kestrel struck the other leg with Gungnir, while Spiegel buried Aymr in the pavement and lifted a section of road beneath the monster's foot. Silberritter attacked the opening with Absolver. The Colossus lost its balance and fell against one of the castle supports. The Kishirangers entered their cockpits in six streaks of light.

Trace Mercer: Voll Kaiser formation!




The Stahlritter broke away and rose above the open road. Red, violet, blue, green, yellow, and silver light connected them. True Krieger formed the center. The other five machines changed around it, locking their armor, weapons, and engines into one immense knight. A red mane burst from the back as the lion crest opened across the chest.

All Six: VOLL KAISER! GO!

Voll Kaiser landed between the Kishi Liner and the Dreadling Colossus. The giant creature attacked with both arms. Voll Kaiser raised Shield Vanguard and absorbed the first blow. The second struck the side of the shield and twisted the combined knight around. Before the Colossus could follow, Voll Kaiser drove its sword into the mass of Dreadlings forming its chest. The blade passed through hundreds of bodies and emerged from the creature's back.



Miles Rowan: That worked!

The Dreadlings around the wound pulled themselves together. New armor closed over the sword and trapped it inside.

Roland Vander: It did not work.

The Colossus seized Voll Kaiser's sword arm and threw the combined machine through the remains of the third gate. Voll Kaiser crashed onto the castle road, rolled across the black stones, and stopped just before the Kishi Liner's track. The Colossus followed. Every step brought more Dreadlings into its legs from the roads below. Damage disappeared beneath new bodies before Voll Kaiser could take advantage of it.

Lena Solis: Stop cutting the outside. We have to break the whole thing apart at once.

Ray Matthews: Final Judgment may not reach all the way through that mass.

Voll Kaiser recovered its sword and charged. It ducked beneath a cluster of blades, struck the Colossus in the stomach, and drove it backward with Shield Vanguard. The monster wrapped both arms around the combined knight. Hundreds of Dreadling hands locked across Voll Kaiser's shoulders, chest, and waist. The Colossus lifted Voll Kaiser and slammed it into the road. Alarms rang through the shared cockpit. Trace nearly lost his grip on the controls when pain cut through his wounded side. Ashlyn reached across the central station and closed one hand around his wrist.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Stay with me.

Trace Mercer: Always.

Voll Kaiser planted both feet against the Colossus and kicked it away. Kishi Green's speed carried the machine upright before the enemy could drop on top of it. Kishi Yellow drove power into the right arm. The combined sword cut through one leg at the knee. The Colossus fell. Dreadlings poured across the gap and rebuilt the leg before the body struck the road.

Miles Rowan: This is getting ridiculous!

The Kishi Liner accelerated behind them. Professor Haldren fought the controls as damaged sections of track disappeared beneath the train. Klara stood beside him with both hands on the forward glass, holding the road together long enough for each car to pass. Sister Rosine opened the communications to the team.

Sister Rosine: Ray, the Kishi Liner is ready!

The message reached the shared cockpit. Ray opened the combination system. A diagram of the armored train appeared around Voll Kaiser.

Ray Matthews: Trace, we're good to lock in!

Trace looked toward the approaching train. Its forward lion crest burned through the smoke, and a shining track formed ahead of it.

Trace Mercer: Everyone ready?

Roland Vander: Ready.

Miles Rowan: More than ready.

Lena Solis: Bring it in.

Ray Matthews: Absolutely.

Ashlyn kept her hand over Trace's.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Let me help you.

Trace and Ashlyn pulled the central control into place.

Trace Mercer: Kishi Liner, lock in!

The armored train created a wide circle of golden track around the Dreadling Colossus. Its central cars opened, revealing the reinforced battle compartment. Voll Kaiser jumped as the train came beneath it. The combined knight landed inside the compartment. Heavy arms locked around its legs, waist, and shoulders. Armor closed along both sides without covering its sword arm or Shield Vanguard. The Kishi Liner's engine poured power through every connection until the crest across Voll Kaiser's chest burned white at the center.

All Six: ULTRA VOLL KAISER!

The Dreadling Colossus tore a section of black tower from the castle road and swung it like a club. Ultra Voll Kaiser accelerated. Shield Vanguard met the tower at the front of the moving train. Stone exploded across the track. The Kishi Liner passed through the debris without slowing, and Voll Kaiser's sword cut across the Colossus's arm as they went by. Thousands of Dreadlings broke free and fell across the road.

The train climbed a track that curved around the giant. Its remaining side cannons fired into the loose Dreadlings before they could rejoin the body. Silver blasts drove them away from the legs. Violet fire cut across the back. Blue shots broke the shields protecting the chest, and yellow rounds opened a path toward the center.

The Colossus turned and tried to catch the train. Kishi Green sent the track straight between its legs. Ultra Voll Kaiser struck both knees with the flat of its sword as it passed. The giant dropped forward, and the train climbed the vertical side of the nearest tower before curving into the sky.

Miles Rowan: We are riding a train up a castle!

Lena Solis: Pay attention!

Miles Rowan: I am! Trust me, I am! This is wild!

The track turned at the top of the tower. Ultra Voll Kaiser raced downward and drove Shield Vanguard into the back of the Colossus's head. The monster hit the road hard enough to scatter Dreadlings from its entire body. It still began pulling itself together.

Roland Vander: One complete strike. No pieces left behind.

The Dreadling Colossus stood and spread both arms across the road. Every remaining creature in Avalon climbed into its body. The shoulders grew wider. The hands became enormous walls of hooked steel. Its green eyes fixed upon the approaching train. At the first gate, the three Kamen Riders looked up as the last Dreadlings around them vanished into green openings. The distant shape of Ultra Voll Kaiser raced along a shining track beneath the castle.

Blake Faust: There they are.

Asher, showing the signs of old age still managed to stand up right to see it. 

Asher: Finish it, my friends.

Kamen Rider Omega Gauge watched the Colossus brace itself across the final road.

Cole Beckett: Hang on, guys. We're going to feel this from here.

Magnus Soul lifted his fist toward the castle.

Blake Faust: DO IT!

Ultra Voll Kaiser reached the straight section of track leading toward the Dreadling Colossus. Trace placed both hands around the controls. Ashlyn, Roland, Miles, Lena, and Ray joined him through their stations, and their six colors traveled from the cockpit into the sword. Each light came from a person who had chosen to remain in the fight. The blade extended beyond the front of the Kishi Liner as the Colossus charged.

Trace Mercer: This road ends here!

Ultra Voll Kaiser brought the sword behind its right shoulder.

All Six: ULTRA GRAND CROSS EXPRESS!

The Kishi Liner crossed the final distance. Voll Kaiser's sword swept forward in one clean six-colored arc. The blade passed through the Dreadling Colossus from one side of its body to the other, carrying the entire strength of the train through the center. A second line of light rose through the monster as the Kishi Liner passed beneath it. Together, the two cuts formed a burning cross from its legs to its head. Ultra Voll Kaiser emerged on the road beyond the giant.

The Dreadling Colossus remained upright for a moment, and every separate creature inside it became visible beneath the six-colored cross. The light reached them all at once, breaking their weapons and opening their armor. The entire mass came apart in a wave of gold, red, violet, blue, green, yellow, and silver fire that rose above Vantrex's castle and vanished into the clearing sky without leaving anything behind.

The Kishi Liner slowed. Its track settled onto the final road while the battle compartment released Voll Kaiser. The combined knight stood above the train with its sword lowered and the open entrance to Vantrex's castle directly ahead. At the first gate, the last barrier disappeared. Natural daylight returned to Grand Avenue. Police officers and civilians looked up as the black ribs withdrew from the buildings and the impossible stars faded from the sky. 

Asher: They did it.

Blake Faust: We have to pull Johnathan out of the Death Realm and catch up to them. Asher, you're staying behind.

Cole Beckett: I can shorten the trip.

Blake Faust: Safely?

Omega Gauge looked at him.

Blake Faust: I withdraw the question. Open the road.

Blue clock hands stretched up Grand Avenue. 

Inside Ultra Voll Kaiser's shared cockpit, the six Kishirangers looked through the forward display at the open doors. Beyond them waited a wide bridge leading into the throne level. No Dreadlings remained between them and Vantrex. Ashlyn still held Trace's wrist. His hand was weak beneath hers, but it remained on the controls.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Three gates.

Miles Rowan: Vire, Malvora, Cagewraith, Malachor, one Dreadling mountain, and the wildest train ride of my life.

Ray looked toward the throne level.

Ray Matthews: The road is clear.

Trace lifted Regulus. The blade remained whole.

Trace Mercer: Then we finish what began fifteen hundred years ago.

Voll Kaiser stepped from the Kishi Liner and faced the open castle. Deep within the Worzol Dimension, Malachor's severed head struck black stone and rolled to a stop before a darkness older than Vantrex's throne. The helmet burned away around what remained of the knight who had devoted every act of betrayal and murder to Abaddon. The darkness gave no answer, but the warning had arrived. 



To Be Continued...

Last edited by Machismo (8/19/2026 3:29 am)

Episode 55: The Round Table

Three weeks after the fall of Vantrex, Avalon City had discovered that peace was noisy.

Trace Mercer stood on the sidewalk outside the temporary Knight Express Delivery headquarters and listened to drills, hammers, truck engines, backup alarms, shouted instructions, laughter, arguments, traffic horns, and somewhere farther down Grand Avenue, a construction worker loudly informing another construction worker that the beam absolutely did not belong there.

Trace smiled.

For nearly fifteen hundred years, the Avalon preserved inside his memory had always sounded like war. Horses on stone. Blacksmiths working through the night. Soldiers drilling in courtyards. Bells announcing attacks. People building walls faster than enemies could knock them down.

This Avalon was building restaurants.

Apartments.

Offices.

A new playground stood where a Worzol gate had once crossed the avenue. The remains of the black towers were gone. Fresh pavement covered the scars in the road. Glass was being fitted into buildings that had lost entire walls during the invasion. A crew from Vander Industries worked beside city engineers to replace one of the elevated walkways destroyed during the final battle.

People walked beneath a blue sky without looking upward every few seconds.

That remained strange.

Trace rested one hand against the bandaging hidden beneath his shirt.

He immediately heard a voice behind him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Don't.

Trace withdrew the hand.

He turned.

Ashlyn Westbrook approached carrying two coffees and wearing an expression that told him she had caught him doing something he had specifically been told not to do.

Trace Mercer: I did nothing.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You were checking the wound. Again.

Trace Mercer: I was just uh...adjusting my shirt.

Ashlyn handed him one of the cups.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You're a terrible liar.

Trace Mercer: Yeah? Well. I do suppose that's a good thing.

Trace accepted the coffee with wounded dignity.

Professor Haldren had ordered him not to transform for at least another week unless there was an immediate threat to life. Ashlyn had taken his Oathlink during the first two days after he left the Magnus Foundation medical wing.

Trace had objected.

She had slept with it beneath her pillow.

He had not recovered it until he promised to behave.

Miles had called the entire sequence one of the greatest military defeats Trace had ever suffered.

Ashlyn joined him on the sidewalk and followed his gaze toward Grand Avenue.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Weird, isn't it?

Trace Mercer: Very.

Ashlyn Westbrook: No green sky. No floating castle. No army of monsters.

Trace took a drink.

Trace Mercer: Coffee remains terrible.

Ashlyn stared at him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You asked for coffee.

Trace Mercer: This isn;t the brew of the Bean Champion.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Other coffee brands are alright too.

Trace Mercer: I remain unconvinced.

She took his cup.

Trace looked offended.

Trace Mercer: I was drinking that.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You just called it terrible.

Trace Mercer: Yeah, but I've had worse.

Ashlyn laughed and handed it back.

The smile remained on Trace's face for several seconds after hers faded.

Then he looked across the city again.

Ashlyn knew him well enough now to see the shift.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You're doing it again.

Trace Mercer: Doing what?

Ashlyn Westbrook: Going somewhere without moving.

Trace lowered the cup.

For once, he did not attempt to avoid the question.

Trace Mercer: I was looking at the lion they're installing over there. That crest.

Ashlyn followed his gaze.

Trace Mercer: I grew up believing that symbol began here.

He paused.

Trace Mercer: Now I know better.

Ashlyn moved closer.

Trace stared at the crest.

Trace Mercer: Another world. An entire world. House Arcturus existed there. They escaped and founded Avalon, right here. Lena says she saw the founding of it. They came from another world, and rebuilt their lives and their Kingdom, right here.

Ashlyn Westbrook: That doesn't change anything. This is still your home. It always has been.

He looked down at his hands.

Trace Mercer: But what about that other place? Those other people? My people.

Ashlyn waited.

Trace Mercer: When I first woke, I thought I had lost my world. Eventually I realized Avalon was still here. Changed, but here. Now I've learned there was another world before this one, and I don't even know its name.

He laughed quietly without humor.

Trace Mercer: Apparently fifteen hundred years of missing history was insufficient. I needed more.

Ashlyn slipped her hand into his.

The silver ring on her finger touched his matching one.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Then let's find out.

Trace looked at her.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But whatever happened to that world, whatever the Arcturus family was before Earth, we'll find out.

Trace Mercer: We?

Ashlyn gave him a look.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Do not start that again.

Trace Mercer: I only asked—

Ashlyn Westbrook: We handle our burdens together. Besides, I'm still studying to be an archaeologist...as soon as the school opens back up, anyways.

A car horn sounded from the street.

Miles Rowan leaned out of the passenger window of Roland Vander's car.

Miles Rowan: ARE YOU TWO COMING OR ARE WE HAVING THE CHURCH REFORM WITHOUT YOU?!

Roland pulled Miles back inside by the shirt.

Roland Vander: Stop shouting at pedestrians from my car.

Miles Rowan: They're not pedestrians. They're our friends.

Roland Vander: You're making a scene.

Ashlyn looked at Trace.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Ready?

Trace looked once more at the lion crest.

Trace Mercer: As I'll ever be.

The Cathedral of Saint Cordelia had survived the invasion better than most buildings in central Avalon.

Its outer courtyard had not.

The Bastion barricades were gone.

So were the armored checkpoints, temporary watchtowers, weapon emplacements, and black security vehicles that had once surrounded the building. Workers had already removed most of the damage from the battle, although several sections of paving remained fresh enough to stand out against the older stone.

Hundreds of people filled the courtyard.

Not worshippers alone.

Reporters stood near the front. City officials occupied several rows of temporary seating. Members of Der Gralsbund appeared without the heavy armor they had worn during the Bastion occupation. Magnus Foundation representatives were in the crowd, but their identity was still hidden to the public. 

Klara Morgenstern had arrived with several Zauberer who also made absolutely no attempt to identify themselves as such to the public.

Professor Haldren remained several steps away from the larger crowd, still uncomfortable whenever too many people looked in his direction.

Ray Matthews stood beside Sister Rosine at the base of the cathedral steps.

He wore a dark suit rather than Silver Templar armor.

Rosine adjusted his tie.

Ray endured this for several seconds.

Ray Matthews: Rosine.

Sister Rosine: Crooked.

Ray Matthews: It was not crooked.

Rosine pulled it slightly left.

Sister Rosine: Well now it's not. You're welcome.

Ray sighed.

The others joined them.

Lena Solis arrived beside Miles.

They had spent most of the drive discussing absolutely nothing of importance and had carefully avoided any topic involving the final gates, the possibility that either had nearly died, the times they had grabbed one another's hands, or anything else that might become emotionally meaningful.

Miles Rowan: You know what bothers me?

Lena Solis: I'm afraid to ask.

Miles Rowan: I didn't eat before we came here. How long is this going to be?

Lena Solis: Didn't I see you eat in the car.

Miles Rowan: That was emergency food.

Lena tried not to smile.

He immediately looked away.

Ashlyn noticed both of them, but said nothing. She just grinned. 

A voice came from behind them.

Asher: I see very little has changed.

The silver and white hair remained, but the age that had overtaken his body during the final battle was gone. His back was straight again. The deep lines had vanished from his face. The exhaustion that had made him look like a man near the end of his life had disappeared.

He looked exactly as he had before sacrificing so much of his remaining strength at the gates.

Miles stared.

Asher stared back.

Asher: Good morning, Miles.

Miles Rowan: How do you keep doing that?

Asher: Doing what?

Miles pointed at all of him.

Miles Rowan: That!

Asher looked down at himself.

Asher: Clothing?

Miles Rowan: You looked ninety!

Asher: Ninety? My goodness. Was it that bad? I thought perhaps eighty, but I guess it's a matter of perspective. I felt far older.

Blake Faust: Let's split the difference, because you looked eighty five, minimum.

Blake Faust approached from behind Asher carrying a paper cup.

Johnathan Angel and Cole Beckett followed him.

Asher looked offended.

Asher: That's what happens when I use the power for a prolonged period of time.

Miles Rowan: You were old.

Asher: Temporarily. Well I guess not. I AM very old, but I don't have to look it.

Cole looked at Miles.

Cole Beckett: I didn't turn the clock back either. This was all Magnus Foundation.

Professor Haldren had wandered close enough to hear.

Professor Haldren: Der Gralsbund heard about this ability.

Blake Faust: It's an ancient technique that Geist used to keep me alive when I was in my ten year stasis. Pretty cool, right?

Miles immediately raised both hands.

Miles Rowan: Ten year stasis? I knew you weren't on sabbatical!

Blake Faust: I'm pretty sure we had that discussion already.

Asher folded his arms.

Asher: I am simply grateful to be myself again.

Trace embraced him.

The humor disappeared for a moment.

Asher returned it.

Trace Mercer: I was worried about you.

Asher: I was considerably more worried about you.

He stepped back and looked at Trace's side.

Asher: You were stabbed pretty badly.

Trace Mercer: Everyone keeps mentioning that.

Ashlyn stepped forward.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Because he keeps pretending it didn't happen.

Asher nodded.

Asher: That sounds familiar.

Trace looked betrayed.

Trace Mercer: I expected support. Getting attacked on all fronts.

Asher: You're very reckless, my friend. What can I say?

Before Trace could respond, the cathedral doors opened.

The courtyard quieted.

Father Lughbow emerged.

He walked with a cane.

The wound Alaric Weiss had given him had left its mark, and recovery had not been kind. He moved carefully down the first steps before stopping beneath the old winged lion carved above the entrance.

Several senior members of Der Gralsbund stood behind him.

Lughbow looked across the courtyard.

His eyes found Ray.

For half a second, nobody else seemed to exist.

Then Lughbow faced the cameras.

Father Lughbow: For generations, the institution I serve believed secrecy protected the world from dangers it was not prepared to understand.

The courtyard remained quiet.

Father Lughbow: Sometimes we were correct.

A few reporters shifted.

Father Lughbow: Too often, we used that belief to avoid answering for our mistakes.

Ray watched him closely.

Lughbow continued.

Father Lughbow: Bastion Defense Solutions was created to provide Der Gralsbund with the ability to act openly during supernatural emergencies. It was meant to defend lives without exposing knowledge capable of creating further danger.

His expression hardened.

Father Lughbow: Instead, Bastion became a weapon used against the very people it was created to protect.

The murmuring began.

Lughbow did not wait for it to stop.

Father Lughbow: Effective immediately, Bastion Defense Solutions is dissolved.

That silenced everyone.

Father Lughbow: Its security authority has been revoked. Its private weapons programs are terminated. Its equipment will be turned over to a joint review conducted by Avalon City, the Church, and independent oversight. Any individual responsible for criminal acts committed under Bastion authority will answer for them individually. Those who served honorably will not be condemned for another person's corruption. Der Gralsbund will also change.

He looked toward the cathedral behind him.

Father Lughbow: We were founded to guard humanity against forces capable of destroying it. We were never founded to decide that anyone we feared was automatically our enemy.

He looked directly at the Kishirangers.

Father Lughbow: We forgot that.

Trace did not move.

Father Lughbow: The Kishirangers did not.

Ashlyn glanced toward Trace.

Father Lughbow: While our order was compromised from within, they fought for this city. When we hunted them, they still returned to save our people. When I was corrupted and isolated from those I should have trusted, they risked themselves to bring me back.

Now he looked at Ray.

Father Lughbow: One of them did so after I had given him every reason to leave me behind.

Ray lowered his eyes.

Father Lughbow: Der Gralsbund will no longer treat the Kishirangers as threats. That was wrong. They are heroes. All of them. Them, and those who assisted them.

Klara's eyebrow lifted.

Father Lughbow: We will preserve knowledge. We will contain what truly requires containment. We will protect innocent lives.

He paused.

Father Lughbow: And if darkness comes again, we will stand beside those who fight it.

Applause began somewhere near the rear.

It spread slowly.

Then across the entire courtyard.

Ray did not clap.

He stared at Lughbow.

Rosine took his hand.

Lughbow stepped away from the lectern when the ceremony ended.

Reporters immediately moved toward him, but a pair of church officials intercepted them.

That gave Lughbow enough time to reach Ray.

Neither spoke at first.

Rosine released Ray's hand and quietly moved several steps away.

Father Lughbow looked toward the others.

Father Lughbow: Raymond, may we speak privately?

Ray nodded.

The two walked into a side garden beside the cathedral.

Trace watched them leave.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Should somebody go with him?

Trace Mercer: No.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You're sure?

Trace looked toward the garden.

Trace Mercer: Some battles require privacy.

Inside the garden, Ray stopped beside an old stone fountain.

Lughbow remained several feet away.

Father Lughbow: I rehearsed this conversation many times.

Ray Matthews: That doesn't sound like you.

Lughbow almost smiled.

Father Lughbow: I find that nearly dying can change things.

Ray looked away.

Father Lughbow: You were right.

Ray's eyes returned to him.

Father Lughbow: About us. About me.

The older man tightened both hands around his cane.

Father Lughbow: I taught you that power without conscience was corruption. Then when you followed that lesson farther than I was willing to, I called you disloyal.

Ray said nothing.

Father Lughbow: You became the knight I raised you to become, and I punished you because that knight no longer obeyed me.

Ray's jaw tightened.

Ray Matthews: That wasn't you. You were under their control. I did break with Der Gralsbund. I did betray the order.

Father Lughbow: You merely questioned it. You found the orders to be against your conscience, and you didn't follow them.

Lughbow shook his head.

Father Lughbow: You did...the right thing.

Ray looked at the fountain.

Ray Matthews: I'm still angry.

Father Lughbow: You should be.

Ray Matthews: I don't know if everything between us can go back to what it was.

Father Lughbow: It should not.

That surprised him.

Lughbow stepped closer.

Father Lughbow: I produced a young man terrified that disappointing me meant failing God, the order, and everyone he had sworn to protect. I do not want that relationship back.

Ray swallowed.

Father Lughbow: I would like the chance to build a better one.

Ray stared at him for a long time.

Then he nodded.

Once.

Ray Matthews: So would I.

Lughbow's eyes became wet.

He quickly looked toward the fountain.

After a moment, Lughbow cleared his throat.

Father Lughbow: There is another matter.

Ray Matthews: Of course there is.

Father Lughbow: I need a Second Dominion.

Ray stared.

Ray Matthews: Absolutely not.

Father Lughbow: Raymond—

Ray Matthews: You waited thirty seconds.

Father Lughbow: Oh. Sorry. was that not sufficient time?

Ray Matthews: It was not.

For the first time in months, the two laughed together.

Ray Matthews: Going to have to practice. 

Father Lughbow: Practice what? 

Ray Matthews: You know how to be a Father, but you have to learn how to be a Dad.

Father Lughbow: ...Please be patient...my son.

Back in the courtyard, Miles had located food.

Nobody knew where.

Lena watched him return with two pastries.

He handed one to her.

She accepted it automatically.

Their fingers touched.

Both paused.

Miles Rowan: It's just a pastry.

Lena Solis: I know.

Miles Rowan: I didn't mean anything by it.

Lena Solis: Neither did I.

They looked at each other.

Ashlyn walked between them.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You're both exhausting.

Miles Rowan: What?

Lena Solis: I don't know what she's talking about.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Of course you don't.

A deep metallic sound rolled across the avenue.

Everyone turned.

Several blocks away, one of the reconstruction cranes tilted.

At first, Trace assumed the crane was rotating.

Then he saw people running.

The crane tilted farther.

A suspended steel truss swung beneath it.

The rear counterweight assembly broke loose.

It fell six stories.

The impact shook the street.

The crane's boom snapped sideways.

The hanging truss crashed through the upper floors of a partially reconstructed office building.

Glass exploded across Grand Avenue.

People screamed.

The entire corner of the building shifted.

Trace dropped his coffee.

Trace Mercer: Move!

Immediately, the team moved together to the site of the problem. 

The front section of the office building had been under reconstruction while the lower floors remained occupied by several businesses that had reopened early. When the steel truss entered the upper structure, it tore through supporting columns and dragged part of the roof down with it.

The first floor remained standing, but the second was buckling in real time. 

A pedestrian bridge connected the damaged building to a parking structure across the street. Half of it had collapsed onto the avenue with several people still trapped inside.

Construction workers shouted from behind temporary barriers.

A city bus had stopped beneath the bridge seconds before the accident. Its driver was trying to reverse, but rubble blocked the rear wheels.

Trace reached the first police officer.

Trace Mercer: How many inside?

Police Officer: We don't know. Construction crew says twelve upstairs, businesses on the first floor had maybe forty people. Fire department is two minutes out, but you can't go in there! This is-

Another cracking sound came from the building.

Roland looked upward.

Roland Vander: We don't have two minutes! You know me. I'm Roland Vander! These are my people! Let me help!

Trace looked at the building.

A child was screaming behind one of the shattered windows.

Trace Mercer: There are people inside!

Ashlyn Westbrook: Then lead us.

The words stopped him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You don't have to be the first person under the falling building to be useful.

Ray and Rosine arrived.

Father Lughbow followed as quickly as his injury allowed.

Father Lughbow: Our medical staff is across the courtyard.

Ray Matthews: Bring them.

Trace looked toward Klara.

Trace Mercer: Can you stabilize the damaged section without moving it?

Klara examined the building.

Klara Morgenstern: Temporarily. I will need exact structural points.

Trace finally looked at his team.

He hated standing outside.

Every instinct in his body told him to raise the Oathlink and go with them.

Ashlyn knew.

She squeezed his wrist once before releasing him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Violet Absolution.

Roland Vander: Knowledge guarded.

Miles Rowan: Knight of the Wind.

Lena Solis: Might and Magic.

Ray raised Absolver.

Ray Matthews: Silver Templar.

Their transformations flashed behind the construction barriers that hid their identity before the armored heroes emerged into the street.

People cheered.

Kishi Green vanished first.

He crossed the avenue, entered through the damaged lobby, and returned carrying two people before anyone outside could finish shouting directions. He set them beside the arriving paramedics and disappeared again.

Kishi Blue reached the bus.

The broken Vanguard had not yet been fully repaired, but enough remained to deploy the shield's reinforced barrier.

He planted it beneath the hanging pedestrian bridge.

Steel groaned.

The bridge stopped descending.

Roland Vander: I've got it! Get the bus clear!

Silver Templar climbed onto the rear bumper. He seized a slab of broken concrete blocking the wheels and pulled.

It moved several inches.

Kishi Yellow joined him.

Lena Solis: On three.

Ray Matthews: One—

Kishi Yellow pulled immediately.

The slab rolled away.

Silver Templar looked at her.

Ray Matthews: You didn't count.

Lena Solis: We were in a hurry!

The bus reversed.

Kishi Violet had already entered the building.

Trace stood beside the fire captain as the first rescue crews arrived.

Roland transmitted the structural layout directly from the suit.

Roland Vander: The west column is taking almost twice its intended load. If the third floor shifts another six inches, the front corner goes.

Trace looked toward Klara.

She stood with both hands raised beside the building.

Golden symbols spread across the pavement.

Trace Mercer: Can you hold the west column?

Klara Morgenstern: Not alone.

Professor Haldren: You don't need to.

Haldren ran toward the mobile control station being unloaded by Der Gralsbund personnel.

The machines had been designed to move damaged Stahlritter components.

Today they moved steel beams.

Professor Haldren: Roland, mark the load points.

Blue markers appeared across the display.

Haldren entered them.

Three mechanical supports unfolded and braced the west side of the building.

Klara's magic wrapped around them.

Metal and gold light held together.

Trace pointed toward the second floor.

Trace Mercer: Fire crew through the east entrance. Stay below the green marks Roland is sending you. If any mark turns red, get out immediately.

The fire captain nodded.

Fire Captain: Who are you? Are you with Vander Industries?

Trace Mercer: Uh...not time to explain! We need to help these people!

Fire Captain: Who am I to argue? You seem to know what you're doing!

Kishi Violet crawled beneath a fallen ceiling panel.

Dust covered her armor.

A woman and two children were trapped behind a collapsed office wall.



Kishi Violet removed a section of damaged paneling.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Hey. Look at me. What's your name?

Little Girl: Sophie.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Okay, Sophie. I'm Ash—

She stopped.

Secret identity.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I'm Violet.

The girl sniffed.

Little Girl: I know.

Ashlyn smiled beneath the helmet.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Right. Obviously.

The child's mother laughed weakly despite everything.

Ashlyn examined the slab pinning the doorway.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I'm going to move this. When I do, you stay behind me until I tell you to run.

She lifted.

Concrete rose.

The family crawled beneath it.

Another crack ran through the ceiling.

Ashlyn's Oathlink sounded.

Trace Mercer: Violet, the northwest corner is moving.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I have three civilians.

Trace Mercer: Green is coming to you.

A streak passed through the hallway.

Kishi Green stopped beside her.

Miles Rowan: Taxi service.

Kishi Violet nodded toward the family.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Take them.

Miles crouched.

Miles Rowan: Alright, everybody hold on and please do not throw up on me. This suit is difficult to clean.

The mother stared.

Miles Rowan: Joke. Mostly.

He took the two children while their mother held his shoulder.

They vanished.

Kishi Violet lowered the slab.

The entire floor moved.

Trace Mercer: Violet, out.

Ashlyn looked toward the far hallway.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I heard someone.

Trace Mercer: Violet!

She ran.

Trace closed his eyes.

Trace Mercer: Of course you did.

Asher stood beside him in civilian clothing.

Asher: You have absolutely no room to complain about that.

Trace looked at him.

Trace Mercer: I wasn't complaining.

Asher: You were thinking very loudly.

Kishi Violet found a construction worker beneath part of the fallen truss.

His leg was trapped.

Blood soaked the lower half of his work pants.

Kishi Violet knelt.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Don't move.

Construction Worker: Wasn't planning on it.

She examined the steel.

Too heavy to lift safely.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Trace, I need a way to move a truss without shifting the floor.

Trace looked at Roland's structural map.

He pointed toward a rescue crane arriving from the opposite street driven by Blake Faust. 

Trace Mercer: Blue, can you transfer the bridge load?

Roland Vander: For maybe twenty seconds.

Trace looked toward Haldren.

Trace Mercer: Release lifting rig two and move it to Violet's position.

Professor Haldren: Interior access is blocked.

Kishi Yellow returned from the bus.

Lena Solis: Not for long.

She raised Aymr.

Trace immediately pointed at her.

Trace Mercer: Carefully.

Lena Solis: I know what carefully means.

Miles appeared beside her.

Miles Rowan: Do you?

Lena looked at him.

Miles disappeared again.

Lena Solis: Coward.

She entered the lower floor and used Aymr like a rescue tool rather than a weapon. Controlled strikes broke concrete away from the blocked passage without touching the supporting steel.

Silver Templar moved behind her, pulling debris clear.

The lifting rig rolled inside.

Kishi Blue transferred the pedestrian bridge load onto a temporary support.

His boots sank into the pavement.

Roland Vander: Now!

The machine reached Kishi Violet.

Ashlyn attached its clamp to the truss.

Haldren operated the controls remotely.

Steel rose.

Ashlyn pulled the construction worker free.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Got him!

Kishi Green appeared.

The injured man disappeared with him.

The truss shifted.

Professor Haldren: Ashlyn, get out of there!

Kishi Violet ran.

The second floor dropped behind her.

She jumped through the open window.

For one second she was three stories above Grand Avenue.

A red flash caught her.

Trace had transformed.

Kishi Red landed hard in the street with Ashlyn in his arms.



Pain tore through his side.

His knees nearly gave out.

Kishi Violet immediately knew.

Ashlyn Westbrook: TRACE!

Trace Mercer: I caught you.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You weren't supposed to transform!

The building groaned behind them.

They both looked up.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We'll argue later.

Trace Mercer: Agreed.

Kishi Red lowered her.

He remained transformed, but he did not charge inside.

Instead he looked at the entire operation.

Trace Mercer: Everyone clear the west side! Blue, give me the bridge! Yellow, Silver, take the lower supports! Green, final sweep! Violet, with Klara!

Everyone moved.

Kishi Green ran through every accessible floor.

Kishi Yellow and Silver Templar braced the lower structure long enough for firefighters to evacuate.

Kishi Violet joined Klara.

Violet and gold energy spread through the temporary supports.

Kishi Blue released the pedestrian bridge.

It fell away from the damaged building instead of into it.

The building settled.

One final wall collapsed into the empty construction zone.

Dust rolled across the avenue.

Then everything stopped.

Kishi Red stood in the middle of the street.

Nobody screamed.

The captain looked toward Kishi Red. He looked back and noticed Trace was missing, and put two and two together.

He smiled and raised his thumb.



Everyone was out.

The street erupted in cheers.

Construction workers applauded.

People who had been evacuated from the building applauded.

The little girl Ashlyn had rescued sat on the hood of an ambulance and waved both arms.

Sophie: KISHI VIOLET!

Kishi Violet looked over.

Sophie waved harder.

Kishi Violet waved back.

Miles appeared beside Lena.

His armor disappeared in green light once they had moved behind the emergency vehicles.

Lena powered down as well.

Miles Rowan: Did you see me get that family out?

Lena Solis: I saw you nearly crash into a vending machine.

Miles Rowan: Oh. You saw that? Thought I was stealthy about it.

Lena Solis: You screamed.

Miles Rowan: I did. I did indeed scream.

Lena laughed.

Miles looked at her for a moment too long.

Miles Rowan: So...building's still standing.

Lena Solis: Most of it.

Miles Rowan: Good...good.

Lena Solis: Incredible conversation, Miles.

Miles Rowan: Thank you.

She bumped his shoulder with hers.



Neither moved away.

Several yards away, Trace dismissed his armor.

He immediately grabbed his side.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I knew it.

Trace Mercer: I never said it wasn't risky, but I did catch you.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Congratulations.

Trace Mercer: Thank you.

Ashlyn Westbrook: That wasn't praise.

Sister Rosine appeared with a medical bag.

Trace looked at her.

Then at Ashlyn.

Then toward the street.

Trace Mercer: I can help with clean up and-.

Ashlyn grabbed the back of his jacket.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Sit.

Trace sat on the ambulance bumper.

Miles walked past.

Miles Rowan: She has him trained.

Trace pointed.

Trace Mercer: This joke has become repetitive.

Miles Rowan: That wasn't a joke.

Rosine opened Trace's shirt enough to inspect the bandage.

Sister Rosine: You reopened a small part.

Ashlyn closed her eyes.

Trace winced.

Trace Mercer: That doesn't sound too bad.

Sister Rosine: I can make injury larger if you wish.

Trace Mercer: No, I'm good.

As Rosine worked, Ashlyn looked back at the street.

Nobody was thinking about the cathedral ceremony anymore.

Yet somehow what she saw now felt more important.

Father Lughbow was helping one of his younger knights carry medical supplies.

Klara stood beside a Vander Industries engineer, being secretive, but listening to where he magic could do some good.

Haldren was working beside the same firefighters who, months earlier, might have been ordered away from anything involving Der Gralsbund.

Ray was helping an elderly woman find her husband.

Roland stood between city engineers and construction crews, already arguing about how to rebuild the damaged support.

Miles and Lena were helping carry bottled water from a truck.

Asher moved through the crowd, directing injured people toward medics.

Church.

Magnus.

Zauberer.

Avalon.

Knights.

Ordinary people.

All in the same street.

Ashlyn stopped.

She had seen this before.

Ashlyn's eyes slowly widened.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Oh my-

Trace looked up from where Rosine was attacking his bandages.

Trace Mercer: What?

Ashlyn continued staring.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We did it.

Trace blinked.

Trace Mercer: Did what?

Ashlyn turned toward him.

There were tears in her eyes.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Jeanne.

Trace's expression softened.

Ashlyn looked back toward the street.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I have wanted to be a warrior like her, but I also wanted to be a uniter like her. My dream was to bring us all together, to stand united.

Her voice became quieter.

Ashlyn Westbrook: She got them into the same line.

Trace followed her gaze.

Ray and Lughbow were now speaking beside one of the ambulances.

Klara handed Haldren a tool.

Roland was showing Asher something on a structural display.

Lena yelled at Miles for attempting to carry four cases of water at once.

Ashlyn laughed through the tears.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Look at them. We did it.

Trace smiled.

Trace Mercer: YOU did it.

Ashlyn looked at him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I spent all this time trying to become Jeanne Ark.

Trace reached for her hand.

Trace Mercer: You're you.

Trace lifted her hand and kissed her fingers.

Trace Mercer: You have done rather well for yourself, my lady.

Her face softened.

Ashlyn Westbrook: That was smooth.

Trace Mercer: I have been practicing.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Who's teaching you?

Trace looked toward Miles.

Ashlyn Westbrook: No way.

Trace Mercer: I was joking.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Good...good.

She sat beside him on the ambulance bumper.

For several seconds they simply watched everyone work.

Then Ashlyn's expression changed.

Trace recognized it immediately.

Trace Mercer: You have an idea.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Yeah.

Trace Mercer: Is it dangerous?

Ashlyn Westbrook: Probably not.

Trace Mercer: That was not reassuring.

Ashlyn smiled.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Why does this have to end?

Trace looked toward the street.

Trace Mercer: The rescue?

Ashlyn Westbrook: This.

She gestured toward everyone.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Every time something horrible happens, everybody finally starts talking to each other. Then the crisis ends and everyone goes back behind their walls until the next disaster.

Trace understood.

Ashlyn's excitement grew.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Jeanne united them for one battle because that was what they needed then. We don't have to make the same mistake fifteen hundred years later.

Trace Mercer: You're proposing an alliance.

Ashlyn Westbrook: A real one.

She stood.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Permanent.

Trace stared at her.

Ashlyn looked toward the people working together.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We know Abaddon still exists. We know there are other threats. We know another world exists somewhere beyond whatever the Worzol Dimension became. Magnus shouldn't have one piece of information while Der Gralsbund has another and the Zauberer have another.

She looked back at him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We should all be at the same table.

Trace smiled.

Trace Mercer: A round one.

The temporary KED headquarters had a round table.

The table occupied the center of a large conference room on the second floor. It had been installed during reconstruction.



By evening, nearly every chair was occupied.

Trace and Ashlyn sat together.

Roland, Miles and Lena took the next three positions.

Ray sat beside Rosine.

Father Lughbow occupied a chair without any special placement.

Asher represented the Magnus Foundation.

Professor Haldren sat beside them.

Klara Morgenstern represented the Zauberer willing to work openly with the group, although she made it clear that she had no authority to promise cooperation from every surviving house.

Miles looked around.

Miles Rowan: We're really doing this around a Round Table.

Roland Vander: It is a conference table.

Miles Rowan: It's round.

Roland Vander: Most circles are.

Miles Rowan: You ordered this thing.

Roland Vander: It promotes equal participation.

Lena Solis: You absolutely wanted a Round Table.

Roland looked at Trace.

Roland Vander: Do something.

Trace leaned back.

Trace Mercer: I rather like the table. I was hoping for a round table. Good call.

Miles slapped both hands against it.

Miles Rowan: YES!

Roland closed his eyes.

Roland Vander: Betrayed by my king.

Everyone in the room laughed.

Trace's smile remained as the noise settled.

Ashlyn stood.

She suddenly became aware of exactly who was sitting around her.

Asher.

Lughbow.

Klara.

People representing institutions that had distrusted, manipulated, investigated, hunted, imprisoned or threatened one another at various points in time.

Jeanne had once faced something very similar.

Ashlyn took a breath.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We won.

Nobody interrupted.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Vantrex is dead. The gates are gone. Avalon is safe.

She looked around the table.

Ashlyn Westbrook: So now would be a really easy time for all of us to go home.

Miles raised one finger.

Miles Rowan: I already live here.

Lena smacked his arm.

Miles Rowan: Sorry.

Ashlyn smiled.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Magnus goes back to Magnus business. Der Gralsbund goes back under the church. Klara's people disappear back into whatever secret magical places Zauberer disappear into.

Klara tilted her head.

Klara Morgenstern: Libraries, mostly.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Libraries?

Klara Morgenstern: We like books.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Okay. Libraries.

A few smiles appeared.

Ashlyn continued.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Vander Industries rebuilds. Haldren goes back to research, or possibly teaching us at the academy? Sorry if you choose that option. The Riders will go home. The Kishirangers wait until something attacks us again.

She shook her head.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I don't think we should do that.

Lughbow folded his hands.

Father Lughbow: Nor do I.

Ashlyn looked toward him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Today a building fell down. There wasn't a monster. There wasn't some secret conspiracy. Nobody caused it. A machine failed and people got hurt.

She looked around.

Ashlyn Westbrook: And everybody at this table helped anyway.

Trace watched her with unmistakable pride.

Ashlyn Westbrook: That's what I want us to keep.

Asher leaned forward.

Asher: A formal cooperative agreement?

Ashlyn Westbrook: Exactly.

Klara Morgenstern: Shared information?

Ashlyn Westbrook: When something threatens people, yes.

Father Lughbow: Joint response authority would require careful boundaries.

Ray looked at him.

Lughbow noticed.

Father Lughbow: I said careful boundaries, Raymond. Not secret prisons.

Ray nodded.

Roland opened a tablet.

Roland Vander: Personnel, transportation, research, emergency financing, medical response, engineering support. We can build the structure without forcing anyone to surrender control of their own organization.

Asher: Magnus would support that.

Klara considered it.

Klara Morgenstern: I can bring the proposal to the houses. Some will refuse simply because the invitation came from me.

Lena Solis: Tell them it came from me?

Klara looked at her.

Lena shrugged.

Lena Solis: It might work?

Klara smiled.

Klara Morgenstern: Somehow I believe that may work better, actually. They've been watching you. They're as impressed as I am.

Haldren looked around.

Professor Haldren: What would we call it?

Miles immediately raised his hand.

Miles Rowan: Super Friends?

Everyone: No.

Miles lowered his hand.

Miles Rowan: Didn't even discuss it.

Blake Faust: I liked it.

Johnathan Angel: You would.

Cole laughed.

Ashlyn looked toward Trace.

Ashlyn Westbrook: The Avalon Accord.

The room quieted.

Father Lughbow nodded.

Father Lughbow: Appropriate.

Roland Vander: Clear and concise.

Dorian Vale: Agreed.

Miles looked mildly disappointed.

Miles Rowan: Fine. I guess it's better than Super Friends.

Lena looked at him.

Miles Rowan: Barely.

Ashlyn sat.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Then there's one more thing.

Trace felt several people look toward him.

He did not like this.

Trace Mercer: Why is everyone looking at me?

Ashlyn smiled.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Because somebody has to lead us.

Trace's smile disappeared.

Trace Mercer: No.

The answer surprised everyone.

Even Ashlyn.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Trace—

Trace Mercer: Each person in this room represents something different. Magnus, Der Gralsbund, the Zauberer. I was placed as the leader of Kishiranger, but I have no right to command them.

Asher: Trace, you're the King.

Trace Mercer: ...Someone else should coordinate the alliance.

Roland closed the tablet.

Roland Vander: Why?

Trace looked at him.

Trace Mercer: Roland—

Roland Vander: That's a serious question.

Trace Mercer: Because I don't know what the title means anymore.

Trace looked down at the table.

Trace Mercer: King of Avalon. Heir of Arcturus.

He touched the lion insignia on the edge of his coat.

Trace Mercer: Vantrex showed us the truth. House Arcturus did not begin here. Uther's family came from somewhere else.

His eyes moved around the table.

Trace Mercer: There is an entire history I know nothing about.

Trace paused.

Trace Mercer: If I do not understand what I inherited, perhaps I should be careful about asking others to stand with me.

Father Lughbow answered first.

Father Lughbow: Good.

Trace frowned.

Trace Mercer: Good?

Father Lughbow: A man who never questions his right to lead should rarely be permitted to. Your ancestry tells us where your family came from. It tells us nothing about why anyone in this room trusts you.

Ray leaned forward.

Ray Matthews: I certainly don't follow you because of your ancestry.

Roland Vander: You know when to let other people do their jobs. Eventually.

Trace raised an eyebrow.

Roland Vander: That qualifier was necessary. I assure you.

Lena Solis: You helped me to discover who I truly am, and you were there for me every step of the way, even after I helped wake you up from the best nap ever.

Miles Rowan: You put up with me, and you let me finish things with Vire. Can't thank you enough for that.

Trace turned toward her.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Nobody here follows your bloodline.

Her hand found his beneath the table.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We follow you.

Trace looked around.

Asher nodded.

Lughbow.

Klara.

Haldren.

Roland.

Miles.

Lena.

Ray.

Rosine.

Even Blake raised his cup from the back of the room.

Trace exhaled.

Trace Mercer: I will not rule this Accord like a tyrant.

Ashlyn smiled.

He looked around the Round Table.

Trace Mercer: But...I will lead.

Miles slapped the table.

Miles Rowan: King of the Round Table!

Trace Mercer: Don't call me that.

Miles Rowan: Supreme Knight Commander?

Trace Mercer: No.

Miles Rowan: Grand High—

Lena put a hand over his mouth.

Lena Solis: We're done.

Miles continued talking into her palm.

The Avalon Accord was born.

Later that evening, the others gradually left the conference room.

Ray found Lughbow near the elevator.

The old priest had his coat over one arm.

Father Lughbow: Raymond.

Ray stopped.

Father Lughbow: About the Second Dominion position.

Ray sighed.

Ray Matthews: You're going to keep asking.

Father Lughbow: Relentlessly.

Rosine appeared beside Ray.

Sister Rosine: He should do it.

Ray stared at her.

Ray Matthews: Whose side are you on?

Sister Rosine: Yours of course! I was assigned to you. I am...committed.

Ray Matthews: ...Maybe you SHOULD be committed.

Lughbow smiled.

Ray looked between both of them.

Ray Matthews: I will consider it.

Lughbow nodded.

Father Lughbow: That is all I ask.

He started toward the elevator.

Ray stopped him.

Ray Matthews: Father.

Lughbow turned.

Ray hesitated.

Then embraced him.



Lughbow was shocked, but he slowly closed his eyes.

His arms went around the man he had raised.

Rosine smiled. 

Downstairs, Miles stood outside the temporary KED entrance with Lena.

The city had become quiet.

Not silent.

Avalon was apparently incapable of silence.

Miles rolled the spearhead pendant between his fingers.

Lena noticed.

Lena Solis: Elise?

Miles nodded.

Miles Rowan: Everything got put on hold.

Lena Solis: Understandably. End of the world.

Miles Rowan: Pretty rude timing.

Lena looked toward him.

Lena Solis: We can start looking again.

Miles glanced at her.

Miles Rowan: We?

Lena immediately realized how it sounded.

Lena Solis: I already helped this much. I'm not stopping halfway.

Miles Rowan: Right.

Lena Solis: This isn't...

Miles Rowan: No.

Lena Solis: Good.

Miles Rowan: Just research.

Lena Solis: Exactly.

They stood together.

Neither moved.

Miles pointed down the street.

Miles Rowan: Food?

Lena Solis: Everyone's meeting us there.

Miles Rowan: I know.

Lena Solis: Okay.

They started walking.

Their hands nearly touched twice.

Neither acknowledged it.

The Bell & Lion had reopened four days earlier.

It was a large family restaurant on Grand Avenue that had survived almost everything the Worzol invasion could throw at Avalon until a Dreadling had finally entered through the front window during the first gate battle.

The owner had replaced the window.

He had also mounted the Dreadling's broken sword above the bar.

Nobody knew whether this was legal.

The group occupied three tables pushed together near the rear of the dining room.

Miles watched plate after plate arrive for Trace Mercer.

Miles Rowan: That's four.

Trace looked at him.

Trace Mercer: I lost a great deal of blood.

Ashlyn stole one of his fries.

Trace noticed.

She took another.

Trace Mercer: You have food.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Yours tastes better.

Trace Mercer: It is the same food.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I just like eating yours.

Ray sat beside Rosine.

Rosine had ordered something extremely spicy, and Ray had taken one bite.

He was now trying to maintain a conversation while quietly dying.

Rosine watched him.

Sister Rosine: Good?

Ray's eyes watered.

Ray Matthews: Excellent.

Rosine smiled.

Sister Rosine: Have more.

Ray looked toward Trace for help.

Trace had been stabbed through the body twice in recent memory.

He still looked more frightened for Ray now.

Trace Mercer: I believe this is a challenge you must face alone.

Ray stared at him.

Ray Matthews: Coward.

The table laughed.

Trace leaned back in his chair.

He looked around the table.

Ashlyn.

Roland.

Miles.

Lena.

Ray.

Rosine.

Trace had spent so much of his life losing people.

For once, the chairs around him were full.

Ashlyn noticed him looking.

Ashlyn Westbrook: What?

Trace Mercer: Nothing.

She narrowed her eyes.

Trace Mercer: Something good.

Her expression softened.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Better.

Someone stopped beside the table, she came in with purpose, as if she'd been looking for someone. She finally found who she was looking for. 

Ashlyn did not notice at first.

She was still looking at Trace.

The woman spoke.

Mysterious Woman: Well, I've finally found you. I suppose this explains why you haven't answered my last three calls.

Ashlyn froze.

Her eyes widened.

Slowly, she turned.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Mom?

Everyone at the table went quiet.

Ashlyn shot out of her chair.

Ashlyn Westbrook: What are you doing here?!

Mrs. Westbrook: Visiting my daughter?

Ashlyn Westbrook: You didn't tell me!

Mrs. Westbrook: Where is the fun in that?

Ashlyn hugged her.

For all the battles, monsters and ancient magic she had faced, Ashlyn suddenly looked more nervous than she had entering Vantrex's castle.

Mrs. Westbrook: Look at you. Are you eating?

Ashlyn Westbrook: Yes.

Mrs. Westbrook: Sleeping?

Ashlyn hesitated.

Mrs. Westbrook: Ashlyn.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Sometimes. I've been really busy.

Her mother looked across the enormous table.

Mrs. Westbrook: You certainly have more friends than the last time I visited.

Miles waved.

Miles Rowan: Hi there!

Ashlyn turned.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Don't make this weird.

Miles Rowan: I just said hello!

Mrs. Westbrook laughed.

Then her attention moved toward Trace.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Mom, this is Trace.

Trace immediately stood.

Ashlyn suddenly remembered that in her recent brief conversations with her mother, she had failed to properly introduce Trace. 

Trace stepped away from the table.

He placed one hand over his chest.

Then he bowed deeply.

Everyone watched.

Trace Mercer: Mrs. Westbrook, it is an honor to finally meet my mother-in-law.

Silence.

Complete silence.

Mrs. Westbrook stared at Trace.

Ashlyn stared at Trace.

Miles leaned so far across the table that Lena had to grab his shirt.

Miles Rowan: Wait.

Lena stared at Ashlyn's hand.

Then Trace's.

Lena Solis: Ashlyn.

Ashlyn looked down.

At her ring.

At Trace's.

Back at Trace.

Her face went pale.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Wait....WHAAAAAT?!



To Be Continued...