The hour had already come. Both the Mysticons and Astromancers were on their way to the crystal archipelago to destroy the almighty codex. Every waking hour was torture for both Malvaron and Zorlon, for tall they could think about was their apparent betrayal to the girls.
Zorlon was especially ashamed. After all, he was their solon, their voice of reason, someone they could always turn to for guidance. The thought of him actually going against them like this made him sick to his stomach. And for what? Some stupid obligation? He didn't even have to look at them to know they were all mad at him, nor did he have the heart to.
"The Codex has been secured." Gandobi informed
"Excellent" Said Nova Terron, just before turning to the girls. "As for you, you will protect the Codex until we arrive at the Crystal Archipelago."
"How 'bout gettin' someone else to do your grunt work?" Zarya flatly said.
"Such arrogance." Nova said just before he and his subordinates moved on to man the rest of the star ship. Zarya's attention then turned to Zorlon,
"What's the matter? Still got nothin' to say, traitor?"
Zorlon didn't respond. Instead, he turned away and stared at the horizon with a sad expression. While Malvaron tried to reason with the girls, all Zorlon could do was stare in deep space; just hearing the word "traitor" from the person who treated him as more than a solon was very hurtful. He could still hear Malvaron failing to council with the girls in the background. Part of him wanted to intervene and reach an understanding, yet what good would it do? It's not like they would've listened to him, all things considered. He then gave a big sigh, for once in a long time, he felt lost. After a little bit, the noise in the background kind of faded away.
That was, untik the abrupt sound of fire crackers filled in the sky. Zorlon whirled his head at the excitement. Before he knew it, the girls made a giant hole in the floor of the ship, and down they went, along with the Codex. He rushed over to the hole, where Malvaron stared in disbelief.
"What happened?!" Zorlon demanded.
"They went rogue!" Malvaron responded.
"Stop them!" Nova shouted. Out of anger, Nova began to levitate Arkayna from the falling platform. "Got you, You insolent Dragon Mage."
"Let go of me!" Arkayna struggled to break free, but Nova's magic was quite powerful.
Z-man, what do we do?" Malvaron inquired, unsure what to do next.
Zorlon kept looking back and forth, from Nova to Arkayna, not sure what to do himself. This was it, time to choose a side.
I'm so fired for this.
Without a second thought Zorlon fired a magic sphere at Nova, causing him to release Arkayna. Seeing her drop like a rock, Malvaron impulsively jumped down in an attempt to save her. Nova then turned his attention to Zorlon, scowling.
"What do you think you're doing?" The old Star master asked sternly.
"For what it's worth, you were right, the Codex must be destroyed." Zorlon replied. "But, not before I keep my promise to save the King and Queen."
"You do realize that by doing this, you're committing high treason to the council!" Nova retorted
"All the more reason to be where I belong." Just like that, Zorlon jumps through the hole, and before he knew it, he landed on the ship of the Pinkskulls, along with the others.
As they flew off, Nova gave a tense stare. "The Stars will not look kindly upon this, Mysticons!" He said coldly.
***
The it had been at least an hour since the rebellion against the Astromancers. Thus far, there had been no incidents and everyone seemed to have made peace with each other. Well, almost everyone. While everyone else had pretty much forgiven Zorlon, it was a little known fact that Zarya could hold a huge grudge.
Speaking of which, there Zarya was, staring at the sunset. The beautiful colors were very calming to her,certainly a welcomed feeling after recent events. Taking notice, Zorlon thought it would be a good opportunity to patch things up. With that in mind, he leaned on the side of the ship next to her, much to the teen's annoyance.
"The sunset it absolutely perfect. Wouldn't you say?" Zorlon started with an icebreaker.
"Yeah" Zarya replied indifferently, turning her head away.
Zorlon then sighed. "Zarya, I know you're still mad at me."
"Figured that out on your own, huh?"
"Look, I know I messed up earlier, but what matters is-"
"I really don't wanna hear it!" Zarya lightly shouted, not wanting to draw attention to the scene. "You think just because you have a change of heart, it means we're all good? Nope, doesn't work that way, it's still a load of minotaur dung that you would side with those astromancers in the first place. Look, you wanna be our solon or whatever, fine. But, I'm making it clear now, we are never going to be friends."
With that, Zarya stormed off, probably or shoot a few arrows in the distance to vent a little. Zorlon once again sighed. He couldn't exactly blame Zarya for being so angry. True, she was always wasn't always easy to work with, but she really grew to respect him over time, to the point where he became one of the few people she ever truly opened up her emotions to, something she would only do with people she trusted. Just knowing that was making the mighty mage feel even more guilty than he already was.
Meanwhile, Malvaron and Arkayna wee studying the reverse spell intently. The time was upon them to undo Dreadbane's curse on the Queen and King.
***
Things looked bleak. In a horrible turn of events, Kymraw and Tazma teamed up and attacked the Pinkskull's ship, compromising the reverse spell. While Arkayna was heading for the Archipelago to destroy the Codex, the rest of the girls, along with their allies, were doing their best to hold off the oncoming assault. Defenses were holding up well, until...
"It's rammer-time!" Shouted Kymraw, charging at full speed at the pirate ship, heading straight for Em.
Seeing the incoming danger, Zorlon jumped in front of Em and made a mystical forcefield. "Everyone, brace yourselves!" He shouted, hooping the shield would hold. Alas...
Going at full force, Kymraw managed to shatter the shield, running in to Zorlon head on. The rest of the world seemed to move very slow as Zorlon nearly took the full force of the impact, taking severe damage. As Zorlon was knocked back, the ship was caught off balance due to the impact of Kymraw's bike.
Hearing the commotion, Zarya turned around and saw what was happening. With no time to lose, she turned Archer around and flew for the ship as fast as she could.
Defenses were not doing so well against Kymraw, for Kasey was already tossed overboard.
"Kasey!" Em shouted, her mech damaged. Meanwhile, Zorlon was barley breathing. What was the young dwarf to do? To save Kasey and leave her own teacher to die? Or vice versa? Suddenly, the dwarf found herself in Kymraw's shadow.
"Say good night, Mysticon!" Kymraw was just about to deliver a fatal blow until Kitty used her trademark whip to catch her fist.
"Go, save Kasey, I've got this!" Kitty said, struggling to hold the vile troll back. Sure enough, Em did as instructed, and in the ocean she went. Using her axe, Kymraw managed to cut Kitty's whip, causing the young pirate to fall backwards.
Kymraw then chuckled as she approached the injured Zorlon. "You one of the strongest! Out first." Once again, Kymraw raised her axe to attempt to cut Zorlon in two. Kymraw cackled a bit at her victory, until...
"Get away from him, you filthy, snagged toothed, slimball!" Zarya shouted, using her wolf bracer to blast Kymraw off the vessel, with the troll screaming while she does so.
Zarya then quickly rushes to Zorlon, worried.
"Zorlon?! Zorlon!" Zarya shouted, hoping to get s response. Unfortunately there was none. All the damaged mage could do, was groan in pain, and even that he could barely do. "No" she whispered, her voice breaking a bit. "Zorlon please, hang in there!"
"Stand back!" Malvaron stepped in, finally able to escape a few orcs. He then placed his hand on Zorlon's chest, and attempted to use a healing spell. It seemed to work, but a only little. "Not good, his injuries are too severe. We have to move him inside."
"Easier said then done." Kitty said. "In case you've forgotten, we're still under att-"
"Kitty!" Zarya shouted, causing Kitty to recoil. A closer look revealed Zayra's eyes were streaming tears. "Please" She pleaded.
Kitty took a small sigh; she knew she couldn't say no to Zarya."You got it Z-Star." She said warmly. "Cover us, we'll bring him inside." As instructed, Zarya shot down as many orc bikes as she could see, allowing Malvaron and Kitty to move Zorlon inside the ship. Zarya's eyes still remained teary eyed, already regretting everything she said to Zorlon earlier. As she fought on, all she could do was hope for the best.