Lightning had hardly gotten too much sleep lately, as he couldn't seem to expel the thoughts of Serpent-Tyrant from his mind, and even if he did manage to get a little sleep, he would then have a recurring nightmare from his past… the time when his parents were killed by that monster!

Then he'd wake up with a terrified gasp.

Krysta was getting worried about Lightning and decided he go see Penny for a physical. So he did…

…

Penny gave Lightning a thorough physical, and even asked him some psychological, and somewhat confusing and pointless questions, by the end of the exam all Penny could suggest was not think about it and try to take his mind off it. "Here… this will help." Penny said as she readied a shot for him.

"Say…! What are you doing?" Lightning asked nervously when he saw the needle. Penny explained that medicine she was giving would help relax him so he wouldn't have the nightmare for a bit and remain calm. "It might make you sleepy though when you least expect it, but it's for your own good."

"Okay… you're the doctor." Lightning said. Then he felt the needle prick him, "Ouch…!"

"There! All done…" Penny said.

"Thanks for nothing." Lightning remarked. Krysta couldn't help but giggle.

…

Titan's minions had been training for a while, and now they were still in their knight forms, and had been that way for a while without feeling too weak. "Ha, ha, ha… I've never felt so strong before since ever." chuckled Rep-Stallion as he smashed a rock to pieces with one swing of his double-bladed scythe.

They had also learned new projectile attacks, and Dementia was having a fun with those. "Nya, ha, ha… Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the pretties and strongest of all?" she kept on saying.

"Are we ready now?" Mysterious asked. The others nodded in agreement. "Those unicorns have made fools of us one too many times." growled Dementia.

Rep-Stallion ran his fingers across his scythe blades, "But what goes around… is about to about to come around."

…

Lightning still went to work, eventually stopping off at the library to help Inquerius sort and stack extra piles of books for her. "Feel any better yet?" Krysta asked.

"Well… I do feel less agitated." Lightning answered "I don't even feel tired."

"Why would you feel tired?" Inquerius asked. Lightning would've said don't ask, but then again that was like telling Inquerius not to talk as she only asked questions. "I'll be fine. It's no big deal."

After all the books were sorted, Lightning and Krysta prepared to leave, when he ran into Starla, who was carrying large pile of more books and couldn't see where she was going. "Oh… Lightning…" she said.

Lightning began to feel a little shy. "Hi… Hi… Starla. Sorry about that."

"No I'm sorry."

"No, no, no… it was my fault."

They kept exchanging apologies back and forth, until they realized they were gazing into each other's eyes. They both turned away giggling and blushing softly. Krysta just rolled her eyes at how typical they were acting.

As Lighting helped Starla gather her books and take them back to her room in the tower, he playfully asked. "Don't I owe you a milkshake?"

Starla's ears perked up, and she blushed. "I… I don't know…" she said "Do you… want… do you want to…?"

"See you after work?" Lightning teased.

"Sure…I'd love to." Starla peeped softly.

They were gazing at each other like standing in a flowery warm meadow. Krysta liked seeing this.

…

As soon as she and Lightning left, Krysta couldn't help but say "Lightning… don't you think you and Starla should do more than just these simple dates?"

Lightning was confused. "What do you mean?"

Krysta explained that he and Starla had such great times together, and were obviously getting warmer with each other. "Why don't you just ask her to be your mare-friend?"

Lightning's face turned red and he almost felt stressed out, but the medicine helped him not panic. "Uh… I… oh… gee…!" However, he decided not to deny it. He had been thinking about it for a while, but kept on deciding against it. Not just because he was nervous and things like that, but also because of the dangers…!

Always having to fend off against evil forces and risking themselves in so many ways. Especially since Lightning was the primary target of Titan's minions and who knew what or who else would be after him. This meant that Starla would be in danger too. "I can't do that to her. It isn't fair. She doesn't deserve it."

Krysta felt touched by how much Lightning showed his concern, but she implied that he was overreacting. "You both have had your shares of adventures, and hardships, and Starla understands."

Lightning realized maybe that was true. "I just don't think I'm ready to ask her yet."

Krysta understood and promised she wouldn't try to force him.

Suddenly, the sounds of wicked evil laugher echoed from above as the skies went dark. "Oh no…! What now…?" grumbled Lightning as he and Krysta looked way up. There, in the skies above the kingdom, were images of Titan's minions, all in their knight forms.

"Attention, Lightning Dawn…!" Mysterious hissed "We know that you can hear us. So listen carefully."

The minions had challenged Lightning to a duel, and he was free to gather as many of his friends as he wanted. It made no difference to them. "Meet us at the top of Blacktop Mountain after sundown tonight!" said Rep-Stallion. "We've prepared an extra special battlefield just for this occasion."

Dementia stepped forward "…And believe us… when we say that refusal to accept our challenge is unacceptable." She waved her hand and the images faded into images of the whole kingdom in grave peril. Fires, storms, freeze-ups…!

Lightning and Krysta couldn't blink.

The images faded back to the minions who promised that if Lightning didn't show up and accept the duel they would do just as they had seen to the kingdom, this time… for real! "Sundown, Lightning Dawn…!" snapped Mysterious "What shall it be? Think it over… but not too long."

The images faded, and the skies cleared up. So many had already fallen into panic and were preparing for an obvious lockdown at sunset. "Krysta…?"

"Yeah…?"

"Let's get the others. I'm accepting this challenge!"

…

Lightning and Krysta held the meeting at Lightning's house and gathered as many of their friends as they knew could help in battle…

Buddy Rose, Artie, Rhymey, Dyno and Myte, and Starla too. They all had seen and heard the threat from the minions, and were willing to accept the challenge with Lightning.

"It's a chance that we must not miss,

They'll destroy our kingdom, and that's their promise." said Rhymey.

"Si…! I agree. We can't let that happen." said Dyno. His brother nodded in agreement.

Krysta just returned with a message from The Grand Ruler and how he wouldn't let any harm befall the kingdom, and promised to keep a closer eye at night for any trouble.

Still, some of them were very concerned about the battle and felt the minions were leading them straight into a trap. After all, it seemed obvious that they had mastered their new powers and it wasn't known how much stronger they were now. "We were hardly able to beat them the last time." Buddy Rose pointed out "Who knows what new tricks they got."

That didn't discourage most of the gang. They, themselves, had kept to their training and even learned new tricks too. "So… I guess it's decided…?" asked Artie.

Lightning nodded. "It's tonight… or never." he put his hove in the center, and everyone else put their hooves on top of one another, and Krysta stood on the very top.

With that decided, everyone went off, Starla hesitated for a moment. "Stalra…? You okay…?" asked Lightning. Starla seemed really nervous something. "Lightning… I…" she choked on her words and then decided "Never mind…" and then she was gone.

"What was that about…?" Lightning wondered aloud.

Krysta didn't know for sure, but the way Starla was acting it had to have had something to with Lightning, the way she kept gazing at him all through the meeting.

…

It was starting to get late and the sun would start to set soon. Titan's minions, in the regular forms, were already at the Peak of Blacktop Mountain and patiently awaiting the arrival of their enemies. "It won't be much longer now." hissed Mysterious.

"Well I wish they'd hurry." groaned Rep-Stallion "I want to have at these little pests and teach them a lesson they won't soon forget."

"Make sure you save some for Me." growled Dementia as she prettied herself up, trying to hide a few of the bruises she still sustained in past battles.

The others still couldn't believe her. She was going to get dirty again anyway. "Never mind her…" Mysterious said as he gazed back at the setting sun. "Hmm, mm, mm…! Come to us, our prey!"

…

Lightning and Krysta were already soaring toward Violet Swamp, one by one they met with their friends until the gang was all together. They soared over the thickets and brambles of the swamp and could see the mountain up ahead. "Let's go…!" shouted Lightning, and everyone headed straight for the top landing near the shrine where their adventures first began.

The gang all looked around. "Where are they…?" asked Artie.

"They better not have set us up…!" snapped Myte.

That's when the sounds of the minions' laughter were heard. "Well, well… right on time." said Mysterious. Then, the area began to warp around everyone. "Hey…! What's going on?" called Buddy-Rose.

"This is like some scary book!

I don't even think I want to look!" cried Rhymey.

In a quick zap, they all had vanished from sight…

…

They suddenly landed with a thud in a dark and eerie place. Dark grounds, dark skies. It was all dark! Bits and pieces and mounts of rubble, and corpses and skeletons. Small fog layers, eerie winds, a large castle…!

BOOM! Lightning and thunder shaking the skies…!

Dyno and Myte jumped and held each other fearfully whimpering "No Me Gusta! No Me Gusta!"

"What is this place…?" cried Starla "This isn't Unicornicopia."

The minions' were heard laughing again! The gang turned round and there they were standing on a tall pile of rocks. "Welcome to our homeland." hissed Mysterious.

"Homeland…?" asked Lightning "You mean this is…?"

Krysta's eyes bulged wide, "The Dimension of Darkness…!" It couldn't be any other place. "Feel free to have a look around…" sniggered Dementia "This will be the last place you ever see… alive!"

The gang felt their courage building up and stood ready to fight. "We don't care what tricks you pull on us!" snapped Artie.

"We're not going to back down this time." added Buddy Rose.

"Yeah…? Well neither are we." said Rep-Stallion "There's no running away this time. This is a fight to the end. We'll see how you're little believing will save you this time."

"Enough chitchat! It's time for battle!" snapped Mysterious. Then he and his teammates transformed into their knight forms, and let the others charge up and ready their weapons. "Well… we're ready." said Lightning "Let's get them!"

The others all agreed and dashed forth like an army of soldiers charging. The minions stood where they were, not even moving and the gang seemingly jumped on them and began to attack full force, but when the dust had settled. "Huh…?" all they had done was hacked away at the pile of rocks, and the minions were nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd they go?" asked Starla.

"I don't know…" Rhymey said.

Mysterious waited while hiding in the shadows, thanks to mastering his powers, he could blend in with the darkness around him and hide easier and then, with almost no warning, he leapt forth just in time for everyone to see him, "SMOKE OF PAIN…!" fire powerful blasts of smoky magic that exploded on contact, knocking them all down.

"As Brain would say…" groaned Lightning "Well… now who's a fool?"

The other two appeared beside him snickering. "Did you miss us…?" Dementia mocked. The gang went at them again only to miss and be shot by Rep-Stallion's "BOLT OF THUNDER…!" an attack that let him fire electrified pulses from his scythe. Everyone jumped out of the way just in time.

This was getting them nowhere. Every time they tried to even find the minions to even try and attack them the same thing happened. "I say we split up." suggested Lightning.

Some of the other didn't like that idea. "Split up? Are you mad?" asked Dyno.

"We have to stick together, and form a plan." added Myte.

"Oh, sure, this is a great plan." snapped Starla "…staying in one place so they can get at us more easily…!"

Unable to argue with that… the team split up a bit. Lighting also yawned a little. "Are you okay?" asked Krysta.

"I'm fine."

"They've split up." hissed Mysterious.

"Heh, heh… just like we hoped." chuckled Rep.

"And now the real fun begins." Dementia said then laughed, and they split up to attack each team.

Dementia went after Starla and the twins.

Rep went after Rhymey, Buddy, and Artie.

This left Mysterious to handle Lightning and Krysta. "This should be over soon." hissed Mysterious.

"Not as soon as you think…!" snapped Krysta "Ready, Lightning…?"

Lightning yawned again, but answered "You bet!" and he dashed forth, only to have Mysterious kick him hard in his armor. "UGH…!" and sent him skidding along the ground into a rotted tree.

"Lightning!" shrieked Krysta.

Lightning looked as if he had been knocked unconscious, Mysterious just laughed at how pitiful Lightning's attempt was… until Lightning bolted upright, with a smirking grin, much to his annoyance. "Looks, like you have gotten stronger…" Lightning teased, "But so HAVE WE…!" and he dashed forward faster than ever and bashed right into Mysterious sending him sailing onto a pile of rubble… CRASH!

"All right, Lightning…!" Krysta cheered.

Lightning smiled, but he yawned yet again. This was starting to get worrisome, but now wasn't the time to concern about it. Mysterious had gotten up, and didn't seem harmed at all. "Very impressive." he hissed "Perhaps I underestimated you… or perhaps I HAVEN'T…!" and the fight continued.

Meanwhile, Rep-Stallion was showing off his new and improved swiftness by parrying his scythe against Rhymey's sword and Artie's spear. Two against one and he made the odds look equal. Even when a struggle was engaged, and Rep managed kick the both of them aside.

"Hey…!" snapped Buddy Rose "No one doesn't that to my friends! VINE SNARE…!" Using his vines, he yanked the scythe out of Rep-Stallion's hands and grabbed it himself. "Ha-Ha! Looks the tables have turned! I got your weapon now."

Rep-Stallion didn't seem the least bit concerned. "Easy pickings…!" he growled as he stuck out his arms and his hands glowed bright. The scythe began sparking and shocking Buddy hard that he was forced to let go, and the weapon returned to Rep. "You were saying…?" he mocked. "It looks like the tables have turned again, and my weapon is back with me. I'd never let it fall into the hands of anyone else… especially to the likes of you!"

Buddy got back up after his shocking, and Rhymey and Artie came to his side. "We're not done with you yet!" snapped Artie.

"This battle's not through yet!" rhymed Rhymey as he gripped his sword tight, and as their battle continued…

Starla and the twins weren't having much luck either, so many times they had launched their attacks, but Dementia's swiftness and defences proved to be a bit much. Most of the attacks just missed her and those that hit her only made her angrier. "Do you know how long I spent shinning my armor?" she scolded, and she fired her newest projectiles in outrage, "COLDNESS OF DESTRUCTION…!"

She fired a swarm of ice shards at the others, "Jump!" cried Starla as she and the twins leapt out of the way as the ice flew past them and completely froze a pile of fallen trees and rubble. "Aye-Aye-Aye! Hace Frio!" cried Dyno.

Both he and Myte were angry now, and thought they'd try a "SHOCK ROCK WAVE!" They slammed the ground, but their attack didn't work. No rock wave was formed. "Don't waste your efforts!" snapped Dementia. "The ground here isn't like yours back at home. It's littered the bones and essences of the life forms that once existed here."

The twins realized she was right. "Our ground attacks are useless…!" cried Myte

"Well my attacks aren't!" said Starla "QUASAR BEAM…!" Her beam fired, but Dementia just teleported, out of the way, and appeared right before Starla, slapping her hard in the face "AH…!" and knocking her down!

Lightning saw this, "Starla…!" he shouted! Then he got hit from behind by Mysterious' blasts. "AA-AAH…!"

Krysta hovered in and repelled the rest of the blasts with her defensive barriers, but the blasts were so hard she could hardly stand them herself. Then she noticed Lightning hadn't gotten up yet. "Lightning…? Lightning… what's wrong?"

Lightning didn't seem to have the strength to get up, despite not being hurt even from the last attack. "I… I don't know!" he said through a yawn "I feel so… dopey… drow….sy!" Then he drifted off into a deep, deep sleep. "Lightning…? Lightning!" cried Krysta.

Everyone else could see him. Lightning was just lying flat on the ground, hardly moving at all…!

To Be Continued…