MIAB

22: Underdog

Hades's Room, Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Chaotic Dimension, 17th Universe (Time Unknown)

"The thrush has found its ruined nest," A voice sang, walking among the destroyed room, "Its pitiful cry pierces the night. Oh, little thrush, what will you do to make this right?" The voice hummed, crossing a part of the room that had blood stains on the floor. The small, pale feet didn't make a lot of noise as it walked through the blood, although the bottom part of their feet was now red thanks to the blood.

"The poor thrush wants to seek revenge, fall down. It will not rest, fall down, until it finds the one that destroyed its nest." The song was cut off as the person reached an unconscious male that was surrounded by debris that had, by a miracle, not fallen on top of him.

"Fall down, fall down, vengeful thrush," The person continued to sing, grabbing the bit-chip that rested next to the unconscious male and holding it for a while in the small, pale fingers, "your wings will be dipped in red, your foes filled with dread. Oh, little thrush, what will you do to make this right?" The person placed two other bit-chips on the hands of the boy, along with the one they had picked.

The person left the room, humming softly before stopping in front of the double doors. They turned, a forlorn smile appearing in their face before looking forward and leaving the room. Before leaving, though, the final verse echoed throughout the silent room:

"Oh little thrush, why are you crying now? Didn't you know that blood is heavy?"

~~~MIAB~~~

Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Chaotic Dimension, 17th Universe (Time Unknown)

"Will Zeo be okay?" Julia wondered, Kai, Tyson, Ray and Max staying silent while the others wondered the same question. They had all felt the presence of both Cerberus and Hades disappearing, although Cerberus had disappeared before Hades had. That worried them a lot. Was it considered a draw or was it a win for Hades? Max kept looking behind his shoulder, hoping to see Zeo and Raul running up to join them but they never appeared.

What had they missed when they had been forced to leave the room? How had the battle between Zeo and Hades end? How was the battle? Was Zeo okay? Or was he gone? They had too many questions and not enough answers.

"He'll be fine. Zeo's a pretty good blader," Daichi acknowledged before they stopped in the stairwell, seeing that Kaori was glancing outside to one of the windows. He frowned, "What's up, Kaori?"

Kaori pointed to a window, her gaze calculating and eyes filled with questions, "I thought I saw something outside. Call me crazy for that but it looked like Nami." None of them called her crazy, especially when they knew that Nami was here but was not herself.

"It must have been Gaea." Garland told her, before also glancing at the window Kaori mentioned. He could see that daybreak was approaching and was confused until he remembered that time went faster in this dimension. They had been here for a day and it didn't even feel like it.

"We're going up against Gaea, right?" Steven asked as they continued their ascent, Julia now being supported by Steven as she had not regained her strength yet. Kaori was faring better, already six steps ahead of her.

"Yeah. The holy beast of the earth and the one that is currently possessing Nami." Tyson informed them, looking serious and unlike the fun-loving champion they knew, "We all have the game plan, right?" Everyone nodded and Tyson grinned, "Nemesis, Hecate and Hades are down. When we beat Gaea, that'll just leave seven left of the Forsaken Fallen!"

"We can do this." Max said.

Kai felt Dranzer tremble in his pocket and looked around the stairwell and could not see where Dark Dranzer was hiding. He was close, though, and could feel Dark Dranzer's presence. He eventually gave up trying to find him but he kept his guard up as he continued climbing the stairs.