This is the story... a prologue, of what is to come. How the truth began unfolding... How the Mystic Sun and Lunar Darkness Dragon, Ashes, began her descent... into madness.

Into... Eclipse Dragon, Ashes.

Moon pretty tonight, Ashes thought to herself as she looked up at the sky, resting up after a long training session (She would have to patch up the hole in the wall before she was found out though.). Stars dazzled all around, twinkling as if reflected by the ocean. The moon itself was beautiful, round, full...

She loved this. It helped her clear her mind, helped her avoid... THOSE memories. THOSE dreams...

"LET ME GO!! I... I FAILED HER..."

"You... I WILL RIP YOU APART!"

"AHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHH!!! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE... DISARMED, FUJIN TAMAMO?"

"Not Mikado Gao anymore. Umbra. Umbra Gao."

"A-Ashes... I-I'm s-sorry..."

"Fall. Fall. Fall. Fall. Eclipse the Sun. YOU ARE THE ECLIPSE TO RUIN IT ALL!"

She shuddered. No, no, focus on pretty stars. Not on scary thoughts.

Walking down the stairs of the Mikado household in Cho-Tokyo, Chibi Panda noticed her and blinked. This was weird. Usually, Ashes was asleep. 

Although... she hadn't been getting enough sleep. The bags under her eyes. Everyone had noticed the sounds of fighting. The HOLE in the wall right now was undeniable. 

Just why had she been training? To get stronger? Why do it alone? 

He wanted to find that out. "Ashes!"

Her head swiveled over, and while she panicked a bit, she calmed herself down and waved. "Chibi!"

"What are you doing up this late? We have to meet up with the others tomorrow, remember?" He asked her. "Especially Jack and Tasuku."

Her eyes lit up at Jack's name. "Jackie!"

Chibi Panda resisted the urge to snort. Only Ashes was allowed to call the Star Dragon World monster that. Anyone else and he would have to be restrained by Tasuku. Oh, did Aniki enjoy torturing him over THAT.

Not that it was a secret anyway. Their new friends from before they moved to America permanently could tell with one glance. The former villains, Kana and Tamamo, saw it a mile away, Yunbae found it adorable, Ayumi just laughed, and Michelle shook her head as she told Jack, "You should just accept you like being called that."

That was one of the many things they said on their final day in Japan, in the winter. Now it was summer break! And while Gao had returned with new friends, he had been looking forward to seeing Tasuku the most. He spent an entire night ranting about how excited he was last night alone! Their first night back, and the man spent it being unaware of how he loved Tasuku!

Seriously, he really wondered how dumb these two had to be in regard to love.

(Chibi would be shocked by how hilariously dumb they were as time passed by. To the point that their own engagement happened because they were drunk.

Ah, the dumb idiots in love, everyone.)

He just chose to pat her head. "Why are you still up?"

"Oh, p-pretty stars!" She lied. 

"And the hole? Gao noticed that your stance was off during training. How long has this been going on, Ashes? Since we got back a week ago...?" Chibi was slowly piecing it together. 

She gulped at that. Oh no. This was bad. She knew what was coming next. "Chibi-"

"MIKADO LUCRECIO GAO, ANIKI, GET UP!!!!!!!" He roared from where he was. 

From his room, the Sun Fighter hit the wall in shock while Batzz fell off the bed. Hard. Both were startled awake by the shout, especially since Chibi had used Gao's English name, the one he had started using in America. Also, how the rest of the Mikados didn't wake up was a mystery to them. 

"Huh- what- eh?! Why is he so loud?!" Gao rubbed his eyes while getting up, leaning onto the wall so he didn't stumble into another wall or something. 

"I swear that kid is gonna get it!!" Batzz grumbled angrily. He was going to MURDER him for real this time! Not just because of this, but because he had been repeatedly called soft by Acid Siren, aka Sai, and he was ITCHING to prove her wrong! That former villain really got on his nerves at times!

Gao held him back. "Wait, maybe Chibi has a good reason for it." He was beginning to notice his youngest Buddy wasn't here, and it worried him. "Ashes isn't here." 

"... What?" Batzz's own concern began to spike. What happened to her? He remembered the night when he couldn't sleep because Ashes had gone missing following Ryuenji's fight with Akihito, and then because Ashes had become Fukushima's partner, which he STILL held a grudge about. The lady literally brainwashed her! Broken World or not, she CHOSE her path! 

But as he looked around, his eyes widened. The brat... The brat was right. 

Within seconds, he had grabbed the much taller male and was now dragging him down the stairs, which, really, didn't benefit Gao whatsoever. "Batzz, slow- Ow! Down- OW!"

"HOW CAN I SLOW DOW-" He turned around as they finally reached the end of the stairs, only to see his Buddy rubbing his head, ten bumps visible. "... Oh."

He was met with Gao's bonk, the red-and-purple-haired Sun Fighter glaring at him as he said, "I'm also worried but I'm not dragging you down the stairs, am I?"

Batzz gave a sheepish smile. "Right. Sorry, brat."

Gao just sighed, getting up. "Let's go check on Chibi Panda. We're having a talk about being too  aggressive with our therapist when we get back to America."

He grumbled but didn't say no. He knew Gao needed lots of therapy after the Umbra mess. They all needed it, to be fair. Broken World was gone now, but the scars were not. 

Even if he refused to admit that the title of Sun Fighter had begun losing its meaning after how he smirched the name because of his corruption...

(Years later, the shackles would dissipate in a fight paralleling the one to come.)

"Chibi? You goo-" Gao paused a bit once he saw the hole in the wall. "... Ashes?" 

She froze up. "G-Grrrao...."

"Are you okay, kid?" Batzz asked, concern clear in his tone. "You seem out of it."

"I-I okay," she lied. "Just training."

Gao looked at the hole, and couldn't help but wonder. Ever since Ashes' lineage as a monster of Dragon and Darkness Dragon World had been found out beginning with Kana-san's draining of Ashes' energy, she had definitely grown stronger. 

But why was it growing stronger and stronger? To the point of making such a hole... 

Something felt off to him. He had felt like Ashes' Father had been hiding something but now that he was faced with this... He had to confront her. "Ashes... What's going on?"

"I-I..." She stumbled back, seeing all three of them have concerned looks on their faces. 

"˙┴ɹɐƎH Ǝɥʇ ǝsԀᴉlƆƎ ˙˥Iɐʍ ǝɥʇ ʞ∀Ǝɹq"

No no no!!!!! 

She backed away, turning around and flying away into the night sky much to their surprise. 

"Ashes!" Gao gasped. 

"Someone get Tasuku on the line!!!" Chibi Panda panicked. 

"I'M GOING AFTER HE-" 

"YOU'LL WAKE UP THE ENTIRE NEIGHBOURHOOD!!!"

Chaos as per usual in the Mikado household, but borne out of worry and concern. 

Just what was going on with Ashes?

She landed near the river and smiled at the scenery. Pretty. Moon reflect off the wate-

She flinched as her head began to ache. The moon, it was...

Her symbol... began to shift. Her eyes glowed. Everything hurt... 

"... Why? Why Ashes? Why make Grrrao worry?" 

Tears were falling down her cheeks. She couldn't... She couldn't bear making her brothers worry again... Her Buddy... It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. IT HURT SO BAD... 

"Don't want hurt, don't want make them worry... Why always make them worry?"

Ever since she hatched and met Gao, ever since she came back... The Lunar Darkness Dragon form... Umbra Gao...

She shook. No no no, so painful... Hurt so bad... 

She let out a sorrowful roar. "WHY DO THIS TO ASHES?!"

Her roar echoed throughout the city, and a hooded figure giggled from atop the Buddy Police HQ.

"Ohhh, what a beautiful noise. Soon... Soon, it will be time!"

The next phase of their plan was about to bloom~

The next day, Ashes yawned as she got up from the bench she had settled for, stretching a bit. She felt a lot better now, thankfully. Maybe she could take a walk before heading back and apologising to Grrrao and her brothers. She needed to cool off anyway.

But then, a familiar duo showed up. 

Ryuenji Tasuku wiped his face with his towel. "I know you're worried, Jack, but making me run around this much is insane."

"I know," the Star Dragon world Buddy said. "I just..."

"We all worry, but have some trust in her..."

He closed his eyes. "... Alright."

Tasuku smiled and leaned on the railing to drink some water, but stopped as he turned to see Ashes. "Oh, Ashes!"

She froze up. "S-Suku! J-Jackie!"

"You're okay!!" Jack flew over with a relieved smile.

"We were really worried," Tasuku spoke as he walked over. "When Gao-kun called saying you had gone missing, we thought of the worst."

"You search all night?"

"A bit. But we still have work so we couldn't take a day off. That's why I asked Tasuku to jog around."

"Oh... Sorry..." Ashes felt bad. They were that busy huh?.... Had she worried Grrrao and the others that much?

Just then, a loud shout of "ASHESSSSS!!!" made her turn to see Drum and Bal tackling her with Chibi Panda while Gao and Batzz jogged over, relief written all over their features.

"We finally found her, huh?"

"We did, Batzz. Come on, let's get in that hug."

"Ugh! Fine!" He conceded as the two joined in, making Ashes smile a bit while basking in the warmth. This was so nice...

"Why don't we have a Buddyfight before I go for patrol then?" Tasuku suggested to the group once they dispersed. "Should help Ashes feel better!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Gao grinned.

"Go!!" Ashes cheered. She was soooo excited! Her first Buddyfight since returning to Japan!

Maybe it could help her get rid of the thoughts!

... Or so she thought. 

"I hope you're ready Tasuku-sempai!" Gao grinned. "Cause we're about to go HARD!" 

Tasuku smirked. "I'd like to see how your skills have grown from your time in America, Gao-kun!" 

"Then let's do this! Time to raise the cool flames even higher!" 

Lunar Darkness Dragon!

Ashes! 

OVERTURN!!! | GYAKUTEN!!!!

"I disable Ashes' piercing ability for this match to disable all Soulguards and deal piercing damage thrice! Then I disable Throwing Dragon, Nagerucorga in order to make that five times! A quintuple attack!"

"As expected!" Tasuku praised. "But Jack and I won't go down so e-" 

Ashes suddenly roared as she jumped and lunged for Jack. So fast was her speed that the other side had no time to block before Tasuku's life reached zero. 

The winner was... Mikado Gao...

But...

"Ashes! Stop this! Please! The Buddyfight is over!" Gao pleaded as he barely managed to get her to SD form before she could attack Tasuku. The Buddy Police prodigy was panicking, calling Takihara-san for help while checking over the heavily injured Jack. Ashes had attacked him like some sort of animal... 

But Ashes didn't stop. She bared her fangs at Gao as she roared at him. She sounded so feral now... It just broke his heart. 

And then... Ashes stopped. Her eyes widened upon seeing Jack so... so pained. And his eyes...

Fear. Terror. So many of those scary emotions were embedded in those yellow, serpentine eyes. 

She backed away. Her senses came back to her. Her mind cleared with one painstaking conclusion. 

It was getting out of hand. Something was wrong. Something was wrong with HER. 

She was...

A step back. 

Another step. 

"W-Wait, A-Ash-" 

She wailed out, making all of them cover their ears as she spread out her fire wings and flew away. 

She needed answers. 

And the only place she could get those answers... As much as her brothers would hate for her to do this... 

She had to go THERE. It was the only way to know the truth. 

Her only living relative. 

Her father. 

Knock knock!

Bunbuku blinked as he opened up. "Ashes?"

She was shaking. Dried tear streaks were clear and she stammered, "Want to.. g-go to Darkness Dragon World."

His eyes widened slightly behind his sunglasses. Of all the things...!

He had expected this, but of all the times... it had to be now?

Still, he had made a promise to his former Buddy, so he said, "Are you sure about this?"

"H-He know the truth. I-I hurt Jacky, n-need to know how to stop!" she all but yelled. Frantic movements. Frazzled eyes. 

Was Ashes truly in the right condition to receive the truth?

... Yes. Those eyes, despite the frenetic look, also housed a deep fire of determination. One that her mother had before her passing because of... because of that eViL. 

He gave a quiet sigh. Either way, he was going to face the brothers' wrath, so why not? "Alright, brace yourself."

She gave a smile, tiny as it was, mouthing thank you before a portal appeared underneath her and she fell... fell... fell...

Reflecting the fate that was to come upon her, when the eclipse fully formed.

Gao was too late to stop her from leaving. As he always was... 

venusaura Wow, this took a long time, but here we go!