Brawl grunted as he jumped atop a hill and flattened the grass underfoot, and sighed as the faint sound of mumbling and muttering came over the wind. Behind him, Rizzo, Nort, and Snuckles all groaned as they finally pulled themselves over the side of the hill and fell on their knees. They propped themselves up with only their arms as they slouched over and panted. Brawl had to admit, he hadn't thought that Dyna would take such a steep cliff—or maybe he was just used to taking shortcuts, being as big as he was and all. He peered down at the steep fall below, so tall that the ground was a big blobby blur, and turned back.

"I can feel the blood pumping in my ears," Snuckles whined as he finally fell on his back. Nort flopped down beside him, and Snuckles groaned as he turned to Nort. "Nort, can you hear anything?"

Nort groaned and shook his head; he flopped on his side and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I think… A nap's a good idea… Too…" Snuckles panted as his own eyes drifted open and shut.

Rizzo stumbled over and shook a fist as the two of them moaned and closed their eyes.

"Come on, you two, that climb wasn't that bad!" Rizzo insisted, though the tired slur of his words and the way he stumbled over his own shaking feet soon after said otherwise. With one trip of his feet Rizzo planted face-first into the ground, moaning as he strained to push himself up for a moment before collapsing. "I, as your captain, I…"

Brawl sighed and shook his nonexistent head at the sight of all three mabu collapsed on the ground when the sound of something alike to mumbling came over the wind. The voice was faint with no trace of what was being spoken heard, yet something about it seemed somewhat familiar.

Brawl tip-toed ahead, though his massive size ensured that the world around him still shuddered even with the most gingerly of footsteps. The wind whistled and rustled leaves from the sparse nearby trees and bushes; it masked the voice at first, but then the voice came in and louder to boot! Finally, he discerned the voice's words as it ranted something about recklessness and irresponsibility, and with a much more familiar tone! Yes, this had to be Dyna!

Brawl hopped up another hill, one where the sounds grew their loudest, knelt down and paused at the faintest sight of something green amid the endless stretches of brown earth. Brawl knelt down, gently nudged the green thing, and it yelped as it fell down. It jumped up on the rock and fell down once more! Brawl snagged a closer look. Yes, it was definitely Dyna, though the bags under her eyes made her seem wearier than she was when they arrived.

"Oh, it's you," Dyna sputtered, "the ancient hero of all Skylands."

"Just Brawl is fine," Brawl signed.

Dyna blinked, pulled out another console from her pockets and held it up to Brawl. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

Brawl signed once more and the machine's screen flashed.

"Oh, alright then, er, Brawl." Dyna sat down, though her hands still trembled a little. Whether it was from being in Brawl's presence, or the extra nerves from her argument with Boomette, he wasn't sure. "Good thing I brought that universal translator with me. It even translates sign language!"

"Quite the convenient little gadget!"

The screen flashed once more, and Dyna glazed it over before she chuckled. "I'm sure Boomette will be happy to hear that. She's the one who came up with the idea in the first place." Dyna sighed. "I'll tell her" — Dyna shook her head — "no, actually, I don't think she particularly wants to talk to me."

Brawl tilted to the side and clasped his hands for a moment. He went to sign once more, but the sound of panting and running over the horizons turned his attention to the beginning of the hills. There, three round figures ran in the distance.

"There you are! I was wondering why you ran off all of a sudden!" Rizzo shouted before he yanked his head over to where Brawl was. "Oh, and there you are, too!"

"Did something happen between you two?" Snuckles asked. He pushed in front of Rizzo and walked up to Dyna with hands clasped and a frown. "I mean, that fight back there seemed pretty bad, and you were on edge the whole trip—"

"It's nothing." Dyna's mood changed immediately; her ears flattened against the sides of her head as she turned away with the universal translator clutched tight to her chest. Her head lowered and she pulled herself from the rock. "Just family matters."

Rizzo blinked and turned around with a grin. "Well, if that's just all it is, we should be on our way! Come on, time's wasting, and we've gotta clear the way for the Skylanders!"

Dyna cringed, teeth clenched tight as she glanced back at Rizzo, but she quickly cleared her throat and turned further away.

"I'll, I'll catch up with you later. You go on ahead."

"Suit yourself!" Rizzo hummed a tune as he strode off, but Nort grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back right before he could run off.

Dyna sighed once more, and Snuckles sat down beside her rock. His brows knitted a bit, and a frown formed on his face as he twiddled his thumbs, but finally he sighed.

"Are you sure? That didn't exactly look like something small," Snuckles said.

"Yeah!" Nort chimed in as he dragged Rizzo back, oblivious to Rizzo's shouts behind him. "You seemed really shaken up! Not to mention you were all huffy and angry on the flight here. You couldn't even look her in the eye!"

Dyna winced, her eyes perking up for a moment before she flattened them once more. Her lip trembled a bit, as if she wanted to speak, but she still turned away nonetheless. "It's, it's nothing," she insisted, her lips trembling still. "It's a stupid thing, really, not something worth bugging others with."

"We're not gonna judge you if you don't wanna talk about it, but if it's bothering you that much, it's not something stupid!" Snuckles chirped. "We're all ears!"

Nort nodded in response, and Rizzo only shrugged. But, with one jab in the shoulder from Nort, Rizzo yelped before he warily nodded as well.

Dyna sighed, pulled herself off the rock and sat down before them. She sputtered a little; she scratched her palms and toyed with her overalls' straps as she struggled to find the words to say, but finally she breathed in. She glanced at the translator in her hand for a moment, and lifted her head up.

"Well, you're right. Boomette and I have been growing more distant from each other lately," Dyna admitted. She sighed and turned her head, not even lifting her eyes from the translator. "She's been growing more independent by the day, and it kinda scares me that my family doesn't need to rely on me anymore."

Nort and Snuckles both nodded, but Rizzo's jaw just dropped as he tilted his head.

"That's it?" Rizzo scoffed as he stormed up to Dyna. "Why's that such a big deal? So, she's pulling her weight a little more—at least she's not like Blobbers!" Rizzo rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he scoffed once more. "All he does is gripe and grumble and complain, all because I forgot to pick him up and left a few extra things to him! What's he complaining about? He could stand to pull his own weight a little more!"

"At least he actually needs you still!" Dyna scoffed and yanked her view away from the translator, though her grip still fixed tight on it. "You say that now, but just wait! You're gonna miss that once they all leave you behind!"

Rizzo's eyes fluttered and he slowly backed away. "Er, Dyna?"

"One moment, they're all relying on you and looking up to you, and all you'd ever want is to be there for them, but then they start moving on and you get left behind, and it seems like as far as everyone else is concerned, you're just there to do nothing but stand around! They never remember to keep in touch, seem to act like you never existed, and…"

Dyna sniffled, rubbed her nose and lowered her head before she turned away.

"You're just left waiting for the day when they all leave and you've got nothing left. You dedicate your whole life to helping them because nobody else could, because times were hard, and the ones who should've been there to do it couldn't, and now you don't know what else to do! All you ever wanted was to take care of your family, and now you don't know what to do with yourself anymore because they don't need you! You don't want to hold them back, but you can't imagine life without them!"

"Dyna?" Snuckles and Nort called.

"And then…" Dyna trudged back over to the rock and laid the translator on the side. Tears started to form, but she wiped them away just as quick. "You find out of nowhere that one's planning to get married and didn't even tell you, and you don't even know what to do!"

The tears started to fall further, and this time Dyna didn't bother to wipe them away. She instead pressed her face into her knees. "You know it's not your business. She's not a little kid anymore, she can take care of herself, and you know she loves her partner, and her partner's a good troll, and you're sure they'll take care of each other, but she's the only one who stuck around and now she's going off! It feels like your whole family's leaving you behind, like everything you did never mattered to them! And, and…"

Dyna sniffled a little more, not even bothering to lift up her face.

"Now you don't know what to do with yourself."

"Married?" Nort whispered as he scratched his chin. His eyes went a bit wide for a moment, and he shook his head. "Wait, don't tell me..."

Dyna sniffled a little more, and Snuckles frowned as he prodded over and offered her a tissue from his pocket. As Dyna wiped away her tears, Brawl knelt beside her and gently nudged her back with his finger. What a poor thing, feeling as abandoned and unwanted as she did. It tugged a bit at his heart just to see her like that.

"I think I understand how you feel," Brawl signed as he sat beside her. "You're so used to taking care of everyone, but now that they're getting busier, doing more with their lives, and don't need your help anymore, you're at a loss about what you should do now, right?"

Dyna frowned and laid the tissue on the ground. "How'd you guess?"

She forced a laugh, but Brawl didn't particularly find anything very funny. Dyna must have noticed, for she just sighed.

"It's true. I just can't imagine a life without any of my sibs and I working together, but now it seems like they're all drifting away. Even though I'm still working with the family business like I always did, doing it with all these trolls I barely know, and with everyone just gone now, it just doesn't feel the same. It's just so... Empty."

Dyna's eyes drifted back to the translator, but quickly drifted away. "She's gonna propose any day now and run off with her, I'm sure of it. I want to be happy for her, but, I just don't know what I'll do when she leaves. I just wish she could understand how hard this has been for me! She constantly acts like I'm the unreasonable one for being worried about losing the one family member I really have left, seeing as how everyone else doesn't even talk to me anymore..."

"I understand, I really do." Brawl clenched his hands for a moment, then went back to signing. "But, have you stopped to think about how she must feel?"

Dyna lifted her head and flicked her ears. "And what exactly does that mean?" she asked, a hint of venom in her voice.

"Well, she and her partner found this place on their lonesome, correct?"

Dyna lowered her head. "Yes, they did," she said after a moment of contemplation. "They've been busy scouting out abandoned places where the tech's little more than waste and bringing it here to be repurposed. It was a genius idea. We've been cleaning up so many parts of Skylands, and getting some shiny new stuff out of it, too!" Dyna laughed, and the faintest hint of a smile crossed her face. "I can't believe I didn't think of it."

"While I'm sure you're just trying to look out for her, berating her and taking over on something she put so much pride in probably hurts her, too. I imagine she probably thinks you're looking down on her despite it all!"

Dyna frowned, clasped her hands and lowered her ears. "I, I wasn't trying to. I was just trying to keep her safe. This place is so dangerous and all…"

"Ah, yes, good intentions pave the road to the pits." Brawl chuckled a bit. "You know, this all reminds me of a spat with Eye I had back when we first started really working together."

"You two, fight? That's ridiculous!" Snuckles cried. "You're one of the most famous team-ups there is! Everyone knows the story of the eye and the headless giant who teamed up and became Skylands' most legendary protectors!"

Brawl swayed from side to side, signing, "well, that wasn't always the case. Even the most legendary of teams have their rough patches—especially when they're just starting out. You see, this all started right after we destroyed an Arkeyan monument and freed the ones forced to build it…"

§

Brawl groaned. He leaned against the walls of the base with his arms crossed tight, so tight that they would've almost squeezed and cracked his armor if not for how durable it was. What was Eye thinking, lashing out like that? He could hardly act like he was the one doing all the work here, much less take the credit for it! After all, who was the one dragging his sorry ass out of trouble all the time? Who was the one who did all the fighting while he was off shooting lasers? Who was the muscle and mind of their little partnership, the one who held all the brawn and brains while Eye flitted about? Not Eye, that was for sure!

But, Brawl couldn't exactly rant or anything, so he just fumed as he pressed against the rough stone walls—that started to crack! The faint crackling sounds came from behind him, and Brawl gasped as he stumbled forwards. He waved his arms before he turned back to find that only a few small cracks formed. Phew, close one, but he'd better not press it any further. So, he just sat down and sulked, only half a mind paid to the part across the room where Thumpback cleaned his anchor of stray Quicksilver.

"There somethin' you wanna talk about, Brawl?" Thumpback asked, though his eyes didn't lift a bit from where he polished that anchor. "After all, you seemed pretty mad about your little spat with Eye back there."

"Was it that obvious?" Brawl signed.

Thumpback lifted his eyes, and clutched the rag he polished his anchor with for a moment before he returned to polishing. "I mean, you blew up pretty badly. Everyone else's talking about it over there." Thumpback chuckled as he wrung the cloth over an open wooden barrel, and went back to polishing in a single motion. "Had to leave the room cause all the chatter was so noisy. Maybe it's all those years fishing at sea, but all that noise just isn't for me."

Brawl huffed. "Well, guess if Eye wanted all that attention he certainly got it."

"Oh? So you think attention is what he wants?"

Thumpback raised a brow, and turned away from his anchor with an almost quizzical smile. Brawl had to admit, he found Thumpback hardest to read of all the other Elder Elementals. It seemed like he always had a smile on his face no matter what, but not one of genuine joy. It was a strange tranquility, the kind that was almost impossible to see whether someone was genuinely happy, feigned joy to keep their cool, or silently judged and analyzed your every move while you stood dumbfounded. But, he seemed inviting enough, so Brawl raised his hands.

"What else would it be? Every mission we do, it seems like he's always trying to hog the spotlight: jumping headfirst into danger and fighting without a care, bluffing about how hard he works afterwards, always shoving into the conversation…" Brawl shuddered a little, and leaned forward before he pushed himself back up. "I keep telling him that everything will be fine as long as he leaves all the fighting to me! I'm the one with all the strength! He's supposed to scout and cover any oncoming danger for us! Why's he so caught up about not getting to hog all the glory and fame that he has to cause all this extra fuss?"

Thumpback chuckled a little more, and turned to his anchor with that slight smile. He shook his head and tsked as he worked.

"What's so funny about that?" Brawl clenched his fist for a moment, and a bit of heat bubbled in his armor. "Don't tell me you agree with him!"

"No, that's not quite it. I just saw things a bit different, is all." Thumpback peered down at his anchor for a bit, and hastily buffed out another spot on it. "You see, the way I see it, it's the opposite. It's not that he does too much. Rather, it seems to me like he feels as if he isn't doing enough."

Not… Doing enough? Brawl wanted to retort, but he couldn't quite find the words. After all, from his standpoint, Eye should have been doing less! So he stood, hands laid to his legs with not a finger raised.

Thumpback must have taken this as a prompt to continue, considering the aside glance he gave Brawl. "Without factoring in our blessings, he doesn't have quite the physical strength and fancy abilities that the rest of us have. Even then, the two of you split your powers, so he's lacking in that area too. I'm sure he's worried that he's only a burden on us because he’s only able to scout at most. If I were him, I'm sure I'd have moments where I'd be concerned that all I'm doing is dragging others down, and feel like I have to compensate…"

Brawl hummed and stroked his armor as he did. Now that he thought about it, Eye did seem awfully hurt when Brawl got angry with him—on the verge of tears, even! Looking back at all those other times, Eye seemed so desperate to be praised, so desperate to be acknowledged with those eager looks, proud stances, and headfirst jumps into the fray… Brawl thought he was just being reckless. Brawl winced a little and clasped his fist. He never thought of things that way, and he was supposed to be Eye's partner, too! How could he have not recognized it?

"But, he's not—" Brawl began to sign.

"A burden, you want to say?" Thumpback stopped polishing for a moment, and laid his rag to the side as he frowned and started to turn the anchor. "Even if you don't think of him as such, it's hard for him to believe it. Not when he's surrounded by those he thinks are more capable than he is."

Brawl cringed; for a moment, he thought back to his earlier fight with Eye. The things he said in his fit of anger pierced through his armor, and sent pains he never thought he could feel! He recalled the time he blew up at Eye for irritating the guards, and the look of pain in Eye's face when Brawl chewed him out, or all the times he constantly pushed Eye aside. All the times he took everything on by himself, and scolded Eye for wanting to help…

"Because you act like you're better than I am! You never appreciate how hard I'm trying to make this partnership work! Do you have any idea how frustrating it is, constantly trying to fight as hard as I can with no body and only half the elemental powers the others have? I have to work twice as hard to do just a fraction of what you can do, and I still fight harder, but all I get from you is complaining!"

That angered spiel from Eye flashed back to Brawl, and he clenched his fists as he jumped from his seat. He was so harsh on Eye when Eye was just trying to help them, and he didn't even bother to consider how Eye felt in all that! Not even just that—there were all the times he pushed Eye to the sidelines without even asking him beforehand, painted him as the weaker one without even considering his feelings… Oh, Ancients, he was an awful partner for not even thinking about how Eye felt! If he were in Eye's shoes, he'd have left, too! Brawl jumped from his seat and his hands started to tremble.

"Of course, I'm not Eye," Thumpback added as he glazed over his reflection in his shiny, polished anchor. "For all I know, he could feel a whole lot different!"

But, those words were just barely present in Brawl's ears as he stormed out the room and rushed through the halls. All he cared about was finding Eye and apologizing to him. That is, if Eye hadn't completely forgotten about him and abandoned him for someone else, anyways!

His footsteps pounded through the base; they shook the floors as Brawl burst through the canopy that hung over the base and disguised it from normal view. Brawl leaped up the cliffs one-by-one. That build site wasn't very far from here, just a pull of an island or two away. Surely, Brawl would be able to catch up, right?

Brawl hit the top of the cliffs and stormed through the forest, pushed away trees and crushed bushes underfoot. His breath started to thin as the world around him spun. Every single awful thing he said to Eye started to pound against him. They all dented his armor and left it so weak and fragile that he could barely bring himself to walk another step. What if Eye didn't forgive him? After all, Brawl was so cruel and insensitive to his feelings, given how he acted like he was the one who could handle everything and pushing Eye to the sidelines. Eye’d have every right to, considering how inconsiderate Brawl was to him!

The leaves continued to crunch under Brawl's feet as he ran. His vision drifted from place to place amid the muddy spots of brown and green, orange and… Red and gold? Masses of red and gold hiked over the horizons, and Brawl immediately rushed to find a place to hide. His head, or lack thereof, was still in a haze, but he knew red and gold meant Arkeyans, and Arkeyans were the last thing he was prepared to deal with right now. His fist hit something cool and smooth, and Brawl shook his head as he found a large boulder where his hand laid.

Just before Brawl could jump behind it, large, thumping footsteps—an entire herd of them, in fact—rattled the earth. Leaves popped off and fell from the trees as more large figures came in the distance.

"Brawl, there you are!" Tree Rex cried as he finally came into view.

Brawl glanced behind Tree Rex, and found the entire pack of Elder Elementals behind him. Why did he bring all of them? This was Brawl's issue to sort out, not any of theirs, and that wasn't even talking about the kind of attention it would bring to them! Tree Rex reached out a hand for Brawl, but Brawl swatted it away and shushed him.

Tree Rex just winced and drew back his hand before he could make contact. "Brawl, what's gotten into you?" Tree Rex frowned. The wood on his skin creaking as his brows knitted. "First you and Eye can't even look at each other without fighting, you come back to base the angriest you've even been, and then you run off in a fury! What's all this about?"

Brawl drew back and ducked a little under the boulder. That's right, he was in such a haze that he couldn't even have time to explain! He went to say something, but then Thumpback squeezed his way to the front and cleared his throat.

"Calm down, Tree Rex,” Thumpback started, “there's no need to get worked up. We've already had enough fighting for one day" — Thumpback gestured to Brawl — "and I think Brawl agrees too."

Brawl gulped and finally stood up a little. "He's right, I ran off because I wanted to find Eye and apologize," Brawl signed. "I, I wanted to find him before it was too late."

Tree Rex's brows lifted a little. A soft frown crossed his face before he smiled, and he laid a hand on Brawl's shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that, Brawl" — Tree Rex's smile faded a little — "but how exactly did you expect to find him, running off like that? It's not like you can fly!"

Brawl twiddled his thumbs. "Well, er, I…" Brawl shook a tiny bit more as his fingers fumbled over one another. "I was thinking I could just pull some islands around, and maybe I'll be able to make a chain now…"

The other Elder Elementals met him with blank stares and Brawl sighed.

"In hindsight it was an absolutely stupid idea, but what else can I do? Eye could be anywhere right now, and I have no idea where he is!"

"Well don't worry too much. We'll find him, I promise," Ninjini said. She summoned a round, sparkly purple orb with a wave of her hands. "With a quick scry, I should be able to figure out his location, then we can—"

"There they are!"

Brawl turned back over the boulder where that red and gold mass laid—and it was, indeed, Arkeyans! A small pack of large, bulky Arkeyans almost to his height walked forward. They decorated themselves in fancy tassels he recognized as the kind worn by high-ranking Arkeyan generals; judging from the sheer amount of fancy decorations they held, surely they were very high on that ranking list. Oh, looks like he really got himself into it now!

Brawl gasped. He readied his fists, and the other Elder Elementals drew their weapons around him, clearly sharing his sentiment.

The generals approached the Elder Elementals, but drew back.

"Calm yourselves, we mean no harm!" the general at the head of the group said in an almost snide tone. He grimaced as he immediately met with a wishblade to the neck.

"That's what they always say!" Ninjini hissed.

A nasty scowl crossed her face as she gripped her wishblade tighter. Her other hand clenched as if she prepared to summon a second blade while the other Elder Elementals backed in with anger in their eyes.

Yet, the general didn't even fight. He held up his hands while the other generals did so in compliance.

"Now, now, why so angry? We didn't come here to fight, or raze villages, or anything. In fact, we came here looking for you!"

Ninjini pressed the wishblade even closer to the general's neck. "And why is that, exactly?"

The general chuckled, his voice low as he raised a brow. "Pardon me for being on the nose, but you appear to be one missing!"

Brawl winced and clenched his fists as he stepped away. The absence of Eye resting on his otherwise headless top weighed on him the moment those words were spoken spoken. The empty space above him was a crushing load that was almost unbearable, and the way the generals glared at Brawl only strengthened it. That snide look in their eyes, those jeers… They knew and they'd be all too happy to rub it in. Thumpback and Tree Rex immediately moved to shield Brawl from view, but that only resulted in a couple of snide chuckles from the generals.

"And?" Ninjini prodded. "What of it?"

"What if I told you we knew where your little friend was?"

Wait, knew? Little friend? Arkeyans saying they knew someone was never a good sign, and the way it came off their lips like sweet honey showed it. Surely, something happened to Eye! Brawl's hands began to tremble, and he pushed past the others on instinct, rushing to the head of the group.

"And? Where is he?" Brawl signed so rapidly that his hands bumped into each other. "Where's Eye?"

The generals in the back shot raised eye glances at each other, but the one at the front chuckled.

"Easy there, big guy, you haven't even heard the message yet!" the head general said. He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back. "Your floating eyeball buddy was found wandering around the forest by our generals, and he's taking a nice little rest in our chambers!"

A few gasps came from the back of the group, and Brawl's own hands started to shake. Eye, in their captivity? In chambers? Surely, they must have meant the torture chambers some of the others rebels spoke of in hushed whispers, ones where those kept captive were subject to all sorts of cruel methods and experiments until they coughed up whatever the Arkeyans wanted. That is, if they even survived to cough again! To think, Eye was there all because of this stupid argument!

"Worried about him? I'm sure you are—but don't worry, we're keeping him safe… For now."

The general's smile still laid cold as ice on his face while he folded his hands. Brawl heard beings say that only the coldest and cruelest could rise to the rank of a general in Arkeyan armies, and seeing this now, he had a feeling they were right.

The general cleared his throat and turned around, revealing a small, crimson red cape hanging from the back of his armor.

"But, our guards have been absolutely itching for something to poke and prod lately, and they've been getting fairly impatient. So I'll just leave you on this note."

The general withdrew a charged warp start disc. He only stopped to take one last glance at Brawl, and smirked before he tossed the disc on the ground.

"If you want him back, have the suit come to our fortress in this forest, alone."

And just like that, a bright flash of golden light enveloped the generals and whisked them away. Their laughter was faintly heard on the wings of the wind.

All Brawl did was drop his fists with arms laid slack at his side. Eye was captured, taken to Arkeyan torture chambers, and surely terrified out of his wits, if he was even alive at all! Not to mention all the awful things that went on in those chambers that could await Eye: the stabbing, drowning, burning, and more… All because Brawl was too selfish and stupid to actually think about how he felt!

Brawl leaned over. He clawed at the empty space in his armor where Eye usually laid, and he was almost ready to fall over and shatter! Eye was captured and in serious danger, and it was all his fault!

"I need to go!" Brawl finally jumped up and signed at last.

His hands shook furiously, so furiously that a faint echo came from them and only grew worse as the others glanced at each other. They were all frowns and unsure looks. It was almost as if they perhaps doubted his wish to go there? But, Eye was one of them too! Surely, they were just as concerned as he was!

"I don't like the sound of this," Tree Rex said as he stepped forward. "It's clearly a trap."

Brawl jolted back up, and nearly knocked Tree Rex over as they faced off. "But, we can't just leave Eye there! They'll kill him!"

"I know, I know, I'm worried about him too! But, if they only want you and nobody else, surely they'll have a trick up their sleeve. They probably want to eliminate you both!" Tree Rex turned his back to Brawl before he could sign another thing, and faced Ninjini instead. "Ninjini, any ideas what we should do?"

Ninjini hummed, waved her hands and crafted a map out of a magic. "The closest fortress is to the west, and it's pretty heavily guarded. If we get a hold of the free magicians, we could probably put together a rescue party, but we'd have to be incredibly careful—"

Brawl clenched his fists, legs trembling at the thought. There was no time to waste waiting on parties and assembling and things! Eye was in trouble! Brawl's legs moved on their own before he even knew it, and they carried him to the west as fast as they could. The shouts of the other Elder Elementals grew fainter and fainter. Sure, they could say they needed a plan all they wanted, but Eye couldn't wait on a plan. As Eye’s partner, Brawl had to save him!

Brawl leaped past a pair of trees and planted on the ground. He knelt down low enough to catch a trail of golden sparkles. Wait, gold, just like the light that came from that warp start! Brawl tailed after the trail.

The trees rustled around him, and the smells of the jungle turned to that of oil and metal as the foliage parted. It revealed a large, almost castle-like gold and red building with smoke pouring from its towers. Yes, this had to be their fortress!

Brawl slid down the muddy cliffs and stormed up to the front gates. His fists grew tighter by the second. The golden gates shone with bursts of light and smoke every few moments as the sounds of machinery rumbled from within. It all echoed from behind those golden stone walls, and the two tall, poleaxe-wielding Arkeyan soldiers that guarded them.

Brawl rushed forward, arm held up like a battering ram. Before he could storm the gate, the soldiers both thrust their poleaxes at Brawl with their eyes glowing red.

"Halt!" cried the first, eyes shining brighter as they put their poleaxe's blade dangerously close to Brawl's chest. "State your business!"

The second did the same, but quickly rescinded their poleaxe. "Wait a second!" they gasped, and burst into laughter as they drew the poleaxe back. "You must be that other Elder Elemental! Here for your buddy, are you?"

The first shot a glance back at the second, but chuckled along as well. They thrust their poleaxe further, running a cut along Brawl's chest. "Sorry buddy, but you're too late! He's already captured now!"

Brawl growled. This time, it was his fists that moved on their own, slugging punches right in the guards' faces! Sparks burst from their necks as they flew into the wall, and their poleaxes flew back, slicing their chests open to reveal all sorts of wires and gears and mechanical guts. This only lasted a moment, for Brawl roundhouse kicked them into the bushes and slammed the door wide open!

Golden light shone down and turned red as alarms beeped and flared. Brawl turned up to a round orb that flashed with light, yanked it from its pedestal and shattered it. Its grains and shards cascaded at his feet like rain. The golden halls that stretched before him were more reminiscent of a palace's halls with their shiny golden walls, floors and ceilings; all of them stood propped up via gem-encrusted red pillars and shining chandeliers…

But that wasn't important to Brawl right now! He stormed through, rushed up to a pair of tall golden doors and kicked them open! The alarms sounded once more and Brawl ran, thrusting himself all about as he scoured for Eye's location. The stretches of completely-identical golden doors showed nothing new compared to the stretches before, so he growled and burst into the next room. Brawl slammed the doors open so hard that they cracked the walls behind them.

The hall before him now was thinner; it was now a shiny cool silver, but still carried all the regal aesthetics of the halls before. Behind the hall’s thin walls, the sounds of screaming and shouting came, echoing with the metallic smell of blood. Surely, that couldn't have been Eye's blood, could it?

Brawl shuddered and his rampage slowed as he backed away. Above him, a panel on the ceiling slammed open, and out from it dropped a holograph of a robotic scientist draped in regal-looking gowns with a malevolent glint in its eye! It chuckled as its eyes fell on Brawl, and Brawl squeezed his fists in response.

"Well look here, seems like you fell for our little ploy hook, line and sinker!" the scientist cried as it rubbed its hands. "Oh, just look at that rage, that anger! That's the stuff I like to see!"

Brawl growled under his breath, and the scientist only cackled further.

"You're here for your little friend, aren't you?"

The holograph flickered for a moment as the scientist faded away, as if it changed views. It shuddered and flickered before the image morphed into, into a reflection of Eye!

Eye sat on a pedestal; his wings bound tight around his round body, a net kept him flattened as tight as it could without splattering him, and a whole group of other scientists, all wielding different electrically-charged and pointed weapons, surrounded him! Eye grunted. He struggled and stretched as he strained against his bonds—but he was alive!

Now that Eye was alive for certain, the fear that filled Brawl turned to anger. His metal heated up at the very sight! He slugged a punch at the holograph, but it only fritzed and faded as he passed right through it! Brawl turned around, raised his fist to throw a punch, but it was only laughter that came from the holograph as it faded into the scientist's image once more and glared down Brawl.

"If you want him, come get him!"

The holograph disappeared, and in its place, the tiles on the floor before Brawl lit up in a straight, glimmering white line. Surely, that had to be where Eye was! Brawl grunted as he took a step forward, but right as he did, the panels changed to red while ear-splitting screams came over the alarms! Brawl grunted as he fell to his knees. The walls started to split open around him as the room turned shaky, and whole swarms of red and blue and gold came!

"Surrender, Elder Elemental!" the swarms cried as one.

Sparkled lights burst from them, and turned on Brawl before they shot out and pelted him in the chest! Sharp cracks rang through the air, and stinging pains consolidated in Brawl's chest as he grunted. He tumbled backwards, and fell to his knees as those sharp, hot lights pelted him once more! Brawl panted; his breath was heavy and his senses fuzzed up. The sight of Eye all wrapped up and struggling to escape came to him, and Brawl jumped up and screamed! His voice bellowed and rumbled the floor with a power he didn't even know he had!

He stomped as hard as he could, so hard that cracks formed in the floor and sprouted out a sickly, silver mist. Those blobby crowds collapsed; their sparkly things slipped from them as they shuddered and hacked. Brawl growled, knelt down, and charged right through as the mist surrounded him. It consolidated into something hard and pointy that smashed through the crowds’ ranks.

Sparks flew around him. The air turned smoky and charred as sparking electricity and explosions came from behind him, and that soon joined with the sound of shattering metal as something crashed behind him and sent blue lights twinkling in the air. The halls switched and distorted in color around him—going from bronze, silver, jewel-colored, and more—yet they were all a blur as he smashed through row after row. Brawl couldn't care! Not right now, not when his partner was in danger!

Even as the sirens wailed; even as more of those blobby things he could barely discern crunched and exploded underneath his feet; even as the world around him slipped, his own footsteps light as air and slippery as if he was walking on oil; he, he had to keep running! The red lights that lined the floor shined, and became his only guide as his senses slipped. Finally, they halted at a gold and red, blurry wall that Brawl crashed right through!

"Brawl!"

Wait, that was Eye's voice! Brawl hunched over as metal and crystals shattered around him and fell to his knees, panting as he planted his hands against the solid, sleek golden floors. The world around cleared up, showing a shiny laboratory filled with all sorts of complex machines…

And in the center of it all, Eye! He was still trapped like he was in the holograph, but he was thankfully unharmed otherwise, and he seemed to brighten the moment he laid sight on Brawl!

"Brawl, you came for me!" Eye cried. He thrust himself forward, and frantically flapped his wings the best he could. "Brawl, I have something I need to tell—"

"There he is!" cried one of the scientists.

All of the scientists turned around and drew their weapons, all points crackling at Brawl. Brawl's chest pounded again, yet the sight of Eye struggling and shouting behind those ranks brought him back up. Those scientists were the only thing standing between Brawl and his partner, the one he wronged, but not anymore! Brawl cracked his knuckles, and clenched his fists to distract himself from the growing pain in his chest.

He raised his fists, but the scientists all dropped their weapons and laughed!

"What, did you really think we were stupid enough to fight you?" one scientist cackled as they reached for a console. "We wouldn't be here if we were!"

The scientists all laughed as that scientist at the console pressed a button.

A massive gust blew down on Brawl as something dropped from the ceiling and slammed on the floor with a blow so mighty it knocked Brawl on his side! Brawl grunted. The sound of his armor crunching growled louder as the thing yanked him by the arm, and it wrapped its arms around him, squeezing him tight! As his chest cracked, his vision blurred, and his hearing almost bled from the mocking laughter of the scientists, Brawl barely caught sight of a tall, blue and gold Ultron behind him…