The WhistleDawn tore out of dimensional transit with a thunderous ripple that echoed through its hull.
Space snapped back into place around them—not violently, but with the heavy, inevitable gravity of returning to civilization. Before them loomed a structure so massive it blocked an entire quadrant of stars.
B.U.D.D.I.E.S. Headquarters.
A superstructure the size of a small planet.
It was shaped like a colossal ring fused with a floating continent, wrapped in armor plating, dotted with thousands of docking arms, lit by billions of windows, training spires, defense turrets, and vibrant energy conduits that ran like glowing arteries across its surface.
Seventeen orbital platforms ringed it.
Twenty-seven G.A.M.B.I.T.s were docked in formation like titans asleep.
Hundreds of Switchblades soared in precision flight patterns around it.
The sheer scale of personnel and machinery dwarfed even the WhistleDawn.
Jake pressed his face against the viewport. "Oh stars… I forgot how big headquarters is…"
Bumble vibrated audibly. "I LOVE IT. LOOK AT ALL THE DOCKS. SO MANY DOCKS. I WANT TO TOUCH ALL OF THEM."
Swift dragged him back with one hand. "No touching the docks."
Jade whistled. "Man… every time we come here I get goosebumps."
Shadeclaw didn't look at the view.
He stared instead at the cradle where the dormant sigil stone rested—barely glowing, barely awake. His jaw was clenched like a vice. His claws tapped restlessly against his thigh.
Danny stood beside him, voice soft. "We'll get her. I promise."
Shadeclaw didn't answer.
He didn't trust his voice not to break.
Wynn spoke from her console. "Incoming transmission from HQ. They're requesting a full debrief upon docking."
Soren grunted. "Of course they are."
The bridge lights shifted to blue as WhistleDawn approached the docking corridor.
Then—
A second chime.
A new transmission.
"Attention WhistleDawn. This is Administrator Jimmy of B.U.D.D.I.E.S. HQ speaking. I see you've brought back a dormant sigil stone and a whole lot of paperwork with it—so naturally I came to greet you personally."
Jake's face lit up. "Jimmy!"
Jade grinned. "Old man's here!"
Swift nodded respectfully.
Danny exhaled.
Shadeclaw did not react.
Jimmy's hologram expanded across the bridge.
He stood in his crisp dress uniform, badge-lined coat neat and perfectly tailored, a stack of paperwork hovering at his side, a steaming waffle on a plate in his hand.
He took a large bite, chewed like a man with infinite responsibilities and zero regrets, then spoke around a mouthful of syrup:
"So. Which one of you hooligans broke a primordial sigil stone?"
Danny raised his hand slightly. "…Not broke. Drained. By an Elemental Lord."
Jimmy froze mid-bite.
Slowly, the waffle lowered from his mouth.
"You're telling me—" he began.
Swift stepped forward. "Mira was abducted. Tempestron drained the sigil and fled."
Jimmy blinked rapidly. "Ah."
Shadeclaw's gaze snapped to the hologram. His voice was low, trembling, and deadly.
"Are you going to tell us to calm down too?"
Jimmy stared at him for a long moment.
Then he did the opposite of what anyone expected.
He tossed the waffle aside.
The plate clattered on his desk. The waffle hit the floor off-screen with a pathetic flop. Somewhere in the background a janitor swore.
Jimmy's eyes hardened—ancient and cosmic and cold.
"No," Jimmy said. "I am not telling you to calm down."
Shadeclaw froze.
Danny's breath caught.
Jimmy continued:
"I am telling you this:
You are going to get her back.
All of you.
And tempestral knockoff storm demigods don't get to touch my cadets without consequences."
He leaned closer, expression sharpening with dangerous clarity.
"But first, you will dock.
You will bring the sigil stone to containment.
You will let Danny recharge it so it doesn't collapse into a dormant coma.
And then—" he pointed at Shadeclaw—
"You will help me file the paperwork for the Elemental Lord Incident Classification because I'm NOT doing it alone."
Shadeclaw blinked. "…What?"
Danny whispered, "It's a weird punishment. Just go with it."
Jake nodded sagely. "He made me file a missing-spoon report once."
Jimmy clapped his hands. "Alright! Dock or I'll stop time and drag this ship in by hand—which I would prefer not to do because last time the multiverse hiccupped and twelve interns got fused with a vending machine."
"D-Do they still work?" Jake muttered.
"We don't talk about the snack interns," Jimmy said gravely.
The WhistleDawn slid into its docking bay.
Giant mechanical clamps locked onto the hull.
Interior hangar lights blazed.
Hundreds of personnel rushed to the docking lanes.
Danny lifted the sigil stone's cradle carefully.
Shadeclaw followed close behind, his entire body buzzing with tension.
Swift walked with purpose.
Jade cracked his knuckles.
Jake looked like he wanted to faint.
Bumble saluted everyone they passed, including a drink dispenser.
The bay doors hissed open.
Jimmy stood waiting—real this time, not a hologram.
He smiled wide…
until he saw Danny.
Saw the stone.
Saw Shadeclaw's hollow fury.
The smile faded.
"Alright," Jimmy said softly. "Come with me. Let's get the stone stable. Then we talk Mira."
He turned and strode toward the inner halls.
The team followed.
The moment they entered the sigil containment chamber—the air changed.
The sigil stone pulsed violently in its cradle.
Danny stumbled as creation energy flared through him like a second heartbeat.
The chamber lights flickered.
Shadeclaw froze.
Swift gasped.
Soren stepped forward, reaching for Danny. "What's happening—?"
Danny's eyes blazed gold.
The sigil stone lifted into the air—
—and a voice thundered through the room:
Bearer…
more come…
hurry…
the storm is not alone…
Danny dropped to one knee, clutching his chest.
The sigil stone fell back into its cradle, dimming.
Jimmy steadied him.
Shadeclaw rushed forward. "Danny!"
Danny breathed hard… but nodded.
"I'm okay. It… it showed me something."
Swift raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Danny swallowed.
"There are more Elemental Lords. Not just Tempestron. They're gathering. And they're preparing something with the sigils."
Shadeclaw growled deep in his chest.
"And Mira is with them."
The room fell silent as the truth settled.
Not one Elemental Lord.
Not one enemy.
A council of them.
And Mira was caught in the middle.
Danny stood slowly.
"This isn't just a rescue mission anymore."
Jimmy nodded grimly.
"No. This is the beginning of a war."