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Hello internet, it's Darkdragon2670 (aka Dark). I'd love it if I could get feedback (constructive criticism is appreciated!) and please do not edit and/or steal!
Also: This fanfiction disregards the events of the third arc and happens three years after the events of the second arc.
THIS FANFICTION IS BEING REWRITTEN. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT, PLEASE LEAVE THEM BELOW OR MESSAGE DARKDRAGON2670. PLEASE DO NOT EDIT AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU!
Please note that this PAGE contains ONLY the FIRST PART and the PROLOGUE. PART TWO will be WRITTEN on a SEPARATE PAGE to prevent THIS PAGE from getting too long. PART ONE IS FINISHED. PART TWO IS LINKED AT THE VERY END OF CHAPTER 10.
Other than that, carry on and enjoy!
THIS FANFICTION IS CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN. PLEASE DO NOT EDIT AT THIS TIME.
~SUMMARY~
A few hundred years later, the ten tribes are united. A portal linking the two continents was recently discovered, allowing Pantalan dragons to live on Pyrrhia, and vice versa. The Jade Mountain Academy has expanded quite a bit, though no longer run by the dragonets of destiny. Enter in the Neptunite Nonet - nine dragonets who think their lives are so much harder than anyone else's. After discovering a map that leads to an ancient mirror, they embark on a quest to find their deepest desires.
To see what you want most of all
Seek the mirror on the wall
Though it tells no truth nor does it lie
If you endlessly ponder, you will surely die
A touch upon the surface is all you need
Your hearts must be pure and free of greed
In another world, in another time
You'll see what path you must climb
But the nine dragonets must be united
For only then, can their enemy be fighted.
First a dragonet with eyes of dark
Then one with telepathic marks
Third, the RainWing who glows bright as stars
And the SeaWing who fights, despite his scars
The wings of mud will hear the call
The IceWing, though mute, will help all
The HiveWing who's name is feared throughout the land
And the SilkWing who will take a stand
And finally the wings of sky
A tunnel of fear is where she'll have to dive.
Long ago when no wishes came true
When the skies were black, and the oceans weren't blue
Came a beautiful thing, beyond magic nor dreams
That could read the heart and know what it means
To see what you want most of all
Seek the mirror on the wall
Though it tells no truth nor does it lie
If you endlessly ponder, you will surely die
For once the nine dragonets are finally united
The magic of dragons will be ignited.
~PROLOGUE~
~PENUMBRA~
After almost drowning, Penumbra found herself plagued by the same nightmares over and over. Dark water, rising. Slipping under, cold stabbing at her body. Clawing up towards the surface, trying to break through. Her mouth opened involuntarily, her lungs seeking air only to fill with water and she was drowning, drowning, drowning… And then the vision came. Hazy, sudden, bright flashes that stung her eyes and made them stream. The mirror, in the cave. And there she was, looking at her own reflection, surrounded by eight other dragonets that she didn’t know. Now she was in a jail cell, watching a dark gray dragon reach through the bars and rip the choker off her neck… She gasped and shot up, blinking away tears and rubbing her eyes. She clawed at her throat, ripped the black leather necklace off and flung it away from her. The sun-shaped gemstone pinged against the floor, but it didn’t break. Good news for Penumbra - he'd given it to her as a present. Got it made just for her. And then a few months later, he went up and disappeared. Her mother would’ve freaked if she found out Penumbra had been so careless. But it was strangling me. I know it was. She blinked again. You’re being ridiculous. It’s an inanimate object. You’re just imagining things. She climbed off her mattress and studied it. It’s just a trick of the light… and you’re just tired, it’s not real, she told herself, her unease growing. It’s not glowing… or making that terrible screechy noise. But it definitely sounded like it - high pitched, raspy. She couldn’t tell if it was a scream of despair or a mocking laugh. But it certainly raised the spines on the back of her neck. She gave it one more, untrustworthy glance before she picked it up and put it away in her special box. She settled herself once more on her mattress, knowing fully well she would not be able to fall back asleep. And when her eyes finally drifted shut, her dreams were plagued by the same, high-pitched noises coming from her box, louder than ever before.
~PHASMOPHOBIA~
He’d never been a good liar. And now he was paying the price. Phasmophobia sat in the dark cell, his cold, gray eyes staring flatly at his prison guard. His guard looked away first; Phasmophobia’s actions had deeply disturbed him. Even more so, it was the thought behind it. (Or rather… the lack of thought.) Though dragons were naturally violent, they didn’t dispose of their victims the way he’d done it. He wasn’t sure what disturbed the guard more: the barrels he’d tossed their bodies in, or the underground level filled with his favorite devices. His only regret was leaving his dragonet behind. And his girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend. When she found out he’d been arrested, she was prepared to bust him out. And then she found out why he was arrested, and so she’d changed her name (and her dragonet’s) and moved. Not that it mattered to him - he’d find them one day. Perhaps when I’m a ghost, he thought dully. Since I’m just waiting for the Pit. The Pit was what the NightWings called it. Far too deep to see the bottom, and it was filled with enough water about… three-fourths of the way? He wouldn’t know; anyone who’d gone to the Pit never returned (unless they were the prison guards). He heard dragons were electrocuted there. Well, he thought grimly, and forced a calm smile on his face as new guards approached, I’m about to see for myself. The walk to the Pit was a rather long one. He spent time reviewing the murders. Dauntless… who was she again? Did I take her liver or her tongue? I can’t remember. She was quite delicious though. Pity she wouldn’t stop screaming. He tripped and the guards bristled. His apology was garbled by the muzzle. They opened the door, and the Pit yawned wide open. Phasmophobia was not a dragon who felt fear. But looking into the dark depths filled him with a terror that made him want to curl up into a ball and scream for days. He forced his claws to stop shaking and approached the brim. He was just leaning over the edge when one of the guards gave him a sharp kick to the back and he fell in. Cold water pierced his body in sharp, stabbing needles, and he shrieked with surprise. He splashed widely, churning up the water, looking up at the guards as their lips curved in a smile. “Give him a few friends to play with,” one of them remarked, and the electric eels came out. The water crackled and he opened his jaw as wide as it would go. The echo of his last scream rang around the chamber, and Phasmophobia was no more.
~GALLICA~
Gallica had always loved the intertribal carnival. She and her mother strolled along the tents. “Ooooo, Mommy, Mommy!” she cried, and grabbed her mother’s arm excitedly. “Look! A fortune-teller! Can I go? Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaassssssssse?” Her mother smiled down at her. “Of course, my sweet baby. Maybe she’ll tell you you’re gonna marry a rich guy.” Gallica made a face. “Ew. I do not like boys. The ones in my class are really mean and rude, but Amazonica says that’s how they treat dragons they like.” Euterpe shook her head. “You don’t need to talk to them if they’re mean to you.” Gallica avoided her mother’s eyes. “Yeah, I suppose so.” They pushed open the tent and the fortune-teller sat. Her dark gray scales marked her as a NightWing. “Hello,” said the fortune-teller serenely. “You’re a LeafWing, aren’t you?” “Yes, I am!” gasped Gallica. But isn’t she blind? How did she know? She decided it would be rude to ask. The fortune-teller gave her a mysterious smile, as if she’d read the dragonet's mind. The swirling orb on the table flickered red for a moment. Lightning flashed on the inside as it boiled and stormed. “What does that mean?” she breathed, leaning forward. The fortune-teller’s forehead scrunched. “Dear, dear…” she murmured, quietly. “What’s wrong?” she asked nervously. “No, do not ask me, child, it is better if you don’t know,” she whispered, looking pained. “But—” “The water’s going to fill your lungs,” her voice hissed. She was aware of her mother behind her, Euterpe’s grip becoming painful on her shoulder. Gallica felt a chill sweep the room. “The rocks will crush your little body flat and you’ll be dead, dead, dead—” “Alright, thank you very much,” said Euterpe, her voice falsely bright. “Come on, Gallica. Surely you want to do something else now right?” Gallica could see she was not to argue. Feeling deeply disturbed, she followed her mother out. She twisted behind her and the fortune-teller lifted her head. The veil fell off, and the pearly eye in the center of her forehead stared back at her, into her. She blinked, and the old dragon was gone.
PART 1:
DARKNESS ASCENDING
~CHAPTER 1~
~PENUMBRA~
Four years later...
"Mother! Stop fussing over me already! I'm fine!" A four-year-old dragonet protested against her mother's protective embrace. The older NightWing smoothed down her daughter's spines for the fifth time and the dragonet wriggled out of her grip. The dragonet, whose name was Penumbra, stood tall, unlike her abnormally small mother. Her dark amber eyes scanned the horizon watchfully.
"Oh, I know, I know," fretted her mother. Valiant scowled for a moment and her claws reached up.
"Mother, no!" Penumbra floundered away.
"Penumbra!" shouted Valiant. "Get your tail back here!"
Penumbra sighed. "Mother, please! I want to go inside already!" But she let her mother stroke her claws over her crest. Valiant sat back and smiled- a tired, motherly smile that made Penumbra instantly regret wanting to leave.
"You're so beautiful," whispered her mother. Valiant twined her tail with Penumbra and pressed her snout to her forehead. One last time, her claws smoothed her crest down and then she let Penumbra go.
"Bye, Mother!" called Penumbra over her shoulder. "I'll write to you soon!" Valiant smiled and waved back. Then she turned her back to Penumbra and leaped into the air. Her scales glittered as the black dragoness flew away. She stepped out from behind the trees in which she'd let her mother fuss over her. But now that Valiant wasn't here, Penumbra grew nervous. What would the other dragons think of her? They can't hate me already, she reasoned. They don't even know me!
But... The IceWing students might. Especially after the Darkstalker thing and the whole Jade Mountain prophecy. Still. They don't know you, so they can't prejudge you. And if they do, then they're jerks and all of them should go die.
Stop it Penumbra. You're being such an IceWing! Oh great, now I'm stereotyping all IceWings.
School is going to be fun. Penumbra sighed and shrugged her shoulders, arranging her wings so she didn't look so... abnormal. She spotted a line of dragonets and hurried over to join before it could get too long.
The dragonet in front of her turned around. Wow, she's so pretty! thought Penumbra. The dragonet, who was a SkyWing, grinned. Her teeth glinted in the light and her green eyes sparkled. "Hi!" greeted the dragonet. "I'm Princess Flare of the SkyWings! What's your name? You're a NightWing, right? I bet it's something totally magical!"
Whoa. That's a lot to take in. "My name is Penumbra," she replied, struggling to remember the SkyWing's name. "You said your name was Princess Flare, right?"
"Of the SkyWings, but yeah." Flare grinned at her.
"I see," said Penumbra slowly, as though willing to make the SkyWing princess slow down when she spoke.
"You talk too fast, Flare," said another dragonet. Flare rolled her eyes.
"Everyone says that," Flare protested to the new dragonet. "It should be a crime to be so repetitive."
"What are you going to do, Flare? Tell on me to your dearest mommy?" The new dragonet, a RainWing, grinned mischievously.
"Maybe I will, Parrot," challenged Flare. Penumbra kept silent. She'd learned in the Night Village that if she interfered, no one would appreciate it.
. . .
~FLARE~
Flare beamed at her classmate, a female NightWing named Penumbra. She'd only just met her and already she seemed to have the makings of a best friend. There weren't a lot of dragons who'd have liked to call her a friend. She sat up to study her a little bit. Flare couldn't remember the last time she'd ever seen a NightWing. What had the scrolls said?
Black scales, with hints of dark green or purple; black wings with smaller silver underscales like a night sky. Penumbra fit the description perfectly; her glossy black scales glinted in the light of their cave and her underbelly was a green so dark, it was almost black. She had sharp amber eyes that twinkled with shades of gold and Flare was sure that if she asked her to, Penumbra would spread her wings to show an array of glittering scales. And there, something that Flare hadn't noticed- a choker with an emerald tear drop. Flare's enhanced SkyWing eyes saw a flash of purple.
Without thinking, Flare blurted, "Can I see your choker?" Penumbra looked up and studied Flare's face.
"Yeah," said Penumbra. Flare let out a breath of relief. If Penumbra had refused or continued to stare, Flare wouldn't have been able to work up the courage to ask her anything again. Penumbra unhooked her choker and passed it to Flare. "Just be careful," she said.
"Of course," replied Flare. She held it up to the light of the fire globes. Orange flames reflected off of the green surface and Flare leaned in closer. In the very center of the emerald tear drop was a purple dragon with obsidian eyes. "It's so pretty," whispered Flare. She thought back to her fire opal necklace and the thousands of bracelets in the Sky Palace. "Who gave it to you?"
"My mother said that my dad got it made for me," replied Penumbra, her voice strangely subdued.
"Have you, um, seen your father?"
"No." Penumbra looked away. "Mother said he disappeared. I don't know where."
"Oh," said Flare, feeling stupid because she didn't know what else to say. "I'm... so sorry." Flare didn't understand though- what kind of father would abandon his wife and daughter? That never happened in Flare's life. A burst of red broke though her memories and she shook her head several times.
"Can I have it back, now?" Penumbra asked.
"Yeah, of course." Flare passed it back, and as she did, she felt something strange from Penumbra as her claws brushed against hers. A very strange pulling, slithering, sensation filled her, and sickened, Flare jumped back. Penumbra stared at her, innocent amber eyes wide and curious.
"Are you OK? What's wrong?"
"Uh... n-nothing. Just felt something weird. That's all," Flare stuttered. Penumbra shrugged and put on her choker again. "Uh... what was your father's name?"
Penumbra frowned for a moment. "Phasmophobia."
"Oh. That's lovely."
. . .
~PARROT~
Parrot's tail brushed by warm scales. A hiss from below her bunk made her yelp in surprise and she brought up her prehensile tail and leaned over. Kit Fox, a grouchy SandWing dragoness was coiled up like a snake, spitting and hissing. "What was that for?" snarled the white-gold dragonet.
"Sorry," replied Parrot, feeling her scales turn dark bluish-green in defense. She prepared to flare her ruff- a tactic that worked well with enemies, since it made her appear much larger and much more menacing.
"Hmph," grumbled Kit Fox. "No point in staying here." The SandWing slithered off of her sandy ledge and paused by the door. Her dark black eyes scanned the halls and she paused for a moment. "Are you coming? I'm going to stop by the Prey Center." The SandWing muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "useless dragonet" and Parrot rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
"Let's go, then." Kit Fox made her way out the door and Parrot climbed down and followed suit. Careful not to step on her poisonous barb, Parrot walked after Kit Fox, uncomfortably aware of how sluggish and soft she must look to the burly SandWing dragoness. Kit Fox was hard-scaled and muscled, with pale brownish-red diamonds down her neck and legs. In both ears were two black diamond piercings- one pair in the shape of a lotus flower and the other pair in the shape of a dragon's grip claw on their wing. The earrings matched her eyes- the dragonet had black eyes with orangey-brown sparks, like fire reflecting off of black pearls. They were pretty, it a strange frightening sort of way. I hope she doesn't stab me with her earrings in the middle of the night.
Kit Fox stopped too soon and Parrot crashed into her. For a moment, their eyes met and Parrot's scales turned bright fuchsia- the color of embarrassment. Kit Fox snarled and shoved Parrot off of her. "What were you doing?" growled the SandWing. Urgh! This is so embarrassing! What does she think of me now? Why do I care about what she thinks?!
"You stopped too soon!" cried Parrot, fluffing up her wings defensively. Her ruff flared and she bared her teeth at Kit Fox. "It was your fault for stopping in the middle like a blob."
"Says you," muttered the dragoness. Parrot shot a glare at the SandWing, then looked around. A cave with a plaque on it read as, Prey Center. Kit Fox frowned at Parrot. "You can go in... first."
"Why?" Parrot felt a teasing grin on her maw. "Are you scared? Of little dragonets?"
Kit Fox rolled her eyes. "In your dreams, RainWing."
"Fine. I'll show you how it's done." Parrot tried (and failed) to look as grouchy and dark as Kit Fox by mimicking her scales, but while Kit Fox was big and burly, with pounds upon pounds of muscle, Parrot was small and thin, not tall and large and she looked a bit ridiculous. Abandoning the attempt to get Kit Fox to laugh, she let her scales take on emerald green and sunset orange- colors of irritation. Has this dragon never seen the sun? What is her problem? She stomped in and raised her brow at Kit Fox. "Well? Aren't you coming?"
Kit Fox raised her own brow at Parrot as a pair of dragonets raced past, shouting and laughing. One of them was a MudWing and the other was a SeaWing, with his phosphorescent scales shining bright as he chased her around. So many dragonets! thought Parrot happily. Most of them looked to be a few years younger than her, but she spotted a glittering IceWing nodding along and offering polite smiles to another MudWing, who was larger than Kit Fox and had a lily flower curled around her ear. Those two dragonets looked to be her own age. But when most of the shouting dragonets had gone by, Kit Fox stepped in.
"Oh look! Some mangoes!" Parrot bounded over to a pile of fruit. Standing next to them, with mashed up bits of fruit all over his face was another RainWing. "Oh. Hi Berain." The RainWing waved to her with churned up mango all over his claws. I think that just ruined my appetite. Parrot turned away to look for Kit Fox, but the white-gold dragoness had vanished.
Parrot spotted the IceWing and MudWing and made her way over, but as she did, the gong rang. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Well, I guess it's time for class. I wonder who's in my winglet!
~CHAPTER 2~
~MIRE~
Mire cringed as freezing cold scales made contact with hers. While Avalanche's scales weren't nearly as cold as the rest of his tribe, they still made her shiver. His tribe. Avalanche didn't match her definition of IceWing attitudes at all. Cold, arrogant, and have big egos. He was sweet and humble.IceWings... ugh! Avalanche had introduced her to his tribe mates and they'd all been so arrogant! When she'd said hello to them, they turned up their snouts at her like she was completely below them and not at all worth talking to. Mire didn't understand how they could even live with each other! And she hated the way they'd looked at Avalanche- like a mute wasn't on the same level as them. It was one thing to be all arrogant and annoying to another dragon outside of their tribe, but to do it to a tribe member? Mire's siblings would have never tolerated such nonsense.
Except for Avalanche. Mire shook her head and stepped back, only to find Avalanche staring at her quizzically. She frowned.
"What?" she asked. "Is there food on my face?" Her claws reached up as she tried to remember what she had in the Prey Center.
Mangoes? I don't think so. While Mire loved the orangey-yellow pulp, it was incredibly messy and sticky, so Mire would remember eating them.
Mangoes were out of the question.
But she didn't have to ponder her meal at all because Avalanche shook his head and signed, You had a dazed look on your face. "Oh," she replied, feeling silly. "I thought- nevermind." Avalanche was about to sign something else, but a heart-stopping CLANG! of the gong stopped him
"That was the late bell!" yelped Mire. She took off, racing through the halls with Avalanche barely keeping up. I have to find my class. I can't be late on the first day of my classes! She was going so fast that she didn't notice her surroundings and tripped. She landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom and brushed away tears of pain. OW, she thought. But a moment later, frigid scales slammed against hers, knocking the breath out of her. She hissed and whipped around to find Avalanche staggering to his feet, signing dizzy apologies.
"Are you alright?" she inquired. Avalanche put a talon against his head and then nodded. Mire felt a little bit guilty and twined her tail with his, ignoring the spikes of cold stabbing at her, and careful to avoid the physical spikes of cold. Avalanche glanced at her and signed, Cold. She nodded and said, "Yes, you are." He smiled and her heart felt lighter.
But this time, instead of moving forward, she sat down to scan her surroundings. The tunnel was a little bit smaller than the entrance tunnel, with pink and orange fire globes hanging from the sides. The light reflected off of Avalanche's silver scales so he looked a little like a RainWing hybrid. A cave stretched in front of her, with fire globes and flowers strewn around the entrance. This had to be her class. She turned to Avalanche and he nodded thoughtfully. I can see other dragonets, he signed.
Mire nodded in response and started forward, fear building in her chest. Was her teacher going to be angry with them for being so late? Maybe they'll understand, she thought hopefully. She poked her snout in and saw brightly colored dragonets (except for a pitch-black NightWing), and a dark blue SeaWing. The SeaWing had pearls wrapped around her horns and chest, and when she looked up, she broke out in a grin.
"Hello, Mire," said Tsunami. She squinted and then added, "Is Avalanche with you?"
Mire finally found her voice and replied in a wavering tone, "Y-yes."
"Well, come on in!"
Mire came in and Avalanche followed suit. The silver IceWing dragonet sat down next to a NightWing with dark amber eyes, who immediately started prodding his scales. Hiding a smile, Mire took her seat next to an orange-and-pink RainWing, who had purple and yellow starbursts. "Hello," said the RainWing. "My name is Parrot."
"My name is Mire," she replied.
"My name is Tsunami," said the dark blue SeaWing princess. "I'm also the head of the school. If you have any problems, you may speak to me."
The other dragonets glanced at each other and then Tsunami said, "Well? Who's going to introduce themselves next?"
. . .
~ANGUILLIDAE~
His gills felt choked in the darkness. Darkness reminded him of the cave Bream would shove him in so nobody else could see her score her talons along his side. Darkness was the perfect backdrop for angry faces to form so they could berate him on his next failure.
Deep breaths, he told himself to calm his racing heart. They're not here anymore. They can't hurt you. Anguillidae raised his head and saw dim orange light above the surface of the water. He would stay down below, but he needed to see the light or else he felt like he'd go insane. He swam upwards and his head broke through the still surface. He almost regretted it, but the ripples were pretty and the quiet twinkling of water falling off of his scales calmed him. And when no more water fell, he took in the near-silence of his cave.
Deep, rhythmic breathing told him that the other dragonets were asleep. He scanned the cave in the dim light and saw a silvery mass of scales that had to be the mute IceWing dragonet named Avalanche. Another dragonet had orange sparks reflecting off of his black scales. Ravage, he remembered. And a RainWing, with dark red scales and yellow vines creeping through as he snored on his hammock, with his long prehensile tail draping off the edge.
Anguillidae enjoyed the tranquility of his sleeping cave for a moment, then glanced down at his talons, which were shaking so violently that he was surprised that they didn't disturb the surface of the still water. Anguillidae closed his eyes and then sank back under. His phosphorescent scales lit up, illuminating the water, and underneath, he could see a very small opening- only as big as his talon when it was stretched to expand the membranes between his claws. This let the water flow through the entire side of his cave and flowed into the other caves for other SeaWings to sleep in.
He dimmed his scales at once, not wanting to wake any of the other dragonets and curled up at the bottom of the river. His eyes closed.
He dreamed that he was on a rocky ledge. Behind him was the rest of his winglet, the Sapphire Winglet, and two other dragons- one of them was a SwiftWing, with dark gray scales and azure markings. The other was a TrickWing, with purple scales and strange-colored eyes.
Below the ledge was a jagged crack in the ground, growing wider and wider. Behind him, he heard a shout and saw the other dragons shoot into the air. Penumbra was being forced to the ground by a giant, skeleton talon. She was shrieking in fear and dismay as it dragged her down below.
Anguillidae took to the air as well, fear pounding in his chest, and he turned to look at the crack in the ground. It had stopped growing, then squeezed together abruptly, before spouting out several white shapes into the air. He squinted, and then realized in horror that the white shapes were dragon skeletons. They wheeled around to face him and as they roared a stream of fire at his scales, burning them away, he heard a raspy voice.
Pain! He felt like screaming from all the pain and he did. A roar came from his mouth and smoking, he moved from the fiery blast. The skeletal dragons had stopped, hovering in the air and watching with orange and red sparks for eyes. Sobbing, he crashed on to the ground with his smoking scales, his salty tears stinging his burning flesh.
The terrible, rasping voice was coming back, and then suddenly, giant bloodstained claws grabbed him from the ground, spearing his underbelly. His blood spilled over them and he gurgled up more blood, coughing and spitting, pain tearing through him.
And then he felt something prodding his ruined scales and it stung so bad, but through the blood and the pain, he thought he saw silver scales and something long and pale brown.
The silver scales were becoming clearer and clearer and it came with a voice too. "Wake up," it said. "You have class. Wake up." It was such a sweet voice. "Wake up," it crooned. "Wake up, you have to wake up."
And then a deeper voice came too. "Wake up," it growled. "If you don't, I will throw Gaboon into your thrice-cursed river."
"Go away," groaned Anguillidae to the voices. His head ached and he writhed on the ground, his burned scales bleeding as he thrashed.
And then he woke up.
. . .
~AVALANCHE~
Avalanche jumped back as he saw a bluish-green mass rise from the river. Anguillidae's head popped out and he saw the SeaWing's gills pulse, a sign that he took as anger from him. But while he looked irritated and grouchy from being woken up, there was another look in his eye- a haunted, but relieved glance, like he was glad that he was woken.
But the words that came out of his mouth were far from grateful. "What was that for?" he snapped as water ran down his scales. In the sunlight from their window, his scales were infused with veins of gold and the water that remained glittered with the colors of the rainbow, almost like a spider web encased with dew. Ravage, a burly NightWing growled low in his throat.
"You're welcome," he snarled.
"Ravvie," cooed Gaboon, a silly RainWing, who was the complete opposite of Ravage. Lithe and thin, the colorful dragonet had decided to color his scales with an iridescent green with blossoms of metallic purple. Avalanche hid his smile. He highly doubted Ravage would ever let any dragon call him "Ravvie." But the burly NightWing's glare softened and the fire inside him dimmed. Avalanche didn't understand.
He had assumed that the NightWing would whip around and toss Gaboon into the river for calling him such a nickname, but Ravage had embraced it? Every dragon's different, he thought. Just because their scales are arranged a certain way doesn't mean they have to act like it too. Maybe Ravage tolerates it. He might have even suggested the nickname himself. Avalanche shrugged and turned away from the glowering SeaWing.
"If you're done arguing," yawned a voice. They all turned, except for Anguillidae, who was hoisting himself out of the river. A SandWing unfurled himself and stretched, then proceeded to watch them with his brow raised. His scales were a strange rose gold color- not any color that belonged to purebred SandWings.
As if he had read Avalanche's thoughts, his gaze darkened and he swept off of his sandy ledge. "I actually care about learning," he said coldly. "Maybe you don't because you keep dithering, but I would rather that other dragonets see me as a useful ally." He slithered away and as he did, Avalanche noticed that his wings were larger than any of the dragonets, including Ravage, and that his horns were more of a wavy shape, like SkyWings. His shoulders too matched the structure of SkyWing shoulders, but his scale pattern belonged to the SandWings, and he had the same SandWing sail, though it was more of a jagged shape.
"Who was that?" asked Anguillidae.
Ravage sighed. "He's the SandWing our winglet. His name's Deathstalker."
"He's HOT," said Gaboon, and the other dragonets stared at him. Ravage had a strange expression on him- it was a very twisted smile, but the look in his eye was delirious envy. Gaboon frowned at them. "No, not like that! I mean his scales! They were…" The RainWing shuddered, then said again, "They were horribly warm, like not even warm in a wonderful tropical kind of way, or in a regular SandWing way. It was like being next to a burst of fire."
"What did you think of him, Avalanche?" asked Gaboon. "After all, you're an IceWing, so you're like the polar opposite of him." Avalanche stared at him blankly. I don't know, he began to sign, but then Ravage interrupted.
"You're a mute!" Ravage exclaimed. Avalanche rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Well, DUH," said Anguillidae. The SeaWing shifted uncomfortably as Ravage and Gaboon glared at him. "How did you NOT know that? After all, he doesn't say anything at all, sits there with a blank look like he's missing a brain, and then doesn't snore like the rest of you!"
"How do you know we snore?" challenged Ravage.
"Because!" Anguillidae nearly shouted. "How else do you think I know that you snore?! What kind of stupid question is that? Are all NightWings this stupid? Or is it just you?" The SeaWing's eyes burned with anger and hate, and Avalanche was feeling pretty resentful himself. Ravage hissed, smoke rising from his nostrils. "Or maybe that's because you're being raised by a lazy RainWing." Anguillidae swept out of the room as Gaboon's scales turned bright red and dark orange. He's always like that, Avalanche signed to them.
"He's just hungry," decided Gaboon as his stomach growled. "He doesn't mean anything against us, Ravvie, I'm sure." That was a quick recovery, thought Avalanche, surprised.
Ravage scowled, but then his taut muscles relaxed. "I guess. And the river isn't quite like sleeping in the sea. He might be homesick."
I hope he doesn't make too many enemies. There's something evil in this place. I can feel it. Why can't he be nicer?
Though he could never feel cold like other dragons, a feeling of dread wormed its way through his heart.
~CHAPTER 3~
~KIT FOX~
The next few months slid by easily. Kit Fox felt a lot more at home with her winglet than she did in the Kingdom of Sand. Kit Fox yawned and stretched. Something kept nagging her at the back of her mind, but she was too groggy to remember what it was. I should fly, she thought suddenly. But that thought was squished down by another one: I really want to go to the art cave.
Kit Fox wasn't sure what this sudden delusion was. She'd never been into art- whether it be ceramics or painting. She stretched again and then opened up her map. Ah, she thought. The art cave wasn't that far after all. She set off, then paused. Should I get Parrot? No. The RainWing would be so annoying if she invited her.
She rolled up her map and set off down the hall. Two rights, one left, first cave on the right, she thought. Soon enough, she reached her destination. Why did I want to come here again? Kit Fox shrugged and stepped inside. There was no one there.
Weird.
Then she saw some a bowl with some clay. She picked up the bowl and carried it over to a desk and sat down. She picked out the amount she wanted and put it back, but now that she had it, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it. Absentmindedly, she sat, her claws carving the shapes that she wanted. One lump became a dragon head. A bigger lump became the neck and body. The last lump was the wings and tail. She stared at the stray dragon parts and picked up the clay head. Looking at it gave her shudders.
She'd never been very artistic, so why was this head so detailed? Her claws ran over it and she could make out every scale, indented into the clay drawing. The head gave a spark of recognition. But... where did I see this? Kit Fox shook her head and picked up the pieces and began to mold them together. The final result was a dragoness, with spiraling horns. She had another set of horns, but these ones curved underneath, like ram's horns. She had NightWing spines, but at the same time, few extra pairs of icicle-like horns. And her eye ridges had a few markings, like she was wearing a mask. A mask.... almost like DeathWings, who had their enamel exocraniums. A name suddenly came to mind. Enchanted Sky.
She scooped up the dragon and put it on a wood stand and scratched her name on the wood. She carried it back to her cave, where she saw Princess Flare reading to Penumbra and the rest of the dragonets in their cave. The glittering SkyWing stopped when she saw Kit Fox.
"What are you going here?" asked Penumbra.
"Ahem," snapped Kit Fox. "This is my sleeping cave too! Don't be a greedy--" But she cut herself off. Mire was a MudWing, and from what she'd seen, the MudWing was not greedy. She couldn't say such a thing. "Dragon," growled Kit Fox. "Don't be a greedy dragon."
"Whatcha make, Kit Fox?" asked Parrot.
"Nothing you need to know about," said Kit Fox rudely. "It's my business." Seething angrily, she climbed on top of her sandy ledge and put the clay dragoness on a small niche in the wall, next to where she kept her scrolls. She realized that night had fallen and noticed how dim the orange fire globes were. Smoke rising from her nostrils, she listened to Flare telling the story. With a jolt, she realized it was a story her mother used to read her.
"Arid twined his tail with Victory. The RainWing blushed pinkish-red and gave him a small smile."
"Awww," said all the other dragonets. Kit Fox remembered when she'd hoped that she'd be that dragon. That dragon who was loved by another, who was chased after, who was told that they were wanted. She'd wanted to be the Victory of that love story.
But then the moment came and her love reacted too harshly. She'd grown harsh and cold, a wall over her heart so no one else could tear her down the way he had.
And when she found him, she would make him pay like she made Xerophilous pay.
She was newer, faster, stronger. She was not one to be trifled with. She was Kit Fox, a dragon hatched from sand but raised with fire. She was deadly.
Kit Fox closed her eyes and tried to remember everything else but her aching heart.
. . .
~LAZURITE~
"And they all lived happily ever after," mimicked Lazurite under his breath, his blue eyes burning into the polished surface of the Diamond Replica. The dark-minded white-gold SandWing dragonet named Kit Fox was curled up on a sandy ledge, but her open ears only told that she had not fallen asleep yet. The other dragonets--a blue and gold RainWing, a sleek NightWing, a dark copper MudWing, and a red-to-gold SkyWing--were all on an embroidered rug and the SkyWing had a scroll in her talons.
"Oooh, I'm VICTORY! Look at me! I'm a pathetic, simpering RainWing! And I have the coolest boyfriend EVER," Cheatsy joined in. The purple-scaled TrickWing leaned over Lazurite's shoulder, peering at the Replica too, his strange acid green eyes boring into the dragonets. Lazurite rolled his eyes.
"Amateurs," he muttered and stood up, folding his wings.
Cheatsy frowned at him. "I was AGREEING with you. Aren't you going to acknowledge my assistance?"
Lazurite closed his eyes for a moment and sucked in a breath through his teeth. "I was agreeing with you too! But OK. You're WELCOME."
Cheatsy burst out laughing. "That's what I'm supposed to say after you thank me, you idiot!"
"What?" demanded Lazurite. And then he realized what he said. He flushed and said, his voice unnaturally high, "Well, I'm BRAIN-DEAD TODAY!!"
"I hope that means you're both finished with your assignment!" bellowed the rough, tree bark-like voice that belonged to Lord Phasmophobia, founder and leader of the Mandatory.
Cheatsy jumped, then replied in an equally raspy voice, "Erm, yes ma'am!" The TrickWing coughed, cleared his throat, and then said, "I mean, yes sir!"
Phasmophobia of the DeathWings entered Lazurite's cave and Lazurite sank into a bow. "The dragonets haven't done anything yet," he reported to the DeathWing.
Phasmophobia turned so he could glare at Lazurite with his glowing red eyes. "Well, report back to me when they've done SOMETHING," he hissed. Without waiting for an answer, the DeathWing swept out of the cave, the deadly scythe on his tail glinting in the light.
Lazurite frowned after him. That was weird, he thought. Phasmophobia's scales looked almost opaque- not at all translucent like normal DeathWings, and his voice sounded like it was in harmony with another. He shook his head. He must be imagining things.
He scowled and then turned back to the Replica, only to find that the surface had gone back to its shimmering, rainbow-reflecting form.
Well this is great, he thought. The dragonets must have gone to sleep. He frowned again for a moment, but then a malicious smile spread across his snout. His eyes glittered malevolently.
"Show me," he whispered and Cheatsy leaned in, his eyes widening. "Show me Deathstalker.". . .
~CHEATSY~
Cheatsy sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Lazurite," he hissed. "What are you thinking?" The SwiftWing dragonet lifted his head away from the Diamond Replica so he could scowl at him.
"Um, spying. On our spy." He rolled his eyes.
"You IDIOT," he snapped.
"You're just mad because you don't get a turn to mess around with them." Lazurite spread his wings so Cheatsy couldn't peek over his shoulder.
"Look at what I got," crowed a new voice. Oh no. Not him. Cheatsy growled under his breath and whirled around.
"What do you want, Discordance?" he snapped. Lazurite looked up, surprised. His blue eyes flashed at the TrickWing hybrid.
"That's weird," said Lazurite coolly. "I should think that a fellow TrickWing would acknowledge his tribe mate."
"Oh yes, what Laz said," replied Discordance. Lazurite's brow shot up and Cheatsy guessed that the SwiftWing dragonet had never been called "Laz" before. Or maybe he had by his family and was surprised that such a dragon would dare refer to him by the nickname. "And please, call me Discord. Less of a mouthful, anyways."
"That doesn't answer my question," snapped Cheatsy. He knew he was being horrible, snapping at the hybrid, but Discord was SO annoying, popping in and out unannounced.
Discord pretended to look injured and collapsed on a protruding tree leg woefully. His red eyes glinted with malicious amusement at him. "I'm injured. Really, I don't think I've ever felt so hurt! I mean, to demand answers from a fellow TrickWing..." He shook his head and Cheatsy scowled at Lazurite, but the dark gray dragonet had turned back to his Replica.
"Just answer the question!"
Discord lost his playful nature and stood up. The hybrid stood taller than Cheatsy and his eyes narrowed. His stare was cold and his voice sounded like he was trying to force daggers out of his throat. "Well then," he hissed. "Lord Phasmophobia has told me to give you this." He held out a scroll with the dark green wax Mandatory emblem stamped on it.
Cheatsy snatched the scroll away from him and Discord snarled. His ears flattened and a growl sounded from him.
"YES!" shouted Lazurite suddenly and Discord scowled at Cheatsy as they both turned to the SwiftWing. Lazurite looked like he might do a flip in the cave; he was so delighted.
"It's happened," he whispered. "Those dragonets have left the school."
"Why?" demanded Discord and Cheatsy at the same time. They both looked at each other and their surprised expressions were the exact same. Cheatsy looked away first.
Lazurite smiled coldly. "Let's just say... Deathstalker was named quite appropriately."
~CHAPTER 4~
~PENUMBRA~
Penumbra couldn't remember feeling so terrified. Flare was pressed against her, her parakeet-green eyes wide and terrified. "I can't believe this," whimpered Mire, tears in her eyes.
"Everyone CALM DOWN!" shouted Tsunami. She stood with the other school founders- Starflight, the blind librarian, Sunny, the hybrid SandWing, and Clay, the fireproof MudWing. Penumbra racked her brain, searching for another familiar face, before she realized that Queen Glory couldn't oversee the school with the others when she had two tribes to rule.
"Please hear us out!" cried Sunny. Her moss green eyes were searching, with whirls of sorrow hidden deep within. Starflight nodded his assent, Fatespeaker right behind him with her talons outstretched to help him if he stumbled.
The other dragonets, while terrified, all fell silent. Clay shot the other founders a worried look. A look that said all too clearly, I would rather not do the talking. It was Sunny who spoke next. "As some of you may know, a student was killed." A collective gasp went around the circle of dragonets. Tsunami and Clay looked away from the crowd.
But before she could begin again, a BOOM! sounded outside and the dragonets screamed. "What's that sound?" demanded Tsunami.
Her sharp eyes scanned the audience and a trembling SeaWing raised his talon. She nodded at him, and in a shaking voice, he stammered, "Uhh... they're, um, well.." He couldn't seem to contain himself and shrieked, "It's a dragonflame cactus!"
Another scream from the dragonets, with SeaWings and SandWings screaming alike. Penumbra shrank back only to find Flare hanging her head, tears rolling down her snout. "Flare what's wrong?" asked Penumbra in a hushed voice.
"It's... well.. nothing that important right now," she said. She sniffed and wiped away her tears, sitting up taller and puffing out her chest to appear regal and important.
Penumbra cringed.
Another heart-stopping BOOM! sounded, and this time, Tsunami looked panicked. She whipped around to the other founders, the dragonets in the very back of the room edging towards the exit.
"Everyone, STAY HERE!" roared Tsunami, but her shouts only made the dragonets scream again in fear.
"Tsunami!" cried Sunny. "We have to evacuate the school!"
Tsunami bit her lip and glanced at Clay, who nodded firmly. Starflight's ears drooped and his face paled. Fatespeaker jumped forward, her talons only a few claw-lengths away from his scales.
Clay swallowed hard, then spoke. "Everyone, please sit down. We know that there is someone trying to bomb the school."
No one spoke.
All was silent.
Tsunami took a deep breath. Her voice was choked. "We will organize you into teams based on winglets, and then we will flee."
"Where will we go?" asked a dragonet.
Now, Fatespeaker said, "To the Rainforest Kingdom. Let us hope that Queen Glory will provide shelter."
. . .
~FLARE~
Princess Flare of the SkyWing winced as Penumbra used her arm to hoist herself up.
"Sorry," said Penumbra.
"It's alright," she replied. She folded her wings and lifted her snout to the sky and closed her eyes. She sighed. Oh Mother, she thought. I miss you so much. If only you knew... the shell of a dragon that I really am. She opened her eyes and stared at her talons. Disgusted, she looked away.
She caught Penumbra's eye. The NightWing looked torn. Tears were in her eyes and the dragonet looked so helpless. "I can't believe a student was killed," the NightWing said. "I mean, only on the third day too."
Flare cracked a weak smile. "So if anyone else was killed on a day following after the third day, it would alright with you?"
Penumbra returned her smile, but the sorrow in her eyes only spoke of her true emotion. "I suppose so."
A warm wing folded over Flare and she twisted her neck around to see that Mire had crept up next to them and spread her wings to give comfort. Flare leaned into the MudWing gently. "It's going to be OK," murmured Mire.
Penumbra joined their hug and rested her snout on top of Mire's head. "You really think so?"
Mire straightened so fast that Penumbra hit her jaw. "OW."
"Sorry," the MudWing replied. "And yes, I do think so. I mean, at least it's not raining in that horrible way that drenches you and makes you feel like you're drowning. Or something."
"That better not be 'or something,' Mire," replied Flare, looking back at the sky. Dark gray clouds rolled in.
Lightning flashed, and then it began to rain.
"Oh great job Mire," grumbled the MudWing to herself. "You're the epicenter for disaster, aren't you."
"That would be me," said Penumbra, and the three dragonets burst out laughing, despite themselves. Rain rolled down Flare's snout, mixing with her tears, and she thought, My friends are with me. Everything will turn out OK in the end.
And then something silver glinted in the air, whistling as it went down, spiraling towards the dragonets. Flare could make out an arrow point at the tip. She opened her mouth, but she was too late.
And then Parrot of the RainWings leaped in front of them.
And began to scream in mindless agony.
. . .
~PARROT~
PAIN.
PAIN.
PAIN.
PAIN.
PAIN!!
Parrot was screaming. Agony sprouted from her tail when she'd jumped to stop the spear from hitting her friends and at first, she hadn't felt it, until she felt her warm blood splash against her scales.
Mire was crying.
Penumbra was screaming.
Flare was crying and screaming.
Parrot's scales went white and she rolled herself up into a ball, screeching her pain out in giant, powerful waves. Only her tail stuck out, with the tip of the spear imbedded into the vulnerable spot on her tail. The only splash of color against her white scales and it was of her blood.
And then there was a powerful jerk from the spear and she let out another howl. Mire's salty tears splashed on her open wound and she continued to scream. And though the sky had cleared, the rain falling lighter and lighter, a shadow made her look up.
Six black silhouettes of dragons were sweeping around in the sky, and she twisted herself around to that the spear was connected to a rope, and that was causing more blood to spill out.
White with pain, she shoved Mire away weakly. "Go," she croaked, darkness pressing at the corners of her vision. "B-before they come for you too."
"We can't leave you," sobbed Mire.
"Go," she said again, and Flare clasped her talons.
"I'm going to go get help," said Flare and sprinted away into the forest, Penumbra following.
Mire pressed her snout to Parrot's head. "We'll be back fast," the MudWing whispered. Parrot nodded weakly, her voice hoarse from screaming. The dragons in the sky were getting closer, but Parrot fought to keep her eyes open.
She almost made it, too.
~CHAPTER 5~
~MIRE~
And so Mire was the only one to see the shadow dragons descend from the sky.
All six of the "shadow dragons" had black cloaks with five rings locked with each other. Each was a different color- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Two of them held Parrot's head down, but Mire could tell from her spot in the trees that the white RainWing had gone unconscious.
Three of them held some sort of thick metal wire, which they used to bind her wings to her body. Her long, prehensile tail was curled around her limbs and was bound with the wire. Mire held her breath as she watched the last one slide a metal band over her snout and slip another one around her neck.
She took a step back, but her back foot hit a slick patch of moss and she slipped, letting out a hiss. Terror pounded in her heart as she watched the six dragons turn around and stare into the trees.
Right at her.
But they didn't seem to see her, and one of them snarled, in a low slithering voice, "Someone is watching us." Only his snout was visible, with smoke rising from his nose.
"Find them," growled another.
"And kill them."
Mire's heart almost stopped.
She pressed herself into the foliage, praying, praying, praying that they wouldn't find her. Please, please, please. Don't kill me. But she was not as deep as she thought, and she felt sharp claws on her back. She tried hard not to squeal in fear, keeping silent.
"Found you," hissed a voice in her ear.
Mire's eyes widened and she shrank back, but the claws grabbed her and heaved her up. Whoever it was must have had super-dragon strength, because she was very heavy. She lifted her head and stared straight into the dragon's hood, but the shadows fell across it, hiding his identity.
"I found our spy," he called. The leaves rustled, and then the other six dragons were there, in rainbow shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
Mire was trembling, shaking from horns to tail. "P-please don't hurt me," she squeaked.
And then she heard the sharpening of a knife.
"Sorry," purred the yellow dragon. "But we can't have you alerting the other dragons of our existence."
Mire closed her eyes.
"Should we be worried that smoke's rising from her nose?" called another uncertainly.
Mire felt a fire burn inside her chest- a fire that had not been there before. She opened her eyes and narrowed them, letting the fire build up inside as the smoke poured out. She looked at the masked dragon and hissed, with as much simmering fury she could muster, "Yes."
And then the shadows attacked.
. . .
~ANGUILLIDAE~
Queen Glory was a good queen, he'd soon come to realize. The queen of the RainWings and NightWings had agreed to let the Jade Mountain Academy students and staff take shelter until they heard any news of the Jade Mountain bombing.
"Who could have done it?" asked a dragonet beside him.
"I don't know," snapped Kit Fox, who was sitting on his other side. The grumpy SandWing lashed her poisonous tail, and the dragonets behind her jumped and careened into each other to avoid her barb. "What do YOU think, you pathetic, simpering SeaWing?"
This was the wrong thing to say, as both of the dragons next to her were SeaWings. Anguillidae snarled. "Excuse me?"
Kit Fox snorted. "You're excused."
"My brother was killed," spat the other SeaWing coldly. "I bet you're the one who killed him."
"I wish," she retorted. "But at least I'm rid of the other nuisance."
"You're even worse than Anguillidae," growled the SeaWing.
"Um, WHAT?!" roared Anguillidae. He leaped to his feet, hissing and spitting. He pinned the SeaWing to the ground. "Who do you think you are?"
The other SeaWing growled. "I'm Ultramarine. You should know. You punched me in the face at Camp Rainbow Wings."
Kit Fox hid her smile. "Well," she hissed. "This is amusing."
"Oh thank for the support!" shouted Anguillidae after her, as the SandWing got up and left. He turned back to the SeaWing. "Sorry about the loss of your brother. And to be honest, I've punched so many dragons in the face at Camp Rainbow Wings that I've already forgotten who you are and why you exist. I mean, there's no point for you to live, right?"
A moment later, Clay was there, heaving Anguillidae off of Ultramarine. The latter hissed angrily, lashing his tail. "What's going on here?" asked Clay.
"Ultramarine started it!" blurted Anguillidae. "He was being a jerk to Kit Fox and he was all, 'You're even worse than Anguillidae!' and I was like 'Um, WHAT?! How could you say that? I didn't even do anything!' and that was exactly what happened."
Ultramarine lashed his tail. He opened his mouth to speak his defense, but then Tsunami came crashing through the trees. Anguillidae and the others turned to look at her.
Everything on her face screamed, SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED.
Their feud forgotten, Clay whipped around and asked, "What's wrong?"
Panting heavily, Tsunami leaned against a tree and whispered, "They're gone."
"Who?" asked Clay, Ultramarine, and Anguillidae all at the same time. Tsunami raised her head to look straight at Clay, dead determination in her sharp gaze.
"Parrot and Mire are gone."
. . .
~AVALANCHE~
No. What happened? Avalanche watched as Tsunami scrambled on top of a rough patch of dirt and called out to the dragonets.
"Everyone, you are to stay with your assigned dragon! The Jasper Winglet, you are with me! The Opal Winglet, you are to remain with Starflight and Fatespeaker. Amber Winglet, you are with Sunny. The Emerald Winglet, you are going to stay with Clay. Sapphire Winglet, I need to discuss something with you."
Avalanche looked around. From what he could see, only Penumbra, Flare, Anguillidae, and Kit Fox were present. Where are Parrot and Mire?
That was exactly what Tsunami was going to tell them, he realized.
Tsunami lowered her voice to a whisper, once all the dragonets were together. "Parrot and Mire have gone missing. You dragonets are to stay together at all costs. If one of you needs to go get something, all of you will go, along with one of us and another winglet. We are not losing anyone else."
"Where did they go?" asked Kit Fox. The look on her face said all too clearly, I wish they'd taken me with them.
Flare couldn't contain herself and burst out, "Penumbra and I know what happened to Parrot! And we think the same thing happened to Mire!"
Tsunami whipped around to her.
Penumbra shrank under her harsh gaze and then said, trembling, "W-we were hanging out together, Mire, Flare, and I, and we were just talking about things when--"
"--there was a spear! Someone tried to spear us!" interrupted Flare. "But then Parrot leaped in front of us and the spear got caught in her tail!"
"She told us to go, but we couldn't leave her, and then we realized we had to go get help! Mire stayed!"
"I saw the shadows of six dragons and I saw the wire connected to the spear and realized that they were going to take her!"
"I think Mire must have seen them and they realized that she saw them trying to take Parrot, so they took her too!"
"We have to go find them!" said Penumbra in a breathless rush.
"No," said Tsunami after a moment. "I'll speak with Queen Glory. She'll send out a search party."
Sunny came up behind the dark blue SeaWing princess and watched them for a moment. Then, the SandWing said, "You must not leave. I'm not losing an entire winglet." Tsunami nodded her assent and swept away to watch over the Jasper Winglet. Sunny gave them her signature moss green calm stare, but as soon as she was gone, Penumbra open her wings.
"We have to find them," said the NightWing. Flare nodded. Kit Fox growled, but the SkyWing princess shot her a glare. "Come on!" insisted Penumbra. "Safety in numbers, remember?" Anguillidae glanced at the others.
"Fine," grumbled Kit Fox and Anguillidae together. They all looked at Avalanche, and he nodded fiercely. Let's go, he signed.
And the five dragonets disappeared together into the shadows.
~CHAPTER 6~
~KIT FOX~
Moments later, they were aloft, soaring through the sky as the wind whistled all around them.
With a sudden jolt, Kit Fox remembered her clay statue with a pang of guilt. What had become of her beautiful creation? She shook her head violently and stared ahead with fierce determination. Focus Kit Fox, she told herself. If there was anyone losing their focus, it would be Anguillidae. Kit Fox could feel it her white-gold scales.
Avalanche flew next to her, his jaw set and his dark blue eyes fixated on the other dragonets. Not once did he look over at her, but at the same time, she felt like eyes were staring. The thought made her uncomfortable and she scowled at herself. FOCUS, she berated and narrowed her eyes at the swooping shapes ahead of her.
Flare, being the fastest of the dragonets, flew ahead and the light glinted off of her so she looked like a ruby dragon, with tails and talons of glittering gold. Penumbra followed close behind, like she was made of polished ebony. Anguillidae was like waves of the sea up in the air and next to her, Avalanche looked like a thin ice sculpture.
Her sharp SandWing eyes scanned the ground and as they passed over a forest, she saw Flare suddenly bank down. Penumbra followed suit and they swooped after the SkyWing princess. Green and brown with bursts of blue and red whooshed past her as Kit Fox landed.
Flare waited for all of them to land before continuing forward. "Let's see," said the SkyWing and unfurled a map.
"How is this POSSIBLE?" Kit Fox burst out. The other dragonets stared at her. "How, in the name of Pyrrhia, did you bring a MAP? And not TELL US?"
"I knew," said Penumbra.
"Well we didn't," snapped Kit Fox and gestured to Avalanche and Anguillidae, then pointing to herself.
"Oh stop being horrible!" snapped Penumbra. "Boohoo, you didn't know Flare has a map! Well now you do, so shut up!"
"I'd like that," agreed Anguillidae.
Kit Fox glared at them.
"Cut. It. OUT!" squealed Flare, her voice going up an octave in her fury. "I'm trying to find our friends and I'm barely keeping it together, since she doesn't know how to read a map!" She jabbed her claw at Penumbra, who shifted her wings and gave the others a helpless look.
Defeated, Anguillidae sighed. "Sorry."
"What can we do to help?" asked Kit Fox, feeling equally guilty.
"That's just it! I don't know how!"
Avalanche nudged her. Kit Fox sighed. "I don't understand sign language, you IceWing ninny."
Avalanche nudged her again. Penumbra glanced back as they continued to walk. "Avalanche, Parrot and Mire were our translators. I only know a little bit of dragon sign language, but since it wasn't a required thing, since so little dragons hatch deaf or mute, I don't know much. And Anguillidae and Flare are pretty useless when it comes to translating, like how I'm a lost cause when it comes to maps."
Avalanche shook his head, his spines rattling like icicles about to fall. He jumped forward, grabbed Penumbra's talons in his, and pointed to something in front of them.
Flare looked up from her map.
And began to scream.
. . .
~LAZURITE~
"I HATE YOU!!" roared the black-and-red RainWing dragonet behind him, rattling the bars of her prison. "When I get out of here," she hissed, "you will be the first victim to fall to my venom."
"Oooh," Lazurite replied. "I'm SO terrified."
"You should be," she snapped. "Nothing can save you! None of your stupid telekinesis or whatever idiot powers you ridiculous dragons have."
"Are you insulting my tribe or the organization that I belong to?" asked Lazurite.
"Just assume both," came the voice of Discord. The DeathWing hybrid slipped inside his cave. "Who's this cutie?"
"You disgust me," spat Cheatsy. The TrickWing was already on his feet. "Don't you even think about touching hi-I mean her."
"Oh shut up," Lazurite grumbled. "You guys are like squids in my ears. Just stop."
"You're welcome!" snapped Cheatsy.
"There's no reason to thank you, you purple-scaled monster," growled the RainWing.
Discord grinned. "Which one?"
"Who do YOU think?" she asked.
"I hope you die," said Cheatsy to Discord.
"As much as I'd like to so I don't have to see your ugly face again, I don't think I can. I mean, it's not like I threw five rubies and three gold coins in the Sunset Pool hoping that you'd catch some horrible disease and suffer until death or anything. I just need to live to see the day that you die, that's all."
"You're ruining my fun," hissed Lazurite.
"Yeah!" cheered Parrot. "You guys GO! Keep annoying him! He's SO annoying! You suck, by the way! I hate you!"
"I hate you too, my dear," replied Lazurite sincerely.
"I ship it," offered Discord. A sharp SLAP! sounded and Discord yelped. "Lazurite!" he hollered. "Your psychotic boyfriend slapped me!"
Cheatsy slapped him twice and Discord growled. "You slapped me twice," he whined.
Cheatsy slapped him a third time and this time, Lazurite leaped to his feet. "Would you two STOP? You're driving me insane!"
"Good," purred Discord. "I'm glad. Especially since we'll have company very soon."
His smile was cruel. "I imagine those dragonets with sapphire wings will be behind bars for quite some time."
. . .
~CHEATSY~
Cheatsy frowned. "Thanks for your ominous prophecy."
"Speaking of ominous prophecy--" began Discord, but Lazurite cut him off.
"Discord, shut up. Just, shut up."
"Well I NEVER!" exclaimed Discord. The hybrid tossed his head, smirking. "So cruel, my friends are. I must leave."
Discord left and Lazurite gave a sigh of relief.
"Well," sighed the RainWing dragonet. "It was fun while it lasted."
"And now I have a headache," grumbled Lazurite.
"It's OK," said Cheatsy and patted him. "I'll go get you something."
"No, you won't," said Lazurite, and staggered back to his feet. "I'm going to go get something for this monster of a headache. YOU can guard the RAINWING. It's YOUR turn ANYWAY." The SwiftWing dragonet left as well.
Cheatsy stared at his prisoner. She stared right back at him, and then a moment later, her scales shifted to match the exact same purple as his scales. Cheatsy started back. Seeing himself, without his weird eyes and frills, was startling.
"That's... something new," he said awkwardly.
"That's... super lame," she snarked. "It took you that long to realize RainWings can do that? Also, when will you release me for suntime?"
"Never," he replied automatically. The RainWing smirked. "Oh, and I already knew you could do that."
"You're nice," she said dryly.
"You're hilarious," he mimicked.
Her scales shimmered to pale pink for a brief moment. "Why, thank you."
"In a really stupid, annoying sort of way that makes me question my existence," Cheatsy finished.
Her scales turned to a dark gray. "Now, Cheatsy," she said and a shiver ran down his spine when she said his name. Her scales turned to the same shade as Lazurite's and she said, in her best impression of him, "YOU should be GUARDING the RAINWING. It's YOUR turn ANYWAY."
And then Cheatsy turned to the doorway and saw him.
Lazurite paused in the entrance and the look on his face was pure, raw jealousy.
~CHAPTER 7~
~PENUMBRA~
Flare finally stopped screaming. Penumbra let out a sigh of relief. The SkyWing had almost fallen into a pool of shimmering, orange water. Penumbra stepped close to the water, then jumped back as she saw pale white shape rising from the water. She grabbed Flare and dragged her back too. "Stay back!" she yelled. "Something's coming out!"
Kit Fox recoiled and Flare jumped behind a jutting rock. Avalanche snagged her tail and gestured to something. Penumbra followed the IceWing dragonet, where he pointed at a weathered and beaten sign. The sign read-
Sunset Pool. Trespassers beware. A beast lurks beneath the water.
"Weird," hissed Flare from behind the rock.
"The beast might be the white thing rising from the water," suggested Penumbra.
Kit Fox's face was as white as Avalanche's scales. "The beast might be the white thing trying to eat Anguillidae."
"Sure it-- WHAT?!" Penumbra stuck her head out from the side, and to her horror, saw Anguillidae's bluish-green body disappear into the "white thing". It was a giant, watery blob, like a sticky white ball of spiderwebs. Sharp spikes jutted out of the top and the side. "Not TODAY, you FIEND!" yowled Penumbra and blasted fire at it. It absorbed the fire without even flinching.
Flare's jaw dropped.
We have to save him, signed Avalanche. His dark blue eyes narrowed, and then he planted himself in front of the other dragonets.
"Avalanche, NO!" shouted Flare and she jumped forward, but when her claws made contact with his freezing scales, she let out a hiss and recoiled.
Avalanche sat down stoutly. Penumbra began to cry. "Please, Avalanche! We don't know how to get rid of it!"
The IceWing dragonet ignored them.
And then he began to sign at the white beast. I don't know what your life is like down there. Are you lonely? I was too for a long time. But then I met these dragonets, and they've made my life much more bearable. Including the bluish-green dragonet that you just swallowed. Please let him go.
The creature didn't move forward to attack Avalanche. It bobbed up and down a few times, then went still.
A grayish-brown spot appeared behind the spikes and began to grow larger, like the creature was forming another one to help it. The top of the boil got paler and paler, like it was about to burst.
"DUCK!" shrieked Flare and they all did, except for Avalanche.
And then it burst.
Black goop spurted everywhere.
The creature continued to get rid of the black goop, and in the black sludge, they saw something that looked like bones and other objects that looked like goblets and trinkets. It let out a gurgling belch, and slid back into the water. As it slid, it looked like it was slipping off of something. Something bluish-green with phosphorescent stripes.
Anguillidae was still alive.
And the five dragonets turned to the now bluish-green water, where the white creature sank, leaving a trail of iridescent bubbles.
. . .
~FLARE~
"Wh-wha..?" squeaked Flare. "Y-you just s-sat there and... what?"
Avalanche ducked his head, seeming embarrassed. I should have told you sooner. Sorry, he signed.
Penumbra tilted her head. "Why? What's there to be sorry about? You saved our lives, Avalanche."
Anguillidae groaned and rubbed his head. He staggered to his feet and crashed into Kit Fox. The SandWing snarled and leaped away from him. "Your scales are so slimy, you disgusting creature!" spat the SandWing angrily.
"Right, and it's all my fault?" snapped Anguillidae. The SeaWing righted himself and glared at her.
"STOP IT," snarled Flare. She spread her wings, smoke billowing from her nose. "What is WRONG with you? Do you want to alert the enemy?"
"They're not here, if that's what you're wondering," said a new voice.
They whirled around.
"MIRE!" screamed Flare and threw her wings around the MudWing dragonet. Then she jumped back. "Wait, you disappeared. How are you here?"
"Yeah, I know," said Mire. She rubbed her head anxiously. "I only just got away. Didn't you see my smoke signal?"
"No..." Flare replied slowly.
"Oh," said Mire. "Well, I sent one up. The six dragons who took Parrot tried to get me too because they found out that I saw them. I blasted fire in their face and took off as fast as I could."
"Really?" whispered Penumbra. The NightWing dragonet leaned forward, then shot up fast. Her ears pricked. "I smell smoke."
Kit Fox flicked her ears. "I can hear wing beats."
Mire's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, Avalanche pointed at a dark patch in the forest and waved wildly. Mire nodded. "We have to go there. All of us, we stick out. Especially you four. Penumbra and I are pretty well-camouflaged. But you guys stick out like a lily pad on muddy water."
"DRAGONETS," roared a voice from above. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Go, go, go," hissed Penumbra, shoving Flare with the others. Flare shot a glance at Kit Fox and Anguillidae. The two grouchiest dragonets seemed to realize how important this was and were keeping silent.
Thank the moons, she thought gratefully.
Six dark shapes stirred the air as they flew past them with the speed of a SkyWing. Flare whimpered and drew back into the shadows as the last dragon whisked past.
"Now what?" whispered Kit Fox. Her black eyes were wide with fear.
Mire closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She opened them and then said quietly, "Papyrus, show yourself."
. . .
~PARROT~
The SwiftWing named Lazurite stood there, looking very envious.
"Oooh, are you jealous that I'm talking to your boyfriend?" asked Parrot snidely.
"Cheatsy's not my boyfriend," snapped Lazurite. "And I'm not jealous." He muttered something to himself and pulled out a diamond tablet. He stared at it angrily.
"You're totally jealous," teased Parrot. Cheatsy rolled his weird eyes and slithered next to Lazurite, draping his tail over the SwiftWing's shoulder.
"Aww, that's so sweet. So sweet that my heart's melting." A DeathWing paused in the doorway, smoke billowing from his nose. Wait a minute. DeathWings don't have fire...
"How many DeathWing hybrids are IN THIS PLACE?" demanded Parrot before she could stop herself.
"A lot," said the DeathWing coldly. "Since most of us were kicked out. Now shut up. I have to talk to Cheatsy and Lazurite for a moment."
"Oh great," grumbled Lazurite. "Will I ever have a chance to look at the Replica?"
The Replica?
"Oh you will," said the hybrid impatiently. "Just listen. We've received reports that the dragonets are close. We've been studying them with Discord's Emerald Reflector and we found that they've already made it past your Thorny Anomaly."
"WHAT?!" roared Lazurite. "WHAT? HOW?"
"The IceWing!" shouted the DeathWing. "Now shut up and let me finish! When they pass the Coffin and the Weeping Tree, that's when you attack and capture them."
"Is that all?" asked Cheatsy.
The DeathWing glared at them. "Why? Do you want something else to do? Well, you won't be getting anything else! After all, you couldn't seem to be able to keep both of your eyes on those mind-numbing dragonets."
"Lazarus," sighed Lazurite. "You don't--"
"You won't like this, but it's already been decided," interrupted Lazarus, the hybrid DeathWing. "Discord will be guarding the dragonets with you two. I am patrolling the fortress to make sure no one else gets in."
"Nooooo..." groaned Cheatsy. "Discord? He's so.... ANNOYING!"
"Well, suck it up! It's not my fault!"
"What about meee?" whined Parrot. The three dragons turned to her.
"You're going to be cast aside in a dark pit," said Lazarus with a cruel smile.
Parrot yelped and folded her wings, trying to hide her shaking talons. "You don't mean that!" She gulped. "Do you?"
~CHAPTER 8~
~MIRE~
A MudWing stepped out from behind a rose bush. Or at least, that's what Mire thought. She hadn't quite gotten around to asking Papyrus her tribe.
Well, she was about to find out.
"What ARE you?" demanded Kit Fox, raising her tail like a scorpion. Papyrus met her gaze and gave her a cold stare.
"A dragon with feelings and a brain, who actually wants to help and is not constantly in the way," she replied. Kit Fox hissed, smoke rising from her nose, and glared at her.
Or not.
"Ooh good one," murmured Anguillidae.
"Yes, I am. Thanks for noticing," growled Papyrus and gave the SeaWing a dark look. Anguillidae rolled his eyes.
"Let's save the retaliations for later," Penumbra said, scowling at all three dragonets with a glare of her own. Papyrus folded her wings crossly.
"I'd like that," murmured Mire, rubbing her head.
Papyrus shot her an apologetic look and bowed her head. "Sorry."
"Well you should be!" snapped Penumbra. "Now let's go before anyone else finds us."
Anguillidae opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Penumbra whirled around to glare at him and snarled, "And if they do find us, it will be YOUR fault and YOU can live with that forever! You self-absorbed sea slug!"
Then let's go, signed Avalanche. He unfurled from the ground, his spikes clattering together.
"Fine," grumped the NightWing dragonet. Smoke poured from her nose as she lifted off into the air.
"Well someone's in a saucy mood," muttered Anguillidae. Mire glared at him.
"Well I'm going," said Kit Fox haughtily. Avalanche sprinted ahead of her and lifted off into the air. The SandWing snarled at him. "What was THAT about?!" she shouted.
Papyrus tackled her to the ground and Kit Fox roared, blasting fire in all directions. "GET OFF OF ME!" she shrieked, beating Papyrus with her wings, whacking the hybrid dragoness with her tail. "YOU! BIG! PILE! OF MUD!!"
"Hsst!" Mire hissed through her teeth, clamping her talons around Kit Fox's snout. The burly dragonet thrashed wildly and Papyrus leaped off of her. Mire let go and slowly backed away, watching with wary eyes. Kit Fox glared at her, hatred and SandWing heat emitting from her white-gold scales.
"I hope you die," snapped Kit Fox and took off, lashing her tail so furiously she almost crashed into a tree.
"Oh goody," growled Flare. The SkyWing princess had been so quiet all throughout their conversation that Mire had nearly forgotten she was there. She took off into the air, her gold-tipped talons and tail glittering in the sun along with her ruby-red scales.
What is up with everyone? wondered Mire. She shook her head. Maybe it was all the heat. Or maybe they were all just worried about Parrot and hoping she was alright.
If she's even alive.
. . .
~ANGUILLIDAE~
He didn't understand what the problem was with his winglet. Or with Papyrus.
They're just from different tribes, he realized. Not at all smooth like SeaWings. Not even close when it comes to intelligence!
"Stop being so slow!" A scaly black tail prodded him and he looked over to see Penumbra. Her dark amber eyes burned into his.
"What do YOU want, of all dragons?" he demanded.
"I want you to go die in a hole so I never have to see your ugly face again," said Kit Fox, slowing down to join him on his other side.
"Stop!" he erupted. "Why do you always pick on me? What did I do?"
"Parrot and Flare would've asked the same question to you, dear Anguillidae," said Penumbra. "All I see is Kit Fox teaching you a lesson."
"All I see is a worm getting bullied by two old crones with vulture brains," Flare chimed in. "As much as I hate Anguillidae and his fake attitude, I can't stand you two ganging up on him!"
"Thanks," said Anguillidae. He wrinkled his snout. "I think."
"Dragon brains," muttered Kit Fox. "Where are they in this SeaWing?"
Anguillidae hissed and glanced back. His tail flashed something so insulting that if any of the dragonet had any idea what it meant, he would've been blasted out of the sky. My tail... He swung it around, pounds of muscle underneath his skin, and clocked Kit Fox viciously over the head. "That'll teach you," he snarled.
Kit Fox bared her teeth and then went swooping up into the clouds. "What was that about?" demanded Flare. "You just hit her! Don't you know not to hit lady dragons?"
Anguillidae scowled and didn't say anything.
"I wonder where Kit Fox went," said Penumbra, staring at the sky with a mystified expression.
Cold scales brushed by his and he let out a snarl and whipped his head to see Avalanche. The mute IceWing dragonet frowned at him and then pointed at Penumbra. Move over so I can talk to her, he signed.
Anguillidae rolled his eyes and ducked under so Avalanche could talk to Penumbra. All he heard were her responses and sighed.
Great. Does she even know where we'll find these mystery dragons?
Ahead, he could see Papyrus flying with Mire. The two dragonets were talking to each other. And I'm all alone. Well that's fine! I LOVE being ALONE!!
Kit Fox spread her wings, hitting the side of his face as she slowed her descent next to him. "Um," he said, "do you MIND?"
" Of course not," replied Kit Fox. She shot him a toothy grin, and he realized it was a genuine smile. She liked that he retaliated when she snarked at him. Something inside him softened and he gave her a small smile back. "I wonder what they're talking about," said Anguillidae and nodded at Avalanche, Flare, and Penumbra.
"Whatever it is, it better not be about us," said Kit Fox, winging ahead. Anguillidae's heart felt a little bit lighter. What is WRONG with me?. . .
~AVALANCHE~
Avalanche lifted his head to the sky and glanced back down. It felt so good to be back up in the air again. Everything was going great.
I just hope Penumbra knows what she's doing, thought Avalanche.
He was lost in his dreamy thoughts until a piercing howl jarred him back to reality.
"PENUMBRA!" screamed Flare, catching the NightWing dragonet. He realized that it was her who'd screamed, not Flare. Penumbra's face was a horrid sludge-grey color and her eyes had rolled into the back of her head.
The two small tear drop scales by her eyes glittered as she opened her mouth and began to chant in a raspy voice:
Something evil is coming.
It will invade, attack, and burn.
Pyrrhia will fall at the claws of chaos,
Unless the DeathWing's secret is learned.
The DeathWing's secret shall be found,
Underneath the shaking ground,
By the seven dragonets with sapphire wings,
Though no one knows what the sapphire brings.
The first a dragon with scales of white,
His speech is gone, his life a lie.
Finding hope is difficult, you see,
But his courage and chivalry help him succeed.
The second with waves of white and blue
Bruised and beaten, his spirit anew.
Taken away, to be slaughtered
His attacker is drowned in the crimson water.
The third is a dragon with wings of mud
Her eyes as red as the color of blood.
She will find Pyrrhia hope and faith
As she washes away all the pain.
The fourth is a SkyWing princess
That no one in Pyrrhia has known since.
A murder mystery and forgotten past
Death will be her question asked.
The fifth is a dragon with wings of night
She vanishes with the shadow as she fights.
She has tried to burn herself away
But now she fights and fuels the flames.
The sixth a dragon from the kingdom of sand
Battered and broken, banished from the land.
She will find her way through shattered time
And kill herself in a victimless crime.
The seventh is a dragon that is rainbow-bright
Her scales keep her hidden out of sight.
Chained to the walls, unable to fight
It is her who will not see the light.
Buried and banished under the sands of time
The last dragon waits to commit an awful crime.
On the brink of death, the seven shall combine their power
And together release it in the final hour.
But for now, the night is cold and stark
The wind howls under the eyes of dark…
"By all the stars," whispered Flare. "A prophecy?"
"Ow," groaned Penumbra. The color had returned to her face and her eyes had gone back to their dark amber color, no longer the horrifying milky white.
"Oh, right," said Flare. Avalanche swooped down, his heart pounding in his chest, and nudged Anguillidae. The SeaWing frowned at him, but then Avalanche pointed to Penumbra and the SeaWing swooped up to help.
Kit Fox flew up as well, concern marring her white-gold snout. "Are you alright?" she asked, hovering beside them.
Penumbra groaned.
Papyrus came flying around with Mire, and the two of them swooped around the fallen NightWing dragonet, looking equally concerned. Mire glanced at Avalanche, and he shrugged. A moment later,
Penumbra stretched her wings and flexed her talons, before she began to fly, hovering in the air with shaky wing beats. Let's go land and figure out this prophecy, suggested Avalanche. Penumbra looked as though she would rather never fly again.
~CHAPTER 9~
~KIT FOX~
Kit Fox paced in the dirt, giving the soil a withering glare. Her mind just couldn't stay focused.
"You're precognitive?!" yowled Flare for the seventh time. "And you NEVER TOLD US?!"
"Shh!" whispered Penumbra harshly. She snatched Flare's snout and held it shut, the SkyWing princess glaring at her with cactus green eyes.
The NightWing released Flare and said, smoke rising from her nose, "I didn't even know I was precognitive! I've never had visions!"
"I heard that NightWings with powers had teardrop scales by their eyes," said Kit Fox, peering at Penumbra's face. The sleek black dragonet raised her claws to her eyes and brought them back down, staring at the crescent shapes with a hopeless expression on her snout.
"Really?" asked Mire. Her tail swung side to side, the way it did when she was interested. "Well, you have them, but they're kind of small. Just a fraction bigger than Fatespeaker's!"
"My mom did say I hatched under two moons," Penumbra said. Flare's face was shocked.
"So you can read minds too?!" demanded the SkyWing. Kit Fox hissed, but Penumbra shook her head.
"I would have been super obvious about it. And, I would have told you that I could, once we discovered I have precognition. But I'm not getting anything from you. Maybe I have to be really close? But I've nudged you guys a lot, and I still don't get anything. I just have good intuition, like sensing someone's emotions, but that's about it."
"Well... who else is hiding any special powers?" asked Anguillidae. The SeaWing's stripes flashed, saying something in a language that they didn't know. He stared at his webbed talons, as though hoping he might have something special too.
Mire shifted uncomfortably and Kit Fox whirled around. "What are YOU hiding?" snarled Kit Fox.
The MudWing yelped and Papyrus stared at her. "Well, I have something special," announced the hybrid.
Oh great, thought Kit Fox. Now SHE has something to say. She's not even part of our winglet! Why does SHE get to be a part of this discussion? "Like what?" asked Kit Fox. "All you have is lightning wit and a salty attitude. Nothing else there."
Papyrus gave her an amused glance, much to her surprise. She'd always had the feeling Papyrus hated her, but maybe not. "Well, I can do this!"
And then she took off a flower clasp from behind her ear.
"Oh goody," grumbled Kit Fox. "You can take off accessories!"
Papyrus hissed, her face twisting into a cruel smile.
Kit Fox raised her tail, preparing to stab it straight into the creepy hybrid's skull.
Her scales began to change. They rearranged themselves and changed to a translucent purplish-red color. Her pale gold eyes turned red, her scleras black, black as an abyss. Her ruff was more jagged and was flared, the same spines pushing out from her forearms. Her neck became longer and she grew taller. One of her fangs retracted into her mouth. The new dragon bared his teeth as his claws grew longer and sharper.
Kit Fox snarled and flared her wings, building up her fiery breath. She didn't know who this new dragon was, but all she knew was he was here to kill.
"Well, well, well," he hissed. "Look at what we have here. Lord Phasmophobia will be pleased." And then something went thunk! into her neck, and she twisted around to see her friends fall to the ground, darts sticking out from the same spot on their necks. The last thing she saw was the dragon raise his talons above her head.
And then her world went black.
. . .
~LAZURITE~
Lazurite glared at the wall.
"Still waiting, right?" asked Cheatsy. Lazurite didn't answer him. He was so angry at the TrickWing that he just wanted to be left alone, which was weird, because he hated being left alone. If he ignored him long enough, Cheatsy would leave. (And complain about how he was no fun and then get mad when Lazurite would throw something at his stupid face.)
"I BROUGHT them," snapped a voice. Lazurite's ears perked up, and for once, he was glad to see Discordance. The hybrid didn't look like he was happy at all to see them, however. "Thanks," he hissed. "It was SO much fun going on a random goose chase looking for those infernal dragonets! You did a great job, Lazurite, of NOT INFORMING ME!"
"Sorry," muttered Lazurite, who didn't feel very sorry at all. "Blame Cheatsy. He ruined my mood."
"So you decided to bring me to your hell hole too," clarified Discord.
"Will you let us go?" asked a small voice from behind Discord. The TrickWing hybrid scowled and then tugged on a chain by his claws.
Six dragonets were tugged forward, and Lazurite recognized most of them immediately-- the burly SandWing named Kit Fox, the passive MudWing named Mire, and a sleek NightWing named Penumbra.
"Oh goody," grumbled Cheatsy.
"Where's Parrot?" demanded the NightWing dragonet, lashing her tail.
"I can't tell you," Lazurite told her. "I don't know where that blasted RainWing is myself, otherwise I would tell you and then make you spontaneously combust with my amazing SwiftWing abilities."
"I hope you die," said the SandWing.
"I hope Phasmophobia cuts out your tongue and strangles you with it," Discord put in helpfully.
"Have you been torturing them?" demanded Cheatsy, glaring at Discord with all the hatred in his soul.
"That's my job," Lazurite put in. He glanced at Discord. "If you were, then that's fine, because I really didn't want to do it with HIM anyway." Here, he jabbed his tail at Cheatsy, and the purple TrickWing looked offended and turned up his snout.
"I was NOT TORTURING THEM. Get that through your thick skull, you stupid dragon!" snarled Discord. Lazurite flattened his ears. He knew that Discord would happily lunge across and tear Cheatsy apart, and maybe Lazurite too, so he kept silent. "You shouldn't be talking! I went outside and DID work. I completed Phasmophobia's stupid orders."
Cheatsy opened his mouth, but Lazurite gave him a cold stare with Discord and he fell silent. A little part of Lazurite felt guilty for ganging up on him, but the TrickWing could be so insufferable sometimes! Although, I am too, and he never treats me this way. I need to be nicer. I'll make it up to him after the dragonets are locked up.
"Here!" snapped Discord and thrust the chains into Lazurite's talons.
He turned around to storm off, but Lazurite blurted, "Wait!"
Discord glowered at him, but didn't say anything, and as Lazurite opened his mouth to ask what he was supposed to do with them, the SkyWing dragonet piped up and said in a haughty voice, "Well I never! My mother will hear about this, you-- you-- you scoundrel!"
Discord gave her a cruel smile. "And what's your name, sweetheart?"
If anything, the SkyWing stood up taller. "My name is Princess Flare of the SkyWings, and I command you to release my friends and I!"
"Princess Flare," echoed Lazurite. Cheatsy squinted at her, like he wasn't seeing her properly and needed his eyes to adjust. "Who's that?" He frowned at her.
And then Cheatsy spoke. "In the history of the SkyWings, and today, there has never been a Princess Flare."
. . .
~CHEATSY~
"In the history of the SkyWings, and today, there has never been a Princess Flare."
And now he watched her crumble. The SkyWing's shoulders sagged and she looked like her wings had been torn off. She looked like she'd been told to go live as a wombat for the rest of her life. "What?" she whispered. "But... but that can't be! I'm Princess Flare! The oldest daughter of Queen Crimson!"
They all stared at her, including the other chained up dragonets. "Queen Crimson died one thousand years ago," said Penumbra to her. "And actually, now that I think about it, there WAS a Princess Flare."
"That's me!" cried Flare. "And... and WHAT? Crimson is alive! I.. I know it! Maybe she isn't queen anymore, since Ruby rules the SkyWings, but I received a letter from her in the Palace! It said, Go to the Jade Mountain Academy. They have accepted you. I know what I saw!"
"Hold on," said Kit Fox, frowning at her. "There was a Princess Flare. But she died one thousand and twelve years ago. In the Royal SkyWing Massacre."
"Like the Royal SeaWing Massacre," said a blue-green SeaWing. He hadn't spoken at all, and Discord narrowed his eyes at him. "Except it was a murder. Princess Flare, three of her sisters, and two of her brothers, the king, and the king's advisor were all killed one fateful night. Some dragons suspected the queen did it, but it didn't add up. A few of the guards were drugged and others were slaughtered in really weird ways."
"They found the bodies, and were about to perform one of the SkyWing rituals, when one day, Princess Flare's body was gone. No one knew why some one would steal a body or what they had to gain by killing members of the royal family. Since then, there was never a Princess Flare."
"What if..." whispered Mire, "what if Princess Flare didn't actually die? What if she was animus enchanted? Everyone knows that animus magic can't bring back anything from the dead."
"No," whispered Flare. She buried her head in her talons. "No."
Cheatsy felt a stab of pity for her. It must have hit her really hard, to realize that she wasn't even supposed to live, that everyone in her family was gone...
This doesn't make sense.
"Let's solve the SkyWing massacre problem later," Cheatsy broke in. "We have orders to follow, except for maybe Discord."
The hybrid gave him a surprised look. "That's right."
"Then let's go," said Lazurite. Discord slithered out the doorway and Lazurite led the dragonets down a separate tunnel, one that kept going deeper and deeper into the Mandatory lair.
"Is this where the dungeons are?" asked Penumbra.
"Yeah.." said Lazurite slowly, giving her a searching look. He frowned, taking in her dark amber eyes, but didn't say anything else.
"We're here," announced Cheatsy from the rear. Lazurite turned around to the front and led them all a little bit deeper.
"Now we're here." They stopped in a long tunnel. Torchlight flickered and they could all make out separate caves in the dark.
Lazurite led them all into the caves, breaking them up one by one, so they were all separated from each other. Cheatsy pulled on a lever, and two rows of spikes came out with a grating sound-- one row on the top and another on the bottom, like shark teeth. There was enough space between them that the dragonets could put their talons around it and yowl curses like typical prisoners, but most of them turned away in the darkness, hunching their shoulders, not saying anything.
This doesn't feel right.
"We'll be back," said Lazurite and made the climb back up.
We sure will.
~CHAPTER 10~
~VIRIDIAN~
The lab smelled like chemicals.
Viridian paused, wiping sweat off her scales, and then got back to work. She HAD to find this quickly, or else Phasmophobia would have her head. And that's not good, she thought dryly.
"Are you alright?" asked Elevation, her trainer in the lab.
"Just thinking about the different ways Lord Phasmophobia will kill me if I don't get this done," said Viridian grimly.
Elevation gave her a small smile. "Maybe I can help." She scooted next to Viridian, who's scales were hot with embarrassment. Sweat trickled down her neck, her stomach burning as the tension in her already-taut muscles increased.
"I can't believe we have to do this," muttered Elevation. "We'll never finish!"
"Agh!" Viridian gave up, throwing her talons down on the table and smushing her snout against it. "I'm doomed!"
"MORE WORKING!" roared a voice.
"Eep!" yelped Viridian and Elevation at the same time. Viridian took the syringe and shuddering. put it into the snake eye she'd been looking at. She looked away as the tube filled with the vitreous humor.
"Almost done," said Elevation, taking the syringe from her.
Viridian joined Elevation over at a different table, where she was comparing the vitreous humor of the snake eye to the vitreous humor of a dragon eye who'd been killed with dragonbite viper venom.
Elevation jotted something down on her clipboard and Viridian scribbled notes, her writing becoming more and more messier and she wrote. Her claws shook holding the quill and she winced when it finally snapped in half.
"Now we have to compile this into a report and we can take a break," said Elevation.
"We don't write the reports, do we?" asked Viridian apprehensively. She was ready to snap, and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Nope," said Elevation. Viridian let out a sigh of relief. "We send in these notes to the others down the hall in the other room."
"Oh! Slosh!" Elevation waved over a MudWing, thick and burly with flat scales that were a weird blackish-brown color with gray flecks, like fertile soil. He had dull green eyes and his cheeks were more swollen, like a blowfish. Viridian instantly didn't like him and found herself shifting closer to Elevation. She really did NOT like the way Slosh was staring at her, like some sort of dead crocodile. She shuddered.
"Yeah?" grunted Slosh, looking back at Elevation. Viridian puffed out her chest and stood taller, so she would appear imposing and intimidating.
"Can you take these notes?" asked Elevation, piling her clipboard with Viridian's into Slosh's talons. "And run it by the other room. Lord Phasmophobia has ordered the reports and they're due in a few hours!"
"Right," said Slosh without blinking. He squinted at the notes and then looked back at Viridian, who met his gaze coldly. "Uh... ma'am?"
"What?" asked Viridian, her heart sinking.
"Can you, uh, rewrite this? Maybe?"
"Good-bye," said Elevation.
. . .
~DISCORDANCE~
"I hate them," mumbled Discord.
"I hate them too," said Lazarus.
"They're so awful!"
He paused.
"That was a lie. Lazurite isn't horrible. His stupid boyfriend is."
"Very accusing," noted Lazarus.
"Very... judgy! And... ugh. Just thinking about why he's such a brat gives me a headache."
Lazarus raised his brow at him and Discord frowned, lashing his tail. "I'm going to go have fun," Discord told him.
"I'll come with you," said Lazarus. "I haven't had fun in AGES. Everyone else thinks I'm some sort of old crone, like Abhorrence."
"Poor RainWing," said Discord. "He should have grown up in my household. We had fun. Except when Mother wanted to beat the life out of me for sneaking up on her."
Lazarus gave him an amused glance.
"Well, let's go!" Discord got up, and then helped Lazarus stand up too.
"I want to go mess around with Viridian," said Lazarus, with a mysterious, cat-like smile.
"Me too. She worries way too much."
"She does. There's just one problem. I don't know where the toxicology lab is."
"I do!" said Discord.
"You do?"
"Yep!" he replied. He pulled out a map from a niche in the wall and gave it to Lazarus. "Here you go! Have fun!"
"I thought you were coming with me," said Lazarus, confused.
"Me? Oh no, not today."
"Why not?" asked Lazarus.
Discord smiled, and in the firelight, he could see Lazarus still staring at him with his glowing eyes. "Let's just call it... a change of plans."
. . .
~DARKNESS~
In the shadowy alleys of Possibility, a dragon slunk through the corners. Her eyes were searching, hunting, as she prowled through.
Stop the spy games, Dark. You're on a mission!
... A mission for your own amusement.
Darkness sighed and stepped out into the light.
And immediately hissed. The other dragons around her turned to stare and she arranged her face so she could look intimidating, arrogant, and fierce (which wasn't too hard). She gave a passing SeaWing a hard, stern look, and he walked by faster, sweat glistening in the hot desert sun. Darkness thought her scales were baking in the light.
Now you're scaring everyone else. This is great. Juuust great. I totally wanted to freak out everyone in Possibility!
"Hey, Dark!" A dragon pushed her way through the crowd. Her scales were a shade of blue so dark, they were almost black. Her gills were white, and she had a long frostbreath scar over her heart. Eventide, she recognized. The sail on her back was blackish-blue, with silver and white specks, matching Eventide's wing membranes. From a distance, she could pass as a malnourished NightWing, but now that she was closer, it was easier to tell she wasn't a purebred NightWing OR SeaWing. Her peridot green eyes were bright with happiness.
"Hi, Tide," said Dark. Eventide looked confused.
"Dark, I think the desert's messing with your head. You're in Possibility! Not even CLOSE to the Kingdom of the Sea, and nowhere near any sort of tidepool, whether it be high or low."
Darkness groaned, and Eventide yelped in surprise, reaching out. "No, I'm fine! Tide is your nickname, remember? I'm a NightWing. We don't DO mirages, honey."
Eventide snickered. "OK, sorry. Maybe you should be all, 'Hey, Tide.' or 'Sup, Tide.' and then I won't think you're talking 'bout the high tide."
"Speaking of which, let's GO. My scales are baking in this heat," Darkness replied. Eventide grinned.
"Tell me about it. I know a great coastline."
"It's by the Kingdom of the Sea."
"Yup."
Darkness sighed. "Let's go, you poor homesick guppy."
Eventide laughed. The hybrid led Darkness to a spot by the river, where bushes began to grow over charred spots. "What happened here?" asked Darkness.
"Oh! Glad you asked." For once, Eventide was happy to explain. Given a different circumstance, and the dragoness would be looking for another dragon to answer. "Some firescales dragon set off a bunch of dragonflame cactus with her SeaWing boyfriend or something. That's what I picked up from some of the traders here."
"Oh."
"I know. Now let's go!"
"Now?"
Eventide rolled her eyes. "No, because we're going to stay here for another ten years without flying and waltz with the saguaro cactus. Let's fly!"
PART TWO: THE SHADOW SNAKE