Book One: Wings of Fire: A Pebble in the Desert (Pebble's POV)
Book Two: Wings of Fire: Lone Wolf (Vargr's POV)
Book Three: Wings of Fire: Complexity's Shadow (Complexity's POV)
Prologue:[]
Cairo snuck into the little tent situated on the edge of the Scorpion Den. 'This is my chance. I must smash the largest egg before they wake up. To prove myself. I must.' Without making a sound, the SandWing snuck over to the nest of eggs, and carefully raised her talon... before placing it down again. 'I can't.' Glancing around the room, then back at the pale eggs in the nest, Cairo quickly snatched the largest one and shoved it into a bag she had under one of her wings. The SandWing snuck back out the entrance, being careful to not wake the SandWings behind her. With luck, those SandWings would be horrible at counting, and would never know that an egg had been stolen.
Cairo ran through the streets of the Scorpion Den, hoping to get as far away as possible. 'Move! I have to get out of here!' Eventually, Cairo stopped, arriving at a small tent, that, for some reason, was still open at this time of night. "How stupid are MudWings?" she asked softly. "As stupid as twenty RainWings!" came the reply. Cairo walked into the tent, with a slight smile. "Did you...?" "No, Monitor. I couldn't bring myself to." Cairo took the sand pale egg out of the bag. "I would never have done it anyway, Cai." "We're not those kind of dragons, right? The kind that kill for fun?" "I-I don't know, Cai. Maybe... maybe we are, it's just buried too deep for us to find it." "Maybe you'll have-" There was a cracking sound, that seemed to come from the egg. "The egg! It's hatching!" As the egg tipped over, a tiny, pale dragonet fell out. "Why, it looks like it's made of pebbles!" Monitor said excitedly. "That will be her name, then. Pebble. Pebble of the SandWings."
Pebble looked up at the two dragons before her, yawned, and promptly fell over into Monitor's talons, asleep. "We're not those kinds of dragons, Cairo. We'll raise Pebble like our own, and raise her to survive." "Through the sun, through the rain, I'll stay by your side, my friend," Cairo sang softly. "And no matter where life takes us, we'll survive." Monitor sang back. "No matter where we go, no matter where we stay, I'll stay here with you, with you all the way." "We'll survive..." Monitor smiled at Cairo. Then as they looked out at the stars peeking in at their tent from the night sky above, they sang in unison: "We'll survive..."
Chapter One: The Message[]
20 years later...
"Teeth of the Viper! Why can't this war just end already!" Pebble muttered, making her way toward Blaze's fortress. A SandWing spotted her, and shouted, "Halt! Who goes there!" "Pebble of the SandWings, wishing to pass along a message for Queen Blaze!" Pebble shouted back, hoping that the SandWing couldn't detect the sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Wait here, and I'll ask her." the SandWing said. Pebble had joined Burn's side of the war as a spy. Burn was the oldest of the three SandWing sisters fighting for the throne, and perhaps the most dangerous. Her mate, Dust, had joined the war on Blister's side. It certainly helped that the older SandWing princess-no, queen, as she was referred to, trusted Pebble with every aspect of her battle plans. Burn apparently didn't know that Pebble was a two-faced traitor, and Pebble intended to keep it that way.
Her job as a spy wasn't the most fun, at time, but by the moons, it was as dangerous as walking into a pit full of dragonbite vipers and hoping that they wouldn't bite her sometimes. Pebble's newest mission was to find out what Blaze's plans for attack were, and to inform Burn of them when Pebble got back to the Sky Kingdom. Her parents, Cairo and Monitor, had raised her in one of the worst parts of the Scorpion Den, taught her how to steal, sneak, spy, kill, and most of all, as Cairo always told her, "survive to live another day, or die in the attempt". That was her parent's motto, one drilled into her head through the years.
The SandWing came back out and said, "Queen Blaze wishes to see you. Don't ask me why. She just does." The SandWing escorted Pebble into the fortress, then said, "She's as smart as a sheep that's gotten knocked on the head too many times, but she's a better choice than the other two. Don't tell her I said that." The SandWing left her at the door. "Who is it?" Blaze asked. "Pebble of the SandWings, here to deliver a message, Your Majesty." "Ooohh! Come in!" Blaze squealed, sounding like a dragonet that had just recieved a present that they'd always wanted.
"These are Burn's battle plans..." Pebble said, closing the door behind her.
Chapter Two: Captured[]
Pebble flew back to the Sky Kingdom, reaching it by late afternoon. "Who goes there?" shouted a SkyWing sentry at the entrance to the palace. "Pebble of the SandWings, with-" "Get her!" shouted a voice. Seven SkyWings suddenly appeared in the entrance to the palace, and seized Pebble roughly. "Let go of me!" Pebble roared, stabbing one of the SkyWings with her tail and slashing another's throat with her serrated, deadly sharp claws. "Survive, whatever it takes to do it. Survive." her mother's words echoed her head, as Pebble rolled underneath one of the SkyWings and raked his underbelly with her talons. The SkyWing screamed. Pebble blasted the SkyWing with her fire, then was pinned by four guards, who held her down while another locked metal clips on her wings. 'Great. Teeth of the Viper, I can't fly!' "No struggling, now. Queen Burn has some plans for you, little sneaking SandWing." a SkyWing hissed, clamping a heavy collar on Pebble's neck.
As the SkyWings dragged Pebble by the neck collar into the arena, Pebble briefly saw a glimpse of the SkyWing queen's Champion, Peril. "Soooo, my little spy has returned. " a familiar voice said. Pebble looked up to see Scarlet and Burn standing on the queen's balcony. "You wanted to see me, my queen?" Pebble asked, her voice sore from yelling. "Yes. So tell me, Pebble," Burn hissed, jumping heavily off the balcony and into the bloody sand below. "Why did you betray us?" "W-what do you mean?" Pebble stammered, pretending she didn't know. "Don't give me that look that says you don't know, little sneaker. You know what you did. Now, why don't you tell us?" "Tell you what?" "What you did, little sneak." Burn snarled. "I-I gave Blaze the battle plans." Burn grew livid. She lept foward, and pinned Pebble by her neck into the sand of the arena floor. "I'd snap your sorry neck right now, but it's my ally's hatching day next week, and I can't kill you, or it wouldn't be as thrilling. You are hereby considered an enemy. I hope you die slowly and painfully, little sneaking thief." Burn paused, as if thinking, then flipped Pebble over onto her stomach.
"As an added effect, I think I'll be happy enough doing this since I can't kill you." The bigger SandWing started to rip her talons through Pebble's crest, tearing several sections completely off, and leaving several gashes in others. Then the SandWing dug her vicious talons into Pebble's back and sides, seizing Pebble's left wing in her teeth. With a horrific tearing sound and several cracks, Burn tore Pebble's left wing clean off at the elbow. It sent zig-zags of pain arcing through her body, like she was being ripped apart by four or five dragons at once. "Now for the right." Burn hissed. Again, the same process, and the zig-zags of pain that surged through Pebble's whole body. Pebble could hardly hear what Burn said next. "Take her and lock her in the dungeons for a week with no food. After that, take her up to the spires."
The SkyWing guards began to drag her away. Pebble struggled, roaring and clawing at the guards, who merely continued dragging her along as if they didn't feel it. Once at an empty cell, the SkyWing guards threw her inside, then bolted the neck clamp to a ring on the floor, and chains on her ankles, bolting them to the floor as well. The guards didn't bother with her tail, but as they left, Pebble blew fire at them. One of the guards produced a muzzle, and clamped it onto Pebble's snout, forcing her to be quiet. Pebble clawed at the muzzle, but was unable to get it off. "Ha. That'll teach you, SandWing traitor!" the guard said, smiling cruelly at her, and leaving. Pebble snorted a flame through the muzzle, and thought about her mate, Dust. She wondered how he was doing, whether he was out fighting in the war, wondering if he was safe... She hoped he was all right. 'Oh Dust, Mother, Father... I miss you so much, and if I don't escape soon, I might die here.'
Chapter Three: The Arena[]
After a week in the cage, a SkyWing guard dragged her out, and into the arena. "Be grateful, traitor. You won't have to fight today. Probably." the guard let off a screeching laugh that sounded like an unoiled gate. Two guards flew Pebble up toward one of the spires. Screeching, clawing, and trying to bite her captors, one of them blasted fire at her to shut her up. Pebble merely roared, and continued struggling. They reached one of the spires, and tied wires around her ankles and her neck, which were connected to a huge web of binds that were attached to the other prisoners in the circle of dragons.
Snarling, Pebble threw herself off the spire, not caring if she broke every bone in her body on the way down. "Come back up here and fight me!" she roared. The other prisoners were straining not to fall off of their spires themselves. As quickly as Pebble had thrown herself from the spire, the guards carried her back up to it again. Pebble thrashed against their claws, and stabbed one guard in the skull, ironically the one that had dragged her into the prison cell a week ago. The other guards blasted Pebble's scales with fire to make her shut up. Pebble screeched, and twisted to blast her own fire, but eventually became exhausted and gave up. The SkyWings dragged her back up to her spire, and tied more wires around her snout to keep her permanently quiet.
Glaring, Pebble lashed her barbed tail in anger and clawed the wires off of her snout. Scrambling to her feet, she roared as the wires floated away in the breeze. No SkyWing could keep her quiet! She would never allow them to! "You're quite loud for a spy," a voice said from next to her. Pebble turned around, and almost fell off of her spire again, because there was an IceWing NightWing hybrid on the spire beside her.
Chapter Four: Vargr[]
The hybrid was big. Big enough, in fact, that part of him didn't even fit on the spire he sat on. He looked completely like an IceWing; an extremely pale shade of blue with darker blue scales next to his spikes, and a pale shade of blue that faded to white on his snout. The top of his face was a light bluish gray shade. The hybrid had a white underbelly, horns, spikes, teeth, and pale gray claws. His wings, however were the only part of him that gave away his hybrid heritage; they were a teal color that slowly faded to dark blue, and they looked like a galaxy of stars. The hybrid's eyes were a shade in between aqua and dark blue, and were bright.
The hybrid gave Pebble an odd stare, eyeing her over like a cut of meat at the market. Pebble looked away briefly, and rolled her shoulders uncomfortably, feeling awkward, like she should say something, but she wasn't sure what to say. "Back off! Don't go reading my mind and other creepy stuff that NightWings do." Pebble swung her venomous barb toward the hybrid. "I am a hybrid. I don't have any of those powers, except for the power to sense emotions. You are... angry, nervous, and missing something or someone." he said, in an oddly accented voice. "Even if I didn't have that power, you display all your emotions on your face, as plainly as a RainWing." He laughed softly. "I won't hurt you in any way, SandWing. I promise."
Pebble looked at the hybrid for a few moments, before asking, "Why not? Are you part of a cult that doesn't believe in fighting? Or are you a pacifist?" "Neither of those. You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? But I might as well be in these chains." Pebble changed the subject, hoping that she wouldn't be targeted by the hybrid for his next murder spree. "So, uh, I couldn't help but notice that you're awfully big for a hybrid." " 'For a hybrid'? Do you know what other hybrids are like? Have you ever met any?" "No. You're the first one I've met, actually..." Pebble trailed off, embarrassed. "I mean, you're about as big, if not bigger, than a large MudWing, which I have seen, by the way." she smiled.
"Thank you, Little Shadow." The hybrid smiled at her proudly. "I saw the stunts you pulled by the palace entrance. Amazing, I might add. They certainly deserve it." Pebble smiled. It was a look her mother had given her numerous times throughout her life. Cairo's expression had been sort of sad and scared when Pebble was given the offer to become one of Burn's spys, but she was proud of Pebble nonetheless. The only thing Pebble regretted was that she hadn't seen her mate, Dust, in years. At night, sometimes the three moons were out, and Dust would tell her that she was like all three moons to him; bright and shining, and beautiful. "You're missing someone. Deeply..." the hybrid said, wrapping his bound wings around his talons as the wind picked up. "I told you not to read my mind..." Pebble growled. "I'm not, Little Shadow. Like I said before, you display your emotions on your face..." He smiled slightly.
"I understand how you feel, somewhat. I can't remember my parent's names, what they looked like, where my home is, or why the IceWing tribe hates me so much. The only thing I can recall from my past is my name, and the pain of something hot being pressed against my side, so that everytime I remember it, I want to scream, to howl, to run..." the hybrid trailed off, his eyes having a distant look in them. Then he seem to snap back into himself. "It is this." he said, opening his wing as far as he could to show Pebble. It certainly looked as though someone had branded the hybrid. The mark looked like an elongated oval with the word Svikari agus Mortair in the center of it. "What does it say?" Pebble asked. "It says 'traitor and murderer', Little Shadow. Though I don't know why, I am considered a traitor and a murderer by my tribe." "You know, I don't believe that I ever got your name, Little Shadow." "Pebble...My name is Pebble..." Pebble said, looking up at the hybrid.
"Pebble..." the hybrid said in his oddly accented voice. "What a beautiful name." "What's your name?" "My name? Ah, the only other thing I remember of my past." He chuckled softly, the sound of it rolling like a sandstorm. "My name is Vargr." Vargr smiled. About an hour of silence passed between them, and a guard brought a pig for Vargr to eat. After the guard was gone, Vargr passed it to a SkyWing next to him, who was being starved to death on the spire beside his. The SkyWing smiled gratefully, and dug into it. "You look tired, and you need rest," Vargr said. "Especially for the escape plan I thought of." "Escape?" Pebble asked excitedly. "You're just the dragon I had been looking for to help me escape after being trapped here for about nine years. Come closer, and I'll tell you all about it. By morning, we'll be on our way out of here." Pebble crept as close as she could to Vargr's spire, and together, they discussed Vargr's plan long into the night.
Chapter Five: The Plan In Action[]
Pebble woke to see a blindingly bright orange SkyWing guard prodding her with his spear. "Wake up, SandWing!" he growled. Pebble swiped at him with her claws and the guard whacked Pebble on the ack of her head before he went to wake up Vargr as well. Pebble looked down into the arena and saw dragons the colors of fire, dirt, desert sand, rocks, and autumn leaves filling the stone stands of the arena. Above, in a large decorated balcony, Burn was overseeing the festivities for her ally's hatching day. The large SandWing's eyes scanned the scene before her, checking every detail. After a few moments, she went inside the palace, where even more commotion be heard indoors.
After all the spectators settled into their seats, Queen Scarlet, the SkyWing queen herself, stepped out onto the balcony. The SkyWing queen smiled at her subjects. All the dragons in the stands bowed and hissed with respect for the two queens. "Welcome one and all, loyal SkyWings, visiting MudWings, and distinguished SandWing guests!" the announcer, Vermilion said loudly. "Today is Her Majesty's hatching day, and we have a thrilling treat for you all today." Scarlet grinned maliciously up at the prisoners. "Last week, one of Queen Burn's spys, her most trusted one, in fact, was arrested and put in the arena for betraying us. As it turned out, the spy had been passing information about our ally's battle plans to that idiot, Blaze!"
"Maybe after she's dead, Queen Burn will add her to her collection of weirdlings. Well, that depends if she's as good at claw-to-claw combat as she is at spying on others!" Vermilion shouted. the crowd cheered, screaming for bloodshed. As the guards flew toward her, Pebble felt her throat sink into her talons. "Bring in the competitors!!!" Scarlet screeched into the sky.
Chapter Six: Venom vs. Fire[]
As the guards reached for her, Pebble swiped at them with her barb and her claws. 'Vargr said to make it believable. Struggle like a crazy dragon.' One guard seized Pebble's tail, while the others unchained her talons and her neck. She continued to claw, bite, and kick at them. "Let go of me!" she screeched. "Not a wise choice, Wingless!" one of the guards snapped. "You wouldn't want to fall from this height, would you?" "I am not wingless!" Pebble screamed at the guard in rage. She blasted fire at them, and went limp with exhaustion. The guards dumped her in the arena, but she landed on all four feet. Pebble could hear the dragons in the crowd mocking her, but she tuned them out. 'Focus, Pebble. Last until Vargr is sent in. I hope that he is... remember, survive to live another day, or die in the attempt.'
A silence fell over the arena as the crowd watched the guards wrestle with a mass of dark orange scales above them. There were a lot more guards, though, and the guards eventually got the dragon into the arena. Vermilion swooped over Pebble's head, and announced, "A few days ago, one of our queen's most loyal soldiers tried to defect. She tried to run off and join the Talons of Peace! After one win, I give you... Juniper of the SkyWings! And in this corner, Burn's former spy who was passing information on to Blaze's forces! I give you... Pebble of the SandWings! Claws up, Fire ready, FIGHT!!!"
Juniper lept at Pebble's face, and as she opened her mouth to breathe fire, Pebble flung a talonful of sand in her eyes. Juniper shrieked, and Pebble darted in, slashing her claws along the SkyWing's underbelly, side, and wings. Then as Juniper was still disoriented, Pebble stabbed her venomous tail into one of the gashes she'd made in Juniper's side. The SkyWing screamed in pain, and collapsed, thrashing around for several minutes, before she went still, panting. Pebble looked nervously at her talons, her claws stained red with Juniper's blood, before grabbing the SkyWing by the neck, looking defiantly at Scarlet, and with a sickening CRACK, snapped the SkyWing's neck. To some of the spectators, the expression on the SandWing's face as she did it said all too clearly, 'I'm imagining that this is you'.
Chapter Seven: The Insane SandWing[]
"Well, that was boring." Scarlet said, studying her claws. "I hope that you'll make this next game more interesting than the last, SandWing." Pebble glared at the SkyWing queen, who smiled back maliciously. Pebble briefly wondered why she was still in the arena, and not on her spire, then noticed that the crowd in the stands had gone eerily quiet. They were watching the guards wrestle with a large mass of sandy scales on one of the spires.
First a SkyWing, now another SandWing? Seriously? Eventually, the guards dumped the mass of scales into the arena. The SandWing got up almost immediately. Pebble stared. This dragon was almost as big as Vargr, if not a little bigger. He was covered in scars, scratches, burns, and barely scabbing gashes, with parched scales that were cracked at the edges, missing teeth, and milky, pale blue eyes that were rolling madly in their sockets.
The SandWing dug his scarred talons into the sand, as a slow, insane smile spread across his scarred face. He knew that this was the place where he got to kill dragons, and he obviously hadn't been down here in a while. 'He looks familiar, sort of like Dust did when he went too long without drinking water. But this dragon, he's not even a dragon anymore. Just an insane, crazed, murderous killing machine that Scarlet keeps around for cheap tricks.'
Chapter Eight: Pebble vs. Insanity[]
Without waiting for Vermilion's orders, the SandWing charged, thundering across the arena to the cheers of the watching dragons with bloodlust in his mad eyes. He leaped at her, and Pebble rolled out of the way, slashing long gashes in his right forearm as she passed. The SandWing turned, ignoring the pain in his leg, and began furiously snapping at Pebble. Pebble dodged as best as she could, but ended up being bitten hard on the throat. The bigger SandWing felt Pebble's neck in his mouth, and bit down hard. Although he didn't want to kill this dragon, he wanted the fight to last long, and to make her suffer.
Pebble frantically scratched at the SandWing's snout, and he let go. Pebble ran across the sands to the other end of the arena. Above her, the crowd roared, howled and screeched, chanting, "DEATH!!! DEATH!!! DEATH!!! DEATH!!! DEATH!!!" Scarlet looked amused by the fight, but Pebble could tell that Burn was bored, and probably wanted to be down in the arena, killing Pebble with her own claws and fire. The SandWing came barreling across the arena, mouth open to bite at Pebble again. Pebble rolled out of the way, and watched the mad SandWing smash into the wall with a loud CRACK.
Pebble lept up into the air and landed squarely on the SandWing's back, as he began bucking and throwing himself around, blasting flames to make the watching dragons scramble over one another to escape the blaze. Pebble began digging into the existing wounds on the SandWing's back, with her serrated claws, spraying a shower of dark blood everywhere.The SandWing screeched and howled with enough force to shake the mountains, and tried to beat Pebble off of his back with his bound wings. Pebble clung to the SandWing's cracked scales and made her way up to his face, where, with one deft swipe, she blinded the SandWing, spraying more blood onto the walls and the dragons in the stands.
The SandWing continued to roar in sheer agony, almost deafening Pebble until he managed to throw her from his back. Pebble's attacker fumed, blood dripping from his clawed eyes, snout, and leg. Killing was all he had left, and now some stupid, puny lizard had come here to kill him? No, he wouldn't have it, sight or not, he would feel the moment when that dragon's heart stopped beating, or he would die trying. The SandWing charged blindly at Pebble, his head coming into contact with her underbelly, and he continued to push her, until Pebble slammed into the arena wall, blood trickling from her ears and her mouth. A sharp throb pounded her head to bits.
"Not today, you monster!" Pebble spat, kicking her attacker's underbelly, hard. Pebble kicked and kicked, and kicked until the SandWing backed away, whimpering slightly from the sharp arcs of pain coming from his fractured ribs. Pebble heard a familiar hiss, and looked to see the SandWing charging a fire attack. Just as the SandWing released a strong blast of fire, Pebble did the same. Their two streams of flames collided sending sparks and embers everywhere. Pebble's legs shook, and she was disoriented, in pain, and bleeding everywhere, but she wasn't stopping now. The two dragons ran out of breath from their fire attack, but the SandWing head butted Pebble back into the wall, his cracked and broken horns digging into her underbelly. The crowd screamed with delight and excitement.
Pebble's attacker picked her up by her bleeding neck, and slammed her into the sand, hard. Pebble's vision faded in and out, and she knew she was dying, but she could see the wicked grin on the SandWing's face as he heard his adoring fans crying for bloodshed. Unfortunately for him, Pebble wasn't going down just yet. In all the roaring, and in the middle of having her airflow cut off due to the SandWing putting his full weight on her throat, Pebble saw that her attacker had left his underbelly exposed. Without waiting, Pebble thrust her tail barb cleanly through the crazed monster's stomach. The dragon jerked backward, and Pebble could see that, through the blood trickling in his sockets, the SandWing had ice blue eyes that shone clearly through the blinded eyes' milky film.
The realization of who this dragon really was smacked into Pebble like a wingbeat to the face. 'N-no. It can't be. T-those can't be. T-those are Dust's eyes...' Dust's gaze softened as his blood spilled onto Pebble's tail, which no one noticed. The SandWing brushed his bound wings against Pebble's wings and sides, just like he used to. "I-I'm sorry..." he choked out. "Be s-safe... my little...flower of... starlight...We'll...survive..." Pebble felt hot tears begin to roll down her cheeks as Dust's corpse fell into her chest.
Chapter Nine: Escape[]
"Get his body out of that arena!" Scarlet roared angrily, furious that Dust didn't kill Pebble. "I guess this means that I'll kill her myself... How not thrilling..." Several SkyWing guards flew to Pebble's side and snatched Dust's body away from her. "N-no..." Pebble whispered. 'NO!!! Don't take him from me!!! You can't have Dust!!! I won't let you have him!!! Get up!! Go save Dust!!" Pebble moaned in pain, trying to pick herself up, but she was too weak to do so. From above, Scarlet glided down from her balcony into the arena. The crowd of dragons was silent. Pebble watched helplessly as the SkyWing queen stepped foward for the killing blow, carefully avoiding the bloody clumps of sand.
"Well, SandWing," Scarlet said, her voice echoing in the empty sky. "What an honor it will be to die by a queen's talons." "NOOO!!!" a voice roared in terror from the skies. Pebble turned her head to see a big, blue dragon thrashing against his binds. Four SkyWing prisoners used their combined firepower to snap the binds on his legs, and Vargr threw himself from his spire, falling like a stone toward the arena, because he hadn't taken the time to free his wings. Vargr slammed into the sand of the arena, and stood up as the cloud of dust around him settled. The IceWing NightWing hybrid shook the pain and dust from his scales.
"Don't lay a claw on her!" Vargr spat at the queen. Dragons in the stands began to hiss and spit, rising into the air to protect their queen and their ally. "Looks like you're outnumbered, hybrid!" Scarlet laughed. "Don't be too full of yourself, you dirty, sobbing withered hatchling who could never fight for herself!" Vargr roared lunging for the queen. The IceWing hybrid tackled Scarlet into the sand and began tearing furiously into her underbelly, while she howled in pain. Pebble watched hundreds of dragons dive for Vargr. "NO!!!" Pebble screeched, standing to her battle stance despite the unbearable pain all over her body. Pebble swiped her barb at several dragons, as flashes of orange, brown, and sand colored scales whizzed past. She felt dizzy and her legs shook. Pebble shook the weakness off, and turned to face more dragons, slashing at them with her claws, and lashing out with her tail. She welled up everything she had, and spewed flames in all directions, before turning to face the SkyWing queen and Vargr. Scarlet had Vargr pinned to the floor of the arena, one talon on his throat. Pebble used her last bit of energy to send herself flying toward the SkyWing queen.
"Die, you miserable scum!!!" Pebble screamed, right before she slammed into the SkyWing and knocked her off of Vargr. Pebble began tearing at the wounds Vargr had made, and stabbed her barb whereever she saw scales. Scarlet thrashed, howled, and screamed at Pebble's grip. "Let's get out of here!" Vargr roared, seizing Pebble away from Scarlet and running toward the opposite end of the arena. Vargr skidded to a halt and threw Pebble over the edge, sending her sailing through the air toward the rocky ground below. The last thing she saw was Vargr getting overtaken by the entire SkyWing army. SkyWings, MudWings, and SandWings poured over the edge of the arena and down the mountain. Back on the mountain, Burn's voice could be heard above every other dragon's. "THEY'VE KILLED SCARLET!!! GET THEM!!! GET THEM NOW!!! I WANT TO SKIN THEM ALIVE MYSELF!!!" Pebble turned into a dive position, and tried to fly using what remained of her wings, but it didn't work. As she gained momentum, the wind around her ripped at her open wounds, and Pebble held back screams of pain. Behind her, a blue dragon dove over the edge of the arena, shaking off SkyWings and SandWings.
"VARGR!!!" Pebble shouted to her friend, who was trying to rip the binds off of his wings as he fell. Finally, the metal clips broke and floated off into the screaming wind. Vargr unfurled his great starry wings and flapped as fast as he could toward Pebble, straining every muscle he had. "PEBBLE!!" he shouted, "I'M COMING!! HOLD ON!!" The only thing saving Pebble from a painful crash into the ground, or worse, Burn's talons, was that big IceWing NightWing hybrid. Eventually, the hybrid caught up. Vargr burst through the horde of dragons, batting them away before they could attack him. He stretched and strained his arm, trying to grasp Pebble's outstretched talon. The two dragons reached for each other's talons.
"Grab hold!!!" Vargr shouted in panic. The ground was coming closer and closer each moment. "I...can't... reach!!!" Pebble tried to grab the hybrid. Instead, shock and blood loss overwhelmed her. Her vision faded, and Pebble slipped into unconciousness.
Chapter Ten: Resting in the Rainforest[]
Pebble woke on a leafy floor. She tried to stand, but pain made her think otherwise. The SandWing looked around, and saw that she was lying on a bed of leaves retrieved from the trees above. The throbbing gashes in her sides and legs were wrapped in large banana leaves. The damage that Dust had done too her was pretty bad, most prominently the deep cuts in her throat and sides, as well as burn marks decorating her scales in blackened spiral patterns, and a rather painful concussion. Pebble had no idea how she had survived that arena, let alone escaped it. No doubt that Burn's forces would be searching for her and Vargr. She only hoped they could stay hidden and survive this whole thing.
A whoosh of wind swept into the clearing, and a shadow flashed across the dusky skies. Pebble huddled closer to the ground, hoping to the moons that it wasn't SkyWings. Her injuries would make it easy for Burn's lackeys to imprison her again. With another whoosh, a dragon landed in the clearing and swept his wings across the ground, scattering leaves everywhere. Pebble looked up at the dragon, a RainWing the color of fire, with black markings and brown eyes. Another dragon, Vargr, landed behind the RainWing and looked for Pebble, relief on his face when he saw that she was okay. Vargr and the RainWing walked up to her. "Pebble! Oh, thank the moons, you're okay!" Vargr bent down to hug her, backing up suddenly when she yelped in pain.
"Sorry..." he said. "I didn't mean to hurt you." "That's all right," Pebble said. "Who is this RainWing?" "His name is Tanager." Vargr explained. "He said he's a healer, and that he'll help with the wounds. Don't worry, he's trustworthy." "Hello!" Tanager said, a few spots of colors that Pebble didn't recognize popping up in his scales. "Oh, sorry about that." Tanager fiddled with a button attached to a collar he was wearing. The spots vanished, and he turned different shades of blue, with silver star scales on the undersides of his wings, like a NightWing's. Pebble was astounded, as all she knew about RainWings came from scrolls that claimed that they were stupid and lazy fruit-eaters that did nothing but sleep all day. Tanager, however, had quickly pulled away the banana leaves from her wounds and flapped up to the canopy above, returning a moment later with more, as well as some glowing sap from somewhere. The RainWing spread the sap over the wound on her leg, and wrapped in the leaves, which were able to circle her legs many times.
Tanager then did the same with all her other wounds along her sides and talons, avoiding the bleeding gashes on her throat. "Hold on just a moment," Tanager said, and with a whoosh of his wings, the RainWings went soaring into the trees overhead. Tanager returned in a few moments with a ball of silk thread and a sharp piece of stone. "Do you mind?" he asked Vargr, who blasted the stone in fire, sterilizing it. Tanager knelt at Pebble's side, attached the thread to the needle and began carefully stitching up the gashes in her neck, occasionally applying the sap to his work. In minutes, Pebble couldn't feel her wounds or pain anymore. That sap was numbing every gash, scratch, and burn on her scales. "What is that sap stuff?" Pebble asked Tanager. "It's a special solution that I created myself. Different saps from the Rainforest trees, jaguar and dragonfly blood, and a few different herbs as well. I don't normally use it for healings, but then, I've never seen RainWings get hurt this badly." the RainWing explained, shearing off the silk thread as he finished stitching up the wounds in Pebble's throat, finishing his job by applying more of the sap, and wrapping it in banana leaves to protect the stitches.
"There," he said, "Finished. They should be healed enough to walk on here in a few days. Although, I would advise not pushing yourself." Vargr scooted Pebble into the tree line so she could sleep. Then, with a few wingbeats filling the air, the two dragons were gone, and Pebble drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Eleven: The Truth[]
A few days later, Pebble and Vargr were packing a sack of fruit from the Rainforest. Pebble had wanted to try and find the Talons of Peace base, and the only one she could think of would be in the Sky Kingdom, located somewhere in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains."You ready, Little Shadow?" Vargr asked Pebble, who had just gotten up. Her wounds had healed significantly in the last week or so, and she could walk again, although not too much without making herself tired. Vargr looked at her wounds, which were now just scars and faded burns.
"Yeah." Pebble answered, hobbling toward the large IceWing NightWing hybrid. He strapped the fruit basket to her shoulders, and helped her onto his back. The two rose into the air, Vargr being careful not to hurt his friend, and flew away toward the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. The Talons of Peace were waiting for them.
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While traveling, they stopped in the Scorpion Den, so Pebble could say hi to her parents. Pebble led Vargr through the Scorpion Den to her parent's tent. As they arrived, Pebble said, "What is given to you at hatching, is owned by you throughout your life, but is used by others more often than you use it yourself?" "Your name!" came the answer. "Hi, Father!" " Hello, Pebble." Monitor greeted her, as he came to the entrance of the tent. "Who is this?" Monitor asked, raising his barbed tail slightly in Vargr's direction. "This is my friend, Vargr. He's an IceWing NightWing hybrid." "Ah. Welcome to our home, Vargr. Nice to meet you." Turning back to Pebble, Monitor asked, "Where is Dust?" Pebble felt like ice was slowly crawling over her windpipe. Choking on the words, she managed to say, "Dust is... not around anymore..." "He left you?" "Sort of..." "What she means to say is-" "Hush. I can handle it, hybrid. She is my adop- my daughter." Pebble turned to her father in shock.
"I'm adopted?!" "Uh, well..." Pebble glared at the SandWing, and snarled, "You-you lied to me! You said that you and Cairo were my parents, and now, you tell me I'm not?!" "Pebble, wait, I-I can explain!" "Fine, tell me!" "Cairo had orders to smash your egg to gain entry into a group of SandWings that were rather high on the social ladder here in the Scorpion Den. She decided that she couldn't do it, and so instead, she stole your egg, and we raised you as our own. I don't know who your parents are, but Cairo knows the name of your real mother. They never came looking for your egg, or for you, never put up signs for missing eggs or dragonets, so we knew they didn't care about you. Not one bit." Monitor opened his wings and tried to hug Pebble, but she pushed him away, and fled, away from the tent, away from the dragon she'd thought was her father her entire life, away from Vargr.
She just wanted it all to end, make things go back to the way they were before any of this had happened. Vargr found her later, crouched outside of the city, in the shadows of the wall. "I'm sorry." he said, placing one wing over Pebble's maimed wing stubs. "I-I tracked down my real mother. Her name is Bright. She s-said that she and her mate already had four other eggs in the nest. That they didn't need me. I tried to tell her that I was her long-lost daughter, stolen twenty years ago, but she didn't listen. She just shoved me out of the way, and told me to go find someone else to bother. Then when I didn't move, she called me a mangy cur and threatened to rip my wings completely off. It seemed obvious that she supported Burn. I-I don't know what to do. The dragons I thought were my parents aren't, and the dragons that actually are... are horrible."
"Shhh... It's okay. So come on. Perk up, you little flower of starlight." Pebble hissed softly and shoved him away from her, hard. "Don't ever call me a little flower of starlight!! Only Dust could call me his little flower of starlight!! A-and now he's g-gone..." Pebble sobbed and collapsed into the sand. "Alright then, Little Shadow, it's obvious that there's nothing for us here. We should go. The Talons would be thrilled to have two more members, I'm sure." "A-alright..." Pebble choked, climbing onto the hybrid's back and wrapping her arms around his neck as Vargr lifted off into the night sky.
Chapter Twelve: New Friends[]
Back in the Sky Kingdom, Vargr flapped furiously to keep himself from being knocked out of the sky by the pounding rain and howling winds. "We need to find somewhere to ride out this storm!!!" Vargr shouted to the SandWing on his back, who was digging her claws into the back of his neck and holding on like her life depended on it. It did, to be totally honest. "No!! We have to reach the Talons!! They should have a base somewhere in these mountains!!" Pebble yelled back stubbornly over the wind and rain. "There is no way we are going to make it in this storm!!" Vargr spotted a light out of the corner of his eye. "Look! Down there!" he shouted, pointing with one talon in the direction of the light, which happened to be a cave opening in the mountains.
"I see it!!" Pebble shouted happily, Vargr fought the raging winds and driving rains to force his way to the cave. He finally landed on a ledge just outside the cave entrance, clinging to it to avoid being thrown back out into the storm's wrath. "You should go in," Pebble said, nodding toward the entrance. "No you should. If it's a SkyWing, they'll trust a SandWing better than an IceWing NightWing hybrid." Vargr protested, pushing Pebble closer to the entrance of the cave. "Alright, you've got a point." Pebble said. She poked her head inside, whispering a soft, "Hello?..." A sharp object whizzed out of nowhere, flying past Pebble's head. She felt a sharp pain in her right ear as the thing clattered against the stone wall behind her.
"Talons and teeth! I missed...' A sharp voice scolded itself from the shadows deeper in the cave. A slender, dark red SkyWing slithered out of the darkness to address Pebble. "Who are you, Intruder?" she hissed, fangs bared. "I-I am n-not an e-enemy!" Pebble stammered, "My friend and I are looking for a place to ride out the storm, and we're also looking for the Talons of-" "Peace?" the dragon interrupted. Her ears perked and her scowl faded. "Mum?" a tiny voice squeaked from the shadows, "Is it safe to come out yet?" "Yes, darlings, come on out. We have guests."
A tiny dragonet scurried out his hiding place and tucked himself under the SkyWing's wing. The smell of burning flesh began to fill the room. "Please come in. My name is Crimson." "Thank you for your hospitality." Pebble gave a quick bow and entered the main cave, where Crimson made herself busy by lighting torches placed all around the room. Vargr soon entered as well, shaking the rainwater off of his wings. "Oh! My, I had no idea that there was an IceWing NightWing hybrid with you!" Crimson exclaimed in surprise. "Not that its a bad thing..." "That's alright." Vargr said with a laugh. "I tend to get that a lot."
Pebble bent to look at the dragonet at Crimson's feet. He shyed away from her smiling face and hid behind his mother's talons. Crimson looked down at the dragonet, then shook her head slowly. "I apologize, SandWing. I would advise you not to touch my son, Firestorm, for your safety. I wouldn't want you getting burnt." "Burnt?" "Yes. Firestorm, could you please bring your brother in here? I haven't seen him yet today." "Okay, Mum!" Crimson watched the dragonet scamper off, then said, "Sadly, my baby was hatched with too much fire. No one knows where it came from, but he can melt a dragon's scales and char holes in their wings just by laying a claw on them."
"Ouch." Vargr cringed. Firestorm came back with a pale, skinny orange dragonet trailing behind him dejectedly. "Hi, Mummy." the pale orange dragonet said. "Hello, Ember." Turning to Pebble, Crimson said, "This is my adopted son, Ember. One of my... friends found him floating in the river, and fished him out before he drowned. Whoever his parents were, they obviously didn't want him." "I got no fire, mummy! That's why! Not an inch!" Ember sniffled. "I'm going back to bed." "Okay, Ember. You do that." Ember disappeared into another cave, and Pebble asked, "If that's the case, then how can you hold Firestorm?" Crimson scooped up the firescales dragonet in a warm hug, the smell of burning flesh filling the room. "Mum says that she has magic powers so that I can't hurt her!" Firestorm crowed happily. "But I still leave marks on her pretty scales..." he added on a sadder note.
"Are you an animus dragon?" Pebble asked. "Well, some could say that, I suppose." "Animus SkyWings aside," Vargr interrupted, "Why don't we all get to bed. It's late, and we have a lot of searching to do in a kingdom that's after our heads in the morning." The hybrid curled up on the stone floor. "I agree. Good night, my guests." Crimson shifted her son from one arm to the other, and slithered over to a corner of the cave, where a hole in the wall opened up to the rain outside. Ember walked out into the main cave and curled up with Crimson and Firestorm. The smell of burning scales ceased. Pebble lay down next to Vargr, and he wrapped a wing around her, just like he had done in the Rainforest when she was recovering from the arena's wounds, and just like he'd done when he'd found her outside the Scorpion Den. SandWings naturally gave off heat, and it kept them both warm.
Chapter Thirteen: A New Home[]
The next morning, Pebble woke to a soft drizzle hitting the walls of the cave. She wriggled out of Vargr's wing, careful not to wake the snoring lump of scales. Thunder echoed softly from far away. She saw Crimson, still curled by that window, on a flat stalagmite, humming a soft, sweet tune to keep Firestorm asleep. It was the only time that Crimson couldn't be burnt by him. Ember was already awake, but was in his cave. The SkyWing finished her little song, and noticing Pebble, jumped down to the cave floor. "Good morning, Pebble. I take it that you slept well?" "Oh, yes, thank you very much, Crimson." Pebble smiled.
Vargr snored loudly from the other end of the cave. Pebble snatched a stone from the cave floor and threw it at the hybrid's head, hitting him and waking him up. "Let's get moving, sleepyhead. We have to find the Talons by nightfall. They have to be based somewhere in these mountains." "Oh, no need for any unnecessary searching. Follow me." Crimson said, lifting a claw and slithering off toward a tunnel that neither Pebble nor Vargr had noticed before. Crimson led the two deep into the mountain through the winding passage. At times, the tunnel would be wide enough to allow two dragons to stand side by side, and at other points, it would be so narrow, that they would have to crawl on their bellies in a single-file line, with only Crimson's fire to guide them through the darkness.
After about an hour of wandering through the passage, it opened up suddenly into a beautiful cavern. Rock formations dotted the floor and ceiling, lit up by the eerie glow of flourescent fungi and glowworms inside the cavern. An underground pond was also lit by the glow, and it gave off a shimmering light that reflected off of the glistening stalactites above. The pond was fed by a trickling waterfall flowing from one of the cave walls, the pitter-patter noise that it made echoing softly throughout the cavern. Dragons roared in the distance. A fwoosh of hot wind came from the directon of the dragon, carrying with it the smell of burning, rotten fish. "Crimson!!" a dragon stumbled over his talons as he ran toward the SkyWing. It was a familiar looking RainWing with a collar around his neck. 'Is that... Tanager?' "Earthquake and Grouper are at it again!" the RainWing said. "Of course. I'm coming!" the SkyWing took off across the wet floor with ease in the direction of the awful scent. Pebble and Vargr followed behind her, careful not to slip on the wet floor.
In another section of the cave, past a huge boulder that had been rolled away from the entrance, stood a dragon from every tribe in Pyrrhia. A greenish-brown MudWing with a badly scarred face and forelegs, and a tail that ended in a clawed off stump was standing over a hacking, smoking SeaWing, the biolumenscent stripes on his body flashing angry curses at the other dragons. A pale gray IceWing sat on a stalagmite overhead, laughing hysterically. In the corner of the room, a pale purplish blue NightWing sat with her talons pressed against her eyes, as if trying to hold off a horrible headache. "EARTHQUAKE!!!" Crimson roared, her voice drowning out every other dragon's. The MudWing whirled around to face her, panic written on his face. "Haven't we been over this?! SeaWings can't be trained to stomach fire! Let alone breathe it themselves!" She smacked Earthquake with her large wing, and helped the hacking SeaWing to his feet.
"Three MOONS!!" the SeaWing wheezed, "That BURNS!!" He coughed forcefully, puffing more smoke into the air. "Well, of COURSE, you blubbering idiot!" the IceWing scoffed, breaking into another bellowing laugh. "You've just had fire shot down your throat!" He laughed even harder, losing his grip on the stalagmite, and falling to the floor in a wild fit of giggles, turning purple in the face. "Timberline!!" Crimson growled, "I'm giving you two seconds to get your sorry hide back together, or I'll shoot fire down your throat!" Timberline ceased laughing, and scrambled back up to his perch. "Talons and teeth! I can't believe you all! I leave this cave for one day to care for my sons, and I come back to this!" The SkyWing sank to the floor, and put her head in her claws. "Unbelievable!" A few minutes of tense silence followed as Crimson collected herself again. She sighed.
The RainWing from earlier was now a sky blue color with flecks of purple and orange here and there. He put his wing around Crimson and said, "So nice to have you back, Crimson!" He turned to Vargr and Pebble and stared at them for a few moments before recognizing them. "Vargr! And Pebble, too! Remember me? I'm Tanager!" Turning back to Vargr, Tanager said, "I think you'd be good friends with Complexity!" he pointed to the pale blueish purple NightWing who hadn't moved from the corner of the room. She waved shyly. Tanager tried to wrap his arms around Vargr. Tanager gave Pebble a hug, and then introduced them to the other dragons in the room. "That's Earthquake, Grouper, Timberline, Crimson, Complexity, and there's me, Tanager. We welcome you with open wings to the Talons of Peace!"
"Alright, Tanager. I think you've shown off enough for one day. I say we get a good lunch. Our guests must be very hungry." Crimson turned to the stalagmite. "Timberline!" "I'm not your personal hunter!" the IceWing griped, not moving. "Get down here and show our guests some respect, you half-melted pile of snow owl droppings!" Timberline dropped to the ground, staring Crimson dead in the eyes. "I'm no pile of snow owl droppings!" he said. "I'll show these newbies how to get some real prey!" The group left the cavern through a hole in the sleeping cave's wall, leading to the open, mountainous forests. The dragons sat outside the cave and watched as Timberline flew loftily into the air, just above the trees, a pale gray dot against the rich blue sky. Quick as a flash, the IceWing pulled in his wings to his sides and dove into the trees, staying under for what seemed like a split second before shooting back up into the air. He floated back on the mountain's breeze back to the others, with five wild boars clutched in his talons.
Timberline dropped the prey in front of the others and landed nearby, folding his silvery blue wings. "Who's a pile of snow owl droppings again?" he asked Crimson mockingly. The SkyWing smiled, and punched Timberline lightly in the shoulder with her talon. "Let's play a game!" Tanager suggested. The others gave him their full attention. "We let the boars go, each with a rope tied around their ankle or something! Then we all try and chase them! Sound fun?" Earthquake chuckled, and said, "It's been a long time since we played a game. I'm in." "What about you two?" Crimson asked Pebble and Vargr. " Sure! Sounds like a good way to test our hunting skills." Pebble said. "Alright, then!" Timberline said, grinning and rubbing his talons together. Pieces of bright red wire were tied around the boar's tails. "First one to come back here with a boar wins. Some of us might not get one, though. Okay? Begin!"
Timberline released the boars from his talons, and watched them scurry back into the trees. Pebble could see him silently mouthing something, probably counting out their prey's headstart. "Now!!" he screeched, shooting into the air and into the trees. The others hurriedly flew off to other sections of the forest. Pebble took off, dashing winglessly into the forest. She scanned the area as she ran. Something crashed through the branches above. Pebble saw Crimson leap to her feet and fly after a boar she had already spotted. 'I'll have to pick up the pace if I want to have an advantage. Move! Move! Move!' Pebble pressed on faster, scanning for the bright red of a boar's tag as she ran. Something caught her eye, a flash of red. She spotted the boar and ran even faster, her talons aching as they pounded against the forest floor. Crimson suddenly shot out of the trees and slammed into Pebble, sending her flying into another tree. That must've been the boar she was chasing, and now the SkyWing was too focused on her goal and competition to notice anything.
Pebble picked herself up off the ground, shaking off the leaves and dirt. She dashed off to find the boars. Pebble spotted another one, rooting around at the base of a tree. Pebble leaped for the animal, which squealed and ran out of the way, causing Pebble to smash into the tree that the boar had just been foraging around. She chased the boar into a stream. It tried to swim away in the current, but was carried into Pebble's waiting talons. 'Finally! Now, to get back to the rendezvous point.' Pebble waded out of the stream and shook all of the water off of her scales, still clutching the boar in her talons. As she looked around, she was hit with a sinking feeling in her gut. 'Wait... where am I?' the feeling in her gut grew bigger, and Pebble realized she had no idea where she was. Hours later, Pebble was sitting under a tree by the river in the pouring rain. It was dark now, and she'd been calling for Vargr, Crimson, Tanager, and Timberline all day. She had decided to eat the boar she'd caught earlier, as she couldn't win now, anyways. As Pebble put her head down in the dirt, she saw a flash of silver scales up in the sky. She heard a few wingbeats, then the squish-squish of talons in the mud. Timberline turned the corner and spotted Pebble. She was overjoyed to see this acquaintance. "Timberline!" she cried happily. "There you are, newbie. Thought we wouldn't find you for a bit." the IceWing spread his wings and crouched down lower. "It's pouring rain right now. Let's get back to a blazing campfire and plenty of boar." Pebble gratefully climbed onto his back as Timberline lifted off into the air and flew back to the cave.
Chapter Fourteen: The Mission[]
Soon, Pebble sat in front of Crimson's campfire, with a roasted boar in her mouth, happy to finally be out of the rain. The others had waited to eat until she'd arrived, and now each dragon was chowing down heartily. Timberline sat on his stalagmite, the smallest of the boars in his talons. He didn't eat much. "Time to sleep, guys." Crimson said, sweeping cave rubble into the fire to make the flames die down. Earthquake stretched his big wings and rolled over onto his back on the cave floor. Tanager and Complexity, the pale NightWing from earlier, curled up together in a corner of the sleeping cave. Timberline fell asleep with his head hanging off of his stalagmite. Grouper fell asleep in the underground pond, his biolumenescent stripes giving the main cave an eerie glow. Crimson flew up to the ceiling, hung onto it with her back feet, and wrapped her wings around herself like a giant, dark red bat. Vargr curled up under Timberline's stalagmite, Pebble tucked neatly under his wing. And soon, every dragon in the cave fell fast asleep.
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A few days later...
"Good morning, everyone!" Tanager shouted excitedly throughout the cave. "We've got a mission!" Crimson groaned, having just woken up. "You've already gotten orders?" "Well, I've already been up for three hours, so I figured that I'd have enough time." the RainWing said with satisfaction. "Alright, then." Crimson fell from her spot on the ceiling, floating down to the cave floor. She straightened herself, and cleared her throat. "Alright, everyone. Get your groggy hides out of dreamland and get ready!" Pebble shook the sleep from her eyes, and watched as everyone else got ready.
"Come on, now! We're heading out to SeaWing territory!" Crimson barked. "Yes!" Grouper shouted, leaping out of the pond excitedly. Timberline tiredly trudged up next to him. "Come on, you lazy pile of frozen tuna! You need something to wake you up!" Pebble watched in amusement as the SeaWing bit down on the back of Timberline's neck and threw him headfirst into the freezing pond. The others turned to watch the IceWing struggle to stay afloat and scream curses at Grouper. "Come back here, Squidbrain!" he roared, "Come back here so I can rip your throat out!"
"Anyone else?" Grouper asked with a wicked smile. The other Talons hurriedly picked up the pace. Timberline climbed, wet and angry out of the pond. "I'm going to tear out your heart and feed it to the scavengers!!" the IceWing shouted. Grouper gulped and ran away from Timberline. Earthquake stepped in and held the IceWing back from killing anyone. "Alright, salamanders! I'm dead serious!" Crimson shouted. Everyone left the cave.
Pebble was following the others outside when she noticed some odd shelving that had been carved into the stone walls. Each shelf was lined with different gadgets and odds and ends. Beside a stone workbench was the makings of a crude machine, and Pebble realized that this was what Tanager had been working on the last few days. As she hurried to catch up with the others, Pebble wondered what the machine was.
Chapter Fifteen: Journey Across the Sea[]
Soon, every Talon was ready for takeoff in a V-formation. Pebble was sitting on top of Vargr's back as the dragons began their countdown. "Ready!" Earthquake barked. The formation was ready for flight. "Three!" Tanager cheered. "Two!" Grouper grinned, flexing his wings and talons. "One," Timberline barely whispered. "Now!" Crimson shouted. The group took off in unison. Pebble noticed that the form was virtually perfect, with each of the Talons in their designated spots. Crimson, with the strongest and biggest wings, took the front. This way, the group could fly for longer without having to stop as much.
'I wish I could still fly like that!' Pebble thought, her thoughts soaring away into the clouds, and her heartbeat matching the beat of the Talons' wings. After a few hours, Vargr was getting tired. Fortunately, Crimson barked something from the front of the formation, and the Talons landed on the sandy beaches of SeaWing territory. "What now, chief?" Grouper asked Crimson. "We find the base where the SeaWings keep their plans of attack, and we destroy it. Word is out that they're planning to ambush the MudWings." she said, trailing her claw through the sand. Earthquake looked hurt.
"Anyways," Crimson continued, "We need to find their plans and destroy them before we're too late. Understood?" "Yes!" the Talons replied. "Alright, first things first. Grouper, do you know where to find our target?" she pointed at a drawing of an island in the sand. "Yeah, this is Archive Island. Being a former SeaWing commander, I know where this is. If the island's contents are destroyed, then the orders will never reach the army." "Take us there." Crimson ordered. Grouper nodded, spread his wings, and led the formation out into the ocean.
Pebble peered over Vargr's shoulder down at the crystal blue ocean below. Schools of fish, in a rainbow of colors, swam as fast as a dragon could fly. She saw a few hammerhead sharks, and flying fish leaped out of the water around the Talons' formation. Pebble snapped at the fishes and took in all the gorgeous kelp and coral just below the water's surface. 'This is amazing! Why doesn't everyone look at the ocean like this?' She saw the Talons gliding noiselessly over the sea without so much as a glance at the things around them. Even Grouper, a dragon who lived in the ocean, had his eyes fixed on an island on the horizon. 'They must be incredibly focused...'
Chapter Sixteen: Arrival at Archive Island[]
Soon, the group arrived at their destination, an island jutting from the ocean like a curving claw. It was quite menacing, like it could spring to life at any moment and swipe the Talons out of the sky. Since the entire island was all cliffs, and the Talons had nowhere to rest, they hovered a quarter of a mile away from it. "Here it is!" Grouper said, "Archive Island. I'll have to swim through the sea tunnels to get inside. Then I can let everyone in from there." "I'm coming, too." Earthquake grunted. "I'll allow it."
Pebble stood upright on Vargr's back. "May I come as well?" she asked Grouper. "No way in Pyrrhia. You can't survive underwater. At least Earthquake, as a MudWing, can hold his breath for up to an hour at a time." "Please?" Pebble begged. "I've never been in the ocean before! Besides, we'll be more convincing. I can pretend that I'm loyal to Blister." "Guys," interrupted Vargr. "My wings are starting to ache." "Sorry, Vargr." Pebble said. Without another word, she leaped off the hybrid's back and plunged into the ocean. Grouper and Earthquake soon followed behind her.
The three made their way to the sea tunnel's entrance, skillfully hidden by kelp and coral. Grouper led the way, guiding the others with his biolumenescent stripes through the narrow passageway. Pebble followed, with the muscular, scarred MudWing bringing up the rear. After what seemed like an eternity of swimming, Pebble began feeling dizzy, Grouper's glowing stripes in front of her swirling. Then a fire flared in her chest. Pebble thrashed in pain as the burning spread into her arms, stomach, and tail. The pain was unbearable, and Pebble's vision was fading.
Earthquake shot after the drowning SandWing, grabbing her in his talons. The MudWing released a large bubble of air into the water, which Pebble frantically swallowed, extinguishing the fire in her chest. Soon, the trio was making their way through the tunnel again, stopping ocassionally to give Pebble more oxygen. Finally, Pebble saw the SeaWing swim upward through a hole in the tunnel. She swam faster toward the exit, and Grouper pulled her out when she got there, cold and dripping wet. Pebble looked around at the huge floor-to-ceiling length shelves lining the room, packed with scrolls of all shapes, sizes, ages, and materials.
She could hear voices chattering nearby, and ducked behind a scroll-shelf, straining her ears to listen. Pebble could tell that one of them was a SandWing, by the way he hissed dryly when he spoke. She peeked around the shelf's edge to see them. Sitting around a low wooden table were three dragons. One was a pale blue SeaWing with stained bandages wrapped around his or her neck where her gills would be, and another SeaWing, this one without a scratch on his emerald green scales. Also, as Pebble predicted, there was a SandWing, who was bony, and spoke rarely, hissing when he did. Upon closer inspection, the SandWing only hissed when he spoke because he hardly had a tongue to speak with.
"Sssoo?" the SandWing struggled to ask. "We've prepared orders to deliver." the unscathed SeaWing gestured to a few open scrolls on the table. "They will be given to the soldiers at sunrise. By the time the first moon rises tomorrow, the MudWing army won't have any standing defenses." "And... you'd better be sure... to have your armies at the... rendezvous point... on time!" the bandaged SeaWing panted, scowling. "Understouuuddd." the SandWing nodded.
"Halt!" Grouper said to the small congregation, the three dragons sending icy glares in his direction. "I apologize for being late..." "Did Her Majesty send you?" the unscathed green dragon asked. "Yes..." Grouper fibbed, and flicked his tail to where the others were hiding. "Hooo issss disss?!?!" the SandWing stood quickly to his feet, tail poised to strike. "My advisor." Grouper continued to fib. "She-" "We don' trusssst traitorssss!!" the SandWing snarled in Grouper's direction. The SeaWing with the bandage on his neck leaped over the table at Pebble.
Chapter Seventeen: The Battle Begins[]
'That SandWing must've been there when Grouper ran away.' Pebble whirled, stabbing the SeaWing in her eye. 'I hope we survive this...' The dragon roared in pain as her eye turned a sickly, oozing black, the scales around it melting into the same color, until the SeaWing collapsed to the floor, motionless. The SandWing hissed and lunged for Grouper, tail ready to kill. "Grouper!" Earthquake shouted. The MudWing pounded past Pebble and slammed his bulky, scarred side into the sand colored dragon. The sound of cracking bones filled the room when the SandWing hit a lever extending from the room's floor.
The island quaked, sending the Talons sprawling around on the floor. Pebble searched the room to hunt down the other SeaWing, but he wasn't there anymore. "The other one's missing!" she shouted to Grouper. He glanced at the tunnel, then ran toward it. "He probably went back for reinforcements! I'm going after him!" the SeaWing plunged into the water and disappeared. Pebble now saw why the island was shaking. The lever had caused it to open like a box, as if half of the island. Now the entire ceiling was open to the sky.
Earthquake had lit the SeaWing's plans on fire, which led to flames erupting all around the room. Scrolls were burning, and the fire was spreading around. Pebble saw the other Talons outside the island, who flooded into the room to set more fire to the rest of the scrolls. Tanager bent over the SandWing with all the broken bones for interrogation. When the RainWing had all the information he wanted, he sprayed a icky looking black substance on the SandWing's face. The dragon howled as his scales fused together until it hardly looked like he had a face anymore.
"We've got company!!!" Earthquake shouted, looking up into the sky. An army of SeaWings flew above Archive Island. They must have been reinforcements. About twenty or so were pulling on steel cords attached to the island itself, which began violently shaking once again. "The island is sinking!" Pebble shouted as a flood of SeaWings flew into the island. Vargr was fighting three or four at once, being overwhelmed by more and more SeaWings. "Somebody help me!!" he roared, trying to throw the dragons from his scales, which were being ripped and bit by all of them. He roared again and collapsed to the floor.
More SeaWings viciously bound and chained the other Talons' arms and wings together, shoving muzzles onto their snouts as well. "Well... well... well..." the emerald green SeaWing from earlier said mockingly, sweeping his tail through the rubble. "What have we here? The Talons of Peace! My, I was under the impression that you worthless, gutless skinks were against fighting!" he threw his head back and laughed sarcastically. Every Talon just gave the SeaWing vicious icy stares. "Well, no matter. You all get to sink with the island, I guess. It's such a shame that it could only sink once. Have fun drowning!" he scoffed and lifted into the air.
Chapter Eighteen: Daring Escape[]
Pebble was unbound, as the SeaWings were stupid enough to think that she couldn't hurt them. She growled deeply, waiting for the SeaWing to turn around. He did. Pebble leaped from the sinking island, and sank her claws into the SeaWing's skin. She clawed at his face and wings, finally shoving her barbed tail through his back and out of his chest. The SeaWing howled, and Pebble leaped from his falling body back onto the burning, sinking slab of rock, watching the blood and venom float away into the waves.
Pebble ran back to the others, unlocking Crimson's chains. The SkyWing flared her wings and rubbed her wrists. "Thanks. You did good." Crimson nodded and took off into the skies. Pebble then ran to free Earthquake, who, in turn, freed Timberline. "You won't regret it, newbie." Timberline grinned weakly before passing out from the heat and smoke. Earthquake threw the unconscious IceWing over his shoulder and took off. "Pebble! Come on! I'll take you to safety!" Tanager shouted after the SandWing. Pebble spun around. "I have to help Vargr!" A scroll-shelf fell, more flames erupting from the splintering wood.
"You won't make it!" Tanager said, tugging on Pebble's arm, coughing as more smoke filled their lungs. Pebble stared him dead in the eyes. Tanager took the hint and flew off. Pebble ran to Vargr's side. The hybrid was on the verge of death. She clawed frantically at the locks on his wings. "P-Pebble..." he coughed, drops of blood flecking the stone floor. "G-go now. I'll be a-alright..." He used the rest of his fading strength to shove her away towards the entrance. "NO!!" Pebble shouted, tears clouding her already minimal vision due to the smoke. "You are NOT DYING TODAY!!" She ran back to try the locks once again.
"Go!..." he said again, hyperventilating. With a deafening crash, scoll-shelves fell over the entrance, blocking the only way for Pebble to escape. More shelves fell over Vargr, crushing him. The hybrid howled in pain and fell unconscious. "No!!" Pebble screamed, the falling rubble causing her to jump away from the unconscious hybrid. The water began rising through the stone tunnels, flooding the cave floor. Pebble had no choice but to dive into the tunnel and escape with her life. She plunged headfirst into the rising water, as it soothed her smoky scales.
'It's not over yet! Come on, Pebble! You can do it! Swim for your life!" Pebble paddled furiously through the water, navigating the dark, narrow tunnels by touch. Grouper wasn't there to lead the way with his biolumenescent stripes, so she had to swim through almost pitch black water, bumping into a tunnel wall every few minutes. About halfway through the tunnels, the fire sprang up in Pebble's chest again. This time, neither Earthquake nor Grouper was there to give her air. Pebble kept swimming. 'There is no way you are dying like this! Keep going, you're almost there!' Pebble kept swimming as a tightening feeling gripped her chest and throat, the rest of her body going numb. Pebble thrashed, and saw a bright flash of green light before blacking out.
Chapter Nineteen: One Left Behind[]
Everything faded into view. Pebble saw Earthquake above her, his talons on her stomach. She was lying on the beach from earlier, and could still see Crimson's crude drawing of the island that just sank. "Is everyone a-alright?" she asked in between coughing up the rest of the seawater she had swallowed. Pebble took a look around. Grouper had dislocated his wing and his arm. Earthquake's wound on his right foreleg, and one of the wounds on his face had been reopened. Crimson was covered in many minor cuts and bruises. Timberline was still unconscious, and Tanager looked to be fine, excepting a burn that had melted the collar around his neck.
Tanager was pouring cold water on the unconscious IceWing. "By all the sea serpents, carrying you across the ocean sure did a number on my wing. I'm not sure how Vargr does that." Grouper sighed, dragging his limp wing behind him. "Hold on, I'm coming." Earthquake walked over to Grouper, grabbing his wing. "Brace yourself." Grouper held his breath and Earthquake shoved the SeaWing's wing back into place. "AAARGH!!!" Grouper roared, whipped around, and bit Earthquake, who also roared, shaking the SeaWing from his arm. The two collapsed into the sand in pain.
"I think we'll wait until we get home to fix anymore of Grouper's wounds," Crimson winced in pain as she chuckled. "Guys..." Pebble muttered. "Alright, who woke me up?" Timberline coughed and groaned. "Did we win?" "Guys!" Pebble barked, tears welling in her eyes. "Yes, Pebble?" Crimson asked. "Vargr..." "Oh..." Crimson said, the others all turning around to see Pebble break into tears.
Earthquake gave Pebble a hug in his big arms, rocking back and forth on his hind legs, consoling her. The others joined in the hug, and all were crying. Even Timberline, as cold as he was, got a little misty-eyed. Pebble closed her eyes, and wished that nothing had ever happened to the friend who had saved her life.