For MCZ whose words and support have given me strength in some of my darkest, bleakest moments.

A story inspired by Monster by Imagine Dragons-one of my favourite groups.

Disclaimer: I own neither the series Wings of Fire nor the song Monster but I am a huge fan of both.

Mastermind-the Monster

The NightWing, Mastermind, lay slumped against the cold, stone wall of his lab, too exhausted to keep working. His lab assistant, Strongwings, had already retired for the night and he was alone now. Alone like he'd always been, like always would be.

His fatigued mind absently replayed memories of happier times; the fleeting moments when he hadn't been alone, the brief time he'd had with Farsight-the dragon who had meant everything to him and more. But far from comforting him, they just made it worse, filling him with a deep, aching sorrow and making him feel more lonely than ever. His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes, too tired even to shed a tear.

It was why he thrust himself so completely into his work nowadays. It provided momentary reprieve from his bitter reveries and a distraction from the pain and regret. But now it all seemed so empty and pointless.

Ever since he'd been a young NightWing, wide-eyed and naive, he'd nursed an interest in the way things worked, the science behind the world. It had set him apart from the other NightWings, many of whom aspired to be warriors and hunters instead.

To prove that he was still part of the tribe in spite of his peculiar interests, he had painstakingly restricted his boundless curiosity, channeling it into exploring only that which would be of benefit to the NightWing cause and, in doing so, he had won the approval of the Night Kingdom's ruling council including the Quern herself. For a time, he had belonged and he had been happy.

But it became apparent as the years passed that the ruling council wasn't genuinely interested in the scientific discoveries he made, only how they could be used to further their own ends. They became more and more demanding and Mastermind had struggled to keep up with their ever growing expectations.

Now it had become a rat race to produce any results he could to briefly pacify the council and win some temporary respite for himself. In a way, he hated what his work had become, what he'd allowed it to become.

Farsight had been the only dragon he'd felt he could truly connect to, the only NightWing who truly cared about him. And when she was gone, a part of him died with her. He had tried to blot out all feelings and emotion-it was so much easier not to think about it.

And then he'd met his son. When he'd seen Starflight, it felt like that part of him had suddenly been resuscitated, revivified and resurrected and he finally had something to live for. At last, maybe there was someone who could fill the void that Farsight's death had left. And for a fleeting moment, he had felt hopeful.

But all that evaporated when he saw the look of horror on his son's face. He'd pretended not to notice but Starflight's unspoken fear and revulsion shocked him to his very core. Of all the dragons in the Night Kingdom, wouldn't his son be the one who understood him? What had caused his disgust? Why was he afraid?

To make matters worse, it was as if Starflight was now trying to avoid him. What had he done wrong? What had disturbed his son so profoundly?

He thought back to the experiment he'd shown Starflight. What had it been? He had so many ongoing investigations that it was almost impossible to pin down the right one. It took a while but it came back to him. The tests on the properties of RainWing venom, he realised. But what was so wrong about that?

He thought back to the details of the investigation, dissecting it into parts as he would a cadaver. They had found out the venom had no effect on non-organic materials like stone and conversely lethal effects on living tissue. He hadn't been able to find a definite way of protecting against it. And they had suffered some setbacks-some NightWings had been hurt while handling the test subjects and a few of the RainWings had died while in captivity.

A few of the RainWings had died while in captivity. The last thought struck Mastermind. He'd been aware of it but hadn't really given it much thought as the greater part of his attention had been focused on his work. But now that he considered it, he realised he'd ignored something vital.

Dragons had died because of his experiments-the very same experiments that he claimed were for the benefit of dragonkind. But he hadn't caused those deaths, at least not directly. It had been whoever had been handling the RainWings. Clearly they'd been careless and neglected to care for them properly. Even so, it was because of his experiments that they'd been kidnapped and brought down here. He may not have been directly responsible but part of the blame rested on his shoulders.

But it was for the purpose of science and progress, he thought. Surely the sacrifice of a few to benefit the many was justified. But he soon realised that this quandary couldn't be resolved quantitatively. Each of those dragons who'd died, each of the dragons who were now languishing in the NightWing dungeons had been somebody. They'd had families, friends and loved ones who would never see them again. Inexplicably, Mastermind was reminded of Farsight and how he missed her so.

How could he have inflicted the same kind of pain on other dragons? I'm a scientist, he tried to convince himself. Sometimes I have to do things I may not agree with. It's all for the benefit of dragons everywhere. But it wasn't.

Deep down, he knew the real reason he was testing RainWing venom. The NightWings planned on invading the rainforest. They needed a way to defeat the RainWings quickly and to do that, they had to find a way to combat the venom. His discoveries wouldn't benefit anyone-they'd just bring more misery and suffering to more innocent dragons.

At last he saw it as Starflight must have seen it. His single-minded focus on producing results for the council and his own all-consuming tenacity had blinded him to the pain and wrongs he had wrought with his own claws. How had he not seen it? No wonder Starflight had been so horrified. What a terrible thing it must've been to know that his father had willingly done all this. Mastermind blanched. What would Farsight have thought of him? What have I become?

What was he supposed to do? His standing with the council and the Night Kingdom's future depended on his research. Logic was overridden by remorse. He wanted to free the captive RainWings at once and let them go home. But it wasn't enough. He couldn't bring the dead ones back to life. And worse, even if he were to do that the council would proceed with its plans anyway. The invasion wouldn't be stopped. Lives would still be lost.

It was ironic. He was the smartest, most knowledgeable NightWing on the whole island and yet he was out of options. Of any dragon, he should be the one to find a solution to this problem. After all, he made this mess in the first place.

I need to speak to the council, he decided. I need to convince them that there's another way. There must be. We don't need to fight the RainWings for the rainforest. Surely some diplomatic compromise could be reached.

But would they listen? Who was he to dictate to the council? Who was he to defy the will of the Queen? A fearful part of him was sorely tempted to do nothing and simply continue, to run from the dreadful reality that had suddenly seized him in its claws. But he couldn't do that. He'd already become such a vile dragon. His own son was scared of him. He had to do something.

Why him? Mastermind slammed his fist against the ground in a rare display of raw frustration. Why did this task have to fall to him? Couldn't some other NightWing come to the same realisation and do something instead? Why did the weight of this have to rest on his shoulders? Hadn't he suffered enough?

Because you're the most capable NightWing around. Mastermind heard Farsight's words as clearly as if she had been standing right next to him. The same words she had repeated whenever he felt stressed and overwhelmed by his work. You're the best dragon for the job, she used to say. If anybody can do it right, it's you, my love.

This time, the memory filled his heart with determination rather than bitterness and regret. This was what Farsight would've wanted. And Mastermind wasn't going to let her down. He would set things right.

Taking up a torch, Mastermind squared his shoulders. He knew what he had to do. It wasn't going to be easy but he would do it all the same. He would hold his ground. He would fight the monster he'd become. And he would win. No other outcome was acceptable. He would make Farsight proud.

The Queen needed the suit of lava-heated armour he was working on in order to survive and lead her tribe. That would give him some form of leverage to get her to listen. As he walked, his mind raced to formulate as many coherent arguments for peace as he could think of. If any NightWing could convince Queen Battlewinner, it was him.

He stopped just outside the Queen's inner sanctum. Was he really going to do this? Could he really go through with this? But he already knew the answer to that. For the sake of both the NightWings and RainWings, he had to do it. Nobody else was going to do it. Nobody else could.

Finally, steeling himself for the uphill battle he knew awaited him, he stepped into the inner sanctum to face his Queen.

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this story! I want to give a shoutout to MCZ who recommended the song in one of her reviews. As soon as I listened to it, I realised it fit Mastermind perfectly. I've had this idea floating around for quite a while since then but I only finally put the finishing touches on it over the past few weeks.

To MCZ, thanks for being so supportive all this time! Your reviews and funny comments have cheered me up more times than I can count. If you're reading this, this one's for you:)

To put things in perspective, I intended for this to take place just before the RainWing attack on the Night Kingdom. Perhaps there was another reason Mastermind was in Queen Battlewinner's inner sanctum that night and I've tried to explore that in this.

I like to imagine that maybe he wasn't really a monster, just someone whose focus and perseverance hamstrung him and kept him from seeing the consequences of his work. But once he realised what he'd done, he would try to make amends. To quote Dead Space's Isaac Clarke; "Good men mean well. We just don't always end up doing well."

So here's hoping you guys enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it! Drop a review and tell me what you thought of it! Thanks for reading!