Here's the newest chapter for you readers. I apologize for not updating, but things happened and I couldn't find the time to post this chapter. Don't be sad if I don't I don't update a chapter every day (especially when school starts) I'm trying my best.

Chapter 10: Neither Good nor Evil

Vex is reading Tamhigan's paper on his flashback earlier today. He finished it about five minutes ago and he's patiently waiting for her to finish.

Tamhigan has mixed opinions on these therapy sessions. On one hand he thinks they might finally cure him of his flashbacks and suicidal thoughts, but he also thought that it could be a complete waste of time.

Vex put the paper down and sighed sadly.

"Why would those people do that to someone so young." she thought aloud.

"Because I'm not white skinned." her patient answered quietly.

"Those people mentioned a swastika. What is that exactly?" the Fear Guardian asked curiously.

Tamhigan took the paper back and drew the Nazi's version of a swastika. Once it was finished, he showed her.

"It's an evil symbol." he explained just above a whisper.

Vex took the paper and looked at the symbol closely. She couldn't explain why, but she felt a shiver run up her spine and had a feeling of dread.

"What does it mean?" she asked, partially not wanting to hear the answer.

"Death to non-whites." Tamhigan said emotionlessly.

Vex gave him a sympathetic look and rested a paw on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that." she said sadly.

Tamhigan didn't respond; he just looked up at ceiling.

Vex was about to say something, but her patient surprisingly interrupted her.

"Those monsters in my world are bad… but at least they don't turn on each other." Tamhigan whispered, still looking at the tiled ceiling.

Vex's frown deepened.

'Why did that damn crystal have to take him and Voltage away all those years ago? Maybe if things were different, he would be happy and full of life like his brother.' she thought to herself.

The Fear Guardian looked outside the window and noticed that the sun was setting.

"I think that's enough for today. You should go home and have supper." Vex told him.

Tamhigan nodded and stood up. They both walked to the door and Vex opened it for him.

"Make sure to get a good night's rest." she added as he stepped out of her room.

Tamhigan nodded to her and walked down the hall. He walked out of the building and to his apartment. The black dragon was actually surprised with himself; that was the most he spoke in over ten years.

He approached the apartment door and opened it. As he stepped inside, he noticed that his mom already had dinner ready.

"There you are. I was wondering when Vex would let you go." Umbra smiled at her son.

Tamhigan gave a millisecond long half smile and sat down next to his brother. Umbra smiled and gave him a plate of pork chops and bread sticks. Her son nodded in thanks and took the plate.

"So I heard that you three found something interesting today." Umbra said once everyone had a plate.

"Yeah, Bellator found a cave close to here and we, Bellator, Forma, Inferno, and Amore went to go explore it. We found some engraved pictures on a wall and a time crystal." Bedagi explained.

"Wow, that's a rare find. Very few of those survived the war way back then. Good work." his mother praised.

"We can't take all the credit. Tamhigan did half the work for us." Frysa praised with a small smile.

"Well good job, Tamhigan." Umbra said as she nuzzled her son.

He didn't know how to respond to her nuzzle, so he just continued eating after she stopped. The family and ice dragoness continued eating and talking about their day until they all finished their dinner. Umbra took their plates and went into the kitchen to wash them.

"So how did your therapy session go?" Bedagi asked his brother.

Tamhigan just gave a simple shrug as he formed dark blue electricity between his talons and watched the energy dance.

"Well you're easily entertained." Frysa giggled as he watched his own electricity with interest.

"Why do you do that? Most dragons only use their mouth to use their element." Bedagi asked curiously.

Tamhigan pointed to the respirator on his gas mask.

"Oh." his brother said, feeling silly for asking.

Umbra walked back into the room with a tired smile.

"Well I'm going to bed now. I'll see you all in the morning." she said as she hugged them one by one.

"Goodnight." Bedagi and Frysa said in unison as the adult dragoness entered her room to get some sleep.

Tamhigan stretched and then stood up.

"You going to bed too?" Frysa asked him.

He nodded and gave them a quick wave as he entered his room. They said goodnight to him as he shut the door.

Tamhigan set his sling and gas mask on his desk. He yawned quietly as he approached his bed. The former human crawled into bed and pulled his blanket over him. He gently closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He opened his eyes to see a stone tiled ceiling. The first thing he noticed was that he was wearing his gas mask again. The second thing was that he was in his human form again. Since he was aware of what he was doing, he assumed it wasn't a flashback.

Jack stood up and cautiously looked around. The armored young adult found himself in a room made of stone, kind of like a castle. The room is very large and he's in the center of it. The walls are lit with torches, but the room is still relatively dark.

"So we meet at last." said a dark voice in the shadows.

Jack reached for his guns, but found that all of his weapons have been removed.

"There's no need to use violence. I'm a… family friend." the voice chuckled, sounding closer this time.

A large dragon stepped out of the darkness and into Jack's sight.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is… Malefor, but most just call me The Dark Master." the big purple dragon introduced with a smile.

Jack didn't like this dragon one bit. Malefor reminded him of the Ku Klux Klan, especially with the stories he's heard about him.

"The silent type I see. Well that will at least keep you out of trouble." Malefor observed as he took a few more steps forward until they were less than five feet away from each other.

The Dark Master is much taller than the other dragons that Jack's met, but size has never stopped him before.

"I'm here to give you an offer." Malefor said as he looked down at the human with his yellowed eyes.

Jack nodded, allowing the dragon to speak his peace.

"Because of some… unfortunate events, I have been trapped in a convexity crystal for many years. I would like you to release me from my prison. Not only will I reward you with some of my powers, but I will also keep your family and friends safe." the big purple dragon promised.

Jack knew he was lying, he could see it in the dragon's slit eyes.

"Fuck you…" Jack growled quietly.

Malefor frowned at the human before him.

"I am giving you this offer because you aren't like your great-grandfather and father. You don't care what happens to the innocent or the world. I couldn't even find your inner darkness." The Dark Master began, starting to circle around the human.

"At first I thought you're inner darkness already controlled you, but you would've killed everyone by now if that were true. You haven't conquered it either because of your dark and murderous nature. The only conclusion I can think of is that both your inner darkness and inner light somehow combined with each other. The perfect shade of gray." Malefor explained.

Jack just stood there as the dark dragon circled him, forming a purple scaled circle around him.

"I will escape from my prison and I will rule the world. Just remember, the offer is still open." Malefor said as they area began to get even darker until it was fully black.

The darkness was soon replaced by a white light and Jack found himself on some kind of beach. There are soldiers wearing greenish brown uniforms performing various tasks. One of the soldiers with a large radio on his back walked up to him.

Jack recognized this soldier. He saw him dancing with his dad during the ghost dance with their other ancestors.

"Hello Jack. I think it's about time we get better acquainted. My name's Dylan." The Code Talker greeted as he walked up to him.

The soldier motioned for him to follow and they both commenced to walk down the French beach.

"I saw Malefor talking to you and I'll be the first one to tell you that he's lying. He hates our family and I think he just wants you to be his slave." Dylan said as he and his great-grandson walked down the war torn beach.

Jack didn't respond and Dylan couldn't tell what he was thinking behind that gas mask of his. They both walked until they were about halfway down the beach.

"Listen, Malefor hates our family for a reason. I stopped him from destroying the Dragon Realms during the first war against him and your father stopped him from being resurrected. If you agree to help him, then you will just end up being his slave." the soldier explained with a serious tone.

Jack nodded slowly in understanding and looked down. He noticed his ARX 160 rifle strapped to his back, the FN P90 clipped to his chest, the Ruger pistol holstered to his left side, and his cold steel tomahawk sheathed to his belt.

Jack unclipped his P90 and checked if it was in firing condition.

"So you wanna play at that game, do ya?" Dylan smiled as he took out his M1 Garand rifle.

A bunch of target dummies popped up in the distance and the two men crouched to get a better shot.

"That toy's got nothing on this beauty." his great-grandfather gloated as they took aim.

The other soldiers formed a crowd behind them and to watch them shoot. The two relatives began firing at the dummies. Whenever a dummy was shot, it would disappear in a cloud of colored smoke. Red smoke was for Jack and blue was for Dylan. Because his great-grandfather's rifle only fires one round at a time, Jack switched his submachine gun to single shot to make things fair. Jack remembered having similar tournaments in the Colony, except the winner would receive food or supplies.

The soldiers held bets on who would get the most kills. They both fired for about a minute until all the dummies were shot. They lowered their weapons and looked at the crowd expectedly.

"Privet Dylan's got twelve kills and Jack's got eleven!" an Asian-American medic called out.

"Ooooh! Off by one kill!" Dylan laughed as he rested a hand on his great-grandson's shoulder.

"FUCK! I THOUGHT PEOPLE WHO DRESS IN BLACK WHERE SUPPOSED TO BE LUCK!" one of the soldiers yelled as he gave his bet money to another soldier who flipped him off in return.

Dylan chuckled at his squad mates' shenanigans and looked up at the cloudy sky.

I should probably let you go now. Just don't do anything Malefor tells you." his great-grandfather said.

Jack nodded and the whole area began to glow brightly. Within moments, he felt himself begin to wake up.

Tamhigan woke up in his room, back in his dragon form. He sighed quietly and sat up to look out the window.

The former human wiped some sweat from his forehead and watched as the sun rose in the horizon.

He thought about The Dark Master's offer and what he and his great-grandfather revealed to him. He knew that the dragon's promises were all lies, but Malefor looked like he did really want him to join him at his side. Tamhigan frowned and looked straight ahead.

"I fight… and die… alone." he said quietly, hoping Malefor heard him.

Tamhigan sighed quietly and got up to get ready for school.

Malefor is watching Tamhigan through a dark Pool of Visions. He has been trapped in a crystallized version of the Temple for many years. He can't sleep or eat and the only thing he can do is look into the Pool of Visions.

He frowned at the former human's words directed at him.

'Why can't he just join me? What caused him to be so neutral?" he thought to himself.

He began to focus on Tamhigan and where or how he got the way he is. The Pool began to form a destroyed city that is covered in snow.

"What is this place?" Malefor asked himself as he looked into the Post-Apocalypse Realm.

He spotted a group humans wearing white clothes moving through the deserted street.

'They're dressed like Tamhigan. Is this where he and his family come from?" he asked in his head as he watched the KKK soldiers.

He watched as the soldiers entered one of the destroyed buildings and began looting for food and other goods.

"Scavengers." Malefor said with disgust.

All of a sudden, a bunch of dog sized Spiders jumped out of the vents and started attacking the soldiers. Some of the humans were torn apart of the spot, while others were dragged away into the darkness.

"I wonder if those spiders can be controlled." Malefor thought aloud as he watched the soldiers be picked off one by one.

The fight ended when the last soldier shot himself in the head before the Spiders could get to him. The monstrous arachnids ate the dead humans and dragged the paralyzed ones away. Malefor focused on the humans being dragged and watched them being brought to Spiders twice the size of the others.

"Those must be the females." The Dark Master observed.

The female Spiders crawled over the humans and removed their white gas masks. The Spiders bent down low and started laying eggs down their paralyzed throats. It took a long time to do, but once they were done, the females spinned the humans into cocoons of webbing.

"That'll hurt when the babies hatch." Malefor chuckled at the humans' predicament.

The Dark Master sat down and rubbed his chin in thought.

"There is no place like this in the Dragon Realms. That must mean that this place is in another realm or world, but if that's true, how did Tamhigan and his other family members get here?" he thought aloud.

He sat there thinking about the possibilities, but couldn't think of any. He growled with frustration and stormed to the Pool of Visions again.

"I need to be free to find my answers and to be free, I need someone to sacrifice the life of an innocent dragon." he said as he searched for anyone who would be willing to help him, not caring who at this point.

A lone ape is walking down the streets of Warfang. Ever since the end of the second war against Malefor, the surviving apes have taken refuge in the city. The inhabitants were suspicious at first and some still hold grudges against them, but most have grown to deal with it over time.

The ape walking down the street has light brown fur and yellow eyes. He has a gray book bag slung over his shoulder. This ape is named Nix.

Nix is walking home from his night shift at the library and he couldn't wait to get some sleep.

'I swear if that mole makes me work another whole night again, I'm gonna blow a fuse.' Nix thought to himself as he entered the apartment building in front of them.

He climbed the stairs until he reached the third floor. He walked down the hall and saw the landowner walking in the opposite direction towards him.

"Hello, Nix. How was your shift?" the old wind dragoness asked sweetly.

"Hi, Genus. It was tiring as usual." the ape replied with a tired smile.

Nix liked this dragoness a lot. She is the only non-ape who has shown him any kindness in the city. They've been friends ever since he moved in three years ago.

"You really should try to convince your boss to give you better ours. These night shifts have been getting to you, I can tell." the old woman said with concern for her friend.

"I've tried, but he just won't listen to me. It's not that I don't like working there either, the hours and people are just bad." Nix replied with an upset expression.

Genus placed a paw on his shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry, Nix. Everything will work out in the end. I promise." the wind dragoness said sweetly.

The ape smiled at the dragoness and nodded.

"Thanks, Genus. You always know what to say." Nix thanked as his friend let him go.

"It's no trouble deary. Now go get some sleep." she smiled at the young ape.

"Will do." Nix chuckled as he unlocked his door and opened it.

He said goodbye to the old dragoness and entered his apartment. Nix grabbed an apple from his fruit basket on the kitchen counter and bit it. As he ate he walked into his room and hung his book bag on the coat hanger.

Once he finished eating the apple, he tossed it into the waste basket without much care.

'Bed… now.' he thought to himself as he approached his bed.

Unlike dragon beds, which consist of pillows, his bed resembles the beds humans used during medieval times.

Nix crawled into bed and closed his eyes, He soon felt asleep overtake him.

Nix slowly opened his eyes. He noticed he was on a stone floor and that he was in a dark room.

"How did I get here?" the ape asked worriedly as he slowly stood up and looked around.

"Hello young one." Nix heard a distorted voice in the shadows.

"Who's there!?" he asked, starting to feel fear creep into him.

Malefor walked into the light so the young ape could see him.

"You're… you're…" Nix stammered in fear.

"The Dark Master? Yes." The dark dragon chuckled at the young ape's reaction to his presence.

Nix's father told him about his time in the war. His father would always preach about how Malefor betrayed the apes and how their kind should rule the world. Nix doesn't know too much about Malefor, but he does know that he's a very dangerous dragon.

"Please don't hurt me." Nix whimpered as Malefor stepped closer, invading his personal space.

Malefor leaned forward so that their faces were almost touching. Nix shivered when the dragon's hot breath brushed against his face.

"I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I require your assistance." The Dark Master said with a smile.

"Wha… what?" Nix asked as he shook like a leaf.

"You see, I'm trapped in a convexity crystal in the center of the Earth. In order for me to get out, I require the blood of an innocent dragon. I want you to find someone to sacrifice for me… and bring them to my mountain." the dragon explained.

"Why me?" the ape asked fearfully.

"Because I've chosen you above everyone else to do this task." Malefor said simply.

"But I don't wanna kill anyone…" Nix said, feeling tears come to his eyes as the intimidating dragon stared straight into him.

"I will reward you for your services. I will give you power beyond your imagination and I will give your kind a second chance." Malefor promised.

Nix began to think. He liked the dragon's words, but he still felt unsure. Plus he felt terrified in the dragon's presence.

"Aren't you tired of your people being looked down upon? Just do this simple task for me, and your people will be looked at as heroes." Malefor spoke with his silver tongue.

Nix looked at the ground and nodded.

"Okay… I'll do it." he said weakly.

Malefor's smile widened and he draped a wing over the young ape.

"You won't regret this decision." The Dark Master assured as he held Nix close to himself.

The room began to darken and Nix felt himself start to awaken.