Welcome back! I've finally finished this chapter.

Before continuing, I just want to say that this chapter is... not my best work. I had a really hard time moving through this chapter in particular.

I'll address more at the end. For now, I still hope you enjoy!

POV: Cyclone

Cyclone was having one of the weirdest dreams ever.

For some reason, he was walking through a castle made out of water. Inside the castle were a ton of singing sharks, which annoyed him to death. It was a song about numbers and the alphabet, which he was pretty sure was from his childhood.

Then a loud roaring noise had caused the entire castle to completely collapse. The sharks stopped singing, instead trying to hunt down Cyclone with glowing red eyes. It was one of the scariest things he had ever seen.

But then someone shouted his name. A familiar shout that he had heard many times before. Cyclone thought it was his mind going crazy at first, but the voice kept shouting his name.

"Cyclone! Buddy man, you better wake up!", the voice said.

And just like that, the dreamscape around him faded away. His senses returned to him gradually, his ears being filled with the shouts of many voices.

"What are you doing?! The Seawing needs rest!", Cyclone heard Heliconia shout.

"Sigh. You're right", said a very familiar voice. "But the thing is, I need to get out of here quickly".

That can't be him, right?

Cyclone opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the light in the room. After letting his eyes adjust to the light, he looked to where the shouting was taking place.

He saw two Rainwings standing nearby. One of them was Heliconia, but the other was a mystery. His scales seemed to be mainly yellow-green, although at the moment, the green outnumbered the yellow. Green means fear. What's he scared about?

"HEY LOOK. HE'S AWAKE!", yelled out a third voice. Cyclone felt patting down by his stomach, so he turned his head to look.

No way. It can't be!

Cyclone's face brightened up massively. IT'S HIM!

"HARVEY!", Cyclone yelled out. "It's really you! I thought you were… gone". I can't believe he's here!

"I will never disappear!", Harvey exclaimed, coming up to Cyclone's snout. "After all, I did promise that I would stick by your side". He gave his snout a little hug, which made both of them smile.

After a few moments, Harvey pulled away. "Well Cyclone, I can see you got… some wounds", he winced, noticing his ribs. "I'm sorry for not being able to help out back there".

"I-It's alright", Cyclone replied. "I'm just glad you're here!".

Harvey gave Cyclone a smile. "And I'm surprised I could find you so easily!", he exclaimed. "You can thank Loris for that".

"W-Who?", Cyclone asked, a little confused. In response, Harvey gestured to the Rainwing he didn't know.

"H-Hello, Seawing", the Rainwing said nervously. "I'm Loris, the one who brought this scavenger here. I don't t-think I ever met you".

"That's great", Cyclone said, giving Loris a smile. "Thanks for doing that".

Loris, however, gave Harvey a confused expression. "Wait, I thought you were Aster's pet?", he said.

For a second, Cyclone thought he saw a flash of anger appear on Harvey's face, but it quickly went away. "Nah. We both agreed to fake that. I'm no one's pet", he explained.

"So… she knew you could talk?", Loris asked.

"Yeah. But I was never her pet", Harvey said. "Especially not now", he murmured under his breath.

Cyclone heard that, and he felt he had to ask. "What do you mean, especially not now?", he asked curiously.

Harvey's cheeks became a little red. "U-Uh. That's a long ass story that we unfortunately don't have the time to explain", he replied hesitantly.

"Time? Why's that an issue?", Cyclone asked.

Harvey hesitated before responding. "Because…. I'm still being hunted by Darkstalker", he said.

Before Cyclone could even respond, Heliconia chimed in. "Darkstalker? Why are you being hunted by him?", she asked, suddenly looking a lot more nervous.

"Yeah, you never mentioned him", Loris said, backing up a bit. "Say… Queen Glory said something about a scavenger…".

A panicked look appeared on Harvey's face. "Please! Don't go out! I've literally done nothing!", he pleaded, getting on his knees. "The stuff I had to witness is something no one should ever see. I just want to get home!".

Cyclone felt really bad for Harvey at that moment. All of his actions felt like they were motivated by a desire to return to his home. Which is not on this planet.

"Oh….", Heliconia said, giving Harvey a mournful look. "I… I didn't know".

"Hmm. You don't seem to be a big threat", Loris observed. "But why would Darkstalker be after you?".

Before Harvey could respond, Cyclone started hearing wingbeats. "U-Uh, what's with the wingbeats?", Cyclone nervously asked. The others listened too, as they got louder. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it", Heliconia said, pushing past Loris. She opened the door cautiously. "May I help you?", she asked the visitors.

"We have reports that there is currently a Seawing in your custody", an official sounding voice announced. "Orders are to arrest him for attempted murder".

WHAT?! WHAT DID I DO?

Harvey stared at Cyclone with wide eyes. "That's some bullshit", he whispered, an angry expression appearing on his face.

Heliconia's scales turned more lime green. "A-Attempted m-murder?", she stammered out. "C-Can you explain more?".

"Mangrove and Elegance claim that the Seawing attacked them suddenly, during suntime", the voice replied. "Both Darkstalker and Aster say they saw the crime be committed".

"Oh my fucking god", Harvey whispered out, but barely. "I am so pissed right now. Those two have the audacity to lie about that shit".

Cyclone didn't quite understand what half those words meant, but it sounded like angry words. And he was angry as well. It almost makes me want to punch them in the face.

"A-Are you sure you got the right dragon?', Heliconia asked, stepping outside. "Couldn't it have easily been a blue Rainwing?".

While Heliconia talked to the dragons outside, Loris suddenly approached them. "Hey, uh, is this true", he whispered.

"No!", Cyclone said a little loudly. He shut his mouth, but luckily, the dragons outside didn't seem to notice. "Mangrove was the one who attacked me and Harvey. At night too".

"Hmm. I'm not quite sure I can trust those claims", Loris replied, giving Cyclone and Harvey suspicious looks. Before anyone could protest, he stopped them. "BUT. I also can't really see you being the attacking kind of dragon".

"Gee, thanks", Cyclone sarcastically replied.

"Here's the plan. I'll go out there and claim I saw you elsewhere", Loris said. "You wait here until I lead them away".

Harvey looked surprised, then gave a smile. "Wow. Thanks man", he said. "But what if that doesn't work?".

Loris looked a bit dumbfounded. "I… didn't really think that far ahead", he admitted.

Cyclone looked up and saw a good backup plan. "The window there", he said, pointing up. "We can jump through it".

The window used leaves to allow light in, while blocking out any rain. "I guess that works", Harvey said, taking a look at the window. "But what about your injuries?".

Oh. I forgot about that.

Loris went off and grabbed a weirdly black colored fruit from the fruit pile. "Eat this. It will numb the pain", he said, giving it to Cyclone. "It might also make you hyperactive for a day, before making you crash".

Cyclone gave Loris a skeptical look, but he seemed trustworthy enough. Harvey, on the other talon, looked very concerned. "What the hell do you mean by crash?!", he demanded.

"You know, when your energy levels fall apart", Loris explained. "Like, when you get so tired that all you wanna do is sit out in the sun".

"Oh. Not sure about the sun part, but I get it", Harvey said, nodding. "So we essentially got a day to get out of here".

"Well, assuming he decides to eat it, of course", Loris said.

I'm not quite sure about this.

"I think I'll wait to eat it", Cyclone decided. He'd rather not face an energy crash, as that would probably reduce their chances of escape.

Harvey nodded at that. "Probably the best choice right now. Maybe Loris will be successful", he said. "Good luck, buckaroo".

Loris gave Harvey a weird look, before walking away. "Scavengers are weird", Cyclone heard him mutter.

As he walked towards the door, Harvey walked around Cyclone. "You probably should get into flight position", he said. "I'll hold on, so we can make a quick escape".

"O-Ok", Cyclone replied. He stretched out his talons, then tried opening his wings. A short burst of pain shot through his ribs, but it faded away quickly. I can do this.

Cyclone heard Loris talking outside now. "A S-Seawing? I think I saw him over there", he said casually. "I can take you guys over if needed".

One of the other dragons laughed. "What do you think you're doing Loris?", the dragon said. "I heard you talking to the Seawing!".

That plan fell apart quickly.

"Well shit", Harvey said, also hearing the commotion outside. "Get ready to cause damages that I will not be paying for", he added in a joking tone.

"Then arrest the Seawing!", another voice shouted. "Quickly!".

"GO NOW!", Harvey yelled into Cyclone's ear. In response, Cyclone jumped through the leaf covered window, which was an extremely tight fit. Luckily, it was just big enough to let him through onto the other side.

Apparently, the guards didn't think they were much of a threat, because there were no dragons defending the sides of the hut. It gave Cyclone some time to unfurl his wings, maybe even rest for a second.

"The Seawing is escaping!", a dragon shouted from inside the hut.

Or not.

"The trees!", Harvey whispered loudly.

Cyclone understood and took off running into the nearest patch of trees. Behind him, he heard wingbeats.

"Stop right there!", a dragon shouted from behind. He ignored it, pushing onto the trees. What was the point of being caught if there was no hope of being freed.

Harvey was on top of Cyclone, shouting out directions. Eventually, they entered the trees just as a sleeping dart whizzed by Cyclone's head.

"Yikes! Forgot about that shit", Harvey said with a fearful tone. "Just keep on running if you can. Tell me if it's getting tiring".

Cyclone was already tired, but he wasn't going to stop yet. Not when they were still so close to the guards.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!", the guards yelled out.

More sleeping darts shot by, all missing.

This continued for a few more minutes, until Cyclone was nearly out of energy. Combined with the occasional burst of pain, it seemed like it was over for the two of them.

"H-Harvey. I can't go much f-further", Cyclone said breathlessly. "G-Go without me".

He couldn't see Harvey's face, but Cyclone felt him shaking his head. "No way man. Ain't letting you go through what I had to see", he said. Behind them, they heard the rustling of tree branches.

What did Harvey see?

"Can you fly up there?", Harvey asked, pointing up to a tree.

Cyclone silently nodded. Using the last of his strength, he flew up to a sturdy looking branch and landed on it. If they were lucky, their pursuers wouldn't think to look up.

Knowing our luck lately, though….

The first few dragons shot through the Rainforest floor quickly. Their high speed meant that they didn't even bother looking up. Maybe they would get lucky after all.

"Hold up! I thought I saw something!", one of the dragons that sprinted by shouted.

Of course.

A Rainwing and two Nightwings appeared below them, glancing up into the trees above. Any second now, they would see Cyclone and probably attack.

"Looks normal to me", one of the Nightwings said. "I swear if you let them go-".

"I swore I saw blue scales up there!", the other Nightwing shouted. "I know I did!".

The Rainwing simply yawned. "Let's just follow them back over there", it said. "Probably didn't get enough sleep, Shadowhunter".

Without another word, the Rainwing went in the direction they were moving, with the Nightwings close behind.

What in the world? We were in plain sight!

"Cyclone, I think those dragons must have been blind", Harvey said jokingly.

Cyclone chuckled a little bit. Harvey's jokes weren't very good, but they still somehow forced a laugh out of him.

Before any more comments could be made, more dragons appeared below.

These ones moved more slowly, all of them holding dart shooters. Most of them were Rainwings, although a few Nightwings accompanied them. They were all searching left, right, up, even down for some apparent reason.

Multiple times, the dragons stared right at Cyclone, but never did anything about it. Instead, they continued walking forward, not even stopping once. It didn't make any sense at all.

Finally, the dragons all disappeared.

"Holy shit, I think the entire tribe is blind", Harvey said with genuine shock. "We're so easy to see".

"Y-Yeah", Cyclone agreed. "They stared right at me, but they didn't stop moving".

"That's because I was here to hide you", said a familiar voice. Suddenly, their view of below shifted as blotches of yellow-green appeared mid-air.

"Loris?!", Harvey exclaimed in surprise. "How did you catch up to us?".

Loris gave a smirk. "Have you forgotten who the fastest Rainwing in the Rainforest is?", he said, looking proud of himself. His scales turned dark purple, which Cyclone assumed meant pride.

Good thing he's on our side.

"Although, I still wonder why Darkstalker is after you both…", Loris wondered.

"Can I tell you AFTER we escape?", Harvey said, a little impatiently. "We're still sort of, you know, on the run".

Loris rolled his eyes at this. "Every time I ask, you always make up some excuse", he said, exasperating. "But fine. Where are you guys headed?".

"...That's a fantastic question", Harvey replied, chuckling a bit. "Cyclone, any ideas?".

"U-Uh, well….", Cyclone began. "...What's our options?".

Silence fell upon all of them, as they began to think. A few birds in the trees watched them, occasionally squawking at them.

"Well, we can safely eliminate the Night Kingdom", Harvey spoke up. "Obviously".

"The Ice Kingdom is too cold to travel to", Loris added. "Definitely not there".

"Which leaves… The Sand Kingdom, The Mud Kingdom, The Sky Kingdom and the Kingdom of the S-Sea", Cyclone finished off. More silence for a bit.

A bird squawked nearby and nearly flew into Cyclone's face. It landed on the branch with them, staring right at Loris

"Hmmm. The desert is not ideal, I'd say", Harvey observed. "It's too open and too hot".

"Agreed", Cyclone said, once he had recovered from the interaction with the bird. "The other three could work, however".

"How so?", Harvey asked.

Cyclone tried to memorize what he could about the other kingdoms. "Well, the Sky Kingdom is made mostly of mountains and forests", Cyclone explained, pulling bits out of his memory. "Plenty of hiding spots there".

Harvey gave Cyclone a strange look. "Hiding…. I don't know…", he muttered.

"What do you mean? Do you n-not want to hide?", Cyclone asked. This seemed a little unexpected from a scavenger, although Harvey seemed different than anyone else he met.

"See man, I really wanna just get home", Harvey explained. "But I can't quite do that if a certain DRAGON KEEPS TRYING TO TAKE OVER MY MIND!".

A shocked expression appeared on Loris' face, while Cyclone was only mildly surprised.

"Darkstalker? Are you sure you didn't get anyone mixed up?", Loris genuinely asked, as if Darkstalker would never do such a thing.

Harvey gave Loris a look of amusement. "How can someone mix up Darkstalker?", he asked. "That guy is pretty big".

Loris looked a little embarrassed. "W-Well…. It's just…. Darkstalker doesn't seem like the dragon to do such a thing", he said.

Before Harvey could yell back, Cyclone stood in front of them. "Look, Harvey. Didn't we figure that he has a spell that makes everyone trust him?", he asked, knowing that they both knew the answer.

"...That's right", Harvey replied, biting back any words he may have said. "Sorry Loris. It's sort of a complicated issue".

Loris shrugged. "I guess I won't quite find out what happened", he said. The two stayed silent for a bit, allowing Cyclone to get back on topic.

"So, Harvey, you want to take the fight to Darkstalker?", Cyclone asked, a little confused on Harvey's viewpoint still.

"I don't want to. But we have to, because I'm not getting home otherwise. Right now, we're not in any condition to get him, however", Harvey replied. He sighed and sat down.

"But I also know you really want to see your friends and family again, Cyclone".

Before Cyclone could protest, Harvey held up a.. Paw? What did the scrolls call it… I think it might be hand? "I know you're going to say it's not safe to go there", he said. "But the thing is, we also need some more allies".

"Wouldn't the Mud Kingdom be better for that?", Cyclone asked. "They're the only place that h-hasn't completely accepted Darkstalker's rule".

This actually made Harvey think for a bit. Next to him, Loris looked bored and began staring at some of the birds hidden in the trees.

"I-If that's true, you might be right", Harvey finally responded. "But the truth is…. I just want to see you be happy".

"W-What?", Cyclone stammered out. The birds somehow looked shocked at this, although he was pretty sure they just had that kind of natural expression on.

"That sounds stupid, doesn't it", Harvey said with a chuckle. "I'd just like you to see your family again. They must be great".

Er, not exactly. But.. I do miss them.

"Also, since you already know them, we could possibly get some more allies", he added. "Would probably be easier than going to a stranger dragon".

That's true.

"Y-Your right. I do m-miss them", Cyclone said, his expression becoming mournful. In response, Harvey walked up to his leg and gave it a pat.

Meanwhile, Loris just simply stared at them. "Well? Are we leaving or not?", he asked impatiently.

Since when were Rainwings impatient? They seemed like the most patient dragons ever.

"Hold on", Harvey said, pulling away from Cyclone's leg. He stared straight up, squinting his eyes. "Does this place have clocks?".

A Clock? "What's that?", Cyclone asked curiously.

"I guess not", Harvey sighed. "It's a device used to tell what time it is. Do you guys know if the sun is setting or rising?".

Loris piped up. "It's past noon! I'm supposed to be doing Sun Time right now!", he exclaimed.

Harvey looked at Loris with confusion. "I-I thought this place didn't have clocks? Ah, whatever", he said, shrugging. "The sun sets in the West, right?".

"Right", Cyclone said.

"In that case…..", Harvey muttered. "Knowing the time right now, west is that way!". He pointed off into the trees.

Loris blinked, as if Harvey just spoke gibberish. Besides him, the birds continued to look shocked.

"So… we're off to the Sea Kingdom?", asked Cyclone.

Harvey gave Cyclone a smile. "Yeah, we're going".

So, there ya go.

I'm not really proud of the escape scene. It was hard to write, and logically, it doesn't really make too much sense. Later on, I might do a rewrite of this chapter.

Again, I'm not really following a schedule for releasing chapters. I just release them as I go.

I'll see you next time!