Jonathan was crouched in his cage, just as he'd been for what felt like ages. The air was stale, and the place was barely lit up by the surrounding torches. He squinted his eyes as he gazed down at the empty plate. The prince had barely had enough room to move his jaws to eat the plain bread the guards had brought him… all thanks to the cold iron muzzle. It was flavorless… but it was the only thing they'd let him eat.
When he was finally done eating, two of the guards stepped up and held out their talons; the usual threat to attack if the prince made any sudden moves. Jonathan simply froze and looked down at his paws, while the third guard reached inside to retrieve the empty plate. And soon, Jonathan was left with nothing in his cage, but the sounds of his rumbling belly that begged for better food.
Jonathan shut his eyes, and thought back to the last time he'd had a meal worth remembering; the grand fete his parents threw to celebrate his eighteenth hatchday.
Jonathan swelled with pride as he thought back to that grand day; the fortress in Aeroshard was filled with laughter and excitement. Saul and Olivia organized a long table lined with the best foods they could get access to; beef, pork, chicken, over a dozen varieties of fruits. And all of it was prepared by the finest chefs that his parents' money could buy. They'd even allowed all of Jonathan's friends to come into the fortress to be there to help celebrate Jonathan officially becoming an adult.
Jonathan remembered looking himself in the mirror before the fete; he'd been dressed up in his best cloak, had his mane properly brushed, and even had makeup applied to cover his facial scars.
"You look so handsome, Johnny!" His mother Olivia beamed when she saw him descending the stairs. "So prim and proper!"
But she wasn't nearly as proud as Saul was.
Jonathan could still hardly believe it when his father actually smiled and pulled him in for a hug. After all the time Saul had spent snarling and sneering after being deposed from his throne… he was actually HAPPY for once! And he spent the entire day with the family, singing and laughing and celebrating.
"You're finally a drake now, my boy." Saul declared as he hugged his son again. "I just know you'll make me proud. And one day soon, we'll all finally return home!"
"…Home…" Jonathan repeated quietly. The prince opened his eyes, and looked around, again, at the miserable interior of the dungeon.
Here he was… at home. He hadn't seen either of his parents or even his friends, in weeks. He didn't even know where any of them were. And that fiancée of his? She may as well have vanished into the aether. Jonathan was torn away, all because he failed to capture that bastard black prince.
And now, here Jonathan was, locked away for the crime of TREASON. Locked in chains, with aching limbs… forced to sustain himself on plain bread and lukewarm water.
How had everything gone so wrong? Why was he stuck in the dark? Would Tyrrany and the others ever come to help him? What… What would his father think, to see his son imprisoned like this? He was supposed to make Saul proud by capturing the sons of the enemy… but now, Jonathan was little more than a captive. They could even use him as a bargaining chip to force Saul to surrender… Jonathan had screwed everything up!
And all the while, that other BASTARD prince was enjoying the life of luxury far up above; receiving love and adoration from everyone who should have been showing it on Jonathan.
Jonathan could just picture them all now: Elder Telus, Elder Attonita, Captain Jules, Mimet, Emerald… all of them were crowded around Prince Rune. The black prince was seated on his haunches and smirking as all of them talked endlessly about how great and awesome he was.
"Oh, how amazing it is that Rune could survive such terrible hardships!"
"And he's covered in so many scars! Reminders of the great battles he had to endure!"
"We couldn't expect anything less from a descendant of the great Spyro and Cynder!"
Rune beamed with pride, with his wings extended and his muzzle pointed. He nonchalantly waved off the praise; oh, he was just so HUMBLE, wasn't he? Jonathan dug his talons into the floor and snarled; he rattled his chains as he charged forward, ready to make Rune swallow every last one of his smug little teeth…
"SHUT IT!" One of the guards shouted; he smacked the cage for good measure.
Jonathan was stunned into opening his eyes again, and he froze in place and shivered as the other guards threatened to assault him with magic again.
"Pain in the ass little shit…" The first guard said as he backed up. "How did we get stuck babysitting a rag-stain like YOU?"
Jonathan flinched, and then bent his head low again. His limbs shook in anger; he would have given anything to scream at them or try escape… but what was the point? They'd just lash out with everything they had; it's what they wanted. Everyone, the Guardians, the soldiers… even the elders… were just waiting for Jonathan to try something to give them the excuse to… to…
Jonathan couldn't even put it to words, even in his mind. He squinted his eyes shut and shook in place… while his sobs filled the air.
"Ugh, what a hatchling…" A guard said in derision, before kicking the side of the cage. "You shouldn't have committed treason if you were too much of a coward to face life in prison!"
That only made Jonathan cry more, to the utter disgust of the guards. They just continued mocking and insulting the prince, as he shut his eyes and tried to keep his tears to himself…
But as Jonathan tried to pass the time, he eventually heard someone running down the hallway from the left side. He tilted his head up to see another guard frantically running up toward the other three.
"What's with you?" One of them asked.
"You have to…" The new guard panted. "Hurry upstairs! Every… guard is needed!"
"What about the prisoner?" Another guard asked as he gestured toward Jonathan.
"Forget him for a… moment!" The newcomer continued to pant. "It's an… emergency!"
The trio exchanged uneasy glances, before turning to double and triple-check the locks on Jonathan's cage. After making sure it was fully secure, they turned to follow the new guard out of the dungeon. Jonathan lifted his head up and watched them vanish around a corner and make for the stairs.
Johnny couldn't believe what he was seeing. The guards just… ditched him? What was that about an emergency? Did something happen upstairs?
But if the prince was left all alone… then perhaps that was finally his chance to spring free! There was no telling how much time he had before those goons came back; if he was going to bust himself out, it had to be now. But how?
That was when something spoke to Jonathan from within his own mind. Something he'd almost forgotten about after all this time: the convexity.
It was a strange day when that Dona dragoness showed up with the crystal; supposedly it was sent to him from Bergan. And ever since he ate that crystal, Jonathan felt strands of its power gnawing away at his mind. In the beginning, it was very quiet; hardly even a whisper. For a while, Jonathan even felt like it was all some sort of joke, and that the crystal did nothing. And yet…
Use me, it seemed to whisper. Let me fill you with power. Set yourself free, and take to the skies!
Jonathan wasn't sure if this was the best idea… but he definitely didn't want to just sit around and wait for those guards to start abusing him again. So, Jonathan growled as he reached deep inside himself to call upon the power. His blood began to heat up, and his limbs twitched. The magic-suppressing muzzle and the chains on his neck were fighting to keep his earth magi in check for weeks… but the convexity could slip through their cracks.
"Come on…" Jonathan whispered with a growl. "Work… Work…
Snap.
The metal on the back of the collar broke, and the chains on Jonathan's ankles were splintering! He pulled on his legs, fighting with all of his might to push it all the way, until…
CRACK!
The chains broke in half, and soon Jonathan's forelegs were spread out on either side of himself! His heart beat rapidly, as convexity flowed from limb to limb! And he wasted no time grasping the muzzle on his head to unlock it. And when he didn't get anywhere fast enough doing that, he simply amplified his earth magic to bolster his strength.
Within seconds, he'd done it! Chunks of metal fell off his body on all sides as his talons got to work. Before long, Jonathan's body was finally unbound once more!
"Yes!" Jonathan declared happily.
The prince wasted no time smashing his way through the bars around the lock on the cage. Once it was knocked to the floor, Jonathan kicked the door open and rushed out to freedom. He happily spun about on the floor as his wings spread wide. Oh, finally, he was able to stand fully upright again! He spread his talons out on the cold floor and flapped his wings with gusto. Ohh, yes! It felt so good!
…At least until the aches and pains in his limbs made themselves known. Jonathan winced as he took a standing position and panted; he'd need to do a lot of exercises to get himself back into top form. Still, at least he wasn't stuck in a cage anymore.
But as Jonathan congratulated himself for his escape, there came a rattling noise from up above. He came to a stop and held a forepaw to an ear frill to get a listen…
There were signs of a struggle. Many muffled shouts sprang out all over the place. A chill ran up Jonathan's spine; something was very, very wrong. But whatever it was, he'd never get to the bottom of things if he just hung around in the cellblock. He certainly didn't want to get tossed into an even WORSE prison.
I need to get out of here… Jonathan thought as he took steps down the opposite corridor. Better make an escape out into the city… I can figure shit out from there
With that, the prince made his daring escape out of the dungeons. He took several breaths and did his best to steel himself.
I can't let myself screw up again… I have to make Dad proud!
~~…~~
Rune couldn't believe his eyes, even as the hulking beast of a dragon loomed before him. Cyrus? He'd been mutated into an overly-muscular… THING? How had this happened?! Was this what Tina and the others were trying to warn him about? What…?
Focus, you moron!
Rune was snapped out of his thoughts as the ground shook beneath his feet. The large black drake… his brother… was stomping around and putting on a terrifying show.
"Wh-What's going on?!" Roxanne shouted.
"It's… Cyrus!" Rune yelled.
"That's right! It's ME!" Cyrus bellowed. He stomped around once more, sending tremors of earth magic pulsing through the floor. A satchel dangled around his neck, out of which Rune could faintly see a purple shimmer. Cyrus's eyes glowed with a haunting aura, and he flashed a toothy grin. "I'm NEW and IMPROVED!"
"Cyrus…" Rune stammered as he tried to stand up straight. "Wh-What happened to you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Cyrus chided. "I've finally achieved my full potential! I'm finally the great, powerful BEAST I've always known I am!"
He reared up and beat his chest with a forepaw, whilst beating his fat wings and swinging his tail wildly. Cyrus then howled in delight, before slamming his paws down and shaking the floor. The dragonesses behind Rune struggled to stay standing, while Rune winced. He still couldn't fully process what he was seeing; it was like something out of a nightmare.
"Cyrus…" Rune's eyes twitched as he looked his brother up and down.
"What's wrong? Did someone snatch your tongue away?" Cyrus snorted. "Seems like you're having trouble processing that I'M the big brother now!"
"You…" Rune looked behind Cyrus at the crowd of crepsculi that still loomed on the other side of the arena. He locked eyes with the larger drake and gnashed his fangs. "You brought Crepsculi to Glenhaven?!"
"Hmm, did I?" Cyrus asked mockingly. "I suppose they've caused some real trouble, hmm? Don't worry; I'll clean up…"
The great black dragon immediately twirled about, rocking the floor once more. He stamped his paws down and growled as he called upon his magic. Purple sparks of lightning rippled across Cyrus's scales, filling the air with the scent of brimstone. Rune winced and covered his muzzle as Cyrus gave another powerful roar. The arena was engulfed in purple light as a great, hot beam of convexity erupted from Cyrus's maw. The energy burned through the air in the blink of an eye and tore its way right through the row of crepsculi. The air was filled with shrieks and hisses as the beasts were dissolved into nothingness. When Cyrus was done, the purple light vanished, and there was nothing left of the monsters but black dust that quickly faded away.
"There…" Cyrus said with a confident chuckle. He stomped his way back around and grinned toothily down at Rune. "I'll bet you've never managed to do THAT in your combat training!"
Rune's jaw was held agape; how could he find the words to react to such a frightening show of force? He fidgeted in place and struggled to find his voice.
Say something, stupid! Runefor hissed. Rune couldn't even snap back at his other self; there simply weren't words.
"Though I must say, I didn't realize I was crashing a party…" Cyrus snorted as he looked around at the arena. "Seems like everyone was watching some sort of show…" His eyes drifted toward the dragonesses behind Rune. "Oh, look, it's your Glenhaven buddies: Nellie, Roxanne, and…"
Tyrrany winced as Cyrus locked eyes with her. Rune looked back to see the disguised dragoness creeping back a bit, much to the confusion of Nellie and Roxanne. A growl filled the air, and Rune looked back to see his brother's gaze narrowing into seething anger, while purple smoke rose from his nostrils.
"YOU."
Tyrrany tensed up, and she took a step back from the hulking drake. "I…"
"You two know each other?" Nellie asked Tyrrany.
"K-Kind of…" She stammered.
"What do you mean kind of?" Roxanne demanded.
Rune felt his stomach churn. The look that Cyrus gave… it brought to light the sparse memories of what Rune was told about the confrontation he'd had with their sister weeks prior. And Cyrus seemed to remember it all too well.
"You and I have a SCORE to settle." Cyrus hissed as he stomped forward.
Tyrrany's eyes immediately glanced around for some means of escape through the torrent of dark flames. Rune took this moment to hurriedly step between her and Cyrus.
"Cyrus, now's not the time to start anything," Rune said cautiously. "Whatever happened between you and Hope, you need to think things through before-"
"SHUT UP!" Cyrus swiped a forepaw at Rune, talons extended. Rune yelped and struggled to dodge out of the way; the very tip of his mane was sliced, but otherwise, he was fine. Rune's heart beat like a drum as he watched the purple lightning dancing across Cyrus's scales again.
Meanwhile, Tyrrany took harsh breaths as she struggled to think of what to do. She glanced at Nellie and Roxanne, who still continued to try, and fail, to regain enough stamina to pick themselves up. Cyrus made to charge after her, but Rune quickly ran to block his path.
"Get out of the way, Rune!" Cyrus hissed.
"You can't fight her!" Rune yelled. "I won't let you!"
"What?!" Cyrus's glare worsened. "Did you just completely forget how this BITCH and her cronies put me in the medical wing?! Why would you side with HER?!"
"Because Mom doesn't want us to fight Hope!" Rune yelled.
"Hope?" Nellie and Roxanne asked in unison.
Tyrrany didn't even want to waste time saying it wasn't her name; she was almost too distracted by the fact that Rune was standing his ground to defend her. There were too many puzzling things going on, and she needed to find some means of salvaging her attempt to win Rune over. If only she could-
"Annie!"
Tyrrany's ear frills were perked; the voice came from the north side of the arena. And she wasn't the only one; the others in the arena heard it plain as day.
"Oh, GREAT…" Cyrus growled. "It's one of her cronies NOW!"
He swung a foreleg to try and swat Rune out of the way, only to be met with resistance. Rune growled back and charged his body with a burst of earth magic to heighten his endurance. Rune then fought to push Cyrus's foreleg back, which made the larger black dragon quite furious.
Tyrrany took this as an opportunity to sprint over to the side of the arena to reach the northernmost part of the wall of flames. Along the way, she spotted a curious little hole being made in the wall of fire. The hole was spread out more and more until she could just barely manage to see Flame's face beyond. Tyrrany gasped in surprise, but not nearly as much as well Arthur suddenly flew through the hole.
"Hot-hot-hot!" The dragonfly cried as a trail of smoke was left by his wings. He panted as he hefted Tyrrany's bow in his little arms.
At first, Tyrrany wanted to ask how Flame and Arthur got to the gate, why they brought along her instrument, or even why they didn't flee to safety. But the looming presence of Cyrus behind her snatched those thoughts away. She needed to get Nellie and Roxanne back into top form quickly. Arthur swiftly flew up to Tyrrany and tossed her the bow, which she quickly caught in her forepaws. As that happened, Flame made the hole in the flames even bigger. Arthur flew back through the hole as fast as he could and came back through with the neck of Tyrrany's violin. Flame used a forepaw to carefully push the other end of the instrument through his hole before he concentrated on spreading the fiery wall apart. The dragoness cursed herself for parting with it; if only she'd known about the abrupt intrusion of a mutated black dragon.
If only Dad could have warned me, she sneered.
But as Tyrrany turned around to prepare to play, the face of Cyrus came charging toward her. She yipped and ducked as the great black dragon snapped at the air where her head was, and she sprinted to flee from him. Cyrus raised his head to try again, only to feel icy water splash against his face.
"GRAAH!" Cyrus growled in frustration. He looked over to see Rune standing his ground again, creating watery orbs about his head and infusing them with ice magic.
"I told you to STOP, Cyrus!" Rune yelled.
"Oh, and are you going to make me via a snowball fight?!" Cyrus snapped. He spread out his limbs and surrounded himself with more purple lightning. "You'll need to try a lot harder than THAT!"
~~…~~
While the two black dragons clashed, Tyrrany sprinted over to the still-exhausted Nellie and Roxanne. They spotted the violin in her paws and looked at her incredulously.
"What's that supposed to do to help?!" Roxanne demanded.
Tyrrany quickly got into her stance and brought the bow to her strings. "You'll see…"
The dragoness wasted no time playing the same melody she created to channel forth her latent magic. In moments, her body was surrounded with a purple aura, which spread to her bow with gusto. She pointed her bow at Nellie, and then at Roxanne. The next thing either of them knew, their bodies were being supercharged with incredible amounts of energy. Both girls were soon on their feet, hopping back and forth as they tried to acclimate to their new stamina.
"Wh-Wh-What did you d-d-do?!" Nellie asked incredulously.
"Answers come later!" Tyrrany snapped. She played more of her music as she tried to awkwardly hobble her way over toward the northern gate. "Use your magic to try and douse those flames!"
"Wh-What?!" Nellie yelled.
"We need to make a big enough hole to get through!" Tyrrany continued. She pointed with a talon over at the gate, where Arthur was awkwardly floating around by the hole as Flame worked to tear open the wall of fire. Nellie nodded in slight understanding, but her body jittered as she stood up on all fours. She trotted forward to try and help, while Roxanne was rather awkwardly standing up to rush over as well. Tyrrany winced at this, and she worked hard on playing her music to power the two girls up enough.
Nellie and Roxanne felt their bodies jittering as they parted their jaws to unleash their magic. Mighty bursts of water and lightning flew through the air and struck against the flames. Steam quickly rose up, obscuring part of their view, but they kept on pushing. Tyrrany held her breath to keep from choking on the fumes, while the two continued fighting with all their might to break free…
But then, something clashed against the opposite side of the fiery wall. More smoke filled the air, and the sound of crackling lightning, distinct from Roxanne's, could be heard. And as Flame worked to part the fire before himself, he suddenly worked at it much faster… until a feminine face could be seen on the other side beside him!
Tyrrany's eyes widened in surprise as the fiery walls were dissipated faster and faster until a bit hole was completely torn through. It was then that she could see several other dragons standing around Flame, all working together to help Nellie and Roxanne tear it open…
Tina was blasting the inferno with her dark-tinged lightning, while Sandra was helping Flame part the fire. When a hole was big enough, the face of Chalice stepped into view.
"Come on, jump on through!" They motioned with a forepaw toward Nellie and Roxanne. Nellie kept her watery blasts going, but Roxanne shivered as she stepped up close and ended her own magic.
"I… I don't think I can…" She said with a shaking body; she clattered her fangs and hopped in place. She then glanced behind herself at the distant Cyrus, who roared and smashed the ground trying to get at Rune. Roxanne shivered even more as she turned to look at Chalice. "I… I'm stuck between an inferno and a hard place! I'm too scared to move!"
Chalice balked and then glowered. "Oh no, you're not!"
The grey dragon parted their jaws and unleashed a dark-red burst of magic toward Roxanne. She yelped in surprise as it struck her head… and then she beat her wings and shook her head, before looking at the flames with a confident grin.
"On second thought, I've got this!" She declared proudly. Chalice then stepped out of the way as Roxanne ran forward and leaped right on through the flames. Nellie and Tyrrany watched in confusion as they stepped closer.
"Fear magic can be pretty handy sometimes." Chalice said with a grin. "Like putting a stop to other's fears, for instance."
"Yes, yes, very nice…" Roxanne said as she moved up to motioned with a forepaw toward Nellie. "You next! Hurry!"
Nellie wasted no time; she didn't even look back as she rushed forward, ended her watery beam, and leaped right through the hole. Once on the other side, Nellie turned to glare back through at Tyrrany, who shivered as she put an end to her music. Roxanne and Tina were quick to join in the glare, though Chalice held a dubious expression.
"Should we… help her?" Roxanne asked bitterly.
"We can't just leave her behind." Chalice said matter-of-factly.
"Definitely NOT!" Flame stamped his paws. "Come on, Annie! Jump through!"
Tyrrany took a single step forward… and then stopped herself. She cautiously turned back around and watched as Rune dodged out of the way of one of Cyrus's paws.
Tyrrany didn't know how Cyrus had gotten this way, and Rune was definitely not going to forgive her for anything she'd done up to this point… but she just couldn't turn back. She couldn't leave her brothers behind. Whatever happened next, Tyrrany had to see this through.
"I'm staying behind." She said through the hole.
"What?!" Flame and Arthur screamed in unison.
"I have to help my brothers," Tyrrany said confidently. "Now go… get out of here, before the crepsculi come back!"
Nellie and Roxanne didn't need to be told twice; they were already making a run for it. Tina was next to go after them, while Sandra gave everyone dubious glances as she rushed to keep up. Flame and Arthur, however, just stood in place, watching the cloaked dragoness with dumbfounded eyes. Chalice simply groaned and grabbed both of them with their forepaws.
"Standing around gawking isn't going to fix things…" They snapped. "Now come on; we're all still in danger."
"B-But…" Flame stammered. His eyes teared up, and he sucked in a harsh breath. "F-Fine… Just… Just be safe, Annie. Please…"
Tyrrany watched with sad eyes as Flame and Arthur followed the other teenagers down the hallway… and the wall of flames engulfed the hole, leaving her trapped. She took a careful breath (without taking in any smoke), and she clutched her violin to her chest as she turned around, and walked toward the two black dragons…
~~…~~
Rune fought back a shiver as he gazed up at Cyrus, who loomed angrily overhead. Rune still couldn't believe his eyes. The way Cyrus's muscles rippled with dark energy, the frightening aura about his body... even the shade of his scales was unsettling now. The only things recognizable about Rune's brother were his glowing red birthmarks.
"You're the fucking WORST, Rune!" Cyrus hissed.
Rune couldn't leave it like this; he certainly couldn't let his brother chase after their sister. No… he had to try something.
"Cyrus, listen to me!" Rune pleaded as he stood up taller. "You've got to try and fight this!"
"Fight WHAT?!" Cyrus asked as he stamped his paws again. "Becoming this powerful was the best decision I've made in my entire life!"
"You can't let yourself be corrupted by Convexity," Rune said.
"Corrupted?" Cyrus scoffed. "This energy has LIBERATED me. It's made me a POWERHOUSE!"
He fanned out his wings and beat them proudly, sending gusts of wind blowing against the inside wall of the dark flames. Rune shielded himself with a wing and gnashed his fangs as he fought to stay in place.
"Cyrus, I know you're feeling big and strong now… but you'll regret it. Trust me." Rune stepped just a bit closer.
"Oh, shut up!" Cyrus snapped. "I finally feel GOOD about myself, damnit! I finally feel like a real and proper black dragon!" He swung his tail about and flexed his rippling muscles. "Nobody's ever going to call me a girl ever again!"
"I never called you a girl," Rune said flatly. "And neither did Tina, or Chalice… or anyone in our family!"
"But everyone ELSE did." Cyrus blew more smoke from his nostrils. "Nothing I ever did… no amount of exercising, or eating right, or doing through all of that damn training ever did ANYTHING to get other students to see me as anything other than a girly little STRUMPET!"
He slammed his forepaws on the ground and tried to knock Rune down, but the smaller black dragon fought to remain standing. Rune grimaced, but he shook his head and stepped closer.
"Cyrus, I'm sorry that you've never been happy with the way you look," Rune said nervously. "Of course I want you to be happy and living your best life. But doing THIS? It's a dangerous path!"
"As if you would know what real power is like?" Cyrus yelled.
"I know EXACTLY what having that much power in you is like!" Rune exclaimed, with a few tears in his eyes. "It burns you up inside! It tears away all other emotions, and just replaces them with rage! And if you have too much… there's almost no way of going back to normal!" Rune beat his own chest and pointed to a few of his scars. "Don't you remember what happened to ME?!"
Cyrus came to a stop and blinked as he looked down at the scars on Rune's chest. A rumble left his throat as he processed his thoughts. The great black dragon shook his head, and then dug his talons into the floor.
"Of COURSE I remember." Cyrus eventually said with a sneer. "You were possessed. Malefor took your body and mutated you into a great, building-destroying abomination. Everyone back home thought there was a big chance that you were... Beyond saving."
Rune's winced and fought back some more tears. Rather than dwell on the more unpleasant thoughts, he sucked in a breath and stepped forward.
"Right… but you didn't give up on me." Rune carefully reached out with a forepaw. "Just like I won't give up on-"
"I'm NOT possessed, Rune!" Cyrus snapped as he swatted Rune's forepaw away. "It's just ME in here! And I'm thinking as clearly as any other day!"
Rune's smile weakened, and he sucked in another breath. "But you've still been mutated by Convexity. It'd going to tear you apart from the inside out if you don't release it."
"No way!" Cyrus growled. "I'm going to stay like this for the rest of my life! I don't want to go back to being a girly WEAKLING!"
Rune growled a bit. "Then… Think about what everyone ELSE is going to do about this!"
"What?" Cyrus scowled.
"You're big, you're terrifying, and you've dropped into Glenhaven Palace unannounced, with a bunch of crepsculi hot on your heels!" Rune gestured all around. "What's worse, you've scared the students half to DEATH with a great ring of FIRE!" He stomped his forepaw and glared. "Do you think the Guardians are going to stand for this?! It's only a matter of time before you're in deep, deep trouble for causing such a scene!"
Cyrus flinched back, and then he growled a bit more. Clearly, he didn't like hearing that… but Rune couldn't help but share the truth.
"Rune!" Called the voice of Tyrrany.
Rune's eyes widened; in all of the commotion, he didn't notice that the cloaked dragoness was still in the arena. He glanced across the way and saw her walking around the perimeter, trying to dodge the flames.
"What are you still doing here?!" Rune shouted incredulously. "Why didn't you leave with the others?!"
"I didn't want to leave you behind!" Tyrrany exclaimed, before casting her glance up at Cyrus. "EITHER of you."
"What?!" Cyrus snapped. He slammed the ground and beat his wings. "You think you're ready for a rematch against all of THIS?!"
"I… I don't want to fight you!" Tyrrany shook her head. "Not anymore!"
Cyrus's eyes widened… and then he scowled. "You certainly looked ready for a fight when you tried to KIDNAP ME!"
The dragoness winced, but she forced herself to stand up tall. "I did that because… because…" She gulped as she looked Cyrus in the eyes. "Because I wasn't thinking!"
"Well, that's true, at least…" Rune spat. Tyrrany shot him a glare, but then returned her focus on Cyrus. She fought the urge to bring her bow to her violin to play music.
"Cyrus… I'm not the one who wanted to go after you." She said. "It was what King Saul wanted me and Jonathan to do."
Rune gasped, while Cyrus growled. He stomped around on the floor again as he drew closer to Tyrrany.
"Oh, of COURSE." Cyrus snapped. "I know full well that the fumbling, bumbling NITWIT was after us." He lowered his head down to scowl at Tyrrany. "But you left out the part where Saul was after plotting to go after our MOM."
Tyrrany's eyes widened, and the corrupted drake gave a grin.
"What, did you think I didn't know about that part? Well, I DO!" He beat the ground again. "I know all about it, you're your daddy, Bergan, TOLD ME!"
Tyrrany shivered, and she moved a forepaw over her muzzle. "I…"
"I know full well that you have some grudge against our mom!" Cyrus slammed the floor. "It was one of your goals from the start to go after her! So don't act like you were some pawn playing Saul's game! You're nothing more than a lying, scheming, BITCH!"
Cyrus made to lunge for Tyrrany, who instinctively froze time. But while she tried to make a dash around his legs, Cyrus suddenly called upon his own time magic. He growled as he reached out for Tyrrany, grabbing her torso and hefting her up into the air. He squeezed her body, making her cry out and lose concentration on her magic. She also reached up to claw at Cyrus's paw, dropping her violin and bow in the process…
…which Rune caught with a quick jump. He carefully held them together and panted heavily.
Why did you bother going after those? Runefor asked in his head.
I don't know… he thought as he turned around. Maybe they're important to her.
Hmph. Indeed…
"Cyrus, STOP!" Rune screamed up at the corrupted dragon. "Stop hurting her!"
Cyrus stopped squeezing and slowly turned around to glare down at Rune. He raised an eye ridge and moved Tyrrany to hold her up above their brother.
"Do you SERIOUSLY care about her? HER?" Cyrus asked angrily. "The back-stabbing cunt that plotted with Saul to go after our Mom?"
"J-Just stop it!" Rune shouted. "Please, Cyrus… Mom wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want you hurting her. Even after everything, she's done…" Rune took a step closer. "Hope is still our sister!"
Tyrrany was stunned; it just… it just didn't make any sense. The way Rune defended her, called her their sister… and again, by that strange name. Her heart ached; why was Rune so insistent? Why was he so… brotherly?
"You know what?" Cyrus said with a deathly glare. "If you're so keen on defending her… and so worried about this precious arena…" He stomped forward and suddenly grabbed Rune by the foreleg. "Then let's take this OUTSIDE!"
"Wh-What are you doing?!" Rune cried.
The black dragon snapped his talons, and a great pool of shadows swarmed from his paws. The next thing Rune knew, he, Cyrus, and Tyrrany were all engulfed in darkness and whisked away…
~~…~~
Blankridge sliced his talons through the throat of one of the crepsculi. Emerald was a short distance away, using several earth blasts to knock a few more into the roaring embrace of the flaming wall. She happened to miss one of the crepsculi, which tried to flank her and strike at her wings. However, an earth bomb smashed into it from out of view; Marble had come running to her defense.
"Thanks…" Emerald smiled at her.
"Any time." Marble nodded.
Across the way, Keith and Mary were doing their best to hold their own against the crepsculi. Keith sent arcs of lightning dashing through the air, while Mary used her own bursts of flame to try and scare them off. And between them, Ember was struggling to maintain her composure. She sent out a few fireballs here and there, but it wasn't doing much to keep the monsters at bay.
And across from Blankridge's gang, Seraph was standing tall before another little horde of the beasts. They clicked their tongues and gnashed their fangs, but the watery dragoness just gave her own deathly snarl. She opened her jaws and unleashed a powerful torrent, striking the monsters and sending them splashing against the wall of flames. As the monsters were burned away, clouds of steam rose toward the roof, briefly obscuring the dragoness's vision as she fought her way toward her son and his friends.
"They just keep coming!" Emerald shouted. "We should just run while we're still able!"
"Right…" Seraph grimaced. "Everyone, I need you all to stand together, so we can make our way out of here in an orderly fashion."
"And take the coward's approach?" Blankridge balked. He dodged under the attack of the tail of a scorpion-like crepsculi. He set it ablaze, knocked it back, and then whirled around to face his mother once more. "We can't just let these creeps take the arena!"
"It's not cowardice!" Seraph snapped. "And this isn't the time for worrying about bravado! What's important is getting the lot of you to safety!"
"But what about Nellie and Roxanne?!" Blankridge shouted. "We can't just forget about them!"
Seraph flinched; in all the excitement, she'd temporarily forgotten about the two teenagers trapped down in the arena. Her mind raced with panic; she had to save her daughter… but did she have the means?
Seraph turned to face the raging flames and sucked in the deepest breath she could. Spreading out her limbs, Seraph focused her glare and called within herself for her magic.
"Mom…?" Blankridge asked cautiously.
Seraph's jaws spilled open, and a great geyser burst forth. It struck the flaming wall, filling the air with even more steam than there was before. She pushed against it as hard as she could… only to run out of steam and collapse.
"Mom!" Blankridge shouted as he ran toward her. The orange drake helped his mother onto her feet, where she panted and winced.
"I'm alright…" She muttered as she stood up tall. "But… I don't think I have the power to tear through these flames by myself."
"We need help, then!" Blankridge insisted. "We need to get the Guardians!"
"They… They should be gathered in the council chamber…" Seraph said with a flap of her wings. "Come on… let's-"
"Guys, look!" Ember cried. Everyone stopped to see where she was pointing.
Across the way were Vaun and Aaron, surrounded by more of the monsters. They fought frantically to force the beasts back with their magic, but it was quite the struggle. A few of the bests managed to knock Aaron to the floor, as one of them sank their fangs into his foreleg.
"YOWCH!" Aaron cried. "Get them off me!"
"I'm trying!" Vaun yelled as he rammed into the creature with his horns.
"Oh, jeez…" Blankridge grimaced. Without another word, he charged forward to lend some help. Keith and Mary merely exchanged curious glances, before rushing forward to lend their own assistance. Meanwhile, Ember, Emerald, and Marble stood at the back to make sure Seraph was doing alright.
"Shouldn't we help?" Ember asked.
"We can't just leave Miss Seraph behind." Marble frowned.
"Right…" Emerald sighed as she watched the battle up ahead. "Besides… the three of them are plenty capable."
Blankridge, Keith, and Mary unleashed bursts of fire and lightning upon the monsters, tearing apart the ones that were upon Aaron's back. The earth dragon winced as he picked himself up onto all fours, only to flinch as he stood on his injured leg.
"I'll help you out, buddy!" Vaun said worriedly as he rushed to Aaron's side. He set to work using water magic to tend the wound as best as he could. "We'll get this leg patched up soon!"
"Sooner rather than later, I hope…" Aaron said through gritted fangs. He glanced around at Blankridge and his friends, and quite begrudgingly lowered his head submissively. "Th-Thanks for helping me."
"Cancel the bet, and we're even." Blankridge declared.
Vaun simply rolled his eyes at that. "Fine…"
"Where's Roxanne?" Aaron suddenly asked.
"Last anyone's seen her, she was still in the lower arena."
"What?!" Vaun and Aaron shouted and stood up tall. Aaron immediately yelped in pain, and Vaun rushed to tend to his foreleg again.
"The flames are too strong!" Aaron said as he rubbed his tail. "And VERY hot."
"We've got to get down there!" Vaun shouted. "We can't leave her behind!"
"Now's not the time for bravado," Emerald said from across the way. She and Marble were escorting Seraph forward, with Ember following close behind. The earth dragoness stepped up and flapped her wings. "It's dangerous, yes, but we can't do anything for her by trying to throw ourselves against an inferno. The best we can do is form a group and make our way out of the palace until the swarm of crepsculi can be contained."
"Right…" Seraph said reluctantly. She glanced at the flames one last time, before flapping her wings and taking off in the opposite direction. "Let's go!"
The assembled teenagers followed after the dragoness as they made to escape the chaos. And all the while, Seraph quietly prayed to the ancestors for the safety of the teenagers… ALL of them.
Be safe… please.
~~…~~
The wind blew briskly against Saul's cloak as he stood up proud and tall atop his mighty carriage. All around him, his army was hard at work preparing various tents to camp out for the night. Everyone had their gauntlets within easy reach, just in case Saul needed to call forth his new aerial advantage.
The earth king's eyes were cast toward the south-west, and a grin spread from ear frill to ear frill.
It was almost time. After four long years of being forced into exile, Saul was finally about to return to Glenhaven. It was the eve of his great reclamation. It had taken quite a while, but Saul's war caravan had made the long trek across the Arcus Desert. And now, they were stopped at the perfect vantage point to launch their offensive against the traitors who stole the earth king's crown. And none in Glenhaven were aware of the caravan's arrival. Just look at it… perched quietly in the middle of another sleepy day, preparing to take part in the Day of the Bonds. They were unaware of the unexpected surprise waiting to storm the gates of the desert city the very next morning.
The General turned to look over his war caravan. Temporary tents had been established for the troops to gain some rest and eat their rations. It was for the best; he needed all of them in top form to begin the liberation.
Clink-clink.
Saul wracked his talons against his wrist as he kept his cloak tucked over his body. He was just a bit too excited… It was tempting, even NOW, to launch the attack to take the city before nightfall. But no… he had to remember who was still in Glenhaven. Flamaedelus and Nymph were part of the alliance; Saul had to be patient, and give them time to flee with the few individuals they deemed to save.
Of course… Saul shifted in place as his talons scratched against the inside of his fabric. If anyone is smart in Glenhaven, they'll surrender as soon as I arrive. They'll be spared… if they're lucky.
Saul took a few calm breaths and scratched a little itch at the back of his head with a wing-thumb. Something felt strange… out of place. Was part of his mane damaged? He didn't seem to recall any such injuries happening during the long trek across the lands. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him…
"Your Highness!" Screamed a frantic voice from the air. "Danger!"
"What?!" Saul's eyes widened. He looked up, and then took a quick step back as an ice dragon flew down from the sky; a scout. The scout came to a quick landing, panted heavily, and then scraped himself off the floor to stand at attention before the king.
"What's wrong?" Saul demanded. "What did you see?"
"My king…" The ice dragon panted. "A caravan from Crossbolt is approaching from the northwest!"
"What?!" Saul repeated, louder and more frantic than before.
Immediately the General fumbled around his cloak to retrieve his telescope. He stood up as tall as he could and followed the scout's direction toward the northwest…
True enough, there it was; thundering its way across the desert sands with great haste. Over two dozen banners were hung from metal poles across all flanks, each one bearing the lightning-bolt sigil of the ruling family of Crossbolt. And soon, Saul spotted the main vessel of the caravan near the center. There, seated upon a chair and scowling as he peered through his own telescope, was king Tintreon. And he wasn't alone: The old black dragon Urobos was to his left, none else but ELENAR was to his right.
Saul flinched in surprise, nearly dropping his telescope. He watched as Tintreon said something to those two ACCURSED dragons before passing the telescope around. Soon enough, each of the two wretches had a chance to gawk in disgust.
No… Saul stumbled back a bit as he put his foreleg down. How?! How did they know?! How could those two be on the southern continent?! They couldn't have known about his planned assault on Glenhaven! They just COULDN'T! Not unless… unless someone told them?
How…? When… WHO?! Saul's thoughts dashed back and forth as anger boiled in his blood. Instinctively, his earth element seeped into his forepaw, and he slowly crushed his telescope. Who would dare to give away my plans?!
The king's thoughts were cut off by a bellow fueled with rage.
"SAUL!"
The voice boomed like thunder across the war camp. Immediately Saul's soldiers snapped to attention and looked around in surprise. But while the many lower grunts were simply alarmed, a chill quietly ran down their ruler's spine.
No… He blinked, as his talons shook. It can't be. Not again!
It came from the sky… Saul tilted his head skyward, for the figure loomed in the clouds. But once it descended, and he got a clear picture… adrenaline filled the king's veins. Fear and anger mixed together as he watched the purple dragon descend from the sky.
The drake was the picture of perfect health; a far cry from what Saul had last seen of the hero. He beat his mighty wings as he lowered down further so that all of Saul's war caravan could behold him. Light seemed to radiate off his purple scales, as shock and alarm spread throughout the entire caravan. The hero surveyed the troops, before finally locking eyes with the General. He slowly descended, until all could get a clear look at him… At the living, breathing, Spyro.
"It can't be…" Saul stammered as he took a few steps back. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"Complications have forced me to return to the realms once more…" Spyro said with a scowl. "Chief among them being your treason."
Saul flinched and then growled, as he watched the purple hero beat his wings and fly around the caravan. The hero amplified his voice with wind magic so that everyone could hear him as if he were standing right before them.
"The one called Saul is engaging in an act of war against the peace and prosperity of the realms!" Spyro called out to the mass of soldiers. "To launch an attack on the ancestral home of Elders and Guardians is an affront against dragon-kind!"
Immediately many of the soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. They looked toward Saul, who simply stood with clenched fangs as he watched the purple drake soar about.
"Already, the soldiers of Crossbolt are making their way, ready to intercept this army and prevent further attack!" Spyro continued. "You will be given a singular chance, to surrender now, so that none have to lose their lives in needless bloodshed!"
A murmur spread further throughout the caravan. Saul's ear frills tingled as he heard faint whispers… already the General was imagining some of the weaker-willed soldiers preemptively giving up the fight. Saul clutched his foreleg, as his talons balled into a fist. This… This wasn't supposed to happen.
"Saul?" Came the voice of Olivia. He glanced down and saw his wife peaking her head out of the lower section of the vehicle.
"What's going on out there?" The dragoness asked. Her eyes caught sight of the hero as he flew by, and she gasped in alarm. "Is that… Was that Lord Spy-?"
"Get back inside, Olivia," Saul ordered.
"Saul, I'm scared…" She said worriedly as she looked up at him. "What's happening?"
"I said GET INSIDE!" He roared at her. Olivia yelped in fright, and hurriedly pulled her head back inside and shut the window. Saul held his fangs together, as he shuffled around with both forelegs within his cloak. This… This wasn't supposed to turn out this way…
"It's over, Saul." Spyro's voice said from above. The General cast his eyes skyward to see that the hero had come to loom overhead. The hero held a steely gaze as he pointed a talon down at him. "Tell your troops to surrender. Give up without a fight, and your sentence will be minimal.
Saul never felt so exposed… not since the day he was betrayed in Warfang. He felt alone… standing high atop a pillar with no place to flee. Meanwhile, the sun seemed to shine brightly behind Spyro, casting his purple and gold rays across the entire war party.
Everything was going Saul's way… everything was going to be put right. He was to take his old home and cast out the traitors. He was going to become a king once more, with his throne secured. And now, all of it… his hard-earned victory… was to be snatched away before it could even begin? The very dead had come to life, just to turn the world against him? To stop him from taking back everything he'd lost?
Anger burned deep within Saul's core… as did the shimmering, brilliant convexity. Saul leaned his head up, locked eyes with Spyro, and spoke with as much hatred and vitriol as he could muster.
"No…"
"What was that?" Spyro raised an eye ridge.
"You're not doing this to me," Saul growled as he extended his talons. "I've put in far too much work, and years of planning into this day!"
Spyro's eyes narrowed, and he flew down closer. "You would dare defy me, and continue your betrayal?!"
"Every other kingdom has betrayed me!" Saul hissed. "All across the continents, they celebrated with their high queen, while the death of my father was left unresolved! I demanded an accounting, and they threw me into the wastes!"
"You tried to start a war!" Spyro said angrily. He began drifting down toward Saul, with a magical aura swirling about his scales. "And I won't let you try it AGAIN!"
The purple dragon opened his maw and unleashed a mighty blast of electricity down at Saul. The General instinctively reached into his being and unleashed a blast of earth. Light erupted in the sky, and many cried out in shock, as they watched the magical beams clash against each other. Saul twitched and writhed in place as he forced his earth to fight as hard as it could, while Spyro…
Spyro simply descended down from the sky, with a discordantly calm and collected stance. For Spyro, it was simply a standard attack to unleash his lightning. The General struggled and fought to keep at it; he shuffled his wings beneath his cloak and he glared angrily at Spyro… all while the electricity traveled closer and closer toward him. Saul's body felt very hot; he rapidly inhaled and exhaled through his nostrils as he fought with everything he had to keep the beam going.
It's not supposed to go like this… Saul thought angrily. He scratched at the wood beneath his body with his talons as his heart beat faster and faster. I won't… let it… END LIKE THIS!
Saul tore a chunk of the wood away and extended his gauntleted forepaw toward Spyro. One of the convexity crystals crumbled to dust… as a beam of purple energy burst forth at high speed.
Spyro's eyes widened in shock, and he served to get out of the way of the blast. Spyro flew about and righted himself as he glanced back down. Saul stood up taller as his earth energy faded away. The green dragon tossed away his cloak, to extend his green wings. He fell back onto his forepaws… which were now BOTH adorned in the metal gauntlets. Each and every one of the slots on both gauntlets glowed a brilliant purple light, as convexity fueled the earth drake's power.
Spyro flinched back in alarm; he didn't want to believe what Wraith had mentioned. And yet there they were; fueling Saul's body with horrible power.
Saul grasped his war horn in one forepaw, and clutched the bag of convexity crystals on his belt with the other, as he beat his wings to ascend into the air. His talons dug into the crystals, piercing and shattering them into dust as he collected the energy into his body.
"You stood in the way of my greatness once before!" Saul roared as he brought his war horn to his muzzle. "You won't get a chance to do it again!"
Saul blew his war horn, and at once the many soldiers of the war caravan unleashed their gauntlets. Spyro tried to charge at Saul, but the earth king dodged out of the way, faster than a dragon of his build could move. A trail of purple energy was left in the wake of Saul's wings every time he flapped them, which led to a shower of mist raining down across the ground surrounding the caravan. Spyro righted himself, and looked down in time to see the energy scattering across the soldiers…
…and the pools of darkness, which now surrounded the caravan.
"Stop!" Spyro roared down at the soldiers. "You would go against the words of your hero?!"
But that was exactly what they did; they only held furious scowls as their crepsculi emerged around them. And as soon as the beasts were summoned, they flew into the air to cloud the skies in darkness.
And then… they swarmed.
With no other course of action to take, Spyro took in a deep breath and unleashed a burst of flames to destroy the creatures. A good dozen of them were engulfed in fire and plummeted... only to be replaced by a dozen more. They shrieked and clicked their tongues as they flew toward Spyro, talons outstretched to rake his flesh.
Spyro filled his wings with wind to evade the creatures and flew about to unleash bursts of ice and earth to strike them down. But no matter how many he destroyed, more seemed to take their places immediately…
Spyro was so focused on the crepsculi, that he neglected to look at the soldiers… until an arrow pierced his wing membrane.
Spyro roared in pain as he cast a glance down at the soldiers. There were cheetah archers amongst their ranks; about a hundred or so. They stood their ground upon the rooftops of the caravans, and many of them aimed their bows right at Spyro. And not only that, but many earth dragons stood at the ready; their bodies glowed green as they filled their maws with earth magic. Before long, the earth bombs started to fly through the air, all aimed at the purple drake. Spyro swerved all throughout the skies, as a terrible hail of arrows and magical bursts buffeted his body.
Spyro was mortified: his words had fallen on deaf ears. The army's loyalty to Saul was greater than their admiration for a hero of legend. He couldn't persuade them… the plan had failed. He wouldn't be able to talk Saul down…
Wait… where WAS Saul?
While shielding his head, Spyro looked around for a sign of the earth king. Spyro soon spotted Saul as he propelled himself through the sky at high speed. The earth king was headed straight for Glenhaven… and he wasn't alone, as he'd summoned his own swarm of crepsculi to follow him. They followed behind him as he left a trail of purple mist through the sky on his way toward the desert city.
"Saul, NO!" Spyro screamed. He filled his wings with wind magic and propelled himself as fast as he could go. Saul glanced back for only a moment, where he filled the sky with a voice powered by convexity.
"Glenhaven is MINE!" Saul bellowed like thunder. "You hear me?! MINE!"
Spyro fought to chase after the earth dragon, but many of the crepsculi slashed at his sides, drawing blood. The purple drake hissed and beat his wings to evade them, only for an earth bomb to explode against his wing. Spyro spiraled out of control, all while more arrows stabbed him in the back.
Spyro reached within himself for healing water magic, which flowed through his veins as fast as he could push it. But even if some of the wounds were healed, more would just take their place. He hissed and snarled as he fought against the beasts to finally regain some control. The hero fought harder and harder, but soon the beasts engulfed him like a writhing, hissing cloud of darkness…
Until a few stray blasts of lightning blasted a few of them away.
The monsters hissed and shrieked as attacks from an unseen force continued to tear them away from Spyro's body. The distraction was just long enough for Spyro to swirl himself about, flinging the beasts free from his scales. He then panted heavily and fought to beat his wings to gain control of himself. At first, he thought he had no time, as a hail of arrows and earth bombs continued to come flying from the caravan…
Only for a great geyser of wind to blow them back to the sands.
As Spyro struggled to regain his control, he glanced around to see several lightning dragons flying through the air. All of them wore uniforms bearing the sigil of Crossbolt. They all worked in tandem to blast earth bombs out of the sky, while the arrows were pushed back by great gusts of wind… which came from, who else, but Cynder?
The black dragoness flew down to carefully grasp Spyro, and help him regain control of himself, after a few flaps, the purple drake found himself back in control of his flight, with most of his wounds healed away. He beat his wings hard and sighed in relief as he gazed up at Cynder as she flew around him.
"Thank you…" He said with a smile. "Thank you so much."
"Thank me when all of this is over," Cynder said with a snort as she motioned in the direction of the trail of destruction left in Saul's wake. "We need to clip that big idiot's wings before things REALLY get out of wing!"
"Right…" Spyro began to flap his wings again, only to glance down at the caravan below. Chaos was beginning to erupt as the Aeroshard dragons began to wage battle against the Crossbolt drakes. He was about to question what to do… when a war horn filled the air from the north.
Spyro and Cynder glanced over to see none other than Tintreon taking to the skies. He was flanked on either side by a dozen or so lightning dragons, and all of them made to descend toward the war caravan. And they were far from the only lightning dragons taking off to join the battle.
"We'll take it from here!" Tintreon shouted out proudly as he and his squadron flew past. "Just focus on stopping Saul!"
"Right…" Spyro filled his wings with wind magic and took off as swiftly as he could. Cynder was soon shortly behind him, and they made their chase after the corrupted earth drake.
During the flight, Cynder couldn't help but smirk at Spyro. Spyro saw this, and simply rolled his eyes and focused ahead.
"I told you it wouldn't work," Cynder said cheekily.
"I still had to at least try…" Spyro said with a snort. "And besides; it made him stall long enough for Tintreon to rally his own troops."
"Even so…" Cynder gave a brief chuckle. "I had to swoop in and help save your flank… again."
Spyro balked, and simply focused on chasing after Saul. This was no time to scold his wife for making witty banter in the middle of a war…
Not with so many lives at risk.
~~…~~
Greetings, friends and loved ones.
Well… I fucked up. I wanted to do updates by-weekly to pace myself. But, somehow, almost an ENTIRE YEAR slipped right by me. Everyone… I'm sorry. I didn't mean for things to get delayed like this. But as long as there's a time in the year 2021, I want to finally finish Forsaken Blood. We're past the halfway point of Act 3, and the climax is now underway. All that's left… is to see things through to the end.
Act 3, Chapter 8 will be posted… when it's ready. I feel that that's the safest thing I can say at this point. See you next time, whenever that may be!
Tenebra ecce Veritas