Peacemaking (Nebulous Finale Pt 2)

by Nebula the Starwing

After meeting with the Starwings, the gang races to make diplomatic meetings between Queens a possibility. The Starwings are starting to settle in, and the news of their arrival spreads rather fast. As they begin to settle, The Starwings try to piece together a mystery surrounding Pyrrhia's magical properties as well as a mysterious message emanating from the Claws of the Clouds.

5. Chapter 5 - Old Wounds

(Chapter 5 - Old Wounds)

-Prologue-

"It just doesn't make any sense…"

In the dimly lit grand chamber, Libra prowled around with her conflicting thoughts and theories like battles between warring factions. Her talons to the smooth black glass clacked around the mostly empty expanse, while Iso and another royal dragon sat by the main holographic display; only lit by the light it gave off, and bathed in the multicolored output.

"It's been less than 1 MGC [Approx. 2 Weeks] and almost TWENTY others have fallen victim to our mysterious killer, and we're NO closer to finding out why or even HOW it's happening!"

"Um, Princess," Iso brought up a log from his datapad onto the circular holographic table, displaying a data sheet of deaths thus far. "We're almost at thirty now."

Before Libra could whirl around in anger, the other royal dragon nudged Iso. "Not helping."

The Princess stamped her paw down with indignant fury, turning back around and surveying the new data.

"What of our survey teams? Have we heard any response from them?" Libra then turned to the other dragon, hoping for anything to turn this positive.

"Brother, what of your teams?"

The royal dragon heaved a disappointed sigh, bringing up the few data logs he prepared.

"Unfortunately, little to nothing at all. The few survey teams we sent undercover in the underbelly haven't reported anything out of the ordinary, two teams in the overwatch haven't reported in at all, and…"

He sent another blank data sheet up to the projection.

"The five teams from security infiltration have gone dark. Can't find them anywhere… Safe to assume they're either turned like the rest, or, snuffed out by our mystery assailant."

The royal dragon shakes his head and sighs again.

"So in short… We're still no closer to a solid answer, only now we've put innocent lives in the line of danger."

"Taurus." Libra approached the older royal, still quivering with a deep seated anger. "Brother, don't say that just yet. We've come too far and lost too many good dragons to abandon the progress we've made-"

"Progress?" Taurus indignantly snaps back, jutting into Libra's words. "Libra we're basically still at where we started with all of this, facing an unknown enemy who can turn minds-"

Iso prodded his head towards the two for a moment. "Still quite confused about that part."

"-AND whatever it is can basically cull whatever resistance we put up, and worst of all we don't even know how!" Taurus finds himself pacing ponderously around the table, doubt seeding his every step.

"We are outmatched, my dear sister."

"Then what do you suggest we DO?!" Libra followed in her older brother's pacing, staying just beside him as he paced. "Are we to lie here and accept our fate, without so much as a struggle?"

"Seems more dignified than struggling to land a blow at an enemy we can't see."

Libra planted herself in front of her brother, staunchly stopping him in his place.

"Taurus, for stars sake, listen to yourself! We can't just lay down in defeat, what happened to your passionate search for the TRUTH?!"

Iso dared not get in between the two royal siblings, choosing to hang back and observe. Taurus sat back, sitting up with authority and a determinedly adamant glare.

"Libra, there are choices we must make for our community without their consent. Choices they aren't prepared to handle, but ones we must shoulder for their wellbeing."

"Yes but-" Libra stopped mid sentence to look up at her brother confusedly, a tint of suspicion lining her brow. "...What are you getting at?"

"As our forefathers before us," Taurus continued his pacing around with his gaze at the lustrous black floor, talons clacking against it with each step. "We now face an incredible threat to our clan, obviously intelligent and in this case perhaps much more so than us. In this case, resistance will not end well for us, and it is our duty to make the best decisions in the interest of our people."

By this point, hearing Taurus' argument and train of thought, she shot Iso a quick worriedly suspicious glance, maintaining her composure despite hearing the things coming out of his mouth.

"...Well, what do you think that might be then?"

Taurus stopped in place at her question, glancing around as if confused. He looked back to Libra with a more vehement confusion wrapped across his snout.

"...I don't know. I… lost my train of thought."

Again, Iso and Libra exchanged a worried look, approaching Taurus carefully.

"You were going on about how resisting a force we couldn't fight wouldn't be wise for our people." Libra sat beside her older brother, Iso approaching the two more cautiously.

"My Prince," Iso's respectful tone took on a tinge of worry. "Do you not remember any of that just now?"

Taurus' gaze seemed to cast itself off far afield. Slowly he looked to his talons, and Iso and Libra could see the Prince's spectral scales begin to shift much slower now. His breathing slowed too, up until he caught himself beginning to fade. Taurus suddenly shook himself off and gripped Libra's shoulder for support.

"Ngh… Take me to Med Bay, NOW."

Libra and Iso lifted him up on their shoulders, supporting him while he simply focused on his breathing. Libra tilted her brother's head to meet her now violently concerned gaze.

"Hey, talk to me, what do you feel?"

Taurus blew out a breath forcefully to keep himself awake and alert.

"I feel… fuzzy. My mental faculties are growing farther away, I'm having to fight to keep myself awake and alert, but it's like something just-"

The trio straightened up with scale-raising alarm upon realizing what Taurus was describing. Libra took no time to think or worry, instead just grabbing Taurus and using her Astral Powers to blast down the halls straight to the Medbay.

Having barely given the door any time to open, the two barely slid in. She thrust Taurus into the nearest stasis pod, a vertical open tube with bright emitters on the top and bottom bathing the entire space in between with a thrumming green light. Taurus lay floating upright in the tube, now too tired to question anything or fight back even if he did have any arguments to Libra's actions. The two medical staff in the Medbay at the time rushed over with great worry, Libra immediately pointed at the two and barked her orders:

"CLOSE THE POD! I NEED HIM IN AN EMBRYONIC COMA STATE NOW!"

The two complied with haste, the first activating the chamber door to hermetically seal the inside, the second inputting a dizzying amount of commands into the data pad beside the pod, soon filling the chamber with a hiss of gas. Taurus weakly put his paw to the door, prompting Libra to do the same.

"Taurus listen to me," Libra's intonation portrayed her mounting panic in vivid detail, and while Iso had barely arrived in the Medbay Libra pressed her paw to the door where Taurus pressed his. "Fight it as long as you can, I'll be in there with you-"

"N-no…" Taurus' eyes faded closed, though growing just a tad cloudy. He shook his head as best he could. "J-just… sleep…"

"TAURUS!" Libra nearly slammed her fist on the door, as Taurus slowly drifted off. His paw, however, remained almost glued to the door. Libra kept her paw there too, and pressing her head to the clear glass tube, she entered Taurus' mind.

At least… she thought she did. What it felt like was something altogether different, simply a massive void in which she drifted alone. Libra honestly couldn't discern any sort of feeling or thought in this state, but she couldn't say she felt alone here. It felt as though the space itself belonged to her older brother, but in what ways this feeling was manifest were lost to her.

'Taurus… Please, give me a sign you're here.'

She waited for a minute, but nothing came to appear… no sign of her brother's sentience, no consciousness peering in the dark, just silence. Libra felt her chest start to close in tighter, the emptiness of it all starting to weigh in around her, but heaviest of these the was the growing realization:

Libra had just lost her only brother.

The princess curled into herself, hugging her knees to her chest as she attempted to calm herself down, but the prospect of being alone with her failure in the empty chasm of her brother's mind… she almost pulled back out of the mindmeld in dejection.

The only thing that stopped her, was off in the distance. At first, Libra could notice nothing else but the lifeless void around her, but now that she started to focus… way off in the distance lay a single white dot.

'Taurus…?'

Now clinging on to hope that her brother wasn't gone, she blasted forwards towards it. With every fiber in her astral being she attempted to reach the star in the distance, but not even her best efforts could propel her any farther than the spot she seemed stuck in.

It didn't matter though. That one star in the distance was all Libra needed in terms of hope. She could breathe easier now…

Libra finally backed out of Taurus' head, with her head still leaning against the glass and her paw still against her brothers. The first glance through her still misty eyes was of her brother's face, peacefully resting; but more interestingly, his colored scales were still shifting as normal. Libra could barely feel his power or his mind, but the things that made Taurus himself were all still present… just dulled down.

"Is he under…?" Libra turned to the med tech by the stasis pod's data pad, scrolling through the data. The look of uncertain confusion that permeated his face prompted the other tech to follow up, and the two simply stared at each other with the same look.

The taller of the two turned to meet Libra with a concerned yet fascinated tone.

"I-I… I don't know for sure. His physical lifesigns show as stable, yet… neurologically he's almost braindead."

The shorter of the two prodded in next. "Astrally, he should fall somewhere in the middle as a result of the two contrasting, but… his AE levels are showing he's constantly flowing energy through himself. Which, that shouldn't be possible, if he's nearly braindead."

Iso planted himself beside Libra, offering his comfort. He looked over the floating Taurus, deep in a state of sleep.

"Chances he'll wake up?"

The taller tech dared not say anything. The shorter one drew a deep breath and stepped forwards.

"That's… hard to say. Unless we see a change in his neuroactivity, there's no reason to hope he will… but, Princess Libra,"

The Princess gave the tech her rapt attention.

"If you've seen anything in there that would suggest otherwise… now would be the time to tell us."

Libra didn't say anything right then… rather, her gaze fell back to Taurus' sleeping form, the shifting colors across his scales, and the star she remembered in Taurus' mind.

"...I think he's still in there."

Now, she turned more fully to face the pod. That spark of hope from before, Libra had now turned into a small flame, a candle she held to her heart.

"No… I know he is."

-X- OLD WOUNDS -X-

Stardust and Libra finally pulled away from each other, breaking the mindmeld they'd kept up for about an hour straight. Libra cradled her head with a soft grunt of pain, Stardust simply flopped on his back and waited for the room to stop spinning. Iso peered his head into the deeper part of the cave the two were in.

"Libra, Stardust, are you two ok?"

Stardust shakily got back up to his feet and massaged his temples.

"Urgh… I think I'm ok, just a little… out of it."

"That…" Libra shook her head a bit and blinked a few times to get her bearings. "That'll happen after a long while. It fades after a minute…"

Iso rested between the two royal siblings, ever so slightly concerned about the direction this was headed. "Perhaps it'd be best if you two took a little break before continuing."

"Agreed," Libra heaved a sigh burdened with memory, most of which she did her best not to dwell on too much. "We've covered quite a lot."

"I'll say." Stardust finally felt his head return to normal, taking the moment to seat himself next to Libra. "I didn't know how… complicated the whole situation really was…"

The young Prince nosed his sister's shoulder tenderly. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that sis, I can't imagine how stressful that all was…" He then lifted his head up in realization. "Well… actually I can, I saw all of it."

Libra, to Stardust's delight, managed to let out a soft chuckle at his remark.

"Thank you for the sympathy, Star. And yeah, it wasn't easy…"

Considering the two had just shared about two weeks worth of memories (give or take a whole month), the pair of siblings felt much closer than before, despite just meeting each other. Stardust couldn't help but trust her, after aching for so long to understand why he was left here he finally had an answer.

Or rather, he was on the eve of one. He completely understood why Libra needed to show him all of what happened, and waited patiently while Libra ran through all the memories of the time leading up to what really happened. Stardust knew all this context was paramount to understanding his past, and did his best to delay his questions until Libra was ready.

That being said, the young dragonet couldn't help but ask just a few.

[-[ ENGAGE TRACK : ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER - BEHIND THE BANK (Reality Level: Background)]-]

"Libra," Stardust finally prodded her sister after a minute of resting. "Why didn't mom and dad tell me about Taurus?"

Libra, not minding the questions, wrapped a wing around Stardust and scooted a bit closer to him.

"It's a touchy subject between us, especially for mother. I think she lost something of herself when Taurus went under… you were still just an egg at the time, barely exhibiting any astral ability, and when she heard about Taurus…"

Libra's gaze unfocused, drifting to the floor some. "She refused to come out of her room for a whole week, and she kept you in there with her. I think she was just terrified of losing anyone else, and it took father all that time to convince her to even step out of the room. She wouldn't even see me..."

Stardust, listening with intent eyes on her sister, felt another pang of emotion in the pits of his stomach, namely pity and empathy. From the memories he'd seen of her and Aries, their relationship as Libra grew older seemed strained, almost tense. Even with this though, the two very much cared about the other, and without her mother, Libra felt even more alone than usual.

Libra felt a paw caress her back, and noticed Stardust offering an empathetic smile.

"It's ok sis. You're not alone here."

Libra felt Iso do the same, keeping her surrounded by himself and Stardust.

"Stardust has a point, Princess. Ever since you've arrived, you've been among friends."

The Princess again couldn't argue there. Ever since she'd arrived on the planet, even in disguise she'd been treated much kinder than she'd really expected (save for her encounter with Tsunami.) She'd reconciled with her mother, the Sentinel Squad offered their empathy, and even Stardust had nothing but warmth for her. Most of her worries in coming here had been assuaged into relief.

...All but two, and the biggest of which concerned Stardust; how would he react when he finally knew?

"So," Stardust's sudden question snapped Libra out of her worried mindset again. "The whole brain death thing… you really never found out what it was?"

"*Sigh* Well…" Libra sat up just a bit more, mulling over the question. "We never had any definitive proof of what it was, only what it wasn't."

Libra took Stardust's quizzical head tilt as a sign to keep explaining. "It left no bacterial or cellular differences, so it wasn't a virus or infection."

"I have no idea what either of those are, but ok."

Again, Stardust's smile nearly lit up the room at his eliciting a small laugh from her sister.

"It wasn't some sort of weapon, there were no injuries to any of the victims. It couldn't have been any sort of radiation or waves from the wildlands of space, half of the affected victims stayed within the protected zones all their lives."

"So," Stardust continued along Libra's train of thought. "This wasn't random at all, but rather purposefully planned?"

"That's the only answer we came up with." Iso remarked. "Not much else would make sense."

"But…" Stardust's confusion was displayed clearly across his brow. "Another dragon couldn't be doing this… could they?"

Libra's expression clouded into skepticism. "That… I don't know. It could be another dragon, it could be an alien race we haven't made contact with… heck, it could even be from another galaxy entirely. What we've narrowed down hasn't given us any exact clues, which is the infuriating part…"

"Sounds like it…" Stardust simply snuggled into his sister with a sigh. He hadn't the capability to wrap his head around nearly any of it, most of it just going over his head completely. He just did his best to adapt to a whole new world, hoping to find his place in it all. "What did mom and dad do about it?"

Libra simply shook her head. "Since I had no substantial evidence… nothing."

Stardust seemed phased by that answer. "Nothing at all…?"

Iso chimed in again. "What could they do? They tasked us with at least finding some sort of evidence of all this, and when we came up short they had no reason to expend any more resources on it."

"And you saw how it seemed to actively work against us." Libra glanced back to Stardust. "Medical officers tasked with keeping an eye on the deceased became brain dead themselves, information teams dispatched with gathering any intel on this came up empty handed or just memory wiped entirely, and it even went as far as taking Taurus with it."

"But still," Stardust turned more fully towards Libra and Iso. "Mom and Dad didn't believe you at all?"

"Orion was too busy to investigate at all, but even so he was skeptical of the claims. He likened it to an undiscovered disease or simply fate, but something tells me he just got too tired working on…" Libra stopped and shrugged. "Whatever he was working on…"

"Aries did seem to believe us, but without Orion's go ahead she couldn't really allot us the resources we needed to launch a full investigation." Iso got back to his feet, heading towards the entrance of the cave. "But she did want to believe us though, I'm positive about that."

As Iso headed towards the front of the cave, he glanced back. "I'm going to make sure we aren't disturbed, you two continue as you like."

"Thank you, Iso." "Be safe."

[-[ PAUSE TRACK LIST ]-]

Libra and Stardust both lingered in the silence for a few moments, still catching up with their emotions. Stardust then nosed his head to Libra's cheek.

"Libra… Why are you running?"

Something in the way Libra's expression contorted told Stardust he probably shouldn't have asked that question. She seemed to deflate some, but picked herself back up bravely.

"I can't answer that until I'm finished showing you everything you need to know, Stardust."

"Are you in danger?" Stardust's concerned and empathic gaze reflected Libra's eyes intensely. "Are… we in danger?"

"Well, we're in danger, yes, but… it's more than that now. And again," Libra nosed the top of Stardust's head protectively. "I can't tell you exactly why until you see everything…"

"Ok, I understand." The Princely Dragonet sat up once more, placing himself parallel to his older sister. "If it's that important, I want to know."

Libra, taking a deep breath to steady herself, nodded to Stardust. "Okay… you ready to-"

"LIBRA!" Iso's sudden arrival back in the inner parts of the cave startled the two royals. "Aries is headed this way, we need to move."

Libra immediately stood to her feet, glancing back to the rear of the cave. "Stardust, do these cave systems lead anywhere?"

"I-I don't know," The young Prince stood to his feet as well, unsure of what to do. "I've never been in these caves before. They should let out somewhere, but I don't know for sure…"

"We'll have to chance it, can't risk being out in the open." Iso headed down the path, while Libra stayed behind with Stardust, who regarded her with a confused hesitancy.

"Libra, are you sure you have to run…?" He nosed her shoulder softly, to which she nosed back. "I'm sure whatever it is, we can work it out…"

"I know, Stardust, I know. With everything that's happened it's… just really complicated, and I don't know what to think anymore. The last thing I want to force on you is a choice…" Libra returned the nose to the shoulder. "But right now, I need you to decide. You can go back to mother, tell her you met with me and tell her all I've told you, or you can come with us for now, and I'll tell you the rest of what happened."

Stardust paled in the face for a moment thinking about that sort of decision. Now he'd have to choose between his mother, who's wanted nothing but to be with her son, or her sister, who's desperately trying to reconnect with her family. It didn't help at all that he needed to make a choice in the next few seconds, especially with Iso shooting them a "Hurry Up!" glance.

On the one hand, he didn't want to leave his mother(s) with no idea where he was, especially when huge historical events were but a day away. On the other hand, however… Libra had the answers to what happened to separate him from his tribe, from his family and heritage. He knew Aries knew what happened as well, but something told him Libra had more to do with it than she let on. Stardust got the feeling he needed to hear it from Libra more than anyone else… And that feeling alone propelled him towards a decision.

"I…" He shut his eyes tight for a second before stamping his paw down for a moment. "I'll go with you, I won't leave you until things are right. I promise."

Libra almost wished Stardust hadn't said that. She knew Orion and Aries would understand Stardust's desire to protect her sister, but perhaps the added strain it would add to the whole situation wasn't what scared her the most. In her attempt to keep Stardust out of harm's way, it only ended up dragging him directly into the spotlight. All Libra really wanted was for her little brother to be safe and sound.

"Stardust…" She put a paw to his shoulder. "Are you positive…?"

His staunch head nod only cemented the anxiety of her brother willingly putting himself on the line for her, but brought a certain comfort as well. Something Libra felt she'd lost ever since Taurus… Looking into Stardust's eyes though, that comfort began to flicker in the tinges of her mind. The faintest of smiles began to tug at her maw.

"Alright… c'mon then, let's find somewhere safe." Libra turned back to Iso who led them deeper into the cave systems.

"Down this way, hurry!"

-X-

"Any sign of our Sandwing intruder?" Glory's pacing through the pavilion brought a certain unease to Deathbringer, who couldn't for the life of him calm his racing mind. The three guards Glory brought in from their rounds stood at attention.

A stout Pink and Brown Rainwing sighed his answer. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

The next Rainwing, shorter with Blue and Green scales chirped out "No sign of them."

A Nightwing guard stood at the end, scales as black as can be with little silver. "Nothing from any of the Nightwing patrols either, Queen Glory."

Glory planted her forehead into the nearest tree trunk, tempted to just scream out into the early morning. "I CANNOT believe they just slipped in under our noses. And right in front of the entire assembly!"

"We're still searching high and low, your grace," The shorter blue Rainwing piped up again. "We'll inform you once we find something."

Glory nodded and motioned for them to continue, the two Rainwings padding off and launching into the trees. The Nightwing stayed behind however.

"About the supply run to the Mudwings… We've made contact. I was told you wanted a report?"

Glory straightened herself out and nodded.

"Correct. What have you heard?"

"Well," The Nightwing shuffled in place for a moment. "No casualties were reported, and enough rations and medicinal supplies were provided for them to recover. A few Rainwing and Nightwing healers are still tending to the burn victims, but it's looking like they're recovering from the attack fairly well."

"What of the Palace?" Deathbringer chimed in his question. "Is it repairable at all? Do we know who did this?"

The Nightwing guard shook his head. "The Palace is all but rubble and ash, only a few of the main stone pillars survived. There's little likelihood it could be rebuilt on its current foundation."

Glory interjected again. "And do we know who orchestrated the attack? What did the Queen have to say about this?"

The Nightwing seemed to almost wince a little bit. "That's the thing… Nobody has seen the Queen. Last I heard-"

"GLORY-" The trio were interrupted by the panicked flapping in of Jambu. "SIS, YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS."

Normally Glory would've strangled her brother for interrupting at such a time, and the only thing that stopped her was the fact Jambu's color scales had shifted to a mixed assortment of greens, light blues and even a bit of white; a far cry from his usual chipper pinks and orange, Glory decided whatever news he bore must be important.

"This better be important Jambu, else I'll-"

"QUEEN MOORHEN WAS JUST FOUND DEAD, along with her SIBLINGS TOO!" If Glory hadn't known any better she'd have thought Jambu was about to jump out of his scales. "The Mudwings also reported a dead SANDWING too, not too far from the rainforest!"

Glory hadn't any response for the moment, faltering at hearing the grievous news. Queen Moorhen dead? How could that be? The Mudwings haven't had nearly anything to do with the Sandwings for years, at least not after the Sandwing Succession Wars. It made no sense for Thorn to orchestrate this killing, and Glory was certain that Thorn was the least likely Queen to fight over land. If this were true, who else would stand to profit from such an attack?

"Was there any word of the Starwing's message device?" Deathbringer eagerly asked. Jambu shook his head.

"No, nothing was mentioned about it." Jambu glanced back to Glory. "Also… Apparently the Starwing King made contact with the Mudwings, so something tells me they know anyway."

Glory finally had her words return to her again. "What in the three moons is going on lately?! First the Starwings, next the City of Night, now the Mudwing Palace AND MOORHEN?" She threw her talons and wings up in exasperation.

"What NEXT?!"

Jambu and Deathbringer attempted to calm Glory down, but neither could get any words out upon hearing another familiar sound…

...fweeeeee…

Glory whirled around to check her surroundings, Jambu and the Nightwing guard doing the same.

"Do you hear that?" Glory checked up high in the trees, Jambu and the Nightwing searching a bit lower. Deathbringer on the other hand looked to be thinking to himself. For not too long ago, he'd heard this sound before. He just couldn't remember why though.

Until the sound stopped again. In the split second of eerie silence, the memory came rushing back like a stone to his head. His eyes wide with worry, he nearly tacked Glory to the jungle floor.

"GET DOWN-"

And as if on cue:

DOOM!

Like a shockwave of power through the open air, the nearby Royal Pavilion exploded with an intensely powerful wave of heat, blasting Jambu and the Nightwing guard on their backs. Deathbringer protected Glory from the blast with his wings over her, though since the blast wasn't too close by, none of the four were harmed much at all.

After the brunt of the blast, Glory pushed Deathbringer aside and scrambled to her feet. Seeing the other three still on their backs, Glory pointed to the pavilion furiously.

"GET YOUR SCALY HINDS UP, WE NEED TO CHECK FOR SURVIVORS N O W !"

Hurriedly following their Queen's orders, the trio hopped to their feet and dashed towards the still flaming pavilion. Half of it had been blown off entirely, flames lapping at the rest of the treeline and eager to spread further. Already, a few Nightwings came along with buckets of water, quelling the raging fire bit by bit. Jambu and Glory stood back a bit while Deathbringer and the guard edged closer to the fire, searching for bodies.

"I'm not seeing any bodies in the wreckage Queen Glory, I'll check the perimeter." The Nightwing Guard sped off to search the surrounding area, leaving Jambu, Deathbringer, and Glory amidst the now dying flames. Glory sat there with her talons behind her back, a sour and pallid scowl across her maw. Deathbringer and Jambu almost hesitated to say anything.

"No casualties…" Deathbringer regarded the Rainwing Queen with an anxious yet awaiting regard. "What's our next move?"

Glory didn't even turn aside, her eyes fixated on the destroyed pavilion.

"...We find who did this, first off. Whoever this is, they're targeting the Queen's of Pyrrhia, and probably know about the meeting. If and when we establish that, then we warn the Queens."

Jambu nosed up to his now mortally enraged sister. "And… if we find them?"

Glory finally tore her gaze off the wreckage, padding back into the rainforest.

"They better PRAY I DON'T."

Deathbringer and Jambu pounced after her, Glory making her way to the more crowded Rainwing sections of the rainforest. Most of the Rainwings had congregated around the smoldering pavilion, hushed whispers and frightened squawking permeated the air. Glory would have made it back to her hut, had she not been stopped by two more guards.

"Queen Glory, we have the bomber!"

The amount of force with which she whirled around nearly threw Jambu and company back, Glory's furiously intense gaze landing on the Rainwing and Nightwing guards who called out to her. They stammered for a minute before continuing.

"I-It's a Sandwing, ma'am. We have him asleep in custody-"

"Take me to him NOW."

The two nodded and led the way past the crowded jungle floor, to a waterfall cliff where a stone wall impeded their path. Glory found this waterfall some years back, and only recently discovered a hidden chamber behind it. A few caves lurked behind, pitch black and small enough to house only one dragon each. Considering the building materials Rainwings had at their disposal, this cave was the best thing Glory had access to in terms of housing prisoners.

Stepping through the cascading waterfall, a wall mounted torch revealed a Nightwing sound asleep on the floor. Glory stamped her paw loud enough to be heard, jolting the Nightwing awake.

"yiPE-"

Glory immediately came nose to nose with the Nightwing. "The guards tell me you have a Sandwing in custody, responsible for the bombing of the Royal Pavilion."

Just barely awaking from her nap, the Nightwing paled in the face. "I-I… yes ma'am, I didn't know he bombed the Pavilion, is everyone-"

Glory hadn't the patience to let her finish. "Show him to me. I need to see him for myself."

The Nightwing gulped and nodded, leading the group down to the lowest cave, a fitted iron bar door covering the entrance. Inside lay one slumbering Sandwing, a darker yellow dominated his scales while the odd bit of red marked his back. Glory threw the door open, motioning to Deathbringer and the other Nightwing Guard.

"You two, stay with me. Jambu, go make sure the Rainwings handle the pavilion. I need to ask this Sandwing some questions."

Jambu, not exactly liking this side of her sister, scurried off out of the cave. Glory then pointed to the Nightwing Jailor.

"And YOU." She poked her chest indignantly. "Lock the door behind us. If I catch you asleep on the job again, you'll be IN this cell. You understand me?"

The Nightwing winced and bowed. "Yes my Queen, I apologize. Won't happen again."

"Good." She stepped back inside the cell with Deathbringer and the Nightwing Guard, the cell door slamming shut behind her. The Sandwing jolted awake some, albeit very groggily.

"Mmfh…"

The Nightwing Guard moved along with Deathbringer to stand in front of Glory. "Looks like the sleep darts wore off." Deathbringer looked to Glory concernedly. "Shall we restrain him?"

Glory simply glared down at the waking Sandwing. She knew not what colors her scales were shifting to, but it definitely portrayed the pure seething rage in her body. Glory had done everything in her power to stay a fair, balanced and impartial Queen. Violence rarely solved anything, and diplomacy was her go-to tool to solve almost every problem.

Then again, she'd never had her kingdom blown up by some would-be terrorist. And with everything else stacked on top of her recently… diplomacy was the furthest thing from her mind. This Sandwing attacked the rainforest and her people, as far as Glory was concerned, this was totally justified.

"...Pin him down, arms and wings. Make sure his tail goes nowhere."

The two Nightwings wordlessly complied, flipping the Sandwing onto his back and pinning his arms and wings to his side, his legs and tail to the floor. Now realizing his situation, the Sandwing began to put up as much of a struggle as he could. The two Nightwings almost had trouble holding him down until Glory bent down and pressed her forepaw to the cretin's neck, keeping him in place.

"GHURK!"

Glory tilted his head to meet hers, and with a voice calm as still waters, she spoke:

"You're the one who bombed my pavilion, yes?"

The Sandwing, still struggling, just gave Glory an angry glare. She would take that as a yes.

"I see. Firstly…" Glory leaned down beside his ear, clamping her other paw around his maw.

"I've been under quite a lot of stress recently… You know how it is, being a Queen and all. Second, you just blew up my favorite place in the rainforest. You've made the Queen very, very angry. I hope you know that."

Second by second, the calm demeanor began to soften the Sandwing's expression into that of anxiety filled dread. Anger gave way to fear as the stillness of Glory's voice churned with vehement anger, malice almost.

"Third… I'm not going to kill you. I just want to ask some questions, and it really would behoove you to respond truthfully."

She pulled back and offered a regal smile, letting go of the Sandwing's maw. Immediately, he gasped for air, and spat out to the side.

"You think I'm gonna break to a lazy RAINWING? In your dreams!"

Now, Glory was entirely sure her body was covered head to talon in pure red. At least she was pretty sure, considering her vision turned a deep crimson at the words the Sandwing just uttered. She slammed his head down to the stone again, nearly chipping one of his horns.

"I'll ask once, so think carefully about your answer. WHO, SENT, YOU?"

The Sandwing grunted in pain, then did his best to smirk in defiance.

"Wh-what're ya gunna do, sunbathe me to death?"

Glory didn't offer a response. Instead, she slowly opened her maw, exposing her venomous front fangs. And hovering over the Sandwing's neck, a single drop of her acidic venom dangled from one of her fangs, the Sandwing watching in mortified terror.

...And even from outside the waterfall, Jambu could make out an ear piercing scream of agony.

-X-

"Hey, don't let it get you down, Moon…"

[-[ ENGAGE TRACK : ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER - MONTHS (Reality Level: Background)]-]

With the sun now beaming down at 45 degrees through the dwindling tree line, Moon and Qibli sauntered down the beaten path, Moon with her snout hanging down and her eyes on the gravelly mulch below.

"I'm not Qibli," Moon's voice carried a heaviness that Qibli couldn't exactly identify, but it bothered him nonetheless. "I'm ok."

"Moon, I'm no mind reader," He gently brushed along her wingtip with his own. "But I know for a fact that's a lie."

The Nightwing stopped for a second, drawing in a deep breath to steady herself, then continuing. "You're right… but I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

Qibli continued alongside her, nodding to himself. "Ok, fair enough… I won't ask what you saw in there, but… is Winter… ok?"

Moon hesitated to let any of the many words that flooded her head come out just yet, struggling to organize them into something coherent.

"He's…" Moon finally tilted her head to meet Qibli's snout. "...He's coping. I can't say exactly what I saw in there, but he's pushed past a lot of what haunted him before."

"And that's why he couldn't go back…" Qibli responded in understanding. "I get it. It'd be hard for me too…"

"Forget hard," Moon, almost against her will, kept talking. "For him, it'd be like walking on spikes with a boulder on his back."

Qibli winced a tad at Moon's vivid imagery. "Jeez… At least he seemed glad to see us."

"He was," Moon seemed to perk up just a tad at the notion. "We helped remind him of the good times we all had, and he genuinely did enjoy seeing us again. He was really eager to show us his progress with Harmony, and I'm not sure he could've been any prouder."

"I guess it was kind of cruel of us to ask him to leave Harmony for a bit then…"

Moon stopped in place for a second, glancing up for a moment.

"...Winter could have left Harmony for a little, I don't think he would have objected to that."

Seeing Moon pause in her tracks prompted Qibli to do the same, turning around just ahead of her. "Then… it's his family? His past he can't confront?"

"It's who he used to be. How he used to feel… everything he tried to leave behind. Going back…"

"Moon." Qibli nosed forwards again, nudging Moon's shoulder. "I understand… You don't have to convince me."

The Nightwing let her tense breath escape from her nose, nosing Qibli back gingerly. "I know… it's just… it was intense, seeing all of that in his head again. Brought back some of my own feelings, some of which I'm not sure I really dealt with."

As the two began moving forwards again, Qibli gave that sentence a moment to digest before responding.

"Feelings, about… him?"

"Not like that," Moon bumped him with her wing gently. "Just… how I used to feel before I met any of you guys. Scared, tense, surrounded but alone…"

Qibli especially felt a strong pang of empathy with Moon's descriptions at this point, reminded of his own life before being taken in by Thorn.

"Just…" Moon's gaze returned to the earth once more, the green in her irises almost dulling down a bit. "...Lost."

"...I see…" Qibli forced himself out of his own sadness, nudging Moon once more. "We can't dwell on the past forever, Moon. We need an Icewing, one way or another. We have to keep looking, ok?"

Moon exhaled sharply to herself and lifted her head up a bit more. "Right. Any ideas where to look?"

Qibli motioned to the road ahead. "The Talons of Peace should have some Icewings to spare, right? We shouldn't have to look too hard."

"What if they don't want to help us? A lot of Icewings join the Talons just to get away from the Kingdom…"

[-[ PAUSE TRACK LIST ]-]

Moon looks to QIbli, slightly worried. "I don't imagine our answers will just walk up to us all friendly like-"

And as if by divine miracle, coming across the path ahead were four Starwings, headed off by none other than Aries. Her eyes lit up at noticing the familiar Nightwing.

"Moonwatcher!"

Moon immediately stopped in place, bewildered by the coincidence.

"Queen Aries! This… is quite a surprise, what're you doing here?"

Aries sighed to herself and sat on her haunches. "It's hard to explain… but does your, uh... friend know about us?"

Moon turned in place to Qibli, who stood still as a statue. Qibli at first couldn't find the will to move his forepaws, frozen in place by the awesome sight of the Starwing Queen. But after all eyes turned to him, he approached ever so slowly and bowed to Aries deeply.

"It's… a true honor to meet you face to face, your majesty."

Aries did her best to suppress her smile and bowed in courtesy.

"As it is mine, to meet with your kind." Upon standing back up she presented herself in all her regal manner.

"I am Queen Aries Pulsar, Monarch of the Starwing Freeclan. Might I know your name?"

Qibli sat back up with the same dumbfounded wonder plastered on his snout. "Qibli, your grace…"

Moon bumped him with her wing to snap him out of it. "You're staring."

Qibli jolted in place at Moon's wing tap, shaking the surprise off of him.

"Ah! My apologies, I just… this is a new one for me."

Behind Aries, Sheraton and Hamal piped up at either side of her.

"You're not alone there, my friend." "It's all a bit strange, I know."

Boteïn prodded up to Aries' side, displaying a bit of static information on his arm pad. "My Queen, still no signature of Stardust or Libra… or any communication from Orion, or the StarCastle."

Aries snorted a growly sigh, checking her own arm pad to confirm his data. "Blast… Why must everything decide to go wrong at the last second?"

"What's going on?" Moon glanced between her and Qibli, a tinge of anxiety in her voice.

Aries did her best to maintain her air of regality, and not let any of the building frustration get to her.

"A few different things, actually. First, we're looking for another Starwing who's…" At Aries' faltering, Moon sensed hesitation to reveal the culprit. "...of utmost importance, to say the least. Second, it appears Stardust has gone with them as well."

"Stardust?" Qibli's ears perked up at hearing the young dragon's name. "What's he got to do with this?"

Moon leaned over to Qibli. "Aries is Stardust's mother."

Qibli's brow arched in surprise, then settled back down. "Makes sense, I had him figured for royalty since I'd met him~."

In the back behind Aries, Boteïn whispered to Sheraton "I'm starting to like this guy."

"And THIRD," Aries spoke back up once more. "Our lines of communication have been cut… either someone has jammed our transmissions, or the StarCastle was attacked. Either or, neither sound favorable, so there's also that to deal with."

"Well… I'm not sure how to help with that one…" Moon padded a bit closer. "But we're here to help find Stardust and the other one if you need our assistance."

Aries smiled to herself at Moon's offer. "Thank you Moon, but we're still counting on you to find the Icewing… did you talk to him yet?"

Qibli and Moon glanced at each other, both a bit downtrodden at the mention of Winter.

"We did… he declined to help, so we've to set out and find another one."

"Ah," Aries sighed to herself. "I see… in that case, we might have to wait before convening with the Icewing Queen then. Doesn't sound like they're all too friendly anyways."

"Ever since her mother died, Snowfall hasn't been seen almost at all." Qibli offered whatever helpful information he knew of the matter. "She's kept the borders closed, and I'm not sure she's even left her kingdom in a few years…"

"Perhaps we shouldn't bother her," Sheraton popped up beside Aries. "It might be prudent of us to wait. News will spread rather quickly, and then the Queen can decide if she wants to meet us."

"Very true. We'll have met the majority of the continent's leaders, if no others decline. Orion tells me the Mudwing's Palace was destroyed, although we've heard no news of Queen Moorhen."

"The Mudwing Palace?" Moon and Qibli glanced at each other worriedly. "Is Clay ok?"

"He's fine," Boteïn chimed in. "I checked on him myself, him and his sibs. Last I heard, they're looking for the Mudwing Queen."

"And what of Queen Thorn?" Aries glanced to Moon again. "Has she decided?"

"She's got a few things to work on first," Qibli spoke on Moon's behalf. "But she's absolutely going to attend."

"Excellent!" Aries seemed to spring up with delight at hearing that news. "Goodness, I feel so giddy; Feels like we're arranging a very important tea party!"

"The most important tea party!" Sheraton added to her giddiness, while Hamal tapped her shoulder.

"Queen Aries, if we are to ensure the meeting goes well, we still need to find Libra and Stardust and restore comms. Until then-"

"Yes, you're right. Finding them is our priority for right now."

"If I may, Queen Aries…" Moon stepped forwards, focused on Aries. "I'd like to join your search party."

Within the confines of their minds, Moon reached out to her and spoke from her heart.

'He's a brother to me. I can help find him, but I just need to know he's safe… please.'

Aries glanced down for a moment, doing her best to keep composure. Boteïn stepped forwards again.

"I don't think joining us would be the wisest idea, we still need you to-"

"No no, she should come along." Aries stood stalwart in her queenly figure, head held high. "She knows these lands better than we do, she'll be quite helpful."

Once more between the two, Aries spoke in Moon's mind.

'I understand little one. I can assure you he's in…'

Moon again felt hesitation from Aries, this time gleaming the depth and harshness of the situation simply from the tumultuous emotions she carried. Aries kept her expression staunch and fearless, but Moon could sense a kind of fragility behind her queenly exterior, the pain of motherhood and loss behind it all.

'...he's in caring hands.'

Boteïn, still confused as ever, just glanced between the two.

"Oh… kay, well… orders ma'am?"

Aries glanced back to Boteïn, then to Moon, then to Qibli.

"Last signature we were able to find came from the mountains. We might need to search back over there. Moon may come, but I'm afraid Qibli cannot. We'd have too many with us at that point."

Qibli nodded and bowed again. "Yes ma'am."

Moon padded over by Aries, looking to Qibli.

"What're you going to do?"

Qibli shrugged with the beginnings of a smirk already apparent on his snout.

"I'm sure Thorn will find something for me to do, what with Vulture and Onyx and all. Don't worry about me Moon, I'll be ok."

Moon offered a smile in return, then wrapped an arm around him in a half hug.

"Thank you for helping me find Winter, I really appreciate it… be safe, ok?"

Qibli wrapped an arm around her in return, squeezing just a tad. After the two let go, Qibli stood under the nearest opening in the trees, daylight gleaming down on him. "Of course, be safe finding Stardust. I'll probably see you around with everything that's going on, ok?"

Moon's smile deepened just a little at the thought of seeing him again.

"I'll see you around then.~"

Qibli nodded as he then took off into the sky, heading off in the distance towards the sandy dunes past the mountains. Moon let out a soft sigh, Aries beside her.

"We must keep moving, are you ready?"

Moon shakes herself from the sadness of watching Qibli fly away, and turns to Aries.

"Yes, I'm ready."

Aries nods, leading Moon over to the rest of the pack. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just been an interesting few days."

Aries chuckles to herself. "That it has been, indeed."

"Yeah…" Moon looks down to the dirt, contemplating something behind tired eyes. Aries takes notice, and prods the Nightwing with her nose.

"Can I ask something personal?"

Moon glances up and nods. "Sure, go ahead."

"Are…" Aries hangs back from the rest of the group for a moment with Moon. "...Are you two a couple?"

Aries couldn't be quite sure, but she could've sworn the black dragon grew flush on her snout. Even if she didn't, Moon certainly looked to be at least a little embarrassed by the question.

"No! No, we aren't. At least, not anymore… We were together for a little while, but uh… we didn't exactly work out that well."

"Ah." Aries did her utmost to keep a smile from creeping across her snout. "You two seem to be very close though, no bad blood between you two?"

"Not at all. We agreed to stay friends, no reason to be spiteful."

"That's good!" Aries seemed to have quite the smile now, almost proud of that statement. "I ask more so for the sake of research, Starwing couples can be… finicky. Being a nomadic tribe adrift in space can pose some… familial problems sometimes."

"Ah… I think I understand…"

Moon and Aries kept walking just a bit behind the rest, the forest enveloping them once more as they headed towards the mountains. Moon looked to Aries once more.

"Um, Queen Aries… Can I ask a personal question now?"

Aries nods in response. "Of course."

"This dragon that Stardust is with…"

Moon needn't read Aries' mind to know how much the question hurt to think about, but Aries allowed her to continue.

"Why are we hunting them down like this? Why wouldn't they just come willingly?"

"Well… Stardust would come willingly. He's too young to take any sort of side in any of this, and I believe he'll find some way to sort it all out."

Aries' tone of voice softened into somewhere between hurt and hopeful, to Moon's confusion and vague anxiety.

"It's the other one that worries me…"

"Are they dangerous?"

"Extremely. But… they have no cause to hurt anyone down here, in fact they have cause to fiercely protect Stardust."

Moon's anxiety heightened by the second as Aries spoke, but she kept her cool and continued her questions.

"Who… Who are they?"

Aries stopped in place for a second, turning in place to Moon.

"You know her as Skygazer."

Moon remembered Skygazer well, a cloaked Starwing claiming Stardust was in grave danger. From what Moon had seen, she was similar to Aries and Stardust in their color changing scales, possessed a tenacity to protect Stardust, and Moon recalled a vague memory of Skygazer mumbling something about Mother.

As Moon remembered all these things in succession, the similar physical traits, the intense passion for protecting Stardust… and as all the pieces clicked together, the word "mother" hammered everything in place.

"She's… She's your daughter…?"

Aries nodded solemnly. "Her name is Libra… and she's responsible for the abduction of Stardust."

-X-

"How could anyone do something like that?!"

The Marshlands of the Mudwing Kingdom still smelled of smoke and sorrow, for the denizens of the swamps had lost their beloved Queen. Clay and his sibs (Reed relying on Pheasant and Clay to walk for the moment) sauntered down the huts and homes of the Mudwings. A few soldiers and generals were attempting to keep the peace and balance, but none of them could ease the sense of helplessness that permeated the air.

"Those poor Mudwings were almost massacred…" Umber walked beside Clay, looking up to his new Bigwings with perturbed anger. "How could anyone do something that awful?"

"I don't know Umber," Clay responded, albeit almost absentmindedly. "But we need to find Moorhen's missing heir, if the Sandwings are still looking for him then he's in REAL trouble right now."

Clay turned to Reed and Pheasant. "And Queen Moorhen never mentioned anything like this?"

Reed shook his head no. "She never mentioned anything about catacombs."

Clay glanced over to him with curiosity. "What DID she tell you to investigate then?"

Reed shut his eyes for a moment, wrestling with the memories of yesterday amidst everything else.

"Her EXACT words were these: "Find the hidden grove, planted forever green. There you will find our Kingdom's greatest secret."

Sora mumbled to herself. "That's not exactly helpful…"

Clay stopped mid stride, glancing around wildly. All he could make out were huts and mud pits, nothing exactly stood out to him. "Hidden Grove… Not exactly a lot of groves around here."

"Not exactly any catacombs either." Pheasant prodded up next to Clay. "We've seen pretty much all of the Mudwing Kingdom, there's not a whole lot of places for catacombs to be."

"Not to mention," Umber piped in again. "There's a reason it's called the Mudwing Kingdom. The ground around these swamps is too porous to make any sort of building materials."

"Much less Catacombs." Reed spoke up once more. "Plus, she mentioned groves and plants… so I don't think we'd be looking underground anyways."

Clay nearly responded in turn to the brain storming of his relatives around him, until one particular sight caught his eye. Out of one particular hut, a downtrodden Mudwing skulked out and prowled out of sight into the huts. Clay couldn't shake the face of this particular Mudwing and it haunted him for a moment, unable to bring to light the recollection of who this face belonged to… It was only when Moorhen's final words echoed across his mind that the realization slammed into him.

'I'm… proud of you…'

"Hey, you ok?"

Clay felt a nose poke at his wing, seeing Marsh's face peering back at him, concern apparent on the younger dragonet's expression.

Clay looked over at the huts once more, feeling a ball of stress settle into his chest that burned with questions and anger. He slowly turned to his sibs for a moment.

"You guys try and find out what you can, ask around. I need to…"

He turned his gaze back to the huts, where the slinky Mudwing plodded off to.

"...I need to talk to our mom for a minute."

The gang went silent, each one with a worried glance to the other. Reed nosed Clay on the shoulder before he could walk away.

"Is everything alright? You need one of us to come with you?"

Clay shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. Just need to ask her a few questions."

Reed carried the expression of a concerned brother hesitant to let him go, but he nodded compliantly. "Ok… we're here for you, always."

Clay let the smallest of smiles tug at his maw. "Thank you Reed. I won't be too long, come find me if you hear anything."

Reed nodded once more, turning back to the rest of the group and leaving Clay to venture out after Cattail.

Weaving between the huts as they grew denser together, it became quite hard for Clay to keep track of the Mudwing as she wove around the clamoring crowds. Being quite big himself, he had to circle outside the crowd simply to keep up. Cattail wasn't moving too fast or even trying to be sneaky, her movements just carried this air of sadness that propelled her away from everybody, and Clay took special notice.

It wasn't until Cattail left the crowds and huts to escape into the growing treeline, that she noticed she was being followed. She paused for a moment, then turned to face Clay. The two stared at the other from a few yards away, the midday sun and atmosphere painting the area nice and cozily. The tension between the two however, nearly negated all of that.

"Well… if it isn't the hero."

Clay stepped forwards, doing his utmost to keep himself stone faced. "I need you to answer a few questions."

Cattail stood exactly in place, Clay couldn't tell if fear or sadness kept her there. "Questions… What could I tell you, what do you need to hear from me?" Cattail simply prodded around pacing, looking at the ground. "After all, I didn't give you anything. You have your family now, your sibs and even more-"

"Even so," Clay cut her off with a bit of force behind his voice. "You're my mother, you know things that I don't." He stepped forwards again. "...Right?"

Cattail still had no interest in anything Clay had said, right up until that last word. Something about that question snapped Cattail's attention into focus, evoking what Clay identified as anger.

"...What are you getting at?"

Clay sat down and calmed his nerves, not about to let any of his emotions bleed.

"I know you don't care for me, and I know that's a Mudwing thing. I would say I don't blame you, but… it's hard not to blame you for selling me out, and letting me be raised in a cave for years."

Cattail squinted at Clay, letting just a little bit of malice bleed out, but seemingly hiding something behind it as well. "Blame the Talons of Peace for that one, I had no idea what they were going to do with you."

"And you didn't care."

"And I didn't care."

Clay drew a deep breath again, calming himself once more. "I see… then what's got you so downtrodden?"

Cattail's anger melted away at the question, replaced by depressed emptiness tinged with angst. She turned away once more.

"Nothing."

Clay knew a liar when he heard one, and seeing his mother not even attempt to open up broiled his emotions, to the point of bubbling over.

"See… I know you don't care. That's something I thought about a lot, secretly hoping you did and all this was just a ruse. Turns out, you didn't! You don't care, and it shows. But right now, you're hurt. Which means, something you DID care about, was either hurt… or lost."

The downtrodden Mudwing snorted in anger, but didn't give Clay any response. Thus, Clay continued.

"The only dragons who died today are royalty. You're not related to any of them, so what possible reason could you have for being sad?"

"What's it to you?!" Cattail dug her paws into the ground with each step away from Clay. Clay followed her closer and closer, determined to get some answers from her.

"I don't think ANYTHING matters to you! The only time I've seen you sad is when I mentioned Asha, and even THEN you looked more inconvenienced than anything! So I'll ask again, what POSSIBLE REASON could YOU have, for being SAD?!"

"SHUT UP!"

The two's conversation began escalating in tone, echoing just beyond the trees.

"See, if you won't tell me… that makes me think you're hiding something from me! And if ANYTHING, I THINK YOU AT LEAST OWE ME TRUTHFULNESS!"

Clay stopped to let Cattail walk a bit further ahead, before revealing his final question.

"WHY DID MOORHEN TELL ME SHE WAS PROUD OF ME?"

Again… Cattail stopped in place, this time not even turning back around.

"...What?"

Clay approached once more, each step he took stamped into the ground.

"I watched her die, Cattail… right in front of me. With her final breath, she chose not to beg for help, not to say she's sorry, or anything else. She said… I'm proud of you."

Cattail slowly let her head down, all the way until she stared at the ground.

"...I bet she was."

Clay felt the broiling anger and need for answers line the undertones of his voice, and in the lowest and harshest of voices he asked one more time:

"...why?"

...The silence between the two choked out any other sound that cut across the scene. No birds, no wind, no trees… only Clay's stare of iron. Only when Cattail turned around did the scene change… Clay's stare softened when Cattail's bittered and defeated expression found it's way to his gaze. She made no attempt to look at him, just… staring at the ground, as if lost in thought.

"...I know what you want to ask, but no… She's not your mother, Clay. I am. That much is true."

The downtrodden Mudwing shut her eyes tight, a single tear trailing down her snout now.

"...Though you might've been much better off if you had her instead…"

Clay's instincts pushed him forwards, step by step. Rage and the need to know had been reduced down to their bare essentials now, leaving Clay feeling like a dragonet freshly bust from the cave he'd been trapped in; confused, and seeking out his past. Whatever Cattail had to say now, that's all that mattered to him.

"What would've given her that right? You're my mother… and caring or not, you should've at least taken some interest in me! Even Asha would've done the same... What connection do I… do you, have to Moorhen?"

"NONE. We're not related, a-at least not to my knowledge." Cattail rubbed a talon to her temple in thought. "Look, I-I never knew my parents either, but Queen Moorhen… well, she wasn't queen at the time… she told me they died in a battle with no interest in me either."

As Cattail continued, Clay's insight into his mother's mind and past started to bring together the pieces of her story. He sat back down, simply listening and growing more interested.

"Then, my sibs basically threw me out and left me to fend for myself… for a long while, I just roamed around as an unsib… no one would have me, until Moorhen took pity on me and welcomed me into her palace. There, she gave me work, a place to stay, and even found me a unit to feel at home in… Asha and her group took me in for a bit, and that's when I had you."

Clay sat up straighter at that point, motioning for her to continue.

"You were a red egg, and Asha wouldn't shut up about you… the whole thing with the prophecy and what not. She desperately wanted me to give you to the Talons of Peace, but… Moorhen…"

Cattail stopped for a second, mouth open as if to speak but hesitant to say anything more. Clay leaned forwards some.

"What about her?"

"...I'm… I'm not-"

"Cattail, TELL ME."

Finally Cattail looked up from her spot at the ground, her sparkling yellow eyes dripping with regret as they met Clay's gaze.

"SHE WANTED ME TO GIVE YOU TO HER, OKAY?!"

Clay… didn't know how to process that statement. Even the thought of it mixed up his brain something awful.

"...She what?"

Cattail took a step forward as she continued.

"She was barren, Clay. As were her sisters… She had no heirs, and she was getting desperate for a child. When she heard I had my clutch, and heard of the Red Egg, she practically begged me to let her have you."

"Then…" Clay's brow furrowed and arched, wanting to ask even more questions but restraining himself. "Why didn't you?"

"...Asha tried convincing me with that prophecy mumbo jumbo, which I never believed for a second, but… Then the Talons of Peace started to make me offers… one of them started to reason that your clutch was big enough already, and I…"

Cattail's hesitation to continue helped Clay's emotions to clear up and unify a bit more. This time, all he felt was an unfamiliar and unyielding anger.

"Instead of giving me to the Queen of the Mudwings… you sold me to strangers."

"No, Clay-"

"You chose a MEAL over MY FUTURE."

"That's not-"

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT TEARING ME AWAY FROM MY SIBS WOULD DO TO ME, DID YOU?!"

"I WANTED BETTER FOR YOU THAN WHAT I GOT!"

Clay's rage froze for a second, confused by Cattail's interruption. "...what?"

Cattail plopped down on her haunches and sat down miserably, finally baring her soul to her son.

"...It was the night before Asha left. The Talons had made their final offer, and it was take it or leave it. The cows didn't matter to me, and even if I didn't care all that much, I at least wanted to make sure you had your sibs to look after you… but that night I held you in my arms for a second, and I just…"

She looked up again at her grown son, still teary eyed and now looking quite nearly ashamed.

"...In the reflection of your egg, I saw me. I saw what Mudwings really were, and I saw how uncaring and selfish everyone can be, especially Mudwings… I grew up with no one, Clay. My so-called sibs dumped me in the rain with no one to show any sort of care for me… I saw what could've happened to you, and for a moment that scared me more than anything in the world."

Clay drew a bit closer to his mother, once again caught in a fluster of emotions and unsure of what to feel or think. Cattail looked back down, wiping her snout off.

"I gave you away in hopes that you'd get something different, something better than whatever you could've had here… I couldn't let you stay here, with the chance that you'd end up like me… alone, and hurting… Even with Moorhen, there was no guarantee you'd have it good like everyone else…"

Clay now stood less than a foot away, looking down on his mother's bowed head.

"...you were scared for me."

Cattail simply nodded slowly.

"...Moorhen was furious with me… that day… Asha left, and Moorhen cast me out… I stayed with the rest of Asha's sibs since they took me in, but it was more so out of duty than really caring for me, and that… something changed that day, and nothing has ever felt the same… and I'm sorry, but you just remind me of everything I lost."

Finally Cattail looked back up at Clay, his expression now softened by empathy and understanding.

"...and today you lost a part of your past... "

"I…" Cattail did her best to regain her composure, sniffling deeply and exhaling. "I lost maybe my only real friend I had left, Clay. That's why I'm sad… because I've been alone, and after this I might always be alone."

The smaller Mudwing stood to her feet again, face to face with her now teary eyed son.

"I'd never be a good mother, Clay. Moorhen might've, but I made the one decision I could in your life, because I wanted you to be happier than I thought you could be here. I… I don't know if you can or should forgive me, and it's probably better that you just... forget about me… I don't deserve-"

Clay stopped her train of thought with a firm clasp of his paw to her shoulder.

"...Don't you dare tell me you don't deserve to be happy."

Cattail's usual unimpressed demeanor started to fade back into her tone.

"I was going to say "your forgiveness". I probably don't deserve your forgiveness."

"That…" Clay stopped himself short of saying what he really wanted to say, and instead calmed himself.

"...That isn't for you to decide, that's my choice."

Cattail arched an eyebrow, a slight look of hope in her eye now. "And… your choice?"

Clay's gaze drifted downwards, contemplating the situation and his still slightly jumbled feelings. He couldn't bring himself to just sweep it all under the carpet, even if he understood why Cattail did what she did. Still, a certain aching of his heart compelled him to help his hurting mother, even with all the heartache he's brought him.

"...I'm… not ready to forgive everything just yet… but I want to."

"Ah." Cattail nodded and sighed. "That's understandable…"

"But..." Clay looked to her once more. "...for what it's worth… I really appreciate you opening up to me. I know you may not care on the outside-"

"Or the inside."

Clay just offered a knowingly empathic smile. "...Inside, you do still care."

Cattail glanced down once more, a soft spoken smile streaming across her maw.

"Yeah… ok, maybe I do…"

Clay, without any warning, immediately wraps his arms around Cattail and squeezes rather tightly. Laying his head on her shoulder, he speaks ever so happily.

"All I've wanted is to hear you admit that… and all I need is just the once… thank you."

Cattail at first doesn't hug back, a little put off by the sudden embrace, but after a moment wraps her arms around in return and settles into the hug. She closes her eyes and squeezes tighter in return.

"...I think I owe you at least that much… my son. I'm…"

As Clay did, she lays her head across his shoulder.

"...I'm so proud of you..."

The two simply squeeze and hug it out in silence for a bit, just enjoying the sunny atmosphere and company of each other in happiness. Cattail finally found a bit of happiness and comfort for the first time in years, and Clay's yearning finally felt fulfilled.

"Clay!"

Clay perked his head up, hearing Pheasant calling from far off. Cattail let go and whirled around to see where they were.

"Was that one of your sibs?"

"Yeah, that was." Clay heaved a sigh while glancing back to his mother. "Thank you, again… I'm in the middle of something important, "save the Mudwing Kingdom" type business, but I promise I'll come back and see you again, ok?"

Cattail settled back into her usual demeanor, but with a noticeable tint of happiness added in. No longer totally uncaring and flat, but just happy enough to be tolerable.

"Take your time, stop by for dinner sometime. I do hope you like cow."

Clay shook his head with a chuckle, already running off to the rest of his sibs.

"I love cow!"

Breaking through the thick brush, Clay emerged onto the other side of the treeline with his sibs waiting for him. Sora and Marsh were the first to latch onto him with hugs.

"Clay!" "Bigwings!"

He happily greeted them with a wing around each, a giant smile returning to his maw. Reed looked on with admiration, albeit tinted with a touch of sorrow.

"You get any of the answers you needed from her?"

Clay simply nodded, still thinking over everything that was said.

"Yeah, I did. Turns out, she's not the kind of dragon I thought she was."

Before any of the sibs could get out another question as to what he meant by that, Pheasant prodded forwards.

"Clay, we asked around if anybody knew of Mudwing catacombs or hidden forests, and one of the elders mentioned the burial ground of Queen Crane."

"Crane..." Clay did his best to remember Web's lessons about Mudwing history all those years ago. "Wasn't she Queen around Darkstalker's time, like 2000 years ago?"

Pheasant nodded. "Yes, but it's not just her burial grounds. Legends have it that every King and Queen since Crane has been buried there too, and the best part? Since it's near the Diamond Spray Delta, legend ALSO says their graves have created a small grove of really dense trees, and right now that's where they're taking Moorhen!"

"A hidden Grove…" Clay repeated to himself. "That could be it!"

"It's not far off either, just down the river to the Delta." Umber motioned down the river, raring to go. "Shouldn't be too long, maybe less than half an hour."

"Right!" Clay popped up with sudden enthusiasm. "C'mon, let's go, no time to waste! Reed, you up for flying, or not yet?"

Reed stretched out his wings and shook himself off. "I should be able to, don't think I should be going too fast though."

"That's alright, I'll stay with you." Clay motioned to everyone else. "You guys go on ahead, we'll be behind you."

"Alright gang," Pheasant took to the skies and shouted out in a semi commanding tone. "MOVE OUT!"

Marsh, Umber and Sora took to the skies alongside her, while Clay stood by Reed waiting for him to take off too. Instead… Reed prodded over to his slightly larger brother.

"Hey… before we go, I just need to say one thing."

Clay, about to object entirely, already guessing where this was going. Reed spoke up once more.

"JUST one thing, and then we'll go. I'll make it quick."

Clay, seeing that intent look in Reed's expression, nodded and sat down for the time being. Reed drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, gathering his thoughts.

"Look… In the hut, I didn't mean to make you feel like you abandoned us or anything, no one in our family thinks that about you Clay."

Clay nods along. "I know."

"All I wanted you to know is that we are here for you. You grew up without any knowledge of how Mudwings are, and the most important thing to us is family. I know you found yours along the way, and I know that they're incredibly important to you, and I respect that- no, I'm ECSTATIC about it!"

Reed planted himself directly in front of Clay, brother to brother.

"...Just because we chose you as Bigwings doesn't mean you have to leave your other family... You don't have to leave either of us. You can have as much family as you want, Clay. When I said "You deserve the family you should've grown up with", my only intention was to let you know that… well…"

The younger Mudwing offered a sincere and heartfelt half smile, which Clay reciprocated in full.

"Even if you grew up apart from us… that makes you no less our brother than if you'd been here the whole time. You don't have to prove anything or make it up to us, we're just so... overjoyed to have you here and now."

Reed's gaze drifted off for a moment, landing at the ground for a moment.

"As for the whole Bigwings thing, they're just happy to have you here, and they believe in you wholeheartedly. They won't be hurt if you won't take the role, they still think of me as Bigwings too. A-and some groups can have two if the oldest siblings are just as big as each other, so we can split it, o-or like take turns or something, I just don't-"

"Hey."

After talking to the ground for the past minute, Reed finally tilted his head back to meet Clay's stare again, noting his now teary eyed gaze.

"...Thank you, Reed. I… I actually really needed to hear that."

Reed finally shut his maw, content to see his long lost brother made happy by his words. He wrapped Clay in a full on hug and squeezed him with all the strength he had.

"I'm not gonna stand by and watch my brother feel like he's got to choose between his family."

Clay squeezed back as tight as he could in return. "*Sniff* Like a real Bigwings… I appreciate it, Reed."

"Heh," Reed let out a chortle at the comment. "Anytime Bigwings.~"

Clay let go after that, wiping his eyes again. "Moons… I didn't expect to be crying so much the past two days!"

Reed punched him gently on the shoulder with his wing. "You can cry some more on the way, big guy. Let's get going, ok?"

"Aye." Clay nodded, motioning for Reed to lead the way. "I'm behind you."

Reed bore down and blasted himself off the ground with a great gust of his wings, prompting Clay to follow suit.

"Hey, by the way!" Clay roared after him. "Think we should go halfsies on the whole Bigwings thing?"

"Sure," Reed did his best to glance behind him with a knowing grin. "Whatever you say Bigwings!"

"Why thank you Bigwings!" Clay's grin deepened further. "So generous!"

The two went back and forth like that, doing their best to catch up with the rest of their sibs ahead. The day shined with happiness upon the two brothers, and to them it seemed brighter than ever.

-X-

'Hey, Fishbrains! Wake up!'

Normally, Tsunami might've killed whoever dare wake her up with that tone of voice. Especially from dreams involving her and Riptide on fantastic world saving adventures in outer space. However Tsunami opted not to do this, primarily because her eyes still weren't open, and secondly because that voice definitely sounded familiar.

And thirdly, the voice most definitely did not come from outside her head.

Sitting up in confusion, Tsunami recollected the events of the past day as her surroundings kicked in. The dark cell, the superheated bars, and most importantly Riptide still asleep beside her. On the other side of the bars, Tsunami felt a massive portion of her confusion subside upon seeing Anemone.

Ts: (Anemone! What're… what time is it?)

A: (Midday, you and loverboy slept in for a while.)

The Azure Princess rubbed the sleep from her eyes and blinked a few times.

Ts: (I still feel super tired…)

A: (Probably the bananas from yesterday, magic will do that to you.)

Anemone then waved her talons in front of the bars, willing them down into the ground.

A: (Listen, mother is leaving a bit early to meet the Queen before the meeting because… well you know how she is. She came by the prison to look for you and nearly had a fit seeing you and Riptide in here…)

Tsunami glowered in the darkness of the cell, glancing to Riptide who just now began to stir from his slumber. She regarded Anemone with a determined expression.

Ts: (I imagine she would. What did she say to you?)

Anemone shook her head.

A: (Nothing to me, she nearly took one of the guards heads off though. I know how much Riptide means to you, but…)

Anemone took note of Riptide finally waking up, and used her magic once more to talk in Tsunami's head.

'I'm not sure he's gonna be safe here, even with you protecting him.'

Riptide poked his head up with squinting eyes, seeing Anemone and Tsunami face to face. Tsunami nosed his forehead affectionately, to which Riptide nosed her cheek.

R: (Hey… everything ok?)

Ts: (We'll see. Mother knows about us now, and from the sound of things she's not happy.)

Riptide winced at hearing that news, looking to Anemone.

R: (Do you know where she is now?)

A: (We're headed to a, uh… very important meeting, at Jade Mountain.)

Anemone regarded Tsunami with a squint, conveying a "Does he know?" type of look. Tsunami shook her head no and leaned over to Riptide.

Ts: (I'll explain later. Right now, I think it wise to get out of here.)

A: (About that…)

As if on cue, a pair of Seawing guards glided in from around the corner, headed off by none other than Shark. Each dragon wielded a spear, while Shark wielded both a spear and a dangerously sharp glare towards Riptide.

S: (Princess Tsunami, I need you to step away, now.)

Tsunami, in direct retaliation, guarded Riptide jealousy.

Ts: (Try me, kelp for brains.)

Shark snarled and tightened his grip on his spear.

S: (I have orders from your mother to kick this rotted whale carcass out of her palace immediately, and if he resists-)

Shark bumps his spear on the ground, prompting the two guards to point their spears at Riptide. Shark's snarling maw curves into a grin at that point.

S: (I have full authorization to gut him myself.)

While Tsunami snarled intensely, Anemone stuck herself between the two.

A: (NONE OF THAT will be necessary here! I'm sure we can work things out!)

R: (I'll go.)

Shark and Anemone both paused in place, the guards withdrew their spears. Tsunami turned around again, regarding Riptide with an odd look.

Ts: (What're you doing? I thought you came here to redeem yourself, not get kicked out again!)

R: (Queen Coral isn't here right now, and that's why I came here in the first place.)

Riptide swam forwards in front of Shark with his paws up in peaceful agreement.

R: (I'll go, but only if Tsunami leads me out of the Kingdom.)

In that instant, the four dragons cast their gaze onto the Seawing Princess, Shark with suspicion and doubt, and Riptide with a little bit of hope. Tsunami froze in place for a second, slowly coming to understand what his intentions were. The look on her snout read "You're not suggesting…", to which Riptide nodded with determination upon his expression.

Tsunami then turned to Shark with the slightest bit of hesitation, soon replaced with steeled authority.

Ts: (And I intend to do just that.)

Shark's confusion sharpened into suspicion and anger.

S: (My orders are to kick him out myself, but you're welcome to come along and watch.)

Ts: (If you touch him, I'll stick that spear of yours down your throat and pin you to the wall!)

S: (Coral already threatened to rip my fins off, so I'm afraid your threats are in vain, princess.)

Riptide peeked out from behind Tsunami with a tinge of abject horror.

R: (What is it with you dragons and threatening to kill everyone?)

Anemone once more interrupted the standoff.

A: (What if we guarantee you won't get hurt if you let them go? We'll tell Coral to punish us instead or something, because you were listening to us!)

Shark and his guards glanced at each other once more, silently debating whether to do so. One of the guards flashed a tired looking response.

G1: (Honestly, I've been threatened with violence like 4 times today. I just want to go home.)

S: (Hm… So be it. But if I see this traitor in our palace again-)

R: (You're going to do something violent, right?)

Shark once again cast a deep growl at the two of them, then turned around with his entourage of guards following closely. Anemone heaved a sigh of relief at the tension draining from the situation.

A: (Well, that was fun.)

Ts: (I really hope he gets eaten by sharks or something, seriously.)

R: (Again, why all the violence? It's just a little off putting.)

Tsunami whapped Riptide with her tail, still looking to Anemone.

Ts: (Thank you for intervening, but what about you? Aren't you supposed to be with Coral?)

Anemone smirked a proud grin, flashing her scales with satisfaction.

A: (I am.)

Floating next to the bars of another cell, Anemone put her paw through the metal, her arm phasing right through the superheated bars. She pulled it back out totally unharmed, with an even bigger toothy grin.

A: (I'm actually not here right now.)

-/-

Queen Coral glided through the air over the beginnings of the Mudwing territories, carrying an exhausted Anemone on her back. The Seawing Queen was large enough to support her without much effort, and couldn't be happier to do so. After the night before, she was eager to support her daughter however she asked, and in the morning following up, Anemone simply requested to take a nap.

Coral didn't mind at all, and craned her neck back to see the little one curled up and snoozing away. Her smile nearly shone as a star in the daytime, and she simply steadied herself to keep gliding along. Anemone however, wasn't merely asleep.

In reality, the Seawing Princess was concentrating.

-/-

Ts: (Anemone!) Tsunami's scolding tone came through in her posture. (You can't just be using your magic willy nilly, it's dangerous!)

A: (Oh come on, I just warned you about Shark coming to drag your boyfriend off!) Anemone motioned to Riptide, who seemed totally confused about Anemone's incorporeal form. (Least you could do is show some gratitude.)

Tsunami, as much as she wanted to argue, had to admit that without Anemone this scenario would have gone much worse. She sighed into the warm water and nodded reluctantly.

Ts: (You're right… Thank you sis. I owe you one.)

A: (You owe me several at this point, but I'm not keeping track, so…) She simply shrugged with the same smirking smile. (Thank me later. Just make sure you two are safe, ok?)

Tsunami nodded, while Riptide finally found the courage to speak.

R: (Wait… you're an animus? How long have-)

Tsunami flashed behind her at him.

Ts: (I'll explain later.) She nosed forwards to Anemone, right at where her snout would be in physical form. (We'll be safe, you keep mom safe, and more importantly don't go crazy with the magic… ok?)

Anemone nods reluctantly, knowing Tsunami only said these things out of care.

A: (Ok.) Before her magical form dissipated into nothingness, she flashed the scales on her snout. (Love.)

Tsunami felt the corners of her maw tug upwards, and flashed back as well.

Ts: (Love.)

And with that, Anemone's magical visage disappeared entirely. Riptide nosed Tsunami's side affectionately.

R: (Ok… what's the plan?)

Tsunami regarded the Seawing with a frustrated glare.

Ts: (That depends entirely on what you intend to do when we leave the palace.)

R: (I'm going after Queen Coral to talk this through, whatever it takes.)

Tsunami snorted a jet of bubbles from her nose, the frustration building further and further.

Ts: (I'm pretty sure she's going to try and murder you if she sees you again.)

R: (That's…) Riptide exhaled a long breath and stamped his hindpaw to the ground. (That's a chance I have to take.)

Even underwater, Tsunami's growl shook the water around her. Riptide knew that growl to be of frustration and displeasure, but as it petered out, Tsunami regained her composure once more.

Ts: (Do you have a backup plan for when it all goes horribly wrong?)

R: (I have you.)

Tsunami's previously annoyed tone took on a brave and adventurous twist, and as she leaned forwards she planted a subtle kiss on her partner's nose.

Ts: (You're darn right you do.~)

As Tsunami began speeding out of the dungeons, Riptide followed behind as close as he could. Down the now dragon-filled halls of the Deep Palace, a few stragglers took note of Riptide with scornful glances and shocked gazes. He did his best to put it off and focus on the mission ahead, staying beside Tsunami.

Finally, Tsunami stopped at the largest junction, where the exit lay ahead and the Royal Quarters lay to the right. Before moving forwards, she glanced to the right. Riptide went ahead just a bit further before stopping.

R: (Aren't we going?)

Ts: (Almost, I just want to check up on Turtle and Auklet first.)

R: (Alright, but I get the feeling most dragons don't want me here.)

Tsunami had to resist rolling her eyes.

Ts: (And what could possibly have given you that idea?)

Riptide chortled to himself, a little relieved with Tsunami's sarcasm. Where most would be annoyed or offended, he enjoyed the back and forth with the Seawing Princess, with the knowledge that it all meant she had a fondness for him.

R: (Squid brain.~)

Ts: (Squid brain.~)

The two swam up the decorated halls to Coral's main chamber, where Tsunami expected to find Turtle and Auklet milling about or just relaxing. Only, neither of them were around.

Ts: (Oh fish bones… where'd they get off to?)

R: (Is it really important we find them?)

Ts: (I need to make sure Auklet is in safe hands, so yes.)

Tsunami began to race out the door, Riptide in pursuit, before he stopped her in the hallway.

R: (Who's she with?)

Ts: (She's-)

Before Tsunami could even flash his name, Turtle came barreling down the hallway and nearly crashed into them. Turtle began flashing frantically at seeing the two of them.

T: (TSUNAMITHEREYOUAREIVEBEENLOOKINGALLOVERFORYOUYOUGOTTASEETHIS)

Auklet came in right behind him, galloping in the water like a seahorse gone mad, and promptly bowled the three over into a pile, laying atop them and giggling nonstop.

Au: (Got you bro bro!)

Turtle groaned out to himself, glancing down to his little sister with a forced half smile.

T: (Yep, you got bro bro. Again.)

The three picked themselves up, with Auklet sitting aside and swaying her tail without a care in the world. Tsunami turned to Turtle.

Ts: (THERE you are! I've been looking for you, but why have you been looking for me?)

T: (Because-) Turtle started flashing his response before being poked in the wing by Riptide. He moved his wing away and glanced to Riptide who drew his talon back.

R: (Sorry, just… uh, making sure you're… real.)

...Turtle's totally perplexed stare began with Riptide, then turned back to Tsunami, who had the same kind of confused expression, then back to Riptide, gathering more and more befuddlement as the questions he wanted to ask stacked up taller and taller.

T: (What-... Why-...) He promptly put his talons to his head, and squeezed his eyes shut. (I have no idea what any of that is supposed to be about, but I just need to show you something.)

Tsunami and Riptide glanced to each other worriedly.

Ts: (Ok, what is it?)

Turtle then swam to Auklet, counting the pearls on her necklace.

T: (Auklet, can you show Tsunami what you did earlier?)

Auklet, now with three pairs of eyes on her (one of which she didn't know at all), shrank back just a little bit and held her necklace tight.

Au: (...I'm scared…)

Tsunami slowly swam over and planted herself on the other side of Auklet, wrapping a wing around her smaller sister.

Ts: (It's ok Auklet, you're safe, you're with family. Nothing's gonna happen, we just wanna see ok?)

Auklet looked back and forth between Turtle and Tsunami, then up at Riptide, who offered a calm and meaningful smile. She seemed to perk up at the familial warmth shown to her, and let go of her necklace.

Au: (Ok… I'll do it.)

With everyone watching, Auklet cupped her hands out, and flashed a command into the open water.

Au: (Give me a delicious fishy!)

And out of thin air (water?), a single medium sized Minnow appeared in the palms of Auklet's hands. She squeaked happily before devouring it whole and chomping down. Riptide stared at the child dumbfounded, while Tsunami glared at Turtle after the realization dawned on her.

Ts: (Was this your doing?!)

T: (NO! She was playing in the bubble jets when I heard her ask for a fish, and it just poofed into her paws!)

Au: (Am I in trouble?)

Tsunami sweetly flashed to her little sister and rubbed her head.

Ts: (No Auklet, you're not in trouble. I promise.) She planted a sweet kiss on the dragonet's head, before going back to Turtle. (Is it the necklace? An enchantment?)

T: (Not those either. Look at this.)

Turtle picked out a single pearl out of his satchel and showed it to everyone.

T: (Enchant this pearl to turn black, if Auklet's powers came from anyone else but her.)

The gang stood silent, waiting to see the pearl's judgement… and to everyone's surprise, the pearl stayed white.

T: (See?)

Tsunami facepalmed in exasperation, letting out a sigh of disbelief.

Ts: (Well then... Coral had another magic baby, that's what, two in a row?)

R: (In a row? Gill must've had some kinda magic to him.)

Au: (Gill?) Auklet cocked her head to the side. (Who's that?)

Tsunami rubbed her head gently, letting out another sigh.

Ts: (I'll… I'll tell you soon, ok? Right now, we gotta go find mom.)

T: (Wait, we're going with Coral? Isn't Anemone with her?)

Ts: (Yes… me and Riptide were already going to see her about a different matter, but I don't trust leaving Auklet here now that we know she's an animus too.)

T: (You don't trust me?) Turtle seemed personally offended by the statement and the mere implication, to which Tsunami corrected herself.

Ts: (No, no I trust you, you more than a lot of other dragons, Turtle. Just… I don't trust the Seawings left in charge while mother is away.)

T: (Ah,) Turtle couldn't disagree with that statement, and now that Tsunami pointed out the possibility of Auklet being exploited, it did seem like a bad idea. (fair enough. But still…)

Turtle glanced down to Auklet worriedly, who gazed up at her brother hoping to understand what had everyone so worried.

T: (It's a long way to Jade Mountain.)

Tsunami knelt down the Auklet again, coming across as warm and friendly as she could.

Ts: (Auklet, we need to get you to mom, so she can see too. Don't worry, it's nothing to be ashamed of, but… you need to keep this a secret, this is a very special thing.)

Auklet looked down to her paws with wide eyes, then back up at her big sister.

Au: (I'm… special?)

Tsunami's smile could've reached the roof at Auklet's wonder.

Ts: (The most special. That's why we need to show mom… does she know you can do this?)

Auklet shook her head no.

Au: (No. I just learned about it today, in the bubble gardens.)

Ts: (Well, either way… we're gonna go find mom, and we're gonna do a lot of flying.)

Riptide poked his snout alongside Tsunami's.

R: (It's gonna be a little adventure, alright?)

Au: (Adventure?!) The little one perked up at the thought of going on an adventure, and got more excited by the second. (I wanna go on an adventure!)

Tsunami swam back up to her full height.

Ts: (It's settled, let's go then!)

Turtle nodded, heading back into the royal chambers.

T: (Let me grab my-)

Ts: (No time!) She yanked him back to the hall, along with Riptide in the other paw. Both yelped in surprise, while Auklet swam around them both with glee.

Au: (Adventure! Let's goooo!)

And with that, Tsunami dragged the two down the halls of the palace, with the young dragonet flashing with excitement. And to the denizens of the Seawing Kingdom bearing witness to the scene, not a single one had a clue what was happening.

-X-

"You know… You really didn't need to have lunch with me."

Smolder and Onyx sat side by side, Smolder with a toasted sandwich and tea, Onyx with a few assorted fruits and black coffee. The two sat inside a dusty cafe by the open window, not another soul in sight save for the owner of the shop. Smolder seemed wholly interested in his daughter, which couldn't be said for Onyx in return.

"You really didn't."

Smolder grinned as he leaned forwards on the table towards Onyx.

"I wouldn't miss lunch with you for the world."

Onyx sipped her coffee with distaste, moreso for her father than for the coffee.

"Lucky me…"

Smolder knew Onyx wouldn't care much for conversation or talking much with him, but he had to try. His tolerance for coldness and icy personalities was quite high, and he extended his patience especially for his estranged daughter, always in the hopes of growing closer.

Onyx on the other hand (Paw? Talon? Oh whatever.) would've prefered Smolder anywhere else in Pyrrhia than across from her at the table. All she wanted was to eat her lunch in peace, surrounded by nothing but the quiet and empty building. She bore no ill will towards Smolder, and thought him an honorable dragon too, but she would rather have her tail eaten off by a shark than have a heartfelt conversation with him.

Unfortunately for her, however, that's all that Smolder was trying to do.

"So… how's the conquest for queenship going?"

Onyx nearly snorted into her coffee. "As if I'd tell you."

"Well," Smolder shrugged as he chomped into his sandwich heartily. "You don't have to tell me any critical details or anything, I'm just trying to make polite conversation."

"I noticed." Onyx sipped her coffee once more and sighed. "I dare not ask why."

"Well maybe you should! Maybe the answer will surprise you." Unceremoniously, Smolder shoved the rest of the toasted sandwich in his maw, chomping down as various meat and greens crunched under his teeth. "Hopen hup! I'm naht ah bahd ghuy!"

Onyx planted her forehead in the talons of her left paw, tapping the table in annoyance with the right. "You know… if I didn't know better, I'd say you're distracting me from something."

As the handsome Sandwing chewed and chomped, he shrugged with a carefree smile. Onyx wasn't sure if she could look on with any more disdain than she already was, instead shooting aggravated glances to the owner of the shop, who watched the two with mounting curiosity and confusion.

Smolder finally swallowed the food in his mouth obnoxiously, albeit Onyx couldn't tell if it was purposeful or not. The prompt choking and coughing afterwards, Onyx knew to be genuine. As Smolder began punching his chest and abdomen to dislodge the food, Onyx planted her forehead to the table and groaned with annoyance.

"Why me?"

Smolder punched himself hard enough to cough the lodged mass up, catching it in his mouth in time, then swallowing much more carefully this time. He coughed a few times more, then cleared his throat with a sheepish smile.

"Uh… excuse me."

"Ok FINE." Onyx lifted her head up and glared at her father. "WHY are you trying to talk to me? What did Thorn tell you to torture out of me?"

"Nothing! My intentions are sincere, I just want to connect!"

"Then why did you come talk to me when Thorn just left her palace?"

Smolder's gaze shifted from firm empathy to wild puzzlement over a few seconds. Onyx kept up her questions regardless.

"Oh don't pull that camel spit with me, you know full well I'm on to you."

"First off, how do you-"

"SPIES, Smolder. I'm not stupid."

"I know you're not, I never insinuated you were-"

"Then why are you trying to formulate some sort of lie to try and make me feel better?"

"I didn't KNOW she LEFT!" Smolder finally raised his voice to assert himself. "My surprise is genuine, I didn't know she would leave this early."

"This early?" Onyx's curiosity and annoyance raised the tone of her voice a bit more, while Smolder facepalmed and sighed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Smolder dragged his talons down his snout and his maw down to the table.

"Well… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you…" He leaned forwards on the table, prompting Onyx to do the same, just more… warily.

"Thorn, has… a… uh… very important meeting to attend. It's tomorrow, but apparently she's done dealing with her problems here, and decided to go galivanting off without me."

Onyx's gaze shifted around the room along with her erratic line of thought, jumping from one point of the room to another as questions flew around like flies buzzing incessantly. Should she trust a single word out of her father's mouth? Is he really sincere enough and dumb enough to lay out her plans like this? He certainly didn't seem to be misleading her, but Onyx knew better than to blindly trust whatever came out of his mouth… Thorn might just be using him as some sort of pawn in her game, a gust of sand to blind her from what's really going on, and anything could be around the-

"Wait… where'd the cafe owner go?"

Onyx's train of thought suddenly cut off at Smolder's question, suddenly whirling around to see his usual spot by the counter empty… Onyx was about to ask Smolder one of her hundreds of questions, but instead found her attention stolen by something else… a sound that raised the scales on both dragon's necks.

Phweeeeeeee . . .

Smolder took no time for hesitation, immediately jumping to his feet and tossing the table over on its side for protection.

"GET BEHIND ME-"

Onyx barely had time to react before the sound cut off, cut short as she barreled behind the table with Smolder, just in time as the back wall burst open with furious heat and force.

DOOM!

Despite being safe from the blast itself, the force from the shockwave blasted the table back at the two, slamming them into the wall and almost out the back of it. Smolder hit the wall first with a solid CRACK along the sandstone, followed Onyx against him with the table crushing the two together. Neither impact was forceful enough to break any major bones or sever any organs, but with Smolder taking a nasty impact to the head from both the wall and Onyx…

After the fire and smoke subsided, and the vague screaming from outside settled in, Onyx's head rang harshly with tinnitus and her vision swam like a desert mirage. Barely able to move, she craned her head to the left just enough to see Smolder totally knocked out, but just barely breathing. The ruins of the table and the wreckage of the wall kept the two pinned down, and Onyx could just barely make out a group of three Sandwings coming towards her.

"Don't hurt her too much."

Onyx could just barely make out the visage of the other two Sandwings, but the one who spoke… Onyx immediately recognized him as the cafe owner.

"She's my best customer."

Without much resistance to put up, Onyx could do naught but watch as one of the other two Sandwings slammed the butt of a spear to Onyx's face… and let the inky blackness swiftly render her unconscious.

-/-

It was a relatively short list, all the things Qibli hated. He had reason to enjoy life and not complain too much… but his past ingrained in him a distaste for a few particular things.

First, was being put in a cage. Second, not knowing where he was. And third, possibly the most infuriating to him, was being bound in any way, shape, or form.

As Qibli awakened from his forced slumber, he took note of the bars and walls that surrounded him, not recognizing these dungeons or anything outside as he peered through the sunbeams pouring in. And as soon as he attempted to tackle the bars and shout for help, the thick chains attached to the walls grabbed his ankles and flumped him to the floor.

So the very next moment he'd gathered himself up, the first plan of action was to scream.

"GRAAAAAH!"

"Urrgh… Quiet in there…"

Qibli got to his feet again, testing the length of the chains and peeking around the corner to find the voice that just groaned out.

"Who said that?!"

Just barely able to see the cell diagonal from him, Qibli's face flushed as he recognized the snout of one badly damaged Smolder.

"That would be me, and could you kindly keep it down? I've got this massive headache…"

"Oh, Smolder! What're you doing here? Where ARE we?!"

Smolder shut his eyes and shushed the young Sandwing.

"Sorry… where are we?" Qibli hissed out in a semi whisper.

A second snout making its way to the bars promptly answered with a strain in her voice.

"Vulture's dungeon, no doubt about it. Been here a few times, none of those times pleasant."

Smolder immediately turned to Onyx, just out of sight of Qibli. "Don't strain yourself!"

"You're not the boss of me."

"Wait," Qibli nosed as far forwards as he could. "Onyx? Is that you? How did you guys end up here?"

Smolder padded back to the bars and rubbed his head.

"I met with Onyx for lunch at a cafe, and before we knew it, someone set off a cactus bomb in the building. We got knocked out… What about you?"

Qibli actually hadn't a clue who knocked him out. All he remembered was the gates of the palace in view, wondering where all Thorn's guards were, and then a solid whack to the head… No warning, not even an instinct that anything was wrong. Just a dragon that came up from behind and knocked him out.

"I was headed to see Thorn, I don't even know what happened… who bought us here?"

"No clue…" Smolder looked around the dungeon cells to see if anyone else could hear them, but as far as he could tell there was nobody else but them. "But I have no intention of staying here."

"Me neither." Qibli turned back from the bars of the cell, searching around for anything to use. A monitor lizard scurried across the sandy floor, to which Qibli stamped it down on it's head until it stopped squirming. "Gotcha!"

Smolder winced at the sight, unable to see exactly what Qibli intended to do with the lizard. "Um… I know we're stuck, but there's no need to get violent-"

Before Smolder could even follow up to Qibli's action, the gate of the cell swung open with one unchained Qibli strolling out. He held a single rib bone in his talons, with a smirking grin.

"Lizard Rib Bones make for perfect lockpicks, and they're pretty much everywhere. It's an old trick I learned from my brother and sister."

Smolder arched his brow in surprise, and as Qibli handed it to him, he got to work unlocking his and Onyx's cuffs.

"Wait," As Qibli peered in the cell to look at Onyx, his expression turned quizzical and suspicious. "I thought Onyx and Vulture were working together…"

"Cobra decided otherwise." Onyx hissed out as she cradled her wing, disdain apparent in her voice. Qibli prodded closer as Smolder unlocked the cell door.

"How could she have made that decision? Cobra doesn't speak for the Talons of Power, Vulture does."

Onyx, prepared to detail her experiences with Cobra, couldn't get out a single word before a voice interrupted from down the hall… one that immediately sent chills up Qibli's spine.

"Not anymore, I don't."

Qibli stiffened up in place, Onyx searching around with menace and survival instinct coursing through her. Smolder paused for a moment to see the other two's reaction, and thusly began picking the locks on the chains faster. Qibli had to force himself out of his rigid stance, doing his utmost not to let Vulture petrify him.

"Vulture… I should've known you were behind all of this."

Qibli finally whirled around, expecting to see his grandfather glaring at him, but instead finding… an empty hallway. This took Qibli off guard, awaiting a response from the disembodied voice.

"I'm not."

The Sandwing dared to take a few steps forward, checking the rest of the cells to see where it came from… Lo and behold, the biggest cell contained one chained and bound Vulture. His wings were tied to his back, arms pulled away from each other on each side, leaving him on his knees with his head down. Most notably… Vulture looked thin, almost emaciated. His threatening aura had all but faded, and Qibli wasn't sure how long he'd been here… but it must've been a while.

Regardless, Qibli gripped the reinforced bars of the cell with steeled anger.

"You know you can't fool me. I don't know what you're playing at but it's not going to work."

"Qibli… Grandson…"

The subtle differences in how Vulture spoke to Qibli crawled around inside his stomach, and Qibli was almost certain this was the first time ever that Vulture addressed him as his Grandson. Even in deception, Vulture maintained a lofty position above everyone else with his attitude and manipulative speech, but this… Qibli could only describe it as broken; humbled even, which for Vulture was something Qibli was sure would never happen in a million years.

Then again, Qibli learned to never trust his Grandfather, for underneath everything he claimed to be, he could never be anything but a power hungry madman; using violence, and manipulation as his scepter of power. This dragon lived and breathed lies, and toyed with Pyrrhia as his own personal game of Chess. Qibli weighed all of these facts against each other, while taking a good long look at his Grandfather… but some little tick in his head pleaded with Qibli to listen to what Vulture had to say.

Vulture craned his neck up at the bars, barely enough to see his Grandson.

"...I… I'm so sorry..."

Qibli almost didn't hear what he said, instead focusing on Vulture's eyes. One of Thorn's many teachings was of how to read dragons simply by their expressions and body tics, and the most damning evidence of manipulation lay in the eyes. Vulture always maintained his head above the other dragons, barely ever making direct eye contact and instead looking at the dragon he spoke to as an object.

As Qibli watched Vulture slowly crane his head up… it all seemed wrong. The dragon's eyes were pleading, ones of despair… and if Qibli hadn't known any better, he'd have guessed repentance. At first, it taunted Qibli that his Grandfather took such a low stance, and he couldn't have guessed what he was playing at.

Before he could ponder any further, Smolder and Onyx dragged themselves out of the cell next to Qibli.

"Vulture…" Smolder glanced to Qibli, staying a few feet back from the bars. "Why is he locked up?"

"Why is he letting himself be locked up, is the question." Onyx limped her way to Smolder, who offered to let her lean on him, but pushed herself away indignantly. "He's got the Talons of Power at his beck and call… He could have a legion of Sandwings bust him out if he whistles the right way. He's got spies planted everywhere..."

Qibli's racing mind finally settled into one unifying answer that dawned on him like some terrible sun of very bad things to come.

"Unless… he doesn't. He's telling the truth, he owns these dungeons no more than we do."

As comforting a thought as it might've been, the prospect that Vulture had lost control of the Talons of Peace meant that it opened the doors for other… less savory characters to come into control. And if that was the case…

"Smolder… we have to find Thorn, like now."

Smolder stood beside Qibli. "How? She left earlier today, I have no idea where-"

"The Meeting." Vulture once more spoke up, his gaze back to the sandy brick floor. "She's headed to the meeting."

NOW Qibli had a thousand more questions to ask, but considering that he knew of the meeting, and Thorn had left for it early, AND they knew she had left early… Now was not the time for dilly dally.

"Smolder, go NOW. Take Onyx if you want, just GO."

Smolder wasn't one to take orders easily from those with no authority, but the panic in Qibli's voice prompted him to get going. Onyx stood there for a moment, looking between Vulture and Smolder, eventually groaning out and limping after Smolder. Qibli turned and padded off as well, only to stop as Vulture called after him.

"Wait! Qibli wait… please."

...Every fiber in Qibli's sensible mind pushed him to keep going and not look back. Every instinct in his body burned with the singular thought: 'DON'T LOOK BACK.'

And yet…

"...I still don't believe you."

Qibli forced himself around to stare at the husk of a dragon across the bars, dripping a deep seated hatred from the depths of his being.

"In fact, I'm not sure I believe any of this. Cobra's probably hiding in the shadows ready to-"

"Darkstalker, Qibli." Vulture looked as though the name tasted like bile in his maw. "You remember what he did to me… don't you?"

That he did. In fact, the enchantments Vulture suffered through at Darkstalker's hand made Qibli's inside churn almost as much as Vulture himself did. As much as he might've deserved it, Qibli still wouldn't wish that sort of punishment on anyone… and now that he thought about it, he still wasn't sure what happened to Vulture after Darkstalker poofed him away.

Thorn spoke of all the things the Talons of Power were doing, but none of them ever seemed to involve Vulture himself… Was this where he was all this time? Bound and chained, with someone else running the helm of the organization? Did anyone else even know he was here…?

"I do… and against my better judgement, I'm going to ask…"

Qibli drew near to the bars, leaning against them as he focused intently on his shackled grandfather.

"Why, are, you, here?"

Vulture kept his head hung low, as if too tired to do anything else but let his body go slack.

"...I thought I knew what true power was… Every single ideal I stood for was swept aside as if it never even existed, in just a few moments I hated everything I was, everything I ever had been."

"Get to the point before I leave you in those chains."

Vulture finally found the strength to lift his head up again, straining to look at Qibli through black eyes.

"The last two enchantments he cast on me never wore off, Qibli. I was enchanted to regret all my actions, truly feel the gravity of my crimes… and I was enchanted to be the best grandfather for you. And do you know what I've learned the past few years? Do you know what conclusion has ripped my being apart day by day?"

Qibli dared not answer that question himself, choosing instead to let Vulture continue his monologue.

"...I learned that I am defined by my past actions… The best version of me... is one that doesn't exist." Vulture's head slowly turned back to the sandy dungeon floor, his voice getting quieter. "Everything I built around me… the Talons of Power, my underground network, Cobra, it's all worthless and detestable to me now, and it only reminds me… that my vanity destroyed so many innocent lives, and cost us all so much-"

"You can NOT be serious."

Vulture's monologue stopped short, glancing back up at his grandson. Qibli's gaze regarded Vulture as a stranger now, with disbelief in his eyes and trembling anger twinging on his maw.

"You're stooping real low right now… REAL low. Lower than I ever would have thought you'd go, even for a long con."

"This is no con, Qibli. You know I would never let myself be bound like this-"

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D WANT ME TO THINK THOUGH!" The Young Sandwing pounded his fist on the bars, hundreds of different thoughts and questions pulsing through his brain and evoking furious disquiet in the unsure dragon. "How could I EVER believe you? Why would you ever ASK ME TO BELIEVE YOU?!"

"Because…" Vulture's broken gaze shifted very subtly with a gleam of… what Qibli made out as hope. "...you haven't left yet…"

Qibli couldn't argue with that point. He still stood in the same spot as before, watching his grandfather across the bars with vehemently confused emotional turmoil. More and more his defenses eroded, beginning to seriously consider the idea his grandfather had become helpless to resist Darkstalker's enchantments.

That being said, Qibli really didn't want to consider any of what the idea entailed, as the entire prospect made his head spin with so many questions he had no chance of answering them all. So then, why did he stay to talk to his grandfather, if he despised the feeling it brought him?

'...Maybe I really want to believe him.'

Qibli's grip around the bars tightened even further.

"...Vulture, why are you here, locked up like an animal?"

"Because I am one, Qibli. Or, was… until the burden of regret forced itself upon me."

"Quit with the self deprecation and just give me some straight answers."

Vulture released a long and wheezy sigh, letting his head hang low once more.

"When… When Darkstalker sent me back to the Sandwing Kingdom… I roamed the empty desert for days. No strength to fly, no food or water. At that point, I fell so low that I was unsure if I'd be better off dead. Two of my underlings found me and practically dragged me back to the Scorpion Den, and for months after that I just sat there… horrified with who I was and the apathy that held me."

"You've explained that thoroughly, go on."

"...I resigned my position, Qibli."

The casual nature of how Vulture just tossed that out there took Qibli way off guard.

"You… you what?"

Vulture ducked his head lower at Qibli's disbelief. "I wouldn't sit as a King for an organization of malice, so I left. Any attempts to reform it into something different would've only heralded some new face of evil to-"

"That's what would've happened if you'd leFT ANYWAYS!"

"Qibli I-"

Now furious and unable to restrain himself, Qibli practically tore open the lock on the bars trying to get inside. Vulture's head popped back up, now bearing worry as he watched his Grandson approach.

"Wait… No, Qibli don't come in here."

"You were the head of the most POWERFUL criminal organization in Pyrrhia, and instead of DOING anything with it, YOU DECIDED TO HAND IT OVER TO SOMEONE ELSE?!"

Qibli, in his blind rage, slammed the door open all the way and grabbed the nearest spear. Vulture's concern sharpened into realization and nearly abject terror.

"QIBLI, DON'T. GET BACK!"

Where Qibli thought Vulture seemed terrified at meeting a grisly end at his Grandson's hand, Qibli finally noticed his Grandfather's attention going past him… and just as he turned to whirl around…

KLANG!

...The cell door slammed shut behind him. And the dragon gripping the bars…

"Oh come now little worm, that was nearly too easy."

Cobra.

Qibli's heart and stomach sank into his feet, nearly dropping the spear from a gut wrenching combination of shock and self-disappointment. Vulture growled out with coldness, the first time Qibli heard him use that tone of voice since talking to him the past few minutes.

"You vile, traitorous thief."

"Oh do shut up you old miser. You're the one who blathered on for the past four months about "forgiveness" and "mercy". Look what good it's done you in the cell you're rotting in."

Cobra's smug vileness tore into Qibli more ferociously than anything Vulture said, but the particular part about what Vulture had been talking about for four months… Considering that point, Qibli had little doubt in his mind that Vulture was telling the truth now.

"I know I raised you with venom and hatred, and for that I'm truly-"

"DON'T you apologize a single time more, else I might ACTUALLY kill you."

Cobra switched back to Qibli with a frustrated and terse glare.

"Knowing you, I thought you might've fallen for his sappy, newfound rhetoric. Seems I was more correct than I previously anticipated."

Cobra shoved a metal pole in the locking mechanism to the cell door, prompting Vulture to struggle and resist his bondage with new found anger. Qibli could do nothing but stand there with rage in his eyes, fiery and unfettered. There'd been many a time where Qibli swore to himself that he'd see Cobra finally taken out, none of those times coming to fruition. But something about this instance… something sparked a certainty unlike any before.

Qibli knew within his heart of hearts he needed to stop her this time.

"You don't know anything about me."

Cobra cackled a mean spirited laugh, padding down the hall at her leisure.

"You're right! And I don't need to, because all I do know,"

Just out of sight, Cobra stopped for a moment and growled lowly with victory set in her sights.

"Is that you won't stop me… Nothing will."

With that… the gate to the dungeon slammed closed, and Qibli could make out the silhouette of Cobra flying off into the mountains. He gripped that spear even tighter now, turning his gaze to Vulture.

"...So… Cobra is about to become the most powerful dragon in Pyrrhia…"

"Qibli," Vulture's tone of voice contained urgency, still tugging at his chains. "We need to go after her-"

"WHAT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH," Qibli practically shouted at his grandfather now, an iron grip on the spear he wielded. "IS THAT YOU ARE THE ONE WHO GAVE THAT TO HER!"

Vulture promptly shut his maw while Qibli's anger bubbled forth, keeping his head ducked low.

"WHAT, makes you think that I'd want you, ANYWHERE NEAR ME, after EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE?!"

"I expected you to hate me! I can't deny anything that I've done and I deserve your suspicion as well, Qibli it is pure chance that we're even in the same place!" Vulture's words echoed along the floors, bouncing off the walls. "I can't ask for you to forgive me, much less believe me… But all I want is to gain your trust, grandson."

Qibli hadn't any response to that statement other than a deeply confused and infuriated rage. He brought up his spear to Vulture's face, just out of reach of his maw but close enough to get the point across… No fear or terror could be found in Vulture's expression, much to Qibli's surprise. All that lay in his gaze was sadness, and a deep seated guilt…

...Qibli's anger fueled back into itself, not knowing what to believe or what to do… his grip around the spear trembled as Vulture closed his eyes, accepting whatever happened next. Qibli raised the spear to strike, a rumbling roar building in his throat.

"GrrrRRRRAAAAAAAHH!"

CHING!

Vulture felt no blinding pain, no slash or stab to his body, no blunt force either… He opened his eyes again, coming to see Qibli's spear stabbed into the ground; the sharpness and the force of the spear broke the chain, and his left arm was freed from the wall. Vulture flexed his arm for the first time in months, slowly glancing to Qibli with an astonished and grateful look.

Qibli took the spear and stabbed it into the other chain next:

CHING!

Vulture finally fell onto all fours, groaning out with exhaustion. His grandson moved slowly around him, cutting open the ropes that bound his tail and wings. Vulture slowly unfurled them and stretched as far as he could with a pained sigh.

"Nngh… thank you, Qibli."

Qibli, still unsure if his action was the correct course, let his hesitance drip to the floor along with his gaze.

"Don't thank me yet… we still need to figure a way out of here."

Vulture finally balanced himself on his feet, getting a feel for standing on his own again. Once he could take a few steps forward, he inspected the bars, along with Qibli's spear.

"As smart as Cobra is… she still made a fatal mistake."

"And what pray tell would that be?"

Vulture knocked on Qibli's spear with a smirk. "She let you keep this."

Qibli looked to his spear with a dawning realization, inspecting the cell door and it's hinges.

"...that's it."

With a newfound idea, Qibli jammed the spear head into the locking mechanism, pulling it back as hard as he could to pop the metal bar out.

"Hngh… help me out here, this thing should pop right off with enough force!"

Vulture propped his talons on the bars, pushing with all the might he had left. The two struggled and strained to pry the mechanism off, nearly snapping the spear in half in the process, until-

...rrrrrrrrrrRR PING!

The entire locking mechanism sprang off the cell door and nearly embedded itself in the adjacent wall, bouncing around the sandstone brick as the cell door slowly swung open. Qibli dropped the spear and immediately threw himself out the gate, Vulture close behind him.

Up the steps of the dungeon and into the secret fortress of the Talons of Power, Qibli dashed madly through it's halls and body slammed any dragons who dared resist him. Neither of the two dared stay any longer than they had to, considering they were the highest of enemies in the eyes of the Talons of Power… Any who followed were met with various objects and furniture tossed in the way by Vulture, doing whatever he could to protect the exodus of him and his Grandson.

Finally the two made it out by jumping through an opened window, and diving into the crowd below. Qibli and Vulture ducked low (or, at least Vulture did his best) and disappeared into the musty stalls and cavalcades of Sandwings. Any members of the Talons of Power who tried to follow were swept away by the crowd, and finally… Qibli and Vulture collapsed in the piles of sand in an abandoned alley.

"*Huff* Ok… I think *Huff* we lost them… *Huff*" Qibli did his best to stay on his feet, finally noticing Vulture all but unconscious. "Hey, don't you die on me now!"

Vulture shook his head, taking heavy and labored breaths as he struggled to get to his feet.

"I-I'm…"

Attempting to speak only caused the older dragon to hack up a heaving cough, and as he flopped onto his back, he finally caught his breath again.

"I-I'm ok… just haven't… done much physical exercise in quite some time…"

Qibli helped his grandfather back onto his feet, and ensured the two of them were really alone.

"Qibli, thank you… thank you endlessly-"

"STOP right there…"

Vulture backpedaled a few steps, giving Qibli ample room. Qibli pointed back at the fortress they'd just escaped from.

"The only reason I did any of that… was not because I trust you. Not because I think you're a better dragon now, and CERTAINLY not because I finally want to get to know you."

"Then," Vulture sat down on his haunches, patiently awaiting his grandson's response. "Why save me at all? I fully expected you to end my life today, Qibli… if anything I'm deserving of an execution, so why not at the talons of my own kin?"

"Because…" Qibli clenched his fists for a moment, letting them go with a calm and cool exhale… Once he found his core again, his words flowed effortlessly once more.

"Because that decision is not mine to make. I'm not the only dragon who you hurt, nor the one who is qualified to judge your fate. Ultimately… should you seek redemption, that's up to you."

Vulture seemed to sit up a little bit straighter now, realizing the depth of what Qibli meant. All this time, he'd wallowed in self introspection and loathing, tortured and unable to reconcile with the guilt Darkstalker instilled in him. He had always felt redemption to be impossible, and even attempting to seek it out only forced him to confront even more than he could've imagined…

Perhaps his grandson could not forgive him, maybe not the rest of Pyrrhia either. But for any of that to happen, forgiveness would have to start within him. For then, maybe he could move forwards and create something new for himself. That would be the only way to become something more than his past.

"...I understand… thank you."

Qibli simply nodded, and turned aside for a moment… he hated to think that he would leave his Grandfather like this, especially since he now believed he was a better dragon, but he hadn't any time to dwell on the matter.

"Now… we need to stop Cobra from destroying everything, and we're about an hour behind them, we should-"

"You're staying here, Vulture."

Vulture stopped in his tracks, seeing Qibli adamant about the matter.

"Do you see the condition you're in? You can't run very far, much less fly as far as we need to in the time we have to. You need to heal… and you need to hide."

"Qibli, I'm not letting you go alone-"

"I HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE! You can't keep up with me, and we won't make it in time if you come along… and, honestly…"

Qibli clenched his maw closed for a moment, looking down at the ground as he let forth his feelings.

"...I can't deal with my emotions towards you, and do what needs to be done at the same time."

Vulture… understood completely. No sort of negative emotion rose from him in Qibli admitting that… in fact, Vulture almost felt proud of him for saying so.

"...Ok. I understand little one… go."

Qibli cocked his head up curiously, not fully realizing what Vulture said until he was looking right at him.

"I… Ok, just… get somewhere safe, and I'll try to explain to Thorn what's going on. I can't guarantee what will happen but-"

...Qibli never got to finish that sentence. He felt a rushing presence engulf him in warmth, and before he knew it, Vulture had him wrapped in a hug. Qibli couldn't tell how he felt about it at first, because the only time Vulture would ever have done this is if he were once again lying through his fangs… but now, Qibli didn't have any reason to doubt him. This was genuine, a true moment of acceptance and affection… and while it didn't connect for the longest time, Qibli finally wrapped his arms around Vulture in return.

"...It took me an eternity of self reflection to figure out what kind of dragon I ought to be, Qibli… and it tortured me for the longest time… And only after seeing you again did I realize…"

Vulture squeezed his grandson even tighter now that Qibli wrapped his arms around him in return.

"It doesn't matter who I am, all that matters is how we are to each other. And I… well I can't speak for who I was before, but… right now…"

It was a strange feeling for Vulture, the positive energy he felt coursing through him as he encouraged Qibli. All the time in the world he'd spent towards domination, never once did he consider what uplifting others could do for him. The husk he used to be now filled itself with warmth… happiness, even. All he wanted now... was to ensure Qibli felt it too. He laid his head atop his grandson's, and sighed out with comforting bliss.

"...I just hope I can show you how much you mean to me."

Qibli did not respond... He only squeezed tighter still in silence; and where Vulture felt his Grandson's head, he felt tears pool in his scales. He dared not move or talk further… somewhere in his mind, Vulture knew all Qibli needed was just a little more time to be there, in this one embrace.

...Vulture was all too happy to oblige.

-X-

"Still no changes Caelum?"

Jade Mountain Academy held no shortage of rooms, considering the Academy was founded inside a massive network of caves and caverns. For a school carved inside a mountain, one would expect the grandiose stature and massive halls to elicit a sense of unending potential!

But alas, this made no difference for the King of the Starwings, being temporarily housed in what essentially was used as the academy's broom closet. One of the smaller free rooms in the whole mountain, Orion and Caelum managed to fit nearly 8 different machines and communications devices within the rather confined space. What aggravated the King more than this, is that at the moment, most of them were useless.

"No sir, still no communications across any spectrum… I've been able to keep a lock on Queen Aries and Sentinel Squad, but nothing on Stardust or Libra yet."

"Blast it all…" Orion growled under his breath, taking a deep breath as he shut his eyes. "I knew something like this would happen, it always does."

"I apologize my King, had I kept a better eye on the shuttle reactor, this wouldn't have happened…"

Orion offered Caelum a pat on the back. "Now now, blaming ourselves will get us nowhere. We must do the best we can with what we have."

Caelum nodded, typing away on a data pad linked to a mounted monitor. "Aye sir. I've not been able to find that data stream you spoke about earlier, but there is something strange occurring in the same geographic location…"

The Starwing Science Officer swiped up on the pad, projecting a holographic image of the Claws of The Clouds Mountain chain, specifically a section right in the middle consisting of three peaks.

Orion padded over to inspect the projection and the data output as well. "What sort of strangeness?"

As Caelum brought up the readings, he applied a filter to show a faint white glow that surrounded the three peaks in particular. "Any time I tried to pick up any signals from the area you mentioned, nothing came up, but I kept picking up faint static interference... Turns out, it's not static or background noise. Those peaks are emitting Stellar Radiation, more than any known material on this planet should be able to…"

Orion brought up another data pad to confirm Caelum's findings, his brows knit with curious surprise. "Hm… the plot thickens! Any fluctuation in their intensity?"

"No sir, not from what I've seen. It's been hovering at 235.4 mAU, harmless levels but still concerning considering we have no idea what's causing it…" Caelum inspected the geographic location once more, zooming in and thoroughly going over the crevices and material percentages in the data charts. "Unsure at this juncture if we should be worried about it, but I thought it best to let you know before it changes."

"Very good Caelum." Orion nodded, making note of it on his arm pad. "I'll keep that in mind for whenever we finally figure out what nonsense is going on here."

"Excuse me King Orion!"

Orion spun around to see a familiar pink snout in the cave entrance, surrounded by two familiar Starwings. Kinkajou stood at attention, a giant grin on the Rainwing's snout.

"You have visitors, my liege!"

Beside Kinkajou, Neon and Xenon bowed briefly in respect.

"Forgive the Intrusion, my king." "We come with news and a plan to restore communications."

"Excellent! Come, I'm tired of waiting around for things to happen!" Orion clasped his paws together with vigor, welcoming the two in. Kinkajou seemed to welcome herself in as well, immediately prodding up to Caelum and the station he worked at with immense interest. Even with only three dragons in the room, elbow room was starting to get scarce.

"On second thought," Orion glanced to Kinkajou, who already began bombarding Caelum with questions, then to the two Starwing Officers. "We'll talk in the hall."

Orion left Caelum with Kinkajou ("Ooooh what's this do?" "Can you please stop touching things!") and set out in the hall outside the cave.

"Alright, Status Report. We received half a transmission about the Omega coming into range, but comms got cut off after that. Get me up to speed."

"Right," Neon spoke first. "We were exploring the archival functions of our new found alien software, and activated something called… What was it, "Storytime Protocol"?"

"Storyteller Protocol." Xenon continued. "That, and something called Soundtrack Protocol too. Immediately after, The Omega Cruiser came into range… we barely had time to raise shields before they spearheaded our comms and SM Engines, as it stands the Starcastle is about 4 days out from full engine repair."

"And the Omega?" Orion prodded further. "Do we know their whereabouts?"

"No sir," Neon spoke in turn. "Classic hit and run. We weren't able to detect anything until after they left, but current sensor readings suggest they're far away now."

The Starwing King stroked his chin in curious thought. "I see… What else of note has occurred? Anything related to these "Storyteller" and "Soundtrack" protocols?"

"Nothing of note, sir." Xenon began his answer, then pausing for a moment. "Though… The timing between the protocol's activation and the Omega coming into range did seem odd."

"Yeah," Neon chimed in. "And the initialization messages were… interesting to say the least."

Orion's interest rose along with his brow. "Do you have them on record?"

"Unfortunately not, but it spoke of context analysis and prediction algorithms… and if I didn't know any better I'd say it was trying to predict the future." Xenon recounted the event with fuzzy memory. "The way it integrated with our sensors and data banks still boggles my mind."

The Kingly Starwing glanced back inside to Caelum, still trying to wrangle the endlessly curious and excitable Kinkajou. Caelum had proven himself resourceful in figuring out the mysterious circumstances of this odd planet, even if much of the remaining questions still lay in darkness. Orion thought to himself about where the Science Officer's usefulness lay, even if it meant he'd be here alone working the base command.

"Neon, Xenon," Orion commanded the two Science Officer's attention. "You mentioned a plan to restore communications. What would that require?"

"Well," Xenon stepped forwards. "Sadr suggested planting a series of Long Range Transmitters around the continent to create a makeshift comm network until the Starcastle has systems restored."

"It would require at least five to be planted in strategic locations around the continent," Neon added in. "I have a few areas in mind where the signals would be the strongest."

"Excellent," Orion nodded in agreement. "And you have these with you, yes?"

Neon and Xenon glanced to each other nervously.

"Um… no sir." "We assumed we could replicate them using the Queen's Shuttle?"

Orion sighed with annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"The shuttle, as happenstance would have it… exploded."

The two's expressions carried shock and more worry than before.

"Ooh," Neon rubbed the back of his neck. "That might put a crimp in things."

"In that case my liege," Xenon added helpfully. "We'll have to make a flight back to the Starcastle. We can bring back the supplies we need via another shuttle."

"Actually…" Orion glanced back into the room with Caelum and Kinkajou, Kinkajou finally sitting still while Caelum had her rapt attention on a hologram of the Starcastle, explaining some scientific aspects of how it was able to propel itself through space. Orion smiled to himself, glancing back to the two Science Officers.

"I'll be going with you, it'll make this whole endeavor much easier."

"My King," Neon objected. "Are you sure? Aren't you needed here?"

"This will take but a day," Orion replied in kind, motioning to the room behind him. "And Caelum can handle things from here. We'll set up an extra transmitter atop Jade Mountain to at least establish temporary communications, so we aren't totally in the dark."

"Aye my king." Xenon nodded in agreement. "We should leave immediately then-"

"MY LIEGE-" Caelum's voice interrupted the three's conversations poking his head out the cave entrance. "YOU SHOULD SEE THIS."

Orion exchanged quick glances between Neon and Xenon before rushing into the confined room, where the astonished Kinkajou and Caelum stood huddled around a projected hologram depicting a strange video stream… The five surrounded the screen, Orion seeing naught but a strange room depicted on the stream.

"Ok, what are we looking at Caelum?"

"I-I don't know what we did, or if we did anything at all, but we just discovered the signal coming from the mountains you were talking about, and it just… brought up this video stream."

From what Orion and the rest could see, the room depicted was hewn of stone and rock, smoothed out like some sort of artificial cave. A faint purple-pink light pulsated and thrummed off screen, but it bathed the cavern in a mysterious glow.

"Interesting… why are we-"

"It's a rotating feed, it switches screens. Give it a moment sir." Caelum waited intently for the feeds to switch again, to Orion's curiosity.

"Caelum, what's so interesting about this, exact-"

Orion's question quickly cut off as the feed switched again, this time to a much darker, much rougher cave. What lit the room was a synthetic light held by another Starwing… a very specific Starwing. Behind them, two more very familiar Starwings… Orion knew not what his spectral shifting scales were doing, but it lit the room up just a bit brighter once he recognized the three as Libra and Stardust, accompanied but none other than Iso.

Xenon and Neon recognized this particular build up of Kingly anger and both decided to take a step back. Kinkajou and Caelum both slunk down a bit upon seeing Orion's furious color scales shifting.

"My liege…" Caelum rubbed his talons together nervously. "Your orders?"

Orion squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, loosing a deep growl from his chest with his maw closed tight.

"I…" He cleared his throat and stamped his paw down to steel his thoughts into place. "I am going to the source of this stream, and finding out once and for all what in blazes is going on here."

He whirled around to Kinkajou and Caelum, his wild emotive state apparent in his gaze.

"Caelum… stay here. Work with Xenon and Neon to establish communications, and see about finding the source of that video stream. Any information you can find, relay it immediately."

Caelum bowed respectfully, though partially out of fear. "Yes my King."

"Xenon, Neon, proceed with the plan as we discussed. Use the spare shuttle if you have to, but get this done fast. I want full communication arrays established between base camp and the Starcastle by the end of day, are we clear?"

The two saluted with their wings stretched out, heads bowed.

"As you command my King." "It will be done my liege."

Orion waved them off, about to turn towards the nearest exit, before Kinkajou tapped the King's tail.

"Excuse me mister Orion sir, my name is Kinkajou!"

Orion stopped for a moment, turning back. "Yes, I'm aware. Is everything alright?"

Kinkajou planted herself in place, her usual pink and yellow scales lined with a touch of light greens and blues. "I saw Stardust in that hologram, and I know how important he is to you… is there anything I can do to help the situation?"

From the moment he'd stepped foot on this planet, Orion thought of Pyrrhia's inhabitants to be well meaning and kind. He'd come to find Stardust's family as amicable and selfless, and was pleased to find such qualities in Stardust himself. As Orion looked down upon the rather young and small Kinkajou, his first thought was that of doubt. What could this dragonet do to aid him, being so small and juvenile?

His next thought was that of guilt, knowing that body and stature only got one so far. From what Orion could sense of this young dragon, he felt a courageous heart beating in Kinkajou, and knew for certain she wanted nothing more than to help. She no doubt saw Stardust as family too, thus… her concern was genuine, and that motivation prompted Orion to smile with such a warm thought.

"Well," Orion now fully turned himself back to face Kinkajou. "I will need someone to guide me around the geography of this continent. Are you well versed in exploration of this area?"

The Rainwing lit up at the question, presenting herself proudly.

"King Orion, you'll find no better Rainwing than me! I'd be honored to show you around!"

Orion's maw perked up from the flurry of questions that poked into his mind, comforted that with a guide to this continent, he could find the two dragons that mattered most to him now. He gestured to the nearby stone outcropping.

"Well, I assume you're familiar with the Claws of the Clouds mountain chain, yes? Would you care to guide me there?"

By the time Orion had posed the question, Kinkajou practically had leapt into the open sky to lead him there. Orion quickly followed suit, heading off to the mountains in the distance.

...He kept the mountains in sight with each wing beat, for even if he had to track them down himself, he would lose no more of his children. Even as much as it hurt to think of Taurus, he refused to let the loss of his son be in vain…

'I won't lose you two again.'

-X-

[Author's Note (agAIN): I'M ALIVE DANG IT. Turns out the last chapter was taking too long and was actually too long, so it's getting split up in two. The NEXT CHAPTER will be the final one, PROMISE!]