Part of Swordfish just wanted to forget about Rainfall, Vine, the scavenger thing, and his dreams and go back to being the Swordfish that didn't care about anything…

"I wonder what's in there." Cedar said suddenly. "What did Rainfall write that's so important?"…

"Don't go digging too deep, Swordfish"…

The chest was wooden, but reinforced with metal all around it. Savanna stepped back. "Swordfish, he told you to open it."…

"Yeah, sometimes late at night he would write in his scroll while talking to his scavenger"…

Those things, Cassriel and Abyss, had come to kill him for getting too close to whatever this world was hiding…

"WHY? WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO BE LEFT IN THE DARK?"…

"Rainfall began writing in a scroll each night we were in this new world"…

"You can see through the lies"…

"What if what lies beyond that chest will make the world worse? What if Rainfall locked that knowledge away for a reason?"…

"Will you still open it?"…

12261326

. . .

Swordfish stepped into the Lost City of Night and took a deep breath as the familiar air of Pyrrhia washed over him and into his lungs. Rattlesnake was already there, picking up the Necklace of Eclis that Anthony had left on the ground when he stepped through the portal. "Wow… this feels like it was yesterday." She said. She turned and looked back in the direction of the palace. There were a few robed dragons flying around it, but none of them seemed to be looking at the portal. "Oh no…" Blizzard said looking at the palace. "We forgot." She said, and then turned and looked at Solberg, who had stepped through the portal and was looking around in awe.

"There's a mountain range that separates this peninsula from the desert enchanted to kill any Icewing that flies over it. It won't kill me because I was enchanted by an animus, but any Icewing escapees will surely die." She said to the general.

When all the Old Monarchy escapees had left the old world behind and crossed into the new, strange world, Solberg took charge quietly. "Okay. All dragons put up their hoods and all humans should get on dragonback. There are hostile dragons here, but our cloaks are dark enough that we can blend in if needed. There is a mountain range that separates this peninsula from the desert that will kill any Icewing that flies over it." "How is that possible?" Asked a man. "The same way Hecate was able to fight Camael. The Power of Hamza."

"Where will we go?" Asked Dufort. "This world is hostile towards humans, correct?" "Well, we call humans 'scavengers' here. Some dragons believe that scavengers are just as smart as dragons, others believe they're just food." Rattlesnake said. "But we all speak Arnish. That's where you are different. The humans here speak a different language. I think it's like one of the Eastern languages, but simplified. Arnish is the language of Pyrrhia and we didn't even know it."

"There's two major cities of humans. They're called 'scavenger dens.'" Vulture said. "There's one on the outskirts of the Rainforest, and one tucked away by the Sea Kingdom. There are others around, but if you really want to save humanity here, going to those will probably be your best bet."

"So this is what it was like…" Marie said, looking around at the world around her. "Yeah." Anthony said quietly. "If only Michael and Polar could have seen it."

"This is going to change the world." Blizzard said. "Intelligent scavengers with superior technology, the truth about the past, the truth about where dragons came from, the truth about the moons and animus and other tribes and the creation of Pyrrhia and… just… wow."

Vulture's suspicions had been confirmed. The blast from Camael and Hecate had split the continent apart and Pyrrhia was a part of the old continents. Whether or not the other continents had dragons… or even humans on it… was something nobody knew. Swordfish had once heard a story about "The Lost Continent." Another continent east of Pyrrhia. Swordfish now knew it was the other half of Augustia, the continent where Arnia had been located, and Pyrrhia was parts of Augustia and the Eastern continent of Consania.

"We need to move. When we reach the mountain range, we will take a right and head for the desert by crossing the ocean for a bit." Solberg said, looking at a map of Pyrrhia Vulture had been carrying. "And then we begin a new chapter for Old Monarchy."

Swordfish put his cloak on and let Anthony get on his back. The dragons of Old Monarchy rose up, some of the larger dragons struggling and carrying multiple humans at once. The dragons began quietly lifting off and heading away from the palace. Swordfish shot a look back at the ruins of the old palace of the Nightwings, and wondered what was happening inside. It had been almost three months since the fight with the Darkists. Swordfish wondered what had happened to Savanna. What did the Grandmaster do to him when he failed to get Swordfish to join?

As the refugees flew through the city, Swordfish watched for any dark-robed dragons prowling through the ruined city. He didn't see any. They must have all been gathered at the capital for some reason. Swordfish looked up at the sky. Clouds had gathered, blocking the sunlight. The wind had started to lightly pick up. Rattlesnake suddenly flew up beside him. "Hey…" She said quietly. "Swordfish, I want you to answer honestly. Do you think that Blizzard is an animus?" "No." Swordfish replied sincerely. "I actually thought that too, but… it's actually her cousin, Frost. She enchanted her to become a great fighter, invincible to normal attacks, and immune to animus magic." Swordfish said, and then realized he shouldn't have said that. "Don't talk about it to her. Don't let her know I said that. She's kind of sensitive about it."

"When we went to get the Necklace of Eclis, Camael approached us as a projection. He spoke directly to Blizzard. He took special interest in her, saying he was surprised it was her coming to get the relics. The way she fought the whole way there was… unnatural. She was so precise it was scary. She could kill entire full-grown dragons in under a minute." Rattlesnake said. "Well… that's the enchantment, isn't it?" Anthony asked. "Yes… but it was still strange. I don't think she told you the whole truth." Rattlesnake said, shooting a glance towards the Icewing flying closer to the front of the group, out of earshot. "I think she's hiding something."

"Blizzard wouldn't hide something too big from us. She's spent her whole life pretending to be someone she isn't, and with us, she's able to act like herself for once. I don't think she would still be hiding under a mask when she could show her true face around us." Swordfish said. "I thought you said you were paranoid." Anthony said quietly. "It seems like you trust Blizzard." "I do! I trust all of my friends here!" Swordfish said, defending himself.

"Then tell them." Anthony said. Swordfish paused. Rattlesnake gave Swordfish and Anthony a strange look. "I will when we get back to Jade Mountain." He said under his breath. The satchel was still around his neck.

When the mountains came into view, the Old Monarchy soldiers banked to the right. The ocean gleamed in the distance, the small amounts of sunlight creeping through the clouds to illuminate the waves. Swordfish thought about his family again. He would have to marry Typhoon one day. His future was not with Rattlesnake… or anyone else for that matter. It was with the granddaughter of Cerulean. Which meant… it would have to be soon that Swordfish said what he always wanted to say.

As Rattlesnake flew beside him, Swordfish remembered what it was like when she wasn't with him. When she was still remembering the other Swordfish. And now that the end of this mystery was in sight, and soon Swordfish would have to face Typhoon, it had to be soon. It had to be now.

Swordfish flew up beside Rattlesnake. "Rattlesnake." He said softly. "There's something I need to tell you."

"When I first saw you on the first day of Jade Mountain Academy, I thought you were… I thought…" Rattlesnake looked at Swordfish and he could see his own reflection in her eyes. "…How did you teleport in. I thought that was the biggest mystery." Swordfish said glumly. "But now… so much has changed. But… I'm glad you're back." He couldn't do it. Not yet. Not like this.

Swordfish took the Earring of Sola off his ear, which had been forcefully pierced with a talon. He gave it back to her. "Here. Take it back. Savanna gave that to you, right?" Rattlesnake nodded. "Before…" She said, and then stopped. She quickly put it back on her own ear. "Thank you." She said. She sounded disappointed.

"I want to see the chest opened." Anthony said suddenly from above Swordfish's head. "I want to know who my friend was." "Oh, we should introduce you to Sunny." Rattlesnake said. "I'm sure she would love to have a conversation with you. Starflight too." Swordfish smiled to himself, imagining Sunny and Starflight's reaction to the truth about scavengers.

Swordfish turned around and looked back at the coastline they were leaving behind. There was one singular Darkist on the coast, who was staring at the mass of dragons and humans flying away. Whoever it was suddenly took flight back towards the palace. It didn't matter. The Old Monarchy refugees were too fast and would be too far away soon. The water rippled beneath the waves. Soon enough, Urchin would get his glory.

When the ocean had been crossed and the dragons were over the sands of the desert, they stopped for a rest near a beach. A group of Sandwings passed them and stared, and then flew off again, probably to go tell everyone what they saw. The wind had started to pick up more and more, and sand was beginning to blow into the eyes of the refugees.

Swordfish looked around the desert. Cacti bowing slightly in the wind and the sun's rays shining through a small hole in the clouds. It had been a while since he had been in this kind of heat, and it made Swordfish wish he had some water to be in. Looking out to the ocean in the distance, Swordfish remembered that just to the east somewhere, lay a whole new world to explore. Pyrrhia was not alone. Vine came up next to Swordfish. "It's beautiful." She said. "The sand and the water are such different colors. It looks like two totally different fruits next to each other, but we're standing on them."

The two stood in silence for a moment. "I… feel like something bad is going to happen." Vine said suddenly. "I don't know what it is. Nothing has felt the same since Stone. Like… the whole world is changing again." "It will be alright." Swordfish said, unsure himself. "Once we open the chest… I think everything will be alright. Adnachiel, Cassriel, Camael… they're all gone. We haven't seen the first two in months, and Camael is back in the past." Swordfish felt Vine's tail twine around his, and he finished the twine himself. Everything was going to be alright.

"What do you mean 'once we open the chest'?" Vine asked. Swordfish stopped and realized he had let that slip. "Well… Anthony has given me the code to the chest. Once we get back to the mountain, I'm going to open it." Vine's face lit up, and the colors of both excitement and worry flooded through her scales. "It'll be fine." Swordfish said. "It's just whatever Rainfall wanted to tell me all that time ago. Maybe it won't be anything new. Maybe it was just what we already have found out." But something in the back of Swordfish's mind told him otherwise.

When the refugees took to the sky once more, they kept flying eastward. The terrain slowly began to become more mountainous and rocky. More trees began showing themselves. The Academy was almost in view. Soon enough, through the clouds and trees, the largest mountains began showing themselves. And then, there it was. Jade Mountain. They had returned. Dragons flew around it in the distance. The Old Monarchy refugees landed on Agate Mountain. "Here. Keep this." Vulture said, handing Solberg the map of Pyrrhia. "The first scavenger den is east of here still. We have to leave now." The wind was getting stronger, and the trees began to shake. "Well… thank you for this escape. Because of this… humanity will live on." Solberg said. He gave the Old Monarchy salute. "Sir!" Marie said. "Anthony, Azure, and I are going into the Mountain for something. We will arrive at the scavenger den in a few days."

Solberg nodded. "I guess I can't exactly stop you since all order is out the window, but may I ask what for?" "I have to finish something I started." Anthony said. "It's urgent." "How will you get back?" Commander Dufort asked. "We can take them." Rattlesnake said. Swordfish looked over at her. Blizzard was next to her and frozen, staring at the mountain, a look of fear in her eyes.

"Well… alright." Solberg said. "I wish you good luck, Conwell. Same for you, dragonets of the future." Vulture nodded. "Good luck Old Monarchy. May the Moon Goddesses be with you." Swordfish noticed Solberg was wearing the Necklace of Eclis. Good. He thought. The Relics should be spread out. I wonder where the Dagger of Luna is right now. The refugees took to the sky and began flying away. "Let's go." Rattlesnake said as Marie got on Azure's back. Swordfish felt Anthony get on his back, and they set for the main entrance of Jade Mountain Academy.

Swordfish looked around at the dragons and two humans around him. He could trust them. I can trust them. Swordfish told himself. Don't keep this a secret. They're your friends. They deserve to know. "Hey…" Swordfish said. "Anthony gave me the code to the chest. We can open it now." "WHAT?!" Vulture cried, and turned his head around to give Swordfish a grin. "Why didn't you tell us?!" Rattlesnake asked. "I don't know… I guess once I had it I was scared something would happen to it. I wanted to keep it as safe as I could." Blizzard suddenly put on a burst of speed and flew towards the academy. "Hey! What are you doing?" Azure called out, but Blizzard kept on going.

When they all reached the entrance, they heard a roar of delight. Clay came barreling out of the door. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" He cried. "WHERE… WHAT?!" Clay paused when he saw Anthony and Marie. "Hello." Marie said. "Are you Clay?" Clay stared at her, and then at the mechanisms on the dragonets' arms. He proceeded to faint on the spot. "Well… at least this time there was no grass." Vine said.

. . .

Tsunami was furious, yet glad they returned. "WHERE DID YOU GO!? WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?! Oh Three Moons you're hurt. Your eyes!" She said, staring at Vine and Vulture's eyes. Sunny was immediately floored by the scavengers. Darkseer gave them a grin when he walked into the library, which is where they had gone. Behind him walked Falcon, who immediately stared at the mobile rifles and the two scavengers. When he saw the cloaks they were wearing, he turned around and walked away.

"Where were you?" Darkseer asked. "The past." Vulture responded, brushing wings with his clawmate. "The Scorching was SO much more than we thought." "Looks like it." Said a voice entering the library. Swordfish turned to see Typhoon standing at the entrance of the library. "You guys look like hell." She made eye contact with Swordfish and he could sense discomfort. She didn't want this either.

"Oh, and you might want to watch out. Delta and Frigid will be coming soon." "That reminds me!" Swordfish said. "There's a cult called the Darkists that wants to awaken Darkstalker and end the kingdoms. They're located in the Lost City of Night on that peninsula off of the desert and they want Frigid." "What?" Frigid asked as he entered the library. Delta ran past him to tackle her friends with a bear hug. "Yeah… what?" Fatespeaker asked.

"YOU'RE OKAY!" Delta bellowed. "I thought… first Cedar… and then everyone… but you're back! BUT YOU'RE HURT!" She looked at Vine's eye. "It's alright…" Vine said. "Swordfish… what were you saying about me?" Frigid asked blankly, but a hint of real worry showing through his eyes. "The Darkists want you. According to Moonwatcher's last prophecy, you 'hold the grandmaster's wish.' Or something like that. Frigid, do you remember your past?"

"The earliest thing I remember is trekking through the Ice Kingdom with my mother. I remember… she was nice. We were getting away from something… someone. We were going to the capital. She wanted to become like them. We… weren't from around there."

"Where were you from?" Starflight asked. "I… I don't know." Frigid said blankly. "But there wasn't ice everywhere." "Possibility?" Fatespeaker wondered. "Maybe." Vulture said. "But… maybe somewhere else."

"So we were just walking around, and then these four dragons with metal helmet-things and… those… came out of nowhere, and I hid in a pile of snow. She put me there." Frigid said, pointing to the mobile rifles on the arms of the dragonets. "Those things killed my mom." The dragonets looked at each other. Swordfish could hear Blizzard's breathing get more intense.

"She started talking to one of them. They wore armbands just as you do. She attacked one and they all shot her with those things and she died." "Armbands like they do?" Anthony asked Frigid. "Yes…"

"Is it possible… that Old Monarchy survived the Scorching after all?" Marie asked. "Where would they be?" Vine asked. "Not from around here…" Vulture said. "The other half. They came from the west. They came from the other half of Augustia."

"No… there's no way." Anthony said. "What is going on?" Typhoon asked, looking at the talking scavengers. "Are they enchanted or something?" "We can explain later, but there's something I have to do first." Swordfish said, reaching into the satchel and pulling out the black box. "It's time to open the chest." Blizzard inhaled sharply.

Swordfish turned to leave the library after taking off his rifles, but Anthony stopped him. "Shouldn't we explain everything to them first? They need to know. You never know when something… might strike again." Swordfish stopped. It was so close, but he relented. "Fine." He said, turning back to the library.

"Supposedly, it all began when a great celestial being called God came down from a planet far beyond ours called The Garden…" Marie began to those who did not know the past. Swordfish stood next to Rattlesnake, but Blizzard calmly approached him.

"Hey… Swordfish. Can we go somewhere private? We need to talk about something." She asked. "Sure…" Swordfish said, taking off his satchel and placing it next to Vine. She knows I told Rattlesnake about Frost, doesn't she? Swordfish thought guiltily. Swordfish turned and shot a glance back at Rattlesnake before leaving with the Icewing. Rattlesnake was staring not at him, but at Blizzard.

Blizzard led him to the part of the halls where their old dorm was. "Let's go into your dorm." Blizzard said, and then walked in without a second thought. Swordfish wasn't complaining. He hadn't been in there in months.

Cedar's bed was just as it had been left. Swordfish's bed was the same he had left it as well. The repaired window had the familiar tapping of the branch as it blew in the wind. It just seemed… louder. TICK… TICK… TICK… Blizzard turned around and shut the door. She turned to Swordfish. She had tears in her eyes.

Swordfish realized she was still wearing one of her mobile rifles. She unlatched it from her arm and gave it to Swordfish. "Swordfish, do you love me?" She asked.

"W… what?" Swordfish asked, dropping the gun in his surprise. "You heard me. Do you love me?" Swordfish stopped, thinking about her. Her eyes. Her beautiful scales. The way she trusted him more than anyone else. How she opened up to him.

"Because Swordfish… I like you. I like you a lot. I told myself this wouldn't happen. Remember how I said you reminded me of someone from my past? Well you do. You do a lot. You remind me of him so much… it's dangerous. It's dangerous for both of us."

"Why do you like me?" Swordfish asked. "You… are so different from me!" "It's the way you always press on. You keep going. And you remind me of him." "Who is he?" Swordfish asked, starting to sweat. "… I can't say." Blizzard said, defeated. "But if you have any shred of love for me, I need you to take that gun and shoot me right now." "WHAT?!" Swordfish asked, looking down at the gun and then at Blizzard. She had tears streaming from her eyes.

"Kill me, and then drop the code. You can't open that chest. Rainfall put something in there that will end the world. The end of everything." "What do you mean?!" Swordfish asked, beginning to shake. "I'm talking the Demons will not let any of this go. Once that chest is open, you will unleash something far worse than you could ever imagine. You, and everyone else, will die." "How do you know all of this?" Swordfish asked.

"I… can't say." Blizzard said, and then put her head into Swordfish's chest. "Just tell me you'll at least try. It won't work anyway. I was just hoping it would." "I can't shoot you!" Swordfish cried.

"I knew you wouldn't do it Swordfish, I just had to try." She sobbed. "It wouldn't work anyway! You can't kill me! Nothing can! I'll be trapped in this hell forever!" "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"

"The story of Frost was a lie. All of it." Blizzard said. "There was no animus cousin. There was no enchantment. There was none of it. I lied to you!" Swordfish looked down at the gun, and then back at the branch. It was tapping faster as the wind picked up. "I still can't believe I did that… He's gone." She whispered.

"I told myself I would stay away. I told myself I wouldn't get involved, because there might be someone who would remind me." Blizzard sobbed quietly. "I am just the same as I always was. I have no free will. And now you're going to have to die."

"Blizzard, what are you talking about?!" Swordfish yelled. "You know too much." Blizzard said through the tears. "If I don't do it, then…" Blizzard bent down and grabbed the rifle. "I already failed. Again and again. I fell in love with you. If only I had never met any of you. If only I had kept up the act."

TICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICK SNAP! The branch blew off the tree in the wind.

Silence.

"I'm sorry. It's not your fault. You were just unfortunate enough to get picked back up from wherever you came from. Vine too." Blizzard said, aiming the gun. "I love you Swordfish. You made me forget who I was. And that was nice. I was brought back to a time where I liked life." Blizzard aimed the gun. "WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Swordfish yelled, barely being able to comprehend what was going on.

"Swordfish. There is no Blizzard. She was only a name I made up. I am Adnachiel." She aimed the gun as Swordfish paused for a split second as everything suddenly fell into place. "I don't know what's right anymore. I don't know what to do. But we're past that. We're in the endgame now. I just have to do this and then it will be over. I'm sorry."

And then, just like Swordfish had done with Cedar, Rattlesnake ripped through the window. Blizzard turned and fired the rifle at her. It missed. Rattlesnake screamed a primal scream and stabbed the Icewing through the heart with her tail. Blizzard screamed as the poisonous barb sunk directly into her chest, blue blood flowing out of it.

She reached for the tail but Anthony came barreling in after Rattlesnake, who picked him up and threw him at Blizzard's head. He fired both mobile shotguns and Blizzard's head exploded.

Her brains splattered all over the wall. Swordfish screamed. Rattlesnake screamed. Anthony screamed. Rattlesnake wrestled her tail free quickly as the body fell to the ground, Blizzard's head reduced to her lower jaw and her chest was stabbed open, the wound dripping with poison and blood.

"THREE MOONS!" Rattlesnake shrieked, suddenly realizing what she had done. Tears fell from all three pairs of eyes. Swordfish was in shock. Blizzard was dead in front of him. "She was… she was…" Anthony said shakily.

This can't be real. This can't be real. Talons could be heard coming down the hall, running towards the commotion. "GET OUT! DON'T COME IN HERE!" Anthony screamed. A dark light was coming from Blizzard's body.

And then, the fateful sound. The loud ringing noise. The sound of a demon transforming. The sound that had always meant the arrival of Adnachiel. The scales and blood faded away, and the shape of a large human-like creature appeared. The robe. That skull. The arrows. The dark skeleton appeared as the Demon's features formed around it.

The huntress had found her prey a long time ago. She just couldn't get herself to do it. Swordfish broke down into an inky blackness.

And so, the truth begins. I can't believe we're finally here. Everything comes with a cost.