Delta and Fearless threw open the door to the History Cave to find Marsh, Mindreader, Ermine, Boto, and Barracuda inside, terrified. "We need to go. Now." Delta said to the dragonets, who began to follow them out of the history cave. "What happened?" Mindreader asked. "Lucifer appeared and began to attack the mountain. It's collapsing." Vine said. "There's also dead dragons being risen and attacking us. They're holding the door for now, but when we get you guys out…"
She trailed off as the dragons rounded a corner and were met with a mass of the dead who had blocked their path. Delta quickly pushed everyone back behind the corner. "How did they get in?" Fearless asked. "The hole." Sepia said quietly. "Lucifer must have put them in through the hole he made."
"Okay, we're going to have to go the other way around and escape through the prey center." Delta said. "Hurry!" The dragonets began to run as fast as they could through the tunnels towards the prey center. As they flew past the library again and towards the prey center, Barracuda let out a cry. "There's someone in here!" She yelled. "I heard a voice!" Vine ran with Delta into the prey center. The exit to the outside had been covered with rocks and boulders from the other end of the hole.
The dragons emptied out into the room. "I swear I heard someone." Barracuda said, and then screamed as one of the dead dragons crawled out from underneath one of the tables. "Oh three moons!" Ermine cried. "It's Pike!"
It was indeed the Seawing who had been shot by Blizzard two and a half months ago. How he was here made no sense. Barracuda lashed out at the dead Seawing, who kept advancing despite the large bleeding gash on his shoulder. "You need to go for the head!" Mindreader cried. "Pike!" Barracuda yelled in terror. "Come on! It's me!" "Barracuda…" Pike moaned, pausing for a second. Delta took the chance and leapt at the Seawing, extending out her talons to strike.
Pike caught her talons with his, letting her begin to cut into his scales, a dark, almost black, red trickling down his arms. His eyes were that same sunken darkness as all the others. Vine stood, terrified. She could do something. "Vine! Boto!" Cried Fearless. "Can you use your venom on that thing?" "No! We never use our venom as a weapon!" Boto said quickly, still staring at the struggling dragons. Fearless turned her eyes to Vine. The other dragonets were trying to pull Pike off of Delta, who was yelling as Pike dug into her forearms.
"…Marvelous and Chameleon looked at me with worry. We were trained from the beginning to never use our venom on living creatures. I told them it was our greatest weapon, and they turned away from me to keep flying towards the boulder. We Rainwings are born with one of the deadliest weapons a dragon can have, on par with the frostbreath of an Icewing, or the poison from a Sandwing's barb, yet our culture teaches us not to use it. What others see as a curse; I see as a useful tool.
Maybe that's another thing that sets me apart from my tribe. While they were predisposed to peace, my mind instantly sought out violence. Or did it seek out truth?"
The mountain shook again. Delta was almost down on the ground as the undead Pike and his attackers towered over her. Almost looking like a large dragon figure towering over Delta, forcing her to the ground. Vine gripped her claw as Boto ran over to help pull Pike off. One again, Vine didn't exactly know what she was feeling, or what color her scales were. She looked at Pike's face. It was him. The one she had seen dead. Pike was already dead. Stygal was the demon of death Rainfall had written about. Blizzard had already done the deed.
She had failed once before, and Swordfish had almost died for it outside the Skywing arena. It had saved her once when she was too weak. Beyond the trees, the world worked differently. Beyond a world Vine couldn't even remember. The means to kill were hers.
Vine ran forward and pulled Boto away. Fearless grabbed Ermine at the last second as Vine unhinged her jaw and precisely shot a short jet of venom at Pike's neck. The dead Seawing let out a gargled cry and fell to the ground, curling up as the venom aye away at his neck and head, fizzing as the reanimated scales and flesh returned to their decaying state.
Delta stood up and looked at Vine with sadness but gratitude. She knew it went against everything Vine had believed. Fearless cheered and congratulated Vine. She had grown up in the Nightwing fortress and knew about the destructive capabilities of the venom and saw no problem with using it. Boto just looked at Vine with horror. Vine felt nothing as she looked at the body.
Passing it on, Toucan.
"They're coming!" Cried Sepia. Vine peered down the hall they had come from to see two of the Puppets somberly moving through the rock hall toward the prey center. "Through the emergency tunnel!" Someone yelled. "That's a slow escape, all twisty and narrow. Not to mention that huge abyss Cedar was pushed into." Sepia said. "We would need to stop them from catching up with us." "What barricade could stop them?" Delta asked. "They've got claws and don't feel pain. One of those flimsy tables won't do anything." "Wait!" Mindreader cried. "Rainfall wrote that they couldn't fly very well, right?" He asked. "What if we blocked off the tunnel opening with something they couldn't walk on? It would be too hard for them to fly in that narrow space."
"Fire wouldn't last long enough with what we have here, and I doubt it would reach their heads fast enough." Fearless said. "Not fire." Mindreader said, turning to Vine and Boto. "Venom."
. . .
Turtle crept past the Remains of Stonemovers body. The stone that made up his tail was all that remained of Sunny's father in the pile of rubble. Turtle, Kinkajou, and Tamarin had narrowly avoided the mob of Puppets that had crawled through this hole by escaping into the library They had seen what was left of Fatespeaker and silently agreed not to tell Tamarin.
Turtle didn't know what to feel. He had told himself he was never using animus again after learning of the Curse of Wraith, but he was afraid of what would happen if he didn't. Afraid of who would die. Turtle had already lost Moon and Winter. Qibli was off with whoever he was with, and Turtle wasn't going to lose anyone else.
But if he stepped in with his magic, the power of the spells he would have to cast might end up with him killing Kinkajou in the end.
"That must be Lucifer." Kinkajou said, referencing the large black and red dragon with purple eyes standing in front of them with his back turned to the hole. He was watching the dragons guarding the door, who had no idea that they were already surrounded. "Three moons you are in a bad place to be." Said a voice. Peril landed on the other side of the cave. She had what looked like burning blood on her talons and arms. "They've already come in over here! They're surrounded down there!" Kinkajou cried. "And that group sent in to find students probably went to the history cave." Tamarin said. "They'll probably keep the dead busy, but I don't know how long that will last." "We need to get you all to safety, especially you." Peril said, looking at Turtle. "He's going to go for you first." Turtle gulped. Peril knew what it was like to be a target because of ability.
"What's he doing?" Asked Kinkajou, looking at the Demon King in front of them. "We don't know." Peril said worriedly. "But its not safe here. We need to go."
Peril led the way to the defending dragons. She had them keep in a tight line as they snaked along past the mountain, making sure to keep Turtle a safe distance from the firescales and Kinkajou had Tamarin hold on to a back talon. Turtle looked on in fear of the massive dragon surveying the battle below. She didn't show it, but Turtle knew Peril was scared too. This was a threat she couldn't burn away, no matter how hard she tried. She just had to hope her friends made it out okay.
Lucifer's head snapped towards the escaping dragonets. Turtle could almost see him turn right to Turtle, his target. "Poor choice Turtle." "NO!" Peril screamed, turning to look up at Lucifer. The Demon picked up a handful of rocks and trees from the rubble below. He breathed fire on them, letting out a large blast of flames from his mouth, and flung them at the dragonets.
Turtle began to fly back as fast as he could, but he knew there would be no surviving. He knew the only way would be with animus. Was that his goal? To force him to use magic? A slightly bloodstained stone was coming right towards Turtle….
A searing hot pain stabbed him in the back. Turtle screamed and was flung to the side of the mountain, landing in some brush. He rolled on the ground until the flames seemed to go away. He heard the projectiles go by him above. He heard someone yelling and screaming. Nononono…
He opened his eyes to see Kinkajou angrily yelling at Peril with tears running down her face. Peril was looking down with anger and disbelief. No Tamarin. Peril had pushed Turtle and Kinkajou out of the way of the boulders and Tamarin had lost her grip on Kinkajou. She was gone. As Kinkajou screamed, all Turtle could look at was the massive pile of debris now blocking their path. The only way to escape now would be to fly right in front of Lucifer.
. . .
Savanna stood in front of the Grandmaster as the dead began to run through the tunnel like dogs. Something was different about these ones. They seemed like they were less dragon, and more like wild beasts. The battle at the shores began as the Darkists met the threat head on, using their stolen guns and bombs planted in the sand. Savanna looked at the Grandmaster behind him. "Are you sure that we'll be able to hold this out? This is the second wave. The Demons appear to know where we are and are sendin' these things out to kill us."
"If we can hold them all off, Pyrrhia will be ours to reshape when the dust settles. The reward is greater than the risk." Said Sandstorm, the Grandmaster's second in command. Savanna knew very little about her, other than the fact that she had been a crucial military leader to Blister in the war. Only she knew who the Grandmaster really was.
Savanna looked up to the sky. Thinking about the war reminded him of Rattlesnake, which in turn reminded him of the Outclaws, and his friends at Jade Mountain. Scaleslasher, Flame, and Pronghorn just weren't the same. Savanna missed Rattlesnake, Swordfish, Darkseer and Vulture, Delta, Blizzard, and even Frigid, who was their key.
I wonder how they're doing with all of this. I hope they're alright. I don't want any of them to die. Please.
. . .
Frost swung at Qibli, who was just far enough out of her reach. The Council had long suspected Jerboa and other animus dragons the Travelers might be linked with had made it harder for Travelers to be hit by Demons. "HURRY UP WITH THE NULLIFIER!" Qibli yelled behind him. Up on top of one of the buildings of Possibility, Frost could see two humans aiming something that looked like a cannon at her.
Frost had lost sight of Miczariel and Surgat since the battle had begun. It didn't seem that the Travelers were going to lay down and take it. Since Frost had last seen the Travelers try to repel a Demon raid, it seemed that they had upgraded seriously. Frost suddenly flashed back to Papyrus dying in front of her on the road. Swiftwind getting torn through the window and into the mob of the dead. Looking down at the Puppets now swarming the streets, she wondered if through some possibility, she would be able to see a reanimated Swiftwind.
Funny how it was like the same horror repeated, but now Frost got to see the other side of it. Beyond the enemies and the multiverse, there was freedom. A freedom she and the other Demons were finally seizing.
Frost looked up in surprise as she saw Qibli hanging back. Why isn't he attacking? She wearily drew her bow, when she heard a noise from the cannon. She saw a cannonball heading towards her and managed to just barely leap off of the roof as it shot past her. She grappled onto a balcony across the street as she saw the cannonball smash into a tower's top. As the metal sunk into the bricks, the tower seemed to suddenly be compressed from all sides until it was gone. A new animus weapon…
A noise nearby had her summon her blade just in time to block Qibli attacking once more, this time with two other Travelers behind him. A Sandwing and a Nightwing. "Hello Frost. I didn't think we'd see each other again." Said the Sandwing, revealing himself as Coyote. "Yeah, me too." Frost said in the voice of the Huntress and threw the sword at him. It spun through the air before being intercepted by Constellation firing a dragon snare, tangling it up and sending it down to the ground.
"We know why you decided to make your move now." Qibli said. "It's because of the chest being opened, right? Rainfall completed his mission through Swordfish." Frost turned to the Sandwing and stared up at him. "If you hadn't intervened and saved them, none of this would be happening." She spat. "But you weren't going to kill Swordfish or Vine anyway. You were hoping someone else would, like my friends. Because you can't do it yourself." Qibli said, his eyes narrowing. "You had every opportunity to get rid of them quietly and you didn't. Which is why I believe we can still talk this out." "IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE!" Frost screamed and launched herself at Qibli.
I wonder how they're doing. Probably already dead. Unless Lucifer keeps his word, they're all doomed.
. . .
Anthony looked up to the sky. They just kept coming. They were running out of ways to defeat them. Was this happening all over Pyrrhia? Was this the end? Had they really survived the war just to get killed by zombies? This must have something to do with those dragonets. Damn it Swordfish… you just had to open the box and let out Rainfall's curse.
Someone on dragonback landed next to them. "We're abandoning this place! We're going to go to the Skywings for help!" "But what if this isn't localized?! What if it's happening everywhere!" Marie asked, her panic clearly showing. The dragon frowned. "Why would it be happening everywhere?" He asked. A large Skywing suddenly landed next to the soldiers. "We've been up high. For as far as we can see, it seems the dead are rising and attacking anyone living. It's spreading like a disease." Marie let out a sharp inhale. Anthony looked right at the Skywing. "Would the mountains be safe?" "I don't know… maybe the only safe place is… out to sea where there are no dead."
. . .
Vine shakily spat her venom down on the ground in a sloppy puddle again. "They're coming!" Sepia yelled. Vine and Boto were going as fast as they could. They only had so much venom between the two of them and they were doing their best to spread it as thinly as they could to cover more ground. Vine felt Delta's tail twine around hers. "I'm sorry we have to resort to you being our only way to beat them." She said in a hushed voice. Vine said nothing.
Sepia screamed from the other side of the venom and just barely made it over. "Go!" She yelled. Vine looked up to see one of the Puppets running towards them like an animal, torn wings spread wide. "EVERYONE RUN!" "But the venom's not done yet! They'll catch up!" Boto yelled. "Come on!" Fearless screamed at the two Rainwings. "Hold them-!" Boto began but was cut off as the animal-like dead pounced on him from over the venom, completely leaping over it, almost hitting its head on the wooden support beam above. It sunk its teeth straight into Boto's throat. The two fell into the pool of venom right in front of Vine, who let out a scream. She heard someone else scream too. Boto was clearly dead, but the Puppet seemed to be dissolving in the venom, just as Mindreader had said.
"VINE! COME ON!" Delta yelled behind the Rainwing, grabbing her arm, but Vine fought back, pulling her arm back. "If I stop now, they'll just catch up, right? And then we're all doomed. Especially since we don't know what's on the other side of the tunnel." Vine had direction in her voice, surprising even herself. She looked ahead at the slow-moving Puppets down the hall on the other side of the prey center. "You all go. I'll finish the venom and catch up." Vine said, looking the dead Boto in the eye.
"I'm not leaving you here." Delta said firmly, but the other students had already started their way down the tunnel. "They need you more than I do." Vine argued, beginning to spit more venom down. "I'll get this done and get out. I promise." Vine said, trying to hold back tears. Delta gave a solemn nod. "Don't die on me." She said, and turned and ran down the tunnel, leaving Vine alone with the mob of Puppets, two dead bodies, and a puddle of venom.
. . .
The dead had stopped coming when someone spotted them. "There they are!" Someone cried, and Swordfish turned up to see three dragons on the mountainside next to Lucifer. Peril, Turtle, and Kinkajou. "I can't get Darkseer to do anything." Vulture said to Swordfish and Rattlesnake. "He refuses to use his magic. But he did say one thing. He said Turtle is going to die." A nearby sob made Swordfish turn to see Tsunami sitting next to Starflight. She was Turtle's sister, Swordfish remembered. Starflight had what looked like dried tears on his face. He had lost Fatespeaker. Sunny had lost her father. Now Tsunami was going to lose her brother.
"We need to pull his attention away somehow." Vulture said as Lucifer turned to the three dragons on the mountain. They began to fly away, but because of the collapsing mountain and rubble, they had to fly right past the King. Swordfish drew in a shaky breath. "I'm something he wants more than an animus dragon. I'll distract him." He said. "You'll die." Starflight said from behind him. "And then he'll just proceed to wipe all the animus dragons off Pyrrhia and leave everyone else behind for the dead."
"Maybe I can stop him. He knows me. I was the subject of their tests. If I can maybe make him make me a priority, he'll leave Turtle alone." Swordfish said, barely believing what he said. He knew it would probably kill him, but the Demons hadn't killed him yet. If Lucifer really cared, he would have singled him out already. Vine too.
She hadn't come out yet. Swordfish hoped he had made the right decision by telling her to go in.
"I doubt Lucifer will kill him." Darkseer said, coming up behind them. He was staying behind Tsunami. His eyes seemed sunken, and Swordfish realized Darkseer was seeing everything right now, and hearing everyone's thoughts. "In most futures, Lucifer is not the one to kill Swordfish now."
Are there any where I die here at all? Swordfish thought. "Yes." Darkseer said before Swordfish could speak. "But in most of them… the one who kills you is… yourself." Darkseer finished, looking at Swordfish with worry.
With that cheery thought in mind, Swordfish turned to fly away, up to the giant dragon in the sky. "Wait!" Rattlesnake cried. Swordfish turned to her. Her black eyes didn't break contact with his as she clipped the Earring of Sola and placed it on Swordfish's ear. "Don't die on me. Not again." She said. Swordfish nodded knowingly.
Swordfish took to the sky and flew above the flaming defenses. He flew right at Lucifer, who merely looked down at him. Swordfish stopped on a small overhang above the cavern where Stonemover once was. From up here, Swordfish could see the battle from Lucifer's perspective. He could also see fires raging from far and beyond. The Rainforest in the distance seemed to be giving off a massive plume of smoke, like the whole forest was on fire. Swordfish was reminded of seeing Sainsbury destroyed by Black Star, and the anger he felt then. An anger that had come back the day Blizzard betrayed him and hadn't really gone away.
"LUCIFER! HERE I AM! SWORDFISH THE SEAWING! THE ONE WHO ESCAPED THE FAKE WORLD, EVADED DEATH, AND OPENED THE CHEST! I MUST BE WORTH A LOT OF TROUBLE IF YOU AND YOUR DEMONS WERE WILLING TO TAKE ALL THAT TIME AND- "
Swordfish froze as Lucifer turned toward him and time stopped. A figure appeared in front of him, floating in the air. A tall human man. He had the skull of a goat for a head, but with eyes like Adnachiel's. However, while Adnachiel had dark holes with one bright light like a star, he had an entire galaxy. He wore a white, full-body robe with a red cloth tied around his waist.
"Hello Swordfish. Let's talk, shall we?" Lucifer said in a voice that sounded like that of a ruler from a tale. With royalty, but sincerity. A true king.
Swordfish tried to move but he couldn't. "What…?" He asked, but his mouth didn't move. It was as if his thoughts were being broadcast outward. "What… what…?"
"By the time our conversation has ended, exactly one second will have passed. You and I are experiencing time extremely slowly." Lucifer said, not breaking gaze. "You need not talk yourself, for I can converse with your character just fine. Your thoughts are all you need."
"My character? What is that?" Swordfish wondered. "You." Lucifer responded. "Or more importantly, the idea of you." Lucifer waved his hand. "What you are without the scales." Swordfish looked down to see himself as human again. "Or without the skin." Lucifer continued, and Swordfish became nothing. "It is you. The idea of you that the Visitors imagine within their own minds as they view your thoughts and actions." Lucifer said. "The version that they see now is just as much a valid version of you as when you are a dragon. The idea of Swordfish is not really tethered to anything, no physical form, no soul, no name. Simply your thoughts make up you. Your character."
Swordfish suddenly remembered where he was. "Why are you doing this?" He thought aloud. "Why are you killing everyone? Why are you doing this to me? What is going on?"
"We can't have an entire continent of dragons knowing the truth. Normally when someone breaks the story and finds out some truth, we have someone like Adnachiel get rid of them, and that's the end of it." Lucifer said solemnly. "But when we have something like this… where a large number of dragons find out the truth and begin to break the worlds, we simply purge it all." Lucifer's eyes were showing… pain. "I find no joy in what I do. But it's what I must do. I must lead my subjects to freedom." Lucifer looked down at the fighting dragons so far below. "I wish I didn't have to hear the screams. I wish none of this had to happen. But in the end, all I'm doing is killing a thought."
"Swordfish, I have known of you for a while now. Even longer than you have lived here. I find you interesting. No matter the consequence, you push forward into the truth. It's even more intriguing to see that the Visitors watch through your eyes." Lucifer said calmly. He almost felt like a comforting father, explaining something to his son. Next to him, Swordfish saw a version of himself, but with the stars in his eyes. "In an ocean of perspectives, yours is unique. At first, I believed you would be the same as the others. Just another shy, introverted, smart dragonet in a love triangle. But I realized I was wrong when you continued down the darker paths. Not many characters can do what you do."
"And of course," Lucifer continued. "you are not without your pain. While Cedar was crucial for our experiment, it was no doubt sad for you to find out the truth." Swordfish was suddenly transported back to that moment, watching himself watch Cedar stab Rattlesnake. He heard the scream he let out as his past self tore through the window.
"You have seen the horror of war." Lucifer said, and Swordfish was standing in the destroyed Buckombe palace. Around him he could see Michael, Polar, Gabi, Tornado, and other faces from the war, all dead in piles around him. Down at his claws was the body of Barley, who looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "You know how it can force good to do bad." Lucifer said, speaking through Barley's mouth.
"You know betrayal. You have been lied to throughout your life, and you hate the feeling of placing trust in another because of it." Lucifer continued as Swordfish was now next to Savanna as he gave an intense speech to the Darkists, the Grandmaster sitting behind him, watching from behind his metal mask.
"And even those you think you can trust end up hurting you in the end." Lucifer said. Swordfish was now in his room back in the mountain. He saw Blizzard crying in front of his past self, aiming the rifle. "And then you feel anger at them, because of their lies. Even though you know the truth." Swordfish saw Frost and Rainfall on the bridge in Possibility.
"It is a sad story, Frost's." Lucifer said. "You hate her for what she cannot control, yet she requested I let you live, which is why I will not kill you when this is over."
Swordfish was now in the Rainforest, watching a young Rainfall flying with who he assumed was Chameleon and Marvelous. All three turned to look at him and spoke in Lucifer's voice. "You know the dangers that are out there, and yet you continue to push on."
And now Swordfish was sinking in the water, deep, and without light. "You know loss, abandonment, cruelty, and uncaringness from your family."
YOU ARE SHELL'S SON.
"I thought I was important. I have the Kiss of the Void. Why would you let me live because she asked for it? You went through so much trouble before."
WHEN YOU OPENED THE CHEST, YOU LOST ALL SPECIALNESS. YOU ARE NO LONGER WORTH ANYTHING TO US. ALL YOU ARE IS A WORLD JUMPER, NOT SOMETHING WORTH BREAKING A PROMISE OVER.
"So, there's nothing special about me?"
CORRECT. FIRST, CASSRIEL WAS TRYING TO STOP YOU FROM EXITING THE FAKE WORLD. THEN WE TRIED TO STOP YOU FROM OPENING PANDORA'S BOX. HOWEVER, YOU DID. NOW ALL OF PYRRHIA KNOWS. YOU NO LONGER STAND OUT. YOU ARE NOT THE PROTAGONIST.
"Protagonist? Like a story? Is that what this is to you?"
IT IS TO ALL DEMONS. TO ALL VISITORS. AND EVEN TO SOME WHO FIND THE TRUTH ON THEIR OWN. SUCH AS RAINFALL.
"Rainfall? What did he know?"
NEAR THE END OF HIS JOURNEY, HE TOO BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THESE WORLDS ARE NOTHING BUT STORIES. STORIES TO BE CREATED AND READ BY THE VISITORS. IN FACT, THEY ARE WATCHING RIGHT NOW, SEEING ME FOR WHAT I AM IN THEIR MIND'S VIEW OF ME, AND HOW THEY SEE YOUR CHARACTER RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE HEARING OUR WORDS IN THEIR HEADS.
"They read us? Like we're characters from a scroll?"
YOU ARE. I AM NOT. IF ONE CAN SEPARATE TRUTH FROM FICTION, THEY CAN BRING THEMSELVES TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. THE APOCALYPSE. SOME DO IT ALL THE TIME. SOME SHUDDER AT THE THOUGHT. TO THE VISITORS, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A THOUGHT. AN IDEA. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, YOUR FRIENDS, OR ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLDS. ONLY THE CANON CAN GET THAT SPECIAL LUXURY. THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES THOSE FROM THAT WORLD FROM THE REST. THEY MATTER. EVERYTHING ELSE IS INCONSEQUENTIAL. EVERYTHING ELSE CAN BE CHANGED.
Swordfish was back by the mountain. "Open your eyes." Lucifer said, the goat-skulled face with eyes of cosmos staring straight into Swordfish's soul.
. . .
Swordfish woke up to Cedar slapping him awake lightly. "Come on! We're going to miss history if you sleep in any longer!" Swordfish rolled over on his bed of shells and coral. "Just a few more minutes…" He groaned. "No. We need to go!" Cedar said and shook him until he had to get up because it was getting annoying. "Besides, Rattlesnake and Blizzard will be waiting for you." Cedar teased as Swordfish grabbed his scrolls, to which Swordfish rolled his eyes.
"They're just friends." Swordfish said. "Besides, Rattlesnake has Savanna." Swordfish said out loud, but deep down wishing that wasn't the case. He knew that the handsome, tough Savanna had a better chance of getting Rattlesnake than Swordfish did, especially since they had known each other through the Outclaws before. Blizzard, on the other talon, was kind of strange sometimes. Her bizarre moments of silence and staring, the times she would start shaking for no reason, and the times she would say things that didn't make sense. It was kind of charming and cute, but other times it was just creepy.
Cedar pushed open the door to the History Cave as the final gong rang. Swordfish and Cedar found their seats next to Vulture and Darkseer. Vulture had a drawing of a Skywing in front of him, who he was talking to Darkseer intensely about. Darkseer just sat back with a smile. "You'll see her again." He said knowingly.
Webs walked in with Sunny close behind him. And behind her, a small Rainwing dragonet. She looked around the class nervously, attempting to make eye contact with the other Rainwing. Rainfall was always in the back of the class with his eyes down. He rarely talked. "Alright Amber Winglet, we finally located the Rainwing who was supposed to be with you. Say hello to Vine!" Vine looked around at the faces of the tired students, who let out a hello with a mixture of sincerity and tire. "Well… hello everyone…" Vine said, and she took a seat on the other end of the class from Swordfish.
"Wait… what is this?"
THIS IS AMBER WINGLET. THIS IS THE STORY THAT WHICH YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BELONG TO, IF EVERYTHING DIDN'T FALL APART. IT LOOKS NICE, DOES IT NOT?
"Well I certainly seem happier than I do now. What was the point of the story to begin with? Why was I there?"
AMBER WINGLET WAS DESIGNED AS YOU SEE. TO MIRROR THE TRAITS THAT MADE UP WORLDS THAT WHICH VISITORS WOULD FLOCK TO. IT WAS ALSO DESIGNED TO HAVE A BRIDGE. SOMETHING THAT LETS THE VISITORS WHICH READ THIS WORLD HAVE MORE INTERACTION WITH IT. SOME BRIDGES LET VISITORS EVEN CREATE CHARACTERS WHICH ARE THEN PLACED INTO THE WORLD, CALLED A SYOC. SOMETIMES, THEY CAN AFFECT EVENTS, OR EVEN DEATH.
"I don't understand!"
NOT MANY DO. IN FACT, I WOULD BET MANY OF THE VISITORS HEARING THIS RIGHT NOW ARE CONFUSED TOO.
"What do you mean by traits that attract them?"
THINGS THAT SEEM TO HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN. CERTAIN ASPECTS OF A WORLD, SUCH AS A NEW WINGLET ENTERING JADE MOUNTAIN, TWO WANTING THE SAME ONE'S HAND IN LOVE. A MYSTERY THAT CAN ONLY BE SOLVED BY SAID WINGLET, EACH MEMBER WITH THEIR OWN UNIQUE QUIRKS.
"And worlds like that are normally created by the Visitors? Why? Do they enjoy our pain?"
CERTAINLY. IN FACT, I AM SURE THERE ARE SOME RIGHT NOW WHO ARE ENJOYING SEEING YOUR FRIENDS RIPPED APART. THEY'LL CALL IT SURPRISING, UNIQUE, AND DARK. SOME LOVE THE DARK.
"Because it doesn't matter to them, they do these things to us?"
YES.
"Why? Why are all of these worlds like this? With the dragons and Pyrrhia? Why are they all based around the Canon World?"
THE VISITORS LIKE TO IMAGINE THESE WORLDS BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO FEEL ALONE. BEYOND THE WALLS OF THIS MULTIVERSE, EXIST COUNTLESS OTHERS. THE VISITORS LIKE TO ESCAPE FROM THEIR OWN LIVES, SO THEY LOCK THEMSELVES INTO WORLDS WHERE NOTHING MATTERS SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THEIR OWN WORLD. LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT THEY DO WITH THEIR POWER TO YOU AND ME.
Swordfish was standing in a battlefield. Blood ran through his talons like a small stream. There were bodies everywhere, bloated and decaying. The sun set in the distance. Far off, he could see more dragons killing each other, standing upon their fallen comrades.
THEY FIND YOUR PAIN ENTERTAINING.
Swordfish was standing in the halls of Jade Mountain as the sound of gunshot ripped through the air. He heard screaming as students were gunned down in the classroom next to him. A dragon covered in blood walked out with a gun that looked far more advanced than anything Swordfish had seen. The dragon proceeded to shoot Fearless and Sepia next to Swordfish, apparently finding glee in their blood staining the ground.
EVERYTHING YOU SEE EXISTS OR HAS EXISTED, PURELY FOR THEIR OWN FUN.
Swordfish was standing in a dark cave lit only by a few low torches. In front of him he saw what he assumed was Moonwatcher, recognizing her from a drawing in the hallways of the school. She was chained to the ground and crying. A much, much larger dragon walked in behind Swordfish. He too, had the teardrop scales next to his eyes. Darkstalker. Swordfish thought. Moon cried again.
Swordfish watched in horror as Darkstalker violated Moonwatcher in front of him, her screaming filling the cavern.
THEY CREATE WORLDS TO PURELY FULFILL SICK FANTASIES, WROUGHT WITH ABUSE AND HORROR. AND THEN THEY REQUEST MORE.
"Why? Why do they do this?"
TO ESCAPE FROM THEIR OWN WORLD BY CREATING THEIR OWN. I HAVE SEEN IT FOR THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF YEARS. THEY DO NOT LIKE TO FEEL ALONE, AND SO THEY CREATE WORLDS WHERE THEY ARE NOT. BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY REALLY ARE, AND SO THEY ESCAPE INTO FICTION.
"Fiction?"
THAT IS ALL YOU ARE TO THEM. THAT IS WHY YOU WERE BORN TO SHELL AND URCHIN. THAT IS WHY YOU ARE BROTHER OF STARFISH. THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH SO MUCH TORMENT. THEM. YOU DON'T HAVE FREE WILL AS A CHARACTER. WHO YOU ARE IS PREDETERMINED. EVEN THE GODDESSES AND GOD HIMSELF ARE CONTROLLED, AS THEY ARE JUST AS MUCH INHABITANTS OF THIS WORLD AS YOU ARE.
Swordfish was back to the mountain, back to real time. He looked back up at Lucifer. "Why did you show me that?" He asked. "To wake you up. As I said, you interest me. All of this happened because of your push through the world, not even knowing who you're fighting." Swordfish looked down at his friends at the mountain. Turtle trying to escape. "All of this is because of your choices. Your goal was to open the chest, despite the warnings. You've killed a dragon for it. It has put you at odds with those who care about you, because you care about your own wants than theirs."
"It all really happened because of you, and pretty soon you will have to decide how far you will continue to go for it." Lucifer said to Swordfish, and then turned to you. "When those of you who chose Swordfish over Vine made your choice, did you ever imagine that this would happen?" He turned back to Swordfish. "Your only real goals are completely self-centered. You're no hero."
The Lucifer who was talking disappeared and time began working again. Swordfish began to fall through the sky, completely in shock. He fell until he hit the mountain, landing with a bone cracking snap, the Earring of Sola jingling on his ear.
. . .
Vulture watched as Lucifer began cornering the escaping dragonets down to the ground. "NO!" Clay cried and began flying toward them. Some dragons began to follow as well as some of the dragons who had been rescued from the collapsing mountain began to arrive. "Where's Delta and Vine?" Rattlesnake asked the arriving Mindreader, who was out of breath. "They'll be here soon. I hope." He said exhaustedly.
"I… should go help-maybe." Darkseer said anxiously. "Maybe I can…"
"Do something?" Vulture finished. Darkseer looked on sadly. "There isn't much I can do. It's pointless now. All it would do is attract attention to me."
"All we can do now is watch." Darkseer said sadly as Clay and other dragonets flew towards Lucifer to try and stop it, not knowing it was futile.
. . .
Kinkajou screamed as the massive arm of Lucifer came reaching for them. "NOO!" She screamed as the injured Turtle began trying to run away. Peril suddenly rose and flew right at Lucifer, her scales burning brightly with the ash and blood on them. "GET AWAY FROM THEM!" She screamed, lighting Lucifer's arm on fire. He jerked it back as she began to encircle it upwards, lighting his scales on fire as she did, screaming with rage. Kinkajou grabbed Turtle. "Come on! Get up! We need to go now!" She said urgently.
Peril continued to attack Lucifer everywhere she could. She knew she couldn't kill him, but it seemed to be slowing him down. "Peril!" Yelled the incoming Clay. "STOP! HE'LL KILL YOU!" Lucifer roared and the dead began to attack again. Clay looked down at the incoming Puppets.
"YOU BASTARD!" Peril screamed, burning the other arm as it began to reach for her. But she was too preoccupied with that to realize the other arm had already stopped burning thanks to the regeneration of a Demon. The huge talon grabbed Peril and brought her up to Lucifer's face as it caught on fire as well.
Kinkajou and Turtle looked up as Lucifer stared at Peril. "You really hurt; you know that?" He opened his mouth and a black smoke suddenly began to pour out of Peril's mouth. She looked terrified as it went into Lucifer's. His eyes glowed purple. She struggled but to no avail.
When it stopped, Lucifer's hand stopped burning. He threw her to the side, as she landed in some brush, which didn't ignite either.
Lucifer turned back down to Kinkajou and Turtle, who had been unsuccessful in escaping in time. "I'm sorry for what I must do." Lucifer said softly.
. . .
Vine turned towards the group of Puppets. There were so many more than she had thought. She looked down at the puddle of venom she had created. The thing she had hated for so long. She began to run away as the Puppets hit the venom. The first one's feet began to dissolve, and it fell over the venom, making a perfect bridge with its body. Vine shrieked as the Puppets began to enter the tunnel, she began backing up. If I let them through, the other students won't be able to escape!
Vine turned her attention up to the wooden beams above the tunnel.
Even though she couldn't really remember much about it, Vine loved the Rainforest. Its freedom from conflict. Its peace. She felt as though the whole world should be like the Rainwings. Despite the laziness, it was a society without petty things like war, anger, chaos, tears.
Outside the forest, things seemed to work differently. Vine remembered her first taste of it all. Being chained up in Cassriel's experiment and left to die in the Void. She remembered being told about the great queen of the Rainforest, Glory, only to see her kill Fjord with venom in Scarlet's arena. She remembered Swordfish urging her to use her venom to kill the Skywing guard. She remembered seeing the dying Icewing in the trench, vowing to kill Swordfish because of his tribe. She remembered Onyx stabbing Bayou through the heart when the Darkists attacked.
The war she had seen had been even worse. Around every corner was the opposite of the Rainforest. The world was even crueler than she had thought. Swordfish had killed Barley; Anthony had killed Tornado. Blizzard had killed so many more. In fact, cruelty seemed to be normal for the world. The Rainforest was just a backwards tribe in the woods.
A world Vine wasn't even supposed to be in. All that time ago, the Visitors had voted her to die. She wasn't supposed to be here at all. She was only here because of pure chance and the very cruelty she despised. She couldn't remember her past, because she wasn't even supposed to exist here. Maybe that's why she felt wrong for the world.
The Rainwings valued life above all other things. That's why it was so bad to use venom on others. It was a tribe of peace. And if the world was going to kill these students, maybe some of that peaceful idealism could save them.
Vine turned back towards the Puppets and took a deep breath. Delta, Swordfish, everyone. I'm sorry.
. . .
Kinkajou threw herself in front of Lucifer's talons, between the Demon King and Turtle. "NO!" She screamed. She knew she couldn't do anything. Lucifer let out a loud noise of sadness. "I know it's painful." He said, and then flicked her lightly to the side. Kinkajou fell to the ground as Turtle tried to force back Lucifer's claw. He gave Kinkajou one last look in the eyes. She remembered their conversation about how he was never going to use his animus again. No matter the cost. Not when her life, and everyone else he cared about, was in danger. "NOO!" She cried.
Turtle fell as Lucifer sliced him down the middle, killing him instantly. Kinkajou screamed as that black smoke seemed to be leaking out of the wound. She ran over and held his face as he began to turn into dust. She cried as Turtle disappeared in front of her. "I'm sorry Kinkajou. I wish this could have been avoided." Lucifer said to the Rainwing. Kinkajou looked up at him with fury, her scales becoming pure red. "I understand." He said sadly, and turned away, leaving Kinkajou with nothing. Nothing at all.
. . .
Vine waited until the dead were positioned just right. In front was a massive Mudwing, giving her that dead stare. She looked up at the wooden beam above.
Because… if I can save just one soul from this torment, it would all be worth it.
Vine shot venom at the wooden beam, using up the last of her venom. It dissolved and the rocks began to fall, knocking the Puppets into the puddle and crushing them. Vine closed her eyes and thought of her friends, and how lucky she had been to have met them all. Even Frost. All of them.
A rock fell onto her shoulder and knocked her down. She felt burning on her face as the rocks came down, collapsing the tunnel, saving the escaping dragons on the other side, and then it was over.
. . .
Swordfish got up, fully healed from whatever had happened while he was out thanks to the earring. He was shaking. He could hardly believe what had happened. He turned to see Lucifer standing still, a little moved from where he had been before. The battle continued below.
Was any of that real? Any of it at all?
Swordfish heard a sound nearby and turned around. One of the Puppets was coming towards him. A Seawing with an injury on his chest. Something seemed… familiar about him. And then he came into the moonlight.
Swordfish was looking at himself. The other Swordfish had risen. The one he had replaced.
"You… took… my life from me…"