The battle between Nellie and Roxanne had become increasingly intense.

Lantel held a nervous expression as he sat in one of the bleachers. He was stuck in the chapel, watching as Bergan filled the air with bursts of purple light. Soon, another batch of convexity crystals sat neatly arranged upon the altar, all while Cyrus watched from across the way. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, watching this unfold. Lantel couldn't be sure what sinister plans the purple dragon had in store. Still, being stuck here in the chapel was preferable to being locked upon in the dungeons down below.

"Hmm, I'd say that the final preparations are just about done." Bergan said with a small smile. "All that's left to do is make our way to Glenhaven to watch the spectacle unfold."

"Glenhaven?" Lantel asked in astonishment.

"Oh, yes." Bergan nodded. "You didn't think I was just going to have you sit around doing nothing, did you?" He stood up taller and stretched out his back. "Oh no; we need to be sure that everything's ready for the final act to Saul's play."

"Uh-huh…" Cyrus snorted. "Well then, let's gather up the crystals and get going."

The hulking black dragon reached out for one of the crystals, only for Bergan to swat his forepaw away.

"Not so fast, Prince Cyrus." Bergan declared.

"I was only going to put the damn things in a sack!" Cyrus hissed as he rubbed his forepaw.

"Mhm…" Bergan was nowhere near convinced. "Step away from the crystals, Cyrus. I think they're growing too tempting for you."

Cyrus growled as he stomped away from the row of crystals. The black drake sat back on his haunches across the way and sneered as he watched Bergan gather a few of the crystals up.

"Yes, this is certainly an impressive little batch indeed…" Bergan declared as he put the first row in his sack.

Lantel sneered. He stood up taller and glared at the back of Bergan's neck. Bergan noticed this and turned to give a patient smile toward the fiery prince. "Is there a problem?"

"Why are you doing this to the people of Glenhaven?" Lantel demanded. "Why are you helping Saul wage war against the desert city? None of it makes any sense!"

"It doesn't, hmm?" Bergan raised an eye ridge.

"Hasn't your whole philosophy been about HELPING people?" Lantel demanded. "Don't you like going around, saving as many lives as you can from destruction and terror and all of that bad shit?!"

"Of course." Bergan nodded.

"So… then WHY are you helping Saul SPREAD destruction and terror?!" Lantel flapped his wings. "You're committing what are essentially war crimes! The moment it gets around that you were helping Saul, everyone's going to turn against you AND your trading company!" Lantel stamped his forepaw. "Haven't you thought any of this through at all?!"

Bergan gave a soft sigh. He put down his crystals and made to step over toward Lantel. The prince flinched, expecting some violent retaliation… but instead, the purple drake simply sat on his haunches and put on a sigh.

"All of this does seem bad, I'm sure." He nodded his head. "But I've been hard at work, preparing for what's to come next. I'm sure that a lot of what I'm doing must seem very bad right now… but rest assured, my dear boy: everything will be alright in Glenhaven AND Warfang, once we're all finally passed all this."

Lantel leaned his head back and sneered. "You're not making any sense."

"Nobody ever thinks I'm making any sense…" Bergan lamented. He picked himself up and fluttered his wings once more. "But let's just follow the trail ahead of us to Glenhaven…" He glanced over at the black dragon. "Make sure you keep an eye on the younglings, Cyrus."

The black dragon's eyes widened in shock, and he sneered back at Bergan. "Excuse me? But aren't I needed in Glenhaven?"

"Certainly not. You're not coming to Glenhaven with us." The purple drake stepped around to Lantel's side. "There's much for you to-"

"WHAT?!" Cyrus hissed. He stomped angrily toward Bergan, making Lantel shiver and back up behind the purple drake. The corrupted back dragon glared down at Bergan, who simply sighed and frowned up at him.

"Surely you realize why you can't go, hmm?" Bergan nodded. "Saul will be arriving in Glenhaven soon. And you're near the top of his list of dragons to kill."

"As if that lousy green-bean could do anything against THIS!" Cyrus extended his wings and gave a powerful burst of flames from his maw. Bergan, however, was unimpressed.

But as Cyrus unleashed a mighty display of fire… it suddenly became weaker. The inferno was reduced to a single burst… and then further still to a few weak little sparks. Cyrus's eyes widened, and he tried again to create more flames, only to spit out sparks once more.

"Wh-What's happening?!" Cyrus shouted.

"You're overexerting yourself is what's happening." Bergan said with a click of his tongue.

"Wh-What?" Cyrus asked indignantly.

"You've been having a lot of fun, putting on impressive shows of your power." Bergan said as he fluttered his wings playfully. "And that little portal to Warfang you made ate up quite a significant portion of your convexity all on its own."

"Wh-What are you getting at?" Lantel questioned as he looked the black dragon over.

"It's quite simple." Bergan put on a cautious face. "Cyrus's ascension is nearing its end."

Cyrus's eyes widened. "It's END?!"

"I gave you what you wanted; a taste of greater power." Bergan said plainly. "You helped me as a test subject into a safer, more pure form of convexity-infused growth. However, it was only ever going to be temporary."

"Temporary?!" Cyrus shouted.

"Of course." Bergan continued. "And at the rate your power's decreasing, you should be back to your old self soon enough."

"NO!" Cyrus sprang onto all fours. He tried to spit out a burst of magic… which fizzled and died before it could even pass his fangs. And as he did that, part of Cyrus's both writhed. The black dragon clutched his forepaws to his muzzle; his fangs were slowly decreasing in length.

"Hmm, every time you try to use more magic, it weakens just a bit more." Bergan said. "I'll need to make a note of that."

"Hold on a minute." Lantel snapped. "Didn't you convince Cyrus to consume that convexity so that he'd become your General? Wasn't all of that an attempt to brainwash him to your cause?"

Bergan gave a low snicker… and flapped his wings as he guffawed, much to Cyrus's irritation.

"Brainwash? Oh no, I simply gave him enough power to stabilize his initial aggression." Bergan declared. "Everything Cyrus has done to help me up until now… was all him."

"All… him?" Lantel repeated, casting a glare at Cyrus. Cyrus picked himself up, and he glared down at Bergan with betrayal in his eyes.

"You called me your General!" Cyrus cried indignantly.

"That… that was an impulse on my end." Bergan said. "I couldn't help but play along; you seemed to love your temporary growth. But, all games must come to an end. We have work to do for the betterment of the realms, my princes."

Cyrus stomped closer and glared into Bergan's eyes. "I don't want to go back to being a weakling! You can't let this just END!"

"Listen to me, Cyrus…" Bergan pursed his lips. "I had you go through the experiment once, but I won't do it again so soon, if ever. There's no telling what kind of damage would be done to your body if I allowed you to stay in this expanded form for longer periods of time."

"You…" Cyrus gnashed his fangs. "You traitor!"

"Traitor?" Bergan balked. "I'm simply looking out for your future, just as I've been doing for all the other young dragons here." He reached out to pat Cyrus on the upper foreleg. "Just calm down, and-"

"Don't touch me!" Cyrus hissed, swiping Bergan's paw away. He then pointed an accusing talon at Bergan's snout and growled louder.

"You think you can just give me this power… ALL OF THIS POWER…" He extended his wings once more. "And have me do NOTHING with it?! And then just TAKE IT AWAY?!"

"Cyrus, calm down…" Bergan said sternly. "You're letting yourself lose control."

"I'm tired of being left on the sidelines!" Cyrus hissed. "Over and over again, people keep telling me the same shit: stay out of the way. Don't get involved. It's not your fight. You're not ready for this…" More smoke poured from his nostrils as he spread out his forepaws. "Well, I'm sick of it!"

The black dragon surrounded himself with a shadowy aura. Bergan flinched and took up a defensive stance, while Lantel shivered once more behind him. The purple drake half-expected Cyrus to attack from some angle. In fact, Bergan saw Cyrus attacking from just about any angle; it wouldn't be any trouble to deflect it. But of all the options for a convexity-infused teenager to take… the least likely happened. Cyrus appeared all the way on the other side of the chapel, before the altar… where the most recent batch of convexity crystals still sat unguarded.

Bergan's eyes widened as Cyrus slammed his paws down on the altar, shaking the crystals loose. "Cyrus, NO!"

Before Cyrus could make another move, Bergan snapped his talons… and the world was frozen in time. Lantel held a shock of surprise, while Cyrus was mid-snarl. Bergan gave a sigh of relief; he could always rely on his magic to save him from a pinch. He took careful steps forward, keen to get those crystals safely out of the prince's reach…

When the aura around Cyrus's body began to shimmer and stir once more. Bergan blinked in surprise as the black dragon began to move in slow motion.

"You're… not… the… only… one…" Cyrus snarled slowly as his forepaws reached out for the crystals. "With… time… magic."

Bergan's heart leaped into his throat; how could he forget about the boy's affinity for the element?!

But, wait… to have it be of THIS magnitude, his form would need… No, but even then…

The purple drake sprinted as fast as his cloak would allow, desperate to get those crystals away. The longer Bergan exerted himself, the more his time barrier began to break down. Bit by bit, Cyrus's pace grew faster and faster… until finally, just as Bergan was arriving at the alter, the black dragon moved at normal speed, and snatched the crystals up in his greedy talons.

"Cyrus, stop!" Bergan cried out. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Cyrus growled. He hefted up the largest crystal and infused it with dark energy. "I've had it with guard duty!"

Cyrus chucked the energized crystal at the floor beside the altar… where it exploded into a pool of shadowy energy. Bergan shielded himself with his wings and grunted in discomfort; the blast was so strong that it knocked his time barrier away. Bergan slipped and lightly grazed his head against the edge of a pew. His wings were lightly bruised, and his head ached a bit, but his healing magic was already hard at work mending that.

"Wh-What just happened?!" Lantel exclaimed from the front of the altar.

"My exit!" Cyrus barked. He quickly stuffed his collection of crystals into a sack and held it in his grasp... save for the very last one, which he stuffed into his maw. The black dragon looked back at Bergan just long enough for a snarl as he chowed down on the convexity.

"Cyrus, please." Bergan pleaded between pants. "You don't want to-"

"SHUT UP!" Cyrus roared. "You're not keeping me out of the fight!"

Without another word, Cyrus dove into the portal, not caring that it was left wide open after his departure. Bergan just watched as the black dragon swam through the mists as fast as a fish through water. Bergan gave a few more, deeper pants as he hobbled up to the portal and shut it closed. And after that, Bergan fell backward onto his haunches.

He'd failed. Once again… he'd failed.

"M-Mr. Bergan!" Lantel cried as he ran up to the purple drake's side.

Bergan ran his talons through his mane as he tried to process what just happened.

"Something's wrong…" Bergan muttered. He stood up taller and panted again. "Something's changed?"

"What?" Lantel tilted his head in confusion.

Bergan sucked in a breath and brought a forepaw to his muzzle. The drake parted his jaws and let a mist of brown energy flow between his talons. The energy shifted to become a pile of sand, which Bergan then ignited with fierce flames. The sand became energy, which he rolled around to make into a ball of glass. And then, with another flash of magic, Bergan held a crystal ball in his paws.

"What are you doing?" Lantel asked.

"I have to know…" He said with worried eyes. His talons danced along the surface, as cloudy smoke began to emerge in the center. "I have to see what's coming."

Bergan stared into the center of the crystal ball for a moment, then another… and his face became more and more frantic. In the end, his paws were trembling, and he let the crystal fall from his grasp. Lantel instinctively reached out to catch the crystal, but he couldn't quite see anything in the center. Lantel looked up to see Bergan clutching a forepaw to his chest, as he muttered under his breath with chattering fangs.

Lantel felt shivers creep up his spine. Something had wiped the cocky grin from Bergan's face… and it gave the fiery prince the worst sense of foreboding he'd had in his life.

"Prince Lantel…" Bergan said as his face turned pale. "There's been a change of plans. Neither of us will be going to Glenhaven today."

"Wh-What?" Lantel balked.

"There's… something I have to look into." Bergan channeled some shadowy magic beneath his paws. "Something's wrong… in the Pit of the Fallen."

"Wh-What do you…?"

But before Lantel could finish, Bergan vanished in the blink of an eye. Lantel looked all around for some sign of the purple drake… but he had a feeling that he'd slipped away via time magic once more. And now, Lantel was alone.

The fiery prince couldn't believe that this had happened; Cyrus has gone rogue, while Bergan was too preoccupied with… something, to be concerned with stopping the black drake. Lantel felt another shiver; it had to be bad if it gave Bergan a scare…

But now wasn't the time to be afraid. The master of the house and his big scary bodyguard were both gone. All that was left of his forces on-site were the Crazy Aces, and they weren't exactly the beefiest of palace guards.

This was a moment that Lantel couldn't pass up; he sprang to his feet and made to rush downstairs.

I've got to free the other students, he thought with a flourish of his cape. It's time for the future fire king to SHINE!

~~…~~

The fight between Nellie and Roxanne raged on.

Both dragonesses gave it their all, just as they'd done when the fight started. However, at random, either one of the two dragonesses would suddenly be filled with adrenaline, and they'd attack wildly and without mercy. They'd send their opponent running in fear and worry as their attacks rained down upon the battlefield. But then, just like that, their adrenaline would run out, leaving them exhausted. This gave the opponent a burst of confidence, and the tides would turn once more.

And all the while, Prince Rune watched with a grumble. He nervously tugged at his sleeves as he struggled to make sense of what he was seeing.

Something's not right. He thought. There's more to this than simple foul play.

You've got a point. Runefor replied.

What do you mean?

Look closely… Runefor said as he urged Rune to focus on Roxanne. Notice anything… out of the ordinary?

Rune focused his gaze, although he tried to avoid looking Roxanne in the eyes. There was a certain… GLOW about her body; unlike the normal sparks of lightning. It was more… ethereal. Harder to see… and came in varying shades of purple. Rune quickly looked over at Nellie; he could just barely make out a similar aura. And when one aura faded away on one dragoness, another one appeared on the other…. At the same time as their random bursts of adrenaline.

Rune's eye twitched. Convexity.

Yep. Runefor snorted. But the question is: who's using Convexity on those two? It's certainly not YOU.

Rune growled a bit; he didn't like this at all. He certainly didn't like how nobody else in the crowd could see what he was seeing. Even the Elders, as much as Rune respected them, seemed completely oblivious to the lingering convexity surrounding the girls. The Guardians, meanwhile, had their complaints about foul play, and yet the fight persisted.

This isn't right… Rune snorted. He quietly backed up and looked about the arena. I need to find out who's doing this, and why.

Then let's be off. Runefor declared. Keep your eyes peeled, Runey-boy.

Rune snorted again as he double-checked to make sure his hood was on correctly. He then let his eyes wander, and tried his best to focus his ear frills on something out of place. Rune shut his eyes and listened to the confused howls of the dragons in the crowd. The grumbled mutterings of the Guardians, the bursts of magic from Nellie and Roxanne…

The soft violin playing in the background.

Rune opened his eyes immediately and focused them on a pillar far at the back of the bleachers. It was the one thing out of place. Violin music, playing so quietly that nobody could pick up on it? With the power of Convexity giving dragons short bursts of stamina? This didn't bode well.

Rune took several steps forward to walk around the back of the arena. And along the way, his mind raced to put the pieces together. He hadn't seen that Cyrus's fight for himself; all he had was hearsay from his friends and family. But he remembered one distinct detail about a violin involved in convexity… and who played it so well.

He was making his rounds across the perimeter, passing by the doorway to the halls… when they were pushed open suddenly. Rune glanced over out of reflex and looked away… only to have to do a double-take.

Three teenaged dragons walked through those doors, guided by Guardian Mimet. It was Chalice, Tina, and Sandra!

Rune's eyes widened as the trio were led inside; they all looked rather ragged, and beheld Rune in mild surprise; perhaps they knew him well enough to see past his disguise. Guardian Mimet, at the very least, stepped forward with an inquisitive glance over his features, all while Rune was struggling to comprehend the teenagers' presence.

"Rune?" Mimet asked quietly, with her head lowered down. The teenagers all perked up, while Rune flinched back a bit.

"Y-Yes." Rune said under his breath.

At once, Tina and Chalice were upon Rune. They were on either side of him, wrapping their wings about him. They laughed, but they also cried, as if it had been ages since they last saw each other.

"Wh-What's going on?" Rune asked incredulously. "What are you all doing here?"

"Rune…" Tina said as she backed up a bit. "You have no idea what's happened in Warfang."

"What?" Rune asked incredulously.

"Everything's gone to the Underworld in a hand-basket!" Chalice exclaimed. "Younglings have been whisked off to the realm of convexity!"

"What?" Rune asked again with wider eyes.

"There's also…" Tina leaned in to quickly whisper into Rune's ear frill. "A war caravan headed straight for Glenhaven!"

Rune nearly fell off of his haunches. "Wh-WHAT?!"

"We haven't even gotten to one of the worst parts!" Chalice flapped their wings. "It's Cyrus! He's…"

Sandra suddenly stomped forward and flapped his wings. "Hold on a minute! You're going too fast!"

Tina and Chalice looked at Sandra in alarm, while Rune reeled back. Her outburst was almost as aggressive as the time she gave Rune that dressing down. Though once she'd gotten the others' attention, Sandra took the moment to look Rune in the eyes. Rune felt uneasy about looking back. At first, he saw the same anger and disgust that came about after the fight with Lantel. But then… her expression weakened. She scrunched up her face and fidgeted with her talons.

"Rune... When we last talked… I thought I'd be seeing you again six months later." Sandra said miserably. "I was angry at you, and didn't want to give you the time of day."

Rune's heart sank, and he wracked his talons on the floor. "Sandra, I… I can't explain why I flew off the handle in that fight. But…"

"I'm not done." Sandra shook her head. "What I meant to say was… I had no idea things were going to get so bad after you left. And I…" She teared up. "I never thought I'd see you again."

Rune's heart sank even lower; she looked ready to collapse against him at any moment. He was tempted to do everything he could to talk to her, to make things right…

But then the sound of the violin stirred up once more, and he was snapped back to his original task at hand. With a sigh, Rune put on a stern face, and he lifted himself onto all fours.

"Sandra, we'll have to talk later." He said seriously. "There are greater matters at hand."

"Right. Like the oncoming war party." Tina declared.

"That's not what I…" Rune began to say, but he sighed and shook his head while Chalice stood up to address Mimet.

"What are we going to do, Miss?" They asked with bated breath.

"Well, this war party is something I need to discuss with my father, as well as the other Guardians." Mimet said with a stamp of her paw. "You kids should just settle down and enjoy the fight, while the adults handle adult matters."

Immediately Tina and Chalice were put off.

"Hey, we're not naïve." Tina said indignantly. "I've seen my share of dangerous scrapes."

"Plus, we're both apprentices to the Deep Shadows." Chalice added. "We're qualified to help out."

"I'm not doubting your training." Mimet sighed. "But I highly doubt you have the experience to deal with a looming war." She lightly pushed past the teenagers to continue down the ring of bleachers. "Just enjoy the match. I'm sure you'll be called on in a little while." She looked back at Rune. "You don't mind looking after them for a bit, do you?"

"Well, they are my friends…" Rune began. As Mimet walked away, he glanced around at the trio. Tina and Chalice seemed frustrated, while Sandra just collapsed onto her haunches and wiped her eyes.

"I can't believe this…" Tina grumbled. "We come all this way, only to end up put on the sidelines."

"Well…" Chalice snorted. "I guess we've done all we can do, for now."

"Right…" Sandra said as she tried to compose herself. She picked herself up and looked in Rune's direction. "I guess… we should head somewhere private to discuss where we are right now."

Rune almost said yes; he didn't want to lose another chance. However, that ominous violin music picked up yet again.

We're wasting time, Runey-boy… Runefor chided in his head. This match won't last forever!

Rune put on a serious face, and he stood up on all fours.

"It'll have to wait, Sandra." Rune declared. "There's something I need to deal with first."

"Wh-What?" Sandra asked in surprise. Tina and Chalice were alarmed as well, as Rune spun on his heels and began to walk on his original path.

"This won't take long… presumably." Rune huffed. "For now, just… I don't know, watch the match. But don't try and stop me; I need to do this myself."

"Do what yourself?" Tina asked.

"Stop you from what?" Chalice demanded.

"Rune, wait a minute!" Sandra pleaded.

But Rune didn't stop; he couldn't delay any longer. He made his way silently through the crowd… unaware of the three teenagers following after him.

~~…~~

"I'm telling you; something is very wrong." Hontus said irritably.

The Fire Guardian had risen to his feet and grumbled as he watched the two dragonesses clash again and again. He was joined by Voden and Jules, who had stepped closer to inspect the arena. Blankridge, meanwhile, sat up to look around to try and spot something himself.

"I don't see anything…" Blankridge frowned as he stood beside Seraph. "Do you, Mom?"

"Well, no…" Seraph grimaced. "But it definitely feels off."

Voden, meanwhile, grasped Dona's forepaw as he whispered to her. "What do you think, love?"

"Hmm…" Dona pursed her lips as she held Riven in place.

"Fellow Guardians!" Called the voice of Mimet from behind. "A moment of your time, please!"

Immediately Voden, Jules, and Hontus turned to see the earth Guardian maker her way up to them, and she held a very serious expression. Mimet briefly looked in surprise upon Hontus and Voden, but then snorted and shook her head.

"I'd welcome the two of you back home, but now's not the time." Mimet said seriously. "I need all of you to come with me into the counseling chamber. There's trouble afoot."

"There most certainly is." Hontus snapped, as he pointed a wing down toward the arena floor. "Something about this battle doesn't sit right."

Mimet gazed down at the match and then sighed. She shook her head, and then looked Hontus in the eyes.

"Whatever's wrong with this match, it'll have to wait." Mimet insisted. "We need to discuss matters of WAR. Immediately!"

"War?" Jules repeated with widened eyes. Mimet leaned in to whisper into her husband's ear frill, and the lightning drake just lost his composure. At once Jules shifted to move from his position to head up to the bleachers.

"Hontus, Voden, we're off to the council chamber!" Jules ordered to the fire guardians. "And we need to summon in any other available Guardians!"

Hontus and Voden exchanged frustrated glances. Hontus in particular was looking quite defiant as he puffed out his chest.

"Captain, my daughter could be in the middle of something dangerous." He stated. "I can't simply walk away at a time like this."

Jules was cross; He leaned in to glare at Hontus, before whispering into his ear frill.

"Well, from what my wife's just told me, a PURPLE DRAGON is coming to make things even MORE dangerous."

Hontus's jaw fell open, while Jules pulled his head back and flapped his wings. "Now, get moving, Guardian!"

The red dragon clamped his jaws shut, and then sighed in defeat. He glanced at Seraph, who held a reassuring face.

"Go on." Seraph insisted. "I can watch after Nellie's fight in your stead. A Guardian needs to serve the people, after all."

"Right…" Hontus said sadly.

"You take care, Dad." Blankridge said as he patted his father on the back. "You'll figure things out, I'm sure!"

Across the way, Voden planted a nuzzle on Dona's forehead. The shadowy dragoness held her daughter tenderly in her forepaws as the orange Guardian excused himself.

"Hopefully I won't be away for long." Voden said as he ruffled Riven's mane. "Daddy will be back soon, okay?"

"Okay." The little dragoness said happily. Done smiled at the exchange and leaned in to plant a kiss on Voden's cheek.

"Be back soon, my Shadow King." She said proudly. "I'll keep an eye on the match as well; I might even be able to spot what's amiss."

With the brief goodbyes exchanged, the four Guardians made their way down the rows to head for the council chamber. Seraph and Dona scooted just a bit closer, in order to exchange thoughts as they came up. And Blankridge scratched his head as he tried to figure out what was amiss.

But nothing too serious could have been wrong during the match… could it?

~~…~~

Down in the arena, Nellie and Roxanne stood on opposite ends of the floor. They glared at each other furiously as they breathed heavily. Most of the younger dragons in the crowd had grown used to their odd bursts in power and continued to cheer on their respective dragoness.

Nellie wasn't sure what was going on: why she was going back and forth between boundless energy and near-exhaustion. But it didn't matter; she just did what she could to keep the fight going. She needed to win… she wanted it so badly. She wanted to put Roxanne in her place once and for all, no matter the cost.

"Feel like giving up yet, Rox?" Nellie asked as she put on the meanest grin she could despite her panting.

"You must be joking!" Roxanne scoffed. "I'm going to make you pay for turning Rune against me!"

Nellie and Roxanne charged at each other. They slashed and clawed against each other's armor. And all the while, they continued to scream furiously at one another.

"I had a crush on Rune for nearly three years!" Roxanne yelled as she rammed against Nellie's chest. She then struggled to force Nellie back as tears welled in her eyes. "We spent so much time together! I thought he was going to admit that he loved me back someday! And then…" She growled as she tried to slash at Nellie once more. "And then YOU turned him against me!"

"I never did ANYTHING!" Nellie snapped as she rammed back against Roxanne. "You were too assuming! And it's not like he didn't want you as his friend anymore! You pushed him away on your own!"

"Shut up!" Roxanne screamed. The two of them clashed, again and again, pushing each other back and forth in the center of the arena.

"Everything went to shit after we came back from that adventure!" Roxanne continued her yelling. "Everyone was always talking about how YOU and BLANK and EMERALD were big heroes who went to help bring a prince back to power! But nobody cared to include ME!" She swiped at Nellie and missed, but kept trying anyway. "All the teachers hated me after they thought I intentionally gave Emerald that scar!"

"Well, you still hurt her nonetheless!" Nellie dodged another blow. "You fired a blast in her direction!"

"That was because she antagonized me into losing concentration!" Roxanne growled. "I was just trying to help the group!"

"A fat lot of good that did!" Nellie hissed.

As the two dragonesses screamed at each other, they felt their adrenaline picking up once more. Those slight, purple auras surrounded their scales again… and the violin's song continued to play.

Tyrrany held a satisfied smirk as she watched the two dragonesses clash it out. This was only the beginning of her plan for the battle, of course. She needed to get the two of them at their greatest state of anger; something that would spill over into danger. It might even put Nellie's life at risk… not that she'd allow this dragoness to get hurt THAT badly. It was all part of the show… to make it seem like Nellie was in danger. And once she was in danger… Tyrrany would step in to help. This had to work; this had to show Tyrrany's brother that she could be trusted. That everything was a misunderstanding. It would work. It HAD to work. All she had to do next was-

Tyrrany felt a forepaw on her shoulder.

"Stop it." A calm voice said.

Tyrrany's bow came to an abrupt halt, filling the air with a painful screech. The auras around the two girls in the arena immediately disappeared, and Nellie and Roxanne both groaned at once.

"What… in the…?" Roxanne fell over onto her side. "What did you do?"

"I… didn't do…" Nellie collapsed onto her belly. "Anything."

A murmur of confusion rang up in the air as everyone exchanged glances and muttered in dissatisfied disappointment. And all the while, Tyrrany had frozen in place.

No… She thought as she slowly turned her head to the side. No, it can't be…

But it was. They hadn't met before, but Tyrrany knew that face. It was their brother's face; the drakes were twins, after all. Thus, Tyrrany's heart plummeted into her stomach as she beheld the face of Prince Rune.

There was no seething anger or disgust in the prince's face. But he certainly looked disappointed as he looked Tyrrany up and down. Tyrrany was dumbfounded; every nerve in her body screamed at her to make a run for it or to spring into a fighting stance. The prince was bound to attack at any moment.

"Why are you doing this?" Rune asked in a calm if demanding, voice.

It was about this time when Flame and Arthur had realized that Tyrrany had stopped playing her music. Immediately they whirled around the pillar; Flame stood to Tyrrany's left with a growl, and the dragonfly floating above them.

"D-Don't try anything funny." Flame said in a harsh whisper.

"Uh… Yeah!" Arthur put up his little fists and shook them around.

Rune briefly looked at the two of them in annoyance. He was about to focus on Tyrrany once more, when-

"Rune!" Called a dragoness from behind the prince. All of the teenagers, including Rune, had a shocked face as three other teenaged dragons ran up to stand around the prince.

Chalice and Tina panted as they emerged on either side of Rune, while Sandra lagged just behind.

"What are you all doing?" Rune demanded. "I said I'd handle this myself!"

"No way." Chalice shook their head. "We're not leaving you to get overpowered."

"Especially not by HER!" Tina shouted angrily.

Tyrrany gasped, as did Flame and Arthur. All three of them recognized the voice of the dark-yellow dragoness. And when Tina stretched into a fighting stance and growled, Tyrrany could feel a particular nerve get pinched on her back.

"She's the one who jumped Cyrus way back when!" Tina continued "Along with these other two, along with Johnny and his goons!"

"What?!" Sandra asked in surprise. "She's the one?!"

Tina let lightning dance across her scales, while Chalice got into a fighting stance of their own. Flame gnashed his fangs, while Tyrrany's talons twitched as she prepared for a fight…

But before one could break out, Rune spread his wings to block Tina's and Chalice's views. They were stunned… but not quite as stunned as Tyrrany.

"ENOUGH." Rune snapped angrily. "Just let me handle this myself, already!"

"But Rune-" Tina insisted.

"Save it." Rune stamped his forepaw. "I'll confront her on my own terms."

"Are you really sure about that?" Chalice frowned.

"POSITIVE." Rune gave a glare. "Have some faith in me, here."

Tyrrany was confused; she glanced at Flame and Arthur, who just shrugged and backed up a bit. Once Chalice and Tina had relaxed their stances, Rune closed his wings and stepped forward to glare right into Tyrrany's eyes. Just what was he planning on doing?

"Why are you interfering in the arena match?" Rune demanded. "Answer me, Hope!"

That name… it left Tyrrany floored. Almost like the time when Cyrus called her that weeks ago. Her mind raced to come up with a reason they'd call her that. She glanced at Flame and Arthur, who seemed just as confused as she was.

"Well?" Rune tapped his talons and blew smoke from his nostrils. "Are you going to say something? Or should I just go ahead and alert the Elders and the Guardians about your tampering?"

"D-Don't threaten Annie like that!" Flame demanded. Rune simply gave the red dragon a scowl to silence him.

"She's put my friends in danger." Rune snapped. "Convexity isn't something to be toyed with. Now whoever you are, SHUT IT." He extended his wings again. "This is between me and my sister!"

Sister…? Tyrrany repeated in her thoughts. He openly acknowledged her as his sister? But wasn't Rune the least bit angry that she'd attempted to capture Cyrus weeks prior? Why was this prince so… strange?

"Well, Hope?" Rune wracked his talons on the floor as he glared at her again. "I'm waiting."

Tyrrany wracked her brain, trying to come up with a snappy response, or a threat, or some other thing to say to show that she was equal to this prince. But nothing came; all she could do was shut her eyes to try and concentrate…

And that's when the shouts of alarm rang out around the arena.

At first, Tyrrany's old instincts made her fear that her white scales had been discovered. But as she looked around the pillar, she could see that the dragons' attention was on the arena.

"What's going on?" Tyrrany asked.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Rune snapped; he was trying to ignore the gasping.

"Uh, Rune…?" Sandra asked from behind. "Don't you hear any of that?"

All seven of the teenagers looked about themselves at the crowd; the noise was growing. Arthur flew around the pillar to take a look… and then quickly flew back around with a frightened expression.

"There's trouble down in the ring!" The dragonfly exclaimed.

"What?!" Rune shouted in horror. He immediately pushed past Tyrrany and Flame to get a look down the arena. And boy, was he in for a nasty shock.

As Nellie and Roxanne struggled to push each other back, they paid no attention to the arena around them… or the pools of darkness forming all around. And out of those pools… crawled the familiar forms of vicious, black-hided beasts.

"C-Crepsculi!" Rune exclaimed in horror. He then immediately snarled and turned around to glare back at Tyrrany. "What have you done?!"

Tyrrany stammered and choked on her words; she just couldn't fathom what she was seeing.

"Hey, Annie hasn't done anything!" Flame snapped as he stood before her to glare at Rune.

"Anything, huh?" Tina scowled as she motioned toward Tyrrany's violin bow. "Because it looks like she's done a lot of what she's GOOD AT, just like before."

Tyrrany growled at Tina, and she and Chalice growled back. Flame joined in, and once more it looked like a fight was brewing. But Rune wasn't in the mood for that again; he tossed his cloak away, extended his wings to their full span, and sprang forward to leap into the air.

"I'll deal with you two later!" He hissed. "I have to save the girls!"

And just like that, Rune made to glide down to the arena. And as the prince made his descent… Tyrrany spotted something at the far end of the arena floor. A pillar of black smoke and fire burst forth and flowed in both directions to engulf the arena. Everyone else in the arena was horrified. Many of the dragons in the arena were shocked, including Tina, Chalice, and Sandra.

"Rune!" The trio cried. They sprang up to follow after the prince to join in the aid. But alas, the flames moved too fast for any normal dragon to get by…

But Tyrrany was no normal dragon. She'd sucked in a breath the moment she saw it coming… And all around her, the world turned an inverted shade. Tyrrany held her breath as she stood tall; time magic was at her beck and call, just like any other unnatural element.

She wasted no time passing her bow and violin into Flame's grasp before springing onto all fours. She struggled to keep the time magic going as she pushed past the other dragons in the crowd. She rushed after Rune and leaped over the side to land in the arena. She just barely lost control of her magic before sliding between the black flames before they erupted past to seal the arena away…

Flame was dumbstruck as he felt the violin instantly appear in his forepaws. He gasped in horror and watched as the dragons around him shouted in horror at the black flames.

Sandra had to stop herself from colliding with the dark fire, while Chalice and Tina nearly tripped over themselves.

"Rune!" They cried, desperate to find a way through. Flame, meanwhile, screamed in horror from way behind them. He almost ran down toward the barrier, only for Arthur to tug on his horn.

"Come on!" The dragonfly shouted into his ear frill. "Now's the perfect time to slip away before anyone else spots us!"

"But what about Annie?!" Flame protested.

"She's a big girl! She can take care of herself!" Arthur insisted. "Now come on! We've got to get out of here!"

Flame sighed; perhaps the dragonfly was right. So, it was with a heavy heart that he packed up the violin into its case and hefted it up to haul it away… but he stopped just long enough to feel a forepaw on his cheek… which felt oddly warm.

~~…~~

Nellie and Roxanne had clashed against each other one more time before they realized something was amiss out of the corners of their eyes. They looked all around and were soon overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of several pools of darkness forming all across the arena.

"No way…" Roxanne stammered with wide eyes. "It can't be."

"But…" Nellie shivered as she turned around to face the beasts. "But it is."

It was the same black-hided beasts that they'd fought against several times, during that harrowing trip four years ago: The Crepsculi. Immediately Nellie and Roxanne sprang into fighting stances in a desperate bid to scare the beasts off. Naturally, they looked up at the arena bleachers to call for help, or to fly away. But those plans were quickly destroyed when a burst of black flames blindsided them and engulfed the arena walls.

"By the Ancestors!" Roxanne screamed as she stumbled backward… right into the dangerous reach of one of the monsters. The beast nearly took a bite out of Roxanne's flank… only for it to be slashed across the face by a black-and-purple blur.

Nellie and Roxanne whirled around in shock… and soon spotted a familiar dragoness standing on the arena floor, with a dying crepsculi at her fore-talons.

"It's you!" Roxanne hissed. "That weird dragoness from before!"

Tyrrany just sighed as she pushed the dissolving crepsculi away and stepped back from the wall of flames. She opened her jaws to say something… only for an angry growl to come from overhead. All three dragonesses looked up in time to see Prince Rune flapping his wings to come to an abrupt landing on the floor between them.

"Rune!" Nellie exclaimed in delight.

She almost trotted up to him, only for aches and pains to flare up all over her body. She collapsed onto the floor and panted heavily as she struggled to lift herself up. And Nellie wasn't the only one: Roxanne struggled to stay standing as she looked awkwardly in Rune's direction. The both of them had clearly had the fight sucked right out of them.

Naturally, Rune shot an angry glare in Tyrrany's direction. Tyrrany gulped and backed up as Rune shot her an accusing talon.

"You were tampering with their energy during the fight!" Rune snapped. Nellie and Roxanne looked at Tyrrany in confusion, which made the cloaked dragoness shiver.

"Listen, I can explain everything…" She said awkwardly. Her eyes darted around… and quickly spotted the growling beasts still emerging from the pools. She snorted and then locked eyes with Rune. "But not right now!"

Rune looked all-around at the crepsculi. He exhaled in frustration and then whirled around while extending his wings.

"Nellie, Roxanne, take shelter behind me!" The prince called out. "Save your arguments for later! I'll handle the beasts myself."

"But…" Nellie started to say.

"No buts!" Rune insisted. He sucked in a breath and flew tiny bursts of flames from his nostrils. "Just get some rest, so you don't get hurt!"

Immediately Nellie and Roxanne moved to get behind Rune, but not without shooting each other nasty glares. Across the way, Tyrrany felt a choking sensation in her throat as she looked around at the monsters. What were they doing here? Who summoned them? How could her plans have fallen apart so badly and so fast? She needed to rethink! She needed to…

She looked at her brother once more; he was standing at the ready to protect Nellie and Roxanne. There were monsters all around… the two tired dragonesses were in danger.

Of course… Tyrrany stood tall and marched forward whilst calling upon more of her magic. This is my moment.

Tyrrany came to a stop beside Rune and did her best to get into a fighting stance. Rune looked in her direction and looked her up and down in frustration. She gave a confident smiled and opened her muzzle to speak… only for Rune to stomp his forepaw.

"Just SHUT UP and HELP, if you're going to help." Rune snapped, before growling around at the monsters once more. "Save your self-aggrandizing for later."

Tyrrany looked at him incredulously, but just rolled her eyes and focused on the beasts. Well, he was right; these monstrosities needed to be disposed of before she could try some diplomacy on her brother.

All at once, the crepsculi rushed forward with furious growls. Rune stood his ground and unleashed a burst of fire from his maw to incinerate the nearest ones. Tyrrany, meanwhile, attacked with lightning breath to knock the nearest crepsculi out of the ground. Beasts collapsed onto the ground, and burned or writhed violently in an arc about the pair. But that wasn't enough to dissuade more of the monsters from attacking.

Rune growled and spread out his wings to give a ferocious stance, all to scare off the monsters. But Tyrrany just held a stoic face; she'd faced worse threats than these creatures before and wasn't going to let it get in the way of her focus on her mission. Still, she fought with the same ferocity she'd use against anyone who'd stand against her.

As Rune and Tyrrany fought on, Nellie and Roxanne panted heavily. Not just from being tired after the battle, but from how horrid their situation had turned. They backed up to get away from the crepsculi but had to keep from burning themselves against the heat of the black wall of flames. They almost huddled together for support… until they remembered their hatred for one another, and growled at each other.

"Now's not the time for your petty fighting, girls!" Rune snapped back at them as he head-butted a crepsculi backward across the arena. "Just stay quiet until you've regained energy!"

Nellie and Roxanne flinched at Rune's shouting, and then simply sighed and looked down in shame. Rune returned to focusing on the monster… when a thought occurred to him.

"Wait a minute…" Rune scowled at Tyrrany. "You did quite the good job tampering with their energy during the fight, so why not give them a boost NOW?"

Tyrrany flinched, while Nellie and Roxanne gasped in unison.

"She did what?!" Roxanne exclaimed. "You bitch!"

Tyrrany instinctively growled back at Roxanne. This only served to anger Rune, who stepped over to block Roxanne with a wing.

"Give them some energy." Rune snapped. "Now."

"It doesn't work like that." Tyrrany said. "I don't have my violin."

"And why would that be important?" Nellie demanded

"I don't have time to get into it!" Tyrrany turned and blasted one of the monsters with a beam of ice. "We're still in the middle of a battle here!"

"Fine…" Rune growled. He returned to his fighting stance as he blasted another crepsculi with flames. "But don't think you're getting off any hooks today, Hope!"

Tyrrany's eye twitched; if she had the time, she'd snap that that wasn't her name. But no time for that; these monsters needed dealing with…

~~…~~

Telus couldn't believe his eyes; chaos was erupting faster than he could comprehend. He stood up from his seat as panic began to spread throughout the bleachers. What had happened? Where had these creatures come from? There was no time to think; Telus needed to get the children to safety. He turned to call upon the Guardians… only to see that they weren't in their seats! Before he could process where they'd gone, he heard a door opening off to the side.

"Father!" Called Mimet. She stepped up and started saying something… only to stop and gaze in horror at the chaos unfolding around her.

"What are you doing up here?!" Telus demanded. "Where are the Guardians?!"

"We were just about to start a meeting to discuss…" Mimet began, only to shake her head and gaze around once more. "Gah, it looks like trouble came faster than we were prepared for!"

"Mobilize the Guardians had had them escort the children out of here!" Telus shouted. "Go, Go!"

Mimet nodded, and immediately rushed out to set to work, while Telus spread his wings to try and aid the students…

The floor wasn't the only place where pools of darkness began to emerge. All along the walls and ceiling, more pools and puddles of darkness began to emerge. And out of them came the hisses and shrieks of dozens more of the beasts. They spread their leathery wings and began to fly all around the arena.

Meanwhile, down in the seats, Seraph and Blankridge had jumped to their feet.

"By the Ancestors!" Seraph shouted as she backed away from the wall of dark flames.

"Sis!" Blankridge yelled. He tried to use some of his fire magic to create a hole in the darker flames, but it was of little use. "Sis is still down there!"

A short distance away, Dona sat quietly with Riven clutched in her grasp. The little dragonling whimpered in fear as her mother shielded her with her body. The chaos was spreading fast… too fast for her liking.

"Everything will be okay, Riven." Dona said soothingly as she held her daughter close.

"Miss Dona, can you do something?!" Seraph shouted from across the way. A sneer spread across the shadowy dragoness's muzzle, and she shielded her daughter with her wings.

"My primary concern is getting my little one to safety." Dona declared. "I wish you the best of luck though."

Seraph flinched in surprise and watched as Dona surrounded herself in shadows and vanished from view. The blue dragoness wanted to scowl, but she supposed she couldn't fault a mother for wanting to protect her daughter.

"Blankridge, go get your friends." Seraph ordered as she turned around. "I need the lot of you to-"

Blankridge was already halfway through dashing down the row of seats, intent on joining up with his gang of friends across the way. Seraph growled in frustration but reluctantly applauded her son for being so proactive. So, she sucked in a breath and moved to follow after Blankridge to help the other students.

Seraph didn't like this at all; perhaps her sister was right about the danger heading for Glenhaven. But wait… if there was a trouble to come from WITHIN the palace, why didn't Nymph mention any of it? Something was definitely very wrong.

I just hope Nymph is safe, she thought with a sigh.

~~…~~

There was chaos everyone one could look. The younger students yelped and ran away, while the older students stood their ground. Crepsculi swarmed all about the air and dived down to attack. Many bursts of magic blasted through the air; fireballs, lightning bolts, icy spears, and earth bombs all blasted their way through the onslaught of beasts.

And in the middle of it all, Flame held the violin in its case as he tried to make his way through the room toward a hallway. Arthur flew right over his head and acted as a guide through the storm of multi-colored scales. He needed to get away as fast as he could; he had to find a way to get down to Tyrrany. He couldn't just abandon her.

But as Flame and Arthur fled through the area, they didn't pay attention to who was following behind. Tina, Chalice, and Sandra were hot on Flame's heels, albeit from a considerable distance.

"After him!" Tina shouted. "He'll lead us straight to the tramp who caused all of this!"

"We don't know that for sure." Chalice said to Tina's right. "This seems like quite a lot of power for one dragoness."

"Who cares how they were summoned?" Sandra exclaimed. "That doesn't help us if we can't get to Rune!"

The teenagers continued to dash after Flame and Arthur…

~~…~~

Rune panted heavily as he struggled to stay standing. He'd unleashed just about the entire bulk of his elemental repertoire upon the crepsculi. Clusters of ice dotted the arena floor. Ashes from the remains of other crepsculi formed little piles, while chunks of earthy spires left a few others impaled. But through it all, the monsters just kept coming.

I'm not sure how long I can keep this up, Rune thought as he charged up more magic.

You could always let ME deal with them. Runefor said.

Rune scowled at that. NO.

Oh, come on, this isn't like with the fight with Lantel. Runefor scoffed. I want to protect the girls just as much as you do.

Eventually, Rune and Tyrrany found themselves forced into the center of the arena. Nellie and Roxanne stepped forward to join them, thanks to the emergence of more of the crepsculi. It seemed like for every crepsculi that had been killed, two more had taken its place.

"This is bad…" Roxanne bit her lower lip. "This is really bad."

"No, really?" Nellie sneered. "I didn't realize."

"Enough!" Rune snapped at the two of them. Nellie and Roxanne quickly hushed up, while Rune cast a glare at Tyrrany. The dragoness flinched away from his anger; it wasn't every day when a dragon had the guts to glare back at her. Not even Cyrus could muster it up for long. Tyrrany put on a brave face and spread out into her strongest stance; she'd face as many crepsculi as it took to convince Rune that she was on her side.

And then, just as they looked ready to swarm the young dragons… the crepsculi came to a stop. The teenagers watched in amazement as the crepsculi began to form a perfect ring around them. The monsters shrieked and hissed lowly, but made no move to attack again.

"What are they doing?" Nellie asked.

"I… don't know." Rune replied.

"They're up to something…" Tyrrany said with a slightly-nervous glance. "Keep your guards up."

As the crepsculi stood at the ready, something began to emerge in the air. Rune and the others looked up in time to see a deep, black shadow appear directly above the crepsculi. The crepsculi began to move out of the way, as the shadow spread out to become some sort of deep, dark hole.

Rune shivered. "What in the world…?"

And then… something emerged from the whole. It flew down through the air and crashed with a powerful thud, sending a shockwave through the teenagers' paws. The figure was cloaked in shadow, save for its piercing purple eyes. It spread out large limbs, spread its fat wings, and rose up to its full height slowly…

It was a dragon. A great, black dragon. And as it marched forward toward the younger dragons, Rune spotted something that gave him cause for alarm. This dragon had four glowing, red sigils upon its body; the royal birthmarks of…

Rune gasped. "Cyrus?"

The beast responded with a thunderous roar before charging forward…

~~…~~

Greetings, friends and loved ones.

No, I didn't miss last week's upload. I've decided to take a page from my buddy Dardarax, and start uploading these chapters on a bi-weekly basis. That means that the next upload should be on February 3rd. See you then, folks!

Tenebra ecce Veritas