Chapter 28

*peeks in* Hi, everyone! I'm back!

Windracer could only open and close his mouth silently.

Killer stood as still as a statue, unblinking. Windracer could see in the NightWing's mind that he was afraid Auburn would disappear if he shut his eyes.

Auburn looked at him with the same shocked expression, but she didn't look as surprised to see him as Windracer would have expected.

"I know what you're going to say," Auburn said quietly; the first of the two to speak. "That you never should have left me alone in the Sky Kingdom. Stayed away all these years...never coming back to me." Her voice cracked, just slightly, and her son didn't fail to notice. Auburn looked at Windracer, then back at Killer. "To the dragonet you didn't know we had."

The burly NightWing took a step forward.

"Do you have any idea what I had to go through?" Auburn said, sounding on the verge of tears. Killer continued walking, his talons never stilling. "Lying to that wretched Queen Scarlet about being sterile, hiding our egg for several months, trying to keep our son safe and alive during such a blood-spilling endeavor?"

Killer was close enough to reach out and touch her at this point, and Auburn's voice grew panicked and desperate. "And you didn't think to tell me," she said, "Or leave a note, or..." She looked terrified. Absolutely terrified. "Oh, stop looking at me like that, Killer!" she pleaded. "Go on. Shout! Roar! Say something!"

Killer reached out his talons and put them gently against her cheek, as if she would vanish like a cloud of steam or shatter like glass. Auburn stiffened, her sunshine-yellow eyes filling with tears.

There was a moment of silence.

And then, Killer whispered in the most quiet, gentle tone Windracer had ever heard anyone use. "You're as beautiful as the day I left you." His voice cracked multiple times as he spoke.

The tears finally broke free. Auburn lowered her head and shut her eyes, tears slipping past her lids. Killer closed the gap between them, embracing her in his massive wings.

Windracer felt his heart flutter wildly in his chest. His parents...his family, was finally being pieced back together. He was finally seeing his mother and father in the same place, finally seeing them happier than anyone he'd ever seen before in his life.

It seemed like an eternity before Killer finally released his mate. His eyes fell on Windracer, and his expression turned neutral. "This is my son?" he asked.

Was that a hint of disappointment in his voice?

Windracer pushed that thought aside. He held out one of his front talons to his father. "Hi," he said, "I'm Windracer."

Killer stared at his son's talon as though it were a snake about to bite him. "Hello." I used to think about what our dragonets might look like, if Auburn and I ever had them...but I wasn't expecting that.

Windracer's heart sank. Was there really something about him that his father didn't like? I should have known better than to get my hopes up, he scolded himself silently.

"Well, this is a touching moment," Arid snarked.

Killer looked at her, a hint of hostility flashing in his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Arid," the IceWing-SandWing hybrid said. "Windracer's girlfriend."

Unexpected tiny bursts of joy exploded all through Windracer's body, from his claws to his wingtips. They had never told anyone that before! (Well, he remembered Arid telling Mayfly before his operation, but he was barely conscious at that point so that one didn't count.) Hearing Arid say it out loud, casually, to a dragon they'd just met, was probably the third-greatest moment of Windracer's life, right after him and Arid becoming an official couple and their first kiss. He wondered what his father must think of his son wearing whatever incredibly giddy expression he probably had on his face.

"Arid," Killer recited. He flicked his forked tongue out and in as he studied her. "Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Lagoon," said the oldest SeaWing princess. "And this is Bog, Marmoset, and Mango. We're the Dragonets of Destiny."

If dragons had eyebrows, Killer would have raised one. "But the prophecy -"

"Is false," Windracer finished. "We know. But mine is real." After catching the skeptical look his father was giving him, he added, "Well, at least, it seems to be."

"It is real," Arid said supportively. "And I'm going to help you fulfill it."

"Me too," said Lagoon.

"And me," Bog put in.

"We're in," Marmoset announced, and his sister added, "As long as there's danger where we're going."

Windracer gave his friends an appreciative smile.

"And we'll help," Typhoon said. "We want this war to be over, too. Just say the word, and we'll do what must be done."

Being surrounded by dragons from different tribes who all wanted the war over as much as they did, and ready to lend their support in any way he and his friends needed - it moved Windracer to tears.

Arid nudged her boyfriend, and, once his attention was on her, she tilted her head curiously and asked, "How did you escape?"

"You wouldn't believe it," he said, "I woke up in a volcano with this RainWing dragonet hovering over me -" Then it clicked. "Oh, no, the RainWings!"

"What about the RainWings?" Lagoon asked nervously.

A nervous Cleverclaws adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "During the creation of the false prophecy," he said in a repentant tone, "Queen Battlewinner led expeditions to find a new home for the NightWings. She and Morrowseer decided that the Rainforest Kingdom would be the perfect place to live, and, against better judgment, and my best efforts to propose a simpler plan, decided the only way to claim it was to either enslave or exterminate the RainWings."

A murmur rippled through the crowd of dragons.

"That's why Morrowseer didn't want the twins in the prophecy," Bog realized.

"Marmoset and Mango would never agree to that plan," Arid said, "Even if they are dumber than a bag of rocks."

(Somewhere in the background, the RainWing twins shouted an offended "Hey!")

"Yeah," Windracer said, "And it also means that the RainWings are in grave danger. We have to warn them!"

"What about the war?" asked one of the SkyWings.

Windracer turned to face the entire group. "If we don't act quickly, there might be two wars going on."

Everyone looked squeamish. One war was bad enough, but two at once? The entire continent could be doomed.

"So, what do we do?" asked a small voice Windracer recognized as Prince Turtle of the SeaWings.

"I don't know," the male hybrid admitted. "But none of us can do this alone. 'All seven form the wings of fire, and the time for peace shall be nigh.' I think that means we all have to work together, all seven of the tribes. It's the only way to end the war and save everyone."

"How?" Queen Moorhen asked. "The SandWings don't have a queen, Battlewinner is evil, and the RainWings are too peaceful to fight. How can we possibly get those three tribes on our side?"

"We may not need their queens," Glacier said, "Not as long as there are dragons from those tribes who are willing to contribute to this cause." She nodded at the NightWings.

Ocotillo stepped forward. "The Outclaws will gladly assist the Dragonets of Destiny," he said. Beside him, Diamondback nodded.

The Outclaws? Windracer would have to ask about that later. "That just leaves the RainWings."

"So we go to the rainforest," said Killer.

"Sounds like a plan," Windracer smiled.

"What?!"

Everyone turned to stare at Inferno.

"I'm sorry," the SkyWing snarked. "I must have missed the whole 'plan' part of the plan. That last fight almost killed me. Morrowseer wants us dead. What are we even supposed to do once we get to the rainforest?! Fly into the tress and shout 'HEY RAINWINGS, WE'RE HERE TO SAVE YOU, COME END THIS WAR WITH US'?!"

A scarlet-colored SkyWing dragonet whacked him upside the head with the blunt end of her spear.

"Carnelian," Queen Tourmaline chided. "We talked about this."

"Sorry, Your Majesty," the dragonet said. "But he really gets on my last nerve."

Inferno gave her a coy smile. "You know you like me, Carnie."

She hit him again.

"OW! Will you QUIT IT?!"

"Alright," Windracer said, "Here's the plan: the Dragonets of Destiny - that's us - go to the rainforest with an escort from -" he paused as he gestured to Typhoon's group "- the...Dragonet Defenders?"

"Dragonet Defenders," Typhoon echoed, smiling. "Sounds about right."

Arid nudged Windracer to go on. "Okay, so, we go to the rainforest with an escort from the Dragonet Defenders, find the RainWings, warn them about the NightWings, and figure out a way to stop Morrowseer and Queen Battlewinner before they get there. How's that?"

That last part was directed at a scowling Inferno. "Fine," he grumbled.

"So," said Typhoon, "We must choose who will accompany the dragonets to the rainforest. Any volunteers?"

"We will go," Auburn announced, her tail twined around Killer's.

"So will we," said Ocotillo. He and Storm both stepped forward, and Diamondback quickly followed.

From somewhere within the large group of gathered dragons, a quiet voice spoke up. "I...I'd like to go."

Something about that voice was oddly familiar to Windracer. Is that...?

A NightWing dragonet stepped out of the crowd. She looked much healthier than any of the dragonets Windracer had met that one night in the forest. On the outside corner of each of her eyes, a silver scale shone like a teardrop about to fall.

Just like his.

"Moon?" he asked hopefully.

Her response was a shy smile. "Hi, Wind."

He offered his talons, and she took them.

The moment they touched, a whirlwind of visions flashed through their minds. A forest on fire, an erupting volcano, dragons dying, a lake freezing solid at an IceWing's touch, a SkyWing hiding in the shadows, a flash of deadly fangs, a burst of electric shock, and a crumbling palace.

They both jumped back, startled.

"Did you see?" Moon asked fearfully.

Windracer nodded. "Yeah, I saw." He grasped her talon again. "You have no idea how happy I am to meet you."

Moon said nothing, but her mind was reeling. What was all of that? What does it mean? Was it a mistake, coming to him? What if all the tribes are doomed? What can we do?

Windracer wished he had the answers to all of her questions. We'll think of something, Moon, I promise.

She looked the tiniest bit better after hearing that thought.

All around them, dragons were volunteering to escort the Dragonets of Destiny to the rainforest. However, they couldn't select too many candidates, or else they would risk being found out by their enemies.

Some of the choices were easy - Windracer and Arid's parents would put their hearts and souls into protecting their dragonets (Windracer wasn't entirely sure about Killer, though), and Bog's siblings would never let their brother go anywhere without them. Queen Coral, on the other talon, had to be persuaded from volunteering herself because she still had a kingdom to run. They got her to agree to sending Torrent and Turtle instead.

Cleverclaws and a two-legged NightWing named Forger convinced Killer to let them come along. Ocotillo looked worried when Diamondback said he and a SandWing dragonet named Qibli wanted to go, but he agreed in the end.

Queen Tourmaline offered Inferno and Carnelian, despite the dragonets' best efforts to convince her to let one of them go alone.

That just left the IceWings. That tribe had the least amount of volunteers, but, from what he knew about IceWings, Windracer wasn't surprised.

"I nominate Subzero," Queen Glacier said.

The dragons surrounding her let out a collective gasp.

"Subzero?" squeaked one of the SkyWing dragonets. "Are you sure?"

"Who's Subzero?" Windracer asked.

Typhoon pointed his talon at a pale blue IceWing that was standing apart from everyone. Dark blue patches that vaguely resembled clumps of snowflakes decorated his scales, the same color as his horns, spikes and talons. His wings and underscales were as white as snow, but his eyes...his eyes were black.

"He's my friend," Typhoon explained, "He's been living with me in Possibility ever since his father died."

"His father?" Arid echoed.

"His name was Hvitur," Subzero snarled, "He was caught stealing some stupid SkyWing egg for some stupid fake prophecy by that stupid warmonger princess Burn."

Windracer felt his heart sink. This dragon had lost a family member to one of the SandWing princesses. For Subzero, this wasn't just about putting an end to meaningless conflict, it was personal.

"What about your mother?" Lagoon asked.

Subzero just snorted.

"She's still alive," Typhoon translated. "Her name is Polynya. As far as we know, she's still with the Talons of Peace."

"Um," said Bog, "Why is he standing so far away from us?"

Instead of answering his question, Typhoon asked Subzero, "Why don't you show them what you can do?"

Rolling his eyes, Subzero plucked an apple from a nearby fruit stand. Before anyone could blink, a layer of ice started creeping up around the fruit, starting from where Subzero's talons were touching it. Within seconds, the apple was frozen solid.

Windracer had read about this. The scrolls on IceWings described how some dragons hatched with a rare and dangerous condition that enabled them to freeze whatever they touched - even the saltiest, hottest water would freeze in just seconds.

"Frostscales," he breathed.

Subzero crushed the apple into bits of red ice.

"He's sensitive about it," Typhoon said.

"Winter will accompany him," said one of the IceWings, who was standing next to Queen Glacier. Windracer could tell from their behavior that he wasn't the queen's husband; he was probably her brother or something.

"Winter?" Storm repeated quizzically.

The IceWing (whose named turned out to be Narwhal) forced the dragonet of his choice forward, looking as though it were a piece of trash he wanted to throw away.

"Father," Winter protested, "You're just looking for an excuse to get rid of me!"

Windracer would have never guessed from the way Narwhal was acting that the dragonet was his son. "You can come with us if you want to," he offered, "But it's really your choice."

Winter spent a good minute sitting there, looking like he wanted to slice Windracer's face off, before slinking over to join them.

"My brother was one of Scarlet's prisoners," he told Windracer in a low voice. "He's alive because of you."

His words reminded Windracer of Sleet and Frost. He knew that he'd have to tell Queen Glacier about them eventually, if she didn't already know.

As if the thought had summoned her, Glacier approached the hybrid in long, graceful strides. "Hailstorm told me that Sleet is dead," she said, her voice cracking at the last word. "Is it true?"

"Y-yes," Windracer choked out. Then, before he could stop himself, he explained, "I met Sleet while trying to escape with my friends. Scarlet caught us and ordered one of her guards to kill me. Sleet took the spear for me, she saved my life. I know I should have used my animus magic to heal her. She gave her life for mine, and I couldn't save her." He lowered his head to hide the tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm sorry!"

He expected the IceWing queen to yell at him. Instead, she lowered her head down to look him in the eye and said, "I don't blame you, Windracer. Sleet was always thinking of others before herself."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, bowing slightly.

"What about Frost?" Glacier asked.

Windracer shrugged his wings. "I don't know," he said honestly. "We were pitted against each other in Scarlet's arena. He almost killed me, but he let me go after he found out about Sleet. I thought he'd returned home."

The queen shook her head. "We've been searching everywhere, but we haven't found him. I fear he may have been captured by our enemies."

"You can look for him while we go to the rainforest," said Cleverclaws. "The sooner, the better. Now, let's hurry. The more time we take to get there means more time for the NightWings to prepare for takeover."

"Wait!" said one of the SkyWings - the same one that had asked about Subzero earlier. "Can I go, too?"

Windracer got a good look at her for the first time. She sounded like she was around his age, but she was unnaturally small, about the size of a three or four-year-old dragonet. Even standing on her hind legs, she'd still be less than half of Kestrel's height.

Wait a minute...

It had been dark during the storm, but Windracer had managed to get a glimpse of the SkyWing he'd seen that night. Fire-orange scales and pink wings, like a warm sunrise.

That was exactly how this SkyWing looked.

Following his hunch, Windracer asked her, "Where you in the Sky Kingdom during that storm?"

The dragonet's orange-pink eyes widened at the sight of him. "I know you," she said, "You're the dragon that fell out of the sky."

"I knew I didn't imagine you," Windracer said, less to her and more to himself. "I'm Windracer. What's your name?"

The dragonet shifted her talons a little before answering, "Ember."

So the escort team was gathered. Their first stop: the Rainforest Kingdom.

Until they got there, the best they could do was hope that they weren't already too late.

Okay, so, I ended up introducing more characters than I originally planned. But they will be accompanying the dragonets to the rainforest, so we'll get to learn more about them along the way.

In this story, Ember is the Runty SkyWing. I got tired of waiting for them to show up in the books.

Also, frostscales for IceWings. Wanted to include that, so I made Subzero.

Next chapter: the rainforest.

Auburn - Valka
Windracer - Hiccup
Arid - Astrid
Lagoon - Heather
Bog - Fishlegs
Marmoset and Mango - Tuffnut and Ruffnut
Killer - Stoick
Inferno - Snotlout
Scorch - Spitelout
Frost - Dagur
Malicious - Hroar
Forger - Gobber