A Reason to Change

AN: You should read this one either before or after chapter 21. It takes place right after Winter has his dreamvisit with Darkstalker in chapter 16 and ends in the middle of chapter 21. It's from Darkstalker's perspective as you will find out when you read.

Edited: (5/30/21)

WARNING: Graphic violence in this one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Flint, Aurora, and Shade belong to me.

When he had been assigned to the group to go to the Sea Kingdom to rescue Anemone, he didn't think much of it. He doubted the Icewing would have wanted his company, and he certainly didn't want to see that Icewing's face after what he said about Clearsight.

He wasn't expecting the other three in the group to embrace him with open arms—or some other sappy crap like that. He didn't care what anyone thought of him other than Moon. Moon was his best friend—his only friend, really—but the Icewing had taken her in his group.

Therefore, he wasn't too keen on interacting with anyone unless it was absolutely unavoidable. The Mudwing wasn't too bad, he reckoned. At least he made an effort, even if it wasn't necessary. Then, he left after a few days, and he was left alone with Fathom's look-alike and the little Rainwing.

With the amount of hostility he got from those two after the Mudwing left, he decided to stay out of their way for now unless they wanted him to do something—which hadn't happened yet. Needless to say, he wasn't holding his breath for them to suddenly decide to accept his help. He knew where he stood.

At least, he thought he did.

The dreamvisit with the Icewing left him strangely unbalanced in an emotional way. He wasn't expecting an apology, but it was a nice surprise. Since he couldn't go back to sleep, he decided to watch the moons and stars twinkle in the night sky. His tribe used to rule the night as one of the most powerful and respected tribes on Pyrrhia. Now, though, they were just a shadow of their former selves.

He chuckled humorlessly to himself. I guess that's true about me, too. How far I've fallen…

Two thousand years ago, he would have just killed everyone that looked suspicious, collateral damage be damned. Now, for Moon's sake, he was doing things the 'right way'. He scoffed, Whatever that means. After a few more minutes, he came to realize that whatever answers he was searching for couldn't be found in the stars, so he decided that he would go back to sleep for now.

When he woke, he was still in the Summer Palace, but not in his room. Instead, he was in the throne room. Two very familiar Seawings stood at spear-point, surrounded by guards, while another, presumably the Queen, sat on her throne with an expression of cold disdain.

"I gave you two specific orders, Fathom, yet you have disobeyed both of them. What say you?" the Queen thundered. Fathom was silent as he merely looked to the floor. Darkstalker looked on, his curiosity piqued. "Well?" she pressed.

When Fathom finally looked up, Darkstalker was unnerved at the restrained fury in the Seawing's expression. "I used my power to stop Darkstalker—my friend—from committing further atrocities against the innocent dragons of Pyrrhia. If I hadn't, I doubt anyone in this room would be alive right now."

He let that settle into the minds of all present. "Perhaps, but you still disobeyed a direct order. The only reason I didn't execute, exile, or imprison you before is because you swore to me that you would obey me. And, yes, I agree that Darkstalker was a threat, and perhaps I would excuse your transgression if not for you breaking my second order. I ordered you not to fall in love so as to not pass your curse onto any innocent dragonets."

Fathom scoffed in disbelief. "You honestly think it's that easy!? Indigo and I have been close ever since we were young dragonets. Along the way, we fell in love because it was bound to happen. You can't tell dragons who to love or not love!" Darkstalker saw the look of guilt flash across Indigo's face at that. At least she knows she is as much to blame as Fathom is, Darkstalker thought to himself.

The Queen sighed. "You aren't making this easy, Fathom. Animus magic is a threat to all existence. Both our grandfather and Darkstalker were proof of that. How then, in good conscience, could I allow even the possibility of future animus dragons being hatched?"

Indigo and Fathom's expression turned to horror at what she was insinuating. "You wouldn't…" Fathom breathed.

The Queen's eyes softened. "It is regrettable, but none of this would have happened if you never disobeyed me, brother. Now, I am forced to action. You, Indigo, and your three dragonets will all be executed immediately."

Darkstalker looked at the Queen in absolute horror and disgust. She was willing to kill innocent dragonets simply because their father was an animus?

"NO!" Indigo screamed at the Queen as she lunged, hungry for blood. Fathom tried to stop her, but a spear was placed threateningly next to his jugular. "I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY DRAGONETS!" The Queen shrunk back from the furious Seawing's onslaught. The guards intercepted her halfway, but she was able to kill two guards before collapsing, dead, at the base of the throne.

Fathom watched the whole thing, helpless to do anything as his beloved was murdered, with a flurry of expressions: horror, shock, outrage. Darkstalker watched as Fathom's gaze changed to one of murder as he slowly turned his head back to the Queen. Quick as a flash, he grabbed the spear against his neck and spoke a single sentence. "Spear, kill everyone in this room except for myself and Indigo."

The spear flew around killing everyone with deadly precision. Darkstalker had just enough time to see the fear in the Queen's eyes before the spear ended her miserable existence. Fathom walked forward and knelt next to his wife's body as he wept.

Darkstalker moved until he was sitting beside the Seawing and tried to place a claw on his shoulder. Instead of making contact, his claw went right through Fathom…as if he was a simple ghost from his past. Darkstalker watched as the entire scene blew away like smoke and closed his eyes.

When he awoke once more, he pondered the meaning of his dream before ultimately forgetting about it. It was just a dream, after all. Then, he decided to see what kind of trouble the other two were getting into. Speaking of trouble, I wonder how much longer it will be until the Royal Seawing Massacre Part 2? It shouldn't be long at the rate he's going. As…amusing as that sight probably would be, he didn't think it would be a good thing to let happen.

He extended his mind to find the thoughts of the two dragons he was looking for and began making his way in that direction. Nobody really paid him any mind because nobody knew who he really was. That, at least, he could be thankful for. He had enough problems right now as it was.

"What do you want?" a female voice asked with no small amount of hostility.

He stared at the little Rainwing with an unimpressed expression before eventually answering. "I was wondering if there was actually a plan to find Anemone, and what…help I could be?" Ugh, that was harder to say than I thought.

She scoffed. "We don't need your help. In fact, we don't want your help. Just leave us alone!"

She turned to leave, and he watched her walk off with a narrowed gaze. You would think a year of helping them in the rainforest would count for more. He was about to go back to his room—maybe find breakfast first—when he heard the angry and frustrated shouts coming from further down the hallway.

Upon careful deliberation, he decided that he didn't care and went to find some food.

Almost a week passed like this. Every day, he would ask the Rainwing if they wanted help, she would refuse, and he would just shrug and walk away. Though, he could tell that she was becoming more and more exhausted. The guards in the Palace were becoming more anxious, for they knew what was going on.

They knew that Turtle was using his animus magic at an accelerated rate, and they didn't like that one bit. In fact, rumors were beginning to circulate that he would become the next Albatross. Others said he had already lost his mind and would strike when they least expected it.

He didn't really care much about those rumors. If they didn't want his help, he wouldn't give it. Another few days passed with the rumors becoming more commonplace. Darkstalker was sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch when he heard a tendril of thought, followed by another, and another, and another. More and more kept thinking the same dark thing, so he looked to see who their thoughts were directed at.

Turtle had just walked into the cafeteria looking like everyone was his enemy. Several guards were staring at him—waiting for him to make a wrong move. The ancient Nightwing surveyed the scene and felt the growing tenseness in the air. There was motion near the back as several guards began making their way over to the Prince, and Darkstalker made a quick decision.

He got up and made his way over to Turtle, who glared at him when he noticed the Nightwing approach. "What do you want?" he snarled.

"To save you from being mobbed," he stated bluntly. Turtle furrowed his eye ridge, not understanding. Darkstalker motioned for him to leave the room, but Turtle didn't move. He stood his ground stubbornly.

"They wouldn't dare attack me," he argued.

"Oh, is that so?" a new voice chimed in. "Tell me, Prince, what would you do to us if we did?" That was the only warning they had before twenty guards—give or take—lunged at Turtle.

His impenetrable scales were probably the only thing that kept him alive after that initial onslaught, but Darkstalker just sat back and watched with a passive expression. "Do you want my help?" he asked Turtle.

The Seawing responded by launching a guard through the air at him, but the Nightwing merely ducked under him. Realizing they couldn't penetrate his scales, the guards took to beating him relentlessly.

The Rainwing eventually ran into the room and went into a tizzy after she saw what was happening. She tried to intervene but was thrown backwards by one of the guards. Then, her gaze landed on him. " WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING!?" she screamed at him.

He leveled a flat gaze at her. "He doesn't want my help," he said.

He cocked his head in interest when he saw a hint of betrayal shine through her angry gaze before turning his attention back to the pummeling. Then, all of a sudden, every single one of the guards atop him was sent flying backwards, hitting the walls and ceiling, before tumbling back down to the ground. Turtle stood on shaky legs, murder in his eyes, and began stalking forward to one of the guards that had attacked him.

Any hint of amusement was gone in an instant, as this scene was too similar to the one from his dream more than a week ago, and Darkstalker became deathly serious as he stood in front of the guard protectively. "That's enough!" he declared.

"Get out of my way!" the Seawing snarled.

The Nightwing raised his head and looked down at him imperiously. "I will not," he stated calmly. Turtle opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Darkstalker interrupted him. "Is this what you want? Do you want to be remembered throughout history as the second Seawing animus to commit mass murder?"

Turtle seemed a lot less certain after that. "N-no," he replied hesitantly.

"I didn't think so. I can understand the need to protect your sister, but this isn't the way to do it. Your obsession is turning you into the very thing you despise in our enemies. The path you walk is full of darkness, trust me, I know. I have been down that same path, and it is not who you want to be, is it?" The Seawing shook his head before looking to the ground in shame.

He surveyed the scene around him, guilty and regretful at the pain and fear he had caused. Kinkajou stood by him in support whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Several of the guards had come to by this point and were beginning to walk forward, snarls on their faces.

Turtle and Kinkajou looked around, worried, before a loud roar shook the very building. All eyes turned to Darkstalker. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" he yelled at the guards. "This is your Prince! You are supposed to protect him with your lives, yet you yourselves have the nerve to attack him!" He paused for emphasis before pointing at Turtle. "His sister has been captured by hostile dragons who are no doubt doing all sorts of unsavory things to her as we speak! Would you not have the same desire—the same obsession—to save a member of your own family!?"

At this, most of the guards looked down in shame. Two, however, didn't seem moved by Darkstalker's speech. The Nightwing narrowed his eyes at them, suspiciously, and tried reading their minds. He got nothing from them, but his expression didn't change. "And what? We're supposed to forget this?" one guard asked. "What if he ends up killing us all before the Changewings get the chance?"

The two split up and began circling the group like a pair of sharks sizing up their prey. Darkstalker just grinned maliciously at them. "So that was your plan, huh? Have Turtle use his magic in a futile attempt to find his sister while getting closer and closer to the brink. Meanwhile, you two incite the guards against him, and hopefully they all kill each other in the inevitable massacre." He chuckled humorlessly as he shook his head. "It might have worked had you not forgotten one very important detail."

The two guards looked at each other before snarling at Darkstalker. "It seems you've got everything figured out, don't you? But I'm curious," one said, "What detail did we forget?"

Darkstalker stared straight into the eyes of the one who had spoken. The other one was behind and to the left of him…and just a little too close. With an even tone, yet fury in his eyes, Darkstalker finally answered, "Me…"

The one he had been talking to sneered and lunged. Darkstalker braced and caught the slightly smaller dragon in mid-air by the neck before turning and throwing the stunned guard in his claws at the equally stupefied guard behind him. The two landed in a heap.

Darkstalker was a strong dragon. In fact, he was much stronger than he looked: a remnant effect of him being two thousand years old and much larger than he was right now. Because of that, he was probably stronger than some Mudwings. Meaning: when he threw that guard into the other one, it wasn't exactly a soft landing.

The two were both unmoving—most likely unconscious. Darkstalker studied them for a second before muttering to himself, "I had kind of hoped for more of a challenge." Both the Rainwing and the Seawing Prince were staring at him in disbelief.

He merely walked over to the unconscious guards, found their charms, and removed them. Both turned into Changewings before their eyes. He turned to the other two again. "Do you want my help now?" he asked. They looked between each other right as Darkstalker sensed a slight change in one of the Changewing's minds.

Jaws lunged for his throat, but Darkstalker caught them. He stared at the guilty Changewing unimpressed before prying his jaws wider and wider. Panic entered its eyes as it began thrashing around to try and save itself.

Once the jaws were as wide as they could go, he stopped. And then he waited a few moments until the other Changewing awoke. Once the second Changewing saw what was about to happen, Darkstalker yanked with all his might and completely ripped the poor dragon's jaw from his face. Needless to say, the unfortunate victim of Darkstalker's wrath was dead before his body hit the ground. He heard a few horrified gasps from around the room and one or two dragons getting sick, but none of that concerned him.

Darkstalker tossed the lower jaw at the other dragon's feet as he stumbled back in sheer terror. Not once during the savage display did Darkstalker break eye contact with the other Changewing. "I hope now that you've seen that, we can skip the part where you say you don't know anything," he said evenly. "So…where's the Seawing princess?"

"I-I-I d-don't know!" he stuttered. Darkstalker narrowed his eyes dangerously, and the terrified Changewing cowered in fear. "I-It's the t-truth! I-I swear! They keep everything on a need-to-know basis!"

"So you don't know anything?" he asked with a pointed gesture at the maimed body on the floor.

"N-no…" it replied weakly.

Darkstalker sighed, genuinely disappointed that he didn't learn anything that could help. He turned and began walking away. "Do with it what you like," he told the guards. "It's your problem now."

He heard two rapid sets of claw-steps running up behind him, so he turned to acknowledge them. The Prince looked at the Rainwing for a moment, then looked back at Darkstalker. "We accept your help…if you're still willing to give it?" he tried.

Darkstalker stopped and regarded him for a moment. "Then before we do anything else, you and I are going to talk about your nightmares."

The Seawing grew defensive. "What? What does that—"

Darkstalker interrupted him before he could finish. "Over-use of animus magic has some dangerous side-effects. Nightmares are one. Your mental health is paramount if you want to avoid going mad, so you and I are going to talk about them. We're going to go through all your insecurities and fears that they have uncovered, and I'm going to help you through them."

The Rainwing was looking between the two of them, worried, but the Prince looked pensive and more than a little apprehensive. And though he didn't voice it and he couldn't hear his thoughts, Darkstalker knew what he was thinking. "If you can't trust me as a dragon, you should trust me as a fellow animus. I may not have my powers right now, but I have been down the darker paths of temptation and ambition. I can help you, Turtle…if you will only allow me."

They both looked at him in surprise, for that was the first time he had actually said one of their names and not just their tribe or title. Turtle eventually nodded, though, and the two of them left after the two lovers said their goodbyes.

Over the next several days, Turtle and Darkstalker spent their days simply talking together about everything from his desire to see Anemone safe once more to his mother's disapproval of his relationship with Kinkajou.

They would meet the aforementioned Rainwing for meals, and Turtle would tell her how much their talks were helping. "He's a really good listener, and he doesn't just say what I want to hear. He tells me what I need to hear," he once heard him say to Kinkajou.

"Well, I'm just glad you're feeling better," was her reply.

It was after one of those meals when news came in that Anemone had been found alone outside the Deep Palace. Turtle had wasted no time in going down there, and Kinkajou was worried for him, of course. "He didn't even say goodbye," she said, saddened.

"He'll be back," he said gently. "He probably already feels guilty about not saying anything, though," he chuckled before going quiet. "He reminds me of my friend Fathom," he said after a moment.

"And what was he like?" she asked, looking up at him curiously.

Darkstalker smiled fondly at memories of his old friend. "He was a good dragon," he responded. Then something happened that would forever change Darkstalker's view of the world…

Kinkajou hugged him. "Thank you for helping him," she whispered. "I've been so worried that he'll do something terrible on accident like he did in the cafeteria. And I'm glad you were there to help."

Darkstalker returned the hug, hesitantly at first, but then more comfortably. "I won't let anything happen…to either of you," he told her before she grew a little heavier in his arms. Looking down, he saw that she had fallen asleep. He smiled warmly at the sight, "Let's get you to bed."

He carried her to her room and gently deposited her onto the bed before smiling to himself. Looks like I have some new friends now.

"Indeed you do," a vaguely familiar voice sounded from behind him. He whirled around in surprise and saw a ghostly manifestation of a dragon. It didn't take him long to connect his appearance with what he saw of Aurora's.

"You're a Spirit," he stated.

The Spirit nodded, "I am. My name is Shade…and," he reached forward slowly and laid his talons on Darkstalker's chest. There was a flash of light on contact, and Shade was no longer standing before him. Then he felt his suspicion and wariness disappear to be replaced by calm reassurance.

Shade reappeared looking both ecstatic and relieved. "What just happened?" Darkstalker asked.

"I just established a connection with you. So far only Aurora has been able to connect with her Champion. None of the others can. Which means you and Winter are the best—and only—chances of winning this war," he revealed. "I ask that you not reveal our connection to anyone yet. It'll be better for everyone. Now, there are a few things I will need your help with later. Any questions?"

Darkstalker stared at him, blinking a few times in surprise before smirking. "When do we start?"

AN: Now you get to enjoy the main story for a few more chapters!

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22