Chapter 15

Everything felt like it had frozen. Time felt frozen. Out of anything that could have been said, any outcome that could happen, that was the outcome that never crossed Vala's mind.

Me and Abrax are… her dragonets? No, that can't be right, this must be a trick!

"There's no way you are our mother!" Vala screamed.

"Oh but I am," Queen Helen said. "Have either of you two noticed the mark along your spikes?"

Vala looked at her spikes and noticed a strip mark that went across all of them and she looked at Abrax and saw the same as well. Vala then looked at Queen Helen and she had the same pattern as well.

"No, it can't be!" Abrax said.

"Oh but it very much is," Queen Helen said. "And to think that you two wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Well now you know why I hated that idea and locked one of you up."

"But why?" Vala asked. "Why did you abandon both of us before we hatched? Why didn't you raise us like a true mother dragon would?"

"Ahh questions, questions, I hate questions!" Queen Helen said and pressed her claw down on Vala's chest more. "I'll give it to you straight. I wanted you two to become enraged in anger. By abandoning you two, I hoped that you will become powerful and show no mercy with anyone. Initially it was going well, until you two found each other. Then you decided to get rid of that anger for warm feelings for each other and compassion! Well I didn't want you two as my dragonets after that."

"That's despicable!" Abrax said. "You shouldn't be allowed to force your own dragonets to be something they don't want to be!"

"Why not?" Queen Helen said. "You are my dragonets after all," and Queen Helen grabbed Abrax's neck and started choking him.

"Let go of him!" Vala screamed and tried getting out of Queen Helen's grasp but it was no use. Queen Helen had her pinned to the ground and she could do nothing but watch.

"Daughter," King Blade said, approaching Queen Helen. "I know you are better than this."

"Oh really?" Queen Helen said. "Is this what you've become? Begging for mercy for your grandchildren? Mercy is weakness, you should have been happy that I gave you an honorable death. Instead you wasted it and somehow are here in a ghostly form. How are you even here?"

"It takes more than death to get rid of me," King Blade said. "But please daughter, I saw the good in you when you were young. You wanted to help out around the tribe, what happened to you?"

"I saw the truth," Queen Helen said. "Something you were unable to see. Our tribe was getting weaker, so I made it stronger!"

"No you didn't," King Blade said. "You only made our tribe fall apart more."

"Who are you to judge?" Queen Helen asked. "You tried to betray our tribe with that Drillwing Queen."

"We would have had an alliance!" King Blade said. "We could have gotten our home back!"

"Alliances make us weak!" Queen Helen said. "What happens after we get our land back? The dragons we teamed up with will then ask for supplies and items from us. They will control us."

"No they wouldn't!" King Blade said. "And definitely not the Drillwing who is queen now would do that!'

"That despicable dragonet," Queen Helen said. "I'll make sure to give her a slow and painful death when I get my claws on her."

"Don't you dare hurt Tulsi!" Vala screamed and stabbed her claw into Queen Helen's claw, making her scream in pain and letting go of her and Abrax. Vala then quickly ran over and smacked Queen Ash to the side before she could get to Thunder.

"Are you okay Thunder?" Vala asked.

"Yes," Thunder said. "Watch out behind you!"

Thunder pushed Vala out of the way before Queen Helen was able to slice down on her.

"Disgusting," Queen Helen said. "You'd rather save a fellow dragonet than yourself."

"That's because we're not monsters," Vala said.

Queen Helen got enraged. "I WAS BORN A MONSTER!" she screamed. "AND YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN MONSTERS TOO!"

"Well looks like we sunk your parade," Nova said.

"ARGH, I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!" Queen Helen screamed and charged at them. She slashed at Nova but Nova dodged underneath her and sliced her underbelly, making Queen Helen scream in pain.

"AHHHHH!" Queen Helen screamed. "YOU AREN'T GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!" and she charged at Vala. Vala could tell that Queen Helen was in a fit of rage as she rolled to the side and Queen Helen smacked into the wall behind her.

"Mom," Vala said but it felt weird to say. "You can be better than this. Don't let this Lavawing control your actions."

"I AM IN PERFECT CONTROL OF MY ACTIONS!" Queen Helen screamed and shot her spikes at Vala which Abrax pushed her out of the way.

"Mom, you can be better than this," Abrax said. "Every dragon has a good side to them."

"Well, not me!" Queen Helen said and tried to slash at them again. Vala and Abrax rolled out of the way again before Queen Helen got to them.

"Well this is quite amusing," Queen Ash said.

"Are you going to help me or what?" Queen Helen said.

"Sure," Queen Ash said and then started to fly up into the air. Vala wondered what Queen Ash was doing when she heard something from her mind.

Time to raise the lava, came from Queen Ash's mind and Vala looked at the ground they were standing on.

"Abrax move!" Vala said and they got out of there in the nick of time before lava had shot up from the floor which would have killed them instantly. The lava then made a wall around them which enclosed Vala, Abrax, and Nova in.

"Shoot, what do we do now?" Nova asked.

Vala tried to think of something but then they saw Queen Ash walk through the lava wall and up to them.

"Wha… how?" Vala asked. "How did you just survive that?"

"Because I am a Lavawing," Queen Ash said. "So I survive in lava."

If that's the case, then maybe I know what hurts her! Vala thought and tried to look for the lake around them but the lava wall was blocking her pathway. Shoot, I can't get through!

"Well I'm going to leave you all here while I deal with a traitor," Queen Ash said and started to walk out of the lava wall.

"Don't you dare touch Thunder!" Vala shouted and tried to attack Queen Ash but Queen Ash easily held out her claw which held Vala in place until she got to the other side of the lava wall and then let Vala go. Vala tried to run after Queen Ash but Abrax and Nova pulled her back before she got close to the lava.

"Woah, are you crazy?" Abrax asked. "That lava will kill you instantly!"

"I can't just let her get Thunder!" Vala said and tried to break out of their grip.

"Vala," Nova said. "What help will you be for Thunder if you are dead?"

"But I just can't sit here!' Vala said. "I have to help!"

"Vala," Abrax said, stepping in front of her and taking her claws in his. "You know as well as I do that you wouldn't survive that lava."

"But how can I just stand here and do nothing?" Vala asked.

"That's the thing that you need to understand," Abrax said. "When you plan, you aren't standing still, you are actively figuring out a solution to the problem you are in."

"But plans can take too long to form!" Vala said. "What if you are in the heat of the moment?"

"That's the thing you seem to not be understanding," Abrax said. "You are always planning, planning your next move of attack, planning what you are going to eat that night, planning how to be nice to the ones you love. Every day you are planning without thinking about it."

"Wha… What?" Vala asked.

"But when you stop and truly think about a plan, then you can get yourself out of the situations that you are in. And if you don't have time to stop and think, then think on the go. Think while you are in a tough situation and the answer will always come to you. That's how I stayed alive for so long in the prison, because I was always planning."

"Wait, so you're saying that even though I hate plans, I have always been planning my next move?"

"Yes," Abrax said. "When you came to me to ask me for help with how to free your friends, that was a plan, when you came to rescue me from Queen Helen was a plan, and figuring out how to get out of the Spikewing arena was a plan as well."

"Really?" Vala asked. "I thought all of that was just instinct. Something that is common that anyone would do."

"But that's the thing," Abrax said. "Every dragon has their own actions. You may have chosen the option for my help but other dragons may have not. That's what makes plans you make unique, the fact that they will only play out in the way that you want them to."

"Wow," Vala said. "I… never thought of it like that."

"Well that's what I've been trying to tell you," Abrax said. "I just wish that I got it through at an earlier time."

"That's not your fault," Vala said. "It's mine."

"I don't think it's either of your faults," Nova said. "Every dragon makes mistakes and we shouldn't blame them on that mistake alone, rather the dragon they are."

"Thanks Nova and Abrax," Vala said. "I'm glad that you all never gave up on me."

"Your welcome," Abrax said and Vala felt her tail try to twine around Abrax and she felt embarrassed and saw that Abrax was embarrassed as well before they untwined their tails from each other.

"What a strange turn of events that we are brother and sister," Vala said to Abrax.

"Yeah," Abrax said and Vala saw him looking at the stripes on their spikes. "And to think that we were wanting to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

Vala laughed. "That would have been awkward.

Abrax laughed as well. "Yeah."

"So how are we going to get out of here?" Vala asked.

"Well you got us out of the arena," Nova said. "I think you can figure out a way out of this as well."

"Are you sure about this?" Vala asked.

Nova and Abrax both nodded their heads. "We're sure."

"I believe that you can do it as well," King Blade said. "You are my grandchildren after all."

"Thanks," Vala said. "And now I see why you never told us who Queen Helen's dragonets were, because we would freak out more if we knew before."

"Well you still freaked out but not as badly," King Blade said. "Now time for you to figure out a way out of here."

"Hmm," Vala said and looked around the area they were trapped in. The lava wall reached to the ceiling so they couldn't fly over it and there was no water in the area they were trapped in to use.

Come on Vala, you can think of something. You can think of a plan to help everyone out. They believe in you, don't let them down. Vala kept thinking and then felt a drop of water land on her head. She immediately looked up at the ceiling where the water came from and saw another one drop right in front of her.

That's it! There is some sort of lake above us! We just have to get the water to fall down here.

"I've got it!" Vala said. "Everyone follow my lead!" and she flew up to the ceiling where the water droplets were coming from. She saw that some sort of massive cave-in must have filled in the area that the water was coming from.

"Everyone attacks this area now!' Vala said, pointing at the area where the water was dripping. "We're going to make it rain!"

Vala, Abrax, and Nova all started to smack the rocks and a few started to fall but not enough to release the water. Come on, more, more! Vala was determined to save Thunder and she heard Queen Ash's voice talking to Thunder at that moment.

"What a bunch of pesky friends you made, Stormwing," Queen Ash said. "Or should I say Thunder?"

"You… you know my name?" Thunder asked, scared.

"Oh course, I know all of my subjects," Queen Ash said. "And I know who your family is. How sad will it be when I kill them in front of you before killing you myself."

"No… please… leave them… out of this…"

"Then why did you follow me out here? I know you came here through that storm a few days ago."

Come on break! Vala screamed in her mind and smacked at the rocks with all her force. They all shook and time seemed to freeze for a second, before the rocks broke and all the water came pouring through.

"Yes we did it!" Vala said and saw the water get rid of the fire and extinguish the lava before Queen Ash looked up and saw what was going on."

"Oh no!" Queen Ash said and tried to run away from the water but a massive wave came and splashed her which made her body turn red and her scream in pain.

"ARGHHHH!" Queen Ash screamed and Vala saw blood dripping out everywhere from her scales. "Queen Helen, we have to go!"

"NO!" Queen Helen said. "I MUST KILL MY DRAGONETS!" and she charged at Vala and Abrax again but this time they were ready. Vala dodged out of her way while Abrax kicked her into the wall which made her fall down and land in some lava that hadn't gone away yet.

"AHHHH!" Queen Helen screamed as she was being burned by the lava. Queen Ash got over to her and pulled her out, badly bleeding.

"We have to go," Queen Ash choked out and opened up a portal behind them.

"No, get them!" Vala shouted, seeing that they were both badly injured. She could end them both here.

"Until we see next time," Queen Ash said and pulled herself and Queen Helen through the portal before closing it. Vala came skidding to a halt, a few inches from where the portal had just been.

"Come on, I almost had them!" Vala shouted.

"Don't worry, we've scared them well enough, they won't be back anytime soon," Abrax said.

"And we know how to defeat them if they do come back," Nova said.

"Yeah, I suppose," Vala said. "I just wish we dealt with them right here and now."

"We all do," King Blade said. "But this is what has happened so let's continue looking to the future and not debating our actions in the past."

"We should get out of here and back up to the Spikewings," Abrax said.

"I can lead you out of here," King Blade said.

"Good." Vala said. "Then let us go. It's time for us to make an announcement."