It was something he had only experienced once before, when he hadn't been expecting it. He imagined it was like what others felt when they absorbed spirit gems, having so much raw energy flowing through them and renewing their magic stores. Such a massive amount of elemental energy, it almost made him feel like there wasn't a hole in his being where magic should be. Almost made him feel as though he wasn't a scrawny undernourished runt.

Null could feel the energy of the dark crystal draining, and he felt as though justice was being served. The crystals that Spyro and Cynder had to destroy had drained their elements, and here he was draining one of those crystals of all the magic it had stolen.

When it was complete, the crystal was as fragile as any spirit gem.

Time is such a strange thing. In the moment, it can feel like eternities pass, yet when it is over only a second has passed.

Or less, when speaking of a collapsing elemental.

Null was barely conscious of the stone tomb he had been encased in, only seeing the faint purple light of the dying crystal in his claws. As he stared at the core of the crystal, he could swear he saw a pair of eyes looking back, before the purple light faded entirely and he was left in total darkness.

Only now did the enormity of events come flooding back to him.

She was dead. Jaya, his only family, was dead. She was dead because of this monster. And now he had killed it and avenged her, and it wasn't enough. It wouldn't bring his mother back. Nothing would bring his mother back.

In the complete darkness of the elemental's remains, Null cried.

"Null! Don't!" Apex cried out, sliding to a stop and turning around. The dark green dragon had streaked off back into the conflict, even after being specifically told not to.

To be honest, Apex didn't blame him.

When he caught sight of the sapphire form, Apex felt as though his heart had broken. Missus Jaya had always been so nice to him, acting like a real mother when his own parents had chosen to ignore him for his views. If anything, she had been the one to raise him, rather than the two who happened to be his parents.

Cursing under his breath, Apex took to the air. There was no way in hell that he was letting Null run into a horde of grublins, even if Ferrus had told the both of them to run.

It was just as well that Apex was the one who had been top of the class in combat training, because he was finding himself using it constantly.

The grublins were hurling spears into the air in an attempt to hit him, but none of them even got close. His element made sure of that. Still, the few times he descended to take out a grublin in close quarters he found himself swarmed by the stick thin insects. After a couple of close calls, he quickly decided to just take them out with wind blasts from afar. It was a better tactic for helping Null, too, as he could take out those grublins that spotted his frail friend without needing to swoop down and attack with his claws.

As soon as Null reached his mother, Apex knew he would need to cause a diversion to keep the grublins away. He quickly looked around, ignoring Ferrus' roars to run, and finally spotted the distraction he needed.

"Alright, rockhead! You and me!" Apex snarled, flying towards the massive elemental. Immediately the grublins below began to panic, as if sensing that their living siege engine was in danger.

Apex was never exactly the most studious dragon, but this reminded him of something from a book. A primitive culture worshipping a godlike figure. In the book it was a stone guardian of sorts, so this elemental wasn't too far off from that scenario. In any event, the grublins certainly seemed to follow the elemental, instead of the other way around.

And they most certainly did not like when he started to slash at the crystals in the monster's head.

He knew full well that the crystals were draining his element, but he didn't care at the moment. If it kept the grublins away from Null, it was worth it. He began to feel his wind barrier dying out, so shut it down himself to conserve energy. He was agile enough to avoid the spears anyways.

"You killed her!"

Apex nearly froze to the bone at that scream of rage. He knew it was Null, he recognized the voice, but Null had never sounded so angry. Sure, he got irritated, and occasionally ranted about things, but he was never as infuriated as this.

The wind dragon flew around the elemental, dodging what was, to him, a clumsy swing. As he caught sight of Null, his eyes widened. There was no way the little dragon could make it, he would be cut down or crushed before he could even get close to the hulking elemental.

Desperation filled the wind dragon. He may have been the best in his class, but he was by no means skilled enough to take down that many grublins or to slow the elemental enough to allow Null to survive.

He saw a giant stone hand swinging through the air towards his friend, and that was when he lost control of his element.

Many furies result in mass destruction or death, or simply fail due to the user's own deficit of elemental energy. Those that succeed almost invariably weaken the user, and in the case of one who had no elemental energy remaining could possibly kill them.

Yet Apex thought of none of this, releasing elemental energy and tapping into stores of magic that he didn't even know he had, causing the winds to flock to his command. Thousands of blades of air manifested, slicing into the horde of grublins and decimating the insect creatures by the dozens. The outer edge of the effect of the fury became a globe of hardened air, stopping the elemental's fist in its tracks and keeping more grublins from converging on his friend's position.

Then, almost without warning, the fury gave out, and Apex fell to the ground, spent.

Almost simultaneously, the elemental collapsed.

Like a building collapsing, the elemental fell apart. Its arms fell off of its torso in chunks, while its stone ribcage fell forwards and crashed into the ground. The two towers of the monstrous elemental's legs fell apart as well, until the only reminder of its existence was the partially intact head, the crystals inside fading to dark.

But it wasn't a victory. It wasn't over until Apex located Null. He knew that the dark green dragon had been running towards the elemental, and suspected that it was something Null had done that destroyed it.

Even though he barely had enough energy to stand, Apex scurried towards the wreckage of the elemental, digging through the rubble frantically.

"Come on, come on, you have to be in here…" Apex, scrambled over to the torso of the monster, trying and failing to shift the massive stone.

He didn't know how long he was pushing at the thing before wingbeats alerted him to others. Apex didn't care. He needed to get to Null.

"Apex, it's dead." Ferrus' voice came from far away.

"Null, Null's in there." Apex murmured, still trying to lift the rock. His tired muscles could barely take it anymore, and he found himself on his side, unable to so much as stand.

"Stand back." Ferrus gently pushed Apex away from the boulder, warding back other figures with his wings. The iron-scaled dragon raised one paw, then slammed it into the stone torso, causing a fissure to appear in the rock.

The elderly dragon struck the rock a second, then a third time, eventually causing the entire thing to break open.

Apex was about to push himself forwards, to see what was inside, but Amp shoved past.

"Hah, the little runt's crying." The electricity dragon jeered.

Before he knew what he was doing, Apex had his claw around the yellow dragon's throat and had pinned him to the rock. He leaned close, his eyes boring holes into Amp's. When he spoke, it was a low hiss. "His mother was struck down and he still tried to attack this monster. That's more than can be said for you, don't you think?"

"Y-yeah, but-,"

"But what?" Apex hissed. "You've been coddled your whole life, but he hasn't. You have both your parents, and you're normal. He's been shunned because of an accident of birth and his father left him. Now his mother's dead, and you think it's funny to poke fun at his pain?"

"Apex!" Ferrus's voice finally broke through Apex's anger. "That's enough!"

The wind dragon let go of the yellow, stepping off to one side. As soon as his anger faded, he felt like he could barely walk. Where had that come from? Normally he was the sort to let it slide quickly, but there he had felt as though he wanted to slice the electricity dragon apart.

"Apex?" A weak voice called out.

Apex turned his head to see Null. The frail dragon may have had tears in his eyes, but the look of concern was unmistakable.

"Hey buddy." Apex gave a weak smile. "You killed it."

"Y-yeah…" Null looked down at his paws. "I don't know how, though. I just… I couldn't… I had to kill it. To rip its heart out."

"We might make a warrior out of you yet." Apex chuckled.

Apex was about to start walking when his knees buckled suddenly. He found himself falling, but Null rushed up and pressed against his side to keep him upright. Much to Apex's surprise, his weight didn't cause the smaller dragon to immediately collapse. He was about to mention it, but the words died in his throat as he noticed where Null was looking.

A sapphire blue form, marred by the red of blood and the white of exposed and broken bone. Once graceful wings were bent unnaturally out of shape. All along the membrane were tears and holes, put there by the unnatural force of the elemental's swing. Just looking at Jaya's body from even this far away was enough to make tears prick at the edges of Apex's eyes.

Apex nudged Null, and the two young dragons started to walk towards the sapphire dragoness. Even from this distance Apex could see that she was not breathing, could sense the air around her standing still.

It made him want to just stop there and cry. It really did. Jaya was a wonderful person, she had been more like a parent to him than his own mother and father.

xXx

"And what do you think you're doing?"

Apex looked up from the paper he was writing. Ferrus had given everyone a written assignment that they needed to complete at home, and so far it was giving Apex a horrible time. Paw cramps and horrible handwriting were the primary issue. Thankfully Null had given him notes on the subject, a war that had happened back before Malefor's time. The dark green dragon may have lacked an element, but he remembered just about everything.

"I'm writing an essay," The young dragon answered simply.

"Mh-hm…" His father looked at the notes, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you using notes taken by another?"

"History's not my favorite subject…" Apex looked down at the paper again. He perked up. "But Null's helping me!"

A single talon was placed on the notes, easily piercing through the paper and spearing all of them. "I thought I told you not to speak to that winged lizard."

"B-but Dad-," Apex protested.

"No buts, son," The larger dragon growled, ripping the notes apart. "I will not have a child of mine associating with a creature such as that. It is an unclean and unnatural abomination, born of a harlot and a demon."

"But-,"

"Go outside. Now. I need to have a discussion with your mother." His father lifted his head high, glaring at Apex.

"Y-yes sir." Apex quickly grabbed his paper and scrambled outside, trying to get as far away as he could before his father's voice rang out in a shout. It was only after he had gotten far away from the house that he realized that he didn't have a quill or ink pot.

There was no way Apex was going to go back to brave his father's wrath. The towering wind dragon had no love for Null, or Null's father, or even heroes like Cynder. Anyone who wasn't a 'normal, decently minded dragon' was a demon, abomination, or worse in old Dolus's eyes.

And the number of folks who fit in that classification was abysmally small.

"What's got you so upset?"

Apex jumped in surprise. Null may not have been fast or strong, but he knew full well how to be stealthy when he wanted to. Shaking his head, Apex turned his blue eyes to look at the dark green dragon. "Dad's kicked me out…"

"Again? What about this time?" Null raised an eyebrow.

"Your notes…" Apex trailed off.

"Oh. Okay." Null stretched his legs. "Well, come on."

"What? Why?" Apex asked in confusion.

"You can't complete your paper sitting out here, especially without any notes. We're going to my place." Null grinned, then walked off.

Apex scurried after Null, settling into a comfortable walk once he got his balance. It took hardly a minute for both of them to reach Null's home.

"Mom! I'm home!" Null announced, pushing the door open.

"One moment!" Jaya called back. There was a clatter of cutlery, then the sapphire dragoness emerged from another room. She looked at Null with a loving expression, then her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Apex. "Oh! Hello Apex, how are you doing?"

"Hello Missus Jaya." Apex bowed his head in respect.

"Please, Apex. Just call me Jaya." The dragoness smiled kindly. "What brings you here today?"

"Dad threw me out…" Apex muttered, eyes downcast. "He doesn't want me to be friends with Null." The wind dragon blinked back tears. "I don't understand why! Null's my best friend, he's always been there for me! If he wasn't I would've failed classes a hundred times! Why does my dad hate him?"

"It's okay, little one. Your father doesn't know Null like you do." Jaya wrapped Apex in her wings, holding him close to her warmth. "You can let out your tears and frustration. You're safe here."

Apex could feel the tears rolling down his snout. "M-Miss-,"

"Shh, it's okay. We'll be here for you any time you need," Jaya soothed. "Even if your father does not accept you, I will."

xXx

Apex blinked the tears from his eyes, stumbling momentarily and leaning heavily on Null. The dark green dragon shot him a concerned glance, but a shake of his head told Null that he was fine. The duo continued to Jaya's body. Apex broke away from his smaller companion, allowing Null to approach his mother's body. As much as he personally ached to go and try to feel some warmth from the sapphire dragoness, he knew it was too late, and that right now Null needed to have some time alone.

The wind dragon sat down wearily, thinking. Where had that memory come from? Yes, he had been thinking about how Jaya had helped him, but he hadn't expected anything so vivid. Least of all a full-blown flashback.

Apex shakily stood and walked over to Null, standing silently next to his friend. The dark green dragon was crying once more, tears flowing freely down his face. Both young dragons leaned against the other, using each other for support.

The duo were standing there, both staring at Jaya's body and crying openly. Apex almost didn't notice when a much larger dragon came up next to them. A sideways glance told Apex that the newcomer was Ferrus, the iron-scaled dragon bowing his head in respect.

"She was a good dragon," Ferrus said, breaking the silence. "She did not deserve the misfortune fate handed her, but she dealt with it well anyways. Jaya will be missed." Ferrus slowly walked forwards, placing a paw on Jaya's flank. "Be with the ancestors now, Jaya."

Starting at the edges of her wings, Jaya's body slowly began to change into shimmering blue light. Tiny particles began to drift away on the wind, floating away like dandelion seeds. In a matter of moments, Jaya's body was gone, even the blood, leaving nothing but a patch of blue flowers where she once was.

A fresh wave of sobs swept over Null, and the smaller dragon leaned even heavier against Apex. Ferrus slowly walked over to the two young dragons, his head bowed. "I need you two to be before the village council later. I'm so sorry about Jaya, but I desperately need the two of you to be strong. Can you do that for me?"

Apex looked up at Ferrus. How dare he? How dare he ask something like this so soon after such a large tragedy? Did he even care?

But of course Ferrus cared. He didn't want to cause either of them hurt, but at the same time he had to do what was best for the village. Ferrus wouldn't ask either of them to do this if it wasn't necessary.

"Okay." Apex nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'll be there."

"Null?" Ferrus turned his head to look at the dark green dragon. "I understand if you need time to recover-,"

"I'll be there," Null answered immediately, his voice emotionless and drained.

"Thank you both." Ferrus bowed his head once more. "I'll leave you two in peace."

"Alright, everyone. Calm down." Ferrus had to shout to be heard over the clamor that the other members of the council were making. "Calm down!"

"What are we supposed to do when we're being attacked by giant elementals?" A fire dragoness screeched, clearly hyperventilating.

"If Malefor has returned we're all doomed!" An electric dragon shouted.

"What should we do?" The speaker, an ice dragon, was almost hyperventilating.

"Quiet!" Ferrus roared over the commotion, causing the room to drop into silence. The elder took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he spoke once more. "Now then, you all know about why I've called you here. There is a major issue in the form of the elemental."

"Does this mean Malefor has returned?" The electric dragon from before demanded.

"I did not say anything about Malefor, Arc," Ferrus said sternly. "However, that does not mean that there is nothing grander going on. The elemental was clearly powered by a dark gem, and it had the accursed crystals growing all over it. You all know that the energy flowing through these dark gems is convexity, and that convexity crystals only appear when the world is in a time of crisis, and never in only one place.

"Logically following, this means that there are more rogue elementals out there, powered by the same dark gems as the one that attacked our village. And if there are more, then that means that we have an obligation to let the rest of the world know before the problem grows out of hand." Ferrus gestured for Null and Apex to come forwards. "Null, Apex, please come forth."

Null looked at Apex anxiously. The wind dragon was impassive, his face blank of emotion. Steeling himself, Null walked forwards to stand next to Ferrus, Apex doing likewise.

"These two young dragons both had a good look of the elemental, and by dint of their efforts managed to destroy it. I propose that we send them to Warfang to warn the dragon council of the threat."

As soon as Ferrus finished the room broke into uproar again. All of the members of the village's council were clamoring for their voice to be heard, but each was lost in the noise. All but one, that was.

The one dragon who was silent stepped forwards, and suddenly the room went silent. Not because the others stopped talking, but because the air suddenly refused to transmit sound. The wind dragon sat there for a few moments as he waited for the others to realize that their voices couldn't be heard. Once the others settled down, the dragon spoke.

"Ferrus… surely you do not truly intend to send these children to Warfang." It was a statement, not a question. "There truly is no need to, seeing as the elemental did no damage to the village. It was not even an issue. The grublins, on the other hand, were, and they always have been and always will be."

"Dolus, the elemental killed Jaya," Ferrus said softly.

"And? She deserved it for spawning such an abomination and for laying with a demon." Dolus wrinkled his nose in disgust. "But fine. You've made your point. Why send both of them? The lizard I understand, but why send my son? If these elementals are dangerous, then surely we want the dragon to have slain one to defend our village."

"I didn't kill the elemental. Null did." Apex's voice was flat, emotionless. Null wasn't unused to hearing him like this, the wind dragon controlled his emotions with surprising skill for one his age and demeanor. "And Jaya died to protect this village. To protect you. You ungrateful monster."

Dolus reeled, blinking in surprise at his son's outburst. "Apex, you do not address your superiors like-,"

"Shut up and listen for once, dad," Apex snarled, his tone scathing. "Null is the real hero here, not me. He killed the elemental on his own, all I did was keep the grublins away. And that was after it had killed Jaya. He was emotionally devastated and still went in to kill the elemental."

"Apex, stop," Dolus commanded.

"No. I will not stop. If Null is going, I'm going with him. I'm not going to leave my only friend to go on a potentially dangerous mission on his own." Apex paused to take a breath, glaring at his father. "So I don't care what you think of Null, or Jaya, or anyone. I'm going on this mission, and you cannot stop me."

Dolus was stunned for a few moments, almost unable to form words. After mindlessly opening and closing his mouth for a second, he finally set his face into a snarl. "You're no son of mine."

Apex seemed to consider this for a moment. "You're right. You haven't earned the right to call yourself my father."

With that, Apex stalked out of the council chamber.

A/N:

Hello all! I'm sure you noticed that there was no author's note on the previous chapter. That was because I felt as though it would ruin the mood and suspense of the chapter. If something like that happens again, you can expect to not see an authors note there as well. I will, however, go over the previous chapter in the next chapter's author's note.

So, last chapter was a bit of a big one. In retrospect I may have gone too fast on the pacing, but I'll be working to slow down on the pacing in the future.

In regards to this chapter, you get to see the world through Apex's eyes. You can expect this to happen fairly frequently.

As always, please leave a review to let me know what you think!

Now read on!