The Chronicles of the White Dragon Part 2: The Crossroads of Time

by Blackshadow999

When things of history thought lost begin to be seen once more; fear grips many, none can choose how events will turn out in the end. What is left from an ancient war is rediscovered by Saber, but he finds more than he bargained for. An enemy long forgotten returns! and intends to finish wha they started. A tale traversing and transcending even the bounds of time itself. Part 2of3

16. 16 In the Mist

A/n

Okay all you readers, here is chapter 16. I admit that Saber was a jerk in the last chapter. And here is to an extent in this one as well, but not as badly as the last one. Yet hopefully there will be a little more understanding as to why Saber is being like he is. Anyways thanks to all that have PM me or have done reviews, they are very much appreciated. Now then, on with the story!

Chapter 16: In the Mist

Have you ever had a day that you question if you were going to make it through and stay sane and yourself? Well, lately I've been having those kind of days a great deal! But… with me, there is more involved in such days. I mean, were someone to ask me the question why I appear to have such a hard time in life. First of all, I haven't a freaking clue why; I have just learned it has, is and will be that way, so don't complain since it won't do anything. Second, it really isn't anyone else's business than my own. However, the reply I would actually give to this question would be, "I'll answer with a question to ask yourself; why does life keep teaching me lessons I have no desire to learn". Life just can be a bi***, accept it and suck it up; a fact I established a long while ago. There will be lessons you don't want to learn or relearn; it's going to happen whether you cry about it or not.

Many times I ask myself, why me and usually it is with good reason… or just because the situation is so outrageous that I can't help myself. I have yet to get an answer to such a question, if you don't consider getting more stuff to deal with a response. Still, I ask myself the question why me, but it is more a rhetorical one now as I have come to accept it is my lot in life. Hence, why my mentality in taking the things that life throws at me, when life puts you in tough situations, don't say "why me", instead shout "Try me!". But that is easier said than done, believe me!

Back to my current situation; yet again, a time in my life has come; and I shout the age old cry, "why me?!". Why is it that I get into the tiring and problematic situation that I do? And this was but the beginning of the array of problems I would be forced to endure in the near future! However, I digress in this subject… let me back up and start by drawing you a bit of the picture of the situation that I now find myself in now. It all began yesterday…

So apparently, I at some point gave the impression to the dragon guardians that I'm their errand runner now to do with what they will. I can't remember ever giving that impression or view once in my life; I'm not a doormat type of person and never ever intend to be! Still it was confirmed yesterday that the guardian think they should ask me to do work for them right after getting back from the job they gave me that had… gone not so well. It was a day that was good and bad… a tad more bad than good in my view at the moment. Granted, with the state that I'm in from all the horrible crap that has come my way in the last few weeks; I have a rather bias view and am having a very hard time seeing the positive side of life lately. Can anyone really blame me though? I had been attacked, assaulted, forced to be around a dragon who thinks I should pretty much go and die even though he hasn't said so outright exactly. And last but certainly not least, something I can't describe with words that had gotten closer than anyone to ending my life! Yeah… I think I deserve a little slack cut for me right now with all that had happened; I dare anyone to go through what I did and still be in a good state of mind afterward! I know I should have really said no to this trek that I went out on; yet silly me, I'm just too nice for my own good!

…I really need to vent and soon, I admit it! The signs had been clear once I had looked back on my actions in the last few days along with the thoughts and ideas that have been popping up in my head. Let's just say there are two in particular that would not have good chances of surviving to the end of the week with the things that I would contrive and construct; more like end up in the healer wing soon. Then, I had just about blown up at Spectra in my rant on the Guardians and nearly lost my cool then. The stress from doing whatever it takes to stay alive and trying not to have others worry about me, was taking its toll! The dilemma I face, is I really can't in good conscience tell anyone who is out to kill me or why; they would just end up as a target like I am! Worrying about me in certain things could and a few would end out being fatal!

Back to the picture I was drawing; the group for this trek consisted of the dragons Spyro, Lara, Tara and Getsuga. Then there was also the 'humans' that being Chizuru and Sera; and of course there was myself. A motley crew if ever I seen one! Why might I say it like that? Well, first of all the gender ratio, five females to two males… in my case four of those females have a varying level of relationship with me. One, specifically Lara, is my mate and so has a unique position among the rest. She thinks that she should know EVERYTHING about me; to which I completely and utterly disagree! Then there was Tarra, a good friend that I can't exactly predict where that relationship level will settle at. Tarra is a very nice dragoness, and if circumstances had happened differently between Lara and me; then I could have possibly ended out with Tarra as my mate and not Lara. However, things didn't end out that way and so I can't do things for Tarra that I do for Lara that I do for none other. Chizuru and I have a solid understanding with where our 'friendship' stands; she is the closest person I have to a best friend before coming to the Dragon Realm. The only change there has been is that I have learned that Chizuru isn't human but a legendary creature of myth from earth; other than that, everything was the same. … Sera, well… she is one I have often tolerated… she is who she is and I have had to accept that without much of a choice. It wasn't the extreme cheerfulness she had almost all the time, though it did play a part. Nor was it the choice of her clothes, as eccentric as it is. No, it was her ability to do things that should be impossible and just shouldn't happen!

I can't say much on Getsuga to make a fair judgement; the only two experiences I have with her is the council room with the guardians giving us stuff to do, not a good experience to judge her by. The other time our paths have crossed, she gave me a heavy sledgehammer blow to my midsection and called me a 'stupid male', which acted as a bit of a blow to my pride slightly. In short, we have given one another bad impressions of each other and so we really just got off on the wrong paw as it were or I would like to see it that way. Spyro, being the only other male in this group and my good friend that was in the running with Chizuru for the 'best friend' position. It had been awhile since he and I had worked together and it was nice to get to do so again. Although, I kind of wonder what Cynder thought about Spyro going and she not… I know Lara wouldn't let that happen anytime in the near future! Well, with her being gravid and everything, there is no avoiding keeping her in Warfang.

Anyway back to the topic of the trek, little information was given on what exactly we were to do. All that was said overall between the guardians and the fluff they put in, which I'm referring to their ranting they do; was to go investigate an 'area' that several have gone missing in. The area hadn't been defined much and what had been said was large. That was about it on the general info we got from those who sent us out, the only other things they said was Arkanis will fill in more details. I really hope Arkanis can provide more facts than we have already, as we lack a lot of them.

We arrived at Carona in the early afternoon. Not much had changed since last I saw it really… well other than there being different dragons and dragonesses here than there was the last time. Meaning there had been new arrivals since I had been here. It was kind of nostalgic coming back through the northern gate of Carona; I had entered it close to a year ago… and slightly before that, meeting Lara, Tarra and Fredrick. Easier times back then… only having to worry about the apes chasing me… *Sigh* I miss those days.

Well, it can be safely said that our group received a nice warm welcome. I do feel a bit sorry for Spyro as he was gawked at and question; and I know how much he dislikes when others do that to him. I too, have had the torture that is to be gawked at and questioned, only for such to serve as a reminder of being different than those around you. Oh don't I know the experience all too well… That Type of thing stopped here a little while ago… the questioning piece at least as I… um got more than annoyed at some of the repetitive inquiries I would get from the curious. I didn't maim anyone or anything, just… sternly and firmly told the lot of onlookers to back off and give me some peace! They left me alone and from then on steered clear of me since I… expressed my displeasure; not that I'll complain for the lack of attention.

I moved forward to aid Spyro and in truth bail him out of his predicament; to my surprise, so too did Lara, right next to me. It took almost a half an hour to bail Spyro out of his trouble; Lara did a good portion of the work. I'm grateful for her help, and now that think of it; she would probably know more of the inhabitants here than I certainly would. After Lara and I had helped our friend out we learned that Arkanis would talk to us in the evening as for the moment he was occupied with something else. That was fine and everything, none of us in the group had a problem with it.

In fact, each member of the group had a little different view of Carona and our 'assignment' we were on from the others in the group, myself included. Spyro, of course was just wanting to not be gawked at or seen as different, whether it is in a good or bad way. It wasn't as bad as it tended to be in Warfang; likely due to Lara having lived here for most of her life, but still, so the inhabitants here are used to a purple dragon in a fashion. I feel for my purple friend, I really do; however, I've also been getting stares and curious glances, so… yeah, enough said. Lara… well, she was right at home… literally, she was in the place she knew as home. So, she was taking what was happening in stride. Kind of wish I could do so as easily as Lara makes it look, but that's just me. Tarra… um… was just being her usual… shy self. The major difference from when I was here before; would be she was… well, using Lara and me as a shield or a way to hide herself, though it was mostly me as I have a larger body to hide her, or something like that. I would guess that there have been enough new arrivals here that Tarra doesn't know a good number of those that greeted us.

Getsuga… I still don't know what to think about the wingless dragoness. I mean, she puts forth a very believable 'lone wolf' act; even I can't say she doesn't. Yet, I wonder if that's what she is really like or if that's what she does to… protect herself for lack of better terms. Who would know better than me about giving an impression that isn't the true self? I've put up a 'front' for years; it became such a habit that I began to believe the front was who I aspired to be. Nevertheless, events over the last year have had me reevaluating my views in many things. With Chizuru, it is always hard for me to be absolutely sure about what I read from her; it is why Chizuru can actually lie to me and get away with it, she can be convincing! My friend appeared to be taking being the subject of staring like it was nothing to worry about or think it out of the ordinary. I say this, because by what I was seeing; Chizuru was as relaxed as she is when she is at the dojo. Last but certainly not least, would be Sera. Again, I don't know how to predict much if anything about my 'friend'. Sera looked like a child in a huge toy store; she had a smile from close from ear to ear. I don't think that she could be happier… though I say that conservatively; I don't think I want to know if she can get giddier… I would rather not find out!

It was after the evening meal that we met with Arkanis in the temple. The room of reflection hadn't changed in the slightest since the last time I had been in it… getting close to a year ago, now that I think about it. The only difference between then and now is I'm not here on my own; nope I have a posse with me this time… or something along those lines. When we entered the chamber, Arkanis turned to greet us.

"I see you all arrived safely then, very good… though there are two among you that I do not know."

I have got to hand it to Arkanis, excellent skills of observation. That and it is amazing that Arkanis, as old as he is; still has good hearing… reminds me of Master Kai. Noticing that the old dragon was looking at Chizuru and Sera, I cleared my throat and spoke up.

"They are… friends of mine while I was in the human realm Arkanis."

Arkanis turned to me and adopted a bemused expression.

"Is that so? I was under the assumption that you lacked such company, by the lack of mentioning such…"

I didn't meet Arkanis's gaze as I REALLY didn't want to answer or go into detail of why I don't talk about relationships and me. The old ice dragon seemed to understand my silent answer as he continued.

"…However, things of that nature are not the subject of discussion at the moment. If you say they are friends of yours, then that will be acceptable for the time being."

You know, I can't help but wonder; just how different the guardians would be if they were more like Arkanis. An interesting thought… though not the time for it. It was Spyro who got us back to the topic that our group was actual here for.

"Arkanis, the guardians said that a number of dragons have disappeared in the land north of here and that you would have more information about the land itself."

Arkanis who had been smiling kindly up till Spyro had stated our purpose; at here the purpose his expression faltered a bit.

"Ah yes, that land… yes I know of it, young dragon; always a mysterious land it has been as long as I can remember."

The tone in which Arkanis had said this… worried me, a lot! I detect trouble coming our way! Yet I stayed silent and said nothing as Arkanis took some time to think before he began his explanation.

"The land that you speak of, is known as Mistborne. A place that many avoid as it is one of the unique parts of the realm and has been for a long time, even before my lifetime…"

As The old ice dragon described the place that we were to investigate; I began to question the decision on the guardians. Granted, I do that often enough… about half the time and with good reason. This assignment is a prime example of why I see the need to question! This land Mistborne as Arkanis had called it; was a place that… well, didn't follow a set list of rules like the laws of physics and nature would have land and all that goes with should. I'll divide my points of scrutiny into four basic ideas. First point, the landscape or terrain; changes often and doesn't stay in a common category of similar land types. For example, according to what some have said, there are parts that are made of rocky ground and then there are swamps and bogs too; and sometimes they're right next to each other! That, by laws of physics, nature and just plain common sense, doesn't make logical… well, sense at all!

Point number two, Climate. If it wasn't confusing or bad enough with the jumble of land that shouldn't be where it is; the climate does much the same thing as the landscape. It could match the landscape it is over, but then it may and usually isn't what you would expect to match the land type by what Arkanis says. I mean, you could in theory, have a forest that looks like it is in springtime, and have a snowstorm! Third point to add to and cause problems that we were unaware of, the 'wildlife' that lives there. During my time in the dragon realm, I will be the first to admit; I have seen some of the weirdest crap and malarkey that the imagination of a child would likely come up with. But apparently… this area is the home of some of the rarer and more 'interesting' creatures in the dragon realm. That just spells trouble with a freaking capital 'T' in my book! All I need lately is some big creature trying to kill me… it isn't like I don't have enough of that from the ancient enemy trying to bump me off! The fourth and final point of difficulty in this trek; one particular hazard of this place, the mist. Now, I have seen mist and fog on earth; however, this stuff is by what I'm to understand, fog and mist mixed together and going on the most serious steroids that you can think of. It is the mist that gets those who have gone there lost and once lost in the mist… you are unlikely to get out of it anytime soon again! It is why the land got the name it has, Mistborne. This place just sounds like a great deal of trouble to me.

Between Arkanis filling in details and the warm welcome we got at Carona; our group didn't set out until the next morning. The destination an area simple called Mistborne… odd name, yet by what Arkanis said and implied, it was an odd place. Our group headed north for a couple hours before we got our first sight of the place that dragons and cheetahs called Mistborne. We were on a hill that overlooked the land and I had to say that Arkanis hadn't been kidding with the things he had said. I found it hard to believe some of the descriptions that we had been told, yet I'm being forced to eat my own words somewhat.

This area itself was overshadow by a mist that was like a medium thick fog. I could see physical features of the area popping out of the mist, mostly it was trees and rocks. Then the mist didn't cover the whole place, just the first couple miles inward was covered by this fog or whatever it was really. After that, the land… well looked kind of like two children had been drawing a map and they couldn't agree on what kind of landscape they wanted. However, Arkanis had said that the terrain of the area did change quite often for reasons none could really say why.

Well, after a few minutes of looking at the land we went down the hill and entered the mist. It took us around an hour and a half to reach the part of this land that wasn't covered in mist. Once we had gotten out of the fog, we talked about how we should go about searching this area effectively. As weird as this land was, it was still a sizable expanse to cover in a search even with the seven of us to do it. Eventually, it was decided that we would split up and start looking for clues and information, yet still keep within a respectable distance of each other.

I was hesitant of the idea at first, for good reason. There is an opportunity for me to be alone and if that is the case; I might as well have sent out an invitation to the ancient enemy to come for a visit. Then when they come knocking at the door; I would invite them in, tell them where the silverware and fine china is kept and to help themselves to whatever they like even knife me if it strikes their fancy! … Oh man, I'm definitely come into bad times if that's the kind of comparison I come up with. Nonetheless, those of us in the group looking around individually is exactly what we did. I went to the right side of where were and went my way; still, I kept up my guard with fate playing this kind of hand against me. I hadn't gone that far when I came to a stop and stared at the place in front of me with a bit of annoyance and a little bafflement.

I was looking around this… well, this area couldn't seem to make up its mind on what kind of terrain it would have. There had been the mist in the first twenty kilometers and then switching landscaping after that. It had been light forest at first, then it changed into sporadic rocks, boulders and various kinds of pines and evergreens. And now it was changing once again, yet this time this place wouldn't settle for one terrain type, but went with two. To my right was the landscape of a swamp and to my left was a small field littered with huge boulders. Between these different landscapes was a firm dirt pathway as a sharp contrast. Wasting little time, I started down the dirt path.

I hadn't gotten even halfway down this path when I stopped, feeling a presence nearby, meaning I wasn't alone anymore. Not to say I haven't had the feeling that I hadn't been under the watch of someone, for I definitely have, no question in my mind about it. So, I was on edge; I wanted this trek to be over already and be done with this so that this feeling of impending danger goes away! This place did more than worries me! There is so many opportunities for someone to knock me off and make it look like it was an accident. With no evidence left to find, including my corpse, no one would ever know what really happened. In essence, this was a golden chance for the ancient enemy to have another go at killing me without anyone else knowing and I fully expected them to take advantage of this opportunity! I was so sure in fact, that I have planned the best I can with such an outcome in mind. But this horrible feeling of foreboding combined with waiting for the strike of the ancient enemy is stringing me out! It was as I thought these thing that I caught sight of… someone on the Boulder riddle side. I faced the direction that I had seen whoever it was that was hiding.

"I know you are there, show yourself."

After a minute of me staring, an adult dragon came out from behind one of the boulders. The second he came into view; I froze on the spot. The adult dragon had blue scales the color of the ocean… at least for the scales he still had; his body was missing a good amount of scales and most of what visible was dragon hide. The reason I was unable to move from where I stood, was that I seriously believed that I was hallucinating at the current moment. My logical mind denied the belief that I was hallucinating, still it was hard to think otherwise! This dragon was one from memory, and not just any memory I know… it was from my own memory of the past! This adult blue dragon was the very dragon who had tried to kill me before I left the dragon realm! I could pick out some of the specific scars that I myself gave him in the fight for my life.

As I looked at this dragon that had appeared from my past, I know I should detest and hate this dragon; he tried to take my life and likely assisted in bring about Koren's death. It was just me and him and he didn't look like he would be able to do much to defend himself! It was clear from a short observation that time hadn't be kind in any way to this dragon. It would be easy for me to end his life… yet… the longer I looked at him, the less interest I had in killing him. He looked lost, his eyes were about empty. I mean, the phrase 'the lights are on, but nobody is home' was said for dragons like this one. In fact, he looked more afraid of me than I disliked him. … And I thought Tiamat looked lost and broken… this dragon is worse than her! I didn't think that would be possible! He more looked like a dead guy walking, much more than a living dragon.

Nevertheless, I hadn't been looking him over for more than a few minutes; when he seemed to react to something… could be me for all I know and turning around took off, going further into this land. … Well, I'm not about to let this slide! Finally, something out of the ordinary pops up… not about to let it get away without obtaining some facts about this! Without further ado, I charged ahead and followed in the direction that the blue dragon had gone.

I had been pursuing the dragon for around ten minutes when I began to notice the odd mist that the group had encountered when entering this land Mistborne. It wasn't as thick as the stuff that had I had gone through in the beginning of this. I didn't let that stop me or even slow me down but kept going forward. Another ten minutes later, the mist thinned out and I came to the crest of a hill, which I stopped on to catch my breath.

When I looked out from the top of the hill, my breath caught in my throat at the sight before me. Down below me was unmistakably the ruins of a city and the area that these ruins spanned wasn't small! In front of me was five plateaus, the one in the middle was larger than the other four that were placed like towers would be with a castle. Bridges had been built across the chasms between the plateaus and connected them together; even was a wide stone bridge that led to one of the four smaller mesas and from there access to the rest of the place. There were buildings and different types of structures on all five plateaus; some decently sized, some smaller, some larger… and some that were just ridiculously sized compared to other structures. Most of those that were huge, were on the center mesa, still noticeable due to their size. The ancient city was surprisingly, intact… mostly overall. It was as I was taking in the place that I spotted my quarry hurrying off the entry Crossway into these city ruins. Back to the chase it is then; I still have questions for that blue adult dragon and by golly by gosh, he will answer them!

I made my way down… okay, I slid down and enjoyed the ride to the wide Crossway into the city. Before I crossed the bridge, I took a moment to inspect it carefully; to make sure it would support my weight. Yeah it may have done so for the blue one I'm after, but better to be safe than sorry; a phrase I live by with zeal! Once I confirmed that my weight would do little to this solid piece of engineering this Crossway; I walked briskly across it and entered the ancient city. The second I passed the first set of buildings, all outside sounds vanished and silence became my boon companion for the exploration of this old not so ruined city.

Continuing forward through this dead quiet place, I looked side to side as I went taking in the buildings lining the main walkways that could be considered streets I guess. Some of the structures were easy to see that they were living quarters and others where shops of a variety. By the time I got to the bridge that crossed the gap to the center plateau, the silence was starting to put me on edge. Normally, I'm fine with silence, in fact; I prefer it so that I can have peace of mind, which is elusive to me lately. However, this silence was different than the kind I crave. The silence here was the type that only the grim reaper or death as some call him brings when he comes through a town or place. And by the thickness and weight of this silence, death had done a throe spring cleaning here! I finished crossing the bridge glancing around still… I swear that… this place is somehow familiar. It was more than having seen this city; it was possible I have in the memories. No, it wasn't that; it was almost like I have… I know it sounds crazy… but it's almost like I have been here before. The idea is ludicrous and just plain insane; nonetheless, the feeling kept gnawing at me.

I kept moving forward refocusing on finding the blue dragon. Yet turning around a corner and blinked as I did and I came upon… what… the… hell?! The silence had disappeared and in its place was screaming from almost every direction. No longer was the city in ruins, but in fairly good condition. There were explosions in front of me… this is the scene of battle and a huge one; heck this was a warzone! However, how did I go from exploring an ancient city ruin to looking at a huge bloody battle that is hell in the dragon realm?! I blinked, then closed my eyes and shook my head; I had to be hallucinating! Yet, upon opening my eyes, I found that the scene of battle and panic was still in front of me.

Next thing I registered, there was an explosion close on my right. I moved uncertainly forward, looking from side to side taking in what was going on around me… I think. Dragons and dragonesses of every color and variation on the rainbow and then some, were around and going in the opposite direction that I was… wonder what the rush is about? I looked ahead of me and froze at what I saw. Straight ahead, just outside of the city was a creature that was from the dark imagination of the darkest of nightmares! The creature had the overall shape of a dragon… in the form of a skeleton, but that is all that resembled dragons at all. The 'head' was half a skull that had a jaw that was around where it was supposed to be, but it didn't connect to the upper half of the skull. Where there wasn't something that looked like bones that were jet black; what looked like dark red energy that arced in electric bolts in random direction. The body of this creature appeared as just ribs and a spine along the back of this thing. Bony, jagged wings came out of its back and sharp black crystals looked like they were growing out all over this thing!

I felt true fear for the first time in years as I stared at the 'monster' in front of me. It was clear why all the dragons and dragonesses were running the other direction, with this thing glaring at them. Its eyes were the same red as the energy that filled in the 'gaps' in the black bones of its body. The dark creature opened its mouth wide and darkness shot out of it directly at me! I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to watch that darkness hit me. After a minute I opened my eyes again; I was back in the ruined city. The scene of battle was gone and as I looked out beyond the edge of the plateau, the horror I had just seen was gone as well. The screaming had faded, but what I had seen and heard was fresh in my mind. I was breathing more rapidly than normal; I looked around confirming where I was. The world was shaking slightly; however, I realized the shaking wasn't the world around me, but my body was doing the shaking.

"What the… hell was that?! What did I just witness? Was that a memory? No… that can't be right… that felt too real to have been a memory! What was that thing?! … Am I losing my mind? It's getting hard to tell lately."

I went into a meditative state to calm myself down from the real fear I had felt at seeing… whatever I just did. I slowed down my breathing and then took some deep breaths to regain my cool once again. … I need to find that blue dragon and then get the heck out of this place… it is doing bad things to me; the sooner I leave these ruins the better! The variance in size, shape and style of the structures had lost their luster quickly as I kept going in my search. I did so paying less attention to the ruins around me and keeping the focus on the dragon of my search.

After crossing the bridge that connected the center mesa and kept up my looking with single minded intensity. I had been searching the ruins of this city for the blue dragon for little while, maybe a half an hour or a little less and had no luck at finding him. Yes, these ruins were of a city that had no doubt been huge; however, the ruins themselves didn't really give a clue to estimate how big this place had been. I soon came out into an area that could and likely was a kind of central square to this former city; for it was open and buildings were built around it. I didn't have long to look around the square; because I felt a dark presence appear out of nowhere behind me. … So the time that I had expected and planned for was here… I didn't need to be a freaking genius to know that the presence was the ancient enemy to take advantage of the golden opportunity that was in this to kill me! With me being alone again so there would be no witnesses… no way they would miss this!

I spun around shifting into a defensive stance and faced archway that I had come through. There stood a figure shrouded in black shapeless smoke. … Well, different entrance than Darkhar went with… so maybe a different one of them this time? The figure reshaped and took the shape a hooded and cloaked in a clear humanistic figure. That confirmed that this enemy wasn't Darkhar, but another one of them. It likely wouldn't make much of a difference in their attempt to kill me other than perhaps style used to try to do so; but still, until this fight is over, any observation can be the difference between me being alive tomorrow and no one finding what is left of me!

The figure was the size was that of an average five to six-year-old child. The major difference that I noticed was that this one had actual facial features; Darkhar hadn't possessed any really distinct ones to speak of that I had seen. Looking at what I could see of its face, the lower part of its face was about it; so a little less than half of it. There were wisps of snow white hair under the hood; it didn't contrast much as the 'skin' was pale white like some people have… like it hadn't seen sunlight in years! There were two lines on the lower half of this one's face that if I were to guess, came down from somewhere above I couldn't see. Don't know whether they mean something of relevance or not. Then there were the eyes this enemy had; where Darkhar had crimson colored orbs that were just surrounded by blackness. This one had more humanistic eyes with defined pupils and corneas. The eye color was dark magenta overall except that there were white lines from the pupils to the whites and they were spread around the cornea seemingly at random. The enemy took a step forward towards me and I tensed in response; making myself ready for anything that would be sent my way.

"What do we have here? What a surprise to find a white one here like times of old. Perhaps you are looking for something in particular?"

I stared at this enemy… was he expecting me… and one of the ancient enemy would be the last I would ask for help! This punk sounded like a child or at least the voice it had did; and he was smiling… and I don't like that smile in the slightest! I couldn't stop myself from voicing the question.

"Whether I'm looking for something here or not; is no business of yours. So, I have no need of the 'help' you offer… which I doubt I would want anyways."

The voice of this one was cold yet, maniacal to the point I wouldn't want to meet this one down a dark alley… scratch that, I don't want to meet this one anywhere! However, this one sounded much like a child in pitch and tone as I had observed already; but the cold element to it brought something evil to this thing.

"Oh, what a pity that is. For if you're looking for a blue dragon, then you're close. If you want to kill him, we can wait for you to do that. We so do like the action of revenge and viewing of it is quite entertaining."

First of all, how did this thing know I was looking for the blue adult dragon?! Had he been watching me... likely I guess. Then, did he imply that I was hunting said dragon down to kill him for revenge?! This enemy gave me a sickening feeling to begin with, but the feeling was swiftly getting worse. He began to pace as his gaze shifted from me to something behind me. I glanced back and saw the blue adult dragon I had been looking for. He was behind some stone work looking at both the ancient enemy and myself and the dragon was peeking out from behind the said stonework. After seeing what was the object of the stare of the enemy; I focused back on the punk and a look of malicious glee had appeared on its face… that doesn't comfort me in any way! Worries me more and just plain creeps me out… a shiver shot down my spine a second that I viewed the smile!

"Hey Frostos, long time no see. Looks like you're worse for wear than you were the last time. We've been looking for you so that we can finish cleaning up."

I took a glance back at the blue adult dragon or Frostos as the punk had called him. The name did kind of sound familiar, but I can't really say if it is from my memory or another's. Frostos… had an expression of absolute terror and he began cowering under the stare of the ancient enemy. This dragon has to know this punk to have that kind of reaction to him, and it was not a good relationship at all! It was this fact that helped everything else to fall into place and click in my mind how this enemy knew what he inferred about me. It had been clear early on when I had been looking for information about the ancient enemy; they were masters at manipulation. And here was an example of the point… behind me cowering, one who they had manipulated. The dragon behind me along with any other who was used to do the job of trying to kill me and Koren the first time before I left the realm.

As I looked between the two, I took in the differences between this adult dragon and other adults I have been around and there was a good amount. If appearance is anything to go by, this blue dragon was almost an empty shell of who he had once been, though not quite. There was so little will to live left in him that it was nearly gone. … If this is an average example of what happens to those they use; things don't end all that different for the puppets as it does for the victims of the ancient enemy. It was sad to see just how this cycle had been working for so long. I shifted my vision back to this evil being and so did he look back and focus on me again with the same creepy look of glee and this expression was just for me.

"So, you're the one that is seen to be such a threat to us?"

Well… would seem that Darkhar has mentioned little old me to others… great. Then again, this one is possibly the one who had used other to try to kill me the first time, so who is to say that he hasn't seen me before. As I watched him… this 'kid' that looked like a boy, I can't really tell with what I have seen if that is what he is physically. The expression of glee he had changed into a smile. His teeth, reminded me of pictures of shark's teeth; sharp and unnatural looking in this 'kid'! … I would rather not get closer to find out if they're as sharp as they look from where I was standing.

"Darkhar must be losing his edge; if he lost to the likes of you. You don't look like anything worth the time to deal with or even for us to worry about! Just another white dragon to get rid of."

I stood my ground and didn't back down. I wouldn't let him intimidate me or force me back with words!

"Don't recommend underestimating me short stuff; Darkhar, lost because he did that. So you have a name then or are you not going to disclose that?"

Technically Darkhar had lost to me due to him not expecting… my secret weapon that I use only as a last resort! My potent rear bomb bay… it is destructive and very risky to stand against; Darkhar had found out that the hard way! However, the response to my statement was my opponent laughed at my question. It sent chills down my spine at speeds that would have made me pee my pants… if I had them, were it not for my finite control that had come into effect now that my life was at serious risk of rushing to an end.

The black shadows or whatever that stuff the ancient enemy was made of; surged and moved, the cloak that had been around the punk receded away. As it did, it revealed this ancient enemy and I saw him in his entirety. I had thought this enemy had from what I had seen was like an unnatural kid; and I was sort of right. But if this thing was some sort of kid… then he was definitely the weirdest kid I have ever had contact with! As I had seen from my previous observation, this kid had snow white hair and it was of medium length. His eyes were as I had seen already, human like, yet very unnerving. The 'kid' was wearing white cloak-like outfit which covered him from his neck down and ended below his knees. It was kept together just below the neck by a silver triangular clasp with a light blue bow, which the silver clasp was the centerpiece for.

As different as his appearance was from what I expected as I compared it to Darkhar; it was his 'aura' that was sending serious shivers through me. Although, I wasn't surprising as Darkhar had been the same, just came through as killing intent. Many times before now while I have been here in the dragon realm; I swear that emotions are manifested in an aura. This kid had a purple mixed with a small bit of blue and a good amount of black. In other words, this boy's aura, was that of one that was evil. The kid's grin somehow got a little wider as he continued to stare at me. The rumble is about to begin!

"If that's your last request before we send you out of this life, we see no reason to deny it. We are known as Zeno!"

After saying that, he raised his right hand and pointed it at me. Instantly, my danger sense had alarm bells going off in my head telling me that my life was in imminent and lethal danger. I didn't take the time to think, but instead, dropped to the stone street and rolled to my left and heard a loud cracking, the sound of arcing electricity and I caught a glance of a blinding flash where I had been. I got back to my paws quickly and gazing at the field to try to figure out just what happened! It was when I spotted the section of the building behind where I had been, now was missing. There was smoke from… the gaping hole where there… had just been masonry moments ago?! I felt the muscles around my right eye begin to twitch as I tried to understand what had just gone passed me by surveying the damage that had been caused. My observations didn't help me come up with a logical or illogical cause as to the damage caused. What the hell did that kid throw in my direction that can do that?! Actually… really doubt I want to know what can do that, as then I could calculate what it could do to me! I looked back at 'Zeno' as he called himself, who at the moment was chuckling coldly while he gazed at me.

"Ha ha, looks like we missed; you should have just stood there and taken that. It would all be over and it would have been easier for you if you had."

… I beg your PARDON! My mouth turned down in a grim frown. Did he just say I shouldn't fight?! That I'm a dead dragon walking and that I should accept that being my lot?! I will never accept that until I'm deader than a doornail! I'll fight to the bitter end!

"Okay, now listen you punk! Let's make one fact perfectly clear! Until my heart has given its last beat and I'm unquestionably dead, then I'll keep fighting the best I can! So, shut up and deal with it!"

Zeno appeared to take a moment to take in what I said and mull it over. He had a finger to his chin as if coming to a decision. Then he locked his gaze on me and somehow his malicious grin had gotten even more of that creepy glee of his as well as changing into a smug smirk… I didn't think it possible! … Fiddlesticks! I think I just screwed myself worse than before! Here we go for whatever I earned by opening my big mouth.

"Well, if it is just a matter of having your heart stop…"

Zeno vanished from being in front of me. Crap! I tried frantically to find where he had gone. Much like Darkhar I found where he was too late to do anything about him! Zeno appeared right in front of me.

"… then that is a simple matter for us!"

I knew enough to know at this range… I was going to take a hard hit in the next few seconds. His right hand connected with my upper section of my chest and the next thing I was registering everything went white, from some kind of flash. A loud crack boomed and I heard arcing electricity, horribly straining my eardrums that was accompanied by an extremely hard and sharp pain ripping through my body less than a fraction of a second later. My body went flying backwards, barely felt the couple of hits to the stone, ripping some of it up with the impacts I made to the ground. I skidded and rolled to a stop at the far end of the open square and didn't move. All I could hear at first was some kind of ringing in my ears, all other sounds were muddled and unrecognizable. I attempted to breath air into my lungs; to get oxygen to my brain. Yet, at first my lungs didn't respond as they were being directed, none of my body was doing so right now. It felt like something heavy was sitting on my chest and was crushing me down.

Within a ten seconds, I felt stabbing pain slamming into my chest, like a blunt object was being swung at my chest. My whole body jerked; the weight disappeared and I gasped in a breath and began to breathe again, taking in great gulps of air. My brain now with the supply of oxygen back in place, was getting my body up and running asap. At the same time my mind was also trying to piece together what my senses had recorded from the last thirty seconds; so that I could comprehend what had just happened to me to put me into the state I was dealing with. However, my brain was having difficulty doing so as the signals that would normally run along my nerves were being disrupted; as was clear with the jerking around of my muscles throughout my body for a reason that I couldn't understand. Where Zeno's hand had contacted my chest; it felt cold and hot at the same time, the pain that was burning seemed to come from that area and spread out from there. The ringing in my ears faded away and the sounds of the world around me came in. While I was in this position I heard once again the chuckle of Zeno and it was getting closer.

"We'll admit; it is impressive that you're still awake after taking that amount of lightning. Perhaps this will be more entertaining that we thought it would be original."

… Wait… Lightning?! Did he just hit me at point blank with something akin to a lightning bolt and I took that, directly to chest over my heart?! That explains the flash nearly blinded me and cracking boom that a number on my ears that came a bit earlier, both were signs that signaled lightning. Then the volts that had to have been in that shot… Crap I can't afford to get hit with that much in this! My heart barely took one shot; and that required a restart… the stabbing pain was a testament of my heart restarting, the less of those I take, the better for my continuing health! As Zeno approached I got control back of my body enough to work with, thanks to a quick shot of adrenaline to jumpstart and clear my nerves. I got up to my paws and made some distance from this kid. Zeno brought a hand up and shot what was indeed something like a lightning bolt; I managed to dodge, but it was close. I felt the electric charge in the air where the bolt no doubt passed by me.

I ducked behind the closest structure to prevent Zeno from having a clear line of sight to shoot lightning at me. It didn't take me long to understand a couple of points about this Zeno. By what I have observed thus far, Zeno isn't as fast as Darkhar yet he is still moving faster than I am. This means that, like in the fight with Darkhar, I was at a serious disadvantage. However, one difference, from my previous experience with the ancient enemy, I was able to anticipate his movements of this one where I couldn't with Darkhar. I was at least getting the actions of my opponent right a little more than half of the time, which means I was still taking some hits, but it was better than being whipped at my opponent's leisure. I'll be honest though, each shot still hurt and I couldn't ignore that. Each hit I did take sent a tingling sensation through me and it wasn't a pleasant one. The shot I took to my chest was the worst thus far, but I was trying to take the least amount of shots as possible.

And so the game of cat and mouse began and I was the mouse dang it! I managed to give Zeno the slip and went into hiding. Granted, somehow I knew this place better than the 'cat' does, and that is the only reason that he hadn't found me yet. I was able to keep out of sight for around three minutes before 'cat' Zeno spotted me. I used a combination of the ice element and fire element to create a smoke bomb/screen to slip out of sight again. Deciding that going high could help keep Zeno from finding me anytime soon; that is exactly what I did, climb upward! I made my way to a higher vantage point using ledges and anything that protruded from the buildings to keep making my way upward. Mostly I wanted to get a better view of this battlefield I was fighting in, but I was also using the sides of structures to hide me. I got to a group of tall towers; that if the claw marks were anything to go by, had been used for some kind of watchtowers or launching points. The towers were towards the outside of the central plateau and gave me as I had hoped, a good overview of the ruined city.

While I clung to one of the towers, I was able to see the actual size of the city and it was far bigger than I had thought originally! The other thing I noticed was that a wall of mist seemed to surround these ruins was so thick that I couldn't see outside the perimeter of the ruins. The mist felt unnatural, meaning that there was some device, means or method of creating the mist and for whatever reason keeping this place hidden from the rest of the world. In fact, the mist appeared to be coming from one of the tallest towers in the middle of these ruins. Maybe if I were to somehow stop what is creating the mist, then I could perhaps get assistance? I was no fool; I was losing this fight… I won't lie and say I was doing fine. I was dead if circumstances don't change and that mist was preventing that needed change. The real reason that I wasn't fighting tooth and nail at the current moment for my life; is that the cat hadn't found me just yet.

With my decision made, I glided from the tower I was clinging to, through the air to the nearest structure and kept going from each structure to the next closest one with the hope that I wouldn't be found by the one hunting me as I made my way to the center tower. I managed to make it to the tall tower that the mist was coming from and I still heard electricity arcing below and forward of the square the fight had started. I assumed that meant that Zeno still didn't know where I was right now and I preferred it that way! Climbing the tower quickly so that I was out in the open too long for Zeno to see; I reached the top part of the tower in a matter of a minute and a half. Clambering into the room in the upper section of the tower, I spotted a large crystal that I think is what is being used to make the mist that hides the ruins. Now, how to get it to stop? I suppose that I could shatter this crystal, but I get the feeling; that would be messy and I would like to avoid that if possible. The sound of lightning being shot started to get closer to my position… never mind the possible mess, I need that mist gone as soon as possible!

I set myself in a firm stance and brought my tail to be next to the crystal; I flicked my tail so that my tail blade extended out. I pulled back my tail and then swung it hard like one would a baseball bat. I felt my tail smash into the crystal and continue on its path as the crystal shattered like glass… sounded like glass breaking loudly as well. If that doesn't give away my location, then this kid has to be nearly deaf! However, as I looked up, I saw the mist beginning to thin and dissipate.

Okay, I think it is high time that I move to a different spot after I announcing where I am so spectacularly. I jumped out the hole I entered in by and glided towards a structure across a street. But it was as I was gliding that my luck ran out; I heard the crack of the shot, yet had no time to veer off to evade the lightning. Instantly my wings went slack and I fell like a stone to the street below. I felt the impact of hitting the ground, as the lightning hadn't been quite enough to immobilize me. I got to my paws sluggishly; my muscles were complaining at the abuse they were being put through. Then the grating voice of the 'cat' came to my ears.

"Well, we admit; you are good at keeping out of sight. Yet you will not escape us."

So says the cat; really if I can just find a 'hole' to lose him with, he is back to searching for me. Zeno sent a bolt at me and that's exactly what I wanted him to do; it might sound counterproductive, but I can assure you, I'm not crazy yet! I ducked and rolled out of the way and the lightning hit a wall that was slightly to my right a few second ago. A cloud of dust, chunks of stone flying; effectively creating a wonderfully timely smoke screen… which I used to the utmost! My muscles still hurt mind you, but as my life is in jeopardy the closer the one hunting gets, I ignored the pain and ran the best I was able. Weaving through streets and side pathways in order to lose Zeno for a time again; it was the screech of anger and frustration that said I had managed to hide from this punk once again.

We resumed the game of cat and mouse and this situation lasted for around five minutes and ended out where I came around a corner that dumped onto a main street in the air hovering/flying a little off the ground facing my enemy. Zeno somehow was floating of the ground a foot or so likely giving him better speed… great just what I don't need! The second Zeno saw me he grinned and zoomed towards me. I shot off, trying to get distance between Zeno and myself; all the while with the kid chucking lightning bolts at my backside. The dilemma for me at this time is as I suspected, Zeno hovering gave him an increase in speed. This was made evident with the decreasing distance between the two of us. When the kid got in range of my tail… things went badly for me. You see, Zeno decided to pull a dirty and low stunt on me when he got into striking range that I didn't expect.

I glanced back and saw that Zeno was on my right side and much too close for my liking, comfort or peace of mind. So, I pulled my tail left and then swung back to the right and felt the contact of my tail whacking him. I heard the results of my action by the sound of the change in air flow behind me. I looked back to see how much distance I made with my tail and caught a scene that made my blood run cold! I had just enough time to catch a glance of a smirk on Zeno's face before things happened so quickly, I couldn't react fast enough. The kid twisted himself to face me and opened his mouth. His eyes went completely white and lightning came from his mouth aimed at me. My eyes had just long enough to widen before the bolt nailed me in my back. Electricity shot up and down my spine then distributing through the rest of my body, effectively disabling motor skills for me and I dropped out of my flight path.

I crashed to the ground… well, it has been a while since I have had to get to know the ground so intimately, so… of course I hit face first. … Let's just say in my defense, it's actually a good thing that I couldn't fully feel pain at that moment due to my nerves being metaphorically overloaded and unable to keep signals flowing. Because the way I plowed my face into the ground before I preceded to make a new path through the street we were on, just looked painful as can be! Allow me to draw a bit of an image of what I mean; first the way I hit the stone surface, referring to position. I hit the ground with the edge of my jaw/chin before rotating upward and for a short moment, I stayed on the front of my mouth, then continued the rotating motion and tipped over. The upper half of my face hit and plowed forward into the ground… for somewhere between ten and fifteen feet. After that the rest of my body tumbled over my head and I began to roll down the street, taking up random chunks of stone from the street with me. I came to a stop when I slammed into… or rather through a structure wall when the street made a turn in a different direction. Luckily, what parts of the wall came crashing down, didn't come down on top of me, but just around me. As the dust and rocks settled, input came rushing in from my nerves and started to return; the pain was the resulting feeling I got. Many of my muscles were twitching as I lay there attempting to get my body to move and respond, while ignoring the waves of pain from the punishment I had been taking in this situation. The sound of maniacal cackling snapped my mind back to attention to the circumstances at paw. My situation had turned into something very grim for me and I'm having trouble seeing a way to change it!

"We have got to say, killing you is turning out to be far more fun than we thought it would be!"

I forced through the waves of pain and the complaints my body was making and forced myself to my paws. I was still shaking from the volts and impact I had sent throughout this fight as it hadn't been few in number. I'm forced to admit, like the battle against Darkhar, I was losing this skirmish! The difference was that I wasn't losing to physical strikes, but to high amounts electricity nor was I losing as quickly as I did against Darkhar, but I was still losing! I think that somehow and don't ask how, yet I believe my scales were blocking enough of the lightning that it wasn't fatal. Still, each hit I took was draining my stamina and making it harder to fight. My head came up and I saw that Zeno was walking leisurely towards me; it was an effort for me to stand, moving was going to be even more so. I'm in deep trouble… what am I going to do?!

I tried to move away, yet I couldn't; my muscles weren't responding to me as I wanted them to and my lack of balance wasn't helping me! I was only able to watch as Zeno broke into a run and jumped up towards me and raised his right hand to shoot lightning at me. … So then, this is how it happens to me? I had always doubted that I would die of old age, just accepted that would be a pipe dream and wouldn't happen. Yet, this isn't how I saw things coming to end for me! However, instead of closing my eyes and giving up; I kept my gaze on the one that was about to shoot lightning at me, I would stare at death coming at me and not turn away from it! I braced myself for the lightning to strike… yet they never did. Watching in front of me, I saw Zeno get hit by blue fire before he got the chance to blast me. Death… missed me?! I wouldn't be dying yet… I would be cool with that, and would like that idea very much! Zeno screeched, landed on the ground backing up and was trying to get the blue fire off of himself. After a moment, he was able to get the fire off and glared back in my direction… he was looking non-too happy about what had just happened.

"Who dares interfere?!"

The pain was still coursing through my body, but I was a bit more able to move… the lightning I have taken from Zeno was exacting its price on me. However, I was able to focus my vision forward and once it cleared up and sharpened; I saw that it hadn't been one that had entered this battle, but two that had prevented me from dying. In front of me and between myself and Zeno, was none other than Chizuru and Sera. Chizuru had her fox ears and tails out in a fighting stance standing slightly to my left, facing Zeno. Sera was just to my right, her staff in her right hand at the ready to be used… for what I can't begin to guess. For all I know and in fate's ironic whims; Sera can use some form of magic or elemental manipulation… with her I can never say for sure. It is times like this I'm grateful for those who are willing to stand with me.

Zeno glared murderously at the two girls, who stood between him and me; then wasting little time, Zeno shot lightning bolts at the girls. Both of them dodged the bolts. Chizuru sent multiple balls of various colored flames at Zeno, Sera waved her 'wand/staff' and… a dark blue circle with lines going everywhere within it making some kind of picture that I couldn't see. I think it was called a magic circle or something like that. Anyway, out of that weird circle came long and sharp looking icicle spears! Well, thank you fate for your sense of humor once again… it would appear that Sera can use 'magic' or whatever that was she just did; I'll go with magic for now until I find out otherwise. As for me at the moment, I had taken a few steps forward having been done shakily so; moving was still a work in progress for me. With what I have done today… it was a freaking miracle that I was still alive and breathing! Right now, my body was doing everything to keep my body's functions running and that was above and beyond expectations… and then some!

Even as I was returning my motor skills; I was also watching the fight that had been Zeno vs me, now had changed to Chizuru and Sera vs Zeno… and what a fight to see! From observing the two girls that spend their time around me, I was gaining new found respect for both of them! Granted, I had learned recently that Chizuru isn't human, but a kitsune; so, I would expect her to be able to do things and have skills that most don't have. Nonetheless, it still awed me to see her abilities in action.

Sera… the girl who I had from day one of meeting her; I had a very hard time reading the emotions of or anything from her body language. It had almost been like reading her was like reading an unknown language. She was once again… outdoing expectations completely. No, that's not right; Sera like always, was doing things and actions that don't make sense in the real world the rest of us live in! Hell, in all honesty; she had to be somehow disregarding if not breaking several different rules of physics at a bare minimum… even for the dragon realm! And what is even crazier… she's makes it look normal and so simple that a child would think they could do what Sera was! Zeno was throwing bolt after bolt at both of the girls; Chizuru was nimbly evading. Sera… was somehow weaving in and out… I think leaving after images of herself, when she couldn't be moving at the speed required to get that occur normally. It was either that… or she can make identical clones of herself... and that's scary! One Sera is more than enough for anyone to handle! … How is it, that Sera can somehow just ignore the laws of physics and just plain common sense whenever she wants to?! That's just unfair that she can do that and the rest of us can't do in our wildest dreams!

"~Moi! You're a big meanie! Big meanies need to be punished!"

I watch Sera as she spun around her wand, then pointed it at Zeno. Okay, past experience says that when Sera is in a mood other than cheerful one, like she is now; unexplainable and unpredictable things happen… and are more often than not dangerous in some way! … TIME TO HIT THE DECK! I wisely made the decision to close my eyes and dropped to the ground and hunkered down the best I could, before hearing Sera shout.

"Celsius Trigger!"

Oh… was I ever grateful I managed to close my eyes and prepare even a little bit in time, yet even so I registered a blinding blue light though my closed eyelids. The temperature in the air dropped a noticeable degree. … What did Sera just do? Do I really want to know; I think is the better question. Once the light faded, I cracked my eyes open and took a cautious look at what happened. My jaw dropped to the stone cold ground at the sight before me.

There was a thick sheet of ice that spread and spanned a good hundred yards at least in front of me… which was interesting. The whole street had a… I'd guess at least four-inch-thick layer of ice; the structures of that lined the street also had a layer a few inches thick. On the sheet layers were pillars as thick as full grown trees that came out at random intervals; some even spanned across the street connecting to the buildings on the opposite side. However, what held my attention was in the intersection about halfway across the icy landscape. In the center of the intersecting roads, was a pillar that was bigger and thicker than any of the other random ones. Encased within the said pillar, was Zeno in the motions of attacking… that had been stopped cold where he had been. … This will forever be a reminder that it would be a bad idea to get on Sera's bad side! She can freeze you solid!

I was about to congratulate and thank Sera for a job well done; however, the sound of cracking ice breaking the silence that had settled after… the magic that Sera had done echoed through the air. I stopped dead and stared at the center pillar where cracks were appearing, forming and spreading; the expression that was clearly visible on Zeno's face was one of anger and rage. The aura that he had before was back and was stronger than the first time… oh, this can't be good! There was a loud boom of the ice shattering as Zeno broke free of the cold prison he had been in. It was then, I dug deep as possible and regained most of my movement ability back for the moment… thank goodness for a massive shot of adrenaline! Nevertheless, giving attention to priorities first and foremost. As Chizuru, Sera and I prepared to defend ourselves to the death, for me, the second time doing so; Zeno took a moment to breathe deep and then the feeling of anger and maliciousness faded as quickly as it appeared. In fact, his next action baffled me more; Zeno began laughing.

"Ha ha ha; you remind us of fighting dragons during the war. Your kind were far abler to put up a fight at that time then they can now. As dragons have become so ignorant and naïve would you not say; Oh how far dragons have fallen from what they once were?"

Fury coursed through my veins! I'll be the first to admit that I think dragons as a race may be somewhat ignorant and yes… even a bit naïve, but the way Zeno says it, it's much more than that. With the tones he said what he had in; he was being far more than belittling or degrading! No, he was saying with pride and as if it were to be seen as a victory! … And to the ancient enemy… I suppose it would be. After all, it has been their work for a long while, if the memories are accurate and I have no reason to believe otherwise. Through memory after memory, the picture had become very clear. Over the couple hundred millennia that had gone by since the war; the dragon race had been brought low through manipulated circumstance ending out as unseen force ignorance. The potential that dragons had was far more than what they accepted it to be now! They were unknowingly selling themselves extremely short and had been doing so for a good amount of time!

It wasn't the exact results that were being presented that infuriated me, as much as Zeno taking it as a victory… a proof that dragons were nothing but dumb animals… no worse than that… toys of those that could manipulate them! Not ever the apes or monkeys… as bad and horrible to others that they tend to be, deserve to be used or viewed in that way! The feelings of righteous anger, fury and injustice exploded inside me and one fact was clear. I would prove Zeno wrong! His grating voice came to my ears again.

"We could end dragon kind at any point, but their struggles are entertaining and amusing enough that they have been allowed to live."

I was trembling with emotions that I could barely keep from ripping out of me. Lives of innocent beings… seen as entertainment and amusement?! I won't let that go! NO WAY IN HELL!

"SHUT UP AND FLY SCUMBAG!"

After screaming my fury, I let loose a beam of light from my maw. The beam shot at Zeno, vaporizing the ice layer on the street on the way and smashed into the kid. However, the light element came to a halt when it had reached Zeno, though only for a little less than a minute before inching forward. I kept the beam of light flowing and didn't let it stop. The grunting and denial of the kid was audible as the beam began pushing him backward, served as an encouragement to me! I put everything I had remaining into powering the beam in order to send this low scum away. When I did the beam increased its diameter by a few inches and the ground it was gaining over Zeno go bigger faster moments later the light overtook the punk and sent him skyward. … If Zeno's screeches were any judge, I nailed that SOB good and hard… sent him packing all right! Yet I was still able to hear his 'farewell' he screeched.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS WHEN NEXT OUR PATHS CROSSSS!"

Going… Going… wait for it… and gone! Zeno sailed off to who knows where… I certainly didn't care right now! Ah, what a wonderful sight it is! Well, I survived yet another encounter with the ancient enemy… with some help… a lot of help actually, but still, the point is that I'm alive and they failed once again. Both Chizuru and Sera turned to face me; unfortunately, the adrenalin I had been running on ran out. With my life out of current danger, my body decided it was time for a strike against my brain's orders was… well, in order and would start immediately! That was made unmistakable by my legs giving out and me collapsing and falling into the embrace of unconsciousness.

-Lara's pov-

After we had been exploring for a few hours, we found each other again… or most of us did. Out of our group that had traveled from Warfang, three were missing; those being the two humans that Saber knew and… Saber himself. When we had waited for a little while longer to see if they would appear and they did not; I started to worry. Saber had been agitated about something… what I could not say, but it was clear something was bothering him. Spyro seemed about as worried as I was. Tarra was, in her own way worrying and fretting; she just doesn't show it like everyone else does. The dragoness Getsuga… I do not know what exactly to think about her. She is unique, yet her attitude makes it very hard to get along with her. Somehow, Saber is able to ignore it… kind of like he is used to it for whatever reason. It was a voice that snapped us out of our stupor that we were in.

"Ah, so we were able to catch up with you then; excellent."

All of us turned and saw… Arkanis? He had other dragons and dragonesses with him. But, why would Arkanis come after us here?

"Arkanis? Why are you here?"

That came from Spyro. I was curious about that myself. Arkanis said that he had been rather worried about us and so he had come to check on us. When he noted that there were some missing; it was agreed that we would continue looking for them. Now that Arkanis and the few with him had come with him, we keep making our way forward; looking for the three of our group that was not with us currently. I had to keep myself calm as one of those three was Saber and he seemed off for some reason. I want to help him with whatever was worrying or bothering him; but he will not tell me anything, just tells me not to worry about him. That just makes me worry about him more! I do not know what I am going to do. It was Tarra speaking that brought me out of my thoughts about my situation with Saber.

"Hey, wh-what are th-those b-buildings ahead?"

I looked ahead to see what Tarra was talking about and took in… tall stone structures in the distance… was there not mist there before? Where did those structures… whatever they were, come from? We all traveled towards the structures and it took our group about half an hour to come to a hill that overlooking where the stone structures. The stone structures were not naturally occurring things… they were towers and buildings like you might find in a city like Warfang or Carona. However, many of the buildings were in disrepair, but still the number of structures made it clear this had once been a city. This… city was spread on five different tables of rock that had bridges connecting them. Nevertheless, where did this place come from and if it has been here for a long while, then why did no one ever find it before now?

"Arkanis, what is this place?"

The question came from Spyro. I have to admit that Saber had been right about the purple dragon; he really is not what you would expect from hearing what he has done. I had thought he would be stuck up and boast of his accomplishments, yet he never even brought them up. In fact, when someone brings one up, Spyro just says that it was not anything to bring up; that he did what any other dragon or dragoness would have done.

"I am afraid I do not know young Spyro. I did not know this place was here."

A moment passed by when the silence was shattered by explosions from below among the ruins and there were other sounds that… signaled that fighting was happening. Clouds of dust and dirt rose from the larger section of the ruins and that where the sounds of fighting were coming from. I was racing down towards the ruins with Spyro and Tarra behind me. We made it to the bridge that led to the closest stone table with ruins on it; when there was a blue flash from deep within the center part of the ruins. The three of us ran down the stone paved walkways that were lined with buildings; making our way towards the sounds and the blue light we just seen. I sighted another bridge that led to the center section ahead; there was a loud shattering explosion from the buildings in front of us.

The three of us made it across the second Crossway, when cold sounding laughter rang and echoed among the structures. That was followed by a scream that… sounded a lot like Saber; the feelings of panic rose a great amount after hearing that. Then there was a flash that could be seen even from where we were along with the ground starting to shake. After a few minutes the light got brighter and the trembling of the rock around us got stronger. In some kind of culmination, the was a booming explosion and a screech that sounded close to the voice that I would expect from a dragonet. Yet I only heard parts of what was bellowed.

"YOU'LL PAY… WHEN NEXT… CROSSSS!"

We picked up the pace; Spyro had taken the lead and was now running just ahead, Tarra was next to me as we kept running towards where the sounds had come from. I do not know where Saber's human friends are… what were their names… Chizuru and Sera I think? Have not seen them after they went the ways they chose... perhaps they are around here somewhere as well? We were all running towards the crashing sound that had been heard a few minutes ago. I just hope that Saber is okay and was not involved in it. Yet, as we turned around a corner and came to a wide walkway; I spotted the two humans companions that were traveling with us. Then my gaze fell on a third figure that the two humans were standing over and I felt my heart stop. The third form was white and the figure was not moving where they laid on the stone walkway of this place. … Please no! I rushed forward to the figure and to my growing horror found that the figure was indeed Saber. I began frantically looking him over and trying to find signs that he was still alive! I cannot lose him!

"He is alive Lara."

I swung my head up and was facing the human female… I think her name is Chizuru; she was walking towards me and where Saber laid. I wanted to believe her so much, but Saber, was not moving.

"Are you sure?"

Chizuru nodded in answer; that did not calm worried over my mate. In ten minutes the other dragons and dragonesses reached where we were; Arkanis looked the scene over before he spoke.

"Hmm… it would be best I would think, to take Saber back to Carona."

As Saber was bigger than me, I could not carry him the whole distance; and so he was carried by two of the adults. With Saber being carried, we left this odd ruined city and headed back to Carona.

-Saber's pov-

I opened my eyes and instantly groaned; I was once again in the Ethereal Archives… well unlikely here physically, but still here nonetheless. Not to say I hate this place, it is just when I'm here, it's usually because someone here called me here for some reason. There are few in this place that do that and the ones that do, I either am okay with or don't want to talk to.

"Ah, you are here then."

The voice came from behind me and I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. It was one of those that I don't want to talk to… the one I don't want to talk to the most lately! I turned and came face to face with Bahamut… my possible and likely biological father; aka the 'old man' as I have come to call him. I didn't hide my expression of displeasure of seeing the older white dragon; I saw no reason to use niceties. Not with the mood I was in after the ridiculous crap I have been dealing with!

"What do you want old man?"

I emphasized 'old man' and made sure Bahamut heard the point I was making. Bahamut paused at my question, frowned slightly.

"I see you still are unhappy with our relationship."

Rage boiled in me; anger was trying to rip out of me at just one statement. What is it about the old man, that affects me so much and breaks my control over my emotions?!

"Unhappy about it? Why would you ever think that old man?"

I kept stressing the term that I called Bahamut. Said dragon was silent at my question; I took that as a sign to keep going and sarcastic tones came along with my continuation.

"Why would you think anything would be wrong? It is not like I was in a fight for my life earlier! … But what would that matter to you, old man?! You were already dead for a very long time when hatched!"

… To say that the 'talk' with Bahamut was… I don't know; torture, nerve grading, some kind of horrible punishment. As I was talking to my 'parent' it wasn't exactly a way to rebel against him, a desperate cry for help, maybe all thee above… the list is endless really and so it is hard to settle on just one point. It was unpleasant for me, no question about that in my opinion. We have so little in common! Yes, we are both white dragons, we do look alike and I curse hereditary genes for that since I met him! Yet, when Bahamut sent me away; it set me on a path that descended down to hell, where I met the devil and our relationship began! I didn't hate Bahamut… exactly, I don't appreciate him, but I don't hate or loath him. I for some reason can't bring myself to do so.

I woke up in a bed this time and not the Archives. Can't say I know this room I'm in; however, with how I'm feeling, I really don't care much right now. I had genuinely and truly been through the mill with what I have had to endure today… if it is still the same day! I felt sore over most of my body, yet thinking back about what happened to me… that's not very astonishing. In the last… I think twenty-four hours, I have seen crazy things that I swear shouldn't be possible and makes me question my sanity. I have been pumped full of electricity, shot with lightning, sent careening through a wall and plowing over stone laid walkways… in one instance with my FACE. … *Sigh* can I be done now? I don't want to play in this game anymore. Can't I go home and sleep without dreams yet?

"I see you're awake."

I raised my head and saw Chizuru sitting in a large dragon sized chair. I exhaled heavily in response.

"Been that type of day for you, has it?"

I thought about what response to give to that question. There is one fitting one; so, might as well give it.

"A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day… yes, it has been one of those type of days. And I'm miserable because of it, thanks for asking though, the concern is appreciated."

There was silence for a few minutes, before Chizuru spoke again.

"You would feel better if you say what's bothering you or as you say vent. It is easy to see that you haven't done so for a while and that you need to. It isn't like I haven't heard you vent before Saber, so go right ahead."

I took a moment to gather my thoughts and came to the realization that Chizuru was right, like she normally is. I needed to vent badly; the weight of what had been occurring was pressing down on me and keeping them in wasn't going to stay as it is for much longer. Words came out of my mouth and I became unable to stop them. Unloading the anger and frustration of what had happened, of being treated like an errand boy by the guardians, yet they never listened to what I said. It was like the guardians saw me as a child that hadn't a clue what the world was like around them. Yet, with the amount of times that I had been right over them, I knew more than they do and have more applicable experience!

My rant kept going; hell it picked up steam after talking about the guardians! I couldn't tell anyone of my suspicions or worries of on this journey; such as the ancient enemy trying to kill me. No one would believe me and if I did tell anyone; then their fate would pretty much be the same as mine! So I planned the best I could against an opponent that I already knew I was at a serious disadvantage going against. The issue that made this idea worse, was as I learned more information I got the more perfect position I was being put into for the enemy that turned out to be Zeno, to kill me with less effort. And when I had got into the fight, I find out that Zeno is the one who had been manipulating dragons to kill me and Koren. For a full ten minutes I vented; I didn't yell or below, but my words were not kind to those I had referred to. I was silent after I had finished unloading; waiting for whatever Chizuru was going to say. My friend didn't say anything for a couple minutes.

"Must admit, sounds like you have been having a busy time for the last few weeks."

"Yeah, guess that's one way of putting it Chizuru."

Chizuru nodded and spoke again.

"Though, what did you mean that you were familiar with the ruins as if you have been there before?"

I was quiet for a bit; what should I say to Chizuru? It isn't a matter of trust exactly as I know that Chizuru will listen to me and not judge me. I found that fact out after one of my venting sessions with Master Kai. You see, after exiting the session, I had bumped into Chizuru and found out she had overheard… my venting. This had been before we had met Sera; we had been around ten at the time. What had followed had turned into a near two hour talk between Chizuru and myself. I think it was that conversation that had really changed my opinion about her and we became more what you would call friends.

"Well, Chizuru… you see…"

I began telling her about how I had turned back into a white dragon and the things that had come with it. The memories and how they would haunt me in the form of dreams when I would sleep at night. Of how since I had seen memories that weren't mine that I had been having feelings of familiarity I have been getting with the most unexpected places.

"I don't know what to tell you in this kind of thing… except that you will have to face what you see at some point."

I sighed.

"Whoopty freaking doo, I say to that."

Chizuru giggled at my response.

"Well, that dull blue color dragon, Arkanis I believe his name was; wanted to talk to you when you woke up."

Of course he would… what would I be asked? What subjects could I talk about? I get the impression that this talk with Arkanis is going to be long and dangerous for all those that will be there to listen, participate or both. One thing is for certain, there are going to be some of my friends won't be as willing as they had been last time to accept a vague answer. Oh fiddlesticks! I'm like in or soon will be in the doghouse!

Chapter end

A/n

And I'll leave off there for this chapter. So a new enemy and a long action scene to enjoy and one that Saber isn't in by himself! A little bit of foreshadowing for stuff that will come later; a full chapter in my opinion. As always, please take time to write a review or send me a PM with a specific question. I always appreciate when reader take the time to write what they think of the chapter. Until the next chapter, see ya all!

KeyBlader Zen

I hope I answered you 5 questions in the PM I sent you. If not than tell me what I didn't answer and I will try my best.

ELOSHAZZY

Here is the chapter and I hope you enjoyed it.

Guest

It is normal sometimes; I take the view of either the world is against him or, that is how he is just deal with it view point most of the time. And no, Saber hasn't yet seen things from the Guardians' view yet, but nor have they as this chapter implies.