Act 2, Chapter 5

The next morning, in the present day.

It was another typical morning for Flame. Like always, he was woken up by Arthur.

"Time to get up, man!" The dragonfly shouted into the red dragon's ear hole .

Flame slowly sat up, wiping a few orange strands of hair from his eyes.

"Morning." He said through a yawn. "Blank still here?"

"Naw, he left for the grasslands a short while ago." Arthur answered. "Seraph's gone too. She left to speak to the Guardians."

Flame stretched his back.

"Well, I guess we might as well get going too, then." He said. "I'm kinda hungry."

Flame and Arthur left the building and flew East to the Grasslands area. When they arrived, they spotted Blank, Ember and Roxanne eating sheep. To Flame's surprise, he also spotted Emerald sitting among them. The Green dragoness was eating a sheep as well, but she was being heavily watched by several dragons dressed in battle armor, who were standing close by.

"What's up with them?" Arthur asked.

"Beats me." Flame answered.

The red dragon flew after a sheep, caught it, and carried it over to where the other young dragons were sitting. Ember waved to him as he came to a stop near them.

"Good morning!" She said happily.

"Nice to see you again." Emerald added.

"Hi." Flame said to her.

"What's with those guys?" Arthur asked, motioning towards the armored dragons.

"Oh, them?" The green dragoness sighed. "Mother assigned them to keep an eye on me whenever I leave our home. She's adamant in her decision to keep me from joining in the fighting."

"Well, you're not missing much. Fighting those Crepsculi isn't a game, you know."

"Will you two shut up?" Roxanne exclaimed angrily. "I can't hear myself think!"

Emerald turned and glared at the Yellow dragoness.

"You could always go away, you know." She replied. "You seem to be finished with your meal."

"Is that the best response you can come up with? Typical lack of imagination!"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Blank shouted. "Put a sock in it, already!"

"Stay out of this, Blanky!" Roxanne snapped. The Orange dragon groaned.

"Look, we rounds to make." He said, spreading his wings. "Come on."

The Yellow dragoness rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

Blank and Roxanne took off into flight, leaving Flame, Ember and Emerald alone. The Pink dragoness rolled her eyes.

"Why does Roxanne always have to be such a witch?" She asked.

"I'd like to know that as well." Flame added. Emerald sighed.

"Well, it's a long story." She replied.

"We've got some time." The pink dragoness responded.

"Well, if you insist…"

Ember got comfortable as Emerald began her tale.

"The first thing you should know about Roxanne is: she didn't get the privileged upbringing that I, or even Nellie and Blank got while growing up. Her parents, two dragons named Seamus and Velma, always had to struggle to make ends meet."

"That's sad." Ember replied.

"That's life." Arthur stated.

"Right." Emerald responded. "Anyway, Roxanne grew up believing that you had to earn luxuries and opportunity through hard work. Since Nobles, such as myself, seemed to always get whatever they wanted with little to no effort, Roxanne developed animosity towards Nobles. Well, most of them, at least."

"What do you mean by that?" Flame asked.

"When Roxanne was a cub, she actually became friends with Blankridge, and even better friends with Nellie."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm very serious."

"But, aren't the families of Guardians considered Nobles?" Ember asked.

"Actually, no. You see, while Guardians do make above-average amounts of money, they aren't nearly as wealthy as most Nobles. And furthermore, being a Guardian can be a risky business, since Guardians are required to defend the city and/or its citizens in times of crisis. So, Roxanne believes that, in a way, Guardians earn their right to have luxuries."

"If all of that's true, then why is Roxanne always so hostile towards Blank nowadays?" Flame asked.

"Well, like I said before, Roxanne was friendly towards Blank and Nellie when she was younger, but not towards me. When we all started attending school together, Roxanne acted hostile towards me. Nellie did the same."

"What?" Ember exclaimed, astonished. "No way! Nellie isn't a jerk like Roxanne!"

"You're right: Nellie has always been a soft, kind-hearted girl. She was only doing what Roxanne said out of peer pressure."

"I guess that makes sense." Flame replied.

"Right. Anyway, while Nellie did what Roxanne said, Blank was more assertive, and didn't like the way I was being treated. So, he stopped hanging out with Roxanne, and tried befriending me. I avoided him at first: I thought he was an idiot."

"That's not entirely inaccurate." Arthur said.

Emerald, Ember and Flame laughed at the dragonfly's statement.

"True, very true." Emerald said, calming down. "But he's a loveable idiot. It didn't take long for me to open up to him. When this happened, Roxanne started acting like a little bitch towards the both of us. Seeing Rox insult Nellie's brother weakened their friendship a bit. It only got weaker when Rune arrived."

"Rune?" Flame asked, interested. "How did he matter?"

"I didn't know it back then, but after Rune was adopted into Hontus and Seraph's family, Nellie started developing a crush on him. At the same time, Roxanne had fallen for him as well. And unlike Nellie, Roxanne liked to drop subtle hints that she liked Rune. For five years, Nellie and Roxanne were subconsciously competing for Rune's affections, though neither of them brought it up. For a while, it seemed like Roxanne would win, since Rune started realizing that she liked him. However…"

"What?" Ember asked.

"All of Roxanne's advances ended up being for naught when the Malefor Ordeal began. After Rune ran away, and Blank, Nellie and I chased after him to bring him back, Roxanne became worried sick about Rune. She decided to come out and just tell Rune outright that she had a crush on him, once he came back to Glenhaven. But when he finally came back, Roxanne was shocked to discover several things: That Rune was a Black dragon, that he was a Prince, the Noblest of Nobles, and that Rune and Nellie had started being a couple."

"How did she take it?" Arthur queried.

"Roxanne wasn't too happy about the whole thing. While it took her some time to adjust to the fact that Rune was a prince, Roxanne let is slide when she found out about all of the harsh things that Rune went through while growing up. But she never could accept the fact that Nellie had gotten him before she could. And Roxanne didn't think it should have even been allowed: Rune had been Nellie's adoptive brother for five years. So, Roxanne saw their new relationship as a form of incest."

"But didn't he become un-adopted when he returned to living with his family?" Flame asked.

"Yes, but for the next four years since the Malefor Ordeal ended, Rune had been spending half of the year living with Hontus and Seraph here in Glenhaven. He was still seen as part of the family. This was enough for Roxanne to consider Rune and Nellie's relationship as 'Noble inbreeding'."

Flame shifted uncomfortably.

"But, didn't Roxanne still have affections for Rune?" He asked.

"Yes, she did. She only acted hostile towards Nellie, and completely stopped whenever Rune was in town. Roxanne has been trying to get Rune and Nellie to break up, so that She could swoop in and be Rune's girlfriend."

"She hasn't had much success, has she?" Arthur asked.

"Nope."

"Do you think she's given up on Rune now, what with him turning EVIL and kidnapping Nellie and all?"

"I can't really say." Emerald responded, nodding. "I wish I knew, though. For her sake, she should give up on him."

"HEY!" Someone shouted. Blank came to a landing next to Flame and Ember.

"Will you slowpokes hurry up? He have rounds to make!"

Flame and Ember rolled their eyes.

"Looks like we have to go, Emmy." Ember said, taking off into flight. "Bye!"

"It was nice chatting with you, Emerald." Flame added, smiling. "Thanks for telling me the story."

"Your welcome." Emerald replied, returning the smile. "Maybe next time, you can tell me the story about you and Hope." The red dragon chuckled.

"Sure."

Flame and Arthur took off after Blank and Ember, beginning their patrol of the city walls.

…

Tyrrany, Denzel and Angela had spent the entire night traveling across the Arcus desert. The young Purple dragoness wanted to waste no time in getting to Glenhaven. She didn't know if the destruction of the Mountains of Kilon had begun yet, but she certainly didn't want to sit around and wait for the backlash.

Along the way, Angela had asked Tyrrany various questions, about who she was, what she was doing out in the desert, why she looked familiar, as well as other things. Tyrrany didn't want to reveal everything about herself, but she did answer some things.

The Purple dragoness told Angela that she used to live in Faeshrine as the child of one of the "higher-ups" in the FTC. They had met at a party some six months ago, but didn't speak a word to each other. She also said that she had gotten into a… disagreement with her father, and left Faeshrine because of it. She refused to discuss anything else, though.

As the morning sun rose on the Eastern Horizon, Tyrrany and Angela came to a landing to rest on the desert sands. They had been traveling nonstop all night long. Denzel had fallen asleep on Tyrrany's back hours ago: the young dragoness was careful not to let him fall off. Luckily, his wing blades held him in place for the most part. Now that they were on the ground, Tyrrany lifted Denzel off of her by back by his gruff, and cradled him in her forelegs. The hatchling was snoring peacefully.

"Your son is adorable." Angela commented, smiling.

"Thank you." Tyrrany replied.

"How old is he?"

"He hatched some four months ago."

"I see…" Angela shifted uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" Tyrrany asked, noticing the Earth dragoness's strange behavior.

"If I may ask…" Angela began, "was he planned?"

The Purple dragoness was taken aback by the question.

"Why do you ask?" She replied, an eyebrow raised.

"It's just that….you seem so young yourself. To be caring for a hatchling at your age is unusual."

Tyrrany looked away, sighing.

"You're right." She said solemnly. "And no, Denzel was not planned."

"The why-?"

"About six months ago, I did something I'm not proud of to a close friend." Tyrrany stated. "He only wanted to make me happy, and I abused him."

She looked down at the sleeping Denzel, a frown on her face.

"And now, each and every day, this little one serves as a reminder of one of the horrible deeds I've committed. But don't get me wrong: I love Denzel. I just wish he was conceived via a consensual mating."

Angela didn't respond, but she knew what Tyrrany meant.

"Where is your friend now?" Angela asked.

"He's somewhere in Glenhaven." The Purple dragoness answered. "I plan to finally tell him that he has a son."

"What will you do then?"

"I….I don't know." Tyrrany looked to the west, where the city of Glenhaven was hiding in the darkness of the Western Horizon. "I just hope that he doesn't hate Denzel for being living proof of his violation."

"I wish I could give words of encouragement." Angela replied, "But I don't know the nature of your friend's behavior."

Tyrrany sighed.

"However," the Earth dragoness continued, "You mustn't give up hope. Maybe your friend will forgive you for what you did to him."

"He already did. But that was before I discovered that I was to bear and egg."

"If he's already forgiven you, than surely he will accept Denzel. You have nothing to worry about."

Tyrrany turned around and faced the older dragoness.

"Thank you, Angela."

"Your welcome, Anny."

The Purple dragoness placed Denzel down and stretched her neck.

"Let's get some sleep", she said. "I'm exhausted.

"Agreed." Angela responded. "I could use some shut-eye as well."

The two dragonesses laid down on the desert sands, using their wings to shield themselves. Tyrrany placed Denzel up next to her, wrapping him up in her forelegs.

As she slipped into slumber, she quietly whispered to her hatchling.

"Sleep well, my darling."

…

It was almost Noon.

Once again, it was another slow day for Flame and the others. Not a single one of them spotted any Crepsculi anywhere.

When were they going to attack again? Not that Flame wanted to attack, but it seemed extremely suspicious that they would all suddenly disappear for several days.

At least Flame and the others didn't look like slackers. If Crepsculi attacked, someone was bound to have noticed, and the young dragons would have all gotten into deep trouble.

Flame came to a landing at the usual spot on the wall, with Arthur floating nearby. Blank, Ember and Roxanne came to a landing as well. The Orange and Yellow dragons had let their dispute die for the moment, but they looked ready to tear into each other, as is usual for them.

"This is really getting old." Arthur commented.

"Yeah." Blank added. "Where the fuck are the Crepsculi?"

"Do you think maybe they went into hiding?" Ember asked.

"Now, that's just stupid." Roxanne commented. "Where could the possibly hide in a DESERT?"

"Hey, no need to shout!" The Pink dragoness replied.

"Oh yes there is! I'm getting tired of you saying stupid things every five minutes!"

"Will you stop it!" Blank snapped. "We're getting tired of your crap as well!"

Flame sighed in defeat as the Orange and Yellow dragons went through yet another argument.

"Here we go again."

The Red dragon and his dragonfly companion prepared to fly away.

"Well, our shift's over." Flame said to the others. "Arthur and I are heading off on our own."

"Hey, wait up!" Ember suddenly shouted, catching up to them.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Do you guys mind if I join you guys this time?" The Pink dragon asked.

"Uh, why?" Flame asked.

Ember motioned back at Blank and Roxanne, who were still locked in an argument.

"All they ever do is fight. It's actually gotten boring."

Arthur laughed at the comment.

"Well, I don't see a reason why you can't hang with us." the dragonfly said. He turned to face Flame. "What about you?"

The red dragon shrugged.

"It's alright with me." He said.

"Thanks!" Ember exclaimed, eyes gleaming.

As Blank and Roxanne started escalating their argument, Flame, Arthur and Ember flew off to the Eastern side of Glenhaven for lunch.

…

The two dragons caught one sheep each and came to a landing on the far Eastern side of the Grasslands, resting just before the Great stone walls

As they were eating, Ember insisted on talking to the boys, even when she had food in he mouth.

"So how long have you two been friends?" She asked.

"Uh, I don't know…" Flame answered.

"At least six years or so." Arthur added.

"Really? That's quite a long time." Ember replied. "I remember my old friends Trixie and Cinna. We were friends for a long time too."

"That's nice." Flame said halfheartedly. Ember didn't seem to pick up on that.

"Uh-huh. We were best friends forever! Well, at least until my parents sent me to Glenhaven to attend the school here. And I haven't seen or heard from any of them since I came here…" The Pink dragoness started to get sad at this point. "To make matters worse, with all the monsters plaguing the world, I don't even know if they're okay.."

Ember started to cry.

"I miss them so much…"

Flame couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. He decided to try to cheer her up.

"Hey, there's no need to cry." He said reassuringly. "Just because you haven't seen them in a while doesn't mean that you'll never see them again."

Ember wiped her eyes with her forepaws.

"You really think so?"

"Of course." Flame replied, smiling. "I haven't seen my mom in over six months, and even though I miss her, I'm confident that I'll see her again. You should be the same: Instead of acting like their gone for good, think about how great it will be when you finally see your friends and family again."

Ember stopped crying and smiled. She then immediately ran forwards and hugged Flame tightly, much to his surprise.

"Thanks, Flame!" She exclaimed. "You're the best!"

"Um.. Your welcome." He responded, grimacing from the tightness of Ember's grip. "Could you let me go, now? I'm having trouble breathing."

The Pink dragoness gasped, and let go of Flame.

"Oops." She said, blushing. "Sorry!"

Arthur laughed at the sight.

"What's wrong, Flame?" He chided. "Can't handle a hug from a girl?"

"Shut up, ya little knat!" The red dragon replied, sticking his tongue out. Arthur laughed again.

"That's your comeback? 'Shut up, ya little knat'?"

"You want a better comeback?" Flame asked, cocking an eyebrow. "How about this?"

Immediately, Flame spat a small burst of Fire breath about a foot away from Arthur. The dragonfly wasn't going to get hit by it, but he jumped in shock anyway, yelping.

"HEY!" He protested.

Ember and Flame started to laugh.

"It's not funny! You could have toasted me, man!"

"Oh, the fire didn't even get near you." Flame replied, grinning. "And besides, I'd never burn you; I need you around for entertainment value."

"Only because you're so boring on your own." Arthur responded.

This time, all three of them laughed.

Flame liked this. He liked being able to hang out with Ember and the others. Despite the way most of the adults treated him, the other kids and teenagers welcomed Flame with open forelegs, and made him a part of their circle. They were friends.

And yet, Flame couldn't help but wish that Tyrrany was here. He wanted the White dragoness to be a part of this circle: To be accepted. Flame would do anything for that to be made a reality.

Someday, he would find Tyrrany, and do everything in his power to get the other dragons to forgive her of her mistakes, and accept her into their community, just like she was supposed to six months ago.

When the laugther finally came to an end, Flame decided that he was finished with his meal.

"Well, I'm done here." He said. "Let's get going."

"Okay." Ember replied.

Once the remains of the sheep were disposed of, Flame, Arthur and Ember took off into the sky…

However, as soon as Flame was high enough, he heard something. An inaudible sound was echoing across the sky.

"What the…?" He asked, looking around.

"What's wrong?" Ember asked.

"Don't you hear that?" He replied. "Listen."

The dragons and dragonfly hovered in the air for a minute, listening for the sound.

Soon, it started to come from the Far East, across the Arcus desert. After a moment, it got louder, making it easier to decipher. Flame turned to the Eastern Horizon to see what was making the noise. He gasped.

The sound was a struggle, between dragons and beasts. Off in the distance, the red dragon spotted two dragons fighting against a swarm of black-skinned monsters as the dragons fled towards the safety of the city of Glenhaven.

"SOUND THE ALARM!" Flame exclaimed to Arthur and Ember. "ALERT THE GUARD IMMEDIATELY!"

"What is it?" Arthur demanded. Flame responded with one word.

"CREPSCULI!"

Immediately, Flame turned and zoomed out over the Eastern wall, intent on aiding the two dragons.

"Flame, waitaminute!" the dragonfly shouted to him. But it was no use.

"Crap." Arthur turned to Ember. "Come on, Pinky! We've got Guards to alert!"

Right!" Ember agreed.

The Pink dragon and Green dragonfly raced towards the nearest Guard post, while the Red dragon raced towards the other two dragons in desperate need of aid.

Little did he know, a big surprise awaited him.