Act 2, Chapter 8

It was the early hours of the morning in Glenhaven.

The Sun had yet to rise. Few Birds were chirping outdoors: They were locked away in slumber. And the city was locked in a thick, yet comforting darkness, illuminated only by faint lights scattered here and there.

The Earth dragoness Mimet was sleeping, alone, in her great bedroom. The room's floor was covered in a fine red rug. The walls and shelves were spotted with various trinkets and novelty items, collected over the years. Over on one side of the room was a decent-sized, finely crafted wooden crib. Within the crib slept a small Lightning dragon: Ruby, Mimet's nine-month-old son.

Mimet's bed, a fine golden-colored mattress, was lined up against a large window. A fine wooden nightstand stood next to the mattress. On it were two small portraits: The first one being an image of Jules and Mimet just after they became mates, and the second one being more recent: An image of Jules, Mimet, Emerald and Ruby, with Telus and Attonita standing on either side of the other four dragons.

Mimet slowly woke from slumber on her golden mattress. She brushed a few strands of her brown mane from her face and slumped onto her feet, yawning. She then proceeded to place several pieces of Silver Jewelry over her limbs.

She didn't always get up this early. This had just become her routine for the past six months. Ever since she discovered that Attonita, Krystallos, and her father Telus had been slain by Bergan, Mimet had become the ruler of Glenhaven. She had been introduced to Spyro and Cynder, getting used to the idea that the two ancient dragons were alive again, and shared rulership over Glenhaven with Cynder, while Spyro handled things in Warfang.

Once Mimet finished with her jewelry, she sighed.

"Oh, another night ends, and another day begins." She said solemnly. "How long until the days end, I wonder?"

Just recently, Mimet had learned of two grim events that took place simultaneously: The destruction of the Mountains of Kilon and the deaths of a massive number of White-hided hatchlings at the hands of their own kin.

The Earth dragoness learned the former from a woman named Angela, the former leader of the northern settlements and owner of the mining business of the Mountains of Kilon. The woman, who also happened to be an Earth dragoness, explained that the entire mountain range had been utterly destroyed by a monstrous White dragon, possibly Runefor or Runileon.

Mimet learned about the Latter event, the deaths of the White hatchlings, when Spyro contacted Cynder the previous day. The Black dragoness left for Warfang immediately to help with the burial of the children. She was currently due to return once Urobos and the people of Warfang finally leave for Glenhaven.

"For their sake, I hope they arrive soon." Mimet said solemnly. "I fear that the end is rapidly approaching."

The dragoness turned around and walked over to her sleeping child, who was snoring away. She reached into the crib with a forepaw and gently shook the hatchling's shoulder.

"Time to get up, Ruby." Mimet said softly.

After a moment, the hatchling opened its eyes and yawned.

"Momma, I'm still sleepy." Ruby complained, rubbing his eyes. "Can't I stay in bed today?"

"You're much too young to be left alone, Ruby." Mimet answered.

"But I don't wanna get up. I want to sleep."

The Earth dragoness sighed, shaking her head.

"Here…" Mimet reached down, grabbed Ruby the gruff of his neck, and gently placed him on her back. "You can rest against my back for now, okay?"

"Okay…" Ruby replied. He wrapped his wings around his mother's neck and placed his wing blades together, and then straightened himself to go back to sleep. Mimet sighed, and then proceeded to walk out the door and into the hallway.

Mimet didn't like making her hatchling wake up so early. She only did so to bring him along with her wherever she went. Ever since the mass child-abduction, the Earth dragoness had become extremely protective of her children. She adamantly refused to allow her daughter Emerald to help out in the fighting against the Crepsculi creatures that started running rampant across the Arcus desert, out of fear that Emerald might get severely injured, or worse. Unfortunately, the young Earth dragoness protested this all the time, and Mimet had recently been forced to assign guards to keep an eye on her daughter at all times.

As Mimet walked through the hallway, she came to a stop right outside the door to Emerald's room. She didn't normally wake her up at this time: She usually let her sleep until about halfway into the morning, when her private tutoring sessions began.

However, Mimet stopped because she suddenly heard the sounds of various objects being dropped all in the same place on the other side of the door.

Is Emerald already up? Mimet thought, confused. What is she doing?

Immediately, the Earth dragoness pushed Emerald's door open, revealing the image of the teenager halfway through sneaking out her window, a satchel around her neck.

Emerald looked back at her mother, surprised and alarmed.

"Mother…" She said awkwardly. "Uh….hi?"

"What are you doing?" Mimet demanded, glaring. "Get back in here!"

Mimet stormed into the room as Emerald slipped back inside. The older dragoness took the satchel from her daughter, who backed away, clearly aggravated.

"Damn…."

Mimet looked through the satchel, finding scrap armor, a bit of rope, several Red and Green Gems, and other pieces of survival gear.

"Just where did you think you were going with all of this, young lady?" Mimet demanded.

"Out." Emerald responded coldly.

"'Out'? Out where?"

"Uh….." The teenager stammered at first, but then quickly changed her attitude. "Oh, screw it! I was planning on heading over to Blank's place to help the others in the fight against the Crepsculi."

"Oh no you're not!" Mimet scolded.

"Oh yes I am!" Emerald snapped. "I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing while the others fight to defend the city! And don't you try that 'you're too young' crap: Blank and Roxanne are younger than me!"

"It doesn't matter how old you are, Emerald. Blank's mother and Roxanne's parents may allow them to fight, but I don't want you getting involved."

"Tough! Blank was right: What's the point of spending all this time training to fight if I CAN'T FIGHT?"

Before Mimet could yell back, Ruby woke up, sniffling.

"Stop talking so loud." He mumbled. "I'm sleeping."

Mimet took a moment to lul Ruby back to sleep. Emerald took the opportunity to snatch her satchel back and head for the window. However, her mother reached out and grabbed the tip of Emerald's tail, stopping her.

"Let go of my tail, Mother." She demanded.

"No." Mimet snapped, careful not to wake Ruby. "Step away from the window."

"No. I'm going to fight, whether you like it or not."

"I'm not about to allow that."

"And why not, exactly? Do you think I'm going to get hurt if I fight? You can't prevent me from getting injured all the time, Mother."

"Well, this is one of those times I can."

"Whoopty do for you! I'm still going."

Mimet looked into her daughter's eyes. She wasn't about to give this up. Emerald wanted to fight, with every fiber of her being.

"You're stubborn." Mimet commented.

"Only as stubborn as you, Mother." Emerald snapped. The older dragoness sighed. When she spoke again, her voice was softer.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt, Emerald. Times have gotten dangerous lately."

"I'm almost an adult now, mother." Her daughter responded, also calming down. "Plus, I'm not alone: Blank, Ember, Flame, and even Roxanne are there to back me up. I'll be fine."

"I suppose you're right…" Mimet said reluctantly. She let go of Emerald's tail. "I give up: You can help the others."

The teenager smiled.

"Thank you, Mother."

"But could you at least wait for the sun to rise before you head out?" The older dragoness asked. "It's quite dark out right now."

"Alright."

Emerald walked up and hugged her mother, happy that she finally got what she wanted. When the hug ended, Mimet turned and walked towards the door.

"Get some more sleep for now, Emerald." Mimet suggested. "You'll need it."

"Okay."

After that, Mimet stepped out of the room, shutting the door as Emerald set her satchel down on the floor. The older dragoness then walked down the hallway, sighing worriedly.

"I really hope, for Emerald's sake, that she's right, and she'll be fine fighting with the others."

Mimet proceeded on her way, getting ready for the events of the day.

A day that would be fraught with horror.

…

"So, this young man is your son, eh?" Bergan asked.

Malefor, Amouris, Adpetis, Cyrus, and the newly-revived Zevron returned to The Nexus, so that Bergan may get introduced to the Black dragon.

All of the dragons stood in The Nexus's chapel. Several Corrupted dragons stood on guard on either side of the room. The Golden-maned Dragon looked Zevron up and down, clearly intrigued.

"I had no idea that you procreated during your previous tenure in the dragon realms, Malefor. I would have expected that particular bit of information to be recorded into history."

"Perhaps it's because the boy was too much of a failure to be recognized by historians." Adpetis chided.

The Black dragon glanced ad the White dragoness, snarling.

"I'll have you know that I brought death to countless lives!" He roared.

"Join the club, boy." Adpetis responded, an unamused expression on her face. The Black dragon turned to face her completely.

"I was the leader of the Furies! I possess abilities you could scarcely imagine!"

"Believe me, boy: I am no stranger to impossible abilities."

"STOP CALLING ME BOY!"

"Enough, Zevron." Malefor commanded. "Stand down."

The Black dragon sighed and stepped back from Adpetis.

"Yes, father."

The White dragoness laughed.

"So, you have to do as your Daddy commands, eh?" Adpetis chuckled. "Are you sure you want someone this spineless to be your minion, Malefor?"

Zevron let out a low growl, as did Malefor.

"Come now, everyone." Bergan pleaded. "Picking fights amongst ourselves will only hinder our plans. Adpetis, there's nothing wrong with obedience to one's father."

"Fine…" The White dragoness said halfheartedly. "In any case, I need to go. There are other matters to attend to.." She turned towards Cyrus, who remained silent as always. "Come along, Cyrus. We have work to do."

In a moment, the two dragons vanished in a cloud of smoke

"Well then, speaking of other matters…" Bergan began, turning back towards Zevron, "Tell me: What is this mysterious ability you possess?"

"If you have any spare minions around, I will gladly demonstrate." The Black dragon answered.

"As you wish.." Bergan replied. He turned towards one of the guards, in this case a Fire dragon, and signaled for him to approach. In a moment, the Fire dragon stood directly before Zevron, awaiting orders.

"Now then, let's see what you can do, young Zevron." Bergan declared.

The Black dragon faced the Fire dragon. Zevron grinned as his demonic yellow eyes began glowing Red.

An instant later, the Fire dragon started twitching violently, and suddenly fell to the floor.

"Oh my." Amouris commented, astounded.

The Fire dragon began using its own front talons to slash and claw at its own scales, cutting a massive number of severe wounds into its own flesh. The dragon roared in agony.

Soon, the dragon fell dead, nothing more than a corpse in a pool of blood.

Bergan looked over the body of the dead dragon, intrigued and disappointed at the same time.

"Oh, bother…" He said, shaking his head. "As wonderful as that ability is, this was a waste of a perfectly good minion."

A short moment later, a massive amount of Convexity energy flowed out of the dead dragon's body and into the air around the dragons. The corpse proceeded to shrink to the size of a small cub.

Zevron looked at the dead body incredulously.

"That was a child?" He asked, surprised.

"Well, of course." Bergan answered. "All of the dragons under our control are young dragons we have taken the liberty of altering to suit our needs, with the exceptions of you and Prince Cyrus, of course."

"Interesting…"

"Yes, quite." Bergan replied, still disappointed. "Now I'll have to have this cleaned up. Where oh where is Richard when you need him?"

"I'll go find him, Bergan." Amouris responded. "I don't have much to do anyway."

"As you wish, my dear."

Amouris turned and walked towards the left back doors of the Chapel. In the meantime, Malefor began speaking.

"My son and I shall take our leave as well. I need to brief him on a certain White-hided nuisance that needs to be dealt with."

"Do as you will. And good luck to you, young Zevron."

"Thank you, I suppose.." The Black dragon commented.

Malefor and Zevron turned and walked towards the front of the Chapel, while Bergan stood over the corpse.

Once the Purple and Black dragons were out of the Chapel and near the edge of the fortress, Malefor began talking to Zevron.

"Listen good, boy: I had you revived for the sole purpose of obeying my commands. You will serve me and me alone."

"Yes, father."

"Good. There are several dragons who openly oppose me, if in different ways.

"What do you mean by that, Father?"

"For starters, the wretched pair of Spyro and Cynder walks the living world once again, and are actively seeking to strike me down once again." Zevron snarled.

"Those two again…"

"However, they are nothing you should be concerned with at the moment."

"Why not, Father?" The Black dragon protested. "Those two are the ones responsible for your downfall!"

"I know that! BUT, there are other dragons who also stand in my way?"

"Who?"

"There are several of them: Urobos, the Deep Shadows, and the Guardians of the city of Glenhaven, to name several. However, the most dangerous ones of all are the White dragons known as Rune and Runileon."

"Rune and Runileon?"

"The former is the namesake of the latter. They are both powerful, aggressive brutes, although the one called Rune is much younger, and far more unpredictable."

"What do you want me to do about them, Father?"

"Your mission is to eliminate those two. Make sure they don't meddle in my affairs."

Zevron looked up at his father, determination in his eyes.

"As you wish, father."

"Good."

Malefor held a forepaw out, creating an orb of Convexity.

"Take this power." He commanded. "You'll need it to travel across great distances."

Zevron took the orb, letting its power seep into his body. The Black dragon then created a portal and vanished into it.

"You had better not fail me, boy." The Purple dragon demanded. He then turned to walk back to the Chapel.

Little did Malefor or Zevron know that they were being watched.

Up on a rooftop, not too far from where Malefor and Zevron were standing, the Dragoness Adpetis had been watching the whole spectacle.

The White dragoness chuckled.

"Well, well, well." She said. "This could get… interesting. Very interesting indeed."

Adpetis snapped her talons, and vanished in a cloud of Purple smoke.

…

The Aechos Valley. An massive landmass, similar to the Valley of Avalar, although far younger.

This Second great Valley sits on the Western side of the Southern Continent. It became the secondary main home for the Cheetahs, Leopards, and other Cat species that walk the world. Several villages dotted the landscape, which had several dirt roads leading between them.

And on one of these roads, three dragons traveled to the East. It was still far to dark for them to fly, so they took their time on the ground, waiting for the Sun to be high enough in the sky to illuminate their way completely.

The trees swayed gently in the soft breeze of the morning. Several small creeks ran through the small forested area, sparkling in the sunlight. Fields of flowers were carpeted across the grassy plains, casting a myriad of colors in the lush valley.

Hontus took a deep inhale of the morning air, a smile on his face.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Voden, his Orange companion asked.

"Very." The Red dragon stated.

Jules, their snooty friend, pushed past the two other Guardians, rolling his eyes.

"This is no time to be gawking at every little thing we see." The Lightning dragon remarked. "We must focus on the task at hand. A Fugitive is on the loose, and we still have no idea where she could be!"

"We know that already." Voden replied. "We were just admiring the wonders of the day."

"Yeah." Hontus agreed. "Surely you of all people can stop to appreciate the finer things in life."

"Oh, hardy har har." Jules said sarcastically. "That's so typical of you two."

For the past six months, Hontus, Voden and Jules were assigned to track down Tyrrany, the White dragoness who murdered Lady Elenar. In that time, they traveled all across the dragon realms, from the Pyrus Volcanoes, to the Tarune Forest, and all other places they could get to. In all that time, they had absolutely no luck in finding the girl. Whether she was on the run, or was staying in one place, they didn't know.

Recently, the three dragons began searching in the Aechos Valley, looking through every cave and hidden area they could find. After spending the last month searching, they still found no sign of the White dragoness.

And now, they were traveling East.

"Where shall we look now?" Hontus asked his companions.

"Well, let's see…" Voden replied. The Orange dragon reached into the small satchel around his neck and produced a rolled-up map.

The map had several red markings on it, indicating the places they had already searched.

"Well, we've already tried everywhere except the Arcus Desert, the Mountains of Kilon, and the Eastern edge of the Central Islands." Voden declared, studying the map.

"In that case," Jules replied, "I say we return to Glenhaven, replenish our supplies, and continue East to the mountain range. After searching there, if we still cannot find the girl, we proceed to the islands."

"Makes the most sense to me." Hontus agreed.

"Aye." Voden rolled the map back up and stored it away. The three guardians then continued on their way.

After walking for some time, Jules broke the silence.

"It'll sure be great to see Mimet and my children again." He said, smiling. "Even if it's only an idle visit."

"It will be nice to arrive home again, won't it?" Voden replied. He turned to face Hontus. "What about you, Hontus?"

The Red dragon sighed. "…yes…"

Six months ago, Hontus and Seraph learned the devastating news that Rune had once-again become a White-hided monster. To make matters worse, this time, Rune abducted Nellie, and went into hiding.

Seraph was driven nearly to insanity. The thought that one of her children was a monster, and another of her children was a captive of the first, tore at her very psyche. Hontus did his best to comfort his mate, be he was upset as well.

Rune was like a son to Hontus: He had always been so well-behaved, treated all around him with respect, and cared for the well-being of others, especially Nellie. The Red dragon couldn't imagine that Rune would become such a horrible beast. Sure, it had happened once before, but Hontus believed that was because of Malefor's essence corrupting him.

And then there was Nellie to think about. Hontus never realized how his daughter felt for Rune all this time, only ever discovering it when the two young dragons started dating. The Red dragon had no qualms about it: Rune was the only boy trustworthy enough to be close to Nellie. Hontus imagined that Rune would one day take Nellie to live with him in Warfang, once they came of age. But that would never come to be, would it? The Rune Hontus knew was gone, now: replaced by a White demon. And Nellie was in danger now, too. If Rune isn't defeated soon, there's no telling what he might do to her, and the rest of the world.

"Hontus?" Voden asked, concerned. "Are you alright?"

The Red dragon shook his head.

"I'm fine." He said, though he was only half-true. "I was just thinking about Seraph and Blankridge."

Blankridge. That energetic young dragon was the only child Hontus seemed to have left. Blank wasn't a perfect son, but he was a good kid nonetheless. He had a tendency to get into unusual situations, usually dragging Rune or Nellie along for the ride. Sometimes he did things he shouldn't have. But, Blank always managed to put a smile on everyone's face.

"I wonder how my wife has been handling without me." The Red dragon wondered.

"Hopefully as well as Mimet." Jules replied. "She has lost her father, just as I lost my mother."

"Yes, but you two still have both of your children." Voden stated. "Hontus and Seraph have lost two of theirs."

"Well I didn't mean to sound like I was one-upping him." Jules snapped.

"It's alright." Hontus said.

A moment later, the Red dragon looked at the Eastern horizon. The Sun had risen higher into the air, illuminating the world beneath it.

"The Sun is high enough." He stated, unfolding his wings. "We can take to flight now."

"Aye." The other two agreed.

And with that, the three Guardians flew into the air, heading out of the Aechos Valley and into the Arcus Desert.

They would never set foot in the Valley again.