Act 3, Chapter 1

"Runileon is dead?" Amouris shouted.

After Zevron left the Aechos Valley, he spent a few hours to come up with an alternate version of what had happened. Once his alibi was formed, he returned to The Nexus.

Once again, all of the Victiumirti were gathered in the Nexus's Chapel. Zevron had just begun to tell the tale.

"I speak the truth." The Black dragon said in responce. "He has left this world."

"Care to explain how it happened?" Malefor queried, an eyebrow raised. Zevron began his story.

"While I was searching for Rune in the Aeshos Valley, I happened to pay witness as he and Runileon were locked in grueling combat. I rushed to Runileon's aid, but I was too late to get to him before Rune killed him. The White dragon then absorbed all of the energy out of the dead Victiumnirtus and used it to completely obliterate the Aechos Valley. I was barely able to escape with my life."

"So, in other words," Malefor responded coldly, "you failed."

The Black Dragon knelt his head down in shame.

"I apologize for my error, father." He stated.

"It doesn't matter whether you apologize or not." Amouris said. "Once again, we have lost one of our number, thanks to that irritating louse Rune."

Adpetis turned over towards Bergan, who was facing away from them all.

"What do you think we should do, darling?" She asked.

The Golden-maned dragon was silent as the grave. After a moment, he finally spoke.

"It seems that the initial plan of razing the land before we summon The Nothing into the world has been hijacked and stolen by that young dragon." Bergan turned around and faced the group. "During the last few days, Rune has already destroyed The Tarune Forest, The Mountains of Kilon, The Aechos Valley, and part of the Pyrus Volcanoes. Furthermore, he has slain Lucrun and Runileon all on his own, while Desysto was slain by the protectores of Warfang."

"What do you plan to do now?" Malefor asked.

"We have wasted far too much time." Bergan stated. "The time has come to summon our Master."

The other dragons looked at Bergan in surprise, escept for Zevron.

"You're jumping to the final phase immediately?" Amouris asked.

"Current events have forced me to change our gameplan." Bergan replied. "With three of our number being slain, and the land slowly being burned to ruin, it's only a matter of time before the rest of us are picked off one by one. I say, rather than wait for that to happen, we should skip ahead and set to work opening the portal out of this realm and into the Dragon realms. What do you all say?"

The other Victiumirti looked amongst themselves.

"That sounds like as good an option as any." Adpetis stated.

"I agree." Amouris added. "We've wasted too much time as it is."

"If I may interject," Malefor stated, "We need to do something about our other enemies: Spyro, Cynder, and that Urobos wretch."

"What do you propose we do?" Bergan asked.

"I believe that we need to launch an attack on them." The other Purple dragon answered.

"We've already tried that." Amouris replied. "Do you not remember? We sent Desysto to kill them with his army of White dragons, and he failed."

"Of course I remember." Malefor sneered. "However, what I suppose is that several of us lead an attack, instead of just one."

"More than one?" Adpetis asked. "Why?"

"So far, only Rune and Urobos have been able to kill any of us. The Former did so through his raw power, while the latter got in a lucky shot. Here's what I propose: We know that Urobos and the other civilians of Warfang have left the city, heading south. I believe that three of us should strike the city of Glenhaven, with three separate armies in tow. Those fools would never suspect three Victiumirti striking them all at once. With the proper destructive force, our enemies will be wiped from the land in one quick swipe."

"Hmmmm..." The Golden-maned dragon thought it over. "You know what? I believe that is a wonderful idea."

"Are you sure, Bergan?" Adpetis asked.

"Of course." He answered. "While you three deal with the people of Glenhaven, and Zevron is off to hunt down Rune, I shall summon The Nothing into the Dragon Realms."

"I am glad you agree." Malefor replied. "When shall we begin preparing for the attack?"

"Immediately. We haven't a moment more to lose."

"As you wish, Bergan." Amouris said. "I shall go pick out the right minions for the attack."

"I shall as well." Adpetis. "I believe that Cyrus would make a good General in the attack."

"I shall leave with my son." Malefor declared. "I need to speak with him about his previous failure."

Zevron became distressed by this statement.

"But father, I-"

"Silence, boy." Malefor snapped. "Hold your tongue, before my mood worsens."

"Don't be too harsh on him, Malefor." Bergan stated. "We all fail in what we attempt to do at some point or another." The other Purple dragon harrumphed.

In any case, we all have work to do. This meeting is adjourned."

With that said, Malefor, Zevron, Amouris and Adpetis turned to leave the chapel. Meanwhile, Bergan stood in the center of the room, before the Altar.

...

Malefor and Zevron walked to the edge of the fortress, outside of prying eyes and ears' reach.

"Is he truly dead?" Malefor queried.

"Yes, father." Zevron responded. "I ended his life myself."

The Purple dragon smiled evilly.

"You've done well." He said.

"Thank you, father." The Black dragon replied.

"So, you had your son murder Runileon." Said a voice from nowhere. The two dragons stood on guard, ready to attack the interloper.

"WHO'S THERE?" Malefor demanded.

"Show yourself!" Zevron added.

Suddenly, a White dragoness appeared in a cloud of Purple smoke. It was Adpetis.

"I knew it." She chided. "You may have been able to fool Bergan and Amouris, but I am a scientist: I'm not one who is fooled so easily."

Malefor growled.

"What do you intend to do about it, wench?" The Purple dragon sneered. Adpetis chuckled slyly.

"Don't get me wrong: I despised Runileon as well. However, It wouldn't be right for me to keep this act of treachery from being discovered."

The two male dragons glared.

"What do you want?" Zevron demanded.

"Before I tell you, I've got to ask: What do you two intend to do after this?" She replied.

"And what makes you think I'll tell you?" Malefor demanded.

"Because, there's almost nothing stopping me from running off to telll Bergan and Amouris that you've betrayed our cause. And if you attack me, that extablish the same effect as if I told them."

Malefor growled at the White dragoness.

"So." He began. "What do you want in return for keeping your tongue still?"

"What I want, Malefor, is for you to do as I command." Adpetis said seriously. "And that extends to Zevron as well."

"Nonsense!" The Black dragon shouted. "I don't take orders from the likes of YOU!"

"Stand down, Zevron." Malefor commanded.

"Father, surely you won't allow this hag-beast to-!"

"ENOUGH!" The Purple dragon bellowed. Immediately, Zevron stopped talking. Malefor turned to face Adpetis.

"I will do as you tell me, for now." He said coldly. The White dragoness.

"Good to hear." She turned away from the two males. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to gather a large number of our forces for the attack on Glenhaven, as well as prepare Cyrus for battle. Ta-ta." With that said, Adpetis walked away and out of view.

Once she was gone, Zevron snarled in rage.

"Damn that wench!" He shouted. "Father, why don't we tear her throat out and be done with this problem?"

"We don't need to waste our energy with another White dragon to slay." Malefor replied coldly. "When the time comes, we will deal with this problem. But for now, we shall play along with her game. And who knows, she may go from being a manipulater, to another pawn."

"What do you mean, father?" The Black dragon asked.

"You will learn in time." The Purple dragon answered. "For now, I want you to travel to Glenhaven. Keep an eye out for anything that Spyro, Cynder and their decprepid tagalong may be planning."

"As you command, father."

The Black dragon created a Portal of Purple energy and stepped through it. Once he was gone, Malefor turned and looked up at the great abyss around The Nexus.

"The Nothing.." He said, disbelieving. "That man is absolutely insane. Does he truly believe that this realm is home to some supernatural force, that has 'corrupted' several of us to do its bidding?"

The Purple dragon turned and walked back to the Chapel.

"He's a madman. How could anyone believe that-?"

Suddenly, Malefor gasped in pain. His entire being suddenly became bombarded with a strange, unseen force. He began to twitch violently.

"WHAT?" He shouted. "What is happening?"

A barrage of Purple Lightning bolts started crashing down from the abyss above and struck the ground all around Malefor in a violent, random pattern.

As this happened, somone spoke to him. No, something. And yet, it was nothing at all.

There was no voice, but the dragon could sense that something communicating with him. He couldn't see it or hear it, but he could feel it. There were no words in its "voice": Instead, Malefor's mind was bombarded with a flow of thoughts and feelings. Malefor felt the presence absolutely EVERYWHERE: All around his body, across the Fortress, and even far off in the farthest reaches of the abyss.

Whatever was communicating to the Purple dragon, it was unpleased with his actions and words. It showed Malefor that It was very much real, and could destroy him at any moment.

The mysterious force's power was so great, it was able to free Bane's mind from his imprisonment within Malefor's, and held both dragons' minds in a vicegrip.

"What is this?" Bane demanded, frightened.

It showed the two dragons how they were completely powerless to free themselves. And as a demonstration of It's power, It started to dissolve the dragons' body, reducing parts of them to nothingness.

"NO!" Malefor screamed in agony, feeling genuine fear for the first time in ages.

"STOP THIS!" Bane begged. "PLEASE!"

It stopped destroying the two dragons, restoring their body to normal. It showed them how the two dragons had better not insult It again, or they would be completely annihiliated.

"DON'T KILL ME!" Bane screamed in fear.

"I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU SAY!" Malefor shouted, horrified. "YOU HAVE MY WORD!"

Instantly, Malefor felt It release It's grip around the Purple dragon, and he fell to the floor, breathing heavily. Bane was forced back into his prison in Malefor's mind.

Not again..., the Black dragon lamented.

"Silence!" Malefor shouted. However, the Purple dragon was still frightened.

Never before had he felt so helpless. So weak. Malefor hated that feeling. He didn't know what that entity was, but he wasn't about to stay in the realm of Convexity to be turned into a plaything again.

Immediately, Malefor created a portal and stepped through it. As he did so, one thought ran through his head.

The Nothing must NOT be summoned into the Dragon Realms.

...

The Next morning, in the city of Glenhaven...

Tyrrany slowly woke from slumber. Denzel was curled up by her side, underneath her wing. The White dragoness yawned, and then got up onto her feet.

"Another new day begins.." Tyrrany said. She turned and shook Denzel's tiny shoulder to wake him.

"Time to get up, Denzel." She said sweetly. "It's morning."

The Purple hatchling yawned and slowly woke up.

"Good morning, Mommy." He said happily. The hatchling got up onto his feet. "Are we going to see Daddy today?"

"Of course, silly." Tyrrany answered, smiling. "Did something make you think otherwise?"

"Well, no." The hatchling replied. "I was just curious…"

Tyrrany chuckled and held her son in a hug.

"Well, we're definitely going to see your Daddy at around noon, just like the two of us decided to do everyday. Until then, we're going to go get something to eat over in the grasslands, and then we're going to wait. Okay?"

"Okay.." the hatchling said.

After Tyrrany and Flame had finally reunited, they decided that they wanted to spend as much time as possible together, so Flame could get better acquainted with Denzel. Since it was established that Flame got off his rounds of patrol at noon, that gave them the entire afternoon to themselves. The Red dragon had to return to the place he was living in at around ten at night, so they had plenty of time.

Tyrrany applied the Shroud of Darkness to herself and Denzel, and the two dragons approached the front door to the abandoned house. The Dragoness allowed her son to climb up onto her back, and she stepped out into the morning light.

"Can I take a nap until we arrive, Mommy?" Denzel asked. His mother chuckled.

"Of course, dear." She said.

"Thank you, Mommy."

The hatchling placed his head on his mother's neck and slowly drifted off to sleep. Tyrrany was careful not to drop him as she lifted off into the sky….

…

Roxanne woke up and got ready for her patrols. She placed her satchel around herself and stepped out into the Living room. She looked over at the kitchen, and was happy to see her father Seamus still at home.

Seamus was a Memory dragon, just a few years older than Velma. He had a Light brown hide and a green underbelly. He had four green, lightning-shaped horns on his head. He had a thick green mane and a short green beard, and yellow eyes. He wore a brown satchel, and was making his way to the doorway.

"Hi, Dad." Roxanne said happily.

"Good morning, Roxanne." He replied, smiling. "Doing okay this morning?"

"Yep. Same as ever."

"Good to hear."

The Memory dragon stopped to hug his daughter goodbye.

"I'll see you later, honey."

"Later, Dad!" Roxanne said, waving.

After Seamus left, Roxanne went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Velma was in the kitchen, going through her usual routine. The younger dragoness grabbed a slab of cooked steak from the fridge.

"Is that all you want, Rox?" Velma asked.

"Uh-huh." She answered. "I don't need much else."

"If you say so."

Roxanne turned and walked towards the front door.

"Have a good day, Roxanne!" Velma said to her as the younger dragoness left.

"Bye mom!"

Roxanne stepped out onto the streets and took off for flight…

Little did she realize that a powerful White dragon was watching her.

…

Just across the street, in an alleyway, Runefor was hidden away behind a well-placed Space spell. He watched as Roxanne took off for flight to some other part of the city.

The White dragon sighed in satisfaction.

"She's perfect." He said, grinning. "She looks like she'll provide a far better experience than Nellie ever did! Wouldn't you agree, Rune?"

….You monster..

"Oh, WHAT?" Runefor shouted. "What's the problem now?"

How can you do those things to Nellie? She was only trying to get you to calm down!

"She pissed me off, so I punished her accordingly." The White dragon replied. "And frankly, I'm sick of her. She just doesn't do it for me like she used to."

Stop it! Nellie is NOT a piece of property! She's a person! What you've done to her is bad enough! There's no need for you to get rid of her!

"Ah, so you're finally cutting the crap." Runefor said, smirking. "You don't want me to kill your precious girlfriend."

Can't you at least return her to Hontus and Seraph?

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want, thank you very much." The White dragon snapped. "If you continue bitching, I think I'll go ahead and just eat her when we return. And I mean literally."

NO! Rune screamed.

"Then SHUT UP!" The White dragon snapped. "The less you bitch and moan, the less I'll consider eating her. Got it?"

Rune didn't respond.

"Good, you're a quick learner."

With the conversation over, Runefor moved on to a different matter.

"Now then, should I go after Roxanne now, or should I go visit my darling sister?" The White dragon asked. "Decisions, decisions…"

After thinking about it for a minute, the White dragon decided.

"I know just what to do…"

Runefor began charging up his magic. He then surrounded himself with a cloud of Purple energy. And then, he began to shrink.

Runefor started changing…

…

And so, the countdown to the final battle begins!

Will Bergan summon The Nothing into the Dragon Realms?

Will Urobos, Spyro, Cynder and the citizens of Warfang arrive in Glenhaven soon?

Will Nellie be saved?

Find out the answers by reading onwards!