Chapter 20

Scorch looked at the MudWing. It took a few seconds to realize who that certain MudWing was. "Asha! You're alive!" She survived! But how come we never saw her? He ran past Angel, who gave him a confused look (and he completely missed it). Asha gasped and surrounded Scorch with her wings. "Scorch!" She then looked behind him and surrounded the rest of the dragonets he grew up with a warm hug. Scorch could feel some of them squirm the tight squeeze.

"Shouldn't we be saving this…touchy reunion for later?" An angry-ish, muffled voice sounded from somewhere behind their favorite guardian. "I agree. Those soldiers aren't too far behind." That was Angel.

Asha released them and turned around to face her companion, who he didn't notice before "Okay, okay. Dragonets, this is Minerva. (For people who do know, they don't know her identity) She helped my underground level of prisoners escape."

"Nice to meet you. Can we go now?" Angel said. "Who is this lovely dragoness?" Asha looked hardly at the dragonets' new friend. And then at Shimmer.

"Um, an accomplice." Scorch said. Angel stared hard at the ground for a moment and drooped. "And a fellow Dragonet of Destiny," Phantom added, a slight hint of something Scorch couldn't identify underlying his voice.

Minerva looked outside, scanning for patrol. "Come on, Asha!"

"Yes, yes, I'm coming! Dragonets, you'll have to tell me what happened on the way!"

"…And then we swooped through the cave! It really was an invisible entrance!" Scorch said. Asha shifted nervously. "Animus abilities, you say?" She spoke calmly. Hurricane nodded. The others noticed she was falling behind. What happened with her?

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Came out a raspy whisper. And then a shriek. Scorch swiveled his head away from her and looked ahead of him. Straight into the eyes of his mother.

Asha dove in front of the dragonets, flailing out her wings in front of them. "I won't let you do to them what your soldiers did to me!" Asha roared.

"What?!" Scorch, Shimmer, and Angel yelped. He then took a longer look at the jagged scars across Asha's face and body, the angrily snapped horn on her head.

"M-mother?" Scorch looked for any guilt in her eyes, and his friends looked with confusion at him. She went pale. Her soldiers looked at her. "I didn't-What did they-I-I…" The squadron looked about ready to attack. Raptor switched her gazed from her son to her soldiers, then looked at the mountainous area around, soon to be filled with the SkyWing army. She was clearly thinking about something. Family or loyalty.

"Ma'am?" One of the Skywings tried to get a response.

Her voice dead-cold, came out "RUN!"

I'm not dead! I just kinda...took a break. Scorch is back!