Midnight: Hi guys! Sorry for the late update. I've been busy being tortured by life. I was also working on my story on DA.

Blazer X: Well it's about freakin time you uploaded the next chapter! Also, when are you gonna tell them about that?

Midnight: About what?

Blazer X: You know...*clicks open a folder on my laptop*

Midnight: Oh, these stuff! Don't worry. The time will come. Anyways, will you take care of things for me?

Blazer X: The enemies belong to their respective owner. All other characters belong to MidnightStar27.

Midnight: Also, if you don't like it, don't read it. It's that simple.

Blazer X: *chuckle*

Midnight: Hey, what's so funny?

Blazer X: Think they should know about that email?

Midnight: Email? What are...oh yeah. Forgot about that. I'll just post a link to the journal.

Chapter 3

Trouble In The Cave

The griffins plus dragon ventured into Crystal Cave. The place was mostly dark but faintly lit by the sparkling crystals that jutted all around them. Luckily, Blazer X, Aeolus, Maria, and Dairu were able to see in the dark as if it was bright as day. A griffin can see all red when using night vision. Blazer on the other hand can practically see every color; the cavern was dark but he can see a variety of colors. Dairu had found it rather strange; a dragon couldn't see like that in the dark. Aeolus and Maria thought the same as well but said nothing about it.

Dairu was in the front, Blazer X was next to him, and the two siblings were playfully pushing each other. Other than that, the walk was quiet but it seemed like lasted hours; either that or they were lost. Aeolus had mentioned it to Dairu but he reassured him that it was one straight path.

Blazer X seemed comfortable around. Even though he was his "son", he'd always feel left out. He was told that he's a dragon and not a griffin but he was treated and welcome as a griffin. He and Dairu were talking one day and he had learned very little about his kind. He had learned that there were dragons of many colors. Each color would represent one's element but there were few that had none. Blazer X wondered why and what element he had. Something else was bugging him though.

"Dad?" he called

Dairu brought his head down to the dragon. "Yes, my son?" he responded

"Why do I have a last name?" he whispered. Aeolus and Maria must've heard him for he heard them walk up from behind.

"I've always wondered the same. Why is our step-brother named Blazer X?" Maria asked with an emphasis on 'X'.

Dairu only smiled and said, "It's very special. You will know when the time is right."

"Aw, can't we get a small hint? I really–"

"I wished to be called Blazer instead of being fully addressed." Blazer cut in on Aeolus' whining. "I think it sounds a little better."

Dairu gave a light chuckle. "Why of course young one. Just remember to address your full name when meeting friendly new faces. Okay?"

Blazer nodded. He caught a faint glimmer of a crystal from the corner of his eye.

Dairu caught onto what Blazer was looking at. "We should hurry." he said. "It's gonna start soon."

They didn't have to worry about that. Aeolus asked if it was one path all the way and got a 'yes' in return. He then came up next to Blazer. "Race ya to the end!" then ran ahead.

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" Blazer took off after him.

"Haha. Come on Maria. We should make sure your brothers do not hurt themselves."

"Sure. Race you there old man." she took off with her father laughing along the way.

It wasn't exactly a straight line path nor was it a short one since there were a few snake-like turns but in was one straight path.

Blazer had beaten Aeolus to the end. The young griffin had pounced on him and the two were play fighting against each other. Maria and Dairu came in at the same time and saw the two tumbling and laughing.

Seeing this made Maria feel a pang of pain inside her mind. Somehow, her brothers made her think of her mom, Sara. She suddenly remembers all the wonderful times she and Sara had. But seeing Blazer made her hurt even more. A few years ago, Dairu had came around to telling her the truth about Sara. She wanted to blame the midnight blue dragon for her death – which she actually did in a way but never told him – but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Sara was a loving and caring griffin who would do almost anything to help; even if it meant sacrificing her life to save another. Whenever Maria stares at Blazer, she could see her mom. Whenever she feels down or when she has a problem, the one dragon that cost her mother's life, always comforts her; something that her mom would always do to her. A few years after Blazer first hatched, Maria always hated him and majority of the time, she would ignore him. But something made her change.

*Maria's Flashback – 8 years ago*

Dairu had left the cave to hunt some food for the kids and Maria was told to watch Blazer X and Aeolus till then. She sat near the mouth of the cave and stared out at the vast landscape as the bright golden morning sun warmed her. The sound of grass swaying back and forth from the gentle soothing wind seemed to put her mind at ease. That is until she heard laughter echo from the back of the cave. One of them she seemed to recognise and frowned with disgust as she looked back. She saw her blood brother and foster brother running in circles. She just ignored them and stared out the cave. You, of all the creatures, I hate you the most, she thought. Maria tried to block out their childish giggles until...

"Hey sis! You're it!" Aeolus had run up to her and quickly tapped her leg.

Maria didn't move. She heard the two scamper away laughing as if they had ate half a bag of sugar. She didn't want to be involved in their little game. It didn't take long for her to realize that they came back. Now they were going to bug her.

"Come on Maria! You're supposed to tag us back!" Aeolus chirped.

Maria just lifted her tail and tapped her brother on the head. "Tag, you're it. Now leave me be." she said icily, not removing her gaze from the field below and beyond.

"Aw, you're no fun," Blazer X whined. "Come on Aeolus. Let's play elsewhere."

Ten minutes later, Maria had gone to sleep in the back of the cave. She was snoring peacefully until some noises roused her. She thought it was her father but she didn't smell any dead animals. She got up and strolled to the front of the cave. On the way there, she paused when she heard something. It sounded like...clicks. No doubt her brothers were playing around but where? The clicks were reverberating off the walls making it difficult to pinpoint where it was originally coming from. She shrugged it off and continued but quickly stopped when she heard the clicks grew louder which was followed by laughter. The sounds were definitely coming from her brothers. This time, the sounds were loud and close enough for her to know where they were; her left flank. She looked but did not have time to react. Aeolus came out of nowhere and just missed her by quickly sidestepping. Blazer X, however, did not react in time and collided with Maria. Both rolled around a bit till Maria was flat on her back with the young dragon on top.

"Sorry sister. I didn't mean to run into you. Are you okay? Maria? Maria...?"

*End Flashback*

"...Maria? Helloooo."

"Huh? Wha?" Maria blinked a few times before realizing it was Blazer that brought her out of her trance. "Stop that Blazer. It's really annoying." she growled.

Blazer sighed with a pang of hurt. "Sorry. I just wanted to see if you were okay. You kinda spaced out for a while." he said solemnly. He got up and slowly walked over to what looked like a large pit.

Maria felt pity for Blazer. All he did was asked how she was doing and she simply pushed him away.

"Some sister I am," she thought. "He was only being nice to me. Yet, I keep pushing him away like he's an outcast. Now I have to go apologize. It's the least I can do for him." and with one big sigh, she went over to Blazer. He must've read her mind for when she was near him, he turned with a smile and mouthed to her, "You need not to apologize, sis." and draped a wing around her. She smiled at him. Maria knew that he was a kind-hearted and was willing to let actions like what she did slip by. Although, she could still see the hurt hidden behind his smile. Before she could speak, Dairu spoke first.

"It should happen at any second now," he turned his gaze to the younglings. "Before you were laid as an egg, Maria, your mother and I would come here early to watch what happens."

"What happened?" she asked.

"You'll know very soon. It should happen...now."

As if on cue, the darkness in the room was slowly lifting away by glowing crystals. The crystals were glowing brighter ad brighter. When the room was bright enough, everyone noticed that they were at a four way intersection. To the three youngsters, they were surprised by what was in the middle. The faint outline of a PERFECTLY CLEAR crystal – it was as if it wasn't there at all – gleamed near the top. Then, there were soft rumbling that didn't do much but startle the kids. It didn't last long. Aeolus was the first to notice the light fade away.

"Father, was that supposed to happen?" Aeolus asked, sounding a bit timid.

Dairu replied with a quick "No" then told them to stay quiet. Something was not right and he hoped that it wasn't anything that might be dangerous as he listened out for any suspicious sounds. None were heard and he didn't feel any quakes, which made him curious.

"That's odd. I know you all felt that, but I can't help but think that something is–" Dairu suddenly let out an agonizing screech that made everyone jump. Aeolus, Maria, and Blazer were horrified not from Dairu's screech, but from what they saw when he fell. There was a large battle axe stuck in his spine between his wings and blood was running down his sides. They rushed to him and tried to remove it.

"N-No, leave it." Dairu grunted.

"But..." Maria began

"If you remove it, I-I'll *cough* die faster."

"No! I won't believe that!" she snapped.

"Maria, calm down!" Blazer yelled. Before he could react he was knocked on his back and was pinned by an angry Maria.

"Don't tell me what to do you lizard!" she snarled as she brought her face dangerously close to his.

Blazer was taken aback by her actions. Yet, even though it looked like she was going to kill him, he stayed calm and spoke, "Maria, I know this is hard on you but I'm telling you the truth. Dad won't survive much longer. If he lives, then he'll just be paralysed and..." Blazer grunted when Maria slashed his left cheek, leaving three bloody slash marks. This didn't stop him as he continued, "...and I'm sorry. We can't do anything. Whoever threw..." he didn't get far when she stomped on his groin with her hind leg, eliciting a yelp. The dragon groaned in pain for she did it real hard. Aeolus was about to help Maria off but Blazer saw this and mouth the word "No" to him. "Maria, I may not exactly know what it's like to lose someone that you care about, but know this, you can blame me, you can hate me, you can do whatever you want with me, but I will still love you like Aeolus does. You have other people that are alive and are willing to help you. Aeolus is one of them and so am I. I'm willing to help my favourite sister no matter what happens to me." Blazer finished.

Maria's face seemed to loosen as she was on the verge of crying. However, an unfamiliar sound of screams and hoots startled them. She got off Blazer then shifted her head left and right trying to locate where it was coming from. As it got closer, she was able to tell that they were surrounded but the question is: by what? She looked the direction where the axe came from and she could've sworn she saw something.

"What is it?" Blazer asked.

"I don't know, but it scares me." her voice trembled.

Then out of nowhere, several hideous hairy creature surrounded them. They wore white armour and carried a shield and a few other weapons such as swords, daggers, spiked-maces, and battle axes much like the one sticking in the back of the dying griffin Dairu. They had a long face and broad bodies. They hooted and hollered as they jumped up and down waving their weapons in the air whilst some either bashed their weapons against their shield or on the ground. Their actions seemed to frighten the purple griffin. She bore a determined look but inside she was too nervous to think clearly. Even Aeolus was taken aback by what is happening.

"Maria! Aeolus! Surround dad, quick!" Blazer ordered.

Neither one knew what he was up to but they did not bother to argue and did what he said. Blazer quickly joined them. He knew that if they did not do something or at least try, they would die. He was scared yet at the same time, determined and confident. Those two things were clearly seen in his eyes.

Maria had stole a quick glance at the young dragon and saw the fire burn in his eyes. It was then she finally caught on to what he was thinking. They were going to fight. Father never taught them how to fight properly. Now she fears of what the consequences will be. She then stole a quick glance at her Aeolus. He seemed calm and collected. It was almost as if he knew what he was doing. But now that Maria thinks about it, they were going to die either way, but they were going to kill a few of these creature in the process. Her attention was caught when she heard a voice.

"Silence!" whoever had said that made the creatures cease their actions.

Maria looked to her left and saw the creatures move aside for their leader. The leader was too easy to identify. It look the same as the other creatures except it wore a bright orange armour and wielded a large sword.

"Such determination," it was referring to Blazer X. "It shows no fear of death. You must be really stupid if you think you can fight us, you purple whelp."

"Who or what are you guys!" Blazer exclaimed more than asked.

"I suppose I should tell you since you are all going to die anyway. We are apes. That is all we are going to tell you." the leader snorted.

"Well you're either really dumb or simply color blind. I'm not a purple dragon. I'm a midnight blue."

The leader only grunted and cast a deadly glare at him. "No matter, we shall kill you where you stand," the ape leader looked at Aeolus and Maria. "As well as those freaks. All of you shall end up like him." he raised his sword and pointed it at Dairu who was watching with half closed eyes.

Dairu felt helpless. All he could do was lie quietly on his stomach and watch what was about to happen.

The ape leader raised his sword and brought it down as he yell three words.

"Slay them all!"

As the order was given, Blazer unfurled his wings to their max. He spread his forearms and hind legs apart and bared his teeth. He and the two sibling slowly moved closer to Dairu as the apes slowly closed in on the trio. He heard Maria call his name.

"What do we do?" she nervously inquired.

"We fight!" Blazer blurted.

"But we don't know how!"

"Then we'll just die trying!" Aeolus snapped.

His sudden outburst surprised both Maria and Blazer. Never have they heard him talk like that. The Aeolus they knew was funny, crazy, and noisy. This one was different. They simply shook it off.

Maria, despite her fears, she knew that her brothers were right. They either fight or die trying.

Hmm...seems like something went wrong in the past. What did Maria do? Will she and her brothers escape from this predicament?

Only time will tell...