Reticence Saga
Wings of Change
Chapter 6: Lana's Stabilization
"An old controversial project is being worked on today. And it's not relating to the Shar-Virk virus this time.
"As we all know, when Spyro managed to keep the world from coming apart, he wasn't able to keep it completely together. While most dragons have adapted to living on this fragmented world, most of our oceans have fallen through the new cracks, leaving the Encircled Sea as the largest remaining body of water.
The NSC began projects to repair our oceans using advanced gravity systems but, after the coup set off by General McNeil, such projects were shut down. Now, finally, the project is back on track after a cache of Atlantean technology, including gravitational generators has been found in the great deserts.
"However, the water dragons are opposing this project. They say that the humans should mind their own business and leave the Encircled Sea alone."
The main worry though is that scans have indicated that the Encircled Sea, a vast inland sea that was spared the initial fragmentation, may be leaking and could be drained in as short a time as a decade. Negotiations have continued..."
Lana sighed, turning the holoviewer off. More bad news. She would have thought the water dragons would want their oceans restored. But apparently the water dragons were not as social as the other kinds of dragons and seldom had little to do with them. They were also less welcoming to the offworlders, seeing them as part of the reason their planet was in such bad shape. The wyverns had even mentioned some stories of young water dragons trying to damage the underwater windows in their old home long before the world had broke
"It's ironic, water is the most adaptable and mutable element, and yet they don't want anything to change," said Lana. She looked at her watery hand. She made it harden into ice before softening to snow and then melting back to water.
Megan sighed, back for a break from the Shar academy, "Hey. It could be worse, you know."
"Yeah, you've got an awesome set of powers," said Zira.
"It would be awesome if they'd let me turn them off," said Lana.
"Hey...I can turn into my split personality who can bench press buildings. I can't turn that off either," said Zira calmly.
Lana sighed and tried to pick up a cup, only for her hand to turn to water and her to drop it. "See?" she snapped.
"You know you can make yourself ice too," said Megan.
"Ice, show, steam, cloud, only water. I have no flesh, no bones, no blood," snapped Lana, "And it turns out my fellow water dragons are jerks."
"Hey, they aren't all bad," said Megan, "Morgan's a pretty decent guy."
"Morgan was born human," said Lana flatly.
"Look at it another way. They'll probably agree when the water level starts to drop," said Zira.
"It could be too late for that," said Megan, "All that water would be gone forever."
"It's not gone," said Lana, "You can't really destroy water. The most you can do is separate it back into hydrogen and oxygen for a while. There's still a lot of water on the planet."
"Yes...most of it's evaporated," said Zira pointedly, adding, "Look, the water dragons'll see sense? What else can they do?"
"And how can you bring the seas back?" asked a water dragon skeptically, "Do you intend to dig for them?"
Torno smirked. "My mistress feels...sympathy for your plight," he said, nodding to a drone holding a large case which hovered closer.
"Sympathy won't make the seas rise again," said the water dragon.
"But we can make a new one," said Torno.
The drone dropped the box it was holding, which popped open to show several tubes. "Hydro-Bombs, can convert any planet into a water planet. These things, when detonated in the right points, like, say New Warfang, will give you a brand new land to call home. These are even modified with a gravity generator so that the water won't even drop away. Detonate enough and this world will be yours," sneered Torno.
"You're suggesting we should wipe out all the other dragons," said another water dragon suspiciously.
"What have they ever done for you? Where were they when the Purple Dragon destroyed your seas?" asked Torno.
"I don't think that would justify wiping them all out," said the skeptical dragon.
"And it's better to be at their mercy? Their technology that they control being the only thing keeping you alive?" said Torno coldly, several of the dragons muttering.
"Surely there has to be a better way," said the skeptical dragon.
"Can you think of one before the dragons responsible for your situation complete their plan?" sneered Torno.
"We can certainly at least delay them," said another dragon, "They can't mess with our sea as long we stand in the way."
The lead dragon frowned, before he said, "You speak some truth. If we let the air breathers hold us hostage..."
"This isn't just forcing them to move," said the skeptical dragon, "This is genocide you're talking about."
Torno smirked. "Really? That sounds like a land lover," he sneered.
The skeptical dragon simply said, "The sea needs the land as much as the land needs the sea."
"Spoken like a land lover," snapped the water dragon leader, angrily.
"You are upsetting the balance," said the skeptical dragon. "The balance has already been upset, by them!" snapped the water dragon leader, "Now we're swinging it back in our direction."
Two dragons approached the skeptic before he spun in place, a waterspout scattering the group before he flew off. "Let him go back to his land masters," sneered Torno.
"We've only got a limited time to act now," said the dragon leader, "That traitor will reveal everything."
"If the land walkers believe him," sneered Torno
"Even so, we must act fast," said the dragon leader, "We need to hit Warfang before anyone can respond."
Torno sighed. "My friend. Rash actions will just lead to defeat. Be calm and follow the calmer tide," he said.
"Easy for you to say," said the dragon leader, "Your home is not shrinking by the day."
"My mistress has no home thanks to your enemies. We are in the same lake," sad Torno, being careful to keep to water dragon sayings.
"And what is your mistress getting out of this?" asked another dragon.
"That is her concern and she has not shared it with me," said Torno calmly.
"She must want something," said that dragon.
"We can settle the prices later," said the leader, "First we need to claim our new territory."
"Remember...calm and steady," said Torno, turning to leave
While the Atlantean scientists were a bit doubtful they could do much to help Lana, they were at least intrigued enough to give it a try.
"I'm not sure if I like the design of this thing," said Lana, who was inside a large glass chamber. It was the tubes connecting to smaller chambers that concerned her.
"It's based on an alembic," said one of the scientists, "It was used for distilling liquids in alchemy."
"You're gonna DISTILL ME?!" snapped Lana
"Don't worry, it should be harmless to you," said the scientist.
"It should- Nope, I'm out, lemme off this ride!" Lana snapped.
"No need to get steamed up," said the scientist as he turned on the heat.
"You asshat! You waited for that line just to do-" began Lana.
Just then, her body started bubbling before she found herself shooting through one of the tubes. Then that tube branched and sent into separate chambers. Then one part of her went through a longer, spiraling tube. As it could be imagined, it had a very disorientating effect on Lana.
"I haaaate yoooou aaaallllll.." she managed, her voice echoing in chorus from each tube.
"Uh, is there an actual purpose to this?" asked Zira. It was a little hard to concentrate. Lana's swirling through the tubes and chambers was rather hypnotic.
"We may be able to extract some of the Shar-Ekta nanites responsible for her elementization," said the scientist. He then lowered his voice to a whisper and added, "But between you and me, I always wanted to try this on a water elemental."
"I knew it!" snapped Lana.
Sometime later, Lana was released from the chambers. She probably would have immediately gotten her revenge on the scientist. She had a quarter of a mind to pour herself down his throat. But she was far too dizzy to even attempt such a thing.
"I don't feel so good..." she moaned. She leaned over and vomited on the floor. Of course, that vomit was only her own water mass and she kept going until she reduced herself to a puddle. "Jerks," she grumbled.
"So did you learn anything at all?" asked Zira in annoyance.
"We did get a few of the nanites," said the scientist, "Alayshia's Shar-Ekta work is really next-level. But it also concerned something we already expected: they were not designed to control two elements."
Lana surged up as a water spout before resuming her lizard woman shape. "I'm only one element!" she snapped, giving the scientist a literally icy glare as her head frosted over.
"Your doner is too; a completely different element," pointed out the scientist.
Lana paused and said, "That is true. I always assumed I ended up as water because it was different for everyone."
"But you didn't receive a control nanite either," said the scientist, "It made the nanites more unstable, which led to them incorporating a second element."
"Water and ice are the same element," protested Lana.
"Not how the elementals count it," said the scientist, "Even with a control nanite, the Shar-Ekta nanites aren't meant for more than one."
"But what about Spyro?" asked Zira.
"He's only using Shar-Virk nanites," said the scientist, "The Ekta nanites are meant to fully tap into one element only. It's a sign of how much willpower Lana has that she has so much control over herself."
"Look, give it to me straight. Can you remove my nanites safely so I don't have to sleep in a bucket?" sighed Lana.
"That would be a very tricky and complex procedure in itself," said the scientist, "And even if we did manage to extract all the nanites, you might just be reduced to inert water."
Lana gulped at that.
"I'm afraid that all there is to do is make the most of it," said the scientist.
"Good point," said Lana before hosing the scientist into a wall.
Zira said in a deadpan voice, "Real smooth, Squirtle."
"That was for sending me through that crazy water ride," said Lana.
Zira shrugged before they walked out into the city, a Atlantean hovership floating overhead, carrying a glowing tube. "Another gravity generator." said Zira, the ship heading east.
"I wonder how long before some water dragon 'accidentally' breaks it?" muttered Lana.
"Surely some of them must realize how detrimental this is for them," said Zira.
"They keep protesting at the guardian temple and council. I think they blame Spyro," sighed Lana, the two walking round a corner onto main street to see a dozen water dragons, liquid breather masks on their mouths as they yelled at the council quarters. A few...unflattering signs of Spyro could be seen.
"You don't blame him, do you?" asked Zira.
"Spyro was able to prevent the entire planet from coming apart," said Lana, "It's not his fault liquids don't have the same gravity rules as solids."
"True," said Zira, "But do you blame Matt for your condition?"
Lana sighed. "No, not really. I woulda died if he hadn't helped me," she said. She turned her hand to ice and said, "It's really only my own fault that I ended up like this. I didn't think there would be any harm in becoming part ice."
"You heard the doc. It's damaging you. You just gotta pick one," said Zira.
"You misheard the doc. It's too late for me to make a choice," said Lana, "I'm stuck like this."
"So...what's next for Lana?" asked Zira, the group going past the protest.
Lana looked at the protestors with disdain. "Look at them, they don't even know what they're protesting over. I think it's past time someone found the head of these rabble-rousers and knock some sense into it," she said.
"Wait...you're going to that inland sea to the east?" asked Zira.
"If I can't get myself fixed, I can at least fix the world," said Lana.
"Wow, you serious?" asked Zira.
"Well, I'm not planning on fixing the seas by myself. But I can at least make those water dragons see reason," said Lana.
"Good luck with that," laughed Zira before there was a 'hummm' noise from the council building and water began spilling out.
"But it looks like I'll need to start applying some sense right here," said Lana before she shifted her arm into an ice hammer.
Several dragons, including Volteer, burst out of windows, coughing, Lana and Zira glaring as some water dragons cheered, though many were also apparently rushing to help.
Lana looked around before spotting one that looked like he could be their leader. She extended out her arm as a watery tentacle and grabbed him by the neck. The water dragon gagged as he was dragged off his claws, a few canisters with a strange symbol, half explosion warning and half water drop, rolling out of a pack. "Sometimes tells me you weren't here to fix the plumbing," said Lana.
The dragon glared. "What are you doing? Traitor!" he snapped before several dragon guards flew into view.
"Traitor? You're the one who's trying to harm someone who's only trying to help you," said Lana.
"Lies! The lad dwellers did this to us and they'll pay!" screamed the water dragon as he was dogpiled.
"You're so far away from the river of truth that your shallow pond of lies is already stagnant," said Lana. The water dragon blinked for a second before glaring. "You know, I don't need to waste my time with a stagnant stupidhead. Where is your leader?" asked Lana.
The dragon sneered, "When we get our homes back, you'll dry." before he was dragged off, laughing.
Zira looked at one of the canisters, "What the heck is this thing?"
Lana picked one up before carefully examining it. "If I had to guess...it's pure hydrogen," said Lana.
"Hydrogen doesn't do this," said Zira, gesturing at the flooded building.
"It's not normal hydrogen," said Lana, "This is tritium, it's a hydrogen isotope that's been altered and refined to bond instantly with any oxygen in its vicinity."
"Producing a large amount of water," said Zira.
"Fortunately, the tritium is a small sample here," said Lana, "A larger sample could have caused more damage."
"This isn't from around here. So who gave that nutcase them?" asked Zira.
"Hydro-bombs? Brings a whole new meaning to a water war," said Matt, looking at the hydro-bomb before at Zira and Lana.
"I don't know much about the water dragons, but I do know this way above their tech," said Matt, "We need to find out who gave this to them."
"Good luck, they trust nobody but themselves," said Zira.
"I can be quite persuasive," said Lana.
Matt shook his head. "Not that sort. This situation's a powder keg. The inland ocean supplies most of the water for the planet now, not to mention if they don't accept our help and the water gets dumped on the core," he said.
"And add to even more steam down there." said Lana.
Matt nodded, "It could cause critical mass and steam-clean the planet to death."
"And quite possibly push the planet apart," said Lana.
Zira rolled her eyes. "Great, I assume you actually have an idea," she said.
Matt said, "Well, I only know one water dragon available to go and find out what's going on..." He looked at Lana.
"I'm not really a dragon..." said Lana.
"Hey, you're reptilian, you have wings sometimes, you have control over an element. You have all the qualifiers in my book," said Matt.
"If they find out..." began Lana.
Matt said, "They'll do what? You're kinda immune to them."
"If anything, you'd be the one turning their attacks back on them," said Zira.
Lana sighed before saying, "Fine...but I don't wanna go alone."
"No problem, I can help," said Zira.
"Yeah...except you're too molecularly dense to swim," said Matt.
"And you can't breathe down there," said Lana, Zira glaring daggers.
"Yeah, maybe it would better if Matt came with me," said Lana.
"Uh, I'd like to, but I have a strong fear of drowning," said Matt, "I'm not a water drake, you know."
Lana whispered something to Zira before the two grinned. "I can fix that," said Lana evilly.
"You have to be joking. You soaked me and my lab. Why in Poseidon would I help you?" said the doctor icily.
"Because your lab will get even more soaked if more water dragons show up with tritium bombs," said Lana.
"What you're asking is insane. Messing with Ekta nanites is delicate work that only Alayshia should do," sighed the doctor.
"I'm also thinking this is a bad idea," said Matt.
"It's the only way to stop these nutters," said Zira, keeping some vines around Matt...he'd proven...uncooperative.
"I'd need a genetic profile and it will certainly only be temporary," said the doctor
"Fortunately, we already got someone we can borrow a little DNA from," said Lana.
"I certainly hope it's a voluntary donor," said the doctor in a huff.
Matt said, "Oh, he will be."
The trio looked at the occupant in the cell, who was smirking back at them.
Now, there are some noticeable differences between water dragons and the others. Probably the most notable one is that water dragons don't have wings in their natural form. The Shar nanites add them to the anthro form, but full water dragons are wingless. That is probably a major contribution for their lack of socializing with other dragons. They were also noticeable for having longer webbed claws and flukes on their tails.
This particular dragon was glaring. "You want some of my blood? What for?" he asked.
"To stop your leader from making a stupider mistake," said Lana.
"Go dry out," sneered the dragon.
"You know, we could get you more comfortable accommodations if you cooperate," said Zira.
"I want nothing from you. In a few days, this place will be underwater and you will all be at our mercy!" snapped the dragon, spitting a drop of water which hit Zira.
Zira blinked before wiping off the water. "I am trying to be the good cop here. You don't want me to bring in the bad cop," said Zira.
"Yes. I'm SOOOOO scared of the short little furball," sneered the water dragon.
"It's not the short, little furball you should be scared of," said Zira before she suddenly surged up in size, shape, and muscles.
"It's the big, tall furball you should be scared of," growled Kira.
The water dragon whimpered as Kira bent the bars back, stepped in and bent them back into shape before cricking her neck and striding towards him.
"How did you get a tooth?" asked the doctor suspiciously, looking at the water dragon fang.
"He had a loose one," said Zira.
"I see...now this reprogramming will last, at best, 2 days before the control nanite resets," said the doctor calmly.
"Is there anything that would speed that up?" asked Matt, "I don't want to change back when I'm too far underwater."
"No. Anything else risks putting you in the same boat as Miss Lana. Your nanites are messed up enough thanks to that Infinity Stone," said the doctor sternly.
"Don't remind me," grumbled Matt.
"Don't use the serum till you are ready," said the doctor, an injector vial filling with a sky blue liquid.
"Ok, so what are we going to do when we get there?" asked Matt, "Waterboard the leader until he sees reason?"
"Our best hope is to try and find the leader and where the other hydro bombs are," said Lana confidently.
"Ok, so long as we have an actual goal in mind. Zira, if we're not back in 2 days, you need to warn Chloe and the rest of the council. Try to evacuate possible targets," said Matt, putting a shoulder on Zira's shoulder.
"I wish I could come with you," said Zira.
"I know, but I'm afraid you just can't win in this particular environment," said Matt.
"Just...be careful," said Zira.
When they arrived at the Enclosed Sea, Matt was starting to have, er, cold feet. "You know, there must be better qualified people than me to bring along," said Matt nervously.
"Nobody I'd trust," said Lana, who was waist deep in the water, "Just take the stuff and get to it."
"Easy for you to say," said Matt, "You're not fighting against natural survival instincts."
Lana sighed, shooting out a water hand to grab the injector. "Come on, take your medicine. We need to hurry before someone sees us," she said.
"Ok, ok, fine," said Matt, wincing as he injected himself. He waited before saying "Maybe it was a-" before he doubled up. His wings shrank into his back before the spines on his back merged into a caudal fin. "I think I'm gonna barf," he groaned, his back spines becoming webbed, as did his paws before he began to gag.
"Take deep breaths," said Lana.
Matt gagged, Lana seeing slits in the scales at his neck before she grabbed him and dragged him under the water. Matt's first instinct was to struggle back up, his fear of drowning kicking in at full force.
Lana snapped, "Calm down..." before pulling him around to look him in the eyes, Matt finally taking a breath, realizing he could breathe.
It felt incredibly alien to be breathing through gills than through his mouth. But his lungs weren't burning for air now. "This is weird," he said, his voice sounding more high-pitched.
"You'll get used to it," said Lana.
"No, I do not want to get used to it," said Matt, "I want to get this over with as soon as possible."
Lana sighed. "Come on, I think their city's deeper," she said.
The term 'city' was used a tad loosely. Deprived of hands, tools, or the services of moles, the water dragons lacked the means of proper construction. However, they were able to use the water to carve out rock formations into serviceable caves.
There were also alot of water drakes, going back and forth about their day. One large cave seemed to have been converted into some sort of fishmongers, though it seemed shells were the currency.
"Huh, this isn't like what I imagined," said Matt.
"What were you imagining?" asked Lana sarcastically, "Mermaids in seashell bras?"
"No...but something a little more advanced. These guys are one step above nomads. Though this explains their sabotage of the grav generators," said Matt. He noticed a water dragon glaring at him. Matt's eyes glowed white before he said in an echoing voice, "Problem?" The water dragon yelped and swam off.
Lana looked around and noticed something else. "I would have thought there'd be more Shar-Khans down here," she said.
"The initial outbreak was airborne," said Matt meaningfully, "They just stayed underwater until it passed."
Lana nodded before noticing several drakes swimming in one direction. "Think those could be our guys?" asked Lana.
"We shouldn't assume any large group could be terrorists," said Matt, "Relationships between the races are strained as it is."
One of the drakes heard that. "Like we want relations with those dry landers," he snapped before swimming onwards.
"Ok, those are probably our guys," said Matt.
"Still, we probably should make sure before we rush in," said Lana, "That might just be the common opinion around here."
"Follow the group and see what happens," said Matt with a shrug, before swimming after them. Lana rolled her eyes and followed.
The trail led to some sort of square, a bulky-looking water dragon the center of attention as he seemed to be ranting about the evils of the 'air breathers'.
"I think we can safely make him the prime suspect," said Matt.
"The air breathers war destroyed our seas. Malefor never saw reason to attack us. Who's to say what he would have done or if this 'Destroyer' was just some story from the victors?" the dragon was saying.
"This guy really does live in a hole in the ground," muttered Matt, "Or should I say the seafloor?"
Lana shushed him as the dragon continued, "And just lately, they unleashed a plague that would force us to move to the surface." Several boos were heard
"Where does he get his information from? Surely not a tabloid. He'd have to be able to read one," muttered Matt.
"Will you keep quiet?" hissed Lana.
"Lana. He's a nutball. No way he's our guy," hissed Matt.
The dragon said, "But now, brave allies have given us the means to take our place as masters of Avalar."
"Well, he's probably associated with him," amended Matt.
"I see two new..." began the dragon before looking at Lana.
Lana did require a bit of effort to make herself solid and visible underwater. It was comparable to an air elemental making themselves visible on land. However, there was simply no hiding her more watery nature.
The other water dragons turned to look as well, staring in a mix of reverence and in a few cases, terror. "The chosen one...at my rally," said the speech dragon in a faint voice of awe.
"Well, thanks, I'm not sure I'd call myself the 'chosen one'," said Matt.
"Neither would I," said the speech dragon flatly. The speech dragon was about to push him aside, before deciding on second thoughts to just swim round him. The chosen one's companion gave him the creeps.
"The rumors are true," he said, facing Lana, "The lost goddess of the sea returns."
"The what?" said Matt and Lana in unison.
"Ever since the world was split open, the goddess of water has been silent to us," said another dragon, "But clearly this is her newest incarnation."
Lana leaned in, not letting her smile falter, "Maybe we shoulda brought some extra people?"
Matt hissed, "Bit late for that."
"What am I supposed to do? I can't pretend I'm a god," hissed Lana.
Matt twitched before saying, "Just act like everyone's a doormat. It's a good start."
"Excuse me?" said Lana.
"Sorry, old genetic memory with an ego of its own," said Matt. Matt twitched again before saying "It still works."
Lana turned to see the water dragons watching before the speaker shooed them away, except for a few others who looked like they had no sense of humor whatsoever. "You too, begone. Leave the goddess alone," the speaker snapped, advancing on Matt.
"That's not necessary," said Lana.
"This peasant is just a thug, oh goddess. Surely you can have better consorts," said the speaker, Matt and Lana choking.
"Escort. He's my escort," said Lana with much emphasis.
The speaker bowed before saying, "What, may I ask, brings you from the island of the gods?"
"I have heard that someone is trying to upset the balance," said Lana, trying to sound lofty.
"Ah yes...the dry landers. Do not fear for we are already planning to solve that," said the speaker smugly.
"We might have different opinions on 'solving'," said Lana. Matt kicked her unnoticed at that. Lana said, "By that I mean, I must check your methods to make sure you do not tip the balance too far towards the sea."
"Why would that be a problem?" asked the speech dragon in genuine confusion.
Lana frowned before saying with a growl, the water around her starting to bubble, "Are you questioning your goddess?"
"Of course not," said the speech dragon quickly.
"Good, lead us there," snapped Lana.
Lana and Matt were led a considerable distance away. Matt couldn't help but glance at his watch from time to time. "We're not running out of time," muttered Lana.
"Well, if we keep going, we're going to run out of sea," grumbled Matt.
Lana looked up to see an underwater cliff approaching...the edge of the basin. "Do not worry. We are almost here," said the speaker.
Matt and Lana noticed there was more underwater carving going on, caves being dug into the sides of the cliff. "Are you sure you should be digging like that?" asked Matt.
"We only dig small tunnels, under the dry landers' city," said one of the others.
"You're weakening this side of the basin," said Lana, "One wrong move and it could crack open."
"So?" said one of the other water dragons.
"It would take a pretty explosion to crack it," said Matt.
"We know when we are close to the edge," said 'speaker'.
They swam down to one of the caves built pretty much right underneath the seaside city of New Atlantis. Matt wasn't sure why New Atlantis was built right by the sea. It was practically begging for history to repeat itself.
The caves were a maze, Matt sure he and Lana would have been hopelessly lost. It finally led to a large cave, its smoothness showing it had been dug...and covered in advanced technology. It was a little remarkable seeing so much working technology in a cave completely filled with water. But Atlantean technology could easily be made waterproof.
Matt also spotted stacks of hydro-bombs. "Lana..." he muttered to her.
"I'm not blind," muttered Lana.
"What are these?" Lana asked out loud.
"A gift from like-minded dragons," said 'speaker' calmly, "Tomorrow night, everyone in the city above better learn to breathe underwater."
"Seen enough?" muttered Matt.
"Plenty," muttered Lana. A ripple went through the water, which plunged down to bitterly cold temperature.
"W-w-w-w-was that it?" asked Matt, shivering badly.
"I was trying to freeze the place," said Lana, "Saltwater doesn't freeze easily."
A second later, the speaker charged him, biting him in the shoulder...and everything going dark.
Lana screeched, glaring as 'speaker' bit Matt, who got a half-lidded dazed look. "I thought so. I spotted one of the dry lander's champions. Don't move, heretic...or I'll tell your friend to rip out his own throat," speaker sneered, his fellows staring at first before glaring at Lana.
"Why would he do that? You're not a psychic dragon," said Lana.
"Nature's gift to us to help us cope with the predators of old. Our venom dulls the mind...makes someone quite suggestible," sneered 'speaker'.
"Who are you?" demanded Lana.
"I am Jer'kath...the true leader of the water drakes," snapped 'speaker'.
"Oh, if only Matt could make fun of that name right now," said Lana.
"Your friend has a job tonight. Tonight's when the world becomes ours," snapped Jer'kath.
"You know the Virks are just using you," said Lana, "You really think they would want a drowned planet?"
"Of course...we'll have the planet," said Jer'kath
Lana was tempted to explain why the Shar-Virk wouldn't have the same interest in a flooded planet, but she suspected her argument would go in one finned ear of this fanatic and out the other.
"Tonight, we'll set off these bombs in the city pipes...as everyone sleeps their homes will flood," sneered Jer'kath.
"The city's computer will just open the doors like when the council building was flooded," said Lana flatly.
"Not if someone enters an override," said Jer'kath, looking over at Matt, "Would you be so kind as to override the AI at midnight?"
"He's not gonna fall for that," said Lana.
"Sure thing..." said Matt in a faint voice, smiling aimlessly.
"Matt, you can't be serious," said Lana.
"He's perfectly serious. He'd do anything I'd tell him, even if it got him killed," sneered Jer'kath.
"That venom won't work on him for long," said Lana.
"You'd be surprised," sneered Jer'kath.
Another said, "It won't matter cause he'll drown too."
"I'm sure I've got something to say about that," said Lana as the water around started to swirl.
The water dragons in the room all began to glow at that, Lana yelped as she felt like she was being squeezed.
"Huh, a true goddess wouldn't be suppressed so easily," sneered Jer'kath.
"You're not gonna get away with this!" snapped Lana before a water dragon tail whipped her back into a container that the bombs must have come in.
Despite her inability to follow them, Zira still stayed close to the seashore to wait for them to return. She finally noticed Matt, walking out of the surf, a water breather mask on and a dazed look.
"Matt, what happened down there? Is everything alright? Where's Lana?" asked Zira.
"Lana...staying undercover..." said Matt in a dazed voice.
"Are you ok?" asked Zira.
"I am fine...we must return to the city," said Matt dully.
"What for?" asked Zira.
"To regroup," said Matt dully. Zira noticed black lines from what looked like a bite mark on his neck.
"Matt, are you really ok?" asked Zira.
"I am fine," said Matt, though there was an edge to his voice now.
"Yeah, I'm not convinced," said Zira.
"Your comment is not required," said Matt with a faint snarl, walking forward.
"Oh, this is where we take him down and make him eat sand, right?" asked Kira in her head.
"No, I think we need to figure out where he's being sent," said Zira.
"But he just insulted us," said Kira.
"He's clearly under mind control," said Zira, "Which is odd because I thought he couldn't be mind-controlled."
"Well I thought he'd not be dumb enough to insult us but there we go," said Kira.
Zira paused before saying "Point to you." before she walked after Matt.
The trail led into New Lantis, Matt walking like some sort of zombie, though he'd had the sense to take off his water mask when he'd turned back halfway. Zira kept up with Matt pretty easily. If Matt even noticed her following, he didn't show it.
"Why's he headed for the computer center?" Zira wondered.
Kira said, "Having a good time? That place looks so smashable..."
"You don't think much beyond smashing, do you?" asked Zira.
"Hey...I enjoy my work," said Kira, the dual personality person following Matt in.
"Ok, so much mischief he could be made to do in here," said Zira, "But what is he after precisely?"
They heard some surprised yells at that, Zira running round the corner to see Matt drop an unconscious guard before walking through a door. "Think anyone will buy that he's not in control of himself?" asked Zira.
"Depends," said Kira, the body being steered into the room to see Matt slicing up the AI core.
"Oh, that's not going to look well for him," said Zira.
Matt seemed to notice them, the black lines having spread over his face, one of his eyes bloodshot and the other twitching. "On the other hand, I think it'll be easier to convince people he's been mind-controlled," said Kira. Matt twitched before aiming a glowing palm. "And now we gotta fight," said Kira eagerly.
"Fine...just be careful," said Zira, her eyes crossing as Kira took control. Matt just tilted his head.
"Ok, whatever your beef with the computer is, back or or be pounded into beef," said Kira.
Matt tilted his head before firing the blast, a glowing beam of black, seemingly highlighted at its edges by silver, shooting out and knocking Kira through the wall..
Kira was a lot more surprised than hurt. "What the heck was that?" she asked.
Matt wasn't listening, walking through the hole he'd made, Kira noticing some of the wall seemed to be...burning away.
She felt herself over, but she seemed to be ok. Well, maybe she felt a little burnt, but no more than a concentrated sunbeam would do. The next blast hurt more though, the fur under the impact looking...scorched. "Witness...not needed…" said Matt dully, readying another blast.
"Ok, time for a different angle," said Kira before punching the floor. Cracks ran through the floor towards Matt before vines burst out.
Matt looked at the vines wrapping around him before grabbing the vines, which turned black and collapsed into ash from his touch, black lightning crackling around him. "Weak," said Matt darkly, walking towards Kira.
"Weak? Did you just call me weak?" snarled Kira.
"Weak," said Matt, putting a hand on the wall, cracks forming as the same decay spread before the ceiling fell on Kira, Matt cracking a smirk and turning to leave, before he heard the several tons of rubble shift.
Matt turned to see Kira standing up out of the rubble, holding a good-sized chunk over her head. "Challenge?" he asked.
Kira, her voice deeper, snarled, "You'd better believe it." before throwing the chunk of rubble, Matt vaporized the chunk before Kira shot forward and delivered a blow across his jaw.
In Kira's mind, he went over like a tree. What he definitely should not do, though he was doing, was just knock his head to the side before turning it back to face her, spitting out a tooth before cricking his neck.
"Ok, I can make this last long," said Kira.
Their palms met as they lunged at each other, the two pushing against each other's palms, Kira smirking as she slowly began to push him back. "You know, most fights I have end after two punches at most. I might actually be able to test myself for once," said Kira before frowning, "What are you smirking about?"
Matt, smirking, turned to look at one of his hands, both of them crackling with energy. "Aw blitzn-" began Kira.
Spyro was not in a good mood. Being woken up in the middle of the night cause someone had reported a silent alarm at the city computer core was stressing his anti-other necklace to its limit. Two fire drake anthros were with him. "This better be a real emergency," he snarled before all three jumped back as a hole exploded outwards in the core's upper floor, a green shape, screaming 'aaaaaaaaak' flew out and impacted a closed shop front.
"Is that enough of an emergency for you, sir?" asked one fire drake.
Spyro wasn't listening, running forward to see Kira, her eyes spinning in an empty shop display. "Mummy, I don't wanna go to ecology class today," she gibbered before Spyro send a small icy mist into her face.
"Zira, what's going on?" asked Spyro.
"Kira...my name's...Kira," groaned Kira before pointing. Spyro turned to see Matt, in what was assumed to be the anthro version of his new form, dropping from the hole.
The two guards approached him. "Ok...just come quietly and-" began the first before yelping as Matt lifted him up by the collar and threw him into his fellow, knocking them both flying into an unconscious heap.
"Just so you know, Matt's not in control of himself," said Kira.
"Yeah, his new side's got loose again," said Spyro dryly.
"No, I mean-" stared Kira.
Spyro yelped as an infinity blast nearly took his head off, Matt walking calmly towards the two. "So what set him off this time?" asked Spyro.
"No idea. He acted weird after returning from that sea. I'm more worried about Lana. She didn't come back at all," said Kira, with a growl before tearing up some ground, one in each hand and charging.
"What about Lana?" asked Spyro.
"No time for that," said Kira before pulling out her arms, now covered in vines that made them three times bigger.
Matt glared, before Spyro flew past Kira in a charge, only to gag as Matt grabbed him before he gasped...starting to feel weaker by the second. Matt just stared, his eyes slowly getting a purple sheen as he said "Die." in a dark tone.
Just then, a giant thorny hand hammered down on top of Matt. Spyro gagged as Matt let go, seeing that his hands had turned almost black and cracked, though the color and feeling was rapidly returning before seeing Kira hammering at Matt who was backing up under the blows.
"Just...stay...down..." snapped Kira.
Matt grabbed one of her wrists before headbutting heer, tosing her back before sending blasts one after the other at her, the blasts bouncing off the slowly-growing Kira
"You...make...me...MAD!" roared Kira.
"Drain," said Matt, grabbing her wrists and the same energy crackling before he frowned. His Infinity Stone power was based purely on life and death, so he should be able to drain the life out of her easily. But what is this other energy building up? He tried to pull free but couldn't...and it was...hurting?
Then Kira reversed her grip and grabbed Matt's wrists. The energy was started burn and she was exerting pressure on his bones. Matt growled, this mortal should be dead so he could complete what he was meant to do. Of course, a small part of him was wondering why he should be doing that at all? Whose orders was he supposed to be carrying out? He blinked before another blow sent him flying.
He was starting to lose focus. He needed to get back on the mission. No, another part of him was saying this nuisance must be dealt with first. Kira snarled before finally headbutting Matt
Matt snarled before opening his mouth to send a blast of Infinity energy at Kira. But just as he was about to launch it, a pair of vines forced his mouth shut.
A second later, Spyro blasted him in the face with a convexity blast, Matt going limp. "Ok, that should do it," said Spyro.
Kira growling before kicking Matt once more. "Good...maybe we get some answers about where Lana is," she growled.
Lana grumbled as she bounced a water construct off the wall of the container she was in. This was so humiliating. She was an elemental with control over all forms of water and she was stuck inside this box.
"They're gonna use Matt like some puppet," she grumbled, before throwing the ball harder and yelping as it punched clean through the door.
"Wow, I clearly didn't put enough effort into getting out earlier," she said. She walked up to the door and pushed, nothing happening before she saw how thick the door was via the hole. "Ooookay...maybe I overdid it?" she said weakly.
Then she paused and said, "Wait a minute, I've created all the opening I need." With that, she became more fluid and flowed out through the hole she made. She winced as she realized she couldn't get through.
"Volume most likely," said a calm elderly voice at the back of her container.
"Well, I'm not used to doing this underwater- Wait, who said that?" asked Lana.
She turned to see an old, his scales pale and faded, water dragon, smiling warmly at her. "Oh, just another prisoner like yourself. Jer'kath and his cult do not discriminate in who they...well discriminate against," he said in a grandfatherly voice.
"I could have sworn I was the only one in here," said Lana.
"Maybe you were tired? My name is Brinus. These caves were me and my people's home...till Jer'kath and his ilk came."
"I can see they don't even respect their fellow water dragons," said Lana.
"Only those who don't share their world view," said Brinus.
"Their very limited world view," said Lana, "There's being out of the loop and then there's willful ignorance. Those garden eels don't even try to see how the rest of the world works."
"Careful, young Lana, most are just scared. Their world is literally shrinking and with it their chance of survival. In those cases, a person offering a remedy can be most tempting," said Brinus calmly.
"We are offering a remedy," said Lana, "They're trying to restore the oceans."
"Using artificial gravity?" asked Brinus, "How sustainable do you think that will be?"
"Matt's friends and the Atlanteans both say it can work easily," said Lana.
"And I'm sure they mean well. But can you say for sure the water will not just run out again?" asked Brinus.
"We don't...but we have to try something." said Lana, "Doesn't matter, Jer'kath's gonna start a war with the surface when he kills everyone in the city."
"I doubt it'll go as easily as he expects," said Brinus, "But it would be better against his favor if you were active yourself."
"Yeah...I can really help in this shipping container," snapped Lana, the container creaking.
"You think this container is really that watertight?" asked Brinus mildly.
"I couldn't even get through that hole," snapped Lana.
Brinus floated over and gently nudged her aside before placing a paw on the door, which began to creak. "The key is pressure. Whether it's air or water, pressure can overcome even the sturdiest of objects," said Brinus.
At that, the door exploded off its hinges and across the room, knocking out a guard in the room via crushing. "Who the hell are-" began another, lunging at Brinus, only to gag, scrabbling at his throat.
A large solid bubble of water started coming out of the guard's mouth. "You wouldn't mind providing some water vapor, would you?" asked Brinus to Lana. Lana gulped, concentrating and sending some vapor out.
"Thank you," said Brinus before sending the vapor into the guard's mouth. "You know, it's not entirely their fault," said Brinus, "Jer'kath selectively recruits dragons who've stayed underwater so long, their lungs have atrophied."
The water dragon guard gasped before passing out, floating away, before a dagger shot into Brinus's back, the elderly dragon's eyes going wide before he went limp, an older-looking and more musclebound water dragon, which Lana recognized from the council building attack, lowered some sort of wrist crossbow. "What are you doin' out?" he growled.
Lana glared before sending out ice spikes at the dragon. Well, that was her intent. They just ended up being very cold bursts of water. "Stupid salinity," she muttered.
"You've been up in the air too long, traitor," sneered the dragon, approaching her, "The traitors who lived here at least put up a fight." He smacked Lana back before his eyes went wide and he began to shake, wrinkles appearing in his hide as Brinus reared up behind him, his eyes space black...or abyss black.
"You, I remember well," snarled Brinus, "The blood of my family has covered your scales."
Lana stared in horror as the bulky dragon began to wither, muscles wasting away...no...drying out. "You're...meant...to...be...deaaaaaaaaack…" the dragon rasped before his eyes sank into his sockets and what was in his place was, to all intent, a dragon mummy, Brinus, looking alot younger now, cricking his neck.
Lana watched as the withered corpse floated upwards. It shouldn't have been possible for him to be sucked dry underwater, but the water was undoubtedly thicker now. Brinus approached her, pausing at the mummy before swinging his tail so hard the body exploded into bones and dust. "Kin killer...there is no greater crime…" he snarled, his voice more youthful now.
"Who are you really?" asked Lana.
"No enemy of yours, you can be certain," said Brinus.
"You just sucked that guy dry like a juice box and you ask me to trust you?" snapped Lana.
"I suppose I should reintroduce myself, Brinus, dragon god of the sea...what is left of it," Brinus said, bowing his head reverently.
Lana narrowed her eyes. "I've been told that the current water god is a dragoness," she said.
"Aqua is the prime of freshwater," said Brinus, "My demesne is saltwater. There are so many bodies of water on Avalar it takes two water primes to watch over them. Or there were."
"Malefor...yeah, I was told," said Lana.
Brinus said with a sigh, "I can't do this anymore...not now all my family is gone. I want to join them in the skylands..."
"But what would happen to the sea if you're gone?" asked Lana, "Would it just dry up?"
"Yes, I need to choose a successor...and I have chosen you, Lana," said Brinus.
Lana blinked. "You know, that's a kind offer, but I- LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!" yelled Lana.
Brinus turned and send a pressure spear out, smashing a hole in the wall, turning back in time to see Lana's tail vanish. "Half a million years old and I fell for that," he sighed to himself before melting into the water.
Lana, swimming through the tunnels, was currently a little twitchy from panic.
"Goddess of the sea? Me? No way, there's no way I could do that," she said to herself. She paused a little and muttered, "And yet, why not? Gah, no, I'm talking with just myself about this." She breathed out several bubbles full of water vapor which came together to form a bubble copy of herself.
"Yeah you are," said the copy with a happy grin, Lana twitching.
"Look, you're just a sounding board, that's all," said Lana.
"You sure about that? You're the next Brinus, after all..." said her copy.
"Look, I wasn't even born a water dragon," said Lana.
"Neither was Megan, but apparently she met the requirements for the job," said her copy, "Look...what else are you gonna do? You can't go home after all and you could help this planet."
"I am trying to help," said Lana, "It's these barnacle brains that are getting in the way."
"That's only plugging leaks and you know it," said Lana 2 said in a bored tone, "Behind you." before a spike shot by her head, Lana turning to see a guard lunging.
"I am so out of patience for this," snapped Lana.
"Die, traitor!" yelled the guard.
Lana clenched her fist, but couldn't quite draw out the water in the guard, but she could do something else with it. The guard suddenly froze in place, nearly literally as his body temperature plummeted. His shivering couldn't stop the blood in his veins turning to ice. Lana went bug-eyed as the guard went rigid, freezing, before cracking and shattering as the water pressure went to work.
"Hmm, that was even more brutal than what Brinus did," said Lana 2.
"Oh shut up," said Lana before popping her bubble double.
Lana yelped as Brinus was on the other side of the cloud of bubbles. "Nice technique," he said politely, Lana turning to flee only to almost run into him again.
"The entire sea is my domain," said Brinus, "I can literally be in any part of it whenever I want."
"I don't wanna be some goddess," snapped Lana.
"Why not?" asked Brinus, "Many mortals would jump at the opportunity to be a god."
"If I had time, I'd choose someone else," said Brinus, eyes narrowed, adding, "In a few minutes, one way or another, the sea will die. The destruction of the city above will break this basin. Someone younger than me must restore this planet's seas."
"You're not serious," said Lana.
"I've never been more serious," said Brinus, "More than that, the planet will be destroyed as well. Do you know how much steam pressure will build up when the sea boils up at the core?"
"Steam clean the planet," said Lana weakly, before her wrist was grabbed, both the arm grabbing her and her own glowing, the glow leaching from Brinus to her.
"My time has past years ago. May your time pass on easier than mine," said Brinus.
Lana twitched her watery form solidifying, the almost-forgotten suggestion of flesh and blood returning...and something else, before she noticed Brinus collapse into water with a...relieved expression. "Well, that's just great," she said.
A new sense screamed at her, before she felt a...numb feeling, looking to see what should have been a fatal bolt wound in her shoulder. Lana turned to glare at the offender. What she wasn't aware of was that her eyes were now glowing a solid blue.
The guard stared before bowing its head and trying to make himself as small as he could, muttering madly.
Lana raised an eyebrow, partially obscuring the rune that was now on her forehead.
"Spare your servant, oh Brina," whimpered the dragon.
"Brina?" muttered Lana in confusion.
"Please spare me!" screamed the dragon, trying to swim off.
Part of Lana wanted to pursue him, but she had bigger concerns right now. "Gotta find Jer'kath. Gotta stop that nutball before he ends up destroying the world," she muttered, before swearing, "Dammit, he could be anywhere. It's not like I could just teleport to...well, dur I can now."
Lana tried to expand her senses in order to find Jer'kath. Suddenly, she felt like she was sensing the entire ocean at once. She was feeling everything it was water was lapping against and feeling everything swimming through it. The effect was overwhelming to say the least.
She could sense another inland sea, on an island inhabited by upright wolves, who had managed to avoid Malefor's purge years ago and were hiding, via the fish in the sea on their island...by two dragons swimming in a small salt water lake miles away...by a water dragon trying in vain to talk to his brainwashed-Bingo.
She zoomed in her focus, found the exact location, and willed herself there. She wasn't sure how the teleporting thing would work except- There we go.
"Why won't that idiotic air breather respond? The safeties should be off by now and the pipe access open. Arm the backups!" Jer'kath snarled to an underling, not noticing bubbles behind him starting to flow together.
"But what if the access isn't open?" asked the underling.
"I don't think that's a problem," said a female voice behind them, the dragons in the room turning to see the prisoner...no, not the prisoner. There was an undeniable aura of power around her. The glowing blue eyes and the rune on her forehead were also very strong clues.
Most of Jer'kath's men immediately bowed in reverense, Jer'kath joining them a second later before his madness clicked into high gear. "Oh glorious Brina, you have come to watch us finally defeat the land walkers," he said happily.
"Even the old god didn't support your jellyfish-brained plan. Why would you expect me to?" asked Brina.
Jer'kath paused, he and his men looking confused before he growled, "Fake...deceiver." before lunging for a glowing button.
"Does this look fake?" asked Brina. The water around suddenly receded, making him look like he was in a reversed fishbowl. It suddenly came back and slammed him into a wall. Jer'kath however seemed smug, even if his eyes were rolling.
"Ok, he shouldn't be grinning," said Brina before looking back. The glowing button had been pressed down and was now flashing.
"No, you idiots, you'll doom the planet!" she snapped, the sight of an angry god causing Jer'kath's followers to scatter in a panic as she swam over to the controls.
Jer'kath chuckled and said, "The air-breathers' reign is over now. The sea shall rule over the land. And since you're too weak-willed to rule the sea, then I will."
Brina glared at Jer'kath and snapped, "You want the sea? Then take it all!" Jer'kath suddenly found his mouth forced open as the surrounding water started pouring down his throat. He struggled against the endless flow as his torso started to bulge and inflate.
Brina turned her back before going over to the bomb, hearing a pop behind her before looking at the bombs. Definitely high explosives, they'd vaporize almost all the basin, the water would flood to the core, be vaporized by the magic and boom...no more planet.
No time to disarm the bombs, she doubted she could move them with the short time she had. She'll have to muffle the explosion somehow.
An idea came to her...before she concentrated, feeling the pressure in the cave increasing...not enough...not yet...more...
A bit of Jer'kath drifted near her, but she waved it away. She cannot be distracted now.
More pressure, the rocks cracked, more pressure, some of Jer'kath's remains compressed smaller with cracks and the bomb casing began to creak, MORE PRESSURE!
If she were still flesh and blood, she'd be a pulpy mess by now. But even her water-based body was feeling like it was being squeezed into stone. The bomb was about to go off...had she done enough?
The people of New Atlantis would receive a rude awakening that morning; an unexplained earthquake, the true cause of which would be heavily classified to avoid causing a panic.
However, a far more stranger event was occurring, though few noticed it right away. If they happened to look down between the cracks and chasms separating the larger landmasses, they'd notice a layer of water rising.
Researchers researching the mana crystal core reported that there was still a large air bubble there, but a ceiling of sea water was inexplicably forming. For the water dragon Virk affected, they claimed it was a miracle
In a matter of days, new seas and oceans were appearing on the planet's surface. In a way, Avalar looked like it did before Malefor shattered the world. So long as no one noticed that the seas had no bottom to keep them from falling in complete defiance of the laws of gravity.
Subs sent down by the Bladestorm had confirmed that the dragon responsible was dead. Apparently some sort of freak pressure increase had contained the explosion while also turning Jer'kath into goo. Of Lana there was no sign.
When Brina slowly awoke, she felt something was off. She felt...heavier than before, more solid. She flopped down into a small, but incredibly deep pond with a splash, a few claps heard, before she surfaced to see several dragons, also with glowing eyes, a few holding up score cards. "Wait, what? Where am I?" asked Brina, "Who are you people?"
"Guess you aren't the newbie now, Nocta." said a fire dragoness cheerfully, elbowing an annoyed shadow dragoness.
"New what?" asked Lana.
"Welcome to the pantheon, sister," said the ice dragoness calmly.
"It's so nice for our sphere of influence to be complete again," said another water dragoness, "And you're an improvement over Brinus as well."
"I don't know," said an earth dragon, "This is getting to be too much of a girl's club now."
A wind dragon elbowed the earth dragon at that, glaring before he said, "Look, two new gods in the same year...and Noctus was, to quote those humans, a twat."
"I'm sorry, back up, did you guys say you were gods?" asked Brina.
"Everyone on this island is, except for Mortis. He gets...out and about given his job," said an electric dragon male calmly.
"So I'm going to be here for all eternity?" asked Brina.
"Until you can find some worthy and willing to accept the mantle," said the other water dragoness, who Brina knew was Aqua.
"But does that mean I'll die?" asked Brina.
"No, you can resume living as a mortal dragon after that," said Aqua.
"But...the last guy...he..." began Brina.
Aqua said, "Cause he wanted to go. We can do that too when we retire if we want."
"Ok...is there anything to do around here though?" asked Brina, looking around.
The other dragons had wandered off. Aqua had remained though. "I dunno about the others, but we're gonna be busy. You got an ocean to populate," she said with a warm smile.
"So what? I can spin up some sealife out of thin air?" asked Brina.
Aqua grinned, drawing a shape in the water before said shape turned into a carp, "Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes."
"Oh, I was worried this was going to be hard," said Brina.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, it'll be hard. But we're a family here...and we'll help you," said Aqua, putting a kind paw on Brina's shoulder.
As much of a victory as this was for the whole planet, it felt rather bitter for some people. Lana hadn't been with them long, but she was still part of the crew.
Now she was gone, blown to bits by a lunatic while she saved the world. A geological scan showed that, had the bombs worked, less than 24 hours later, the steam clean scenario would have occurred. Some of the dragon council were talking of a monument, not that Matt cared. She was dead and it was cause he'd not been on his game.
A knock was heard at his door at that, Matt taking a gulp from a bottle of an alcohol called 'Wyvern Whiskey'. Those little gits could make some serious brain rot...and it didn't corrode things or explode like Kr'ta so already a bonus.
"Sod off!" he called as a second knock was heard. "I said beat it!" snapped Matt. A third knock was heard. "Do I need to say it in the local dialect?" snapped Matt as he staggered to the door.
He opened it to see Spyro. "Whatta you want?" Matt grumbled.
"Uh, Matt, I wanted-" said Spyro before reeling back and putting a hand to his nose. "How many of those bottles have you had?" he asked nasally.
"3..." grumbled Matt, staggering in, something Spyro noted before he followed. A week ago, a small part of him would have enjoyed this, given he has gotten Mina lost...but now...no. This was the guy who'd helped him save the world after washing up near the old dragon temple...who'd gone with him to rescue Cynder...
"Look, Matt, this is not a healthy way to spend the rest of your..." Spyro paused before saying, "Stay on Avalar. I'm not sure how close you and Lana are, but I don't think she'd want you punishing yourself like this."
"She was just a medic on some ship. She got caught up in my life and it got her killed," mumbled Matt, sitting back down and his head on the table.
"I know how you feel," said Spyro, "At times, I've felt like a doom magnet myself. So many people got hurt just because I happened to be there."
"Oh please, this is Easy Street. Malefor's pushing up daisies...apart from the virus...and the constant threat of invasion from McNeil...and the virus...and the virks...and the virus...You gotta point," mumbled Matt.
"Look, you may have lost some, but you've won more often. There are many people across the multiverse who are still alive because of you," said Spyro, "And they wouldn't want you spending the rest of your shortened life in this state."
"I was meant to live...have a family...I met my kids..." said Matt glumly, taking a swig of the bottle, before frowning and throwing it at the wall. "I spent my life being shat on helping others," he snapped, on his feet, his eyes glowing ethereally, Spyro seeing the floor at his feet sprouting small flowers.
"Matt, I'm not sure how, but I don't think your story ends like this," said Spyro, "And if it does, is this how you want your final chapters to be written?"
"What choice do I have? I've seen people with genetic degradation. In the last few weeks, they can barely move," growled Matt.
Spyro smacked Matt upside the head at that. "That's enough of that," said Spyro, "When Kala joined the Shar-Virk, did you just give up and mope around?"
"No," said Matt sullenly
"No, you went out looking for her until you found a way to save her, even when others said it was hopeless," said Spyro.
Matt nodded before he finally said, "I want you to look after Kala…"
"Only if it comes down to it," said Spyro.
"Promise me!" snapped Matt before pausing, seeing a shape across the street, a black and white dragon, marking on his face giving him an...almost skull look, staring intently at him...no, it had to be at the hou...no, he moved his head as he moved.
Suddenly, Matt's thirst for alcohol dried up and withered. "Uh, Spyro, maybe I do need to get out a little more," said Matt.
"Matt?" said Spyro, following Matt's gaze, before looking at Matt. "There's nodrake there," he said, Matt looking at the black dragon who smirked and seemed to fade to nothing.
"Yeah...no more whiskey for me," said Matt.
There's another chapter and quite a long one. I hate having to kill off characters, particularly new ones. But I wasn't really sure what else I could do with Lana, especially if she's stuck as a permanent water elemental. But she got a far better deal than most characters who don't last very long. There's a good chance she can reappear someday and there's been a lot of world-building in this chapter, both figuratively and literally. The final chapter will be out tomorrow so keep an eye out for it and please review.