Hello all. This took WAY too long to get out. I got back from my vacation, which was honestly a bit of a nightmare. Left my passport in my carry-on and that bag became a check in, so I didn't have access to it when we connected flights, and it led to me spending 2 days just trying to get onto the cruise ship after finding that they pulled all of our luggage off of the plane. So, it was just me and my dad with 5 people's worth of check in and carry-on luggage, and to make things worse, the ship canceled their first docking due to a medical emergency on the ship, so my dad and I almost got completely screwed in a different country. Luckily, we made it, but that whole experience, paired with classes starting up, made finishing this chapter an utter slog and my mind was just still reeling from everything that happened and getting ready for learning.

But anyway, I do hope that you all enjoy this chapter. I'll be changing my upload schedule to every second weekend due to classes eating up most of my time, but hopefully I can get back into a rhythm with this chapter. Hope you enjoy.

I do not own Wings of Fire.

"Normal speech"

"Thoughts"

"?"

The ground rumbled harder in the cave of Nightwing dragonets as they all huddled to the sides of the wall, each of them shivering in a deep set fear of the volcano that was roaring above. Mindreader and Mightyclaws were shivering, Fierceteeth growling as she felt helpless, unable to do anything. They all had no choice but to cower in fear since their one exit had been blocked by a cave-in. It started to look like there was no hope. Then Mindreader's head perked up as he heard a faint sound. One that he was familiar with. The clattering of stone on stone. A voice then shouted out, which made Fierceteeth's eyes widened as she recognized who the voice came from. "Are you alright in there!?We're getting you out!"

Rock after rock clattered behind the wall that kept the Nightwing dragonets entombed, before finally the top of it burst inward as Starflight's face became visible. "Help us pull the rocks away! We need to get you all out now! Lava is flowing down fast, and I don't know when our way out will be covered by it."

None of the dragonets moved, too scared from the rumbling above, until Mindreader moved forward, hooking his claws into one of the stones before pulling to free it. Fierceteeth growled out at him. "What are you doing, idiot!? The whole thing might cave in!"

Mindreader looked back at her, a determined look on his face. "I am a Nightwing. If I die... I will die trying to live. I won't sit in a corner waiting for death to claim me."

Fierceteeth gritted said fangs, staring at the ground in anger that her little brother, the dragonet she had always considered lesser than herself, was the one who was saving her and the others, before moving forward to start helping to move the rocks. They kept shoveling stone after stone, until a hole just big enough for the older dragonets to squeeze through had appeared.

Starflight held out his talon through the hole. "Grab on! We'll pull you out." Mindreader went first, being pulled and squeezed through the hole, before slipping through to the other side. One after another, The Nightwing dragonets slipped through until Fierceteeth was the last one, grabbing on to Starflight.

She growled, staring at the ground. "This doesn't mean your better than me, got it!?"

Starflight chuckled as he pulled her out. "Of course... Mom's been talking non-stop about you."

Fierceteeth froze. "M-Mom? B-But she's dead!"

Starflight shook his head. "Not anymore... Part of what makes Wither so special."

Fierceteeth was shook from her stupor as the ground rumbled, following the others as they started dashing for escape. "Did... She really talk about me? You... Were all she talked about while you were with the other chosen dragonets."

Starflight nodded. "Yeah. She... honestly talked a bit too much, but..." He smiled to her, despite the rumbling above. "I can tell she loved and cared about you, even if she was overwhelmed with me being away. If anything... She loved both of us to the point that having me away made her worry too much... Look, We can work things out later. and... Maybe we could be a real family."

He dashed forward to help the younger Dragonets move faster, before they all flew out of the mouth of the cave, Starflight and Fierceteeth just narrowly dodging the lake of lava that poured over and engulfed the cave.

Fierceteeth panted as she landed on the ground below, looking to Starflight. "... You know... I always hated you because you were all that mom would talk about... But now..." She gently punched his shoulder. "You're not half bad, Starflight."

Starflight grinned, before rubbing his shoulder gently. "Thanks... We should go meet with the others. They're at the beach."

Fierceteeth nodded as they took off, joining the other Nightwing dragonets joining the crowd, before Starflight froze at the sight. Morrowseer and Wither, standing off against each other, but another thought shot a spike of panic through his body as he looked at the others. "Where is Squid!?"

Viper followed Kinkajou to the isolated rock surrounded by more lava than usual, flying in with her spear to land next to a large Rainwing with a strange contraption keeping his wings from unfolding completely. Kinkajou beamed. "Treefrog! We're here to get you all out!"

The elder Rainwing creaked an eye open. He would have spoken, if not for the metal muzzle put around his snout. Viper inserted the three pronged spear into the lock mechanism, before twisting as it snapped open. Treefrog groaned, flexing his jaw as he got up. "Kinkajou... you were supposed to have escaped. It's dangerous here."

Kinkajou nodded. "We know. The island is going down. We need to get everyone out of here!"

Viper's mind caught on the words of getting everyone out, before her blood ran cold as she whispered. "Squid... He wasn't with the others!"

Kinkajou was about to question what Viper was doing when she unlocked Treefrogs wings, before shoving the spear in his talons. "Take this and free the others. I need to go!" She didn't give them time to question as she dashed out of the prison into the sky, flying and dodging bits of lava and stone that came down from the roaring mountain. "Squid... please, be okay."

Said Seawing was cowering in the corner of the cave that he and the other alternate dragonets had been sleeping, scared now that he was all alone. He woke up not too long ago to the sound of cracking stone, only to find himself completely alone with no one else in the cave, and the entire structure of the tunnel that led out rumbling. He was too terrified to move. "Is this it? Am... Am I going to die here?"

He shivered as more rocks fell, before yelping as hot magma dripped near his talons, the heat burning at his scales. Rocks were falling down around him, covering the air with dust. He coughed loudly, trying to breathe as he whimpered. Then shot up as a voice shouted out to him. "Squid! Are you in here!?"

He could barely believe his ears. "Viper!?" Of all the dragons to come to his rescue, She was not one of them.

She ran in, blowing dust and smoke away, before grabbing him by one of his talons. "Come on. We need to get out of here!" She nearly dragged him as he stumbled to keep up, scrambling to find purchase with his talons as he followed through twisting corridors, before another loud rumble sounded off above them.

They ran as fast as they could, before rocks fell from above, Viper and Squid both yelping as a portion of the tunnel they were in caved in on itself, blowing dust everywhere. Squid coughed loudly. "Viper! Are you alright?" The dust slowly cleared, before Squid's blood turned cold.

Viper was laying on the ground, groaning as some of her blood leaked out of a cut on her head from the falling rocks, starting to pick herself up, only to find herself unable to move forward. She looked back to see what had made Squid so shocked. The barb of her tail had gotten trapped under the rocks that now completely blocked the tunnel. She panted, trying to pull her tail out to no avail.

Squid was panicking, looking around the cave as it cracked, threatening to fall at any moment. "I-I'll go get help! We can get you out if I-"

Viper saw how scared the young Seawing was, seeing the cave rumble above them, before knowing that this next part was going to probably be the worst moment of her life. "Squid. I need you to focus."

Squid was stuttering over his words, not really hearing her. "M-maybe Starflight? He could help. He could figure out a way to move the rocks."

"Squid!" The Seawing jumped as Viper yelled at him, gritting her teeth. "There's no time squid... you're the only one who can help me right now."

Squid paused, before swallowing. "W-what can I do? I'm not strong enough to move all those rocks."

Viper took a deep breath, before looking him in the eye. "... Cut the barb off my tail."

Squid's eyes widened in shock. "V-Viper, what are you saying!? That's horrible!"

Viper nodded. "I know... But you're the only one I can trust right now, Squid. Don't think. Don't assume I'm going to hurt you. Just... Cut it off so we can get out of here. Bite it off if you have to."

To his shock, Viper gave him a smile. "... I'd rather live with the dragons I call my friends than die here."

Squid stood there, staring at Viper. "But... Then..."

Viper gave a sad smile. "... I'm sorry, Squid... for everything. I guess... I was mean to you because I didn't want to feel scared. Just like flame feels. Our parents put the fate of the world on us... and it scared me."

Squid swallowed, before moving behind her. "I-I'll... Try to make it fast."

Viper nodded, before bracing herself. She tensed, knowing that this was going to hurt. Squid swallowed heavily, taking a deep breath, before starting to slash.

Wither and Morrowseer glared at each other, slowly pacing around in a circle made of the onlookers. Both dragons refused to back down, claws primed as fangs were bared.

Morrowseer was the first to move, throwing ash and sand from the beach ground towards Wither's eyes as he charged, but Wither had expected as much. He turned his head to have the sand only hit his cheek rather than his eyes, before twisting so the he bashed Morrowseer in the face with a wing, before spinning around the Nightwing. Morrowseer growled as he turned, shaking his head from the blow as Wither gave a small, satisfied smirk. "You can back out any time, Morrowseer. You're a manipulator, not a fighter."

Morrowseer growled, before roaring as his flame breath shot from his mouth at Wither. Wither didn't even bother dodging, instead using his wings to throw the fire upwards rather than himself by flapping them against the coming attack, the flames twisting up to the sky before fading away. "Honestly, not sure why more dragon's don't use the power of their wings more in battle. They're useful for a distraction and can create enough wind to block most breath attacks."

Morrowseer was looking more enraged with every second that passed, growling at his taunts. This stone dragon, who just showed up out of nowhere had ruined all of his plans, turned the backup plan he had against him, and now was mocking him. It would not stand. He would not let it. The dragonets were supposed to be sniveling little worms for them to use. To control, but it all fell apart after meeting this, Dragon. They started getting independent, defiant, and worse of all, Starflight, who he had thought would be his ace if things started going wrong, actually sympathized with those pathetic worms!

Morrowseer growled, before his eyes landed on his original target. The so called 'Celeste'. He was about to move when Wither slammed his tail down on the ground into his line of sight, kicking up dust as the stone scaled dragon growled. "Targeting someone other than your opponent is a coward's method. Though, I suppose I shouldn't expect much more from a dragon like you. Too spineless to do your own dirty work."

Morrowseer roared as he charged at Wither, claws outstretched against the stone dragon. But he had forgotten something from the first time Wither had appeared before the dark council, only remembering it as his claws merely scratched his target's scales, leaving barely a dent. Wither then gripped his talon, before doing what no dragon had dared to do to Morrowseer before that, bringing the formed fist to smash directly into Morrowseer's snout. Morrowseer roared in pain as a sickening crack rang through the air, holding the end of his snout as blood leaked out of his nostrils.

Wither then shook the talon he had used lightly, wincing "Huh. You really are as hard headed as they come. That actually hurt a little."

Morrowseer roared in anger and frustration. "All that power and strength, and you squander it on useless worms! Weaklings! Dragons unworthy of mercy!"

Wither stared at him for a long moment. "... I am using my strength to help dragons who are in need, Morrowseer. The dragonets... And the Nightwings. Is that really what you think of your own tribe? As weaklings who don't deserve mercy?"

Morrowseer could see what Wither was doing, and if the looks he was getting from the other Nightwings was any indication, it was working. Nightwings looked at him in shock, fear, disgust, anger, betrayal, and distrust. Wither was using his words and actions to make the Nightwing tribe lose their dependency on him. He was losing his power over them. Wither steeled himself in front of the false prophet. "You have put every dragon here in danger with your plan to use the dragonets. By forcing them to believe that a peaceful solution would never happen. That manipulation and pulling the strings behind this war was their only salvation... and now, I am trying to save them from the consequences of your actions. Yours and the former queen, Battlewinner."

Wither would have continued, until a huge explosion sounded out from the top of the volcano, a huge wave of Lava blasting into the air as Wither turned, growling. "I have better things to do than squabble with you, Morrowseer. Every dragon, hear me!" He rose up to his full height. "This land is doomed. Fire and death will consume it, but a tribe is not determined by the land you dwell in. A Tribe is defined by the dragons who make it. Evacuate to the rainforest, now! The time for pride is over. Live so that your tribe may once again thrive as true Nightwings!"

Morrowseer was not happy that he was now being ignored, and tried to rush him, but several Nightwing guards rose their spears at him, With a serious looking Tyrant behind them shocking him. "You dare raise your weapons at your prophet!?"

Nemesis and Oracle held their spears firmly as Oracle growled. "No. You are no prophet. I only see the reason my daughter starved to death!"

Nemesis's eyes narrowed. "I see a manipulator who use us for his own gain."

Tyrant held his own personal weapon, an obsidian executioner sword, stabbed into the ground. "And I see nothing more than a traitor who would sell out his whole tribe to save his own skin. If we weren't evacuating, I would throw you in our deepest prison."

Morrowseer seethed at this. "Fools! He will lead you straight to the rainwings who will then kill you all with their venom! With their poisons! I was leading you to glory! To our future!"

Oracle gritted her teeth, about to run the prophet through when Nemesis put a talon on her shoulder, glaring at Morrowseer. "No... You nearly led us all to our deaths."

Tyrant nodded. "Good observation, Nemesis. You might make lieutenant yet. Come. We have more pressing matters than this scum."

Many of the Nightwings were already taking to the sky as an entire side of the volcano was consumed by lava, Black wings filling the dark sky as they made for the rainforest tunnel. Morrowseer seethed as he was left with no dragons around him, standing alone against Wither, Moonwatcher and her mother, and Clay. He growled in anger, as everything he had built and gained for the last two decades, simply vanished, leaving him as just a bigger than normal Nightwing. "You..." His talons trembled in rage as he glared at Wither. "You ruined everything! You and those worthless dragonets. I will kill you! I will find some way to make you suffer for humiliating me! All of you!" He then turned, flying off to try and blend in with all the other Nightwings evacuating.

Wither sighed, frowning at his fleeing form. "... We'll deal with him later. He has no more power over the Nightwing tribe, so for now, he is of no danger." He turned to Moonwatcher and Secretkeeper. "Are you both alright?"

Moonwatcher nodded. "... I'm just glad he didn't get too close..." She shivered. "I... I could hear his thoughts. He... H-he wanted to kill me and mom..."

Secretkeeper shivered, before Wither leaned down and flicked Moonwatcher's snout lightly, causing her to yelp, rubbing her now stinging snout as Wither chuckled. "Which wouldn't have happened if you had stayed in the rainforest... But what's done is done... I'm just glad you're both alright." Moonwatcher pouted but smiled afterwards.

Wither returned the smile before Starflight landed next to them, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that didn't turn into an all-out fight. It's too dangerous out here."

Wither nodded, before looking up as two figures were flying towards them from the palace, which somehow had not been covered in lava yet, but he frowned, noticing blood dripping from one of their tails. Squid was the first to land, looking green in his gills like he was about to be sick, But viper was much worse off. She landed in a heap, panting hard as blood leaked out of the stump where her stinger used to be, Wither frowning as he came over, kneeling next to her. "What happened?"

Squid sniffled. "R-rocks fell on top of us... H-her tail got stuck and we couldn't get it out... I... I-I'm sorry." He whimpered softly, Wither taking note of the still dripping blood on Squid's talons. Clay and Starflight had horrified looks on their faces, but Wither only looked at squid with a sympathetic expression.

Wither gently put a talon on Squid's shoulder. "... You were given a choice that no dragonet should have to make... To leave your friend to die or have the guilt of hurting her stay with you. Did she ask you to do it?"

Squid swallowed, before nodding. Wither squeezed his shoulder lightly. "Then it was her choice to make. She made the choice and put a heavy responsibility on you. That means she trusts you."

He then moved over to Viper. "You were very brave, asking him to help you. Don't worry. I won't let you die here." Viper weakly grumbled, not even protesting as Wither pulled her into his talons. "Come. We must make for the Rainforest."

Wither took to the air with the other dragonets following, the old Deathwing not missing the look of concern and worry on Flame's face when he saw Viper's condition.

They flew to where the hoard of Nightwings were trying to squeeze into the tunnel all at once, being in a small cave of a rock that jutted out of the sea water. Each Nightwing tried to scramble past the other and were somehow fitting through slowly. They hovered over the entrance to the small cave when Kinkajou appeared by their side. "Hey! We got all the Rainwings out. Now what?"

Wither was about to reply when the biggest explosion yet sounded out at the top of the volcano cracked apart, a wave of lava flowing over the side, burying the Nightwing palace. Stone towers and windows were engulfed in the Volcano's raging flames, melting or being consumed by the molten rock. Wither gazed at it somberly. "And so, another kingdom falls to hubris. I can only hope that they do not make the same mistake a second time.

The crowd of nightwing slowly shifted through the tunnel until there was just enough space to go through. Wither nodded to the others. "You all go first. You'll get through faster than me."

He hovered over to Flame and Clay. "Clay, Flame. You both take her to the healers. Glory will make sure she is treated." He allowed Clay and Flame to take Viper from his talons, the sandwing weakly grumbling, but Wither could tell it was due to her being exhausted from blood loss. "Hurry... I have one last thing to settle here."

The dragonets looked at him curiously, before nodding as they headed into the tunnel, carrying the hurt viper with them as Wither turned around. He landed on the top of the rock, closing his eyes as ash and fire bellowed from the volcano's mouth. "... Now that we're alone, I want you to tell me exactly who you are. Are you Darkstalker? Or another mind reader?"

A soft chuckle rang in his mind. "Oh, so now you wish to speak with me? When everyone sees you as a hero, saving a tribe from destruction. Oh, bravo. You prolonged the inevitable. You know as well as I do that their lives are miniscule to yours."

Wither growled. "I did not ask for idle chatter. Who are you!?"

A raspy laugh greeted his question. "Hehehe. You know who I am, Wither... Though... It has been so long that you might have forgotten me. Don't worry. I have a feeling that I can remind you very soon... perhaps even introduce myself to those dragonets of yours... Right before I get rid of them~"

Wither's face contorted with anger. "If you lay a single talon on them, I'll-"

"You'll What!?" The anger in the voice startled Wither, but his heart ran cold at the next words. "You'll kill me? Like you did with all the others? With your tribe?" The voice then turned soft, almost whispering to him. "Or like you did... to her?"

Wither flinched hard, starting to pant as his heart raced. "... How do you know any of that?"

He was greeted with another raspy chuckle. "Oh, Wither. I know everything about you. And I know the truth. Save as many lives as you want. Flutily try to find happiness with those worms you call dragonets, but they won't change who you are. A murderer. A killer..."

A chill ran down Wither's spine as the last words were growled into the front of his mind. "A monster."

Wither then felt a sting of pain in his mind as he reeled, as if a needle of hot metal had just been stabbed into his skull. For a moment he thought that magma had fallen onto him, but no... It was just a mental pain.

He panted as sweat poured down his snout. He'd never felt such an intense migraine before, but this... felt like something more. Whoever this dragon was who was speaking to him... They had a strength that he knew nothing about. And if they could hurt him like this... then... He shivered at the thought of the dragonets getting hurt. Clay, Glory, Tsunami, Starflight, or worst of all Sunny. He had to be careful from now on. He couldn't afford to be lax. Someone had the power to get through his defenses, and if they set sights on the dragonets... He shook his head. No. He would not let it happen.

He glided down to the tunnel, starting to go in when the sky exploded behind him. His eyes widened as he could see just a bit of the island, and the wave of scorching ash that was coming. He started running down the tunnel, hoping that nobody else was in it. Unfortunately for him, there were dragons still trying to get out. Namely, Starflight and his sister, Fierceteeth.

They were trying to get out when they saw Wither, Starflight first starting to smile, before hearing the loud rumbling that was getting closer behind Wither. Wither turned to look back just in time to see the wave of scorching ash rushing in their direction, before throwing himself forward with his wings out, using his own body to shelter the two dragonets from the oncoming wave of scorching heat.

The ash and head scorched through his scales like a white hot flame melting sand into glass, but he held himself firmly against the beating explosion, even when he felt his scales sear off and his flesh started to burn. He couldn't stop the roar of pain that escaped him.

Glory was a little concerned. There were a lot of Nightwings that were evacuating out of the log that held the tunnel that led to the Night kingdom. A part of her felt that she should be angry with a majority of them, but they all looked so scared. She couldn't help but pity them. Just about all of the Nightwings were out when scorching hot ash blasted out of the log, her heart jumping as some of the dragons made pained sounds as the ash scorched them, before hearing a familiar roar. She felt her blood turn cold as she recognized Wither's voice as the last few dragons came out of the tunnel, crying from their burns or trying to get as far away from the tunnel as possible.

A large figure then came out of the tunnel, pushed by the ash before landing in a huge heap on the ground, with two dragonets covered by a body. She recognized Starflight, her heart jumping to know that he was alright, but it quickly stopped when she saw the aftermath of a grizzly scene.

Sunny was beside her, directing the Nightwings to where the Rainwings had gathered a large amount of fruit for the Nightwing refugees to eat while they organized where the Nightwings would live. Sunny's eyes scanned the scene, before landing on the fallen figure above Starflight, unable to hold back her gasp. "W-Wither?"

Starflight opened his eyes, blinking from the smoke and the fact that it was apparently around mid-day. He slowly shuffled out from under Wither, wondering why the older dragon wasn't moving, before seeing sunny, her face contorted with horror as tears welled in her eyes. He then turned around, his eyes widening as he saw what had upset Sunny so much, and it took all his willpower to not throw up what little was in his stomach.

Wither's entire back had been scorched to the point that there were no scales left, only burnt flesh. Holes had burnt through his wings so that there was barely any webbing left on them, and his face had been scorched to where there was no skin, being able to see bits of the Deathwing's skull. Wither laid there, motionless as even his eyes had been burnt to cinders, leaving empty sockets.

Sunny started hyperventilating. "Wither... No. No. No! He-! He can't be dead!"

Glory looked at the charred corpse on the ground, tears falling down her face. "I-I... I-I don't want to believe it either, Sunny, but... He's gone."

Sunny shook her head. "No! He can't be! We... We came so far with him..."

Starflight grimaced, helping his sister slide out from under Wither's burnt corpse. The dead Deathwing was causing a commotion amongst the Nightwings. Some reacted with arrogance, muttering to each other about how Wither deserved to die. Others reacted in anger that they had lost the only dragon who was foolishly sympathetic enough to give them the advantage, but a majority reacted in sorrow that their savior had given his life to save them all.

Moonwatcher was taking it the hardest, tears freely falling down her face as she leaned into her mother, sobbing. Secretkeeper could do nothing but hold her daughter tightly.

Within the crowd, Morrowseer was smirking. His main obstacle had been dealt with. Now, to get these sniveling Nightwings to realize that they still have the opportunity to take over the rainforest if they attacked quickly.

Clay walked over to Starflight, trying hard to not cry and be strong for his brother in all but blood. "... He protected us to the end... I... I-It should have been me. I would have survived and he would... He would still be..."

The alternate dragonets also looked over the scene with a somber tone. Flame felt a pain in his heart that he had never felt before, seeing Clay try to stay strong for his friend. Squid was swallowing hard to hold back tears, seeing the sorrow on Starflight's face, remembering how comforting and encouraging the Nightwing had been to him.

Ochre remained passive, watching the scene while munching on a coconut, But Fatespeaker was openly crying, seeing the horrible injuries on Wither's body. "... He didn't deserve this... Not like this... Why... Why can't I have a vision of him coming back... I... I want him to come back."

Fierceteeth, for the first time in her life, didn't know what to say. She had barely known the dragon who laid dead before them, and yet he used his body to shield them from what would have been certain death. She looked to Starflight, before feeling a talon on her shoulder, looking to find Farsight, who pulled her into a warm embrace. Fierceteeth tried to fight her sadness, but with Wither's sacrifice, and the hidden relief of being acknowledged by her mother... She simply pressed her head against her mother's chest, Tears slowly falling down her face.

Starflight then saw something that made him jump. He blinked, looking closely to Wither's talons, before jumping again as they twitched lightly, the red energy from under the scales of his underbelly glowing faintly, before what Starflight could only describe as a miracle happened in front of them.

The red energy started to leak out of Wither's scales like a mist, forming a thin cloud over his burnt flesh, talons and wings, enveloping them before small bolts of light appeared in the mist. Underneath the mist, flesh started to heal, burnt skin losing the black char that covered it, becoming pink muscle, then into red flesh, before Stone-like scales started to grow... No. It was more like they were reforming from dust into scales. This process repeated all across Wither's back and wings, the membrane of his wings reforming from ashes as his talons regained its muscle and scales, until all that was left was his face.

Muscle and flesh reformed around his skull, ashes floating to him face as they reformed into scales, before two eyelids formed again, closed. The cloud then retreated back into his scales, leaving Wither to appear virtually unharmed, before he opened his eyes, familiar black eyes with red stars in them appearing, blinking lightly. Wither then groaned as he got up onto his talons. "By the moons, I hate it when that happens."

Wither had around two seconds before a form covered in golden scales slammed into him, Sunny clinging onto him tightly as she sobbed. "You're alive! You're alive! But... How!?"

Wither blinked lightly, before giving a sad smile. "... That... is a matter for another time. I will tell you, but right now, We have more pressing matters in a tribe of Nightwings in need of food... Which reminds me, I do have some unfinished business."

Starflight sighed, wiping away a few tears that ran down his snout. "Wither, your powers continue to baffle me, but for the love of the moons, never scare us like that again. You were basically a charred corpse."

Wither chuckled. "Oh, believe me, Starflight. I've come back from far worse than a few severe burns.

Anger and hatred. That was all that Morrowseer could feel. Fate had finally turned to his favor, killing the dragon who was the source of all his plans going awry, and now, he simply got back up? It was ridiculous. It was impossible. But most of all, to his mind, it wasn't fair. How could a dragon, who had never shown his face to the world before, have such power? Bringing back the dead, and now immortality. That sympathetic worm didn't deserve such power. He deserved it. Morrowseer, the prophet. This no named worm had everything that should have been his.

He was trembling in rage as he glared from the shadows, before spotting the original source of his ire. Celeste... Yet, something was different. Her tears had washed away the soot around her eyes, revealing her two silver teardrop shaped scales around her eyes. A feature that had never been seen in their recent history. And then there was the fact that Secretkeeper, his useless mate who couldn't even produce him an heir, was coddling her like she was her own daughter. He knew he had to act fast."

Before anyone could react, Morrowseer ran forward, extending his wings as he reached forward, the only one turning just in time being the so called Celeste, her eyes widening in fear just as Morrowseer ripped her away from Secretkeeper, taking off into the air as Secretkeeper screamed.

The heartfelt reunion was ruined when a scream rang out through the air, garnering everyone's attention as they looked to see what was going on. Wither gazed up, only to be met with the sight of Morrowseer... with Moonwatcher in his claws. Sunny was the first to scream out. "Moonwatcher!"

Wither attempted to jump to his talons, but being burned to the point of being partially skeletal took its toll on him, causing him to falter and land back on the ground. He was tired. Exhausted even. He growled in frustration as he tried to force himself up, but just didn't have the strength. Morrowseer flew up through the canopy of the rainforest, bursting through the green forest top, disappearing into the sky.

Clay immediately took off after Morrowseer, his body smashing through branches as he flew up. He came up to a bright blue sky, looking around, before spotting Morrowseer's dark form, flying towards the largest mountain on the horizon. Jade mountain. He Shouted as loud as he could to the dragons below. "He's going towards Jade mountain! I'm going after him."

The other dragonets didn't even get to respond before Clay flew off to pursue Morrowseer, Tsunami wasting no time to shoot up in the sky to follow. Glory was about to join them when Sunny stopped her. "We'll get Moonwatcher. You take care of these Nightwings, and the hurt Sandwing."

Glory grimace, every fiber of her being telling her to join them but relented to Sunny. "Okay... Just be safe. Morrowseer will try to kill you."

Sunny grinned. "We're the dragonets of destiny. We'll be alright."

Flame was next to Viper alongside squid as Rainwings were wrapping bandages around her tail stump, watching over her worriedly. Then, to the shock of Flame and Squid when Ochre got up, growling. "I'm going too. Morrowseer hasn't paid for taking away my eye, and I wanna piece of him!" He almost lumbered over to them, but this was the first time Flame or squid had seen Ochre genuinely angry, and not thinking about his stomach.

Sunny nodded, before looking to Wither, who was trying to get up. "Wither. We'll go save Moonwatcher... Rest. You've done enough today." Sunny smiled to him, before taking off with Ochre following.

Wither panted, trying everything in his power to push himself up, but to no avail. His body was too tired. It needed rest before he could fight again. He panted as his eyes slowly started to get heavier and heavier, forcing him to sleep as Sunny and Ochre disappeared from view, Starflight taking off to follow. "Please... Be safe..."

A low chuckle rang through his mind. "Well, isn't this a predicament... You know Morrowseer will kill them all. None of them are ready to fight a full grown dragon who has the upper hand. They're too soft to realize that Morrowseer will threaten your precious little Moonwatcher if they don't just stand there and let him kill them. You're going to lose everything because you're weak. AGAIN. Ironic, really. You just saved an entire tribe... But failed to save the single dragonet you promised to protect."

Wither grimaced, trying to push himself one last time, before all he knew was darkness.

I hope this is good enough for how long it took for me to push this out. I am again, sorry that It took this long, but my mind is still just scattered all over the place as I try to get stabilized. I will be moving my schedule to try and get out a chapter every other weekend from now till about mid-October, then hopefully things will die down enough for me to go back to a weekly schedule. Any constructive criticism is welcome, and I will try to get the next chapter out by the 16th. See you all then.