The Legend of Rune: Forsaken Blood

by Deeth Irteen

Four years have passed since the Malefor Ordeal has ended. Rune is enjoying life in his new home. However, things are not peaceful; new conflics have arisen across the dragon realms. The largest of which is Bergan, a purple dragon, and his daughter Tyrrany, a mysterious white dragoness. Rated M for mature themes and violence.

35. Act 3, Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The odds are very likely that you haven't reread the whole story up until this point. All the chapters up to this point were updated to refine changes and additions to the story. If you've already followed up to now… enjoy!

~~…~~

Lantel panted heavily as he trotted down the hallway. Behind him, many other students filled the halls with nervous chattering. The prince did his best to keep his head up high, as he strode down the hallway with a flourish of his (admittedly filthy) cloak.

It took quite a long while to convince all of the students to come with him. A lot of them were scared, especially the younger ones. Lantel couldn't blame them… he didn't even have a full plan on what to do next. But if there was one thing he knew for certain, was that he couldn't just stand around twiddling his talons while Ancestors-knew-what was going on.

As Lantel led his group, he gradually heard the sounds of another large group of dragons quickly approaching from around a corner. The students behind Lantel started to mutter worriedly, so the golden prince stood up tall and puffed out his chest.

"Everyone remain calm." He whispered to the students. "I'll handle this."

Lantel reached within himself for the vestiges of his magic and slowly made his way around the corner to prepare for a fight. But what he saw made his jaw fall open in surprise.

Holly and Brisa were making their way down the hall, with their group of students following behind them. The icy dragoness gasped in surprise upon seeing Lantel, and the other students all muttered in shock. Brisa, however, simply snorted and slowed to a casual trot to speak with Lantel. The prince had to admit it was a relief seeing some of the apprentices, rather than those Crazy Ace goons.

"What are you up to?" Brisa asked as she stepped closer.

"Hmph. The same thing you are." Lantel relaxed and lifted his head confidently. "I'm trying to rally the students so we can get out of here."

"Uh-huh…" Brisa peered around the corner to look at the gathered dragons behind Lantel. She then snorted and turned in a different direction. "We might as well head out of here together, then."

"Right…" Lantel stepped up to stand beside Brisa before looking back at his group. "Everyone, form together. There's strength in numbers!"

Lantel and Brisa then trotted together, while both groups of students mingled together. They followed the pair down the corridors and up a few flights of stairs. Holly had to pick up the pace to stand beside Lantel, though she panted a bit heavily all the while.

"So, where are your friends?" Lantel asked Holly. "Weren't you all trying to stick together?"

Holly frowned. "Ozul's looking after Ricin in the infirmary."

Lantel's eyes widened. "What happened to him?"

"We'll explain later." Brisa declared. "For now we need to get the students out in the courtyard."

"Uh-huh." Holly nodded. "And then what?"

"Then we'll… uhh…" Brisa bit her lower lip. "Maybe we'll lead them to the altar across the abyss."

Lantel raised an eye ridge. "Altar?"

"Ancestors, you're really out of the loop." The wind dragoness snorted.

"Well, I can't help it." Lantel sneered. "Just fill me in once we've established a base of operations or something, okay?"

"Sure…" Brisa snorted again.

Lantel just rolled his eyes and looked away; arguing semantics wouldn't have gotten them anywhere. Though he had to admit to being curious about this altar they mentioned; maybe it had some sort of connection to the realms that they could exploit to get free. It was all still better than sitting around in the chapel.

A few moments later, the trio led the students to a pair of double doors that led out into the courtyard. Lantel and Brisa pushed one door open each and then got out of the way as Holly led the students outside. They all spun on their heels and stood by the doors as everyone flooded out.

"Come on, come on!" Holly exclaimed as she waved with a forepaw. "Don't dawdle!"

The students all poured out as they shouted over each other. Brisa and Holly directed the younger students to form neat lines, while Lantel had the older students from a ring around them. And all the while, the golden prince held his head high; everything was working out just fine so far.

But as Lantel waited for everyone to vacate the fortress, he cast his eyes out at the great, otherworldly abyss that was Convexity… and his mind raced to figure out what would happen next.

Every time he looked at the depths of this strange realm, Lantel felt smaller and smaller. It felt like he could see forever into the unknown. And every time the purple lightning cracked across the abyss, it felt like it drew all the closer to tearing through his scales. Lantel grasped his cloak and pulled it tighter against his body, to try and hide his shaking from anyone who might glance his way. He was trapped… they were ALL trapped. He just couldn't admit it out loud.

Before long, everyone was gathered out in the middle of the courtyard. Just about everyone he could have possibly rescued was gathered in one place. Brisa and Holly walked over to stand on either side of Lantel as he turned to address the crowd.

"What do we do now?" A wind dragoness called out. "We're still stuck in Convexity!"

"I'll… I'll think of something soon!" Lantel declared.

"Don't you mean WE'LL think of something?" Brisa snapped.

"I know, I know…" Lantel stepped forward and twirled around to get everyone's attention. "Just remain calm! As the solar prince, I'll ensure that EVERYONE gets out of here safe!"

"We'll do the same!" Holly chirped.

"Yeah!" Brisa said confidently. "The Deep Shadows' apprentices won't let you down!"

A lot of the light dragon younglings looked at Lantel; some were still scared, while a scarce few held some confidence. The dark dragons, meanwhile, kept their focus on Holly and Brisa as they continued to offer up calming words and platitudes.

Lantel took calm breaths and made to keep his head clear. All of his training on proper posture came to the forefront in his mind; they needed a leader. They needed someone to look after them and keep them safe…

But as the prince was looking around, a bolt of lightning shot across the students' heads. A lot of them yelled in fright, while Lantel ducked to avoid the blow. The lightning blasted against the stone door, while Lantel's ear frills began to ring. Immediately Holly and Brisa got into defensive stances and looked around.

"Who did that?!" Brisa yelled. "Show yourselves!"

Lantel lifted his head… and saw a dragon cutting his way through the crowd. And he was only the first; several other dragons were making their way through, pushing and shoving with growls and sneers. And all of them wore the same face-concealing masks of the Crazy Aces.

"You think we're going to just let you walk around all willy-nilly?!" A fire dragon yelled.

"You're in deep shit, Mr. Hero!" Hissed a lightning dragoness. She leaned back and prepared for another attack. "We're going to tan your hide!"

Lantel cursed his rotten luck; he'd spent so much time sneaking around the Crazy Aces that he'd almost forgotten that they'd pose a threat. They pushed through the students and formed a ring around the prince; they all beat their wings and had magic dance across their scales. Most of the students shivered and held their heads down to avoid drawing the gang's ire. Lantel bit his lower lip; he wasn't in the mood for a confrontation. Not with so many dragons watching him. Two of the tallest gang members pushed their way to the front; Kass and Mora, the acting leaders.

Right away, Holly and Brisa dashed up to stand on either side of Lantel. They had their magic spark along their scales in preparation for a battle. But Lantel took a deep breath and did his best to lock eyes with Mora.

"You think this is a good time to fight?" Lantel demanded. He lifted his head and took a proud pose. "We have more important things to worry about!"

"Oh, shut up!" The earth dragoness said angrily. She extended her talons and pointed a few of them at the prince. "Just because Bergan's run off somewhere doesn't give you permission to gather up everyone for some kind of play date outside!"

"This isn't about playing, you idiot!" Lantel snapped. "You don't even realize how far in over your heads you all are! You and the rest of your little gang are in just as much danger as everyone else here!"

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Mora snapped. She looked over at a fire dragon in a mask across from her. "Roast this idiot!"

The fire dragon pulled his mask up and stomped forward. Lantel hissed as the drake unleashed a fireball from his maw. The flames went hurtling toward Lantel, who snarled and tossed his cloak away as he made to dodge the flames…

Only for a gust of wind to blow against the flames and put them out. Lantel blinked in surprise and lifted his head back up in time to see Brisa coming to a landing in front of him. She spread her wings out and growled at the masked fire dragon.

"Did you forget who you're dealing with?!" Brisa snapped. "I'm standing right here, moron!"

The masked fire dragon snarled in retaliation; he stomped forward and prepared to attack again with more fire… but his body was hit with an icy mist, stunning him. By the time the dragon had recovered, Holly ran up and smacked his snout with her leg. She then dashed around to stand across from Brisa.

"The prince isn't fighting you alone!" The ice dragoness yelled as she fanned out her wings.

The fire drake snarled in frustration. He glared over at Kass, who snorted and stepped a bit closer.

"Fine then…" Kass lifted his mask and inhaled through his nostrils. "Let's see you put the freeze on THIS!"

The drake unleashed a fierce torrent of water toward Holly. She created another icy mist from her maw, while Brisa attacked with the wind to blow the water away. The water was turned to ice and sent careening off to the side to shatter on the ground. This went on for a while longer… until Kass's paws suddenly sank.

"What the-?!"

He gasped as he lost balance and fell over, letting the wind and ice magic wash over him. Kass was soon shivering in place as he struggled to pull his paws out of shadowy pools that had formed below him. Several of his gang members snarled and stomped forward... just as more of those pools opened up beneath their paws. Immediately they slipped and fell partially into the pools, flailing and shouting as they tried to pull themselves free.

Lantel, Brisa, and Holly were perplexed by what happened. But it didn't take long to figure out who did that; a dragon with dark red scales emerged from off to the side, and he quickly rushed around to stand beside the others.

"Ozul!" Holly exclaimed.

"I heard a commotion coming from above, so I came to investigate," Ozul said.

"But what about-?"

"Ricin will be fine on his own for a few minutes." The crimson drake nodded. He then whirled around, took a deep breath, and glared with disapproval at the Crazy Aces. "Stop getting in our way."

Holly and Brisa were quick to renew their battle stances, and the trio stood at the ready all around Lantel. The golden prince couldn't help but feel amazed at how they all growled at the Crazy Aces. It wasn't quite enough to match the gang in size, but it was still more than the prince could have hoped for on his own. Lantel gave a small smile; the apprentices were much better trained than he gave them credit for previously. But congratulations would have to wait; there was still a gang to deal with.

Kass and Mora exchanged dumbfounded glances, but they held their ground.

"You… You think that's going to be enough to frighten us?" Kass demanded. "We're not scared of you OR your weird friends, princey-poo!"

Lantel's eye twitched, but he ignored the insult. As much as he wanted them to see reason the easy way, the prince needed to diffuse the situation. So with his head held high once again, the prince stepped forward, beat his wings, and glared daggers right at the masked thug.

"If you want a fight… then FIGHT!" Lantel leaped forward and growled fiercely at the gang members.

The thug growled and made to attack… only for a lot more growls to surround him from all sides. Looking around, he and Lantel noticed that a lot more of the students had worked up the nerve to stand tall. Many of them beat their wings and glared down at the thugs. Lantel couldn't believe it, and neither could the Crazy Aces.

"Wh-What do you think you're all doing?!" Mora growled. "You try anything, and I'll cut! I'll cut you to RIBBONS!"

"Can you cut ALL of us?!" Brisa asked as she stepped forward. She was soon joined by several other wind dragons, who all looked ready to blast the thugs off their feet.

One by one, the members of the Crazy Aces stammered incredulously. They looked all around as furious faces bore down on them from all sides. Lantel couldn't help but smirk at all of this; He strode his way forward and let his magic spill through his fangs for a moment.

"Try something…" Lantel declared. "I dare you."

Kass stammered and muttered incoherently as his brain worked to come up with something threatening to say. Ultimately, he'd taken too long; Lantel was able to walk right on up and smack him across the cheek. The thug's mask was knocked off, revealing the disheveled face underneath. The thug watched his mask fall, and then glanced worriedly up at Lantel. The prince leaned in to glare right into the thug's eyes.

"I order you to STAND DOWN," Lantel growled. "Gather your goons, sit down, and Collectively SHUT UP!"

The thug didn't even have to give out a command; all of the thugs were nervously making their way through the crowd to huddle up together. Several of the older students managed to swipe away any loose knives or tools the thugs had, before turning them around and forcing the Crazy Aces to crouch down. Soon, the whole group was forced to cluster together off in a corner, while many angry students acted as guards to keep them down. The only one who hadn't budged was Mora, who fearfully looked upon Lantel with a shaking body.

"You… You bastard." The thug shivered as she slowly walked around the apprentices and focused on Lantel.

"Just keep a lid on it." Lantel snapped. "You have all been nothing but pests."

Mora's eye twitched again. She looked around at her gang, and then across at the courtyard.

"Bulb!" Mora cried out loudly. "Get your arse out here! We need help! BULB!"

"He said shut it!" Brisa yelled; she dashed up and smacked the earth dragoness across the cheek. Mora clutched her face and hissed, but said nothing else. She crouched down next to Kass, and the Crazy Aces looked down in defeat.

Lantel sighed; the students were keeping the thugs at bay, so he could walk around to gaze out at the abyss. Brisa, Holly, and Ozul were quick to follow behind him.

"Okay, so that's that done," Ozul said. "So… did we have a step two?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking…" Brisa scratched her head. "Well, as I said, we could fly back to the altar."

"And then what?" Holly asked. "We never figured out how it worked."

"That doesn't mean we can't if we try again." Brisa looked over at Lantel. "What do you think, Prince?"

Lantel once again tried to feel confident; everything was starting to look up a little. He was about to say something to Brisa, but as he cast his eyes back at the abyss… something looked back. The prince did a double-take and looked up. For a moment, he could have sworn there was… a pair of eyes? Out in the distance?

"Lantel?" Brisa asked. "What's wrong?"

"Erm…" He bit his lower lip as he looked at the apprentices. "Did any of you see that just now?"

"See what?" Ozul asked.

"I… I don't know." Lantel looked back at the abyss. "I think I saw a-"

Cracka-BOOM!

Purple lightning struck down from the abyss.

Lantel and the apprentices jumped in surprise. The prince quickly turned around and followed the arc of the lightning… and it led straight to the roof of the chapel. And as the prince focused on the doorway, he could just barely see shades of purple light through the cracks in the door. Right away, Lantel knew what was going on; he gnashed his fangs and stomped toward the chapel.

"What happened?" Brisa asked. "What's going on?"

"I… I don't know." Lantel said forcefully. "But I'm going to find out."

"What do we do about the Crazy Aces?" Holly asked as she motioned toward them with a wing. "We can't keep our eyes off them for long."

"And Bulb is still running around somewhere," Ozul said with a shiver. "He could be anywhere."

Lantel gnashed his fangs; Ozul was right. At any moment, that lanky golden thief could just appear before them and mess everything up.

"I… I guess I'm not in charge of you guys…" Lantel looked around at the three apprentices. "But I'd appreciate it if you kept watch on the thugs so they didn't try anything funny. As for myself… I need to see what's going on in the chapel."

Ozul, Brisa, and Holly all exchanged glances, before looking at the prince and giving slight nods.

"We'll keep watch over stuff out here." Brisa gave a salute. "You just be safe in the chapel, Prince."

"Right…" Lantel looked at the other two and nodded. "Be safe."

Holly and Brisa turned around to trot over toward the students, while Ozul sank into his shadows. Lantel then made his way over to the chapel and very carefully pushed the doors open. He then strode inside… and looked right at a shuffling, frantically-muttering, Bergan.

The purple dragon didn't even seem to notice Lantel approaching, as he dashed his way around the controls around the altar. Bergan continued to mutter something under his breath as a wave of purple light and magic ran through all of the machinery. Lantel scowled; Bergan was making even more of those convexity crystals. Just how many did the damn drake need?! Lantel stomped forward to give the dragon a piece of his mind; even if things went south from this encounter, Lantel didn't care; he was ANGRY, and he was ready to vent his frustrations on the dragon that had caused so much trouble.

As Lantel approached, Bergan still kept his back to him. The purple drake continued to mutter as he stopped the controls and blew the smoke away from the altar. Bergan very delicately picked up one of the crystals and looked at its surface.

"…No, no, no!" Bergan exclaimed as he threw the crystal down onto the pile. "This isn't right! There are too many impurities!"

"BERGAN!" Lantel yelled as loud as he could.

The purple dragon flinched… genuinely flinched. He slowly turned around to look at Lantel, who stopped to gasp. Bergan's features were a lot more disheveled than when he'd seen them last. His mane was a mess, and his beard was erratic. Bergan took several quick pants as if he'd been working non-stop for several hours. His talons were fidgety, and he spun around madly to keep looking at the altar even as he kept his gaze on Lantel; it was as if the prince had gotten the drop on him.

"What are you doing?!" Lantel demanded. "Where have you been?! And why are you making even MORE crystals?!"

"I…" Bergan muttered; he glanced down at the pile of crystals, and then back at the prince. "I need them. I need as many as I can get."

"Oh, so now you've given into the same temptation that Cyrus did?" Lantel growled.

"Temptation?" Bergan repeated incredulously. "No, boy! I need them to stop the world from tearing itself apart!"

Lantel blinked… and then glared once again. "What are you talking about?"

"Can't you see what's happening?!" Bergan exclaimed. "Surely you've noticed the problem, while out in the courtyard with the students?!"

"Wha…?" Lantel balked. "You KNEW I gathered all the students?!"

"Of COURSE I knew!" Bergan exclaimed. "The moment I was standing on the realms' soil again, I knew immediately! It all came back!" He pointed at his head; one of the arteries was throbbing a little. "But now that I'm here again… it's all a blank!"

Lantel stuttered and stammered. "You're not making any-"

"It doesn't matter if you understand or not!" Bergan shouted. He rushed around the altar and started adjusting the controls. "Right now, I need you to ensure that all of the students stay in one, big group, while I work on these controls."

"And just why should I do anything you say NOW?" Lantel demanded. "Everything's been going crazy out there!"

Bergan turned back to Lantel… and gave him the most furious, frustrated glare that the prince had ever seen on any dragon. Bergan stomped forward with bloodshot eyes and leaned his head down to force his gaze right on the prince. Lantel could feel an icy chill run along his spine, as one of Bergan's eyes twitched.

"If you don't listen to me…" Bergan said through gritted fangs. "…and if you refuse to get the children to form an orderly fashion…" He reached into his cloak and held up a crystal ball. "…Then every one, including YOU, is going to DIE here."

Bergan shoved the crystal ball into Lantel's chest, who nervously took it in a forepaw. The prince gulped as he looked at the surface of the crystal… before shaking his head and putting it down.

"Alright, alright…" Lantel said uneasily. "I'll do what you say."

"Good…" Bergan reached into his cloak as he lifted his head. "Now… I'll be sending the students back home to Warfang… except for you."

"What?!" The prince shouted. "You're keeping me trapped here?!"

"No." Bergan pulled out a scroll and shoved it into Lantel's chest. "I'm sending you to Glenhaven."

Lantel looked down at the scroll, and then back up at Bergan. "But WHY?!"

"Multiple reasons…" Bergan made his way back to the controls to work on them again. "Key among them being; you're to deliver that scroll directly to the highest authority you meet in Glenhaven."

"And just who will THAT be?" Lantel demanded. "And besides: Wasn't there a WAR going to happen in Glenhaven?! How am I supposed to-?"

"JUST GET OUT THERE AND GET THE CHILDREN TO FORM A SINGLE GROUP!"

Bergan screamed so loud that Lantel jumped in place. He fumbled with the scroll and crystal ball, before storing them away in his pockets. He then gritted his fangs and watched as Bergan adjusted the controls while muttering to himself. The air became hot with magic, and the stone beneath Lantel's paws began to shake. It looked like there was no time to question or argue things; he had to get outside.

As Lantel stepped out of the courtyard, he looked down at the crystal ball in his grasp. Something was peeking out at him between the storm clouds within. Something with piercing yellow eyes… and a sly grin.

~~…~~

Rune, Cyrus, Tyrrany, and Jonathan couldn't believe what they were seeing. King Saul, mutated and monstrous, loomed furiously overhead, while crepsculi flew in a swarm up above.

Rune and Cyrus were the first to react. The former held his sword at the ready, while the latter spread his wings and roared. And in response… Saul roared back even louder. The air about his body shimmered with purple light the king spread his limbs to attack.

Saul lunged forward, tearing chunks of the ground asunder in his wake. He slammed down on all fours before the black dragons; the force was so great that it cracked the pavement open. Rune struggled to stay standing, while Cyrus hissed and attacked with a burst of convexity. Saul shielded his body with a wing, and his body glowed green as he lifted his head to glare again.

Across the way, Tyrrany and Jonathan were frozen in fear. The dragoness could barely budge as she beheld what Saul had become. She could smell the scent of convexity all around her as the battle commenced. She'd never known that so much power could be so… potent. She took several steps back and held a paw over her nostrils; it was unlike anything she'd ever breathed before. So much power, all in one place…

Meanwhile, Jonathan dragged his wounded body out of the way as Saul bore down upon Rune and Cyrus. The earth prince wanted to feel pride upon seeing his father arrive to do battle with the hateful black drakes… but everything was wrong. Saul was ranting, raving, and howling like a beast; a far cry from the dragon he knew. Jonathan curled up in a ball and cautiously lifted a forepaw into the air.

"G… Go g-get them… Dad?" He said uneasily.

Cyrus gave another roar as he raised a forepaw to slash at Saul's face. But the king lifted his forepaw to block the attack. Saul's body glowed ever greener, and he grabbed Cyrus's wrist to slam it down. Cyrus tried to attack with a jet of black flames. They burned away at the clothes on Saul's body, but the king himself hardly reacted; he just snarled and hissed as he grabbed Cyrus to slam him down onto the pavement. Cyrus roared in pain, while Saul tried to slash at his throat… only to have his forepaw slashed at by Rune's sword.

"You bastard!" Rune roared as he charged his wings with lightning. "I should have known you'd be here!"

Rune flapped his wings to unleash many arcs of lightning upon Saul's body. Saul hissed as the lightning danced across his form. But the great king simply rose again and whirled around to shriek down at Rune.

"Wretched little son of a corpse!" Saul bellowed; purple smoke rose from his maw. "I'll kill you!"

The king opened his maw, unleashing a ferocious burst of convexity at Rune. Rune hissed and dodged out of the way. He flew down to the ground, while Cyrus rose to go back on the offensive. Rune did his best to recover, and he waited for an opening to attack the earth king once more.

Tyrrany looked back and forth between the princes and the corrupted king. Her heartbeat quickened as she struggled to think of what to do. This wasn't right; none of this was supposed to happen. None of these dragons should have been here at this moment… but here they were. The city was crumbling, horrific monsters clouded the sky, and a horrible feeling of dread filled Tyrrany's being.

Rune and Cyrus unleashed blasts of convexity at Saul… who took the hits and blasted back with corrupted earth bombs. They fled around the area as holes were torn into the pavement. Everything shook as Tyrrany was nearly knocked off her feet. Rune and Cyrus hit the ground, with Saul slamming down beside them. Rune tried to lift his sword to attack again, but the king smacked it out of his grasp and sent it sliding across the ground.

Saul glared at the princes in turn as he wrapped his meaty forepaws around their necks and pressed them into the ground. The princes worked to push Saul's forepaws back; they dug their talons into the holes in his gauntlets and tried to stab him, but the earth king just kept crushing them.

"I've waited YEARS for this day!" Saul bellowed as the princes cried out. "Today, I'll put an end to Spyro's bloodline!"

Cyrus was just barely able to lift Saul's forepaw off his neck before the earth king slammed down again. Rune was coughing and gagging as his convexity failed him; both princes screamed as the earth king worked to flatten their necks. Saul cackled evilly the whole time; he beat his fat wings and scattered trace amounts of purple lightning throughout the area.

Tyrrany just stood there, shivering. It… It was finally happening. The plan that Saul had worked towards for ages. Tyrrany knew it was coming; she'd known it all along. But to see it playing out, in this way… she felt sick to her stomach.

Tyrrany cast her gaze over at Jonathan once again. The prince had lumbered back a good distance from Saul and the princes. His mane was a mess, and his eyes darted all over; he covered his ear frills and tried not to listen as the king slowly killed the princes. Jonathan's lip quivered, he rocked in place… and then looked over worriedly at Tyrrany.

The two locked eyes, and saw each other's dread. There were no heroics to be witnessed this day; this wasn't Saul triumphantly defeating an enemy. This… This was savagery. Jonathan eventually couldn't bear it; he shut his eyes tight and turned his body away from his father… and silently cried. Tyrrany didn't know if Jonathan wanted her to do something...

Tyrrany looked back at Rune and Cyrus… her brothers. They were howling, snarling… and screaming for help. All of their strongest magic was failing them. Cyrus couldn't even reach the satchel on his neck; it was covered by Saul's paw. They… They were… almost…

No.

Tyrrany couldn't bear this anymore. Even if this was always the plan from the beginning, part of Tyrrany screamed out that she'd never live with herself if she let it happen before her. Nor could she just run away.

The dragoness shivered all over as she grasped her bow. She locked her eyes with the princes… her brothers… and played one of her favorite tunes.

Saul's ear frills twitched as the music filled the air. He turned his head from the princes and looked around… as heat erupted beneath his paws. The corrupted king looked down in time to see thick purple auras surrounding the princes' bodies. Together, they pushed Saul's forepaws out of the way and unleashed bursts of magic to strike him in the snout.

Saul roared as he was knocked off-balance. Rune and Cyrus scrambled to get out from under him as they reached within themselves for healing magic. But they still coughed and gagged from where the king squeezed their necks.

"Damnit!" Saul howled as he got back onto all fours. "HOW?!"

Tyrrany winced; she made to try and get out of view… but the ground trembled beneath her feet. Tyrrany was knocked onto all fours; she nearly dropped her violin in the process. And by the time she'd gotten things under control… she looked up to find Saul's eyes locking with hers.

"You…" The king's eyes constricted as lightning danced across his body. "You… TRAITOR!"

Tyrrany's blood turned to ice; she held her violin closely as Saul charged toward her. She tried to tuck-and-roll to avoid the king's attack…

WHAM!

But the king struck her across the side.

Tyrrany screamed as she flew through the air; she lost her grip on the violin in the process. The dragoness landed with a painful crash on the ground and hit her head against a chunk of overturned pavement. Pain spread through her body as she rolled around and twitched; her vision blurred from the blow. Purple lightning danced madly about her scales, forcing her to jitter and moan… while the king stomped forward to loom over her.

"You little bitch…" Saul hissed. He made a move to attack Tyrrany, but then lightning rained down and struck his hide. The king howled as he whirled around.

Rune and Cyrus were standing tall, having finally healed themselves to the point where they could stand. The former had unleashed a barrage of electricity from his sword, and he swung it around in his jaws as he prepared another volley. Cyrus, meanwhile, stretched his wings wide as he summoned forth an aura of convexity around his body.

There were no words exchanged; only growls and roars as both sides clashed again.

Rune charged forward with ferocity; he dashed through the air and swung his blade at Saul to unleash more bolts of lightning. Every single blast struck Saul's body, but it did little to stop his charge.

Rune pushed himself to attack with everything he had, and Cyrus was just behind him providing support with magical blasts. The two princes attacked again and again, though they did little to force Saul back. Rune swung his blade at Saul several times, dealing nasty wounds around the earth king's gauntlets… but as soon as the blows were dealt, Saul's magic sealed them back up.

Rune snarled up at Saul as he kept his attacks going. He wouldn't let the earth king win. After everything that had happened, after all the times that the earth dragon royal family had caused him grief since childhood… Rune wouldn't let Saul take away his foster home. Not again!

Rune hefted up his blade and charged his body with magic. He'd give it his all; he'd put everything he had into a single blast; a Fury to make his ancestors proud. The prince reached within himself to pour his magic into the blade, and he charged forward to deliver a blow to Saul's neck…

But as Rune prepared to attack, Saul had prepared an attack of his own. And though Rune had quite the amount of power at his disposal, Saul's had grown greater. The earth king dug deep into his aura of convexity and filled his body with it faster than Rune could have anticipated. And just before Rune's body could connect… the magic erupted.

Saul gave a horrifying wail as his Earth Fury burst from his body. The street and much of the surrounding buildings were struck with countless blasts of earth. The ground was torn to pieces; many craters were torn open. Rune's sword was sent flying out of his grasp…. As his body collapsed onto the pavement.

Cyrus roared in rage; his wings endured most of the damage from Saul's fury. But as the prince put his wings down to try and attack… Rune's sword flew through the sky and slashed across Cyrus's foreleg. The larger prince hissed and collapsed down onto the ground to clutch his wound.

All the while, Tyrrany struggled to get back up despite her pain. She hobbled her way across the ground to try and reach her violin; she needed to try again to get Rune back on his paws. But before she could reach her instrument, Saul came crashing to the ground.

The earth king's eyes fell upon her violin a short distance away. He lifted a forepaw as lightning danced across his gauntlet. Tyrrany winced as she gazed up fearfully at the mutated king, while his paw hovered ominously above her.

"I'm sick of your little TOY!" The king bellowed as his forepaw came down…

CRASH!

…and smashed the violin.

Tyrrany watched in horror as the king lifted his paw once again; many splintered chunks of wood and string fell from the gauntlet. The dragoness felt her heart sink the individual pieces of wood caught on fire and were reduced to ashes in seconds.

"No…" Tyrrany whimpered as her eyes teared up. She collapsed onto the ground and covered her eyes with her paws.

"And now for YOU…" Saul hissed as he lifted his forepaw even higher. It glowed an ominous purple as the king poured his magic into the gauntlet. "I'll teach you what happens when you betray the KING OF GLENHAVEN!"

Tyrrany struggled to get back up as the king's shadow fell over her. She curled up in fear, as the mutated dragon brought his talons down for her throat…

CLANG!

Tyrrany winced… but felt no talons piercing her. She ran her forepaws over her body, but there were no stab wounds. Had the king missed? Tyrrany nervously opened her eyes to look around and found shadowy smoke all about her body. She felt strange… as if she'd suddenly been rearranged. Everything was in different places; Saul was further away than he was moments ago, as were the three princes.

"Where are you?!" Saul bellowed as he looked around. "Show yourself!"

Tyrrany held her tongue, though her confusion grew. What had happened? Had she been teleported via shadow magic? How? And who did it? As these questions racked her brain, the dragoness got quite an unexpected answer… in the form of the silhouette of a dragoness from the sky. Tyrrany looked up as the dragoness came to a quick landing a short distance away. The dragoness kept her gaze upon Tyrrany for the entire time; they were silent and had the expression as if they'd seen a ghost. The stranger wasted no time drawing close; she was looming over Tyrrany in a mere moment. Their eyes roamed over Tyrrany's form, and their body twitched. Tyrrany was so confused; she reached up to rub her eyes to try and get her vision cleared. And when she looked at the dragoness's face… it was like looking at her own.

Tyrrany couldn't believe it; she didn't WANT to believe it. It couldn't have been… no, no it wasn't possible. She, she just couldn't take it… there was just no way it was her. Tyrrany's heart beat faster and faster, while her limbs screamed for her to get up and run. But Tyrrany still couldn't rise because of all the pain. It was just too much…

Tyrrany passed out… just in time to hear one final shout of anger from Saul across the way…

~~…~~

"ELENAR!" Saul screamed. "ELENAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

Elenar gasped as she looked up from the white dragoness. The queen had been so preoccupied with who lay before her feet that she nearly forgot about the situation at hand. Elenar sucked in a breath and lifted her head to focus on the monstrous dragon looming across the way.

Elenar quickly glanced around to get a better look at the situation. Rune was on one side of the area, knocked unconscious. Cyrus, still mutated, was struggling to stand across the way. And behind Saul, none other than prince Jonathan lay wounded on the ground. She had many questions as to what had happened that led to this moment… especially with her presence of her on the ground. But there was no time… she had to deal with Saul. She had to stop his rampage once and for all.

"Saul!" Elenar fanned out her wings and took a regal stance. "You have committed crimes against Glenhaven and the greater dragon realms! Surrender NOW, and your sentence will be minimal!"

Saul responded by screaming and beating his wings to rise into the sky. A barrier of convexity surrounded the king's body as he charged toward Elenar at high speed. With a gasp, the queen quickly grabbed the dragoness and called on her magic…

Moments later, Saul crashed into the ground where Elenar had previously been. The queen emerged from a pool of shadows and emerged on the opposite side of the street… next to Rune. She placed the unconscious dragoness down beside her son, and then fanned her wings out again to shield the both of them.

I won't let him hurt you anymore, she thought as she frowned at the two of them. Elenar then cast her glance over at Cyrus, who still struggled to stand.

Cyrus finally realized what was happening at this point; looked in Elenar's direction, and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"M…" He stammered as he blinked his eyes. "…Mom?"

"I'm here, Cyrus," Elenar called to him.

The mutated prince clutched his bleeding foreleg and looked away from her. From the way his eyes darted away, Elenar had a feeling that Cyrus was ashamed. Her heart ached; she felt if she could just talk with him, she could get her son to finally see reason… but there wasn't time. The queen sighed and turned to glare at Saul. The mutated king stood up tall, and he whirled around to glare daggers into Elenar's soul. He stomped forward, preparing to charge again…

When a cavalcade of magical blasts rained down from the sky.

Fierce cyclones, burning poisons, booming lightning, burning flames, and even wails of dark-red Fear… all buffeted Saul's body from head to tail. The king collapsed onto his side and howled in pain as he struggled to stand up. And while Saul was trying to stand, Elenar looked up to see where the magic all came from.

The first to arrive were Spyro and Cynder. They flew down onto either side of Saul and roared angrily. Next were Albanion and Elza. The two Deep Shadows kept their distance but were ready to unleash more attacks at a moment's notice. And finally, Urobos came to land on all fours, between a few heavy pants. Everyone had magic dancing across their scales as they prepared to assault Saul with more blasts if need be.

Saul looked all around incredulously. His eyes were wide in equal parts rage and horror as all of the dragons hissed and growled.

"It's over, Saul!" Spyro bellowed; his talons dug into the earth as he spread his wings out wide. "You don't have enough power to take on ALL of us!"

Saul had never been more furious in his life. Once again, as if part of some cruel joke, more annoyances came to interfere with his plans. It was as if the whole realm was against him, and he couldn't stand it. He was running out of power; his eyes darted around frantically as he searched for some answer to his predicament…

…that's when Saul spotted a familiar purple glow inside the distant satchel. The light dazzled in the king's eyes; he knew EXACTLY what was in Cyrus's possession.

"You… You… You won't stop me!" Saul roared.

Saul charged across the area as the multitude of elemental blasts assailed him yet again.

But no matter how many chunks of scales were blasted off of his body, the corrupted king continued his charge. Saul leaped into the air and filled all of his forepaws with earth magic. And when he finally landed, another massive earthquake burst forth. Saul hit the ground with so much force that a crater was blown into the ground beneath his paws. The waves washed over the arena, knocking all the other dragons to the ground.

Cyrus groaned as he struggled to get up and get away… only for Saul to pin him down beneath his paw. Cyrus roared in pain as Saul tore the satchel away from his neck. The king cackled greedily as he tossed the prince down, and held the satchel above his head.

"It's mine…" Saul opened his maw wide. "All MINE!"

Spyro and Cynder struggled to blast the satchel out of Saul's grasp… but they were too late. He stuffed the entire satchel into his maw and greedily tore it to shreds. A multitude of crunching noises filled the air. More elemental blasts rained down on Saul's back, but he just kept eating the satchel… until he spat out a chewed-up, empty husk.

And that's when his entire body glowed an even brighter purple glow. Saul turned around and cackled as his eyes stabbed through the gathered dragons. Everyone stopped in their tracks and winced as they watched many bolts of purple lightning burst forth from Saul's chest.

"I am the king of Glenhaven!" Saul roared as he spread his wings out wide. "THE KING!"

A sickening cracking noise came from Saul's body as his muscles rippled. Saul dug his talons into the earth, tearing through the pavement like a knife through butter. Saul's body cracked and burned before the dragon's eyes. Waves of dark energy washed over Saul's form… as his body grew.

"I'm the king! The king!" He repeated several times. "KING KING KING KING KING!"

As Saul grew in size, Cyrus quietly crawled away to safety. The prince winced and moaned as a trail of blood followed behind him. But before Cyrus could get far, a big forepaw stabbed his back with a talon. Cyrus roared in pain as Saul lifted him into the air.

"GIVE ME MORE!" Saul screamed; his voice sounding worse and worse by the second. "THE POWER IS MINE! GIVE ME THE POWER!"

Cyrus dug his talons into Saul's flesh, to no avail. All of the surrounding dragons continued to rain elemental attacks upon Saul, but the behemoth wasn't budged; he reached out with his convexity and dug into Cyrus's body. More earthquakes continued to rock the landscape, causing several buildings to shake and collapse. Debris filled the air as lightning danced from the prince to the king and back again. Cyrus howled in pain, while Saul roared.

Elenar's breath grew frantic as she tried to get through the cloud of debris. Elza, Spyro, and Cynder blasted debris away with cyclones; they tried desperately to clear a path back to Saul and Cyrus. Everything rumbled and the ground continued to crack behind the debris. The gathered dragons could just barely make out the silhouette of Saul… which grew bigger and bigger, while Cyrus's silhouette shrank in size. Thunder boomed beyond the smoke, casting the two dragons' forms in a deep violet…

~~…~~

The courtyard shook, making some of the younger dragons whimper.

"Don't freak out," Brisa called over the crowd. "Everything will be okay!"

All of the younglings were gathered out in the courtyard. Brisa and the other apprentices did their best to keep the student body calm, even as the thugs glared at them from the center of the group. None of the Crazy Aces made a move to try attacking again, but nobody could be sure they were safe.

Lantel was at the very front of the group, alongside Bergan. Brisa and the other apprentices were rather cautious of the purple dragon, but he barely even looked in their direction the whole time. Bergan stood up tall and casually faced the student body; he didn't even flinch as a purple lightning-bolt shot through the air and singed the nearby grass.

"Everyone, please remain calm," Bergan said as he took a breath. "I understand that you're afraid, and rightly so. But I urge all of you to keep your wits about you…" He looked around at the younglings and tried to give them a reassuring smile (but Lantel could see the slight dread in the glint of the purple drake's eyes.)

"Before I do anything else…" Bergan held a glare toward the thugs. "Tell me: Where is the one named Bulb?"

"We don't know," Kass said immediately. "That gilded flake has been missing all day."

Bergan was about to say something, but then he snorted. The purple drake looked over the students at the front of the fortress. "Nevermind; I see him."

Lantel and the apprentices gasped. Most of the young dragons followed Bergan's gaze and soon spotted the front doors being pushed open. And as soon as Lantel saw the drake, he snarled in frustration.

Bulb was stepping out into the courtyard with the same arrogant atmosphere about him that he always had. He gave a casual whistle as he stepped outside, still clad head to talons in the stolen Ram armor. Bulb didn't even flinch as another quake shook the stones around him.

The slender drake also had a sword draped across his back; it was wrapped up in black cloth, with only the hilt exposed. Lantel growled; what a terrible way to carry his sword. That's when another growl drew the prince's attention; This time it was Bergan.

"Bulb!" Bergan yelled over the students; immediately the drake held a forepaw in the air and surrounded it with a purple aura.

"Oh, hello," Bulb said casually as he looked around at all the younglings. "I didn't realize we were having recess outside."

Bergan locked eyes with the golden drake and focused his magic intently. "I don't want any funny business from you, Bulb."

"Funny business?" Bulb asked innocently as he stepped a bit closer toward the crowd. "What do you mean?"

"There's something off about you." Bergan declared. "The moment you cast any magic, I'm countering it. So don't bother with any tricks."

Bulb simply shrugged. "If you say so."

Bergan's glare narrowed. With a wave of his talons, the sword on Bulb's back suddenly lifted into the air. Bulb gasped, but barely had time to process it; random parts of the Ram armor suddenly came off of his body and hovered overhead.

"Hey, what gives?!"

"Your stolen goods are to be returned immediately," Bergan said coldly.

Bulb just watched with an incredulous face as the sword and set of armor floated over the students' heads; everyone ducked down, but they never hinted at dropping on anybody. Every last piece flew swiftly through the air and came to hover around Lantel's body in a ring. The prince looked around in awe, while Bulb growled.

"Well, that's just great." Bulb snapped.

"Your thieving days are over," Bergan ordered. "Once all of this is over, you'll be turned back over to the proper authorities."

"Right, sure." Bulb rolled his eyed as he stepped forward. "Because everybody back in the realms is going to just gladly shake your paw after you turned over some random thug from-"

Thwip.

Bulb suddenly groaned as his eyes constricted. He swayed to and fro as his face suddenly turned pale. Bergan's eyes widened in confusion, and Lantel did a double-take with a few of the apprentices.

"I… You…" Bulb's speech was slurred as he reached behind his head… and pulled a dart from between his scales. He widened his gaze, and then stumbled around as he looked behind himself.

Across the way, having just emerged from the fortress were Ozul and Ricin. And Ricin was glaring furiously as he held a blow dart before his muzzle.

"You…" Bulb took a slow step backward. "You… Son of a…"

Bulb hit the ground with a loud thud, making everyone gasp. Ricin and Ozul then rushed forward so they could look down at the unconscious drake.

"You didn't have to go and do that," Ozul said to Ricin.

"Yes, I did!" The poison dragon kicked Bulb in the stomach. "He's had it coming! Well, all know that!"

"Whatever…" Ricin shoved Bulb over before looking out at the crowd. He locked eyes with Bergan and waved. "Where's Cyrus?!"

"I… don't know." Bergan shrugged. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"Fine…" Ricin made to rush across the way to rejoin the apprentices… but before he got far, the ground suddenly shook again.

"Wh-Wh-What in the…?" Ricin looked all around. "What did I miss?!"

"A lot!" Ozul yelled as he tugged on Ricin's wing. "Now come on!"

Ozul and Ricin rushed over to rejoin Holly and Brisa, while Lantel looked around anxiously at the shaking buildings.

Lantel wasn't sure what was going on, but he was at least relieved to have his armor back. He took each piece out of the air and worked to arrange it in a neat pile. He wasn't sure if he had the right to wear it; he feared angering his aunt Apella somehow. Still, he could at least check on the condition of his sword. He took it from the air and splayed it down flat on the ground beside Bergan. The purple drake looked down… and flinched.

"Wait…" Bergan said uneasily. "The blade's length is… familiar."

"What?" Lantel balked. "You've seen my family's sword before?"

"Your family's…?" Bergan began to ask, before snorting and looking it over again before biting his lip. Lantel just shrugged and worked to remove the cloth covering…

But as he worked to reveal its golden sheen, something wasn't right. The blade seemed wider than Lantel remembered… and distinctly longer as well. In fact, feeling the metal, it was a bit heavier than the last time he held it. Lantel had a very strange gut feeling: He worked to uncover more and more of the cloth… all while the ground shook even more.

"What's happening?!" Ozul shouted. "Why does the ground keep writhing around?!"

Lantel finally uncovered the last of the sword... and found it to be a very large broadsword. Bergan gasped upon seeing it and nearly fell backward onto his haunches.

"This…" Lantel's eyes widened. "This isn't my sword!"

"The fiend…" Bergan glared at the unconscious Bulb. "The little kleptomaniac! What has he done?!"

As the ground shook once again, the vibrations never completely stopped; everyone could feel strange warmth beginning to form beneath the grass and dirt. Bergan inhaled a sharp breath as he reached within his cloak for his satchel of crystals.

"Lantel!" Bergan called out as he reached for a few gems. "I'm afraid that everyone around you will be making an unexpected trip!"

"What are you talking about?" Lantel demanded.

Bergan pointed at the golden broadsword with a talon as he worked to channel his magic.

"That blade was the only thing keeping The Nexus stable within this realm!" Bergan shouted as the ground began to crack. "Without it in the generator, The Nexus will be ripped out of Convexity!"

"So we're going to be sent back to Warfang?" Ozul asked hopefully.

"NO!" Bergan shouted frantically.

"Oh, come on!" Ricin shouted. "You can't be serious about trying to keep us here STILL!"

Bergan looked at him incredulously, and then he smashed his crystals against the ground to channel their magic.

"That's not what I meant!" Bergan yelled. "I mean that The Nexus will be torn between BOTH realms! Pieces of this fortress will be scattered at random EVERYWHERE!"

"What?!" Ricin, Brisa, and Holly all screamed at once.

The vibrations grew heavier; many of the students were knocked off of their paws and sent sprawling. Even the Crazy Aces were starting to mutter worriedly about the situation.

"What are we gonna do?!" Ozul shouted at Bergan.

"I'll figure it out!" Bergan yelled as he lifted his forepaw to snap his talons. He tried to give a confident smile, but once again the desperation was clear in his eyes. "It's as simple as one… two…"

Snap.

Bergan took the deepest, longest breath he could. From the perspective of the young dragons, everything was instantaneous; they would hardly realize what had happened until after they were already safe. But for Bergan… it was agonizing.

He'd never kept his Time magic going for so long in his life. Normally his little rearrangements of persons and items were quick; perhaps even humorous. But to shift around so many students to get them in the exact right spot… his chest was heaving by the end of it.

Here and there, there and here… goodness there were a lot of students. Bergan had to make sure that there weren't any stragglers loafing around in The Nexus's halls or corridors. Bergan had found Ozul's sister curled up and crying behind a corner; it broke his heart to see the poor girl so frightened. He made sure to keep her nice and safe beneath her big brother's wing.

The Crazy Aces were the last ones to organize. The thugs had proven useful, but sadly it was time to part ways with them. They'd have to be kept under close watch once they got back to the realms. Bulb especially was a real nuisance; there was just something about that drake that made Bergan's eye twitch. He hated to have to do it, but he locked Bulb in chains and a muzzle to suppress whatever tricks he had up his proverbial sleeve.

But after what felt like a whole month in frozen time, Bergan was finally ready. He looked out at the gathered young dragons and finally let go of his breath of air. Everything gradually returned to normal… and there were only moments left.

"Three," Bergan said with a yawn. "I wish you all the best."

The students barely had a moment to realize what was going on before they were all whisked away in magical portals. Entire dozens of young dragons were pulled harmlessly into the ethereal embrace, and would soon find themselves in relative safety. The Crazy Aces were some of the last ones to go, along with the gathered apprentices.

"Hey, what the?" Ricin yelled.

"Whoa-!" Brisa shouted as she was pulled through.

"H-Hey-!" Holly tried to get away but was already halfway through a portal.

"Sis!" Ozul clung to his crying sister as they were pulled out together.

Lantel just barely had time to watch everyone else get taken away before he felt a portal tugging on his tail. The prince looked at Bergan in awe, as the purple drake gave him a nod and a salute.

"Be safe out there," Bergan said calmly. "And remember what I told you about that message."

Lantel tried to fight the pull of the portal, only to feel much heavier than he had a moment ago. He looked down and found himself dressed to the nines in his Ram armor; he even had his proper sword in its scabbard.

"How…?" Lantel asked before he was whisked off to the dragon realms.

"I'm Bergan." The drake gestured to himself. "I always find a plan."

Bergan was now all alone, watching as The Nexus tore itself apart. Buildings were ripped asunder; stone and bricks were scattered all across the grass. Purple lightning-bolts burst from the chapel and struck through the courtyard. Chunks of the floating stone were split away, and they tumbled down into the abyss below… or floated off toward the distant planets. It was disaster everywhere Bergan looked.

The purple drake froze time once again and sighed. He lifted his satchel, which was still filled with many convexity crystals…. Impure crystals, but crystals nonetheless. Even with so much of his work undone, Bergan couldn't lose hope yet. After seeing what he'd seen in the future, everything else would have to wait. So, he opened up his portal and let himself sink.

Bergan couldn't lose himself in anger; he had a world to save. But he'd need all the help he could get. He just hoped that Spyro and Cynder could put everything else aside and focus on the greater good.

He also hoped that, despite everything… Saul would be stopped before it was too late.

~~…~~

Jonathan didn't understand what was happening. So many noises kept striking his ear frills, while the cityscape become more disheveled and cracked. He rolled back and forth on the ground, clutching his bleeding wounds and praying to whatever Ancestors were listening that he wasn't hit in the crossfire of all the wild magic. Everything was happening so fast… he couldn't make sense of anything.

Jonathan picked himself up and looked around at the debris. His ear frills were ringing from all the exploding magic around him. He wiped his eyes and tried to figure out where to go, or what to do…

WHAM!

Something was thrown down in front of Jonathan, making him jump. He stumbled back a few paces and looked down;

It was Cyrus.

The black-scaled prince wasn't the hulking meathead he was before; in fact, he looked to be back down to his original size. He was barely moving; his breaths were slow, and he coughed up drops of blood. So many of Cyrus's scales were bruised, and his wing membranes were torn. It had been years since Jonathan had seen another dragon in such a broken, wounded state… not since that war four years ago. It was the face of an enemy; someone who had caused Jonathan nothing but trouble. Jonathan should have felt victory; he should have celebrated that an enemy prince was beaten…

But… the whole thing was just so… grotesque. Cyrus's state was just so… so sickening. So WRONG.

Jonathan felt an aching in his stomach; he covered his muzzle with a forepaw as his mouth became watery. He stumbled backward a few paces, trying his best not to heave onto the ground… and felt his back against something that burned like fire. Jonathan wailed in pain and backed away as the burning sensation spread through his back for a moment. The earth prince steadily turned around to see what it was… and wished he hadn't.

"JONATHAAAAAAAN…"

Two horrifying, purple eyes loomed behind a cloud of black smoke. Two great forelegs shifted and rumbled the ground; each ended in a forepaw big enough to wrap around the prince's entire body. Misplaced plates of metal were embedded amongst the scales on its forepaws, with blood oozing from the cracks. Massive wings spread out from the behemoth's back; each one big and fat enough to block out the sun. A fat tail lifted and struck the ground, nearly knocking the prince off his feet. Purple lightning danced across the monster's entire body, and yet the darkness continued to hide his form from full view.

Jonathan's limbs trembled, and he took shrill breaths. He backed up several paces while the beast locked eyes with him behind the cloud of smoke. Jonathan's lip quivered as he tried to process what he was looking at.

"D…" The prince stammered as he backed up again. All of his strength left him, leaving the prince as meek as a toddler. "D…. Dad?"

The smoke stayed over the behemoth's body as it moved its limbs. He pointed a massive talon at Jonathan and pointed him in the direction of Cyrus. Jonathan looked down at the wheezing black dragon, and then turned fearfully back up at the monster.

"KILL…" Saul ordered. "KILL… KILL…!"

Jonathan looked back at Cyrus and shivered from end to end. Cyrus almost looked like he was dead already. But even after everything that happened between Jonathan and the black princes… this wasn't right. He couldn't lift his talons to land a killing blow; not with such a monstrous version of his father looming overhead.

"D… Dad…" Jonathan said meekly; he could barely look back up at his father. "We… We beat them. I… I don't think-"

"KILL," Saul said, bringing his head down lower. "KILL!"

"B-But…" Jonathan shrank down. "I… I'm too weak too-"

An explosion from the sky made Jonathan's ear frills erupt with pain. He put his forepaws on his head and crouched down as more magic rained from the sky.

Spyro and Cynder had taken into the air above Saul. They'd blown away most of the debris, and exposed the behemoth for all to see. Many of the surrounding dragons cried out in horror at the beast Saul had become. The behemoth lifted its head and roared, with its forepaws tearing at the ground and tossing debris at anyone who got too close. Saul gave a terrifying roar at the overhead heroes and then turned to glare down at his covering son.

"WE… SHALL… TAKE… OUR… HOME…!" Saul shrieked. He lifted a big forepaw and reached out for Jonathan.

The earth prince cried out in fright as his father grabbed at him. He screamed and struggled to break free, but the behemoth's grip was far stronger. Jonathan tried endlessly to scratch and claw at Saul's big talons, but it only served to damage his paws.

"Put me down!" Jonathan begged. "Please, Dad! Let me go!"

Saul didn't reply; he simply roared once again as he beat his fat wings to take off. At first, it seemed like the behemoth's massive body made him too heavy and fat to take flight… but then his body glowed with a shimmering purple light; Saul used the power of convexity to levitate himself into the sky.

Spyro, Cynder, and all the others looked on in horror as the monstrosity took off to the north, making straight for the palace. Elenar watched this too, and thought for a moment that she needed to at least try to save the earth prince…

But looking around, it was clear that her children needed her attention first. She sucked in a breath, and shadow-jumped her way to Cyrus. Elenar's heart sank as she beheld the wounded boy; she put her forepaw beneath his head and lifted it as she tried not to cry.

"M…" Cyrus moaned weakly. "M… Mom…"

"Yes, Cyrus," Elenar said soothingly; she cradled his head against her chest. "I'm here."

"As am I!"

Elenar looked up to see Urobos gliding his way down to them. He immediately put his forepaws on his grandson's body and got to work chanting. The old drake's body glowed a bright blue as his healing magic roared to life.

And he wasn't alone; Spyro and Cynder were quick to descend on the scene. Cyrus wearily looked around and watched meekly as both heroes joined in the healing chant. Many of Cyrus's outward wounds began sealing themselves, and he coughed several times as more blood spilled free.

"I…" Cyrus said weakly as he cried. "I… I'm… sorry…"

"Save your strength, Cyrus." Elenar scolded. "We'll get you somewhere safe. You… AND your siblings."

"What… about… Saul?" Cyrus asked.

"Just get some rest, lad." Urobos pleaded. "Don't worry about Saul. We'll…" The old drake took a nervous breath. "We'll think of something."

"We'll have to think fast…" Spyro said with a grimace. Immediately the purple drake turned to glide over to where Rune and Tyrrany lay unconscious. "We're running out of time fast!"

Elenar was about to ask what Spyro meant… when an explosion rocked the air. Seconds later she felt the ground vibrating; a chill crept up her spine. Immediately she lifted her injured son into her limbs and used shadow magic to create a means of escape.

"We have to get far…" She said urgently. "Now!"

"You heard her!" Cynder called out, turning her direction to the distant Albanion and Elza. "Get out of here! HURRY!"

Elenar and the others carefully transported her three children away via shadow magic… and hoped they got far enough away before the worst came to pass…

~~…~~

Flame pushed a pair of double-doors open and stepped out onto the city streets. Arthur came to rest upon the fire dragon's head, while the drake whirled around and motioned with a forepaw.

"I found the exit!" He called out. "It's this way!"

He stepped out of the way as the assembled dragoness came running out. Nellie, Roxanne, Chalice, Tina, and Helianne all burst out in a panic, before coming to a stop and taking deep breaths on the pavement.

"Ugh, finally…" Roxanne said as she coughed up a few bits of dust. "It felt like we were trapped in that building for hours…"

"…Hey, I think it's this way!" Called a voice from inside.

Curious, Flame stuck his head into the building and looked to see what it was. Before long, an orange-scaled dragon turned the corner. He locked eyes with Flame and then waved over several dragons from around the corner. Flame gasped as a blue dragoness emerged, followed by several more teenagers.

Blankridge led the way outside, while Seraph and the other dragons followed suit. Soon there was quite a crowd of dragons gathered out on the sidewalk.

"Mom!" Nellie called in surprise.

"Oh, thank the ancestors…" Seraph ran over and draped his wing over her daughter's back. "I thought for sure that something bad had happened to you."

Across the way, Vaun and Aaron ran up to Roxanne's side. The both of them hugged the yellow dragoness with their wings.

"Oh geez, Roxy," Aaron said with tears. "We thought for sure that something bad happened."

"Well, it DID…" The lightning dragoness gestured around. But then her eyes teared up a bit, and she hugged them back. "But I'm okay."

Seraph let go of her daughter and made her way to the front of the group. "Listen, all of you. We need to get to safety: we're still much too close to the disaster area."

"Wait a minute…" Roxanne looked around. "Where's Rune?"

"Rune?" Seraph repeated as her eyes lit up. She looked over every face of the group and confirmed for herself that he wasn't present. "Rune wasn't with you?"

"He stayed behind to deal with… well, the source of the flames," Chalice said. "We haven't seen him since, Miss."

"We need to find him!" Helianne exclaimed. "What if he's still back there?!"

"We can't just rush all the way back!" Tina snapped. "If he was smart, he would have shadow-jumped out of there!"

While everyone was about to debate what to do, Flame took a deep breath. He was considering going back to figure out if Tyrrany was still in that arena. But as he was about to turn about, he felt poking atop his head. Flame looked up to see Arthur… who was as pale as a ghost. The dragonfly stammered worriedly as he continued to poke Flame in the head.

"Arthur, what are you doing?" Flame demanded.

"S…S… S…" The dragonfly stammered; he pointed his hand at the sky as his teeth chattered. "S… S…"

"What's gotten into you?" Flame narrowed his eyes.

Arthur took a deep breath and poked Flame again. "S… Saul."

"Saul?" Flame repeated. He followed Arthur's gaze into the air… and his jaw hit the ground. "…Oh?"

"What's this about Saul?" Seraph asked. She in turn followed the boys' gaze… and nearly shrieked, before hushing herself.

"Kids…" She said as calmly as she could to the gathered teenagers. "All of you… we need to go."

"Go where, Mrs. Seraph?" Marble asked.

"Anywhere but here!" She shouted as she fanned her wings out. "Just follow me! We have to go! NOW!"

The adult dragoness was already in the air by the time the teenagers started to see what she saw. The entire crowd flew after her as fast as they could… while a terrifying shadow cast itself over the palace…

~~…~~

Guardians all across the city were doing battle with the crepsculi. Flames, water pillars, lightning bolts, and earth bombs blasted across the sky and tore the many monsters to pieces. Bit by bit, the monsters were either forced back, or outright destroyed. The charge was led by Jules and Mimet, who stopped at nothing to defend their home. Victory should have been easy to grasp… they were fighting so hard, and taking back more and more territory by the moment.

But nothing… NOTHING… could have prepared them for what they saw making its way to the palace. The beast beats its shadowy wings as purple smoke bursts from its nostrils. It carried a single, wailing young dragon, which was powerless to break himself free of the monster's grip.

The behemoth set its sights on the palace and gave a toothy grin as it locked eyes with the courtyard. But before it could even think about coming for a landing… a great, fiery cannonball came smashing against the monster's face!

The behemoth roared in anger as it was knocked off its flight path. It shook its forepaws around, flailing Jonathan around in the process. Jonathan struggled to keep from vomiting, while the behemoth looked around in anger.

While the behemoth was distracted… the airship made its way around the side of the palace. It had fired its first successful shot, and most of the crew on deck gave a brief cheer of victory.

"Now's no time to celebrate!" Snapped the voice of Wraith. The crimson drake was at the helm, and he steered the wheel to keep the airship steady. "That was only ONE blast!"

The soldiers dashed all about, staying at their assigned stations both above and below deck. Meanwhile, Flamaedelus and Nymph were stationed in the inner quarters; both of them were unsure if they should show their faces during the attack.

As the airship drifted around the behemoth, Wraith had the soldiers prepare another cannon blast. He looked over the monster's features steadily. Wraith had to rub his eyes multiple times; this wasn't at ALL what he was expecting today.

The behemoth spotted the airship and roared in rage. He pulled back his head and unleashed a fearsome ball of purple flames. Wraith swerved harshly to the side, just barely avoiding a direct hit from the blasts. Part of the deck was partially set on fire, so Nymph quickly stuck her head out to put out some of the fire with her magic. Flamaedelus also tried his best to keep the fire under control, though it almost escaped his grasp.

"What in the ancestors' name IS that thing?!" Flamaedelus exclaimed.

"I…" Nymph stammered as she looked through a telescope. She gasped, nearly dropping it in the process. "I… I think it's Saul!"

"Saul?!" Flamaedelus shouted in disbelief.

"I don't think he's alone!" Nymph continued. She redirected her telescope at Saul's forepaw. This time, she DID drop it when she gasped. "He… He's got, Prince Jonathan!"

"Prince Jonathan?!" Flamaedelus and Wraith shouted in unison. The former stuck his head outside again, while the latter did his best to steer the vessel to line up for another shot.

"I don't know how all of this happened…" Flamaedelus emerged to make his way up to Wraith's side. "But please… don't take any risks with these cannons!"

"Well, we can't very well just sit back and watch THAT THING going on a rampage!" Wraith exclaimed. He turned toward several soldiers. "Line up the cannon for the next blast!"

"No!" Flamaedelus slammed his forepaw down, much to Wraith's frustration.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Wraith snapped. "We've got the big guns! Let's use them!"

The red dragon stepped back and took a deep breath, before looking the crimson dragon in the eyes as seriously as he could.

"Look… even if Prince Jonathan has done some unclean things under his father's orders," Flamaedelus stated. "he doesn't deserve being blown up by a cannonball!"

"I'm not aiming for the prince… obviously…" Wraith snorted. "There's a lot more SAUL to hit than Jonathan."

"We need to hold the cannon fire off for a minute." Flamaedelus continued. "Maybe… maybe you could do something to free Jonathan?"

"Hmm…" Wraith scratched his chin. He turned to look at the behemoth and did his best to keep an eye on the comparatively-minuscule prince flailing about. He held out a forepaw and channeled his shadowy magic. He tried to surround the distant prince…

Only for a bolt of convexity to zap the drake. Wraith howled in pain as he was knocked down; purple lightning danced across his scales. Flamaedelus could only watch in shock as Wraith struggled to regain his composure.

"That's… not going to work." Wraith grimaced. "Saul has Jonathan locked up pretty tight in his grip."

"Damn…" Flamaedelus turned to look up at the behemoth in horror.

~~…~~

The entrance to the palace shook and rumbled worse than it had all day. Despite the smoke and spare flames… Telus felt the urge to check on the front gates. He made his way up, up, up the palace floors, with Attonita and Krystallos following behind. All three of them panted heavily as they rushed for the big double-doors. Telus used his magic to push the doors open before rushing outside. And when he looked outside… immediately he knew something was very, very wrong.

The entire palace was rumbling from top to bottom. Earth and Stone were torn from one another; the noise was booming to Telus's ear frills. He winced as he struggled to stay standing. The magic baked into the palace's structure was calling out… practically SCREAMING to him.

"Telus!" Attonita cried out; she rushed over and worked to help him stay standing. But while she was preoccupied with helping Telus rise up, Krystallos cast his gaze up at the sky. Attonita looked at him incredulously and slowly looked up to see what the matter was.

Telus rose to his feet and looked between his fellow elders. He saw the horror in their eyes, and the way their muzzles were held agape. Telus cast his eyes to the sky… and SAW IT.

~~…~~

Many civilians, dragons, and non-dragons alike cast their gazes toward the center of Glenhaven… and the massive monstrosity floating above it. The beast howled and roared as its entire body radiated an aura of purple and green. The monster's wild, unstable magic spread from its body and down to the palace, surrounding it. The behemoth moved its forepaws about its body as the magic spread wider. The beast's voice was wild and ferocious; it reverberated all across the city and struck fear into the many beings' hearts.

"THIS… PALACE… IS… MINE…!"

The palace glowed with the same shades of purple and green; it was earth magic, infused with the most potent convexity that any of the gathered dragons had ever seen.

Telus, Krystallos, and Attonita struggled to stay standing.

There was a great, final JERK to one side, nearly sending all of the elders falling to the sides. The rock formation which the palace sat on… had been partially TORN FROM TFHE GROUND. Soon, another side of the rock formation was torn away. All the while, the stone beneath the elders' feet became warm… almost BURNING. Immediately Telus lifted himself into the air, with the other elders following suit. The trio of elders looked down in horror… as the courtyard of the palace started rising to meet them.

The palace… no, the entire rock formation… was being lifted into the sky. The foundations had been torn asunder, and chunks of the interior of the palace fell to the ground, causing widespread destruction and scattering clouds of smoke all over.

As the palace rose higher and higher, the three elders flew to rise into the sky. They spotted the airship as it flew around the perimeter of the palace; the trio of elders made to fly straight for the airship.

During the flight, Telus's mind raced to make sense of everything. That beast overhead… its features looked so familiar. He felt shivers from head to tail tip. Telus didn't want to think it could be… no, no it just couldn't be. Even after everything that had happened over the years… there was just no believing that… that anyone the elder had looked after for so long… could have become… no! No, it just couldn't be!

By the time Telus landed on the deck of the airship, his heart had almost given out. He leaned against the railing and panted heavily. Even as his fellow elders landed beside him, and even as the soldiers ran over to investigate… Telus just couldn't take his eyes off the monstrosity in the sky.

"Hey!" Called Wraith from the helm. The three elders turned their attention to the crimson drake as he waved a forepaw at them. "Long time no see, elders!"

"You're… You're one of the Deep Shadows, from Warfang." Telus said as he put a forepaw on his chest. "Are you here to help?"

"As best as I can, along with everyone else from up north," Wraith replied. "I hope you don't mind me commandeering your fancy airship, but desperate times called for desperate measures."

"It's… it's fair enough, I suppose." Attonita said as she adjusted her spectacles. "But… what was your plan from this point?"

"I… was making it up as I went along." Wraith chuckled awkwardly. "But as long as the three of you are on the airship, at least we can get you all out of here and to safety."

"But what about the palace?" Nymph asked. "There's no telling what Saul is going to do with your home."

"The palace is only a building; chunks of lifeless stone," Telus said. "So long as the people are evacuated to safety, and we find some means of… dealing with Saul…" The earth elder grimaced but tried to stay calm. "Then we can go without having the palace… at least until we figure out how to stop him."

"Right…" Wraith looked back up at the behemoth overhead. He looked forward… and then did a double-take. He dashed down to the deck and took a telescope from one of the soldiers. He muttered something to himself as he studied the behemoth's features around his head… and then gulped.

"Oh no…" Wraith said with horrified eyes. "This is getting worse and worse."

"What are you talking about?" Attonita demanded.

"The magic around Saul… it's destabilizing!" Wraith shouted. "Look! Look at his convexity!"

Everyone turned their attention up at the monstrosity. Lightning darted across Saul's face several times, before heading to his chest… and then back again. The lightning moved gradually faster, glowed brighter… and cast several booming noises down to the world below. Saul's limbs shook wildly as he struggled to continue his chanting motions… parts of his scales even broke free and fell to the world below.

"You see that?!" Wraith shouted. "His magic growing more erratic by the second! It… it won't last for much longer!"

"What do we do?!" Nymph exclaimed.

"We…." Wraith stammered as he backed up. He passed the telescope into the nearest dragon as he warped his way back to the helm to steer the airship. "We need to get out of here!"

"But what about Jonathan?!" Flamaedelus shouted.

Immediately the three elders gasped. Telus in particular felt ice in his blood; he'd nearly forgotten about his grandson during the struggle to get outside. The earth elder pushed past the others and ran toward Flamaedelus.

"Where IS Jonathan?!" Telus screamed.

"He's…" Flamaedelus gulped as he held up a telescope and pointed at the behemoth's clenched forepaw. "There!"

"NO…" Telus stammered.

He grabbed the telescope and looked through it at the monster's forepaw. And when he saw the flailing, screaming prince…

…the telescope hadn't even hit the deck by the time Telus was in the air. Everyone watched in shock as the earth elder beat his wings as hard as he could as he flew his way up, up, up toward the behemoth. Attonita and Krystallos only briefly exchanged glances… before they too took off into the sky.

"Ga…Bu… WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!" Wraith screamed.

Panic spread throughout the soldiers, while Wraith ran his talons frantically through his mane. He let go of the helm, snapped his talons, and teleported his way high up into the air. Flamaedelus hurriedly ran to the helm to keep the airship steady, and he worked to steer the vessel a safe distance away from the palace…

~~…~~

Jonathan took many shrill breaths as he fought against his father's grip.

The prince felt like his scales were on fire; he clawed at his few clothes and cut them away as he tried desperately to cool down. To make matters worse, the convexity-infused magic about his father's forepaw kept striking him; the prince's scales felt burned and scarred in several places. Jonathan's ear frills popped and stung over and over again as the wild magic continued to burst free with reckless abandon all around him. And the scent of burning flesh rose between the cracks in the forepaw; it was like the beast's arms were slowly cooking… and he didn't even CARE.

"Dad, PLEASE!" Jonathan begged with teary eyes. "Let me go! You're hurting me!"

But Saul made no reaction to the prince's crying; he just focused on lifting the palace higher into the sky.

"THIS… IS… MINE…!" Saul bellowed through gritted fangs. "ALL… MINE…!"

Jonathan could only cry as he clawed and tore at anything he could… he bent his head low and wailed more.

Everything hurt… His legs were being crushed… and his scales were burning. It just… It couldn't end like this! How could his father do this to him?! How could he let himself turn into this… THING?! Why did it have to be like this?! WHY?!

Jonathan shut his eyes and cried, as he waited for his inevitable demise. He didn't even know what would kill him first… he just prayed that it would be quick. But as the magic exploded around him over and over… something new sounded out.

A powerful burst of the earth came from the sky below; it flew up and struck Saul on the muzzle. The king hissed in anger, and he looked down… just in time for mighty lightning bolts and powerful spires of ice to come flying upward to explode against his eyes. The behemoth screamed and instinctively reached up with his forepaws to rub his face…

Which meant that he let go of Jonathan.

The prince screamed as he free-fell through the air… right onto the waiting back of an elderly dragon. Jonathan looked around in fear, struggling to make sense of what just happened before he finally realized that he was caught on the back of Elder Telus.

"Wh…What?" The prince stammered in confusion.

"I've got you…" Telus called behind his back. "Just stay down, Jonathan!"

Jonathan was in too much pain to even consider refusing; he curled up into a ball and cried as Telus flew around in the sky. The prince looked up and saw Attonita and Krystallos also in the air. They dashed around the behemoth's head several times, unleashing blast after blast of elemental magic to distract him. The monster howled in anger as he swung his forepaws around in an attempt to swat them away. But the two elders moved just fast enough to avoid being struck down.

At first, it seemed like Telus was going to fly in the opposite direction; down toward the distant ground to ferry Jonathan away. But then the elder spun around in the air to maintain a steady altitude… as he was soon joined by a crimson dragon.

Jonathan gasped; he'd seen that drake before. He kept his head low and shivered, while the newcomer kept himself steady beside Telus.

"Might I suggest getting the fuck away from here?!" Wraith exclaimed.

"Transporting my grandson to safety would be appreciated!" Telus yelled over the sounds of explosions. "I need to-!"

Screams from above interrupted the elder. He and Wraith looked up at the behemoth. Wraith, Telus, and Jonathan all gasped in horror; Saul had managed to grab hold of Attonita and Krystallos in each forepaw. They blasted the surrounding metal with as much elemental magic as they could muster… but they were powerless in the titanic grip of the monster, who squeezed them harder and harder…

"NO!" Telus screamed. Immediately he passed Jonathan onto Wraith's back and made to fly upward. "GET HIM OUT OF HERE!"

"But-" Wraith stammered.

"GO!" Telus screamed. "I won't let my grandson die here!"

"G…" Jonathan balked. "Y… You… you said…"

Telus looked between the behemoth, and Jonathan, with a frantic look in his eyes. Unable to find the words… the elder came down to Jonathan and pressed his forehead against the younger dragon's face.

"No matter what…" Telus said. "You are my family, Jonathan."

And with that… the earth elder beat his wings and flew skyward as fast as he could… as his body glowed a mighty green.

"G…" Jonathan muttered. "G-Grandpa…"

The prince tried to flap his wings to fly after Telus… only for Wraith to grab him and snap his talons. The next thing Jonathan knew... he was laying flat on a hard surface, far below the behemoth. Wraith was panting across the way, with a multitude of soldiers shifting about in surprise.

~~…~~

Attonita and Krystallos writhed in pain as Saul crushed the life out of them. He cackled evilly as he squeezed every bit of air out of their lungs. Even as steam rose from his burning body, the behemoth loomed triumphantly.

"YOU… SHALL… PAY!" Saul bellowed, rocking their ear frills. "YOU… ARE… TRAI-!"

BLAM!

An earth bomb the size of a boulder rained down from the sky, exploding atop Saul's muzzle. His eyes were blinded in the blast, making him howl in rage. The behemoth let go of Attonita and Krystallos, and they free-fell down to the world below…

But then Telus flew through the air and caught the both of them atop his back. The Elder's body glowed a vibrant green as magic filled his being. Neither Attonita nor Krystallos could respond; they simply lay limp atop Telus's body.

My friends… Telus thought as he looked at them worriedly. He didn't want to dare think that he was too late; he sucked in a deep breath and ignored the aching in his chest as he pushed himself to get them to safety.

But Telus didn't have to worry long; he could feel shadowy auras surrounding the bodies of the two of them. He had a feeling that the Deep Shadow was working to teleport them away. A similar aura began to form around Telus's own body… and soon, he and his fellow elders were down atop the deck of the airship.

Dragons muttered worriedly all around Telus as they rushed to the elders' aid. But despite it all, Telus kept his eyes focused on the sky.

Saul still loomed in the sky over Glenhaven. The monstrosity howled furiously as his forepaws slashed at the air around him. His eyes were horrifically burned, but his hatred pushed him to keep lifting the palace with his evil magic.

"TELUS!" Saul screamed, his voice booming like thunder. "TELUUUUUUUUUUUUS!"

Telus watched as the airship flew across Glenhaven to get away from the monstrosity. Saul's body glowed brighter as more steam rose from his burning body. Saul lifted himself and the palace higher and higher, and he burned brighter and brighter…

And then…

There was a bright flash so bright that everyone in the city was temporarily blinded. Everyone fled as far away from the center of Glenhaven as they could. But after the flash faded, there was a boom of thunder louder than anything that any being, dragon or non-dragon, had ever heard in their lives. Nobody dared to look as Saul's final scream echoed across the desert city.

Nobody dared to look back… as the mountain fell from the sky.

~~…~~

Greetings, friends and loved ones.

It's been a long time since I did a real and proper chapter post instead of an update. But I'm glad to have finally done a real chapter post. A lot was building up to this chapter, and the destruction to be wrought at the very end. Some might think that this was the emotional climax of the whole thing…

But there's still 4 regular chapters to go, and quite a few loose ends left hanging. Where is the story going from here? Well, tune in next time… whenever that may be.

Tenebra ecce Veritas