It begins...

"What do you think about what Amy told us yesterday?" Mabel asked.

"About what that weird dragon said?" Dipper glanced at her. They had gone for a walk in the woods with Bud accompanying them so they would not get lost. Dipper shrugged. "What do you think?"

She shrugged too and lightly kicked a pinecone out of the way as she walked. "We only have four more Amaranths to collect."

"Yeah," Dipper nodded. "Don't forget though, one of them is only in Necronire. We probably won't be able to get it until Ragnarok actually starts breaking through and a rift shows up."

"Don't be such a downer. It'll be fine!"

Bud stopped in front of them suddenly, alert and watching something among the trees.

"What's wrong?" Mabel tried to spot what he was looking at. The dog relaxed as Flora stepped into view.

"Greetings…"

"Flora!" Mabel ran over and hugged her.

"Hey Flora." Dipper walked over. "What are you up to?"

"I can sense the aura of a Golden Amaranth…nearby. They must have…begun blooming again…since Ghost revitalized the tree. I was on my way…to find it."

"Can we come?" Mabel asked excitedly.

The dragoness seemed a bit unsure. "I also sense something…dark. Perhaps it is best…if you went back."

"Dark?" Dipper echoed. "But you're not a fighter. Wouldn't it be better if you didn't go by yourself?"

She still seemed worried. "Very well…but tread lightly."

They followed Flora through the forest where the trees began to thin out before they reached a large open area with a huge rock pit. There, they found Bill standing at the edge and staring down at something. He glanced back at them the moment they exited the trees. Bud bounded over to him and barked up at him, tail wagging with joy.

"What are you doing here?" Dipper asked. "Flora, is he the dark you were sensing?"

Flora chuckled a bit. "No."

Bill glared at him before turning his attention back to the pit. "I came here because I sensed something lurking around, and then I found that." He pointed a finger down at something.

They walked over to see that the pit was an old mining area with a pathway down carved into the rock. At the bottom, against the other side, was a dark gaping entrance to a mine abandoned long ago. Sprouting up from the hard ground in front of the mine entrance was a single golden flower emitting a sparkling gold glow.

"I knew I sensed it… A Golden Amaranth." Flora nodded.

"I'll get it!" Mabel began maneuvering down the old makeshift path.

"Get back here, stupid!" Bill snapped.

"Oh dear…" Flora shook her head. "Mabel…you must not go any further."

The girl stopped at the bottom of the pit and looked up at them. "What? Why not?"

Bud's hackles rose and he growled as the ground began to tremble ever so slightly. "What is it?" Dipper looked at him. "Do you guys feel that?" He went to take a step back, but the rocky ground beneath suddenly crumbled and gave way. Mabel shouted and ran out of the way as the rockslide dragged them down.

Flora peered over the edge and called down to them as the dust settled. "Are you all unharmed?"

"Dandy," Bill growled, dusting himself off. He looked back up and found that the rockslide had destroyed the old pathway. "Great."

Dipper was coughing and trying to swat the dust cloud out of his face. "Aw man. What just happened?"

"The ground is unsteady…" Flora said from above. "Something tremored it…something forced it to crumble. Can you climb back up?"

Bud was already attempting to climb the rubble, but the rocks were too loose and he could not get a foothold.

"What about you?" Dipper asked Bill. "Turn into a dragon and get us out of here."

Bill was quiet for a moment. "I can't."

"What?"

"I said I can't. Are you deaf? Something's blocking my magic."

Mabel went over to the mine entrance and picked the flower. "Might as well grab this while we're here." As she stood up, she noticed something gleam at her from the darkness. "Hello?"

Dipper looked back at her. "Mabel, who are you talking to?"

"No one I guess," she turned her back on the mine and went to walk away.

Suddenly, a strange black creature lunged at her from the mine but a blur of brown knocked it away before it could reach her. Bud ran to her side and growled at the creature. The creature quickly scrambled to its feet and growled back. It looked like some kind of disturbing mix between a coyote and a vampire bat. "It's the Chupacabra!" Mabel screamed.

"That's a shadow!" Bill corrected her.

The shadow screeched at them, displaying a set of large curved fangs protruding from its bottom jaw. Bill lifted his hand and a spark of blue flame appeared, but only for a brief moment before it vanished in a wisp.

"It is a Light Snatcher…" Flora said. "They steal magic…"

Bud snarled and lunged at the creature. He grabbed its wing in his jaws and it kicked at him with curved claws, tearing tufts of brown fur from the dog's pelt until he tossed the shadow aside. The shadow snarled an ugly sound before running back into the mine. A few moments passed and more of them crawled from the mouth of the mine like ants defending their hill. Bud suddenly lost confidence and ran back to Bill with Mabel close behind; both hid behind him.

The Snatchers growled and stalked towards the intruders. They were ready to attack all at once before a dragon landed between them and bared her fangs at the shadows. Flora snarled viciously and snapped at them, forcing the shadows to jump away from her. "Get back," Flora told her friends then snarled at a shadow that got too close.

It did not take long before the Snatchers realized her aggression was only a ruse and started honing in on her. She had managed to get all their attention and lead them to the other side of the pit where they now cornered her against the wall.

"What do we do?" Mabel grabbed at Bill's coat.

He tried to think of something, but none of them could really do anything right now. His magic was blocked and it's not like there were any weapons around. Useless, he hissed in his head. Flora couldn't actually fight the shadows, and the Snatchers were starting to realize this as they closed in on her. What am I supposed to do? He thought. He glanced back at the rockslide. If they got out now, they'd be able to escape the Snatchers' notice, but Flora would be bait. But if they stayed, they were all doomed. There were at least thirty of the things surrounding the dragoness. What a pathetic form he was in. He couldn't even take that damn dragon form with the bastard shadows sucking away his magic.

He looked back and was surprised to see Flora looking directly at him. "I believe this is my cue…" she said. She looked up. He followed her gaze to a large pile of loose boulders resting on the ledge above her. She looked back to him. "I know…you do not like to do things without reward…but…I have a favor to ask." She pulled her paw back as a shadow snapped at it.

"What?" He watched her moving her tail up the wall.

"Two…actually." She did not look away. "I understand…you do not care for them, but…please make sure the humans get away safely from here… Also…tell Ghost…I loved him."

He did not respond, only stared, surprised.

"Flora!" Mabel shouted. "What are you doing?"

"After this…these shadows will disappear… You will be able to find a way out then." She smiled. "Farewell…" Her tail lashed at a rock stuck in the wall as the Snatchers leapt at her. The boulders gave way and crashed loudly down on them, kicking up a mass of dust.

They choked and coughed as the dust settled, revealing a massive cave-in before them. Mabel cried out and ran over, trying to shift the rocks. Something that looked like roots began creeping through the boulders as a small plant sprouted from the top of the pile. The plant grew taller, its stem expanding and changing from green to brown as pink flowers began to cover its branches. At the same time, grass began covering the boulder pile and the rockslide behind them, creating a grassy slope. Water began flowing from the old mine and filled the area up to their ankles.

Bud lowered his head sadly as the twins cried at the base of the dogwood tree. Bill looked back at the rockslide that was now a big grass slope. "…She made a path out," he muttered.

…

Ghost, Crusade, and Zephyr sat around the pink dogwood tree with their heads lowered. Among them was Gaia, who lowered her head to touch her snout to the tree's petals. "Rest peacefully my friend." She closed her eyes. "May Ouroboros guide you." After a few minutes of silent vigil, she stood and began to walk from the pit.

"Great Mother," Zephyr followed after her. "Where are you going?"

"To visit an old friend."

Crusade watched them disappear in the trees then turned back to his brother. Ghost only stared numbly at the tree's trunk and said nothing; he did not even move.

…

Amy peered into the old barn to see Mabel leaning against Teeth who had wrapped his tail around her. Dionysus was sitting with them, lightly rubbing Mabel's back with his hand, while Angelo, Bruno, Bud, and Waddles kept silent over in the corner. "She still won't come out?" she asked Dipper as he approached.

He shook his head. "She thinks it's her fault that Flora…you know."

"You have visitors," Bill said from outside.

She turned to see Gaia stepping through the clearing followed by Zephyr. Amy went over to meet them beside the pond. "Hello. Did you need something, Gaia?"

"Greetings." The great dragoness nodded then looked over at the willow tree. "I hope you do not mind. I only came to visit Rose's grave. Being stuck in Telmak at the time, I was never able to come here until now."

"Of course." Amy looked at the tree as well.

Gaia lowered her head to Amy. "Amaranth, let me tell you a secret. Flora knew of her fate, and so did I. We have for a long time now. The only thing we could not know was when or exactly how." She looked back at the willow tree. "There are some fates that cannot be avoided, no matter how hard we try. But…that does not mean that we cannot change our lives as they are now." Gaia looked back to her and smiled. "I have another secret."

While they were speaking, Zephyr went over to the old barn in an attempt to give them privacy. Bill was leaning, arms crossed, against one of the open barn doors. As Zephyr strutted by, he gave Bill a spiteful look to which Bill's response was a venomous grin that caused the dragon to rush past him.

Zephyr stopped and made a strange face upon seeing Teeth then addressed the downtrodden Mabel. "Aren't you the weird human who's always cheerful? What are you sitting around this dusty place looking like that for?"

"She's upset about Flora," Teeth told him.

Zephyr seemed a bit surprised when the beast spoke to him. "Please. That's no reason to be moping around."

"What do you mean?" Dipper asked from the corner where he was petting Angelo. "We're all upset about it. Flora was our friend. Aren't you upset?"

The blue and white dragon snorted. "Of course I'm upset! But I'm not going to sit around feeling sorry for myself! Flora was resigned to her fate the moment she learned of it."

"She knew? But how? How could she just be okay with it?"

His lip curled slightly, showing needle-like teeth. "Humans are all bound to die, yet you seem to accept that just fine. Hmph! A human could never understand the nobility of a dragon. Or rather, most dragons." He eyed Dionysus spitefully, who returned the expression. Zephyr huffed and turned to Mabel. "Death is not something to take lightly, of course. It is painful when someone you cared about is now gone. I know that very well. But Flora knew that if it wasn't her, it would have been all of you. You three that she saved…you have much bigger roles to play than she did." Before they could question him, he turned and briskly walked out.

Gaia was waiting patiently with Amy. "Are you ready to leave, Zephyr?" she asked as he walked over.

"Of course, Great Mother."

Gaia nodded then looked to Amy. "Perhaps one day I shall leave Zephyr to stay with you for a while? I think you could teach him some manners."

"What?!" Zephyr yelped.

The dragoness chuckled. "After all, Bill seems much more well behaved than my Zephyr."

"Mother Gaia!"

Amy smirked. "Sure! Just let me know."

"You can't be serious!?" Zephyr cried out and the two girls laughed.

…

July 18th

I'm writing this really late at night. It's nearly midnight. I just couldn't get myself to write it. I almost didn't. I even thought about never writing it, but… I guess I should.

Our friend, the dragoness called Flora, passed away today.

We met up with her in the woods and went with her in search of a Golden Amaranth. Then, we found Bill standing alone near the edge of this big pit in the ground that led to an old abandoned mine. Down in the pit, growing right in front of the mouth of the mine, was a beautiful golden flower. The Golden Amaranth.

Mabel went down to get it, but the ledge collapsed and all of us except Flora fell down into the pit. We couldn't get out. The rocks were too steep and too loose. Bill couldn't turn into the dragon form for some reason. He said something was blocking his magic. Then, this big ugly bat-dog thing leapt out from the mine and tried to grab Mabel. Bud was with us and tackled the thing out of the way, and when Bill went to use magic fire, it just vanished in a little puff of smoke. They were shadows. Specifically, something Flora called "Light Snatchers". They somehow steal light magic from other beings just by being near them. That's why Bill wasn't able to use fire or turn into a dragon.

Bud chased off the first one, but a whole bunch more crawled out from the mine and tried to surround us until Flora jumped down to protect us. Being a pure fairy dragon, she can't harm anything, no matter what it is, so she couldn't actually do anything but snarl and try to drive them back. It didn't take the shadows long to realize she was just trying to fake them out, and then they had her backed against the wall.

She told Bill something strange. Something about her "cue". Then she asked him to make sure he got us out of there before she pushed something with her tail. I'm not really sure what happened exactly. It all happened so fast! I saw her tail swipe at something, felt someone grab the back of my shirt and yank me backwards, heard a loud crashing sound, then I couldn't even open my eyes at first to see because of all the dust and debris in the air. When it settled, there was just a huge pile of collapsed boulders and rocks where Flora and the shadows were just seconds before.

Before we could really even do anything, a big tree started sprouting from the top of the pile. Soft grass and moss suddenly burst to life all around to cover the rocks, and clear sparkling water flowed out from the mine to surround the edges. Somehow, Flora had managed to make us a way out, a grassy slope, even after dying…

She turned into a pink dogwood tree. It looks like it's forever in bloom…

Gaia came to visit later. She specifically wanted to speak with Amy about something. Meanwhile, Zephyr, her rude little stooge, came poke his nose in the old barn where we were. He berated Mabel for being upset about Flora. Jerk. But then he said something about Flora being resigned to her fate. It turns out she knew she would die, just not where, how, or when. Dragons are supposed to live forever, so I can't imagine being one and learning that your fate is to be killed. But she smiled at us before she was gone…

Come to think of it… Amy's mom, Rose… She didn't seem too worried when she found out she was going to die. But even immortals are afraid of death. Maybe more so than mortals. Maybe Zephyr's right; maybe we don't understand the nobility of dragons? Maybe it's something else?

Oh. Mabel and I went to go back to Flora's grave later in the evening. We stopped though, because we saw Ghost sitting by the dogwood tree. For some reason, Bill was there too. We couldn't tell what they were saying, not that we were actually trying to find out. We remembered Amy mentioning something once about Flora and Ghost, so we decided to leave them alone. I know Flora wanted Bill to relay a last "I love you" to Ghost. I guess that's what they were talking about…

Poor Ghost… He lost both his parents, his brother (albeit temporarily), his best friend Rose, and now his love. No wonder he's so overprotective of Amy. He has his brother back now, though, but still.

Rest in peace, Flora. We love you.

…

The next day went by relatively calm; everything was quiet and relaxed. Sometime early afternoon, Amy was sitting outside in the grass with Dipper, Mabel, Teeth, and Bud, when a black butterfly flitted past with a flash of vivid blue. When Amy turned her head to get a better look at it, the butterfly was nowhere in sight.

"Yesterday," Mabel's voice recalled her attention. "Crusade said that he and Ghost would be visiting with Gaia and Ouroboros today. What kinds of super important things do you think they talk about?"

"It's probably about Ragnarok," Dipper said. "The days are going by, and they said that pretty soon he's going to break out."

Their conversation was cut short by a large golden ring and triangle appearing in the sky some distance away. "That looked like the portal Cupid and Icarus came from once." Amy got to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Ford called from the porch.

"They must be here for a reason," Amy called back. "Let's see what it is."

They all ended up following her through the woods until they came to a rock quarry behind the tether tree's mountain. The area was mostly flat but sloped downward a bit towards the back. Standing in the quarry were Icarus and Cupid.

"Hello, there!" Cupid had spotted them and turned to bow dramatically. "What brings you all here today?"

"Actually," Dipper said. "You guys."

"We saw your portal from my house," Amy added.

Cupid looked a bit concerned. "Ooh, I hope no other humans saw."

"You should not be here," Icarus stated sternly.

"Why not?" Dipper asked. "Why are you guys here?"

Icarus snorted smoke and turned away. Cupid ignored his brother and happily explained to them. "Today, the great dragons are holding a meeting. Normally, the beta would stay and guard in their place, but Crusade was also requested to go. Anyways, Ghost mentioned a strange aura emanating from this area, so we came to investigate."

"Shadows?"

"You're all learning so much!" Cupid looked delighted. "No, this is the aura of a dragon, but it's tainted."

"Are you sure it'll show up with you two here?" Amy asked. "It should sense your auras as well, and you two have crazy powerful auras."

"We believe it will," Icarus said suddenly. "Even now, the presence is drawing closer. There is something here it wants. Or something it needs to do."

Cupid nodded agreement. "We believe the dragon is possessed by a powerful dark magic. It is a similar feel to that of Cipher's magic."

Bill winced slightly as everyone turned to look curiously at him.

"But," Dipper looked worried, "you said possessed. Possessed by who?"

"It has arrived," Icarus growled.

A strong and heavy feeling surrounded them as a black tear opened in space and stretched. Tendrils like claws crawled along the border and a dark green vortex opened within it. From the rift stepped a familiar-looking dragon.

The creature had a total of six limbs, and that wasn't including its tail and the huge moth wings folded on its back. It was completely covered with long, fuzzy, dust-like scales, brown in color with a pale-yellow underbelly and a mane of gray trailing from the head down to the tip of its tail. Atop its head was a pair of long, curled, feathery antennas, and its large eyes were protected by round, green capsules like a snake's.

Behind it, the rift shrunk into nothingness.

"Shade?" Teeth lifted his head, amazed.

"That's the friend you told us about?" Mabel looked at him. "The one who lost his voice?"

Teeth nodded. "But…Shade is nice, and this feeling is…bad."

"He is possessed," Cupid said softly. He was watching Shade with wide eyes.

Bill stared at Shade in surprise. He recognized him from Necronire and wondered how he managed to get here. It must be the possessor's doing, because Shade had never been able to teleport or tear rifts before.

Icarus stepped forward. "This dragon may be possessed but I can tell he is no fighter. Beast! What have you come here for?"

"He can't talk," Mabel told him.

"Even if he could, he wouldn't." Amy said.

Icarus' sword and shield appeared in hand. "How do you intend to fight with a possessed moth dragon of all things?"

"Uh," Teeth shifted his paws nervously.

"Don't worry," Mabel patted his haunch. "He's not going to get hurt. They're just going to snap him out of it. Right?" She glanced at Cupid.

"That's not it," Teeth shook his head. "Shade doesn't fight, he…"

The moth dragon turned his eyes on the group and scanned them before stopping and staring at Bill. His eyes flashed knowingly and with a wicked grin he turned to Amy and lunged at a great speed.

"Cupid!" Icarus called, but Shade was faster than all of them.

It happened so fast, but at the same time it felt like slow motion. Shade had lunged at the group, and before any of them could even move he was upon them. He lifted his hand, closing his long claws together like a spear, and struck at Amy. His claws stabbed through her chest and he even managed to jump away from the group before she collapsed.

Bill instinctually caught her and tensed at the sight of blood dripping on the stone ground. His breath got caught up in his chest; she wasn't moving. Cupid quickly swept the other humans and Bud away while Teeth bolted after him.

"What are you doing?!" Ford struggled in the dragon's arms. "Don't you see?! She needs help!"

"I'm sorry," Cupid didn't budge. "But we can't do anything right now."

Shade's eyes flashed and Bill suddenly collapsed on his knees. Amy slowly slipped from his arms as he changed shape and grew. The yellow dragon's tail lashed as strange red nails buried into his back and wings.

"What are those?" Dipper was clinging to Cupid's arm.

"Shade is a hybrid of a beast dragon and a puppet master…" Teeth cowered behind them.

"What? What does that mean?"

"A form of possession," Cupid explained. "Normal possession is taking over the mind, thereby controlling the body as well. The consciousness is replaced by that of the possessor, like what has happened to Shade. Puppet masters are different. An ancient race born from Necronire, they use their magic to grab a physical hold on the victim and force them to move how they wish, but the victim is still vaguely aware of what's going on. It's easier to do when the victim's mind is unfocused and clouded by negative emotion." Cupid placed them down and watched Bill carefully. "Shade was able to immediately decide what to do so that Bill would drop guard."

"Bill is possessed?" Ford couldn't fathom the idea.

"We saw Shade heal Bill when the Enchiridion showed us the past," Dipper said. "But I don't think he and Bill were close enough that Shade would realize he should go after Amy. If he's possessed then…" He tried to step around Cupid to look at Amy. "I wonder if it's –"

The yellow dragon's body flushed a deep shade of red and his right eye opened and both began to glow red as well. He slowly stood up on his hind legs, lifted his head up high, and let out a long, furious, bone-chilling roar.

Cupid cowered a moment at the sound, as if he was in pain. "Are you okay?" Mabel asked him.

He stood up straight, but still looked disturbed. "That is the most painfilled and heartbroken cry I have ever heard…"

The humans looked around and noticed that all of the dragons present seemed to be affected in some way. Teeth was cowering so low he was almost laying on the ground. Even Icarus gritted his teeth and tensed.

For a small moment, it looked as if Shade was upset, but his wide-eyed possessed expression quickly returned. He held his hands out and flashed his eyes again. Without hesitation, Bill lunged at Icarus, catching the warrior dragon off guard. He quickly raised his shield as Bill crashed into him and managed to block a vicious bite to the neck.

"What do we do?!" Dipper asked Cupid. "Isn't there a way to break the possession on at least one of them?"

Cupid regained his composure and hurried over to Amy. "First, we must deal with this."

"Allow me?" They turned to see a thin, dark blue dragoness accompanied by Dionysus in his dragon form.

"Aurora?" Cupid looked surprised then stepped aside. "Please…"

She came close to examine Amy. "I am a frail creature, but my magic is grand."

Cupid nodded, knowing exactly what she was saying. "You take care of it. I'll help Icarus. Dionysus, please protect Aurora and these humans."

He nodded.

…

"Wake up," a soft and kind voice echoed in her mind. She opened her eyes a bit, but the image was blurry. "Wake up, Amaranth."

Amy blinked open her eyes and sat up. Where was she? She was sitting down, but there was no ground, no walls, no sky, nothing. She was surrounded by darkness and ribbons of pale bluish-green haze.

"There you are," a delighted voice said.

She turned to find a pink dragoness smiling down at her. The dragon had fairy-like wings and two long yellow antennas stretching back from her head. She didn't recognize this dragon at first, but something was oddly familiar about her. "Do I…know you?"

She chuckled. "You were so young. Of course you don't remember. But that's okay, because I know you. My precious little flower."

"Greetings…Amy."

The familiar voice attracted her attention. Amy gasped at the sight of the dark purple dragon. "Flora? But you're -"

She nodded. "Yes…"

"Do not fear," the pink dragon assured her. "You are not dead like us. Only nearly there."

"Nearly?" She was confused. Suddenly she remembered the dragon Shade attacking her. It happened so fast that she did not recall feeling anything. "That's right… Then, how are you guys here? Where are we?"

"This is…" Flora looked around. "A plain…just outside of…Sava."

"We came to make sure that you did not pass the border." She turned at another voice. Another dragoness, this one larger than the other two and white like snow with a dark underbelly. "Hello. We have never met, but I know you well. I am Tranquility."

"You're Ghost's mom?"

She nodded. "You still have many important things to do out there."

"The multiverse has great plans for you," the pink dragon smiled cheerily. "So don't give up, okay?" Amy nodded. She nodded back. "That's my little Amaranth. You won't die. I made sure of that."

Amy blinked, suddenly recognizing her. "Wait…are you-?"

"Greetings, Amaranth." A powerful but kind voice stole her attention. There was a very large white and gold dragon with feathered wings sitting before them.

"Valor? Are you guys sure I'm not dead?"

The female dragons chuckled. "Not quite," Valor said. "Your soul is here, yes, but you will return shortly. Aurora is healing you. I wished to take this chance to speak with you. First, the plan you have all devised, to collect the Amaranths. It is good."

"It'll work?" She felt more awake now and was acutely aware of the chill passing through her body. She could see her breath but not theirs.

He nodded. "It will greatly weaken Ragnarok, but he will still be very powerful. What's important is that the Amaranths will give you a chance. Take advantage of that chance. When you do, I will fight with you."

"How?"

He smiled. "I may be gone from the physical worlds, but the tree still holds a part of my essence. There is great power within you as well. When the time comes, I will aid you."

Amy nodded. She looked down at her hands and gasped; she was fading.

"Fear not," Valor said. "You are returning to your world. When you do, it will be in the midst of chaos. Bill is enraged and under the control of Shade, a puppet master dragon possessed by Atë. You can help, though."

Rose smiled brightly. "It's all about love."

"Love?" Amy gave her an odd look that caused the she-dragons to laugh again.

"Of course! Love may have been our ends but it will not be yours." Rose gently pressed her head to Amy's in an affectionate manner. "Good-bye my precious flower. Tell Bill hello for me."

Valor nodded. "Farewell, Amaranth."

As Amy faded, her vision started to blur but she could still hear the voices. "Come…Rose. Let us find…your husband."

…

Amy jolted upright with a gasp. She was surrounded by people and dragons. Mabel was the first to embrace her. "You're alive!" Mabel cried.

"I'm…fine," Amy was trying to regain her composure.

"Good that Valor told me of this, yes?" Aurora smiled. "Did you see him too?"

Amy stared at her a moment before nodding. "I saw…a few dragons." A crashing sound in the rocks followed by a vicious roar attracted their attention. She suddenly remembered Valor's warning.

Icarus was slumped over against a rock wall, his wings torn and bleeding. In the center of the quarry, Cupid was pinned against the ground, a glowing red and black dragon standing on him with one foot pressing hard on Cupid's neck. The sibling dragons were battered and bleeding, Shade was untouched, and although he had a few bleeding cuts, Bill was relatively unharmed but was bellowing out agonizing roars.

"Move!" Dionysus shouted as Bill lunged at them.

Teeth panicked but jumped in front and managed to stop him from getting to the others. He took the hit and was knocked away. Aurora and Dionysus had to pull the others out of the way as Teeth crashed by. The enraged Bill suddenly turned on the group, maw filled with blazing red fire ready to burn.

Amy put up the largest barrier she could muster as the fire blasted at them. She was afraid that she would not be able to keep it up, but the flames finally stopped just before her barrier gave out. Despite his enraged state, Bill's magic was still a bit broken. She noticed him pause for a moment to breathe before he lunged at them once more, claws raised. She shut her eyes and shouted. "Bill, stop!"

A moment passed, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and looked up. The dragon was standing there on hind legs, his claws held up to strike, but he didn't move. He stood there watching her with glowing red eyes and an angry but confused expression. She could hear soft growls in his breaths.

"It's okay," she said. "I'm okay." His hand lowered as she stepped forward. He lowered his head to her and relaxed a bit as she pressed her forehead against his.

He let out a pitiful whimper as a single tear rolled down from his left eye. His red coloring faded to be replaced by the usual yellow, and the nail-like objects in his back dispersed. Moments later, he shifted back to his human form, hugging her tightly.

Shade lowered his hands and looked amazed. He suddenly snarled and shook his head vigorously and the glow and possessed look disappeared from his eyes as something leapt out from his body. He blinked and looked around, stunned by the scene around him.

Aurora quickly went to healing Cupid and Icarus. Teeth hesitantly approached Shade and stopped when he looked at him. "Er…Shade?"

The dragon tilted his head curiously. Suddenly, he seemed to recognize his old friend despite his new appearance and leapt forward excitedly to meet him. The two playfully butted heads, tails curled upright in joy. Shade did not seem aware of what had just transpired during his possession.

Something made a loud snapping sound and caused them all to look around for the source, except Bill, who did not budge as he clung tightly to Amy. "What was that sound?" Stan asked.

"She failed," Aurora said simply, "so she left."

"Who?"

"Why, the puppeteer behind the puppet master, of course."

"Is that supposed to make sense?"

"The one who was controlling that moth dragon left after the dragon began to regain his consciousness," Ford explained.

"Ah, but she will be back," Aurora said with a nod.

"I caught a glimpse," he muttered then looked up at Aurora. "That was Bill's sibling, correct?"

She nodded.

"Hm… I may have an idea for the next time she decides to come around."

"You do, yes. And a grand idea it is."

"In the meantime," Stan piped up, "what about that guy?" He gestured a thumb at Shade.

"Teeth said that Ragnarok took Shade's voice as punishment for something," Dipper explained. "He's that dragon we saw in the Enchiridion once, remember? He served Ragnarok but he didn't seem like a bad guy, and Teeth claims he's nice."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Teeth hopped up and down a few times in excitement. "Can he stay with us? He can fit in the barn with me! Please?" Shade looked a bit confused.

"That's a question for Amy," Stan told him. "And you've been spending too much time with Mabel."

"Lady Boss!" Teeth called.

Bill had finally released Amy as Aurora approached to heal him, but he remained only inches away from her. Amy, who had been listening the whole time, already knew what Teeth was going to ask her.

"Yes, Teeth," she said. "Besides, it's not like he has anywhere else to go."

He smiled brightly then suddenly seemed awkward and bashful. "Er, are you okay though?"

She smiled softly at him. "Yes. I'm okay."

Aurora began slinking away once she had finished healing everyone. "I must go. Many things to be done. Many people to inform of the events that have just transpired."

"Amaranth," Cupid hurried over to her and took her hands into his large paws. "Are you sure you're alright?" He looked worried. "That was a fatal blow you received! How did you survive long enough for Aurora to heal you? Oh! Forgive me if that is an insensitive thing to say!"

She chuckled. "It's fine. And you can call me Amy, by the way." She thought for a moment. "…I guess it was because of all those dragons I met."

"Pardon?"

When I… Er, well I think I was just outside of Sava, but four dragons were there to make sure that I was okay. One of them was my mother…"

"Your mother?"

"Wait," Dipper said. "You saw your mom? Like, in a dream or in person?"

"I don't know." She thought another moment. "I don't think it was a dream."

"It was not," Icarus said suddenly. "Your consciousness and soul were at the edge of Sava. In a sense…you died." There was a tense silence before he continued. "But it seems that your mother, and whoever else was there, prevented you from crossing the border. Anubis was not able to take you, so you cheated death."

"Is that going to have some kind of lasting effect on me?" she asked apprehensively.

"No."

"Who else did you see?" Mabel asked.

"Flora."

She gasped, her eyes getting a little watery. "Really?"

Amy nodded. "Flora, my mother, and Ghost and Crusade's mom, Tranquility."

"Wow, you had all the moms protecting you!" Mabel grinned.

Amy laughed a little. "Well, the fourth was Valor."

Cupid and Icarus looked surprised. "Valor," Cupid echoed. "What did he say to you?"

"He said that the plan with the Amaranths will work. It'll greatly weaken Ragnarok."

"Splendid!"

"He also said that he'll help fight when the time comes. I don't really know what he meant by that one though."

"We might." Cupid turned to his older brother. "We must return to Father at once." Icarus nodded and Cupid turned back to the others. He bowed deeply. "Please, forgive us, but we must go for now. Besides," he shot Bill a very quick glance, "I am sure that you wish to relax. When we return, we shall bring you a Phantom Amaranth."

"Thank you," Amy nodded.

To be continued…