CAUTION: Spoils aspects of Innocent Hopes, Twisted Realities, as well as aspects of When Nothing Remains through chapter 19.

Seriously, major spoilers here.

Assuming you wish to continue, read on…

Background: The second entry to All That Remains, the AU where the big question has the other answer, this chapter's going to be interesting. I think the true twist was easy enough to deduce, but one never knows, and it's going to be a fun problem to solve either way.

Memories still flickered through his mind at a remove, even as Pearl hit the floor. Years of experience and decisions and atrocities and triumphs and failures and everything else. It was overwhelming.

Yet it was not, at the same time. Drago, for all of his many oddities and strength of will, was no different than any of the other sets of memory Ember had perused that night. His memories were more shocking, more urgent, more in need of immediate addressing than those of the guards, but they were not more powerful.

For a brief moment in between killing Drago and taking his form, Ember had worried this would not be the case. He had worried about a strong will and possibly something else clashing with the brokenness of his mind and the strangeness of his abilities; he had certainly never taken the form of someone quite like Drago. What, he had thought frantically, if Drago somehow took over?

That had, of course, been a stupid, baseless worry. Drago's memories were no different than any others.

They were more important, though. A recent string of them, in particular, drove his mind to race and frantically reason through solutions that did not get anyone he cared for killed. He had already performed the first, most necessary step, buying himself a small amount of time, but not much.

Drago's soldiers rushed into the room, having been drawn in by his horrible death cry. Ember held out his good hand at them, and the force of his reputation, his sheer presence, halted them in the archway. He was grateful for that; his half-sister and Pearl lay defenseless on the ground just within, and he did not want them hurt.

"Sir!" the man in the lead blurted out, staring at his missing arm. None of them had known of it before this very moment. Drago had taken great pains to appear dominant, and such an obviously crippling injury could not be allowed to be seen.

Ember knew how Drago would handle this, though; he knew everything Drago would do. He flaunted the stump, shifting his foot to show the mangled metal arm he had dropped just after knocking Pearl out, to let them connect the dots. If it could not be hidden, it would be displayed.

"The invasion has been dealt with," he rasped, his throat sore. His next moves were obvious enough because they were forced moves. If the only issues were the ones Pearl and Storm knew about, this would be easy, but he was working with a much larger, more complicated restraint. A restraint that might come into effect in minutes.

So, he gave orders that made his blood freeze and his insides twist in knots, knowing that there was only one convoluted path to survival, let alone success. "Take these dragons, leaving them unharmed, and put them in the most secure cells. Separate, and alone." A mix of Drago's habits and his own wants, guided by the necessity required to weather what was coming. "Take care with the dark one. If it harms itself, the ones on guard duty will be fed to it. Move quickly."

"Yes, Sir!" several shouted raggedly, but nobody moved.

Ember gestured with his good arm. "These were the only dragons. They attacked alone. Obey me." He rasped the last command firmly and stooped to retrieve Drago's bullhook. A careful act was needed; he couldn't drop character for an instant, even if they wouldn't notice.

Whatever his motivations, the inarguable command got them moving. He sat down in the large chair, pulling it over to give him a view of both Storm and Pearl, and pretended to be lost in thought.

In reality, he was not lost so much as frantically navigating his thoughts. This was not an easy problem; he had to match Drago's mannerisms and ways of acting to his own morals and goals, and he had to do it seamlessly, because there was one person who would be able to check after him in a way nobody else would be capable of, one person more than able to shut it all down and harm Pearl and Storm on a whim, one person who could override their wills and control them, who had no moral quandaries, having been raised with none.

The creature Drago only thought of as 'the replacement Second'. The massive egg he had found drifting in the frigid waters of the far North, to outward eyes just another glacier. The creature that had hatched only months ago, that was already mammoth in size, huge, lurking beneath the waters just outside this very mountain.

The creature Ember recognized; its species was the same as the powerful alpha of the ice nest. He did not know the name of the species, but he knew just how dangerous it was, what it could do. Drago knew.

It wouldn't be impossible to fool the new Second; it would be doable, so long as he never let his appearance down for a moment. He had to act like Drago, to continue the plans, to make sure everything he did could easily be seen as Drago going on as normal. Drago did not let the new Second invade his mind through sheer force of personality and dominance, but there was no way to prevent it from reaching out, however weakly, to anyone else in the mountain.

The new Second could check the memories of any of Drago's soldiers, however vaguely. It could check the memories of Pearl, or Storm. It would be touch and go as to whether it would check his own. And it would do so as soon as it woke, because it would notice the new draconic minds available to be taken by its just now strengthening powers, and it would ask him permission, because it did obey him without much objection. There was no way to be sure they could flee in time, even if he somehow roused Pearl and Storm this very minute, fled without any resistance, and flew away as soon as possible. It was going to wake imminently.

He didn't know what he was going to do after the new Second became aware of the situation. After his bluff. If he failed, it very likely was out of his hands. If he succeeded…

Well, if he succeeded, he'd have as much time to plan as he needed, and all of Drago's various minions to dispose of, disband, or use as he pleased, so long as whatever he did was reasonable for Drago to do. If this bluff worked, he had many options, but there was only one way to get to that point.

He continued to pretend to brood as the soldiers returned bearing ropes and manacles and chains, though in reality the hawk-like eyes he currently possessed carefully oversaw the repulsive but necessary process of taking the freedom from the only two people he had left in the world.

It was only the coldness of his heart that already existed that let him watch impassively, and even then he had to remind himself that there was literally no other option. Storm and Pearl had to be caged, put away, allowed to panic and maybe despair, if only for a little while. He would make sure they were well-treated, and he definitely was not going to let Second loose on either of them, but the mental anguish they both would suffer had to happen. The new Second would check them, and it was going to be hard enough to bluff his way past what Storm and Pearl knew already, though he thought he could do it. Vithvarandi, of all people, had given him the idea that would let him lie his way around what they had seen.

It had to happen. He couldn't help but picture Pearl alone in the rough stone room he knew would hold her, isolated and betrayed, fearing for her life and maybe for him, depending on what she thought had happened. That mental image sickened him beyond belief, but it had to happen anyway. To save her life, her mind, and her freedom, it had to happen.

He watched as the two females who were all he had left in the world were taken away, and he trusted that the absolute fear Drago instilled in his men at every opportunity would keep them from further harm.

Then he sent Drago's soldiers away and retreated to the innermost room of Drago's quarters, because Drago would have done that. They knew better than to ask if he needed medical attention, or if he knew why the attack had happened, or what his plans were, or even if he had any further orders. He would summon them if so.

Alone, in the quarters of the man he had wanted dead, Ember felt sick to his heart, but he didn't let it show. The only place his true feelings could reside was his own mind, and there only because he could not help it.

He sat, motionless, in the dark, his wounds sluggishly ceasing to bleed, down an arm and worried, and waited for the mental confrontation that was coming. That, as strange and self-destructive as it was, truly was what Drago would do.

O-O-O-O-O

A long time later, the first Ember felt of that which he had waited for was a timid mental prodding, a strange feeling unlike any he had ever known.

"Speak," he growled into the emptiness of the dark room. Drago had not known how this worked, and truly had not cared, so he didn't have much to go on as to what, exactly, the new Second was doing, or how it heard him. He just knew that all he needed to accomplish should work so long as the new Second stayed away from his memories and believed him to be its alpha, as it had Drago.

'The new females. Mine.'

"No!" he burst out, for once in complete agreement with how Drago should respond. His response would have been identical, for entirely different reasons. "Mine. Not yours."

'They have strange memories. Strange…'

"Out of their minds!" he screamed into the darkness. "Submit! I did not allow you that!" A hint of worry wormed its way up into his mind, but he ruthlessly quashed it. What the new Second found was not damning, not so long as his reputation and his act was good enough to leave it confused, not certain he was an imposter.

'You are not alpha,' the new Second said accusingly. 'The white female thinks the orange male that is not present killed alpha, and that you took his place…'

Ember could distinctly feel the tendrils of power pushing hesitantly at the borders of his mind, though he believed it was only the new Second's confusion and thus hesitation that allowed that. If they took his memories, or even just the current thoughts circling in his mind, he would be doomed. Pearl and Storm would be doomed.

"Out!" he roared. "I am your alpha! The boy failed to account for who he was trying to kill."

'Your mind is different… and there is something lurking in it…'

The new Second's mental voice was worried, now, and he clearly didn't know what to think.

"The boy tried to take me over, as is his power," Ember laughed cruelly. "Such stupidity. He knew it might not work in his favor. I am him now, stronger than ever!"

Ember resisted the urge to hold his breath as he waited for a response.

'The white female's memories… This "Ember" killed you… but she remembers him speaking of another like himself, and of being two people… Is it truly you, alpha?'

"Nothing has changed. I am more powerful now," Ember gritted. "Submit."

'Yes, alpha.'

Ember didn't dare let up yet; the tendril was still lurking just outside his mind. He was trying to control something far more powerful than himself, and unlike Drago, he considered that a really, really stupid thing to do. But it was necessary. "The females are mine, not yours, destined for the soon-to-be Third's use. Nothing has changed. Submit, and await further orders. And do not speak to me." Drago hated hearing the new Second's mental voice with an intensity that bordered on insanity; usually, communication was far more one-sided than this, and done in person.

'Yes, alpha,' the New Second repeated mournfully. 'But you will bring me more servants to practice on soon?'

"Do not speak to me!" Ember exclaimed angrily.

Silence, both mental and physical. The tendril withdrew entirely.

Ember let himself slump down and sigh. The danger was past; Drago had a very hands-off approach to the new Second, aside from routinely exercising his power over the massive dragon to retain control. As long as he kept up the act in public, he was safe.

For now. Ember's eyes narrowed. He had a lot to figure out, and not infinite time to do so in. The war Drago planned to wage was going to come sooner or later, and stalling for time would only look natural for so long, as Drago had already amassed a truly frightening force. Even now, men were gathering, ships were being outfitted, and war was being planned. Against everyone around the mountain, a dispersed campaign to gather even more strength. Then against the dragons in the area, using the secured supplies to collect a fearsome host for the new Second. Then against the ice nest and the dragon rider, who Drago had never personally seen in the flesh.

Ember paused over those few memories, a hint of curiosity sparking in him despite his deep unhappiness and current situation. The rider was masked, menacing, atop a four-winged dragon, causing havoc and freeing captive dragons in every direction.

In short, he or she was doing what he would have done as Hiccup, long ago. Given he was going to dismantle Drago's forces, they would likely never meet, but he could appreciate that from afar.

What else did Drago know that he could use? He closed his eyes and went over everything Drago had seen, heard, been told, or otherwise known, all of his plans and allies, his strengths, and his weaknesses. It was truly amazing what could be learned when one had the memories of the enemy's Chief, and had he not been so cold and tired and worried and disgusted by the very act of perusing Drago's past, he would have marveled at it.

But he had only revenge to keep him afloat, and that did not allow amazement. Revenge, and protecting the two dragons currently languishing in cells far below him.

This was going to take a lot of planning.

O-O-O-O-O

Over the next week, Ember planned. There was just so much to go through and deal with, and he could not put any of it into motion before he knew how it all had to fall out. The constant pain Drago's body dealt with didn't help, and neither did the need to keep up appearances. Luckily, that was not nearly as difficult as it could have been; Drago had been mostly holed up in his quarters since returning to the mountain. It was easy to keep that isolation as a shield between him and the men he planned to betray.

He did not go see Pearl or Storm, either, though he desperately wanted to. Dispassionate reports on their condition, delivered by those in charge of observing them, didn't help. Pearl spent most of her time asleep or lying still, and that did not bode well. Storm had needed to be restrained for her own safety, which didn't surprise him. He was going to have to make up for the torment they were going through once this part of his revenge was over.

And he wanted it over, he so desperately wanted it done, for their sakes and for his own. He wanted to move on to Viggo, and then to finally rest. But doing things badly would mean dealing with Drago's forces again later, if his luck was anything to go by, and that was not acceptable.

And then there were the things he hadn't even anticipated occasionally throwing him for a loop. One such thing delayed the conclusion of his planning by an entire day.

It was a stressful, boring, horrible week, and nothing of note happened. He, Storm, and Pearl suffered in various ways, and the rest of Drago's forces continued life as they had before he had secretly taken over. But by the end of the week, he had everything ready to begin.

O-O-O-O-O

"These go to the Southern scouts," Ember commanded brusquely, throwing a leather satchel at the first guard he saw, stalking through the main housing section of the mountain. He was devoid of Drago's usual cloak and false arm, and several more satchels hung from the stump that was all that remained of Drago's shoulder. The bullhook was across his back; when this was all over, he planned to snap it in half, but until then it would be downright suspicious for him not to have it.

"These to the recruiters in the West," he continued, pulling another satchel off of his shoulder and roughly tossing it. "And these to the reserves in the East. They're to do as I say, no matter what happens."

Scattered shouts of assent came back to him as various soldiers ran off; him sending messages that far out meant that they needed to prepare the designated ships, not just pass the messages to supply and communication ships already going that way. Some of the groups he had orders for had operated independently for months prior to this.

He wasn't going to be able to get the furthest scatterings of Drago's forces; they were just too far away to bring here and destroy with the main bulk of his fleet and army. The orders he was sending out should do the job on their own, though.

The scouts would be told to aggressively probe a territorial tribe that had a habit of killing first and never asking questions. The recruiters were likewise being sent to territory so hostile Drago had told them to avoid it for the time being. The Eastern reserves were already fighting and losing a minor war all on their own; he had just ordered them to not back down no matter what instead of sending reinforcements as Drago had intended to do.

Ember had absolutely no problem giving orders that would get people killed. Not in this case; Drago's soldiers chose to follow him. They always had the option of defecting, if they thought to take it. Word of what was about to happen here would reach them sooner or later, so if they survived their new orders that long, they would know he wasn't going to come check up on their efforts.

It wasn't assured that any of this would work, but it was the best he could do to ensure none of those forces came back to try and continue Drago's aims, or just to cause more than minor trouble in the area. If he was going to do this, he was going to be thorough.

That done, he stopped in the middle of a barren common room and pulled out his bullhook, slamming the butt of the staff on the stone floor with an ominous crack. "I want everyone on the ships by sundown!" he roared, knowing that those who weren't around to hear would get the message by word of mouth. "Every guard, every soldier, every man on this island! We sail at dawn!"

There was no cheering and no rowdy laughter, as he had half expected even though he knew better. These were not Vikings going to war, they were soldiers who had long since learned to fear their leader above all else. Salutes and quick departures were all he got in response.

These men knew what Drago was; they had seen him perpetrate countless atrocities. They chose to follow him. What was more, Drago had a habit of only recruiting those who were already hardened killers. These men had been given chances to avoid what was coming. All who followed Drago had.

Almost all, anyway. He grimaced at that thought; this was easy enough to do, but there were a few things he was going to struggle with when the time came. Two people who had been given no choice. One was corrupt to the core, and the other might not be quite yet.

At least he had Drago's memories to judge them by, as well as his own morals, however compromised those might be by necessity. He would have made the wrong calls in those two cases, had he not the perspective of their entire lives as seen by Drago.

O-O-O-O-O

"Sir, what are we to do with the dragons?" The soldier clearly didn't want to approach him, but he feared being blamed for a mistake more. "Second, and the two you defeated. Are we bringing them?"

"No," he growled, glaring at the man. "We go to war, and Second has served his purpose. Leave them all to starve in their cells." This was out of character for Drago, but not by much, and Ember of course had no intention of actually letting Storm or Pearl starve. Second…

He had to deal with Second at some point, but that couldn't be done until this was complete. Second, he would save for last.

"Yes, Sir!" the man said vehemently, knowing that to show doubt was to ask for pain.

Ember looked away from the soldier, dismissing him, and continued to stare out at the preparations being made for war. Food was being loaded, last-minute repairs feverishly completed, men marching onto ships to claim their bunks and wait for departure… The hollowed-out bay was more active than Drago had ever seen it in life. Every ship was going.

Something occurred to him, a little detail he had forgotten, and he grimaced. Not every ship. It couldn't be every ship. One needed to stay behind, a small one.

He rose from his perch overlooking the organized chaos and stalked down to give the necessary orders, the ones that would leave a simple fishing vessel in the bay. Nobody would question it; with a fleet this size, one less ship to manage would be a benefit.

Later, alone in his quarters while the new Second slept, he shed the form of Drago for the first time in over a week, returning to his favored body, that of the Night Fury named Ember.

He had forgotten those last few frantic moments for a while. The feeling of clawing into Drago, of separating flesh from bone, of weathering the bone-breaking blows of the man's false arm wielded by his real one.

But it had happened, and this body bore one important new injury. He gingerly flexed his wing, wincing at the searing pain of a broken bone. It was new, as if broken only seconds ago, and it hurt far more than Drago's many injuries did because of that.

He was grounded for the time being. Not permanently, and he was pretty sure that Pearl and Storm could cobble together a makeshift splint under his direction, though that promised to be a drawn-out exercise in frustration, but for the moment he was incapable of flight.

Just one more complication; it was a good thing he hadn't decided to try and flee despite the chance of being caught by the new Second. They would have had to leave him behind, and he was entirely sure Pearl wouldn't have.

Pearl… His heart twinged with powerful guilt, and he grimaced as he shifted back to Drago's form. He owed her such a huge apology for this last week. Hopefully she would trust him again after she understood; he didn't think he would be able to stand her big, innocent red eyes regarding him with hate or disappointment.

Or Storm, but she would probably hate him for this regardless of his apologies, and he was inured to her disapproval.

Soon. Soon, the overseeing mind that made revealing himself too dangerous would be dealt with. Soon, the mountain would be empty for good, left to whoever wanted it in the future. All he had to do was wait, and then give the final, necessary orders.

O-O-O-O-O

The day dawned bright and sunny, but the sun felt sullied to him, darkened and dirtied by reflecting off of the grim fleet setting out from the mountain. There was not a single guard, servant, or human of any designation left in the mountain. Nobody was stupid enough to disobey Drago for the meager prize of starving to death in a fortress emptied of food.

Importantly, he also knew which ships carried which kinds of men, having organized the fleet himself. Drago's most trusted, the men most like himself and most loyal to him, were on the biggest warships. The men he had recently recruited, the ones who were by definition vicious but not yet proven, were on the smaller warships. The ships retrofitted for war, the ones least likely to survive a fight, were crewed by those who didn't fight for a living, the ones who just allowed the army to function by handling the menial tasks. They would not be fighting; their job was to keep everyone else supplied from the stores they brought with them.

They all, soldier and servant alike, sailed over a specific section of the ocean around the mountain, following his orders. The new Second was directly below them.

For a while, he had contemplated ordering the new Second to obliterate the fleet. It would have been an easy solution, to entomb all of Drago's soldiers in ice. An execution, one fell swoop.

And if he had been able to do it, to order it, he would have descended too far into darkness to ever return. He would be a monster, just like Vithvarandi. That was not the answer; he could not do it, no matter how justly deserved it would be for most of them.

But the new Second did have one part to play in the true solution. Two, really, but this part came first. Ember stood at the front of his ship and began to howl, to swing his bullhook and project dominance over the seemingly empty ocean.

Doing this made him feel dirty and evil, but it was the only way to summon the new Second from afar, so it had to be done, even if he knew all too well the many times Drago had used it to intimidate and dishearten his foes before he had them killed.

The water to the North of the fleet erupted as the new Second burst out into the open. He was not nearly as large as the ice nest alpha, not yet, but he still made quite the impression, because while he was relatively small and still had a lot of growing to do, he was absolutely massive.

"Sail toward it," he commanded those directing his ship. "When I depart, follow the fleet and engage the enemy. I will return with another army to finish the job, but if I find it not mostly done by the time I arrive, all will suffer."

The sailors saluted; the ones on his personal vessel were the worst of the worst, the hardened elite almost as bad as himself, and would remain loyal even if they knew he was sending them to a battle they would not win, or that he never planned to come reinforce them with another army. Even more importantly, they were his enforcers, and their fanaticism extended to ensuring the rest of his army would not falter or change the plan he had given them.

As they sailed closer, the new Second's eyes fixed on him. Two stubby, half-grown tusks dipped in the water, but nothing was said mentally. The new Second knew Drago hated that, and this was not an urgent matter.

"Hold still!" Ember commanded as the ship pulled up alongside the massive white dragon. When they were close enough, he jumped over, clinging to a spike just above the waterline.

The ship returned to the fleet, and the fleet continued sailing. Drago did not usually abandon them like this, but they would await an explanation, and when his most trusted soldiers told them that he would be meeting them later with more troops, they would believe. It was a very Drago thing to do, sending an army and threatening pain if they did not deliver by the time he arrived. He threatened a lot, but he also carried out his threats more often than not.

"Wait," he commanded, climbing up to the top of the new Second's head. It took a very long time, especially with one arm, but he managed. It was a way to assert strength and a way to pass the time. By noon he was seated on the massive dragon's brow, watching the fleet depart.

When they were specks on the horizon, he began the next part of his solution by thumping his bullhook on the very base of a small spine, knowing that it would hurt far more than it should given the dragon's size, like stubbing a toe unexpectedly.

"I am going to test you," he announced cruelly, knowing that said phrase was familiar to the new Second, and always came with a cruel requirement either intended to solidify loyalty or demonstrate power for other subordinates. "I will give you directions. You will go to the place I say and take control. I will already be there, watching and waiting. You will not fail."

'Yes alpha,' the new Second murmured mentally, unable to convey his meaning any other way given where Ember was currently sitting. 'But you will not travel with me? Are the others going there now?'

"No," Ember grunted, aware that Drago would explain just enough to ensure the new Second feared failure, no matter how much he despised being questioned. "I will use the power I took from the boy to go there ahead of you. I will be watching." He didn't mention consequences; it would look foolish to promise that he would track the new Second down if he just went somewhere else and never looked back. Only the ingrained obedience Drago had instilled since hatching stopped the new Second from doing exactly that at any time.

'I am to go now?'

"Yes." Ember gruffly gave directions to a place he had been only a few weeks ago. The ice nest.

His true reasoning for this, not the false explanation he had just given, was simple. Drago had deeply feared his greatest weapon being defeated or turned upon him, and knew that the new Second was still very much inexperienced, if not actually a child. This, combined with the fact that the new Second was still very much smaller than the alpha of the ice nest, gave an easy solution. He was just doing the same thing he had done with Drago's human troops in sending them directly against Viggo's island. Viggo would destroy them with tactics and cunning, and the alpha of the ice nest would defeat this smaller, weaker opponent with relative ease.

"Take me to the mountain and then go," he ordered gruffly, wishing he could fly. It would make a far more dramatic exit, and would be totally in-character for Drago to do. Then he remembered that, by all evidence, dragons were far more vulnerable to the mental probing the new Second used, and was glad he hadn't made that mistake. It was one thing to trust this dragon to do his bidding, and quite another to put himself so obviously at his mercy like that.

O-O-O-O-O

Ember stood at a window near the top floor of the mountain complex, staring out at the starlit ocean. He was almost certain he could feel the new Second's absence; there was something about the lack of a developing mental power nearby that could not be mistaken for his imagination. After living next to it for more than a week, he knew when it was missing. It was as if he had been hearing the tide every waking moment for days, and then suddenly it was missing.

The fleet was also gone. The mountain was empty, and barring some unforeseen complication, none would ever return.

It was possible, even likely, that some would return; his plans never turned out entirely right, and this was by no means certain. But he had done his best to dispose of all of Drago's empire, his whole legacy, and could do no more. He had to keep moving, lest he stop long enough to be overwhelmed by the cold darkness again. That couldn't happen until he was done taking revenge.

Three dragons waited, thirsty and alone, in the stone far below him. Each one was a different challenge, and each could not wait any longer. He turned away from the window and began the long trek down to put an end to this part of his last journey, so that the next could begin.

O-O-O-O-O

Pearl lay limply in the stone box, feeling worse than she had in moon-cycles. She could count the times she had felt more hopeless on a single paw, and have claws to spare when she was done, and this time there really wasn't any hope. Only future torture and current discomfort.

Why had she listened to the alpha of the ice nest? Why had she let Ember come here? Why had she come too? It had all gone so very, very wrong the moment revenge came up. Now she was here, alone and cold and thirsty, and probably left to die or just to suffer a while. Water should have come long since, and food with it, but it had not. She could not tell time, which made this all the worse.

Ember was gone; the bad alpha had taken him over, or something. She had held out hope for a few days, but there was no explanation for why he would leave her here! She felt she knew him better than to think he could leave her to suffer, he likedher, even if not in the way she wanted.

She didn't want to know what that bad alpha had done. She just wanted to go back to the moment they had talked about sending him to get revenge, and do it differently to avoid this end. Maybe she could even have stopped this just by firing at them in those last frantic moments, to take the kill for herself, but going back further would make it all so much easier.

That was all fantasy so it didn't matter. She had spent a lot of time fantasizing about ways her life could have gone better; the short time of relative happiness she had spent with Ember and Storm had seemed to promise that this sort of thing was over, and she wanted to hold on to that happy, vague thought of the future being as good as or even better than those few days.

Then she heard a deep voice, one she knew couldn't mean anything good even as her heart leapt and she scrambled to her paws.

"It's over," Ember's voice said sadly. "I finished it. I'm so, so sorry you had to be in here, I'm sorry it couldn't be helped, I'm sorry, but it's over now."

Before she could respond, a grinding of stone on stone caught her attention, and she stared as one of the walls just slid back, giving her access to a stone corridor that was open on either end, and a dark wing with many scars, a bent and broken wing, and a heartbroken, shattered look in his eyes, laying on the stone.

The sight made her sad, because she knew she couldn't believe it. "No," she whined, staying where she was. "I know he wouldn't have done this, there was no reason, Second wanders freely, I could have too with the barest of excuses and some acting. You are not him, you killed him somehow. You're the same bad alpha he fought. So, no."

"There was a reason, though," the bad alpha said in Ember's voice, sounding as terribly guilty and sad as he looked, though it had to be an act. "You remember the ice nest? The alpha who spoke with his mind and said he would not do more even though he could?"

"Yes… " She wanted so very badly to believe it really was him, but at the same time knew she couldn't.

"There was another like him here, and I found that out the moment I looked through Drago's memories," the creature who just might be Ember but probably wasn't either explained or lied. "I knew that he would wake, and that he would look through your minds, and we might not have made it out in time, so I tricked you to save us and you, I kept him out of your minds after that first look, and now he's gone so I can drop the act." He was rambling now, and whining besides, but that could be an act too…

"You think that would make this okay?" Pearl asked incredulously. At any moment, the bad alpha would realize he wasn't getting through to her and would move on to whatever was next, be it locking her up again or letting her starve or just having his way with her. If he did the last one she would try to stop him, but other than that she had no options.

"No, nothing makes this okay, but he could read your thoughts and I could not think of anything better," the one who might be Ember whined. "If you knew then he would try to take me over, and he definitely would take you over, and you'd never think for yourself again. He did it to Second, just to try it out, and Drago tested its limits. He could have done terrible things with you and Storm and you'd never be aware enough to know it. I had to stop that, even if it meant making you hate me for good reason. I'm sorry, so sorry…"

Pearl knew what he meant by terrible things; this new Second could have forced Second on Storm immediately, bypassing the issues with that and just making it happen. She didn't even know that such an atrocity hadn't happened; it was not as if she even knew if Storm was still alive.

"If you're really him, take me to Storm and let me hear her agree with you," she proposed doubtfully.

"I came to you first," Ember or the bad alpha muttered sadly. "I couldn't stand thinking of you in here a moment longer than necessary."

"And not your half-sister?" Pearl questioned. She was beginning to believe despite herself, because what else could she do? Her entire life felt like a string of terrible things, and here was Ember, once again offering to save her from it. This could be the next in that very string of pain and disappointment, but it could also be a dream come true, and after so long languishing in despair, she couldn't not believe. Throwing away this one, last hope was beyond her.

"I came to you first. But you can come with me when I tell her. You're free, you can just fly away if you feel like it. I'm not holding you here." There was definite sorrow in his voice at that last suggestion in particular, though she was pretty sure he didn't realize it, and that did more to convince her than anything else. He wasn't trying to throw himself into her embrace, he wasn't using the attraction she felt, as the bad alpha probably would, he was just apologizing and saying she could go in a way that made her feel like he somehow felt more guilty than he should.

"Really?" she whined, still not moving from the cell she so desperately wanted to never see again.

"Really. I would…" He shook his head. "I would see you safe, and I'm not done with war and revenge yet, not by a long shot. So, I want you to go, but I don't at the same time. Having you around is nice, but I don't deserve that anymore after what I did."

"If that's really you, then I'm not going anywhere," Pearl said firmly. If it was him then he had some more apologizing and explaining to do, for sure, but she wasn't ready to strike out on her own at all, and the only other thing she might have going on was going back to the valley with Storm, which she didn't feel ready for either. "Take me to Storm."

"Okay." He rose and made to approach her-

"No," she barked, flinching away the moment he passed into the stone chamber that had been her prison. "I don't entirely believe you yet. Don't touch me or even come close to me." If this was the No-scaled-not-prey alpha, she didn't want it anywhere near her, and if it was Ember, well, he deserved a cold reception after leaving her to her misery and despair for so long.

"Sorry," he whined, turning away and heading down one of the corridors. "I understand, and I'm sorry."

She followed, having no other real choice, and tried to hold down the warmth in her chest at the very act of setting paw out in the world beyond her cell. When she saw and felt open air and sky, she would rejoice at freedom. When she believed beyond a doubt that this was really Ember, she would celebrate his survival, and when she had forgiven him for this, she would keep chasing him, if she still wanted to. All of that was on hold until she was convinced.

Of course, there was every chance she'd feel guilty for this once she was sure, but that could be dealt with later. Storm would help; knowing her, she'd want to give Ember a few scars for this, even if she did believe him right away.

At that… "What are we doing next?" she asked, following him through the seemingly empty mountain. He walked without fear of being caught or stopped, which might be because there was nobody around, or it might be because he was the bad alpha and had already made sure nobody would be in the area. There was no way to be sure.

"First we get Storm out," he said quietly, making her strain to hear him. "Then I find out whether there's any good left in Second, any at all."

"What?!" Pearl barked. She didn't think she had heard that right. "He eats other dragons!"

"I saw pretty much his entire life," Ember replied, still quiet and withdrawn. "He's done horrible things. But none of that was really his choice. He could have fled, but he has a weird thing about being loyal, and I can remember Drago shaping him and his brother, forcing them to be horrible, setting them against each other… There might still be something worth saving in him. I can't just kill him until I know for sure."

"And if there's not?" Pearl asked.

"Then Storm can kill him," Ember sighed. "She will want to either way, and she would not be wrong to do so." He stopped in front of a stick in the ground, one just like all the others they had passed, and examined some lines scratched into stone on the wall. "This is her cell."

They were already there? Well, it made sense all the cells were together. "Let her out, if you're really Ember," Pearl half requested and half begged. She would go up to him and paw at his shoulder if she didn't fear this all being a trick and loathe the idea of the bad alpha touching her while wearing Ember's stolen body.

"Well, okay, but you have to help me hold her off if she comes out firing," Ember said carefully. "I don't know what she thinks is going on. She got knocked out in the fight, remember?"

"Oh, right." Pearl wished Storm had suffered the same apparent treachery she had. It would be far easier to just rely on the more cynical, older female if she had been in the exact same situation. "Okay."

"Here goes nothing," Ember grumbled, shoving his paws against the stick and bending it to the floor, though the sounds it made did not match with wood bending and breaking. The stone wall began to recede, just like hers had…

Behind it stood Storm, her eyes narrow and her claws out. Those narrow, angry eyes widened as they saw Pearl, Ember, and nobody else.

"Well, finally!" Storm barked happily, walking out into the corridor as if she hadn't a care in the world. "What took so long?"

"Issues with mind-reading dragons and trying to make sure Drago's army never bothers anyone again," Ember said quietly, looking away from her. "You had to not know what was going on. I'm sorry, this was all my fault…."

"I am too relieved that you are not Second to be very mad right now, so I will roar at you for whatever it is you are sorry for later," Storm said almost giddily. "So, is it done? Are we good to get out of this stinking pile of rock?"

Pearl felt her jaw drop at how easily that had gone, and judging by Ember's wide eyes she wasn't the only one surprised. Did Storm really believe him, just like that, and have no problems with being captive for a long time?

"Funny you speak of Second, actually," Ember said tentatively. "I've dealt with pretty much everything else, but not him. Not yet. I was planning to do that next."

"Where is he?" Storm barked. "I will kill him now, problem solved. Then we can go get some fish and turn our tails on this place."

"He's in a cell," Ember began.

"Change of plans, then," Storm immediately declared. "We go get fish, have a long flight, and then kill him. Make him wait," she concluded with a sadistic purr.

"Well, I will not be flying," was the quiet reply, along with a dip of a visibly broken wing. "I have another way to leave here, so it is fine. But we should deal with him first, and I need you to not kill him immediately."

"What could you possibly want me to do instead?" Storm asked suspiciously. "And why does it matter? I want to kill him."

"For not doing anything to you?" Ember asked sarcastically, surprising Pearl with the first genuine annoyance he had shown this entire time. "I want to check something, and I'll need you to play along. I would want Pearl to as well, but…"

"No way," Pearl said firmly. "Storm, he killed Drago right after you got knocked out, but then he knocked me out."

"Did he?" Storm looked from Ember to Pearl, and then back again. She didn't seem that concerned. "What do you think happened while you were out? I do not think he would do that."

Pearl cringed at the very thought. "What, no, not that," she hastily clarified. "I just am not sure this is really him. It might be the bad alpha using him because something went very wrong." Said now, to Storm, out in the open with no apparent trap to be had, it seemed very silly and far-fetched, but Storm hadn't seen, and Storm hadn't…

Well, Storm hadn't spent a week having nightmares about it, and despairing, and going in circles in her mind about what was going on only to give up hope. Storm probably just thought Ember was dead… and she seemed more or less fine.

"I did not see Second once, and the bad alpha was trying to force us together at every opportunity," Storm said, her voice light and airy. "And letting family wait in suspense for him is something Ember's done before. It is probably him."

"It is me," Ember agreed solemnly. "But I'm not pressing Pearl on it. So, Storm, will you help me deal with Second my way?"

"Tell me what you want me to do, and maybe I will consider it," Storm growled. "But I already do not think I will like it."

"Probably not, but I want to push him to his limits and find out what he will do," Ember agreed. "I'm hoping for one reaction in particular."

"And if you get it?"

"We'll figure that out when we get there. It's not likely. If we don't get that reaction out of him, you can kill him."

"What response could possibly justify letting him live?" Storm barked angrily.

"I'm not telling you because we both know you will try and get him to not do whatever it is," Ember said. Pearl couldn't help but think that was a fair accusation; Storm looked positively annoyed by him saying that, but she didn't object.

"Well, whatever we do, I am going to get fish first," Storm grumbled. "Tell me after, but tell me where the nearest exit is first."

"Just follow me. This place is huge. I'll wait for you to come back after you've eaten." Ember began walking down another corridor, heading somewhere. Probably the nearest way outside.

Pearl found herself almost convinced; there really didn't seem to be anything the No-scaled-not-prey alpha would gain from all of this, and more importantly…

More importantly, Ember still seemed less depressed and more alive than before. If anyone, even someone with his memories as his ability allowed, were to try and fake being him, they would not be acting this way. They would be falling back to how he had acted the entire time either she or Storm had known him. She was not a devious person, but even she could see that.

Then, a short time later, Ember stopped and stepped aside, she turned a corner, and she could see something else. The moon and stars, above an endless expanse of water.

She flung herself out into the sky without a second thought. The next little while was spent lost in the joys of being free once more, and she didn't think about Ember or Drago or her own difficulties at all.

All she knew was that she was free.

But once she calmed down and started thinking again, and noticed that in her revelry she was almost out of sight of the mountain, she was sure. This was Ember; on top of everything else, he had not even tried to stop her. Sure, it could be tricky manipulation, it could be a long game that got him something he could not get if he revealed himself now, but she just didn't think that was it. The bad alpha wasn't a schemer; he had killed Gold for no reason, and Pearl was pretty sure that was a bad move for anyone who tried to get the most out of a situation by planning and plots.

She didn't believe it; everything was, if not well, then infinitely better than she had thought. Her life might still break out of the cycle of bad things and pain and misery. This might still be the start of a better existence. Here, diving and swooping in the cold night sky, she could believe that.

Author's Note: Another reason I went with the other possible answer in canon was this segment of the story; getting rid of Drago's forces requires either summary and skipping over what happened here, bloated subplots that cover the same beats his brief time on Drago's ship did, or outright ridiculous OOC moments (such as Ember having the Bewilderbeast just trash Drago's fleet, or leaving it all as it was after seeing through Drago's memories just how much of a problem his assembled forces would be). Because this story isn't even really about the villains, let alone Drago in general, let alone his forces and subordinates after he dies, it wouldn't make much sense to spend too much time on them. I think I did a passable job of skimming over it without hitting any major pitfalls aside from the first listed compromise.

Or maybe not. Well, at least this isn't canon. That doesn't take any pressure off when it comes to trying my best, but it does relieve a lot of my worry over whether my best does the story justice; I have intentionally handicapped myself by following the path I deemed suboptimal. It would be foolish to expect doing so to be easy or quite as good as canon. It's still interesting, and that's really all one needs for an AU miniseries, something interesting with a story to tell and enough pull to keep my attention long enough to tell it.