Leo bit his lip and looked back up at the landscape before them. He was not one to take care of himself, let alone children. It was always Noire or even Blizzard who were the more motherly ones, but Blizzard was gonna and Noire was hell knows where now. Who knows if they would side with their king anyway? Plus, if the twins spoke of some sort of shelter out there, then there had to be at least some sort of hope right? Huffing, he hugged them both tightly and trudged on. "It's alright. We'll find shelter before the night falls, tell me if anything feels familiar alright? Maybe we can even find this home you speak off."

"Sky?..." Sleipnir whispered softly, taking his brother's hand. Little did they know that they were following in the footsteps of one of their parents. They could only hope though thy they wouldn't end up going down the same path, "We'll make It right?"

---

A foot came down on the hydra's back, pushing him back down onto the floor and a voice hissed in his ear, "I would trap you now, but this crystal's reserved for someone very special." He grinded his heel down into Charon's spine, laughing when he felt something give way. "Don't worry, be honoured, you are alive to witness the death of your king. Our king." Something sharp swang by Charon's ear, clipping his shoulder before it moved onto grip his wings. Smooth claws running over the leathery material gently, "The most wanted dragon in all the lands, buying bargains with your body. Hmm, I can see how. Tell me, with your scales so ugly, would it matter if your body was the same? If I left a few scars on you? Would they still look at you the same? Lust for you without illusion?"

The dragon laughed, stepping down on Charon's head and smashing his face into the ground, "I think not."

---

"Look! I wasn't even in the right frame of mind okay? And stop calling me the hypocrite when you chastise me for a single fling and not Relin for having young with the king of hydras!" He turned to face her, baring his teeth as he picked up the broken metal shards and brandished his gun once more, "Look, we have more important things to do! I get enough from Anemoli already, stop trying to act like your all out mothers!" He growled, then huffed. His anger burning down into a low simmer as he turned away from Terra. Perhaps he had overstepped it.

They had all lost friends and family to the pollution, but Terra had lost the earth and the ones she most cherished. He? He had his brother, Regnum his leadership and Sanare, Terra...well they were all that Terra had really. "Let's just go and get this over with." He muttered, opening the door.

---

"My king..." His voice echoed out through the grand library, bare feet padding along the marbled floor. Echoing, reverberating. There was a crash as he pulled the bookcase down over the doorway, blocking the only exit and entrance. Laughing softly as he watched century old books come crashing down. Useless things. Their history had been rewritten. "My king, do not hide from me.."

His eyes dimmed, dispelling the illusion. Gleamed white scales gave way to dark stained surfaces, coated in a drying sludge. The same of which clung to his hair and skin, barely masking the numerous jagged scars lining his torso. His skin raw and red from the acidic burn of the Dead Sea and his wings..better described as a lack of. The only thing that remained was the dim glow of one eye, the other shut tight.

Leaving behind murky footprints, the dragon called out softly, "My king, do you not remember our story? Shall I tell it once more?"

"Alright. I promise." Skylark whispered, staring out at the bleak landscape. It was so dark. Even in Daddy's castle. Their home, it was well lit. It didn't smell terrible. And it was long gone. The grey-haired dragon knew this, and he bit his lip to keep from crying. Deciding to pass the time traveling by conversing, the boy put on a smile and began, "Hey, Leo will you tell us a story? I like stories."

He squeezed his brother's arm reassuringly. He would have spoken, but Sleipnir needed something extra, he could tell. It felt like forever since they were eggs, but they had spoken with feelings. It would have been something Edge would be interested in, if he still cared about them. "Courage." And "Strength." Was all he sent with a smug smile, trying to cheer up his twin. "We... don't have time to cry, Sleigh. Father said there's no such thing as love, and Daddy proved to you that mates are no good, but.... but... we had each other first, before Daddy and Father, and we'll always have each other. And I... I know that what exists between us has to be love. From now on, I promise not to say I love you when I don't mean it."

---

"D-Daugh!" Charon screamed as something hit him from above. Not worried about his stomach, knowing it would heal. He would always heal. He hadn't known scars in centuries, hadn't known bruises even longer. That voice... it sounded sickeningly familiar and yet, in all the pain he was in, Charon couldn't place it. He meant to call out, demand who would do such a thing to him. Who would dare attack someone who was already down, only a hydra would do that. At least, that's what Charon chose to believe.

"You..." It was hard to speak when his intestines were spilling out of him. "Can't leave a scar on me, I'm a hydra, I'm... I'm the king's right... hand... man... Ugh! Edge.... Edge will get you for... for doing this..." He mumbled tiredly, vision blurring. Ah, accept the familiar dark. "Our king... with never succumb to death...."

---

Terra felt her cheeks heat up in fury. She felt like crying out of anger, but she was done being weak. Done being 'motherly' and caring about... about people who didn't give a damn, about her either way. "You're not like Relin, you're not a spoilt brat who is meant for greater things. He doesn't deserve to be an elder, and we all understand that. He'll never be half the dragon his mother was, he'll never really be an elder." Terra all but whispered, eyes searching for something in Ferrum.

Even as he opened the door, she wouldn't silence. They stepped out into the hallway, where a scream met their sensitive ears. There was no one in sight, though, so the dragoness swallowed thickly. "Ferrum, do you truly think that repopulating this world with dragons, even if they are impure, is a bad thing?" Terra sighed. "I had given up hope of the earth ever seeing days of green, but that Ygdrassil could be the key to restoring... fixing everything. Ferrum, can you see it?" Terra's anger seemed to have dissipated for a while, as she had gotten it all out and was sonbered by the metal dragon's outburst.

"A new world, even better than the old one. Do you know why? No humans to pollute it. The hydras are unspeakably evil, but I've seen corrupt elders in dragons as well. Relin's offspring give me... hope, of a better future. Call me fool if you so wish, but I hardly think this is the end."

---

The boy felt it, of course, the raw emotion in the other's voice. Logical thought was against him uncurling and exposing himself, but something about the other boy's voice was familiar, somehow. Edge knew he had heard it before... many, many times. But in this tone, he was strange and unfamiliar. Edge didn't like it, but he was curious.

Tell a story? His story? Immediately, the boy was interested. With a slight fire in his violet eyes, Edge slowly climbed down from the bookshelf he was hiding in, fears and doubts forgotten. Left on the shelf. "Will you... tell me everything? I may not know, but I understand..." Edge responded to the voice, deciding the stay, back against the bookshelf but revealing his location. Memories out of reach, but close enough one word rushed at him with enough force to make his heart rate surge.

"P-Path-Path?"

Sleipnir closed his eyes and took strength from the feelings he sent, holding tightly onto them. Opening his eyes, he glanced at Skylark and smiled in his direction. Squeezing his hand tightly, he pressed up closer against his side and murmured, "I'll always mean it. I love you Sky, so don't ever leave me like Daddy or Father, okay? Don't..don't ever say mean things to me, okay?" He murmured softly, then leaned forward to peck Skylark's cheek. He could still remember a long time go, when Daddy told him that such things meant love. Had Daddy meant 'love' back then when he kissed him? He didn't know if he should still care.

Settling in with his brother, he stared at the horizon ahead of him and listened to Leo hum, "A story?" The hydra repeated, trying to dig through his confudled mind for any sort of event or fairy tale. What stories had he been told when he was younger? What-"Well, Once upon a time, the sky was really blue and so was the sea. The beach was a place everybody really loved to go, it was beautiful really. The sand was always nice and hot, it got stuck inbetween our toes a lot. We used to play all sorts of games and collect all sort of beautiful shells, I remember this one time, I was sleeping on a rock by the ocean and the waves came in, nearly washing me away. I found myself covered in seaweed, but you know what? I found this huge bright red shell, the colour of fire..."

"Can we go to the beach one day?" Sleipnir interrupted.

---

"She sheltered him far too much." He responded curtly, then turned to look her in the eye. "Yet Somehow, he's survived more than we have sleeping underground. There's something...just wrong about that kid. Something worse than a hydra, can you see it in the way he looks? It's like he doesn't even know who's side he's on. You remember the age old warnings, don't you? This might sound crazy, but what if the hydra isn't our only enemy?" He sighed and scratched his head in frustration, cocking his gun. He shook his head and muttered, "Forget it."

"Do whatever you gotta do with Ygdrassil, Terra. And whatever you see fit with Relin's young. You know I'm no good with this sort of thing anyway. None of us are. They probably need a good motherly figure after all the shit their parents have been through. It be good for them. Perhaps good for all of us if we had something to look after rather than fight for. Anemoli...." He sighed and scratched his head, starting ahead of the earth dragoness, "Anemoli is all I have ya know? And I'm all he has, which really isn't much. He doesn't show it, but he needs more than just books and study ya know?" He muttered, "He-"

The metal dragon froze, then rushed forward down the hallways. "Fuck!"

---

The dragon chuckled at the sound of Edge's voice, echoing within the empty library. Slowly, he made his way towards the noise, "My king, do you not remember? How we first came to be? When you washed up upon the shores of this mortal earth and brought about life to the mindless fools? There is no 'saviour' without enemies." He paused and smiled softly to himself, lowering his voice, "I was but a possibility then, not even a thought, just the mere possibility of a misuse in power, never near strong enough for you to hear me, but oh my king, how you changed me."

"With those you brought under your power....oh, how far our empire stretched. The discord already seeded in their minds, they were such wonderful treats, weeds for me to grow. I admit, the elders were pesky, keeping me down, new to their roles, but effective." He tsked and padded across the floor, a grin stretching on his face as he continued, "But then you had the humans, your precious creations. And how corruptible they were, do you remember? You made it so the others respected your puppets. Respect the chaos they caused and the domination they had over the world. It was wonderful, till I made a mistake. Perhaps, I encouraged your wards to take too much power, pushing the limit. You, so noble, let the humans leave, let them take you with them and leave the earth to rot."

He walked towards the hydra, "You left me my king..." He lamented with feigned sorrow, "All alone, but then here we are and I must thank you. After all, you sent me this delicious morsel of despair. Such wonderful suffering of an unwilling soul. He who wanted so badly to be out to rest, such a wonderful clean sponge ready to soak up all the chaos and discord. And he brought me back to you, my king. Unfortunately, his body is far too well suited to me and short of trying to rid of him early on, I suppose, he will be spending a little more time with me. And I suppose, if he ever knew, he would be grateful knowing that at the very least, your power would reside with him."

"You see, I am finally strong enough to come back to you my dear king, but unfortunately, this vessel...has become far too well suited to me. My own mistake, but after trying to dispose of it and realizing my own error, I came back, just to be with you, my king. Have you once more, well, have what I may get. And how wonderful, it is...that your humble elders have provided me with exactly what I needed." He stopped to stroke the crystal, "Funny little things aren't they? Feeding off power, in a way I suppose that makes us similar."

He took a step closer to where Edge stood, "Everyone seems to agree, that they would be better off without you as well. Especially dear little Relin, or do you need to talk to him and confirm that?"

"Yes, the beach sounds really nice." Skylark chirped immediately after his brother, wondering who exactly was older. His brother? Or him? Humming pleasantly, he laced his fingers with Leo's and Sleipnir's as they traversed together across the ashes and rubble of what was once civilization. Except this time' he didn't have any wooly socks to keep him warm, only Leo and his twin.

"Leo? Why does everyone talk about what the earth was like before? If it got ruined, can't you guys just bring it back to life?" Sometimes, Leo didn't seem like he knew much, but Skylark believed otherwise. He had heard the lazy Hydra's name before. Leo, along with Beelzebub and Noire, had taken charge while their king was absent. So he knew Leo had it in him to be ultimately powerful in his own way.

"Leo? Can you make us a shelter somehow? I... think you're really powerful' right?"

---

Seeing Ferrum's panic, Terra also followed suit. "Ferrum, I can't say I disagree. I'd like to tell you a story, if that's alright. No, no need to stop. I can... multitask." Looking around at the paintings on the walls, Terra paused to admire the brushwork and strokes. Someone was painting the ocean, and other paintings were of the hydra. Strangely, the way they were portrayed made them seem like they had souls. Did one of the hydra do this?

And then... there was a a giant portrait of a boy at the end of the hall. She had seen his face millions of times before, in warnings and on wanted posters. This boy was the king of the hydra, Edge. But... no, this was a photograph. He wasn't wearing any regal clothes and appeared human. But he had wounds everywhere. In his eyes wasn't anger or despair. A smile of understanding graced the boy's features, as if he really was divine. Just then she heard a shout. Though she didn't know it, it was Charon.

"Edge will free them all! And you know that, don't you? You're scared of him, of his power!"

"F-Free them? Impossible." She mused, though began her story. "Back when I was still growing up, a hydra was spotted somewhere in our territory. It was enough to have the local wood dragon clan attack our village, trying to smoke her out. When they couldn't find her, they started slaughtering us, threatening to kill all of our eggs and young. But then, when they went to carry out their threat, none could be found. Mysteriously, the wood dragons all fainted, and we were able to place them far away from our village. At least, that's what I was told. I wasn't there."

She cleared her throat. "I was only a mere child then, and I didn't know what was going on. I do know that a pretty dragoness with violet eyes led all us children to a safe place under a waterfall, and told us all to keep quiet so we shouldn't be seen. She carried my little sister's egg, and kept whispering to it. When my sister was born, she was wiser than most dragons. I didn't realize the girl who helped us was a hydra until I grew up. But the hydra have done so much to not only dragon kind, but to the world, I had almost forgotten about that... Ferrum, what do you say? I say that the Hydra are our key to reviving the earth. Why do we fight them even now? The damage is done. If we kill them all, eventually the humans will kill us."

---

Edge's eyes burned as he listened with great care to the dirty dragon. That's right... he was divine, but this creature lied to him. Edge... what he had done, why he had done it, how he had lost his mind. "I'm not the one at fault here... I'm just... the victim of a power that I can't help." He murmured, with tears to the dragon he didn't even recognize anymore.

When Edge absorbed a person's negative feelings, his own got messed up. It made it hard to think straight. That was why he had the hydra. By giving the awful emotions to them, Edge was freed of them and in turn' the hydras became more powerful. Though he had a rocky relationship with Beelzebub, he was positive that the others liked him at least a little bit. "I didn't make the humans. I just showed them knowledge." The hydra corrected.

"Please, tell me something nice, I know Path is in there. I... I'm sure now, I'm sure I love him! Path, I'm sorry! I never meant to hurt you or our kids! But... I'm not dying yet! I have to know what it's like, living with a light heart! I did it only once before, when I was human, you-you don't understand how hard it is to not lash out...! I... I have a plan! I can get rid of all this... darkness inside me and restore the earth at the same time, I swear!"

Edge bit his lip nervously. Right now, his body was human. "Tell me how you feel! Please! I need to know!"

The Hydra paused, eyes fixed dead ahead, when Skylark asked him a question. Even Sleipnir nodded in curiosity, staring up at the hydra with wondering eyes. After a moment's silence, the hydra began to walk forward again, "It...isn't so easy as you think. They hydra's power always resided in the power of others. When the earth started to rot, we were left to ourselves. No humans, no other dragons we knew of, we didn't even know Re-your Father was around as well. And your Daddy had taken off for...his own time. It was hard to rebuild, even harder...almost impossible to build from nothing. So we left a while too...Noire went over to the humans, I think the rest of us were content to disappear as well to where ever we wanted to go. It was a bad move, but we sort of washed out hands clean of the earth. Waiting for our king to come back and wave his hand to make everything better. Edge always had the power to do that."

"But..." He paused and swallowed a breath, "Your Daddy came back changed. And then the dragons suddenly came around to. And we both didn't know what to do. Your Daddy couldn't remember his exacty power and the dragons remembered...everything else. We had planned to rule without the intervention of the dragons. Our whole plan was thrown into disarray. And...it was just hard." He muttered somberly, staring at the horizon ahead of him and continuing on till Skylark halted him with another question.

"I suppose...I could try." He murmured, placing the two toddlers down. Sleipnir leaned against Skylark's side and watched as the hydra kneeled down, placing his hands on the ground. Closing his eyes, he flexed and tried to concentrate. A word that didn't go very well with theHydra of sloth.

---

Ferrum wasn't focused on his surroundings, speeding on ahead and making Terra keep up. Ignoring whatever paintings or pretty decoration that they had slapped on the wall. Eyebrows knitting as he listened to Terra tell her story, "They did a lot for us Terra, but they also did a lot against us, you can't forget that. They took everything that they gave in the first place. They are the whole reason that we're here right now. Remember what Regnum told us, they're...just not right. You saw what happened to everyone. Outside, right now. Frozen. You can feel the earth can't you? What they destroyed and left to rot. How are we suppose to forgive them for something like that? How do we just throw away all these years and say 'hey, let's be friends'?"

"After everything they did..." He muttered softly, looking away from her, "You think they'd even stop and listen? It's not like the humans are much of a threat to us anyway. We've stopped them once before, what's the difference now? They're all pawns of the Hydras anyway..." He muttered, turning away from her and staring at the long winding path ahead of them. How long had they been walking?

---

The dragon chuckled as the hydra defended himself, "Does it matter? They've survived this long without you. Your kids are in more than capable hands; not yours...Heh, but you want to hear something nice, don't you? Well, I suppose that you would want to hear it from another, don't you Edgey?" The dragon leaned down low to face him, face inches away from the other. Single grey eyes giving way to golden glowing orbs, dirty scales and hair caked with mud fading into a flawless whiteness, wings full and strong flaring up behind him. He stepped forward and came to rest his head against Edge's chest, wrapping his arms around him in a gentle embrace., "And this is how you remember him don't you? Flawless, unbroken, only a little dirty but you like that don't you? But, that can't be right, that is how he was..."

"Yes...Once upon a time, when you fell to the earth by accident. You found yourself a handsome white knight and you tricked him into loving you as well. You both lived quite happily until you had two young children. Beautiful children. Much more tempting than your arrogant white knight. You fell in love with the younger and his beautiful eyes like yours. Perhaps there was a touch of vanity. And of course, you found yourself king, your first knight one you craved more, but what would you care? You had a whole harem to fool around with. You ruled happily, defending your kingdom from your enemies....how could it be any better? Oh, your white knight came back for you! Better than ever. Everything you always wanted, sexy...strong. You really enjoyed playing around with him as well. Perhaps a little too roughly, but who cares? When you can have so many others begging at your feet. All sorts of guises. All your fantasies come true. Whoever and whatever you wanted...."

He stepped back and the glamor faded away once more, giving rise to the ugly creature, "And off course, everyone lived happily ever after! Even your wonderful knight and beautiful children, but...you wouldn't want to bring him back to this now?" He gestured to the scars and broken wings, "You wouldn't want your children to be brought back under your care when you so carelessly bite off their flesh. Let them hear you fooling around and calling out their names, would you? My king, you are not that cruel. "

He stepped back further and brandished the crystal, "My wonderful king...." He stared up at him and those grey eyes blinked and his grin faded. The dragon lumbered forward, reaching up to touch his cheek, "You wish to know how Relin feels. My love, my treasure, my Master. I hate you sincerely."

Skylark bit his lip, feeling a lump in his throat, "Don't call him my Daddy, he's not my Daddy anymore! He doesn't love me anymore!" The baby dragon cried out, tears in his eyes. "And this is all his fault! I hate him! And I'm going to kill him! I'm gonna kill him for real!" The boy screamed at the top of his lungs before he broke down crying, falling to his knees in the filth.

He had hurt Sleipnir . He had hurt Father, and he had broken his promise. "I... hate him.... I really, really do!" Skylark tried to convince himself, face contorted in sadness.

---

The boy had fear in his eyes, even as the other spoke. He had to convince himself, this was his mate, he was safe around his mate. Path-Path would never, ever hurt him. And as the ugly creature melted away, Edge squealed in delight and returned the hug heartily. A wide, childish smile on his face even as the other pulled away and started speaking in a scary tone. "Love, you're scaring-" But Edge was interrupted. As the dragon's story went on, Edge's face cracked until he cried out in pain as he was reminded of the pain he had brought to his family.

There was... a cracking in his chest he couldn't fight. It was like nothing he had ever- no, somewhere in his soul he had felt this unspeakable pain, which only worsened as Path continued to speak. He screamed in agony. "Please, please, please! Stop! Stop! Noooooo!" Path's words echoed in his head, I hate you sincerely....

"I love you!" He cried out in desperation.

Edge sensed no lie in those words, and his heart, which had endured more pain than anything in existence, began to crack, and Edge, mighty king of the hydra, screamed in a pain that was terrible to hear and worse to witness. Rolling around on the floor, face contorted into a mask of pain, the once invincible hydra felt it, and began to bleed out of his mouth, still screaming. He had been in so much pain he had ruptured his vocal chords with his screams.

Edge clawed at his chest, trying to pull out his own heart. But his human nails weren't strong enough, and he succeeded in only leaving deep red gashes in the outside of his sternum, but it didn't even compare to the agony in his chest, that was out of his reach. The cracking was audible in his ears. No longer able to speak, Edge tried his best to calm down but failed miserably. He reached out to his lover, thinking that the other could save him. But either he was too far away or stepped back, and Edge found himself crying hysterically.

Then his skin burned and Edge's scales were summoned to him. With a cry of agony, he tried to rip out his own heart, but the scales were too strong to scratch out or penetrate. And as his heart continued to crack, Edge wasn't able to think of anything but the unbearable pain. It was then he heard the voices. Regnum, telling him the dragons said he couldn't be trusted. The humans, telling him he didn't belong. Sleipnir' telling him he didn't want to be his mate, and Skylark swearing to kill him. Beelzebub taunting him for being too nice, Anemoli cursing him for helping a killer. Charon crying about love, and Noire about how he ruined her life. And Relin... or Path... saying with the up most honesty that what existed between them was hatred.

But even more painful was Edge's own heart, breaking because he knew everything was true.

Funny, I thought dying was numb. I... can't even... why? Oh, god... what have I done to deserve this? Why did you make me like this? I wish... I wish I could have accepted myself, and maybe then... Would things have turned out differently? No, the problem with me is, I never give up. I always come back' but it gets worse every time. I... *sniff* I just wanted to be loved! Is that fucking too much to ask for?!?!

All I get is hate and obedience and respect, but what I need is love! Shit, I don't even know what it is!! But... then why is my heart breaking? Think logically, Edge. Be the scientist you know you are. That's who Path fell in love with... no, he never loved me, I hypnotized him, remember? But did it grow to be love? Why didn't he kill me after he realized I had tricked him?

He was in love... with that part of me. The happy, pure, being. That's who Regnum fell in love with, too. Heh, sorry. I was never able to save you, Blizzard, December, Forte... But to my hydras, I must be strong, they loved my strength and leadership. But when I was king, I was never powerful when I was kind, was I? No.

I'm not sorry, to anyone! I can live any way I want to, and I've lived long enough already. There's no point in crying anymore. So what if my kids will never see me again and the hydras won't have a leader? ... Oh, right, I fucking care. Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. This is the end of the line Edge, you had a good run. Maybe... there's a heaven just for you. Edge? Go to sleep Edge. It's time for you to find peace. I guess... in the end... I'm my only friend, huh?

Funny, why did you think you ever loved Sleipnir in that way?

Goodbye, world. Funny. I'm not sad anymore.

Why?

Well, because I want to die with a smile on my face, of course. If my death makes others happy, might as well try to take advantage of it.

Yeah...

Bye.

Bye.

Edge, don't give up!

Slowly, the hydra reverted back into a human and Edge's eyes slipped shut and a serene smile was placed on his mouth as he splayed across the library floor lazily, as if he had just fallen asleep after a long night of reading. If only it were that happy.

Then, Edge's body began to shine until something exploded and there was stardust everywhere. So Edge was made of beautiful things, after all. And his body, so delicate was flawless in death. Violet eyes had lost their glow and his heart was no longer in his body, but had burst and broken. There was a presence in the room, just a soft, joyous giggle, and then it was silent.

Edge was dead, died of a broken heart. The dust that was once his heart- the very essence of Edge- had floated away, probably up into the sky. Some of it stayed with the dragon, on the dragon's hair. It was like Edge's last way of saying, "I love you, and I will always love you, even though you eventually gave me my doom... Remember me always, even if it hurts, because the pain means you are alive."

Leo was quick to leap up and scoop Skylark up, cradling him against his chest and rocking him. Murmuring soft soothing comforts to him. Rubbing circles on the small of his back while Sleipnir dug his claws into this leg and stared up at his crying twin. Tears sparkling in the little toddler's own purple eyes. He knew Skylark didn't mean what he was saying. He knew that they both couldn't hate Daddy or Father for what had happened. He remembered a time when they had all curled up on the couch and Daddy would hold them close and read them stories, feed them, bathe them, tell them that everything would be alright. A time when Father played with them and told them about the sky.

He recalled Father used to pray, not often, but he did. Closing his eyes, the toddler clasped his hands together, praying softly that one day they would find a home they could stay in forever, that one day Daddy and Father would at least love them if not each other. One day, they would have to worry about anything and that the sky would be blue enough for them to fly. He prayed someone would hear his prayers and grant his wishes. And he wished so very far.

Opening his eyes, something small and near dismissal floated down infront of him. Sparkling in the dim light, it landed on the tip of his nose and tickled him. Prompting him to giggle, "Daddy..." He muttered softly at the familiar feeling of warmth and love. The tears overflowing and spilling down his cheeks. He turned and reached up towards his brother once more, "Sky..." He cried out, trying to send the same feeling to him. "It's gonna be alright I know." He cried out through his tears, voice watery. He just knew that...it couldn't get any worse, right? So it just had to get better.

---

He watched the boy struggle, stepping back when he tried to reach out to him. Watching him mutilate his own chest and rip apart his skin, as he spasmed and screamed. Calling out to him in needlessly desperation. Crying out for him. Then slowly as his struggles ceased and his screams silenced themselves. No more begging or pleading, just a soft whisper to himself. And the power, he felt it crackle around him in the air. Overwhelming, burning. A part of him hungered deeply for it. Reached out, uncaring if it burned him.

And another part just stood there, witness to the death of a hydra. The very epitome of agony and the very beginning of a peaceful ending. His eyebrows knitting as he saw a smile stretch across his the Hydra's face. Soft, beautiful upon the unspoilt skin. Taking a step forward, he flinched back away as the body exploded on a white hot burst of light. How stupid, how cheesy...that idiot.

"Typical of him to leave you again." He whispered softly to himself, staring down at a mess that was no longer there. And to only his eyes, his shadow danced away and stroked his hair gently, an ugly mirror of himself, "That's how it is though, isn't it Relin? They always leave you, those you hate, those you love. All your friends are gone, mother is gone, your children are gone and even your temporary mate has left you over and over again. What a pathetic sight you are." "Yeah..."

"Grounded. Scarred....My favorite survivor. My undying dragon, haven't you gotten all you wished?" "......" "Or perhaps you wish to go back to sleep. It is the closest you get, isn't it? No tears, no joy. Peace..:" "I'm tired of sleeping. So tired." "Then do you wish me to go?" "....." "Do you?"

"No." He cried out loud, voice hoarse, "You can't leave me. You're all..." "All you have left?" The dragon clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Edge had cursed him. Cursed him with an undying love. A painful eternity. His whole body ached, burned and throbbed. Things had been torn and stretched to the limit, wings....he couldn't feel them anymore. Cursed to such an existence. Without his young, the untrusting bunch of elders, hydras who would blame him for the death of their king.

"I hate you. I hate you so much." He growled, kneeling onto the floor, banging his fists against the floor. His body trembled, "I hate you! I hate you!" He cried out, but if he hadn't cried in such a long time why would he cry now? Why bother taking back his body? Even his shadows would leave him once more. So very softly, he crawled back into the darker recesses of his mind. Clutching at broken memories, he imagined that this was all a very bad dreams. Weaving together the strands if a new dream. One where nobody died. Where his mother sang him to sleep with her ancient lullabies and the next day he would learn to hunt with his friends. And maybe one day, he would stumble into a dragon with lilac eyes and gleaming black scales, one who had nothing to do with a hydra. One that would look at him the same way as the first time. One who would court him slowly, holding him closely and ask for his mother's blessing.

"I hate you so much." He whispered to a dream and the dream whispered back, "I hate you too." And enveloped him.

---

"My beautiful king...I suppose, it is my kingdom now."

It doesn't really feel like anything...

---

When Edge had died, the explosion was like a dying star. The force was enough to resound through the entire castle, and caused the Ygdrassil tree to shake out some of its leaves. And for everyone trapped in Elerium, they could feel their prisons crack. However, they were far from broken.

Down, where they kept the Ygdrassil, glowing dust began to settle in the roots of the great tree. Crystals within the tree began to glow. Black first, then violet. Something was happening. As small tremors began to fill the castle, the Ygdrassil itself grew upwards, aging rapidly. Eventually, the tree began to sink. It collapsed upon itself, rotten from old age. Something had aged it quickly. Eventually, it gave a few shakes and a deep rumble as it came crashing down on the dragon and hydra alike trapped in the crystals.

And that seemed to be enough to crack them deeply, enough for the powerful captives to break through. The hydra came popping out of the remains of the great tree as their prisons broke. One might compare the action to how a swimmer surfaces for water. December and Forte took deep breaths.

"Aw, man, I can't believe I was trapped. And we were in a group!" She pouted, running a hand through her silky white hair. "Well Edge freed us, obviously. I don't know, though... something might be wrong." She said, adjusting her cloak. December was the most petite of the hydra, and currently had two braid on either side of her head. "Getting another premonition?"

"No. That's why." The freckles on her face danced as she krinkled her nose. "Can't you feel it in the air? It's sad somehow." The armored male yawned. He scratched his spiked hair. "Maybe because the Ygdrassil just died," He suggested nonchalantly. December shrugged. She caught a glimpse of herself in a crystal and smiled. She appeared to be around fifteen, for she was a juvenile when turned into a hydra. Leo, Blizzard, Beelzebub, and Forte all looked like they were older teens or even twenty-year-olds, but the rest of them were around fourteen and fifteen.

"No, it didn't die, Forte. It just germinated. Don't you know anything about plants? Look, I'll show you the babies..." She murmured, digging around the sickly sweet rotting wood until she screamed in surprise. "Ouch!" Forte was quick to react. "December?! Are you alright!?" The girl nodded, but pointed to where she had been digging. Lips pursed, the hydra drew his sword. It grew in his palm and turned black as he pointed it toward the spot, leaning over slowly.

Then, there was a small voice, "Help! I'm trapped!" Relaxing his arm, the male's tail writhed a bit but he narrowed his eyes and stretched out a hand. There was a time for violence, but now was not the time to do so. He had to figure out what was going on. He saw a smaller, smooth hand grab onto his and he pulled the other up effortlessly. December was at his side at once, observing with curiosity the young boy before them who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen. His skin was the color of ivory, and his hair was a brilliant cyan color.

He had an athletic build, and cyan wings stretched out, wider than most but smaller. His eyes were closed, scrunching at the light, but the two could see gleaming white teeth. His hair was cut fairly short, and they noticed how it hung just above his eyes. It was only long in the front, and shorter on the rest of his head. His tail -or tails- attracted the most attention. There were two. Slender and bright cyan, they looked awfully soft. At the end, there was a spiked ball. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The left one was red, and the right one was blue. "H-Huh? Where... where am I?" He looked to be a dragon, but not a type that had been seen for millennia.

On the other side of the basement, where Blizzard and Regnum were, there was another cry. "H-H-Help!" Was the distressed cry. If either of them decided to investigate, they would find a boy who also looked to be around fourteen or fifteen, with spiked pink locks and ivory skin. His right eye was red, and the left one was blue. At the end of his pink tail, he had a crystal-like appendage. One could only guess what it was for. Like the other, he wore a sleeveless tank and loose shorts.

---

Terra nodded. "You're right, they still shouldn't be trusted. But what if they decide to heal the earth on their own, hm? If Relin is going to kill their, king, then-" She was interrupted by a ghastly screaming that seemed to cut into her soul. What was that? One of the hydra? She wasn't aware anyone could vocalize their pain as well as this boy. A deep frown crossed her face and she ran a hand through brown hair, "This feels wrong..." She murmured, then shouted in surprise as there we're sudden tremors.

She dug her claws into the wall for support as the castle seemed to rumble. "What... what was that?" She asked as soon as it was over. Instead of waiting for an answer, she ran to the staircases, spread her wings, and glided down to the basement floor where her face turned into a mask of horror. The Ygdrassil...!

---

Skylark sniffed, then nodded. "Alright.." And then a scream chorused in his ears, Edge's unholy shrieks of pain audible even from so far away. The boy perked up. "Leo, was that... Daddy?!? Leo, what's going on?" He gave a terrified look to Sleipnir , then swallowed thickly. "That scream!!!"

"Leo, can you take us there?" He hoped Leo was concerned about Edge at least a little bit.

The world spun as he regained his footing slowly, taking in a deep breath. He felt like he had just woken up again from another long millienium sleep, his joints stiff and muscles aching. His claws found the steady obsidian wall of the castle and he leaned against it as he began to recover his senses. It didn't take him long to register someone else by him mirroring his heavy breathing. It took even less time for him to pin the hydra against the wall, claws pressed against Blizzard's throat. Growling angrily at the irritated hydra, least until the loud cryof help had him speeding towards the sound, leaving Blizzard to grumble and clutch at the healing wounds, injuries she had sustained and maintained the whole time she had been trapped.

They burnt painfully, making her grit her teeth while she fumbled in the elegant flowing tresses of her gown for one of the sweet treats she always hid for herself. Knawing on the bitter almond cookie, she sighed and straightened her hair, not wanting to hear Noire start berating her for her unkept appearance. Lets see how the vain hydra looked after being trapped in a rock for near a whole day. Who ever said diamonds were a girl's best friend? Angrily, she lifted her dress and kicked at one of the dull shards than hurriedly withdrew her foot in fear that it would start growing onto her again. It was an experience she didn't want to repeat.

Backing up against a wall, she tried to form a path avoiding the hundreds of minute shards scattered across the floor from their broken prisons. Luckily for her, she could avoid the shards completely. The wall behind her giving way, causing her to fall backwards with a cookie muffled shriek. The maze of walls slowly sinking down into the floor, leaving the basement completely empty. She leapt up and started to limp towards the exit, never looking behind her.

---

It wasn't a hydra, that was all he knew. Adrenaline rushing through his veins as he blazed through the maze, seeking the source of distress. There was little time to actually question anything and the years only dampened his hot headedness and fire a little. Whoever this was, he would help and then he would Sanare and the others. God, he hoped that they were alright.

Skidding to a stop as he dashed around a corner, he nearly crashed into the boy, cowering in the corner. Before he could open his mouth to demand who he was, the ground shook, throwing him off balance as the maze walks came down, revealing the great dead tree at its center and a horrified Terra rushing into the basement. Following her was a dishevelled set of dragons, shaking and holding tightly onto one another as they came into the scene, "Sanare!" He called out to them, turning away from the boy. Relief flooding overhim to see they were okay. Obviously shaken and in need of rest, but whole and unharmed. Grateful to somehow find themselves part ofthis new mess.

The walls revealed more than his fellow elders safe, but majority of the hydras gathered in the centre. Blizzard having limped over to them. He turned and glanced at the boy, baring his teeth at the newest intruder, "I pray you can fight. Stick close to me all the same." He growled as he dashed over to his group, facing opposite of the hydras. All of them here except-

A howl echoed loudly through the castle and like a speeding bullet, down the metal dragon came barrelling down the staircase. Roaring angrily as he tried to run past them. Luckily, Regnum was quick to throw himself forward and grab hold of the dragon, dragging him down with the help of the rest of the elders. Snarling and struggling against his own, he threw kicks and punches at them, shouting at the hydras, "What the fuck did you do with my brother you sick FUCKS?! WHERE IS HE?!"

He had searched the whole castle, the place easier to navigate when the castle was complying and the stairs tirec of taunting. He had near broken down the doors of the library in desperation, finding no sign of that smug bastard. The books arranged neatly on the shelves, mockingly well arranged unlike the messy madness method that Anemoli arranged his books. A fire roaring within the fireplace, but the study chair was cold and pushed in neatly to the desk. When the first place his brother was sure to be tuned up nothing, he had begun to panick.

Resorting to spreading his wings and risking collision as he literally flew through the castle from top to bottom. Ripping open all manners of doors. Finding each room in an eerily pristine condition as if nothing, not even dust, and no one had ever set foot in the place, but that couldn't be right? Hydras lived here, he had been led through the castle by one and he couldn't recall it being so cold. Exactly like his brother, but he found not a trace of him or any other. That's when he snapped.

Somewhere in his struggles, he pulled out his gun and began to fire haphazardly, near hitting Terra and almost clipping Regnum's shoulder. The fiery dragon growled. This was madness! Holding down their own.

---

Without hesitation, Leo scooped up Sleipnir who had frozen in shock. As he dashed back towards the castle, spreading his wings to gain air, flying up high before he began a steady downward descent. Speeding back towards the castle faster that he run away from it. Sleipnir could only clutch on tight to his scales and squeeze his eyes shut as the wind rushed through and blew back his hair. Biting his skin.

They landed right outside the castle door, Leo holding them tightly as he charged forward, kicking down the door and skidding, right inbetween the two groups. He froze, feeling all eyes on him, the hydras confused and the dragon's.....equally confused, "Uh...." He opened hus mouth, but found nothing to stay, letting his jaw hang stupidly. Sleipnir was quick to push out of his arms and run barefoot across the floor, tears streaming from his eyes as he ran blindly forward, crying "Daddy!!!"

The pink-haired boy nodded at the hydra quickly, not wanting to get him upset, though it wasn't fear that caused him to act so hastily. Eyes widening in shock and wonder as the walls came tumbling down, the one holding them together long gone. Funny... the basement looked so empty now, even with the the two different groups. Why did everyone always stay in groups? That, he decided, would be the question of the day.

The cyan-haired boy also took in everything, though he had a bemused grin on his face, something that made December uneasy. Accepting he wasn't allied with the dragons even though he appeared to be ones, Forte led the boy to the center of what was since their maze, alongsige Blizzard and of course, December. It was only the three of them, no one else in sight. "Blizz! Are you okay?" The hydra of envy inquired, brushing a start strong of hair from her face.

"Of course she is." Forte interrupted, bringing their attention to the gathered dragons. The two groups mostly eyed each other warily, until Regnum decoded to charge them, and Forte unsheathed his blade. Focusing, the hydra tinted the metal black, and lifted it, prepared to strike. That is, until the one who had trapped him had arrived and the hydra stood in front of his little group, prepared to soak up any bullets by activating his armor. There was room here, not like in the maze.

When he started yelling, Forte sent a questioning glance at December, who simply whispered, "The wind dragon. I can't sense where he is." With a shrug. Once began shooting at them though, Forte growled loudly and leapt forward, preparing to deflect it. However, the cyan-haired dragon beat him to it. Sliding on his stomach, the boy drew out his tail, which was very elastic. With a grunt, he took a tail in either hand and squeezed. The spiked balls at the ends got bigger until they were three times the size of his head, and he swung them in large circles, smiling softly all the while and deflecting the bullets of Elerium.

December squeezed her palms nervously. She didn't realize the boy had such fine tuned reflexes. Even now, she couldn't sense anything about him. He didn't say anything, but flashed a grin, ready to potentially swing his tail at the group.

Terra roared at almost being shot. Why was Ferrum such a hotheaded fool? He had nearly trapped her in a crystal! "Calm the hell down, Ferrum!" She hissed, digging her claws into his arm, trying to pry the gun from his grip. This was idiotic. In fact, nothing could be more stupid than-

Just then, Leo kung fu kicked the huge front door open like a boss and slid inside like a ninja. Both parties awkwardly looked at the tall hydra, confused and possibly even scarred. And then there was a small child running blindly, and the two newcomers reacted. The cyan haired male frowned in distaste and took a few steps in his direction then ferociously swung his tail at the toddler, with the possible intention of squashing him like a bug. There were cries of protest, most especially from Skylark. "Noooooooooooo!"

But the spiked ball missed, landing mere inches away from the crying child. "Shut up, there's no Daddy of tours here." He growled, withdrawing his weapon. With a cry, the boy wrenched his brother back to Leo. "Sleipnir , be careful!"

"So did Leo pick up Edge's kids?"

"Maybe he got stuck with babysitting duty." December mused, then widened her eyes. "Oh? The child. The one with the grey hair? He's powerful, all right. Frail, and a child, but has a lot of potential. Oh Leo! Yoohoo!" She called good-naturedly, waving him over. Though she was still giggling from his failed entrance.

Terra, befuddled and confused, and most of all unimpressed, sighed. How terra-ble. "You can shoot him, Ferrum."

Everyone held their breath as the spike end of the dragon's tail narrowly swung past the little child, missing by a mere few inches. Even Ferrum stilled, fun clutched in hand as he stared at the stunned child. His crying stopped as he was yanked back and left staring at where he had nearly died. There was a deep silence hanging over both groups, at least until more tears glistened in the dragon's lilac eyes and he burst out into tears. Wailing loudly and struggling in Leo's arms, small puffs of gas escaping his body as he cried. Perhaps realizing just how close he had been to ending himself. How scary it had been to have that spiked death orb near impale his head.

Tears flowing freely down his face as he vocalized his distress. Leo stared down dumbfounded at the crying child, holding him an arms length away. The dragon in another one of his unusual panics, that was quickly becoming increasingly common, turned to the Hyrdras and called out frantically, "Noire! How do I make it stop crying?"

It didn't take long for Sanare to stomp over and snatch the crying dragon away from the hydra, "Give him to me! You're scaring him and you don't know how to take care of a child." The usually calm dragoness snapped at him, cradling the hollering Sleipnir close. She cradled the child against her chest and rocked him, whispering soothing words to calm him down. Coughing slightly as he continued to puff out smoke stacks, "Hush, hush, you're safe now. No need to worry. Shh..."

Eventually, his wails dwindled down into gasping sobs and then into soft sniffles as he felt Sanare's cooling fingertips run across his forehead. Soothing down the burning heat that made him squirm uncomfortably before. He buried his face against her bosom and whimpered softly as he tangled his hands in her long aquamarine hair, mumbling into her skin, "I want my Daddy. I want Father...I don't wanna have to go anywhere anymore." And she rocked him, nodded softly to the requests of a child until he turned and stared over tearfully at Skylark who still had Leo clinging to him.

And the groups were back into a staring contest with one another until Blizzard finished off her cookie and began to fumble around for another treat, piping up in the meanwhile, "Where is Edge anyway? I haven't seen him since...well since you trapped me in crystal!" She growled the last part accusingly at Ferrum before stuffing another cookie in her mouth. The metal dragon making her near choke and jump when he aimed his gun at her next. Mellowed out by the sudden turn of events, but still irritated at being held down like he was.

The silence that followed only interrupted by Sleipnir's grumbling tummy and his little tug at Sanare's sleeve, asking softly, "Can I have some food, I forgot to have breakfast or lunch..or dinner..."

December amused by Leo, while Forte was annoyed, both didn't say a word, but wondered where Noire was. "I was wondering why it's so quiet in here, she is such a nag." Forte mused, much to the annoyance of December. "Don't say that, she could be in trouble! Who knows what they've done to her... And I am really disappointed in you, Mister. Leaving the fighting to Charon and Noire? Ha-ha." She mocked playfully. Blushing in shame, the prideful hydra fumbled for an excuse. "I... didn't want to... uh..." The oracle hydra giggled.

All eyes were on Ferrum, who was pointing his gun toward Blizzard. While Sila felt uncomfortable with the hydra in a group and so nearby, they hadn't attacked yet and she didn't want to fight a losing battle. "Ferrum, come on. We're tired. At least wait until we can recover some of our energy." Though she didn't get along with the metal dragon, she thought he was am idiot, ever since the maze she had been pondering if perhaps they could be civil.

Then, adding in a hushed tone, "Where ever Anemoli is, don't you think he can take care of himself? After all, he can take care of you." She added harshly. The comment caused Terra to lick her lip anxiously. They were still in the belly of the beast, but the fancifully dressed hydra had a point. Where was the king? But knowing that the king was the two young dragon's father, she couldn't bring herself to discuss it when they could hear, "You two, cover your ears." She commanded in a voice that rumbled like the earth.

Fearfully, Skylark obeyed, tiny hands covering pointy ears. Face buried against Leo, he wondered where his Daddy was. Remembering Daddy had once played with them a game where he was trapped in a freezer, the boy knew that Daddy could be anywhere.

"What have you done with Edge?!" Forte demanded, troubled by December's chiming in, "I see nothing." What did that mean? Then, there was a deep rumbling in the distance, then ear-splitting crashes. A beautiful girl materialized from nowhere, then the frantic warning, to her own people, but the others would have been wise to follow suit. "GET THE FUCK DOWN! THE SKY CITIES ARE FALLING!" The force would be enough to get them, even here.

"Noire!? What did you do?" December demanded, though the pretty hydra had already curled into a ball on the smooth floor, not wanting to speak when there was danger. Sila and Terra shared a frightened glance. A trick? The she-hydra was slippery, deceitful. Regnum could get mad at them. And yet... When the smaller girl huddled with her ally on the ground, she knew something was wrong. And then... she felt it. Faint, on the other side of the world, something fell from the sky. Eyes widening, she chorused, "Get down, I feel it!"

And then the pink dragon squeaked in fear an confusion. Sky cities? Danger? He joined the other dragons in their huddle for safety, the cyan dragon doing the same with the hydra. He considered changing form, but he could evade death more effectively in this form. December tugged Blizzard to the ground with them, and then clung tight as weak waves of explosions rushed at them. They were faraway. What about the closer ones?

Forte dragged Leo and the baby Leo was carrying back to the group, where he pressed against Blizzard's back, eyes burning with something... defiance? And then the wave got more powerful, and December screamed because, as the smallest next to the twins, the wave was strong enough to knock her up into the air. She didn't have anyone holding onto her. She was about to fall on her head onto the hard obsidian floor, but Forte was quick to react, sliding sleekly on the ground and breaking his friend's fall. Digging his sword into the ground, he let the female hydra cling to him as the waves got worse.

With a shriek, Noire too broke loose but was fast enough to convert her body into a mist. Unfortunately for her' the waves of heat could kill her in this form, so as soon as she saw a body below her, she solidified and fell right on top of them. Unfortunately, that person was Sanare... with terrified Sleipnir still in tow.

The cyan dragon dug his tails into the ground, effectively locking himself into place. The waves of heat and pure force were enough to break the other dragons and hydra apart and caused the best of the best to fly and bounce around the basement like ragdolls. Sila, trying to circumvent gravity, spread her wings while in midair. Bad move. While she glided for a bit, December came crashing into her with a scream, the girl already badly bruised, but knocking her to the ground, falling on her wing and screaming in pain, reverting into a human form to shed her wings, green eyes flashing in agony.

Terra was more violent, not harming herself on the walls, ceilings, and floors by kicking at them with enough force to knock her the opposite direction. How long had they been bounding around? Hours? Days? What? Minutes? And then, there was so much heat... It was as if atomic bombs were going off. Sanare! Would she be alright? Heat was no good for a water dragon. And what about Ferrum? Didn't heat melt the iron? She felt herself sweating from the heat and moaned lowly as he crashed into a wall, claws digging into the overheating polished rock.

Noire screamed she her scales softened, if only... Shddenly she felt a burst of ice and sighed in relief, but it was short lived. Her scales wouldn't fall off anytime soon, but the pain was unbearable. With a shriek, not being able to take it anymore, December broke her skin and took on a full form as hydra. Unfortunately, she was still tossed around, but only hit harder. With a roar, she slowly shrunk back to her humanoid form, too exhausted to maintain the other. She could hear Forte growl as he activated his armor. It was far bulkier, and looked to be made out of the same thing the castle was. It drew him to the floor, where he safely rested on his back, gravity itself pulling the tall hydra securely.

Skylark cried out, it was so hot, and so chaotic. He clung desperately to Leo, though they were both sweating and the taller male had to take extreme measures to hold him. Pink dragon moaning his pain, nose bleeding from crashing into Ferrum from behind, he collided with Regnum and growled as the heat overtook him. Then, miraculously, his tail glowed and as he was slammed against the ceiling, the entire roof above them was covered in a thin layer of frost. Noire slid as much as she could in the cold as she smashed against the ceiling,

December found herself cling to Forte's leg, because he was unshakable and she needed something to hold onto. Sila, equally exhausted but inspired by the oracle's strategy, held tight to Forte's arm as she was flung their direction. Maybe, if they all clung together, they couldn't hit each other anymore. Forte himself didn't mind; there was no allies or enemies, only a danger they were all subjected to. The more of them that clung together was less you had to wory about someone crashing into you. More and more of them collected onto the tall hydra, realizing that it was easier to avoid the pain.

Then, there was a final explosion and a final, collective scream as time seemed to slow down. Nobody cared ho they held as onf as they are all connected, part of a whole. And then it was over. Dragon and hydra alike fell once more to the hard ground, which was dented from everyone bashing onto it. Everyone was breathing, however difficult. They found themselves in the most awkward of positions.

The cyan dragon found his tails weren't enough to protect him, and desperately clung to a corner until he turned into a fully human form, it was safer that way. The pink dragon found himself under Regnum. Terra had Noire's arm linked with her own on one side and Sanare clinging to her foot on the other. Noire's tail wrapped around Ferrum's leg, both metal dragons panting heavily. The pain of almost losing your scales was immense. Sila lay atop Forte's armored body, but the hydra'a armor soon shrunk, until it was thin and light and small. Mere feet away from him was Ferrum's gun, and he registered he should pick it up, just to be safe. However, he couldn't find the energy to do so.

The cyan dragon landed right next to Leo' hand still gripping the taller male's leg. His own leg was draped across Blizzard's breast and shoulder. Skylark moaned in pain along with several others. While no one truly liked their position, they were all too tired to move. Not only had they experienced a war, but also an onslaught of atomic bombs.

And then December screamed, but since everyone was so close together, caused a few to wince. "Shut... up..." The cysn dragon rumbled. "The humans..." She croaked, "Not all of the cities fell... there is one more... and they're... coming... for.. us..."

The metal dragon sought to reply with an angry retort, the comment far too biting than he thought possible of the humble wood dragoness. Metal and wood did not get along well though he had always been on a sort of mutual stand still with Sila. Turning to meet her hazel eyes, he gritted his teeth than opened his mouth seeking to bite back just as harshly, but in the end just closed his mouth back again dumbly. Anemoli wouldn't like him to argue. He would just stare back dully at anyone who dared to voice any distaste towards him. And somehow, the other party would end up silently raising the white flag and admitting defeat. Ferrum having been the only one to ever stand up against his brother's bull crap and his more than smug feeling towards the matter of who was better than whom. Ferrum always having been one to snap back.

Now though, he just turned away from Sila and softly, so slightly that only the dragoness saw, pulled back the magazine and let the elerium shards clink out onto the floor. Rolling away from him and far out of his reach or his gun's reach. He could take care of himself. He didn't need to hide behind his gun or his brother and everybody else damned well better know it. He was gonna find his brother and show him just how alright he was without him monitoring his every move and making sure he didn't mess up, but first, "Get off of me." He growled to Sila and to Terra, pushing them off of him. He dusted himself off and glared at the ground as he pulled out his more mundane steel bullets and busying himself with reloading his gun.

Slepnir obediently covered his ears, though he shared a look with his brother. Sending warm feelings his way and keeping their connection strong. Still, a lot of questions bounced around in his head and he could still hear just a little bit through his hands though Sanare kept him cradled against her chest. He still peeked a little though, not afraid of the frightful earth dragoness when he was held tightly by the equally motherly caring dragoness of water. She soothed him like Daddy did. Speaking of which, he child listened nervously I the conversation behind clasped ears, sending his panic towards Skylark to convey what he heard. What did the bulky hydra mean by not being able to see anything? Could he not see Daddy? They couldn't see Daddy either, what was that supposed to mean? Questions bubbled up in his head and he did all that he could before they erupted out of him and he leaned away from Sanare to shout, "I don't get it, where are Daddy and Father?"

Before anyone could even react to Forte, let alone address Sleipnir's questions, the earth rumbled and Noire materialized shouting her warning. It was hardly cryptic and within seconds after, the whole castle shook. The centuries old building that had survived ever since the beginning of time, still standing strong after time was no longer measured, shook and rumbled. As if someone had just picked it up and shaken it like a toddler did to some sorry toy. Throwing it at the sun or something as the heat pierced through the obsidian reinforced walls.

Sanare hugged a frightened confused Sleipnir to her chest and sought to move further away from the impending danger she felt. The instinctive foreboding sense that something big was coming. Something terrible and big. The silence of such impending doom was followed by a shriek as the earth rumbled, causing those still standing to stumble and fall. Sanare making sure to break her fall and keep the young dragon safe.

Giving them barely any time to even fully register the tremors as they washed over them, wave over wave. Followed by the bitter heat surging through the doors, literally burning up the air and turning the room into a steaming oven. Sleipnir clung tightly to Sanare as he was knocked around, the heat not affecting him as much as he pressed closer to the cool air that was rapidly burning up around the water dragon. It didn't help when another weight was added and Sanare exhaled as Noire unceremoniously knocked the wind out of her lungs. Luckily, the castle shook once more, knocking them away from each other and her into a near by wall where she felt someone new grasp her leg as he sought to keep safe the tiny frightened half hydra in her arms.

Leo was trying to do the same, arms tightly slung around the tiny back of the younger. Letting Forte drag him and Blizzard down, both hydras already starting to sweat as the heat wave rolled over them. The bouncing castle didn't exactly help either as he was tossed about, crashing against Forte's sword dug into the ground and having to risk cutting his hand in half to grasp onto it's blade and keep himself steady. Dark droplets of blood staining the blade and flying everywhere as he struggled to hold on. The pain becoming near numbing as he held onto Skylark with his other hand. Eventually he had to resort to wrapping his tail around the prideful dragon and clinging onto his armor, "Fuck, take him will you?" Leo growled at the hydra, handing over the frightened Skylark to someone who at least at the ability to keep him on the ground.

Ferrum lost hold of his gun, more focused on trying to keep himself steady while the heat worked it's way inbetween his scales, the feeling akin to being boiled alive on the inside. Hot melted steel poured down his throat. He kept his wings close to his body, minimizing the surface area to the heat, trying to remember or recreate any advice that his brother would give now. Unfortunately that meant that he minimized the contact he had with the life saving frost melting off from the ceiling. Bashed and thrown into other dragons, making him feel dizzy. Unable to tell which part of the room he was being flung to next as dragons and hydras alike were thrown around him. He felt like a snowman in a snowglobe. Hah, if only though. Eventually, the metal dragon got wind of what Sila was trying to do and reached out grasp the closest available body. That of which happened to be Noire who seemed to be sharing the same blistering pain. Now was not the time to ponder over old rivalries and traitorous wounds though and Ferrum found himself digging his claws into Noire's arm, desperate to stay on until he found his way to another clustering group of dragons and held onto them, forming a larger chain.

It continued to grow until Regnum found himself atop of the stranger dragon and by then the heat was near unbearable. Gritting his teeth, the fiery dragon left behind his smaller form. Lodging his claws to the corners of the room and stretching his wings out widely to tent over the others. Being careful to hold himself steady in place to avoid squashing anyone under him. He was practically built for this sort of heat. Volcanoes having been the old age method of training a fire dragon. This...well this was not a volcano and it was much worse than one, but the fire dragon's scales absorbed the heat well enough, providing a large cooling shadow for everyone to hide under. He didn't know how much he could take though.

And everyone prayed that he could withstand it. There was no longer any dragons, hydras, halves or strangers, they were all unwillingly thrown into it together. And just as Regnum felt himself losing strength, there was a final tremor that shook them all and a heat wave that ripped out a pained roar from the dragon before it all stopped. Everyone collapsing ontop of one another, Regnum having returned to his normal form. Crawling into a corner with the lay reserves of his strength, his scales glowing red hot like embers, a small flame rushing out of his mouth each time he exhaled. He kept to his own corner of the room.

Ferrum couldn't bother to move away from the hydra not find his weapon not do anything. Content to lie atop whoever and regain all of the air that had escaped his lungs. Barely able to lift his head, he didn't notice Beezlebub, lying across the staircase that he had tumbled down, expression smoothed into a tired mask. Panting as well. The only one who seemed to have enough strength left to make any noise was Sleipnir who sobbed softly at the pain etched deep into his bones, hair clumped down to his hair and skin sticky with sweat. He rubbed his eyes and cried softly, stopping soon after when he ran out of energy.

Leo dragged himself over to Skylark and slumped a hand around him before completely collapsing as well. There they all laid in a collective pile of exhaustion and shared pains. Ferrum instinctively swiping his tail across December's arm when she screamed, making a few jump and finally fumble to separate themselves from the awkward mess. Blizzard angrily swatting at the cyan dragon's tail draped over her chest. Sanare lifted her head, looking wearily at December, "Us?..." She croaked softly, throat dry and limbs weak. Ferrum spoke for her, raising himself on trembling limbs, "I thought they were under your control!"

Things had just happened, one after another. There hadn't even been any time to interrogate the two strangers. What were they doing in the castle, uninvited and most certainly not familiar with the elders nor the hydra. Where could they have come from? What did they want? But for the time being, they were the same as everyone else. Regnum cooling off in a corner, Beelzebub sobered by the explosion. Skylark unable to comfort his brother, though he felt sore all over. It hurt to move.

It hurt the others as well, but they were used to pain. December panted, wanting to retort, but decided to just answer. Ferrum's tone wasn't cutting, wasn't particularly cruel. It was a simple exclamation, a confirmation. But he was wrong. "Noire... was able to manipulate a few of them... after heavy dosage of toxins, but... it's not certain... something went... wrong..." Sila grunted, trying to speak. "And what of you? Keh... you are the hydra of manipulation...." December closed her eyes, it didn't matter anyways because all she could see were blurry colors.

"I can manipulate others, by showing... them their future... when someone knows the truth, they'll act differently... Human, dragon... when you tell them their future, they'll always try to either change or secure it." Noire, finally catching her breath, muttered, "Some of us had to fight them, you know. We weren't going to all abide by a treaty while our kind died," By 'our kind' she could have meant dragons. "We are not dragons." Forte quickly quipped. And why weren't the hydra dragons, anyways? Biologically and for the most part, appearance wise, not many could tell the two groups from one another. It was only the Hydra's ability to keep coming back... but wasn't that simply an amplified version of any dragon's hyper healing?

"And you never will be..." Terra added, which elicited several rumbles of approval from both groups, and the two strangers. "What does it matter? The humans will regard us as one of the same." December hissed, adding to the heavy feeling of helplessness that was currently wafting around in the air along with the heat. Skylark looked around with only his eyes, as they were he only part he could move. However, they still stung.

"What the fuck do they want from us?!?" The cyan haired male demanded, mustering enough energy to lift up his tail, spiked ball and all, and drape it over his own body. Focusing, he twisted his two tails together until there was only one normal dragon tail with a few spikes at the end. "There are children present!" Noire interrupted irately, fingering the quickly closing wounds where Ferrum had anchored himself to her. "So? They'll grow up soon." Forte murmured pessimistically, earning him a smack from three people Noire and Terra from maternal instinct, and December for fun. She tried to giggle, but only coughed brokenly.

"Don't say that," Noire whispered, though Skylark and Sleipnir had already heard. "Wh... do.. me.. n ... yo?" He tried to asked what the other meant, but found much of his body refused to move, trying to repair itself. He was tucked under Forte's head, like a pillow, a position he had been in ever since Leo forked him over to his friend, though the two tall hydras were pretty much resting on him. He found it amazing some of the others could still talk.

"I... I am not sure..." December admitted, scrunching her face in concentration. "I... I see some of us on big tables, I see the pink dragon being restrained, with blank expressions... I see you," She rasped, gazing to Ferrum, "And Charon, looking at some human with goo-goo eyes, and you let him observe an touch you, and then he pats you on the head and you hug him like some kind of pet..." Terra growled, not wanting to hear this. "You could be lying!" And Noire, with one simple word, silenced everybody else. "Why?"

After a period of silence, December continued, "The young... one is in a playroom, trying to solve a puzzle. The red... dragon.. he's in the corner... there are all sorts of clothes his size around him and he doesn't look like he's alive but his eyes are open and he's breathing... The other is on a table, screaming for his Daddy while they...." She trailed off. It was unusual for her to describe things in such detail, because most of her visions were blurry. They were hard to decipher. But when something was set in concrete, or almost certainly likely to happen, everything was crystal clear.

"The earth dragon and the water dragon are screaming, and they're tied to a cot... Beelzebub, he's tied to a table, struggling to get free. Forte and Leo are dressed in doctor's gear and then they cut him... open... Noire, she's tied to a table too, and she's screaming..." The pink dragon, hyperventilating, demanded, "And what about you, huh?!? What the hell happens to you?!?" Noire shot him a dirty look.

"I... There's a room, and we have headphones on, some of us try to scream but... I'm there... the wind dragon's there, Blizzard's there... No, we're tied down to something... you," She murmured, staring deadpan at the cyan dragon, "You're there... and we... No, I see.. all of us, falling asleep... slowly..." In a panic, Forte screamed, "No, you're wrong! Charon isn't even here right now!" Noire nodded, fear in her violet eyes, "Yeah, you can't be serious!" Skylark cried out, "What about my Daddy? Or my Father?!" Pursing her lips, the oracle whispered, "I... don't know..."

"Where is Charon?!" More demanded, but December just shook her head frantically, tears streaming from her face. "I... I can't! I can't think right now!" Sila swallowed deeply, then turned to Sanare. "Is she... can she be telling the truth?"

Ferrum listened quietly, trying his best not to say anything. He didn't want to risk 'running his mouth' as Anemoli had always so famously put it. However as the younger looking hydra began to speak of her predictions, he glared at her and unable to help himself, piped up, "That's bull crap! I would never now to any human, let alone act like some sappy spineless dog to one!" He growled, finding it hard to ever picture himself in such a situation. Charon on the other hand, well he had yet to see the hydra grow a spine out of the bedroom. He wasn't exactly the time to shy away from obedience to escape a situation. The dragon could imagine him on his knees for another human and he imagined so could those who knew him.

Leo couldn't help but agree with the dragon's protest. There was absolutely no way he and Forte were gonna..mutilate their own kind. They had been labeled sick and evil before, but even the age old rumors didn't stretch that far, "December, there is no way that could ever happen. Are you sure you're seeing our future? You did hit your head an awful lot." He muttered softly, unable to imagine something as simple as man made restraints could even hold down the hydra of wrath. Let alone allow them to get close enough to even do anything. Blizzard still shot him a dirty look as he questioned December's abilities. It was often unwise to question what she saw even if it only was one of the many possible scenarios that could happen based on their action and decision. Leo just couldn't ever see it happening though, glancing wearily at the exhausted Beezlebub who had yet to interject anything. All the same, he tightened his grip around Skylark's waist and pulled the young dragon closer to him.

Sanare pulled the sobbing sibling over to her as she managed to disentangle herself from the group and find soliditarity in the walls that still, amazingly, stop sturdy around them. Listening in horror to the hydra's terrifying predictions. She clasped her hands over Sleipnir's ears, but already it had been too late to stop the little half long from hearing what sort of grim fate awaited most of them. His entire body tensing up rigid when December looked at him, sharing the same fear of his brother's. He resolved to remain strong though, despite how badly he trembled in Sanare's grasp. Finally losing it when the oracle, herself, broke down in tears. The little dragon sobbed uncontrollably, bawling as he cried out, "This is all Fuck!" For even the hydra could not see where their Daddy was.

Sanare froze at the curse word, her eyes slowly sliding over to the culprit Cyan dragon in the room who first uttered it. Needless to say, he received a good thrashing for what little strength the water dragoness had left. Then she was back to rocking Sleipnir, "Hush hush, do not cry my child. I am sure your Daddy is fine, that's why he wasn't seen. He probably comes back just for you. Hush, do not say such bad words, your parents would be upset if they heard you saying that. Shhh, it's alright, no don't cry. Just never say such words again and it'll all be fine." She whispered urgently to the young dragon, calming him down only because he felt ashamed of uttering such foul language. True, the adults said it all the time, but..if Father and Daddy didn't like it, then he would stop.

"Th-Then when is Daddy and Father coming to save us?" The young dragon hiccuped softly, drying his tears. Sanare could only stare down at the little bundle of innocence in her arms, before hugging him close and turning to face Sila. Shaking her head it answer. It wasn't a 'no', but it was far from any confident answer. Sanare barely knew what to believe anymore, but if the hydras were right about the humans coming, then she doubted that they would see any difference between either of the groups, now tangled and meshed into a whole unit. Over the chorus of shouted questions and voiced worries, the dragoness spoke softly, "The hydra is right."

The silence that followed her heavy words was thundering, "The humans shall not see us as any different from each other. They are long out of control and whatever they are intending, we cannot sit back and be idle. If we are to escape this, we-" "Are you suggesting we put aside out differences and work together?" Beelzebub finally quipped in a mocking tone, dripping wet with sarcasm. Sanare stared up wearily at him, the answer already clear between them. The hydra bared his teeth, a deep rumbling sound from his chest as he growled, "I ain't gonna be pulled down by some fucking dragons. You guys are weak compared to us! We can do so much better off without you!"

"God damn it, put aside the ego for a bloody moment! We're in this mess together! Just shut up for one moment." Ferrum growled back in a burst of energy, managing to be the first one to try and stand and the first one to fail as he stumbled backwards and ended up crashing into Forte.

December sighed a bit at the objections, tears still fresh in her ultraviolet eyes. Mustering her slowly replenishing strength, she managed to push herself up, with Noire slowly following suit. Terra, not wanting to stay on her back when a hydra right next to her was sitting up, struggled to prop herself up. Sila, not feeling particularly competitive, was content lying to revitalize.

"Beelzebub, calm it. Without Edge here, we can't force you to do anything. You know that." Noire reasoned, though her approach was quite unorthodox. She leaned over and wiped the gushing tears from the oracle's eyes. "So do what you want. Of course, we'd be better off with your strength, but I'm not an idiot, trying to coax you of all people to be cooperative. Do whatever you want, and we'll do what we want." She said toughly, clearly not afraid of the older hydra. Since death wasn't a thing with her, and she didn't mind the pain, the only thing she feared was being restrained. And she knew, all the humans wanted was to trap them...

"I'm more fearful of the future December tells of than anything else." Forte mused to no one in particular, lips hardening into a line as Ferrum fell on him. Merely letting it happen as he knew that his armor wouldn't harm the metal dragon, at least not in this form. And if he rolled out of the way, that would show he was afraid, which he was not. If he had caught the other, that would have meant he felt the other needed taking care of, something which he had demonstrated was not an option for him. So it was with mild indifference that he just allowed the event to occur, murmuring with a hint of restrained bitterness, "Please stop being such a child; as you can see I already have enough kids to deal with."

Skylark buried his face into Leo's shoulder, wriggling out of his spot under Forte. Why was everyone yelling? And why was Beelzebub yelling? Did he want to hurt Father again? If Skylark ever got the chance, he would make sure he wouldn't think of hurting his Father ever again... But for now, he was fine just drowning out the grown ups arguing.

Terra glared at the hydra. She had heard of his anger, his cruelty. Kind of his trademark. Not the kind of thing she'd trust to turn her back on. The oracle could cry, which meant she could think... feel. It could all be a ruse, a slippery trick. But she had heard of an oracle before, a long time ago, that would foretell people's deaths. And she was always, always, right.

"What are we even going to do? Get rid of them before they get rid of us?" Sila gasped aloud. "Is that what you were trying to do? Rid this earth of humankind? How did you know?" Noire shook her head. "No, the humans did that on their own, I was just trying to find out more about the crystals. Just in case no one else knew how to break free."

Sila furrowed her eyebrows in thought. The hydras had committed atrocious crimes against all dragon kind. To start a comradeship was unthinkable. Yet, Sanare knew exactly what she was getting herself into. Suddenly Terra spoke aloud, voice carrying to Regnum in his corner. "What are you going to do?" Though she didn't personally support all of his endeavors, he was their leader and the last of the reds for a good reason.

Blizzard, Noire, and December were all sitting near each other, December's tears dry and the young hydra reached for the older female's sweets, though she had little success. Then, in what was meant to be a whisper, but echoed loudly instead Noire asked, "December, how long do we have?" Sighing, the oracle shrugged. "When they captured us, we're in the castle and we're with Charon and the wind dragon. Maybe if we don't fit the criteria, they won't capture us." She suggested hopefully.

"No, there was a nuclear explosion. If any of us leave the safety of Edge's air locking walls, who knows what kind of horrid fate will befall us. But we still have time. Charon and the dragon are nowhere in sight. We just need to recover..." Forte yawned. "I was trapped in a crystal, alright? I'm a bit tired... Charon probably died, no one saw him after the war, right? Metal here must have finished him off, and you know how long it takes that guy to recharge."

"Yes," December agreed, "We have days..." Confused and scared, feeling hurt and sticky, the baby dragon hybrid wailed and hugged Leo tighter, tiny claws shredding the other's cloak to ribbons, though his skin was too tough to break. Noire stared warily at Beelzebub. Until Edge got back,he was technically their leader. However, she wasn't planning on obeying him anytime soon. "Beelzebub, if you have a better idea, then spill."

"As if Edge was ever a good leader. Where was he when he needed him the most huh? Off hiding with his human friends until it we got desperate enough to find him. Now, we're in the middle of another crisis and he's gone again and we won't be seeing him for another thousand years until this whole mess blows over and he comes in like some hero pretending he saved the day!" The hydra growled, violet eyes shimmering dangerously as he worked himself up. Breathing out with an audible exhale when he was done and sinking back down against the stairwell. He had nothing to prove in trying to stand up long before he body could handle the strain, he already knew he was strong and he wasn't going to strain himself trying to show off.

The other hydras watched Beezlebub wearily, knowing of the tension between the hydra and their leader though not all wanted to delve too deeply in what might have caused such a tension. Most, like Leo, attributed it to the fact that Beezlebub didn't get along with anyone and no one wanted to risk a fight with the hydra by starting up a quarrel.

Like the one very mildly brewing between Ferrum and Forte as the metal dragon growled and dragged himself out of the way, letting his tail thrash in Forte's face. They couldn't afford a full blown fight, neither having the strength for that, but petty insults and biting words were enough to distract them from the true threat that lay ahead of them. It was a bad sort of distraction, but a distraction they would rather have it than not. Leo made his way between the two to remove Forte of Skylark, no longer trusting the dragon with the child whilst he was in a glaring contest with Ferrum. The prideful hydra better be careful, nobody new armor and it's weaknesses better than the metal elder. It didn't even have to be of any metal for him to start sussing out all the possible weak points, the way in which a piece would bend and affect all the other plates. They said Forte had the best armor out there, but who knew how well it would stand up against the metal elder.

He held Skylark close an ran a hand through his hair, doing what little he could to continue to comfort the little dragon. Kissing his forehead softly and earning some confused stares from Blizzard and the rest. They hydra didn't care because he had to make sure that Skylark was alright.

Regnum sat, listening to every voice their doubts and concerns, ask questions and make plan. Holding up a hand to Terra as a sign of patience when she talked to him. He closed his eyes and listened further to the conversation, his own scales still a fiery hot glow. Fire escaping his nostrils each time he exhaled, "Right now, I don't want to risk anything, if the worse had happened and the earth has been further eradicated then we're not gonna take a chance and leave this place. For now we're stuck with the hydras and they're stuck with us. And it's evident that whoever wants to capture us will have to wait a few days for the dust to settle as well. We're gonna have to fortify this place, putting aside whatever old grudges we have.At least until we find their leader or our friends."

Beelzebub was surprisingly silent at the suggestion, everyone else less surprisingly silent. Even Ferrum didn't want to say anything especially with his brother mentioned. Not bothering to even comment on Charon'd disappearance. He couldn't care less about that hydra..he really couldn't.

"Now, I'm gonna go upstairs and sweep up any radiation, as well as seal the windows. All of you stay here and do not come up till I come down and say so." Regnum commanded, settling back into his role of natural leader. Pushing himself onto his feet and carefully stepping aside everyone else. Damage regarded him with a worried look, "Regnum, are you sure you can take much more heat? You're starting to sweat..."

"I'll be fine. I'm far from done." He flashed a smile at her and then turned, avoiding Beezlebub as he made his way up the stairs. The hydra glaring at his back and then turning to Noire, "Let the dragon do what he wants. We're alright here and any where else. The humans are still weak."

"Even if Edge was crazy, he's the only one who was ever able to reason with you," Noire responded without any bitterness, simply stating a fact. Then, snickering softly, she muttered, "I hope you're right. Would it be safe to count on you, then?" She challenged, never able to tell what the other was thinking. To her, he was always angry, and that was it. While this attribute proved useful in battle, it was the reason why he was never around to help them scheme. And if he was, it was to get in the way.

Leaning against Blizzard, December eyed Regnum as he ascended the stairway, thinking that Beelzebub would lose it and shred him to ribbons. Of course, to her relief, he controlled himself. December was tired, and after what she same, afraid. The other might not believe her, but she knew what she had seen. Exhaling laboriously, she wet her lips lazily.

Forte wanted to bite at the tail thrashing in his face, but merely swatted it away instead. He wasn't like Beelzebub... well, that was a lie, but he trusted December's powers and Noire's judgement. Still, he would cooperate, but would be far from friendly. There was a reason they broke away from the stupid clan dragons. And it wasn't just because Edge wanted to.

"I'm okay... But what's going on? Where's my Daddy and my Father?" Skylark asked Leo, who he knew would tell him the truth. The two strangers, me with cyan hair and one with pink, were simply lying around the group. That is, until Noire, noticing the tension between the two groups, turned the tables on them.

"Anyways, who are you two supposed to be? Are you with the dragons? Huh?" She demanded obnoxiously. "I've never seen them before in my life," Terra supplied, rather unhelpfully. The cyan dragon looked unresponsive but the pink dragon, feeling accusing eyes on him, began to tear up. "I... don't really know, miss...."

"Well," December interjected before irate Noire was, "start with your name. It's what most people do," She suggested bitterly, but they were all in a fairly foul mood. "I'm Lucian..." The pink dragon confessed slowly, clearly not comfortable speaking aloud. Skylark waved happily. "Hi, Lucian!" He cracked the faintest of smiles. "And what are you?" December urged. "I'm... I'm a... an aura dragon." He murmured softly, eliciting a chorus of questions.

"Impossible! They died out even before the hydra became a threat!" Terra yelled. "D-D-Died out...?" He asked, eyes widening once more. "Hydra?" Then he draped an arm over his eyes, presumably because he was crying. Without waiting to be asked, the cyan dragon confessed, "Halley, what's up. I'm a guardian dragon." Excitedly, December whispered, "A pirate! I wonder if he has a hoard?!" She asked Blizzard.

Noire's mouth turned into an upside dowd V, she was obviously not satisfied with the boys' answers. But one was crying and the other seemed even more antisocial. "So I guess were stuck on this bottom floor. What are we supposed to do for who knows how long?" Forte chuckled. "Well obviously resting isn't enough for you." She just stared at him quizzically. "Of course not."

Beezlebub glared at her, the vain dragon never having been his closest friend. Once though, they had been on some what friendly terms, but that had been centuries upon centuries ago. Baring his teeth, he growled at her, "I could be a better leader than Edge ever was and you know it. Don't come crying to me when you realize that." He slumped back against a wall and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the group. Wearily, Ferrum raised his hand and voiced, "I vote mr angry out of the house first." Earning a dry chuckle from Blizzard and an eye roll from the rest.

Staring down at the floor, Ferrum drew his legs up to his chest, missing the unamused stare of his brother. Another silence falling over the group as all they could do was wait for Regnum to come back down. Skylark being the first to break it with a soft wail. Sleipnir chimed in as well, "When will they come back for us?"

Sanare stared down at the toddler and brushed a hand across his forehead, tucking a lock of white hair behind his ear. She could see his Father in him, but she could also see the blood of a hydra running freely in his veins. Those lilac eyes an ever constant reminder of what he embodied. A little slice of two sides, she didn't think it was possible, but here she was holding a hydra's child, "I'm sure that...." She began, then trailed off, meeting those hopeful youthful eyes, "I don't know, child."

Leo stared over at them, then down at Skylark, pressing another kiss to his forehead. Holding him closely, he didn't know what exactly he should say to him. Nothing that wouldn't make him cry anyway. So he just held him close.

"You can't be serious, the guardian dragons were the first to go when we first made contact with the humans. We checked, we combed the earth for any remaining survivors, the humans wiped out any chance by expanding their civilisation. They took out the entire south, the last of you disappeared a millenium before!" Ferrum interjected, reciting what his brother would have memorised out of book. He glared down at the two strangers, suspicious of them despite how openly harmless they seemed. He wasnt sure and wasnt goingbto trust them, despite the fact that-"At least you're not hydras, but if you're gonna survive you better not cry over every little thing." He growled.

Blizzard rolled an eye at December, but smiled gently at her before hitting her hand away from her pouchful of treats. It was becoming increasingly lighter much to her dismay, all the treasure in the world couldn't cheer her up unless there was still a pastry shop out there somewhere that accepted all forms of currency. What she would give for that! While she was salivating over the thought, Sleipnir piped up once again, "How about we all play a game? So it doesn't feel so long."

The little dragon knitted his eyebrows, trying to remember what games they used to play. Clutching the little sock closely to him, having not let go of it at all, he knew that game was out of the question. He didn't want Sleipnir to get upset as well if he revealed where he learned it, "We could play ducky ducky goose or charades or simon says. I don't know who Simon is, but Daddy read about it in a book to us and you're supposed to do whatever he says when he says so. And those who dont get punished."

Sanare stared down at the little optimistic toddler and sat up straight, bouncing Sleipnir on her lap, "Maybe we all should play a game, to pass the time."

At Ferrum's comment, December giggled silently and rolled her eyes. Ah, how good it was that her lungs were inflated again. True, she still had several bruises, but those were of her lowest priority. If only getting rid of all your problems was as easy as voting them away. Sure, she didn't think that any guardian dragons had been alive, but she had learned to think outside the box. After all, she could see the future.

The two strangers, meanwhile, kept to themselves. The pink dragon's tears slowly dwindled. Had his kind really been wiped out? "But... you can't eradicate an entire race!" This earned him hateful glares, from hydra and dragon. "Don't you know anything? What about the shadow dragons? Or the storm dragons? Or even the poison dragons, huh?" December nudged Noire, reminding her that she was once a storm dragon. Lucian buried his head in his knees brokenly. The first thing he could remember was...

"Well, guardian dragons aren't like other dragons." Halley bragged snobbishly. "We can't be killed out, no matter what. It's called perseverance." Noire scoffed. "It's called being an idiot. I don't know who you two are, but you're pretty much in the same boat as all of us being the last of our kind, and all." Sila hummed in agreement. "Look around you, these are the last dragons on earth." Forte interjected, "I'm not a dragon!"

Rolling her eyes, Terra demanded, "And what's so bad about being a dragon, anyways? Why'd you have to want more power?" And then there was a whooshing sound. It was most of their friendship points swirling down the drain. There was silence, and Terra realized she had gone too far when December started crying. "Some of us... didn't have a choice!" She hissed angrily. Noire patted her back softly. "I can't expect someone like yo to understand."

Skylark, feeling the sudden tension in the air, decided to try and dispell it. "What do you mean? Isn't there always a choice?" He asked, ignoring the talk about a game. Noire looked at him strangely, but she too wanted to hear December's answer. "Yeah, there was. I saw my future as a dragon and found death. The storm dragons were being-" She was hushed by Noire, but hept her lips in a hard line.

Skylark, realizing that he wasn't meant to ask, felt guilty. "Ducky ducky goose?" Sila tried to ask without sounding condescending or mean. Still, she wasn't used to kids. She thought she would never see a baby dragon again, but she did, and he was half hydra... Then, surprising most people, Forte chuckled. "Alright, I'll play Simon says. I got nothing better to do than to lounge around and overheat in my armor. Closing his eyes, the Hydra's armor disappeared, though a new runic pattern was etched on his arms and legs. "I wanna play too!" Skylark, a more appropriate candidate, agreed.

Noire pouted. No way was she going to play some kiddy game! "Do you guys know how to play truth or dare?" Sila scoffed. "Are you quite serious?" December, having calmed down, smiled. "I'll play with you." Noire grinned. "Alright, though, but no being a coward. You can't pick anything hut dare." Terra rolled her eyes. "Then isn't it just dare?" December shrugged.