[I]You know... I think I loved you since before I was even born.[/] "Calm down, Beelzebub. You're way too paranoid all the time." The armored hydra chastised, though he was unsure of himself. And he had never been a really convincing liar. "Plus, why do we even have December? So she can tell us the future and we can change it." Then again, today they had tried changing the future for themselves, and look how that turned out... As the pounding resounded through the castle, Forte's eyes narrowed suspiciously. What caused that? Tail swishing as he turned, that too was class in metal plates. He bit into the plate Bel had handed to him. Nothing special. The armor he was wearing now trumped it. Shrugging, he tucked it into a space between two plates on his abdomen before tucking Edge's forgotten stuffed toy into his armor as well. Every fiber in the Hydra's being was urging him not to go. However, it would be humiliating if something did occur and he had done nothing, like a coward. But still... "Even if I'm the only one, I believe you. We'd never turn on each other." Forte reassured before picking up another sword from the ground and rushing down the stairs, careful not to step on anyone's belongings. Small, trivial things that didn't matter to begin with, they were even more so obsolete with no one around to appreciate them. --- Noire, Charon, and December backed away along with Blizzard and Leo, though didn't go as far as he stairs. And then the heavy basement doors opened. It was unorthodox, and many would agree, stupid to have a door leading to the outside. Sometimes they would use it to have a little time to themselves, when there were still wonders t find on the earth. As for most of the Hydra, they stopped wasting braincells wondering what drove Edge to do most things, anyways. The three shared a wordless glance. There was no time to speak. Throughout the years, the door in the basement floor had always been used to let in the light. It would shine on the black obsidian like walls and floor and nearly blind them with radiance. Oh, Noire would give anything to see that again. But now the door only let in darkness and foul stenches of long decayed corpses and dust. Now, it let in a wound dragon and a light dragon, and a whole armada of heavily armored humans. Skylark cried out as Leo held him tightly as the incoming forces charged them. Millions of strange creatures that created a moving sea of shouts and bodies. The dragons and hydra were packed so tightly and his face was being pressed against Leo's torso. He felt his brother's fingers in his own and knew everything would be alright. It had to be, though the screams of three Hydra was enough to freak him out. Fighting the hand that held his head, he wanted more than anything to witness the commotion. Lips pressing into a straight line, Skylark was able to told his head enough to get a good view of the room. He nearly flinched back in fear, as the odd creatures attacked his friends, and even carried the pink and cyan dragons away. His head once again was pressed against the much older hydra and he screamed in fear. But then out of curiosity, fought with all his might to move his head just enough to see with a single eye. And he caught a glimpse of white hair and porcelain skin. "Father!" He screamed aloud, trying to struggle out the safety of Leo's arms. "What the hell?!" Noire screeched before evaporating into a nearly transparent mist, her usual means of escape. However, she had overlooked one detail- Regnum. The fire dragon not only doomed himself, but by breathing flames that not only burned a small percentage of their army of attackers, but also heated the air to a point where it was unsafe for mist to form. With a scream, Noire materialized and her pale skin was red-tinged with a light burn. Charon and December quickly helped her up, though December was busy trying to conduct electricity through the obsidian, to no avail. Damn! If only this castle was catered to her as well. Charon was useless in close combat and with her new burns, Noire couldn't afford to fire any scales. Not like it would do any good, anyways. They needed a storm dragon... If only she could create lighting. Terra, meanwhile, was constantly tapping her foot and creating quakes, trying to keep the humans away. But the pact... by a vow of her ancestor's blood, killing a human was forbidden. But let herself succumb to a grisly fate? What was worse? Even a child would know better. But as Regnum broke the pact first, she stopped. Every muscle in her body tensed and she messed up. She didn't even feel the sharp restraints digging into her skin, only the cold emptiness of betrayal and disappointment. December quickly switched into her bigger form, slender shining like a rough pearl. She had four wings, a mark of her monarchy. Once upon a time, they had been envied by all dragons on earth. Today, they we're extra places for the humans to shoot at. Realizing this, she pulled her wings closer to her body, like a cocoon. And she roared as the humans shot at her. Her vitals were covered, and she hid Charon and Noire under her. She couldn't see anything, present for future.