It's Control (fanon story)

Welcome to my story! Um, so there is blood just to warn you. I hope you enjoy! 
Also, if you would like to see your character just enter it somewhere...... if you don't end up seeing them, that's because I couldn't find a place to put them in the story.
Don't plan on adding anymore to this
== Prologue ==
It was time for the dragonet to be released from it’s prison. It was a day to be remembered. But the dragonet would never remember. Only it would remind them. 
It controlled and watched as they squirmed inside their tight prison. They needed to be free. They wanted to be free. Their talons pressed against the shell and pushed, hearing a small crack. Dim light shone through the crack, drawing them to it. They pushed outwards with all limbs, needing the freedom that her prison kept her in. With a final crack, they rolled out of their cell into a big room. It looked just like her old prison. 
They were reminded of freedom by it so they walked towards the light. They followed it to an opening that led to a big blue area. It was freedom.
Go, it told them.
They crawled out and sank to the bottom. The sand was squishy and soft on their talons. They started to crawl towards the free open space. They could see others like them staying near the prison. 
Dreadful, it said. Move along.
They continued to move on from the prison. They wouldn’t be trapped by walls like the others. The other sad creatures stuck there not knowing which direction to take. 
It could feel alarm coming from the cell, hurrying the dragonet along. The dragonet ran as fast as they could through the water. It wouldn’t work.
Swim, it told them. Swim.
They held out their talons, seeing the webs between each claw. They spread the wings on their back and swam up. They swam towards the light, that’s where they were drawn. 
Away, it ordered. Quick.
They wanted the light. But they obeyed. They swam fast away from the prison. It reminded them of what they left behind. Of the freedom that awaited them. They didn’t understand, but it would remind her forever. 
They thought they were safe when more creatures came in their direction. They were scared.
Duck.
As soon as the creatures arrived, they ducked. The creatures knocked into each other and they giggled. They swam away as fast as they could. As they swam, a different kind of creature came towards them. These ones didn’t stop. These ones were blood-thirsty. They could feel it, knowing to let it take control. 
As their mind was taken, it kept them safe. It blasted the new creatures, scaring them off. It returned the controls back to them. They were grateful.
As they were going to swim away, they were snatched up by a creature's talons. They struggled to be free. They needed freedom and the light. They looked up and reached for the light that shone through the water. 
They looked back at their capture who was smiling. They were confused, but felt a connection. It told her no. They obeyed. It told them to play along for now.
They would never remember this, but it… would always remind her. 
'''
== Chapter ==
Atoll wandered through the palace halls looking for something to do. She skipped school again. Waterfunnel was the most boring teacher ever. He was so serious all the time. He was also a big tattletale. He’d always tell Her Majesty how she was sneaking off.
Well maybe he should keep track of his students better, she thought. 
Dragons greeted her as she swam through. No one cared that she skipped class anymore. They told on her at first, but after a while, they got used to seeing her around when she was supposed to be in school. 
‘Hi,’ Conger flashed at her. 
She liked Conger, he was like a big brother to her. He reminded her of her father. Conger had seaweed green scales with dark green eyes. He was normally always smiling even though he was a general.
‘Hi,’ She flashed back with a smile. 
‘Come on,’ he beckoned her with his tail. ‘Let’s go see Mollusk.’
They swam towards the palace kitchens hoping not to be seen by any other council members. As they arrived at the kitchens, they hid behind a counter giggling. They heard two taps above their head looking up to see Mollusks holding a platter over the edge of the counter. She wasn’t looking at them, trying not to make it obvious that they were there. 
Conger reached for the platter and pulled it down. They giggled before swimming out the door. 
‘Thanks,’ Conger flashed as they were leaving. 
‘Welcome,’ Mollusk flashed back. ‘Now go.’
As Conger caught up to Atoll, she gave him a cheeky smile. 
‘What,’ he asked.
‘Conger and Mollusk flying in the sky,’ she said.
‘Three moons,’ he rolled his eyes.
‘K-I-S-S-I-N-G,’ she teased. 
‘Shut up,’ he grabbed her by the neck and gave her a noogie.
‘No! I will not be defeated!’ she tried reaching for his horns but they were out of her reach. 
‘The food!’ he let go of her and snatched up the food before it floated away. ‘How about we eat this thing before it gets any more ideas.’ Conger glared at it playfully. 
Atoll smiled at him before they swam off to their favorite hiding spot. It was a cave near the bottom of the palace. They swam inside lighting up their scales dimly so they could see. Seawings were able to see in the dark but it helped to have a little light. 
‘Alright,’ Conger said, placing down the platter. ‘Do you want the salmon or the caviar?’ He turned the platter so the caviar was closest to Atoll. 
‘You know how much I hate caviar,’ Atoll said smiling.
He chuckled a little making bubbles come from his mouth. ‘Caviar it is then.’
Atoll tackled him as he picked up the salmon. ‘You will not eat my salmon!’ she declared.
‘Ah. Oh dear. The mighty Princess Atoll is going to defeat me. What should I do,’ Conger mocked. Atoll slapped him upside the head.
‘My salmon,’ she snatched the salmon out of his hand and chomped it down in a few bites. 
‘That wasn’t very princess-like,’ Conger said.
‘Well neither is my appetite,’ she said, picking up another salmon. 
‘Well you should learn to control it,’ he made a droopy face like Waterfunnel. ‘A princess never devours her food. I should have to tell Her Majesty about your reckless acts.’
Bubbles streamed from Atoll’s snout as she laughed at Conger’s impression. 
Atoll caught her breath. ‘So… tell me about you and Mollusk.’
‘What,’ he said. ‘No. Absolutely not.’ 
‘Come on, please?’ Atoll asked.
‘No.’
‘Come on just one little thing.’
Conger hesitated. ‘Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine. Alright so maybe I asked her out and maybe we're going  for a swim tomorrow night.’ Conger noticed the big grin that crossed Atoll’s face. ‘Hey now, don’t you get any ideas.’
‘I’m so happy! You finally had the guts to ask her!’ AAtoll said, clapping her talons together. ‘You can face a war but you can’t seem to ask a girl out.’ She punched him in the shoulder playfully.
‘Hey,’ he said, rubbing his shoulder. ‘It’s harder than it seems.’
Atoll giggled. Conger reminded her so much of her father. They used to be best friends before he died. After he did, Conger was given the position as council member incharge of War. At first he felt like he shouldn’t take that position, but he eventually came to accept. 
They saw flashing out of the corner of their eye to see her aunt, Mako. 
‘Well,well,well,’ she said with a smirk. ‘If it isn’t my bratty niece skipping school again. Her Majesty will be very disappointed.’
‘What do you want Mako,’ Atoll glared at her. 
‘Her Majesty has requested a Council Meeting that every council member will attend,’ Mako glared back at Atoll. 
Atoll knew that her aunt hated her for stealing her place in the council. And to be honest, Atoll was too fond of it either. Being in charge of Defense was hard sometimes. 
I know what you're thinking. “Why is a princess in charge of defense?” Atoll was five years old when she was training in a coral reef near the Underwater Palace. Her stupid aunt came over and started judging her technique. Atoll got tired of her judging her all the time so she challenged her to a dual. Her aunt was in charge of defense at that time so she thought she was easily going to win against a five year old.
‘You think you can beat me in a dual?’ she said getting in a battle position. 
‘Well according to the bite marks on your arm,’ Atoll gestured at her arm with her tail. ‘I’m pretty sure the only battle you’ve won is against a turtle.’ That earned her a growl.
‘You’ll take that back when I beat you,’ Mako flashed her scales.
Atoll smirked. Mako had enough and leaped at her. Atoll doged and scratched Mako’s side. Mako turned to scratch her back but Atoll slid under her, scratching her stomach.
She was drawing blood from her aunt, but her aunt didn’t seem to care. Her aunt tried to roar but it was almost impossible to hear underwater. Seawings from the Palace started to gather around and watch the battle. 
Mako was bleeding all over after a few minutes. Atoll was going to scratch her side again but Mako caught her and pinned her to the ground. She had her talons wrapped around the princess’s neck,blocking water from getting into her gills. 
She tried gasping for air but it wouldn’t do. Atoll realized that if her aunt was going to use her gills against her, then so could she. Atoll dug her claws into her aunt’s gills, causing her to fling back. Atoll used this as her advantage and jumped onto her aunt, pinning her down with her wings. She kept her claws deep in her gills, a lot letting go.
She heard a familiar underwater roar coming from the direction of the Summer Palace. She turned to see her mother swimming as fast as she could towards that battle. Atoll had never seen her more angry. 
‘What. Are. You. Doing.’ she flashed angrily.
‘Your squid-brained daughter thought it was a good idea to fight me,’ Mako flashed back.
‘Don’t you dare talk about my daughter that way,’ her anger was replaced by confusion as she realized that Atoll was winning the battle. ‘Atoll? How would you like to be in charge of Defenses from now on?’
“What!” Mako tried yelling. 
‘Obviously you shouldn’t be in charge if you can be beat by a dragonet, sister. So maybe it should be handed over to someone more capable.’ she flashed. 
‘I would be honored mother,’ Atoll gave her aunt a grimace smile. She leaped back before Mako could slash at her. 
Mako swam away angrily towards the Summer Palace. Everyone watched her go before turning back to Atoll. ‘You are to take Mako’s spot at the Council meeting today, Atoll.’ Her mother said with a smile.
‘So I’m not in trouble?’ Atoll asked with hope. 
‘Oh no. You've been grounded for a really long time,’ Atoll’s smile went away. But at least she finally got a chance to show her aunt who’s boss.
‘Fine,’ Atoll flashed brightly, annoying her aunt even more. 
They followed her to the Summer Palace. Her mother liked holding Council Meetings there, but they were normally in the Underwater Palace.
It didn’t take them long to get there as soon as they got into a current. They swam through the yellow kelp that marked the entrance. As they were going through the tunnel, Atoll noticed that Mako was going 	rather slow. Probably just to annoy her.
As soon as they got out of the tunnel, Atoll shot out of the water and onto the council level of the pavilion. Most of the pools were already filled with council members. As Atoll slid into her pool next to her mother’s, the Queen and Waterfunnel arrived. 
“I hear news that you skipped class again,” the Queen said as she slid into her pool. 
“Ya,” Atoll said with confidence.
“It’s not acceptable Atoll. I’ll start taking away your privileges,” she said.
“Like what?” Atoll challenged.
“Like being able to talk to him,” she gestured towards Conger.
“You can’t make me stop talking to him. He’s all I have left of dad,” Atoll said. She didn’t want to lose connection with Conger.
“Oh yes I can,” the queen said.
“And how are you going to do that?” Atoll glared at her mother. 
“I have my ways,” she looked away from Atoll, ending the conversation. 
The queen cleared her throat and everyone went silent. “Conger, report.”
“Oh okay. I have some concerns about our friend Shoal over here,” he gestured towards a green Seawing sitting in Communications pool. “He’s been snoring extra loud lately keeping everyone up.” Everyone laughed including Shoal. 
“I expect an actual answer Conger,” the queen growled.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Nothings changed,” he gave a quick wink at Atoll. He knew annoying the Queen and cracking a joke every once-in-awhile brightened her mood. 
“Shoul, report.”
“Queen Dandelion requests an audience with Her Majesty about our alliance,” Shoul reported.
“Tell her I would be happy to accept. I will be seeing her in a few days,” Shoul nodded. “Waterfunnel, report.”
“Same as always Your Majesty,” Waterfunnel said. “The school is going smoothly except for a certain someone.”
“I think Waterfunnel finally found love,” Atoll joked and everyone laughed.
“This isn’t funny Princess,” he said. “Your grades are failing dramatically.”
“Everyone take cover! Waterfunnel speech incoming!” Everyone laughed harder than last time.
“Princess. You need to listen to me. You need to start attending class or you won't be able to learn anything,” Waterfunnel was getting impatient.
“I won’t be able to learn anything anyway with your boring voice,” Atoll enjoyed making everyone laugh.
“Your Majesty. This isn’t a joking matter-”
“Snooooore, Oh!- is he done? Nevermind. Wake me up when he’s retired,” everyone was cracking up. Atoll couldn’t help but join in the laughter.
“Enough!” the Queen shouted. “I’ve had enough of your games.You have no right to make fun of Waterfunnel.”
“No but I have a left,” everyone chuckled but it was cut off by the Queen’s glare.
“Tomorrow is the Talons of Power test,” the Queen said, turning back to Atoll.
“No, anything but that. It’s so boring and a waste of everyone’s time,” Atoll complained.
“You will attend the ceremony. It’s time you finally took the test,” The queen wasn’t asking. “Council dismissed.” Everyone got out of their pools and started to fly away. Atoll got out of her’s and started walking towards Conger. “No. You can’t talk to him.”
“Like you can make me,” Atoll ignored her mother’s glare.
“Go job kiddo,” he said to her as she walked up to him. “I don’t think I could have done any better.”
“Pfft. You're like the comedian of the entire kingdom,” Atoll said.
“Yeah, but you’re catching up,” he punched her on the shoulder lightly. “So… you have to do the Talons of Peace test tomorrow.”
“She couldn’t have thought of anything more boring. Well maybe a speech from Waterfunnel,” she got a glare from Waterfunnel who was still there for some reason. “Shouldn’t you be filling your student’s brains with barnacles?” He huffed at her before diving off the edge.
“You’ll be okay,” he said rubbing her head. “But just between me and you, I think it’s a waste of time, too,” he winked. “Well, I’ve got to go do general stuff,” he made a stern face, making Atoll smile.
“See you later,” she said.
“You too,” he dove off the edge of the pavilion onto another level.
“We’ve got some serious talking to do,” her mother said, coming up behind her. 
“Maybe after I go to my room and fall asleep,” Atoll didn’t want to argue with her mother so she quickly leaped off the edge of the pavilion and into the water. 
She swam through the tunnel out into the ocean. Something was nagging at her but she couldn’t put a claw on it. Like something she needed to remember. She decided to swim away from the Underwater Palace. She didn’t prefer it there for some reason.
She got in a current that headed west. She rode that until she came to a small island. She crawled onto the sand facing the setting sun. She loved the light. She wanted to be out in the world doing what she pleased.
She wanted freedom.
'''
== Chapter ==
Today was the day. The day to waste our time to test to see if some myth was true. 
Atoll walked over to her desk to grab some jewelry. She hated jewelry. But mother insisted that she wear it in public. Of course you couldn’t argue with the Queen of the Seawings. 
Slowly, Atoll draped sapphires over her head that the Skywings gave her. The Skywings and Seawings had a small war a few years back and the Skywings came to realize that it was their fault. So, they sent apology gifts to the royal family. Atoll adored the beautiful gems. They looked like tiny oceans trapped in a glass casing.
After she finished placing them neatly on, she grabbed her tiara and placed it on her head. The tiara was made of silver with pearls embedded in it. It was poky and uncomfortable. Atoll ignored it and swam out of her room. 
As she swam through the Underwater Palace, Seawings bowed and said, ‘Your Majesty’, in aquatic. Of course, being a some-what respectful dragon, she greeted each dragon. 
As she left the Palace, she sighed, leaving a trail of bubbles. It was exhausting smiling and waving all day. Being in charge of defense also didn’t help.  
After she made it to the island she slipped out of the water to see dragonets from the royal family lined up along the beach, along with the council members. 
“Princess Atoll has arrived,” announced one of the servants. Everyone got in a low bow except for her mother and brother. Everyone was younger than her. She had been putting it off for years. She didn’t want to do it knowing that she wasn’t an animus and it was a waste of time.
Atoll went to stand next to her mother. “I still think this is a waste of time,” she said in a low voice.
“I don’t care. Everyone has to attend including you,” the Queen said back.
“Your Majesty,” the announcer bowed and stepped back.
“As you all know, each year we do the Talons of Power test. When you are handed a coconut, you will tell it to float in the air then land back in your hand,” the queen flicked her tail and the one of the servants passed out coconuts to all the dragonets including Atoll. Bottlenose, her brother, didn’t get one because he took the test when he was supposed to. 
“Alright we’ll start with this side of the line and move that way,” the queen pointed to the left side and moved her talon right.
One by one, the dragonets tried to enchant their coconuts, only to be disappointed. 
“Alright your turn,” her mother told her.
“Ugh. Do I have to?” Atoll complained.
“Yes. You do,” her mother glared at her.
“Fine. I enchant this coconut to float in the air then land back in my hand. There. Happy now?” Atoll looked at her mother who had shock written all over her face. “What?” Atoll glanced at her coconut to see it was floating a few inches above her hand. Her jaw dropped.
“This whole time?” Bottlenose said. “If you would’ve just taken the test we would have found out sooner!”
Atoll hated her brother. He was always complaining and bossing people around. He was older than her so he acted like her could boss her around. Their mother had one egg that held Bottlenose. She wanted an heir so she had another a few years later that held Atoll. Her brother wasn’t very handsome either. He had a squished snout and dark slime green scales. 
“Everyone is dismissed,” the queen ordered everyone. Everyone slipped into the water except the council. The council moved in with amazement. 
Atoll didn’t like the council either, well most of them. They were all so obsessed with the queen and had this gross drippy vibe to them. Atoll thought that she was the only sane one in the council. She flinched every time one of them reached a talon towards her. They were murmuring to each other about Atoll. 
“Will you please back off,” Atoll said, throwing the coconut at Leatherback who is in charge of Hunting.
“Atoll that is completely unacceptable,” the Queen said.
“How would you like it if a bunch of dragons were poking at you?” Atoll argued.
“Hush,” she ordered.
“So we finally have an animus. What do we do with her?” Mackerel said who was in charge of Secrets & Spies.
“I say we use her to help the kingdom. Like help find valuables and find out secrets and-” Applesnail, who is in charge of Treasury, was cut off.
“You are not using me as some toy,” Atoll growled.
“I agree,” Waterfunnel said, who is in charge of Magic & Education. “We don’t want her losing her soul and creating another Seawing Massacre.” Everyone shivered at the thought.
“Your right Waterfunnel, we should use her wisely,” the Queen said.
“Mother! Nobody is using me for anything. This is my power, not yours,” Atoll snapped at the council. 
“I’m the queen,” her mother snapped back. “You will do as I say.”
“You can’t make me,” Atoll poked her mother with a claw.
“Oh yes I can,” she glared at her.
“Oh ya? How?” Atoll gave her the death stare.
“I can lock you in your room.”
“How are you gonna keep me in there?”
“I’ll place guards by the door.”
“What, you gonna have them kill me if I try to leave?” 
“Maybe I will.”
“Ladies,” Waterfunnel stepped in between the two. “There is no need to argue about it. How about we talk about it in the morning.”
Atoll and the queen glared at each other before going their separate ways. 
“I want guards at her room at all times,” Atoll heard her whisper to Conger who was in charge of War. “I don’t want my animus getting away.”
Atoll glared back at them. If you're expecting to be in my room then I’ll go somewhere else, she jumped into the water and swam towards the Summer Palace. She decided to visit one of the only people that understood her, her grandma Auklet. 
'''
== Chapter ==
Atoll swam through the yellow tendrils that marked the entrance to the Summer Palace. She hadn’t been there often so she hadn’t memorised her way through. She lit up her scales to see it was a small tunnel that turned not too far ahead. She swam through it, looking back to make sure no one was following her. 
She swam through the other side to come to a giant pavilion with twelve levels. It was beautiful. She swam down along the exit until she came upon a room with dolphin carvings on the around the entrance. Inside there was a bed made of woven seaweed in the middle of the floor. There was a coral desk in one corner along with a jewelry stand that looked like an octopus.
Auklet was resting on her bed with her eyes closed. Atoll knew that she wasn’t sleeping because she was breathing at a normal pace. Bubbles flowed from her gills as she breathed in and out. Auklet had to be the most beautiful Seawing she had ever seen and she liked talking to her.
‘It’s weird to watch someone while they’re sleeping,’ Auklet flashed. She opened her eyes and sat up with a smile.
‘Hi Auklet,’ Atoll swam over to her and sat down on her bed. 
‘What did my daughter do now?’ Auklet rolled her eyes at the thought of her daughter. She got the habit of rolling her eyes from her sister Anemone, who died in a challenge against Atoll’s mother. Atoll wasn’t alive when it happened but she was told that the only reason Anemone lost was because she agreed to not use her animus powers in the battle. 
Atoll looked Auklet in the eyes, ‘Can we talk somewhere else?’
*************************************************************************************************************
'''
Auklet looked calm at the fact that there was a shell floating above Atoll’s talon. The shell slowly floated back down and Atoll tossed it aside. “Yeah, so now my mother wants to use me and the council agrees.”
Auklet let out a long sigh. “It’s just like her to try that. She thinks she can get whatever she wants because she's royalty.” She walked across the sand of the island they were on. She put her talons on Atoll’s shoulders. She looked surprisingly young for being almost 38 years old. “I know she’s your mother and she’s the queen but.. Don’t let her use your powers for her own good. She’ll use them for the tribe’s purpose first but then she’ll use them for her own benefits. Don’t let her control you.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Atoll smiled at her and gave her a hug. They stood there a while letting the sun soak into their scales as it sunk down into the ocean.
“Let’s go back,” Auklet said. 
“Can I sleep with you? Mother is going to put guards by my door,” Atoll said innocently.
“Of course my little pearl,” Auklet nuzzled her nose against Atoll’s. “How about we grab a bite on our way back.”
“Octopus?” Atoll asked.
“Sure,” Auklet smiled.
Atoll hopped over to the water and dove in. She searched around a reef for an octopus. She eventually spotted one, it’s head bobbing up and down as it tries not to get dragged away by the current. She snapped it up, swallowing it in a few bites. 
She looked over her shoulder to see Auklet trying to get one out of its burrow. Atoll swam over and slammed her tail down on the roof of the hole, causing it to retreat out the other side. Auklet swam over and snatched it up. She smiled at Atoll before entering a current that would drag her towards the Summer Palace. 
Remember.
Who said that? Atoll spun in circles looking for anyone around. 
Remember.
‘You okay?’ Auklet asked swimming back. 
‘Ya,’ Atoll blinked it away. ‘Just got distracted.’
Auklet gave her a confused look but continued on the current. It didn’t take them long to get to the Summer Palace.
Remember.
Stop it, she mentally growled.
Atoll followed Auklet through the tunnel and into her den. She brought out the other seaweed bed she kept under her desk. Atoll curled onto the bed.
‘Good-night,’ Auklet flashed. 
‘Good-night,’ Atoll flashed back. She slowly drifted off to sleep.
Remember.
'''
== Chapter ==
Atoll flinched every time she heard a clicking noise. ‘Will you please stop with the noise!’ she flashed brightly. She was face to face with one of the guards of the Seawing Royal guard. Atoll looked down at her talons to see they were cuffed together. ‘What is the meaning of this?’
‘You are under my custody, Atoll. And when I tell you to stay in your room, I expect you to be there,’ the Queen flashed. 
‘What are the cuffs for?’ Atoll flashed angrily. Her gills flared while she flashed her scales all over her body in a pattern.
‘So i can make sure you don’t get away again, her mother flashed, chin high.
‘Well, that was pretty useless,’ Atoll held up her talons to show she unlocked them.
Her mother growled. ‘You enchanted it.’
‘Didn’t need to,’ she gave her mother a smug smile. The queen turned and glared at Conger who was right next to her. He shrugged innocently then winked at Atoll.
‘You will come with me,’ she flashed angrily.
Control.
‘Shut up,’ she flashed out loud. 
‘What?’ the queen asked confused and angry at the same time. 
‘Nothing.’
Control.
Atoll’s vision changed. She was in the middle of the ocean, except everything looked like she was looking through a red lens. She saw a light in her view being drawn to it. She reached for it when her vision went back to looking at her mother. She looked very confused as to why Atoll was reaching towards. Atoll pulled her talon in looking at everyone embarrassed. She swam past her mother as fast as she could, grasping her arm.
She swam through the exit tunnel. She slammed herself against the wall outside the tunnel.
I’m tired of this. Who are you and what was that? She thought aggressively to herself. 
Control. Remember.
Yes. You’ve said that fifty times before, Atoll was tired of hearing it repeat itself.
Kill.
Atoll froze. Kill? What did it mean by that? She heard someone coming out of the tunnel and went to see who it was. Conger swam out and stopped just in time before he ran into her.
‘Hey,’ he said rubbing his head nervously.
‘Hey.’
‘Um.. what was that back there?’ he asked.
‘To be honest, I don't know,’ Atoll was confused herself. And scared. 
‘Oh…’ he sat there awkwardly. 
‘I’m just stressed or something like that,’ she said trying not to make him feel uncomfortable. ‘It’s probably Waterfunnel’s fault.’
He smiled at her. ‘Alright, kiddo,’ He rubbed her on the head. ‘Just to remind you, you need to send a patrol out to scout the borders.’
‘Right,’ she said. ‘On it.’ She flew out the water not wanting to go back through the entrance tunnel. She flew up the sides of the cliff towards the hole in the roof. She floated above the hole before letting herself fall to the bottom. As she was at the level above the guards pavilion, she spread her wings to catch herself. 
She landed with a light thud. “Reef! Pygmy! You’re on west patrol!”
“Yes mame,” the saluted then dove off the side. 
“Caribbean and Squid, you have South patrol. Fin and Bubble have North,” she ordered the Seawings.
“Yes ma'am,” four Seawings jumped off the platform.
“Kelp, I’m going to need  yesterday's patrol report in an hour. Stonefish choose ten soldiers to trade places with the guards guarding the Underwater Palace. Humpback, choose two soldiers to switch places with the guards here,” everyone said yes mame before going about their business. She walked over to one of the tables and started going over some charts of the recent patrols. 
“Your Majesty,” a dark green-blue Seawing said in a low bow.
“Yes, commander Chromis?” she said, not taking her eyes off the charts. 
“You need to stop being so reckless,” he said, giving a friendly smile. “You scare dragons when you do stuff like that.”
Chromis and Atoll were good friends, that’s why she didn’t mind him telling her stuff like this. “It doesn’t matter. They should know by now that I can take care of myself.”
“Yes, but you shouldn’t worry dragons,” he said.
“I know, but I want to have fun every once in a while,” she said smiling at him.
He shook his head. “As you wish, Your Majesty.” He started walking away before he put in, “Oh, and don’t forget to prepare for the arrival of the Skywings tomorrow.” 
“The Skywings! I totally forgot about them,” she grabbed her helmet off it’s stand and ran towards the edge of the platform. “Stingray, Baleen. Come with me.”
She leaped off the edge and dove into the water. She swam through the tunnel. She swam towards the Underwater Palace and on her way there, she ran into the exchanged soldiers. 
‘I know you guys just came back from the Underwater Palace, but i need you to go back and gather all the guards except two and tell them to meet me at the Summer Palace.’ A couple nodded and headed back to the Underwater Palace. ‘The rest of you, I need you to go get the patrols. Take the same route they do. You catch them that way.’ Everyone departed except her two guards. ‘You two. I know it’s a sucky job but I need you to collect food that the Skywing would like and take them to the kitchens. It would help the cooks out a lot.’ They nodded understanding and swam off. 
She swam back towards the Summer Palace, waiting for everyone to return back. 
Control?
What? Atoll was confused. It never asked before.
You. Control?
Um, yes, she answered the voice in her head.
Control.
The world was red around her again. Her mind was being replaced by something. It took control.
== Chapter ==
Atoll gasped for air as she broke the surface of the water. She crawled onto the sand coughing. 
“What in three moons was that!?” she coughed up water, collapsing onto the sand. She looked up at the sun that was half way in the sky. She reached towards it making the world red again. She quickly pulled her arm back towards her and shivered. 
What was going on? She stared at the sun, making her eyes water. She looked away. She slowly got back up and crawled into the water. She took a deep breath before heading towards the summer Palace. She swam slower than usual, she didn’t want to make her headache worse. 
She swam through the tunnel and out the other side. She flew up to the soldier platform seeing that everyone had already arrived. That stared at her in confusion. She was never normally late. 
“Princess? Are you okay?” Chromis asked.
“Yes I’m fine. It’s just a small headache,” she stepped in front of them and straightened out her wings.  She watched Conger come and stand next to her. “Alright. As most of you know, tomorrow, we are expecting Queen Dandelion to arrive to discuss our alliance. They will be present for a couple of days and I expect everyone to be on their best behavior.” She stepped back letting Conger take it from there.
“Alright. We don’t want to have to go through the trouble of assigning you guys to your post so we’re doing it now. I need fifteen of you to volunteer to guard the Palaces the first day,” a handful of the Seawing soldiers raised their talons. “Okay. Tide, write down the names of those who volunteered. Okay and how about the second day?” A few raised their talons. “Now I’ll need a group of you to volunteer to do patrolling. If you want to sign up for that just go to Tide and tell him which post you want to be at. First come first serve.” Conger chuckled as some of the Seawings leaped over each other trying to get to Tide before anyone else did. “The ones who didn’t volunteer, you get the boring job of being the welcome guard. When the Queen arrives, I expect you guys to treat her with respect. We’re trying to build an alliance not break one. You will stand next to her soldiers like they are one of us. All of you are dismissed.”
Everyone broke apart returning to their posts. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, turning to her. She jumped in surprise. She was so focused on stuff on her mind that she hadn’t realized they were done. “You haven’t been yourself since the Talons of Power test. Have you been using your magic?”
“What? No, I haven’t been using my power. I’m just stressed and tired,” she rubbed her temples.
He put his talon on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “I know you Atoll. What’s up?”
Atoll knew she couldn’t lie to him. But something told her she shouldn’t burden him with her problems. “I’m fine. I just have a headache.” She walked past him towards the edge of the platform. 
Control.
Will you shut up about the control thing? I’m tired of hearing that all the time. It gets super annoying after awi-, Atoll fell off the edge of the platform. She caught herself before she hit the water. 
“Are you okay?” she heard Conger shout from the pavilion.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” she settled herself onto the water. She needed to relax herself. Find something to take her mind off things. 
She let herself sink to the bottom of the lake. She buried her talons in the sand, cooling her claws. Seaweed flicked her in the face as it swayed back and forth. She let herself sink further into the sand, ignoring everything else around her.
‘What are you a Mudwing?’ Bottlenose flashed at her.
‘Go away,’ she told him.
‘You can’t tell me what to do,’ he said, putting his talons on his hips.
‘To bad. I did it anyway,’ she said.
He huffed, making a burst of bubbles before swimming away. She ignored him and tried to relax. 
Control.
Shut up, she tried clearing her mind. She thought about the sun beating down on her scales, warming her after a long swim. 
‘There you are,’ her mother said. ‘I’ve finally found my animus.’
Atoll saw her brother swimming next to her with a smile on his face. She wished she could rip it off.
Kill.
No, she said. We don’t kill.
We.
‘What do you plan on doing with me?’ she asked her mother.
‘I wish i could have you do something more useful, but i need you to help prepare for tomorrow,’ she said with a sigh.  
‘Like what?’ Atoll asked.
‘Just make sure everything goes smoothly,’ she said before swimming off.
Atoll got up and swam out of the water. She crawled onto the beach along the side of the lake. She looked up at the pavilion. It cast a long shadow as the sun sank behind the cliffs. She flew up to the kitchen level where she saw Mollusk ordering everyone around while cooking. 
“Hey Mollusk,’ Atoll said after landing. “Sorry to disturb you. Mother asked me to make sure everything was going okay.”
“Everything is going fine,” Mollusk said, mixing something. “If Jaw would get his snout out of the clouds and start cooking!” She shouted at a plump green Seawing who quickly hoped to work.
“So,” Atoll said, sliding her arms onto the counter. “Where do you plan on going with Conger?”
Mollusk blushed. “He told you?” she stopped mixing for a second. “We didn’t really plan on going anywhere. We kind of were just going for a fly. Why does it matter to you anyway.” She tapped Atoll on the snout with her wisk, leaving a tan substance on her snout. She licked it off.
“That’s pretty good. What is it?’ Atoll asked. 
“You’ll find out tomorrow,” she put it down and started mixing something else.  “Now shoo. You're distracting me.”
“Alright. See you later Mollusk,” Atoll walked over to the side of the platform and jumped off. She came upon the feasting table. Silver platters were placed neatly along the table. A throne was placed next to the Queen’s, probably for Queen Dandelion. A small Seawing was making sure everything was in place and correct.
He looked up from his work when he heard Atoll arrive. “Your Majesty,” he said bowing. “Preparations are going as planned. I was thinking we should add something to make them feel more at home. But I can’t find a color that doesn’t clash well with blue.”
Atoll thought for a second. “Maybe you could do yellow and green. So the colors kind of move into each other.”
“You’re absolutely right, Your Majesty. I don’t know why I didn’t think,” he wrote that down on the tablet he had in hand. “I’ll get some green and yellow flowers right away.”
He flew off the platform and up the cliffs. Atoll smiled at the little Seawing before moving on. She flew down to check on her soldiers, making sure they were prepared.
“Everything going well?” Atoll asked Chromis.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I think they get the basic idea of it,” he said with a smile. 
“Please don’t call me ‘Your Majesty’. It’s weird,” she told him.
“Of course Atoll,” he smiled at her before returning to the guards. 
Atoll decided that her work was done and decided to get some sleep. It was early, but she didn’t feel like dealing with anyone. She flew up to her cave and slipped inside. When she was getting a cave, she chose the highest one that faced the sun. She wanted to be able to wake up in the morning with the sun on her scales.
It was dark right now, but she could still see everything. The pool of water at the bottom of the cave allowed her to sleep in the water. She settled herself down and quickly fell asleep. 
'''
== Chapter ==
It took a deep breath. It was back. It looked around seeing that it was dark. The redness of the world helped it see better though. It walked over to the edge of the cave, looking down to see the silent area. It could see the souls of the dragons sleeping in the caves. This wouldn’t do.
It jumped down off the ledge, into the water with a smack. It hurt the body, but it healed it.  It swam away from the cliff place towards the prison. It got there in no time, seeing more souls stuck in this horrid place. 
It smiled gleefully. It swam inside the prison walls looking for a trapped soul. It came upon a small room. A lonely soul lurked around inside. It opened the door to see a young dragon writing at a desk.
‘Your Majesty, what are you doing here?’ the dragon asked.
It twitched. It didn't understand. It walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a knife. 
‘Your Majesty? What are you doing?’ It turned towards the dragon, knife in hand. ‘No.’ The dragon stumbled back. ‘No please! Stay away! Ple-’ they were cut off. Literally.
'''
--Atoll--
'''
Atoll woke up with a yawn. The sun was shining down on her face, warming her up. She got up and stretched before walking over to her dresser. She draped the sapphires that she took off yesterday on her neck. She made sure everything was placed neatly on her before fling outside. 
She flew down to the council level, knowing her mother would probably be there. She landed softly behind her, hoping she would notice.
“We’re still investigating the area. So far no one has any idea how it happened,” Conger said. 
“How what happened?” she stepped next to her mother. 
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with right now,” her mother cut Conger off from answering. “Make sure Queen Dandelion doesn’t find out about this. We don’t want to scare her off.” She whispered before Conger flew away. “Are you ready? The Queen should be here soon.”
“Yes mother,” Atoll said. “Quick question, do you want me to keep my animus powers a secret from the Skywings?”
“I don’t see why. They should probably know. They are our allies after all,” she took off and flew up to the top level, followed by Atoll. 
They touched down on the level and walked over to the two thrones in the middle of the platform. They sat down and waited for the Skywings to arrive. It wasn’t long before they had arrived. 
It was obvious who Queen Dandelion was. She was a bright orange color with jewels from horns to tail. She landed Majestically down on the Platform, followed by her son and two daughters. 
“Queen Dandelion,” the Queen greeted.
“Queen Angelfish,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“As you,” she said. “This is my daughter Princess Atoll. And this is my son Prince Bottlenose.” Atoll didn’t realize Bottlenose was standing next to her. “She’s an animus.”
“Is she now?” Dandelion said, her eyes turning to slits.
Atoll looked at Dandelion’s children. Her son looked at her and winked, giving her a toothy smile. 
Ew, she thought.
Kill?
No. Stop it with the killing, she told it.
“Bottlenose,” she whispered to her brother. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“What do i get in return?” he whispered back. 
“Nothing. Now listen,” Bottlenose glared at her. “I need you to befriend that prince.”
“And why would I do that?” he asked.
“Because he winked at me. I think he thinks more of me than should be thought,” Atoll shivered.
“Oh. Then I guess I’ll leave you uncomfortable,” Bottlenose said.
“Please?” Atoll asked.
“Fine,” he said. “Only if you get me one of those special octopus salads Mollusk makes.”
“Deal,” she said.
“This is my son, Wildfire,” Dandelion gestured towards the Skywing that winked at her. “And these are my daughters, Blackpoll and Wren.” The two daughters flicked their tails back and forth, not looking at the Seawings.
“It’s so nice to meet all of you,” Angelfish said. “If you follow me, we will have food prepared for you.”
“We brought some of our chefs to help with the cooking,” Dandelion offered.
“Thank you Dandelion. I’m sure Mollusk would appreciate the help,” with a flick of her tail, four of the Skywings flew down to the kitchen.
Queen Angelfish led them down to the feasting hall where everyone sat down and waited for the meal. The Skywing guards stood in between the Seawing guards. At least they tried to, there were too many Seawing guards.
“I’m so glad we came to an agreement after the war,” Angelfish said, smiling. 
“Agreed,” Dandelion said. 
Atoll was placed next to her mother, with Bottlenose on her other side.
“So,” Angelfish continued. “How is the treaty working for you?”
“It’s going well,” she answered. “The only problem is I can’t get through the Mud Kingdom without running into hostile Mudwings. I know there’s nothing you could do about it, but some of the treaty is useless because of it.”
“Well I’m sure we can find a way to compromise or find a way around this problem,” Angelfish said. 
Waiters started to fly down from the kitchen, talons full of food and treats. They placed them on the table in the reach of everyone there. Out of strange coincidence, the caviar was placed right in front of Atoll. She saw Conger giggle so she glared at him and he winked at her.
Everyone waited for the queen to give the okay to eat. “You may eat,” she said.
The waiters started to serve everyone. The waiter next to Atoll was about to serve her caviar when she said, “Actually I’d like to try something the Skywings made.”
Everyone looked at her confused. “Why?” her mother asked.
“I’m interested in their culture. I want to know what they prefer to eat,” Atoll said. True she was interested in other tribe’s culture but she wasn’t too keen on eating cooked fish.
“Okay. Um, waiter,” Angelfish gestured towards one of the waiters. He picked up one of the cooked fish and placed it on Atoll’s plate. She looked at it for a bit before taking a bite. It actually wasn’t too bad.
“It’s a little smoky, but I like it,” Atoll said, taking another bite. The water put a normal fish on her plate next to the cooked one. After she finished the first fish, she moved onto the next one. 
“I like your daughter Angelish,” Dandelion said. “Not only interested in herself or dragons like her. She’s willing to spread her knowledge of other tribes.”
“Yes indeed,” Angelfish looked at Atoll curiously.
“Now, about the treaty,” Dandelion said.
“Oh yes, the treaty,” Angelfish said. “I was thinking-”
Atoll got a terrible headache all of the sudden. She pushed her talon against her head trying to make it go away.
“Is there a problem?” her mother asked.
“No. It’s nothing,” Atoll said. 
“Alright then,” Angelfish said. “Anyways-”
As her headache worsened, Atoll’s chest started to burn like it was on fire. Her stomach hurt as well. She groaned resting her head on her talons. 
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Angelfish asked.
“Yes I’m fine,” the stabbing pain in her stomach only got worse. Her vision doubled with clenched teeth.
'''
Control?
Not now, she told the voice. 
She heard her mother continue to talk to Dandelion. She thought it couldn’t get any worse, it suddenly felt like someone slashed a knife through her lungs causing her to cough up blood. Everyone looked at Atoll in surprise. “I’m fine,” she said, before passing out. 
'''
== Chapter ==
“Atoll!” Angelfish leaped at her daughter. She picked her up off the ground, holding her in her arms. “Get a medic!” She shouted at one of the guards. 
Conger ran over to Atoll checking her pulse. “She’s still alive. But she needs immediate help.” He leaned over to smell her breath. “She’s been poisoned.”
“Guards!” Angelfish said. “Arrest these traitors,” she pointed at the Skywings.
“Us!” Dandelion exclaimed. The Seawings outnumbered the Skywings three to one. They raised their spears, pointing them at theSkywings.
“You had access to our kitchens. She ate your food that you cooked, it was obviously you,” Angelfish accused.
“Why would we poison a princess?” Dandelion challenged. 
“Because the treaty wasn’t working for you. Why else?” the medics arrived and examined Atoll. 
“She’s been poisoned, Your Majesty,” one of them said. 
“By what?” she asked.
“We don’t know. We’ll have to get a sample of it to find out,” he said.
“I want all the food searched for poison,” she told Conger. Atoll coughed in Angelfish’s arms, blood spurting out of her mouth. 
“We need to get her to the medical center as soon as possible,” the healers picked Atoll up and carried her up a few levels to the medical center. 
Angelfish stood up and glared at the Skywings. “You will be executed first thing tomorrow,” she growled.
“What!” Dandelion shouted. “This will cause chaos in the Sky Kingdom. You’ll start another war!”
“I don’t care about your stupid Sky Kingdom. You tried to kill my daughter,” Angelfish stomped away. She flew up a few levels until she came upon the medical center. The doctors were giving Atoll medicine that she just threw back up. Atoll was shivering a lot. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.
--Atoll--
Atoll couldn’t focus. All she could think was pain. Her stomach jerked everytime the doctors gave her medicine. Blood dripped from her mouth until she coughed again, causing more to rush out of her lungs. Her nerves were shaking making her headache worse. Her entire body was tense making her shaking worse. Her breath shivered as she inhaled. She saw the blurry figure of what she thought was her mother standing above her.
“Atoll?” she said softly. “You need to enchant yourself to heal.”
Atoll was kind of angry that that was the only thing her mother could think of, but her thought process didn’t stay long. “I-,” Atoll coughed blood on the Queens talons. 
“Your Majesty,” one of the doctors said. “She can’t think about that now. She needs to rest.”
The queen nodded. “Don’t worry. The Skywings will be executed by tomorrow.”
Atoll’s eyes widened. “What? You can’t kill the Skywing queen.” she coughed slightly.
“Yes I can,” she growled. “She tried to kill my only animus.”
Atoll growled. “Is that all I am to you!” Atoll sat up and attempted to glare at her mother. “Am I just your weapon that you can use whenever you want? Am I just the toy you keep locked until you need me? I’m not your animus! I’m my own dragon!” Atoll coughed harder than ever before. Blood splattered across her talons. She shivered violently before falling back over.
“Your Majesty,” one of the doctors said somewhat impatiently. “Stressing her out will cause her blood rate to rise, causing the poison to travel faster through her body. Please leave.” The queen  got up and turned to leave.
“Control,” Atoll whispered.
“What?” the queen turned back confused.
“Control,” Atoll’s eyes were blank. She spoke with a nothing in her voice. 
The queen was scared for some reason. Atoll had never acted this way and It knew that. 
It smiled slightly. “Kill.”
Horror struck the queens face. She quickly turned and left the pavilion. It smiled before the body coughed again, returning to the back of the mind. Atoll blinked her eyes open.
What just happened? She thought. She probably just passed out again. She looked around to make sure the doctors weren’t looking at her. She slipped out of bed and started towards the edge of the pavilion.
“Your Majesty,” one of the doctors said in urgency, rushing towards her.
Atoll whipped round and grabbed the doctor by their neck. “Don't you dare stop me.” she said weakly and out of breath. They nodded before she let go. She slowly flew off the pavilion up to the prison. She gripped onto the bottom of the ledge the best she could and said, “It’s time to switch.” She heard the guards shuffle around before flying off the ledge. She clawed her way up the side, into the prison.
There was an eerie glow to the prison. She could see the prisons glow that held the Skywings. She crawled over to them. 
“Mother I don’t want to die,” she heard one of the princess say as she came up their cells.
“Your Majesty,” she coughed coming up to their cells. She saw a blurry figure turn around pass the water.
“Princess Atoll?” she said shocked. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you dieng?”
“Yes,” she said. “And so are you.” She pulled herself to the lever and started to tug. 
“Why are you freeing us?” the queen asked confused.
“Because you didn’t poison me,” Atoll answered weakly. “It doesn’t make sense. Why would you poison your own food? You had no way of knowing I was going to eat it. And you also only had access to the food you cooked so you couldn’t have poisoned any of the other food. It had to have been a Seawing that poisoned the food beforehand.” The chain made a clicking noise as it closed the waterfall. The Skywings leaped out one by one. Two of them went to unlock the other cells while the others headed for the exit. Atoll smiled before collapsing to the ground shivering. 
“Princess,” Dandelion held Atoll up. “We’ll get you back to the medical center,” she gestured for some of her guards to carry her.
“No,” Atoll said. “You need to get out.” Her vision doubled and the world started to spin. “Go…”  Her body loosened as the world turned black around. 
'''
--Dandelion--
'''
Dandelion felt like she leave the dragonet like she requested. But seeing her weak like this reminded her of her daughter and what it would feel like if they were in this state. She hesitated before saying, “General Vex. Take everyone back to the Sky Kingdom. I’m staying here until this dragonet gets better.”
“Your Majesty,” Vex argued. “I highly suggest against that. If you stay they’ll execute you immediately.”
“General,” she stared at him in the eye. “I’m staying here.”
The general hesitated before nodding. He directed the Skywings towards the exit and flew away. She heard shouting outside of the prison as they escaped. 
She picked up the dragonet and carried her to the exit. She watched Seawing soldiers fly after the escaped prisoners. As soon as they passed, she jumped off the edge of the ledge down along the pavilion. She landed on what she believed to be the medical level. The SEawing medics moved out of her way as she headed for the nearest bed. She placed the dragonet down, taking a step back. The medics cautiously moved past Dandelion and started to check on Atoll. She heard a thump behind her. She turned to see Queen Angelfish with hatred written all over every scale.
“I thought you’d gone with your friends,” she said, slithering up to Dandelion. 
“I was going to,” she said calmly. “But I decided that this dragonet needed help more than I did.”
“What did you do to her?” Angelfish hissed.
“I didn’t do anything. She set us free because she saw logic where you didn’t,”Dandelion said.
“Are you saying I’m stupid?” she threatened.
“Of course not. I’m just implying that you should listen to her more. She seems to know what she’s doing,” Dandelion turned away from Angelfish. The doctors moved away as she came closer to Atoll. She leaned over to examine the sleeping dragonet.
“Your Majesty,” one of the medics said to Angelfish. “We’ve identified the poison in her food.”
Well what is it?” she snapped.
“It’s box jellyfish poison. But it’s been modified in some way,” they reported. “We only found it on the raw fish.”
“So,” Angelfish said, “It couldn’t have been the Skywings.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the medic stepped back. 
“Dandelion,” Angelfish said. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have accused you.”
“It’s alright Angelfish,” Dandelion looked away from the dragonet. “I would have done the same thing.”
Angelfish smiled, ashamed. “Wait, I thought we haven’t found a cure for box jellyfish poison?”
“We haven’t, Your Majesty,” the medic said.
“So… she won't make it,” Angelfish wings drooped. The medics shook his head before stepping aside to let her see her daughter. She slumped down beside her daughter, holding her talon. 
“Remember,” they heard Atoll whisper quietly. “Remember.”
'''
== Chapter ==
Albatross saw his sister talking to the Skywing guests. He watched as she laughed and smiled. He hated her smile. That fake smile she used on everyone that no one saw through, but him. 
He slithered through the bushes, watching his family enjoy the party. His eyes landed on his grandson. The one that Lagoon always favored more than him. He was just the perfect animus to her. Albatross had had enough. He walked out of the bushes towards his sister.
“There’s my brother who’s always late,” Lagoon announced. “Fathom was here on time.” Albatross twitched at the mention of his name. “You should learn to be more like him. I might even replace him with you. I don’t technically need you now that he’s here. You’ll just be a legend soon. You’ll never compare to him.”
With a flash, Albatross made a knife slice across his sister’s throat. It sat in his talon, blood dripping from the blade. 
She choked on her blood. “But, I’m the Queen.” She collapsed dead, blood forming a small puddle around her body. Albatross gripped the blade. He liked the feeling of being able to take someone's life with just a thought. He liked to kill.
Atoll’s eyes shot open. She leaped at the Skywing queen, knocking her to the ground. She gripped her talons around her neck, hissing. The queen clawed at her talons trying to get her off. She kicked Atoll’s underbelly, causing her to fly over her head. She landed on her talons turning to hiss at the queen. Dandelion leaped at Atoll, trying to pin her down. But Atoll dodged out of the way, grabbing her arm to pull her off the pavilion. 
Atoll flew up with the queen in her grasp. It took Dandelion a while to get her balance. She gripped Atoll’s tail, pulling her down. Before the queen got a grasp on Atoll, she wrapped her wings around the queen, causing them to fall. Atoll hissed and clawed as they plunged towards the lake. 
“Princess,” Dandelion tried to say to Atoll. “Why are you doing this?”
“Kill,” Atoll answered. She had her talons gripped around the queen's throat again. Just as they were about to hit the water, Dandelion managed to free her wings and catch herself. Atoll straightened herself out and caught herself as well. She shot up the queen, claws outstretched. She dodged Atoll’s attack. Atoll kept flying, knowing that the queen would follow her. 
She flew out of the Summer Palace, out to the ocean. Her mind was a mix of thoughts. She heard the queen catch up to her. She turned suddenly, throwing the queen off. It didn’t take long for the queen to catch up and grip her back legs. Atoll hissed at the queen trying to shake her off. She turned around and scratched the queen's snout. The queen roared letting go of Atoll to hold her snout.
Atoll took this as an opportunity to strike. She dove under the queen, scratching her underside. She continued to dodge around the queen, scratching her on all sides. The queen finally caught her pulling her down. 
“You need to stop!” she shouted at Atoll. She only got a hiss in response as she tried to break free. Atoll stretched her neck and bit down on the queen’s throat. The queen moved her talons up to Atoll jaws, giving her an opportunity to escape. She pushed on the queen’s chest, giving her a boost backwards. They both floated there for a moment glaring at each other before the both shot at each other. They scratched and bit each other, while flying in the sky. 
Atoll was pushed back by the queen. She was ready to strike again, when a sharp pain gripped her heart. Atoll gripped her chest, gasping. 
“Atoll?” the queen asked, concerned.
“I…” Atoll gasped. “Can’t breath.” Her mind was a blur. She blinked, trying to get the world to look normal again. The pain worsened in her chest. “I-” Atoll’s mind blanked as she fell towards the water.
'''
--Dandelion--
'''
Dandelion dove after the dragonet. Her wings were tight against her sides as she plunged after her. She wrapped her arms around the dragonet as they hit the water. Bubbles swirled around them as they sank. She spread her wings trying to swim up to the surface, but she didn’t know how to swim. 
As she tried to pull the Seawing back up to the surface, she heard a splash above her. She looked up to see it was a Seawing coming to help. He grabbed the queens arms and pulled her out of the water. 
Dandelion gasped for air as they made it to the surface. They flew up above the water, grasping the princess. Blood and salt water dripped from her mouth as her head hung back. 
“She’s not breathing,” Dandelion said. 
“We need to get her back to the palace,” the Seawing said. Dandelion nodded and followed him back to the Summer Palace. They got there pretty quick, landing on the top level. Dandelion placed her down letting the Seawing take care of her. He placed his talons on her chest, giving her CPR. “Come on,” he mumbled under his breath. 
Dandelion watched as this dragon tried his hardest to bring her back to life. She could tell that he had some sort of connection with the princess. 
“Come on,” he said a little louder this time. Tears started to fall down his cheeks. “You can’t die on me. Wake up now or I’ll feed you caviar.” Dandelion didn’t get it but it seemed to work. Atoll smiled weakly. 
“Do that and I’ll enchant you to turn into Waterfunnel’s number one fan,” the Seawing laughed before wrapping Atoll in a hug. Dandelion smiled at the two, happy that he didn’t lose someone he cared dearly about.
'''
== Chapter ==
Atoll wrapped her talons around Conger, glad to be alive.
He pulled away and gave her a concerned look. “So. Are you going to tell me what that was?”
Atoll was confused. What was he talking about? “What?”
“The stunt you just pull,” he said. “Why did you attack Queen Dandelion?”
“I-” Atoll didn’t remember doing that. “I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn’t attack Queen Dandelion.”
“You don’t remember?” He looked really confused.
“Nope. All I remember is having this terrible pain in my chest, then falling towards the water.” Conger looked extremely confused at this answer. During the entire conversation, Atoll tried her hardest not to cough or pass out.  She heard the thumping of dragon talons landing on the platform. “Three moons,” she mumbled.
“What,” Conger said.
“Everything hurts,” Atoll placed her talons on her head trying to keep herself still.  
Medics rushed to her side, checking her to make sure she was alright. They touched her uncomfortably, making her twitch. 
“What was that?!” Angelfish shouted at Atoll. “You attacked a queen, for moons sake! What is wrong with you?!” 
“Your Majesty, we think we know,” one of the medics piped in.
“What,” she snapped angrily.
“Um,” he continued nervously. “We think the poison has somehow attacked her brain, causing her to lose control. Kind of.”
“What do you mean kind of?” Angelfish’s temper got annoying sometimes.
“Well,” the medic tried to think of a way to put it. “We think it’s kind of releasing all of her built up emotions. But we’re not sure. This is a mix of a bunch of different poisons. We can try and give her medicine to the ones we know, but we aren’t sure about the others.”
Angelfish huffed angrily, stomping away. “First it’s my husband, now it’s my animus. Who’s next, my entire army?” Atoll growled because her mother referred to her as her animus again. Atoll finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and started coughing hysterically. One of the medics grabbed her head so she wouldn’t hit it against the stone floor. 
“When you need to cough just cough. Don’t hold it in or it will make it worse,” the medic said. Atoll nodded weakly, trying to process what was going on around her. “Seahorse, can you get all of my poison antidotes?”
“Yes sir,” a purplish-blue dragon nodded before flying down to a lower level.
“Have you ever wondered why the sky turns red?” Atoll didn’t know what she was doing. She was kind of just speaking her mind. 
“Because of the sunset?” the medic asked.
“No, I mean in the middle of the day. It just turns red. It’s weird and it gives me a headache,” Atoll said looking at her edish talons. “It’s like the world is covered in a layer of blood.” Nobody moved around her. She was really confused before she started coughing up blood again. 
“I think the poison is making you drowsy,” the medic said, pressing his claws against her neck to check her pulse. “Let’s get you back down to the medical level.” He picked her up and carried her down to the medical level, placing her on a bed. As soon as he placed her down, he walked over to Seahorse to help her find the antidotes.
“Hey medic?” Atoll coughed.
“Yes princess?” he said, turning back to her.
“What’s your name?” she said looking at the ceiling that was now a normal color again. 
“My name?” he seemed shocked that she would ask that. “It’s Hippocampus, Your Majesty.”
“Hippocampus,” she tried the word in her mouth. “Kind of a long name don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I’ve been told that.”
“Well thank you, Hippocampus. And the rest of your staff,” she tried smiling at the doctor, only to shake immensely.
“Moons, I think she’s having a seizure,” Hippocampus rushed over to the princess, trying to hold her still. “Seahorse, get me a cloth, quickly. What kind of poison is this?” He mumbled as Seahorse handed him a cloth. He quickly rolled it up and stuffed into Atoll’s mouth so she wouldn’t bite her tongue off.  
“What the heck is happening?” Conger said, rushing over to them.
“She’s having a seizure but it should be over in a moment.” Atoll shook for a while before coming to a stop. She stared at the roof in shock before crying. She gripped onto the medic in a tight hug. 
“I’m scared,” she stuttered through the cloth. 
“I know,” Hippocampus said, stroking the back of her head. “We’re trying our hardest to help you. But you need to calm down or it will only worsen.” He held her comforting, trying to calm her down. She slowly started to stop shivering. She took a deep breath before letting go. Atoll layed down, closing her eyes, falling asleep.
Hippocampus stared at her sympathetically. She was so young and she didn’t deserve to die. He wasn’t going to sleep until she was okay. Not because she was a princess, but because he felt like it was his duty. He wouldn’t rest until she was safe. He got up and walked over to his desk going over his notes. 
“What are you doing?” Conger asked, coming up behind Hippocampus.
“I’m going to heal her,” he said, determined. 
“But we don’t know what half the poisons in her are and half of the other half that we do know of, we don’t have a cure for.” Conger argued. He looked worried, knowing that Atoll wouldn’t make it.
“Exactly,” Hippocampus said. He walked over to his cabinets, pulling out every cure he could find for poisons. “With that fourth, we have a chance at stabilizing her long enough so she can either enchant herself, or give enough time to find antidotes for the poisons. Some of the poisons, I’m sure, her body will fight off if she’s strong enough. So, given that, I think we have a chance.”
“How big of a chance?” Conger asked.
Hippocampus let out a sigh. “Considering how many different poisons were used, I’d say…” he closed his eyes. “One of a thousand.”
Conger growled. Hippocampus looked up to see him glaring at the floor. He roared before storming off. “I’m gonna find that son of a ***** that tried to kill her. I’m not losing her too.”
Hippocampus knew that Conger could be a pretty chill guy. But when it came to losing someone he cared deeply about, he went on a controllable rage. Hippocampus was only a dragonet at the time, but he remembered when news came to the Kingdom that King Enhalus was dead. Everyone was devastated, they adored King Enhalus. But nothing compared to how angry Conger was. 
'''
== Chapter ==
Conger wandered through the medical level making sure everyone was okay. It was a pretty rough battle. Mostly everyone came back. They were still waiting for some dragons to get back, but he knew they would be here soon enough. He was checking on a soldier that was badly injured when he heard crying for help. He immediately flew after the noise. A young Seawing covered in scratches was flapping down onto the pavilion. Conger caught him before he could hit the stone.
“What is it?” he asked, holding him up. 
“He’s dead!” he cried. “He’s dead!”
“Who? Who’s dead?” he shook him trying to get his attention. 
“King Enhalus! He’s dead!” the Seawing was crying. 
This hit Conger like nothing had before. He stepped back from the Seawing, tripping over himself. “No.” His oldest friend couldn’t be dead. 
“He was killed by a Skywing patrol that came after us,” the Seawing said through tears. “He was protecting us. He told us to run and we did. We should have stayed. He’s dead.”
Conger stared past the Seawing. There was no way his friend was dead. It wasn’t possible. 
“What is all this yelling about?” Queen Angelfish flew up from one of the lower levels. “Conger? Are you okay?” Angelfish was a close friend of Congers at the time after she met Enhalus. And now he’s dead.
“He’s dead,” Conger said quietly. “He’s dead.”
Angelfish looked confused. “Who’s dead?”
He looked at her, making her realise who she was talking about. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Who’s dead mama?” Prince Bottlenose came to Angelfish’s side, nudging her gently. She hugged him tight.
Conger watched as she mourned for her husband. A burning rage formed in Conger that he had never felt before. He’s dead. And it’s all the Skywings fault. Conger stepped past the queen towards the edge of the level. 
“Conger what are you doing?’ she looked up from her on. “Conger? Conger where are you going? Conger no. There’s nothing we can do. He’s gone,” she grabbed his arm before he could take off.
He glared back at her. “My best friend is gone. And it’s all because of those stupid Skywings.” He ripped his arm from her grasp and flew off. 
“Conger!” the queen shouted after him.
Hus wings were sore as he flew out of the Summer Place, but the rage that was built up inside of him kept him going. He flew as fast as he could towards the Sky Kingdom. 
As he came upon the SkyPalace, a patrol stopped him. 
“You’ve got a lot of nerve to show back here after that battle,” one of the guards hissed. “Kill him.” The Skywing lunged their spears at Conger but he dodged out of the way, causing some of the spears to kill some of the Skywings instead. “What the-” his words were cut off as Conger gripped his neck and sliced his throat. The rest of the Skywing patrol flew at him ready to attack, but he moved around to hit his tail as hard as he could onto one of their heads while clawing at the other. It wasn’t long before they were all dead. 
He flew onwards towards the Palace. He ran into more troops, killing them all. No Skywing that he ran into was left alive. It was their fault this war started and it was their fault Enhalus was gone. As he approached the doors to the throne room, two guards readyed their spears. Conger swung his tail around, jabbing the back of their spears against their throats, breaking their windpipes. 
He crashed through the door, killing any guard that had been positioned there. He launched himself at the queen, claws against her throat. Conger wanted to kill her so badly. As he was about to slice her throat he heard the queen call his name. He turned to see Angelfish running towards him. 
“Conger you’re making a mistake,” she said, sliding to a stop in the throne room. 
“They killed him,” he said through gritted teeth. Tears fell down his cheeks. 
“I know he’s gone,” the queen swallowed, trying not to cry. “But there’s nothing we can do now.”
Conger looked down at the queen he had under his grasp. It would be so easy to just end it now. But Angelfish was right. There was nothing he could do. He released his grip on the queen, stepping back. She got up and rubbed her throat where he had scratched her. 
“It must be an emergency if the Queen would come here for something of all places,” she stood up and walked over towards Angelfish. “So tell me why one of your soldiers was trying to kill me.”
“One of your soldiers killed my husband. He was his oldest friend,” Angelfish flicked her tail at Conger who was staring at the ground, tears rolling down his snout.
“I’m sorry that this war has led to the death of a king,” Dandelion said. “But for now, you must leave my Palace. I won't send anyone after you. Yet.”
Angelfish glared at her before walking towards Conger. “Come on. Let’s go home,” she wrapped a wing around him and led him to the door.
Conger refused to let that happen again. He wouldn’t let Atoll die. He landed hard on the kitchen level, glaring at everyone. 
“I want every kitchen staff here in the next twenty minutes,” everyone stared at him in confusion. “Now!” A few ran into each other as they hurried to find the other staff members. After a few minutes, Conger had everyone in the kitchen like he ordered. “Now, which one of you kelp-face’s poisoned princess Atoll,” he lashed his tail angrily as he waited for an answer. 
“Conger,” Mollusk said calmly. “Just take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay-”
“No it’s not going to be okay!” he interrupted her. “She doesn’t have a high chance of surviving and I can’t lose her too! I just can’t.” Conger sat on the floor, wrapping his wings around himself. 
Mollusk sat next to him, comfortingly. “I’ve never seen you act like this before. Not since Enhalus died. But i promise you we will find who tried to murder her.” She stood up and looked at her staff. “Alright. All of you present aren’t going anywhere until we find out who did it. And if you do leave, you become the prime suspect.” There were a lot of groans and complaining that passed through the staff. Mollusk gave them the death glare, making them all silent and nodding. “Good. Now if any of you have information about the poison, then don’t hesitate to tell me.”
Conger sat there wondering what finding her murderer would even do. Probably to give Conger someone to claw at.
'''
== Chapter ==
It looked around at its dark surrounding. It pulled it’s weak body up and headed for the edge of the pavilion. It dove off the side, into the dark water. It swam out the exit back to prison to claim another victim. It enjoyed the feeling of killing and wanted to keep doing it. 
It arrived at the prison, going straight for the first victim. It quickly sliced it’s throat before moving on. It found another one not too far from the first, quickly killing them. He watched their bodies float for a while before heading back to the pavilion. This was just the beginning. 
'''
--Time Skip--
'''
Atoll slowly opened her eyes, trying to see if anyone was around. There was a familiar looking Seawing sitting at a desk mixing things. As her eyes focused, she realised it was Hippocampus. She reached a shivering arm towards him, only to let it hang loose off the side of the bed. His body didn’t want to move or do anything. 
“Hippocampus?” she said quietly. He didn’t move so she assumed he didn’t hear her. “Hippocamp-” her words were cut off by a series of coughing. As her coughing fit ended, she noticed that Hippocampus had made his way over to her. He was holding a few bottles with him, going over the labels.
“There you are Conger,” he said, not looking away from his work. “I’m going to need your help with this.” Atoll turned her head to see Conger standing on her other side.
“Hey kiddo,” he said gently. “We’re going to try something so just hang on.” He stroked her head with his talon in a smooth motion. 
“I have some good news,” Hippocampus said. “I found the cure for box jellyfish poison.”
“Really?” Conger said happily. “What is it?”
“Sadly it’s quite simple. It’s just vinegar and hot water. It gets rid of it,” Hippocampus held up a bottle full of vinegar. “But It only works on stings. I’m not sure if it will work if it is digested.”
“How is that good news?” Conger snapped. “That’s useless if it doesn’t work unless you got stung. That won’t help in our situation.”
“I know it won’t,” Hippocampus said calmly. “But, I don’t think it’s actually box jellyfish poison anyway. Box jellyfish venom can kill you in two minutes and she seems to be alive so I don’t think it is.”
Conger sat and thought for a minute. “Let’s forget about that for now. Let’s do this first.”
“Alright,” Hippocampus picked up one of the bottles, holding her head up. “I want you to try and keep this down the best you can, okay?” Atoll nodded before opening her jaws. Hippocampus slowly poured the substance into her mouth, hoping her body wouldn’t regurgitate it. Atoll slowly swallowed it, holding back the urge to throw it up. As she finished swallowing, he brought another bottle to her mouth. He gave her at least five different bottles with different substances. He smiled before going over to his desk. “Now that that’s over, I can try and figure out what other poisons she ate.”
“Hey Hippocampus,” Conger said. “How come the poison affected her so quickly?”
“Well it didn’t,” he said. “It took it a few minutes to enter her blood stream. And some of the poisons didn’t even make it to her blood stream before she threw it up-” Hippocampus stopped. He stared at his paper before turning around to Conger. “We’ve been testing the wrong thing. We shouldn’t have been testing her food. Most of the poison on her food didn’t make it into her bloodstream in time. She has less poison in her than we thought. But that means that I could have given her medicine that she didn’t need, which also wouldn’t be good. We need to get her to throw it back up.”
“Come on,” Conger complained. “How do we do that without punching her in the stomach?”
“Gag reflex,” Hippocampus pulled out a long stick from one of his drawers. He brought it over to Atoll. “Can you hold her head, please?” Conger placed his talons around her head as Hippocampus pushed the stick down her throat. It tickled at first until he touched the very back, making her gag. It made her stomach jump, causing her to throw up everything she tried so hard not to throw up.
Conger held her still as she threw up, keeping her from shivering. His scales were smooth and cool against her feverish scales. As she finished, she settled into his familiar arms. She’d done this before. But at the time she didn’t enjoy it for some reason.
Remember, the voice told her. 
Show me, she said. 
The world around her became red, but she was underwater. She was looking up at the sun reflecting down into the water. She turned to see Conger holding her in his arms, smiling down at her. She didn't want to be there,  but knew she had to for now. But his smile calmed her, making her want to curl up in his arms. She did just that, fitting herself in his arms. He emitted a happy feeling, like he felt a deep love for her. Atoll enjoyed this, letting herself soak this up. 
As she started to fall asleep in his arms, the world around her turned normal, bringing her back to the pavilion. She noticed that she was curled up against Conger, who was laying with her, holding her tight. She saw a tear fall down his face as he hugged her. She smiled before letting sleep take. She felt his mind fill with his love for her, that she never knew he felt for her. She accepted it, falling asleep in his arms. 
'''
--Time Skip--
'''
Atoll woke up with Conger wrapped around her, asleep. She felt a growing pain in her chest. Not wanting to wake up Conger, she decided to try and push it down. She needed to clear her mind, but the poison wasn’t allowing her to think straight. Atoll gasped as the pain grew in her chest.
Control.
What-, Atoll tried to focus on talking to the voice in her head. What will you do if I let you?
Control.
That’s not an answer, her head started to hurt as she talked to it.
…
Who are you? She asked. She had been wondering for a while but never had the chance to ask.
Albatross.
== 
Chapter ==
Atoll went through a series of coughing blood into her talons, waking up Conger. He held her close, making sure she was okay. As she finished, he grabbed a nearby cloth and started to clean her talons. He rocked her back and forth trying to calm her and it actually helped. She was still a little shaky from the awnser the voice told her. 
“What are you doing in my head?” she asked it, not knowing she was talking out loud.
“What?” Atoll didn’t hear Conger as the voice answered.
Revenge.
“Revenge on who?” Atoll had her eyes closed, trying to focus on the voice.
Seawings.
“Why?” 
Kill.
“Can you give a complete answer?”
I am the animus.
“What?” Atoll was happy that it started to speak more than one word. Maybe now she would get some answers. But it didn’t speak. She opened her eyes to see Conger looking at her confused. “What?”
“Who were you talking to?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” Atoll realised that she must have been talking out loud. “Oh… it doesn’t matter,” she turned her head away from Conger. She tried to find the voice again but her thoughts were a blur.
“Alright,” he said. “Just rest.”
--Angelfish--
'''
Angelfish stood quietly at the edge of the level, watching Conger hold Atoll. She watched as he comforted her and made sure she was okay. It reminded her of what Enhalus would have done in this situation. It made her realise that Atoll was all Conger had of Enhalus. She even looked like him, with her light blue-green scales and piercing blue eyes. She even had the same pattern scales as Enhalus. The only thing different was that one of her wings had the royal pattern on them and the other didn’t. It was a little odd to have two different patterns,but that was just who she was. 
She never thought about how much she was like Enhalus. And how Conger was like a father to her since she never had one. She smiled as she watched them before flying over to the kitchen level to see how the investigation was going.
'''
--Atoll--
'''
Atoll watched dragons fly by the level. A few even stopped by to make sure she was okay, even though they knew she wasn’t. Some brought her pretty pearls and shells. She appreciated the support but it was all useless since she was going to die anyway.
Will you heal me? she asked.
Why?
Because I don’t want to die, Atoll said.
Why do I care?
Because if I die, you’re coming with me, Albatross was silent for a minute. 
No.
Why not? Atoll was a little disappointed by this answer.
I can’t. Or I would have used them already.
What do you mean? You haven’t been in control before. Have you? Atoll was worried.
Yes. But you let me and I did use them. But you were weak at the time. Now it won’t let me.
How come? Atoll was finally getting some answers.
Because it won’t let me. It’s grown overtime. Now I can’t.
Oh, Atoll didn’t quite understand. So how did you end up in my head?
I’ve been in every animus’s head. Ever since I died. But you’re the only one that’s let me speak and control.
How come I’m the only one who let you? She was interested in knowing how he managed to get into animus’s heads.
Because everyone else ignored me. You listened.
I did? When?
When you escaped.
Where did I escape from? Atoll was getting a little worried.
Prison. You hatched in one.
No I didn’t. I hatched in the royal hatchery.
Yes. Then you escaped and let me take control.
Why didn’t you stay in control? Atoll wondered why she would allow some random voice to control her mind.
Because I didn’t know you would forget.
Oh. Well sorry for forgetting about you. Atoll wasn’t sure why she was apologising.
You’re confusing.
So are you, Atoll decided to stop the conversation there, not wanting to make her headache worse. As she sat there, she realised how hungry and thirsty she was. She propped herself on her arms, looking around. She slid off the side of the bed.
“Ow,” she landed on her face and it hurt.
“Are you okay?” Conger crawled off the bed and was kneeling at her side.
“Yeah,” she rolled over to look at him. “I’m thirsty.”
“You could have just asked,” he tried to bring her back onto the bed.
“I miss the ocean,” she groaned.
“I know,” he picked her up and placed her on the bed. “I’ll be right back.” Conger walked away to get water. 
Atoll rolled back off the bed, making sure she didn’t land on her face again. She pulled herself to the edge of the platform, letting herself drop off the edge. She tilted her wings making sure she didn’t hit the other levels. As she neared the water, she opened her wings to catch herself. It hurt her weak bones as the wind snagged on her wings. She let herself float down a little before beating her wings, angling them so she flew around the pavilion. Atoll was tired of sitting around. She would rather die flying than sitting in a bed. 
The wind felt nice on her scales as she circled the pavilion. As she reached the top, she pulled in her wings, letting herself fall back down towards the water. She was right above the water before catching herself, dragging a claw through the water as she skimmed the surface. As she flew across the water a few dragons joined her, smiling. She smiled back at them, glad to be out of the medical level. She twirled in the air before plunging down into the water. 
This is what she needed. The water against her scales. She let the feeling soak in before heading for the exit. She swam as fast as she could through the tunnel, ignoring her aching body. Atoll swam out into the open ocean, looking at all the life out here. Seaiwngs swam past her, leaping through the water. It made her happy to see the tribe this happy. She joined them in leaping in and out of the water like dolphins. 
A storm formed overhead taking away the light. She flew out of the water as droplets fell from the sky. She closed her eyes letting the rain hit her face. She opened her eyes with a smile, looking at the Seawings that had circled her. Atoll knew the pain that radiated through her body meant it was time to go. She looked at all the smiling faces of her tribe.
“Good-bye my tribe,” Atoll closed her eyes, letting death take her.
'''
== Chapter ==
Conger swam through the entrance tunnel. He was worried about Atoll. He watched her as she flew around the Summer Palace with the rest of the tribe, which made him happy to see her moving around. But she wasn’t completely healed yet and he didn’t want her to get hurt. As he swam out into open water, he could tell it was raining. He saw blurry figures flying above the water in a circle. He was a little confused, then something hit the water. It slowly floated down, completely still. It was Atoll.
Conger choked on himself. Not her too, he thought. He swam towards her. Not her too. If you could cry under water, tears would be falling down his face. Conger loved Atoll more than anyone. She reminded her so much of Enhalus, and she was all she had left of him. After Enhalus died, Angelfish got strict and didn’t ever want to talk to Conger. Atoll was all he had. He couldn’t lose her too.
As he got closer, that water pulsed around her, sending a wave outwards that pushed him backwards. He twirled in the water, trying to straighten himself. Bubbles swirled around him as he leveled himself out. When his vision cleared, he saw Atoll swimming away.
What? He followed her, keeping a good distance away. She wasn’t swimming towards the Underwater Palace, nor the Summer Palace. She eventually stopped at a small island. Conger stuck the top of his head out of the water to see what she was up to.
“Annoying body,” she muttered as she flicked water off her talons. She crawled along the shore to a nearby cave, slipping inside.
Conger quietly crawled onto land, following her. He poke his head around the corner, watching Atoll.
“I’ve always hated rain,” she mumbled, shaking droplets off her wings. 
“Atoll?” Conger said, stepping into view.
“HOLY MACKEREL AND FISHSTICKS!” Atoll jumped backwards, falling on her back. She squirmed around before standing back on her talons. “You should learn not to scare dragons like that. Geez, what has gotten into dragons these days?” There was something off about her voice. Atoll started to brush the sand off her scales.
“Are you okay?” Conger stepped into the cave. “I thought you were dead?”
“She almost was. But I saved her, so, your welcome,” Atoll said, continuing to brush the sand off her.
“What do you mean she?” Conger wondered why she was talking in third person. 
“Oh, my apologies. It’s nice to finally meet you Conger. My name is Albatross,” she stood up, then bowed, swiping her wing through the sand, which she then proceeded to brush off.
Conger pressed his lips together, trying to figure out what she just said. “What?”
“Oh come on. Do I have to explain this?” Atoll looked at Conger with annoyance. “You know, Albatross from the great Seawing Massacre? That killed the enire royal family, excpt my stupid granson and suposedly my granddaughter? No? Doesn’t ring a bell?” she sighed.
“I don’t get it. Are you feeling okay?” Conger tried to put his talon on her forehead.
“Don’t touch me!” she snapped his talon away. “I don’t want your sandy hands on me.”
“Okay,” Conger said. “Let me get this straight, your Albatross from thousands of years ago.”
“Yes,” she said.
“Alright, this poison is making you crazy. Let’s get you back to the palace,” Conger said, stepping towards her.
“Touch me and I will claw your snout off,” she pointed a claw at him. 
“How could you be Albatross?” Conger pointed out. “Explain that to me.”
“More explaining. Fine, fine,” she settled herself down, not liking the fact that she had to sit in the sand. “Alright so as I was getting stabbed by spears that my grandson enchanted, I cast a little spell that let me, I guess, be the animus power inside the Seawing heritage. It’s confusing and it was a thousand years ago so I don’t quite remember.”
“Why would you cast that?” Conger asked.
“To manipulate them to work under my command or something?” she shrugged. “Of course no one listened to me until now, finally.”
“So you cast a spell, so you can manipulate and control other animuses, but no one has listened to you until now?” Conger put together.
Atoll stared at him with a look that said ‘no duh. I just said that’. “Good job. You figured it out. You want a gold medal?” Atoll clapped her claws sarcastically. “You know I’d rather just kill you now.”
Conger was shocked that she said. “Alright, that might be going a little too far, Atoll.”
“For the very last time, I’m not Atoll. I’m Albatross in Atoll’s body. How many times do I have to tell you? Besides, it’s not that big of a deal. I’ve killed before,” Atoll started to sweep sand away from her area.
“You’ve been the one killing the Seawings?” Conger was kind of scared. 
“Oh no. The great Albatross is killing people. He’s never done that before,” she mocked.
“But why?” Conger said. “Isn’t that wrong?”
“Obviously I don't think so if i’ve done it so many times,” she flicked her tail, trying to get the sand off. 
“I’m starting to believe you actually are Albatross,” Conger felt uneasy about being around him.
“Finally, you get that through your thick skull,” she tapped a claw on his head. 
“So are you just going to stay like that forever or…” Conger wanted Atoll back.
“No, of course not. She’s got an annoying body. Although she is fun to talk to sometimes. I’m so glad her mind let me speak more than one word. It took her so long,” she shook her head. “By the way, you were only supposed to be temporary.”
“What?” What did he mean by temporary?
“Ugh, more explaining. Okay, so, she was only supposed to play along for a while, but she forgot about me, so that didn’t happen.” he pointed a claw at him.
“Play along with what?” Conger was wondering what he was planning.
“I don’t know,” Albatross looked passed Conger. “Anyway, you asked a lot of questions.”
“So… what happens if you do leave?” Conger asked.
“She’ll die. And that was a question,” he said calmly, not looking up from his cleaning.
“What!” Conger exclaimed.
“Geez calm down,” he gave him a weird look. “It’s not that big of a deal anyway.”
“You don’t know her like I do,” Conger lashed his tail, angerly.
“Yes, yes, the whole ‘She’s all I have left of Enhalus.’ Blah blah blah,” Albatross gave him a bored look.
“So how do we make it to where she doesn't die when you leave?” Conger said, trying to control his temper.
“There is no we,” Albatross said. “Only me and you flying yourself back to that prison of yours.”
“How will you even heal her?” Conger ignored Albatross.
“Duh, I find all the antidotes for the poisons,” Albatross held his talons out like it was obvious.
“You know what poisons are in her?” Conger sounded a little too happy.
“Of course I do. I’m inside her,” Albatross was messing with something in his talons.
“So do you know the cures for each one?” Conger wondered what he was messing with, but decided to ignore it.
“Obviously. Or it would be useless to try and find them,” Albatross looked at Conger, who started pacing.
‘Alright, you tell me the cures, and I’ll get my soldiers to go out and find them. And-” he was cut off.
“No, no, no. No one can know about me. Besides, it would be easier for me to just do it by myself,” Albatross looked out at the storm “I guess I’ll have to wait until the storm passes.”
“I’m coming with you. Whether you like it or not,” Conger glared at him, not taking no for an answer. 
“Fine,” Albatross laid his head on his talons.
“Oh. Okay,” Conger settled himself down in front of the entrance. As he watched the rain hit the sand, sleep started to pull him in.
== Chapter ==
Albatross stretched his wings as the sun shone through the cave. He walked past Conger and headed towards the water. Conger was annoying in his opinion, but, why not leave him alive? He could be fun in the future.
“Sayonara sucker,” Albatross said before slipping into the water. There was no way he was letting that slime-ball come with him. He headed towards the main continent, or at least tried two. It had been a thousand years since he tried to swim. Well, except when he went to the Underwater Palace. But that was a short swim. He didn’t know the currents that well anymore.
“Slimy-four-eyed-octopus…” he mattered through bubbles as he tried to let the currents carry him. “Forget it! I’m flying?” Albatross swam to the top of the water, hitting the surface with his tail for lift. Or is it with her tail? Because it’s not technically his, it’s Atolls. Albatross rolled her eyes and flew towards the Sky Kingdom. He decided that would be a good place to find charcoal. 
As he passed over islands, he started to hear wing beats behind him. “For the love of…” Albatross turned around to see Conger winging his way towards him. “You’re real pain in the tail, you know that?”
“I’m actually a very likeable dragon,” he gave him a toothy grin, making him roll his eyes.
“Stupid Seawing,” Albatross muttered. He flew away, hoping Conger would leave. But of course, that didn’t happen. He groaned as Conger followed him through the sky.
“Why don’t we just swim?” Conger asked. “It would be so much faster.”
“Because unlike you, I haven’t swam in a thousand years. The currents have changed and I need to get used to it first. But I don’t have time for that, so if you want to swim, knock yourself. But actually knock yourself. It would save me a lot of trouble,” Albatross heard Conger grunt in annoyance. 
“Aren’t you killing her more by using her body,” Conger asked after a few minutes of silence.
“Dang it, I thought you finally shut up,” Albatross stopped to look at Conger. “No I’m not. She is basically frozen in time. I’m not sure how it works. And yes, she will have to be awake when she eats the cures and stuff or it won’t work. And I know she has a really high chance of dying, but it’s worth a shot. And I have thought about just eating it beforehand then letting her wake up, but some of the stuff doesn’t need to be consumed. I’d rather not eat charcoal. Anymore questions?”
“Uh yeah,” Conger said. “What do you need charcoal for?”
“Uuuuuugh! You don’t know anything,” Albatross continued flying. “Charcoal can absorb poison out of her blood stream. I don’t know why you guys didn’t think of that. And no I’m not going to tell you the rest of the cures. You know, after watching you for ten years, you get pretty predictable.”
“I do not,” Conger protested. 
“Well your jokes no. But it’s easy to tell when you’re going to tell a joke. And which questions you’re going to ask. Because you alway ask the obvious one,” Albatross explained. 
“Couldn’t we just get another animus to cure her?” Conger asked.
“Like who?” Albatross looked back at Conger with an annoyed look on his face. 
“Prince Turtle?” Conger suggested.
“I don’t like him,” Albatross said.
“Why?” Conger wondered what relationship they had together. 
“One, he looked exactly like my grandson Fathom. And two, he never listened to me. He’s a useless coward,” Albatross counted, holding up two claws. 
“Oh,” Conger said. “But wouldn’t it save us the trip?”
“Now what would be the fun in that?” Albatross smiled wickedly at Conger, making him nervous.
They flew on for the rest of the day, before landing and moving towards them in the distance. 
“Finally!” Albatross complained. “I thought we’d never get there.” He led them to the shore where he landed the loudest he could. “Ugh, my wings hurt.” He stretched his wings back before looking for somewhere to sleep. He settled himself down underneath a tree near the edge of the beach. “Okay good-night.” Albatross quickly fell asleep, not wanting to talk to Conger. 
--Time Skip--
'''
Albatross tried to sneak away in the morning, but was caught by Conger. They then continued to fly towards the Sky Palace. They had to pass Mudwing territory, even though Conger asked them not to. It didn’t take them long to get to the Sky Palace. Albatross didn’t need to stop because he wasn’t actually there and he didn’t care if Conger needed to.
Albatross wasted no time in finding charcoal. 
Conger gasped, splaying himself on the floor. “We couldn’t even have stopped once?” 
“Nope,” Albatross looked around, trying to find out where he could find charcoal. “Hey bubble head,” he called to a Skywing. “Do you know where I can find charcoal?”
The Skywing hissed at them. “It’s a Seawing. Give us our queen back.” A few other Skywings glared at them, forming a circle around them.
“Skywings have always been annoying,” Albatross rolled his. “Just give me some charcoal.”
“We don’t take orders from the likes of you,” the Skywing bared his teeth.
“Oh come on. Fine, we’ll do it the hard way,” Albatross shot his talon at the Skywing. Nothing happened. “Dang it, I forgot I don’t have my animus powers anymore.”
“Get them!” The Skywing shouted at the other Skywings. They slowly started to move in, not leaving them and exit.
“Well, if we’re going to die,” Albatross said to Conger, “at least I’ll die knowing you’re dead.”
“Take them to the throne room,” he shouted at the Skywings as they grabbed their arms.
“What, no!” Albatross pleaded. “Kill him please! I’ll die too if I have to!”
“Shut up!” Conger shouted at him. The Skywings holding them, flew them up to through a window, where they were dragged through numerous halls.
“You’d think they'd make a palace a little less confusing to walk through,” Albatross said, looking around. Two guards opened a door leading them into the throne room. Inside sat a dark red Skywing, who was scowling at them.
“Princess Atoll?” the Skywing said confused. “Aren’t you supposed to be dying?”
“Obviously not,” Albatross said, standing up when the Skywings released them. “Who are you anyway?”
“I’m… General Vex. From the meeting,” Vex seemed confused that she didn’t remember him. “But you can call me King Vex.”
“Queen Dandelion married this guy? Ha!” Albatross said. “What’d you do? Kill a goat that was trying to ram into her leg? I bet it was so heroic.”
“Is she okay?” Vex said some-what angrily. 
“Uh, no,” Conger said. “She’s still sick.”
“No I’m not,” Albatross was poking around the room. “I’m dead! Well, she’s dead. I’m not. Well I am, but my spirit lives on!” He lifted his talons for dramatic effect.
“What happened to no one knowing about you?” Conger asked.
“I changed my mind. Everyone shall know I’m the mighty Albatross! Murderer of the Royal Seawing Family! And a Skywing,” Albatross picked up a branch and tossed it out a window.
“Shouldn’t she be in the medical den? Or at the Summer Palace for that matter?” Vex asked.
“She should,” Conger said, kind of embarrassed. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Well at least tell me where Dandelion is,” Vex said.
“Who cares? She probably got herself stuck in a clam and can’t get out. Ooo! Shiny!” Albatross picked up a piece of gold off the floor, looking at it. 
“What did she just say?” Vex said, obviously mad. 
“Uh-” Conger was interrupted by Albatross.
“She probably drowned trying to get the clam off, I wouldn’t be surprised. She trusts things too easily. The clam probably convinced her tiny brain to come close enough that it could clamp shut on her,” Albatross began to pick up anything shiny he found and add it to the pile in his arms. 
“What!’ Vex yelled.
“Hey, calm down. The truth can hurt sometimes but we just have to accept it,” Albatross started to sort out his shiny things.
“Albatross, shut up,” Conger told him.
“What?” he said innocently. “He obviously needs some light shed on him.”
“Albatross?” Vex asked.
“Oh, uh…. you see…,” Conger looked at Albatross than back at Vex. “It’s kind of a long story.”
“Well then you have my full attention,” Vex said, sitting back down on his throne. “Unless you want to be executed immediately.”
“Uh…” Conger looked worried.
“Ugh, I have to explain everything1” Albatross stepped in front of Conger. “Alright, so, before I died thousands of years ago, I placed an enchantment on animus that I would be inside their head. But no one listened to me except Atoll. But now, she’s technically dead so I’m controlling a corpse. So since she’s dead, I’m off to find stuff to get rid of the poison inside of her so she can be not dead.”
Vex stared at him, confused. “So you’re telling me that you’re the Albatross from the Seawing Massacre?”
“Yes,” Albatross said, somewhat annoyed. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
“That poison has made you crazy,” Vex said. “Take them away.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Albatross immediately flew out the nearest window. It didn’t take him long to get away from the palace. He flew down along a waterfall that fell down into a river. He rolled her eyes when he heard Conger catch up to him. 
“Grab some of that grass looking stuff that’s not actually grass,” Albatross told him, pointing at the plants that grew underneath them. “I’m going to search for coal.”
“Shouldn’t we be escaping?” Conger asked.
“Not without that coal,” He tucked in her wings, pulling himself into a dive. He found a cave near the waterfall that he decided to search. That stone was cold under her talons as he landed in front of the cave. A small breeze came from inside the cave, sending a chill up her spine. Albatross stepped inside, engulfing himself in darkness. 
“Fishsticks!” Albatross stubbed a claw, causing him to fall over. He quickly stood up, making sure no one saw. He slowly descended into the cave, making sure he didn’t stub another claw. “How do you find coal in this place?”
As he got further into the cave, he began to turn over rocks, looking for coal. He couldn’t tell the difference between a regular rock and coal, so it made searching harder. 
He eventually came across a rock that left a sort of powder on his talon. 
Finally! He picked up the rocks and headed back out the cave. When he made it back to the exit, he peeked his head out to make sure no one was there before flying away. 
Albatross glided over the forest until finding a nice lake to land in. He glided down, landing gently down on the surface of the water. He spread her wings, floating on the top of the water. He held up the coal to make sure it was actually coal before putting it back in his arms. 
As he floated there, he saw Conger poke his head out of the water. “There you are. I was starting to think you just flew away without me,” Conger climbed onto a rock that was in the lake, shaking the water off of his scales.
“I would have. But you have what I need,” Albatross swam over to him and put the coal in the satchel that was on Conger’s shoulder. “You did get the plant I asked for, right?”
“Yes,” Conger pulled out a grass looking plant. Albatross nodded and he put it away. “Where to next?”
“Possability?” Albatross offered. “I don’t know, where should we go?”
“I thought you had a plan?” Conger asked, a little confused.
“Pfft! Who said anything about a plan? I just know what we’re supposed to get, not how or where we are supposed to get it,” Albatross climbed onto the rock and pushed Conger off so he had room.
Conger swam back up to the surface, flinging droplets everywhere. “So, to Possibility then?”
“Sure,” Albatross shrugged. “For now, I’m just going to rest.”
“What about Atoll?1 We need to cure her as soon as possible!” Conger was furious. All he did was sit around and talk.
“Listen, kid. We have all the time in the world,” Albatross said, looking down at Conger. “Plus, I stubbed my claws so many times in that cave like you would not believe. “So just sit back and relax right now. You can’t do anything without me so you’re kind of stuck relaxing.”
Conger couldn’t argue. He needed the information Albatross had. Plus, he didn’t want to leave Atoll, or leave her in the talons of some lunatic. 
He swam down to the bottom of the lake and curled up in a ball. He poked at the muck at the bottom of the lake, waiting for Albatross to be done resting.Category:Fanfictions
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