United I Fall

This fanfiction is based around canon events from the Wings of Fire series, written by Tui T. Sutherland and published/owned by Scholastic Press, USA.
All canon characters are from the series, and all fanon characters are a work of fiction. I do not mean to offend anybody.
Lots of this story has been either taking directly from, or paraphrased from, The Hidden Kingdom, The Dark Secret, and The Brightest Night.
Also, some content is from The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy of the Devil" and Metallica's "...And Justice For All." I do not claim their wonderful work as my own.
And I took a few common phrases and added a darker side to them. Just a warning.
Likewise, you may NOT use ANY content from this fanfiction without the author's permission.
==United I Fall==
You said "United we stand, divided we fall."
Ha. 
I'd laugh if it didn't arise the memories.
Nonetheless,
So little do you know!
You can fall while united, 
And you can stand when divided.
You don't speak from experience.
But I do.
"Goodnight," Mother whispered, touching her snout to mine before silently walking out of my sleeping cave.
"Goodnight," I replied, but I was already half asleep by the time the words spilled off of my tongue.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET OUT!! What... HEY! No!" I awake to shouts and the thrashing of talons and tails on the cave floor.
"Mother, five more minutes, please," I said automatically, oblivious to the events unfolding a few caves from me.
"GET BACK HERE! Wait- Are you- No! Please! Anything but-" a voice continued to shout, growing more urgent than ever as the rumbling footsteps grew louder.
"No, Mother, I said five more minutes..." I mumbled, turning my drowsy head to the source of the noise. I struggled to open my heavy eyelids, as sleep continued to try to pull me back into unconsciousness.
"Out of my way, SkyWing," a deep voice ordered, so loud that my yellow eyes snapped open. I couldn't believe what they revealed.
Before me stood a large, menacing NightWing with scales that contained more shadows than the darkest night. Behind him stood my mother, clinging onto his tail with tears in her fiery-orange eyes.
"SkyWing dragonet," the NightWing snarled, as if he had better things to do. "Come with me."
"Hmm?" I mumbled, my mind still groggy.
"That's enough. You're coming with me."
"I what?"
"Stop talking. Follow me." He turned to leave, pushing Mother aside like she was worth nothing.
"What? What for?" I said quickly, my head shooting up and my ears raising in alert.
"I said, STOP. TALKING. Now hurry up."
"Wait! What about Mother? What about-"
"SKYWING, SHUT UP!" he roared so loudly that I felt my eardrums had burst. I whimpered in pain, refusing to leave my spot.
By this time, my mother had recovered from the NightWing's violent shove. "NO!" she shouted. "You can't have him! I don't know what I did to them, but they-"
"Silence!" he commanded, drowning out my mother's protests. Her jaw quivered as she stared at the significantly larger dragon. He looked at her pathetic form, snorting in disgust. "Now, without any more interruptions-"
"YOU CAN'T HAVE MY SON!" Mother suddenly roared, rushing into the cave, past the NightWing, and in front of my weakening form. She spread her large, red wings to shield me from the mysterious dragon's golden eyes.
"SkyWing, there will be consequences if you do not hand over the dragonet. It would be such a shame if word reached Scarlet's ears that there was a spy lurking-"
"No!" Mother hushed him. "No," She shook her head. "You wouldn't dare..."
"I would dare. Now hand over the dragonet at once."
Mother's wings drooped as she turned her head away from the night dragon. More tears poured from her eyes, and her shoulders began to shake.
"Why... why me?" she whispered.
"Hurry up, SkyWing. I have better things to do, like retrieving the SandWing."
"The what?" I said, suddenly interested.
"Hush," Mother turned to face me, then immediately tore the glance away, giving the other dragon her full attention. "I can't allow this. You can't take my son away from me!"
"I most certainly can, and will," the NightWing replied. He took a step foward, and Mother rushed to block him.
"No! Don't!" she protested.
The black dragon grabbed her by the neck and pinned her to the ground in one swift movement. "Dragonet, if you want your Mother to live, you'll come with me."
"Son..." Mother gasped as I rose to my shaking feet.
"I'll go with you, just... please don't hurt her!" I said as boldly as I could, but I sounded like a RainWing had caught my tongue.
"Very well," he said, lifting his heavy talons off of my mother's chest. She watched with huge eyes as I stalked past her, unable to speak.
"I love you," I said before the NightWing whisked me away.
When you break something, like glass, for instance,
It can be fixed.
You can gather all of the shattered pieces.
You can mold them back together.
But it won't the look the way it did before it was broken.
It'll never be the same again.
The same goes for a dragon's heart.
You can break it and fix it.
But they'll never be the dragon they were before.
"So this is the SkyWing?" A scrawny, green SeaWing snorted, staring at me in the eye. "Ha! He looks weak."
"Speak for yourself," I mumbled, not wanting to put up with him.
"What was that?" he demanded, puffing out his chest. Personally, it made him look even more ridiculous.
"I said, speak for yourself." I repeated with little patience.
"WHAT? You can't talk to me like that!"
"I just did."
"What? NO!" he looked around frantically. "HEY! Big NightWing! The stupid SkyWing is making fun of me! Make him stop! Make him sorry!"
I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you're this wimpy."
"Stop insulting me!"
"You ain't the boss of me. I say what I want."
"But I'm the son of the leader of the Talons of Peace! You have to be nice to me!"
"I don't care who your daddy is. I only want to go home. Now-"
At that time, a navy blue NightWing with silver scales scattered here and there ran up to us, grabbing the SeaWing's talons in hers, shaking them violently. "Hi! My name's Fatespeaker! I'm so glad to meet you! I had a vision last night! We're going to have a walrus for breakfast and we're going to be best friends and we're going to end the war because we're the dragonets of destiny, which is SUPER cool, so, yeah! What's your name?"
The SeaWing stared at her for a good two seconds before drawing his talons away, shouting, "EW! She touched me! Somebody do something!"
I'll do something, I snarled in my head. Do you prefer having your head torn off or having your throat ripped out?
"Oh!" To my dismay, the NightWing turned to me, grabbing my talons. "Hi there! You must be the-" She started, but I snarled at her, withdrawing my talons from hers. "Well, aren't you grumpy.... well then! I'm Fatespeaker, the NightWing dragonet of destiny! You must be the SkyWing! What's your name? Oh! Did I tell you about the vision I had last night? It was SUPER cool! So, it started off with-"
"Will you SHUT UP?" I roared, making Fatespeaker yelp in alarm.
"You don't have to yell! And you haven't told me your name yet!" She suddenly turned to the SeaWing. "Oh! And you haven't told me your name! What is it?"
"I am Squid, the glorious and honorable son of Nautilus, the leader of the Talons." the SeaWing said gloatingly, placing his talons on his chest in an "honorable" manner. I rolled my eyes. Squid. A stupid name for a stupid dragon.
"And you are?" Both dragonets said simultaneously, giving me their undivided attention.
"None of your business." I snorted a small plume of flame before walking away.
When you fix shattered glass,
It'll still have cracks in it.
These cracks, these faults...
You can't get rid of.
They stay there for the rest of eternity.
They can never be removed.
Those cracks change the overall piece.
It's a change that will stand the test of time.
And then you get a new piece of glass...
And the cracks are gone. 
The faults are gone.
As if it never happened.
But a dragon...
A dragon, a dragon's heart...
These things, 
We can't be replaced.
We will never be fixed.
Face it.
I'll never be the same again.
And it's your fault...
All your fault.
"MudWing, hurry up. We can't let the IceWing patrols spot us." The NightWing ordered, the same who had stolen me from my mother of Nautilus' orders. I had later learned that his name was Morrowseer.
"But I'm hungry..." Ochre moaned. chugging along at the back of the formation.
"You're always hungry," Squid shouted behind his back.
"But I'm really hungry this time!"
"Well, you could use being hungry, you may lose some weight."
"Hey!"
This is what living with the Talons of Peace is like. I'm stuck with four idiots who don't appreciate anything. The SeaWing is snobby, the MudWing is loud and fat, the NightWing is obnoxious, and the SandWing ignores everyone. When she does talk, it's nothing helpful.
And for some reason, they all hated me the most. I don't know why. I had tried to be nice to them, I can't help that I'm short-tempered. Was it because the older NightWing favored me? He definitely did for some reason. It was beyond me.
But I've had enough of listening to them whine and argue. I beat my wings harder, accelerating past Squid and Fatespeaker. As I passed them, Squid cried, "Hey! He's cheating! It's not fair that he has bigger wings than the rest of us!"
"That's true!" Ochre yelled from the rear of the formation.
"It is fair, we all have different abilities." A voice spoke up. We all turned to the source, the SandWing dragonet. She noticed our looks and snarled. "What? It's true."
"No, it's not!"
"Yes, it is! You can see in the dark and breathe underwater, for cryin' out loud!"
"Yeah, but he has bigger wings! I should have bigger wings than him."
"Oh, shut up, will you?" I warned, shouting behind my back.
"I can say whatever I want." Squid mocked, quoting my earlier comment.
I growled, and Fatespeaker began shaking in flight. "Guys, stop fighting! Stay happy! Remember, we love each oth-"
"No, we don't! We hate each other! In fact, I HATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!" I roared, silencing every dragonet, even earning an annoyed snort from Morrowseer. With that, I blew a thin jet of fire from my mouth and beat my wings harder than before. I surpassed the SandWing, easily catching up to Morrowseer, who eyed me warily when I flew past him.
"SkyWing, don't go too far! We can't afford to lose you." Morrowseer called.
"Why? There are plenty of other SkyWings." I retorted. And 'SkyWing' has a name, you know.
To this Morrowseer snarled. He mumbled something, but I only caught "Retrieve another."
"Get back here. You are nonnegotiable."
"Fine."
You know,
You said I was born with demons.
You said the demons came and found you.
You said I let them take control of myself.
You even said...
I created my own demons.
The demons take control of you...
Against your will,
With your will,
The list goes on and on.
You're wrong. 
Oh, so wrong.
But you are right about one thing.
You create your own demons.
But...
It's you, too.
You made a small rupture in the glass.
Just a scratch, nothing close to harm.
It's still one piece, and you can still use it.
However,
You started to chip away at this fracture.
You made it larger.
You broke it into pieces,
Useless, lifeless pieces.
And just when I was about to pull myself back together,
My demons came and finished the very job you started.
And it's not only your fault, but my own.
You planned my demise.
You set me up.
So stop lying to me.
It's not just another demon,
Waiting patiently to eat me alive
From the inside out.
No.
Nothing hurts more
Than knowing you killed youself...
And no one will ever find the truth.
This is what you did to me.
Viper, the SandWing, fell into a small pit in the ground, tripping Ochre, who fell on top of her. Viper hissed and bit his tail, making the MudWing scream in pain. Suddenly, Nautilus stepped forward and snatched his son, Squid, out of the fight before I could show him what for.
"Stop this!" The elder SeaWing yelled. "You are being watched!"
I snapped my jaws shut and caught a glimpse of Morrowseer as he stepped into the sunlight.
"I knew it!" Fatespeaker cried, making the rest of us roll our eyes. "I knew a NightWing was coming to see us! Didn't I tell you guys this would happen?"
She's so full of herself.
"Did you?" Ochre scratched his throbbing head.
"No," Viper hissed.
"Don't think so," Squid joined in.
"Even if you did, you also predicted an earthquake, a new Talon of Peace, and that we'd have something besides seagulls for breakfast this week," I snarled in annoyance. I was starting to think that Fatespeaker didn't quite have the visions NightWings were supposedly known for. "And since none of those have happened, you can see why we might have stopped listening."
"Well, I knew! I saw it with my powers! And I foresee that he brought us something great for breakfast. Didn't you?" Fatespeaker beamed at Morrowseer as I rolled my eyes, once again, from behind her back.
"Hmmm. Nautilus, a word, please." The larger NightWing gave a clearly audible sigh.
"Can I come, too?" Fatespeaker asked. "I've never met another NightWing before. Although, of course, I feel a very strong psychic connection with our whole tribe."
"Stay. Here." Morrowseer pushed her away, making the rest of us giggle. Then, Morrowseer stepped outside of our line of sight. Luckily, he took Squid with him.
"Well, he could've been nicer," Fatespeaker snorted.
"You deserved it." Ochre stated. Viper high-fived him on the talons.
"Why are you so mean to me? I try so hard to be nice to you, and this is what I get?"
"It's because you're annoying." I said.
"Seconded." Viper said plainly.
"Agreed." Ochre added.
"I'm not annoying!" Fatespeaker protested, spreading her "majestic" wings.
"Yes, you are." Viper growled.
"She's right." said Ochre.
"And so is he." I replied.
At that time, Squid trotted up to meet them, chest puffed out in front of him. "Guess what! I'm the son of the leader of the Talons and a dragonet of destiny! Aren't I special?" he claimed with great confidence.
"Do we care?" Viper, Ochre, and I snarled.
"Even if we did, we know that already." I added.
"Well," Squid stuttered. "I am important."
"Of course you are!" Fatespeaker piped in. "We're all important! Each and every one of us is-"
"SHUT UP!" We all shouted in unison.
Fatespeaker lowered her head and started to whimper.
"Oh, moons, you're not going to-" I started, but tears began to pour from her eyes.
"Why do you have to be so mean to me?"
For some reason, that question hit me almost as hard as when I was taken from Mother.The Hidden Kingdom, prologue
You told me, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
You have no clue as to what you're saying.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, yes,
But it also stabs the heart.
Weakens it.
Makes it shrivel to a small pulp of forgotten love.
Absence will make the heart long for their loved one, yes,
But it makes the heart long for something else.
Vengeance.
Justice.
Blood.
Tears.
Fire.
Smoke.
So always remember,
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
"We have to what?!" Squid protested loudly.
"We've no time to waste. let's go." Morrowseer ordered, spreading his wings, absorbing every last drop of light like a greedy sponge.
"But it's so far!" Ochre whined.
"For a fat MudWing, it sure is," I retorted, having been annoyed by the other dragonets.
"You're a SkyWing! Flying is so much easier for you!" Fatespeaker added cheerfully, but not as optimistic as she'd normally be. I snorted a burst of fire, making her yelp and take a step back.
"Oh, get over it," Viper snarled, already taking to the sky.
Squid whimpered and reluctantly followed her. I spread my wings, feeling the wind pulling at them like they used to. I was home, in the Sky Kingdom. But something was missing.
"I hate this place. Hate, hate, hate it." I tried to pick the dark dust from between by claws, but to no avail.
"I hate it more." Squid moaned. He coughed his next words. "My scales feel so dry. My talons hurt. And I'm hungry."
"I hate that big old stupid horrible NightWing," Viper piped up.
"I can't believe my dad let him take me."
"Oh, stop. It's not that bad." Fatespeaker said, joining the conversation.
"I want to die," Ochre groaned.
"I want you to die, too," I volunteered. I was not in the mood for this.
"You smell ghastly," Viper agreed with me.
"I don't think I should have eaten that dead thing." The MudWing mumbled, tapping a claw to his chin like he was in deep thought. "Or all of your dead things."
"Well, I wasn't going to eat it. We are on an island. I think someone should be able to bring me a fresh fish, considering who my father is and the fact that I'm a dragonet of destiny. I mean, really."
Shut up, I thought. You aren't rewarded for what your father did. And you haven't done anything as a dragonet of destiny, if we even are dragonets of destiny.
"I foresee--" Fatespeaker began, to all of our dismay.
"No!" Viper shouted pleadingly.
"Spare us," cried Squid.
"Aaaaaarrrrrrgh," Ochre moaned unpleasantly.
"Now I want you both to die," I snarled. Couldn't they just give me two minutes of peace?
"Oh, shush," Fatespeaker said quite sarcastically. "I'm using my POWERS. Behold! I foresee a... walrus! A walrus in our future! An entire walrus for us to eat!"
"Why are you torturing me?" wailed the MudWing.
"We hardly ever had walrus even when we lived next to the sea." Squid pointed out, which was one of the smartest things he has ever said.
"Despite the fact that you predicted we would just about every week." Viper added.
"My visions are not always precise," Fatespeaker began lecturing. "It does not say when this walrus will arrive, only that it will, and then we shall feast. And everything will be wonderful again."
"When has it ever been wonderful before?" I growled. NOTHING has been "wonderful". I was stolen from my mother and forced to live with four stupid lizards that hated me because I was a SkyWing.
"Do us a favor and stop sharing your stupid powers with us," Viper snapped sourly.
Fatespeaker shut up for a while, glancing all over the cave. "I'm having ANOTHER VISION," she announced.
Squid threw a bone at her, but he unfortunately missed.
"I'm just letting you know that I'm NOT TELLING YOU ABOUT IT, even though it's VERY SIGNIFICANT."
Well, thank the moons.The Hidden Kingdom, pages 293 through 296
You've told me, "You're always good for something."
Like what?
For being a punching bag?
For being an object rather than an intelligent, living being?
For being a patch of grass?
Something that you can continuously cut and run over...
So it can grow back...
Only to be heartbroken once more.
Yeah.
I'm good for something.
The laughing stock.
The display of stupidity.
The worst dragon who ever lived.
Well,
The joke's on you.
Because you're good for something,
You're good for something all right.
Yes, you'll do for now.
You'll cure my pain.
But only temporarily.
Because what you have done to me...
It can't be reversed.
But I'll have the last words.
And then you'll see
How wrong you were.
Fatespeaker had finally left the cave to "explore my tribe's home". Naturally, no one objected. We sat in sweet, peaceful silence until we heard claws clicking on the dirty stone floor. Fatespeaker and Morrowseer emerged into the cave with an unfamiliar NightWing dragonet, somewhere around our age.
"The alternate dragonets of destiny," growled Morrowseer.
What does that mean? I pondered, but thankfully my face his my thoughts.
"Who is that?" Squid squinted at the newcomer, as if he was trying to put things together in his tiny brain. "Looks like her,"
Duh, I rolled my eyes. They're both NightWings.
"Is he going to be annoying like her?" Squid motioned to Fatespeaker.
"This is Starflight. Starflight, these are my friends," Fatespeaker stated, completely ignoring Squid's once-in-a-brightest-night intelligent point. I snorted in disbelief as Viper rolled her eyes, although it was hard to tell in the dim lighting of the cave. "Over there is the SkyWing, obviously," I perked my head up upon hearing 'SkyWing.' "The fat MudWing is Ochre, the SandWing with the sour expression is Viper, and the shrimpy SeaWing is Squid."
"Did she get in trouble?" Squid addressed to Morrowseer. "I told her she'd get in trouble if she left the cave. I hope you thumped her."
"Where have you been?" Viper demanded at the same time, but with a louder and more threatening tone. "We've been here for a whole day and a half and no one has checked on us or fed us anything but what appears to be leftovers from a meal three months ago."
"Most of which he threw up," I added pointing the tip of my port wing towards Ochre.
"It was awful," The MudWing clarified. "Probably food poisoning. You're lucky I'm still alive."
"Quite lucky," I agreed menacingly. "Since I was extremely tempted to kill him."
"That's why it smells so bad in here." Fatespeaker said, a little to late to the party. "Can we move to a different cave? Or, oooh, into the fortress!"
Starflight seemed to be in deep thought, and we were all staring at him. He suddenly shuddered and said, "So Deathbringer was coming for all of us," he said to Morrowseer.
Deathbringer? Others?
"His primary target was the RainWing. Secondary, the SeaWing. The rest of you are still negotiable." Morrowseer replied. 
What are they talking about?
"You can't kill Glory and Tsunami. I--I won't do anything you say if that happens." Starflight started shaking, making the latter statement less of an impact than it could have been.
"We'll see."
"Your real problem is that my friends are never going to let you replace me," Fatespeaker butted in.
Friends? FRIENDS?! Who said we were her friends? I was about to say something, but the talkative dragonet continued.
"We were raised together! We're loyal to each other! They'll fight back if you try to take me out and put someone else in!"
Really, now?
"Replace her?" Viper's head poked up, suddenly interested in the conversation. "We can do that?"
"Do it. I vote yes." I confirmed.
"Me too. He look quiet. Quiet would be great." Ochre backed us up.
"Can I be the one to shove her off a cliff?" Squid asked.
Fatespeaker looked at us with a hurt face. "Very funny, guys." She really needed to work on her sarcasm.
"Do you have annoying visions all the time, too?" Squid asked Starflight. He shuffled on his talons as if he knew that if he said, yes, he'd be killed right then and there.
"You may all be 'replaced,'" Morrowseer said loudly and angrily. Then he nodded at me, adding, "Except for you."
I puffed out my chest. Serves me right after all I've been through! "Ha. And don't you all forget it." Although, being replaced would mean that I'd get to go home...
Viper hissed at me, then turned to Morrowseer. "Then why'd you bring us here?"
"And when can we go back?" Squid added.
Morrowseer frowned at him. "If you want to be part of this, what I need to see from all of you is that you can take orders, work together, and do as you're told."
"'Take orders' and 'do as you're told' are the same thing." claimed Captain-Obvious-Fatespeaker.
"That's how important it is." He changed his glance to Starflight. "So. Your first test. You. All you have to do, if you can, is stay alive."
"What?" Starflight stuttered, representing the question that was in all of our heads.
"The rest of you, kill him." Morrowseer flicked his tail at Starflight, and a pause followed.
"Can't we kill her instead?" Viper asked, pointing her barbed tail at Fatespeaker.
"Oooo, yes. I volunteer." I perked up, raising my wings.
"No! What are you waiting for? That was an order! I said kill him!" Morrowseer shouted.
Viper lunged at Starflight, being the first to react. Ochre clawed at Starflight's other side, and I prepared my fire. Before I could blast him, the black NightWing ducked under the MudWing, shoved Squid into Viper, nicely dodged Fatespeaker, and fled out of the cave.
I stood there for a shocked moment, and then I burst after him. The others followed me, and we took to the inky sky. Fatespeaker didn't follow us for some reason. But that didn't matter.
Starflight looked behind them, and seemed to accelerate a little bit. We continued to give chase, avoiding blasting steam from the vents in the ground and the rocks of the mountain. The fleeing NightWing swooped in an arc, headed toward the fortress. I beat my wings harder, managing to get right behind them. Fire began leaking out of my nose as the NightWing risked a glance, then burst towards the RainWing prison camps we heard of.
Starflight flew through the smoke, wakening a NightWing guard. We followed him, reaching the guard.
"Where is he?" I asked the guard, in a complete hurry.
"Who are you?" roared the NightWing.
She must know!
"Intruders! A SkyWing! And a MudWing! They've come back for the rest of our prisoners!"
Is she this stupid?
Apparently. She started banging on a gong, making Ochre and I cover our ears.
"No!" I yelled over the noise, squinting my eyes. "We're supposed to be here!"
"We're with Morrowseer!" Ochre tried to help.
"We're trying to kill a NightWing dragonet! Did you see where he went?" Oh, no. Oh moons! I didn't mean to say that! No-no!
"THEY'RE HERE TO KILL OUR DRAGONETS!" the guard shrieked, slamming the gong on poor Ochre's flat head.
"OW!" he yelled.
Then fifteen NightWings emerged from the sky, surrounding us. The guard slammed Ochre in the head once more with the gong, knocking him out. I watched him drop to the ground, then I faced her before all went black.
You said "Justice for all."
But you don't understand.
When your heart
And the world
Are nothing but
Shattered glass and dreams,
Justice is no more.
Justice is lost.
Justice is gone.
Justice is done.
Sad but true,
I speak from experience.
I have suffered more than you will ever suffer in your life.
"Justice for all," you say?
Ha!
Justice for all, I say.
Justice for both you and me.
I awoke next to Ochre, who was snoring unpleasantly. I heard footsteps approaching, and I turned to the source of the noise.
Morrowseer had finally come to bail us out.The Dark Secret, pages 71 through 82
Morrowseer ripped the blanket off of Starflight, who seemed to be hiding something. Ochre and I stood behind the larger NightWing, glaring at the dragonet who we served a night in prison for.
Fatespeaker bounded toward us, making us all scream in agony on the inside. Viper and Squid followed her sullenly. The other NightWing dragonets in the cave perked their heads to see what was going on.
"Let's go." Morrowseer ordered.
"Where are we going?" Fatespeaker asked as if she saw no faults in this plan.
"To see if it's worth spending any more time on you. Certain dragons think we should lock you all up until we sort out our RainWing problem, but I think you need as much training as possible starting as soon as possible. So. Today we'll have another test."
"A test?" Starflight repeated. "On what? We haven't had time to study! Shouldn't we review the material first?"
"Sometimes it's hard not to bite you."
Starflight looked over his shoulder and saw me glaring at him. He maneuvered so he was on the other side of Fatespeaker.
What a baby.
We followed Morrowseer out of the fortress, who finally said, "Stay close to me. Don't try anything." Then he took to the stormy sky without another word. We had no choice but to do the same.
"Wait!" Squid whined. "We haven't even had breakfast. You're not going to make me fly on an empty stomach, are you? Because I will die. I will literally die."
"You won't, actually, not for a while." Starflight said in a lecturing know-it-all tone. "Most dragons can naturally survive for up to a month without eating, if necessary, according to A Natural History of Unnatural Dragon Abilities."
"Listen to the scrollworm," I said quite nastily. "Isn't he clever?" I just can't say I wasn't jealous of his intelligence.
"I will never never go a whole month without eating." The MudWing moaned.
"Is one of the 'unnatural abilities' being really annoying? Because there should be a whole chapter on you and Fatespeaker."
At least someone agrees with me. Although, he's not as bad as Fatespeaker. And you can't blame him. I tried to kill him upon meeting him, even though it was an order.
"You don't even know me. I was just trying to help." Starflight defended himself.
I guess he fights with words.
"I thought it was interesting," Fatespeaker butted in once more.
I think something's up between these two... 
"And probably useful, if the NightWings keep feeding us the horrible stuff they've been bringing us so far."
"Oh, I have a theory about that."
Please don't share it with us... Unfortunately, he did. They talked and talked and talked and talked, on and on and on and on as the group flew over the violent ocean.
"Wow." Fatespeaker said.
"Is this the test? Listen to you for as long as we can without dying of boredom?" Viper said rudely, stealing my lines.
"Nobody's talking to you, Viper," Fatespeaker shot back.
And you don't do the same thing!? I almost shouted that aloud, but Fatespeaker continued talking.
"Go be grumpy at Squid and leave Starflight alone." I was about to speak my previous thoughts, but a new one entered my mind: Yes. Something's definitely going on between these two.
Soon enough, rain fell from the clouds. "My wings are getting wet." Squid complained.
You're the one to talk?! "Boohoo, you poor SeaWing," I snapped out of anger.
Some time passed, with me being able to easily stay with Morrowseer as the others lagged behind. Lightning flashed as we landed on a small, rocky island.
"Halfway there!" Fatespeaker cheered as Starflight landed.
We rested for a good amount of time, which wasn't enough for the other dragonets. We lifted for the sky and kept flying for what seemed like forever. Finally, the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, my original home, showed its face across the horizon. My heart leapt for joy. Were we going home?
We eventually landed on a rocky cliff, Squid sprawled out on his back. Morrowseer and I were the only dragons who weren't breathing like it was a profession.
"Is someone...following us?" Starflight asked Morrowseer.
"That's none of your concern." Morrowseer answered, which probably meant yes, someone is following us.
We looked ahead of us and saw a faint glow of firelight coming from a cave.
"What is it?" Fatespeaker asked.
"The most remote outpost of the SkyWing army," Morrowseer said. I was alert once he said "SkyWing." "Their assignment is to guard against attacks from the north, in case Queen Glacier ever decides to try this approach to the palace. There are no other dragons for miles. This is your test."
We all stared at him, not understanding what this "test" was.
"What is?" Starflight asked after a while.
"You want us to kill them," Viper guessed, flexing her claws. "All of them?"
"I don't want to," Squid complained. "What if someone bites me?"
"Shut up or I'll bite you," I hissed. How dare he disrespect members of my tribe!
"No, you're not here to kill them." Morrowseer snapped, which relieved me. "You're the dragonets of the great prophecy, remember? Your test is to act like it." He then pointed to the cave. "Go in there, tell the guards that you are the real prophesied dragonets, and convince them to switch their alliance from Burn to Blister."
WHAT?! That'll never happen! I suppose the NightWings don't understand how loyal the SkyWings are.
"Just-convince them," Viper shouted over the strong gust of wind that had tried to throw us off our talons. "A bunch of strange SkyWings. So instead of killing them, we're going to ask them to kill us."
"I foresee that this is going to go really, really badly!" Fatespeaker yelled.
"Me too," Ochre cried. "Maybe I have special NightWing powers, too."
"They're going to kill me! Squid shouted tragically. "SeaWings and SkyWings are enemies! If you send me in there, I'm dead!"
"If you can't survive this, then you're useless for the prophecy anyway." Morrowseer said, then he pointed to Fatespeaker. "You, stay here. We'll see how well that one does, this time." He flicked his claws at the other NightWing dragonet.
"Won't they just take us prisoner?" Starflight asked wearily. "And take us back to the Sky Palace?"
That wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I'll see Mother again...
"Not if you're convincing enough. Now go." He shot a blast of fire at Squid, who yelped and leapt out of the way.
"I don't want to." Squid whined, but Viper and I were already shoving him forward. Ochre and Starflight brought up the rear.
As we approached, we heard loud voices trailing from the cave.
"What if someone's on watch?" Starflight whispered, making all of us freeze in our tracks. Lightning flashed, revealing a sleeping guard perched on the cliff above. We approached the wooden door, and right before I knocked, Starflight said, "Wait. Let's be smart about this. We don't have to charge right in. Let's listen for a minute and see if we hear anything that might be useful."
"Fine." Ochre shrugged.
"But it's wet out here." grumbled Squid.
Viper and I exchanged glances and nodded. Whatever made this easier on us was okay with me. We crept up to the wall, putting our ears against it to hear the conversations inside.
"If Queen Ruby says we can return to the palace, you better believe I'm going home," a SkyWing growled. Wait, that sounded like...
"You'd be obeying the orders of a false queen," another snarled. Isn't that... "Queen Scarlet is still alive, and she'll have us all killed if we abandon our posts."
"Then where is she?" a third challenged. I'm sure that's... "What kind of queen leaves her kingdom in chaos like this?
"It's not chaos. We have Ruby now." I recognized this SkyWing to be Kilimanjaro, who wasn't the kingdom's biggest Scarlet supporter. "And she says we can leave."
"But Queen Burn says we shouldn't," someone else spoke up.
"She's not our queen." snapped another voice.
"That's enough. No one's going anywhere today." boomed an authoritative voice. "Not in this storm. We'll discuss it again tomorrow." No way! Is that... General Vulcan?
"Useless," I confirmed. They were all mad. There's nothing you can do when a SkyWing is angry.
"Perhaps not," Starflight began. I rolled my eyes. "Did you hear how some of them are dissatisfied with Burn? We can press that, i think. If she's trying to act like she's their new queen, I bet a whole lot of SkyWings would be willing to reconsider their alliance." He doesn't understand...
"Fancy talk," Viper said, shoving Starflight to the door. "Now let's see you actually do it." I knocked on the door, silencing the noise from the SkyWings inside. Stamping talons approached the door, which was flung open, revealing seventeen-ish dragons.
"What in the..." the guard who answered the door trailed off, completely confused.
The SkyWing who I recognized as Kilimanjaro inhaled sharply. "It's them!"
"It can't be," another hissed.
"It is us. From the prophecy." I stated, hoping that one of them would remember me.
"The dragonets of destiny..." said an awestruck SkyWing.
"Wow, dragons actually call us that?" Viper spoke up. "Lame. I hereby forbid anyone to use that phrase again."
"Is that a roasted seagull?" Ochre suddenly asked, shoving himself into the room and devouring a half-eaten carcass on one of the tables.
A few soldiers exchanged glances, becoming more and more skeptical.
"Why are you here?" one asked. "After you escaped--why come back? To here, of all places?"
"And what did you do to the SeaWings?" another questioned. "No attacks, no raids, no sign of them since we destroyed their Summer Palace. We know plenty of them must have survived, so where's the counterattack?"
"Do you have Queen Scarlet?" demanded another SkyWing. "What have you done with her?"
I waved my talons as if these questions were useless. "We're here to tell you you're supporting the wrong SandWing. Burn isn't going to be queen. Like the prophecy says, she's going to die. We've chosen Blister."
Several dragons sprang to their feet, making a mess out of everything.
"How dare you?" one shouted.
"We're not taking orders from some puny dragonets!"
"We'll never let the SeaWings win!"
One of them shoved me in the chest, causing me to take a step back. "Traitor!" he shouted.
"Blister killed my brother!" a soldier roared. "She will never be queen. Her fate is to die beneath my talons!"
"We're the dragons from the prophecy!" Viper yelled. "You have to listen to us!"
"No, you're not," said General Vulcan, who stepped forward. The other SkyWings hushed themselves as General Vulcan seized Squid's ear and dragged him into the middle of the room.
"That is not the SeaWing we captured before. You saw the marks she left on the guards she fought with. And I do mean she. Also she was blue. This sniveling creature is no dragonet of destiny." He then looked at the rest of his, suspicion in his eyes. "I say we kill him. Perhaps we kill them all."
"No!" Starflight blurted. "I am the NightWing the queen held prisoner. I swear I am. Remember she had me fight scavengers? And then the other NightWings came and took me?"
General Vulcan breathed a plume of smoke at the NightWing. "I suppose that could be the MudWing," he muttered, pointing to Ochre. "And we never saw the SandWing or the SkyWing. We assumed the queen was holding them elsewhere in the palace, in case they could be fixed and allowed to rejoin us. But perhaps living with the Talons of Peace will ruin any dragon, even from the best of tribes."
He then jabbed at Squid with his tail and asked, "If you're the NightWing from the palace, what happened to the SeaWing who was with you before?"
"She's-" Starflight started, but he stayed quiet for quite some time. He finally looked into the general's eyes and said, "She's gathering an army. We're going to end this war." He then looked to the other SkyWings and announced, "Soon you'll be able to go home to your families. Soon you will all be safe. Soon there will be peace."
I noticed the longing looks of the soldiers, and one of them spoke up. "Was that a prophecy?"
"It was a promise."
Viper snorted before General Vulcan asked, "But that about Blister? Have you really chosen her? Is she the next SandWing queen?"
Several soldiers hissed and rattled their wings.
We were all watching Starflight now, who seemed to be in deep thought. he then glanced at us and coiled his tail, looking down at his talons before returning his eyes to General Vulcan's.
"No, we haven't chosen anyone yet."
"So choose Burn," a soldier said, and others nodded in agreement.
"Burn is cruel. You know she is. She lives for war," Starflight started, to which I thought, No, she doesn't! You don't understand! Even dragons from the Talons of Peace feel ties to their home tribes. "Even if she wins, she won't stop killing and fighting. She'll probably turn on all of you and try to take your kingdom next."
The shocked silence that followed surprised me. I read the slightly skeptical looks of the soldiers, and I knew that every SkyWing in the room was thinking, Does he really think this is true of Burn?
"Yeah," I said half-heartedly, ready to leave. "What he said."
"So, was that a prophecy?" whispered the same soldier, but with a slight satirical manner.
"Let's take them back to the palace," spoke General Vulcan. "We'll turn them over to Queen Ruby and let her decide. If they know anything about Queen Scarlet's whereabouts, she'll get it out of them." He lashed his tail as Starflight took a step back, terror in his eyes.
That's when the door burst open and NightWings came running in, fire blazing.
I watched as flames engulfed the SkyWings I once knew before talons seized my tail and threw me outside. I heard my fellow tribe mates shrieking in agony, and the NightWings were blocked any soldier who tried to escape.
"No!" Starflight yelled, which caught me be surprise. "I promised them! I promised them! You can't kill them! Morrowseer! Stop them!"
"You are peculiar. They're only a handful of SkyWings," Morrowseer said from the shadows. Only a handful of SkyWings?! Is that what we are in your greedy eyes?! Only a handful of lives at your disposal?! "Why would you care?"
"Can't you spare them? Please let them live." Starflight begged.
"It's much too late for that."
No, it's not! You can still save them! I was about to rush up to Morrowseer to speak my mind, but I was interrupted by Squid.
"They nearly killed me! Just like I said they would! I quit! I don't want to be in the prophecy anymore! There's no treasure and it's boring and stupid and I'm hungry and I hate your island and I want to go home!" Squid yelled.
Don't we all... I started drifting off back into shock, but Morrowseer's cold words reached my ears before they shut off the world.
"Fine. I've never met a dragonet more pointless than you. Go sniveling back to the Talons of Peace. See if you can find them by yourself. I hope you die on the way." Morrowseer shoved Squid forcefully. "Get out of here! Go!"
Squid stumbled back, thinking of a way to react. "By myself? But--but you wouldn't--my dad is the leader of the Talons--you have to be nice to me. You can't send me off--"
"I certainly can." Lightning flashed before Morrowseer continued. "Leave or I will kill you. I never want to see you again."
Seriously? He's leaving...?
"Wait," Fatespeaker butted in, unusually serious. "Morrowseer, wait. He's one of us. We can't lose him."
"We have another one. We just have to retrieve her from the rainforest. But she's clearly made an impression on any dragons who've run into her, so we're stuck with her. Whereas this one is nothing but useless."
"It's not fair. It's not my fault some other SeaWing is better than me." Squid whined in his defense.
"You can't do this! Viper! Tell him!" Fatespeaker cried, shedding tears.
Viper shrugged and I unconsciously hunched my wings. I kept staring into the fiery inferno that was once the Northernmost Outpost of the mighty SkyWing army.
"He said he doesn't want to be in the prophecy anyway," Ochre spoke up.
"I didn't mean it!" Squid whined.
Morrowseer whacked Squid in the back of the head with his tail. "Leave. Now. Be grateful I'm not killing you instead."
Whimpering, Squid backed up and spread his wings. He lifted into the stormy sky, and that was the last I saw of him.The Dark Secret, pages 113 through 137
You know, I've learned a lot since then.
I've heard a lot from my post.
I've seen a lot from my post.
And I've said a lot from my post.
But no one listens to me.
Sometimes, I wonder if I have a voice.
I wonder if you have ears.
You think you're so intelligent.
I wish I could tell you how wrong you are.
But I can't.
And it's your fault.
Look at me.
You did this to me.
And you think it's so funny.
I don't.
And I don't think you will when I'm through with you.
I'm coming for you.
I'm coming for you,
And this time,
there will be no mercy.
"Up!" Morrowseer snarled from the cave entrance. Every dragonet in the room rushed to their feet, but Morrowseer's gaze was fixed on us. "Yesterday was stupendously unimpressive. Next time you're in that kind of situation, I want to be sure you can fight your way out of it, even without backup. So. Today, battle training."
"Next time?" Viper shouted. "I'm not stupid enough to go through that again."
"If you would like to take yourself back to the Talons of Peace, too, there's the door." Morrowseer pointed his wings toward the smoky gray sky.
"My throat hurts." I spoke, up, looking at the cave floor. I still haven't quite gotten over the shock from the day prior.
"There's water in the trough down there. Catch up to us as fast as you can." Morrowseer left with the others as I trotted to the other side to the dormitory.
While I sipping from the warm, salty water, a NightWing dragonet sneered, "So, I heard your ever-so-special mission ended badly. Did you have a play in that?" I turned my head to face her, gave her an angry look, and blew a spurt of fire in her face.
Before she could protest, I ran out of the cave and caught up with the others, coughing and scratching my sore throat. Morrowseer led us outside, and thick river of lava flowed everywhere.
"Aren't we a little close to the lava?" Starflight asked nervously.
"Everywhere on this island is close to lava." growled Morrowseer. He then flicked his tail at Ochre and me. "Let's begin with you two. Try to kill each other and I'll step in when I think it's necessary."
Ochre looked at me with a sickened expression, as if he understood that I'd have no problems with killing him. "Try to kill each other? With no breakfast?"
I flexed my claws. "Fine by me. Any rules?"
"There are no rules on the battlefield." Morrowseer answered.
With that, I leaped at Ochre, slashing at his nose. I spun around and kicked him in the chest.
"OW!" he yelled, lunging at me.
We shuffled and wrestled on the rocky ground. I blew fire at him, occasionally hitting him and occasionally tearing off into moons know where.
We fought until Ochre finally took to the sky, shouting, "Stop it! I want to stop!"
Morrowseer snorted as I blew another spurt of fire at Ochre. "An opponent on the battlefield wouldn't stop because you asked them to."
"He's bleeding pretty seriously. Look at the cut on his wing." Fatespeaker pointed out.
"Hmm," Morrowseer studied the bleeding MudWing. "All right, MudWing, you're out--and you're in." He seized Fatespeaker's shoulder and threw her at me.
A chance to get rid of Fatespeaker? I'll take it! He jumped forward and bit her neck as hard as I could.
"Yow!" she shrieked in pain, which brought joy to my ears. She beast at my head with her wings until I let go, and then she clawed at my face and darted away. Coward.
"Send me in, too! I want to bite her! I can definitely kill her, just give me a chance!" Viper urged.
"Go ahead and try," Morrowseer permitted.
Viper hissed delightfully and charged in, Fatespeaker yelping and running away from her, too.
Starflight pleaded to Morrowseer, but I was too busy with trying to kill the NightWing dragonet to understand what they were saying. I breathed a blast of fire at Fatespeaker, who ducked and rolled away before Viper's tail stabbed the earth beside her.
I stayed focused until Morrowseer yelled, "SkyWing, has nobody taught you how to hold in your fire until it's at maximum temperature? Like this.
"I didn't pay attention. I was to busy attacking Fatespeaker, who shouted, "Starflight, help me!"
Suddenly, their was a heavy weight on my back. I roared and twisted, trying to throw it off of me. At the same time, Viper knocked Fatespeaker to the ground and pinned her there.
"Stop! Leave her alone!" Starflight pleaded, running toward them.
Yep, something's up between these two NightWings.
"This is your fault! I could be back at camp with my parents if it weren't for your stupid tribe." Viper hissed. Starflight tackled Viper before the SandWing's tail hit Fatespeaker. As Viper staggered back, her tail flew for balance and sliced me right across the face.
I roared with pain, and the only thing I remember was hitting Viper's body and the sound of her scream.The Dark Secret, pages 182 through 187
I awoke to the smell of smoke and sulfur. And the sound of Starflight's sheepish voice.
"Wake up," he said, prying me into a whole new world of pain. "It's important."
I opened my uninjured eye, groaned, and closed it again.
"You have to come with us," Fatespeaker urged.
I'm not going anywhere with you!
"We know how to save you! But it'll only work if we go now." Starflight added.
Yeah, right. "Why would you save me?" I mumbled. It obviously wasn't because they were fond of me. There had to be something else urgent enough for them to help me, of all dragons.
"Because you're my friend and it's the right thing to do." Fatespeaker answered. That's the lie I expected.
"Hrrmph," I muttered, uninterested.
Starflight poked me under the wing. "Because we can use your tragic face to get us off this island." I noticed that he said "us", and I assumed that meant him and Fatespeaker. But what caught my attention was the fact that they were escaping, and I could go with them.
I lifted my head and said, "That sounds like a real reason."
And so they supported my lifeless body and left the healer's room.
I slightly remember them talking to other dragons, but I was close to fainting. I couldn't make out a word they said. I then remember flapping through a dark, creepy tunnel and collapsing into a warmer, more humid climate. I then fell into the emptiness known as unconsciousness. The Dark Secret, pages 214 through 222
I slipped in and out of consciousness for days on and after the events that took place in the Night Kingdom. Honestly, every time I reawakened, I forgot what had happened the last time I was awake. This cycle went on and on and on until a weird-looking SandWing and a grumpy blue SeaWing entered the room I was in.
"Hey." said the SeaWing.
"What do you want?" I slurred, still groggy from sleep.
"Would you guide us to the Talons' camp? Please, plea- HEY!" The SandWing started begging, but once I heard "Talons' camp", I grabbed the closest thing - which happened to be a bowl of mangoes - and hurled it at her.
"I'M NOT LETTING ANYONE SEE ME WITH MY FACE LIKE THIS!! ESPECIALLY THE TALONS!!! THEY'RE THE ONES WHO LET IT HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE!! AND THOSE STUPID NIGHTWINGS!!" I yelled as loud as my energy would allow.
The Talons... I started sinking into thought, as I was wide awake by now. That means... I could... I can see Mother again.... "Wait!" I shouted, but they were already gone. Well, time to improvise.
I then rose to my sore talons and rushed out of the room, leaping into the sky after them.
Apparently the Talons relocated, as I almost flew right over their heads. If it weren't for my mother's familiar voice, I would have flown into infinity.
When Mother called my name, I faltered in mid-flight and looked down. There she was, in all her glory. I nearly crashed into the sandy dunes below, calling, "Mother?" I wobbled upright again, trying to work my way over to her.
Mother shoved past the two dragonets that had asked me to leave in the first place. She caught my head before it fell to the ground, and she roared when she got a closer look at my face.
"What happened to you? Who did this?" She wrapped her wings around me and pulled me into a warm embrace that reminded me of home.
I completely relaxed, allowing her to catch my collapsing form. I started crying, as tough as I was. My sobbing was muffled by Mother's neck, but I was sure every dragon could hear it. But that didn't matter. I was with Mother now, and that was all I cared about.
We stayed this way until the other Talons had left, leaving two blood-red SkyWings on the coast of the Kingdom of the Sea.
Finally, Mother regrouped, pulling her wings back.
"Son, let's go home."The Brightest Night, page 228
You have no regret for what you have done.
You have no respect for the lives you have taken.
You simply laugh at what is left of me.
You say, "Why don't you talk to me?"
And I try to answer.
But I can't.
My mouth is open, yet it is still sealed shut.
And then you say, "Ha! You can't talk!"
You mess with me as you please.
You contort my face,
You mock my pain.
You hang me by the neck above your fire,
Your wildfire of death and despair.
You leave me on this post,
Overlooking the damage you have done.
And you bring your silly friends, all of them praising you
For having killed a mighty dragon.
Not the creature's life you have taken.
I'm not the only one.
I use what is left of my eyes,
And I see the hellfire you have unleashed on nature.
You are a monstrous, vile creature.
And you think you're the head of the world.
You've told me countless stories and lies,
All centered around your fake glory.
Now I've told you my story.
It is nothing but the truth.
And you laugh at me,
Telling about the scrolls which you have read.
Wings of Fire, you tell me.
You stupid creatures.
I've shown you my wing of the fire.
You have united my fractured being,
Yet you have shattered it beyond repair.
So united I fall.
You know who I am.
Why don't you tell me?
Tell me, worthless scavengers...
What's my name?
==Citations==
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Fanfictions