The Infected AU: The New Hive Queen

==== Finish date: Sunday, July 16, 2023 ====
Author: Starscatter-The-AbyssWing!
=== Characters featured: ===
Canon:
Kinkajou, Turtle, Sunny, Thorn (WIP)
Fanon:
Firebug, Sage, Venom, Thyme, Leopard, Drift, Willful, Capricorn, (WIP)
=== Some things before we get started ===
PLEASE do not edit unless you are Python-the-sea-rain hybrid, or are fixing italics/grammar/spacing. Fanart would be greatly appreciated! If you have any, put it in the gallery at the bottom. Thank you :D
The Infected AU is not owned by me. All credit goes to the creator.
=== Prologue ===
Nettle ran. She ran as fast as her talons would carry her, through the Poison Jungle. Dodging a Venus Dragon-trap, she burst out of the jungle and flew into the air. The roaring and snapping behind her became louder, and teeth clanged against the armor on her tail. 
Clutching the egg in her talons, she looked back. Hundreds of infected dragons swarmed at her, shoving each other and clawing at her.
“NO!” Nettle screamed as one grabbed a hold of her tail. She quickly un-clipped the armor, and the dragon fell into the swarm, knocking them back a bit.
Her heart plummeted as she saw another swarm—then another, coming at her from all sides. She dove down to the ground, holding the egg close. She dove into a hive, weaving through tunnels. She fell suddenly, a weight landing on her back.
A dragon slashed through her wing membrane, causing her to fall faster. Just as she neared the ground, an infected slammed into her, grabbing her head with its claws. She scraped against the earth as thousands of infected ran at her. The egg slid from her claws, and into a doorway bursting with large green vines.
A HiveWing stood atop her and bit into her neck, spraying blood everywhere. The other dragons tore chunks of flesh off of her, hungry for blood. Nettle’s eyes shifted blank, and she staggered to her claws, the last of her mind slipping away. 
Now an infected, she followed the swarm out of the hive.
The egg, laying against the green vines, was scooped up by the mutated Breath of Evil and drawn into the chamber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The egg cracked, a LeafWing-like dragonet’s claw poked out. The Breath of Evil curled around the egg, flowers blooming.
The dragonet squeaked and pushed out of the egg, clambering onto the vines. The dragonet had a mix of IceWing spines on its neck, and large SkyWing wings. Her scales were mint green, with dapples of pearlescent white and red.
The vines wrapped around her leg, and curled up around her head like a crown. Flowers bloomed black and red on it, and the dragonet inhaled the pollen. One of their eyes turned white, and the dragonet chirped.
The Breath of Evil wrapped like a cocoon around the dragonet, sealing it in darkness.
== Part 1: The Burning Mountain ==
=== Chapter 1 ===
From the darkness, the infected dragonet slowly gained power. The vines bursting from her skull wound into a crown, and her white eye glowed.
Once she was about the size of a six year old, she was released from her prison.
Cautiously, she took her first step out of the chamber. The winding mass of thoughts from the other infected quieted and she smiled.
Finally, a physical form. The Breath of Evil stretched her claws, and flared her wings. Her IceWing spines tinkled as she walked down the halls of the Hive.
She closed her eyes as she broke into the sunlight, inhaling deeply. Talons flexing, she jumped into the air.
Her wings beat strongly against the air, propelling her forward. Untiring, she headed towards Pyrrhia.
The Breath of Evil touched down on the coastline, smelling the salty sea air. She immediately picked up the scent of a SeaWing. 
Must infect them . . . Her other eye glowed white and she stalked along the ground, spotting a SeaWing tail in the ocean a few feet away.
She launched into the air, landing squarely on the SeaWing’s back. She swiftly bit into their neck, the taste of blood filling her mouth.
The Breath of Evil grinned as the SeaWing’s eyes turned white and they became infected. 
Go infect the world! The Breath of Evil cackled as the SeaWing dove into the water to find other dragons.
She turned with a flourish and closed her eyes, feeling all of the infected on the continent. Welcome your new Queen, Pyrrhia.
Hunger struck The Breath of Evil. She gazed curiously at her stomach. What am I supposed to eat? This physical form is more annoying than I thought initially.
She lifted her nose and inhaled. Her eyes flashed white and she tracked the scent to a forest. Shaking out her wings, she flicked her tail back and forth.
And . . . Now. She pounced into the underbrush, tackling a SandWing who yelped in surprise. 
“AAAAH! HELP!” He wriggled under her strong grip, eyes wild.
“Oh shut up would you?” The Breath of Evil snarled.
He blinked, staring at her. “B-but infected can’t talk—“ He dodged an attempt to bite him and sliced his tail barb across her side. She roared and staggered off of him, angrily holding the wound.
The SandWing went for her neck, and blood sprayed from her throat. Eyes glowing in rage, she slammed him to the ground, slowly cutting his neck open. His roars stopped as she thrust her sharp talons into his stomach, finishing him off.
She panted, holding her neck wound.
Hunger . . . Her vision was tinted red. She reached down and tore a chunk of flesh off his bone, devouring it. Soon, nothing was left except his bones. Her wounds sealed, the scales knitting back together.
The Breath of evil picked up his skull, gazing at it thoughtfully. Vines shot from her shoulder blade, wrapping around the skull and attaching it to herself like armor. She smiled. Horrifying and useful. I like it.
She yawned, not bothering to wipe her bloodstained talons. She found a nice patch of shade and sat down, closing her eyes. Soon, she was asleep.
~~~~~~~~
In her sleep, the Breath of Evil controlled the other infected, searching for any uninfected.
To her annoyance, she didn’t find any. She was in a bad mood when she woke to say the least.
Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she looked up to find that dawn was approaching.
I slept almost all day, she realized. Hm.
She stood, lifting her nose to the wind. Not smelling anything, she jumped into the air. Skimming the trees, she searched for any sign of dragon life. Seeing movement in the trees, she slowly descended, landing where she had seen it. Itching to spread the infection, she smelled for any dragons. Picking up one, she followed the scent to a cave.
She hid in a bush, waiting.
A NightWing wearing leather gloves and armor peeked out of the cave, then ducked back inside.
The Breath of Evil snuck up behind the NightWing as they walked farther into the cave. She suddenly slammed the NightWing to the ground, holding their maw shut. She chomped into their neck, infecting them in seconds. The now armored infected was ordered away, and she walked further into the cave.
She reached a small chamber lit by torches, and two black glittery eggs laying in a nest of moss.
The Breath of Evil walked up to the first one, vines replacing her talons and winding around it. A small sliver of the vine punctured the egg, infecting the unborn dragon.
She picked up the other one, infecting it as well.
Satisfied, she turned around and exited the cave. The Breath of Evil dug her talons into the earth, and vines shot forth from the ground, lining the whole cave and blooming with infectious flowers.
A twisted, maniacal idea entered her mind, and she grinned.
I just have to find a LeafWing or two. I can always settle for another tribe. She fluttered to the peak of a mountain and gazed down at the scenery with a smile.
She roared as loud as she could, announcing her presence over her new kingdom.
=== Chapter 2 ===
The Breath of Evil dug her claws into the mountain as she looked down. A flash of green caught her eye, and she didn’t waste a second swooping down upon it. She landed just behind a LeafWing and two SeaWings.
“Get it!” The LeafWing snapped.
The SeaWings threw a rope around her neck and pulled. The Breath of Evil snarled and snapped the rope, pinning down one SeaWing.
“Give me the LeafWing and I’ll let you live,” She hissed at the other one.
Eyes wide, the SeaWing nodded and took off into the trees. Infecting the other SeaWing, she bared her teeth at the LeafWing.
“Vine, at your service,” She said politely before knocking The Breath of Evil to the ground.
Vine tied her talons together in a flash, then clamping her mouth shut with a metal band and doing the same to her wings. Thrashing, she tried to stand.
Vine held her down. “We’re trying out a cure, and you seem like a perfect test subject.”
The Breath of Evil noticed a shiny gold chain around her neck, indicating she had high status in a faction.
Vine pressed something sweet smelling to her nose, and she quickly fell unconscious.
As she woke in a bright room, The Breath of Evil hissed.
A SandWing with pale tan scales examined her. “Hello there, Vine informs me that you can speak. My name is Khaki.”
Feeling that the band wasn’t around her mouth, she replied, “And I suppose you’re going to experiment on me?”
Khaki nodded. “Yes, but only for a little bit. Then we can assure you a quick and proper—“
“What, death?” She snapped.
“No, release, under strict monitoring. You’ll be the first testing of our new cure!” He shivered, seeing the skull on her shoulder. “I-Is that a SandWing?”
The Breath of Evil growled at him. “Yes, and I need a matching set.”
Khaki stepped a few paces back. “If you behave we won’t have to sedate you.”
“Fine,” She retorted begrudgingly. “Do your silly experiments.”
Another doctor walked in, a HiveWing this time who examined her up and down. 
“Do I get to know your name too?”The Breath rolled her eyes.
“Sure. Just call me Hive.” Hive pushed up his glasses and looked at her eyes that were glowing white.
She closed her eyes promptly.
“If you behave we can get this over with faster,” Hive hissed. “Now show me your wrist.
Opening her eyes and rolling them again, she stuck out her wrist, just outside of the bars.
YEOWCH! She pulled back as Khaki poked her with a syringe.
“I SWEAR I’M GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!” She shouted, insulted.
Hive sighed. “Should we sedate her?”
“Yeah,” Khaki replied. “Then we can do more through tests.”
Khaki slipped around The Breath of Evil and poked her tail.
She snarled an insult at them as she fell to the ground, everything going black and dozing off once more.
This time she woke on a table, held down by metal straps. Not wanting to alert them of her being awake, she watched them discreetly.
Khaki took a sample of her blood, looking at it intently. The red liquid had small spores from the breath of evil in it.
To her extreme annoyance, her vines were all numb, illuminating the possibility of long-range infecting them.
“Ready for the cure?” Hive murmured.
“Do it quick, she should be waking up soon,” Khaki replied, handing him a syringe with blue liquid in it.
Before she could react, The Breath of Evil shrieked. The two dragons leapt backwards as she thrashed against the bonds.
Searing hot pain rushed to her skull, seeming to eat away at her hivemind. “NO!” She screamed. “MAKE IT STOP!”
Hive simply watched as the vines crumbled into dust at her skull, and her eyes flickered from white to a regular yellow.
The Breath of Evil stubbornly held on, not being erased by the cure, but injured.
She lost consciousness, as the pain continued through her veins.
She yelped as bright white lights stung her eyes. She flared her wings clumsily, clasping her head.
“Woah, woah,” An unfamiliar voice said soothingly. “Calm down.”
Her eyes adjusted, and she backed up against a wall, staring up at the orange HiveWing. “Who—“ She stopped, unable to form a complete sentence. “Where . . . Who am I?” Tears rolled down her face and she yelped as he took a step closer.
“Shh, calm down.” He gently placed a claw on her shoulder.
She stiffened, preparing for a blow.
“I won’t hurt you,” He said. “I just need you to trust me.”
“C-Can’t . . . Trust . . .” She sputtered, terrified. “I-I . . .”
“It’s all okay,” the HiveWing murmured with a smile. “Are you hungry?”
She shook her head rapidly, shrinking back.
He sighed, turning and murmuring something to a different dragon. “She’s terrified,” He whispered. “I don’t know what happened to her before she was infected, but it seems she can’t remember anything.”
She jumped to her talons when he turned his back, making a break for the door. A sharp pain hit her neck and she skidded onto her face, falling flat. The paralysis dart made her unable to move.
The HiveWing gently moved her to a bed and sat her down. He turned to a dusty tan dragon. “Maybe we should run some more tests.”
The other dragon nodded. “Good idea.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scared, little one?
W—who’s there?
It’s . . . Your friend.
Oh, okay.
I can help you not be so afraid.
Can you get rid of the scary dragons?
Not yet, my dear. But I will, I promise.
Soon?
Soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
She woke drowsily, blinking. 
A kind-looking pink SilkWing stood next to her bed, her wings over her protectively.
She wanted to stay in that moment, warm and safe-feeling.
“Ah, you’re awake,” The SilkWing said softly.
She squeaked pitifully. “Y-y . . .”
“Yes?” The SilkWing supplied.
“Yes.” She answered.
The SilkWing held out her talon and introduced herself as Acadia. She then helped her out of her bed and led her to the door.
“W-What . . . Happened to . . . Me?” She asked quietly.
Friend? She asked mentally, to no response.
“Oh, well, you see, you were infected by a . . . A sickness. And our doctors cured you.” Acadia answered.
She nodded. “Oh. The orange one was scary.”
Acadia laughed. “Yes, that’s Hive. He woke up here a few months ago with no memories . . . Just like you.”
She doubted they were anything alike. “Hm.”
Acadia showed her around the faction’s camp, which was a huge space hollowed out in a mountain and lit by glowing plants.
“You need a name,” Acadia decided after a while.
“I do?” She responded. “What name?”
Acadia brushed her talons gently over her IceWing spines, and they tinkled pleasantly. “How about Firebug?” 
=== Chapter 3 ===
Firebug squinted as she examined the jars of Flamesilk. “This is incredible,” She breathed.	
Acadia smiled and coiled a strand up in a tiny ornate glass necklace. The orange glow made the teardrop look like a drop of lava. Acadia strung a thin gold chain through the top and placed it around Firebug’s neck.
“Wow,” She breathed. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Acadia nodded with a smile.
Hello there, I’m back.
Oh, friend! Great! Where have you been?
Resting. Regaining my strength so I can . . . Get rid of the scary dragons for you.
Oh that’s okay, they’re not that bad.
Ah, well. You can never be to cautious. I heard them talking about getting rid of you and Acadia . . .
WHAT!? Oh, definitely get rid of them then!	
Fabulous. I’ll do just that.
W-who are you anyways?
Just call me . . . Breath. How about that?
Sure. Thanks, Breath.
Any time . . .
“Firebug? Firebug?” Acadia waved her claw in front of her face. “are you alright?”
“Oh! Y-yes.” She blinked rapidly. “I’m fine.”
“Maybe we should have Hive take a look at you—“
Firebug cut Acadia off. “NO! I’m fine!” She backed up. “I-I’m going to go back to our cave.”
Acadia gave her a concerned look as she sped out of the room.
She skidded into her and Acadia’s cave and ducked into her room. Something’s going on. She held her head, cringing. Her eyes flashed white, then normal again. 
“Gah,” She shut her door and locked it, her vision blurring.
I’m here to help, Breath said soothingly. You’ll be fine, I promise.
Oh—okay then— the air in her lungs was expelled and she clutched her head, her claws digging into her scales.
Pain erupted from her forehead as a vine shot out from her skull. Flowers bloomed and she inhaled the pollen.
Her mind became quiet, and the pain was gone.
What’s . . . Going on? She asked.
I’m in control  right now. Breath answered. Don’t worry, I’ll give your body back so nobody gets suspicious.
S-suspicious of what? Firebug peeped.
You being infected, dear. How do you think I’m using your body? Her talons moved without her consent, closing the blinds and shutters.
The Breath of Evil stretched her claws and wings with an evil smirk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug ate her dinner in silence days later. The vines were hidden as a flower crown, but the pollen wasn’t affecting anyone.
Acadia looked up at her adopted daughter. “Are you alright?”
“Fine.” Firebug pushed her pasta around on her plate.
“Are you feeling well?” Acadia asked worriedly.
Firebug smiled. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Great,” Acadia said. “Your checkup with Hive and Khaki is tomorrow.”
Firebug flinched. “O-oh . . . Alright.”
Acadia sighed. “They won’t hurt you.”
Firebug shivered. “Can I go to my room?”
“Firebug—“
“Thanks.” She stood and disappeared into her room, closing her door with a sigh. The books on the infection stacked on her bed were all filled with dog-eared pages and bookmarks. She flipped open one and scanned the paragraph next to a sketch of an infected dragon.
The infection takes place within a few seconds to a minute, instantly assaulting the dragon’s mind. They usually lose flesh and muscle during the struggle with the infected, and usually they deteriorate over time to show exposed bone and flesh. Their eyes are blank white, and they cannot speak.
A scribbled note on the bottom of the page caught her eye.
That is, except for that one infected we “cured”, patient Zero. I have some suspicions about her, and am currently trying to convince the council that the best way to be safe . . . Is execution. 
—Hive.
“What?” Firebug breathed, running her talon over a small sketch of her in the corner of the page. That’s . . . Me.
Yes, it is you, Breath said.
What did I do to deserve being executed?! Firebug exclaimed.
Well . . . You’re the Queen of the infected. You’re me. I’m the Breath of Evil.
W-wha . . . No . . .
Yeah. Hate to break it to you, kid. But—I kinda need my body back.
Can’t I just live my life?! Firebug demanded.
The Breath of Evil laughed and started taking over. You think I’d let my most precious asset loose?
GET OUT OF MY HEAD! Firebug ripped the vines out, her eyes wild. She stared at the vines on the ground. They were bloodstained.
Firebug held herself up on her bed and wrapped a piece of cloth around the wound. Her vision blurred, and she fell unconscious on the ground.
~~~
Acadia gave Firebug a concerned look as she pushed open the lab door.
“Go on, hon,” Acadia said. “I’ll be waiting out here.”
Firebug took a deep breath and walked inside.
Khaki smiled at her when she walked in. “How’s my favorite patient?”
“I’m your favorite?” Firebug asked dryly. “Is that because I’m so fun to experiment on?”
Acadia gave her a warning glance then shut the door.
Khaki ignored her comment and set her down on a lab bed.
Firebug recoiled as he pulled out a syringe.
“No no no no, no thank you,” Firebug said.
Khaki smiled at her. “It’s just a little poke to make sure you’re healthy!”
Firebug winced as she was stabbed with the needle. Khaki examined her blood with a frown, and muttered something about spores.
“Hive!” Khaki called.	
Firebug hid a gasp as Hive walked in. “Yes?” He asked, shooting a glance at Firebug.
“Her blood still has the infection in it,” He whispered.
“I see.” Hive muttered.
“Did you get the counsel to agree?” Khaki asked.
Hive nodded.
“You two are terrible whisperers,” Firebug snapped. “And I’m NOT an infected! And Hive, I will NOT let you kill me!”
Hive stole a glare at Khaki. “Who told you that?”
“Nobody,” Firebug hissed. “I figured it out on my own.”
“Hold still,” Khaki said, withdrawing a syringe filled with purple liquid.
Firebug jumped off the bed, flaring her wings. “Oh-ho, NO WAY!”
Hive suddenly pinned her to the ground with a snarl. “Hold still and this won’t be painful.
Acadia slammed the door open, seeing them, she shouted, “What’s going on in here?! Get off of Firebug!” She went to help, but Khaki forced her back with a hiss.
“She’s dangerous, Acadia!” He snapped.
“No, she’s not!” Acadia rushed for her daughter, but Hive slashed his tail stinger across her cheek. She fell to the ground helplessly.
“Acadia!” Firebug shrieked. “NO!”
“Oh shut up, she’ll be fine,” Hive hissed, stinging Firebug.
“Just kill her,” Khaki snapped.
Hive shook his head. “We need to do more tests to see if it’s our cure that’s faulty, or her.”
Tears rolled down Firebug’s face as she was laid on an experimentation table.
Khaki examined her eyes, then poked her with another syringe.
She cried out in pain as her eyes flashed white multiple times.
Hive “hmm”ed and grabbed her chin, examining her.
“Let me go, you slimy worm,” Firebug hissed.
Hive grabbed a scalpel and cut strategically on her cheek. Tears rolled from her eyes as the wound dripped a little blood, then miraculously knit together.
“Incredible,” Khaki murmured.
Hive nodded. “Could be useful.”
Firebug snarled.
“We should see if it affects major injuries,” Khaki said.
Hive put his arm past her face—and screamed.
She bit into his arm as hard as she could, the rush of blood in her mouth somehow healing her paralysis. She tackled Khaki and bit into his neck, wild-eyed.
Hive staggered to his talons, his eyes blank and white.
“Don’t attack me!” Firebug yelped as Khaki became infected as well. The two of them stared at her, seeming to wait for instructions.
Tell them to infect others, She thought. Or . . . Was it really her thought? No . . . Maybe? GAH!
She clutched her head as vines exploded from her skull and her eyes went blank.
I . . . Need to get out of here! She ran from the lab and jumped into the air, flying out of the tunnel and into the sky. Her wings faltered and she crashed to the ground, ripping up the grass.
Her head pounded as her eyes fluttered closed, and she fell into unconsciousness.
Firebug felt warm claws under her, and wanted to curl up in a ball. Her head pounded so hard she thought it would explode.
Her eyes struggled open and she saw a handsome young LeafWing with light green scales and yellow eyes.
She immediately flushed and tried to get to her feet. She yelped and fell, head throbbing.
“Sage.” The LeafWing said slowly. “And you?”
She realized one of his eyes was white, and on that side of his face was a huge, ugly burn scar with sprouts of the Breath of Evil coming out of it.
“I’m . . . Firebug,” She struggled to say. “My head . . .”
Sage helped her to the wall of the cave they were in. “You’re like me,” He muttered.
“L-like you?” Firebug asked, clutching her head.
Sage examined her. “Infected . . . But not.”
Firebug cried out as her eyes flashed white and then back.
“Here, eat this,” Sage handed her a strange looking herb. She ate it, the bitter taste stinging her tongue. As soon as she swallowed it, her headache eased.
“There are others like us,” Sage said quietly. “The results of failed cures.”
“Defective dragons?” Firebug asked, quoting Hive.
Sage blinked. “Y-you came from Hive.”
She nodded. “Yeah. You too?”
“Yeah—so did Venom.” He spread a wing, and a RainWing melted out of the shadows. She had black scales with bright turquoise splatters all over her. Her wings were large and studded with sapphire. One of her eyes was black, with a brilliant teal iris, and the other was teal with a black iris.
Venom looked sad, with tired eyes.
Firebug stopped herself from gasping as she saw Venom had a giant hole from RainWing venom in her chest.
“Are you alright?” Firebug asked.
Venom nodded.
“She’s mute,” Sage said. “Hive cut her tongue out.”
Venom’s eyes widened and she clasped her head.
“Is she—“
Sage shook his head. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—PTSD. She hides here most of the time.”
Firebug nodded slowly. “Should I leave?”
Sage shook his head. “No. Even though you infected Hive, we’re not out of danger until an actual cure is found.”
Firebug blinked. “How did you know . . ?”
Venom tapped her head.
Sage nodded. “We’re still connected to the hivemind. That’s why your head hurt so bad—you’ll get used to it.”
“Get used to it?” Firebug asked. “I’m going to stay infected forever?”
Sage sighed. “Sadly, yes. Nobody’s going to give the cure to us. We’re seen as more powerful infected. They don’t want us.” He looked away. “They never wanted us.”
Venom curled up on the ground, her tail coiled in a spiral.
Firebug sighed. “I don’t remember anything about my past. The Breath of Evil was me until Hive tried to cure me.”
Sage looked at her strangely. “You’re . . . The new queen, aren’t you?”
“What?” Firebug asked. “What queen?”
Venom jumped to her claws.
“The prophesied one that will unite all tribes!” Sage exclaimed. “That’s you!”
Firebug held up her claws. “Woah woah woah, what prophecy?”
Sage closed his eyes and recited; 
”When the world crumbles to ashes 
when the vine of evil thrashes 
blood will be spilt on seven tribes
one continent united against the hive
seeking a cure they will never find 
tribes of three and half taken mind 
she comes as the new queen of all
fighting to live lest all living fall.”
Firebug’s eyes went white and she said, “The new queen rides on the sky’s flame, fiery heart and blazing name, she comes with two of different kinds, both with half corrupted minds—“ She blinked rapidly, her eyes returning to normal. 
Sage and Venom stared at her.
“What?” She asked. “Did I say something?”
=== Chapter 4 ===
“They’re here,” Sage hissed.
Firebug ducked behind a boulder and Venom melted into invisibility.
Sage crawled into a nook in the roof, the only thing visible his eyes.
Four dragons armed to the teeth with weapons. 
“They’re definitely here,” One hissed. She looked like a NightWing under all of her black spiky armor.
Sage backed away and disappeared from sight completely.
The leader, a SilkWing, growled and started searching the cave. As he got closer to Firebug, her heart thumped.
“AHA! There you are!”
Firebug yelped as someone grabbed her wing and tossed her onto the stone floor.
Stay hidden, please! She urged mentally.
The SilkWing sneered at her and pinned her to the ground. “Looks like we found you, infected!”
“I’m not—“ The SilkWing wrapped fire silk around her mouth, burning into her scales. Tears fell from her face as the heat stung her.
“NO!” 
Firebug’s eyes widened as Sage tackled the SilkWing, ripping off his helmet and throwing his head against the stone, knocking him out.
Firebug ripped the fire silk off of her and knocked the NightWing down.
She yelped as a SkyWing stabbed at her with a spear.
Sage grabbed a mace from the SilkWing’s hand and clonked it against his head, then smacking it against the NightWing’s skull.
They both fell to the ground, unconscious.
Firebug touched the burn on her snout, wincing.
Sage let out a breath, holding his head. “No . . . Can’t infect them.”
Venom came out from hiding and poked at the SilkWing, who was waking up.
“Here,” Sage handed her a vine, and she tied his talons together.
“GRAH!” the SilkWing roared. “What—YOU MONSTERS LET ME OUT OF HERE!”
“No, I don’t think so,” Firebug snapped. “You would’ve killed us.”
“You’re infected,” He hissed. “Of course I would have—“
Venom clamped his mouth shut and glared at him, baring her teeth angrily as if to say “don’t even think about it”.
Sage and Firebug tied the others to a tree a little ways away and returned to the cave.
Venom was backed up against a wall, with the SilkWing advancing on her with a sword.
Firebug started to run at him, but Venom opened her mouth and a black acid shot out onto the SilkWing’s eye.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream and clutched his eye.
Firebug smacked him to the ground, opening her mouth. She half-shocked herself by blasting him with frostbreath.
Sage shuddered. “Are you alright?”
Venom nodded, scared.
Firebug shivered. “I think h-he’s d-d-dead.”
Sage placed his wing over her and she blushed. 
“Come on,” Sage said. “We can’t stay here now that the Infected hunters know we’re here.”
“Where will we go?” Firebug asked.
Sage looked at her. “I don’t know. Where too, Hive Queen?”
~~~~~~~~
Firebug landed on the ground, her wings aching.
“I’m exhausted,” She panted, leaning against a tree.
Sage nodded, sitting down. “Me too.”
Venom promptly climbed a tree and camouflaged herself.
“We need to find some food and get some rest,” Firebug said. “I’ll go looking for some.”
Sage nodded. “I’ll stay here.”
Firebug looked around, smelling for any food. She caught a small deer in her talons, then stumbled upon a scavenger settlement. It looked abandoned.
She lowered her head to a window, and looked inside.
A small scavenger stared back at her, horrified.
Firebug smiled and picked it up.
“Hello there,” She cooed, holding it. “What are you doing, hiding in there?” 
“Squeak squeak squeak!” It chirped.
She laughed and placed it on her shoulder. “How would you like to come with me?”
“Squeak? SquEEEEAAK!” It screamed as she started moving. Firebug caught another deer and walked back to her friends.
“I found some food!” She exclaimed.
“And a scavenger?” Sage asked.
“SQUEAK?!”
Firebug grinned. “Can I keep it?”
Venom sighed and face-palmed.
Sage laughed. “As long as it’s not too noisy, sure.”
Firebug picked an apple off a tree and set the scavenger on the ground. Then she placed the apple in front of it.
The scavenger eyed her suspiciously, then hungrily attacked the apple.
“Awww,” Sage cooed. “It’s so cute!”
Venom cracked a smile and her talons turned a pleased pink color.
“I think I’ll name it . . .” She thought for a moment, then said, “It’s name will be Thyme.”
~~~~~~~~~
Firebug looked up at the moonlit sky, marveling at the stars.
Thyme squeaked quietly from her shoulder, pointing at the brightest star in the sky.
“Squeak.” She chirped.
“What is it?” Firebug asked quietly.
Thyme examined her face for a moment, then said something that sounded like the word star.
“Star?” Firebug asked, shocked. “Yeah, that’s a star.”
“Star.” Thyme repeated. Then she pointed to the moon. “Not star.”
Firebug blinked. “Yeah. That’s the moon.” She repeated it a few more times, then pointed at it and said; “moon”.
“Moon!” Thyme exclaimed.
Firebug grinned. “You’re a smart one.”
Thyme looked up at Firebug and patted her neck. “Squeak.”
Firebug tried mimicking the squeak, and Thyme laughed. 
“SQ-eak,” Thyme tried.
Er . . . “SQ-eak?” Firebug asked.
Thyme nodded and pointed at her.
“Dragon? SQ-eak?” Firebug asked.
“Dragon! Dragon!” Thyme cheered. “SQ-eak!”
Firebug grinned. "SQ-eak, likes you.”
Thyme cocked her head. “L-rrraaaaeeeaak?”
Firebug snorted. “Likes. You.” She pointed at Thyme and said; “Thyme. You.”
“Dragon not Thyme,” Thyme squeaked. “Thyme Thyme.”
Firebug nodded. “Yeah. Dragon is Firebug.”
Thyme wrinkled her nose. “Moon.”
“No, Firebug,” Firebug replied. “That’s my name.”
~~~~~~~~~
Firebug woke, startled that she had drifted off. Thyme snored cutely next to her, yawning.
“Good morning . . . Thyme.” Firebug said in a mixed scavenger-dragon language.
“Dragon. Morning.” Thyme said.	
Firebug smiled. “It’s Firebug, Not Dragon.”
“Firebug. Dragon. Me. Thyme.” Thyme said.
Firebug nodded and placed Thyme on her shoulder. “I like you, little scavenger,” She said.
“Morning,” Sage called. “I got us breakfast!”
“DRAGON!” Thyme thundered.
Sage blinked. “You taught it to talk?”
Firebug nodded. “Yep. She’s super smart.”
“Dragon! What dragon?” Thyme asked, pointing at Venom and Sage.
“That’s Sage and Venom,” Firebug explained. After a while, Thyme picked it up easily.
Venom was impressed. 
“Like I said,” Firebug said, finishing her breakfast. “Super smart.”
“Anyways,” Sage said. “We need to keep moving. Are you going to carry the scavenger, or—“
“THYME!” Thyme shouted. “Not scavenger!”
He blinked. “Right, sorry.”
“Yes.” Thyme said. 
Firebug smiled. “I think she’s smart enough to hold on, so she can ride on my back!”
Venom sighed and jumped down, motioning to the sky.
“Yeah, we should get going.” Sage said with a nod.
They took off into the sky, heading to the SandWing Stronghold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s so hot,” Sage said, blocking his eyes from the sun.
“It is the desert,” Firebug pointed out.
Thyme was relaxing on her back, looking up at the sky. “Firebug?”
“Yes?” Fire answered. “What?”
Thyme paused for a moment, then said, “Big sky. Like flying.”
Firebug nodded. “Me too.”
Venom’s scales changed to a happy gold and pink, with a touch of purple under her wings.
Sage caught an updraft, gliding along the sky.
WHAM!!
Firebug screamed as an infected SandWing took her out of the sky, and Thyme plummeted to the ground.
Firebug blasted the infected with frostbreath and caught her scavenger, slashing her IceWing spikes against the SandWing’s face.
Venom bit into the infected’s wing, and they both fell from the sky. Firebug threw Thyme to Sage and dove after them.
She grabbed the SandWing’s head and twisted as hard as she could until she heard a sickening crack.
Venom released him, and they both hovered there for a moment
“RUN!” Sage thundered. “RUUUUUN!”
A swarm of infected was chasing after them, right at their tails.
“Go, go!” Firebug exclaimed, seeing more SandWings emerge from the hot sand. “We’re almost there!”
Venom zoomed ahead, staying a tail’s length away from the infected swarm.
“Come on . . .” Firebug pumped her wings as Thyme called for her from Sage’s back.
They flung themselves over the stronghold walls, crashing into the sand-filled courtyard.
Shink!
Firebug got to her feet to find them surrounded by spears. 
“Oh, um . . .” She smiled. “Hello?”
=== Chapter 5 ===
Firebug woke up with a groan.
“Firebug!” Thyme was sitting on her snout.
“Ugh . . . Hey Thyme,” Fire muttered. “What happened?”
Thyme smiled. “You’ve been asleep for like two days, and I learned a bunch of dragon words!”
“Asleep?” Firebug raised her head and looked around. She was in a cell. “Oh.”
A MudWing walked past her with a glare and unlocked her cage. “Come on out.”
Firebug got up slowly, and Thyme sat on her shoulder.
The MudWing clamped her mouth shut with a metal band and led her down a series of stairs.
Thyme patted Firebug affectionately.
They were led into a large room, with Venom and Sage behind them.		
Thorn of the SandWings! Firebug’s eyes widened, half in awe, half surprised that she knew that.
Thorn looked down at them with a stern glare. “So.”
Sage said something, but it was muffled by his muzzle.
Thorn nodded to an armor clad guard, and she unlocked their muzzles. Firebug touched the place where her scales were still raw from the burn and winced.
“Queen Thorn!” Sage bowed, Firebug and Venom following his lead.
“Your majesty,” Firebug said. “We came to seek refuge—“
Thorn silenced her by holding out a gloved claw. “Refuge?” She asked. “Three infected needing refuge?”
“We’re not infected, your majesty,” Sage said. “We were experimented on.”
Thorn nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yes, of course, and the infection is curable.” She shook her head. “Pardon me, but I have a hard time believing you.”
“Your majesty—“ 
“Just Thorn,” She interrupted Firebug.
Firebug bit her tongue. “Yes, Thorn, we hate the infection just as much as you. My whole life was erased by it, and I’m sure Sage and Venom have the same story.”	
Sage nodded. “My sister was infected as a dragonet. She killed my mother and infected my father, chasing me from my home. I was infected soon after, then experimented on with a faulty ‘cure’.”
Thorn examined him. “What’s the RainWing’s story?”
“We don’t know,” Firebug said. “She’s mute.”
Venom opened her mouth, showing no tongue.
One of the guards gagged.
“Hm . . .” Thorn muttered. “I suppose you could stay . . . On one condition.”
“Yes?” Sage asked.
Thorn smiled. “You become our new scouting team.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug fell onto her new bed, exhausted.	
“Ugh,” Thyme sighed. “I’m tired.”
“You’re tired?” Fire laughed. 
Thyme poked her. “Yeah! I had to ride around on you all day while the Sand dragons yelled at you!”
“It’s called training,” Firebug said.
“Squeak squeak,” Thyme muttered.
Firebug yawned and rolled onto her back. “Hey Thyme?”
“Yeah?” Her scavenger asked.
“Can scavengers be infected?” She wondered aloud.
Thyme blinked. “I don’t know. If a dragon bit a squeak, they would immediately die.”
“A what?” Firebug asked. “I heard ‘squeak’”
Thyme rolled her eyes. “Squeak. It means scavenger.”
“Huh.”
A small SandWing knocked on the door and pushed it open. Firebug sat up tiredly.
“Uh . . .” She muttered. “Do you want some food?”
Firebug smiled. “That would be great!” 
The SandWing shot her a bitter glare and tossed her a cow, seeming too disgusted to get near her.
When she left, Firebug sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Thyme asked. “I couldn’t understand some of her words.”
Firebug rubbed her head. “She hates me. A lot of them do.”
“Oh.” Thyme mumbled. “Sorry.”
Firebug shrugged. “I can’t change what Hive did to me, so it’s not my fault.”
Thyme nodded. “You’re you and that’s what matters.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug whimpered in her sleep.
Voices, too many voices. In her dream, infected were chasing after her, calling after her in ten thousand voices. She was drowning in claws and fangs, then vines dragged her down into the ground and infected Sage and Venom. Thyme screamed as she was squished under a thick vine that reached for Firebug.
No! No, please, no . . . She fought against it, turning to run. Infected Sage blocked her path, pinning her down and forcing her head to the side.
He slowly bit into her neck, infecting her. Just as it faded to black, she woke with a start.
She was breathing heavily, eyes darting around. Thyme squeaked peacefully in her sleep.
Firebug looked out her window, seeing the full moon outside.
Shivering, she gently got up, silently placing Thyme on the bed. She walked out into the halls, climbing up onto the wall of the stronghold.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
Firebug whirled around to see Sage smiling at her softly.
“Oh . . . Yeah, I uh—had a bad dream.” She replied.
Sage nodded, sitting down next to her. “Me too. In my dream I was being chased by infected, and then everyone was dying . . .”
“And you got infected at the end of the dream, right?” She asked.
Sage blinked. “How did you know?”
“I had the same dream.” She shivered again, wings quivering.
Sage placed his wing over her, and her heart jumped.
Stop it, She told herself. I don’t have time for romance. She met his eyes, then added, Or . . . Maybe I do.
Sage smiled at her. “Um . . . I was wondering if you wanted to go on a walk with me tomorrow?”
Firebug nodded. “Sure.”
Sage stood, looking out over the still sands. “It sure is peaceful out here.”
“Yeah,” Firebug whispered. “Very pretty.”
Sage suddenly kissed her on the cheek, then turned and disappeared into the tower.
Firebug blinked, touching her cheek. Yeah, I definitely have time for romance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug grimaced as Thyme reprimanded her.
“Can’t you let a girl get a good night’s sleep? I was worried sick about you! You can’t just disappear with your mysterious boyfriend and leave your human all alone with no note as to where you went!” Thyme finished with a huff.
Firebug sighed. “Sorry, sorry. I’m going on a walk with him, are you gonna come? Or are you gonna sit there and be grumpy?”
Thyme sighed and clambered up onto the base of her neck. “I’ll come, I’ll come.” She smirked. “Buuuuut I want to go flying later.”
Firebug laughed. “Sure.”
“WITHOUT your boyfriend,” Thyme added.
“Yes, without Sage,” Firebug agreed. The pair of them walked out onto the stronghold wall.
Sage met them with a smile. “Hey Firebug,” He said. “Sorry about last night . . .”
“No,” Firebug said. “You’re fine.”
Thyme grinned from her back.
Sage led Firebug down into the halls, and they wandered for a while before coming to the courtyard.
Sage’s tail swished through the sand as he walked out into the sand.
Firebug sifted sand through her claws. “I wonder what this place looked like before the infection.”
“Good question,” Sage said. “I don’t have an answer.”
“HELP!” 
Firebug’s head snapped up and she jumped into the air.
They landed outside the walls, in a crowd of MudWings, SkyWings, and SandWings.
A dragon was screaming in the sand, their eyes flashing white then back.
“Someone help them!” Firebug begged.
Thorn spread a wing to block her. “Don’t. It’s never taken a dragon this long to be infected.”
Firebug shoved past her, and knelt next to the SandWing.
“HEEELP!” They screamed. “It HURTS!”
“I know, I know, take deep breaths,” Firebug said. Without knowing what she’s doing, she placed her talons on the SandWing’s head. Closing her eyes, Firebug felt the infection fighting against the SandWing’s consciousness.
Come . . . to me! She ordered. Firebug’s eyes snapped open as she felt the infection speed inside of her. She gasped and held her head. Now . . . Leave! Relief flooded through her as a bolt of energy shot from her claws and exploded into the sand a ways away.	
Everyone was staring at her.
“T-thank . . . Thank you,” The SandWing breathed. Firebug looked over at the watching dragons. 
“Don’t just stand there!” She snapped. “Get him some medical attention!”
Three dragons hesitated, then picked him up and flew into the medical wing.
Thorn caught Firebug’s shoulder and whipped her around to face her.
“What. Was. That?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug hissed as Thorn walked back into the room, a sword in her claw.
“What do you want?! I’ve already told you that I don’t know how I—“ Firebug stopped as Thorn pointed the tip of the sword at her neck.
“The infected got my daughter, the heir to the throne. They infected everyone I cared about.” She snapped. “You need to tell me how you did that. I need to get them back.”
Firebug pushed the sword away.	”I can try to do it again, but I make no promises.”
Thorn’s claw twitched, and she dropped the sword and full-on broke down. Tears fell from her eyes and she held her head in her claws.
Firebug blinked. “Are you . . . Okay?” Why should I care? She wondered. I’ve been sitting in here being questioned and threatened for hours on end.
“Y-yes,” Thorn stammered after a while. “I just . . . After seeing my own daughter infected before my very eyes, I never considered the possibility t-that I would get her b-b-back.”
Firebug felt a harsh pang of both guilt and jealousy. I never had a family to care about, at least, not that I know about. I could have been the one to infect her daughter. It could have been ME ripping a dragon from the arms of their loved ones. She shuddered at the thought.
“Come,” Thorn said, swiping tears from her eyes. “We have her locked up in the dungeon. I couldn’t bring myself to kill her after . . . After she was infected.” Thorn added hesitantly.
Firebug nodded silently, following Thorn down a long flight of stairs under the stronghold.
Clink . . . Clink clink!
The rattling of chains announced the presence of a prisoner in the long dark, seemingly empty halls.
Firebug looked into the cell that Thorn stopped in front of.
A yellow-gold dragon, maybe ten to twelve years of age, wrenched at the chains, her eyes glowing white. She didn’t appear to be deteriorating, so curing her might still be possible.	
Thorn unlocked the cell and nodded at Firebug.
Firebug walked in calmly, not very scared, since the dragon’s mouth and claws were bolted firmly to the ground.
The dragon wriggled as she got closer, her eyes flashing violently.
Firebug placed her talons on the princess’ head, closing her eyes.
She almost fell backwards as she felt the full malicious energy of the infection inside of her. Firebug took a deep breath and started pulling the energy towards her.
A sudden fight for herself began as she amassed more and more energy in her body. 
Come on . . . HA! She wrenched back, expelling the energy out of her in a green bolt and exploding it on the wall.
She slumped, exhausted.
“S-S-Sunny?” Thorn rushed in, unlocking the chains.
The golden dragon blinked their eyes slowly, the white fading away and being replaced by kind eyes.
Firebug leaned against the wall as Thorn scooped up Sunny in a hug.	
“Mother!?” Sunny exclaimed. “W-what happened? Why am I in the dungeons?! Where’s Clay and Starflight and the others?”
Thorn sent a thankful look to Firebug through her tears.
Firebug reached up and clasped her talons around the glowing flame silk teardrop around her neck. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Firebug!” Sage and Venom bolted down the hall, Thyme riding atop Sage’s head.
They dogpiled on her, smothering her in a hug.
“What happened?!” Thyme demanded.
Firebug smiled. “I can cure the infection.”
“What?” Sage asked. 
“I can cure dragons that haven’t started falling apart from the infection!” Firebug cheered.
Sage grabbed her shoulders. “This is groundbreaking! You really are the one from the prophecy!”
“Cool,” Thyme said. “But can we focus on the part about how you were kinda imprisoned for like a whole day?”
“That’s not important,” Firebug assured her. She turned to the others. “I was invited to a royal banquet tonight and was wondering if you guys wanted to come?”
“Count me in!” Thyme said, leaping onto Firebug’s head and sitting down.
Venom nodded, her scales turning gold and rose.
Sage smiled. “Sure, if Thorn invited us, we can’t really turn that down now can we?” He discreetly placed his talon atop Firebug’s.
Firebug nodded. “We’ll have that hall full tonight!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug nervously fidgeted as she joined Venom and Sage in front of the dining hall door.
Her only piece of jewelry was her necklace, and it wasn’t gold or anything fancy.
Sage and Venom came wearing only their scales, so she felt a little better.
Thyme had made herself something she called a “dress”, so she was even fancier than the three dragons. A small scavenger sword was also strapped to her side, “just in case”.
Firebug took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Thorn sat at the head of the table, welcoming them with a warm smile. Dragons nodded in welcoming, and Firebug, Sage, and Venom took their places beside the Queen in the places of honor.
Princess Sunny walked in a few seconds after them, wearing a slightly rusted gold tiara and matching necklace.
After a short speech, the guests were allowed to eat.
Thyme slid down Firebug’s snout and landed on the table, picking up a slab of cooked pork and sitting beside Firebug.
Venom looked awkward at first, but quickly settled in, listening to conversations and changing the colors of her scales to a beautiful orange sunset.
Firebug smiled as she ate her food, looking around and finding a sense of peace and contentment.
But that didn’t last for long.
=== Chapter 6 ===
Firebug yelped in surprise as dragons suddenly slammed open the door to the banquet, firing darts into dragon’s necks.
Firebug snatched Thyme off the table and dove for cover. Thorn roared and launched onto the intruders, impaling one with her tail and throwing another into the rest.
Firebug dashed out from under the table, tackling a SeaWing and shoving them into the wall.
“What’s going—“ Thyme yelped as she tumbled into Firebug’s back as she jumped backwards.
Sunny tried to talk down the attacking dragons, but Thorn was soon held at spear-point.
“What do you want?” A MudWing snapped.
The leader of the attack, an IceWing, hissed menacingly. “Rumors travel faster than you think,” He said vaguely.
“If you’re here for my daughter you’ll have to kill me first,” Thorn snapped. “Nobody’s touching her!”
“No, ex-queen.” The IceWing growled. “We’re here for the one from the new prophecy.”	
Firebug’s veins iced and her bones seemed to lock up. Oh no! I’ve finally found a use for my abilities, and now I’m being kidnapped again?!
“Tch,” A SeaWing scoffed. “Who’ll turn her in?”
The IceWing scanned through the dragons until his eyes landed on Firebug. He smiled. “Come here.”
Firebug froze.
“Come on. I don’t think you want Thorn here to be killed, do you?” 
Slowly, decisively, she approached him. “What do you want, IceWing?” She asked.
“Iceberg, at your service,” He replied. “And I think you’re more valuable than you realize.” He smirked. “Anyone who controls the Queen controls the tribe, after all.”
Thyme launched off of Fire’s shoulder, stabbing a tiny scavenger sword into Iceberg’s eye.
Iceberg screamed and turmoil erupted.
Thorn reached for Firebug protectively, but was sliced with an IceWing’s tail spike and thrown against the wall.
Thyme held on to Firebug’s necklace for dear life as Sage ran at the dragon nearest to Firebug. 
He landed in a heap as a dart shot into his neck.
Fire’s shriek was cut short as a SeaWing bashed her with their tail and stuffed a bag over her head.
Firebug wriggled against a strong grip as a dragon grabbed her wing and dragged her across the floor. She was thrown into sand seconds later, and heard muffled voices.
“Just knock her out!”
“We don’t want to kill her—“
“Just DO IT, you mouse-brain!” 
Firebug tried to get to her talons, but fell as a hard force crashed into her skull, knocking her out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug stirred, her ears still ringing. Her head throbbed badly, and she could barely open her eyes.
“Thyme?” Firebug murmured. She blinked slowly, examining the dark, jostling room. Thyme was no where to be found.
Firebug slowly got to her feet, using her wings for balance. This room must be moving, She thought. It feels like it’s rolling—She jumped as it suddenly screeched to a stop.
Firebug readied a blast of frostbreath as the door open. She unleashed it on a NightWing as they entered the room, freezing them solid.
Two RainWings and a SkyWing dashed into the room, muscling her to the ground and clamping her wings shut, stabbing at her with spears and daggers.
She was shoved out into a cold, bright room that was lit with torches. 
Firebug gasped as she spotted Thyme hanging from a birdcage in the corner.
Thyme pulled at the bars, squeaking curses at the dragons.
Firebug was thrown into a cell by the SkyWing.
He was large and orange, with blazing yellow eyes and small spots of red all over him.
Fire winced as he cracked a whip. “Don’t try anything,” He hissed. “Or you’ll regret it.”
They left the dungeons, leaving Firebug alone in the cold dark cell, with only her necklace to warm her.
Eventually, Thyme was tossed in alongside Firebug.
“THOSE SQUEAK SQUEAKERS!” Thyme thundered. “I want to stab all of their eyes out!”
Firebug sighed. “I know, me too.”
“Alright, what’s your escape plan?” Thyme asked.
Fire blinked. “Uh . . . Nothing?”
Thyme muttered something and examined the wall outside the cage. “Alright. Well, if I could somehow get out of here and climb the wall, I could bring over the keys.”
“And how are you going to carry the pure metal keys that weigh more than you do?” Firebug asked.
Thyme placed her hands on her fists. “Hm . . . Well, maybe . . .”
“Maybe what?” Firebug inquired.
“MAYBE I could push them or slide them instead of carrying them,” Thyme said simply. 
Firebug sighed. “And how are you going to get out of the cage?”
Thyme grinned. “How small is that keyhole?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug slid her talons through the bars just enough to hook them on her claw.
Thyme rode her hand up to the lock, where she tried every key until the door swung open.
Firebug pumped her fist in the air with a grin.
A sickening crack sounded behind her, and she whirled around, meeting the end of a whip with her wing. She recoiled as the SkyWing from before leapt at her.
Thyme ran for cover as the two dragons clashed head to head.
Firebug clawed at his face as he beat her with his wings.
She turned in a circle, slashing her IceWing spines in the space between his eyes. Fire collapsed to the ground as the SkyWing lashed the whip against her back, causing blood to spill from a wound.
Firebug was lashed multiple more times, one wound knitting up as another opened. She cried silently as the whip smashed down on her.
The SkyWing wrapped the rope around her neck, holding her in the air.
Fire gasped for air as he smirked, digging his talons into her face.
Just before she passed out, a commanding voice rang through the prison.
“Enough, Drift!”
The SkyWing threw her to the ground, bleeding and gasping for air.
A purpleish NightWing walked in, clad in armor with a helmet under her arm. “You did your job, now leave the sniveling thing alone.” She glanced at Firebug with disgust, like she was no more than a bug that needed to be squished. “Now tie its mouth shut and bring it with me.”
Firebug was too exhausted to resist as she was muzzled and shoved after the NightWing.
“My name is Willful,” The NightWing said. “And you’re going to listen to me. I’m the leader of this faction.” She led Firebug into a large room with a giant mural on the wall.
The prophecy was written on it.
When the world crumbles to ashes, when the vine of evil thrashes, blood will be spilt on seven tribes, one continent united against the hive, seeking a cure they will never find, tribes of three and half taken mind, she comes as the new queen of all, fighting to live lest all living fall.
Firebug glared at Willful.
Willful barked a laugh. “You know, you have no power to resist me. Besides, you’re only a dragonet.”
“Mmph six!” Firebug struggled to say.
Willful rolled her eyes. “Besides, since you’ll be the ‘Queen of all’ you need someone to tell you what to do, hmm?”
Firebug lashed her tail and flared her wings angrily.
Willful grabbed her chin, examining her. “You are a pretty one. Follow me.” Willful turned and disappeared around a corner.
Firebug sat down defiantly.
Willful returned, promptly smacking her in the head with her wing.
Fire followed her with a growl, into another room.
This one had the appearance of a lab, with dragons milling about, mixing substances and dropping different colored liquids into each other.
Willful nodded at the dragons as they passed by.
She stopped at a station.
“This is what we’re working on currently,” Willful said. “It’s something to actually control the infected.”
Firebug reached up to spill it, but Willful slapped her claw away. “Don’t you dare, you little—“
“Willful!” A SeaWing called.
“Yes?!” She snarled.
The green SeaWing winced. “Uh . . .”
“Spill it!” 
The SeaWing sighed. “The infected are at our doorstep.”
“Capture one, you idiot!” Willful snapped. “We need something to test this on!” She flicked her tail at the vial.
During this exchange, Firebug had bolted out the door. She ran down the hallways, following a sense in her stomach.
She reached a hatch on the roof and started unwinding it.	
“FIND HER!” Willful shouted from the other room.
The SeaWing appeared behind Firebug, a guilty look on his face.
Fire’s eyes widened.
“Shh, be quiet.” The green SeaWing flew up and unlocked the door. It popped open immediately. “Go,” He said. “And if you see a dragon named Kinkajou, tell her Turtle misses her a lot.” ‘Turtle’ shoved her out the door and locked the door behind her.
Turtle? Firebug thought. I’ll have to remember him. He seems like he really wants to get out of there.
Firebug leapt into the air and started flying away. She took one last look back, furrowing her brow in determination. I’ll come back one day and get him out of there. She beat her wings against the wind with renewed vigor, ripping the muzzle off and throwing it down.
=== Chapter 7 ===
Firebug panted as she landed in the forest. She winced as the sun beat down on her, and she hid under a tree.
Ugh . . . So hot. She wavered, trying to hold herself steady. I HAVE been flying for around . . . Five hours.	
She sat down, ignoring her hunger and curling her tail around the tree trunk.
Firebug’s vision blurred suddenly. I’m too hot, She thought. I’m part IceWing, so this could get bad. She felt weak, and lay down. When was the last time I drank water? She wondered. I must be getting heatstroke—Her vision blurred again and her head slumped to the ground. She closed her eyes. I’ll just rest for a moment . . .
Firebug looked around the moonlit desert. A dragon sat atop a dune a ways away, staring up at the moon.
	“Hello?” Fire called.
	The dragon turned to look at her. He had a SandWing body shape, but with dark brown scales with stars scattered about him. The outside of his wings were dark, dusty red, while the inside had dune shapes of stars spread about. He smiled at her and glided down.
	“Hello there.” His voice sounded almost musical, with a brave undertone.
	Firebug cocked her head. “Who are you?”
	He laughed. “I could ask you the same thing. My name is Darkfall, and you’ve just intruded on my dream.”
	“W-what?” Fire stammered. “I can’t read minds though—“
	Darkfall shook his head. “I can. I guess I accidentally connected your dream to mine.”
	“Where are you—in real life?” Firebug asked.
	Darkfall looked up at the sky. “I don’t know.”
	“What do you mean?”
	“Do you only ask questions?” Darkfall asked, smiling.
	Firebug sighed. “My name’s Firebug.”
	Darkfall seemed pleased with her answer. “Well, hello there. What I mean about not knowing where I am is that—“ He suddenly seemed to disappear, then come back. He staggered, holding his head.
	“What’s going on?” Firebug asked as the sand seemed to fall away around them
	Darkfall’s eyes widened. “Oh no . . . I’m waking up.”
	“Why is that bad?” Firebug inquired.
	Dark shook his head frantically. “I . . . I’ll visit you soon. Please come and help me, I can’t—“
Firebug groaned as she blinked her eyes open.
Sage stood over her, his eyes wide in fear.
“She’s alive!” He cheered.
Venom clapped.
“What . . . How . . .” Firebug trailed off.
Sage smiled. “We were so worried—we came to find you, and Venom used her tracking skills to lead us to you. When we got here, you were passed out on the ground. You had heatstroke, so we had to cool you off.”
“Thanks,” Fire said. “I . . . Met a strange dragon in my dream.”
Sage arched his eyebrow. “Who?”
“A Sand-Nightwing hybrid. Apparently he can read minds, and accidentally connected his dream to mine. He really didn’t want to wake up for some reason.” She answered.	
Sage shrugged. “Probably just a dream.”
Venom suddenly spun around, flaring her wings. 
“Venom, what—“ Sage stopped as a dart pinged off his scales. “Seriously?”
A RainWing uncloaked. She looked fairly young, and had purple and yellow scales with red lining her face and wings. “Who are you?” She demanded.
Firebug struggled to her talons. “We’re just passing through.”
“Likely story! What did you do with Turtle?!” She hissed, baring her fangs.
“Turtle? You must be Kinkajou!” Firebug exclaimed.
The RainWing paused. “How . . .”
“I met Turtle when I was kidnapped by this faction of psychos,” Firebug said. “He’s kinda being held captive.”
Kinkajou’s scales flashed pink, with a hint of white on her tail. “He’s not dead! Where is he?!”
Sage backed up awkwardly.
“Five hours north of here,” Firebug said. “They’re in an underground base.”
Kinkajou sighed. “Oh.”
“What?” Fire asked.
“I’m not supposed to leave my faction, but after Turtle disappeared . . . I’ll go back for him one day, just not yet.” She sighed, scales fading to blue and black. “Thanks, I guess.”
“By the way,” Sage cut in. “Work on your aim.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug smiled as she lay down in the soft grass, now reunited with Thyme.
Her scavenger snored atop her claw, her adorable little dragon-killing sword laying across her lap in it’s sheath.
Sage lay a few feet away, sleeping silently.
Fire lay down her head and closed her eyes, falling to sleep immediately.
“You’re back!”
	Firebug jumped as Darkfall appeared in front of her.
	“Geez, calm down!” Fire said, backing up.
	Darkfall sighed. “Look, I need your help. I—if I wake up . . .”
	“What’ll happen?” Firebug asked.
	Darkfall shook his head. “If I tell you you won’t come.”
	“Where are you anyways?” Fire said.
	“Inside a mountain. Jade mountain to be specific.”
	Firebug arched an eyebrow. “Why do you need my help?”
	“I’m literally sealed where Darkstalker was,” Darkfall hissed. “I’m slowly starving to death.”
	She shuddered. “Oh, I see.”
	“Please,” he begged. “It’s too much. Darkstalker’s spirit is here, I know it. I’m going to DIE!”
	Firebug bit her lip. “Calm down. I’ll try to come.”
	He shook his head. “Get here quickly. I’m begging you.”
	“How long have you been down there?” Fire asked.
		“Um . . . Years.”
	“What?”
	“Years.” He repeated. “I was enchanted.”
	Firebug stared at him. “So . . . You’re another Darkstalker.”
	“NO!” He shouted, looking terrified. “I’m not!”
	Fire held up her claws defensively. “Okay, calm down. Who enchanted you?”
	Darkfall looked away. “I also can’t tell you that.”
	“Yes, you can,” Firebug said. “If you don’t I won’t come.”
	“No wait!” Darkfall pleaded. “Okay, okay. His name is Shrub, but people call him The Stalker—after Darkstalker. He’s . . .”
	“He’s what?” Firebug asked slowly.
	Darkfall sighed. “This is going to be hard for you to hear.”
	Firebug motioned for him to continue.
	“He’s . . . Your brother.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darkfall’s head snapped up and his breathing quickened.
“You’re awake,” A voice hissed.
“No, no,” Dark clutched his head.
A dragon stepped from the shadows, smiling. He had green scales with brown spots all around him, and crimson plated scales. His wings were blood-red, and his IceWing spikes were cold blue. His eyes were shining crimson, and he had a red fade on his snout.
Darkfall backed up against the cold stone. “Get away from me.”
The dragon adjusted a gold band on his arm that was inset with a ruby. He unstrapped a spear from his back and suddenly threw it at Darkfall, pericing him through the chest and pinning him to the stone.
Dark screamed and stared down at the blood pouring from the wound.
The dragon ripped out the spear, and the wound sealed.
Darkfall fell to the ground, clutching his chest.
“You see,” The dragon hissed, grabbing Darkfall’s chin and forcing him to look him in the eyes. “I could toy with you a while longer, or . . . I could end this.”
“Please just kill me,” Darkfall said. “I’d rather that then be your punching bag for the next hundred years.”
The dragon slammed him into the rock, pinning him by the hand with the spear, hanging him there.
Tears fell from Dark’s face as he watched the hybrid pace beneath him.
“I’ve decided on an enchantment.” He said finally.
“Good,” Dark hissed. “Kill me.”
The dragon smirked. “No. I don’t think so.” He threw Darkfall back to the ground and pinned him under razor sharp talons.
“I enchant this dragon to become an Animus.” He hissed.
Darkfall felt a rush through his veins.
“Now, I enchant this dragon to obey me no matter what.” 
Darkfall was released, and he staggered to his talons.
The dragon grinned. “Good. Bow to me.”
Dark bowed against his will. No . . . He thought. Please, Firebug . . . I need your help.
=== Chapter 8 ===
Firebug winced, her mind whirling.
“NEVER GET KIDNAPPED EVER AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR me?!” Thyme shouted.
“Yep, sorry—“
Thyme gave her an adorable scavenger glare.
“Okay, okay,” Firebug said. “Calm down!”
Sage smiled at her with a hint of amusement on his face as the scavenger continued yelling at her.
“Alright, alright,” Firebug said after a while. “We need to get going to Jade Mountain.”
“Whatever you say,” Sage said with a shrug.”
Firebug nodded. I hope you’re there when we get there, Darkfall, She thought. And I hope I can meet my brother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That’s Jade Mountain?” Sage asked, soaring towards the Claws of the Clouds mountains.
Firebug nodded. “I think so.”
Venom flicked her tail and cocked her head. 
“So, how are we supposed to save this friend of yours?”
Firebug landed at the base of the mountain. “Good question. I assume . . .” She trailed off as the smell of smoke rose over the mountain.
“Is that smoke?” Sage asked.
Venom’s scales faded white at the claws, and red hinted her now blue-purple scales.
“I think so . . .” Firebug said. “Should we check it out?”
Sage blinked. “Run towards the fire?”
WHOOSH—BOOM!
They were thrown backwards as flames exploded from the entrance of the mountain, and two dragons could be seen standing amidst the flames.
Firebug shook embers of her wings and peered into the fire.
She gasped.
A dragon who looked almost exactly like her threw Darkfall—the dragon from her dream—onto the ground outside Jade Mountain.
“Hello, sister.” The dragon sneered. He had comma-like markings that looked like a leopard’s, and he had the same SkyWing wings, IceWing spines, and LeafWing colors that Firebug had.
“Y-you’re . . . my brother?” Firebug breathed.
The dragon smiled. “Yes. The name is Shrub, but dragons call me The Stalker.” he flicked his tail as Darkfall covered his head on the ground. “I enchanted this here fool to be my tool, so he means nothing to you now.”
Sage hissed at Shrub. “Let him go and let’s talk this out like civilized dragons.”
Venom nodded vigorously.
Shrub laughed. “Small chance, LeafWing.” He took his spear from his back. “I’m not here to talk. I’m here to kill you and stop the prophecy.” He blinked slowly. “You were chosen to rule the tribes,” he snapped at Firebug. “And I was neglected. YOU are going to get ALL the power and leave me in the dust.”
Firebug held out a claw. “Calm down, Shrub! I didn’t know you even existed until yesterday night! If you join us, we can help the tribes together!”
Sage walked in front of Firebug. “She’s right. Come with us.”
Darkfall sent a pleading look at Firebug and the gang.
Firebug met his eyes with a nod.
Shrub suddenly roared and plowed into Sage, biting his shoulder and shaking him like a crocodile would with its prey.
Firebug launched onto her brother’s back. She pried his mouth off of Sage and grabbed his horns.
The ring on Shrub’s talon gleamed, and Firebug suddenly floated into the air,  choking.
Shrub suddenly screamed in pain as RainWing venom blasted into his face.
Venom beat him with her wings, ripping the earring from his ear and the ring from his talon.
Firebug fell to the ground, gratefully drinking in the air.
Darkfall gasped as he was released from Shrub’s control. Shuddering, he got to his talons.
Shrub was writhing on the ground, trying to say enchantments but cutting himself off with a bloodcurdling scream or curse.
Venom looked down at him disdainfully.
Sage whacked him on the head, swiftly knocking him unconscious.
Darkfall blinked. “I . . . Can’t thank you enough.” 
“Yeah,” Sage said. “Any day.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darkfall sighed as he finished his story.
Firebug watched Venom intently as she crushed up Shrub’s enchanted jewelry.
“Wow.” She said after a moment of silence. “So you’re an animus now?”
Darkfall nodded. “It’s more of a curse than a blessing.”
Venom lifted her head, eyes flashing. She looked at him pleadingly.
“Oh . . .” Sage said. “Venom wants you to give her voice back.”
“Of course!” Darkfall exclaimed. “It’s the least I can do.” He touched Venom’s neck and said, “I enchant this dragon to be healed of all injuries resulting in the loss of her voice . . . Please?”
Venom coughed suddenly, blinking rapidly.
“Venom?” Sage asked.
“I . . .” Venom stammered. She threw herself at Darkfall in a tackle-hug.
He patted her as he was slightly smothered. She pulled back after a moment, grinning. “I CAN TALK!”
Sage smiled. 
“WOO-HOO!” She jumped into the air, doing a loop-de-loop.
Firebug grinned as she watched her friend, Thyme sitting silently on her shoulder.
It’s all gonna work out.
== Part 2: A Light in the Distance ==
=== Chapter 9 ===
“Good morning!” Venom cheered, bouncing to her talons.
Thyme swung from Firebug’s horn to her head.
“We are quite the interesting group,” Sage said as he tied Shrub to a tree.
Darkfall smiled. “I guess you could say that.”
“Quirky is the word you’re looking for,” Firebug answered. 
Thyme patted her. “Sure, I like ‘weird’ better.”
Firebug laughed.
Darkfall snorted. 
Sage sat down beside Shrub. “We should probably get rid of his magic, right?”
Darkfall nodded quickly. “Definitely!”
“Well . . .” Firebug flicked her tail. “I agree, but how much soul would it cost?”
Dark shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. This is important.”
Firebug sighed. “Alright, but maybe enchant something—not the dragon.”
Darkfall nodded and walked into the forest. He came back a moment later with a snail.
“HAHA!” Venom giggled. “A snail?!”
Darkfall gave her a disdainful look. “What? It’s cute!” Ignoring her giggles, he said, “I enchant this snail to become a bracelet that has the power to remove any and all powers including animus magic from a dragon.”
Thyme “ooh”-ed as the snail turned to stone, and rope came from the sides, with a metal clasp at the back.
Sage’s eyes flashed as Darkfall slipped it onto Firebug’s wrist.
“You keep it,” he said. “I don’t trust myself with that kind of thing.”
Firebug nodded. “Thanks.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why are we going to the Ice Kingdom again?” Thyme asked, smiling as the cool wind rushed past her.
“Because we need somewhere to start for the prophecy, and the IceWings are the best bet since I’m a third IceWing.” Firebug answered. “And we already have the Sand and MudWings that are following Thorn backing us up, so we’re already one kingdom ahead.”
Darkfall nodded. “We do have to unite all the kingdoms, sooo—“
“BIRD!” Thyme shrieked.
Firebug ducked as a white blur hurtled past her head.
“That is not a bird!” Venom hissed, seeing the white thing as it dove back at them.
Sage gasped. “That’s an infected IceWing dragonet!” 
Firebug corkscrewed to the side to dodge the infected as it almost collided with her.
Thyme screamed and plummeted from her back.
“NO!” Firebug yelped as the IceWing redirected and dove after Thyme.
Firebug roared and knocked the IceWing aside, reaching for Thyme.
OW! Fire winced as the IceWing landed on her back, just as Firebug snatched her scavenger.
“Firebug!” Sage flew after her.
Fire struggled to gain altitude and shake the IceWing off at the same time. Get off! She growled mentally. AH!
Her head pounded as a sharp pain dug into her shoulder.
“DIE YOU LITTLE—“ Thyme swung her scavenger sword at the IceWing, cutting into its wing webbing.
Sage threw the IceWing off of Firebug’s back, watching as it plummeted from the sky.
“Ah . . . Ow . . .” Firebug faltered, wavering in the sky.
“You’ve been bit!” Sage exclaimed, helping Firebug through the sky. “Come on, you’ll be alright . . .”
Can’t . . . Fly . . . Firebug felt something strike her mind over and over again. “It . . . Hurts.” She winced.
“I know,” Sage breathed. “You’ll be okay, just keep gliding!”
Venom nodded. “We need to land.”
“Agreed,” Darkfall answered. “And quick.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug’s breathing hissed in and out as Sage tended to her wound.
Darkfall muttered to himself. 
“Firebug, I need you to stay awake,” Sage ordered as Fire’s eyes started to drift close. “Come on, you’ll be fine!”
Firebug yelled out as the Breath of Evil snarled in her mind, wrapping her in a sort of fog.
“Stay awake!” Sage pleaded. 
Firebug groaned. “I’m . . . Awake . . .”
“Good,” Venom said. “I’m almost done with my makeshift medicine.”
Sage’s head popped up. “Can you burn the infection out?”
Venom blinked. “With what? Fire?”
Sage face-palmed. “No! RainWing venom!”
“THAT WOULD KILL HER!” Venom shouted suddenly.
Darkfall winced.
Stay awake, Firebug thought. Come on . . . Get out of here, infection! She ordered weakly. Get out!
Aha, I don’t think so.
The Breath of Evil—Get out!
No, you’ll be mine again soon.
LEAVE!
AH—how did you d-do that?! The Breath of Evil hissed. Impossible. You can NOT defeat me.
“Firebug! Firebug, come on!” Sage shook her shoulder.
Get out and don’t come back! Firebug snapped mentally.
“The infection—the wound is closing?!” Darkfall exclaimed. “How?”
Darkfall, you can read my thoughts. I can’t speak right now. Just . . . You might wanna stand back.
“She says to stand back,” Dark informed them. “She said so in her thoughts.”
Sage bit his lip and backed up.
Come on . . . LEAVE! A blast of green energy shot like a shockwave from around Firebug.
She fell limp, eyes flashing white before returning to normal.
“Firebug?” The last thing she saw was Sage running to her side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ugh . . . That hurt. Firebug groaned and held her head.
WHAM!
She fell over as Sage barreled into her, wrapping her in a hug.
“NO DYING!” Thyme shouted. “THAT’S WHAT I SAID! NO! DYING!”
Firebug laughed. “I didn’t die, and plus, you said no kidnapping.”
“She lives!” Venom cheered.
Sage led Firebug over to the campfire that they had built. Fire noticed that it was nighttime.	
“How did you do that?” Sage asked, still not taking his wing from around her.
Firebug flushed. “I . . . Don’t know. I guess I just told it to leave like, really angrily.”
“YEAH!” Thyme cheered. “Kick that infection’s butt—“
Darkfall laughed. “Nicely done, whatever you did.”
“Yeah.” Sage tilted his head and Firebug gasped. His left eye was back to normal, and there was no trace of the Breath of Evil anywhere on his scar.
“How did I . . ?” Firebug breathed.
Venom smiled. “He ran over to you, and when he touched you to shake you awake, he was thrown backwards by that same green energy and the Infection just . . .”
“Poofed?” Thyme supplied.
Venom nodded.
Firebug looked down at her talons. “I had no idea I could do that . . . I thought I could only heal other dragons directly.”
Sage placed his talon atop hers. “Well, the more you discover your abilities, the brighter the future gets.”
=== Chapter 10 ===
AAAH!
Firebug’s head shot up in fear as she woke.
Sage lay next to her, sleeping silently.
He’s fine, he’s not dead. She told herself. Everyone’s fine.
A cold wind rustled the trees as Firebug watched the moon for a moment as it made its descent closer towards the horizon.
Thyme was sleeping like a log next to the smoldering embers of the fire, with Venom sleeping in the tree above her.
We’re fine. Firebug shuddered to herself and placed her head back on the ground.
She closed her eyes, wishing for sleep instead of a nightmare.
~~~
Sage woke the next morning feeling refreshed. The cold tundra air stung his scales, but he didn’t mind.
He watched Firebug for a moment, seeing her lungs rise and fall peacefully.
Good, He thought. She’s not having another nightmare. He looked around in the dawn to find everyone else still asleep. Standing quietly, Sage wandered into the forest.
I hope those nightmares stop, He thought with a sigh. She deserves better. He frowned, finding his thoughts drifting to Firebug like they had so often since the day they met. I know she’s right for me, but . . . Am I right for her?
Sage plucked a wilting flower from the ground.
“Squeak, squeak dragon squeak squeak!” 
Sage whirled about, startled. He had picked up some scavenger language from being around Thyme, but not much. Plus, He thought. That doesn’t  sound like Thyme.
“Squeak dragon squeak. Stab squeak squeal sleep squeak!”
Sage followed the sound silently, bending down his head to see three scavengers with adorable little swords squeaking and pointing at Firebug and Thyme.
“Squeak!” One shouted. “Thyme SQUEAK SQUEAK!”
“Shh, Squeal squeak,” The other snapped.
Sage grinned, amused. He listened, trying to decipher more of their conversation.
In scavenger it went something like this:
“Look! There they are! The dragon!”
“That dragon . . . Kidnapped her! Let’s stab her!” 
“Yeah! for Thyme they MUST DIE!”
“SHH! Shut up!”
“And all dragons must die, even that one that Wren loves so much.”
“Yep, they’re all evil. Especially the white-eyed ones.”
Sage reached under the bush after a minute, scooping them out and into his claws.
“SQUEEAAAAK!” One of them shrieked.
Sage smirked as one of them tried to stab his scales with a sword, then throw it at his eye. Sage caught the little thing and tossed it away.
He walked back into camp with a grin. “Hey Thyme I found other scavengers!”
Thyme jumped up with a yelp. “What squeak squeak?”
~~~
Firebug lifted her head as she saw Sage carry three scavengers into the camp.
“What the heck?!” Thyme exclaimed.
The three of them gasped. 
“Thyme!” One with a bushy head shouted. “We found you!”
Thyme smirked. “More like Sage found you.”
“Sage?” One with long black hair asked.
“The LeafWing,” Thyme said, rolling her eyes. “Hey Sage, can you let them down please?”
Sage nodded and placed them by Thyme.
“You can control dragons just like Wren!” The third one with short, fuzzy hair accused. 
Thyme rolled her eyes and leaned against Firebug’s claw. “Nope, they’re just super intelligent like us. I can speak dragon.”
“Yeah right,” The long-haired one hissed. “Dragons are evil!”
Firebug arched her eyebrow. “No we’re not,” She growled in the scavenger language.
They collectively gasped again.
“DIE!” The one with short hair launched at Firebug, swinging his sword.
“Oww!” Firebug complained, flicking him back after he cut her claw a tiny bit.
Darkfall walked over and gently grabbed one by the arm. “Aww! So cute!! look at her little face!” He cooed.
Thyme giggled as the two scavengers on the ground pointed swords at Darkfall.	
“Okay, okay, put her down,” Thyme ordered.
Darkfall placed her gently with the others, a grin on his face.
“You can SO control dragons!” The one with the big hair announced. “Help us kill them!”
“What? NO!” Thyme snapped. “They’re my friends, Ant! Firebug is my bestie!”
Firebug glared at Ant. I don’t like him.
“All dragons are evil, even Wren’s.” The short haired one said. “Duh! If you can control them—“
Firebug snatched the short haired scavenger. “Listen up,” she hissed. “We’re NOT EVIL! We’re trying to save the world for all dragons and even the insolent little scavengers like YOU! Now shut it!” She dropped him back with the others.
“Go away, Ant, Snake . . . You too, Iris,” Thyme ordered. “These are my friends. I belong with them.”
The three scavengers glared at her. “Fine then,” Snake replied. “Don’t expect us to save you from your precious dragons when they decide they’re hungry.”
Firebug watched as they walked off into the forest, speaking to each other in hushed tones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s so cold,” Darkfall shuddered. 
“Well, you are half SandWing,” Firebug pointed out. “The rest of us are—“
“STILL COLD!” Venom shouted. “BLEEHHHH SNOWWW!”
Sage smiled. “‘Bleh’?”
Venom nodded vigorously, her scales swirling into blue-grey. “YEAH!”
“You good Thyme?” Firebug asked.
Her scavenger nodded. “Snug as a bug in a rug.”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
Firebug flushed despite the cold as Sage drifted closer to her, smiling at her.
Darkfall’s teeth chattered. “Are w-w-we there yet?”
“What does it look like?” Firebug asked, flicking her tail at the crumbling IceWing palace in the distance.
“Um, it looks like we’re really far away,” Darkfall pointed out.
Venom nodded. “We’re going to FREEZE!”
“No, we’re not!” Firebug said. “We’ll be fine. Come on, let’s land and warm up a bit.”
They landed in the curve of a frozen snow dune, protected from the biting wind.
Venom dumped some wood she had brought with them on the ground and Darkfall lit it ablaze.
Thyme hopped down and warmed herself by the fire. “This is nice.”
“Yeah,” Firebug said after a moment. “The fire is warm, and there’s no wind.”
Silence followed whilst the sky darkened, announcing the arrival of dusk.
“Maybe we should stay here for the night,” Sage said.
“Yep!” Venom exclaimed. “No wind and snow for ME thank you very much!” She plopped down by the fire, her scales fading a pleased emerald and gold with hints of rose pink.
Firebug’s stomach grumbled annoyingly.
“I would say you can go hunt, but it’s so cold out there . . .” Sage trailed off.
Firebug smiled. “I’ll be fine. I’ll go find a fox or something.” She stepped out from their camp and crunched along in the snow, Thyme looking out after her with a concerned frown.
Fire wandered for a while, trying to smell for prey. This moon-forsaken snow is botching all of the prey scent, She hissed mentally.
Crunch . . . Crunch . . .
Firebug’s ears pricked up and she looked around. She turned just in time to see an IceWing pounce from the snow, onto her back, a blade gleaming in her claw.
“AAAAAH!” Firebug’s yelp was cut short as she fell back into a snow drift, the IceWing standing over her. She had icy, pale blue scales with a darker blue leopard print scattered around her. Her eyes were strikingly yellow, matching a single amber earring on her right ear. 
PING!
Fire winced as the blade stuck into the snow right next to her head.
The IceWing hissed. “You look like an infected, hybrid.” 
“Geez,” Firebug snapped. “Way to make a good first impression! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!”
The IceWing rolled her eyes and flicked her tail. “It’s not my fault that a LeafWing wandering around in the snow is abnormal.”
Firebug jumped up. “I’m not a LeafWing. I’m a third IceWing, for your information!”
The dragon smirked. “Sure,” She drawled. “An IceWing.”
Firebug hissed at her, flicking the dangerously sharp IceWing spikes on her tail back and forth. “I am. Who are you anyways?”
“Leopard of the IceWings,” They answered. “And you?”
“Firebug of the Sky, Leaf, and IceWings.” Firebug said confidently. “And I was out hunting.”
“PAH!” Leopard scoffed. “You call that hunting!? You sound like a drowning elephant!”
Fire glared. “I don’t suppose you could spare some food for my friends and I?”
Leopard gave a rare smile. “Fine. I could use someone to talk to.”
Sage watched as Firebug led Leopard back into their makeshift camp.
“So, what brings you to the Ice Kingdom?” Leopard asked, tossing half a frost bitten seal forwards.
Firebug explained their whole situation, including the prophecy.
Leopard looked intrigued. “Really? What a tale.”
“You believe us?” Darkfall asked.
Leopard nodded. “How could I not? Your story matches up to the prophecy perfectly.”
Venom nodded. “Glad to hear it.”
Leopard sat down in the snow. “So, Darkfall—you can read my mind? What am I thinking?”
Firebug watched as Darkfall closed his eyes.
“You’re thinking that . . . We could be interesting to travel with, but you’re very slow to trust since your brother was killed.”
Leopard blinked. “I . . .”
“Sorry,” Darkfall looked away. “I didn’t mean to—“
“No, it’s fine.” Leopard sighed.
Firebug warmed her claws by the fire. “You’re free to come with us!”
Leopard nodded slowly. “I suppose.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darkfall shivered as he rekindled their fire—which was mostly ash now.
The snow was driving down harder now, making it impossible to see two yards in front of your nose.
He sat in the snow, looking at his sleeping friends. Leopard was curled up in a pile of snow, breathing softly.
She doesn’t trust me. He thought. She doesn’t trust any NightWing. She really is beautiful though—
Leopard’s thoughts interrupted his own. He’s dangerous . . . They don’t understand, that NightWing is going to kill them all. I’ll have to take care of him myself if I’m going to travel with them.
Darkfall’s eyes widened. She’s thinking about ME?!
He frantically looked around, then grabbed some warm coals in his claws. Should I enchant something? Leopard will kill me if not! Dark peered at her to make sure she was asleep, then looked down at the coals.
I enchant these coals to become a beautiful necklace, and for nobody to think anything of it when they see it. The dragon wearing it will fall in love with me, and forget that I’m an animus.
He watched as the coals floated into the air, and a silver twined cord connected the coals, witch hardened into lava rock and rubies. Wait, will she love-love me . . ? Or just like me?
He took a deep breath, then quietly walked over to Leopard. He placed the necklace over her head, and it slid into place on her neck.
Leopard’s head lifted and she looked up at him. “Oh,” She said. “Hello.”
Darkfall’s heart jumped. “Hey . . . Sorry to wake you.”
She smiled charmingly. “That’s alright. Goodnight.” She lay her head back down.
Maybe magic won’t be so bad, He thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leopard felt . . . Strange when she woke. She couldn’t quite place what it was, but when she saw Darkfall, her heart leapt.
He’s amazing, Her thoughts echoed. She smiled at him as she passed to stomp out the fire.
Sage yawned and rubbed his eyes. “I slept like a log even though it was so cold,” He said. He looked confused for a moment as he saw her necklace, then his eyes glazed over and he smiled.
That was weird. The same thing happened whenever someone looked at her necklace for the first time. I’ve always had this. Maybe they just didn’t notice before. She shook out her wings. “I can lead you to a faction,” Leopard said. “But I cannot guarantee they will welcome you with open wings.”	
Firebug smiled. “That’s alright, we’re not expecting a welcome party.”
Darkfall walked over to her. “How do you feel?” He asked.
What a strange question. “I’m fine. Slept well.” She answered before she could meet his eyes.
“Let’s go!” Venom called.
As they flew, Leopard drifted to the back of the group to join Darkfall just as the sun came out.
“Hey Darkfall?” She said. “I know we just met . . . But I think you’re a great dragon.”
He blinked. “Really?”
I love him. Her thoughts told her. Wait what—Her thoughts drowned her out as she answered, “Yeah!”
Darkfall smiled after a moment. “Oh, well . . . Thanks. I-uh-haven’t met someone who thought that in a while.”
Are you reading my mind? She wondered, then realized she had set it out loud.
“Oh, no, I’m not!” He replied quickly.	
Leopard smiled at him. “Okay!”
Firebug looked back, arching an eyebrow. He expression seemed to say: ‘Why is she so happy? She was so fierce when I met her.’
I love him, I love him so much. Her thoughts whispered in her ear. Leopard felt a chill when she looked into Darkfall’s eyes—but she couldn’t tell if it was love or fear . . .
=== Chapter 11 ===
Firebug frowned to herself. Something’s up with Leopard. She seems different, Fire noted.	
“Hey Firebug,” Sage said, flying up next to her. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, something just seems off with Leopard.” Firebug replied.
Sage nodded. “Agreed—“
Leopard flew to the front of the group, directing them north farther, slightly to the left of the palace in the distance.	
“There’s the last of the Great Ice Wall,” Leopard said, flicking her tail at the crumbling wall beneath them. “That’s where I was living before I met you all.”
“I see,” Venom shivered. “In the ruins?”
Leopard nodded. “Yes, but everyone be quiet from here on. It’s infested out here.”
Firebug shuddered as she saw infected fighting over a dead wolf on the ground.	
“Can’t they see us?” She whispered to Sage.
He shrugged. “The light reflecting off the clouds might mask our presence.”
Fire got a little jolt of surprise as he grabbed her claw.
“Sorry,” He hissed. “Just—making sure you were still there.”
Firebug flushed. “No, I don’t mind.”
Venom grinned at them, as Thyme snickered almost silently. Firebug rolled her eyes as Venom whisper-called, “Loooove-biiiiirds!”
Sage smiled back at them.
“Am I interrupting something?” Thyme asked, snug in her new seal skin coat.
“Come on Thyme,” Venom said. “You can ride with me for a bit.”
Firebug laughed quietly as Thyme jumped from her wing to Venom’s, then sat on Venom’s head and grinned.
“Hey Firebug,” Sage said after a while of flying. “Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did, but go ahead!” Firebug answered.
Sage paused for a moment, thinking. “I er . . . I really like you. I like Venom as a sort of sister, but you’re different.”
Firebug’s scales warmed. He feels the same way! Her mind cheered and she did a little mental dance. “I like you too,” She replied. “In the same way.”
Darkfall watched them from behind, an envious gleam in his eyes unbeknownst to the two of them.
Sage smiled, twining his tail around her’s. 
Firebug squeezed his talon, feeling a warmness surge through her scales.
Sage suddenly yelped and pulled away. His eyes were wide. “Your scales . . .” He reached up and brushed her neck. “They’re hot!”
Firebug cocked her head. “Really?”
“Like firescales, almost!” He exclaimed, astonished.
Fire blinked. “Do you think it’s one of my abilities?”
“I’d bet Thyme on it,” Venom replied, resulting in a punch from her hitchhiker.	Firebug concentrated, closing her eyes. She pictured herself grabbing the heat and stuffing it into a little container to be saved for later.
The faint glow coming from her scales died down.
“How did you do that?” Leopard asked.
Firebug shrugged. “I don’t know! I just . . . Did?”
“So it’s like being able to turn your scales on like a stove,” Sage replied. “But then you can turn them off too?”
Thyme nodded. “Seems like it!”
Darkfall gaped. “That’s incredible!”
Firebug smiled. “Here . . .” She let out the heat, and her scales glowed again, warming the group as they flew.
“Aaaah,” Venom sighed. “That feels so good!”
“It’s like SandWing scales but times ten!” Darkfall exclaimed. “Incredible, really.”
“It must be because she can’t breathe fire,” Sage replied. “So her SkyWing genes converted the fire into controllable but weaker firescales!”
Firebug grinned. I’m finally useful! She cheered in her head. And . . . Sage loves me too. Could this day get any bett—
Her thoughts were cut short.
“The infected saw us!” Leopard shouted suddenly. “FLY FOR YOUR LIFE!”
Fire looked behind them, seeing a gnashing and clawing mass of IceWings and a few other dragons.
Firebug darted forwards, her SkyWing wings giving her the clear speed advantage.
“AAAH!”
She looked back, seeing Sage getting swarmed.
Red blinded her vision as she roared and started tearing through the infected. LET HIM GO! She ordered. The infected released him and stared at her. She clenched her fist, and the dragon’s around Sage snapped their own necks. Don’t get NEAR him! She roared in her head. OR ANY OF THEM!
Firebug opened her mouth and blasted ten of the dragons with frostbreath.
“Firebug,” Sage called. “I’m okay, snap out of it!”
Her breathing slowed and her vision shifted back to normal. She felt weak, about to drop out of the sky.
Sage caught her quickly, his claw tracing her jawbone. “Are you alright?”
Tears suddenly flowed from her eyes. She grabbed his claw. “I-I . . . I k-killed them . . . It was an accident, I was t-t-trying to protect y-you, and—and—“
“Firebug.” Venom placed her hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. We can deal with this later—for now, we need to get out of here.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We’re almost there,” Leopard said. “But first, we should stop to hunt.”
Firebug flew down into the glacier silently, her mind wandering.
“I’ll find some food,” Sage said. 
Venom nodded. “Thyme and I will come with you.”
As they left the cave, Firebug sighed and slumped against the icy wall. She closed her eyes slowly, suddenly tired.
She watched almost paralyzed as Darkfall led Leopard down into another cave in the glacier.
Fire closed her eyes, falling asleep.
“Sage!” Firebug chimed.
	Sage walked into the room as sunlight streamed in. “Yes?”
	“It’s hatching,” She replied, sweeping back her wing to reveal a golden and mint green egg that was cracking.
	The egg suddenly burst, darkness grabbing Firebug and dragging her into a pit. She felt like she was falling.
	A maniacal laugh echoed through the darkness as Darkfall pinned her to the ground with a sneer. Sage ran at him, but Darkfall flicked his hand and Sage crumpled to the ground, clearly dead.
	She screamed, but Darkfall glared at her. “You’re nothing,” He hissed, suddenly transforming into the Breath of Evil. “You’ll always be nothing—“
“Firebug? Where did the others go?”
Fire’s head snapped up. She held her head for a moment, then looked up at Venom and Sage. “I—sorry, I think they went to explore the glacier.”
Venom faded pale green and white. “There’s infected around here!” She cried. “They could be getting attacked!”
Firebug got to her feet. “Thyme?”
Thyme nodded and stood on her shoulder. “Let’s go!”
Sage dropped the elk he was carrying and followed Venom and Firebug into the tunnel.
Please be okay, Fire pleaded mentally. 
They bolted around a corner, and Firebug yelped as she slipped along the ice.
“Over here!” Darkfall hissed, perched in a corner of the domed room.
Firebug gave him a confused look. “Why are you he—“
“Shhh,” Leopard snapped, poking her head out from behind an ice chunk. She pointed over the ice at two small IceWing eggs.
Firebug blinked. “What?” She whispered, sliding over to them
“Where did you find these?” Venom wondered.
Leopard motioned for them to hide. “An infected was carrying them!”
Infected eggs?! Firebug gasped. That’s horrible! Her mind growled. How COULD they?
“Why are we hiding?” Sage whispered.
Darkfall crouched down. “The infected will be coming back soon.”
They hid for a moment until they heard the scraping of claws, and an infected IceWing staggered into the room.
All at once, they launched at the infected.
Firebug landed on its back, while Sage slammed its head against the wall and Leopard swiftly twisted its neck.
“We should take these eggs and go,” Firebug said.
Sage nodded. “You should heal them first though.”
Firebug slid over and placed her talons on the eggs. Let’s see . . . There. She pinpointed the infection in the egg, and carefully started drawing it out. She caught the green energy and snuffed it out.
Venom smiled and grabbed an egg while Firebug got the other one.
“Let’s go before more show up,” Darkfall said nervously. 
They exited the glacier, taking the elk Sage caught with them.
“We should be almost there,” Leopard said, squinting in the dazzling light reflected off the snow.
Firebug looked down at the egg in her talons. I wonder if it’s a boy or girl—and who their parents are. I doubt it was that IceWing—he had dark blue scales, and these eggs are pale teal and slightly gold. 
“Okay, here we are.” Leopard called. She hovered in the air for a moment, then dove down into some of the crumbling remains of the palace.
“WE COME IN PEACE!” Venom shouted.
“Shh,” Thyme hissed. “You’re gonna alert the infected!”
They walked into the remains, Leopard in the lead.
“Stop right there!” Someone hissed. Ten dragons suddenly jumped out at them, all of them IceWings. “State your business.”
Firebug pushed to the front and stood tall. “We’re here about an alliance with your leader.”
The first IceWing who had shimmery white and purple scales hissed at her. “Likely story, hybrid.”
“That’s Firebug to you,” Firebug snapped, realizing brute force would be the only way to get through. “And I’m a tribrid.”
The leader grumbled, then nodded, his armor clinking. “Fine. Come on.” he led them down a tight ice tunnel, and into a large room.
Firebug gazed at a sconce of blue fire for a moment, then walked up to a table at witch a large IceWing stood staring at a map. He had navy blue scales and black flecks under his wings, with pale blue splotches all over him. His eyes were piercing green, and he had a NightWing complexion.
“Hello there. My name is Capricorn.” He said with an icy tone.
Firebug bowed lightly. “I’m Firebug of the Ice, Sky, and LeafWings.” She nodded at him. “We’re here about an alliance. We have gained allies in Thorn and her followers, and are here to unite the tribes against the infection.”
Capricorn paused, examining them. He suddenly jumped to his talons. “Leopard?!”
“Capricorn.” Leopard nodded, averting her eyes.
He stuttered. “Wh-where have you been!? W-w-we’ve been looking f-for you everywhere!”
Leopard flicked her tail. “I was hiding.”
“From me? Why?” Capricorn moved to embrace her, but she smacked him back with her wing.
“Don’t, Dipper, I never loved you. I ran because I don’t want to be betrothed to you!” She snapped.
Venom’s expression seem to say; “Awk-ward!”
Thyme promptly hid in Firebug’s spikes.
“But Leopard—“
Leopard walked out of the room.
“So . . .” Sage said after a moment. “I’m Sage, this is Venom, Darkfall, and, well, you seem to already know Leopard.”
Capricorn sighed. “I apologize. We have some . . . History together. Anyways, why don’t I get you accommodations whilst I contemplate your offer?”
Whilst? Firebug thought. Weirdo. “We would—er—appreciate that greatly.”
Capricorn nodded, and armed guards led them to their own caves.
Firebug froze once she and Thyme were alone. “Wait, where is the egg?!”
“I have it!” Thyme exclaimed. 
Fire looked back and saw her tiny scavenger holding the egg steady.
She almost laughed. “Thanks, Thyme!” She took the egg and lay down, holding it in her claws.
“Can I name it when it hatches?” Thyme asked, sliding onto the ground. “Pleeaaase?”
Firebug smirked. “May-be.”
“Aw come on!” Thyme called. “Pretty please?”
Firebug laughed. “Okay, okay, sure. Just not a name like Capricorn.”
Thyme grinned. “Yay!”
Sage poked his head into the cave with a smile. “Hello, you two. What’s up?”
“The sky,” Firebug said sarcastically. When he gave her a wry smile, she grinned. “Okay, okay, Thyme wants to name the IceWing egg.”
Sage nodded, sitting. “Any ideas so far?”
“Maybe something like Dewdrop? Something pretty like that if it’s a girl. Probably Blizzard or Freeze of it’s a boy—it has to be scary.” Thyme replied, petting the egg affectionately.
Sage put his wing around Firebug.
She smiled. “Scary or pretty, huh? That sounds like a Thyme thing.”
Thyme smirked. “Okay, I’ll go hang out with Venom and leave you two lovebirds alone.”
“Hey!” Firebug teased. “We’re not—“
“Loooovebirds!” Venom cheered, poking her head into the room and fist-bumping Thyme.
Sage rolled his eyes as the two of them dashed from sight.
Firebug sighed and leaned on his shoulder. “Do you think we’ll be able to stop the Infection?” She wondered aloud.
“Yes.” Sage said. “If anyone can, you can do it.”
“You really think so?” Firebug asked.
Sage nodded. “Definitely.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug collapsed in her room after dinner. UUUGH BORING TALKING WITH CAPRICORN! Her brain yelled. Why is he so boring?
Thyme was already asleep against the wall, snoring lightly.
“Firebug?” Darkfall poked his head in.
“Yeah?” Firebug groaned.
Dark shifted. “Um . . . I’m going on a walk, just so you know, in case you wonder where I am.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” Firebug said. “I would’ve freaked out probably.”
He nodded and disappeared.
Sage walked in after a moment. “Hey!” He said. “I noticed that you didn’t eat much during dinner, so I brought some cow.”
“Where did you get cow?” Firebug asked, astonished.
Sage smirked. “Capricorn just randomly had a cow—“
“You stole it, didn’t you!” Firebug asked, playfully patting him.
“Maybe!” He exclaimed. “He was gonna give it to Leopard, but she doesn’t like cow, sooooo—“
“The logical next step is to steal it,” Firebug bonked him with her wing.
Sage laughed. “Yes?”
Nevertheless, Firebug sat down and tore a haunch off the cow.
As the night fell, Firebug sighed contentedly, closing her eyes.
=== Chapter 12 ===
Firebug blinked awake slowly. She almost yelped as she realized it was daytime already. Her tail was curled around Sage’s, and he was still asleep.
I can’t believe I fell asleep, Firebug thought, untangling herself from Sage gently and shaking out her wings. Gosh, I was tired. 
“Gooooood morning,” Thyme yawned.
Sage woke, blinking rapidly. He jumped to his talons. “Uh—good morning?”
Firebug smiled. “How did you sleep?”
“Good—“
“Cool!” Thyme exclaimed. “Can we get breakfast now? I’ve missed too many meals.”
Her scavenger clambered onto her back as Firebug stretched.
“Where do you assume we—“
“GO AWAY CAPRICORN!” Leopard could be heard yelling. “You mean NOTHING TO ME!”
“Ouch,” Firebug hissed. “What a punch to his ego.”
“But Leopard,” Capricorn pleaded. “We were—“
“FRIENDS! Until you FORCED me into a relationship!”
Smack!
Sage winced. “I think she hit him.”
“L-Leopard, I lo—“ Capricorn was cut off as he was shoved away.
Firebug poked her head out of their cave. 
Leopard was fuming in the doorway of her cave. “Don’t come back, Capricorn.”
The Ice-Night hybrid sulked away, defeated.
“Wow,” Thyme said. “That was dramatic.”
Sage nodded. “Yeah.”
~~~
Darkfall watched the ordeal from his cave.
My spell . . . Actually made her love-love me. I can’t believe this—Animus magic is incredible! He looked down at his claws. Maybe I should enchant something else. But what?
He waited until his friends left for breakfast until he walked into Leopard’s cave. She was sitting on the ground, staring off into space.
“Hey,” He said, mustering up a charming smile.
Leopard’s eyes shone when she looked at him. “Darkfall! Did you see Capricorn? He’s such an idiot. He can’t compare with you—“ She stopped. “Did I say that out loud?”
“Yes?” Darkfall tried.
Leopard smiled sheepishly. “Sorry . . .”
“Don’t be,” Darkfall said, putting his claw on her shoulder. She is actually such a nicer dragon with this spell. I . . . Like her a lot.
“Oh, okay . . .” She sighed. “Capricorn is a foolish dragon. he fell head-over-heels for me even though I had no feelings for him. We were friends, that’s all.”
Darkfall nodded. “Hypothetically, if you had animus magic, what would you do with it?”
Leopard thought for a moment. “That’s a hard question. I suppose, I could make any-dragon like me, or live forever . . . I would end the infection, though I hear that’s impossible with Animus Magic.”
Darkfall nodded. “Can I ask you a crazy question?”
“Sure.”
“Would you ever want a dragonet?” He inquired, his mind spinning through possible spells.
She blinked. “W-with you? Or—“
Darkfall shook his head quickly. “No, no! Just in general.”
Leopard flicked her tail. “Yes. I think I would. Dragonets are just so cute and loving, and they carry on your memory after you’re gone.”
“I see . . .” Darkfall murmured. “Would you mind if I see the egg?”
Leopard looked confused, but handed the shiny teal egg to him.
I enchant this egg to become a dragonet that looks like me and Leopard were the parents, so it doesn’t feel out of place when it hatches . . . Like I did. And nobody will question it.
Leopard gasped as the egg faded to dark brown with stars at the bottom. “Y-you’re an animus! How could you not tell me?!”
“No, please don’t tell anyone!” Darkfall exclaimed, catching her arm before she could run from the cave. “Please!”
Leopard clutched her necklace. “Did you enchant this too?”
“I swear I didn’t—“
Leopard threw the necklace to the ground with wild eyes. “You . . . Enchanted me to love you!?” She hissed. “How could you?”
“You were going to kill me!” Darkfall growled.
Leopard blinked. “I would never kill you! That was my thoughts, I wasn’t actually going to kill you!”
“I just wanted someone to believe in me, for who I am!” Darkfall exclaimed, catching her claw and gazing into her eyes.
“Enchanting them is not the way to do that!” Leopard snapped. “I might’ve . . . Actually loved you, maybe, in some far-off future, but now that’s impossible!”
Darkfall stopped her from leaving. “Please, don’t hate me!”
“I DO HATE YOU!” Leopard cried.
“NO! You love me! And you’ll stick by my side!” He shouted. I enchant her to love me forever and ever, and never question my magic. She’ll also love the dragonet in the egg.
Leopard gasped and her eyes glazed over. She hugged him tightly—yet with almost lifeless eyes. 
Darkfall trembled. W-what have I done?
“I love you, Darkfall.” She whispered.
“I . . . Do too,” He murmured, staring at the egg that was laying on the ground.
~~~
Firebug smiled as she finished the seal that sat before her.
“That was good,” Thyme sighed, looking at the bones of a salmon that she had devoured.
Venom giggled at her. “I had no idea a scavenger could eat so much!”
“Well, you haven’t seen the full might of my stomach when it’s actually empty!” Thyme smirked.
“Okay you two,” Firebug snickered. “Capricorn wanted to see us after breakfast.”
“Aww, but he’s Bo-ring!” Thyme complained.
“I am?”
Firebug turned to see Capricorn standing in the doorway.
“So sorry,” Firebug apologized. “She just says stuff sometimes—“
Capricorn smiled. “No, it’s fine. I’ve heard that a lot.” 
Sage smiled back awkwardly. “So . . . I heard the fight with Leopard, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Capricorn said with a nod. “So, we’re here about an alliance.”
”Yes.”
Capricorn fiddled with his talons. “Firebug, I don’t think you understand how hard it is to kill an infected.”
Firebug stood. “Actually I do understand. I ALSO understand that teamwork is the only thing that is going to get us through this.” She placed her talons on the table. “Our group has only survived because we care about each other and we’re there for everyone like family. We’re hoping to unite all the tribes like us—a family, a ray of light.”
Capricorn looked convinced. “I see. Tell me, if you were to ally with all the tribes, what would your plan be?”
Firebug furrowed her brow. “We go to Pantala and destroy the Breath of Evil.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug whooped and high-fived Sage. “We did it!”
Darkfall’s shadowed face showed the flicker of a smile. “Yeah.”
Leopard grinned. “So we have the SandWings and IceWings on our side now?”
Firebug nodded. “We should head to the the SkyWings next, then circle around from the SeaWings to the RainWings.”
“What about the MudWings?” Venom asked.
“They’re split between the Sand Kingdom and the Sky Kingdom,” Firebug said. “At least, that’s what Capricorn said.”
Darkfall nodded. “So, we’re leaving?”
“Already?” Leopard asked, feeling the snow under her claws.
Firebug paused. “If you’re ready, that is.”
“I sure am,” Darkfall and Venom murmured in unison.
“I—don’t know,” Leopard said. “I’ll miss the Ice Kingdom.”
Firebug smiled. “You don’t have to come with us!”
Darkfall flinched.
Leopard shook her head. “No, I’ll come. I want to see more of the world with all of you.”
“Great!” Sage exclaimed. “Looks like we’re adding one more to the team!”
Venom grinned. “Looks like the fearsome five becomes the . . . Savvy six?”
Firebug snorted.
Darkfall smiled weakly. “Fearsome?”
“Shh, it’s perfect,” Venom hissed playfully.
Thyme laughed. “Okay, guys, can we go now?”
Firebug locked eyes with Leopard and Venom.
“I suppose!” They all exclaimed at the same time.
Leopard dissolved in giggles.
Darkfall sighed and held the egg in his talons gently, his eyes darkening for an unknown reason.
“Alright,” Firebug said after she recovered. “Let’s move out!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug smiled as the sunlight caught on her pearlescent scales and shimmered lightly.
“I’m ready to get out of here,” Venom said with a yawn.
Sage nodded. “Me too, but it’s a two days flight out of here unless we want to fly over open ocean.”
“What’s wrong with the ocean?” Thyme asked. “I hear it’s a big blue lake but like—REALLY BIG.”
Leopard nodded. “I think he means we’ll be completely exposed, un defended from infected.”
“Darkfall could cast a spell so we can be invisible,” Thyme pointed out.
“I could—what? Huh?” Dark looked up, confused.
Firebug shook her head. “No, he has to save his magic for when it’s really needed.”
Venom shrugged. “If you say so.”
“So what’s the decision?” Thyme asked. “Ocean or snow?”
Firebug hesitated. “I vote snow.”
“I vote ocean!” Venom exclaimed.
“Definitely ocean,” Darkfall shuddered.
“Snow.” Leopard replied.
Thyme thought for a moment. “I vote ocean.”
“Same,” Sage answered. 
Firebug nodded. “Looks like we’re cutting over the sea! That means we head north-east.” She pointed across the snow plains to where the glacial sea lay on the horizon.
Venom flared her ruff. “Let’s go then!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug gasped as they soared up and over a glacier, breaking out over the open ocean. “It’s beautiful!” She exclaimed.
Venom nodded, turning a bright hibiscus pink and yellow.
“Maybe try to not be so eye-catching?” Leopard suggested.
Venom promptly went invisible.
Sage snorted. “Okay, okay, Venom, where are you?”
As they started bantering, Thyme watched the sea below them.
“It’s so breathtaking,” Firebug commented, noticing her scavenger’s silence.
Thyme nodded. “Yeah! I’ve never seen so much blue—like, ever!”
Firebug yawned and smiled. “The sun, the salty air . . . It all feels so good. I like it.”
Sage smiled. “I like it way better than the snow!”
“Hey guys?” Thyme said suddenly. “Does water usually glow like that?” She pointed down at the sea, where glowing spots in the ocean were moving around.
“W-what . . ?” Darkfall murmured. “I think those are—“
“SEAWINGS!” Everyone chorused.
“Fly!” Leopard cried.
The water beneath them sprayed upwards and dilapidated infected SeaWings swarmed out. They faltered uneasily for a moment, then dashed at the group.
Firebug tried ordering them to stop, but it didn’t work. “GO!” 
Thyme leapt onto Venom as the RainWing sped ahead, noticing that Firebug was staying where she was.
Firebug let out the flame inside of her, and her scales glowed from the heat. She roared and tried to hold back the infected swarm.
Firebug was quickly overwhelmed, clawed and beaten back and forth by the mindless creatures.
Multiple dragons bit her, and she tried to keep herself in the air as she became weaker and weaker. The infected left her and flew after the others as she plummeted from the sky, crashing into the water.
The air was knocked from her lungs from the impact, and she clawed at the water to try to stay afloat.
Her lungs screamed for air as she sank deeper. 
Aw, poor thing. The Breath of Evil hissed at her. 
No . . . I can’t die!
Yes, yes you can. The Breath of Evil surged through her veins, and her eyes became white. Firebug started to lose consciousness as she hit the sandy sea floor.
Now bow and give up. 
No! Firebug clawed at the sand, but her consciousness started fading. I . . . Can’t . . . D-die . . .
=== Chapter 13 ===
Sage was frozen. All blood in his veins seemed to disintegrate.
“S-she’s DEAD?!” Sage roared frantically.
Leopard held him back. “Shh! I saw her. She was bleeding when she fell into the ocean.” Her eyes darkened. “Firebug is dead, Sage.”
“No . . .” Sage breathed. “NO!”
Thyme was sobbing uncontrollably. 
Venom was shocked into emotionlessness. Her scales slowly faded white, green, and deep sad blue.
Darkfall blinked. “But . . .”
“Come on,” Leopard said quietly. “Let’s get out of here.”
~~~
Sage held his head in his claws. I can’t believe this. I REFUSE to believe this!
He stood silently, knowing everyone else was asleep. I am GOING to find her. I know she’s not dead. Just before he jumped into the air, Darkfall caught his shoulder.
“What—“
“You can’t leave,” Darkfall said, pressing a compass into his claw. “Not without that.”
“What is it?” Sage asked.
Darkfall sighed. “I enchanted it to point towards the location of any dragon. If she’s still alive . . . You’ll find her.”
Sage nodded. “Thank you.”
“Yeah,” Darkfall murmured. “If she’s out there—bring her back safe.”
“I will.” Sage leapt into the air, clutching the compass. He beat his wings hard, soaring back towards the ocean.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug was shocked as she felt warm sun on her scales. 
I’m not dead? I’m not INFECTED?! She tried to lift her head, but she was too weak.
“Is she alive?” A voice asked.
“Dunno.” Another replied. “Should we toss her back in the water?”
“It’s not like we can, her scales are too hot,” The first one answered.
Firebug stirred, trying to move.
“She is alive!” The second exclaimed.
Yeah, Firebug thought. Somehow.
The first one grumbled. “So what do we do? She could be part of Willful’s faction.”
“Just tie her up and let’s go,” The second replied, seeing that her scales had returned to normal.
No wait! Fire bug thought helplessly. I’m innocent—
A muzzle was attached to her snout and her legs were tied up. 
BANG!
Firebug fell unconscious once more as a ferocious force smacked her in the head.
Clink clink—ROAAARRR!—CHINKA CHINKA CHINK clink!
Firebug blinked slowly, opening her eyes. She almost screamed as she saw that she was hanging above a pit of roaring infected dragons.
“MMMPH!” She wriggled frantically.
“Oh look!” Someone called. “She’s awake!”
Firebug looked up to see a friendly looking SeaWing staring down at her. She had green scales, yellow webbing, and matching eyes.
“Mm-MMMM-PH!” Firebug tried to twist or swing to the nearby ledge.
“Okay, so, I might get in trouble if I let you out, but that’s cool with me, so stop moving!” The SeaWing bounced over, pulling her to the side.
Firebug sighed in relief as she felt solid ground under her talons. “Oh thank the moons,” She said after the muzzle was removed.
“Are you alright?” The SeaWing asked.
Firebug nodded. “Somehow. I’m Firebug. You?”
“Crest,” The SeaWing replied. “We—well, me and my brother, Pineapple—found you in the ocean.”
Firebug shivered. “I have no idea how I survived.”
“It looked like you were dead, but we hauled you out anyway,” Crest answered. “And . . . You weren’t infected.”
“I was attacked, and bit multiple times,” Firebug murmured. “Weird. Also, Pineapple? That doesn’t sound like a SeaWing name.”
Crest shrugged. “He adopted me. He’s a RainWing.”
Firebug followed her out of the ditch and into the delta outside. She blinked. “Wait, we’re in the—“
“MudWing Kingdom, I know,” Crest chirped.
Firebug was astonished. “You brought me all the way here?”
“Why not?” A voice said from behind them. “You seemed valuable enough.”
Firebug winced and turned, seeing a pineapple yellow dragon with green talons and spots. The RainWing also had green frills and eyes.
“P-Pineapple!” Crest yelped.
Pineapple scowled. “Why did you let her out?”
Crest smiled awkwardly. “Um . . .”
“Did you at least cover her bioniiiiiuuhhhmmmm . . .” He trailed off.
“Bionic?” Firebug asked, wrinkling her nose. “That’s a weird word, what does that mea—“
Crest laughed loudly and fakely. “SO! Um, are you hungry?”
Firebug took a step back. She felt a little funny, now that she thought about it. “No, I want to know what you mean, Pineapple.”
Pineapple sighed, gesturing to a puddle. “See for yourself.”
Firebug ran over and looked at herself. She had a metal ring around her neck, with little tubes of a blue liquid attached to it. She also had a sheet of metal over one of her hip bones, right where she’d been bit. Her eyes became wide. “WHAT IN THE THREE MOONS DID YOU DO TO ME?!” 		
Pineapple yelped as she pinned him down with her claws at his throat.
“Wait!” Crest pleaded. “It’s not permanent, I promise! It’s just to heal you.”	Firebug released Pineapple with a snarl. “Is this why I’m not infected?” She demanded fiercely.			
“Yes,” Pineapple said. “You should be a little more grateful, we saved your life!”
Firebug’s scales flared up with heat and Crest jumped away.
“You turned me into some sort of—“
“It’s not permanent,” Crest repeated. “You’ll be fine!”
Pineapple glared at her. “Calm down.”
Firebug let out a growl. “Fine.” She turned off her fire, still watching them suspiciously.
“Listen, we can try to find the dragons you were traveling with, but no promises.” Pineapple hissed.
Firebug glared. “First, you had better put me back to normal.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug sighed as she looked up at the night sky. They think I’m dead, She thought, gingerly touching the scars where the metal was. I thought I was too. It seems like Pineapple and Crest have found some sort of ‘cure’ that only stops the infection, but doesn’t cure it. She looked down at a puddle and saw her glowing white eyes.
She looked down at her talons, and tears fell from her face.
“A-Are you okay?” Crest’s small voice came from behind her.
Firebug sighed again. “I don’t know.”
Crest sat beside her, looking up at the dragoness. “What’s wrong?”
“I just . . .” She trailed off. “I had someone really close to me, and they think I’m dead now.” She touched her face. “And now I look like I’m infected again.”
Crest smiled. “It doesn’t matter what you look like, if that dragon loves you, what’s the problem? I’m sure they’re looking for you even now.”
Firebug gave her a flicker of a smile. “Thanks.”
“Any time.” Crest stood with a sigh. “I miss my family.”
Firebug arched an eyebrow curiously. “What happened to them?”
“They were infected. About two years ago.” She replied.
“Oh. Sorry.” Firebug looked away. “I have no idea what happened to my mother and father. I know my brother was kinda evil . . . But other than that—“
Crest suddenly leapt to her feet. “Infected! She squeaked. “Get inside!”
Firebug followed her gaze and saw a single infected-looking dragon walking towards them.
Crest ducked back into the tunnel that led to her home.
Firebug followed, her tail disappearing into the tunnel.
Pineapple barred up the entrance behind them, and his talons faded to pale blue. 
Knock knock knock.
Firebug held her breath, preparing to leap at the infected.
CRASH! 
As the infected MudWing broke through the barrier, she launched at it and bit into its neck.
The dragon roared, throwing her off and swiping its claws over her neck. Firebug screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her wound.
“Firebug!” Crest shrieked, too terrified to move.
Pineapple was frozen as well.
Firebug swiped the MudWing across the neck with her tail spikes, and backed up. She launched herself over the MudWing and tackled it from the other side, finishing it with a swipe to the stomach.
She stood over the MudWing and bit her lip. “Oops.”
“Oops what?” Crest peeped.
Firebug quaked. “I didn’t mean to kill him, I just . . .” She squeezed her eyes shut and held her head. “I don’t know anymore.”
“Come on,” Pineapple said after a moment. “Let’s get that wound checked out.”
~~~
Sage beat his wings as hard as he could. I’m not stopping till I find Firebug, He thought. He looked down at the compass Darkfall gave him, and redirected a little. “The kingdom of mud?” He asked out loud. “Why would she be here?”
He looked down below him, searching as he got ever closer. Infected wandered around below him, oblivious to his presence. 
“Let’s see . . .” Sage murmured. He ducked under a flock of ducks, catching one out of the air and eating it.
His wings ached. He’d been flying practically all day. Sage’s eyes lit up as the compass started spinning. I must be above her! Sage dove down onto the ground, ducking behind a termite mound as a few infected passed by.
He peeked over, then ran behind the group of them and looked around. Sage’s bright mint and yellow-green scales didn’t give him much in the way of camouflage, so he tried to be as silent as possible.
He saw a RainWing slip by, scouring the ground for something.
Sage quickly walked up. “Hey!” He exclaimed.
”AAAAAAAAAH!” The RainWing leapt back, almost falling—and conveniently attracting the attention of the nearby infected.
“Idiot,” Sage snapped. He grabbed the RainWing’s wing and dove into a river, hiding.
One of the infected stumbled into the river, and the SkyWing quickly drowned as they could not swim.
Sage and the RainWing emerged after the other infected lost interest, walking away.
Sage gasped for air, shaking the water from his wings and scowling at the RainWing.	
“Who are you?” The RainWing demanded. “I’m Pineapple.”
“Sage.” He responded stoutly. “I’m looking for a dragon named Firebug.”
Pineapple blinked. “Firebug?”	
Sage nodded. “Do you know her or not?”
Pineapple seemed to consider this for a moment. “I do.”
“Bring me to her, right away!” Sage cried. “She could be dying.”
A flicker of a smile passed across Pineapple’s face. “She’s fine. My sister and I healed her.”
After a small exchange, Pineapple led Sage to their home.
When Crest saw him, she dashed around a corner, disappearing.
Sage gasped when Pineapple led him into a room.
Firebug stood there, in front of a pile of scrolls and books stacked atop a table. Her eyes were glowing white.
Sage yelped. “Firebug?!”
She turned, eyes wide. ”Sage?!”
They collided in a hug, and Sage wrapped his wings around her. “What happened to you?” He demanded.
Firebug was shaking still. “I—I thought I was going to die, Sage!”
“Shh, calm down,” Sage soothed. “It’s okay. What happened?”
She shuddered. “When the infected swarmed me, I was bit multiple times. I fell into the ocean, and . . . And . . .”
“We found her,” Pineapple said. “Well, Crest did—she’s my adopted sister, and a SeaWing.”
“How were you not dead?” Sage wondered aloud.
Firebug buried her head in his wing. “Pineapple helped,” She said, muffled by his shoulder. “But . . .” She looked up at him and gestured at her eyes. “Now I look like this.”
Sage hugged her again. “I don’t care,” he whispered. “I’m just so glad that you’re alive.”
“H-how did you find me?” Firebug asked.
“Darkfall enchanted a compass to help me find you,” Sage replied. “Everyone had given up, but I knew you weren’t dead.”
Pineapple smiled at the two of them—genuinely this time. “You two can stay as long or short as you want.”
“Thank you, Pineapple,” Firebug said. “For everything.”
~~~
You’re dead to everyone, Firebug, The Breath of Evil hissed in her ear.
Shut UP! she snarled mentally. Ever since I was “infected” you’ve been hissing in my ear like some sort of annoying bug. GO AWAY!
The Breath of Evil made a “Phht” noise. Your powers to thwart me haven’t recovered yet, Firebug. You can’t MAKE ME do ANYTHING.
She winced as a pain hit her head. Firebug leaned closer to Sage, trying to sleep.
You’re mine, Firebug . . .
Firebug snapped awake at dawn the next morning. Her wings were quivering uncontrollably, and she was pale as a sheet.
It was just a dream, She thought to herself.
Sage made an adorable cat-like noise as he lifted his head. He stood, shaking out his wings. He gave her a concerned look. 
“Are you alright?” He asked.	
Firebug nodded, holding her head. “I’m . . . Fine.”
“Good.” Sage said pleasantly. “We have to catch up to the others today!”
Firebug spoke before she thought about the weight her words carried. “Why? They left me for dead. Nobody else came looking for me, and nobody decided to come with you. Obviously they don’t care as much as I thought.”
Sage sighed.
Firebug bit her tongue, saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like th—“
“No, you’re right.” Sage nodded. “Leopard didn’t even seem sad.” He winced. “Thyme was devastated though.”
Firebug stood. “We should go to the SkyWings and get their alliance, then head to the RainWings—what’s left of them—and see if we find them on the way.”
Sage flicked his tail. “Alright. Let’s get going.”
=== Chapter 14 ===
Thyme was still shaking. She looked down at her hands, and sighed as she wiped tears from her face.
“Come on,” Leopard said. “No, Venom! We’re NOT going back. Sage is as good as dead,” she hissed.
Venom shrunk back with a whimper. “But—“
“No ‘but’s. We’re doomed.” Leopard snapped.	
Darkfall clenched his fist. “Sage is not as good as dead, and neither is Firebug.”
Leopard was about to shout something, but Thyme saw Darkfall furrow his brow, and Leopard fell silent.
Thyme hopped off of the branch she was sitting on and clenched her cloak Firebug made her in her fist. While the others were arguing, she pulled on her hood and dissolved into the shadows.
I AM going to find Firebug, Thyme thought. She’s my only friend. The scavenger hopped a branch and started running. They were headed to the Sky Dragons—SkyWings—so I’m sure if Sage found her, they’ll be headed to the Sky palace. Her heart dropped but she kept running. Firebug would absolutely murder any dragon who tries to eat me, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.
As she heard a dragon’s roar, she bit her lip. Right?
Thyme took a deep breath and powered on, determined to find her best friend who just so happened to be a dragon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Okay, I count twenty three SkyWings,” Firebug said, ducking back under her boulder. “Three of them have swords and the others have spears.”
Sage looked hesitant. “They’ll kill you the moment you approach—you look like an infected because of your eyes.”
Firebug scowled at her talons. “Maybe I could get a disguise?”
“Here,” Sage said. “I have an idea.”
Firebug pulled the leaf hood over her head and leapt into view.
She breathed frostbreath in the air to get their attention and yelled, “HEY! DOWN HERE! I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOUR LEADER!”
The SkyWing battalion swooped down, hissing at her and pointing their spears at her.
The leader, a crimson and bright red SkyWing growled at her. “Who are you?”
Firebug tilted her head so she could see him, but he couldn’t see her eyes. “Firebug of the Sky, Ice, and LeafWings. I come for an alliance—and I come with Thorn and Capricorn’s blessings, two faction leaders.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of them, Firebug,” The leader said, surprised. “Commander Ash of the SkyWings, at your service.” 
Firebug extended her wing. “And my—“
“Mate,” Sage said, walking out of the forest. “My name is Sage of the LeafWings.”
Ash nodded quickly. “Men, escort these two inside.”
When they were in, Firebug leaned over and hissed, “Mate?”
“What else was I supposed to say, friend?” Sage asked. “That sounds very suspicious.”
Firebug shrugged. “True.”
The guards led them past a crumbling hallway and over to a big door.
“Wait here,” Ash said once he caught up. “I will speak to Burningsky.”
Firebug sat patiently, Sage at her side.
The guards stood behind them, poised to attack or defend depending on each dragon.
“Quite the escort,” Firebug said, nodding to a HiveWing who was getting distracting by trying to poke the lantern above them with his spear.
Sage hid a snort as a sneeze and smirked. He discreetly gestured to a SkyWing who was playing with a box that swiveled and had different colors on it.
“Ahem!” Ash poked his head out of the door. “Come on in. Men, stay outside.”
They were either ignoring him or had heard him but didn’t respond.
Firebug and Sage stood, following Ash into the room.
A bright orange and yellow SkyWing stood up from scribbling in a scroll and looked up at them.
“Hello,” She said emotionlessly. “What do you want.”
Firebug stood up to her. “We are requesting an alliance. We have already become allies with Thorn and her Stronghold Faction, plus Capricorn—leader of the Frosted Spirit faction.”
The SkyWing smirked. “I am Burningsky, leader of the Bloodstained Heart faction.”
Firebug dipped her head.
“Alright, what do you hope to get out of this?” Burningsky asked after a moment.
Sage nodded the go-ahead at Firebug.
She cleared her throat and held her head high. “Once we recruit an elite strike force of all the strongest factions, we will travel to Pantala—“ She removed her hood with a dramatic gesture. “And destroy the Breath of Evil once and for all.”
Burningsky was shocked. “Y-you’re . . . Infected . . .”
“No, I’m not,” Firebug replied.
Burningsky collapsed to her knees. “Please, I’ll do anything you want as long as you don’t hurt meeee!” She whimpered.
Ash looked shocked that his leader was 1) so selfish, and 2) a scaredy-cat.
Firebug arched an eyebrow. Well that was easy, She thought. Cool, I suppose.
SMACK!
Sage and Firebug twirled in unison as someone slapped open the door.
Firebug blinked. “Crest, what are you doing here?”
The SeaWing grinned. “I’m coming with you!”
“Who let this SeaWing in?!” Ash shouted out of the door.
The HiveWing poked his head in. “She said she had a good reason, so I let her in.”
“WITHOUT HEARING HER REASON?!” Ash shouted.
“Yes?”
Sage half-sighed half-laughed. “Alright, Crest! Welcome to the—“
“AAAAH SCAVENGER!” The HiveWing scrambled back as a dragon walked in with a scavenger on his back. It was the SkyWing who was playing with the Rubix Cube.
“HEY!” A familiar voice called. “Firebug?”
Firebug gasped. “Thyme?!”
The scavenger jumped onto her best friend’s face. “FIREBUG!”
“Um . . .” Ash mumbled.
Burningsky let out a sigh and flopped to the ground, unconscious.
Sage beamed. “Where are the others?”
Thyme sighed. “Venom wanted to come but Leopard wouldn’t let anyone, so I ran away.”
“That’s Thyme for ya!” Firebug exclaimed. “We’ll tell you everything that happened . . .” She paused, looking around awkwardly. “But first, let’s maybe get somewhere a little more private.”
~~~
Darkfall gasped as the egg rattled.
Leopard’s eyes were wide.
A chip of the egg fell off, and soon, a beautiful dragonet emerged.
She had a sail of IceWing spines, and a mix of blue and black scales. They were swirled like a galaxy, and she had bright orange eyes. A stripe of baby blue  streaked across her snout.
“Oh my word . . .” Leopard breathed. “She’s so cute!”
Darkfall smiled. “Yes.”
He put his wing around Leopard as he held the sleepy dragonet.
What a cute little thing, He thought. Beautiful.
“Darkfall?” Leopard asked quietly. When he turned to face her she kissed him gently. 
He stopped.
“She should have proper parents, shouldn’t she?” Leopard asked.
Darkfall pulled away. “No . . . Leopard, you don’t actually love me,” He blurted.
“What do you mean?” Leopard asked. “You mean everything to me.”
“No . . . I enchant this dragon to be free of all of my enchantments!” She ordered, pointing at Leopard.
She blinked rapidly. “What . . .”
Darkfall looked away.
“Darkfall—“
“Blurb?” The dragonet squeaked. “Durk furl?”
Darkfall’s heart fell like it had been harpooned and ripped out. Tears welled in his eyes, preparing for an outburst from Leopard.
“Darkfall, do you actually love me?” Leopard asked quietly. “Me-me, not the one you made.”
Dark bit his lip, staring into the dragonet’s orange eyes. “Yes.”
Leopard suddenly wrapped him in her wings. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Darkfall asked, stunned. “This is all my fau—“
“No,” Leopard interrupted. “That you thought you had to enchant me to get me to like you.” She grabbed his chin so he had to look her in the eyes. “Darkfall, I saw a side of you that was loving, caring, and compassionate,” She told him. “Even though I was under a spell—I forgive you, Darkfall.”
“H-how?” Darkfall blurted.
Leopard smiled. “Shut up and hug me back.”
Darkfall closed his eyes and wrapped her in his wings. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
=== Chapter 14 ===
Firebug flared her wings. “Alright,” She said. “We need to go straight to the Rainforest.”
Sage nodded. “Agreed. We need to stop the infection before any more innocents get infected.”
Crest clenched her fist. “Right.”
Firebug leapt into the air, shooting into the clear blue sky. We’re so close. We just need the RainWings on our side, then . . . The prospect of ending the infection made her smile. Everyone will be free.
Sage smiled at her. “What are you going to do once the infection is gone?”
“Good question,” Firebug replied. “I haven’t thought about it.”
“Me neither,” Crest said.
Thyme gripped Firebug’s horn as the wind blew her around.
“Well . . . I want to settle down, maybe start a family,” Sage said. “Teach them about what happened so the next generation doesn’t make the same mistake we did.”
Firebug nodded, careful to not shake Thyme off. “Agreed.”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Sage said, smiling. “Would you . . . Start a family with me?”
Firebug twined her tail around his. “Yes.”
Sage produced a small wooden ring with a tiny shard of glass embedded in it to replace a diamond. “Would you—“
“YES!”
Thyme yelped as she tumbled onto Firebug’s back as she hugged Sage.
Sage grinned. 
Crest watched the two with a warm smile.
Firebug was teary-eyed. “I love you, Sage.”
“Me too.”
Crest sighed. They really are perfect for each other. She thought. Maybe I’ll find someone like that one day.
Firebug beat her wings determinedly. “Now let’s go save the world.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug screamed as an infected RainWing slammed into her back. She threw it into the the canopy of trees, and blasted it with frostbreath.
Crest tackled it and slapped it with her tail.
Sage threw it into a tree, and it fell to the ground.
“Are you okay?” Sage asked, landing.
Thyme poked at the dragon with her sword. “It’s dead.”
“I’m fine,” Firebug said sadly. “You?”
Sage nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Same,” Crest replied with a shiver.
“Let’s just go to the RainWings and get this over with,” Firebug said, shuddering as she turned away from the dead dragon.
Thyme nodded. “Agreed.”
They lifted off again, weaving around trees. Thyme leaned off the side of Firebug’s neck, only one foot and one arm supporting her. She grinned as wind whipped past her.
Sage caught a banana. “We must be getting close.”
Firebug nodded right before crashing into a branch. Her large wings snagged on twigs and she growled to herself.
“Stay where you are and put your talons up!”
Firebug froze and flared her wings.
Crest bared her teeth and turned in a circle.
Thyme pointed her sword at where the voice came from.
A RainWing uncloaked. He had brilliant orange scales, and red plated scales. His wings were giant and faded from red to yellow in the center then to red at the bottoms. The undersides of his wings were flecked with white, and his blue eyes examined him.
He’s a sky-rain hybrid, Firebug noticed. “Who are you?”
He blinked. “Why hello there, friends. My name is Ray.” He nodded.
Sage cocked his head. “You’re just going to . . ?”
“SAGE! FIREBUG!”
Firebug yelped as a dragoness barreled through the forest.
“VENOM?!” Sage exclaimed.
The RainWing turned a brilliant pink, golden, and rose. “Guys!” She exclaimed. “How . . . I thought . . .”
Firebug glanced away with a betrayed look.
“Firebug, I—“ Venom started.
“Don’t,” Firebug shook her head. “Who’s the leader of the RainWing faction?”
Ray sighed. “About that . . .”
Crest watched them silently.
Venom looked at the ground.
“Is everyone okay?” Sage asked.	
“No.” Ray scowled bitterly. “The infected breached our defenses. The faction is gone.”
Firebug blinked. “W-what?”
Venom nodded. “Yeah. Most of the RainWings . . .” Tears welled in her eyes. “They’re gone.”
“Oh . . .” Crest breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
Venom looked up at the SeaWing. “It’s okay. Also, who are you?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weeks later.
Firebug took a deep breath. She adjusted her necklace and walked into the cave.
The leaders of all of the factions were gathered around a circular table.
The cave was lit dimly with candles, providing dramatic lighting.
“Firebug,” Capricorn said. “Greetings.”
“This has better be good,” Burningsky hissed.
Firebug nodded. “It is.”
Thorn smiled at her reassuringly.
She took a deep breath and placed her talons on the table. “I hope you all know what this means.”
“We do,” Said a voice behind her.
Ray entered the room with a determined look.
Firebug arched her eyebrow. “Ray?”
“I’ve gathered the remaining RainWings,” He said. “And most of the SeaWings.”
Capricorn nodded respectively as Ray took his spot at the table.
Firebug closed her eyes then opened them again. “We’re going to Pantala.”
Burningsky grinned. “Good girl, get right to the point.”
“Yes,” Thorn agreed. “I’m glad we could skip the dramatic speech.”
Firebug smirked. “I’m we can agree. Now, I hope you brought your dragons, because we’re leaving right away.”
“Agreed,” Capricorn said. “The sooner the better.”
“Then we leave tomorrow at sunrise,” Firebug said. “We’ll travel in a large diamond shape, with the soldiers on the outside, and we’ll be in the front. Planners and armorers will be on the inside.” She examined them. “Understood? You’ll be taking orders from me now.”
Capricorn nodded.
Thorn smiled.
Burningsky rolled her eyes and placed her talon on the table.
Ray smirked and nodded as well.
“Alright,” Firebug said, flaring her wings. “Let’s go save the world.”
== Part Three: The Fading Sunset ==
=== Chapter 15 ===
Firebug stood on the beach, looking out at the still water. The sun was barely peeking over the sunrise.
She looked down at her talons, where a shining egg was sitting. It was moss green with small tiny speckles of red and opalescent blue.
“Sage . . .” She murmured.
“Yes?” He replied, placing his wing over hers.
Firebug closed her eyes then opened them again. “I want you to stay here.”
“What?” Sage breathed. “I . . . can’t leave you, Firebug.”
She turned to look at him. “If I die—“
He enveloped her in a hug. “You won’t die. I’ll make sure of it.”
“But if I do,” Firebug murmured. “Take care of the egg.”
“I will.”
She pulled away as dragons started walking onto the beach.
“Dragons of the tribes!” She shouted, jumping up and hovering over the water. “ATTENTION!”
Ray turned from clasping Venom’s claw and joined the other leaders on the water’s edge.
“We fly today to Pantala to save those that we’ve lost,” Firebug announced. “And those we haven’t met. Are you ready?!”
A deafening roar surged through the dragons ranks. Firebug smiled.
“FOR PYRRHIA!” She turned with a flap of her wings and shot out over the water.
She took a deep breath as her wings skimmed over the water.
Let’s do this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Infected ahead!” Venom called. “Get ready!”	
A hive’s worth of HiveWings and SilkWings were fumbling over the water towards them.
Firebug roared as she dove into the fray, her eyes blazing.
She saw a flash of pale white and dark black-brown at her side, and she gasped.	
Leopard and Darkfall smacked a dragon from the air, and a dragonet chirped from Leopard’s shoulder.
“CHARGE!” Leopard shouted.
Firebug shook off her surprise and flung a dilapidated HiveWing off of Sage and into the water where it drowned.
Crest yelled at her side as she smacked an infected with her tail.
“Good job, Crest!” Firebug exclaimed, tearing a wing off of a SilkWing.
The SeaWing grinned and flashed her scales, alerting a squad of SeaWings to three HiveWings that were behind them.
“Listen Firebug,” Leopard started. “I’m sorry, we—“
“Don’t,” Firebug said with a smile. “You’re here now, that’s what counts.”
Darkfall nodded. “Hold on.” He punched an infected SkyWing. “Thanks!”
Sage grabbed Firebug’s talon. “They’re clearing the way!” He called. “Go!”
Firebug sped past, through a wake created by her army. She corkscrewed around a group of squabbling infected and dashed over the water. Her muscles pumped her faster than she had ever flown before.
Two SkyWings appeared on either of her sides, flinging infected out of the way.
“Thanks, guys!” She exclaimed, noticing that one was Ash from Burningsky’s faction.
He nodded, saluting.
Firebug saluted back and bolted ahead.
She looked back for a moment and gasped. NO!
Sage was protecting Crest from a huge swarm of infected. She turned to go back, but Ray and Venom descended on the swarm, blasting them with venom.
Firebug turned back, shooting forward. She welled up all of her energy inside of her and let it out in an incredible burst of speed. Firebug narrowed her eyes, thinking, We’re coming for you, Breath of Evil. Prepare to be eradicated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Firebug crashed onto the beach of Pantala. She screamed as infected swarmed around her, slicing at her scaled.
An infected pinned her to the ground and opened its slobbering mouth. As it lowered its jaws to bite her, Firebug’s eyes started glowing.
She felt life under her talons, and flung her talon up. A huge vine burst from the ground and smashed into the infected, sweeping them into the ocean.
Firebug’s eyes glowed brilliant green as she flung out her wings and weeds pinned all of the infected to the ground. She smiled. Leafspeak! She thought. Now I can . . . She clenched her talon and the vines wound around her arms like armor. 
Firebug jumped into the air and hovered there for a moment. Her army was still a little ways off. She flicked her tail and the weeds spelled out: Heading to Wasp Hive. 
She turned and bolted through the darkening sky. Infected couldn’t touch her now. As soon as one got close, the vines shot from her arms and flung them away.
Firebug heated her scales as well, and frostbreath fogged from her snout.
She landed in front of Wasp hive with a smile. As HiveWings rushed her, trees and vines smacked them away or pinned them. She clenched her talon and thorns shot from her vines as they curled around her fists. She punched a SilkWing, and it collapsed against the wall.
“HOW?!” All the infected said at once. “This is impossible.”
“Hey there old friend,” Firebug hidden. “Ready to die?”	
She yelped as vines slithered towards her, flowers blooming. Firebug created a mask of weeds and charged into the mass of vines.
The thick weeds burned and hissed as they touched her talons and wings.
Firebug spread her wings regally. “Let me in and let’s get this over with.”
“Never,” The Breath of Evil snarled.	
Firebug yelled as the vines lashed at her. She jumped over one, but was caught by her tail and flung into the wall. Gathering herself up, Firebug charged into the Breath of Evil’s chamber.
She coughed rapidly as she inhaled the pollen of a giant.
Her eyes flashed green as energy surged out of her claws and into the vine-covered ground.
The weeds recoiled.
“Firebug!”
She turned to see Sage in the doorway.
Firebug smiled. “Stay back. I’ve got this.”	
He started to say something, but Firebug turned and roared, blasting the flower with her frostbreath. Her talons burned through vines as she tore them from the ground.
The vines shot at her, wrapping around her wrists and ankles. 
Let. Me. Go. Firebug thought. The green energy seared through the vines, and they crumbled away.
She placed her talons on the large main bulb of The Breath of Evil and snarled. Firebug closed her eyes and welled up all the energy inside of her.
Shink.
Her eyes shot open as pain blasted through her middle. She looked down and saw a vine sticking straight through her.
“NO!” Sage screamed as the Breath of Evil threw her to the ground.
“S-sage—“ Firebug was cut off as the vines curled around her neck and started choking her.	
Sage reached for her, but she was dragged away. The vines locked him in place and forced him to watch as Firebug was impaled again and lifted into the air.
Her eyes were wide in pain.
Firebug’s scream of pain was cut off as a vine shot through her head.
A flower suddenly sprouted from her left eye and her other eye turned glowing white instead of green. She opened her mouth to speak or scream, but flowers filled her mouth.
Firebug’s vision blurred as Sage screamed and ran for her, but Darkfall pulled him back and slammed the chamber doors shut.
Hello there Firebug, The Breath of Evil hissed. We meet again.
Firebug collapsed as she lost all feeling in her wings and limbs. Before she passed out, the Breath of Evil curled around her right arm and wrenched it from its socket.
Pain blasted through her as vines and flowers replaced her arm.
You’re my little toy now. How foolish to think you could defeat me.
No, Firebug thought. I can’t be infected like this . . . You can’t control me.
HA! Oh, yes. I. Can.
Firebug reached up shakily and brushed the flower that replaced her eye. She looked down at her talon and saw the blood-red pollen. 
“I’m sorry,” She breathed. “I couldn’t save you.”
Her head slumped as her consciousness slipped away.
=== Epilogue ===
The dragonet could feel that she was so close to being free. Just one more push, and—
The dragonet squeaked as her head popped from the egg.
A LeafWing looked down at her.
“Mrrr raw?” She squeaked. 
Tears fell from the dragon’s eyes as he picked her up. “You look so much like your mother,” He whispered.
“MUUURRR!” She wiggled around, and the moonlight caught on her pearly blue scales. A large, black and brown dragon sat nearby, tears staining his face. 
“Are you sure?” he asked.
The LeafWing nodded.
The black dragon took her and brushed his talons over her head. He set her down after a moment.
The dragonet felt tingly. The area by her talons glowed, and sprouts blossomed at her claws. She chirped happily. The LeafWing watched her as she snorted a few snowflakes.
“Sage, are you sure she can do what Firebug couldn’t?” The brown-black one asked.
The LeafWing nodded. “She’s immune, Darkfall.”
“I know.”
The dragonet couldn’t help but feel . . . Important. She flexed her claws and small flowers grew.
“Her name is going to be Dawnbreak,” Sage breathed. “She’s perfect.”
Darkfall smiled sadly. “I just hope you’re not putting too much on her tiny shoulders.”
Sage nodded. “Me too.”
~~~
“Three dragons born of the moonlight,
Three born to end the fight.
Seeing the future the others past
All of time lays in his grasp.
Descendent of the world he flies
Rejected by his tribe he never lies.
Finally a gift so rare,
But for it she does not care.
The third destined to come,
The third destined to go.
Free our world of sorrows,
Free our world of pain.”
—Moonlight 
=== The End. ===
Or is it?
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