Peacemaker's Best Friend

BIG SPOLIERS FOR DARKNESS OF DRAGONS IN THIS FIC. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
 
Basically this is a fan fic of my AU where Darkstalker is still alive in Peacemaker but instead of trying to take over Peacemaker and come back, Darkstalker has accepted his prison and has grown attached to Peacemaker (but not in a ship way, please don't think of it that way, I beg of you.) Now, enough talk from me, time to read.
"Didn't I save dragons too? But I'm not evil! I'm not …" Darkstalker sputtered out. He could feel the last shreds of himself disappear and be replaced with something anew. He closed his eyes and expected to drift off into the afterlife, but nothing. He looked around at the other dragons around him all staring at.. Something beside him. 
“Mother, what happened to me?” he asked Foeslayer. His mother didn’t seem to notice his question as she stared blankly at whatever was beside him. Darkstalker thought of the worst and looked to the left of him. There sat an innocent little NightWing dragonet with rainbow wing scales. Darkstalker stared in disbelief at the dragonet. 
“Moon, how could you let this happen to me?” Darkstalker said, on the verge of tears looking at Moonwatcher. The RainWing said something, but it sounded muffled and Darkstalker couldn't understand what she was saying. 
“Hungry!” the NightWing dragonet said. Darkstalker snorted. So, this is my prison. Amusing. Darkstalker thought to himself as the dragonet waddled over to Foeslayer. Something started to drag Darkstalker along with the dragonet. “Gnesh!” the dragonet said to Foeslayer. Foeslayer seemed to chuckle, then started to speak. Darkstalker ran over to his mother to hear what she was saying, but her voice was drowned out. 
“I enchant myself to hear what the living are saying.” Darkstalker said, but nothing changed. The dragonet looked at Darkstalker and turned his head confused. 
“Can you.. Understand me?” Darkstalker started. The dragonet waddled to Darkstalker and started to squeak at him. Darkstalker stared down at the dragonet, he knew he should’ve felt angry at it; after all he’s trapped with that thing for the rest of its life. Yet, something about how weak and pitiful it was made it hard to hate. 
“What’s your name, dragonet?” Darkstalker asked. All he got back was a few giggled and more squeaks from the dragonet. As the dragonet rolled around in the dirt, Darkstalker looked at Foeslayer, Moon, Qibli, Turtle, Winter, and that one RainWing. They seemed like they were talking to each other, most likely about Darkstalker and his new form. Once they finished, Foeslayer scooped up the dragonet and flew off Agate Mountain with the other dragons. Darkstalker was dragged along with the group and flew after them. He noticed how small he was, he was about the size of how he should’ve been two thousand years ago. 
It seemed like forever until they got to the Rainforest Kingdom. Once in the heart of the village,  Foeslayer put the dragonet down and waved goodbye to the dragonets as they flew off. Foeslayer then crouched down to the dragonet and seemed to giggle as she said something. Darkstalker, desperate to finally hear something, ran over to Foeslayer to hear what she had to say. Once again, he was only met with deafening silence. He looked over to the dragonet, the only bridge between the realm Darkstalker was trapped in and the real one. The dragonet slashed around in the dirt, and Foeslayer kept on saying the same thing. Eventually, the dragonet spoke. 
“Pea.. Peacemaker.. Peacemaker, Peacemaker!” Darkstalker looked over at the dragonet. 
“So that is your name, Peacemaker.” The dragonet looked at Darkstalker. 
“Peacemaker!” Peacemaker said, with a big smile on his face.
~One year later~ 
“So.. How was your first day of school?” Darkstalker asked, walking alongside Peacemaker. 
“Boring.. I missed talking to you..” Peacemaker said. Darkstalker chuckled. 
“It was hard for me too. I couldn’t even hear anything and it was mind numbingly boring. The only reason I ever paid attention in class was because..” Darkstalker cut himself off. 
“Because why?” Peacemaker asked. Darkstalker remembered Clearsight, her purple eyes, her beautiful smile.. He could’ve had the perfect life with her.. 
“Darky?” Peacemaker asked again, snapping Darkstalker out of thought. 
“I only paid attention because a friend did. She was really nice, kind, pretty-” Darkstalker was cut off by Peacemaker. 
“Pretty? Ew! Girls are yucky.” he said. 
“So you’re saying your mother is yucky?” Darkstalker said, smiling slyly to Peacemaker. 
“Well, uhh.. No..” Peacemaker said. Darkstalker laughed as Peacemaker’s wing scales turned a bit pink from embarrassment. 
Peacemaker and Darkstalker walked over to the treehouse they’ve been living in for the past year. Peacemaker climbed the tree as Darkstalker just flew up. Darkstalker had to wait a bit for Peacemaker to climb, but only for a bit. 
"You're such a fast climber, Peacemaker." Darkstalker said. 
"I don't think even I could climb as fast as you." Peacemaker started to blush and his wing scales turned indigo. 
"Thanks, Darky.." Peacemaker says as the both of them walk into the treehouse. Darkstalker sees Foeslayer inside, preparing some food. She turns around and says something to Peacemaker. "It was okay, I guess.. It was pretty boring." Peacemaker says. Foeslayer seemed to chuckle and went back to cooking. Peacemaker walked over to his hammock and sat down. Peacemaker then grabbed a small scroll and began to read. 
"What are you reading there, buddy?" Darkstalker said. 
"Oh, I'm not reading. Mom wants me to read for a bit every day, then I can go play." Peacemaker said. 
"So.. You're only pretending to read?" Darkstalker asked. 
"Yep." Peacemaker said, almost proud. Darkstalker walked over and looked over Peacemaker's shoulder. The scroll he was reading was titled 'Adventures of Rock the Scavenger' in bright bold letters. This is what dragonets read now? Darkstalker thought to himself. 
After a few minutes, Peacemaker placed the scroll down and ran over to the kitchen table. There, sat a large steak with some fruits beside it. Peacemaker began to inhale his food, before Darkstalker stepped in. 
"If you eat that fast you'll get a belly ache. Slow down, buddy." Darkstalker says, kindly. 
"I will." Peacemaker said. Foeslayer stands still, as she turns around. 
"It's nothing mom. Just talking to myself." Peacemaker said. Foeslayer looked a bit concerned, before going back to reading her scroll. Darkstalker looked at the steak. It had been so long since he'd eaten. Being a ghost, spirit, whatever he was, he didn't need to eat, but yet he desired to once again eat. 
"Can I have a bit?" Darkstalker asked. Peacemaker stripped off a bit of the steak and handed it to Darkstalker. The meat phased through Darkstalker's talons. Peacemaker then picked it up and said "Open wide." quietly. Darkstalker opened his mouth and Peacemaker dropped the steak in. It still phased through Darkstalker, but he could still taste the meat. 
"Thank you." Darkstalker says with a smile. Foeslayer looks at Peacemaker. 
"I'm not playing with my food!.." Peacemaker said as he went back to eating. "Sorry mom.." Peacemaker said. After Peacemaker finished eating, he waddled over to Foeslayer. "Mom, can I go play? I'll be back in a.. Hour." Peacemaker said. Foeslayer said something, but Peacemaker smiled so she must have said yes. Peacemaker ran out so fast that Darkstalker was dragged along with him. 
"Woah, slow down." Darkstalker said. Peacemaker began to climb down the tree. 
"Why does mom have to not know about you, Darky?" Peacemaker asked Darkstalker, who was flying beside him. 
"Because your mom would probably get mad." Darkstalker said. 
"But why?" Peacemaker said. Darkstalker didn't exactly want to tell him. Peacemaker loved Darkstalker, he didn't have the heart to say something like "Oh, I had my father disemboweled himself in front of a bunch of dragons and tried to start a war against NightWings and IceWings that nearly tore apart Pyrrhia". 
"That's a question for when you're a little older, okay?" Darkstalker said. Peacemaker was disappointed for a bit, before climbing back down the tree. 
It took a while before they got to the playground. There, a few dragonets were there with their mothers and fathers. Peacemaker sat in a small sandbox-like area and began to dig in the sand. 
"Maybe you should make a sand castle." Darkstalker suggested. 
"Nah.. I don't feel like that today. Besides, I just wanted to talk to you." Peacemaker said. Darkstalker sat down beside Peacemaker. 
"So, what's going on?" Darkstalker asked. 
"Nothing much, just that my teacher told us about something today and I wanted to ask you about it." Peacemaker said. Once Peacemaker finished muttering the sentence, Darkstalker nearly had a heart attack there. This could be the talk he was dreading, the talk where he'd have to explain himself and his actions. 
"Go on.." Darkstalker said, hiding his worries. 
"The teacher was just talking about this thing called 'hisstory' and she mentioned that we'd be learning about a thing called 'Darkstalker'. Do you know it?" Peacemaker asked. 
"No, never heard of it." Darkstalker said, trying to calm himself. 
"Oh, okay.. She said it's going to be a big thing since it was a SUPER important thing to happen." Peacemaker continued. 
"Oh, that's neat!.." Darkstalker said. "How have you been?" Darkstalker asked, trying to change the topic. 
"Good, I guess." Peacemaker said. 
"How about we go strawberry picking? You always seemed to like that." Darkstalker said. He knew that Peacemaker loved strawberries, it was the last few things Moon ever said to him after all. 
"Sure, which patch should we go too?" Peacemaker asked. 
"Hm.. Maybe the royal patch." Darkstalker said. 
"No way! If we go in there, Queen Glory or King Deathbringer will kill us!" Peacemaker said, standing up. 
"Don't worry, I have a plan." 
Peacemaker and Darkstalker were caught pretty much as soon as they walked into the gardens. A RainWing guard noticed Peacemaker trying to sneak into the gardens and walked up to Peacemaker and was yelling something. 
"Uhh.. I got lost?.." Peacemaker said, his wing scales both green and dark purple. Darkstalker walked up the guard and sort of bumped into him. The guard swayed a bit over and looked, his scales turning orange-purple and white. The guard shook his head. 
"Yes sir." Peacemaker said in defeat as they walked out. "I told you it wouldn't work!" Peacemaker said. Before Darkstalker could reply, the guard came behind Peacemaker. The guard opened his mouth to say something. "N-nobody, sir. I was just talking to myself." Peacemaker said. The RainWing lifted up one eyebrow and looked around to see if anybody else was there. Peacemaker looked at Darkstalker, a bit scared. 
"Just pretend like I'm not here." Darkstalker said. 
"Really, nobody is here." Peacemaker said, clearly lying. The RainWing guard scoffed, and went back to protecting the patch. Peacemaker ran away and hid in some trees. Darkstalker, not being able to climb, was carried beside Peacemaker from the invisible void. "That was such a dumb idea.. Still fun though!" Peacemaker said, laughing. Darkstalker smiles, before looking up into the sky, the orange and yellow sky.. 
"Moons, it's nearly night! We gotta get back or mo- your mom will kill you!" Darkstalker says. Peacemaker fell out of the tree and began running towards the treehouse. 
Foeslayer was on the treehouse's balcony with her wings folded in. She looked a bit upset. "Sorry mom.. I was caught going into the royal gardens." Peacemaker said, looking at his talons. Foeslayer looked at Peacemaker, a bit upset for a bit, before saying something else. "No, we didn't take anything." Peacemaker said. Foeslayer then mouthed the words "we" with a confused look. "Just a friend." Peacemaker said, trying to not look at Darkstalker who was trying to shush Peacemaker. Foeslayer got down low and grabbed Peacemaker by the cheeks lovingly. She then said a few more things. "Yeah, I met him at school. He's pretty cool." Peacemaker said. Foeslayer then got up and walked inside then spoke again. "His name?.. His name is.. Uhh.." Peacemaker looked at Darkstalker. 
"Thoughtful!" Darkstalker said. It was the first name that came to mind, since it was the dragon most commonly shown in Whiteout's future. 
"Thoughtful!.." Peacemaker said, before following after Foeslayer. Darkstalker followed after Peacemaker into his hammock and laid down beside it. Peacemaker always kept a area where Darkstalker slept clean, which Darkstalker always assumed weirded out Foeslayer. Peacemaker tossed around for a bit, before drifting off to sleep, carrying Darkstalker with him.
Dreams were the only time Peacemaker and Darkstalker could fully communicate. Peacemaker could actually feel Darkstalker and vice versa. Darkstalker could also control Peacemaker's dreams, he was the one in charge if he got a nightmare or a nice dream (which is why Peacemaker has never had a nightmare before). Darkstalker decided Peacemaker could dream about school, his teacher, his clawmates, etc. Being bored all day, he really got a good look at all of the RainWings and NightWings. He painted the scene perfectly, and now it was time for Peacemaker to enter. Peacemaker walked into the classroom. 
"Good morning, Peacemaker!" said the teacher (Darkstalker had to guess what she sounded like). 
"Morning Orchid." Peacemaker said, giggling. Peacemaker sat down beside a NightWing girl, who blushed instantly as Peacemaker sat down. Darkstalker smiled as the dream played out. It was the only thing he could do anyways, so why not make it enjoyable? Peacemaker then was released out of school early, and Darkstalker made himself the towering heights he once was and Peacemaker laughed in pure joy as they flew around Pyrrhia together. Eventually, they stopped at a semi-big mountain. It was large, but not nearly as big as Jade Mountain. Darkstalker laughed, but his joy died down when he recognized the place. 
"Agate Mountain.." he said. Peacemaker stopped giggling and looked at Darkstalker. 
"Huh?" 
"It's.. Agate Mountain.." Darkstalker said. Before he could help himself, two dragons appeared. A grey dragon with a copper bracelet and a black dragon with weird white scales connecting his scales and underbelly, his teardrop scale gleaming in the moonlight. Darkstalker, in a panic, then forced Peacemaker to wake up. 
Peacemaker sleepily woke up, while Darkstalker was on the verge of a heart attack. 
"Who were those dragons, Darky?" Peacemaker asked. 
"N-nobody important." Darkstalker lied. 
"Are you sure?.. The one dragon kind of looked like you." Peacemaker's eyes darted towards Darkstalker's weird white scales. 
"He was my brother!.." Darkstalker said. 
"Oh, cool! I didn't know you had a brother!" Peacemaker said, a bit too loud. 
"Shh.. It's the middle of the night.. Your mom would be mad if we woke her up." Darkstalker said. 
"Right.. Right.. Well, back to sleep." Peacemaker said as if nothing happened. 
Both dragons woke up a few hours later to see the sun shining. Peacemaker got some breakfast, packed his lunch (and a few toys) and said bye to Foeslayer before heading out to the school. Peacemaker passed by a bunch of RainWings and NightWings, all lined up at market stands and stalls. It reminded Darkstalker of that place Qibli always thought of, the SandWing city. Eventually, Peacemaker made his way out and got to the Raindrop Academy. Peacemaker and Darkstalker walked into the building, and Darkstalker already knew it was going to get old. Vines draped from the ceilings, the wooden floors were mildly moist (or at least Peacemaker said they were), and the walls were lined with maps of the kingdom and small drawings from the artsy dragonets. Peacemaker walked into the main room, where it was set up like the students would be on tables surrounding the teacher in the center, almost like an arena. Darkstalker sat down beside Peacemaker as class began. Once again, Darkstalker couldn't hear anything so he just sat there, pretending to be interested for Peacemaker's sake. 
The teacher was bright pink, but upon closer inspection Darkstalker could see bits of grey and some scars on her arms and wings. Poor thing.. Darkstalker thought to himself as the teacher began to speak. Once she finished the entire room of dragonets spoke up, including Peacemaker. 
"Morning Orchid!" said Peacemaker, a bit loudly and nearly jumping up and down. 
“Three moons, Peacemaker..” Darkstalker said a bit too aggressively for his liking. 
“What? I’m excited. Orchid’s nice.” Peacemaker rebutted. A muffled sound came from a small NightWing dragonet beside Darkstalker. 
“Oh, sorry.. Just talking to myself.” Peacemaker said, looking at his talons. Darkstalker looked to his side and saw a small purple dirty NightWing beside him. The NightWing looked at Peacemaker a bit skeptical. “No, it’s not weird! Everybody does it, right?” Peacemaker said, defending himself. The purple NightWing giggled and some of Peacemaker’s wing scales turned bright pink. The NightWing then visually gasped. “What’s a hybrid- oh this?” Peacemaker said pointing to his wing scales, which returned to a silvery color. “I thought all NightWing could do it..” Peacemaker said, looking at Darkstalker. 
“That just makes you extra special!..” Darkstalker said. The NightWing looked at the direction Peacemaker was looking at. 
“Oh, nothing. Just the ceiling, I guess..” Peacemaker said back to the NightWing. The purple NightWing chuckled, then spoke. “Oh, that’s a pretty name.. Mine is Peacemaker!” Darkstalker shuffled a bit back so Peacemaker could actually talk to the NightWing without having to try to look around him. 
The day ended and as Peacemaker was grabbing his bag, the NightWing came up to him and asked him something. “Play? I can ask my mommy- mother if I can..” Peacemaker said to the NightWing. The NightWing then skipped away, off into the village. “Bye bye, Truthlistener!”
"Was she nice?" Darkstalker asked, slightly uncomfortable. Peacemaker turned to Darkstalker and nodded viciously. Both dragons then walked to Foeslayer's treehouse in silence, which was new. 
"So.. How was your day?" Darkstalker asked.
"Okay." Peacemaker said. He didn't ask how Darkstalker's day was, which would've been a first.
Both dragons got to the treehouse and flew up there. Peacemaker said hi to his mother and walked in his room to read. Darkstalker tried to start another conversation.
"So that dragonet's name is Truthlistener? That's a nice name." Darkstalker said awkwardly.
"Uh-huh. Super pretty. She told me she also liked strawberries and.. Well.. We both know each other well, I guess." Peacemaker chuckled. Darkstalker laughed along too, but he wasn't sure this time about that last thing Peacemaker said. He doesn't know about that dragon I was, that mistake.. Darkstalker thought. 
"I'll just head to bed a little early. I didn't really sleep well last night." Darkstalker said, trying to change the subject. Peacemaker shrugged and picked a scroll of the shelf and opened it up. 
"Do you want me to read you a bedtime story? Mommy usually does if I can't sleep." Peacemaker said, explaining it like Darkstalker wasn't there all the time. Darkstalker nodded and curled up into a ball, listening to Peacemaker drone on and on about Rock the Scavenger. 
Once Darkstalker fell asleep, he didn't feel like creating a dream for himself. Around him was a vast void of nothing. A pitch black room with no walls, ceiling, or any signs of life other than Darkstalker. He sat down and looked at the pitch black floor. He could almost see his reflection in it, but it wasn't Darkstalker as he is now. It was a menacing one, one with a silver crown on his head and a wicked grin on his face. Darkstalker didn't feel scared, nor happy. He just stared at the evil apparition in guilt. Around him, unwillingly, the room shifted. The black void turned into a small hut quite similar, if not an exact replica of Darkstalker's childhood home. Darkstalker walked around his childhood home before four dragons spontaneously appeared. 
Darkstalker, Clearsight, and two dragonets. Both of the dragonets looked like Peacemaker, but without the rainbow wing scales. Darkstalker watched his doppelganger and Clearsight begin to bicker, then argue, then fight. The dragonets fled to a corner, one was covering their ears while the other hugged them with his wings. "A memory.." Darkstalker said, looking at his clone. None of the dragons seemed to notice Darkstalker standing right beside them. 
Suddenly, the scene began to flicker. For just a moment, Darkstalker could see the memory of how it was. The copy of Darkstalker turned into Prince Arctic, Clearsight transformed into Foeslayer, and the dragonets became Darkstalker and Whiteout. The scene flicked back to normal, with Darkstalker and Clearsight yelling at each other silently. Not knowing what else to do, Darkstalker walked over to comfort the small dragonets. His wings and talons, that went to hug the dragonets, phased right through them. 
"I get it by now, whatever you are!" Darkstalker yelled to nothing. "I know this would've been what Clearsight and I would've turned out to be! Just.. Stop it!" Darkstalker called out. The scene paused abruptly and faded away. Darkstalker was once more in the empty void by himself. He sighed in despair and sat down. Then, small talons pressed on Darkstalker's leg. 
"Darky? What are you doing here alone?" asked the voice. Darkstalker looked down and saw Peacemaker there with a confused look. "I just fell asleep and you're just here in this spooky place, why?" he continued. 
"I don't know." Darkstalker said, partially lying. Darkstalker then waved his talons and the black room transformed into the Rainforest Kingdom. Peacemaker jumped around happily and instead of waiting around for Darkstalker, he ran towards the school. Darkstalker started to run after him before stopping himself. He'll be happier without me. Darkstalker convinced himself and forced himself to wake up. 
Once Darkstalker woke up, he was afraid Peacemaker would as well, but to his surprise Peacemaker kept on sleeping. Darkstalker looked out the treehouse window and sighed. He began to pace around the small room until he wanted to try and see his mother, Foeslayer. He walked a bit before remembering the invisible barrier. He still wanted to see how she was doing and possibly talk to her. He stepped forward, expecting to be blocked by the barrier, but instead he passed right through. Darkstalker looked around, bewildered, and then walked over to where he believe Foeslayer was. He saw Foeslayer on the couch, asleep. She seemed to have been reading a scroll when she passed out. Darkstalker cautiously walked over to her and tapped her forehead. 
Darkstalker was quickly transported into a new place. It was cold, dark, and generally unpleasant. Darkstalker looked around and noticed he was probably underground. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made from snow and ice. Darkstalker then noticed Foeslayer trapped in ice, being mocked at by Queen Diamond and Arctic. Foeslayer's eyes were still moving in the ice and they pointed towards Darkstalker. Darkstalker quickly waved his talons and the nightmare disappeared, leaving both dragons in the void. Foeslayer quickly dropped the ground, holding her neck and gasping for breath. Darkstalker slowly walked over to his mother, who shuffled away in a panic. 
"Please, you monster, don't hurt me or my son!" she said. Darkstalker felt as though a dagger of ice went through his heart. 
"Mother.. It's me.. Your son.." Darkstalker said, but that didn't calm down Foeslayer. 
"Get away! You're not my son anymore! You killed the IceWings and created a war!" she cried out. Each word she said stabbed Darkstalker more violently than the last. 
"Mother.. I just want to talk.." Darkstalker said slowly, reaching to help Foeslayer up. Foeslayer's panicked breathing slowed as she hesitantly grabbed Darkstalker's talons. Darkstalker helped his mother up and Darkstalker waved his talons and two comfortable chairs appeared. They sat down in both and a table with food and drinks appeared. 
"Is this a dream?" Foeslayer asked, helping herself to a piece of bread. 
"A bit of both. We're both in a dream, yet us talking to each other is real." Darkstalker answered, filling his goblet with water. 
"I don't understand.. The spell was supposed to get rid of you forever." Foeslayer said, once more harming Darkstalker with her words. 
"It was." Darkstalker said with a lump in his throat. He took a sip from this goblet only to taste nothing. Has it REALLY been that long since I drank water? Darkstalker mentally questioned himself. 
"I don't-- You-- So where have you been for the past.. Year?.." Foeslayer asked flabbergasted. Darkstalker hesitating before answering. 
"I've been with Peacemaker, as his best friend. He's a nice dragonet, you know." Darkstalker said, reaching for a cookie. Foeslayer stared at Darkstalker with her wide green eyes. 
"So THAT'S why he talks to himself so often..." Foeslayer said, putting down her plate. "The food you summoned is also pretty bland, mind you. Then again this is a dream so I can't complain." she added. Darkstalker shifted a bit awkwardly. 
"Yes, that's why he talks to himself and 'plays' with his food." Darkstalker confirmed. 
"So-- So you've been listening to all of our conversations?" Foeslayer asked suddenly. 
"Not really," He said. "I can hear Peacemaker, but not you or any other dragon." 
"Oh, I see..." Foeslayer said. "Have you.. You've been nice to him, right?" Darkstalker looked down at his plate of food. 
"I think I have." 
"Do you want to escape him or something like that?" Foeslayer asked suddenly. Darkstalker stiffened a bit, caught off balance by the question. 
"I-- No I-- I.. I don't know.." Darkstalker stuttered. Foeslayer cocked her head at her son. Darkstalker took a long sigh before continuing to talk. "I just don't want to be there when he finds out..." he admitted. Foeslayer's green eyes grew more sad. 
"I know the feeling. I didn't want to tell you or Whiteout about the war going on about Arctic and I..." Foeslayer said while positioning herself into a more comfortable position. 
"I don't want to burden the poor dragonet with who he was before... He deserves to grow up without knowing that his best friend was a genocidal killer." Darkstalker said, catching Foeslayer visually off guard. 
"Huh, that's a first. You feel guilty or something for nearly killing an entire tribe?" Foeslayer said in a jokingly condescending tone. She then laughed dryly before stopping herself. 
"I do, mother. I don't want Peacemaker to know that though. T-the genocidal killer part, not the 'I feel guilty' part. I guess I got so caught up in trying to make you, Whiteout, Clearsight, and that traitor-- Fathom happy... I just wanted you guys to have a nice life..." Darkstalker choked out. He could feel a wave of sadness fall upon him. The room around him changed involuntarily and showed still shots from Darkstalker's life flashed instantly before disappearing. The fights between Foeslayer and Arctic, Arctic's death, Darkstalker falling asleep for two thousand years, enchanting dragons to obey his command, turning into Peacemaker, it all showed up. Darkstalker hid himself under his wings to try and hide from the images, to try and ignore the terrible memories. He then felt something touch his back. He looked back and saw Foeslayer, tears in her eyes, patting him on the back. 
"It's okay, my son." she whispered. Darkstalker stared at her in shock that she's.. Caring for him? He took a deep breath and the images faded away. 
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have dragged you into my mess." Darkstalker said , looking at his talons. He waves his talons in the air and the table and chairs disappeared. Darkstalker then left the dream and saw Foeslayer still on the couch, asleep and with tears in her eyes. 
Darkstalker walked back to Peacemaker's room and layed down beside him. Before entering his dream, Darkstalker sat there for a bit. Am I really sorry?.. he thought to himself. He looked at his talons and could practically see blue blood on them, blood from his father. He then looked at Peacemaker and a wave of guilt washed over him. He doesn't deserve to be around me.. Darkstalker thought. Peacemaker was sleeping happily and peacefully, perfectly fine without Darkstalker being there. I could just.. Leave.. Maybe then he can forget about me and-- What am I thinking?! Darkstalker slapped himself. Peacemaker loves you, you can't just... Leave!.. he hissed at himself. He stood up and looked at Peacemaker and cracked a small smile. He then placed his talons onto his forehead and entered Peacemaker's dream. 
Darkstalker was transported into a field of grass. He looked around for Peacemaker and everywhere he looked a rainbow was there. "This is what he would dream of without me?" Darkstalker whispered to himself. He walked around the endless grass field before finding Peacemaker, Truthspeaker, and a clone of Darkstalker playing in a rather large lake. All dragons grew to massive size, far bigger than Darkstalker ever was. 
"Uhh.. Hello?" Darkstalker called out to Peacemaker. Peacemaker was busy splashing the other Darkstalker with water and each step he took shook the entire earth. Darkstalker flew up to Peacemaker and landed on his ear. He watched on as all three dragons played in the water. Suddenly, the sky grew gray and darker. Darkstalker looked up, confused, then heard a quiet scream. To his left, Truthspeaker was slowly sinking into the water. Her face began to melt into a misshaped mix of scales and colours. To his right he saw himself but his black scales fading to grey as he sinks into the now black water. Peacemaker began to shrink and tried to fly away from the scene only for the water to lash out at him, pulling Peacemaker back. Peacemaker was trying to claw himself out, but the water was dragging him closer. Truthspeaker and Darkstalker's clone was already under the water and voices chanted through the dream. The field turned to a black wasteland and the rainbows turned to fire. 
"What is even happening?!" Darkstalker screamed. He flew down and straightened out his wings and dug his talons into the ground. The scene began to fade and Peacemaker was free from the water. He ran over to Darkstalker and clutched onto his forearms. Eventually, the last drop of water disappeared and both dragons were left alone in the void. 
"Are you okay?" Darkstalker said, checking over Peacemaker. Peacemaker's wing scales flashed green, to red, to white, to blue, then back to silver. He then fell to his knees and began to cry. 
"That was.. S-scary.." Peacemaker sobbed. Darkstalker went down and hugged Peacemaker with his wings. 
"It's okay Peacemaker.. You're okay.." he comforted. Darkstalker looked around the room and it slowly turned to a beach. The waves brushing against the sand in a hypnotic pattern calmed down Darkstalker and Peacemaker's sobs became less and less intense. Peacemaker then looked around the beach and let go of Darkstalker. Darkstalker then walked around and Peacemaker stumbled after him. The cool breeze of the ocean and the smell of salt water put Darkstalker to rest. 
"Thanks, Darky." Peacemaker said as he began to dig in the sand. Darkstalker went to the ocean and saw all of the fish and turtles swim around. He carefully picked up a jade green turtle and thought of Fathom. His emerald green scales would've made him livid on any normal occasion, but this time he just thought of the nice time with him and Clearsight. He walked over to Peacemaker with the turtle and placed it down. 
"What's that?" Peacemaker asked excitedly as he put his snout up to the turtle to smell it. 
"A turtle. They don't bite." Darkstalker said as he scratched the turtle's neck gently. The turtle seemed to smile back and Peacemaker started to pet it. 
"It feels so weird.." Peacemaker said as a unnatural amount of slime drips down from his talons. Darkstalker chuckled as he wiped off the slime. The turtle started to walk back to the waves and Peacemaker walked after it, guiding it to the ocean. 
"Come on, you're almost there!" Peacemaker cheered to the turtle and Darkstalker smiled. He could imagine himself here, on this beach, with Clearsight and his dragonets. He would stay behind with Clearsight and watch as his dragonets played in the sand, but that would've been in a perfect world. Darkstalker's smile faded as he looked at the sand. A small part of the sand twisted and transformed into a few tiny dragons the size of a blueberries against Darkstalker's will. He watched as the sand dragons looked around and inaudibly began to fight at one another. 
"What you looking at?" Peacemaker said. Darkstalker stamped down on the sand dragons to hide them. 
"Nothing," Darkstalker said quickly. "You wanna go explore?" he continued, trying to change the subject. Peacemaker nodded and took off without Darkstalker. 
"Wait for me!" Darkstalker laughed as he forcefully launched himself into the air, releasing a loud gust a wind that kicked up a ton of sand and blew away a few trees. Peacemaker stared in amazement at Darkstalker, practically had stars in his eyes. 
"I wanna go to.. Over there!" Peacemaker pointed over in a direction north. He took off at lightning speed in that direction and Darkstalker followed quickly after. Both dragons soared through the sky, passing by trees and birds. Both dragons laughed and were having a fun time before they passed over a massive clearing in the trees. Huts and black dragons walked through the streets and Darkstalker felt a pain in his chest. 
"How about we DON'T go here?..." suggested Darkstalker, but it was too late. He looked back and saw Peacemaker fly down to the city. Darkstalker followed quickly after him and looked around panicked. A few NightWings were looking at him funny, some laughed while others just ignored him. Darkstalker dug his talons into the dirt once more to shut off the dream, but for the first time ever, he couldn't shut off the dream. 
"No, no, no!" he cried. Darkstalker ran into a crowd of NightWings, looking for Peacemaker. He kept asking all of the dragons "Have you seen a dragonet with rainbow wing scales", but nobody's seen Peacemaker. 
Then, the worst possible thing happened. 
A group of dragons, an IceWing, two NightWings, and a black NightWing with IceWing spikes and snout flew down. Darkstalker stared in complete and utter disgust and panic at the group, mostly towards the NightWing that looked exactly like him. 
"Peacemaker!" Darkstalker called out. The group of dragons landed on the stage of the Great Diamond and began to call NightWings to see. Darkstalker stepped in front of a few NightWings, begging them to run and to not go, but they just looked at him like he was insane and kept walking. Darkstalker kept on calling out for Peacemaker until he heard a small voice call out. 
"Darky? DARKY!" it said. Darkstalker turned around and saw Peacemaker there running towards him. Darkstalker scooped him up and tried to fly away, but the crowd blocked him. No matter what he couldn't escape. He tried to fly but his wings limped down on the ground. Peacemaker looked at Darkstalker in surprise. 
"Why are you trying to fly?" he questioned. "It seems like a show is about to go on, and you're on it too!" Peacemaker continued. 
"Because something bad is going to happen if I don't!" Darkstalker snapped back and Peacemaker's face turned from surprised to fearful. Darkstalker could hear the IceWing admit to his darkest secrets and panicked more and more. He tired again to cancel the dream, only for it to not work once more. 
"Tear out your tongue..." a cold voice said. The entire crowd started to whisper and murmur. Peacemaker slipped out of Darkstalker's talons and watched on. Darkstalker couldn't bring himself to turn around and opened his wings as far as he could to shield Peacemaker. 
"Why is he grabbing his tongue?" questioned Peacemaker. Darkstalker didn't have an awnser. Darkstalker heard the sounds of the IceWing struggling and shouting profanity after profanity at the NightWings. Darkstalker started down at Peacemaker, who's expression was full of fear. His wing scales turned pure white as the sounds of the crowd screaming filled his ears. 
"Run, Peacemaker!" Darkstalker shouted. Peacemaker stepped back but the massive wall of NightWings blocked him. Darkstalker tried to move forward but the ground seemed to be stuck to his talons. 
"Rip out your stomach." said the cold voice. Darkstalker dug his talons into the dirt and begged for the dream to stop. The city began to slowly fade away as the crowd ran into the void, never to be seen again. Darkstalker could move again and turned around to face the stage. There, the bodies of him, Clearsight, Whiteout, and Arctic were still lingering before they were swallowed by the darkness. 
"Darky?..." Peacemaker said. Darkstalker felt a wave of emotions. Anger, hate, sadness, fear, regret, guilt, all at once. 
"I'm so sorry, Peacemaker..." he whispered. Darkstalker slumped down onto the black ground and for the first time in years, began to cry. 
"W-was that you?" Peacemaker continued. Darkstalker looked back at Peacemaker, who stared at him as if he was a monster, the monster he really was. Darkstalker nodded and hung his head. 
"You shouldn't have seen that... I-- I didn't want you to see that..." Darkstalker said looking at the reflection in the abyss. Peacemaker walked over and sat beside Darkstalker. 
"Did you make that IceWing do that?" he asked. 
"Yes... And he was my... Father..." he choked out. Darkstalker felt disgusted to be even beside Peacemaker now. 
"You... Are you that Darkstalker?" 
Darkstalker hesitated. 
"Yes. I am Darkstalker," he said. "And you are too." Peacemaker looked at his talons. 
"How could I be you?!" he asked, his wing's turning a plethora of colours. 
"I was tricked. You were designed to destroy me. The only reason you exist now is to kill me, but as you can see that didn't work." Darkstalker said, each word he spoke felt like daggers slicing his throat. Peacemaker looked at his talons and his breathing got shallow. 
"I-- I can't be-- You we're--" Peacemaker screamed. Darkstalker felt as though a boulder of guilt was placed on top of him. 
"I'm sorry for... Everything..." Darkstalker apologized. Peacemaker looked at Darkstalker, tears began to fill his eyes, and hugged Darkstalker. 
"At least you're sorry." Peacemaker said, drying his tears against Darkstalker's leg. Darkstalker felt confused. 
"Why are you accepting my apology? I-- I did a bunch of horrible things and--" he was cut of by Peacemaker. 
"Because you're not you anymore. You're me, and I will do better." Peacemaker said, cracking a smile. 
Darkstalker crouched down and hugged Peacemaker and both dragons floated away in the void. 
"Thank you.." 
~Ninety years later~ 
"And that's that last time I saw him." Peacemaker ended. He looked at his granddragonets, Nighthunter and Moonlistener, both were crying despite hearing this story many of times. 
"Peacy! Are you telling the dragonets that stupid story of your imaginary friend again?" Truthspeaker said. Peacemaker put his talon up to his face and shushed the dragonets. 
"No!..." Peacemaker lied. He then got up from his chair and felt his back crack a bit. Peacemaker groaned in pain and walked over to the small workshop area, where Truthspeaker was. 
"Come on, honey. The dragonets love it." Peacemaker says. Truthspeaker sighed and looked at Peacemaker playfully, her winkles showing through more when she smiled. 
"Yeah but your 'friend' was a terrible dragon. Probably just heard the name from Hope or something and made him up." Truthspeaker said. Peacemaker sighed, it probably was just an imaginary friend anyways. It was ridiculous to think that he actually used to be Darkstalker, or whatever his name was. Besides, he'd never came back after that night. Peacemaker shook off the thought and kissed Truthspeaker on the cheek. 
"Got any.. Strawberries?" he asked playfully. Truthspeaker laughed and grabbed a small bowl full of ripe and beautifal strawberries. 
"Here you go, you old coot." she giggled. Peacemaker walked over to his hammock and lied down in it. He ate away at the strawberries while watching Nighthunter and Moonlistener playfight. Peacemaker laughed to himself before breaking out into another coughing fit. Truthspeaker looked at Peacemaker and sighed. 
"You know, you're on your last legs too!" Peacemaker said and then laughed dryly. He finished off his bowl of strawberries and stretched his wings, revealing a rainbow pattern on them. 
"I'll just head to bed now, don't feel that well." Peacemaker said. 
"Sweet dreams!" wished Truthspeaker and Peacemaker rolled on his side and drifted off to sleep. 
Peacemaker awoke in the Rainforest Kingdom with Truthspeaker. Truthspeaker was in her shop making a small golden ring for Peacemaker while he went out on a walk. Peacemaker in his dream felt much more young and flexible, to the point where he was able to fly without throwing out his wings. Peacemaker sat down in a small play area for dragonets and began to pluck the grass. Suddenly, the grass floor began to give way. The earth itself shook with a violent rumble and Peacemaker struggled to stand up. He tried to fly away but his wings wouldn't open. Peacemaker screamed in fear as he fell into the earth. It took a second or two before Peacemaker was engulfed in the darkness. He looked around, terrified. 
"Hello? Is somebody here?" he asked to the darkness. All around him was pitch black. No walls, no ceiling, Peacemaker wasn't even sure if there was a floor. Suddenly, a low voice spoke. 
"I am." 
Peacemaker looked in the direction of the voice. All he could see was nothing, except for a moving shadow. 
"Who's there?" he demanded. 
"You've changed quite a bit since the last I saw you.." 
"Wait a minute.." Peacemaker said. He recognized the voice. The familiar low rumbly voice from his early days of dragonethood. 
"Darkstalker?" he asked. The shadow emerged from the black void and a NightWing nearly a third the size of Peacemaker came out. 
"I forgotten about how big you'd get." Darkstalker said with a smile on his face. Peacemaker felt floored. 
"After all of these years, NOW you decide to reappear?" Peacemaker said, running over to hug Darkstalker. "I missed you so much!" 
"Woah, I thought you hated me!" Darkstalker said. Peacemaker shook his head in disbelief. 
"I never hated you! Sure, you're were genocidal killer and all, but you were so fun to hang out with!" Peacemaker said. 
"Thanks for the complement." Darkstalker said jokingly. 
"Now... Why have you decided to come out now?" Peacemaker asked. Darkstalker shuffled his talons a bit. 
"Well... You know how you've been sick for the past few weeks?" he began. Peacemaker felt a pang in his heart. 
"Don't tell me I'm going to die--" 
"Yeah, you're going to die." he awnsered. Peacemaker sat down and stared at the black floor. 
"I-- I need to get back! I need to tell Truthspeaker, Starfinder, Nighthunter and Moonlistener, everybody! I need to say my goodbyes and--" 
"I don't make the rules," Darkstalker said sadly. "At least we could.. Talk for a bit before we head off." 
"I'm sorry... 'We'?" Peacemaker questioned. 
"If you die, where would I go? I'd either just stay in this void forever, or come with you to... Wherever you go when you die." Darkstalker said. Peacemaker looked behind him and saw a dull white light in the darkness. 
"Hey, not yet. I want to talk for a bit first." Darkstalker said, snapping Peacemaker out of the light's trance. 
"What do you want to talk about?" 
"I don't know... Maybe about those older days? When we both just played for hours and Foeslayer wouldn't ever care." 
"Foeslayer?" Peacemaker asked. 
"Your mother?... You don't know your own mother's name or something?" Darkstalker joked. 
"Her name is Hope. Foeslayer was Darkstalker's mother--" Peacemaker cut himself off. 
"Finally realized it? Yeah, I'm not an imaginary friend, Peacemaker. Sorry to tell you that." Darkstalker said a bit agressivly. 
"Oh, sorry. I didn't really know what else you were. It was too weird to think you were me, I guess." Peacemaker explained. 
"It's alright, I can barely believe it myself." Darkstalker laughed. 
"Where have you been for the past ninety years?" Peacemaker asked. This one question bothered him a lot for years. 
"In here. I just... Came into your imagination and... This is where I've been. I didn't want to bother you anymore. You didn't deserve to having some two thousand year old killer follow you around and play with you." Darkstalker said, looking at his talons. Peacemaker put his wing around Darkstalker and pulled him closer. 
"You didn't have to do that. Maybe you could've then use me as a... Vessel or something to spew apologies to the dragons you wanted to apologize to." Peacemaker smirked. Peacemaker looked in the corner of his eye and saw the white light growing more and more. 
"I didn't want you to be more engrossed in my life. You shouldn't have to be used as a way for the worst dragon ever to tell everybody that they're 'sorry'. Nobody would believe you anyways." Darkstalker said. 
"But do you feel guilty for everything you've done?" 
"Yes..." 
Peacemaker and Darkstalker look at each other and smiled. Peacemaker could feel his wing scales turn pink and yellow. Both dragons turned around and held each other's talons as they walked towards the light. 
"I find it funny. I tried so hard to avoid this very fate, and yet I'm walking towards it fearless." Darkstalker said with tears in his eyes. As Peacemaker walked closer, still images of his life flashed before his very eyes. His first words, his first strawberry, playing with Darkstalker, meeting Truthspeaker, having dragonets, meeting his great dragonets, all of it. He looked at Darkstalker, who most likely also saw his life before his eyes. 
"I'll miss you buddy." Peacemaker said with a silvery teardrop falling down his face. 
"You too." Darkstalker said as both dragons were completely engulfed in the white light. 
~End~ 
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Genre (Short Story)
Category:Content (SomePerson9000000)