Light in the Monster

~~oh no she did it~~

Not another fanfic :(

yes, it is.

Ok so the plot is centered around Wolfy, Octillo, and a couple other users here. Please tell me if you don't want to be included!

Octillo found an old grave in her mother's garden, with a name; 'Quetzal'. But no date. When her best friend Wolfy goes missing, it's up to Octillo and her friends to decipher the strange messages they've been finding and discover the truth.

(This is kinda WoF meets Frankenstein. Terror is totally based off Frankenstein's monster)

## Prologue

Rain sloshed down heavily, obscuring most of the street from sight. A lone figure darted through the deserted streets, hood up to cover her strange appearance. It was a stormy night: the blood-red moons only just poked through the clouds. Still, it cast an eerie glow that made Wolfy shiver.

"Are you guys there? Octillo? Taer? Mango?"

No answer came.

Wolfy grunted. She called again, "Tailbite? Sky? Hello?!"

Not a sound penetrated the red-lit night. Except... muffled footsteps?

"Hello?"

A chilling cackle reverberated through the air. Wolfy turned around. No one was there.

"Who... who was that?" Wolfy asked, seriously freaked out. "Mango? Tailbite? Is this a prank?"

No one answered her. Silence overtook the dark streets once more. Then, one of the street lights flickered. It sputtered, then it buzzed and was put out. The same thing happened to all the lights in the area; it was almost pitch black except for the red moons' glow. Wolfy's heart pounded. Something was wrong, something was wrong!

Another cackle penetrated the silence, loud and hysterical. Wolfy covered her ears and crouched down on the gravel path, trying to make herself as small as possible. She darted off the street and into a hedge, her breath billowing in front of her. Her cloak got tangled in a hedge, but she didn't care. She kept running, even though her pink and blue scales were now visible. She kept running, even though she heard her pursuer behind her, getting closer and closer each second...

She wanted to keep her eyes trained on the road, but instead she dared to look back. *Crack!*

She had run into a brick wall, and had blood dripping out a cut on her head. She winced and poked at it with her claw. Pressing it against the wound, she looked behind.

"No one escapes the Terror, my dear."

In a desperate last move, she pressed the palm of her bloody claw against the wall. Then, red filled her vision. Then black.

## Chapter One

Octillo woke up to rain pounding against her window. Her head ached. She had been having a nightmare, but she couldn't remember what it was.

"Mango, Taer! Wake up!"

Octillo had been having a sleepover with two of her friends, Mango and Taerared. They were expecting their other friend, Wolfy, to show up around 9:00 as well.

"What time is it?" Mango asked, rolling off the cushions she'd been lying on. Her voice was muddled by sleep.

Taer checked his alarm clock. "11:30," he clarified.

"Wait, what?" Octillo said, astounded. "But Wolfy was supposed to come at..."

Sure enough, light was pouring through the stained-glass windows of Taerared's room. Octillo sat up in her makeshift cot, her muscles aching, as if she had been running. Taer shrugged.

"She's probably just late."

But Octillo couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong...

The three friends headed down to breakfast. Octillo poked at her vegetables, digging her claws into them to make happy and sad faces. For a second, she thought she saw a dragon carved into a cucumber, a look of agony on it's face. Octillo blinked and, deciding she had imagined it, chewed at a carrot forlornly.

Mango and Taer, meanwhile, questioned Taer's father about Wolfy.

"Did you get any messages from her parents?" Taerared queried.

Taer's father nodded his head no. He was a stocky SeaWing, short, quiet, and thoughtful. He was nice, too, and an excellent cook, Octillo thought, continuing to chew on pickled plums. Tasty...

"Should we go check her parent's house?" Mango asked.

"That's not a bad idea, kids." Mango beamed.

"Be careful out there, get back by dark. If you run out of time, stay somewhere else for the night."

"Why?" Octillo questioned.

Taerared's father smiled. "Why? Well, you're from out of town, of course. You haven't heard about the Terror of Clockwork Cove?"

Octillo shook her head no. Terror... something about the name felt familiar. But what?

"You haven't?!" Mango asked incredulously.

"I suppose we better tell her," Taer's father said.

He started, "Clockwork Cove was, of course, built by a dragon named Clockwork. Originally, it was a place for Clockwork's inventions to roam free. She was quite eccentric, Victory Clockwork... but rumour says all her inventions, one was the most frightening of all."

Taer shivered. "It murdered her assistant days after it's creation."

"At first it seemed docile, almost Dragon-like."

"But... how?" Octillo asked. "Was it a robot?"

"Partially," Mango answered. "But the rest was made up of..."

"The parts of dead dragons," Taer finished with a shudder.

Octillo stood silent for a second. Then, she burst into laughter. Taer looked at her quizzically.

"What?"

"So wait, a dead robot dragon prowls around the town, murdering dragons--"

"Not murder," Mango cut in.

"Thats ridiculous. Pfft! Why would anyone still believe that?"

"Because of the dragonets," Taer's father said grimly.

"What?" Octillo asked. "You mean... dragonets have actually gone missing?"

"One every year."

"Three moons, why did I move here?!"

"Because your mother owned a mansion."

Octillo sighed. "Wait, this otherworldly horrifying 'Terror' hasn't taken anyone you knew... has it?"

Both Mango and Taer's eyes looked slightly misty. Taerared's father seemed to think this a good time to exit.

"I'll be picking radishes if anyone needs me!"

Mango swallowed hard. "Yes, someone we knew."

Taer nodded sadly. "Grain."

## Chapter Two

Wolfy pounded against the prison wall. "Stop it! Help! Let! Me! Out! Of! Here!"

A SeaWing stared at her lazily. "Can you tell her, whoever she is, to be quiet?"

The guard stared at them with quiet contempt. He didn't move.

"Great," Wolfy muttered. He turned to the SeaWing. "So. Who might you be?"

The SeaWing muttered, "Like I'd tell a *SilkWing*."

"SilkWings don't have black scales," Wolfy said pointedly. "So I think I'm a... SilkWing-HiveWing?"

"You don't know?" the SeaWing asked.

Wolfy sighed. "Well, I don't have the build of a HiveWing. What else has black scales...? Oh! NightWing!"

The SeaWing shrugged. "Wow, that was fast. Very perceptive. What's your name, kid?"

"Thank you," Wolfy said with mock happiness. "And I'm... uh... er, my name is..."

The SeaWing rolled her eyes. For a second she looked extremely familiar, but Wolfy didn't know where she had seen the SeaWing before.

Wolfy stuttered for a second. "Um... I think it started with an M? Or a W?"

The SeaWing sighed again. "You're very sharp, kid."

"Hey! Y'know, I think I'm older than you..."

"Mhm."

"Wait... who are you?" Wolfy asked suspiciously, slightly offended. "What's your name?"

"None of your business," she replied callously. Wolfy thought she saw a glance of uncertainty slip under her bored features.

"You forgot too?"

"I never said... oh, whatever. Buzz off, kid. I'm trying to have a nap, if you mind."

Wolfy rolled her eyes. "Fine."

## Chapter Three

Mango walked briskly ahead, forcing Taer and Octillo to keep up. "Hey, wait!" Taer called.

Octillo noticed a SkyWing sitting on a bench, looking visibly upset. "Is that... Sky?"

Mango shrugged. "Hello, Sky..." she said casually. "What's up?"

"You haven't heard?"

"Er, no..."

"What would we have heard?" Taer asked.

"I'll show you."

Sky led them down a deserted path. And, for a path to be deserted in a tiny town with a large population... well, that's saying something.

"We're going down Terror Road?" Mango squeaked. Taer frowned.

Octillo shrugged. "Seriously? Let me guess... this was where dragons were mass murdered?"

"No," Sky put in.

Taer shivered, "Just missing."

There were rolls of police tape, masking an entrance into another part of the road. All four of them gasped. *Police line, do not cross.*

Sky ducked under the tape. "You guys coming?"

"Er..." Mango said. "It kinda-sorta-actually-sorta says, 'Do not cross.'"

"Tailbite won't mind." Sky shrugged.

Surrounded by sticky notes, caution tape, and spy tools, a SeaWing sat in the midst of the blocked-off road, inspecting a torn piece of fabric.

"Tailbite?" Mango asked.

"Okay, what's going on?!" Octillo masked crossly. "Sky, Tailbite, what do you two know? Also have you seen Wolfy anywhere??"

Tailbite and Sky exchanged uneasy glances. "You didn't tell them," Tailbite said.

"I wanted you to tell them!" Sky explained.

"Fine. Last night, Wolfy went missing. Her mother noticed her bed was empty, and clement to check the town. Eventually the police got involved. All we could find was this," Tailbite held up the scraps of fabric.

"Is that Wolfy's?" Taer questioned.

"Well, duh," Sky said, pointing to the name tag. 'Olfy,' it read. Underneath was a snake insignia.