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Chapter Text

Freedom had been in a cage before. One could say that she had hatched in a cage.

But she had never been in a cage with other dragonets.

The other eight dragonets in the cage with her were huddled together and clearly terrified, with was completely understandable, as they were in an unfamiliar city full of humans.

There has to be a way to get us out of here. Freedom thought. The room they were in was cold and covered in tapestries of humans killing dragons, the events of the tapestries were clearly fabricated.

The door opened, and a young man walked in the room. Freedom recognized him.

That’s Undauntable. Wren brought him to the academy. Freedom thought. She had an idea.

“Hey, Undauntable!” The little dragonet said in Human. Undauntable jumped.

“Who’s there?”

“Me, you big dummy. In the cage!”

Undauntable walked over to the cage. He looked at Freedom. “Did one of you just talk?” He asked.

Freedom rolled her eyes. Humans are so stupid! “Yes!” She said.

Undauntable jumped back. “You know our language?” He asked.

“I know both Dragon and Human.” Freedom said. “Can you set us free?”

The human sighed. “I can’t. I’ll be in huge trouble with my father.”

“Your father is a lord, right?” Freedom asked.

“Yes.” Undauntable answered. “And I am a prince.”

“Well, I’m a princess.” Freedom said. “And princesses outrank lords and princes, so I command that you let us go.”

Undauntable looked confused. “You’re a princess?”

“Well, my mother was a queen, and that makes me a princess.” Freedom said. “In our society, lords rank lower than princesses, princes rank lower than both of them, and queens rank higher than all of them. And so, I am more important than you and your stupid father put together.”

“I still can’t set you free.” Undauntable said.

“You’re a son of a bitch.” Freedom said.

“How do you know that phrase?!” Undauntable yelped. “Aren’t you a month old?”

“I know tons of curse words.” Freedom said. “I can tell you all of them right now!” Freedom drew in a deep breath.

“Okay, okay!” Undauntable said, throwing his hands up. “I’ll find a way to free you guys. I promise.”

“You better keep it.” Freedom said, holding the bars of the cage.

After Undauntable left, Freedom looked at her fellow dragonets and said, in Dragon, “I think I found us a way out of here.”

Chapter Text

Poison Oak had seen adults freak out, but she’d never seen adults freak out like this.

In fact, she would not be surprised if all of Pyrrhia could hear the teachers’ argument.

“Are we sure it was the Indestructible City that took the dragonets?” Sunny asked.

“Yes. When I was there, I saw a plan they had to wipe us out — I mean, wipe you guys out.” Wren said.

“What should we do?” Sunny asked.

“We storm the city, save the dragonets, then burn the city to the ground!” Peril yelled.

“Peril, no!” Sunny said. “We’re not killing anybody!”

“Yes, we are!” Peril yelled. “They have my dragonets! Your nieces and nephews, in case you’ve forgotten!”

Poison Oak backed away from the cave where the adults were and walked back to her sleeping cave. Firefly was the only one in the cave; Listener had gone to the library.

“Are they still arguing?” Firefly asked.

Poison Oak nodded. “Peril wants to destroy the Indestructible City, and honestly, I can see several dragons agreeing with her.”

“I’m not surprised.” Firefly shook her head. “You know how protective she was of Magma when she was a little dragonet, and now her five youngest dragonets have been kidnapped by humans who might kill them.”

Poison Oak sat down next to Firefly, and twined her tail around hers.

We already had the Mothers of the Scorching to worry about, and now we have to deal with an awful human city.

Eight of the nine Mothers of the Scorching had resurfaced recently, and pretty much everyone had been researching them to find out what they were like, where they might show up, and if they were hostile. The only one that hadn’t resurfaced yet was named Iris, and from what Poison Oak knew about her, she seemed a lot like Willow, one of Poison Oak’s moms.

A knock sounded on the cave entrance, and Sandshard poked his head in. “Hey guys.” The SandWing-IceWing hybrid said.

“What’s going on out there, Sandshard?” Poison Oak asked.

“The adults are trying to come up with a plan. So far they agree with Peril about saving the dragonets, and they agree with Sunny about not killing anyone.” Sandshard sighed. “And while they all think that the Invincible Lord needs to be punished, they’re not sure how to punish him. Peril, Tsunami, and your mother want to kill him, and I think Wren might agree.”

Poison Oak smiled a bit. “That sounds like Mother.” Sundew, Poison Oak’s other mom, had been a warrior before Poison Oak had even existed. She also had quite the temper.

“Anyway, Gill is trying not to have a nervous breakdown, and Beetle is hoping that Iris resurfaces soon.” Sandshard said.

Poison Oak looked down at her claws. She clenched her talons. Poor Freedom doesn’t deserve to go through this again…none of them deserve to go through this. The Invincible Lord should be punished for this.

She looked up at Sandshard. “Tell them that whatever they choose to do, I’ll help them.” Poison Oak said.

“Oak, no!” Firefly grabbed her arm. “What if you get hurt?”

Poison Oak looked at Firefly. “Firefly, I’ll always come back to you. I promise.”

“You better keep it.” Firefly said.

Poison Oak knew she would always keep it, no matter what.

Chapter Text

“Excuse me,” Poison Oak said, getting up. The LeafWing dragonet wanted to go talk to some of the other dragonets.

When Poison Oak got to the library, it looked like a dragonflame cactus had gone off, minus the fire. Books and scrolls were sprawled everywhere, like someone had been looking through them quickly.

“Your dad’s not gonna be happy about this,” Poison Oak said. Listener’s head popped up behind a massive pile of scrolls.

“I know.” The NightWing sighed. “I’ve been trying to find any sort of mention of where the BeetleWings might have lived before they were banished, but I can’t find anything!”

That must be frustrating. Poison Oak thought.

“It IS!” Listener growled, flopping over. She looked absolutely exhausted. “Given that the other Mothers of the Scorching showed up where their tribe’s’ kingdoms were, it would make sense that Iris would be wherever the BeetleWings used to live!”

“Yeah, I got that.” Poison Oak said. “Did you find anything interesting about her?”

“Yeah, actually.” Listener said. “For a while before the Scorching, she didn’t really live anywhere. She was constantly on the move.”

“Does it say why?” Poison Oak asked.

Listener shook her head.

Poison Oak sighed, and left the library to go to the prey center, where she found Magma laying on the ground.

“Are you okay?” Poison Oak asked.

Magma lifted her head. “I’m so worried about my siblings.” She said. “They’re only little dragonets. What kind of insane dragon would hurt a baby dragonet?”

Humans that lived over 5,000 years ago, apparently. Poison Oak thought.

“Oak.”

Poison Oak turned around. Sundew had her head in the entrance of the prey center. “We have a plan.”

“What is it?” Poison Oak asked.

“Some of the best fighters at the school are going to go to the Indestructible City tomorrow along with Wren and Sky to save the dragonets.” Sundew said. “Although Wren and Sky hope that we’ll only need to fight as a last resort.”

“I wanna come.” Poison Oak said, stretching her wings.

“Me too.” Magma said, standing up. Fire flickered in her mouth. “No one hurts my siblings.”

“Okay.” Sundew said. The older LeafWing backed out of the room.

I’m ready, Poison Oak thought. I know I am.

Chapter Text

The dragons were flying the next morning.

The sun felt great on Poison Oak’s wings, but she couldn’t think about that. Not with those dragonets at stake.

“Are you ready to do this?” Magma asked her, brushing her wing. Being half-SkyWing, Magma’s wings were enormous.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Poison Oak replied.

“Good.” Said Qibli, flying up next to her. “You’re going to need to be ready. The Indestructible City tries to shoot dragons who get close.

Poison Oak was glad she wasn’t alone. Aside from her and Magma, there were several other dragons on this mission. Her mother, Sundew, for example. Qibli, one of the teachers at the school, along with Magma’s parents, and Tsunami. And, of course, Sky and Wren.

“How are we even going to get close to the Indestructible City?” Poison Oak asked.

“Queen Snowfall let us borrow an animus gift.” Sundew said. “It’s called the gift of stealth. We used it on our mission to defeat the breath of evil.”

“Everyone knows that story, Mother.” Poison Oak called as the mountains flashed below them. “You tell it to Mom when you’re showing off for her.”

Sundew scoffed a bit. Magma whispered to Poison Oak, “Yeah, ‘showing off.’ Right.”

Poison Oak snorted, glancing down at the Winding Tail River. It was one of the longest rivers on Pyrrhia, starting in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains and going past Jade Mountain before emptying out into the ocean. As they were flying over it, Magma suddenly glanced down at the river, puzzled.

“What?” Poison Oak asked her.

“I thought I heard something down there.” Magma said. She glanced down at the river a bit longer before saying, “Probably nothing important.”

“We’re almost there!” Sky called. It was hard to hear Wren while they were flying, so Sky was acting as her voice.

Poison Oak looked ahead — and there it was. The city was certainly large. It was surrounded by walls, high up on a cliff. Poison Oak could see several gardens in the city, but otherwise, it looked incredibly hostile.

“I’m going to use the bracelets now. Only Wren and I will be visible.” Sky said. Poison Oak watched as she disappeared. It felt so weird, like she had been turned into clouds.

“We’re going in.” Sky said. “They’ll only be shooting at me and Wren, so the rest of you will be fine.”

Poison Oak noticed the humans see Sky and Wren. She watched them try to shoot at them, and fail.

“Follow us!” Sky said. He angled himself towards the castle in the center of the city.

That’s the castle? Even the ruins of the Island Palace are bigger than this! Poison Oak thought.

Sky and Wren smashed through the windows of one of the highest levels of the castle. Poison Oak and her fellow dragons flew through the smashed window.

The room they had entered was a throne room, and on the throne was a man who looked like he was full of hatred.

The Invincible Lord.

The lord said something that Poison Oak didn’t understand, since it sounded like squeaking.

Well, here we go.

Chapter Text

Wren squeaked something angry-sounding at the Invincible Lord.

“Uh, what is she saying?” Poison Oak asked.

“She’s calling him a scumbag.” Qibli said.

“Since when do you know Human?” Peril snapped at him.

“I’ve been studying it since we learned they could talk.” Qibli answered.

The Invincible Lord squeaked something condescending, and Qibli said, “He just called her something I will not repeat, and asked why she’s here.”

Sky growled, and Wren snapped at the Invincible Lord.

“She says that she’s here for the dragonets he’s captured, that she’ll leave peacefully if he gives them to her, and she also called him an idiot scavenger.” Qibli reported.

Poison Oak heard something outside.

The Invincible Lord squeaked something mocking, Wren squeaked something back at him, and then said, “Sky, the bracelets!” in Dragon.

Sky smashed the bracelets together. Poison Oak felt a warm tingling in her talons, and she was visible again, along with Magma, Qibli, Peril, Clay, Sundew, and Tsunami.

Both Tsunami and Sundew were crouched near the throne, blocking the lord’s path. Qibli had his tail raised near the lord, and Clay stood near him. Peril, however, was the closest to the throne, and looked so angry that anyone would cower in fear. Poison Oak and Magma were near the back, ready to fight.

Poison Oak heard what sounded like a giant footstep. What was that?

The Invincible Lord actually looked scared, but then he looked smug, like he was about to call for someone, but before he could open his mouth, the door opened, and a young man ran into the room, wheeling a cage.

In the cage were the dragonets.

Magma’s little siblings looked a bit relieved, but Penguin, Moose, and Corpse Lily looked scared. The outlier was Freedom, who looked defiant.

The lord yelled at the man, and Qibli said, “That human is the lord’s son, Undauntable. The lord is angry at him because he brought the dragonets here.”

Undauntable squeaked something at his father, which made the Invincible Lord looked shocked, and Wren and Sky look amazed.

“Undauntable promised the dragonets that he would help get them out.” Qibli informed them.

Poison Oak heard another large footstep. “Did you hear that?” She whispered to Magma.

“What?” Magma asked.

“The footsteps.” Poison Oak answered.

Magma looked confused. “What footsteps?”

Poison Oak inclined her head toward the window. “The ones coming from out there.”

Magma shook her head. “The only footsteps I hear are human footsteps, in this pitifully small castle.”

The Invincible Lord said something angrily to Undauntable, who said something right back. “The Invincible Lord is asking him why, and Undauntable is saying that it’s the right thing to do, and that his father is horrible.” Qibli said.

“He certainly seems horrible.” Sundew agreed. She reached into one of her pouches, and pulled out a jar of gympie-gympie. “I wonder how he’d like to touch the most painful plant in the world.”

Poison Oak winced. The gympie-gympie had an extremely painful sting, one that could last for months.

It would be amusing to watch the Invincible Lord touch it, though.

But she discarded that thought when she heard loud, frightened squeaking coming from somewhere else in the city. Magma also looked curious, straining her ears to listen for it.

“What is that?” Magma said.

“My guess? Humans freaking out that dragons got in their ‘dragon-proof’ city.” Tsunami snarked.

Poison Oak wasn’t so sure.

She became less sure when she heard what sounded like something made of stone falling down.

Wren also heard it. She asked Undauntable something, and he shook his head. Wren snapped something at him.

“They’re arguing about infrastructure.” Qibli reported.

A booming footstep sounded, not far away. And with it came more frightening squeaking.

Pretty much everyone in the room had heard it. Sundew put away the jar.

Thoom

Everyone looked up.

Thoom

The ground shook.

THOOM

Poison Oak felt her heart beat faster.

Then…

CRUNCH

The ceiling of the building shook, then was violently ripped away.

Poison Oak stared in frozen shock.

Glaring at everyone through the hole where the ceiling used to be was the biggest dragon the young LeafWing had ever seen.

She was a SeaWing, with grayish-greenish scales and eyes green like the ocean. There were scars on her face, which had a look of pure rage on it.

She glanced at the Invincible Lord.

“A dragonet-stealing, cowardly scavenger.” She said.

The Invincible Lord screamed. Poison Oak immediately knew who the dragon was.

Leviathan.

Leviathan smiled, revealing teeth longer than Poison Oak’s entire body.

“My favorite kind to eat.”

One of her massive talons reached into the room, and she picked up the Invincible Lord, who started screaming even louder.

Leviathan tossed the human in her mouth and crunched down, and the screamed stopped.

She swallowed, then licked her lips.

She just killed the Invincible Lord. Poison Oak thought.

And she might kill everyone else who lives here, too.

Chapter Text

No one moved. No one said anything.

Until Freedom said, “Well, can’t say he didn’t have it coming.”

Undauntable screamed. Poison Oak couldn’t tell if he was screaming for his father, or in fear.

“Clay, Tsunami, the cage!” Qibli shouted. The two adult dragons immediately grabbed the bars of the cage holding the dragonets.

“We’re getting you out of here.” Tsunami said.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Clay reassured them.

Poison Oak immediately flew for the smashed window, with Magma right behind her. When she got outside, she saw that a good portion of the Indestructible City had been flattened, and part of the massive wall that surrounded it had been smashed to bits.

That’s what that crumbling noise was, Poison Oak thought. Leviathan destroying the wall.

Did those humans actually think walls would keep dragons out? Dragons who can’t fly, maybe, but seriously.

She watched as Peril shot out of the building with Sundew behind her. Next came Clay and Tsunami with the cage, then Qibli, and lastly, Sky, with both Wren and Undauntable on his back.

“Did everyone get out okay?” Qibli asked.

“I’m fine.” Poison Oak.

“Me too.” Said Magma.

“I’m just angry I didn’t get to cover the Invincible Lord in gympie-gympie.” Sundew said grumpily.

“That would have been amusing.” Peril commented.

“The humans!” Sky yelled. “The city is full of humans, and if we don’t do something, they’re all going to die!”

Wren sighed. “Even though I despise this city, you’re right.”

Qibli was on it immediately. “Tsunami, Clay, Peril, get the dragonets back to Jade Mountain. The rest of us will try to save the humans.”

“Where would we put them?” Magma asked.

“Sanctuary.” Qibli answered. “Now come on!”

Poison Oak flew down into the city square, where terrified humans were everywhere.

They’ll probably be scared of me, too.

Whatever.

Poison Oak grabbed a pair of tiny humans that she guessed were children. Both of them screamed.

“I’m trying to help you!” Poison Oak yelled at them.

“Who am I kidding, you can’t understand me.”

She lifted high into the air, firmly holding both children. She noticed Magma holding a child who was holding a small animal, Qibli with a pair of adults on his back, Sundew looking very annoyed at the children on her, and Sky with ten humans on him, Wren talking to them in their language.

We’re probably not going to be able to save everyone here, but we can try. Poison Oak thought.

Suddenly, the kids she was holding screamed even louder, and Poison Oak looked behind her.

Leviathan was so close behind her that she could feel the massive dragon’s breath. The SeaWing opened her mouth, and Poison Oak put on a burst of speed, nearly getting her tail bitten off.

She flew toward the city wall, where the others were waiting.

“Are you okay?” Sundew asked. She had a worried look on her face.

“Yeah,” Poison Oak reassured her mother. “I’m fine. She didn’t get me.”

“Dang, she is really going at it.” Magma said. Poison Oak glanced at the city, and saw Leviathan ripping through it, slamming her tail into buildings, eating any humans she caught, and generally making sure that the city would be destroyed.

“Look!” Magma said. She flicked her tail at a path close to the city, where some humans were running away.

Some got out. Poison Oak thought.

Then, something shot out of the sky, slamming down on the humans, killing them instantly.

A large dragon with pink scales.

Pele! Poison Oak immediately recognized the SkyWing, even at this size.

Then, a massive part of the city went up in flames. A large sandy dragon was breathing fire on it, an unhinged grin on her face.

Sekhmet.

And then, part of the city was encased in ice, and smashed into pieces by a chilly dragon wearing a crown.

That must be Khoine. Poison Oak thought.

“What are they doing?” Magma yelled.

Poison Oak realized it immediately.

“They’re working together to destroy the Indestructible City.” Poison Oak said.

“The city is gone.”

Chapter Text

Poison Oak was definitely feeling down. Even the sight of Jade Mountain couldn’t make her feel better.

What she found waiting inside for her did though.

“Poison Oak!” Firefly called. The hybrid wrapped her wings around the LeafWing, which made her feel better.

The other dragons flew in, looking shocked. Firefly frowned.

“You saved the dragonets! Why do you look so defeated?”

Poison Oak sighed. “While we did get all the dragonets out safely, something bad happened.”

“Oh no!” Firefly said. She held Poison Oak’s talons. “What happened?”

“Leviathan showed up and started wrecking shop.” Poison Oak said.

“And she wasn’t alone.” Qibli added. Behind him, some of the others filled in. Magma immediately ran deeper into the mountain, Sundew looked through her pouches, frowning, Sky looked like he was on the verge of tears, and Wren looked like she didn’t know what to think.

“Pele, Sekhmet, and Khoine were with her.” Poison Oak continued. “The Indestructible City is gone.”

————————————

“The entire city is destroyed?” Gill asked, his eyes widening.

“Probably.” Poison Oak said.

“Did any humans get out?” Beetle asked.

“We don’t know.” Magma answered.

“Clearsight’s three moons.” Sandshard said, his face paled even more than usual.

The dragonets were in the library. Poison Oak and Magma were telling their winglet about what happened.

“It was just those four?” Listener asked. Poison Oak nodded.

“Is that important, somehow?” She asked.

“It just reminded me of how the Mothers of the Scorching view humans.” Listener said. “Obviously, they pretty much all dislike humans, but Leviathan is the one who hates humans the most — and I mean, she really hates humans.”

Suddenly, Poison Oak remembered what Leviathan had said before she ate the Invincible Lord. “That reminds me. Before Leviathan ate the Invincible Lord, she said that humans who kidnapped dragonets were her favorite to eat.”

Listener immediately perked up. “She would have a good reason for saying that.” She said.

“Why?” Firefly asked.

“Before the Scorching, Leviathan had a son named Aqua Strider.” Listener said. “He was kidnapped and killed by humans.”

The Invincible Lord must have reminded her of the human who kidnapped and killed her son. Poison Oak thought. That’s honestly…kind of sad.

“What happened to that human?” Beetle asked.

“Leviathan ate him.” Listener answered. “And I honestly can’t blame her.”

“But we can’t let the Mothers of the Scorching kill all those humans.” Gill said.

“How are we supposed to stop those four?” Firefly asked. “We’re just seven little dragons. When have adults ever fairly listened to dragonets?”

“Perhaps we can help.”

Poison Oak whirled around. Standing in the doorway were a MudWing, a LeafWing, a NightWing, and a RainWing. Poison Oak immediately recognized the MudWing as Behemoth, and the RainWing as Quetzalcoatl.

Which means the LeafWing must be Gaea, and the NightWing is Nyx.

“Correct.” Nyx said. “We heard about what happened with the Invincible Lord. And while we do like that he’s dead, maybe we can save the innocent humans.”

“You’ll really help us?” Poison Oak asked.

“Absolutely!” Behemoth said. “Let’s come up with a plan!”

Chapter Text

“Okay, so what should we do to stop them?” Poison Oak asked.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to talk them down.” Behemoth answered. “And by them, I mean Leviathan.”

“Why Leviathan?” Asked Sandshard, flicking his tail back.

“Leviathan was kind of our natural leader whenever Persephone was busy.” Quetzalcoatl said. “She was certainly good at it. If we can convince her to stand down, then Khoine, Sekhmet, and Pele will, too.”

“And how will we convince her to do that?” Firefly asked. She had her tail wrapped around Poison Oak’s.

Nyx looked like she was about to say something, but subsided. Behemoth said, “By talking to her. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to fight her. I never thought I’d fight with her about scavengers.”

“Humans.” Beetle corrected her.

“Sorry, humans.” Behemoth smiled. “Old habits die hard.”

“I hope we can resolve this peacefully.” Gaea said.

“Maybe we can even have a party, like the one we had after the Scorching!” Nyx exclaimed. The four dragonesses laughed.

“You had parties?” Gill asked, looking confused.

“We had one after the Scorching.” Behemoth said. “It was a victory celebration. It’s also the only time I’ve ever seen someone break a glass by squeezing it too hard.”

“Really?” Magma asked. “Who?”

“It was the queen.” Behemoth answered. “Khoine said something kind of offensive about her old partner, and CRACK.” The MudWing started giggling.

“The look on Khoine’s face was priceless, though!” Nyx commented, and the four dragonesses laughed again. Listener started chuckling, no doubt laughing at the memory.

“Can we come with you?” Poison Oak asked. “It’s always better to have backup.”

Gaea composed herself and said, “As long as you stay safe.”

The winglet nodded. They were ready.

————————————

The next day, they were in the air. Gaea was using her magic to search for Leviathan.

“Did you notice that when you asked how we could get Leviathan to stand down, Nyx looked like she was about to say something?” Poison Oak asked her girlfriend.

“I thought she looked uncomfortable.” Firefly responded. The princess had her tail twinned with the LeafWing’s.

“You’re not the only one who thought that.” Sandshard said. The observant hybrid flew next to the two of them, rattling his tail spikes. “She definitely looked like she knew something.”

“She does.” Listener interjected. “I could hear her thinking it.”

“What was it?” Poison Oak asked.

The NightWing scrunched up her face. “I couldn’t tell. She was blocking that from me.”

What is she hiding?

“You know, I can hear your thoughts.” Nyx said. The NightWing was the size of an average dragon, and she flew next to the dragonets.

“What are you hiding?” Poison Oak asked.

Nyx sighed. “It’s not important.”

Poison Oak raised her eyebrow. Nyx was definitely hiding something important, for some reason.

“Thar she blows!” Quetzalcoatl yelled, pointing. She was smiling cheekily. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

Poison Oak looked at where Quetzalcoatl was pointing, and sure enough, there was Leviathan, lying near the Diamond Spray River.

The LeafWing felt Firefly slow down. Poison Oak looked at her girlfriend, who looked impressed. “You weren’t kidding when you said she was massive.” Firefly said, her eyes widening.

“Is that really her?” Sandshard asked, rubbing his eyes, as though he thought he was hallucinating.

“Definitely.” Gill said, his face paling. “I would never forget someone so intimidating.”

“Wow, she’s huge.” Listener said.

“That’s what she said!” Beetle interjected, a grin on her face. “But yes, that is her.”

“She’s still intimidating.” Magma said, looking braver than the others, puffing out her chest.

The dragonets landed on a nearby cliff, while Behemoth grew to her full size. Leviathan looked up at the MudWing, and stood up, easily towering over her.

Please let this go well. Poison Oak prayed. Please, Clearsight.

Chapter Text

“Leviathan, we need to talk.” Behemoth said.

“About what?” Leviathan asked, narrowing her eyes at the smaller dragoness.

“About why you and the others shouldn’t wipe out humans.” Behemoth answered.

Leviathan barked a laugh that shook the ground. “Really, after stealing from us, driving us out of our homes, and hunting us for no reason, you actually want to defend them?”

“It’s not just me.” Behemoth said, and Poison Oak watched as Nyx, Quetzalcoatl, and Gaea grew to full size as well, although Leviathan still towered over them.

“Oh,” the enormous SeaWing said, staring at them. “Hello.”

“Leviathan, this won’t fix anything.” Gaea said. “It’ll just make things worse. Everything that led up to the Scorching was over five thousand years ago. Time has moved on. You need to move on.”

Leviathan looked at Gaea. “It doesn’t feel like five thousand years ago to me.” She said. “Everything is still fresh in my head. I can’t just move on from everything after what feels like ten years.”

Poison Oak could see where Leviathan was coming from, but she also knew what restarting old wars could do, as any dragonet who hatched on Pantala would. Before she could stop the words coming out of her mouth, she yelled, “Wait!”

The next thing she knew, five massive pairs of eyes were focused on her and her friends. She could hear Gill whimpering in fear.

Leviathan narrowed her eyes at the dragonets. “Behemoth, why did you bring dragonets here?” She asked.

“They wanted to come.” Behemoth said. “So we let them.”

Poison Oak yelled, “I know what happens when you restart a war. I was taught about it when I was little. Things just get worse for everyone involved!”

Then she asked, “Is this what Aqua Strider would have wanted?”

Poison Oak could tell immediately that she shouldn’t have said that.

Nyx winced, Behemoth looked shocked, Quetzalcoatl looked like she had just said that Wasp was right, Gaea slowly backed away, and Leviathan looked absolutely furious.

“MY SON IS DEAD BECAUSE OF THE SCAVENGERS!” Leviathan roared so loudly that Poison Oak would not have been surprised if it started an avalanche. “I SAW HIM DIE IN FRONT OF MY FACE!” Leviathan stepped toward the dragonets, the ground shaking. “He was one year old. He didn’t deserve what happened to him at all.”

Leviathan was so close that she might step on the dragonets. “Get out of here!” Poison Oak yelled at her clawmates.

“What, no!” Firefly said, rushing up to Poison Oak and taking her talons in hers. She was crying. “I’m not leaving you behind!”

Poison Oak felt herself start to cry as well. “Well, you should. You’re a princess. You have a future kingdom to worry about; you can’t die here.”

“Yeah, well my future kingdom looks bleak if you’re not there.” Firefly said. “I don’t want a future if you’re not in it with me. I love you!”

Poison Oak looked at Firefly, and this time, she knew exactly what to say.

“I love you, too.”

Firefly kissed her, and Poison Oak returned the favor, waiting for a crushing blow to hit her.

But it never did.

Poison Oak opened her eyes, and saw Leviathan looking at her and Firefly. The rage in her eyes was gone. In fact, she didn’t look angry anymore.

She looked like she was longing for something.

The enormous dragoness backed off, and then practically ran into the Diamond Spray River, where she immediately disappeared.

“What was that about?” Beetle asked.

“I know!” Listener said, happily. “I saw something in her mind!”

“What?” Firefly asked.

Listener’s eyes were shining. “I think I know how to get her to stop harming humans in a peaceful way.”

Chapter Text

Pretty soon, they were back at Jade Mountain Academy.

Listener ran right into the library, which caused Starflight to say, “Who’s there? No running!”

“Hi, Dad.” Listener said. “Sorry about the running!” She went right over to the history section and began flipping through the books and scrolls.

“Hi, Starflight.” Poison Oak said. Behind her was the rest of her winglet, and Nyx.

“Hello, Poison Oak.” Starflight said. “How did the intervention go?”

“Disastrously.” Beetle said, adjusting her glasses. “But it made Listener excited. None of us are hurt, by the way.”

“How are the dragonets?” Magma asked. “Are my siblings okay?”

“They’re fine.” Starflight said. “In fact, one of them is here right now.”

Poison Oak looked around until she saw who he meant. On one of the tables, Freedom was curled up inside her mother’s crown, fast asleep.

“Aww,” Firefly said, some of her scales turning pink.

“That looks really uncomfortable.” Gill commented, scrunching up his snout.

“I think she’s sleeping in it to feel a little bit closer to her mother.” Sandshard said. He looked like he wanted to give her a hug. “Poor little dragonet. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like if I’d hatched stolen from my dads.”

“FOUND IT!” Listener bellowed, causing the dragonets to jump and Freedom to wake up, look at Listener, mutter something about shoving a tail in her mouth, and fall back asleep.

“What is it?” Poison Oak asked, as the dragonets walked over to Listener.

“I found some stories of the Scorching written by a dragon named Hercules.” Listener said. “He wrote quite a bit about the Mothers of the Scorching, and he said that two of them in particular were incredibly close.”

“Who?” Poison Oak asked.

“Leviathan, and the only Mother of the Scorching who hasn’t resurfaced yet, Iris.” Listener said.

“Everyone knows that.” Beetle said, rolling her eyes. “They had a very close friendship. Tell me something I don’t know.”

Listener sighed. “While that is written in a lot of stories about the Scorching, dragons who knew the Mothers in particular did describe Leviathan and Iris’s relationship as if they weren’t just friends. In fact, Hercules described their relationship using the word Eros.”

“That’s a word in the Old Language.” Poison Oak said.

“Yes, and it means love, but not just general love.” Listener said. “There were lots of words for love in the Old Language, each referring to a different kind of love. Eros in particular refers to the type of love you’d feel for a romantic or sexual partner.”

Huh, Poison Oak thought. Wait, does that mean…

“Iris and Leviathan were in love!” Magma exclaimed.

Listener nodded. “They weren’t subtle about it, either. They were almost always together, tails twined. They were actually the first recorded dragon married couple.”

We must have reminded Leviathan of her love for Iris. Poison Oak thought.

You did. Listener responded. “But an important thing I should mention is that Leviathan would do anything for Iris. And that Iris is the only dragon who can calm Leviathan down.” Listener explained. “Iris is the kind of dragon who uses violence as a last resort. I’m pretty sure Iris could convince Leviathan to stop attacking humans!”

“But Iris isn’t awake yet.” Firefly pointed out. “We don’t even know where she’ll emerge.”

The dragonets sighed.

Nyx cleared her throat.

“Yes?” Poison Oak asked.

“What Firefly said isn’t exactly true.” Nyx said. She looked at the dragonets. “Are you up for a trip to Pantala?”

Chapter Text

Poison Oak had never been to the cave systems under Pantala before.

But now that she had, she hoped that this would be the only time she’d ever have to go there.

“How can anyone live down here? I can barely see a thing!” Poison Oak said, nearly stubbing a claw on a rock. The only light was from Beetle’s flamesilk and the fire that Magma and Listener occasionally used.

“Humans have lived down here for centuries.” Firefly pointed out. “And they have worse vision than we do.”

“Good point.” Poison Oak agreed. She looked behind her at Nyx. “Why did we need to come here? What does this place have to do with Iris?”

“Leviathan and the others were hiding in these caves for some time.” Nyx said. “They mostly stuck to an underground lake that was free of humans, but Khoine managed to find a cave that has an entrance that’s difficult to find. She never told the others about it.”

“How do you know that?” Magma asked, shooting out another blast of fire.

“I saw it in her mind.” Nyx answered. The dragoness was the size of an average dragon.

“How come you never told us this?” Behemoth asked.

Nyx smiled sadly. “I hoped I wouldn’t have to, but seeing how things have gone, I have no choice.”

Firefly and Poison Oak looked at each other. What was Nyx talking about?

“Here.” Nyx said, approaching a spot in the massive caves. Poison Oak noticed something glinting off of them, and saw that it was a kind of gemstone. Nyx flew up, pushed the gemstone, and the wall moved back, revealing a tunnel.

“Whoa.” Firefly said looking up in awe.

“How does that work?” Sandshard asked.

“Come on.” Nyx said, walking in. The dragonets followed her, and they were followed by Behemoth, Gaea, and Quetzalcoatl.

“It’s as dark as an underground lake.” Gill said. “By which I mean, not completely dark.”

“I don’t like it.” Sandshard said, shivering. “I do not like enclosed spaces.”

“That is true of most SandWings.” Listener pointed out.

“It feels like the NightWing Tunnels.” Firefly said. Even in the dark, Poison Oak could see her girlfriend smile. “But less wrong.”

Firefly was about to ask what she meant when she heard something.

“What is that?!” Gill asked, looking terrified.

Poison Oak listened for a bit, then realized what it was.

“It’s singing.” She said. It was definitely a female dragon singing. The singer sounded lonely, yet defiant.

“I know that singing.” Behemoth said.

“It’s…beautiful.” Gill said, walking forward. He then tripped over some stone, making an echo.

The singing stopped.

A brief pause, then the singer said, “Have you come to taunt me again, Khoine? Don’t you have better things to do, like perhaps shoving that crown of yours right up your-“

“It’s not Khoine.” Nyx interrupted.

“Nyx?” The voice said. “Is Leviathan with you?” She suddenly sounded hopeful.

“No.” Nyx said. She motioned to the dragonets to hurry up. Poison Oak and the others spread their wings and took off. Poison Oak rounded the corner, and lying in front of her was one of the most beautiful dragons she’d ever seen.

Like the rest of the Mothers of the Scorching, she was absolutely massive. She had the antennae of a SilkWing, but her face looked more like a HiveWing’s. Her eyes were as blue as a clear sky. She had four large wings, like a butterfly’s or a moth’s. Her scales were rainbow colored, and the pearl necklace she wore reflected her scales. She looked tired but proud.

The other dragonets entered the room, with Nyx behind them. She was back to her full size, but watching her steps.

“Iris, it’s been a while.” Nyx said.

Iris tilted her head at Nyx. “What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Getting you out of here.” Nyx said.

Iris sighed. “I’ve tried, but this thing is keeping me here.” She raised one of her arms, revealing that there was a chain around her wrist, which was bolted to the wall. “I’ve tried literally everything to get it off, but nothing worked.”

“Well, you have an animus here to help you now.” Gaea said. She walked into the cave, tapping the chain, and it split apart after a few seconds.

Iris lifted her arm. There was a dent in her wrist, but she looked okay. “Thank you.” She said. “Now let’s get out of these awful caves and stick Khoine in them!”

“Whoa, whoa.” Behemoth said. “Stick Khoine in here. Why?”

“When I woke up, she showed up out of nowhere and attacked me, then trapped me in here.” Iris said. “She occasionally shows up, bragging that Leviathan will never find out that she lied to her.”

Poison Oak looked at Firefly. Khoine lied to Leviathan about Iris!

“Well, Khoine’s lie is about to come back to bite her!” Poison Oak exclaimed. “Let’s go! We have a quartet of dragonesses to talk to!”

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long to spot Leviathan, Khoine, Sekhmet, and Pele.

“Is anything over there?” Quetzalcoatl asked Poison Oak.

“Talisman.” Poison Oak answered. “It’s a human village.”

“They must be here to destroy it.” Behemoth said. “We have to confront them now.”

Poison Oak and the rest of her winglet flew to a nearby mountain where they could watch. The plan was for Behemoth, Gaea, Nyx, Quetzalcoatl, and eventually Iris to confront Leviathan and the other dragons. When Iris showed up, they could reveal Khoine’s plot, and Iris could get Leviathan to calm down.

Behemoth, Gaea, Nyx, and Quetzalcoatl grew to full size, then sat across from the others.

“This has to stop.” Behemoth said.

“This again?” Leviathan asked. Poison Oak could see that the massive dragoness was standing over the flattened remains of several structures. She just had to step on it. Poison Oak thought.

“We’re not stopping.” Sekhmet said. “Why should we? Scavengers are delicious annoyances, nothing more.”

“Yeah.” Khoine said. She smiled wickedly. “Nothing is going to stop us from doing this. Nothing.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Iris’s voice rang out. The massive BeetleWing seemed to part the clouds. Her wings were spread wide, allowing sunlight to filter through them, casting rainbow light everywhere.

“She’s beautiful.” Firefly whispered to Poison Oak.

“You’re right.” Poison Oak whispered back to her girlfriend. The other dragonets were ooohing behind them.

Both Sekhmet and Pele were staring in awe. Khoine looked stunned, like she couldn’t believe her eyes. Leviathan looked like the sun itself had come to visit her. Poison Oak was pretty sure there were sparkles in the SeaWing’s eyes.

Leviathan padded forward, suddenly looking gentle as Iris hovered in front of her. “Iris?” Leviathan asked, reaching one of her talons forward until it was only a few inches away from Iris’s cheek.

Iris reached up and grabbed Leviathan’s talon, pulling it to her face. “Hello, my love.”

“Iris!” Leviathan exclaimed, as Iris landed. The BeetleWing was smaller than the SeaWing, but she glowed ten times brighter. Leviathan wrapped her massive wings around Iris, who snuggled into her chest.

“What have you been doing?” Iris asked.

“Finishing the job we started all those years ago.” Leviathan answered. “Getting rid of the scavengers. Avenging our son.”

“My dear, you don’t need to do that.” Iris said, looking into Leviathan’s eyes.

“But-“

“The scavengers who killed Aqua Strider are long dead.” Iris said. She put her talons on Leviathan’s face. “Restarting an old war won’t solve anything. It will just make things worse.”

“But they started it.” Leviathan said. “They kidnapped dragonets.”

“Only one scavenger kidnapped dragonets this time, and you made sure he won’t do it again.” Iris pointed out. “You have to move on. Can you do that? Please?”

Leviathan closed her eyes. Poison Oak was pretty sure the whole world was holding its breath.

“I will.” Leviathan said, opening her eyes. “I’ll do anything for you, my beautiful moth.”

Leviathan slowly moved her wings away from Iris, and Poison Oak noticed several scratch marks on her. Those must be from Khoine attacking her. Poison Oak realized. How did I not see them before?

Because of how dark the cave was. She answered herself.

Leviathan had also clearly not seen them before. The massive dragon started back, then looked over at the dent in Iris’s wrist. “What happened to you? Who hurt you? Who did this!?” Leviathan growled.

“Khoine did.” Poison Oak called. Leviathan looked at her.

“Is that true?” She asked Iris.

“Yes.” Iris said. “When I woke up, Khoine attacked me and imprisoned me in one of the caves under Pantala. She kept bragging about how you would never find out.”

Everyone turned to look at Khoine, who looked very much like she wanted to disappear.

Leviathan’s eyes narrowed at the IceWing.

“Well, this is going to be interesting.” Beetle commented.

Chapter Text

Poison Oak could practically feel the tension in the air. She noticed that several of her friends looked nervous and were stepping back. Several Mothers of the Scorching were doing the same thing.

However, no one looked as nervous as Khoine. She looked like a character in a graphic novel who was surrounded by dragons they made very angry.

Leviathan started forward, and Khoine chuckled nervously, backing up while she did so. “I get that you’re angry at me.” She said.

Leviathan snarled, unfurling her wings. Khoine closed hers and backed up until she was right next to a mountain. Khoine looked like she was getting smaller, while Leviathan looked like she was getting bigger.

“I had a reason for what I did.” Khoine said. “If we could just talk this ou-“

Leviathan slammed the IceWing again the mountain, shaking the ground. “You lie to me,” she said, punching Khoine in the face. “You imprison my wife,” Leviathan whacked the IceWing with her tail. “And you expect me to just TALK IT OUT!?!” Leviathan hit Khoine so hard that Poison Oak thought she saw blood coming out of the IceWing’s mouth.

Leviathan was just about to whack Khoine again when the IceWing disappeared, teleporting away.

“COWARDLY BOTTOMFEEDER!” Leviathan roared. Iris stepped up to Leviathan and put a talon on her shoulder. The SeaWing turned around to look at her wife, her expression softening.

“I’m so sorry.” Leviathan said. “If I’d known…”

“It’s okay, my love.” Iris said. “Khoine lied to you.”

“Speaking of Khoine,” Poison Oak said. “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know.” Nyx said. “But it’s definitely not the last we’ll see of her. She can play the long game.”

“And you guys won’t hunt humans anymore, right?” Firefly asked.

Both Sekhmet and Pele looked at Leviathan, who sighed. “I promise I won’t bother humans.” Leviathan said. “However, if they bother me…well, it won’t be good for the ones that do.”

“Good.” Firefly said. “I think the queens will want to talk to all of you.”

Chapter Text

Jade Mountain Academy

Poison Oak was taking a break, along with the rest of her winglet. The dragonets had all retreated to their favorite corners of the school: Firefly was having her suntime, Beetle had gone to Herbs and Healing, Magma was in the daycare watching over her siblings, Sandshard had flown off to the music cave, Listener was in the library, and Gill had gone to the art cave.

As for Poison Oak herself, she was tending to the plants in the botany classroom. Watering the flowers, feeding the Venus fly-traps, making sure there was plenty of brightsting cactus, things like that.

I wonder if one of these plants could hold the cure to dragonbite viper venom. She thought. I’ll talk to Mother about it later.

She found herself thinking about the Mothers of the Scorching, and where they’d gone. They’d all agreed that they wouldn’t bother humans, as long as humans didn’t bother them. Behemoth was living in Possibility, Quetzalcoatl had gone back to the Rainforest Kingdom, Nyx was traveling both Pyrrhia and Pantala, Sekhmet decided to live in the Scorpion Den, Pele had found a mountain cave for herself, Gaea was staying at Jade Mountain Academy to look after Freedom, and Iris and Leviathan had gone to the Bay of a Thousand Scales.

The Indestructible City had been completely destroyed, but as it turned out, several of the inhabitants had been able to escape. They were all living in Sanctuary, which was probably now the safest place for humans to live on Pyrrhia.

Khoine, however, had completely disappeared. No one knew where she went. Leviathan and Nyx had searched the entire underground cave system and had found nothing. Queen Snowfall had the IceWings search for her, but she was nowhere in the Ice Kingdom. The massive dragoness was gone.

I wonder where she went. Poison Oak thought. Is she gone for good?

She highly doubted it.

“How are the plants?” Poison Oak turned around. Gaea walked into the room, regular-sized, with Freedom sleeping on her back.

Poison Oak smiled. “They’re good.” She said. “How’s Freedom?”

“Sleepy.” Gaea answered. “She may be over 5,000 years old mentally, but she is a hatchling physically. But she’ll grow.” Gaea smiled at the tiny dragonet. “I heard about what happened to her. I’m glad she’s finally getting a chance to be a normal dragonet.” Gaea sighed. “If only her mother could see.”

Poison Oak found herself thinking about what she and her friends had found under the SkyWing Palace. The massive, somewhat preserved body. She shivered. Think about something else.

So she thought about the rescued dragonets being reunited with their families, Iris singing while Sandshard played music, her moms hugging her, and, of course, Firefly.

Whatever happens, we’ll be ready. She thought, smiling.

We’re going to be okay.

Chapter Text

Khoine was in a bad mood.

Her plan had almost worked, she had been so close…then Iris had to show up and ruin everything.

I should have left when Iris showed up, Khoine thought. I would be in a lot less pain if I had.

She sighed. The dragoness was hiding in a cave in Pyrrhia, far away from Pantala and hopefully, the dragons who were probably looking for her.

Khoine wiped a drop of blue blood off of her face. She had forgotten how strong Leviathan was. And now Leviathan was going to be wasting all her strength on her wife. It just wasn’t fair.

Khoine kicked a small rock, winced at the pain in her foot, watched the rock roll to a stop near a tree, then noticed what the tree was supporting.

Is that…

Khoine stepped closer. There was a dragon’s body sprawled across the tree’s branches. A familiar looking dragon.

It is.

It was Persephone’s body.

A new plan formed in Khoine’s mind, and she smiled.

Looks like I win.