THE DRAKEN CHRONICLES

Book VI: The Final Battle

Part One: Journey

Ragnarok ran around the Plains, laughing happily as he chased a few shadows. He looked up and spotted Amber a little ways off. "Hey Amber!" he called, running toward her. As he got close, though, she turned and ran away from him, going a lot faster than he was. "Amber?" He chased after her, but felt a strange chill, as if he'd suddenly hit a patch of cold air. He stopped, shivering, and then looked around in surprise. The Plains were gone! He was on a broad expanse of smooth black stone, with absolutely nothing for as far as he could see. He heard a horrible laugh, and as he whipped around to face it, he saw Amber's body fall to the ground. He nudged her, but she lay there, limp, her eyes lifeless. "Amber!" he cried. His eyes snapped open.

He was still in the bus to the Plains that they had gotten on last night. He was breathing hard, and Amber was looking at him worriedly; everyone else still seemed to be asleep, though. "Ragnarok? What's wrong?" Amber asked.

"Amber..." Ragnarok gasped, then he nuzzled her almost frantically in relief. "I'm so glad you're okay... I had a horrible dream...."

Amber nuzzled him back, holding him tightly in her wing. "There there," she said softly. "It was just a dream. It's all over now."

Ragnarok nodded and snuggled into Amber's side. He had been pretty thrown by the nightmare, but he was starting to feel a little better. He could feel Amber breathing, and her heart beating, and her tight embrace helped to drive away the fear from the dream. "I'll never let anything happen to you, Amber," he said quietly.

* * *

They woke again later in the morning. As Ragnarok opened his eyes, he saw that everyone else was already awake. "Nice to see that you two are finally up," Dash said with a grin. Ragnarok looked over and saw that Amber was just waking up as well.

"Good morning, everyone," Amber said with a small yawn.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Keera replied with a laugh.

"Did we miss anything exciting?" Ragnarok asked.

"Not really," Keera said. "Dash says that we're almost to the Plains, though," Terra added.

Ragnarok saw Amber's eyes light up, and he smiled. "When we get there, I think it may be simpler if we try to stay away from anyone there. It'll be ... complicated if we run into someone who knew us way back then," he pointed out. "I think we should just lay low and head for the forest."

"Hmm, good idea," Amber agreed.

"It would help if you guys could fly," Sabre said to Teyaka and her cubs with a wink.

"That would be a lot easier," Teyaka agreed, smiling.

"And more fun!" Roc added, and everyone laughed.

The bus slowly came to a stop. The anthro cat at the front stood up. "Okay folks, we're here at the Great Plains. Hope you enjoyed the ride here!" Everyone got up and started filing off the bus.

"Wow..." Ragnarok said as he stood outside the bus. "We're finally back on the Plains...."

"Yeah, it just took us a hundred years or so," Sabre said.

Amber looked around. "Come on, let's get moving," she urged. "The forest we want is over there."

They set off toward the forest. They managed to avoid meeting too many drakens, and all of them were recent arrivals, from the past seventy-five years or so. When they made it to the edge of the forest, the drakens from the past turned around to look back at the Plains. "Our home sure has turned out well," Terra said.

"Yeah," Ragnarok agreed. "I'm glad the drakens have kept it pretty much the way it was." Amber, Keera, and Sabre all nodded.

Teyaka and Dash waited respectfully for them to finish. When the drakens turned away from the Plains, Teyaka asked, "Do you still remember where the ring is?"

They all nodded. "This way," Ragnarok said, heading off into the forest.

A little while later, they were still marching through the forest, and everyone noticed a change in the mood, a strange lack of animal presence. "This is getting a little eerie..." Teyaka commented, her fur starting to rise up. "It's like nothing wants to live here...." The cubs gathered a little closer to their mother, obviously feeling the same thing.

Ragnarok nodded. "Yeah, we're getting close. C'mon." They pressed on, and broke through into a clearing that was overshadowed by huge trees. In the center was an old metal ring, with strange markings on it. "That's it! We're here!" the draken exclaimed.

The group gathered around the ring. "Dash, can I have the letter?" Amber asked. Dash unslung the bag on his shoulder and pulled out the old letter, setting it on the ground in front of her. Amber looked at it, then pressed the symbols in the order that they showed up on the first line of the two lines of symbols on the paper. After each one, some of the symbols on the ring changed. Anyone watching could see Teyaka and her cubs getting more tensed as the process went on.

Amber hit the last symbol, and a bright flash lit the area. Teyaka jumped and bolted for cover, her cubs not far behind. A few seconds later, she peeked around the rock she was hiding behind, every hair in her fur standing on end. The sight was so comical that the rest of the group burst out laughing, and Dash and Ragnarok actually fell down. Teyaka shot them all an annoyed look as her fur settled back down. She walked back out and smoothed down a patch of ruffled fur. "What?" she asked testily, which just made everyone start laughing again. Teyaka shook her head and examined the ring.

Roc put his paws on the metal and leaned over, looking into what seemed like a little blue pond... a pond that glowed. "Wow," he breathed.

"Here's to home," Amber said quietly, and surprised everyone by jumping in first.

* * *

Ragnarok dropped to the ground and scooted out of the way as the rest of the group dropped in as well.

Keera and Terra looked around. "The ring's gone," Terra noticed. "It must've dropped us into the past again," Keera figured.

Amber's wings sagged and her head drooped. Ragnarok walked over to her and nuzzled her lovingly. "Aw, I'm sorry," he said reassuringly. "We'll get home, I know we will." Amber nodded, but she still looked pretty glum.

Keera took another look at the brown draken. Something was a bit odd.... "Hey Amber? Why is your tummy so big all of a sudden?" she asked.

Amber's eyes widened, and she bent her neck around to look at her midsection. Her normally-sleek profile was interrupted by a little bulge in her tummy that hadn't been there before. She looked at Ragnarok, who seemed as amazed as she was.

"You haven't eaten that much," Keera remarked, "so...." Both the twins' eyes widened as the pieces suddenly slid into place. Keera looked at Ragnarok. "You...?" she asked breathlessly. Ragnarok nodded, and Terra turned to Amber. "...And you?" she asked. Amber blushed furiously, nearly turning as red as Ragnarok, and nodded. The twins looked at each other, then bust into matching big smiles. "Ooh!" they squealed. "Amber's gonna be a mommy!" Amber looked at the ground and pawed it bashfully, still blushing, and nodded again. The twins ran over and nuzzled her. "Good for you, Amber!" Terra said. "When was it?" Keera asked, rubbing Amber's slightly-rounded belly with a wing.

"Two nights ago," Amber said, smiling.

"So that's why you guys are so cuddly all of a sudden!" Dash said. "Amber went into heat, and you knew she was pregnant!"

They nodded, and Ragnarok nuzzled his mate. "The thing I'm wondering about, though, is why our chick is so big all of a sudden," he said.

"I'm not sure," Amber replied. "Maybe the portal sped it up?"

"Then does the portal speed us up too?" Keera asked.

Teyaka walked over from watching her cubs, who were playing a little ways away and not paying attention, and shook her head. "No, none of my cubs have gotten any bigger, so it doesn't affect us," she said. "Apparently, it's only affected Amber's chick."

Sabre nodded. "Yeah, you're more than two days pregnant. I'd say it's closer to two months."

"I hope she's okay..." Amber said quietly, rubbing her tummy with her tail.

"I'm sure she's fine," Ragnarok said comfortingly. "She just grew a little quicker for a month or two." Amber looked up at him, her demeanor brightening a little, and nodded.

"You two seem pretty sure it's a she," Sabre remarked.

"Well, we can't say 'he or she' every time," Amber replied, "and I just get the feeling that she's a female."

"I think Amber's the one who's most justified to make that call," Dash said, patting the back of her neck.

Amber nodded. "But anyway, enough about me and my belly, let's figure out where we are," she suggested.

They were in the middle of a dense forest. The trees were all around them, and had really big leaves. It was also very hot. "Oh man..." Dash remarked. "Don't tell me we're here again...."

"It sure looks like it," Sabre commented.

The cubs walked out from around their mother's feet. "Have you guys been here before?" Buck asked.

"I think so," Ragnarok said. "It's a long story."

Amber sniffed the air. "No, it isn't quite the same," she said. "It smells a little different, a bit...newer."

"So maybe we're further in the... oh no," Keera said.

"'Oh no' what?" Kaya asked her.

"We may be way back in the past, at the first time the Dark One came!" Keera told the drakens, not minding the fact that Teyaka and her cubs had no idea what she was talking about.

"Ugh..." Ragnarok commented, slowly shaking his head. "We barely managed to keep everyone alive last time...."

"But if we are back, we'll have to face him," Dash said. "And look at it this way: at least we know that we'll win."

"True," Amber agreed.

"Wait a second," Teyaka interjected. "Is this the same 'Dark One' that nearly killed Dash and sent him to our time?"

"Well, sorta," Terra said. "He's stronger this time," Keera continued, and Teyaka's ears drooped.

Dash crouched down next to her. "Don't worry, Teyaka," he said, petting the fur near the edge of her armor. "We're all going to come out of this just fine. Trust me." He smiled sincerely.

She looked up, then smiled too, reassured. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said.

"There, that's better," Dash said, scritching her under the chin. "Now, let's see if we can find that village...."

"It's going to take us a while to get there," Amber said. "Toby's village is a few hours walk from where Dash used to live, which is at least a day's walk from New Halipont, which is really far from here, especially if we can't fly." Amber sketched out the straight path on the ground, connecting four circles with one line. It did look really far.

"Actually, it might not be as far as you think," Ragnarok replied. "A lot of the stuff wasn't in the same direction, remember? It sorta went back and forth." He drew another figure in the dirt, and in this one, New Halipont, the Great Plains, and Dash's Village made a sort of triangle, and Toby's village was in the middle of all three.

"Well, that seems a lot closer," Emerald said, "but which direction is it?"

"Ah..." Ragnarok muttered, "I'm....not sure." Emerald laughed.

"Considering what's happened every other time, we should just go some random direction and wait for someone to find us," Sabre remarked dryly.

"Works for me," Ragnarok said with a grin. He started walking off in the direction they had come from back on the Plains, which led to the cliff, and Amber went with him. The rest of the group exchanged looks, then hurried to catch up to them.

* * *

After a little while of walking, they managed to reach the cliff that marked one edge of the Great Plains. Sabre looked up. "Um, we've got a problem here," he commented. Everyone looked over to him, and he continued. "We can fly up, and we could probably carry the cubs, but I'm not sure even Dash can fly carrying Teyaka.

"Oh... that's a good point," Dash said.

Teyaka looked downcast, her ears drooping. "I'm sorry to be so much trouble to you guys," she said guiltily.

Amber walked over and nuzzled Teyaka. "It's fine, really," she said. "We just need to be creative, that's all."

"Hey, I've got an idea," Ragnarok said, and turned to the twins. "Dash could probably carry Teyaka up if you guys give him a little boost! Do the same trick that you used to blow Roc and Emerald across the room two days ago."

"Yeah, that could work!" Keera said, as the twins started gathering power. "Ready Dash?"

Dash scooped up Teyaka, who suddenly looked more than a little apprehensive. "Um, you don't have to- I could probably just - yeeek!" Her words bled off into a squeak as Dash leapt into the air and the twins blew at the pool of sparkles above them. The strong wind propelled Dash upward, and Teyaka curled up into a tight ball, whimpering about flying and falling and rocks and ground and hard and....

Dash landed on top of the cliff, setting down his passenger. Teyaka was still balled up tight and babbling in something of a blind panic. He tapped her armor with a claw and said, "We're on the ground again, Teyaka."

Teyaka stopped whimpering and slowly opened one eye. She glanced around, then cautiously uncurled herself. "Let's... not do that again if we can avoid it, okay?" she asked in a shaky voice. Dash grinned, then leaned over the edge of the cliff and waved to his friends.

Ragnarok saw Dash wave, and turned to Roc. "Ready to go flying?" he asked, lying down.

"Yeah!" Roc said, hopping on between the draken's wings and holding onto his shoulders.

"Hang on with your tail too," Ragnarok suggested, standing up. He looked at his friends and the other cubs, who were similarly situated. "Everyone ready? Let's go!"

Ragnarok leapt into the air, pumping his wings hard. "Woohoo!" Roc yelled as they flew up the cliff face. Ragnarok and the other drakens landed on the top of the cliff, and Roc and his siblings jumped off the drakens. "That was awesome! We need to do that more!"

Teyaka was still lying down, and at this she put her paws over her eyes. "I'd prefer it if we didn't," she said weakly.

The area at the top of the cliff was rock and tree-less, but they could see that the thick forest started up again very nearby. "Don't worry, Teyaka," Sabre said. "It doesn't look like we're going to be able to do much flying anytime soon."

Teyaka laughed weakly. "Well, that's a relief," she half-joked.

"So, we know the village is somewhere in this big forest," Ragnarok said.

"Actually, it's a jungle," Teyaka corrected as she pushed herself up, apparently starting to regain some of her composure. Everyone looked at her. "What? It is! A place with lots of trees, really hot temperature, and these sorts of things living in it is a jungle."

The drakens looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay, it's in this 'jungle,'" Ragnarok said. "We just don't know where."

"There probably won't be anyone like Toby sent to wait for us," Amber said, "since this time there won't be an ancient message from us saying that we'll be coming."

Sabre nodded. "So should we take our chances, or wait for a lucky break?" he asked.

"Well, we could always do both," Dash replied.

"I think we should just set off in the closest guess of the right direction," Ragnarok suggested. "We might actually wind up there, and we'll at least be closer than we are standing here." Amber and Sabre nodded.

"All right," "let's do it," the twins said.

"Why don't we go up to get a look of where it might be?" Dash suggested to Ragnarok.

The two drakens flew up above the canopy. Mainly, they saw a lot of treetops, but then they noticed... "The Dark One's tower!" Dash exclaimed.

"And there's the balcony we landed on last time!" Ragnarok called back. "I remember which side that was on when we got there, and the map.... I know which way to go!" he said excitedly.

They swooped back down and dropped to the ground. "C'mon guys, it's this way!" Ragnarok exclaimed, hurrying off toward the forest.

"Hey, Ragnarok, wait!" Amber called, running after him.

Ragnarok stopped and turned around, a sheepish look on his face. "Oh, sorry," he said with a weak grin. "I got a little overexcited, I guess."

"What did you see up there?" Keera asked as the twins ran over to him.

"The Dark One's tower," he replied. "I used it to see which way we went last time we were here, and I know about where the village is!"

"Well, that certainly helps," Teyaka said.

"So now we know how to get there, right?" Kaya asked.

Dash nodded. "Yeah, Ragnarok figured it out," he told her.

"Well, shall we get going?" Terra asked.

* * *

The trek through the jungle was a tough one. The plant life was really thick in some places, and that really slowed things down. Teyaka and her cubs had it even worse, since their thick fur trapped in the jungle heat. "Boy it's hot here," Emerald said. She was panting to try to keep herself a little cooler, and the rest of her family was doing the same.

"It sure is," Amber agreed. She looked up at the canopy of leaves over their heads. "Well, at least we don't have the sun beating down on us too, right?" she remarked optimistically.

Kaya nodded, then cocked her hey as she looked at the draken. "Hey, Amber?" she asked. Amber looked over, and she continued. "Why does your tummy look so big?"

Amber looked at her tummy, then smiled at the little cub. "I'm pregnant," she said warmly.

"Preg-nant?" Kaya echoed.

Amber nodded. "I'm going to have a chick," she explained, "and now it's growing in my tummy."

"You're gonna have a baby?" Emerald asked. Amber nodded again, and Emerald smiled. "Aww!" she cooed, nuzzling Amber's slightly swollen belly.

Ambers smiled more, and patted the cub's back with her tail, enjoying the fuzzy tummy rub.

"Hey, Mamma?" Buck said suddenly.

"Yes Buck?" she asked.

"In the jungle isn't there some type of really big cat that eats smaller animals?" he asked her.

Teyaka nodded, and then she realized what he was getting at. "Don't worry," she told him. "We won't let anything eat you guys. And I think that all of us big predators together would scare off anything bad."

"I sure hope so..." Buck muttered from by his mother's legs, glancing around warily.

Sabre walked over next to him. "If it makes you feel better, you could ride on my back," he offered. He stopped, crouching down, and Buck hopped onto his back.

Buck rubbed his head against the back of Sabre's crest. "Thanks," he said. "I feel safer now. After all what would attack a great big draken like you?"

Sabre winked at him. "Exactly," he said with a grin. "Now let's go show those mean old jungle cats who's boss!"

"Yeah!" Buck cheered with a grin, and Sabre ran off to catch up with the group.

* * *

It had been a long, hot walk, and they hadn't accomplished much. Even the drakens were starting to get a bit worn down by the heat and humidity.

"Do you guys walk all day like this very often?" Teyaka asked. The trek was really starting to remind her of when she first left the lab she was born in. It had not been a happy time for her.

Ragnarok looked at Sabre. "We sure seem to," he said.

"Aw," Kaya moaned, "we hafta do this every day?"

"Probably not," Keera said. "Chances are good that we'll be able to rest for a while once we find the village," Terra added.

"Well let's find it quick," Roc said. "My paws are starting to hurt."

"Yeah, I think we should call it a day for now," Amber said. She sat down, adjusting her posture a little for her new tummy.

Buck jumped down from Sabre's back and padded over to her. "So you've really got a baby in your tummy?" he asked the draken. Amber nodded. "So we're going to have a new friend to play with soon!"

Ragnarok laughed. "'Soon' may not be the right word," Ragnarok told the cub. "Our chick's got a lot of growing to do, so she's going to stay in Amber's tummy for about a year and a half."

"Wow... that's a long time," Buck replied. He rubbed the side of Amber's tummy with a paw, and Amber giggled quietly. "Take your time little chick. We'll be waiting for you!"

"Aw, you're so sweet," Amber said, curling her tail around to pet the cub. Buck started purring at the attention and lay down, snuggling into her tummy. The draken smiled and stroked his fur with her tail.

Ragnarok sat down next to his mate and nuzzled her. "So how are you holding up?" he asked, patting her tummy with his tail.

"I'm doing fine," she said, nuzzling him back. "Just a little bit heavier than I'm used to."

"Well you're going to get a lot heavier before it's over," Teyaka said with a sympathetic smile.

"So you're sure you're okay?" Terra asked.

Amber laughed. "Yes everyone, I'm fine! I'm just pregnant!" she protested good-naturedly. "Really, I'm okay."

"Sorry if we're bugging you a little," Terra apologized. "We're just excited for you!" "Yeah, it's not every day that you find out that one of your best friends is pregnant," Keera said with a grin, "especially when she's a draken!"

Amber smiled back. "Yes, I can see how you'd be excited," she said, patting the twins, then yawned. "C'mon, it's dark. Let's all get some sleep."

* * *

Amber lay on her side, curled around her tummy. She was almost due, and her tummy felt huge. She saw Teyaka walk up, and she started rubbing Amber's tummy with a paw. The draken smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the belly rub. "Mmm, feels nice, Teyaka," she murmured.

Suddenly, everything changed. Teyaka stopped rubbing, and Amber felt three sharp points pressing into her belly. "Ow!" she exclaimed. She opened her eyes, and stared in shock. It looked like Teyaka, but it wasn't her! It was baring a mouth of sharp fangs, and the paw on Amber's belly had sharp claws coming out of it. The Teyaka-thing growled at her, and she scrambled to her feet. "W-what?" she gasped. The Teyaka-thing swiped at her with a paw, leaving three jagged trails of blood down her side. Amber yelped at the pain and stumbled back a few paces. "T-Teyaka? What's going on?" she asked, terrified.

The Teyaka-thing growled again, and stepped toward her. Amber noticed more creatures advancing toward her, but these ones looked more like drakens! The Teyaka- thing suddenly lunged forward, sinking its sharp teeth into her foreleg. Amber cried out and staggered back, blood flowing down her leg and her side.

"Amber! Amber!"

Amber's eyes snapped open. Ragnarok was standing over her, a worried expression on his face.

"Ruh... Ruh..." Amber gasped, then burst into tears and curled up into a tight ball, sobbing hysterically.

Ragnarok lay down next to her, covering her with his wing. "A bad dream, huh?"

He felt her nod, still crying. "Uh-huh. I-it was r-really sc-cary," she stammered. She had started shaking, and Ragnarok curled around her and held her tight with his wing. "I w-was really p-pregnant, a-and Teyaka was p-petting me, but sh-she t-turned into a m-m-monster and it a-attacked m-me," she told him, the sobs making her stutter.

Ragnarok patted her with a paw. She flinched as she felt his claw tips on her side, then calmed down a little, enough to unwind herself from the ball she was curled up in. She looked into her mate's face, and nuzzled him. She was still really shaken up, but the abject terror was starting to pass. She looked around and saw that most of the group was looking back with a lot of concern. The rest were still asleep. Amber smiled weakly. "I'm... I'm all right," she said. "Just... really shaky right now." She closed her eyes and snuggled into Ragnarok. He covered her with his wing again, and she hid her head under it.

"Mamma?" Emerald asked. "Is... is Amber okay?" She took a few steps toward the draken, and turned to look at her mother.

"Amber's fine, honey," Teyaka told her daughter, smiling reassuringly. "She was just scared by a nightmare, and she's shaking it off."

Ragnarok nodded, and Emerald looked a little more reassured. She walked over to Ragnarok and crawled under his wing, snuggling up to Amber, furry-side-up. Amber tensed up at first, feeling the intrusion, then relaxed a little more, hugging the cub close with a foreleg.

Keera yawned, and Terra joined in too. "Amber seems all right again-" "-so let's get back to sleeping," they commented, laying their heads back down. Dash nodded and lay down too.

* * *

Amber's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she lifted up her head. From the light filtering in through all the leaves, it looked like it was morning again. "Good morning Amber," she heard, and felt Ragnarok nuzzling her. "Feeling any better?"

Amber sat up and stretched. "A lot," she said, nuzzling him back. The dream had faded some, and wasn't quite as scary any more. Amber looked down and noticed one of Teyaka's cubs sitting there and smiling up at her. Amber smiled back and patted the cub with her tail. "Thanks, Emerald," she said. "You really helped me to feel better."

Emerald nuzzled Amber's tummy, which was pretty much the highest point she could reach on the sitting draken. "You're welcome!" she chirped. "You seemed kinda scared, and having something small and fuzzy to hug makes a lot of people feel better." Amber laughed and hugged her again, nuzzling the cub's furry tummy and making her giggle.

Dash smiled. "So, are we all ready to go?" he asked.

Amber looked over to him and stood up. "Yeah, let's get going," she said with a nod, and they started walking.

"So how much further do you think it is?" Roc asked Ragnarok.

The draken thought about it. "I'm not sure," he said. "We should be getting pretty close, though."

Teyaka's ears twitched up as she heard several growling noises. She glanced around, and then realized that they were coming from four little tummies. "Mamma, I'm getting really hungry," Buck told her.

"I don't suppose you guys know where the food is around here?" Teyaka asked the drakens.

Sabre shook his head. "Usually we just catch something that happens to walk near us while we're hungry," he said.

"And food seems to be pretty scarce here," Keera added. "There's all sorts of plant stuff, but we don't know if any of it is bad for you, so we should just stay away from it," Terra told them.

Amber crouched down to about the cubs' eye level. "Sorry guys, but it looks like you'll have to wait for a while," she said apologetically.

The cubs looked at each other, then seemed to come to a silent agreement. "It's okay. We can wait," Roc said.

"But the sooner the better," Kaya said with a smile.

"Of course!" Keera replied, smiling back. "Now let's keep going," Terra suggested.

At the front of the group, Sabre's head perked up. "Hey guys, listen!" he said. The group fell silent, and they could hear the far-off sounds of yelling, the clang of metal hitting metal, and the thunk of metal hitting wood.

"Sounds like a fight," Ragnarok commented. "C'mon!" He started running toward the sounds, and the group followed.

Unexpectedly, they burst into something of a clearing. In it was a small village, a lot like the one they had been in before. In it were a lot of humans, a lot of whom were fighting, and from the types of clothing, the drakens could tell that there were two groups. Unfortunately, the group that was dressed like the Dark One's soldiers had been before were definitely winning. "C'mon!" Terra urged. "We have to help the villagers!" The group rushed into the battle.

All of the humans stopped in shock for a second as the drakens charged in. Then, as they attacked, the fight started again. Dash was the first to make contact, picking up a soldier and hurling him at another with one smooth motion.

As the drakens ran forward, though, Teyaka hung back, a worried expression on her face. All this chaos, the fighting... she took a step back, frightened. One of the humans noticed her and ran at her, waving an object that she realized was a sword. Teyaka yelped and dropped to the ground, curling around herself. The man swung the sword, but it glanced off her armor without leaving a mark.

Ragnarok heard Teyaka's cry and spun around. "Teyaka!" he exclaimed. Motes of glowing red and orange energy appeared into the air in front of him, swirling into a small orb.

The man stood over Teyaka and readied his sword, aiming for a hit that would hurt her this time. Teyaka looked up and saw him start the swing, and she curled up tighter, whimpering. Suddenly, though, the human was blasted by a ball of fire, smashing him off his feet. Ragnarok jumped over Teyaka and slashed at the man's neck. "Leave her alone!" he told the human, who didn't say anything back.

With the drakens' help, the Dark One's soldiers were defeated. "Are you okay, Teyaka?" Ragnarok asked her, the rest of the drakens moving toward them.

"I-I'm okay," Teyaka stammered, uncurling warily. "I...I just got so scared.... I saw him coming at me, and...." A tear ran down her cheek.

"It's all right, Teyaka," he said. "It looks like he just hit your armor, too."

Teyaka nodded. "Y-yes, I'm fine," she said, standing up shakily.

The group gathered together again. "Are you guys all right?" Ragnarok asked the others as they came over.

"We're fine," Keera said.

Ragnarok nodded. "Okay guys, come on." He walked toward the center of the village, where the victorious humans had gathered to celebrate.

The humans stopped as the group came near. A few seconds passed, and then one of the humans stepped toward them. "Thank you for helping us. We would have been destroyed if not for you," he said, dropping to one knee.

"Well, that's why we helped you," Amber told him.

"That's right," Sabre said. "We've come to help you against the Dark One."

"Thank you for helping us, but even your skill in battle will not help against Terrokath's powers," another human said dejectedly.

"Don't be so sure," Dash said with a grin. He looked back at the others and nodded, then focused, drawing glowing energy to his hands. Using the energy, he created a gigantic spike of ice coming up from the ground. He kicked it, cracking the bottom through, at the same time that the twins used a glowing whirlwind to blow it into the air. A bolt of fire lanced out from Ragnarok's position, blasting the ice spear into thousands of glittering pieces. "See, we've got powers too."

The humans stared at them, open-mouthed in awe. "Th-thank you for coming to help our poor village," one of the humans said, stepping from the group. He had on a funny hat, and they realized that he was probably a leader here. "How do you creatures possess such power?" He shook his head. "Even our own shaman cannot call forth such awesome displays."

"It's hard to explain," Terra told him. "What matters is that we have them, and we're here to help you," Keera added.

"We've seen how much trouble the Dark One has been causing you all, and we've come to help put an end to it," Ragnarok told them.

"We owe you a debt of many lives," the human leader said. "If you do not mean to set out immediately, please stay with us a while. We do not have much to offer, but we will do what we can."

The group looked at each other. "Well, I suppose we could stay for a little while," Ragnarok said with a smile.

The human with the hat smiled as well. He led them to a relatively large hut. "Please, wait here while we prepare a few things for you," he said, motioning them in.

The group smiled and sat down inside the hut. The sounds of a quiet conversation floated in through the door, and soon most of the villagers departed, except for one that walked into the hut as well. "Thank you again for defending us," she said.

"It was our pleasure, really," Amber said.

"So, is this a sort of 'guest hut'?" Teyaka asked the human.

"No, not really," the human replied. She was a young woman, wearing animal hides covering her chest and another wrapped around her legs. Unlike most of the others they'd seen, she was wearing a necklace of colored beads and animal teeth. "It...belonged to a family who were lost in a recent attack by the Terrokath's forces. As such, it has been empty since."

"Oh..." Teyaka said, her ears drooping. "I'm so sorry, I...."

The woman shook her head. "You all are here to stop it, yes? I am sure they would be honored to have you rest in their home."

A small girl peeked around the edge of the doorway. She scampered in and hid behind the legs of their companion, peering at the strange creatures. Teyaka's ears perked up as she noticed the small girl; she couldn't be more than five or six years old. "What's the matter?" she asked the child kindly.

The girl shrank back, and the woman told Teyaka, "Her parents were also lost in a recent attack."

"Oh!" Teyaka exclaimed. She stood up and walked to the little girl. "I'm sorry we weren't here before," she said, "but now we're here to make it better for everyone." The girl seemed to come out of her shell a little, and Teyaka smiled. "If it will make you feel better, you can sit with me for a while," she offered.

The girl seemed to find a voice. "W-with you? B-but I couldn't..." she stammered shyly.

Teyaka gently took the girl's hand in her mouth and led her back over to the group. She lay down in an inviting posture. The little girl hesitant sat next to her, then stroked Teyaka's neck. "Your fur is so soft..." she said. Teyaka smiled and laid her head down, purring softly. The little girl giggled at the rumbling noise and petted her a little more actively. She looked around, then bent over to whisper something in Teyaka's ear. "What is the name of the pretty brown and white one?" she asked.

Teyaka smiled at her again. "Her name is Amber," she whispered back.

The girl walked over to the draken and sat down next to her. "Lady Amber?"

"Yes?" Amber replied, smiling warmly to reassure the girl.

The girl blushed a little. "Are you... with child?" she asked shyly.

Amber nodded. "Yes, I am," she told her. "I just found out not too long ago."

The girl smiled a little. "Could I... um... feel?" the girl asked.

"Sure," Amber said, smiling broadly.

The girl reached out and laid a hand on Amber's slightly rounded tummy. Amber smiled and laid her wing over the girl's hand. The girl looked up at her, then smiled and ran her hand over the pregnant draken's belly. Amber closed her eyes happily as the girl rubbed her tummy.

The girl stopped and stood up, walking over to the adult that she had been hiding behind. She whispered something to the human, then scampered out of the hut. The adult smiled and turned to address Teyaka and Amber. "Thank you," she said. "You have brightened her life greatly."

Amber nodded. "Children just shouldn't have to feel so bad," Amber said with heartfelt sincerity.

The humans all nodded, agreeing. "The children have suffered the worst," one said. A small commotion rose up outside. "Please excuse us," he said, and the humans hurried out.

"Well, she sure-" "-liked you two!" the twins said, looking at Teyaka and Amber.

Amber laughed quietly. "Being pregnant sure seems to draw a lot of attention," she said. "Lots of rubbing and hugging and encouraging and...." Ragnarok laughed and nuzzled his mate.

"These people are so brave, even though it's pretty obvious that they're fighting a losing battle," Sabre said solemnly.

"Well, that's what we're here to fix, right?" Dash remarked, patting him between the wings.

"I wonder what they're getting ready for us," Keera remarked.

"I hope it's some food," Emerald replied, her stomach growling.

"Oh, I forgot how hungry you guys were getting," Terra said. The twins walked over and sat down by Teyaka and her cubs. "Don't worry, I promise we'll get you something to eat soon."

Emerald smiled at her. "Thanks, Terra," she said, nuzzling her side.

A minute or two later, one of the humans showed up at the door. "Some of the preparations are ready," she said. "Please follow me."

Everyone stood up and followed her through the village. Kaya bounded up beside her. "Where're we going?" she asked.

The human smiled at her. "When we first came to this area to find a place to live, we found a spring that flowed to the surface for a little way. We managed to dig it out into a small pool. While the others prepare a feast to mark your arrival, you may rest there, if you choose," she said.

"Sounds fun!" the cub chirped, smiling brightly up at the human. She thought about something, then said, "My name's Kaya. What's yours?"

The human smiled at her again. "I am Elana," she replied.

"Nice to meet you, Elana!" Kaya said very nicely.

Elana led them all to a familiar-looking hut. Well, familiar to the drakens, at least. As they walked in, they saw that most of the floor was taken up by a big pool of water. "Ooh, we get to go swimming?" Roc asked.

Amber laughed. "Not quite, Roc," she said.

Elana nodded. "You may enter, as you please," she said to the drakens.

The twins nodded and eased gracefully into the water. "Oooooh..." "Mmmm..." they sighed, leaning against the wall and stretching their body out along the bottom.

One by one, the rest of the group joined them. "Wow..." Emerald remarked as she got in, the warm, relaxing water slowing down even the cubs.

"Really nice in here, huh?" Dash remarked to her with a smile.

"Yeah..." she said, curling up in his lap. He rubbed the underside of her neck, and she closed her eyes, purring.

"Not as much fun as a swimming pool," Buck said, "but it feels really nice."

"Hey Kaya!" Keera said, and Kaya turned to her. "I bet that I can hold my breath underwater longer than you can!" she challenged.

"Oh yeah?" Kaya relied. She took a deep breath and they both ducked their heads underwater.

A minute passed as the drakens watched in amusement. "I wonder if she realizes that Keera can stay under as long as she wants," Sabre remarked.

Ragnarok grinned. "Yeah, as long as Terra's still above water," he said with a laugh.

Terra laughed too. "It's not quite fair," she agreed, "but they're both having fun." Amber looked at her with a sly grin. Terra grinned back, then quickly blew out most of her air and held her breath.

"That ought to even it up a little," Amber said, giggling. She relaxed back against the wall again, letting her wings and tail float to the surface. She smiled as Keera and Kaya both burst to the surface, gasping for air. "So who won?" she asked them.

"I did!" they both gasped. They locked glares, then burst out laughing.

Teyaka turned her head to their human hostess. "So, tell us about yourself, Elana," she invited with a smile.

The human blinked. "Me?" she asked, incredulous that such important and powerful people such as these would want to know about her. The others nodded, though, so she acquiesced. "I am daughter of Clansman Arrogal," she told them. "He is one of our hunters, and I was expected to follow him, until our Elder Shaman discovered that I had a talent for magic, and took me on as his apprentice."

"Magic?" Ragnarok echoed. "You mean that you have powers like we do?"

Elena paused, looking like she couldn't decide to nod or shake her head. "I do not posses such incredible gifts as you do," she told him, "but I have begun to learn to command a small amount of magic, yes." She lifted a hand and a small ball of shining light coalesced above her palm.

"Wow, that's neat!" Kaya chirped, and Elana smiled at the cub's reaction.

"Can many of you use magic like that?" Sabre asked.

Elana shook her head. "Everyone has the spark of magic in them," she told him, "but very few have the ability to use it, and even fewer learn that they can. Those that do are then taken to become a shaman." She gestured to the water they were sitting in, and added, "The magic of an ancient shaman is what heats the pool you are now in."

After a pause in the conversation, Buck looked down from the leafy canopy. "Hey, Miss Elana? Do you think they're ready yet?" he asked her.

Elana peeked out the doorway. "Actually, I believe they are," she said. The cubs cheered and hopped out of the pool, shaking themselves off. The drakens and Teyaka smiled at each other and climbed out more sedately. Teyaka shook herself off too, then walked over to the cubs. The drakens didn't need to do the same, as the water simply ran off their hides, and they quickly dried off. "Are you all ready?" Elana asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Ragnarok replied, scanning over the group.

"Then please follow me," she said, and they all stepped out. It was starting to get pretty dark, but the drakens had no trouble seeing in the low light. She led them to the center of the village, where a huge pile of wood had been set up. Little mats were arranged around it, and there were little tables covered in food spread all over! Ragnarok noticed the cubs almost drooling in anticipation. The area was lit softly by a ring of small orbs of light, much like the one that Elana had shown them before.

The man with the funny hat from before walked up to them. "We did not get a chance earlier to formally welcome you to our village," he said to the group. "We have declared this feast to honor you all, wondrous creatures who have come to aid us in our darkest hour!" He threw up his hands and the villagers all cheered. He turned to Ragnarok and motioned to the pile of wood. "We would be honored if you would start the bonfire," he said respectfully.

Ragnarok smiled. "Sure," he said, his eyes already starting to glow with an inner fire. He launched a ball of energy into the stack of wood. It burst into flames, and the villagers cheered again.

* * *

###

Part Two: Warriors

Ragnarok groaned as he felt someone poke him. "Dun wanna ged up," he mumbled into the underside of his tail as they poked him again. The someone poking him wiggled their head under his tail and nuzzled him. Ragnarok finally decided to wake up. "Good morning, Amber," he said, opening his eyes and getting his head out from under his tail.

Amber smiled down ant him and nuzzled him again. "Good morning, Ragnarok," she replied, sitting down next to her mate.

Ragnarok raised his head and looked around. "You're the first one up, huh?" he remarked.

Amber nodded. "Yup," she said. "Last night sure was fun, but we should probably start on our way," she said.

Ragnarok stood up and stretched as Amber went to wake up the rest of the group, starting with Dash. Last night had been quite a party. The humans had made all sorts of food, and they all tasted great. They had done a neat sort of dance with drums and all sorts of instruments. Elena had whispered to him that it was a blessing that would bring them good fortune against the Dark One. Well, whether it did or not, it had been fun to watch. Their whole group had been practically starving, and had all stuffed themselves silly at the feast. After all, the drakens wouldn't have to worry about flying for a while, and who knew how soon they would get more food?

Dash rolled over and sat up. "Morning already?" he asked yawning. Amber laughed and moved to the twins, who stayed resolutely asleep. "Here, let me help," Dash said as he pulled on his shirt. He walked over to the twins, wrapped his arms around their middle, and lifted them into the air, hanging them upside down.

Their eyes snapped open with a pair of squeaks and they glanced around. Keera bent her neck upward to look up at Dash. "Hey, put us down!" she told him.

Dash laughed. "Nice to see you're awake," he said, setting them on their feet.

They glared at him, then grinned. "Yup!" "Good morning!" they said, and went to wake up Teyaka and her cubs. A few of the villagers came out to greet them. "Oh, hello!" Keera said to them.

"Good morning," one replied. "Are you leaving already?"

Ragnarok nodded. "Yeah. The longer we wait here, the less time you guys have, after all," he said.

The humans nodded. "We wish you the best of luck," another said.

Sabre cocked his head. "Hey, I've got an idea..." he said, and everyone looked at him. "Later, we'll all need to be able to get back to the Dark One's tower. We'll leave a trail for you to follow. Look for holes in the canopy, and everywhere that we leave a hole, place a stone marker shaped like a head. That way, we'll be able to go back later."

The humans conversed quickly, then turned back to the drakens. "A good idea," one said.

"We will do as you say," another added.

Teyaka walked up. "C-could I ask you another favor?" she asked hesitantly.

"Anything," the first human said.

"...Could you... watch my cubs while we're gone? I don't want anything to happen to them..." she said. The humans nodded, and she turned to her cubs. "Listen to me, cubs. These humans are going to be taking care of you while we're away. You stay here and do what they tell you to, all right?"

"Okay Mamma!" the cubs chorused, walking over to the humans.

"Everyone set?" Dash asked. "All right, let's go.

* * *

"Do you still remember the way, Ragnarok?" Amber asked.

Ragnarok nodded. "Yeah, and about how long it took us to get to each point," he said.

"...I hope they'll be okay..." Teyaka muttered to herself, staring at the ground and hardly paying attention to where she was walking.

Amber looked at her with a little concern, then walked up alongside her. "Don't worry," she said, nuzzling Teyaka. "They'll be fine. The humans wouldn't let anything happen to your cubs."

Teyaka shook her head, still looking down. "But what if the Dark One's soldiers attack again? The humans won't be able to stop them!" she said.

"Well, we're between the Dark One and the village, aren't we?" Dash remarked. "Anything going there will have to go through us!"

Teyaka still looked glum, though. "This is the first time you've been away from them, isn't it?" Keera realized, changing their pace to move next to Teyaka. Teyaka looked up at her and nodded silently. Keera smiled at her. "We'll be back, and they'll be fine," she said firmly.

The finality in her voice helped knock Teyaka out of her depressed daze. "Yeah, I guess," she said, looking a little brighter.

"Not a guess," Terra said, "a promise."

* * *

A few hours passed uneventfully. Two of the places where the stone markers would be had been marked by the twins, and the group was on their way to the third.

"Hold it," Ragnarok whispered suddenly. They stopped and fell silent. "Someone's nearby. A lot of someones."

As they stood silent, the noise of another group crashing through the forest became more apparent, as whoever it was came closer. Terra peered ahead. "There's a small clearing between us and them," she whispered. "Enough room to fight in."

Teyaka shrank back at these words, then gulped and tried to gather her courage. "It's to protect my cubs, it's to protect my cubs," she whispered to herself. She gulped again. "C-c'mon guys... let's go."

"Are you okay, Teyaka?" Amber asked, concern evident in her voice and eyes.

"Frankly, I'm t-terrified," Teyaka stammered, "but I can't just sit by and leave you guys to defend my cubs for me."

Ragnarok nodded. "All right, let's go," he said, and led the group into the clearing.

As they burst into the small open space, they saw a large group of humans, dressed like the ones that had attacked the village before. They stopped in shock at seeing the strange beasts appear in front of them. "We'll give you one chance," Ragnarok said. "Turn around and go back where you came from, or we'll have to stop you."

"What?" one human said.

"We're here to defend the village from you creeps!" Dash said.

The humans seemed to shake off their initial shock. "They must have been the ones who killed the other squad!" one shouted.

"We outnumber 'em!" another said. "Let's take 'em out and go do our job!"

"He's right! Attack!"

"Looks like we have to fight! Come on!" Ragnarok said. The group split up as the humans charged, drawing them into separate groups.

It soon became apparent that these men were better fighters than the last group had been "These guys are tougher!" Sabre exclaimed as he dodged a sword and swiped at the attacker.

"Those soldiers you took out were the greenest group we had!" one of the men growled back. "You're fighting elites now!"

Dash was in his element. Quite literally, he was made for this. He flowed from one attack to the next; flipping, dodging, and weaving his way from soldier to soldier, he was having the time of his life and devastating the enemy at the same time. As the battle went on, he once more felt the urgings of the beast pressing into his mind. This time, though, he was expecting them, and they didn't seem as frightening. He knew what they were, and he knew he was in control.

Ragnarok and Sabre were managing to hold their own. Thanks to their mobility, they hadn't taken a serious hit, but it would be inevitable if this fight kept going too much longer.

Amber and Teyaka fought side-by-side. Teyaka was obviously scared to death, but she was doing the best she could, and protecting Amber from taking any bad hits. Amber, on the other hand, was doing all she could do dish out as much damage as possible.

The twins, however, were in trouble. The largest group had gone after them, but they had been doing all right, until someone landed a heavy kick to the side of Terra's head and the draken collapsed, dazed. Keera fell with her sister, glancing around helplessly. "Dash!" she cried.

Dash whipped around. "Keera! Terra!" he exclaimed, sprinting toward them. He felt for the beast's instincts urging against his own. This time, though, he welcomed them.

* * *

The humans gathered around the downed creature, and one raised his sword to finish it off. They were surprised when he suddenly went flying through the air and smashed into a tree with enough force to splinter the wood, and they were struck with terror when they saw the figure of white fury standing where he had been. It was as big as they were, and white, with wings and a tail. But what really struck fear into their hearts was his face. They saw pure rage there, in those shining white eyes. Several simply turned tail and ran, but the rest attacked him.

* * *

Dash faced off against the humans about to attack the twins. He felt rage welling up inside him as they charged him. They had been about to kill Keera and Terra, and he was not going to let them get another chance! He waited for them, and exploded into action as the humans came within reach. He slammed a fist into the first man's chest, snapping several ribs and sending him sprawling several yards away. He spun in a quick circle, kicking high, tearing out a soldier's throat with his clawed foot and smashing another with his tail. He grabbed two soldiers and slammed them together, hurling them at their comrades.

In his fury, though, he didn't see the man sneaking up on him. "Dash! Behind you!" Keera cried out, and the human slashed at the white draken.

At the twin's cry, Dash spun around and spotted the attack that was aimed at his neck. He blocked it, but the blade bit deep into the upper part of his left arm. The draken growled and slammed his right fist into the soldier's head, knocking him completely senseless and very nearly taking his head off. Dash spun back to face the other humans, blood covering his claws and his left arm hanging limply by his side. "This is your last chance," he snarled, baring his fangs. "Run."

The soldiers still facing him could tell that, crippled or not, he was still more dangerous than all of them put together, and everyone still standing fled the battle. Dash laughed in relief, the rage leaving his features and the color returning to his eyes. He turned to Keera. "Are you okay?" he asked. He held her chin with his right hand, his left arm limp and blood pouring from the deep gash.

Keera stared at him. "I-I'm all right, but you're hurt!" she said. "Let me heal you."

"Gotta help the others..." Dash protested. He glanced around, to see how they were doing. Cheered by their companion's sudden and furious disposal of the enemy, the others were rallying around his attack to drive the humans off. Dash nodded at Keera and sat down heavily next to her. Truth be told, he was starting to get a little woozy from lack of blood, and he couldn't move his left arm at all.

Keera closed her eyes, trying to concentrate and gather energy. It sure was a lot tougher without Terra to help. She opened her eyes to see a stream of green sparkles spiraling around her. She sent them to Dash's arm, and the energy went to work. The muscle reconnected, flesh grew back together, and blood refilled the veins.

Dash looked up, suddenly feeling stronger. He reached over and hugged Keera around her neck. "Thanks, Keera," he said quietly. Keera looked a bit surprised, then hugged him back with her wing. They sat there like that for a minute or two. "So, how's Terra doing?" Dash asked after a little while.

"Nngh... I'm fine. My head hurts, though," Terra replied, gently lifting her head up. "Oh! Terra!" Keera exclaimed, moving away from Dash. "Um, we just...."

Terra laughed. "I've seen what's been going on," she said, "and I know how you two feel. Keera, you're my sister, and we're about as close as anyone can get. Dash, you've saved out life more times than I can count. Especially when my head hurts like this." She paused, then took a deep breath. "I guess... what I'm getting at is this: if you two want to be together, then it's all right with me." She looked up at them with a shy smile.

Dash and Keera were both staring at her. Shock slowly turned to joy, and they burst into broad smiles. "Really? You mean it?" Dash asked.

Terra nodded. "After all, I like you too," she said. "Just one thing..." she added.

Dash grinned. "Anything!" he replied.

Terra laid her head in his lap. "Rub my head? Hurts."

Dash smiled. "Sure," he said, laying a hand on top of her head. Terra closed her eyes, apparently done being the mature one for now.

Keera nuzzled her sister. "Thanks, Terra," she said quietly.

A minute later, Amber and Teyaka ran over. "Are you all okay?" Amber asked.

"Terra took a nasty kick to the head," Keera said, "and Dash got cut saving us. We're all fine now, though."

"That's good. We're okay too," Teyaka told her.

Teyaka looked oddly at Dash and the twins, but Amber shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, Teyaka managed to keep me safe. She's pretty good in a fight!"

Teyaka grinned bashfully, pawing idly at the ground. The drakens' sharp eyes could detect a bit of a blush under her fur. "I'm not as brave as you guys, but I wanted to make sure that Amber's chick came through all right," she said.

"Thank you for that, Teyaka," Ragnarok said, running over with Sabre.

"Ragnarok, you're bleeding!" Amber exclaimed.

Ragnarok looked down at the long gash in his leg, which was slowly leaking blood. "Oh, it's nothing," he said. "They barely scratched me. It looks a lot worse than it is."

Amber walked over and cleaned off the blood for him. "So you two are all right?" she asked.

Sabre nodded. "Yeah, we're fine," he said.

Keera and Terra both blinked suddenly, then shook their heads. "I'm sorry," "what was that?" they asked together. Amber, Ragnarok, and Teyaka looked at them again. "...What?" the twins asked in unison.

Ragnarok shrugged. "Okay then, let's get back to the trip," he said.

The drakens started walking out of the clearing. "Is it just me," Keera quietly asked her sister, "or does it seem a bit warmer all of a sudden?"

* * *

A few hours later, the group had settled down for the night at the spot of the third marker. The twins had already made the hole in the canopy, and were walking restlessly around the small clearing created by the whirlwind. Ragnarok looked up at them. "You two feeling okay?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," "pretty much..." they replied.

Ragnarok looked over the rest of the group. Amber and Teyaka were chatting with each other and Sabre was asleep, but Dash seemed a little off too. He kept sniffing the air and looking around, like he smelled something odd but couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. Ragnarok took a whiff himself. There was something a little different in the air. It smelled pretty nice, and maybe a bit familiar, but whatever it was, it meant more to Dash than it did to him.

Ragnarok heard the twins whispering something to each other, but couldn't make out what they were saying. They turned to the group. "Um, we're going to take a walk," Keera said. "We have... a little extra energy, I guess," Terra added, "and we don't want to disturb you guys." After the explanation, they wandered off into the woods.

"I hope they can find their way back," Teyaka murmured.

"They'll be fine," Amber told her. "They both have excellent noses, and they'll just follow the trail back here."

"Speaking of scents..." Ragnarok remarked. "Hey Dash-" He broke off, though. "Um... where's Dash?"

Teyaka looked up. "Oh? He was here a minute ago...."

* * *

Terra shook her head, trying to clear it. "What's going on?" she asked her sister. "I...I think I may know," Keera said. She heard someone step behind them, and they spun around. "Dash!" they both exclaimed a little breathlessly.

"Hi girls," Dash said, crouching near them.

"Dash? Um, you know a lot..." Terra said. "We've been feeling kind of funny..." Keera said.

Dash nodded. "From your scent and your behavior... I think that you two might be going into heat," he told them.

"We...what?" Keera said in surprise. "Really?"

Dash nodded again. "Extraordinary timing, huh?" he said with a grin, sitting down.

"Yeah," Keera said, leaning her head into his chest.

"You two know what this means, right?" Dash asked. The twins both nodded. "And you're sure you're okay with it?" he asked Terra. "After all, it's your body too, and if you don't want to, we won't go through with this."

Terra smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm fine with it," she said. "Like I told you earlier, you two were really meant to be together, and I'm not going to stand between you. And besides," she said with a giggle, "I've always wanted to feel what being a mother is like." Dash laughed and hugged both of the twins, his mates.

* * *

"Really odd," Amber said, lying down next to Ragnarok. Teyaka had fallen asleep too, and Amber didn't feel like she was far behind. "I wonder what's going on...."

Something about the scent finally struck a memory. "Say, you don't think it could be...?" Ragnarok said, trailing off.

"Could be what?" Amber asked.

"Nah, never mind," her mate replied. He smiled and rubbed her belly. "Let's just get some sleep."

* * *

The next morning arrived, and Dash and the twins were still gone. Everyone was starting to get pretty worried. "Where are they?" Teyaka asked, pacing around the little clearing.

"Is it just me, or is this starting to seem a little familiar?" Sabre muttered to himself.

Ragnarok spotted something white moving through the jungle toward them. "Hey guys!" he said, alerting the rest of the group. As the figure moved closer, he saw that it was Dash, and the twins were with him. "Dash! Keera! Terra! We've been waiting for you! Where have you been?"

"Well, um..." "we got lost, and..." Keera and Terra stammered hesitantly.

Dash sat down next to them. "I think we might as well tell them," he said to the twins. "After all...."

Sabre cocked his head. "Tell us what?" he asked.

Keera and Terra looked at each other. "We're going to have a chick too!" they announced with matching smiles.

Amber blinked, then ran over and nuzzled them. "Wow, really? At the same time as me?" she asked, excited by the news.

"Yeah," Keera said. "What're the odds that two drakens would be pregnant at the same time?" Terra asked with a grin.

"And you're the father, Dash?" Teyaka asked, suddenly feeling like her heart was in her throat. Dash nodded, and it plummeted to the bottom of her paws. But... but he was... my.... She fixed a smile onto her muzzle, but the expression suddenly felt like something alien to her. "I... I can't think of a better mate for them.

"Thanks, Teyaka," Dash said, rubbing the side of her neck; in his proud glow, he hadn't noticed her face's momentary fall.

"So that's why you guys ran off last night?" Sabre asked.

"Yeah," the twins said in unison, blushing a little, which was interesting to see on their green skin.

Ragnarok laughed. "So in a year and a half we're going to have two chicks running around?" she said.

"Sure looks like it," Terra replied, grinning. "Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!" Keera said to Amber, and Dash laughed.

"Good thing my place is so big!" he said with a grin."To hold all of us, my cubs, and now two more chicks? We may need to get another just in case!" he joked. Everyone shared a nice laugh. Eventually, it died down, and they all sat in silence for a little while, Dash snuggling his new mates.

At length, Ragnarok stood up. "Well, I guess we ought to get moving," he said. "If we go fast, we can get there tomorrow."

* * *

Teyaka curled up tightly in her corner of their camp. They'd marched through the brush for a full day, but her mind had only been able to force itself onto one thing over and over again. She hoped the others had figured that she was just worried about her cubs, but....

She sniffed, her eyes blurring with tears, and she glanced surreptitiously around the group. Fortunately, everyone else was already asleep; she was the only one left, kept awake by the tortuous twisting of that one fact in her mind.

Dash had chosen someone else.

Ever since the day she had met him, when he had taken a cold, sick, starved, and confused animal in off of the city streets, she had loved him, and she had always felt like he was her mate. She'd thought he had thought that too.... She looked at him, curled up with the twins, and she had to choke down a sob; obviously, he hadn't.

She buried her head under her tail, her tears soaking the fur of her cheeks and tail. She'd always thought "a broken heart" was just a phrase, but she realized now that it was just a description; her chest hurt, like there was a big aching hole where something important used to be. Her mind slipped back to the image of Dash and the twins laying together, and this time, she did sob.

"...Teyaka?" she heard Dash ask softly, and she jerked as she felt his hand lay softly on her side.

"G-go away," she moaned quietly. "I don't... I don't want to talk." She cracked open one streaming eye and saw that Dash was crouched beside her, the twins looking on with concern from where they lay. She closed the eye tight again, sobbing once more.

"Teyaka, what's wrong?" the white draken asked.

"N-nothing," Teyaka replied too-quickly. She knew how ridiculous it must sound, coming from someone laying on the ground and sobbing, but she just didn't want to... to....

Dash looked back at the twins, then looked down at Teyaka with real worry in his eyes. "Come on, let's go somewhere we can talk without waking everyone else up," he suggested in a soft voice.

"No, I d-don't want to..." Teyaka protested weakly, but felt Dash's hands under her, and soon felt them lifting her into the air. She cuddled into his chest for protection, but then realized what the action meant, and she cried all the harder.

Dash carried her into the undergrowth a way, then sat down against a tree, cradling her in his lap. "Please, tell me what's going on," he said, softly stroking her neck fur.

Teyaka shook her head, her tears dripping down onto his lap. How could she tell him what was really bothering her, how she felt? If he hadn't known for so long, how could he...? It didn't matter anyway, she couldn't get any words past this lump in her throat if she wanted to.

"Is it... is it about me and the twins," he asked hesitantly.

Teyaka paused, then nodded softly. She looked up at him, tears matting the fur of her cheeks. "I... I thought you loved me," she said in a small voice.

Dash looked sadly down at her, meeting her gaze, and she realized that he was crying too. He suddenly grabbed her in a tight hug, pulling her up so her head was on his shoulder. "Oh Teyaka..." he whispered, "I do love you."

She rested her head on his shoulder, relishing the closeness of the hug, and crying harder from that same closeness. "But then... why aren't we mates?" she asked, her voice barely passing through her throat. "E-ever since the day I met you.... You saved my life, took me in, helped me raise my cubs...." Her tail lay across his legs like a lead weight; it was a measure of her sadness that not even the tip moved an inch.

Dash gently put a hand on the back of her head, still holding her tight with his other arm. She could feel the comforting pressure even through her armor. "Just because Keera and Terra are my mates doesn't mean that I can't still love you," he said softly.

"But... but it means you want them around more than me," she whispered sadly, her tears soaking into his shoulder.

Dash shook his head and pulled her back, looking into her eyes. "Would I have done as much as I have for someone I didn't want?" he asked her. He tapped her chest with a claw. "I may be in love with the twins, but you hold a spot in my heart that no one else can reach or remove."

She stared at him, her eyes still flowing with tears. "But... but why them, and not me?" she whimpered.

"I'm... not sure," he admitted to her. "There's just... something there." He shook his head again, placing a finger over her lips to stop her protest. "Teyaka, after all that we've been through together... you are one of my most cherished friends." She looked silently into his eyes, then bit back another sob and buried her head in his chest. He held her tight with both hands, as tight as he had on the first day that they had met. "Nothing that happens is ever going to change that. You might not be my mate, but you'll still be my closest friend."

After a minute of holding, the flood of tears started to slow a little, enough to let the overwhelmed experiment talk again. "But if you don't want me... who will?" she asked softly, tears still slowly rolling down her soaked cheeks.

Dash gave her a slow smile, trying to reassure her. "I'm sure you'll meet someone some day," he told her, softly rubbing the side of her neck; it was a gesture that she'd always loved. "Someone who cares about you as much as I do."

Teyaka heard the sincerity in his voice, and looked into his eyes. Maybe... maybe it could happen. She nodded mutely, her tears slowly stopping.

Dash's smile grew warmer as he saw this. "Are you ready to go back to camp?" he asked quietly, gently rubbing behind one of her ears.

She nodded again, setting her head on his shoulder. The draken stood up, carrying her quietly back to the small clearing where the rest of their friends were still sleeping. The twins looked up at his return, but he smiled reassuringly and they settled back down.

Dash gently placed her on the ground, near to his own sleeping spot. He took a bit of his shirt in one hand and softly dried her cheeks with it. As she curled up to sleep, she looked back up at him. "Hey Dash...?" she said quietly. He looked down at her, cocking his head, and she gave him a watery smile. "I hope he's blue."

Dash gave a quiet laugh.

* * *

"Okay, this seems really familiar," Ragnarok whispered. Half a day later, they were all crouched in the undergrowth outside the Dark One's tower.

"I think we'll need some sort of plan this time," Sabre said. "It was mostly luck that got us through all right last time."

"Yeah, and he's going to be even stronger this time," Terra said.

"Okay, let's see..." Dash muttered. "It'll be about six-on-one, which is a slight advantage for us."

"Yeah, but he's stronger than any of us," Amber pointed out, "and we only have three people who have the special powers."

"We need some sort of trick or something," Ragnarok suggested. "Something he won't expect."

They suddenly heard someone running through the foliage toward them. A few seconds later, one of the villagers ran up next to them, panting heavily. A villager wearing tanned hides... and a beaded necklace! It was Elana! "Hello... again..." she gasped. "I... followed... the trail... you left."

"Elana?" Keera said. "What are you doing here?" Terra asked.

"The Elder... discovered something... a few hours after you left," she said, starting to recover her breath. She took off the bag she had on her back and pulled out a shiny, clear... crystal! "He said we could... use this to imprison... the Dark One! He... enchanted it... with powerful magic, and... taught me a... chant to activate... its powers." She placed the crystal back in the bag and slung it onto her shoulders.

"Well, you've got wonderful timing," Sabre said. "We were just planning how to storm his tower."

"I've got an idea," Ragnarok said, "but it'll take some quick work on your parts, girls." He turned to Keera and Terra.

"Us?" they both asked in unison.

Ragnarok nodded. "We need to get everyone onto that balcony. We just can't afford to leave anyone behind. You'll have to make a hole in the canopy, and then blow Dash and Teyaka up through it."

At the mention of flying again, Teyaka shrank back a step, her ears falling. For a moment, Ragnarok seriously wondered if she'd be able to come.

However, one should never underestimate what a mother will do for her cubs. Teyaka gulped and walked over to Dash. "O-okay, I-I'm ready," she stammered. Ragnarok could tell that she was scared almost witless, but she was pushing through it as well as she could.

Ragnarok smiled. She may be the bravest of us all, he thought, then turned to the twins. "Can you two do it?" he asked. "It'll probably be hard to use your powers like that, and you'll need to be as fast as you can so we can get airborne before any humans can get at us."

"Yeah," "we can do it," the twins said.

"Okay, everyone get ready," Ragnarok said. Teyaka curled into a ball, trembling a little, and Dash picked her up. Ragnarok turned to Elana. "Hop on my back and hold on tight!" he told her. She climbed on, and he glanced around the group. "All right girls, let's go!"

The twins jumped up, sweeping their wings forward. The green energy that had gathered there spun forward, gathering into a funnel of wind that tore branches off of trees, leaving a jagged hole to the sky. Ragnarok and Sabre took off through it, flying for the top balcony. Immediately, the twins gathered more energy into a pool of sparkles above their heads. Dash leapt up, Teyaka in his arms, and the twins blew at the sparkles, which shot forward, boosting the draken and his passenger up enough to get to the balcony as well.

The twins tried to jump up, but stumbled and fell over. "Keera! Terra!" Amber exclaimed, running over to help them up. "Are you all right?"

"We're... fine," Keera told her, panting heavily. "Just... a little... winded," Terra said, smiling weakly at the pun.

Amber was not very reassured. "You'd better catch your breath quick," she warned them. "The human soldiers are bound to come running after all that."

The twins glanced at each other, still breathing hard, and sort of staggered into the air. Amber glanced around, then flew up after them.

As she landed, Ragnarok rammed the door open. "What? How?" they heard Terrokath exclaim as the group charged in.

"Get him!" Ragnarok called, launching a small ball of fire energy at the human.

The Dark One got over his surprise and blocked the attack. "You break into my stronghold and attack me?" he remarked. "You must not have much fondness for life. Very well, I shall oblige you!" he said. Energy crackled in the air around him, and Ragnarok was suddenly blasted back by a bolt of dark lightning.

"Ragnarok!" Amber cried, running to her mate as the rest of the group rushed forward, taking the fight to the Dark One. "Ragnarok, say something!"

"Ngh... that hurt," he replied, slowly getting to his feet. He looked around, and then his gaze locked into his mate. "Amber... I need you to promise me something."

"What? Is this really the time for-"

"Stay back. Make sure our chick lives through this, even... even if I don't," Ragnarok said.

"But-" Amber protested as Ragnarok ran back into the fray. She looked at Teyaka, who had also hung back. "But...?"

Despite being peppered with attacks from the others, the Dark One spotted a hole in their defenses. He conjured up a ball of darkness, and threw it at the distracted and defenseless draken. "Amber! Look out!" Teyaka cried. She jumped in front of the draken, curling into a ball and rolling forward in midair. The energy splashed off her armor, shooting to either side of Amber. Teyaka crashed to the floor, unrolling limply. Amber could see that she was still breathing, but it was only barely.

"I...I've got to help them!" Amber said. Her friends were being beaten so easily! She took a step forward, her claws clicking on the stone. "...Stone!" she exclaimed as something seemed to slide into place in her mind. She felt power surging into her, and looked around to see a vortex of amber sparks spiraling around her. She closed her eyes and focused her whole being on one thought: I need to stop the Dark One!

The sparks shot out, merging with the stone of the floor. Her eyes snapped open, and she saw a ripple of stone flowing toward the Dark One. "W-what?" he exclaimed as the stone shot up, enveloping his right leg. Another column leapt at him, encasing his left hand. "What is this?" He reached over to free his arm, but the stone flowed over his other hand, locking him into place, and he was suddenly pounded by powerful blasts of ice, fire, and wind in rapid succession.

Amber concentrated on holding him, the air around her suffused with a brilliant brown glow. "Now's your chance, Elana!" she called.

Elana had been chanting in some strange language, and the chant suddenly reached a fever pitch. The stone started glowing, and a beam of light shot out and struck the Dark One's heart. He cried out, his body suddenly disintegrating into dust. The beam disappeared, and the crystal's glow dimmed. The crystal, once pure white, was now stained as black as a starless sky.

Keera and Terra looked over. "Is that it?" Keera asked. "Is he finished?" Terra added.

Elana nodded. "Yes, his spirit is trapped in this crystal," she said.

Dash limped over to Amber. "Way to go, girl," he said, sounding immensely tired. "It's thanks to you that Elana could capture him. Very nice timing on discovering your powers." He patted the side of her neck.

"Dash!" "You're hurt!" Keera and Terra exclaimed, padding over to their new mate. They also seemed really worn out.

Dash shook his head. "I just took a hit and landed funny," he told them. "I'll be fine. It's Teyaka I'm worried about." He reached down to rub her neck. "Teyaka?"

"She's still breathing," Amber told him. "But... she got hit protecting me...."

Teyaka stirred. "Oww..." she moaned quietly.

"Teyaka!" came several exclamations.

"Are you all right?" Dash asked her.

Teyaka coughed. "Dun feel good," she mumbled. "Weak....""We've got to get out of here," Amber told her. "Do you think you can get up?"

Teyaka tried to stand, but could hardly even move her legs. Dash bent down to her. "Tell me if anything starts hurting, okay?" he asked, lifting her up in his arms.

She opened her eyes and looked plaintively into his. "Please... don't fly... okay?" she pleaded softly.

Dash nodded. "Sure," he said, hugging her.

Teyaka closed her eyes, leaning into his chest. "Hate feeling so weak...." Dash nodded and limped out to the balcony, Sabre and the twins following.

Ragnarok walked over to Amber, his hide scorched in more than a few places. "That was great," he said, nuzzling her. "You really won the fight for us."

Amber nuzzled him back. "Well, I just knew that I had to help, or someone would've been hurt really bad," she said.

Ragnarok nodded. "C'mon, let's go follow the others," he suggested, and they walked out onto the balcony.

"So how will you get her down without flying?" Terra asked Dash.

"Leave that to me," Amber said with a smile. A ring of glowing energy surrounded her, and it suddenly shot out, zooming down over the edge of the balcony. A few seconds later, a column of ground rose up into view. Dash looked at Amber, who smiled back, the air around her shimmering with power. "Go ahead, hop on!" Dash stepped on hesitantly, and Amber started concentrating again. Dash looked a little surprised as he sank below the balcony.

When he hit the ground, he saw two guards running at him, starting to draw their weapons. Ragnarok and Sabre dropped down, baring their fangs. "Get lost or I'll tear your arm off!" Ragnarok snarled, tired of trying to reason with these thugs.

The men stopped in their tracks, staring. "NOW!" Sabre roared, and the men bolted in the other direction. Sabre sighed, returning to his normal expression as Dash stepped back to the ground and Amber and the twins landed by them, Elana hopping off the twins' back. The ground melded back together, and the air around Amber lost its hue.

Teyaka smiled weakly at the brown draken. "Thanks," she murmured, then laid her head down on Dash's shoulder, going still.

Amber looked up at Dash with a little alarm, but he shook his head. "I think she's just asleep," he said quietly. "She's even more tired than we are.

"So are you okay to walk back to the village?" Ragnarok asked him.

Dash nodded. "I'll be fine, it's just a limp," he said.

"Well, we'd better get going," Terra said. "We've got a long walk ahead of us," her sister added.

* * *

Dash softly laid Teyaka on the ground. They had made it back to the second marker, but it was getting too dark for even the drakens. They were all dead tired, and Teyaka was still asleep. "That attack must have really drained her," Dash said, softly stroking her neck.

Amber looked at her guiltily, and walked over. She lay down next to Teyaka, curling around her and covering her with a wing. "I'm so sorry, Teyaka," she said. "You shouldn't have had to take that attack for me...."

Teyaka stirred. "It's all right, Amber," she said quietly. "Just think of what would've happened if it had hit you, instead of my armor."

"I...I just hate seeing you like this because of me..." Amber said, her eyes glistening with tears. "If you had been on your own, you could have gotten out of the way, but you had to protect me...."

Teyaka struggled to raise her head and looked Amber in the eye. "We're all okay... right? I'm the only one who took anything serious...and I'm starting to feel better already," she said, her voice trying to be light. "Don't be so hard on yourself." She smiled weakly, then laid her head back down, all the effort having exhausted the strength she had built back up. She snuggled a bit closer to Amber, then closed her eyes, exhaustion dragging her back into the depths of sleep.

"...Poor Teyaka..." both twins said.

Elana was leaning against a nearby tree, and Sabre sat down next to her. "So, how are you doing?" he asked her. "Holding up okay?"

"I...I am still in shock," she replied. "You have defeated Terrokath, and I helped." She shook her head. "I never expected to play such a role in saving our village...."

"We couldn't have done it without you," Sabre said with a smile, nuzzling her gently.

"Y-yes, I suppose you are right," she admitted.

Ragnarok curled up next to Amber. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked her.

Amber looked at him. "I'm... I... I guess I feel a bit guilty about what happened to Teyaka," she said, nuzzling her mate. "I'll feel better once she's okay."

Ragnarok nuzzled her. "Remember, it's not your fault," he said. "I'm the one who told you to stay back."

"I know... I just...." She trailed off, then nuzzled Ragnarok again. "Thanks for trying to help." She smiled, then laid her head down and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, they managed to make it back to the village. It was surprisingly quiet, like everyone was hiding. Then they heard the sounds of someone sniffing, and a door burst open. "Mamma!" Teyaka's cubs cheered, rushing over to the returning group.

Teyaka laughed. "Hello cubs," she said, motioning to Dash to set her down.

The cubs ran up, nuzzling their mother. Teyaka hugged them all with her tail, but they noticed that something was up. "Mamma? Is something wrong?" Kaya asked.

Teyaka laughed quietly and pushed herself up into a sitting position. "A little, yes," she replied. "I'm not hurt, just feeling a little weak at the moment." She smiled reassuringly down at them.

Roc rubbed her side with a paw. "Get better soon, okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Teyaka smiled, bowling him over onto his back with a paw. "Okay," she said, gently rubbing his belly with her paw. He squirmed, then lay still, purring contently.

At the sudden commotion, the human villagers had started peeking out, and now ran into the center of the village. "You have returned!" "What happened?" "Are you all right?"

"Yes, we have returned," Elana said, then pulled out the crystal, "and we are victorious!"

The village let out a cheer unlike any the drakens had heard before, and rushed to the group, hugging, kissing, praising, and generally celebrating.

"You all must be gods, for you have truly answered our prayers!" the village leader said.

Amber's eyes widened a little as this struck a memory. "That's right, we are," she said, stepping to the front of the group. The villagers noticed that she had something to say, and fell silent. "We came to help you in your time of need, and we defeated the Dark One!" The humans cheered again. Amber smiled, then raised her wings, and the humans all fell silent. "But we warn you: there will come a time when he will rise again! The Dark One will come back. But when he does, so will we!"

Keera and Terra got the idea, and stepped forward. "So leave a message for the coming generations," Terra said. "Tell them what has happened, and what will happen again," Keera told them.

One stepped forward. "We will do as you instruct, great ones."

Ragnarok smiled. "Now then, I think some sort of celebration is in order, right?" he announced.

The villagers responded with the most heartfelt cheer yet. Instruments were produced, a fire was started from spare wood, and the party got into full swing.

A little while into it, the "gods" pulled the leader off to one side of the party. "We need you to do something for us," Sabre said.

"I am yours to command," the human replied.

"First, when we return, we won't remember any of this. So make sure the message gets passed down, so we will be able to help you."

The human nodded. "We will do so."

"Second, we need you to hold onto something for our return." He nodded to Dash, who pulled out the rolled-up message from his backpack and handed it to the human. "When we return, your descendants should tell us the story of this victory, and then give this to us," Sabre instructed.

"Keep it in a strong box," Dash suggested.

The human took it reverently. "We will do as you instruct," he told them. "Again, thank you all for coming to help us."

"You're very welcome," Amber said with a smile. A villager swooped by, dropping a necklace of flowers over her neck. Amber blinked in surprise, then smiled and walked back to the party, swishing her tail in time to the music.

* * *

The celebration lasted well into the night. The group fell asleep very late, and woke well into the afternoon, resting off their exhaustion. They said goodbye to the humans, who were sad to see them go, and walked off into the forest, heading instinctively back toward the Plains.

"So how was your time without me?" Teyaka asked her cubs from Dash's arms.

"It was all right," Buck said.

"We missed you a lot," Kaya added. She looked like she wanted to nuzzle her mother, but Teyaka was a bit out of her reach.

"All the people were really nice to us," Emerald told her mom, "and they kept us safe from animals too."

Teyaka smiled down at them. "I'm glad you're all okay," she said.

Suddenly, they all heard a horrible laugh. Ragnarok whipped around and bolted to Amber's side. A bright blue flash stole their vision for a second, and when their eyes cleared, they were somewhere different! The trees that still remained looked like the ones they were all used to, and the temperature was only warm, as opposed to the sweltering heat that they had been in for so long.

"W-what?" Amber asked, spinning around.

"We're..." Keera said. "...Out of the jungle?" Terra finished.

Kaya looked at the twins and did a perfect double take. "Hey, your tummy is bigger!" she said in surprise.

Keera and Terra looked at their belly. Indeed, it was about as big as Amber's had been. They looked over at Amber. "Hey, you're bigger too!" Terra told her.

Amber looked at her own middle. "Yeah, I guess I am," she said.

Keera and Terra both giggled. "This is so neat!" "We get to have our chicks together!" they said, nuzzling Amber, who also giggled and nuzzled them back.

Ragnarok released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Dash laid Teyaka down and sat next to him. "Something up?" the white draken asked.

Ragnarok shook his head. "No, I'm just glad that Amber's okay," he said. "For a minute there, I...."

Teyaka nodded. "Yeah, that scary laugh," she said, shuddering. Her cubs lay down next to her, and she smiled, holding them close with her paws and tail. "And how we got suddenly transported here."

"Maybe a portal opened while we were standing on top of it," Sabre suggested.

Dash peered off into the distance. "Hey, that mountain... that's my mountain! That's my village!" he exclaimed

Keera looked over. "Well c'mon, let's get going!" she said. "You ought to be able to go see your friends and family!"

Dash laughed and nuzzled her. "My family other than you guys," he said happily, and surprised Teyaka by grabbing her in his hug too.

"Yeah, let's go visit Dash's home," Ragnarok said with a smile.

Amber smiled too, and nodded. "That sounds like-"

She was interrupted, though, by a figure materializing in front of them. It was surrounded by a cloud of darkness. They heard that horrible laugh again, and the cubs yelped, hiding by their mother, who covered them as best she could. "Ah, it is finally you," it said.

"W-what is that?" Emerald squeaked.

"The Dark One?" Ragnarok gasped.

The figure laughed again. "Yes, it is I," he said. "When you destroyed the crystal prison and my body, you freed my spirit, and my power! I waited for years, gathering in strength. As the eons passed, my knowledge and power grew, until I gained the ability to bring you all to this point after our first battle."

"W-what do you want?" Teyaka demanded, doing her best not to sound terrified.

"I want my revenge!" he growled. "But I will give you a fighting chance, just to make it interesting. Come to the place you will come to call 'the Great Plains.' Bring as many or as few allies as you wish." He grinned evilly, adding, "And if you run, if you do not come, you will not get another chance." Thus said, he vanished.

The group looked at each other. "I-is it gone?" Roc asked from inside his mother's defenses.

Teyaka lifted up her tail. "Yes honey, it's gone," she said.

"That was really scary..." Kaya said, and her siblings nodded.

Dash glanced around. "Come on, guys, we've got to get to my village, and now it's not just for a visit," he said.

Teyaka staggered to her feet, but Dash stopped her and picked her up. "Sorry, but we'll need to go as fast as we can for this one," he told her.

Teyaka nodded. "All right," she said. Dash took off at a run, and the group ran after him.

* * *

They arrived at the forest outside the mountain, the whole group panting hard. The cubs in particular looked like they were about to just collapse, but they were also determined not to slow down the drakens.

"Okay... here's... the tree," Dash said, then led them into the forest. They came to the edge of the mountain, and Dash pulled aside the vine curtain, leading everyone into the tunnel.

"It's really dark in here," Buck said, sounding a little scared.

"Yeah, I know," Dash said. "Just hold onto the tail in front of you, and you'll be fine," he told them as he crawled forward. "It's been years since I've been here, but I still know this place by heart."

As they turned the corner where the glowing moss was, all the cubs gasped in wonder, making a few of the drakens laugh. "We're most of the way there, right?" Ragnarok asked.

"Right," Dash said. A few minutes later, they left the tunnel, entering the valley where Dash's village was. "First, let's go to my mom's house, c'mon."

Dash led them to one of the little huts in the valley. As he walked inside, he saw a light blue draken staring blankly out one of the side windows. As she heard him came in, she turned to the door. "D-Dash?" she asked incredulously, then ran over to him.

Dash dropped to his knees as she got to him and caught her, hugging her around the neck. "Hi Mom," he said.

"Dash..." she said, squeezing him tight with her wings. "It's been so long...." She wrapped her tail around his, putting a paw on his knee."

"I know," Dash said. "I missed you so much...." They sat there, mother and son, sharing the hug for a while. Eventually, they let go, and Dash moved to the twins. "Mom, you remember Keera and Terra?"

"Of course I do," Skye said with a smile.

"Well, they're my mates now," Dash said with a slightly bashful grin, "and they're pregnant with our chick."

Skye blinked, then broke into a broad grin. "So I'm going to be a grandmother? That's so wonderful!" she said, nuzzling the twins.

The twins giggled, nuzzling her back. "I'm so glad you're so happy about it," Keera said.

"Well of course I am!" she replied. "Dash has been my only family for the longest time, and now I've got both of you, and a chick coming too!"

"Dash is your only family?" Terra asked. "But...?"

Dash closed his eyes. "My dad died before I was born," he said, looking away. "He saved someone from a rockslide on the mountain, but he got hit by a rock and fell into it himself."

The twins walked over to their mate and nuzzled him. "He sounds like a wonderful draken," Terra said. "Almost as wonderful as you," Keera added.

Dash laughed and hugged them. "Thanks, you two," he said.

Skye waited for them to finish, and then asked, "So, after all this time, what brings you back home? Were your friends able to make it back?"

That brought the mood to a crashing halt. Skye was startled as she saw the happiness leak out of their faces, to be replaced with dread. Dash looked her in the eye. "Mom, there's a terrible, evil force here. We've beaten it before, but it's come back again, and more powerful than ever. We'll need every draken we can get to beat this thing. Chicks, elders, everyone," he said.

"Wha... is it that bad?" Skye asked.

The twins nodded. "We've fought it twice-" "-and each time we barely managed to keep everyone alive."

"But what can the elders and chicks do to help?" Skye asked.

Dash glanced around. "My friends and I have special powers we can use to fight this thing, but we might not be strong enough to do it on our own." Something he had heard days ago suddenly popped into his mind. "Maybe... maybe one of you has it too. Haven't you ever felt it, sometimes, like there was a strength in someone that was hidden just under the surface? I think maybe that power might be in all of us, and if that's the case, then we'll need every single person we can get."

"I... all right, I'll spread the word," Skye said. "Every single draken?"

Dash nodded. "And mom... thanks," he said, giving her another quick hug. She nuzzled him, then ran out the door.

Keera looked up at Dash with some worry. "Will everyone be okay?" she asked.

Dash looked down at her. "In all honesty... probably not," he said. "The Dark One is more powerful this time, and we may not be able to win at all," he said. "But we've got to try."

* * *

All the drakens had been gathered, from the youngest chick to the oldest adult. After hearing about everything that was at stake, nobody had wanted to stay behind. The trek to the future "Great Plains" had been a long one, but at long last, they reached it.

Dash and the others stepped forward out of the group, moving toward the cliff's edge. "Terrokath!" Dash called. "Where are you?"

The familiar, awful laugh came again. "I see you took my offer of reinforcements seriously," he said, appearing in the air in front of Dash's group. "Now then, let us begin!" A ball of flame appeared in his hand, and then exploded out into a huge wave of fire.

Reacting quickly on instinct, the twins had already drawn energy to themselves, and they launched a vertical sheet of wind into the explosion's path, putting a gap in it. The flames rushed past the group of drakens harmlessly, but the other side continued on, setting the forest below ablaze.

"Hmm, clever," the Dark One said. He smiled evilly, and called up another ball of fire. This one, however, he launched into the crowd.

Teyaka saw where it was aimed: a group of draken chicks! "No!" she cried out. She gathered all her strength and bolted over in front of them. The fire slammed into her, blasting her into the air, and she crashed to the ground several feet back. She struggled to her feet, her armor scorched and her fur below it badly burnt.

"Mamma!" her cubs cried, running over to her.

Suddenly, Dash felt something odd... like an old, far-away voice whispering to him. Whispering... a plan. "Guys," he said to his friends, "try to keep him busy for me!"

"Right!" the others said as one. Dash took a step back, closing his eyes and gathering as much energy as he could, and Sabre stepped in front of him.

"All right, we've fought you long enough!" Ragnarok said, drawing in energy. A shimmering ball of fire formed before him, and it leapt through the air toward the Dark One.

"Oh please," he replied, batting away the attack, sending it to join the blaze below.

Sabre's eyes widened as he looked at the situation. He suddenly ran forward, leaping into the air and flying at the Dark One.

Teyaka looked at her friends, then at the drakens all around her. "Everyone! We only have one chance!" They all looked at her. "Dash is the one who can end this! Concentrate on him; try to send him your help!"

Sabre flew at the Dark One. "Hey, ugly!" he yelled, shifting the evil human's attention to himself. The Dark One growled, launching a ball of darkness at him. Sabre dodged under it and laughed. "You call that power? I could outdo that in my sleep!"

Below, a familiar glowing wind began flowing toward Dash and gathering at his hands. Suddenly, though, a new light appeared. Colors were beginning to rise from the crowd of drakens from the valley. First one, then another, then a whole rainbow spectrum! Teyaka stood transfixed with awe, and even the drakens themselves looked astonished, as the colors began to flow forward, streaking and blending together, except for three: one green, one red, and one brown.

The Dark One launched another ball at Sabre, who dodged again. "That is so pathetic," the draken jeered. "You waited all this time for that?"

Dash's eyes snapped open, glowing white. Suddenly, one of the lights from the drakens hit him, and the glow turned to a brilliant blue. Then red, and black, and orange.... The three colors that had separated from the stream flew over, surging into Ragnarok, Amber, and the twins. They felt power course through them, and their eyes started to glow brightly. They looked at each other in surprise, then up at the Dark One.

Sabre laughed, but then the Dark One suddenly pounded a ball of energy home, slamming the draken to the ground with a sickening crunch. "And what are you supposed to be, the group jester?" he sneered.

Sabre cried out in pain, but felt a grin tug at his lips. He had felt a lot of bones break in that fall, but he still hardly cared. He coughed, tasting a metallic tang of blood, then laughed weakly. "I'm the distraction."

"What?!"

A rope of stone and soil shot up and clamped around the Dark One's right leg. Sabre looked over and saw.... "You aren't going to sneak away this time!" Amber cried, the air around her suffused with a brilliant brown glow.

The Dark One tried to use his powers to free himself, but it just slid off the earthen tether. "What is this?"

A beam of pure flame lanced up, piercing and enveloping his left leg, and the Dark One screamed. "This is the payback for all the pain you've ever caused!" Ragnarok yelled up to him.

Two cyclones flashed up, yanking his arms out straight and nearly out of their sockets. "This is it!" "Now, Dash! Now!" the twins called

Dash rose to his feet, not just his eyes but his whole body glowing an almost-blinding white. He leapt into the air and flew up to the height the Dark One was trapped at. "You've hurt a lot of people," he said, his voice full of anger and power, "and you have ruined so many lives. We've stopped you before, and this time, we're putting you down for good!" As he cried out this last, his right hand shot forward, and all the gathered energy blasted out in one enormous ball of the purest light. It crashed into the Dark One, shattering his bonds and hurtling his broken body to the ground on the other side of the drakens.

Dash landed softly next to Sabre, the battered draken breathing shallowly. A little of the energy still remained, and he called it forth to heal his friend. Sabre took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking up at him. "You beat him, didn't you?" he asked, and Dash grinned and nodded.

"You... have won," they heard the Dark One gasp, "but I will yet get my revenge!" They saw a foul cloud of blackness starting to gather around him.

"Dash! Sabre! Teyaka! Quick!" Amber cried out, starting to glow again, and the group scrambled together.

"In my dying breath... I curse you all...! You shall lose... that which you most hold dear!" The cloud shot out, blasting the crowd of drakens over the cliff edge. Amber called up a dome of stone that sealed over her and her friends, but the sheer force of the dark cloud slammed them into the back wall, and they all blacked out.

* * *

###

Part Three: Loose Ends

Dash stirred, darkness all around him. A little light was shining in through a few cracks in the stone wall that surrounded them. He felt a tangle of bodies around him starting to sort itself out. He coughed, and then called, "Is everyone okay?"

The twins groaned. "I... think we're all right..." one, or maybe both, of them said.

"I'm okay, more or less," Teyaka said, whimpering with pain as someone hit her recent burn. Her cubs soon made it clear that they were fine as well.

"Amber?" Ragnarok asked. "Amber, are you all right?"

Amber moaned. "My leg... I think my leg is broken," she said.

"Let's get some light in here," Dash said, and he punched the cracks, breaking a hole in the wall. Light poured in, and he shattered a hole big enough for them to get out through. They all walked out, and Dash could tell that Amber was barely holding in a cry with each step. Dash touched it gingerly, and she yelped in pain. "Yeah, I think you broke one of the bones," he said. "I can...."

He trailed off as he glanced over the cliff, and his gaze locked onto what he saw. "Oh... man..." Sabre breathed. There wasn't a forest any more! It was one gigantic field of ash, a few burned out husks of trees still standing here and there. There were a few dabs of color scattered around, the bodies of drakens lying in the ash. Dash gasped as he noticed a spot of light blue. "Mom!" he cried out, jumping off the edge of the cliff and flying to her at his top speed. He landed next to the all-too-familiar body. "Mom! Mom!"he said, shaking her.

"Teyaka, climb on quick," Ragnarok said. "I can't fly, but I can glide you down." Teyaka climbed onto his back, wincing in pain with each movement. Her cubs hopped onto the others, and they coasted down.

Keera and Terra landed next to their mate. "Dash?" Keera asked.

"C'mon Mom, wake up!" Dash pleaded. Skye's eyes fluttered open. "Mom! You're all right!" Dash said, pulling her up and tightly hugging her neck.

Skye looked at him, staying still, then sniffed at him. Dash pulled back. "M-mom? What's wrong?" he asked.

Skye looked at him, then walked over and sniffed at the twins. "Sh-she's..." "...like an animal," they said softly.

Dash sat there, staring. "M-m-mom?" he asked, tears in his eyes. She looked at him, then walked over to him and sat down. Dash cried out and threw his arms around her. "N-no... n-n-not m-my mom," he sobbed.

Drakens were starting to wake up all over the newly-created Great Plains. When they did, they were just milling around, some walking to different parts and others just standing there.

"He... he turned them all into... into animals..." Ragnarok said, staring out over the Plains in disbelief.

"D-Dash?" Keera asked again. Dash was still sobbing into his mother's shoulder. She touched his back with her wing, and he didn't react. A second later, he suddenly let go, took a few steps back, and jumped up, flying away. "Dash!"

"Most of us never even knew our parents," Ragnarok said, walking over to the twins. "Dash only had his mom, and now he's lost her in the most complete and total way possible."

"Dash..." the twins whispered, then looked at each other and flew after their mate.

* * *

She felt something moving her, and her eyes slowly opened. She saw something white with a face like hers. The white thing pulled her up and held on to her, making some sort of noises. After a little bit, it let go, and she looked at the rest of the things that were around her. They looked like her, but were all sorts of different colors. She smelled one in particular, the funny green one. She sniffed it, and it did smell familiar. Oh well. She walked back to the white one. It smelled even more familiar, and it felt like something she liked, something that was good to be by. It held onto her again, making more noises, then let go and flew away. A little bit later, the green one flew away too. Again, she got the urge that these were things she should be with, so she jumped up and flew after them.

* * *

Dash looked around his valley, tears in his eyes. It was like a ghost town. There wasn't anyone there... it was so empty. Taking all the drakens may have been what let them beat the Dark One, but it meant that everyone had been hit by the Dark One's final curse. "It's my fault..." he said quietly, a tear running down his cheek. "I'm the only one left...." He turned and walked over to his old home. He'd lived here for the first fifteen years of his life. It was so empty now, so cold.... "Fifteen years... and I'm all that's left...."

"Dash!" To the distraught draken, it sounded like the cry of a ghost, of all the people who would never be coming back.

Suddenly, he couldn't stand it anymore. He raised his fist and punched at the wall. The twins jumped in front of him, catching the punch. They were flung back into the stone wall, which managed to stay standing. Dash stared at them. "K-Keera? Terra? I...."

Keera looked pleadingly up at him, a bruise flowering on her shoulder. "Please Dash, don't break it," she begged.

Dash fell to his knees and hugged her, crying. "Oh Keera, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I... I..." he sobbed.

Keera looked up at him. "Dash, I know you're having a really rough time right now. I know we'd feel the same if we lost our mom. But don't forget, we're here for you, okay?" She stroked his cheek with her wing.

Dash put a hand to her wing. "K-Keera..." he said, then turned away, crying. "G-go. You don't deserve to be stuck with me. It's all my fault... my fault the drakens are just animals now...."

The twins walked over to him. "Dash, it's like you told us before," Terra said, "they were the ones who chose to come, and none of the stuff that happened later was your fault. "You aren't the villain, Dash, you're the hero!" Keera told him. "If it weren't for you, everyone would have died." "Not just everyone there, but everyone everywhere!"

Dash looked up at them, tears streaming down his face. "But... all my friends... my family..." he said closing his eyes and looking down.

Keera and Terra both hugged him. "I know it's a lot, to lose all those people you knew and loved," Keera told him, "but don't forget... you haven't lost everyone who cares about you." He looked up, and she moved her head closer to his. She pressed her lips to his for a few seconds, then pulled back. Dash sat there, dumbstruck. She had kissed him...! B-but drakens didn't do that... it just wasn't something that came to them....

"K-Keera..." Dash breathed.

"It's really terrible that you lost your mom, but you've got a chick on the way, and you can't abandon her," she said sternly, hoping to shake him out of it.

"I... oh Keera!" he said, throwing his arms around her. "I...I won't leave you, and I won't leave our chick either. I never had a father, and I just couldn't bear to do that to my chick," he said. He pulled back to arm's length, and smiled wearily. "I'll be okay, I think. I'm sorry about all this..." he said. "It... it'll take me a little time to get used to... to what happened, but I won't run out on you.

"There, that's better, isn't it? Terra asked, wiping off his cheek with her wing.

"...Thank you too, Terra," Dash said, hugging her. "I know it's not quite as... deep between us, but I do love you too."

Terra nodded. "I know," she said, patting him with her wing.

Dash sat back on his heels. "Before we go, c-could I get something first?" he asked, looking as if he was holding back more tears.

The twins both nodded. "Sure," they said.

Dash got to his feet and hesitantly walked into his old home. It smelled so deeply of Skye.... Tears started running down his cheeks again, but he kept going. He rolled up his old bed and tucked it into his backpack. He paused, looking at Skye's mat, then rolled it up too and carried it out.

The twins had watched him in there. "M-m-mom's bed," Dash said, renewed sobs choking his throat. "I s-slept h-here so m-m-many t-times, wh-when I w-was a l-l-little chick, sc-cared of the d-dark, a n-n-nightmare, or j-just l-lonely... m-my m-mom c-curled around m-m-me...." He sobbed loudly and fell into a sitting position, unable to talk anymore, overcome with grief and hugging the rolled-up mat. The twins curled around him, warm and comforting, and he leaned into their side, crying uncontrollably. Keera nuzzled him, knowing that it was something he had to do.

A while later, Dash uncurled from around the mat a little, the tears slowing down. "Are you feeling okay, Dash? Ready to go back?" Keera asked.

Dash nodded mutely, still hugging the bedroll, and stood up. Keera and Terra could tell that with all this happening to him so fast, his hold on everything was getting a little looser.... All they could do was stay with him, and hope they could help. All three walked over to the tunnel, and left the village for the last time.

* * *

Coming out of the tunnel that had been a big part of his life for fifteen years, Dash saw something that made him completely freeze up. The twins nearly walked into him as they came out, and then saw what Dash had seen: Skye. She had followed their scents here, but, unable to figure out the vines, had sat here to wait for them. Dash was clutching her old mat like a drowning man might cling to a log. Forced face to face with the essence of all that had just happened, Dash just stood there. They could see that it was almost more than he could bear, and it was getting to that point fast. They hurried forward to do something, maybe shoo the draken off, but Dash waved them back with his tail.

Skye walked up and sniffed the mat, then rubbed her head on his arm and looked up at him. Dash crouched down and reached out with his tail, first touching and then slowly petting her neck, still clinging to the mat, a few tears running down his face. He slowly stood up and motioned to the twins, and they walked off. After a few steps, Skye stood up and followed them. Dash stopped and turned around. Skye walked up to him and stopped, cocking her head.

"Dash?" Terra asked, really worried about how he might be taking this all.

"Sh-she doesn't know what to do," he told them. "She... she always cocked her head like that when she was confused. That's where I picked up the gesture." The twins could tell that the words were just about all that there was keeping him from cracking completely right now, and they were helping a little. "She doesn't remember anything.... She had really strong feelings about us near the... the end, and so she probably recognizes us as something important. She needs s-someone to watch her, m-make sure she gets food a-and st-stays ok-kay...." Dash crouched down and looked her in the eye, trying to speak clearly. "Y-your name is Skye," he told her. "Do you remember that? You are Skye." Skye looked up at him when she heard her name, so it must at least ring a bell for her. "Okay, now j-just f-follow us," he told her, then started walking out of the forest. First the twins and then Skye followed him out.

Keera nuzzled him. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked him, worried.

Dash sat down heavily. At the touch, Dash felt something loosen, something that had been stretched almost to the breaking point. "I... I just don't know any more," he said. "I feel like my whole world has been turned upside-down. My mom... she's gone, but she's still here...." Skye lay down next to him and laid her head in his lap. He rubbed her head sadly, and continued. "I... I've lost a lot of the things I can hold on to...."

"You still have us," Terra said, nuzzling him too.

Dash nodded. "I know, and I'm really grateful that you two have stayed by me through all this...." He hesitated, then set down the rolled up mat to hold them with his other arm. The twins realized he had just set aside a crutch his mind had picked up to help him cope. Maybe he was getting better after all.

He picked up the bedroll and carefully put it in the backpack. "All right... let's get going," he said.

* * *

Amber cried out as she landed on top of the cliff, her foreleg crumpling under her. "Amber!" Ragnarok exclaimed, running next to her.

"I-I'm fine," she said, hissing with pain. "Reflex put my leg under me when I landed." She slowly got to her feet, keeping the leg folded to her chest.

Ragnarok folded a wing over her. "Y'know, it's all thanks to you, Amber, that we aren't animals again," he said, trying to take her mind off it a little. "That was really quick thinking, and we all owe you."

Amber nuzzled him. "And at least now we know why Dash's village could talk, when we couldn't," she said.

Sabre noticed three dots in the sky that were slowly getting bigger. "Hey, they're coming back!" he said. A minute later, Dash and the twins landed by them. A few seconds later, Skye dropped down too.

"Feeling a little better Dash?" Amber asked, limping over to him.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry I ran off, but I guess it was something I needed to do...." He patted her shoulder, and she yelped in pain. "Oh! Your leg! Geez, I'm sorry!"

Amber shook her head, grimacing. "It's all right, you've got a whole lot on your mind," she said forgivingly.

"Here, let me fix that up for you," he said, closing his eyes. A cool breeze blew slowly past them, collecting at Dash's hands. "Sorry, but this is going to hurt," he said. He gently took hold of her leg and pushed the bones to where they should be. Amber gritted her teeth, choking off most of a cry of pain. Dash sent the power he had gathered into Amber's leg, and the energy went to work, mending the bone and soothing the pain. "There, how's that?" he asked.

Amber gingerly unfolded her leg and set it back on the ground. "Much better, thanks," she said with a smile, a bit of the pain still lingering, but otherwise okay.

"Hey, was that Amber? Are you okay?" they heard Teyaka call from below the cliff.

Dash leaned over the edge. "So why is she down there, and you're up here?" he asked the drakens.

"We were up here looking for you guys!" Sabre said. He jumped over the edge, gliding down to Teyaka and her cubs, the rest of the drakens following.

Teyaka was lying on the ground, and Kaya was trying to help her burns, grooming her mother's badly scorched fur. Teyaka looked at Dash and Skye, then nodded. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

Dash winced as he looked at her burn. "Here, let me heal you too..." he offered. He concentrated, but only a meager whisper of wind made it to him. "Whoops.... I guess I'm too wiped out," he said with an apologetic smile.

The twins nodded. "Us too," Keera said. "Sorry, Teyaka," Terra added.

Teyaka smiled at them. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I'll be okay until you're all back at full."

"Hey, maybe..." Ragnarok said, then took off running. "Come on!" he yelled back.

Keera and Terra jumped to their feet as Teyaka struggled to her feet. "You follow," "and we'll get him to slow down," they said, and then sprinted after him. "Uncle Ragnarok! Wait!" "What is it?"

The draken stopped and turned around. "I... I guess I'm grasping at straws, but maybe the ring is there!" he said.

"Hey!" Teyaka said as she walked over. "What's up, Ragnarok?"

"Aw, I'm sorry, Teyaka," he said, and gently nuzzled her neck. "I got a little... overexcited, I guess. But come on, maybe we can get home!"

That was all Teyaka needed to hear. She looked up at Dash and said, "You can pick me up again. I can walk, but I can't run, and we want to get there as fast as we can."

Dash nodded and stooped down, lifting her up in his arms. "All right, let's go!" .

They pushed through the forest as fast as they could. Teyaka noticed the eerie feeling again, her fur starting to subliminally prickle, but this time recognized it as a good thing. After a moment, they burst into a clearing a few draken-lengths wide, with a big metal ring in the middle. "It's here!" the twins exclaimed.

"We can get home!" Teyaka cheered as Dash set her back on her feet.

The white draken grinned at the others, then looked over at Skye, noticing that she looked nervous, ready to bolt. He went to pull out the message, and then remembered that he had given it to the villagers!

Amber noticed what was going on. "Don't worry, I can remember the second set of symbols," she said, moving to the ring.

Dash nodded. "Okay, go ahead," he told her, crouching down next to Skye. "It's okay," he told the blue draken, holding her neck with one hand and stroking her cheek with the other. She calmed visibly at his touch, and he nodded at Amber.

Amber nodded, then started tapping in the symbols she remembered. The ring flashed, and a portal appeared inside the ring. Startled by the sudden light, Skye jolted, but Dash held on to her, and she relaxed after a few seconds as the others jumped in. Dash hopped to the other side and carefully coaxed her into the pool, then dropped through it himself..

* * *

Dash dropped lightly to the ground near Teyaka's cubs, who had scampered a few steps off this time. Skye wandered back over to him and gently rubbed her head against his arm.

"Okay, the ring is still here, so we didn't get sent back," Sabre said, really getting the hang of the whole time-travel thing.

"The edge of the forest is this was," Amber said. "Let's go see when we are."

They walked through the forest, until they emerged back into the sunlight. "Hey, is that...?" Ragnarok said, peering at the cliff. "It is! It's the bus!"

"We're home!" Teyaka exclaimed joyously, and her cubs all cheered. "I can finally lie down in my own bed...."

Ragnarok looked over to Amber, then snuggled up to her, draping a wing over her back. "I'm sorry we weren't able to get back to our time," he said.

Amber shook her head and smiled. "It's all right," she said. "I... think I like it here too. I've realized... this is home too." She gave her friends all a warm smile, then paused and rubbed her now-larger belly. "Plus, I don't think it would be good to be bouncing around time any more now."

Ragnarok blinked and looked over her again. He looked like he was trying to say something profound or witty, but all he could do was laugh and nuzzle her, rubbing her belly.

"Well, if it happened to Amber..." Dash remarked, and looked over the twins. Sure enough, they were bigger too, looking about four months pregnant.

Skye walked up to the twins, seeming to be a little surprise at their rounded middle. She rubbed Keera's side, almost as if she was making sure it was real. Keera giggled at the touch, and Skye moved over and nuzzled both of them. "Poor Skye..." Amber said softly..

Dash looked down at the light blue draken, his wings and tail drooping. He sat down and rubbed her head. "So now what do we do with you?" he asked her sadly. He glanced around the group, and his eyes widened as he realized something. "Guys, you all used to be like this, right?" he asked the drakens.

"Pretty much, yes," Ragnarok replied, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"How did you guys change? Maybe it's still around!"

"We... it was Pike's machine, in one of the caves on the cliff," Amber replied.

Dash picked up Teyaka. "Well come on, let's get going!" he said, sprinting for the cliff.

Ragnarok glanced around as Skye and the twins ran after him. "Ready for some more running?" he asked the cubs.

The cubs looked among themselves. "We're all really tired," Buck said.

"But if it's to make Uncle Dash feel better..." Emerald said.

"Then we can do it!" Roc finished, and they sprinted after Dash.

"All this picking up and running is getting a bit bothersome," Teyaka muttered to herself, her pride a bit bruised by the treatment. She looked up into Dash's face, shining with hope, and decided that it was worth it.

"It's that cave, over there!" Keera said to Dash as they ran.

Dash changed direction and slowed to a walk. He set Teyaka back on the ground, something she looked very grateful for, and the rest of the group caught up to them. Dash looked at the cave in the cliffside. There were two drakens standing in front of it, a male and a female, and he guessed that they were either tour guides or guards. He took a deep breath, then walked up to them. "Hello there," he said to the two drakens.

"Hi!" they said. "Are you new to the Plains?" one asked.

"Um, pretty much," Dash replied. Teyaka scooted to the back of the group, so her burns didn't attract any attention and divert from the main objective. "Is this where Dr. Pike used to live?

The other draken nodded. "Yep, where all the drakens were awakened," she said, almost proudly.

"Could I go in?"

The two drakens looked at each other. "Sorry, but no," the first said. "We're not supposed to let anyone in here."

Ragnarok walked up, thinking that he might be able to help. The guards looked him over, then started in surprise. "Are you Ragnarok?" the female asked. "The Ragnarok?"

Ragnarok looked at them, surprised. "Um, yeah, I guess," he said.

The two drakens looked at each other, visibly excited. "We get to meet the first drakens that was ever Awakened!" the male said to the female.

"This is so neat!" she said. "Oh, I wish I had some paper and ink...."

Ragnarok looked very surprised at their reactions. "So you guys weren't around back then, huh?"

They shook their heads. "No, I'm only sixty," the male said, "and she's sixty-eight."

Ragnarok blinked, then grinned at the situation. They were practically bowing down to him, and they were eight times his age. "Listen, could we please go in there? It's really important."

"Of course!" the female said as they stepped aside. "You've got more right to be here than we do!"

Ragnarok, Dash, Skye, and the twins walked inside the cave, the rest staying outside to chat with the guards. "Oh man, this sure brings back memories," Ragnarok said. It still looked the same, even after all these years.

"So how does this thing work?" Dash asked.

Ragnarok glanced around. "Okay, first get her on that table," he instructed.

Keera and Terra watched with some interest as Dash coaxed Skye up onto the table. "Y'know, we never actually got to watch this," Terra said. Keera laughed and said, "Yeah, we were too busy being all cute and energetic."

"Next, put that thing on her head," Ragnarok said, "and use the straps to hold her down." Ragnarok directed Dash through the switches and buttons Pike always hit. Dash pressed the last button, and Skye's head jerked up, then fell limp, her wings and tail twitching. They waited a few a few minutes, and then Ragnarok said, "Okay, you can take the stuff off her now." Dash took the device off her head and carefully unstrapped her. She was breathing lightly, but didn't move. Dash looked worried, but Ragnarok told him, "Don't worry, she's just knocked out. When she wakes up, she'll be fine."

Dash looked at him, then nodded and picked up his mother, setting her head on his shoulder. He tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come out, so he just nodded Ragnarok and the twins out in front of him.

Ragnarok, Keera, and Terra all walked out. "So, all done in there, Ragnarok?" the female guard asked with a smile.

Ragnarok smiled too. "Yeah, it was nice. Brought back some fond memories," he said. While Ragnarok chatted with the two drakens, Dash slipped quietly out past them. "Well, I think it's about time for us to get going. Nice meeting you guys."

"Nice meeting you too!" they both replied, moving back to their original positions as the group left.

"How is your mom doing, Uncle Dash?" Roc asked him as they walked off.

"I don't know," Dash said, reaching up to stroke Skye's neck. "I did everything Ragnarok said, but we won't know until she wakes up...."

Emerald looked up at the sky. "Wow, it's pretty dark now," she said.

Amber looked around, then noticed a lot of little balls of light moving around the Plains. She tugged on Dash's shirt and asked, "Hey Dash, what are those lights?"

Dash smiled, noticing one of the balls moving toward them. "Remember when I told you about the technology the humans used to make the furs?" he asked. The drakens nodded, and he continued. "Well, before they made the furs, they started with making a bunch of new animals." He shifted Skye in his arms to hold out one hand, and the ball of light landed in it. "This is a luna," he said, lowering his hand to the drakens' eye level.

In Dash's hand was a really big butterfly. Its wings were about a foot wide, and that wasn't counting the long curvy bit that came out of the front bit of the wings. Its wings were a light yellow-green, and had markings that were a darker shade of the same tone. It also had black fuzzy antennae that twitched as it walked around Dash's palm. But what really got the drakens' attention was the fact that the luna was glowing! It glowed pretty brightly, a little like the moss back at Dash's old home. "Oh wow...." "It's so pretty!" the twins said.

Dash laughed and set his hand on Keera's nose. The butterfly crawled off his hand and onto his mate's muzzle, slowly moving its wings a little. Terra giggled, and Keera smiled, trying not to scare the pretty bug off. "They live all over the place, and they're really friendly," Dash said with a grin.

"They're so pretty, aren't they?" Emerald said with a smile.

"Miss Keera? Could I play with the luna, please?" Kaya asked politely.

Keera smiled and pressed her nose to Kaya's, then shook her head a little. The luna fluttered its wings and flew to more stable ground, landing on the foremost spike of Kaya's head armor. Kaya looked up at it and giggled.

Dash smiled at her and laughed. "C'mon, let's keep going. The bus is probably going to leave soon.

Kaya shook her head, and the luna flew off, heading for parts unknown. She giggled as it fluttered away, and had to resist the urge to go chase it, instead running to catch up with the group"I hope it isn't far to the bus," she said. "I think we've done about as much running and walking as my legs want to do." Her brothers and sister chorused their agreement.

Sabre grinned. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that we're going to be laying on a bus for a long time, huh?" he remarked.

"Yep!" Kaya agreed with a smile.

* * *

They walked up the trail that led to the top of the cliff, where the bus was waiting. The drakens could have simply flown up, but the constant action was wearing them down too, and they didn't mind taking the calmer route for once.

As they walked into view of the bus, the feline that drove it greeted them. "Hey there! You folks are just in time! You're the last to get on, so we'll be ready to go as-" He stopped as the group stepped into view. "Geez, what happened to you guys?"

Dash blinked, then looked over himself and his friends. His clothes were tattered, and most everyone else was covered with burns and scorches from their battles, and they all had ash on them from the fire that created the Plains. "We started a little campfire in the forest," he invented quickly. "It got a little out of control before we managed to get it put back out." He gave an apologetic smile.

The cat looked him up and down, then shrugged. "Well, at least you didn't burn the forest down," he he mused.

Dash nodded. "And don't worry, we're going to visit the hospital as soon as we get back to town," he said. The cat nodded and let them pass.

The group climbed aboard the bus and walked to the mats at the back. Ragnarok collapsed gladly onto one, curling up around his mate, who thumped down after him. Teyaka gingerly sat down on her mat, and Dash gently set Skye on another one nearby. The rest of the group took the seats they had last time, and the ride home started. Amber yawned, snuggling up to Ragnarok. "It's good to be finally headed somewhere we can call home," she said, fighting to keep her eyes open. Ragnarok smiled and rubbed her tummy with a forepaw, making her giggle.

"It's still so neat," Terra said. "Yeah, that we get to have a chick at the same time as you," Keera agreed with a big smile.

Dash rubbed Keera's neck, and she laid her head in his lap, with a sigh that seemed both content and exhausted. "Thanks for being here for me, guys," he said. "I... I'm not sure I could have made it through without you."

Keera was too occupied, but her sister said, "Well, we would never have left you behind. You're our mate... and our best friend." She smiled up at him.

Dash smiled back. "Thanks, Terra," he said, and brought his finned tail around to rub her neck too. After a minute, he grinned and moved his tail to her tummy, slowly running the very tip of his fin across her side of their belly. He could feel her shaking, trying to hold in a fit of giggles. Dash laughed and hugged both twins.

Sabre looked over to say something to Buck, but he saw that all the cubs were asleep, their bodies tangled up into one big fuzzy, armory ball with four heads, a few tails, and an indeterminate number of legs. "Now that's just cute," he said with a smile.

Amber yawned again, laying her head down. "Well, see you all tomorrow morning..." she murmured, closing her eyes.

Teyaka looked over to Dash. "When I chose to live with you, I had no idea of all the trouble we'd get into," she said with a smile. "Or the wonderful people we'd meet, the places we'd go to, and the adventures we'd have."

Dash grinned and nodded. "And it's a choice I'm really glad you made," he said. Her smile grew warmer, and he dropped a paw onto her neck to rub it.

Ragnarok yawned. "Yeah, it's hard to imagine where we'd be without you, Teyaka," he said. "Thank you for keeping Amber safe. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay that debt.

Teyaka shook her head. "It's not something you'll have to repay," she said. "After all, isn't that what true friends are for? To be there for you, even when the chips are down."

Ragnarok blinked. "Um, right," he said. Chips? What chips? he wondered.

Dash smiled, then looked down at Skye. "...I hope she turns out okay..." he said quietly, petting the back of her neck softly

"She'll be okay," Keera said comfortingly. "Pike's machine has never failed a single draken," Terra added. "Now com on, Dash," Keera said. "You're trying not to show it, but you're just about exhausted." "You've done the most of any of us, and now you can rest." Keera patted the mat next to them. "Come get some sleep."

Dash opened his mouth to protest, then laughed. "We haven't been mates for a week, and you can already read me like a book," he said, lying down next to them. "Yeah, I think it's time to get some serious rest." He yawned once more, then fell fast asleep.

* * *

The next morning came uneventfully. Everyone woke up, except for Skye. Dash kept a quiet vigil over her, getting a little more worried as each hour passed. "Should it be this long?" he asked Ragnarok. Ragnarok shook his head, and Dash started looking even more worried and withdrawn.

Roc had his paws up on the window, and was looking out. "Hey, we're back in New Halipont!" he said. Indeed, the familiar tall buildings were starting to roll by in the bus's windows.

"Yay, we're home!" Emerald cheered, hopping up to look out the window.

The bus pulled up to the station, and the cat stood up. "Well, thank you all for traveling with us. I hope you all had a wonderful trip," he said, and opened the doors. People started walking off the bus, and the group stood up. Dash carefully lifted his mother up and carried her out. The cat watched him and waved as he stepped off. "Hey, I hope she gets better soon," he said.

Dash looked up, then nodded. "Thanks," he said, managing a small smile.

The walk home was fortunately uneventful as well; Dash didn't think he could handle any more drama or work. As the door to their home opened, they practically staggered through and collapsed onto the first piece of furniture they could reach. "Oh man," Ragnarok muttered, "I have never been so glad to see this couch." The others laughed a general assent. Dash, however, carried Skye to his room. He set her on his bed, then carefully unrolled her mat and gently laid her on it. He sat back on his bed to keep watch over her again.

Out in the main room, Ragnarok turned to the twins. "Dash has had a pretty hard time with this all. At least he still has you, huh?" he said pointedly.

Keera and Terra nodded, then their eyes widened as they realized what he was saying, and they hurried into Dash's room. "Dash?" they both called quietly.

Dash looked up. "Hi girls," he said, smiling weakly.

The twins hopped up onto his bed and curled up next to him. "I'm sure she'll be fine," Terra said, but they were pretty worried too.

* * *

She slowly faded back to consciousness. Her head throbbed, and her mouth felt really dry. She heard two people talking... they both sounded a little familiar, but she couldn't remember. "Ngh..." she groaned, slowly opening her eyes. She was in... she didn't know where she was! She tried to jump to her feet, but her legs didn't responded. She noticed a raised bed nearby, and on it was.... "Mngg... D...Da...ssssh... Dash?" she asked.

"W-what?! Mom!" Dash exclaimed. He jumped off the bed and ran to her, hugging her hard. "Please tell me you're all right!"

"I...I'm ff-fine, b-but you... you're c-crush-ing mme!" she stammered, and she couldn't help but grin. Her mouth didn't seem to work quite right, but at least she could talk.

"S-sorry," Dash said with a smile, loosening his grip. Skye felt something wet on her shoulder, and she realized Dash was crying. "I'm s-so glad you're okay," he told her. "I w-was sure I h-had lost you forever...."

Skye looked at him, then forced her muscles to cooperate, reaching her neck up to nuzzle him. "Th-there there, D-Dash," she said. She jerkily reached up with her wings and held him as he cried, this time in joy and relief. Eventually, he calmed down and let go. He stepped back and sat beside a green draken with two heads. "Wwwhat happ-pened t-to me?" she struggled to ask. The green draken was setting off bells in her head, but she couldn't quite remember....

"What can you remember?" Dash asked her.

"I... our v-village. I-in the valley," she said, her speech finally starting to clear up a little. "Y-you had been g-gone a long time, and I m-missed you...." She shook her head. "I c-can't remember anything after th-that...."

One of the green heads nodded. "I thought it might be like this," She said. "You're having a lot of trouble remembering things, but it ought to clear up as your brain sorts everything back out. We came to the valley because we needed you and the rest of the drakens to help us beat a real evil." "We won," the other said, "but it turned all the other drakens into animals... including you."

"What...I...?" Skye asked, then cried out as memories started cascading back into her head. Flashes of people, places, a fight....

"Mom!" Dash exclaimed, holding onto her shoulder.

Skye sat up slowly, breathing hard. "I...I'm okay, she said. She remembered the past day or two, wandering around after Dash, like and animal.... "Dash... thank you," she said, nuzzling him. "Thank you for taking care of me, when I couldn't. She looked up at the green draken- drakens, she realized. "You two... K-Keera? And Terra?"

The green drakens nodded and smiled. "The other way around, actually." "I'm Keera, and she's Terra."

"Oh, your belly..." Skye said, then her eyes widened as it hit her. "That's right! You're pregnant with Dash's chick!" she said with a small but delighted smile.

The twins nodded at her. "Right!" Keera said, both twins smiling.

Skye looked around. "So...where am I?" she asked.

Dash looked at the twins. "Well... first off, my friends weren't just drakens from another village," he said. "There never actually were any other villages. They actually came from the future."

Skye looked a little dumbstruck. "They...huh?"

Dash smiled. "When I left the village after being... turned like this, we found a portal like the one they had used to get to our time, but it sent us back even further in time. In one battle against the same evil force, I got knocked even further into the future than where my friends came from. I managed to get a nice home to live in, and a few good friends, like Teyaka."

All this seemed like a little too much to Skye's already-overwrought brain. "Past...? Future...?" She laid her head back down, putting her paws over it. "Mgh... so confused..." she moaned.

The twins walked over and sat down next to her, adjusting their posture for their new belly. "We're a long time after you used to live," Keera explained. "All the drakens got turned into animals, but about a hundred and fifty years ago, a human made something that could make them smart again." "Now you're in Dash's bedroom, in his new home." "We're the only ones that know the drakens used to be intelligent, by the way."

Skye shook her head. "Ev...everyone's gone?" she asked her son.

Dash nodded. "Yes, all the drakens from our village are long dead," he said, hugging her. "I'm sorry. I know how it feels like, to have everyone taken away from you so suddenly like this."

Skye looked up at him. "...Thank you, honey," she said, leaning her head into his chest, a tear or two falling into his shirt.

"Maybe we should leave them alone," Keera whispered to her sister, standing up.

"No, please," Skye said to them. "Please stay."

The twins paused, then walked back over to her, and nuzzled the light blue draken.

Skye nuzzled them back. "Thank you all... for helping me," she said. "And thank you for not leaving me behind."

"We would never do that!" "Yeah, you're Dash's mom!" the twins said.

Skye laughed. "I like your conviction," she said.

Dash smiled, nuzzling her. "Are you feeling up to walking around a little?" he asked her.

Skye pushed herself up to her feet, legs a little wobbly. "I think so," she said.

"C'mon, let's go see how the others are," he said, leading her out and back into the main room.

As they walked out, Amber looked up, about to ask how Skye was doing. "Skye!" she exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. "Skye, you're awake! How are you doing?" She ran over and nuzzled the blue draken.

Skye laughed again. "It's nice to know you were so worried about me," she said. "I'm doing fine. A little surprised about all that's happened, but I'm okay."

"That's great," Amber said, stepping back and smiling.

Skye looked her over, then blinked in surprise. "Amber, you're pregnant too?"

Amber smiled, blushing a little. "Yeah," she said. "Ragnarok's the father."

"That's wonderful!" Skye said with a broad smile. "You look about... oh, six months along?"

"About, yes," Amber said.

"Isn't it neat that we're pregnant at the same time she is?" Keera said, walking over.

Skye smiled at them. "Yeah, it's great that you get to share the experience with a close friend," she said.

"And you'll be able to see what you get to look forward to in two months," Amber joked.

"So I've got my mates, my family, and my friends," Dash said with a smile. "What more could I ever ask for?"

"How about some food? Terra suggested. "Yeah, us pregnant drakens need to stay well fed!" Keera said with a laugh.

Dash laughed too. "All right, lunch it is!" he said.

Skye smiled. "I think I'm going to like it here."

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...