Silver woke slowly, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the light around her, or lack of it. She was in a cave, laying against the cool surface of a metal nest. She let out half a sigh, not wanting to wake up yet, just relaxing in comfort. She hadn't felt like this for a very long time, and she didn't want it to end. Her eyes closed shut again, but only for a moment.

Everything that had happened washed into her. The city. The chase. The fire. The pain. It all hit her at once. She let out a gasp, eyes snapping open and she shot up from her nest. A growl left her throat, followed by a cough and a wave of dizziness.

"Silver!" exclaimed a voice near her.

Something was instantly present at her side, managing to catch her before she fell over. She blinked, shaking her head and coughing again as the dizziness dissipated and her vision cleared. She turned to look at the dragon beside her to see Retrix, worry on his face. She quickly righted herself, getting steady on her feet once again.

"I... I'm alright," she grunted, "Just got up a little too fast."

The dragoness stepped out of the nest, looking around the cave. She recognised it instantly. It was her cave. Her old one, where she had grown up. It sent a shiver of nostalgia through her, which she quickly brushed away. She turned toward Retrix and smile, gently nuzzling his chin, before stepping back again.

"Wh... what happened?" she asked, "How did I end up back here?"

The last thing she remembered was facing Eldawin in the ruined building. She remembered attacking him, then feeling like she was trying to fight in water. She remembered being shoved to the ground and a pain unlike any other. But after that... there was nothing.

The void drake hesitated, glancing to the entrance of the cave. With a sigh he sat down on his haunches and looked at her, as if trying to think of a way to phrase his next sentence. Slowly he described what happened. He didn't mention how close she had come to killing him, but everything else he did. She was shocked enough.

"Oh my.... " she looked to her paws, shaking slightly, "I.... I'm sorry.... I'm sorry."

"There is no need for you to be," he replied, "It wasn't your fault."

She gulped, nodding her head in a way that suggested she didn't quite agree with him, "How... how long have I been asleep?"

"Two days," he replied.

"Two! What!?" she exclaimed, her head shooting up, "Has Eldawin...?"

"No. He hasn't finished his machine yet it seems. But he is very close."

She let out a sigh of relief and she relaxed slightly. They still had time.

"What have I missed?" she asked.

"We'll talk on our way to the river. Iraliene wanted me to bring you there as soon as you woke."

Silver nodded and together they exited the cave, lifting into the air. She immediately noticed the increase in the amount of dragons that were in the valley. It seemed that it had gone from the hundred or so that had originally come to well over a thousand. The numbers surprised her, and she guessed that Iraliene was beginning to prepare for a final confrontation.

"You've missed a lot these past couple of days," began Retrix, "Iraliene has called in the rest of the forces from Sky Mountain. Many have stayed behind of course. We still need to protect the mountain, but most of the stronger fighters have come here, a long with as many humans that were willing to fight as possible."

"Wow... do we need so many?" she asked, wondering what the people of New York would think if they were suddenly faced with thousands of dragons approaching their city.

"We don't have nearly enough," replied the void drake grimly, "Eldawin has also been calling in his dragons it seems. All around the world the dragons from A.O.D.H have began converging upon the city. It seems he is preparing for the final moment as well. If our numbers are correct, then he has over forty thousand of the dragons under the city at this moment, hidden away in the base we have yet to find. That number is increasing."

Silver let out a startled gasp.

"Yes. The good thing I guess is the fact that the humans in New York and the surrounding area have abandoned the place. So we don't have to worry about killing any more innocents."

"I... I guess. But... forty thousand?"

Retrix smiled slightly, "We have a plan as well. Most of those dragons are controlled by Eldawin, so we only need to break that control to free them. Simple as that. Mind breakers and lighting dragons will be our greatest advantage. Oh... and you."

She smiled slightly at that, "Yeah... I guess."

"Anyway, Iraliene will explain everything."

The two of them circled down to the lake where Iraliene was busy talking to a small group of dragons down below. The valley had become far more crowded now, and the banks were covered in the reptilian creatures of all different species. It was slightly difficult to find a spot to land without running into someone. Humans were also ambling about, lounging about on a rock, cleaning different weapons or even having target practice.

Silver and Retrix made their way toward the large life dragoness. She instantly spotted them. With a quickly word with the dragons she had been talking to they were dismissed and she turned her attention on the silver dragon.

"Silver! I'm glad to see you are awake and well," she began.

Silver smiled and nodded her head.

"Now, I don't have much time available, so I want to make this as brief as possible. Tomorrow we attack, and I'm glad you are awake now and not then. Eldawin has nearly finished his machine, and I doubt we will be able to stop that from happening, so instead our mission will be stopping that machine from going off, or making it go off in a safe environment where it won't harm anything."

The metal dragon tilted her head in confusion at that last sentence.

"Eldawin is going to need a fair amount of time to charge up that machine. It requires the power of about fifty thousand dragons to actually achieve what he is aiming for. So, even if he gets halfway there and we stop it, then the machine won't be able to wipe out the entire human race."

"Just... most of it?"

Iraliene smile slightly, "Not if we can help it. Retrix and you are going to be leading a team of dragons into the battle. Your aim will be to disable the machine, destroy it with your mind if you can. But I feel as though Eldawin has a failsafe against that. So, if that plan doesn't work you, Silver, are going to distract him. Now, this sounds strange, but I want you to force the mind dragon into equilibrium."

"What?" Silver frowned.

"Yes. While incredibly dangerous in equilibrium, Eldawin will loose his ability to inflict damage to our minds while in that state. Strange I know, but it's true. He does gain the ability to control the very area around us though, so you are going to be trying to focus his attention as much as possible."

"Oh... okay," she said.

"While you are doing that, Retrix here will be dealing with the machine. He will take it into the void, removing it from this area, and taking it up as far as he can go, probably somewhere in space, and leave it there to detonate it on its own. He should be able to take it far enough out that earth won't be affected at all."

"What? How is he to take it that far out without dying?" Silver looked at Retrix.

He smiled at her, "I'm a void dragon Silver. If I can survive the vastness of the void, space should be no problem whatsoever. I could survive... five minutes I think in the void without dying, so slightly longer in space. And that is plenty of time for me to get it out there and then get back."

"You sure?" she hesitated.

"Yes," he nudged her, "I'll be fine."

She let out a small breath, "If you say so. Is there anything else?"

"That's the plan," said Iraliene, "If it doesn't work... well I don't know what will. Just remember though, you don't have to defeat Eldawin for this to work. You only need to distract him long enough for Retrix to get out there and back again."

"Okay," Silver shook herself, a little anxious now for the battle to come, "Umm... also, can I ask you what happened to Diana and Liam? Are they alright?"

"They are fine," responded the green dragon with a smile, "They were in the building during the fight between equilibriums, and were mostly unharmed."

She let out a breath of relief. At the very least they had survived. She wouldn't have forgiven herself if they hadn't.

"That is another thing I've been meaning to ask you," said Iraliene solemnly, "What happened out there? I'm aware of Firefly's unfortunate demise. It leaves us far weaker than I would have liked... and I know you two were great friends. But I haven't heard the story from your point of view."

Silver hesitated a moment, before beginning to recount what had happened. She started slowly at first, telling of how they had entered the city and she had felt the machine, then the death of the police officer and the chase through the city. When she got to the moment of that the fight began between both Firefly and her brother she stuttered, not wanting to relive the horrific event, but she forced herself to continue. She told of how she had met with Eldawin, how he had trapped her, and then forced her to watch as Firefly was killed.

Iraliene was silent for a moment, "I'm sorry. I know Firefly was a good friend. She was to me as well."

"I just hope we can make her death worth it," said Silver, looking up at the large dragon, "I will not fail again."

"Good."

* * *

After Silver was all filled in she left the river, pulling herself into the sky. Retrix followed close behind, a little worried for her. She looked around the area for a moment, taking in the valley before her. Its vast green forests and surrounding mountains. The perfect paradise.

"Hey Retrix," she said to the void drake, "Can I just have some time alone for a bit. I just want to... get my head around everything."

He hesitated a moment, before nodding his head, "Alright. See you soon Silver."

He turned around and quickly glided back down to the ground, skidding to a stop. She watched him for a moment, and couldn't help but be worried for him. Space was a dangerous place, and she hadn't even considered the crazy idea they had come up with. But if he believed he could do it, then who was she to say no. She shook her head and sighed softly. She just needed to focus on her job.

The dragoness turned in the air and flew toward one of her old favourite places of the valley. A group of long large rock pillars toward one end of the valley. No dragons seemed to be around either, thankfully. She really did need some time to just sought out everything in her head. Be mentally prepared for the battle that was happening the next day.

She settled down on one of the pillars and looked out over the valley once again. The sun was reasonably high in the sky, about mid-morning. Dragons were filtering in and out of the forest below, swarming in the sky for a last minute testing of their abilities, mentally preparing themselves for what could very well be their last full day on earth.

She felt sad, knowing that many would die tomorrow. Many dragons that wouldn't deserve it. Many humans that would fight to the last breath to save their race. She knew many were frightened, but she also knew that if they didn't fight, so many would die. A shuddering breath ran through her and she decided to try something to calm herself.

Closing her eyes she drew in deep breaths, slowing her heart rate and relaxing her mind. It was a great technique. One that helped her to see everything clearly. To feel everything around her. The flapping of dragons wings and the blurred voices of a crowd. She could even pick up the flapping of bird wings in the foliage nearby.

The wind around her breathed along her scales and back, wanting to take her away and into the sky. It was calming, and she half wished to just open her wings and let it take her. To fly to the ends of the earth with just the wind as her guide. If she managed to make it through this, she might very well do that one day.

After a couple of minutes there was a subtle shift in the area around her. The sound disappeared. The wind stopped. The birds were silenced. Frowning Silver opened her eyes to meet the familiar silver hue that accompanied time. She let out a slight smile and turned to see O'hen sitting on a nearby pillar, watching her with a slight smile.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning," she replied, shuffling slightly on her pillar to make herself a little more comfortable.

"It's been a couple of days since we last met," he accused jokingly.

"Well I have been rather busy," she responded with a slight chuckle, "I thought training was over."

"It is. I just felt that I needed to see you one last time," he said, "A final meeting."

Silver nodded her head, looking across the now frozen valley. They were silent, simply watching the frozen sky. Silver finally broke the silence.

"Do we win tomorrow?"

He sighed, "I don't know Silver. I honestly don't know. The future hasn't been written yet."

She grunted, expecting the answer. But she had hoped he would have insight into what was going to happen. It would make this all much simpler. Either they would win, or they wouldn't. It was that simple. She scraped at the rocked with a claw, shaving some of it off, the real worry of tomorrow getting to her.

"How do I defeat Eldawin, O'hen? How can I? There is nothing I can do against him. Every time we've met he has been in control, and I've been unable to do anything against him. I don't even stand a chance when he has control of my body. If he chose to, he could stop my heart in a blink, and there wouldn't be a damn thing I could do about it. A single damn thing," she exclaimed, the words rushing out of her mouth.

The time dragon watched her for a moment, before sighing softly, "Silver, you need to be in control."

"But how!"

"Everything that I have taught you this year has been preparing you for your fight against Eldawin. Everything, from control over your element to control over your mind. You can't let him get to you Silver. The moment you do is the moment you loose. That is why he was able to do what he did to you before. Because you fell for his ruse, and he broke you down until you weren't able to fight back. That was why he won. And I guarantee that tomorrow... he will attempt the same thing."

"But... but I can't stop him," she whimpered.

"And that his why he will win," growled the time dragon, "Because you believe what you just said Silver. Your mind is the most powerful weapon you have. More powerful then your claws, tail and teeth. More dangerous then your element. More dangerous, even, then your equilibrium. It is through your mind that you will win this battle Silver. Your power, your will, your skill, it won't do it for you."

She looked at the time drake and gulped.

"You are only as powerful as you believe you are Silver. You are only as strong as you think you are. If you sell yourself short, you will fight with only an inch of your potential. If you put yourself to high, you will be trying to fight at a standard you can't reach. Know yourself Silver. Know yourself, who you are, what you can do, and you will win. If you know yourself, then there is nothing Eldawin can change."

"But... how?"

"You already know how. You just need to believe you know," he smiled at her, "Silver, it doesn't matter how strong you are. How big you are. How powerful you are. All that matters is the strength you have in yourself. Do you know yourself Silver?"

"I... I don't know. I thought I did," she looked at her paws.

He sighed and lightly nudged her chin, causing her to turn her eyes to him in slight surprise, "Look. Eldawin is more powerful then you. That is a certainty. But you have a strength that he does not. There are very few dragons in this world, that existed and have yet to exist, that have that strength. Don't give in. Become as unyielding as your element. Give yourself the mental strength of the metal you are apart of. If you do this... pain will no longer harm you, fear will no longer shroud you, anger will no longer cloud you. Everything, and I mean everything, will become clear to you Silver. Don't forget that. You are who you are."

She smiled slightly at him, "I know."

"That's better," he smiled, "Now, let me ask you something Silver, are you going to win this battle tomorrow?"

She looked him in the eyes and took a deep breath, "Yes."

"And if you believe that, you will," he said, then with a glow suddenly disappeared, and time continued.

* * *

Retrix found himself wondering through the undergrowth of the forest. He had decided that he would use Silver's idea and take advantage of the time he had to clear his head before the battle. To prepare for it. He wasn't entirely sure of victory, and the idea scared him. The past days had been rather hard on the young drake, and he was haunted at night by the words Eldawin had spoken through Silver. It had made him realise just how powerful their adversary was. He felt he had underestimated the mind dragon, or at least underestimated how far the drake had been willing to go.

He looked to the sky and sighed softly. It scared him to think that, not to long ago, the dragoness he loved had been in position to kill him. He growled and shook the thought out of his head. He had known why it had happened, how it had happened. Eldawin had used Silver's sorrow, her heartbreak, as an entrance into her mind. It was a horrible thing to do, but he guessed it was the only way Eldawin would ever be able to get at her.

He continued to walk through the forest, debating taking off into the sky, when a strange silvery hue suddenly washed over the forest. He froze, blinking in surprise, and looked around with a frown. Everything had stopped moving. The trees, the birds, ever the dragons, frozen mid-flap in the sky.

"What is this?" he grunted watching the surrounding area with suspicion.

"Hello Retrix," said a voice behind him, causing the young drake to spin around in surprise.

There, sitting in the forest, was a large silver dragon, with large scales and an underbelly that looked like the starry sky. Retrix froze, staring in utter disbelief. A number of things went through his head, before he finally spoke back.

"O...O'hen?" he said, knowing the name of time from what Silver had told him.

"Are, so you do recognise me. That is good."

"Wh... why.... What do you want?" asked the startled void dragon.

"I need to talk with you, young dragon," said O'hen walking over to him, "You see, I have an important task that I need you to do."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys! New chapter. Vote if you enjoyed and comment what you thought. The next one will be out soon. See Ya!

Pennator^^