The broken city was completely silent. The dust had settled along miles upon miles of ruin. Rays of sunshine were beaming down from the steadily disappearing clouds. The day was almost done, and so was the battle that had been fought. Any remaining dragons had long since disappeared, except the thousand or so that had fought for Sky Mountain. They were now slowly making their way into the city.

There was one building still standing amidst it all. A high skyscraper with many shattered glass windows, but mostly still intact. On top of it was the Machine, the bright white light shining from it, begging to be let out. Its power was causing shimmers to run through the air at every moment. There were many murmurs from the surrounding dragons as they saw it still there, and still very much working.

Silver was sitting on a large piece of what had once been a wall. Her wings were drooped by her side and her tail limply hanging over the edge of the rubble. Everything was hurting, and the exhaustion that she had tried so hard to fight off was now running through her body. It was an effort to keep her eyes open. But it was just for a little longer. Soon she would have all the sleep she would ever need.

She thought she would be afraid of death, but as she currently was it seemed almost appealing. An eternal sleep was just what she felt as though she needed. There would be no more nightmares or rough nights. All the pain would simply vanish. Depending on how it worked she would even get to see her parents again, and even Raize. She smiled softly at the thought.

"Silver!" the familiar voice of her remaining brother rung through the air.

She looked upwards at a group of approaching dragons and sighed softly, wondering how they would take the news. They circled around her for a moment before coming in to a landing. Blaze immediately rushed forward and embraced his sister in a hug, causing her to grunt softly in pain. He immediately backed off.

"Sorry," he said with a grin.

"Don't be," she replied, surprised at how difficult it was to even get those words out, "I'm glad you're alive as well. All of you."

Retrix came forward and lightly nuzzled her neck, and she rumbled softly, nearly falling into him, but she stopped herself short, knowing that if she did she would probably fall asleep. There was time for that later.

"What happened?" he asked, "Where's Eldawin?"

Silver nodded her head toward the small little dip in the rubble behind them. They looked, seeing the body of the mind dragon. A few of them murmured in surprise, looking back at her.

"You killed him?" Tyler said.

"I didn't want to," she admitted softly, "But he said some things that, well, made me realise that if I did leave him alive, it would endanger everyone else. I couldn't let that happen."

"But Silver... the Machine," said Liam.

"Don't worry," she sighed, "I've know how to stop it. By the way Eldawin reacted, I'm confident it'll work."

There were a few relieved sighs from amongst them, though Tyler still seemed confused. He had thought threw everything, and there was no way in his mind they could stop it. Well, no way they had currently with them for immediate use. Sure, if they had a week or so he might be able to come up with something, but they didn't have a week.

"How long until it goes off Tyler?" asked the silver dragon tiredly.

"Aah... maybe an hour. Two if we're lucky," he responded.

"So we have a little bit of time," the dragoness murmured in relief.

"Wh... what is your idea?" it was Zepos that spoke this time, seeming a little shaken, as if he somehow knew what she was going to say.

"Eldawin built the Machine out of elronium because it was the only material on earth that could hold an element stone that powerful. So... if I use enough, my metal should be able to contain the power of the machine."

"Silver... I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't be able to create enough metal to do so, you're hardly in the condition to do it" said Tyler, seeming to despair again.

"Maybe not as I currently am," she agreed with another long sigh, "But in equilibrium it shouldn't be that hard."

There was a silence as they stared at her in a horrible realisation. She smiled sadly and turned to look up at the Machine again. Some part of her always knew it would come down to this. The death that O'hen had prevented over a year ago had to happen eventually. She was just glad it was here and no there.

"Si... Silver you... you can't," stuttered Zepos, "If... if you do that... you'll... you'll..."

"Either way I'll die regardless," she said, "At least like this I can keep all of you safe as well."

"But... but..." the lightning dragon slowly sunk to his haunches as he tried to blink back tears.

Silver got up and walked over to him. She softly nuzzled his neck, and he gulped. There was nothing he could say that would change her mind. He knew that. And either way she would die... but it still hurt, knowing that she would be the one that had to sacrifice herself for everyone.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking a step back, "For everything... for what I put you through, for leading you on. You're one of my best friends Zepos. You're more then that, and I'm sure you will find someone."

He nodded his head, the words stuck in his throat. She nuzzled him one last time before looking back at the others. Blaze seemed torn between running over to her and trying to also keep himself from loosing it. Faen and Tyler were watching her with silently, both of them unable to really say much. Liam had sat down on the edge of a small piece of rubble, staring at the ground, and Retrix was watching her sadly, but he didn't seem shocked or surprised. It was more a recognition of what needed to happen.

Silver took a deep shuddering breath, not knowing what to say to them. It wasn't like a good by where she knew she would see them again. This was permanent. There was no 'see ya later' or 'I'll miss you', and goodbye didn't seem to suffice either.

"Blaze..." she started, looking at her brother, "Keep the family alive."

"W... well I'll have to... won't I?" he stuttered at an attempted laugh.

She chuckled softly and hugged the fire drake. He would be all right. She was sure of it. He was stronger than a lot of other dragons Silver knew, surviving through A.O.D.H and keeping himself sain. It was nearly inspiring. She had barely lasted a year in that place. But Blaze managed to fit in everywhere.

"I'll miss you," he said.

"You'll be fine," she softly nuzzled his neck.

He grimly smiled, "I hope so."

Next she went to Liam. He looked up at her silently. It would be a hard goodbye. He had been there when she had hatched all those years ago, and had watched her grow, achieving things he had never thought possible for a dragon. Much like her father.

"Elron would be proud of you Silver," he said, "Both of your parents would be."

The dragoness smiled, "Take care of yourself.

"I always do," he grinned, getting up and hugging the dragoness around the neck, "You don't deserve this Silver, and if I could somehow take your place, I would. Things have been hard on your family."

"I wouldn't let you," she responded with a soft chuckle.

"I know."

She turned to the light dragon and her rider next. She hadn't known them for long, but they had become good friends over the past couple of months. Tyler had been a massive help in bringing down A.O.D.H, and Faen had always been there with him. Coming into the new age, Silver knew that they would be leading figures in the effort to recreate the relationship between dragons and humans.

"We'll miss you Silver," Tyler said, and then continued jokingly, "I won't be able to make anything more out of elronium."

"Oh, I'm sure you can find enough scattered around to continue," Silver said with a smile, "But it was good working with you. You two Faen. We probably wouldn't have been able to achieve this all without you two."

"Yes... too bad it had to end up the way it did," said the feathered dragoness, nudging Silver with her snout.

Silver nodded her head and took a shuddering breath. This was harder than she thought it would be, and there were so many others that she wouldn't be able to say final words to. She knew that if she waited too much longer her body wouldn't be able to hold her up. She doubted she had more than ten minutes. With that in mind she turned toward the last dragon on the platform.

Retrix was watching her sadly, and she could almost see the gears moving in his mind, trying to figure out a way to stop the Machine without her having to sacrifice herself. She had already guessed the reason he wasn't able to pull it into the void. It was much too big anyway. The plan they had come up with was a little too hopeful.

"Retrix... I..." she hesitated, "I wish we could have been together more."

He smiled sadly, walking over to her and nuzzling her. There was a tear in his eye, and she couldn't help but be slightly surprised. He had done a lot for her during the time they had known each other, and vice versa. Their last night together had been perfect, one neither of them would forget. She was glad she had finally decided to take that step, before she died anyway.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you to," he said softly, kissing her gently for the final time, "Which is why I'm sorry."

She blinked, a little confused by his last line. She didn't even react as his wing came up under her jaw. Already weak from her fight with Eldawin, and her body only being kept up by shear force of will, the blow knocked her out nearly instantly. There was a thud as she hit the ground. For a moment no one said a word, and just stared at the void dragon in surprise.

"Retrix!" Blaze reacted first with a growl, "Wh..."

"There's another way to stop the Machine," he said, cutting the fire dragon off, his voice still in a sad undertone.

They all silenced, looking at him in surprise. He leaned down and gently nuzzled Silver before turning to look at the others. A shuddering breath ran out from him as they waited for his explanation.

"How?" asked Tyler.

"I can take it into the void."

"We've already discussed this Retrix, that won't work," responded the human, "You won't be able to get it far enough into space before it blows up, and I don't know if you would have the time to get it into the void in the first place."

"I will have the time, and I never said I would bring it back out again," the void dragon spoke solemnly.

"What do you mean you won't bring it back out again. You said you have to exit the void with anything you..." Tyler's eyes widened as he stared at the drake, suddenly realising what he was planning, "You're not going to get back out... are you?"

Retrix shook his head, "Either way I don't think it would matter. The stone will probably react before I close the first portal."

"But... how will you get the Machine there in the first place?" it was Zepos that spoke up, seeming shocked.

"If I destroy the corner of the building that it is on, it will slide down into the portal quite easily," said Retrix, "And won't cause so much of a tremor that it'll go off instantly either. "

"But... but why didn't you say this before?" asked the lightning dragon.

He sighed softly, "Because I needed to be sure Eldawin was dead."

They looked at him confused.

"Yesterday..." he continued, "I had a visit from Time. He told me that this would likely happen, and that... if it did, there was only one way I could save both Silver and the human race. This... this was it. But he said only to do it if Eldawin was slain. If he wasn't... well... he would simply build another Machine with the left over elronium and try again."

"Time...? As in O'hen?" Zepos said confused.

"Yeah," Retrix nodded his head.

"And he said it would work?"

"Yes."

There was a silence among them as they comprehended what he was saying. The void dragon sighed softly as he looked to the Machine. It was hard to believe that sitting less than a mile away was the most dangerous thing on the entire planet. It would be a long time before anything of that sort would be built again.

"But that means... you'll die," said Liam slowly.

"I know. Why do you think I knocked out Silver? She wouldn't let me do something like this, even if she had to trap me to the ground to stop me," he said with a sad chuckle, "She's too stubborn. But the again... it's why I fell in love with her."

He took another shuddering breath before looking at them again, "What kind of mate would I be if I let her sacrifice herself for something... when I can take her place?"

"But... Retrix... your species would go extinct. You're the only void dragon alive," said Tyler.

"Silver's the only metal dragon alive. It's either void dragons or metal dragons," he stated, before smiling softly, "But then again, even if I do die, my species won't stay extinct for long."

"What do you mean?" frowned Tyler.

Retrix sighed and ignored the question, looking to the others, "Look after Silver for me... I don't think she'll take this that well, but she will recover eventually. Zepos... be a good mate to her."

The lightning dragon blinked in surprise, opening his mouth and closing it again, before simply nodding his head in startled silence. How this had all turned around so quickly he didn't know. First he had been preparing to say goodbye to his first love, and but instead it ended up being one of his best friends.

"Oh, and one last thing," said Retrix, looking back at Zepos, "Look after my hatchlings."

With that he leapt into the void, leaving them watching stunned. The lightning dragon quickly moved over to Silver's unconscious body, before turning to watch what was about to happen. The small form of Retrix appeared in the distance just in front of the tower, and he began.

* * *

The void dragon circled the machine for a minute or so, studying the tower and the way it was all situated. He would need to work quickly once he began. If he wasn't careful he could have the machine blow up before it entered the portal. That was something he needed to avoid if at all possible.

He shook his head, trying to shake away the doubt that came with his thoughts. He just needed to focus now. No regrets, no feeling sorry for himself. He was sure about this, and if Silver had died when he could stop it, he wouldn't have forgiven himself for a very long time. Though he was sure Silver would likely blame herself for this. He hoped she wouldn't.

Deciding to act rather than think he came to a stop beside the building, hovering in mid air. He opened his mouth and a long beam of purple energy shoot from it, shaving off the corner of the building in a single blast. It wasn't enough to make the Machine tip just yet though, so he did it again, and again, until the base of support slowly began to crumble as the machine began to tilt.

Moving quickly the void dragon flew under where it was about to fall. He focused on the area in front of him and ever so slowly a rift began to open. It was a massive rift, as the Machine was nearly as big as a small human house. It required a little bit of focus, but more time. There was a thump behind him as the metal structure finally fell from its perch, crushing a number of broken walls of the building.

Retrix looked up at it as the portal fully opened. The Machine held still for a moment, before what was left of its support cracked and fell, along with the metal monstrosity. The purple dragon quickly dove into the void as it fell, letting it come in with him, and let out a breath of relief.

The overloaded element stone inside cracked, and almost instantly the energy inside was released. Retrix watched as light entered the void for the first time. The elronium of the Machine held its shape, but the energy flowed from the cracks like a river. It all happened so fast that the drake hadn't been able to close of the portal above.

He couldn't help but be amazed by the light. It was entrancing, like white water slowly reaching out toward him. He let himself smile. It had worked. Now everyone would be safe. No need for any more death. Or fighting. There would still be trouble of course, but they would be able to handle it. At least they were alive. At least Silver was still alive, and with her, so too was the chance for dragons and humans to once again be together.

He closed his eyes, still smiling, as the white and silver light engulfed him.

* * *

Zepos flinched slightly as the energy burst forth from the open void portal and harmlessly into the sky. It was a surprisingly beautiful sight, but also a sad one. He gulped softly to himself and turned to Silver, who was still laying on the ground. Carefully he lifted her onto his back.

"Come on... lets go," he said sadly.

The others agreed and the took off into the sky.

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Hey guys! New chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed, vote if you did and comment what you thought. The next chapter will be out soon. See Ya!

Pennator^^