Chapter 26: Return to Sky Mountain

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It was a strange feeling, travelling through time. It was like floating through water. Calming. There was light everywhere, similar to what there had been in O'hen's cave. It twinkled at the blurred surroundings and strange warmth moved through them. It was like they were moving so fast that they didn't feel the air rushing past them, but at the same time they were standing still. Suddenly the blurring landscape began to focus as time slowed down until it stopped completely.

"We.re here," muttered O'hen.

Silver looked around, feeling slightly lightheaded. There was a strange silvery hew over everything, much like what she had seen right before she fell unconscious while fighting Tetrad. It was like there was no movement at all. The trees were frozen in mid-sway. A leaf, floating through the air, was not moving at all. A bird came to a stand still while flapping its wings just above them.

"Wow," was all the dragoness could say as she looked around the forest they were in, "So... we're five days in the future?"

"Not in the future, per say, but five days after the time that I took you, yes," O'hen nodded his head.

They had chosen five days afterward because it seemed the most reasonable time. Zepos, Merene and Retrix had passed the border into China, making them relatively safe from any dragon hunter attacks, namely D.E.D. They were also getting close to Sky Mountain, which was only a hard flight's day away. Not that Silver wanted to go to that mountain again, but there really was no other choice.

"Remember what you need to do?" asked the time dragon, glancing at Silver.

She nodded her head. There was another reason why they had chosen five days. The day afterwards there was a likely chance Sky Mountain would be destroyed, unless Silver and her group managed to make it back beforehand. If not to save the mountain, then at least to rescue everyone inside. O'hen hadn't given her all the details but she was sure of one thing, if they didn't arrive in time then there would be no place to arrive back to.

"Good," O'hen said, "Then I leave it to you. We will meet again Silver, hopefully not in similar circumstances, but you will have need of my aid in the future."

"I look forward to it," the dragoness smiled grimly.

The drake laughed before taking a step back from her. He began to glow a strange silvery aura before slowly dissipating back into time. Once he was gone, the trees began to sway, the bird flew and the leaves fell. Time resumed.

* * *

"What the?" Merene came to a sudden stop, freezing in midair, surprise evident on her face.

Behind her Zepos let out a growl of annoyance and forced himself to come to a complete stop. On his back Retrix grunted as he struggled to hold onto the lightning dragon's scales. They fumbled slightly before Zepos managed to regain his balance. He growled at Merene.

"What was that for?"

The mind dragoness ignored him and gazed down into the forest below, scarcely believing what she had sensed. There was no way that was possible, "Silver?"

"What?" Zepos frowned confused, wondering what she was talking about.

He gazed in the direction Merene was looking at, and seeing nothing turned back to face her, until a silver glint caught the corner of his eye. He snapped back to look at the point and faulted, gazing in surprise and disbelief. The silver dragoness rose up from the forest to meet them, a smile on her face. All three froze.

Silver glided up to them with seeming ease. There was still some tightness in her back that caused mild discomfort, but in the end it didn't really affect her flying that much. She came to a stop in front of them and couldn't help but chuckled at their expressions.

"Um... Zepos, why is Retrix on your back?" It was the first thing that came to her mind when she saw them.

The void dragon was draped over Zepos, trying his best not to fall off. One of his wings was stretched out an odd angle, and suddenly Silver remembered why. During their fight with Tetrad the void drake had been hit badly. He must have broken his wing in the fall, or when he actually got hit.

"He had a broken wing... and Merene couldn't carry him, so I did," Zepos said, staring at her, before blurting, "Where have you been!"

He moved closer to her and Silver had a thought he probably would be all over her if Retrix weren't desperately trying to keep his balance. It was quite comical really. A dragon riding another dragon, and she couldn't help but laugh again. She glanced at Merene, who was frowning at her. The mind dragoness tilted her head, before widening her eyes.

"Oh, here and there," replied the silver dragon, "No, not really. A friend came to the rescue."

"Yes... we expected as much," Retrix grinned, happy to see her again as well, "Who was it?"

Silver let out a small smile, "Time."

"What?"

"I'll tell you on the way," she said before looking out into the horizon in the direction of Sky Mountain, "But we need to hurry and get back."

"Why?" It was Merene that asked this time.

"Because something is going to happen to Sky Mountain, and if we aren't there to help then we may as well not bother returning," Silver replied.

"That might be a bit difficult," muttered Zepos, battering his wings furiously, "I'm carrying a bit of weight here and the only way I've survived so far is through frequent rest stops."

"Sorry," the purple dragon on his back said.

"Could you try staying in the air with teleporting?" asked Silver.

"Tried that at the start," replied Retrix, "But... well, it's a little difficult. I get exhausted far quicker and... it hurts."

She frowned, "Is it bearable?"

"For a short while maybe, but after about an hour or so it starts to get extremely painful."

"Oh," Silver thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to carry the dragon that wouldn't slow them down. She had a few ideas but nothing that would help them at this instance, and they needed to get back as quickly as possible, "Maybe I could help carry him."

Zepos blinked, "You sure? I mean, you're smaller then him."

"Only by a little. I think I could manage," the dragoness replied.

"Alright, it may help a little I guess," he said, "But I can go for a bit longer."

She nodded, "Then there's no time to waste, let's get going."

* * *

The four dragons flew hard that day, and it was a day that Silver would remember as being one of the hardest flights in her life. Toward the end of it both Silver and Zepos were exhausted, there wings felt like they were on fire and everything hurt, but they managed, barely. The void dragon switched from Zepos to Silver and back again every hour and felt extremely guilty for what he was doing. He had only been with the group for about a month and they were already willing to push themselves quite far for his sake.

For Silver the extra weight reminded her of what it was like to fly in her 'full-metal form' though she was far less balanced and another dragon was far heavier then an elronium shell. Compared to other minerals, elronium was actually quite light. Retrix tried to help a little as well, flapping his good wing, but in the end that only imbalanced her further.

During the trip Silver also went over what had happened to her. At first the two drakes hadn't believed her, especially Retrix, but after Merene confirmed what she had said they really had no choice. The metal dragon had then been swarmed by questions, which she had answered to the best of her ability.

As the afternoon sun slowly dipped into the horizon they passed into the mountain ranges that Sky Mountain was apart of. It was half relief and half dread for the silver dragon. She knew what was in store for her once she arrived back, and she still didn't feel ready for it, but, she guessed, the really was no other choice.

Merene was in the lead and she gently lead them down into the valley that was the entrance into Sky Mountain. Silver was carrying Retrix at the time, and she had taken to gliding as much as possible. They landed, or more collapsed, into the ground. However, both Zepos and the dragoness couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief as the weight was taken off their wings. They had never been so glad to be on the ground again.

The void drake carefully moved onto the ground, wincing slightly as he instinctually tried to fold his broken wing. Instead he held it out, trying to keep it from dragging in the ground as they slowly walked through the forest. Seeing his predicament Silver moved under his wing, holding it for him and sending a small smile his way. He glanced at her in surprise, before smiling back.

"Thank you," he said, glancing at Zepos as well, "Both of you."

The lightning drake frowned slightly as he watched Silver, before answering, "Think nothing of it. You're a friend after all."

Retrix nodded, before lowering his head, "I'm sorry for this."

"Don't be. It's not your fault you have a broken wing," Silver replied, "Once we get you to Sky Mountain we'll get you all fixed up."

He smiled slightly again before looking up at the forest and the seemingly never ending valley, "So where exactly is Sky Mountain?"

"You remember that illusion that we passed through to enter Eldawin's Syndicate?" the metallic dragon asked.

"Yes."

"Well..." the two of them took another step forward, passing through the rippling illusion in front of them. The valley shimmered, then disappeared to reveal the wonder of Sky Mountain once again. The huge creator with the mountain in the middle looked just as serene as it did when they had left. There were dragons flying outside, enjoying the last moments of sunshine, and the lush green forests surrounding the mountain swayed slightly in the wind. Retrix stopped, staring with amazement, his jaw opening slightly in surprise.

"Wow," was all he could say.

"Hey Silver!" a familiar voice yelled from the air, "You're back!"

The dragoness looked up to see a water dragon hovering above them. It took her a moment to recognise him, and she smiled.

"Hey Kai," she said.

Kai flew down and landed before them, looking at Retrix with both suspicion and confusion.

"Who's this?"

"My name's Retrix," the void dragon said with a small bow, "I'm a void dragon."

"Another new species?" Kai questioned, causing them both to nod, "What's wrong with your wing?"

"We were attacked about five days ago," explained Silver, "By D.E.D. Retrix got his wing broken in the attack."

"Oh wow," he nodded in understanding, "Let me go and grab a healer dragon. You four stay here."

The water drake rose into the air again with a couple flaps of his wings and turned, flying as quickly as possible back to the mountain.

* * *

Once Retrix had been healed the four dragons flew the last five kilometres toward Sky Mountain. They entered through the massive opening that welcomed any dragon that arrived in the mountain. The only difference was the stream that wound its way through The Centre was flowing more rapidly the usual, allowing a stronger waterfall falling at the base.

"Dragon's made this?" asked the void drake in wonder.

"With the help of humans," muttered Merene as she looked around as well.

There, ready to meet them was a dragon that Silver both dreaded to see and needed to talk to all at the same time. Iraliene sat in all her elegance, looking up toward the dragons above. She stood out amongst the many dragons, not only because of her size but also because of the shining forest green scales that she wore so proudly. Silver smiled slightly as the life queen's pose and beauty reminded her so much of a certain other red dragon she knew.

"Welcome back," her regal voice sung.

Silver came to a landing, not bothering to fold her tired wings. She would need some rest before doing anything else. She smiled slightly at Iraliene and gave a small bow to the larger dragoness.

"I'm sorry the mission failed," she said.

Iraliene's tail twitched slightly, "It is not your fault. I am just glad you were able to get out of that horrid place. To think that Zoralth would stoop so low as to work for humans."

Silver smiled slightly, agreeing with her.

"You all look exhausted," said the life dragon, looking over them, "Get some rest and tell me exactly what happened in the morning. And... Retrix was it?"

The void dragon looked at her, slightly surprised she knew his name, and nodded.

"I'm glad you chose to come to Sky Mountain," the queen smiled, "My name is Iraliene, and I am the leader of this haven."

"Pleased to meet you," he said politely.

"You can stay in my cave tonight," the life dragoness said, "As you don't have anywhere else."

Retrix glanced at Silver, before turning back to the queen of Sky Mountain and nodding his head, "Thank you."

"Now, off you all go," she said, turning around an opening her wings, ready to fly again.

"Wait!" Silver said, stepping forward.

Iraliene glanced back at her with a frown.

"We have reason to believe that, either tonight or tomorrow, something destructive will happen to Sky Mountain. It will cause the deaths of all, if not most, of the dragons here if we don't prepare," she said.

The life dragoness tilted her head and folded her wings once again, turning toward her, "Who gave you this information?"

"A... reliable source."

Again Iraliene frowned, "Im sorry to say but there is nothing even near us at the moment that could cause the destruction of Sky Mountain. A.O.D.H is everywhere but here, and D.E.D still hasn't found this place yet. They are the only things that could be even remotely responsible for anything of that calibre. You're source must be wrong."

"Silver's telling the truth," Merene took a step forward, "There is no way her source could be wrong."

The queen looked between the two, seeming to consider what they were saying, "I will put out a watch tonight, looking for anything suspicious. But that is all I will do. I will not cause an evacuation on a mere whim."

Silver hesitated, before nodding. It was the best she would get out of the life dragon, and she knew it. Without anything else to say the four dragons went their separate ways. Silver decided to stay with Zepos that night, to keep her own watch out for anything suspicious. Retrix went with Iraliene and Merene went to her own cave. They all knew that something was going to happen, but at that moment they were too tired to really do anything about it.

* * *

Below Sky Mountain, in a small and ceiled off area made for containing dragons, sat Raize. He had his eyes closed and his wings outstretched. Heat was radiating from his scales, bringing the room up to a stifling temperature hot enough to cook in. The concrete walls around him dripped as if from perspiration, and the straw nest that had been placed in the room had long since been burnt to ash.

Suddenly the fire drake opened his eyes, and power pulsed throughout the room. With a roar he leapt forward, fire engulfing his wing and he slammed it against the wall with as much power as he could. The room shook, and the rock was scorched but that was all. Again he attacked the wall with power far greater then most dragons processed, but still it was not enough.

Crying in outrage he hammered the wall, again and again and again. Fire began to spread from his wings and across his body. The temperature in the room steadily increased with the drake's power. But nothing would break through the wall that he so consistently attacked. With a roar he leapt backward and sent a barrage of fire into the wall, scorching and burning it once again. But still nothing worked.

Anger began to build up within him, "LET ME OUT!"

He attacked the unyielding wall, pushing for power he didn't have. He gathered it through his body, knowing the power wouldn't be enough, he continued to push. Fire dripped like liquid from his body, flowing through the room and causing the floor to become molten, but it still wasn't enough.

He through his head into the air and roared, desperately trying to find more power. The power he needed so desperately. It was just below the surface. He could feel it; seething eagerly ready to get out, but he just couldn't reach it. The fire around him began to swirl, spreading further and further throughout the room. The air around him rippled as time and space contracted under his efforts, and still he pushed, not willing to give into the exhaustion or mental obstacles. He would get out of this place if it were the last thing he did.

The power steadily increased, sending waves throughout the rock and to the dragons guarding outside. The shuffled nervously, watching the rock wall with suspicion. Above them the still awake dragons glanced down at the floor, feeling the waves of power themselves. Lying next to Zepos, Silver raised her head as she felt the power flowing through the mountain. Her eyes widened and she quickly got to her feet.

'That can't be possible,' she thought.

In his cage Raize's eyes pulsed angry yellow as he gave one last final push for the power he craved. And then... he exploded, blowing through the wall that surrounded him and unleashing that raw power, sending fire through the narrow alleyways and the hidden underground section of Sky Mountain.

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Hey guys! New chapter! Sorry it took so long to get out, I'd hoped to do it earlier but didn't end up having the time. Anyway, vote if you enjoyed and comment what you thought. Next chapter will be out as soon as I can get it. See Ya!

Pennator^^ 

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