AOH Karma and Convexity 22

Certo paced impatiently around the room. It had only been a day since the air guardian, Kia, had taken him and Crona in, but already the black dragon was beginning to feel restless. He had been up for a few hours, just after the sun had risen. Kia, being the early riser that she was had gone in to check on her two former students and had offered Certo some breakfast while he waited for Crona to wake up. Certo had been hesitant to accept her offer, but eventually he decided that it would be best if he gathered his strength in preparation to face his brother again.
The white dragoness could sense the black dragon's fretful pacing, but tried to ignore it. At first she managed to successfully drown out the soft sound of Certo's paws on the carpeted floor. However, as time went on, Certo began to grow more agitated and began his usual habit of sighing irritably. When this happened a cold breeze would blow about the room, rustling papers and sending a chill up Crona's spine. After the ninth or tenth time, Crona could no longer stand the constant chill.
"A little apprehensive are we?" She asked sarcastically, once she opened her eyes.
"What?" Certo jerked his head around, as he had been in a deep state of concentration.
"I've sensed you pacing about the room for the last hour or so." Crona yawned widely. "It was keeping me awake."
Certo's wings ruffled slightly. "If you were awake then why didn't you just get up? I've been waiting for you this whole time."
"I was trying to rest, Certo." Crona narrowed her eyes at him, sensing another possible argument coming on. "I need to rest if my leg is going to recover faster." She nudged her cast with her snout and noticed the way Certo stared sadly at her fractured limb. "I'm sorry," the dragoness shook her head suddenly feeling ashamed. "I didn't mean to bring that up in such a way."
"It's not your fault," Certo sighed, sending another chill up Crona's spine. "It's the least I deserve."
Crona gave Certo a sidelong glance. "Certo, is something bothering you?"
"Yes, there's something bothering me!" Certo suddenly snapped. "And he's called Neros! Or have you forgotten?" The white dragoness was silent for a moment. She had secretly hoped that with everything he had been through in the past two weeks, Certo had forgotten about his brother, but apparently he hadn't. "He's still out there and I have no idea where to start looking for him!"
"Certo, calm down. You need a level head to think this through."
The black dragon stopped his rant and took in a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just... Neros... He never used to be like this."
"And it frustrates you to see him like this, doesn't it?" Crona struggled a bit to sit up on her hind legs. She tilted her head to the side and popped the vertebrae in her neck and spine.
Certo nodded after a moment. "I can't relax when I know that any minute, he can launch a surprise attack. And then what do I do? Sit back as he has the apes kill more dragons? And don't even get me started on him using that new power of his."
Crona raised a brow. "What power?"
"I told you already." Certo sighed, shaking his head. "It's like he breathes fire or some sort of breath attack. But it's purple."
"Convexity."
"What?" Certo suddenly turned to look at the dragoness who was staring at him hard.
"It's called convexity," Crona explained. "It's not a natural breath attack. From what I've been able to study of it, it's a void energy."
"A void energy?" Certo narrowed his eyes before shaking his head again. "Wait, you've seen this power before?"
Crona nodded. "When I say a void energy I mean it's a power that would be the opposite of the ones that reside throughout our world. Most dragons have breath attacks..."
"All dragons have breath attacks," Certo interrupted.
Crona was about to curl her lip and scold him but bit her tongue and held up a paw. "Let me finish. Breath attacks are a positive energy source. Convexity is a negative energy. It's an energy that balances the power of our world so the elements don't spiral out of control." Crona looked down at her feet as she remembered her travels as a youngster. "I've only known three dragons who have possessed this power. And I've seen how much damage it can do."
"You've seen others with this power? Where? Can you take me to them? Maybe they can teach me how to use it. Or teach me how to fight against it so I can stop Neros."
The white dragoness shook her head. "You can't."
Certo jolted slightly. "Why not?"
"Because one of them is dead." Crona replied, her temper flaring up at the horrible memory of the Dark Master. "And the other two..." Her voice drifted off as she began to think about the purple dragon she had been secretly following on his quest to stop the Dark Master. "You just can't."
"But why?"
"Certo!" Crona fixed him with a fierce stare, instantly silencing him. "I'm asking you to trust me when I say, you can't. Please."
A sudden chill ran down Certo's spine as he stared at the white dragoness. She looked as if she were about to cry and explode with rage at the same time. Just talking about these unknown dragons seemed to strike a sensitive note in her soul. After a moment of silence he nodded. "Alright Crona. I trust you."
The dragoness smiled briefly before laying down again. "So we know your brother has the power of convexity. The question in my mind is, does he know how to use it?"
Certo's muzzle scrunched up as he thought about it. "I don't think so. At least not that well."
"That's a start." Crona nodded thoughtfully. "But it's been a while since you last saw him right? So he may have been trying to master it since then."
"Knowing Neros, I'm sure he is. But most likely he's been doing it in seclusion. He never practiced anything around my other family members. I was the only one who ever practiced with him. His eyesight was really bad when he was younger so he could only go out at night and I was the only one who would ever be willing to go out with him. Heck, not even I know how he learned some of his techniques, or where he even came up with any of the concepts behind them. But it always amazed me that he was able to overcome every obstacle that was thrown in his path."
Crona stared up at the black dragon with sad eyes. "Sounds like you two were really close."
Certo paused and stared at his paws. Eventually he noticed the scars on his legs and chest and his lip twitched slightly. "That was a long time ago. Things have changed since then."
"Maybe not entirely." Crona gave a low grunt as she struggled to get back up on her haunches. "You still care about Neros. I can hear it in your voice. Maybe if we can find him, we can convince him that what he's planning is not going to make things better and get him to end this war."
"War? What are you talking about?" Certo narrowed his eyes at the dragoness.
"It doesn't matter," Crona continued, ignoring his question. "The point is we may have a chance to end things if we just talk to him. He sounds like a smart dragon, so I would assume he's not without the mind-set to listen to reason."
"It won't work." Certo growled.
Crona looked at him curiously. "Why not?"
"Because I know Neros. When he has his mind set on something, he sticks with it. He's his own dragon and no one can ever tell him what to do."
"But you can!"
"No, I can't!" Certo snapped, suddenly frightening Crona. "He won't listen to me. Never again. Not after what happened."
"What happened?" Crona asked after a long pause.
"I was supposed to meet Neros one night. From what I understand he was going to show me this new power... convexity, as you call it. But my older brother Ebony stopped me. I wasn't able to meet Neros and I think he believes I abandoned him."
"But that's just one more reason to talk to him. Get this whole thing straightened out!"
Certo only shook his head. "It won't work, Crona. Neros is my twin. We know each other better than anyone else in existence. I know he's not going to listen to me if I try."
"Then let me talk to him. I know what it's like to be in his place. I know what it's like when you're different from everyone else. You even know that yourself."
"It still won't work," Certo muttered. "He doesn't know you and I don't want to risk your life. Not after I just got you back."
Crona's cheeks flushed slightly but she continued her argument. "But wouldn't it be worth it to give it a try? Resolve this peacefully without more bloodshed? And isn't one life just a small sacrifice for hundreds of thousands that may be lost if we don't at least attempt a non-violent solution?"
"Not when it's yours," Certo growled. The sound was an angry one and Crona felt her own temper rise from the noise. "Every life should be cherished. There are no acceptable losses."
"So why is it you're so bent on killing your brother then?" Crona asked defiantly. "Is his life not precious to you?"
"It was at one point. But now that he's planning this genocidal act upon your city, I have no choice but to stop him."
"First of all this isn't my home." Crona reminded him. "And secondly..."
"I don't want to hear it," Certo interrupted, silencing the dragoness. "But I'm going to ask you, Crona, to trust me when I say this isn't going to work out by just talking. Talking doesn't do anything. Doing, does something."
"But..."
"Crona!" Certo turned and brought his face close to hers and stared her hard in the eye. "Please. Trust me. Just this once. It's all I'm asking." The white dragoness stared into Certo's intense eyes. She could not understand why he was so bent on this decision.
Crona gave a defeated sigh and force a slight smile. "Alright Certo, I'll trust you."
"Thank you." Certo nodded in relief. Several minutes passed silently before Crona decided to speak again.
"So what is your plan for finding your brother?"
"I'm still not sure," Certo mumbled, sitting down next to her. "I chased after him before, but..." He glanced at Crona who rolled her eyes.
"I know. You were trying to track him down while I was trying to track you down." She knew what he was going to say, but she did not want to remember that particular event.
"We can't exactly wait for Neros to come back so we have to find him beforehand."
"It seems to me that he must have gone pretty far," Crona pondered aloud. "We traveled for, what? Almost five days? So if you consider the speed we fly at and the time it took between your brother taking off and us following after him, I can only guess that we either went in the wrong direction or he was a lot farther ahead of us than we thought."
"We didn't go the wrong way." Certo shook his head. "I'm positive of that."
"How can you be?" Crona raised a skeptical brow. "We found no sign of your brother at all. Though we did find that throng of disgusting apes." Merely mentioning the savage creatures was enough to make Crona's temper rise and her blood boil with hate.
"That's exactly the point," Certo pointed out. "Because we found those apes, I'm certain we were on the right track to finding Neros. We may have even been relatively close to their... um..." He paused and looked at Crona. "You're the expert on everything. What do apes live in?"
Crona recoiled from the statement but she refrained from making any sort of slashing retort. She thought for a long time but came up with no answer. "You know, I've never learned about where the apes really lived. All I know is that they resided in a large secluded area of the enchanted forest, far from dragon territory."
"Does that mean city territory or feral?" Certo asked narrowing his eyes.
"Good question," Crona replied, trying to think harder about her studies during the war and in the dragon city library. "I don't believe it was specifically mentioned. But knowing the way things are around here, I would be willing to bet city territory."
"That's what I was afraid of," Certo growled, flexing his claws on the cushion.
"No need to get upset, Certo," Crona scolded. "It was a good question. It was just one that I don't have the answer to." A subtle smile spread across her muzzle as she stared at him. "You know, I never thought of you as the critically-thinking type."
Certo only glared at her. "There's a lot about me you don't know."
"I can relate," Crona nodded. Certo stared at her and was about to open his mouth to speak when Crona interrupted him. "Continuing with our discussion, what would you suggest be our next plan?"
Certo thought for a long time. He was completely lost on what to do. Waiting for his brother to show up again would only result in the unnecessary loss of more dragons as well as his own inevitable death. His main concern was: would he be able to defeat his brother in combat entirely? The power of convexity had frightened him when he first saw it. The memory of seeing its destructive force still caused the black dragon's wings to ruffle uncomfortably. Neros had barely just learned how to use the power, but now Certo was certain he was mastering how to use it to its full extent.
The black dragon's thoughts seemed to make him drift into a light trance. Thinking about his brother's power caused Certo to remember Neros's uncanny ability to read movement in the wind. He knew how to use this technique as well but his twin was much more skilled in it. Outside, the leaves in the trees rustled as a gentle breeze blew through the pavilions. The dragons of the city felt the wind and seemed to react to its pleasant warmth. The gentle gust seemed to relax them after weeks of being fearful for their lives and young.
"Certo?" Crona waved a paw in front of the black dragon's face, snapping him out of his meditative state.
"Huh?" Certo blinked several times and looked down at her. "What happened?"
"You tell me." Crona raised her brow again. "You're the one who spaced out. It looked like you were still thinking but then your eyes kind of glazed over for a minute." She smirked at him slyly. "What were you thinking about? Or were you just getting bored and about to fall asleep?"
"Har har." Certo sneered. "I was just thinking that maybe the night watch can help us."
"Do you think they will?"
Certo nodded. "I'm certain they will."
"Then I suggest we start thinking of what we're going to ask them while we wait for night to fall."

The two dragons continued talking about their plans until the sun began to set. A couple times Kia had come in, bringing them some food to snack on while they discussed their business. The air guardian made no attempt to intrude on them, giving them the feeling that they had complete privacy to their business. Certo allowed for Crona to take several naps throughout the day, making sure she got the rest she needed so her leg would heal faster. By the time nightfall came she was feeling much better about standing up, while keeping her broken limb tucked to her body.
"Easy now," Certo whispered as he helped her out onto the balcony.
"I'm fine, Certo," She hissed, trying to move away from his supporting shoulder. "I can take care of myself."
"Oh so it's okay for you to act all tough and not accept help from others but it's not okay for me?"
"That's not what I'm saying at all," Crona snapped quietly.
"Well it sure seems like it," Certo shot back.
"So you're admitting you were just acting tough, and you're just a big softy now, are you?"
"Shut up!" Certo growled. "We have work to do. Now let's go!"
He sprang off the balcony and glided down to the streets below. Crona smiled, seeing that she had pressed a sensitive button with him again, and followed after him. The city was dimly lit with the occasional torch hanging on the side of a building structure, casting a fiery glow about the streets. The moons in the sky were the main source of nighttime illumination. Certo moved in the shadows with Crona hobbling along behind him, stumbling every so often, but only to have Certo look back and catch her before she could hit the ground.
"Thanks," she whispered after her third time losing her balance.
"Don't mention it." Certo nodded, his eyes seeming to glow in the darkness. "Ever." He set Crona back on her feet and turned his back to her. The white dragoness was almost certain she detected a faint smile on his muzzle as he turned away from her. A smile tugged at her cheek as well but she remained silent.
Before long, Certo and Crona neared the city library. As usual it was illuminated from the inside, sending rays of light into the streets and across the rooftops. Certo and Crona slipped inside and paused to let their eyes adjust to the light.
"Hello?" Certo called through the great chamber. "Stratus? Verona? Is anyone here?"
The sound of voices came from one of the upper levels, and a moment later the old earth dragon and his great granddaughter appeared.
"Certo, you're back!" Verona exclaimed in surprise. The two older dragons glided down to the pair and landed before them, giving Certo a respectful bow. Crona's brows jumped when she saw this and looked at Certo who pretended not to notice her stare.
"How are you, young dragon?" Stratus asked, after getting to his feet.
Certo only shrugged. "Okay, I suppose."
The librarian nodded and glanced down at Crona. "And is this the young female whose life you saved?" The black dragon nodded.
"Hello," Crona said, taking a shaky step forward and bowing as much as she could. "I'm Crona. It's nice to meet you both."
"Oh, she's so charming." Verona smiled and gave Certo a sneaky grin. "You didn't say how beautiful she was."
Certo and Crona's cheeks burned deep red as they shot each other a quick glance before averting their eyes from one another.
Stratus chuckled and returned the bow to Crona. "Young dragoness, you are indeed fortunate to have such a male as Certo in your life. He truly is a remarkable soul."
"He went through quite a lot of trouble for you." Verona nodded in agreement. "I've never seen such fiery determination in my life. You two really are quite a couple."
"Couple?" Certo and Crona squeaked. "We're not a couple!"
"You're not?" Verona raised a brow, glancing from one adolescent to the other.
"No way!" Certo shook his head
"With him? Not in a thousand years!" Crona nearly scoffed.
Stratus and Verona shared a perplexed look.
"Well, if that is not the case then you should be thankful for a friend such as him." Stratus pointed out. "Don't ever let him out of your life for any reason my dear. Do I make myself clear?"
Crona's cheeks still burned with embarrassment. "I understand." She nodded dumbly.
"Good." Stratus nodded with a grin. "Now, what brings you to the library again, young Certo? Do you need another dose of memoriums? They have been flourishing quite well since we brought them back."
"No, that won't be necessary." Certo shook his head. "I appreciate the offer but they are for your use, not mine. I...we... are here because we need your help again."
"Oh?" Verona reared her head back slightly. The black dragon's tone worried her. "What seems to be the problem?"
"We were wondering if you could possibly find Captain Cytros for us." Certo continued. "We could really use his help right now.
"I would imagine he is on patrol with the militia right now," Stratus replied and looked out into the darkness beyond the main entrance. "Verona, would you be willing to fetch the Captain for us?"
"Absolutely." Verona nodded, moving to leave the library.
"I'll come with you," Crona said, turning to follow her out.
"It's not safe for you to be walking about in the darkness." Verona shook her head. "You should wait here."
"She'll be fine," Certo called back over his shoulder. "Crona's no stranger to danger." The white dragoness looked at him with a surprised expression on her face. "She can take care of herself. I've seen what she's capable of." Verona and Stratus glanced between the two youngsters before giving in.
"Very well." Verona sighed. "I trust Certo's word."
"Thank you." Crona nodded with a smile. She looked at Certo, who twitched his cheek slightly, trying to hide his smirk. Crona bobbed her head and turned to follow Verona into the darkened city.
"If I may ask, young Certo," Stratus inquired once they had gone. "What seems to be the problem?"
"It has to do with the apes that attacked the city," Certo muttered darkly. "We're trying to find where their territory is. The only problem is we have no idea where it is exactly. All Crona and I have been able to come up with is a rough idea of where it might be."
"What you're looking for sounds extremely dangerous, Certo." Stratus narrowed his eyes at the black dragon. "What are you so curious for?"
"I'm trying to stop something from happening that may cause more lives to be lost."
"Another attack?"
"A war," Certo answered, a growl rumbling in his throat.
Stratus's eyes widened. "Oh my."
"I need your help. Annol said you know this library better than anyone around. Do you know where I'd be able to find information on outlying territories beyond the ones dragons have claimed?"
"I am not certain you will find anything extremely specific on the apes." Stratus pondered aloud, turning to look around the main chamber. "But I'm sure there will be something we could use somewhere. Follow me." The old dragon led Certo towards the back rooms where he stored a collection of maps and geographic books. The librarian began pulling out scrolls and rolled up maps, which Certo immediately opened up and began to look at. The first map was extremely complex and he furrowed his brow as he tried to decipher its inscriptions. Stratus seemed to notice and lay down next to him. The next hour was spent teaching the black dragon how to read the map key and how to properly read the map itself. By the time Stratus had finished, Verona had returned with Captain Cytros and three of his escorts.
"Young Certo. It is good to see you are well." The captain bowed along with his squad-mates. "How can I assist you tonight?" Certo went on talking about the discussion he and Crona had earlier that day, and how they were hoping that they had seen or heard something during their nighttime rounds. Cytros shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry to say, but there hasn't been a single sighting since the initial attack. Not even so much as a scout party has been sighted or heard."
"Damn it!" Certo growled, slapping the floor with his paw. "I can't just wait around and do nothing while Neros prepares another attack. I cant have anymore dragons die because of me!"
"Certo, what in our ancestors names are you talking about?" Stratus demanded, not liking the black dragon's sudden display or anger.
"All this is happening because of me! Neros wants to kill every dragon alive because of the way my family treated him! My own brother wants me dead and everyone around me! I can't let that happen!"
"Did you mistreat him?" Stratus asked, narrowing his green eyes at the young dragon.
Certo shook his head. "No. I always tried treating Neros as an equal at the very least. No one in the family looked out for him but me!"
"Then this is not your fault!" Stratus pointed out. "You cannot hold yourself responsible for the actions of others whom you have done your best to treat fairly and justly!"
"But I..." A sudden blow caught Certo across the face, stunning him for a moment.
"Certo! Listen to what Stratus is saying!" Verona scolded. "You are not a celestial dragon! Some things are beyond your power!" Certo stared at the ice dragoness in shock as he clutched at his throbbing cheek. He wanted to say something that would prove his point but the words escaped him.
It was then he looked around the group of faces to notice something. "Where's Crona?"


It took Verona a good fifteen minutes to track down Captain Cytros. She had asked the first guard she came across where to locate him and had hurried to the given location as quickly as possible. The whole time, Crona hobbled along like a three-legged dog trying to keep up with the librarian.
As they had been told, the captain was on the northwest edge of the city with a small group of sentries, planning out their night shift routines.
"Captain," Verona called in a hushed voice as she and Crona approached.
Cytros looked up in surprise at seeing the blue dragoness coming down the street towards him. "Verona. What are you doing here?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her in the dim light. "It's not safe for you out here."
"I'm a grown dragoness, Captain. I am perfectly capable of handling myself by now," Verona responded boastfully. Then her eyes locked with his and a smile spread across her mouth. "Though I'm certain if I were in danger you would be there to assist me."
Cytros smirked back. "That I would my lady." It was then he noticed the white dragoness beside her, standing out against the darkness of the night. "And who might this young lady be?"
"This is Crona." Verona bobbed her head towards the young dragoness. "She's the dragoness Certo saved."
"It's an honor." Cytros bowed, along with the other males, once again throwing the dragoness off guard.
"And it's a pleasure to meet you as well." Crona also dipped her upper body.
"We were hoping you would be able to help us," Verona continued, dispensing of the formalities. "Crona and Certo have been trying to track down the apes that attacked the city earlier this month."
The sentries all stared at the young dragoness in disbelief. "Why would you wish to seek out such barbaric and vile creatures?" Cytros asked skeptically.
"Certo and I have reason to believe that a war may be coming soon." Crona explained. "We're trying to prevent the apes from attacking again but we need to find where they are hiding first so we can stop them."
Cytros growled slightly at the idea. He did not like the thought of two young dragons like Certo and Crona going out on their own to stop something as cataclysmic as a war. "I'm sorry to say it, but there haven't been any sightings of any apes since their first attack."
"Nothing?" Crona's brows jumped in surprise. The apes had always been ruthless in tracking down dragons and plotting surprise attacks during the days of the war. "Not even so much as a scouting party?"
Cytros shook his head. "Nothing to report so far. I'm sorry. We tried getting info out of the prisoners we captured from the first time but they've been extremely tight-lipped about anything."
"Wait, you have apes in this city right now?" Crona gasped. Even Verona looked as shocked as Cytros.
The fire guard nodded. "We stopped them from fleeing in hopes of finding out what their motives were for attacking our city and discover who their leader was so the guardians could work out a diplomatic solution."
"The guardians don't know how to handle the apes," Crona spat. Just thinking about Volcanus and Tectonica made her angry at the thought of them trying to settle a dispute with the apes peacefully. In her mind, she could only view them making matters worse.
Then an idea popped into her head and she looked back up at Cytros. "Would you allow me to interrogate the apes you captured myself?"
"I don't think so." Cytros shook his head.
"I know how to deal with the apes. I've had long-term experience dealing with how they think and act. I know what I'm doing."
"I'm sorry." Cytros frowned. "But I can't allow it."
"You'd allow Certo to." Crona pointed out, instantly silencing the captain. "I'm asking in his name. Will you let me try and get some information out of them. Please." Cytros remained silent. "Please. It may be the key to saving thousands of dragon lives."
Cytros thought it over for another minute before turning to an armored lightning dragon on his left. "Voltrus. I want you to escort Crona to the prisoners. If they make any sort of threatening move towards her, kill them. I won't have Certo's mate endangered." Crona felt her heart beat faster against her chest wall but pushed the comment out of her mind. This was not going to be the last time she would be mistaken as Certo's significant other.
"I understand," the sentry nodded sharply. "Come." He jerked his head for Crona to follow him. The white dragoness hobbled after him, but not before bowing thankfully to Cytros.
When the white dragoness was out of sight, Verona turned to the captain. "Shall we?"
"I suppose we shall." Cytros nodded, following the ice dragoness up the hill.
Voltrus led Crona towards the middle of the city where the council temple stood. He led her around the back of the large building and down a hidden flight of stairs deep under the city. The caverns were lit with torches casting long shadows across the walls. At the bottom of the stairwell stood a tall fire breather in shining silver armor. He bowed his head politely to his fellow guard, but looked curiously at Crona as she faltered along behind him.
Across the chamber was a single cell; and within that cell sat three smelly apes. The barbarians sat with their backs to the cold wall and glared out at the dragons with their dark eyes.
"Be careful," Voltrus cautioned Crona as he leaned down towards her. "They may be contained but they're still wild beasts."
Crona did not like the lightning dragon's attitude but she could also not bring herself to disagree with him. Voltrus and the guard watched as Crona sauntered up to the bars of the cell. The apes looked down at her curiously.
"What have we here?" The biggest of the three chuckled in a deep voice.
"Spare me the sly talk," Crona snapped. "I'm here on business."
"Oh really?" The apes laughed mockingly at her. It was a noise they had not made in what felt like years. "And what are you here to do? Make us babysit you?"
Another burst of laughter made Crona's face turn red with anger. "I'm not that nice to you stink-pots." The apes immediately fell silent. "I want to know why you attacked this city. You have had no right to invade a dragon city and have had no provocation until now. So what made you do it?"
The apes stared at her for a tense moment before looking up to the two guards. "You're sending this little whelp to do your job for you? You dragons are pathetic!"
"Listen up!" Crona shouted, rearing on her hind legs and striking the lock on the bars. "I know you goons are too stupid to arrange your own plans for war, so you must have gotten help from someone else. Where is he?"
The apes looked at each other nervously. "What makes you think we'd tell you?"
Crona narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice so the guards could not hear. "Because I'm far more powerful than he is," She whispered, giving a special emphasis on the word 'powerful'. "I know what he's capable of and that he's offered you power of your own. But if you take me to him, you can have far more power than you could ever imagine."
The apes eyes grew wide. "You're bluffing!" The biggest growled.
"Am I?" Crona halted time and quickly hobbled back to the fire guard and grabbed a key that was on his foreleg. She hobbled back and unlocked the cage before hustling to put the key away and reposition herself before the apes. When she released her hold on time she smiled slyly at the baboons. "I just opened this cell for you goons and you haven't even realized it. If you don't take me to your so-called master, then I can leave you to rot and then you will have no power what so ever!"
The apes glanced down at the lock and back to the white dragoness. The first ape lunged forward, thrusting the cell door open, knocking Crona to the ground. Voltrus and the fire guard's eyes grew wide as the three apes charged them. The biggest slammed into Voltrus, knocking him into the wall. The lightning dragon roared and charged up a burst of electricity. The ape howled and struck the dragon across the face with his elbow, knocking him unconscious. The remaining two apes tackled the fire guard to the ground as a wave of fire scorched the ceiling above them. Crona ducked and covered her head as the flames licked at her from above.
The two apes slammed the fire guard's head against the wall, splattering blood across the cold stone. The dragon slumped to the ground and didn't move. The lead ape walked over and grabbed a sharp rock that lay on the floor and raised his arm high.
"No!" Crona shouted. The ape froze in time as she beat her wings, propelling herself across the room and into the ape's side. The ape howled as he hit the wall hard and crumbled to the ground. Crona thought she had killed him but saw that he was breathing slightly. She sighed with relief before looking at the ape's comrades. "If you want anything from me, then you will kill no more dragons until I say so. Understood?"
The apes growled as they looked at one another. Crona snorted and trudged up the stairwell and into the warm night air. She paused to look around to see if the noise had stirred up any commotion. Luckily no one was around.
"Alright now. Which way do we go?" She asked. She turned around just as a heavy blow struck her across the face.


Neros released a thunderous roar across the plains just on the outskirts of the enchanted forest. The ground rippled and shook from the sonic blast and a burst of convexity erupted from the back of his throat. The concentrated beam of energy hit a small hill and an explosion shook the earth. As rocks and grass rained down from the sky, the albino black dragon smiled proudly to himself.
"Nearly perfect," He snickered. "It won't be long now."
"Master!" Neros jumped at the sudden voice. He had been so focused on mastering his new power he had completely neglected paying attention to his surroundings. The albino dragon turned to see two apes strutting towards him from the cover of the trees. One carried a white dragoness with gold rings on her left horn and tail and an elaborate breast plate.
Neros glared at them and turned away from his practice field. "What is the meaning of this? You interrupt my personal time and once more you bring a filthy dragon with you?" He stomped over to the ape carrying the dragoness and struck him in the gut with his tail blade. The ape gasped in shock as the serrated spearhead plunged into his stomach. Neros yanked his tail blade out, hurling the ape along with it. Crona's body hit the ground and the sudden pain caused her to wake from her unconscious state. Neros spread his wings and convexity began to emanate from his body. He fired a blast of purple energy from his maw and destroyed the ape's limp body in an eruption of purple fire and earth. He turned his attention to the remaining ape who cowered before him.  
"M-Master. We brought her back as a prisoner. She said she wished to see you because she could grant us more power."
Neros glanced over at Crona, who was struggling to rise. The albino turned his eyes back to the ape and bared his teeth. "She can grant you more power than I can? Did she say exactly how?"
"N-no..."
"Then how can you be certain she's not lying to you?" Neros growled. "She could have led more dragons to us and now she's only waiting for them to arrive."
"She... broke us out of imprisonment. " The ape swallowed hard. "It was like she didn't even try. It was like she used magic. She claimed to be even stronger than you Master. We thought you should see her for yourself."
Neros slowly turned to the white dragoness who was getting to her feet. He noticed her broken limb and curled his lip in disgust. Crona felt his eyes on her and looked up to have her jaw fall open. Neros looked almost identical to Certo with the only difference being his coloration and the savage-looking, ruby-colored eyes.
"They really are twins," She thought to herself.
"You?" Neros took a step towards Crona who stood her ground, trying not to appear intimidated by him. "You think you're stronger than I am?"
Crona didn't answer. If she said the wrong thing there would be no way she could ever talk her way through to Neros.
"Well, answer me!" Neros suddenly lashed out at Crona. The dragoness ducked on reflex and moved out of the way. Neros hissed and slashed with his tail blade, aiming for Crona's throat. Once again, Crona ducked and turned to flee. "You're not going anywhere," Neros growled. Crona beat her wings as she struggled to get airborne.
"If I can just make it to the trees," she thought to herself. A sudden roar and a gust of wind hit her like an hammer from behind. Crona was sent tumbling head over heels and slammed into a tree trunk. The blow dazed her and her vision blurred. The next thing she realized, a heavy paw struck her in the side of the neck and pinned her to the tree. The dragoness gasped as the pressure threatened to cut off her air supply. Neros's warm, blood-stained tail blade arched around and pressed against her stomach, just above her pelvic bone. Crona froze and opened her eyes to see Neros's fearsome eyes staring into hers.
"You didn't answer me," He hissed menacingly, the wind howling in response to his hostility. "Do you think you're stronger than me?"
Crona's heart rate began to race out of control. Her breathing was coming in short rapid breaths as she frantically tried to think of an answer.
"Well?" Neros pressed his blade to her stomach more causing Crona to scream.
"I did it to get to you!" She cried, her muscles tensing in fear. Not even Certo on his worse day was as terrifying as Neros was now.
"Oh." Neros tilted his head to the side. "I suppose then that you did a good job. Because I don't like being looked down upon! So now you may pay for your impudence!" His tail blade reared back for the killing blow and Crona's eyes widened.
"I know your brother!" She shouted. Neros paused and stared hard into her eyes.
"Ah so you're a friend of Certo's, huh? He's got good taste. You're cute but you're still a filthy dragon! But at least you've saved me the trouble of having to hunt you down myself." He prepared to strike again and Crona felt her heart nearly stop.
"I can help you!"
Once again, Neros stopped. "You? Help me? You can't even match up to me. What makes you think that I would find you to be of any use?"
"Because I know how you feel," Crona gasped, feeling the pressure on her neck increase. "Certo's told me about your struggles growing up. I know what it's like. What it's like to be different from everyone around you. To feel inferior to everyone else because of what you are."
"I have never felt inferior!" Neros snapped, putting his blade to her stomach again. Crona squeezed her eyes shut as frightened tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "I have never felt inferior to anyone! Just brushed off like a spot of dirt on one's scales! Ignored and shunned because of some birth defects! I've felt alone all my life but I've never felt inferior to anyone or anything! So if that's what Certo has told you then you are just as foolish as he is!"
"He cares about you still!" Crona protested. "He still loves you as a brother!"
Neros only laughed. "You know, for a pretty face you sure don't put up a very good argument. Certo may have cared a long time ago but that all changed when he decided to abandon me as did the rest of my so-called family."
"He didn't abandon you!" Crona sobbed. "He said he was held back. He was stopped from seeing you."
"That's no excuse, and Certo knows it!" Neros hissed, spitting on Crona's cheek. "I've overcome every obstacle ever thrown in my way without complaint! So to hear that Certo did not even try and make an attempt to get away from the cave is just as sorry an excuse as saying he tried!"
"Neros, listen to me." Crona pleaded. "I know what it's like to feel like you've been abandoned. I lost my mother when I was just a hatchling and my best friend was murdered by these apes right before my very eyes. My father is permanently crippled because of them. I've been where you are! I know what it's like!"
"You can't possibly understand what it's like to fend for yourself when no one else will lift a claw to help you survive!" Neros began to dig his claws into her soft neck causing her to cough and choke harder.
"I do! I've been on my own for a long time! I've been able to take care of myself! We're not as different as you think."
Neros laughed in her face. "You are so full of it! You know nothing about me beyond what that poor excuse of a brother of mine has said!"
"I know that's all I'm going off of, but I honestly feel like I understand where you're coming from," Crona wheezed, trying to slide her belly away from the quivering blade. "But where you're going is not the answer!"
"We dragons are a stain on existence itself!" Neros shouted, pressing his blade closer to her again. "We're so arrogant in our thinking and in our every day life that nothing matters to anyone except self-gain! Not even something as important as family means anything to anyone! So I'm going to do the world a favor and purge it of us dragons!"
"Even you?" Crona gasped, staring at him in wide-eyed shock.
Neros nodded. "I intend to live as long as dragons continue to exist."
"You're... like Malefor..." Crona shook her head in disbelief.
Neros raised a brow. "Who?"
Crona realized that she had spoken out loud, but the albino black dragon had recoiled his rage for just a moment, giving her the chance she needed to get through to him.
With a deep sigh, Crona turned slightly to look Neros in the eyes. "Neros, I'm not like other dragons."
The albino gave her a disgusted look. Did she think he was that stupid?
Crona seemed to sense his displeasure at her statement. "I mean I'm not from this time. I come from the future."
"The future?" Neros's brows jumped. He had expected her to say just about anything to get free from his wrath; but this was far from what he had expected.
"Yes," Crona nodded. "This time here is over a thousand years ago from my time period."
"Sister, I don't know what they feed you at your home, but that is ridiculous."
"I'm being serious, Neros." Crona's tone suddenly went dark as she stared him in the eyes. "I'm a chronicler dragon. Meaning I have the ability to control time and space."
"Oh yeah?" Neros glared at her. "Prove it."
Crona's eyes began to glow as she halted time. She concentrated on Neros and he looked around curiously. The world was shrouded in a deep violet hue. The ape that had brought Crona to him stood motionless like a frozen statue.
"Wh-what did you do?" Neros gasped, releasing Crona from his pin. The moment he broke contact he became frozen in time. Crona took the chance to regain her breath before releasing her grip on time. Neros and the ape jolted as if they had just blinked themselves out of a deep sleep. The albino dragon looked at Crona with wide eyes and gaping jaw.
"You see?" Crona smiled softly. "That was my ability to control time."
"I see," Neros gasped as he looked around to see things were normal again. "And you can obviously travel through time as well."
Crona's cheeks flushed slightly as she stared at the ground. "Well, that was really just by accident. I'm still not certain how I did it though."
"And who is this Malefor you mentioned?" Neros asked glancing over his shoulder at her.
Crona curled her lip slightly. "Malefor was a dragon in my time that brought about the end of the world."
"What?" Neros's eyes widened in shock.
"Malefor was a purple dragon who possessed the power of all four main elements of our world. And he too controlled the power of convexity." She thrust her snout towards Neros.
"What's convexity?" He asked narrowing his eyes at her.
"That power you used against your brother. It's a void energy that counteracts the elements of this world. Malefor used it to cause destruction everywhere his forces went and eventually managed to summon a monster capable of destroying the world itself!"
"Yet here you are today," Neros growled. "How can it be that the world ended and you're still here to talk about it. Unless you used your time travel ability to escape death."
Crona shook her head. "The world almost did end. But thanks to another purple dragon and a black dragoness, they were able to bring the world back together after it broke apart."
"Hmm," Neros thought and scratched his chin. "So you say this purple dragon and black dragoness were the only two who prevented the world from being completely obliterated?" Crona nodded. "And there were no other dragons to stand up to this Malefor?"
"No. Purple dragons are said to be stronger and more powerful than any other dragon in existence."
"That's all I need to know." Neros smiled. He turned to the ape as an evil grin spread across his mouth. "Go back to the others. Tell them be prepared to move out when I return."
As the ape nodded and disappeared into the darkness of the forest, Crona stared at Neros. "What are you planning?"
The albino dragon turned to her, the wicked smile growing larger by the second. "I'm planning on traveling forward in time with you."
"What? No!" I... I can't!" Crona gasped, suddenly feeling the cold grip of panic grasp her heart. "It was just by accident that I came back to this time period."
"But that doesn't matter," Neros said turning to her with a wild excitement in his eyes. "The point is, is that you can travel through time. With the proper help and motivation you can travel back to your own time. And when you do, I can meet this Malefor in person and help him rid the world of dragons for good."
"What?" Crona's heart skipped a beat and she felt a chill run up her spine.
"I already told you, dragons need to be wiped from existence. No amount of time will ever change us, no matter how hard some of you try. Certo was one against many but none of them changed and eventually he succumbed to their ways." Neros walked up to Crona and brought his snout up to hers. "And I'm sure Certo has told you about how persistent I am when coming to a decision and sticking with it."
"No," Crona gasped. "I won't help you! Never!"
"You will help me!" Neros snarled, striking her in the chest and pinning her  back to the tree. "You don't have a choice! It's either help me get to the future and see your father again, or stay here and die."
"I'd rather die!" Crona spat in Neros's eye.
The albino only laughed. "I know you don't mean that." He blinked, trying to get the saliva out. "I can see it in your eyes. You've wanted to go home the moment you found out what happened here."
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Crona wheezed trying to compose herself.
"It's written all over your face," Neros replied. "You've been struggling alright. Struggling with the fact that you're thousands of years away from home with no way back."
"Get off of me!"
"You're not leaving my sight," Neros fumed, knocking her head against the tree trunk. Crona saw stars as she felt Neros's paw against her throat again.
"Certo, help me!" She screamed in her mind.
A sudden roar rumbled across the treetops and and across the meadows. Neros turned his head with a smile on his face.
"So he followed after you, did he?" He released Crona who fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Neros!" Certo suddenly shot over the forest canopy and lunged for his brother. Neros took the full force of the blow as he and Certo rolled over one another, snarling, biting and slashing with their claws. Crona watched as the two kicked up chunks of dirt and grass, growling like wild animals.
Certo finally managed to grab Neros by the back of his neck and wrenched him off. The albino was flung against a tree trunk and crumbled to the ground. Certo lunged for him, somersaulting to slash with his tail blade. Neros jerked his head to the side as his brother's blade missed his head by an inch. Certo thrust his forehead into his brother's, stunning the pale-white dragon for a brief moment. Certo wrenched his tail blade free from the bark and whipped around to take off his brother's head. At the last second, Neros ducked as the deadly spearhead grazed his ivory horns. Certo snarled angrily and slammed his twin's face into a root of the tree.
Certo reared his head back and took in a deep breath. Neros's eyes widened as he sensed the sudden disturbance in the wind. He rolled out of the way  as  the sound of thunder erupted from Certo's lungs. The ground exploded and the trees burst into a pile of splinters with an ear-piercing crack. Certo turned away from the crater, his bad eye burning bright with crimson energy. Neros's eyes grew wide when he saw the blazing aura in his brother's eye. Certo thrust his head forward and another sonic blast threatened to envelope Neros. The albino ducked low to the ground and thrust his wings in front of him, creating a sound-canceler. Certo increased the pitch in his voice. Neros withstood the shrill noise before he felt his bones begin to rattle.
At last he could take no more of the noise and threw himself out of the way. The blast ripped through the ground like blades through paper. Neros looked back at his brother with fear in his eyes as Certo lurked towards him
Neros glanced over at Crona who was getting to her feet then back at his brother. "I'll be back," He snarled before glancing at Crona again. "Soon."
"Oh no you won't!" Certo growled and lunged for Neros's throat. The albino roared back and suddenly a burst of convexity engulfed Certo. The black dragon screamed as the energy sent his rag-doll flying into the meadow.
"Certo!" Crona screamed. She hobbled out to him, ignoring the aching pain in her left leg. Much to her relief, Certo got to his feet. "Thank the ancestors," she breathed. She glanced over her shoulder to see Neros had disappeared into the darkness of the forest.  The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, making any search almost impossible in the oncoming darkness.
Certain that they were safe for the time being, Crona turned back to Certo. "Are you alright? That was..."
The black dragon whirled on her in a flash. "What in the world do you think you're doing, Crona!" His voice rising to a threatening level.
"What do you mean?" Crona jerked her head back and glared at him defensively.
"Don't play dumb with me!" Certo growled, the wind rustling the trees as he did. "You went looking for Neros without me! You looked for him when I specifically told you not to! I told you talking to him would not do you any good and you didn't listen to me! You didn't trust me like you said you did!"
"I had to give it a try Certo!" Crona shot back. "You never know unless..."
"Alright then! Did you talk to him?" Certo stepped back, giving the dragoness some space to breathe. "Answer me that."
Crona's mouth fell open and she hung her head in shame. "I... I did."
"And did it resolve the issue?"
Crona was silent for another minute. "No."
"You see! This is exactly what I said would happen. And knowing you, you probably made the situation worse! How could you be so careless!? You could have been killed!"
"I didn't intend for it to be like this, Certo!" Crona snapped.
"My black tail you didn't!" Certo snarled menacingly. He was furious beyond anything Crona had witnessed before. "I know it was you who let the apes out of their cell. I know it was you who got them to take you to Neros. The ape that we found said you had unlocked the door for them." Crona felt her limbs freeze up at that and Certo noticed the terrified look in her eyes. "You don't have to worry, the guards don't suspect you anyways. The keys were still on the guard when we found him. They believe that the apes smashed the gate when they attempted their escape. Personally I'd like to keep it that way but still, I know you're the only dragoness who can pull something like this off!"
Crona sighed slightly, remembering the guards that had been watching over her. She had endangered their lives; and for what. To find out that Certo had been right the entire time. If they had been killed would their lives have been in vain should Neros have chosen to listen? It was an answer she would never know.
As she looked up at Certo she noticed blood trickling from the scar across his forehead that Neros had reopened in the scuffle. "Certo, you're bleeding!" She stepped forward but the black dragon weaved around her.
"Don't touch me!" He spat. "I'm really pissed at you right now! I trusted you!"
"Certo, I didn't mean to..."
"There's a lot of things we don't mean to do Crona! But look what happens when we don't think about it!" He shook his head, trying to shake the rage from his mind. "I can't believe for someone so smart you could be so stupid!"
Crona's maw fell open as she stared at Certo in the fading sunlight. The black dragon's eye was glowing like a lantern in the late afternoon sun. He stared at her for a long, hard moment before turning back towards home. "Hurry up!" He snarled and took to the air, ignoring the pain in his body.
The white dragoness was dumbstruck. She wanted desperately to go over and teach the black dragon a lesson he would never forget about speaking to her in such a manner. However she could not bring herself to utter so much as a word in his presence any more. All she could do was spread her wings and follow him home.