Everything seemed to have changed after that night on the snowy mountainside. The only time Moonwatcher was able to see Darkstalker after that was when they both decided to sleep or hunt. Even when Moon tried to follow him through the tunnels he would always block the path off. It was as if he was hiding from her… Or stopped her from exploring the rest of the caves.

She'd tried asking him several times what he was up to, but he would always just tell her not to worry. How could she not? What was he plotting?

At least he had been kind enough to make her living arrangements a little more comfortable. He'd brought her a lovely purple blanket that was soft to the touch, and an abundance of scrolls to write on with a small pot of ink. Yet Moon was frustrated when she realized that Darkstalker had enchanted these things. He'd told her about the blanket but told her the parchment would be a 'surprise'.

Yet despite this, she was beginning to lose faith in herself again. It seemed like that had made genuine progress that night on the mountain.

Darkstalker had actually opened up to her. Maybe Clearsight was right. The real Darkstalker - the one who was kind and loving - had just been trapped beneath all the hatred and magic.

Moonwatcher sighed. One step forward, and then two steps back. At this point, she would run out of time before she could even begin to find his true weakness.

Then there was Qibli… Was he alright? The last she'd seen him, he was hurt and covered in blood. Because of her. Because of what Darkstalker had done. Part of her would never forgive him for doing that to Qibli.

"Oh, Qibli," she sighed. She just hoped that his wounds weren't serious and that he had managed to make it back to the mountain. What would he have said, she wondered, to the others?

She moved across the cave and picked up a small scroll. Opening it up, she pulled out the small pot of ink and dipped her talons in it; beginning to write. She might not be able to go see them just yet, but maybe she could find a place close to the mountain. A place where someone could see her message. Let them know that she was safe… For the most part.

Once she was done, she wiped off her talons and reached to pick it up. Yet yelped when the paper suddenly flew into the air and hovered above her head. Moonwatcher stared at it for a moment.

"Um…" Moon began nervously. "Please come back down."

The paper just hung motionless in the air. Gently, she reached out to touch it once more. As soon as her talons touched it, it moved again; flying around the room in quick circles. Moon watched it as it began to change, the paper crackling as it became an entirely new shape.

It made one final spin around the room before a small, perfect little paper NightWing landed onto the ground before her and stared up at her.

"Oh," Moon said softly. "What in the three moons…"

Being ever so careful she picked the small dragon up in her talons, bringing it up to her face to examine it closer. It had almost made the perfect shape. It may not have had any features, but she could still tell what it was at first glance.

"Hello?" Moon asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

The little dragon merely tilted its head at her. Moon gave a small laugh to herself. "I don't suppose you can talk."

Moon watched as it fluttered its wings, the paper cracking with each movement. A small smile slowly began to crawl across her face. "Can you fly?" she whispered, hope brewing in her chest for the first time in a week.

As if on cue, the dragon jumped from her hands and began to fly around the room; occasionally gliding over her head as if in play. But before she could say another word, the small paper NightWing began to fly down the hall and out of her cave.

"Wait!" Moon called, beginning to run after it. She charged through each hallway, just barely seeing it slip around the corner each time. It was almost as if… Oh no.

Moonwatcher quickened her pace. But she was already too late. It had already flown to the small entrance outside and into the early morning air; gliding on the currents and headed straight towards Jade Mountain. It was out of sight in moments. Was the paper enchanted to do that for her? So she could send letters? Perhaps Darkstalker was taking note as to how lonely she was, or…

No, no. She was giving him too much credit. All she could do now was hope that the letter would make it to her friends.

"Moon?"

Moon looked back to see Darkstalker standing at the mouth of the cave. She turned to face him, giving him a small half-hearted smile. "Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," he replied. He peeked further out of the cave, his eyes squinting as the sun was beginning to rise over the trees. "I still do not understand why you insist on being up at this time of day. It's not natural for NightWings."

"It's always been like this for me,"

Darkstalker gave a small huff. He moved further out of the cave and into the light. With each passing day, he looked a little more different from the time Moon had seen him first emerge from the mountain. His frame was slowly becoming more muscular, talons sharper; eyes brighter.

"Moon," Darkstalker began gently, "I wanted to… Thank you."

Moonwatcher eyed him for a moment. "Thank me?" She asked, slightly confused.

The larger drake shifted on his talons and then moved closer to the edge of the cliff, staring off into the distance. "For that night on the mountain."

"I didn't really do anything," Moon admitted. "I just… Want you to be careful. They cared about you, Darkstalker."

"They didn't-" Darkstalker stopped himself, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply before speaking again. "If they had cared, they wouldn't have put me to sleep for over two-thousand years." Eventually, he turned back around to face her. "But that's not why I'm here. I have a gift for you."

Moonwatcher shifted uneasily. "A gift?"

Already she was beginning to worry about what enchantments he had placed on another object.

"Yes. I think you'll really like it. At least, I hope so."

He briskly walked past her, only stopping at the mouth of the cave when he realized Moonwatcher hadn't moved. "Well?" he asked expectantly.

Shaking her head, Moonwatcher followed after him back into the tunnels. The lights flickered brightly as they passed, their shadows seeming longer and darker the further they went inside. Soon they reached the paths Darkstalker had blocked off from her, the ones that she had been curious to see what he'd been hiding.

As they walked, Moon could already see what he'd done. The tunnels were now… More like hallways out of a castle. The stone floors were now smooth and their talons clicked against the ground as they walked. Portraits were engraved in the walls as they walked past, each one much different and more elaborate than the last.

Some showed battles between IceWings and NightWings, with NightWings mercilessly slaughtering the IceWings. They were almost too gruesome to even look at. Yet there were some that were beautiful.

Like her visions, she saw a picture of the City of Night. Dragons flying through the air. Sometimes she could almost swear that the dragons moved. Then there were other ones that looked more like portraits. It contained a very odd-looking NightWing. Her features were sharpened, with serrated talons. Streaks of marble and sapphire were adorned on her wings.

"Who is that?" Moon asked, pausing to look at it.

Darkstalker joined her side a small smile playing on his face. "She was my sister. Whiteout. I think she may have liked you. A lot of others teased her because she was 'different', but I loved her. She always said the most interesting things."

The softness in his eyes made Moon's guard fall a bit. There he was. The old Darkstalker. The one she'd seen in the visions with Clearsight, one where he was not so sad and full of bitterness. But just as quickly as it appeared it was gone as he continued down the hall.

"And here… Is my mother."

Moonwatcher moved to the next portrait. There was a beautiful NightWing within the stone. She had a warm face with kind eyes. Small flecks of diamonds protruded from the rock to decorate sections of her wings. It felt like a little more love and care had been put into this portrait than the other.

"She's so beautiful," Moon breathed.

"She was," Darkstalker admitted, his voice tight with emotion. He reached out a paw and placed it beside her face, a talon brushing her cheek gently. "There are no words to express how much I miss her."

"You must have loved her very much."

"I still do…"

Moon stared at him for a moment before carefully reaching out and resting her paw on top of his. Darkstalker looked down at her, his silver eyes filled with untold emotion.

"She's still with you."

Darkstalker gave a small sigh, and there was a ghost of a smile playing along his face before it vanished. He pulled his hand away while gently grasping Moon's talons into his, giving her paw a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."

She could only offer him a small smile.

The pair continued further down the hallway… Until they finally reached their destination.

The last time she had seen this part of the mountain, it had been nothing but rubble and a graveyard of small animal bones. But now it was different. The rubble was gone. The floor, like the halls, were now smooth and polished. The gaping hole above had been sealed. Large pillars of stone and marble lined the room in rows headed towards the back… Where two golden torches outlined two stone thrones.

"Come," Darkstalker said excitedly, quickly jumping into the air and gliding to the thrones.

Moonwatcher could only stare at the room in both awe and disgust. Is this what he'd really been up to all this time? There was no telling how much magic he used…

She flew down to meet him, landing silently a few feet away from Darkstalker. He was gazing up at the thrones proudly, admiring his work. Moonwatcher would admit they looked beautiful. The craftsmanship was definitely something to be admired. The left throne was completely made of obsidian, with cracks of white swirling through it. At it's top rested the three moons, each one a type of stone Moonwatcher could not truly describe. It almost reminded her of an opal, but these gems seemed to almost emit their own light source if that was even possible.

Finally, there was the throne on the right. It was somewhat small than the one on the left. It too was made of obsidian. But by the base it seemed there were crystal flowers blooming, and as the base of the throne rose up it the design slowly began to resemble that of a forest. A certain forest where she grew up. This was more elegant, with emerald creeping through to represent trees, and rubies and sapphires scattered here and there as small flowers.

A cold chill ran through her core. Her scales felt hot but inside she was freezing. The longer she stared at the throne the more she wanted to run. An image of her sitting atop of it appeared in her mind.. She looked regal and elegant, with fine jewels adorning her horns and talons. Darkstalker was there, too. He sat beside her, that sickeningly sweet smile across his features.

"Do you like it?"

Moonwatcher was drawn from her vision, looking over to Darkstalker who was staring at her hopefully.

"I did not know what you would have liked. I've heard you mumble in your sleep, and you often speak of home… So I wanted to make something that represented you."

"It's… very nice," Moonwatcher offered.

A frown formed across Darkstalker's face, his eye ridges knitting together. "You don't like it."

"What? No, no, I do think it's beautiful. It's just…" Moon looked back at the throne. Part of her felt sick looking at it. In all it's beauty, it shouldn't have existed.

"Why did you make this?"

"Why do you think?" Darkstalker challenged.

"We aren't even close to the year being up, and already you're making a throne for a situation that's never going to happen?" Moonwatcher sighed in frustration, ruffling her wings in response. "Why waste more magic to hurt yourself?"

"I'm not hurting myself," Darkstalker snapped as he took a step forward. Moonwatcher stood her ground.

"It is, and you're in utter denial."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

The larger NightWing hissed and stalked closer until their snouts were nearly touching. "Why can't you just accept the future for what it is?"

"No one's future is set in stone," Moon shot back, green eyes defiant. "Just like how yours isn't. Nothing you see is real."

"It is real, and you will stand by my side when all is said and done."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Moonwatcher asked. "If all of your visions were true, why did they not become a reality all those years ago? You said you saw yourself ruling the NightWings with Clearsight… That you would become some grand king. And it didn't happen. But look where that got you. You're here, with me… Darkstalker, please, you need to let this go. Let me go."

Silence hung in the air between. Moonwatcher could feel her whole body tense. Yes, she could tell Darkstalker was angry but it needed to be said. All of his dreams were naive and selfish. He may have been able to appear he cared about those around him, but deep down his true desires were his own.

Part of her even wondered if she would even be able to really turn him in the end.

Eventually, Darkstalker released a long sigh and pulled away a bit. "Of course you'd act just like her," he said bitterly.

"Darkstalker…" Moon began.

"Please, Moon, don't start. I have one more thing to show you, and then I'll leave you alone if you wish."

She wasn't going to get anywhere with him after that. Sighing in defeat, she nodded. "Alright."

Part of Moonwatcher felt guilty for upsetting him, but deep down she knew that he needed to hear it. For the rest of their journey through the tunnels, Darkstalker was completely quiet. He lead her through a new path she'd never been in before, one where a staircase formed up into a spiral upwards. Once they reached the top, the reached an entrance covered by… Leaves. Long, fresh green leaves.

Darkstalker paused and then nodded towards it.

"It's your room."

"My… Room?"

"Yes," he answered.

Moonwatcher looked from him to the entrance one last time before moving forward. Her head slipped through the leaves, and Moonwatcher was immediately surprised when she was nearly blinded by sunlight. Once her eyes adjusted she moved further inside, and nearly felt her heart burst out of her chest.

Real grass was underneath her talons. Around her was an open forest… Much like the rainforest back home. All around her, she could hear the soft coo of birds and the calls of monkeys in the distance. Sunlight crept through the leaves near the top of the canopy. Heliconia and orchids had blossomed around a few of the trees.

For a split moment, Moonwatcher could have believed she was back home. Not in a cave, not in her own prison. Home.

Yet as she continued to walk further inside, she noticed a tree; far larger than the ones she had ever seen back home. Near the base she saw it. It looked as if a large hole had been cut inside it, leaving a sort of bowl shape on the side. It was filled with an abundance of blankets and pillows, with a small lamp hanging from the ceiling.

Talons reached out and gently ran over the blankets. They were so soft... Just like the one Darkstalker had given her prior.

There was the crunch of leaves from behind her, and she turned to see Darkstalker watching her curiously.

"If you dislike it, I can make it into something else…"

"I love it," Moonwatcher admitted gently, continuing to run her paws over the soft fabric. No one had ever given her a gift as grand as this. "How did you do it?"

"Magic has very few limits," Darkstalker began, walking a bit closer. "I wanted to do something that would make you happy. Besides, I think neither of us really like sleeping on the floor, right?"

She couldn't help but give a small laugh at that. As much as she was angry at him for using his powers like this, especially because of her, Moonwatcher couldn't help but be somewhat enchanted by the scenery around her.

There was that feeling again. That sensation of his consciousness brushing against her own.

I love the sound of your laughter.

Moonwatcher glanced up at Darkstalker to see him wearing an expression she'd only really seen with Clearsight. It caused a cool sensation to rinse over her scales and she inhaled a quiet breath. Maybe part of him wasn't as selfish as she originally thought.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're very welcome, my Moon," Darkstalker replied. He turned away from her and continued walking through the brush. "There's one more thing I'd like you to see. Come here."

What else could he have possibly made? There was almost nothing he could do to make any of this better than it already was.

On the other side of the tree, was a small basin filled with water. A small stream trickled from inside the tree down into the bowl.. Yet no matter how much water was poured inside, the water level did not rise.

"I know you've said that you missed your friends… So I wanted to give you a way to see them."

Darkstalker raised his hand and slowly waved it over the water. "Show me Prince Winter."

The water rippled, everything moving in chaos before settling to become smooth as glass. Moonwatcher stared as the image of Winter slowly took form.

There he was. Glittering white scales and ocean blue eyes. Just as she had remembered him. He looked to be in a large cave, sitting down beside a bed and drawing something she couldn't see on a desk. He looked… Sad.

Moonwatcher brought a paw to her chest, feeling a dull ache. She missed her friends so much. It was good to see that Winter was alright after what had happened on the mountainside.

"Winter," she whispered.

The IceWing lifted his head from his task and looked around the room as if he had actually heard her voice. A mixture of hope and fear blossomed in her chest.

"Winter!"

Only this time, he didn't seem to hear her. Winter just shook his head and looked back down at his drawing before pausing. He glanced over to his left, and the scene changed. Now she saw a very familiar-looking SandWing.

Nearly covered in bandages from horn to talons, Qibli was curled up into a ball as he slept. His breathing was slow and steady, his scorpion tail occasionally twitching. Winter pulled a blanket over the SandWings body, staring down at him for a moment before returning back to his scroll.

With that, the image within the water began to fade.

"Wait!" Moon cried desperately. But he was gone as soon as her talons hit the water.

Moonwatcher inhaled a shaky breath. They were so close. Winter heard her. She was so sure of it.

"They can't hear you," Darkstalker said. "The water only shows you what you desire to see."

She glanced back down at the water longingly. Once Darkstalker left, she would try to contact them again.

"Thank you for this," she said in a soft voice.

Darkstalker gave a small huff. "I'd rather see you smiling that looking off longingly in the distance for dragons who offer you no future."

"You don't know that!"

"Oh, but I do," Darkstalker replied, looking a bit smugger. "I've seen every path for you. With both the IceWing Prince and that strange little SandWing. Would you like to know?"

A small twinge of panic ran through her and she quickly covered her ears with her paws.

"No, no! Don't say anything!"

The larger NightWing threw his head back in a laugh and gently nudged her shoulder with one of his wings.

"Oh please, it's not like it was anything special. Besides, I think your future with me is the one you should really be caring about."

Did he always need to be so confident? Moonwatcher placed her paws back down and gave him a half-hearted glare, turning away from him. "You always seem so sure that the future you see will become a reality. Well, it's not. I will earn my freedom, and you will not become the King you so desperately wish you were."

There was a slight breeze of air and then hot breath against her scales. A wing was draped over her slender frame, shielding her in darkness. Moon turned her head to instantly be met with silver-blue eyes, intense and staring into her own. Even now she could feel the slight coolness of his scales seeping into her own like an early morning chill.

"We'll see about that."

A warm tingle ran down her spine. After what felt like an eternity, Darkstalker pulled away from her.

"Just so you know, you can only go so far in this room. It's not actually a forest as it may appear. There is a wall. Oh! Also, the time of day can change to any that you would like. I thought this would be easier for you since your sleeping habits are not exactly in tune with mine."

Moon tilted her head at him, trying to keep a small smile from forming on her face. "You really do try to think of everything, don't you?"

"What can I say? I want to please my future queen."

"Mhm," Moon hummed, turning back to look at the hollow in the tree.

"Was there anything else I could give you?"

She thought for a moment before her ears perked up and she smiled. "I'd really love if I could have some paint."

"Paint? Paint for what?"

"Nothing," Moon lied. "I tried painting in the mountain with a… a friend. I wanted to try it again."

Flashes of Mightyclaws' angry face appeared in her mind. If he had heard her call him a friend in person, she doubts he would have been very happy about it. But it was the best excuse she could come up with. But her answer seemed to have pleased Darkstalker for the moment.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. There are a few more things I have to go do, so I will see you later… Perhaps for dinner?"

Moonwatcher sucked in a small breath. "Perhaps."

Darkstalker gave her a dashing smile, silver eyes twinkling, before slipping through the entrance of her room. It was only after she could no longer feel the presence of his mind that she finally released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

She trotted back over to the bowl, looking down at it intently. "Show me Prince Winter."

But nothing happened. Moonwatcher tried dipping a talon into the water to make it ripple, and yet all she saw was her reflection.

"Please," she begged. "Please let me see him."

The water was almost mocking her at this point. Moonwatcher lowered her head in defeat. At least her letter had managed to escape. She would just have to keep trying to look into the water. To send more letters.

Folding her wings back and lifting her head once again, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She would return to Jade Mountain. Even if it was the last thing she ever did.

Winter!

The IceWing prince whipped his head around to look across the room. There. She was there. He'd heard his name as clear as day, as if she'd been standing right beside him all along.

But there was no one. Just himself and Qibli.

Winter glanced over at the SandWing who was dozing peacefully in his bed. When Qibli had returned to the mountain after the attack, Winter was almost sure that Qibli would die. His blood had stained his talons red for nearly three days… They were very, very lucky that it looked much worse than it was.

Sighing in frustration, Winter glanced down at his drawing. Winter wouldn't say he was a great artist, but over time he believed he'd been getting better. Ever since Moonwatcher had been taken, he'd found that he was drawing her more often than he'd like to admit…

"You're really good at that, y'know."

Trying not to jump, Winter looked up to see Qibli's golden eyes twinkling at him playfully.

"You idiot," Winter hissed. "You nearly got yourself killed!"

"D'awww. You do care." Qibli said with a small smile. He then winced as he began to shift himself to sit up.

"Careful," Winter grumbled, watching him closely to make sure he didn't fall.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing that won't scar over in a few weeks." Qibli looked back down at Winters drawing and stared at it intently for a moment. "Is that Moon?"

"Do you enjoy putting yourself in life-threatening situations?" Winter asked, flipping the paper over to avoid Qibli's question.

"Only if you're with me."

Winter snorted, nipping at the air in front of Qibli. The SandWing could only laugh.

"Qibli!"

Before another word could be said, a familiar green SeaWing came charging into the room. "You're okay!"

"Of course I'm okay! It's going to take more than some overgrown NightWing to take me down."

Turtle took a seat a few feet away Winter. "We were all really worried about you. After you came back… Looking like, well… that we…"

"Again, I'm fine," Qibli stressed.

"If he's able to make jokes, he certainly is." Winter said in a grumble.

"He was asleep for three days!"

"And I feel great, I promise you."

Turtle draped his tail over his talons, a worried look on his face. "When you came back, you… You said something about Moonwatcher…"

Winter watched as any playfulness left Qibli's face and his expression turned dark. "She was right there," Qibli whispered. "Right there in my talons. And I couldn't save her."

"Was she okay?" Winter asked anxiously. "Was she hurt?"

"No, no, she looked fine, but… Darkstalker. I'm worried about her. I don't even want to know what horrible things he could have done to her by now."

Serrated talons curled against the cave floor. Winter should have gone with him that day. He would have been able to protect both of them, to keep Moon from going back with that monster.

"What are we going to do?" Turtle asked quietly. "We know next to nothing about him other from what scrolls tell us and what he's said. Being an animus, having that sort of power… It's dangerous. He could do anything he wants. He practically has no weakness."

"I wish I were an animus… Then I'd have the power I need to stop him." Qibli's tail flexed and then relaxed.

"Being an animus doesn't always solve everything," Turtle said gently.

"But it would sure help."

"He's right," Winter agreed. "With a little magic of our own, maybe we could put him to sleep again. Or-"

The flapping of wings interrupted him, as all three dragons were suddenly met by a much smaller, much more flammable one.

It landed on the ground between Winter and Turtle, hopping from foot to foot and flaring its wings impatiently.

"By the moons…"

Winter lowered his head down to peer at the strange creature. It definitely resembled a dragon but it was made of… parchment paper.

"A trick sent from Darkstalker?" Winter asked, poking at it with a talon. The little dragon seemed to paw back at him.

"Why would Darkstalker send us an absolutely adorable mini-dragon? Let me guess. It's going to blow up and kill us all! And here I thought I would get to live to see my new scars heal over."

"Shut up," Winter hissed, before looking back down at the creature. Carefully, he picked it up in his paws. The mini-dragon trembled before unfolding in his hands, revealing a perfectly smooth scroll with writing on it.

"It's a letter!" Winter said excitedly.

"A letter?"

Turtle huddled close, trying to read over his shoulder.

"Let me see, too! I was the one who nearly got mauled to death by mister doom and gloom." Qibli complained in a pout.

"Shhh."

Winters's eyes anxiously scrolled over the words. This was definitely in her writing. She was okay. For now, at least. The IceWing prince released a sigh, holding out the parchment for Qibli to read.

"She's alright. Darkstalker has been treating her fairly for the time being."

"Right. Because all two-thousand-year-olds are just that charming and considerate."

Turtle gave a small cough. "Well, technically-"

"We get it, Turtle. Shouldn't we all be devising some sort of plan to try and help her?"

"Considering the mountain has some sort of force field around it… And only they can come in or out, the only time we'd even have a chance at rescuing her would be to somehow wait until the leave the mountain."

Winter's tail twitched in annoyance. He wanted to go save Moon now.

"Any plans for trying to kill him?"

"I don't think we should. What if he put a spell on Moonwatcher? Like what if he gets hurt, and it hurts her? That seems like the sort of thing he'd do."

Turtle brought his paws up to grip his horns. "There are too many possibilities!"

"We have to think of something! We've already wasted nearly two weeks. Before we know it a year will have passed and we'll all be slaves and Moon will be trapped with him."

"Hey," Qibli began. "You're not the only one who cares about Moon… We'll get her back. Together."

The SandWing reached out and gripped Winter's talons in one of his own, looking at him intently.

It felt… Oddly nice. The warmth coming from Qibli's scales. But he was right. With all of them, they might just find a way to save their friend. Winter gave a small squeeze back.

"Together."

Hello, everyone. This is very overdue, isn't it?

First off I would really like to give a very big thank-you to my dear friend Alicia. (DONOVAN94) Without her, this chapter may have never seen the light of day. This chapter is dedicated to you, sweetheart. Thank you for believing in me and this fanfic.

Secondly, I would like to apologize that this took so long, dear readers. My time on other sites took away my time, and with accusations of this controversial ship being pedophilia, abusive, toxic, ect., I had no desire to write it. I'm still nervous about posting this, to be honest. But so many of you have persisted in both reviews and personal DMs that I can no longer stand by and deny the people what they so obviously want. So thank you to every single reader who has been oh so kind to leave a review. It really means the world to me, you have no idea.

Overall, I hope this pleases some of you for the most part. I'm still getting back into the groove of things and I haven't read the books in a while, so if some characters seem too OOC I apologize in advance. I'll try to refresh my memory in the coming weeks.

Enjoy the chapter, and please be kind to one another.