Author's Note: The first chapter of Usurpation of the Darkness is now up; that story can be found on my profile. But for those of you not quite ready to begin a new story, I do have something.

Several somethings, actually. First, this one. Remember the chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29? Those were written almost six months after the rest of the story, because they replaced a mere two chapters covering the same set of events (more or less). Those original two chapters were not bad, but as I looked back at them, I could not truly call them good, either.

So, in the spirit of showing the writing process, here are the contents of the two chapters I scrapped. I'll be leaving in just enough of the front and end for you to see where I began to cut things, and both chapters will go here so that I don't inflate my chapter count. Enjoy! (If you can. By the very nature of why you did not see these in the first place, you might not.)

O-O-O-O-O

Pearl opened her eyes slowly, feeling as if her head had been struck with a heavy rock.

'You are mine. No tricks this time.'

No, she was not. Let him see all of her pain, all of the horror that was her past! She shoved those memories at the tendrils, and the tendrils accepted them.

There was no relief.

'This time I am ready. Your agonies do not hurt me. But I can hurt you with them. Submit.'

No. She wouldn't give over any control of her life to this alpha! She had lost enough of her life to the first!

'I can make you relive them. It is easier to control with happy memories and easiest when subjects listen willingly, but I can make your life an endless replay of those season-cycles. Submit, or be left to this alpha male over and over again, for as long as you live. I win either way.'

She trembled at that promise. It was too sure to be a threat. Could she bear that? To be locked into those memories, while her body did as told anyway? She didn't have a choice.

Storm came to mind, looking confused. There was always the choice to defy. To take control. She just wasn't looking for it.

No, Pearl decided angrily. Let the alpha do his worst! There was nothing in those memories she had not survived the first time around. She would not give in.

'Very well.'

But nothing happened. Had she called his bluff?

Then sight returned, hearing returned, and the alpha snapped the connection. The world was shaking, her ears hurting. Sound was vibrating around her. She curled up into a small circle, trying to block out the horrible roar that shook the sky itself.

A roar of pain, she noted distantly. Had that No-scaled-not-prey or Ember somehow done it?

The roar tapered off, and a thud shook the ground. Pearl stood, and noticed that the Bewilderbeast was no longer standing.

Somehow. His mind was fading, the mental pulse too weak to control now. Pearl could literally feel the life leaving the bad alpha. It was not a good feeling, but she could ignore it.

She took stock of where she was. An empty street, an angry figure howling a few dozen feet away-

Wait, what? She shook her head, but the vision remained. The dark No-scaled-not-prey who had killed Gold stood in front of her, that terrible cloak spattered with fresh blood, howling in denial.

Ha! She laughed, scorning his frustration. The Bewilderbeast was dying, and no amount of complaining in his hoarse voice would change that.

Her laughter drew his attention. He turned to face her, his eyes murderous. "You."

"Me," she chirped and spread her wings to fly. This one could die here, but she didn't need to fight him.

Then something poked at her mind. Would she never fight for herself? Never do anything directly? She had to face Claw some day soon. This would be practice. Good practice.

It was foolish, but it felt like something Storm would do. That meant it was a good idea. Pearl refolded her wings and crouched, snarling. This bad alpha would fall to her. She would avenge Gold, however little he deserved vengeance.

Drago pointed his weapon at her. "I will take your life, as I should have. Fly away." He grinned. "Or fight?"

Pearl very deliberately blasted the wall of a nearby building and rubbed her side against the flames. This was something she had never tried before, but she had thought of it, when pondering how one such as herself could challenge Claw and win, when so many others had failed.

Her hide flickered and vanished, in places. In the places that were hot enough. She had not heated all of herself, so random spots flickered in and out of sight as the heat spread and faded to different places.

She was not just invisible now, she was a constantly flickering patchwork of white and clear. An illusion.

Drago hesitated as she stalked towards him. "Clever."

"Enough to kill you," Pearl snarled. She pounced, blasting at his terrible face as she did.

Drago twisted, catching the blast on his cloak-shrouded arm, a strange ringing resounding as it impacted, and swung his bullhook.

Pearl howled as it cut across her chest, barely missing her neck, a long diagonal gash that was wide and painful. She crumpled from the shock, not even making it to Drago.

A heavy boot pinned her head to the ground. Drago laughed scornfully, raising his bullhook. "Not clever enough."

O-O-O-O-O

Thorn leaped from rooftop to rooftop, seeking her daughter and Pearl. She quickly found Storm, who joined her in that search. But where was Pearl?

They both saw it at the same time. Drago, his terrible weapon raised, Pearl about to be slaughtered. They both fired at the same time at his unprotected back. Then they rushed in, disregarding the bloody mess that now covered Pearl.

"Are you hurt?" Thorn asked frantically, licking Pearl clean and spitting out the blood and chunks of iron she picked up in the process.

"Chest," Pearl moaned, rolling over. Thorn quickly tended to the worryingly large wound there.

"Will she be okay?" Storm asked anxiously. "We still have a lot to do."

"I'll be fine," Pearl hummed, a pained whine escaping her as Thorn cleaned her wound. "Can't die and leave you to steal eggs..."

"What was that?" Thorn warbled questioningly.

"I will explain later," Storm quickly answered. "You had better not die, Pearl. Ember would be even more confused. All of your work for nothing!"

Pearl grimaced. "You've convinced me, I'll live." She rolled back onto her feet. "Thanks to both of you."

"You are still bleeding, Pearl." Thorn nodded towards the sea stack rendezvous point. "Can you make it there?"

"Barely," Pearl moaned. "Will you come with me?"

"We might need to hold you up," Storm retorted. "Yes."

With that, the three female Furies departed the fight. Thorn had faith in her mate and the others. They would be fine. She needed to get Pearl to safety.

O-O-O-O-O

Ember, having just left the Bewilderbeast's back, was already feeling the mental pressure. He knew it was going to stop soon, as the Bewilderbeast was thrashing now, but it was still painful.

Looking down on the dying monster, Ember wondered about the lesser monster safely secured among its spines. Viggo's plan was brilliant, crazy, and sadistic. The man had coldly ordered his hunter to hand over the acid, even as that same hunter dangled, slipping from Ember's grip. Viggo sold thousands of dragons without a second thought, and struck to kill without warning. It was pretty clear the man had no morals or empathy.

Viggo needed to go, if Ember could catch him after this, but Ember had balked at killing the man so soon after working with him to stop their mutual enemy.

It would be best, Ember decided, if Viggo did not survive the Bewilderbeast's death throes. Even better if his empire expired soon after.

At the moment the pressure subsided, Ember switched his attention to searching for his sons and Sire, ignoring the dying body that was crushing half of the island.

What if one or more of his family was dead beneath the body? It was a scarily likely scenario. Ember searched harder.

While he searched, he took note of the fading fighting. Bodies littered the streets, and ice blasts likely entombed many more. Drago's men were not winning.

But Viggo's men didn't seem to be winning either. The fighting was tapering off as formations broke, meeting the enemy in a decimated street... and realizing the other side had no will to fight either. An unofficial truce began to spread, as Viggo's hunters searched for wounded among the bodies, and Drago's soldiers moved back to the few ships that had survived Viggo's fire blasts.

Ember heard a Night Fury roar and dropped towards it, landing in a street to see...

His heart fell. It was Second, fighting off several hunters who hadn't yet got the notice that the fight was over. They hacked at Second, who was faltering, covered in cuts.

A quick blast scattered the hunters, who were not motivated enough to stick around when another Fury entered the fray. Ember dropped in front of Second. The two stared at each other.

"I wish to leave this place," Second growled. "Thank you for depriving me of that choice." He waved his finless tail for emphasis.

Ember felt extremely guilty. "It was that or death."

"You don't seem to understand. I would prefer death, but I cannot let myself die. Someone has to release me," Second gritted out. "Even these wounds will not end me. I have suffered worse."

"Find something else to care about," Ember offered. "You don't have to die. Just start over somewhere new on your own." Maybe even Second could turn over a new leaf.

"Too late," Second laughed. "Far too late. I don't want to start over." He looked around. "But I don't want to go back to Drago, or be a prisoner here. I'm too valuable for these men to kill, and Drago will simply punish me. Kill me." That was an order directed at Ember. "I will not let you, but you are experienced enough to best me."

"No." Ember shook his head. "I've killed enough for one lifetime. Enough for both of my lifetimes."

"Then I am going to go find someone who will," Second growled. "Trouble is attracted to you. Let me follow and fight it off."

Ember considered it. "Actually, here's what I want you to do. Find other Furies, and protect them. There should be six, counting the white one."

"They will be threatened," Second agreed. "Maybe some hunter will get lucky. I will." With that, he limped out of sight.

Was that how he had seemed to Pearl and Storm, when he had wanted to let himself die? No, he had not tried to go violently. Then again, Second had no hope. He had not lost anyone, he just didn't feel like continuing.

Ember launched back into the air, still looking for any of the others. Valka was down here somewhere too, he recalled.

Soon after, Beryl and Herb rose to meet him, Spark flying after them a moment later from another part of the island. All three were fine. Then Thorn reported back from the sea stack, confirming the whereabouts of the females, though Pearl was injured.

That worried Ember immensely, but he shoved his conflicted feelings aside. There would be time later.

The ships of Drago's that still functioned were leaving, and the island by degrees fell still, the wounded resting and the able-bodied exhausted.

Beryl brought Ember and Herb to the place he had left Valka, while Thorn and Spark went back to the sea stack to reassure Pearl and Storm.

So it was that Beryl, Ember, and Herb were the ones to drop in on a bad sight.

Valka was unconscious, her staff snapped, and the Stormcutter's cage was gone.

This was the end of the first chapter, which would have included everything up to Pearl's moment that the final version did.

And now, for the second:

Beryl rushed to Valka, while Herb and Ember considered the situation. The Stormcutter's cage was gone, and Valka was unconscious. But who would take a random dragon cage?

Not just any dragon. A Stormcutter, the likes of which Ember had never seen before, a unique kind of dragon that seemed as rare as, if not even rarer than Night Furies. It would be valuable, and there was someone here who might need that value, given his entire empire had just been destroyed, half of his island crushed by a dead body, and the other half decimated by war.

Viggo. Ember growled wordlessly, seeing scrape marks in the slush and dirt leading away from the clearing into the alleyways.

"She's breathing but not waking up," Beryl called over.

"Take her to safety," Ember ordered. "Herb and I are going to get the Stormcutter back." Too long, too many setbacks. He would wait no longer. If Viggo got away now, the game would be back on, for he could not let Valka do it alone, and she would never give up. Viggo needed to be stopped, here and now. If it was Viggo who had taken the Stormcutter.

So Ember and Herb loped along the alleyways, passing through and around wreckage that spilled into or obstructed their path.

Ember recognized one of the alleys with something approaching nostalgia. Was it here, in this alley, that he had threatened that woman because she would not move? So long ago. Not that long. This very Winter. But this Winter had lingered, lasted, dark and timeless. It should be Spring by now, but Winter had not quite let go yet.

The scrape marks were clear, and diverted around the same obstructions Ember and Herb leaped over or slalomed through. They had to be gaining, but how long ago had Viggo come this way? It had been a while since the Bewilderbeast fell.

Then they saw him, turning a corner to almost run into one of his escort, a hunter with a curiously stained sword.

That stain made Ember balk, and he obliterated the sword with a powerful blast rather than striking the hunter himself, sacrificing a guaranteed kill to rid the hunter of his weapon. There was something wrong with that sword. It was gone now though. Herb pounced and slashed, covering Ember's hesitation.

The element of surprise was gone. There were six hunters and Viggo, standing in the alley between Ember and the cage. The Stormcutter was inside, unconscious.

Viggo smiled coldly. "Ember, we meet again. With a friend. One I recall selling, actually."

Ember shifted to his human form, knowing that this standoff would only last as long as Viggo held his men back. They all had stained weapons. He did not want to risk fighting that if he could avoid it, not with Herb at his side. "I told you if I caught you again I'd kill you."

"And why is that?" Viggo spread his arms. "You are a unique opponent, one I would very much like to match wits with on a grand scale, though you might not hold a candle to some of my more skilled past enemies."

"You know, Viggo? You beat Drago." Ember took a step forward, his palms glowing, both right by knife hilts, ready the draw and throw. "Or at least held him off. But both of your forces are gone. This was not a win for either of you."

"True, but it was not a loss, and I can rebuild." Viggo stared at Ember. "You called yourself a player, but all you have done so far is aid me."

"Wrong." Ember grinned, a dark smile. He needed Viggo off-guard. "Ryker Grimborn attacked Drago's stronghold, and Drago took inspiration from the man's ranting before killing him."

"That did not happen." Viggo sounded sure. "I have eyewitness reports that a Fury killed him. Even disregarding the exaggerations-"

"Figure it out, Viggo," Ember snarled, knowing the sound was not so intimidating coming from his human throat. The flames that were steadily creeping across his chest and down his legs, covering all but his face, would do that job. "I manipulated Drago into attacking you, and I had a friend send you the warning, all so that you could eliminate his Bewilderbeast and destroy both armies in the process. I won this game."

Another step forward, and Viggo's men flinched. Ember smiled viciously. "All on a friend's behalf. Give me the Stormcutter."

"Ah, Ember." Viggo's tone was angry, and it was clear he was not happy with Ember's revelations. "You never give away your goals when they lay within your enemy's grasp." He swung his sword back and cut the Stormcutter through the bars.

That sword, Ember noted, was covered in the same wrong substance that the others were. A poison, he knew for sure now.

"An hour, for something this dragon's size," Viggo declared. "You have an hour to get me away from here, safely to a ship of mine, and to swear not to work against me. I'll give you the antidote if you do. But I am the only one who knows," he pulled three glass vials out of a pocket, "which of these cures. A single drop of either of the other two kills in seconds."

Ember waved for Herb to back down. This was not something he could risk Herb on. "Clever."

"So, deal?" Viggo grinned, seeing a victory within his grasp.

"No deal, Viggo," Ember growled, still wreathed in flames. "I do not need you alive to pull that knowledge from you." The best part was that he wasn't lying. He just needed to kill Viggo and the knowledge would be there for the taking.

Viggo faltered. "You bluff." His voice did not betray much, but the small hint of fear Ember did hear was enough.

"I had Ryker's memories and body for a while, but Drago killed them off." Ember shrugged. "I don't need to convince you, because I'm not bluffing."

Viggo took a step back. "There is only enough antidote for one. If you fight my men and are struck, the Stormcutter dies, or you do."

"If," Ember repeated. "You won't be alive to gloat about it though."

Before anyone could move, a blue blur marred with red stains and dripping blood attacked from behind, ripping into one of Viggo's hunters. Second.

Viggo turned to see the other member of his rear guard dead, and a snarling, bloodthirsty Night Fury with no tailfins lunging at him.

"No!" Ember called out, but it was already over. Second had torn Viggo's throat out and was even now engaging the last few hunters, who were getting in hits but crumpling like wet parchment as soon as Second got to them.

Ember let the flames wreathing his body dissipate, at a loss. Second faced him, panting and bleeding. There was no way the Fury had escaped the poisoned blades. He would die within an hour if he did not receive the antidote... and so would the Stormcutter.

But now there was no way to know which of the three vials lying in the mud, unbroken, was the cure. And there was only a single dose to begin with.

Second roared victoriously, glaring at Ember. "I heard all. You cannot afford to save me. Don't try." With that, he fled, stumbling over and through debris, quickly leaving the scene. To die, his own fate guaranteed by his actions.

Ember shifted back to his dragon form, frustrated. Viggo and Second had left him, by design and by rash actions, a puzzle he wasn't sure was solvable.

"What happened?" Herb asked anxiously.

"The Stormcutter is poisoned, and one of those three vials is the cure." Ember nodded to the innocent-looking glass containers. "The other two kill with a single drop, and we don't know which is which."

"A single drop?" Herb asked slowly.

"That's what he said. Almost immediately." Ember's mind was blank. How to test-

Then it hit him. "That's how." Viggo's mistake was simple. He had gone overboard in picking the poisons that were to masquerade as a cure.

Ember shifted to the third form he had acquired, that hunter from Drago's forces, and walked over to the vials, picking one up at random from the mud. It was a very good thing he hadn't thought to rid himself of this body yet.

He uncorked the vial and very carefully dropped a single drop onto his tongue, swallowing quickly. If this was the cure, he'd be fine, and if it wasn't...

His head began to spin. No, this wasn't the cure. Then, in a moment that was not painful so much as startling, his heart stopped. He could feel the absence of beating.

It was difficult to track time like that, but at some point he died and came back in his other human form. Now they were down to two vials, but he didn't have any disposable bodies.

If Second had just stuck around, Ember mused bitterly, he could have been the other test subject. The Fury would not have had an issue with an even chance of death. But he was gone, and Ember had no bodies left to sacrifice.

It was a one in two chance now, not one in three. A small simplification. Still not acceptable.

Ember cast around, checking idly to see if any of Viggo's hunters had survived Second's rampage. Maybe one of them...

No, all were most definitely completely dead. It was a morbid idea anyway. As if using himself had been any less discomforting.

He took a closer look at the two remaining vials, holding one in each hand. One was a green, clear liquid, and the other a dark, murky red. He certainly knew which one looked like it would heal. That didn't mean anything. The other liquid had been almost entirely colorless, like water.

Now what?

He had time. He could go find more hunters, kill one, and use that body to repeat his experiment. But they were scattered, and he wasn't sure he could be fast enough. Viggo had said probably an hour…

Ember realized that Viggo must have lied. Would have lied. What better way to win than to get out safely, knowing that the Stormcutter was already dead by the time Ember returned? An hour was not the true time limit. Ember didn't know how long he had.

But he knew he probably didn't have enough time to acquire another body.

Was there another answer? One that was more likely to be doable in far less time?

Poison. Thorn had dealt with poisons. What had she said? That the stuff they gave her paralyzed her and smelled like honey.

The other poison had not paralyzed, but there was no reason to think both poisons would have the same effect. Could this be...

He smelled the red liquid. Nothing. A faint bitterness, possibly.

The green liquid reeked of sweetness. Honey, as Thorn had said.

Viggo was tricky. One liquid that looked harmless, one that seemed sweet and probably beneficial, and a bitter red brew. It fit, that the red would be the cure. Sometimes medicine was bitter.

And sometimes it was sweet. Was he really going to risk the Stormcutter's life on a hint from Thorn and a guess?

No. But he could always risk his own. He still technically had one to spare… though he didn't know what losing it would do to him.

Before, when it had been an even chance, Ember would not even have considered this. But now, when he was pretty sure, but not entirely certain, the idea appealed to him.

He always risked his life on his own judgment. What was one more time?

He set the vial of green liquid down. It was the poison, he was pretty sure. Testing that would kill him, and he did still like this one-legged body.

With steady hands he dropped a single bitter drop of the red liquid on his tongue and swallowed. What had Thorn said? Paralysis and confusion? And Viggo had made a concentrated dose, for that to be immediately fatal.

A moment passed. Two. Three. More time.

Was he losing feeling in his foot? He shook it, and it began to tingle. No, that was just from standing on it for too long. He did feel tired, but he had felt tired before testing the liquid. When was the last time he had slept in this body? He had not in a very, very long time, though he had used it every once in a while. He was sleep deprived in his human form, ironically enough.

A grin stretched across his face. His deduction had been correct. This was the cure, and the green, sweet liquid the poison.

He moved to the Stormcutter and carefully pried open its large jaws, hoping there would be no instinctive snapping and tearing reaction while his hands were nearby. It had been unconscious the whole time, so he didn't know if the poison was already working or not. It didn't matter. He poured the entire vial down its throat and stepped back.

No reaction. It was possible Viggo had lied and that this would not save the Stormcutter, but Ember was pretty sure that wasn't right. Viggo had no way of knowing beforehand if he'd need the antidote for himself if an accident would result in him actually requiring a real cure. This antidote was the true answer.

The Stormcutter hiccuped and shifted in its sleep, snoring slightly. That was good enough for Ember. He walked over to the green vial, smashed it with his prosthetic, carefully wiped said prosthetic off on a patch of dry ground, and shifted back to his dragon form.

"Is all well?" Herb asked, eyeing the Stormcutter. Herb had been guarding the alleyway, and had not seen much of Ember's actions.

"Yes. I figured it out." Ember didn't mention how he had risked his human form to do so. Word might get back to Beryl, and out of all of them, Beryl would actually be more than slightly concerned. Best to leave that a harmless secret.

Herb loped off to summon Beryl, and Ember stayed with the Stormcutter's cage. His heart, however, was not in that. He only lingered because after all of that, he was not letting the Stormcutter out of his sight.

If he could have his choice, he'd be flying towards the sea stack, to find out how badly Pearl was injured. Thorn had not seemed frantic in delivering that news, but she had not dismissed it as nothing either.

Wait... the battle was over. Pearl was going to want his decision soon. And he still didn't know if he could let go, even now.

So he waited, and he thought, watching over the Stormcutter.

O-O-O-O-O

Storm was also waiting, refusing to leave Pearl's side. Not that there was anywhere to go on this deserted sea stack. Still, she could stretch her wings. Pearl was asleep anyway.

But she couldn't just leave the Light Fury here. Thorn had gone off to get fish, and Storm balked at abandoning Pearl even for a moment.

So she ignored the urge to fly and eyed Pearl's chest again, for the tenth time in the last minute. The wound had been superficial, if bloody, and while it would definitely leave quite the scar, it was already beginning to close, hours after it had been dealt out by Drago.

She purred happily at the resolution to that particular memory. That one was nothing more than a splatter of blood and charred flesh covering a good distance of ground. And metal bits, oddly. Did No-scaled-not-prey often contain metal?

Well, Ember's No-scaled-not-prey body had a metal paw. Maybe all No-scaled-not-prey did? She would have to ask at some point.

Silhouettes approached from the island. One had four wings. So that was what a Stormcutter looked like! She had actually never seen him. He had better appreciate the lengths they had gone to for him! Pearl wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him getting himself captured.

Maybe she wouldn't say that. She still hadn't fixed the last set of problems holding a grudge had caused.

Herb was one of those Furies returning. She needed to talk to him. It needed to be done soon. She and Pearl were going to leave soon, once Pearl got an answer from Ember. There was no way Storm would allow herself to leave that wrong unaddressed for the time such a trip would take. Thorn would lecture her until she was entirely grey of old age if she did.

And she thought that she could finally forgive. It had come slowly, and she had probably waited longer than necessary, but with the end of this whole mess, she wanted to put this past grievance behind her too.

Herb and the others landed on the sea stack, crowding it. Ember rushed to Pearl, quickly followed by everyone else, though as the sea stack wasn't that big they didn't have far to rush.

"How is she?" Ember asked worriedly. Could he not see the wound for himself? Then again, he was blind in many ways.

"She will live," Storm huffed. "It is not deep, and it is closing on its own."

Thorn returned bearing fish. "Oh, is she still asleep?"

"She has not woken up once," Storm reported. Now everyone was here. If they had to wait here for Pearl to recover enough to fly, she'd never get a chance at privacy.

Then again, what good was privacy anyway? She was brazen, and that extended to not caring what others thought. So, she walked right up to Herb.

He stared at her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"I am a jerk for not forgiving you," Storm began, "and you are a jerk for not telling me. Can we just try again?"

"I... yes, we can." Herb inhaled. "Storm, I am not your Sire." He sighed.

"Yes you are," she chirped innocently. "Try again." This might not be the nicest way to apologize, but Herb would like the punchline of what Storm was sure everyone else saw as her just being cruel. She ignored Thorn's angry glare.

"I..." Herb wilted. "Storm, what do you want me to say? I raised you, but I'm not the one who helped make your egg."

"So?" She made her voice soft and sincere. "I do not care anymore. I say you are my Sire, and I am sorry for ever acting any differently. I should be asking for your forgiveness, not the other way around."

Herb blinked, blindsided by how quickly Storm had turned the situation from a punishment to a request for forgiveness. "I cannot blame you for that. It is my fault."

"No, it was my doing. So, I ask for your forgiveness. I am the one who dragged it out and would not let go." Storm shrugged.

"Then, of course, I forgive you." Herb embraced her, his head on her shoulder. "You meant it?"

"Of course. I say whatever comes to mind. There is no filter," Storm laughed. "If I did not mean it I would just tell you now." She saw Thorn nodding out of the corner of her eye. Well, at least Dam approved. Too bad Pearl wasn't awake to see this.

Then again, Storm planned on congratulating her honorary sister on her battle scar as soon as she was healed enough to appreciate it, so Pearl wasn't missing out on everything.

And… cut. This would be followed by the short interlude depicting Ember's mental struggle to resolve the question, and what followed that in chapter 28. The rest of the scenes in said chapter that aren't in this one, or after Ember's interlude? Those didn't exist in the first draft.

Maybe it's clear now why I decided to rewrite this chunk of the story at the last minute; maybe you're surprised this was ever considered good enough, or maybe you don't think it was that bad. I'd be surprised if anyone considered it straight-out better than the five chapters that replaced it, but I suppose that too is possible. In any case, now you've seen the version I decided to scrap. This is, of course, also now the non-canon version of what happened, in case anyone is confused. What we saw in the actual story is what really happened.

But, on the topic of not wanting to move on just yet, or wanting more in addition to going over to Usurpation of the Darkness… I did say I had several somethings, didn't I? For those who didn't get my Unheard Whispers hint, I will now reveal that said phrase is the title of a collection of 'in-between' scenes, one-shots, and additions to the I Hear Him Scream universe, one of my all-time favorite sets of stories, and one of the biggest reasons I decided to put hands to keyboard and begin writing.

What do I mean by referencing that? Check out my profile, and find No Story Stands Alone, which is basically the same thing for this universe. There are already two short one-shots up there, featuring, in order, Second and Storm, and many more to come, featuring everyone from Beryl to Valka (sadly, I don't have any 'W', 'X', 'Y', or 'Z' names to use, and haven't introduced the 'A' character yet, so B to V is as good as it gets here).