Wings of Evolution (WoF AU)

Chapter 23

Wings of night

Starflight wans't sure what was happening, he was alone, but only his physical senses were telling him that, the sounds of the echoing caves, the feel of his talons against cold ice. But he'd long since given up on those senses, they weren't telling him anything.

They wouldn't explain that although he couldn't see or hear anyone else, his mind could still feel theirs. And according to that, everyone was alone. But everyone was together. A sort of disconnect between reality and... wherever this was.

The only dragon who wasn't as alone as a dying sun was Frost, the quiet Icewing who seethed inside, angry at his aunt for sending him on this useless mission. He was worried just like everyone else, but he could see what was really happening.

So Starflight latched onto the calm surrounding thoughts of the icewing.

Everyone's still sleeping. Won't wake up, do I leave without them? Take that Cavewing's map? No... that's precisely what Aurora would expect from me. That's why she sent me. She doesn't trust me to follow her orders, so she wants me as far away as possible...

Starflight found most of that concerning. Which made him more concerned because he could feel concerned at that moment. What a novel thing to feel...

Starflight wrenched his wandering thoughts from the idea and focused as Frost looked around. It was a finicky thing to look through another dragons eyes, it took effort to do. As he watched, Frost looked back at the sleeping forms.

Seeing himself was a strange experience, almost like watching a prophecy but more direct. Frost wasn't focusing on Starflight though, his eyes panned over the group of seven unconcious dragons, anxiety pulling at his mind.

If only Starflight could communicate with him. Tell him not to worry because everyone in their individual dreams was figuring it out slowly. It didn't seem to matter what direction they chose, or even if they moved forward at all, at some point in the strange almost dreamlike haze, each dragon would find the same thing.

Starflight opened his eyes to the icy caves, and stood up, turning around and understanding what he saw. A doorway. He blinked as every dragon saw it too, even Frost, who was still in reality turned with a frown at the door.

Overlapping gazes poured into Starflights mind, and strangely it seemed right. Well... almost right. Every door was the same except for Frost's; a large door that opened inward, splitting in two straight down the center. It was blue, just like the ice surrounding it, carved and painted with intricate flakes of snow.

What frost saw though was a double door much the same, except there were words painted in red across the front, carelessly and stark across the blue. "Prison for the worst crimes. Enchanted and kept by her majesty queen Diamond. For later punishment."

Frost backed away, mind whirling. He seemed to remember an ancient queen named Diamond, but her story was wrought with curses. No! Go closer! Starflight pleaded, the icewing wasn't a telepath though, so he was deaf to Starflight's pleas.

Starflight did notice something out of the corner of Frost's eye though, a long slit starting near the middle of the door that went vertically almost to the top of the door. It was only on one side of the pair of doors, and it was close enough to their junction that he wondered how the loose piece was still connected to the door.

Starflight looked at his own door, and even at everyone else's, but only Frost's door had it, and thanks to Tsunami pushing, shoving, and slamming into the door repeatedly, Starflight already knew that it wouldn't open to ordinary methods.

Echo, curiously, was making strange noises at the door and staring at it intently, which only made Starflight a bit worried that his own slight insanity was contagious after all.

Starflight knew the strange thing about the door though, the slit was in a place where one wouldn't normally feel, above eye level and thin enough that most might mistake it for a normal crack. It was just so straight though.

Starflight felt at his door, pleasantly surprised when he felt the crack even though he couldn't see it. He pushed his hand further inward, feeling a long metal object inside. He pushed it forward and with a click, the door in front of him swung open. To his pleasant surprise, it opened for everyone, not just himself. He blinked, one moment he was standing happily in front of his open door, the next he was opening his eyes once more on the ground, surrounded by everyone else.

Frost made an undignified noise, he didn't seem to do well when alone-but-not. And rushed toward them with worried eyes, "you guys wouldn't wake up! I had no idea what to do! And then there was this strange door! And- ahhhhhhahahhh it's open!" Frost wasn't having a perfect day.

Starflight sighed and glanced at the real door as everyone else looked at it in surprise and confusion. "I saw a door too..." Sunny added. "Where'd that red paint come from?"

Clay was still trying to figure out why he was suddenly on the floor, but he looked up at the new door, "is that blood?"

Tsunami rolled her eyes and went up to the door, "no Clay, it's dry. If it was blood it would be a lot darker." She poked it, "yep, very dry."

Cactus was whimpering off to the side, out of everyone she'd taken the separation the worst, immediately assuming that everyone had left her behind, or that she'd been imagining them all along. She didn't seem to care about the door, and Starflight wanted to go reasure her because of the sheer ammount of releif, fear, guilt, sadness, and everything just pouring from the sandwing.

But Starflight had opened that door, and he wanted to be the first one inside. He darted forward, peeking inside as Tsunami tried to explain to Clay that yes dry blood is more brown. The chamber within was large enough that ten dragons could stand wingtip to wingtip along both ends, with room to spare.

It wasn't a perfectly square room, but it was closer than most that Starflight had seen, it was completely bare except for a statue in the middle of the room. Or well... what Starflight assumed to be a statue from the lack of brain activity. His visions disagreed though, assuring him that this dragon could and would move, with the right help.

She was a NightWing like himself, shackled to the ground with silvery chains. She was covered mostly with ice and her eyes were closed shut, wings tightly hugging herself with her face a mask of pain. The type of pain that told a story; sorrow, regret, and acceptance.

Starflight wasn't sure how she'd gotten here, all he knew was that he couldn't do anything for her. He bowed his head at her sorrow, aknowledged it, and glanced over as Echo entered the room, eyes wide at the frozen dragon.

"Is she... dead?"

Starflight shook his head, "I don't think so."

The other dragons filed in, looking at the frozen dragon with horror. "Oh no..." Sunny's voice came from nearby. She rushed forward, stopping beside Starflight and Echo, "We have to help her!" Cactus stumbled after her, the lonely sandwing apparently absorbed into Sunny's strangely helpful nature.

"How?" Echo asked, "She looks almost as if the ice is growing from her."

Sunny cringed, "Don't think about it." She breathed out a small flame, letting it die almost immediately, glancing at Starflight, "can you help me please?"

He blinked but understood what she meant, moving closer to the icy dragon and breathing out a flame, even Cactus, who was still haunted from her earlier experience joined in. Clay moved forward to help, but a storming ball of icy fury interrupted him.

Frost leaped between the firebreathers and the icy dragon, hissing with anger and pain as the fire touched him, they all stopped quickly though, looking at Frost as if he was insane.

"Don't you dare..." He said in a low, dangerous voice, "you have no idea what you're meddling in."