Edited - May 22, 2024

"Didn't I save dragons too? I'm not evil! I'm not," Darkstalker pleaded.

I'm not a monster. It seems history has pointed me that way, but perhaps that's what happens when you disappear before you can tell your own story, and only your enemies are left to finish it. He thought"Didn't I save dragons too? I'm not evil! I'm not," Darkstalker pleaded.

I'm not a monster. It seems history has pointed me that way, but perhaps that's what happens when you disappear before you can tell your own story, and only your enemies are left to finish it. He thought, closing his eyes as he felt his body growing smaller, vulnerable, powerless.

His memories faded in and out, his words popping in and out.

"It was just this toy of Whiteout's. It's like a scavenger she loves it in a kind of obsessive way. Once it got lost and she cried for a whole day until we finally found it again... It's just a little thing."

"This is my mother. These are my full moons. This is my world now." Was I really that bad?

"I am nothing like my father. I don't need saving. I can choose my own future..."

He winced as he remembered the last memory. "Now, take your talons, rip out your stomach. Show us what you're really like on the inside. Pour out your life on this stage.

Darkstalker clutched his head as he felt his mind going blank, and Foeslayer's, KInkajou's, and Moon's thoughts quiet, and turned into silence.

I must be truly losing my powers.

His blistering headache made him want to knock himself out, and he was met by darkness.

***

Darkstalker opened his eyes. And spotted his mother and Moon bending over him in a Rainwing infirmary. Spreading his wings, he spotted colorful scales polluting his beautiful, black wings.

"I think I'll call him Peacemaker. I wonder if history would have been different if I'd chosen a name like that from the beginning," Foeslayer said mournfully.

Moon nodded. "What should we call you?" he asked.

Foeslayer tilted her head thoughtfully. "I don't know, something positive, I guess?"

Moon stared into the distance. "How 'bout— Hope?"

Hope smiled. "Hope, I like it. Peacemaker, and Hope."

"So, Peacemaker, ready to fly?"

"Awrk!" Peacemaker squawked, flapping his wings.

"See, he's a natural already!" Hope laughed.

Spreading his wings, he flapped up and down, his feet leaving the ground. "Awrk!" he said happily.

"Do you still have Darkstalker's scroll?" a NightWing with a silver scale next to his eyes asked.

Darkstalker. That seems familiar.

Kinkajou shook her head. "Used the last of it, it's in my pouch at home," she said mournfully.

Peacemaker toppled as a massive headache hit him, and regained his balance. But something was wrong. He heard voices in his head. Why were there voices?

Peacemaker rubbed his temples, squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened them, everyone was looking at him uncertainly.

Life is SOOOO GOODD!!! Like, we defeated Darkstalker, and now our lives can be sunshine and rainbows!

Moon laughed, and Kinkajou glanced at her with a pleased look., closing his eyes as he felt his body growing smaller, vulnerable, powerless.

His memories faded in and out, his words popping in and out.

"It was just this toy of Whiteout's. It's like a scavenger she loves it in a kind of obsessive way. Once it got lost and she cried for a whole day until we finally found it again... It's just a little thing."

"This is my mother. These are my full moons. This is my world now." Was I really that bad?

"I am nothing like my father. I don't need saving. I can choose my own future..."

He winced as he remembered the last memory. "Now, take your talons, rip out your stomach. Show us what you're really like on the inside. Pour out your life on this stage.

Darkstalker clutched his head as he felt his mind going blank, and Foeslayer's, KInkajou's, and Moon's thoughts quiet, and turned into silence.

I must be truly losing my powers.

His blistering headache made him want to knock himself out, and he was met by darkness.

***

Darkstalker opened his eyes. And spotted his mother and Moon bending over him in a Rainwing infirmary. Spreading his wings, he spotted colorful scales polluting his beautiful, black wings.

"I think I'll call him Peacemaker. I wonder if history would have been different if I'd chosen a name like that from the beginning," Foeslayer said mournfully.

Moon nodded. "What should we call you?" he asked.

Foeslayer tilted her head thoughtfully. "I don't know, something positive, I guess?"

Moon stared into the distance. "How 'bout— Hope?"

Hope smiled. "Hope, I like it. Peacemaker, and Hope."

"So, Peacemaker, ready to fly?"

"Awrk!" Peacemaker squawked, flapping his wings.

"See, he's a natural already!" Hope laughed.

This feels wrong, Peacemaker thought. I feel like I should be mad at something, but what?

Spreading his wings, he flapped up and down, his feet leaving the ground. "Awrk!" he said happily. "I'm flying!"

Moon and Hope stopped, shocked. "You can talk?" Hope asked, glancing at a Rainwing.

Kinkajou, the Rainwing's name is Kinkajou. Moon... he seems special. I don't know why. F–Hope is connected to me by blood.

Kinkajou shrugged. "I wiped his memory, but maybe he still has the skills to talk or fly and things like that."

Did you though?

"Do you still have Darkstalker's scroll?" Moon asked.

Darkstalker. That seems familiar.

Kinkajou shook her head. "Used the last of it, it's in my pouch at home," she said mournfully.

Peacemaker toppled as a massive headache hit him, and regained his balance. But something was wrong. He heard voices in his head. Why were there voices?

Life is SOOOO GOODD!!! Like, we defeated Darkstalker, and now our lives can be sunshine and rainbows!

Moon laughed, and Kinkajou glanced at her with a pleased look. It was as if Moon could hear the voice too. What was happening?