A chilling breeze whipped through the sky, swirling through the roiling ocean waves. The sky was clear and the sun was high, yet any heat was non-existent. Water was the only thing visible for miles in any direction, and there was the occasional iceberg floating aimlessly along ocean currents. The only living creature was a lone dragon, flying swiftly through the sky, eager to find land once again.

Silver shivered in the breeze. Her shell was still absent from her back, allowing her to fly far faster then usual, but she was unprotected from the elements, and she had forgotten how cold that arctic really was. Maybe she should have brought Zepos along. At least he was warm. Snorting to herself she flapped her wings a little harder, trying to keep herself from gliding.

She could see the white plains of the Antarctica in the distance. It would likely take her another hour's flight to reach it, at least that's what she guessed. The passed couple of days had been almost refreshing for the dragoness. At night she trained with O'hen, furthering her control over her metal, then in the morning she would get up and continue on her trip, allowing herself time to think. But now she was getting to the end of her journey, and she was a little sad that her time alone was coming to an end so quickly.

As land came closer Silver recognised the general area where she, along with her group, had stayed for the night back during her first visit to Eldawin's Syndicate. Smiling to herself she flapped her wings a couple more times to speed up and glided down to the rocky area that would be her shelter for the night. She instantly spotted the cave where they had slept. Looking into the sky she still had a couple of hours before nightfall. That would give her time to figure a way on how to stay warm.

Folding in her wings she dropped from the sky, landing easily on the stone below. The breeze was less down there, but it didn't make it any less cold. Her shell expanded back over her, as she decided that it was better to get some protection from the wind rather than none at all. Her own body heat should keep the shell at least slightly warm.

Smiling to herself she walked inside the cave, looking around. It was so familiar, but without the group of dragons with her, it was very silent. It seemed like so long ago that it had happened, when she had been travelling with Zepos, Retrix... and Merene. She missed those simpler times, but now it was almost as if that old group had been ripped to pieces. Now she knew that Merene was Eldawin, and while Zepos and Retrix were friends she had a feeling they wouldn't stay that way.

Opening her mouth she fired a large glob of elronium metal onto the floor, and smiled. It was a trick she had learnt very recently, but it definitely helped on long trips like this. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, reaching for that connection she shared with the metal. Taking hold of it, she began to meld the metal, changing its shape and reforming it until it looked exactly how she wanted it to.

Opening her eyes she saw her handiwork, and grinned. Sitting in front of her was a metal nest, perfectly round and smooth. Never again would she have to sleep on straw or sticks, or rock. She could easily make herself a nest whenever she wanted to.

"Well done," said a sudden voice as a silvery aura faded into existence.

Silver turned to see O'hen sitting in the cave. She smiled at him, "It's getting easier and easier."

"I told you it would," he replied.

"So, what are we going to be doing today?" she asked, a little curious.

"Well... since we are in Antarctica now, I figured it's about time I teach you how to heat and cool you're metal. It might make this trip a little bit more comfortable," he said.

Her eyes widened, and she grinned. That was another thing her father could do but she had never figured it out. To breath red-hot elronium was a skill that she wished she had had sooner. It would have made many of her battles so much easier... though she didn't like the thought of what would happen if it hit dragon scales.

"Let's get started!" she said, excitedly.

He laughed, "Very well. But first, lets go outside."

The two of them walked out into the open, and the cold. Silver shivered slightly as the wind brushed over the wintery tundra, picking up snow as it went. This was going to be annoying, and she half wondered why O'hen hadn't opted to stop the wind as well. As if guessing her thoughts, he laughed.

"The wind will give you more motivation," he explained, sitting down on his haunches, "Now, I want you to do what we did a couple of days ago. Breath a small glob of elronium, and lift it into the air."

Silver nodded her head and took a deep breath. She opened her mouth and fired a glob, but as she did she connected with the metal and yanked it backwards before it went too far. The glob stopped in midair, and just hovered. It was a like a bubble of water, the metal swirling over itself in liquid form.

"Well done, it certainly is becoming easier for you," said the time dragon as she focused intently on the metal, "Now, I want you to begin... heating it up. It's much like when you want to control your metal. You make it go and stop, and you can make it cool down and warm up."

"Okay..." she frowned.

The difference was she knew how to move the metal, and why it moved, but she had no idea how to heat up something that was usually rather cold. Deciding to try it anyway she closed her eyes and focused on the ball of metal, imagining it turning red hot, and trying to make it do so. She gritted her teeth, not feeling any change, and opened her eyes again with a small sigh.

"Nope, don't have it this time."

"Hmm," the time dragon thought for a moment, "Well... lets try this. Heat is a type of energy, so if you could find some way, either with your own or something else, to poor energy into the ball, that may work."

Silver frowned, before nodding her head. Once again she closed her eyes, but this time instead of trying to make it hot herself, she began to focus her energy into the ball. It was, technically, party of her, so it wasn't that hard to push energy into it. She opened her eyes, and grinned. Heat radiated from the ball as it slowly began to change colour into a molten red. There was nowhere near enough heat to actually melt it... but it still seemed pretty hot.

"There we go," she said, though the more she focused on feeding energy to the ball the more lightheaded she began to feel, "Though I can see why Dad didn't do this much. It uses quite a bit of energy."

"Yes, though a master of metal would be able to do what you are doing without wasting their energy," stated O'hen, "But that was something I never figured out."

"Maybe I will one day," she said, relaxing her grip on the metal and taking it back into her shell.

"Maybe you will," agreed the time dragon.

Silver let out a small yawn, the lack of energy startlingly frightening. She wavered slightly and shook herself with a growl. It would probably be best to only use this new skill very sparingly. Shaking herself the dragoness looked at O'hen with a tired expression.

"I think that's enough for tonight. We'll do more tomorrow, hopefully something a little less sapping."

He laughed, "Very well. But I'm impressed you got this as quickly as you did."

"Maybe heating things up is one thing I'm good at," she joked, "I am related to fire dragons after all."

"That is very true," he said, before swishing his tail, "Tomorrow then, Silver."

His body shined white, before disappearing once again. The silvery glow in the surrounding area faded and Silver returned into time. She sighed softly, wondering what it would be like to live the time dragon's life. To be able to see everything that did happen, is happening and will happen, and not do anything to stop it. It seemed like quite the burden. But she understood the weight on his shoulders.

She turned and walked back into her cave. She felt like sleeping early that night, she was feeling a little light headed and weak. Sighing she curled up in her nest, resting her head on her tail. The coolness quickly lulled her into a quick sleep, and she closed her eyes.

* * *

'Silver... oh Silver...!' a feminine voice echoed through the cave.

The dragoness murmured softly, shuffling in her nest, but not waking up. The voice said the same thing again, trickling into Silver's mind and running through her consciousness and into her dreams. She murmured, her body tensing slightly and she growled, before her eyes suddenly snapped open, and she leapt to her feet, looking around and breathing heavily.

She glanced around the cave, searching for anything abnormal, but there was nothing. She frowned to herself, before sighing and shaking her head. It was probably just another nightmare. Strange that she couldn't remember what it was about. Grunting she lay back down in her nest and went to close her eyes when the voice once again echoed through the cave.

'Silver... Silver...Oh Silver!"

"Who's there!" the dragoness snarled, getting to her feet again and looked around, "Are you a mind dragon, from the Syndicate?"

There was a dreamy laugh, taunting, 'Silver!'

"Show yourself!" she roared, stepping out of her nest.

She let her shell grow fully over her, in case this dragon, if it was a dragon, wanted to attack her directly. Slowly she walked to the entrance, keeping an eye on every corner of the cave. A shiver ran through her as the laughter grew louder. She gulped softly and walked out into the open, looking around for the source. Then everything grew silent.

"Okay..." she muttered to herself, "I'm officially loosing it. Maybe I've been alone too long."

She looked around the frozen tundra one last time before snorting and turning to walk back into the shelter of the cave. Then a movement caught her eye. She spun around; wing raised and spikes growing from her tail. A colder then normal breeze washed across her shell, causing her to shiver softly, then a dragon suddenly walked out from behind a nearby rock.

Silver growled in surprise. It was a mind dragon, rather small, and female. Her slim figure and narrow wings all looked eerily familiar. Frowning the metal dragon took a step forward, trying to get a better look at whoever it was. It was then she recognised her, and her eyes widened.

"Merene?" she growled in surprise, before shaking herself and looking again, not quite believing what she saw.

"Hello Silver," said the mind dragoness, slowly walking toward her, "We haven't seen each other in a long time."

Silver stepped backwards, narrowing her eyes, "No... that isn't you. It can't be you. If it is... that means that..."

A well of fear suddenly dug into her core, and she growled dangerously, lowering herself into a fighting stance. Merene didn't respond, sitting down and tilting her head innocently. It caused Silver to hesitate. The other dragon looked so delicate, so... unthreatening. The metal dragoness growled, shaking her head. She knew what this was.

"I'm what?" asked Merene sweetly.

"Stop! You're not going to fool me a second time. Just stop! I know who you are!"

The mind dragon tilted her head, "I'm sorry... I don't know what you mean."

"No, no, stop!" growled Silver, "Whatever you're doing, Eldawin, you won't brainwash me again!"

Merene seemed to sigh to herself, as if unhappy with the other dragon's reaction. Then she laughed. The breeze suddenly picked up, sending a shower of snow into the air. Silver raised her wing to block the sudden wash, taking her eyes of the mind dragon for a moment, then looked back. She let out a small whimper of surprise, taking another step backwards.

Eldawin was sitting where Merene had just been, not seeming at all bothered by the cold. His imposing figure towered above the dragoness, wings being buffeted by the winds. His large tail moved behind him, twisting and curling like he couldn't control it, and his eyes looked down at her, evaluating her every move, her every thought.

Silver stared at him, taking another step back her heart rate rising rapidly. The pure power that washed from him seemed to crush her very spirit into the ground, ripping her to pieces slowly. Nothing was safe from this dragon, not her body, not her mind, not her soul. He had control of all of it.

But after the fear came anger, the unbridled fury that he awoke inside her. With a cry Silver broke free from her fear and lashed her tail, sending a number of tail spikes in his direction. He didn't even attempt to block them. For a moment Silver watched in disbelief as her spikes tore into his throat... and then continued right through him. The illusion shimmered, before becoming solid again, and Eldawin laughed.

"You really think I would personally come and see you... especially when I know that you would kill me if you had the chance," he said, tilting his head at her.

Silver gulped, taking another step backwards and looking around the frozen wasteland for the real Eldawin, "Where are you?"

"Close enough," said the illusion, "But I didn't come to fight you... I want to talk."

"I won't talk to you, you damned murdering son of a..." Silver began.

"Uh, uh, language. Is that really how to speak to your grandfather?" he cut her off.

"You're no family of mine," she snarled.

He sighed again, shaking his head, "You know, I hoped we could have a reasonable conversation, as two sides in a war. Diplomacy I think it is called, but now I see that you are being unreasonable, I fear I may have to make you listen."

"Try your best," she growled.

Eldawin tilted his head. A massive weight crashed down onto her back. She let out a grunt of surprise, spreading her legs a little to handle the weight, but it didn't work and she collapsed to the ground. A whimper escaped her as she struggled to get to her feet again, but no matter what she tried, whatever was on her back was too heavy.

The mind drake slowly walked over to her, his tail continuously flicking behind him. She knew he was just an illusion, but every movement he made... it was so real. There would be no way she would be able to tell such a detailed piece apart from the real one. She let out a roar.

"What have you done to me!?" she cried.

"A strange thing the mind is," he stated, "So full, so delicate... yet so unbelievably powerful. Even the human race, with all its technology, has never been able to mimic that type of power. It's... amazing really. Impossible. But yet a mind is something we all have. You can't say it doesn't exist."

Silver went to snap another mouthful of language at him, but her voice seemed to suddenly stop working.

"NO! You are listening now," growled the mind dragon.

She flinched under his sudden snarl, looking away from him and calming down.

"That's better," he nodded his head, "Now, where was I? Oh yes... the mind. The strongest... thing in the universe. You see... it's because of the mind I am able to do this. I can see everything you're thinking right now Silver, I feel everything you feel... and I can control it. As we are now... you can't do anything to me, but I can do everything to you."

She growled lowly. He smiled, sitting down in front of her. Reaching over he lightly tapped her forehead with his claw, and a sudden searing pain ripped through her. She let out a scream, her whole body shaking and burning and freezing all at once, then it was suddenly gone, leaving her gasping for air.

She looked up, glaring at Eldawin. Without a second through she reached into her core and began to pull at that power within her. The power she had been keeping dormant for so long. It took only a moment for him to realise what she was doing, and he narrowed his eyes.

"You know... I wouldn't do that if I were you. You need all the strength you have for the next couple of days," he snorted.

She tilted her head, as if asking 'why not? Are you frightened?'

"O'hen obviously hasn't taught you everything about equilibrium then," he grunted, "You realise that, I can escape here at a moment's notice, especially since you now have control over your power. All I would need to do is wait you out, and once you have returned to normal I would do exactly what I'm doing now, except it would be far easier, as you would be drained of any power you have."

She narrowed her eyes.

"And... because he hasn't said anything about it yet, let met tell you a secret. The first time a dragon reaches equilibrium they loose something. You know this. But what you don't know is that it also happens the second time, and the third time, and every other time you use that power," he smirked when he saw her eyes widen, "Yes Silver, if you use equilibrium, you loose yourself. Now, are you ready to talk yet?"

She hesitated, before nodding her head slowly.

"Good."

The pressure holding her down disappeared and she let out a breath of relief. Slowly she got to her feet, wobbling slightly. Her heart beat against her chest as she realised that, at this moment, she couldn't do anything against the mind dragon. He was in control.

"What... do you want?" she hissed, "Are you here to capture me again or something? Or blackmail me into joining you?"

"Haha, no, you will never join me no matter what I do," he laughed, "I've come to threaten you."

"... Threaten me?" she grunted, "You've already done that."

"Oh, that little show of power just now? That wasn't threatening, that was making sure you listened to what I had to say," he said, turning away from her, "No, I've come to tell you that you should not continue on the path you are flying at the moment."

"You don't want me to go to the Syndicate?" she tilted her head.

"No, I mean stop travelling along the path you are currently going. I do not want to start a war Silver, especially against my own kind."

"You started a war against 'your own kind' the moment you created A.O.D.H," Silver growled.

"That maybe so, but this is different. You see... dragon's tend to follow you. They looked up to you, see you as a strong figurehead, and because of you, they would fight for the human race, not necessarily because they want to, but because they would follow you," he began, "And this comes as a problem because... well... I don't want to kill you. I really don't. You're my own flesh and blood, not to mention the only one of your kind, and in the new world I wish to create, metal dragons will play a vital role."

Silver narrowed her eyes, "So what will you do if I don't do what you say."

He turned to looked at her, "I will break you."

He said it so simply, so confidently, that she took a step back in surprise.

"You'll... break me?" she repeated.

"Yes. If you keep on going as you are going, I will rip you apart slowly, tear out your will, and make you into half of what you are now," he growled, stepping forward and looking down at her, "Because I will not allow you to stop me."

Her mind flashed to Retrix, then Zepos, and then all the other dragons she had befriended and loved throughout her years, "If you kill any of them, I'll...."

"No, I'm not that stupid," Eldawin cut her off again, "If I were to personally kill any of them it would make you more angry and harder to break. But there are other ways to break you. Ways that I am well aware of."

She growled, "You can try."

He laughed, "Don't just push this off Silver, I don't really want to hurt you. Like Celestia said, you are admired, and I would like you on my side, or out of my way. But if it comes down to it, well, I will be forced to do what I have to do. And let me tell you something Silver, in all my years I've lived, mastering my element, there is one thing I know I have excelled in, and that is breaking others."

She shivered softly. Eldawin tilted his head, making sure she had fully taken in the message, before chuckling to himself and turning away from her, walking a couple of paces.

"And if you're thinking that breaking you is impossible... I'm already halfway there."

His body shimmered, and then disappeared, leaving Silver standing in the cold and frozen wasteland, alone once again. She shivered, thought it wasn't because of the cold. She hadn't expected to run into Eldawin again... not for a while, but he had shaken her. And he had succeeded in what he planned to do all along. He had frightened her.

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Hey guys! New chapter! I hope you enjoyed, as this will be the last chapter I'll be able to get out for a week or so. Vote if you did enjoy, and comment what you think. See Ya!

Pennator^^