Everything erupted into chaos. Panicked roars echoed throughout the Training Centre. Voices rose. Dragons began to move, as if to run, but not knowing where to go. The red light continued to flash its warning, the same voice speaking the horrific words over and over again, not helping the increasing amount of fear.

Silver and Retrix still stood in the centre of the arena. The void dragon seemed to hesitate for a moment, looking toward the roof with a silent snarl on his maw, before glancing back at the dragoness, not knowing what to do. Suddenly a roar pieced the air, causing everyone to fall silent and glance toward the culprit with surprise. Iraliene lowered her head down, and angry frown across her maw.

"Get yourselves together," she snarled, "I want every dragon that is able to fight at the entrance of Sky Mountain as quickly as possible. We will not let our home fall. Not today. You, water dragon, find Frezron. He's the battle master."

She turned to look at an older looking earth dragon who was sitting near her, "Burian, I want you to lead a defence create a wall and guard all entrances into the mountain. Send most to the main entrance, and some to the cave at the top, just enough to hold off anything that comes through."

The earth dragon bowed in response, before turning and flapping his wings, launching his heavy body into the air. Other dragons followed him, hesitantly at first, then with confidence. There was anger on their faces, and determination. They wouldn't let the mountain fall, and would gladly sacrifice their lives for it. Silver went to go with the earth dragon when Iraliene's voice stopped her.

"Silver, Retrix, Raize and Gravon. You four will stay with me for now. I don't want you in the fight," said Iraliene, "Not unless we have great need."

"What? Why me?" the fire drake growled, "I understand the other three, but I'm the most powerful, well, one of the most powerful dragons in Sky Mountain!"

"That is true, but you are unstable," Iraliene looked down at him with a glint in her eye, "I will not take the risk of that power taking a hold of you again."

Raize growled angrily, "I am not that weak. I can control it."

The life dragoness snarled back, "How do you know? Have you trained yourself to control that immense power yet? Have you the serenity of mind needed to keep yourself intact? You are a young dragon that has lived a hard life, far harder then need be for one your age. I will not let you rage out of control again."

"How do you know that I will?" he argued back.

"How do you know that you won't?" Iraliene counted, staring him with her steely and intimidating gaze, which he matched with surprising efficiency, before eventually looking down at the ground, angry, but in agreement.

"Now come, you four," the queen of Sky Mountain turned her tail opened her wings, following after the few hundred dragons that had since left.

They followed, somewhat hesitantly. Silver was still shocked at the announcement, and the previous confidence she had had in her decision was now shaken. She hadn't spoken, and couldn't even find it in herself to be angry with Iraliene for taking her out of the fight. Her panicked train of thought and previous nervousness plagued her.

"Silver!" Retrix yelled, shocking her for a moment and gaining her attention, "Get your head in the game. We can't have you like this at the moment. Think about everything else later. For now, we fight."

The metallic dragoness looked at him blankly for a moment, before shaking her head and taking a deep breath. He was right, now was not the time to be mulling over these sorts things. She was about to enter another battle for her life, and now that she thought about it, A.O.D.H was likely after her. Shivering slightly at the thought, she hurried forward.

The Centre was full of more dragons then Silver had ever seen in one individual section of Sky Mountain. There were thousands, all flapping about and surging toward the entrance like the rapid currents of a river. A river of dragons. Dragons of all species, from fire to light, ice to shadow. It was like nothing ever seen before, and everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Groups of one hundred were being formed, and each group was a mixture of species from common to extremely rare. Once each group was formed they flew out of the entrance to form a square, a wall of dragons.

Silver then looked past the forming wall of dragons and froze. The forces of Sky Mountain were impressive. As the second largest dragon haven in the world, it had to be. And on average the fighters were far better then even Eldawin's Syndicate, but compared to the horror that was in the horizon, Silver found herself suddenly doubting if they would survive the conquest.

The sky was black. Not from clouds, or some other phenomenon, but the army of A.O.D.H. They descended from the mountains in a flood, both machines and dragons alike. Tanks and foot soldiers came from the valleys in there thousands, halting on the edge of the crater surrounding the haven. The humanoid machines hovered in the air above them, with dragons integrated into the ranks, all with devices blinking like red eyes among the darkness. There had to be something close to one hundred thousand of them.

Iraliene let out a growl, "Where's Frezron? Dammit, we need him."

As if to answer the question the water dragon that had been sent to find Frezron came sprinting from one of the tunnels as fast as her legs could carry her. But there was something in her gaze, something horrifying. Her eyes were wide with shock, and it was almost as if some of the colour in her deep blue scales had dulled.

"Did you find him?" was the queen of Sky Mountain's first question as the water dragoness came a stop in front of them.

She sobbed slightly, gulping in air, before nodding her head, "Ye... yes. B... but, but... he's.... he's... he's dead."

The dragons froze, staring at her in disbelief, taking a moment for the information to sink in.

"What! How?" Iraliene growled in anger, causing the other dragon to shrink slightly, lowering her gaze.

"I... I don't.... I don't know," she stammered, obviously shaken by what she had seen, "B.... but his throat was ripped out.... And there was blood. Blood everywhere."

"Frezron is the most powerful dragon in this mountain. I refuse to believe he was simply assassinated."

"I'm... I'm sorry," the water dragoness sobbed again. It was quite obvious she was telling the truth.

Iraliene went silent, trying to come over the shock of this news. Frezron was possibly the only dragon that stood a chance against an army like this. Without him defending the mountain would be nigh on impossible. Two thousand against one hundred thousand. The fight would be over before the sun set.

A movement from the attacking forces caught their attention as the dragons and humanoid machines began to move forward. The defenders wavered slightly, but their form held strong as they waited for the attack. It all happened in slow motion. The tanks' missiles launched, sending shells of explosives into the dragons. Elements of all different forms flared forth, followed by gunfire and the sound of whirling rockets. Screeches ran through the air, and explosions formed on both sides, before finally the front line struck. It was followed by instant chaos, as screams of dragons and humans alike filled the air.

Silver shivered, never having heard such noises before. She watched as a wind dragon was decapitated by a charging machine, and an ice dragon ripped out only half a human from a weak point within another robot. Blood fell from the sky as they fought. She spotted Zepos in the midst of it all, using his lighting in a way she hadn't seen before. He was like a bolt, zigzagging through battlefield and sending a surging current into many of the machines. As protected as they were, not even they could defend against lightning. The urge to join him was strong. They worked together so well, but even as she opened her wings a warning growl from the queen stopped her.

"Mother," Gravon asked, glancing upwards with slight nervousness, "What about the other dragon of equilibrium. That old earth dragon, Rayle. He is just as powerful."

The life dragoness sighed, shaking her head, "No. He is also deceased."

"What? When?" the gravity dragon frowned.

Iraliene glanced at Raize, "When fire ravaged the mountain. He was one of the first to be caught in the inferno."

"Surely a dragon as powerful as that couldn't be killed so easily," Retrix frowned.

"That is not true. Even with all their power, dragons of equilibrium are still as vulnerable as any other dragon in their normal state," she sighed.

"Then let me atone for it," growled Raize suddenly, stepping forward again, "If we don't do something soon, we will loose. They out number us! Fifty to one! At the very least, and the force they've sent forward at the moment is not even half of their numbers. Look! The rest are staying back and simply watching for the slim pickings left behind. Please Iraliene, you have to trust me."

The queen of Sky Mountain looked down at the determined young dragon, a reluctant look in her eye. He was right however; at this moment he really was the only one who stood any chance against an army that size. It was strange, how the thing that nearly destroyed them was to be the thing that saved them.

"So be it. This battle could not get any worse I guess," sighed the life dragoness.

Raize nodded, "Step back."

The dragons around him did so, slightly nervously. The fire drake took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating. At first nothing happened, and Silver glanced at Retrix, slightly worried. Could he have lost the power? That doubt was quickly dashed however as the air around them suddenly became hot. Nearly stifling so. The aura of power that usually radiated from the fire dragon began to become more prominent, as if spreading throughout the battlefield.

It was slow at first, the power surprisingly hard to grasp onto, but as soon as Raize had it, it came forward in a rushing torrent. A torrent so immense that it caused him to grunt slightly in surprise, his eyes opening. The air around began to ripple, like the fire dragon was a mirage. The aura of power that accompanied equilibrium grew, much like before, spreading throughout the area beyond. Everyone felt it, and for a moment the battle seemed to almost stop, and glances were tossed their way.

Raize's eyes blazed fiery yellow, and his body seemed to almost glow. The heat increased even more, and the dragons nearest to him were forced to take another step back. The fire built inside him, swirling through him, begging to be let out. It was eager, almost too much so, and for a moment the drake doubted, but the thought was quickly shaken away. It was to late. With a final roar the fire suddenly burst forth from within, and he exploded.

Silver flinched, bracing herself with a wing in an attempt to shield herself from the raging inferno, expecting to be thrown back. But when nothing happened she lowered her wing in surprise. The fire was there, swirling backwards and forwards in an almost trance like state, but it didn't rage out of control. Instead it seemed almost... peaceful. The fire shifted again, spreading slightly before swirling into its self and creating the shape of a dragon, though instead of any solid shape it was purely fire.

"Raize?" questioned the dragoness, taking a hesitant step forward.

"I'm in control," the fire spoke with a surprisingly deep voice, one that echoed authority and power.

An audible sigh of relief ran through the dragons. They glanced at each other with small smiles and Iraliene seemed to relax considerably, the confidence she had before returned now with force.

"That is a relief, now rid my mountain from these intruders," ordered the life dragoness with a fierce grin.

Raize didn't question the order, and without hesitation surged forward in a sudden show of force, scorching the air and ground. He felt amazing, this power and freedom of movement seemed so foreign to him, yet so familiar at the same time. Previously when he had used this power he was out of control and barely remembered anything, but now... now he felt like he could do anything. He could be anything. With a fiery cry he opened his flaming wings, and deformed, exploding outwards. The fire coursed onward, spreading around friendly dragons and striking their enemies head on. Nothing stood a chance. The metal of the machines was instantly melted through by a direct hit. Any enemy dragon unfortunate enough to meet the flame, was either knocked unconscious or killed in an instant. Raize knew they were doing this without a will of their own, but it was hard to avoid them. Even though he had said he had this under control, it was very barely. But he couldn't worry about that now.

'Larger!' he roared to himself, manipulating his body, his fire, so that it spread even further.

The defending dragons were incredibly quick to move backwards, retreating from the raging inferno as foe after foe burned. The fire raged upwards, steadily increasing in size and stature, heat thrown out as if the very sun was on the dragon's side. Raize's equilibrium grew and grew, until eventually a wall of fire stood between the mountain and the enemy, threatening anything that got close.

"My name is Raize!" the fire roared outwards, "And I am fire! Challenge me if you dare!"

* * *

"Is the weapon ready?" asked a man standing atop one of the mountains of Sky Mountain, steely gaze watching the rising flames as their light danced in his eyes.

"Yes, Admiral sir," A rather nervous foot soldier stood behind him, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

"Then fire when ready," replied The Admiral, hands behind his back, refusing to turn away from the battle.

"Yes, Admiral sir. It will take a minute or so to charge," the foot soldier said, before turning and waving toward a group of humans standing on another mountain.

Also on the mountain was what looked like a massive cannon, made from shining elronium. It had four large wheels, holding it in place and a number of dragons behind it, breathing their element into a shining point of energy. Slowly a white light began to gather in the barrel of the gun, and it was moved, facing toward the firewall guarding Sky Mountain.

* * *

With a roar Raize suddenly surged forward toward the awaiting army, not letting them wait around. He was going to destroy as many of them as he could. He would make them pay for what they had done. He would make them suffer for thinking they could destroy the one safe place for dragon kind. With a bellowing cry a long line of fire lashed out from the wall he had created, ripping through the ranks of A.O.D.H and knocking hundreds of machines and dragons from the sky. Fireballs fell toward the earth, sending explosions through it. Charred corpses flew to the sky and one side of a mountain collapsed, burying a number of tanks and other such vehicles under tons of stone and dirt.

The army of A.O.D.H tried to counterattack, firing their rockets and bullets toward the firewall, but nothing worked. A few of the controlled dragons attempted attacking with their elements. The fire sizzled under a blast of water and shivered under ice, but any other attempt of fighting the equilibrium did barely anything more then that.

Raize simple knocked the attacking dragons from the air, again being cautious not to kill them, before beginning to move forward once again. The army hesitated, retreating back and trying to find a way to escape the raining fire, but many more people were scorched into the ground. There was not escape.

A white light on top of one of the mountains drew the fire's attention. He seemed to sway slightly, as if in hesitation of what the thing was. Growling the fire began to surge forward again, a sense of foreboding falling over him. Whatever that white light was, it didn't seem like a good thing. He flung a fireball out toward the light, only to have it blocked by a dragon that came flying down and intercepting the attack, getting itself knocked to the air, either dead or unconscious.

The act came as a surprise for the dragon of equilibrium, and he hesitated for a moment, extra worried. The hesitation cost him. The cannon on the mountainside finished gathering the power it needed. The dragons behind stepped back, feeling slightly weak and dizzy. A strange whirring noise resonated outwards and then the cannon shook as it fired a beam of white light toward the massive firewall.

Raize swayed slightly, then the light hit him. Normally something of the property of the giant beam of energy would go right through the firewall, doing minimum damage, something that fire would easily heal from, but this was different. It struck the firewall, then exploded, the white light coursing through the red fire. He wavered again, startled as the energy of equilibrium drained from him in vast amounts, and the firewall began to shrink, slowly pulsing as Raize desperately tried to escape the light. It drew more and more energy from him, until he barely found what it required to grow any further. The fire convulsed, then imploded back into itself as the white light faded, taking with it Raize's energy.

The fire dragon returned to his physical form, but instead of catching himself in the air, he felt a startling loss of energy. Everything faded in and out of focus, and he fell toward the earth below.

The dragons of Sky Mountain watched in horror as the firewall was completely immobilized. There were cried of horror and roars of anger. Many of them nearly fell from the air in shock and some wailed out in despair, their only hope falling unconscious down to earth. The army of A.O.D.H advanced again, this time with renewed vigour. Over half their forces had been destroyed by Raize, but there were still almost fifty thousand of them left, more then enough to destroy the dragons of Sky Mountain.

The second wave charged forward in the form of machines and dragons, all rushing to take the mountain once and for all. Silver watched, letting her wings drop as she stared in disbelief. They had defeated a dragon of equilibrium, just like that. It was so easy. How they had made a weapon so powerful Silver had no idea, but she knew one thing. Without Raize's power, there wasn't much hope left for the dragons of Sky Mountain.

Then something caught her eye, something that made her stand up again, her wings spread out and a low growl to catch in her throat. At the point of A.O.D.H's army was a machine that she recognised in every detail. A machine that haunted her dreams and fuelled her hatred. Eyes narrowing Silver spread her wings. If she was to fall, then she would take him with her. With a cry she leapt upwards, ignoring the startled growl of Retrix and the warning snarl of Iraliene.

He was here. Finally. Now was her chance. Her chance to avenge her father. Her chance to make right what she had failed to do so long ago now. He would not escape this time.

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Hey guys! New chapter! I hope you enjoyed. Vote if you did and comment what you thought. Only two chapters to go till the end of the book! I'm looking forward to finishing this one :) Anyway, next chapter will be out soon. See Ya!

Pennator