"Do you think I'll be able to fly?" Sandfur asked Bubbles. It had been three days since the crocodile. Bubbles was tending to Sandfur's wound, adding bits of tree sap to the bandage to make it stay on. The two dragons were sitting on the beach, listening to the waves crash and retreat into the water. The sun was beating down on them, making the sand warm.

"I hope so," Bubbles responded.

"But what if I can't, will you guys leave me behind?"

"Of course not," Bubbles reassured him, "we'll find a way for you to continue flying. Okay, try walking now." Bubbles held his breath as Sandfur stood up and took a step forward. He expected Sandfur to fall down, as he has done in the last couple of days. But instead, he was walking fine, apart from wobbling slightly.

"I HAVE DONE IT!!" Spring announced, materializing behind them. Bubbles jumped.

"Gah! Why do you feel the need to do that??" Bubbles demanded.

"Well why not? Your reaction is priceless!" Spring laughed.

"What have you done, exactly?" Sandfur asked skeptically.

"I've created you a new leg!"

"Oh, really? Cool! Can I try it on?"

Spring fastened the leg onto Sandfur. It was woven with silk and wood, and looked like a real dragon leg.

"How does it work?" Bubbles asked.

"It's made of my strongest silk. I've replicated dragon muscle and replaced it with silk, and the joints and bones are jungle wood. I've created a mechanism to work like a real leg, so sorry."

"Sorry? About what-" Sandfur interrogated, but howled in pain a second later. "What are you doing?? Are you trying to hurt me?!"

"The leg only works when attached the right way, I said I was sorry! There, I'm done."

"It still hurts.." Sandfur mumbled.

"Try walking, please? I want to see if it works." Spring pleaded.

Sandfur took a step forward. The leg didn't move. Sandfur took another step forward. The leg moved as if it was a real leg. Sandfur took another step, and another, and another, each step more joyful and bouncy than the last until he was bouncing across the sand.

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"It works! It works! It really works!" Sandfur sang. He roared on his hind legs. "It can hold my weight, oh wow."

"I think he likes it," Bubbles whispered to Spring, who was beaming with joy. Cloud burst out of the trees.

"Whoa, Spring, it works!" She exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you!" Sandfur frolicked in the sand and bounced over to Spring. Weird, was he scared of something?

"TO THE TREES!!" He dove for the bushes. Bubbles panicked but didn't see anything.

"What's wrong? What happened? Was it the crocodile??" Cloud asked Sandfur hurriedly.

"I- I-" Sandfur stuttered from the bushes. He pointed to the sky. Bubbles turned around in horror to see what he was pointing at.

"HiveWingS!!" Bubbles screamed. "HIIDE!!" There was a swarm of HiveWings buzzing their way towards the island.

"No!" Cloud protested. "I'm not scared of those things!" She burst into the sky to face the monstrosity.

"Cloud!" Spring cried. She followed the raging dragon. Before he knew it, Bubbles was running as fast as he could. Bubbles crashed into a boulder.

"Ow!" He stopped in his tracks and clutched his shout.

"Oh, sorry! Why are you running?" the boulder – er, a dragon – apologized. Bubbles looked up. It was Frog.

"There's a HiveWing swarm coming this way! You have to hide!"

"HiveWings? Pfft, I can take on hundreds of them. Their puny stingers can't cut through these scales," Frog boasted.

"..Did you even pay attention to HiveWing anatomy??" Bubbles asked skeptically. "HiveWing stingers can pierce through pure stone!!"

"BAH, I'm fine. You'll thank me later!" Frog called as he dashed toward the HiveWings. Bubbles couldn't stop Frog, but survival was essential to life. Bubbles spotted a cave and flew inside. He hid behind a boulder in the mouth of the cave and stayed as still as he could.

Seconds passed. Seconds turned into minutes turned into hours. Bubbles waited for what seemed like eternity. When he gathered the courage to take a peek outside, it was almost nightfall. Bubbles smelled the air. Yep, the HiveWings were definitely here, but they're gone. Thank the moons. Bubbles crept out of the cave and immediately smelled smoke. But the greenery all around him was still fresh and alive. In fact, the smoke didn't smell like regular smoke, but it wasn't dragon fire smoke, either.

Bubbles crept slowly toward the smell. When he got close enough, he could hear voices talking. Bubbles could almost see the dragons in the clearing ahead of him. It was Spring and Sunflower.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bubbles jumped. Spring said that, but it didn't sound like her.

"Of course, it's an excellent plan. I've never let you down, have I?" That wasn't Sunflower's voice at all. Something stung Bubbles' neck. He felt dizzy and fell to the ground. The talking dragons disappeared.

Bubbles blacked out.

"TRAITOR!" Queen Ruby shouted. Stupid queen, she can't do anything to me now. Blood gushed out of the queen's neck, making a dark red puddle on the cool stone floor. Queen Ruby dropped to the floor, life draining from her limp body. Spinel took the key dangling from the queen's wrist, which was now stained with a beautiful shade of crimson.

He let himself out of the cell and took the shape of the air around him. Haha, he thought. Too bad she doesn't know about us. The ShyftWings will take over all of Pyrrhia, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Even your pretty little animus dragons can't do anything against us. Queen Clementine will rule over the continent, and soon we'll get to Pantala as well.