The Bright Future (COMPLETED)

Farewell

The IceWing reacted first. He roared in fury and stamped his feet. "Now there is NOTHING WE CAN DO to stop that evil, that foul, that SMUG, that rotten, that JERK-FACE PERVERTED BITCH!!"

He extended his wings with a cold whoosh of wind that rushed over them all and threw himself into the sky, furiously winging away, towards the school. "No," whispered Whiteout. She wrapped her wings around herself. "No, no, the sand is falling again, no black anymore, all of it is white, white, white..." Clearsight thought she might have been talking about Darkstalker's old soul reader, but that didn't matter right now.

"Do you think there's anything we can do?" Starwatcher asked frantically. "Maybe a spell--no, he's immune, but can we undo the spell he put on the scroll? No, he would've thought of that. Jerboa, what do you--JERBOA!"

Clearsight whipped around, but the SandWing was already walking away. "Hey, Jerboa!" she called. "Come back, we need your big animus brain--"

"No," said Jerboa, in the flat voice she had used when Clearsight first met her. "There's no hope." 

"Sure there is," said Clearsight irritably. "We just need to think, come on!" She reached out and tried to grab Jerboa's tail, but she hissed and flicked the dangerous tip threateningly. 

"Don't you get it, Clearsight?" asked Jerboa, clearly holding back tears. "You've been here before, haven't you? Darkstalker has seized control over everything. We don't know who's under his spell, or what he's going to do next. We don't know what evil stuff he's planning. We don't know where Moonwatcher is, and We don't know what to do about it! Just leave me alone. This has been a waste of my time and magic. Come back to get me when you want that SandWing awake again." She's talking about Qibli, in case y'all forgot.

Clearsight let go. "I... I understand," she whispered. "I'll let you go, but Jerboa, you really..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say. "Farewell, friend."

And with a last heartbroken look at all of them, Jerboa touched her seashell necklace and disappeared.

Starwatcher lashed her tail in frustration. "And now we have one less animus on our side! Ugh! That's not fair, one useless animus dragonet against my huge, wise, old magical, psychic great uncle????"

Turtle gave a small start, then a weak smile. "Make that two useless animus dragonets."

"You're... not... useless..." mumbled Kinkajou, looking through them with dazed eyes. 

"Oh, right, he's an animus too. Sorry Turtle, didn't mean to--Whiteout, would please be a little quieter?" Whiteout was murmuring to herself in a quiet singsong voice, fidgeting with something in her claws.

Clearsight had a double-take. A vision had struck her suddenly; the thing that Whiteout was playing with was--"Whiteout!" she gasped. "That's--that's Darkstalker's protection earring!!!" Starwatcher leaped to her feet.

"Really?? I have to cast a spell, quick. What spell?? Ideas, ideas, ideas, now!"

"Strawberries..." said Kinkajou faintly.

"Um! Um! Enchant him to--teleport over here to talk to us, but with no ability to cast spells? Is that okay?" Invented Clearsight wildly.

"I'll do it," said Starwatcher and Turtle at the same time. Both dragonets stretched their talons into the sky and closed their eyes.

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Darkstalker frowned, shaking his head slightly. No visions right now, please, he thought irritably. He was so, so close to figuring out how to get Qibli back, but the scroll he had enchanted just kept showing him an odd, grouchy, female SandWing. If he had to deal with her to get his friend back, then maybe he would.

But this vision...

The animus sighed, rolled up the scroll, and ordered it to go fit itself into a scroll-slot. Darkstalker was in the library of his palace, trying to look into the possible futures where he got Qibli back. All of them seemed to start with abducting that SandWing. 

Darkstalker paused. The vision that had been bothering him was coming back again, but he couldn't identify what it was... just out of his reach... and then his head snapped up.

His protection earring was gone.

"I enchant this—" he started to yell, but...

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"What's happening?" Starwatcher had time to yell, before a blinding flash of bright light obscured both animus dragon's sight, and the world peacefully faded away.

A/N: Turtle did not get the flash of light because he was still trying to word the spell and had not cast it yet, in case any critics were wondering.