Lapis

Chapter 5 - Traitor

SYNOPSIS:

Subzero and Cryo must return to their outpost while traversing across the dangerous continent. When an unknown dragon leaked the home of the United Claws, the outpost becomes a target for dragons seeking the Frozen Heart. Subzero and Cryo must protect the gem at all cost, doing whatever it takes to prevent the heart from falling into the wrong talons.

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[scene begins with Lapis sitting by herself in a forest, beneath a tree, leaning against it. Her eyes are closed, and she twitches as she remembers the horror she made at Impire City. She grunts when she hears the voices of dragons screaming in her head. Lapis remembers the explosions inside the library, destroying the book containing the Map of All-Knowing]

[Lapis remembers the part of the book catching on fire and burning to ashes as she rushed out of the library. She sees a slight image of Eqo in her head, and she opens her eyes, jerking forward and breathing heavily]

[across the forest, Farr is dipping a metal cup into a small stream, extracting the water from it. He slowly stands up, carefully holding the cup as he walks back to where Lapis is]

[Farr arrives behind Lapis, handing her the cup with water in it]

FARR: Thought you might be thirsty.

LAPIS: Thank you.

FARR: Okay, so last night was a disaster. [leans against the tree as well] Eqo knows where we are, and we lost the only thing we have at stopping the Darklass.

LAPIS: Yeah, I figure that. [drinks from the cup] It's not exactly over though.

FARR: What?

LAPIS: We know where they operate. If we get enough dragons, we can take down the base.

FARR: Lapis, the Darklass are all over Atlas. They have outposts and vaults everywhere. That's how they can hit different places so easily. [pauses] Now taking down a base, that's a good idea, but it'll barely put a dent in them.

LAPIS: Then what will we do?

FARR: Stay hidden, I guess?

LAPIS: What? You can't suggest this.

FARR: Lapis, we lost. [breathes slowly and holds her talons tightly] We don't have dragons, Serene is hurt, and we didn't even get that map. The Darklass have everything we don't.

LAPIS: No, no, no. [shakes her head] What happened to both of us doing this together?

FARR: That was before- [stops himself and thinks for a moment] The attack killed six dragons yesterday, with a couple more injured. If what we're doing is hurting more dragons, I don't think it-

LAPIS: What about the queens? We're just gonna let them die? If Deavor rises to the throne, everything we know about this continent will end.

FARR: I want to do this as much as you do, Lapis, trust me. But I can't get you hurt. I can't let anyone else get hurt. [looks at Lapis] We are outnumbered, and if we walk out there again, we're not gonna make it back.

LAPIS: And so what?

[Farr looks at Lapis in shock. Lapis breathes quickly as tears begin forming in her eyes]

LAPIS: I'm ready to give everything if it means I can stop them. I can't let another war start. I lost a lot because of the SandWings War, and I can't afford to lose again. If I don't do this, it won't be me, it'll be someone else.