((You know Twera still loves you.))

congrats, alvin. you got the 1000th reply to this spot and it wasn't even important.

((What an achievement. Can't believe we passed 1000))

i personally think it is cuz we just chat when we should be posting for the rp.

((True. Although, if I remember right, we chatted almost as much on the other one))

((Thunder's about to drop a big one, and I don't mean a crap.))

I sigh heavily and begin. "Father, you know that it started before Twera hatched. It started with the Shadows: that's when I started being so unbelievably cruel. The Shadows they- No, if I'm going to be honest with you, I must be honest with my self. We thought we were better than everyone else, that we could be the masters of the world. I grew arrogant, and blind to the actions of my fellows- and myself." I shake my head. "I could have stopped them before they could do anything, instead I helped them grow, like watering a weed. My sister, she was proof, to my twisted mind, of the inferiority of the rest of the world, but she was of the same stock as me, and I hated it."
"But, someone showed me the light,returning a favor from across time. Without My sister-" I stop and hide my face, covering the tears. "The darkness would have consumed me."

"The first step to love is acceptance," Mother said. Father was about to cut in, perhaps with a comment on Thunder's intelligence, but he was stopped. "Do you accept Twera for who she is? Your mistake may have been made in the past, but the past is behind us. Only if we put our mistakes and differednces behind us can we move forward." I emerged from the shadowed corner where I had been hiding.
"Thunder, since we're all being honest today, I really should thank you…for everything. I was blinded, but you helped me see. I though, because of my mind-magic, that I was more fit to lead than anyone else. I wanted to be on top, be equal with the Great Ones themselves. You showed me, by your actions, and with that goop, that I was a silly fool, that no one of us was ffit to lead.
"Perhaps…if I had known before…then we wouldstill be on Earth, fighting ffor our Home. Instead, because of one mistake, we're cowering here like frightened rabbits."

((Looks like Thunder's not the only one))

((See, a little darkness makes the light shine brighter.))

"Yes, I accept everyone for who they are. I've learned many things, things I probably would have already known if it were not for the way I was."

< I don't know if I speak or stay quiet like I have been>

<It's up to you.> I then spoke aloud. "What do you mean, the way you were?"

" I should been more in this"

<It's up to you. I won't force you to do anything.>

((He's already confessed; stubborn, arrogant, cruel, wanted to take over the world...))

((Not to mention partially insane))

((Just a little. :) But hey, he's a good guy now. Right, Thunderhawk?))

((Define good. Hey, easy Twera. She's really antsy))

<hate to break all this up,> i put in, <put we're not exactly cowering twera. do you think i'd sit still while a potential for a fight emerges? i mean, don't get me wrong, if it were obvious that it was a major fail and that i'd stand no chance i'd back out. but i see a slim opening and if you guys don't hurry it up, that opening will close and i will leave you. no offense, i just would like to live to fight some more. so...anytime now.> i told everyone, impatient to get started attacking the GOs.

<This'll take way more planning than our battles against the Shadows. I doubt even my mind is enough to withstand them for long.>

<fortunately for all you young dragons,> i say, looking at every one in the room(fynd and skii are young to nem) and making sure thy new i was older, < i have had a lot of time to think out, plan, and make the starting preparations.>

<All right. What's your plan?> Nem might be older in years, but her mind had never been a match for mine. Not even Mother and Father could beat me…or at least, that's what they once told me.

<that's my little secret.> i told only twera and to the rest i said, <shat dose any plan of attack consist of? surprise, which we lost; tactics, which we are bettered at; and a bad ass team to lead the main force. well, to lead in spirit, you never send the "Calvary" in the frontal attack.> i gave twera a stern look that said, "you may have a strong mind, but you lac in years of wisdom." and i had more wisdom than i should, thanks to my very bored sire.

ummmmm, have you seen this?
link

I huffed. So Nem was taking charge? Well, I'd better give her a run for her money

((I really need to get moving on World of the Shadows, because the ending will have a big effect, and it won't be relevant if I finish to late...)

Oh boy, a power struggle. I could see my sister puffing herself up, she seemed ready to challenge Nemesis. "Uh, I think I need to check the mechs. I'll be back in a few." I creep out of the cave, leaving my equipment behind.

I watched Thunder leave. Of course. Running away like he did before, the coward. I could feel every fiber of my being preparing to fight Nem. I was ready to do what should have beedn done a year ago: oust Nemesis and take over as leader of the Alliance.

((Whoa, don't think he expected it to be that serious, he just didn't feel like being in the middle of an argument... Of course, Twera wouldn't know that.))

They can bicker all they want, there's more important things for me to do. But I wasn't going to work on the mechs, they where going to be fine. However, my confession reminded me of certain things... I head for the computer and start searching. Let's see, I should be able to communicate with Earth if I just... Got it! I link up to one of the drones and begin to pilot it. Now where are you, Glish? I think you owe me something. The drone scans the area and picks up a likely energy reading, just to the east of it's current position. Gotcha, comms are on. "Hello there, Glish, I think you owe me a little something."
"I owe you nothing, deserter!"
"I only left because I saw the truth, and indeed, you owe me your life. So teach me what I need to know, or I shall collect my debt."
"You cannot threaten me! You aren't even here!" He laughs. "Just some toy of yours, buzzing around irritating me."
"That 'little toy' of mine can pass a charge across that empty heart of yours, and you know it. I don't make idle threats."
"Bah! What is it you need?"
"The Laminis Umbra."
"Ha! You have no use of that, you can't-"
"SILENCE! I've found a way, just teach me what I ask, and I will leave you in peace."
"...Fine then. But you know the price."
"Of course, and I thought you didn't care about me." I submit myself to the darkness, the relentless power that opposes the light. But, I will never again submit to the Shadows. And then it was done.
"Anything else before I can be at peace?"
"Yes,you will feel a slight shock." And that too was done.

((Okay, I honestly don't know what I just wrote, but it seems Thunderhawk's inner darkness is coming back out... I hope he knows what's going on.))

((He'd better, because Twera's getting nasty.))
A fight for dominance. I felt it from day one. If course, from what I knew of suchh baattles, they were to the death. Either way, the Alliance would lose an asset.

One crystal circuit. One piece mixed in with the rest of the seemingly random components, that was the key. It all came together after Nemesis mentioned Quantum Physics. I pick it up and place it against my head. And I keep pushing. I growl, trying not to cry out from the pain. Magic: it's nothing more that energy and probability, nothing but another branch of science. A part of my mind has always been missing, a void where something important belonged; this chip will fill that void, and grant me the power I was meant to have. The needle like contacts force their way through, piercing bone as they reached for my brain.
...

I tensed, ready for the fight. If I won, things around here would change for the better. If I lost…

i puffed up my fur and hissed. then, just as twera lunged, i managed to turn into a snowy owl and flap out of the cave, calling after me for all to hear, <you bring shame to your kind young twera. change what you will, but know this: you have lost one of your best allies, and i do not intend to help you any more. that speech on what to do? that was my test. and you failed young dragon. i hope you learned your lesson; if not, may the great ones rip you to shreds. but know this: they are not the only ones with an army and this is real life.> i said in a voice not of mine.it was distinctly male. then in mine i said, <i won't kill a former comrade unless absolutely necessary. and it is not. remember though : a battle will change things, and you might notice that an old dragon took out a lot of enemies you once could not even see.> i screeched then dove out of site and out of range of twera's fire that followed. i flew silent and swift to the two brother griffins. <time to become your second part.> one said and the other said, <be careful and be strong, the eagle will set you free.> then they changed into falcons and flew off. had known for a long time that twera wanted what she thought had, in fact, i was not the leader of the alliance, no one was. that's what made it an alliance. but, youth and a big head can make you see things. at least i would not have to tell thunder i had killed his sister, and at least her parents did not have to see me kill her. even in a different form than dragon i could break her spine or dismember her magic all dragons use to fly.
i took off again and found thunder. i perched on his shoulder and whispered, <i do not wish to ill you. but try to stay out of my way or i may have to. you may not like the new ways twera will enforce, i am going to plant in her mind- CAN do that you know-that she killed me. make it known i am dead, and i would hope you keep that i am alive to yourself. but try to keep twera from doing anything.... too stupid.> i said then turned into a bird of prey called a kite and flew away, to the cliff where i knew my army would gather under.

(fyi, i think it would be fair to tell you, nemesis has gone...well...kinda become a nemesis. bad. )

((Well, that IS her name. Twera, on the other hand, is going to get a bit strange. Since things'll get a little confusing, I'll explain what's happening just before it happens.
Due to Siik's lessons in ancient dragonlore, Twera's sense off justice/revenge is a little outdated. Remember her formal way if speaking? She sort of lost that as she became closer together, but this will distance her from them all, and cause her to return to that.
Twera has her own plans for dealing with her enemies. I'm not going into detail, but I will give you the general idea. She intends to continue their plan of fighting the Great Ones alongside the Shadows. The second part of her plan has them fighting the Shadows once the Great Ones are out of the picture. After that…well, to tell would spoil the rather interestingg surprise in store.
Her personality is changing. It's changed a few times since the story started. She began as a mind-pushing bitch, then became a protective mother, then a warrior and strategist, now she's becoming something else. And I'm not saying what it is. You have to wait and find out.
One last note. Have you caught on to Twera's parents' names? If not, here's the pronunciation:
Siik (Seek)
Fynd (Find)
Get it? Ok, enough rambling. Back to the action.))
I snorted. Test. What did Nemesis know about tests? I had been tested since the day I hatched. I had failed many times. I failed to protect Clat, which forced Thunder to create a false Clat for me. I failed Glid, sending him off with Clat, aging him much faster than usual. Most of all, I failed the Alliance. We were falling apart because of me. I had begun to think of the others as family. I could clearly remember the night we lost Gymish. It had been the same night I "lost" Glid and Clat. I wasn't going to let that happen again. We were strong, all of us, together or apart. I intended to make full use of that. But, first things first.
<Thunder?> I called, reaching privately towards his mind. I had been using that ability more and more of late. <Can we talk? In private if possible.>

((Seek and Find... Funny, I got Sick and Fiend.))

Tch! Twere's mind-voice seemed to be greatly amplified, and it drew me out of the grey haze of pain. There had been another voice earlier, but what it said was lost for the moment. I scratch at the new layer of scales on my head, grown over the chip. <Yeah?> I answer, slightly bewildered, then, more certainly: <Yes, what is it? And of course, What is private if not our own thoughts?>

<I'm not so sure of that these days. Meet me in the old apple orchard. Thingsare changing aroundchere.>

Yeah, you can say that again <Of course, right away.> Testing my new skills would just have to wait.

<Thanks.> For everything, I added to myself before taking off. Mizuko had the kids tonight. Ketna had never reaally seemed the mothering type. She all but forced Isik on Nem. Of course, with Nem gone, SOMEONE would have to raise tghe critter. I really hoped it wouldn't be me. Between Samuel, Clat, and all these adventures, I really had my claws full. Managing all this as a single mother would have been next to impossible. What WAS I thinking?

((Really? Ketna not the mothering type? I thought I set it up with her brooding over the kids and ignoring everything else, so I could drop the character without killing her.))

I took off. There seemed to be a faint glow on things, some kind of mystic force, visible through magic? I mostly ignored it for now, I would simply study the subject later.

((Yeah, and Twera's not in her right mind. She's losing herself))
I circled the orchard, not in thed mood to land yet.

((I've noticed that, Thunder may be going a little kooky himself, you did catch the implication at the end of his conversation with Glish, right?))

I see Twera circling, and swoop down along side of her. <Is something bothering you?>
((He still thinks the fight was just a little squabble.))

((There's something seriously wrong with that family))
<Oh, no,> I said sarcastically. <I just fought for dominance and won by a narrow margin, effectively eliminating Nemesis from the group, which can't even be called an alliance anymore. I…I feel like a part of me is slipping away, but I don't know which part. I just don't feel like myelf anymore.> My mental voice started shaking. <I don't know what's happening to me. When I lost Nlaa, I was devastated, but I didn't feel like I lost part of myself. I really don't want Mother and Father to know. You know how they get.>

((Nah, we're perfectly normal...*Twitch*))
<Sis, It'll be okay, somehow. Things change and you've got to keep going, for better or worse.> Everyone and everything is falling apart! What in all the hells is going on?! I push to reassure her, even though I felt the same way. I sigh. <Maybe things will go back to normal after everything's over, I mean, we're stressed, we're planning the demise of beings far greater than ourselves.>

((Maybe we should stop teasing them so much. Twera looks ready to flame us both))
<What is normal, anyway? Who defines what is considered normal?> Even under a wingload of stress, I still found time to logically tease him. <All teasing aside, I want to share my plans with you. You're my brother and theoretically my second-in-command. We both know I've always been the strongest at spellcasting, so, inevitably, I'll be on the front lines. I need you to make sure my pllans are carried out, in case of myg…> I trailed off, unable to continue. Hot, wet tears fell from my eyes, steaming as the plummeted to the ground.

<No, don't cry, please... It'll be okay.> I think I need to... No, that's madness. <Look, you'll have me, the mechs, whatever else the others drag out of their closets, there's no need to worry. Hell, none of us even need to be on the front, We've got entire armies rising for us.>

I didn't respond except to head for the ground. <What if the armies don't come?> I sniffled.

(Siik and Fynd...i got sike fiend)

i made sure the preparations were going as expected then, well then i gave myself over to my dark side. i turned into a snake (it was getting too easy to shift) and when i came out, i was so black i would only blend-in in a barrel of ink. then i turned into a raven(so i would look natural) and flew to the great ones. <i will give you the plans of the dragons. they will unite with the shadows.> i told them.
"and what do you want, crow?" time asked. <i only wish to serve you, the mighty ones.> i said. they seamed to like that and told me if i could continue to get information for them i would be rewarded.
my plan was working.

Why, right when everything seemed to go right, why did it all have to fall apart? What did I ever do to deserve this?

(a lot of things actually, twera. and might i say, karma realy is a bitch huh? {i've been wanting to use that one:D})
i flew and found thunder and twera hovering, talking. i landed on a branch in the orchard. i listened in on the conversation, catching most of it. i almost wanted to comfort twera, but that was good me-white me. and this was black me-bad me. i cawed and took flight; as i flapped past them, one of my black feathers unhooked itself and coasted down in front of their startled faces. then i flew to the cave ther parents were in. i hoped to catch some information, which i did.[dm, help on that.]
(i noticed something men said....is....is nem raciest?)

((Nem isn't racist for saying "Good me-white me" and "black me-bad me," just the standard concept of the color black representing evil and white representing good, she changed color when she changed sides. Yin and yang, blah, blah...))

I watched the black feather drift down, was it some kind of omen? I had a strange feeling about that bird, like I knew it from somewhere.

(but....now she can never be a panda! black, white, AND Asian! )
i learned some things and then moved on, finding the cave where the hatchlings were. then i went around to all the other caves, letting me be spotted and letting a feather fall. when i was done, i turned into a wolf and scavenged around the area, hopping to see the dragons overhead.

I jumped out of mu hide at the raven. The single black feather drifting on the wind didn't help my nerves either. That lone feather had to be a sign. But a sign of what?

Siik eyed her mate carefully. Unlike many dragons, they were life-maates. Considering the…troubles…their children had, it had turned out for the best.
"Fynd, have you noticed Twera and Thunderhawk?" she asked. Siik was most adept at reading other dragons.
"Well, it's rather hard not to notice those two. They both stick out like a couple of sore thumbs at a gardening convention."
"A couple of whhat?"
"It'ss a human expression. It just points out that they don't blend into the crowd very well."
"I know that, dear. But Twera's reaally changed."
"She grew up."
"Yes, but her plans are too ambitious for a dragon her age. Thunderhawk could pull it off, but not her."