The Royal SeaWing Massacre

Chapter One (This story is also on Wattpad)
Albatross loved the feeling of being special. He loved that when things went wrong in the kingdom, he would swoop in and save the tribe. He was the only SeaWing animus in history, and he loved that feeling. He felt that after his hard life as a boring SeaWing prince, he deserved magic like this. To be one of a kind. So, when another SeaWing animus was "chosen" at the Talons of Power ceremony, it killed him. He wasn't special anymore. The queen was thinking of killing him off, and replacing Albatross with the shinier, handsomer prince, Fathom. That was what tipped him into darkness.

"We will begin tomorrow." Albatross oozed. His dislike for his grandson's energy had sparked some tension between them in the last few months. Or at least, he felt tension. They were sitting on a small patch of sand in the middle of the lake on the Summer Palace. They had just finished enchanting the little waterfall to never run dry. Or, Albatross had enchanted it. Fathom had just sat there watching.

"You always say that. Just one plant, or one tile." Fathom whined. Albatross rubbed his temples, knowing that the party was soon, so he had to look his best. Whine, whine, whine. That was all Fathom ever  did. It annoyed Albatross insanely.

"Yes, and every day, it is absolutely true." Albatross glared at Fathom with piercing dark blue eyes. Fathom rolled his eyes and swam out of the tunnel in the Summer Palace. When Albatross's sister, Queen Lagoon, had asked Albatross to build the Summer Palace, he was overjoyed. Finally a way to show his love for the tribe in a big way. And now this untrained prince was trying to take over the whole thing. He followed Fathom down the long tunnel to the outside ocean. He shot into a small clump of kelp and watched as his annoying grandson slid into the ocean slowly, and immediately was embraced by a light purple dragon. ''Indigo. ''Albatross thought with a internal growl. She was as annoying as anyone can possibly be. She loved Fathom, and that made Albatross want to shred a coral reef with his bare claws. A flash of blood. Dragons screaming. His own claws holding a knife. Albatross looked down at his pale blue claws, which were twitching in a satisfying way.

"Oh, Fathom," Indigo was saying, shaking her head, "I worry when you are with your grandfather. You see the way that he looks at you. It is scary." Albatross smirked at that comment. He liked having someone fear him.

"Indigo, he's my ''grandfather." ''Fathom took Indigo's talons in his. "He isn't a murderer." They swam away, in the direction of the Deep Palace. As soon, as they were out of earshot, Albatross let himself laugh at Fathom. His grandson was so sure that Albatross was not a murderer. That he was honorable and noble. He laughed, a high pitched laugh that made the nearest fish swim away as far as they could. ''That, annoying grandson, is where you are so, so wrong. ''

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The night of the party came, and everyone in the palace was excited. Everyone, that is, except for Albatross. He spent the day of the party pacing his room, trying to calm his racing mind. ''Kill them. Don't kill them. You are nothing to them! They are family! His mind was spinning, and between it all was, Fathom, Fathom, FATHOM! ''He smiled with all his teeth, his mind and magic finally taking over. He had spent the night before sitting in his bed, thinking about the latest order from Queen Lagoon.

"I never want to see you again." He remembered her hissing. "Leave now and never return, or die under my claws. We have Fathom to replace you. Remember, brother?"

"But, why?" Albatross had said, trying to hold onto the light inside of him, though it was starting to slip away.

"You have crooked teeth, a knobby snout, and a big ego about who you are. No one wants you." Lagoon had smirked as he touched his snout, slightly hurt. "Need I continue, Albatross?"

"No'', Lagoon." ''Albatross had gritted his teeth as he waltzed out of the room, his head held high. Later that night he had realized something he hadn't before. He could kill her. She couldn't carry out the order if she was dead. Why was he listening to her, when he had magic? So, he had come to the conclusion, influenced by his darkness, that he would maim his sister, or if she didn't cooperate, kill her. He sat in front of the small mirror in his room and placed the bracelets on his wrists and straightening his spines, dove out of his room, watching SeaWing's cower and dragonets widen their eyes and whisper to each other. He dove into a rip current and thought about his plan. There were guests at the party, weren't there? What had Lagoon said? SkyWings? Something like that. ''I might kill them too. That would show dragons that I am serious. ''The Island Palace was tall and imposing with towering structures and long wooden pathways. A group of dragons were already standing in the main courtyard. Albatross thought he saw a flash of red and orange. He burst out of the water, deciding whether to immediately join the party, or to wait. He walked down the wooden pathway leading to the courtyard, picked up a small black shell, and thought, ''Enchant this shell so that no one will see me or be suspicious of me until I let go of you. ''He slipped silently into the garden just outside the courtyard, but no on noticed him. He slunk up to the hedge just behind the queen and watched her introduce herself to the SkyWings. With a ripple of fury, he saw Fathom standing next to the queen, where he should be. He hissed loudly, but the dragons around him looked unfazed. The queen was suddenly right in front of him, talking to the SkyWings about the fountain Albatross had enchanted. Fathom was staring curiously at where Albatross was standing, but soon looked away to observe Indigo filling up coconuts with a drink of some sorts. Suddenly, both SkyWings jumped backwards as if Queen Lagoon had bitten them.

"Don't you know about the rumors that animus dragons lose their souls?" The shorter, brighter red SkyWing was saying. ''Time to reveal myself. ''Albatross smiled to himself and dropped the shell.

"Well, in order for that to happen, one has to have a soul in the first place." He pointed out, stepping out of the hedges. The veins in his neck started pulsing, throbbing at Lagoon's haughty expression. Lagoon said something, but he didn't hear. Albatross made an effort to look like he was listening to her, but in his head her was thinking, ''Enchant that knife to stab anyone I wish. ''The knife from the coconut stand glowed a little bit as it shot towards the queen. ''Am I really doing this? ''Albatross wondered, and the knife paused as if waiting for an order. ''Lagoon. ''He thought, shaking off all the wonderful memories they had together. The knife shot forwards towards Lagoon's neck. He closed his eyes, willing the little soul he had left not to watch the death of his sister.

"But I'm the queen." Lagoon said quietly, before she thudded to the ground, not to move again. He heard the screams of the SkyWings as they shot into the air. ''The SkyWings. ''The knife shot towards the SkyWings. Albatross smiled at the terrified but helpless look on Fathom's face. Whatever soul Albatross had, was gone now, he could feel it. Let the massacre begin.

Chapter Two
Albatross was an unstoppable force. The bodies of the two SkyWing's who had fallen we laying, broken on the shattered banquet table. ''Perfect. ''Albatross thought with an internal laugh. Princess Splash suddenly lunged forward with a spear, aiming it a Albatross' heart. ''Enchant that spear to impale the dragon holding it. ''He thought, not even looking at Splash as she was pinned to the ground by the spear. He turned, looking for Fathom, and spotted him, petrified, Indigo whispering to him, and pointing at the dead SkyWings. Then both Indigo and Fathom turned and ran down the wooden pathway, leading to the east side of the island. Albatross smiled. He would deal with those pesky problems later. Right now, it seemed like someone would foolishly try to fight him. ''Enchant this shell to make me invulnerable to any attacks. ''He placed the shell he had found on the floor into the wrist cuffs he had around his wrists. Now, He thought with satisfaction, ''I will be unstoppable. ''

"Albatross." A soft voice suddenly hailed him to the left. "Albatross, think about what you are doing. This isn't you, it never was. Why are you doing it?" Albatross turned to find Manta and Reef standing behind him. Manta had her talons held out beseechingly to him. ''My daughter. ''Albatross thought with a grimace. ''Can I really do this? ''Albatross tried to shake off the memory of him laughing, watching an unstable Manta walked across the sand, as a dragonet. Here in this very place. But Albatross only grinned.

"Of course. What was I thinking?" At the same time he was thinking to the knife he had previously enchanted, ''Manta and Reef. That will destroy Fathom. ''He cackled. The knife flew towards Manta and Reef at an alarming rate, killing them both at the same time. He tried not to get sucked into Manta's terrified last look. He turned away sharply. The king, Humpback, was standing over his dead wife, sobbing. Albatross snuck closer, closer, and put his talon on Lagoons's back, next to Humpback. Humpback looked at him with tear-stained eyes, and suddenly pulled out a knife as long as Albatross's forearm, and stabbed it into Albatross's scales. But, it bounced right off of him. ''The invulnerability spell. ''Albatross smiled evilly. Humpback looked up at Albatross with terrified eyes. Albatross thought to the knife, now searching around the wreckage, ''Humpback. ''The knife immediately obeyed, and Humpback fell silently next to his wife. Albatross smiled wickedly. Suddenly, he was hit from behind by one of the musicians. He fell on the ground, unharmed, but in pain. The heavy instrument she had whacked him with fell to the ground, and she stared at him with defiant eyes. The SeaWing prince, Current was ready to jump into the ocean behind the musician. ''No! He can't escape! He is royal! ''Albatross decided to take a different method this time for the musician. ''Enchant the musician that when she tried to hurt me, she will instead stab Current. ''He smiled. ''That should do it. ''The musician grabbed the knife Humpback had used, and in a quick roll, she aimed for Albatross's heart. But, the knife had a different motive. It jumped from her grasp and flew out to stab Current. But, it was too slow. Current jumped over the side of the pavilion and disappeared into the water. But, not before the knife could stab him in the leg. Albatross growled. That would have to do. He turned to the musician who was watching him with wide eyes. She barely had time to react, before Albatross was their, slashing his claws across her throat and kicking her backwards into the aquarium, on top of a dragon, Pearl, he remembered, who was already laying their, dead. She was cut up with glass from the shattered aquarium. Albatross didn't remember killing her, but he was in such a frenzy, it was possible he did. And, he also had a different problem on his mind. ''WHERE IS FATHOM! ''Albatross thought. ''HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE TO FIGHT ME ALREADY! ''But, it was possible Fathom was too much of a coward. Prince Eel tried to fight him as he made his way through the broken wreckage of the pavilion. He took a shard of glass and hurled it as hard as he could at Albatross. Then, he picked up another and another, throwing them all at Albatross. But, all of them bounced right off of Albatross's scales.

"How ''impressive." ''Albatross thought flatly. He picked up a glass shard and closed his eyes. ''Enchant all of these glass shards to impale Eel. ''He didn't even have to open his eyes to know that it had worked. Any dragon could have guessed from the shrieks. He walked step by step, slowly towards the dock where Fathom undoubtably was. Prince Scallop suddenly jumped out at Albatross, and tried to slice his claws across his throat. But, like all the other attacks, they just bounced off. Albatross sprang into action. Catching Scallop in his talons, he simply threw him with all his might against the hard ground, where Scallop lay still. Albatross flexed his claws. The pavilion was full of dead dragons. He continued unfeelingly along the path. Picking up an armful of sand, he thought, ''Enchant this sand to make me have heat vision. ''Suddenly, everything was in shades of red, orange, blue, and green. He walked among the lifeless 'boats' that Lagoon had ordered him build with his magic. Suddenly, his heat vision caught on two forlorn shapes hidden under a boat, shivering.

"Grandson." He hissed. "Hiding like a nervous hermit crab, what I would have expected from a dragonet with little creativity. Especially when your entire family is dead." He was stalking close, closer. Suddenly, he ripped off the boat and threw it into the water. Indigo immediately sprang at him with the energy of a spring. She wrapped his claws around Albatross's neck, and tried to sink her claws into his underbelly, shouting,

"Go, Fathom!" The attacks did virtually nothing to him.

"Spears," Fathom was suddenly shouting. "Kill my grandfather!" The spears along the wall shuddered, ready to obey Fathom's order. Suddenly, with a jolt, he remembered the shell that made him invulnerable. He felt around in his wristband. But, his claws came upon empty space. Albatross's chest constricted. ''NO! It must have fallen out, when Indigo attacked me! ''He looked wildly around, and spotted it sitting far away on the deck. Too far away.

"Spears!" He shrieked wildly. But, Indigo bit down hard on his ear, sending bolts of pain twisting through his whole body. The spears shot towards him. If I am going to die, Albatross thought wildly, ''I am going to take something Fathom loves along with me. ''He suddenly fought back as one spear slammed into his back. Then another. He managed to grab the pearls around Indigo's neck and twist them tightly, slashing his claws along her throat. She fell off of him with a surprised expression, as the third and final spear slammed into his back. He collapsed. ''I'm getting what I deserve. ''The last thing he saw before everything faded to darkness, was Fathom clutching Indigo tightly, crying hard. Part of his soul was still alive, and it ached as he saw his family. Manta, sweet and silly Manta. Splash, the one who always had a bright idea. The rest of his family. ''I deserve this. The pain. The punishment. ''He closed his eyes, and let the darkness fade into him.