"Spike, I want you to get out of this place." Draven uttered in utmost seriousness. "Take your friend and get to Winslow. I'll meet up with you later back on the ship."

His words took Spike by surprise. Never had Draven been so intense about any situation, as he stared down the sneering Constantine; his eyes locked on him in deep-focus. Draven began to manipulate the lightning around him and began to form something. Spike didn't realize what at first, but when the energy began to manifest on his back, it had become clearer. The bolts formed a large pair of wings on Draven's back.

"Wings?" Spike was almost literally shocked by the dragon before him.

"Spike, I said get out of here!" Draven's intensity had become anger as he turned to face Spike.

"I can't leave you!" Spike yelled in reply.

"You can't beat him, Spike! I have to hold him off while you flee!" Draven insisted. "Go, now!"

Spike picked Twilight up and held her tight as he began to run through corridors and up staircases. Twilight was weak, but she managed to voice her opinion on the matter regardless.

"We can't leave him!" Twilight told Spike.

"I know, and I don't intend to. I'll leave you with one of my friends for now. He will get you to their ship." Spike informed Twilight.

Spike hurried to Winslow, who had just swiftly slain the last changeling, sheathing his long blade in the scabbard tied to his back. Spike rushed towards him, dumping Twilight in his arms.

"Draven had entered the bowels of the fortress mere moments ago. Are you going back in after him?" Winslow questioned.

"I have to, he might be in trouble." Spike coated his hands once more in flames.

"Take heed young dragon, I sense a dark power within those walls," Winslow warned.

As Winslow took Twilight back down a beaten pathway to the nearby coastline, she noticed his peculiar eye as it pulsated and surveyed the surroundings. She wanted to ask, but she was far too tired to speak any longer.

"Dragon Thane's Thunderous Spear!" Draven began the fight with a blast of striking electricity. Constantine however, defended with a magical shield that repelled the attack.

"It has been a while, hasn't it, Draven?" Constantine hissed.

"I should have known it was you who would do something like this," Draven said, disgusted by the scoundrel. "You were always a conniving son-of-a-bitch."

"I'm flattered, Draven, truly I am." Constantine snickered in response. "You do realize your efforts will amount to nothing in the end."

Constantine shot off an omnidirectional blast, causing the structure around the two fighters to shake and quiver. Draven blocked the magical maelstrom using his thunderous wings, and immediately launched a counter-attack by summoning a moving wall of electricity that blew Constantine back into the stone wall behind him.

"As long as the boy is safe and away from you, I'm happy." Draven said; charging another attack.

"Why do you ally yourself with those insolent worms? Have you forgotten what fire-dragons had done to me?" Constantine dashed towards Draven, slashing at him with his sharp saber.

Draven coated his hand in a barrier of electricity that began to clash with Constantine's attack.

"What happened to you was no reason to betray my trust, and kill my friends and family!" Draven shouted in outrage, letting out a burst of lightning that hurdled towards Constantine. "I called you my brother once!"

"Whatever bonds we held before are irrelevant! I cannot let a single fire dragon live! I couldn't! They took everything from me!" Constantine replied in a mad rage; dodging Draven's attack.

"You befriended their king, and when his guard was down you demolished his city and murdered his wife! You took far more from them then they had taken from you!" Draven voiced in hatred. "You forced him to abandon his people and his only son!"

A blast from Constantine brought Draven down to earth; his body slightly damaged from the attack.

"I have more power now than I ever have had!" Constantine's eyes began to glow a ghostly green, and his body began to morph.

"What have you done, Verulius?" Draven could not believe his eyes.

Most flesh had torn away from Constantine's body; revealing a green wraithlike form surrounding his skeletal features. His empty sockets began to burn with ectoplasm, his military outfit became torn and tattered as it enveloped him like a cloak, and most of his white hair was now covered by a shadowy hood.

"I have surpassed mortality! I have been shown the power of death itself! And it is beautiful!" Constantine sprouted skeletal wings engulfed in ectoplasm and lunged towards Draven menacingly.

"Perish!" Constantine shrieked demonically; hailing his oncoming assault.

Constantine let out a terrible howl that sent out a wave of power; nearly flattening Draven as it reached him. He was then caught off-guard when Constantine slashed him across his chest. While most would consider the savage strike a normally fatal blow, Draven's scales absorbed most of the damage, only causing minor lacerations. Although, the strength of the attack did wind him regardless.

"Nggh!" Draven grunted in pain as he hit the stone wall.

"I'm going to enjoy-." Constantine paused and turned to see a massive beam of emerald fire engulf him. "Aarrghh!"

Constantine was scorched by the blast and launched across the room from the force. He was tossed into another adjacent wall that crumbled on impact as he hit, causing the structure around the massive prison chamber to become unstable.

"Take that, asshole." Spike taunted.

Spike immediately noticed that Draven had been injured and helped him up, and to his dismay, he could clearly see he had started a chain reaction in the structural stability of the fortress around him, and his breath became frantic.

"What the hell do you think you're doing boy?!" Draven grunted as a stone from the ceiling fell on the ground close to his feet. "We've got to get out of here or we'll be flattened!"

Stone blocks and bricks fell from the high ceiling as they frantically ran down the large corridors, and the large doors leading to the exit had almost given way as they smashed through them. Thankfully they had made it out just before the whole castle collapsed on top of them, and they laid motionless panting for several minutes before getting back on their feet.

"That was close." Spike wheezed. "You think that bastard is dead?"

"Not a chance in hell. I suggest we haul ass before he shows his face again." Draven panted.

Draven and Spike made their way to the rocky beach bellow, and eventually met up with their ship on the edge of the shoreline. They climbed the ladder Gin threw down and rolled onto the wooden deck in exhaustion. Coba assisted the two to their feet.

"You're hurt, Captain," Coba said; looking at the large scar across Draven's chest.

"It's just a nick, I'll be fine." Draven put his hand on Spike's shoulder as his usual jolly expression returned. "Nice rescue boy!"

"Thanks, Captain!" Spike smiled with joy.

****

It was hard for Spike to explain to Twilight all that happened within the last week or so, as she had many questions like always. Regardless he summed his story up as best as he could to her, making sure he didn't forget any details. He told her about Draven, his mission, and how he knew his father a long time ago. Twilight understood the weight of the issue when Spike paused talking about his mother.

"I see." Twilight raised her hand to her mouth as she began to process all that Spike had told her.

"You see... this all kind of happened." Spike had trouble trying to justify his prolonged absence, as he twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I'm sorry Twilight, but it was just important."

Spike felt guilty for leaving Twilight alone and clueless. He regretted never even trying to tell her that he was okay or telling her he was even alive. He felt quite low from his actions.

"Twilight I-..." Spike was cut off as Twilight wrapped her arms tight around him.

"I can't stay mad at you Spike. I can't even force myself to be angry." Twilight's eyes began to water, and her warm smile reassured Spike. "I'm just glad you're okay..."

Spike grasped her tighter in his arms as he himself began to weep softly.

"I'm so sorry..." Spike cried.

Twilight and Spike separated from their embrace, letting out all doubts and fears in the process. She looked up to him with an expression of joy and hopefulness.

"I want to help you, Spike," Twilight said softly. "I want to help you on this journey."

"Okay." Spike smiled back at Twilight.

****

Later that night, Fluttershy got out from her bed. She had not slept in days since their arrival in the Blacklands, as she was afraid of the terrible nightmares she had when her cravings took a hold of her mind. Her cream colored feathers had shed and were scattered across the bedroom floor. She walked over to her mirror to see a familiar sight.

She looked at herself in shame as she eyed the grotesque bat wings that replaced her usual feathered ones. Her ears were pointed and long, and her teeth had razor sharp canines replacing some of her usual mare teeth. Her eyes were a crimson red, and the mere sight of the foul colour made Fluttershy look away from the reflection; the thought of blood sweeping over her mind. She could barely control herself as she licked her lips in desire. Then, a light knock on the door had interrupted her suddenly.

"Don't come in please!" Fluttershy used her blanket to hide her wings, and she frantically swept the feathers underneath the bed.

"It's Winslow." He sounded concerned to Fluttershy.

"Um, y-you can come in." Fluttershy stuttered nervously.

Winslow opened the door. His armour was off, and he was wearing regular clothing; which surprised Fluttershy. She tensed up more when Winslow spotted the feathers beneath her bed and the large blanket concealing her wings.

"What's wrong?"Winslow asked. "What are you hiding under that blanket?"

"Nothing, I just... please go away." Fluttershy panicked and began covering her face in blankets; unaware that she was revealing her wings to Winslow.

"Do your wings always shed at night?" Winslow inquired, noticing the small feathers still trying to cling to her then leathery wings.

Realizing her efforts at hiding were futile, she dropped the blanket and faced Winslow; her hands shaking in embarrassment.

"These are undoubtedly the wings of a Scârbă," Winslow explained. "One of the rarest, and most powerful of all vampiric creatures."

"What does that mean?" Fluttershy eyed her wings in concern.

"It means that whatever created you was either magic or you had demon blood in your veins and a vampire had bitten you," Winslow stated. "Based on your non-existent weakness to the sun, I believe it was both. Artificially created vampires have no weaknesses to the sun, meaning that magic must have been involved."

"Are you telling me I'm some sort of hybrid monster?" Fluttershy said; slightly whimpering at the thought of it all.

"No, I don't believe you're a monster at all Fluttershy." Winslow moved closer to Fluttershy.

"I feel... like one." Fluttershy began to tear up.

"I can't say I know what you're going through, but I understand what it feels like." Winslow lifted his hands to his eye-patch and undid the knot; letting it fall to the floor as he opened his left eye.

"Your eye..." Fluttershy lifted her hand to Winslow's face, but he cocked his head to the side quickly when her fingertips made contact with his left cheek. "I'm sorry. Does it hurt?"

"Every day of my life it has hurt. It feels like this eye has been on fire for an eternity." Winslow choked the sharp pain the touch caused.

"Where did you get it?" Fluttershy asked.

"I was born with it." Winslow responded with some restraint. "My father was a paladin like me once, and my mother... was a sorceress."

Fluttershy listened intently as he continued.

"Sometimes, when those who use black magic have an offspring... the children end up with deformities. I was one of those children." Winslow seemed to be choking back much pain as he spoke. "In the paladin order, it is forbidden that any member has relations with those of dark hearts. Regardless, my mother and father fell in love; deciding to have a child shortly after."

Winslow peered out the window for a moment; his eyes closed, trying to push down agonising memories.

"I grew up with paladins until around the age of seventeen, hiding my eye with a patch like this one. Eventually, word got out about me, and... the day after they demanded to see my father and mother in the court; which they knew meant the guillotine." Winslow quivered. "They refused to obey, and when they tried to smuggle me out of the order... they... they died protecting me."

"That's awful. Such cruelty is beyond shameful." Fluttershy muttered in a quiet outrage.

"So you see... that is why I'm alone and without an order. I wandered for weeks until I found a city, and when I got there I did everything I could to stay alive." Winslow added. "I blame myself for their deaths. They would have never been killed if I hadn't existed in the first place."

"Your parents knew the risk Winslow. They loved you anyways." Fluttershy said soothingly.

Winslow took a deep breath and looked down at the floor.

"My mother died when I was just a baby, and I never knew my father." Fluttershy lowered her head so that her eyes met with Winslow's. "Sometimes, I hear her voice in my head still... telling me bedtime stories before I drift to sleep. I feel her tuck me in at night wherever I am, and sometimes I try to hold her hand in my dreams, but I- I never can touch her... she can't hold me."

Fluttershy began to weep again, but this time... she began crying in pure agony and sadness rather than embarrassment or shyness. She had tears streaming down her face she and moaned softly under her breath.

"Stop crying Fluttershy. Please stop crying..." Winslow looked up to the now sobbing Fluttershy before him.

Fluttershy heard his words, but the grief had almost completely consumed her. "I-I can't! Please just-."

Fluttershy stopped as she felt Winslow's lips touch hers. The sadness seemed to melt away as she closed her eyes and felt the heat of him reach her cold body. Fluttershy backed away and stood up suddenly though, with Winslow standing up in response.

"We can't. I'm..." Fluttershy trailed off as she peered into her mirror. "I'm a..."

Winslow said nothing as he approached her again wrapping his left arm around her hip, and gently brushing her cheek with his hand; feeling her soft fur.

"I don't care." Winslow bluntly stated; holding her tightly in an embrace, and once again leaning in for another kiss.

Author's Notes:

Hope you enjoyed!