Wings of Fire: What if?

What if Fathom wasn't an animus?

Fathom looked at his talons and sighed. If only I was an animus, he thought. I could have saved Indigo, my sister, Princess Splash, Queen Lagoon, my mother, my father, Eel and many others from Albatross! Fathom suddenly had a flashback...

It was sunset. The two SkyWing princesses, Eagle and Sunset, had just arrived. They were followed by the majestic, ruby-red SkyWing queen, Carmine.

"Hello, Queen Carmine," Fathom's great-aunt, Queen Lagoon, said politely.

"Hello, Queen Lagoon," replied Queen Carmine.

Queen Lagoon began discussing territory with Queen Carmine. Fathom listened intently as gentle waves crashed against the sand.

"I am sorry that this is happening. However, perhaps further--" Queen Lagoon was saying.

"Three moons," growled Albatross, "That is a horrible plan."

"Well, Carmine said that-" started Lagoon.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT CARMINE SAID!" roared Albatross.

Albatross drew a glittering knife and muttered an enchantment to it. "Enchant this knife to kill any dragon it touches," he whispered to it. Lagoon gasped. Albatross drew the knife and slit Lagoon's throat. Carmine screamed.

Fathom was suddenly yanked out of the flashback, gasping and screaming. He had fallen unconscious while the flashback was happening, and had been taken outside the Island Palace.

"Are you all right?" asked a seafoam-green healer circling around him.

"Yes," Fathom flashed back at her in Aquatic.

He was not able to communicate verbally, even though he was on land. He looked around. It appeared that he had been unconscious for half an hour and the actual massacre had been two and a half hours ago.

"What happened?" asked the healer.

"Can't say Aquatic," Fathom flashed at the healer.

"What do you mean?" asked the healer, "Do you mean you can't say what happened in Aquatic?"

The long stripe across Fathom's back flickered on to say "yes."

He put a claw into the sand. For a moment, he thought it was just a horrible nightmare. He wished that he would wake up from this nightmare.

He finally came to his senses, and shook his head wearily. He wrote in the sand, Murder. Albatross, Queen Lagoon. Flashback. I want to wake up! He quickly erased the "I want to wake up!" part. For a moment, all she saw was some squiggles, but the healer's mind cleared. She didn't understand what he meant, but by the look on his face, she could tell what had happened. "You don't mean-" she began. "Yes," Fathom finally spoke in a solemn voice. "It's true."