//-------------------------------------------------------// The events of the Winterhayven War -by Pheonix Blackfire- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Dawn of an Era //-------------------------------------------------------// Dawn of an Era A large bang was heard. A battle was already underway in the once great city of Winterhayven. Troops rushed out to meet the enemy army, and leading a large battalion was a young pegasus colt known as Pheonix Blackfire. "CHARGE!" Pheonix said. His entire life he had been around this war, and he for one, was tired of fighting, but followed his orders anyway. His battalion, the 101st elite, were the best of the best, and he did not want to let his colts down. The armies clash and a large white light is seen. The view suddenly changes to Pheonix as a young foal. 3 young colts are seen running through a small camp: Blackshuck Blackfire, the oldest and a genius from his performances. He is a grey pegasus colt with a black and yellow mane, a calm look always on his face, his dream to become a sage of nature. Kushina Blackfire, a light orange unicorn mare with a long, flowing black mane. She is regarded as a talented healer, and has never had any problems in her medical experiences. Finally, Pheonix Blackfire, an orange-red pegasus colt with a black mane, aspiring to be a great hero one day, and is a very energetic and upbeat pony. The siblings run to their mother. Blackshuck - "Mom what's going on?" Kushina - "yea mommy whats wrong?" Mother - "This place isnt safe anymore, we have to leave before your father's enemies arrive!" It was at that moment when everything went downhill. As Pheonix entered their small tent, the entire camp was swarmed with large ponies wearing dark colored armor, and evil looking eyes bead down on them. The small family lets out a scream, and suddenly a squad of ponies comes to their rescue: the city elders. Elder 1 - "Get the little one's out of here! they are the army's last hope! we can't let them be captured!" The fight breaks out, and a single elder gets them back to a large compound known as base camp. For the next 10 years, the Blackfire siblings would be trained in the ways of combat, as well as learn the old ways of using their energy to attack, similar to unicorn magic, but can be used by anypony. Time passed, and the siblings would together lead a battalion, and alongside them would be Pheonix's rival and lifelong friend when they were brought to the compound: Alupon Darkmane, a brown earth-pony colt with a slicked back black mane. He was a scientific prodigy at HQ, and was assigned to the squad to learn more about the enemy, and document them. Many battles would be fought before the one they would fight in now, and as the battle comes to a close, the team of Pheonix, Blackshuck, Kushina, and Alupon would stand victorious with the 101st, returning as heroes. Pheonix - "man when will this all end...." he throws his suit of light combat armor onto a stand in his chambers "i mean i realize that dad isnt around to help now...but when he was around, we were closer to ending this war than ever" Alupon - "Pheo it's not like we can help it. This all started before we were even born!" Pheonix - "still, we have been slowly gaining and losing ground in the city for years!! The elders NEED to give us the orders to take back the stadium! If the enemy loses that, then we gain a lot of ground! Blackshuck - "while that is true, it's also risky brother. If one thing would go wrong, we would lose everything." Kushina - *she looks to Blackshuck* "brother...we already have nothing but each other...as long as we stick together, nothing could possibly go wrong" What Kushina didn't know was the plans that the Elders were planning to give the 4 of them the very next day, and it would be a day that would change young Pheonix's life forever. The next day came far too fast for Pheonix's liking. He had been up to majority of the night, thinking hard on his sister's words. They echoed in his head, until he finally fell asleep. The following morning, The 4 ponies donned their armor, holstered their weapons, and set off to see the Elders, having received a note asking for their presence. Pheonix kept one hoof on the only keepsake he had of his father: his sword, a katana with the saying "life is what you make of it" etched into the side of the blade. He was nervous, and had an uneasy feeling in his gut. Soon after, the 4 were in the chambers of the Elders, bowing respectively, until finally the main Elder, Danzo Starflame, spoke. Danzo - "Do you know why i summoned you all here?" Pheonix - "With all due respect, i would assume you are going to assign us a mission." Danzo - "actually Pheonix, the correct term is Missions." Alupon - "What? what do you mean my lord?" Danzo - "As you know by now, the western end of the city has been under siege for quite some time now, and we must take it back." Blackshuck - "So you are sending us to the western front? or is there more?" Kushina - "There is always more when it comes to Elder Danzo..." Danzo - "You are correct Kushina..and You as well Blackshuck. I need intel on the enemy. Leaders, supply routes, anything. so i am sending Pheonix and Alupon behind enemy lines on a stealth mission to retrieve any intel possible, while Blackshuck and Kushina will aid the battle on the western front." Pheonix grew uneasy. Why would he and Alupon be sent on a stealth mission? Blackshuck was better at stealth missions and always had been. Kushina however was a healer, so to him it made sense why she was needed elsewhere. Even so, the uneasy feeling didn't go away, like he KNEW something would go wrong soon. Pheonix - "...when do we leave?..." Danzo - "10 minutes ago. You have your orders, now lets see if you can live up to not only the Blackfire name, but also your fathers." These words hit Pheonix like nothing ever had. As a blackfire, he had always had extreme potential, but because of his physical and mental limits, was regarded as the weakest Blackfire to ever exist, and as a result, was always under his older brother and sister's shadows. His father was regarded as a legend, and even more pressure was put onto not only Pheonix, but the other 2 siblings as well, all pressured into either matching or surpassing their father's limits. Pheonix felt his teeth grit inside his mouth, and without a word, the 4 left the chambers. Kushina - "I can't believe this..they are splitting us up.." Blackshuck - "Orders are orders..no matter how badly we don't like them" The squad of 4 had been in every mission together, and was refered to as the "dream team" of their army. where ever they went, a victory came shortly after. Alupon - "I think they are testing us...why else would they split us up? to test our limits!" Pheonix - "Either way, we need to get things done. This war isnt going to end itself, and that intel could end it even quicker." Kushina - "Pheonix?..is something wrong?...you aren't being the normal you..it's worrying me." Pheonix - "i know sister...i am just tired of all this fighting...we were dragged into this since birth. I never wanted this...and i intend to end it." It was then Pheonix felt something inside of him, a spark of sorts, and it was progressively building up. Pheonix - "Enough talk, we have missions to attend to." The 4 say their farewells and head out, Pheonix and Alupon head in the direction of the Arena, where the enemy base is, their objective: retrieve intel on the enemy, and if possible, retrieve an artifact known as the Blackfire Tablet, which is said that only a Blackfire who has unlocked their special power can read. The last known person to read it was Pheonix's father, captured in combat long before Pheonix even turned a month old. The morning sun rose slowly, and in the darkness, Pheonix and Alupon trek forward in the shadows, ready to carry out their mission. Darkness slowly left the camps, and with the rising of the sun, Pheonix would rise this day. He and Alupon had infiltrated the enemy camp, and were slowly working their way to the officer's barracks. In hushed voices, they plans their moves, being sure not to draw attention to themselves. Alupon - "2 guards, patrolling inside the next room" Pheonix - "We can take them out or let them pass. your call" Alupon - "let them pass. and unconscious or dead guards will only draw attention, and give away that we are here" Pheonix - "agreed. wait for my go" They wait until the guards have passed, being out of earshot. "now" They move quickly and quietly into the next room. Alupon - "the intel should be right....there!" Alupon points to a desk in the back of the room, with important documents on it Pheonix - "Nice work. bag as much as you can up and lets go before we are spotted" Alupon begins to do as ordered, but neither of them notice that a security feed has gotten them busted, and hundreds of enemy troops are flooding to their current position. Pheonix feels something coming towards them, but dismisses it as his imagination, not even knowing he can sense natural energy signatures, including other ponies Pheonix - "Hurry up Al..we can't stay long" Alupon - "getting the last few now" He bags up a few more papers, and then a warning siren starts to sound off Pheonix - "oh buck we were discovered! come on we gotta go!" They start to flee, but once they get outside they are surrounded by enemies. Pheonix says something into a communicator, hoping to get some help before they are overwhelmed Pheonix - "HQ this is sergeant Blackfire. We have encountered heavy resistance and require EVAC ASAP" HQ - "understood sergeant. sending reinfor-" The sound cuts off suddenly, then returns and sounds of battle are heard. Pheonix - "oh no! Al we gotta get back to HQ now!" Alupon - "We kinda have a problem right now Pheo!" They stand back to back, facing the enemy. The enemies charge them, and the duo draw their blades and begin to fight for their lives, cutting their way past the enemies and making an opening to flee. They fight off what seems like millions of enemies, watching each others backs as only rivals and friends know how. Alupon - "so whats going on at HQ??" Pheonix - "they are under attack!" Alupon - "WHAT?? LUCIA!!" Lucia is Alupon's love, the only person he has ever cared for, besides Pheonix and his siblings. The 2 rush back even faster, hoping they can make it before the civilian barracks are overrun. Everything is happening too fast for Pheonix, and the spark in his body he felt the previous night returns, growing stronger and stronger. They return to HQ to find that it is nearly burned down, and flowing with enemy troops. They run in and start to cut down any enemy in their paths, searching for Lucia and if possible, Blackshuck and Kushina. Pheonix - "Brother, sister, can you read me?" He talks into the communicator in hopes of a response. A large explosion is seen in the distance, glowing blue from Blackshucks energy from his signature move: a spiraling orb of energy, compressed as much as possible for power, doing massive damage. Pheonix - "i guess they are ok then" He returns to his search for Lucia, hoping to make it out alive. Alupon - "Pheo take the intel! get it to the Elders!" He throws him the saddle pack of enemy intel, and Pheonix nods, but sticks by Alupon's side, not leaving him until Lucia is found. An hour passes, the 2 searching every burning building and empty barracks, both nearly giving up hope before a loud scream is heard nearby, which they rush to. They find Lucia surrounded by enemies, more coming every passing second. They jump in to defend her. Pheonix - "Alupon, i am going to provide cover. Get her out of here, i'll follow shortly" Alupon - "You are not fighting them by yourself!* He turns to Lucia "Get back sweetie, hide behind something and dont come out until it's safe ok?" Lucia - "ok..." She hides behind some nearby rubble, awaiting the end of the fight. Once more, the duo goes in for a fight, taking down many enemies before finally getting overwhelmed. They fight as best the can, hoping Lucia hasn't been spotted, and suddenly Alupon is disarmed, and is started to become a prisoner of the enemy. Pheonix - "ALUPON!! NO!!" Alupon - "GET LUCIA OUT OF HE-" he cuts himself off, seeing that Lucia is being taken away Pheonix rushes in to save his best friend's only love, not wanting to fail Alupon, but doesn't make it in time, and she is struck down in front of them both, leaving Pheonix speechless, and giving Alupon a look of hate towards Pheonix, in his rage believing that Pheonix let her die, and growing to hate him. This hate would later resurface, more than a decade later, when he would be discovered by Pheonix and his daughter, Sapphire. Alupon stops resisting and goes quietly, leaving Pheonix to fight for his life. Pheonix - "I have been letting everyone down..Father would be so disappointed in me.." Something in him snaps, and his eyes turn from a brilliant golden color to red with a black pattern. "NO MORE!" Time seems to slow down to him, and he bobs and weaves in between enemies, pushing himself to his absolute limit. The spark is felt once more, and in a moment where he would have been struck by many troops, a massive burst of lightning seems to erupt from Pheonix. He has learned to control his natural energy, and is a natural master of lightning energy. His cutie mark appears on his flank: a Pheonix, symbolizing that he is one of the first in a long time to master energy, aside from his brother. He uses his newfound lightning energy control to combat the enemy, using a lightning burst every so often with his sword mastery skills, until finally he takes down the last enemy, and exhausted he falls over, unconscious, his eyes returning to their natural golden color. These events would shape Pheonix forever, preparing him for the days to come.. END OF CHAPTER 1 //-------------------------------------------------------// Visions of the Future //-------------------------------------------------------// Visions of the Future Many days had passed since Pheonix witnessed a crushing blow to his allies, and also himself. Alupon had been captured by the enemy, Blackshuck and Kushina had not been heard from since they departed on their mission, and Alupon's love, Lucia, had fallen in combat. Pheonix had fought hard to defend his comrades and even himself, and stumbled upon his special talent: energy control, and discovered he could change his energy's element into lightning. After a long battle, Pheonix fell unconscious, only to be recovered by friendly medics hours later. He had been unconscious since then. Pheonix stirred in his sleep, obviously having a dream. He was seeing a golden maned, red pegasus, and a red and blue maned, red earth pony, as well as himself, fighting a large, green and black pegasus. All of what he could see appeared to be occuring by an abandoned Colt Spice factory, a building on the edge of Ponyville. "Pheonix no!!" cried the golden maned pony. "Axel get back!" Pheonix himself cried, revealing the pegasus's name: Axel. "You honestly think you can win? HA!" You don't know who you are dealing with! I am Vixonia Ultimate!" The large pegasus was revealed to be named Vixonia, who would eventually marry Pheonix An intense battle ensued, Pheonix displaying not only intense stamina and endurance, but near mastery of controlling lightning energy, releasing lightning attacks in bursts, stunning Vixonia. "Vexy now!" Pheonix was distracting Vixonia while the earth pony, Vexy, attacked. The battle appeared to continue for a long while, during the course of the battle, Vexy would fall unconscious from exhaustion, as would Pheonix, and Axel stands over a defeated Vixonia, ready to deliver the final blow. Suddenly Pheonix appeared between the 2, stopping Axel's hoof. Pheonix - "That's enough Axel! She's beaten!" Axel - "Pheo if she lives she will terrorize Ponyville!" Pheonix - "Everypony deserves a second chance! Think Axel! She was raised by Phazer Darkhooves!! We BOTH know he is evil! As far as we know, she could've been different!" Pheonix displayed compassion, even to an enemy, on the off chance that she would repent from her evil ways and turn good. Vixonia stared at Pheonix with a surprised look. Pheonix - "Give her a chance Axel!! Think of what Princess Celestia would do!" Axel lowered his hoof, calming down at last, and Pheonix picks up Vixonia and carries her inside the factory, questioning her as to where the pony known as Mystic Rose was located, as Pheonix, Vexy, and Axel came to rescue her. Vixonia looked on Pheonix as though she had been changed. Her evil green eyes changing to a calm, light blue color. As he set her down on a nearby chair to find Mystic Rose, she couldn't help but stare at him. From there the image faded into black as Pheonix finally awoke. "what...what was that?" He said as he woke up, then noticing that many unicorns stood over him, all casting healing magic on him, among them was his sister, Kushina. Kushina - "PHEONIX! oh thank Celestia you're ok!" She stopped her healing spell and hugged her younger brother, who was confused as to where he even was. Pheonix - "where..where are we? Where's brother?" Kushina - "He's ok. He is waiting outside for us to come out. You were out cold for almost a week" Pheonix - "A week?? What happened to me?!" Kushina - "From what we heard from witnesses, you learned to control lightning...and overused that power to defend yourself against the enemy" Pheonix - "So just exhaustion then?" As he finished saying that, he looked to his hoof, concentrating and released lightning through his hoof. Everypony in the room couldn't believe what they were seeing Pheonix do, not even himself, but he slowly rose from his bed and outside, wanting to learn about the events of the past week. Blackshuck informed his younger brother about the events of the week. Their allies had retaken the marketplace, and had pushed the enemy back into the stadium, but they don't currently have the forces to take the stadium, and need to wait a month before even attempting to do so. Afterwards, Pheonix heads to a training area to try to master his newfound lightning powers. Pheonix trains for what seems like hours, making a few quick moves to use in an instant if needed, and then sits down, when suddenly his head begins to hurt, and he sees another vision* This time, he sees a light blue mare with black and dark blue mane, smiling at him and nuzzling him lovingly. They walk to a lake outside Ponyville, but are suddenly attacked by a wolf that can speak, named Blue, who kidnaps the mare and retreats. Pheonix - "Vixonia!!" The mare was revealed to be the same mare that he, and his apparant future friends, Axel and Vexy, fought against prior to those events. Pheonix gives chase, eventually coming to a clearing where he begins to fight the wolf to protect Vixonia. The wolf attacks mercilessly, and Pheonix withstands a barrage of cuts and bites and scratches before using his lightning to stun the wolf. However, after he does this, a larger, more intimidating wolf pounces him, and Blue calls out to him Blue - "Kiba finish him!" The new wolfs name is Kiba, who would eventually become Pheonix's friend. Kiba - "You harm my mate?! Why!?" Pheonix - "She kidnapped my marefriend! I'm fighting to protect her!" Pheonix thinks to himself in present day "What?...i start dating a villian??" Meanwhile in the vision, Pheonix kicks Kiba off of him, and begins to fight for his and Vixonia's life. Pheonix - "I won't lose!" Kiba - "We'll see you pathetic colt!" Pheonix - "Come at me you pup!" The trash talk is heavy, and both adversaries have the moves to back it up. Pheonix's eyes begin to show signs of hatred, mostly in a desperate effort to protect his marefriend. Suddenly Axel appears and assists Pheonix. Axel - "I can feel the energy from the fight from Ponyville! What's going on??" Pheonix - "They kidnapped Vix! I'm trying to save her!" Kiba knocks Axel back, and he tries to power up when a loud yell is heard. Pheonix - "STOP!!!" Everything around them seems to stop. Kiba, Axel, and Vixonia all look to Pheonix, who has calmed down and now addresses Kiba. Pheonix - "What will it take for you to just leave us in peace!!...Please tell me!" Kiba - "...You life ended by my paws!" Pheonix - "....so be it.." In the present say, this shocks Pheonix, but the vision continues. *Pheonix turns to Vixonia* "Vix..I'm sorry it all had to come to this..I love you.. Vixonia - "Pheo please don't do this!..Please i need you! And so does you foal on the way!" Hearing this shocks Pheonix, both in the vision and in present day. Pheonix - *shakes his shock off* "I would rather have my foal safe from harm and with it's mother..I promise I will watch over you both" *he turns to Kiba" If you want my life, then take it. Before anyone could say another word, Kiba ends Pheonix, and the shock of this vision breaks Pheonix out of it Pheonix - "What was that!? What's going on!?" Pheonix's confusion begins to get to him, and he finally comes to the conclusion that he is seeing visions of the future* Pheonix - "What kind of future is that..to fight and die to protect my marefriend and apparantly my foal.." *he snaps back into another vision, although a much shorter one. All he sees is Axel giving Pheonix's body some of his own energy, and Pheonix rises back up* Pheonix - "I'm alive?..But how?" Vixonia - "Oh Celestia thank you!" She suddenly embraces Pheonix, who does the same. Axel - "I gave you some of my power to bring you back..looks like it did the trick" As soon as Axel finishes telling this to Pheonix, Pheonix's mane and tail turn into a brilliant golden color, the same shade and hue as Axel's mane and tail. Pheonix - "This is incredible..i feel much stronger than before!" The trio get up and proceed to head back home to Ponyville, and Pheonix comes back to present day Pheonix - "ok..things get REALLY strange in the future..." He then heads back to the barracks, to get a good night's sleep before resuming his missions the next day A few days passed since Pheonix's previous vision, since then he has led his battalion, as well as his fallen friend, Alupon's, into battle, successfully liberating the western half of their ruined city. Things were finally looking good for Pheonix and his allies. Then, once again, he had a vision. Pheonix was, once again, training. At this point, his ability to control his lightning powers was high, managing to completely manipulate the bolts at will, with no damage to his energy reserves, and was in the process of creating a new move, when it started. He fell to the ground as the vision unfolded. Pheonix was after someone, a look of anger was in his eyes, which had awakened a long lost power in his family to it's max potential, the sharingan. In the distance, he could clearly see cloaked figures, as well as Vixonia, who is unconscious. The chase continues, Pheonix flying faster than he ever has before in a desperate effort to save his loved one. After about 10 more minutes of chasing, they come to a clearing in the woods, with many other cloaked figures surrounding Pheonix. One of which steps forth and begins speaking. ? - "it's been a long time..Pheonix" Pheonix - "Who are you!? What do you want with Vixonia!?" ? - "I was hoping to have a better re-uniting, but i guess i can explain first. The child she carries is going to be immensly powerful, far beyond what anyone ever dreamed of. My organization wants to use that power for ourselves, in hopes of taking over Ponyville, as well as Canterlot, and eventually overthrow the sun princess, Celestia!" Pheonix - "You know I won't let you do that!" ? - "Of course. After all, what kind of pony would you be if you can't even stop your fallen father." Pheonix - "w-what??" The figure removes his hood, revealing himself to be Pheonix's long lost father, who was thought to have fallen during the war. It was rumored that his powers even rivaled Princess celestia and Princess Luna put together, mostly due to his sharp mind and hard hits. However, this was greatly exaggerated. Pheonix - "F..father...I don't know why you would do this, but I WILL defend my child from you" Pheonix draws his blade and gets into a ready stance, VERY conflicted about fighting his father. Without another word, his father backs off, and the rest of the figures charge into the fight. Pheonix, in a desperate fit of anger and confusion, holds off all of them, streaming his lightning as a defense, and igniting his blade with lightning as an offense, and cuts his way through many. He takes many devastating blows, and somehow manages to stand after each and every one of them, until finally his father steps in, and the 2 begin fighting, neither one uttering a single word. The swords clash violently, the father's power is great, but during his absence, the son, the youngest of the Blackfire siblings, had closed the gap between them, matching his father's strength even in a weakened state. During this entire fight, Vixonia struggles to keep the foal from being born, at least until Pheonix has made it safe to do so. The battle rages with fierce intensity, neither opponent wanting to give in. One fights for his organization, the other for his family. Their wills are strong, but after a long battle, Pheonix emerges the victor, disarming his father and holding him at swordpoint. However, he cannot bring himself to kill his father, the one he looked up to as a hero, and trained so hard to surpass him. The father's eyes show sorrow, showing his being manipulated by his very allies, not wanting a single event that occured to occur in the first place. Pheonix sees the words in his father's eyes, and lets him flee before attending to Vixonia. Pheonix - "Vix!" He rushes to her. "Hold on Vix! Everything's safe now!" Vixonia - "Good..now the baby can come." A long, very graphic scene of childbirth occurs, and the newest Blackfire, a light blue filly with a blue mane and tail, named Sapphire by her mother, is introduced into the world. Pheonix takes his foal in sheer happiness, holding her for a moment before setting her in her mother's mane for warmth, and transporting them home. Pheonix snaps out of the newest vision, happy inside, but also getting more and more confused Pheonix - "These visions..i need to stop them..they happen at the worst possible times..I can't have this happening on the battlefield..not when there is so much on the line..I need to talk to Danzo about this..maybe he and his medical staff have an answer." Pheonix heads off to his highest superior, in hopes of stopping the visions, and dreading any horrible things he might see about the future. At last, the fight for his very mental sanity has begun. For hours, Pheonix had awaited the Elders to finally let him in to speak, and having finally entered the Counsel chambers, he explained that he had been having visions. Danzo - "What are these visions of?" Pheonix - "That's just it, I don't know. All i do know is that they won't stop, and that they appear to me at random times. I came here because you Elders have the best healers around, and I wanted to know if you could make them stop!" Danzo - "Well Pheonix, they might be able to, but it's a long shot. First i would like to induce a vision if possible, to see exactly what is going on in that head of your's" Pheonix - "Whatever you need to do then do it! I don't want these visions happening on the battlefront!" Pheonix was led into a room with the best of the city's healers, and soon gave Pheonix a drink to induce the visions. His eyes gazed off into the distance, and the vision began. Pheonix stood on a large bridge, in front of what looked like an elder, except Pheonix had a look of rage in his eyes, He spoke Pheonix - "I SAID ANSWER ME!! I AM ASKING IF IT IS TRUE!!!" Pheonix had obviously learned about something horrible. "DID YOU AND THE OTHER ELDERS ORDER MY FATHER TO WIPE OUT MY CLAN!?" Outside of the vision, this caught EVERYONE off guard. This was indeed a mission that had been given to Pheonix's father, unknown to Pheonix or the rest of their clan. Danzo stood emotionless, debating on how to handle the situation once Pheonix came to. Elder - "Yes, but for a good reason." Pheonix - " And just WHAT would that be!?!!!!" Pheonix was amazingly enraged, and his eyes flashed into his Sharingan eyes. Elder - "Your father knew of a rebellion to claim leadership in Winterhayven, and knew it would spark another war. He also hoped to let you and your elder siblings live so that he could make you stronger. We however, hoped to use you, and you alone, to be a super-soldier for the city, blaming it on other rival cities and using you, who would be powered by revenge, to dominate. Hearing the truth had now shaken Pheonix to his very core. Suddenly a wave of regret and emotional pain had come into him, as if he had done something downright terrible without knowing something. Perhaps something to do with his father. His head hung low for a few moments as a few tears fell to the pavement. Pheonix - "Well now that i know the truth..." His eyes changed again as he looked up to the elder, into his, apparantly recently unlocked, Mangekyo Sharingan. "You and the other elders will fall!" Pheonix drew his blade and rushed at the elder, but before an attack could be seen, he came to. Danzo - "At ease Pheonix, no such mission has, or ever will, exist." Pheonix had been panting for a breath now, not believing what he had just seen and heard in the vision, hoping that anything said was not going to come to light. Pheonix - "Elders..I thank you for your time..but i don't think these visions can be helped..I can only pray to the sun princess herself that they will end.." Danzo eyed Pheonix suspiciously, but let him go. After Pheonix had left, he spoke to the other elders. Danzo - "Do not reveal any of our intentions to the other remaining Blackfire's. His father's mission is to remain a total secret. I want any documentation of the mission being issued burned, so that the mission "never existed"." Little did anyone know that Pheonix's father had intended to carry out the mission the next night, for the sake of the city of Winterhayven, but most of all, for the unknowingly promised safety of his children, for Blackshuck, Kushina, and Pheonix. he prayed that the night to come would only make his beloved children stronger. The next night was a terrible one for the Blackfire clan's history. A dark mission was to be carried out by Pheonix's father, one that would later shake Pheonix to his very core. During a night of utter silence on the war-front, he was deployed into the Blackfire's living area in the city. No screams were heard, every move he made, silent, as if he was a passing breeze. hours later, the majority of the clan would be no more, leaving only himself, Pheonix, Blackshuck, Kushina, and few others alive, not out of forgetfulness, but more of compassion for his kin, and hope that they could change the outcome of this horrible war. Blackshuck could very faintly feel in his heart what was happening during this dark mission, and for the first time he felt himself tremble, vowing to try to keep the entire thing a secret from his younger brother for as long as he could. Kushina, however, was never told a thing. She was under the understanding that the clan was deployed on several missions, never returning. And as for Pheonix, he had been out cold from over-training, never sensing a thing that had happened. The father of the 3 remaining Blackfire's then fled into the night, not knowing if he would ever see his own flesh and blood again. Not knowing where to go, he stayed as far away from his beloved home as he could, as per his mission orders, something he felt he would never understand. The day after, the 3 siblings were summoned to the scene of the mission, witnessing firsthand the true horrors or war. Each reacted in their own way: Kushina turning away, Blackshuck trying to stay calm, and Pheonix, poor Pheonix, felt his heart tremble at the sight, desperately wanting to know who could have done something like this. No words were spoken though, and each one promised themselves to get stronger. All 3 now had their best traits sewed into themselves: each wanted to protect those dear to them, no matter the cost. The few that still knew of the truth behind the mission fled or stayed quiet, all military power being given right to Danzo, the head elder. Very few would ever know that it was all a ploy to give him power, as well as use the 3 siblings. But the war went on, the armies of Winterhayven pushing the enemy back further and further, the battalions now led by Blackshuck, Kushina, and Pheonix, all now aspiring leaders. In the minds of each of the 3, this war, the one they were born into and believed they would end, had been made so extremely personal. The only vision Pheonix had during this time, was one he did not want to believe: he saw himself talking to a dragon, one that lived directly above winterhayven, who was apologizing for not preventing the massacre, then giving him a power boost. The city in ruins as he travels with what appeared to be a Dragon-pony hybrid, one he would later know by the name of Hex. After the vision breaks, Pheonix found himself looking to the sky, seeing a single cloud, not knowing it was actually the dragon's home, and shaking off the vision. Pheonix would take years to learn the truth behind the mission, and even at that point in time, it began changing him, mostly for the better. Both now and after what comes to pass, Pheonix knew that the love he had for his friends and family would never die, and they would constantly help him to surpass any obstacle. He would test this time and time again.