https://www.deviantart.com/ifritnox/art/3-7-Titan-s-Fall-979156490

The allies had won, but the price of victory would be costly.

Hurting Draco was a victory for the allied forces, but the darkness was fuming. She gathered all her strength - and how she had grown! All the pain and sorrow that Draco had spread had made her stronger.

While the inhabitants of Andromeda gathered on the clearing of Trishanku, the darness' anger grew and grew. She told her supporters that the claws were ready for another strike - for after the First Strike, she had to rest them because she attacked such powerful beings.

"They are fragile after a strike", she told her servants. "Those fools that fight for Lupus will learn that some day. Until then, we have to kill as many titans as possible! When we only have to kill weaker creatures then, the claws won't have to rest that much and even their knowledge of my weakness won't help the defendants!"

Together with Regulus she chose the next victims and prepared.

On Trishanku, the defendants were oblivious to the coming strike. They discussed how to fight this war. The shield-bearers and Aldeban could buy them time, they had to use it. But nobody knew how to defeat the eclipse or kill Draco. Nobody had ever destroyed darkness.

Suddenly, shadows closed in and the claws came from the sky! Before anybody could react, they found their victims.

The first claw, Sculptor, killed Canis Major, the Second Wolf. The second claw, Antlia, killed Canis Minor, his younger brother. The third claw, Octans, finally, killes Ursa Major, the great bear.

Silence fell upon the clearing. Shocked, the defendants realised that they had lost three of the most powerful beings - in the span of a second!

But the attack wasn't over. The glance of darkness came upon them and went for Virgo.

Only Pegasus could react. While being filled with sorrow about the death of Lukida, he still understood the darkness' plan: To kill all light-bringer of Andromeda, thos three that had made the shields together with Lynx. These were Lukida, Phoenix and Virgo, and thus the winged stallion sprang forth as the glance of darkness approached Virgo, and took upon him the poison, and he fell on the spot.

At the same time, a scream echoed above the clearing: Phoenix, the scout of the middle, had been struck by the teeth Pyxis. Burning he fell from the sky.

Again, the weapons of the night disappeared, and again, panic fell upon the allays. It was a bad situation they found themselves in. Lupus had fallen silent. The great wolves and the great bears were dead, as well as the two consultants - for still only his sons knew that Vulpecula was still alive. Among the scouts, Phoenix was dead, Cygnus paralysed and Corvus fell from grace; the other two were shield-bearers. Few knew where Lepus was and Pegasus was not dead, but paralysed like Cygnus and Lupus. All their heroes and leaders had been taken from them!

Amidst this chaos, Mirfak raised his voice.

"Wait!", he called out. "Don't give in to despair!"

Sabik and Kornephorus stepped beside him, then Arae and the pack: Sol and Lunis, Sirius, Canopus and Arktur. And then the other inhabitants of Andromeda followed heand hanging low. They didn't have any hope left, but loyalty and friendship drew them to Lupus' Son. The three shield-bearers and Aldeban ruby-star kept their position.

This was what Lepus saw when he arrived. The rabbit came out of breath onto the clearing, running from the lair of darkness. He went as soon as he heard the evil plan, but he wasn't fast enough to prevent the deaths.

Lepus did not hang his head, seeing that he had failed, but ran to Castor and Pollux. Hastily, he told the black and white fox what else he knew: That the claws were vulnerable and could be broken!

While the others mourned, the twin foxes made a desperate plan: The clawbreak. To protect their spy Lepus, they kept it secret as they searched for fighters. These shouldn't be great heroes, since they would be in focus. After searching a while, they found some that were barely noticed: Pavo, a peacock, the fishes Aboras and Shemali and finally Kentaur, son of Pegaus - who was a titan-child, but the least famous one.

Told that the claws were vulnerable, these four were sent by the twins to fulfill the plan. The fishes, sword-fish and whale, hurried through the rivers and finally found the claw Sculptor, which had shed the blood of Canis Major and Lukida. And Shemali, the she-whale, broke the claw.

Kentaur ran across the fields and finally found the claw Antlia, which had killed Lynx and Canis Minor. And with a kick he broke the claw.

Pavo flew through the clouds in Corvus' Land, sent as a scout instead of the blackened raven, and he found the final claw, Octans, which killed Ursa Major and was thought to have killed Vulpecula, and with a beautiful song he broke the claw.

Soon, the four returned to the twin foxes and told them of their achievement. Castor and Pollux talked to Vulpecula, still hidden in the grave Mira.

"A great victory", the fox titan said, "but it won't save us. The darkness still has two weapons. I fear who they might kill. You two, take good care of your spy, for now the darkness will be even angrier."

They gave Lepus this warning, but the rabbit wasn't afraid and ran off again, to hide in the darkness' lair.

But the fly Musca hat seen him, the hidden spy, and she told the darkness of Lepus. So the eclipse awaited his return and sent out Serpens, the great snake, to kill the rabbit.

Thus, the nimble messenger was defeated, and he found no grave in Mira, there was no song of his secret heroic deed and no witness to his end; only the twin foxes would soon realise Lepus didn't return.