"You Changelings have taught us dragons much. The lesson you taught me is humility. And if there's one thing a dragon hates it is being humbled. But through that humility I've spent all this time since the Time of Broken Scales learning from you...and I believe I've finally figured out where we went wrong the first time: we were trying to beat you at our game, we need to beat you at yours. Brains is the only thing that can beat brains, though having brawn too helps...I've tried telling everyone, but few listen. Fewer still act. Dragonkind has barely changed in eons, while you have changed and evolved, if this keeps up, we'll fall behind. Of you and everyone else. But does anyone listen? No...Oh well, as any farmer knows, one must exterminate the infestation and cull that which does not bare fruit if you are to have a fruitful crop and make the next generation stronger than the last. That's just evolution...and a scientist does not fear evolution."
— Dr. Toxikon, the world's only dragon scientist and Smog Dragon, in his personal notes only found after the crisis's end.
[WIP]
Tropes:
- Battle of Wits: This whole plotline can be summed up as a complex series of schemes between Dr. Toxikon and the Summer Court of Changelings.
- Break the Haughty: It has been noted that due to escaping the King Xestobium and Princess Apterus incidents relatively unscathed, many members of the Summer Court saw themselves as too intelligent and cunning for Choice's warning to apply to them. Then here comes Dr. Toxikon, who proceeds to send that train of thought crashing back down to earth.
- Crazy-Prepared: Oh BOY does Toxikon take this up to eleven in this regard. Justified by having 5,000 years to plan all of this out, he's had countless different lairs and labs hidden and scattered all across Equus, all for the time when he begins to set things in motion.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Deconstructed to Tartarus and back.
- The Summer Court Changelings find themselves suffering damage almost beyond repair and are nearly wiped out thanks to one of their own betraying the Arc Villain who had saved his life 5,000 years ago.
- Phase Four of Toxikon's revenge plan revolves around exploiting the Summer Court's habit of this trope to make them point fingers at each other for his attacks and be too occupied looking for an attack from within they don't realize at first the enemy is an outsider.
- Deconstructor Fleet:
- Of the Summer Court Changelings and their modus operandi. Dr. Toxikon demonstrates masterfully how their scheming, habits, and way of thinking can be exploited and turned against them in the most detrimental of ways. There's also the fact that they are in this situation in the first place due to said Arc Villain being a victim and survivor of arguably their most infamous and well-known plot and has come to give as much as he got and then some.
- To a lesser extent, Dragonkind and their modus operandi. Their near-extermination by the Changeling Summer Court in the "Time of Broken Scales" was brought about by hordes of Dragons causing the "Burning of Amorea", which traumatized a nascent Changelingkind which was pushed to near-extinction and filling them with a terrible resolve. While this doesn't justify the genocide in any way, the Dragons still brought it on themselves by being flying, flame-spewing butchers who would slaughter and burn whole lands to plunder its remains in greed and wrath. It is hinted that even if the Summer Court Changelings hadn't done it, someone else who had been as wronged as they were by them would had done them in eventually.
- Trope-wise, Anti-Intellectualism and Might Makes Right. Arrogant and complacent in their own strength, Dragonkind refuse to change their reverence for brawn over brains even after a disaster as bad as the "Time of Broken Scales" (Which they only survived because their deities intervened), where they were repeatedly outwitted and nearly killed off by a ruthlessly cunning enemy. Their refusal to change and adapt to an ever-changing world in their haughty pride means they were at risk of eventually being surpassed by the other ever-advancing mortal races - many of whom, like Changelings, hate their guts. This at best would doom their kind to irrelevance, and at worst being slaughtered again by someone who holds them with hatred/contempt and had the brains and means which they had disregarded to do them in - such as Dr Toxikon. All in all, the whole Arc is one giant object lesson about how Brains will always inevitably beat Brawn.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Dr. Toxikon manages to accumulate a fairly high body count of Changeling Kings by the time all is said and done.
- Flaw Exploitation: Played With in a unique way that is somehow Averted, Defied, and is in of itself Exploited. The reason why the Summer Changelings keep hitting a wall in regards to dealing with Dr. Toxikon is due to the fact that he constantly subverts the stereotypical dragon personality traits, with Toxikon outright taking advantage of their use of time honored and tested dragon-fighting techniques and turning it around to make sure they are Gone Horribly Wrong.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After getting a Heel Realization about doing nothing but repeat the mistakes he'd hopped his kind would learn better from, Dr. Toxikon decides to take his virus bomb into space to prevent its intended goal, killing himself in the process.Dr. Toxikon: I won't die a monster!
- Irony: Dr. Toxikon saves the life of Emperor Blackthorn, the father of the one who betrayed him, by shooting and killing King Heterometrus in the chest, the same place said traitor stabbed him during said betrayal, just as Hetermetrus was about to kill Blackthorn with the virus Toxikon himself created.
- Kirk Summation: Ember giving one to Dr. Toxikon- questioning if THIS is all he truly wants to be remembered for - is what invokes his Heel Realization and Heroic Sacrifice.Ember: ...How many more lives could you have saved if you'd put this much effort into helping the world? To actually teaching other welps like you did me? Heck, teaching GRUBS! The School of Friendship asked me to get you as a teacher! That little Changeling buddy of Smoulder read all your books and idealized you! I get it, Blackthorn is a flankhole! He is PROUD of being a flankhole! ...But if you let him turn you into this, if this is how you die...you let him win. Because the drake you are would have died...If you really want to win, be the better drake and don't let him make you a monster...Do you want that to be how you're remembered? As just a monster?
- Near-Villain Victory: The reason why Toxikon doesn't succeed? Because he himself has a Heel Realization about his actions and sacrifices his life to stop his bomb from doing as intended.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: 5,000 years ago, Toxikon saves the life of a nearly dead King Changeling and nursed him back to health. Said Changeling King then proceeds to be responsible for the complete death of his Dragon clan, which included his children, mate, and entire family.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The entire arc is Toxikon going on one for the Time of Broken Scales.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Brutally deconstructed as this whole mess is caused by this trope. Five millennia ago, King Heterometrus was nearly mortally wounded and close to death when Toxikon came across him. Not able to just leave him for dead, Toxikon took him back into his cave in secret, and nursed him back to full health. Heterometrus paid him back with wiping out his clan and stabbing him in the chest, leaving him for death. Unfortunately for him and the Summer Court, not only did Toxikon survive, but he then spent the next thousands of years plotting his revenge. When he goes on to move things into motion, the entire Summer Court is dealt blows to their entire infrastructure that are nearly unsalvageable.
- Vicious Cycle: This arc simply is simply the latest of a long and tragic line of events between the Dragon-Changeling War, something, ironically, the Arc Villain is painfully aware of.Ember: What happened to you?!
Dr. Toxikon: Hate...hate happened. Hate happened to all of us. The Dragons taught the Changelings to hate, then the Changelings destroyed everything I held dear and I was filled with hatred as well. It's a vicious cycle that never ends, Ember.
Ember: Then why don't you end it?!
Dr. Toxikon: ...What do you think I'm trying to do, Ember? - Villain Respect: The longer this plotting-against-plotting goes on, the more the Summer Court Changelings are impressed with the brilliance of Dr. Toxikon.
- The World Is Just Awesome: The moment before his death, Dr. Toxikon sheds a Tear Of Joy while beholding the universe in all of its glory for the first and last time.
- Worthy Opponent: By the time the Final Battle of this arc occurs, Emperor Blackthorn very much holds Dr. Toxikon in high-esteem. He even states that the latter is just a mentally keen as him after he saves his life from Heterometrus.Blackthrone: A drake of action...we can respect that.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: In a game where who is the mouse and who is the cat is constantly changing, Dr. Toxion goes up against the entire Summer Court of Changelings...and nearly wins.
