Chapter 1: A Lost Paradise

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire or the Last of Us. But I do absolutely love both of them to death. Also, this story takes place in an alternate timeline as opposed to the Wings of Fire series so some of the characters may be slightly different.

The reddish-brown SkyWing gazed out of her window and into the world beyond. It was gray, bland and bleak, almost like staring into a black-and-white picture. The only signs of life were the few dragons passing by, each a solitary, sullen figure, busily going about whatever their business was.

No one spoke. No one laughed. No one even stopped to smile. And Kestrel thought back to the world before all this-it hadn't been much, it hadn't been perfect but it was a paradise in comparison. How suddenly it had all been lost...

Twenty years ago...

It was getting dark and two dragons, a SandWing and a SkyWing, were speaking heatedly outside a small residence near the base of one of the Sky Kingdom's many mountains.

"Kestrel, you can't be serious," the SandWing said. "It's too dangerous."

"Look, Thorn," said the rusty-scaled SkyWing, Kestrel. "If we don't get this shipment we won't have anything to sell. Our existing stock's only likely to last till the end of the week. And that's already being hopeful."

"But there are bandits out there," Thorn protested. "And I've been hearing horrible stories from the other merchants; a sickness that's been making dragons go mad and worse. The shipment won't do any of us any good if you're dead."

Kestrel yawned. "Let's talk about this in the morning," she said. "Hopefully the both of us will be in a better state of mind to make decisions after some rest."

"Alright, just promise me you won't rush off at first light without at least talking about it," Thorn said, heading off down the cobbled street. "Goodnight, Kestrel."

"Night, Thorn!" Kestrel called after her. She opened the door and stepped into her barely-lit home.

Kestrel blew a small stream of fire into the dying embers of the fireplace, illuminating the room. It wasn't much but at least she could see a little better.

She squinted. Through the oppressive gloom, she could just make out the faint outline of her daughter, Peril, lying on the couch. The deep rise and fall of her chest told her that she was sound asleep.

Kestrel tried to be as quiet as possible, sitting down next to Peril's sprawled form, hoping not to disturb the sleeping dragonet.

In spite of her best efforts, Peril heard her and stirred, yawning. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she sidled up beside Kestrel, pressing against her affectionately.

"Long day at work?" she asked, half-smiling.

"Peril, you need to sleep," Kestrel told her. "It's late."

"When has that ever stopped me?" Peril replied with a smirk.

"Not right now, little hawk," Kestrel said, passing a weary talon over her eyes. "I really do not have the energy for this right now."

Peril was quick to change the subject. She produced a small box seemingly from nowhere. "Here," she said. "I got this for you."

Kestrel accepted the small package. "Peril, what is this?" she asked, opening the box. Inside, nestled amid the luxurious velvet was a small heart-shaped locket on a delicate-looking gold chain.

"Happy hatching day, Mum," Peril said, nuzzling Kestrel's cheek. "Do you like it?" she asked, grinning and evidently pleased with herself.

"Peril…" Kestrel was speechless for a few moments. "This-this is beautiful."

Peril beamed at that.

"Where'd you get the money for this?" Kestrel asked curiously, trying the locket on.

"The Arena," Peril answered with a completely straight face. "I'm the Queen's Champion in the Arena. It's a well-paying job. Earns me a lot of treasure."

Kestrel nodded, laughing. "Sure," she said as she draped her wing over Peril. "I don't doubt you for a second."

"Believe it," Peril said, curling up beside her. "I'm a stone-cold killer."

"I believe you. Now you can start helping out with the rent."

"You wish," Peril yawned sleepily.

It didn't take long for the dragonet to fall asleep. Kestrel gently lifted Peril with her jaws and carried her over to her bedroom. She tucked her in , careful not to accidentally wake her up. She absently ran a talon over her daughter's wing.

"Rest easy, little hawk," she whispered. "And dream of free skies and a new day."

Then, as silently as she had come, she left the room.

Later…

The dragonet rubbed her eyes as she walked to the door. Peril awoke with a start to loud knocking on the door. She groggily rubbed her eyes with the back of her paws. She didn't have any idea what time it was but she could guess by the pitch black skies outside that it was very late at night. Who could be at the door at this hour?

The knocking persisted. Whoever it was must've been serious about waking everybody in the neighborhood.

"Coming," Peril called.

Hope you're not one of those annoying sales-dragons, she thought as she headed to the door. Otherwise somebody might end up getting scorched tonight...

She pulled open the door and came face to face with the last dragon she'd been expecting to see.

"Aunt Thorn? What're you doing here?"

She and Thorn weren't really related but the SandWing and her mother were so close that they may as well have been sisters for all intents and purposes. Thorn had known Peril since she had been just a hatchling and had even helped look after her when her mother was away. But in all her years, Peril had never seen Thorn so anxious.

The SandWing was dishevelled-her scales grimy and caked with dirt-and she was panting hard. Her eyes were wild and unfocused and she looked ready to kill.

Peril took an uncertain step backwards. What was going on?

To her immense relief, the SandWing relaxed a little. Thorn took a moment to catch her breath as she checked over her shoulder.

"Peril, I need to speak with your mother," she said, making a visible effort to stay calm.

"She's in," Peril told her. "She's in her room but she probably heard you knocking and she's probably already on her way. Aunt Thorn, what's going on? Is it bandits?"

"It's nothing like that, Peril," Thorn said. "Just hurry and go get your mother, I need to-"

She was interrupted by an enraged snarl behind her. Thorn barely had time to spin around before a burly SkyWing tackled her into the room. The two dragons growled and clawed at each other furiously. Though she was pinned under the larger SkyWing, Thorn was able to brace her hind legs under him and, with considerable effort, push him off her.

The large SkyWing was quick to regain his feet and his eyes locked onto Peril. He ran headlong at her, like a dragon possessed, and barged into her before she could even cry out. She landed badly on her wing and heard an audible cracking noise. There was a stabbing pain in her shoulder that seemed to permeate her entire body and she clenched her teeth to keep herself from screaming.

The larger SkyWing lashed out at her with its claws, tearing great gouges from the floor next to Peril's head. The dragon looked even more terrifying up close-it's eyes were bloodshot and there was red all around its maw and a bloody wound that looked like a bite mark stood out on its neck.

It's jaws snapped over and over and Peril had to lean away to avoid getting mauled. She couldn't keep this up forever. The pain in her wing was already debilitating and it was all she could do to keep her assailant off her.

"Get away from her!" Kestrel roared.

Her mother slammed into the SkyWing with the force of an avalanche, knocking him clear of the dragonet and into a wall. The dragon thrashed and kicked like it was drowning but Kestrel didn't let up. A solid blow to the head was enough to stun the dragon for a few moments-more than enough time for her to finish it off and Kestrel slashed its throat. Arterial blood sprayed all over the grey wall, painting it a macabre, glistening red.

Kestrel hurried over to Peril's side. "Peril, are you alright?" she asked.

Peril was staring in horror at the body of the SkyWing. "You… You killed him."

"Peril, it was either him or you," Kesterl said soothingly. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Just don't think about it, just focus on me. Now are you hurt?"

"My wing," she said. "I think broke it." The pain in her wing had diminished for the moment but she was scared it would return any moment now.

"Kestrel," Thorn said. "Thank the moons you're alive. We need to get out of here. There are more of them coming."

Kestrel nodded absently as she did a quick check on her daughter's wing. "It's dislocated," she said. "Nothing too serious. I'll put it back into place but not here. It's not safe now."

"Mum, what's going on?" Peril asked. "Why did he attack us?"

"I don't know," Kestrel replied. She looked at Thorn. "But you seem to know what's going on."

"I wish I didn't," Thorn said. "It's like the other merchants have been saying. There's some sickness that's driving dragons insane. They're like wild animals now. There were some even feeding on the dead."

"A sickness?" Peril asked. "Could we have got it?"

"No, little hawk," Kestrel said. "We're fine. I'm going to carry you. Just hold on tight." She crouched to let Peril clamber onto her back. The dragonet wrapped her arms around Kestrel's shoulders, clinging as tight as she could.

Just then, two more bloody-fanged dragons started shambling towards the door. Thorn slammed the door shut and braced herself against it.

"Go!" Thorn said as Kestrel made to help her. "You're carrying Peril so you'll need the head-start!"

"Head for Queen Scarlet's palace," Kestrel told Thorn. "She's an old friend and she's got a good number of guards. It's as safe a place as you can get."

"I'll see you there!" Thorn shouted, struggling to keep the door shut. "Now go!"

Kestrel, with Peril in tow, made for the back door. Kestrel smashed the door open with a powerful swing of her tail, unintentionally knocking over two other SkyWings who'd been trying to get in that way. Before either of them could recover, she spread her wings and took flight.

She briefly checked over her shoulder and her fears were confirmed. The two dragons had recovered and were flying in hot pursuit. Fortunately whatever affliction they were suffering from seemed to be impairing their ability to fly properly. Their wings thrashed and they careened clumsily through the air like dizzy birds.

Kestrel, on the other talon, was a SkyWing and the sky was where she was strongest. She sliced through the air like an arrow, managing to outpace her pursuers even with the added weight of Peril.

"You alright back there?" Kestrel asked as they flew.

"Yeah," Peril said. "I'm worried about Aunt Thorn."

"She'll be fine," Kestrel said. "She knows how to handle herself. I'll go back for her as soon as I've dropped you off at Queen Scarlet's palace."

It wasn't long before they came within view of the palace. It was an impressive structure built into the side of the mountain. But amid the dark skies and the somber atmosphere, Kestrel could only feel a gnawing sense of foreboding.

But she shook it off. If there was anyone she could trust, it was Queen Scarlet. She'd served in the Queen's army in her early years, before she'd had Peril. She had been one of Scarlet's best soldiers and when she eventually left the army after Peril had hatched, Scarlet had told Kestrel that she could count on her if she ever needed anything.

Now seemed like a pretty good time, Kestrel thought as she caught sight of a familiar face among patrol of armoured SkyWings. Relieved, she dove down to meet her old friend.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" one of the SkyWing soldiers shouted, lowering his lance at her. "Don't come any closer!"

Kestrel complied. Scarlet was sure to recognise her. She'd sort out this mess. Then, once she'd ensured Peril was safe, she'd be able to go back for Thorn.

"Kestrel?" Sure enough, Queen Scarlet stepped out from behind her guards.

"Scarlet, thank goodness you're okay," Kestrel said. They were close enough friends that she'd been excused from calling the Queen by her official title. "It's my daughter. Her wing's dislocated and we were attacked."

"Oh no," the SkyWing Queen said, her shoulders slumping. "Not you too. It's been happening all over the kingdom. How's Peril holding up?"

"She's fine," Kestrel answered. "But we need a safe place to go. And I need to go back for a friend."

"It's alright, I'll take care of your friend," Scarlet said. She jabbed a claw at one of her guards. "Go with him, he'll take you to safety."

Scarlet whispered something to the guard. The SkyWing paled. Kestrel thought she heard him say, "But the dragonet-"

Scarlet said something else, her voice hushed and urgent. The guard somberly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Scarlet and her other guards left quickly, winging their way into the night sky and out of sight. The lone remaining soldier stared forlornly after them.

"Alright, so where to?" Kestrel called, walking towards the guard.

The soldier turned to them and she noticed his eyes were misty. "Oh blasted moons," he cursed. "Forgive me..."

A sense of dread washed over Kestrel. What was he going on about? Then the soldier turned to them, lance leveled, and lunged.

Peril shrieked as Kestrel instinctively tried to twist away from the weapon's long shaft. The pointed tip of the lance whistled past her snout, missing by mere inches. But with Peril on her back, Kestrel quickly lost her balance and tumbled to the ground.

The soldier pressed the lance to her throat before she could get up. She glared hard up at him.

"What's wrong with you? We're not infected!" she roared at him helplessly.

But the soldier only murmured, "I'm sorry... The Queen... She doesn't want to take any chances... I'm just following orders... I'm so sorry..."

The Queen? Scarlet had lied to her. Time seemed to slow down as Kestrel's dumbstruck mind registered that fact. It was so obvious now. All she could feel as she faced her imminent death was a dull hollowness at the realisation that her friend had betrayed her, had stabbed her in the back while promising her and her daughter safe haven...

Just as the soldier prepared to run her through, his back arched and he stiffened. The SkyWing collapsed, unseeing eyes wide with shock. Thorn yanked her tail barb out of his back with a low growl. Kestrel heaved a sigh of relief. The SandWing had come just in time. But the nightmare wasn't over. Not yet.

"Oh no," Thorn breathed as her gaze fell on Peril.

Kestrel whirled around and caught sight of her. Just a few feet away, her daughter lay unmoving, lifeless in a growing pool of red...

Kestrel was by her dragonet's side in an instant. Somehow, even though she had tried to shield Peril from the lance, the weapon still found its mark.

She listened closely for breath. She heard none. She frantically checked for a heartbeat. She felt none. And then she caught sight of Peril's eyes, sightlessly gazing off into the skies above. Her heart sank. Her daughter was gone. And there wasn't a damn thing in the world she could do about it.

"Peril, wake up," Kestrel pleaded. "Say something, anything." A part of her knew it was futile but she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't.

Kestrel scooped up Peril's lifeless body in her arms. Her daughter, who'd been alive just moments ago. She held her close and wept into her shoulder, weighed next to nothing compared to the heaviness in her heart. She wanted to speak to her, at least one last time. She hadn't been able to tell her how much she'd loved her or how sorry she was that she couldn't save her.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye..." Kestrel sobbed, her shoulders heaving.

All she could feel now was a cold emptiness, the stillness and silence that surrounded her and the despairing thought that she could never be with her beloved daughter again.

Thorn looked on, unable to help her friend, save perhaps to mourn with her in silence. It was a scene that would remain etched into her memory for as long as she lived; Kestrel gently rocking back and forth, her body wracked with sobs and the limp form of her daughter cradled in her arms. At last the SkyWing rose, her eyes full and her face lined with sorrow.

In her claw she grasped a small locket and she pressed it close against her heart. "I'll remember you," she said quietly, brushing away the last of her tears. "I'll always remember you."

She reached down and closed her daughter's eyes for the last time. Peril looked so serene, as if she had just fallen asleep.

And so Kestrel, holding back tears, bent down, caressed her forehead and in a shaky voice whispered, "Rest easy, little hawk. And dream of free skies and a new day."

Author's Note:

Hey guys, it's been quite a while! My other readers will probably want to kill me for doing this instead of updating my other stories but I haven't been able to think of anything else since finishing the Last of Us. I've had the idea of a dragon zombie apocalypse floating around for a bit but it's only now that the Last of Us came along that I've finally had the motivation to put it in writing.

The Last of Us is a beautiful game and has a very moving story and I thoroughly loved it so this fanfic is something of a tribute to one of the best games I've ever come across. Incidentally, it's also a tribute to someone else. As you've probably already guessed, that special dragon is none other than Kestrel the SkyWing. I was moved by her tragic backstory in the books and felt her character could've been explored further. Needless to say, I intend to do just that.

Another thing I want to talk about is the fact that this takes place in an alternate Pyrrhia. It's largely similar to the original Pyrrhia with the exception that an epidemic takes place instead of a war for succession. I intend to draw parallels between the story and events that take place in this as it progresses (e.g. the bulk of the story takes place 20 years after the epidemic). I intend to explore how differently (or similarly as the case may be) dragons would react to a zombie apocalypse as opposed to humans.

So let me know what you thought of the intro! I dearly hope I did both the Last of Us and Wings of Fire justice with this for a start XD See you soon for the next part!