Wings of Fire - M.A.G.I.C - Chapter Three - Haunts From the Past

Neverecho froze. The scavenger was coming straight for her. It was short, and had wavy reddish-brown hair on its head, and hazel eyes. It was angrily glaring at Neverecho and shouting out some sort of battle cry.

Neverecho panicked and knocked the scavenger over onto the ground as she loudly roared, the loud sound echoing across the halls and indeed the entire building.

The rustle of waking scavengers and the indignant chirp of the knocked-over scavenger filled the halls as Neverecho jumped over the exit.

She looked over her shoulder and noticed the building was right on the edge of a cliff.

Which meant Nevercho was about to fall to her death.

She panicked and roared once more as she looked down; the dizzying death drop was at least 20 feet below until the ground, and she would surely die if she fell.

She was just starting to fall when she began indignantly flapping her wings like a misshapen bird and hovered above the ground for a short moment before flying off.

In that moment she felt the most grateful she'd been for being able to fly as she flew over the pine trees below, moonlight glistening over them.

But the loud shout of scavengers was heard.

She looked behind her and saw many scavengers, mostly male ones, strapped onto weird, hastily-built contraptions that allowed them to fly in the air.

And they were carrying many, many dart guns.

Neverecho didn't want to be brought back to that dingy building, so she flew as fast as she could away from the scavengers.

But maybe because it was late at night, she felt really tired, and before she knew it, she was crashing down into the forest below.

She crashed through the trees, screaming, and collapsed, as the world faded to black.

She awoke to the sound of birds chirping, in the windy dawn. She hastily sat up, and looked around. The scavengers were nowhere to be seen.

She heavily panted. "I guess I... I lost them..." A grateful smile appeared on her face.

The sound of the bubbling river and the wind fluttering on the reeds met her as her smile faded.

I really have to be more careful from now on. She stared down at the wound on her tail that was wrapped with tissue. The substance was very loose and was almost going to fall off.

She pressed it down onto her wound and looked up at the sky. It was filling with dark clouds; it was about to rain.

I have to get on the move. Neverecho flew up and soared the skies as raindrops pelted her, before she finally reached SkyWing territory.

Wow. The scene was practically breathtaking. She looked around her and saw so many buildings, collapsed; the largest one stood high on a mountain. One of the pillars had fallen but overall looked in good shape.

Queen Ruby's dead, too.

She sighed once more and walked across the villages. It was like a ghost town. She warily looked around the crumbling houses around her. Even though no dragon was around, it still felt dangerous, for some reason.

She arrived at the castle, and it instantly reminded her of Scarlet; every rubilant scale of hers. And her nasty scar caused by Queen Glory's venom.

She shuddered whenever she thought of it. The first time she saw an illustration of her with her scar in a book about SkyWing history, she got nightmares for almost a week.

She explored the ball room. It faintly smelled of blood and death from Scarlet's reign, but mostly of amber and deer. It left an impression of mystique on her, memories of dancing, smiling dragons without a care in the world that she never had before.

She arrived at the throne room, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an amber flash.

Another gem shard? She ran towards it and picked it up, stars in her eyes.

She stuffed it in her bookbag. Hmm. These gem shards seem connected to eachother... But how? Are they from the multicolored gem that was glowing above my bed the night of the disaster?

When all of a sudden... A faint growl was heard.

Neverecho froze. She looked around, breathing heavily. She finally squeaked, "Hello?"

The growl seemed like it was coming from one of the nearby halls. No one replied.

"..Who's there? Is anyone out there, hello?" she tried.

Nothing happened, and even though Neverecho was clearly alone, it seemed as if another presence was standing right behind her.

She heard a hiss and whipped around, whimpering.

It was Queen Scarlet herself.

She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. That illustration of her in that book was permanently etched in her mind, and this looked exactly like her.

A sly smile appeared on Scarlet's face. A laugh bubbled in her throat as she slowly bared each of her glittering fangs.

"Oh, my poor little dragonet. Are you scared of me? There's nothing to be scared of. I'm just Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings... Don't you know me? Please tell me you do. I'll get offended if you don't know me."

Neverecho's mouth moved, but no words came out.

Scarlet laughed a laugh made of pure joy and good humor. "You are so amusing. You remind me of someone I used to know, but he's so pathetic he's not worth mentioning anyway."

She sharply inhaled before a frown manifested itself onto her face. "No, but really, don't you know who I am?" She sighed. "What do they teach young dragonets these days, hmm?"

She looked at Neverecho's bookbag. "And what's this?" She snatched it from her. Neverecho was too paralyed with fear to react.

She peered inside. "...Two gem shards and... a healing kit. Wow. Let me guess; you're trying to revive Pyrrhian life." She rolled her eyes. All I could do was blink. "Look, little one. You can't change fate. Every dragon around you is as good as dead. You should know that. This is a lost cause. Nothing good will come of out of this, and it's time you realize that your insipid fantasies are peurile. I don't mean to crush your dreams or anything but really, are you that stupid?"

She cackled a mean-spirited laugh and manifested into a large, silhouette shadow that swallowed the whole room. "You will never escape me, Neverecho."

She finally screamed and ran, the ringing, echoing sound of Scarlet laughing evilly. But it seemed as if she was running in place; she wasn't getting any farther. Or maybe it was because the room was now totally black.

The spirit of Scarlet was haunting the room.

Neverecho's head finally jerked back as she fell.

She was shivering and whimpering. Perhaps this was a lost cause. Maybe what Scarlet said was true.

"Neverecho, don't believe in anyway that rotten Scarlet says," whispered her inner voice sharply. "She's just trying to get under your..." Whatever she said next, Neverecho couldn't hear it. Her fear was swallowing her thinking range.

"No. No." She violently shivered, tears helplessly spilling out. "...WHY?!" she screamed, as she broke out into sobbing.

She finally looked up, and wiped away her tears.

"Oh," said her inner voice in a sympathetic tone. "Oh, Neverecho. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Scarlet is trying to bring you down, to stop you from trying to get Pyrrhia back. But listen to me. You have to continue on with your mission.

Neverecho sniffled. "..W-What?"

Her subconscious sighed. "Yes, I know I was discouraging you earlier, but that was before I realized the light of this mission. I had no idea you believed in this so bad. I really didn't. And I sincerely hope you an forgive me. I truly am sorry, from the bottom of my heart, that I was oblivious to your feelings. ...You know what? You don't have to forgive me. I don't deserve it. I want you to do what makes you feel happy. Alright? Now continue on. I beg of you. This is no lost cause. We have to keep moving, no matter what life sends our way."

Neverecho slowly got up. If you had a physical form, I would be hugging you right now.

Her inner voice laughed lightly. "Don't mention it. I only want what's best for you, after all."

A smile struggled through Neverecho's tears. "Oh, and by the way?"

"Yes, Neverecho?"

"Thanks. And I forgive you, so... don't worry about it.

"I'm thankful for your pardon, dear. Now... Onwards."

The floor seemed to tremble, before a huge shockwave threw Neverecho off her feet.