Chapter 20: Safety

A barren wasteland stretched out in all directions no matter which way he looked. Buildings were shattered to nothing but rubble, the roads buckling up and scattered with bodies of Mage and Dragon Child alike. Blood splattered everywhere like it rained from the dark sky above.

He looked around mortified, his body felt bruised and damaged. It hurt so much. His heart hurt so much. The flash of an image of Natsu being taken down, the fire dragons blood flying through the air flashed through his mind. He screamed and held his head shaking it. Telling himself it didn't happen. When he very much felt like it did. He felt despair in his very being, like he didn't have anything else to live for.

Sting, slashed apart by dragon children.

Shara, lost in the crowd of fleeing people that were trying to get away from the fight.

Laxus, lost somewhere in the sky when the onslaught first happened.

Stella and Mino, both last seen fighting side by side on the ground, vanishing under sword and shield as more people came at them.

He stared around at the aftermath of the fight. Why was he the only one left standing. Not even any enemies were left, no friends, no mutual party... All of it was just gone... Even Archen...

He took a step forward and felt his foot crunch on something brittle and thin. He looked down to find purple eggshells strewn across the ground. His eyes widened as he saw liquid and small undeveloped bodies laying amongst them. He felt his stomach lurch and a hand flew to his mouth as bile rose up his esophagus. He couldn't hold it as vomit fell from his mouth onto the floor, he gasped and gagged trying not to look at the destroyed bodies of unhatched children.

He stumbled backwards to get away and tripped over a body. He fell backwards landing behind it, he felt a scream rise in his throat as he recognized blood splattered pink hair and the ripped open body of his beloved. He tried not to scream as onyx eyes stared lifelessly at him.

"It's... This can't..." He tried to say but tears and gasps stopped his speech. "Natsu... Shara... Sting... What's happened... WHAT IS THIS?!" He screamed.

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and he spun to see a woman standing there, her face so close to his. He saw long blonde hair and lifeless blue eyes, yet her face was full of spirit. She looked completely untouched by the tragedy around him, her pink and white clothes untouched by dirt and grime and her pale skin free of scars. When she spoke her voice was light and soft.

"Change this."

Cobra went shooting up from his nest screaming in surprise.

"Oh no he's awake!" Sting shouted falling back from where he was seated on His dad's chest.

"Run!" Shara yelled getting up and taking off out of the room. Sting stumbled to stand, tossing a marker he had in his hand away and running too.

Natsu was laughing from his spot next to Cobra in their nest. "They finished it at least..."

"Finished..?" Cobra said confused. His mind was fuzzy from his intense dream. All that death and dread. He stared at Nastu, who sat fully alive next him right now. His pink hair clean, his body fully intact and healthy.

"Yeah, they drew on your chest see?" Natsu poked his left breast and Cobra slowly looked down to see a very bad drawing of Natsu's fairy tail symbol. It was colored in and everything with a purple marker. Cobra wasn't staring at the mark though, instead it was the Salamnders hand. He reached up and grabbed it surprising his mate. He intertwined his tan fingers with Natsu's and squeezed.

"C-cobra?" Natsu asked confused, a blush forming on his cheeks. Cobra just stared at their hands, glad it was very real. He brought Natsu's hand over and kissed it.

"I love you..."

Natsu's whole face light up in red and his hair caught fire. "Wh-where did that come from?!"

Cobra gave him a look. "I mean it."

The fire dragon shook his head quickly, putting out the flames. "Okay! I... I love you too..."

The poison dragon debated telling his mate about the dream, but decided against it so as not to worry him. They've got enough to worry about already with the elders of the island trying to convince them to help start a war. There was no need to worry him with such things as a nightmare.

Cobra let his hand go and started rubbing at the drawing on his chest. "Why did they do this..." He groaned as he rubbed harder, but all he managed to do was irritate the skin and make it hurt.

"They saw mine." Natsu flashed his shoulder, the crimson fairy tail mark still sat pleasantly on his nice skin. One of the only things he had left from his guild. They talked about it before, their guild marks, Cobra got his removed from his back a while ago having decided to officially forget about Orecion Seis. Natsu however wanted to keep his, it was a reminder of friends he had and the life he lived.

"So they decided to draw one in you."

"They just had to use a permanent marker didn't they..." Cobra groaned as he stood up and stretched, his wings extending fully before slowly folding back up.

"I told them not to..." Natsu said grinning.

"Sure you did." Cobra grabbed his clothes and quickly got dressed.

"Laxus wants to talk to you by the way." He heard.

The poison dragon glanced to his mate in curiosity. He was rolling over to go back to dozing.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Natsu asked drowsily.

"Why does Laxus want to talk to me."

"He does?" The pinkette head popped up and Cobra knit his eyebrows in confusion.

"Didn't you just tell me...?" He trailed off.

"I didn't say anything." Natsu yawned, taking no notice to how strange that was and put his head back down. Cobra glanced around the room. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't Natsu's voice he heard... It was more feminine and elegant for sure. Natsu couldn't sound elegant to save his life.

The maroon haired male listened, his ears twitching as he cast his magic out. At first he did it too far, going all the way down to the beach on accident where he heard people talking and having fun. He shook his head and pulled it back more. He didn't remember his hearing going that far... He listened around the tree house now; Shara and Sting were chasing each other out on the landing platform, Stella was in the living room still fawning over Laxus who was just leaning against a wall waiting and Mino was in the kitchen with Aspen most likely cooking something.

He heard no unwanted or unexpected people. He didn't sense any other magic either, though Laxus's was off the charts. He was definitely a power house. Cobra sighed and rubbed his ears, it felt good every now and again to touch them, like a cat. He left the room and walked down the hall to see the lightning Dragon Child waiting for him. As he came out of the hall way and into the living room Laxus grabbed his shoulder.

"Can we talk?"

He glanced at him and stared for a second. "About what?"

"Things..."

Cobra didn't know the older man well but he certainly didn't seem the type to just up and say 'we need to talk' for no reason. And be awkward about it no less.

"Alright."

Laxus led him outside, Stella tried to follow but the blonde growled at her and she shrunk away. The two alpha's continued outside.

"Dad!" Sting said excitedly as Cobra and Laxus came outside. The little blonde and Shara ran and leaped up onto him, the poison dragon caught them both and lifted them onto his shoulders.

"Kyahahah! Dad!" Shara squealed as she squirmed.

"You two drew on me while I slept." He said carrying them back to the house.

"Did not!" Sting tried.

"Oh yeah? Then how did that purple fairy tail mark get on my chest, huh? Pretty sure I saw you running out of the room after I woke up."

Sting started laughing nervously. "S-sorry..."

"It's fine." Cobra assured the kids. He put them down and ushered them inside the house. "Don't do it again. Now go eat or something."

"No objection there!" Shara giggled and ran off to find Mino with Sting. Cobra turned back around to face Laxus who was leaning on the railing that outlined one side of the platform. He walked up to the big man and leaned backwards on the railing so his tail and wings hung over it.

"So what's up?"

"I don't know if you're the right person to talk about this with..." Laxus started.

"Is this about Stella getting all doe eyed for you." The other alpha dead panned.

"No." The lightning dragon snapped, a blush forming on his cheeks. Cobra smirked and shook his head. "It's just... I'm not used to this whole Dragon Child thing yet."

"It's only been a few days." Cobra provided. "It took us a long time to adjust to it too."

"I bet... But I don't want to stay this way."

Laxus looked at him and Cobra saw how his gray eyes were full of conflict and worry. The same look Natsu and himself had so long ago when they first arrived at the Valley. He took a breathe.

"Natsu and I thought the same thing, you know." Cobra started. "We were turned in the middle of a fight. And then this, white haired bitch came in and knocked us out. Stuck us in cages on some flying contraption and was aiming to take us somewhere."

"Where?" Laxus asked curiously.

"Dunno. We didn't stick around to find out as you can see." Cobra's tail flicked back and forth. "Mino helped us escape and took us to the Valley of Dragons, intending to get us changed back... But." He paused, feeling nostalgic about the whole conversation, all the memories coming back so easily like they just happened. "One of the elders of the Valley told us he didn't have the power to change us back. And we couldn't leave because their existence was a secret, has been for hundreds of years. They didn't trust us to leave and keep their secret."

"So they kept you prisoner?" Laxus asked appalled.

"Not exactly. They treated us nicely: healed our wounds, gave us money, food, a home, and even lessons on how to live in their society. I don't know what Natsu was thinking during the first few days but... For me I started thinking, 'could this be a new start?' I was practically raised in a dark guild, I've killed people and destroyed families and guild halls by myself. I didn't have a good life. And although it was a weird and sudden start. I think I was given a new one."

Laxus was quiet while it seemed like Cobra bared his emotions, feelings and thoughts he's been thinking form the very beginning of this whole thing. The tan man smirked and shook his head.

"I'm rambling. My point is, maybe you could do what we did? Start over?"

"Why would I do that... My situation isn't the same as yours." The blonde said slowly.

"Pretty similar though." Cobra shrugged. "I know what you did." He tapped his ears. "Heard it. You think about it everyday and you regret it."

Laxus looked away from him, down at the ground. He saw a child jump from tree to tree and catch a bird in mid flight with his claws. The kid then carried it away up the tree to bring back to his family, hoping to impress his mother or father.

"It's up to you of course, but even if you did manage to find a way to change yourself back... Where are you going to go? I couldn't go back to my guild because we were getting our asses kicked and after that I'd be in jail for the rest of my life. You're not going to jail, but you don't exactly have a home to go back to..." Cobra turned around so he faced Laxus fully now. He pointed a thumb back at the house. "The six of us are a big family now. We weren't at first but now we stick together through everything. Hell we got four new little ones joining it. It's all up to you but... I'm certain we'd be happy to take you into OUR family." Laxus looked up at him. "We wont replace the old one. Just give you a place to come back to." Cobra smirked at him.

The blonde Dragon Child smiled back nervously and stood up straight. If he was going to respond he didn't have time too.

"Protect yourselves." The elegant voice said simply.

"What?" Laxus asked Cobra. The man shook his head.

"Wasn't me- wait you heard that?"

"Yeah. It was telepathy." Laxus rubbed his head. "We got a guy at our guild who can use it so I know the feeling..."

"That voice spoke to me this morning, told me you had to talk." Cobra looked around for the telepath.

"They eves dropping on our heads?" Laxus asked as he narrowed his eyes and looked around. The two dragons stood back to back as they looked around.

"I don't know much about telepathic magic..." Cobra said quietly, using his ears to try and pinpoint where and who was using the magic.

"Depending on how strong they are depends on the range and how long they can use it..." The lightning dragon looked around. "I don't see anyone."

"I don't hear anyone either." Cobra cursed. "They gotta be pretty strong then."

"What did she even say?" Laxus looked back at Cobra.

"Protect yourself?" He repeated.

An explosion went off on the platform suddenly. The force threw both alpha dragons back hard against the wooden railing, making the structure splinter and crack.

"What was that?!" Cobra shouted, dazed. His ears were ringing from the sudden and loud explosive sound.

"Hold on!" Laxus yelled. The platform lurched, tilting down suddenly with a loud splintering sound. Cobra looked over and saw that it was breaking in a jagged line down the middle where a flaming mound lay, burning the wood to a crisp faster than seemed possible.

"Laxus! Cobra!" Aspen's voice screamed from inside the house.

"Stay inside!" Laxus screamed through the blaze. "Go out the back-" he cut off as the platform jumped again and fell down more.

"Keep the kids safe!" Cobra yelled, latching onto the railing as it teetered. "Get everyone out of the house! And find help!"

The wood completely gave way, plummeting the burning half down to the ground, along with Laxus and Cobra.

The boys let go of the railing and kicked off to dive at the ground.

"How you doing at flying?" Cobra called to the blonde Dragon Child.

"Better than before!"

They both extended their wings and dodged falling debris, Laxus got his wing clipped by a fire ball but didn't show any sign of noticing. They glided out and over the flaming platform as it hit the ground with a reverberating boom. Cinders and ashes flew into the air as the two dragon slayers just watched.

"What was that..." Laxus coughed as he and Cobra floated above the mess.

"Someone attack us?" The poison dragon asked. His eyes widened the longer he stared at the wreckage. "Laxus! Look!"

At first the blonde looked to him then down to where he pointed at the fire ball. His own heart dropped as he saw what he was talking about.

Among the broken pieces of wood was a mangled and charred body of a dragon child, it's wings and tail ripped to shreds along with its feminine like body.

Cobra ground his teeth then his head shot up as he heard two more people approaching. Two of them, one female the other male, in the middle of some kind of chase.

"Laxus!" Cobra shouted.

"I'm on it!" His body erupted in sparks and lightning; he was gone in a flash, turning into the very thing his magic was made up of. The stream of energy dodged past the fleeing female who met up with Cobra and rammed into the male in pursuit of her. He screamed in pain then was silenced as Laxus changed back to normal and spun, whacking him hard with his thick gold tail. He went flying into a near by house where he didn't come back out.

"Are you alright?" Cobra asked the girl. She was a water dragon, her feathered wings bleeding and matted and her body bruised with missing patches of scales and skin. "Hey, wait your Carter. You taught Natsu his Fire Dragon Dance."

The blonde girl looked to Cobra and then Laxus as he glided over. "P-please..." She groaned out. "We need help..."

"What happened." Laxus demanded.

"Sky Drive... It's being attacked!" She coughed and her body shook. Cobra grabbed Carter's shoulders and made her look at him.

"Is it Archen?!"

"Dragon Children... Their attacking their own kind..."

The poison dragon glanced horrified to Laxus who couldn't exactly grasp the situation.

"Help please... I was sent to get help..." Carter groaned, her eyes were tearing up from pain.

"The guards will be here for the explosion soon." Laxus said suddenly. "If you wait here you can talk to them."

Both of the other alphas glanced to him. He had a determined expression and his body was energetic with sparks.

"We'll go to Sky Drive for now and handle these traitorous Dragon Children."

"Two more wont make a difference..." Carter said sadly. "Dragon children aren't suppose to fight each other..."

"We're not just Dragon Children." Laxus said grabbing Cobra's arm and yanking him over. "We're Dragon Slayers."

Carter watched them swiftly fly away. Heading strait for the sky.

"Follow the scent of the blood trail she left." Cobra said speeding off. "It's still very fresh, it'll lead us to Sky Drive."

It wasn't difficult to follow or get there. Traveling between cities on the ground was hard because of all the terrain you had to go over; trees, hills, swamp, marsh. But this was easy, all they had to do was fly straight up as fast as possible and pierce the clouds.

Cobra would have called the city beautiful if it wasn't in the middle of what looked like a war. The old fashion looking buildings were damaged and falling, they used to sit on clouds and floating platforms to stay in the air. The sky itself was scattered with fighting Dragon Children, looking like bees from far away.

"What the hell..." Laxus muttered.

"Have they gone crazy?" Cobra said worriedly.

"Who knows." Laxus called to him. "What do we do about it?"

"I don't even know... I can't tell who's friend and who's foe." Cobra watched as a Dragon Child came from behind and rammed into Laxus. Rocketing off with him. "Laxus!"

Cobra tilted his wings and did a barrel role to avoid his own attacker that sprung behind him. He watched the Dragon Child fly by and spin in the air. It stopped and looked at Cobra curiously.

The poison dragon narrowed his own eyes and looked him over, instantly noticing the collar locked tightly around his neck. He growled remembering his own experience with that foul device.

"Archen is controlling these people..." Cobra hissed. He dodged another attack. The only way to help them now is to remove the collars, but he can't go around taking them off one by one. It would take way to long. With this many Dragon Children under control there could be one massive signal being used to control them? Which means-

Cobra turned to suddenly get a big hammer in the face. He felt his nose break and teeth go strait into the back of his mouth. He went flying backwards and slammed into the side of a building, going through the wall and ending up in some kind of living room of a house.

"Guah..." He gasped and rolled over spitting out his teeth and blood, one of his canines was missing now and that pissed him off. He dabbed at his nose and hissed in pain, he could easily see and feel just how broken it was.

"Did that hurt little Poison dragon?" A happy voice asked. Cobra looked up to see a female form floating in the hole he made in the wall. She had a very long jacket on that acted as a dress too, the sleeves were long and the hood was so wide it draped over her shoulders. Fishnet tights and boots covered her legs, she had bright blue eyes and long white hair that was up in two pigtails. She reminded Cobra of Paleoth. He distinctively noticed how two small wings protruded from her back and he could hear another smaller body behind her, holding her up.

She gripped a big red hammer in one of her hands and the other was on her hip, a big child like smile on her face. "I hope it did. That's kind of what I was aiming for."

"Hurt like a bitch." Cobra said bluntly.

"Yay!" The girl cheered and gave herself a small round of applause. "I'm doing my job!"

The tan male spit again before standing up and glaring at her. "Who are you..."

She swung the hammer around playfully. "My name is Amber! And this~" she spun around to show a small green exceed on her back. "Is Dae!"

"Why'd you hit me in the face." Cobra growled.

"It's my job. I remember you and the other boy from Íz Drekkin. We never actually met in person but I saw you. You messed up our plans."

"You're a Valkyrie?" Cobra asked surprised.

"I am! Amber Velco, ranked number four!"

What was that last girl, Vera? What was she ranked? It didn't matter now, Cobra found who he had to beat to save the Dragon Children. He brought one foot back and got ready to lunge. Before he could Amber brought her hammer up and smashed down into the already cracked floor, it shattered and started collapsing. Before Cobra got caught in the already damaged building and falling pieces he kicked off one chunk of the ground and flew at the white haired girl.

"Are we playing baseball now?" She asked innocently and she pulled her hammer back. Cobra cursed to himself and threw his arms up as the weapons collided with his body. He screamed in pain as the momentum fired him back out of the building again and out into some kind of street. He bounced a few times on the ground before sliding slowly to a stop. He groaned as he lifted himself to his feet and held his left arm.

"I don't see why Vera had such trouble dealing with you." Cobra looked up, Amber was floating down from the building looking confused. "You don't seem that hard to fight. I mean... You haven't even tried to land a hit on me..."

Cobra growled at her ferally.

"Maybe Vera is the one who's weak?" A small female voice said. It was the exceed on Amber's back talking. "She is the last one ranked and their IS a big gap between your powers."

The maroon haired male lunged while she talked; he would swipe at her, kick, punch, do whatever he could to land a hit but she kept avoiding him. Dodging by a few inches so he just barely missed and he wasn't getting any closer with hitting her. It was starting to piss Cobra off. It seemed like she was purposely mocking him.

"I can see your angry face~" the Valkyrie sang. She swung her hammer again and Cobra used his wings to push back and avoid getting hit again. "You can learn!"

Cobra floated back and stared at her, she didn't have a single scratch on her, completely untouched. And he was bruised and battered already with just a few hits... Not only that but they were just hits with her hammer, she hasn't even started using magic if she has any. Plus there was no way in hell this was her being serious in a fight, she was toying with him...

"Come on little Poison dragon!" Amber said gripping her red hammer with both hands and smiling cheerfully. "You can't be done yet?"

"Not by a long shot!" He swung his arms, and threw poison darts her way. She used her hammer to swat them away, and before she had the chance to bring the big weapon back Cobra appeared in her space bubble. Surprise was written in her eyes even though she still wore a pleasant smile. He swung his arm back to punch her with a fist full of poison.

Laxus kicked one Dragon Child in the face, he ripped another off his shoulder and used it to hit another one coming at him from the side. It's been a while senesce he fought in a crowd and was getting a bit rusty but he still managed.

The one that originally attacked him from behind and carried him off had dragged him to some kind of city hall like building. They crashed through the glass roof and smashed a pillar on the way in. Various other flightless Dragon Children were cowering under and behind objects like desks and pillars, even rubble. They watched as Laxus took the heads of the last two attacking him and smashed them together, knocking them unconscious. Their bodies fell limp to the ground and the blonde turned to face the cowering Beta Dragons.

"Everyone okay?"

"We are now." They all swooned over him.

Laxus sweat dropped. "I already have a chick who's following me around all the time because of some crush. I don't need a whole crowd."

"Awwww" The betas droned depressingly.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

Several Dragon Children started shouting to him at once, each one telling a different story on what happened in the city. Laxus waved his hands to quiet them. "Alright alright! One person tell me! Not all of you."

A long lime green haired girl was shoved forward. She stumbled before standing up strait in front of him, she fiddled with her fancy skirt nervously.

"Well?" Laxus asked. The girl swallowed.

"We aren't... One hundred percent sure what happened..."

"That's fine." The alpha said dismissively. "Just tell me what you can."

"Okay... This all started today, and it happened completely out of no where."

"That's usually how war starts. Suddenly."

The girl pouted. "We know that... But... Our own friends started attacking us. One minute were all doing our daily errands and habits and then were ripping each others throats out..."

"How long has this been going on?" Laxus asked.

"It started yesterday evening." The green haired girl said. "And we've been fighting ever sense."

Laxus glanced around, now that he noticed several people were looking injured and exhausted. "Alright guys, were doing what we can to help, is there anyone else still around?"

"Yes!" The green haired girl said suddenly. "In the back! Help us please!"

"What's the matter?"

"I'll show you." She grabbed his arm and started dragging him away. She led him past the group, which started following them anyway, and to the back of the building. Down a few hallways he saw what the problem was. Part of the ceiling and roof had collapsed blocking off the other side.

"There are still people on the other side..." The greenette whimpered. Laxus glanced down at her then back to the rubble wall. He walked up to it and started fiddling with boulders and debris. He could feel it shift every time he tugged on something.

"I can't move the rocks..." Laxus said sadly. "Not unless you want the rest of the ceiling to come down on top of us too."

"We can't leave them!" Someone in the crowd shouted.

"Do we have any earth dragons?" The girl called. Several people started shouting.

"Quiet down." Laxus snapped. Everyone suddenly flinched as an explosion was heard outside and shook the building. Muffled yells of alarm and fear were barely heard on the other side of the debris.

The blonde turned around. "Alright if you're an earth dragon get up here and start digging!" The building shook with another boom from outside. "Now!"

Plenty of green and brown scaled Dragon Children came rushing forward and jumped onto the rubble pile. Climbing over it to find safe places to dig.

"They can do this right?" Laxus asked nervously.

"Of course, earth dragons are amazing diggers. They can dig mines anywhere." The green haired girl smiled at him and the blonde "hmf'd."

Laxus looked down at her. She was very small and petite, her head coming only to his chest. Her hair was short, curling over her shoulders being parted down the middle. She wore similar clothes to everyone else in Sky Drive, more fancy modern clothes rather than-like the El Dador Del Agua residents- something like a bikini top and flashy skirt or tight fitting tops and pants. The Sky Drives clothing was very Victorian like. You could only see half her calf and down, some of her shoulders and her arms. Her scales were a metallic grey. Her tail shorter than most but a sharp blade was tipped at the end.

"What Dragon are you?" Laxus found himself asking.

The girl looked up at him. "I'm a steal dragon.

"Your hair reminds me of someone."

The girl flushed and put a hand on top of her bright green hair. "Really..?"

"We made it through!" Someone shouted.

Laxus and the girl immediately looked to see dirty and injured Dragon Children coming in through a small hole, two big betas were holding rocks up so they wouldn't collapse while the others escaped.

"Hurry..." One of them groaned. The other Dragon Children were helping the injured get through the hole and then down the hall as fast as possible.

"What do we do when we're outside?" A man asked Laxus as he had another alpha with broken wings on his shoulder.

"Try and find a safe place for these people to hide. We don't know how much longer this fighting will go on." A boom went off again. "Hopefully not much longer..."

"I'm slipping!"

Everyone turned to see one of big betas crouching low, more rubble falling on top of him. The rock he was using as a base was slipping, knocked loose in the last explosion. Another one went off and a massive crack appeared in the floor.

"Oh no..." The greenette said clinging to Laxus.

"We're in the sky..."Laxus said slowly.

"Yeah, when the floor falls it's going strait down to the ground!"

"Everyone run!" Laxus shouted as the crack only grew larger. The two betas holding the rocks up let go and dived down the hall. Without their support the entire roof started caving in, large pieces falling down into the crack which broke awake at the floor, the very far down surface of the world was seen.

Laxus and the girl spun around to follow everyone else as they made their way down the long hallway and out into the main room. Columns were collapsing around them; their large size crashing into the floor and speeding up the floors collapse.

Laxus dodged another big rock, the girl stumbled back to avoid getting crush by a Column that fell in front of her. She tried climbing over it but the ground suddenly sunk in, jolting her.

"Help me!" She screamed.

Laxus spun around to watch the ground give way and her plummet down. He kicked off the ground and dived forward and down the growing hole, he snagged the girl in his arms and spread his wings. He spun around and saw the entire building now falling down onto them. The girl screamed and clung into Laxus as he sped up towards the falling building. He broke through a window, cutting up skin that want protected by scales and maneuvered through the massive/broken room and out another window on the other side. He hovered in the air as he watched it fall down to the earth.

"Wonder how the magic council's gonna handle buildings falling from the sky..." The blonde muttered to himself. He looked at the green haired girl who was latched into him, her tail wrapped tightly around his torso as she hyperventilated into his chest. He looked up to see the other Beta Dragon Children perfectly safe. They leaned over to watch him and the debris fall. Laxus flew back up and landed softly on the street like material that sat on the clouds.

"Everyone alright?" He asked around.

There were several replies, all of them yes. The lightening dragon sighed in relief. He put the girl down and helped her calm down. After she was breathing right again and the color had returned to her face he asked her name.

"Jetta... My name is Jetta."

"I'm Laxus." He held a hand out and she shook it.

"Wow. You really couldn't put up a fight could you." Town square was destroyed thanks to Cobra and Ambers fighting. They traveled all over the place going at each other in the sky till the Valkyrie's Exeed, Dae, ran out of magic and they had to continue the battle on the ground. "Maybe next time you won't cause all this trouble."

Cobra lay bruised and broken in a crater, Amber crouching next to him and poked him with the end of her hammer. She looked disappointed.

"Man... Vera must be weaker than we thought. You aren't that strong at all." She stood up strait. "Archen's gonna wanna have a talk with her."

Cobra glared at her and spat up a small amount of blood. She grinned down at him. "Sorry little poison dragon. But you lose. I wonder if Archen wants you back or not?" She tapped her chin in thought. "He was pretty upset after loosing Maria. Now the Diamond Dragon Children are gone forever... He'll be happy again if I bring you back."

She dug through the hood of her jacket and pulled out two things. One, a remote control that was very small and simple looking. Two, a silver collar. Cobra cringed, he refused to wear another one of those things. He could have killed his family last time if it wasn't for Stella, and she wasn't here right now to kick the crap out of him. Even though that had already been done.

"I'll make a deal with you?" Amber bent down to kneel next to him again. "I won't put this on you, if you give me your babies."

Cobra's eyes widened in horror.

"We know you've got some. You have cute little eggs back wherever you guys are hiding. I won't take you, if you give them to me. If you refuse then put this collar on you, and then you'll be a daddy to lots and lots of other babies." Amber was spinning the silver ring on the tip of her finger as she talked. She still had that calm smile on her face, like she was completely care free.

Cobra coughed again instead of answering. Amber frowned. "What's wrong? Did I puncture a lung?"

He glared at her.

"Why don't we just do both?" The tiny Exeed spoke. She didn't talk often, looking sophisticated and not wanting to he here.

"Both?" Amber tilted her head like she hasn't thought of that. "Yeah! Both! We can take him and the babies!" She stopped spinning the collar and caught it. She unclipped it and bent down to put it on Cobra's neck. He squirmed and groaned to get away, but his body was to broken to move.

Suddenly the remote control in the white haired girls other hand exploded. She screamed and dropped the collar which deactivated now that it's remote was broken.

"That hurt!" She said holding her burned hand to her chest. "Dae! What was that!"

The Exeed was looking around. "Some kind of long distance magic. Lightening I'm guessing."

Suddenly Ambers while body erupted in electricity. She screamed in pain and dropped everything. Her body was burned and blistered when the energy went away.

"Who...?" she panted. The innocent look she had replaced with pain, she looked like she was gonna cry. She screamed again as more lightening struck her.

"Amber!" Dae yelled to her friend. Cobra watched in awe as strike after strike of lightning hit the Valkyrie.

"No more!" She screamed flailing her arms. "No moooore!" She cried and rushed to Dae who grabbed her and flew away with her. Not even caring they left Cobra behind or that the city was now free from their control.

Cobra leaned back and relaxed. He was tired and sore and ready for sleep. He didn't know if it was safe or not but he didn't care. He could sleep forever. His eyes were getting blurry as he saw someone standing over him. They knelt down and put a hand on his head. He could tell they were blonde but that's it. They lifted him up and he slipped unconscious. He heard an elegant voice in his fuzzy mind.

"Stay safe."