Hello readers. Thank you for waiting patiently while I tackle homework to get these chapters done faster. Anyways, let's get into the chapter.
(Galactic's POV)
Pain. It was the only thing I felt for the last two days, and was only getting worse.
I could feel Celsius help me move forward as we ran through the cold, heartless tundra. I felt my body sting with pain with every step I took and gasped for air as I had no choice to stop and rest. My tail dragged across the frozen ground, scraping across rocks and iced-over grass. I could feel my body get colder with each passing minute as I continued to move slowly as Celsius assisted me by putting one of my arms over his shoulder.
"We're almost there, Galactic," Celsius assured, but I knew it was still a distance away. I appreciated for everything he was doing, but I knew we were about an hour away. "Just keep moving."
I coughed loudly and I felt Celsius's pair of eyes look at me in worry. He then took my arm off his shoulder and laid me down on the ground. I groaned as I felt sharp pain lurch from my underbelly to my arms and legs. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to ignore the pain, but I didn't have the energy. I immediately shot up and started to fall forward before I felt a pair of claws grab my shoulders.
"Easy there, buddy," the IceWing warned me. "Don't tire yourself out, yet."
"I'm already tired," I responded, breathing heavily as I felt the low burning pain of the wounds the three IceWing attackers gave me. My eyelids were becoming heavy, and I wanted to lie down and sleep, forever. I wanted to forget about everything in the world and be in my own, living in peace. I was even wondering why I should keep going, instead of just giving up. There was no, except.
"Waterfall," I said suddenly, and started to walk forward, before Celsius grabbed me, halting my advance. "I have to find her." My tone was desperate, but I didn't care. I was just wanted to be in her arms again and look into her shining, emerald eyes. Her smile imprinted in my head was the only thing keeping me going. The most important thing for me was her voice urging me on back to her.
Keep moving forward, Galactic, her voice seemed to call me within my mind. Please. I clenched my teeth as I took one step at a time, before I winced and felt Celsius support me.
"Let's get to the city as fast as possible," I growled, due to pain ebbing through my body. I took a step forward, and Celsius helped me with the step. We were soon taking step after step, moving faster than before, heading to the IceWing city to find help. As we moved on, I couldn't help but think about the IceWing attackers.
"Who were those guys?" I asked Celsius, who just looked at me, confused.
"It's better not to know," he responded, and I left it at there.
(* * *)
"Okay, just about a few more yards," Celsius said, encouraging me as I looked up at our destination. It was a gas station, not that I was complaining; it was better than being stranded in the middle of the tundra with no sign of life for miles. I panted, trying to ignore the exhaustion and low pain I was still feeling through my cuts.
"What- How are we going to contact anyone?" I asked, trying to think. "Who else is there to contact besides Waterfall?"
I looked over to Celsius, who continued to help me walk, but he had an expression of fear on his face. I didn't understand why he was so fearful, but the thought was cut when he suddenly unwrapped my arm around his shoulder. Looking at him in confusion, Celsius nodded his head to something behind me, and I looked.
The first thing I realized was that we were already at the gas station/convience store. A bench was placed next to the wall, and I knew that that's where the IceWing wanted me to go. I didn't bother to argue, and I was too exhausted and hurt to care. The two painful days have focused me on thing: escaping death, but I knew it wouldn't hurt to take a quick break.
"Stay here until I get back," Celsius ordered, and I only responded with a nod. "Also, yell out if you see three male IceWings."
I didn't say anything, but Celsius figured that I would've said "fine" or "okay". In the next few seconds, he was gone inside the building, leaving me to be by myself. I decided to use the time alone to think.
Okay, why would Celsius be worried about the question I asked? I frowned, trying to think of any possible. Wait, didn't Waterfall didn't have a brother?
I began to think harder of the name and who the SeaWing Princess's brother was.
And that's when I heard footsteps, followed by the chatting of three voices. Panicked, I opened my mouth and almost shouted for Celsius, then stopped. The voices I heard weren't masculine, but feminine. Taking a breath and closing my eyes, I decided to take a chance to see if they were going to see me; it wasn't like I had anything to lose anyways. I was too tired to do anything and in too much pain to walk a few feet.
"Well, that hockey game was still insane," the first voice came into hearing distance.
"Yeah, it was also a pretty close game, too, until that dragon, Celsius, stole the victory," the second voice said, but didn't have a tone of anger, but of happiness.
"I have to agree with Lynx, it was a close game, but the Jade Mountain team deserved it. Besides, it was hilarious to see Owl go crazy when the victory shot was scored," a third voice came into play.
"Shut up, Snowdrop!"
Two of the three voices were laughing while the other one went silent. They continued to chat about the event, only for me to realize something very strange.
Haven't I heard one of those voices before? I began to think when I heard the third voice, but nothing was popping up in my memory. Come on! Think Galactic!
Their footsteps came closer, but I still kept my eyes shut. I was hoping that they would ignore me, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen, considering my luck.
"Wait, who is that?" the third voice asked her two other companions. I jolted with surprise and opened my eyes as I felt a claw touch my wrist. When I jolted, the dragon who touched me brought her talons back and looked at one of her friends. It took me a few seconds before images flashed into my mind as I gazed at the three IceWings, then bent over and clutched my brain, feeling pain burn through my skull. I wailed out, and the three IceWing dragonesses then panicked, and were soon trying to calm me down.
"I know him," said the dragoness who asked the question a minute ago. "It was that NightWing who stood trial!" I gazed at the dragon who said that, and I realized who it was.
The dragoness called Snowdrop was looking at me, and I remember the same expression when I was at the IceWing palace, waiting to be tested for murder. Her white scales were polished, gleaming in the moonlight as she gazed concerningly at me. Her golden, heart shaped amulet swayed around her neck as she slowly moved closer to analyze my wounds. As she did this, I noticed that she was wearing a lot more jewelry than usual. Several diamond bracelets were worn around her wrists and arms, obviously hinting me that she went to a important event.
"What in the moons happened to him?" one of the other IceWings asked her two friends. I didn't recognize the IceWing called Owl, but she was unique in a strange way. Her body scales were white as the snow, but on the top of her wings, there were light brown scales. Another detail I made out was that her wings were bigger than a normal IceWing's, making me think that she was part SkyWing. Hey eyes were wide with horror as she saw each and every cut on my body. "Who would do this?" As she looked up and down, I noticed that she was wearing a few diamond necklaces around her neck and a bracelet on her left wrist.
"I don't know, but the NightWing doesn't look good," said the third dragoness. I didn't know who this dragoness was, but the characteristics were different from the other two IceWing hybrids, considering that the third was not a hybrid, but a regular IceWing. She had dark blue scales along her snout and wings, which gave the IceWing a unique and beautiful look. The dragoness also had silver teardrop scales by her eyes, and I wondered if she part NightWing.
I began to think this because my parents told me of NightWings with silver teardrop scales that could read minds. Due to the same resemblance with the IceWing, I wondered if she had any idea what I was thinking.
Help me! I thought in my brain, waiting for an answer from the IceWing, but all she did was stare at me with worry.
"Well, I will call the medical team-" the IceWing, Snowdrop, told her friends, but was interrupted when Celsius came out of the building.
"Okay, Galactic let's get out of...," Celsius trailed off as he saw the three IceWings by me. I looked at him, smiling half-heartedly, but even that was too painful to do. "Here."
Oh, great, I thought.
(Celsius's POV)
I just stared blankly at Owl, Snowdrop, and their friend, hiding my surprised expression. In my mind, I began to think of a excuse of why Galactic and I were all the way in the IceWing Kingdom. I opened my snout to begin talking, but I was too late.
"What are you doing here?" Owl asked, eyeing me down. "And what happened to you?" Her voice carried concern, but flowed with curiousity as she took a step forward, and I froze. It was going to be nearly impossible to lie to Owl, even though I didn't want to anyways. Her mind reading powers were helpful, but sometimes I wished I had skyfire, like in this situation.
"It's good to see you, too, Owl," I responded, not answering her questions. She frowned at me as her friend, Snowdrop, still gazed at Galactic, who looked like he was getting worse by the minute. I brushed my tail in anxiety, then I heard Galactic cough.
Jumping in fright, I rushed over to him, but felt a claw grab my arm and pull me back. I turned to see Owl gazing into my eyes, trying to get the information out of me, but I shook my head at her.
"Celsius, just tell me what happened," she told me, her voice breaking. "I can help."
"No," I responded, disagreeing. "It's too dangerous for you. I can't risk to have your life on the line."
"She wouldn't be in danger even if she was being hunted," said the other dragoness, which I had yet to get a name. As if reading my mind, though. "My name is Lynx, by the way, in case you were wondering."
"Well, it's nice to meet you all on this brisk, cold night," I said, smiling at them all. "But, Galactic and I have to get a move on." I mentally cursed to myself when I said the last part too quickly, which peaked the interested of the three dragons. "Yeah, see you all soon. Also, nice to meet you, Lynx." I winked at the IceWing, causing her to giggle a short moment. The next thing I knew was Owl looking at me, slightly annoyed, and I gazed back at her, confused.
The Sky/Night/IceWing hybrid then took more steps towards me, until she was only a foot away from my face. I gave her a sheepish smile, slightly worried what was going to happen to me, until she spoke up.
"I've been wanting to do this for a while," she said, then leaned in. Her snout connected with mine, interlocking us in a kiss that lasted a few seconds. My eyes were wide with surprise, trying to register what just happened. I looked over to Lynx and Snowdrop, who were smiling and laughing with each other; Galactic just nodded in approval, but showed nothing but pain in his eyes. "Now," she told me, "why do you want to leave?"
I was looking at her nervously, then I turned to give a message if this was a good idea; he only said yes, before doubling over and coughing so loud, that it could be heard from a mile away. I rushed over to my friend to see if he was alright, but I noticed quickly that it was the opposite.
The NightWing was coughing up blood, which meant something was horribly wrong.
"The IceWing medical team is on there way," Snowdrop said, trying to reassure me.
I shook my head with disagreement. "I can't trust other IceWings, considering they did this to him in the first place," I responded, then froze as I registered what came out of my mouth. Owl just looked at me with wide eyes, then growled as she absorbed the faces I saw of the attackers.
"They did this to you!" she yelled, lashing out her tail. Flinching back, I decided it was best if I didn't make matters worse than what they already were, considering Owl changed from a worried to a dangerous mood so suddenly.
"This is why I didn't want you to know," I told Owl and her two friends, who just frowned in my direction. "It's probably best if you left before something bad happens."
"Cel-un-Celsius," Galactic managed from out of his mouth. Celsius began to note that Galactic was feeling pain everywhere. "It's *gasp* a little too late f-for that." The NightWing pointed behind me, and I turned around. Off in the distance, was the last thing I wanted to see right now.
Three white shapes were flying in the darkness, heading straight towards the five of us. As fast as I could, I hauled Galactic off the bench and quickly put his arm around me. As I began to walk to cover, Owl walked in front of me, blocking my path. Her eyes had anger, but also worry was radiating, too.
"Good luck," she said, "Snow, Lynx, and I will be able to distract them long enough for you to get out of here."
"And how will you do that?" I asked.
"We have a few ideas up our claws," Lynx responded, giving us motivated smiles.
I looked at Owl one last time, then leaned in and kissed her, catching the IceWing off guard. It was only a few seconds long, but to me, it felt like an eternity. She then pulled back, knowing that time was running out. "Take care," I whispered to Owl, only for her to nod back, blushing at what just happened. Galactic and I then started walking off, until the three IceWings were small shapes, distracting the three attackers as we moved away.
"Let's go," Galactic managed, before coughing up a little more blood, alerting me.
"Freakwave is meeting us at the South parking garage in an hour," I told him. "It's going to be a long walk, not including avoiding our attackers."
"Well, since we're going through hell," Galactic managed, gasping, "might as well keep going."
I managed a half-heartedly chuckle, before we picked up the pace, and headed for our safe haven.
(* * *)
Galactic and I were silent as we waited for Freakwave to meet us at the destination. As we waited, I thought about Owl's snout on mine, making me smile in joy. I then remembered that she would tell me when she wanted to start a relationship, and I guess that it began tonight. I would've been glad if the night lasted longer, but it wasn't the best timing to start a relationship when you're running from three extremists who are trying to kill you.
I hope Owl is alright, I thought, looking around the environment we were in. It was a quiet night, considering that we were in one of the busier areas of the kingdom. They must have curfews at night. Then I went back to the event where I met the three dragonesses. I wonder if the queen knew about this.
My thoughts were cut out when I heard the the low hum of a car in the distance. As is reading each other's minds, Galactic and I perked up at the same time, hoping that it was our way out of here. I looked over to my friend, who was shivering like mad. He could freeze to death, I thought alarmed.
We seemed to have a lucky break when the car stopped at the meeting destination. It was Galactic's supercar with Freakwave driving and Deathbringer sitting in the passenger seat. The pinkish-black NightWing got out of the car and hurried over to Galactic. Putting a claw on the neon green NightWing, Deathbringer closed his eyes, as if getting results on the other NightWings health. The NightWing assasin then put a claw on Galactic's head, but this time he didn't close his eyes.
"Galactic is freezing and burning at the same time," Deathbringer announced, helping Galactic towards the passenger seat. "He needs immediately medical attention: he has a fever. Also, has he been throwing up?"
"Sadly, yes," I responded. "The worse part is that it's just blood, nothing else." This seemed to alarm the NightWing, as he quickly placed Galactic in the seat and came back to me with a stern expression on his face.
"Do you mind waiting for another vehicle?" Deathbringer asked, and I nodded. He then turned and nodded to Freakwave, who sped off with Galactic, who was lying still.
"What happened to you?!" the NightWing demanded, making me flinch. "It looks like you've gone through hell and back."
"That's because he has," a voice said from our right side. We both turned to see the very same IceWing who was torturing me, this time instead of his two friends, he had four. "And we're going to finish what we started."
Hi guys, just wanted to say that I did my best to get this chapter done as possible. Please leave a review for anything you would like to see later. I also want to thank you all who have supported me since day one. Thank you and have a wonderful day!
