Review Responses:
ThunderbladeN - I'm glad to hear that the quality hasn't fallen!
Pt35 - This is only the first half of that story, though I recently had an idea that is sort of like one of the ones you had, but also acts as an introduction to his powers too. Also, the scorchers could probably have some other weapons on them, though one other function they have is acting as troop carriers for the smaller drones. I'll probably show this later on.
Chapter 52: Awakening
"Would you take that path? Even knowing it ends in possible darkness, would you do it to see her again?"
Darkstalker paused, talons gripping the hard stone beneath him. "But - do you -" he sputtered, staring down at the NightWing before him, miniscule compared to his mighty form.
"Yes," he finally stated, mind made up. "Of course I would."
"Then let's see where that path leads," the NightWing finished, turning toward the star-speckled sky high above. Darkstalker started to spread his wings, but paused, turning to a tattooed SandWing standing to the side. He tapped the SandWing's head, whispering something, and the SandWing promptly vanished. With a deep breath, he took to the air, soaring up out of the crevice.
MEMORY DOWNLOAD: 0.1% COMPLETE. SUBJECT VITALS STABLE. MOD INSERTION INITIATED.
What...what was that voice…. the dragon wondered, feeling a cold chill run across his scales.
Darkstalker continued his ascent, the sky growing ever larger before him, like a cosmic blanket draped across the world. The end of the crevice was just ahead, and the animus could already feel his heart racing at the thought of seeing her again.
What would she think? Would she be overjoyed to see him again? Would she hate him, as his father had? Darkstalker had half a mind to dive right back into the pit; after everything that had happened, how could he possibly face his….
A sharp pain suddenly slammed into the hybrid's brain, images of flames searing the continent, dragons screaming as they were abducted by an army of shadowy creatures, all flooding his mind at once. He felt his thoughts crumbling beneath the sudden onslaught of visions, the burning flames of the metal armada blazing so hot he could feel them inside of his own head.
Pain struck the dragon's side, as his scales were cut into by some unknown force. The dragon flinched as whirring blades tore into him, attempting to pull himself away, only to find himself held down by tight metal clamps.
He blinked open his eyes, his vision blurry, and clouded by tears. He tried to observe the room he was trapped in, but couldn't make out anything within the mess of colors and shapes.
SUBJECT AWAKENING. ADMINISTERING SEDATIVE.
The dragon felt a soft prick on his other side, and almost instantaneously, his mind began to wander, his thoughts drifting away as his eyes slid shut.
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Darkstalker picked up his pace, rocketing out of the crevice and into the open air beyond.
Surely this is some sort of mistake, he thought, as the visions continued to bombard him. This can't be real! Otherwise I would have….
The thick scent of smoke and ash quickly smothered his doubts. As he turned his head toward the world beyond Agate Mountain, he was met with an endless sea of smog clouding the night sky. The orange glow of fire raged all across the horizon, as massive, shadowy vessels unleashed streams of flame upon the land.
Darkstalker heard a blood curdling scream, and turned to see the SandWing, NightWing, and some RainWing that had been with them being carried away by a group of lithe, spiked creatures. Their terrified eyes stared up at him helplessly as the creatures dragged them away to moons knew where, but Darkstalker didn't even consider going after them for a second.
There was another dragon he had to find.
NODES INSTALLED, BEGINNING CABLE INSTALLATION. MEMORY DOWNLOAD: 1% COMPLETE.
More of the creatures came for Darkstalker as he searched the mountainside; dark, metallic monstrosities that flew with four pulsating rings attached to their side. Bright streams of light arced out of glowing lines on what he assumed were their faces, but the beams harmlessly bounced off of the hybrid's scales.
Darkstalker groaned irritably, he didn't have time for such nuisances. With a quick swipe of his powerful talons, the metal creatures were sent spiraling to their demise. He huffed triumphantly, before hearing another scream of terror. He turned his head to see another NightWing standing on the mountainside, a pair of the dark creatures holding her down as she writhed beneath their clawed grip.
Darkstalker readied to fly over to her, rage bubbling up inside of him, but within the mess of visions clouding his mind, he saw another group of the flying creatures on route to him.
One enchantment, that's all I need, he decided, struggling to come up with the perfect set of words to end the disaster around him, and put things back to normal.
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Perhaps I could...no...that wouldn't...but if I...but then they'll….
Darkstalker's mind raced, ideas for enchantments buzzing around in his head like a swarm of bees. But with the torrent of visions disrupting his thoughts, and one of the dragons he cared for the most being dragged away before his eyes, it was almost impossible to concentrate.
How did I not foresee this! How could I let this….
MEMORY DOWNLOAD: 1.9% COMPLETE. ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO CANCEL THE MEMORY DOWNLOAD PROCESS?
The flying creatures were almost behind him, he'd just have to think of an enchantment later and focus on….
A bright flash of light appeared before Darkstalker's eyes, and one of the lithe creatures leapt out of the swirling blue vortex that had formed just in front of him. Before he had a chance to react, the creature latched onto his snout, climbing halfway into his mouth. It let loose a surge of energy into the hybrid's exposed flesh, Darkstalker feeling his limbs starting to numb as his mind drifted away.
No...no...not again…I was so...close….
MEMORY DOWNLOAD TERMINATED.
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A dragon lay sprawled out across a cold, metal table. His talons twitched, eyes darted behind his closed eyelids, as his mind gradually drifted back into consciousness. Dozens of images, words, fragments of thoughts spun through his head, clashing with one another into an uninterpretable mess. Were they memories? Dreams? The dragon wasn't quite sure, and trying to make any sense of them just made his head hurt even more than it already did.
He was able to pick out one fragment - one word - amidst the jumble, though. A name, he figured, though a fairly odd one to be sure.
Darkstalker.
His name? Yes, that felt right. But...why would that be his name? Who would name their dragonet something so sinister as that? An image of a NightWing flashed before his mind's eye, too vague for him to make out any distinguishing features. Yet there was a comforting warmth in her face, something that put the dragon at ease, despite the aching pain throughout his entire body.
She seemed important. Who was she?
The dragon, Darkstalker, as he now assumed he was named, shook his head, deciding to worry about that later. He opened his eyes, flinching back at the bright rays of light that flooded his vision. He could hardly make out anything beyond the harsh glare, little more than blurry shapes and colors. He turned down to the table below him, trying to rub his eyes with his foretalons. It took a short moment for them to respond to his brain's commands, as if this was the first time he'd ever moved them.
That's...odd.
He tried moving some other parts of his body. His hind legs, wings, tail, all had the same stalled response, before fully submitting to his commands. Even then, his movements seemed somewhat sluggish and clumsy, like a newly hatched dragonet's would. That combined with the biting pain spread across his body made it rather unpleasant to move around all too much.
Darkstalker paused, taking a moment to allow his vision to fully clear up. The blurry shapes around him began to sharpen into distinguishable objects, none of which he could make any sense of. Various large metal racks were propped up against the walls of the metal chamber he lay in, stuffed to the brim with disassembled pieces of machines far more complex than he could hope to comprehend. A large glass tank sat to his left, a flexible tube extending from the top of it and into a machine hung above him.
Said machine sported at least a dozen thin, metal arms, each holding a different tool at the end of them. Claws, nozzles, needles. Darkstalker shuddered when he spotted one holding a circular, bowl-shaped blade; dried blood coating its surface.
His blood.
More dark crimson stains covered the table he lay upon, with a noticeable purple hue to them when one looked at them just right. This confused Darkstalker, why would a NightWing like him have blood with a slightly purple tint to it? A quick look over himself revealed a bed of extra spikes running down the back of his neck, and lines of white scales where his wings met his sides.
He was a hybrid, though that was far from the strangest thing he found about himself.
Dotted along the sides of his torso, legs, and neck were a series of circular glass nodes. Semi-transparent cables draped between each of them, appearing to be filled with the same clear liquid as the tank to his left. Dried blood crusted the dark grey scales near the edges of the nodes, and the pain that made moving so miserable seemed to be originating from those points.
Darkstalker lifted his foretalons, and noticed similar glass nodes buried within the palms of his talons, cables plugged into the backs of his wrists. He moved his jaw, feeling something hard at the back of his maw, just behind his tongue. Likely another node, if the cables plugged into the back of his jaw were anything to go by.
What are these things? Darkstalker wondered, staring in bewilderment at his attachments for a moment. And furthermore, how exactly did I end up here, like this?
He vaguely remembered flying up out of a mountain. He'd been looking for someone, though who it was he couldn't quite say. He combed his mind for answers, but the only relatively solid memory he seemed to have was of that mountain, and the crevice carved deep into it.
Everything else was mere fragments, blurry pieces of larger memories that seemed completely detached from one another, like a puzzle that was missing most of its pieces. He tried to sort out the fragments, but every time he grasped onto one, it quickly flew back out of his reach.
"Don't worry about the future. Just be here, with me, in this moment, when we are both as…"
Darkstalker froze. That voice...was his, wasn't it? He desperately searched for the fragment once again, to delve deeper into its mysteries, hear the rest of what he had to say, but it was already long gone. He wasn't even sure if it was a real memory, though, or if any of the others were either. Perhaps they were all just vague recollections of dreams he'd had while he was out.
But then, what else did that leave him with? It wasn't like he had any other memories to go off of.
Darkstalker grunted, shifting around on the metal table. The pain around the nodes had started to diminish, and it wasn't as hard for him to get his body to move. Perhaps he could have a look around outside of this chamber; maybe that would spark some more memories to surface. He wasn't going to get very far lying on this table anyway.
The hybrid slowly drug himself off of the table, collapsing to the hard metal floor below. He struggled to stand atop his four legs, though they trembled beneath him, as if this were the first time they'd ever been made to carry his weight.
He carefully took a step forward, and then another. Each step felt like a monumental task in itself, his mind having to figure out the fine art of walking on the fly as he made his way across the chamber. He headed toward what looked to be a door, though there didn't appear to be any sort of handle for him to grasp onto. Perhaps he just had to push it open?
As he raised a talon toward the metal barrier, it suddenly slid aside, Darkstalker hopping back and nearly falling on his rear in fright.
Automatic doors. he thought, stepping through the now open doorway. This place is full of surprises.
He cautiously peered out into the halfway beyond, turning his head left and right as he scanned for any others. There didn't seem to be anyone around, at least as far as he could see, though he wasn't quite sure whether that was a good thing or not.
The path to his right extended far into the distance, many branching paths and doorways lining both sides of it. To his left, it ended rather abruptly at a pair of large metal doors, similar to the one he'd stepped through, with only a single perpendicular path crossing it.
After a brief moment of deliberation, he decided to go left and inspect the large pair of doors. They seemed somewhat different from all of the others, with a dimmed circular light set above them.
Just before he reached the perpendicular crossroads, he heard a soft whirring sound echoing down the hall to his right. He instinctively dove into a small alcove on the right side of the hall, the door set into it sliding open with a soft hiss. Darkstalker winced, hoping whatever was coming hadn't noticed.
Wait...why am I hiding? he wondered; after all, wasn't he trying to find someone to help him. Something deep inside screamed at him to hide, to avoid whatever was coming at all costs. Images of a burning horizon, of dark objects floating in the sky, and shadowy creatures dragging away screaming dragons flashed before him.
He shivered, casting aside the images for the time being and chancing a peek at the crossroads. The whirring had grown louder, and before he knew it, two floating, metal spheres hovered across the hall. Each had a single vertical line glowing down the front side of them, and neither seemed the least bit concerned with whatever was down the hallway Darkstalker had been walking down. The two passed as quickly as they came, Darkstalker letting out a shallow sigh of relief when he could no longer hear them.
Darkstalker waited for another minute before finally stepping out of the alcove, the nearby doorway sliding shut behind him. He hadn't bothered to check what was inside of the chamber beyond, his mind focused solely on the larger pair of doors ahead. It helped him manage the torrential storm of fragmented memories that continued to whirl about his head.
Soon enough, the twin doors stood before him. He stepped up to them, expecting them to immediately slide away as the other doors had, only to be met with another whirring noise beyond them. He briefly worried that more of the metal balls were headed toward him, only for the whirring to end with a soft thunk, the light above to flash on, and the doors to slide open before him.
Inside was a surprisingly small chamber, likely only large enough to fit two full-grown dragons, at most. Still, it was plenty large for a dragon his age. He wasn't exactly sure how old he was, though judging by his size and stature, he was likely somewhere around seven years.
He stepped inside of the chamber, noticing a vertical array of buttons set into the wall just beside the doors. None of them were labeled, meaning he'd have to discern their usage on his own.
He sat back on his haunches, carefully observing each of the buttons, and the chamber at large. The whirring noise he'd heard beyond the doors could have been the chamber itself moving, as there didn't seem to be anything inside that could have made the noise. There were twenty-six buttons in total, arranged in a vertical line on the wall. Perhaps pressing them would cause the room to move to a specific location, and if their arrangement was anything to go by, said location would likely be another floor of whatever structure he was currently in.
An elevator; though one far more complex than any he'd ever seen before.
Wait, have I seen an elevator before?
Darkstalker shook his head, and pressed the topmost button on the wall. If this took him to the highest floor of the place, then at least he could get a good look around. The doors slid shut, and Darkstalker felt a slight jolt as the chamber ascended.
He wasn't sure how far down he'd been, though the ride to the top had certainly been long. When the twin doors finally slid back open, he was met with a bright wall of windows, running along the side of a hallway that ran perpendicular to him. He stepped out of the elevator, it's doors sliding shut behind him, and stared out of the windows at the vast landscape beyond.
He was at the apex of a high tower, more towers rising up around him into the blackened, smog filled sky above. Below, stretched a massive circular structure, rimmed by a titanic metal wall with towering spikes stretching up at regular intervals along its circumference. Beyond the structure, stretched a barren wasteland, blackened and shattered, and devoid of any life as far as Darkstalker could see.
"What...what is this place…?" Darkstalker mumbled, briefly surprised at the sound of his own voice. It felt like it was the first time he'd spoken...ever. But, that couldn't be right, could it?
"Citadel 972."
Darkstalker whipped his head around, spotting a young NightWing stepping out of a doorway in the wall behind him. She looked to be about four years old, her deep green eyes staring out at the desolate landscape. Behind each eye was a bright white scale, almost resembling a teardrop. Darkstalker had noticed similar scales by his eyes in his reflection in the window, though they'd seemed much duller than hers.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she calmly asked, continuing to stare out of the floor to ceiling windows. Darkstalker wasn't sure how to respond, he wouldn't exactly call the charred wasteland and smog-filled sky "beautiful".
He squinted, looking the young NightWing up and down. There was something familiar about her. He thought he'd seen her face in some of the fragmented memories that swam about his head, and he was even fairly certain that she'd been there on the mountain. Something about her face, it both comforted him, and set him on edge.
He sidestepped away from the dragon, feeling a chill run over his scales. This was definitely someone important - someone he should know. So why didn't he? And why was her presence so...unsettling.
"Who are you?" he finally asked, staring at the back of her head. Something shiny seemed to be stuck there, though he wasn't able to get a good look at it before her gaze turned to him.
Darkstalker hopped back, as the NightWing's eyes fell upon him. Contrary to her calm demeanor, her eyes bulged with pure, unadulterated terror. The eyes of someone caught in endless torment, one desperate for release from their suffering. Darkstalker slowly backed away from the NightWing, as a confused frown started to form across her snout. There was something very, very wrong with this dragon.
"Don't you remember?" she asked, her bloodshot eyes begging for help despite the relaxed tone of her voice. "It's me, Moon."
AN:
With my senior year wrapping up, and my need to manage my stress levels, I figured it would be for the best to take a bit more of a lax approach to the release schedule. This part of the story in particular is one I want to get right, and I want to give myself all the time I need to write good chapters without rushing or causing myself too much stress. I also decided to break Darkstalker's backstory into two chapters, so I could spend more time exploring the citadel and prevent it from feeling too fast-paced. I might have the next chapter done by next Saturday, though it could very easily be another two week wait, or more. The release schedule going forward will see chapters released when their ready, which should help improve their overall quality for the finale. I'm still figuring out most of this story as I go though, save for a general outline of the plot, so there'll probably still be some weirdness here and there.
What has caused Darkstalker to wind up in his precarious situation, and how will he escape from it? Find out in the next chapter of Wings of Fire: Salvation! Stay tuned!