A Brighter Future Ahead
AN: A few announcements before we begin:
First and foremost, I've started a Raya and the Last Dragon fanfiction. It only has three chapters out so far, but many more are soon to follow as that's what I'll be working on mostly for the next little while. As you can see, this doesn't mean I will stop my Wings of Fire stories. Dragons Change chapter 30 has already been started, and it'll be out before the end of the month. Regardless, I hope to see some of you over there if you're interested.
Secondly, There's a poll on my profile page about what your favorite ship is between Moon, Winter, and Qibli. It's not important for any of the stories, but I want to get a sense of how many people prefer which one. So if you've got an extra thirty seconds, I would appreciate the input.
And lastly...Actually, that was it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OC Copperhead belongs to me.
Darkstalker:
He walked through the blood-drenched mud and surveyed the carnage he had wrought with satisfaction and malicious glee. Bodies of Mudwings littered the devastated landscape, some unrecognizable as dragons anymore. The forest was all but gone, and massive pillars of earth jutted out from the landscape in every which way, many having impaled the unfortunate victims of his wrath. Sinkholes dotted the ground here and there, having swallowed dozens of dragons whole.
He heard wingbeats coming from the south, yet he wasn't concerned in the least. If they were friends, they had nothing to fear from him. If they were enemies…more fun for him. He strode confidently into a relatively open clearing amongst the rest of the destruction. Several dragons came in to land, most notable of these were Fathom, Indigo, Queen Anaconda, and Copperhead. Another score Rainwings spread out on the Queen's command to secure the perimeter.
The Queen's expression was carefully guarded, but the expressions of the other three could easily be summed up with a single word: horror. All of them gazed at the ruined landscape, and he chuckled darkly. "Impressive, isn't it?" he asked, both Fathom and Copperhead shivering in dread at his distorted voice.
"That's certainly one word for it," Anaconda began, causing the other three to stare at her in bewilderment. "You destroyed the entire Mudwing army?" she asked, sounding impressed.
Just then they heard shouts from the Rainwing soldiers the Queen had brought. They watched as a Mudwing soldier ran as fast as he could—which wasn't very since he had a heavy limp—while the Rainwings tried to catch him.
Darkstalker rolled his eyes at the pathetic display and looked back at the other four as he stamped one of his front claws on the ground. A stone spire shot out of the ground and impaled the poor sod. Copperhead looked like he was about to be sick upon witnessing the scene. "Now, I have," he replied with a smirk. "Which is too bad," he then said with a displeased frown, "I was just beginning to have fun."
"F-Fun!?" Fathom asked, truly appalled in every sense of the word. "Can you not see what you have done!?"
Darkstalker looked at him questioningly before turning back to his handiwork. Whereas before he had been thrilled at the carnage, now the first seeds of doubt were beginning to find their way into his mind. He raised his claw into the air and stared at the shadows flowing across his scales. His talons began to shake as the shadows disappeared, and he looked upon the scene with his own eyes once again.
He collapsed to the ground, becoming violently sick in an instant. Once he had finished emptying the contents of his stomach, he looked upon the devastation he had wrought. "W-What have I d-done!?" he cried out in shock and horror. "I-I couldn't s-stop myself! I couldn't stop myself! I couldn't stop myself…" He repeated the same phase over and over again like a mantra. It was at that point that Fathom finally dared to approach despite Indigo trying to stop him. He looked up into the Seawing's eyes for any sort of answer or guidance but found none. "W-What is happening to me?" he whispered.
Fathom reached over and rubbed between his shoulders in an effort to soothe him in some way, though the Seawing seemed a bit uncomfortable, too. "I don't know…" he answered softly. "Did Clearsight say anything about this?"
He thought for a moment before realization dawned upon him. "S-She did! She said bad things would happen if I left! W-Why didn't I listen to her!" he lamented. He should have learned to trust her by now. He should have heeded her warnings, but he was too prideful to admit that anyone knew his own future better than him.
Anaconda stepped forward and knelt down beside him, looking genuinely concerned for him. "I may not know what is happening to you, Darkstalker, but I do know you saved the Rainforest today. If you want some time to figure things out, you can have it."
"T-Thank you," he replied. "Can we go home now?" he asked Fathom, to which the Seawing nodded.
"Yeah…Let's get you home." He helped Darkstalker stand, but the Nightwing was weak—as he was the first time this happened. Fathom decided he would walk with Darkstalker until he felt well enough to fly while the others went ahead, but Indigo was not happy about this plan.
"You honestly think I'm going to leave you alone after he just killed ten thousand dragons!?" she cried. "He'll kill you!"
Fathom looked at Darkstalker and thought about Indigo's words for a moment before shaking his head. "No, he won't," he declared, resolutely. "He's my friend, and he didn't hurt us when he was still…" He paused, struggling to find the right description. "When he wasn't himself," he settled with. "Go and tell Clearsight we're on our way back," he told her. "I'll be fine."
Indigo glared at Fathom for a moment before turning to Darkstalker with an absolutely hostile expression. "I don't care if you're an animus with impenetrable scales. If you hurt Fathom, I will make you suffer!"
"That's enough, Indigo!" Fathom yelled at her. "You shouldn't yell at him for something he can't control!"
"He seemed perfectly reasonable when he attacked me not too long ago!" she shot back.
"And that was your own fault for antagonizing him!" he yelled back furiously. "He is my friend! And he is suffering right now! If you can't move past your hatred for him…" He trailed off and sighed. "Then there's nothing more for us to talk about," he said quietly.
She gasped in surprise at the meaning behind his words before she snarled at him. "Fine then! Don't bother coming home!" she yelled before storming off. Copperhead glanced at him sympathetically before following after the angered Seawing.
He noticed Anaconda watching the two of them leave with a thoughtful expression, but when she noticed him looking at her, she shrugged. "I'm glad my son finally has a friend as close as her," she merely stated and walked away.
Fathom, however, wasn't too thrilled with the connotation. "Every step I take towards you is one step further from Indigo," he whispered. Darkstalker didn't respond because he didn't really care.
He had never liked Indigo, anyway.
AN: Pretty gnarly, am I right? Tell me what you think about the aftermath of Darkerstalker's massacre.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22
