A Brighter Future Ahead
AN: Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans! To celebrate, I have a chapter for each of my three stories: Brighter Future, Dragons Change, and No Greater Disaster! Hope you enjoy these chapters, and I hope you have a fun day!
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OC Copperhead belongs to me.
Copperhead:
"THAT NO-GOOD, SCUM-SUCKING BOTTOM-FEEDER!" He winced at Indigo's furious screech as she paced back and forth across the main room of the house she and Fathom shared. He was sitting off to the side being as small and quiet as possible so as not to have her ire switch over to him. "AND HE WAS THERE! He should know that animus magic is dangerous after living through Albatross' Massacre! Right!?" She looked over at him as if expecting an answer but continued before he had a chance to respond.
"Of course I'm right! But Albatross only killed a few dozen dragons! Darkstalker just killed ten thousand! What in the name of the moons was going through Fathom's head when he decided that that didn't mean Darkstalker wouldn't kill him, too!? If by some miracle that psycho doesn't kill Fathom, I WILL!" She screamed that last part at the top of her lungs as if thinking the aforementioned Seawing would hear her from all the way in the Rainwing Kingdom.
Actually, at this point, he would bet that this was just Indigo's house now. And he had never been more grateful for the fact that this house was so isolated. It wasn't like anyone else would hear Indigo's infuriated raving even with the door open like it was. Even still…
He should probably try to calm her down, at least a little bit. He wasn't the biggest fan of Darkstalker, either, but her hatred for the Nightwing was on a whole different level. Maybe he could use that to his advantage? "Maybe I could try to talk with Fathom? He might—"
"What makes you think he would listen to you if he wouldn't listen to me!?" she interrupted him with a snarl.
He looked down and slumped his wings in defeat. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm just throwing ideas out there." He liked Indigo…a lot—more than he probably should. But by the moons did she have a temper! He knew she wasn't trying to be hurtful on purpose, but she seemed to get so angry at times that she didn't really care anymore about what she said.
He heard her sigh and step closer to him. He felt her wing across his back, and he looked up at her in surprise. "No…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm not angry at you. But after everything Fathom and I have been through, he chooses that arrogant, manipulative, back-stabbing, psychopath over me?" She scoffed and shook her head. "History seems to be repeating itself, but no one is reading the writing on the wall except me."
He cocked his head, curious by what she meant. "What does that mean?"
"It means that Clearsight knew what Darkstalker was going to become but thought she could change him—just like now. It means that I tried to convince Fathom that Darkstalker couldn't be trusted—also just like now. And last time it lead to the Nightwing Exodus. This time, though…" she sighed and trailed off. She didn't have to finish for him to get the picture, though.
He studied her for a few moments, conflicted on whether this was the right thing to do or not. But then he remembered the sight of the Mudwing army—or what was left of it after Darkstalker eviscerated them. "So what are we going to do about it?"
She looked up at him in surprise. "Excuse me? We?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I agree with you. Darkstalker is dangerous. And I trust you, Indigo, so I'll follow your lead."
"You're sure?" she asked skeptically. "You won't back out if I suggest something you're not comfortable with?"
He nodded grimly. "I assumed you might suggest we kill him before I offered, so if that's what you think we need to do…I'll do what I can to help." She nodded thankfully at him, but he continued. "That's assuming we can anyways. He has impenetrable scales and he's immortal. And that's not even mentioning this new thing that's happening to him."
"I know it's a tall order," she replied. "But I need to do this. Some dragons may label me the villain for doing this, but the rest of the world will call me a hero."
"I take it that means you have a plan?" he asked, and she nodded.
"I have a feeling Anaconda is at least partially responsible for what's happening," she began, and he recoiled in shock. "I know you probably can't believe that, and I won't try to convince you of it, but something about her rubs me the wrong way," she clarified. He gave her a curt nod of acceptance, and she continued. "Killing Darkstalker won't be easy, but I think it could be done with the right enchantment."
"So you propose to use animus magic?" he asked, skeptical. At her nod, he shrugged. "And where do you suggest we get an animus that will help us? Darkstalker is obviously out, so is Fathom. If you don't trust my mother, than we probably shouldn't bet on Zephyr helping us. Which leaves…" He trailed off, and his jaw dropped when he realized what her plan was.
"Which leaves Queen Diamond," she finished. "Obviously we can't just pop over to the Ice Kingdom, so…" she sighed. "We go to the Sea Kingdom and hope Pearl doesn't execute us as soon as we land." He just stared at her, mouth agape, and she huffed. "Look, I know it's a risk, but if the Seawings were working with the Mudwings, chances are that they at least contacted the other tribes for help, too."
"So let me get this straight," he started. "Your plan is to go to the Sea Kingdom, hope we aren't executed, hope the Seawings will contact the Icewings, and finally hope that the most vicious Queen on Pyrrhia will help us kill the most powerful animus dragon ever—the one that obliterated the entire Mudwing army by himself? Did I get that right?"
"I know it's a risk," she started.
"A risk!?" he asked, bewildered beyond belief. "Suicide is more like it!"
"I know it's dangerous!" she yelled. "But it's the only plan I have! So are you with me or not?" she asked.
He studied her for a moment before sighing heavily. "Yes…I'm with you."
AN: So apparently, Indigo has had enough, so she's about to take matters into her own claws. What the consequences of her decision will be, well...you'll just have to wait and see.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22
