Chapter 7
Sky whistled at the sight before him. "I knew that this was where you gained your Enchantix but I never thought it looked like this."
The area that they had arrived at was arid, in the distance Sky could see three volcanoes one of which was in the process of erupting. The sound of a loud roar caused the young king to look skyward to see three dragons flying high above.
"We better get going," Bloom said as she began to walk away from Sky, "Those dragons are nothing like the ones that you trained with at Red Fountain, they will not hesitate to kill you."
"Then how did you survive here?" Sky asked as he quickly caught up to Bloom.
"It wasn't easy but I managed." Bloom replied as she continued to walk.
Sky looked up above at the three dragons to notice one of them looking directly at him. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Sky could see one of the dragons salivating as it licked its teeth before hurrying to Bloom's side.
The two quickly made their way toward the only vegetation that either could see. Nearing it Sky could see that they were heading toward a small forest. Walking a short distance Sky looked up and could only see the underside of the tree tops.
"We can take a short break," Bloom's said causing him to quickly turn his vision in her direction.
What he saw was the person that he had fallen in love with taking a seat on a rock. She still looked as beautiful to him as she did the first day that he had seen her. Looking at her he could tell that he really had screwed up and needed to figure out how he could let Bloom know how sorry he was for what had happened with Mitzi.
As Bloom turned her vision toward him he could see the anger in her eyes, he knew that he would have to work hard to regain her trust and would do anything for her. He watched as she slowly pulled an apple that she had brought with her out and began to eat. As Sky opened his mouth to say something a loud growling sound could be heard.
"Let me guess," Bloom stated as she looked at Sky, "You forgot to bring something to eat and want me to share my food with you."
"Well I didn't think we would be here for very long," Sky admitted as Bloom pouted and chuckled slightly. "What?"
"Did you honestly think that we would be here for half an hour and be back home in time for lunch?"
"No, I just didn't think that this place would be so big, or dangerous."
"Well get used to it, we still have a little way to go before we can get to the right dragon."
Silence stayed between the two of them before Sky tried to speak once more. His mouth opened to speak when a piece of fruit flew towards his face. Quickly he caught it with his hand.
"Thanks."
"I only did it because you'll start scaring off the other dragons with a stomach growl like that."
"Well," he wanted to reply, wanted to say something in rebuttal but decided to concede defeat. "Thanks anyway." After taking a few bites Bloom got to her feet and started walking once more, Sky jogging to keep up with her pace as they continued on their journey.
After walking a fair distance into the forest Sky placed his hand on Bloom's shoulder. She turned to look at him with anger in her eyes. "What do you want now?" She asked with venom in her voice.
"I know that you're still mad at me for what happened with Mitzi," Sky replied as he looked into her eyes, "but I am truly sorry for what happened."
"You think that you can just apologize and everything will go back to normal?" Bloom yelled.
"No," Sky said with remorse in his voice, "Is there anything that I can do to show you how sorry I am for what happened?"
"Die," Bloom responded. "I'll forgive you when you die."
Standing there Sky could see as the bush behind Bloom begin to shake, he quickly moved around her placing himself between her and what ever was in the bush. Quickly removing his phantoblade he activated the blue Short Sword and prepared to attack what ever jumped out.
When the creature popped its head out of the bush Sky felt himself being pushed aside before noticing Bloom rush toward it. He watched, bewildered as Bloom smiled and wrapped her arms around the dragons neck. "What happened to they won't hesitate to kill you?" He joked and Bloom pouted, turning to look him in the eyes. "This isn't any dragon."
"Yeah so don't underestimate me," the dragon spoke, its voice deep. It was light green in color with a few dark scales; orange outlined its large wings and long stealth like body. It posed like a panther, one front claw up ready to strike and another back foot ready to pounce. His deep orange eyes carried so much joy. "This is Buddy," Bloom explained, "He helped me to gain my Enchantix, you've sure grown big."
"Big and strong," he corrected making the red-headed fairy laugh. "I've missed having you as a friend Bloom; Pyros isn't the same since you left."
"I know," she smiled. "But I can't stay for too long, we need to find the volcano dragon and get one of its teeth."
"What on Pyros for?" Buddy questioned.
"It's for a friend." Sky stepped forwards as he deactivated his phantoblade, "can you take us there?"
"No, the volcano dragon lives in The Valley of Darkness, I can't go there, and it's forbidden."
"Then how do we get there?"
"Go in that direction, you'll pass through the rest of the forest section of Pyros, it's just past there, down a chasm."
"Thanks for your help, we better get moving." Sky ushered, turning on his heel and taking a few steps.
"I'll catch up," Bloom replied, waiting for him to walk away before looking to the ground with sadness in her eyes.
"Bloom, what's wrong?"
"Nothing I've just lost the person I love."
"I'm sure you'll be ok, just find your inner dragon again."
"Thanks Buddy," Bloom responded with a small smile on her face, "but I am not sure that will help this time."
Reaching the edge of the forest Bloom and Sky stared at the barren valley before them. The land was charred, and they could feel the temperature rising as they slowly walked out of the forest. On the other side of the small valley they could see a cave in a cliff side next to a dried river bed.
"I guess the dragon that we're looking for is in there." Sky commented as he looked at the cave.
"No shit Sherlock," Bloom replied as she shook her head before entering into the cave.
"Hey Bloom, wait up!" Sky called, jogging to her side as she placed a hand against the cave wall. "What are you doing?"
"Feeling for the dragon's energy, I can use the Dragonfire to feel its location." Sky shut up and let her do what she was for a moment. She turned. "Its in here, I can feel it."
"So how do we go about doing this?"
"I don't know you're supposed to be the specialist and dragon wrangler!"
"You even said that these dragons aren't like the ones at Red Fountain," Sky yelled. "You did stay here for a while before to get your Enchantix, so, technically, that makes you the specialist."
"Right, so you're willing to just give up your responsibilities," Bloom replied before starting to venture further into the cave. "Not that I should be surprised."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know what I mean, the minute that Mitzi shows up your already sleeping with her, after what? Years of us dating and getting to know each other first."
"It was a mistake."
"Right," she rolled her eyes before she stopped and turned to look at him. "You know what my biggest mistake was? Falling in love with you."
"You don't mean that."
"Yes I do," she answered. "Because if I didn't fall in love with you then you wouldn't have hurt me the way you did. And I wouldn't fell like ripping your body to pieces every time you open your mouth." Sky didn't reply he knew that her hatred ran deep but tears started to fill her eyes. "I know I hurt you," he answered. "But there must be something, anything that I can do to make it up to you."
"I already told you…die and go to hell!"
A loud roar echoed through the cave causing a few pieces of the ceiling of the cave to fall to the ground.
"What was that?"
A creature walked out of the shadows glaring at Bloom and Sky. It was walking on its hind legs that were as long as Sky was tall. It towered over the two of them three times the size of either. The large golden wings on the back were brought up against its body and looked strong enough to blow them away with a single flap. The dragon had a set of gleaming gold eyes that were as shiny as Eraklyon's crown jewels to go with its golden scales. The claws on the feet were razor sharp and split the rocks like butter as it continued to walk toward them. Large bony spikes could be seen coming out of the dragon's legs near the area that its elbows would be. The ground shook as it slammed its large tail on the side of the cave. Both Sky and Bloom could see a pair of spikes coming off of the end of the tail.
After taking one more step toward Bloom and Sky the dragon turned around, its tail sweeping above both of them hitting the wall causing another vibration to flow through the cave. The beast then looked over it shoulder at the two before turning and continuing down the passage into the darkness. "I think it wants us to follow it," Bloom said before heading in the same direction.
Entering a passageway they noticed that they could not see the dragon any longer. "Where did something that big go?" Sky asked as they walked into the cavern. "I'm not sure." Bloom replied, "But we need to find that volcano dragon again."
A giggling sound caused both people to turn and see a girl about the same age as Bloom sitting on a pile of rocks. She had a fair skin tone to go with her golden eyes and red hair that reached the middle of her back wrapped into a ponytail using a black ribbon. The girl was wearing a red shoulder less dress with unattached sleeves and a brown belt. On her feet was a pair of brown boots. Bloom noticed the crimson red fingernails that looked razor sharp. Around her neck was a red chocker that matched her dress.
"Who are you?" Sky asked the giggling girl.
"Serenity is the name, pain is the game." The girl giggled.
"What?"
"I mean," Serenity laughed. "I know what you are looking for but I'm not just going to give it to you, that wouldn't be fun." Bloom looked to Sky for a moment before looking back. "What do you want?"
"I just want someone to play with me," she said with sadness in her voice as she looked at the ground, "None of the other dragons want to play with me."
"What do you mean the other dragons don't want to play with you?" Bloom asked.
"I'm afraid that they just don't put enough of a fight….such a shame really. Dragons are supposed to display their dominance not curl up into a ball and cry." Serenity replied.
"What are you talking about?" Sky asked.
"That's how we're supposed to make friends, it's not my fault they are all so weak."
"You said that you know what we are looking for?" Bloom asked.
"Yes you want something from me," Serenity replied, "But unless you play with me and I have fun then you will never get it."
"Then if we play with you we can have a tooth of the volcano dragon?"
"I am not sure why you want one of my teeth," Serenity said as she turned to look at Sky, "But if you play with me and prove that you are strong enough then yes you may."
"Why did you say we could have one of your teeth?" Sky asked.
Instead of answering Serenity giggled before walking down the tunnel. Bloom and Sky looked at each other before following after the girl. When they arrived they could see Serenity standing in the middle of a large cavern looking at them.
"Now the rules of our game," Serenity replied as she pointed at Sky, "I only want to play with him." A smile appeared on her face before she opened her mouth, "All you have to do is cause the smallest wound on me and you have proven yourself." She then began to glare at Bloom, "But if you interfere in any way in my fun I will kill both of you."
"Who are you?" Bloom asked.
"You still have not figured that out young dragon?" Serenity laughed, "I am the same dragon that you two have been following."
"You're the volcano dragon!" Sky said with a shocked voice.
"Yes I am," Serenity responded, "I just picked this form so I could have more fun with you, although it does limit my ability to fight."
"Is there any other way to do this then fight?" Sky asked.
Instead of answering Serenity quickly vanished from sight. Before either Bloom or Sky could move their heads to look for her Sky heard someone breathing in his left ear and a hand placed on his right shoulder. "I am sorry pretty boy but there is no other way," she whispered, "I will not just give a piece of me to anyone."
Sky started to turn his vision in the direction of the voice but stopped when he felt a sharp pain around his shoulder. Closing his eyes from the pain he could feel something piercing his skin. "Now let's have some fun." Serenity whispered again before kissing Sky on the cheek.
Gripping the hilt of his sword Sky quickly swung it toward the girl beside him, he could feel the pressure of her claws loosing on his shoulder as she tumbled away from him. Quickly turning to look at her Sky could see a smile start to spread across Serenity's face.
"With that weapon I must assume that you are a specialist pretty boy." Serenity said, eyeing off his blue phantoblade, "I don't remember the last time that I was able to play with one but it was one of the finest times that I have ever had. Let's see if you can be as fun."
Before Sky could say anything Serenity charged at him; swinging her left hand at him. He was able to bring his sword up in time to block the claw from taking his head off of his body. He could feel the strength in her as her claw and his sword clashed with one another before she swung her right hand toward his chest.
The swipe from Serenity's claw made Sky trip backwards, she followed immediately, trapping the specialist to the ground by straddling his waist. Slowly she tilted her head running the claws of her right hand down his chest as Bloom watched from the sidelines with alarm in her eyes. "You're a specialist right?" She teased, "Which means that you should be good at communicating with dragons, and taming them."
"So what?" Sky dared to ask, earning him a single claw against his lips, stopping him from speaking.
"So…can you tame me?"
She looked at Bloom for a moment seeing the anger in her eyes before turning to look at the young blonde specialist below her. She then moved her head down and placing her lips against his. His eyes widened as he felt her stick her tongue into his mouth. After a few moments of tongue wrestling she lifted her head to look at Bloom again with a smile on her face.
Before she could say anything Serenity was thrown off of Sky and rolled a few feet away, turning back toward the young man she could see a smile on his face, "If it will get us your tooth than I'll try my best," Sky joked making Serenity laugh for a moment before lunging forwards.
Sky jumped to his right to avoid the claws of Serenity as she passed by but felt as they dug a small gash into his left leg. After rolling a few feet he got back to his feet and flinched as the pain from the wound rushed through his body. As he opened his eyes he could see the Serenity rushing at him again.
Swinging his sword he was shocked to see her gracefully move to her left to avoid the point of the sword. He then felt a pulse of pain in his left shoulder as she passed by. Looking down he could see three gashes flowing from his elbow up to his shoulder. The shock of the pain caused him to yell out as he dropped his sword to the ground at his feet.
Hearing giggling behind him Sky slowly turned to see Serenity smiling at him, "I do have to admit you are a joy to play with."
"So do we get your tooth now that you have had some fun?" Sky asked with pain in his voice.
"Not yet pretty boy," Serenity replied, "We are just getting started."
Before Sky could open his mouth the girl in front of him began to glare at him causing him to gulp from fear. She charged at him again bringing both hands up to attack. Quickly activating his shield he was shocked when her claws slowly penetrated through.
Rolling onto his back he could feel one of the claws slowly touching his forehead just above his right eye. Continuing through the roll he used his feet to send Serenity flying away from him and into a small pile of rocks a small distance away. Before getting back to his feet he grabbed the un-activated hilt of his sword.
His vision started to blur as he stood to his feet from the blood that was slowly flowing into his right eye. After wiping a bit of the blood from his eye to clear his vision Sky reached down to grab his boomerang. He watched Serenity stand up and glare at him before throwing the weapon at her.
Sky was horrified as he watched Serenity grab the boomerang as it neared her. "This is a nice toy." She said as she flipped the boomerang over looking at it, "But a toy none the less." She clamped her claws around the weapon tightly causing it to shatter before letting the pieces fall to the ground.
Throwing the shield into the air as he dodged another strike, he caught it in his left hand and held it forwards. Serenity's claws shredded through, slicing it into three parts as his arm oozed crimson to the floor. Staggering backwards as the remnants of the shield fell to the floor he looked to Bloom and took a deep breath, grimacing as he turned back to see Serenity tightly griping his arm that had just been wounded.
"You know I am starting to not have fun with you now." Serenity whispered as she leaned in near Sky's ear, "You know I have an idea that might be fun." Serenity turned her vision toward Bloom. "Let's see how much fun it will be to play with young dragon."
Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword Sky turned his face to look Serenity directly in the eyes. "Leave her alone!" He yelled as he twisted his body to stab his sword at Serenity.
Bloom's eyes widened as she saw five claws extend out of Sky's back sending a spay of blood onto Bloom. Bloom could hear Sky cough a few times before she heard the hilt of his sword hit the ground. A few seconds later he fell to the ground to reveal Serenity's arm covered with a crimson liquid and splatters of red covering her face.
A smile appeared on Serenity's face as she looked down at Sky's body, "He really was fun to play with." She then turned to look at Bloom before collapsing to the ground on her butt. When she saw a small area of red begin to form Bloom rushed over to where Serenity was sitting.
"He was strong, but you're what gave me the strength to beat him."
"What are you talking about?"
"I am the dragon of Vengeance, and I feed off the negative emotions of others," Serenity explained. "The hatred and resentment that you have in your heard for him…it gave me more strength," she smiled slightly as Bloom looked to Sky's lifeless body below. "If you think about it," Serenity explained, holding the wound as blood flowed free. "I did him a favor, and you."
"I-"
"Don't say that you didn't want him dead…because you did. And now, you can forgive him and move on and now he is forgiven and is in heaven at peace."
Serenity leaned forward lifting the hilt of Sky's phantoblade up off of the ground before passing it into Bloom's hand, "You have earned this." Serenity said as she lifted her hand up to her mouth removing one of her fangs, "Now go and use it for what you needed it for."
Bloom accepted the fang into her hands and nodded, "Thank you," After activating her Zoomix wings she teleported out of the cave.
After being left alone Serenity looked down at Sky's body and a smile formed on her face again, "Thank you pretty boy, I am sorry that I killed you but you have fulfilled my deepest wish." Blood slowly began to flow from the corners of her mouth as she continued to look down at the fallen specialist, "Now I will no longer be alone, all the other dragons were too scared to come and see me. I can now go to be with all of my friends that I have missed all these years." Her vision darkened before she fell back onto the ground taking her last breath.
Bloom stood at the gates of Alfea and took a breath before starting through the quad. 'Serenity does not know what she was saying I still can't forgive Sky for what he did.' Bloom thought. For a moment she saw a traumatized bus driver sitting against the fence, his head in his hands while Palladium sat next to him.
After ten minutes of walking up the stairs she opened the door to Ms. Faragonda's office. She seized her conversation over the magic-com immediately and turned to the fairy, blood staining parts of her clothes. "Bloom," she sighed, walking towards her.
"But…where is Sky?" The Dragon Fire fairy lifted his deactivated hilt before the headmistress took it into her hands and stared upon its face. Her gaze looked back to her. "Is he?"
"Dead," Bloom nodded. "He's dead."
"I'm…I'm sorry."
"Don't be," she answered. "We weren't exactly on good terms. But he did manage to get this." The headmistress looked to the tooth as Bloom passed it into her possession.
"Where are the other?"
"In the nurse's office."
She turned and started for the door. "Bloom…if you ever have to talk about it."
"I won't," she answered, exiting the office and shutting the doors behind her. Ms. Faragonda blinked back a tear before walking to her desk, preparing herself to make the call that no one should have to make.
Bloom walked down the corridors, ignoring the odd look from others sent her way as she reached the nurses office. Upon opening the door she noticed Stella's face light up immediately making her run from her position next to Brandon and straight into her.
Bloom though didn't react to the hug, and instead stared forwards vacantly. Something Brandon noticed immediately. "It's so good to see you," Stella sighed when she noticed her friend's behavior.
"Hey are you ok?"
"Yeah I'm fine." It was the truth, she was fine, it was Sky that was the one who wasn't. "What happened to Brandon?"
"It was Roxy!" Stella exclaimed. "The bitch hit him with a magic blast and broke his ribs. I know she's out of control with this Spiffy stuff but seriously that is no reason to hurt my boyfriend."
Bloom followed to Brandon's side as he sat up slightly, grimacing as he went. "Did you get the tooth?"
"Yes," she answered plainly.
A puzzled look appeared on Brandon's face, "Where is Sky?"
"He's dead," Bloom replied, not a glimmer of sadness in her eyes before she turned to walk away. Brandon got to his feet and followed in hot pursuit, pushing past the pain in his ribs as she reached the hallway outside the nurse's office. Placing his hand on her shoulder spinning her to look at him, "Bloom what the hell! You just left him there?"
"Of course," she replied, turning to leave again.
"No but, look I know what Sky did was wrong but-"
"Wrong!" She snapped as she turned to look at Brandon again. "What Sky did was the ultimate betrayal! The ultimate sin! What he did was more then wrong, more then disgusting, more then anything the evilest creatures of the universe could do!" Bloom paused, putting her hands on her hips. "Sky betrayed me, in one instant he removed all the love and trust I had and he could never earn it back."
"Bloom it will pass, it would have passed!"
"This feeling will not pass! Every time I saw him my body burned with rage, I wanted to kill him with my bare hand's that's how bad it was! He asked me, what he could do, for me to forgive him," she softened. "And I said he should die and go to hell and you know what? He did. So Serenity is right I do forgive him now but you will never understand how wrong what he did was…never."
Before Brandon could say anything the voice of Nurse Ophelia could be heard from inside the room. Both he and Bloom re-entered to see her face had paled as she was on the phone.
"Yes I understand," she said into the receiver, "I will notify the next of kin and make the preparations." Ophelia slowly lowered the phone and turned to see the puzzled looks on the three other people in the room.
"What happened?" Stella asked breaking the silence in the room after noticing the tears start to flow from the nurse's eyes.
"Gala…Galatea did not survive."
"What!" Bloom yelled, "What happened to Galatea?"
"She pushed Roxy out of the way of a bus that was passing by the school and was hit. The injuries that she received were too severe and she died on the way to the hospital."
"But…but it can't be."
"I'm afraid it's true."
"Has anyone told Musa yet?"
"No," Ophelia replied simply, "but you'll need to excuse me I have to notify her family." She left the room as Brandon limped back to his bed and took a seat, shooting Bloom a hateful glare as he did. Tears slowly filled her eyes before Bloom pivoted on her heels and ran for it, as far from the nurse's office as she could. "Bloom!" Stella called, running after the fairy that entered the middle of the forest and sank to her knees. Stella picked up the pace and landed by her side, the Dragon Fire fairy sobbing as Stella took her into her arms, trying to understand the emotional rollercoaster that Bloom was on. Two lives had been given already to try and help save Roxy and the Sun fairy wasn't sure if it was worth it.
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