Side Quest 5: Through The Fire And The Flames

"NOW!"

Upon his command, I spin around, facing the monster, looking at her straight in the eye. In that split second, time seems to freeze. Centuries of hatred channelled into a fearsome glare, I stare her down. The Queen's five massive pairs of eyes, ten times greater than mine, narrow and shoot daggers at me. I smirk.

Foolish pest; throw that insect off your back, and I may consider letting you live.

Unfortunately for you, Your Majesty, you're on the losing side.

For that moment, what shone in the Queen's eyes was no longer treachery or evil, but cold fear. The one dragon to stand up to her was the one most powerful beast this side of Earth, allied with the never-extinguishing fighting spirit of the human beings, not to mention their fearsome armaments and equipment that, in all honesty, far surpassed the power of any dragon's flame.

No! That's not possible! What are you thinking? You fool!

Too late for regrets, your Highness. Time to send you back to the dark abyss where you came from… in pieces!

Focusing eons of pent-up rage into its physical manifestation, on behalf of myself and the rest of my fellow betrayed brethren, I unleash what must have been the most powerful, concentrated bolt of plasma I have ever fired in my life, right in between those traitorous jaws. The flammable gas that had been collecting there, the fuel to her flames, ignited upon contact with my shot. From within, explosions blew apart her internal organs, charring her flesh, cooking her from within.

Roars of pain and agony from her do nothing to stop her impending doom, as black smoke billowed from the sides of her jaws. The Grim Reaper was upon her now, there's no stopping him from claiming his trophy.

Flapping my wings furiously, I dash past her, soaring towards the darkening sky once again. I'm not going to have come so far just to be caught in the impending explosion. As I speed past her eyes, she shoots another deathly stare at me.

I'll see you in Hell, Black Storm.

Sniffing indignantly at her, I continue weaving through her collapsing mass. The bitch may be dead, but the danger isn't over yet. The detonation is deafening as she hits the ground, the impact sending deep, loud rumbles that rock the air around me.

Suddenly, an odd feeling overwhelms me, spreading from my tail, upwards, through my spine. This feeling… strangely familiar, but not in a good way. It's a feeling of… incapacitation. A cold shiver freezes me as I come to the horrible realization, the ghastly terror seeping throughout my veins. The human weapons that were strapped to my back, while so vital in raining blow after death blow upon the Queen, now feel suffocating and heavy, weighing me down. From above, a terrified yell from my human confirms my fears.

"No... No, not now! NO!"

Ahead, a large, bony tail emerges from the all-consuming fire that has now caught up to us. Roaring in exasperation and the frustration at having done so much only to have it end here, I can only thrash about helplessly as inertia forces us into a head-on collision.

The pain is numbing. I must have broken a few bones in the impact; I can't feel my tail. Straining to open my eyes, all I see are bright red, yellow and orange flames all around, threatening to consume me. My back feels light. Looking from the corner of my eyes, I notice the shattered cannons, the barrels that once cast a metal storm of death now bent, broken. The seat on which my human would sit on is burning up, blackening into carbon.

I suppose this is it.

Wait… Where's my human? I whip my head about, searching frantically for him.

Finally, I see his shadow below me, tumbling towards the blazing ground. He is unconscious. No, I will not let it end this way; we went in, guns blazing, we will come out in a matching blaze of glory.

Ignoring the throbbing pain, I flap my wings, hard. They threaten to break off themselves, but I hang on, despite the blinding numbness.

Reaching him, I wrap my wings around my beloved rider, as I myself give in, barreling towards the flames. Well, at least my fireproof skin can protect him; prevent his body from being charred beyond recognition, to at least give him a chance to stand by his fellow brothers and sisters once again, to give him another chance to be with his mate, that human female he cares for so much.

This is the least I can do for him.

Closing my eyes, I let go of my last strands of consciousness. As the memories flash past in my mind; of our first meeting, of our first flight together, of my little 'play session' to scare his mate, of our daring escape from my captors; I think to myself.

Thank you, human, for you have allowed this cold-blooded heart, hardened by centuries of oppression and hate, to experience true emotion yet again.