A/n: This turns out a little bit longer than I thought. I can't find suitable parts to split it into two chapters, so have one big pile of a chapter instead. Rather gory scenes incoming!
Also, I MAY be writing an epilogue to this if I have the time.
XxXxXxXxXx
The mission is ridiculously simple: to destroy everything and anything.
Against the humans, I am an adversary unmatched by their puny strengths. The city that they are so proud of is merely a plaything for me to tear down as I please. A sweep of my tail tosses away a land-carrier or two that their owners, in their panic, have abandoned on the street. Humans flee from my presence; their frightened screams can be heard wherever I choose to make my appearance. To breathe my fire is somewhat overkill but I do it anyway more for my amusement rather than practicality. White buildings especially, since my flame will leave charred marks that particularly stand out, starkly visible against the light colour.
Of course, that is not to say that there is no resistance whatsoever. A couple of their flying Unlifes with their fiery stings is sent after me although a brush with my claws send them burning to the ground. In a swarm they are formidable; their combined, relentless stings will pierce my hide when individual assault cannot. However, in such a few number, their presences are merely annoyance instead of real threats that should be worried about. Crash-landing among the disorganized heap of land-carriers which I have previously amused myself with, flames and choking smoke quickly going up and seal their destructions.
The master's presence in my mind is filled with the warmth of an approval, further encouraging myself in this path. My only frustration is that the humans themselves are agile and quick to hide among the carnage, making a direct kill difficult. However, as I sift through the land-carriers littering the ground around my feet, a thin wail from somewhere in the bedlam draws me to a moving figure of a human, helplessly trapped in his overturned land-carrier. So small and weak, but nevertheless it is still a chance to satisfy my raging instinct to hunt. As I made to approach this newest prey, a burst of panic renews his struggles. Against my expectation, he manages to break free with a powerful yank on the trapped leg; I can see blood streaming freely from a freshly-opened gash on his calf. The all-too familiar scent of it reaches my nostril and brings out the longing in me to taste it on my tongue.
I lunge towards him with my jaws open. I hear his terrified screams as my teeth snap close around something solid, ringing unbroken even when I chew through whatever it is I have in my mouth; the humans has escaped my teeth only by sheer luck. I see him lying unprotected on the bare pavement, still screaming, his arms drawn up to cover his head as if those puny limbs can somehow block my teeth when I finally have him in my mouth. He would have died if not for the shock of emptiness that ripples through my being, petrifying me in mid-strike. The constant presence of master, speaking alongside my thoughts, suddenly vanishes from my mind; ripped away from me savagely, like tearing a limb off of the body. There is silence in the few moments of stillness before my mind reforms itself, refilling the void in my consciousness where the master used to be. It feels like resurfacing and drawing in a fresh breath after a long dive when the realization finally clicks in. The first thing I notice, truly notice, as I bring myself to the present is how disturbingly familiar the posture I am in.
I do not recognize this man. However, he brings to me the memories of my reunion with Father. I have once crouched above Father as I am doing now to this stranger. He has been screaming in the same terror as this man did just now; fearing for his life as I opened my mouth before the scent of my kind compelled me to release him. I raise myself to my feet, recalling with mounting horror of my recent behaviours to his presence back on the grey land, where I first met Mother.
What have I done?
I cannot say that did not know what I was doing. I have been perfectly aware of my decision to cast aside the human that raised me, to turn my power against him. It has seemed like a sound advice to follow back then but now, my instinct screams for the atrocity I have committed. The destruction that I have wreaked to this city serves only to emphasize the guilt wracking my conscience; for Father's sake I have kept away from disturbing the humans – not that I was always successful, but at the very least I did try as best as I could. However, what lays around me speak of deliberateness contrary to my resolve.
I have been fooled to serve the cause of a master that I do not even know. Disgust wells inside me, feeling terribly violated when I recall the darkness invading my mind and the blind obedience it has coaxed from me; to know that it has been inside me, manipulating my thoughts and chaining me to his will like a slave. My anger is only surpassed by the concern for Father himself, whom I have parted ways with ever since Mother led me to the island where I have gathered with the Big Enemies. His presence is dim, a barely-there warmth in my perceptions that is only now gathering strength in the absence of the dark master. He is alive, that much I can tell, but whatever trouble he is fishing is beyond my knowledge.
I am anxious to leave but my steps are halted suddenly; my perception feels the oppressing presence from above, a darkness of such magnitude that I cannot help the fear creeping into my veins. I feel…presences akin to that of the dark master, only this is no longer the darkness of one; I lift my head and fight the painful glare of the sun to spy on many little speckles in the clear sky; speckles that grow ever larger as they descend, eventually materializing themselves into many, many flying Unlifes that I have not seen before though their designs echo that of the Sunken Leaf. Standing alone in the open ground, I feel much too exposed to whatever hostility they may intend. Instinct drives me to the nearest water I can find and quickly submerged myself. As I lie as flat to the bottom as I can, the darkness-emitting flying Unlifes zoom above, a strange whining sound following in their wakes.
Am I afraid?
Oh yes, I am. How can I not when the memories of the darkness invading my thoughts are so very clear in my mind? But there is anger too as I watch the dark flying Unlifes scatter across the sky above me. There is noticeable haughtiness in their flight as they further the destruction of the city with their fiery stings, turning mighty wall to mere debris upon impact. I watch with growing discontent at their uninterrupted flights; they are uncontended because I have been unwittingly made to destroy their potential human challengers. Battle-rage begins to cloud my thoughts at the sight; I submit myself gladly to the bloodthirsty abandon, feeling not even the tiniest shred of doubt as I breach the surface and snatch a passing Unlife in my jaws. The feel of its metal crumbling between my teeth is excessively satisfying, more so when I sense the darkness it is enveloped with vanishing with its destruction.
The dark Unlife is not alone. Its surviving companions immediately snap into a tight turn that brings them back in my direction. I gather my breath and unleash it all in a single fiery torrent, burning them to their frames and causing them to crash into the water with a great splash. The victory is short-lived though; belatedly, I realize that they are only the beginning when I see more of the dark-wrapped Unlifes descending from the sky – only, they are not the fast, small flyers I have just dispatched. The newcomer trio is vast and bulky with spikes protruding awkwardly from their sides; the spitting image of the Sunken Leaf I saw at the bottom of the ocean before. These, however, are not sunken. They are perfectly functional, if somewhat clumsy-looking and lumber through the sky as heavily as the Big Worm dragging itself along the ground. And they are coming to surround me, cutting me from escape.
I have no choice. With the flying Sunken Leaves gathering above me from all sides, there are only down to go to, so it is there I head to. Like myself inhaling before unleashing my fire-breath, I can sense the heat building up within them which heralds a means of death I would rather not face, especially in a one-sided battle as this. I dive as quickly as I can but I have not gotten far enough when the three Sunken Leaves unleash their collected heat into a burst of energy so powerful that the only reason I am alive is because it has not hit me directly. It does, however, graze the shoulder and the base of my tail, burning the flesh and spilling blood into the water around me. Some of the energy stray beams crumble the river banks into large stone chunks, the sound of which drowns my own screams of pain as I tumble deeper into the water. It is difficult to hold on to my fading consciousness but I manage to; I do not know if I will ever wake up should I surrender to the blackness now when the agony is so great.
Fortunately, the flying Unlifes seemed to have taken the absence of movement as a sign of death. As I lay there fighting against my pain, the darkness recedes from the vicinity. From the corner of my eyes, I see their shimmering silhouettes retreat, off to someplace else where the humans perhaps still resist…which brings my thoughts to my father. His presence is far, far away, but I can guess well enough where he is – always in the thick of things regardless of his own vulnerability, I will be terribly surprised if he is NOT at the island where I have encountered the other Big Enemies but at the same time, I rather wish I have been wrong. The island is choke-full of the darkness and who is to say that there are no Big Enemies left guarding it, just in case? It will be days' worth of swimming before I will reach it from here, if my wounds do not hamper me, which is not the case; as I experimentally move myself, the torn tissue on my tail fills me with pain every time I try to swish it.
I endure it, nevertheless. The dark master has left an alien knowledge in my mind which makes a dull throbbing in my skull as if it is jostling with my original thoughts for space in my mind. So it is with peculiar certainty that I know, somehow, that the gateway with which I have used to come here is still present out in the sea. However, the knowledge also warns me how narrow my window of opportunity is – the door will not stay open for long, now that I have been deemed dead from the Sunken Leaves' assaults. Resting can wait until I have reached the other side so I continue onwards, memories guiding me through the river and out to the sea all the while struggling not to succumb to the lure of sleep while the pain intensifies with every beat of my tail. When at last I reach it, the glowing-ringed opening is still there, thankfully, although the brightness is dimmer than I remember.
Recklessly I enter the turbulent centre and the tarry darkness surrounds me, sucking me in like a great whirlpool. Like before, I cannot be used to the curiously constricting sensation in my chest although my breath still comes with relative ease. The instinct urges for retreat but I suppress it, my sweeping tail driving me through the viscous blackness until it is replaced by the soothing fluidity of seawater when I finally emerge on the other side. Not a moment too soon either, as whatever endurance I have has now been exhausted. Heedless to my surrounding, I willingly let myself collapse on the bottom of the ocean – I need time and rest for my body to begin healing, and if what I see back in the city is of any indication, I will have to be in my prime condition if I am to meet the challenges from my previous master and his comrades. The warmer water of this ocean is very much comforting and sleep comes easily to numb the pain from my wounds, but it is not a peaceful respite. Nightmares of the darkness spreading and Mother lost in its grip haunt me. A silent spectator, I am forced to sit by and watch as the images continue to play the most horrific consequences throughout my sleeping.
xxxxx
When I wake up at last, it is from Father's phantom scream in my head; the dream has not spared him from death. My only relief is that it is, after all, a dream, although the immediate sensing of the darkness in my proximity lends it an awful tinge of realism. Fatigue has thrown my sense of time off-balance, so I have only the vaguest idea of the duration of my sleep. A day, at the very least, as my innate perception of the sun hints which intensifies my uneasiness – I have not expected to sleep for so long, especially when every second Father survives brings the enemies to more desperate measure to overcome him. There is a benefit to be gained in the situation, at least. The wounds have healed completely, leaving not even a scar to mark their existences.
Even if I have not healed yet, I cannot bear myself to wait, not when the darkness is moving rapidly across the world. What time still remains is cut even shorter when I sense a nearby 'voice' of a Big Enemy joining a particularly dark presence on the island. In my confusion I struggle to actually pinpoint the exact location – in fact, it takes me a while to identify the big Enemy as the bat with the annoying screech, whom I fought not a few days ago. Fatigue, seemingly of serious concern a moment ago, becomes secondary as I force myself onward, keeping well hidden in the depth from passing Unlifes of the dark master.
The island is not far; however, considering the unsettling proximity of the Big Bat to Father, my usual cautiousness is completely overridden. Small though it was, it can snatch an unwary human and swallow it whole. A pessimistic notion, I admit, though I quickly find myself wishing that it is the bat I am facing because as I emerge on the shore, a worse prospect awaits in the form of a Sunken Leaf, hovering ominously over a group of humans who I easily recognize.
You're all here!
I roar out joyously towards them, relieved at the sight of still-alive Father in the group. A single Sunken Leaf I can handle, but as I turn my sight towards it, a darkness approaching from the other side halts my intended step.
-You have come in good time, child.
I turn to face the speaker and am surprised to see Mother standing there, her green eyes glowing with bloodlust. I have not noticed her earlier when the Sunken Leaf is much closer to Father than she is to him; my own anxiety has previously clouded my sight. Now that I have noticed her though, my distress is only refreshed when I realize that Father and his pack are her preys with the Sunken Leaf cornering them into an inescapable position.
-These vermin has been troublesome to the master. Kill them and he will be VERY grateful to you.
Her voice is almost lifeless and her tone is as unyielding as the command she speaks. It is either I do or I don't. My heart grows cold at the cruel finality of either option – How can I choose between a birth mother and a human father who has been responsible in raising me? My sight hops between her and Father, helplessly seeking for a nonexistent middle ground where death is avoidable. I cannot bear to meet their hard, judgmental gazes for long, waiting for my decision to end one of them.
-The master cannot wait forever...
She coldly hisses, making no attempt to disguise her contempt at my hesitance. But the darkness does no longer dominate my thoughts and the act of killing this particular human is unspeakably horrifying. The dark aura surrounding her intensifies with her displeasure, so much so that my head aches simply from sensing it. True, I have embraced myself to the darkness but it is because my mentality has been forcibly altered to like it; now freed of its hypnotizing influence, it feels blasphemous to be associated with it whatsoever. Why and how Mother consents to be enveloped in such disgustingness is inconceivable…
Then, understanding dawns upon me. Of course it is inconceivable, just as I cannot comprehend how, under its influence, I can simply be spoken into hating my father. The darkness around her becomes even more revolting once I realize the devilry it is performing upon her.
You are not yourself, Mother!
My roar accompanies the flame I produce from my mouth, turning my head at the very last moment and catching the nearby Sunken Leaf unexpected. The brownish metal cracks and explodes in a brilliant shower of sparks and the sea below swallows the remaining debris. There is a stunned silence at first before cheers rise up from Father and his pack when they realize the side which I am taking. I cannot betray Father but Mother…she needs to be corrected; freed from her dark influence.
The darkness has trapped you; used your power against your will, like it did to me. Fight it, Mother!
When my eyes meet hers, I feel a phantom chill crawling through my spine. Her green eyes are murderous, filled with hatred and disbelief for my standing.
-The humans must die. Do NOT test me.
Two more Sunken Leaves descend to hover at her sides, prepared to unleash their destructive forces upon Father and his pack. The growl resonating in her throat speaks of warning that the same fate will befall me should I persist. My resolve threatens to falter for a split second only to be revived by my sight of Father. I have left him once when he needed me most; the shame will be difficult to wash away, if at all possible, and to do so once more will the most despicable cowardice ever. I crouch protectively in front of Father and his Pack, determined to stay through whatever hell the darkness intends to rain upon me.
Not them, Mother. I can't let Father die!
I still retain the hope of her recovery. After all, what's to stop her from unshackling herself from the darkness, just as I recently did? So, I charge forward, in all belief that the two Sunken Leaves serve to whisper their demonic words into her mind – and that their eliminations will ease my reasoning with her. As the thought of Father has motivated my freedom, so too I will help her escape from her dark thoughts and –
Pain.
So much pain!
I struggle to make sense of my environments, overwhelmed by the ugly pain spreading in my chest. Why does it burn so badly, so agonizingly –
It's the Sunken Leaf…!
Little by little, I realize what has transpired through my muddled thoughts. I try to stay awake even as I lay there unmoving, holding desperately to the little tendril of consciousness. My seared flesh is quickly closed by the natural healing factor within me, but oh, how it hurts still! I long to lose myself in the comfort of unconsciousness, to free myself in my sleep, yet Father needs my help; there are dangers around us that he cannot handle by himself. But Mother…Mother will not listen to me.
Am I such a failure to you, Mother?
In the last seconds before the Sunken Leaf's fire-breath hit me, I see no compassion within her eyes – not even resignation for my decision. They are empty of all things I have come to associate with Father, leaving only hatred and disgust for what I have come to love and stand by. It horrifies me to think of her uncanny similarities to the dark master himself as if she has cast all notions of familial ties.
…Like an Unlife, who pretends only the vaguest understanding of living things…
Can it be true?
"Godzilla! Wake up! We need you!"
Father's frantic voice penetrates through the world-blinding agony. He calls for me; for my aid and my loyalty. Father, who has taken me in when I am lost in my hatchlinghood, now requires me to be strong in the face of despair just as he himself refusing to back down as long as he stands. He may be small and fragile, possessing neither sharp claws nor fangs to kill, but his spirit is that of a predator.
The sharp smell of smoke suddenly filling my nostrils jolts me to reality that I have been fearing to face – but one that I can no longer run away from. Opening my eyes, I realize that Father is standing right beside me, a burning wood held in his wildly flailing arms. I notice the relief on his face when I gaze down at him and in return, I find strength in his faith from me. Though my limbs still feel heavy, I force myself to stoop in defense beside him, shaking off debris and sand that happen to land upon me during my fall. I know now what needs to be done – my remorse and hesitation, all too prevailing a few seconds ago, are washed clean by the terrible realization, to be replaced by anger and hatred that burn more intensely than I have ever felt towards any Big Enemies so far.
You will not fool me again!
I roar out; in my voice, I cannot help but let my anguish and disappointment pour into it. Such hopes that she has sowed in me the moment I realized her identity, it hurts far too much to silently bear when the Mother I have been dreaming to meet turn out to be a dead flesh without soul. The darkness has not just manipulated her will as it did mine; she is irrevocably taken to serve the dark master in eternal slavery that stretches even beyond her death. I have been blinded by the vain hope in seeing another of my kind to acknowledge it earlier – that there is no longer true life stirring within the body, even from the very moment I laid my eyes upon it. The Thing that whirls around to face me is merely a flesh-puppet of her once living body.
-You've gone too far this time, you ungrateful child!
The Thing growls angrily, attempting to invoke my instinctive obedience for one who was once my parent. Once it would have worked but now, it serves only to flare up the wrath already bubbling within me. The anger in her – ITS – eyes are not born from having a wayward son; it is the anger of the dark master, hiding behind the pretense of life, displeased by a disobedience of one whom he cannot control. I have been fooled once to abandon Father; I will never do so again.
I'm no longer yours. Fight me, Unlife.
The Thing answers to my challenge readily, even gladly, and hurls out volleys of blue-fired stings from the plates upon its back. Fortunately, Father and the rest of his pack have the wisdom to leave the place the moment I rise to face this despicable Thing. I have been prepared to face the exact same assault, having remembered its usage back when we were hunting Father and his sun-haired friend back on the grey land, and shift my weight about to dodge the raining stings. I am gambling for the same inaccuracies of its fires that I have seen displayed when it tried to annihilate Father before, and it pays; none of the fiery stings touch me and land harmlessly around me instead. Still, it cannot go on like this – so when the next fiery sting heads in my direction, I position myself right behind where it is expected to hit.
It is another risky gamble; all the shuffling about and the bombarding serve to loosen up the ground. The explosion from the final sting stirs up a cloud of dust so thick that it rises to my height. Quickly, I lost myself in the crudely established smokescreen and frantically work my claws into the Earth. Time is against me; I dig hard and fast, my palms shoveling away dirt as fast as I can push myself before the dust settles down, thus ruining my cover. Fortunately, my long talons make short work of the already loose ground. I disappear into the burrowed tunnel as if I dive into water, just as soon as the dust clears away above. The Thing's footsteps rattle the ground around me as I lay quietly at the bottom of the hole; feeling and listening for the telltale signs of it moving into the desired position.
It stops right above the tunnel's entrance.
A sharp inhalation turns my breath into fire – I aim my opened maw straight up where the head of the Thing peeks out at the very edge of the opening above me and roar out a powerful burst of my flame. Such is the force I unleash with it, the Thing is tossed backwards a good distance, where it remains lying on the ground. I clamber out of the hole and race towards it. With luck, the single blast may be sufficient to finish it. It certainly seems so for a few seconds as I tower above the unmoving Thing…and then, its head turns to look at myself right in the eyes.
-…You dare…?!
The disbelieving remark brings forth wave of revulsion rolling through my being. I give it not even the honour of answering before I breathe another stream of flame from my jaws. I revel in the savage satisfaction of drowning the Thing with my fire, even more so when I hear its helpless growls amongst my own roars. It is a hatred such I have never known that not a trickle a mercy can find a way to soothe my anger, not until the Thing ceases to be. The only thing that saves it from immediate demise – my fire-breath is intense enough to have turned the sand around its head into smooth, glassy surface – is the sudden arrival of a fleet of dark-wrapped Unlifes; a trio of Sunken Leaves, escorted by a number of those smaller, fast flyers. The latter make a sharp dive in my direction whilst unleashing their fiery shots .
I have not paid the flesh-puppet Thing much attention in the presences of the flying Unlifes; their shots are puny attempts if made with the intention to kill, but soon I realize that they are merely distractions to provide the Thing a much needed space to recover. Admittedly, I am taken by surprise to see the Thing charging towards me while I busy myself with the dark flyers, its mouth wide open and displaying the sharp teeth within. However, its movements are much too unstable to be an efficient lunge that dodging its advance is a far easier matter to do than avoiding the rains of shots from the flying Unlifes. Our unpredictable battle, at the very least, take as much toll on my adversary as it does to me – some of the shots stray towards the Thing instead, inflicting enough damages to sever the metal-based arm. The limb falls away with a loud clanging noise, leaving a bloodless stump where it has been joined to the shoulder. Dry metal veins dangle from the 'wound', in appearance similar to the yellow stalker Unlife after I have been through chewing it. In spite of the bloodless carnage, the Thing lets out a scream as real as any living foe from the dismemberment and falls to its knees, huddling in upon itself and clutching the armless shoulder with its fleshed hand.
The Thing's vulnerability cannot be exploited though. Another group of flyers descend upon me yet again, forcing me away from the Thing with its relentless stings. Unlike the first time, I do not have the advantage of surprise to catch these small, speedy flyers. I lunge futilely after one after another, succeeding in catching nothing but air. Their harassment are starting to seriously getting to my nerves when the ambient darkness, which has been ever present surrounding this island ever since I was led here by this Thing, begins to dissolve away; the oppressing presences of the dark masters dwindle from my perceptions like the black clouds of the sea storm suddenly dissipating, chased away by the warmth of the sun.
The clarity of my mind, being freed of the darkness' prevalence, is just one of the sudden turn of events; the harassing flyers too take their leave just as suddenly, shifting their target to what seems like a renegade flyer among them, having apparently destroyed a nearby dark-wrapped buildings, one of the few which are scattered around the island. Swirling deftly around the rest of the dark master's Unlifes and redirecting their stings to hit one of their own instead, the renegade leaves behind an impressive trail of destruction as even the big Sunken Leaves fall victim to the renegade's tricks. Satisfying as it is to watch, I redirect my attention to my original prey – the Thing, having been given time long enough to recuperate, are now getting back to its feet and coming to face me for the next round.
It is not merely blind bloodlust coursing through my veins as we circle each other warily. The urge to kill is intense, so very intense, but staring into those unnatural green eyes, I realize that I need this revenge. I have shed the blood of many Big Enemies before but they have been done because of their invasions into my territories. I cast all attempts at grace and simply bludgeon my own body into the Thing and relish in the feel of metals giving in under the massive impact. I hold nothing back in the charge and it shows; the Thing is sent hurtling far back, its body gouging a deep trench into the ground before finally skidding to a halt among the trees. Greatly weakened, yes, but I still notice slight movements from it among the billowing dust cloud it has kicked up. In all honesty, I am rather glad that it survives for this time when I see it laboriously pushing itself to stand; its demise will be too quick to atone for its crime. The deed of this flesh-puppet Thing is far more blasphemous – to lie with the face of Mother and force my claws to have me murder Father… the memories collide together and burst out in a roar of wordless rage for all the atrocities which have been forced upon me.
Making a mad dash towards me, an enraged bellow comes out from the Thing's maw, although now there is a hint of hesitance among the rolling tone. It misses when I flinch slightly to the side, exchanging the furious roar with a pained whine as my tail whips right upon its face, producing a savagely satisfying crunching of bones being broken. Dazed from the pain and truly frightened by now, The Thing flees to the shore out of sheer desperation to escape my wrath, pausing foolishly for a second to see if the water will dissuade me from attacking. I breathe out my fire again, striking it squarely on the already damaged chest and knocking it backwards into the water. It answers with a blue-glowing fire-breath of its own, one which I easily leap clear over the stream. I land heavily upon it, burying my claws into the shoulders to keep the body down and letting the feet-talons digging into the flesh of its abdomen for a firmer hold. It is time for the finish now but not with my fire; the impersonal attack will not suffice to satiate my anger towards this flesh-puppet Thing. Instead, my sharp teeth pierce through the metal armours on its chest and wring the first portion free from the Thing's body. My muzzle burrows in with impunity, ripping out pieces after sparking pieces and tossing them to the side, all the while ignoring the erratic shivers of its final throes.
You were my mother once. Not anymore, UNLIFE.
With this thought, I yank out the final flashing metal vein from the chest cavity. The Thing's struggles cease at last, its green eyes rolling back into its head behind the closing eyelids. I tower over it, the triumphant one of the two, and lift my head skywards.
Your puppet is finished! Send me more, a hundred; a thousand more – I WILL FINISH THEM ALL!
Whether or not the dark master hears my challenge, I do not know. However, all of the dark-wrapped flyers inexplicably whirls around and begins to ascend as one. Faster and faster they climb up, through the clouds and further beyond, lifting the darkness along with their departures. The sky, which has been congested with zooming, hovering flyers become completely devoid of them in a matter of seconds; disappearing into the far distance above from whence they come from just as abruptly as they appear. I linger around uncertainly, still very much suspicious of their uncanny retreats after all the mischiefs they have accomplished during their presences. My wandering eyes are caught by the sight of a little black spot dropping out from one of the last flyers to leave. The remaining anger would have me destroy it the instant I come within snapping range but a deep-seated instinct screams for caution against recklessness. Torn between the warring urges, I watch cagily as the black ball, finely streaked with blue, comes to a gentle land at my feet. I hunker down over it, prepared to attack the moment it shows any sign of hostility, and snarl my final warning towards the seemingly harmless ball.
It is fortunate that I decide to wait, after all. My reluctance is soon explained as the ball hisses open and Father emerges out from it.
"It's okay, it's okay!" Father shouts towards me, his arm waving in a gesture of friendliness. "It's just us."
The rest of his pack soon trails out of the ball as well, watching me a little more anxiously than Father does. Rather understandable, because I have half a mind to just crush the ball underfoot if Father has not made himself seen. It is a little perplexing that they should come out of the ball – apparently a carrier of some sort – rather than keeping themselves to the ground, and one which has been ejected out of the dark-wrapped flyer, no less.
Why were you…never mind, I snort testily, half-driven by the anxiety at the thought of their near-destruction under my foot. As long as you're all safe.
Father has done this sort of thing before, after all; during my first discovery of the crippled Sunken Leaf, I have nearly swallowed what seemed to be a big jellyfish before Father's voice halted my intention. The same apparently applies here as well although for whatever reason he ends up in the black carrier-ball, I may never know. Perhaps he has been in the renegade flyer I have seen before, escaping the flying Unlife with the carrier-ball before they are gone with the rest of the withdrawing fleet. Knowing him and his often drastic ways, that may just be it.
Speaking of which…
The last of the dark fleet is speeding off into the distance, becoming a black speck that soon disappears altogether. The foreboding darkness that envelops the island completely vanishes with their absences; an island just like any other in the middle of the ocean. Well, not exactly. There are still a few structures the dark master has abandoned dotting the island, though none seems to emit any sort of dark aura on their own. One building, at the very least, has been wrecked down to the foundation by a group of newly-arriving flyers; these are visibly human-made in appearances, with spinning propellers mounted atop each one of them. I'm not feeling too generous as of yet to let them have the satisfaction of ruining the rest still standing, hence myself setting out to trace and bring down whatever things that hold any resemblance to the Sunken Leaf. It is an easy enough task that serve as outlets to vent out my residual bloodlust; I tear into them eagerly with my teeth and claws, occasionally using my fire to destroy those in small enough pieces to bodily demolish. As I burn to the ground the last of the dark master's building, whatever bit of battle-rage remains before is finally spent in my destructive work. Standing up to my height, my gaze sweeps around the island with a sense of satisfaction to see that nothing darkness-made has been left untouched. The rest of the world seems to fare just as well; there are no longer dark-borne threats perceivable to my sense, not even those from far away.
As I come down the short cliff-side – upon which the last dark building was located – I take a quick sniff at Father as I pass the group on my way to the shore. There is a newcomer among them, though not one that I do not recognize. Apparently a leader of some sort to a group of the humans' flying Unlifes, he does not seem to be a part of Father's pack though his frequent presence is usually welcomed. I know him as the Green Man, though the others have called him by some other name – 'Hicks' or something like that. Once, I have been wary of his being there – I still retain quite a few memories in which his team of flying Unlifes seem intent on fire-stung me to death, especially in my early days as a hatchling – but lately, Father has loosen up considerably around him. I'm not too keen to ease myself around him just yet, but I settle with a little bit of trust to let him run around my father without constantly keeping an eye out For now, though, I give him only the most cursory of glance. My attention is more heavily devoted to Father himself; my nose smells a faint scent of blood though nothing else that seems to indicate pain whatsoever. Still, my instinctive protectiveness for him cannot be reassured, not after we have gone through a battle of such grand scale.
"He really takes to you, doesn't he?" The Green Man says, a slight hint of wonder in his gruff voice. I spare him a little disbelieving grunt –I'm not going to let Father lying around bleeding to death – before I return to my interrupted inspection.
"I'm okay," he answers to the concerned rumble I give him; I can see his appreciative smile forming at my anxiety. "Go on; go to the water."
I comply with the command, satisfied now that he is not truly harmed in the conflict. With a swish of my tail, I turn around and head for the water. With the darkness gone now, fatigue has begun to settle into my overtaxed muscles. We all both deserve a little rest after what we have been through – I myself am eager to just curl around and sleep somewhere dark and safe before beginning the long journey home.