A clank of keys jolted me back to reality, blinking in confusion as I realized I was in the doorway of an apartment. A man looked over his shoulder worriedly, gently tugging my hand. I jerked away, growling as pain stabbed from my left side and right wing. Wait, not wing. Wing... stub? Memories flooded back, and I hurriedly returned feeling to my nerve endings around the wounds, jolting me out of shock. "Kylrm, are you okay? Kylrm!" I vaguely heard Dick through a high-pitched ringing in my ears. Nodding, I hesitantly took a step, pain shooting like lightning up my side. Gritting my teeth, I carefully sat on a soft, slightly rough fabric covering some tree flooring. Blinking hard once, I refocused, concentrating on directing my healing cells towards my side. If I could just... a steaming mug was pressed into my hand. Startled, I tried to stand up, only to hiss as a sharp blast of pain coursed through my side. "Shhh, easy," Dick said, putting a hand on my shoulder to gently push me back down. "You're safe here. Just rest, and I'll take care of everything."
A few hours and mugs of hot cocoa with whiskey later, my side finally healed. Taking a deep breath for the first time since the fight, I nodded to Dick, who had taken a seat on his couch a while ago. Legs protesting in sleep, I slowly stood up, leaning on the couch arm for support. "Okay, what do you want to know?" I sighed, wincing as cells leaped to reconstruct my wing.
Dick hesitated, and taking a deep breath said quietly, "He just left you there. You were wounded, and he just left you."
Somewhat relieved, I offered a small smile, "Bruce didn't know I was hurt. He was worried about Jason; I couldn't take that away from him."
He propelled off the couch, pain and concern seething in his deep blue eyes, "If he had just looked he would have seen." Chest heaving, he softened his gaze slightly, seeing something in my eyes. I gently put a hand on his shoulder. "It's just not like him. And Alfred should have called by now."
"It's all right," I said quietly, stiffening as another wave of needles stabbed from my wing. Suddenly, a very different scene flashed across my vision, making me stumble back. Bumping into a side table, I shook my head, startled as the well-lit cave cleared from my vision.
Dick frowned, "What happened?" I just shrugged, wondering that myself. Blinking away stubborn dots, I realized the cave was vaguely familiar...
"Oh no," I managed to squeak as another tsunami of pain crashed from my missing wing through my entire body. Stumbling forward, I hissed as cold, almost frozen rock met my bare feet. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled somewhere high above us. US, I froze. I'm not alone. Eyes darting, I cautiously stepped forward, a booming yet soft voice cascading through the cavernous space.
You've been hiding from this for too long, duone, Hashim said. I flinched back, a sharp pain splicing from my shredded right wing. Looking down, I was hit by a wave of confusion. Why was I in bewilderbeast form? Wasn't I...
"Kylrm, KYLRM!" a familiar voice violently yanked me from the memory. Hands were on my skin, shaking my form! Growling, I shoved the still materializing figure away, jumping backwards into a defensive stance. Well, more or less. My right wing now missing, I teetered, arms thrust to the side to regain my balance and finding purchase on some strangely-shaped wooden... oh. Now I could fully see the apartment, taking in the over-turned couches and small, almost useless tables. A figure was slumped against a tile fireplace on the far wall. He groaned, "What the heck was that about?!"
Chest heaving, I watched him slowly get up, a small trickle of blood running down his temple. Brow knitting, the man repeated the same sounds, but what did they mean? Words were coming back to me, but in bits and pieces. Who are you! I shouted at his mind, wincing back as I felt his slight resistance give way to mounting confusion. The man's expression softened, and he let loose another string of words, "... help... safe now." Still hesitant, I relaxed slightly, letting him lead me to a more open space where I couldn't knock anything over. His forehead was a swarm of wrinkles, eyes squinting tight to look deep into mine. Squirming slightly under his stare, I felt his grip soften even more and release, letting me shift slightly away. The young man - perhaps twenty-four or five winters - was definitely familiar, but I couldn't quite place why. And that memory...
The man pulled a metal disk-like object out of his clothing, making me shy away. He put out his hand, and I quickly recognized it as a communications device. Nodding, I heard him quickly say a few phrases before picking up a faint, much older voice on the other end. Dick. That was his name. Everything came into focus, "...Alfred, I don'tcare what state he's in! Bruce needs to get over here right now... [but Master Gr-] enough! He should have been with her after the explosion, but at least he can be here, now... looks like she's back." Dick hung up, searching my face again for the recognition I knew was there now.
"It's okay," I offered weakly. "It was just... well, probably just a ha-"
"No," he said passionately. "Don't you dare lie to me."
Squinting at his expression, I sighed, "Fine. It was a memory. I've never had them while awake, but I think this, this is pulling me back."
Dick nodded, not even questioning what the memory was. "What can I do to help?"
I briefly closed my eyes, focusing on pressing back against the fragile wall holding the memory at bay. After a moment, I re-opened them, dropping all illusions. "Just, justbe here." With a gut-wrenching jerk, I was back in the cave, washed in the fear and pain as Hashim approached.
He flashed a menacing grin with dozens of missing teeth, You know there's no escape now. Everyone you cared about is dead or incapacitated. No one can save you. No one even cares anymore. No one knows you exist.
Rapidly shaking my massive head, I backed against a sharp-edged rocky wall. No, it can't be! YOU'RE LYING! I sensed a good-familiar presence nearby and tried to grab on, but it slipped from my grasp. Chest heaving, I swung my tusks in an arc, trying to ward off the much larger dragon.
He chuckled, a harsh, grating noise, Ah, but it's true. Hashim sighed, I was rather hoping we would find another female, but you seem to be the last one. Eyes growing wide, I felt my heart skip a beat. Oh yesss, He didn't tell you when He brought you here, did He?
Trembling, I tried to shift sideways, awkwardly tripping over my still over-sized, soot-covered paws. P-please, don't do this! Hashim just smirked, cackling again as he slowly approached. Suddenly, I felt the familiar presence again. The cave faltered, two realities faded against each other, the memory still strong, but it was a memory! I finally latched onto the mind, pulling myself out of the memory. I can't let him see this, I thought sadly. I may be ready to share what happened, but I couldn't let him see what I did next. That would be too-
"Kylrm, are you there?" a soft voice emerged from the in-between darkness as the apartment came back into the focus. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I petted the soft carpet with a smooth hand, smiling slightly at the welcome change from the roughness of the cave. "Uh... Kylrm?"
I snapped out of the haze, gazing up into the face of... Dick, that was his name. I blushed, "Sorry, I... it's a hard memory."
He frowned, brow knitting as he looked over my appearance. Startled, I remembered I had dropped all the illusions. Looking away, I blushed furiously and started to cast a few basic ones that would at least hide the worst of the scars. Dick gently held my chin, bringing my eyes back to meet his. "Hey," he whispered. "I don't care what you look like; I care about the real you. No matter what." I managed a small smile, his deep blue eyes putting me more at ease. Dick sat beside me, holding my hand gently, "So, why do you think the injury's triggering this?"
I shuddered, flinching. "I-it's the same thing that happened... then. I, he..." I took a deep, shuddering breath, biting my bottom lip a little. "In the hours before He - that is, Drago - took me to Hashim's cave, they threw everything they had at me. It was the one day they didn't, um..."
After a moment, Dick said, "It's okay; you don't have to tell me."
I smiled slightly but gratefully, my words coming in a blur now as phantom-rippings shot up and down where my right wing should be. "Well, they finally managed to completely separate my right wing's membrane from the arm, and even parts of that came off in the process. Dazed and trying to put myself back together, I was led to the cave where a nadder incinerated the bloody, separated pieces of my wing, which makes it almost impossible to grow back."
"And that's what triggered the me-"
I shook my head, making him shoot me a befuddled look. "It's, well... it's more than that." Dick nodded, concerned eyes urging me on. "They found another bewilderbeast's wing... well, killed him. I... my body needed something to start the healing process, and it started trying to take cells from that. That's what they wanted." Eyes shooting wide open, I felt the pull of a black scale to my wing. Back in the cave, I snorted, frantically looking for the body. If I could just turn- no! I jerked right so my wing stub was pushed against the wall. Screaming in excruciating pain, I felt every raw, exposed fiber scraping and dying against the rocks.
Ah, I see the old prune is finally serving us well. I barely registered Hashim chortling cruelly through the pain, but his mind words were clear as, as... Nraaaa! I slammed a tusk through the foreign cell, lucky enough to tear it apart before it could reach my wing, but the movement tearing more of my wing arm. She didn't survive her first week. I shuddered, wincing at another layer of pain.
She was lucky, I shot back weakly. Hashim stabbed at my mind, nearly getting through my inner wall. I weakly pushed back, straining to keep fighting, keep being me. All at once, a massive tidal wave of pressure, anger, and fear flooded my mind. No, NOOO! I screamed, frantically trying to push him back. I felt the distinct tug of another foreign cell and deviated for a moment to attack it, Hashim immediately surging forward to take control of more systems. My tail dropped, completely numb. My left wing quickly followed, spurring me to drop the attack and return to pushing against Hashim. Hearts beating frantically, I felt them grow in size until another grew to deliver more power. Panicking, I finally accepted what I had to do, the world seeming to stand still. Somewhere in the back of my mind, two voices screamed not to do it, but... I couldn't risk myself falling into their hands. By the time Hashim realized what I was doing, it was too late. I swiftly swung my forepaws to my throat, feeling the steely-cold claws slicing through my thin voice box, moist artery, and... and... I weakly spread my claws to just inside the scales, preventing the tissues from, healing...
After some time, I opened my eyes slowly to a nearly blinding light surrounding me. There was no cold or scent, just... perfect warmth. A shimmering figure obscured by the light began to emerge. I warily started to stand, jumping as I saw my blacker-than-night form with starlight winking in and out in stark contrast to the beautiful light. Peace emanated from the slowly approaching figure, although I didn't quite understand why.
"Peace, little one," the softest, gentlest voice I ever heard caressed my mind with an embrace so light I almost missed it. I hummed, relaxing as he became clearer. The man was clothed as my human form usually was, his pale robe an extension of his fluid, yet silently strong, body. He had no fear; most simply tried not to show fear when approaching a dragon, but he truly was not afraid. A sense of familiarity washed over me, but I would remember a man such as this. "You're safe now, and there is nothing to fear." Something just felt... right. I relaxed into his hand, brushing my head against his shoulder as I felt an overwhelming peace wash away what little remained of my pain and fear. The man smiled down at me, gently caressing my soft head. "I'm afraid you can't stay here, Kylrm." I winced, pushing a little farther into him. "I know, but my Father has plans for you. We give you the strength to carry on."
Pulling back, I look into his eyes for the first time, noticing a strange depth, knowledge, wisdom even. "Who are you?" I whisper, taking in his unique scent of citrus, space dust, and... something entirely new.
"I am the Son, a part of what your people call the Creator." Eyes widening, I stumbled back, bowing clumsily as I tried to process his words. The Creator? How could... Did anyoneknow he was, uh... "A Trinity? some do, yes. In this and several other worlds, they are known as Christians." I started, stories from my hatchling-hood reminding me the Creator was the ultimate alpha, reading all minds simultaneously without being overwhelmed.
"Wh-why not just let me die? If you're so merciful, why not answer my prayers!" tears coursed down my smooth scales.
"You have an important purpose, one not easily fulfilled," he sadly replied, gently wiping a tear away. "This prepares, steels you for what is to come."
Suddenly, something shifted almost imperceptibly, and the memories of the following seventeen years flooded back to me. Strangely, I was still in the light, but while there was no visible change in time, something felt different. The Son emerged again, this time appearing more worn. And were those blood stains?
"You are in a different place and time, so you see me as someone from this world would see me," the Son smiled warmly. "We have little time, so I must be brief. Thereare other dragons in the world, and you must find them soon. There is an old enemy approaching, and you will need everyone to defeat him."
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Argh, I've spent almost a month on this (literally)! this has probably been the hardest emotion-wise for me to write. I got through it, though hope it was worth it!