Webber's POV

There was no time for doubt. There was no time for hesitation or worrying or thinking. All that mattered was following Wilson's lead into the battlefield, with WX directly on our six.

The Dragonfly was strikingly beautiful. Her scales were like emeralds plating her entire, enormous body. Her eyes, although large and buglike, looked as if they were bejeweled. Each segment glinted in a new and rainbow-like color. Beneath the green scales, we could see an undercoat of orange that glowed like molten lava. Her claws were longer than our entire being, and they were completely unblemished as if she had never seen battle before.

She was the heart of the summer, though, we could tell that. Every step we took towards her came with a new blast of stinging wind. The heat was so incredible that even the tumbleweeds around us had embers glittering on the inside of them, as if they were seconds away from bursting into flames.

Wilson slowed as we fell into the shadow of the great beast. Our blood was rushing so hard that we could hear it in our ears. She seemed to be guarding something. She watched us with her huge circular eyes, but she didn't move to fight. She simply... watched.

We didn't want to fight her. We had been expecting her to instantly send waves of flames and death at us until we valiantly ended her life, all of us alive but barely with the satisfaction of knowing that we beat the monstrous beast. But if she wasn't even going to make the first move... we took a step back and opened out mouth to say-

"Aim for the eyes!" Wilson's battle cry cut us off. The Dragonfly blinked slowly, then rose. Her wings were far too small to carry her body, and yet she managed to steady herself into a hover. The simmering orange under her scales became brighter and brighter until the green was impossible to see anymore.

"YOU KNOW THE DRILL," WX spoke up from behind us. We spared a quick glance to see him raising his spear, determination glowing in his eyeless gaze. "WE WILL EMERGE VICTORIOUSLY. WE HAVE TO."

We nodded a single time, forcibly shoving everything out of our mind but the sight of the beast in front of us. She had prepared herself, but she still had yet to attack.

Wilson aimed his spear and threw. The sharp weapon split through the air and hit its target flawlessly- it sunk deep into her eye and stuck as clear fluid began to leak out of it.

She screeched in pain, and the wooden handle of the spear burst into flames, then disappeared into ash. We swallowed. It barely affected her.

Wilson frowned, but he hoisted his morning star over his shoulder.

He was lucky enough to have another weapon, but we nor WX had anything other than our spears. Whatever! We can do this anyway!

She spat flames against the ground at Wilson. We heard him let out a sharp cry as the fire caught on his shirt, but he managed to get it out before it did too much. We clenched our fist, then launched our own attack.

We readied our spear and sprinted beneath her belly to attack her tail. It's just like the Moose, it's just like the Moose, it's just like the Moose.

We stabbed the spear into her tail with such force and violence that it went straight through and dug into the ground.

Blood spurted from the wound.

She growled as the handle of our spear turned to ashes as well. Her tail lashed to the side, hitting us directly in the stomach.

We were sent flying and barely managed to land on our feet.

Fire grew around the Dragonfly's arms. They spiraled around her scales until the streak of flame reached her claws.

From the mighty beast's body exploded a ring of fire.

The heat singed the fur on our legs, and we could tell that the other two had been hit just as hard.

WX's spear was gone now too. The only weapon between the three of us was Wilson's morning star.

Wilson saw the lack of weapons on the field and promptly tossed it towards WX. "You pack the biggest punch of all of us," he shouted breathlessly. "We'll keep her distracted!"

We dropped to all fours and lunged forward. "We're going for her wings!" I shouted at Wilson.

"You'll be burnt to a crisp!"

We ignored him. Instead, as she readied her next attack, we jumped onto a clung to her tail. She let out a soft growl as if we were a mere nuisance.

The flames traveled up her body once more and almost entirely engulfed us. We were forced to let go with a muffled shriek as fire instantly began to burn hungrily at our fur and skin. The dusty wind and fall proved to be enough to put it out, but it had done its job. Blood began to drip from our fur, staining the sand red.

Her next attack hit our arm, slicing through fur and skin like a knife through butter.

Apparently, that was enough for her, and she turned her attack back to Wilson. We struggled to stand, but staying conscious was a chore, let alone getting to our feet. We let out a faint cry that was equal parts pain and relief as we felt a cold hand on our shoulder.

"THIS IS NOT YOUR TIME TO DIE. YOU HAVE TO GET UP."

"We can't," I gasped. "It... it burns..."

Suddenly, we were engulfed in a chilly and damp embrace. At any other time, we would've been shocked for our frenemy to hug us like that, until we realized that it was likely the only thing that helped our burns to feel any better. With WX's help, we got to our feet and shook the blood off of us. He looked utterly disgusted at having shown any sign of affection. "THAT IS THE BEST I CAN DO UNTIL WE CAN GO BACK HOME."

"We got this now," I assured him. He nodded a single time. "Get back into the fight. Don't worry about us."

Every step felt like we were walking on hot coals, but we pushed through until we were able to stand one more in the heat of the battle.

We were either just in time... or too late.

The Dragonfly locked her eyes on Wilson.

She batted us and WX away like we were mere insects that were flying around her head.

Wilson...

She raised her claws to strike.

Wilson raised his morning star to defend.

"DODGE!" WX shouted, but the crackling flames swallowed his voice whole. Wilson closed his eyes and braced himself.

Her arm descended, flames following the trail of movement.

Wilson's morning star exploded into shrapnel on impact.

"Wilson!"

The head of his weapon landed by our feet.

Something opened its eyes deep inside our mind. Something that had been waiting for a very long time. Something that had barely stirred since the day we were born.

WX dropped his attack to rush towards our fallen companion, leaving the fiery form of the Dragonfly to hover menacingly in front of us. Her eyes glowed like lava restrained behind simple glass. A simple flick of her claws sprouted a new wall of flame between our friends and us. It licked at our fur and threatened to scorch us further.

We barely batted an eye.

The burns, the blood pouring from our arm, the pain of it fell away.

The sounds, the crackling heat, WX's desperate attempts to stir Wilson, they were all unimportant.

The Dragonfly seemed to buzz impatiently.

A familiar yet unfamiliar growl rose up in our throat. We dropped to all fours, claws all out and digging deep into the dirt.

If we didn't know any better, we almost could see unease pass over the beast's face.

She killed Wilson.

Three words. One line of thought.

She killed Wilson.

We lifted up the head of the morning star. It was strangely heavy when it wasn't at the end of a wooden grip. Only a small shard of wood still stuck out from where the full weapon had once been.

"You killed Wilson!"

We tried to rush her and climb her tail, but we were simply thrown off once more.

"You killed...!"

She dipped her head to spew fire from her snout, but it was the opportunity we needed.

"You killed the only father I had left!"

The skin of her neck split under the pressure of the morning star. She tried to raise her head to knock me off, but I managed to hang on stubbornly.

He wasn't my father, but he could've been. Should've been. We could've escaped together, and I wouldn't have been alone.

The Dragonfly let out an earth-shattering screech as I planted my feet on her neck, then managed to get gravity to help. Her scales fell to the ground as the skin holding them on broke apart. Blood poured heavier and heavier until we hit the ground. From her chin to the curve of her body, a wide, thick gash had been carved out by the remnants of the morning star. She extended her claws and came forth a final burst of fire.

I braved the heat, ignoring the smell of burning fur. The dust thrown up by the fiery wind would be enough to put it out.

Her eyes burned with hate and anger, but her strength was failing fast. She collapsed to the ground.

The world around me seemed to grow greener. Tiny shoots of grass that had been withered by the sun suddenly sprouted back up to the sky. The thorny trees that rooted in the desert sands grew leaves for the first time ever.

The summer seemed to drain from the world until it became a warmth rather than a heat. The redness in my vision began to fade away until I fell to my knees. A long, soft breath escaped the Dragonfly's chest, and then her form disappeared into the dust.

We collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily as the pain returned to us. We numbly saw WX taking something that the Dragonfly had dropped and staring at it with disdain. Still holding the egg-shaped object, he came to help us up once more. The coolness of his body barely served to revive us.

"I TRIED."

His voice was soft, pained. He helped us to stumble towards our fallen friend.

"Oh, Wilson..." Our head drooped, and we struggled away from WX until we could sit beside Wilson. Blood still soaked the sand beneath him, but any force that was once behind it was gone. We rested our head against his chest, pain swelling into a lump in our throat.

"HE WOULD HAVE DIED ALMOST INSTANTLY," WX said. We looked back up at him. We managed to stay dry-eyed, but only barely. "HE WOULD NOT HAVE FELT ANY PAIN."

"We should've saved him. We could've..."

"IT WAS AS IF HE KNEW THAT HE WOULD NOT MAKE IT OUT OF THIS BATTLE ALIVE." WX shook his head. "IT IS NONE OF OUR FAULTS."

We remained silent, closing our eyes for a long moment. "We wanna go home."

"CAN YOU WALK?"

Without even trying to, we denied. WX frowned deeply, his eyeless gaze switching between us and Wilson's bloody body. Then, he sighed.

"WE HAVE ALL THAT WE GOT HERE. LET'S GO."

"WX?"

"...WHAT?"

"Now what will we do?" We blinked slowly at him, feeling utterly empty.

"JUST AS WE'VE ALWAYS DONE."

"Just... without Wilson."