"HAHAHA!! I LOVE watching humans flee! Yes, fear me humans for I am Atlas Flame! The King of flames! My flames burn more than the pits of Hell!" Atlas Flame shouted as he burned down a village, hundreds of humans fleeing for their lives. Atlas Flame was smirking with satisfaction when a claw grabbed his head.
He looked to see a red dragon growling at him. "Your flames do not seem all that hot to me, I felt better, you have no right to call yourself a King." Atlas Flame pulled away from him. "Who are you?! One of those 'love for humans' dragons?"
The dragon smirked. "You obviously have been gone too long from your homeland; you don't know who I am?"
"If I did, I wouldn't have asked!"
The dragon snorted. "Well, I'm sure you must have heard of me. I am Igneel, King of the fire dragons!"
Atlas Flame scoffed. "So, you're the famous dragon King? You're why dragons have turned their backs on their own kind."
"Tell me, Atlas Flame, do you enjoy doing this? Killing innocent humans who have done nothing to you? Your way of handling humans is why they think of us as monsters."
"Innocent? Give me a break! They've killed hundreds of us!" Atlas Flame argued and Igneel glared. "And we've killed thousands of them! Humans are stupid creatures; they do not know better! They are only trying to protect themselves! Killing them will only prove to them that they have been right about us, killing them will solve nothing!"
Atlas Flame snarled. "You are a coward, Igneel! Nothing but a lizard! You don't want to kill humans, fine! But don't try to stop me!"
Igneel growled. "Maybe I am a lizard but never a coward! I won't let you kill humans, just so you can satisfy your hate towards them!"
"Give it your best shot! I'll put an end to you Igneel Dragneel!"
The two dragons then attacked. Atlas flame biting into Igneel's scales, making the dragon roar in pain. He managed to pull away from Atlas and tried to use his breath attack. The attack went right through Atlas, but it didn't do anything.
Atlas Flame laughed. "You idiot! My body is pure flame! Your breath attack can't hurt me!" Igneel scoffed. "And your fire won't be able to hurt me either!"
The two then continued to fight while people below them were screaming and running for their lives. Igneel threw Atlas Flame into a building which made him grunt in pain. With fire burning through his eyes, he was about to stand up when he heard-
"Mama!" Atlas turned to see a little boy, trying to pull off a large piece of wood off his mother. The mother had tears in her eyes, and she cupped the boy's cheek. "Edward, run. Leave me here. You must go now."
Suddenly, Atlas Flame's mind had left the village and went somewhere he never wanted it to go again. A memory, a memory he tried to forget.
…
When Atlas Flame was nothing more than a hatchling, he watched in horror as dragon slayers attacked his mother. "Mama!" He cried.
The female fire dragon attacked the best she could but, in the end, she was brought down. Atlas Flame hid until all the humans were gone before running to his mother. Blood was pouring from her back and head. She looked so weak, the fire on her body beginning to dim.
"Mama, please get up!" Atlas begged and his mother opened her eyes slightly. "I'm…not sure I can Atlas." Atlas had tears in his eyes. "Yes, you can. Get up!"
Seeing her son look so sad, his mother tried to fight and stand up, but she ended up falling back down. It was no use; she was far too weak to fight anymore. Atlas laid down next to her, fire tears dripping from his face.
"Atlas Flame…listen to me…I need you to be strong. The humans will be back here soon…you must leave and never look back." Atlas Flame looked horrified. "I don't want to go Mama, not without you!"
"I will be with you Atlas Flame; you may not be able to see me, but it doesn't mean that I'm not there. I'll always watch over you and love you and be proud of you."
"Please, Mama, you can make it, I know you can!" Atlas cried and his mother shook her head. "Atlas…let your heart guide you." She whispered softly as she closed her eyes and the last of her fire went out.
Atlas Flame cried in grief and anger that night. Since that day he has hated humans and that hatred grew as more time went by. He would kill all humans for what they did to his mother and to innocent dragons everywhere.
…
Igneel looked at Atlas and seemed to be catching on to what he was feeling. "There are bad humans in the world Atlas but there are also good ones. You say that humans killed hundreds of us but how does killing them make you any better than they are? I don't know what humans did to you Atlas, but I know that these humans have done nothing. You're the one who is hurting them and destroying their homes."
Atlas Flame looked at Igneel, taking in what he said then he looked back at the child and his mother. It pained him to see such sad souls. "I don't want to leave Mama, not without you!" The child cried.
Atlas Flame's eyes widened a bit. He thought that dragons were better than humans, but he just proved that they are the same. Killing out of fear and hatred. Atlas went to the human and the mother gasped in fear.
"Run Edward! Get out of here!" She yelled but the boy refused. "No, I won't leave you!" He cried hugging his mother who wrapped her arms around him as best she could.
They expected for the dragon to kill them but instead he lifted the wood that crushed the poor woman's legs and threw it away. They looked at the dragon surprised. "You two need to leave here, this whole village is burning down."
"Th-Thank..you." The woman stuttered and the boy smiled. "Thank you, dragon for saving my mama!"
Atlas stared at the boy in shock before the two left. Igneel went to Atlas. "See? Because of what you just did that boy might just grow up thinking dragons aren't monsters after all."
Atlas scowled at him. "I still hate humans…but I won't kill them anymore unless I have to." Igneel smiled. "That's good to hear. You know, we could use someone like you in our fight."
Atlas scoffed. "Just because I don't want to kill humans anymore, doesn't mean I want to join you!" He shouted while stomping off. Igneel sighed. "Shame, I thought we could be friends."
"Please, I would rather die than become your friend." Atlas Flame said with a smirk before flying off.
Little did he know that this day would lead him into a forever unbreakable friendship that will then lead him to have an amazing nephew who is just as compassionate as his father.