Gauntlet of the Juggernaut

by ADACLives

A short story set in Pyrrhia’s distant future about unlikely friendships during a time of war. Rated M for violence.

The bucket of soupy mystery meat made a discomforting squelch as it landed unceremoniously on the floor.

"One of you. Go feed the beast." Everyone looked at each other for a second.

"Draw straws?" A handful of sticks was found, and Smithy clenched them all in his fist. Each member of the group took one, and... "Sorry Holm."

The SandWing breathed a deep sigh, looking helplessly at her very small stick. Truth be told, this was her first time ever on feeding duty. No one ever spoke of what lay down in that cell.

Holm would consider herself your average dragon. She was a SandWing of a pale, buttermilk yellow, and a venomous stinger that was smaller than average. Her bright hazel eyes could be described as filled with emotion, which was fairly true of her.

Being a middle-ranking soldier in an unimportant division of the army, she did not hold self-respect in high amounts. It was a simple existence, for which she hoped to be a part of something greater. So far, serving under Queen Gila had been beneficial for that goal. Holm was less of a soldier and more so just well-rounded support, being a talented healer, and somewhat proficient in archery and swords.

But going to face this 'beast', the infamous, nigh legendary weapon of Gila's army, was not necessarily in her wheelhouse. Thank the moons she'd never had the experience of witnessing it in battle; rumors flowed about the creature's unfathomable power. Natural scaly armor, impregnable to any forms of metal or weaponry. A similar resistance to all poisons and chemicals such as a sting or corrosive RainWing venom. A behemoth twice the size of the Darkstalker of old—or worse.

None who came back from feeding duty spread such rumors again. Most were mum on the subject entirely. Thus, the potential falsities continued to float about the stronghold. Perhaps it was all exaggeration...or they could be selling the thing short.

...And they expect it to be satisfied from this tiny bucket of sludge?

For all she knew, she was part of the meal as well.

Insubordination was not to be tolerated, so Holm resentfully hoisted up the pail, a laborious task with how deceptively heavy it was. Her fellow soldiers all watched on, with expressions ranging between pity, fear, curiosity, and relief.

The senior officer responsible for dumping this task on someone else directed her to a forlorn and gloomy staircase in the far corner of their fortress. A sign was posted outside it; there were no words, instead a yellow triangle with a big black exclamation point. Good enough to serve as a warning.

Holm felt cold as the dreary walls of the stronghold stared her down from all sides. There were no banners, no chairs or other furniture, no windows even. Only the occasional sconce served as comfort for this deadly task. Lugging the bucket, which was beginning to feel like a ball and chain, she began the descent.

It was even darker and more damp down here. At some point, the chiseled, smoothed walls of the fortress became lumpy and unfamiliar stone. This dungeon must have been bored into the earth. At one point, it became so dark that she nearly lost her footing on the steps, and a small splotch of the minced meat landed uncomfortably on her foreclaw.

However, after what felt like ten minutes worth of a monotonous march down the steps, natural light could be seen towards the end of the tunnel.

Silently thanking the grace of the moons, Holm finally reached the last step. Her forearms were beginning to ache from the weight of her cargo. Moonlight illuminated only a small patch of the tiny antechamber, as it was coming through a tiny window in the door. Said entryway was made of black metal, very solid and heavy. What was in here, no one wanted getting out. Now able to set down the bucket of sludge, Holm breathed a plume of fire into the darkness, and it conveniently caught one small torch along the wall. The new flaming light now aided her to see another sign, posted near the blast door.

'Be warned! Here lies the Titan'

Wow. I had no idea. She slowly inched her head up to peer through the window.

The room was broad and spacious, in the shape of a dome. A single large skylight was carved out directly in the center of the curved ceiling. This allowed the pale light of the moons to cast down upon the Titan.

Holm's breath caught in her throat, and it felt as though her heart had stopped.

By the Scorching.

It was just her luck that it happened to be facing the door, allowing her to witness all of the creature in its horror.

A massive, truly gargantuan dragon that was deserving of its name slumbered in the cave. It was dappled and varied between so many different warm colors, from the darkest of blood reds to the lightest of yellows and whites. Holm could not make this connection for certain, but the Titan had scales that looked exactly like what she imagined the surface of the Sun to be.

Fitting with this coloration, her best guess was that it was some sort of SkyWing, or what remained of one. Powerful jaws glowered at her as it snored, massive blood-stained teeth just barely peeking out. Even as it was sleeping peacefully, she could see the extent of its unnatural muscle, looking so tight and strong that it might burst.

The Titan raised her scales on edge...and it also raised a whole slew of wild questions. Primarily, how. Animus magic and powers of the NightWings were things of ancient history. Could this be some...biological marvel?

They'll have to pay me to so much as step foot in there, let alone carrying this rancid stuff.

However, Holm couldn't stop herself from observing more details. Its claws were dirty, dulled, and cracked in some places, having such a lack of care. Its tail, longer and wider than the trunk of a sturdy oak tree, was curled around its side, occasionally twitching. She did also notice some scarce blemishes and scars from years of battle, though there weren't nearly as many as she had predicted. Perhaps the rumors were accurate about its durability.

It was actually...kind of sad. The SandWing considered the moral implications of this. At some point, the Titan had to have been some sort of a normal dragon. However, it was forced to fight for its size and endurance, treated like a monster and restrained to a simple cavern. And fed this gross sludge, too. Yuck.

Finally, Holm managed to convince herself that the Titan was deserving of being treated as a normal individual. Maybe it was more savage and driven by instinct...but there had to be a person in there somewhere. This gave her the courage to finally slide away the heavy bolt and creak open the door.

The creature grunted slightly at the noise, a grating sound that came straight from the throat and vibrated with the force of a gong. Thankfully, it didn't stir. Nervous beyond all get out, Holm dropped the bucket to the ground and sped back to the safety of the metal barrier.

However, she accidentally slammed the door shut behind her on the way out, and a much larger sound indicated the giant's awakening. Terrified but morbidly curious, she looked on through the window again. Woah...

Surprisingly bright eyes of a flaming orange swept their menacing gaze around the room, searching for the disturbance. Moons, even the veins and muscles in its neck were horrifyingly defined. The wind could be heard as it swung its head back and forth, until it finally discovered the pitifully small container of meat. With one sweep of a broad, overly slimy tongue, the Titan lapped up the entire bucket into its mouth with as much leisure as a dragonet licking frosting. With only one crunch, Holm's hard efforts to cart the food down here were nullified.

By the time she realized how loud and shaky her breathing was, it was too late. The Titan went stiff, hearing her, and it lowered its massive head towards the door. Holm dropped as low to the ground as possible, praying it couldn't see that well through the tiny window.

Frightening silence was only broken by warm gusts of wind from its breathing that she likely would have been able to fly on. It didn't growl...or strike, or do anything aggressive. It's my lucky day.

The comparatively minuscule SandWing heard a final huff of resignation, followed by the plodding of paws that almost shook the earth. A thud followed, the Titan likely returning to its sleep.

Her heart rate started to calm. Wow. Gila's teeth, I'm alive. It was time to leave. She scrambled away up the stairs, leaving the torch ignited in her haste.

The journey back up the steps was significantly shorter than going down. However, when she again broke the surface in the thankfully more open and giant-less fortresss, it seemed that many of the sconces had been doused. Ah; the moonlight she had seen meant it was time for curfew.

Fortunately, she wasn't late, as a few other dragons were piddling about as things wound down. Among them was Smithy, who trotted over upon noticing Holm's reappearance.

"Hey, you survived." It felt good to hear another voice, especially that of a friend. "Figured I'd wait in case I needed to go collect your remains." He had a bit of a wry sense of humor that she wasn't fond of, but the dragoness smiled regardless.

"Thanks, Smithy. —It's really dark down there. No wonder nobody wants to do this job."

"What about the thing? Did you see it? Did it try to bite off your head?" She bit her lip slightly. She wanted to believe in the humanity of the Titan, and the use of 'thing' felt derogatory. Though I guess using 'it' doesn't help either.

"About what you would expect. They're really big and really strong. Not much else to be said."

"So it doesn't have three heads like Basin said?" Holm shook her head, mind wandering a little and getting taken out of the moment.

She was not the dragon to take up heroics and strive to be an ally for someone else for no reason. She had no real desire to reach out and make new friends at no provocation. However, she did believe in fair treatment for all, and she knew for a fact that the Titan did not receive this.

To her, they were most likely one of those cases where a powerful entity is misunderstood and mistreated for the purpose of subjugation.

In short, she wanted to help. It would certainly be a long process, and the Titan could potentially just be a feral beast that would gobble her up instantly. That was a possibility. But there was also the chance that they needed a friend.

And hey, she was already fighting in a war, with death at every corner. Why not take some chances?

"Holm? Hellooo?" She snapped back to attention, unintentionally looking a little flabbergasted. Smithy chuckled a bit, fluffing his muted mustard yellow wings. "Oh, I see. You have the adventure look. You've been bit by a curiosity bug, huh?" He wasn't entirely wrong. She decided to just be forward with it; Smithy was more trustworthy than most around the castle.

"They've got to be a person to some extent, Smithy. I don't like the idea of them just being a mindless savage. Maybe I can reach out to them, and we can bring down those lies." Her friend's disbelief in her ability was clear, but he still shrugged positively.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat. I guess it gives you something fun to do around here." They both silently agreed to start heading back to their barracks to turn in, still keeping up conversation on the way. "Well, if you want a good place to start, they're always looking for someone to do the feeding. Volunteer. Make a connection from there." Good, solid advice. Holm assented her excitement for the idea.

From there, Smithy went on about his recent troubles and tales from around camp, one of his favorite pastimes. In this way, he was a natural leader of the larger friend group, always driving conversation. She absently nodded along with his stories, wrapped up in thinking about the Titan and what to do.

They arrived just a few minutes before curfew, and Smithy bid her good night before retreating to his bunk. Holm did the same, but her mind was still running like a cheetah, making it difficult to sleep.

There were so many things she didn't know. Like why they were fighting this war, how the Titan fit into it all, and how to do advanced mathematic equations.

. . .

Her opportunity to learn more of the giant beneath the fortress actually came quite sooner than expected. After a long morning of drills and exercises but still no missions or real battles, everyone gathered in the mess hall for lunch.

Holm was hanging out with Smithy and the crew again, actually enjoying the selection of grilled stork. She was considering it to be her favorite meat. However, her appetite was soured when she noticed a poor, scrawny dragon scraping up leftovers.

He was scrounging up bits and pieces of what hadn't been taken from the stores, putting it all into a bucket, and then...for some reason, mashing it all up with a mace. Wait a minute. The resulting concoction looked very familiar. He must have been the unlucky sap who received the task today.

She immediately got an idea. But to actually follow through on it? Was she really ready to try something like this, with a potential of risking her life?

"...And that's when I realized that Holm was on a different planet again, much like she is right now." The mention of her name brought her to the conversation. Smithy's remark filled her with indignation.

"He's not wrong," said Uroma, a SandWing of a very bright sunshine yellow. "You were seriously spaced out there."

"I'm telling you," the ringleader responded. "You've been this way since going down there. Are you sure everything's alright?"

This was a bad sign. Pursuing knowledge about the Titan could alienate her from her other friends. What to do... Maybe some honesty. It worked earlier.

"I'm fine. But I'm concerned about the dragon down there. I know Gila's pretty ruthless in battle and conquest, but she at least cares about her army. The Titan is a part of it too." At the mention of the Titan, everyone at the table became very quiet and mumbly. Even Smithy was unsure of how to respond to her earnest emotion.

"Well, you're crazy. But it's your funeral," Uroma muttered, gnawing casually on a bone.

"Do what you want. Just be careful." At least the remark was somewhat more positive. But they didn't seem to mind.

Encouraged, and gaining some confidence, Holm stood, glancing to see the location of that smaller dragon.

"Thanks. Don't feel offended if you see me less, but this could be my chance to make a difference."

"Or see you not at all," Smithy griped under his breath. What a supportive group.

Holm then approached the tiny dragon by the food stores, whose task was seemingly almost finished. However, he looked increasingly grossed out and of course very nervous.

"Hey, soldier." To add on to her point, the SandWing jumped a few feet in fear, almost knocking over the bucket. "What would you say to being relieved of this duty?" Despite his panic, the young fellow maintained a semblance of honor as a member of the army.

"W-who are you? Are you certified to do that?" She had to think on the spot. Umm...

"Rade sent me. You're...needed somewhere more important. She would like to see you for reassignment once the meal break is over." Holm was lucky to stumble across a more dim-witted dragon, as the mention of a superior officer was all that was needed for him to happily give up the task.

Yucgh. This batch of leftover meat looked and smelled even worse than the previous. Regardless, she again hoisted it up. Time for round two.

Fortunately, everyone was occupied in the mess hall, making the journey to the dungeon unimpeded. The lonely staircase greeted her again with a cold draft that felt like a pitiful wail of misery. The comparatively hopeful SandWing went along down the steps, much more confident than last time. Gotta commit.

As close to home as it was, this was the nearest thing to adventure for her.

It was now much easier to see at the very bottom of the exceedingly long stairs, courtesy of sunlight coming in from the hole in the Titan's dome. She noticed with chagrin that she had left the torch burning last time, and the coal was now whittled to its base.

What took most precedence right now though were the sounds of movement from the cave. Her claws tightened around the handle of her woefully fragile bucket.

Walking in there would be placing full faith in the Titan and whether they were taught to not attack anything. Did they understand the concept of feeding?

She approached the door. Moons, I've lost my mind.

Yep; there they were. The Titan was pacing around their enclosed home, looking reasonably bored out of their mind. But what a unit. Even simply walking demonstrated their unmistakable power. Now with the strength of the sunlight, she could judge by the body shape and facial structure that this was most certainly a male SkyWing.

At one point, he got onto hind legs in order to smell the air of the outdoors through the skylight, and what was shocking was that his height allowed such a thing. That was like, thirty Holms end-to-end, not even counting his tail.

But she couldn't just stand there gawking. This wasn't some exhibit. Alright. Carefully. One breath of his and she would be a well-roasted drumstick.

"Hey, excuse me!" He heard. The Titan froze and his head snapped around like it was elastic. I cannot believe I'm doing this!

His eyes of flame went thin and his nostrils flared, almost in a predatory way. Holm had to have faith in this tiny metal door to hold, but she was too scared to keep looking as the giant charged closer. The SandWing ducked below the window again until the thundering came to a swift stop. Chest heaving along with her sprinting heart, Holm shakily stood back up, inch by inch.

There were no words. Just one massive orange eye filled the entire window. With such proximity, she could see all three eyelids and the veins in the peripheral area. It was frightening of course, but also...very impressive. She was a little awestruck.

As odd a time as it was to think of this, the Titan's eyes were very familiar. Holm had known her mother very little, and she was instead raised by some other dragoness, not even a relative. She did not know the reason for this, nor the whereabouts or fate of the one who laid her egg. But she knew these eyes.

The Titan growled softly, a demand for an explanation. "H-hello, sir. I have for you something to eat." She was grateful that the expression in his pupil was no longer so piercing and threatening. Maybe he could understand spoken language. A large sniff rattled her scales, and the Titan warbled with what seemed to be resignation. He backed away from the door. Wow. Okay. Here we go.

Holm slid the bolt away very slowly, doing all in her power to not startle the huge dragon. She set down the bucket a few feet into the chamber, which its denizen responded to with more powerful smelling. "I understand that it may not be very appetizing, but we are stationed in the desert, and food rations are hard to come by as it is." She stayed tight to the doorway, just in case.

The Titan grabbed the bucket in his jaws with a surprising amount of delicacy while offering another look at his deadly teeth. He tilted his head back, and its contents were gone in the blink of an eye. He set the container down again, and that was that.

As she had assumed, the small portion hardly seemed like enough to satisfy such a dragon. However, he just sat there, staring down at Holm, almost expectantly. How does one talk to a monstrously tall war machine?

"Um, yes, thank you. Have a good...day?.." She very slowly took back the bucket (now wet from traces of saliva on his teeth) and backed up and out of the cave, to no reaction from the giant. The door groaned as it closed, and she hesitantly slid the bolt back in place. Well...it was a start.

Thinking deeply on the harrowing yet intriguing experience, she traversed the stairs for the fourth time. Hopefully it hadn't been too long down there; she didn't want to be late to afternoon army activities.

At the very least, her hopes weren't entirely unfounded. He could understand her, and seemed to be sociable. This could even work.

—Woah! Holm nearly tumbled back down the stairs when she saw what was waiting at the top.

Rade was not the type of person to accept horseplay, joking, or basically fun of any kind. She was well-known for crafting tight training regimens, and ruthlessly enforcing punctuality. Not to mention her draconian punishments. Why did I ever tell that runt that this was on her order?

The long-necked and grisly dragoness stared down with contempt, imposing more fear than the Titan.

"Soldier. Name and title."

"Holm. Just soldier. No further rank." She sneered at that, clearly not a fan of someone so lowly making a mockery of her. This couldn't be worse.

"I see you've returned unscathed." Holm didn't dare respond. Anything could be misconstrued and used to level worse punishment. "I have been told that you willingly accepted the task of feeding Gila's beast. Is this true?"

"Yes General, ma'am."

"And this would not be in an effort to poison or otherwise slay the creature so as to cripple Her Majesty's forces and bring about a coup?" Goodness gracious, where could she get that from? Holm may have known nothing outside of her average, humble life, but she was loyal to the crown. She made a small gesture to indicate such, despite her throat feeling very dry and sticky.

"No General, ma'am." Rade stared at her for a very long time. It was very painful, and very ominous, with the fire from a nearby sconce casting shadows on the General's permanent scowl.

"...Then congratulations. You now have a title. Official Titan Keeper. —Move along then. Down you go." Rade ignored her subordinate's complete shock, and began to shove her along down the stairs. She slipped down a few, causing a pain in her ankle, but Holm soon composed herself and scurried all the way back down quickly, Rade on her heels.

This journey went much quicker, especially with the bucket sitting neglected at the top of the staircase. They descended into the dark antechamber, and before Holm knew what was happening, she was suddenly facing the Titan again.

The giant slowly spun his head to investigate when the door slid open and a buttermilk-yellow SandWing popped out into the dome.

"You never know," Rade said, accompanied by the final and heavy clank of the door's locking mechanism. "Maybe this creature will finally get a proper meal. Or maybe we'll someday have a multitude of Titan dragonets running around. Though I can't imagine how painful that would be... Oh well. Best of luck!"

Such madness. Who decided to put her in charge? As upset as she was, both at Rade and at herself, Holm had to put that aside. There was a bigger problem at hand—quite literally.

Trapped with a Titan. What a recipe for disaster.

She awaited his first move. There wasn't one. Only curiosity could be seen in his expression. Then came a surprise.

"Meat girl back."

Three simple words boomed out like cannon fire. The bass voice as deep as a canyon rattled her bones. Oh wow, he can speak! This was monumental. It seemed a little broken, but that was only to be expected. The others talked about him as if they had no idea, so she could actually have a chance here! Surviving in this...gauntlet.

And he apparently trusted her enough to reveal that he did indeed know the tongue of dragons.

Also, meat girl? As in, girl who brings meat, or girl who is meat? Yikes.

"H-hello. Yes, I am." The Titan went from his sitting position and laid down with a colossal thud, which of course made her skittish. He tilted his head to get a better look at her. ...It reminded her of a dragonet seeing something for the first time.

"...Why meat girl back?" Her eardrums pounded with each syllable. Holm thought of a way to explain it in simpler terms.

"Um...it's...my job! To bring you food. Now I just stay here the whole time to do it. Also, my name is Holm." He looked absentmindedly at the wall to ponder that for a second.

"...Hom."

"Not quite. It sounds a lot like 'home', because there's a silent L." A bit more silence.

"Titan will just say Meat Girl." She edged a bit closer to avoid constantly speaking loudly, now that things felt more comfortable.

"Titan? Is that your name?"

"Other people say 'look, Titan', so guessed."

"I see. Why are you in here, Titan?" She somewhat knew the answer to that question, but she was also intrigued to see how aware he was.

"If other people hurt sand people, then crush, boom, hurt." Good enough. Though technically, that was his job more so than the reason for being locked up, but that was easy enough to guess. What sane ruler wanted a colossus just roaming around?

"I'm sorry. That doesn't sound like a fun way to live. And these living conditions aren't very nice either." Titan breathed a large sigh that nearly blew her over.

"Don't like to hurt. But cave not so bad. And Angry Long-Neck say Titan get good meal soon. Can't wait." That meal is supposed to be me. Well, good thing he doesn't realize.

Despite this dragon being so much larger and more capable, Holm felt pity. Perhaps it was how his broken speech made him sound very young, but she felt that regardless of his strength and warring prowess, Titan had so far maintained his innocence. He deserved better.

In fact, Rade locking her in here was more conducive to Holm's long-term goal.

She gained the courage to sit down and relax a little. The sunlight certainly helped it feel less constricted in here. Come to think of it, she could probably get out through that Titan-sized skylight...

Her new cave companion was similarly calm, and fell over onto his side, causing a thud that shook a few pebbles loose from the ceiling. He gave a long, deep, exhale.

"Meat Girl be ready. Cave boring very fast." No duh. However, a nap seemed like a good idea. She hadn't slept very well last night, and was tired from her treks up and down those stairs.

"Thanks, Titan. You're very nice." His reaction of being overwhelmed implied that this was likely the first compliment he had ever received, at least of that nature.

"...Meat Girl nice too. Titan be careful not to squash. Perhaps best sleep there; Titan is toss and turn sleeper." How thoughtful.

Holm followed the advice, moving towards the far wall and offering her new friend a smile. Unfamiliar with social concepts, he only looked at her funny before becoming more restful. It would be a little tricky to get good rest with his snoring, but she could at least do so without fearing becoming a pancake.

After ensuring Titan was well into sleep, Holm heated the stone beneath her with a bit of fire to make it more comfortable. She would show Rade. This wasn't a fate or a punishment, but an opportunity.

In fact, the General had given her an even wilder idea.

Why not cripple Gila's forces? If she wasn't willing to treat Titan kindly, then she didn't deserve to have him as an asset. Holm's new plot was to befriend the giant—and then set him free.

The once simple and average SandWing yawned as she observed the magnificent creature before her.

She fell asleep wondering how exactly Titan came to be.

. . .

"Spray them."

The metal dragon picked up a bottle of some dark liquid, and approached the first of the dragonets.

Titanium swallowed deeply. So far, he had survived each and every test. In fact, he had even made some friends with the others, and he was hoping to the stars that they could make it too.

The first one to go was the second dragonet in the line. He grimaced and spat when the strange mist touched his face. It didn't seem to affect him—but he had shown weakness in reacting to it. Some more of the big dragons quickly took him away somewhere.

Worried, Titanium glanced to the person on his left. She had said her name was Honeycrisp, and the two of them had made it through every test together. She also glanced over, and they shared an expression of confidence. We got this.

He was startled by some weak cries for help. Someone was not immune to whatever this spray was. He refused to look over and witness this loss, especially with the ominous sizzling sounds and smell of burning.

Offering to help someone was the easiest way to be removed.

After more painful and tense moments of silence, the metal dragon arrived in front of him, liquid at the ready.

Spritz.

It didn't taste very good, and it stung his eyes a bit, but Titanium made absolutely sure to not react. There was no sizzling, and he felt relatively normal. What a relief.

Honeycrisp passed as well, and he struggled to hold in a huge sigh of solace. They were safe for now. The dragonet to her left, a kinder individual by the name of Australis, was not so lucky. He only briefly glimpsed her face beginning to droop and melt before the young SkyWing clenched his teeth and returned his gaze forward.

In his mind, he knew that the tests would only continue until one of them remained. His heart, however, refuted the notion. Someday there would be a chance, an opportunity to be free.

Regardless, this round was over, and the bigger dragons shoved the survivors onwards to their lodging, a small room that could be likened to a prison. Only there were they free to speak.

The cold cavern walls were a relieving comfort as they trudged along.

Not a single one had ever seen sunlight.

. . .

Titan was staring up at the skylight again. Holm considered cautioning him that it was dangerous to look directly into light that way, but doing so seemed to make him happy.

Today marked the first week of imprisonment. Keeping track of the time was one of few activities available. Others involved...counting the amount of bends and lumps in the rocks in the wall. Watching Titan. Struggling to eat the meat soup, which still came in the same portion. The larger dragon constantly insisted that Holm have all the food, claiming he didn't need it. There was no more obvious a lie.

She had in fact discovered that Titan was far more gentle and kind than his reputation implied. He was always conscious of her, and carried great conversation despite incomplete speech. It had brought her great satisfaction when on the second day, Rade came back to investigate and found them both alive and well.

Still, nothing changed. They were still stuck. Technically, Holm could just leave through the skylight, but she didn't want to make Titan feel abandoned. She would only escape if things got really desperate. Plus, there was the need for a plan for him to get out too.

But how on earth would it be possible? There had to be some method of freeing Titan; how would he be able to fight for Gila if he could never leave the cave? What she wondered most was how they managed to corral Titan back once they set him loose. Did they have methods of blackmail?

Maybe it had never even happened yet. For all she knew, Titan was a secret weapon.

"Meat Girl sad." Holm was starting to get used to him; she hadn't even noticed his thundering steps approach.

"No no, I'm okay. Just thinking, is all."

"Thinking hard. Make sad. Why do that when can be happy?" She sighed, struggling to find an easy explanation for her giant friend. He somehow managed to be carefree in this otherwise dismal situation. "Idea. Sing song always make Titan happy. Meat Girl need song." Goodness sakes, me sing? I sound worse than a wheezing chipmunk.

"Titan, I'm a terrible musician. You don't want to hear me around the campfire. I've been told I can actually drive away ghosts."

"Then ghosts stupid. But fine. Titan sing instead!" Oh no. She should have just taken the embarrassment rather than an assault on the ear drums. He took a breath, tapping a claw in an awkward rhythm that rattled her horns.

"Titan and Meat Girl, stuck in round rock

Not much food and, um...smell like old sock

But both happy in rock because have a friend

And friend help each other until it the end."

It was a little inconsistent tempo-wise, and moons, his pitch was awful, but at least he tried. The charming failure caused Holm to giggle at the antics. I'm not even entirely sure what a sock is. To her surprise, this was actually the desired effect, and the big, blundering SkyWing showed off a proud smile. "Ha! See? Meat Girl happy now."

"Ugh. You're such a rascal." With that string of conversation ended, Holm flipped onto her back for no particular reason. She had considered other things to do, like exercising and honing her battle skills, but that would only make her more tired and thirsty. And with the conditions in the cave, that was not a good thing.

"Meat Girl want to see waterfall?"

Wait, what? Several ideas (one of which was rather inappropriate) ran through her head on what he could mean. There was very little to no water present in the cave.

The real answer though was made clear when he stood up to stretch towards the skylight again. "Titan always hear splash and bird outside. Hard to see, but think it falling."

That sounded great. In fact, even before she had been imprisoned, the SandWing had spent a lot of time inside the fortress. It had been a long while since she had seen the natural world. How tragic was that, huh?

I can't imagine how much longer Titan has spent in here.

She was about to start flying up, but hesitated when she noticed Titan sweeping his head around. He set his smiling face right next to her. Aw. An offer to carry her up personally. How charming. Holm gratefully hopped on to the top of his head between the horns.

As Titan rose to the top with ease, she admired the external bones. His horns were twisted and angled forward, coiling like corkscrews, but the tips were deadly sharp. They could easily gore any unaware opponent, and catch others in their swirls. Everything about him seemed honed for the purpose of reigning supreme on the battlefield.

She got a theory that explained it. Could Titan be the result of some unethical breeding program? Taking the best genetics of dragons to engineer a war machine?

She was forced to abandon the thought when the skylight was made available. From here, Holm could certainly identify the sound of rushing water.

"Thank you, Titan. —I wish you could join me."

"Meat Girl enjoy water. That make Titan happy too." Her heart warmed greatly, and with this vote of confidence, the SandWing emerged into the sunlight for the first time in a while.

Wow... This was so refreshing. Quite literally a breath of fresh air. Her scales soaked in the warmth as they were meant to, and she observed the surrounding nature. It was a peaceful top of a large hill, with forests clustered beneath to the sides. Gila's fortress stood proud, carved into the side of the rise, and the desert loomed in the distance.

Directly in front, as predicted, was the waterfall. The clear, dazzling water cascaded down from a slightly higher altitude, continuing a river that flowed downhill. Odd how there was so much lush greenery right next to a desert.

Holm beelined there first. She immediately downed quite a lot of water from the small area just past the breach. Perhaps it was her dehydration, but for being normally tasteless water, it felt like the most refreshing and delicious thing ever. Especially after several days of exclusively eating meat soup.

Ahh...if only they had saved one of the buckets. She could make runs out and get some for both of them.

Holm noticed how close the river flow was to Titan's hole. One redirect or minor flood, and the entire cave would fill. Then, assuming he couldn't breathe underwater... She built up some mud on that side of the bank, just in case.

She spent a bit more time out and about, but there was a constant pressure in her mind to not be too long. Oddly enough, she was missing Titan's presence out here. This would have been her chance to take off, leave the entire army even, and go live a better life.

But that was unbelievably selfish. What right did she have to get to live freely?

After another satisfying drink, Holm returned and peered down into the cave. ...Oh. Titan was curled up solemnly in the corner. He seemed quite sad. Can't have that.

She glided down slowly, grateful for the chance to stretch her wings. The gentle and empathetic SandWing dropped to the cold and stony ground, much different from the grass outside.

"Do I need to sing and make you happy now? Because I already told you it will sound terrible." The gargantuan sky dragon flinched in surprise, his tail knocking off a part of the wall where it lashed in shock. She could see his flaming eyes warm at the sight of her.

"Hom stay?!"

"Yes, Hom stay, you doofus. I enjoy you. And my job is to help you, so that's what I intend on doing." Titan remained stunned. He couldn't seem to understand how someone could favor his presence.

"...Titan enjoy Hom, too." Aww... Her friend lay down his head, and she nuzzled into his cheek. He was just so nice; it was impossible to see a dragon with this personality tearing up armies. Though, she could still feel the heat of his fire glands, being so close.

There was a sudden clank of metal.

"Burning scorpion tails, what is all of this racket?!" Not good.

Rade slammed the door aside, seething with anger. Her again?

In an instant, Titan was quiet, solemn, and while it was hidden she could also see fear. Holm remembered that no one else knew he could speak. Meanwhile, Rade stormed into the room. She was normally not so upset.

"Alright. Clearly, this was ill-contrived. You, dull creature, are far less formidable than I expected." Titan cowered. It made no sense. What could they hold over him that made him submit? "With an intruder in your domain, you snooze and laze about. Pathetic. And you." Holm straightened her back, stone-faced. The General could say all she wanted. It was time to be the tough one.

"You vex me so. Too...adaptable. You were probably a good soldier, at one point." The General suddenly equipped a cruel smile. The way she was speaking...

The aggressive SandWing meandered over to Holm and cast a wing over her shoulders. The latter stayed rigid, but a dark feeling was creeping up her spine. "You know, that's why we need you back. There's a large battle on its way. You were a medic, right?" Holm nodded, wary of what might happen if she refused any response. "Congratulations. You are officially relieved of all Titan Keeper duties."

Hold on a minute.

"And hereby restricted from performing said duties. Ever."

No! Wait, wait! Her mind was racing, and heart pounding, but her body stayed calm and obedient. Rade began to lead her away. This was low. Far more cruel than stuffing her in here in the first place.

When they were close to the door, a deep growl shook the cave to its core. Despite how well she knew Titan, her heart almost failed in fear at the sound. Rade, undeterred, whirled around.

"Watch yourself, giant. You know what I have. And I won't be afraid to deal with it." His frown stayed, but there was nothing further. I feel that she doesn't mean me. What is she holding? A dragon? "Come along now. You need to get prepared for the front lines."

The heavy metal door slammed shut, casting the two dragonesses into darkness.

It would, in fact, be the last time Holm would ever see that cave.

. . .

Was it bad luck to speak about good luck?

Titanium (or just Titan as people were starting to call him) was ecstatic for the first time in his life.

The testing was finally almost over. The finalists were ready. It was just him, Corun, and thank the sky, Honeycrisp. Somehow, they were all alive.

What's more, it seemed the testers were out of ideas. There were no more liquids or chemicals that the trio wasn't already immune to. And what a great feeling. Now, they could face the future of what was planned for them. True, it would likely be horrible...but they had each other.

Titanium was currently resting in his cage—his own cage, made specially for his size, which continued to grow day by day. The others weren't this way. Honey was just herself, and while Corun was pretty big, he was just the size of a large regular adult.

As much as the testers did all they could to cause tension, the three were forming friends. Such a thing was impossible to stop.

Titan dreamed of the moons often. He had heard about them many times. He hoped to one day have his friends gaze at those moons, also a trio. One for each dragonet.

Some adults arrived. One jabbed at the bars of his cage.

"Move it, big one. It's time for the final test." Hm. What could that involve?

He reluctantly trudged out into the cavern. All of the adults were armed, but it wasn't like their weapons could do anything. They had made sure of that. The only tool keeping the experiments from breaking loose was a special animus object owned by the metal dragon. No one knew its true abilities, but magic was one thing to not be challenged.

Titan was shoved unceremoniously into the testing zone, complete with lava surrounding the far border. That didn't matter; the super-dragons were immune to lava anyway. But it definitely made the whole thing more chilling.

Honey was already there, and Corun arrived at about the same time. He could see their relief that everyone was okay, but expressing it here would not be smart.

The Scientist (they didn't know her by any other name) stood proud at the head of the room as the fruits of her labor stood watching with bated breath. The dreaded ever-silent metal dragon loomed menacingly at her side.

"This is truly a marvel to see. Three young dragons, honed to complete perfection. After these many years, these trials, you three have finally shaken off the weak. Strength is all that you have now!" We have friendship too, Titan thought, hopeful and optimistic as it was. He did not want anything to do with the Scientist's indubitably evil agenda.

M-maybe...could they mount an offensive and get out of here? Who could stop them?

"Unfortunately, the time has come. Three beasts running around is two too many. Only one of you will bask in the glory of supremacy." W-wait. It couldn't—they couldn't go that far! What other test could they perform?

Titan flinched as a hidden gate dropped from the ceiling, locking the dragonets on the side of the room with the lava. No, no... This was all going wrong.

"To the death!" The Scientist announced. "The victor will become the ultimate weapon! A Swiss Army knife of doom. The final bastion!

"A Juggernaut!"

As if. Titanium shared a look with Honey and Corun. They all nodded together—and sat down.

"...What is this?"

"The end of your game," Corun snapped. The IceWing's eyes were glittering with a cold fire. "We're done playing. We are shutting down your evil machinations, and I, for one, will die trying." Oh, Corun...you're too brave... The Scientist snarled, baring her vengeful yellow fangs.

"Wonderful choice of words. Do what you must!" The metal dragon responded to her command, approaching the caged in experiments.

Titan didn't know how, but the entity seemed to phase through the bars, and it was suddenly right in front of them, something clenched in its left talon. The animus object. We need action, and fast!

Titan knew what he had to do. Moving as quickly as possible, he lunged forward and gripped the dragon at its sides. His massive talons offered no escape, but the metal dragon began to unfurl its claws, and a beam of light started jabbing at Titan's underbelly. He barreled through the pain and the new weird fuzzy feeling in his head; something had to be done.

He ignored Honeycrisp's worried cry, and hurled the metal dragon into the lava. Within seconds, they could see the hideous creation melting away. Not screaming. Just calmly accepting its fate. Was it even alive?

However, the power of the magic was taking its toll. Titanium started slowing down, unsure if he was dying or growing again. His vision was swimming.

"Titan, no!" Claws touched his forearm, but they suddenly felt very unfamiliar. Something was happening...but it was worth it. With the destruction of the metal dragon and its artifact, Honey and Corun wouldn't suffer the same fate, he knew for sure, and now was their chance to escape.

"Get moving! I can't act right in this state. You can take them all! Tear this whole thing down!" Corun nodded and wasted no time, slamming into the cage bars and working them loose as the Scientist panicked, trying to summon her terrified lackeys to attack.

"I'm not leaving you behind," said Honey, looking up at him with eyes far too innocent for someone exposed to the trauma of these experiments. ...Honey was her name, right? It was suddenly very hard to remember.

"You aren't. You're paving the way forward. I'll catch up." Honeycrisp hesitated, and she was about to say something when the gate crashed to the ground. Spears, potions, and random objects were all thrown in desperation, but Corun ignored it all and surged towards their former captors.

Titan, so unbelievably dizzy, fell to the ground. My name...Titan? Was that right?

Where was he exactly? What was this brown creature looking at him?

"...Titanium?"

"Who that?"

Meanwhile, Corun had eliminated all but the Scientist, who was now pinned against the wall.

"What did that magic object do?" The IceWing demanded, brandishing his exact and sharp claws against her throat. The Scientist, knowing her time was short, offered one last evil grin.

"It was our failsafe. His mind has been fully erased. The Titan you knew is gone. Oh, but don't worry. This is much better. Now he can become what he was always meant to be. The true juggernaut; a god among—"

With one clean slice, their oppressor was no more. Corun rushed to Honeycrisp and a very wobbly Titan.

"What's happened?" The MudWing of the three struggled to restrain some tears.

"It—he—he doesn't know..."

"Titan, speak to me."

"Who grumpy face? Why tiny one sad?"

Corun fell backwards to a seated position, stunned. It was true. His friend had been reduced to a babbling newly-hatched.

Curse this world...

Honeycrisp quelled her emotion, standing up and also coercing their confused companion to rise.

"We've all survived, Corun. This is still a victory. —Let's get out of here."

She led the giant on the search for an exit.

Corun hesitated for but a few seconds, glancing about at the carnage left behind. He growled, realizing this was exactly what the Scientist had always wanted.

He then trudged after the others. Honeycrisp's statement was hopeful, and true to an extent, but the IceWing knew the truth.

The three young dragons had all emerged with their lives.

But none were truly free.

. . .

"Holm, please eat. We're about to fight one of the biggest battles in SandWing history." She loosely picked at the hunk of meat in front of her with a claw, but still could not bring herself to eat it.

It wasn't soupy enough.

Smithy tried again, nudging her side. "Hey. I know that whatever happened down there must have scarred you. I'll never forgive Rade for that. Frankly, I'm impressed you're alive. But starving yourself won't take that memory away."

He spoke that way because she hadn't told of her time in the den. To anyone. They all thought it had been horrible, and that she was quiet and sullen because of the horrors of avoiding the Titan.

Far from the truth.

Perhaps it was a pointless and bizarre statement, but if she didn't eat so much, she could feel closer to Titan. Her mission was effectively unachievable now. Maybe she could scheme up a way to rejoin him later, but right now, Holm was awash with regret.

"...Smithy, have you ever lost someone on the battlefield before?" His eyes met the floor, introspective.

"She was a good friend. Not much more, but still someone I knew, completely gone. Why? What happened?"

"...I hope that doesn't happen to anyone today." They were gearing up for a large-scale battle against the SeaWings. The current queen, Sebastes, had been secretly constructing bases in the Western ocean to survey the activities in the Sand Kingdom. War had not yet been officially declared, but the SeaWings stationed in the area were advancing, so Gila was prepared to match it. The fortress was close to the coast too, so neither side was overextending. It would be a tough and fierce fight.

Very reluctantly, Holm mindlessly shoveled in some food to appease Smithy, and the rest of the meal was spent awkwardly sulking. With this done, the entirety of the army, hundreds of regiments deep, was assembled.

The long awaited Queen Gila stood boldly atop a temporary throne. Doors behind her led outside, where the short march to the battlefield would begin.

Being forced into the frontlines by Rade, Holm had a close-up view of her queen, who she had actually seen only once or twice. Gila was a tired and reserved-looking dragoness unfitting of her reputation, but she still carried great dignity and might. Directly at her side as always was her translator, Skink.

The queen began making symbols and gestures with her foreclaws.

"Loved ones!" Skink bellowed, with a voice that truly sounded like the brave, powerful queen she was translating for. What an odd term. Gila truly loved her army...what of Titan? "We know why we are here. I will not again speak of what we must do. Instead, I implore you, why do we fight?"

Shockingly, there was no response. Everyone was silent. Was that meant to be rhetorical? It didn't slow down Gila either way. "We fight for our security. We fight for our future! We fight to prove that the SandWings are a tribe who will not be pushed aside!"

Tremendous cheering. All things considered, the Queen chose her words well for motivational purposes. However, to Holm, it all felt a little...tainted. There was always that nagging question in the back of her mind of whether she could truly be proud of serving in this army.

Not like it would matter. Everyone knew that dragons stationed in the front lines wouldn't come back in one piece, not to mention alive. She glanced at the faces to her sides. They all looked so determined, so ready to fight for something that may well just be a simple miscommunication, at the cost of their lives.

Living as fools, dying as heroes.

Deserting was impossible at the moment...but maybe Holm could slip away during the fight. Find a way back? Her anxiety only rose as Gila finished the speech, gesturing to whoever may open the door. Before the giant gates had fully swung open, Rade gave the order to march.

The sunlight was blazing and painful with their secluded, always in a fortress lifestyle; kind of a blunder on the Queen's end. Even Holm, who had managed to sneak out to the surface a few days ago, was squinting and grimacing from the sheer brightness.

Still, she could easily make out the small shapes dotting the horizon, hovering over the nearby sea. This was indeed going to be a real fight.

Talons and tails...this might be it.

She barely kept in line with the rest, a dense army far too large for a preliminary fight such as this. Unless it was much more serious than it sounded...

The aerial units were already mobilizing, spear and crossbow wielders taking to the skies. Holm herself preferred a broadsword with several daggers just in case. However, as Rade had mentioned, she was a battle medic at the core, best at aiding rather than fighting. Yet here I am. Grand.

With both armies encroaching towards each other, the distance was closing rapidly. If this kept up, the first line of skirmish would take place just a small distance inland from the shore, more ideal for the SeaWings. Another Gila mistake; it would be wise to lead them in to the dry desert to cut off water access. But Holm was not a trained military expert nor the ruler of a kingdom, so she would just have to shut up and die like the rest.

Finally, the tension rising in the humid air became too much, and a war horn came from the SeaWing side. Their army corresponded with a battle cry of roars and yells that practically sounded like a gargling, throaty mess. Granted, the bellows that the SandWings responded with weren't much better. They were all parched and raspy, sounding like a giant wounded bison trying to snort.

Everyone started running. Holm would be in weapon's range in less than a minute.

Then came the third war cry. One that completely outclassed the other two in every way; quality, volume, and sheer power.

The very ground shook and every single dragon within several miles came to a grinding halt, stunned and horrified. Except Holm.

She smiled.

From a seemingly innocent hill guarding one side of the SandWing fortress, a beast erupted out of the ground, destroying the northern wall of the grand castle in the process. The Titan leapt out of his prison with ease, finally understanding his own power and being unafraid to use it. The resulting thud silenced anything that had dared to continue making noise after his roar. He looks much bigger from this angle. Maybe I underestimated his size somehow? Either way, no one dared to move.

Very few SandWings had ever seen the creature Gila was rumored to harbor. Most thought it a myth. And certainly no SeaWing had ever seen it.

Silence turned into screams as he started thundering over to the battlefield. Walking. Then trotting, slowly moving into a run. As awesome as this is, I should probably get out of here.

And she was still a bit worried. Titan had been a bit iffy between friend or foe, so everyone could potentially be a target. Even Holm blended into this crowd too greatly for him to notice.

The SeaWings had immediately ordered a retreat, but they were simply too slow. Holm opted to scramble southward with a few others who could see the writing on the wall. Other SandWings were simply too amazed, watching as Titan crushed sand dunes like bubbles beneath his massive claws.

Fortunately, the giant SkyWing did not run directly through the main force, instead largely aiming for the ocean. He thudded past Gila and the army, narrowly avoiding those stationed on the far right. That sealed the deal for most everyone to start running too.

Titan caught up to the fleeing sea dragons. He hopped into a tumble on his side, becoming a living rolling log of death. Holm turned away to avoid witnessing the carnage and instead focus on going.

"Holm! What the heck did you do?!" She recognized Smithy's voice to her left, but struggled on a response in order to keep running. "How did you make it so mad?!"

"It wasn't my fault!" She yelled back, glancing behind and nearly vomiting. Having completed his roll, there was a ring around Titan's body of blood and a few body parts stuck there. An entire squashed dragon was still stuck to his right shoulder. Oh, Titan...why... The menace continued to roar and mercilessly attack anyone close by, swatting fliers out of the air and stomping ground troops underfoot. A few blasts of fire left only ashes.

It broke her heart. There was once the hope that he wouldn't give in to his nature, but that was now in tatters. "If—if Rade didn't—" If I didn't befriend him. If I never went back down to that cave. He would still be sitting there, innocent, calm. Unaffected by emotions.

Now he was mad. The SandWings had taken away the only dragon he knew, and likely much more before her.

Holm slowed to a stop. She could do it. She could get him to calm down. Prevent anymore damage. Stop a massacre in progress. They could run, right? Get out of here together.

"Hey, come on. This isn't the time to get lost in thought! I'm just gonna start running without you!"

"I'm not lost. Go, Smithy." He stared, dumbfounded, as she started to head the opposite way, back towards the accumulating graveyard. For once, he was silenced. "Go! Keep running, all of you! He'll kill anyone!"

This seemed to work, making her former allies get into high gear. The words still tasted vile in her mouth, even if they were true; it was hard to say such things about her best friend. Holm grimaced as a SeaWing sailed over and cratered in the sand right next to her.

Miraculously, the victim was still alive, only having a slightly caved-in chest.

"H-hey, will you be alright?" She paused briefly to brush some sand off their face, feeling somewhat responsible. The soldier coughed up a bit of blood, not enough to indicate a fatal wound.

"...What in the deep blue sea is that thing..." She watched as Titan advanced closer and closer to the water, with most of the SeaWings thankfully managing to escape beneath the surface. At least, those that hadn't already fallen.

"I'm sorry. He is—was—well, sometimes a friend of mine. He's not always a savage monster, just...he doesn't know any better. Our Queen made him this way." It felt like an excuse. This would be no help to a dragon watching all of their friends be slaughtered.

"It has to be stopped. I don't care how..." Yeah. Titan at the moment held no affiliation. He could wipe out any army on the continent. And if he didn't, it would be the result of an animus putting him down. Neither option was appealing to Holm.

"I'll get on that. Play dead and he won't notice you, okay?" As much as she wanted to help and potentially atone, the SandWing had to hurry and salvage this. Another ear-splitting roar forced her to resume running closer.

Yelling at him would be pointless right now. There was still too much shouting and screaming. No sign of the respective monarchs nor any commanders, though. Now would theoretically be the chance.

Holm was close. Not quite in range of his massive tail yet, but definitely prone to a fire attack. A quick glance around proved that she was all alone; maybe he would recognize her?

The restless sea and it's panicking denizens were churning up quite a breeze, creating inland gusts that slowed the progress of anyone still escaping in the air. Titan didn't quite follow them into the water yet, but his powerful snarls indicated how much he just wanted to wreak havoc.

Come on. Just look to your left. I know you're still there, beneath all of that. Where's the doofus I cherish?

It was so hard to look at him. Blood, blending into his scales, practically pooling in the sand below like an oasis... She only hoped that it had been instant, with no suffering. But even then, most armies could retrieve bodies or at least track the deceased. That was much harder when you only had bits, pieces, or ashes.

Holm anxiously kneaded the burning sand beneath her. Small rocks and other prickly things came up into her claws, being so close to the sea. Is that what we are to him? Small nuisances?

She had never felt more puny than this moment.

The giant flicked his head to and fro, searching for the next group of easy targets. To her great relief (and partial fear) his burning gaze locked on to one dragoness right nearby, staring right back.

For a moment, there was silence as his scowl stayed put. Then, in a tragic moment, it morphed right back into a familiar innocence.

"...Hom?"Thank goodness. I wish it didn't have to be this way.

He hunkered down, thankfully causing most of the remains to fall away onto the sand. The scent of death absolutely reeked, and the salty ocean didn't help matters either.

"Hi, Titan. Yes, it's me." He could hear the solemnity in her voice and consequently looked around. The realization seemed to dawn in a painful sense of panic and sorrow. He nervously drew his claws over what remained on his sides, regret burning in his eyes.

"Uh oh. Titan didn't—didn't want—this bad."

"It-it is. I know you can't control who you're meant to be, but...that's not enough. We can't fix this." Titan looked out to sea. Despite the change in his activities, the SeaWings were still moving exceptionally fast, and for good reason.

"Blue people want kill Titan?"

"Y-yes, I imagine they are very mad at you. That's why we have to get out of here. Do you remember how to fly? I think we should try going northeast towards the SkyWing Kingdom. Despite your size, they might not be as suspicious of you there. Or maybe the less inhabited parts of Pantala, or..." Her train of thought swiftly derailed, seeing the pure shame on the giant's face.

Such sorrow was meant to be accompanied by tears, but his experimental past likely left him incapable of such things. Instead, Holm could only watch as he sank further into the sand.

"...Maybe Titan should be kill." Oh, friend...

"Titan, listen...even if—"

"I disagree, big fella!" Holm winced at the frustratingly familiar voice.

Turning around revealed Rade, who had bravely approached them by herself. Some of the SandWing army was gathered in the distance, watching their general to see how this would play out. No sign of the Queen.

The massive SkyWing's low growl jumbled up Holm's ribs. He sure didn't forget what the 'Angry Long-Neck' was responsible for. "You're a real powerhouse out here! What's the word—a juggernaut! And, uh, you can talk! It would be a shame to lose you now. See, your old living conditions were a bit iffy, but now that the Queen knows what you're capable of, I can promise you practically anything you want. A nice cozy place with your little friend there. Feasts fit for royalty. You're our ace, Titan."

Manipulation could never be more obvious. Rade was clearly trying to calm him down and keep him wrapped around their political fingers.

"No. Titan fight no more." In an uplifting display of his surviving humanity, the so-called juggernaut gazed around at the wreckage he caused with pure sympathy and regret. "Too much dead. Too much sad. ...Long Neck want fight blue people in first place, Long Neck deal with it. Titan leave now."

Holm quickly put her palm to his foreleg to let him know to wait for just a second.

"I'm going with you." She turned back, seeing the confused, angry frown on her former commander's face. "You heard him. Is this not what you wanted? Titan did what you asked, so I suggest you leave him be." The conniving SandWing huffed. She knew well that Holm seemed to be the only one capable of truly communicating with their trump card. Of course, this didn't stop Rade from trying anyway.

"Think carefully about what you are doing, giant. Do I need to remind you once again of what we have? Or rather, who we have locked up in our other prison?" There it is. So they're holding someone. Does he even remember?

"Cover ears, Hom." Oh no. She knew not to question it. Even with this done, though, she could hear every word reverberating through her very skull. "Titan say this one more time for dumb Long-Neck:

"NO MORE FIGHTING!"

Ow! Flaming cacti, that nearly ruptured Holm's eardrums. She only managed to avoid it by being roughly to the side of him rather than the front. Titan's declaration was even louder than the war cry from earlier. Even Gila could probably have heard it.

From the looks of things, though, Rade would not be hearing much for a while. She had not heeded the warning and was now clutching the sides of her head in agony. A few drops of fresh blood hit the sand, blending in amidst the remains of the battle carnage.

While the ringing noise bouncing around her head was still going, Holm felt a massive claw tap her, and just like before at the skylight, Titan offered the crown of his head as a ride. This doesn't feel right. Riding off on the back of someone who practically committed genocide like we're heroes...but as far as I know, I'm the only one who can help him. The SandWings sure won't.

She climbed aboard. As Titan's wings began to stir up a sandstorm with their beating, she looked at the clouds above.

For the first time in unknown years, Holm was finally free from the army, the world open to her.

But she was turning that offer down. There was someone who needed her, and she was about to take on her biggest responsibility yet.

Becoming a true Titan Keeper, and rescuing this juggernaut.