Chapter 35 – To Shine brighter

"Aster!" a voice echoes, trying to summon me back to reality… but I waver. "Aster! Are you alright? Your pulse dropping is bad, try to wake up, please."

And as I open my eyes… I realise where this is, quite familiar. These dark plains… the Timeless Horizon. The place where Fara traverses to show her vision. The place where I was. At least… the me who was my own predecessor.

"Do you finally want to talk?" my voice echoes impatiently… what was with this extending moment? Sure was timeless, but… I could feel a lot of silence and anxiety.

"What are you saying, Aster?" The first voice asks, getting clearer.

As I turn behind, green takes over the darkness… and a green dragon's head with its glistening eyes: stares right at me, scaring me a bit.

"Sorry for the close up," she backs away. "I'm Shine. I've come to help."

"You're like Maison," I comment on her size.

"Indeed, I'm a reptile-evolved like him. He's a friend of mine."

"You helped Mr. Ivor become invisible."

"True too. Just making things right and clear… I only didn't help sooner, because Rahambose was at hand. I've been watching you all… for a while."

"At least you didn't say that you didn't come sooner cause you're supposed to be shy," Tar sighs.

"What the fuck is happening!" Esterine complains, from behind the force field.

"Not in front of the kids!" all of us silence her.

I see the dragons flying up, with companions. The force field wall makes sure the humans don't pass… yet, gunshots fire at the sky, only to miss.

"Rusty, are you doing this?" I ask, looking at Rusty.

"Yes but… not completely," Rusty says.

"I'm acting as an extension to his powers," Shine says. "I have always learnt to be helpful that way."

"That's… thank you."

Gunshots fire at the force-field, from the gun Esterine is wielding.

"Please quit that," Shine says. "Shooting people is an offence. I may have to make my own offences if you persist, which I do not recommend either of us to go through."

"Who the heck is even talking? What is this, magic?"

"The gracious brown occurs only to stop conflicts. And this is what it is. You merely are the one causing the conflict," Shine says.

"Gracious brown?" Sam asks.

"And you the quirky Shuthun," Shine says.

"What's that?"

"An extinct alien species. They were good analysers and adapters. To something faster than themselves. They would race for a sport of achievement. Would even go as far to break themselves apart, to win. You are something similar to that, perhaps minus the madness."

"Mm, Shuthun could grow on me."

"Sorry to interrupt but… we can't just have them all here, forever, right?" Ivor points at the crowd.

"Dad…" Max ponders. "He said Mr. Yjale Shred would help."

"I think the least I can do is talk to him. Properly. This time," Ivor decides. "But I can't ask any of you to come with me, at this time."

"I will," Fara says. "But we still need a ride."

We look around at our tired faces… we were far from transforming.

"Then…" Shine says. "First we need to organise a bind on them."

***

Shine takes me and Ivor to the sky… and we reach a port, with Ivor's help in navigation. Shine lands us on the ground, even when soldiers point their guns at us… but don't fire, waiting for us to make a move.

"We are here just to talk," Ivor lifts both his hands, and I do the same.

"Hold fire!" a person comes running and gasping… Yjale Shred. "At ease… all of us."

The two of us descend from Shine, and she just seems ready to cover us. But all the soldiers just stare at us, and at Yjale.

"Firstly, what sorcery is that?" Yjale asks us. "What… you dragons ride air this way, in your human-forms? What else can you do, are you here with such set of skills to end me?"

"We are not here to hurt anyone… Yjale. Mr. Shred."

"Then explain yourself before I take action."

"Take action only because I didn't call you as general, sir," Ivor says. "There is no other crime which I, or the dragons, have ever committed."

"What about the massacres in Japan, Ivor? You think it'd go unnoticed? The trials of red blood doesn't ease the public's fear. You should at least understand by now, how much that can cause damage."

"I have no idea what Esterine told you… but we did nothing."

"What if it was not Esterine? What if it was your very own friend, Ivor? Could I believe it then? Then guess what… I truly can't trust you then."

"Parzival Blesthe is dead."

"No, you… tell me you're lying!" Yjale screams. "How could you do that… to the man who…"

"Parzival Blesthe is dead," I say. "Died a dragon. But, you already knew that, didn't you?"

Yjale just freezes to my words. He signs for the soldiers to go away, and they do. And he slowly swabs his sweat with his kerchief, while looking at the barren ground.

"Rahambose…" Yjale says, making Shine lift her head. "So it has happened."

"Yjale…" Ivor wordlessly says.

"He was a great friend, you know. Troubled... but even so. Hated the dragons, him and me. Said it… said his this form… it filled him with rage. Rage which he could easily take out, on the weak. He didn't like all that power."

"Not all dragons are that way," I protest.

"Oh, he told me," Yjale says and looks at me. "You were there… right, Fara? You are her, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Phoenix… so it has all come to this. He was always right," Yjale says and thinks before asking. "Esterine release that part of him?"

"Her and her organisation. They found something on the Makeshift project."

"Or so I have heard before," Yjale says. "Pity that I didn't trust his words. Have you buried him, Parz?"

"We will. Somewhere where… they won't find him."

"Then he can rest peacefully," Yjale nods. "Still curious… how did you ride air, that way?"

"I'm not air," Shine speaks, making Yjale stumble to the ground.

Shine helps pick Yjale from the ground.

"Th-Tha-Thank you…"

"Sorry to have scared you. Humans just can't comprehend my form, And being a watcher of all their activities… I believe rightfully so, why they can't. And I can further confirm the accuracy of the communication occurred here."

"Parzival never mentioned of such a thing. And sorry to have offended you by calling you air. I'm sure you are lovely. That was gentle help."

"Just please get Ms. Rude away from the castle. The dragons have better things to worry of."

"Shall be done," Yjale nods.

"I can carry all of you," Shine claims.

"No… thank you for the offer. I'll come by myself. You can have a head start. I will be there in ten minutes, or double at max, I promise. Even when I'm fascinated by such things, I need to make some preparations."

And so we leave his side. Luckily, our absence hadn't changed much: back at Ashville.

Yjale quickly shows up with three large tanks of helicopters.

"Get back in, the way you came from," Yjale's voice resounds out.

Only one wall of the force-field stays, but everything else clears up for the military to move back to their ships.

Yet, they just murmur among each other.

Yjale answers by shooting through the helicopter, at the force-field.

"Shit," Rusty says, losing control at these heavy bullets. But Shine helps him again, and they maintain the wall.

The military start moving.

"I hope you know where to stash your weapons. Dragons no longer are something YOU lot need to be concerned of. But if you want to make an enemy of me, and kill me… I would require the same of you."

"Lovely guy," Aster says.

"Sure is," Ivor says.

"Besides… all of you have some answering to the world council. For those of you who don't know what it is, you're in for a treat."

"What is the world council?" I ask.

"Zero idea. Sounds serious."

"Sounds like a fairytale," Max says, and we side-eye at him. "Yes, yes. Dragons, prophecies… we are beyond it. Understood."

"The dragons have the rights to handle any escape-artists in my stead. But let them live this once… I promise that I won't let them."

And the dragons indeed hover and make sure this is done silently. Even Esterine doesn't dare use anything to even scar or scare any one of the dragons.

In a while, as this prolongs and all of us collapse on the bare ground… Yjale Shred joins us.

"No please… sit down," Yjale says and sits ahead of us, looking at each of our faces. "I'm sorry it came to this. I should have known. Parzival and Klyne did warn me about Rahambose."

"You knew my dad?" Aster asks.

"Maybe not that well, no. Mostly through Parzival. But if he were alive… he would probably come at me with a sword or two," Yjale scoffs.

"He actually preferred bare-hand combat," Aster says.

Yjale chuckles. "Lucky that I prefer far-reaching ones then."

"Thank you," Aster says.

"No… sorry that I strayed away from what I talked to your father. Guess it wasn't a serious promise. Maybe if I knew dragons any better… but what can I say? I'm just… me. But I can't protect you, you know. Not forever."

"We are thinking a solution," Aster says. "Maybe I should've taken Maison's offer," she looks at Shine.

"Who's that? And what offer?"

"Are you serious, Lady Flame?" Shine asks.

"Maybe no one can say if two species belong together… but if it brings harm. There should be another way out. I think this is it."

"I wish to know the context," Yjale says.

"She means we'll leave Earth," I say.

Yjale just looks at me, dazed. "Will… you… be… fine?"

"How long will Maison take to come?" Aster asks.

"I don't think we'll have to wait," I say, and look at the far tower.

"Does it even work?" Aster asks.

"The tower which we never mentioned in context before? What's it to do?" Tar asks.

"It's what Sam, the first one, and Fara used to go to the place where they stopped the tear in reality," Rusty says.

"I barely know that story but a tower which took you towards space? And wasn't it centuries ago? How did you make that, we haven't even reached the moon," Yjale says.

"In all honesty, time collapsing on each other… a vessel which could take us to space is the least of our concerns, I'd say. And it is a ship of sorts, not a tower," I explain, even when I myself am unsure.

"Besides, they made a time machine back then… which caused this ruckus. Wouldn't be a surprise, such vessel," Ivor scoffs.

"Time out… we had such a thing and never used it?" Sam asks.

"What for? Dragons could fly by themselves. The ship would've just attracted eyes," Aster says.

"Not all of us can fly."

Aster just shrugs as a reply.

In the midst of this, I feel a vision trying to reach me… as if begging for me to see it. And I silently let it through.