Chapter 16 – Old problems die hard (2)

"Why ask them? We could just have went along with them," Sam sighs.

"Yeah? Well, we aren't even safe here on the inside, genius!" I say, while grabbing her hand and rushing forward.

Some soldiers spring out, far ahead, and I let Sam into a room alongside me, locking the door behind.

Gunshots, explosions… the soldiers wouldn't know or care that we were humans, and moreover the children of military officers.

Sam pulls me and points towards something, a hiding place, which makes me sigh. Yet we use it, and hide within.

"Again inside a closet," I sigh. "This is worse than the last time's hiding,"

"Hopefully the last time hiding in a closet. And hopefully not the last conversation of our lives."

"It could be you know."

We look at each other, and realise together. "Confession time."

"OK, me first; I love you Max, and nothing will ever change that. It just felt weird… the first kiss with my best friend. Even though I loved you for long. And I just… HATE that we have to just not… love each other. For some lame prophecy."

"I feel that it is my fault. If only I never felt that kind of connection with Aster. If only I never… invited her. Which feels selfish, but, nothing may have happened then."

"I felt like I was to be blamed… I guess it's our thing," Sam scoffs.

"And here we are… breathing on each other, once again."

"This is such a bad timing for all of this."

We gaze each other's lips with our eyes.

"I guess there is no right time, it just is. Times can be worse than this, we cannot wait forever for a perfect timing, Sam. If we let everything go by itself… maybe that's how Rahambose will come."

The door seems to explode, but we barely flinch at that.

"Let's let it end, with a last one then," Sam says.

I go ahead to feel her lips, and numb every other feeling. We tilt our heads together, and move rhythmically… as if… it WAS our last. Sam bites on my lower lip, and me her upper lip.

This wouldn't be enough to cause Rahambose… but just a vow at the end that… in the end, I've always loved you, Sam.

And we really do not feel any pain… the Prophecy won't bind us no more.

"Max and Sam," a strict voice says, making us stop. Was that Dad? "I – the crystal cave… am honoured."

We open our eyes and gaze to my left, to find a pile of shining crystal-gems: lying on the ground. At the top of the pile, a red one shines the brightest.

"I summon both of you here this moment. As there is no better moment to a warrior, than the battle," we still don't find the source, as it was the whole cave talking. "I have long awaited to know… what your choice will be."

I look at Sam.

"We can't give up. Maybe the next person will have it worse," I say.

Sam looks at the pile of cryatal-gems, and so do I. "Let's beat the Prophecy, than give up."

Two crystal-gems rise up, as if facing us.

"May you take the right decisions."

We close our eyes, as the gems speed towards us. But in our hands, we hold the other. We had to protect each other.

We jump out of the room, safe and sound, roaring like dragons. I turn to my right, Sam to her left, but it was safe… Rusty, Tar and Fara were there.

"Nephew?" Tar asks. "Oh my nephew… is a dragon!"

"Uncle Tar… I'm Max, that is Sam," I sigh.

Sam was smaller than me… how did he think that was me?

"Well, seeing the size I got confused. Oh well, so basically your father did not truce with us and we must fight him luck-sadly."

"Even after seeing Rusty?"

"Yeah… he thinks I'm being a kid or something."

"We told you that we should have gone with you," Sam says.

"Yeah well… he's already pissed off that one of us is a dragon… and interesting timing. So maybe you just needed a jump scare to become a dragon."

"No… I was just done with being scared," I say. "Come, Uncle Tar. Let's get down of here, faster."

We were afterall at the seventh floor now… I think.

Tar gets on my back, and Fara gets on Rusty's.

"Flying isn't that hard, you just jump up and glide."

"Or flap those wings," Fara adds.

"Yeah. Simple unless you think more about it."

"Yeah, cool, and easy, and steady, and awesome," I let out a breath.

"Why is it that he is larger than me in size? Twice even."

"Well, hard to tell. Haven't seen a yellow in a while. But surely you'll have a good skillset, just feel your powers and use them," Fara says, and Sam nods.

Sam was a humanoid-like dragon now, on her fours. Her scales look metallic than… scale-like. And even her wings look thin and small.

"Yeah well, the yellow I've seen was smart," Tar says.

"That's just very helpful, ironic, and controversial," Sam sighs.

I jump over the balcony, and glide down to the lower-hall, while having to flap my wings a bit. And we successfully reach, even Rusty does. But Sam falls down with a thud, turning back to her human-form, while twisting her body painfully.

"That is not flying, is it?" Tar asks.

"Absolutely not."

"Are you alright, Sam?" I look closer at Sam, with my huge eyes of large clarity.

"Somehow I'm, hail dragon recovery, and strength," Sam groans.

"Sam, look out!" Fara screams.

As I and Sam look behind her, a military soldier charges with a bloody spear in hand. He pierces the spear towards Sam, and ever so quickly I try to move her jelly-like body away. But the spear moves right towards my eye, but dust blinds me, and the guy is fallen on the ground, with the spear falling after him, almost missing him.

"Thanks, you are fast," Sam says, shaking her hand.

"Wow, nephew… that was you?"

"No… Sam… I think it was you."

"Oh…" Sam says, slowly moving her hand upwards, and then looking at the spear. "I felt like evading it… the moment slowed down but… huh."

Tar jumps forward, towards the fallen guy.

"Please don't hurt me!" he pleads.

"Huh," Tar punches the guy and knocks him out. "Ironic."

"Sam, you really just… pushed the guy so fast?" Rusty asks.

"I thought I… I wanted to move and… I thought I did, but that felt unreal. I saw him come towards me so fast, but it felt slow and… I don't know."

"Like brother, like sister," Fara says, and we look at her. "Rusty didn't tell you… he kind of… guesses what happens."

"You dragons sure have weird and great powers," Tar seems to sigh with envy. "All a person like me could ever do is maybe wear armour, wield a sword and make people unconscious for a while."

"How many dragons have you encountered?" Fara asks.

"It is time to fight. We shall talk some other time, lassie."

"It's Fara… and probably you'll die soon. So no point in knowing about you."

"Fara…" Rusty sighs.

"Kidding… though he must be careful, more chances that he would die."

I look outside the door, and everyone does too, in silence. That was a battlefield. A battlefield where the injured could not be identified as a dragon or a military-person, except by uniform. They all bled red, and helped each other… only to harm the other side.

They were all humans in my eyes… because I didn't feel any different, even in this form.

What would it take for the people outside to realise that? Or… did they already know and not care?

"We need to stop this…"

"I don't understand…" Sam says. "How are they willing to fight…? What do they mean to achieve?"

"I don't care. They need to stop!"

***

I pull Tony from my tail, while pushing away the soldiers with my thorny-head.

I turn back, while taking a breath, and sitting besides Line and Tony, besides a boulder.

"Is that one even a human?" Line asks, mentioning towards Esterine. "Even we need a little breather, you know. Even our dear leader does."

"Are you mocking me?" I take hard breaths.

"No, he's just wondering what is with that lady. He's mesmerized by her," Tony says.

"Sure have a thing for psychopaths. A thing of switching to islands away from them."

"You are not that hurt…"

"Toxin," I say, after glancing once again. "A kind which won't kill us… but sure can burn through the skin. Applied on all their ammo."

"Keeping the chemistry in herself alive even now. You know what I mean."

"Rusty can't handle alone, surely. In all honesty, he's a rookie who'd know least about us… so you two must go in."

"And you'll go fight… her?"

I bop my head sideways. "You say that I have something right…? That thing because of which I won't die."

"The protagonist aura is real," Line nods.

"Yeah…" I say, grabbing onto my sword. "Let's count on that."

"Not in the weak human form-"

I leave their side, before Line could stop me.

Esterine seems to be the smart and deadly-lethal one. While everyone fought with the guns… toxin-infused ammo still wasn't that effective. But she and some others: fought with swords, axes… all these close-ranged weapons. Smart.

Yet… she really could only get access to the weaker form.

I pounce upon her, transforming, as she misses her shot at a dragon – while looking at me. And I place my whole dragon-weight on her.

Esterine groans and tries to move… but it obviously is meaningless. She couldn't push a dragon…

"Stop this… now!"

"We won't go down easy. If you want us to stop… kill us, and stop us permanently. But, willingly… never!" Esterine hisses.

"You will lose your life," I press more.

"Well, at least we wouldn't be giving up. And letting you rule us!"

"We are humans too. Half, but, we are your own kind!"

Esterine bursts into laughter, even when wheezing a little. "You say that… but what if one of you decides to even be a simple thief? Of course, not all of you… but we take you as our own, and we'll pay. Are you that dumb to not understand that? The fittest will always survive!"

"I will make sure that doesn't happen."

"And after you? Your own son could be… chaos! When one of you decides, like me, that the other is danger… your corpse won't be stopping the chaos."

I feel myself flinch at this, but don't show it.

"Each one of you is uniquely powerful, correct? What is the assurance that you aren't a threat to your own kind? What is the assurance that you aren't a threat to us little humans? And what if you can't fight the threats off of us?"

Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose-Rahambose…

"So there in no point, princess," Esterine spits, while loosening up her body, and picking up a fallen axe… I had let her go. "If you want to stop me… put an end forever. Rule us like monsters, as we won't bow down!"

Esterine removes her mask, revealing her face. As if to make sure I remember her… in case she escapes. She had a white eye, and a normal eye. But her white eye seemed to be looking right at me, unlike the other.

Esterine… was right. Her words reach deep within my mind. She was loud and clear. She was right.

"Loosen up a bit… you seem like you've seen a ghost. Sure is rude… to judge my scars, being a monster yourself."

"I'm no monster…" I shiver.

"Then kill me…" her voice echoes.