Serendipity (wof fanfic)

CHAPTER 10

Junebug was having nightmares. Again. She knew she couldn't stop them, but she really thought that the windowseat would at least tame them, just a little. Turns out it had only put them to sleep for a short time. Her thought safe was there again. Just as it usually was, but when she looked down she saw that she was Possibility. Older than in her vision but still her, the same light pink and orange scales. A thousand mirrors reflected her magnifecent eyes. The stars that normally splattered her wings were gone, and replaced by glossy black ones. She ran through the maze of mirrors. She never faltered. Never stumbled she just kept running. The mirrors shiny surfaces were washed in red. It looked almost like.... A dragon with wings the size of oceans lept out of nowhere, he was three times bigger than Saguaro and his scales were deep red with flecks of orange like a fire creeping up on a horizon. he looked like a skywing, but when he turned she saw that his face was twisted into a blackened and eyeless lump. His teeth were bared behind his half melted snout and bone showed through holes along his neck and body. This couldn't be a vision, this dragon would be dead by now. Nodragon could survive having their face melted off. The large dragon was clutching something, the tiny sleeping form of a dragonet. It was white, like an icewing but it didn't shine. Underneath her ruff was pale pink and pure black scales, that resembled her own tear drops glistened behind her closed eyes. She didn't know how she could see it so clearly. She just knew she had to save it. It was the same feeling she had felt when she first had the vision of Possibility, before she knew who she was. The skywing slammed his tail down on the stone floor it cracked like glass underneath the half corroded scales. She reached forward towards the sleeping dragonet, but he carelessly jerked it out of her way. The walls seemed to grow closer towards her. And her thought safe ripped apart. The metal split like snakeskin and fell to the ground. She thought for sure she would go savage. Instead she felt her thought safe grow stronger. She whipped her head back towards it, the shed metal still lay across the ground, but instead of an ruined safe, she found that the safe had been reinforced. The metal had been replaced by pure diamond, the black surface shined and reflected like her own wings. She turned back to the skywing. She screamed. His scales were almost completely gone. Only a few scales were left, and they were sliding off quickly. He was a giant skeleton dripping with blood, the stuff pooled around his feet, and snaked down the floor towards her, ot bubbled with heat and reeked of poison. she didn't know if she was herself or Possibility anymore. Al she knew is that she was angry, and a little scared. And he still clutched the tiny dragonet. She had to save her. The skeleton smiled. He wasn't a skeleton. He was a force of pure evil. As she had this thought. New scales started to creep up the skeleton. It grew smaller, and more graceful. The tiny dragonet wiggled and shifted in her sleep. The dragon clutching her was Ashheart. A false smile, that was meant to 'welcome' Junebug crept unto her snout. Oh Junebug would come all right. If she was going to hurt any more dragons Junebug would come. She would stop her. Because now Junebug knew exactly what she needed to do to find Possibility. Junebug leaped forward, as she flew through the air her pink scales changed back into deep purple for only a second before rippling into red. The paralyzing barbs slid out and she stabbed Ashheart with them. Nothing happened. She threw her tail barb over her head and plunged it forward right were her heart would be. It bounced off with a sound like a spear hitting metal. Ashheart smiled and ran a claw over the little dragonets face. It squirmed again. Junebug didn't know how it hadn't woken up yet. She leaped forward and grabbed the dragonet, right out of Ashheart's arms. Stunning Ashheart with her 'daring' or more to Junebug it seemed cowardice, for only a mere second. Using the split second she had gained, she ran, a headstart was better than no start. Or more likely, no head if she kept disobeying. She just kept running through the maze. The dragonet leaned in closer to her. It seemed to like her. That was good. She could hear Ashheart bounding after her. Her heart pounded. The dragonet cooed, she pushed a single claw to her snout before stumbling. No matter how fast she was, it was an obvious disadvantage to be running on only three legs. She fixed the sleeping dragonet into a harness, that had appeared in the corner, she quickly snatched it up and looked inside to find... fruit? The dragonet, Junebug was starting to call her snowdrop in her head, climbed up inside the bag and nestled in amongst the purple fruit. She still hadn't opened her eyes, Junebug wondered if she was blind. The sound of armor clinking brought all her fear crashing back over her. She hadn't noticed Ashheart wearing armor, but if things appeared in this maze when Junebug wanted them, why not appear for Ashheart too? Junebug ducked into a cave that had appeared from the disorienting folds of the glass walls that towered above. She turned around and saw millions of bugs in the cave. They flew right past her and out the cave, she hoped they didn't give them away, Ashheart was sure to see them. The tiny dragonet started to fuss. It looked as it it had hatched only a few weeks ago. Junebug took its tiny little talon in her own. The dragonet curled in closer to her and opened one eye. One blood red eye. Junebug gasped in surprise, but didn't hold it further, she didn't recoil or jump, instead she held it closer, these eyes were all the more reason to protect her. She wasn't evil, surely, Junebug just knew, nor would she grow up to be evil, maybe she was using foresight, maybe she was just blind to the truth, for all they had been through together, though it had only been an hour at most. She would care for this dragonet, No matter what her eyes looked like. Junebug knew she couldn't judge a dragonet because of her looks. She knew that better than anybody, she thought of Ripple again, and his twisted knotted wings. The dragonet reached up towards her face. It cooed again and Junebug couldn't help but play with it. She was so sweet and gentle, despite her weird pale scales, and her eyes. She heard a roaring sound outside the cave. Junebug quickly ducked deeper in and begged the dragonet to be quiet. If she could read her mind it would understand. If she had foresight, Junebug just hoped she didn't see anything too horrible. She felt her talons shaking. Ashheart was the only thing that truly scared her. That really scared her down to the bones, she was a thousand times scarier than some stupid skeleton. She was the one dragon who could control her. She shuddered and gently lowered snowdrift back into the satchel, just in time before.... Ashheart stode into the cave, seeing Junebug at once Junebug couldn't even make her scales cooperate, they stayed the same mix of green and red. Rather strange looking no doubt, but she was too scared to notice much. "Now, now, darling Junebug, you will give me that dragonet and you will be mine." Junebug clutched the dragonet closer to her chest. "NO! I want to stay with Saguaro! You can't control me!" Ashheart laughed and struck Junebug with her talon. It hurt. Junebug hadn't felt physical pain from another dragon in who knows how long. The starbursts of dizziness and the spots in her eyes confused her. She felt her eyes close. When she opened them she felt different. The tiny dragonet was still in her talons. But she wasn't holding it with all the love she had before. Instead she held it as if it were her prey. She watched it fade away. Not die. Because it never had been hatched, not when this version of herself was in control. She looked up at Ashheart. She smiled at her. But something was nagging her. She wasn't this dragon. No. Ashheart took her talon in her own. It was cold and rock like. Junebug didn't resist. "Now come Serendipity" Serendipity? Nobody EVER called her by her real name. Ever! Not even her parents. Where were her parents... She turned her head back to the thought safe. It had melted into the bodies of dozens of dead dragons. She turned back to Ashheart. "What happened to them? She asked it the same way she would ask about a homework assignment. As if they were something she lost, but wasn't exactly sad to see them go, perhaps worried about the consequenses though.... Ashheart looked back at the dead dragons. The bodies of her parents and the icewings were amongst the pile. "Why you killed them dear." That was wrong. That was wrong. She didn't kill dragons. She was Junebug. Not a murderer. She was Saguaro's friend. She would be Possibilities mother. She wasn't a murderer. So then why were all these dragons staring back at her with there dead, accusatory eyes? Could she really have killed her own parents? No. She tried to pull away from Ashheart but she couldn't. Ashheat was clutching her with strength greater than any Junebug had ever known. Complete control. Well almost complete. Ashheart faded from view, and she was in a long white hallway. At the end of the hallway she saw three doors. One was shining green and black. Colors of fear and hate She caught a glimpse of herself, panting beside her was Saguaro clutching his chest, A bird chirped above and Junebug jumped nearly a talon in the air. Another was white. She saw dragons dying but she also saw herself. Laying besides the queen with a platter of food in front of her. The expression on her face was slightly interested. When gazing upon that door Junebug felt a pull. It was just natural for a dragon to want the life of ease and riches. There was no Saguaro through that door. In the last door she saw a tunnel of black and green thorns. Long and gnarly branches, but at the end was an egg. It was shining orange with black and pink highlights. She and Saguaro, only what looked about twenty years older sat by watching as it hatched. Looks of pure joy on there faces. And Junebug had no idea which to take.

Saguaro was shaking her again. She was still in the windowseat. Where she had been sitting when she read the letter. It all came flowing back to her. Every instinct she had wanted to let the dream slip away. But she knew she had to hold on for her parents, for the dragonet, for herself. She couldn't let herself forget what would happen if she let her gaurd down. If she relaxed for even a second. That dream had shown her her choices. Run. Run from the queen and never look back. Take Saguaro with her, for he would be the perfect bait for the queen. Or she could go back. Let that new general twist her into his own creation. Sculpt her like a peice of metal. Become a murderer. Or she could find Possibility. That seemed hopeless. But she couldn't give up, she had to find Possibility. For the sake of hers, Saguaro's, and countless other's lives. She had to find Possibility. "Junebug! Your eyes- they went all blank! I thought you were having a heart attack! And then you collapsed! You were sleeping for nearly an hour. I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" Junebug hadn't even realized it, she was covering her face with her talons crying. She took the letter in her talons. It was tear stained within seconds. Junebug leapt up from the windowseat letter in talon. Saguaro reached a talon toward her, wondering if she was about to collapse again. Instead she took the letter and she squeezed it with all her strengh, then she stabbed it repeatedly with her tail barb. She set it on fire, and then froze it, then wrapped it in flamesilk, then froze it again. Then she spit venom. It went on like this for some time before she finally calmed down. The letter had long since dissintigrated. Saguaro peeked his head out of the curtains. "Umm is it safe to come out now? Did you have a vision? Is that why you fainted?" She whipped forward toward saguaro. Saguaro, I need to make a descision. Saguaro, I can't decide. Saguaro! I CAN'T. He inched away, his mind was scared, he was merely a young dragon. And no matter how Junebug treasured his friendship, he couldn't understand, Ripple wouldn't understand, nor her parents. No one would ever understand. She didn't- yes- no it was happening again. The indesicion was taking over her. She envisioned herself drowning, one black talon dragged her down down down. She tried to claw herself up, another talon beckoned to her, if only she could reach it. Instead it rested there, whatever it was attached to was hanging back in the shadows. She couldn't see, she couldn't see how much she would lose or gain by taking that claw. She risked a glance down, everything was clear. There was no fog shrouding the path, the path that led to her losing herself. Losing Saguaro and Possibility forever. She tried to heave herself over the edge again. Instead a single claw slipped she was pulled deeper into the chasm. The light orange talon seemed to be watching her, waiting for her to regain her strength. She didn't, instead she fell, she fell down with the black talon still clutching her ankle. She wasn't strong enough. She had been given all the power in Pyrrhia and she still wasn't strong enough. She could beat every dragon but one. She could defeat entire armies. But she could never escape Ashheart. Or her own evil. That spot in her heart that would always be tainted black. That part of her mind that would always argue with her. That part of her conscience that had died, that had been dead since the day she hatched. She couldn't do the right thing. She wanted to, oh how she wanted to. But despite being gifted beyond compare, it still wasn't enough. Even if Junebug. No Serendipity, that was her name, her name was a lie. All she had done for Saguaro was gotten him killed. No he wasn't dead yet. He was as good as dead. And then Serendipity realized the truth. No matter how much she loved Saguaro, and she did love him. They had only known each other what? A week and a half. She loved him. She loved him more than anything. He was more than her friend, more than her anchor. She had loved him from the moment she had seen him. How pathetic, she was like a fairytale dragon. Except, fairytale dragons didn't get their princes killed. She didn't know exactly what she was. But she knew she would never be enough for Saguaro, despite what she had heard in his mind. He loved her too. She thought. But she could never protect him. Her mother would never help them. She would never betray her precious queen. Even for her own daughter. Junebug was a coward. No Serendipity was the coward. And with that, Junebug broke down into sobs, before blacking out into more twisted nightmares.