Dragon's child

•Twenty Three•

Zabi's shielding saved the Mages from repeating their experience on Tenrou Island, but was unable to block the sound wave completely. 'Don't let him take off! We stand a better chance if we can keep him pinned!' Someone shouted. The group lunged en masse at the dragon, targeting his wings. The buildings around them had long been destroyed, but the Dark One was still cramped on the ground, a disadvantage to his enormous size. No matter how many he knocked back, the rest of the mages just kept running at him. They, being so much smaller, were able to use the rubble to their advantage. He was just about to take off when a second dragon tackled him. The second one was slightly smaller, with the same warm brown colored scales as the mystery man's skin had been. He was covered in delicate spines and fins, looking like he'd fit right in a magical underwater kingdom, the direct opposite to his mate. He was clearly no fighter, but he did a damn good job of slamming the Dark One back into the ground. Majarov seized his tail at the same time, throwing the pair off balance. It quickly became a wrestling match, with the mages retreating to fire at a distance or flying into the air with their exceeds, to avoid being squished. The Dark One roared and snapped, thrashing and clawing at anything in reach. Makarov grunting in pain as he yanked a black tail off from around his neck even as a row of spikes carved more gashes into his skin.

'Master!!' Several voices called.

'Wendy, get back here!' Cobra snagged the girl by the back of her dress as she started to run in. Wendy only gave a token of protest, clearly knowing that it was futile to try to escape his grip. Instead, she called on the stallion spirit to help.

'Zabi-san! Heal him! Heal Master!' But there was no answer. 'Zabi-san?!'

...'s comi...g...Hold...n...Be strong... It was barely more than a whisper as a golden streak disappeared into the distance. As he disappeared, the second dragon seem to experience a surge of strength, body slamming the Dark One away from the injured Guildmaster before blasting him with a dragon roar. Makarov pounded over, knocking him farther away from his guild, his children. The second dragon took the air, flying majestically in wide circles. There was no time to wonder why as immediately the mages moved in again to back up the old man. When the next big blast came, it was not Zabi who shielded them.

'Don't worry, children. I'm here now.' A soft voice said soothingly.

'What took you so long?' Gray chuckled.

'Don't make fun of the First!' Erza scolded.

Mavis let out a sniffle. 'I-I'm sorry, I wasn't able to get close until now.'

'The First..?'

'Who's that?'

'We'll explain later!'

It was getting to the point where there was so much dust and debris flying through the air that the flashes of magical attacks was all that could be seen, at least to the people on the ground. The second dragon kept dive bombing the Dark One, keeping him off balance. Jet and Racer were whizzing around, directing the fighters through the smoke. Freed had to physically hold Laxus back from hurtling into the fray and Mira was slowly and sluggishly pulling herself to her feet, helped by Wendy. The galloping of hooves was undetectable through the chaos going on, so when Zabi thundered up next to the girls, it surprised them both. Even more surprising was the stallion's rider. "Ryuchi!" They called in happiness, reaching for her as she slid off the spirit's back. "We missed you." Mira cuddled her in her arms.

Before Ryuchi could say anything, the dust cleared momentarily, allowing the Dark One to be seen very briefly in all his awful glory. Ryuchi let out a choked sound between a gasp and a sob. "Master." She whimpered reverently as she began to shake. Her breathing began to speed up, faster and faster.

"Ryuchi?! Hey!" Wendy waved her hand in front of her face.

"We don't have time for this!" Charla insisted. The Dark One roared, sweeping his tail like a whip, taking down the only building even partially still standing (the one Levy had been keeping the injured in) and set debris flying across the battlefield, many pieces hitting home. Mages went down all over like bowling pins and the cries of pain overwhelmed the mental link before it cut off completely. The Dark One reared up, aiming his jagged fangs at Makarov's throat. The second dragon interfered, saving Makarov in return for his mate to rip a hole in his midsection.

"Is this...what you wanted...Rai?!" The second dragon gasped out. Beyond words, the Dark One howled back at him. Somehow, the little drama acting itself out in his peripheral caught his attention. Ryuchi was frantically clearing the rubble off not only herself, but her closest companions. The Dark One snapped his jaws together in a very clear command. When she ignored him, he snarled and smashed his fist into the rubble next to her. Ryuchi froze, chest heaving, seemingly transfixed by the blood slowly seeping out from beneath the piece of brick wall. The dragonslayers in the air took advantage of the Dark One's distraction, blasting at his head, and destroying one of his eyes. His roar of pain was quickly drowned out by a high-pitched shrieking scream. The yellow dragon was small, a child, and yet when she piledrived into the Dark One, the impact sent them both flying backwards. The injured second dragon half-hopped/half-dragged itself onto the beach and the air shimmered as all three gathered their magic to them. They released at once, an explosion larger than any other, blasting out for the first and last time. The sand instantly crystallized to glass and the sea began to boil and steam, so fierce was the energy produced. The dragonslayers were launched higher into the clouds and when their exceeds managed to stabilize, the now glassy beach was almost entirely empty. The glass was molten and still solidifying in the center of the blastzone, so they were forced to skim near the surface in order to not get burnt and trapped in the glass. The Dark One's mate was back in his human form, collapsed silently on the ground, partially covered in rapidly cooling glass. The Dark One himself was also in human form, up to his knees in the clear sand glass. Blood flowed freely from his damaged eyesocket, but he was smiling a kind, true smile, staring at his scale-encrusted hands. "Finally." He sighed in a voice of wearied joy. The yellow dragon lay panting on the ground, too tired to even move. As the Dark One collapsed, every scale on the trio began detaching itself in the wind, slowly shredding itself to pieces as if it were made of the thinnest paper. The exceeds kept their slayers back, unsure of what was happening. Soon, the air was full of black, brown, and yellow confetti. When it had completely cleared, the Dark One and his mate were covered in a thin coating of glass, completely still. But they weren't the only ones. Ryuchi's small form lay beside them, the price for accelerating her magic and taking a draconian form much too soon. But she had avenged her family and a faint victorious smile was visible on her face.

"RYUCHIIIIII!!"