The Tail of the Twin Dragons

38

As Acnologia and Wendy tussled through the air, they rose in altitude. Below them, smoke and dust rose into the sky from the chaos of the fights below between soldiers and revolutionaries. Claws flashed, and Wendy sunk her teeth into her father's arm as they grappled, wings flapping frantically keeping the two beasts aloft.

Other dragons fought in the sky but all of them gave the two dueling dragons a wide berth, though whether purposefully or instinctually mattered on the dragons. Those at a weaker disposition avoided the two at all costs as they tried eagerly to defend their kings while other stronger beasts, such as Natsu and Gajeel, were instinctively avoiding the fight as something within their draconian cells recognized a battle of power between alphas and warned them to not interfere.

As the two competing alphas battling, blood, scales, and magic flew. In a stroke of luck, Wendy managed to bite into her father's wing, forcing him to plummet out of the sky like a stone, his claws piercing her side and pulling her down with him.

As they tumbled, both recognized that they were falling for Acnologia's grand castle. To crash through that would destroy it and kill anyone who the rubble fell upon. For those reasons and some conflicted emotions that raced through their minds, they both reverted to their human forms as they crashed through a few grand windows, slamming into a long hallway.

Wendy manipulated her air magic to prevent any damage from the glass and give her a soft landing on her feet while Acnologia crashed through the windows and landed heavily, balanced and composed.

Wendy wiped some blood off her lip and glared at the man before her. Acnologia looked back at her and Wendy swore she saw joy in his eyes as he smiled at her.

"All of the pain. All of the misery. Everything you've down and you have the gall to smile at me?" Wendy growled. Her pupils were reptilian slits and her voice was powerful. The wind swirled around her, pulsing with her fury.

Acnologia kept a smile on his face and slowly nodded. "Why wouldn't I? Everything I've done has been building up for this moment. All of my planning, all of my suffering, it's all been waiting for this..."

Wendy recoiled for a moment, before snarling.

"Don't flatter yourself. You didn't plan for this and you won't escape this. I will kill you!" Wendy vowed, her magic energy threatening to burst one more.

"I hope so," Acnologia responded.

Those words were a verbal slap to Wendy's face and she stumbled back, unsure and shocked.

"What?" she managed.

"I've been waiting for this," Acnologia admitted, a solemn tone to his voice. "So many years of waiting and hoping and praying... and then here you are, stronger and more prepared than I ever could have planned for or imagined. You've grown so much little one."

Wendy's anger returned. "Why would I ever believe that? All you've ever cared for is power. All you've ever wanted is to rule. Suddenly, you expect me to believe that you want to die?"

"Want to?" Acnologi laughed incredulously. "It doesn't matter what I want, it's never matted about what I want. It's what the world requires!"

Wendy was taken off guard but was preparing herself for any attack.

"When I took this throne, the world was in shambles. The dragons who ruled the world were mostly a lot of corrupted, cruel beasts who deserved nothing more than to have their skull mounted on a pike. This world was full of wolves, and how do you tame wolves, child?"

Wendy kept her magic at the ready, but she would be lying to say that she wasn't yearning to understand the man before her. So many evil stories had painted a vision of her father for her eyes and a small part of her prayed that those stories were wrong, so... for the moment... she would humor this monster.