Dragon Falls (Indigo Apocalypse Book III)

Chapter Forty-Six: You Could Be A Sweet Dream Or A Beautiful Nightmare

THIRD PERSON:
"How are you doing Milady?" "Fine, I think." The Female sat in a tent, the dracons resting from their trek across the continent. The female dabbed at the young dracon's face with a cloth. "Are you beginning to remember?" The dracon nodded. "Yes, it's coming back to me." And it was, slowly but surely. She remembered sleeping, sleeping for a long, long, long, long time. Years in human terms, seasons, in dracon terms. She was remembering, bits and pieces, remembered bits of what her life was once before. Remembered, and that was something, because now she knew, knew who she truly was, what, she truly was. She was truly beginning to remember. She was an Earthen Dracon, a rarity among dracon races. Rare, because of what the Dark Queen made them to be once before. Because she as being their once great queen, took dracons and transformed them into something else, something monstrous. Destroyed what they were, and made them what she was. Tortured and dismembered them, tormented and disfigured them. Shredded and abused them, took all they were. As she began to remember, power began to sing in her blood. The power that was slowly being given back to her, as the true heir of darkness, as the true queen of darkness, as the true queen of night. The dracon female looked up, and, through the tent roof, could see the glistening comet, the comet two sun dragons, the first in millennia had created.
One of those dracons had killed her. They'd needed to, needed to kill her to give her the body she deserved, the power, she deserved. She remembered that face, twin to her own, those green eyes that spoke of apologies, that meant those apologies, and spoke of a better world, for both of them. To come out of the shadows and into the light, the light of the dawn that was breaking, the dawn they'd created, that she'd help create. Night, she was the true heir of night now. The true queen of night, of darkness, no malice, no hatred, no fear, no panic, no terror, no venom, no poison. Nothing but night. The true undiluted queen of night. Her power, power over darkness, over night, coiled through her blood, so much so that shadows coiled in her green eyes. "Majesty?" For a while, the dracon didn't answer. For a while, she just sat there, her gaze lost within itself. For a while, she just sat there, lost in thought. She did not fear the dark, did not fear the storm of it, she did not fear the puissant dark. She did not fear the power the strength of it. It coiled through her, loving fingers that recognized their true master, their true mother. Loving arms that enfolded her, that swept her along. Loving arms that held her with gentle affection, affection she did not fear, she did not nullify. The darkness sang to her, and she sang back, her voice echoing through her mind, through the night like soft waves again the shore. Night, night, night, night, she was night, she, was, the night. More power swam through her, and as it did, she remembered, century upon century, millennia upon millennia of nights, long nights, short nights, nights till way back when the corners of the world were divided amongst the dracon populous. She wondered if this was how the sun dragons felt, did they see all of this too? Did they remember how it was before, the times before?
"Night." She sang. "Beautiful night, sweet night, sweet dreamless night. Come to me, come to me, come to me. Sweet dreams beautiful nightmares. Come to me, come to your mother, to your rightful queen, come to me, come to me. Come, come, come, come." The night came willingly, sweeping through her, through the world, through the ground, through the tent walls. All dracons knelt as they felt it, felt the puissant power coiling through the world, to their rightful queen. And, as it did, the Dark Queen, screamed. Her rage was as puissant as the loss of her power, power that was her's. "NO," she bellowed. "No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no, no, no, NO, NO." Her rage shook the ground, shook her keep. "NOT POSSIBLE, THIS CANNOT BE POSSIBLE." She threw one of her spiders by the pincers and it screamed as it was flung aside and slammed into a wall, falling, broken, to the ground. "I need more victims, BRING ME MORE VICTIMS, I NEED MORE." "Majesty—"I DID NOT ASK YOU TO SPEAK, BRING ME MORE." The spiders who guarded her scattered and as they did, as their footsteps trailed away, Arachne paced. No, it wasn't possible, not at all, it wouldn't be possible. That power was her's, and it would remain her's too. It would would would would would would, would, remain her's. There was no denying what was her's, no possible way to steal her power from her. She, was the queen of darkness, of venom and hatred, of malice and terror, of fear and agony. There would be no way those sun dragons would steal her power from her, no possible way. She knew it was them, knew it was them who stole her power from her. They'd die, she knew that. They would die, and when they did she'd be there, to steal back her power and steal their own power from them.
"Majesty," Said the dracon. "Name," "Excuse me Majesty." "I will need a name." "A, name Majesty?" "Yes." Said the new Queen of Night. She rose from her seat, facing the door of the tent, the world outside, the kneeling dracons before her tent. "I'll need a name, as the new Queen of Darkness, of night, of the night sky." "I, ah, well, if I may Majesty?" "Why else would I be asking you if I didn't want your input?" The female nodded. "Well then, Nix?" "Is that a question, or a suggestion?" "Both Milady." The female dracon nodded. "I like it, simple, yet means a lot. Nyx, the new personification of night, of darkness." The female nodded, as Nyx faced the tent flaps, again. "We march now, how far do we have to go?" "A few hundred leagues Milady, we traveled fast, faster when you were reborn." For the briefest moment, Nyx wondered what that was like, to have a body of your new queen just appear before you. She'd have, if she knew money, she'd have paid to see the reaction of the dracons who'd found her, probably the one standing in the tent with her. They exited the tent together and the dracons rose as one, "MAJESTY." They roared. Nyx held up a hand, "We have a war to join, and a venomous queen to vanquish. "Let's do our part and help our brothers and sisters. As the tents were disassembled, and dracons gripped the earth in their power, she stared off into the distance, to where they'd have to travel. Her power was almost finished coiling inside her, almost finished gathering, when it was, she knew it would be a behemoth. She unfurled her wings. She remembered what it was like to not have wings, to instead have slits in her wrists, slits for webs. She looked at her wrists, which were now smooth moon white skin. At the talons that grew from her nail beds. At the scales along her arms, the scales, not hardened shells. A dracon, she was a full-blooded dracon. A pure-blooded Earthen Dracon. A Black Demon. "Majesty?" Said the female dracon. "We're ready to go." Nyx nodded. "We travel, through darkness, through night." Said Nyx. She held up her arms, the night poured out of her in great waves, in spooling torrents. She grinned at the dracon as they were engulfed by night. She roared, and they roared back, roared, as they flew through night, flew, to, war.
The Tinkers flew nonstop toward war, toward certain death, their wings beating all around each other. Looking like a swarm of beautiful stars, little tiny stars, they flew in a great swarm over the lands. They urged each other on, flying over the world. Yet even as they needed no encouragement, something did indeed draw them closer, something did indeed sing their names, their power. Every Tinker had a power, had drops of indigoism in their blood, hence why they were indigo. In small bursts, Tinkers were severely underestimated, terribly weak and doing no more damage than maybe a few dozen stings from a human hornet. Yet together as they were, hundreds of thousands of Tinkers, millions of Tinkers flying over the world. All Tinkers answering the call to arms. All Tinkers answering the call to hoist their colors. With the millions of them all flying, they were as powerful as an army of werewolves, if werewolves could harness indigoism. One of the Tinkers flew at the forefront of the army, his wings beating as did his brethren. Cree flew over the lands of the indigo, his full species of Tinkers flying behind him in huge waves. Behind him, a few hundred carted a gigantic horn, a horn it was his job, his duty, to blow. A great honor he knew. An honor that was to one Tinker. One Tinker only. In times of war, Tinker verses Tinker, or, Tinkers, verses something even greater. Cree was proud to assume that title, was proud to assume the role he'd play in heralding what they' bring.
    Reina walked through the edge of camp, her brown hair waving about her face, her bare feet sliding over the shale. She wiped away at tears, she'd been crying, had been since the battle had subsided. She'd not let herself do this, not for a while, long, long, while. But the stress, the constant travel, then the waiting, and now, now he'd done it. Huntor, her once lover, her once boyfriend, now a mated god, and on his way here to fight the fight. She paused, reaching the spot where she'd left Audrey. It was nothing but soft soil, soft soil, where everything else was nothing but shale. No one had investigated this scene, and, no one would. She touched the soil with her bare foot, sensing deep underground. Underground, Audrey faced the thing that used to be her mate. "Zavala." The thing hissed with venomous hatred. Audrey's heart broke into several more pieces. "ZZ please." The thing hissed and lashed out. Audrey ducked aside, missing those sharp clawed legs by inches. She blocked the next attack on her forearm plate, and the next with another forearm. "Zavala." the thing lashed out, sending her flying and into the wall of the cavern she'd had Reina make. The hybrid lashed out with a web, Audrey dove out of the way and the web cracked the stones as it slammed into it, where Audrey's head was. It shrieked, and Audrey screamed, screamed as her mate bellowed in rage less than what she once was. "Zavala, please, listen to me, please hear me, please, please please please, please Love, please please please." The thing that was Zavala hissed and screamed, then, "There's no escape, no freedom, no air," "What?" Audrey's heart thumped puissantly in fear. "What—"You're end is coming, coming swiftly, fast, and painfully." "No, no Zavala please listen to me, you have to." Her voice wasn't her voice, it sounded like there was more than her's speaking, like she was being possessed. As Audrey heard, as she listened, her already destroyed heart sank into the depths of the ocean of her own sorrows. Already sank beneath the waves of her destroyed self, of her destroyed humanity, wrecked beyond repair. Destroyed beyond recognition. Ruined beyond savior. "There is no escape. No freedom, no air." She'd said that, but. Audrey, froze. "Wait, what do you mean, there's no freedom, no escape?" Asked Audrey. Zavala laughed demonically.
    "No one is coming for you, no one will protect you, no one will free you, from me." She stepped closer, her many legs churning shale. "What are you talking about?" Asked Audrey, thinking of Reina. "Zavala Love please listen to me, you don't have to do this, don't have to be like this, you can live, survive again, be something again. Please, please love, please, please listen to—" Zavala shrieked that inhuman shriek and lashed out, attacking with puissant fury. Audrey was forced to duck and back away, their fight taking them deeper into the cavern Reina had made. Audrey ducked aside as a pincer lashed out for her gut, right under the armor. Audrey knew what she had to do, knew exactly what needed to be done, but fucking cunts she didn't wanna do it, no, no she fucking didn't. Zavala's abdomen lashed into her side and she was sent sprawling. If her side hadn't been protected by indigo plates she knew her side would've been cracked by that blow. Up on the surface, Reina reeled from that puissant blow. She winced yet stayed, continued to watch as Audrey ducked and weaved, avoiding the thing Reina suspected she needed to do. "Audrey," she murmured, engrossed in the battle of wills. Audrey's will over the duty, the mercy she knew deep down she needed to deliver. Reina pressed her foot into the soil, watching as the thing that was, use to be Zavala slammed into Audrey and sent her to the shale yet again, and before the poor girl could rise, Zavala landed over her, her pincers waving. Reina gasped, digging her foot in, fuck what Audrey said. Fuck her duty, fuck what she knew she had to do, fuck—something slammed into Reina's back and she screamed as the scent filled her nostrils, a scent she should've fucking picked up on. Ragni, Di, Morte. Reina screamed, screamed, as those spinnerets hovered over her face, and gagged her with webbing.
    Audrey screamed, screamed, as those pincers waved above her face. Screamed as the surety of her fate was written. Screamed, as the promise of it was there, there in those dimmed eyes, in her mate's terrifyingly dimmed sapphire eyes. As her fate was written in the stars that still blazed, that still flowed by over the battlefield. Was written, as Reina was carted away, Ragni Di Morte moving stealthily through the outskirts of the camp, baring her weight as they sank into the ground under the battlefield and disappeared. Screamed, as her fate was surely written. Screamed as those pincers opened wide, ready to snap her face right off it's bones, like flesh from the bones of a chicken. Screamed, as Zavala shrieked her loudest, shrieked her glee, a furor that destroyed all Audrey was. Audrey screamed along side her, as she bore the dagger Zavala hadn't seen her form from Hydrokinesis, and, used it, stabbing the blade home, right into her underbelly. Audrey screamed, as she dove it hard and fast into her. Then, used her power to lengthen the blade until it became a sword, and ripped straight through Zavala's head. Audrey rolled, sobbing as her once beautiful mate and friend fell, disintegrating, to the shale. Something metal clinked against the shale, and Audrey, still sobbing, crawled over to the spot where Zavala had melted. Her crown was all that remained. Audrey had no idea how her crown still survived, how she hadn't noticed it, or even if she had. All she knew was that her mate was gone, and so was her world. Audrey fell to the shale, sobbing her eyes out, clutching, at the thing, that remained, of, her, mate. Of her mate, who was once a sweet dream, yet now became her worst nightmare.