Second of February, nineteen-sixty-one, was it? I guess this is the happy ending of movies… all the fighting is done, the only conflict we have is: arguments among each other. Elena was healthy, so was Tyle.
And Aster was pregnant now…
Line and Tony, and Sam and me, were okay with one baby. But, same… maybe couldn't be said about Rusty and Aster, they were SO onto each other, all the time. Upon that, Aster was getting training from taking care of Tyle… While the parents still were the best guard dragons.
In case of Elena… it took eleven months of pregnancy for Sam. But Elena was still so healthy. But Aster was worried that it was due to Sam turning to her dragon-form so much. They both claim they couldn't feel the pregnancy tiredness in that form. So Aster had struck onto not turning, for all this time.
"Guys…" Tony enters through the open window of the L+T+F+A+M+R+S+Tar room. We had fixed the room but… it still shuddered to even Tony's smooth landing.
"Are you getting sloppy?" Sam asks.
"Don't," Tony glares at Sam, as if ready to breath fire out – if she could.
"Don't tell me we got company," Aster cutely says, while swinging a swaddled Tyle left-and-right in her arms. She probably didn't want to scare him.
"It'd be so… cool though," Sam cutely says to Elena, while holding her. Aster was contagious.
"Four military helicopters, and two huge ships… I didn't know they had such huge ones, which seem like helicopters… but not," Tony says.
"So not cool then," I sigh, and Sam glares at me.
"Haven't we already been through this?" Tar sighs, entering the room.
"They definitely aren't bringing us so many presents, are they?" Rusty asks.
"Yeah, sounds more like cages or something," Fara, behind Tar, says.
"Guys… let's go while my husband is still alive out there, please."
Aster gets up.
"Not sitting out?" I ask.
"Still the leader, Maths. I need to set an example to the future leader," Aster holds her belly. "Zero causalities, and minimum time."
"Yeah… if things go side ways, she jinxed it for the record, guys," Sam says.
Everyone looks at Rusty, who breaths-in hard. "I do feel the jinx. Something… bad."
We take Tyle and Elena to a safe-room which won't blow-up like the L+T-F+A room of the past. We knew this'd come handy sometime.
And the doctor nods to us and assures us to take care of our children, among couple other little kids whose parents had left them there, sensing a storm.
If only Vyanah was here… I'd be so much more assured. Nobody could have moved an inch, in his presence. But the kid died at such a young age.
And so, all of us stand at the doors of the castle, yet again, in front of a sight of ships landing at the far-end of this land… yet again. If we counted back when Dad… that man, Parzival Blesthe, had come to get me and Sam, this was the third time. They say third time's the charm, military and dragons better stop meeting this way from now.
Every dragon the castle held, hold their respective positions inside the castle, waiting for their leader's orders.
After everything seems to stop landing from the sky, seven people come forward and stop at a reasonable distance from where they start.
"Who are they?" Aster whispers.
"Masked faces, wait for it…" Tar says, and the seven take their masks off. "And boom, Esterine Alta. Why the…" Tar confirms the absence of the children, "fuck is she here?
"Not only her. Second from left is her twin, Alta. Or Tsach," I say.
"And the guy to HIS left is another General, Yjale Shred," Sam says.
"Quite a crowd if two generals are here. Next, Rusty, shoot," Aster says.
Rusty shakes his head from his daze of looking forward, and looks sideways – at Aster. "They covered the easy ones. I'm sure even they don't know the other four."
"Nor do they seem like any essence to a prophecy so," Fara adds.
"Protagonist dialogue continuity is sure weird," Tony tuts. "It's something Line-"
"-yeah we know," the rest of us say, interrupting Tony.
"Protagonist knowledge," Line lands besides us, we don't even notice him come – with the seven creepy faces ahead of us. "Couldn't find any good-guy faces that came last time. So it is bad-guy troop, especially if SHE is here."
Esterine starts walking forward, and waves at us. She stops at a distance… the mid-distance… so that's the spot it must've been the last time too, as Aster sighs at this.
"It is better you are nowhere near that lady. Stay right here, you two," Aster says to Line and Tony, they nod.
The four of us transform and like a breeze we reach to a reasonable distance from Esterine, and stand there, glaring at her. Tar and Fara would complain, so this was for the best. Best they weren't anywhere here.
So the four of-wait, where did Rusty go? He was just here.
"Why the hell are you here?" Aster asks, unknown to her husband's disappearance.
"You already know, darling. Destruction," Esterine giggles.
"Without the proper two for such a thing, don't you think it'd be harder for you losers?" I scoff.
"Oh your dad and his little boyfriend? They are here, trust me. You'll see them before you go."
"Yjale Shred," Sam says, going right in front of the six – as they get alert to her presence. "What is going on?"
"I hate her so much," Esterine says, looking back.
Aster and I ignore Esterine and cross her to be at Sam's side.
"Sam… I'm crumpled within, to be meeting you this way, as opposites."
"We are no opposites Mr. Yjale. We both stand parallel for one cause, peace. Thinking the other one will crumple it, if we don't stand."
"Hmm," Mr. Yjale says, and starts walking away.
"Where are you going, Yjale?" Alta asks.
"You will have my troops, don't you worry. But I think I'm enough involved to be helpless and a hurdle to you. I trust you'll keep your word, Tsach," Mr. Yjale lifts a thumbs up, above his shoulders – while still walking away.
"Guess that one never really dies. He'll live another day, yet again," Alta scoffs as Mr. Yjale is out of sight. "Really no other hurdle to stop you dragon scum."
"Alta," I say, stepping forward.
"One and only. Your mom misses you. Maxwell, right?"
As I step forward, each one of them point their guns towards me.
"You really think guns work?"
"Yet you stay in your petty protected forms. What do you expect?"
"Just a conversation," I say, transforming back.
"Max," Aster tries to cover me.
"You shall have it," Alta says, and everyone drops their guns.
I look towards Sam and Aster… they transform back too.
"Now, for the talking part, I have a friend here who…" Alta says, moving aside and pointing behind him.
"Dad?" I ask, looking at him walk towards us.
He throws something to a distance behind us, and the three of us get pushed by something unknown… backward. A ringing sound resounds out and I feel the stun grenade on my skin again.
"Go fetch their bodies," Alta says.
I jump first, then transform while rising more… I had had enough of these stun grenades. I simply breath fire and create a protective arc of fire, which they wouldn't dare cross. But Alta was already here, and with a gun pointing towards the ground.
I glide forward and kick in his face, while coming back to my human form.
"What have you done to him?"
"To him? He's the one responsible… for everything."
I unsheathe my sword and slash it to toss his gun away. As I place the sword at his neck, he grabs the blade and pulls me closer. His knee moves into my stomach, and his hand grabs the back of my neck and spins me around – getting my back to his chest.
"Kid… don't worry, you'll meet your mother soon. Take one last look at your f-"
I put my body force backwards, while holding myself from transforming. I knew they thought we hid from them, using our dragon-form. I couldn't have them thinking that.
Alta lets go of me, and I turn behind to punch his face. His huge hands grab my fists but I stretch our arms and put my whole body weight on his core, making him fall to the ground. Pressing my knees on his body, I try to get my hands free from his.
"I tell you Max. These powers… don't make you a man. You'll never be half the man your father ever was."
I snatch my hands from his grasp in one swoop and beat a single-fist, made from both my hands, on his chest.
"Max!" Dad's voice comes from across the fire arc. "Don't die in his hands. Your corpse belongs in mine!"
Through the fire: he comes racing, and pushes me from above Alta. As I lay fallen on the ground, I push myself up to see Dad helping Alta get up.
"Dad… what in the world are you doing?"
"Then again… I don't see how you could be him. You don't feel like it. What a disappointment."
Before I could decipher any of it, Dad picks the gun from the ground and points it to me… while firing away. As I lay helpless… with the moment extending to eternity again. With the bullets flying right towards me.