Darkness Falls

[Dragon]

Dragon roared in pain as a reaper's claws raked through his side, through the tough protective hide that lined his inky body. He batted it away with a vicious flick of his tail and climbed into the air to get away from the throng that had gathered. They were far away now, from where Kinley was last. He had taken them toward the edge of town--the opposite end of town from where the master lay waiting, for the reapers to report back to him with their collected souls.

He chanced a look at the injury and saw trails of black, thick blood streaming from the cuts. Dragon winced but there was no time to focus on that. Not when Kinley was in danger! Tim would be all right, he was sure; the reapers didn't want Tim's soul. They wanted human souls and Kinley was a human. He had to hurry back to save him, before something happened to him!

Severing the connection between them--he couldn't divert any more energy or attention--Dragon hastened back towards the center of town. DImly he felt the master's calling, his imperious voice resonating in Dragon's mind. The master was displeased and it showed. Why else would he send a group of reapers to collect Dragon? But Dragon fought him. He fought the master's attempts to impose his will on him because a stronger emotion gave him strength now.

"Kiney!" It came out in his dragon's roar as he streaked through the air, heedless of who--or what--saw him. Dragon didn't know where Kinley was but he could sense other reapers, and he followed that faint beacon to a squat, square building. There was one inside. He hoped it was the right one! Dragon quickly reverted back into his ungainly human form and stumbled inside--naked, just like the first time Kinley found him.

"KINEY!"

[Kinley Sima]

The shop was empty.

Or so Kinley thought.

He had been sitting at one of the tables in the darkness by himself for a while, trying to cheer Dragon on and trying to soothe him since he seemed distressed. But in doing so, he hadn't realized that when he entered the building, so did somebody else.

At first, he assumed that it was one of the owners of the shop. Tim's parents. Maybe even that girl who worked there and obsessed over Tim. But when he looked up, the person coming out of the shadows seemed... well, smudgy was the best word he could think of to describe it. The shape was sort of like a human but then... it wasn't. It was like staring at a photograph that didn't come out right. Like the person was not a person but something else. The longer Kinley looked at it, the more he realized that it wasn't human--but unlike the other nonhumans he had come to know, this one really wanted to hurt him.

Kinley tried to reassure Dragon one last time--but that was when the Smudge came at him. Something silvery flashed out toward him and if Kinley hadn't been a student of the dance class in town, he surely would have been hit by it. But his reflexes were fairly strong--he leaped backward and down onto the ground before rolling over and then onto one knee. Wildly, he stared at whatever it was that was swiping at him.

What was it?

He couldn't get a good look at it. It was almost like it existed somewhere else. Or like it was behind a window. Kinley couldn't get a good look at it. And even as he tried, the back door flew open and another form entered the building.

"Dragon!" Kinley cried, startled but happy to see him... right before the Smudge came for him again, this time sweeping Kinley off his feet and coming at his chest with what looked like one, long, jagged claw.

[Dragon]

"NO! NO KINEY!"

Dragon lunged at the reaper, over a set of tables and chairs. He leapt with his stupid clumsy human body and he tackled it from the side. They crashed into another table, sending chairs flying and falling. Dragon hit his ribs on the edge of the table and all the wind was knocked out of him--the pain was unbelievable. But he felt a sense of victory, too, knowing that the reaper hadn't gotten its claws on Kinley's beautiful soul. He had gotten here just in time!

Except...

The reaper's claws found him instead, piercing his back. Dragon let out a wet-sounding shout; his lungs felt like it was filling with fluid and he couldn't breathe properly. Gasping, he tightened his grasp on the reaper as they rolled around and around--the reaper trying to dislodge him and Dragon doggedly clinging to it, so that he could buy Kinley time to escape. The dragon on his back swarmed to where the reaper had injured him, to try and repair the damage, but it would take time and time was the one thing that Dragon didn't have--not when he was dealing with another reaper hell-bent on collecting a soul.

[Kinley Sima]

No.

It was like the wolf in the forest all over again. All. Over. Again. Everything moved in slow motion and Kinley's heart beat so fast that it hurt. But not nearly as much as it hurt to hear Dragon crash into the thing that was trying to kill him. (Or maim him. It didn't much matter--it definitely wanted Kinley destroyed in some manner or other!)

It hurt even more as Kinley immediately bounded up and onto his feet, only to see that the thing and Dragon--in a frail human body--were tussling with one another. No. Tussle was far too tame a word for what he was looking at. Dragon was trying to do something--he wasn't letting the thing let go of him. Kinley waited for him to just let go but no, he hung on hard.

"Dragon!"

Kinley looked around for the first thing he could find and it was a chair. He picked it up and ran toward the thing, bringing the chair down on what looked like its head, as hard as he could.

"Get away from him!"

[Dragon]

"Ki--Augh!" The chair thudded an inch away from Dragon's head, having passed right through the reaper's head. A human-made thing like that couldn't stop it. It was only magic--and magical beings--that could even hope to keep one down, and Dragon was trying his best to stop it from getting to Kinley. He grappled with the reaper, whose claws had sunk in deep at his back, and managed somehow to get on top of it.

Shamelessly Dragon bit it--hard--in the throat and it let out an inhuman gurgle. But that wouldn't kill it; it would only briefly stun it. "Kiney! Go!" Dragon didn't dare let go of the reaper, which was bucking wildly under him. It extracted one hand and raked down his back with the long, cruel nails and Dragon let out a cry of pain, arching his back at the torment.

Blood like black ink ran down his back from the wounds but in the moment, all he could think about was keeping Kinley safe.

"Ki-Kiney! GO!"

[Kinley Sima]

OH. His eyes widened to saucers as the chair nearly hit Dragon instead. It didn't even strike the other creature a little bit--it didn't flinch, it didn't even seem to notice that the chair had gone through it. Through it. Like a ghost! Was it... a spirit? Was it some kind of creature that didn't belong in the world? Had it come for Dragon from the other side? Where the card acted as a portal?

His mouth went dry. There were so many questions crowding his head that he could barely think at all. The sound of Dragon being hurt snapped him back into motion. He was an idiot; he couldn't help it. He ran toward the fight instead of away from it, not fully understanding the situation. Dragon always tried to save him and Kinley always tried to save Dragon in turn. Kinley did that sort of thing for his little brother, too. He just... couldn't sit back. After his older brother disappeared, Kinley felt the weight of responsibility hang from his shoulders, suffocating but necessary. It made him more foolhardy than he might have been, it made him braver. Stupider.

But he couldn't run away. He couldn't leave Dragon alone with that thing.

"No!"

He tried to attack it, to kick it away, to do anything but just as the chair had done, Kinley's limbs seemed to pass through it and when they did, they turned cold. Colder than he'd ever felt. Shaking, he stepped back on nearly leaden feet and stared at the thing.

"What is it? What are you?"

[Dragon]

"Kiney!" Dragon begged, hoping that his desperate tone would get through to Kinley, if not exactly the words. He wished he could communicate effectively but he didn't know the humans' language. The only new word he learned was "go" and he shouted it again and again, willing Kinley to stop being stubborn--to go, far away from this square building and away from the angry reaper.

Even as he shouted, the reaper was shredding at his flimsy human body with its deadly claws. Dragon didn't dare change into his normal form. He would crush Kinley if he did, with the bulk of his coils alone. He would become trapped inside the building as a dragon, unable to move; there was no room to maneuver in, in such a confined space.

The only thing he could do was cling to the reaper and impede its fatal attack on Kinley, by sacrificing his own body.

[Kinley Sima]

No.

No.

NO.

This was not happening right now. This wasn't happening. Kinley felt like everything was happening simultaneously in slow motion and too fast for him to catch his breath. All he could see was that thing tearing relentlessly through Dragon's flesh, tearing at him like a sharp knife through toilet paper. Dragon was being ripped apart, torn into ribbons and Kinley had no idea how to help. And he hated it, he hated that feeling of utter helplessness.

"DRAGON! No!" He had no idea how to help. His heart pounded ceaselessly in his ear. Dragon kept saying to go but with him now in this condition, it would only keep Kinley awake at night, wondering how he could have done things differently. He wished he had the power to stop time, if only for a moment. He wanted more time; time to think, time with Dragon.

He couldn't touch the thing but he could touch Dragon and foolishly, he did the opposite of Dragon's words. Rather than fleeing, he tried to hold Dragon, to keep him together, so that he wouldn't fall apart. In his mind, he kept remembering the card. Why wasn't Dragon there, safe inside whatever realm that card held him in? Why did he have to be here, where everything seemed tailor made to break him down? It just didn't seem fair to Kinley at all, that something, that somebody like Dragon could exist and only receive the worst parts the world had to offer.

"Leave him alone! What do you even want from us?!"

[Dragon]

If he died here...

If he died here, he didn't know what would happen to him. His soul might return to the vast realm from whence he had been summoned by the Master, awaiting another chance to become reborn. Or he might become a lost soul, destined to wander without meaning or cause.

Dragon wasn't brave; no more than any other creature of his type. He didn't want to die. When he came back here, his intention wasn't to sacrifice himself to save Kinley but... he couldn't stay his hand, while Kinley was harmed. Knowing what would happen to the souls that the reapers collected, Dragon couldn't let Kinley's soul be stolen from him at any cost.

But his sacrifice was in vain, and Kinley stayed to try and help him. He felt Kinley's hands on him, their warmth, their weight. Dragon turned his head to look at Kinley, with desperation in his eyes. "Kiney... go..." He couldn't hold the reaper for much longer and if Kinley stayed, then they would both die. And every slash and scratch and rip and tear that Dragon had endured for Kinley would have been for nothing at all.

"Go! Go!" He shouted at Kinley with the last of his breath, in a tone that he hoped sounded angry. He hoped it would drive Kinley away. "Go!"

Somebody rushed in then, a blurry figure that Dragon couldn't make out. It reached out for Kinley and grabbed onto his arm and shouted into his ear--Tim. "Kin! C'mon! You gotta get outta here!"

[Kinley Sima]

Sheer stubborn will kept him there, trying to pull Dragon along with him. Why did he just keep telling him to go? How could he let things end like this? It didn't make sense to him. Dragon should be running with him. But he wasn't. He was stubborn, too. Hell, he might have been more stubborn than Kinley.

"No! Stop! S-stop! Let go and--"

But Dragon wasn't done. The GO thing kept coming up, angrier. Kinley wasn't angry in response, however. He was desperate. He was afraid. The icy hand of fear threatened to strangle him as he watched the color starting to leave Dragon's face. His eyes seemed just a little bit dimmer. He... he didn't look good.

"Just come with me!" Kinley cried vehemently, but then he was being dragged away from Dragon. He had no idea what had gripped him at first and he swung his arms, trying to get a hit in on the new enemy.

It was just Tim.

Just Tim, trying to drag him away!

"No!" he said helplessly. "Dragon... what about Dragon?"

It just didn't seem fair to him. The whole thing was a spit in the face. No, much worse than that. It was a knife to the spine. Paralyzing. Kinley finally met somebody that made him feel more alive than he'd ever felt in his life. Somebody magical, in every way. He lit up everything inside of Kinley in a way he'd never experienced... and all Kinley could do for him in return was run away? He hated it!

"...we can't just..."

[Tim Zhong]

"Dude you're gonna get him killed!" No time for niceties now, or for subtlety! Tim hauled hard on Kinley's arm to get him away from Dragon, whose back looked like somebody had taken a lawn mower to it. It was in shreds and Tim cringed inwardly at the ghastly, awful sight. Blood like black ink ran profusely down his pale skin, pooling on the ground.

"He can't fight with you here, you idiot! You gotta get away so he can change!"

He couldn't blame Kinley for wanting to stay and protect Dragon--knowing how Kinley felt about Dragon, and vice versa--but this was seriously a case of not seeing the forest for the trees. With one last-ditch effort, he yanked on Kinley. "C'mon! This way! Dragon can take care of himself if you don't hold him back!"

Because only one of them was a giant black dragon that could crush reapers with its tail--and it wasn't Kinley the human!

[Kinley Sima]

"Wh-wha...?"

Tim jerked him back and away. Pure reflex made him fight back but only for a few seconds. Realizing what Tim was saying combined with his actions, he finally stopped fighting. He let go and allowed Tim to pull him away. What he couldn't shield Kinley from was the inky blood that covered Dragon's body. The thing that had attacked him had really harmed him. Killed him? Heat stung the back of his eyes and then blurred the scene as he stumbled along with Tim. Away... Helpless, he could only watch the light starting to leave Dragon's eyes.

Dragon could take care of himself. Kinley wanted to believe it but it was hard to reconcile those words with the vision before him. He shivered.

"What's happening?" he asked Tim, looking back as they left. No matter what Tim said, it just didn't feel right, leaving somebody behind like that. Especially somebody he inexplicably cared for... and was left in such a painful situation.

"Are you sure he can take care of himself? He... he didn't..."

[Tim Zhong]

"He'll be fine! C'mon, we need to get to a safe place!"

Tim slammed the back door open and dragged Kinley outside into the cold, foggy night air. He cast a worried look over his shoulder too, at Dragon who was still grappling with the reaper, but he knew that realistically there was nothing either he or Kinley could do to help. The most they could do was to stay out of Dragon's way.

"I don't know all of it..." Tim grabbed Kinley's hand, just in case Kinley had a change of mind and wanted to run back in there. "Dragon said there was this guy called the Master, and he was taking souls. Human souls. I think Dragon was supposed to be a reaper too but..."

Clearly, Dragon was helping rather than hurting them. (Or just Kinley, since Tim wasn't exactly human.) Inside the building, he heard a sound like a loud crash and cringed. "Aw man! That's my—our cafe!" He didn't dare look back, in case Dragon exploded the building or something. A large, long shadow was falling over them already—Dragon, he hoped, changing back into his more fearsome dragon form. There was a loud roar in the air and Tim jumped. "Yeah see? He's fine! He's all right. Come on, we gotta get back to my house!"

[Kinley Sima]

"Agh... o-okay!"

He kept stumbling until he finally regained his balance but he was still sort of half leaning on Tim for a few seconds. When he was able to straighten himself up, he felt a hand taking his, still pulling him along. He almost stumbled again because he was an idiot and he kept glancing back. His heart wouldn't stop beating so hard that he heard the blood pounding in his ears. His stomach roiled in despair. Dragon.

Tim said he could take care of himself and he was a dragon, after all. Despite having seen his exhilarating dragon form on the card and in the sky, Kinley still had a hard time connecting all the dots. Tim wouldn't leave him to die, though. Not after all he'd done to help both Kinley and Dragon. Trying to remember to breathe, he blinked. What...? Oh... The roar. Tim meant the roar. It was Dragon, probably more able to fight back against that... thing back there.

"Where's everybody else?" Kinley asked. "At your house? My brother?"

[Tim Zhong]

"Kero's at my place, yeah," Tim said briefly, trying to save his breath for running. Running fast, away from the cafe. His parents were going to kill him, he just knew it. It wasn't even his fault that a giant dragon smashed through the roof of it but man, he just knew that his parents would find some way to pin it on him!

"He came over this afternoon, looking for you. Should be with Andy right now." Briefly, Tim frowned. "My big mouth brother told your brother about us being dragons, by the way." Yeah that was a real hoot, having Kero following him and looking at him the way Evie followed and looked at him. Because Tim needed another awkward gawker in his life, totally. When he left, Kero was gawking at Andy and Tim hoped it made Andy feel as uncomfortable as it made him!

Behind them, there was another roar--not as loud as before, not as powerful. Tim looked back; Dragon was falling through the air. He flailed a bit and then righted himself, and dove at something on the ground, releasing a blast of what looked like black fire out of his mouth. "...jesus," muttered Tim, pausing to stare. Dragon looked hurt, though. Even his giant snake-like body was covered in wounds--similar to the ones his human body sustained, long gashes from which inky blood seeped.

"C'mon Kin. We gotta keep moving." It hurt him a little to turn away too, but his house was just down the street now and he knew that Dragon would have wanted Kinley to be safe.