Takabi shot up from the soil, breathing in as deeply as he possibly could, coughing like a madman. His eyes snapped at Lillac's body.
Motionless she remained, her chest refusing to rise or fall. He crawled over, placing his ear against her, shutting his eyes and listening as deeply as he possibly could.
No heartbeat.
He pulled his face back up. She looked untouched; At peace with herself and the world around her. How far from the truth that was.
Takabi saw, in her last moments, Lillac was filled with complete fear. She was unsure of what to make of the world, unsure of what was the truth and she couldn't grasp the idea of Jade turning his back on her.
Jade.
Takabi turned his head. The Dragon was standing on both feet, black eyes scanning over his palms. The blackness of his skin remained, as well as the lengthened hair. Arcane writing was tattooed along his chest and stomach, which then trailed down his sides. Different from what he saw in his memories.
"What did you do!"
Jade looked as if he just noticed Takabi. Their eyes met, and a twisted smile appeared on his face. His palm snapped upwards, the soil under Takabi's feet ripping apart violently. Chunks of earth flew high into the air, Lillac's body dropping into the cassam below.
Takabi leapt forward, skating along the airborne pieces with his flames. His palms slammed into the dirt, an explosion propelling him forward, winds tearing at his face as he closed the gap between himself and Jade.
"Is anger all you know?" Jade thrust his palm to the left.
Air shot at the angel, striking him with heavy force. He flew aside, back slamming into strong oak and body crumbling to the ground. "You don't seem to understand your current situation. You're not facing a simple Dragon anymore."
Jade aimed his palm in front of him. A magic circle appeared from nothing, bright light glowing intensely in the darkness.
"With this stone, I am a God."
Flames burst forth. Grass and dirt was swept within its path, burned to ash and then nothing. Takabi took the flames head on, thankful for his developed resistance to the element.
"Gods cannot be disrespected. They cannot be touched or beaten by mere mortals."
"Good thing I'm no mere mortal then," Takabi replied.
His skin blackened and hair lengthened. White and violet light erupted around him in a fiery pillar, before he charged forward and struck Jade's cheek. The flames died down before he connected a left hook, eyes burning with an intense light and heat.
It shocked him, how not only his punches had no effect, but that Jade countered with force much greater than Takabi hit with. His ribs gave way and shattered under Jade's knuckles, pain snapping through his mind and breaking his transformation.
Takabi hit the floor, holding his sides as steam rose in an attempt to heal.
"Yes. This is the power I so desperately needed. This is my birthright." Jade began to float upwards, raising his palms above his head. Lightning surged around him, a ball of light forming above his head. "This is the truth."
"Your power is a means," Takabi uttered, sitting up slowly. "It's a means, not an end. What the hell are you after!"
Jade bit his lip for a moment. His mind was racing, not only in search of response, but to contain the power within himself without losing his mind.
"What I search for, what my goal shall be is…. Salvation. Salvation from this planet, these people." His arm snapped downward, the ball of lightning flying through the air at Takabi. "To reclaim what was stolen from me!"
It struck like a bolt. A roar of thunder ripped the quiet of nature, lightning surging outwards as it continued to cut through the soil. Jade narrowed his eyes, watching the magic lightning ball fade into nothing, the only evidence of its presence the massive dark spot and smouldering piles of ash left in its wake.
"There's no body left? Damn, he got away."
--------------------------------------------------
Takabi landed on a branch a few miles away. His eyes fell on Dreulara's capital, taking note of the battle that was waged not hours before. The fighting had stopped, yet he couldn't smell any blood. He was thankful no one was killed, but that could mean anything.
Banished.
Imprisoned.
He was hoping they sensed Jade's mana and were on their way to confront him, but that would be suicide without a plan.
A branch shifted to his left. Takabi shot his eyes towards the movement, his tension falling once he spotted familiar brown eyes and blue hair.
"Takabi?"
"Thank god. Nana," He slumped against the tree and slid down. She hopped onto his branch, stepping towards him and examining his injuries.
They were healing; A positive sign to Nana.
Her hands gently ran along his skin, and her soft eyes faintly hardened. "I'm going to kill him."
He chuckled. "You can't. The guy has the stone now."
"Stone," She repeated. It took a moment, but her eyes went wide and she tightened her grip on his arm. "You mean the Dragon Stone!? He has it now!?"
Nodding, Takabi stood, using the tree to balance himself. "No one is safe as long as he has that thing. Where's everyone else?"
"We were all looking for you. Us and the Dragons. After what happened, we basically said screw the fighting and needed to regroup." She paused for a moment, cocking her head aside. "What are you thinking?"
"Leave. Take as many as you can and just leave. Spread the word to each Dragon Kingdom. Tell them to evacuate immediately." The steam that was exiting his pores stopped. The pain ceased and his ribs were repaired. "I'm gonna need the whole planet."
"You're joking, right? We're not leaving you behind to fight him alone."
He looked her in the eye. Takabi could see it; See the nervousness that plagued her. Nana was scared, hurt. Battle after battle was etched into her being, not just recently, but since they met. Takabi had caused her so much pain, emotional and mental.
He was the reason her parents were gone now, because back then he was too weak to do anything to stop the first High Breed.
It was due to his lack of supervision and awareness that Shine and Frannie had gotten kidnapped and raped for a week straight.
It was because of his selfishness and insensitivity that Anna was alone on earth, and Carlos was in the hands of the Kult.
No more. He wanted to hurt no one else he cared about anymore.
"Nana. Listen to me." His voice was unexpectedly soft. "I… I never apologized for what happened to your parents."
"Huh," Was her reply.
"We don't talk about it much, but I can tell it still hurts. We didn't go back to WaterSlum during its reconstruction, and I wondered why. I…" He looked down at his feet. "I haven't done anything but cause you and everyone else trouble. We've been so wrapped up in this life, we never get to be normal anymore."
She moved closer, touching his chin and raising his gaze. "We can't be normal. Life can't go on without us there. If we stopped everything and, for example, raised a farm, the Kult wouldn't stop. We couldn't be truly at peace with ourselves knowing they're still lurking about, planning to swipe the Gems from you."
He shook his head. "Nana." His hands gripped her waist gently and he pulled her closer, resting his forehead on hers. "When this is all said and done. Once everything is over… I want…" He took a heavy breath, heart ramming against his ribs. "I want to get married."
She blinked at him. All time came to a halt around the pair. If she could speak, she would tell him to repeat his words, more clearly and louder.
"I don't want you to only know battle after battle. I want us to be able to live as humans if possible. I hate what this life has done to us, all of us." He smiled, softly. "I'm going to fight Jade alone. It's my responsibility."
"Are you so sure," Kairas' voice cut in. He and Aqua stood on a branch to the couple's left. Both had dirt caked in their hair and held exhaustion in their eyes. "Garuga was like a father to us too. Sorry, Brother, but you're not fighting that bastard by yourself. Not in your condition." He crossed his arms.
"Saiya is worried about you too," Aqua chimed in. "And Shine and Frannie. Everyone wants you to come back. We can plan something together."
"There's no time," He said, looking at Nana. His eyes asked her to side with him and follow his plan. She wanted to argue, to tell him no and drag him back; And yet she couldn't. His proposal had left her in a stunned daze. "Nana, please."
"I…" She paused for a moment, looking at Kairas and Aqua, then back to him. "Fine. Hold him off until the Bunker is gone. After that, go nuts. Kairas," She snapped suddenly, making the three jump in place. "You and Aqua give him backup."
"That was the idea anyway."
Nana nodded at him, looking up at Takabi and gripping his arms. "You better come back to me."
"I always do," He smiled.
She stepped back, then turned on her heel and leapt off. The sun was rising slowly in the distance, green night sky changing to a darker pink hue.
"Ready you two?"
They nodded, the three dashing off back towards Jade.