(Written during depression, etc etc. Legal stuff: 18+, violence (Not in yiff) etc etc. If you've been reading my series, you know what to expect.) "So this will chase down Zato no matter what?" Ragna said to the mage as he hoisted the spear up and smiled to it, he could just feel the enchants on it. Rivaled that of the dragons own work, just this one was going to be used for something far darker. "Aye Sire. Everything you asked for." Replied the mage as he walked off, grinning a wide grin when Ragna could not see his face. "Perfect." Ragna muttered to himself before he spun around and walked to the cliffs edge. He stood there and soon locked his eyes onto his old friend, still perched atop the same old cliff roughly three hundred yards from him. "Good bye my old friend." With that, he threw the spear with every ounce of strength he had, all of his forces watched as it flew while a neon blue aura erupted around it. However, the thing no even making a whistle as it shot through the air and storm. ===== "Commander, what is that?" Rayjita said blankly while looking off to a faint blue dot in the sky, getting everyones attention to it. Zato just tilted his head to it before giving a soft shrug. "Eh, probably just a ma..." Zato could not finish his statement as the spear ripped through his armor and buried itself into his shoulder and threw both of his lungs, the impact like that of a catapults ammo plowing into you, causing him to tumble and spin a good hundred yards before sliding to a halt with his claws clutched onto the spear, trying to pull it out. But every time he pulled, it sank in deeper and deeper, and his breathing was next to nothing with both of his lungs pretty much popped. "Love!" Pink, Ruby, and Veon screamed out as they ran over to their mate, who was currently trying to breath but only getting long gasps to come out of his maw, biting at the air for breath and air. "Brother! No! Pull it out Pink! One of you!" Osia yelled out as she ran next to her brother and gripped the spear and began to pull on it, only finding that each pull sank it deeper into her brother. Zatos tail slamming into the ground from the pain that now shot through him as he forced himself onto his legs, gasping and shuddering heavily as pain shot through him. He knew that this spear was holding him in this state, not letting him pass out, die, holding him onto life and forcing him to go through this pain. "Brother! Sit down! Don't move!" He ignored his sister as he spread open his wings, only to find that they were now ripped and torn like an old cloth. Seeing this only made him collapse onto the ground, tears running down his cheeks and onto the earth underneath him. "Love...." Zato turned now, ignoring everything else and pointed to Pink and the others, before pointing to the battlefield as the humans charged in with renewed moral and the itch to finally end this battle in their eyes. Hell, no wonder the attack was so lax, they were waiting for this damned spear. He should have known Ragna was planning something like this little thing, but he had expected anything the human did have planned to be far more...deadly. "Gu....gu....." "Go?" Ray finished for him, as well as his friends, and nodded to it. "But love...." "GO!" He managed to force out of his maw, each of them just staring at him before rushing off to the battle. All the forces behind them as Zato laid back down on the cliffs edge and watched them, his body utterly raked with pain but he did all he could to ignore it. "Poor little dragon...." Zato slowly moved his head and looked behind him and let his eye go wide as he looked upon a woman warrior, dark skinned and wearing a full suit of leather armor with a little boy behind her with only a metal helmet on with battered brown clothes on and an old dagger at his side. "Www-we could ge-get that...out for you...." Muttered the little boy as Zato just gave them a puzzled look. Two human soldiers that somehow snuck up on him, and on top of that seeming to think he wouldn't just attack the two on sight. They must either be foolish, or stupidly brave, he thought to himself. "We only ask that you allow us in your kingdom. We can't take Ragna anymore, he has turned into a tyrant. I know you won't believe us..." Muttered out the female as she and the boy walked to her before gripping the spear and drawing it out, a roar emitting from Zato that caused all of the forces to halt their battle for a moment and look to the cliff, a jet of flame greeting them before the dragons battled with renewed moral now. "The spear held you in a dead state....you're fine now though.....we asked the mage not to finish the weapon or else you'd be dead...." Zato looked to them now and glared for a moment before he sat down and let out a long sigh. Gods, he would have a story to tell after this all on why two humans were walking about in the kingdom. "Saragana let you in....say it to the guards." They both let out a happy little giggle before bolting off straight to the kingdom gates, as Zato took off the other way towards the battle and the sight that met him horrified him. The dragons were being massacred, so many did not know about war....they were too kind.....not able to fully kill a human. "Forces! Listen to me!" Zato spoke out in Draconic, halting the humans for a moment, but knowing it would not last long. "Kill them! Kill them! They seek to kill us! Return the favor! They want us dead so we want them dead! Do not show them mercy!" Roars sounded out as they charged into the human lines now and began to even the odds as Zato skidded to a halt near his mates and Ray, each having multiple wounds and heavy with fatigue. The sight made him feel as though he had been lazy in his role and didn't do it how he was suppose too. "Love...how did you....the spear?" Veon panted out as he just gave them all a kiss, even Ray, before bolting off to the battle and colliding head on with humans. ===== "He is suppose to be dead! What the hell is going on! Fuck it! Move the archers and siege engines up! We end this now!" Ragna yelled out while throwing his view the siege engines as they slowly began to move forward with the archer towers right behind. However, as they began to move up, seven dragons flew out from the mountains and attacked from behind, utterly destroying the archer towers and siege engines. "Where the hell did they come from!" Ragna was now going crazy, so much was going wrong. Everything was suppose to have gone just how he visioned it would. First the orcs would have rushed and easily trampled their lines while the wyverns flew overhead taking down the dragons on the ground and easily holding sky dominance while Ragnas own forces rushed into the kingdom and slaughtered every dragon in sight, with little casualties. However, here he was, on the far end of the losing side. Sure, he still had plenty of reserve forces but....that's it! The reserve forces! "Send the rest forward, send them all, no unit rushes, SEND THE REST NOW!" ===== Zato gave out long pants as he looked around, realizing now that his forces had dwindled down to roughly twenty thousand and they came in with forty. He felt his heart rip as this dawned upon him and let out another roar and he heard a few weakened ones join in, the dieing joining in on this roar as well, while the ones still fighting ignored it. "The humans still outnumber us commander! What are we going to do!?" Yelled out a Guardsman that only caused Zatos heart to weigh down even more, before something else dawned on him. All this time he had them fightings without their weapons! "Everyone! Draw your weapons! How could I be so fucking stupid! Use your weapons! Your weapons!" Once again, as the dragons drew their swords, spears, partisans, and whatever else they were carrying, did the tide of this battle turn. Of course, this realization hit Zato the hardest. He had told them long ago only to use what they were born with, but never to draw their weapons once the humans came into the battle. So many died because of that....it was his fault. He collapsed onto the ground now, grieve hitting him hard now as he shut his eyes, hoping to no end that a human would charge up to him and cut off his head. He didn't deserve this position, he had lead so many to their deaths that could have been avoided, but no....he charged them headlong into their deaths. "Oh no Zato....don't think that way." Zato opened his eyes only to instantly go wide-eyed and gasp out. He began to stutter out as he looked upon the six elders with the king, all looked to be about his age now. However, his attention was far more focused on the shadowy figure standing behind them. "Rejuvenation my friend, we do it now and again." He shook his head and bolted upright, still not able to form any words. "Never thought it would get this kind of reaction from him." "Yeah, looks like he seen a ghost." He nodded and pointed behind them, causing them all to turn around before giving a look just like Zato as they looked upon a ghost. "It is I Zato, Siren." She muttered out as she gave a gentle landing and shifted to solid, giggling to herself now as the elders all gasped upon seeing her and hugged her with all their strength. "Hello to you elders and king. You all still do that rejuvenation thing, huh?" "Yes Siren! But you should have done it with us! Losing you twenty hurt everyone in the kingdom!" "I know Elder Riil, but I am not to be here for long. Zato..." She paused as she moved forward to him and quietly whispered into his ear before taking off in a flash, leaving him looking up into the rain as it fell onto his scales and ground, smiling a smile that most haven't seen for awhile. "What did she say?" "Private, my king. Let us finish this fight." They each nodded to each other before multiple roars filled the air, all of their forces lifting into the air, save for Zato, before swooping down and attacking the humans from above. Easily done since the majority of their archers were killed. Five to ten archers did hurt of course, but not as much as a hundred. "Don't let any retreat! Kill him them all!" Zato yelled out to his forces before biting a human in half and giving a spin, slamming his weapon of a tail into five humans, flinging into nearby trees. He watched them smack into the wood or tumble along the ground, smiling proudly to his work. However, as he looked, he noticed a familiar form on the ground, and instantly felt his heart shatter as he rushed with all his strength to it. "Veon! No! Get up!" He screamed out as she slid to a halt near her bloodied form, gasping on the ground. He could easily see that the remaining archers used their arrows to good effect....at least on the ones they could. "Veon! Come on!" He lifted her up and soon found her to be....laughing? He dropped her with a groan that warranted a smack from her tail and a giggle. "Oh Im fine, had to play that trick on you." "Oh that's just evil...." She stood and dusted off the arrows, having used her magic to make it appear as though she had been gravely wounded when in reality she had taken only light to little worry wounds. "What? Think I wouldn't have survived that?" "I didn't want to take the chances. You have to remember love, I don't think you are the same kind of immortal I am." She rose up a bit and gave a kiss to his lips, only to have him return it with every ounce of love he had in his body. "Please, don't do that again...please." He muttered out to her as they broke the kiss, Veon only nodded to him as Ray ran up to his side, forcing him to look away from his mate and to the approaching dragon. "What's up Ray?" "W...we....we...." He panted out but Zato soon knew what he was trying to say as a roar sounded out from every living dragon, a lot more then he had seen before, even the tired Ray joined in on it. "We've won!" Everyone yelled out through their roars and nearly jumped out of their scales in sheer delight. So many times did things look dire only to be turned around, even towards the end, the minute their weapons came into play the humans looked to want to retreat. "Gather the dead and of course injured! We save everyone we can! And we give the dead proper tribute!" Zato roared out above the others, earning another roar before he turned and looked straight into the eyes of the new Riil, his armor instantly vanishing as he did and gave a small bow. "You are still letting the deaths rest on your shoulders!" "Of course I am Riil! I was the reason so many died that shouldn't have! I didn't tell them to take out their weapons!" "You shouldn't have to! They should have known to do so themselves when the tides turned!" Of course, this little spectacle was drawing a crowd. Veon, Osia, Ruby, Pink, Rayjita, all of Zatos friends and a lot of the army. "They didn't because I told them to hide their true skills! They must have thought that I meant even during the dark times of the fight!" "Zato! Don't let their deaths weigh on you! It was not your......" Riil went silent as Zato stormed off to the kingdom, ripping off the remains of his wings as he did, ignoring everyones words as he passed by them. Everyone just hung their head a little at that, he truly shouldn't believe that it was his fault that those dragons died. Though, everyone snapped too when a loud smack sounded through the eerily silent air and looked to their general, who had been slapped senseless by his own mother. Her once beautiful blue scales now soaked in blood and the look upon her face matched that of a mother who had just lost her son. "My heart, my son, why are you carrying their deaths on your shoulders?" Zato gave a shake of his head, trying to regain his thoughts and senses, though he knew his mother was just taking a pause and not truly waiting for a response. If he even began to respond he would have most likely been slapped once again. "You know as well as all the others, no one drew their weapons due to their inexperience in war! They went fully on your orders, not knowing what else they could possibly to do! We are not humans! We don't blindly follow the leader to our deaths! We listen to their plans and commands but our actions in one on one are purely for us to do and make up!" She fumed now and tried to cool off, though she knew she wouldn't be calm for some time. How could her son, who once seemed to be a glorious leader, fall so hard when the time came? He let his emotions lead him, his feelings effect his judgment! "Mother! I am not a fucking leader! All of this baggage was thrown upon my back because of what I am, not who! I am a warrior, a fighter, a soldier! I am not a leader! And in the elders blind fucking......." He fell silent as he looked over his troops and listened to a barely heard noise over the commotion of dragons collecting the dead, dying, and injured. Was he simply hearing things? We had won, how could there.... "Forces! Form up! Get back into formation!" Everyone now looked back upon their leader and gave him a confused stare, but they had made a foolish mistake as a hail of silver arrows filed the sky and rained upon along with the storm. Dragon after dragon roared out for their final time before they feel upon the ground, soaking the already bloodied earth with their life force. "Retreat! All forces back to the kingdom! Regroup and reform inside the walls before rushing out again! Let the walls be your shield from the arrows!" Zato shouted out to his forces as they all instantly listened to his words and fell back into the kingdom. Of course, his mates, friends, and Ray stood by his side. This action got a growl from him as he swung around and glared to them. "I said fall back." He stated coldly and they all just shook it off. "No. You are out here fighting so we all will." Oli stated with confidence, only earning a low growl from him. "You all will fall back now. I wish to fight this battle myself." He stated as he swung his head around and looked to the cliff where Ragna sat on his horse, looking right back to him. "Commander....we can't....couldn't." "The forces will need leaders for the defense....I will buy you time. Now go, please." He looked back now and his face was, to everyones fear, full of sorrow and fear. If the rain was not coming down as hard as it was, they would have seen the hot tears streaming down his scaled cheeks. "I will not repeat myself anymore. Go." He looked back to the approaching army and glared. The majority of their forces had hidden away and waited, he should have known. "Love, we will all wait for your return." Pink said with a tinge of worry on her voice before they all turned and retreated into the castle gates, shouting to the guards on the way in that Zato was going to get them time to mount a respectful defense, if not a grand one. So, with great reluctance, they shut the kingdom gates with one final glance to their leader, a lot fearing that this would be their last time seeing him. ===== "Sire! All dragons have retreated into the kingdom gates! One sole dragon stands on a cliff near the wall, shall we engage?" A soldier asked, eager to end this battle soon. Too many of his allies had died battling the scaled beasts, and he wanted revenge. "Is it their commander?" "Sire....it do-" "Is...it...their...commander?" Ragna stated coldly to the man while his eyes were locked onto the kingdoms walls, soon....oh so soon revenge would be his. "Yes sire." "I will battle him alone, no interference, got it?" "But.....yes sir." Ragna smiled now as he watched his soldier bolt off to give the news to the rest of the forces before he soon made his way to the dragon that he once called friend. ===== Lightning flashed again and again as Zato watched the horizon, pondering why the human forces were pulling back. His eye just watched them, a few giving a final glare, and a few had eyes full of confusion. "Why would they pull back when they are winning..." He stated to the wind as it roared past him. However, his question was soon answered as a sole soldier rode up from over the hill and it was then that he knew why. A grin came to the dragons maw as he made his way down the cliff and on his decent, he shifted to his anthro form, why fight as a feral against one so weak? "My my! Look at my old friend! Barely covered in blood when he spoke of nothing but blood shed back at the castle!" Ragna yelled out over the wind as he rode up before he dismounted and looked through his helmet to the dragon. The sight somewhat disappointed him. So much was said back at the castle from him, so much raw talent in spars as the trainers always said, so much strength behind his strikes. Hell, even his father talked about how bloody his first, and last, war with them, he was just drenched in blood. And now here the might black dragon stood, barely a drop of blood on him. Wings useless...well stumps on his back now. "Rain is an enemy to those that bathe in blood." Zato replied back coldly as his eye just rested on the man he once called friend. The human was also like him, devoid of blood, however he knew Ragna was never really a fighter. Sure, he could swing a blade, who couldn't? Though, his hits never hit with much impact. Wounds never deep. He never really....connected with his swings. "Why do you wear the armor that I had forged...is it to mock me?" The dragon stated after a few moments of silence, save for the storm raging around them. "Oh no no. I wear it because new armor would cost me far, far too much. Plus, it does look a lot better on me." Zato spat at that and let out a low growl. He snapped his armor back on and slowly summoned his Zanbatou, growling even louder now as he watched his enemy draw his own weapon. A toothpick compared to his own. It was a silver, nothing shocking, Katana. It was barely four foot long with a width of a stick. "You seek to fight me with a dragons toothpick? I do hope you are jesting." Ragna simply gave a little bow before he slowly pushed the katana back into it's scabbard, highly confusing the dragon as he loosened his grip on his own weapon a little and gave a few blinks. "My friend...I won't even need a weapon to get you to give up." He heard the human state in such a manner one would think he was talking to his kid. "Oh? Do you think I will just give up?" "Yes." Ragna replied quickly before he snapped his fingers and Zato could just tell he was smiling underneath that helmet as ten men moved up carrying a rather large cage. They set it down next to the human before they all took off behind him and the dragon felt that smile become bigger. "Once you see what is in this cage, you will surrender." "My scaled..." Zato cut off his own sentence as the drape over the cage was thrown off only to reveal Osia, tears flowing down her scaled cheeks and heavy chains wrapped over almost every inch of her body. Her wings were torn to shreds, tail was barely hanging on, and at least two limbs were shattered with how she was laying in the cage. It was clear she did not make her capture easy, and truly it shattered his heart looking at her. "Let her go! Now!" Ragna took huge enjoyment seeing the dragons reaction to this and smiled all the more, laughing at the situation on top of everything. ===== "No! Not my baby!" Kizna roared out from atop of the gates, four archers using every ounce of strength in their tired limbs to try and hold her down and stop her from going down there. Pink, standing off to the side of the narrow walkway, simply moved up to her with her head hung low. "Miss Kizna...." Kizna snapped her head around and bite at the air in front of Pink, though Pink ignored the attempt to attack her. One, she felt her pain though it was not her own child down there and second, seeing that young dragoness tore everyones heart out. "Please...you know Zato will do what..." "What the hell is the commander doing?!" Everyone stopped what they were doing now as they looked down to the field and watched as their master dropped his weapon and knelt down on both his knees. The few made Pinks heart sink, as well as the others. "By the gods....no...." ===== Zato inched down onto his knees and hung his head down low. His weapon was so close....Ragna was so open for an attack....but what if he wasn't fast enough? What if he couldn't swing that behemoth of a sword fast enough and kill those around her cage? She would die...As he pondered this, he looked up and stared right into her own eyes, still streaming tears, but what hurt him the most looking into her eyes was the look of disappointment in him. He knew it was for him, he knew it, and he knew why! "Fuck this!" He roared out and gripped his Zanbatou before he rushed through the twenty or so yards between him and Ragna and swung with all his might. His weapon sang as it cut through the air in a hymn of death as the mighty blade struck true and buried itself half-way into Ragnas side. Though, he didn't pause to enjoy this death, he had more killing to do...far, far more. "Kill the bitch dragon!" With that, it was on. His aura pulsed around him before he changed into his feral, though it was clear this time around that his demon was in full control. Not a tinge of his previous self was there, pure demon. Pure killing rage, only the need to kill, to bathe in blood, to destroy those that sought to destroy him. He watched as a man made a run to Osia's cage, only to be struck down with an arrow. He didn't know nor care where it came from and began on his rampage. His form lunged forward into the middle of the enemies ranks and he started to slash with his claws, bite anyone in range in half, burn those who ran, and fling those who got too close with his tail. "Dammit! Forget the bitch! Attack the demon! Attack!" The beast reared up and moved his head back as flame began to erupt from his maw, clearly readying it, as arrow after arrow stuck into his throat. Of course the pain shot through him, but his body was telling, urging, forcing himself to continue. So, he did just that. He through his head forward and roared as he lit up the area around him in uncountable degree heat. During this time, those closest but out of the flames range, charged him. "Hold! Dehala!" Everyone froze in place, which was odd, since Zato stopped as well before the black scaled beast roared out in a cry that made the most war hardened of the humans cringe. They all looked to him as he shrank and shifted. His scales vanished and turned to skin, his tail and the stumps that were once his wings vanished and hair sprouted from his head all the while as the roar still sounded at though it slowly lots its ferocity and soon sounded just like a normal man screaming out in pain, which was now right on the money. Of course, this strange sight caused the men to mutter amongst themselves as Ragna made his way through his troops with his armor slashed open but no wound present, though all who witnessed it was sure he had died. "Awww, it seems that the agent that was sent in as me didn't tell you the dart actually put a spell on you that turn you to human. And only I know the word to change you back." Zato coughed out as pain settled in his limbs and his naked form rested on the blood drenched earth, a cloth tossed over him from Ragna to at least give him some decency. "Y-you're.....d-de...dead...h-how? I let...my demon take control....how am I back...." He never got the chance to get his answer as the world around him went black and the last words he heard as he did was just simple ones. You. Are. Dead. The words actually made him pass out with a chuckle, never had he heard something so easy to do....if only it were that easy. ===== "Archers! Fire! Make sure to aim away from the commander and the cage with Osia!" Ruby yelled out as Veon and Pink rushed into the field with the rest of their forces charging in as well. They had no plan, but they knew two people of great importance were about to get captured, let alone many more of their kind. The ones who were being loaded up on carts, carried by Wyverns. They wouldn't let them even have one. "Fight! Fight with every ounce of strength in your bodies! The humans will not know victory!" Dragon after dragon tackled the humans, the carts with their brethren, and of course dozens of dragons took to the air after those wyverns that were flying off with their kind. However, as they began to attack, none of them fought back, only ran and tried to keep their pray. Even those without any hostage ran. Hell, Ragna was gone and so was half of his forces, but most were not paying attention. "Pink, Ruby, you two get Osia. I'll get Zato!" Ruby and Pink nodded to their sister before they split and ran to their serperate areas. Ruby and Pink making short work of the lock on the cage before the hoisted Osia onto their backs and took off to the kingdom, with Veon already hauling the shivering form of their mate back into the kingdom gates. "How...I thought the elders cured that?" Veon inquired as she and the others went straight to the elders tower, knowing full well that they wouldn't be there, but they had no where else to take the two. ((Once again, I didn't proof read. I'm sorry for that, I just wanted to get this one out before we lose the hotel room or something. Least give the few fans I have something to read from me after what...a month or two?))