Time was running out. And Redeem had barely any room to think.

Lunging out of the bush he'd been hidden in, the hatchling paused, waiting for the trees to part and reveal the mass of angry dragon.

A shiver ran up the blue hatchlings spine as the ground shook, and a roar echoed. Eyes darting, Redeem spotted his targets (the humans) some ways away up the path.

The group of three humans had paused, acknowledging the ruckus with a territorial glare. Redeem was nearly hyperventilating as he scrambled to scurry into the oncoming dragons view.

The second the Blood Dragon burst out, its crimson eyes locked onto Redeem. The small Wind dragon gave a terrified yelp before barreling toward the humans.

The Blood Dragon followed, roaring and snarling as it built fire in its chest. The creature was so focused on following Redeem that it didn't notice what the hatchling was doing.

Redeem raced through the legs of the humans in front of him. Panting with effort, the little blue dragon managed to just barely get through without getting bitten by his pursuer.

The humans were instantly on the offensive. They took out swords, shields, pikes, and one took out a wand. As Redeem scurried into a large tuft of grass to watch from a safe distance, he found that even he was being targeted.

"Kill that thing!" One of the humans called when Redeem had ran passed.

"Focus, Breach!" A different human had snarled.

Redeem's eyes darted, struggling to keep up with movements. It would all be over soon, and Redeems plan might fail. The Blood Dragon was hauling in air, ignoring the attacks he got and attempting to kill the little two-legs with one skill.

The humans were spread out though, trying to get through the armor of scales at all angles. The black dragon would only be able to select one to kill for his first breath.

Redeem saw the dragons mouth tower pointedly over a girl in the group. The blonde-haired girl used a wand to cast spells. She was a few paces away from the other two, throwing glittery magic at the dragon's left shoulder.

The spells seemed to be useless. The globes of glowing purple light were doing nothing, and the girl looked so focused on her magic that she didn't notice the tall dragon aiming for her.

Redeem moved without thinking, hearing the rattling sound of the Blood Dragon preparing his flame as he ran. The small dragon flung himself into the air, gliding a little, and slamming forcefully in the thighs of the girl.

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Instantly fire rained, but the girl had-

Redeem realized the girl was still standing. He hadn't been heavy enough to move her, and now she was casting (or what looked to be) a shielding spell and enduring the flames.

Redeem blinked up from his place on the ground, in awe. When the Blood Dragon realized his fire was only setting the ground ablaze and not the human, he struck out with a talon and threw the girl.

The motion exposed his under-arm, which was quickly stabbed by a sword-wielding guy. Crying out, the Blood Dragon turned on the other humans to attack them.

The girl had slammed roughly into a nearby shrub, and now lay motionless a few lengths away from Redeem. The reborn dragon still felt a deep connection to humans, and quickly raced across the space to crouch near the fallen girl and listen for a heartbeat.

There was a small thud, but the girl wasn't breathing. She didn't move when Redeem licked her hand, or when he crawled onto her chest and tried to perform a pitiful version of CPR.

Behind him, the battle raged, but Redeem was only focused on the dying girl. Doing what he could remember from his former life, Redeem leaned forward and clasped his mouth around the girls.

With a sudden burst of intent, something blew from his lungs.

[Skill Acquired: Air Jet]

Redeem had meant just to breath into the girls mouth. To try to force some life back into her lungs. But instead the desperation seemed to have summoned something more focused. Instead of a steady rush of air, and thick jet stream of the stuff came pouring out of the hatchlings mouth and rushing down to the girl's lungs.

Immediately, the girl was gasping and sputtering. Scrambling back, Redeem blinked happily at her.

She was safe.

And then Redeem was stabbed.

"Disgusting creature, what the hell did it do to you May?" A guy asked, hovering over Redeem with his sword.

The hatchling cried out in agony, and scrambled to escape, side bleeding. The man swiped to kill - "STOP!" - the fallen girl demanded.

That was enough to allow Redeem to shoot across the path and into some deeper shrubbery. The dragon was blind with pain, running in random directions until he found a spot to keel over and wail.

He was bleeding so much that he could barely think. Clawing up grass, Redeem prepared for a painful return to the afterlife.

Near him, ferns parted, and Miracle ran to him, eyes glistening.

The purple hatching forcefully held Redeem still and pressed leaves into his wound. She looked frantic as she did so, causing him more pain but in the end managing to cartorize the wound.

"Breath," She instructed suddenly.

It was hard to breath, every breath disturbed the painful wound and made Redeem feel agony. But it was either that or hold it forever.

Gasping, Redeem tried to settle himself.

Leaning over him, the female hatchling became increasingly paranoid, twitching and glancing over her shoulder. Redeem wanted to ask what she was worried about, but he was struggling to even breath.

Abruptly, Miracle shoved him into a bush. In the shadows of the leaves, Redeem watched as human hands snatched Miracle up and stole her away.

"I got this one!" The woman holding her called.

Crystals shot up from the ground, but the human brutally knocked Miracle out and then continued hauling her away.

Redeem tried to get to his feet and help, feeling utterly useless. But he couldn't do anything. Wincing as he flailed, Redeem tried to summon some sort of magic inside of him, something to help him.

But nothing happened. And Redeem was useless and broken and hidden. The dragon lie wounded, gasping, and maybe about to die.

Only time would tell.