Timothy slowly came back to himself, trembling in pain. His arm… he looked at it, and he had to look away. The skin under his fur wasn’t supposed to be that color. Or that texture. He looked like the kinda meat you left behind after a hunt. Bile rose in his throat. There was a metallic ringing in his ears, and his nose was clogged with the scent of his own cooking flesh. The pain felt distant, like a roaring sea held away from him by thin glass.

The Voltcage looked almost disappointed. "WHAT, DONE ALREADY? COME ON!"

Timothy coughed and tried to sit up, but by now his muscles had just about given up. He found himself flat on his back once more. So much for tryin’ to play hero…

"…YOU'RE TOO QUIET." The Voltcage suddenly said. "COME ON, SCREAM FOR ME LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! I KNOW I DIDN'T HIT YOUR LUNGS." Timothy tried to say something, but all that came out was a scrambly whine. The pain was seeping in, splintery and wet. The fairy just groaned and shook his head. "...AWW, BORING. AH, WELL, YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO MAKE IT UP TO ME. I’VE SAVED A SPECIAL PLACE INSIDE ME FOR YOU!" And it smiled that same, horrible, gashed in grin.

The Voltcage lazily floated before him, a twisting and crackling ball of lightning the size of Timothy's head forming above its finger. With his one good arm Timothy tried to raise a dirt wall, or a shadow barrier, or anything, but the magic wouldn’t come. He was cornered. He refused to close his eyes, though, even as he shook with pain and strain, he glared at the Voltcage.

“My death curse will haunt you forever.” He hissed.

Its grin only grew wider, splitting its face open grotesquely. "GOOOOD. I'VE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS." And he pointed his finger at Timothy.

Then, he heard a whistling from above, like something crazy heavy falling from the sky. The monster looked up—

Only for a pink and brown meteor to crash out of the canopy in a shower of branches and leaves! Timothy caught a glimpse of a wildly grinning face for a split second before it slammed into the monster's head, and right to the forest floor in an explosion of dirt, flashing electricity, and glowing blue ectoplasm. The Voltcage never had a chance to react. Timothy just stared, as the smoke and kicked up dirt cleared. It was a dragon-- a full grown one, with the same scale color and eyes as Meri. She was clad in thick bug chitin armor, a bright blue, short stole over her shoulders, all of which seemed redundant over her tough, gleaming scales. She was huge, like a living statue, with broad shoulders and big, strong muscles all over. Four of him, maybe five, could fit inside her huge frame with room to spare. A pair of heavy, stone-like ram horns grew from her head, and he could tell they packed a terrific wallop. She made him look like the toothpick he was, with her sheer, stout bulk. He wasn't even sure he'd come up to her broad chest. She didn't even skip a beat after diving through thick branches and one of the most terrifying monsters in the Deepshadow. She just grinned wildly, crossed her burly arms, and all but shouted a booming laugh. “That's what you fuckin’ get!"

And sure enough, Meri's arms were wrapped around the big dragoness's (really thick) neck! "Timothy!"

Timothy's jaw just hung open. Meri had gotten away— then come back for him? She could have gotten away, but she chose to get her sister to-to save him? He couldn't believe it. “Y-you splatted the Voltcage!” Like it was just a pile of jelly and not the worst monster in the woods! His head was spinning worse than ever.

The dragoness shot him a cocky, carefree grin. “Hell yeah I did. Name’s Valencia, an—“ The words cut off as she stared. "Holy shit!” In an instant, her eyes dated from his bad arm, to his many wounds, and… to the brand on his forehead. He was pretty sure it was active again, too. Emotions from shock to confusion to disgust flashed through her face.

"Yeah…" He mumbled. His vision was starting to swim. The pain of his wounds was at once all he could feel and not enough. Nerve damage. Shock. Adrenaline. Probably his spirit trying to use what little energy he had left to hold him together. A mercy, considering. "Ow."

Meri looked very green. Poor kid… “S-sis, we gotta get him to Mat.”

The warrior stared at him, before glancing at her sister. The tearful look on Meri’s face seemed to settle whatever internal argument she’d had, and she shook it off. She tossed her grin right back on, even. "I, uh… right! Of course I'm gonna help him! Man, though, you guys fuckin’ trashed the place. The whole forest’s going up! Y’can see it from Wolfpack Road, even!"

Timothy chuckled hoarsely, just relieved to have help, for now. "Hey, blame him, not me…"

She cheerfully waved him off. "Hey, this joint ain't my problem. Figure burning it to the ground's the least that thing could do, eh?"The dragoness swaggered over to him, then. "Guessin' y'can't hold onto me with that arm?

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "So I can fly you outta here, shorty."

"Oh." His head was spinning from more than just the shock, now. "Um, sorry. I don't think so."

The dragoness shrugged. "Eh, no prob. Doubt pancake fairy over there's gonna trouble me, so…" Valencia stooped down, and effortlessly scooped him up in her arms. She was surprisingly gentle about it, too. "Come on, let's getcha outta here, little man.”

But something behind her caught Timothy's eye. A blue light, that slowly began to fill the air, coming from the crater she'd left with her dive. All the warmth of being carried by a dragon drained away. "He's not dead." He breathed.

"HAHAHA… HAHAHA…" The Voltcage's voice sounded distorted and muffled, like it was coming through a rolled-up sock. "WELL, WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU DO HAVE OTHER FRIENDS!"

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

To Timothy's horror, Valencia just turned, looking at the glow with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, you're still here." With a small scowl, she added, "Mess with my sister again and you won't be, shitheel."

"OH, NEW GIRL, YOU WOUND ME. HOW COULD I NOT PLAY WITH TIMOTHY'S OTHER FRIENDS?"

Light flooded from the crater. Electricity crackled and popped, along with a horrible sound like bones being crunched, squelched, and chewed in a great beast's mouth. Timothy's mind was racing. "It can go untouchable. It musta done it with you halfway through it." So instead of it turning into glowing blue pudding, it had just gotten squashed up a bit-- and fairies were horribly, famously good at coming back from that! "He'll be up and fighting in minutes, and that's if we're lucky! And I'm not!"

"HE REALLY ISN’T, YOU KNOW."

And Valencia just grinned, even broader. "Well, I guess I could stop to take out the trash first…" She cracked her neck confidently. "I ain't had a good fight in ages."

"No, we gotta get Timothy to Mat!" Meri cried.

"It'd only take a minute…" V pouted. But then she looked down at Timothy's distraught face, and his probably dying body (he was starting to go properly numb. Probably bad, but appreciated,) and changed her mind. "Ugh, a minute too long, though. Sorry, pancake fairy. Got bigger cakes to bake tonight. You have fun down there." The dragoness took a deep breath, and then unleashed a torrent of sand. It blew from her mouth in a great storm of wind and grit, burying the Voltcage in a swirling, churning prison of the stuff. With that, Valencia turned her back on it, and with a mighty kick, surged into the air. Timothy clung to her as best he could with only one arm, keeping his eyes firmly locked on the hole. She soon tucked him to her chestplate, though-- hey, good quality chitin-- and leveled her horns to smash back through the canopy. For a second, all he heard was the crashing and crunching of branches. Then she broke through, and Timothy gasped.

Below them, the forest was a vast, burning ocean. The fires had engulfed vast swaths of the woods. He couldn't tell where home was from here, hidden among dark towers of smoke. But above and all around, he could see a sea of stars. A town stood in the southern distance, with stone walls he could see from here. All around it, the lights of torches and spells swarmed around like glowbuzzes to honey, and the town itself was a jewel of flickering light in the darkness. Mera and Lua, the moons, were full, filling the sky with light Timothy hadn’t seen in years. The wolf couldn't help but stare. They hovered for a moment as she oriented herself towards the town. The wind caressed his cheek.

Then she leveled her head to charge once more, and her powerful wings kicked in. She let him away from her chest a little, but still held him close as she burst forward. It was just safer that way, because the formerly gentle wind was buffeting and blowing at his head.

"The whole town's outside." Meri marveled. "Were they all looking for me?"

"Yep." Valencia grunted. "You had everyone real panicked, Meri."

"I'm sorry--"

Timothy yelped and pulled his head back as a vast tree of lightning split the sky behind them. It burned a great hole through the forest canopy, and its thunderclap filled him with dread. "It’s coming!" His stomach flipped over as Valencia took a hard midair somersault to look. Her sister didn't even seem surprised by that, just holding on a little tighter.

"Tch. Can't paste it while carrying you guys." Then she gave them a slightly strained grin. "Better hold on-- this is probably gonna get bumpy." Then the Voltcage burst out of the canopy, and there was no more time to talk. Its first bolt forced V to soar up higher, wings straining hard against the air. This time, it wasn't doing the forest-wrecking columns, though; it was shooting faster and lighter to try and knock them out of the sky! The sky was lit by flash after flash of blue lightning.

"LET'S PLAY A GAME! DANCE WITH ME, MUSCLE GIRL!" The fairy cackled. "YOU TOO, TIMOTHY!”

“I’ve had better offers!” Valencia growled and threw herself into dodging. Timothy, having never managed to fly before, marveled at how good she was at throwing her weight around. She dodged the first few blasts with room to spare. But then the Voltcage began to chase them, and with both hands throwing lightning, the pressure was soon truly on. The dragoness struggled to weave around the lightning blasts being hurled from behind. She rolled and dove and soared and juked, but she was straining against so many forces, and her bulk and muscle worked against her in the air. Timothy could hear her panting as she struggled to keep them airborne. The witch was just struggling to hold onto her at all, while still keeping an eye on his so-called friend. With his right arm practically useless from pain, to say nothing of how battered he was after everything, it wasn’t easy.

And the pressure was too great to even counterattack. He was too hurt, Meri was too little, and Valencia had her claws full trying to keep them from getting fried. Finally, it happened. Valencia hurled herself right to dodge a blast, and the weight of her passengers threw her off balance. She flared her wings to right herself, but that meant she was holding still, and horribly open, for precious seconds. The Voltcage threw its hands up, and wild fingers of lightning cracked from its hands. It was readying up for a blast that’d knock even a dragon out of the sky!

For a horrible moment, Timothy wanted desperately to try and save himself. Just take back the shield he already had on Meri, and add onto it with his good arm. Just wrap it around himself, and let the dice land where they did. The panic crushed his heart like Valencia had crushed the monster. But then his conscience flared, and he knew he couldn't do such a thing. Meri was crying. Valencia was straining. They were fighting to protect him, too, otherwise Valencia could have just dropped him. If anyone back home were in this position, they would drop him.

Even knowing what he was, they still fought for him. So he couldn't let them die on his behalf! And with that thought, the night sky imploded before him into a dome of iridescent black. He didn’t even realize he was making the shield until it was in front of him. The growing blobby mass of darkness absorbed Meri's shield and grew wider. Meri yelped and pressed herself to her sister's back before staring as the stars seemed to vanish. Timothy threw everything he could into one last wall of shadow, thickening the darkness as hard as he could. The air grew cold as the darkness began to seethe with power. He fell limp and his vision went blurry and red as his strength left him.

The creature cackled and loosed the bolt. It was tremendous, bigger than Valencia, and it was coming straight for him, so bright he could see it around the shield’s black edges.

"Valencia! Roll forward, now!"

And she did. The bolt struck his shield and exploded, in one long, chained blast. Vast branches of lightning sprouted into fractal twists all around him and the dragons as it splashed off the shield. The force of it hitting his shield crushed him into V's chest like a great vice smashing them together. He screamed in pain-- he'd be crushed to dust! But something else happened first. Lightning was only a step away from light, and it burned the darkness. The shield wobbled and pulsed and strained as he struggled to keep it together one-handed. But it couldn't stand the lightning forever. The lightning finally broke through, and the last of the power struck him. All he knew was blinding light and heat, and the terrible feeling of his body twisting and churning against itself, and then he fell into a deep, black ocean.