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An explosion quickly sends the child flying past the waterfall, falling down to low waters that barely cushion his hit on the rocky surface and steal a grunt of pain from him. It feels like it mushes his bones even more, and his injuries have stopped healing for a while now
His vision is blurry at best, seeing waves of enemies already coming from the inner river on the cave that's killing him slowly. Blood is pouring and quickly being washed away by the water; his stomach is bleeding, so is his mouth and nose.
All his nerves are on fire, burning through his flesh and gluing him to the harsh stone because for the life of him he can't get up. A child shouldn't know that feeling so well, yet he does
But this time it's different
He can hear the screams of his father above but they are so far away, his fall from the top to the bottom of the cave sure was concerning, specially for such a young individual like him who's body wasn't even properly developed yet; he heard something else drop ahead of him, onto actual deeper waters
Chayanne uses all his strength to look up and focus on what's forward of him
Tallulah
Shit.
That's why his dad is screaming, it's not his name as he foolishly thought, it's Tallulah
She's wet out of the water, spitting any water that got onto her mouth and she seems fine but she can't defend herself, specially when her concern is crawling towards the child while a horde of fully armored enemies are well on their way to kill them both. The water is slowly covered by gravel that falls from above, removing any chance for safety; more creeper explosions are going on through several parts of the cave, like a domino effect ending in disaster
If it was only him he could stay, he could rest it out crawling somewhere safe, biting his tongue to control the pain waiting for his dad to come for him like he always does, but it's not, and his dad can't help anyone either
He's got someone to protect now
"-THE SCROLLS" Is the only thing he makes out from his scream, his ears have not stopped ringing just yet. Chayanne spots Tallulah's backpack smushed under the rock and wet gravel, and he's wiling to bet her scroll is in there. His own got knocked off his hand and fell somewhere he couldn't see, and Phil is fighting a horde of mobs of his own up there from what he can tell
Fuck, he needs to get up
He lays his head back on the ground, but uses this rest to take his backpack off which gives him just slightly more strength, but doesn't help a lot. He searches it with one hand while watching Tallulah recover and try limping towards him with fear written on her face
He finds it, and pulls it out
The God Apple
He doesn't think, he just eats half of it because his life does depend on it
And his veins suddenly burn
It doesn't matter tho, his injuries close up quicker and he feels strength return to him
Chayanne gets up from the floor and dashes to cover his little sister with his shield, moving her to be behind him. He shoves the other half of the apple onto her hand and whispers a small "Eat it if you're injured, i'll get your scroll, stay back"
The child runs head on against the mobs crowding on the gravel and his objective, tearing and cutting off the heads of anything that crosses his path with his axe like he's never done before, such strength, swiftness and precision for the carnage that's enviable even by an adult
The familiar taste of metal lingers on his mouth, coating his tongue, but it's not like he can feel his body anyways
He dives onto the gravel, digging with his bloody hands through the wet and heavy material, once he finds the bottom of the backpack, way too deep in to be pulled out, he cuts it with his axe and starts looking through, feeling for the enchanted paper while keeping a keen eye on his surroundings for anything
Tallulah has followed his advice and placed herself on a small covering with a tiny stone roof, she eats the apple just in case, just to avoid things coming from above, and guarding with her mildly damaged shield for life. "BEHIND YOU CHAYANNE!" His dad has finally freed himself and is aiming to make a water clutch to save his son
Chayanne hears it far too late however, and a creeper blows up right to his side, sending him and the adult flying to opposite sides. It knocks Phil's own backpack off and slams him against the rocky walls, injuring him more than he already was.
The kid is stunned and his ears ring far worse than before, but now that he has Tallulah's backpack out of the gravel by the explosion he resumes his task. His cheek is dripping a red liquid that his peripheral can catch, but again, he can't feel. He finally finds what he needed and pulls it out instantly, ditching the rest of the contents to stop wasting time
When he looks back, Tallulah is already aiming to aid her abuelito, trying to get him up but failing at it because his injuries are far too deep to be helped by anything she can do on her own. The blonde pulls out his own scroll and gives it to her, and then realizes all his other scrolls are probably gone now, no way of escaping
Chayanne knows they only have two scrolls available, the mobs are piling up quicker than ever and that his dad is bleeding out if they don't get him to safety now.
I can get more scrolls if I find his backpack
He takes a decision and takes care of a few more mobs that were too close for comfort, then makes a run towards the other two with the scroll in hand. "Use it! Go!" Chayanne quickly denies with his head, but nods towards Tallulah for her to use it herself. Tho at first she's hesitant to leave first, she ends up getting herself some purple particles
She gets interrupted by an arrow coming in way too near. The kid runs and protects her with his shield and his own body while she starts the process all over again, shooting the enemies as far back as he's able to while he himself is reached by some of their arrows in favor of keeping his little sister unharmed, he can take it tho, he's got to remain calm for her to not get anxious
"Use it son! Come on!" Phil's pleads are unheard tho, because his son doesn't listen and shoves the paper on the hands of the adult to try and convince him to leave. "I won't leave you here!"
"I'll be okay dad" The message he was writing earlier on his hand is useful, but his dad won't back down. "You have to go! You're just a kid! You are all I have!"
Tallulah disappears alongside the scroll, and the pressure is on when an arrow passes by the elytran. "At the same time" Chayanne manages to scribble on his hand, and grabs onto the scroll as well. Phil doesn't know if this will work, but he also knows he has no other option, his son won't budge, and neither will he
The purple sparkles appear, and Chayanne takes one peak behind him
Spotting those two bright eyes of his nightmares in the distance, hiding on the darkness of the cave but spotting it's next prey, it steals his breath away and his eyes widen in horror
He makes a last second decision
"I-I love you dad" He manages to say to him, the first time he's spoken properly in front of an adult ever. The eyes of his father get glossy once he realizes what this means, if there's joy for having heard his son, his baby, his everything say such words to him, it's gone by the implications at this point in time
"CHAYANNE DON-"
The purple sparkles cover everything, then fade out
Phil is gone.
Chayanne let go of the scroll.
Only one person can use a scroll.
The kid is finally left on his own in that cave, the peace is so calming, so relaxing, that the pain on his body returns, but he doesn't care, he's done it
He's done with his only purpose in this life
Defending those who can't defend themselves
Phil can't tell him to retreat like a coward after all the training, all the times he said he had to protect Tallulah with his life, all the praise and love for his abilities as a fighter, he just couldn't. He knows that monster coming towards his location would destroy Phil, so would Chayanne, so he's not willing to be so selfish towards his father
Will is away, they can't afford to become orphans now, not Tallulah, definitely not her
He'll find a way out, he always does, right?
The two eyes keep approaching, it's like in his nightmares, but he lost in them, he got overpowered and killed alongside his whole family
This time its different
He saved two lives all on his own, and that's enough for him
His legs give up on him and he collapses onto the ground; something in him wants to get up, run to look for Phil's backpack far back there where it fell, get to searching it for a scroll and maybe make it out of this nightmare alive, but he's just so tired he can't bring himself to even try
He wants to, but his arms are too wobbly and shaky to even get him a bit off the ground
He's back to square one
His vision is blurry at best, seeing waves of enemies already coming from the inner river on the cave that's killing him slowly. Blood is pouring and quickly being washed away by the water; his stomach is bleeding, so is his mouth and nose
All his nerves are on fire, burning through his flesh and gluing him to the harsh stone because for the life of him he can't get up. A child shouldn't know that feeling so well, yet he does
Now he has no God Apple to help him in any way, no extra secret potions and no backpack, but he's also got no innocent lives on the line, so is it really that bad?
He doesn't know, he doesn't want to know
His eyes start tearing up, he's supposed to be happy about this but... he feels sad
Missa is still on his trip, his other dad didn't get to watch all of his progress, how he grew up, how he became stronger, he didn't get to bring him back that souvenir he asked from 'the land of the rising sun' as he called it, he wasn't going to be able to run up to him and personally present to him his new granddaughter... they wouldn't be able to go fish and talk about life anymore
Is he going to return to a dead son?
No
He's got Tallulah
It will be fine
Tallulah will fill that void that Chayanne might leave behind, she's the sunshine, she brightens and makes everyone in the room happy with her little cute songs and face, something the kid couldn't do anymore with all the scars and bruises on his skin from defending people
Who will defend Tallulah?
There's so many other better contenders for that, it's not a worry
Dapper and Ramón are fond of her, they wouldn't mind looking after her safety, and their parents are just as responsable so she will be unharmed with so many of her friends surrounding her, letting her enjoy the kind image of the world she has for many years to come
He really wasn't that good at his job, was he?
But it's good to know he's replaceable, she will have better, stronger brothers and friends to look after her, and his own parents have another child to take care of and watch grow the way they wanted to: innocent, full of life and healthy; not bloody, constantly having to be cured and healed for his reckless dream of being the hero
If he's so fine with that fact, why is he crying then?
Why is he crying that he won't be able to see his other dad once he returns? why is he crying that Tallulah will have lost her uncle/older brother forever? Why is he crying that he can't get back up because everything hurts? Why is he crying that he's just too weak?
And where's his inevitable death?
Why is it so quiet?
"Oh you poor poor soul" An echo-ey voice calls
With the little strength he has, he lifts his head to be able to see in front of him
An angel
"Did you get enough love while you were alive? Look at you, you have seen better days, don't tell me you were another one of those kids with abusive parents..." The entity floats with a blinding light glow, wings white like the snow and his robe so pristine and clean; two bear-like ears on top of his head and long blonde hair, a gold halo on top
Chayanne is debating whether he's dead or hallucinating
"You're not 'dead ' per say" The angel demonstrates no thought is safe from him. "But you are at death's door pretty much, my name is Rubius, but don't tell anyone that, I trust you and I keep that secret"
"W-Wha..." "What am I doing here? Well, you are one of the more interesting dragon children I've ever seen, I also only get enough time to visit when the death is slow paced, like yours! I wasn't able to have a proper chat prior-mortem with JuannaFlippa or Tilin, it was a shame"
"Time's stopped now, I'll help you out" The god floats forward and takes the kid on his arms, somehow relieving the pain his body suffered only through touch, his cuts stop bleeding and his body heals or goes numb, he can't distinguish it. "Now you can talk, can't you?"
"W-Why are you here?" Chayanne finally manages to say now that the blood loss isn't affecting his brain, everything around him is black and white; the entity only laughs softly. "My dad said I should be kinder, show more important acts of love and kindness so we can not only make our presence in this world more known, but so we can get my twin brother out of his hiding spot"
"But...if im honest with you, humans are... gross" A thumb cleans the tear rolling down Chayanne's cheek, it's almost like he's accepted that this is purgatory, he's dead. "Not all of them but just...almost all are sinners, not deserving of redemption for what they've done unless they sacrifice something in return"
"But you guys are innocent"
Innocent? Really?
"You children are rays of light, Innocent souls that haven't sinned like them, you are a perfect example, putting the lives of others before your own just for no reason"
"Even if some of you blur that line a little bit...that Bobby kid is getting on my nerves..." Rubius cringes at the though of that devil child, but chooses to ignore it. "So, I'm choosing to help those who are innocent souls deserving of love and a longer life, those who have not died yet tho, the dead are in charge of other gods, and im afraid that's a far longer and tedious process"
Chayanne doesn't seem very convinced with this god's proposing, he's thinking of some twisted deal that will get him an eternity of suffering or something like that, and he's definitely not accepting that
"Oh no don't worry, there's not much you can offer to me as a kid apart from your soul, and im not really interested in that, nor is it good if im trying to revive you" The cave lights up until it's all white around him, he closes his eyes on reflex to adjust to the change of lighting and covers himself with the robe of the god instinctively; he wouldn't like trusting this thing so much but here he is, on the arms of this tall angelic guy covering his eyes like a little baby
"You're not dead just yet, I can keep you alive, you'll return to your life in the mortal world, you will live with your parents yada yada yada" Once the light is gone, the boy finds they are up on the clouds, in a little home made from a fluffy white material, and that lets the starry night be even more beautiful. "You can get a second chance for now, just like in your nightmare
Under one condition"
Shit
The angel lets the kid down onto the cloud and tho he almost falls over at first from his lack of stability, he quickly accommodates his tiny legs to balancing on the surface. He looks up expectant, already thinking of ways to cheese and find loop holes on whatever nightmarish contract he's about to get offered or directly just go to purgatory or something and stay dead, at least then he can visit some of his friends
"Chayanne"
Oh god
"I want to train you to become the absolute best warrior this world has ever seen"
No w- HUH?!
"What?" His timid kid voice asks, and Rubius seems to find his reaction funny. "I need a warrior with me on the mortal plain, just to look out and defend people that we consider deserving of it, like your egg cousins, but humans are just too fucking stubborn and selfish it seems like any helper I get all they care about is the prize and the reward and I don't want that"
"You are stronger than average, very much stronger, and your objective was already protecting the people so, nothing changes there" Chayanne thinks about it for a moment
Can he really be the strongest warriors receiving direct orders from God itself?
"Some things do get sacrificed once you become something of a deity, however"
Ah, there's the prize you pay
"You won't be a normal child, you won't be able to be just a 'kid' anymore, carrying the weight of lives is a difficult task for even an adult, maybe you won't ever fall asleep again, you may always have to be alert, you'll face your worst fears head on to fulfill your mission of caring for such fragile souls, you'll be thrown straight into dangerous creatures you couldn't even imagine existed and of course, defeat will feel so much worse"
"My question to you is, do you think you can handle protecting the lives of those who can't defend themselves, over your own? Are you willing to carry that responsibility by yourself? Are you selfless enough to not do it for the pride or the praise, simply for the good of this world?"
Chayanne looks at him for a second in wonder, and sits down to think
"My son! Fuck fuck SHIT! HES OUT THERE!" Phil's voice echoes on his brain, he's somewhere, distressed and anxious. "TALLULAH NO! You can't come this- it's too dangerous and- fuck he's all alone there oh my fucking god-" His father is on the verge of tears, his tone's shaky; once he peaks off the edge from the cloud he's sitting on, he can see a small dot of light running at full speed on the wall, and he can assume who it is
Tallulah is crying, but he can't tell if it's because she thinks he's dead or because she got scared
"Creo que le va a gustar esto"
"I think he will like this"
Missa?
"No puedo esperar a que Chayanne se ponga esto, ojalá y le quede, dices que es un Yukata? Ahora podrá pelear como un verdadero samurai! Esta algo caro pero eh, lo vale"
"I can't wait for Chayanne to put this on, I hope it fits him, it's a Yukata you said? He'll be able to fight like a true samurai! A little bit pricey but, eh, it's worth it"
Wherever he is on his trip overseas, he's thinking of his son despite everything
The kid looks at the angel again
"I'm not manipulating you or anything but-...well I mean I could just take you straight to heaven with the other eggs if you reaaaallyyy want to go" Rubius pretends to look the other way, like if he wasn't kind of controlling those visions of his to his own favor; he turns back around once he sees the kid with his hand extended towards him
"So, you are closing the deal? You don't need more time to think about this? I can stop time if you-" "I want to make the deal"
"Say less then" the angel doesn't waste a second to shake his hand in agreement, finally securing the heavenly deal with the infant. "My twin is a monster, but I think an innocent looking soul like you can be of much help to us" He smiles fondly of the child, and pets him, ruffling his hair a bit
"Don't tell anyone about this tho, it's going to be our secret for now, once your strong enough, you'll be the warrior of heaven and the angels" Rubius dumps a bucket of water on Chayanne which somehow not only cleans the dust, blood and grime off him, but also repairs his destroyed armor and clothing so he looks pretty pristine. "I'll make your dad and your sister...niece...Tallulah think it was a nightmare, you guys must really hate dreaming good things"
The moon moves quickly, the stars trail behind and the sky starts lighting up with the colors of the morning in just a few seconds. "Something will happen very soon, I think that will help you prove your worth to me"
"Until then, keep training, once your father goes to sleep, i'll come to take you away for that, you'll be very busy for the next couple of weeks" He picks the child up gently again and spreads his wings, taking a leap off the cloud to start flying through the clouds. "I know you feel sad for some of your friend's demise but, I think that won't happen anymore with you watching over them"
The air of their fast flying is refreshing, after being hundreds of feet deep underground the cooling was very welcome. He is able to oversee everything, including the wall that he lives on; the angel flies up really high, and lets him see the sun rising over every single cloud, having a direct and amazing view of it
"Im making your other dad a favor" Rubius suddenly says
"I...owe him one, Missa and I were very good friends in a far gone past, and it's only fair that I care just a bit more for his son than for other eggs
But don't tell him, he'll probably go 'how do you know about that? ' or 'what? ', i'd rather not give him any explanations"
The entity glides down until it lands on Chayanne's home and low and behold, Phil is asleep on the bed, moving around for his 'nightmare'. The child is let down to familiar ground now, and he feels more at ease, his limbs don't burn anymore and the ever growing panicked melancholy isn't nearly as bad as before, everything is back to normal here
"This is your stop then, I give you a day of rest before we start your duties, i'll see you around... and if your father returns early, tell him to visit the church from time to time" The angel takes flight, he seems far nicer and soft whenever he talks about his dad-. "No i'm not" Rubius returns only to clarify and now actually leaves him on his own
Chayanne has nothing else to say as the entity disappears in the distant golden skies, so he walks inside his home and closes the door, taking off his armor and putting it on the chest; he also notices the three backpacks appear back in the room, so he has to thank the angel for that. He looks over at his dad, who seems to have calmed down by now and gets a little idea
If he won't be able to sleep anymore, he'll take any chance he can get
He throws himself on the bed and snuggles close to his father. He couldn't say when was the last time he was this close and comfortable sleeping with his dad, maybe when he was a really tiny egg those first days with his new family; sleeping alone wasn't so bad, but sometimes he just wanted to sleep like this, all warm and safe
It always felt...wrong, he was the strong mature one that was all 'grown up' and didn't need anyone's protection, so he was shy to ask to be hugged like this, protected by Phil; he'd probably be less embarrassed to ask it from Missa but, for the time being, this will do.
He couldn't rest because of having Tallulah at his charge, but just for this morning, he feels that weight off his shoulders, even if he'll only get an hour or two of peaceful sleep. He's happy this way, even if he wants to be the hero, even if he wants to train everyday to fight off the most evil and dangerous creatures this land has to offer, even if he wants to be there to defend everyone and give them a peaceful life
Sometimes, just sometimes, he wants a peaceful life too
But it's a passing thought, it's persistent but not long lasting
Being a little warrior like he is takes a lot of sacrifices
He can only do his best, after all
Right?