The Last Dance

"General, all the preparations are done. The last few are leaving the city limits," a girl around 37 years of age with raven hair reported calmly.

"Is that so? Then it's about time y'all leave too," I said in between breaths. My voice sounded tired and hoarse. I could only turn my head to look at the 4 people who, despite all, still stood next to me.

"No can do, Sir," a young man around 35 firmly said as he shook his chestnut hair. "Sorry, Sir, but we're not leaving."

"And what exactly is y'all's plan? Stay here and die with an old man?" my voice said, losing its power with each word. We go through this every time my life is at risk. While I truly appreciate their loyalty and devotion, this same ol' song and dance can get tiresome after the nth time.

"So be it, General. This time we've made up our minds. We aren't leaving!" a middle-aged man with a massive shield on his back that dwarfed his own body declared as he knelt in front of me.

"Look, Kid, I appreciate y'all's support, but there's nothing y'all can do here. If y'all stay, it'll just be a waste of lives. Besides, who'll lead those idiots if we're all gone?" I said, releasing a slight chuckle.

"Malcolm, of course! He's your protégé, after all," a blonde 32-year-old girl responded without hesitation.

"Listen here, you little shit. Don't get smart with me," I retorted. "Liz, Ansel, Hiro, and Mérida; do me this one last favor, live alright. You all know I never had children of my own, don't make me lose you here. Live, fight, and win; see the end of this war for me, be my eyes for when victory arrives. Besides, what is a General without his trusted council? Malcolm will need you."

"General, please!" Liz broke her cold expression as her raven hair flowed with the breeze. As her dark brown eyes filled with tears, she could not even get her words out; the only thing that came out was incomprehensible squabbles.

"Forgive me for my selfishness, General!" Hiro declared as somehow he surprisingly knelt down even further than before, causing his body to disappear underneath his shield.

Ansel turned his black towards me and walked a few steps away. 'That boy can never deal with emotional things. Hey, brat, I can see your shoulders shake, and I can hear you sniffle from here.'

"Hey, Merida, come here for a sec," I said, causing Merida to stand and softly make her way towards me. "You haven't gotten your patch yet, right?"

"No, General. We haven't used patches since the army fell 16 years ago," Merida said, slowly shaking her head.

"Well, that's no good. It's bad luck to go into battle without your patch," I said with a smile. I forced my right hand up to my left sleeve and tore the patch of a flaming skull off. After one last glance at the dirty old patch, I placed it on her hand.

Mérida stood up and walked to her bag, took something out, and walked back towards me. Without a word, she knelt down and gently grabbed my hand, and placed something in my palm. She once again stood up, walked towards Liz, and gently picked her up. Liz, still crying, responded and stood up sluggishly, leaning on Merida's shoulders.

As if every step was torture, they all slowly and heavily walked away, never looking back. I followed the silhouettes until they disappeared into the horizon of this dilapidated city. I know unquestionably they were more than willing to die today, but it's not their time; they are still too young.

I'm already an old man just two more weeks, and I'll turn 70; I've been fighting for over 50 years. I'm tired. But I still have work to do.

I force my old creaking body up and hunched my way from behind the crumbling concrete wall I was sitting against. I took the simple cane that was fashion out of an old steel pipe and hobbled my way downtown.

The cold December wind hit my dry and aged skin like razors, yet the closer I got to the center of the city, the warmer it became. Soon the warm became hot, then the hot became an inferno, yet I did not stop.

"You've finally come, Huh? Jason," An old voice thundered throughout the ruins of the city. A voice filled with power, poise, and wisdom, yet one would not help but shudder at its deep bass tone and profound strength.

"Yes, I have, old friend. It's been quite a few years since we've seen each other, eh?" I chuckled in response.

"For a human, indeed. For me, it has been but a moment." The voice spoke again, and with every word, the ground shook, and the air trembled.

"Well, I hate to see you in such a position, old friend. This war has not been kind to you," I said as I walked past the final obstacle and could finally see the old creature.

In the center of the city laid a massive, golden dragon. Its scales glisten as the sun, its eyes shone like brilliant emeralds contrasting against the raging inferno that surrounded it.

He would be a sight to behold if he stood tall and proud as he was. The truest pinnacle of power would be this beast at its prime. Had it even stood on its four limbs, it would demand respect, radiate regalness, and it would even command the heavens under it.

Yet that beast was nowhere to be found now. What laid in front of my eyes was but a shadow of its former self. Its once immaculate golden armor was now cracked and shattered, with half of its scales missing. Its once brilliant emerald eyes were now dull and withered. Its once-imposing leathery wings were now ragged leather cuts. It had not even the strength to lift its massive body or head from the molten ground it nested upon.

I slowly walked to his line of sight; now that only his left eye worked, I had to walk quite the distance around its gigantic head to his left side.

"We've both gotten the shit kicked out of us, huh?" I said, looking at my aged and ragged body. I could feel every scar my body ever collected ache, but they don't compare to the fresh wounds engulfing my body now. I end simply staring at the four once colorful hand weave bracelets on my left wrist.

"We have indeed, HA HA HA!" the Dragon bellowed in laughter only to wince in pain. "I never thought I would be brought down to such a position, much less by a human. Congratulations, Jason, you have brought down the Dragon Emperor, BELAPHAX!"

I ignored the old Dragon and simply stared at the bracelets; they once used to be a vibrant color, each representing my closest friends. Yellow, Red, Blue, and I was stuck with purple since I chose last. But now, they had lost all their color, behind decades of grime, sweat, blood, and tears.

Only now did I remember the item that Merida placed in my hand. I slowly opened my left hand and saw it for the first time. It was a small keychain charm from the old days; it was definitely a found item. The edges had been filed down to hide the nicks and scratches that it had collected over time. It had also been repainted, making it look almost good as new; where did she get the paint? I don't know.

The charm simply said one thing '#1 DAD'.

"Well, I guess we should finish this. Don't you think so, Faxy?" I said, closing my fist gently around the charm.

"You have brought me down, but do not think you can kill me, Human. No matter how many dragons you bring down, how many you hunt, you can never kill a dragon." Belaphax roared.

"Yes, yes, I know. To kill a dragon, you need a dragon. Yes, I know the poem from heart, none of your friends have failed to mention it. The only weapon that can lay a dragon to rest is one forge by their flame, hardened by their blood, and sharpened by their claws. Only this blade can kill a dragon true," I said in annoyance. "It doesn't even rhyme, you know?"

"It does in our language. If you know this, why speak of this? The worst you can do is hold me prisoner, that is until my subordinates free themselves from the annoyances you have no doubt placed in their way. Then I shall be free once again." Belaphax laughed in response.

"Ah, but you see, we have a little experiment we want to try. And who else but the Dragon Emperor to be our guinea pig. We have twelve of your brethren under our gentle care, and like the caring hosts' that we are, we go the extra mile to make sure every one of our guests obtains only the best treatment. Every day we make sure to try new ways to make our guests more comfortable. After all the brainstorming, we found something that was very enlightening. If we do everything right and nothing goes wrong, a human can absorb the soul of a dragon." I explained with surprising energy in my voice.

"What!? What are you talking about, Jason? That should not be possible. You are lying. Aren't you? Aren't you!? Jason, what did you do to my comrades!!!?" The proud Dragon panicked.

The only feature that I had never been able to tear down, his pride; I was finally able to crack it, maybe even tear it down.

"What did you do, Jason!?" Belaphax roared, spewing flame from his maw.

I simply stood my ground, or more simply, remained seated and roared back. Two streams of white flame engulfed our vicinity; everything the white dwarfs touched was either incinerated on contact or melted in their embrace. A few seconds was all it took to turn the ruined downtown into a proper inferno at the gates of the underworld.

"How is this possible?" Belaphax exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"As I said, shall we end this song and dance of ours?" I said as sweat poured from my forehead.

"Don't... think... this is... over," Belaphax said between labored breaths. " Even if you do manage to kill me, Jason, there are still three more emperors to continue the fight. Humanity will fall!"

"Don't underestimate your own importance, Dragon Emperor. The Dragons' immortality was one of the significant reasons the war has lasted as long as it has. With your death, the other Emperors will lose their reserves; it would only be a matter of time before they fall. Not to mention The Dark Fae Emperor has never cared for this war. So, long story short, only 2 Emperors remain, and if you die, they will soon follow. " I said as a smirk escaped my lips.

"Don't think this will be the end. Even if you kill me, another dragon will take my place. Humanity would sooner die out than the dragons would fall, if you need to sacrifice tens of thousands to bring down one sole Dragon. The Dragons will be the true victors of this war! Even with my death it would be nothing but a hiccup on the road to success." Belaphax claimed in triumph.

"Oh, how you've gotten slow in your old age. I have the souls of two dragons inside of me; if I can breathe Dragons' flame, imagine what else this body can do?" I retorted.

"NO!!!!!! It can not be!!!" Belaphax shivered in response.

"Well then shall we, Tonight we ride! AHHHHH" a bloodcurdling scream escaped from my throat; I could not even believe it was mine.

My insides burned and charred my throat, and my teeth melted or just disintegrated into ash, I don't know. My body burned with the heat of a thousand suns, as the land before me melted alongside.

I feel only pain, pain unlike anything I've ever felt, then silence.

To Hades, we ride.

---------------

"Hey, wake up!! Wake up, man!! You're having a nightmare," a childish boyish voice soothed my mind.

"What? Where am I? Where Belaphax? Is he dead?" I shouted as my mind jolted awake before my body. Only to be greeted by a childish but handsome boy in yellow pajamas. "What? Mike? Is that you? You're alive?" I asked in shock as I ran my hands across his face, padded his shoulder just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"I'm alive, I'm here. It's okay it was just a nightmare," Mike said softly, as he hugged me and brought me into his chest, and gently held my head.

I don't know why or how, but almost as if something broke inside of me, I couldn't stop crying.

After a few minutes of crying, I regained my composure and sat up. As I sat up in my bed, I noticed the near neon yellow weave bracelet on Mike's wrist. How long has it been since I slept on an actual bed? I don't remember.

Am I back? or was all that just a nightmare?

"Mike, what's the date?" I asked urgently.

"Um, well, since it's past twelve..." Mike said, turning to look at the clock on the wall, " it's Friday. April, 20."

'No! it can't be, it's the 20th? No, why today of all days, why today? Wait, no think! April, 20th happened on a Monday, not a Friday'

"What year?" I asked as my voice trembled.

"That nightmare really got you bad, huh? It's 2091" Mike answered.

'April, 20th, 2091. I'm 13!?'