Fear the Darkness? ~ Chapter 2

Me: Hi again! Wow, 236 views, 3 reviews, and 7 followers in the first four days??? (that's when I started writing this)
Phoenix: Calm yourself, girl. 
Me: Hiiiiiii! *fangirl moment* wasn't expecting you here so soon!
Dictionary: HEY! You said I could start this time
Phoenix: Rule #1, Tony. Rule #1.
Me: um... Phoenix? I actually haven't talked about that yet. *Phoenix leaves* well, that was kind of rude, huff!
Dictionary: Well, can I at least call Disclaimer?
Disclaimer: BOO! *giggle* Sky doesn't own any characters other than Phoenix and possibly another oc.

Me: WAAAIT! *massive 3-person dogpile* sorry, almost forgot to answer a few questions I saw:
nuyen236, yes, my oc is narrating (I think I'm going to switch to 3rd person next chapter, though; there are some things down the line that would be weird with her being in 1st person)
Chiibe the Rebel, yep! that was the intention Phoenix got a little zoned out/into Ezra
nueyn, Chiibe, and roguemango, thanks for the feedback!

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    "Everyone clear?" the commanders nods stiffly, all eyes on me. "Then you are dismissed. ETA, Private."
    "U-um... 15 minutes, Ma'am, I mean Sir, uh..." I wave him back to his duties, allowing myself to finally relax into my stiff, metal chair. With the press of a button, a servant brings chicken and water, nearly spilling the pitcher before scurrying out like a tiny mouse. Relishing a few bites, I let Draylen snap up most of the bounty.
    Still frowning, I chuckle, "For a hatchling, you sure do have an appetite."
    Pausing mid-bite, she studies me for a moment. "And for a padawan, you have too small an appetite," she lightly reprimanded mind-to-mind. My lips only twitch slightly upward, but I stroke Draylen's glistening, onyx scales. Unlike her siblings, who smell like stinkweed and rotten meat, Draylen smells sweetly of boyy'lo. Whenever I ask, she just shrugs, saying every dragon smells different.
    "Lien," my holodisc buzzes to life, Master appearing as a blue, translucent shell of himself. Startled, I immediately drop into a kneeling bow. "There is a... complication. You will meet them before the main force attacks." I nod, but he ends the call before he could see.
    Sighing, I pull up the newly transferred files, my whole body tensing as I see "Dragon" in bold, red font across the top. Draylen coos, looking into my eyes for reassurance tinted with hope. Drawing my lips into a thin line, I could only keep reading as even the smallest mistake could be disastrous now.
    "High General!" the captain called over the com. "We're here." Drawing myself up, I hide my emotions under thick barriers. Gulping down the last piece of chicken, Draylen leaps onto my shoulder before we set off.
    Blasters fire all around us, like a red and green fireworks show on its side. Twirling my lightsabers, I dismember the four rebels surrounding me. Squinting, I force-leap back to the lookout post. "Still no sign of the drake?" I ask. The generals shrug, concern far too evident on their features. The battle is going well, but where is the dragon Master warned us about? Suddenly, I pick up a dull, long shriek coming from the sky. Looking up, I see the hint of a massive shadow. "That's it! Ready the canons, and DON'T shoot us." I whistle Draylen back to my side, placing the growth bad around her foot, making her hiss. "Now, don't be like that. You know we have to do this."
    She mutters something unintelligent and leaps out of the tower, growing to her adult, 50-foot long form in seconds. Grinning, I leap after her, landing squarely on her shoulders. Grabbing one of her deadly spikes, I signal her to climb towards the other dragon, his green scales just barely peaking out of the thick clouds high above. I frown, "If his shadow is that big and he's still far away..." Banking to the right, Draylen jerks into an upper spiral. I try to hide the worry, but that shadow just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
    Draylen suddenly pulls out of the climb, heart rate pounding faster than I had ever felt before. "You didn't happen to see anything about a rider in that file, did you?" I frown, shaking my head. "Well, dragon's aren't meant to grow that large." My eyes grow wide as saucers as the colossal dragon shoots out of the clouds, banking hard to the right to make a wide circle around us.
    "Climb, CLIMB!" I shout at Draylen's mind. She's frozen. Nothing scares her. So this... Barely able to look away from what I can now see is a riding pair, I reach into my bottomless pocket and activate the dagger function of that special saber. Looking down briefly, I see it glow a blood red. "We have to fight." Draylen seems torn back to reality, climbing upwards once more to gain the advantage. The dragon doesn't follow. Confused, I look down, watching as they both look more confused than a Varactyl on Coruscant. Drawing my dark-side lightsaber, I lean back, gripping a spike hard as I feel my stomach leap to my throat. Draylen preps a fire bolt, diving faster than a rock vulture in spring. The pair jump slightly, fear flooding both minds as they finally realize the game we are playing. The rider, a Mandelorian male, whips out a blaster as the dragon climbs. "Remember, look for the-"
    "I KNOW! What do you think I'm aiming at?" Draylen locks eyes with the dragon, stealing glances every few seconds to find his growth band. She suddenly pulls up, evening out.
    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
    "It, it's a... a collar." I blink twice, startled that even the rebels would do such as thing. The emerald dragon falters briefly, but now I can see the real scars; the whip burns, the blaster holes, the lightsaber burns... wait, lightsaber? I look more closely at the dragon's forehead, only to duck as we come into range of the rider's blaster. Switching weapons, I shoot at the rider's limbs, hoping he stays focused on me. Most of our shots meet in the air, raining a spray of smaller blasts onto the fields below. We dodge most of the others. Draylen finally notices the lightsaber burns. "You think the rider's a..."
    "No, he would have his lightsaber out by now if he was. But we do need him alive." We descend once again, Draylen loosing her fire at the dragon's chest, veering right as he tries to return the blast. I shout at the rider, "Surrender now, and we might consider sparing your mount. Fight, and we will remove his collar."
    "Never!" he cries. "We will never go back." He spits to the side, making me chuckle as I sense the annoyance of a general's hair getting slightly wet. His dragon coos softly, turning his head to face the rider. Draylen smirks; we both fire at the seam in the collar, tearing it halfway through. The dragon looses an agonizing, painfully loud roar, making his rider recoil and nearly fall off. Everyone below pauses for half a moment. We swoop in again, Draylen mauling the rider's hands as she takes his blaster. He reaches for a small, metal cylinder behind his back.
    "I guess you were right." I shrug as he whips out a gold lightsaber. His dragon's screech lessens to a whimper as he tucks his head into his chest, trying to keep the collar from splitting further. Wincing, I feel both dragons' pain at the meaning. "I know... but we have to do this." Draylen nods, steeling her mind as I have had to do so many times. She climbs into cloud cover above, hiding as I move to stand on her left wing. Draylen winces at the additional strain, so I gently brush against her mind. I crouch, keeping a hand on her thick wing arm for better balance as she steeply descends again, surprising the Mandelorian as his shot soars over her spikes through empty sky. Roaring, Draylen grabs the seemingly younger dragon's head, opening her wings fully in trying to get the needed lift. Growling, he fires at her exposed hip joints, but she just sets her teeth against the pain. I force-jump off her wing, the added pull pulverizing the rider's nose as I barely arch my back over his lightsaber.
    Crashing onto the dragon's tail, I recollect myself as the rough texture rips parts of my uniform. The dragon tries to shake me off, but I grip his broad tail, becoming a little dizzy as the world continued to shake after he stopped trying. I heard the swoosh just in time as the rider tried to slice my head off, swinging so I was hanging underneath the tail. Extending my lightsaber again into a dagger, I stab his foot. He yelps, making his dragon hesitate as I sense Draylen clawing at his chest with her hind legs. The world spins again as Draylen throws the dragon into a backwards loop. "DRAAAYLEN!" I glare at her when I can, retracting my lightsaber and grabbing one of the enemy dragon's hind legs as it passes. I look over my shoulder to see the rider barely holding on to his tail with one hand. "Draylen," I call, glad that I hadn't eaten before the fight.
    "Got it!" she responds, eyes gleaming with the thrill. Draylen angles behind the dragon, delicately shifting as she tries to maneuver behind him without risking the lightsaber's blade. "If he's a Jedi, shouldn't he be using the force?" she wonders. Smirking, he tries to force-throw her back, but barely moved her fore-paws. Draylen raised an eye ridge, "Well, that answers that." I chuckle, remembering the few times I had tried. 
    I suddenly feel the dragon starting to shrink. "Uh, Draylen?" She shrugs, confused as the dragon gets smaller and smaller. The rider cries out a foreign name, trying to grasp physically and with the force at any part of the dragon. Sighing, I sway, then use the force to pull myself onto Draylen. I grab the rider with the force, bringing his lightsaber into my pocket so he wouldn't be as much of a risk. He screams as the bond between him and the dragon is broken, suspending the severed collar for a moment before letting it go. The rider breaks into hysterical sobs, panicking as part of him was completely lost. I hesitate briefly, wondering if this would help or hurt the breaking process. "Let's go," I say, tapping Draylen with a finger as I sense her loss and pain.
    "He was a good one," she says simply.

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Me: Sorry, I just really like writing fight scenes (especially with dragons). Next chapter will be more relevant to plot.
Disclaimer: Ha! serves you right, fangirl
Phoenix: This was relevant, you simpleton.
Me: ...you do realize I'm the one who created you? And why do I keep calling you Phoennix, anyways. I already told everyone your name.
Phoenix: ...*rasberry* Wait, you did WHAT?! Draylen.
Me: Oh no... DISCLAIMER, HEEEEELP!
Disclaimer: *laughs evilly*