I look closely at the silhouette as it draws near. Smooth green scales cover the dragon's body, and short thin wings are drawn close to their sides. Vines wrap around and hang from two three-pronged horns. Orange eyes, much lighter than Hawk's, burn with rage. I draw in a sharp breath when I see the thick black collar wrapping tightly around the dragon's neck. Wires and cords curl and loop across the metal and plastic surface. The buckle is fastened tight enough that it presses into her throat. "Sage..." I breathe. She smiles at the sight of me and Hawk. When I stand and gently press a hand against the collar, I feel the thrum of energy, and I jerk my hand back. "Where's Arrow?" She asks.

"I-I don't know. I can't lose her." My shoulders slump as I speak. I look Sage in the eye, and convey the added meaning to what I said. The part about T-LOOT-D, Adrien, and everyone else. Also the part where Adrien might literally kill me and Hawk if we don't bring Arrow back. This is the beginning of everything. The beginning of a land without Guthrie Harper or the Wasteland, and the beginning where Blenders are no longer killed.

Sage nods, understanding perfectly. Hawk brushes sand off his shirt with an annoyed expression. "Come on. We'd best be going. The girl's not getting any closer," Sage murmurs.

"Best be going where?" A Wasteland guard steps out from the group encircling us, hand on his sword.

"To the spa. Where do you think, dumbo? 'Cuz it's certainly not here." Hawk growls, stepping up in front of the Wasteland guard with his arms crossed over his chest. The circle draws in closer. We have to get out. We have to get out. We have to get out. Arrow's probably gone. We're never going find her. Adrien will kill us. We'll have failed all of T-LOOT-D, and Guthrie Harper will reign forever. I've sunken to my knees, head in my hands. "Stop it!" I cry, blocking out my spiraling thoughts. Sage throws me a quizzical look before focusing back on the Wasteland guards, and how they keep creeping closer. They move so slowly. I can barely even see that they are moving at all.

"Jay! Up here!" Hawk is sitting at the base of Sage's neck, and is holding out a hand.

"All aboard the Sage Express!" Sage jerks her head at where Hawk is located on her shoulders. I quickly scale her leg. "Don't move, Gladiators."

"You've got the collar of shame. You'll be dead within a few feet of moving."

"This is hopeless. You're surrounded." Wasteland guards shout out a chorus of words.

"Sage, you'll be shocked to death," I lean over and whisper in her ear.

"And?" She replies just as softly.

"Dead. Not alive. Croaked. R.I.P. You can't die."

"I'm not dead yet. Perhaps I'll live. This collar isn't going to stop me from finding Arrow and setting you on your way without anything but the three of you and the sand. Not a Wasteland guard in sight." Sage looks over her shoulder as she speaks, her eyes glimmering.

"Surrender! You are surrounded and outnumbered and overpowered." The Wasteland guards all draw their swords in unison, and the sound of metal sliding against metal rings through the air. Sage starts laughing a cackling laugh, her head falling back, and a few tears falling from her eyes.

"Wow. I'll get through."

"Oh. My. God. Do something instead of throwing insults back and forth!" Hawk throws up his hands, and they fall with a slap against his thighs.

"Very well." A Wasteland guard says with a fox-like smirk. He throws a dagger with a flick of his wrist, and it goes flying at us. Sage watches it fly past her before gently pulling it out of one of her black, pronged horns with the three fingers at the wrist of her wing. I reach out and take it from her, flipping it in my hand and testing the weight.

Sage takes a step, and the Wasteland guards hold their swords a little tighter. It's obvious why they haven't attacked yet- they want to let Arrow get a little farther away, and they don't want to lose Sage as she's one of their best Gladiators.

"One more step and you're dead, Gladiator." A Wasteland guard pulls out a small black square. Sage flinches, just her head at first, but then her whole body twitches before going still. "Hold on tight," she murmurs before taking off at a galloping run. Wasteland guards fall victim to her clawed feet. She charges on, leaving a trail of sand and dust in her wake. When I look back, I see all the Wasteland guards running after us. The one with the square in his hand leads the pack. He glances down at the square, fiddling with the buttons, before looking back up with a gleam in his eye.

Nothing happens at first. But then, Sage suddenly freezes, her body locking up. Her collar hisses as it comes to life. It exhales while beginning to vibrate. White fingers of electricity leap from a box on the back of her collar, and a roar rips from her maw. The green dragon bares her teeth as she thrashes. Her claws dig deep scores in the sand. Several Wasteland guards fall after her paddle-like tail impales them on the spikes lining the sides. I grab Hawk's hand, and leap off her back, barely missing a tendril of electricity as I pull my brother to safety. For now at least. We skid to a halt. Sage is between us and the Wasteland guards. Sooty, black marks riddle most of her body. As the last of the white tendrils run over her scales, she blinks open her eyes with a low rumbling growl. "Sage! Are you alright?" I scramble over to her.

"Sure," she grumbles, rising to her feet. Dust falls to the ground.

"Come back with us and we might even be lenient with you," the Wasteland guard with the black square says.

"Ha. That's a hilarious joke," Hawk cackles.

"Sorry, Mr. Wasteland guard, but that's not going to happen." I frown at them, narrowing my eyes.

It happens so fast. All the Wasteland guards frozen in time, weapons drawn, then they're running at us. Sage quickly backs us up as she retreats just as fast. Her wings spread, giving her the illusion of being bigger than she really is. Light glints off her fangs as she hisses. She keeps the Wasteland guards back, clawing at them and sending them flying.

The Wasteland guard pokes around on the black square, clearly planning out a new bout of electricity. He turns a few dials, and pushes buttons.

"Jay, we should probably Blend ourselves. They're going to be coming," Hawk whispers in my ear as he leans over my shoulder.

"I'll give it a try." I close my eyes, and picture what my dog form looks like. The tan fur, the gray strip over my eyes that runs down the sides of my face, the long ears, every detail. After sinking to my knees, my left arm shimmers, and leaves a foreleg in its place. Fur sprouts across my body as my human body disappears. I run to Sage in a few long strides.

She's twitching as small bolts of electricity zigzag across her scales, but still standing and remaining mostly expressionless as she fights the Wasteland guards back. It's clearly taking a toll. Hawk trots up behind me, his orange eyes sparkling. The invisible wall Sage has built begins to break, tiny fractures spiderwebbing across the surface. One Wasteland guard breaks through, then another. Sage roars, and the sound waves are almost visible. She turns, halfway to a run, and throws us onto her back. Sand is thrown up into the air as she pounds across the Wasteland. "We're nearly halfway," she announces.

"Really? I thought it would be a multi-day trek, rather than a day or two."

"That's what those at the Wasteland want you to think, but it's not really that far, just a little more than enough so the sounds don't carry, and so that everything is out of sight. It's quite simple if you think abou-," Sage's voice is cut off as a Wasteland guard latches onto her tail.

"I've got it. I'll get him off." I start to turn around, but Hawk stops me.

"Jay, you've got a head injury. You can barely walk in a straight line, and you've been running for hours. I've got it. Give me the dagger," Hawk says as he holds out his hand after Blending back. I do so as well, and give him the dagger. I guess being a dog wasn't quite as helpful as we thought it would be.

My brother immediately starts down Sage's back. "Make it quick. The collar is warming up." She grimaces at the end with a small hiss. Hawk nods, and works a little faster. Soon he's at the paddle-like part of Sage's tail. His fingers dig into her white fur as he ducks under the vicious swipe of the Wasteland guard. Riding backwards is making me nauseous, but I can't turn around. Hawk pulls out the dagger, and slices at the Wasteland guard, carving a line of red across his arm. "Hawk, you can kill him if you want to, but you can also just knock him off," Sage calls over her shoulder.

"Got that, Hawk?" I get a thumbs-up in return.

He grapples with the Wasteland guard as their arms push and shove. Hawk gets a foot to the gut, but returns it with a punch across his opponent's cheek. A bruise starts to blossom. "Get off!" Sage screams as she tumbles to the ground before getting to her feet again. I leap off her shoulder and roll across the sand. Hawk makes it off just before the green dragon's tail slams into the earth. The Wasteland guard isn't so lucky. White lightning splits across her body, and she bellows. "Go." It isn't a question, or suggestion. The green dragon's words are a demand.

Sage draws in a breath, filling her lungs to the top, and holding it. I frown. What's she doing? At first it's just a slight colour change, but it becomes more and more visible. Her chest and stomach are turning into a swirl of red and orange. Hawk freezes and protests her actions, but she silences him with a glare. I pull on Hawk's hand, and run. The glow becomes brighter and spreads up her throat. She rears up, baring her teeth with her jaws still closed. Smoke curls from the corners of her mouth. As her feet slam into the ground, Sage opens her jaws, and flames leap from her throat. Wasteland guards fall, turning to ashes. Not a single one escapes her fire. No, one is still alive. The Wasteland guard with Arrow. Fury races through my veins.

White electricity sparks to life from the collar. Sage's flames begin to sputter and die. She snarls, stepping back and shaking her head. A faint breeze blows through, stirring up the ash and dust. I sneeze, and wipe sand from my eyes. Sage's snarl turns to a howl as she sinks to the ground. "Sage!" I run up to her and fall to my knees beside her head.

"What's wrong? What can we do to help?" Hawk demands. She doesn't respond, instead she writhes and thrashes, her face contorted in pain. Her tail comes swinging towards me, and I jump out of the way. A few minutes later, she settles down. "Go," Sage says, her eyes half-closed.

"We're not leaving you!" Hawk looks at her as if she just said the sky was purple and the ground was pink.

"Every second you stand here and fight this with me, Arrow gets farther and farther away. Go. Remember Adrien's rule? The mission before family. That also is the mission before yourself. Now go, you idiots, before I make you go."

"Ok, but one question. Please tell me you never meant to use your fire, right?" I plead. She couldn't have intended to kill herself, right?

"Arrow has to live, remember that, Jay," Sage replies.

"You never meant to come out of this alive?" Hawk frowns.

"Arrow has to live, so I made sure she would. Now, go." she repeats.

Hawk grabs my wrist, pulling me into motion. I follow him, but watch the green dragon. She smiles, before exhaling and closing her eyes. Her flank stops moving. I can see it in the way her body seems to take on a shade of grey, and the way life has seeped out of her. Sage is gone.

Thank you for reading this chapter! Please feel free to comment, and please consider a vote. Wow, Sage is dead. 

What do you guys think of that? 

Do you think her sacrifice was heroic, or perhaps a stupid idea? Do you think Jay and Hawk will find Arrow? 

How do you think Adrien might react when he hears that Sage is dead? I know you haven't met him, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. 

Jeez, this story is already 24 chapters in! Thanks again!

-Werewolf14-