My brain exploded in twenty five different ways. I latched on to the last coherent thought I had.

"Your master?" I asked.

She laughed, high and airy, sounding nothing like her at all. "I see," she said, "I knew you were rather dumb, but I seriously can't believe that you haven't figured this out yet! I mean, I expected it from the ball of fluff, too soft for war," at this she points at Hazel, "But not this one," now at Remi. "You were always suspicious of me."

"Wait, Gen, what are you talking about? Why would you want to kill us?" Hazel asked.

Gen laughed again, "See? Ball of fluff," she said and stood next to Remi like this was an old joke, resting her elbow on Remi's shoulder.

Remi edged away from her to stand next to Hazel instead. "Hazel is anything but a ball of fluff," she said, "you don't know her at all. I bet she could destroy you in a second."

"Really?" Gen said, fingering her belt. When did she get a belt? "Then I guess you don't know me very well, if you think this idiot can hurt me."

Hazel looked stung, "I'm not an idiot."

"She's quite the opposite." Remi said, balling her fists, "Now explain yourself!"

"Hmmm," Gen said, annoyingly slowly, "I don't think I have to."

"Whoa whoa," I said, "Gen, yeah you do. What's going on? We deserve a damn explanation-"

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Gen shrieked at the top of her lungs, taking a threatening step toward me, "I'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT AS WELL! ALL I DO KNOW IS THAT MY. PLAN. FAILED!"

I recoiled at the volume of her voice, it was all too confusing.

"Your plan?" Remi asked, her arms crossed.

Gen turned a glare on Remi so severe that I wouldn't have been surprised if Remi had burst into flames right then and there.

"My plan for vengeance. Well, a small piece of it. Just a small piece, but infuriating nonetheless," Gen said, now whispering so quietly that I could barely hear her. Somehow, it was scarier than her yelling. "And because it failed, I will find another way," she said. There was a gleam of madness in her eyes. "I will inflict my punishment and downfall on you."

There was a shink and a just barely visible flash of silver. I didn't even see Gen's hand move.

"Remi!" Hazel yelled.

Remi collapsed to the ground with a gasp.

Gen let us rush to her side, staring at us with serene boredom.

Remi's face was gaunt and pale in the small bit of sunlight left. Her face was frozen in a grimace.

"What did she do?!" Hazel said, sounding near panic, "Where is it?! What's wrong?!"

"My leg," Remi grunted, "Why does it hurt... so much."

Hazel frantically began searching Remi for the knife Gen must have thrown.

"Here!" I said, spotting it.

"Thanks," Hazel said breathlessly and grabbed the knife handle which stuck out of Remi's left thigh.

All of a sudden, she stopped.

"Oh no," she said, her hand going slack.

"What?" I said, "What is it?!"

I leaned forward to see the knife better. Hazel had ripped Remi's pant leg open, and the skin underneath looked normal at first, but when I looked closer, I realized that tendrils of green were spiderwebbing under her skin.

"What is that?" I said, looking at Hazel.

She didn't even have to say anything. The answer was in her eyes.

"Venomtail poison," I guessed, and from her expression, I guessed right.

"Shit," Remi muttered under her breath.

"The very same type of poison she stabbed me with," Gen hissed, "Remi, feel a taste of your own curse! FEEL what you did to me!"

"Remi groaned but managed to get out, "well now, I think I'm proud of what I did to you, you monster!"

Gen laughed in disgust, "Why are you proud of this? This is your fault! You scratched me with your nasty tail, now you are going to pay! My master will pay a good price for your hide!"

Remi writhed in pain. Hazel sat and stared at the wound in shock.

"If this is how I have to die, so be it!" Remi yelled.

"No!" Hazel said, tears beginning to run down her face. I felt tears in my own eyes. She leaned down and kissed Remi's cheek right at the corner of her lips, then hugged her fiercely. "Remi, you can't die! You can't!"

"Hazel, listen to me," Remi said, looking a little shocked at the kiss, "I want you to know that I have always loved you. You have to let me go. I might not make it. Now help me up so we can kill this traitor! If I'm going to die I want to die standing!"

Hazel looked taken aback, but said, "No! You can't stand, you need to stay-"

"Hazel!" Remi said, "Isn't this obvious? She is working for the Zorg! Why else would she want Dragons dead! Do you remember back in the forest, when she was talking to herself when she was asleep? Before she woke up and told us about the firecursed anora root?! A Zorg was probably walking in her dreams."

My eyes widened as it all clicked into place.

"Finally, you get it," Gen drawled, "The suspense was killing me. And I thought Nick was the smart one."

"Tail licker!" Remi growled, making Gen glare at her.

"Hazel, listen," Remi reached up and cradled my face in her hand, fingers in my hair. Her thumb slid across my forehead and I shivered.

"It's going to be ok."

"Do you have a death wish, Remi?" Gen said, "How about another knife in you? Would you like to die faster?"

"Just try," Remi said.

"Oh I don't think this poison will be as easy to overcome as you think," Gen said sweetly.

"Oh really?" Remi groaned.

"Yes," Gen said exasperatedly, "Your chance of survival is at about 1%, why are you still arguing with me?"

Remi twitched her right hand, "I can work with that, I like those odds, bring it down another ten percent and it might be fair."

"Let's put it like this," Gen said, "You have no chance of survival."

"Well then it's a good thing it's my shifting day," Remi said and began to grow.

Immediately, Remi the giant green Dragon roared and keeled over, flopping down with a crash, that surprisingly didn't cave in the roof.

Gen kicked aside one of Remi's wings with a foot. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention, this version of the venom is altered so Dragons are more susceptible. You just lowered your survival time from two hours to one. I'm terribly sorry," she said with a smile, indicating that she wasn't sorry at all.

I started toward Remi, to do what, I didn't know, but an invisible force slammed into me and took hold. I couldn't move.

I was turned against my will to face Gen who was holding out a hand. She flicked it and I rose into the air.

"What are you doing!" I shouted, trying to look down at my feet but with no success. I tried shifting, but pain spiked through every molecule of my being. I stopped, panting.

"Simple spell," Gen said with a shrug, "Easy to place on weak opponents. I would suggest you not try to shift."

"Weak?!" Hazel said, her face contorted in fury, "What makes you think-"

She stopped as she too rose into the air.

"Gen stop!" I yelled, "Why are you doing this! What's your motive?!"

Gen turned to me with a sneer, "Wouldn't you like to know," She said, "You would just give me the same look I always get, like I'm not worth it."

"What do you mean?" Hazel asked.

"Do you know why I hate Dragons?" Gen said. "No? Well, it's because I was supposed to be one. Simple as that."

My mind spun off on this new mystery, Gen? Supposed to be a Dragon?

"What? How?" I asked.

Gen huffed in annoyance, "Do you know, Nicholina, what Dragons did when they had a defect?"

I shook my head.

"They would laugh at them!" Gen said, "They would throw them out, ridicule them and mock them. The defect would be banished with their tail between their legs. Now, you couldn't imagine something like that happening to ME could you?! No! You could not. But that is exactly what happened."

"Y-you're a Dragon?" Hazel asked in awe.

"NO!" Gen shrieked, "I'm not!" Her eyes gained a dreamy, wistful sheen, "I might have been, both my parents were the most beautiful tribe of Dragons, the Entomotails. The tribe of Dragon with scales of insect patterns and butterfly wings, eyes like gems, always serene and peaceful," Her eyes got angry again, "But I wasn't, I can't shift no matter how hard I try. The Dragons mocked me and excluded me until I was seven, then, they banished me, saying that I wasn't worth keeping around anymore because I wasn't one of them. But I found the Zorg. They understood my anger and decided to train me in the lost art of magic. Now, I'm unstoppable."

Gen. Betrayal. Dragon. Magic. Ran through my head several times before my brain finally got the message.

"But this is a misunderstanding!" Hazel was saying, "What did we do to you?"

"Well, Remi scratched me in the first place, you two are dragons." Gen said, flipping another knife in her hand, "I hate all dragons no matter who they are. And as I said, my master wants you. That's the only reason you two get to live another day. This one on the other hand..." She shot Remi a sneer.

"Let me guess," I said, "Your master is the leader of the Zorg?"

"Ding ding," Gen said, "Maybe I was wrong, maybe you do have an ounce of brains. The proper term is Gulgogoth, in case you care."

"Gulgogoth?" I said, having a sensation of deja vú. Where had I heard that before?

"The proper term for the leader of the Zorg," Gen said, flipping her knife several feet in the air and then catching it by the blade with just the tips of her nails.

Then it hit me, "Maum said something about a Gulgogoth!" I said, feeling proud that I remembered.

"Oh, that hapless Zorg?" Gen said, "Yeah, about as smart as a slug, but very loyal."

Remi's claws began to twitch, her face contorted in pain.

"Gen," Hazel said, struggling futilely against the spell, "Could you come with us back to the Elves? You'd have a place there!"

Gen stared at her with a murderous expression. "And why do you think I would want to do that?"

"To fit in?" Hazel offered, "To have friends?"

It was the wrong thing to say.

"Fit in," Gen said, all of the sudden looking ten times scarier, "Friends. Don't you think, that's what I've been trying to do? FOR THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS!? DO THE DRAGONS WANT ME? NO! DO THE HUMANS WANT ME? NO!" She took a deep breath, "The Zorg are the only ones who have ever wanted me. They gave me a place, gave me a purpose. I think the Gulgogoth's disappointment will be worth making you watch both your friends die. Then we will see where you fit in."

A force all of the sudden closed off my windpipe. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. Remi began to thrash.

"What are you doing!" Hazel screamed. "Stop! Stop please!"

I wanted to tell her something, anything, but I couldn't speak. I had no air left to work my vocal cords. My vision began to go black around the edges. In the middle of it all, Gen smiled serenely as she killed us slowly.

At that moment, I realized that Gen was no longer the smart, quiet friend I had in school. She was never that girl. She was mad with desire for vengeance and the worst part?

I could understand why.

"Gen!" Hazel shrieked, thrashing around to no avail. "Please! The Zorg are using you! You're just a tool! They don't care about you!"

Gen paused, and for just a moment, the pressure around my neck lessened slightly. I was able to wheeze and get a little bit of air in my lungs.

"N-no," she finally said, "The Zorg cared for me, they practically raised me!"

"But does killing Dragons make you feel better?" Hazel asked, "Does it make you want to stop killing? Gen you have to learn to forgive. I'm sure we can convince the Elves to let you stay with them."

Spots began to dance in front of my eyes again. I couldn't hold out much longer. Remi's thrashing was slowing and I didn't think it was a good sign.

"Each Dragon death makes me feel amazing," Gen said, "I cannot forgive."

"But do you have friends with the Zorg?" Hazel asked desperately, "Do they actually like you? How many times have they forced you to do things you don't want to? Think about it Gen! You're just a tool!"

"I...no- yes, I don't know!" Gen sputtered, and all at once, the pressure around my neck was gone. Hazel and I fell several feet to the ground. Luckily, I managed to cushion my landing by stumbling right into Gen, knocking the knife out of her hands. Unluckily, Hazel landed hard on her feet with a shriek, and it might have been my imagination, but I thought I heard a crack.

Gen thrashed underneath me, "Get off!" She shrieked.

I hurriedly got off her, gasping for air and massaging my neck, trying to figure out how to breathe again.

I collided with a large, crumbling column and watched as Gen got to her feet, still looking serene, but angrier than ever.

"That's it," she said, "I'm bored with waiting. Remi, prepare to die."

She raised another knife into the air, ready to plunge it into Remi's scales.

Then, she stopped and looked down. There was the tip of a knife poking through her gut.

Gen gasped as the knife was drawn out. She collapsed to the ground. Behind her on her hands and knees, holding the knife, was Hazel, her face contorted in fury.

"Who's a ball of fluff now?!" Hazel said.

Her face fell as she realized what she did. She dropped the knife, like it was on fire. She looked just as surprised as I felt.

"I-" Hazel started, but stopped with a shriek. Gen had disappeared. Literally, gone, nowhere to be seen.

"I killed her!" Hazel shrieked and broke down sobbing. She sank to her knees, and then her elbows.

I noticed that the side of Remi's neck was criss-crossed with lines even darker green than her scales. The venom was working its way through her body.

I didn't know what to do. I wanted to try and comfort my friends, in some way, somehow, but I would be lying.

My eyelids started to droop. I was so, so tired. It would be nice to just go to sleep for a while...to not have to deal with anything.

"I can see 'em!" Called a voice from somewhere far away.

Could it be the Zorg come to finish Gen's job? I thought, and then, my eyes closed.

Thank you for reading!
Vote, comment, share!

Written by justasnarky_sandwing on WATTPAD