Neo City: Underground

×-×Chapter. 21×-×

(Haruto's POV)

The day of the twentieth moon finally befell us, my anxiety full throttle.

We had gotten word earlier on the day before, of where Taeyong wished to hold this battle, stating that he would not be alone in his endeavor to take the Outlands from our grasp.

I absentmindedly saddled up my horse for Lin to ride. I was going to take to battle as a dragon, my brother perched on my back like some medieval knight.

"Haru? Are you okay?" Said male spoke softly, placing a hand on my shoulder as Lin held onto the horses reins. "I'm as okay as I can be oni-san. We are about to go into battle and I cant shake this feeling of dread.." I turned towards him. "Taeyong isn't gonna play fair, I'm positive we both know that, and it worries me cause we will very well be outnumbered greatly."

Shotaro sent me a soft, reassuring smile, caressing my face gently. "Stop. You'll worry yourself to death even before the battle begins."  He said quietly, reaching up to stroke the back of my head. "So we're gonna be outnumbered? So what? Look around you Haru," He turned me to look at all the others getting ready. "You are surrounded by strong, brave, and skilled warriors. It doesnt matter how large his military is, they are incompetent and incomparable to the militant we have here." He turned me back to face him. "And, we have you, our firey weapon." His face was serious, his round cheeks almost seeming sharper from the harsh look in his eyes. "It is time for us to finish this, once and for all, no matter the cost. The citizens of Neo City are pitiful, just as us out here in the Outlands. This is our opportunity to finally fix the mess our fathers have made."

I hugged hum tightly, hiding in the crook of his neck. "Stick close to me, do you hear?" I grumbled to him, hearing his sweet giggle and feeling his chest vibrate against mine. "But of course bud."

My mind flashed to the scene of my nightmare, making me shiver before pulling away from my beloved brother and stepping away from everyone, making sure there was some distance between us all before closing my eyes and channeling my feelings into the rest of my body, stretching my wings out as wide as they could go.

I heard my bones crack as they rearanged and grew in my body, feeling my mouth stretch.

When the sensations had stopped, I opened my eyes, seeing Shotaro and Jaemin standing before me, both fully dressed in armor, large piles of black plated armor sitting around them.

I lowered down, pressing my nose into Shotaro's chest, watching as he rubbed my nose, the others coming up and helping them grab the armor before strapping it to my dark blue body.

We had been working on this armor diligently while training, to make sure I had as much protection as possible.

Shotaro left from infront of me, tapping my leg twice, letting me lower my head and body more so that he could strap the saddle we made onto the base of my neck.

It was slightly heavy, and kind of uncomfortable, but I didn't want to rub my brothers inner thighs raw with my scales, so it was our best option.

I stood at my full height, catching sight of Jaemin again.

I lowered my head, meeting his eyes.

I lowered my head more, placing my nose in his hand that was laying limply by his side, silently telling him to be careful, as I knew we wouldn't be seeing eachother much on the battlefield.

He gave me a beautiful smile, rubbing my nose softly before walking off to his own horse.

I didn't know why I had done that, but I didn't have any time to dwell on it as I layed down to let Shotaro on the saddle.

He patted my neck when he was ready and secure, everyone letting me take to the sky before trailing after me as we headed towards the battle grounds.

----×-×----

The still charred remains of the land of which our fathers fought came quickly into view, a large army set on one side of the field, almost set up standing in a chess board pattern.

I could hear their yells from where I did a circle in the sky, the others lining up before I landed beside them, lowering my body so that Shotaro could get down.

Taeyong looked enraged, looking across our ranks before smirking wildly. "What?!" He called, a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. "No Haruto?! Was he too scared to face the consequences of his actions?!" He cackled.

I turned my head to Shotaro, him giving a subtle nod to me.

I took a step away, lowering my body and letting it shrink back down to my normal form for only a bit, taking that time to meet Taeyong's shocked eyes, before transforming back.

Taeyong looked even more mad as he watched Shotaro place himself back on the base of my neck.

I looked to the sky, the sun seeming to shine brighter on the field.

Taeyong let out a loud war cry that echoed across the land, his soldiers starting their descent on us, Shotaro whistling through his teeth just as loudly, letting us know that this battle had offically began.