Modern Reaper

Saving The Dying Dragon

Dedicated to Senpai-Notice-Me-29
(*ﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ

"Linc... she's what?"

"Dying." Zephyr repeated. I felt my heart drop within my chest and my voice get caught in my throat. Before I could ask why, Akita got up from Zephyr's lap, walked over to her desk and picked up a stuffed portfolio from her mahogany desk. She walked back over to me and placed it on the table in front of us. Sitting back on Zephyr's lap, I took the silence as a 'go ahead' sign and decided to open it. The moment I did, pictures of Linc and Zephyr filled my vision.

"What...what are these?"

"Two months ago, a team consisting of us and two other Zodiac Reapers raided an office working for the government. They were onto us and this is what we found. These pictures are of Zephyr, which is understandable. He's been around as my partner for close to three, four years now. What the question is here are those." She got up from Zephyr's lap and leaned in, pointing at a decayed picture. Crispy at the edges, I realized there were more copies in the portfolio. When I was done looking at the burnt frame of the photo, I looked at the actual picture.

"Linc?" I barely recognized. It was a kid wearing a tattered green robe as she happily played with a tanned boy in the mountains. Akita nodded grimly.

"This was a photo taken during the dark ages."

"The dark ages!" I exclaimed. "But how? Wasn't that hundreds of years ago?" Akita moved the picture away and pulled more from the portfolio. A laughing Linc. A crying Linc. A lonely Linc. All when she was younger.

She had a stalker growing up?

"This tells us that there was a group with advanced technology that was observing her, with ill or good intentions we don't know. What we do know is that the decendents of this group have evolved. Unfortunately for us; these people have had time to develop, protected in a secure position with The United States government."

"What are you saying?" I asked as I looked at a picture of a thirteen year old Linc bathing with a female friend. Akita pulled the picture in my hand away and made eye contact with me.

"We have many hypothesises as to why, but this is what we've agreed to believe for now. These people plan on destroying the Zodiac Reapers. Linc being the strongest one, it's understandable as to why they would decide to focus on her. You and Linc were the test for a new bioweapon targeted towards us. It seems as if it you've both suffered mental damage. However, this attack on her mentality is causing Linc to remember her horrible past."

"What can I do to save her?" I asked determined. Akita looked at Zeyphr who arched an eyebrow. "Can I use my wishes to heal her?"

"No!" Akita basically screamed. I jumped and Zephyr held her hand from where he sat on the couch. She calmed and sat on his lap again, beginning to elaborate. "The Divine wishes tear apart the fabric of reality in order to carry out the given order. I've been studying these things for years, so trust me when I tell you this: making a wish that requires both partners to be healthy while Linc is unstable could cause her death. And Zephyr wouldn't forgive the death of his ally after she's only appeared for such a short amount of time."

I grunted and buried my face into my hands. "I... she... I won't let her die." I murmured through my hands. I heard them respond in curious silence. I looked up to meet their gazes, and I raised my chest to speak more proudly. "I...I promised Linc that I'd always be there for her, and that's exactly what I intend to do!"

For the first time that night, I saw Zeyphr smile, his pointy fangs instantly intimidating me. Akita got up, and walked out of the library. Zephyr signalled me to follow and I did.

"There's only one way to save her." Akita said, elegantly walking and ignoring the butlers and maids who bowed as she walked past. "Soul dive." She announced as she went down the spiral staircase. "You're going to have to believe in your bond and travel through it in order to reach Linc's mind. Every regular human reaper is capable of doing it." Once we were downstairs, she walked to the wall holding the staircase and floor above. She burst through it and I realized that the wall wasn't a wall at all- but an infirmary instead. She walked down to the farthest bed and turned to face me, Zephyr following closely behind her.

"If what we guessed is correct, the people who did this to you both will try to come and kidnap you while you're vulnerable. We suspect their intentions are... not the brightest, so to speak. But we'll protect you." Zephyr declared before disappearing through the camouflaged doors again. Akita faced me and gripped my hand tightly.

"I understand." She whispered as the two maids I saw earlier exit behind Zephyr. "The fear. The uneasiness. But she needs you."

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked hopelessly. She looked at Linc who laid on a white bed. She looked deathly pale and she quickly snapped her attention back to me.

"Listen carefully to me Hero Anguis. Soul dive is a powerful tool that synchronizes two living beings. Go into your partner's mind. You'll see the things she's remembering... you'll hear the thoughts she's having as she recounts them. Ignore them and dig deeper. The digger you deep, the more you'll find. And the more there is to look at, the higher chance you'll find the bug that's causing her pain. Kill the bug, kill her pain, and you save Linc." I gulped and she begin to walk away. "You can do it." She said before leaving the infirmary. Outside, I heard a loud bang and a blood curdling roar.

Oh my god...

I looked around and upon realizing that I was alone with Linc I rushed to her side. I pulled a chair and down at her antagonized expression. "I'm here Linc." I said, my eyes welling up with tears. I found her hand and gripped it tightly. I clenched my eyes closed and swore. "I'm not going to lose you too."

In the darkness my closed eyelids brought, I found myself in a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was light. I opened my eyes and found that I was still inside it. Approaching the light, I realized that on the other side was one of Linc's memories.

Am I really ready for this? I asked myself as I reached the end. The smell of burnt flesh and images of burning homes was the first thing that greeted me as the light embraced me. As Linc's mind embraced me. That's what made me realize that it was too late to go back now.

Let's do this! I thought as my senses became overwhelmed.

It's time to save a dying Dragon!