Fairy Tail Next Generation: Aki, the Sky Flame Dragon

Dante's Dream

Aki grunted as she increased the amount of wind enveloping her hand. It went back and forth between increasing and decreasing in size. Dante grimaced as he continued sucking out the oxygen from Aki's Sky Magic with all his might.

"You can't win, Dragonfly! Just give up!"

"No way..." Aki refused, her large brown eyes filled with steeled determination. "I'll never give up! I'm going to win!"

"I won't let you!"

The wind blew around wildly as Aki's feet dug into the sand. She payed no mind to the grainy substance filling her toes as she pushed forward with everything she had.

The orb on Dante's left gauntlet began to glow. He held it forward and shouted out, "Oxygen Burn!" Flames burst around Aki, but the child remained in place, still pushing forward. Dante clicked his tongue at that. "Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn! Oxygen Burn!"

A massive mountain of flames surrounded the two. An intense wave of heat surged over the area as they both panted heavily. Aki focused her sight on Dante. "You know...you're not the only one...who can suck out oxygen..." And with that, Aki began breathing in the oxygen from the flames around her, causing the fire to die down. Some smoke still billowed around the desert however.

The wind around his hand grew even larger and more intense. "Nice, this is all I need." Aki brought her right hand right next to her left arm with a grin. The flames expanded in size and blew around chaotically in response. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" She smashed her fist right into Dante's face, sending him tumbling across the desert.

Dante snarled as clenched his hands filled with the desert sand. Specks of the sand fell through his fingertips as he gritted his teeth. "Damn it...Am I really going to lose like this?" He didn't want to, but his body was numb and he was barely able to make it budge. Certainly not enough to get back on his feet. But he had to...he absolutely had to. If not, then what was it all for? What was everything he had done up to this point for if he allowed himself to fail here?

Dante's POV

I look up at the setting sun in the orange-tinted sky. The slowly darkening colors in that field above my head reminds me of my home. The outskirts of Daisy City, where no one was allowed to live a happy life.

That's right, I grew up in a slum that was rejected by that damned prosperous city. That city had no need for the likes of us. For the likes of people who were rejected by society due to their lack of welfare.

I still remember my past clearly. Every day was hell. I remember the pain-stricken looks on the faces of countless children. The grief that every mother endured trying to care for and console their precious children. The stress and death that every father fell victim to trying to provide for their families.

That is the kind of place I grew up in. We lived in a small isolated area. We had to drink water from the swamp, scavenge for food, and build our own houses out of straw and hay. It was the worst, but it was all we could do. It was all we could do...to survive. Even so...even so, I was still grateful. Because I still had a roof over my head...food to eat...water to drink...So, I accepted it with a smile and lived my life as happily as I could.

But...as I got older I began to notice...How many people around me were dying. One by one, I had to watch my friends die from illness. There was nothing anyone in that poor backwater town could do to save them. We had no access to a hospital, medicine, money, or anything. We were simply on our own.

We tried to contact the mayor of Daisy City, but all he did was turn us away, saying that he didn't want to risk getting his the city's residents infected. I couldn't take it anymore. Why? Why were we not allowed to have any help? Is there some sort of law in the world that says so? Are people like us just destined to suffer?