Dragon Song

This entire fic was inspired by, and is literally based on the second movement (Dragon Song) of the piano duet 'Chinese Dragons' by Nancy Faber. Though I'm sure the majority of the population has never even heard of this piece, or actually heard it performed, this fic still follows the song, nearly to a tee. I put it under Pokemon because the characters I had in my head were, indeed, Ash and Misty, though their names are never said and this fantasy world they live in certainly doesn't contain Pokemon. So, this is my version of a songfic; one that literally follows the notes.
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All seemed to stop when she fell. Chords of battle had been heard, but it had suddenly been silenced to a single note, just a one-tone cry. The remaining vibrations of "No" still echoed in the silence, as the body behind the voice wound a protective aura over a wounded form. It wouldn't do any good now though; the semi-transparent haze of dark gray magic couldn't save her. The man holding the shield then moved in towards her and kneeled, tears dripped off his chin and onto the black locks that framed his face.

"Your tears, they look like rain."

Even though breathing was becoming difficult, her voice still sounded like singing, a solo to shine.

"I've seen the peaceful rain, so don't let it fall for me."

She took an abrupt and painful breath that caused the man beside her to move closer and shed a couple tears he had been asked to contain. A threatening and low rumble started up again, asking when it could resume; and a few drops of real rain questioned along with it. But her voice was still the spotlight, it lingered for a time longer yet.

"They should see it. The others..."

Her eyes closed for a moment, but she brought her gaze back to the man's face to continue.

"The...people."

Almost out of view was the protective magic being held around the group of soldiers; what was left of the people. All of this, and she still wanted peace in the end? Or did she mean annihilation? The man asked, "What do you...?" But he couldn't finish, and the woman couldn't answer. Dark, liquid red started forming streaks, contrasting with the more orange tones of her hair. Another echoing thunder boomed out as if laughing at the scene, but like before, the two ignored it. A pale white complexion set itself on the woman's face, giving the impression of a doll, lying there lifeless. But the mouth opened as if to speak, displaying a gruesome sight of teeth outlined in red.

"You..."

Her voice was cut short, and the man couldn't take it anymore. He pressed his lips to hers, tasting the diluted blood, yet all the while trying to leave her with a sense of love. But her mouth went cold, and he reluctantly pulled away, flicking his tongue out to capture what life she left on his lips. Then he cried, moaned out into the sky,

"How could you die?"

Blackness swallowed the sound up, and this man was too preoccupied with grief to hear a faint sound of a woman's voice consoling him,

"It will be okay..."

The voice was coming from her leaving spirit, trying to say a last goodbye, but not succeeding. He continued his song of mourning, lowering again and running a hand gracefully across her cheek.

"All the life has left your face..."

Louder this time, the woman's spirit tried again,

"It will be okay..."

He didn't hear, because he wasn't listening. As he sat up again, he regained a bit of composure by running a hand through his hair and sighing.

"All the dreams we shared, are gone..."

But she wouldn't leave yet; he needed to hear her,

"It will be okay..."

Now he stood fully up, ebony eyebrows scowling as they faced the ever-darkening sky. Clenching his jaw in an attempt to contain his anger he shouted,

"All the hopes we had, ripped apart..."

She wouldn't stand for it any longer. Now in an uncharacteristically reprimanding voice for a non-living being, she attempted to get his attention again,

"Oh no, don't get mad."

But he did, and he was. The shield that was still around him suddenly flew towards his body, clinging to his clothing as if it was another layer. It was this way he ran to the army, rage building with every step, but his eyes still looked on the brink of tears. All the dark clouds in the sky shifted and attacked his form, lightning flashing, and thunder grunting because he couldn't be hit. This was tried over again, but each time the enraged man came out unscathed. The woman could no longer get to him, being dragged on to somewhere foreign and unknown. With a last sigh, she managed to form words.

"So I will say goodbye."

The man kept running. Finally he reached the protection of his army and flung the dark shield from his body upwards so that it bonded with the dome of protection that hovered above everyone. The army consisted of mostly men, the majority being young. A couple women could be seen, but most clung to a nearby loved one in fright and appeared to be in emotionless trances.

"Where is she?"

Many people asked, causing a chaotic lull of conversation. A man dressed in a simple, all black tunic slowly raised about 3 feet off the ground, causing all heads to turn, and silence to settle.

"She is dead."

His voice was solid and emotionless, but everyone else gasped. Quiet only came again when the man spoke up.

"Yes, it was the dragons."

The people shouted out in vengeance, claiming to get revenge for him. But everything was cut off as a wall of thunder lashed out only a few yards away. A few screams could be heard and briefly illuminated faces showed raw fright. Accented thunder came almost immediately after, shaking the ground and bodies on them. Glaring, the black-haired man lowered himself and shot a large amount of energy into the protective shield, staying unfazed all the while. Then, while looking upward he got a glance of one enemy: a dark gray dragon, made entirely of clouds. Even though its legs and the spines along its back were barely distinguishable, you could clearly see the angled jaw line and black eyes that gave the illusion of endless space. This close evil unclenched its row of ragged teeth and spat a downpour of rain at the group. The rhythmic beats of each drop pounding the barrier seemed to be a signal; this war is not over, it has only begun.

"No!"

Throwing up a muscled arm, the man stopped all the people in their tracks.

"Do not reinforce the shield!"

Confused eyes stared back, and then the mouths below started to question.

"But we will die!"

There was no time for questions. A vengeful tremolo started it's crescendo, rumbling deep and low at first, but ending with a sharp crack of lightning that brought another dragon to the scene; fire. Its victim was an old tree that once held pride. Now tendrils of flame held it defenseless while rabid jaws gnawed at the wood, inhaled the leaves. Fire hissed away with victory, shooting its suffocating breath of smoke rising to the heavens. This must've been a hypnotizing sight, because it seemed that every eye was glued, watching devastation and death in action. They never could've predicted that a well-placed hit would leave them vulnerable. Lightning didn't let this chance go by, finally revealing itself from the cloud cover it whipped its tail and sent a shower of bolts directly at the group. The shield shattered with a deafening crack, sending magic into the sky, and bodies to the ground. Those who remained standing all rushed towards that man, the one with the black tunic, the one with foreign blood on his cheek.

"Help us, please!"

He stood facing the enemy, eyes blinking to keep the waterfall of rain out. Strong composure hides many weaknesses; he cared less about harsh drops from the sky, but the rain inside eroded all feeling.

"I will not fight. I'm sorry."

Chaos now reigned, directing the dragons to roar, cueing the people to run about frantic. The orchestra of good and evil began a chromatic scale: some in screams, others with rain, and many with a simple heartbeat. That broken man just stood, centered in the chorus and added only the faint sound of breathing, for his heart was lost. And all was lost for those left; the one they trusted, the only one who had the power to cut the dragon's song short, was a skeleton of emptiness. They had smart enemies, for they knew how to rip out the very soul of a being. Now they wreaked havoc not only on the humans, but the earth. Fire ate up the ground, and developed a taste for charred flesh glazed with blood. Close by, thunder laughed at the scene, jarring bones, and encouraging disaster. Finally the dragons devoured all, all but one. Even though he had been in the center of everything, somehow he was left, standing just as before. The song was not over, not until everyone had fallen. So they swarmed about him, almost arousing a tornado with their circular motion. With a four-note chord they brought his downfall. Lightning surged for an instant death, hail beat the battered body, fire helped itself to the remaining delicacy, and thunder loudly announced victory. But this man was ultimately whole again, staring at the creatures and giving a farewell.

"That's how the story goes."

A slender arm then started to wrap around his chest, pulling him backwards until he met with a body. There was no guess to who this was, so he turned quickly to kiss her. But this plan was stopped short as he saw her. Long, wavy, radiant hair framed her face in a fiery orange, only to be cooled by eyes that mimicked water. Now was the time for peaceful rain, now was the time to marvel at her tolerance for a poor soul like him. But he needed the rain too, it needed to wash away all doubt, and reveal the weakness in this woman, seemingly goddess. Both walked away, tickling the earth with spirited showers, contented with the ability to smile. And when the rain stopped, their faces met again, this time stained with tears. Hesitation wasn't apparent as the two flew to each other, lips clashing and hands drawing the other nearer.

Yet the song does not end here, dragons still continued to roar in victory. Thunder growled as a background for the melody lightning sang, before disappearing into the clouds. Hissing, fire snaked across the last pile of bones, before snapping its farewell. With a last glance over the blackened plain, thunder then turned to leave, but rumbled all the while. Rain spat out a few drops that fell hard at first, but a decrescendo took place as it too left, the last sounds being a faint tapping of water on upper white keys. The baton was then passed from chaos to fate.

end