Chapter Text
-13 years ago-
Pedro ducked as a snarling creature swooped down upon him, its claws slicing his back. The elderly man cried out in pain, dropping to his knees.
He could remember it just being an ordinary day, nothing unusual. He remembered the dark clouds spreading across the once clear sky, purple lighting striking the ground. He remembered villagers screaming as monsters suddenly appeared from a dark shadow slowly building up towards the sky, blocking out the sun. He remembered a man, dressed in a long purple robe, laughing as people were brutally slaughtered in front of him.
Dragons now flew across the sky, roaring as flying creatures attached themselves to their flesh and ripped them apart. A house burnt beside Pedro, the fire cracking and snapping. A family watched as their home was destroyed, screaming for a remaining family member as they were burnt alive. Children lay dead in the streets, their bodies wobbling back and forth slightly as monsters tore apart their limbs.
Suddenly, a roar could be heard from above, and Pedro looked up to see a silver dragon in flames, screeching as it struggled to get rid of the flames. A woman in yellow was clutched in its claws.
More creatures emerged from the Darkness, hurtling towards the dragon and digging their teeth into its body. The dragon roared again and dropped the figure it was holding.
Pedro rushed forward, dropping to his knees and crying out in horror at the sight of his mangled daughter. He pressed her tightly to his chest, burying his face into her auburn curls to hide his tears. He could hear more screaming all around him, but he ignored it. He didn't want to hear it.
"Papi...?" The elderly man looked down at Pepa, her eyes opening weakly, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Ay, Pepita, it's okay, I've got you" Pedro whispered, stroking her hair.
"Dolores...Cami..." her voice was no more than a whisper, and Pedro could barely hear it.
"It's okay, they're safe." Honestly, he had no idea where they were. For all he knew, he and Pepa could be the only Madrigals left, but he didn't want to think like that. His family were okay. They had to be.
Pepa gave him what seemed to be a weak nod, and her eyes fluttered close. Pedro kissed her forehead, cradling her scarred body protectively to his chest.
Suddenly, a low growl could be heard from behind them, followed by the sound of twigs snapping. Pedro slowly turned to see one of those creatures staring straight at him, only a couple of meters away. Its leathery wings shook furiously on its hairless body. Its claws were several inches long, digging into the ground as it slowly stalked toward them.
"P-please" Pedro whimpered.
It lunged at them.
The elderly man instinctively covered Pepa's body with his own, crying out as the creature's claws dug into his back, sobbing into his daughter's hair.
More monsters surrounded them, each of them attaching themselves to Pedro, digging their jaws into him. Pedro was screaming as his own blood ran down his cheeks and dripped to the floor. He felt one of the creatures come round to the front of his body, and it began clawing recklessly at his arms, trying to get to Pepa.
"No!" he cried, holding Pepa's body tightly to his chest and curling his head in. The creatures snarled furiously and began to attack him even more ferociously than before.
Just as Pedro thought he couldn't take it anymore, the clawing suddenly stopped. Slowly uncurling his bleeding head, he gasped to see one of the creatures being slammed to the floor by a guitar. Looking up, Pedro let out a choked laugh at the sight of Felix, his face rabid as the lunged at the creatures. Behind him, Dolores sat on a golden dragon, baby Camilo crying in her arms.
"Felix!" Pedro gasped, making Felix turn to look at him. "Please, take her," he sobbed, holding out his daughter, who was caked in blood.
Felix's eyes widened at the state of his father-in-law and wife, but nodded, carefully cradling her in his arms and carrying her limp body to the dragon.
At this point, Pedro thought he was dead. Felix would ride to safety, along with the rest of the family. They would be safe. Their safety was worth the sacrifice. Closing his eyes, Pedro allowed himself to relax taking in what he thought were his last breaths, blocking out the sound of screaming and crying that surrounded him.
Suddenly, he felt someone begin to help him up. Pedro looked up to see Felix, his face full of determination as he began to help the elderly man to the dragon. Once seated on the lizard, Pedro felt himself relax again, despite his surroundings. The dragon took off, away from the violence taking place on the ground below them. He gently stroked Pepa's hair, who was propped up against her father's chest, still unconscious.
Up ahead, Pedro could see a faint light, almost like a portal or a door out of the Darkness.
Felix obviously saw this too and began steering the dragon towards it, flying at full speed. Dolores closed her eyes tight, burying her face in Camilo's curls. Poor girl, Pedro thought. Just as the family thought they'd made it, a high-pitched screech came from above them.
Pedro whimpered and Dolores clutched her ears, her eyes still closed tightly. Suddenly, one of the creatures swooped down, its claws extended towards them. The family ducked, however the monster ended up going straight for the dragon's head. The winged lizard roared, shaking its head around furiously as it attempted to shake the creature off. Another creature emerged from the shadows, this time digging its teeth into the dragon's stomach. More and more of them appeared, each of them attacking the golden lizard. The dragon began to fall, however Felix pulled it up, rubbing his hand along its neck soothingly as it used its remaining strength to keep itself up.
They were just meters away from the light, the way out of this nightmare. More and more monsters kept coming, but the dragon wouldn't give in. Just as they were about to go through the light, Pedro felt a rock connect with his temple, and everything went black.
Pedro screamed as he sat up in bed, his body shaking and soaked in sweat. His hand went to his back, where he could feel the scars of the attack.
They were healed. It had been 12 years since the attack. He was safe. His family was safe.
Slowly climbing out of the four-poster bed, he took a cream towel from a chair and dried himself off before changing into a fresh pair of clothes.
It had been an hour since Antonio's performance, and Pedro had decided to take a nap.
Wait. It had been an hour since Pepa and Felix were called away.
And they hadn't returned yet.
Pedro leapt up from where he was sitting and ran fast as a 76-year-old man could run. He pushed past two concerned guards and went straight for Pepa's room. Pushing open the golden doors, he rushed inside, scanning the room for his youngest daughter.
The room was beautifully designed. White clouds dotted across the sky-blue ceiling while a great canopy bed hung from the clouds. A waterfall fell from a rocky cliff nearer the corner of the room, creating a stream leading to a large, picturesque sunflower field, with small animals such as rabbits and golden foxes bounding through the plants.
"Pepa?" Pedro called. "Felix?"
"Papi?"
Pedro let out a small yelp as he spun around, his hand clutching his racing heart.
Pepa stood with Felix at the entrance of her room, eyes wide with concern. Pedro let out a breath and relaxed at the sight of his daughter. "Ay, Papi, are you okay? What's wrong? Did something happen? Are the kids okay?" Pepa said quickly, her hand reaching up to her braid and stroking quickly.
Pedro nodded, offering her a tired smile. "Lo siento Pepita. Nothing's happened, don't worry. I just noticed you hadn't returned yet. I was worried"
"Lo siento Papi, we were held up a little. Oh, and we have news. It's about the Darkness.
Pedro flinched. There hadn't been any news about the Darkness for over a decade. "W-what about the Darkness, mija?" he stammered, feeling sweat trickle down his forehead despite the cool temperature of the room.
"The Darkness-" Pepa began before she was suddenly cut off by Ricardo, who had suddenly burst through the door, looking even more frantic than earlier.
"Ricardo!" Pepa cried, her face suddenly furious. "Are you now intentionally trying to ruin every moment I have with my family?!?"
Ricardo shook his head wildly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he struggled to form words. "Ay, spit it out already!" Pepa cried.
"Do you want to fire him, or should I?" Pedro heard Felix whisper to his wife.
"The Darkness!" The general finally managed to say, making the three royal's heads snap up in alarm.
"Si, what about it?" Pepa said, her voice wavering.
"It's spreading!!!" Ricardo screamed, eyes wide with desperation.
Pepa rolled her eyes. "Si, Ricardo, we know"
"No! I mean it's spreading right now! Like, really fast"
They didn't need to hear anymore. They sprinted out the door, racing along the corridors until they got to the exit. Once outside, Felix, Ricardo, and Pedro stopped, however Pepa kept running until she reached the top of a hill. She stood as still as a statue, not even her stomach moving to breathe.
Then Pedro heard a scream, and then another and another. They weren't coming from Pepa though. They were coming from the rest of the kingdom. He and Felix sprinted up the hill to where Pepa was standing, and they gasped.
The Darkness, no longer stationery, was hurtling across the Sky Realm, destroying everything in its path. It was going to erase the entire kingdom.
"Dios mios..." Felix muttered.
Pepa suddenly turned to Ricardo with a surprisingly calm expression. "Evacuate everyone to the South of the kingdom. Make sure everyone's on a dragon and wearing a face covering. Tell them there's no time to pack all their things, and that they need to get to the South as quickly as possible.
"Y-yes your Majesty" Ricardo stammered, and he leapt onto his dragon and took off towards the village.
Once he was gone, Pepa turned to her husband and father. "Pack only the essentials," she said. "Have a face covering on, and make sure to bring weapons. We don't know what we'll find in there. Once you've got what you need, get the kids to the South. Make sure they're ready for flight"
Pepa turned to leave, but was stopped by Felix. "Amor, what do you mean by 'what we'll find in there'? Where are we going?"
The redhead turned to her husband with determined eyes. "Into the Darkness"
Pepa sprinted through the deserted corridors and into her room. She grabbed a satchel from her wardrobe and packed an extra pair of clothes and a small dagger. She then climbed onto her bed and allowed herself to be ascended into the air. Once it reached the top, Pepa ran across the clouds, hopping from one to the other before she reached a large, brown chest.
She sat on her knees as she slowly pried the heavy lid open, coughing as a cloud of dust was blown into her face. Pepa reached into the chest, taking out a golden suit of armor. She brushed away the dust which was resting on the buckle as traced the golden sun engraved on it. Ay, it had been a while since she'd seen this.
Pepa quickly began putting it on, feeling the weight of the metal as she put on every piece but the helmet, which she decided to leave as it blocked her vision. Once the armor was on, the redhead reached into the chest once again, this time taking out a long sword with a handle shaped like a dragon.
She smiled slightly as her hand ran along the sharp edges, liking the way it dug into her skin. Returning it to its scabbard, Pepa took the canopy bed back down to the floor of her room. She sprinted through the door and back outside the palace where Lluvia was waiting.
The redhead jumped onto the dragon and it immediately took off. Once in the air, Pepa became aware of how close the Darkness was to her. It was only a couple of meters away. Lluvia roared as she began flying at top speed, racing against the neverending shadow that was following closely behind them.
Pepa could see hundreds of dragons, two or three villagers on each, waiting for her arrival. She saw Felix on his own dragon, desperately trying to calm the anxious people. Pepa extended her arm and waved it as hard as she could, hoping that Felix got the message.
Tying a yellow cloth round her face, she flew over the villagers. As if there was a spell on them, all the dragons suddenly took off, following Pepa. The redhead lead her people straight towards the opposite end of the Darkness, feeling the way the air became colder the closer they got.
They were just meters away now, and Pepa closed her eyes as she flew right into the Darkness, feeling a wave of coldness overcome her. For over 30 seconds she just sat like that, eyes closed and breath held. Some part of her expected that she'd die immediately, or suddenly be brutally murdered, but nothing happened.
There was just silence.
It had been over 20 minutes since they'd entered the Darkness, and Pepa was getting worried. There hadn't been any sign of an exit, and she knew they couldn't stay here forever. Thankfully, they hadn't seen any of the creatures she'd seen on the day of the attack. Perhaps they'd moved on.
She was wrong.
A sudden screech came from just meters from Pepa, causing Lluvia to roar in alarm. Soothing the dragon, Pepa searched through the mist, trying to see where it was. Suddenly, the winged monster shot out from the shadows and lunged at Pepa, who screamed as it dug its teeth into her shoulder.
Reaching for her sword, Pepa sliced the blade through the creature, causing it to screech and drop to the ground, dead. Breathing heavily, the redhead sat back down and returned her sword. She turned to the soldier behind her, who was staring wide-eyed at her injury.
"Be on the lookout. There could be more-"
Just as Pepa was finishing her sentence, another monster shot out from the mist, forcing its teeth into the soldier's head, causing him to fall from his dragon and into the murky water below them. She didn't need to look to know what happened to him.
Pepa had to distract them from the villagers. Perhaps, if she caught their attention, they would go after her instead of them.
Turning back around, she screamed to Felix and Pedro, who were on the dragons behind her. "Take the villagers as high as you can go and don't stop flying! Take all the soldiers but a few. I'll need them"
"What about you?!?" Felix called back, and Dolores, who was seated behind him nodded. Camilo and Antonio were with their Abuelo.
"I'll be fine" Pepa responded, offering him a weak smile.
Felix looked at the villagers, and then back at his wife. He knew what he had to do.
"Take the villagers," he said to Pedro, before planting a kiss on Dolores's head. "Stay with your Abuelo" he whispered. Dolores nodded, her eyes watery. Giving Antonio and Camilo a smile, Felix leapt from his dragon and onto Pepa's.
"What do you think you're doing?" Pepa cried.
Felix gave her a wide, toothy smile. "Didn't really think I'd leave you, did I?"
Pepa sighed, but couldn't help but smile. "Let's go then"
Lluvia shot forward, closely followed by 6 soldiers while Pedro lead the villagers and the rest of the soldiers. Pepa gasped as more of the creatures appeared, each of them latching onto the stomach and heads of the dragons. Lluvia growled as she skillfully dodged the monsters, however the others weren't so lucky.
The soldiers let out piercing screams as the creatures lunged at them, tearing them apart and crushing their bones. Their dragons screeched as their wings were ripped, causing them to drop down into the water. Pepa shivered as a long, slimy creature dug its teeth into the dragon's neck and dragged them down into the water, disappearing from sight.
Pepa and Felix flew quickly through the thick mist, having to squint to see. All the soldiers were dead, and now it was just the two of them. They had no idea what happened to their family and the villagers.
Suddenly, an enormous winged monster appeared in front of them, screeching and bearing its teeth. Lluvia roared in alarm, swerving, inches away from hitting it. The massive creature screeched again and began chasing them, smashing through enormous rocks as if they were nothing. A sudden mass of smaller, winged monsters suddenly swooped down from above, their claws catching along the pair's backs.
They screamed in pain, both of them taking out their swords. Hundreds of monsters flew around them, chasing them through the Darkness. A few latched onto Lluvia's stomach, drawing blood. Pepa quickly stabbed her sword into them, watching as they dropped like flies into the liquid below them.
Suddenly, she heard Felix scream. Whipping her head around, she gasped at the sight of Felix, lying on his back as one of the creatures strangled him with its tail. The dark-skinned man clawed at the leathery tail, his body squirming in a desperate attempt to shake it off.
Pepa scrambled forward but screamed as a dog-sized wingless monster lunged forward, knocking the redhead off the dragon. She managed to catch Lluvia's foot as she fell, and she held on for dear life as the creature attempted to drag her down by her foot, causing her to scream in pain.
More winged creatures appeared, digging their teeth into her skin, thirsty for blood. Pepa shrieked and screamed as the weight of the monsters pulled her down. Lightning struck the water furiously as Pepa fought for her life, lighting up the sky. Suddenly, Pepa had an idea.
She closed her eyes and tried not to concentrate on the pain. She concentrated on her lighting, the sound of the thunder, the pouring rain.
She was stronger than this. She wouldn't let these monsters take her down. Not today.
Her eyes snapped open, and she let out a furious scream. Lightning shot out from her body, propelling the monsters off of her and into the water. Pepa climbed back onto the dragon, snatching her sword up and slicing the creature that still had Felix in two. After checking he was still breathing, the redhead sat herself into her usual position, her face rabid. She dug her heels into the lizard, and Lluvia shot forward, flying faster than ever.
After that rush of power, Pepa felt exhausted. She knew that if she was to be attacked like that again, then there would be no chance of survival. They had to get out of here.
Behind them, she could hear the piercing sound of the monsters chasing after them, desperate to make another kill. At this point, Pepa thought they weren't going to make it. That was until she saw a bright, golden light.
It was like a doorway, an exit to this nightmarish world. She heard Felix gasp from behind her, which meant she wasn't imagining it. They would be okay.
Suddenly, Pepa felt an extreme pain rush over her, causing her to double over. Looking down, she let out a sob at the sight of a deep wound in her abdomen, a river of water pouring from it.
Pressing her hand to the wound, Pepa flew harder towards the light, not caring about the way she was blinded by the strong glow.
Her vision faded as she felt a warmth overtake her body.