Ever since that day where the dragon had slammed Matheus into the wall, face filled with so much anger and malice that Matheus almost feared that his master would kill him, he had become more wary of the dragon, who seemed to be worsening with each passing day.
Matheus often now kept himself within the small room in the cave, finding it almost dangerous for him to ever leave, fear settling into his chest, something that he found he never truly felt for the dragon.
He knew his master had quite a poor temperament, consistently lashing out or snapping something rude, but Matheus had never thought that his master would ever display signs of physical violence towards him Whitch he seemed intent to do that day, seeming so close to burying his claws through Matheus's scales, and appeared to only barely have thought against it.
But today, Matheus's stomach growled with hunger, the Alligator coming up with frequent excuses to avoid going to see the dragon at all, opting to stay within his room, reading for most of the time, but he felt he couldn't keep himself locked up and isolated forever.
He told himself that the dragon would not hurt him, tried to hard to reassure himself of this. And he had never been hurt in the past before, hadn't he? Sure he had braved through a few instances where his master seemed like he was about to snap, but had never really done anything more.
But something about the dragon was different now, and Matheus wasn't sure whether it was the kryptynion that was the culprit or how he pressured himself so much over the war.
As he entered the main area of the cave, he could see the dark space illuminated by the sickly green glow of the magic that the dragon seemed to be getting more proficient at wielding, practicing now with the dead bodies, the moves he was capable of getting progressively more advanced.
But he was not planning on confronting the dragon at that moment, for there was something he found far more important for him to do.
His master seemed to engrossed in practicing his control over the dead bodies that he didn't even appear to notice as Matheus silently padded over the floor, which was mostly just dirt from how poor the reptilians sad plot of land had gotten over the last few years.
Matheus slipped into the room where he usually kept all the medicine. As limited as that was, anyway.
He reached to the drawer, the one he was certain held the kryptynion, his intent strong as he reached into the drawer, his fingers meeting the cool surface of the vial that contained the deadly drug, the one he knew he would have to put an end to right that very moment, even if it opened up too many frightening possibilities of what the dragon would do it he ever found out, which Matheus knew he would, sooner or later.
He stared at the vial of that awful substance that had certainly caused quite a nightmare, and he didn't think twice before slamming the glass vial onto the dirt ground.
The vial shattered, gleaming shards of glass scattering across the room, the dim light dancing on the small broken pieces of glass. The kryptynion immediately began to seep into the ground as the vial holding it shattered, a thin smile forming onto Matheus's face as he watched all of it get absorbed into the ground, proud with the knowledge that even with as powerful as the dragon had become, he would never be able to get it back.
And with how difficult it was, and dangerous as well to get kryptynion in the first place, Matheus hoped quite badly that it would be a long while before his master ever got a hold of it again, that he would regain some of his prior sense enough to know that it was time to end this.
As soon as Matheus entered the main area of the cave, treading over the ground softly in an attempt to delay his masters eventual rage, making his way quickly to his room, eyes trained on the dragon, hoping he wouldn't notice him. But the dragons head snapped back at a speed that seemed practically impossible, sending a pang of dread through Matheus's body.
As the dragon turned his body to face the Alligator, Matheus could now see how much worse the effects of the kryptynion had on his masters body, ones that he never thought would appear if he could just regulate how much the dragon took. But he felt that he had failed in that regard.
The dragons eyes completely enveloped in the green, glowing brightly in the dim lighting, skin looking sickly and covered in strange bruises, ones that he could tell were not formed through any type of physical injury, but rather an unfortunate side-effect of the krypynion.
Matheus froze, the Allugator frustrated how difficult it always was for him to conceal his emotions, especially now when it mattered the most.
The dragon seemed to sense the suspicion that was practically radiating off of Matheus immediately, his green eyes narrowing.
"Matheus, what were you doing in there?" He growled, his voice guttural, sounding entirely different than how it usually did, smooth and deep.
Matheus knew his nerves were practically palpable, that the dragon knew something was amiss, but Matheus tried to hide it anyway.
"I-I was just getting..."
"Why the hell were you in that room Matheus?!" The dragon snarled, the viciousness and fury that had formed in such quick succession making Matheus flinch.
Matheus knew that it was over in that moment. Lying to the dragon would just make things worse, and with how... unstable his master seemed to be now, he deemed that a dangerous decision.
"I got rid of it!" He said suddenly, keeping his eyes locked onto the dragons, not letting his eyes drop, forcing all the visible fear out of his face even though he was shaking so hard that he felt he would fall over. "You know the drug had become far too powerful, you can't keep going on like this!"
The dragons anger seemed to be raised even higher, to something Matheus had never been forced to face, his lips pulling back into a snarl, a low growl emitted from his snout and eyes like beams of light, he almost seemed to be quaking in rage.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!?!" He roared, the loud sound of his voice echoing off the walls of the cave. "We had a chance, a real fucking chance to beat those fucking Canines and you ruined everything!!!"
Matheus was frozen, not sure what to even say for his master had never spoken to him like this, with so much savages before.
The dragon began to stalk towards Matheus, the small Alligator simultaneously beginning to walk backwards, his legs trembling.
The dragon was going to hurt him right now, he realized. It seemed unlikely under normal circumstances, but the way he was behaving now was far from normal, like nothing he had ever seen before until the kryptynion had come into play.
"P-please don't hurt me, m-m-master." Matheus begged, voice only momentarily surpassing a whisper.
He knew it was useless as the dragon stalked even closer, on all fours as if he were a fucking animal, wings spread menacingly and a consistent growl that practically made the walls of the cave vibrate.
Matheus twisted himself around, self-preservation taking full force through himself, adrenaline being pumped through his body as he took off the opposite direction through the cave, his breath ragged as he sprinted through it.
He knew he was on the smaller side, but he used it to his advantage. He was small, which meant he had less weight to carry as he sprinted through the narrow passage of the humid cave, the dragon not able to spread his wings in such a narrow space, body too bulky to let him run quick enough to catch Matheus... at least for now.
He twisted his body as he made a sharp turn to the left, entering the dragons room as he turned around, slamming the door shut, clicking the lock swiftly on the door, one that he knew was too weak.
He could hear the dragons pounding footsteps follow rather quickly, the dragon roaring and cursing as he rammed his body into the door, screaming insults at Matheus as he did, the door shuddering as he pounded his fists against it.
Matheus backed away, eyes widened, fear pulsing through his body as he turned around, shocked at the condition of the dragons room.
It was so disheveled that there was nothing that could be done to put it in any worse conditions. The blanket was on the floor, revealing his magic that had clearly been shredded through from the dragons claws. The furniture laid everywhere throughout the room, the dragons nightstand thrown to the ground, the small lamp shattered.
And what Matheus found worse of all of it was the bloodstains that covered the room, and what didn't seem to be a small amount of it either, the substance slathered along everything.
What the fuck has he done to this place?! Matheus thought frantically, jerked from his surveying as he heard a section of the wooden door be broken right off, leaving a gaping hole in the door, the dragons green eye staring through the door.
"You can't hide in there forever you little cocksucker!!!" He roared slamming his snout through the hole, the wood cracking and slashing through the dragons already deteriorated skin, streams of blood flowing down the door.
Matheus frantically grabbed the already broken lamp, the broken glass making the lamp an ample weapon.
He felt a lump form in his throat as he walked towards the door, the Alligator hating that he was about to do this to the dragon, the one who had been his only friend through all his life. And he knew that the dragon would never have been acting this way in the first place if it weren't for him giving him the kryptynion, what had given the dragon the awful side effects and turned him into this... monster.
The dragon had now finally been able to shove his entire face into the part of the door that had been shredded, his face covered in red, covering his black scales as he writhed wildly, saliva dripping from his maw as was breaking through the door.
Tears pooled in Matheus's eyes as he raised the broken handle of the lamp up into the air, holding back his sobs as he looked at the monster his friend had become, the only person that cared enough to let him into this cave.
Matheus pulled the shade of the lamp off, revealing the shattered lamp that was now as sharp as a sword, the dysfunctional lightbulb gleaming as Matheus stabbed it right through the dragons eye.
The bright green eye seemed to pop like a water balloon, a disgusting green substance oozing down the dragons face, a scream tearing through his masters throat as blood soon followed, splurging out of his eyes socket, splattering onto Matheus himself, mixing with the green slop.
Matheus couldn't hold back the dragon anymore as he broke through the door entirely, his appearance as gory and sickly as one of the dead Anthros he controlled.
"You deceiving little bitch!" The dragon roared. "You think you have the right to destroy what I've worked so fucking hard to achieve, just because you don't like it?!"
The blood and green slime still dripped from his face, through the dragon either didn't notice, or didn't care as the gore pooled through his face, eye smashed in, only leaving an empty socket.
"M-master, please don't-"
The dragon didn't seem to register Matheus's words as he gravbed Matheus's neck with a startling force, the words the Alligator was meaning to say chocked right out, his breathing completely cut off as all he could do was stare into the dragons eyes.
He felt the first sob tearing through through him, not even from the fact that he could almost feel death approaching him. The dragon had been the one person that had helped him through life, the one that halped him make it to adulthood when his parents weren't there, when no one would be there. And now not even a sliver of that kind person remained, only a beast who had been corrupted by kryptynion.
"I'm so sorry." Matheus said, tears streaming from his eyes as he reached out his weak hand to graze the dragons cheek gently, preparing himself for the worst.
It all seemed to play out slowly for him as the dragons only eye that was left remaining widened in hysteria as he swiped his claw so quickly that Matheus wasn't able to track it with his eyes, the only indication it had moved being the sharp pain flaring in his cheek, blood splurging from the three slashes where the claws had torn through his cheeks, the Alligator screaming in pain as he felt blood trail down his scaly body, tears dripping down and intertwining with the blood.
The dragon grabbed Matheus by the neck again, intent clear to hurt him once again.
The dragon wasted no time before ramming Matheus into the the rock-hard and jagged walls of the cave, Matheus's back bursting as the sharp rock shredded through his skin, his vision blurred, only seeing the vague silhouette of the dragons body as he smashed Matheus against the wall.
Matheus began to see black in his vision, the dragon upset that this was how he felt he would leave this world, killed by the one he trusted most, someone he would have trusted with his life if it came to it when he thought about it.
But after each time he was rammed into the wall, blood staining the grey rock, he felt more and most furious with himself.
If only I had just kept it away from him.
Just as he thought his back had been torn enough, that he was just about to die, the dragons body seized, his muscles stiffening, the slamming of Matheus's back to the rock wall stopping as the dragons body became frozen.
It's the kryptynion again! Matheus quickly realized, the kryptynion that had settled yet again, enough to take the dragon out once again.
The dragons claws slipped from Matheus's neck which was slick with blood, the muscular dragon falling backward, landing with an awful thump onto the ground, eye shutting.
Matheus dropped to the floor, gasping for breath, his entire body feeling like it had been completely destroyed.
Bones had certainly been broken, something that Matheus was going to have to deal with later, his mind slipping in and out of conscious, the dragon keeping himself alive out of sheer will.
He slumped to the ground, using his elbows to prop himself up, looking at the dragon, who looked even more battered, than him.
The Alligators heart broke, despite all that had been done to him, to see the dragon like this, so taken over with the drug that it had ruined him like this.
He crawled over to the dragon, forcing himself awake even though the void loomed to closely in succession, the Alligators body finally giving out as he slumped against the dragons own body.
Even though he knew he was almost dead, that it was so hard to fathom him surviving the encounter, he knew he could fix this. If he was able to somehow live through this, to evade death that seemed ready to take him, then he promised himself he would fix it all.
He imagined the life he and the Dragon could have lived together if only the drug hadn't come in the way of it, delusional thoughts of them spending their lives together happily, instead of in fear like they always had.
Matheus would do anything to make this happen, if only he was given more time.
But the pain lashed through him, prompting him to lay his head down on the dragons chest, the Alligator almost crying in joy as he heard the soft, yet evident heartbeat in the dragons chest, the last thing the Alligator felt before he lost conscious, left with only the life he wished so badly to live looming in his mind before he drifted off.
A/N: Hey everyone! I just have a quick announcement about the course of this story. So I am going on a vacation tomorrow and wont have much of an opportunity to post much for you all. I'll probably be back to consistent uploading on Saturday, see you all then! :3