This is a work of fiction and is not to be sold in any way shape or form. It is simply for my amusement and the challenge of writing these characters in a strange and dangerous world. All the characters are owned by Disney and I do not claim ownership of any of them. Please let me know what you think in the comments below! Without further ado, welcome to The Kingdom.)

If you have not read the previous chapters, HEAD HERE!

Chapter Seventeen

Mowgli

Mowgli and Elliot raced through the sky over the city below as the dark cloud enveloped the harbor. They were too late. Elliot simply wasn’t fast enough to outfly the darkness.

“What do we do, Elliot?” Asked Mowgli, not sure what the next move was. Did they fly down and try to help people or should they search for a way to take out the cloud itself. There was no telling what was hidden inside it, but Mowgli was sure that the fat dog, Pete, was somewhere behind all of this. They hovered in a circle for a moment, trying to assess the situation.

From out of the darkness, a hideous beast emerged. It was black with a long neck and a purple underbelly. Two huge horns curled out from its head and two massive wings flapped through the air along its back. Green fire spilled from its mouth as it took off in the direction of the palace.

“There!” Yelled Mowgli. “We have to stop it!” With a strong flap, Elliot dove towards the other dragon. Yet, the black dragon was fast and for a moment, Mowgli didn’t think they’d make it. The black dragon reeled back, ready to attack, firing boiling in its throat. Then, just as it was about to burn the castle, Elliot slammed into the beast, knocking it off course. The two dragons spun through the air as Mowgli held on for dear life.

The black dragon roared and shot a burst of green flame into Elliot’s chest. The force of the blow split the two dragons. Elliot reeled through the air, spinning until his wings could balance out his flight.

“You okay boy?” Asked Mowgli. Elliot shook himself off and then looked up at the black dragon, who was ascending straight up towards the clouds above. Elliot shot upwards, chasing the black dragon. He pulled back his head and shot a red fireball at the beast ahead of them. It caught the dragon on the tail, causing it to spin, but then continue upwards.

They flew into the clouds, quickly gaining on the black dragon. They flew closer and closer until they were right next to the beast. Mowgli reached for the hammer on his back and with a mighty swing, leapt from atop Elliot and came down hard with the hammer into the dragon’s back. The black dragon screamed with agony as it began to fall from the sky. Mowgli grabbed onto the dragon’s black spines as they fell through the clouds, the city streets of the Kingdom coming ever closer.

“Elliot!” He yelled, as he jumped from the back of the dragon. For a moment, he floated through the sky and it was almost peaceful. Up here, there was not war or pain or death. Up here, there was only the sky and he was reminded of Peter Pan, who could fly. What a power that would be to have.

The ground was getting closer now. He could even seen the people below running in terror as the black cloud rolled over the harbor and streets beyond. Mowgli closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

With a heavy thud, he landed on Elliot’s back. Below, there was a thunderous crash as the black dragon slammed into the street, collapsing several buildings as it did so. Elliot gave a strong flap of his wings and they headed back towards the clouds above. The black dragon was not so easily put down though. It quickly stood and launched into the sky, chasing after them.

“We have to get it away from the city!” Yelled Elliot. “Just fighting it here is hurting people!” Elliot gave a grunt of approval and turned through the air so that they were facing a vast forest which sat at the top of a long cliff overlooking the city below.

WHOOSH! A blast of green fire burst through the sky next to them, narrowly missing Mowgli and Elliot. Elliot maneuvered through the air, trying to avoid the subsequent blasts that followed. They were almost to the forest now. The forest was safe. Mowgli knew the forest. He could survive in the forest. There was another blast, but this one was not so easily avoided. Elliot’s left wing burst into flames and the dragon gave a groan of agony as it begin to spiral towards the tall trees along the cliff.

The wind blew hard at Mowgli as he gripped Elliot’s fur with all his might. Another fireball crashed into Elliot, this one having enough force to throw Mowgli from the dragon’s back. Mowgli spun once more through the air, for just a moment this time, until he slammed into the top of a tree and then ricocheted along the branches until he crashed into the soft dirt of the forest floor.

For a moment, time seemed to slow. He couldn’t breathe. His vision was blurry. Everything spun around him. Up was down and down was up. There was no telling where he was or how far he’d been flung into the jungle. He took several deep gasping breaths, begging for air to fill his lungs once more. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. He had no idea how long he lay there, until at long last he felt his breathing return to normal and the world around him stopped spinning.

He sat up, coughing, and pushed the hair from his eyes.

“My my,” said a cold voice above him. He looked up to see a woman with a stark white face staring down at him. She had Crimson lips and yellow eyes with a hat that appeared as if two curved horns were protruding from her head. In her hand she held a long staff and her body was covered in deep black and purple robes. She gave him a sinister grin. “And here Pete had us believing that he’d killed you on the ocean. Oh dear me. The little lies we tell. But our master will be so much happier to have your body as proof.”

“What do you want with me?” questioned Mowgli, standing up to face the woman, despite the fact that he was far shorter than she.

“Fate is a curious thing,” she said, taking a step to the side. “Some are fated to be nobodies, destined to live out there lives with little to no affect on the world around them. Others…” She paused and glanced at him. “Well, others have fates which could upset the balance of everything. You, my dear Mowgli, are fated to die. The trouble with your death is that, if played out correctly, it could mean the very end of our little plan.” She took a step towards him. “And we can’t have that, now can we?” She made a grab for him with an equally white hand. Her finger nails were like claws, and though Mowgli jumped back just in time, he still managed to get a large gash in his arm where she scratched him.

“Come here!” She yelled. “Accept your fate!”

“No!” Yelled Mowgli, defiantly. He pulled the hammer from his back and swung it at her. She was fast though and swung her staff out to meet the hammer. The clash of the two weapons was so thunderous that it made the very trees around them quake with fear.

“You are not meant to live. Either you die now, or you will be hunted for the rest of your life.” Said the woman. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just end it now?” She pushed on her staff and sent him falling backwards, the hammer landing beside him in the dirt. He looked up at her as she cackled maddeningly, raising her staff over him, ready to land the killing blow. “Today will be remembered as the day that Maleficent, the great and powerful, killed Mowgli.” Her gaze locked with his. “The boy who would be King.”

There was a loud yowl from the jungle and suddenly a large black cat pounced at the witch, digging its claws into her.

“Gahhhh!” She screamed. Mowgli took his chance. He grabbed the hammer and swung it at her, launching her backwards. She rolled along the ground then stood quickly, snarling at him. “What is this new evil?!”

Mowgli stood and took a deep breath. All around him, yellow eyes poked out of the foliage. As he stepped forward, the eyes did so too, revealing large black panthers and even larger grey wolves, a whole pack of them. The wolves and panthers growled at the witch and surrounded her from all sides.

“This is the law of the jungle,” said Mowgli. “As old and as true as the sky. And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.”

“No,” she pleaded. “This isn’t right. This isn’t how it ends!”

“As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back.”

“I am the most powerful witch who has ever lived!”

“For the strength of the pack is the wolf,” continued Mowgli. The group of panthers was all around her now.

“And the strength of the wolf is the pack.” The panthers and wolves sprang all at once, tearing at the witch as they went. Mowgli looked on, despite the horror of the scene. It would have been considered rude to turn away. Her attackers were his saviors. As he shuddered at the sight, one thing she had said lingered in his mind.

“Mowgli, the boy who would be King.”

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