Chapter Text
The sun shone down upon Volo's back, warming him as he put the finishing touches on his binding circle. He stood up and surveyed his work, wind blowing his long blond hair into his face. The large flat rock he was standing on was marred by blood red paint forming a huge circle with intricate designs painted inside of it. It didn’t have to be blood red paint, but he felt it was fitting for what he was about to do.
He looked down at the valley below him, full of ruined and overgrown buildings. If he let himself, he could still hear the screams and smell the smoke from the day that he lost everything, but he shook himself out of his reverie and focused on the task at hand.
He was going to catch himself a dragon.
It should be easy, he'd studied his clan's binding methods for years, practiced on smaller monsters, there was no way his plan was going to go wrong. All he had to do was activate his spell, let the inner summoning circle call a dragon close, and then the outer binding circle would catch it and enslave it to his will once the beast landed.
Volo walked around the circle for the hundredth time, double and triple checking that his markings were correct. He knew that if this failed he was dead, no dragon would let one of the Sinnoh clan live once they found them. But… if it worked he'd be set in his plans. He'd have a powerful beast at his beck and call, a ride faster than any horse, and a weapon stronger than any sword.
He wished he didn't need to resort to this, but at the same time subjugating a dragon after what they did to his clan felt like sweet revenge. Forcing the beast to help him gather fragments of the universe so he could summon god, bring his clan back, and rewrite the world to one without dragons felt poetic to him.
Not only that though, finding the fragments, or plates as they were called, would be impossible without help. He knew where most of them were, but they were extremely difficult to get to, nearly impossible for a human in some cases. With a dragon though, well… they'd still be difficult to get, but much more possible.
Once he had them all, he only needed to head to the highest point in the region, Spear Pillar. Once there he would use them to summon Arceus, the god of their world, and using his dragon he'd force Arceus to its knees and use its power to rewrite the world into a better one.
Volo gripped his necklace under his shirt and said a small prayer that this would work. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before kneeling down and touching the circle. He uttered a few words in draconic and crimson light spread from his fingertips along the paint on the ground until the whole area was painted with a ghostly glow. Volo stood back and looked to the skies, waiting.
It took less than ten minutes for a shape to appear on the horizon, coming in fast. His heart jumped and then sank as he made out not one, but two dragons racing each other to his circle. That was alright, he'd planned on the rare chance of this happening. He'd simply order the one he bound to kill the other. If they killed each other? Then he'd try again. If the free one killed his dragon… he hoped it didn't come down to that.
The two dragons came flying in fast, shoving each other out of the way in hopes of landing first. Volo had to smile, his summoning circle would be irresistible to them. They looked identical, both black and white and the same size and shape. One reached the circle first, but as it tried to land the other one tackled it out of the way. Claws met rock and the circle's glow turned blinding as lightning sparked from it across the dragon's form. A roar filled the air and as it faded away, so too did the light.
The dragons stared at each other for a moment before they turned to him. Flashes of other dragons filled his mind but he shoved all those thoughts down as he pointed to the free one and said, "Kill it."
Nothing happened. Confusion and anger filled him but it was quickly replaced by fear as the free dragon roared and launched itself at him. Phantom screams filled his ears and he had only a moment to turn away before claws raked along his shoulder. He was thrown to the ground with a gasp of pain, shoulder burning as warm blood flowed freely. A pained roar filled the air and the bound dragon tackled the free one, giving Volo the opportunity to escape.
He ignored the sting in his shoulder and surged to his feet. Making sure to grab his backpack on the way, he took off down the hill through the trees where they'd have a harder time getting to him. He also had an ace in his sleeve, the ability to turn undetectable due to one of the plates he had already collected. Calling on its power residing within him, he quickly faded from view.
He didn't run far, just far enough that they couldn't see him as he disappeared. No need to run when they wouldn't find him anyway. Volo pressed his back against a wide tree and struggled to calm his breathing, even though they wouldn't be able to hear him thanks to his power. Why hadn't it worked? Fear thrummed just under his skin, along with an anger that felt a little out of place. When he planned this out, he had half expected to be attacked, and he had thought he'd be able to handle it, but the panic gripping at his heart told him he couldn't.
He could hear the dragons roaring and he held his breath as they ran past his hiding spot. The one he'd bound froze a few yards down the path, causing the other to run into it. As the free one picked itself up off the ground, the bound one turned and looked directly at Volo. The anger came full force as well as a surge of fear as the dragon lunged, slamming its claws into the tree on either side of his head.
It took all he had not to scream, but the shrill fear and panic made him lose his concentration and the concealing spell faded in an instant.
"What did you do?!" The dragon roared in his face, teeth inches away from him. Flashbacks of teeth exactly like those sinking into flesh, fire coming from between them causing the acrid smell of burning skin to permeate the air, screams and pain flooded his mind. He took a shuddering breath, trying to reel in his fear but with the beast right on him it was hard.
"Undo it now!" It roared, claws digging deep into the tree. Volo's legs felt weak and he vaguely wondered why he was still alive. It's not like these beasts had some sort of moral code, nonconsensual binding magic was taboo and punishable by death no questions asked, but here he was still alive. Not for long it seemed as the dragon bared its teeth, smoke curling from its nostrils and flames leaking from the corners of its mouth.
"Emmet no!" The other dragon called out. It reached up behind the bound dragon and yanked its head backward by the horns, causing some flames to spout out and char the leaves of the tree. "You're soul bound to him, you cannot hurt him!"
Soul bound. Volo knew what it meant but was unable to understand it at the moment. At least until he caught sight of the bound dragon's neck. There was a grey tattoo encircling it's neck like a choker, a combination of arrows and ginko leaves. It was a bond mark. He had accidentally bonded them.
Laughter bubbled out of him as his legs gave way with sheer relief, causing him to slide roughly down the tree. Soul bound. He was safe, they couldn't hurt him without hurting the dragon he'd bonded with. Anger that wasn't his own surged through him once again as the dragon above him roared in his face before taking off into the air, spewing flames the whole time.
Volo couldn’t stop laughing. Soul bound. It meant he'd somehow accidently linked them in a mockery of a mating pact. It was a spell that was meant for arranged marriages, engagements, and promises between lovers, not at all what he had been trying to do. It meant he'd be able to feel some of his 'mate's' emotions, know where they were at all times, and feel the same pain they felt. Tears fell from his eyes as he laughed and he didn't even bother wiping them away. His predicament wasn't funny, but his nerves were fried at the moment.
The free dragon shifted into human form and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him to his feet as easily as if he were a child. He was slammed into the tree and he came face to face with a very angry dragon. It's wings were flared out, making it seem a lot bigger than it was. "Release the bond." The dragon ordered.
"Ahaha, or what? You'll kill me?" Volo grinned, gripping the hand at his collar. "You can't, unless you want to drive your brother mad."
The dragon in front of him grit it's teeth and growled a bestial growl that had Volo's hair standing on end. "What do you want?" It eventually ground out.
"A ride and some help." Volo answered honestly. It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth.
The creature's eyes narrowed. "We both know that's a lie, or else you wouldn't have gone through the trouble of bonding."
The other dragon landed behind the one holding him to the tree, also shifting into human form. They were identical, short silver hair, unnatural silver eyes, curved horns, black and white wings, and tall, god were they tall. Volo himself wasn't a short man, but these two had a few inches on him. They were wearing matching striped coats in inverse colors.
The one he'd bound stalked up behind his brother and hissed. "Undo this." His expression was odd, a smile that didn't reach furious eyes.
"No," Volo said. Both of them growled.
The bound one grit out, "Undo it or I'll-"
"Or you'll what? Hurt me?" Volo interrupted him. Volo ground his hurt shoulder into the tree, ignoring the pain, and felt a small satisfaction as the bound dragon winced.. "Hurt me and you get hurt as well."
"What do you want?" The bound dragon asked, echoing his brother.
"Like I said, I just need some help."
"Bullshit." The bound dragon said immediately, a tongue of flame coming from his mouth.
"I'm not lying." Volo said, still grinning. He could tell it was making them madder, hell he could feel the anger radiating off of the bound dragon as well as if it were his own.
The free dragon turned to look at his brother who narrowed his eyes at Volo. Those eyes were intense and Volo felt they could see right through him. Finally, the dragon hissed in frustration. "That's not the whole truth."
"Of course not, but that's all I'm telling you," Volo said, winking at them. That was too much apparently, the bound dragon punched him and the only thing keeping him on his feet was the free dragon's grip on his collar.
His ears rang and his eyes watered as pain bloomed across his cheek. Dragons were physically stronger than humans and even with how hard he'd just been hit, he knew the dragon was holding back. The hand holding him up dropped him, causing him to slide down the tree again, rough bark pulling at his claw wounds.
Once the ringing in his ears stopped, he could hear them talking in draconic. He ignored them, unable to understand anyway, and gently touched his cheek. It was throbbing and he knew it was going to bruise something fierce. He worked his jaw little by little to ease some of the pain as the dragons kept talking. They were expressive, wings snapping open and closed and tails thrashing as they talked.
It didn't seem like they were going to stop so Volo stood up and inspected his shoulder. It stung badly, a fresh throb of pain every time he'd move it. He looked back at the two dragons who had finally stopped talking and were glaring at him.
"Who are you?" The free one in the black coat asked.
"Name's Volo," he said simply.
"You're one of the Sinnoh clan." White coat accused. Volo could still feel the dragon's anger burning hot, mixing with his own. The beast had spat out those words as if it were a curse.
"And if I am?" Volo raised his chin, daring them to kill him for it.
"They were wiped out years ago. How did you survive?" Black coat asked.
Volo thought of the burn scar around his eye hidden under his hair, of the smell of burning bodies and the screams of pain. He thought of long, lonely nights of barely making it in a world that wanted him dead. The pain was familiar and he shoved it down easily. "I'm stronger than your kind."
"You will find you are not." White coat growled. Volo only smiled.
"What is it you want help with?" Black coat asked. Finally, some progress.
"I need to travel over the region to collect things precious to me," Volo said. The vagueness of it had another surge of anger come from his dragon and Volo couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"And what are these precious things?" Black coat prompted, looking a little less pissed than his brother, but still murderous.
"They're called plates, they belong to the Sinnoh clan and I intend on getting them back."
"Why? Your clan is gone," White coat said. He stated it as a fact, but Volo still bristled.
"I'm still here and I plan on collecting my birthright." Come hell or high water he would have the plates, he would rewrite this world.
"Do it alone," White coat said.
Volo grinned. "I don't have to."
"We will not be helping you, no matter what you say." Black coat said, as if that was final.
"Fine," Volo said smugly. "But I'm not releasing this bond until you do."
White coat hissed and shifted back into his dragon form, slamming his claws onto the tree beside Volo's head again. The fear was back, but greatly reduced thanks to the knowledge he was safe.
"You will release it." The dragon hissed. The heat from its breath was terrifying, but Volo grinned wider.
"So you can kill me? I'm not that stupid. No, you and me are going to be together for a very long time if you don't help me." Volo didn’t want to be with this beast any longer than he needed to be, especially not as it's 'mate', but he'd suffered for his goals too much to pass up this opportunity.
The dragon stared at him for a moment before slamming its claws against the tree and storming off. Volo got a good look at his dragon form as he cursed to himself in draconic. He was long, thin, and sleek. Not the biggest dragon Volo had ever seen, his shoulders coming up to Volo's mid chest, but built powerfully with lean muscle rippling underneath black and white scales. The body was mostly white with a thick black stripe going down his back, his legs having bands of black as well. His large wings were white on the bottom and black on top, a perfect camouflage for air hunting. Volo hated dragons, but he could admit when one was pretty.
The black coated one took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We will not be helping you. You will have to travel with us back home where you will stay until you drop this bond."
"I'm not dropping the bond," Volo said.
"You will." Black coat threatened. He shifted into his dragon form and called out to his brother. "Emmet, we'll bring him to Nimbasa with us."
"Let us leave him here." Emmet said, glaring at Volo.
"We cannot, if he dies it will not be pretty for you." Black coat said. Now that they were both dragons, it was impossible to tell them apart.
Emmet roared and breathed a torrent of flame onto the ground beneath him. The flames made Volo tense but they didn't turn to aim at him. When he was done with his tantrum, he stalked over and got in Volo's face again. "Fine! I will make your life a living hell. You will release this bond."
"Good luck." Volo said, grabbing his backpack. He threw it on and smiled as the dragon winced as pain from the claw wounds spiked through him.
The dragon grumbled to itself and knelt down, offering its back to Volo. "Get on."
Volo climbed on, thrilled to feel such a powerful beast below him. A ripple of disgust flowed through him and it took him a moment to identify that it was coming from his dragon. Too bad, Volo was getting what he wanted one way or another, he had every right to be thrilled.
The dragon crouched and tensed and that was the only warning Volo got before they were rocketed into the air. He held on for dear life as the ground fell out from beneath them, almost losing his seat already. He knew the ride to Nimbasa was going to be a rough one, but he relished the feeling of being in the air, of having the whole world spread out below him like this.
His journey had finally begun. It wouldn't be easy to convince his new pet to help him, but if there was anything Volo was confident about, it was his ability to be persuasive.
Emmet was seething, more mad than he could ever remember feeling before. The fire inside of him burned white hot with his rage, tempered only by the feeling of awe and joy he was getting from his new bond mate. It disgusted him that this human had forced such a personal thing onto him with no warning. He felt violated.
He was only thankful it happened to him and not Ingo. If it had been Ingo, Emmet would not have been able to restrain himself from killing the human.
As it was, he was barely restraining himself from tossing the bastard off his back and letting him fall, but he couldn't do that. Even in a fake mating bond such as this, feeling the bond mate die while linked to them would be devastating. It was said to feel like half your soul was ripped from you, and you did not recover from that.
Fuck him, bonding was supposed to be an extremely important life decision made by two partners. It was way more than the human equivalent of marriage, there was ancient magic involved to tie the two souls together. At the very least this bond was temporary. The human had to only say an incantation and the bond would dissolve, and then Emmet would kill him.
Emmet cursed the Sinnoh clan, the only humans to ever figure out the ancient magics and bend them to their will. They were greatly feared by many monsters and all dragons thanks to their binding powers. Emmet could remember celebrating as a child when the news came to them that the clan had been wiped out. It seemed that the dragons that razed the village had missed one, a problem Emmet would hopefully rectify soon.
They flew east over the low mountain range separating the valley from the rest of the world, heading to their home in Nimbasa City. Emmet did not want to bring this bastard home, didn't want to be around him, but he had little choice now.
The man was a strange one, being terrified of dragons and yet summoning one. And why a soul bond? Wouldn't a slave bond work better for what he wanted? He had to be a sicko, getting his kicks out of the mockery of a mating bond. Emmet shuddered, wondering what the man's plans really were. He hadn't been lying when he said he wanted help gathering his plates, but that was so obviously not the whole truth.
If he expected some sort of love slave he was shit out of luck. The bond would force them to feel protective of each other, be attracted to each other, but it could not fabricate love. Emmet still couldn't believe he had tackled his own brother to protect the slime ball, but in that moment the panic at losing his mate had overridden any clear thought.
Volo shivered against him, the high altitude and wind chilling him, and Emmet was pissed that he could feel the slight discomfort. He flew even higher out of spite, Ingo following below him. They usually flew side by side, but no doubt Ingo was waiting to catch Volo in the off chance Emmet did buck him off.
They made it to Nimbasa with little issue, though by time the city came into view Volo was constantly shivering. Emmet stalled himself in the air and then dive-bombed towards his home, causing the human to grip harder against his neck. Moments before hitting his roof, he snapped his wings open and landed heavily, causing the human to hit his face against Emmet's neck. It sent a surge of phantom pain from the bruise on Volo's cheek, and that made Emmet mad all over again. As soon as he was steady on his feet, he shook himself until the human fell off in a heap.
He stepped over the human to go to the hatch leading into the building. Ingo had landed a lot more gracefully and was waiting on the human to pick himself up. Emmet didn't care, he left them on the roof and slipped inside.
Their home was simple, a two story building with their nests on the top floor and living quarters on the bottom. He shifted into his human form, his enchanted clothes as always appearing out of some sort of magical ether. He didn't understand the magic, he didn't care, he was simply glad he didn't have to shift naked.
He tucked his wings in close as he headed downstairs, tail thrashing behind him. He needed something productive to do to get his mind off of things, so he headed to the kitchen and started making something to eat for Ingo and himself. Volo would not get any food. Volo could starve as far as he was concerned.
That was actually a good idea. They could starve Volo out until he released the bond. They had a basement that they could lock him in, keep him safe until he relented. Emmet liked that idea, make the man suffer a bit for what he'd done.
It was with a better mood that he lit the stove with a breath of flame, grabbing a skillet and some ingredients out of their pantry. He could hear Ingo and Volo come downstairs, and he bristled. He did not want the stranger in his home. Instinct told him to chase the interloper out, but at the same time he wanted to welcome him thanks to his new bond. He growled to himself, chopping up the ingredients a little more forcefully than he needed to.
Ingo told Volo to stay put before he came into the kitchen to join Emmet. "We need to figure out what to do now," Ingo said, not commenting on Emmet's sudden meal preparation.
"We will starve him," Emmet said, scrapping the vegetables into the skillet.
Ingo thought about it for a moment and nodded. "That would most likely work. He'll succumb to thirst first and it should not cause you too much pain."
Emmet nodded. "Lock him in the basement."
Ingo went off to do as asked as Emmet continued to cook his veggie stir fry. Meat would have been much better to calm his nerves with, but they didn't have any at the moment. He could think of one thing he'd like to sink his teeth into right now, and he was being led to the basement.
Several minutes later Ingo reappeared. "He is a strange one, he did not even try to fight me."
"He's sick." Emmet growled. "A slave bond would have worked better. He does not want a slave. He wants a concubine." His grip on the skillet handle tightened, causing the wood to creak. But that didn't sound quite right. The man was terrified of them as dragons, why would he willingly bind himself as an equal?
Ingo placed his hand over Emmet's. "He will release this bond one way or another, we must simply outlast him."
Emmet hummed in agreement, taking the vegetables off the heat. He could feel Volo below him, a constant awareness of where he was at all times. There was no fear in the man that Emmet could feel, more of a gentle amusement that made Emmet more mad, and the madder he felt the more amusement he could feel.
His mood for the rest of the day was shitty and even Ingo wasn't exempt from it. He eventually retired to his room and curled up on his nest as a dragon, tucking his head under his wing. Maybe this was a bad dream and he'd wake in the morning a free dragon again.
He did not wake a free dragon, and the reminder of his new bond sent him into a foul mood immediately. He could feel Volo in the basement, probably still asleep as there was no amusement. The fact that he could tell irked him.
He stayed in his nest for most of the morning, tossing and turning in agitation. He could detect the moment Volo woke due to the faint pang of hunger and the gentle amusement returning. The bastard was enjoying this.
Ingo poked his head into the room midmorning. "Do you want breakfast?"
"Not really." He had little appetite but he forced himself to get out of bed and follow Ingo downstairs.
"I was thinking we could meet Elesa and Skyla today, get their opinion on our problem," Ingo said as he handed Emmet a cup of coffee. Emmet downed it in one long swallow, ignoring the heat.
"I am unsure if I want them to know." Emmet admitted. It was embarrassing in a way, being bound to a complete stranger. He did not want his friends to meet such a sick person.
Ingo nodded. "I will refrain from telling them then. We should still go out, we need more food."
"Anything to get me away from him."
It didn't help much though, he was still acutely aware of Volo's location as they went out to shop. Still aware of a phantom hunger gnawing at him. Still aware of small pulses of emotions that weren't his own. He hated it, he wanted his emotions back to being his own and not mixed with some stranger's.
Instead of returning home with Ingo, Emmet stayed out on the town doing odd jobs to keep his mind occupied. They were well known around the city, always transporting people and cargo to and fro for a little coin. He worked himself to near exhaustion, though he made sure to get a big lunch just to spite Volo. The feeling of hunger and thirst was a constant nagging at the back of his mind, but he ignored it.
It got harder to ignore the next day, but he still did. Once again he launched himself into odd jobs, but as the day wore on he got more and more distracted, started making stupid mistakes. He went home in a foul mood after dropping some cargo into a canal, and had to stop himself from going into the basement to choke Volo.
Ingo gave him a wide berth and Emmet hated it. He wasn't used to snapping at his brother, they got along so well that now it felt wrong to be annoyed at him. It was all Volo's fault, but Emmet couldn’t even get some sick satisfaction from the man's suffering. The longer it went on, the more his instincts called out for him to fix it.
It came to a head the second night. Volo hadn't had anything to drink for two days and the constant thirst woke Emmet up from a fitful sleep. His instincts were screaming that his mate was going to die. Emmet growled as he crawled out of bed and stalked downstairs and then into the basement. He kept his dragon form for maximum intimidation and he was rewarded by a tinge of fear as he walked into the basement growling. It was dark, the only light coming through a small window tucked up close to the ceiling.
"Release the bond." Emmet ordered, voice a little distorted from the growl.
"No." Volo croaked from where he was sitting. He looked a little worse for wear with a huge bruise on his cheek and dark bags under his eyes from the sleepless nights. Or at least the eye he could see, his left eye was covered by his hair.
Emmet stalked right up to him, towering over him and relishing in the fear he could feel. "Do it now."
"I said no. We both know you're not going to let me die, so why don't you go get me some water?" Volo said sweetly.
Emmet stared at him for a long moment, trying to burn him with his eyes, but the bastard just smiled, knowing he had won. Emme spun around, slapping Volo in the face with his tail as he did so, and left the basement. He shifted into human form and got a pitcher of water and brought it back downstairs. He didn't care if some of it sloshed out as he slammed it down in front of Volo, let the bastard lick it off the floor.
As he turned to leave again, Volo called out in singsong voice. "Thank you."
It took all Emmet had not to attack him, but he couldn't stop himself from slamming the door to the basement once he left. It pissed him off that it felt good to have Volo's suffering ease and he paced the floor of the living room to get some energy out of his system.
He could feel his wings unfolding and folding in agitation and his tail thrashing, but he was powerless to stop them. Ingo came down the stairs a few minutes later in his human form. Emmet must have woken him up with the door slam.
"Everything okay?" He asked, watching Emmet pace.
"No. It is not!" Emmet snapped. He felt bad for lashing out at Ingo again, and that in turn made him madder which in turn made Volo amused which made Emmet even madder!
"Did you give him food?" Ingo asked, ignoring Emmet's outburst. Bless his brother for being the understanding one.
"No. Only water. He will starve." Emmet vowed. He would let the bastard live on water until he gave up and released the bond.
Ingo walked over and soothed Emmet's wings down over his back. "We will draw this out as long as it takes. He will regret this."
"It'll be the last thing he ever does."