Highschool of the Dead: Dragonborn
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Chapter One: A Costly Mistake
The Summit of Apocrypha.
At the Summit of Hermaeus Mora's realm of Oblivion, Apocrypha, two individuals faced each other. One clad in royal purple robes wearing a mask seemingly made of golden metal shaped in the sinuous limbs & appendages of a cephalopod. The other was clad in black armour composed of dark metal chainmail and plate segments with the dark leather and cloth in some places. The man also wore a dark full helmet that had the symbol of a white dragon embossed on the forehead and beneath the helm glinted a pair of purple eyes the colour of amethyst gemstones.
Both men stared at each other for a moment before the robed and masked man spoke in a deep resonating voice. "Here we are, Dovahkiin. At the Summit of Apocrypha, to decide the fate of Nirn," he said addressing his opponent. His opponent didn't say anything, he merely drew from his back a simple but no less magnificent looking sword with the blade the colour of dark smoke and the hilt made of darker metal. A large flawless ruby was embedded in the centre of the guard. The pommel in the shape of a dragon baring its teeth with rubies for eyes.
The robed and masked man tilted his head slightly before commenting, "And here I thought we were going to have a civilised discussion before this," he commented carelessly as though he knew this would be his opponent's reaction. "Very well. If you're so eager to die, then let us begin!" he said as he pulled from his hip, a large bladed and single edged sword and materialising in his other hand a green staff seemingly made of tentacles as well.
'Dovahkiin' held his sword in both hands ready to fight. The robed/masked man then bellowed out three loud words.
MUL QAH DIIV!
In a flash of light, the robed/masked man was encased in golden glowing translucent armour adorned with spikes and edges, giving him a draconic look almost. Dovahkiin took in a breath before shouting the same words as his opponent.
MUL QAH DIIV!
Then Dovahkiin too was encased in glowing golden translucent armour, same as his enemy. His enemy gave a short laugh before saying, "So, you too have learned all the Words to possess this power? This will be interesting!" he said before charging towards Dovahkiin who charged at him too.
Each of them swung their swords at the other and there was an almighty boom as the blades of their swords collided with one another. Sparks flew as blades clashed and grinded against each other as the two men fought each other. Dovahkiin shouted another three words.
SU GRAH DUN!
A small tempest of wind encircled Dovahkiin's sword and he began striking harder and faster at his opponent, even inflicting a few wounds on the man. The robed/masked man did not cry out in pain instead he only shouted once more.
WULD NAH KEST!
The robed/masked man zoomed over to another part of the Summit and his weapons disappeared in a flash and his hands were filled with lightning. Dovahkiin turned to face his enemy and sprinted at his enemy with a speed that would make many athletes jealous, especially given he was wearing such heavy looking armour.
The robed/masked man simply cast streams of lightning from his hands at Dovahkiin. The streams of arcane energy collided with Dovahkiin, but he simply kept charging forward at his opponent. Then the robed/masked man shouted three words just as Dovahkiin shouted the same three words as well.
STRUN BAH QO!
Then there was a roar of howling winds and torrential rain and thunder and lightning filled the skies as those words were bellowed out by the two combatants. Tornadoes filled the skies and began ripping up everything in the realm, the murky waters of Apocrypha churned and frothed into a seething mess.
Still, both combatants fought on, uncaring of the devastation caused by their actions. Then in the heavens of Apocrypha, a roiling mass of tentacles and eyes looked down at the summit and a deep voice filled with anger spoke.
"YOU FOOLS! I WILL NOT SUFFER THE DEVASTATION OF MY REALM! I BANISH YOU BOTH!" roared the voice and streaking down from the heavens, were sinuous tentacles and appendages that wrapped around the fighters and dragged them up into the heavens.
…
The streets of Tokonosu City.
Saeko breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Saya's mother and her helpers help Takashi and the rest of the group over the wire. She hadn't wanted to split herself from the group, but Rei had taken a nasty fall from the Humvee when it crashed against the wire fence and Saeko knew Takashi would do everything he can to protect her. Saeko smiled slightly at her predicament; the feelings that Takashi and Rei shared ran deep between the, despite the heavy scar tissue they had to carve through, Saeko knew they'd work it out between them. And it would make it easier if she weren't there to cause friction between the two.
Turning away from the scene, Saeko began walking down the street before her at a hurried pace. This area was unfamiliar to her, but it looked much the same as everywhere else due to the carnage wrought by 'Them'. Buildings were torn apart or being gutted by raging fires. And there was so much blood. The life fluids of the living coated the streets and walls like a thick repulsive oily paint. Streets were littered with debris, trash and vehicles; most vehicles were broken beyond repair, and even those still worked were nothing more than magnets for Them to draw to with the engine noise.
Saeko was passing by a convenience store and she felt her stomach rumble in annoyance at the lengthy period without food. The door was shattered and barely hanging by a hinge as Saeko stepped inside the deserted store and began to search for food. Softly treading down the aisles, Saeko had salvaged a knapsack to hold whatever she could scavenge from this place. How long would it be until she found something edible again? Much of Tokonosu had lost power due building simply being destroyed by looters and fires. It wouldn't be long before the perishable foods spoiled, and the non-perishables would be snatched up by desperate survivors in the onset of panic at the shortage of food supplies.
Annoyed at the lack of options, Saeko found a few honeybuns, a packet of crisps and two bottles of Coca-Cola. Not exactly a nutritious meal, but there weren't any other options with the store mostly empty and everything else had spoiled or was taken by other survivors. Saeko exited the store, but not before emptying the cash register which had mercifully been untouched. Saeko told herself 'It isn't like anyone will need it here, and who knows if I need this elsewhere?'
A distant rumble of thunder overhead made itself known. Taking a quick glance outside, Saeko saw the darkening clouds that threatened a deluge of precipitation. The tell-tale flashes of lightning also indicated the level of the storm. As Saeko weighed her options, the low growling moans of Them alerted her. Turning to see where the sounds of Them had come from, Saeko found two, a man and a woman who had perhaps once been a couple before becoming Them. Her bokken in her hand, Saeko felt the pure rush of excitement flood her veins as she quickly dashed across the floor and with two swift crushing blows, she felled Them easily. Once They had been dealt with, Saeko felt a little annoyed; it had been over too quick. Sighing to herself, Saeko left the store and prepared to find somewhere to bunker down for the night until morning.
Taking out one of the honeybuns and turning it over in her hand, Saeko gave a wry smile before digging into the sweet sticky pastry. Demolishing it in seconds, Saeko licked her fingers clean and gave a sigh of relief; it wasn't exactly a meal she had in mind, but it did help stave off the gnawing hunger she'd had since this morning. Already a light drizzling rain had started to hit the streets of Tokonosu City and the ever-growing rumble of thunder growled in the skies. Saeko felt herself chill slightly and cursing the misfortune of not having an umbrella or even rain-proof coat, she hurried down the streets, hopeful she could find some suitable shelter.
Then the loud scream of a child alerted Saeko. "HELP!" Her sense of right and wrong kicking in, Saeko followed the tiny cries for help and found a little girl hiding a trash can, quivering with fear.
"Hey there," Saeko said to the little girl softly. "Are you okay?" she asked as she knelt down in front of the child. "What's your name? Where are you parents?" she also asked.
The girl sniffled unhappily and tried to say, "They're…. They're," she tried to say and Saeko shushed her gently.
"It's okay, you don't have to say anything," Saeko said to the girl softly. "Do you have any family nearby?" she asked.
"Uh-huh."
"Well, alright, let's go find them," Saeko said with a smile and the girl quickly stood up and jogged away with Saeko quickly following her. The little girl weaved her way through the debris with Saeko struggling to keep up. Suddenly the girl turned down an alley and Saeko sprinted after her wanting to yell out a warning, but hesitated for fear of attracting Them.
"Well, well? Nice work, kid, you brought us a good one this time," said a sinister voice and standing in a cul-de-sac were a group of men. They were well-armed enough and wearing rough clothing and had leering grins on their faces. Saeko tried to go back the way she came, but found her escape blocked by two other men who grinned at her evilly. Cursing her luck, Saeko weighed her options, trying to calculate the odds of getting of this mess alive.
"Ooh, you're a nice looking one, ain't ya?" sniggered one of the men, licking his lips lewdly making Saeko recoil in disgust. "Don't try anything funny now, girlie, we don't want no accidents," the man said as he stalked towards her, holding a switchblade in his right hand. "Just hand over whatever ya got and come with us nice and quiet and we won't hurt ya," he reasoned. The man soon reached out with his left hand to grasp Saeko's shirt and that was when Saeko made her move. Thrusting her knee into the man's groin making the man give a pain-filled wheeze and fall to his knees, Saeko slammed her bokken down onto the man's head, a loud crack filling the air and a little blood staining the 'blade' of her weapon.
The other men all laughed and one of them said, "Hah! She's a feisty one! We're gonna have some real fun with this one!" he crowed as he surged forward with a metal pipe in his hands. Saeko already spun on her heel and smashed her bokken into the two thugs blocking her path. The pair fell to the ground dazed and with nasty bruises on their heads as Saeko fled the cul-de-sac and sprinted down the street with the group of thugs tailing her, yelling and whooping with excitement.
Then a loud crash of thunder and the rain began falling harder, soaking Saeko and making her clothes stick to her skin. Her teeth chattering with the sudden cold, Saeko ignored it and focused on escaping her pursuers who didn't seem like they'd give up the chase right now.
Jumping the railing of some stairs, Saeko landed awkwardly, almost falling to the ground, but she turned her stumbling into a forward roll before getting back onto her feet and continued running. A loud bang and something whistling past her ear, alert Saeko that one of her pursuers was armed with a gun. Zigzagging in an effort to throw off the shooter's aim, Saeko felt her heart pounding and her legs burning with exertion as she ran through the rain filled streets. It was only adrenaline and desperation that was keeping Saeko going. Taking a hurried look over her shoulder, she saw her pursuers were still after her. But that moment it took to look over her shoulder would cost Saeko.
Slamming into a short rail fence, Saeko tipped over the railing and fell a good ten feet down onto the ground below. Landing on her back, Saeko gasped out in pain and for a moment, she thought she heard something snap. Struggling to lift herself, before falling back down, Saeko could hear the low growls of Them approaching and she could not lift herself up to defend herself.
As her vision blurred and darkness began to creep in on the edges of her vision, Saeko quietly accepted her fate before darkness claimed her.
…
Saeko's eyes suddenly snapped open and her breathing was frantic as she processed what had just happened; she had fallen and injured herself, enough so that she could not move properly and a group of Them approached. Looking at her surroundings, Saeko recognised that she was inside a shrine, one of the many shrines that littered the landscape of Tokonosu. A soft warm light filled the shrine and brought with it some warmth which was a pleasant change from the chilly rain.
With a grunt of exertion, Saeko slowly lifted herself to sitting position and she suddenly realised that she was currently shirtless, with only her bra covering her modesty. Wondering where her shirt was and who it was that had removed said shirt, Saeko looked around. Then the quiet sound of metal clinking and clanking alerted her and Saeko turned her head to see a strange sight.
Standing before her was a knight of some sort; his armour was seemingly made of onyx black chainmail and plate with dark leather in some places. The helmet was of simple design made of the same metal as the armour and on the forehead was a white diamond shaped dragon. A satchel hung by the knight's left hip, as did a strange looking hatchet. Saeko also spied the hilt of a sword over the knight's right shoulder with the snarling head of a black rubied-eyed dragon for a pommel.
Saeko felt a moment of panic before it was replaced with confusion; who on earth was this person and why on earth would they wear something that had long fallen out of use by most people?
The knight walked over to Saeko and got down on one knee to look at her. Through the eye-slits of the knight's helm, she could see the faint glimmer of violet eyes.
The knight then raised gauntleted hands up to Saeko's temples and what surprised her was that both gauntlets were wreathed in pale glowing blue light. A moment of panic filled her and she tried to move back, but the knight placed his hands on her temples. Saeko then felt a strange sense of another presence in her mind and she could feel the presence sifting through her.
"Don't be afraid," said a calm stoic voice in Saeko's mind and Saeko realised that the knight meant her no harm and she relaxed. After a moment, the knight retracted his hands and he spoke in Japanese.
"Greetings to you, I apologise if I alarmed you with that spell, but I needed a way to learn your language quickly," the knight explained in a calm stoic voice which echoed slightly through his helmet.
"Magic?" Saeko asked and the knight nodded and replied, "Aye, just a simple mind-spell, but a useful one," he said.
"Where are we? How did you find me?" Saeko then asked.
"I found myself this in strange realm of yours and I found you accosted by some undead creatures," replied the knight. "After I dealt with them, I tended to your injuries and brought you this shrine where we can hopefully rest until the storm passes," he said.
"Who are you?" Saeko asked the burning question on her mind.
"I don't have a name, but most call me Dragonborn."
"Dragon-born? What kind of name is that?" Saeko asked in confusion.
"That's a tale for another time," replied her rescuer. "You need your rest. I have some provisions if you are hungry," he offered as he dug through the satchel on his hip and brought out some hunks of cheese, dried meat and bread. Saeko graciously took the small provisions and nibbled on the hunk of cheese. The explosion of flavour that hit Saeko's tongue made her give a moan of pleasure and she ate the cheese, bread and dried meat quickly. Suddenly realising that she was still shirtless, Saeko asked, "Where's my shirt?"
"Ah, apologies for that," Dragonborn said awkwardly. "I needed to see the extent of your injuries, so I had to remove your shirt," he explained. "Your shirt is still a little wet from the rain, but I do have a spare tunic if you want it," he offered as he dug through his satchel again and pulled out a simple tunic.
Giving a murmur of thanks, Saeko slipped the tunic on and felt the soft warm cloth slide over her skin making her shiver slightly.
"Thank you, for rescuing me," Saeko said to Dragonborn gratefully. "Such chivalry rare today," she added sardonically.
"It would seem so," replied Dragonborn. "Would you mind telling me who you are, and what has befallen this land?" he asked respectfully.
"My name is Saeko Busujima," Saeko said and she proceeded to tell Dragonborn the story of how everything had been normal one day, then a nightmare the next and the subsequent fall of the world and its governments.
Outside the shrine where Saeko and her saviour sheltered, the storm raged and thunder filled the skies and rain lashed down onto the ground. The shambling hordes of Them wandered mindlessly around to the noise of the thunder and whatever survivors remained of Tokonosu took sheltered where they could find it, holding out onto whatever hope remained.
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TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There, first chapter of this done and dusted. Hopefully it's up to par and while it's a little short, it does set the stage a little. I know some of you remember that I had a Highschool of the Dead/Elder Scrolls crossover, but it kinda ran out of steam and I lost interest in it and I then took it down. I guess I was trying to find the right formula for this crossover and I think I found it with this one. If anyone asks, yes this story is similar to a Highschool of the Dead story called Accepting Her Demons where Saeko ran off into the hordes of Them alone and was separated from the group and met a stranger who accepted her dark side, but also encouraged it. That particular story inspired me to write this, so I will be taking some cues out of the story, but hopefully I'll change some things to make it different. Some ideas I have involve crossing over into Game of Thrones, Witcher, Fallout and Doom. Still working that out as I go, so time will tell if I do incorporate what I have planned into this story.
Anyway, not much other to say, so I'll leave this here and please do let me know what you all thought of this chapter/story, I do want some feedback as it will encourage me to write more.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.