Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Dragoon or God of War. Everyone else, I own.
Kratos and the Dragoons: Chapter 4
By: YoNel
The two dozen soldiers that arrived in Fletz were relieved to see that the Dragoons hadn't come yet. But Kratos was more concerned with the sheer beauty of the city. Never had he even encounter such magnificence. All the buildings were silvery-white and glistened when the sun hit them.
"By the gods," Kratos whispered.
Commander Yonaru had already begun ordering some men to escort the elderly and children out of the city. "Make sure you get them as far away from the city as you can. Take them to Lohan if you have to. The goal is to have no casualties!"
Kratos scoffed at the goal. This was a time if war. There is no such thing as "no casualties." Still, Kratos helped. He kicked down doors and forcibly removed children and the elderly from their homes. Most did not know what was going on and Kratos didn't bother to tell them. Some tried to fight him but Kratos quickly disarmed them and threw them unto the streets where Sandoran and Tiberoan soldiers alike escorted them out of the city.
The entire force was making good progress until a powerful gale came over the city. Kratos was blown off his feet but quickly recovered. When he looked up he saw three winged creatures headed right for the city. Kratos realized he wasn't the only one who saw it when soldiers started screaming.
"DRAGOONS!" One soldier screamed.
This was his chance. Kratos wanted to see the dreaded beings that have ruined so many lives. He chuckled to himself—he and the Dragoons had something in common.
"Thunder God Attack" Haschel yelled as he plowed into the ground and came back up. He repeated the motion several times before reaching a group of soldiers charged with guarding Donau's port. When Haschel's thundering might hit them—the soldiers were either instantly vaporized or blown back.
Commander Syntia could hardly believe her eyes. She had only heard about the Dragoon, she had never seen them. And there they were. At least three of them. From what she knew she could tell that the thunder, water and earth dragoons were attacking her men. She barely had anytime to evacuate people when the majestic warriors came.
"Steadfast, men!" She ordered. "We have to get these people out of here!"
Kongol landed on the ground and swung his axe over his head several times before slamming it into the ground.
"Grand stream!" He shouted.
The earth around his mortal targets buckled and moved before splitting and swallowing them whole. Kongol looked at Meru and the water dragoon simply gave a thumbs-up.
Syntia ordered half of her remaining men unto the tops of roofs to shoot arrows at the Dragoons while the other half were to get the innocents out.
Meru noticed this just in time. "Diamond Dust!" The Wingly shouted.
An eerie coldness fell upon the people leaving the city before three massive ice pillars surrounded them.
"NO!" Syntia shouted. She knew what was going to happen.
The ice pillars quickly bonded into one—leaving the fleeing people trapped in one huge pillar of ice. Using her Dragoon power, Meru unleashed an ice blade that cut the pillar into little pieces. What were left were frozen body parts of soldiers and evacuees alike.
"A little brutal…don't you think?" Haschel asked.
Meru winked at him. "It's Dart's wish for us to be as brutal as can be."
Syntia fell to her knees. This couldn't be happening. Her home and all the people were being destroyed. The friends…the family…the flowers she grew up with were now being wiped off the face of Endiness. Despite this, Syntia remembered her mission. There were still some people that needed to be evacuated. She noticed a massive boat that was still intact. A boat large enough to carry what was left of the civilians out of Donau. But she knew that the Dragoons would destroy it before they could get there. She noticed the men that were still attacking on the roofs. Then she noticed a few men operating the cannons on the ground.
"Bring those cannons to the roof and fight with all your might." She ordered.
A growing tornado had formed in the middle of city and was quickly sucking solider and evacuee alike into its being. Kratos made to note to stay clear of it and concentrate on his blond-haired opponents. One of the dragoons was woman in white armor; the other (and source of the powerful winds) was a man in decorated green armor and the last was a man (way younger than himself) in the bulkiest armor out of them. This one had to be the feared Dart, the King of the Dragoons. Kratos knew he had to stop the green one's windy assault. He saw a large ladder leaning against a wall near the entrance of the castle. At the top was an instrument the likes he had ever seen. It appeared to be gazing at the cosmos—nevertheless Kratos noticed the green one was flying to close to it. He smiled and raced towards the ladder.
Several miles away, in the sky, Dart watched as Albert laid waste to the people of Fletz and their pitiful attempt to escape. Miranda wasn't involved in the attack. Her defense-based abilities meant she was just in charge of healing Albert whenever he was hit with a cannonball or earth-based magic (which he was vulnerable to).
Miranda was dying inside watching the people struggle valiantly to run for their lives. She had enough and flew to Dart.
"Dart. Do we really have to do this?" She pleaded.
Dart rolled his eyes. "We've been through this countless times before, Miranda. Yes, we must."
"But why are we fighting them?"
"Because they are fighting us." He bluntly responded.
"They are only attacking because we attacked first. They're just defending themselves."
"Miranda—just help Albert."
"No! I've had enough. We do not harm innocent people!" Miranda shouted.
The majestic cannon on Dart's right arm began to glow. An obvious indication to Miranda to back off or suffer the consequences.
But Miranda could not quell her inner torment anymore. "Do what you must, Dart," she said coldly.
The tension between the two Dragoons was interrupted when they heard Albert screaming from miles away.
Haschel, Meru and Kongol seemed to have fun slowly destroying the city. They eradicated a local church—which not too long ago they were in. Long before they defeated Meblu Frahma, the entire gang attended a wedding between the mayor's son and his wife. They—including the mayor himself were long dead. Each of them wept a little but they understood what they had to do in order to protect all of Endiness. Their thoughts were interrupted when hordes of blazing cannonballs raced toward them. Thanks to their speed, Haschel and Meru were able to dodge most of them while Kongol got hit the most. And though he grunted when they hit his Dragoon armor, Kongol knew they would never pierce it.
Despite this, the soldiers kept on firing—distracting the bombarded Dragoons long enough for the remaining evacuees to board the large ship.
Syntia was relieved to see that her plan was working and was almost jubilant when the ship undocked.
"Thank Soa," she whispered.
Meru had enough. She started swiftly swinging her hammer at the soldiers firing—instantly killing them. However she failed to notice a massive cannonball headed right for her. The fireball hit her with so much force that she landed near the pier. She cursed her Dragoon spirit for having a weakness towards fire. Then she noticed a large ship of evacuees leaving the port. Meru quickly deciphered Syntia's plan and smiled at the cleverness.
Kongol quickly came at her side and helped her up. "Meru hurt?"
"I'll be fine, Kongol," she responded.
Then Kongol noticed the ship leaving too. "Ship leaving. Kongol stop them."
Meru placed a hand in front of him. "I'll handle this, Kongol." Meru said. She flew into the air and blue sparks started enveloping her entire body. "After all they are in my element here."
Suddenly the ship began to rock violently. So much so that evacuees were thrown off and most drowned. But that wasn't the worse of it.
Syntia looked at the situation developing from a hilltop near the pier. She cursed herself for making such a foolish error. She forgot that each Dragoon had the ability to do it. She noticed a large shadow beneath the ship that quickly revealed itself to be an enormous sea dragon. The massive creature jumped over the ship and landed in the water on the other side, sending massive waves unto the ship. The vessel toppled over to its side and sent everyone on the ship to the water. Most tried to swim to the pier but their efforts were in vain. The sea dragon either ripped or ate each swimmer it saw. Soon the entire harbor was littered with the bodies of soldiers and innocents alike.
Syntia looked back to the town and found that her men on the roof top were nothing more than charred lifeless bodies. Syntia bowed her head. This was it. The End. Despite her valiant efforts—in the end she had failed. She looked around and noticed she was that last one alive. The three Dragoons flew to the ground and surrounded her.
Meru smiled. "Nice try, though," she said mockingly.
Syntia quickly got up and charged at Meru. "You bastard!"
Meru simply moved out of the way and Syntia fell to the ground. The Wingly smiled sadistically and motioned to her teammates. "Everyone, now!"
Haschel stuck his hand into the air and a single thunderbolt struck Syntia. She was still alive but was in extreme pain. Next, Meru conjured a small ice pillar to incase and hold Syntia. Despite this, the female commander was still alive. But that ended when Kongol swung his mighty axe to her. What remained of Commander Syntia of the Sandoran Army were scattered frozen body parts. Haschel and Kongol flew into the air while Meru lingered and looked at the icy remains. She kicked them all down the hilltop to further disgrace Syntia's remains before joining her friends and flying off with them into the distance. The once beautiful and bustling city of Donau was now a lifeless and burning ruin.
Kratos was surprised that his blades could penetrate the mighty Dragoon armor—but after all the Blades of Chaos were enchanted. He dug his other blade into Albert and struggled to maintain balance on the Wind Dragoon's back.
Albert could hardly believe it as he and Kratos both plummeted to the ground. He was dying, but how could this warrior's blade pierce his armor? He looked up, vision blurred, to see Kratos standing above him with both blades raised in the air.
The Spartan felt Albert's warm blood as he drove both blades into the Dragoon. Suddenly Kratos was lifted into the air and came face to face with Dart.
Miranda rushed to Albert's side and was about to conjure the healing spell known as Moon Light when her friend grabbed her arm.
"No!" Albert said.
"What? Let me heal you!" Miranda responded.
"No!" Albert repeated, "Though…t-this was not the—the way I was expecting t-t-t-to go—I'll g-g-gladly accept this fate."
"What? You want to die? Why?"
"It's—it's the only justice for all the horrible things…I have done--to not only the people—but all of Endiness…you're not the only one who was conflicted."
"How did--?"
"Miranda, you're a fighter not a murderer. You're… the only…the only one of us t-t-that hasn't killed innocent people in the name of… Dart's cause."
Albert's eyes began to close as the last bits of life began to leave his body. In response, his majestic green Dragoon armor disappeared and his Dragoon stone floated above his body. In a bright green flash the powerful stone was nothing more than dozens of little crystals. Tainted and used for evil—the Jade Dragoon Stone was no more. Albert looked at Miranda as tears ran down her face. "S-s-top Dart…before he destroys everything we know—and—and l-love…"
Miranda stood up and looked at her dead friend. She looked up to the sky to see any indication of either Kratos or Dart.
"Who are you?!" Dart demanded as he held Kratos in an inescapable bear hug.
"I am Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta! But you can call me—Death!!" Kratos yelled as he managed to get both of his arms free. He withdrew his blades and was surprised to find out that they couldn't pierce Dart's armor.
"Unfortunately for you, 'Kratos', I'm made of a lot tougher stuff than my comrades!" Dart said as he began to fly higher into the sky.
As they ascended, Kratos' air became scarce but he wouldn't let that stop him. "You're armor may be formidable, Dragoon, but you're face is not!" Kratos said as he slashed Dart's face with one of his blades.
"Aaaagghh!" Dart screamed as he let Kratos go.
But before Kratos could plummet any further, Kratos managed to get one blade around Dart's leg.
Dart's wound quickly recovered and soon he was taking Kratos for the ride of his life. He raced toward the ground so fast that Kratos could barely open his eyes.
A sudden stop near Fletz made the Spartan's body jerk in ways it wasn't supposed to. But still Kratos held on to his opponent.
"Oh, this is not the end, Kratos!" Dart said sadistically. The King of the Dragoons flew to the most congested part of Fletz and raced across the sky just above the buildings.
Kratos hit so many building walls that his blade began to unravel around Dart's leg. Soon Kratos was sent crashing to the ground. He swayed and stumbled as he rose to his feet to confront Dart. He was bruised and large cuts were scattered across his body.
"Kratos—this is the end!" Dart said. The cannon on Dart's right arm began to glow as an aura enveloped him. He landed on the ground and prepared the cannon. "DIVINE DRAGON CANNON!"
A massive wave of energy hit Kratos—the likes of which he never felt before. His skin was being shredded apart as he immediately lost consciousness. Kratos' body went through several buildings before stopping at a fountain near the entrance of the city.
Dart smiled. Truly his power was unmatched in the entire universe. He raced toward his opponents' body to see the devastation he left on the strange warrior. He was a little surprised to see Kratos still alive. Dart took out his majestic sword to finish the job until he was hit by a cannonball that managed to knock him out of the air and unto the ground. He quickly recovered and turned to see a small army with a dozen of cannons led by Commander Yonaru.
"Fire!" Yonaru commanded. And all 12 of the cannons fired in unison.
Though Dart was fast, he wasn't fast enough to dodge all of the attacks. Surely the commander and his pitiful army knew their cannonballs wouldn't hurt Dart—if anything it just distracted him long enough. Then it dawned on the King of Dragoons. He turned around to see Kratos and a foot solider on horseback about a mile away. He had thought to chase them down but wanted revenge against Yonaru and his men for fooling him so easily. He flew into the sky; he spread his arms out to the sides and two little pockets opened upward to reveal little cannons on his armor-clad shoulders.
Yonaru knew what was coming but was not afraid.
"Bring it," he whispered.
"Divine Dragon Ball!" Dart shouted as thousands of little orbs rained from the sky.
"Shields!" Yonaru commanded upon seeing the little red orbs of death rain from Dart. In unison all the soldiers put their shields towards the sky to block the incoming attack. Though the defense was formidable—it was not invincible. Some soldiers were blown away by the sheer force of the orbs hitting the ground near them. Most soldiers however didn't expect the orbs to melt right through their shields. Their screams of death were echoed since their shields were so close to each other. Yonaru was the only one left alive. He was bleeding from where his arm used to be. He struggled to get up and grab a shield to continue the fight. He looked around the Fletz landscape. All but a couple of dozen evacuees made it out of the city alive. The mission (for the most part) was a success.
Dart landed in front of Yonaru and watched as the young commander struggled to maintain his balance. With a single swipe from his sword, Yonaru's head lay on the ground several feet from his body. He flew to Miranda's side as she knelt down near Albert's body.
"Can you bring him back?" Dart asked.
Miranda cringed at the sound of his voice. "He's beyond healing."
"Then let's be on our way."
"Doesn't he even deserve a proper burial?" Miranda asked.
"We are currently at war! We have not the time." Dart made very clear.
Miranda was too weak—too broken to fight her "king". She got up and looked at him briefly before ascending into the sky.
Dart looked at the body of his longtime friend before flying off too.
Kratos' body was already convulsing by the time the foot solider had reached Hoax. Already informed of the situation, General Hasencia saw that his best physicians and medicine were ready to be used on the dying Spartan. But nothing worked. For hours Hasencia and the doctors sat around Kratos' body trying to do anything they could.
"Hasencia…he's already slipped into a coma." One physician stated, "It's only a matter of time until he dies."
"...try the healing fog again." Hasencia ordered.
The young physician nodded and pulled out a beaker of purple liquid and poured it all over Kratos' body. The purple liquid soon turned into small fog that remained over Kratos' body before dissipating altogether. The doctor checked Kratos' heart rate and looked at Hasencia before shaking his head.
"No…change," he said, his voice coated with remorse.
"Maybe I can help," said a hooded figure standing at the doorway of the room.
"Who the hell are you?" Hasencia demanded.
The stranger removed her hood and everyone looked at her in complete astonishment.
"My name is Miranda and I am the White-Silver Dragoon."
Author's Note: Well that is the end of Chapter 4, folks. I hoped you liked it! Thanks for the reviews. I'll try to get Chapter 5 as quickly as I can. Bye!
