Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Two)
Chapter/Episode Four: To Kill A Traitor
It was lunch at the Huntsclan Academy, and Teresa and Amberly were both sitting at their regular lunch table, on the opposite sides of each other. Hearing footsteps, Teresa turned her head to the side to see Rose walking up to the table with her tray in her hands. "Hey, Rose." Teresa smiled at her as Rose came over next to Amberly and sat down.
"Hey..." Rose returned as she reached up and pulled off her mask.
"So, what was all of that about in the library?" Teresa asked.
"Oh, just two imbeciles trying to make life difficult for me..." Rose mentioned as she reached down and grabbed her fork. However, instead of actually eating her food, she just picked at it. "...They wanted me to leave the Huntsclan. I told them no. They attacked. It's all over..."
"Did...did you hurt them?" Teresa asked, her eyes filling with worry.
"Grow up." Amberly replied, setting down her fork. "They attacked her first. She was just protecting herself. It really sounds like she gave them exactly what they deserved." Smiling, Amberly put her hand on Rose's shoulder. "Good ol' Huntsgirl..."
"I actually agree with Amberly..." Rose told Teresa. "...They did attack me first. I know they'll be okay, though. I've dealt worse to others..."
Just as she said this, all three girls turned their heads to the side when they saw two girls in trainee uniforms walking up to the table, both of their hands on their hips, smiling. Rose recognized them immediately as the orangey-blonde and the brunette trainees that were in the hall when she was put in the closet.
"Huntsgirl, hi..." said the brunette trainee said.
"What do you want?" Rose asked, giving the trainee her best Huntsgirl tone.
"We're holding a sleepover in my quarters..." said the blonde-ish trainee. "...We're inviting all the girls that we know..."
The brunette quickly cut in: "...We would have only invited your two friends and that was our plan, but..." She paused for a moment before continuing: "...Then we heard about what happened in the library..."
"What about it?" Rose asked, still using her Huntsgirl tone.
"...We thought it was supremely awesome!" Exclaimed the blonde-ish trainee. clasping her hands together as he friend crossed her arms. "We all thought that you had lost your skill, but now we see that you haven't!"
"In fact, it was said that you were just as amazing as it had been believed..." The brunette continued. "...Completely worthy of your status as The Huntsmaster's apprentice..."
"So..." the blonde-ish trainee. "...Do you three want to come? There will be plenty of room..."
"Well, I..." Rose started, but her eyes widened as Amberly quickly stood up, turning to face the two female trainees.
"Of course we'll come!" Amberly told them."Excellent..." The brunette trainee said, starting to turn around. "...We'll see you three tonight then. Come on..." The brunette trainee then started to walk off and her blonde-ish friend quickly turned around and followed her.
Sighing, Rose turned her head in the opposite direction as Amberly sat back down, smiling as she picked up her fork again. "Why did you do that?" Rose nearly hissed, making Amberly drop her fork.
"Did I do something wrong?" She asked, turning her head to the side.
"I really don't want to go." Rose told her, her tone softening. "The last thing I want is to-"
"Come on, Rose..." Amberly smiled as she turned her attention back to her food. "...The Huntsgirl will rule the sleepover..."
Watching Amberly put her fork into her mouth, Rose sighed as she turned her head back to normal; Teresa watched as Rose sighed, putting her chin in her hand.
LINE BREAK
Night had fallen over the Huntsclan Academy and Rose had a dreading look in her eyes as she walked in-between both Amberly, who had a smile on her face, and Teresa, who had an indifferent look on her face. Despite all three of them wearing their uniforms and masks, all three of them also carried rolled up sleeping bags under their armpits.
"You know, maybe this won't be so bad, Rose..." Teresa tried.
"Or it will be the worst thing you've ever experienced." Rose replied calmly. "This is a school of dragon slayers, after all."
No one said anything for the remainder of the walk, Teresa just staring in front of her in soundless, personal thought.
Finally, the three reached the door to the blonde trainee's door. Taking a deep breath, Rose stepped to the side and reached up, knocking on the door three times. Within seconds, the door opened, revealing the face of the blonde-ish trainee. She smiled as she saw the three of them.
"Come on in." She said, taking a step back. "Everyone is here. You three are the last ones to arrive."
Nodding, Rose started to walk into the room, followed by Amberly and then Teresa. As she walked into the room, she could see that there were about eight trainees on the floor, including the brunette trainee and the trainee that had called Rose to the library earlier that day. They were both in the front of two rows and as Rose walked closer, she could see three more trainees lined up on their stomachs next to the brunette and three lined up next to #53. A ninth trainee was lying on the top bunk.
"Set your stuff down..." the blonde-ish trainee said, turning around after closing the door and turning around to face the three girls who had their back to her. "...Lie down and then this slumber party can begin..." The trainee said as she started to walk toward the three girls.
LINE BREAK
Moments later, Rose, Teresa and Amberly were lying down on their stomachs on their sleeping bags, rounding out the two rows into a sort of cylinder shape.
"You know what I kind of wish this school taught us?" The blonde-ish trainee asked as she lied on her bed.
"What?" #53 asked.
"I wish..." the blonde-ish trainee continued. "...That we were taught how to get dragon blood out of our blouses. I mean, they tell us how to slay a dragon so we won't get our clothes dirty, but once we graduate from here and start to work on the field, we're going to have personal lives. What if we're just attacked by a dragon after going to the mall and we slay it, getting is blood all over our top?"
"You know, I think that's a valid hope for a class..." the brunette trainee said.
As Rose listened to this, she tried to look down, but she looked back up and turned her head to the side when she heard moaning coming from Teresa, who had started to lower her head. "Hey, listen to me..." Rose whispered, making the still moaning Teresa look up and slowly turn her head to look at Rose. "...It's okay."
"Rose, it's making me feel sick to my stomach..." Teresa moaned.
"Try to drown it out with your own thoughts..." Rose advised. "...It usually works for me..."
"Say, I wonder if it would leave a stain..." the brunette trainee wondered out loud.
Hearing this, Teresa moaned again, quickly dropping her face down to the floor, starting to make a heaving noise. Rose managed to calm her down quickly, though, by reaching out and patting her on her back. "It's okay..." She said softly. "...Just calm down. Try to think about something else..."
However, once she heard Teresa moan again, Rose sighed as she turned her attention to the blonde-ish trainee, just as she opened her mouth again. However, before she could form any words, Rose beat her to it:
"Hey." She spoke. ""Listen, do you mind if we switch the topic of the conversation?"
"Why?" the brunette trainee asked, turning her head to the side to look at Rose.
"It's...uh...#101..." Rose answered, turning her head to the side. "...She's...uh...kind of queasy..." Saying this, she turned her head back to normal. "...She's been taking that whole skimming to avoid the blood thing to heart..." Rose whispered.
The brunette trainee looked like she was going to come up with a retort, but before she could, her blonde-ish friend beat her to a more kind response: "That's okay." She said. "Sure, we can switch topics. What should we talk about, then?"
There was a brief moment of silence before one of the trainees that Rose didn't recognize popped up with an idea: "Ooh! I know!" She exclaimed. "How about #666!"
Hearing swoons coming from the other girls, Rose turned her head to the side to look at Teresa, who managed to lift up her head and turn it to the side to look at Rose. "Thanks..." Teresa managed.
"I hope that he takes me to the Dragon Slayer's dance that's coming up in a few months..." one of the girls stated.
"Except, he probably won't be here..." the brunette trainee told her, turning her head to the side. "...Everyone knows that he'll go to the Graduation Rite and he'll be the first one to slay a magical creature. Then he'll leave and go work in the field."
"But what if he doesn't?" Another female trainee said hopefully.
"Then he won't care about the dance..." the brunette trainee countered. "...And he won't ask you because he won't care. He'll be too ticked off that he didn't graduate."
"What about you, #53?" the trainee next to #53 asked, turning her head to the side. "How come you're not into this conversation?"
"Because she likes #666's friend..." the brunette training smiled cruelly as she spoke sarcastically.
"Is there something wrong with that?" #53 asked, her tone darkening as she narrowed her eyes as the trainee next to her gave her a weird look.
"Nothing..." the brunette trainee's cruel smile only widened. "...Except he's too stupid to realize that someone even likes him. You're wasting your time..."
LINE BREAK
A door creaked as it opened, leading inside a dark room. The light switch on and #666 stepped into her quarters, followed slowly by #56. "That plan didn't work..." #666 said as he walked over to his bed while #56 just stood at the door. "...Close the door..." #666 ordered as he knelt down at the side of the bed.
"Why?"
"Don't ask, just do..." #666 growled as he started to reach for something that was under his bed.
"Alright, alright..." #56 quickly gave in; turning around, he closed the door and then turned back around as #666 pulled a long steel box out from under the bottom bunk. Holding it in his hands, he got to his feet and set it down on the bunk. "...What is that?" #56 asked as he walked up beside his "friend".
"Our last attempt failed..." #666 told him. "...Normally..." He turned his head to the side to look at #56. "...I would want to back out, but you have already helped me, so I am willing to show a little bit of honor..."
"That doesn't tell me what's inside that box." #56 pointed out as #666 turned his head back to normal.
"I told you before..." #666 said. "...You can't get the Huntsgirl to just walk away from the Huntsclan. She'd come back." As he said this, he reached down and undid the lock to the box, opening it to reveal a Huntsclan staff. "To make sure she doesn't come back..." #666 said with a cruel grin as he turned his head to the side. "...She has to die..."
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Holding the staff in one hand, #666 closed the steel case, turning to the side to face #56. "How did you get that?" #56 asked, turning to the side as well. "Trainees aren't supposed to have those."
"This was my father's..." #666 said as he took the staff in both hands instead of one. "...He left it for me after he died..."
"That was cool of him..."
"Yes." #666 smiled. "It was cool of him to be buried in the tomb that was the easiest to break into..."
LINE BREAK
Back in the quarters of the blonde-ish trainee, all of the girls had fallen asleep-all except for Rose. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing soundly, but she was wide awake. Opening her eyes, Rose climbed to her feet and turned around and started to tiptoe toward the door.
She quickly reached it, and she slowly reached out and grabbed the door, turning the knob and pulling the door open. Rose quickly tiptoed out of the room and then slowly closed the door behind her.
"Phew!" She exclaimed to herself. "It feels good to be out of there..."
Rose then started to walk down the hall silently, completely unaware that she was being followed by two trainees, one of them holding a staff in his hands. Grinning, #666 pointed his staff at Rose's back, who was still walking, completely unaware of what was happening from behind her. Closing one eye to take better aim, #666 fired the staff, a blast of green plasma coming out from the tip.
The blast of plasma flew down toward Rose, hitting her in the back as she continued to walk down the hall. Rose gasped with pain as she was thrown off of her feet, falling forward before she landed face-first on the ground, unmoving as #666 and #56 started to run over to her.
"Is she dead?" #56 asked, turning her head to the side as he and his "friend" stopped running, reaching Rose.
"Don't be stupid!" #666 retorted. "She's out cold."
"But you said we needed to kill her..." #56 pointed out, turning his attention back down to the unconscious girl. "...The last I knew, unconscious is not dead."
"Of course it isn't..." #666 growled in annoyance. "...That's why we're going to take her outside to finish the job..."
"I don't follow..." #56 replied, turning his head to the side again.
"Of course you don't..." #666 rolled his eyes. "...Listen carefully. We're going to take her out into the yard and wait until she wakes up. Then, I'm going to wait up on the roof and strike her down..."
"And...what do I do?"
"Aw, you're part is essential to us getting away with this..." #666 grinned as he turned his head to the side to look at #56. "...You are going to be acting like a dragon, so that while I am up on the roof, I will be trying to slay you, only to slay Huntsgirl. Get it?"
There was a brief pause before #56 finally replied: "Uh...say again..."
Groaning, #666 returned his head back to normal, slapping himself in the forehead with his palm. "Just get Huntsgirl outside." He ordered. "And do it quickly. She'll come to in fifteen minutes. I'll be back in five with the supplies we will need..."
LINE BREAK
#56 was now sitting outside the school sitting next to Rose, who was still unconscious and was lying on her back. However, as a moan came from Rose, #56 jumped to his feet and whirled around, looking down at Rose, only to see that Rose had not awoken yet.
Looking up as he heard the door opening, #56 could see that #666 was exiting through the door, holding his staff in one hand and dragging a green dragon skin with his other. "Here." He said, tossing his "friend" the skin.
"What is this for?" #56 asked as he caught it.
Sighing, #666 shook his head. "Just put it on..." He groaned. "...And go hide. When I see Huntsgirl wake up, I'll signal you to start acting like a dragon..."
LINE BREAK
In a bright green orb of light, #666 appeared on the roof, clutching his staff. Walking over to the ledge, #666 looked down on the ground, waiting for the unconscious Huntsgirl to wake up. "This could take awhile..."
LINE BREAK
Back on the ground, Rose groaned again as she slowly opened her eyes. Groaning as she sat up, Rose looked from side to side. "Huh?" She asked to herself. "How did I get out here?"
LINE BREAK
Back on the roof, #666's eyes widened as he saw Rose wake up. Aiming is staff into the bushes where he was certain that his "friend" was hiding, he fired the staff, shooting out green plasma.
LINE BREAK
#53 was sitting on his knees on the grass, his head to the side as he looked down at the green dragon skin. However, he gasped and looked up as he saw the green plasma whizzing above him. Quickly getting to his feet, he looked over the bushes and saw that Rose had gotten up to her feet.
LINE BREAK
Still groaning, Rose reached back and put her hand on her back. "It feels like I've been blasted from behind..." Still groaning, she turned to the side and started to walk toward the door, just as from up above, #666 started to twirl his staff, morphing it into a bow with a glowing green arrow.
Grinning, #666 took aim and fired, the arrow whizzing to the ground, headed for Rose...
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
The arrow continued to whiz down toward Rose, making the girl jump back in shock as the arrow planted itself into the ground just a few inches in front of her. Quickly looking up, Rose could see another arrow coming right for her.
Holding her breath, Rose jumped into the air just as it came upon distance of her. As the arrow planted itself in the ground, Rose flipped backward and landed safely on her feet.
LINE BREAK
From up above, #666 growled as he lowered the bow, looking down to see that Rose was still standing. He watched as Rose knelt down in front of the last of the arrows that were shot into the ground, reaching out for it.
Quickly taking aim again, #666 fired.
LINE BREAK
Without pulling the arrow out of the ground, Rose held it in her hand. "What is going on?" She asked to herself, just as she heard a whizzing noise.
Looking up, Rose gasped as she saw another arrow coming right toward her. Without getting to her feet, Rose put her hands on the grass and pushed herself up into the air, allowing her to flip backward and land on her feet once again.
LINE BREAK
Back on the roof, #666 growled again as he lowered the bow, looking out to the bushes. "That imbecile..." He growled.
LINE BREAK
Walking over to the third arrow, Rose squatted down and reached out, grabbing it with one hand and pulling it out of the grass. Staring at it, Rose made a confused face. "I've got to get out of here and get back inside." She quickly decided.
Dropping the arrow, Rose stood straight up and quickly started walk for the entrance, only to freeze as she heard the sound of rustling coming from the bushes.
Freezing, Rose quickly turned around as the bushes stopped rustling, #56 running out of the bushes wearing the green dragon skin. "What the...?" Rose muttered, just as she heard a whistling sound coming from behind her. Turning her head to the side, she could see another arrow coming right toward her.
Grunting, Rose jumped into the air, flipping over #56 just as the arrow planted itself into the ground. #56 quickly spun around, just in time to hear a "HIYAH!" as Rose's boot made contact with his face.
Grunting, #56 was thrown off of his feet and he flew back a few inches before he landed on his back, the entire skin coming off of his body as he landed, revealing him.
Her eyes wide with surprise, Rose started to walk over to the unconscious trainee, only to stop when she heard the sound of another whizzing arrow. Gasping, rose glanced up to see another arrow coming right toward her. Grunting, Rose jumped back, back-flipping as she put her hands on the grass, pushing her into one more flip, allowing her to land on the ground with one knee bent as the other leg was outstretched, leaving Rose in a defensive position.
"Where are those coming from?" Rose whispered to herself as she looked up at the roof, just as she heard another whizzing sound, seeing a glowing green arrow coming right toward her.
Growling, Rose jumped to the side using her position to her advantage as the arrow planted itself in the ground right where Rose had been squatting.
Rose rolled across the grass for a few seconds, finishing as she landed on her stomach. Growling, Rose quickly picked herself up and got to her feet. Staring up at the roof briefly, she took charge, running for the wall.
As soon as Rose reached the wall, she grunted, jumping up at an angle so that her feet touched the wall. Grunting, Rose quickly pushed, starting to run up the wall. Using her agility, once she had gotten enough air, Rose launched herself up and managed to reach out and grab the side of the roof.
Grunting, Rose lifted herself up and flipped up, landing on her feet on the roof. She quickly turned to the side, only to gasp as she found that a bow and arrow were now being pointed at her. Holding the bow and arrow, #666 grinned evilly at her.
"Hello, Huntsgirl..."
LINE BREAK
In her quarters, Huntsgal was lying under her bed without her dragon skull helmet, sleeping under the covers. However, her eyes opened when she heard a pounding sound at her door. Groaning, Huntsgal rolled over onto her side.
"What?" She demanded.
"Huntsgal!" came the voice of a female hunter. "We have a problem!"
LINE BREAK
A few seconds later, the female soldier took a step back as the door opened and Huntsgal, now wearing her dragon skull helmet, stepped outside. "What is the issue?" She asked, crossing her arms, showing off how impatient she was.
"A...As no...normal..." the soldier was slightly nervous. "...W...We performed the inspections to see if all students are i...in their quarters..."
"And?"
"And...And..." the soldier stuttered. "...And there are three students missing..."
"Three?" Huntsgal lowered her arms.
"Well, act...actually..." the soldier continued. "...There are two students missing. The other-I'm not sure if she qualifies as a student-"
"If they attend classes and are being checked on each night, then they are students..."
"Then there are three studen...students missing, ma'am..."
"Who?" The impatient tone returned to Huntsgal, and she started to clench her fists.
"Um..." the soldier continued, still very nervous. "...#56, #666 and...and Huntsgirl..."
Hearing this, Huntsgal's eyes widened. "Huntsgirl, you say?" She asked. Then, without any warning, she quickly stepped away from the door and turned, starting to walk down the hall, just as quickly as she had stepped away from the door.
LINE BREAK
Huntsgal was standing, with her arms crossed, at the end of one of the halls in the Academy, right outside the cafeteria. She watched down the hall as she watched three Huntsclan soldiers walking toward her.
Huntsgal waited until the three soldiers stopped in front of her and as soon as they did, she sighed as she lowered her arms. "It appears that we have three students who are wandering around passed curfew..." She told them.
Taking a step closer, she continued: "...The Huntsgirl and numbers 666 and 56 are out there somewhere. You!" She pointed at the first hunter at her right. "I want you to search the halls and any rooms other than dorms. Classrooms, the arena. Any room you can think of. You!" She pointed at the hunter in the middle. "I want you to search the air dents." Then, she finally pointed at the third and final hunter. "And you...I want you to go outside and check out there."
"And what about you, ma'am?" The middle soldier asked.
"That's none of your business..." Huntsgal said dangerously, her eyes narrowing.
LINE BREAK
Back on the roof, Rose jumped up into the air as #666 swiped at her feet with his staff. "Now this doesn't look fair..." Rose said sarcastically in her Huntsgirl tone as she took a step back. "...How do you expect me to fight at your level when you have a staff and I don't?"
"That's the thing, Huntsgirl..." #666 smiled again as he pointed his now glowing staff at her. "...I don't want a fight."
"Then what do you want?" Rose retorted angrily.
"Isn't it obvious?" #666 shrugged. "I want you dead..."
As Rose's eyes widened in realization, #666 fired his staff, sending a green blast of plasma coming right for her. Reacting quickly, Rose jumped to the side and somersaulted to a halt, landing on her feet and standing straight back up and whirling around.
Quickly, #666 turned to the side and quickly fired another green plasma blast. This time, Rose waited until it was close enough to her. Once it was, she grunted as she jumped into the air above the blast as it whizzed by as Rose landed back on the ground, prepared for a fight.
"Hey, why don't you put that thing down and fight me like a real, brave Huntsclan warrior?" Rose mocked.
"Shut up..." #666 ignored her as he fired another blast at his enemy.
As the green plasma came toward her, Rose once again waited until it was close enough to jump over. With a "HIYAH!", Rose launched herself over the blast and hit the roof, starting to somersault toward her attacker.
As Rose reached him, she stopped rolling and landed on her knees, lashing out with her arm, hitting the staff and knocking it out of #666's hands, making it fly over the ledge and fall to the grass.
"Let's see how you fight without your staff..." Rose said as she threw a punch from below, aimed at #666's head. However, #666 managed to duck, avoiding the punch. Then, he jumped into the air and lashed out with his foot, kicking Rose in the chest.
Rose grunted as she fell back, her back colliding against the roof...
LINE BREAK
Huntsgal was walking down the halls of the school, only to stop as heard a thud coming from up above. Looking up at the ceiling, she heard another thud.
"The roof..." She muttered. Looking down, she then spun around and started to run down the hall.
LINE BREAK
Outside, the door to the exit opened as the hunter who had been ordered to go outside stepped out. Immediately, he saw the still unconscious #56 lying under the green dragon skin.
"Well, what do we have here?" He muttered to himself as he started to walk over to #56. Crouching down beside him, he looked down at the dragon skin underneath the unconscious trainee. "It looks like we have a thief..." the soldier said as he looked down at #56.
After staring at #56 for a few moments, the soldier looked up, only to see the fallen staff of #666 a few feet away. "What the...?" the soldier asked only to hear the sound of grunts and shouts coming from above.
Turning his head to the side and looking up, the soldier's eyes widened as he saw Rose and #666 fighting on the roof. Rose flipped over #666's back after he threw a punch at her. Rose landed and spun around before #666 could. With a shout, Rose jumped into the air and delivered a kick to the trainee's back.
"Now how did they get up there?" the soldier asked.
LINE BREAK
On the roof, #666 grunted as he slid across the roof. Finally, he came to a rest; moaning, he rolled back onto his back, lifting his head up as he watched Rose slowly walk up to him. "Why are you doing this?" Rose demanded.
#666 said nothing. Instead, he climbed back up to his feet. However, before he could charge for Rose. He froze as a bright orb of green light appeared from behind. It quickly faded and #666 slowly turned around, only to release a shriek of pain as a green blast of plasma energy hit him in the stomach and chest.
Gasping, Rose watched as the trainee was blasted off his feet, flying back a few inches before he hit the roof with a thud. As #666 hit the ground, Rose glanced down at him before she looked back up to see Huntsgal lowering a staff.
"I would stand still if I were you, Huntsgirl..." She warned dangerously. "...Unless you want to join #666 in a little nap."
"Huntsgal, please." Rose tried, holding her hands to her chest in surrender. "I did nothing wrong. They attacked me first."
"Keep your mouth shut, Huntsgirl." Huntsgal barked, taking aim with her staff yet again. "Say another word and when you wake up, you're going to be in the dungeon."
Rose opened her mouth to say something from behind her mask, but she quickly thought better of it. Instead, she just sighed as Huntsgal lowered her staff and started to walk over to her. "Okay, so here is what you're going to do..." As soon as she reached the feet of #666, she continued. "...You're going to pick up your little friend and then you're going to follow me. Understand?"
Not wanting Huntsgal to stun her, Rose said nothing; she just nodded.
"Good." Huntsgal said, turning around and walking back over to where she had been standing only a few seconds ago.
Sighing, Rose leaned over and grabbed both of #666's outstretched arms. Grunting, she lifted him up into a sitting position. Then, grunting again, she stepped back and straightened her back, managing to get the trainee who had been trying to kill her to his feet.
Rose then ducked her head down as she pulled at #666's arms. With a "HIYAH!" Rose managed to lift #666 up off of his feet, flipping him over onto her back, making her grunt with pain, her eyes widening.
With #666 taken care of, Rose slowly started to walk over to where Huntsgal was standing.
"Now stand right beside me." Huntsgal ordered as Rose stopped in front of her.
Still not wanting to say anything, Rose just nodded as she took a step to the side and then slowly turned around.
"Good." Huntsgal said as she reached out and put her hand on Rose's shoulder. Then, using her other hand, she tapped her staff on the roof.
Then, in a bright orb of green light, the three Huntsclan members vanished from the roof.
BLACKOUT; END EPISODE
A/N: Please review.