A/N: I just wanted to say a few things. First and foremost, thanks for the reviews! Second, I am indeed trying to stay basically true to what you find in the game. That includes the enemies. Third, I just wanted to clarify that I've been trying to make a few subtle tongue-in-cheek jokes throughout the story about certain 'realities' of the game. Or maybe not so subtle. Or too subtle? I think I'm channeling Sheogorath now. And finally, rest assured that your patience shall be rewarded. That said, these next few chapters have been difficult for me to write, but kinda fun too. Actually, this whole story has been fun to write, and I hope it has been at least as fun to read, too!

...

She motioned for Brynjolf to wait as she crept closer to the edge. She could hear the dragon in the city below, but she wanted to verify it visually. Why would a dragon be underground? How?

Sure enough, she could see it below, illuminated by its fire breath. From this high above, it looked as though the courtyard was studded with candles, which were most likely Falmer being incinerated. She smiled to herself, knowing that while the dragon was wiping out the Falmer, the Falmer were also wearing down the dragon.

Turning, she hurried back to Brynjolf, and they returned to the lift. On the way down, she told him what she had seen, and they decided to see if they could take down the beast while it was still weakened from battling the Falmer. She still felt an obligation to take down any hostile dragon she encountered, because who knew if anyone would be able to do the same in the future? She could very well be the last Dragonborn, and she didn't intend to waste all her hard work by leaving an unknown dragon behind to become the next Alduin.

They exited the building quietly, keeping low and quiet and looking up for the dragon. Here and there a smoking corpse lay on the ground, and much of the ground was charred and covered in soot. She felt the dragon a split second before she heard it as it swooped overhead and then out of the city.

She rushed to the nearest gate and left the walls of the city, Brynjolf doing his best to keep up with her. Off in the distance she could see the dragon circling and returning. She took a deep breath and prepared to Shout as soon as it was in range, holding her bow in one hand and an arrow in the other.

Annoyingly, the dragon swooped in for a landing just outside of range, behind a hill. Cursing in her head, she raced to get a better vantage point and hopefully take the creature down. As she crested a rise, she stopped dead in surprise, causing Brynjolf to run into her from behind and nearly knock her off balance.

"This should be good," she whispered to him as she put a hand on his arm and pointed ahead. The dragon had landed in order to battle a giant, and she wasn't sure which would win. The giant swung its huge club at the dragon, hitting it squarely in the side of the head. The dragon roared and recoiled, then bathed the giant in fire, causing it to fall to its knees. Reaching forward with its long neck, it neatly bit off the giant's head and flung it away.

The dragon looked directly at them. It looked like it was laughing, despite being covered in blood, or maybe because of it. As it turned its body to face them, it addressed her in a deep voice like rocks grinding. "Dovahkiin...after so long trapped, your Thu'um has freed me, Vulthuryol. But now you wish to slay me. Krosis. We shall see, hm?"

She could tell the dragon was injured beyond being able to fly for now, but it remained a dangerous opponent nonetheless. As it opened its mouth to cover her in fire, she raised her bow and pelted it with arrows as fast as she could aim and shoot while backing away from the flames. The dragon advanced on her steadily, dragging itself along the ground with its wings.

...

Brynjolf was having trouble believing his eyes again. A dragon and a giant? All the way down here, and they were fighting each other? And then when it ripped the giant's head off and turned to them and spoke, he wanted nothing more than to disappear into the shadows and go somewhere, anywhere else.

He didn't, however. Maybe it was because she was his guildmaster, or because he wasn't the kind of man to abandon his friends, or because she was carrying most of the loot. All he knew was that there was no way he was leaving her behind.

Instead he rolled to the side, away from the gout of flames spouting from the dragon's mouth. The beast was concentrating on the Dragonborn, who was pelting it with arrows from the edge of the fire's range, so he quickly circled around behind it. As it reared up and spread its wings, he rushed it madly, ducking under its outstretched wing and lunging with his dagger at the beast's neck. His blade found its mark between two scales, piercing a major blood vessel and showering him in dragon's blood as the creature died.

He quickly backed away from the huge corpse, not wanting to get crushed under the dead dragon's bulk. He turned to look for her, having lost sight of her during the fight, and was relieved to find her walking up to him. Without a thought, he swept her up in a crushing hug, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of her. He felt her hug him back for a moment before pushing him away.

He heard a sound like a sudden gale blowing, and a glow surrounded her and the dragon. Now he remembered the old tales of how the Dragonborn devoured the souls of dragons. As he watched, the dragon's body dissolved into a light brighter than any fire, which seemed to surround her and then dissipate, leaving her glowing. Just when I thought things could not get any stranger, here we go again. At least this won't kill us, though. And actually...the view is quite pleasant. He couldn't help but admire how her curves were illuminated by the lingering glow from the dragon's soul, as if she were some sort of divine being. He was staring, but he didn't care.

She removed her mask and glanced at his face, then turned away slightly and stared down at the ground in front of her. The glow had mostly faded from her, leaving them once again cloaked in the shadows cast by the dim bluish light. He stepped over to stand in front of her again, bending down to try to meet her eyes. "Lass, that was impressive! I've never seen such a thing before." He reached out and gently lifted her chin to make her meet his eyes.

She smiled weakly at him. "You're the one who managed to cut its throat. I'd probably still be fighting it if you weren't here. Some dragon slayer I am!" she said ruefully.

"And how would I have gotten anywhere near the beast if you hadn't distracted it?" he countered. "To say nothing of your neat trick with its soul!" His voice lowered an octave. "We make a good team, lass," he murmured, stroking her chin with his thumb.

The feeling of her breath lightly brushing his hand made his heart pound and his groin ache. He saw her lower lip tremble and forgot about everything except how much he wanted to kiss the woman in front of him. His lips met hers an instant later, and she melted into his embrace. Their tongues met and twisted around each other as she wrapped her arms around him, one hand straying to caress his butt. He smiled against her mouth, breaking the kiss, and they looked into each others' eyes, breathing together for a moment as they held each other.

She broke the silence first, her voice made rough by emotion. "We...we should find shelter. I don't want us to get ourselves killed." She pulled away from him slowly, holding his hand and giving it a final squeeze.

He squeezed back, reluctant to let go but recognizing the wisdom in her suggestion. "Aye, lass."