Yup, 2 updates at once—dances—so yay! Please R&R—we're getting into the thick of the story now! Woo-hoo………
Chap. 8: Fatal Flaw—Enter the WEAPONS
As is often the case with serpents, the female was a good deal larger than her mate. Her snake-half measured a full eighteen feet, every inch of it constricting her prey. She wove her delicate human hands into her captive's hair as he struggled, tasting the essence of his fear as she slowly squeezed the breath--and the life--from his body. Her facial features matched those of the male, though her eyes glowed a steady orange instead of florescent green and her hair, thick and curly, was a dark shade of blonde. Dying in her coils was dying amid beauty.
Cloud had no intention of dying, though at present there was nothing he could do. His enormous blade had fallen to the ground and his arms were pinned tightly to his sides. Already he could feel the pain tearing at his chest as his lungs labored to draw breath. The sound of his heartbeat thundering in his temples was so loud, the noise so consuming, that he heard nothing else. All was pounding and silence... until he heard two of his ribs snap under the power of the tightening vice. A fresh surge of pain assaulted his nerves from his head to his ribcage, making him grimace. The snake, in turn, smiled. Pulling her hands back, she forced her prey to look up at her taunting, fanged grin. There was still rage, pain, and a small amount of fear, but in essence she could see the fire draining from those electric blue eyes.
Albert had slowly come back to his senses when his comrade had attacked his captor, though what truly brought him back into the reality of the moment was a loud SNAP! and a gasp of pain. What... he shook his head hard, trying to clear it. When his eyes refocused the first thing he saw was the male serpent hissing swiftly to another larger female. The icy ball of shock exploded in his heart as Albert realized what it was she had in her coils. Clutching his javelin, the king charged forward.
The male serpent dodged almost too late; the tip of Albert's weapon nicked the female instead. Hissing her obvious fury she made several angry gestures with her left hand, still grasping Cloud's hair with her right. A fresh wave of urgency besieged Albert. Roaring, he lunged again.
"Not this time!" the male snarled, lashing out with his tail. Albert hurdled just as it would've tripped him, striking at the male's open chest. The javelin scored a deep gouge diagonally from his shoulder to his human waist, spilling dark blood onto the dusty ground. In a retaliatory move that came too quickly the serpent swung out the end of his tail, coiling the last two feet of it neatly around the man's throat. Albert choked, his wind cut off, as the creature dragged him upright. The two of them stared face to face as the king tried to claw the noose off. The serpent's tongue hang limp from the side of his mouth; he panted freely as blood spilled down his chest. He yanked his prey closer, hissing:
"When I die, it goes with me," he glanced at his mate and her soon-to-be meal and added, "Its friend goes first."
"Never," Albert growled in a forced whisper. The serpent scowled and tightened his grip, cutting off breath as well as blood supply. Any more pressure and he'd snap his prey's neck. They both knew it.
I won't...let it end here, Albert swore mentally. His hand wandered to the jade-colored gem that hung on a chain around his throat-- a memento from his home world, and the real reason he'd be chosen as one of the original nine. This was his power: a Dragoon spirit, a powerful force controlled not by magic but by the energy of the spirit. The only question that stood was, would it work?
A brilliant shimmer of jade colored energy lit the black clearing and registered in Cloud's darkening eyes. He heard the male serpent squealing in agony at the intensity of the light, though as the glimmer faded Cloud saw the real reason the creature was worried. Albert stood--no, he hovered--a foot off the ground, his entire body covered in armor the same shade as the light had been. Two segmented metal wings sprouted from behind his shoulder blades. Their beating kept him aloft and stirred the dust into a smokescreen. Cloud closed his eyes against the stinging storm, the scene before him eclipsed by darkness.
An inhuman scream tore through the air as Albert shot like a bullet at the male serpent. The two of them collided, the Dragoon fastening his gauntleted hands around the creature's throat. As it choked and sputtered he leaned in close and growled, "How does it feel to be the one without breath?" The male's green eyes were wide and afraid, though even as he stared in fright his human nails raked across the king's cheek. Albert snarled and, dropping the creature, shouted, "Gaspless!" A whirlwind blew up from nowhere as the king began to shimmer again. Leaves shot past him, sharpened by the wind; when they flew past the creatures small cuts formed on their arms and faces. The wind and light intensified and a beam of energy--still the same jade-colored light-- hit the male full in the chest and blasted him through the trees.
Aerith clutched her temples and screamed as the creature's limp body crossed her line. In the same breath Legolas woke, covering his sensitive ears against the shattering sound of the girl's voice. Aerith sat up, quivering, as the elf leapt to his feet, his bow strung and an arrow already set.
Back in the clearing they hadn't heard the scream-- Albert the Dragoon and the female serpent had reached a stand-off.
"Release him." The king's voice sounded his position. Regal, angry and commanding, he'd never looked so menacing. "Do it or I will be forced to act." The female scowled and, hissing, wagged a finger at him.
"It cannot attack. I'll snap its friend in half if it moves." She had the upper hand and Albert knew it. He was weakening: his armor grew heavier every second and he could feel the Dragoon spirit pulling energy from his body at too rapid a rate. The female saw the paleness of his face and knew she had won. "Why does it not leave? Its friend is nearly dead anyway-- its eyes darken. Why does it not walk away?" Gritting his teeth against the faint that was threatening to overpower him, Albert snarled his reply.
"I will never walk away." The serpent rose up like a cobra, still crushing Cloud's body within her coils. Her face contorted in anger.
"It is stupid. I will---" Albert never leaned what she was going to do because her words broke off into a straggling scream. An arrow sprouted from the back of her shoulder and the serpent, clawing at it and screeching in pain, relaxed her lower half. Cloud fell to the ground, coughing fitfully as oxygen flooded into his screaming lungs. His rapid gasping brought on a new surge of pain-- the movement made his broken ribs throb violently.
Another screech, and another arrow-- this one flaming-- struck the female right where her human half met her serpentine half. She spun, trying to pull it loose as the burning shaft torched her scales. Her ringing cries were cut short as a final shot, one final arrow, sprouted from her throat. Her massive body toppled onto the forest floor, convulsing its final times in death. Legolas and Aerith stepped through the trees in time to see the shut-down flash of jade light as Albert returned to normal. Completely drained beyond his reserves, the king was out cold before he hit the ground. Legolas kept his bow at the ready, watching the trees and the darkness for any sign of a further attack.
"Cloud!" Aerith rushed to his side. He was still lying in the dirt, so ravaged by pain that he couldn't force up the will to make himself move. The girl noticed the angry red areas where the serpent's scales had ground against his skin. "Cloud..."
"I'm fine," he assured her. As he sat up, though, she saw him clutch at his torso. Catching her gaze, he admitted, "Broken ribs." Looking around, he saw Albert lying in a heap amid the brush. "How is he?"
"I don't know," Aerith rose, walked over and knelt beside him. "He's unconscious," she called back. "Other than that, he looks okay. Legolas?"
"The tainted feel has left the air. All is quiet now." The elf lowered his bow and put away his arrow.
"We need to get these two back to camp-- my medical supplies are there." Legolas nodded.
"I shall retrieve the horses and return." Within a blink he was gone and Aerith returned to Cloud.
"Are you really all right? You look horrible."
"Thanks. Yes, I'm okay-- I can breathe now. That makes everything better." He fell silent then, still in pain from his broken bones.
"Who saved whom?" Aerith questioned quietly, glancing at Albert and the body of the dead serpent.
"We saved each other.
-------------------------------------------
Kieci was bothered out of meditation by a buzzing and vibrating in her belt pouch. Drawing out a small glass orb, the sphere lit and Tari's face appeared. The Dragon looked down on the orb without any hint of good nature.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Nice to see you too," Tari replied, her sarcasm heavy. "You really should lighten up, Kieci. You're going to get wrinkles if you don't stop frowning so much."
"That is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard," the mage snapped. "I was in the middle of trying to understand the Sphere's movements. If you have nothing important to tell me, close the connection and leave me the--"
"That's exactly why I called you," the Technician interjected. "The guys at the Industry figured out what's going on."
"Really."
"Yes. The three lesser Spheres have manipulated their energy and turned themselves into living beings in the form of three massive monsters, codenamed the WEAPONS. I don't feel like breaking down the acronym for you, but anyway, they come in varying strengths." She paused to see if Kieci was going to interrupt. She didn't, so Tari pressed on. "We have now the Alpha, Ultima and Omega Weapons to deal with, Alpha being the weakest. On the plus side, they can't create the Dark blobs anymore. On the con, though, they now have full mobility and combat initiative. This could pose a problem to villages, or to the people you sent out after them."
"My groups are in danger?" Kieci's voice went tight. "I have to warn them--"
"It's okay for now. None of them are anywhere near where the Industry's intelligence said the Weapons were last seen. You're the closest, but you passed Death's Wake of the east side and went right by the Alpha Weapon. Fortunately I'll be taking it out for you tomorrow."
"Death's Wake," Kieci let the name sink in, "The old castle...? But what did you mean when you said you're going after the Weapon there? You have no combat experience and you're no mage. How do you plan on standing a chance?" Tari smiled through the channel magic connection.
"I have backup." The Dragon stared at her for a moment, then:
"Tari, you didn't...!"
"You're right, I didn't: the Industry people did, this morning. There's only three of them."
"Three!"
"Yes. I knew you'd be pissed. You always overreact."
"You can't send them against a Sphere--Weapon--whatever, not this soon. With the limitations they'll be slaughtered!"
"O ye of little faith. They'll be fine. It'll take us a day and a half to drive there--yes, drive, I hate horses-- and by then we'll be fine. I got the odd ones but they look pretty tough. They said the kid can fly, but...I don't know. I haven't seen them in action yet."
"You're a fool. I'm not going to let you doom three worlds just because you're eager to outdo me. I'll turn back and take care of the thing myself..."
"You won't," Tari objected. "You can't. You exhausted yourself magically with that last fight. I don't care how good you are-- you can't take on even the weakest Weapon alone and with no reserves to draw upon. It would mean death for you and your world. Kieci, trust me," her voice softened, "-I won't let anything happen."
"You won't let it, perhaps-- but the Weapons will." Kieci cut off the connection, tossing the globe back into the pouch on her belt. Grumbling about foolish allies and unnecessary risks, the mage sighed heavily and closed her eyes.
Please R&R, or just say "I read this!" ……IS anyone reading this…?
K
