Wow, been a while since my last update huh? Seems only fitting since the last chapter was quite the doozy :) That and I got into a My Little Pony fanfiction, something I initially swore that I'd never do. But then again, I'm weak to my creative mind. XD
"So Dragen's jealous of Drago?" Liam asked.
"That's what I gathered," Mala answered.
"When you read his mind?" asked Tim next.
"Mala, Mala, Mala, what am I thinking right now?" Mavis asked with an intense gaze.
"Mavis, I don't need mind reading powers to know that you're thinking about food," Mala remarked.
"...Lucky guess," muttered Mavis.
"It's odd though, Dragen doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to be jealous!" Remy exclaimed.
"He's been hiding it well up until now, then," Ren added. "And when you look at everything in the bigger picture, it makes a great deal of sense. According to the memory you saw when you touched Dragen, Shen Du said that Dragen lacks ambition. What was it that Shen Du said exactly?"
"That Dragen could learn something about that from Drago," Mala answered.
"Hm, interesting. Like most demons, Dragen values himself on his power and masculinity. Even if he were feeling insecure or inadequate in some area, he wouldn't let it show because he's far too concerned with appearing strong."
"And he didn't react too happily when I pointed out that Drago accomplished so much more in a lesser amount of time than Dragen," Mala added.
"Makes sense. No ambition, does virtually nothing for hundreds of years and becomes incensed at realizing that his own younger, half-human brother has attained exactly what he wants in a shorter amount of time," Ren commented.
"So, what, is this just all about Dragen wanting friends?" Mavis asked.
"Or, at the very least, a satisfying life free from his father's influence," added Remy.
"Either way, being confronted with this revelation will actually benefit us," Ren said.
"How?" they all asked.
"Dragen's perception of himself has been rattled. Mala has done to him what he has done to Drago. He'll begin doubting himself."
"I doubt he'll up and run away though. That would be too easy," Tim noted as Ren nodded at his statement.
"Right. What's more likely is that he'll get angry. He'll be coming at us at full force, but his anger will cloud his judgement. He'll be sloppy and make mistakes. We can exploit that."
"So what's with the mind reading?" Mavis asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, did you always know you could do it or did it just happen?"
"It just sorta happened, really! I didn't even know I could read minds until it happened when I touched Dragen!" Mala exclaimed.
"Maybe it's part of your mother's secondary power, like the True Sight I got from my mother," suggested Liam.
"Perhaps it has only now begun to manifest," Ren added. "It's difficult to say exactly when powers begin manifesting in half-breeds. Each case is unique. There's still so much that we don't know about half-breeds."
"In any case, it could come in handy. What other powers did she have?" Liam asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine. And if I knew where she was, I'd ask her," Mala replied.
"Oh, this is exciting! First Liam gets True Sight and now Mala's psychic! I wonder what Drago's new powers will be!" Mavis exclaimed joyfully.
"Well, that one's obvious," Mala said, "It would be the same powers as the rest of Shen Du's talisman powers: animation, shapeshifting, flight," she listed. "I always assumed that because we're only half-breeds that we'd only get the main powers and nothing else."
"Then if you've begun developing your mother's secondary powers, there's a good chance Drago can develop his own!" Tim added.
"Too bad he's not here," Remy muttered. Suddenly, he noticed everyone - including his cousin - glaring at him before noticing Mala hanging her head sadly. "Uh, wh-what I mean to say is…" he stammered, trying to come up with a last minute answer.
"It's ok, Remy. He'll come back. I know it," she smiled.
"Is that what your crystal ball showed you?" Liam asked.
Mala looked down at the small orb around her neck as she fiddled with it with her thumb and index finger. "No. To be honest, I haven't been using it that much lately."
"What? Why not?" Mavis cried, shocked that her friend would be refraining from using such a power.
"Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the future isn't set in stone. Think about it! My mother foresaw a future where Liao She killed me and I foresaw a future where Liam died! Neither one of those came true."
"B-but, future seeing Mala!" Mavis whined with a pouty face.
"Ah-ah, no way," she insisted, remaining firm in her choice. "I'm swearing off looking into the future! There's too many variables and possible futures to know what is really going to happen!"
"I think it's a wise decision," Ren said. "Such a power is dangerous and has the potential to cause just as much - if not more - harm than good."
"Speaking of harm, you get a lock on Dragen yet?" Mavis asked.
"In fact, I have," Ren replied, pulling out a world map and laying it on the table in front of them. "His signal's been popping up all over the place so it's been hard to pinpoint his location and figure out where he's going. But, I've managed to locate him here." With her finger, she pointed at the state of Kansas.
"Kansas? What would an ancient Chinese key be doing in the middle of American farm country?" Mavis asked.
"Well, I guess we'll find out once we get there," Liam said, holding up Arran's amulet and opening a light portal.
"Man, I've seen a The Wizard of Oz plenty of times and this place sure is… oh who am I kidding? Not even a pop culture reference could make this place exciting," Mavis sighed as they came out of the portal onto a dirt road surrounded by farmland. "You got a lock on our lizard boy?" she asked Ren, who held out her pendulum and silently concentrated. Slowly but surely the pendulum began to sway before levitating and pointing to the south.
"That way," Ren pointed. Linos grabbed a hold of Tim and Mavis while Mala took the two Ryder slayers and they flew off in the southern direction. As they flew, the wind began to pick up and they spotted a tornado swirling in the distance.
"Ah, sweet! I almost forgot this place was tornado central!" Mavis exclaimed. "Get us closer so I can take a picture!"
"Are you crazy?" Tim shouted.
"I'm not crazy. My parents had me tested," she replied.
"Dragen's there, I'm sure of it!" Ren declared, pointing directly at the tornado as her pendulum homed in on the swirling vortex of wind.
"What are you waiting for? Take us in!" Mavis cried, nudging Linos in the shoulder.
"Are you kidding? I may be able to fly, but I doubt I'll be able to stay upright and keep a hold of you two if I get close to that. Remember what happened with Hou Yi? She pulled me right out of the sky because she could control the wind! This is a hundred times worse!" Linos argued.
"Then I'll go," Mala declared.
"What?" exclaimed Remy from her arm.
"I can at least weigh myself down and anchor myself to the ground if the winds becomes too strong. And if I so happen to get hit by debris, there's a greater chance of it getting crushed rather than me."
"She's got you there. Your soft fleshy bits wouldn't do well if a house landed on you," Mavis added as she pinched his arm.
"Be that as it may, you can't just go in alone!" Linos argued.
"It's either that or Dragen gets the key!" Ren argued back before turning her attention back to Mala. "You know more about him than even he knows. Get into his head and he'll crumble. You can do this."
"Thanks," Mala smiled. She handed Ren and Remy over to Linos, who took a hold of Remy with his feet while Ren climbed over to his back. As Mala moved towards the tornado, she could already feel the force of the wind pulling her in. She tried flying back to put some distance between her and the swirling vortex, but her efforts did little against the strangely powerful force of wind. She had to act fast otherwise she'd be sucked right into this thing and swung around like a ragdoll! Mala glanced at the ground below and quickly formed crystals over her body. The added weight sent her plummeting to the ground. The wind still blew at her back, trying to lift her back up into the air as her white ponytail flailed wildly in the wind. But Mala kept her feet firmly planted on the ground and encased in crystal, keeping her in place. With no other options to get closer safely, Mala lifted one foot and took a step forward as more crystals spread on the ground and encased her leg. She continued this slow movement, carefully advancing into the tornado while still safely on the ground. She raised her arms as the winds became more violent to shield herself from dust and debris. Sure enough, she gradually made it into the eye of storm. Inside, the winds were calm while the vortex raged around her. "Ok, now where's that key?" she asked herself. She looked around for any sign of a structure of clue, but there was nothing. And even if there was, there was a good chance the tornado had swept it up already.
Out of the corner of her, she noticed dirt moving as a little green and white badger emerged from the ground. Before she could question it out loud, the badger grew and shapeshifted into Dragen. "Ah, that was much easier!" he sighed before suddenly noticing Mala. "Oh, great. It's you," he muttered.
Mala quickly remembered what Ren had said. She had managed to throw Dragen off his game. And she needed every advantage she could get right now. "Oh, what's the matter? I thought you liked me! Or did the fact that I could see deep into that disturbed little head of yours change your mind about me?" she teased.
Dragen growled under his breath as he narrowed his eyes in a vicious glare at her, neither of which did anything to intimidate her. "You didn't see anything. You don't know anything!" he shouted angrily, brandishing his sword.
"I think you'll find I know a lot Dragen! You're a classic bully! You put other down to feel better about yourself because you know deep down that you're a loser!" Mala shouted, brandishing her own scythe.
"Shut up!" Dragen shouted. He opened his mouth to breath fire at her, but just as the flames erupted from his mouth, they were immediately blown upward by the wind current in the tornado. "What the?"
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but your fire isn't going to work here!" With that, Mala threw her scythe at Dragen, but he easily sidestepped to avoid it as the curved blade struck the ground.
"I won't need it to beat you!" he declared loudly. He charged forward and shapeshifted into a large green leopard and dashed towards her. Mala held her ground and refused to flinch as the leopard advanced on her. Just as Dragen leapt in the air to pounce on her with fangs and claws at the ready, Mala turned and knocked him aside with her thick and powerful tail. The cat landed roughly on its back before quickly jumping back on its feet and morphing into a bull. Dragen brushed his hoof against the dirt and exhaled loudly before charging at her again. Mala widened her stance and held her arms out, ready to receive the bull. She quickly grabbed onto his horns and pushed every ounce of strength she had into holding him back, but he had momentum on his side and Mala wasn't able to keep her footing. She lost her balance and fell back as Dragen trampled over her and quickly grabbed onto his neck, being carried with him as he ran.
"Better not let my shrimp of a brother see us. He just might get jealous!" Dragen taunted.
"And you don't know when to stop talking!" Mala grunted, quickly stabbing Dragen in the side with her two pink claws.
Dragen roared in pain at this and shook Mala off him. She tumbled to the ground but quickly got back up on her feet as Dragen returned to his true form and clutched the bleeding wound on his side before it slowly healed. Before either of them could say anything, something in the sky above them twinkled. They both looked up and saw a slim light blue dagger with a hooked end and dark blue curved hilt. They quickly looked at each other again, waiting and watching for the other to make the first move before they simultaneously leapt into the air. As the tornado continued to whirl around them, Mala and Dragen fought each other in mid air, trying to reach the key that floated above them. Mala managed to kick Dragen off her as she flew up and extended her hand out to grab the key. Just as her fingertips grazed the metal tip of the key, she felt something sharp clamp down on the end of her tail. She cried out in pain and drew back her hand as she turned and saw Dragen's mouth clamped tightly over his tail. Before she could try anything, he released his grip on her, climbed over her back and jumped off her shoulders to seize the key before her. He quickly pointed the key down towards Mala as a spiraling whirlwind formed at the tip of the key and blew Mala to the ground, where she landed roughly on her back. As Dragen slowly floated to the ground, the tornado around them suddenly dispersed.
Just as Mala tried to sit up, Dragen came over to her and pushed her back onto the ground and kept her firmly in place with his large foot on her shoulder. He took the sharp, needle-like end of his sword and stabbed it into her shoulder. She cried out in pain and tried to reach her hand to pull the sharp object piercing her out, but Dragen took his other foot and stomped on her hand hard, pinning it to the ground as she squirmed in pain. "Now, now, I wouldn't move around too much," he teased. He spotted her friends coming towards him and smirked. Raising the key up, he summoned a powerful gust of wind that easily blew them away like dust. He turned the key back onto Mala and grinned maliciously. "I've always heard about how much of a giant windbag my uncle was, but there's a big difference between him and me." He leaned down and whispered, "I might just take your breath away."
He held the dagger out in front of her face as a small air funnel surrounded Mala's head. She opened her mouth, trying to breath in as she felt the air being pulled from her lungs. She tried reaching her hands up to the dagger to disrupt the wind and let her breath, but Dragen kept her left hand pinned while she was unable to lift her right because of her shoulder. He laughed at her weak attempts to break free. She could feel her senses dulling as everything around her started getting darker and quiet. She tried summoning some crystal shards in her hand to shoot at him, but she lacked the strength. Just as she was about to pass out, a fireball came from out of nowhere and struck Dragen on the side of his head. It was strong enough to knocked him off Mala, but not strong enough to knock him off his feet. The wind funnel that was suffocating Mala was disrupted as she sat up and violently coughed, trying to refill her lungs with the oxygen they were screaming for while clutching her bleeding shoulder.
"Who did that?" he shouted before widening his eyes and grinning. "Well, well, well, I thought I scared you of!"
"Get your hands off my girl!"
In the midst of her coughing fit, Mala gasped when she recognized that voice. She opened her eyes and looked to the figure that stood opposite to Dragen a few feet away. "Drago…" she whispered.
Dragen scoffed, "Fine, you can have her. She's stuck on you anyway. Now, I thought I had you running with your tail between your legs like the little dog you are. What happened?" he asked, curious.
"You tried to shake my resolve, but you failed."
"Ah come on, little brother, people don't resolve their issues that quickly," Dragen remarked, slowly walking towards his brother.
"You're right. I had help… from a wolf," Drago said, quickly glancing at Mala and smiling at her reassuringly.
'Mom?' she thought.
"Pffft, figures! You never could do anything by yourself, could you! Little Drago always needs help!" Dragen teased, putting the Wind Key under his belt.
"Yeah, you're right. I did need help. I needed someone to pull my head out of my own ass and show me how good I've got it now. She helped me find my way when I was lost once before, and now she's done more for me then I could ever repay her for. You tried to get into my head and take from me what I value most!"
"You don't deserve any of it! I'm the older son, I'm the full demon, I should be the one who has everything! And it's not fair that a shrimpy little half breed like you has it all!" Dragen roared angrily, charging towards his brother. Dragen raised his saber to slice his brother horizontally, but Drago jumped up and quickly landed on the broad side of the blade with one foot before immediately jumping off and kicking Dragen in the side of his head. This only made Dragen angry as he advanced, wildly swinging his sword in an attempt to strike Drago, who easily side-stepped each one. Just as Dragen brought the sword straight down onto Drago, the younger dragon caught the blade in his hands and pressed them together tightly to keep Dragen from pulling back. As the two opposing brothers struggled, Drago suddenly grinned and breathed fire right in Dragen's face. Dragen jumped back reflexively and shook his head to dispel the flames. Drago took this chance to rush up to Dragen and punch him right in the jaw. The force of the hit knocked Dragen to the ground and Drago took this opportunity to keep attacking. As he charged towards Dragen, the elder dragon smirked and reached for the key around his waist. He sharply turned around and pointed the key at Drago, causing a powerful gust of wind to blow at him from behind. The wind was so powerful it lifted Drago off his feet and sent him flying towards Dragen, who held out his arm and clotheslined Drago right in the chest and knocked him to the ground. With Drago down and stunned by the hit, Dragen took the chance to raise his sword over and strike Drago.
"No!" Mala shouted, quickly flying over to try and stop Dragen while still clutching her shoulder. However, she wouldn't make it in time as the green blade began nearing Drago's chest. Drago quickly brought his arms up to protect himself as best he could as he prepared to feel the sharp blade strike his arms. What he felt instead, however, was the pressure of something striking his forearms, but quickly being bounced off. He heard something snap as something landed on the ground next to him and opened his eyes to see the end of Dragen's sword sticking out of the ground, broken from the rest of the blade.
"Huh?" he cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Drago's focus quickly snapped back to his brother, who roared in frustration. Drago quickly moved out from under Dragen and got back up on his feet in a battle-ready position.
"How… how were you able to do that?" Dragen shouted.
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you have any idea how much trouble I had to go through to get this? All those weeks trying to sneak into the Metal Demon Sorcerer's armory… for nothing!" he shouted, throwing aside the broken weapon. "And now you mean to tell me that you have yours?"
"My what?" Drago asked. Suddenly, Drago noticed something wrapped firmly around both his forearms. They were a matching pair of black and red armored gauntlets with curved and scale-like patterns over them. Along the main body of it were bright orange spikes. His fingers were also covered in sharp metal armor and when he touched the orange spikes with his finger, it simply passed right through the spikes. 'Solid flames' he thought. As he examined the gauntlets further, he noticed a third, matching one on his tail as well. He couldn't quite explain it, but Drago felt an incredible surge of power flowing through him. Just as he was thinking that, the solid flame spikes began glowing and suddenly grew, morphing into long curved blades that matched the length of his forearms. "Whoa…I don't know about you, but I think my odds just got a lot better," he grinned, charging forward to his brother. Dragen quickly brought his arms up to shield himself from the attack, but Drago swung his arms, slicing Dragen's forearms with his solid fire blades. The greater dragon hissed in pain and jumped back. He looked down at the armor on his forearms, which Drago had just sliced through as blood began to pour out from the wounds. "What's the matter? No more fancy moves?" Drago taunted confidently.
Dragen growled menacingly and took in a deep breath and breathed a huge burst of blue flames towards Drago. Drago quickly brought up his arms to protect himself, but didn't feel any fire strike him. He opened his eyes and saw the flames being repelled around him by the gauntlets. The fire dispersed and the blades on his arms suddenly glowed blue like Dragen's fire. Drago smirked and swung his arms, causing two energy slashes of blue flame to fire out from the blades on his gauntlets. The two slashes came together, forming a giant X and struck Dragen dead centre. The force of the attack practically threw Dragen back nearly a hundred feet as the Wind Key fell from its place on Dragen's belt and onto the ground. Drago walked over to the Key and took it in his left hand before confidently smiling at Dragen, who cursed under his breath and transformed into a bird, taking off.
As the demon retreated, Drago moved over to Mala, who stood in place, still clutching her shoulder. The others were just about to regroup with them until Mavis pulled them all back to give Mala and Drago some privacy. The couple stood in silence with their eyes locked before Drago's eyes shifted to her wound. Mala noticed this and said, "I'm fine. Really. What about you?" she asked hopeful.
He closed his eyes briefly and smiled at her. "Better than ever." Before she could respond, Drago wrapped his right hand around the back of her neck and pulled her face towards his. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, holding her body closely against his as he planted his lips on Mala's in a firm and reassuring kiss. Drago's heart leapt joyfully when he felt Mala eagerly and passionately return the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Twice now he was grateful to that infuriating wolf for knocking some sense into him. He was exactly where he wanted to be and nothing was going to change that.
This was probably another favorite moment in the making. As a show of Drago working through his emotional turmoil, what better way to reward him than with his own Demon Weapon. Since Demon Weapons are supposed to compliment each demon, Drago's is meant to compliment his brawler fighting style rather than be an actual holding weapon. I don't know about you guys, but I don't see him with a sword or staff weapon, etc. After playing some Darksiders 2, I realized the secondary gauntlet weapons that Death had the option of using would suit Drago very well! And for fun, we put a third on his tail. And basically how they work is the spikes are solid flame, but are capable of morphing into an array of fist weapons. All he needed to bring them forth... was a "spark" lol