Chapter 9:Proving A Dragon's Will
A challenge was made, and it needed to be answered in full when one's conviction came into question. So Asher was willing to answer the challenge, and show the guardians his will. To do that, he needed to fight them all, but he was at least able to start with Terrador. They both stood across from each other, standing upon the sands and solid ground that was still. Knowing Terrador however, the ground was not going to remain settled for long, he was prepared for the worst.
So far it seemed like a simple calm before the storm, perhaps he was being studied. Seeing as Terrador was older and experienced, he'd probably want to figure his opponent out. Learning your foe was a good first step to victory, learning weaknesses and soft spots of the body and mind. Asher only ever fought a claw full of experienced enemies in his time, so he couldn't be reckless. Patience would need to be exercised if he was to challenge and fend off the green guardian.
"You might as well make the first move, earth guardian! I'm not gonna make this easy for you!"Asher decided to rain on Terrador's patience and studying.
"Really? You're awfully confident for a young dragon who doesn't even know us,"Terrador pointed out Asher's confidence and his set in his ways attitude,"You have not known us personally or seen what we can do, yet you're so certain you can win…!"
"Wouldn't have accepted the challenge if I didn't, but you want me to prove myself, don't you?"Asher questioned, and Terrador looked to the sand and smirked, letting a chuckle escape his lips.
"This is true… Very well then, I'll make the first move…!"Terrador responded, and quickly went on the attack, roaring and unleashing an earth raising breath.
Giant chunks of rock and sand kicked up from the mighty roar, blasting right at Asher like a tidal wave. There was at least a hundred tons of rock flying at him, this appeared to be a form of test. So Asher was willing to take the test as he let his muscle build in his right arm. Before he through a fist down towards the ground, growling as his fist drilled the sand and smashed up his own barrage of crumbled ground. They collided and smashed together before the wind of the punch took over.
It drilled through ground and collision of rocks and blasted Terrador with pure force. The wind whipped at his face and forced him to grind back in the sand until his back smacked against a pillar. He covered his face and endured the wrathful wind till it slowly died down. Once Terrador could look up from the show of force, Asher was letting out a deep breath and raising his fists up. Ready to start brawling, and prepared for any other earth based tricks that the guardian had at the ready.
"Impressive raw power…! That must be his strength ability at work."Cyril realized as he and Volteer sat down to get comfortable to witness this exchange of blows.
"Impressive, yes. But that's still muscles and flesh being put to work for that power,"Volteer gestured to the noticeable twitching that was happening to Asher's right arm,"Using so much excessive force could prove very costly to his body's interior health…!"
"So... He has enough power to match my earth powered breaths…? I need to be sure!"Terrador decided on his next move and prepared the same roar of breath.
His breath erupted and carried another rushing wave of sand and stone at Asher. And the black dragon responded with another right fist fully pulsing with pure strength. The same result happened as he punched the ground, destroying the incoming tide of rock and dirt. Letting the wind tear a path through it and blast Terrador away again, this time he was forced to just dig his claws into the sand. Or he would end up soaring into the air this time around, he needed to take a pelting of stones to the face and chest in exchange.
His arms were feeling a bit burned from the excessive force, but he could take the muscle strain for some time. His only issue was how insulted he felt that the guardian tried the same trick on him. It was like he was seeing if Asher was stupid or absent minded, like he wouldn't remember the same trick.
"He's trying to test me like I'm some sort of child…! This old timer needs a lesson on what I can do!"Asher thought and decided to go on the offense in a very aggressive way.
He lowered a claw to the ground, tearing into the sand and stone, creating a rut. He readied to slash up the guardian's chest with an uppercut, his arm pulsed with muscle once more. Terrador expected as much, since he was also tested for patience, and it seemed that Asher's limit was learned. So Terrador took advantage of the the younger dragon's shortened patience. He curled a fist up nice and tight, before rocks and stone shot towards his claw and coated it in a rock solid gauntlet.
He back stepped to avoid the upper slash, and twirled to the right to get behind Asher. Allowing him to back fist Asher in the back with his stone claws, knocking him face first into a pillar. The black dragon's face cracked the pillar to the point that it nearly split in two. He manage to turn around to face Terrador, only to take a punch straight into the gut, it forced grunts and spit to fly from his mouth. He growled and tried to keep himself from losing any wind in his body.
He strained himself to stay strong, and headbutt Terrador as hard as he could. Cracking open a small gash in the guardian's head, it forced Terrador to stumble away, gripping his head. While Terrador seemed a bit winded and stunned, and that opened an opportunity to attack. So Asher took the opportunity and rushed the guardian while Terrador was reeling from the gash that soaked his claw with blood. Terrador heard him coming though, and endured the pain to see the incoming attack.
Quickly, his wings swung hard and lifted him off the ground to avoid a hard fist. He watched as Asher slammed his fist deep into the ground, blasting up a large ring of sand around himself. Asher looked up to see the sly and slippery green dragon, just in time for Terrador to attempt a counter his move. As he flew down and readied his stone claws to swipe at the black dragon's face. Thankfully, Asher was quick to throw another fist up, letting it catch in the palm of Terrador's claw.
With the two locked in, Terrador saw his chance to bring Asher down nice and quick. A powerful roar erupted from Terrador before a green blast of high velocity stones and force reigned down on Asher. The powerful force came down, smashing and putting a solid crushing pressure on his head and back. The glowing green stones pelted his chest and started softening up his black scales. Before Asher knew it, his scales would splinter and peel away, and his body would be destroyed.
It was like being in a merciless wind tunnel full of small stones pelting him violently. His eyes were almost completely closed, his vision was blurry, he had no way to stop this attack. Then he could only think of one thing, swing and hope for the best while Terrador was locked in with him. He curled up a right fist and focused his muscle one more time, hoping to end this struggle. He kept Terrador in place as the earth breath started to put a crushing weight on his bones.
Thankfully he had the initial strength to throw his punch, and Terrador's own attack masked it's approach. Only when the fist made it through the green rock spray, Terrador's eyes widened to the threat. It was too close, and there was nothing he could do to avoid the incoming punch. He could only close his eyes and hear the loud war cry of rage, before the fist made it's mark. Violently drilling against Terrador's cheek, taking two teeth out and rattling his head before it's force took over.
It launched Terrador like a doll, sending him spiraling across the arena. Before he came to a brutal crash landing through a pillar and into the solid marble ground, this shocked his fellow guardians.
"Impressive! He was willing to risk the damage and the injuries to cripple his foe."Volteer took not as Terrador trembled and struggled to stand, only to fall to a kneel.
"That pure muscle appears to be more dangerous than I thought. Caution will need to be taken much more seriously,"Cyril decided and walked to the arena to stand between the two,"This spar here is now over, Volteer will take over for Terrador!"
"Really? Not even going to let me rest up or recuperate from the first bout,"Asher panted and tried to give his arms a chance to relax from the struggle,"So this test is all about endurance and will power…! Ok then, I've been in a few situations like this…"
"Well, since you're so very confident in your abilities, certainly fighting us won't be too much trouble…!"Cyril teased Asher for his confidence in fighting them.
Volteer casually strolled into the arena as Cyril aided Terrador out of it. Asher rubbed his arms, knowing that he would have to use them again, even after they were already pushed to their limit. These guardians wanna try and give him a hard lesson, and he was going to throw one right back. All was fair in love and war, or in this case, respect and war between dragons. So he was readying up to go again, but the battle started in a flash the moment Cyril and Terrador stepped out of the ring.
Immediately, he felt himself get jabbed in the snout and suddenly kicked in the back. He flew forward and face planted as Volteer appeared behind him, only to then appear above him. A stream of electricity showed off his speed, clearly it wasn't just for power and scale piercing.
"Sorry…! Were we suppose to wait until someone said go?"Volteer asked, immediately angering Asher enough to earn a kick to the snout in return.
"Now you bearded lizards are just trying to piss me off!"Asher spun to his feet and made a grab for Volteer's neck.
Volteer zipped away in a bolt of electricity, weaving and swerving around Asher. The black dragon tried to track him, but speed gave Volteer the advantage he needed as he went on the attack. One small jab to the right cheek surprised Asher, before a hook swiped across the other cheek. Quickly Asher made a grab for a sudden incoming electric claws coming in for a swipe. He manage to make the lucky grab before his face would get torn up, but he was still wide open.
Allowing Volteer to slap his claws into Asher's gut and give him quite the shock. Electricity surged and scorched Asher's belly, scales burned away from the white hot power. The black dragon roared and yelled, feeling the lighting of Volteer's claws sear his scales and flesh. The pain forced Asher to release Volteer, before he took a swift jab and an uppercut. This forced him back, only to get his own claw grabbed, allowing Volteer to hoist him up and over, slamming the black dragon back first into the sand.
"Are we now? I couldn't tell, to be honest."Volteer mocked and went to curb stomp Asher's head.
The black dragon thought fast, focusing his power out of muscle and into reflexes. This allowed him to lift both legs up till they were about to touch his head, they snapped together around Volteer's claw. This saved his head, and allowed him to lift the dragon up and over. Slamming Volteer in the same way while Asher then sat up and gripped the wrist of the electric dragon. He laid back and forced Volteer to turn over and face plant while he was then in a merciless arm bar.
The guardian's cockiness was understood, and he needed to start getting serious. He dug his claws into the sand, using all his strength to slowly get up, he even started lifting Asher up. But the black dragon growled, twisting Volteer's wrist, and switching sides and bending Volteer's body down once more. With another face plant, Asher showed his strategy for fighting slippery and fast foes. This had Volteer immobilized, no mobility meant no speed or control of the arena, he was at Asher's mercy.
"So maybe it wasn't a good idea to mess around! Ever hear of kicking the lion's cage?!"Asher roared, still angry and aching to bring the pain as Volteer was losing his cool.
His friendly attitude gave away to pain and stress from the tight lock he was in. His claws dug deeper into the sand as he felt himself pushed to extreme measures. So he focused his electricity, letting it glow and sparkle through his whole body, his scales sparked, making him glow. His full power was being brought forth, it was beyond a rarity for the guardians to use their full power. But a dragon this resilient required full strength, so he used all the electricity he could conjure up to fight.
With a powerful roar, his trapped claw manage to blast a beam of lighting right into the face of Asher. This shot the black dragon away and sent him crashing into the pillar. Volteer rolled away and stood tall, panting as the column collapsed and smashed to pieces on top of Asher. The black dragon groaned and shook his head, looking around to the pile of crumbled stone he was in. But he was more than happy to take pleasure in the fact that he angered a guardian and forced his full power to the surface.
"I have as a matter of fact, and boy did you give it quite a kick young dragon,"Volteer warned while Asher slowly crawled out of the rubble that was being stained by the blood from his mouth,"Now we're about to teach you a lesson on respecting your elders…!"
"Then less lip and more whip, chatter box…!"Asher challenged while wiping blood away from his mouth.
The moment those words left his mouth, Asher was up against the pillar by his neck. It cracked up before Asher was then choke slammed to the sand, he then got tossed in the other direction. Thankfully Asher caught himself and hand stood before back flipping to his feet. Just in time for Volteer to get in his face and tail whip the black dragon even further back. He slammed against another pillar and dropped to a kneel, realizing he needed to counter that speed some other way.
But quickly he needed to avoid an incoming fist full of electricity. It missed his head and cracked the pillar in two, while Asher made a grab for Volteer's arm and his head. He curled one arm under Volteer's electrified arm, and his other arm wrapped over and around the guardian's neck. A guillotine was put into effect, The arm was being bent up, while the neck was being put in a tight refused to be taken down the same way once more, however, and fought to escape.
His free claw started swinging and scraping at Asher's legs, while his electrified scales zapped at the black dragon's face and chest. The struggle came down to raw strength and endurance, something they both had. The static pricked and stung Asher's body like veracious bees, but like the bees from before, he could persevere. Until he felt the claws scratching and slashing at his legs. He growled in pain, and for the injuries, he returned the favor by suddenly lifting his leg up and drilling a knee into Volteer's snout.
This immediately dazed Volteer, his snout went numb and his vision went blurry. It manage to desensitize him for when a second knee raised up and smashed his snout in, drawing blood. Asher finally got the opportunity he needed to release the arm and fully grasp the guardian's neck with both arms. Before he threw him away, letting him slam to the sand and bounce a bit across the arena. Volteer came to a grinding stop on his side, and trembled as he slowly started to stand back up.
"Reflexes… Flexibility isn't a normal thing for dragons of his medium build."Terrador admitted and studied the battle, feeling a mix of respect and irritation for the unwavering younger dragon.
"Indeed it looks almost unnatural… But so were Cynder's abilities in fear and shadow,"Cyril thought and partially agreed while pondering on another thought,"He's much more than we expected… Some of it could be argued that his prime youth is keeping him strong and at his peak."
"But perhaps Hunter was also correct about his passion and heart…?"Terrador dared to admit it, even through his distaste for Asher's attitude.
While the two guardians watched the two size each other up and collect themselves. Sparx was still a bit on the fence, hanging out on Hunter's shoulder and watching the fight. He already didn't like Asher, he was just like his sister, violent, a bit defensive, quite mean and hard headed.
"Still a bit upset about your first encounter with the new dragon?"Hunter asked after seeing Sparx's arms crossed with disapproval.
"Not at all! Just stretching my arms some more after he nearly crushed them to pieces and threaten me,"Sparx showed a bit of passive aggressive attitude and deep sarcasm when it came to Asher,"Totally not like evil Cynder at all, I was thinking it was just his way of saying, lets be friends!"
"Well, you should be more careful about what you say. He's been looking for Cynder since he first learned about her."Hunter reminded Sparx of the choice words he shared that nearly got him crushed to death.
"Well, I haven't seen Spyro since he flew off with her, but you don't see me complaining,"Sparx argued his case with Hunter, comparing and contrasting his intentions with Asher's,"I'm not threatening or being violent, or trying to put on some hard butt personality like in them action stories!"
"His story is far more complex than that, Sparx. You seem to view Asher like you viewed Cynder before her salvation from the darkness,"Hunter noticed this pattern of behavior that was similar to how Sparx felt about Cynder,"You need to let go of these past views you've had for Cynder and see the true picture…!"
"What's there to see? He's a tool just like she was, only with more muscle."Sparx did not want to buy the idea that there was much more to Asher than just a nasty attitude that rivaled the old Cynder.
"He wants to find his family… Just like you do, Sparx. He's desperate, so that is why he's trusting us,"Sparx eyes went a bit more wide as his stubbornness loosened only slightly,"Believe it or not, he's going to need you more than the both of you know…"
Suddenly Volteer finally went on the long awaited offense, using his speed and electricity. Asher readied himself, only for Volteer to disappear from view until he was right behind him. Before the black dragon could look to the guardian's swift move, both arms were grabbed. Static jolted and vibrated through his arms while Volteer then put Asher into a lock of his own. He yanked and pulled both arms back against their will and collar bones, making Asher groan and growl with growing pain.
This was pay back for the guillotine clearly, and the guardian wanted to pay him back in full. So he was going to take out his arms, and force Asher to surrender to him and the other guardians. But surrender was not an option, and it was never an option in his mercenary days. He might as well die rather than surrender, any sign of weakness or cowardly behavior was meant with immediate death or savage abuse. So all Asher could do was decide on how to escape this lock.
Then a simple idea hit him, and as he braved the volts coursing through his arms. He dipped down to a kneel and bent backwards, loosening his arms and putting his reflexes in full gear. He listen to the cracks and twists of his upper arms and collar bones, as they began to turn against their natural form. Volteer widen his eyes, feeling the arms crackle and suddenly extend out of the collar bones. Allowing the arms of the younger dragon to twist up and over Asher's head till they were in front of him.
He broke a sweat as Asher pulled his arms and Volteer's arms together till they were against his chest. Then he was able to pull forward and swing his head back, ramming the guardian in the snout once more. Once Volteer was forced to release Asher with a loud yell of pain. The black dragon decided to go for a take down, turning around in a flash, and tackling Volteer. Wrapping both arms around Volteer's neck and left arm, and slamming him into the sand with a strong crash.
Once he had Volteer winded, he made his move and bent the old dragon's arm against his neck. Once he was locked in, both arms tightened like a noose, putting Volteer in an arm triangle. This was how Asher handled aggressive and speedy creatures, a little endurance to bait his enemy into a vulnerable position was a true strategy. Once they fell for it, all that was left was to put them to sleep or even break their necks. For how old this guardian was, it surprised Asher that Volteer fell for this trap.
"For a polite chatter box, your fuse isn't as long as you make some people think," Asher growled and started to focus all the power into his biceps for the ultimate squeeze,"I knew you'd get reckless and do something stupid that left you open. Yet I'm still shocked…! Because it should have been obvious for you…!"
"What…?"That was his only word before the guardian felt immense force constrict around his neck.
"Now it's time to put you to bed, old timer…!"Asher growled as he unmercifully choked Volteer out.
Volteer went to try and shock his way out as he did before, but this time Asher had him on lock down. His arms inflated with muscle, cutting off circulation from within, keeping any electricity out of his body. Allowing the black dragon to finish the guardian with a bit more strength. Slowly Volteer felt the light of his vision fading, his arm could only struggle and flail. Before they were losing energy after attempting to finish Asher off with his full power, it turned out to be a grave mistake.
After a minute of struggling, they all went silent as Volteer wheezed and went limp. Once The guardian was out cold, Asher closed his eyes and released a deep breath of relief. Before he slowly eased up and released the yellow dragon, falling back with a louder breath of relief. He looked around, and saw some scared and very shocked faces, as they slowly looked down to Volteer. It took him a minute to understand, but he then nodded and slowly moved over to Volteer.
"It's alright, he's not dead…"Asher assured and grabbed Volteer's legs to lift him up a bit and shake some blood back into his head.
After a few good shakes, Volteer slowly came back to them, and awoke with a gasp. His vision was a bit blurry and his body was exhausted, it was even trembling from the shaky take down. Asher tossed his legs aside and sat back down, while Terrador decided to help Volteer.
"You nearly killed him!"Terrador snapped at the younger dragon as he just brushed it off.
"If I wanted to kill him, I would have used my full strength to crush his neck to dust,"Asher finally caught his breath and stood up to explain himself a bit,"I didn't use all my strength like I nearly did with Terrador, I needed to save some strength for, Cyril…"
"He could have matched Volteer's speed with his own, but it would just go back and forth, dragging out the fight,"Leo quietly judged Asher's strategy for fighting Volteer,"Asher's speed is physical while the guardian's is elementally natural. Eventually he would have burned out of steam and Volteer would have bettered him…!"
"So I simply did some freak show tricks and burned Volteer's energy out by pissing him off and getting him to go full force,"Asher finished his explanation right where Leo secretly left off,"I'll take a little abuse to tire your guardian out, and finish him off with a simple submission…!"
"Clever… We have underestimated you… Clearly, but I'm afraid it's time for you to stop,"Cyril suddenly decided to demand an end to this battle between them and Asher,"You're at the end of your ropes and you have next to no means of fighting…!"
"How do you figure that…?"Asher asked, before he felt something wrong in his arms.
He couldn't feel them, they were numb, no feeling remained in them. They were like dead weight hanging down his shoulders, his digits couldn't even flex no matter how hard he tried. His eyes grew wide as he looked down and saw residual static from Volteer, a parting gift for his conduct.
"I… Injected pure electricity…into your arms after putting you in that… Tight lock,"Volteer was slowly catching his breath, revealing what he did in their scuffle,"The static shocked all the nerves in your arms all the way up to your shoulders… They won't be of any use to you… For hours…"
"Really? That's kind of dirty…"Asher admitted as he looked to his arms with frustration, and great distaste for feeling weak.
"Well is that not… The kind of work… You used to do…?"Volteer sat up while Asher glared a him, only to then smirk.
"Now we see where you need to improve…! We will cease this test and you will get rested up,"Cyril decided, but Asher had something else in mind, since they wanted to take him for some sort of quitter,"You'll need to learn more discipline, and learn how to harness your natural element, seeing as you cou-"
Suddenly, Asher denied his words with a cold whip to Cyril's shoulder. He was in no mood to surrender, and he made that perfectly clear to the guardians, regardless of his position. This shocked the guardians, his assault was beyond outrageous, and his resilience was ridiculous.
"I'm not done yet…!"Asher stated as his tail slithered and waved around like a serpent ready to strike.
"Yes…you are…! You have no means of fighting any more! Now cease your resilient attitude!"Cyril decided to turn the other cheek and resist temptation to fight.
"Never…! You clearly take me for some quitter or weak youngling! I agreed to this to prove you wrong,"Asher growled as his legs slowly grew with muscle,"Now are you gonna fight? Or am I going to have to fight?"
"Asher…! You don't want to go down like this…! You're cripple! You cannot fight as you did be-"A kick interrupted Cyril , forcing him to jump back after taking it in the chin.
"My arms may be down… But I still have plenty of ways to kick your hide!"Asher challenged while Cyril slowly rubbed his chin and stood tall.
"Very well…"Cyril accepted the challenge.
He felt a burning anger brewing in his chest from the stubborn and irritable nature of the black dragon. To be assaulted and disrespected was not without a demand for punishment. As he stomped his front claws down, and a giant serpent of spiked ice burst from the ground. It trailed towards Asher, and the other guardians jumped to the sides while the black dragon skipped back. He manage to get one foot up and balance it on a spike of ice, letting momentum hit him instead.
He went back and slammed on his back in the sand, he growled from the landing. His arms were like noodles attached to his body as he leaned back and leaped back to his feet. Just in time to see Cyril fly and land in the arena with a roar, he seemed ready to teach Asher some manners. He looked to both of his arms, and shook his head to ignore the little bit of doubt in the back of his head.
Without his arms, he needed to be cautious seeing how chaotic and fast the ice appeared to be. So it was time for some speed, as was his plan for a highly defensive foe like Cyril. Fast ice abilities, large wall like or even serpent like ice clusters going on the attack, this required an even faster and aggressive approach. So as his legs allowed muscle to pulse and pump within them. He waited for the incoming attack he foresaw, a giant wave of ice erupted from the mouth of the ice guardian.
It lifted tons of sand into the dirt as it violently charged with hundreds of ice rods ready to pierce and penetrate. With his arms flapping in the wind, he bolted to the side to evade. Before pivoting back and jumping into the large wall of ice, he then raced through the mess of ice. Cyril saw him rushing up the ice and flew into the air to spray a thick sheet of ice over his last attack. It spread like wildfire, Asher saw the attack a moment too late and found himself trapped in a massive tube of ice.
"That was easy enough perhaps now the young dragon will learn when he needs to surrender and show…respect…?"A rumbling from the ice stopped Cyril from saying any more.
Asher exploded from the ice with a hard mid kick that shattered it like glass. Before he round housed, cracking Cyril at the right side of his face, stunning him so Asher could wrap his legs around his neck. He leaned back to back flip with the guardian, forcing them to plummet. Until he slammed face first with Cyril back into the ice and against the hard sand. He then attempted to choke the guardian out, but this time, Cyril would not be subdued like Volteer was.
This situation was stopped by a sudden collar of sharp ice spikes bursting from his neck. Asher saw the spikes sprout and instantly piercing his legs, the ice was cold, but the punctures burned with pain. Asher was forced to release Cyril, and the guardian was quick to roll to his feet. Before roaring and letting a bright blue beam of ice ring from his mouth, Asher bit his lips to take the pain. As he quickly scurried to his feet and quickly started running, not wanting to know what would happen if that beam hit him.
He ran circles and swerves around the arena as the ice formed in thick lines of spikes. Speed was his only option here, this kept Asher a step ahead of the ice and able to out maneuver Cyril. He proved this idea by waiting till he made it behind Cyril and shot down towards him. Managing to kick Cyril in the right cheek before the ice guardian turned and shot the beam towards him. This ensured Asher's advantage, he had now made Cyril's mind frantic, and was shooting wherever Asher was.
Once he shot his beam, Asher bit back on his legs injuries, and bolted for the hit. Cracking the other cheek before quickly backing away the moment Cyril shot in the other direction. He was caught in the strategy, now it was time to soften him up and tear him down. So Asher circled Cyril, swinging a kick into his back before the black dragon bolted away, Cyril looked behind. Allowing Asher to knee him in the chest, he bolted away and circled before he went for the head.
He brought a kick down to the back of Cyril's head and backed off. Before speeding to the side and stomping down on the side of Cyril's leg, this caused the guardian to drop to a kneel. Asher then decided to try something a bit risky, and decided to put his flapping arms to use. He went for a frontal charge, narrowing his sights to challenge Cyril, but this was merely a bait. Cyril's mind was still frantic, so he took the challenge and stomped both claws down to let a tidal wave of ice burst forth.
He leaped after a strong push off from his left leg before it gushed with blood. He just barely made it over the wave of ice before spinning down towards Cyril's back to let his wrist spikes do some work. His arms swung like ball and chain spiked maces, slicing into the center of Cyril's back. This finally forced a yell out of the blue dragon as he stumbled forward while his wings fell to his side. Asher landed and felt like his legs were ready to burst, so he went for one last attack.
He leaped back and put the last of his initial muscle into his legs before he stuck to the pillar. He kicked off just as Cyril turned to see the incoming attack, the guardian responded with a breath of ice. Frost formed on Asher's chest and face, but he took the blistering cold and head slammed Cyril in the jaw. While Asher face planted, Cyril got knocked across the arena and crashed into the sand. His ice immediately crumbled away as he laid there winded and grasping his chin.
Asher looked up and watched the guardian collect himself, it took a bit to catch his breath. Once Cyril was able to pull himself together, his mind was cooled and thinking straight again. Slowly he stood up with a sigh, seeing Asher laying with his arms as dead weight and his legs bleeding. He was losing strength, but miraculously, Asher was refusing defeat and slowly standing up again. This turned Cyril's outrage to concern, blood was pooling under the dragon's feet as he stumble onto them.
"I… Insist you yield, do you not see the state you are in right now,"Cyril questioned with slow breaths, before Asher slowly began to walk to him,"You're wounded…! You're bleeding out, and you have no other way to fight! Cease this reckless combat at once, before you destroy yourself!"
"You and your guardians want to keep trying to treat me like I'm not ready? Like I'm still some child like your Spyro,"Asher questioned, admitting his offense for the guardians immediate opinions of him,"I'm not the purple dragon…! I'm a grown black dragon looking for my sister! And I won't have you trying to stop me…!"
"Hmm… You sound like her… Always wanting to prove herself. Not wanting to be seen as a nothing,"Cyril suddenly admitted as Asher then slow ran to the guardian,"Never letting her bad past define what she truly was… She was willing to go through any ends of the world to show what she could do…"
Asher took advantage of Cyril's sudden plunge into deep thought, and went for a leaping round house. His plan was to kick Cyril upside the head and wrap his tail around the neck. Another form of choke hold, this would end Cyril right then and there, making himself clear to the guardians. But suddenly the ice dragon snapped back into reality, and made a firm grab at Asher's foot. Ice cold breath hissed out as ice formed and crawled up and down the guardian's spine, coating his spikes in ice.
"Just like you are willing to do the same for her… We understand this deep yearning,"Cyril responded to Asher as both claws and his horns were armored up in ice,"But we will not allow you to destroy yourself in the process. We will not fail your sister because you do not know when to surrender! I'm ending this…!"
He threw Asher's leg down and gripped his dead left arm before punishing the younger dragon. A Flurry of solid ice punches busted Asher's snout up, cracking it and drawing more and more blood with each punch. A dome of ice formed on the forehead, and Cyril headbutted Asher between the eyes. He released the black dragon, and spun his tail to smack Asher in the chest. This sent him smashing into the edge of the arena, Asher groaned and breathed a little faster with anger and frustration.
He looked to Cyril, he looked a bit bigger than he did before, a lot stronger too. So like Volteer, Asher managed to force Cyril to show off what he was truly capable of doing. But this time Asher did not have the means of putting Cyril into submission, his legs felt ready to give away. His arms still felt like dead weight waving in the breeze, but he was in this situation once before. A fifteen year old Asher, Brutas, Leo and Felious, combating a rival group of mercs, he was all beaten, his arms broken.
Brutas nearly lost his eyesight, and Felious now had a wound that looked like someone carved a game of tic tac toe into his chest. Fifteen mercs had them surrounded and had quite the huger for blood. But even then, Felious only laughed and stood his ground, he even praised the numbers. He saw this impossible fight, and rejoiced it, as if this was the fight he had been looking for. Out of madness or joy, they all chose to follow him to whatever end, even if they were shot down right there.
Instead, that day ended in them charging in, slaughtering like mad barbarians. And in the end, their comrades arrived just in time, killing the attackers and even their foolish leader. That ended any competition the Alphas had, and they dominated as hired fighters and killers. Slowly as Asher began to slowly stand up, gritting his teeth and growling to ignore the pain, he did not let this memory mean nothing. This meant the time had come to never give up, a former merc like himself never would.
This was really frustrating Cyril, the stubbornness of this twin black dragon was unheard of. So far their expectations had been exceeded, but now this seemed to be just plain ridiculous. He needed to just knock Asher unconscious to end the fight, it needed to stop before Asher damaged himself beyond repair.
"I think this guy got hit one too many times in the head. He's going to get killed if he keeps this up,"Sparx widen his eyes and started to get worried as Cyril went in beat down Asher,"What is this tough guy trying to prove?"
"He wants to show that he's more than ready to fight, suffer, and claw through anything for Cynder,"Hunter answered before they both looked away the moment a hook smashed Asher across the jaw,"You wish to see Spyro, don't you? Well Asher wants the same thing for Cynder…!"
"Well…! Is it really worth all THIS?!"Sparx gestured to Cyril jabbing and slugging every inch of Asher's head and face, trying to knock him out cold.
"You should ask yourself that before questioning Asher on that."Hunter responded as Asher then took an uppercut and a swinging tail whip that drove him into the sand again.
Asher spit out the blood that nearly filled his mouth half way, and lightly chuckled. Slowly then, he stood back up and looked to Cyril, who could not tell whether to be angry or scared. He needed to stop this, so he put all the muscle he could in his next blows as he punched Asher against a pillar and pinned him.
"This is out of hand…! Surrender yourself now, before you kill yourself!"Cyril demanded while Asher only continued the light chuckles.
"Never…!"He finally grunted and suddenly headbutted Cyril in the forehead.
He then kicked him in the chest, forcing him to back away rather than think he had this won. He stood up against Cyril, panting as Cyril shook his head, not wanting this fight to last any more. So this left him with no other choice now, he needed to finally stop Asher here and now.
"Then you leave me no choice… This is over…!"Cyril admitted before sprouting his wings and harnessing the true power within.
He closed his eyes, this was a trick Cyril never thought he would ever have to do. The great icy fires of his enchanting power surrounded him like a great aura, his true fury power came forth. He was unable to fly, but all he needed to do was focus his power and aim it all to Asher. His eyes grew pure ice blue as pillars of ice raised around him and spun like the most enchanted of glyph runes. A roar erupted as a great column of pure icy wind and magic shot out of his mouth.
The pillars of ice soared like high speed arrows after surrounding the beam. A foggy brisk mist surrounded them as Cyril clutched his claws and let burning cold ice form around his fists. Asher slowly raised his arms up and let them spread wide, as if he was greeting this true attack. His eyes managed to close before the brisk fog hit him, frost formed across his body, nipping him with freezing bites. Before the stream of ice, magic and sharp pillars overwhelmed him and drilled him into the ground.
It was impossible to see what was going on, as Cyril then performed the final move. As ice cover all of Asher's body, shock overwhelmed all the onlookers, Leo bit back all temptation to jump in. As Cyril charged in full force with both fists coated in his most solid and dense ice. With a mighty roar, his fists drove into the gut and chin of Asher, shattering the ice he nearly got trapped in. While the shear power of the double blow caused the fog and ice to spread out and clear the arena.
Snow took the place of the mist and ice, and it was everywhere. At the very least, they could all see the arena and the result of Cyril's final resort, and it did appear to be over. Asher was laying five feet away from Cyril, he was face down and breathing weakly, his breath was still cold. His body felt frozen from within, everything was numb and he was losing consciousness from the trauma. His eyes were slowly closing as he tried to claw at the sand and stay awake.
"No…! There's no way I'm… Losing to these guys…! I'm no quitter,"His eyes were sutting and all was going black as Cyril stood before him exhausted and weak,"I don't let these… Old ones… try to tell me… How strong and ready I am…! I'm suppose to prove them wrong…!"
Asher appeared to go limp and out cold, Leo lost his breath for a moment. This was not what he expected to witness, he had hoped for victory against the guardians, seeing as he was representing the Alphas. He felt a twitch in his wrist, he wanted to drive an arrow through Cyril's skull. But he was not allowed to be discovered, he would surely be imprisoned for trespassing and possibly confused for an assassin. So he only remained on the roof, watching as Cyril approached Asher.
"It's over now… Cyril just barely pulled through… Asher went down fighting."Hunter sighed and looked down, feeling a bit bad for the younger dragon's fall after all the confidence he had.
"Bout time…! I'm not sure this place could handle much more,"Sparx pointed out that crumbled pieces of the roof, the shattered pillars and the tortured battle grounds,"The architect is gonna be steamed about this…!"
"It's over now, Cyril…! He's finally down."Terrador called out to ensure that Cyril came down from the tense struggle.
"I know… You fought valiantly, Asher. You did not know the meaning of surrender. It's both respectable, yet reckless,"Cyril nodded to his fellow guardians and gripped Asher's arm to lift him up,"There's still much to learn. But I doubt it'll take long at all, several days, or a week at the most."
"Get up… Come on… Get up…!"Asher mumbled to himself before seeing visions through the darkness.
It felt like he was in the egg again, eyes were closed and all he could see was darkness. Then when he heard the screams, he would open them up just enough to see the light and it's shadows. The torture his sister went through, the evil things that twisted her mind to Malefor's will. She was taken away, but even then her will kept on fighting, even if it was through an older body. He had no means of protecting her, yet he wished there was more he could have done since she accepted her torment for him.
This weakness he was feeling right now, he could no longer feel such a thing. He needed to be strong, unable to be stopped or overpowered, he needed to find her and be there for her. No more weakness, no more falling or floating in darkness, he needed to get back up and fight.
"Remember…! Physical abilities only go so far, Asher…!"Suddenly, Asher heard a voice in his ear, one that he had heard before in a dream.
The black dragon was about to be assisted by the guardians as he slowly gripped the sand.
"Your dragon spirit must shine…! That is what makes your fire burn brighter and hotter than any other,"He knew it for certain now, it had to be Ignitus, the one who showed him the path towards mastering his fire,"You have plenty of spirit…! Let it shine if surrender is not an option! Bring it out for not just yourself, but for your sister!"
"My sister… My…sister…!"A growl barely made out pass his lips as he was lifted up by Terrador and Volteer.
"That fight took more than we thought, perhaps he wasn't completely blowing smoke,"Volteer thought as Cyril rubbed at both of his wrists that were worn down from the all out assault,"It took almost all our strength to stop him. Well done, Cyril."
"Thank you, but this is nothing to celebrate. We should merely be pleased that this didn't end in tragedy,"Cyril sighed and slowly approached Asher to inspect his injuries,"Stubborn young dragon nearly destroyed himself. His pride and ignorance toward reason nearly left him crippled…!"
"Indeed, but it also kept him fighting us till the end… Reckless as it is, such a mentality is powerful."Terraor admitted before he was the first to notice Asher's claws clenching into fists.
"Such thing will need self control before we can even worry about his natural element,"Cyril sighed again while Volteer then noticed the fists clenching and starting to steam,"If only we still had our brother, Ignitus. He would know how to-"
Suddenly, Asher yanked a right fist out of Terrador's grip and grabbed Cyril by his chin. Just as flames started rising like the start of a forest fire, his claws were like a vice grip the was turning into a hot iron. Static crackled around his arms before vanishing in the rise of smoke. His arms were free to allow the fire to grow and spread up his arms while his black scales suddenly began to turn red. Finally, Asher was able to open his eyes to let them go red and orange, as his true power began to surface.
"That's it…! Don't you quit now…! Show these guardians what you're made of…!"Leo cheered as fire suddenly flared around Asher's whole body as if he was splashed with gasoline.
Asher growled, letting his wings spread out wide and pride before grabbing Volteer's wrist. He crushed Volteer's wrists, and swung the guardian into Terrador before staring to Cyril. It was then that he released Cyril's jaw, letting the guardian drop his jaw with shock to see this rise in power. Asher then closed up Cyril's jaw with a swift uppercut, launching him into the center of the arena. While Asher's feet stomped into the sand, scorching the ground while a heat wave like aura formed around him
"You won't break me…! And you won't stop me from finding her,"Asher growled as an orb of fire formed in the center of his horns while his limbs regained their strength,"You wanna to go all out? Then so be it!"
He lifted up and let out a roar, letting his body bulk up, all his abilities came together. Strength, speed, reflexes, and fire to merge them all together to create something more powerful. Once he was all bulked up, he stared down a guardian with next to nothing else to fight him with. While Asher finally felt ready to end this fight at long last, and to prove them all wrong. Then the other two guardians jumped to Cyril's guard and began to glow with green and yellow auras.
Hunter and Sparx turned back to see this sudden turn of events with shock. Hunter could not help to feel some sort of fascination by this last breath, while Sparx was growing down right terrified. This mentality to never surrender was too much, something he never expected from a mere mercenary.
"There's no way…! There's just no way!"Sparx yelled with an urge to deny what they were witnessing.
"You really do not know when to give up… Then you certainly have the will for what you may face…!"Cyril finally admitted as his comrade prepared to give Asher everything they had left to give.
"Yeah… And I always will… Now don't blame me for what's about to happen."Asher warned and stomped forth a great ball of red heat surrounded him along with rings of flickering flames.
"Give him everything!"Cyril shouted and shot a concentrated laser of ice and magic at Asher.
Who simply raised his left claw up and leaped forth, fire formed in his claw. Melting away the beam as he ran to them with right fist inflamed and packing every last bit of power he had left. Terrador and Volteer backed Cyril up, while the beam vanished in the flames. Volteer summoned the lightning from the greatest storms he himself conjured in his younger days. While Terrador let a green wave of stones, boulders, and rock pillars burst forth, shattering the entire arena around them.
Asher threw his fist into the attacks, smashing clean through the rocks that melted away. The lightning remained the only element that did not go down so easily. He gritted his teeth to fight the stabbing and scorching spears of lightning that drilled against his fist in rebellion. This came down to a battle of will power, and Asher was ready to let it all show as fire erupted all around them in the shape of a dome. Fire even raised like lava through the open hole of the roof, making the sky glow.
Red light filled the skies and blackened the clouds, causing it to suddenly rain. The clouds rumbled and shot lightning bolts through the skies, outlining the dragons in the struggle. Asher made his final push and went pass the limit, forcing his fist through the lightning. Till he drove it and the flames into the guardians, an explosion then blew the roof completely off the room. Lightning lit up the sky as the roof incinerated in mid air, letting more fire raise into the air.
Hunter grabbed Sparx and managed to take shelter out in the main hallway. While Leo made a desperate jump off the side of the palace, and disappeared to the ground below. They all waited for the quaking that rattled the palace to subside while the power needed a moment to die down. Their ears rang from the sharp lightning, and the chaotic explosion that felt like a war zone. Smoke then filled the arena as the rain began to put out the flickering flames around the room.
Hunter held on tight to Sparx, waiting for the longest one minute of his life. Till all they could hear was the sound of rain dripping and pelting the palace above their heads. Then they were brave enough to open their eyes and release deep breaths, showing their scared moment for the explosion. Hunter panted, and looked down to notice smoke seeping out from under the doors. He released Sparx for a moment, and put his back against the door, listening for the dragons.
"So… Do we dare to open the doors…?"Sparx asked, worried about what they might see behind the doors.
Hunter simply looked to Sparx, and released one more sigh before turning around to the doors. He put both paws against the doors, feeling a bit nervous to open the doors up himself. He even gripped them a bit, before turning to see Sparx fly to his side in silence, a first for the dragon fly. Once Sparx was at his side, he nodded, and slowly began to open the doors with a big push. They creaked very loudly and slowly, this felt very foreboding, neither good or bad from the feeling.
Once the doors were open, they ventured into a derelict of an arena room. Pillars broken or burnt, roof tops blown off and scorched to ash, half of the floors was cracked and broken. Even the arena was in shambles, almost no sand remained within the ring, but what did remain was quite a sight. A battered and broken Asher barely stood up, had a wrist spike aimed right at the throat of Cyril. While Terrador and Volteer laid burned and bruised up on their sides, unable to do a thing.
"No way…!"Sparx could not believe what he was witnessing, the dragons he knew when alongside Spyro, these three great masters… Defeated.
Asher stood there panting, him and Cyril both breathing fast and heavy from the long battle. Their eyes locked onto each other, both knowing and understanding how this fight had ended. Though Cyril did not want to, but he had to understand since it happened right before his eyes. The rain pelted and tickled their scales gently as distant thunder rumbled in the distant sky. This was a dragon that proved to be much more than they expected, back in the young days, he would be the perfect sibling student for Spyro.
Once they had finally come to a mutual understanding, Asher was finally done. With a slow and long breath, he tipped back like a broken tower, and crashed to the ground completely out cold. He laid there motionless, while Cyril remained where he was, panting and overwhelmed by the battle. In a way, it made him feel invigorated and fresh after so many years of peace. Now they truly know what they were dealing with, they knew what Asher could do, and the only things he needed to learn.
He could only sit there and watch while his fellow guardians slowly got up. Watching the black dragon that showed so much potential since the days of Spyro. They would spend moments reflecting on this battle before cleaning up the arena, and getting Asher the medical attention he needed.
Hope this didn't seem too ridiculous, kind of gave the guardians a bit of a bump. Never saw much about what they could truly do, I felt like there's way more to them than what they appear. They had to become guardians and masters for a reason, right? Hope that was an epic fight and fun to read, and I hope to see you guys around for some more of this story.