Prelude to Episode 21
Naga my darling, are you still alive? [sigh]
I sure miss those days when we were just two wild and crazy kids roaming the countryside looking for trouble and adventure...
Well, here I am, no adventures in sight-
[from outside the door] "I could take you on all the adventures-"
Not THAT kind of adventure you PERVERT!
"But you want to do all that with HER..."
How do YOU know what I want to-
HEY! HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING US?
"Wellllll..."
PERVERT PERVERT PERVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTT!
Episode 21
Filia took the girls down to the docks in the morning to summon up more sea cucumbers, since they were a relatively abundant and inexpensive way to feed the easily pleased pallets of the young dragonettes.
While they were about the business of satisfying their immense appetites, the people of the city had grown interested and began to come down to observe them.
As the two smallest ones preferred to remain near Filia, it soon became evident that they were all in general very affectionate creatures.
Some people began feeding them and petting them.
After a while, there were hundreds of Zephilians and travelers out admiring the golden yellow children, feeding them, petting them, and even trying to get them to talk.
Some of them were mimicking words, with a lisp of course, while some simply purred and chirruped, wagging their little tails happily.
After they filled up, they tended to slow down and become drowsy, often simply laying down right where they were and going to sleep.
Filia had to carefully encourage them one by one to move out of the path of traffic so that people could go about their daily activities.
As the last of the children was led to a sunny flat spot where public events were often held, Filia herself lay down with them, stroking her two favorites as they slept.
Passers by would greet her and talk to her about them, most of them were amazed that they were in fact her children, but some of them had already been present with Luna and Filia were wed here in this very location just three months before.
These people however, were more astonished that the children had showed up in only three months time.
As the day wore on, and people milled about, however, several large black ships hove into view and the harbormaster called general alarm.
People began scurrying off and soon the harbor was all but abandoned, the only people remaining were soldiers preparing for battle.
Filia tried earnestly to wake her children, but they were too groggy to rouse.
As the ships entered the harbor, Filia was getting very worried and did not know what to do.
Thankfully, as the general alarm sounds all across the city, Luna, Naga, Bruno and Alyth were all alerted as well, and soon were on the scene.
Alyth, who usually never carried a weapon, today had an immense iron skillet in hand.
Hurrying to Filia's side, Luna was made aware of the situation.
"I can't get them up and I can't carry them all at once!" Filia declared fretfully.
"I'll stand watch while you take them to the inn." Luna responded, summoning Einlanzer and Warlacher from her charm necklace.
As the large black ships approached the shore, they first sent out volleys of cannon fire to soften up the shoreline which had only recently been repaired.
Several land based cannons returned fire, but these black ships were iron clad and the land based cannonballs were simply bouncing off their hulls.
Soldiers ducked and dove for cover to avoid incoming fire while remaining near enough to brace for the landing party.
As the ships pounded the sea port, they lowered ramps which exposed iron clad wheeled walls that men marched down behind.
"This is looking bad..." Luna said.
"Freeze Arrow!" Naga cried out as she froze the armored devices midway down the ramps of the various ships.
"Good thinking!" Bruno praised her, "That means they now have to expose themselves to get to shore and they can't hide behind their armor when they get to the docks!"
"I thought you would like that one," she smiled wickedly.
As the men on the ship clambered around the frozen walls, the soldiers on land were trying to pick them off with arrows, and although they didn't hit many of the sailors, they did manage to knock them off into the water.
Since their armor made them sink directly to the bottom, they were all rapidly stripping out of it as they strained to hold their breaths.
Soon the water was filled with swimming sailors, while the cannons continued to shell the shoreline.
Little by little, Naga managed to freeze each cannon in line, finally silencing them all.
In some cases, she managed to freeze cannonballs in midair.
Soon these sailors were coming ashore and the hand to hand battle was on.
As they pressed forward, they pushed the few remaining soldiers who could fight back, taking more and more ground as they came.
Luna wanted to stand her ground, Filia was taking one dragonette at a time and it was apparently quite difficult because of their magic nature.
By the third child, she was already showing signs of fatigue.
"This is harder than moving humans!" she gasped for breath.
"Why is that?" Luna asked over her shoulder holding her position.
"Transporting each child is like transporting one of those big ships there!" she panted.
"That is why they still seem so small after all they ate?" Luna asked.
"Yes," she responded, "They are so loaded with magical energy it has weight."
"Well," Luna replied, "Just do your best and I'll keep them safe in the mean time."
"Yes my love," she replied while taking hold of a fourth child.
Naga, Bruno and Alyth leapt into the fray.
Bruno was deftly smashing jaws right and left, Naga was punting men back into the water as if they were balls, and Alyth was bashing anything that got in her reach with the massive skillet.
There were hundreds of them, they were swarming the land like ants.
As the number of archers dwindled, their ability to keep dry pirate sailors from making it down the ramps decreased as well.
Soon, armored sailors were coming up the docks and handily dealing with the remainder of the armored soldiers who had escaped the cannon fire.
Their numbers increased swiftly as they dispatched the last of the soldiers.
Soon it was only the three heroic fighters from the inn facing off an army of iron clad marines.
Bruno had to step up his game and employ some chi, as did Naga.
These men wearing thick armor were slow, but they took a lot of abuse and this would eventually tire them all out.
Alyth stood just behind them and would reach out and catch one here and there with a sound clock on the head.
She looked behind her as one marine who had come out of the water was trying to climb up into a cannon turret and use it against them from behind.
She ran up from behind him with her skillet back, and with a forward swing struck the man in his rear so hard he flipped completely upside down, while she had already begun drawing the skillet back the way it had come, so that the back of his head met the incoming cupped side of the skillet squarely.
There was a dull, unmistakable sound of bones crushing.
Alyth continued to dash around hitting people with her bloody skillet, spreading the one marine's blood on other sailors, while adding to it where those without armor were no match for the deadly cooking implement.
On the other side of the largest of the pirate ships, a giant whom Luna had previously fought slipped down into the water, aiming for the exact place where Luna and her children were now.
Crawling along the bottom, he emerged suddenly at the shoreline as close to Luna as the geography allowed.
Leaping up out of the water roaring, instead of lunging for Luna as he had done in the past, he lunged for the sleeping children, scooping one up in each hand by their necks.
Luna gasped in shock and rage, uncertain what to do, but knowing she had to do something and fast.
The massive hands choking the babies aroused them in terrible pain.
They couldn't breathe to cry out, but tears of terror filled their eyes as they felt the life being squeezed out of them.
Filia returned just at that very instant, and upon seeing this, without a heartbeat of hesitation exploded to her full size with an ear splitting dragon shriek.
This shriek, being from an adult dragon triggered the instinctual responses of the other babies who leapt awake in reflexive fear.
With her first 'meep' Filia lanced the right forearm of the giant pirate, causing him to drop one the baby in agony, and then with the next, she lanced his head, dropping him like a pile of loose timber to the ground while the other baby leapt free of the falling body and fluttered to the ground in an agonized daze.
Seeing their mother using her laser breath, however, the other baby dragons all realized that there was a clear and present danger to themselves and those they loved.
Suddenly they all began using their less potent, yet quite effective laser breaths to systematically begin shooting the pirates both on shore and in the water, as those on shore were suddenly turning to the water for cover and those still in the water were turning back the way the came in hopes of escape.
The tide of the battle suddenly turned, and in another twenty seconds, there was not a single pirate left standing on shore, and fourteen angry dragonettes and one angry dragoness lanced the waters of the port with so much magical energy the water began to boil.
Naga was just in the process of saying "Well it looks like we wo-" when she turned and saw Alyth's handiwork, several bodies covered with splattered blood, and fainted.
Rubbing his chin in serious contemplation, "I think we have to find a way to fix that problem," Bruno said to Alyth, who nodded knowingly.
Ep 21, Chapter 2
"Food Fight?! They're Battling All Over The Place!"
"So," Lemmy eyed the barely dressed Mazoku suspiciously, "What kind of 'reward' are you talking about, and what kind of pay is involved?"
"Well," Zelas replied casually, staring into her wine goblet as she was wont to do, "That depends..." looking up over the rim of it as she took a slow sip, she appraised the young woman's figure, liking what she saw, even though compared to the previous guest, this one was more petite in all dimensions, finally lowering the goblet she continued, "What skills do you have that I might be interested in?"
"Well," she began, "In case you didn't know it, I'm the greatest swords-woman in the world."
"Oh?" she eyed the young lady, "do tell!"
"I'm undefeated," Lemmy continued, "Nobody can defeat me."
"Is that so?" the monster asked coolly, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving me a demonstration then?"
"With pleasure." she declared, but then she asked, "But you have to have somebody who is even close to my abilities to even compare me to know just how good I am."
"Hmmm..." this did pose a slight problem, seeing as she had no skilled sword wielders at her disposal. Thinking quickly she pondered to herself, "There's no way she can fight me, but perhaps if I made a miniature version of my self?" and then she said as much aloud to her guest, "Perhaps if I made a human sized version of my true self, that might serve as a fair enough challenge?"
"I should think it too easy." Lemmy snorted in disdain, "Why not the real you instead?"
"Surely you must be joking!" Zelas replied sputtering her wine on herself, "I'd destroy you utterly in a flash!" and then catching up to herself, "And I wouldn't be able to reward you if I destroyed you, now would I?"
"If you could HIT me maybe..." the young woman's eyes narrowed slyly, "If you can hit me in an hour long fight, I will have lost."
"Well of cour-"
" BUT..." she interrupted her hostess, "If I can EVADE you for an hour, I win!"
"Ummmmmm..." she began, dubiously.
"What?" she challenged the monster, "Afraid I'll show you up?"
"A demon lord is NOT afraid young lady!" she slammed her goblet down, shattering the entire crystal tabletop into a million pieces... "NOW look what you went and made me do!" she frowned skulking.
"Its not MY fault you can't keep control on your temper," she shrugged unimpressed, "Perhaps that is why your last lover left you." crossing her legs and folding her arms in smug defiance.
"Alright, you impertinent little tar-," she began and then caught herself, smiling sweetly and speaking in a soft sweet voice, offering her hand to be shook, "Its a deal."
Ep 21, Chapter 3
Just as their ship was nearing the harbor of Zephilia, Aqua and Kuppy saw in the harbor there was a battle raging.
As they looked on the man in the crow's nest called down to the captain and let him know that the harbor was not safe to enter because of the pirates.
Aqua overheard this and marched up to the captain and declared, "We can help!"
"Lady," he asked, "What can you and your fish girl friend here do against that?" eying the fleet of iron clad ships.
"Kuppy here learned how to use magic!" she insisted sternly.
"Oh magic did you say?" he looked surprised, "Why didn't ye say that sooner?" then turning to his first mate he said, "Magic she says," then with a smirk, "You hear that?"
"Aye cap'n!" the first mate was making a show of mock respect which Aqua was seeing with squinting eyes as she grew very angry very quickly.
"Kuppy," she turned to her mermaid fiance, "Why not show our esteemed captain just a little CHIP of magic?"
"Oh!" Kuppy responded, "You mean Ice Chip?" and suddenly a hail of very fine sharp pieces of ice flailed both the captain and first mate causing hundreds of painful little cuts on their exposed skin and even slicing up their clothing into tatters.
"Owwwwwwwwwwwww!" they both cried out in pain, "Stop-stop!" the captain bellowed.
Finally, he pleaded on his knees, "Please stop! You're killing us!"
"They're killing my FRIENDS over THERE and YOU'RE not letting us go to them to HELP!" Aqua replied, "so what will it be? A slow death by a thousand cuts," then pointing out into the harbor, "Or take your chances that we can help them defeat those pirates?"
"Okay! Okay!" he agreed, covered in thousands of little bleeding cuts now, "Turn the boat to port!" he commanded.
The helmsman followed the captain's orders and Kuppy ceased her magic.
As he knelt there trying not to whimper, and his first mate knelt next to him, Aqua said, "When this is over, we will make sure your wounds are all healed."
As they proceeded slowly into the harbor, some cannoneers on the nearest pirate ships tried ranging on them to at least keep them at a safe distance.
"We know how close we can get now," Aqua commented, "Do you remember how far you can reach Kuppy?"
"I'm pretty certain," she agreed, rubbing her large stubby hands together preparing herself for her attack.
As they were talking, suddenly, a giant flash appeared near the shoreline and a massive golden form filled the sky.
Moments later, brilliant white lines of light leapt from the golden creature lancing out toward the ground.
A loud shriek drifted in from the harbor, and then many smaller streaks of light erupted from some place near the shore like little needles sparking as they fell across a single ray of sunlight.
As their ship moved closer to the range of the enemy's cannons, they tried desperately to fend off the incoming ship with more fire, only making the safe distance that much more certain.
"Turn us along the safe distance." Aqua directed the helmsman, "We don't wish to get hit in the process if we can avoid it."
"Aye-aye!" he responded, changing course to go parallel to the enemy bombardment line...
"Are you ready Kuppy?" she called out to the mermaid.
"Almost...almost...almossssssssst...Zelaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaassssssss GORT!" the mermaid called out.
Suddenly, there was a rippling and swirling in the water near their own vessel, and up out of the harbor arose a monstrous supernatural jellyfish!
As the immense supernatural beast rose out of the water, Kuppy pointed at the black ships, and shouted, "Turn those ships upside down!"
The giant jellyfish moved directly and without hesitation at the fleet of iron clad pirate ships, and systematically flipped each one of them upside down where they speedily sank, taking everybody on them to the bottom.
The slow moving monster had to chase down several of the fleeing ships as their crews soon realized that they were neither going to survive the dragon above or the jellyfish in the water with them. It took all of an hour, but the the harbor was eventually populated with upside down iron clad vessels and dead pirates floating in the water.
"That's enough." she declared, lowering her hands, and just as suddenly as it had appeared, the giant jellyfish dissolved back into the water as if it had never existed.
Ep 21, Chapter 4
Greater Beast Zelas-Metallium stood over twenty meters tall in her battle form.
A giant she-wolf, with razor sharp fangs, and claws, giant feathered wings, a studded metal breastplate made of an unknown metal, a skirt made of something that appeared to be white leather, despite there being little other than dragons one could get such pieces of leather from, and a giant gleaming sword.
"Let the game begin!" her voice thundered off the distant mountains while humans and lesser demons alike cowered before her.
"Hit me with your best shot momma!" Lemmy shouted out defiantly.
As the monster began slashing and stabbing at the nimble swords-woman below her, however, something began drawing heavily on her power.
She found it very difficult to concentrate.
Whomever was tapping her power was very skilled or had a very high natural ability to wield magic.
Zelas was feeling light headed at first, and she was afraid she would step on her opponent, but as the match wore on, she began to see double.
"What's going on here?" she found herself saying out loud.
"I'm beating you is what's happening!" Lemmy shouted back defiantly, totally unaware of the reality of the situation.
Trying to keep her sense of direction, Zelas was actually growing angry and tried for real to strike the smug opponent, but she was missing by much more than the extent of Lemmy's real abilities to dodge.
As they were getting to the half hour mark, Zelas was feeling very disoriented and began slashing more and jabbing less.
Soon she was swinging her sword randomly, while trying to keep her footing.
"I can still see you!" she bellowed out in confused rage.
"But you can't hit me!" Lemmy shouted back in glee.
As they reached the final few minutes of the contest, Zelas was seeing double.
She was not even sure she was seeing her opponent any more and was squinting and rubbing her eyes.
"What?" Lemmy shouted back in defiance, "Can't even see me I'm so fast!"
Stumbling as if she were drunken, she lunged to and fro where she thought Lemmy was only to bury her sword in the ground and have to pull it back out.
They were nearing the last moments of the contest and Lemmy was laughing as she dove around when suddenly, she ran smack into Zelas...in her human sized form.
As she was about to shout that it was cheating however, the human form lay on the ground motionless and then vanished into nothingness.
"What the hell?"
Lesser demons all came up running, seemingly saying "Miss us!", which made Lemmy raise her sword defensively, but then she realized they were all calling out "Mistress!"
They all stopped where they last saw her, realizing she had slipped back into the astral plane.