Chapter 28-(Welcome to Fedora, Arcadia)
A/N: While I was gone over the weekend at my bud's place in CT, I had a chap planned out and since I am now back, let's update! Oh did I forget to mention that this story is going to be 100K right after this chap? Hurray for me!!...NOT! Oh and those list about characters that I had mentioned about? I was thinking of putting up on the last chap of which character belongs to who. Other then that...ENJOY!
After the gang had left the safety of Drake's Castle, they had been flying Northeast for a while. They didn't really speak much but only observed of to what has happened to their world. Fields that were full of plants were now dead, black and gray. The forests had lost their leaves and they all seem to be dead. Despite the fact of what they were seeing, they had not spoke a word during the entire flight. It wasn't long before they had reached Arcadian territory and they were able to see the first city of Arcadia, Fedora.
"Here we are, Fedora Arcadia. The Artisan City." spoke DL Mark.
As the group had approached the city that was in front of them, they noticed that it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. Despite the fact that there were a few smoky areas throughout the city, Fedora was still standing strong...but quiet. The Kings and Queens had all descended down upon the city's doors.
"Where is everyone?" asked DK Mark.
"I am not sure, but I do take it that these guys are not taking any chances of who comes to Arcadia. Be careful, we might be ambushed by our own possessed men, Arcadia's men, or something else." spoke Lethak. DL Mark took no chances and he withdrew Ominous. Reignor took out his Sword, and everyone was on their guard. Godith went up to the doors and she knocked on them hard. No answer.
"No one home." spoke Godith to the group. Just then she felt something prick her neck.
"Ow! What the hell?" asked Godith as she covered the spot that hurt her. She felt something on her neck and she pulled it out and noticed that it was a dart.
"Great..." whispered Godith. The drug was taking affect but Godith over the years had gotten used to these kind of drugs and she was still standing tall.
However, Lethak, DK Mark, Spyro and Cynder did not feel the same and they had fallen down quick from the sleeping dart. The only ones left standing were DL Mark, Reignor, Hera, and Godith. The darts went flying like crazy at them, but Reignor and DL Mark had split their swords into two and they were able to ricochet the darts away from them. Hera had tons of darts on her, but they did not even penetrate her. Her scales were so strong that the darts just hit the scales and fell to the ground instantly. Godith had at least 25 darts on her and they seemed to have done the trick for her and she soon fell down and was asleep. DL Mark, Reignor and Hera got closer to one another and they waited for the enemies.
"I guess Lethak was right after all." spoke Hera.
"You got that right sis, be careful now. We might have some close quarter combat. If it is my men, then don't kill them. Only wound them or make them unconscious. If it is Arcadia's people, then the same goes for them." spoke DL Mark.
"If it is something else that we don't know then we kill them?" asked Reignor.
"If you feel like it." replied DL Mark.
Suddenly, a few dozen men and dragons came out with camouflage running at them with swords and shields. DL Mark only scoffed at them and he began wiping his dual swords around like crazy. The amount of force that he put into them caused other blades to shatter into pieces and decimated the shields. When the enemies had nothing with them to fight, DL Mark only knocked them out cold and moved on. Reignor jabbed his sword into the enemies' shield then jumped up, grabbed the enemy by the throat and toss him into the large doors, seriously wounding them. Hera on the other hand was going at an all out frenzy. The swords, daggers, knives, any metal weapon did not even scratch her scales. No matter how hard they hit her, the swords got weaker since scratching against Hera's scales caused the swords to become a dull blade.
It wasn't long before almost every enemy that they have encountered began to flee back into Fedora in fear. The three warriors watched as the doors had opened and the enemies ran inside.
"Who were those guys?" asked Hera.
"Arcadians. I can tell because Arcadia is the only Kingdom who have human beings, plus dragons together in an army." smiled DL Mark.
"Ohh...what shall we do with the others?" asked Reignor as he looked down at Spyro who was snoring peacefully.
"I say let them rest for now, and once we restore order here or find out who's in charge then we can come back and get them. If you want to put them in a safe place then be my guest." replied DL Mark as he marched on forward with Ominous.
Hera and Reignor had placed their sleeping friends into a near by abandoned building and they quickly caught up with DL Mark. Not much was to say of what was with Fedora, it was a beautiful city that somehow got turned into a ghost town in an instant. Items were still on the shelves of many market stands. The stone streets were empty of people. The cold air of Arcadia swept across the city, sending chills down the three's spines.
"I knew I should've packed a winter coat." spoke Hera as her scales and teeth began chattering from the cold wind.
"Just like Russia." whispered Reignor. He looked down a dark alley and used his powerful eyes to see if anything was within the shadows. Nothing. He then raised his hand and aimed down upon the dark alley but DL Mark only stopped him.
"Do a Flare, and the shadow creatures that are sleeping in there will attack you." whispered DL Mark.
"Shadow creatures?" asked Reignor.
"Your eyes tricked you. You should've used your other senses first before casting a Flare." replied DL Mark as he looked down at the alley and then went on forward.
Reignor and Hera left the dark alley be and they quietly made their way through the empty streets. Then a smell...of meat being cooked caught their noses.
"Hmmmm that smells good." said Hera as she licked her lips.
"You seriously got to eat now?" asked Reignor.
"What I didn't eat when we left. I thought getting to Arcadia would be a lot faster then I have thought." replied Hera.
"If you want to think with your stomach then go right ahead, but I won't be there for you if you get ambushed or fall into a trap. I right now am going to go and try and find out what has happened here." spoke DL Mark as he put his sword back into its place and he spawned out a AA-20 shotgun.
"Dude...since when were you able to summon guns out of the blue?" asked Reignor.
"Since the day I first played a shooting game..." answered back DL Mark as he loaded his fully automatic shotgun.
"...and that was a long time ago bro." smiled DL Mark and he went on forward.
"Wait, what are we suppose to do?" asked Reignor as his brother continued on walking.
"Do what you two always do." shouted back DL Mark.
Reignor only sighed and he knew what that meant.
"Why does he suddenly have the urge to do stuff by himself?" asked Hera.
"He's just like Agorak honey. He always did stuff by himself because he either didn't want any help or just feels like it. I see how DL Mark is just like him. I believe that Agorak chose DL Mark not only because of looks, but because they both seem to be the same in the way they act." stated Reignor.
"Perhaps the amount of time the two have been fused together has caused some changes to their behavior don't you think?" asked Hera.
"Perhaps, but I wouldn't worry about that right now. Let's go check out some of these areas around town." said Reignor as he held his sword and pulled out his custom-made handgun called The Terrible Handgun. It didn't mean terrible because it was trash. It meant terrible because this baby packs quite a punch from just a bullet. It fires as if it were a sniper rifle yet compacted into a handgun. They looked back down at where DL Mark went and he was far down the street and snow started to fall down. Reignor and Hera looked around before they went off their own way.
Meanwhile, just a few blocks upwards, Agorak was walking with DL Mark.
"What is with the sudden feeling of going by yourself?" asked Agorak.
"I have a tendency to just do some crazy shit by myself without having anyone else in my way. It just kicks into me sometimes you know. It's like a habit of mine. Do some crazy shit all by yourself...and then brag about it back home." smiled DL Mark. Agorak let out a hearty chuckle.
"Hahahaha, I see how you are. Mr. Lone Big Shot." smiled back Agorak.
"Pretty much." said DL Mark as he had his gun up on his shoulder. DL Mark gave out a sigh into the cold winter air of Arcadia and looked around. Snow was already sticking to the ground and there pretty much was nothing in this city.
"Where is everybody?" asked Agorak.
"That is the same thing that I am wondering too. I have a feeling that this city must've evacuated, or its people got captured, or killed off." spoke DL Mark as he checked his surroundings once more.
Agorak soon caught sight of something just up ahead of them.
"Hey, look over there. Someone's out there." said Agorak. DL Mark looked to where his soul friend was looking at and he too noticed this person. The two jogged ahead to get a better view and they noticed that it was a human being who had a black cloak on him.
"Who are you?" asked DL Mark. The cloaked man did not speak, but he only raised his arms. In his right hand he held a black gong that had demons, and evil beasts pictured all over it. While in the other hand he held the item used to ring gongs.
"I got a bad feeling that this man is about to wake up those shadow creatures that we just saw. One things for sure is that we are going to have some trouble on our hands." spoke Agorak.
"Our hands? You are in Spirit form man. I got to do all the work while you just float around and do nothing!" stated DL Mark as he looked to his friend.
Before Agorak would speak, the cloaked man had rung the gong and soon vanished in black smoke. Both DL Mark and Agorak were on their guard.
"Great...stay alert. You know how these shadow creatures act." whispered Agorak.
"For the last time...you can't do anything since you are a spirit. If you were to do something, then I would gladly appreciate it." spoke DL Mark in an angry tone. Just then they heard laughter and moaning and that only meant that the Shadow creatures were waking up from their sleep. Further away, Reignor and Hera got ready to battle since the walls began to move and figures took shape from the shadows of the walls and alleys.
"You know what do to honey. Light damage will work greatly on them." spoke Reignor as his sword changed element and it shinned brightly.
"I know that love. After all I am a Cosmic Light dragon right?" asked Hera with a smile and kissed her husband.
"It will be a piece of cake darling." whispered Hera as she raised her hands together and prepared an electric light attack.
The battle had begun as the Shadow creatures attacked quickly and charged at the two separate duos. Agorak grabbed hold of DL Mark sword and he was able to change it into a bright light sword.
"And you thought that I did nothing." smiled Agorak as he cut down the creature that attacked them.
"Maybe having you with me ain't bad at all." smiled DL Mark as he blasted away a few dozens already.
"Think about as this. When you are in play, I am your guardian angel and when I am in play, you are my guardian angel." said Agorak as he split the sword and took off the heads of four creatures.
"If it works for you then fine, but right now I am more concerned on killing these freaks then about guardian angles!" shouted DL Mark as he reloaded and fired more rounds.
As the separate duos continued to fight off against the Shadow creatures, more and more seem to have appeared. Reignor and Hera had to jump up onto buildings so they don't get drowned in Shadow creatures. Agorak and DL Mark were slicing their way out. Agorak threw his swords, beheading all in its path, and clearing a path for the two of them. DL Mark ran out of ammo quickly for his shotgun and he pulled out his trusty Platinum Desert Eagle from his holster and fired off a few rounds as he continued to run with Agorak. As they ran faster up the street, more Shadow creatures appeared faster as well.
"They just don't know when to stop now do they?" asked DL Mark as he reloaded.
"I don't think so." spoke Agorak as he picked up his swords and threw them again, beheading more.
Reignor and Hera, were casting Light Blasts as they jumped across roof-tops.
"They keep on coming faster and faster!" shouted Hera. "And you said that this would be a piece of cake!" shouted back Reignor.
"Hey it ain't my fault that I did not know that this kind of shit would happen!" hollered back Hera as she casted yet another Light Blast. Reignor looked ahead and he noticed a tall building that seemed to be a safe place to go to. For some reason it didn't have any spots of Shadow creatures on it.
"Hey Hera, let's fly to that building over there!" yelled Reignor as he jumped into the air and he began to fly. Hera followed her husband and as the two escaped from the Shadow creatures from below, flying Shadow creatures appeared in the skies as well.
"Since when the hell were these guys able to fly?!" yelled Hera in shock. She dodged a blow from one of them and she ripped off its wings and let the creature crash to the ground.
Down below, Agorak and DL Mark had decided to just run since nothing was stopping these creatures.
"Hey Agorak, see that tall spotless building?" asked DL Mark as he ran well over 250 mph.
"Yes, and I have a feeling that is where we should've gone to in the first place." spoke Agorak. The two had increased their speeds as they ran across the cold, crunchy snow. They were able to catch sight of Reignor and Hera who too were flying as fast as they can from the Shadow creatures.
"Looks like they have the same idea." said Agorak.
"No shit, really?" asked DL Mark sarcastically. After navigating their way through the streets of Fedora, they had manged to reach to the building. Reignor and Hera landed just behind them.
"Glad to see you guys made it." spoke Reignor.
"No time for talks bro, better get in." spoke DL Mark as he kicked open the large metallic doors. Hera, Reignor and Agorak ran inside and just as fast as he opened the doors, he slammed down shut and clamped down the locks in an instant. All they heard was the loud thuds and smash of the Shadow creatures as they pilled onto the doors. The doors and locks were able to hold the amount of pressure it was taking from the outside and soon it was all quite.
"Phew! That was close." spoke Hera.
"Uhh guys? Aren't we forgetting the others?" asked Reignor.
"Shit..." muttered DL Mark. In a flash he vanished and he was able to get all of their sleeping friends.
"How did you know where we putted them?" asked Hera.
"Energy sensing perhaps?" said DL Mark.
"Uhhh guys?" asked Agorak. They all looked at Agorak and what was ahead of him. In front of them were perhaps one hundred Arcadian men, humans and dragons alike, equipped with swords, spears, darts, and not to mention a few modern weaponry.
"Hands up!" yelled one of the soldiers. All four of them had raised their hands up into the air, that is Agorak went back inside of DL Mark.
'Chicken shit.' thought DL Mark.
"Hey shut up, I am a spirit and having too much out of body experience can make me weak you know?" spoke Agorak from within.
"Who are you?" asked another soldier.
"It is us, the Eight Rulers of Dracovia...or what is left." spoke DL Mark.
"The Eight Rulers of Dracovia did not have someone who looks like Lord Agorak and Queen Godith." spoke another.
"That is because the two that you see are perhaps his biological brother and sister-in-law?" asked Reignor.
"Brother?" said another in shock.
"We won't be for sure men. Take them to the holding cells and awake the Royal Family." spoke a commander.
"Oh and...take their friends with them as well." added on the commander before a few of his own men escorted the three of them and carried the others as well into their holding cells.
A/N: Well looks like our Heroes have reached their destination, but what was up with all the Shadow Creatures? Who was that man who awaken the Creatures? What will happen next to our heroes? Find out next time on R.O.D! (100K folks. Oh and to my readers out there, I am not going to be on from July 9th to July 12th. Reason why is I am off to Maine. So that is pretty much my Birthday present, me going to Maine with my family and friends on the 9th. See ya soon folks and don't forget to review!)
