Hey guys! I hate to ask this again, but nothing is coming through for me again. If you have any reviews (which I live and die for), you'll have to PM me, if it's not a hassle. Anyway… you're not here to listen to me talk, so back to your regularly scheduled program!
Team Delta: In pursuit of Nautila
"Up and at 'em, Samara!" Diablo called. The black dragoness groaned and rolled over. From the entrance to her room, Diablo grinned. He raised his index finger.
"Pew." A small bolt of crimson lightning shot from his fingertip. Samara yelped and shot to the roof. She glared at the human as he cackled. "I should start doing that more!" Samara slapped him with her tailblade as she strutted past.
"Samara," Axos greeted. "I have some good news! We're close to your old village!" The dragoness' eyes widened.
"That's great!" Diablo said, beaming. "We can stop by, pay your folks a visit, let them know you're okay." Samara nodded.
"Let's get going," Axos said. "I bet your family can't wait to see you."
Team Alpha: In pursuit of Wintrius
"That was impressive," Axius mused as he stared at the pile of iron, gold, silver, and even platinum that sat before him. Jacob nodded.
"Everithon and Caminus are out of it, though. Giving the whole planet an MRI and then pulling all of the ores out of a mile-wide patch of land seems to be rather tiring." Axius chuckled and nodded.
Across the campsite, Stratos and Storm were sitting against a pair of trees in silence. The young electric dragon finally decided to break said silence.
"So," he began, racking his brain for any obvious hobbies the Scimitar had, "what's your favorite weapon?" It seemed like a decent question to ask. Stratos thought for a moment.
"I'd have to say these." He unclipped two twenty-inch metal cylinders from his thigh plating and held them out. Storm cocked his head to the side.
"Batons?" The Scimitar of Wind chuckled, a rather odd sound coming from him. He shook his head.
"No, not exactly." He pressed a small switch on each cylinder. Storm's eyes widened as a foot-long curved blade slid out of the end of each cylinder.
"Miniature scythes?" Stratos chuckled again.
"Close. The scythe is actually Metusia's weapon of choice. These are called culls." They looked up as Jacob approached them.
"Those look dangerous." Stratos nodded and tossed one up in the air, letting it flip end over end before catching it again.
"Indeed."
"What did you say those were called?"
"They are known as culls." Jacob nodded. He sat down in the grass between the two.
"There are weapons like that where I come from." Stratos perked up at that.
"Really?" Jacob nodded.
"They were called Kamas, however."
"Do they do anything special?" Storm asked. Stratos nodded.
"These weapons are perfectly weighted. Holding them feels like I am carrying nothing, allowing me to be lethally fast with my attacks. The blades I can only describe as infinitely sharp. They are in fact so sharp, that when I make a simple slash, they displace the air around them, allowing for moderate ranged attacks as well." Jacob nodded, clearly impressed.
"I'd imagine being in control of the air itself is pretty useful," he mused. Stratos nodded. He began to say something but stopped. He shot to his feet, his eyes darting about.
"Is something wrong?" Storm asked. Stratos nodded.
"There are about fifteen individuals a few meters into the forest, due that way." He pointed straight ahead.
"How do you know?" Storm asked.
"Being a master of Wind, I can also detect changes in the air around me. It took literal centuries to perfect."
"What are we looking at in terms of firepower?" Jacob asked.
"Most are wolves, save for three. They are dragons, the one in front is missing one horn on the left side of his head." Storm paled.
"I think I know who that is." Jacob and Stratos looked at him. "There were stories of a dragon who would ambush travelers coming from Haervir's Port and Warfang. They'd steal everything from gold to gems, even dragon's eggs. They call him Wildfire."
"I can assume he's a Fire dragon then?" Jacob said. Storm nodded.
"He's powerful, and I bet he's after all those metals we extracted." Stratos nodded. His helmet folded up over his head.
"You both go and notify the others. I will deal with them." He turned back to the forest.
"You'll be outnumbered," Storm argued. "We won't just leave you." Jacob placed a hand on the young dragon's shoulder.
"Stratos can handle this," he said. "If this is how we can help, we need to do it." Storm nodded before looking back to Stratos.
"Be careful." Stratos nodded.
"Do not worry about me, young one." Together, the human and the Electric dragon raced back to the others.
Axius was taking inventory when he heard someone call his name. He turned to find Storm and Jacob sprinting over.
"What's the problem," he asked.
"Bandits!" Storm gasped. "It's Wildfire and his gang! Stratos said he'd deal with them. He sent us to come let you know." Axius nodded.
"Thanks for letting me know," he said nonchalantly, turning back to his task. Jacob and Storm looked at him, shocked.
"Aren't you going to do something?" Storm asked nervously. Axius shook his head.
"Let Stratos have his fun. He can handle it." He looked over his shoulder at the two. "You both can go watch if you want." Jacob and Storm looked at each other, then back to Axius, who was punching in commands on a datapad.
"Okay," Jacob said. He motioned for Storm to follow him and made his way over to where the fight was about to begin.
Stratos was still standing where Jacob and Storm had left him, not even twitching.
"Don't waste my time!" he called into the forest. "Come out!" The largest Fire dragon Jacob and Storm had ever seen emerged from the brush, flanked by two other dragons, one green and one yellow.
"I will ask politely one time," the lead dragon, Wildfire, said. "Hand over the metals and we may not hurt you." The rest of his party emerged. Jacob was surprised to see some of the wolves from the bar there. Stratos crossed his arms.
"I'm afraid I must decline," he said. "I would prefer that you… oh what's the euphemism for it?... oh yes… fuck off." Wildfire stamped the ground, his eyes blazing with anger. His lackeys began to step forward, but he held up a wing.
"I will kill this one myself." He looked at Stratos and a malicious grin crossed his face. "You have just sealed your fate, and your friends'."
"We shall see about that." Stratos unclipped his Kamas again. The blades extended with a shing. The Scimitar dropped into a fighting stance. "Let us see what you can do, garat." Wildfire roared and charged, his form becoming enveloped in flames. Wildfire was a skilled fighter. However, he made a fatal mistake. He had left enough distance between him and his opponent to allow Stratos to calculate his next few moves.
Stratos shot skyward with a whoosh. Wildfire staggered and looked around. Stratos smirked under his helmet. He cut the powerful updraft that was holding him up.
CLANG! If Wildfire hadn't been wearing armor, Stratos would have crushed his skull under his weight. Wildfire grunted and shook his head. He growled at the Scimitar.
"You'll pay for that, you insect!" Stratos threw his Kamas out around him, channeling more drafts to manipulate his weapons midair.
"If you can touch me, that is." The blades whirled around him, weaving a gleaming shell of protection. Wildfire growled again.
"I don't need to get close!" He opened his maw and a blazing inferno leapt forward, covering Stratos.
"STRATOS!" Storm called.
Suddenly, the flames began to move. They moved outward, forming a vortex of heat, and at the center of it all, stood Stratos. Wildfire's eyes widened. He opened his maw, but only a small sputter of flame shot forward. He tried again, opening and closing his mouth. Stratos crouched, like a coiled spring ready to fire. He launched himself at the Fire dragon, smashing him across the jaw, cracking his helmet in two. Wildfire swung his tail around. Stratos saw the attack coming and raised his culls in a cross-like fashion.
CLANG! The plating on the Fire dragon's tail met the blades in a shower of sparks. The two grunted. Stratos' boots ground against the earth. Wildfire kept pushing to a point where the ground cracked underneath the Scimitar's greaves. Stratos channeled a powerful draft of wind, using it to push himself backwards and out of the dragon's range. He kicked up a small cloud of dust as he skidded to a halt.
"You missed," he taunted. Wildfire roared in anger.
"You shall burn!" He raised his tail over his head like a scorpion. Stratos' eyes widened as a whip of flame extended from the tip of his tail, giving him another twenty meters of range. The whip shot forward. Stratos was able to Wind Dash to the side again. Wildfire unleashed a flurry of vicious attacks at the Scimitar, who was barely able to avoid them.
"Why isn't he using his vortex again?" Storm asked.
"It probably takes a lot out of him to do that," Jacob guessed. "But I think he's got something else up his sleeve." They turned back to the fight in time to see Stratos get thrown backwards. The Scimitar slowly struggled to his feet. Wildfire grinned.
"I warned you!" He cracked a maniacal grin. "And now you die!"
"Hahaha!" Wildfire stopped. Stratos was laughing.
"What is so funny?" Stratos stopped laughing.
"I am going to be candid with you, Wildfire. You had lost the moment you chose to attack us. You have played directly into my hands from the very beginning." Wildfire smirked.
"Your frantic dodging begs to differ." Stratos shook his head.
"Take a closer look." Wildfire, along with Jacob and Storm scanned the battlefield. Wildfire growled and stamped his foot.
"You are stalling! I have had it with these games!" He opened his mouth.
As he did this, Stratos raised his arms. Jacob and Storm's eyes widened as a tornado of sand surrounded him. A blast of flame engulfed him.
"He relied on sand?!" Storm asked, shocked. Jacob gasped, realizing what the Scimitar was doing.
"No. He relied on the fire." Wildfire gasped for a breath, allowing the fire to sputter out again. Stratos stood unscathed once more.
"I win," the Scimitar said. He channeled his powers again. Storm understood what the Scimitar's endgame was as the shards of glass levitated off the ground.
"He counted on Wildfire using his flame attacks. He allowed him to attack with that Fire Whip so he could crack and grind the rock into sand. He then used the heat to smelt it into glass!" Jacob nodded.
"I believe this is the end for you!" Stratos bellowed. He summoned a hurricane, sending a razor-sharp barrage of glass at the Fire dragon. The flurry of shards sliced through Wildfire's tough scales as if they were paper. The dragon screamed in pain and fell to the ground with a resounding thud, cuts lining his body.
"You… filthy… bastard," he croaked. Stratos walked over and knelt down in front of him.
"Thank you." Wildfire cocked a brow.
"Thank you?" Stratos nodded.
"You fought honorably and with incredible skill. I now ask you to leave… and take your lackeys with you." The other two dragons rushed forward and scooped Wildfire up. The band of criminals then vanished into the woods as quickly as they had come.
"That was amazing!" Storm exclaimed as Stratos strode up to them. He chuckled.
"It was a great fight. I had quite a good time." He looked back at the forest longingly. "I just wish I could meet more combatants like that."
Team Charlie: In pursuit of Tenuem
PT hadn't been able to sleep. He sat in his tent, sharpening the various sharp objects he carried with him.
What's got you worried? Pain asked, materializing on a cushion next to him. PT shrugged.
"I think it's Voltera," he admitted. "She seemed so upset about us leaving." Addy materialized next to Pain.
Well then, you'd best try to get back to her.PT sighed and nodded.
Agreed, Tak said, popping up out of thin air. Call it a hunch, but I feel like this is Armageddon's last phase. This will be the last time we have to leave like this, one way, or another. PT began to say more, but a clanging noise got his attention. He shot to his feet, letting his gauntleted blades slide out with a shing.
"What was that?" PT slowly edged back the tent flap. A figure was kneeling over the snuffed fire pit, a black cloak covering its massive shoulders.
"Nyxis?" The figure turned. Whatever it was… it was not the Scimitar of Darkness. It had no face, only a cascading veil of darkness. In its shadowy hand was a kunai. And in the other, was PT's sword. The figure blurred as it rose.
"Don't move," PT said sternly. He and the figure stood still, staring at each other without a word. Suddenly, something struck PT in the back of the head. The human grunted as he fell to the ground. He looked up to see the figure disappear into the trees. He scrambled to his feet.
"PT, what's wrong?" Spyro asked, he and Cynder both poking their heads out of their tent.
"Someone was just here!" PT said, pointing to the woods. "They have my sword!" He bolted through the forest after the thief, Cynder and Spyro working to catch up. PT made a mental note to thank Volteer as he crashed through the brush. His armor allowed him to move full speed through the thick vegetation. He tripped over an exposed root and rolled onto a trail.
"PT, are you okay?" Spyro asked as he and Cynder followed in the human's trail of destruction. The human stood and nodded. He turned back and forth looking for any sign of the thief.
"What was that?" Cynder asked.
"I don't know, but he was fast. And he's got my sword." The human racked his brain for solutions.
How about feeling for it? Tak suggested.
"Feel for it?" PT said aloud, drawing confused looks from Spyro and Cynder.
Yes. You seem to have a magical connection to these crystals, and you placed one in your sword's crossguard.
"That just might work." PT closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt for the crystal he had placed in the sword. "That's odd."
"What's odd?" Cynder asked.
"I can sense the sword just over the—"
Before he could finish, the figure leapt out the bushes. PT saw the kunai in its hand and his instincts took over. He ejected his armblade and blocked the attack. The thief was quick, he delivered a ferocious kick to PT's chest, propelling the human backwards. PT spun in midair and was intercepted by a fist to his helmet.
He was just behind us, Pain exclaimed. PT thudded to the ground.
"PT!" Spyro exclaimed. He and Cynder dropped into fighting stances. The purple dragon was ready to deep fry the thing. It simply stood still, still enough for the two to notice the sword slung over its back.
Instead of reaching for the weapon, the figure turned and bolted into the woods. Spyro made a move to follow, but Cynder held up her tail, stopping him.
"PT's hurt. We need to get him back to the camp."
"But… that thing will get away." Cynder nodded and pressed her head to PT's chest.
"He's still breathing," she said, relieved. "He's more important than a sword right now, and he can always track it down if he's already gotten attached to it."
Spyro sighed and nodded, feeling a little guilty about not getting his friend's weapon back. But he knew Cynder was right, and that PT would understand. He crouched down and let Cynder roll PT onto his back.
"He needs to eat more," Spyro joked.
"Watch it, bud," PT groaned from his back. Spyro chuckled, glad PT was still himself. A stream of incoherent gibberish told them the human was still incoherent.
"Let's go," Cynder said quietly. "He needs his rest." Together, two headed back to the campsite, a concussed PT slurring incessantly the entire way back.