Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, duh.
Author's Note: Sorry for taking forever to get the next chapter out, I just have too many ideas and not enough time to write. I did change a few things in chapter two from what I originally posted, such as making Jenrya more IC and killing the Christianity, it just wasn't working. So you may want to skim the previous chapter, though I doubt you would be very confused if you didn't. I hope to get another chapter out in a couple weeks hopefully. Enjoy! ^_^*
~*Legends of Love *~
By DaisukeFire
Chapter Nie: Living Like Thunder
The small fire blazed warmly in the night air, the wood popping and crackling as it was consumed. Ruki was quiet as she ate the chunks of cooked rabbit meat from a spit she had set over the fire. Jenrya and Takato had become instant friends and were busily chatting away. The dragon lay a few feet away from them, sleeping peacefully.
"Takato, you're a fabulous cook!" laughed Jenrya as he happily munched on the meat.
"I thought you considered all life to be sacred," Ruki scoffed at him.
"There's nothing wrong with killing for food, but you kill for money, and that is wrong."
Ruki glared at him, "I don't kill dragons for the money, it's purely for the sport."
"What could be fun about killing dragons? What did they ever do to you?" Takato asked soberly.
Ruki didn't answer.
Jenrya added, "Please tell us Ruki, there must be some reason that you take so much pleasure in such a gruesome and dangerous sport."
"What's there to tell? Dragons are ugly, smelly, dumb and evil creatures." The dragon let out a snort of sleepy disapproval. "They're good for nothing, I have the same remorse after killing one of them that I have after swatting a fly."
"Dragon's are not evil, just look at Guil, he would never hurt anyone unless he had to." Takato looked at Ruki disapprovingly.
"Well, he may not be evil," Ruki laughed, "but he certainly is ugly, he stinks and he looks pretty dumb to me."
"You don't even know him!"
"All dragons are the same!"
"No they aren't, just like humans, there are good ones and there are bad ones."
A glint of anger shown in Ruki's eyes, "It was the dragon's who gave the Dragon King his power. Dragons destroyed my kingdom and killed my king. That's enough reason to hate them. And if your dragon is so good, where were he and his friends when the Dragon King and his army of Dragons began to take over all the lands?"
"I'm an orphan," came a reptilian voice from the dragon as he looked carefully at Ruki. "My parents were killed by other dragons, trying to stop them from killing Takato and his mother."
Ruki looked at the dragon, her eyes almost shining with empathy. Takato added, "My mother was killed by the dragons, but they would have killed me too if it hadn't been for Guil's parents. Neither Guil or I remember our parents because we were just babies then, but we still know about them."
"Why would Dragons want to kill or protect you and your mother?" Ruki laughed. "It seems a little trivial for dragons to waist their time like that."
"Ruki, show some compassion!" cried the Paladin.
"No," Takato answered somberly, "she has a good point. Ruki you say you hate the Dragon King because he destroyed your kingdom and king, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, you know that the Dragon King was also once called the Black Night of Aeeria, and that he betrayed and killed the king and took his thrown?"
"Yeah, I remember being taught that."
"Well, the King of Aeeria was my father. My mother, who's of the Elvin race, had a premonition that he would betray them. She warned my father, but my father was too confident in the Black Knight's loyalty. My mother knew what would come, and fled with me before the Black Knight could kill us as well."
"You… were the Prince of Aerria?" Ruki gasped.
Takato nodded, "We lived with my mother's people for a while in their land. But when the Black Knight became the Dragon King, he sent dragons in search of us. They tore apart the land of my mother's people, and we barely escaped. But while we were fleeing, two of the dragons over took us."
Jenrya interrupted curiously, "How did Guil and his parents find you?"
Takato smiled sadly, "I'm getting to that. The clan of dragons that Guil belongs to are friends to the elves, thought they avoid humans. My mother cried out for help, and Guil and his parents came to our aid. His parents fought the other dragons and they managed to kill one of them. But the other dragon was too strong, and he killed both of Guil's parents."
"How did you escape then?" Jenrya interrupted again.
"The dragon shot fire at us," Takato looked as though telling this part hurt him deeply, "and my mother used her body as a shield to protect me. The burns were too severe…"
"That's terrible," Jenrya said. Ruki's face remained cold.
"It was just a human infant and an infant dragon, against this full-grown dragon. He would have killed us both, but a man saved us. He appeared out of nowhere and ordered the dragon to stop its attack. The dragon just laughed at him and prepared to send another blast of fire at us. But the man raised a wooden staff he was carrying, and just as the dragon was about to kill us, he called down a blast of lightning from the sky. It hit the dragon, charring it to the bones."
"He must have been very powerful," Ruki mumbled.
"Yes, he was an extremely powerful sorcerer. He took Guil and I and raised us. He taught me all he knew, though I still have a lot to learn."
"What happened to this man," Jenrya asked, "why aren't you still with him?"
Takato looked at the ground, "That's another sad story. The sorcerer was a primary enemy of the Dragon King. But the Dragon King has his own uses for magic, and created extremely powerful creatures to destroy him. They attacked us one day, and though his fighting was amazing, they were too powerful, and killed him. Guil and I managed to escape, but I think that the Dragon King is still after us too, though I don't think he knows who I am."
A shrill scream echoed throughout the night, startling all of the travelers, except for the Dragon Slayer, who was surprised by nothing. "What was that?" she asked calmly.
Takato's face seemed to pale and he shot to his feet, "It's them!"
"Who?" asked Jenrya.
"The creatures that killed the sorcerer. We have to get out of here!" Takato turned to the dragon, "Do you think you can carry all of us?"
"I think so," replied the dragon as it stood to its feet.
"Why are we running?" Ruki asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "We have more than enough power to beat them, I could probably do it by myself. We have the Paladin, a dragon and a sorcerer, there's no way they can beat us, unless the two of you are weaker than I assume you are."
Takato looked at her as if she was crazy, "These creatures are far more powerful than most dragons. The only chance we have is to run." He grabbed his belongings and climbed onto the back of the dragon.
"What could be more powerful than a dragon?" inquired Jenrya.
"Yeah," added Ruki.
"Hurry up and climb on," Takato yelled, becoming inpatient. "I'll explain once we're airborne!"
"What about Rena? I'm not just going to leave her here," demanded Ruki.
"She'll be fine, they're after me. They won't waste their time with her."
Jenrya was already climbing somewhat nervously onto the back of the dragon, and Ruki hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if she should just stay with Rena. She could handle anything. But the warriors heart that beat in her chest begged to have it flow with the hot blood of battle. Takato was probably right, they wouldn't bother killing a horse. She looked at the sorcerer and then ran back to Rena and whispered in the horse's ear, "I'll come back for you as soon as possible. I'm going to make sure those two are alright." The horse nodded as if in agreement, and the Dragon Slayer untied its reins from the tree so it could run if needed. Then she ran back to the dragon and gracefully jumped on its back. "I never though I would be riding on a stupid dragon," she said unhappily.
Guil beat his large red wings, blasting the flames of the fire with air. In a few moments they were above the trees and heading north. Ruki scanned the dark skies, looking for hints as to where these "incredibly powerful" creatures might be.
The group was now floating through the clouds, all of them keeping wary eyes and ears. Takato yelled back to them, "My master called them 'Spawns.' They're half human, half dragons bred by the Dragon King. We thought that the human part of them would only make them weaker than normal dragons, but we were wrong. They have all the strength and power of a dragon, but the intelligence and cunning of a human. They can even hide their wings and mask the other parts of themselves that are dragon, and walk unnoticed in a crowd of humans."
"Let me guess," Ruki scoffed at the Paladin, "even the freak creations of the Dragon King have a sacred life and shouldn't be killed."
"In this case I'll make an exception," Jenrya growled, "they don't seem to be good in any way, and it sounds like they don't even have a will of their own."
There was another scream. Takato yelled, "They're on to us!"
"Let's land then," Ruki growled, "running didn't work, now its time to fight!"
"Trust me," Takato yelled to her, "you don't want to fight them!"
Ruki turned her head back and monitored the air. In the distance she could see the dim outline of a silhouette. She smirked and reached around her back for her bow, but not feeling it there remembered that she had left it packed on Rena. "There's one behind us," she warned the others.
"They're getting near," Guil snorted, "I can smell them."
"Shit!" Takato yelled as a ball of fire burst from the clouds, heading their direction. Guil tried to turn to dodge the attack, but was too slow. The massive ball of fire hit his belly, jolting the riders harshly. "Guil!" Takato screamed.
There was no answer, and the dragon began to spiral towards the ground. Ruki quickly grabbed onto one of the dragon's wings and reached back to grab a hold of Jenrya who was already falling. There were two more loud shrieks in the air above them. Takato was shaking the dragon, trying to wake it up to no avail.
"We falling too fast," Jenrya yelled, "we're done for if we hit the ground!"
"Try and get as much of the dragon under you as possible," Ruki yelled, "it'll absorb all the impact when we hit the ground and we should be alright!"
"What!?" cried Takato. "What about Guil?"
"He'll be fine! It'll take a lot more than this little fall to kill a dragon his size." The ground was rapidly approaching, and Ruki held on to the dragon with all of her might. Then there was impact, and the jolt was so strong that she lost her hold and rolled away from the dragon. A large cloud of dust rose and then dusted them with a thick layer.
Ruki shook her head and tried to gain her composure. Her left leg ached, but she checked and it wasn't broken. She stood and looked at the fallen red dragon. It wasn't moving, and its body had plunged a few feet into the soil when it hit. But she had dealt with enough of the bastards to know that it wasn't dead, her instinct told her that. Her next thought was of her two other companions. "Takato! Jenrya! Are you guys ok?"
"I'm alright!" called the voice of the Paladin.
"Guil!" came the voice of the sorcerer.
Ruki ran to Takato, who was bent down at the head of his friend, shaking it. She put her hand on his shoulder, "He'll be fine. He's just stunned. For right now we need to worry about those Spawns, so get ready to fight!"
Takato raised his eyes to her and said firmly, "You're right."
Ruki's sword sung as she unsheathed it and took battle stance, waiting for the enemies. Takato stood silently, holding his staff at his side, a fierceness shining in his eyes. Jenrya was also in battle position, no weapon drawn but his bare hands.
There was another shriek, and then like two dark angels the Spawns descended, evil gleams in their eyes. They each landed on an opposite side of the dragon, smirking at they're prey. They had large scaly wings protruding from their backs, and large white claws protruded from the tips of each of their hands. There was the gleam of some organic armor on their chests and shoulders. Long, razor like spikes decorated the tips of their long tails.
"So," one with reptilian spikes protruding from the top of his head chuckled, "we've finally managed to hunt down the sorcerer's apprentice, and his pathetic excuse for a dragon."
"I will avenge my master's death," Takato growled.
"Ha! You would need to be much more powerful than your master, and I highly doubt you've improved much since the last time we met. And who are these two? Did they come to share in your death?"
"We're standing by our friend's side," Jenrya answered. "If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill us as well."
"That won't be a challenge," the spiked head laughed.
"What are you smiling about, girl?" asked the other Spawn, this one having scales and a fin on top of his head.
"I've been getting bored lately, dragons are becoming scarcer and dumber every day. It's good to finally have a challenge!" the Dragon Slayer replied.
"Fear rips through my black heart!" laughed the finned one.
"In past ages I was called the 'Angel of Death,' but now I go by the simple title of 'Dragon Slayer.' Don't underestimate me."
"Ah yes, I've heard of you, a warrior of unrivaled power. It's thought that you were killed in the siege of Icarnia, beaten down in a single blow by Aurung the Great." Ruki's face grew tenser as this was mentioned. The Spawn continued, "It will please the King to know that the killer of his dragons is really nothing more than a ghost from Icarnia. Just think of the reward I'll receive when I present your head to him on a silver platter!"
Ruki continued to smile, "You talk to much!" Then she leapt forward, swinging her sword vertically at the Spawn's head. The Spawn raised one of its armored arms, parrying the blow with ease.
*******
Seeing the battle between Ruki and the Spawn begin, Takato and Jenrya simultaneously attacked the other Spawn. Jenrya flew through the air, a kick aimed at the creatures head. The spawn dodged and watched as Jenrya landed behind him, gracefully putting his feet on the ground and whipping around to face his opponent. Then Takato's staff impacted the creature's head, knocking it hard to the ground. The Spawn shook its head more out of surprise than pain, and jumped to its feet, raising its wings into the air. It beats its wings furiously, knocking Takato, who had been following through with another attack, to the ground.
Jenrya followed it as it glided through the air toward a small patch of trees. Takato, having recovered from the blow, swung his staff. A bright ball of blue energy shot from it, hitting the Spawn's left wing. There was a crackle and squeal as a thick coating of ice formed around the entirety of the wing. The spawn let out a cry and crashed to the ground amidst the trees.
Jenrya ripped a branch from one of the trees as he passed by it. He brought the branch down, aiming it at the Spawn's frozen wing. But before he could make contact, the Spawn kicked him in the chest with one of its clawed feet. Jenrya was sent sprawling back and into a tree. He lay there dazed for a moment. The Spawn rose and flexed the muscles in its wing, shattering the ice that surrounded it. He laughed and then raised his hands in the air. A bright ball of flames formed between the two hands and the creature let out a shriek of triumph as it fired the fireball at the stunned Paladin. Jenrya's eyes widened as he saw the ball coming his way, and he tried to move but knew he didn't have enough time. Just then Takato stepped between Jenrya and the screaming fireball. With a strong swing of his staff he hit the ball of fire, causing it to explode and send streams of fire onto all the surrounding trees. The grove was now completely ablaze and the balls of smoke tumbled into the sky.
Takato helped the Paladin to his feet and the two of them faced the Spawn. It walked through the flames like a demon through the fires of hell. "I've had enough playing around!" it cried. It formed another fireball between it hands and threw it at the two friends.
Takato raised the staff over his head and rotated it in a circle. Just as the ball would have hit them, it reflected off an invisible wall, almost hitting its owner on its return. The spawn growled angrily and tore one of the trees from the ground. He swung it at the invisible wall with all his might, but it shattered into millions of splinters as it impacted. Takato smiled victoriously.
"You can't hide in there forever," the Spawn growled. Takato frowned.
Then a piece of burning wood crashed from above the sorcerer, catching the hand he held his staff in and burning it. Takato let out a cry of pain and dropped the staff. Realizing what he had done, he quickly reached down to grab the staff, but when he looked up the Spawn was already standing over him, one of its clawed hands raised over him.
Jenrya gulped and mumbled some kind of prayer. Takato looked at the Spawn with eyes widened in defeat. It only smiled in return. Then Takato slowly smiled. The Spawn, confused, turned around to see two large eyes behind him. Before the Spawn could react the massive jaws and teeth had already clamped around him. Guil thrashed his head around, the Spawn flailing in Guil's jaws as if he nothing more than a rag doll, crying. Then, the dragon set his jaws on the ground and placed his front foot on the upper part of the Spawn who let out a muffled cry. The dragon then pulled his head away from his foot, tearing the Spawn in two with a sickening sound.
*******
Ruki whipped around, dodging the blow of the Spawn. She growled at the confidence which shown from her opponents face. She swung again, this time aiming at the creature's legs. The Spawn lifted into the air, causing the blow to miss its target, and then the Spawn landed behind her. He seemed to be toying with her.
"You fight with too much emotion!" laughed the creature. "Do you expect me to just stand in the way of your blow?"
"I expect you to die" cried Ruki as she thrust her sword in at its chest. With a quick swipe the Spawn hit the sword and causing it to impale the ground rather than him. Then he slapped her, sending her reeling back, a trickle of blood rippled down her cheek. She wiped the blood away and glanced over her shoulder, the grove of trees was now ablaze, and the Paladin and sorcerer in it. She groaned, as soon as she was done with this one, she would have to save those two. She turned back to her opponent who was watching her with amuse. "A few different sword strokes and a lot of anger, is that all you've got? I think that your titles give you much more glory than you deserve!"
Ruki smirked, a few drops of sweat trickled down her forehead, "You talk big considering you're always the one on the defensive!"
"Then I shall attack!" the creature laughed as it raised one of its hands and then plowed it into the ground. Ruki gaped as a wave of earth rose up under her, sending her flying back a few feet. She rolled and jumped to her feet again. The Spawn wasn't there. She looked to her sides to see if he had moved there, and then she remembered the sky. She raised her sword just in time to block to the blow of the Spawn as it crashed down on her. Her knees bent at the force and she had to struggle not to fall.
The Spawn ascended again, and raised his hands over his head, then he threw a large ball of fire at her. Ruki swung her sword vertically, cutting through the fire and sending it spraying on both sides of her. But while she was still recovering from the swing the Spawn landed directly in front of her. Not having enough time to use her sword, she kicked him in the side, driving the steel spike on her boot into his flesh.
She smirked, expecting him to recoil in pain, but as she raised her head she saw him only smiling at her. The spawn raised his hand, the claws gleaming with the light of the burning grove, and then brought them down and across her stomach. The armor she wore screamed as it was cut to ribbons and a spray of hot blood washed the creature's hand. Ruki let out a startled cry and started to back away. Another swing of the creature's clawed hand knocked away her sword and another followed that, cutting into her stomach even more. In shock, Ruki slowly fell to her knees. Blood poured from her wound and dripped from her mouth. She weakly raised her eyes to the Spawn who was no longer smiling. The moon shown brightly behind him as he stood over her in victory. He raised his hand, claws gleaming, and he then he swung, this time aiming the blow at her neck.
*******
Takato and Jenrya watched in remote horror as the other Spawn sliced his claws through Ruki's belly and the knocked away her sword. She reeled back and the fell to her knees. Jenrya was screaming at her to get up.
Takato's heart stopped as the creature raised its hand for the final deathblow. Then, without thinking he raised the staff into the air as high as he could. Despite how unfriendly she had been, and the fact that she did want to kill his best friend, he knew that he couldn't let her die. Something inside him screamed and an overwhelming power took hold of him. The wind fiercely thrashed his hair and his eyes seemed to glow. The instant he raised his staff, there was a loud boom of thunder and a bright flash of light. A river of lightning blazed down from the sky, directly impacting the Spawn. The flesh of the creature melted and his bones burned instantaneously. When the flash of light cleared, there was nothing in front of Ruki but a pile of smoldering ash.
Jenrya looked at Takato in amazement. Takato smiled weakly, "I don't even know how to cast that spell…"
They heard Ruki groan and both of them rushed to her. Jenrya stood in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him blindly and coughed, spraying him with blood. Then she fell to the ground. Jenrya quickly rolled her onto her back, noticing the pool of blood around her. He removed the shredded plate of armor that covered her stomach and examined the wounds. Takato handed him a piece of cloth he had torn from his cloak and Jenrya used it to try and stop the bleeding.
"The wounds are bad," Jenrya said gravely.
"How… bad?" Takato stuttered.
"These are mortal wounds. I think I can control the bleeding, but even then she'll only live for a few hours, unless the creatures claws were poisoned, then she'll be dead in a few minutes… unless, by chance, you know some sort of healing spell."
Takato shook his head sadly, "I don't know any that would work for this much damage."
"Then… there's no hope…"
"Wait!" Takato cried, "I know someone who might be able to help her. It shouldn't take long to get there if we fly."
"Then we've got to hurry, we don't have much time!"
"Right, Guil get over here! We have to find Juri!"
Author's Note: Well, I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Let me know what you think, I appreciate your reviews!