Chapter 12
They each had different reactions when they saw it happen.
Phil propped himself on his spear. When he saw his best friend's body, he was stunned. He had difficulty bringing himself to believe that Rayen had really died. Even when he had first become a Dragoon, after Rayen dueled the Jade Dragoon hired to kill them, he hadn't thought much about the danger. It didn't seem that they could ever be bested. The monsters were pathetic compared to them, and Rayen had shown that he could hold his own against another Dragoon.
Shade felt a deep regret, and a firm resolve that he would find the strength to defeat this monstrosity that had slain his comrade, a person who had trusted him despite his questionable origins. If he had lived a little longer, Shade might have gone so far as to call him a friend, something Shade had not been priveleged enough to call anyone for a very long time. He stood up and gripped his blades. Though he could not fly, he would fight until he was crushed underfoot.
Dawn, who knew Rayen even less than Shade, choked at the sight of the body. She immersed herself in sorrow, for Rayen, but also for Phil and Shade, for herself, and for her friends in the town. She felt sorrow for all the people of Serdio and the world, for who could stand up to the might of this thing now that the Dragoons had failed? Her green eyes brimmed with tears, her blonde hair fell in front of her face, but she didn't care. Her hands went instinctively towards the diamond pendant she wore on her neck, the last heirloom of her family, worn by her mother.
She sat up in surprise and shock as the pendant began to glow with a fierce light. It floated up from her chest, and with another bright flash, the gold casing and chain fell away. The jewel stood suspended in the air, shining with a clear, pure light (bet you can all guess what's happening here by now, right?). It flashed again, and it covered her in its light. The light formed armor, made of pure silver, but lighter and harder than any kind of silver ever seen before. The light formed two dragon wings on her back, and a berdiche appeared in her hands, its head reflecting the light.
The light danced around the mountain, making the midnight sky bright as day. Then the two other Dragoons witnessed an extrordiary transformation. Shade felt the bones of his wings knit in seconds, the leathery skin of his wings repaired itself. The pain in Phil's back virtually disappeared, the throbbing of his head lessened as well. Both of the Dragoons stood up, surging with renewed strength. Dawn flew up to them, and the three faced the Virage with grim determination.
The Dragoons charged, as they had done the first time. The already wounded Virage could not compute, with its artificial brain, what had caused these beaten-down warriors to repeat their earlier efforts. But it fought back, punching, swatting, and using its strange magic eye with great effect, always keeping the Dragoons at bay. However, they now knew its tactics, and could avoid its huge hands without too much difficulty, they slowly whittled it down, but they were unsure if they could muster enough power to deal a finishing strike.
Shade, with his overly-acute senses, suddenly began to feel a surge of warmth. He wondered where it could have come from. It was early in the morning, so early that the sun had not risen. Was it possible that they had driven and fought so long that the sun was rising? Or was it merely an after-effect of the brilliant healing light of Dawn's transformation?
Phil felt the warmth too, but to him it was not a sudden surge, but a gradual increase. He put it down as an unfortunate side effect of his physical exertion, and pushed it to the back of his mind. He focused the power of his element, and created a huge whirlwind, which he hoped would force the beast of the mountain, where it would fall to its death. The Virage stumbled, but did not fall, and Phil was immediately hit by one of its brilliant azure eye beams. He was forced backwards by the magic barrage, and felt a much more unpleasant surge of heat than Shade.
Dawn didn't feel the heat at all. She was caught up in her transformation. The light and power that surged through her blood was ecstacy, but she had a job to do. She cast a spell to heal Phil's damage from the eye beam, then pushed off the ground, her berdiche held above her head. The Dragoons pressed their attack, never giving an inch if they could possibly avoid it.
The Virage let loose its last resort. Its body flashed a brilliant indigo, the force of the magic driving the airborne warriors to the summit of the mountain above which they fought. The Dragoons were paralyzed by this sudden outburst of magic. They could not get up off the ground. The Virage had them right where it wanted them. Phil strained against the magic, turned his head, and choked, thinking the flash of Wingly magic had taken away the usage of his lungs as well.
Shade was right when he thought the heat was an after-effect of Dawn's transformation, but not quite in the way he meant. A gigantic fireball, the cause of the heat, shot forward like a missle and slammed into the Virage's chest with a tremendous explosion. The Virage teetered and fell off the mountain, dissolving into the air before crashing to the ground. In the fireball's wake stood Rayen, the force of his regained life flowing around him in almost palpable waves. His wound was gone, and if they hadn't seen it before, they wouldn't have believed it had been there.
"How the hell did you manage to pull this one off?"
"The transformation. I thought you would have figured that out. It healed me too, I just decided to lay low and wait for the right time."
"Well, you did indeed pick the right time. We would have been toast."
"So, shall we go?"
Rayen stood there, smiling, as if they had done nothing more than taken a walk in the park. Phil walked over to his friend and punched him in the jaw. Rayen, still smiling, returned the favor by looping his foot around Phil's ankle and pushing him forward so he tripped and had to bear the shock of impact through his hands to avoid breaking his nose on the rocky summit of the mountain. All four walked smiling back to the motorhome (although you couldn't see Shade's), just grateful to be still alive.
Author's Note: Yes, I found a way to kill the main character as a cliffhanger plot twist and bring him back next chapter. Sue me, he was too cool to stay dead.
For those of you who don't know too much about weapons, a berdiche (Dawn's new weapon) is a medival polearm. It was a pretty popular weapon in medival foot soldier battles, because it could be used at arms length or in close combat. A good picture of a berdiche I found on the Internet is at http://www.greenapple.com/~walls/berdiche.html. I gave her that weapon because Shana and Miranda (no offense to their fans) really sucked in the original game (IMHO, their healing magic didn't make up for their horrible physical attacks or their lack of Additions). While we're on the subject of weapons, I have a question for you, esteemed readers...
Poll: Did I do the right thing for the story by altering the weapons and the gender of the Dragoons? For example, did I make the right decision by making the Dark Dragoon (yes, Shade IS the Dark Dragoon) a man with dual short swords instead of a woman with a katana (like Rose)? Should I have left the Silver Dragoon with a bow instead of a two-handed polearm? I would appreciate all views given on this subject when you review this chapter. Thanks!
They each had different reactions when they saw it happen.
Phil propped himself on his spear. When he saw his best friend's body, he was stunned. He had difficulty bringing himself to believe that Rayen had really died. Even when he had first become a Dragoon, after Rayen dueled the Jade Dragoon hired to kill them, he hadn't thought much about the danger. It didn't seem that they could ever be bested. The monsters were pathetic compared to them, and Rayen had shown that he could hold his own against another Dragoon.
Shade felt a deep regret, and a firm resolve that he would find the strength to defeat this monstrosity that had slain his comrade, a person who had trusted him despite his questionable origins. If he had lived a little longer, Shade might have gone so far as to call him a friend, something Shade had not been priveleged enough to call anyone for a very long time. He stood up and gripped his blades. Though he could not fly, he would fight until he was crushed underfoot.
Dawn, who knew Rayen even less than Shade, choked at the sight of the body. She immersed herself in sorrow, for Rayen, but also for Phil and Shade, for herself, and for her friends in the town. She felt sorrow for all the people of Serdio and the world, for who could stand up to the might of this thing now that the Dragoons had failed? Her green eyes brimmed with tears, her blonde hair fell in front of her face, but she didn't care. Her hands went instinctively towards the diamond pendant she wore on her neck, the last heirloom of her family, worn by her mother.
She sat up in surprise and shock as the pendant began to glow with a fierce light. It floated up from her chest, and with another bright flash, the gold casing and chain fell away. The jewel stood suspended in the air, shining with a clear, pure light (bet you can all guess what's happening here by now, right?). It flashed again, and it covered her in its light. The light formed armor, made of pure silver, but lighter and harder than any kind of silver ever seen before. The light formed two dragon wings on her back, and a berdiche appeared in her hands, its head reflecting the light.
The light danced around the mountain, making the midnight sky bright as day. Then the two other Dragoons witnessed an extrordiary transformation. Shade felt the bones of his wings knit in seconds, the leathery skin of his wings repaired itself. The pain in Phil's back virtually disappeared, the throbbing of his head lessened as well. Both of the Dragoons stood up, surging with renewed strength. Dawn flew up to them, and the three faced the Virage with grim determination.
The Dragoons charged, as they had done the first time. The already wounded Virage could not compute, with its artificial brain, what had caused these beaten-down warriors to repeat their earlier efforts. But it fought back, punching, swatting, and using its strange magic eye with great effect, always keeping the Dragoons at bay. However, they now knew its tactics, and could avoid its huge hands without too much difficulty, they slowly whittled it down, but they were unsure if they could muster enough power to deal a finishing strike.
Shade, with his overly-acute senses, suddenly began to feel a surge of warmth. He wondered where it could have come from. It was early in the morning, so early that the sun had not risen. Was it possible that they had driven and fought so long that the sun was rising? Or was it merely an after-effect of the brilliant healing light of Dawn's transformation?
Phil felt the warmth too, but to him it was not a sudden surge, but a gradual increase. He put it down as an unfortunate side effect of his physical exertion, and pushed it to the back of his mind. He focused the power of his element, and created a huge whirlwind, which he hoped would force the beast of the mountain, where it would fall to its death. The Virage stumbled, but did not fall, and Phil was immediately hit by one of its brilliant azure eye beams. He was forced backwards by the magic barrage, and felt a much more unpleasant surge of heat than Shade.
Dawn didn't feel the heat at all. She was caught up in her transformation. The light and power that surged through her blood was ecstacy, but she had a job to do. She cast a spell to heal Phil's damage from the eye beam, then pushed off the ground, her berdiche held above her head. The Dragoons pressed their attack, never giving an inch if they could possibly avoid it.
The Virage let loose its last resort. Its body flashed a brilliant indigo, the force of the magic driving the airborne warriors to the summit of the mountain above which they fought. The Dragoons were paralyzed by this sudden outburst of magic. They could not get up off the ground. The Virage had them right where it wanted them. Phil strained against the magic, turned his head, and choked, thinking the flash of Wingly magic had taken away the usage of his lungs as well.
Shade was right when he thought the heat was an after-effect of Dawn's transformation, but not quite in the way he meant. A gigantic fireball, the cause of the heat, shot forward like a missle and slammed into the Virage's chest with a tremendous explosion. The Virage teetered and fell off the mountain, dissolving into the air before crashing to the ground. In the fireball's wake stood Rayen, the force of his regained life flowing around him in almost palpable waves. His wound was gone, and if they hadn't seen it before, they wouldn't have believed it had been there.
"How the hell did you manage to pull this one off?"
"The transformation. I thought you would have figured that out. It healed me too, I just decided to lay low and wait for the right time."
"Well, you did indeed pick the right time. We would have been toast."
"So, shall we go?"
Rayen stood there, smiling, as if they had done nothing more than taken a walk in the park. Phil walked over to his friend and punched him in the jaw. Rayen, still smiling, returned the favor by looping his foot around Phil's ankle and pushing him forward so he tripped and had to bear the shock of impact through his hands to avoid breaking his nose on the rocky summit of the mountain. All four walked smiling back to the motorhome (although you couldn't see Shade's), just grateful to be still alive.
Author's Note: Yes, I found a way to kill the main character as a cliffhanger plot twist and bring him back next chapter. Sue me, he was too cool to stay dead.
For those of you who don't know too much about weapons, a berdiche (Dawn's new weapon) is a medival polearm. It was a pretty popular weapon in medival foot soldier battles, because it could be used at arms length or in close combat. A good picture of a berdiche I found on the Internet is at http://www.greenapple.com/~walls/berdiche.html. I gave her that weapon because Shana and Miranda (no offense to their fans) really sucked in the original game (IMHO, their healing magic didn't make up for their horrible physical attacks or their lack of Additions). While we're on the subject of weapons, I have a question for you, esteemed readers...
Poll: Did I do the right thing for the story by altering the weapons and the gender of the Dragoons? For example, did I make the right decision by making the Dark Dragoon (yes, Shade IS the Dark Dragoon) a man with dual short swords instead of a woman with a katana (like Rose)? Should I have left the Silver Dragoon with a bow instead of a two-handed polearm? I would appreciate all views given on this subject when you review this chapter. Thanks!