Author's Note: *notices he suddenly gained 6 reviews* Yay! Aerena must be
back! I was wondering why only DDX was reviewing. I thought I might have
scared you all away. Or my writing got really bad really fast. But I guess
not. Anyway... uh... just keep reviewing! Yeah. I guess.
Chapter 16
"Let me get this straight. There were four Dragoons?"
"Five, if you count the dead one."
"Were they all different types?"
"Yes. The dead one was Violet, as you know, and the others are Red-eye, Jade, Silver, and Dark."
"Which one killed the Thunder?"
"Dark."
"I see. Why didn't you kill the others?"
"Isn't it obvious? I was outnumbered. Four to one isn't good odds against Dragoons. Plus, these ones can use magic. The only reason I was able to get away with the Thunder Spirit was that one of them was ignorant enough to try and attack me without transforming first."
The mysterious female Wingly from the outskirts of Fletz was sprawled nonchalantly on a couch, sharpening the steel claws she wore strapped to her hands. She moved the whetstone across the last of the three claws on her right hand, curving downward when she came to the wicked barb at the end.
"Don't worry. I'll pick them off eventually, one by one."
"Very well. I trust your judgement."
"With good reason."
"How will you separate them?"
"I'll figure it out."
Meanwhile, back in the gigantic coporate office...
"Sir, I can understand why you're angry about his death..."
"I'm not angry. Merely irritated. I had already sponsored him, and he goes and gets himself killed after one day. An inconvenience, nothing more. I would be angry if I had already paid him."
"Do you think a monster did it, sir?"
"I'm thinking of one monster in particular."
"I assume you mean Project Shade, sir."
"Of course. The only thing that can kill a Dragoon is another Dragoon, except perhaps a group of Winglies. Discounting Project Shade, there is only one Dragoon we know of, and that's the one that killed Corain. Do we know who that is yet?"
"No, sir. There's no way of telling. It could be any person, any age, male or female. We don't even know the element. Besides, we can't inquire further without arousing suspicion."
"Very well. So, what are you going to do now?"
"I believe we should let things sit for a while. See if the monsters can hole themselves up until the populace calms down. If they don't, the authorities will hunt them down eventually."
"But what about Project Shade?"
"He is currently not a danger to us. We have nothing else he can ruin, so we have nothing to worry about."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. You are dismissed."
Now for yet another setting change...
Rayen sat in the chair at the table in the back room of the RV; his hands folded flat on the table, his chin resting on his knuckles. His face wore a bemused expression, his green-flecked azure eyes staring ahead at nothing in particular. Dawn glanced at him in concern, and then she turned to Shade, who sat on her left.
"He's been like that all day. What's got him so upset?"
"The Wingly. He hasn't had much experience in battle before, and he got too used to winning. He's been stewing over his defeat, thinking about what to do next time."
"He said he didn't want revenge."
"Everyone desires revenge. Some people just want it less than others."
"I suppose."
Suddenly, the car lurched off the road and stopped. Phil's voice rang out from the driver's seat.
"I've had just about enough of this!"
Phil stomped into the back room.
"Look, I can understand that you're pissed because you got kicked in the face, but that's no reason to send us days out of our way!"
The Red-Eye Dragon Knight snapped from his reverie. The twin moonlit lakes of Rayen's eyes suddenly froze over, as if by a chill winter. Phil hated that. He always stayed so damn calm whenever they got into an argument.
"Where exactly is 'our way'?"
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Well, where exactly would YOU have us go after Shade killed Boleras? We didn't get any information out of him. That Wingly took his Spirit, she wants it for some reason."
Another thing Phil hated about arguments with Rayen. His simple logic infuriated him.
"We don't even know where she went!"
"We didn't know where we were going when we first left home, either."
Phil clenched his fists in rage, but eventually let out a deep sigh.
"All right. I guess it's just time to change drivers."
"That works. Dawn, it's your shift."
Dawn nodded, got up from her chair, and moved into the driver's seat. They heard the engine rev, and the RV started back up again and moved back onto the road. A few more hours passed uneventfully. Dawn's voice suddenly rang out from the front.
"Uh, guys? There's something weird up ahead..."
Rayen, Phil, and Shade sprang up from their seats and dashed to the front of the motorhome. Rayen's eyes opened wide.
"Almighty Soa, Father of Creation..."
Ahead of them lay a swirling tempest of iridescent magical energy, churning and glowing.
"For the love of the Divine Tree, Dawn, BRAKE!"
"I braked a long time ago. We're not stopping. It's drawing us in."
"Oh SHIT!"
The car's wheels left the ground. They hung suspended in midair, revolving slowly. The hood of the car entered the portal, and it simply disappeared. The magic-charged air sent the heads of the four Dragoons reeling, and they knew no more.
The first thing Shade sensed when he awoke was cold. Not the usual slight chill of a November breeze, but a deeper, biting cold that seeped through his padded black clothing. He lifted his head off the ground, and thought he had gone blind. Everything was white. Ice and snow, everywhere. He finally realized where he was; somehow, he had been transported to Kashua Glacier! No one ever came here anymore; there was nowhere you could get by going through here that you couldn't get by taking a boat or plane. Plus, many people said that monsters still lurked here from the Second Dragoon Campaign, holed up in the intricate networks of icy caves where the Dragoons couldn't locate them. Mere myth, of course, but Shade had learned even before becoming a Dragoon not to completely discount legend.
So he was alone now, probably thousands of miles away from any of the others. They could never rejoin after a scattering like this. He was alone once again. Although he begun to like the companionship of the younger Dragon Knights, he had always been alone before now, and solitude did not bother him. It had been nice while it lasted, but it was over now. He had never been to Millie Seaseu before, but he knew the geography well enough. He would go to the capital, Deningrad the Crystal City. He would stay there until he could figure out what to do next.
Shade pushed himself up off the frost with his gloved hands, and wandered towards the tall blue spires just barely gracing the horizon.
Chapter 16
"Let me get this straight. There were four Dragoons?"
"Five, if you count the dead one."
"Were they all different types?"
"Yes. The dead one was Violet, as you know, and the others are Red-eye, Jade, Silver, and Dark."
"Which one killed the Thunder?"
"Dark."
"I see. Why didn't you kill the others?"
"Isn't it obvious? I was outnumbered. Four to one isn't good odds against Dragoons. Plus, these ones can use magic. The only reason I was able to get away with the Thunder Spirit was that one of them was ignorant enough to try and attack me without transforming first."
The mysterious female Wingly from the outskirts of Fletz was sprawled nonchalantly on a couch, sharpening the steel claws she wore strapped to her hands. She moved the whetstone across the last of the three claws on her right hand, curving downward when she came to the wicked barb at the end.
"Don't worry. I'll pick them off eventually, one by one."
"Very well. I trust your judgement."
"With good reason."
"How will you separate them?"
"I'll figure it out."
Meanwhile, back in the gigantic coporate office...
"Sir, I can understand why you're angry about his death..."
"I'm not angry. Merely irritated. I had already sponsored him, and he goes and gets himself killed after one day. An inconvenience, nothing more. I would be angry if I had already paid him."
"Do you think a monster did it, sir?"
"I'm thinking of one monster in particular."
"I assume you mean Project Shade, sir."
"Of course. The only thing that can kill a Dragoon is another Dragoon, except perhaps a group of Winglies. Discounting Project Shade, there is only one Dragoon we know of, and that's the one that killed Corain. Do we know who that is yet?"
"No, sir. There's no way of telling. It could be any person, any age, male or female. We don't even know the element. Besides, we can't inquire further without arousing suspicion."
"Very well. So, what are you going to do now?"
"I believe we should let things sit for a while. See if the monsters can hole themselves up until the populace calms down. If they don't, the authorities will hunt them down eventually."
"But what about Project Shade?"
"He is currently not a danger to us. We have nothing else he can ruin, so we have nothing to worry about."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. You are dismissed."
Now for yet another setting change...
Rayen sat in the chair at the table in the back room of the RV; his hands folded flat on the table, his chin resting on his knuckles. His face wore a bemused expression, his green-flecked azure eyes staring ahead at nothing in particular. Dawn glanced at him in concern, and then she turned to Shade, who sat on her left.
"He's been like that all day. What's got him so upset?"
"The Wingly. He hasn't had much experience in battle before, and he got too used to winning. He's been stewing over his defeat, thinking about what to do next time."
"He said he didn't want revenge."
"Everyone desires revenge. Some people just want it less than others."
"I suppose."
Suddenly, the car lurched off the road and stopped. Phil's voice rang out from the driver's seat.
"I've had just about enough of this!"
Phil stomped into the back room.
"Look, I can understand that you're pissed because you got kicked in the face, but that's no reason to send us days out of our way!"
The Red-Eye Dragon Knight snapped from his reverie. The twin moonlit lakes of Rayen's eyes suddenly froze over, as if by a chill winter. Phil hated that. He always stayed so damn calm whenever they got into an argument.
"Where exactly is 'our way'?"
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Well, where exactly would YOU have us go after Shade killed Boleras? We didn't get any information out of him. That Wingly took his Spirit, she wants it for some reason."
Another thing Phil hated about arguments with Rayen. His simple logic infuriated him.
"We don't even know where she went!"
"We didn't know where we were going when we first left home, either."
Phil clenched his fists in rage, but eventually let out a deep sigh.
"All right. I guess it's just time to change drivers."
"That works. Dawn, it's your shift."
Dawn nodded, got up from her chair, and moved into the driver's seat. They heard the engine rev, and the RV started back up again and moved back onto the road. A few more hours passed uneventfully. Dawn's voice suddenly rang out from the front.
"Uh, guys? There's something weird up ahead..."
Rayen, Phil, and Shade sprang up from their seats and dashed to the front of the motorhome. Rayen's eyes opened wide.
"Almighty Soa, Father of Creation..."
Ahead of them lay a swirling tempest of iridescent magical energy, churning and glowing.
"For the love of the Divine Tree, Dawn, BRAKE!"
"I braked a long time ago. We're not stopping. It's drawing us in."
"Oh SHIT!"
The car's wheels left the ground. They hung suspended in midair, revolving slowly. The hood of the car entered the portal, and it simply disappeared. The magic-charged air sent the heads of the four Dragoons reeling, and they knew no more.
The first thing Shade sensed when he awoke was cold. Not the usual slight chill of a November breeze, but a deeper, biting cold that seeped through his padded black clothing. He lifted his head off the ground, and thought he had gone blind. Everything was white. Ice and snow, everywhere. He finally realized where he was; somehow, he had been transported to Kashua Glacier! No one ever came here anymore; there was nowhere you could get by going through here that you couldn't get by taking a boat or plane. Plus, many people said that monsters still lurked here from the Second Dragoon Campaign, holed up in the intricate networks of icy caves where the Dragoons couldn't locate them. Mere myth, of course, but Shade had learned even before becoming a Dragoon not to completely discount legend.
So he was alone now, probably thousands of miles away from any of the others. They could never rejoin after a scattering like this. He was alone once again. Although he begun to like the companionship of the younger Dragon Knights, he had always been alone before now, and solitude did not bother him. It had been nice while it lasted, but it was over now. He had never been to Millie Seaseu before, but he knew the geography well enough. He would go to the capital, Deningrad the Crystal City. He would stay there until he could figure out what to do next.
Shade pushed himself up off the frost with his gloved hands, and wandered towards the tall blue spires just barely gracing the horizon.