Author's Note: OK, I get it. You people like the baby Dragons.
OK, nobody has noticed, but I published a GW fic on Monday. It's called 'And the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth' (Weird title, I know, but when you read the prologue you'll understand), and it's set 102 years after Endless Waltz. It's kind of a cross between GW and Outlaw Star. I'm hoping it doesn't suck too much.
It's my birthday! As of 11:20 this morning (approximately), I am now fourteen. That has no relevance whatsoever to the story. Yay.
Chapter 31
It was dark, abysmally dark. Rayen hated darkness.
This hatred was not due to association between darkness and evil, ever since he met Shade Rayen had long discarded this false notion. It reminded him of his brief period in the world of the dead. He was so afraid then, facing the prospect of wading for years looking for something that might not even be what he expected it to be. He wasn't as solitary as he led others to believe. He knew what it felt like to die, and it was horrible, but not painful, not physical pain one would suffer at the hands of some sadistic demon. It was just lonely, with the promise of a bleak eternity.
Rayen woke up to find Shade looking down at him, with Razeroth hovering beside him.
"Are you OK?"
"I think so... How long have I been out?"
"Two hours, maybe. What happened?"
"There was something in my head. It was speaking. I can't remember what it said, but I know I didn't like it."
"Do you have any idea what it was?"
Rayen shook his head. Now that he was conscious, he was having more and more trouble recalling the incident had ever happened. It was like something was erasing it from his memory and not being very thorough.
"So, where are we?"
"About another four hours from the shrine," Shade replied.
Balaeris glided down and perched himself on Rayen's shoulder.
Rayen nodded. "All right, is it my turn to drive?"
Shade shrugged. "If you want to."
"I think I will. It'll take a load off my mind. I can't worry while I'm driving."
"Wanna bet on that?"
"Not really."
Meanwhile, we go back to Kyra, Dawn, and Phil...
"Man, this place is a pain in the ass," Phil muttered bitterly.
Kyra bent low to avoid hitting her head on a rocky overhang. "I know, but there's nothing we can do about it but get the staff piece and get the hell out of here."
Dawn brought up the rear, her berdiche in hand. "I won't mind leaving this place either. That's the third time we've had to crawl to get through an opening."
"Well, we just have to find the piece, kill whatever's guarding it, and then we can find somewhere more hospitable to go for the next piece," Phil replied.
Dawn looked up at him. "You mean we have to fight something too? I thought we were just supposed to retrieve them."
"Well, something had to bring it here," Phil retorted.
"Maybe it was just washed here by the tides..."
Kyra shook her head. "No, I'm with Phil on this one. It was too deliberate."
"But it have been killed during the Cleansing?"
The Cleansing was the five-year journey taken after the Second Dragoon Campaign by Dart, Shana, Kongol, Meru, and Haschel to exterminate all the monsters left as the aftermath by Melbu Frahma.
"You have to admit, this is a little out of the way. Besides, it might have had some way to fly under the metaphorical radar," Phil explained.
"Like what?"
Phil shrugged. "I dunno, maybe it had some way to conceal itself."
Just then, something unseen slammed into Phil's back, sending him tumbling over the rocks and splashing in the shallow pools. The invisible tormentor struck him again, sending the Jade Dragoon over a shelf of rock and falling into a small lake below.
Kyra swore as she and Dawn transformed. "Shit! How can we fight something we can't see?"
The unseen fiend attacked once more, and Kyra was hit and sent flying into the wall.
"I've got an idea!" Dawn raised her weapon into the air and brought it down sharply, and a brilliant flash of light accompanied the swing, bringing the stalker into sharp relief. Dawn aimed another blow to the serpentine creature, but she missed. The monster had moved before she could react.
By this time, Kyra had gotten up, and was readying an attack of her own. However, the Dragon got there first. While the battle had been going on, the Violet and Silver Dragons had stayed on the sidelines, while the Jade Dragon had left to assist its master. Now, the purple Dragon sniffed the air, locating the creature by means other than sight, and pounced. Its body was a violet missle streaking towards the beast. It sunk its teeth and claws into the beast, latching onto it like a barnacle on a whale's hide. It bobbed up and down in midair, signalling that the serpent was flailing its body in an attempt to remove the bothersome Dragon.
Kyra realized that the Dragon marked the creature's position, so she judged the distance carefully and struck, the steel claws drawing three vivid red lines of blood. The abterration hissed and jerked so violently that the Dragon was dislodged, slamming against the rock wall and falling to the floor, unconcious. But the streaks of blood were like a flashing neon sign, and within another minute, the monster lay dead, its acid-green body finally visible.
"Aw, man. I missed all the action."
A very soggy Phil arrived at the battlefield, dripping from head to toe, the Jade Dragon following obediently at his heels.
"However, I did manage to find this."
He held up the fragment of the Dragon Block Staff. It didn't seem all that remarkable, just a piece of wood no more than five inches long. But upon closer inspection, they realized it was not wood at all, but a strange kind of metal, almost like copper.
"I hope we go somewhere hot next. If I don't get these clothes dry I'll catch hypothermia or something nasty like that."
Dawn smiled, having just finished a telepathic conversation with the Silver Dragon. "Volcano Villude hot enough for you?"
Phil groaned. "Great. So I either freeze or I fry."
Rayen awoke abruptly from his peaceful rest. He felt in his pocket and turned to Shade.
"Take this exit."
"Why? We're still two hours from the Shrine."
Rayen pulled the Golden Spirit from his pockets. It was emitting a dull glow.
"The owner is somewhere around here."
Shade needed no more convincing. He nodded, and steered the car off to the right, taking the exit that would lead them to the new Earth Dragoon.
Author's Note: One piece down, six to go. Yay.
OK, nobody has noticed, but I published a GW fic on Monday. It's called 'And the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth' (Weird title, I know, but when you read the prologue you'll understand), and it's set 102 years after Endless Waltz. It's kind of a cross between GW and Outlaw Star. I'm hoping it doesn't suck too much.
It's my birthday! As of 11:20 this morning (approximately), I am now fourteen. That has no relevance whatsoever to the story. Yay.
Chapter 31
It was dark, abysmally dark. Rayen hated darkness.
This hatred was not due to association between darkness and evil, ever since he met Shade Rayen had long discarded this false notion. It reminded him of his brief period in the world of the dead. He was so afraid then, facing the prospect of wading for years looking for something that might not even be what he expected it to be. He wasn't as solitary as he led others to believe. He knew what it felt like to die, and it was horrible, but not painful, not physical pain one would suffer at the hands of some sadistic demon. It was just lonely, with the promise of a bleak eternity.
Rayen woke up to find Shade looking down at him, with Razeroth hovering beside him.
"Are you OK?"
"I think so... How long have I been out?"
"Two hours, maybe. What happened?"
"There was something in my head. It was speaking. I can't remember what it said, but I know I didn't like it."
"Do you have any idea what it was?"
Rayen shook his head. Now that he was conscious, he was having more and more trouble recalling the incident had ever happened. It was like something was erasing it from his memory and not being very thorough.
"So, where are we?"
"About another four hours from the shrine," Shade replied.
Balaeris glided down and perched himself on Rayen's shoulder.
Rayen nodded. "All right, is it my turn to drive?"
Shade shrugged. "If you want to."
"I think I will. It'll take a load off my mind. I can't worry while I'm driving."
"Wanna bet on that?"
"Not really."
Meanwhile, we go back to Kyra, Dawn, and Phil...
"Man, this place is a pain in the ass," Phil muttered bitterly.
Kyra bent low to avoid hitting her head on a rocky overhang. "I know, but there's nothing we can do about it but get the staff piece and get the hell out of here."
Dawn brought up the rear, her berdiche in hand. "I won't mind leaving this place either. That's the third time we've had to crawl to get through an opening."
"Well, we just have to find the piece, kill whatever's guarding it, and then we can find somewhere more hospitable to go for the next piece," Phil replied.
Dawn looked up at him. "You mean we have to fight something too? I thought we were just supposed to retrieve them."
"Well, something had to bring it here," Phil retorted.
"Maybe it was just washed here by the tides..."
Kyra shook her head. "No, I'm with Phil on this one. It was too deliberate."
"But it have been killed during the Cleansing?"
The Cleansing was the five-year journey taken after the Second Dragoon Campaign by Dart, Shana, Kongol, Meru, and Haschel to exterminate all the monsters left as the aftermath by Melbu Frahma.
"You have to admit, this is a little out of the way. Besides, it might have had some way to fly under the metaphorical radar," Phil explained.
"Like what?"
Phil shrugged. "I dunno, maybe it had some way to conceal itself."
Just then, something unseen slammed into Phil's back, sending him tumbling over the rocks and splashing in the shallow pools. The invisible tormentor struck him again, sending the Jade Dragoon over a shelf of rock and falling into a small lake below.
Kyra swore as she and Dawn transformed. "Shit! How can we fight something we can't see?"
The unseen fiend attacked once more, and Kyra was hit and sent flying into the wall.
"I've got an idea!" Dawn raised her weapon into the air and brought it down sharply, and a brilliant flash of light accompanied the swing, bringing the stalker into sharp relief. Dawn aimed another blow to the serpentine creature, but she missed. The monster had moved before she could react.
By this time, Kyra had gotten up, and was readying an attack of her own. However, the Dragon got there first. While the battle had been going on, the Violet and Silver Dragons had stayed on the sidelines, while the Jade Dragon had left to assist its master. Now, the purple Dragon sniffed the air, locating the creature by means other than sight, and pounced. Its body was a violet missle streaking towards the beast. It sunk its teeth and claws into the beast, latching onto it like a barnacle on a whale's hide. It bobbed up and down in midair, signalling that the serpent was flailing its body in an attempt to remove the bothersome Dragon.
Kyra realized that the Dragon marked the creature's position, so she judged the distance carefully and struck, the steel claws drawing three vivid red lines of blood. The abterration hissed and jerked so violently that the Dragon was dislodged, slamming against the rock wall and falling to the floor, unconcious. But the streaks of blood were like a flashing neon sign, and within another minute, the monster lay dead, its acid-green body finally visible.
"Aw, man. I missed all the action."
A very soggy Phil arrived at the battlefield, dripping from head to toe, the Jade Dragon following obediently at his heels.
"However, I did manage to find this."
He held up the fragment of the Dragon Block Staff. It didn't seem all that remarkable, just a piece of wood no more than five inches long. But upon closer inspection, they realized it was not wood at all, but a strange kind of metal, almost like copper.
"I hope we go somewhere hot next. If I don't get these clothes dry I'll catch hypothermia or something nasty like that."
Dawn smiled, having just finished a telepathic conversation with the Silver Dragon. "Volcano Villude hot enough for you?"
Phil groaned. "Great. So I either freeze or I fry."
Rayen awoke abruptly from his peaceful rest. He felt in his pocket and turned to Shade.
"Take this exit."
"Why? We're still two hours from the Shrine."
Rayen pulled the Golden Spirit from his pockets. It was emitting a dull glow.
"The owner is somewhere around here."
Shade needed no more convincing. He nodded, and steered the car off to the right, taking the exit that would lead them to the new Earth Dragoon.
Author's Note: One piece down, six to go. Yay.