Okies, I'll try not to talk too terribly long, cuz I know you're all anxious to read the next chapter, eh? _O
*sing-song voice to the tune of 'found a peanut'* New reviewer, new reviewer, got a new reviewer now! New reviewer, new reviewer, got a new reviewer now! *huggles Isabella Jynx* Welcome to our little, crazy, yet happy, family! ^_^
Well, it seemed that you guys are all pretty well sure that Sonari/Sil-alia's going to be the pairing in this story… Yes, if you have been wondering why none of my characters have been in my a/n's for a while, I locked them up in a cage somehow, and now they're all sitting down in the guest room in the basement, waiting until I see fit to release them… I can't have them revealing all my secrets…
So, aer, you liked the little vision dream thingy? I'm glad, cuz that may not be the only one…
As for Lana…you think she's fun to hate now, Chozen? Wait until later… Mwahahahaha!!!!!! *cue evil laugh*
Okies, I think that's enough of my ramblings. On with the fic!
Recurrence of Evil
Sil-alia was shaken out of her reverie by a roar outside the house. She took a quick glance out of the window that led to the roof. The position of the sun told her that it was late afternoon. Did I really sleep that long?
Another roar followed by some screaming persuaded Sil-alia to jump out of bed, grab her Shurikama, and head downstairs to see if Grandfather had any idea what was going on. She ran down the stairs, and almost bowled over Rigana, who was on her way up, presumably to wake her up and get her help for whatever was going on out there. Before she could say anything, Rigana grabbed her arm and hauled her down the stairs after her.
Grandfather was in the kitchen, looking cool, calm, and in control, as per usual. When Sil-alia stumbled into the kitchen after Rigana, she finally managed to choke out the question that she had wanted to ask.
"What's going on?"
Grandfather's reply was swift and curt. "A Dragon flew over the town last night. No regular Dragon, though. This one is a Black Dragon, one that heralds the coming of the demons once again. And now it's attacking the town." He turned his attention to Rigana. "You know that stone you found at the end of the Final Battle?" Rigana nodded. How could she forget? It wasn't often you found an amethyst like that. "Go and get it. You'll need it. You must carry it with you at all times from now on." She didn't question Grandfather.
After Rigana had left the house, Grandfather turned to Sil-alia. "I have something I must give you before you run out to try and beat this Dragon. I fear my time is running short, and you must have this before I pass onto the next world." He ran off into a side room. Sil-alia stood there, puzzled, until he came back just a few moments after.
"Give me your Shurikama," he said, not letting her see what he had gotten. Reluctantly, she handed over her weapon. "Now close your eyes."
"Grandfather, do we have time for this?" But however much she protested, she closed her eyes anyway.
She felt Grandfather press something long and heavy into her hands, but before she could open her eyes, Grandfather whispered in her ear. "I know that you should have been given this for your 21st birthday, but I fear that you must have it now. It will aid you well. It has been spelled to ward against evil and bite especially demon flesh. You must use it well."
Sil-alia opened her eyes to see a Shurikama in her hands. It was one that she had never seen before. The hilt was patterned with tiny stars, and on the blades were minute engravings of the moon through its trek from new moon to full moon, and back again. It sent a warm buzz up through her fingers to spread throughout her entire body.
"You are one of the Tahoan now. The only one. It is your responsibility to protect the Shrine from the demons, for they come again. The Black Dragon is just a messenger. More will come. You must go!"
Sil-alia didn't wait for another word before racing out of the door and down the streets, following the sound of the demon Dragon's roars to an area near the square. She was surprised to find Yani there as well as a newly arrived Rigana. Yani had out his broadsword, and was attempting to ward off the Dragon's attacks.
"It's about bloody well time you two arrived. I wasn't having much luck fighting this bugger myself," Yani said in his usual light and joking manner.
But before he could say another word, the Dragon swiped at him with a large, black forelimb. He had to tuck roll to avoid the blow, a very difficult feat while holding such a large sword. He was on his feet before the Dragon had time to direct another blow his way.
"See what I mean?"
The Dragon roared again, irritated that its prey had escaped its grasp. A column of jet-black fire issued from its open mouth, intending to fry the Human alive. Sil-alia saw the danger that Yani was in, and immediately came to his aid. She positioned herself between him and the quickly approaching flames. She moved her hands in a complex pattern in front of them, then spread them wide. The fire was mere inches away from her hands when it split down the center, each half passing close to their sides.
After a few seconds, the Dragon finished its flame attack. It figured that both the people caught in the flames would be charred to a crisp. Its eyes widened in surprise as the smoke cleared and both were still standing there, unharmed. There was a slight blue-green shimmer in the air around them. Before its rather small brain could figure out how they had survived, it roared in pain as he felt spelled blades sink deep into its neck. Something clicked as it realized that it had let the third creature out of its sight.
Rigana tried desperately to keep her balance as the Dragon thrashed its head and neck around, attempting to get her spelled blades out of its flesh. With a quick yank, she pulled both of her knives out of the Dragon. They were each as long as her forearm, and they had been buried in demon flesh to the hilt. She jumped off the Dragon, carefully avoiding its flailing limbs to hover several feet away.
Sil-alia left Yani to fend for himself, knowing full well that the battle-hardened warrior would be able to survive on his own. She flew to the Dragon's other side, so that it would have attackers from three directions. Her hand rested momentarily on her choker, a habit she had acquired through her years of battle. But this time, the stone glowed beneath her fingers. She knew that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for the three of them to defeat the Dragon by themselves, even with two warriors having spelled blades. But perhaps the power of Dragons who had died ages ago could help. She sent her energy into the stone, asking for its help. A semi-familiar ray of light burst from the heavens, temporarily blinding the Dragon. The ensuing explosion of light seemed to cause the Dragon pain, as if the pure light of the White Silver Dragoon was a destructive influence.
Both Yani and Rigana were surprised by Sil-alia's transformation. The Human gaped openly at the change. But she wasted no time in coming forward to attack the Dragon. Her Shurikama, now shining with a silver light, was aimed for a long slash to the Dragon's stomach, but it managed to bring a forelimb in, blocking the blow but taking the damage to its forelimb instead of the lethal attack to its stomach.
While gaping at the scene, Rigana noticed that the amethyst in her jacket's pocket was starting to glow, just as Sil-alia's moonstone had before her transformation. She glanced over at Yani to see if he had noticed. He was similarly occupied with a glowing emerald. Her sharp mind immediately started wondering if they too could transform into the 'super forms,' and if they could, how to.
Sil-alia flew far enough away from the Dragon so that she could hover and wait for its next attack. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of purple and a flash of green. She kept one eye on the Dragon while looking to see that Yani and Rigana had glowing stones similar to her own White Silver Dragon Spirit.
"Guys, try to harness the power of those stones. Concentrate on the stone, then send all your energy up into it. Imagine the most important thing to you, and that'll help too!"
Where did that come from? Sil-alia thought. I've never really thought about how to transform before…
Purple lightening shot down from the sky and surrounded Rigana. The lightening struck her methodically, starting at the bottom, and working its way up. At the end of her transformation, Rigana's body was covered in the same sort of armor as Sil-alia, only purple. Her unsheathed knives crackled and sparked with the same sort of purple electricity that had surrounded her only seconds before.
"What…What is this? Sil-alia, what's going on?"
"We're Dragoons, Rigana! You've been chosen by the Violet Dragon to be the Thunder Dragoon," Sil-alia responded.
"But…But…why?"
"It's a long story. I'll explain later, after we've beaten the Black Dragon into the ground, that is…"
Rigana motioned to Yani. "Look, the poor guy's having problems. My guess is that he's never channeled energy before, not being able to use magic and all. Can you keep the Dragon distracted for a while? I'll go help him."
Sil-alia nodded curtly, then turned her full attention back to the problem at hand: the Dragon. It seemed to be getting impatient and unwilling to wait for them to attack first. How was she going to be able to keep that thing's attention off of Rigana and Yani long enough for Rigana to give him the basics on energy channeling?
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Sonari trudged through the forest. He had no idea where he was in relation to Lahrin. The late afternoon sun told him that he was headed fairly straight west, but he didn't know if he was getting closer or farther away form the town. In any case, the trees seemed to be thinning, so he was near the edge of wherever he was going.
Suddenly, he heard a roar, muffled by trees and brush in the direction that he was headed. Curious, he headed closer to the sound. As he ran through the thick growth of the forest, the roars became louder, and Sonari knew he was heading the right way. He finally reached the edge of the forest. He found himself standing on the crest of a hill overlooking the town. His eyes were drawn immediately to clouds of black smoke rising from the general area of the square.
No! Not again! Please not again!
A voice distracted Sonari for a second. He looked around, trying to find the owner of the voice, but he didn't see anyone. He wrote the voice off as his mind playing tricks, and shook his head, as if that could help him get rid of the voice. Not hearing any more comments from the disembodied voice, Sonari ran towards the smoke. Where there was smoke, there was fire. And where there was fire, there was Yani.
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Sil-alia ducked past the Dragon's flailing limbs, cutting through demon flesh with every opportunity. Yet, no matter how many times she made a pass like that, it seemed as if the Dragon would never die.
"Just die already! Just die!" Sil-alia muttered under her breath. With every pass she lost strength, even though the wings of the White Silver Dragoon were much more powerful than her ones as a Wingly. But still, if the Dragon didn't fall soon…
Sil-alia racked her brain for a solution. Rigana was still trying to get Yani to channel his energy, and she had no idea where Sonari was. No matter how much she disliked the guy, it was obvious that he would be a valuable ally. If her physical attacks weren't working, she'd have to try something else…
Just as she was raising her arms to perform a spell, Sil-alia saw the all-too-familiar form of Sonari racing down the road towards them. He stopped dead when he saw Sil-alia and Rigana in Dragoon armor.
"What the…?" he muttered under his breath, taking in the sight of the Dragon and Dragoons. A flash of green light and a small whirlwind momentarily distracted him and he heard Yani's triumphant voice.
"Ha! I did it! Stupid stone…"
Sonari felt a strange warmth from his pocket. He looked down to see the red stone that Yani had given back to him the evening before. It was glowing with an intensity that he had never seen before. He reached down to touch it, and as soon as his fingers brushed the smooth surface, he felt liquid fire surge up his arm and into his body. Then the fire was enveloping his body, but not burning him. When the fire died down, he found himself covered in fire red armor, much the same as the type he had seen Sil-alia and Rigana wearing. He looked up and saw Sil-alia gaping at him. He smirked in reply, then took out his Shotel, now wreathed in fire, and walked purposefully towards the Black Dragon.
As Sonari advanced, the Dragon processed this new threat. He came a few steps closer, and the Dragon realized that this man was very brave, very powerful, or very stupid. It sucked in air to breathe its deadly black fire. A few steps closer… The Dragon opened its mouth, and a huge burst of fire issued forth. Sonari quickly formed a magical shield, just enough to protect his body, before putting away his Shotel and forming a fireball on his other hand. And still Sonari advanced… When the fire died away, Sonari was hovering mere feet from the Dragon's face. He gave the Dragon a farewell wave, then smirked.
"Flameshot!" Sonari launched the fireball from his hand, straight at the Dragon's face. The red fire enveloped the whole of its head, searing eyes and burning flesh. The Dragon howled in pain, clawing at its face, trying in vain to bring the pain to an end, trying desperately to regain it sight, lost when its eyes burned to a crisp in the heat of the flames. Sonari turned in mid-air and flew clumsily back down to the ground. Then he continued to walk away.
Sil-alia watched Sonari's flame attack do what she had wanted to accomplish so easily. Well, I was right. He is a valuable ally… She turned her attention back to the Dragon, now writhing around in pain. Burned and blind? Yes. Dead? No. A problem it looked like she would have to remedy herself.
Sonari turned back to the scene he had created just in time to see Sil-alia dive towards the Dragon. It may have been blind, but its limbs thrashing about aimlessly were at least as dangerous as the beast when it could see. She dodged three or four flailing appendages before she alighted in the Dragon's mouth. She didn't give the Dragon time to react to her presence before she took out her Shurikama and rammed it into the roof of its mouth, angling it back. Sonari thought he could see the tip of enchanted, glowing, silver metal before the Dragon gave one final roar. Sil-alia yanked her weapon back out, and flew away from the dying Dragon, using her flying skills to stay out of the way of the demon's death throes.
The four fighters watched the Dragon die, smoke still rising from its scorched head, blood and other fluids oozing from the wound in its skull.
Rigana was the one that brought them all back to earth. She swore, then turned to Sil-alia. "The Shrine! This Dragon may just have been a diversion! If they're back, the Shrine is the first place they'll go!"
Sil-alia's eyes widened in realization, then she flew off at top speed without another word. Rigana turned to the two Humans. "Hey guys, we're going to need your help. Please, will you come help us? I think that the awakening of the Dragon Spirits has something to do with the demons." Yani nodded, and Sonari didn't respond. Rigana assumed that meant he would come. "Come on, then. Follow me." Rigana followed the direction Sil-alia had gone, slower, though, for the Humans had not quite gotten used to flying yet.
Author's Note: There we go! Another crappy battle scene up! Grrr…curse this ability not to write good action. This is going to seriously hinder my fic… ;-; oh well… maybe I'll get better as I keep trying! ^_^
*sees Sonari running through halls, screaming for help*
DAY: Well, that's not a side to him you see every day…
*sees Lana chasing after Sonari*
DAY: Ah. That explains that.
*both run into computer room, where Lana finally catches Sonari*
Lana: *glomps Sonari* Now don't run away again!
Sonari: O_O *looks down at Lana attached to his midsection* *looks at DAY* *mutters under breath* Now I know how that weird red-head with the roses feels…
DAY: HEY! That's not nice! *clings to Kurama for comfort*
Kurama: *looks down at DAY attached to midsection* *looks at Sonari with Lana attached to midsection* *shrugs* Don't worry. You get used to it.
DAY: *finally realizes that her characters are loose in the house…again* *slowly releases grip on perfect kitsune* I guess I have to go round up my characters again. Wanna help? *hopeful eyes* I'll bet you could really scare some of them with your rose whip!
Kurama: *sighs* Do I have a choice?
DAY: ^_^ Not really! ^_^
Kurama: I thought not. -_-
Well, while me and Kurama are busy chasing down my characters, some of which you haven't met yet, you guys feel free to review and tell me what ya think, okies! *runs after Malik, who seems intent on setting DAY's room on fire* Come back here ya little creep!