Chapter Thirty-five
Next Day; Burmecia; Fratley's House; Early Morning
Amarant stared at the ceiling, a light smirk on his face. Personally, he didn't know why he found last night so funny. Freya left, and then never returned. Amarant could only guess what had resulted. He decided Freya would most likely say; she had an uncanny liking to talk lately.
Amarant rose slowly from the couch, as if rising from the dead. As usual, his sleep had consisted of two hours, yet he felt completely fine. He knew Freya had gotten absolutely no sleep, most likely; he could only imagine how she felt.
Within seconds Amarant had gotten up the stairs. He opened the door to the hallway, closed it in one quick motion, and walked into the kitchen. He found Freya leaning against the wall, watching him with a smirk. Amarant stopped walking and stared at her, trying to figure out what she seemed so happy about.
"Now what?" Amarant asked. "You never returned last night."
"I have my reasons," Freya said, involuntarily turning her gaze to the bedroom.
"Oh?" Amarant said. "It deals with Fratley, I'm not an idiot."
"He proposed to me," Freya said, looking at Amarant. She smiled at his look of slight surprise. "You wanted to know."
"These days keep getting weirder," Amarant grunted.
"What's so weird about it? Well, besides it was the middle of the night?" Freya asked.
"It was a quiet night," Amarant grunted.
"You don't need to remind me," Freya replied. "Something's wrong..."
"What's wrong?" Amarant asked.
"... The quiet. Fratley agreed. Normally you can hear the guards on patrol. You can hear them walking. But there was nothing," Freya explained.
Amarant nodded slightly, silently agreeing that the night was rather odd. "And where is Fratley, speak of the devil?"
"He went to the Underground Chamber to see if Meander or the others noticed or found something," Freya said.
"And when did he leave?"
"An hour ago."
"Oh great."
"Exactly."
Suddenly, as if on cue, the front door opened. Freya and Amarant turned in the direction of the sound. In seconds, Fratley had gotten into the kitchen. He looked from Amarant to Freya, then sighed and shook his head.
"It's wild," Fratley said simply. "Meander, Vivi, and Eiko caught six COL spies last night. Six."
"Six?" Freya declared. "What's Julius up to now?"
"How come none of them were caught before?" Amarant asked.
"Six assassins came with them," Fratley replied.
"And they killed the guards?" Freya asked.
"Not all of them. Some of them they only injured," Fratley explained. "In fact, most of them are alive and going to live."
"Oh Great Dragon," Freya muttered. "This is terrific."
"So Julius is planning something," Amarant grunted, taking a seat at the table. "Take a wild guess at what."
"An invasion?" Freya guessed.
Amarant let out a sharp bark of laughter. "He wouldn't aim that high. He's going after you, Freya. Probably for what he hopes to be a final time."
"What are you all talking so loudly about?" Aireff suddenly asked, appearing in the kitchen. He gave his head a quick shake, clearly trying to make an attempt to get his shoulder-length brownish hair out of his eyes.
"Six assassins and spies from the COL were in the city last night, taking out the guards," Fratley explained.
Aireff looked over at Fratley with slight surprise. "Seriously?"
"No lie," Fratley replied.
"Then I'd keep on your guard," Aireff replied. "Something's going to happen, and it's not going to be pretty. Now... Where's the food?"
Fratley rolled his eyes at his father and turned back to Freya and Amarant.
"He's got a point, except for the food part," Fratley said.
"He normally does have good points," Freya said thoughtfully. "Even with food."
Amarant rose from the seat and walked down the stairs, soon opening the front door. He looked outside, almost as if expecting something. Soon, Freya had joined him.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Thinking," Amarant replied, heading outside. He walked away, leaving the door open.
Freya closed the door, very confused. She quickly headed back up the stairs.
"Amarant just left," she said with a shrug. "Where he's heading, I have no clue."
"Neither do I," Fratley muttered. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."
"He normally does," Freya said. She then smirked lightly. "Unlike you."
Fratley rolled his eyes, giving Freya a light smack. "Leave me alone. I can't help that I'm clueless."
Freya decided not to respond to that comment. She simply sat down at the table and stared at the wall, thinking over the previous night's events, and trying to figure out what she would do later.
Amarant walked slowly down the slick, slush-filled streets. He didn't really notice that his leather boots were getting close to being completely soaked, and that his hair was becoming terribly matted from the rough rain falling from the sky. He was far too busy noticing more important things, such as the small splash of red blood on the stone building only a few feet away from Fratley's house.
Stopping a few feet away from the stain, Amarant lifted his fingers and placed them carefully against the cold wall. He moved them downward, and soon examined them. Blood clung to his fingertips. The blood was all too fresh.
He would have to get Meander to sniff it to know if it belonged to a Burmecian, however. Making a fist so the rain couldn't wash the blood off his fingers, Amarant headed off again, examining the buildings. With some aggravation, yet unnoticeable, he brushed large curls of red hair out of his eyes, sending water flying into the streets.
The few Burmecians in the streets stayed out of his way. Amarant was glad. He was able to deal with Freya, and Fratley once in a while, but the other Burmecians were just plain aggravating for reasons he couldn't bother explaining. In fact, half the world was aggravating for Amarant. Amarant was sure the world felt the same way about him.
Amarant slipped into the alley that contained the entrance to the Underground Chamber. He looked around to make sure no one was around. He then knelt down and smashed his fist into the hidden entrance. It didn't take long for the entrance to open, and a pair of green eyes stared at Amarant.
"It's you," Dominic said with light surprise.
"You sound surprised," Amarant grunted as Dominic fully opened the entrance to the Chamber.
"I had expected Fratley, or maybe even Freya," Dominic replied.
"They're engaged now, so don't count on their arrival," Amarant grunted, watching Dominic head down the stairs. He soon followed.
"Oh. So you're doing the dirty work," Dominic said as he headed down the stairs. As Amarant closed the secret door, Dominic looked up at Amarant. "Why are you making a fist?"
"Keeping the rain from giving my hand an unwanted bath," Amarant grunted. "I'll show you when we're actually in light."
Dominic's steady footsteps seemed to agree with Amarant's statement. The two descended the stone staircase silently, their footsteps echoing through out the chamber. Soon, the light of candles was scene, and the two had arrived in a lowly lit, large room. Dominic turned around to face Amarant, who stopped moving the minute he reached the level floor. Amarant noted how easy it was to see Dominic compared to most people who may be in the chamber. He figured it had to be Dominic's tan skin.
"What do you have?" Dominic asked.
"Look," Amarant said, flexing his hand to reveal the blood on his fingertips.
"Fight?" Dominic guessed.
"No. It was on the wall of a building only seven feet away from Fratley's house. Freya is staying there," Amarant explained.
Dominic's eyes glittered with acknowledgement. "I'll go get Meander."
That was definitely one thing Amarant liked about Dominic. The 18-year-old didn't ask questions. He knew when something was important, and he knew what to do. If the kid wasn't so stressed all the time, and if he didn't have the potential to be annoyingly dangerous, Amarant may had just liked to work with him.
The scraping of claws against the stone floor surprised Amarant, but he quickly located the source as Meander walked into the room. The demon hybrid was not wearing his boots, and his odd feet, with four front toes and one toe facing backward, were revealed. They were both bird-like and humane at the same time, and covered in skin. The ends of each toe ended in a bird talon, and they were scraping against the ground as Meander walked over to Amarant.
"Well?" Meander grunted.
Amarant showed his hand to Meander. Meander lowered his face slightly to Amarant's bloody fingertips. He quickly sniffed the blood, then returned to full height.
"It's Burmecian blood. It's fresh, too. Probably came from last night," Meander grunted. "Dominic told me where you found it... I'd say the COL is knocking out guards near her house so Julius can nail her... Who is she with now?"
"Fratley and... Aireff, I think his name is?" Amarant replied, thinking furiously.
"Fratley, don't care. Aireff is a good thing, though," Meander quickly said. "That guy may be getting old, but he's a killer fighter."
"Is Rose there?" Dominic asked.
"Sleeping," Amarant answered.
"She wakes up quickly. I've observed that," Meander said. "She's another killer. I think Freya's going to be all right."
"Unless she chooses to take a walk alone," Amarant pointed out.
"Shit, forgot about that. What is it with these Burmecians and walks?" Meander growled.
"Personally I would not like to take a walk in this weather," Dominic announced.
"Now what catastrophe is about to unfold?"
Everyone in the room turned about to see Kitski enter the room. She was clad, to everyone's surprise, fully in leather. Long leather pants that were decorated with deep blue designs completely covered her legs, while a tight leather vest was fit over a white, silk shirt. The leather vest was also decorated with blue designs. Long, leather boots and gloves completed the attire. Her egg-shaped pouch was put on to hang across her chest. Kitski snorted softly, blue cat eyes examining the group.
"What?" she asked.
"You look prepared for something," Meander grunted.
"I'm prepared for a fight, unlike you," Kitski snapped, walking over. "It's clear that there's going to be a fight today. Those twelve COL members we just killed prove it."
"You killed them? Damn, I'm impressed with all of you. You act nice and quick," Amarant said with true admiration. Finally he had found people with minds.
"Why shouldn't we? They wouldn't tell anything no matter what we tried, so we just killed them," Kitski spat. "Now, Meander, why don't you actually go get some armor on? And your feet are stinking up the place."
"You'd better shut up or I'm tearing your tongue straight out," Meander threatened.
In a flash of movement, Kitski had a short, curved, and very sharp sword aimed at Meander's throat. Amarant was quick to note the leather sheathes she had crisscrossing each other on her back. Amarant smirked slightly, impressed at Kitski's swift movement. Meander's look of surprise made Kitski smirk. From beneath stray locks of blond-brown hair that had fallen over her face, Kitski's blue eyes locked on Meander's black eyes.
"Why don't you keep your own mouth shut before you lose the ability to speak?" Kitski asked in a soft, dangerous voice. "Healers don't just heal, or at least I don't. They fight too, and I know human and demon anatomy both very well."
"Shit," Meander muttered. He was not describing Kitski's words, but rather cursing because of them.
Chuckling bitterly, Kitski sheathed her curved dagger. She pushed the stray locks of hair out of her face, and managed to keep them out of the way. Meander moved past her and down the hall as quickly as he could. Kitski watched him leave calmly.
"Did you ever consider becoming an assassin?" Amarant asked. Kitski chuckled again as she looked over at Amarant.
"Sorry," she said rather coldly. "My job is to heal the victims of failed assassinations, not to finish the job."
With that, Kitski turned around and headed back down the hall. Amarant watched her leave. He then looked over at Dominic.
"Okay, she made her opinion very clear. Now what?" Dominic asked.
"We should patrol and prepare," Dominic replied.
Amarant nodded lightly in agreement. The two made brief eye contact before going separate ways.
The day passed by uneventful, but certainly full of confusion. Freya did not see any of her friends but Fratley, his family, and some Burmecians through out the entire day. Everyone else seemed to have disappeared. No one, however, seemed concerned but Freya. Aireff said they were probably preparing, Fratley agreed, and Rose refused to answer.
At evening, Freya couldn't stand the quiet house. Getting no answers she wanted, Freya left the house to find the Underground Chamber and ask. Fratley seemed concerned, but Freya managed to convince him that she'd be fine, and soon she was walking through the streets.
Freya looked around quietly, noting that many Burmecians were not walking the streets, but rather inside eating dinner. Without many guards out, the streets seemed hauntingly empty. Freya reached for her spear, and was relieved to find it safe by her. She had bought it earlier that day, and was relieved she remembered to take it with her.
Freya quickly slipped into one of the wider alleys that led to the Underground Chamber. Carefully she leapt over the many boxes, stones, and rubble that laid strewn across the alley. Sighing, Freya wondered half- heartedly if the alleys would ever be cleaned, or if they'd forever be in disarray and a reminder of Burmecia's defeat.
Just after Freya leapt over a piece of stone, Freya heard a roar behind her. Only inches away from her, the piece of stone she had just leapt over was rammed into many large chunks as a massive, flaming ball of rock hit it. Freya immediately leapt to the ground, covering her head, then rolled to the side and behind a wooden box when she heard a distinct snap. In seconds, a fireball set the box into flames. Immediately Freya leapt to her feet and looked around, knowing exactly who was causing the trouble.
Her suspicions were swiftly confirmed when Julius leapt from a roof and landed in the alley, only a few feet away from where the stone he had blasted to pieces once stood. Freya immediately took out her spear and aimed the blue-tinted tip at Julius. Julius put away his crossbow and took out his black sword in a flash of movement. He aimed the tip at Freya's throat. For three seconds the two warriors stared at each other, their eyes seeming to try and stare into each other's souls.
Suddenly, without warning, Julius rushed forward, holding his sword in a defensive position. Freya leapt into the air and out of the way. Charging her spear with white energy, she aimed the iron tip at Julius, only to find him kneeling down and leaping into the air after her. The male did not go as high as Freya was, but he did go just high enough to grab Freya's ankle and roughly pull her downward. Freya showed her anger by slashing Julius in the face with her spear as she went down.
Freya slammed hard into the ground, while Julius landed smoothly on his feet. Spinning his sword around, Julius rushed toward Freya, ready to skewer her, but Freya was too quick. She rolled out of the way and got to her feet quickly. Julius quickly changed course, but he was met by Freya's spear. A brief struggle ensued, but Freya was overpowered and soon sent back first into the wall. Taking a deep breath, Freya began to charge her spear with energy, but before she could completely charge it, Julius slammed the hilt of his sword into Freya's head. Freya staggered to the ground, yet managed to roll out of the way of a final blow. At the same time, she threw her spear at Julius' right shoulder, piercing it. Energy leading the attack made the wound larger. Grumbling, Julius removed the spear and snapped it in two on his knee while Freya staggered to her feet. He then tossed it at Freya, who caught the now shortened piece of wood containing the tip. Julius cursed, realizing Freya could still use the spear.
Shifting his sword slightly, Julius rushed forward, seeming unaffected by his shoulder wound. Freya knew it was probably healing, so she leapt to her feet and, charging up her spear, leapt out of the way of Julius' attack and tried to attack his shoulder again. Julius quickly kicked Freya into a wall. The air knocked out of her lungs, Freya didn't have time to dodge Julius' next attack, which involved him slashing her across the chest. The wound was light, but painful and still dangerous. Freya made a fist and swung it straight into Julius' face, sending him backwards and onto the ground, if unharmed. Quickly Freya muttered ancient words as she held up her spear. Swiftly Reis's Wind came into effect, and the Regen it left began to heal Freya's wounds. Knowing she would probably be all right, Freya moved to dodge an attack, only to find that Julius had sent a Fire spell toward her. Confused on why such a weak spell was sent, Freya paused from confusion.
The small burst of fire nailed the wooden handle of her spear and burnt it to a crisp. Freya stared with surprise as the iron tip of the spear fell to the ground and landed softly at her feet. She then glared at Julius, only to find him aiming his sword at her throat. The sword was rimmed slightly with red energy.
"Bastard," Freya muttered out of frustration as she leapt into the air.
Julius seemed to ignore her comment. He instead muttered demon under his breath. Red rings of energy shot from his sword and slammed into Freya's stomach. Freya fell onto a massive box, splitting it, and she rolled painfully to the ground, yelping involuntarily with pain. Quickly Julius rushed forward to finish her off. He was surprised when Freya rolled out of the way and slammed her feet into his hands with a double kick. Julius' grip on his sword loosened, yet when he went to regain his grip, Freya's feet made contact with his sword. The sword went sprawling out of his hands and seven feet away. Quickly Julius rushed to retrieve it, but Freya had already slid forward, grabbed his leg with her feet, and flipped him to the ground. She suddenly felt incredibly relieved that she had remembered her martial arts training from the beginning of Dragon Academy.
On the other hand, Julius was clearly very angry. He quickly began to prepare a Firaga spell in his hand, but Freya punched him in the head, startling him into discharging the spell onto his own hand. Julius yelped with frustration and pain, then punched Freya in the jaw. He then drew his claws while he rose to his feet. Julius moved to attack, but was completely unprepared for Freya smashing her head into his skull. Stunned, Julius stumbled to the ground. Freya held out her hands.
"Power of the heavens, lend the power to vanquish!" Freya roared, for once speaking loud and clear.
Freya knew that very few Burmecians probably knew of the battle due to being inside and eating, yet she knew that a few were probably coming out by now. She wanted to inform them of the danger and have them stay away, and maybe help inform her own friends of the danger. Regardless of whether she succeeded or not, she threw a charged star-shaped "ball" of energy at Julius' retreating figure. Julius fell face-first into the ground.
Julius rose shakily to his feet, winded and aggravated. His sword was only feet away. He dashed forward and picked it up, then whirled around and rushed for Freya. Freya rolled out of the way and moved to kick him, but Julius simply slammed his foot onto Freya's. Freya whipped up a quick ball of energy and shot it at Julius, sending him flying into a wall.
Now, Julius realized the alley was no longer suitable to fight in. He immediately looked towards the streets. Though they would attract more attention, it would be easier to get out of bad situations, and easier to hit Freya. Nodding to himself, Julius moved to rush into the streets.
"Don't retreat!"
The voice was new, one Julius thought he faintly recognize. His feet faltered suddenly, and Julius tripped on his own feet. He rolled into the street as the voice continued to shout. Freya looked around, recognizing the voice, and trying to locate the shouter.
"Don't run away. Don't teleport. Don't do anything to get you out of this situation!" Dominic bellowed, appearing from the alley way nearby. The Burmecians that had gathered outside looked over at him with confusion. Freya walked into the street and watched him with relief.
Julius cursed bitterly as he rose, but he suddenly realized that it wasn't over. More people were appearing behind Dominic. Freya watched with shock as over five people appeared.
Amarant was first to appear, along side Meander. The monk's claws were drawn, while Meander had his emerald sword out. The two walked forward and stood by Freya rather protectively. Eiko soon came as well, running forward while taking out her flute, and Kitski, who had her twin blades out, followed her more slowly. Vivi and, to Freya's pleasant surprise, his seven sons, walked valiantly over to Freya. The eight mages made a semi-circle in front of the group, as if in defense. Cleo whizzed forward and floated above everybody, her eyes angrily focused on Julius. And, finally, Fratley appeared, taking out his spear and spinning it about as he stood beside Freya. Dominic soon stood beside Meander. Freya stared with shock at all her friends, then a smile of triumph came over her face as she looked over at Julius.
A look of horror slowly found its way onto Julius' face as he observed the seventeen people standing before him. He automatically tried to teleport, but it was quickly repelled, causing him to curse softly. Dominic's Commands were still there.
There was no sound of warning, but Vivi and his sons suddenly sent a bunch of fire spells toward Julius. The demon hybrid quickly dodged, only to have to fight Meander, who had rushed forward. Eiko and Kitski pulled back, prepared to heal if they had to, though both women looked like they wanted to fight alongside the others. Cleo transformed into a Silver Dragon and dove for Julius, her claws extended. Amarant rushed forward, his claws glowing crimson, while Fratley began to prepare a Dragon Ability. Freya, stunned, pulled back beside Eiko.
"Great Dragon," Freya muttered.
"Amazing how many friends you have," Kitski said, and when Freya looked at her, she was surprised to see a light smile on the Demi's face.
Julius sent a fiery wall at the offense, sending many of the warriors backing away or leaping out of the way. He backed up, then took out a glittering, greenish blue stone that was surrounded by a red aura. He shouted words in the demon language, and the stone glittered in response. Eiko gasped, and Freya's eyes widened when she felt the ground rumble.
Suddenly the road erupted, and a massive serpent, none other than Leviathan, soon stood in the streets. The few Burmecians who had stuck around to watch the battle now fled. Leviathan hissed and charged for Amarant, who was the nearest to him. Freya looked over at the jewel, and her eyes narrowed, understanding coming to her.
"If we get rid of that stone... An Aquamarine! He's using it to control Leviathan," Freya gasped.
"How?" Eiko asked.
"Demon Energy. You!" Kitski spat, taking out a javelin and tossing it to Freya. "It's damn weak, but you deserve to join the fight."
Freya smiled, catching the spear. "No weapon is weak. Thank you, Kitski."
Freya spun her borrowed javelin about and rushed for Julius, who was trying to attack one of Vivi's sons from behind. She made it just in time to save the young mage. Freya slammed the iron butt of the javelin into Julius' head, making the warrior stumble. Leviathan screamed with rage as he lunged for Meander, who had moved to help. The serpent was clearly having trouble keeping together; all attention was focused on him, and therefore, he had around twelve people attacking him at once.
Charging her spear, Freya grabbed for Meander's tail, and managed not to hurt her hand on the shiny, poisonous spikes. She pulled him to the ground, causing the demon hybrid to curse vilely.
"Oh, shut up! Help me with Julius. If we destroy the—"Freya began.
"I get it. Just leave the tail alone!" Meander spat, preparing a fire spell.
Freya nodded, but soon had to concentrate on Julius, who suddenly rushed toward her. Freya blocked his rush, and was soon caught in a struggle. She quickly noted the location of the Aquamarine; the jewel was glittering near his crossbow. Meander clearly had noticed. He grabbed a few sharp pieces of rock on the ground and tossed them into his fire spell, making a crude fireball. He then tossed the flaming rocks at the Aquamarine.
The fire spell engulfed the Aquamarine and erupted, and the pressure from the rocks made it crack. It was not destroyed however, and Freya had finally been overpowered by Julius' rush. Julius moved to make the kill, but Fratley, who had noted the trouble, quickly knocked him to the ground. Leviathan was hissing in pain, clearly ready to leave regardless of being called.
It was at that very moment that a flaming disk soared through the air and nailed a crack on the Aquamarine. The stone did not shatter, but it did split neatly in two, and the red aura vanished. Freya wished she could thank Amarant, but Leviathan hissed with pain before she could. Instead of attacking, the serpent thrashed around, as if shaking off some spell. He then seemed to relax. He focused his eyes on Julius and hissed. Nearby, Eiko lifted her flute, and played a long tune. Leviathan looked at her, and seemed to nod. He then shoved through the offense once attacking him, and lunged for Julius.
Julius dodged the attack in a panic, only to run into the tip of Meander's sword. The sword didn't pierce Julius' skin, but if he hadn't rolled out of the way, Amarant's glowing claws would've. Shakily Julius rose to his feet, only to have to run out of the way of a massive Firaga spell generated by Vivi and his sons. Cursing, Julius took out a scroll. He opened it, slashed Amarant in the arm to keep the warrior back, and then read the words on the scroll.
A roar issued in the sky, causing Amarant to stop trying to attack and look up. His dark eyes widened when he saw a massive meteor heading toward them all. Quickly the offense broke up as they all scattered to avoid the meteor. In the panic, however, Julius managed to slash Freya in the leg, causing her to trip. The meteor then slammed straight into her.
Just as it did, Eiko began to play a tune, Kitski took out a leather pouch, and Fratley groaned with horror. Amarant's eyes narrowed as the meteor suddenly crumbled into small rocks. A limp body was revealed slightly, but suddenly a Curaga spell was cast on the body, and Kitski threw a massive bunch of powder near the body. A long pause came, and Julius looked awfully smug.
But then the body moved, rising to its feet and shaking off the rocks. Fratley let out a sigh of relief, while Amarant let out a sharp laugh.
"Out of all things that can take her down, a giant rock is not one of them!" Amarant shouted.
"It almost did," Kitski muttered, watching as Freya stumbled a bit, wounds from the rocks evident on her body. It seemed, however, that the Curaga spell, and the powder, had both saved her life, seconds before it was taken.
In a rage, Julius rushed toward Freya and tackled her to the ground. He soon found himself on the ground as five massive Fira spells met him. Fratley dashed to Freya's side, while Amarant and Meander rushed forward to attack Julius. Cleo suddenly flew over to Freya, revealing to have transformed into a fiery phoenix. Leaning over one of Freya's worse wounds, a small tear came from Cleo's eye and dropped on a massive gash in Freya's thigh. The gash began to heal. Cleo began to flutter about, quickly healing the worse wounds with one or two tears. Freya sighed with relief and with Fratley's help rose to a sitting position.
Julius, meanwhile, was having a lot of trouble avoiding attacks from ten different people. Leviathan was definitely no exception. Though the serpent had hidden underground from the meteor, he had returned and was slithering toward Julius, hissing angrily. Julius managed to cast a Fire spell to push Meander and Amarant back, but the Fire spell was extremely weak. Meander began to prepare his own fireball, while Amarant held out one of his massive hands. He closed his eyes, and a black aura came from his hand and surrounded Julius. Julius let out a startled gasp, while Meander looked over at Amarant.
"Now wha--?" Meander began.
"Curse. He should be extra weak against fire now," Amarant muttered, charging his claws with red energy.
"I would say I love you, but that'd be lying," Meander replied, his fire spell now the size of his own head.
By now, Freya was standing, and preparing her Javelin for a final Lancer attack. Everyone could see Julius was weakening. He was exhausted, and his Regen spell appeared to have run out; none of his wounds from the past five minutes had healed. Cleo took to the skies and watched Julius suspiciously. The shapeshifter was clearly ready to continue healing, and maybe peck Julius' brains out as well.
Suddenly Meander's Firaga spell discharged and nailed Julius in the stomach. The warrior was soon sprawled in the street. Amarant dashed forward and slashed at the warrior's leg with his charged claws. Vivi and his sons sent Fire spells at the warrior, further keeping the warrior from standing. Julius tried to prepare his own Fire spell, but only succeeded in making a bunch of smoke. When he tried to rise, his bleeding leg failed to help him.
Fratley moved to finish Julius off, but Freya was far quicker. She dashed forward and slammed her Lancer-enhanced Javelin straight into Julius' chest. The warrior grabbed her leg and threw her into the ground back first. Freya slammed her head painfully against a rock and groaned with pain as she tried to rise. Kitski watched her with concern, but noted Fratley walked over to help her. Soon, the Demi had turned her attention to Julius.
The warrior had just let out a final gasp. His hands made fists as his black eyes stared at the cloudy sky above. Blood slowly leaked from his wounds. His body suddenly became tense, and Amarant's eyes widened.
"MOVE!" Amarant shouted, leaping away from the area. He was soon followed by Meander.
Freya rose to her feet and moved to run, but she and Fratley were too slow. Julius' body exploded in a flash of red energy that rammed into the two Burmecians and sent them sprawled on the hard ground. The red energy floated in the air for a while before rushing to the hole Leviathan had created. The energy went underground and was soon gone. Leviathan soon followed it.
Slowly Freya and Fratley rose to their feet. Amarant and Meander looked around with satisfaction. A few Burmecians came out of their hiding places and looked around nervously. Eiko let out a sigh of relief, while a smile came over Kitski's face. Vivi and his sons looked just about ready to cheer. Cleo let out a call of victory, while Freya looked around with complete surprise.
"Great Dragon," she muttered, slowly comprehending what she had just accomplished.
"Great Dragon indeed! Thank her a lot!" Kitski said with a smile. "Look at what you just accomplished."
Freya looked around at the relieved, happy faces everyone had. She felt a smile come over her own face as she realized what they had all just accomplished. She glanced at everyone. Amarant was watching her, and Freya could see a small smile on his face. Meander looked he was about to start dancing with happiness. Vivi and his sons were all silently cheering. Cleo's call of victory had yet to end. Kitski was smiling, and Eiko was joining Vivi and his sons in the silent cheer. Dominic was smiling as well. Freya looked over at Fratley to find him smiling, his blue eye glittering.
And suddenly, Freya couldn't keep calm.
"Thank the Great Dragon, YES!" Freya called happily, holding her arms out to the sky. Her call seemed to travel through out the city, and through out the world.
------- Dun dun dun! =) Finally, eh? This was probably one of the hardest battles to write (seventeen people, with about fifteen of them active... Not fun!) I think I did my best on it, but I apologize if some characters don't get a fair share in the fight. It was hard to keep track. Anyway, the story's not over yet (heh). Stay tuned to see the two chapters that will lead to the end (think, and you'll know what still has to be done).
Oh, and a person asked me about the ball of energy Freya can shoot about... Basically, that's very simply the Star-Moon attack ("Power of the heavens, lend the power to vanquish!" attack) before it's powered up. It's an attack I made up for Dragon Warriors. I'm afraid I wouldn't know if it's Amarant's No Mercy attack because, even though I finished the game, I didn't get everyone's abilities O.o Whoops.
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.
Next Day; Burmecia; Fratley's House; Early Morning
Amarant stared at the ceiling, a light smirk on his face. Personally, he didn't know why he found last night so funny. Freya left, and then never returned. Amarant could only guess what had resulted. He decided Freya would most likely say; she had an uncanny liking to talk lately.
Amarant rose slowly from the couch, as if rising from the dead. As usual, his sleep had consisted of two hours, yet he felt completely fine. He knew Freya had gotten absolutely no sleep, most likely; he could only imagine how she felt.
Within seconds Amarant had gotten up the stairs. He opened the door to the hallway, closed it in one quick motion, and walked into the kitchen. He found Freya leaning against the wall, watching him with a smirk. Amarant stopped walking and stared at her, trying to figure out what she seemed so happy about.
"Now what?" Amarant asked. "You never returned last night."
"I have my reasons," Freya said, involuntarily turning her gaze to the bedroom.
"Oh?" Amarant said. "It deals with Fratley, I'm not an idiot."
"He proposed to me," Freya said, looking at Amarant. She smiled at his look of slight surprise. "You wanted to know."
"These days keep getting weirder," Amarant grunted.
"What's so weird about it? Well, besides it was the middle of the night?" Freya asked.
"It was a quiet night," Amarant grunted.
"You don't need to remind me," Freya replied. "Something's wrong..."
"What's wrong?" Amarant asked.
"... The quiet. Fratley agreed. Normally you can hear the guards on patrol. You can hear them walking. But there was nothing," Freya explained.
Amarant nodded slightly, silently agreeing that the night was rather odd. "And where is Fratley, speak of the devil?"
"He went to the Underground Chamber to see if Meander or the others noticed or found something," Freya said.
"And when did he leave?"
"An hour ago."
"Oh great."
"Exactly."
Suddenly, as if on cue, the front door opened. Freya and Amarant turned in the direction of the sound. In seconds, Fratley had gotten into the kitchen. He looked from Amarant to Freya, then sighed and shook his head.
"It's wild," Fratley said simply. "Meander, Vivi, and Eiko caught six COL spies last night. Six."
"Six?" Freya declared. "What's Julius up to now?"
"How come none of them were caught before?" Amarant asked.
"Six assassins came with them," Fratley replied.
"And they killed the guards?" Freya asked.
"Not all of them. Some of them they only injured," Fratley explained. "In fact, most of them are alive and going to live."
"Oh Great Dragon," Freya muttered. "This is terrific."
"So Julius is planning something," Amarant grunted, taking a seat at the table. "Take a wild guess at what."
"An invasion?" Freya guessed.
Amarant let out a sharp bark of laughter. "He wouldn't aim that high. He's going after you, Freya. Probably for what he hopes to be a final time."
"What are you all talking so loudly about?" Aireff suddenly asked, appearing in the kitchen. He gave his head a quick shake, clearly trying to make an attempt to get his shoulder-length brownish hair out of his eyes.
"Six assassins and spies from the COL were in the city last night, taking out the guards," Fratley explained.
Aireff looked over at Fratley with slight surprise. "Seriously?"
"No lie," Fratley replied.
"Then I'd keep on your guard," Aireff replied. "Something's going to happen, and it's not going to be pretty. Now... Where's the food?"
Fratley rolled his eyes at his father and turned back to Freya and Amarant.
"He's got a point, except for the food part," Fratley said.
"He normally does have good points," Freya said thoughtfully. "Even with food."
Amarant rose from the seat and walked down the stairs, soon opening the front door. He looked outside, almost as if expecting something. Soon, Freya had joined him.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Thinking," Amarant replied, heading outside. He walked away, leaving the door open.
Freya closed the door, very confused. She quickly headed back up the stairs.
"Amarant just left," she said with a shrug. "Where he's heading, I have no clue."
"Neither do I," Fratley muttered. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."
"He normally does," Freya said. She then smirked lightly. "Unlike you."
Fratley rolled his eyes, giving Freya a light smack. "Leave me alone. I can't help that I'm clueless."
Freya decided not to respond to that comment. She simply sat down at the table and stared at the wall, thinking over the previous night's events, and trying to figure out what she would do later.
Amarant walked slowly down the slick, slush-filled streets. He didn't really notice that his leather boots were getting close to being completely soaked, and that his hair was becoming terribly matted from the rough rain falling from the sky. He was far too busy noticing more important things, such as the small splash of red blood on the stone building only a few feet away from Fratley's house.
Stopping a few feet away from the stain, Amarant lifted his fingers and placed them carefully against the cold wall. He moved them downward, and soon examined them. Blood clung to his fingertips. The blood was all too fresh.
He would have to get Meander to sniff it to know if it belonged to a Burmecian, however. Making a fist so the rain couldn't wash the blood off his fingers, Amarant headed off again, examining the buildings. With some aggravation, yet unnoticeable, he brushed large curls of red hair out of his eyes, sending water flying into the streets.
The few Burmecians in the streets stayed out of his way. Amarant was glad. He was able to deal with Freya, and Fratley once in a while, but the other Burmecians were just plain aggravating for reasons he couldn't bother explaining. In fact, half the world was aggravating for Amarant. Amarant was sure the world felt the same way about him.
Amarant slipped into the alley that contained the entrance to the Underground Chamber. He looked around to make sure no one was around. He then knelt down and smashed his fist into the hidden entrance. It didn't take long for the entrance to open, and a pair of green eyes stared at Amarant.
"It's you," Dominic said with light surprise.
"You sound surprised," Amarant grunted as Dominic fully opened the entrance to the Chamber.
"I had expected Fratley, or maybe even Freya," Dominic replied.
"They're engaged now, so don't count on their arrival," Amarant grunted, watching Dominic head down the stairs. He soon followed.
"Oh. So you're doing the dirty work," Dominic said as he headed down the stairs. As Amarant closed the secret door, Dominic looked up at Amarant. "Why are you making a fist?"
"Keeping the rain from giving my hand an unwanted bath," Amarant grunted. "I'll show you when we're actually in light."
Dominic's steady footsteps seemed to agree with Amarant's statement. The two descended the stone staircase silently, their footsteps echoing through out the chamber. Soon, the light of candles was scene, and the two had arrived in a lowly lit, large room. Dominic turned around to face Amarant, who stopped moving the minute he reached the level floor. Amarant noted how easy it was to see Dominic compared to most people who may be in the chamber. He figured it had to be Dominic's tan skin.
"What do you have?" Dominic asked.
"Look," Amarant said, flexing his hand to reveal the blood on his fingertips.
"Fight?" Dominic guessed.
"No. It was on the wall of a building only seven feet away from Fratley's house. Freya is staying there," Amarant explained.
Dominic's eyes glittered with acknowledgement. "I'll go get Meander."
That was definitely one thing Amarant liked about Dominic. The 18-year-old didn't ask questions. He knew when something was important, and he knew what to do. If the kid wasn't so stressed all the time, and if he didn't have the potential to be annoyingly dangerous, Amarant may had just liked to work with him.
The scraping of claws against the stone floor surprised Amarant, but he quickly located the source as Meander walked into the room. The demon hybrid was not wearing his boots, and his odd feet, with four front toes and one toe facing backward, were revealed. They were both bird-like and humane at the same time, and covered in skin. The ends of each toe ended in a bird talon, and they were scraping against the ground as Meander walked over to Amarant.
"Well?" Meander grunted.
Amarant showed his hand to Meander. Meander lowered his face slightly to Amarant's bloody fingertips. He quickly sniffed the blood, then returned to full height.
"It's Burmecian blood. It's fresh, too. Probably came from last night," Meander grunted. "Dominic told me where you found it... I'd say the COL is knocking out guards near her house so Julius can nail her... Who is she with now?"
"Fratley and... Aireff, I think his name is?" Amarant replied, thinking furiously.
"Fratley, don't care. Aireff is a good thing, though," Meander quickly said. "That guy may be getting old, but he's a killer fighter."
"Is Rose there?" Dominic asked.
"Sleeping," Amarant answered.
"She wakes up quickly. I've observed that," Meander said. "She's another killer. I think Freya's going to be all right."
"Unless she chooses to take a walk alone," Amarant pointed out.
"Shit, forgot about that. What is it with these Burmecians and walks?" Meander growled.
"Personally I would not like to take a walk in this weather," Dominic announced.
"Now what catastrophe is about to unfold?"
Everyone in the room turned about to see Kitski enter the room. She was clad, to everyone's surprise, fully in leather. Long leather pants that were decorated with deep blue designs completely covered her legs, while a tight leather vest was fit over a white, silk shirt. The leather vest was also decorated with blue designs. Long, leather boots and gloves completed the attire. Her egg-shaped pouch was put on to hang across her chest. Kitski snorted softly, blue cat eyes examining the group.
"What?" she asked.
"You look prepared for something," Meander grunted.
"I'm prepared for a fight, unlike you," Kitski snapped, walking over. "It's clear that there's going to be a fight today. Those twelve COL members we just killed prove it."
"You killed them? Damn, I'm impressed with all of you. You act nice and quick," Amarant said with true admiration. Finally he had found people with minds.
"Why shouldn't we? They wouldn't tell anything no matter what we tried, so we just killed them," Kitski spat. "Now, Meander, why don't you actually go get some armor on? And your feet are stinking up the place."
"You'd better shut up or I'm tearing your tongue straight out," Meander threatened.
In a flash of movement, Kitski had a short, curved, and very sharp sword aimed at Meander's throat. Amarant was quick to note the leather sheathes she had crisscrossing each other on her back. Amarant smirked slightly, impressed at Kitski's swift movement. Meander's look of surprise made Kitski smirk. From beneath stray locks of blond-brown hair that had fallen over her face, Kitski's blue eyes locked on Meander's black eyes.
"Why don't you keep your own mouth shut before you lose the ability to speak?" Kitski asked in a soft, dangerous voice. "Healers don't just heal, or at least I don't. They fight too, and I know human and demon anatomy both very well."
"Shit," Meander muttered. He was not describing Kitski's words, but rather cursing because of them.
Chuckling bitterly, Kitski sheathed her curved dagger. She pushed the stray locks of hair out of her face, and managed to keep them out of the way. Meander moved past her and down the hall as quickly as he could. Kitski watched him leave calmly.
"Did you ever consider becoming an assassin?" Amarant asked. Kitski chuckled again as she looked over at Amarant.
"Sorry," she said rather coldly. "My job is to heal the victims of failed assassinations, not to finish the job."
With that, Kitski turned around and headed back down the hall. Amarant watched her leave. He then looked over at Dominic.
"Okay, she made her opinion very clear. Now what?" Dominic asked.
"We should patrol and prepare," Dominic replied.
Amarant nodded lightly in agreement. The two made brief eye contact before going separate ways.
The day passed by uneventful, but certainly full of confusion. Freya did not see any of her friends but Fratley, his family, and some Burmecians through out the entire day. Everyone else seemed to have disappeared. No one, however, seemed concerned but Freya. Aireff said they were probably preparing, Fratley agreed, and Rose refused to answer.
At evening, Freya couldn't stand the quiet house. Getting no answers she wanted, Freya left the house to find the Underground Chamber and ask. Fratley seemed concerned, but Freya managed to convince him that she'd be fine, and soon she was walking through the streets.
Freya looked around quietly, noting that many Burmecians were not walking the streets, but rather inside eating dinner. Without many guards out, the streets seemed hauntingly empty. Freya reached for her spear, and was relieved to find it safe by her. She had bought it earlier that day, and was relieved she remembered to take it with her.
Freya quickly slipped into one of the wider alleys that led to the Underground Chamber. Carefully she leapt over the many boxes, stones, and rubble that laid strewn across the alley. Sighing, Freya wondered half- heartedly if the alleys would ever be cleaned, or if they'd forever be in disarray and a reminder of Burmecia's defeat.
Just after Freya leapt over a piece of stone, Freya heard a roar behind her. Only inches away from her, the piece of stone she had just leapt over was rammed into many large chunks as a massive, flaming ball of rock hit it. Freya immediately leapt to the ground, covering her head, then rolled to the side and behind a wooden box when she heard a distinct snap. In seconds, a fireball set the box into flames. Immediately Freya leapt to her feet and looked around, knowing exactly who was causing the trouble.
Her suspicions were swiftly confirmed when Julius leapt from a roof and landed in the alley, only a few feet away from where the stone he had blasted to pieces once stood. Freya immediately took out her spear and aimed the blue-tinted tip at Julius. Julius put away his crossbow and took out his black sword in a flash of movement. He aimed the tip at Freya's throat. For three seconds the two warriors stared at each other, their eyes seeming to try and stare into each other's souls.
Suddenly, without warning, Julius rushed forward, holding his sword in a defensive position. Freya leapt into the air and out of the way. Charging her spear with white energy, she aimed the iron tip at Julius, only to find him kneeling down and leaping into the air after her. The male did not go as high as Freya was, but he did go just high enough to grab Freya's ankle and roughly pull her downward. Freya showed her anger by slashing Julius in the face with her spear as she went down.
Freya slammed hard into the ground, while Julius landed smoothly on his feet. Spinning his sword around, Julius rushed toward Freya, ready to skewer her, but Freya was too quick. She rolled out of the way and got to her feet quickly. Julius quickly changed course, but he was met by Freya's spear. A brief struggle ensued, but Freya was overpowered and soon sent back first into the wall. Taking a deep breath, Freya began to charge her spear with energy, but before she could completely charge it, Julius slammed the hilt of his sword into Freya's head. Freya staggered to the ground, yet managed to roll out of the way of a final blow. At the same time, she threw her spear at Julius' right shoulder, piercing it. Energy leading the attack made the wound larger. Grumbling, Julius removed the spear and snapped it in two on his knee while Freya staggered to her feet. He then tossed it at Freya, who caught the now shortened piece of wood containing the tip. Julius cursed, realizing Freya could still use the spear.
Shifting his sword slightly, Julius rushed forward, seeming unaffected by his shoulder wound. Freya knew it was probably healing, so she leapt to her feet and, charging up her spear, leapt out of the way of Julius' attack and tried to attack his shoulder again. Julius quickly kicked Freya into a wall. The air knocked out of her lungs, Freya didn't have time to dodge Julius' next attack, which involved him slashing her across the chest. The wound was light, but painful and still dangerous. Freya made a fist and swung it straight into Julius' face, sending him backwards and onto the ground, if unharmed. Quickly Freya muttered ancient words as she held up her spear. Swiftly Reis's Wind came into effect, and the Regen it left began to heal Freya's wounds. Knowing she would probably be all right, Freya moved to dodge an attack, only to find that Julius had sent a Fire spell toward her. Confused on why such a weak spell was sent, Freya paused from confusion.
The small burst of fire nailed the wooden handle of her spear and burnt it to a crisp. Freya stared with surprise as the iron tip of the spear fell to the ground and landed softly at her feet. She then glared at Julius, only to find him aiming his sword at her throat. The sword was rimmed slightly with red energy.
"Bastard," Freya muttered out of frustration as she leapt into the air.
Julius seemed to ignore her comment. He instead muttered demon under his breath. Red rings of energy shot from his sword and slammed into Freya's stomach. Freya fell onto a massive box, splitting it, and she rolled painfully to the ground, yelping involuntarily with pain. Quickly Julius rushed forward to finish her off. He was surprised when Freya rolled out of the way and slammed her feet into his hands with a double kick. Julius' grip on his sword loosened, yet when he went to regain his grip, Freya's feet made contact with his sword. The sword went sprawling out of his hands and seven feet away. Quickly Julius rushed to retrieve it, but Freya had already slid forward, grabbed his leg with her feet, and flipped him to the ground. She suddenly felt incredibly relieved that she had remembered her martial arts training from the beginning of Dragon Academy.
On the other hand, Julius was clearly very angry. He quickly began to prepare a Firaga spell in his hand, but Freya punched him in the head, startling him into discharging the spell onto his own hand. Julius yelped with frustration and pain, then punched Freya in the jaw. He then drew his claws while he rose to his feet. Julius moved to attack, but was completely unprepared for Freya smashing her head into his skull. Stunned, Julius stumbled to the ground. Freya held out her hands.
"Power of the heavens, lend the power to vanquish!" Freya roared, for once speaking loud and clear.
Freya knew that very few Burmecians probably knew of the battle due to being inside and eating, yet she knew that a few were probably coming out by now. She wanted to inform them of the danger and have them stay away, and maybe help inform her own friends of the danger. Regardless of whether she succeeded or not, she threw a charged star-shaped "ball" of energy at Julius' retreating figure. Julius fell face-first into the ground.
Julius rose shakily to his feet, winded and aggravated. His sword was only feet away. He dashed forward and picked it up, then whirled around and rushed for Freya. Freya rolled out of the way and moved to kick him, but Julius simply slammed his foot onto Freya's. Freya whipped up a quick ball of energy and shot it at Julius, sending him flying into a wall.
Now, Julius realized the alley was no longer suitable to fight in. He immediately looked towards the streets. Though they would attract more attention, it would be easier to get out of bad situations, and easier to hit Freya. Nodding to himself, Julius moved to rush into the streets.
"Don't retreat!"
The voice was new, one Julius thought he faintly recognize. His feet faltered suddenly, and Julius tripped on his own feet. He rolled into the street as the voice continued to shout. Freya looked around, recognizing the voice, and trying to locate the shouter.
"Don't run away. Don't teleport. Don't do anything to get you out of this situation!" Dominic bellowed, appearing from the alley way nearby. The Burmecians that had gathered outside looked over at him with confusion. Freya walked into the street and watched him with relief.
Julius cursed bitterly as he rose, but he suddenly realized that it wasn't over. More people were appearing behind Dominic. Freya watched with shock as over five people appeared.
Amarant was first to appear, along side Meander. The monk's claws were drawn, while Meander had his emerald sword out. The two walked forward and stood by Freya rather protectively. Eiko soon came as well, running forward while taking out her flute, and Kitski, who had her twin blades out, followed her more slowly. Vivi and, to Freya's pleasant surprise, his seven sons, walked valiantly over to Freya. The eight mages made a semi-circle in front of the group, as if in defense. Cleo whizzed forward and floated above everybody, her eyes angrily focused on Julius. And, finally, Fratley appeared, taking out his spear and spinning it about as he stood beside Freya. Dominic soon stood beside Meander. Freya stared with shock at all her friends, then a smile of triumph came over her face as she looked over at Julius.
A look of horror slowly found its way onto Julius' face as he observed the seventeen people standing before him. He automatically tried to teleport, but it was quickly repelled, causing him to curse softly. Dominic's Commands were still there.
There was no sound of warning, but Vivi and his sons suddenly sent a bunch of fire spells toward Julius. The demon hybrid quickly dodged, only to have to fight Meander, who had rushed forward. Eiko and Kitski pulled back, prepared to heal if they had to, though both women looked like they wanted to fight alongside the others. Cleo transformed into a Silver Dragon and dove for Julius, her claws extended. Amarant rushed forward, his claws glowing crimson, while Fratley began to prepare a Dragon Ability. Freya, stunned, pulled back beside Eiko.
"Great Dragon," Freya muttered.
"Amazing how many friends you have," Kitski said, and when Freya looked at her, she was surprised to see a light smile on the Demi's face.
Julius sent a fiery wall at the offense, sending many of the warriors backing away or leaping out of the way. He backed up, then took out a glittering, greenish blue stone that was surrounded by a red aura. He shouted words in the demon language, and the stone glittered in response. Eiko gasped, and Freya's eyes widened when she felt the ground rumble.
Suddenly the road erupted, and a massive serpent, none other than Leviathan, soon stood in the streets. The few Burmecians who had stuck around to watch the battle now fled. Leviathan hissed and charged for Amarant, who was the nearest to him. Freya looked over at the jewel, and her eyes narrowed, understanding coming to her.
"If we get rid of that stone... An Aquamarine! He's using it to control Leviathan," Freya gasped.
"How?" Eiko asked.
"Demon Energy. You!" Kitski spat, taking out a javelin and tossing it to Freya. "It's damn weak, but you deserve to join the fight."
Freya smiled, catching the spear. "No weapon is weak. Thank you, Kitski."
Freya spun her borrowed javelin about and rushed for Julius, who was trying to attack one of Vivi's sons from behind. She made it just in time to save the young mage. Freya slammed the iron butt of the javelin into Julius' head, making the warrior stumble. Leviathan screamed with rage as he lunged for Meander, who had moved to help. The serpent was clearly having trouble keeping together; all attention was focused on him, and therefore, he had around twelve people attacking him at once.
Charging her spear, Freya grabbed for Meander's tail, and managed not to hurt her hand on the shiny, poisonous spikes. She pulled him to the ground, causing the demon hybrid to curse vilely.
"Oh, shut up! Help me with Julius. If we destroy the—"Freya began.
"I get it. Just leave the tail alone!" Meander spat, preparing a fire spell.
Freya nodded, but soon had to concentrate on Julius, who suddenly rushed toward her. Freya blocked his rush, and was soon caught in a struggle. She quickly noted the location of the Aquamarine; the jewel was glittering near his crossbow. Meander clearly had noticed. He grabbed a few sharp pieces of rock on the ground and tossed them into his fire spell, making a crude fireball. He then tossed the flaming rocks at the Aquamarine.
The fire spell engulfed the Aquamarine and erupted, and the pressure from the rocks made it crack. It was not destroyed however, and Freya had finally been overpowered by Julius' rush. Julius moved to make the kill, but Fratley, who had noted the trouble, quickly knocked him to the ground. Leviathan was hissing in pain, clearly ready to leave regardless of being called.
It was at that very moment that a flaming disk soared through the air and nailed a crack on the Aquamarine. The stone did not shatter, but it did split neatly in two, and the red aura vanished. Freya wished she could thank Amarant, but Leviathan hissed with pain before she could. Instead of attacking, the serpent thrashed around, as if shaking off some spell. He then seemed to relax. He focused his eyes on Julius and hissed. Nearby, Eiko lifted her flute, and played a long tune. Leviathan looked at her, and seemed to nod. He then shoved through the offense once attacking him, and lunged for Julius.
Julius dodged the attack in a panic, only to run into the tip of Meander's sword. The sword didn't pierce Julius' skin, but if he hadn't rolled out of the way, Amarant's glowing claws would've. Shakily Julius rose to his feet, only to have to run out of the way of a massive Firaga spell generated by Vivi and his sons. Cursing, Julius took out a scroll. He opened it, slashed Amarant in the arm to keep the warrior back, and then read the words on the scroll.
A roar issued in the sky, causing Amarant to stop trying to attack and look up. His dark eyes widened when he saw a massive meteor heading toward them all. Quickly the offense broke up as they all scattered to avoid the meteor. In the panic, however, Julius managed to slash Freya in the leg, causing her to trip. The meteor then slammed straight into her.
Just as it did, Eiko began to play a tune, Kitski took out a leather pouch, and Fratley groaned with horror. Amarant's eyes narrowed as the meteor suddenly crumbled into small rocks. A limp body was revealed slightly, but suddenly a Curaga spell was cast on the body, and Kitski threw a massive bunch of powder near the body. A long pause came, and Julius looked awfully smug.
But then the body moved, rising to its feet and shaking off the rocks. Fratley let out a sigh of relief, while Amarant let out a sharp laugh.
"Out of all things that can take her down, a giant rock is not one of them!" Amarant shouted.
"It almost did," Kitski muttered, watching as Freya stumbled a bit, wounds from the rocks evident on her body. It seemed, however, that the Curaga spell, and the powder, had both saved her life, seconds before it was taken.
In a rage, Julius rushed toward Freya and tackled her to the ground. He soon found himself on the ground as five massive Fira spells met him. Fratley dashed to Freya's side, while Amarant and Meander rushed forward to attack Julius. Cleo suddenly flew over to Freya, revealing to have transformed into a fiery phoenix. Leaning over one of Freya's worse wounds, a small tear came from Cleo's eye and dropped on a massive gash in Freya's thigh. The gash began to heal. Cleo began to flutter about, quickly healing the worse wounds with one or two tears. Freya sighed with relief and with Fratley's help rose to a sitting position.
Julius, meanwhile, was having a lot of trouble avoiding attacks from ten different people. Leviathan was definitely no exception. Though the serpent had hidden underground from the meteor, he had returned and was slithering toward Julius, hissing angrily. Julius managed to cast a Fire spell to push Meander and Amarant back, but the Fire spell was extremely weak. Meander began to prepare his own fireball, while Amarant held out one of his massive hands. He closed his eyes, and a black aura came from his hand and surrounded Julius. Julius let out a startled gasp, while Meander looked over at Amarant.
"Now wha--?" Meander began.
"Curse. He should be extra weak against fire now," Amarant muttered, charging his claws with red energy.
"I would say I love you, but that'd be lying," Meander replied, his fire spell now the size of his own head.
By now, Freya was standing, and preparing her Javelin for a final Lancer attack. Everyone could see Julius was weakening. He was exhausted, and his Regen spell appeared to have run out; none of his wounds from the past five minutes had healed. Cleo took to the skies and watched Julius suspiciously. The shapeshifter was clearly ready to continue healing, and maybe peck Julius' brains out as well.
Suddenly Meander's Firaga spell discharged and nailed Julius in the stomach. The warrior was soon sprawled in the street. Amarant dashed forward and slashed at the warrior's leg with his charged claws. Vivi and his sons sent Fire spells at the warrior, further keeping the warrior from standing. Julius tried to prepare his own Fire spell, but only succeeded in making a bunch of smoke. When he tried to rise, his bleeding leg failed to help him.
Fratley moved to finish Julius off, but Freya was far quicker. She dashed forward and slammed her Lancer-enhanced Javelin straight into Julius' chest. The warrior grabbed her leg and threw her into the ground back first. Freya slammed her head painfully against a rock and groaned with pain as she tried to rise. Kitski watched her with concern, but noted Fratley walked over to help her. Soon, the Demi had turned her attention to Julius.
The warrior had just let out a final gasp. His hands made fists as his black eyes stared at the cloudy sky above. Blood slowly leaked from his wounds. His body suddenly became tense, and Amarant's eyes widened.
"MOVE!" Amarant shouted, leaping away from the area. He was soon followed by Meander.
Freya rose to her feet and moved to run, but she and Fratley were too slow. Julius' body exploded in a flash of red energy that rammed into the two Burmecians and sent them sprawled on the hard ground. The red energy floated in the air for a while before rushing to the hole Leviathan had created. The energy went underground and was soon gone. Leviathan soon followed it.
Slowly Freya and Fratley rose to their feet. Amarant and Meander looked around with satisfaction. A few Burmecians came out of their hiding places and looked around nervously. Eiko let out a sigh of relief, while a smile came over Kitski's face. Vivi and his sons looked just about ready to cheer. Cleo let out a call of victory, while Freya looked around with complete surprise.
"Great Dragon," she muttered, slowly comprehending what she had just accomplished.
"Great Dragon indeed! Thank her a lot!" Kitski said with a smile. "Look at what you just accomplished."
Freya looked around at the relieved, happy faces everyone had. She felt a smile come over her own face as she realized what they had all just accomplished. She glanced at everyone. Amarant was watching her, and Freya could see a small smile on his face. Meander looked he was about to start dancing with happiness. Vivi and his sons were all silently cheering. Cleo's call of victory had yet to end. Kitski was smiling, and Eiko was joining Vivi and his sons in the silent cheer. Dominic was smiling as well. Freya looked over at Fratley to find him smiling, his blue eye glittering.
And suddenly, Freya couldn't keep calm.
"Thank the Great Dragon, YES!" Freya called happily, holding her arms out to the sky. Her call seemed to travel through out the city, and through out the world.
------- Dun dun dun! =) Finally, eh? This was probably one of the hardest battles to write (seventeen people, with about fifteen of them active... Not fun!) I think I did my best on it, but I apologize if some characters don't get a fair share in the fight. It was hard to keep track. Anyway, the story's not over yet (heh). Stay tuned to see the two chapters that will lead to the end (think, and you'll know what still has to be done).
Oh, and a person asked me about the ball of energy Freya can shoot about... Basically, that's very simply the Star-Moon attack ("Power of the heavens, lend the power to vanquish!" attack) before it's powered up. It's an attack I made up for Dragon Warriors. I'm afraid I wouldn't know if it's Amarant's No Mercy attack because, even though I finished the game, I didn't get everyone's abilities O.o Whoops.
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.