Chapter 8

"You can't beat them in the air!" Mayu yelled. "Come on!" I ignored her and flew again. Two people on the bike would slow it too much. Perhaps she, at least, will escape this. I pushed my boosters to their limits, accelerating in the air until the wind around me screamed. Mayu was beneath me, pushing the land chaser just as hard. That thing's got better acceleration than I thought... I passed the bike and glanced over my shoulder. The pursuing demi-dragon would overtake me shortly. If I could stall it long enough for Mayu to retreat, then perhaps she could escape to warn Fefnir and Leviathan of this new danger. I looked down again and spotted the other dragon diving at Mayu. She swerved, making reckless turns at high speed but effectively avoiding the overhead attacks.

I was struck from behind, another set of gashes from the beam-saber-like claws criss-crossing the ones already there. I fell, tweaking my path just enough so I landed hard on the bike, behind Mayu. She jumped slightly at the impact and swerved dangerously.

"Don't do that without warning me!" She yelled.

"Sorry," I shrugged helplessly. I knew that I should get off the bike and give her a better chance of escaping, but I did not particularly feel like dying, selfish as it may seem.

"If we don't get away," I called, "I'm sorry."

Her face turned into a feral grin. "Who said anything about getting away?" The grin widened. "I've merely chosen my battleground."

"You're crazy, I muttered below her hearing level. "I just hope you don't die for it."

I heard a roar of wind over my head and the demi-dragon swooped with claws out-stretched as though to pluck us from the bike. Mayu juked to the right, barely avoiding the charge. Pulling out a deactivated saber, I twisted around so that I was facing backwards and swung the bladeless hilt, activating and deactivating it in a half-second's time. Red-violet energy, cut off from the source and flung crescent-like through the screaming air, splashed like a deadly wave against the dragon's dark hide.

The other dragon, glaring at us one-eyed, landed in front of the bike and Mayu hit the breaks, turning the chaser sideways to stop. She jumped off and sprinted away.

"What're you doing?!"

"Drive!" she called to me.

"Wait-"

"Just drive!" She disappeared around a corner, back the way we'd come.

I cranked the thrusters and laid on the lasers- which Mayu either hadn't seen or was too busy driving to use. The chaser barreled toward the dragon, and I pulled up and hit the repulsers for a quick burst and sailed over the monster's head.

U-turning around sharply, I trailed after Mayu, who had picked up a draconic shadow. I caught sight of the creature first and gave it a heavy smattering of whitish laser-fire in greeting. Easily distracted, it turned away from its "prey" and charged after me, flying forward and skimming the ground with its clawed feet.

A motor roared from somewhere out of my range of sight, and Mayu charged around the corner on a sleek chrome-and-black motorcycle. Haven't seen one of those in awhile. She swung her saber as she roared past the demon, the momentum forcing the blade through a deep slash on the armored side, but also wrenching her arm back in what appeared to be a painful manner.

She pulled up next to me and stopped momentarily. "When I said 'drive,' I meant that way," she commented dryly.

I opted not to answer and swung my bike around- in time to see the other demi-dragon appear much to close to me for comfort. I covered it with a smattering of laser-fire, which had little effect, but blinded it long enough to allow me to slip past, Mayu close at my side.

I glanced over at Mayu. She stared straight ahead, apparently concentrating on driving through the sharp turns. I wondered where she was going, a bit disoriented myself. Already, I had seen individuals and other vehicles shying away from our game of cat and mouse, and if it could be helped, I hoped not to take our fight to the residential areas. The buildings around us had already grown from wide, squat factory buildings to spiring office complexes, and traffic was much more frequent.

"Mayu!" I yelled over the roar of the two engines.

She glanced at me.

"We have to take our fight somewhere else; we can't get civilians involved."

She shook her head, not understanding over the engines' roar. She'll figure it out, anyway. She seems to think the same as me in that regard. My mental monologue was cut short when scraping blue claws caught at my shoulders and attempted to lift me from the land chaser. I held on to the bike one-handed and swatted at it with a crimson blade. The tip caught between the armored plates of the knee and a sickening pop informed me that it had dug in deep enough to cause real damage.

The claws on my shoulder disappeared, leaving crimson lines in their place, and the ebony dragon trumpeted an enraged roar. "You will pay, Green One!"

I almost smiled at my apparent new nickname. Almost.

Mayu was having similar problems to mine, attempting to avoid swooping overhead attacks that threatened to pluck her from her vehicle. She juked left and right minutely, just enough to keep the claws away from her. One set caught her cheek, spraying a little shower of blood. She swerved around a large truck, hidden from my sight for a moment, and when she reappeared, it was with a demi-dragon digging claws into her back.

I swung one saber, flashing it on and off, sending a crescent of bright energy into the creature's single-eyed face. It hovered in the air, keening an angered battle cry and pawing at its eyes. I don't know how permanently I blinded it, but with only one eye left, maybe I damaged it enough that it will be out of the fight for now.

Mayu set her face against the pain in her back that she must have felt and gunned the engine.

The added agility of the two bikes offered some defense against the heavy wing-beats of the mechilinoid beasts, but I knew that they would eventually overtake us. From the grim set of Mayu's face, she knew that as well. Traffic was beginning to thin, and I realized that the woman had led us on the most direct route from the city. One dragon dove at her, and she fish-tailed the motorcycle in a tight one-eighty, barely avoiding the violent attack. To my dismay, she leapt from the bike again and activated her sabers.

Idiot. "What are you doing?" I yelled, goosing the throttle and coming around to park the chaser nearby. She apparently could not hear me over the roar of the engine, so I cut it and repeated my incredulous question.

She glanced at me, acknowledging that she had heard me speak, but ignoring the fact that she was expected to answer. The demi-dragons fell on us again, and I was forced to divert my attention from the fool-hearty actions of my companion to the more immediate problems of shimmering claws and monstrous black bodies. The one-eyed one came at me, charging and firing plasma blasts in as rabid a succession as it could. I caught one on my saber and used all of my strength to deflect it. My shoulder wrenched painfully and red and blue energy sparked and sprayed like boiling blood. Several of my wounds which had sealed over while I was on the land-chaser ripped open again, painfully so, and sent blood coursing down my body in time with my artificial heartbeat.

The volatile energy dispersed with a final, forceful burst of power and send me careening to the ground to land on my back. I used the momentum to kick my feet backwards over my head and come up on them- and just in time, too, as the heavy black shape of a dragon landed solidly on the ground before me. I thrust a saber into its thick hide, braced my weight against it, and flipped over its head, pulling my blade from its chest and turning so I would land facing it I struck again at its back, pulling the beam downward, metal shrieking in protest. I forced as much strength as I could muster behind the blow, opening a deep gouge in the heavy plating before the great wings flapped once, knocking me backwards, and the beast pivoted to face me. I kept to my feet- barely- and kicked in my boosters to dash to the creatures side, stabbing with one saber at what would have been its ribcage had it been of flesh and blood, and parrying a vicious claw-swipe with the other.

I hopped back to avoid another blow and leaped over a slashing tail. Something ran hard into my back and I started, but realized that it was Mayu, and by the force of the blow, she had been thrown there. I grabbed her arm and pulled her off the ground, swinging her roughly out of the way and then diving away myself as both demons lunged and clashed with each other instead of us. I found myself grateful that I was not amid the following tangle of teeth and claws.

"Are you all right?" I used the brief reprieve to ask Mayu. She was bleeding in several places and looked as though she was having trouble putting weight on her right leg. I suspected that she had taken more hits than I had seen. As bad as she looked, however, I would have hated to see what I looked like right about now.

"I'm fine," Mayu lied. "And yourself?"

"Been better," I answered through teeth clenched against the pain. We were forced to end our conversation there, short as it had been, as the two dragons disentangled and streaked toward us, preceded by twin blasts of turquoise energy. I forced myself into the air again, barely avoiding the blast, and hoped that Mayu had faired okay. I was met a half-dozen feet off the ground by the monster with two missing digits and a shattered eye.

"Die!" the creature roared, slashing crossways in a manor that could have divided me into pieces. Fortunately, I moved, having no desire to be chunked at this particular date and time.

"Not very eloquent, are you?" I said dryly in response to its screamed demand. Needless to say, my adversary failed to find any humor in my comment.

I winged quickly around the beast and swung my sabers in a wide arc, putting as much muscle power as I could muster behind it, with the intent of deflecting the flailing tail as I circled. The last two feet of the tail were severed and flung away with a stream of oily blood.

I would have continued my attack, but the sound of Mayu's scream turned my attention to her side of the battle. Following the sound of her voice, I spotted her held fast by the other demi-dragon's claws, one set shallowly yet firmly fixed in her right side, the other deeply gouged into her left thigh. Blood streamed an angry red from her wounds. The creature, about thirty feet in the air, a good distance above my head, ripped its claws roughly from her flesh and hurled her forcibly to the ground.

I pushed myself to top speed and squinted against the wind screaming in my face. I caught her about eight feet off the ground, falling with her for a short time to slow her plummet. I set her as gently on the ground as I could, then spun into an inside crescent kick, catching my approaching foe across the left side of the face. The creature- the one with the damaged leg- reeled back from the force of the blow and the shock of my immediate attack. I was beginning to see the creatures' pattern; speed in for a quick surprise attack, attempt to lay on some hard hits, and retreat, relying on their heavy body-armor to cover them.

Mayu sprang from behind me, limping badly, but intent on making her tormentor pay. She yelled, scything her right-hand blade into the ebony chest-plate. I took a more subtle approach, flying behind it, avoiding the razor-sharp wings, and severed one at the joint nearest the attachment to the body. Free of its power-source, the wing's web of energy spluttered out and it fell, skeletal, to the ground. I did not pause to admire my handiwork, however, though I was satisfied that one beast was effectively grounded, and with a wounded knee joint, that would put it at a serious disadvantage. Instead, I dropped back to the ground, back peddled a bit, and came up behind the one-eyed demon, who had overcompensated his flight path due to my absence from the space I had recently occupied. As I rose behind him, I thrust both sabers upward, intending to slice him into vertical thirds. The armor, unfortunately, did not allow me to get that far, and after wrenching my aching shoulders painfully, I was forced to withdraw my swords and retreat from the monster's retaliation.

It screamed at me, although I could not tell if the vocal storm was a wordless battle cry or a curse directed at me. Flapping its wings in wide arcs, it flew at me and then veered away, as though performing a strafing run. The corner of its wing caught my helmet, and although the armor held, I received a nasty gash over my nose and down my cheek.

I cried out in frustration and pain, retaliating with a quick swing of my saber. It connected with the blue web of the wing and crackled statically before sliding off. I swung again and this time made contact with the massive right arm as the demi-dragon whirled to strike at me. My saber deflected the blow, but my strength was failing quickly and instead of severing the offending limb, I was shoved downward. I allowed myself to fall, kicking in my boosters to soften the landing, and hit the ground running.

Mayu's adversary, though limping badly and unable to fly, still outmatched her by strength, and with both of her legs wounded, Mayu was not in a favorable position. The creature loomed over her, and although she managed to block or dodge most of the attacks, the effort was obviously costing her.

I sprinted in behind the dragon, giving it a "friendly" poke in the back to announce my arrival. Gripping my sword firmly, I wrenched upward with all my might and actually managed to score a deep gash through its armor and into whatever lay beneath. Mayu used the distraction to cram her saber into the thick, obsidian neck, but was knocked away before she could wrench it free. I broke away to find the other demon, but he found me first, swatting me away like a gnat.

Falling hard on my back, I found that I lacked the strength to spring back upward, and rolled over instead, attempting to move out of the way of the dragon's landing. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough, and his clawed foot pinned my right leg to the ground. He chortled some harsh, sickly equivalent of laughter and picked me up by my left ankle in one taloned hand.

...Not good, I moaned mentally. I'm really in bad shape; this has got to end soon, one way or another. I doubled myself over and jabbed its arm with a saber, using the other one to pull myself upward by bracing the beam between the joints of its armor. It snarled and threw me away like a rag doll. I landed painfully on my side and had to lever myself off the ground with my arms, getting up much more slowly than I would have liked. My one-eyed assailant leapt to the air and dove at me, claws pointing malevolently at my face. I tried to brace myself...

And then the dragon's flight veered drastically to my left as Mayu, despite her crippled legs, leapt onto the creature's flank. She drew her saber over the lighter armor of its lower left leg, sawing through as the monster screamed in icy rage. It's foot fell away from its body, gushing thick, dark blood, and it managed to throw Mayu to the ground. She allowed herself to take the fall on her back, tucking her chin to perform a roll and stand up, using her left leg as little as possible since it was more greatly injured than the right.

"You're hurt bad, Sage," she said needlessly. "These things need to die-" she ducked, rolling away from a one-taloned aerial assault, and I, in turn, sidestepped away form the clumsy efforts of our land-bound enemy. "-And fast," Mayu concluded.

"You have a talent for stating the obvious," I mused sardonically. The one-winged demon opened wide its mouth and fired three quick bursts of energy in my general vicinity. I tried to get out of the way, and successfully evaded the first blast, but the second created a small explosion at my feet and I went down hard, only able to hold up my sabers in defense of the third shot which was boiling angrily toward my face. The beam-blades caught the energy, and I dug my elbows into the ground for leverage, attempting to push it back the way it had come. My strength, however, was utterly failing me, and it was all I could do to hold my position.

The demi-dragon moved in closer, charging another hadoken blast to finish me. The energy had gathered to its mouth when I finally pushed back the shot that was pressing against my swords. The blue plasma-ball flew back to its creator and struck it brutally in the throat, causing it to snap its mouth shut. The blast it had been charging was swallowed back unexpectedly, and by the way the dragon screeched and stumbled forward, caused a great deal of internal damage as well.

The airborne beast came after me now, and I struggled to get to my feet, barely moving out of the way. It hovered a few feet off the ground and lashed at me with its shortened tail. The flailing limb caught my left flank and sent me flying literally into the arms of the one-winged demon. It tried to give me a claw-filled bear-hug, but I managed to kick in my boosters and fly just out of range. My fuel-cells are getting low, I realized. Then I caught sight of Mayu's dagger still crammed into the monster's neck. The demi-dragon snapped at me angrily, and I moved slightly to the side and kicked the protruding pommel of the weapon with all my might. It ripped free, half-severing the grotesque head.

The mortally wounded dragon attempted to gurgle a dying roar, and did so in a muted, liquid manor. Blood gushed from its gaping neck as it thrashed about. The blade, which had spun through the air in a wide arc, landed in Mayu's outstretched hand. With an enraged yell and a flying leap, she landed atop the dying beast and plunged both sabers into the top of its skull.

I landed a powerful blow and divided the creature at the waist. Somehow, it still had the strength to slash at me one last time, and, swinging my sabers upward, I lopped off both of its arms. With a final, keening cry, the monster- all four pieces of it- fell to the ground and poured its blood out onto the soil.

One down, I thought, though not in relief by any means. But at what cost? I looked at Mayu, who was barely able to stand on her wounded legs, and probably in a lot of pain as well. I myself could not go on for much longer. Although my surface wounds were finally closing again, that did not help the blood loss. I was exhausted, badly wounded, and on the verge of collapse.

"Well, you've reduced that one to torso-boy," Mayu said nonchalantly, as though commenting on a movie. "But I'm not sure if you've got the strength to fight the other one, and I'm having trouble walking." As if in answer, the remaining demi-dragon swooped after her, knocking her from her feet. She sprawled across the ground, ending up on her back with her daggers pointing up in a defensive position.

I ignored my weakness and leapt to her aid with the help of my jets. I slashed at the angry face, but it jerked its had back agilely and took to the air like a vulture, lunging viciously at me. I barely moved aside in time, sidestepping quickly out of the way. The demi-dragon trumpeted a challenge, circling back at me and Mayu. I pulled her from the ground, allowing her to put the bulk of her weight against me, and led her to the motorcycle which, fortunately, was still in one piece. She got on without complaint- testament to how weak she must have felt- and started the machine quickly. Unfortunately, the remaining demi-dragon opted to prevent this and flew at her, shrieking furiously.

"Watch it!," I called. She leapt from the bike and the dragon knocked the piece of equipment flying a good six or seven feet while Mayu rolled over and came to her feet. She went for the motorcycle again, stumbling on her wounded leg, but the demonic beast came down between her and her goal and snarled something that sounded to me like "I think not."

I sprinted toward my presently abandoned land chaser, not intending to desert my comrade, but knowing that, in my condition, there was little that I could do on my own. The demon saw my mad dash through its one eye, roared, and flew at me defiantly, leaving Mayu to her own devises. That could be counted as both a good thing and a bad thing, I noted, watching the dragon barrel toward me with all speed. I was greatly in need of my own speed at the moment, but that seemed to have seeped, like my strength, out of my system with my blood.

The demi-dragon somehow missed its target, diving just in front of me, skimming the ground a bit too closely, and falling nose-first in the dirt. Only one eye... His depth perception is off. It was only a miniscule victory in our favor, considering the shape that we were both in, but it had just saved my skin. Small as it was, I was grateful. I noticed that the monster was having a bit of trouble getting to the air again, since it was missing its left foot. It hobbled up awkwardly on its three remaining limbs and flapped its great wings, rising upward from the ground until it was hovering in a more natural position.

While it was otherwise distracted, I mounted the land chaser and started the engine, which came on with a mechanical whine. Mayu managed to get to her bike and pull it upright, perusing the surface for the extent of the damage. The demi-dragon, now airborne again, whirled to chase after her, preventing its prey's escape. I brought the chaser around and fired the lasers at its retreating form. The shots that hit the wings seemed to dissipate harmlessly, but the ones that connected with the massive body left smoking pits in the armor, weakening it. Like any predator finding itself the hunted, the beast left its former target and came after me.

At least it doesn't seem to have much more intelligence than an animal. The idea of something this strong that was completely sentient was a bit too disturbing to dwell on at the moment. And these ones are smarter than the last. I shrugged it off and continued my scattered fire, watching the creature closely as it swooped at me, charging an energy blast. I floored it at the last possible moment, and both dragon and plasma ended up just shy of their target. I chanced taking one hand from the handle bars in order to activate a saber and swing a crescent of energy at my foe. It sparked against his pitted, scorched armor, and I flung another for good measure. The dragon dodged out of the way of the second wave of energy and snarled, but I was already speeding away.

Mayu had finally successfully gotten on her bike and was beginning to move again. I nodded to her and gestured with my chin to our right. She took the hint and raced off in that direction, which led to the wasteland outside of the city. I put my saber away, fired another cluster of shots into our foe who was moving to pursue, and followed after her.

The dragon chased after us a bit more slowly than I had expected, probably having some system trouble from the inflicted wounds and resulting loss of blood- which, in the creature's case, amounted to coolant, joint lubricant, fuel, and whatever else was necessary for the function of its pseudo-life. Despite the crippling effect that the leaking wounds were having on it, it continued to gain on us, though much more slowly than before. We were well out of populated areas once it was finally close enough to be a problem.

Our terrain, as of the present, had once been a part of the sweeping cityscape, but after a rather ugly terrorist attack compliments of a group of marauding Mavericks some years ago, it had been abandoned and gradually reclaimed by the desert. People normally did not venture out this far unless their intent was something on the grayer margin of the law, making it a relatively safe battleground as far as bystanders were concerned. It was one less worry, not having to think about the possibility of innocent humans being harmed due to our battle.

I surveyed the sand-filled path ahead of me which was once a street. Mayu's motorcycle won't have much traction here... Dunes had slowly moved in against man-made structures over the years, gradually creeping forward as time went by. The irrigation and general bustle of the city held the desert back, but here, given free reign, it was claiming the land for its own once again. Dusty, weathered buildings poked up from the sand like headstones, marking the passing of a once prosperous populous.

I shook off my thoughts- which had only invaded my mind for a few seconds- and told myself that, at whatever cost, I would never let a disaster like this strike the humans again as long as I was alive. They may have grown complacent and a bit selfish as of late, but I felt that they deserved some peace after all they had been through. I glanced over my shoulder, looking for both Mayu and the demi-dragon. The girl was beginning to have a bit of trouble handling her bike on the unforgiving terrain. Hover technology is so much more effective, I mused. Glancing back again, I realized that something was missing from the picture. Where's the demi-dragon?

I received my answer when it dove at me from the worn skeleton of what once must have been an office building. Taloned hands outstretched, it moved to decapitate me. I uttered a startled exclamation, swerving so sharply that I nearly over-turned my vehicle. Mayu, surprised by my actions and the sudden appearance of our enemy in front of us, turned the other way. The motorcycle's tires slid dangerously on the sand and for a moment, I feared that she would topple from the bike. Somehow, she maintained control, much to my relief, and steered the machine onto some of the clearer roads.

The demi-dragon cornered sharply in the air, attempting to follow me closely. Having other plans in mind, I drove full-circle around a derelict building and came out behind the creature. Laying on the lasers, I peppered it in the back with heavy fire, juking my course to go around and beside it, where I activated a saber and sent another half-moon of red-violet energy slicing through the air toward it. The dragon stretched one of its wings out to catch the blade-like shape, and it sparked and dissipated against the azure energy.

I shot past my dark nemesis and turned my chaser in a tight one-eighty to make another pass. The demon, however, retreated backward about a hundred feet and began charging a large blast, cloaking its wings about itself like a protective cape. Starting to learn a little, huh? I kicked the bike forward in full throttle, firing despite the fact that it was relatively ineffective. So long as he thinks that's my intent. The distance between us was closing fast, and the monster rose in the air and came at me, ready to fire.

I gave my land-chaser one final burst of speed. Twenty feet. Fifteen. Ten. Five. I released my hold on the handle bars and leapt upward with all of my remaining strength, boosting myself further by using up more of the precious fuel in my jets.

The impact itself sent out a small shock wave, and the following explosion was enough to level several rickety structures. I was thrown about a bit in the air, but remained relatively stable while I waited out the fireworks. Shrapnel spit in all directions, and I had to be mindful to avoid flying debris. The fireball itself was brilliant enough that I had to cover my eyes. When I looked again, chunks of black armor and twisted metal were all that remained of the demi-dragon and my land-chaser, burning angry orange and blinding blue. The dragon must have released its shot just as the bike hit, making it even worse on itself.

I slowly sank to the ground, weariness threatening to claim me. The adrenaline- or whatever equivalent I have to it- left my system, and I collapsed on the ground, barely staying up on one knee. I heard the sound of footsteps crunching through the sand, and then felt Mayu's hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me up.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" I muttered with a bit more venom than I intended.

"No... not really." I allowed myself to be pulled to me feet by may armpits, wincing when she accidentally put pressure on my left bicep, which had been slightly impaled near the start of the battle.

"My bike's over there," she pointed. "It wouldn't handle on the sand, so I had to park it. Can you make it over there?"

I nodded and stumbled after her, occasionally accepting a helping hand when my legs threatened to give out. Mayu gingerly hoisted her wounded leg over the bike, and then I got on behind her. She reached to turn on the engine but paused, turning to me.

"And you were worried that I'd trash your land-chaser?"

I looked at her blankly for a moment. "Mayu?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."