Gah…I've been scribbling on napkins and such wherever I go to get this chapter done, but I'm so distracted ^_^* Some people have also spotted my new obsession with NeonDragon's oekaki board (very addictive drawing fun).
If I'm ever on AIM (zellychan), PLEASE yell at me to write something. I need a good yelling at.
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Chapter 15 (cont.): Disarray and Disaster Part II
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It was a very rare known fact that the governor of Kansas was actually a ex devil hunter. Thus, when a strange report reached his desk about the sudden appearance of an unknown city in the middle of his state and an army of hellish creatures rampaging in the fields of Kansas, he was not as perturbed as he might have been. After a long silence, he stunned his aide by shredding the report and telling him to pull all observation off the area but to allow no civilians to pass through the area either. Of course, as soon as the aide had left, he called his contact in the City of Hunters and told him that government involvement would not be a problem and that he hoped everything went well.
Worry less about what the government hides from you and more about what people hide from the government.
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Dante wandered down to where Preda had said Catullus was located. The dragon did not prove hard to find. "Dante!" the not quite so tiny dragon bellowed happily. Ray, sitting on a crate nearby, covered his ears and winced. Catullus shot him a sheepish look. "Sorry, voice emodulation . I forget what a difference the size change makes."
"I'd say it makes a damn big difference," Dante remarked, patting a hand sized scale. "Don't tell me you hit dragon puberty or something…"
"Actually," Ray said grinning, "this is, as usual, your fault. Cat and I were discussing the mechanics of it."
"Say what?" Dante asked. He leaned back to rest on a crate. Everybody seemed to blame everything on him nowadays. Cities blown up, Egyptian earthquakes, over-sized dragons…
"It's like this," Catullus said. "You know we've had a bond through the Staff."
"Yeah," Dante interrupted, "you buzzed in my head for a week, then started talking in it."
"So anyways," Catullus continued, ignoring him, "while the bond was there, it wasn't terribly strong, as it had been with your father. I had assumed," he said with an apologetic look, "that this was because you were a half-breed. Now, however, Ray and I think it was something that had weakened over time. I, erm, never told you, but back in the day, this was my original size. During the course of centuries after Sparda left me to wait with the Staff in the temple, my size and power slowly waned until I was as when you first met me."
"Whoa, wait a sec, why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Dante demanded, throwing up a hand. The last couple of weeks had kept his head spinning with new information every ten seconds, and it didn't sound like it was going to get any easier.
Catullus surprised Dante by blushing (purple dragons should not blush, it ends up making them look slightly mottled and scary). "Well, it's actually kind of embarrassing," the dragon admitted, still blushing. "I mean, for my kind, the smallest we get is at least six feet."
Dante muttered something to himself about modest dragons and overcompensating.
"But annnyways," Ray broke in, steering them back to story at hand, "the point is, the potential for that greater bond has always been there. It just needed to be awakened. That's where you come in," he said pointing to Dante. Dante quirked an eyebrow silently. "You see, after your fight with Emena when you were having that nasty little tumble from the ever too high skyscraper" --Dante's stomach flip flopped as he remembered the freefall-- "something flickered across the bond."
"Need," Catullus said. "You were, *cough cough* helpless *cough* and I felt your desperate need to be saved. Your need, as Sparda's son, was enough to snap the bond to its full strength." Catullus beamed proudly.
"Sweet," Dante said. He prodded the dragon's near impenetrable hide. "I bet you could cause some real damage now."
Catullus grinned a disturbing smile of very large, sharp, pointy teeth. "Oh yeah. But it gets better too. Because our bond is at full strength, I can help you work the power of Staff. Which means," the dragon said with a bigger smile and dangerous twinkle in his eye, "that you should now have no problems with the Staff."
Dante gave him back an equally crazy and dangerous smile, "Oh, HELL YEAH!" Ray just shook his head, amused. The two were really so alike.
Suddenly a nearby speaker atop a powerline clicked on, and on speakers around the city a woman's voice could be heard announcing, "Please take positions, the operation will begin in five minutes. Please take positions, the operation will be--" the woman repeated it a few more times before the speaker clicked off.
Dante looked at Catullus. Catullus looked at Dante. Both of them grinned like maniacs. "Let's go knock em back to hell!" Dante yelled. Catullus whooped and let down a wing. Dante leapt up on his back, grabbed a scale with one hand, called out the Staff in his other hand, and yelled "Let's ride!" as he saluted Ray with the Staff. Catullus launched into the air and flattened the grass like a helicopter as he pumped upwards for altitude. "Yeah!" Ray yelled and waved before grabbing his shotgun and running to take his place with the other thousands who were preparing for the final fight.
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"Yeeeeehaw!" Dante cried as wind buffeted him. He had flown in his devil form before, of course, but dragon back was a whole new ballgame. Catullus swooped, spiraled, and soared above the city, while below them, just inside the city walls, the human troops were gathering. Dante was impressed by the numbers.
Devil hunting was generally a rather clandestine activity, so he was surprised to by the huge turnout. There had to be somewhere in the tens of thousands of people swarming in the crammed streets. Hunters from all over the world had warped through the gates to be here, and suddenly Dante didn't feel quite so alone in his battle against the Underworld. More than that…there was a strong feel of unity here. Americans, Germans, Chinese, Iraqi, Africans…all working together for one purpose, across barriers of language and countries. Dante tried to ignore that the devil army was still about three times their size.
"Not bad," Catullus yelled across the wind. "Need and survival have always had a way of bringing humanity together when else could." The dragon's nostrils flared. "It should begin soon. I can smell the anticipation." Dante felt his own battle adrenaline rise and tightened his grip on the Staff. He had no idea if this plan would work, or if he could even control the Staff, but he had no doubt it was going to be quite a show one way or another…
Dante squinted suddenly, as a part of the devil army seemed to disperse, scattering and disappearing randomly. "What the hell?…Are the planning something?"
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Back in this tent, Occasus was musing over a map of his army's positions when one of his commanding Pyromancer broke into his tent. "My lord," he hissed/cried, panting for breath, "Emena's section of the army has broken ranks are deserting! Word of your disposal of her has spread and caused much unrest among her followers. They refuse to follow your command!" The out of breath Pyromancer leaned on his flaming staff, waiting for a response.
Occases stood straight, his mind racing. He hadn't seen such loyalty to her from such low level scum. Her section of troops had been one of considerable size too, damn them… He opened his mouth but before he could speak, another messenger burst in, nearly tripping over the other. "Lord Occasus! The humans are attacking in full force!" he cried.
"WHAT!" he roared. "Damn their eyes!" Things were rapidly spinning out of control. He was not going to let these events ruin years of planning though. Besides, he still had his trump card… "Send the troops out to meet the humans! Regroup the ranks and kill anyone who tries to desert!"
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"………you know, I could be wrong, but it almost looks…"
"Like they're deserting?" Catullus finished. "I agree, though I don't know the cause of it. One way or another it will certainly work for our advantage."
From hundreds of feet below a horn sounded suddenly, then another, and another, and then came a thunderous primal roar from a thousand throats as the human army poured out of the gates onto the field. "They're attacking!"
"Look out!" Catullus called. Dante's attention snapped back to see the devil army, momentarily surprised by the onslaught, now also moving to attack. Along with them rose a large airborne force. Dante recognized Puia and a few other flying devil species, as well as some new creatures that looked like pterodactyl skeletons, all leather wing and bone.
"So it begins," the dragon proclaimed grimly as the two great armies raced towards each other.
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The next chapter's going to be very actiony, as well as reveal a secret of sorts of prepare for the final chapter. It might actually be the last one, my planning's a little rough.
Next chapter: …..No idea of title.
If I'm ever on AIM (zellychan), PLEASE yell at me to write something. I need a good yelling at.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 15 (cont.): Disarray and Disaster Part II
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a very rare known fact that the governor of Kansas was actually a ex devil hunter. Thus, when a strange report reached his desk about the sudden appearance of an unknown city in the middle of his state and an army of hellish creatures rampaging in the fields of Kansas, he was not as perturbed as he might have been. After a long silence, he stunned his aide by shredding the report and telling him to pull all observation off the area but to allow no civilians to pass through the area either. Of course, as soon as the aide had left, he called his contact in the City of Hunters and told him that government involvement would not be a problem and that he hoped everything went well.
Worry less about what the government hides from you and more about what people hide from the government.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dante wandered down to where Preda had said Catullus was located. The dragon did not prove hard to find. "Dante!" the not quite so tiny dragon bellowed happily. Ray, sitting on a crate nearby, covered his ears and winced. Catullus shot him a sheepish look. "Sorry, voice emodulation . I forget what a difference the size change makes."
"I'd say it makes a damn big difference," Dante remarked, patting a hand sized scale. "Don't tell me you hit dragon puberty or something…"
"Actually," Ray said grinning, "this is, as usual, your fault. Cat and I were discussing the mechanics of it."
"Say what?" Dante asked. He leaned back to rest on a crate. Everybody seemed to blame everything on him nowadays. Cities blown up, Egyptian earthquakes, over-sized dragons…
"It's like this," Catullus said. "You know we've had a bond through the Staff."
"Yeah," Dante interrupted, "you buzzed in my head for a week, then started talking in it."
"So anyways," Catullus continued, ignoring him, "while the bond was there, it wasn't terribly strong, as it had been with your father. I had assumed," he said with an apologetic look, "that this was because you were a half-breed. Now, however, Ray and I think it was something that had weakened over time. I, erm, never told you, but back in the day, this was my original size. During the course of centuries after Sparda left me to wait with the Staff in the temple, my size and power slowly waned until I was as when you first met me."
"Whoa, wait a sec, why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Dante demanded, throwing up a hand. The last couple of weeks had kept his head spinning with new information every ten seconds, and it didn't sound like it was going to get any easier.
Catullus surprised Dante by blushing (purple dragons should not blush, it ends up making them look slightly mottled and scary). "Well, it's actually kind of embarrassing," the dragon admitted, still blushing. "I mean, for my kind, the smallest we get is at least six feet."
Dante muttered something to himself about modest dragons and overcompensating.
"But annnyways," Ray broke in, steering them back to story at hand, "the point is, the potential for that greater bond has always been there. It just needed to be awakened. That's where you come in," he said pointing to Dante. Dante quirked an eyebrow silently. "You see, after your fight with Emena when you were having that nasty little tumble from the ever too high skyscraper" --Dante's stomach flip flopped as he remembered the freefall-- "something flickered across the bond."
"Need," Catullus said. "You were, *cough cough* helpless *cough* and I felt your desperate need to be saved. Your need, as Sparda's son, was enough to snap the bond to its full strength." Catullus beamed proudly.
"Sweet," Dante said. He prodded the dragon's near impenetrable hide. "I bet you could cause some real damage now."
Catullus grinned a disturbing smile of very large, sharp, pointy teeth. "Oh yeah. But it gets better too. Because our bond is at full strength, I can help you work the power of Staff. Which means," the dragon said with a bigger smile and dangerous twinkle in his eye, "that you should now have no problems with the Staff."
Dante gave him back an equally crazy and dangerous smile, "Oh, HELL YEAH!" Ray just shook his head, amused. The two were really so alike.
Suddenly a nearby speaker atop a powerline clicked on, and on speakers around the city a woman's voice could be heard announcing, "Please take positions, the operation will begin in five minutes. Please take positions, the operation will be--" the woman repeated it a few more times before the speaker clicked off.
Dante looked at Catullus. Catullus looked at Dante. Both of them grinned like maniacs. "Let's go knock em back to hell!" Dante yelled. Catullus whooped and let down a wing. Dante leapt up on his back, grabbed a scale with one hand, called out the Staff in his other hand, and yelled "Let's ride!" as he saluted Ray with the Staff. Catullus launched into the air and flattened the grass like a helicopter as he pumped upwards for altitude. "Yeah!" Ray yelled and waved before grabbing his shotgun and running to take his place with the other thousands who were preparing for the final fight.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yeeeeehaw!" Dante cried as wind buffeted him. He had flown in his devil form before, of course, but dragon back was a whole new ballgame. Catullus swooped, spiraled, and soared above the city, while below them, just inside the city walls, the human troops were gathering. Dante was impressed by the numbers.
Devil hunting was generally a rather clandestine activity, so he was surprised to by the huge turnout. There had to be somewhere in the tens of thousands of people swarming in the crammed streets. Hunters from all over the world had warped through the gates to be here, and suddenly Dante didn't feel quite so alone in his battle against the Underworld. More than that…there was a strong feel of unity here. Americans, Germans, Chinese, Iraqi, Africans…all working together for one purpose, across barriers of language and countries. Dante tried to ignore that the devil army was still about three times their size.
"Not bad," Catullus yelled across the wind. "Need and survival have always had a way of bringing humanity together when else could." The dragon's nostrils flared. "It should begin soon. I can smell the anticipation." Dante felt his own battle adrenaline rise and tightened his grip on the Staff. He had no idea if this plan would work, or if he could even control the Staff, but he had no doubt it was going to be quite a show one way or another…
Dante squinted suddenly, as a part of the devil army seemed to disperse, scattering and disappearing randomly. "What the hell?…Are the planning something?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back in this tent, Occasus was musing over a map of his army's positions when one of his commanding Pyromancer broke into his tent. "My lord," he hissed/cried, panting for breath, "Emena's section of the army has broken ranks are deserting! Word of your disposal of her has spread and caused much unrest among her followers. They refuse to follow your command!" The out of breath Pyromancer leaned on his flaming staff, waiting for a response.
Occases stood straight, his mind racing. He hadn't seen such loyalty to her from such low level scum. Her section of troops had been one of considerable size too, damn them… He opened his mouth but before he could speak, another messenger burst in, nearly tripping over the other. "Lord Occasus! The humans are attacking in full force!" he cried.
"WHAT!" he roared. "Damn their eyes!" Things were rapidly spinning out of control. He was not going to let these events ruin years of planning though. Besides, he still had his trump card… "Send the troops out to meet the humans! Regroup the ranks and kill anyone who tries to desert!"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"………you know, I could be wrong, but it almost looks…"
"Like they're deserting?" Catullus finished. "I agree, though I don't know the cause of it. One way or another it will certainly work for our advantage."
From hundreds of feet below a horn sounded suddenly, then another, and another, and then came a thunderous primal roar from a thousand throats as the human army poured out of the gates onto the field. "They're attacking!"
"Look out!" Catullus called. Dante's attention snapped back to see the devil army, momentarily surprised by the onslaught, now also moving to attack. Along with them rose a large airborne force. Dante recognized Puia and a few other flying devil species, as well as some new creatures that looked like pterodactyl skeletons, all leather wing and bone.
"So it begins," the dragon proclaimed grimly as the two great armies raced towards each other.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next chapter's going to be very actiony, as well as reveal a secret of sorts of prepare for the final chapter. It might actually be the last one, my planning's a little rough.
Next chapter: …..No idea of title.