A/N: AAAAHHHHHH(spazz)
Matthew: O.o What's up with her?
Ed: School keeps preventing her to update.
FME: (pokes me) NOOOO! YOU MUST BE AWAKE SO WE CAN RP! ;-;
Eliwood: Saaaaad.
Roy: Awwwww... (hugs her)
FME: ROY-SAMA! (squeeze)
Roy: GACK!
Link: Woo! I'm not being strangled!
Eliwood: ... (grabs my limp body, throws it on top of him)
Link: X.X
Ed and Matthew: XD
Eliwood: Here's the chappie:)
Dragon Blood: Chapter 8: Friends' Courage
Roy's face slowly peeked out from behind his wing, moved to be a protective barrier and covered in dust and soot. Crawling out of the pile of scattered rubble, Roy briefly stretched his wings needingly, then peered warily over the shattered wall.
There he was. Vanuto the dragon sped towards the grounded Smashers, outmatching all of them in immense size. They boldly faced the pale-white creature with silvery hair and glowing crimson eyes, but Roy knew that before long, it would be a losing battle. Against his wishes, he would have to be the one to stop him.
But he had something else on his mind at the moment. He had two friends to save, if there was still time. The Smashers could hold out until then.
Roy worked quickly, nibbling at his wrist-bounds, then clawing at his ankle and tail wraps. Once he was free, he pulled his tunic together to hide his weak spot, then stood rigid atop the Tower, glancing out to the west. That's where the Flammorian Mountains were, across the Pacific Ocean, in some uncharted area of Southeast Asia. And there was an eastern wind present to carry him there.
With his new resolve, Roy crouched, outstretching his wings to their fullest length. Then, after taking a deep breath of anticipation, he leaped into the air gracefully and let the winds carry him on their breath. Curving his body and limbs in an aerodynamic way, Roy shut his eyes fleetingly and reveled in the feeling of his hair, clothes, and tail billowing about in the winds' dance. He laughed happily at the sense of freedom as he shifted his weight and performed a few barrel rolls without a care in the world. Never had he experienced anything like this as a human, and boy, was it exhilarating.
He opened his eyes and was surprised to see the ocean far below him, tiny islands dotting the tapestry of blue here and there. How far up in the atmosphere was he? Hundreds of miles? Thousands of miles? He could've seen the whole world from up here!
But not the way he was going. As he continued to glide, he noticed his altitude dropping slightly, bit by bit, as the water below grew closer and closer. If he didn't act quickly, he'd hit the water, and if he couldn't swim so well as a human, then there was no way he'd be able to pull it off in the body of a dragon.
With much concentration and some strain, Roy felt the muscles at the base of his wings contract and rotate the bones in their sockets, and he heard the mighty sound of his wings flapping. Instantly, he regained altitude, flowing above the sparkling waters. Realizing this, Roy grinned at his sense of accomplishment and did a few more rolls. For a moment, he lost all thoughts and concerns to the wonderful sensation of flight.
But as the coast appeared over the horizon, he remembered his original goal and approached the Flammorian Mountains once they came into sight. Opposed to what he heard, these formations were green and lush with temperature-tolerant foliage. Roy frowned inwardly; this was going to be tougher than he thought.
He flew in lower, eagle eyes scouting for any signs of his two lost buddies. But he didn't have to search far before he crossed a canyon and spotted movement on the northern cliff. His sight pierced through the thick mists to see two humanoid figures, a blonde and cobalt, submerged in a mess of vines that were curved around them like greedy fingers, tinted with red. Both appeared to be weak, non-moving. Roy was curious as to why, and that's when he remembered what Vanuto had called those plants.
Deadly Strangle plants.
Grimacing in realization, Roy felt a hot sensation burning deep within his being rose into his throat as he dived for them.
----------
Link had given up against this death trap a long time ago, but was somehow still alive, as if the plant had the sick mind to let him stew in his grave. All the elf could do was lean against the tree and observe the sting of all his open wounds, made worse by my chokehold the vines held on his body, sucking the life out of him like a parasite. It wouldn't be long before he was drained completely, dry as a drawn-up well.
But despite his fatal position, he kept glancing at Marth, who had lost consciousness quite a while ago. Link wanted so much to make sure he was okay, but any movement would only dig the thorns deeper into his skin and cause more ache. All seemed lost...
And that's when his Hylian ears caught the distant sound of large wings flapping against the wind, approaching at an alarming rate. Link squinted through the haze and spotted a dark blur diving right towards them, and closer it got, the more its features became clear, and a grin came to the blonde's face.
"ROY!" he cried out happily, ignoring the pain he generated from his jumpy movements.
Once Roy the dragon had gotten close enough, he stopped short of the cliff and hovered right above them. And when Link got a good look at his contorted face, he looked away in anticipation as he knew what was going to happen next.
In the next moment, Roy threw back his head, then released his explosive breath at the plants holding his friends captive. The fiery embers tore into the vines, turning them into dark ashes instantly, yet they didn't touch either Link or Marth. When the flames died down, Link felt a thump on the ground, and looked up into the scaly, purple, beaming face of Roy.
"Hey," he greeted. "Sorry it took me a while, I kinda overslept."
"..." Link gave himself a second to recover, then... "...Oh my Goddesses, ROY!" He leaped to his feet and grasped his pal's cheeks. "Is that really you?"
"The one and only. You okay?" he asked, noting the numerous wounds on his elfin friend, including the highly-noticeable one on his forehead, its clotted blood plastering his bangs close to his skin.
"I'm fine," Link shrugged it away, instead turning to a still unconscious Marth. "I'm not sure about him, though..."
The two leaned by the prince's form, examining him over for any abnormalities. Of course, like Link, he had many wounds from the Deadly Strangle plants, including a large gash across his left cheek. Yet unlike the Hylian, Marth seemed weak, the majority of his strength sapped away.
"He was probably left weak after that spell from Vanuto earlier," Link sighed inwardly, running a hand through the non-bloody side of his bangs. "That only worsened his condition..."
Scared of his friend's mortality, Roy leaned closer, his snout inches away from Marth's tranquil face. He nuzzled his pale skin, hoping to get a reaction. "Come on, Marth, wake up!"
And at last, after a few more nuzzles, Marth stirred slightly, and he gave out a small groan as he slowly began to awaken. His sapphire eyes opened ever so slightly, and as they began to focus, the first thing he awoke to was a cute dragon face, centimeters away from his own. So he did what anyone would naturally do. He screamed.
"Hey, chill out, it's Roy!" Link explained as he grabbed Marth's arm, preventing him from fleeing the scene.
Hearing this, the Alteanian prince slowly turned back to glance upon his transformed friend, a relieved smile on that scaly face. "...Roy?"
The smile grew as the redheaded dragon nodded in response. At this, the bitterness melted from Marth's face as a smile engulfed his handsome features.
"ROY!" he cried, throwing his arms around his laughing friend, who nuzzled his shoulder in return. "You're okay! We were so worried!"
"Really? Gosh, I'm touched," he chuckled. Apparently, it didn't matter what creature he was. He was still their goofy friend Roy.
Once the two broke it off, Link asked instantly, "So, what happened?"
"Did Vanuto hurt you?" Marth questioned immediately.
"Well... technically he did... But all he needed was just a sample of the pure blood, apparently."
"Wait a sec," Marth paused. "He turned you into this, just to get a sample?"
Roy thought about this, snout shifting this way and that, then he shrugged. "Yep, looks that way."
Marth only gawked at the atrocity; there was no other way he could respond to it.
"Well, anyway, he took it and infused himself with it, and now he's a dragon."
Link's angular eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
Marth's arms were thrown into the air in dismay. "Well, that's just terrific!"
"The rest of the Smashers are holding him off right now, but I don't know how much longer that will last. I came to get you 'cause Vanuto said you were sent here... And it looks like I came on time, too."
Link grinned. "So, you gonna go kick his butt now?"
Roy flinched and shrunk back slightly.
"Yeah, now that that power-crazed lunatic is a dragon, he could destroy everything!" Marth exclaimed.
Roy didn't respond to this and seemed hesitant all of the sudden, coiling back. "...I..."
Link's smile faded as Marth took a step forward. "What's wrong?"
"I..." Roy shrunk in shame. "...I can't..."
"What...?"
"I can't, I just can't!" Roy bellowed, turning away from their confused faces and perching on the edge of the mossy cliff, staring out into the misty air with deep anxiety within his ocean eyes.
"Roy..." Marth approached his side, Link on the other. "Come on, you can do it, it can't be too hard for someone like you..."
"You didn't see him transform!" Roy snapped. "He's, like, three times my size! There's no way I can fight him!" He lowered his head. "I can't, I just... can't..."
"Aw, come on, don't be that way!" Link exclaimed. "You're the only one that comes close to matching him! Only you can beat him! You have to try!"
"B-but..."
"Roy," Marth spoke softly, but sternly. "Don't say you can't, because you can. We believe in you. But you have to believe in yourself first. You have to believe that you have the strength and courage to conquer your fears and doubts."
Roy was quiet at that, only staring into the grey sky.
"It's up to you to decide that, but know that we know you can do it. Remember when your father became sick and you had to take control of the entire Pherean army? When all odds were against you, you took the chance. Just because dragon are involved now doesn't make things any different."
Roy paused in thought.
"Yeah, and beside, you're the real deal!" Link grinned. "Vanuto stole your blood in order to become a dragon, and everyone knows cheap knockoffs never win against the original!"
"We know you have the courage to do it. Do you?"
Roy glanced further up into the sky, then looked between his two friends and smiled. "...Alright."
"Alright!" Marth smiled while Link patted him on the tender shoulder. He showed his gratitude by hugging them closer with his leathery wings. And he truly was grateful, for no matter what happened, whatever the case might've been, he always had his friends beside him for comfort and motivation.
When that exchange was over, Roy crouched down and folded his wings to provide space on his back. "Hop on."
Marth and Link's eyes bulged simultaneously, a grin spreading across the latter's face. "Are you serious?"
"Well, how else are you getting home, by bus?"
"Sweet!" Link laughed as he quickly climbed on like an eager child awaiting a horsie ride. Marth, on the other hand, just stood there, frozen in... fear?
"Come on, Marth, climb abroad the DragRoy Express!"
"Ooh, no," Link cringed, shaking his head. "No, Roy, just... no."
Roy sweatdropped. "Sorry."
One could almost see Marth gulp, then he sighed and approached Roy's side, Link offering a hand and helping him up. The cobalt uneasily settled in front of the blonde, clutching Roy's clothing with white knuckles.
Roy outstretched his wings, testing the wind. "There's still an eastern wind, so I'm gonna pass through the canyon to get the speed I need to pass over the ocean," he noted to himself, turning back and giving his riders a smile. "You guys ready?"
Link leaned forward, biting his grinning lip in giddy anticipation. Marth laid fully on top of his mount, clutching tightly and shutting his eyes tighter in a more frightening anticipation.
"Here we go!"
And upon that, Roy leaped off the mossy ground and dived straight down into the canyon mists. Link whooped and hollered in excitement as if riding a roller coaster, while Marth screamed in terror as the rocky bottom of the canyon came into view when the mists parted. But Roy knew that long before and swerved upright just in time, giving a flap of his wings to maintain his speed and balance. Though Roy obviously had complete control of his flight, Marth still trembled at the close call as the wind blew his hair and torn clothes about wildly.
"WOO! Oh, man, this is SWEET!" Link howled into the air, obviously enjoying himself. He looked at Marth and noticed his tight grip on Roy's clothes and his eyes bulging in horror. "Hey, what's the matter, Marth, you don't like flying?"
The prince vigorously shook his head, burying his face in the cotton textiles in fear.
The Roy turned back and exclaimed over the wind, "You're never gonna conquer your fear unless you confront it!"
Dammit! Marth cringed as Roy caught him dead on.
The dragon gained altitude little by little as the ground grew farther away, and when he reached his top speed, Roy swept out of the canyon like a whispering leaf caught in the wind. Marth somehow felt the change in the air, and very slowly, very shakily, he uncovered his face and glanced down past his mount to realize how far they were up from the ground. The forests rolled on below them like a wooly blanket of green under the dark night sky, slightly lit up by the shining full moon. Instantly, Marth's fears began to disappear as he gazed at the world unraveling itself below him in awe, watching as they came to the Pacific Ocean, the stars gleaming off its clear surface like a moving mirror. Roy flapped his wings in a rhythmic pattern, making a wide, deep sound that rushed past their ears and seemed to cause their spirits to calm themselves, and all the other thoughts and concerns his behind the graceful feeling before them. One would assume there was no great battle coming up...
A/N: Loooooooong chaaapter... X.X (falls on Link)
Link: Ah... ouch...
Ed: She needs to stop falling unconscious.
Eliwood: Why? It's frigging hilarious!
Ed: Eh... I guess. :D
FME: NOOOOOOOO! (tackles my limp body)
Link: OOF! x.x
Roy: GASP! (takes in deep breaths of air)
Matthew: Wow, her hugs must be dangerous... Poor Link...
Eliwood: XD Anydangways, REVIEW, FOOS! (swings pimp stick)
Matthew: ...