I do not own Legend of Dragoon or any of the characters.


Villude

Cade held his sword's sheath tightly, eyes scanning the horizon carefully. They had reached a barren wasteland filled with mountains, stone spires, cliffs, and volcanoes. However, there were flaming monsters in this area. The biggest volcano was known as Volcano Villude, and it was notorious for being a haven for monsters. Salamanders, Fire Spirits, which were balls of fire with a tail and arms, and Redhots, which were living humanoids made of magma. Inside the volcano itself, or any of the others making up a mountain chain with the main volcano, there were magma fish that swam through the lava. However, Volcano Villude was also rumored to be the home of a massive flaming bird aptly named the Fire Bird.

The path ahead was broken, and they had to jump to a stone pillar, then to the rest of the path. The moment they did, however, the ground began to tremble, quickly growing stronger as flames exploded into the air from the volcano, which was off tot heir right and a couple miles away.

"What is that?" Dart asked. "Is the Volcano erupting?"

"Worse," Rose said, just as the Fire Bird burst free of the volcano, its flaming wings wings beating as it rose into the air, crying out loudly. "It's Fire Bird. It's bad timing for us to show up now. We still have to deal with the dragon."

"Can we just let it go?" Dart asked.

"That's probably up to him," Cade said.

Just then, Fire Bird turned toward them, shrieking angrily as it began to rapidly approach, shrieking again as the world around them began to warm rapidly from proximity.

"He saw us!" Dart shouted. "Run!"

Everyone turned, running further along the path, toward where it entered a tunnel into the volcano. Cade glanced back at the bird as they fled, seeing it gaining. Its entire body was made of flames, with three long tail-like streams of flames, four curved wings, a rounded body, and its long neck bent forward. In total, it was horrifying. And yet, it was beautiful. He also had no idea if they could hurt it at all, as it had no physical body.

He turned back to the front as they passed into the tunnel, all of them continuing to run for a bit before finally slowing to a stop. They had reached an area with stone pathways along the sides of a massive cleft running down the center of the mountain range, lava bubbling fifty feet below them. In the distance, they could see stone paths stretching across the gap like bridges, and the paths inside the crack were broken and impassable, but with a network of tunnels they'd have to weave through in order to pass through the mountain range.

"I think we lost him," Shana said, leaning on a stone pillar to her right, the pillar being on the edge of the path.

"Good," Dart said. "Let's move on."

"We have a long way to go," Cade said, pulling his dark grey, short-sleeved shirt's collar up to wipe the sweat from his face.

They followed the path to a bridge and across it to a tunnel on the right side of the crack. The path led to a chamber over a river of lava, and they had to jump from their path to the other side before continuing. However, just as everyone but Cade had crossed, a Salamander suddenly crashed down behind him, the massive lizard entirely engulfed in flames, and a Fire Spirit rose in front of him. He swallowed hard, drawing his sword and looking between the two.

"Kill the Salamander!" Rose ordered, leaping back and slashing the Fire Spirit.

He spun instantly, darting at the Salamander, spinning aside from its attempt to bite him and split its side open the entire length of it. As he did, he glanced at Rose and the Fire Spirit, seeing her slash through it several times, the pieces drifting apart and fading. Then, he returned his attention to the Salamander in time to diver backward into a roll, a ball of fire flying over him. He rolled to his feet, then darted forward again, slashing it up across the face, his blade catching in its skull just enough to throw the front of the Salamander's body into the air before he slashed it across the underside, splitting its heart this time and killing it. As it collapsed, he turned, leaping across the gap to the others.

"Thank you," Cade said.

"You most likely could have handled it," Rose said.

"Even so," Cade said. "Thank you."

Rose didn't respond so they continue along the path. They found a fork, but Lavitz checked the right path while Dart checked the left, and Lavitz reported a dead end.

"We can go this way," Dart said. "Just have to jump another gap."

They all nodded and followed him, jumping from one stone finger to the other, then passed into that tunnel, only to stop as they walked into a solid wall of heat. Cade sighed. The chamber they were in had a lava floor barely ten feet down, and the only way across were stepping stones barely a few inches higher than the lava. Their stone ledge ended just in front of a curved stone spire like a rib, which had the first stepping stone at the bottom. However, as Cade looked around the room, he could see Magma Fish leaping over the stepping stones at random, each fish the size of his torso and burning like a Salamander. He could also guess that there would be at least one Redhot present.

"This is a terrible idea," Cade said.

"Shana, stay with me," Dart said. "Everyone else, be ready to fend off a Magma Fish if it jumps."

"We're doomed," Cade said.

The others started down the stone rib, and Cade sighed, readying his sword as he followed. The path snaked back and forth across the room as it progressed away from their tunnel toward two more, on on each side of the back wall, separated by stepping stones. The first stepping stone Cade jumped to was safe. On the second, a fish jumped and he slashed it in half. On the third, he saw Rose slash a pair ahead of him, and Lavitz batted one aside with the shaft of his spear ahead of her. On the seventh stepping stone, a Magma Fish jumped from behind him and bit into his left calf. He shouted in pain and slashed it off below the head. The fire went out instantly, for all the good that did his already-burned leg, and he carefully removed the fish's teeth from his skin, hurling the head away. He carefully jumped to the next stepping stone, only to stop as he saw Shana fall to her knees ahead of them. She was saying something, but he couldn't tell what. Then, she suddenly took off, heading for the tunnel on the right side of the cavern.

"Shana!" Dart shouted. "Where are you going!?"

He took off after her, and Lavitz and Rose after them. Cade grimaced, following them as best he could while only barely able to support his weight on his left leg, and eventually reached the tunnel, sighing and following it. However, just as he stepped out of it, he sucked in a breath and stopped. Ahead of them, there was what looked like a statue sticking out of the water. Its left arm had clawed fingers resting on the stone walkway that extended partway into the massive chamber, about four feet above the lava, and the thing's misshapen head stuck out of the lava at an angle. It had a pair of horns extending from the back corners of its head which reached up and back before curving backward, each with what looked like a thin spine reaching off the sides of them. The center of its head had a raised section with a stone sphere-like object almost the size of Cade's torso set into the center with three smaller ones to either side of it.

"Is that alive?" Dart asked.

"Looks like a stone statue," Lavitz said as Dart walked toward its hand.

"Don't go near it!" Shana cried out instantly, pale and panicked. "I feel...something's wrong."

Cade glanced at his leg, then readied his sword, swallowing hard. "I can feel that thing's life. It's not dead."

"He's right," Rose nodded. "Listen to Shana. This Virage is still alive."

Cade looked at her in confusion. "How do you..."

"Virage?" Dart asked.

"You don't know about it?" Rose asked. "Okay, I'll explain it to you. You know about the Dragon Campaign, right? The Winglies were outnumbered, so they used this creature called a Virage as their trump card in the war. Just as Humans used Dragons, Winglies used Virage."

"We need to leave, now," Cade said. "This thing is on level with a dragon."

"I thought the Dragon Campaign was over eleven thousand years ago," Shana frowned. "How can this still be alive?"

"If we stay much longer, you'll be able to ask it yourself," Cade said, staring at the thing as it began to stir slowly. "Its waking up."

"How do you know?" Rose asked.

"My mother was sensitive," Cade said. "I am too, though less so."

Just then, the ground began to shake, the Virage's fingers wiggling as it began to regain their use. Then, it began to rise from the lava, which fell from it, splashing back down on itself as the Virage rose.

"I would say it's due to a hatred of Humans," Rose said. "Or a vendetta against us Dragoons."

"Us Dragoons?" Cade asked, gaping at her. "You're all Dragoons!?"

"Only Dart and Rose," Lavitz said.

"We've gotta settle this," Rose said, gripping her sword.

"Or let's run!" Dart said.

"Too late!" Cade said, just as the stone spheres on the center of its head all opened like eyelids, revealing green spheres.

The central one instantly shone as a layer of solidified ash covering the Virage shattered and fell away, The Virage dragging itself up onto the stone with them. Cade felt a small flash of relief. It was wounded. Its left arm was intact, but its right was snapped off, and it was missing both legs, instead having a pair of green growths. Its horns were also broken and one was missing.

The others all backed away from it rapidly and Cade swore, not bothering to try and run away. His leg wouldn't have allowed it anyway. Instead, he charged at a fast hobble.

"Cade, no!" Dart shouted as the Virage turned on Cade.

The spots on its forehead began to shine blindingly and Cade hurled himself to the side just before a massive beam of energy exploded where he'd been, hurling him. Shana ran toward him instantly, firing arrows at the Virage that stabbed into it seemingly harmlessly, then knelt, holding out a bottle of faintly-glowing blue liquid. He accepted it and drank it instantly, his injuries hissing and steaming, fading rapidly as Lavitz and Rose both charged, Lavitz slashing the Virage's head with his spear before Rose slashed its arm, knocking it upward as it swiped at Lavitz, making it miss. A moment later, Dart leapt into the air and slashed downward across its face, the Virage shrieking in pain.

As soon as Cade was healed, he shoved himself up and grabbed his fallen sword. "Aim for the green things on the front of its head."

Shana nodded, adjusting her aim, and he sprinted forward, stepping past Rose in time to slash downward and take the Virage's arm off at the elbow, the wide, flat forearm spinning past him and crashing into the cliff face behind them. The Virage let out a high, pained shriek, rearing back before the things Cade assumed were its eyes, despite the two rectangular openings in its head to either side of the eyes, shone. Its head swung back down toward Lavitz and it fired, Lavitz managing to avoid the blast, rolling back to his feet after diving out of the way. Then, its eyes began to shine again. Shana put several arrows into them and it shrieked in pain, recoiling, only for the blast to hit the roof of the cavern above them, several massive chunks of debris being blasted free.

Cade, having realized that Rose was charging directly under the blast point, sprinted at her, tackling her to her left just in time for the debris to crash down where she'd been, a chunk the side of a head crashing into his back on the left side and breaking several ribs on that side, along with his shoulder blade. He crashed to the ground, screaming in agony, and Rose pushed herself up, looking between him and the Virage for a moment before standing.

This time, a small sphere of darkness appeared in front of her chest, purple lightning bolts flashing off of it for a moment, before expanding and swallowing her. Her silhouette glowed white inside of it for a moment, rotating slowly, before the sphere shrunk to smaller than a fist before bursting in a blinding light, leaving Rose behind. She now wore dark blue-purple armor with a pair of sections hanging on either side of her hips, boots, black pants, a red gemstone in her armor's chest, red knee guards, a red glow from her shoulder guards, gauntlets, and a pair of wings. They had red along the top edge, the same kind of blue-purple armor under that in a thin strip, then a rounded end with a spike at the top, then translucent green feather-like webbing sections attached to the rounded sections, forming the main section of the wings. Her rapier had also changed, the guard expanding into a scaled pattern with a point at the bottom and red along the back of the blade for about six inches from the base.

She took off instantly, streaking through the air to the Virage and slashed it as she passed, then swung around and slashed it again, then again, and again. Finally, she slashed it downward and a pulse of pure darkness exploded from her blade in a sphere, sending the Virage reeling backward, shrieking in agony. Then, it was Dart's turn. He now had wings like Rose's but with his armor entirely red with a green gemstone in the center of his chest, and his sword's blade now had a rounded section just above the guard with a section of the hilt's red metal now reaching up onto the sides of the blade in an oval, a green gemstone set into the hilt at the base of the blade, and his headband now had eight green gemstones like eyes spread over it.

Dart tore into the Virage's head as quickly as Rose had before stabbing the Virage and ripping his sword upward and out, an explosion of flames going off where he'd stabbed the Virage. He landed, blinding white light shining from the stone in his chest plate before he transformed back to normal. He charged instantly, slashing the Virage across the base of its body, sending it skidding backward before leaping and slashing it across the face, sending it over the edge of the stone and back into the lava. It began to shriek and rage as it sank, its amputated arm slamming down in the lava and splashing it up at them, though the lava didn't quite reach them.

"It's dangerous here," Lavitz said. "Let's go back."

Rose nodded, now in her human form again, kneeling beside Cade and helping him to his feet, helping him support his weight on his good side as they headed back toward the tunnel. Cade glanced at Shana, who seemed to have collapsed at some point and was staring at the ground in silence, seeing Dart walk over to get her. He helped her up and her legs nearly buckled, only for he and Lavitz to catch her, helping her walk.

"Are you alright?" Dart asked, Shana nodding weakly.

Rose paused, looking back at the Virage as it slowly sank, only for Cade to tug lightly on her shoulders.

"It's dead this time," Cade said. "Come on. Let's catch up to the others."

Rose nodded silently, walking after the others with him. When they caught up to the others, Lavitz handed him another healing potion and Cody drank it, instantly groaning as he felt his broken bones shifting under his skin, fusing back together weakly. Once it had settled, Rose used her sword to cut his shirt off, then ripped it into strips and used it to bind his ribs tightly to keep them shifting, and also to sling his arm to support his weight without stressing his ribs.

"Thank you," Cade said. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" Rose asked. "You're the one that got hit. You got me out of the way."

"Good," Cade sighed, tilting his head back against the stone wall behind him.

"Are you alright?" Lavitz asked.

"I'll be fine," Lavitz said.

"I'm sorry," Shana said. "If I hadn't run off toward it, you wouldn't have been hurt."

"It's alright," Cade smiled. "What's done is done. I don't blame you. That thing just got lucky where it blasted the cavern's ceiling, and I chose to make sure Rose wasn't hurt. None of that was your fault."

Shana nodded, smiling, and Cade grunted, pushing himself up, then sighed, drawing his sword in his right hand.

"Shall we?" Cade asked. "The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can find somewhere nice and cool to rest."

"True," Dart nodded. "Alright, let's go."

They followed the tunnel a ways, back across the room with stepping stones across the lava, then through that tunnel until they reached the same section they had to jump across a gap the second time for. Once again, the path was just a bunch of broken stone spikes sticking out of the walls, the jagged remains of roads, but across the short gap between theirs and the one they had to get to, there was a stout man with a blue vest, purple pants, a gold necklace and a red and yellow hat with the yellow and red alternating in triangles, for each.

"Hey!" the man shouted, hanging from the side of the stone cliff by his backpack. "Help me!"

"Over there," Cade said, pointing with his sword.

"Hang on!" Shana called, Dart and Lavitz going to help the man up.

"Phew!" the man sighed, standing and bending forward at the waist to catch his breath. "Thanks! Really! I didn't think I would make it!"

"It was good luck we were coming by when we were!" Shana said.

"Yeah, thanks!" the man said. "I can't thank you enough, but please, at least take this!" He held out a small pin with a sapphire in it, from which Cade could sense some kind of magic.

"Oh don't!" Shana said. "We can't accept such an expensive gift!"

"Yes, you have to!" he said. "You folks saved my life! I'll feel bad if you folks don't take it!"

"Take it," Dart said. "Once decided, it's hard to take it back. It's a man thing."

Shana sighed. "Well, thank you."

"I'm Dabas, of Lohan," the man introduced himself as Shana pinned the gift onto her shirt on one side. "I was told I could find a Burning Gem around here so I came all the way out here, and look what happened to me! By the way, I'm an antique dealer. If you happen to be in Lohan, why don't ya drop by? Later!"

He turned, walking away, and they all watched him go in silence.

"He's funny," Shana said.

"Come on," Cade sighed. "If I've been keeping track of where we are right, we should be clear of the volcanoes in a little bit further."

The others all nodded and they walked after Dabas, passing through a short tunnel into the interior of a volcano with a stone path along the wall to their left to the opposite tunnel. The edges of the path were broken, and there were cracks across it here and there, but it was currently free of monsters, which Cade was exceptionally happy they hadn't run into many of, so they all turned to follow the path in silence. Cade looked down at the lava, feeling his skin beginning to tingle. His eyes widened slowly just before an image of Fire Bird flashed through his mind.

"Shit!" he swore, staggering away from the edge.

At the same moment as everyone spun toward him, the lava suddenly erupted into the air, reaching high above their path before splattering back down around them, filling both the path behind them, and the tunnel ahead of them in flames. Fire Bird hovered in the air over the gap, shrieking angrily at them. Out of the corner of his eye, Cade saw Rose glance at him before drawing her sword, the others all readying themselves as well.

"Can we get to the exit?" Dart asked.

"No!" Shana said. "It's blocked!"

"Then we have to fight!" Dart said.

Fire Bird shrieked an acceptance of the challenge, then dropped, splashing back into the lava before once again bursting out of it, this time with four balls of burning rock floating around him. Almost as soon as he reappeared, all of them moved to fight. Shana fired several arrows at it, but they burned away as soon as they stabbed into it, stopping as though it were solid. However, despite finding their mark, Fire Bird had no reaction to them.

"Focus on the rocks!" Rose shouted, slashing.

Fire Bird shrieked, recoiling, only for Dart to pass her and slash it across the torso. Then Lavitz passed, spinning in a circle and slashing it with his spear before stabbing it, instantly ripping it free and leaping backward before his spear could burn. Cade moved to pass Lavitz, only for Fire Bird to shriek angrily, flapping its wings. A wave of heat slammed into him like a solid wall, spreading a first-degree burn over his entire body's front half before hurling him. The others, all having been further back, weren't hurled by the attack, and Dart and Rose were barely affected at all. However, just as Cade landed, the ground below them all began to glow cherry red, brightening rapidly.

Everyone scattered instantly, and barely escaped the building explosion before it went off, hurling everyone but Cade, who had been just far enough to withstand the concussion. He sprinted forward again and Fire Bird shrieked, flapping its wings again and sending the two stones Shana hadn't been able to shatter flying at him. He narrowed his eyes, slashing carefully and splitting both in half just as they began to glow, allowing the two halves to explode the same way the ground had somewhere behind him.

Fire Bird shrieked angrily and drove its beak at him, only for him to spin past it, slashing and feeling his sword meet as much resistance as if he were fighting a physical enemy, not one made of fire. Fire Bird shrieked in pain, recoiling and Cade slashed it across the stomach before diving backward as its tails lashed outward at him, missing him by a hair's breadth. Then, Fire Bird shot into the air. Cade stood, looking up just as Fire Bird began to spin, its body seeming to grow even hotter as it began to descend.

"Move!" Dart shouted, everyone diving away just before the massive flaming creature exploded into the ground, the ground around it exploding into a wave of lava instantly, which they only barely avoided.

Cade stood as the lava rapidly cooled, Fire Bird bursting from the lava below their path once again. Once again, it was accompanied by flaming balls of stone, but this tie the moment it was hovering over their path again, it sent them streaking at the four close-range fighters. Cade managed to slash his, and Lavitz avoided his, but when Dart was hit in the chest by his, he crashed into Rose before hers exploded against the ground beside them both. Dart bounced and rolled away from her, and Fire Bird flew forward instantly. Rose turned to flee, only for one of Fire Bird's tails to grab her left leg, yanking her backward. Then, it was over. All three coiled around her, heating up rapidly as Rose shrieked in pain, struggling to free herself.

Just as Fire Bird pulled his head back, Cade slashed its tails off, all three going out in and instant, then spun, slashing it across the torso. It recoiled, shrieking, and he pursued it, slashing again and again, his blade tearing through it over and over. Finally, it flapped its wings, sending a wall of hot air into him again just as Shana hurled a shining white crystal. The crystal shattered on the ground below Fire Bird, and suddenly, the air around it came alive with ice spikes, which grew larger each time one impaled the great beast. It shrieked in pain an rage, unable to even move as the rain of frozen spears tore into it, most spikes shattering when another hit it, but some remaining. Finally, the spikes stopped and Fire Bird hovered in the air for a moment before falling to the ground. It crashed down hard enough to shake the ground, and the ice spears all shattered at the same time as Fire Bird went out like a match in the wind, vanishing within a second.

Cade sighed, laying back and trying to ignore the agony of the blisters covering him, or the fact that a couple of his ribs were broken again. He was starting to think maybe it wasn't such a good idea to travel with Dragoons.

"Are you alright?" Shana asked.

"I've been better," Cade said. "Good job. Kinda wish we started with that."

"I forgot I had it," Shana said, smiling apologetically before handing him another healing potion. "Here. Drink this."

He complied, grimacing as the burning, awful fluid slithered down his throat. However, once it had, his burns and ribs itched, then numbed. Then, it faded, along with the pain of his burns and most of the pain of his ribs.

"How do I look?" Cade asked, looking to Lavitz.

"I think the blisters were an improvement," Lavitz said.

Cade laughed, then groaned as his ribs flared. "Fuck you Lavitz." He pushed himself up, retrieving his fallen sword. "Are you alright, Rose?"

"I'll live," Rose said curtly, tossing a potion bottle of her own aside, her own injuries completely healed, from what he could tell by only seeing her left leg.

Cade nodded and looked around, seeing the flames blocking their path had died down and the lava had cooled. "Well, since we've now killed two gigantic monsters in this place, shall we finally find somewhere cool to rest?"

"Yes, please," Shana nodded.

The others also agreed and they continued on their way, walking for a couple of hours before stopping to set up camp for the night under a chunk of rock jutting up from the ground, far from any lava and with a nice light breeze blowing through.


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