Chapter 16
Tyroth fell again, this time bordering on unconsciousness and with his strength nearly gone, there was very little he could do. His thoughts instantly went to the possibility of going berserk, overwhelm Vulstrun that way. Become a more powerful monster than him.
But would that even be enough? Or would it even be too much?
In the end, what choice did he have?
He had no answer to that, and for a split second, he lost consciousness…
His vision was blurry as he opened his eyes, but he still recognised the depths of his own mind, as he found himself there every time that he meditated. But the question was never where he was, but rather how he ended up there at that moment.
"What's going on? How am I here? Was the fight, the things before it, just a nightmare? A warning?"
"I'm afraid that it was very much real. As am I." a dark, almost thundering voice said behind Tyroth, and that voice sent horrid shivers down the red dragon's spine as he recognised it.
Turning around, Tyroth found himself face to face with another dragon. It had wings for front legs, sharp, rugged scales of a greyish olive green colour, a leaf shaped fin at the end of the tail, a rounded crest on the head and small sail along the back.
"Hello… Dragonborn." the dragon said with an almost sinister smirk.
"Lokdrogyol!?" Tyroth exclaimed. "How is this possible?! Paarthurnax said that you would be gone! I felt how your presence faded away into nothingness!"
Lokdrogyol laughed in response, but it was not a sinister laugh, merely amused.
"The old one was wrong! To be fair, I thought the same, and for a time, oblivion was all that I experienced." the dragon focused his eyes on Tyroth, and spoke in a far more factual tone than Tyroth had expected. "But you are no true Dragonborn, no, you are very different, yet still similar enough. In short, while you have indeed claimed my soul, my power, I retain my self."
"So now what? You're gonna try and take over my body again, now that I'm weakened?!"
"Bah! You have nothing to fear from me any longer. Even if I could take control, it would do me no good at this moment. I am a part of you now. We are intertwined in such a way that should your soul perish, I too will face that fate."
"He speaks the truth." another voice spoke, and Tyroth recognised this one as well.
It was a dragon of classical European design, with four legs, wings on the back, elongated neck. The scales were emerald green, covering all of the slim, yet muscular body, and the eyes almost shone with a brightly green.
"Thaenia?" Tyroth almost stammered.
"Hello, Tyroth. It has been a while." she said with a warm smile.
"What's going on? How is this, any of this, even possible?"
"I did tell you that I would always watch over you all when last we spoke. But my being here is not all my doing, but yours."
"I don't understand..."
"Several times in the past, you have used your powers to help others visit the afterlife. This has given you a connection to it, allowing me to reach you here in your mind." Thaenia explained. "It is how I returned to you in your time of need before."
"Save the chatter for some other time, we have a battle to fight." Lokdrogyol interrupted.
"I'm afraid that he's right. While the time here might pass slower than out there, we are still short on time." Thaenia agreed.
"Hold on, 'we'?" Tyroth asked with a raised eye ridge.
"Yes, that is the reason that we both are here for." Thaenia began.
"In short, we have come to aid you, Dragonborn."
"We know that you were about to let your rage take over."
"A fine idea, but the timing could be better."
"Instead, we offer you another option to use before resorting to such extremes."
"And what is that option?" Tyroth asked. "Vulstrun is stronger than me, so it has to be something that can trump him."
"It may be true that he has you beat in terms of raw power, but you possess several things that he does not, greater control being one of them." said Thaenia.
"And that's not all." said Lokdrogyol. "After felling me, you gained the power of the Voice, the primal form of magic that we dragons of Nirn possess. Combining that with the magic of the dragons of this world, and you possess something that is greater than the sum of its part."
"With the tools and experiences you have gained over the years, you can push past your own limits in a way you may never have thought possible. You can bring us back to life."
"What?! I can!? How!?"
"The magic you inherited from me allows you to affect the world around with your intent, your will." Thaenia explained.
"While the Voice lets you use the Words of Power, calling upon the very essence of what the words represent." said Lokdrogyol. "Use them both, and you can bring us back to the world, if only for a short time."
"But do I have the energy for it? My supply of mana is running low as it is." said Tyroth.
"We will assist you, this time, and once we have been summoned, we can maintain our presence on our own, but only for a short time." said Thaenia.
"We should still be able to give you some breathing room, and together we will crush this upstart." Lokdrogyol said with a smirk.
Yet, Tyroth lowered his head.
"Do I really have to kill him?" he asked. "I know I wanted to, after what he did, after he hurt my friends, nearly killed Sephie… but is there really no way to end this without death?"
"Bah! He's like a mad dog, and like them, he should be put down!" Lokdrogyol scoffed.
"You have a noble heart, Tyroth, but I am afraid that Lokdrogyol is right." Thaenia said. "Volstrun is a danger to everyone, and for their sake, his life is forfeit."
Tyroth sighed deeply. Deep inside, he had already known the truth, part of him just didn't want to admit it.
He couldn't afford to second guess himself now, the objective was clear, even if he didn't agree with it.
Vulstrun had to die.
... when he opened his eyes, it was with renewed will and power.
With mighty flaps of his wings, he regained control and started flying upwards again.
Magical fire coalesced in his mouth, and with a mighty roar he unleashed it all.
"DOV! RII! SLEN! LAAS!"
The fire erupted from his mouth taking the form of two dragons, only for the fire to transform into flesh and blood as the fire dragons became real, and Tyroth knew them both well.
Lokdrogyol, the Fiery Skylord of Nirn.
Thaenia Gentleheart, the last Guardian Dragon of Earth.
They roared.
"I LIVE ONCE MORE!"
"AS DO I!"
Vulstrun was completely caught off guard by the sudden appearance of two more dragons. Victory, once within his grasp just moments earlier, now seemed so much further away.
Regaining his senses just in time, Vulstrun just barely managed to avoid the snapping jaws of Lokdrogyol, yet he was still shoulder tackled and sent falling through the air before recovering. He tried to retaliate by throwing a lighting bolt at the new attacker, but was interrupted when Thaenia came at him, swiping her claws across his chest and drawing blood.
In a one on one fight, Vulstrun could hold his own, even if it had been a challenge against Tyroth, but now that he was outnumbered, the odds had shifted heavily against him. Whenever he tried to attack one of his new foes, he was besieged by the other, and when he attempted use the opening their attack gave him, the first one returned to finish what they started.
Flames erupted from the maws of the two dragon if they were too far away to engage in melee combat, and even glancing hits from their claws or fangs left nasty wounds. Normally, such wounds would heal quickly, but after the fight against Tyroth, Vulstrun was almost running on fumes, resulting in his injuries healing at a significantly slower rate, which left him vulnerable.
His only real advantage was that he was smaller, and thus quicker and more nimble than the larger dragons, but it remained uncertain if that would be enough.
Meanwhile, Tyroth was taking advantage of the brief respite, taking the time to catch his breath and let his own wounds heal a bit. But he couldn't afford to wait too long, as his allies would only remain in this world for a very limited time.
As soon as the worst pain had faded, the red dragon steered his course straight into the fight, ready to finish this war.
He quickly made his return clear to Vulstrun, by punching him across the face, knocking out a few teeth in the process. Tyroth then continued to punch, strike, kick, swipe and slash at his foe, all while the other dragons kept taking turns to attack, never giving Vulstrun any real time to retaliate.
But Vulstrun wouldn't go down without fighting back, no matter the opposing numbers. He would fight this battle to the very end. Breathing fire and firing off smaller electrical bolts, he too lashed out with every part available. Managing to hit the larger dragons a few times, his claws were however not able to cut through their thicker scales, even if they were left with long gashes all the same, they were not deep enough to matter.
As Tyroth kicked his foe in the stomach, Thaenia raked her claws across Vulstrun's back, shredding his wings and causing him to fall. Once he had fallen to a safe distance from the others, Lokdrogyol swooped in.
"FUS RO DAH!" he roared, unleashing his Unrelenting Force, the magical shout propelling the already falling Vulstrun towards the ground with even more speed and lack of control.
"Launch me!" Tyroth yelled to Lokdrogyol as the red dragon quickly landed on the larger one's tail.
"End him!" Lokdrogyol replied as he did a large somersault, flinging Tyroth at Vulstrun at an even greater speed.
Fire erupted from Tyroth's right fist, taking the shape of a dragon, as he channelled all the mana he could spare into this attack, aiming to make it the final one.
At the same time, Lokdrogyol and Thaenia both started to fade and flicker, their time in the world of the living nearing its end, but they had one final move that they could make. Unleashing the last of their energies, they both turned into jets of fire that quickly caught up with Tyroth and joined in his attack.
Now, with three dragons of pure fire around his fist, Tyroth's punch was more powerful than it had ever been.
Noticing a light above him, Vulstrun looked up and saw the burning forms of three dragons heading right for him.
"YOL DOVAH LON!" Tyroth roared right before he struck Vulstrun right in the chest.
Like a blazing meteor, the two rocketed towards the rocky island beneath them, striking it and creating a fiery explosion that dwarfed everything seen so far during the fight, a mushroom cloud accompanying it.
Back in the tunnel, the others had been keeping their distance from the exit, yet remained close enough to see what was happening, and the last explosion had them all wondering exactly what had happened.
"Good God…" Heather gasped.
"I know! I could feel the heat from that one all the way here!" said Sharky.
"What do you think, Leo?" Jack asked. "That looked pretty final to me."
"I agree. The question is; who is left standing?" the blue-masked turtle responded.
"My money is on Big T." said Raphael. "But we'd better hurry and check to be sure. There's no chance in hell that this went unnoticed by the humans."
"I'll run ahead." said Sarah as she took off, with the others following as fast as they could.
In the still searing hot crater, the ground had been turned into glass from the intense heat. Smoke and steam still rose into the air as it began to cool off.
Tyroth was laying his back, having blacked out for a brief moment after the impact. As he came to, he felt how his entire body ached, especially his right arm and hand, and that was no surprise. Not only were most of the joints dislocated, but most of the bones were either fractured or broken, with the exception of those in his hand, all of which had been shattered instead.
It was with strained grunts through clenched teeth that he pushed everything back in place, at least as best he could. Even with his healing ability at its peak, it would take time for these injuries to fully heal.
But he had other things to worry about at the moment. Despite having hit Vulstrun with that attack, with all the force behind it, he wasn't sure if it had actually done the trick or not. Forcing himself onto his feet, a task that was far harder and more painful than he'd wanted, he looked around to see if he could spot his counterpart.
Luckily, it didn't take very long to find his foe, as he was laying right in the middle of ground zero. Or to be more accurate, he was ground zero.
Clutching his nearly destroyed arm, Tyroth hurried as a quickly as he could. For if he had survived, then it was possible that Vulstrun could have as well. Once Tyroth got closer, he could see the mark his attack had left on his foe, or what was left of him.
There was a massive hole, nearly a foot and a half in diameter, straight through the chest. Lungs, heart, most of the spine and several more internal organs were all gone. The black and red eyes were noticeably duller. There was no sign of movement, no twitching fingers or eyelids, no wounds closing, the only movement were from the strings of smoke rising from the gaping hole.
Vulstrun was dead.
"Well fought… warrior…" Tyroth said in a low voice.
Knees buckling under him, the red dragon dropped to them as tears began to fall, hissing as they fell onto the hot ground.
"It didn't have to be this way…" he sobbed softly. "We gave you a chance for a new life… all you had to do was take it… you and I could have been brothers… we could have been brothers…"
Despite all that Vulstrun had done, that he deserved death, a part of Tyroth had died with him as well. Wiping his tears, Tyroth gently closed Vulstrun's eyes and placed his hands on what remained of his chest.
"May the Valkyries carry you to Valhalla, and Odin welcome you as a worthy warrior. And when Ragnarök beckons, we will face it together."
Lowering his head, Tyroth sat in silence for a while, until he noticed an all to familiar presence.
"I know that you're there." he said without even opening his eyes.
"Oh, I know. I just didn't want to disturb the funeral rites." the mysterious Fumetsu said as he materialised from fog and mist. "Though, I must say, I am a little surprised that you would show him this much compassion and respect, especially after you killed him."
Tyroth looked up and glared hard at the almost clown-like entity, actually making him flinch in response.
"I took no pleasure in this." the dragon growled. "I did what I had do."
"Indeed you did, and a deed well done. Well, I think we've both outstayed our welcome here, so we will be going now. Ta-ta!"
Dissolving into mist again, the mist quickly enveloped Vulstrun's corpse and that too vanished.
While Tyroth was happy to see Fumetsu go, he was still deeply concerned about everything that had transpired over the last few days. The threat of Vulstrun had been ended, but it was a threat they would never have had to deal with in the first place had it not been for Fumetsu.
He worried about what else this entity might bring to their world in the future, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why Fumetsu did all of this to begin with.
The dragon was however brought out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.
"Tyroth! Are you okay?!" he heard Sarah call out as the cheetah dashed up to him.
"I've been better…" he responded, and soon everyone else had managed to catch up to Sarah and join them.
"Sheesh, dude. You don't look too good right now." Michelangelo commented, only to receive a hard elbow in the side by Raphael, only for him to get slapped on the back of his head by Kate in turn.
"Where's Vulstrun?" Leonardo asked as he looked around, not seeing any trace of the golden dragon.
"Don't tell me he escaped!" said Devina.
"No… he's dead… I made sure of that… but Fumetsu took the body just moments ago…" the dragon explained.
"Just what the fuck does that clown think he's doing?" Kate asked.
"Who knows." said Jack. "But if Vulstrun's dead, then there's no reason to stay here."
"Agreed. This fight was anything but subtle." said Leonardo. "Let's head back to Mutopia before the local authorities shows up to investigate it."
As the group turned to head back to the tunnels, Sarah gave Tyroth the bottle with water they had brought with them, so that he could heal his wounds, but he declined.
"It doesn't feel right to just heal up after this…" he said, looking back to where Vulstrun's body had been. "It's… I don't know… disrespectful…"
"You really want to show that… that monster, respect?" Raphael objected.
"I can't explain it right now…" Tyroth held his head in his good hand. "There is so much going on right now… I need some time to sort it all out…"
"Then we'll help you instead." said Jack as he and Percy let Tyroth lean on them for support. "Let's move, people!"
And so, that is the end of Vulstrun. It was a hard fought battle for both parties, but with some extra help, Tyroth managed to claim victory, but it was certainly a close call.
Next time, we will follow up on what happens in Mutopia now that the threat is dealt with.