Nobody smoked yet the room was filled by it, a misty haze clinging to the legs of silent bystanders, unwilling to let themselves be heard lest they draw the attention of those that deem themselves superior. In the centre stood a young man, fifteen or sixteen years of age, his black hair matted with sweat under the gaze of the dragon. Said dragon of the east was pacing back and forth slowly on the small raised platform that he sat his plastic chair throne on, his hands folded behind his back, his voice silent as his second in command and the boy's captain interrogated him.
Lung didn't employ capes as his lieutenants, Oni-Lee was a man on a simple mission: he was to kill those who wanted to endanger the dragon and his domain for whatever reason and see that they decided to reconsider their course of action. Instead, the commander was one of his most trusted friends from before they all became refugees, the two men shared the same ambition to control their destinies, to oppose whatever institute in life wanted to rule them. It was by chance that people flocked to them when they started to gain more and more influence over the eastern area of Brockton Bay. Soon Lung had swallowed the entire eastern Bay into his gang.
"You were working at your parents' diner when the girl took shelter inside of it." The captain circled the boy, his middle-aged face littered with small scars and burn wounds, a veteran of the yakuza. The boy nodded, not allowed to speak as the interrogation continued.
"And Armsmaster entered the shop and you, in your ignorance, decided to inform him, the enemy, that she's the one they're after. Why didn't you force her to stay and come meet our honourable dragon?" The boy tried to protest but found his breath stolen away by the gut punch his captain inflicted upon him.
Silence reigned as the audience watched the spectacle. Lung finally turned to face the ensemble of captains and thugs.
"A child is still a child, do not expect a man's thoughts to fill a child's mind. Personal vengeance must also not come before the whole, such trivial pursuits are worthless, but staining the honour of one stains the honour of us all. Let this be a lesson, think before you act!" His piece said, he returned to his room, leaving his second in command to handle the punishment of the youngster.
The second in command was older than the dragon, his years of mistreatment, backstabs and low points hardening him into a ruthless, unyielding man. Still, resources were scarce in the dying town and finding willing gang members was becoming harder as time went on, throwing people away would never be an option.
His voice was rough, years of smoking and a gunshot wound left him with a slow speech. "The dragon has spoken, as foolish as your actions have been, nothing that can't be gained has been lost. You say you know who she is?" The boy nodded. "You'll tell your captain, he'll tell me. I'll be deciding on what to do against her. All she has done was put a young recruit on the ground, but what we've done is not the same. Identities for capes are everything, if we touch her family, we will be asking for her to fight us and we would lose a lot of men. Men we do not have." He stood up from the floor of the dais Lung had been stalking prior. His ceremonial sword clasped in both hands; the ebony sheath reflected the light from the fire pit.
"Last night she and the Undersiders attacked an E88 casino, in the exchange she killed one of their capes. The monster known as Crusader is no more, but this won't go unanswered from the fascist. We'll be waiting for them to move before striking on our own." The air was heavy with his revelation. The more established and networked captains knew of the altercation, the younger and often more bold ones were instead surprised by the revelation.
"The Undersiders have become bolder in their assaults, keep your territories safe, we can not afford to look weak to anyone in the city. If something happens at your bases you are to call immediately, the dragon has a personal interest in facing the dragon slayer." A Cheshire grin adorned his face as he thought about the teenaged villains and what he had planned for them, his scarred eye twitched as he informed the gang of their instructions.
He turned back to the dais, a solitary foot resting on it, the dragon would never let anyone stand on the platform he ruled over, but often overlooked it when it came to his second in command, the display of power from the man let the audience knew that he was the one trusted by the dragon.
He turned to face them, a simple wordless instruction let the boy and his captain walk to the door of his small office. The grin was replaced with a thin-lipped, steely expression as he loomed over the rest of the members. "Unity in strength!" His voice boomed out.
"Strength in unity!" The captains returned. The assembly shuffled out, no one saying a word as the hundred or so men of varying ethnicities and ages returned to their homes.
He turned to follow the two to his office.
"Lord Falcon," The captain started, waiting for the second in command to seat himself on the straw mat before seating himself and the young man.
Before he could speak further the man interrupted him with a raised hand. "Captain Ox, you must be glad that the dragon isn't willing to kill students for their transgressions. As he said, we should not expect the decisions of a man to come from a boy. This does not mean that if the boy has the foresight of a man that they should be ignored, no, we should see that our youngest learn to think before they act, the youthfulness of their years are to be used for deeds that see us prosper."
"Yes, Lord Falcon, I understand. The boy's name is Shang-Huang, his friends call him Shan. His parents are supporters of the cause." The boy had his head bowed low, showing recognition for his commander and captain.
Only the captains, commander and the dragon were allowed to speak inside the building. Discipline was expected from the gang and only those trusted by the dragon and his Falcon were to talk, lest the discussion devolve into a rabble that would waste all of their time.
"So, Captain Ox, who is the dragon slayer?" The captain was well prepared and resourceful, the small leather suitcase he had with him opened to a two-page document, in the top right corner the picture of a young teenager with curly black hair looked at the room with disdain. The second page had a balding man with glasses, dressed in a striped shirt. His gaze was nonchalant and bored.
"Shang-Huang says her name is Taylor Herbert, fifteen years old. Father is Danny Herbert, hiring manager at the dockworker's union. No mother." The Falcon read the pages at a relaxed pace. Ox was a capable man as his years in the gang left him with a keen understanding of how the group operated and what the two leaders expected from their captains.
"The dragon and I agree that the unity of our clan must be held by only accepting those discriminated by the Americans. The most western hold, controlled by captain Goat, is home to a large number of Mexican and black families and they defend their homes with great bravery and ferocity against the Empire menace." The pages found themselves laying on the table next to them as the Falcon continued.
"Capes are not the same, if the dragon deems a cape worthy of joining, then it doesn't matter what race they are. The dragon hunter has been in the sights of Lung for weeks now, a new cape for the Unity would help to bolster our strength even more." The boy, Shang-Huang, was shivering and sweating as the second in command of the Azn Bad Boys, indirectly blamed him for messing with the dragon's plan.
"We had a perfect opportunity with her seeking shelter in the south-end mall, if someone's anger didn't lead them into revealing her to her pursuers. We had Monkey and Goat in the building even before the PRT had found her. We were just waiting for them to disappear before asking her to join us." He left out that they were unsure how she would have responded to the gang trying to recruit her, but if nothing was ventured then nothing would be gained.
Silence stretched the room's atmosphere to the limit, the shallow breaths of Shang-Huang echoing against the walls of the small office, his breaths shortening as the boy faced his first foray into gang politics and his first-ever meeting with a superior. His hyperventilating was interrupted by captain Ox slamming his calloused hand on the boy's back. "Shan, relax."
The captain turned his face to look at the Falcon, waiting for the man to dish out the punishment.
"Ox, there isn't much that can be done to save the situation." He turned to Shan, the ebony sheath of the sword raising the boy's face to meet the Falcon's eyes. "You will apologize to the dragon in person but remember to be brave, there is no place for cowards here. But don't be stupid either, costly mistakes will accumulate into us failing as a group." A brown eye turned to the captain.
"Captain Ox, see that the family is un-harassed by the government, they are under our protection after all. Have Huang do some intense menial labour, the park at north-end needs to be cleaned again and I hope that I don't have to remind you that we're stronger in unity, his burdens are the burdens of his friends as well." Ox agreed, there wasn't much point in standing alone in one's faults, if the group can learn from the mistakes of one then it would cut out unnecessary suffering.
The Falcon stood; the boy was pushed by his captain to follow the man. The door to the dragon's room was intricate in design, the visage of a five footed dragon engraved in silver on the heavy, red-painted, hardwood door. A quick rap of the Falcon's knuckles indicated that he was entering.
Lung stood over his table, maps were strewn about as he inspected the small domain of his group, from the squaller of the eastern end to the richer side of the northwest close to downtown. He was shirtless, the same five footed dragon tattooed in great detail on his back, tough denim covered his legs and combat boots covered his feet. The silvery dragon mask he wore sat on the table next to him.
"The boy is here to apologize," Falcon announced, he turned to whisper in the ear of the young man, aware that the Parahuman could hear them. "Don't say a word."
The silver-painted mask was slowly picked up by the muscular gang leader and with practised ease, slid the visage of the east back on his face. Lung's anger always burned beneath the surface, and smoke wafted off him as he turned to regard the two unpowered members of the gang, the highest accompanying the lowest.
Falcon shoved the boy forward, he barely retained his balance as he stared at the dragon, his first time being near the uniter of their little discordant world. He bowed deeply, and feeling that it wasn't enough for the man that saved his family from poverty and ruin, dropped to his knees to grovel.
Lung hoisted the boy up, the smouldering hand wrapped around the blue bandanna around his neck, the heat of the dragon's hand marking it with black prints. The dark eyes of Lung peered at the boy, waiting for him to whimper and beg forgiveness, but true to the words the Falcon had given him, stayed silent and met the gaze of a man that could tear him in half.
"Stand." Lung ordered; the boy kept his feet beneath him as the dragon walked around him, inspecting the cheap jacket and blue denim he wore.
"Shit happens, plans change, and we adapt. We must stand strong together or we will die in this world." Done with his inspection the dragon turned to stand two steps away from the boy, his back turned as if to dismiss the man.
Shang-Huang dropped his shoulders, a mistake as the dragon turned towards him in a flash of fire and heat.
"But letting personal grudges guide your life stains your mind, and makes us look weak!" Lung covered the two steps in a single bound, his outstretched palm striking the man and catching him in the air, the hand burning the shirt holding the boy in the air. The fabric began to smoulder, smoke wafting to float between the two.
"Do not let your emotions control your mind! Find a way to repay what you have stolen from us, your brothers, or leave. Apologies do nothing but convey false words, action is required." Lung let the man drop to the ground. He strode over to his desk, smoke wafting off his skin as he returned to the map of Brockton, his mask finding the spot it had been mere moments prior.
"Do not be rash, and leave the girl alone. Repay me with something greater than what I have lost." The Falcon pulled the man to his feet and escorted him outside to the waiting gang of his captain.
[/]
I scrambled awake, the action startling one of Rachels dogs laying nearby. The bark grabbed the attention of the four other teens in the room. Only Brian and Lisa scrambled their way over, concerned for my well-being, Rachel and Alec sat and watched from afar, too busy enjoying their lunch and coffee to care about me, an injured teammate.
My chest felt like it had been dunked in acid and forgotten before being placed back inside. Long stretches burnt as I took in a rush of air, coughing as my chest convulsed under the pressure, the burn travelling everywhere as oxygen pounded against lungs that had been punctured less than twelve hours ago. Blood erupted from my mouth as the last bit of my internal bleeding expelled itself, the fluid dripping onto the red plates of my armour, my suit still clung to me after I fell unconscious last night.
I heaved to, fighting against the pain as the two older teens came to stand beside me, Lisa was on her knees next to me as she helped me sit straight. Brian was behind the couch, holding me steady as I took another handful of shuddering breaths.
"Hey Taylor," The blond gripped my armoured hand, pulling on it to get my attention. "You need to get out of your armour, we need to get you cleaned up before you can rest again." I scrunched my heavy eyes and blinked away the fog covering my mind, I needed to focus on the present and not the horrifying events of last night.
The armour disappeared slowly into smoke that wafted upwards and slowly phased out of existence, the usual speed of my transformation stalled as I slowly focused on changing out of my breaker state to let the two teens help me. With blurry vision I stared down at the rags I wore, two holes in the front, one above my right breast and the other below my left. Their accompanying holes itched on my back, invisible to my view.
Blood caked my shirt, sticking to my skin as Lisa and Brian helped get it off of me. Their hands dipping back and forth from the two first aid kits sitting at their feet, the cotton swabs and disinfection alcohol stinging as they rubbed it against the tender scar tissue that formed with my regenerative potion. The potion that had saved my life and would save the lives of others in the future, I hoped.
It stung, I let out several hisses as the two went about cleaning my wounds, the alcohol seeping into the wounds and clearing them of any bacteria that might have decided to infect me while I was resting on a dirty couch in a dirty room, in a villain base.
"We don't kill capes," Brian started, he was swiftly interrupted by the blond rubbing alcohol in my wounds.
"Not now Brian, the girl just woke up. She's barely cognizant as is, so whatever you say will go in one ear and out the other." He huffed, aware of my condition but still trying to impart a lesson on me. I tried to cling to my consciousness but it evaporated as a massive pit formed in my stomach, demanding attention, I didn't have the power to fight it, instead, I succumbed to the dreams of better days and child wonders.
[/]
When I woke again it was to the scrunching howl of my stomach, it twisted again and demanded that I provide something. The room was dark, the sunlight gone, waiting for the next morning to appear again.
My footing was unsure as I stood, the chill in the room sending a shiver through me as I stumbled my way to the fridge. It swung open, the cold air making my hairs stand on end as I scrounged together whatever found the interest of my blurred sight. Cold meats, cheese, drinks. I stuffed my mouth as I ate my fill. My stomach protested the action, demanding I slow down. I felt sick but better now that I had eaten, I nursed an unsweetened ice tea as I sat in the darkness, waiting for my senses and perception of time to return to me.
My midnight binge must have awoken Rachel as she shuffled her way over to me, Brutus, I think, yawning with her as she made her way over. She didn't say anything, but proceeded to dive into one of the cupboards, retrieved a box of medication and slammed it in front of me.
"Drink. Slowly." She yawned the words out, her feet shuffled back to the door leading to her room. She turned to stare at me as I struggled to pop open the box containing the meds. She didn't offer assistance as she waited for me to finish opening the container. I finally got the latch to give and I was glad the pain meds didn't jump everywhere, six blurry ovals sat in my hand, I popped them in my mouth and with a swig of my tea downed them. Rachel turned and left, Brutus following after her.
Time passed, it felt like an instant that stretched on for hours, but the digital clock of the television finally ticked over to six and Lisa's door opened to the yawning of the girl in her pink and purple pyjamas.
"Hey. You look like shit." I guess I would after being stabbed; twice. I grunted back, not trusting my voice to hold as I nursed the empty bottle of unsweetened tea.
"Come on, let's get you into the shower." She took my hand gently and led me to her ensuite bathroom. The heat of the water penetrating deep into my weary muscles as it rolled over my skin, grabbing the red stains of caked blood and dragged them into a bleeding river as the water slowly washed away the terror of a night.
[/]
"Are you insane?" Victoria shouted over the wind blasting past us, her usual skirt, top and leggings replaced with more resistant material of what I assumed to be Kevlar and fire-retardant coating, thick inner padding made her look bigger than her slim body usually portrayed.
"What? No, this is normal." I shouted back to her, I had just recovered from my injuries and had to ease the call of the hunt, the pit in my stomach from two days prior had kept me awake at night, preventing me from resting. What she was referring to was the speed at which we flew westwards from the bay, my rocket-powered flight pushing me faster and faster as we went on.
We were about forty miles west of Brockton and I decided that this would be an optimal spot to start the hunt, I dropped down and Vicky followed as I again fought my powers to land slowly and safely. Valstrax's ambush tactics made the descent perilous if I didn't control it. Dirt blew skywards as my crimson flares blasted it away to halt my landing, the flames cut off to drop me last few feet to the ground.
Vicky's elegant, floaty flight, landed her next to me as I turned to look at her closely. Her hair was tied back into a low ponytail, a high collar jacket with long pants in camo print covered her. Sturdy gloves and thick boots isolated her extremities and thick snow-goggles adorned her face, the whole ensemble made her look as if she were going hiking in the mountains and not accompanying me in a hunt for a dangerous monster, a monster that would be unwilling to die when we met.
My hands filtered through my pocket, retrieving the key items I would be giving her to help her survive the coming onslaught. Two Hot Drinks, two Cold Drinks and a phial of red potion, the same red potion that saved my life three nights prior. I held the tressures out and dropped the contents in her hand.
"The two orange-red ones are Hot Drinks, they fight off the cold. The white ones are cold drinks, they keep you cool. The last one is a potion, drink it if you get hit and you're bleeding, it should save you from dying and going into shock." She inspected the vials with an inquisitive eye, hoisting them and peering at the contents with the help of the early morning sun.
I dismissed my armour, the smoke and flames grabbing her attention as I shifted out of the breaker state. She didn't say anything as she looked at me in my civies and no mask, not that I could make out anything on her face without my glasses. The only indication that she found something interesting was the 'hurmph' she exhaled.
A minute passed and I resummoned my armour, the red flash of flames and smoke scattering a few birds sitting in the trees close to us.
"I didn't realise the hunter was a stick and bones teenager, I shouldn't be surprised, a lot of capes aren't what they make themselves out to be."
"Coming from a flying princess that acts like a wrecking ball. No, I guess a lot of capes aren't what they appear to be at first glance."
I rummaged through my pocket, making sure that the items I needed were present, a flashbomb was the first to come to my hands, I took it and gave it to Vicky. "Throw it at their head remember."
"Let's get this started." I grabbed her hand, holding it tight as I concentrated on the pit in my stomach. Ice, cold and rending, filled my mind. A crown of thorns followed as the picture became clearer, the monster unveiled itself leaving me shivering as the name exposed itself to me.
"Velkhana, queen of ice. Smaller than Valstrax, a bit larger than Kushala. Just as angry as the others." Fire beats ice, thunder flows through water, crimson energy smashes everything. I could take her without too much problem, but having a companion with me would make it more interesting.
"Ice, okay that means the hot drink, I'm glad that I've got some extra padding in here or I'd be freezing in minutes." Vicky rambled, her excitement audible as she retrieved the phial of orange-red, I halted her waste of resources with a solid grip on her.
"Yes, it's the hot drink, but we've got to find the beastie first." Her eyebrow raised to question me.
"Find it? Girl, it's your monster, aren't you supposed to know where it is." I raised an arm in the southern direction, a gust of wind sent me skywards and crimson rockets propelled me forwards at a sedate pace to let the heroine catch up to me. Her floaty flight caught up with no problem as I began to explain to her what I knew of the hunts.
"I summon them, I suppose, I don't know where they are, only a general direction." We floated over evergreen treetops, scanning to find the monster as we went. Birds screamed and fled from a clearing as the monster roared, the pitch changed and ice began to cover the area as we closed the distance. I got a hot drink from my pouch and downed it, Vicky followed with her own, her face scrunched with distance as she swallowed it in one gulp.
Velkhana stood in the centre of the clearing an ice beam blasting from its mouth as she scored the tress surrounding her in ice. Ice mist rolled off the monster's back as she spun around and leapt into the air, an ice burst sending the frozen mist over the landscape.
"Ice, it had to be ice didn't it miss hunter." We stalked the monster from behind a dirt bank, the grass and trees providing just enough cover to keep us from being spotted by the ice queen.
"I can't pick and choose; we get what we get. See the tail," I pointed at the blue crystal bladed spike on Velkhana's nimble appendage, as it twisted and turned with her, the tip dragged grooves along the ground. "Don't get hit by it, it looks sharp enough to go straight through Kevlar. Use your mobility to harass while I keep its attention, okay?" I didn't wait for her to confirm, I was the one in charge here and I was going to bag me a monster.
I rushed over, the iced ground cracking and snapping as I sprinted towards the monster at maximum velocity, a burst of flame forged a hammer the size of my torso in my grip, the smouldering head demanding to break the monster's bones.
Velkhana spun around and roared at me, ice spit and frozen wind buffeted my armoured form, I paid it no mind, I leapt, a wind-powered boost sending me at a breakneck pace to intercept the frozen queen. I swung, the horizontal swipe missing by mere inches as the monster flapped its wings to dodge out of the way, ice-coated me as the wind forced me to find solid footing.
A hail of ice beamed from the mouth of the monster, intent on making me a frozen decoration. I burst sideways, the crimson flares on my feet casting red light over the area as it reflected off the frozen ground. Having dodged the breath attack I pushed myself forward with a rocket-powered sprint to swing at the monster, bringing the hammer up overhead to strike down.
Velkhana was fast and nimble, she used her lith body to dodge the strike by jumping back the smallest fraction. Her response was to stab out with her tail, the sound of ice slicing dirt screaming as she spun her whole body to send her tail out at blinding speed, aiming straight for my centre mass. I couldn't dodge.
I hefted the hammer and swung to meet the blow, hoping that the impact would save me from being eviscerated. The steel screamed, the ice cracked. I had survived, but the hammer had a massive rend in the centre. Luckily, a hammer didn't need a point, its weight would make up for any lost edge. I pressed forward, another swing pushing her back to the treeline.
With her back against the trees, I hurtled myself and my hammer towards her. The wide swing struck true and smashed into the neck of the beast. Anger flared in her eyes as scales tore and bones cracked, the sharpened beak nipping out at me, I jumped backwards, the impact of her beak driving a torrent of ice-laden dirt into the sky with the powerful thrust.
The monster was having none of the back and forth and pounced sideways onto a boulder, she knew the swing of my hammer could fatally wound her in a single strike to head, she vowed to kill me before I could try by sending another breath of ice towards me. The breath was thicker and heavier and left ice spikes rising from the ground as she tore the landscape apart with her power.
I wasn't going to let her get away with avoiding and harassing me, a crimson bolt flared from my hand and impacted on the torso of the monster, sizzling and crackling at the impact site. She squinted her eyes, analysing the attack I had just fired towards her. Each monster was smarter than the last, Teostra and Lunastra were by far simpler when I conquered them, Kirin had been a force of nature and paid me little attention until I smashed its head in.
I could feel the enmity gathering inside the beast, the cold rage of a monster facing the ultimate hunter, unwilling to die by my hands. It roared, the sonic tone whipping the frozen ground around us into a frenzy as the mist spreading from its back exploded outwards. The wind was well below zero and covered the ground, not in snow, but in slippery ice, her power shown and her majestic rule over the cold reaffirmed as her domain flash froze in an instant. I stood unaffected, Kirin's elemental fortitude serving to protect me.
She reared up on her hind legs, her flapping sending frost to cover and blind me. she roared into the sky and sucked in a massive breath of twisting air, intent on blasting me with a frost breath that would leave the area frozen for years. I prepared the fire within me to counter, my eyes turning red and blue as I gathered strength to meet the monsters attack head-on.
The beam didn't arrive, Vicky's steel-reinforced feet connected to the head, sending Velkhana sliding across the frozen wasteland. Her work done, she zips off to float in the treeline again, waiting for another chance to strike.
Velkhana was scrambling on the ground, her clawed feet digging into the ice, searching for purchase as Vicky's blitz left her in a daze. I rushed over, the fire still singing in my blood, I stood over the beast and unleashed my power. The torrent of flame washed over the ice queen, burning scales and melting wing membranes as the fire swept over her, the monster screamed out as it felt the flame of legends burn her to cinders.
Her answer was to whip out with the cracked tail, the blue hue of the ice unfazed by the heat from my attack. I jumped out of the way, reactions faster than a Shaolin monk saving my hide for the millionth time. Vicky rocketed forth as soon as the monster began to climb to its feet, her feet pointed at the monster's flank.
True to their class, Vlekhana spotted Vicky's approach and turned her head towards the rocketing girl and send out the accumulated breath attack towards her, she swung out of the way mostly but the frozen breath nicked her legs, encapsulating it in sturdy ice. My response was to smash one of Velkhana's legs before she could turn the beam to freeze Vicky fully, the bones of the forelegs splintering into a compound fracture as my hammer cauterized the wound.
She screamed in agony, anger echoed through her voice as she swiped at me in revenge. A tailstrike, a dodge. A paw swipe, a stumble. I rolled to get away from her, aware that even one solid connection from the tail would skewer me and the claws would rend me.
She leapt back into the sky, the dust of ice echoing around me as she summoned a massive downpour of ice to cover the area in a foot-thick layer of snow. The queen seemed unimpressed with the action of nature and roared to the heavens again, demanding action. Action that came in the form of large, heavy ice crystals that spontaneously formed in the air. They hovered for a second before falling onto the area, covering it in stumbling hazards. A few formed over my head nature obeying the commands of Velkhana as they tried to skewer me from above, but I nimbly sidestepped them or disintegrated them with crimson bolts.
Velkhana was powering up, the delaying tactic of the hail storm keeping me from re-engaging for the few seconds she needed to transform into her regal set. A crown of ice, jagged and proud, sprouted from the bone spikes on her head. Plated ice filled the gaps of torn wings and iced gauntlets enveloped the feet, allowing the monster to stand on all fours again and ignore the pain I had caused by hammering the foreleg. A lone single horn of blue steel jutted from her snout.
She was done playing around, took to the sky and dived towards me, the newly formed horn rushing to skewer me. Her mistake for attacking me, I rushed forwards to meet her head on, a burst of wind and crimson jets launching me and my swinging hammer in an arc to pulverise her face. She twisted at the last moment, furling her reinforced wings between us to block the impact that sent shingles of ice to shatter on the ground as the hammer strike sent both of us hurtling away.
I recovered first, the correcting wind control I inherited from Kushala serving once again to my advantage, another burst of crimson had me rocketing to kill Velkhana before she could face me. The embodiment of ice, empowered by the frozen ground littering the area, recovered just as I neared her and her enhanced strength was brought to bear against my flying approach with a roar and hiss of ice.
Trees cracked as they froze from the beam's slightest touch, crystalising to such an extent that they fractured under their own weight and strew splintered evergreens across the area. Yet, she didn't stop her ravage of nature, her beam kept chasing me around as I dived up, down and sideways. Her tracking finally faltered as I made my way behind her, the force of the beam preventing her from moving around lest she lose her footing.
I charged ahead, intent on smashing her spine into a bloody pulp. Her remade tail whipped out at me, the sharpened point gliding close to my neck. My torn hammer taking the brunt of the attack as I used it to divert the blow. With her tail diverted and my charge unopposed, she leapt forward into the sky. A thunderbolt descended from the heavens, my prediction of her movement proving true.
The strike sent her sprawling, her wings twitching as the lighting writhed over her. I rushed over, sending my hammer smashing into her wings, shattering ice and reformed scales with a second hit. The wings were still razor-sharp and she splayed them out and wildly flung them about to hit me, I rotated around her and hammered her exposed torso, blood seeped from shattered scales as she finally lifted herself up from the fallen position.
She reared up, a final roar to the heavens proclaimed her rage. The mist she had been spewing as a regal cloak spread out across the clearing, whipped into a frenzy as she demanded my death. I screamed back, daring her to take my life before I took hers.
She charged, she didn't leap, she didn't fly. Her feet tore the ground as she sped towards me, her horn gleaming in the spring sunlight, racing to skewer me as a final last-ditch attempt to end the fight.
I hefted my club, the smouldering head eager to crush her skull.
A swing, a crash. I swung the hunk of iron and bone into her horn, she didn't stop her charge. Her neck connected into me, sending me sprawling across the ground. The sound of tearing ground and cracking ice telling the tale of a monster unfazed by her damage, her paws dug into the hardened snowdrifts and gave her enough grip to lunge on top of me.
I stopped rolling and before I could stand to face her, felt her charge into me and pin my hammer arm beneath her frozen paw. Her face floated mere inches above me, the saliva dripping to form ice on my red plate. She reared back, wind forcing itself into her lungs to unleash a finishing breath of ice.
Red! Blue! Fire to burn the soul! I fought death's cold breath with a fire that ignited the soul of twin demons. The fire kept burning but would run out in a few seconds, I needed options! Kirin was unavailable for minutes, Kushala would be useless. Valstrax was an option, but I would freeze before I could blast Velkhana's face with it. I might just die here.
Three, two, the fire faltered, one… The frost didn't come, instead, a camo girl was standing over me as I opened my eyes, her pose, one of a woman recovering from a meaty swing. Vicky pulled me up, my hammer staying behind as hardened ice covered it.
Velkhana slid across the snow, her clawed feet tearing the ground as she righted herself to look at the two of us. She roared, snow and ice flung towards us with her breath. With my hammer trapped, I would have to rely on brute strength to take the monster down, something that I wasn't very keen on doing, but seeing the monster's slow return to its standing posture, gave me hope that I might just finish this.
"Bomb!" I shouted and charged at Velkhana, fists bunched to punch her face in. The flash exploded just behind me, the sound and light dazing the monster enough for me to get close enough to grab onto the jagged ice crown on her head and start wailing away at her face. Velkhana screamed as I kept delivering haymakers to her skull, the scales splintering and blood exploding out with each strike.
Punch after punch, screams of anger and rage accompanying them. A good hit broke the bone above her eye and let my fist pulp the ocular organ, her howl of agony sent the ice surrounding us into a frenzy, spiking into frozen spire from beneath us and out radially, the suddenness and intensity of the ice nova that chased after her ice walls threw me into the air, I recovered with Kushala and Valstrax's powers.
Peering down at the wounded animal, wings broken, eye leaking out of the socket, tail damaged and legs shattered, I felt pity for the thing. I hadn't been injured at all, and Vicky was fortunate enough to get out of her ice tomb before she could freeze to death. I'll put her out of her misery now, no final climax, just death.
Kirin's thunder rolled over her, her limbs twitching and breath stolen as the debilitating strike left her exposed.
Fire, red and blue, a nova to rival the sun. Her ice began to melt, scales blistered and blood evaporated.
Crimson flares, strike, strike, strike. Each one blowing holes in wings and shattering bones as their full power landed.
She laid on the ground, exhausted and crippled. I didn't harbour the thought that she had given up. None of the monsters had ever given up, she was waiting for me to come close so that she could kill me.
I summoned Kushala's wind, a tornado of razors swirling around me, eager to draw blood for the first time. It impacted just behind her head and severed the spine.
Her frozen skull turned my hand blue as I stroked her beak. Her single eye glaring at me as I stood triumphant over her.
"Harpy of cold, return to me so that we can grow stronger together." Her body disintegrated in blue and gold, the floating lanterns rushing into me to lift me a foot above the ground. I didn't feel different, no new powers made themselves known.
I turned to face the camo girl, she was panting, exhausted as the battle had kept her on adrenaline for minutes on end.
"Drink the Hot drink and the potion. It'll help." I followed my own advice. Energy flooded my system as the red phial emptied into my stomach.
"You are insane."
"Maybe I am. Thanks for the rescue."
"Thanks for mine."
She struck out her gloved hand. "Victoria Dallon." I grasped her forearm with my own. "Taylor." I responded.
I drifted into the air, my friend followed.