Athena sighed as she watched her two companions run off. "Geeze," she muttered. "You'd think that they'd be more willing to let me go with them." She scoffed while slamming her hands on the countertop. "Come on already! Hurry up! It can't take you that long to get some dang carpentry stuff!" she shouted, which made Avarice giggle.
"Keep your skirt on unicorn. You got a big order coming, so it takes a while. Just be patient!" he shouted back from inside his caravan.
"Are you always like this?"
"Huh?" Athena asked.
"Are you always this, pushy?" Avarice asked.
"Only, when I'm left out of the fun. I mean seriously, they go out to help this guy with some big monster issue, and they don't invite me?" She sighed, "I mean really. I'm probably the best monster smasher around." She balled her hand into a fist, before hitting it against her open palm. She repeated the motion a few more times. Her nostrils flared as she did so; air blew out from them in a rather harsh manner. Each tap of her hoof on the ground was just another second that she had to think about how unfair this whole situation was. "It's been so long and I want to punch something hard!" she shouted.
"What about that guy back at the bar?" Avarice asked.
"I have a lot of pent up energy," she crossed her arms, "And someone is going to be on the receiving end of it."
Avarice backed up a bit and giggled. "Geeze, you sound like my uncle."
"Who?" Athena asked. "That weird green dragon?"
"No, he's a red dragon. Like my dad! You kind of remind me of both of them actually."
"That's…good…right?"
Avarice shrugged. What happened next was rather odd: Snow began to fall down from the sky. A few of the snowflakes landed on both of their snouts. As more and more of the snow fell; Athena's once dark pink mane was starting to get covered by it. It was to the point where her mane now looked like it had some white speckles mixed in. Meanwhile the young girl stuck out her tongue to catch a few snowflakes.
"What the?" a dragon from the crowd said.
"Snow at this time?"
"What do you mean at this time? When was the last time you remember seeing snow in Dragon World?"
While the dragons continued to converse with one another. Athena tapped her right hoof against the stone ground. "What's going on!?" she shouted. "Why is there snow all of a sudden?"
Avarice placed a hand under her snout. "No clue, but this is like back at home." She looked up, and watched the snowflakes descend onto the marketplace. "Some weird masked woman came. Then she wanted dad and Luxure to go with her, and when they refused, she caused it to snow." She placed her hands on the back of her head. "Well, it was more like she tried to freeze them and the rest of our home."
"Thanks for the information." Both Athena and Avarice looked towards the direction of the voice. Meglax was right behind them. His hand was now on Avarice's shoulder. "Stay here, your father will have a fit if you get hurt."
"Hey wait!" Avarice exclaimed, but Meglax ran off. "Ugh, why can't I go help?"
"You're a kid," Athena said.
"I'll have you know that I'm the third oldest child of the current generation of the Bunker Dragon clan!" Avarice proclaimed proudly.
Her face lit up. Eyes darting down to the young dragoness. "Does that mean you can stay here and buy the supplies?" she asked while hastily squatting down to face her.
Avarice scoffed, "Fine." She crossed her arms.
"Okay, thanks bye!" Athena ran off, her hooves practically slammed into the ground as she bolted towards the direction of her friends.
Avarice sighed and leaned on the counter top as best as she could. Due to her height, she had to push herself up to look over it. "I was kind of hoping we could all just hang out," she muttered to herself.
Battle arenas weren't uncommon in Dragon World, as practicing your skills was always important. All you needed was just some stones, or something smooth for the monsters to fight on to make one, and heck, some dragons just used any old grassy field. They just used anything to mark out the size of a ring, even their claws could be used for that. Although, Luxure was thankful that more than just battlers were appreciated. As long as you could find something you were passionate about, and make it have some form of utility for your clan, or to the other citizens of Dragon World; it'd be fine. She took the time to really appreciate how the arena wasn't just made of stone. It was just grass, with a mixture of both dilapidated and fully standing pillars acting as makeshift cut off markers for the ring. No doubt, this must have been an older training ground. Although, sometimes softer ground was a sign of the brawlers doing something…else after their sparing. At least, she fancied the idea of it: Being thrown face down into the soft grass. Sweat rolling down their bodies after a good and thorough wrestle for dominance. The blades of grass brushing against her cheeks. As the victor of their spar; he would yank up her skirt. His strong hands would enjoy the smoothness of her scales, and curvature of her thick dancers' legs. His breath beating against her neck as he felt her up. He'd give her neck a bit of a love bite. The gentle yet rough feeling of those fangs teasing her would make her moan. It wouldn't be long before she'd feel that thick, meaty…"Luxure!" Chanteuse yelled. She felt some heat flowing into her cheeks. Her fingers wiggled through the grass while she looked up at the Orthrus and giggled.
"Guess, I was getting a bit too into my thoughts again?"
"A bit?" Chanteuse asked. "I can feel the heat emanating from your body."
Desperado looked down at Luxure, with a clear grin on his face. "I mean, I don't mind." He tipped his hat. "May I ask, what's wrong though?"
"It's none of your business!" Chanteuse exclaimed. Luxure took a deep breath and stood right up. Looking around at how clear and open the field was. The air was still blowing just enough to provide a cool breeze, but not be overbearing. "Where is this monster by the way?" she asked.
"Well, he should be here very short—"
"Cut the crap, what's your angle?" her left head barked.
Desperado snickered. "I don't know what you mean."
"If you wanted to talk, then you could just have stuck with us back at the marketplace. Unless…oh my." She leaned closer to him. "Don't tell me, you just wanted to get to know little ol' me in private?" She wiggled her hips.
"Well now," he said. "Looks like you caught me." He held his hands up. "I happened to see you back at the bar, and I just had to get a chance to speak to you." He flashed her a smile. She giggled, and rubbed her body on his arm.
"What a charmer," she whispered in his ear.
"Really, my Lady?" Both of Chanteuse's head said in unison.
She turned towards Chanteuse, "What, he just wants to talk with us?" she then turned back to Desperado. "Shouldn't we give this handsome dragon a chance?" Chanteuse placed her hand over the face of her left head, sighing, as the right one just shook itself. Luxure though just smiled at him while placing a hand on his chest. Rubbing against the smooth fabric of his coat. Desperado smirked, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Well, I haven't seen ladies like you around Dragon World before, so I thought you were visiting from another world."
"I actually come from Dragon World," she said.
"Were I'm from is none of your concern," Chanteuse retorted.
Luxure sighed while turning back to Chanteuse, "You get mad when the Fifth Omni Dragons keep information classified, but when you're asked, you do the same thing." Chanteuse smacked her own left head with her palm, as the right one sighed. Luxure looked at Desperado, who was now focusing his attention on Chanteuse.
Desperado chuckled. "Well now. Fifth Omni, like the Fifth Omni Cavalry Dragons?" She let go of him, as he stepped forward. "Are you telling me you two lovely ladies actually got to speak with them?"
Chanteuse refused to say anything, which made Luxure speak up right away. "Why yes, we just ran into one of them today. A cutie by the name of Meglax, but we didn't get to have a full conversation with him. Just some small talk."
Chanteuse's left head shook. "Why don't you blab everything to him?" Both of her hands were kept firmly on her hips.
"Chanteuse, I know at times it can be hard, but you really shouldn't be afraid of talking to new people."
"I agree with your friend here, Ms. Chanteuse." Desperado tipped his hat, before keeping it held close to his chest. "I'm just a humble wanderer, out to make sure that in these rough times. That we monsters are safe from the troubles out there." He stared right into their eyes. Tightening his grip on his hat as he stood up proud. "Please give me a chance. You won't be disappointed in what I'd have to say."
"You seem to have gotten a bit more serious," she said.
"I'm quite interested in why, you were a bit flustered before, but now you're much different," Chanteuse said. She took a few steps towards the white dragon. "What's the meaning of that?"
"Well, your dragon friend shoving herself on me was one thing." He looked back to her and snickered. "I mean if someone threw themselves onto you, wouldn't that cause you to be a bit flustered?"
Chanteuse scoffed and turned her heads away. "Just get on with it. What did you want to talk about?"
"Have you both heard of M.A.S.K.E.R?"
At that moment, Luxure's eyes dilated while Chanteuse's head shot back towards Desperado. Both of heads snarled as she took a few steps closer to him.
"That name rings a bell," Luxure said. Chanteuse meanwhile reached out and grabbed onto the white dragon's collar. She pulled him right into her snarling faces. Her pupils got much smaller while she glared at him.
"You can say we have, but you were the first person to actually bring that name up. The only other, was some stupid human, so tell me," Chanteuse tightened her grip on Desperado's collar; threatening to lift him up in the air. Her eyes continued to stare right into the white dragon's own. "How do you know that name, and why are you so interested in talking to Luxure?"
"Chanteuse stop!" she shouted.
"I-I just know of the name. They're kind of a big deal among some of the stronger monsters, especially in Dragon World, so I was making sure if you had heard of them, because if you did, then they might have been…" Chanteuse pushed him down onto the soft grass. Her left head scoffed while the right one raised a brow.
"They might have been after us?" Chanteuse asked.
"Well yes. M.A.S.K.E.R is looking for powerful monsters to join them, and some of them are…suspicious of their intent."
"It's kind of hard not to be. Especially when they have one of their own threaten our lives!" Luxure snapped. Once Desperado looked up to her, she quickly covered her mouth and gasped. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound so angry there. It's just that some weird masked women threatened us, when we didn't go with her, and it was that same women, who said she was from M.A.S.K.E.R." She moved her hand away from her mouth. "After her own monster failed to incapacitate us. She tried to freeze both the dragon we were staying with and us."
He grunted, "Sounds rough," Desperado stood back up. He dusted off his windbreaker coat while keeping his attention more fixated on the angry Orthrus than anything else. "I can assure you though that M.A.S.K.E.R actually means well."
"Oh really?" Chanteuse's right head asked, "Why's that cowboy!?" Her left head snapped.
Desperado held out both of his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down little missy." Chanteuse's heads growled, as she pulled her arm back and balled her hand into a fist. "You are letting one bad interaction with a member sully your view on a group that actually could mean well."
"Kind of hard not too, when they tried to turn us into Popsicles!" Chanteuse shouted.
"And I'm sure that the boss has punished Serpentis for her hasty actions…" Desperado sighed while looking back and forth at the two women. He smacked his own forehead with his hand.
"That was easy," Chanteuse said ready to strike. "I'll give you five seconds to tell us who the heck M.A.S.K.E.R is, and why they want both Drum and Luxure?"
"Desperado, are you really working for M.A.S.K.E.R?" She asked?
"Listen here, I don't know what fully happened with you two, but we aren't the bad guys here."
"One," Chanteuse's right head said while taking a step forward.
"Listen, I can't speak about this. All I can say is for you both to trust us, and that we honestly mean well."
"Two," her left head said. Another step was taken. Desperado reached down towards his hip.
'He couldn't right, he isn't going to actually try something like that,' Luxure thought. 'And he was so cute too, but maybe he's right?' she thought.
"Don't worry. Besides, when did my decisions ever cause us problems?"
"The day we all got separated," she said bluntly.
'Back at the market.' She shook her head.
"Four," Chanteuse's left head spoke as she hunkered down.
'This dragon can't be a bad guy. I just know it, maybe he really does want to just to talk to us.'
Desperado grabbed out a gun from his holster and pointed right at her. "Listen here, I don't want any trouble between us, don't make this anymore awkward than it already is." She saw his fingers about to squeeze the trigger, and then…silence. The two just stared at each other. Chanteuse remained hunkered down. Ready to charge while Desperado kept his gun aimed at her. Their standoff continued. She shuffled herself to the right, which had him move to the left. She continued trying to move to the right, which made him continue on his path. The two continued to move around in this sort of circle. Desperado placed his hat back on and tipped it down. At that moment all she could hear was the loud almost booming sound of a gunshot, as he pulled the trigger. In a quick jerk, the gun kicked back in his arm. Luxure placed her hands on her mouth. In what seemed like a blur: Chanteuse dove down and under the bullet, and rush forward and threw her fist right at time.
"FIVE!" she shouted, as she threw her fist straight for Desperado's face, and it was at that moment, when everyone there heard the deep voice of a male.
"I cast!" Chanteuse was stunned, when a weird ring of light seemed to form right in front of Desperado, with many spikes of light that circled around the ring. Her fist collided with the center of the ring, which somehow was blocking her attack. "Divine Protection of Shalsana!"
"That's a Dungeon World spell!" Luxure exclaimed.
Chanteuse tried to get through the protection spell. Her fist was going to bust into that Dragon's skull if she had anything to say about it, but to her dismay, she felt the barrier of light force her back, and almost like a trampoline: She was bounced right away from Desperado. Slamming into the cold dirt, as she bounced back a few times, before sliding the rest of the way on her back. A sharp pain ran through Chanteuse's shoulder, and an even sharper bestial howl was let loose from the Orthrus. Luxure scowled and turned to Desperado. She lunged right at him, but was soon met with the same male's voice.
"I cast!" Soon a huge column of fire burst forth from the ground and engulfed her body. "Pillar of Fire!" he shouted.
She felt every inch of it being set on ablaze. "AHHH!" She screamed out to the sky. She dug her fingers into either side of her arms. The fire column that surrounded her continued to burn. No doubt leaving singe marks across her delicate scales. The burning heat was getting to her, but she had to push through. She tried to take step out, but to no avail. The fire surrounding her body was too much. She fell down to the ground, as the flame pillar soon went out on its own. Both of her hands were planted firmly on the mix of both grass and dirt, as she stayed there on her knees and hands. Panting and gasping as the burning sensation wasn't going away yet. 'How embarrassing,' she thought while looking up to Desperado, who holstered his gun while looking down at her.
"Now why did you have to go and attack me like that?" he asked looking back down the Orthrus, who was now grunting while slowly getting up. "We could have talked this through all peaceful like," he said. His tone changing to fit the image of the western gunslinger that he looked like. "Will you both just calm down and listen now?"
"Forget it Buddy, they don't want to talk clearly. That feisty canine rather pick a fight." Standing up from behind one of the many piles of rubble was another human. A black male. Clad in his own: brown leather duster, black cowboy hat, and matching black domino mask. If it wasn't for the difference in species: The two could have been brothers with how they dressed. "Unless. They'd be up to listening to reason now?"
"Another human in Dragon World?" Luxure gasped out. Her body shook while looking towards him.
"And he's clearly no Dragon Knight," Chanteuse added.
"The name's Dune, and we just want to talk to your dear draconic friend about an offer," he said. The two women glared at them. The white dragon still had a hand within the inside of his coat. "This here is my Buddy. Outlaw Gambit Dragon, Desperado."
"Of course, as I told you before, you ladies can just call me Desperado," he said. He looked back down to Luxure. "This really isn't my style, and it frankly, it makes M.A.S.K.E.R look bad."
"Then why shoot at us!" Chanteuse snapped.
"You're the one who tried to hit me. You're the one who grabbed my collar and pushed me down to the ground, and you're the one who decided to get all pissy the second I mentioned M.A.S.K.E.R, so personally, I believe you're the one to blame here missy!" Chanteuse snarled at him.
"So now, would you both be up for a little discussion now?" Dune asked. A very smug smirk was on his face. "After all, we rather not mess with such pretty faces." He snickered. "Well, not any more than we already did."
"Dune!" Desperado snapped at him.
"What!? They attacked you, so they suffered the consequences."
"We're not out yet though!" Chanteuse shouted rushing back for Desperado. Both of her heads inhaled. Luxure took this moment to quickly rise up. She saw Chanteuse's chest expanding from her continuous inhale. Air flooded her lungs quickly, and she needed to be ready to follow up, but on who? She saw Desperado's fingers wiggling by his holstered gun.
'Desperado is the main fighter here, but that human,' she stopped to see Dune pulling out another card from his jacket. 'He's the one who keeps casting those spells. Ugh, it's just like back at Drum's place. That dumb woman was able to somehow cast spells, and use a weapon. How though is that possible though? They aren't monsters.'
The card in Dune's hand began to glow. "I cast!"
'No time to worry about that now. I really was hoping for a break from all of this fighting.' Some beads of sweat rolled down her smooth face, as her breathing began to pick up. 'I just wanted to have a dang normal day after all of this crap, but no, some stupid skull shows his face, I suddenly find out I've been in a coma for all of these years, and now some random humans and their pet monsters are out for Drum and me.'
A loud gunshot came from the card alongside of a golden bullet that was shot straight out of it. She also saw that Desperado's gun was glowing with the same white light that came from the card. His hand practically looked like it vanished. He was able to just unholster his gun in a second. A golden bullet shot out from it as well, with both of them rocketing towards Chanteuse. "Deadeye Art, Gambit's Gunfure!" Dune shouted.
'The human,' she thought. She placed both hands onto the dirt and leaned forward. She began to move both her legs back and forth. Like she was about to just burst out into a sprint. She wanted to run now, but the chaos that was sure to follow kept her from moving.
Chanteuse took his vocal que as her chance. She closed her mouth and let all of the air inside of her chest build up. All of it was looking for a way out, and at the moment, the only way was through her nose, but she managed to keep it in. Letting her chest expand even more, before pulling both of her heads back. Right after she shot them forward and opened her mouth to let loose a howl. The piercing screech of sharp nails raking across a chalkboard wished they could be as audibly ear destroying as this. It would put most annoying screeching to shame. It could make a banshee blush. It sounded like…pain. Visible sound waves came from both of her heads, as she screamed, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Both bullets disintegrated as they came in contact with Chanteuse's scream. That wasn't all though. The sound waves easily battered into both Dune and Desperado, but instead of knocking them back. They just stood there, both of their hands went straight for their ears.
"What the hell is this!?" Desperado shouted, his breathing became heavier, and she could only wonder how his heart was fairing, as all they could hear at this point was her screaming, and the fact she was slowly now walking towards them while keeping this one monstrous tone going. Desperado managed to barely keep himself standing, but Dune was a different story. He couldn't even speak. His fingers looked like they were digging into his skull. Trying in vain to remain latched onto his head so that he could desperately cover his ears. A few trails of blood coming from them showed how well his efforts went. Dune just sat there on his knees. His body shaking. Both his hat and Desperado's blew clean off; carried away by the fierce winds that were caused by her screeching howl. Chanteuse was shaking at this point. Maybe it wasn't a wise idea to follow through with her plan to charge for the human. Desperado was still standing. Although whether or not he was still going to have energy left was a different story all together. "M-Make it stop," he said. Chanteuse finally let the note go once she was right in front of him. Her chest looked like it was back to normal. Her breasts heaved up and down as she panted. Luxure just barely saw Desperado's hand reaching back for his gun. It was now or never. She broke out in a sprint for Desperado. "Okay, forget talking now." Even with her running, she wasn't going to get there in time, but Chanteuse managed to quickly lean out of the way of his gunfire.
"Your hands are shaky Mr. White Dragon. What's wrong?" She laughed, her pupils becoming much smaller, as she flashed him a toothy grin. "Is the tough guy act harder to keep up when the vibrations of my scream are still coursing through your body?" She slammed the heel of her boot straight into his foot.
"Ahhh!" Desperado screamed out. This time, Luxure saw that his shaky hands were about to shoot. She planted both of her hands onto the grass and vaulted herself up into the air. She span around once, before striking at Desperado's head with her leg. Her foot came crashing down right against his skull. She winced from the severity of the impact. Very few creatures could say that they didn't have hard heads. It wasn't just a statement to say someone was dumb. Most creature's skulls were just thick, and some, like dragons had harder skulls than others, but it made attacks like this better sometimes. She really had to force the back of her boot into his head to make that impact sting, and soon she was able to finish her full kick, pulling it back towards her body as she landed on the ground. Chanteuse followed up by pulling her arm back inward, and striking forward with a swift straight punch right for his gut. The impact lifted him up off the ground. She then let him fall, just so Luxure could follow up with a spin kick aimed for his chin. The blow sent Desperado flying back just a few inches, before he slammed onto the ground to the right of Dune's line of sight of the girls.
"Nice work," she said while extending her hand out to Chanteuse. The Orthrus grabbed onto it as both ladies shook hands.
"Likewise my lady, glad to see you still got it."
"Not as much as you. I remember your vocals being a lot more…prettier than that."
"Consider that a Darkness Dragon World special." Both heads begun to laugh.
It wasn't until they heard the familiar deep voice of Dune that they turned their heads. "I CAST!" He shouted, borderline incoherently. Despite not standing up he managed to pull another card out. This one glowed as well, but a bullet didn't come out of this one. No, instead what looked like a giant boulder just formed and dropped down. Shaking the very ground they stood on. "ROLLING STONE!" The giant boulder barreled towards the two women.
"Get down!" A familiar voice shouted. Both of them turned around to see Athena of all monsters rushing towards them.
"Isn't she supposed to be with Avarice?" Chanteuse asked.
"I thought so as well," she said.
Athena meanwhile jumped over the two of them. She twisted her body to the left while holding her fist back. Once she was close enough to the boulder, she let loose one haymaker right at it.
"Athena don't!"
"Dangerous Powerblow!" She shouted delivering her timely haymaker right at the large rolling stone. Her fist collided straight on with it. Both ladies just stood there and watched, as the Unicorn's own fist shattered right through. Breaking the giant rock into multiple pieces, until all that was left around the area was rubble. Dune's jaw was just agape at the sight. Athena then landed and took a very aggressive stance: her fists held up, with her right one being closer to her face, and her left one being held out to her side. Both of her legs remained spread. She then leaned forward. "Now it's a true Gala Maiden party!" Luxure walked up and placed a hand on Athena's shoulder. Chanteuse's left head shook while the right one smiled at the Unicorn.
"Not bad," Chanteuse said. Athena meanwhile rubbed her nose in a snarky fashion while smirking at the two of them. "Don't let it get to your head," the left head spoke.
"Come on now, I punched through a boulder. I think that's worth some praise."
Luxure laughed, as Chanteuse kept her eyes focused on the currently knocked down Desperado. Much to their dismay, he was already starting to move again. The Cowboy's fingers wiggled on the ground, as his body shifted about in place while trying to push himself up.
"I guess he still has some fight left in him," Athena said. She smirked while hitting her fist into her palm a few times. "I mean he's a dragon after all. He'd be a pretty shi-…" Athena stopped. Looking back at the glaring eyes of Chanteuse. "I mean crap Dragon, if he couldn't take a few licks." Her hooves pawed at the ground, as her nostrils flared. "Come on, you fancy pants gunner, get up, and let's thrown down!" she exclaimed.
"Should we really be antagonizing him?" Luxure asked.
"He picked a fight with you and Chanteuse, so heck yeah," Athena said. The three of them got ready for the slowly rising dragon.
"Your canine friend actually picked this fight first, and right now!" Desperado pulled out his gun in his right hand while his left hand pulled out of a coin from the front pocket of his coat. "I'm going to finish it." His thumb flipped the coin high into the air. He pointed his gun straight up in the air.
"Girl's now!" Luxure commanded. She ran right for Desperado. Chanteuse ran from her right and around to go for Desperado's side. Athena followed suit, except she attacked from Desperado's left side.
The white dragon fired three bullets into the sky. The first bullet struck against the golden coin and ricocheted right off of it. Sending it further up into the air. The second one smacked right into the coin as well, but surprisingly, it ricocheted off to the left, and just like some odd magic: It bounced off the coin and went flying to the right. All three bullets hit the girls. Luxure just managed to sidestep out of the way. Chanteuse sadly couldn't dive out of the way in time, and the bullet dug into her leg. A sharp yelp escaped from her mouths. Athena scowled. She just barely was able to tuck and roll past her bullet. He looked over to Chanteuse. She held onto her leg. Gasping as she shook in place. He turned back to the approaching girls. Athena reached him first. Pulling her fist back, before throwing it straight at Desperado's face. He grabbed onto her fist, and threw her onto the ground. Luxure spun around towards him. Ending her little display with a swift ballerina kick to his chest. Athena pulled her legs back towards her head. Getting back up by lunging herself forward. Both of her hooves slammed into Desperado's face. Athena landed on her feet, with her hands planted on the ground. Desperado kept his balance, and pointed his gun right at Athena. His eyes narrowed. His right eye though seemed to be able to dart between both her and Athena. Making Luxure shiver at the sight. Before he could fire, Chanteuse grabbed onto Desperado's leg and tightened her grip. He turned to see her inhaling once more, before letting loose a much more booming howl. The force from her shout buffeted him back towards them. Chanteuse's claws fiddled with the bullet that was lodged into her leg. She winced while trying to yank it out. "Chanteuse no," Athena said.
"Shut it!" she snapped at her. She grit her teeth. Keeping all of those sharp looking fangs on display as she wiggled the bullet around in her leg.
"But I was told—" Athena's words fell on deaf ears, with a rather gross wet sound; she yanked the bullet out of her leg. Some blood trailed down her leg, as she closed her eyes.
"I'll be fine, just finish him, before—"
"I CAST!" Dune shouted.
"He's still up?" Luxure questioned.
Dune's card began to glow. Both of them braced themselves for whatever plan he had. A silver box dropped down right in front of them. A big red button sat right on top of it. Begging to be pushed to unleash whatever terror it would. Athena dropped her arms down and scratched her head. Only a few seconds later: A large white glove just popped in from a cloud of pink smoke. It then slapped right down onto that red button. The box unleashed multiple beams of light, before both girls were caught in the blast of a powerful explosion. "DUNGEON EXPLOSION!" Luxure let loose a scream, as the familiar feeling of searing flames was now mixed with a rather new feeling of an indescribable force battering against her body. She felt her body being thrown back from the epicenter of the explosion. She landed on her back, her head slammed against the dirt. Athena didn't fare much better. She may not have been blown back like her, but she was still lying face first in the dirt.
Desperado walked up to her. His boots stomped on the grass with each step, and each time he took one. It sounded like he took a few seconds before he took another. Was he toying with her? Was he just trying to draw each step out to mess with her? She placed the palms of her hands firmly on the ground. Trying to push herself up, but the burning sensation remained. Each time her arms moved, she felt those sharp burning stings across her body. She looked up to Desperado, who now stood right above her. She scowled at him. Ready for the worse. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. He extended his hand towards her: Much to her confusion. "Come on now, just take it and get up. This doesn't have to get any worse," he said. She watched, as he twirled his gun around, before shoving it back in its holster. "See I put it away."
"You lied to us," she said.
"I lied about the monster situation. Nothing more."
"What do you mean n-nothing more?"
"I mean what I mean." He reached inside of his coat and removed his holster. "Want me to drop this then, would that give you more motivation?"
"What do you think?"
Desperado sighed. "I understand. I'd rather not go back without at least one of you."
As he put his holster back into the inside of his coat. A green bolt of light was flying straight for Desperado. He dropped down to the ground, and right down to ground level with her. She shoved her boot right into his face and knocked him back on his ass. He rose up and shook his head. "Wasn't expecting backup to come."
Approaching the group was the same green dragon from before. He looked at her, then to Athena, and lastly to Chanteuse, who was the only one of them that was now standing up. Both of her heads looked furious, as they were locked onto the draconic gunslinger. The two ranged fighters locked eyes with one another. "You know, if you want others to listen to you, maybe trying not to assault them would be the better option," Meglax said. He readied his bow and nocked an arrow. Desperado pointed his gun straight for him.
"I'd tell you what I told them, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you don't care about my reason."
"You'd be right." He kept his aim focused on him. He reached back into his coat. She could only assume that he was reaching for his gun. One of his eyes though looked back at Chanteuse, who was now walking towards him.
"You've got more trouble than just him!" both heads exclaimed in unison. "You aren't going to get away with this, gunslinger!"
As Meglax let loose his arrow. Desperado fired straight for it. Both projectiles collided with one another. Stopping each other in their tracks. He was done yet though. At that same moment, he also managed to jerk his hand behind him to fire to at Chanteuse. She held up her own arm to take the hit. Despite the bullet lodging itself within her arm: Chanteuse only winced, and kept on moving towards him.
The burning sensation was starting to go away. She let out a sigh of relief and slowly pushed herself back up. Athena though was still down. She took a deep breath and made a sprint for her downed friend. Her eyes looked over to the white dragon, as he pointed straight for her legs. He looked away from her and down towards the ground. She couldn't read his lips, but it seemed like he was muttering something. Before he could fire though there was another voice. It had much coarser tone to it. "Vulcan Blade!" A flaming sword struck at Desperado. Causing him to drop his gun, as a shot was fired off in a random direction, as she reached Athena, she looked back to who the newcomer was. Standing before them was a red dragon, who seemed to be only slightly taller than Meglax. Her eyes were practically drawn to his long blond hair. She could already imagine hair like that flowing in the open breeze on a windy day, before a rough spar. Fire had to be a focus of his. Not just due to the name of his attack, not even due to the red scales. She could tell just from the way his large orange horns seemed to almost be on fire themselves. Unlike Meglax, this one wore armor more fitting for Armordragons. He had only one pauldron, and it was pretty large. It was segmented into three parts. His chest was covered by some breastplate, but that was just it: his chest. The red dragon's toned midriff was left completely exposed, and even most of those rugged arms of his were left exposed, with just some fingerless gauntlets to shield his hands. It all made the short green jacket he wore look somewhat out of place, despite the dragon's confident demeanor at the moment. Much to her dismay, his legs were the most armored thing on him. Not a hint of his scales were showing through those heavy armored leggings. His tail swung back and forth as she could see a toothy grin on his face while he pointed his blade right at Desperado. Chanteuse just scoffed at the showy display. Athena lifted her head up to look at him. Her lower lip quivered at the sight of him. Her eyes widened, as she stared at him. If stars could be in one's eyes, then she'd have two bright ones shining right now at the two dragons.
Meglax looked towards Chanteuse. "Since you are the only one up, mind helping us out," he said.
"We don't need help from them, let's just focus on our target!" The red dragon exclaimed.
"We have at least one of them able to fight, so we might as well have more assistance Doble," Meglax said, before his let loose another arrow from his bow.
"I CAST, DIVINE PROTECTION OF SHALSANA!" Dune shouted. Another light barrier appeared right before Desperado. He smirked, as the arrow bounced clean off of it. His tail snaked around his gun and tossed it right back into his hand. Meglax let another arrow fly. Desperado rolled out of the way, and fired off a shot right for Meglax. Much like a knight: Doble leapt in front of Meglax, and sliced the bullet in two. Meglax smirked at Doble's action, as he rested the hilt of his blade on his shoulder.
Luxure rubbed Athena's head. The unicorn looked up at her. Their tails wrapped around each other. Giving Athena some support, as they rose to their feet. "Thanks," Athena said, as she slowly moved away from Luxure. She bent over and placed her hands on her legs as she panted.
Meglax readied his bow once more. Dune though lifted another card up as it began to glow. "I CAST, CECILIA'S SPELL DISARM!" Meglax soon felt his own bow beginning to emit a painful discharge of electricity.
"Gahh!" He grunted. Letting go of his bow as it dropped to the ground. Doble ran for Desperado, as he ducked under his swing. He seemed prepared though, and brought the butt of his sword down against Desperado's skull. Sending him crashing into the ground. Doble snickered as he pointed his sword right at his head.
"So, are you going to surrender?" he asked. He then looked down. Fire was starting to form and swirl around him.
"I CAST, PILLAR OF FIRE!" A burst of flame spewed out from the ground below and engulfed Doble. He held his ground and stepped forward.
"It'll take more than that to stop me," he said.
Desperado took aim at him, but at that moment: Chanteuse kicked at Desperado's hand. Knocking his gun clean out of his hand. She lifted him up in the air and glared at him. She brought her knee straight for his gut. He gasped out, as the wind was knocked out of him. Doble then struck him with the flat end of his sword. Knocking him out of Chanteuse's grip. Meglax was soon able to grab onto his bow again. He met the two of them around Desperado. All three of them surrounded him.
"Athena," Luxure whispered. "Go help them out."
"What? What about you?" she asked.
She looked over to the human reaching into his jacket. "I'll back you up." She turned back to Athena. "I just need to handle something else first." She smirked. Athena nodded as she ran for the upcoming beat down. Luxure walked over to the human. He pulled out another card and held it out.
"I CAST!"
Before he could finish what he was saying. She dropped down to the ground and swept her leg under his own. Dune fell to the ground, with the card falling right out of his hand. He looked up at her, as she placed her foot on his chest. "Now, how about you sit there instead," she teased.
"Dune!" Desperado shouted as he turned to see the charging unicorn. "Geeze." He vaulted himself up in the air. Jumping away from the monsters who surrounded him. He held out his hand. His gun flew over to him, as he holstered it, and dove down towards the two of them.
"Well, look who's here."
"Let him go," Desperado said. She moved her foot, and stomped it on the ground right near him. She raised a brow at him, as he grabbed onto him and put him on his back.
"You aren't getting away!" Doble shouted.
"Windsong Arrow!" Meglax shouted as he let loose a much narrower, yet faster arrow at both of them.
Dune barely raised his hand, "I CAST, DIVINE PROTECTION OF SHALSANA!" Another barrier of light blocked the arrow from hitting its mark. Desperado then ran off with him in tow.
All that was left of their battle was one of Dune's Buddyfight card on the ground, which Meglax darted for. "Hey what was that card?" Chanteuse asked while Luxure made her ways towards the group.
"Sorry but we can't tell you right now. We kind of need to still keep things on the hush hush. At least, until we get more information.
Athena walked over to them, with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. "Can you at least come back with us to the marketplace?"
Luxure placed her hands on her cheeks. "Wait, Avarice! She's back there!" she exclaimed.
"WHAT!?" Doble shouted.
Chanteuse's heads smirked, "You know her?" She leaned in closer to the red dragon.
"I-I didn't say that," he said.
"On the contrary." Chanteuse walked around Doble. "I think you do, so I insist on you both joining us on the trip back to the Marketplace."
"I don't have time to babysit you girls!" Doble said.
"Can you both please join us in general then?" Luxure asked while getting up closer to Doble. She then began to wiggle her hips and rub against him. "I'd love if a handsome dragon like you accompanies us back. I mean did you see the way that you handled things back there. Such power."
Doble smirked. "Yeah I know." He flashed her a toothy smile. "I'm that good." She could see him looking at her. Mainly, her scars. The burn marks she had over her scales seemed to be slowly fading. Much to his surprise. "What in Dragon World is going on with you?"
"Huh?" She looked down and shrugged. "Oh that? I-It's just something I do." She rubbed the back of her head.
"Interesting talent," Meglax said. He placed a hand on Doble's shoulder. "You sure change your tone quick by the way." Doble glared back at him.
"All it takes is some ego stroking. Typical dragon," Chanteuse said.
"I don't know, I think they are cool!" Athena jumped up and down in place.
"So about coming with us back to the marketplace?" Athena asked. Doble turned back and stared at the Unicorn, who was just gazing back at them. Her stance looked full of life: Legs spread apart, chest held forward, with a look much different than Luxure's own longing. Her hands were balled into fists that she kept held up by her sides. It looked like she was going to just burst with all of that energy. "I know a good bar in the area," she said.
"No!" Chanteuse shouted. "Let's not go back there," she added.
Meglax smirked. "Besides, don't you three chaperones need to hurry back?"
"Oh right! The young dragon," Athena said.
"Her name is Avarice, and yes, we should check on her," Luxure said.
"I can't believe you three left a child unattended!" Doble snapped at them. Luxure had a nervous grin on her face. Chanteuse just shrugged, and Athena had a shit eating grin on her face.
"Well, she said she could handle herself, and besides—" Athena paused. Punching at the air. "If it wasn't for me, then Luxure and Chanteuse would have been in some serious trouble." She puffed out her chest.
"You also were down for pretty much the rest of the fight," Doble said.
"He used a cheap trick! If he didn't cast those dang spells, I would have clobbered both him and Desperado." She hit her palm with her fist.
Doble leaned forward, with one hand on his hip, the other held firmly on the hilt of his sword. "If anything, you just failed to notice your opponent's actions."
"If anything—" Athena leaned closer to Doble. Looking up at the taller monster. Her eyes not moving. They only focused on Doble's blue eyes. "I'd say that you haven't yet seen what I can do. Besides, who else can you say destroyed a boulder with their very own fists!?" She held up her clenched fists and smirked. Neither's gaze left each other. It was actually their chuckling that broke the silence. Doble started, then Athena, and then it only got louder and louder. Until, chuckling changed to laughter. Both of the monsters just held their sides while laughing. Doble threw his head back high while enjoying himself. Athena meanwhile kept both hands on her hips while laughing. Luxure smiled at them, and Chanteuse just sighed while keeping a hand on her left head. The right one though seemed to keep a warm smirk on its face.
Doble walked back towards Meglax, the two nodded at one another before turning around to walk away from the three of them. Doble looked back to Athena and flashed her a toothy smile. "I'll give you this. If that's true, then you got one heck of a punch, but it takes more than that to make a powerful monster."
"Then let me show you sometime just how strong I can be."
Doble rubbed the back of his head. "Sure, next time we meet." He leaned right into her face. "You can show me just how strong you are little unicorn."
The two broke apart from one another. Both of them grinning, as Athena held out her fist. "Next time it is. I'll hold you to it!"
Meglax looked at Luxure, "Please make sure Avarice is kept safe. Despite what she says—"
"She's still a child, I understand," Luxure said. Meglax nodded, before looking towards Chanteuse.
Her left head turned away with a pout on its face. "T-Thank you," it muttered. "Thank you for your assistance," the right one said, before the two of them walked off.
"Come on girls, let's go back to the Marketplace!" Luxure exclaimed while running off.
"Wait! You aren't leaving me behind again!" Athena rushed off. "Last one there buys the drinks!"
Both of Chanteuse's heads shook. She took in a deep breath before following after them. "We still should have asked them to come back with us!" both of her heads exclaimed. The three girls ran towards the same direction as two dragons. Luxure waved at the both of them while leading the pack of three back towards the marketplace. Despite Chanteuse starting last, she was right behind her. Leaving Athena to back up the rear. The unicorn closed her eyes and pushed herself to move faster, but she almost ended up tripping on her rather large dress. She just barely caught herself, as her body was leaning forward, but she fixed herself up, and turned over to Doble with a smirk on her face. She held her hands up; her pointer and middle fingers on both of her hands were held up to look like a "V". Doble shook his head, as the three girls ran past them.
So this chapter took a while to finish, and I hope to try and make the future ones take not as long. I did enjoy making this one though, and I'd like your feedback. Let me know how you feel the pacing is. I want to know mainly if the pacing felt too quick, and I"m curious what do you think about the characters so far? Do they standout? I'd like to hear some of your feedback as a whole, so I can apply some of it for later chapters. I hope you all enjoyed this one, and I look forward to writing chapter 5.