Partial Revelation

They had charged into a great antechamber, where Mikoto's thesis were confirmed. A Huge Black Dragon was indeed waiting for them. It looked upon them with scorn and malice. Steam and soot were exhausted from it's giant nostrils before it roared once more, rubble falling from the ceiling as it did so.

"Hoooo-ly shiiit..." Said Vajra much like a certain announcer.

"A superb test subject." Said Koine.

"Oh crap this is gonna hurt worse than that time in the joint!" Said Sneck seriously as he took a swig of Schnapps.

"I'm glad I don't know what you mean brother." Said Alex as he summoned two triple Gatling guns, this time with live rounds.

"Errr, sorry?" Said Itsuki.

"Bring it on you feral piece of shit!" Yelled Inari as she drew her swords.

"Suck it down!" Yelled Tsurda as she fired her twin MAC's, the rounds flattening against the beast's scales and falling to the ground. She checked the charge rating...

"Vajra! I thought I told you to plug it in before we left!"

"Damnit. I knew I forgot something."

"You dumbass! It'll take it at least 5 minutes to reach critical from zero charge! This type of dragon is beyond even special events in the Colosseum! We might not last that long! Granted, this is exactly the kind of foe I was hoping for, but that was assuming critical charge. We might die here because of you!" Once more, she said all of this very quickly without taking a single breath.

"We all make mistakes Koine. Besides, don't underestimate this team. We can beat this bastard without your invention."

"But then I'm without a selling point!" She pouted.

"Better than being dead." He shrugged.

"Do you have any idea how many Drachma it takes to build just one of these! I need to turn a profit!"

"Profit? Money? I never thought you were this greedy..." And they just kept going on and on and on and on from there... The others wanted to stop them but then, how do you intervene in a lover's quarrel without becoming their common enemy?

The dragon was, obviously, confused and annoyed. People were supposed to be either running away or begging for their lives by now. Yet this group was... watching two people bitch at each other. This was...annoying? No, Infuriating? Yes, infuriating, Infuriating! How dare they ignore me! He took a deep breath...

"Look out!" Yelled Paula.

Everyone save Alex dove for cover. He summoned his artifact and raised his barriers to maximum in a 45 degree angle to the torrent of flame exhaled by the dragon. This did little good, for though some of the flames were deflected, a good amount of the attack punched right through his barriers, filling the room with a sound not unlike shattering glass. He bet his live on the theory that his artifact could absorb any elemental attack. Fortunately for him, he was right. Just like at Stonehenge, the flames washed over him. That which should have incinerated him was instead sucked into the gems on his hands.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked

"Yeah. You weren't kidding Koine, this thing is way beyond the average dragon." Stated Vajra.

"Surround it and attack from all sides, rip the scales off or strike perpendicular to their grain in order to shatter them. Once you have a spot exposed drill into it with everything you got!" Ordered Mikoto.

"Why not just unload on it?" Asked Emiya.

"It's an ancestral-class dragon you dumbfuck! Those scales are serious business! Even if your attack easily pierces the barrier, those scales could stop DU rounds no problem. No experienced dragon slayer would ever dream of attempting to stop this foe alone..." The look on her face changed from barely restrained rage to one of sadness and regret, "let alone kill it..."

"This thing is trying to kill us, what's your problem?" Asked Alex as they all dodged another blast and began to encircle the dragon. Unloading on with the guns all the while. It was apparently immune to bullets of this type, but he was succeeding in pissing it off. Its attention was squarely focused on him.

"Good," He thought, "if I can keep him focused on me the others might have a chance."

"Dragons of this age and power are so rare you're lucky to see one even once in an Hellean lifetime. They are revered by the dragonkin for their power and as the legendary ancestors of their race. To her, we are fighting a manifestation of her ancestors. You're from Japan, you should understand what that means." Said Vajra.

"Never was very religious Sunny, my ancestors can kiss my ass."

"Nevermind!"

Vajra leapt into the air and pulled a very large spear from behind him. It was obviously another Koine custom job. Looked all cool and sci-fi, and the tip seemed to be vibrating at a few hundred oscillations a second. He plunged it into the creatures back, sparks flying everywhere as he twirled around the post on his way down, twisting it like a primitive drill. It was starting to crack the scales when the dragon's great tail swatted him off like an annoying insect. He skipped across the ground a bit, then dug the spear in, using it as a break. Emiya used a dislocation charm to appear right next to him and mend his broken bones (He slipped one between the weave of everyone's clothing so he could always perform such healing if need be. Boy learned paranoia from the best).

"Some tank you are Alex!" Vajra yelled.

"Well excuse me for not packing progressive ordinance otaku." He responded.

"Kid's rubbed off on him." Though Vajra.

"Chance!" Yelled Inari as she hacked away at the scales Sunny had failed to pierce. Sickening cracks filled the air as the cracks widened and deepened. The dragon's tail swatted at her like it had Vajra, but she easily dodged it, continuing her assault with pressure waves. The dragon responded by beating it's wings and sending itself flying upward at a frankly unfair speed. Inari was essentially pancaked on the ceiling, not dead of course, but definitely out of commission. This wing beat of giant dragon also sent her compatriots flying away. Emiya and Vajra were already grounded as it were, but they sure felt the shockwave. As she fell, the dragon added insult to injury by swatting her with it's tail as she fell to Mars. Alex used his artifact like a rocket, launching himself towards her and catching her right before she hit the ground. He landed on the far wall with her safe in his arms. He immediately checked her pulse and listened for breath.

"Good thing you're not human Minari, I would have died right there." Itsuki said as he appeared next to them a moment later. His hands glowing brightly.

Alex laid her gently on the ground. The dragon was about to blast them when Vajra's spear impacted one of its molars, viciously shattering it. Needless to say, that really hurt.

"Does it hurt? Does it huuuuurt? Oh it does doesn't it," He produced another progressive spear, "Want more? Yes he does. Yes. He. Dooo~eeees." His blue irises consumed the whites of his eyes and started to glow brightly.

"It's insulting me? Yes, it's insulting me. Why? Oh, I broke the thing that was trying to break me. He liked that thing. So he hurt me, it still hurts. It hurts so much! He will pay!" the proto-brain of the great dragon thought. It took a deep breath...

"Yeah. Yeah! That's it. Just a little more! C'mon, I believe in you!" He trolled.

"Burn!"

"Oh dear GOD you're such a fucking mark!" Vajra yelled and smiled slyly as he dropped the spear and assumed a stance. As the infernal flames washed over him he allowed his ki to flare, spinning around and moving his arms around in complex patterns, like a dance that's also martial arts practice. Through this he was able to fuse his Ki with the flames, it became one with them and thus one with Vajra himself as a consequence. The flames formed into a perfect hemisphere, only his silhouette and the trails of his glowing blue eyes could be seen through the purifying flames as he dervished in a world of destruction.

"I cannot defeat you with my own power, nor with the aid of my beloved's science. But with this technique I'll find out..." He thought. The fires that whirled around him intensified, fueled to greater heights of fury by his own burning determination

"If you can beat yourself!" He yelled in his mind as twirled around one final time and punched towards the dragon's midsection. The orb flowed and drained into an epic flume of fire. The dragon had but time to widen its eyes in shock and terror as the flames that ought to have wiped out his enemy were reflected back at him! They hit its chest like a sledgehammer, completely ignoring its not insignificant magical barrier. It was encased in flames, scales in it's chest cracking. Yet the scales endured, though now in the same shape as the ones he had plunged that spear into awhile back.

"I got it now! Adeat!" Yelled Jason. A legendary "axe" appeared in his hands. That is to say, a truly badass looking Gibson Moderne with a very sharp edge to it.

"Resonance!" He strung the cords and an ear-splittingly loud sound filled the chamber. Sadly for the dragon, Sneck knew what resonance meant. And he had intuited the frequency of the cracked scales from the sounds that had emanated from them while Inari was hacking away at them. The scales did exactly what you think they should, vibrate like crazy. The scales are, as Inari said, very tough and could easily take this kind of punishment... unless they were already substantially compromised. The cracked scales practically turned to dust and floated away in a very pretty stream of particles, exposing soft, oh so very vulnerable flesh. And, because the powers that be apparently have it out for this dragon (and because Vajra is blessed with extreme amounts of luck), if you drew a straight line between the middle of the two holes, you'd pierce his heart through the left ventricle!

At that moment, Alex saw his chance and used instant movement to line himself up for the perfect shot, "Sorry Obsidianus, this is the only way I see..." Suddenly, all the magic in the air was gone, drained into his artifact in a blink of an eye like it was some kind of black hole. A sickening feeling filled everyone's stomach, but with that came a sense of accomplishment. They knew what was coming, and they knew it was their victory.

"Noooo!" A desperate shriek filled the hall as a shadow knocked him aside as he fired, the brilliant blast veering off course and arching towards the ceiling, barely missing Koine in the process and cutting a deep gash into anything along it's path. Seriously, it was a wonder the chamber didn't start to collapse after that kind of punishment.

"You win, we accept your power and skill. You are indeed worthy of secrets and treasures of this dungeon and indeed, this world." Said the new voice once more.

"My son may love this convoluted bullshit, but I assure you, I don't," He flared the aura of his magical power, as did all his conscious allies, "Tell us all you know, or we kill you both here and now sans all regrets."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, but I'm going to comply. After all, we are bound to."

"Hmmm, a trick of the light instead of a proper illusion. Looks like my ability isn't fullproof after all. Reveal yourself demon."

"As you wish..."