(A/N: I'm back. I'm finally back! The Iron Raven has returned to Dragonfable fanfiction! I was so absorbed by my other stories and school and other stuff recently that I forgot about my very first fic. Took me a while to get my mood back but I did it somehow. Sorry to those who waited for so long; if there's anyone still left waiting. Oh well, on with the story. Chapter thirteen, here we go!)

Chapter Thirteen: Lightning Reborn pt.2

Glumbert gently touched down by Oaklore's courtyard a few minutes later. Maya ran up to welcome us back along with Sir Vey and Captain Rolith. Sir Valence seemed to be missing from the picture. I hopped off the dragon with Sir Jing's daggers carefully hidden in my belt bag; really grateful that the bag provides good insulation. Sir Baumbard also disembarked but leaned to his dragon for support since his leg is still injured. It didn't stop him from celebrating though as he roared in triumph with his sword raised. "We have it! After all that happened, we finally have it!"

"Umm… Sir Baumbard, I don't mean to be rude but you might want to keep your voice down since well, it's top secret?" Maya said in a hushed tone while taking a short glance on a group of Pactagonal Knights that were hanging around under a nearby tree and were looking at us with puzzled expressions. One of them stood up and walked away obviously in a hurry.

Sir Baumbard's face flushed with embarrassment. But Sir Vey stepped in and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright old friend, you did well. I can also see that you've improved your relations with Vincent here." He said with a smile.

"He's a good lad I could say. A little pesky, but not so bad." Sir Baumbard said smiling as well.

Maya walked up to me. "Am I glad you're safe! I would extremely be pleased if you tell me all the details of your journey." She said with much enthusiasm. "I would be more than honoured to include your noble quest on the Hero's Archives."

"Well, okay, I guess." I said, rubbing the back of my head, forgetting that she was a historian and it's her job to keep track of such events. Rolith came up behind her with a proud look on his face. "Once again, you've proven your worth, rogue, I'm starting to think of making you an official member of the Pactagonal Order but don't get too excited though, I'm only just thinking about it."

"Give the boy a break Rolith." Sir Vey said, gesturing at me and Sir Baumbard. "Look at those two, they looked beat-up and could use a quick visit to the infirmary. What do you say?"

"Agreed." Maya nodded. "Vincent could tell me everything that happened while he's in the infirmary and Sir Baumbard will get to have his own side of the story too of course!"

"Very well then, but I want you to report to me as soon as possible." Rolith ordered. I nodded and we went on our separate ways. Sir Vey and Captain Rolith stayed behind as Sir Baumbard, Maya and I went to the infirmary.

It took about an hour for Sir Junn to fix us up. My injuries weren't that bad and so as Sir Baumbard's but he has to stay in the infirmary until tomorrow. We were both lying on our adjacent beds while Maya sat down on a chair in the middle. I had taken the belt bag off and tied it on the bed post. We told Maya everything about the quest and she listened intently as she jotted down entries on a small book.

"Whew!" Maya wiped the sweat on her forehead and readjusted her glasses. "I guess that will do. Thank you for your time! It was a thrilling adventure and I'll be able to add it to the archives as soon as I can. I'll be going now." She bowed curtly and we waved goodbye before she left the infirmary.

"Junn!" Someone called out. I turned to see a Pactagonal knight standing by the doorway. His voice sounded familiar. "Do you have that crate of potions ready to go?"

Sir Junn scratched his head. "Oh, that? I seemed to have forgotten. Give me a minute, Tax. I got them on the storage room." And he went to one of the rooms beside the morgue.

"Hey Tax! How ya doin'?" Sir Baumbard called out.

The knight named Sir Tax turned to us. "Well, if it isn't Sir Baumbard and Vincent. How was your quest? Care to tell me anything about it?"

I don't like the way he talks. I don't know. I just get this feeling that I shouldn't trust him.

"Sorry Tax; can't tell you. Rolith's orders." Baumbard replied.

"It's alright." Sir Tax shrugged. Sir Junn came out of the storage room carrying a medium-sized wooden crate. He placed it on one of the vacant bunks. "Is this everything?"

Before Sir Junn could reply, we all noticed a small white paper ball rolling on the floor between them. We were all staring at it when it exploded in a thick cloud of white smoke. My eyes stung and we were all coughing. I glanced by the door and saw Sir Tax chasing a small creature with long ears in a black outfit though it didn't really appear as if he was chasing it. A ninja Sneevil? You've got to be kidding me…

"Vincent! The crate is gone!" Sir Junn said between coughs. That's a bad thing. The worse one is my belt bag is gone as well. It was tied to the bedpost but now it's nowhere to be seen. I sprung out of my bed and ran after them. Once outside I turned to my right and saw Sir Tax along with the ninja Sneevil climbing inside a hole in the fort's wall near the catapult. Two knights, probably Vivor and Castic, were lying unconscious nearby. I ran after them. The ninja Sneevil threw the crate of potions at me and I managed to catch it.

Sir Junn came out of the smoking infirmary just in time. I tossed him the crate. "Here. I'm going after them!"

I ran towards the hole and slid down all the way to the other side since the tunnel is barely a metre long. I saw Sir Tax with the belt bag on his waist preparing the wagon's horses. I was wondering where the ninja Sneevil went when I noticed a shadow move. I looked up to see the Sneevil with its ninja sword slashing downwards. I drew my daggers and blocked its strike; the blades emitting sparks upon impact. Out of the corner of my eye, Sir Tax was already on the wagon and was now riding off. I dashed off after him but the ninja Sneevil got in my way.

The Sneevil grinned beneath its mask and attacked. It was fast; way faster than those Sneevils back at the box fort and it's relatively smaller which isn't a good thing either. It dashed between my legs. I jumped upwards but its blade grazed my calf. It then back flipped and kicked me in the face making me stumble back. I slashed at it but it easily dodged my attack and made an upward slash of its own which I blocked with my other dagger. Sparks flew into our faces making us both wince. Right now, the wagon was out of sight. I need to get this over with soon or I won't be able to catch up with him.

Something flew into the ninja Sneevil's face smearing it with red liquid. I saw Sir Junn with a bottle of potion on his hand nodding at me. The ninja Sneevil was busy wiping its face; distracted. I took my chances and did a cross slash on its chest. There was a small explosion as the Sneevil flew to a nearby tree with its clothes in a smoking heap.

"Thanks!" I told him. "Sir Tax took my belt bag! I can't let him get away with the-" I stopped myself; remembering that everything about Sir Jing's daggers should remain a secret.

Sir Junn seemed to understand. "He couldn't have gone far yet. It's getting dark and it would be harder to travel in the woods. There are also wheel tracks on the mud which would make things easier. Good luck!"

I nodded and headed off towards the wagon's direction.

***A few minutes later…

He really hadn't gone that far even on a wagon. I soon found out the reason why. I found the wagon smashed to pieces on the side of the dirt road. Sir Tax ran past me obviously in a panic; the belt bag no longer with him and his armour badly dented in many places. I spotted the bag among the wreckage.

I went over to pick it up but stopped halfway when I heard a sly voice somewhere beside me. "SHHH! Careful hero. You wouldn't want to wake this hungry, giant man-eating bear!" I turned to see a dark blue furry creature with beady red eyes and long ears standing on a tree stump. He looked like Twilly except for his darker looks, the makeshift cape made out of tattered cloth he was wearing and the staff he was wielding instead of a twig.

I wondered what he wouldn't want me to wake up and that's when I saw a huge dark ball of fur curled beside him. From what it looks like, it was a bear. A HUGE bear. Good thing he warned me. Or so I thought.

"Thanks! Good thing you warned me!" I cautiously made my way around it.

When I was halfway there, the blue Twilly-like creature suddenly called out. "HEY BEAR! WAKE UP! DINNER TIME!"

"What the-? You-"

ROAR! GRRRRR!

The huge beast sprang to life and swiftly turned to its meal; which is me. It lumbered towards me quicker than I could imagine a thing that size could manage. Within seconds, the bear was on me while the blue rat just watched from his tree stump sneering and laughing hysterically; thumping his staff in excitement.

Now I've had survival training back in my militia days. It covered everything not only combat but also basic knot tying, shelter building and of course, animal attacks. I've learned that in case of a bear attack, one should roll into a ball to prevent extensive damage to my vital organs. Well, that was for regular sized bears not gigantic three ton monstrous man-eating ones that can turn me into ground meat whether I'm rolled into a ball or not so that's not really helpful. Forget militia training.

It stood on its hind legs, boosting it to a height of about twelve feet, and roared. I drew my Magma Daggers and slashed through its chest. It stumbled back and growled; the air filled with the smell of bear and burning bear fur. I figured this would scare it and would avoid fighting me but the opposite happened. It seemed much more aggressive. I went for another slash but it swiped at me and I found myself laying on the ground a few metres from where I was with my shoulder screaming in pain; definitely dislocated. The bear wasted no time and began to approach me again. I've lost one of my daggers. I won't be able to use it anyway.

I sat up, grabbing my shoulder. The bear was on me again. This time I used my good arm to bring down the Magma Dagger to its forehead with as much force as possible. The bear yowled and jumped back as the dagger connected with its head; right between the eyes. It began staggering aimlessly; half-blinded. I used this chance to try and recover. With a deep breath, I pulled my dislocated shoulder up. With a sickening sound of a joint popping back into place, my vision exploded in many colours and I vomited on the spot.

The bear was calmer now but still letting out ragged breaths. One of its eyes was burnt shut while the other was halfway to being one. It turned to my direction and began lumbering towards me again. I wondered how it could still know where I was and that's when I remembered that it can still smell me. Great. My gaze moved from the bear, to that blue rat and then finally on the belt-bag. I wonder…

The bear was about three metres away when I charged. I wasn't aiming for it though. Before it could stand up and deliver a killer blow. I slid on its back and dove towards the wreckage of the wagon. I grabbed the belt-bag and said the words before taking out Sir Jing's daggers which sparked with energy. I turned to face the bear with the new set of daggers in hand.

The bear didn't actually care that I got a new set of daggers. All it cared about was eating this persistent meal which is me. I let the bear come to me but this time it didn't stand up but more of like rammed into me. I hopped aside and stabbed it at its side. It yelped and jumped back as its skin came in contact with the energy from my dagger. My shoulder in turn let out more pain. It tried to swipe at me but I slashed its arm and it jumped back again. It was my turn to attack. I stabbed it on the neck and it recoiled and stood on its hind legs. I then began stabbing it on different parts of its body and soon, the huge beast fell to the ground with its fur smoking; filling the air with the smell of burnt fur. I didn't kill it though; it's just incapacitated.

I turned to the blue rat. It snickered. "Interesting. I need to watch out for this one." It then exploded into grey smoke and disappeared.

I sat on the tree stump panting with my hand gripping my shoulder while staring at the burnt heap of the bear. At least it's not dislocated anymore but the pain is still terrible. I gently stood up and thought about making my way back to Oaklore but I then heard some noises not too far away. I decided to check it out. I made my way to a clearing and found myself by a riverbank. The water was tinged with orange from the sunset as it flowed south. On the other side was a thick forest but beyond that was some sort of town. It could easily be noticed since there's a tall stone tower in the middle of the town with some sort of stone bird on top. The noises weren't coming from there though. I turned to my left and saw the bridge. By bridge, I mean the bridge where Lady Celestia and Twilly crossed. And where the Hydra appeared and is still there now.

The three serpents seemed to be terrorizing the part of the bridge on this side. When I looked more closely, I can see men in armour scurrying here and there. I looked down on Sir Jing's daggers. I can end it now. And end it I will.

***A few minutes later…

"Vincent? What in Lore's name are you doing here!" Sir Pent shouted amidst the noise and chaos. We were hiding under the cover of some fallen trees along with some Pactagonal Knights. He glanced at Sir Jing's daggers and smiled. "Well then, since you have those, better get your hands bloody eh'?"

I nodded. Someone shouted "Incoming!"

There was a whistling sound and the ground behind us exploded; covering us with mud. The Hydra shrieked. Sir Ano landed beside me obviously dazed but unharmed. "Oh, hey Vince…nice of you to join us…" He said groggily. It has been five minutes since I got here. Its been two hours since the Hydra started bombarding them.

"Arrghh! Help me up!" A knight was pinned down under a log. Sir Ano had recovered and hurriedly went to the knight's rescue. There was another shriek followed by a whistling sound and the ground a few metres in front of me exploded upon impact of the pressurized water; mud, twigs and some other stuff raining everywhere. I didn't see Sir Ano and the knight anymore.

I turned to Sir Pent who was firing arrows towards the monster. The other knights were doing the same but the Hydra doesn't seem to be really affected by it. I readied my daggers. "I'm going in!"

Sir Pent nodded and hefted his spear. "Me and me boys'll cover ya then!"

He then shouted to the other knights. "Aye! It's payback time lads!"

The knights let out a battle cry and we began charging at the Hydra with swords and spears and in my case, energy daggers. The largest head spat out a miniature tidal wave from its mouth which swept away some of the knights. Sir Pent and the others kept charging.

He impaled his spear on the Hydra's maw so did the other knights. He then drew his sword and slashed at the insides of its mouth making the larger head rear back. The smaller heads attacked in return; blasting pressurized water towards the group of knights. One got hit square on the chest and was sent flying off the side of the bridge. One of the heads snapped on a knight. The knight screamed in agony before the serpent flung him towards the woods and he disappeared from sight.

The same head snapped at me but I dodged it and as it smashed its head on the bridge, I hopped on its head just like before but and stabbed it on the eyes. It worked like magic somehow. The blades sank into the sockets like it was made of soft cheese. The serpent shrieked as it began to dissolve from the inside before falling back to the river. The other head lunged at me but this time I ducked and slashed at its body as it passed above me. There were similar results. The daggers cut through its rock hard skin like cheese and the serpent fell back to the river as well.

The knights cheered as they retreated from a safe distance. It was only the big head and me. I charged and stabbed its thick body. The blades slid in easily and sizzled but it didn't really damage it. Its skin is simply just too thick. The Hydra snarled; its mouth oozing with light green blood. Its throat then began bobbing up and down and the sound of gurgling can be heard. It's going to spit again. I braced myself as another miniature wave slammed against me. I was washed away towards the side with my daggers a few feet away. I stumbled across but the Hydra attacked and bit off a part of the bridge along with my daggers and almost me along with it.

"Oh no you don't…" I muttered. The Hydra had lowered its head trying to remove all the debris from its mouth. The daggers were wedged between its teeth. I knew it was a crazy idea but if it's too tough to damage from the outside, I have to do it from the inside.

I dove into its mouth; its razor sharp teeth grazing my legs and arms. The Hydra rose up to its full height while I hung on its teeth. I then used its teeth as a ladder and climbed towards my daggers. The Hydra, finally realizing that I just volunteered to get eaten, began attempting to swallow me. Its throat began to tighten; pulling me in. I desperately grabbed for my daggers and luckily I got them both. This also means I can't hold on to anything properly so I began to slide down its throat. Just as I slid down I readied my daggers.

"You…will…not…eat…ME!" I stabbed both of my blades into the Hydra's throat and clinged unto it with my life. The Hydra went berserk; shrieking loudly which sounded a million times more horrible when you hear it in here. It began to trash around as clouds of green steam began to erupt from its inside and once again, it's so horrible to smell from in here. The acidic smell made me want to throw up but I held it in. Soon, the Hydra was no more than a dry empty husk and its carcass fell into the river to join its siblings. Fortunately, the head was too large and it got wedged on the gap of the bridge. I climbed up and kicked on the lower jaw and it gave easily and then found a way to the edge of the bridge.

The knights cheered. They ran over to meet me but they stopped when the Hydra head gave way and fell into the river. The gap was so large it was impossible to jump across. It didn't stop the knights from celebrating though.

"You've done it me boy! One helluva job!" Sir Pent cheered.

I nodded. I've finally done it! Wait till Reina hears about this!

"I would like everyone to meet the newest member of the Pactagonal Knights!" Captain Rolith suddenly spoke from behind them; Maya and Sir Valence was behind him. "You are welcome at Oaklore anytime!" Maya smiled proudly at me while Sir Valence nodded in admiration.

That reminded me of something. "So how can I get back?"

"As for that, I suggest you head to Falconreach." Captain Rolith replied. "You should take your time to rest and heal there while we repair the bridge. Once you arrive, look for Serenity's Inn. The owner would be more than glad to welcome you to her inn. I assure you that."

I waved goodbye to everyone and promised them that I would return soon. I then turned around and smiled to myself. Nothing like a good taste of victory. It was dark now but it didn't do anything to affect my spirits as I went on my way to Falconreach.

(A/N: And done! Vincent's adventures in Oaklore are over; for now that is. Its time to head for Falconreach! Well, a quarter of the story is done and from this part on, he won't be travelling alone most of the time. Well, enough hints and see ya guys around! Iron Raven out…)