Disclaimer: I own only Kotetsu and Arashi's butts. Oh, and Argon's. Would it sound perverted if I said I own Claire's butt? Heh heh heh

Chapter 2: The Drake

Two friends watched from the cave, as the brothers practiced their kinjutsu skills, unaware of the pain yet to come. "I'm sorry for your loss Boltzman."

"Thank you Argon."

"How have the boys taken it?"

"I haven't told them yet"

"You haven't? It's been four days. How long do you plan to wait? The longer you wait, the harder it will be."

"I know. It's just… I don't know how to say it. I don't even know what to say."

"I understand. I lost a loved one at the hands of the desians as well."

"Oh? You know how I feel? You had to tell your children that their mother died, when their own father, the hero of the entire world couldn't save her?"

"Boltzman! Do you hear yourself? They won't blame you!"

"I do"

They stood in silence for a while. "How old are they?"

"8"

"So young." It was only a whisper, but Boltzman still heard.

"Yes." Another moment of silence.

"Boltzman… do you need anything? I would be more than happy to help in anyway I can. Especially in these times, we must look out for one another."

" No. But thank you."

"Well, should you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't. Thank you."

"Very well. I well take my leave then. It is a day and a half hike back to my home. Good luck to you, my old friend."

"And to you"

Boltzman sighed as Argon walked away. Argon was right. He needed to tell them. It wasn't going to get any easier. Boltzman sighed again as he began walking towards his boys.

4 years later

"Ger back here Arashi! You're dead! I'll never forgive you!" Kotetsu charged his brother, bringing his sword down hard.

"HA! As if! You think you can fight me with that kind of power? Pathetic fool!" Arashi easily blocked hid brother's sword, and returned with a thrust. Kotetsu brushed it aside, and a pout crossed his face.

"Hey! That's not fair! You were the villain yesterday! It's my turn today!"

"I make a better villain than you do. You have to be cool to be a villain. And I'm the cool brother."

"What does that make me?" Kotetsu asked, not bothering to make a

Smart-aleck reply. He was too curious with his brother's answer.

"Easy, you're the spoiled little brother."

Kotetsu unleashed a furious attack on Arashi. He didn't worry about hurting his brother. Arashi was just as good as Kotetsu. They almost never got past each other's defenses and injured each other. Almost. "You big jerk! You think just because you're a couple of minutes older than me, your better than me! Ill show you!"

Kotetsu always had a bad temper. He was a good kid; nice, kind honest, and obeyed his father. But he had a horrible temper. With that temper he easily lost his reasoning and control, but he would have never expected he could break through hid brother's defense. He would have never expected the attack to break through so easily. So easily that he couldn't stop the hard swing. He would have never expected to have slashed his brother's arm, leaving it wounded and mostly immobile. He would have never expected any of these things to happen. But they did.

Kotetsu and Arashi gaped at the bloody arm. "I guess you do have some skill", Arashi chuckled. "That was a nice attack. I was defenseless."

Kotetsu was horrified. "How can you laugh!? Look at what I did! I'm sorry Arashi. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't think…. I mean… because… well you never."

"Kotetsu relax. That's what we train for right? To get stronger."

Kotetsu sniffed, "Yeah, but-"

"Shut up! Otherwise you are just a sniveling spoiled brat!" Arashi knew it was a low blow. He knew how Kotetsu hated it when Arashi suggested he was better than Kotetsu. But it was necessary. And it had worked perfectly. Kotetsu's face showed his anger. "Calm down Kotetsu. I didn't mean it. I just said it to shut you up. Now listen, I'm not mad. It really was a good blow, and I deserved it. I knew I would make you mad and didn't care."

"But-" Kotetsu started, before he was interrupted.

"And do you really think dad can't heal this in just minutes?"

Kotetsu stopped. Arashi was right. Dad was very adept at healing. Dad was the one who advanced healing past novice level spells. He even made his own spell, which even the most advanced half-elves who specialized in the healing arts wouldn't even dream of pulling off. Only the summon spirits could perform this spell (other than dad of course) and even they couldn't do it alone.

"Yeah, your right. Dad can fix you up. That was pretty cool though, wasn't it?" Kotetsu beamed.

Arashi sighed, and then smiled. "Finally"

Boltzman POV

It was around mid-day. The boys were in the forest again, supposedly wandering around, but he knew better. As soon as they thought they were out of earshot and his watchful eye, they would spar again. Over the past couple of years they started training harder. Which wasn't a surprise. They were getting older. They were also good sparring rivals. They were very close in abilities, Kotetsu faster and Arashi stronger. That was the main difference. They were completely equal in skill.

Boltzman returned to his chore of cleaning the axe beaks. Recently there had been an infestation and he was hired to "dispose" of them. Which was a joke. Even his sons didn't want to do it, complaining axe beaks were on a child's level. Oh well. They would feed him and his boys for a while, and he got paid. It was a win-win. Besides, they tasted good. They tasted like chicken. Kotetsu ended his mind rant and chuckled at his joke, as he went on back to cleaning his family's dinner. When he had only three left, Boltzman heard Kotetsu screaming. This wasn't a scream of shock or fear. No, this might even be worse. It was Kotetsu's anger. His anger almost always got him into trouble. Mattering a curse,, Boltzman grabbed hes staff and ran to where his boys had been "exploring". As he ran, he could hear Kotetsu screaming again. Only this time, it sounded like he was saying something. Boltzman couldn't make it out clearly, but was able to catch, "Minutes older than me, your better than me! I'll show you!"

Boltzman sighed. "Looks like Arashi provoked him again."

Boys' POV

"Alright, enough senseless babble. Let's go home and have dad take a look at me," Arashi said as they stepped out of the forest into an open field.

"Ya' know, he's not gonna be happy. He warned us when he gave us these swords."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe he won't be too mad."

"Are you kidding? He's gonna be furious! He might even take our swords away!"

"No he won't. Dad knows we need these to protect ourselves from the monsters around here."

"I hope your right."

As the brothers walked home, neither noticed the shadow on the ground. But both heard the roar, and jumped away to avoid a fireball. A wyvern descended and landed right in front of the now wide-eyed twins. Kotetsu couldn't believe this. "A Drake? Those are rare."

"What do you mean those are rare!? Is that all you have to say? We're in serious trouble! Dad said never fight a Drake or an ogre!"

"Then what do we do? Run? Can we even outrun something that flies and spits fireballs?"

"… Probably not. What do we do? Fight?" But his question was interrupted. The wyvern had flown straight to him. He dodged and rolled next to his brother.

"I have an idea", Kotetsu stated.

"What?"

"I'll hold him off, while you go get dad."

"What!? Do you have a death wish!?" They were bow jumping left and right, dodging fire and claws alike.

"No, but I know we can't run and we can't beat it with your injury…" Kotetsu's voice trailed off.

"Fine. I'll get dad. Stay alive Kotetsu." And Arashi turned and ran. The wyvern noticed movement and flew after Arashi.

"Arashi! Behind you!" Arashi turned to see the Drake right behind him. He jumped to the side, but was too late. Arashi's dive saved him from the jaws of the beast, but not its claws. It slashed its ivory talons into his leg.

"Aaaaaaauuuuugggghhh" Arashi screamed in pain.

The wyvern had circled around, and was coming to finish its kill, when Kotetsu ran and jerked his brother back. The wyvern landed hard on the ground. Kotetsu quickly slashed its legs. It screamed in anger and whipped its head to face him, jaws now closed, fire blazing around its teeth. 'No way! No way are you hurting my brother!' Kotetsu slashed its face, causing it to turn away and roar in agitation. Kotetsu started to drag his unconscious brother away. He knew they had to get away. Those weren't wounds; they were cuts. And all Kotetsu was doing was making it mad.

The wyvern blasted fire at them. Kotetsu pulled his brother out of the way in time, only to be dive-bombed by the beast. He rolled under it and struck at its leg as it passed, only for the blade to bounce off the hard scales as his sword flew out of his hand. The Drake immediately circled around for another attack.

Wait! Kotetsu made it mad. It wanted him! Maybe he could lead it away from his brother. He dodged the wyvern's charge and ran. He picked up his sword as he ran. He didn't know where to run, he just knew to run. Away from his brother. But he couldn't go too far. What if he forgot where Arashi was, or how to get back? No one could help him get home. Kotetsu stopped a few hundred feet from Arashi. He could easily warn Arashi in time form this distance. Kotetsu struggled for minutes, dodging and slashing when he could. He was quickly growing tired. He misjudged a jump and received a slash on his back.

'Geez! How long can this overgrown lizard go!?' Kotetsu felt along his back. 'The whole back of my shirt's been ripped! And I don't think I can hold on much longer. I can't even tell if it's winded! Crap. Gotta think of something quick. Even if this scaly salamander doesn't kill me soon, blood loss will. Think, Kotetsu. Think!'

The wyvern charged again. 'This is it. I'm gonna die. Please, please let Arashi live' As he pleaded he heard the Drake's roar. It was almost there. Soon, soon he'd be-

BOOOOOOOM!

A massive fireball exploded in the wyvern's side, causing it to fall over. Kotetsu looked to his right.

"Dad!" Kotetsu smiled. He wasn't going to die. He was going to be fine. So was Arashi. Arashi! "Dad! Arashi's hurt!"

"I'll take care of him after I deal with this". The wyvern returned to its feet and blew its own fireball at Boltzman. He easily brushed it aside. Kotetsu ran for his brother. The wyvern once again was its prey on the run and followed in pursuit, quickly closing the distance.

Boltzman scoffed "Fireball!" The wyvern didn't even bother to turn its head, as its tail swatted the fireball, extinguishing the flames. 'No! I should've used something else! Using a low-level fire spell against a dragon? What was I thinking? Can't use any low-level spells, and I don't have enough time to charge a medium or high class spell to hit it from this distance.' "Kotetsu! Behind you! He's coming!"

Kotetsu reached Arashi and noticed he was unconscious, when he heard his father. He turned to see the wyvern charging at him. 'That's it! I've had it with this lizard licker!' Kotetsu charged straight at the Drake just before they collided, Kotetsu rolled out of the way and slashed the wyvern's left eye.

It roared in pain as blood rolled down its scaly face. Boltzman saw his son face the wyvern and that perfectly timed roll, and grinned to himself. "Kotetsu, hold him off!"

"Sure thing dad" As Kotetsu dodged the wyvern he noticed something. Its attacks were slower. 'heh, must be because of that busted eye'. As the wyvern relentlessly attacked, Kotetsu dodged all its attacks with ease from renewed energy.

"Kotetsu, get away!" Kotetsu dodged one more attack, jumped on the back of the wyvern, and launched off. As soon as he hit the ground, he ran away from the wyvern.

"You need to chill. Ice tornado!" The Drake gave one final roar as a vicious wind whipped around it; slamming ice chunks the size of baseballs into its body from all angles.

The wind was so powerful, some of the ice even knocked its scales off and ripped its flesh as the ice battered its body. As the winds died down, the wyvern's dead carcass fell heavily on the ground.

Kotetsu could only stare at dead reptile. His dad was awesome! "Wooooah. That was so cool! Can you teach me th- wait Arashi!" Boltzman was already making his way towards his unconscious son. Kotetsu grabbed his father's arm and ran towards his brother, dragging his father behind him. "Well dad? Can you make Arashi better?"

"Yes, he'll be fine" replied Boltzman as he checked Arashi's wounds. Kotetsu let out his held breath.

"Where did this injury come from? This wound on his arm? It's much too small for a wyvern to inflict. Especially one that big."

"Oh, that? I dunno. Maybe Arashi tripped and fell on glass or something."

"Kotetsu", Boltzman growled his son's name.

"I did that", Kotetsu mumbled as his head was suddenly focused on his feet.

Boltzman sighed heavily. "Never mind. We need to get your brother cleaned up and go home. Come on, we're going to the stream so I can heal your brother." As he said this, he cast a first-aid on Arashi. "That should do for now". Boltzman picked up his son, and they began walking away from the destroyed field, heading to the stream near their house. Upon arriving at the stream, Boltzman placed Arashi in it. He then cast a healing stream and Arashi's cuts and gashes completely closed, leaving only a faint scar on his left leg.

Boltzman then picked Arashi out of the spring and headed home. Just as the house came into view, Arashi woke up. Boltzman put him down and walked to their home, while Arashi and Kotetsu hung back.

"Is he mad?" Arashi asked his brother. Kotetsu simply nodded. "Hey! I bet we can say the Dragon gave me that slash on my arm!" Arashi smiled at his brilliance.

"Nope. He immediately saw it was too thin for a Drake to have caused it."

"So, what did you tell him?"

Kotetsu sighed. "What was I gonna tell him? You think we can keep a secret from dad?" Arashi simply shook his head. "Exactly. So I told him I did it."

"Awww maaaan. He's gonna be so pissed."

"Shut up, we're home." Boltzman turned to face his two boys. "I want both of you to change clothes. Throw those away. We have no use for those tattered rags. After you have changed, join me in the living room for a family discussion." After he received nods, he walked towards his bedroom to change his own clothes.

"Crap! He wants to have a 'family discussion'. That means he's pissed and we're screwed." Kotetsu just nodded. He honestly didn't know if he was sad, scared, or happy. Yeah, dad was mad. They would receive a punishment. But, he had fought and held his own against a Drake! That was cool. And he protected his brother. He would have to rub that in later. He could say he was saving the poor little orphan boy and he was the brave knight. Heh heh.

After a couple of minutes the family of half-elves were in the living room. Boltzman was on the couch, while Arashi and Kotetsu were sitting on the floor.

"Okay boys, let's hear it. What happened?"

Kotetsu answered. "Me and Arashi were playing in the woods and today I was supposed to be the bad guy because Arashi was yesterday, and he said he was cool and I was spoiled and I got mad and attacked him and cut his arm, but I didn't mean to and we were coming back to tell you when the wyvern attacked and-"

"Okay Kotetsu. Breathe." Boltzman interrupted. Kotetsu calmed down, fighting the tears. "I'm really sorry dad. I didn't mean to…". He couldn't finish.

Arashi sighed. His brother was great. Always was nice, always willing to help. He even had this ideal to where everyone deserved to live. Which wasn't a bad ideal at all. Arashi sorta agreed with it. But Kotetsu refused to ever purposefully harm any being other than a monster. He always tried to reason with people. Once, a thief broke into the house while dad was gone. Kotetsu easily pinned him to the ground but instead of hurting the man that just tried to end his life, Kotetsu told the thief he was going to let him go. And he did! He even went so far as to give the man money from one of his recent missions. Kotetsu had scolded him as well. He tried to reason with a common thief. The thief just left and Kotetsu was as kind-hearted as ever. Arashi sighed again. "Kotetsu, don't be sorry. Like I said, it was a nice attack. And I asked for it. Hell, I begged for it. I am willing to accept both, my consequences, and yours"

Kotetsu's eyes grew wide. "What? I cut you up and your willing to take my punishment? Are you nuts?"

Before Arashi could respond however, Boltzman spoke up. "Enough. Arashi you will not receive Kotetsu's punishment. In fact, you won't receive any punishment, seeing as to what you've been through is a sufficient consequence to your actions. Kotetsu, your punishment is to assist Arashi with anything he needs, seeing as he will be bed ridden for at least a weak."

"But dad, I don't need to stay in bed. You healed me." Arashi complained. He hated getting sick and hurt; staying in bed was so boring. Boltzman chuckled. 'Yep, these boys really are a chip off the old block. They hate being unable to do anything just as much as I do. I hope you can see them Claire.'

"I healed your cuts and flesh wounds. Not your bones. Your leg should be sore, considering how much damage it took from the Drake. Even with my techniques it'll be sore. It takes a lot of energy to restore the needed calcium in one's bones. It should only be done in emergencies. You also have some bruised ribs. In short, stay. In. bed.

"Yes father"

As his boys went to bed Boltzman couldn't help but think of how Kotetsu fought that wyvern. And he knew from the sounds he heard as he ran towards them earlier, that the boys had been struggling for a while. To think, they have no exspheres, and they haven't even begun to reach their full potential. If they ever do find their potential, they may become as powerful as Mithos the hero was'

A/N: For those that either haven't played the game or forgot, axe beaks are chicken-like monsters with axes for beaks, and a drake is a typical wyvern, two legs, and wings instead of arms. However, drakes live in Tethealla, not Sylverant. They also breathe lightning instead of fire. Just think of the "Drake" in this chapter as an incredibly strong wyvern. Just to let you all know, Lloyd and company will be in my fic. Not this one however. This is the introductory to my OC. Lloyd and the others will appear in act 2. So if you find this boring and just want to see how I tie my OC's with the group (which I think is pretty well done), you can just skip this and wait.