Prologue
The date was June 5th, 1944. The allied powers were pushing their way into Europe from Italy and Russia and soon to be Normandy. The world was seeing just how powerful each side was as the Nazi power fell out of its glory and into a last ditch effort to save itself. It would be in vain.
But it was not on the front lines that this story takes place, but far behind into friendly territory. A squadron of British Spitefuls flew across northern Russia to aid in the liberation of Burma from the Japanese. There were five of them flying above the wild landscape, ready to get to their destination. They wouldn't know however, but they would never get to Burma.
Jack Richardson sat in the leader's cockpit, checking his altimeter. It was a nice day, he was sure, back in London, despite the reconstruction, but all around him and his squad was fog and clouds. They had only been over Russia for roughly four hours, planning on stopping in the provisional airfield, Severouralsk, across the Ural Mountains, but then the fog had moved in and the field had radioed a report of a snowstorm sweeping down from the mountains. They told him to fly the northern route and come in from there, the storm would be more likely to have passed them. Jack, being the squad leader, relayed the commands to his fellows, four others in total, and they had turned up for the higher mountains. He had brought with him a map, but not of the region so Alfred was coordinating with him on their progress, since he had packed a set of maps that had more of Russia on them, along with some of these mostly uncharted mountains.
"Shouldn't we be over some mountains by now?" The intercom buzzed with slight static, from the mountainous terrain. "We'll be at them shortly, Shorty." Shorty was Alfred's nickname to their youngest pilot, James, an American. Alfred could be heard chuckling through the radio as he bade his little joke. Things were never very tense in the group, and most of the time there was much more to be had amongst them, but seeing as the fog was thick and the mountains so close, their attention was more focused on navigating by their maps, radar, altimeters and wits alone. The radar was only a little helpful, telling them the rough location of the nearest peaks. At least a mile or two away each.
Alfred cleared his throat. "If we go down will anyone be able to find us, do ya think. These mountains sure are close-knit." He was right, the only map of the area between them all showed hundreds of unsurpassable terrain. "I'm sure they could air drop us supplies and whatnot until we get out, assuming we survive a crash in them." Jack said, checking his altimeter again, which had begun to rise. "The mountains are climbing as we speak boys."
James was, however, still stuck on what Alfred had said, the young man worried. "Nobody's been in these mountains since before God made them, how are we supposed to know that this is where they would look? We might just freeze to death, or-" He was cut off by Will, whose deep voice cut through the static. "Shut up, will ya James? We don't need that sort of thing on our minds."
"Sorry sir. Can't help but think of it."
Of course they were all thinking it, even Jack, but if they voiced it panic might overtake their instincts. This wouldn't be at all helpful to the success of their mission. Which was, at the moment, to navigate the fog and mountains to get to Severouralsk.
The radio was silent for a moment, a slight buzz of static now and then, which was beginning to bug them all, even Frank, who hadn't spoken in a while. "What is that god forsaken, bloody static!?" He hit the radio a few times, the others remaining silent as he did so. "Nobody knows, maybe someone is leaving their mic on. Let's have a check while we're at it, actually." Jack tapped his intercom as he said their names.
"Alfred."
"Check."
"Frank."
"Stupid, bloody, fu-"
"Will."
"Here."
"James."
"Yep."
"Ok then, that's that, can we all see each other's lights?" There was some static for a moment before James and Frank responded. "I can see you guys, there's a break in the clouds and your lights look fine." Frank however was still swearing at his radio for producing static. "Frank, you see our lights?" He responded with a yes in between two longer lines of curses.
"Frank, shut the hell up or I'll beat the snot out of you, I will!" Will shouted, causing Frank to break his lines of swearing and finally lean off his microphone, the static stopping as soon as he did. Not too long after that little awkward silence, the clouds started to clear. It wasn't very noticeable at first, seeing as they were flying high, but James was the first to notice it.
"Hey! Look below us, the clouds are breaking up!" Jack assumed they all did as he said and lo and behold, the clouds were a bit clearer. Jack pressed his mic. "Who wants to be the first down to see if it's safe to lower ourselves?"
"I got it." Frank said, finally calmed down. "I'll just be a second." Jack nodded to himself, giving Frank the ok.
"I wonder if I'll be the first to see these mountains from a plane in history, it would be an honor." It was obviously a joke, but he lowered himself below the clouds. The reason they all didn't was so that they all didn't accidentally collide with a mountain if there was one below them. Didn't want that.
"Hey Jack, you picking up that blip on the radar?" Alfred had made a glance to see if he could see a mountain, as had Jack. "I see it, what do you see down there Frank?" He shouted the last part, as if he actually had to. It was more for the effect than anything.
"It's safe to lower yourselves, if that's your question. Other than that- you won't believe your eyes when you do."
"What's that supposed to mean?" James said, dipping his plane down as the others did the same. There was an audible gasp from all of them as they could see the sprawling land below them.
Within a large ring of mountains, at least two hundred miles of changing landscape was beneath them. A large desert in the west overlooking a lake from a cliff. In the south was a large forest dotted with giant, ancient trees. To the north was a landscape of snow and ice, leading to a beautiful small lake with what looked like a waterfall, but was too far away to be certain. Directly ahead of them, to the east, was a larger set of mountains, one spewing smoke into the sky and magma visible at some points on the side. Between all these were large plains dotted with ponds and rivers. But that wasn't the amazing part.
The amazing part was the castle set in the canter as if it were a jewel of a crown, with a small city around it. Over the western lake was a bridge, and to the south a clearing in the woods could be seen with visible houses and smoke rising out. There were large farms sprawling through its outer regions, a beautiful pattern woven out of the fields.
"If you had told me, I would have called you an idiot…" Someone muttered over the radio, the voice made unrecognizable due to the softness, yet it spoke as if from all of them. "Do you see a landing strip down there, or do we just fly on?" Jack said, still peering at the ground far below, when he noticed something odd. "Is that city on fire?" Indeed it was, large plumes of smoke billowed out and tiny specs of people could be seen fleeing from the city.
Over the radio, they all heard their radars beep. A long, steady beat. "We got something incoming, and fast. I think it's what we saw a moment ago." They all looked out ahead of them, a dark shape filling the clouds in front of them. "Evasive maneuvers!" They all flew away from the shape, engines spurring to greater speeds as they pulled away from the shape. But not fast enough. A huge thing flew through the cloud, its skin red like blood and golden eyes piercing huge legs were beneath it, the size of a small house and as tall as a normal one. It was easily over one hundred feet, a long tail with spiked spines swaying behind it. "Is that…" The voice was cut off by a scream as the thing roared, loud enough for them to hear in their cockpits, and slammed into Will's plane.
"God damn i-" The voice was cut off as the plane hurtled toward the ground, its propeller gone with its left wing as it spiraled toward the ground. "Will!" James shouted as he brought his plane out of its downward streak.
"I'm ejecting!" A small shape flew out of the falling plane, a parachute flowing out from it.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief, watching the giant beast fly back down towards the town. "A bloody, fucking dragon. I can't believe it." Frank said, turning towards it.
"We can't leave will down there, hanging in the sky with a, still can't believe it, dragon. That and its attacking the town down there." James's voice stuttered as he mentioned the dragon, it had been fearsome indeed. Jack, turned his plane towards it, a scowl on his face.
"Prepare to engage the dragon. Let's deal with it like it was an airship. Big strong, yet slow. Frank, you go above for bombing coverage once we get it away from the city."
"Aye!" They all shouted, pulling their planes toward the dragon.
Frank swept in first, machine guns blazing as he passed above the dragon. After him Jack and Alfred did the same, James backing off, holding his guns for the time being. The dragon seemed slightly annoyed at best, but turned its head up at Alfred, its chest beginning to glow red. "You think it shoots fire?" He said quickly, just before the fire spewed out, covering his plane.
Jack flew in from behind, firing at its back, the flame ceasing. "You alright Alfred?" A gasp came from Alfred as he wiped his brow of sweat, pulling his flight cap off and loosening his jacket. "Felt like I was almost fried. My plane seems fine though, just scorched." They flew around the beast in tangent as it looked at Alfred as if he should be crispy. And very dead.
That's when James looked into its eyes, piercing gold. It locked eyes with him, even with the distance and the goggles. That thing's intelligent. He thought, turning toward it.
"Now James!" Jack ordered, shaking him out of his little trance. He hit the button on his flight-stick and watched a missile fly out from beneath his right wind. The dragon roared, turning to face James. Frank smirked at the missile arced into the dragon's mouth and exploded, the dragon's eyes rolling and a booming noise followed. The dragon hacked and coughed, staying where it had been, eyes buggering out of its head. Alfred took note of this. "Go for its eyes as it coughs, I don't think a dragon's going to be down long from one missile."
Jack spun toward the right eye, firing a round of bullets. Most connected with the eye, causing it to light up red and green, the dragon roaring and closing its eyes, maybe ignoring the pain from the missile shrapnel in its mouth.
"Let's do that again, I think that might have done something!"
"James fly away and switch to your next missile, myself, Alfred and Frank will get it to open its mouth again, when it does fire away!"
James flew over the dragons back and to its far side, Frank providing a proper distraction for the dragon. "How do ya like this, you Komodo!" Alfred shouted, firing a string of bullets at its eye again, watching in disappointment as they bounced off harmlessly. The dragon spotted him as he drew closer, something of a smirk appearing on the its face. Its leg came up, hitting the underside of Alfred's plane causing it to flip end over end. "Damn!" He began to steady himself when the dragon spun at him, roared and bit his plane in two. The cockpit and the front of the wings went flying off, the propeller spinning for a moment before sputtering to a stop.
The dragon spit the tail of the plane out, pieces flying in several directions.
"Alfred!" Frank shouted. "Go to hell you beast!" He fired a rocket at it as it turned toward the sound of his engine nearing. Its maw opened wide as fire spewed out, igniting the bomb as it entered its maw. Its eyes closed then bulged out.
"Fire!" James shouted, letting a rocket loose at the dragon's eye before he pulled up to narrowly avoid the dragon's horns. The rocket connected, the head flying to the side as it did. The explosion made it roar in pain, the three pilots roaring in triumph at both the blast and the parachute opening below them, Alfred's plane landing in a field below. The smoke cleared from the dragon's eye, showing an empty socket splattered with glittering shrapnel and blood. The remaining eye locked onto the planes.
"Back off for a moment, let it give us a quick chase. Frank tryi and get behind it and pepper its stomach. James, gat to my side." James and Jack pulled together, speeding up as the dragon roared, blood streaming out of its eye socket. With three gigantic flaps of its wings it flew after the two of them, ignoring Frank who flew low below the beast to avoid detection.
"Let's get toward the volcano, maybe we can get it in there and let it melt." Jack hesitated after James voiced his idea. He cleared his throat. "If it is, that may just make it angry."
"Look out!"
Franks voice shouted through the radio, making Jack and James jump. Jack spun to the right, the dragon's roar clearly audible as if flew past, its gigantic wings knocking his plane out of control as soon as they hit his own plane's wing. "Hell!" He heard James panicking, trying to regain control of his own aircraft. "It knocked my wing off! I'm going down!"
Jack spun around a blast of flame, rolling up and around the dragons back. He caught a glimpse of James's plane as it spiraled down. "Get its other eye for me!" He shouted into the radio, a small body flying up and out of the plane, a parachute opening after it fell a short ways. They were over a canyon now, and low enough to see a town amongst the rocks. James landed in a pool of water near the top of the canyon wall.
"Heyaaaah!" Frank screamed as he spun around the front of the dragon, firing two of his missiles into the hide of the dragon, his rage paralleled by the dragon. It spun at him, mouth wide open to slam its jaws down on Frank. It washed Frank's plane in fire, Frank swearing at it the whole way, breathing hard in the increased heat.
As smart as the dragon was, it was utterly stupid and yowled in pain as the rocket slammed into its throat. Its empty left eye socket surged with blood, oily red with venomous green. The other eye bulged and lost focus. It hacked and spewed fire out of its mouth, trying to melt down the shrapnel.
"Eat this you bastard!" Jack flew over the dragon, flipping a switch as he flew over the dragon. The bomb dropped from under his plane, falling like a rock onto the head of the dragon. It roared and flew forward, faster than ever. Its whole head was scorched and cracked, its horns stubs. The remaining right eye was no more, leaving the dragon blind. But still it flew, straight to the east.
To the volcano.
"Damn it, damn, damn damn!" Frank's voice on the radio quivered, still harsh with swearing. "I was too close to the head, my landing gear are crippled I think. My elevators and rudder are stuck as well, very sluggish at the moment." Jack slowed down to fly beside Frank. He was right, one of his wheels was hanging down and sparking slightly. His whole tail section was fused and slightly melted, more than likely from the dragon's flame.
"I think I'm going to have to bail, take out the dragon for me. It's putting a dent in my paycheck." He gave a quick salute out the window as he let go of the controls, the plane already turning down towards the top of the canyon. His cockpit popped and with almost no noise he flew out, the plane crashing into the dusted rock below.
Just Jack and the dragon. Not that it was able to do much at any rate. Its eyes were gone and it seemed to be lowering itself down to the earth slowly, but it was still speeding away toward the volcano. Jack scowled, shifting in his seat. "Time to die, beast." He gunned his engine, the plane speeding off after the dragon. The volcano was right there, magma slowly pouring down the sides. "Die you snakey bastard!" He opened fire on the dragon's back, firing his guns and the rest of his rockets into its head and back. It roared, a gush of flame spiraling out of its throat.
He pulled ahead of it, looking down on the cracked scaled head, blood oozing out and falling onto the craggy landscape below sparse of plants. He flicked the switch again, his second and last bomb falling out behind him. "Take that you scaly menace." He snarled, tugging the controls. He swerved away from the dragon and narrowly missed the volcano's side. The bomb hit it square on its scaled head, the cracks exploding in blood and shrapnel. It roared one final time, more along the lines of a gurgle honestly, before it crashed into the wall of the volcano, cracking both its own head and the side. Magma oozed out over the dragon's body, covering it in the red liquid. Jack cheered from within his plane, the surge of victory expelling the stress of the battle.
Jack turned away from the volcano, flying back toward the canyon. Spotting a flat stretch of land near it. Pulling around him made a quick landing, the plane shuddering to a stop about 50 feet or so from the edge of the canyon. He opened the cockpit, climbing out and falling face first onto the barren landscape in a heap.
A straight day of travel in a plane leaves your legs weak, he reminded himself as he rolled over onto his back. He had done it. He had killed a bloody dragon, a thing of myths.
It wasn't long after that that Frank found him staring at the sky, now blue and cloudless. He sat down next to him. "Now wasn't that a work of the devil." Jack smirked, sitting up. "And what are we then, angels?"
"I would think so." A voice behind them said. They turned to see a tall man in multicolored robes standing beside the plane. "Welcome to Hyrule."
AUTHOR TIME
Hello! I am The Original Navar, writer of this here story. It's based off of the Zelda series, which I do not own, by the way. You may be thinking "This isn't exactly modern being from the 1940's and WW2" But this is just the Prologue, a taste of the past and the beginning of the story. Next chapter will take us to the future! (2010)
I hope you enjoy.
