Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! How to Train Your Dragon belongs to DreamWorks, and Amphibia belongs to Disney.
The night was dark and full of terrors.
The likes of which began to infest the smoggy skies of L.A. The only thing that lit up this wave of darkness was a single helicopter, shining a beaming light over the night sky. Two men were seen flying the aircraft, one piloting the aerial vehicle and one on the side, equipped with a long-ranged sniper rifle.
The light it was pointed to was on a particular terror, which took the form of a dark creature with enormous wings. But not even the brightness of the lights was enough to reveal exactly what the animal was. As they were too brightly lit and scattered to reveal its innate appearance. There were some notable features, yet they were still hard to make out. Therefore, the dimmed imagery leaves the beast unknown to the naked eye.
However, the beast was moving quickly, zipping past the busy rush-hour traffic streets from above without anyone noticing, moving faster than anything they'd ever seen. However, in hindsight, they have been chasing it for several hours. Ever since morning, to be exact. And the creature was now starting to get tired and weary. Perhaps even already showing signs of giving in. Thus setting up an opportunity to bring this never-ending chase to a final close. That is if they can find the right angle to do so.
"Keep it steady," said the sniper.
As the pilot hovered over the joystick to keep the chopper balanced in the sky, the sniper reloaded his rifle and looked through the scope. With a deep breath, he focused his aim through the telescopic sight and set his eye on the unknown beast. Then, in one split second, the gunman held his breath before pulling the trigger, releasing a powerful shot with precise accuracy.
But to the sniper's dismay, the bullet failed to hit the dragon and pierced a street light a few yards to the dragon's right instead. Thus causing the mysterious creature to bank left into another street and away from their line of sight.
"Dang it, Larry!" the sniper shouted. "I said keep it steady!"
"Sorry," the pilot apologized. "But it's too windy out here. We're going to have to call it off!"
"Not yet," the sniper protested. "We're so close! We can't give up now!"
With that, the gunman looked out and downward toward the streets, seeing no sign of the unknown beast. The pilot seemed not to like the idea of searching again but also understood his colleague's desperation. They have been chasing this thing for so long; to give up now would mean condemning many innocent people to whatever horrors this thing had in store. If it had any, for all they knew. It was better to deal with this now than let it drag on for the rest of the night.
"Alright, one more check around the perimeter," the pilot caves in, yet warns. "But I'm not gonna lie, we're gonna run out of fuel soon."
And with that, they banked left into the direction they last saw the beast turn to. Unknowing to them, the creature's path would eventually lead straight into the direction of the Willow Brooke Mall, where a terrible storm would brew for the residents occupying the giant structure.
Yet also unknowing to the lone chopper, the two men were unaware of a second unknown terror lurking in the shadows from an abandoned building just below them, which also had its sights on the Willow Brooke Mall. Its serpent-like eyes narrowed with a vigorous appetite before taking off, silently reaching the structure with ferocious intent.
Elsewhere 7:00 p.m.
Sasha was having a blast at the Willow Brooke Mall. Despite Marcy and Anne not being with her at this time, it was easy to say that the cheerleading warrior was having the time of her life on her latest shopping spree. Accompanying her were Maggie and Gabby, who were having just as much fun as she was. For three hours straight, they went from every store on the block, looking for the fanciest set of clothes they could get their hands on. That is, without going over her usual budget to prevent herself from bankrupting her parents, even though they are still divorced.
However, while she was enjoying her time out, something was off. Like, something was missing about this. Perhaps it had to deal with the absence of her two best friends. Maggie and Gabby were fun to hang out with, but it didn't feel the same as when she went with Anne and Marcy, considering they did everything together. And she would've liked it better if they were here with her. It just wasn't the same without them.
She used to have so much fun with them, especially in the days before Amphibia. She remembered it all too well, from the moments when she and Anne would go, playing fifty million rounds on the fusion dance game in the arcade and getting the highest, to the times when they'd go from store after store to find the cutest outfits for Marcy. Or the time she and Anne would go around various back alleys tagging their names with graffiti. So many adventures they had together. That was definitely what old Sasha would have wanted. But alas, she was not old Sasha. That part of her was long gone.
Not only that but if there was one thing she learned in Amphibia, it was that she had to respect their boundaries, especially Anne's. Though admittingly, that was one thing her old self would not appreciate, considering how much of a control freak she was. But that was now behind the warrior queen. And now she was a different person. Not allowing the past to define who she was. And she had all of this in mind as the former first lieutenant sat in a chair in a beauty salon getting a makeover, with a few dozen bags filled with clothes and accessories set to the side where the warrior queen could see them as she shared one of the many adventures she had back in Amphibia her colleagues.
"So I pick off the hammer, drop at the lords' feet, and go, 'Boom! You looking for this?!'" she explained, thus earning a gasp of awe from her peers.
"Omg, did you say that?" Gabby asked in between laughs.
"No," Sasha then admitted, but not before the expression on her face turned from deadpan serious to all cute and innocent as she put up the most adorable smile across the corners of her list. "But that's what it felt like."
A moment of silence came about as the other two ginger girls shared a look before another wave of laughter abrupted, much to Sasha's confusion.
"What?" she said, tilting her head slightly to the left. "Isn't that like a genuinely cool thing to say?"
"Since when has that ever been the case?" Maggie challenged.
"I don't know," the warrior queen answered, trying to shed some optimism on the subject. "Usually kills in those 80s action movies. And besides,"
"No offense, Sasha," Maggie interrupted, feeling the need to stop the blonde teen before she could proceed. "But those movies, to me, are very overkill."
Sasha then gasps in shock before covering her mouth in the most dramatic way possible.
"Maggie, I'm offended," she said sarcastically. "Those movies were fly as heck."
"Please," the ginger scoffed. "It's just a bunch of good-looking people doing dumb things while stuff explodes."
"Oh? Well, it's not like today's movies do the same thing." Sasha quickly pointed out. "Except with stupid people doing dumber things with bigger explosions while trying to rehash old stuff simultaneously because they ran out of ideas."
There was another protracted, sullen silence before the group abrupted into extreme laughter. In light of the moment, Maggie threw her arms up in defeat, knowing that her blonde colleague had an excellent point.
"Touche, Waybright," she conceded. "Touche."Their moment was suddenly interrupted by a pack of angry moms hounding a mall cop for some weird reason. The very image of the women surrounding the officer and constantly yelling at his face was enough to kill the vibe for the three girls in an instant. Even Sasha herself was rather disgusted just looking at the middle-aged moms harassing the poor dude. She was starting to feel bad for the guy, especially if he had to deal with this daily. It must feel exhausting having to listen to so many complaints at once.
"Ugh, don't they have anything better to do?!" the warrior queen complained.
"Yeah, dude, this is like seriously killing the vibe right now," Maggie commented.
"What do you think it's about this time?" Gabby questioned in curiosity.
"My money's on the price tags in 'Old Maybe' being too high," Maggie wagered.
"Or better yet," Sasha butted in. "Maybe some ruffian made a heap of trouble, their 'little angels.'"
And just like that, the mood was set back on as the three girls sniggered at Sasha's comment. It was a neat old trick Sasha had learned in the day—just a little something to bring back the vibe when things went south. To her credit, the warrior queen used it pretty well whenever something went wrong around Anne and Marcy. Of course, that was when they had been manipulating them. But that was all in the past now, even if that was precisely what she did to them. However, the more she thought about it, the more Sasha felt the need to change the subject. She was not willing to risk reliving the memories of how much of a two-faced bully she was to her best friends. Then again, there was one topic in particular that crossed her mind. One that was worth mentioning, at the very least.
"Speaking of angels, how are things with your brother?" Sasha asked, trying to chime in on the small talk. "You've mentioned yesterday that he was still a little menace."
"Ugh, don't even get me started on that little twirp," Maggie groaned; the very thought of her little sibling made her skin crawl. "Don't get me wrong, I still love my little brother. But I can't stand him sometimes. There are times when he makes me want to strangle him with my bare hands. "
"That bad, huh?" Sasha inquired. "Is that what having a younger sibling is like?"
"Sure, if you can even call it that," Maggie replied. "I had to pay him 50 bucks to keep him from telling my parents I'm out."
Both girls perked up at the sudden notion while Maggie gasped at realizing what had just come out of her mouth.
"Wait...your parents don't know you're out shopping with us?"
In an instant, Maggie's face went red, with another long pause following shortly after. And briefly, Sasha could see the embarrassment on the ginger girl's face as guilt became more noticeable. It almost made her smirk in amusement for a second.
"Well..." Maggie began to stutter. "Not yet...but I was going to tell them anyway."
"And when were you going to do that?" Sasha questioned further, trying to challenge her ginger friend to give her a straight answer.
Yet, in light of the warrior queen's question, Maggie couldn't think of an answer for her. Thus, her face became brighter and brighter, and the added pressure only caused her to panic even more.
"That's beside the point!" the redhead scorned, trying to brush the embarrassment plastered around her cheeks. "The fact is he's still a chattering little gremlin, and no matter what I do or say, he still gets on my nerves!"
"Okay then, whatever you say," Sasha teased.
"And don't get me started on all the clothes he made me clean," Maggie added. "Have you ever smelled a boy's dirty socks before? Well, let me tell you, it WASN "T PLEASANT!"
"Alright, alright, chill. I was kidding," Sasha defused quickly. "Geeze, I guess I just hit a nerve."
"You know," Gabby recoiled for a second. "This reminds me of when Peruvia called Randy suspicious on Suspicion Island."
Maggie instantly perked up upon hearing those words and gasped at the mention of Suspicion Island, immediately forgetting what she was saying about her little brother just seconds ago.
"Wait, you watch Suspicion Island too?" she asked rhetorically. "That's like my favorite show."
Gabby gasped in return, instantaneously being stoked by the thought of the other girl watching the show just like her.
"Omg, it's my favorite show, too," she replied with a little giggle. "Did you hear that they might bring Vivica back?"
"No way!" Maggie refuted in denial. "But Vivica died last season."
"Oh, we both know that doesn't matter on this show," Gabby responded, with both girls giggling shortly after.
Sasha would've chimed in but felt a cold chill shoot down her spine at the mention of Suspicion Island. Unlike her colleagues, the warrior queen wasn't a massive fan of the show. She felt it was overrated, with many scenes being overkilled and predictable. It was a tough egg on her despite it being Anne's favorite show for some weird reason. However, despite her opinion of the show, Sasha didn't mind listening to the two gingers gossip about it.
"Okay, so hot take," Gabby retracted. "Who do you think is the most suspicious?"
"Gabs, it's called Suspicion Island for a reason," Maggie raised an eyebrow. "Everyone's suspicious."
"Yeah, but I mean, who, in your opinion, is the most suspicious?" Gabby rephrased. "Like, who do you think stands out the most? I've got my money on Chad. "
For a moment, Maggie thought of the question until it finally hit her.
"Oh, right," she said before touching the base of her chin to think. "I say, Peruvia."
"WHAT?!" Gabby exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "Why her?"
"Why not her?" Maggie retorted. "She's always the one accusing Randy of being suspicious. And every time someone else did, she denied it. Isn't that a little obvious?"
"It can't be her, dude," the other ginger denied. "It's gotta be Chad. He's been, like, super creepy the entire show. Wasn't there a part last season when he mentioned how those dinosaurs were clones of his dead brother?"
"That's exactly why it can't be him," Maggie countered, rolling her eyes. "It would make it too obvious and ruin the show. And besides, I think he was bluffing the whole time."
"But what would he gain from bluffing?" Gabby challenged sincerely. "He seemed pretty honest about it in my eyes."
"Oh, come on," Maggie refuted. "Since when have people made Dino clone versions of their relatives?"
"Well, isn't that what the show's about? If you think about it, nothing in the show makes sense?"
"Sure, but that still doesn't change the fact that it couldn't be him. At least with Peruvia, you can see she isn't being too subtle. "
"Pointing fingers at everyone else isn't being subtle," Gabby added, shaking her head stubbornly. "And her claims aren't even legit either."
"Well, it's much better than confusing a bunch of dinosaurs as your dead brother."
The two teens were about to continue their argument before they suddenly went all silent. Then, in a relatively swift motion, both girls turned their attention to Sasha, who was still listening to the ongoing conversation. Shortly after, an evil smirk came across the two of them before they turned back to the blonde warrior girl in question.
"How about you, Sasha?" Maggie asked. "Who do you think is the most suspicious?"
Naturally, the warrior girl did not answer them right at the get-go, having to think long and hard. However, in light of her hesitation, Sasha was no fool. Despite not being a fan of the show, that didn't mean she wasn't current on it either. The only reason she'd even entertain such trash T.V. was to spend all night gossiping about it with Anne and Marcy, which she admitted were pretty fun.
"If I'm gonna be honest right now," she started, asking for a moment to bring up the suspense. "I think it's Randy."
This earned a gasp of betrayal from both girls, who probably hoped she'd back either of them up. In response to this apparent betrayal, Sasha smirked in amusement, knowing she had the girls fooled with her third opinion.
"Really?!" Maggie exclaimed. "How?"
"Like, serious," Gabby added. "It can't be him!"
"Come on, girls, if you think about it," the blonde warrior explained. "The man's been accused three times by Peruvia, and not once has he ever denied it."
As predicted, there was another long pause as both girls thought about Sasha's logical explanation. And the lack of any further response only emphasized how right the warrior queen was.
"Well, can't argue with that logic," Maggie conceived.
"It's that simple; even Grime thought he was suspicious," Sasha admitted. "And they didn't even have T.V. in Amphibia."
"Then what did you end up doing half the time there?" Gabby questioned.
"Eh, not much, really," the battle queen shrugged. "I made a vlog about it a few months back, but I'm not proud."
"Oh, I think I saw a video about that," Maggie mentioned. "Didn't you say something about a dope life as some army lieutenant?
"Yup. That's the one."
"Do you ever look back at it?" Gabby asked again, "Wishing you could relive all of that?"
"Nope," Sasha denied instantly. "But I did have my entourage, so it wasn't all bad."
This earned a chuckle from the other two girls. Despite their overall amusement, the thought of being reminded of how Sasha used to be sent a shiver down her spine and, nevertheless, started to annoy the battle queen. However, their ignorance of the matter didn't help her case either.
"Man, you must've been having the time of your life there, weren't you, Sasha?" Maggie commented insensitively. "It's a shame we weren't there to see it though."
"Eh, I don't think you would've liked it," the battle queen retracted.
"What makes you think that?" Gabby asked curiously.
"Well, unless you're okay with dodging giant monsters trying to kill you 24/7, topped off with joining a band of bloodthirsty toad soldiers in a campaign to ravage an entire valley, ultimately leading to a confrontation with your best friend, who you've been lying to and manipulating for years, only to for her to choose her friends over you after seeing how toxic you've been to her and then deam them better off without you and allow yourself to pummel off the side of a crumbling tower to your very possible death-"
Sasha paused for a second, taking a deep breath before finishing up. The battle queen did her best not to break down at the physical and emotional trauma she had to go through in her time as first lieutenant and how she nearly lost Anne and Marcy because of her vanity and arrogance. The type of trauma where she had almost lost the only two people she had ever cared about, all for selfish reasons while also essentially getting herself killed along the way.
"Then, by all means," the warrior queen finished. "But just so you guys know, I told ya so."
Dead silence filled the beauty salon as the two girls stared at the warrior queen, mouths practically agape. Even the stylists were quite surprised by Sasha's words, having stopped what they were doing while they listened. However, they resumed quickly after realizing they were about to lose concentration.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass on that one hard, Sash," Maggie replied, feeling guilty.
"It must've been hard for you," Gabby tried to sympathize. "Wasn't it?"
"Yeah, but that's all in the past, girls," Sasha began to reassure. "That part of me is long gone...I hope."
Afterward, both gingers looked at each other and laughed it off, in which Sasha joined them shortly after indiscriminately. The battle queen figured they understood where she came from despite their naivety of her experience and that this was merely a distraction to forget about, which she was all too grateful for. Still, the memories were far from gone, and Sasha could not simply forget about her old life. Nevertheless, they were only remnants of her past life and nothing more. And the battle queen can only move on from it, which she still intended to do.
By then, the trio spent the next few minutes gossiping before the stylists finally finished, and they all left satisfied with their new looks, except for Maggie, who didn't like the color of her nails. But was willing to roll with it anyway for the sake of not having to do it all over again and having to pay extra and waste more of their time. However, the same couldn't be said for the warrior queen, who was pleased that her stylist could get her makeover style right, which was impossible to do the last time she was here.
Overall, it still ended pretty well. After paying the stylists what they were owed, the three girls grabbed their stuff and strolled out of the salon, feeling like they had just done a hard day's work. However, that was more said than done in Sasha's mind since Anne would know much more about a hard day's work than she ever would. But it was still a pretty good day so that she couldn't complain.
As the trio veered to the left from the saloon and headed straight down the aisle, they came across an intersection that connected the closest exit on the second floor to an escalator that led directly toward the rest of the mall. From there, they decided to take a short break after walking for a long time while carrying many bags of clothes.
"So girls," Sasha proclaimed with a deep breath. "What should we do next?"
"I actually gotta head home now, Sasha," Gabby mentioned with a frown. "It's almost past curfew."
"Yeah, I gotta bounce too, sadly," Maggie confessed. "Gotta get back before my brother rats me out."
"Still haven't told your parents yet, huh?"
As unfortunate as it seemed, Sasha looked at her phone and saw it was almost closing hour. So understandably, she could see why they needed to call it quits now. Plus, there was no point in going on anyway since they'd been to every store in the mall. To continue would mean pushing it just a little bit.
"Well, the mall's about to close soon," the warrior queen mentioned. "I guess we should start calling it a day."
"We should do this again sometime, Sash," Maggie commented.
"Yeah, you're so fun to hang out with," Gabby added exhilaratingly.
"Thanks, guys," Sasha replied with a smile. "You guys aren't so bad yourselves. I don't know why we don't hang out more often."
"So, can we come to your next cheerleading practice?" Maggie questioned.
"We'll see. Remember, I'm not team captain anymore."
There was yet another moment of silence when the ginger realized what Sasha meant. And considering they all knew who the new captain was, who currently turned out to be the meanest kid in school, it nearly ruined the vibe.
"Oh...right."
"Don't sweat it, Margo," the battle queen reassured. "I might not be team captain, but I'm still part of the cheerleading squad. And that will never change no matter what Tracy says or does."
"Well, you know what, you're a captain in my eyes, Sasha Waybright," Gabby proclaimed confidently. "Regardless of whatever that spoiled rich girl says."
"I appreciate that, girls," Sahsa said with thanks. "I wouldn't want anyone else along for the ride."
And with that, the three girls shared another laugh before heading towards the door. Thus presumably marking the end of today's shopping spree. However, before they could even think about making their way out, there was a chilling echo of screams from the other side of the mall. It was then followed by the sound of a large explosion that nearly shook the ground. This caused the three girls to stumble a bit, to which Gabby tripped over herself, followed by Maggie, who dropped the bags she was carrying. Once the ground stopped shaking, the warrior queen dropped her shopping bags and rushed to the railing overlooking the mall.
From up there, she caught a glimpse of the commotion below. She saw people running and screaming in multiple directions, anywhere away from whatever came from the mall entrance on the other side of Kiosk Alley. As Sasha narrowed her vision, she was surprised to see a large gray puff of smoke rising from the doors. Which only meant that they were blasted open. A moment too soon, there was a dark, shadowy figure within the confines of the smoke. It was too gloomy for Sasha to get an actual visual, but it was visible enough for her to make out, at the least.
A long barbed tail snaked about almost a heartbeat later before whipping as quickly as a tornado and clearing away the smoke. Thus, Sasha gasped as the figure entered the light, revealing a large, silver creature with substantial, sharp wings. From what the former first lieutenant had seen, the creature's hide was adorned with shiny metallic scales, covered from nose to tail. Its four legs were also backed with two black talons covering each foot. And finally, the centerpiece of the creature was a long snout with a long, tapered horn at the tip of its crocodilian head. Then, two emerald eyes appeared, glowing through the mist, with what seemed to be long black eyelashes flickered a bit.
The creature growled intensively before unleashing an echoing roar, announcing its arrival. From there on out, the mall erupted in chaos as the dragon descended towards a fountain a few yards from the entrance. Distressed by all the noise and screaming, the beast turned to its right and roared aggressively at a few pedestrians closest to it, with the former scattering without hesitation.
People trembled at its wake, which was much to say considering it was merely as big as a horse. Yet that didn't mean it wasn't as dangerous as Sasha could see. Even the angry moms, who would generally be a pest to anyone messing with their kids, quivered at the sheer power of the dragon's roar before scattering off, clutching their babies to their breasts along the way. But not before the beast snapped its jaws at one of them, nearly biting her head off, had she hesitated for even a second, followed by yet another roar as they fled. As it made its way down Kiosk Alley, the beast stopped by one of the free sample stands, eyeballing one of the posters with the word 'Free!' written all over it.
This revealed that the creature was dangerous, which wasn't surprising to the battle queen, considering how it just smashed through the front doors like glass. Nevertheless, it was something the blonde warrior had never seen before. And that was saying a lot, considering how she faced many more giant monsters back in Amphibia. She remembered Marcy mentioning the random appearances of these mysterious creatures, but she wasn't sure if the nerd was telling the truth. Then again, nine times out of 10, Marcy was right in the long run. So kudos to her. However, as she continued to observe the beast's not-too-subtle rampage, the two gingers behind her were whipped up into a frenzy.
"What the heck is that?!" Gabby exclaimed.
"I don't know!" Maggie responded. "But I don't think we should stay around to find out?"
"What do we do, Sash?"
And like a lit-up firecracker, the battle queen's instincts started to kick in. Her first impulse was to get her friends out of the building as quickly as possible. This took the form of her completing 180 and pointing to the nearest exit.
"Get to the door!" she commanded. "Now!"
And like clockwork, the three girls made a b-line straight for the doors, with Sasha leading them. A couple of yards from the exit, the battle queen looked behind her shoulder to see mobs of people bolting for the exit. Most likely in a panic because of the mysterious creature. At that point, Sasha knew they were better off opening the doors so people could get out rather than risk being trampled by thousands. So she turned back to the other two girls, who had successfully made it to the exit.
"Quick, open the doors!" she shouted.
"What?!" Maggie protested in uncertainty. "Are you sure about this?"
"Just do it!"
Then, just as the former first lieutenant had hoped, Maggie and Gabby wisely began to open the doors. Half a second later, Sasha came out just in time, taking shelter behind Maggie while helping her open the door. And like sheep in pen, many people stormed out, screaming and shouting. They began running in multiple directions, with a few nearly tripping over one another due to the commotion. And after a few more seconds, the crowd started getting smaller and smaller until it seemed like everyone was finally out.
The three girls sighed in relief, grateful not to have been trampled while trying to escape. Yet before Sasha could take the opportunity to leave, she heard a sudden scream echo across the mall. Despite her friends' protests, Sasha rushed back into the mall. Back to the place she had just been five seconds ago, only to gasp in horror as she took witness to a rather gruesome scene. From which she did not expect to see at the very least.
As it turned out, the dragon had set its sights on the mall's officer, brave enough to face the terrible beast, brandishing his taser gun. Of course, that was before she took off to open the doors. Unfortunately for the cop, Sasha saw that his left leg was now in the jaws of the silver metallic beast who clamped down hard with pressure equivalent to that of a crocodile. She could hear the man howling in agony from atop the second floor, along with what supposedly happened to be the sounds of teeth piercing through flesh. It made the battle queen shiver just hearing the man's screams from afar.
That was until the cop shoved the taser into the dragon's right eye. Thus causing it to shriek while loosening its grip on the man's leg. Ultimately, this leads to the creature letting go and reaching over to its now wounded eye. Yet, even as the man began to crawl away from the disoriented beast, the dragon shook it off before zooming in on the man dangerously. The blonde girl watched as it opened its mouth, with saliva drooling from the corners of its silver lips. And she didn't need to be a genius to know what comes after. To that end, old Sasha would've left him to rot and save herself. Let alone even bother to care about his life, to begin with. After all, he was a stranger to her, hardly knowing his name.
But alas, she wasn't old Sasha.
And there was no way in Grime's name that she would let an innocent person suffer such a tragic fate as to be obliterated by a raging, bloodthirsty monster. Not only that, but she sure would not let said beast waltz in and wreck shop on her world without getting an earful. She already had foreign aliens trying to destroy her home, something she was partially responsible for. And she wasn't going to let it happen a second time. The battle queen would make sure about that.
"You guys go on ahead," she tells the others, in which they turn to her in surprise and shock.
"Sash, what are you-"
"Call the cops as soon as you're out," Sasha added. "I'll try to see if I can keep whatever that thing is busy till then."
"Are you crazy?!" Maggie proclaimed. "It's way too dangerous."
"Yeah," Gabby added on. "That thing will kill you!"
The blonde warrior responded with a chuckle. "You guys who you're talking about. This is literally what I do daily."
In that instant, both ginger girls froze. Because the girl in question took on an entire alien invasion, she did happen to make an excellent point.
"That makes a lot of sense now," Gabby admitted.
"Just trust me on this, girls," Sasha reassured. "I'll be back before you even know it. Just make sure the cops come through that door when they get here."
Maggie wanted to say something in protest to this, but at this point, there was no use trying to talk Sasha out of this any further. If there was anything the ginger knew in all her middle school years, it was that when Sasha set her eyes on something, she saw through it to the end, no matter the cost. And besides, it wouldn't be the first time she's seen the blonde cheerleader fight. And she can hold her own in one. Knowing this caused Maggie to sigh in concession.
"Okay," she expressed, with a sliver of doubt. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"I'm Sasha Waybright," the battle queen replied with a laugh. "I don't give up. No matter what."
This made Maggie snicker, considering how she heard that before. Regardless, she looked back at Gabby before returning to Sasha with a nod before both girls made a b-line for the exit, vanishing out the doors without a trace. Once out of sight, Sasha turned back toward Kiosk Alley, seeing the dragon looming over the wounded mall cop. To her surprise, the dragon hadn't killed him yet. Instead, it continued to stand over the man as he clung onto his mangled leg, which was still bleeding from the looks of it.
At that moment, the battle queen wondered why it hadn't finished him yet. Perhaps it was biding its time, savoring the meal to come. Or maybe it was for some other twisted reason, one that involved an insidious sense of pleasure it gained from the man's suffering, which would be just plain cruel in her eyes. And the blonde warrior was no stranger to such cruelty, especially since she took part in inflicting it herself back in Amphibia. Nonetheless, whatever the reason, she wouldn't allow it to happen. Not if she had anything to say about it.
With her newfound purpose clear and her mind in a current state of peace, Sasha turned to the bags she had in place to the side. The battle queen rummaged through them quickly before pulling out a pair of makeshift swords, which closely resembled the two swords she left behind in Amphibia. Initially, she bought them as antiques for her room back at home—a little something to remind her of the old days she had back when she was with Grime. But now, instead of simply tokens of memorabilia, Sasha has a more practical use for them, for she would need something to carry if she was going to see this through.
Upon grabbing the makeshift blades, Sasha could hear the screams of the mall cop as the dragon lunged forth in a second round. The officer could barely defend himself by lodging the taser between his jaws. And even though it narrowly saved him from death, the creature was much more persistent and yanked the taser out of its mouth and threw it to the side. With nowhere else to go, it seemed to be the end for the mall cop, who began to quiver in fear, and the dragon prepared for the final lunge.
At this moment, Sasha slid down the escalator and flung one of her swords in their general direction midway, stopping the beast dead in its tracks before it could finish the officer.
"Hey!" she called out. "Tinhead!"
Startled by the sudden callout, the dragon jerked its head to the left and set its eyes on the blonde-haired warrior, who had jumped halfway through the escalator and conveniently somersaulted at the bottom with her second remaining sword in her hands.
"How about you pick on someone your own size!"
As expected, the dragon has given the battle queen its undivided attention as it shifted its body weight to face her. In light of the moment, Sasha saw the officer practically tearing up in relief before watching him crawl to safety. That sheer act of courage merely boosted the battle queen's confidence as she fixated her gaze on the silver beast, staggering her sword in her fighting stance. However, despite the initial challenge, the dragon did not seem intimidated by the former first lieutenant's hollow threats.
Instead, it stepped forward, extending its metallic wings from its sides, and issued a warning roar toward the blonde warrior. The raw power of the dragon's shriek sent a shiver down the battle queen's spine. Yet Sasha did not waiver. Ideally, she stood her ground and firmly gripped her sword with both her hands.
Then, as any other warrior would do in a duel, she sidestepped to her right, trying to flank the silver creature. However, the dragon itself never took its eyes off its new adversary. The blonde warrior watched as the metallic monstrosity flew its barbed-like tail around, startlingly cracking it like a whip. While also flaring its wings in a show of dominance. Yet its threats did nothing to sway the battle queen so easily. And instead, she sneered at the beast with a glare, utterly insulting its rather pathetic display.
Sasha was stopped briefly before reaching the dragon's flank as the creature thundered toward her. Thus bellowing out a screech with a violent means to tear its enemy apart. But Sasha, in return, reacted with lightning speed as she swiftly dodged the dragon's initial attack. She then followed that up by grabbing the metallic creature's horn and swinging across its narrow head. All while striking its nose with a single swish of her sword.
However, to Sasha's surprise, the strike had no physical effect on the dragon's hide. But it did temporarily daze the dragon long enough for her to land a second attack, which she took full advantage of as she sleeked underneath the dragon's head and climbed up into the silver beast's back. She hangs on with both her legs, locking them around the dragon's neck while slashing its head from behind. Yet with each gash, the warrior queen failed to make a dent in its armor, which only frustrated Sasha more as she tried to find an opening.
The metallic creature lets out a shriek of pain in response to the human girl hacking at the back of its head. It twisted and turned its body, bucking wildly like a bull in an arena at its best attempts at throwing its opponent off its back. Yet nothing was working thus far. Because despite its efforts, Sasha remained latched onto the creature's back. Therefore, resorting, it took flight as it flapped its wings and hovered a few feet above the ground. Yet it still shook wildly, trying to throw her off to no avail.
As Sasha hung on for dear life, the persistent teen noticed that minor dents lined up from the dragon's neck, looking like some metal playing. A possible chink in the beast's armor, waiting to be exploited. The battle queen lets go of the dragon's neck with her hand and starts jabbing her sword into the dents as much as possible. Though it was a tough shell to crack, considering it was made of solid metal. But even then, she only increased her assault more and more, hoping to cause as much pain to the beast as possible and create an opening.
And in that, her persistence paid off as a small hole was finally made within the dragon's metal plating. Thus causing a huge chunk of the dragon's metallic scales to fly right off and expose a relatively soft and fleshy bit underneath its scales. Then, she grunts as she raises her sword with both hands, aiming to drive it into the exposed plating. Enraged by the sudden action, the dragon snaked its tail from below and grabbed the battle queen by her left ankle before she could enact the killing blow. Therefore, she seizes the opportunity to take advantage as it tightens its grip on her leg. Then, with a sudden snarl, the metal beast yanks its talk downward, dragging the persistent human off its back.
Then, it flings the blonde warrior before slamming her violently against the ground, with Sasha crying out in agony after being smacked against the hard floor face first. Then, out of spite, the dragon lifts her into the air again with its tail before swinging her across and smashing her head into an art installation, particularly one showcasing a cactus man. And for its píece de resistance, the dragon spins around twice, taking the battle queen with it by her ankle, before hurling Sasha into the air and down the aisle, hearing Sasha scream in shock midflight in the process.
As for the blonde warrior, instinct forced her to brace herself as she collided with one of the free stands down Kiosk Alley. Though rough, the collision slowed the battle queen's fall and caused her to land on her side and roll down the aisle. She got up to ten feet before adrenaline forced her back up onto her feet, where she drove her sword into the ground to slow her down. She got to twenty more feet before coming to a screeching halt.
Almost instantly, Sasha dropped to one knee as her whole body ached. Even though she had suffered worse hits, this was a bit much. Thus, it was clear to the blonde warrior that she had been out of action for a while. Not that she needed to be anyway. Yet the persistent teen managed to pick herself back up, briefly shaking off the dust on her clothes. At one point, she felt something wet on her left elbow. When she looked at her hand, the blonde warrior was shocked to see a drop of her blood soaking the palm of her hand. For which she then clenched tightly in anger.
"Oh, it's on!" she said aloud, pounding her fist on the tile floor beneath her.
Half a second later, Sasha yanks the sword out of the ground and staggers into a fighting stance. She then looked to the other side of the aisle, catching a glimpse of the silver dragon landing right between two stands. Its spikey wings flared like a hawk before the dragon shrieked a war cry toward its esteemed battle-worn opponent. Sasha glared in response before tightening her grip on her sword, unambiguously accepting the creature's challenge.
It was apparent to the battle queen that the beast was more dangerous than she had anticipated, making it an adversary on a level she had never seen before. But that did not mean that she was going to back down now. She would meet it like she met half her enemies back in Amphibia: fighting to the bitter end with no regrets.
Afterward, the dragon uttered another battle roar before charging full speed at the battle queen, who did the same thing with her sword in hand. Halfway across the aisle, Sasha jumps on top of one of the stands before leaping into the air. In anticipation of this move, the dragon lunged upward towards its opponent, jaws extended and maw wide open, hoping to crush the yellow-haired teen in between its jaws easily. Instead, Sasha spun around vertically before bringing her sword down on the top of the creature's head. This sent it crashing to the ground, with the warrior queen landing simultaneously.
Then, as the dragon got up, Sasha swung her sword around, aiming to take its left eye out. Yet before she could, the silver creature grabbed hold of the blade before it could connect to its face, evidently lifting it. The metallic monster smirked in response to this, only for the determined cheerleader to land a punch to the creature's right eye. Thus causing it to drop the sword and shake its head in irritation. With her adversary dazed, Sasha grabbed the dragon by its horn and swung her sword in an uppercut by the chin. This move sent the dragon into a temporary frenzy as it lunged forth and threw all its weight on the teen to throw her off balance.
But as it did, Sasha countered by shielding herself with her sword as the dragon's jaws clamped down on it. There, she planted her feet on the ground and fought with all her strength to keep the beast from toppling her over, knowing she'd be vulnerable. Unfortunately for her, she found her feet sliding across the tile floor as the beast continued to push its upper body. But even then, Sasha held her ground until she came to a screeching halt after getting at least seven feet. Half a heartbeat later, the battle queen rears her head back before ramming it straight into the right side of the dragon's face.
This caused the dragon to stumble back and fall backward with a moaning roar in response to the blow. As for the blonde warrior, Sasha wobbled for a bit, having nearly suffered a minor concussion from headbutting what felt like solid metal. Probably not as bright of an idea as she thought in her head. However, as the dragon slowly recovered from said blow, it set its eyes on what turned out to be a camera set for a photo shoot. In doing so, it glanced back at Sasha, still dazed from the blow herself, before taking full advantage of the situation.
In quick thinking, the silver dragon grabs the camera with its long tail and swings it across the blonde warrior's head, bashing her in the side of her face and making her stumble back, only for the beast to follow up with another swing that sent her back a couple of yards and crash into the floor once again. On the ground, Sasha slowly climbed up to her hands and knees, shaking her head to try to rid herself of the dizziness. At the same time, she heard the dragon snaking its way to her, ready for more. Sasha had to hand it to the beast; that was a clever move. One that the blonde warrior was impressed with herself.
The battle queen briefly glanced back and saw it's now glowing blue and white maw. And she didn't have to be a genius to know what comes after. It was a dragon, after all. And yet, as she stood up on one knee again, her eyes came across two twenty-pound dumbells from a stand she hadn't recognized. Thus giving her an idea of her own.
"Alright," Sasha complimented silently while attaching her sword to the sheath attached to her waist. "Now, let's see how you handle this!"
Then suddenly, as quickly as a flash, Sasha grabbed both dumbells and turned to face the dragon, who had charged fully again for the third time in a row. The battle queen met it head-on, lending two hook strikes that caught the beast off guard. Shortly after that, Sasha held the dumbells to the sides and, like using cymbals in band class, slammed them on both sides of the creature's face so hard that she almost broke its facial structure. And because they were twenty pounds each, it had to have hurt badly. That would've been equivalent to a toad soldier taking two small sledgehammers straight to the face.
The sudden blow made the metallic creature jump out angrily, followed by a raging roar as it attempted another bite attack. Instead, it was met with a side-kick to the left side of its face, causing it to stumble away and crash into a stand like before, inevitably breaking it to pieces upon impact. Half a heartbeat later, the dragon rears its head back up, grabbing a wooden stick and snapping it in half like eggs in its jaws out of pure rage. Though, to its surprise, in the dragon's squalor, Sasha managed to grab the beast by the right side of its neck, placing it in a headlock. The silver reptile struggled against her grasp, trying to yank its head out of her arms. Yet it came with no success under Sasha's iron grip.
Hence, with all her strength, the battle queen picks the dragon up and brings it up overhead before slamming it into the ground, with its back crashing into the tile floor. A second later, she lifted the downed reptile back up and hit it back into the foundation for a second time. And then, finally, Sasha swings the silver beast into the air three times before throwing it across the aisle with a yell. And as she watched the dragon soar into the air, the blonde warrior couldn't help but admire herself for that. Usually, it would be considered child's play back on Amphibia; Sasha couldn't believe she could still lift a creature half her size, let alone throw it.
Surprisingly, however, the dragon managed to land on its feet for once and not crash on its face upon impact. But to that end, it became clear to Sasha that it was starting to get angry. As she staggered for what seemed to be the third time now, the silver creature aggressively slammed its tail to the ground. Thus weaving into its charging stance. And even from a distance, Sasha could see the dragon's eye glow vividly with hot red, a crude indicator of its fury.
The silver-winged reptile unleashes an ear-piercing shriek before rushing toward the battle queen with murderous intent. Instinctively, Sasha drops a dumbbell while clinging onto one with her other right hand. A millisecond later, she staggers yet again as the dragon comes at her with the force of a freight train. Then, with precise timing, Sasha sidesteps to the right, nearly missing the dragon's gaping maw by almost an inch, before grabbing a hold of the beast's neck with her free hand. And like clockwork, Sasha swoops onto the creature's back, still holding the dumbbell.
For what turned out to be the second time in a row, the dragon took flight across the mall, desperately trying to throw the blonde warrior off its back once again. Yet again, Sasha remained persistent and surprisingly had other plans as she continued to hang on. While the dragon flails around, she grabs the remaining dumbbell with both hands, holding them high above her head. Then, with a battle cry, the battle queen violently brings the dumbbell down and slams it on the dragon's head. Thus earning a screech in agony from the beast below her. Still, the metallic creature managed to stay above ground as it doubled its efforts. It even went as far as barrel-rolling across the mall in close quarters.
And even then, Sasha pressed on, slamming the piece of equipment down on the dragon's head for a second time. Then, for a third time, and another, and another. And with each hit, the dragon grew more disoriented. At one point, it tried snatching her from underneath it with its tail, but it became hard to concentrate each time Sasha pounded it in the head with the dumbbell. And because of this, the dragon started losing control midflight. At this point, the human girl and dragon found themselves stumbling in the air, barely clinging above ground.
Then, as Sasha pounded the dragon for what turned out to be the fifteenth time, the blonde warrior stopped short as she looked up, only to see that they were about to crash into the mall's second floor. Half a second later, Sasha ducked her head down and braced herself as they came speeding in, with the dragon smashing right through the glass and sending the battle queen flying right off. However, unlike the last time she was slung into the air, Sasha was now ready for it. And like an elite gymnast, the battle queen stuck a perfect landing, only sliding a few inches across the tile before coming to a precise stop.
And when the smoke cleared, only Sasha was left standing. When she glanced back around, the blonde warrior smirked vigorously as her gaze was met by the half-beaten silver dragon, who was pretty shaken up from the crash landing. The battle queen noticed that the dragon's silver hide was now covered in shards of glass. And it was bleeding in small areas, especially around the shoulder and lower back. As for the creature's face, tiny bits of teeth were missing from the dragon's mouth, indicating that it was severely wounded.
As for Sasha, she started feeling pretty confident just by looking at the fallen creature. Not just by the fact that she managed to defeat such a creature but also by proving that such creatures weren't invincible. So far, she's only heard rumors online about them. And from what she's heard, these so-called 'dragons' were quite a handful in Downtown L.A. But as she now stood there, looming over such a terrifying monster, she wondered if these things were not as tough as the internet cracked them up to be.
At the same time, though, Sasha was forgiving, and she firmly believed in giving people second chances, even if they didn't deserve it. While the dragon had caused a lot of damage to this place and hurt many people, one thing she could give the creature credit for was that it had fought honorably. And to that end, she considered it worthwhile to reason with the creature. That was if there were even the slightest chance the dragon would listen to reason.
She slowly moved towards the downed creature, keeping on her guard in case the silver monstrosity tried anything. As the blonde warrior approached the injured dragon, it slowly lifted its body, shaking off the shards of glass on its hide before eyeballing her. As a response, Sasha drew her sword and pointed it straight at the beast. The sword's edge was nearly a few inches to its face, and the dragon growled menacingly as the battle queen puffed out her chest. Thus stamping her authority over the injured creature. And it was here where she began to make her statement.
"I don't know who you are or where you came from," she declared with integrity. "But you've overstayed your welcome here. Normally, I finish you right here and now, but I'm not that kind of person anymore. So I'll give you this one chance to leave. Do that, and I won't pursue you. Refuse, and I'll have to put you down. It's your choice."
She half expected the creature to heed her warning and hightail out of the mall. It would've been a more reasonable choice. To run and live another day. But instead, it cursed her with yet another bone-chilling roar. Thus offering Sasha no choice but to eradicate it before it could harm anyone else. Though, she silently considered its defiance in the face of death admirable.
"So be it."
However, before she could finish the job, Sasha's warrior senses picked up something from her blindside. Thus catching her completely off guard. Then, without warning, something sprung out from the shadows and went straight for Sasha. The blonde cheerleader was given only a moment's notice before being met with two rows of razor-sharp teeth. Luckily for her, Sasha's warrior instincts allowed her to anticipate the attack before the beast could be given a chance to strike.
However, in light of her well-timed dodge, the warrior queen failed to precede another incoming attack, with the mysterious creature charging her full force. Its sheer weight knocked both her and itself off the second floor. The battle queen smacked it right in the eye during freefall before landing hard on the tile ground below. Luckily for the blonde warrior, Sasha was atop the beast's underbelly, thus making her fall far less painful.
Upon impact, the former first lieutenant rolled off a few inches before scrambling back to her feet and charging. The blonde warrior yelled a battle cry as she met the beast head-on, who surprisingly recovered quickly from the fall despite the height. She swung her sword into the air, aiming for the new contender's underbelly, only for the blade of her sword to be snatched into the attacker's jaws. They wrestled each other, with Sasha fighting to free her weapon from the interloper's grip.
Then, on an unexpected turn of events, the mysterious aggressor lifts her off the ground and slams her back into the floor before flinging her across the hall for the second time today. She got up to fifteen yards before coming to a screeching halt, crashing into a pyramid installation with a giant eyeball at the center of it. Sasha groaned in agony as a painful rush crawled up her spine. She was having a rough night, yet adrenaline forced her back onto her feet, prompting the battle queen to grab her sword and scheme the aisle in search of her attacker.
Only for the blonde warrior to come gasping silently as the interloper revealed itself; thus, it took the form of what seemed to be a mini serpent-like wyvern, striking bright reddish-orange scales with black stripes scattered around its body. Therefore, it brought the form of a reptilian tiger due to its similar pattern, save for the underbelly, which had a light tan. The creature adorned two shiny black horns curved slightly outward and a long snake-like tail that swayed back and forth with anticipation. And to top it all off, two yellowish-orange eyes stared right into her own, with a wicked smile crossing the intruder's face, giving off a rather sinister vibe in its wake.
To further emphasize this predicament, the one in front of her lifted its claw-tipped wings high above its body before unleashing a mighty roar of its own in a declaration to everyone in the mall. Thus, it became clear to the battle queen that she was dealing with not one dragon but two dragons.
Two!
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" she complained, ending off a bitter whine.
When the dragon was finished, another roar came from right behind it. The serpent creature looked over to its shoulder, only to set its eyes on the silver creature from behind, who was still above the second floor, looking seemingly surprised, if not stunned, at the newcomer's presence. The orange wyvern responded with a call before turning its gaze back to the battle queen, snorting ferociously.
Sasha responded with a glare, frustrated with dealing with two of these monstrosities instead of just one. It took her almost, if not all, of her strength to take the first one down. But now she has to deal with a second, too. And this one seemed to be a lot bigger and meaner than the last, which wasn't a good sign. Yet even then, the blonde warrior was not going to back down. Not while she still had a lot more fight left within her. And if she could take one of these beasts, she had no doubt she would do so again with a second one.
The blonde warrior boldly holds her sword out, staggering in her usual sword-fighting stance. Then, with another battle cry, Sasha charged forth, hoping to strike the first blow on her hideous adversary. The dragon responded with its roar of fury before charging back, with its mouth opened wide enough to swallow her hole. To Sasha's luck, she did manage to get the first strike, slashing her sword across the dragon's lower jaw. Though it didn't do much harm, the blow sent the wyvern staggering back a bit, almost caught off guard by the unexpected strike.
Distracted, the battle queen takes the opportunity to land another attack, slashing upward and down the creature's snout before landing another blow from below the dragon's chin. By then, the beast tries to throw in its attack, only to be met with yet another upward swing. Therefore, throwing it more and more off balance only fueled the former first lieutenant's confidence since the dragon hadn't laid a fang or talon on her. Hence, Sasha throws a heavy attack as she jumps into the air and bares down upon the dragon to split its face in half.
Yet despite her best attempts, the red-like wyvern manages to catch the blade between its jaws. Therefore stopping the blonde warrior dead in her tracks. She struggled to free her sword from the dragon's grip, wrestling with its iron maw. However, just before she could free her sword, Sasha heard a quick:
SNAP!
And the next thing she knew, the blade of her sword was severed in half, leaving her with only the hilt in her grasp. The shocked teenager then watched as the dragon yanked the sword out of her hands and tossed the blade away, disappearing into the aisle almost instantly. Half a second later, Sahsa turned back around, only to see the dragon spin around and tail-whip the battle queen so hard that she was sent flying across the aisle for what now turned out to be a third time.
Unlike previous times, however, Sasha didn't hit anything or stick a landing. Instead, she hit the ground rough and was sent rolling across the tile floors, stopping short after getting at least twenty feet. Shortly after, Sasha groaned in agony from the pain, questioning how she got herself into this mess. Every muscle in her body started screaming at her not to return it. Yet the seasoned warrior wouldn't allow herself to give up, especially as she heard what seemed to be the dragon chuckling mockingly while giving off the same frog-eating grin as before.
That sort of move made Sasha's blood boil, to be mocked openly by some foreign lizard. The likes of which would cause her such pain, even if she's only fought it for a short amount of time. And even then, the battle queen was not going to let herself be misled by some creature with a cocky attitude. Let alone two of them. She made a personal note of this as she pounded the ground for what was considered to be the second time. As she looked up, Sasha noticed the now recovered metallic dragon hovering behind the tiger-stripped one. It chirped to it several times before flying across the aisle in the opposite direction.
While the grizzled blonde warrior was busy picking herself back up, the serpent wyvern took the opportunity to turn around and bolt across the hall. Sasha could barely stand straight as the creature began to put as much distance between it and her as possible. In response to this unprecedented course of action, Sasha gave chase, trying to catch up to the beast before it or its buddy had any time to; before she could have the chance to do so, the serpent turned the corner to another aisle of the mall. And by the time she got to the corner, the battle queen was baffled to notice that her opponent was gone, vanished without a trace.
But despite the sudden disappearance, Sasha knew it could not have gotten far and thus cautiously started moving down the street. The battle queen had her eyes peeled on every corner, simultaneously listening to every sound that passed through her. At the same time, she kept a watchful eye out for her second sword, which Sasha couldn't recall where it went after she threw it in her earlier fight with the other dragon. It was at this moment that the blonde warrior realized just how vulnerable she currently was because she was a sitting duck. And it didn't help even more when she discovered the beast could strike any moment. Yet the question still pondered at her:
"Where are you?" she questioned silently.
Her instincts told her that the dragon was still around here somewhere. But she still couldn't see or hear any movements of the beast. Nor did she find any trace it may have left behind either. The blonde warrior thought about the notion that it may have already left. After all, it had no other reason to stay after it saved its buddy. Then again, the only possible reason it stayed was because of her for whatever reason. She wasn't entirely sure what that reason would be, but that only prompted her to be highly alert as a safeguard.
As she moved further into the hall, the battle queen noticed scratches and marks on the floor. Finally, signs of the dragon she could track down for once. Then, like a game reserve hunter, she followed the trail across the hall, going quite far in the due process. She had to admit, it was a pretty big mall. But it also made her increasingly nervous since her adversary could show up anytime. Still, she persisted in following the trail while maintaining her guard. Suddenly, Sasha stopped short in the middle of the aisle between two stores, with an art installation consisting of two pink dice in the middle, where the trail ended, surprisingly. She looked around to see if there were other markings where the track would've picked up but saw nothing in return.
'It couldn't have just ended like this,' she pondered. She then looked up after hearing something suspicious. It first played as some rumbling in the ground, almost like a mini-earthquake. Then, half a heartbeat later, without even a single warning, the glass of the store's front wall to her right burst outward. And with it, the serpent-wyvern sprang out with a surprise attack. It pounced the blonde warrior, locking both claws onto her shoulders and shoving her between the art installation behind her.
Sasha retaliated with an uppercut punch to the dragon's chin, releasing its hold on her. Then, she followed that up with another point with her right fist, sending the beast staggering it. And then, to add on, Sasha pressed her attack with yet another combo attack. Only this time, the dragon ducked its head and dodged her attack. This forced the blonde warrior to connect her fist hard to the dice installation to her right, which felt like punching through solid metal.
'Ow!'
She grabbed her wrist, feeling a sting of pain jolt up her fingers. Sasha tried shaking it off, but it felt like her hand just went completely numb. Yet, despite her distraction, Sasha failed to notice the dragon advance on her, catching the battle queen off guard. The tiger-stripped creature grabbed her by her shoulders with its claws before shoving her into the store's glass window it came out of. Sasha cried out in agony as she felt sharp glass pierce her face upon contact.
Half a heartbeat later, the dragon spun around and smashed her through the art installation. Thus breaking the structure apart as it pressed further into it. And then went as far as pushing the former first lieutenant into the store right behind her, crashing into the glass without a second thought. Yet simultaneously, the crash's impact sent both of them tumbling slightly and sending Sasha rolling for the fourth time today. However, unlike the last time, she was able to roll back onto her feet while clutching the side of her chest from all the pain. Luckily for the battle queen, there hadn't seemed to be any shattered pieces of glass or cuts that would've been life-threatening to her.
But Sasha would lie to herself if she didn't admit how much pain she was after all that. Still, persistence trumped whatever urges she had to give in, and she considered herself pretty resilient for her size. Hence, the battle queen started to recover relatively quickly before, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the dragon opening its maw with something glowing a hot orange in the center of it. The next thing she knew, Sasha saw a stream of orange fire spray from the dragon's mouth. Upon instinct, the blonde warrior jumps to her left, nearly dodging the flame by an inch as it hits a part of the wall in the store.
For a moment, Sasha observed the flame, noticing how it stuck to the wall, almost resembling some form of gel, while the fire burned through anything it touched. In the wake of her curiosity, the serpent-dragon charged forth, grabbing her left shoulder in its jaws. The blonde warrior tried loosening its grip by punching the side of its face, but it wouldn't let up. Suddenly, the dragon lifted her into the air before slamming her back down and throwing her outside the store, where she landed roughly against one of the dice from the broken installation.
Adrenaline forced Sasha back up on her feet before she was met again with jaws clamping down on her right shoulder. She tried to free herself from its grasp but was unsuccessful. With each passing second, the battle queen felt herself getting weaker. Her inner strength began to wane as the dragon tightened its grip. The scent of fresh blood started to reek, thus causing the dragon to smirk once again as it began to sense it.
Hence, at this moment, Sasha started to get pretty angry. And it was on a level she had not experienced in a long time, almost going as far back as when Grime lost his arm all those months ago. She could feel every inch of her body fuming with rage. Her fury gradually built up like a ticking bomb, waiting to go off at any moment.
Until finally, she exploded.
Thus, Sasha screamed as she slammed her fist into the dragon's right eye. The beast released a startled screech, immediately dropping the and staggered backward. Half a second later, the former first lieutenant let out another cry before charging at the dazed dragon, shoving its massive head into the ground before pounding it in the face. Shortly after that, she let go of the dragon's face before delivering a roundhouse kick to the dragon's chin. Hence forcing it backward for once.
The battle queen panted slightly as the serpent-wyvern shook its head. Before delivering an enraged roar, indicating how irritated it was getting. But Sasha didn't care. It had already set her off with its latest shenanigans. Why should it be angry? Therefore, Sasha released her battle roar in defiance of the tiger-stripped dragon. She was almost mocking its pathetic attempt at showing its fury. The dragon was somewhat thrown off by the teen's little stunt, almost looking offended at her show of dissent.
Yet, simultaneously, the creature took it as a challenge. For this reason, the beast glared at the more miniature human, considering her act of resistance unacceptable before charging forth. Sasha followed suit and resumed the fight shortly afterward. The serpent-wyvern makes the first move, lunging at her full speed with its mouth wide open, as it did many times. But unfortunately, it was missed, with Sasha remembering its previous attacks and side steps to the left. She dodged several times before jumping and clubbing her fists on the dragon's head. Even though she was half the dragon's size, Sasha was still firm enough to enact a blow like this with her bare hands.
Yet even then, she was barely making a dent. Without an actual weapon, there wasn't much the blonde warrior could do in light of her immense strength. However, to the battle queen's luck, she saw a familiar sight behind the dragon. She briefly squinted before perking up after revealing what it was.
Her second sword.
From which was pierced through an avocado installation and was only a few yards from where she was, almost making her within reach. She looked over to see the beast already dazed and used the opportunity to retrieve her prized weapon. The beast did lash its tail at her midway, which caused Sasha to duck down and slide past the serpentine appendage. Once she got back up to her feet, Sasha briefly rushed to the installation, tugging at the sword's hit until the blade came out with a single swish. Thus giving the battle queen the advantage that she so desperately needed.
'Now this is more like it,' she thought to herself.
At that time, the dragon shook its head again before getting back up and charging at the former first lieutenant, snapping its jaws again in hopes of catching her. But Sasha dodged the attack before slashing the side of its face with her secondary weapon, which only managed to leave a long scratch at the tip of its muzzle. Though it wasn't entirely lethal, it was progress, considering she could hardly get a good hit in these last few minutes. Still, the blonde warrior needed to do more for her sake.
The serpent wyvern retaliated with yet another snap, only for Sasha to counter it with two more slashes to the face before spin-kicking its outer lip. The blow causes the beast to stumble back, but not before it shoots a spewing flame at the former soldier. Nevertheless, Sasha rolls to her right in response before rushing in to press her advantage. The black and orange striped dragon spews another stream to stop her in her tracks, only for the battle queen to slide down yet again before jumping up and performing a midair vertical swing so fast that the beast couldn't react in time as Sasha delivered a gashing blow in between the creature's snout.
The bombshell strike temporarily dazes the beast long enough for Sasha to deliver her attack phase. Hence, she follows up her strike by rolling to the left side before jumping up the art installation stationed there and providing a side-kick to the dragon's left side, which causes it to stumble backward. And it was here that the tables began to turn as Sasha continued to press the attack by landing three more strikes to the dragon's face with her steel weapon.
Then, she takes the hilt of the sword and violently slices it across the left of the beast's face. After that, she tossed the blade into her right hand before slashing it across the bottom of the dragon's chin, leaving a large gash underneath the beast's mouth for everyone to see. Lastly, she jumped into the air and slammed her left heel right into the top of the dragon's muzzle so hard that it quickly brought the creature's head to the ground.
Shortly after the end of her attack phase, Sasha took a moment to catch her breath, with a smile of relief creeping up across her face. Hence, the blonde warrior regained some of the confidence she lost after her scuffle with the first dragon. Though she had to work twice as hard for this, she managed to land some pretty good hits on the beast—many of which would send a heron running. But even then, her victory was short-lived when the serpent wyvern gradually picked itself up. Then, the once smile of relief that had begun to build up turned into a glare in disbelief as the beast stood face-to-face with its adversary.
'Does this guy ever give up?'
The creature snarled with great anticipation, almost fuming at the nostrils with great rage. Despite the beating, the beast had no intentions of leaving or backing down. Hence, it made it nearly as stubborn as she was, not quitting no matter what. Sasha had to admire the creature's tenacity, but it also made her even more bitter since it meant she had to fight harder to keep up with it. With another battle cry, the beast charges forth yet again.
But as it came down upon the blonde warrior, Sasha jumped upward for the fifth time, boosting herself up with one of the broken dice for extra height and using the light from the ceiling above to make it harder for her opponent to see her. Still, the beast charged forth anyway, blindsided by pride and instinct, with the intent of to rip the girl to pieces even though it could barely see her. Yet, before it could lay a single tooth or claw on her, the blonde warrior came crashing down. As the beast looked up in terror, the battle queen drove the sword down into the top of the dragon's snout so hard the point came out of the bottom of the creature's mouth.
Thus, an agonizing screech from her reptilian adversary caused Sasha to smirk devilishly. But even so, she looked into the dragon's eye and saw fire started to show visibly. As a result, the dragon flailed its head around, with Sasha hanging onto the hilt of her sword. The serpent wyvern violently slams its head into the ground before swinging its head again—this time, it flips Sasha off its snout and sends her flying backward. The battle queen releases a groan as her back slams up against an art installation.
Half a heartbeat later, the blonde warrior was met by a pair of jaws as the creature shook off her sword and tossed it to its left, ramming its entire head against the installation. Pinned against the piece of artwork, Sasha wrestled against the dragon's mouth in an attempt to free herself. Only for the beast to lock its jaws around her waist before pulling back. Hence, it started flapping its wings and taking flight with the teen soldier still in its grasp. They got up a few feet in the air and a few yards before Sasha decided to cancel her unplanned flight schedule as she slammed her fist on the beast's muzzle.
The blow sent them crashing back into the earth, briefly skidding across the tile floor before coming to a screeching halt. There, Sasha unleashes an enraged yell as she strikes the dragon three times with her fist before following it up by driving her knee into its chin. The serpent beast moans before snapping again, hoping to catch the battle queen like its previous attempt. Yet Sasha ducks down again before moving up the dragon's neck and climbing into the creature's back. The dragon thrashes about there, trying to throw her off to no avail. It growls and roars in frustration as Sasha grabs the two horns on the back of its head.
Then, with all her strength, the former first lieutenant takes hold of the beast's left horn before violently slamming it into the ground, causing it to tumble again. At that moment, Sasha wrapped her arms around the creature's neck and attempted to end the fight by suffocating the serpent wyvern. An effort started to take effect as the beast began to whimper in protest as it struggled against her iron grip. And it was here that Sasha's confidence grew increasingly as the beast's strength waned against her chokehold. Hence bringing back that smile of relief she had earlier.
"Is that struggling I hear?" Sasha spoke out of spite. "Didn't think you'd meet your match to me, did you?"
For a brief moment, it seemed that this would be the case as she could feel the beast giving into her hold on it. The victory was so close she could almost taste it. But as she tightened her grip, Sasha started to feel the dragon's skin get warm. It's a lot warmer than usual. Sasha didn't know what this meant but was too focused on ending this fight to even care. All she was thinking about now was putting this dragon to sleep fast. But little did the blonde warrior know that by doing this, she would make a significant error in judgment, which would turn out to be a big mistake. And the next thing the battle queen knew, everything started to glow orange as the dragon's entire body was set aflame.
Sasha screamed as the flames reached her, forcing her to let go of her hold on the dragon's neck to try to put out the fires. The distraction blinds her as the dragon spins its tail around and smacks her across the aisle, instantly putting the fires out. The blonde warrior hit the ground hard, face-first to the floor. Adrenaline forced her to get back up quickly, only to stand face to face with the dragon, who hovered against the ground with every single area on its entire body set on fire.
The dragon spun around a moment later, flying in a perfect circle as it projected fire at the center. Hence, creating a condensed flame before blasting it straight at the blonde warrior with a single flap of its swings, taking the fire coaxing along its body. Sasha had little time to react as it came straight at her, with the sheer power of the blast sending her flying backward again. When she landed, the battle queen cried out in agony as she started to feel her skin sizzle. The blow had been so bad that she began to feel her clothes burning up from the heat.
Sasha tried to pick herself back up, but her strength was fading fast, having spent most of it taking this beast down. As she dimly looked around, the former first lieutenant could glimpse her sword, which was only a few yards from her current position. The worn-out battle queen crawled limply as she went for her weapon, hoping to get back in the fight. Yet, as she reached out for her prized possession, Sasha was horrified as a giant claw came crashing down on the blade. Consequently, snapping it two without so much as a hard stomp.
And it was here that the balance of power as Sasha looked up in terror to see the serpent dragon fuming at her in utter rage. Thus, the dragon roared in fury as it lifted its claws and tried to stamp the blonde warrior out. However, luckily for her, Sasha had enough strength to dodge the attack, briefly getting up and stepping backward. The dragon stomped two more times, only to fail again as the former first lieutenant dodged again and again. But her efforts would only be futile as the dragon tail-whips the battle queen across the aisle. Here, Sasha could barely get back on her feet as the dragon charged forth, taking her by the jaws and jumping up before coming back down and slamming her against the ground.
The dragon then lifted its head, still clinging onto the wounded teenager in its maw, before banging her against the ground for a second time. Sasha cried in sheer anguish as she felt her entire body structure shatter like an egg. The creature smirked gleefully, considering the human's screams to be music to its ears. But even then, it wasn't enough to satisfy the serpent-wyvern's anger. Therefore, the creature picked her up again and slammed her body against the tile floor so hard that it created a shockwave that spanned across the mall. Sasha felt like her entire body was hit by a truck as the pain jolted through every single bone in her skeleton.
Yet that only turned out to be the beginning of her anguish as the dragon dropped her to the floor. Only to pick her up by her leg midway before she could even touch the ground. Then, it brutally bashes her against the avocado art installation, with her upper body and face colliding against the piece of artwork. Sasha felt her head spin as the beast continuously pounded her against the structure, with each blow being more brutal than the last. Finally, the dragon stopped short, only to fling the blonde warrior up into the air, bringing its tail around and flaming up before colliding at the center of her back.
BOOM!
The wounded teen was sent flying again. She got up to ten feet before skimming across the ground before making a rough landing inside the mall's fountain. For a brief moment, Sasha didn't get back up. Her strength was gone, and the pain from her unwonted torment was taking its toll. She moaned in pain as her body ached, as it felt like her entire skeleton had shattered entirely. Her clothes were almost burned off from the flames, and she felt parts of her skin sheered right off from all the burns she endured from the dragon's fire. The battle queen reckoned those would've been considered second-degree burns, not third, considering how quickly they were put out. Nonetheless, it was excruciating for the blonde warrior.
Finally, Sasha used whatever strength she had left to pull herself up, innately crawling backward as the dragon advanced. By the time she reached the fountain's center, the blonde warrior stiffly rested her back up against the mouth of the fountain, straining from the tension in her muscles. There, the wounded teen watched as the dragon slowly made its way, growling viciously as flames began to envelop its body again while raising its head high. As if it was putting on an impressive display of power and dominance over her injured and defeated form.
As it slithered toward the fountain, Sasha started to feel weary. The pain from the beating she took started to affect significantly her vision, causing the beaten warrior to fall in and out of consciousness. However, despite the amount of fatigue she was experiencing, Sasha could still get a good view of the dragon, who soon began to tower over its fallen adversary. There, Sasha looked into the dragon's eyes, filled with anger and rage, with the full intent of showing no mercy.
And it was here that Sasha realized that her fate was finally sealed, and she may never see Anne and Marcy again. She then began to regret ever staying behind to fight these things on her own. It would've been much easier if her friends were here to back her up. But it doesn't seem like that option would come by soon. She started to tear up just thinking about it. However, despite the hopelessness of her situation, Sasha was not going to give in. If this were her final hours, it was better that she go out like a warrior who laughs at the face of death rather than a mere pup whimpering in cowardice.
So, as the dragon zooms in on her, with its muzzle practically up against her chin, Sasha mustered whatever strength she had to spit at the dragon's face in a sheer act of defiance. The action startles the dragon, who had spent that time sniggering at its would-be victim, actively playing with its food. Yet the act merely angers the serpent wyvern further, as it unleashes an echoing roar in response to her audacious display. But even then, Sasha didn't waiver. If death was going to come for her, she did not fear it. Instead, she welcomed it with open arms. Her only wish was to find Marcy and Anne in the next life.
It never came.
Instead, the dragon stopped short after light shone above them. Human and beast alike looked up to see a helicopter hovering above the mall, shining what appeared to be a searchlight right at the serpent wyvern. Half a heartbeat later, the dragon leaps backward as a shot is fired. Another second after that, it roars defiantly at the chopper as more and more rounds are fired. Though her vision was starting to get blurry, Sasha noticed that those were actual gunshots being fired instead of tranquilizers.
'Thank Frog!' she thought to herself.
The injured warrior sighed in relief. Finally, help arrived at her expense, which she was extremely grateful for. However, despite the sudden appearance of reinforcements, that brief moment of relief was shattered as the metallic dragon appeared, flew across the aisle, and stopped short right across the fountain a few yards to the left of the serpent wyvern. Though it was still pretty banged up from its scuffle with Sasha earlier, it appeared the creature had had time to recover in its absence.
At the same time, the serpent wyvern took notice of this and started calling toward the metallic dragon. It chirped a few times before motioning its head to the chopper. Sasha could barely see straight, let alone figure out what they were saying, before suddenly getting a glimpse of what it was getting at. Shortly after, the silver beast looked at its friend and gave it a nod before taking flight and gliding across the mall.
By then, the serpent wyvern stepped into the light before shooting fire at the ceiling and into the chopper's direction. In response, the helicopter fired two more rounds at the black and orange striped dragon, who suddenly bolted to the other side of the mall and took shelter behind the escalator. From there, it began to fire another flame at the ceiling, instantly shattering the glass. The chopper pulled up as a safety hazard, firing another round while staying out of range of the dragon's flames. Another three rounds were fired before it went quiet for a moment.
Then, suddenly, the metallic dragon shoots up into the air and flies straight at the chopper. The sniper tried to fire another round but stopped as a bright blue fireball came out of the silver dragon's mouth, striking the chopper's tail and blowing it instantly. After that, it went straight for the gunner's seat, where the sniper would be. Even though it was too far for her to see, Sasha could hear screams echoing above the mall. This indicates that the people inside the chopper were under attack.
She listened in horror as the voices of the people's screams got louder and louder. The next thing she knew, the wounded fighter watched as the chopper began to spin out of control. And without a tail to balance the helicopter out, it seemed pretty hopeless for those operating it. With the pilot still inside, the aircraft smashed through the ceiling, causing a massive gap from up top. However, the dragon miraculously jumped out seconds before contacting the roof. Then, Sasha watched with great terror as the chipper fell at least fifteen feet from the air and crashed several yards across the mall into the ground.
Upon impact, a massive explosion was created, one of which she was fortunate enough to be out of range. Sasha would've covered her mouth from the absolute horror she witnessed but was too dazed to do so. The next thing she knew, the wounded teen began to come in and out of consciousness as the serpent dragon came back into view. She watched it spread its wings out and roar in victory, almost muting her hearing.
After a few seconds, the dragon stopped short as its friend came into view. It began to chirp at her before motioning outside and heading out through the hole it made. Half a heartbeat later, the battle queen watched as the serpent wyvern turned its view toward her. She watched it smirk at her devilishly before turning back to the ceiling. The creature began to flap its wings and took flight, exiting through the roof and out of her line of sight.
Seconds later, Sasha continued to dive in and out of consciousness. She could only pick up the sounds of sirens approaching and a few sounds of shouting men and women before everything went completely black.
And then was still.
And that's the end of the chapter. I wanted to start the Year of the Dragon with something fresh to bring up the hype. Unfortunately, it seems that I've fallen a bit short on that. But it is what it is. There's nothing I can do about that. This chapter was a bit different than I originally intended, but I wanted to change things up a bit to make things interesting. If you feel it was worth the wait, please leave a review for this chapter in the review section. As I said, I will try to update regularly in the previous chapter so you guys won't have to wait that long. Also, I looked back at some of the earlier chapters and noticed a few mistakes, and I will try my best to clean them up, too. Also, feel free to PM me if you want to ask me something personally.
And that's about it. Stay tuned for the next one, folks. Gunslinger is signing off!
PS: Shoutout to Fanreader123456 and OMAC001 for leaving the last chapter's review once again. Hopefully, this answers your question.
