I'm totally not writing this the day it goes up. I totally didn't get distracted this past week with Mortal Kombat 11 coming out. Nope. Not me. I didn't miss last week because of it. Nope. Not at all.
Be glad I got here lol.
Enjoy!
"Man, where the hell is everyone?" Quinn demanded angrily, looking around the area he was standing in. He'd been surrounded by explosions and sounds of battle for Lord knew how long, but he couldn't find any battle to take part in. He ran all over the place to try and get involved, but no matter where he went they seemed to have moved or finished up. At this rate, he wasn't going to be able to help anyone, and then everyone would make fun of him and say he'd been useless. Great. That was exactly what he needed.
"Hurry up you drunk bastard, we need to move them out of the way." Quinn crouched on instinct and pressed himself against the nearest tree, waiting with baited breath. He didn't recognise the voice that had spoke, so he could only assume that it was an enemy. Carefully, he looked past the tree to see what was going on.
A ways away from him, there were two men. One was rather chubby and carried a jug under one arm, and another figure chained over the other. The other man was in much better shape, with slick black hair and beard.
He had Abigail over his shoulder.
Quinn swallowed hard as he recognised his friend. She didn't seem relatively hurt, but he could tell she was unconscious. Had she been defeated? Was she being kidnapped? He was going to need to do something about this.
"Why're you not carryin anyone?" The other man slurred. The man carrying Abigail growled.
"I am you drunkard," He hissed. "Can you not tell that?"
"Nah, I'm kinda drunk so..." This small exchange didn't really give him any indication as to who this was, but he could tell they were enemies. That much was certain.
"Crap..." He hissed as he watched the men continue walking. "What're they going to do with them? I'll need to tail them and save them. Man, Abby will owe me for saving her sorry hide..."
"Terra?!" Winter shouted in surprise, Drake too stunned to speak. "Are you okay?!" Terra managed to move her head upwards a bit, eyeing Drake and Winter.
"Ah, y-you guys made it back..." She managed. "I...I need some help." Gritting his teeth, Drake did his best to access the situation. Hermes seemed pretty fine, maybe with a few scrapes and cuts across his figure. Everyone else save Terra was down and out, groaning as they rolled all over the ground or flat out lay there unmoving.
"Good to see you both made it back," Hermes said as he wiped at a scrape on his cheek. "I was worried that this was going to be the end of my battle. I'm kidding of course. I'd hoped Aphrodite had dealt with you."
"What do we do?" Winter asked weakly. "Everyone is so hurt..."
"Help Terra," Drake replied as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll keep this guy off of you."
"What?" Winter demanded. "Are you saying you'll fight him yourself? Drake you can't!"
"What other choice do we have?" Drake demanded. "There's no way the two of us and a wounded Terra can do anything. Heal her and the others as best you can while I hold him off, okay?" Winter didn't seem the least bit pleased by this proposition, but she simply nodded her head curtly and ran for Terra, who was barely able to stand. Hermes just watched with vague interest, but Drake could hear him. He knew what he was doing.
The second the man lunged forward, he intercepted him. Poison exploded outwards as Drake forced the man to stop, barely a few feet from the girls.
"I know the look you're giving me," Drake said as he pushed against Hermes. "You're worried. Don't be, and focus on Terra. Got it?"
"God you're insufferable..." Winter hissed. "Sky God's Hurricane Barrier!" A sphere of rapid winds covered Winter and Terra, which would protect them as she worked.
"I-I'm fine..." Terra mumbled. "I-I don't need your help, f-focus on the others..."
"Shut up, you moron..." Winter said. "I'm helping you first." Knowing that they were safe, Drake returned his attention to Hermes as they pushed against one another.
"I'll have to ask that you get out of the way," Hermes said. "I need to stop her from helping them."
"Weird," Drake said. "I intended to stop you. So, sorry. I intend to be annoying." Hermes frowned.
"To the bitter end it seems." He said. Flying backwards, His right hand glowed before Taro's Air Magic formed around it.
"Still stealing spells, huh?" Drake asked.
"Please do try and insult me," Hermes said as his power increased drastically. "Your defeated friends sure didn't seem to think it was lame." As he said this, the man phased out of view. Drake frowned and sharpened his hearing, listening for when the man came back into view. Hearing him approaching him from behind, Drake turned and coated his foot in poison, driving it into Hermes' abdomen as he reappeared.
His foot went right through Hermes' stomach, dissipating the man as if he was just smoke.
"What the-?!" Drake managed to get out before a fist drove itself into the back of his head, sending him flying into the dirt.
"Drake!" Winter shouted. Drake growled and got to his feet, sending a tendril of poison towards Hermes. Again his attack went right through the man, and then a foot connected with his temple and sent him into the dirt again. Hermes crunched his foot against Drake's head, pushing him into the dirt harder.
"Seems you were gone from the battle too long," Hermes said as he pushed. "Thieves need to be quite tricky, you know."
"W-What the hell...?" Drake hissed as he pushed at Hermes' foot as he tried to think. What had he just done? He had been using his Sound Magic and everything, but he hadn't sensed any sort of magic being used on him.
"D-Drake..." Drake looked over as Terra called his name weakly. She looked a little bit better than she had before, but it was clear she was still out of it. "He's...He's also the God of Trickery remember? He had a tone of monikers."
Now he remembered.
If there was one thing their plan lacked, it was an overall coverage for what the God's might have planned. Some were more obvious to plan against, like Artemis or Apollo, but Hermes represented so many things that it was hard to tell what exactly he'd do. So far it seemed thievery and trickery were up there.
"So he's tricking your senses!" Winter said. "You can't rely on your Sound Magic so much!"
"I know that!" Drake shouted as poison exploded out from his hands and forcing Hermes off of him. "But that's kind of the problem!"
It was somewhat embarrassing for Drake to admit that he wasn't the best fighter if his Sound Magic was used against him. He was so used to fighting with it so much that his style had evolved to incorporate it thoroughly. When it was used against him, he devolved heavily. So if he couldn't rely on that, what exactly was he going to do?
Hermes disappeared again, and on instinct Drake listened for him. The Hermes that came from above was a lie, and another fist connected with Drake's midsection. He flew back and hit a tree, which was followed up by a roundhouse kick through the very same tree. Struggling to his feet, Drake brought his hands together.
"Poison Dragon Scales!" He shouted, projectiles shooing out of his hands towards Hermes. The man disappeared, but Drake wasn't giving him any room to breathe. He maximised the output of his attack, covering the entire area in front of him with scales as they exploded against everything nearby. Nothing seemed to hit it's target, and Drake heard another Hermes approaching him from behind.
"How many times do you think I'll fall for this?!" He demanded as he turned to face the illusion. "I know that isn't-?!"
Hermes fist connected with his midsection, sending him sliding back as he resisted throwing up.
"It's already begun," Hermes said as he hunched over in preparation for another attack. "I'll make you unsure, make you sloppy. Make you unable to trust your baser instincts. Was I the real one? Was it a fake? Once you're not even sure I'm there, you cannot beat me."
"Shut up!" Drake shouted, coating his fist in poison. "Poison Dragon Fang Thrust!" The magic flew from his hand and right for Hermes, but again the man dispersed and the attack flew through him. Gritting his teeth, Drake once again sharpened his hearing.
But no, he had to go farther. Listening wasn't enough anymore. He had to find the difference, find what was different about Hermes as oppose to the illusion. There had to be something, anything, he could use against him. As he listened, Drake played defensive as he was attacked from all sides by his friends magics spell, stolen by the Olympian. He listened as the illusions trampled around, filling his head with useless thoughts and attack names they conjured up. There must of been a difference, there had to be! Maybe more thoughts, more actions, something!
To his left.
Drake focused in on the footsteps. They belonged to nothing he sensed over there, the illusions nowhere near the sound. The more he honed in on it, the more he knew he was right. Swallowing hard, Drake summoned his magic to his left hand.
"Poison Dragon Fang Thrust!" He shouted. The whip of magic flew out again, the fangs rearing back. They latched onto thin air, and Drake pulled in the weight he couldn't see with a violent smirk on his face. The illusions disappeared, and Hermes reappeared in his grip.
"I'll give you credit for hearing me," Hermes said as he struggled against Drake's grip. "You must be stronger than I thought."
"For a thief you're not as soft-footed as you think you are!" Drake shouted. With a mighty pull, Hermes flew towards him. "Poison Dragon Spiral Jaw!" Using his own momentum, Drake whirled and gathered magic in his feet. He whirled back around just as Hermes reached him, roundhouse kicking the man straight in the jaw and into the dirt. The earth trembled from the impact, but Drake wasn't done yet. He slammed his foot into the back of Hermes' head, reciprocating the treatment he'd gotten earlier.
"How're you two looking over there?" He asked as he kept the man down.
"Terra's looking okay," Winter replied. "D-Did you beat him?"
"Not a chance," Drake replied. "He's just waiting for his next move. What're you thinking, huh? Should I take a listen?"
"Do whatever you want," Hermes replied. Drake frowned as Hermes began to push against him, getting onto his hands and knees. "You won't win this encounter. Even now my allies have defeated some of your friends. Zeus himself wanders the battlefield looking for opponents. Did you think that you had this in the bag? That all of you would win? Please don't be so full of yourself."
"You're lying!" Drake said as he slammed his foot back into his skull, but the man didn't collapse. "My friends are fine. I know they are!"
"Yeah?" Hermes asked. "Why don't you take that listen you were so keen on a moment ago? I'll show you all you need to know." Drake felt his patience waning, but his curiosity got the better of him. He activated his Sound magic and invaded Hermes' thoughts, looking for this so called proof.
He gaped as he saw what the man was taking about.
The memory was one that did not include him, as he was still fighting the others before they had collapsed.
"Attention everyone." A voice boomed inside his head. "This is Zeus. The others and I are coming. Ares, Hephaestus and Apollo have all fallen. No one else will."
This time the memory flashed forward. Now Ken and Taro where on the ground, and another voice spoke up as Hermes attacked.
"This is Hades. Dealt with some blonde who kept crying and a redhead. Also some swordswoman with no hand and the weird ginger...I dealt with a lot of them!"
"Poseidon here. Dealt with Fullbuster and the woman from the Demon Hunters. Will report in shortly."
"This...You're lying!" Drake shouted angrily as these reports swam in his head. Hermes smirked up at him.
"It's the truth. Now that the Big Three have descended to the battlefield, it's only a matter of time before you are all defeated, and we win." Gritting his teeth angrily, Drake felt his patience hit it's limit. Coating his foot in poison, he drove it down onto Hermes' skull with force he hadn't felt before. The mans head hit the dirt again, making him gasp in pain.
"Shut the hell up," Drake hissed. He could feel the scales growing in on his face and body. His magic power amplifying thanks to the technique Michael had taught him. The scales continued to appear up and down his arms, magic practically leaking from his body.
"Drake?" Winter asked weakly. He ignored her.
"I'll kill you," Drake hissed at Hermes. "Then, I'll go find Luna and kick all the asses of anyone who comes for her. Do you hear me?! I won't let you have her!"
"Than you're a bigger fool than I could have imagined!" Hermes shouted back. Drake made a face as Hermes' magic too began to grow. "All you had to do was give her to us, and this could have ended! But you choose to fight, so now you'll suffer!" Drake was blown back from the man as his magic exploded outward, knocking him through a tree. Getting to his feet quickly, Drake watched as Hermes raised a hand over his head, which glowed brightly.
"I call upon the power of Luck! Grant me your everlasting grace! My name will become Mercury! Imbue me with the strength to finish this battle!" The light grew even brighter, and Drake was forced to shield his eyes as Hermes was engulfed in it. The light only lasted for a little bit, but once it faded it was clear my the feeling he had in his stomach alone that this wasn't good.
Hermes' magic power had amplified, and that already was a bad sign. His curly brown hair had been straightened, and his staff was now glowing with magic. His robes had changed it's tone to black from white, and as he whirled the staff around Drake knew this battle wasn't going to be easy.
"Girls?" He asked.
"We're-"
"Let me help you." Drake turned as Terra stood from the help Winter was giving her, clearly wanting to help. She was not in any way healed fully, but Drake could tell she knew that this wasn't something he was going to be able to handle on his own. Winter looked torn as to what she should do, her eyes dodging between him and the rest of their friends. Finally, after what felt like forever, she stood and dissipated the barrier protecting herself and Terra.
"Let's hurry up and kick this guys ass." She said. "I have a lot of work to do." Hermes, or Mercury as he said he would be called, prepared himself.
"I'll make quick work of you lot and go assist Venus." He said. "It seems that the pink one and some others are giving her a fair bit of trouble."
"You're not going anywhere near her!" Drake shouted, shooting himself forward and rearing a fist back. Mercury raised his staff forward and met his attack head on, poison and wind flying everywhere. Pushing him back, Mercury dissipated into the air again. Drake raised his senses, looking out for the man instead of the multitude of clones that were around him.
"Drake! Be careful!" Drake turned just as this was said, sensing a heavier presence behind him. Mercury appeared, raising his hand out to grab at him. Drake kicked the man away, making sure he didn't get a hold of him.
"Don't let him touch you!" Terra called out as pillars rose up out of the ground all over as safeguards against the speedy Olympians. "Do you remember what his battle plan was?!"
"Of course I do," Drake hissed as the realisation hit him as well. Prior to him and Winter leaving to fight for some odd reason, Hermes had been taking the magic spells thrown at him and using them as his own. So, if he was trying to touch him, than it was pretty obvious what he was after.
"You're trying to take Dragon Force, huh?" Drake asked as he turned and met Mercury's eyes, ones that were intently focused on him.
"It's an incredible technique," he replied. "To take on the powers of a Dragon? Truly powerful. If I were to take it and combine it with my War Form, I could truly be a force unable to be stopped. Give it to me, now.." Drake frowned, raising both of his fists up.
"If you want this power," he said. "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands." Mercury frowned as well.
"So be it."
I know this chapter may be a tad short, but I really wanted to get something up for you guys this week. After all, I do need to update frequently. Besides, if there's one thing I love, it's making you guys wait for content. I swear you guys are as patient as Saints.
That being said, I will absolutely post next week! Count on it! I swear! I promise! Enjoy!
Chapter 334: The Power of a Dragon