FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Arthur's Note:

Greetings! Life just seems to be dragging on these days. Oh yeah... I beat Kingdom hearts 358/2 days. I still don't get why it's titled like that. The game goes up to 359 days before it ends. For all you KH fans out there this game really did cover some of the gaps left by the other games. I wonder if Kingdom hearts 3 will be coming out... ever. I hear rumors, but are they true? Hmmm....... I wonder what a Dragon Storm video game would be like? = / Anyway... please enjoy! ^_^

-PREVIOUSLY ON DRAGON STORM-

"Ok let's go!" Rio said and followed Lazz down an open door. It led out side and the storm they saw brewing earlier was now here.

"Hold on!" Lazz said.

"What is it?" Rio asked.

"Landmines. Be careful." Lazz said.

As Rio and Lazz and Amy avoided the landmines, they finally reached the other side of the area they were now in. They could see the communications towers up ahead.

"Look Lazz there they are!! We are almost there!!" Rio shouted as he ran in front of Lazz.

"Woof!" Amy barked.

However the storm was too bad. It was so loud that Lazz could not hear a word Rio was saying. Just then Lazz noticed a red dot on Rio's vest.

"RIIOO!!!!!! GET DOWN NOW!!!!!!" Lazz said and with out delay Lazz grabbed Rio and pushed him back.

Suddenly, Lazz got shot in the leg. Rio began to panic and grabbed Amy and hide behind a wall. Rio peeked his head to see Lazz bleeding heavily on the floor. Just then, Lazz was shot again in the torso.

"LAZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Rio screamed.

Lazz's dog tag flew off of him and landed by where Rio was hiding. Lazz tried to reach for it when suddenly, he got shoot once more in the left arm.

"ARGHGHARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lazz let out a battle cry.

Rio also tried to reach for it, but he was afraid of being shot and hide behind the wall again. Not one second later did Rio hear a bullet hit the other side of the wall he was hiding behind. Lazz was in pain on the floor and bleeding massively.

"Rio...uh....stay...there.....she's....trying.....uhag....to.....argh.....lure you......out." Lazz said over his codec.

"What do I do Lazz?!" Rio asked.

"Leave...me....and....run...."Lazz said.

" No!! I want to help you!! What about my dream!! I have to protect you Lazz!!" Rio said and dashed out to help Lazz.

Suddenly, a gunshot was fired and blood could be seen flying into the air.

OPENING:

I guess I'm just trying to thank you?

Revealing only little bits of honesty.

As days go by we run away, by blaming someone else.

For starters, I'm sorry...goodbye!

I want to hold you even when you're gone.

Please tell me what love and friendship mean!

Someday you will present the key to my heart.

I want to hold you even when you're gone.

Please tell me what love and friendship mean!

The door to my heart is shut.

Waiting for you.

That's good enough for me.

Believing in tomorrow!

Dragon Storm

CHAPTER 20: Ten minutes between Life and Death, Rio's Impossible Dream!

Rio ran out to help Lazz as he was on the floor in massive pain. Just then, a red dot appeared on Rio's torso and then shortly afterward there was a gunshot. Rio heard the gunshot and since he heard it multiple times already, he memorized the gunshot's noise and quickly reacted by diving to the ground. Rio didn't make it to Lazz, but he did grab Lazz's dog tag that was on the ground. Rio quickly got up and made a mad dash back behind the wall he was hiding behind. However, before he could make it he was shot in the back.

"Arrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Rio yelled in pain.

Amy whimpered as Rio screamed. She licked him to calm him. However, Rio remembered this pain all to well. He wasn't going to freak out like last time.

(Flashback: An earlier event)

"It's....... no use....... hiding." Wild Horn said out of breath.

Just then, Wild Horn shot one bullet at the railing and it ricocheted off of it and hit Rio from behind. Rio let out a horrified scream of pain and confusion. Rio didn't think getting shot would hurt this much. The bullet even pierced his chain mail he was wearing underneath his griffin out fit. He couldn't move, his body felt so heavy. He was losing a lot of blood and fast. He didn't know what to do. This room lacked cover or any kind of hiding spots for that matter. Wild Horn could hit him almost anywhere now. To make matters worse Rio just lost all his equipment from that last attack.

"Didn't I tell you the next time I shoot this gun I will hit you." Wild Horn said and pulled a lever to force the ascension of the platform making it rise higher, and higher into the room.

(Flash forward: Griffin strong hold)

"Damn... I am losing blood as fast as Lazz is... this is no good. The sniper was aimed at my chest, but I dived to the ground just now and avoided being shot there. Instead I was shot on the shoulder and in the back. Think, think... which one of them carried a sniper rifle." Rio thought to himself.

(Flashback: An earlier event)

"Wild Horn, do you perhaps know of the whereabouts of our boss, Rock Lizard?" War Wolf asked.

"Your soo lucky boy!" Wild Horn said.

"Whoa!" Rio gasped for air.

Everyone in the room was flabbergasted. Rio was alive? They didn't know how or why, but they all pulled out their weapons to make sure he didn't try anything. Rio got up and felt the side of his face. There was a sharp pain and blood trailed down. The bullet must have grazed him along the side of his face. Rio knew that Wild Horn was not bad at aiming, so either he missed on purpose or something made him.

"Now, now Wild Horn I still need to talk to him. After all that's why I had Tiger Wanghu go through the trouble of bringing him back to us." Rock Lizard said, and then showed himself.

He appeared out of nowhere and his hand was grabbing Wild Horn's revolver. He must have guided Wild Horn's arm to the side so that the shot would miss. Rio did not know why Rock Lizard just did him the favor of saving his life, but Rio was glad to still be alive. Rio looked around the room and noticed his S&W 9mm and the red and black blade that he got from Yun. Rio looked at the female griffin and saw her healing Tiger Wanghu's wounds.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Just then General Andal pulled out an H&K MP5 and started firing it at Rio. Rio quickly dodged the rapid gunfire and dived for where his S&W9mm and sword was. Wild Horn was in the way of a few shots and nearly evaded the gunfire and shot at where Rio dodged. Rio saw this coming and quickly strapped the sheathed sword around him and jumped out of the way and shot his handgun at Rock Lizard who simply turned his back and the bullet was blocked. He then exited the room while laughing. Meanwhile Wild Horn's bullet ricocheted off the wall and knocked General Andal's machine gun out of his hands. May panicked and reached for the cross bow on her back and aimed an arrow at Rio in midair and fired it. Rio quickly grabbed it and snapped it in half and landed right behind her and exhaled a fireball at Tiger Wanghu and was about to use May as a hostage. Just then however War Wolf used his G.O.N. to control Rio's arm and made him aim his S&Wat his face and forced him to press the trigger. However it was too late. Rio had already unclipped the magazine and all the gun did was make a click noise. Tiger Wanghu dodged the fireball and rushed at Rio and went for an uppercut. Rio was still shocked by what War Wolf did and the hit landed. This sent Rio into the air and Cross Wing smiled as she shot off her PSG-1 sniper rifle. Rio could do nothing and got shot by Cross Wing. Blood spurted out and Rio landed on the ground with a thud.

(Flash forward: Griffin strong hold)

"That's it! Ouch! Argh...it was her...Cross wing. She is the one who carries the PSG-1 sniper rifle! Unh... I... won't...die...here. I have... to follow ...my dream." Rio said out of breath and used his sharp black claws to ply the bullets out and then used his fire breath to close his wounds to stop the bleeding.

"Woof!" Amy barked.

"Stop...going...on...about your... dream. I... told you... not to...save me! Run...now...Rio! Your... dream cannot... come true. I'm...sorry." Lazz said over the codec.

"What! An impossible dream?" Rio said.

"RIO! Are you ok?" Quicksilver asked.

"Huh?! Dad?" Rio asked.

Rio then looked at Amy and began talking to her.

"Lazz! Oh no!!! Rio watch out! It's Cross Wing's trap to lure you out! She is waiting for you to go and help Lazz so she can pick you off! DON'T DO IT!!" Quicksilver said.

"You're right! However, I really want to go help out Lazz... he is my friend and he saved my life!" Rio said.

"Are you crazy? Cross Wing is BLACKFANG's best shooter!" Eubanks said.

" No! Rio whatever you do the mission comes fir-" Quicksilver was interrupted.

"Don't you even finish that sentence! I don't care about your damn mission! I never agreed to be a part of this holocaust anyway you bastards! How dare you all tell me "it's useless" and "there is no other way" and "it will never work" because you know what; I will complete the mission after I protect my dream! I promise you that I will complete the mission AND come back with Lazz all in one piece!!" Rio said.

"..........." Quicksilver remained silent.

" Snipers usually work in pairs, but this one's alone, huh?" Rio asked.

"I know her... she can wait for hours, days, or even weeks if she has to. It doesn't matter to her. She's just watching and waiting for you to expose yourself." Kilala stated.

" Maybe so... but Lazz can't hold out that long...." Rio said.

"Rio! Can you see Cross Wing from where you are?" Quicksilver asked.

"There's nowhere to hide between here and the tower...she must be on the second floor of the tower." Rio said using Lazz's dog tag as a small mirror to see the tower from behind the wall.

"If Cross Wing is in the communications tower, she can see you perfectly! It's the classic sniper's position!! At that distance you won't be able to hit her with a standard weapon either! You'll need a sniper rifle!! Rio you have to get out of there!!!" Quicksilver said.

"Your mission CAN'T compare to a Dragon's life!! Take it easy! I'm going to save Lazz no matter what it takes!!" Rio said.

"I'm surprised you're willing to sacrifice yourself, you've got the genes of a soldier, not a savior. Also... I know Lazz would not do the same for you. He takes his missions very seriously." Kilala said.

"Look, I don't know what my genes look like and I don't care! I operate on instinct." Rio said.

" Like an animal..." Eubanks said.

"I'm GOING TO SAVE LAZZ! I don't need an excuse. I will go find a sniper rifle!" Rio said and with that ran back the way he came from and Amy followed.

"RIO! Wait! Do you even know how to work a sniper rifle? It's not easy...Rio...RIO!!" Quicksilver yelled.

"Rio....run.....You're the ....only one .....who can save us." Lazz said.

Just then Cross Wing flew down to where Lazz was and walked up to him.

"Huh?" Lazz said.

"Looks like he ditched you... Lazz." Cross Wing said.

"..............." Lazz remained silent.

" Why do you think I work alone Lazz? You can only trust yourself!" Cross Wing said.

"On the battle field ... it makes.... No difference." Lazz said.

" I see..." Cross Wing said.

(Elsewhere)

"I have to hurry!" Rio said.

"Woof!" Amy barked.

"I need to save him!! After everything we've gone through and all the deaths we've seen... there is no other way around it! Lazz's life means more to me than this mission. The very mission I was forced to accept... I..I don't want to lose a friend... not if I can help it! I want to save him! Just like he saved me! It's not fair... why is this happening to me?! First my dad plays dead for three years and now I am stuck here thanks to him! Now... I am about to lose my dream and my friend at the same time!" Rio thought.

(Flashback: Rio's past with Lazz)

Rio stopped what he was doing and looked at Lazz. He stared for a little and then looked to the mess he had made then returned his gaze to Lazz who was now holding up a picture. Rio stared at the picture that Lazz was holding cluelessly. He noticed that Lazz was taking this mission very seriously. Lazz was wearing both a melee protection vest and a bulletproof vest both of which hid most of his green scales on his body. Lazz also wore army pants with many pockets, each pocket filled with equipment. Even his tail that was dead-still had a 7in. Combat Knife strapped to it for close quarters combat. It was in it's sheath, but even so it wasn't hard to tell that it was a KM2000.The entire assembly consists of only two components: the laser cut 172 mm Black Kalgard coated, forged 440A stainless steel Westernized tanto blade, and the ergonomic ambidextrous polyamide handle. The entire knife weighs approximately 320 grams. Lazz also specializes in heavy weapons and/or equipment. That really made Rio feel small and not because Rio was only 5'5 in height, but because his friend Lazz knew what he was doing and could always get the job done. Rio often felt like "dead-weight" or a "waste of space" when he was around Lazz.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Argh......agh. Where am I?" Rio asked.

Rio just waking up and getting his legs out of the bed to sit up straight. Rio then looked around the room. It was a small room and it had normal things in it. A book shelf, a lamp, a plant. Rio wondered why he was here. Just then, three dragons entered the small room where Rio was sitting in.

"What's the meaning of this?" Rio asked demandingly.

The dragon toward the only door they entered from as if to guard it, laughed and smiled. His dark-green scales reflecting the ceiling lights making him stand out. Then he said something to Rio.

"Greetings Rio! My name is Lazz and I will be your partner for this mission." Lazz said.

"My partner? Mission?" Rio questioned.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So instead Rio just laughed and played along with Lazz then finally asked Lazz his current concerning question.

"I forgot about you being able to camouflage with your surroundings using your scales, but when you used your ability back there you reminded me that you could do that." Rio explained.

"Okay, that time it wasn't even a question." Lazz said.

"I'm getting to it. Earlier one of the gryphons said that he checked your body and he didn't see any signs of you being alive. Implying I had killed you. However, I did not kill you. You did something to make it where he couldn't tell if you were dead or alive. How did you do that? That is what I wanted to ask." Rio said calmly.

Lazz suddenly stopped walking and looked back only to reveal one of his evil-brownish looking eyes. He was surprised that Rio had put so much thought into the question. Normally Rio was one of those dragons that didn't care about much and always was the one to act like a fool. Rio would do this to either get attention or to make his friends laugh. Lazz was thinking how to explain it to Rio without losing him in his vocabulary. Lazz closed his eyes and opened them again, then turned completely around to face Rio.

"I see." Lazz said then paused before he continued. "You would like to know how I fooled that gryphon into thinking you killed me, as to lower his guard from behind which is where I laid in wait?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lazz stood there in disbelief because what had just happened. Rio just caught a bullet just fired at him by Wild Horn and caught it with his bare hand or in this case his two bare fingers. As Rio lowered his hand to his side and dropped the bullet on the ground, the cling sound it made as the bullet hit the floor echoed in Lazz's ears as he thought to himself what just happened. Lazz didn't have time to think though, Lazz felt a slight discomfort on his chest. He knew he could not take his eyes off of the enemy, not even for one second. So he figured he would check to see what it was later. Lazz stared at Wild Horn. He was a moose like Minotaur. He stood tall on two legs, and brought a new meaning to the word hairy. Wild Horn then slowly turned his head toward Rio and Lazz.

"Step away from Takeshi Obata right now Wild Horn!" Rio yelled.

"Lazz....... long time no see old pal!" Wild Horn said.

" If I never saw you again it would have been to soon Wild Horn." Lazz said sarcastilly.

"What? Is that any way to welcome someone you haven't seen in over six years?" Wild Horn questioned while keeping his gun pointed at Rio and Lazz.

Lazz kept his eyes on Wild Horn and examined his over all out look. He was well equipped for someone who was just supposed to ask questions. Wild Horn was holding a Revolver. The color of the gun was black and silver, which matched his spiked shoulder pads that held his brown short cape up. He also had on spiked armlets as well as two large golden horns on his head that shined brightly thanks to the lighting of the room. His eyes were a dark red color, which matched some of the designs on his fur.

"I hate being ignored!!" Rio screamed and with that he pulled out his smith and Wesson 9mm semi automatic handgun and fired two bullets at Wild Horn.

Wild Horn was surprised at how fast Rio fired his handgun. He quickly pointed his revolver at the first incoming bullet and fired one shot at it. The two bullets canceled each other out and Rio's second bullet was headed right for Wild Horn with no detours. Rio smiled because he knew he had won this little battle. Revolvers are old and have to be reloaded after every shot, which is its weakness. Rio knew that since he just fired once already he could not use the same trick to cancel it out again.

"It's over Wild Horn!! Rio shouted.

Just then, Wild Horn shot a second bullet from his revolver with out reloading at all. The two bullets clashed and fell to the floor leaving a cling sound that filled the room. Rio was shocked. He had heard stories, but never actually seen it. That was no ordinary revolver Wild Horn was holding. Rio looked to his side to see that Lazz had already used his camo-abitiliy and was hiding for an ambush. Rio knew Lazz was confused at what had just happened, so he began to explain.

"Nice move." Rio said.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wild Horn was sent flying across the room past where Lazz was standing from Rio's punch and landed on the ground with a huge impact. Wild Horn got up and tried to think what just happened, but he had no time as Rio was already in front of him aiming his foot at him to kick him. Wild Horn blocked the kick however, and tried to foot sweep Rio. Rio quickly jumped over the foot sweep and kicked Wild Horn in the face. The force from the kick sent him skidding across the room past where Lazz was standing again and into the next room. Rio quickly dashed after him.

Meanwhile the president of Dragons tech Takeshi Obata took the chance to make a run for it. He ran into the previous room Rio and Lazz were in and took the stairs down to the next level. Lazz ran after him after grabbing the rest of his gear that he took off. Lazz felt that slight discomfort on his chest again and this time looked down to see what was bothering him. It was a small wound. The dark-red blood that was running down his chest was proof of that. Lazz tried to think why he was bleeding, but came up with nothing. By the time he had put on all his gear and equipment, he finally figured out why he has a wound. It was the bullet that Wild Horn just shot at him. If Rio were just one second later he could have been killed as the wound was where his heart is. It did not have enough time to hit the heart however. Lazz jumped onto the railing and slid down it like grinding it with a skateboard and before he reached the end of the railing he jumped off and made a mad dash down the only pathway there was in attempts to catch up to Takeshi Obata.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Just then Lazz got up and used his fire breath to light a cigarette.

"To honor the fallen." Lazz said as he inhaled it and then let out a puff of smoke.

Suddenly, Rio smacked the cigarette right out of Lazz's mouth and then stepped on it.

"Smoking is bad for you! If you're going to honor the fallen...then find another way!" Rio said.

"There is no other way! This isn't some child's dream where you can just magically find another way-" Lazz said but was interrupted.

"No!! Your wrong! Your mission... our mission, was to rescue DARPA Chief Kazuki Takahashi and the president of Dragon tech, Takeshi Obata. Well, we failed in doing that, but our mission as a whole is not a failure! YOU FOUND ANOTHER WAY TO DESTROY THE CHIEMRA DIDN'T YOU?!" Rio yelled and held out Lazz's pack of cigarettes and set them all ablaze.

" Hey! When did you... you sneaky little. Hmph...well, we just got lucky that's all. Good luck doesn't last forever." Lazz said.

"This is not good luck Lazz...this is fate! So please find another way to honor the fallen." Rio said firmly.

"Yeah, keep dreaming..." Lazz said.

"Here we go again! My dream is to protect my friends! So stop smoking and move on already!!" Rio said.

" ..........So you're just trying to protect me by you stopping me from smoking huh? Interesting to say the least. Anyway, let's get going Rio... we still have a mission to do and don't forget that sword." Lazz said.

"I won't! Don't forget to find another way Lazz!" Rio said.

"........................" Lazz remained silent.

"And also...I'm sorry..." Rio said.

"For what?" Lazz asked.

" How could I let War wolf control my mind like that?" Rio asked.

" If you're going to doubt yourself...I'll leave you here." Lazz said.

" Your right!" Rio said.

"Never doubt your self! Just let it make you stronger! Learn something from it!" Lazz said.

"Ok... but can I ask you something?" Rio asked.

"What is it?" Lazz asked.

" What's your last name?" Rio asked.

"Names don't mean anything on the battlefield." Lazz said.

"How old are you?" Rio asked.

"Old enough to know what death looks like.... But if you must know I'm 20 years of age just like you." Lazz said.

"Any family?" Rio asked.

"Classified." Lazz said.

"Is there anyone you like?" Rio asked.

"I've never been interested in anyone else's life..." Lazz said.

"So you are all alone..." Rio said.

" Others just complicate my life...I don't like to get involved." Lazz said.

(Flash forward: Griffin strong hold)

Rio finally made it back to where he was ambushed by the one hundred griffin soldiers. He decided to pick up whatever ammo and equipment he could use. Shortly afterward Rio and Amy found an elevator that was in the corner of the room. They took the elevator only one floor up and when the doors opened up... Rio found himself in a long hallway.

They proceeded to walk down the hallway until they realized where they were. Rio read a sign on the wall and it read: Prisoners. There were a lot of them. Every single one of them was half asleep or just worn out. It was like that with all the prisoners until Rio and Amy reached the end of the hallway and saw only one door remained. Rio looked inside and saw an empty room at first, but then saw something sitting in the moonlight coming from the window.

"Hm? Who are you?" Necro asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Rio replied.

To be continued.....................

Arthur's comment:

Will Rio find a sniper rifle in time?

What will happen to Lazz?

Stay tune!

Thanks for reading! XD