Dragon Storm: Chapter 34: Live or Die: Risk it All to Win it All!
#34 of Dragon Storm
Author's Note:
Hello again! If you have not already, try to check out A soviet Dragon's new story and picture. Both of which are about Dragon Storm in their own way! It makes me happy when my story can become so vast. At least in the Dragon Storm universe anyway. Thanks again to everyone who has supported me! ; )
SoFurry Cast
DS-Rio: http://ds-rio.sofurry.com/
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A Soviet Dragon: http://a-soviet-dragon.sofurry.com/
Yun95: http://yun95.sofurry.com/
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Eveser: http://eveser.sofurry.com/
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Naraku: http://naraku.sofurry.com/
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Aresues: http://aresues.sofurry.com/
ASCII Artwork:
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,_.-- --- -== Alyssa
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I do not take credit for this artwork.
-PREVIOUSLY ON DRAGON STORM-
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"STORM WALTZ!!!!" Rio yelled and as his bullets hit each clip in the air, each clip forcefully let out it's own bullet in quick succession. Soon there after, General Andal found himself in the middle of a raining bullet storm with no escape thanks to his own shackle. Rio's bullets proceeded to rain down from the heavens and one-by-one hit everything on Andal's side of the dock. Andal quickly fell to his knees and blocked his middle button from the rain of lead. He cried out in pain as all the bullets crashed into his back and his two side buttons.
"I-I...What? Ack!" General Andal muttered out and then coughed out blood.
"It's over... I have used up all my ammo.... If you can get up from that.... Then you win..." Rio said.
"That's...just.... a smith and Wesson.... Handgun, right? That...means the.... most it can hold is.... about 20 rounds.... I was in a storm of bullets.... that felt more like a thousand..." General Andal said in between breaths.
"That's right. Each one of my clips holds 20 rounds... so the four clips in the air equaled out to 80 rounds.... but that's not all.... The remaining ammo in my handgun's clip and the one that was in the chamber...plus, because it happened so fast, you didn't notice that most of the bullets bounced back several times before landing. In other words... My Storm Waltz attack I just performed now.... You must have at least taken 160 rounds from the attack itself and wounded by at least half of that amount. However... at the cost of me running out of ammo." Rio stated and held his shoulder in pain.
" Nice move... Rio." General Andal said and staggered back up a bloody mess.
"Andal... I just... can't bring your point counter to zero... so, I only want to ask one thing of you..." Rio said as he limbed over toward where Andal was standing.
" Quiet! This... is... where I ... finish you!" General Andal said in pain.
"Andal... please... I know you are being forced into this... you have to do.... What you have to do.... But please.... I don't want my important items to sink into the sea with me...I want you to have them." Rio said and stood beside Andal, watery in the eyes. Rio then proceeded to place all his weapons on Andal and then reached into his shirt.
"What?!" General Andal asked in shock.
"They are important to me... please take good care of them....please...replace me..." Rio said and took off Lazz's dog tag and placed it around Andal's neck.
".........." General Andal remained silent.
"I just wanted you to have my katana, handgun, bow and arrows, and Lazz's dog tag. They mean allot to me and they helped me to get this far. The timer for this sadistic battle will go off in 20 minutes. However... if there is no result by the end of the 20 minutes, then we'll both drown in the sea. I wish there were something I could do to save us both..." Rio said as he walked back over to his side of the dock.
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Suddenly, a massive wave of bullets was incoming in on Aisu, and fast. Just then however, Aisu used his Ice G.O.N. to instantly form a giant dragon made of ice. It moved its arm down quickly in front of Aisu so that the wave of bullets was blocked completely. Aisu laughed and then commended his Ice dragon to destroy the small group of griffin soldiers that stood in his path. The giant ice dragon roared and then released ice crystals from its mouth, thus killing them all. Aisu laughed again as his mist G.O.N. warned him of other Quintessence readings of another small group of griffins enroot in attempts to flank him. Aisu simply raised his hand and swayed it toward their direction and thousands of snowflakes had formed a wave of neon light blue flakes of snow that even glittered as they whooshed past him and encircled the small group of griffins and quickly destroyed them all. Aisu laughed once more and then suddenly he stopped and turned around quickly to see someone who he never thought he would get to see. It was none other then the one responsible for his first death.
"And to think I would get to meet you on the battlefield again... Nezbit..." Aisu said firmly.
"Aisu..." Nezbit said while observing the destruction that Aisu just caused.
OPENING#2:
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Sha la la I know that someday
I will find what I'm chasing after
I pray that light will shine into your heart
And set your empty soul ablaze
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My desire to see you just once more
Is so strong I cry till my heart's torn
Fireflies have flown into summer
And they will never come back again
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You left me with a kiss on my lips
And told me that you had to go
And although I was sad
I just nodded my head
And then you walked away and left me
I trembled and cried with grief
_ Sha la la I know that someday_
I will find what I'm chasing after
I pray that light will shine into your heart
And set your empty soul ablaze
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Sha la la my dear beloved
I can still see your precious smile
The dazzling light shining from the moon
Illuminates tomorrow's way
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Let it shine; let it shine, to brighten your way!
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I do not own Hotaru no Hikari .
DRAGON STORM
CHAPTER 34: Live or Die: Risk it All to Win it All!
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~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ (Dreaming) ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
" So close..." Nezbit said evilly.
" Any moment now..." Kilala replied.
"It's been four years since Aisu died in combat." Nezbit said.
"Yes. And today we can finally bring him back to life as a Genome Soldier." Kilala added.
"Yes, yes! Just a little more!" Nezbit said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - (Flashback: Aisu's past) - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Alright! Aisu! Your up! Show us what you can do today!" Tiger Wanghu said as he watched Aisu walk into the battle arena.
"Hmph. Don't bother me." Aisu snapped back.
"Are you ready for me?" Nezbit asked the young Aisu.
"More then ready. I want to eat tonight." Aisu said calmly.
"Yes. That's how things work around here... if you don't win every battle you are placed in then you don't eat." Nezbit explained.
"Whatever... I haven't lost a single battle yet!" Aisu said and then rushed right at Nezbit.
" We'll put our lives on the line!" Nezbit exclaimed.
As Aisu rushed toward Nezbit he noticed his features. Nezbit was a full-grown Sphinx with golden brown fur and had his pair of throwing knifes out. His green eyes locked on Aisu, he quickly threw his knifes at Aisu, but Aisu saw this and simply ducked and then jumped high into the air and tried to land a hit with his lance. However, Nezbit sidestepped and backspin kicked Aisu away, sending him skidding across the ground. Suddenly, Aisu was stabbed by four throwing knifes and pinned to the ground helplessly. Nezbit slowly approached him and spoke.
"Argh!!!" Aisu growled.
"Great, even though he has touched me and I absorbed his G.O.N. I still don't know what it is." Aisu thought to himself.
"I'm guessing you can't use a G.O.N. you acquire without having any prior knowledge about it or about what it can do." Nezbit stated firmly.
"Yeah! So what!" Aisu snapped back, struggling against the throwing knifes which pinned him in place.
" Alright then, let me show you my G.O.N." Nezbit said and placed his hand over his face and slowly pulled down on the skin right under his left eye.
Aisu suddenly, became motionless; he was in some sort of bind. He didn't know what to do. He suddenly felt a cold chill run through his body. He then began to shake uncontrollably. Soon after he vomited and began to feel really sick. Just when he thought things couldn't get much worse, he then saw something weird right in front of him. It was himself and Nezbit. Almost how they were now only the Aisu in the projection was now dead on the ground with his own lance stabbed through his heart.
"No! No! NO! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!" Aisu screamed.
Just then Nezbit picked up Aisu's lance that had landed away from him and stabbed Aisu right in the heart just like how Nezbit's G.O.N. showed Aisu. Aisu was bleeding and couldn't move no matter what he did. He quickly saw his life flash before his eyes and then passed away. Nezbit laughed at how weak Aisu was and walked away.
- - - - (Flash forward: Dragon Talon Island: Research lab) - - - - -
"The half-breed who once feared your menacing air has now matured, hasn't he...?" Kilala asked while she smirked evilly.
"Yes. It's all thanks to our gene therapy projects. It took us four years, but today he is brought back in to this world a second time! Now raise Aisu and become my genome soldier slave!!" Nezbit exclaimed.
"Yes. Due to all the drugs and nano's we've injected you with there is no way you can disobey us otherwise." Kilala added.
" Arg....cough...cough...ack!" Aisu rose like a zombie and began breathing heavy.
"Well, Aisu how do you feel?" Nezbit asked.
"I am ready to serve you master..." Aisu said emotionlessly.
"Interesting..." Kilala whispered.
"Hahahaha... great! However... you will still need to be kept under supervision. No, in fact, with some training, you can become an outstanding gem, superior to Rock Lizard himself!!" Nezbit said and then let out an evil laughter.
"You seem more excited then normal Nezbit..." Kilala said.
"Yes... this is what has convinced me... In addition to the childhood trauma he carries with him! Aisu would come seeking me out for sure... looking for strength! Strength to defeat anyone on this island and obtain his long sought after freedom. " Nezbit stated.
"That is why you gave him extra nano-machines and also took steps to watch over him secretly to see how he would react in combat, unlike last time..." Kilala stated.
"Hm? Are you talking about Necro? Hah! That was just a coincidence. Well, I was planning on threatening Rock Lizard anyway. I was just unsure which tool I should have used for it. However... since Aisu is more powerful then Necro I think I will use him instead." Nezbit said.
"And what of Necro?" Kilala asked.
"He can go play in Tiger Wanghu's battle arena. I hear that he is close friends with him anyway." Nezbit stated.
"Oh? And Aisu?" Kilala added.
"He can go too. I want to see if he will one day be strong enough to free himself and seek me out!" Nezbit said.
"................" Kilala remained silent.
" What more can I say? Aisu has the will to brush off the effects of some of the nano-mahcines and can rely only on pure instinct temporally... and the way he makes use of that in a desperate situation..." Nezbit said.
"Actual battle does indeed make any anthro mature greatly." Kilala said.
"I suppose so... there is no other anthro that can train him better then I can... There is no one else who can understand the darkness in his heart because I MADE HIS HEART!!!" Nezbit stated.
" Yes. A cyber heart." Kilala added.
"Mwhahahahahahahaha!!!!!" Nezbit laughed evilly and coughed up blood.
"That menacing air... Nezbit's body should have already passed its limit by now... but he hangs on by his sheer will power alone." Kilala whispered as she exited the room, grinning evilly.
" How long have you had that illness and postponed your death Nezbit? What other kind of experiments have you performed behind Rock Lizard's back and the rest of BLACKFANG?" Kilala thought.
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Kilala had just woken up from her short nap and instantly held her head in slight pain. It was a stinging pain that reminded her of her past with BLACKFANG and it was as menacing as Nezbit too. Kilala looked over at the desk beside her and saw Quicksilver with an evil look on his face while he moved another bishop piece over by a king's piece, the same evil look that Nezbit had on his face when he revived Aisu. Both Nezbit and Quicksilver had this menacing air around them that made Kilala feel as though she was in constant danger.
"It was enough that Quicksilver has Nezbit's same menacing air and evil grin, but then Lazz had to go and bring up Aisu again... ever since then I have been thinking about it non-stop..." Kilala thought to herself.
- - - - - - - - - - - - (Flashback: An earlier event) - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rio walked over to help Carl Kurotsuchi while Lazz talked to HQ.
"What is it Lazz?" Kilala asked.
"I just encountered someone by the name Aisu. Any info on him." Lazz asked.
"Ridiculous. He was said to have died in Tiger wanghu's battle arena." Quicksilver said.
"No. He should have died. But he didn't." Kilala said.
"What!?" Quicksilver said.
"What do you mean?" Lazz said and pulled out his picture and placed it inside the scanner and uploaded it to his sever.
"It happened right before I joined the BLACKFANG's medical staff. They were using a soldier for their gene therapy experiments. My predecessor, DR. Nezbit was in charge." Kilala said.
"DR. Nezbit?" Lazz asked and started to color in the picture using paint.net's program the way Rio's cloths looked.
"Yes. He started the gene therapy project." Kilala said.
"Where is he now?" Quicksilver asked.
"He died in a explosion in his lab two years ago." Kilala said.
"So what about this Aisu guy?" Lazz asked.
"He is a Half dragon breed that was captured when he was young by BLACKFANG so they could use him as a test subject to see if the G.O.N. of a half dragon could match that of other species. BLACKFANG put Aisu in Tiger Wanghu's battle arena located somewhere on the island and forced him to fight opponents endlessly. Until one day he reached his limit and died in combat. Shortly after that BLACKFANG revived him and fitted him with a cyber heart and kept him drugged for four years while they experimented on him like some plaything." Kilala explained.
"That's the sickest thing I ever heard of." Quicksilver said.
"Kilala why didn't you tell us about this sooner? " Lazz asked as he proceeded to cooler in the Rio picture down to the very last pixel.
" Because it's confidential information." Kilala said.
"Is that the only reason?" Lazz asked.
"................" Kilala remained silent.
"Kilala?" Quicksilver asked.
"I almost forgot, my daughter Tia says there is a real bad thunder storm headed your way, do be careful. Now if you can excuse me I have to get back to work." Kilala said.
"Lazz keep up the good work. I'll go ask more on the matter and find out what I can from Kilala." Quicksilver said.
- - - (Flash forward: Dragon techs. class nuclear submarine discovery) - - - - -
" I don't know what I should do anymore...Quicksilver has been lying to Rio and Lazz about everything...I don't know how much more I can take..." Kilala thought to herself while holding her head in pain and confusion, becoming watery in the eyes.
_ _======================= (Elsewhere) ============================
"Yun!" Shayde stood up and smirked while wiping a tear away.
" What is it? Have you finally given up, pup?" Yun asked while rolling his eyes.
" Earlier you said that I couldn't win because I don't have anything to fight for. I did not know that you needed a reason to fight, but now I understand. I have a dream and I won't let anything or anyone stand in my way of obtaining that dream!" Shayde said firmly and suddenly geysers of lava shot out from the grassy ground.
" What the hell? Now what's happening? Lava?" Yun shouted in fear and took a step back.
"It's over... Yun!" Shayde said calmly and watched as one geyser after another proceeded to explode from the ground and shoot upward.
A huge gust of wind rushed past Shayde and Yun. Yun's device on his arm began to go off and beep wildly, warning him of the oncoming danger. Yun took a step back and watched as geyser after geyser after geyser of lava shot out from the ground and slowly engulfed half of the battlefield in magma. The heat that was being released now was scorching dangerously.
" I didn't know that you could manipulate lava too, pup!" Yun said in shock while covering his face from the heat.
" I can't. I only have Heat manipulation." Shayde said.
"Huh? Then what's going on here?" Yun asked in confusion.
"The interior of planet Earth consists of a crust, a mantle, and a core. I can use my Quintessence via Quintessence Concentration, to burrow deep into the earth at extremely high speeds. It doesn't even matter if it has to burrow through water, rock, soil, it can burrow deeper and deeper into the Earth as far down as I want it to go. However... sending my own Quintessence into the Earth costs me my own Quintessence and costs me more the deeper and faster I want it to travel, but in exchange I can use any heat that it so happens to find." Shayde explained.
"So... you are using some of the heat from the Earth?" Yun asked, still slightly enlightened.
" Yes, that's right. Before... I was using the heat from the Earth's crust, but right now... I am using the heat from the Earth's mantle. The pressure and temperature are too high, so I can't go down there, but as long as I can send my Quintessence down there in my place I should be okay. Also, in case you didn't know, I can use my Quintessence to search for Hotspots." Shyade explained calmly.
"That's... that's.... Brilliant! So then... what's a Hotspot?" Yun exclaimed.
" It's a point where magma comes up from the mantle to form a volcano. Since I can't go down to where the heat is... I figured I would just bring the heat up to where I am. Lucky for me, that this whole grassy area just so happens to be a hotspot. So now... not only am I using my first Gear, but I am also using the heat from both the Earth's crust and mantle, and just to make things even more interesting... I have located a hotspot which means I can now use the heat from the Earth's mantle from down below and from up here where we stand, Yun." Shayde explained and smiled.
"So that's why there are geysers of lava shooting up from the ground." Yun said.
"Yeah..." Shayde agreed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - (Flashback: An earlier event) - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Huff...huff...huff... What did you just say? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT SAYING SUCH A THING! I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE!!" Shayde yelled back and swung his hand in rage, sending a massive ambient heat wave toward Yun.
"Hm? What's this? I can feel warmth. It's not my heat. Where is it coming from?" Shayde thought.
"Oh no you don't!!" Yun said and performed a windmill strum on his Classic Fender Electric guitar, thus sending out a rather powerful sound wave.
"It's no use! Now that my first gear is active... My heat is much stronger. Your sound will never be able to compete! Huh?" Shayde said and then watched as Yun's sound wave broke through and pushed Shayde off of his feet and slammed into a nearby tree. His vision even more fuzzy now, he quickly vomited and felt really dizzy. He got on one knee and began to breath heavy.
"I can use sound waves to enhance my own power right before blasting it all at you, pup! My music amplifies my quintessence for a decent amount of time! I'm afraid your gear is nothing, but a pup's plaything!" Yun said.
- - - (Flash forward: Dragon Talon Island: Docks) - - - - -
" That's when I figured out about the hotspot. And don't think I have forgotten about you being able to make yourself stronger with your own sound, Yun." Shayde thought to himself.
"Heh. No matter. I will just keep my distance. Instead of simply strumming my electric guitar, I will play a solo. The longer I play out this solo, the longer I will be able to manipulate sound waves. I will be able to produce sonic blasts by simply adjusting my electric guitar." Yun explained and turned the metal knobs toward the top of the guitar and played his solo, which released a very powerful sound wave.
Suddenly, Shayde swung his katana and soon after he did a massive heat wave was released. Shayde's heat wave was so strong that the heat wave actually left behind a trail of fire in the grass and burned its way straight for Yun. However, Yun's sound wave crashed into the heat wave and blew out the trail of fire instantly. The impact of their respective waves left a deep creator in the ground that quickly filled up with magma. However, it was no use. Shayde's heat wave was gone now, but Yun's solo, which he was still playing, produced Yun's sound wave, thus Yun's sound wave did not stop, and instead proceeded to head right for Shayde. Shayde saw this and jumped up and over it and landed with a sword slash right on top of Yun, but Yun countered by blocking the sword attack with his electric guitar. Although Shyade's attack may have been blocked, but Shayde did manage to destroy some of the strings on Yun's electric guitar. Yun wasted no time pulling out his next capsule and after the smoke cleared he quickly dropped his electric guitar and was now holding his broad sword. Yun quickly sliced out toward Shayde, but Shayde blocked the attack and used the extra momentum from Yun's strength to perform a back flip in the air and landed a few feet away.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY OF YOU TRY TO STAND IN MY WAY, I'LL CRUSH YOU ALL!!!" Yun yelled and began to spin around really quickly to build up more momentum, then launching himself toward Shayde.
Shayde quickly and effortlessly plunged his silvery katana into the ground and halted Yun's massive strength and spin. Doing so only made Shayde skid back a little, but he was still all right. Sparks flew in every direction, while the sound of sword clatter echoed though out the battlefield. They were both using each other to power themselves up even further. The heat from the sparks for Shayde, and the sound of the swords clashing for Yun. They were absorbing their respective elements and growing stronger with each one. At this point they were so powerful that the next direct hit would end it all. The wind from this attack rushed past them both as they found themselves in a deadlock once again. Suddenly, Shayde saw an opening and quickly placed one hand on top of his katana and lifted himself up into the air, while his hand was still using his sword handle as a springboard, to deliver a powerful kick to the face. However, Yun blocked the kick by catching it and tossing Shayde a few meters away. Shayde held onto his katana tight so it was lifted up out of the ground when Yun tossed him. Shayde landed with a thud on the ground and they both glared at each other.
" That's no good... you're still too fast for me if you can manage to land a simple kick during sword play..." Yun said disappointedly and dropped his giant broad sword and watched as it landed with a heavy thud.
" Hm?" Shayde muttered and raised an ear.
Yun quickly and effortlessly, threw the swords in their sheathes on his back into the air and pulled out another capsule and threw it into the air. Once the smoke cleared from the capsule another two stun swords could be seen. Yun then spun around and pulled out his other three-stun swords and got on one foot and then finally caught the remaining four-stun swords in the air. Yun was now standing on one foot with his back slouched just slightly and his left arm shot straight up and then bent back so that his palm was facing upward. With a sword being held right where his arm bent. Yun's head was leaning against his left arm that was up in the air in order to hold a sword there. Yun also had one sword held by his tail. His right arm was bent like a swan's neck and he held two blades on that arm. One where his arm bent and the other under his armpit. He also held one with his stomach because of how his back was slanted inward and his leg that was lifted up off the ground, holding the blade in place between his knee and his stomach. He held the last sword at the bend of his leg, which was off the ground. That is why he was on one foot. Actually this whole crazy pose allowed Yun to not only wield seven stun swords all at one time, but it also let him keep both of his hands and mouth free while doing so.
"Tsk! What's with this stance?" Shayde asked and took a step back as a precaution while another gust of wind breezed past them both gently.
Suddenly, Yun jumped into the air very dramatically and spun around while in the air to become a cannonball. Yun crashed into Shayde with his neck's blade and quickly whipped his white and black tail around to use his tail's blade. However, Shayde saw this and quickly blocked Yun's neck blade and then turned around to block Yun's tail blade. Yun quickly tossed his calf blade into the air and it spun really, really fast. Yun then landed on his two feet and performed a thrust out toward Shayde from down low while tossing his tail's blade up at Shayde and exhaling liquid nitrogen from his mouth all simultaneously. Shayde quickly sidestepped Yun's tail blade that was thrown at him and side stepped again while blocking to avoid Yun's other blade that was first thrown and Yun's thrust. Shayde also emitted some heat to cancel out Yun's liquid nitrogen. Yun then caught his blade that was in the air with his mouth and swung his neck's blade and his mouth's blade at Shayde while grabbing his armpit's blade with his tail and swinging it down low at Shayde.
"Yikes!" Shayde cried out.
Shayde hoped over Yun's tail blade and blocked Yun's mouth blade and neck blade at the same time. Yun then spit out his mouth's blade at Shayde and Shayde parried it back at Yun, but Yun used his Quintessence concentration to force his blade to stick to the surface of the bottom of his foot and kicked out at Shayde in attempts to slice Shayde while using his tail's blade to whip around and flank Shayde's six (from behind) and then grabbing his neck's blade with his right hand and swinging it toward Shayde as if to backhand him. Finally Yun produced sound waves to throw Shayde off balance. Shayde blocked Yun's foot blade and jumped up in order to evade the rest of Yun's attacks. However it was no use as Yun quickly launched himself at Shayde while twirling in the air side-ways performing a 1080-degree spin. Shayde attempted to block all the various incoming sword attacks, but he was nicked by four of Yun's blades, which electrocuted Shayde just a little.
"Sound, liquid nitrogen, seven swords, Quintessence concentration, electricity, Advanced sword play, and high-speed martial arts. Yun truly is a sword master; he can use all of this in conjunction without fail. I can't even find an opening, there's no time... all I can do is defend." Shayde thought to himself as Yun proceeded with his barrage of swift sword attacks.
Just then, Yun landed on the ground with his hands so that now he was doing a handstand. There were now three of Yun's blades spinning extremely quickly in the air. Shayde almost didn't see Yun's calf blade strike out at him and only managed to dodge it by just a air, as that's just what it took; some of Shayde's fur. Yun then used his Quintessence concentration to cling two of the three swords in the air to his two feet that were in the air and strike down at Shayde with them both and the calf blade once again. Shayde blocked the three incoming sword attacks one after the other while stepping back with every block. Yun then caught the remaining sword that was in the air with his tail and swung out at him with it while exhaling more liquid nitrogen. Shayde parried Yun's tail blade and used his heat power to cancel out the liquid nitrogen yet again. Yun then kicked out at Shayde with both of his feet as if to ride a bicycle to try and slice Shayde. However, Shayde just kept blocking and blocking. Yun then threw two more blades into the air and launched himself forward with both of his feet. Shayde almost got distracted by Yun's constant sword juggling, but blocked Yun's attack. Yun then reached out with his foot's blade and nicked Shayde once again and then used his liquid nitrogen on Shayde's feet to bind him in place. However, Shayde broke free of the ice and proceeded to step backward.
"Argh!" Shayde whimpered.
Yun then performed a cartwheel and caught his other two blades he threw in the air and attacked Shayde with his neck's blade, his mouth's blade, his armpit's blade, and his tail's blade. Shayde quickly jumped back to evade all four of Yun's blades, but it was no good, Yun proceeded with his cartwheel and rushed at Shayde with rage. Shayde continued to block Yun's cartwheel barrage. Just then, Yun halted himself and jumped into the air and plunged on top of Shayde with three more blades, but Shayde saw this and ducked and then backed up some more trying to keep a safe distance. When Yun landed on the ground he performed an upper cut with his mouth and neck blades, but Shayde parried them sending them into the air yet again. Yun quickly and effortlessly caught them all and launched out at Shayde once again. Shayde jumped into the air to try and avoid it, but the attack ripped his pants. When Shayde landed Yun was already in position to stab Shayde yet again. Shayde quickly blocked though. Yun then did a 180-degree turn and used his armpit and tail blades to stab Shayde. Shayde ducked under the armpit blade and stabbed his katana into the ground to block Yun's tail blade. Yun then kicked out and almost nicked Shayde in the face yet again, but Shayde swayed his head to the side and avoided it. Shayde was now leaning back so he performed a backhand spring to gain some more distance and finally saw an opening in between Yun's attacks.
"I GOT YOU!!!" Shayde yelled out of frustration.
Shayde then launched himself forward and attacked Yun. However, Yun blocked the attack with both his neck's blade and his left hand's blade. Yun then attacked back at Shayde, but Shayde parried it and attacked back almost instantly. Yun got nicked in the face and then ducked down to avoid Shayde's next sword swing. Yun then tripped Shayde off his feet and sent him flying high into the air with his two feet using Quintessence concentration to force Shayde to stick to his feet until he was launched upward.
"DON'T GET COCKY, PUP!!!" Yun yelled and caught his three remaining blades that were in the air, and then jumped up toward where Shayde was, before the magma covered the ground where they stood.
Shayde was now spinning in the air due to Yun's kick and tried to halt himself. Yun was now back in his cannonball form spinning just as fast and then finally clashed blades again with Shayde. More sparks flew everywhere and gave everything a bright orange glow to it. Yun sliced out with his left hand's blade, but Shayde blocked it. Yun then performed a tail thrust, but Shayde parried that sword attack too. Yun then tried to stab Shayde with his right hand's blade, but Shayde blocked that as well. They just continued to spin really quickly and land whatever they could when they could, sending sparks of light everywhere every time. Yun then tried to slice Shayde with his tail blade and his mouth blade, but Shayde saw this and ducked under the tail's blade that tried to slice him from up above and blocked the mouth's blade.
"Hmph." Yun muttered.
They were sword fighting at such high speeds now, that the orange sparks turned into a bright golden color and flashed everywhere. Just then Yun spun even faster and sliced Shayde with five different blades. Shayde managed to block three of the blades, but the other two blades got through, only nicking him on his shoulder and ear. Crimson red blood and golden yellow sparks flew everywhere. Shayde then landed back on the ground where there was no lava and held his ground until he saw Yun's blades flying toward him. Shayde stepped back to avoid one of Yun's blades, but then noticed that two more blades were headed right for him. Shayde then quickly performed a backhand spring and dodged the second blade and then finally landed on his rump and quickly jumped up to evade the third blade that flew right for him. The blade managed to put a tare in Shayde's black pants, but he dodged it nevertheless. Yun then landed on the ground where his three blades were and picked them all up using his two free hands and his tail.
"GET BACK HERE, PUP!!! I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU!!!" Yun yelled and dashed toward Shayde.
Shayde saw this as he was running away and readied his katana. Yun then jumped up and landed in front of Shayde and Shayde swung his katana to parry Yun's blades. Golden sparks flew once again and Yun jumped back into the air and attacked Shayde with four different blades. Shayde blocked only two of them and got nicked by the other two on his yellow fur, staining it with a dark red color. Shayde endured the pain and swung out with his katana, but only to find it blocked. Yun then tried to trip Shayde for a second time, but Shayde had learned his lesson and quickly jumped into the air and came down with a sword slice, but only to find it blocked again. Shayde decided to back kick Yun instead, but Yun ducked and performed another back handspring and while on his hands sliced at Shayde using his feet.
" Oh, no you don't!" Shayde said.
Shayde blocked the two sword attacks and knew that Yun's tail was next so he quickly ducked and jumped back and got up on his feet again. After Yun swung his tail blade and saw that Shayde had anticipated it he rushed at Shayde with three more blades. Shayde jumped over Yun and tried to slice him from above, but Yun used his armpit blade to block it. When Shayde landed he quickly sliced out toward Yun's back, but Yun quickly turned around and blocked that attack too. Yun then started to do something a little different; he was now twirling the blades in his hands really quickly while juggling two other in the air and then finally tried to stab Shayde once again. Shayde was beginning to feel light-headed, but managed to block Yun's attack.
" Damn... he has been using his sound every time our swords clash. No wonder I feel so dizzy. What the! There isn't even anytime to think!" Shayde thought to himself.
Yun tried to stab Shayde with his left hand, and uppercut with his right hand, and thrust with his tail, but Shayde blocked the first two attacks and avoided the last one. Shayde then tried to stab Yun, but Yun not only blocked the attack, but he also nicked Shayde's leg. Shayde let out a cry of pain, but then countered by kicking Yun right in his chest. Yun only skidded back a few feet before he was dashing back at Shayde again. It seemed as though he just provoked Yun, because now Yun was moving even faster then before. Golden sparks continued to fly everywhere with all the various sword attacks and sword trick that they each effortlessly performed flawlessly. Suddenly, Yun performed a strike and nicked Shayde's arm. Shayde just ignored the stinging pain and blocked more of Yun's attacks. Yun then jumped up into the air and dodged Shayde sword swing, leaving behind only golden sparks.
"Over here, pup!" Yun taunted.
Just then, Yun landed on the same side, Shayde was expecting him to land behind him, but he just simply jumped up and landed in the same spot to throw Shayde off. Just as Shayde turned around, Yun nicked Shayde's neck and nicked Shayde's face. Yun tried to slash Shayde in half to end this, but Shayde parried the attack and rolled right under Yun's legs and stepped on Yun's tail to stop it from cutting him, while Shayde sliced Yun's back. It was no good though, it was too shallow a cut and with no delay, Yun turned around and tossed five blades into the air while smacking the other two blades together to make a sound wave and exhaling liquid nitrogen all simultaneously. For a moment everything slowed down and Shayde could see the five blades spinning in the air, but then he noticed that Yun's liquid nitrogen was headed right for him. Shayde quickly canceled it out with his heat wave and forgot all about the sound wave that made him feel dizzy and sick. Finally, Yun's five blades came down and he caught them all and cut Shayde with all five, using a powerful trip to force Shayde into the air and stabbing Shayde while in the air, forcing Shayde to skid across the grassy plain before coming to a halt.
" YOUR FINISHED!!!" Yun yelled and rushed over to where Shayde landed.
"ARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Shayde yelled and blocked Yun's sword attack and then forced all of his remaining Quintessence into his right hand and formed a fist, by letting go of his katana and landing a direct punch on Yun's face, making him skid back a few feet, but not before Yun landed his own punch directly on Shayde's face as well.
"ARGH!!" Yun yelled and staggered forward toward Shayde a little bit and then began shaking uncontrollably and fell down to the ground, dropping all of his swords while doing so.
"Argh... ouch...oww..." Shayde whimpered.
" What...what is... happening to me...?" Yun asked in shock.
" When I punched you just now... I robbed you of all your body heat... now you are going through hypothermic shock..." Shayde explained and stood up.
" Nooo.... I can't lose..." Yun said.
"I'm afraid you just did... so I can go through the gates... to get to where Rio is..." Shayde said and then suddenly coughed up blood and fell down to the ground.
"Hmph." Yun muttered while going through hypothermic shock.
"What? What's... happening... to... me...?" Shayde asked in pain and felt extremely light-headed.
"Heh... You forget Shayde... I use... sound, so I don't have to make direct contact... but that's only if the ears are exposed...however... I punched you with... everything I had...and... made direct contact..." Yun explained.
"Okay, but... that still doesn't... explain..." Shayde said, but then coughed up more blood.
" Argh... you are a fool, pup... Don't forget that more than 70% of the anthro body is made of water, and water transmits sound... in other words, your whole body is like an ear." Yun explained and shakes uncontrollably.
" Damn... I guess... it's another draw..." Shayde said and tried to reach out to grab his katana, and as soon as he does... he passes out.
======================= (Meanwhile) ============================
_ _
"Damn it... we have just under four minutes left... if things keep up like this... Andal and I will both sink into the ocean!" Rio thought to himself.
"Andal... this will determine the outcome of this death match!" Rio said.
" ......................" Andal remained silent and began to shed more tears.
" Andal! YOU HAVE TO TRY AND FIND YOURSELF!!! YOU DON"T HAVE TO DO THIS!!! WHAT ABOUT MAY!? SHE STILL NEEDS YOU!!!" Rio yelled while swinging his hand back in rage.
" AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Andal yelled.
" Huh? What's wrong?" Rio asked.
"I know she still needs me... and I love her more then anything in the world! And I promised myself that when this was all over... that I would have provided a way out for her!" Andal explained.
" D-D-Dad!? What are you talking about?" May asked in shock.
"I just wanted you to be safe and live happily, May..." Andal said while taking off Rio's items and placing them on the ground beside him.
" What? I don't understand..." May said.
" I would love to know what your father is talking about too, but unfortunately... we have run out of time..." Rio said and looked at the timer, which now read one minute and forty seconds.
======================= (Elsewhere) ============================
_ _
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! THIS IS IT!!! IF ANDAL DOESN'T KILL RIO OFF RIGHT NOW... THEN THEY WILL BOTH DIE TOGETHER IN THE OCEAN!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!" Rock Lizard yelled at the screen with excitement.
" Hmmmm........" Wild Horn whispered.
======================= (Meanwhile) ============================
" I finally figured out who the loser of this death match is! And it's not me..." Rio said.
"NO!!! RIO, YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!!" May yelled in rage.
".............. I understand............." Andal said.
" It's not Andal either!" Rio finished.
"Huh!?" Andal and May questioned together.
" It's... it's you... Rock Lizard!" Rio exclaimed and pointed at a surveillance camera.
======================= (Elsewhere) ============================
"WHAT!? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Rock Lizard yelled.
======================= (Meanwhile) ============================
" That's right... you can implant your evil thoughts into your underlings with your power and authority, but Andal and May will never give in to you! Andal and May aren't apart of BLACKFANG in any way! You are just forcing them to work for you because if they don't you'll kill them!" Rio explained and noticed that there was only one minute left.
".........Rio..." May whispered while beginning to cry.
"Rio... even though you are about to die... you still have a good spirit about you. You still want to make friends and be happy... I envy you..." Ben said and exited the crane machine.
"..........................." Andal remained silent.
" There's only a minute left in this death match! And in that time, I will make you all my new best friends! I WILL!! And when I do, even if the both of us are dragged into the ocean and lose our lives, the fact that YOU lost will be branded into your memories forever, Rock Lizard!!" Rio said firmly.
"Rio... I..." Andal said.
" Andal... I'm not so sure what you were fighting for in this death match, but I was fighting to ensure our friendship stayed in tact!" Rio said while crying.
"Rio!" Andal said.
" The only reason why I used my Storm Waltz attack, was to buy me some time, so I could say everything I wanted to say at the end..." Rio said while still crying.
"The end"?" May asked while crying.
"Yes. May, you taught me that I wasn't alone... and now you're my best friend! I believe Andal is the same way!" Rio said while crying his heart out.
"................" Andal remained silent.
"I love you guys..." Rio said while crying and then he knelt down and punched his last button. Rio's box counter now read zero and the timer reached zero seconds, then suddenly restarted back at just thirty seconds.
"RIO!!" May yelled while Andal's box opened up, revealing his key to his shackle.
"So in the end you could not save both Andal and yourself, huh Rio?" Ben asked.
"Your wrong. In order to have save both of us, we would have needed to get a draw by having our box counters reach zero at the same time! That way, it would have opened both of our boxes, we would have each had thirty seconds to free ourselves." Rio explained.
"But... why didn't you..." May asked while crying.
"The bomb has been activated now... there is only thirty seconds left Andal... in that time... use your key... and escape..." Rio said and looked away.
" Rio... I'm so sorry..." Andale said and stepped on his last button to reduce his box counter to zero and open Rio's box.
"Huh? You... would... do... that... for me...." Rio asked and then passes out due to the blood loss.
" RIO!!!!" May yelled, tears in her eyes.
" SHIT! THERE'S NO TIME TO GRAB MY OWN KEY!!!" Andal yelled and used his chain to swing across the square opening of water and land by Rio, grab his key and attempt to unshackle him.
However, before Andal could do so, the timer reached zero for the giant anchor and dropped down with a massive velocity. The giant anchor pulled on the chains that shackled Andal and Rio and pulled them both under the deep blue sea. As the giant anchor sunk deeper and deeper and deeper into the ocean, Andale undid Rio's shackle and set him free. Andal slowly sank to the bottom of the ocean while watching Rio float back up to the surface. There was nothing Andal could do; he was in so much pain now due to the salt water on all his wounds, that he could hardly move. Andal passed out with a smile on his face knowing that May would get to live on.
Ben had placed the crate that May was tied to back on the dock and quickly untied her while explaining to her that he could not swim. Just as May was free she dashed over to the square opening and watched Rio surface. She pulled him out and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"RIO, RIO WAKE UP!!! YOU'RE ALL I HAVE LEFT!!!!!" May yelled while crying her heart out.
To be continued.................
Author's suspenseful questions:
Now that General Andal is dead. May is the next one in line to command the griffin army. How will May use this new power?
What secrets are being kept hidden from Kilala and Quicksilver?
And what of Shayde and Yun? Will someone come to their rescue or will the magma devour them first?
Tune in next time.
THANKS FOR READING!!! XD