Chapter 12: Dragon Slayer
-----Shiina-----
I wanted to be a princess once. I think every
little girl does at some point. Some keep up the fantasy well into adulthood. The rest of us grow up and, for me personally, I wanted to be the one doing the saving. That’s what I wanted when I my powers kicked in and I accidentally blew a hole through my bedroom wall. It’s what I wanted when I was enrolled in Yamaku Academy for Gifted Children and it’s especially what I wanted after we lost some of our own.
Lilly. Yuuko. Akio. Misaki. Lezard. Too many names to recount, try as I might to remember them. Some days it’s too hard, some days I miss a few out and others… I just wish I was a princess again. To be saved by a dashing prince and live happily ever after. All these thoughts go through my head as the dragon’s wide reach ensnares me in one powerful claw.
I’m the damsel in distress and do I get my valiant prince? No.
Do I even get Kenji? No.
What I do get… Is a crazy British girl with robot legs who has a hard-on for dragons and won’t…
“
♫~Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger! BA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DAAAH!~♫”
“STOP SINGING, MOLLY!”
-----Molly-----
This is everything I dreamed of. Me and a real-life, scales-and-teeth, full-on proper
dragon. Skating around the awe-inspiring creature on a cushion of compressed air, I slash at it’s legs, hoping to loosen it’s grip, all the while dodging the arcane blasts of the witch Shiina pissed off mere minutes ago.
“You w-won’t stop me, h-hero! I am invincible!” She cackles, holding onto one of the dragon’s horned crests as each hex streaks from her outstretched wand.
“I gonna knock your teeth in, Hanako!” Shiina screams, struggling against the grip of the dragon.
“B-but what did
I do?” Our Hana mumbles in our ear pieces.
“Not
you!”
I smile slightly and sink Excalibur deep into the dragon’s forearm, finally releasing Shiina. I boost around to catch her in my arms and come to a stop a good distance away.
“Thanks for the save, Molls. You lost your sword though…” Shiina breathes heavy, sighing in relief at first but lamenting my loss as she nurses her rapidly bruising left arm.
“Tis but a weapon, Shiina, and I have many.” I reassure her with a pat to the shoulder. The behemoth bears down on us and I step in front of Shiina.
“What can you do w-without your weapon, hero? What t-tricks do you have left?” The witch Hanako grins menacingly, sure of her victory.
“I’ve got a couple.” I wink at her and she scowls. “Protect the Realm:
Avalon!” I call out and a shield bearing the colours and crest of my homeland descends from the weapon realm. I take hold of it with both hands and plant it firmly into the dirt in front of Shiina. I peek around and see the worried look on her face.
“Stay behind this and you’ll be safe. Trust me.” I smile and she nods, pressing her back against the interior firmly.
“Your last act is a futile attempt to save your friend from my dragon’s hellfire… A noble g-gesture, hero. One I can almost admire…” She sounds somewhat wistful as she reaches up to the scarred half of her face, much like the Hanako I knew would. “But flame cares not for noble gestures, nor does it show mercy but I will grant you the boon of final words to part this world with.”
“Last words? What a cliché… But I’ll take you up on that most kind offer!” I grin mischievously and I can see her whole body tense as I throw one arm straight up to the sky. I’ve never had a reason to call on my trump card more than once but considering the situation, I’m not going to waste the chance to use her for her intended purpose.
“Slay The Dragon!”
The air crackles around me as a larger tear opens above me and my trump card descends slowly from it.
“
ASCALON!”
The mythical weapon drops suddenly and I bear the brunt of its heft as best I can, the dirt buckling under my feet. I thrust my arm up against its immense weight and the whole mechanism cocks loudly, the rear piston priming with a hiss of compressed air. I ease the weapon down and point the lanced tip towards the dragon.
“Wh-what is that?!” Hanako the Horrible gasps in amazing and I smile like a proud parent, patting my baby on her side.
“This is Ascalon, the legendary dragon-killer of my homeland. I’ve never had the chance to use her against an actual dragon before so you’ll have to excuse me if I get a tad emotional here…”
“
That’s so cool.” Hana whispers in my ear, a sentiment echoed by Shiina from behind the Avalon Shield. I didn’t summon it to protect her from the dragon, it’s to protect her from Ascalon. This old girl has a mean
kick to her.
“You… You… B-BURN HER!” Hanako the Horrible screeches and the dragon trundles towards me, roaring. The one downside to Ascalon is her weight and that leaves me with a severe speed deficit. I take long, determined strides, trying my best to flank the ravenous reptile but it seems we’re a little more evenly matched now.
“Hey ugly!” Shiina calls as she fires off a distracting bolt of energy, hitting the nape of it’s neck, just behind it’s master. There’s my shot! I launch forward and bury the lance into the dragon’s soft side belly. It roars in pain but I push harder and deep until I can’t go any further. It struggles and thrashes but it’s already too late for the beast as I pull the trigger.
“Ascalooooooon…” The weapon hums to life, the intricate series of tubes and wires glowing with a mystical energy. This is it!
“BREA-KAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
The piston fires and a shockwave of power blows through the creature, sending it rolling into the still burning tower as I’m catapulted backwards. The shockwave ripples through the clearing and reaches the tree line, violently shaking everything for a few hundred feet.
As the tower crumbles atop it, the dragon gurgles before dying with a growling sigh. With a wave of my hand, Ascalon and the Avalon Shield are withdrawn to their home as I walk towards Excalibur and retrieve it from the grass.
“Holy shit, Molly! That was
badass!” Shiina grins as she jogs over to me, still nursing her arm. I feel exhausted but there's only one thing I want to do right now…
“♫~Oooh
yeah! I will rock your wooorld! ‘Cause I’m a
dragon-slayer giiiiirl!~♫” I sing cheerily, doing a celebratory little boogie before high-fiving Shiina.
“Wh-what… Have you…
done?” Hanako the Horrible meekly asks as she clambers from the debris, her cloak torn and her face bloody.
“Pretty sure we just saved the day. Shiina?”
“
Totally saved the day.”
The witch howls and a dark aura surrounds her as she struggles to her feet.
“I will flay you alive! I will soak your eyes in molten steel! I will--” Her eyes go wide and her aura vanishes as she looks down at the blade jutting out from her stomach.
“
Die.”
Hanako the Horrible’s screams are hellish as she watches the blade creep up her body before swiftly carving her in twain. Bugger me…
“Guys! What’s going on?!” I hear behind me but I can’t look back as I see the former witch slump to the ground in a shower of meat and blood. Oh god…
“Fuck…” Shiina whispers and covers her mouth, turning away.
“Fixers! Do you copy?” Yuuko’s voice rings in my ears. “I’m reading an incursion point in your area! Do you have eyes-on?”
“What do you mean ‘incursion point’ and where the hell have you been?” Lilly chides behind me. I can’t look away as the blade wielder slices her blade through the air, scattering her vistim’s blood to the wind.
“When two worlds intersect or when someone jumps from one world to the next
DO YOU SEE THEM?” Yuuko’s voice becomes frantic as she rushes an answer only to ask the question again.
“I see her, Yuuko. She just carved Hanako The Horrible in two.” I mutter.
“I recommend retreating for now, Fixers.” Shin offers and I shake my head, gripping Excalibur tighter.
“Not a chance.” I growl and boost towards the mysterious white-and-black swords-woman as she kneels to pick up the witch’s ornate wand and tuck it into her belt. I skid to a halt in the grass as the swords-woman’s gaze meets mine. Her steely composure and iron glare freezes me in place and I suddenly feel Excalibur weighing my arms down. Is
she doing that?
“Item’s retrieved, boss. Open up a Slideways.” Her voice is colder than ice as she raises her fingers to her ears. She pauses, as if listening to instructions from an earpiece of her own. “Five by five.”
A door-shaped portal opens in the air behind her as she sheaths her blade. Her glare hasn’t faltered once, meanwhile I have sank to my knees in abject terror. What the hell is she? She turns and walks through the portal and it slides closed. The others rush to my side as I brace myself against the ground with my hands.
“Molly, what’s wrong? Who
was that psycho?” Shiina asks breathlessly and I can’t find the words.
“It was…” Not the one I know.
Definitely not.
“It was…” I use Excalibur to lift myself up, aided by Kenji a little.
“I don’t know about anyone else but that looked like Miki Miura to me…” Shin mutters and I nod. There are looks of both surprise and confusion amongst the group until
“Fixers, return to the Nexus
immediately. There’s some things we need to discuss.”
I used Molly and Ascalon together during a Monomyth tie-in and I've wanted to do this kind of thing since then haha
Dun-Dun-DUN! Wonder who she's working for...
