by Riker Kane
The last Shadow clawed with both of its hands and cut my shirt enough to make it fall off. I returned the favor and cracked it in the chest to turn it into mist.
“Enzo!”
Jade shouted out as a Shadow descended on her. It pinned her to the ground as she tried to fight it off with her staff. The vicious creature slashed and swiped at her face.
Alisa wasn’t in any position to help as she was trying desperately to blast away all of the Shadows dancing around her shots.
“Dammit…” I ran forward as fast as I could as they pounced on Alisa.
“Ahhh!” The blond screamed in pain as she struggled with the Shadows clawing at her.
“Get off!” I moved close then leaped into the air before coming back down with my fists into the ground. CRACK. The Seismic Quake sent a rumble across the entire field. The Shadows all stopped and stumbled back to regain their footing.
“Asshole!” Alisa leaned back and fired at the Shadow right in front of her, turning it into dust.
Jade charged a Solo Spark and burned right through a group of Shadows trying to tear her apart.
The last few Shadows were too stunned to do anything, making them easy targets for me to run by. One punch was all it took to send them back where they came from.
The Shadows were cleared and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
Jade was cut above her eye and it was starting to swell shut. Alisa’s bronze cheeks dripped red. They were both sweating just as hard as I was.
“Please tell me we won’t have to fight more of those things,” Alisa sighed.
BOOM!
We all turned our heads up toward the sky and watched the clouds form above. There was no light or energy though. The green moon continued to shine ominously above.
I kept watching, waiting for something to appear. My fists clenched and my heels digging into the dirt, I was on edge.
“Where is it?”
The clouds began to stop shifting. But within the gray clouds, I saw something moving. A figure taking shape. It looked like a bird flapping its wings. And the more its figure took shape, the bigger it looked.
“That better be a bird,” Alisa muttered.
The flapping continued until suddenly—RAAAAAH!—a roar shook the air so violently the clouds cleared.
“Shit!” I grabbed Alisa and Jade and fell to the ground as it swooped down toward us.
The loud thud of it landing on the dirt behind us made the ground shake. I quickly pulled all of us back to our feet. A part of me was hoping I didn’t see what I thought I saw in the split-second it charged at us. I slowly turned around like it would help. But it didn’t help.
The thing was right there in front of me.
“Is that a…” Alisa was too surprised to even finish, so I did it for her.
“A dragon.”
The beast was covered in black scales that shined with the green glow from the moon. From what I could see, its hide was as thick as anything I’d ever fought in Pandora. The claws on its hind legs dug into the dirt, ripping up the ground like it was getting ready to charge. Its arms were short but still lethal with the razor on its fingertips.
The creature was already the size of a two-story house. Just its head was as big as a car. When it reared back and spread its wings, the thing looked twice as massive.
Empty white eyes focused right on me. “RAAAAAAH!” It let out another roar. Bright green flames formed in its mouth before they fired out.
“Power Shield!” I only had a split-second to react. I just managed to get the blue barrier up and stop the flames from hitting us. The pressure from the fire was enough to force me to dig my feet into the ground to stay standing. And the heat from the fire made me sweat even more than I already was.
I was eventually forced down to a knee but I held on long enough before the dragon finally stopped. It flapped its wings to send a gust of wind in our direction as it ascended back into the sky.
Alisa raised her hand cannon and sent a volley to chase it. Some of the blasts of energy hit the dragon but it kept circling above.
“Didn’t seem to do much,” she said. “I don’t know if I can help you in this fight.”
“You can still stun it,” I said. “Just gotta wait for an opening.”
Jade sent a Solo Spark at it. The fireball collided with the dragon enough to make it change its course but it didn’t show any signs of damage.
“As long as it’s in the air, we won’t be able to beat it,” I said. “Which means all we have to do is get it back down to the ground.”
“I don’t know if I like the idea of having that thing swooping down on us,” Alisa said. “It’s big but it’s fast.”
I clenched my fists, my eyes locked on it. “There’s an old saying. Timing always beats speed. Doesn’t matter how fast it is if I’m expecting it.”
“I’ll follow your lead,” Jade said.
“You haven’t failed before,” Alisa added. “I trust you now.”
“Wait for an opening,” I said. “Nothing in Pandora has been able to beat us. That isn’t gonna change now.”
I sprinted forward across the dirt and the dragon immediately changed its trajectory toward me.
“That’s it, asshole. I’m right here.”
I moved across the black dirt, as far away from Alisa and Jade as I could get. The massive beast didn’t have much trouble keeping up with me.
It slowly began its descent. The wind from its flaps grew stronger. I spun around and stood my ground, watching as it kept moving closer and closer. Its black scales continued to shimmer underneath the green light. White eyes focused on me. They began to narrow as the creature neared.
“Almost there… C’mon… I’m right here…”
I pressed my feet into the dirt and clenched my fists even harder to ready the hardest punch I ever threw.
“Right here…”
The dragon suddenly stopped in mid-flight and hovered just in front of me.
“What are you doing? What the hell are you—”
“RAAAAAAAAH!” A giant roar knocked me back as it turned around and immediately began zooming toward Alisa and Jade.
“Dammit!”
I started running back but there was no way I could keep up with the dragon zooming across the sky.
Jade and Alisa fired in unison. Fireballs and blasts of energy clipped the beast’s wings and chest to slow it down but its momentum didn’t stop as it reached them.
Jade dived out of the way into the dirt, narrowly avoiding getting scooped up.
But Alisa wasn’t as fast.
“Alisa!” I shouted out at the sight of the dragon digging its massive claw into her. The pointed edges pierced through her stomach and poked out of the back of her chest.
Alisa’s jaw dropped and blood leaked from her mouth. “Ahh…” She grimaced in pain but managed to raise her hand cannon up just as the dragon held her to its mouth.
A blast of energy shot from her weapon, catching the dragon right in the eye and making it stumble back. Another point-blank shot made it move back again.
“Ahhh!” I got to the dragon and slammed my gauntlet into its hind leg.
“RAAAAAH!” The beast roared in pain but not enough for my liking, so I banged it with another right cross. Its black scales cracked from the weight of my punch.
“Jade! Zero Blast!”
Jade was still on her back but she sent a Zero Blast from her back right at the dragon’s chest. A beam of icy frost began to freeze the creature’s scales. The dragon dropped Alisa from its grip and ascended back into the air to avoid Jade’s beam.
Alisa fell to the dirt on her side with a thud. I knelt down next to her and saw the blood pouring from the massive wound on her stomach. She coughed and a spatter of blood sprayed out.
“This is what it’s like, huh?” She smiled through all of the blood dripping down the sides of her mouth. Her eyes started to water as the smile slowly left her face. “Go finish this, Champ…”
I held her in
my gauntlets and watched her eyes blink closed. The green light on her Recall Box blinked red and she vanished completely.
“Enzo.”
Jade’s hand was on my shoulder and I turned up to her. Over her shoulder, I saw the outline of the dragon flying against the backdrop of the bright green moon.
“I hit it hard,” I said. “Looks like I just have to hit it harder.”
“I hope you don’t plan on trying to draw its attention. It’s a lot smarter than we think.”
“It doesn’t matter how smart it is if it’s getting whaled on. I just need to get it to the ground.”
Jade straightened up and nodded. Her right eye was swollen shut from the cut above it. Her cheeks were bloodied. Her arms were the same. Her top had been practically slashed off of her, her bra exposed. Her hair didn’t have the same shimmer it usually did and it was out of place. But through all of the sweat and dirt and blood on her face, I saw the determination.
I turned back toward the dragon as it began another slow descent toward us. “It’s not getting away this time.”
The black dragon soared through the sky. Even with how far it was, I knew it could close the distance in a matter of seconds. The wings on its back flapped slowly and cleared away the clouds in its path.
I always imagined what a dragon would look like when I was younger. Every kid did. Seeing one now with its black scales shimmering underneath the bright green moonlight… I had to take a second to appreciate how majestic it was. Shame the damn thing was trying to maim and burn us to death.
Never thought I’d see a dragon. Never thought I’d kill one either. Now I was about to do both.
“That thing could just overpower us,” I said. “It’s not going to do that. It’s a thinker. The toughest opponents are always the one that know what they’ve got and how to use it. That’s what makes it so satisfying to beat ‘em.”
“I trust you, Enzo. Whatever you’ve got planned, you’d better decide quick.”
“There’s no telling what it’s up to exactly. It could go for you. It could go for me. Plan for both. I’ll try to draw its attention again. It comes for me, you hit it with the biggest Solo Spark you can muster. The last one hurt it. Keep it on the ground long enough and I’ll finish the job.”
“And if it goes for me?”
The only reason Jade was still there was because it went for Alisa. I couldn’t protect Jade. Not if I wanted to draw its attention.
She knew it, too.
“Zero Blast,” I said. “This thing is big. It’s angry. But it’s not invincible. I just need to land the right shot.” I clenched my fists to remind myself of the power I had in my hands.
Jade exhaled a deep breath through her nose and nodded. I didn’t know what the damn thing was gonna do. I smiled anyway. A lot of people did when they knew they were about to do something crazy.
“Let’s go!”
I ran across the open field and immediately the dragon changed its trajectory. The winged beast circled above me, ready to finish its descent at any moment.
“C’mon…” I moved about fifty yards away from Jade and stood my ground.
The dragon began swooping down. The thing was so damn big its wings started to block out the moon behind it. The wind from its flaps blew against my skin.
My soles dug into the dirt. I clenched my fists even harder, ready to swing.
“RAAAAAAH!”
The dragon swooped down and spun, quickly turning its attention to Jade.
“Jade! Go!”
She held her staff at her hip and fired her Zero Blast. The beam of ice shot forward and slammed into the dragon’s head as it moved toward her. But the blast wasn’t enough to stop its momentum as it kept zooming toward her like a bullet.
I ran hard, pumping my legs to try and catch up to her.
The dragon swooped down until landing right in front of Jade. Just its hind legs thudding against the ground were enough to make the ground shake.
“RAAAAAH!”
The dragon reared back as Jade kept concentrating her frosty beam on its face.
I closed the distance to try and get close enough.
Thirty yards away.
The dragon opened its mouth to gather the flames, ignoring the ice coming at it.
Twenty yards away.
Jade gritted her teeth and stood her ground with her staff at her hip as it continued to fire.
Fifteen yards away.
I leaped into the air them crashed down with my fists into the blackened dirt. WHAM. The Seismic Quake sent a shockwave all the way to where the dragon stood and made it stumble.
“Keep going! Keep going!”
“Ahhhh!” Jade yelled out like she was trying to draw even more energy from her staff.
The stunned dragon flapped its wings to regain its balance then turned its attention back to Jade.
“RAAAAAH!” A giant roar echoed into the night sky. The beast followed it up with a blast of green flames aimed right at Jade. Jade held her position, trying to fight off the fire with her Zero Blast. The clash of energy sent sparks flying in every direction like fireworks.
“Back off!” I got to the dragon’s side and—BANG—slammed it with a fist hard enough to shift its weight. “Get away!” Another punch and it moved to the side again. The metal knuckles dug into its black scales but there was more resistance than anything I’d ever hit before.
The dragon’s flames were endless but Jade didn’t budge. The fire moved closer to her. It wouldn’t be much longer until she was overwhelmed. I had to do something and I had to do it now.
“Shit…” I muttered to myself then grabbed at the dragon’s scales. I started climbing up the side of its body, avoiding the flapping wing trying to shake me off.
“Enzo! I can’t…”
The desperation in Jade’s voice made me move even faster. I climbed up on the dragon’s back. Its shimmering black scales were impossible to get proper footing on, so I had to squeeze my hands around it to stay on top.
“Enzo!”
Jade screamed out again. The dragon stomped toward her with its mouth opening even wider. Still Jade kept firing.
I climbed the back of the dragon’s massive neck, inching closer to the top of its head. I moved close enough to its mouth. Just the heat from its flames threatened to melt my skin.
“Enzo…”
Jade collapsed to a knee just as I got to the dragon’s head. Her staff fell at her side and her beam stopped. The beast’s flames moved forward undeterred and engulfed Jade completely.
“No!” I just managed to get onto the dragon’s head. Its giant white eye was the size of a small boulder. But I saw the damage Alisa had done when she shot it, some black blood dripping down the outside of its eye socket. I was about to do even more damage.
“Get off her!” I reared back and slammed my gauntlet right into its eye. WHAM. The rest of its scales were firm but its eyeball was mushy and crushed under the weight of the gauntlet.
“RAAAAAH!” The dragon roared in pain and finally pulled back with its flames.
It flailed its wings and tried to claw at me with its short arms but was unable to reach. I swung back and forth on its head, digging my fist even deeper into its eye socket. One punch. BAM. Then another. BANG. Then another. I wouldn’t stop until the inside of its head was mashed. The black blood sprayed against my face. The smell was so foul it made the gym seem like a rose garden. But I kept punching, holding on to the top of the beast’s head as it kept roaring and flailing wildly.
I punched a hole so damn big in its head, the dragon’s eye socket look like a crater on its face.
“I got you now, bastard.”
The dragon swiped me with its wing and knocked me down to the ground. The wind knocked out of me as I fell hard to the dirt.
“Shit… Can’t stop now…”
I turned around and the one-eyed dragon stomped toward me. Its mouth opened and more of its green flames began to form in its throat.
One
last chance.
I did the first thing I could think of. My hands dug into the dirt and I picked up a mound of earth. I moved as fast as I could and hurled the giant chunk of rock and caught the dragon right in its mouth. Its head knocked back and its flames went out for a second.
That was all the time I had. That was all the time I needed.
I rushed back to the beast and slammed a fist into its chest. BAM. Another punch. THUD. Another. CRACK. Then another. Left and rights connected, breaking through its scales and revealing the soft, meaty flesh underneath. Blood spilled from its open wound. I kept punching, searching for what I knew was underneath. Then I saw it. Organs shifting around, bleeding profusely. Soft tissue exposed. And underneath it, a giant black heart thumping.
“Now I got you.” I dug my feet into the ground and shot forward with a punch aimed right at its heart. The steel collided with the exposed organ and made it explode.
The dragon’s roar was drowned out by the mound of dirt in its mouth. But it stumbled back, its legs buckling and its wings flapping in pain.
Another punch at the center of its chest made it drop to the ground, giving me the angle I needed to slam my fist into its other eye. I kept punching. My muscles were getting sore with fatigue. I kept punching. The sweat was covering my entire body. I kept punching.
I kept punching until—WHOOSH—the dragon suddenly vaporized, turning into a cloud of black mist that wafted into the air.
I didn’t take the chance to celebrate and rushed over to Jade.
She was still on the ground, her staff at her side. Her skin was black and blistered. Smoke rose from her burned body. Blood dripped from her open wounds. Her right eye was so swollen it didn’t look like it was there.
“Enzo…”
“Jade, I’m sorry—”
“I’ll be okay. You have to do this by yourself now. That’s how it was meant to be…” She squeezed her hand around mine before it went limp. The green light on her Recall Box blinked red and she disappeared in a flash.
I got back up to my feet and looked around the open battlefield. It was completely silent. There wasn’t even a wind whistling by.
But the silence was broken when there was a swirl of energy right in front of me. Some combination of purple or red. I couldn’t really tell with how green the moonlight was. Didn’t matter though.
