Eon put his fingers to his temple, rubbing it with an annoyed look on his face. "And that's the only way you'll let me stay here?"
"Sure enough." replied Don Zaloog, eyepatch glinting in the candlelight. "The little one's got a mouth on her. S'cute. The big one has guts, claimin' she's Kozaky's kid. You've got nothin' going for you. So, you get a test."
---
Why the hell had he agreed to it back then?! Currently, Eon found himself hiding behind a rock as a very angry dragon mom breathed scorching hot fire at him. It wasn't the worst situation he'd ever been in... okay, that was a lie. He charged his gun with a wing shot, and clicked the assault lever back, charging his canceller gun with an extra kick. He fired the gun ahead of him, and it vanished after a short distance with the now familiar sound of a wingbeat. He heard an explosion and felt the fire stop coming from behind him--was the dragon down? He ran out from cover towards the eggs... only to be cut off by the dragon's gout of flame. He staggered to a stop, feeling the flames far more closely than he ever wanted to. He clicked the assault switch on his gun again, but before it had finished with the sweet electric sound of charging the dragon was on him. It brought its claw to bear against him, and swatted Eon quite easily into a rocky outcropping. He slammed into it, now no closer than he'd started as the dragon lumbered towards him. He knew from the fight before that the dragon had another four seconds before it could spew fire again. Four seconds to get to cover.
Bloody hell.
He hated using Wingbeat like this, but there wasn't exactly a choice. Hot flames burnt at the rock, but Eon had since moved to behind his cover from before. Cover which, as the flames scorched it again, were quickly beginning to melt.
Hah... hahah. No way. I'm getting the egg and getting the hell out of here. If I go back now...
---
The Don had taken Eon aside alone, just after showing him the way to the dragon's mountain. "You know, kid."
"Eon."
"Yer a kid until ya' prove yourself, kid." He put an arm over Eon's shoulder, patting it as though they were old chums. "Not that m'making any threats or anythin', but... those ladies? Yeh might not want to fail, if you don't want me to rethink lettin' em stay with us."
Shit. "So that's your game? If I don't succeed..."
"You catch on quick, kid. Yer' fighting t'keep everyone's ass outta the fire. Not just yers." The friendly pat seemed somehow sinister. "Don't disappoint me, eh kid?"
"But... why me?"
The Don just smirked. "Yer 'Leader-san,' aintcha? Start actin' like it, kid. Ya' got 'til dawn tomorrow t'get back. That's th'limit."
---
Going back wasn't an option. Not empty-handed, anyways. His precious cover burned away just as the dragon's breath died down. He stood as a man, and turned around to stare it straight in the eye.
The whole thing had gone tits-up right when the dragon woke up. From what he could estimate, dawn was only in a couple hours--he didn't have time to let it get back to sleep. There was only one way forward at this point: through an big, powerful, pissed-off fire-breathing momma dragon.
Three seconds left. The assault lever was already pulled. He charged the gun with a Burst this time. The dragon reared its head back.
One second. He brought his gun up. The dragon opened its mouth.
"ASSAULT BURST!"
The bolt of force fired into the dragon's open mouth, going down and running into the fire. It exploded there in a burst of force.
Again, he'd underestimated the resiliency of his prey. The force bubbled in the dragon's throat, and fired back out at him, the gout of flame now tinged with the brilliant red of his burst shot's explosion.
Oh fuck my life..! Eon thought as he dove as best he could, wingbeating to get the hell out of dodge. He tumbled to the ground in the only safe spot left to him from the massive gout: Underneath the dragon. It craned its head down at him, and raised its claw.
...Hah. Sorry, guys. Guess this is it. In hindsight, it had been crazy of him to think he'd held a chance in the first place.
It was at that moment that the ground beneath them gave way. The rocks crumbled as the dragon quickly took wing, flying back to its eggs and hovering over them protectively. Eon wasn't so lucky, falling to the bottom of the pit, landing badly, and bouncing a bit in the large cavern beneath the arena. Defeated, he stood up and looked up at the dragon's perch well above. His passage in had been destroyed just then. His friends back at the Scorpion's hideout... he'd failed them. He stood up slowly, bleeding from several accumulated wounds, but ready to fling himself back into the fray. If the dragon was up there, he'd just have to wingbeat up at it and then... and then...
"Are you alright, Leader-san?" It was a monotone, dragging voice. He looked at the cave's entrance... Kaori Mine was there, holding one of the large eggs from the clutch before. "You were having trouble, so I caved the floor to get you away."
"...you have an egg."
"We needed one. Didn't we?" Kaori answered. She seemed to realize after a moment that he was probably asking how she got it instead. "You distracted the dragon, so I grabbed it."
"But... I was supposed to do this alone." Eon replied, staggering towards her.
"Did Don Zaloog ever actually say that?" Kaori asked in that same tone of hers.
"He said that I was the leader! That means I should act like one, so I needed to--"
"Trust your team, and lead them to victory. Right? That's what leaders do." Kaori put Eon's arm around her shoulder, helping him stay standing as the two walked towards the base of the mountain.
Eon felt utterly defeated, but he didn't let on. A leader shouldn't show weakness either. "Good job, Kaori. You saw something inside the rules that I couldn't see."
"Thanks, Leader-san."
He'd been utterly defeated by Kaori Mine, of all people. A person whose only power was hundreds upon hundreds of hands. Still, as she helped Eon back down the mountain, he couldn't help but think that maybe he'd finally hit his rock bottom.
Maybe, finally, there wasn't anywhere to go but up.
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"Yep."
"From a dragon."
"That's generally where they come from."
Eon put his fingers to his temple, rubbing it with an annoyed look on his face. "And that's the only way you'll let me stay here?"
"Sure enough." replied Don Zaloog, eyepatch glinting in the candlelight. "The little one's got a mouth on her. S'cute. The big one has guts, claimin' she's Kozaky's kid. You've got nothin' going for you. So, you get a test."
---
Why the hell had he agreed to it back then?! Currently, Eon found himself hiding behind a rock as a very angry dragon mom breathed scorching hot fire at him. It wasn't the worst situation he'd ever been in... okay, that was a lie. He charged his gun with a wing shot, and clicked the assault lever back, charging his canceller gun with an extra kick. He fired the gun ahead of him, and it vanished after a short distance with the now familiar sound of a wingbeat. He heard an explosion and felt the fire stop coming from behind him--was the dragon down? He ran out from cover towards the eggs... only to be cut off by the dragon's gout of flame. He staggered to a stop, feeling the flames far more closely than he ever wanted to. He clicked the assault switch on his gun again, but before it had finished with the sweet electric sound of charging the dragon was on him. It brought its claw to bear against him, and swatted Eon quite easily into a rocky outcropping. He slammed into it, now no closer than he'd started as the dragon lumbered towards him. He knew from the fight before that the dragon had another four seconds before it could spew fire again. Four seconds to get to cover.
Bloody hell.
He hated using Wingbeat like this, but there wasn't exactly a choice. Hot flames burnt at the rock, but Eon had since moved to behind his cover from before. Cover which, as the flames scorched it again, were quickly beginning to melt.
Hah... hahah. No way. I'm getting the egg and getting the hell out of here. If I go back now...
---
The Don had taken Eon aside alone, just after showing him the way to the dragon's mountain. "You know, kid."
"Eon."
"Yer a kid until ya' prove yourself, kid." He put an arm over Eon's shoulder, patting it as though they were old chums. "Not that m'making any threats or anythin', but... those ladies? Yeh might not want to fail, if you don't want me to rethink lettin' em stay with us."
Shit. "So that's your game? If I don't succeed..."
"You catch on quick, kid. Yer' fighting t'keep everyone's ass outta the fire. Not just yers." The friendly pat seemed somehow sinister. "Don't disappoint me, eh kid?"
"But... why me?"
The Don just smirked. "Yer 'Leader-san,' aintcha? Start actin' like it, kid. Ya' got 'til dawn tomorrow t'get back. That's th'limit."
---
Going back wasn't an option. Not empty-handed, anyways. His precious cover burned away just as the dragon's breath died down. He stood as a man, and turned around to stare it straight in the eye.
The whole thing had gone tits-up right when the dragon woke up. From what he could estimate, dawn was only in a couple hours--he didn't have time to let it get back to sleep. There was only one way forward at this point: through an big, powerful, pissed-off fire-breathing momma dragon.
Three seconds left. The assault lever was already pulled. He charged the gun with a Burst this time. The dragon reared its head back.
One second. He brought his gun up. The dragon opened its mouth.
"ASSAULT BURST!"
The bolt of force fired into the dragon's open mouth, going down and running into the fire. It exploded there in a burst of force.
Again, he'd underestimated the resiliency of his prey. The force bubbled in the dragon's throat, and fired back out at him, the gout of flame now tinged with the brilliant red of his burst shot's explosion.
Oh fuck my life..! Eon thought as he dove as best he could, wingbeating to get the hell out of dodge. He tumbled to the ground in the only safe spot left to him from the massive gout: Underneath the dragon. It craned its head down at him, and raised its claw.
...Hah. Sorry, guys. Guess this is it. In hindsight, it had been crazy of him to think he'd held a chance in the first place.
It was at that moment that the ground beneath them gave way. The rocks crumbled as the dragon quickly took wing, flying back to its eggs and hovering over them protectively. Eon wasn't so lucky, falling to the bottom of the pit, landing badly, and bouncing a bit in the large cavern beneath the arena. Defeated, he stood up and looked up at the dragon's perch well above. His passage in had been destroyed just then. His friends back at the Scorpion's hideout... he'd failed them. He stood up slowly, bleeding from several accumulated wounds, but ready to fling himself back into the fray. If the dragon was up there, he'd just have to wingbeat up at it and then... and then...
"Are you alright, Leader-san?" It was a monotone, dragging voice. He looked at the cave's entrance... Kaori Mine was there, holding one of the large eggs from the clutch before. "You were having trouble, so I caved the floor to get you away."
"...you have an egg."
"We needed one. Didn't we?" Kaori answered. She seemed to realize after a moment that he was probably asking how she got it instead. "You distracted the dragon, so I grabbed it."
"But... I was supposed to do this alone." Eon replied, staggering towards her.
"Did Don Zaloog ever actually say that?" Kaori asked in that same tone of hers.
"He said that I was the leader! That means I should act like one, so I needed to--"
"Trust your team, and lead them to victory. Right? That's what leaders do." Kaori put Eon's arm around her shoulder, helping him stay standing as the two walked towards the base of the mountain.
Eon felt utterly defeated, but he didn't let on. A leader shouldn't show weakness either. "Good job, Kaori. You saw something inside the rules that I couldn't see."
"Thanks, Leader-san."
He'd been utterly defeated by Kaori Mine, of all people. A person whose only power was hundreds upon hundreds of hands. Still, as she helped Eon back down the mountain, he couldn't help but think that maybe he'd finally hit his rock bottom.
Maybe, finally, there wasn't anywhere to go but up.