Rise of the Three Spirits

[SpanishBulldog63]

Prologue

In a time long gone, when kingdoms flourished around the world, one had truly become a utopia; a place of prosperity, a haven for its people, and a source of good-will to those who venture in and out of its lands. But sadly, not all of its fellow nations had appreciated such things and would strike out against this harmonious nation. Per the King’s request, a new weapon would be needed to fend off such threats. The greatest minds of the land collaborated for many a tiring day and sleepless night, seeking to create the perfect countermeasure to ensure their home’s safety. As the nation had approached war with its attacking rivals, the team had finished their creation. When invading forces bypassed a warring navy, they soon discovered why this new weapon had been named The Shadow. Not only did the beast wipe out the intruders, it had spawned offspring, who killed off the remaining land forces and drove off the enemy fleets.

In no more than a week, the war was won and their foes went submerged or underground for fear of The Shadow. While the rest of the land celebrated their victory, the scientists were worried: they did not intend for it to breed on its own, and the creatures’ buffet of carcasses and flotsam would only last for so long. It would only be a matter of time before the creatures ran out of the pollution the war left behind and turned on their creators. But the King, wise as he was, would not heed their warnings as it would cause nationwide panic; if only he had listened…

Sure enough, it was a matter of weeks before people would become missing, herds of livestock slaughtered, and every city and village cried out for answers and arms. Sure enough, the military was sent out to destroy The Shadows and any eggs they find. With the nation’s fighting force all over the land, the people were relieved, thinking the beasts were being exterminated. They were only half right, as the military was getting shredded while managing to kill many Shadows. When the campaign seemed over, the people could only feel their hearts drop as they watched one surviving monster fly off into the night, likely to strike again. It was then that the King ordered his top scientists to create another weapon, one that would be able to counter the threat of The Shadow, and would hear no arguments against it.

It is here that our story starts, and as records show, we know what happened to this civilization and of its remnant creations. Until recently, however, what history did not tell us is that there was another part of this legendary nation’s final days. There was a failsafe plan, but this one was neither native nor manmade, and was a desperate last-ditch move from a tired ruler. This is about a fellowship of this dying civilization’s best, setting out to find the answer to their prayers that their home will survive.

This is the tale of Atlantis.

[SpanishBulldog63]

Ch.1 In The Beginning

The sound of the gulls flying above stirred Cielot from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes as he checked his clock on the wall in front of him. Surely what felt like an eternity could not have been only a few hours? Hoping that he can finally go back to sleep, he barely closed his eyes when he heard frantic knocking on his door. Cielot was so sore that just to move felt like agony after trekking across Atlantis’ capital to get home upon The Guardian’s final, and hopefully last, completion. As he motioned his hand to the left, the door slid in that direction, revealing his friend and fellow project leader Parthalus.

“What matter is so urgent that you wake me so soon after completing the Guardian?” asked Cielot. It was not very often Parthalus stopped by in such a manner, but something seemed…off, even for this situation. Parthalus did not fear much, so whatever spooked him must have been pretty bad. Cielot could not help but notice that his friends’ right hand had been bandaged and wondered if something had gone wrong.

“Something does not seem right, old friend. We ran the main tests while you were out and …something about the Guardian is worrying me to my soul, as I fear…” stopped Parthalus.

“Fear what?”

“I fear…I fear that our creation may be an unpredictable and uncontrollable one. It has not responded to any of the stimuli we used from the Shadow. We have tried scent, sound, and even presented a hatchling to it! All the Guardian did was gaze at it. The lack of so much as a growl has me concerned that it may not fight them…but possibly become a threat itself.” Noticing his friend’s concerned look at its mention, he added, “Don’t worry, the hatchling was killed right after the experiment.”
Worriedly, Cielot asked, “Have you used…?”

“The bonding amulets?” Parthalus interrupted. “Every trial we ran with them, they would shatter and our peers wielding them suffered some sort of backlash from it. That is why my hand is bandaged, because when I tried, it cut halfway to the bone. But it appears that, for the moment, the amulets are a futile way of working with the Guardian.”

Cielot was taken aback at the news. There was no way, after so many times, after so many failures, that their last opportunity to present King Archaeus with a weapon to save Atlantis from any and all threats was for nothing. They did not have the resources to recreate another, nor the King’s patience to sit through anymore trial-and error creations. It was bad enough the rest of the original team had vanished like ghosts. They have already seen what the Shadow was capable of, and needed an answer fast. With their military a mere shadow of its former glory, they would need something much bigger and stronger then the…

Rubbing his temples, Cielot told Parthalus to meet with him in roughly 7 hours at the Palace. He was out of options; there had to be something, anything, that could save Atlantis from impending destruction, and the idea he just had was sure to have him imprisoned or worse for it endangered everything he and Parthalus had been working so hard to protect.

[SpanishBulldog63]

Ch.2 The Proposition

“You want to do WHAT?” Archaeus shouted at his top scientists. “Do you realize the situation of what you seek to do? To not only find a monster, but to bring it back to Atlantis is not only suicide, but genocide! You risk everyone’s life in order to cover up your potential failure should the Guardian turn against us! “He had enough troubles at hand with rumored sightings of his old enemy’s protector along the northern coastline as well as the blanket of fear Atlantis has been covered in, no thanks to the Shadow. This was just the icing on the cake.

Rubbing his temples, he added, "Did the amulets even work?”

Cielot swallowed, knowing full well that he had this coming. “No Your Majesty, every trial with the amulets failed. They would flash, shatter, and cause some sort of backlash to the wielder every time. The Guardian must have some sort of spiritual or mental bond to whoever wields the amulet. Unfortunately, since we have yet to find whoever it would be to wield it, the Guardian is a potential threat and should be treated as such. That is why I request your permission to find a monster to protect us should the scenario occur that the Shadow attacks and the Guardian fails to protect us.”

“And what if this plan of yours ends up down the same path, hmm? Have you even thought of what it is you’re risking should this possibly spin out of control as well? We cannot afford anymore death and destruction than we have already suffered!” Archaeus snapped.

“With all due respect, your Highness, Project Guardian is your way of covering up Operation Shadow-Storm, so don’t pretend to that you yourself are innocent from everything that’s happened,” retorted an irritated Cielot. Two guards stationed behind Archaeus readied their weapons to flay and blast him where he stood, but a wave of their king’s hands halted them from any hasty action.
Parthalus, after scolding his friend for the outburst, joined Cielot on the matter, “What else do we have to fall back on? If our military could not handle the Shadow, what chance do we have if the Guardian goes rogue? The only thing there is that we can do is organize a party of Atlanteans with skills most suited to finding a monster that can fend off the Guardian, and who are the best at what they do. Your Majesty, we have no other choice.”

Archaeus was troubled by the idea of an unknown monster being brought into his kingdom. They were already in fear of the Shadow’s likely return. But now the Guardian, the only hope they seemed to have now that the military was a quarter of what it used to be, may be as likely to destroy him and his kingdom as the Shadow. Sometimes he hated being King, because decisions like these always had a huge chance to backfire, and right now was the worst time for such a judgment call. He could not risk another series of attacks like when the Shadow escaped, but at the same time could not risk a larger monster to lay waste to Atlantis without a plan stop it. In his travels as a youth, there was only thing he saw that could defeat such a beast… he could not believe what he was about to say…

“Cielot, I can’t believe I am about to say this, but your request has been granted. As much as I would prefer not to have any more living disasters in Atlantis, it is indeed the only possible way to stop the Guardian.” The King sighed heavily as he rubbed his temples. He was going to have a hell of a time explaining to his fellow Atlanteans that they needed to be prepared for a giant monster being brought in should the Guardian fail and go rogue in the process of fighting the Shadow…oh the irony.

Cielot cast a glance at Parthalus, who breathed a sigh of relief. “I promise you, we shall not fail in our expedition, Your Majesty. You will not regret this!” Turning to his friend, he added, “Start gathering a crew to man the ship, we have not time to spare!”

“For your sake, I hope not.” Archaeus solemnly proclaimed as the only Atlanteans he trusted with such a mission exited his palace. He couldn’t afford to execute more loose ends...yet.

[SpanishBulldog63]

Ch.3 The Expedition

It had been a little over a day since The King had granted permission to find a monster as a failsafe option should the Guardian go rogue. Parthalus had made plenty effort to gather a crew to man their ship. Some notable members were the weapons expert Rasidios who was also a veteran fighter in the Atlantean forces but was forced to leave due to an injury suffered at the claws of the Shadow. To Cielot’s left was the map-charter Firia, who had been on several expeditions throughout Atlantis to map places not yet ventured. At the bow was a hunter/tracker from the northern plains by the name of Orzaeus. But how Parthalus gathered them up so fast, one can only guess. The map-charter woman especially caught Cielot’s eye, and when she turned to look at him, he quickly turned the other way.

“This journey may have just gotten a tad bit more interesting.” Parthalus said to himself, smirking upon noticing the little interaction. Turning to the main panel, he set the engine for full speed and set course due east-northeast. If his sources were correct, the landmass his friend on the East coast called You-Rup was full of beasts. Well if that was the case, then what better place to start than there?
_____________________________________________________________________________

“Nice weather we have, eh?” Cielot asked in what he thought was a feeble attempt to get Firia’s attention. No sooner did he say it that he wanted to kick himself for using such a cliché line. But to his surprise, she turned and smiled at him. He didn’t know if it was the sunlight reflecting off the water, the wind blowing her black hair, or both, but either way if he didn’t know any better he would have sworn she was an angel.

“It is quite nice, isn’t it? I don’t expect any changes to come for the next few days. I’ve never been on the ocean, but the weather reminds me of those lakes in…Are you alright?” She asked, noticing the smitten look on Cielot’s face before he snapped out of it. Nervously, he says he saw something moving in the waters behind her, but she turned and saw nothing. Firia couldn’t help but giggle a little bit; she had a feeling she knew why he was behaving like that.

On the other side of the boat, Rasidios and Orzaeus were talking like long lost friends about hunting and weapons. When Orzaeus talked about putting the head of the Shadow on his wall, Rasidios humbled him with his experience fighting the beast

“The only problem there is to your goal, my friend, is that this is no ordinary winged-beastie. If you find one, another won’t be far and unless you have a weapon like a Mark II M/I 6 Photon Cannon, the odds of you taking out one let alone two of these abominations are slim.”

“And no one makes the Infantry version anymore,” sighed Orzaeus. “They stopped making it available to non-military personnel almost 10 years ago after that maniac in one of the Southeastern villages lost his mind and destroyed the entire village of Lorae.”

“Yes, but sadly even our forces have a small amount in use. The sad part is that, even though it was most effective, it would still take too many shots to really put them down. Damn shame too, considering it was the only non-artillery weapons we had in our arsenal that was that effective,” Said Rasidios.”It’s a good thing we have you though. Your tales of monster hunts have been told across the nation, especially the one of the Northern Plains. You’re the trump card we need to reach out goal.”

“If that is the case, then may the spirits help us” Added the hunter. If what Parthalus said was true, plus what he learned about the Mark II, then maybe nothing will be able to stop the Shadow. And after learning about possibility of an even larger beast running amok, now he understood why they wanted him to help on their giant goose-chase: he was the only Atlantean who had ever successfully tracked and caught a giant monster.

But no one knew what really happened on that fabled hunt.

[SpanishBulldog63]

Chapter 4: The Hunt

It had been a typical summer in the northern prairies, or at least would have been had it not been for sudden reports of livestock either missing or found torn to shreds. Not soon afterwards, reports of three different farmers disappearing with nothing left behind but a bloody trail came in. It wasn’t long until they had called in many a hunter to kill whatever it was on-sight, but none would come back alive or well. A younger, brasher Orzaeus had come to a local town meeting that addressed the situation. He had been hunting for years but never caught anything quite like what had been causing this chaos.

“This is the time of year when our crops and livestock bring in people from all over Atlantis, the last thing we need is for this thing to run wild in the middle of the Summer Harvest. I’m looking for anyone willing to capture and kill the creature because we cannot risk it possibly attacking those attending- “

One of the attending hunters had cut him off, “Councilman Orophius, I understand your dilemma, but would it not be a bad idea to tell us what details there are about this monster? There has to be something the locals here can tell us as to its appearance, size, capabilities and whatnot, isn’t there?”

The visiting huntsmen were nodding and muttering in agreement; the only known survivor died shortly after being found a mile outside of the village. It was said he was found in shock, speaking frantically about “a-nightmare-made-flesh.” And considering that forty hunters have already been declared missing or possibly dead, they did not want to make the same mistake of going in blind.

“I understand your concern, gentlemen, but no one knows much about it other than the fact that it appears to be rather large, and holes at the sites of the attacks suggest it’s a burrower…”

“If we find it, can we name it?” a short, older man interrupted. Orzaeus recognized him as the owner of a nearby store. This clown would do anything to make a few extra bucks. “It burrows, and it’s always gone before anyone sees it … I got it! We should call it Burygon, or Baragon, whichever sounds better.

The other hunter snapped at him, “Walterious forget the damn name! So what do we get as a reward for bringing it down? Land? Gems?” Turning his attention to a few women in the crowd, “Women?” he asked smugly.

This guy seemed to have the wrong reasons for wanting to hunt the beast. A lot of the other hunters seemed to have similar thoughts. Orzaeus, brash as he was, was disgusted by this; any hunter here should want to do this for the thrill of the hunt. While he did have his own personal matters to bargain with should he capture it, he felt that asking for things like land, gems, and women was asking for too much from an area already stricken with death and destruction. Grabbing his blade, he decided to make his presence known…

As the crowd began to grow louder and restless over the talk of rewards, they were quickly silenced as an ear-splitting scratching sound filled the vicinity. Everyone turned to look for the source and did not have to look far to see a young man standing by large rock sheathing a large knife. He was of medium-build, couldn’t be more than six feet tall, and seemed to have this air of cocky brazenness. But when he spoke, this air almost seemed to disappear…almost.

“None of you here may know me, but I’m sure you can guess what I do for a living. I’ll catch the creature for you, but it won’t be easy. Not like going to the woodlands and hunting big cats and wolves. This beast, swallow you whole, with maybe a little biting here, some more there. But we’ll have to do this quick if you want this Harvest to bring in the people. Now, I won’t be greedy like that fraud of a hunter over there,-“he said as he nodded toward the one who was asking for gems and land,”-but I still value my life more than free of cost. I’ll find the creature, but I’ll catch it and kill it in exchange for a home. But the choice is yours: you can either ante up, or go cheap and continue to be this things buffet. I don’t want any volunteers or partners, too many leaders here. Remember, just a home. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.”

As the town leaders began to discuss about this newcomer, he took the opportunity to rest under the shade of a nearby tree. As he began to doze off, he heard footsteps coming closer and closer, at that same time inching his hand closer to the hilt of his blade. As he felt the presence of a limb inching near him, he drew his blade only to find it was the town leaders as the rest of the crowd dispersed.

“We have taken your request into consideration. You should get some rest though, young man, as the hunt begins tomorrow. We have just one question, however: what is your name?”

With a grin, he answered “My name is Orzaeus, and I’ll be just fine here under this tree for the moment. Don’t worry, I won’t be here long, just long enough to get a feel for the location. And I can see by the looks on your faces you think I’m crazy; well there’s a method to the madness, trust me, so if you may…”

Getting the hint, the town leaders walked behind the rest of the crowd towards their homes, giving Orzaeus the silence and clear air he needed. His head against the tree, he began to breathe steadily, as if he was filtering the smells in the air while his ears tuned out the sound of the summer breeze. That’s when caught a whiff of a very familiar coppery smell from the east, just over the hillside. A fresh kill, couldn’t have been more than thirty-minutes old and it smelled like cattle…that’s when he felt the rumbling.

“There you are, you little bastard!” He muttered under his breath, catching the fly that was buzzing around his head. Refocusing his attention, “And as for you, big guy,” he said with a grin as it got closer and continued on due northeast, “You’re next.”
______________________________________________________________________________

The next day, every hunter in the area had gone their separate ways to search for the monster. Orzaeus followed the signs he picked up yesterday and continued that way through the prairies. The smell of another kill caught his attention, bringing him to an opening not far from the woodlands. As he got closer and closer he heard the hurried flapping of birds overhead; that’s never a good sign and sure enough, a deep, menacing warning growl welcomed him. He stood as silent as possible, trying to pinpoint exactly where the growl came from. No sights, sounds, or scents of anything but foliage and the creature’s meal…

As if it meant to surprise him, the monster came out from underneath Orzaeus’ feet, sending him tumbling a few feet before he stood back up and gazed at this monstrosity before him. The beast stood on all fours, at least for the moment as it shook dirt and rocks from its armored hide. The giant reptile couldn’t have been more than 15 meters tall at the hip, and as it turned its head, Orzaeus could see it sported a single nasal horn on top of its short maw and what appeared to be frills by where its ears would be. At first they were floppy like large ears but as it gazed upon him, they flared up and looked solid. Looking at the small animal in front of it, the titan lurched forward to inspect this newcomer.

Seeing it draw closer, Orzaeus began to reach for his blade, ready to strike the second it made a hostile move. But he noticed something: the creature was covered in wounds, some minute, others rather severe, and the smell of its breath had a smell of illness to it. It must be rather old given the scars and sick smell. The monster sniffed Orzaeus and simply groaned in disinterest as it went back to the corpse. Orzaeus felt insulted at the gesture at first, but immediately felt the same. Who wouldn’t take a threat by someone so much smaller than them as a joke?

As the monster went to take a bite, a loud bang resonated through the forest and a spiked cable tore through one of its front legs, earning a roar of agony from the beast. Looking around to find the shooter, he saw none but heard another loud bang as a second cable ripped through its ankle. As Orzaeus went to cut the cables, a hammering blow caught him on the side of the head and sent him stumbling to the ground. He felt a pair of hands restraining each arm, and a familiar voice laughed at him.

“Did you really think I was going to let you get away with insulting me like that at that gathering?” Orzaeus’ mind may be shaken a bit from the blow, but he knew exactly who this was. “I’m going to destroy this monstrosity, and bring whatever remains I can to show that you failed to live up to your word. Speaking of you, you will have probably died at the creature’s hands, just before I could save you.”

As he finished that sentence, the cables jolted to life and began to electrocute the titan. Orzaeus watched as the beast wasn’t just dying…it was being tortured, No matter what damage an animal has done, it did not deserve to die like this. He thrust an elbow into the groin of the captor to his right and threw him into the man on his left before breaking his neck and jamming his blade into the heart of the other. As soon as he was sure they had died, he stealthily crept up to the man in charge of this deed. Luckily his back was turned as he began talking to himself in false glory.

“Now I can finally make a name for myself. No longer will I be the laughing stock of the hunters, but my hometown as well. Now people will respect the name of Raloces, and I shall be remembered as...” He had been cut off as an arm wrapped around his neck, and out of the corner of his eye he could see an angry Orzaeus behind him. He threw an elbow but Orzaeus caught it and dragged him to the ground. Before he knew it, his arm was put in a submission hold and Orzaeus held him to the ground.

“You certainly have a compensation issue, don’t you? First three things they always teach in Basic Hunting 101, asshole. Number1: Never take your eyes off the target.” Orzaeus said mockingly as he snapped Raloces’ arm at the elbow, listening to him scream for mercy. “Number 2: Always keep your eyes, ears, and nose open, and your mouth shut.” He mocked again as he slammed Raloces’ face into a rock, breaking his jaw. The screaming almost became silent with the exception of Raloces’ sobbing. “And last but certainly not least, never disrespect your prey.” And with that he stabbed his blade through the base of the neck, killing him.

Without a pause, Orzaeus ran to cut the cables from what was supposed to be his quarry. Turning to look at it, he saw it stop thrashing about and collapse to the ground. Pulling the barbed tips from its body, he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. Running to its chest, he could feel a heartbeat, but it was fading and as he turned he saw the mouth foaming a bloody red. Picking up a cable-tip, he took a sniff: it was laced with poison. There was nothing he could have done to save what would have been a worthy adversary had he fought it before today. He couldn’t take the claim as the one who killed it in such a state that it was morally wrong to a hunter, but at the same time he needed a home, a PERMANENT home where his foot-rest wasn’t an infant lion and the neighbors weren’t the rest of its family constantly trying to kill him.

Damn moral codes.
_____________________________________________________________________________________


After celebrating the death of the monster, now known as Baragon (Walterious must have REALLY been bugging everyone for the name to stick.), everyone had gone back to the towns to sleep. Only one person remained behind where its corpse lay, and he did so in disgust. Orzaeus would rather the creature die by its unavoidable natural causes then it tortured to death. Even worse so, he’d rather say he found it dead than take credit for someone else’s kill, especially in the manner someone like Raloces’ did.

“So long, Baragon. You deserved a better end than this.” He gravely stated, stabbing his blade in the dirt as his personal memorial. As he walked out of the forest however, he heard a familiar sound, but yet it was more…plentiful. As if on cue, a herd of animals just like Baragon popped out of the ground, as if to say goodbye to one of their own with a symphony of roars and whines. Looking up from the body they locked eyes with Orzaeus, who nodded in respect to them as he walked away.

“Must be nice to have a family,” he thought as the lone huntsman walked into the sunset to his new home.

[SpanishBulldog63]

Chapter 5: Commotion on the Ocean

It had been about a week since the expedition had set sail from Atlantis, and things had been looking up for the team. They had no problems with the ship so far, but the weather had slowly gone from nice and sunny to overcast and windy; Cielot and the rest of the team were hoping this didn’t progress into a storm. Parthalus and Cielot had been discussing where to keep the new monster if they can capture one; while Parthalus had thought about using the large, underground hangar that holds what remains of Atlantean aircraft, Cielot thought otherwise, as he’d rather not risk it losing its sight being stuck in the dark for who-knows how long, as well as some unwitting rookie pilot possibly becoming its next meal.

Cielot had, unfortunately, no clue yet as to where keep it, as his mind had been more focused on something that echoed more beauty than chaos. He had barely known the woman Firia, but could not help but feel love-struck at the very thought of her. He thought back to their conversation on the bow of the ship, and how he was surprised to find out that they grew up in the same city and actually lived just a few blocks away from each other. Then as they talked more and more, getting to know each other better, she closed their faces’ distances, her lips closer to his…

“Hey, wake up lovebird!” exclaimed Cielot as he slapped his friend out of it. “We need to think of where to place a new beast, and I can’t do that with your head up in the clouds!”

Cielot wanted to lash out, but booms of thunder echoed from above. The scientists turned to see jagged bolts of lightning decorating the dark skies from the window. But something seemed…different. Lightning bolts rarely go straight down from the clouds, and never come so quick in succession so close to each other.

“This has to be the weirdest lightning storm I’ve ever seen” said Parthalus, a look of curiosity on his face.

“Maybe it’s normal here” replied Cielot. “Whatever it is, let’s hope it doesn’t begin to rain.”

At that very moment, it started pouring.

Turning to his friend, Parthalus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, “I hate you.”
______________________________________________________________________________

As night fell, the storm progressed from simple rain to the winds picking up and causing the ship to rock back and forth amongst the waves. Orzaeus and Rasidios went down to the cargo-hold to tie down equipment and prevent any damages.
Once everything was secured, Orzaeus turned to Rasidios, “Do you think this crazy plan of theirs will work?”

“I hope so, my friend, I really do” sighed Rasidios. “There’s not many options to choose from when you consider everything that’s happened with the Shadow and, if what they say about the Guardian project is true, then the options we have really only come down to this.”

“In that case, I hope whatever we tackle can handle the job, because if this fails, we’re doomed. Hell, even if it succeeds we’re doomed.”
With an eyebrow cocked in confusion, the veteran asked, “What makes you say that?”

“Think about it: What happens if the monster we bring back to Atlantis fails? Or worse yet, we can’t control it? Not only are people going to be slaughtered, we’ll be held responsible. If it succeeds, then there will be the view that, since it was able to wipe out the Shadow and possibly the Guardian, it is an even bigger threat than the ones it stopped, not to mention the conspiracy theorists that think we’ll use it as a threat to have things our way,” stated the hunter as he looked up from a crate containing different types of weapons and equipment.

“I hate to say it Orzaeus, those are good points, but I think you’re over-thinking what can happen once we return to Atlantis. We don’t know how the people will react, but I say if it’s for the good of Atlantis, I don’t care. Perhaps you should get some rest, it doesn’t seem like you’ve rested since yesterday” replied Rasidios as he finished tying down a crate of various animal pheromones.

“Yea you’re right, but it’s the curse of being a hunter; you can never let your guard down in uncharted territory, lest you become the hunted.”

As the two of them left the cargo-hold to the deck of the ship, Rasidios took off to the bridge as Orzaeus made way to his room. The former soldier stood by the window as he watched the lighting crash around the skies before seeing large bolts dash down from the heavens to the oceans. That’s unusual, he thought. It was almost like they were…trying to hit something.

“Strange, isn’t it?” came a voice in the corner, startling the soldier. But he put his personal knife back in its slot on his belt when he realized it was Firia.

“You scared the hell out of me!” he replied lightheartedly. “Why are you still up, Firia?”

“Would you rather get there and back ok, or steer this boat in circles and wind up getting us lost?”

Rasidios simply shrugged and responded “Fair Enough” with a chuckle. He expected a similar response from the young woman, but instead saw just a smile that quickly faded. She then stared out the window with a long sigh, and the veteran could see something was up and asked “Is something wrong?”

“Noo….” Then she noticed the look on the older man’s face and looked down, like a child caught in a lie by their parents. And for a moment, all that could be heard were the songs of whales, songs whose lyrics echoed love and sorrow.” I think I might have grown feelings toward Cielot. And it’s just…why is it that of all times I might have found someone, it’s when everything we know is soon to end in bloodshed?

What was this, therapy night? “It could be that, subconsciously, you’re seeking someone or something to hold onto while an end seems to be rapidly approaching you and everything you know after spending your life charting the continent and cataloging its environments or…do you hear that?”

The two stopped talking and listened closely when they could hear what sounded like shouts and chants. Peaking out of the window, Rasidios saw in the clouded moonlight what appeared to be a small boat, and he could make out at least eight to ten people. Six of them appeared to be armed.

Rasidios jested, “Guess Orzaeus won’t get his rest after all,” before bolting to get the others.

“All hands on deck! All hands on deck! We have a situation inbound!” Rasidios barked down at the bunk beds below, earning a not-too-surprising shout of “Damn it!” from Orzaeus as he rushed to the cargo hold and began to untie the weapon boxes.

“What’s going on? Are we about to hit something?” inquired a sleepy Parthalus, a stumbling Cielot behind him. Hurrying to the bridge, they could see the small boat edging near the starboard bow, brandished weapons shining in the lightning flashes.

“Everyone get down to the cargo hold and arm yourselves! We must protect the ship!” Shouted Cielot

“Way ahead of ya, buddy,” barged in Orzaeus, a gauntlet on his right hand armed with blades on the wrist. “Hurry up and grab something, I just heard something land on the starboard deck.”

In the cargo hold, Cielot and Parthalus ran to the nearest container and grabbed what they could. Parthalus settled for a silvery-blue rifle with glowing purple lines running from the muzzle to the handgrip. Clicking off the safety, he smiled while Cielot got his hands on a bow and a quiver of arrows with various tips.

“Anything left for me?” questioned Firia. That’s when Cielot turned and the look of concern could not have been any clearer.

“I don’t want you involved in this. Find a place to hide while it’s still calm.”Seeing her ready to snap at him, he quickly added “Please, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Reluctantly she finally conceded, “Fine.” But before she made her way for a safe place she turned back towards Cielot and worriedly told him “Be careful.”

As she stomped away, both scientists made their way to the deck, Parthalus shaking his head at his friend and his choice of timing a love stricken predicament. Reaching the top step, they were greeted by a hand slowly closing from Rasidios, signaling for them to stop. He then pointed for Parthalus to take the bridge to take out any of the intruders who tried to go around the bridge. Cielot stood at the stairway in case any made it passed Orzaeus and Rasidios.

As the two of them edged near the deck, footsteps ran across the deck, halting them momentarily before three of the intruders entered only to be welcomed with a well landed flurry of punches from the hunter, Rasidios right behind him with a short sword, cracks of electricity sparking off of the hand guard. As slivers of moonlight peaked through the cloudy sky, the Atlanteans could see that the boarders were very much like them, yet not like them; they were lighter skinned, armed with weapons of wood, stone, and iron and, not too surprisingly, spoke a dialect they could not understand. But whatever it was they were saying didn’t matter; they were armed, hostile, and attempting to board the ship. The whirring sounds followed by pops and screams of agony from the bridge told Cielot that Parthalus had his area locked down.

“Έλα σε μένα, αδερφέ!” One of the hostiles shouted as he charged at Cielot, sneaking from behind its comrade who had found himself skewered on Orzaeus’ gauntlet blade. Snatching an arrow from the quiver, Cielot steadied his aim and let the arrow fly into his attacker’s chest, knocking him right off his feet. Seconds later he clawed at himself, screaming as the area the arrow hit smoked and burned a hole right through his chest. Upon closer inspection, the arrow had been tipped with a small, impact-release canister that must have been filled with acid. Whoever tipped these arrows must have been prepared for any…

“μπάσταρδε” Was the only thing he heard as he was tackled to the floor by an unchecked boarder, blocking his knife with the bow. He could smell his attacker’s foul breath, feel it warming the air between them but at the same time sending chills down his spine. Gritting his teeth as the knife drew nearer and nearer, his legs blocked from making any attempt to throw his attacker off…

CRACK

No sooner did he begin thinking it was the end for him did Cielot feel his foe’s body fly into the wall, as well blood splatter across this face. Looking up he could see a bitter Firia wielding what looked like a flanged mace dripping with what was undoubtedly his attacker’s blood.

“The next time I want to help, let me, because apparently you don’t listen when someone says ‘be careful’.” Firia shot with a mix of venom and caring. Before Cielot could retort, he heard Orzaeus shouting in his direction with what sounded like a tone of victory.

“Oy, lovebirds, save your bickering for later and get over here! We’ve got their two ringleaders to surrender and…. For the love of all that is sacred, what’s that smell?”

It smelt like something had been burnt and left to rot. Cielot and Firia joined the others on deck, noting that the remaining two from the boarding party were being kept under watch by Parthalus and his rifle. The storm had finally subsided and the sun had just started to rise, though it was still slightly cloudy with light winds. Firia let out a gasp that caught the team’s attention and pointed towards the bow. They couldn’t believe their eyes as, through a veil of fog, they could see a beach; they were finally going to make landfall on You-Rup! As Firia ran to grab her map and pen, Parthalus asked her to also go down to the cargo-hold and grab his translator device so that Rasidios could interrogate the intruders.

The veteran turned to his comrades, “It’s odd, isn’t it? They attack us for what appears to be no reason, and come from out of nowhere. Odder yet, they speak different dialects from one another, yet understand each other. It’s just a guess, but I think this might be an expedition party from somewhere on this continent.”

“Maybe that’s how they greet newcomers? Honestly, I say we wipe the floor with them like we did to their comrades. That reminds me, we should probably clean that hallway before we get home. Guaranteed the King, or whoever owns the vessel, will skin us if they find the hallways littered with blood and guts.” Orzaeus snorted.

Cielot turned his attention to the coast of the continent. The haze was thick over the beach, accompanied by a frenzied cloud of gulls. The smell of rotting flesh continued to hit his nostrils like a stone to the face, and it dawned on him where it came from. He squinted to try and see what it was, but he didn’t need to…not anymore.

“Orzaeus, go get Firia and tell her to forget the map. She’s going to want to see this, fast. Hell, you all are.”
Rasidios and Parthalus, who didn’t stop pointing the gun at their captives, noticed the excitement in Cielot’s voice. Sure they were about to land, but it couldn’t possibly be that incredible. It wasn’t until they saw Orzaeus’ eyes grow wide and rush to get their cartographer that it was clear the situation was more than they thought.

“Why’s that, old friend?” asked Parthalus

Pointing to the beach, he responded with a grin, “Because I think our prayers have been answered” Parthalus tied up the two prisoners and joined the others looking out towards the beach. Orzaeus and Firia arrived, and the latter’s jaw dropped as she saw what everyone else was seeing as the boat drew nearer: on the misty beach, feasting on a scalded whale carcass, were beasts of myth, creatures of legendary power…

They were Dragons.

[SpanishBulldog63]

Ch. 6: Draconis Spiritus Elementi

As the sunlight rose steadily over the horizon, the Atlanteans could only gaze in awe at these living monuments of myth. One of the dragons, a reddish-brown one that adorned a jagged row of horns from its snout to the edge of the back of its skull and almost identical patterns on its shoulders, lunged for a flipper but instead got its face pushed into the mammal’s throat by its bony-masked companion who took the flipper instead. As the other dragon pulled its head, the third dragon, a serrated, lightning bolt-shaped horn atop its head snorted in what seemed like laughter as the other’s maw heated and cooked the massive esophagus in annoyance.

To Cielot, Parthalus, Firia, and Rasidios, this was a monumental find; it was rare see behavior like this among animals with a few exceptions, but for Orzaeus, he had seen this sort of behavior somewhat only once before all those years ago in Baragon. It was odd; normally the larger the animal, less intelligent it was. However, his experience with Baragon had shown that monsters were capable of high intelligence. In these dragons’ case, they displayed signs of intelligence much greater than that horned beast.

Out of the mixed sound of predatory feast and stunned silence came the utterance, “Draconis Spiritus Elementi.” The crew had turned to their prisoners, a gaze of both excitement and joy smeared on the intruders’ faces. But it didn’t seem right; this wasn’t a smile of great discovery as it was for the Atlanteans…it was of recognition

Bearing down on them, Rasidios snarled “What are you playing at?”

But no sooner were the captured men’s foreign words spoken did the sound of flesh tearing and bones snapping stop. With a slow turn, the cold chill they felt in the back of their heads wasn’t the still sea air; it was the three giant pairs of eyes fixated right on them as three winged titans advanced towards their location. With a flap of their mighty wings, the trio of dragons landed just meters away from the boat, examining it like a child would an unknown object. If they seemed large before, they look almost unreal up close, as the boat by comparison looked like a mere toy to the dragons.

The Atlanteans weren’t sure about the situation; the dragons hadn’t attacked yet, yet the intruders who seem to know these titans wasted no time in attempting to board the vessel a few hours ago. When Rasidios cocked his fist back to strike the boarders for answers, Firia grabbed his arm when she saw them cocking their heads mid-strike.

“Are you sure you want to do that? We don’t know for certain what the connection is between these dragons and those two, and I’d rather not be killed because someone didn’t consider that. So let’s see if we can establish some sort of communication and find out what’s going on before we become pint-sized snacks, shall we?”

“And how do you suppose we do that? I’m pretty sure no one here can speak whatever language they speak. Even if someone somehow did, why would they be open to talking to us now when not long ago they wanted us dead?”

“Do you have any better suggestions? Because that haymaker you were about to throw probably would have gotten us killed!”

Cielot and Parthalus were less interested in the back and forth, and more interested in the dragons’ reactions to the exchange. It was as if the two were looking at three oversized dogs, heads cocked in confusion as humans shouted things at each other they couldn’t understand. But therein lied what had the scientists’ attention: these dragons seemed to actually understand the conversation, and even converse about it; the grunts, growls, and various other noises gave it away

From the corner of his mouth, Parthalus asked “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” .

“If what you’re seeing is vocalized communication like that of humans amongst three massive dragons, then yea, I’m seeing it” Cielot replied with disbelief. Not one animal they had encountered on Atlantis or from their studies of foreign creatures had shown this ability or level of intelligence save for other primates.

“I wonder what it is they’re saying.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, but I wouldn’t doubt that they’re trying to make sense of that argument behind us”

As if on cue, a voice from out of nowhere, almost spectral in nature responded, “They are.”

Silence fell as quickly as the voice appeared. Rasidios, Firia, even the dragons had halted their discussion as everyone looked for the source of the voice. Firia and Orzaeus went into the bridge to see if it had come from inside while the grizzled soldier stood guard over the prisoners. Cielot decided to check around the deck, thinking that perhaps it came from unseen vessel. Either way, this day was becoming more and more…

“WATCH OUT!”

How sudden the voice had shouted at him made Cielot jump so bad he had nearly fallen off the deck and into the choppy waters below. As he looked around he laid eyes on what looked like a moth unlike any he had ever seen before zooming from ground he had nearly stepped on. Its size alone was double that of the largest Atlantean moth, and its bulbous eyes a purplish hue. It had two large bumps between its body and wings, and it almost looked like they were growing. What he had expected was a biological abnormality like a second pair of wings to randomly sprout out; what he saw instead was much more incredulous… the bumps weren’t bumps, but people rising to their feet! These little people appeared to be male and wearing some sort of tribal clothing, including small necklaces adorned with jewelry and teeth.

“Now that that’s over, how about we talk about what’s going on here?” said one of the tiny men.

Cielot could only stare in disbelief at this sight. First, giant dragons with human-like intelligence, now miniature people using a moth as a steed? This would be, without a doubt, the strangest report he’ll ever give to King Archaeus.

“Are you going to stand there dumbfounded, or call the rest of your team over here? There is much to discuss, Cielot of Atlantis.”

“How did you …you know what, never mind that.” Over his shoulder he shouted, “Parthalus, grab the others! You’ve all got to see this!” Turning back around he inquired, “Who are you?”

The tiny man on the right wing answered, “It doesn’t matter who we are. What matters is our plan.”
“Uh, excuse me?”

The left one chimed in, “Please excuse my brother, he likes to try and joke about everything…and now that you’re all here,” Cielot turned to see everyone finally showing up. “Allow us to introduce ourselves: we are Marek and Kurma, the Shobijin and envoys of the goddess Mothra.”

The Atlanteans looked at each other in collective confusion. Shobijin? What did that mean? And why were they here?
Parthalus was the first to break out the questions. “What does that mean, ‘Shobijin’? Is that the name of your people?” Firia broke in and also asked, “Where are you from?”

“One at a time, please!” exclaimed Marek. “Yes, our people are named Shobijin and have been for as long as we’ve existed. And to answer your question, we come from an island on the other side of this landmass. However, my brother and I watch over this section of the planet while our sisters keep watch over by our home island.”

“So if you keep watch over this area, what do you know about our friends over there?” asked Rasidios, jerking his thumb towards the boarders. He wanted to know every bit of intel on those people. He may be a few years removed from service, but old habits die hard.

“Ah yes, almost forgot about your captives. These people are natives to the continent and come from neighboring countries, on an expedition similar to yours. They had been studying the dragons for some time, trying to learn more about their powers and size because before them, few animals even came close to becoming this massive in their region.”

“So if they were a research party, why did they attack us?”

There was a brief pause between the pint-sized twins before Kurma broke the silence. “That right there is a good question. We’ll be back in just a second.”

With that, the large moth-steed floated over to the tied up Europeans, and the Shobijin began to converse with them…in their language. It had to have been a good ten minutes of interrogation before they and their moth came back to the Atlanteans.

“So, what was their excuse?” asked a skeptical Orzaeus.

“Well, they basically said it was only out of fear that you were there to harm the dragons. An understandable notion; if you had found once-in-a-lifetime creatures like these, and had seen a strange vessel in the same vicinity as them, you’d likely think the worst too.

Also, the reason the dragons reacted to the words, ‘Draconis Spiritus Elelmenti’, or Elemental Dragon Spirits in their languages, is because for the duration of their studies, those people were able to communicate with them and use that name to describe them. That reminds me, we should probably address the elephant in the room.”

“What the hell’s an elephant?”

Rubbing his temples, Marek took a deep breath and sighed, “Never mind that, it’s not important. What we are about to tell you, however, is the key to saving your precious home.”

Everyone’s eyes widened. How did they know about that? Did they know about the Shadow as well? Apparently the dragons had heard it as well, as they now crouched down or peered over the ship to hear this as well.

“Now that we have your complete attention, listen to what we have to tell you: These are not ordinary dragons by any means. Their size alone is testament of this. You see these dragons are members of a race of elemental dragon gods called The Overseers, deities charged with the duty to keep Earth and its inhabitants safe. As old as this planet itself, their kind had prevented threats for several million years, but records show that they either had vanished, or were engaged with a colossal threat. Signs point to the latter, as there was no way these great protectors could allow a meteor to wipe the planet almost clean of life sixty-five million years ago.”

Pointing to each dragon, he introduced them individually, starting with the reddish-brown one peering over the boat. “Ignus Spiritu, the Dragon of Fire.” Turning towards the bluish-grey dragon on their left, “Fulgoris Spiritu, the Dragon of Lightning” and finally introduced the third one with the bony mask, “ Xenos Spiritu, the Dragon of…uh…some unknown energy. We seriously have no idea what it is.” Xenos cocked his brow at having such an oddball introduction.

Kurma added after his brother, “These three aren’t only a rare occurrence of triplets, but are also the last three of their kind.” There was an enormous uneasiness about this, as everyone could sense the sorrow from the dragon gods; they must have thought that more like them roamed the planet. Kurma continued, seemingly with regret,” Although they don’t know it yet, they are tasked with possibly the greatest challenge yet, one that according to prophecy even they can’t do alone…and this is where it concerns you, friends.”
If there was a great sense of dread before all of this, it had to have increased to ten-fold to the Atlantean team. Cielot was the first to speak, his mouth beginning to feel dry as he struggled to contain his emotion.

“S-so what’s your prophecy say about us, Sh-Shobijin? What is to be the fate of our people?”

The brothers could only turn to each other grimly before telling them in unison,” It’s foretold that your mighty nation will be the first to fall to the Shadow of Evil, Gyaos, and that the Elemental Dragon Triplets will fail to save it. From the ashes will rise Gamera, the Guardian of the Universe, who will battle with Gyaos until one or the other cease to exist. In turn, this will lead to a cataclysmic event far into the future, a war of science and giants, and it will be when the Triplets rise again that the world will be aware of the dangers to come.”

No matter what they did, no matter how much they could steel themselves for what was to come, they were not prepared to hear this. Atlantis, their home, was doomed no matter what they did. What had they done to deserve such a fate? There had to be something, anything, they could do to preserve all that they knew and loved.
“How much time do we have before it happens?” asked an urgent Cielot.

“Three years…Three years until the Gyaos assault Atlantis.”

Silence, fear, and sorrow hit the group like a thrown brick. Three years? The Atlantean Guard and other fighting forces were diminished, almost completely decimated when they left; by three years time, they may only be halfway full of soldiers. The Guardian project was still on the fence, and this journey, these mighty titans before them, were supposed to be there last hope…all for naught. As somber as a mortician, Cielot turned to his comrades. They were as pale, stricken, and saddened as he was. Firia was fighting back tears, an action that pulled at the scientists heartstrings so much that he grabbed her and held her closely, tightly, as if to say that it would all be ok. It wouldn’t.

Parthalus came forth, placing a hand on his old friend’s shoulder.“We have to go back home, immediately. Arachaeus must know about this, though I doubt he will take us seriously about you, Marek and Kurma. Spread the word to loved ones as well, perhaps we can minimize casualties and rebuild after it all, if possible.”

“Before you leave, Atlanteans, the Europeans wish to trade with you. They said they’d like to make amends for their attack on you and your vessel.”

“What could they possibly have to trade with us?” asked Orzaeus, skeptical of this trade ordeal.

A quick moment between the Shobijin and captives passed, and then the terms were translated; “They wish to have that weapons of yours,” pointing to the Light Rifle next to Parthalus, “for a large quantity of their gold and orichal…”

“Orichalcum? How did they get a hold of that?!” interrupted Firia. Orichalcum, thus far, has only been found in Atlantis. No other known land contained the precious metal.

“The guy whose skull you crushed almost flat had stolen some from this deserted boat he’d found. It was apparently attacked by something, as blood soaked it almost as bad his corpse...or whatever wasn’t eaten”

Cielot, Parthalus, and Rasidios looked at each other. If thoughts could synchronize between people, no doubt would they be thinking the same thing. It couldn’t be a coincidence…not in any possible way. Parthalus rushed to help their prisoners out of their bonds and exchange their goods as quickly as possible.

“What’s the matter? “, asked the diminutive twins.

Firia stepped up, “If what you say is true, then we have to return to our home NOW. A deadly creature, one from our homeland, escaped years ago and we fear it may be what attacked that boat. Seeing as you’re watching over this section of the planet, I’m sure you already knew this.” The twins nodded in agreement. “So then you’d understand why we must set off now.”

Behind her, Parthalus, Cielot, and Orzaeus helped the foreign team get into their boat and getting the precious metal into their own ship. The Europeans waved their goodbyes as they rowed back to the mainland. Rasidios gazed at the Elemental Dragons, simply still caught in the awe of the size and majesty these creatures possessed.

One of the dragons, the blue-grayish one with the bolt-shaped horn named Fulgoris, grunted towards them, and the Shobijin had translated, “Fulgoris says he and his brothers can fly you to Atlantis and protect you, because that boat would make you a slow open target if that’s the case.”

Cielot came back, a large chunk of orichalcum in his hands. “We’ll need to grab our supplies from the cargo hold, if you don’t mind.” The dragons shrugged, implying that they wouldn’t mind. As Cielot was about to have Orzaeus and Parthalus help him, a grunting roar echoed from the depths, halting them in their tracks; they knew that sound all too well. Sure enough, something soared through the water below, making a current that rocked the boat and headed towards the European researchers, unbeknownst of the situation. A wake soon came behind them and the serpentine God of Mu, Manda, exploded from the water and snapped down on the boat, crashing back down to the depths.

Kurma and Marek simply stared, jaws agape and eyes wide.

Orzaeus couldn’t resist. “Talk about getting wrecked, eh?”

[SpanishBulldog63]

Chapter 7: Watch the Skies

“You all packed up over there, Parthalus?” asked a ready Cielot as he finished tightening his gear around a spine on the fire dragon Ignus’ armored neck. Looking over after not getting an answer, he could see his friend give an exhausted thumbs-up as he finished tying his equipment to the wrist of the bony-masked Xenos. The day, though still rather young, was beginning to wane from early-to mid-noon, and Cielot didn’t want to be around in the open at dusk, regardless of his teams’ monstrous companions.

Firia had finished double-knotting her gear to the arm of Fulgoris, keeping only her map and writing tools while Rasidios and Orzaeus kept a pair of the hard-light rifles that turned the interior of their vessel into a butcher’s shop hours ago. Cielot looked above and noticed the series of grunts, growls, and other noises as the towering brothers communicated with each other, about what he may never know. What he did know was that hell or high water, Atlantis will be safe, even if it’s been prophesied otherwise. As he began to drift off into thought about it, Firia playfully nudged him, bringing him back to the ship as she quipped “We’re ready to go when you are, daydreamer.”

Caught off guard, the scientist stumbled, “Ah, right. So, uh, Marek and Kurma, we’d like to thank you for warning us of your prophecy. Maybe, just maybe, we can prepare our nation for this Gyaos beast and buy Atlantis another millennium. We may not be as strong as these titanic protectors, but we Atlanteans, no matter the odds, have always been a resilient and hardy people. “

As Marek and Kurma readied their moth to leave, they turned to each other’s depression-etched faces, and, with an air as foreboding as their body language, remarked to the travelers “We hope so.” With these parting words, the fuzzy wings of their steed flapped and with one surprisingly strong push, they zoomed into the distance.

“Yeah, that’s not a grim mood killer at all. Well, you guys ready?” quipped Parthalus. With nods of agreement, Cielot added “Then let’s crack on, folks. It doesn’t matter who rides which one the Elemental Dragon Spirits, just get on and let’s go home.”
One by one, the miniscule Atlanteans climbed aboard their gargantuan escorts; Cielot and Firia settled themselves in between the hot spikes of Ignus’ mohawk, Orzaeus and Parthalus took to the shoulders of Xenos, and Rasidios saddled himself atop of the neck armor of Fulgoris .

Cielot angled his head down towards the ear hole of Ignus and queried, ”If you can truly understand what I’m saying, nod twice.” It was really only skepticism that drove him to ask. Because there was simply no way they understood human language, let alone the difference between his and the now devoured previous fellowship. To his surprise, the creature’s head bounced up and down twice; despite the felt carefulness in the movement, the nods sent him and Firia feet in the air. A quick pinch and he knew this wasn’t a dream; he just talked to a dragon...and it responded!

Firia jumped in, “Okay then, Ignus, if I can tell you the way to go, could you relay it back to your brothers?” He gave another nod...perfect.

“Well then, let’s not waste anymore daylight! Full speed going South-by-Southwest!” shouted Cielot , and with a jump and flap of titanic wings, the island became a blur in the distance as the guardian dragons sped off towards Atlantis with their tiny-but-precious cargo.

Somewhere further east of the island, on what will one day become Sicily, the hillside was still as could be. But one sound broke the silence; a high-pitched, gargled shriek...a noise synonymous of death to the natives. The once silent hills had suddenly sprung to life as multiple brown forms lifted their foul, flat, and toothy faces to the skies and echoed the same cry, drowning the land in fright. They sniffed the air as a snake would, practically tasting it as an intriguing yet familiar scent brought them out of slumber. As the shrieks grew louder, the few remaining villagers within miles of the noise took refuge, regardless of how futile the idea may be, or ran as far as they could to find a cave or any sort of haven.

Amidst the swarm of these winged creatures one voice rang true in their number, a message understood in any language to any species...and the largest of these winged terrors shrieked it the loudest...

“The winds of change are upon us, brothers; I can sense their beck and call. Our enemies are weak and soon this world shall be ours. And now...” it preached as the chorusing beasts spread their wings and took to the skies in a haunting unison.

“Now, we feast.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________

“Up ahead there should be a forked, rocky pillar, and from there we should be about a third of the way there...unless you three want to kick it into overdrive again,” chirped the female atop of Ignus’ head. When he and his brothers heard “full speed,” they didn’t realize that the humans couldn’t handle the force from such speeds; to him and his siblings, it seemed like everything was just slightly sped up, but for the Atlanteans, it was “like being thrown in a centrifuge of blurred colors”...whatever a centrifuge was. But regardless, they needed to get to Atlantis because they have an inherent duty to guard this planet of any threat; natural or not, earthly or not, nothing was going to harm this world on their watch.

Fulgoris and Xenos flanked their fiery brother, listening to their human comrades as they surveyed the area. Ignus called out that there should be a notable pillar of rock not far ahead. Xenos knew where he was talking about; he had scouted the area once before for a place to rest, and recalled a chain of islands not far from it. Noting this to Fulgoris and Ignus, he ducked his head down to grab a quick snack and caught a giant squid locked in combat with a large shark. Fulgoris merely chuckled; Xenos was always the glutton of the three, eating everything he could get even after a large meal. It wasn’t until an air of worry echoed between the trio and their passengers that he snapped back to attention. The one named Orzaeus reeked of worry.

“Um, guys? Does anyone else notice that the skies just got really dark really fast?” He paused as he looked towards the setting sun, all color draining from his face in a split second, “By the spirits...it can’t be...” the hunter then shouted in nothing but pure, instinctive fear, “THE SHADOW!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIyKoPuqTH0

Everyone else looked towards the East as a wall of black forms blotted across the sun. A piercing veil of wails echoed across the splashing waters, ringing in the ears of the dragons but even more so in those of the Atlanteans; it didn’t just irritate them, it was physically hurting them! Xenos could hear the screams of agony from the humans, never taking his eyes off the quickly-approaching flock of arrow-headed threats.

“Fulgoris, Ignus, I hope you’re ready for a fight! I count 30, maybe 45 of these creatures inbound on our position. The second we reach that island chain, drop the Atlanteans off at a safe spot and let us tear these abominations apart!” Xenos barked.

His brothers nodded in agreement, keeping their eyes open for the islands. “Alright Xenos, I can spot it up ahead. Fulgoris, give us some covering fire until we get there. These people better hang on tight; they’re in for a hell of a ride!” called back Ignus, with Cielot and Firia hanging on tightly to the rope around one of his horns.

With a couple of flaps from their mighty wings, the triplets zoomed faster to the patch of land. Fulgoris shifted slightly to ready for combat, feeling the one named Rasidios arching himself to do the same; in all of the years he and his brothers had been around, he admired the fearlessness that humans were capable of sometimes. Their howling pursuers had closed the distance, their toothy maws drooling for a meal; if they wanted to something to snack on, he’s got just the treat!

“Alright sparky, let’s light these bastards up!” Rasidios bellowed, his rifle thumping with the discharge of hard-light blasts. Fulgoris roared in agreement, his horn crackling in electricity as he unleashed a blast of lightning from his jaws and nailed the closest one in its open mouth. The scaly bird-beast had been blown back, its head exploding as the bolt blew a smoking hole through its skull. But these “Shadows” were far from defenseless; three of them screeched their unholy cry, their mouths now glowing until beams of light sliced through the air and etched into Fulgoris’ hide, leaving bloody gashes where they were traced but his armored back was barely scratched. The great dragon cried out as he and his brothers finally landed, the humans leaping off and dashing for cover as the triplets made their way into battle.

Ignus was the first to engage, his arm and claws glowing a fiery red as he grabbed one of the Shadows by the throat as it charged its cutting weapon, smoke rising from the wounds as thermal energy stormed throughout its body. As the Shadow was about to fire this Sonic Cutter, Ignus aimed it at another of the creatures next to him, decapitating it before the one in his clutches burst into flame and its corpse was thrown aside. Another of the snarling beasts had attacked him from behind, landing a kick to the back of his skull that stunned him quick enough for some of its comrades to attempt to tackle him. They paid for this attempt, however; his body engulfed itself in a ball of flaming energy that soon exploded into homing balls of explosive power, killing four in bloody messes and chasing the others into the crossfire of his brothers.

“You’ve got four incoming at your left flank, Fulgoris! Get ready to swing...NOW!” bellowed the fiery Overseer.
Fulgoris whipped his tail to the side, nailing one fleeing creature into another as the Meteor Storm caught up to them and shot them out of the sky in chunks. Looking back to his brother, Fulgoris gave his brother a nod of approval.

“Good call, brother! Watch out, you’ve got two right behind-“ Fulgoris was cut off as his chest quickly felt a piercing pain attempting to drive him down; two Shadows had caught him off guard, plunging their talons into his flesh as they screamed of blood lust. With one of his free arms he swatted the beasts away, his elbow spike disemboweling one in the process, and with the other he channeled a ball of lightning that he quickly hurled at the other. The projectile nailed his attacker square in the face, its body quivering in searing pain as lightning danced across its body and sprung to its neighbor and leapfrogged to two others. With a simple motion of slamming his fist shut, the Shadows burst and showered the land and sea below in bloody chunks. Swinging with his elbow spines, he failed to notice one of the ravenous creatures firing down upon him, but luckily a shield of the energy around him caught the blast but quickly faded...

“Good to see you’re starting to get the hang of that shielding power of yours, Xenos. Now if you excuse me, I have a bird-thing to fry...” praised Fulgoris before uttering under his breath, “Showoff.”

Xenos raced across the sky, knowing that he may not be so lucky with this shielding power again, and plunged his spiked knee straight through the beast’s skull before kicking the corpse loose. A devastating uppercut to one beast and a tearing of the throat to another later, he could hear a cacophony of hungry caws and angered wails. To his right, his portion of this assault wasted no effort coming at him en masse, barely a few feet of sunlight between them all. Seizing the chance, the masked dragon’s maw and shoulder guards funneled charged particles in the air and radiated with a bluish-purple hue as a trio of beams lanced through the air between the clashing parties. Those in the front barely dodged the assault while the unfortunate souls behind them were blown back either into each other or into smoldering heaps. Careful so as to not exhaust his powers with the herd thinned, Xenos caught one of the beasts by the throat with his foot and crushed its windpipe before quickly using it as a meat shield for a trio of snappy Shadows; this didn’t last long as bolts of lightning tore through their bodies, his brother returning the favor for Xenos’ Particle Shield.

“I had them under control, Fulgoris!” snapped the masked dragon, his horn and mask blades glowing brightly as he blew apart a Shadow attempting to spiral out of the way.

“Yeah, but I have them underwater...you’re welcome.” Sneered his crackling brother as the Overseer of Lightning plunged his hand through a Shadow’s chest and grasped its heart. The electricity dancing around him quickly channeled to his hand, lighting up the artificial monster like a gull in a storm until its heart couldn’t handle the current any longer and exploded, leaving a gaping cavity in its back and chest,

“Don’t mind me, just setting the sky on fire with your leftovers!” quipped their fiery brother. Shadows were all over him like flies to a dropping...a big, explosive dropping.

Xenos grinned to his brother, “Ready to give the hothead some backup?”

Fulgoris’ maw and claws jolted with crackling anticipation as he snarled, “With pleasure!”

And with that, the two Overseers sped into the fray of battle once more.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Down below, Cielot , Parthalus, and company took shelter amidst the rocky formations of the isle, watching in awe at the dogfight going on above while avoiding being covered in raining gore.

“Egad...it would’ve taken a battalion at least a few days to even get close to this kind of damage with even our strongest weapons,” an envious Rasidios gawked, his hard-light rifle hanging limply. Cielot, on the other hand, was awestruck in the spectacle. These “Draconis Spiritus Elementi” were unlike anything he had seen before; most animals tend to fight chaotically and without any sort of strategic thought in place, while these three telegraphed and calculated every move, even using each other to their personal advantage and giving covering fire. Their unique powers spoke for themselves, the Shadows’ smoldering chunks serving as proxies. It was no wonder these beasts were considered to divine to the natives!

But then a though occurred to him: the Shobijin spoke of a Shadow of Evil...shadow. The word echoed in his head; was it possible that he and Parthalus’ bioengineered weapons of Operation: Shadow-Storm currently fighting above them were this mythical demon? They were never intended to be a new species to roam across Atlantis, merely an effective albeit gruesome weapon and form of pollution control. Even so, how would this race of pint-sized, moth-riding humans know about such a thing so far in advance of it even being done? And this “Gamera, Guardian of the Universe”... the nomenclature couldn’t be pure coincidence, especially given Project Guardian’s existence. Were they toying with his head, or was everything that’s happened in the last few years a part of a much larger scheme?

As if in response, a Shadow dropped from the fray right into a neighboring hill, charred by one of Ignus’ fiery blasts. Shaking its arrow-shaped head, the ugly beast caught their scent and stared seemingly into their souls. With a flap of its bat-like wings it soared towards Cielot and company, weathering the hail from Rasidios’ rifle.

“We’ve got to go... We’ve got to go NOW!” bellowed a frantic Rasidios, refusing to cease fire as they ran across the islet, now slippery with gore galore. The Shadow, however, was much faster; its rancid breath befouling their nostrils within seconds. Cielot turned his head ever so slightly, seeing the cavern of teeth closing in on Firia. With a quick stop he yanked her down, the jaws of Death itself missing by inches; he literally saw his terrified visage in the beast’s drool! But luck is a cruel woman, as the winged horror turned about their way, its jaws licked in anticipation. Try as they could, Parthalus, Rasidios, and Orzaeus couldn’t distract it.

“Of all the ways I’d imagined going out, this was at the top of my ‘Least Wanted” list” groaned Firia, covering her face as debris fell from the rocky overhang above them. “If we survive this, we need to make sure that they don’t!”

“How do you think I feel? I made the damn things!” cracked Cielot, bringing her closer as they prepared for the worst. Amidst the explosions, shrieks, and roars, he hoped that she could hear him say “If this it, then I hope I see you on the other side, my love... goodbye Firia.” The smell of rotting flesh, the globs of saliva raining down on them, the gluttony in its red eyes sitting in scaly sockets only feet away from them... they closed their eyes, embracing the pain to come...

But nothing happened. Despite the silence, Cielot opened his eyes and could see that they were very much alive. However, he could also see that they were very much staring down its throat, only a few slivers of daylight were visible. Suddenly the light blinded them and, when Firia gasped in relief, Cielot could finally see why; a pair of hands, one bluish-grey and the other reddish-brown, clasped it by the sides of its head and threw the humans’ would-be-killer into their brother. Xenos stabbed his hand through its back, snapping its spine before throwing it to Fulgoris. The Dragon of Lightning swiped it away with his tail, his bolt-shaped tail blades disemboweling it as Ignus grabbed it by the jaws, pried them open, and shot a beam of fiery energy down its throat. The Gyaos’ eyes and midsection soon bulged and erupted with the attack, the beasts stench now made exponentially worse as its smoldering corpse was flung out to sea.

As Cielot and Firia joined the others, the three towering protectors roared in triumph. The Atlanteans surveyed the landscape; damn near everything was coated in gore, corpses floated on the sea or lay in shreds on the islet. As they were taking the sight all in, it was Orzaeus who finally broke the awestruck silence.

“If this isn’t a sign that we now stand a chance to save our home, I don’t know what is! I know you all saw what I saw, or in your guys’ case, fought,” gesturing to the monstrous triplets above him as they bent down to listen, and to the veteran Rasidios, “than the fucking Shadow has no idea what’s-“

“No, this thing...it’s not the Shadow anymore. There’s only one name fitting for them now,” Cielot interrupted, every head and pair of eyes swiftly turning his way. Now, even more than earlier, he could feel the words of the Shobijin reverberating through his skull. He looked off into the ocean, the eyeless head of the beast that tried to devour him seemingly staring at him intently as if to goad “Say my name.”

“Gyaos, the Shadow of Evil.”

As quickly as the chaos erupted, all was silent three synchronous flaps later as the survivors flew homebound into the distance. But back on the bloodstained islet, all was everything but still...Something stirred. Crippled but not dead, the ringleader of it all raised its battered head, its teeth bared as it hissed furiously.

“You’re goddamned right.”