#toa charlemagne | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rikalovesrice · 2 years ago

Text

The Eternal Day : Tales of Arcadia - Chapter 10

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Author’s Notes : The theme for the next two chapters is "Bravestone" by Two Steps From Hell :3 Let's skip the preamble and get into it, shall we?

Please enjoy!

Champions

Jim leapt with ease across the rooftops with the strength and agility of his troll form. Aja and Krel flew past him on their hoverboards. Douxie and Zoe rode beside on a big Archie’s back. Their shouting allies streamed behind them, claws, weapons, and spells drawn. Sounds of warfare erupted all around them. The ping of lasers, the woosh of magic, the crunching of bones, grunts and hisses from impacts.

A Krubera troll rammed a salamander with his spear before punching it in the jaw. An Akiridion soldier slid on her knees and dragged the blade of her serrator through the underside of a wolf. A wizard called down mystical meteors to pummel a pack of hellhounds, obliterating frospecters caught in their path. Tree carnifloras collided with volcanic behemoths, throwing showers of razor sharp leaves and giant embers.

The Fire Titan crashed onto its side from the stab of Forest Titan’s antlers and the Ice Titan went down on its knee from that devastating kick. Vines coiled around Nari’s middle as she channeled her aura through her Titan, the two becoming one. She maneuvered so that Bellroc was on her left and Skrael was on her right.

“Tenebris exilium!” Nari bellowed, holding her arms out straight towards her siblings. Her Titan copied, enormous rings of magic circling its fingers as heavy blasts of shamrock light barreled into the downed Titans. The Fire Titan was sent rolling and the Ice Titan staggered down on an elbow.

Nari was already charging at Bellroc, winding up another spell. At the last second, the Fire Titan dug its claws into the ground and extended its neck to spit out a wall of scorching flames. Nari quickly altered her magic to create a shield before she ran right into the fire.

“How!?” Bellroc snarled. They, too, merged with their Titan, a crown resembling the symbol over its single eye socket forming around Bellroc’s head.

Skrael growled and did the same. “How were you released from our control!?”

“My friends freed me,” Nari answered. “So now, I can stop you!”

Strings of green magic wove between the Forest Titan’s fingers, stitching a halberd of enchanted tree bark with an axehead trimmed with whetted brilliant green gemstones. Thorns sprouted all throughout its hair, the tips of the vines honed to slice and puncture.

Skrael got back on his feet and started running. Bellroc dove, angry flames spewing from their mouth. Nari whirled as Skrael swung the Ice Titan’s thick arm, ice scraping against the shaft of her halberd, while simultaneously entangling Bellroc with vines in the air.

Jim set his sights on one of the volcanic behemoths, the monster standing at two hundred feet. He somersaulted and spun, swinging Excalibur right into one of its legs, red lava spilling when he slashed through its rocky obsidian skin. The creature roared and Jim leapt out of the way of massive flaming fists raining down, taking every chance he could to slice its beastly hands. He climbed onto its knuckles and swung his way up its long arm, stabbing Excalibur right in. The behemoth shrieked and shook Jim off, the force dislodging him and sending him tumbling. Before the behemoth could crush him, shots rang out above.

Aja mowed down the back of the monster’s head with her serrator cannon with the ferocity of a machine gun. Krel fired away with his own serrator, taking aim at the beast’s large dark pits of eyes. The behemoth swung its head wildly, the tips of its crimson horns just missing the bottom of their hoverboards. While Krel took over the range attacks, Aja reverted her serrator back to a blade and dove onto the behemoth’s back, slicing along its skin as she sprinted before digging the blade into the back of its neck. The behemoth rose up and swatted at the source of injury. Aja dodged the first couple of swipes, but lost her balance when the creatures forcefully tipped back onto its hands.

Douxie swooped in with Archie just in time to catched her out of the air.

“Apologies for the unceremonious lift, Your Majesty!” Douxie said.

“Only room for two up here,” Zoe said, grinning at Aja dangling from Archie’s paw.

“Lively!” Aja exclaimed. She laughed and dropped onto her hoverboard as it sped by. “Thank you, Douxie!”

“She finally got it right!” Douxie said. “Arch!” Archie skimmed the behemoth’s back and Douxie jumped off near its pointed ears, his staff taking on its guitar shape. “How ‘bout a lullaby?” Douxie strummed an elaborate riff, magic powering and amplifying the screech of the metal strings. The behemoth cringed and covered its ears, the deafening sound bringing it to its elbows. “Alligesnarae!” Glowing sky blue shackles trapped the behemoth against the ground.

As Jim dashed forward, the behemoth vomited a molten pool.

“Jim!” Douxie shouted. He conjured a trail of platforms at the last second, and Jim vaulted right over the lava without missing a step.

Aja and Krel continued to fire away at the beast’s face. Douxie doubled down on his chains, making them so taut the behemoth started to wheeze. Jim sprung off the final platform and drove Excalibur into its skull.

The behemoth let out one final roar before going still, the lava flowing beneath its skin graying.

“Klebtastic!” Krel cheered. “And Douxie, you need to teach me how to do that with my beats!”

“I think Zoe could help you more in that department. I’m not much of a technomancer, I’m afraid,” Douxie said. “But a jam session is definitely in order.”

Krel raised a brow. “What about jam?”

“Jim, are you alright?” Aja asked.

“I’m great. Thanks, I was about to get flattened back there,” Jim said, yanking Excalibur out of the dead behemoth’s forehead.

Aja gazed at him. “You know, somehow I feel like we’ve done this before.”

“Done what?”

“Fight together.”

“Huh. Now that you say that, I kind of do, too,” Jim said. “Which is weird cause up until a couple days ago, I only knew you through video calls.” He frowned in thought. “...Right?”

Something sparked in the back of Aja’s mind, small and faint. But she lost it as Akiridion battle pods zoomed overhead, opening fire on another volcanic behemoth that was going toe to toe with one of the giant combat robots.

“A-Anyway, I’m glad you’re alright. Keep it that way,” Aja said. “Krel, we need to get going.” They hopped back on their hoverboards and raced off towards their Arcane targets.

“Huh…So they forgot all about it, that’s why…,” Douxie said, just loud enough that Jim heard.

“Forgot what?”

Douxie spotted Zoe and Archie coming back for him. He grabbed onto Archie’s paw as they swept low and yelled at Jim as he flew away, “I’ll tell you later! Be careful!”

Jim’s face scrunched in confusion.

“Watch out, Jimbo!”

One of those skeletal frostbitten wolves was charging right at him. Jim swung Excalibur in front of him and he was thrown onto his back beneath the beast. Its icicle fangs grinded against Excalibur as it tried to chew through the sword to get to Jim’s face, snarling ice cold breaths and drooling frigid saliva. In a flash of orange, the wolf was knocked right off him.

Toby waved his hammer. “Down, zombie ice Rover! Bad dog!”

Displeased with the nicknames, the wolf came plowing back. Aaarrrgghh hurdled over Toby to introduce its cold snout with his stone fist. The blow sent the wolf staggering into a shadow portal that quickly swirled close.

“Expertly done!” Blinky said from his partial mech suit.

“One down, ten million to go,” Claire said, glowering at the pack of ice wolves headed their way. Now with skeletal frostbitten bears joining their ranks, three of them.

“Egad!” Toby yelped. “More like frozen Yogi Bear, amirite?”

“If you want to be,” Jim said. He ran and sliced a wolf’s jaw, then used his troll strength to grab it by the muzzle and slam it on its side before piercing its emaciated ribs.

Blinky fired dwarkstones from his mech suit’s cannons, shocking the wolves long enough for Claire to open more portals under their paws. Aaarrrgghh clashed with one of the skeletal bears, his hands locked with its icy claws. They pushed against each other, snarling and growling. Aaarrrgghh caught it with a headbutt, then Toby’s warhammer cracked the back of its skull.

Another ice bear was keeping the Creepslayerz busy. Steve chopped into the monster’s side, backflipping out of the way when it retaliated with cold snapping jaws. Eli rushed in, twirling his serrator in his hand then goring the bear in its lifeless gray eyes. It shook its head and roared, frost shooting from its wounds.

“Palchuk Charge!” Steve yelled.

“I’m gonna Pepperjack you up!” Eli shouted.

They both struck the ice bear with their weapons, Steve’s Akiridion-enhanced axe cleaving one of its ribs while Eli’s serrator carved right through its hard waxy skin. One more angry roar, and the bear went down.

“Let’s freaking go!” Steve laughed. He held up his hand, fingers making a C. “Now that’s what I call Creep!”

“Slaying!” Eli was about to complete the insignia when he spotted something falling out of the sky in his peripherals. An Akiridion battle pod crashed to the ground, frozen solid. Up above, dozens of battle pods were being overrun by frospecters, icicles spearing windows and frost debilitating functions. Eli touched the earpiece Izita got him. “Izita? Come in, Izita!”

“They’re too fast!” came Izita’s reply. “Everyone fall back! Try to keep your distance!”

The battle pods veered away, the frospecters in pursuit.

“Make a circle everyone! Get them all in the middle!” Eli said, shifting his serrator into its rifle. The battle pods did as he instructed, whirling around each other until most of the frospecters were corralled. “Now get’em!” Eli looked into his scope and started shooting, picking off handfuls of frospecters in a matter of seconds. The surrounding pods opened fire, the cluster of enemies soon reduced to a cloud of cold dust. But as warned, more frospecters swarmed to take their places.

“Eli!” Izita pulled up beside them and opened her hatch. “I’m sorry there wasn’t another pod for you. But you can use this.” She reached behind her seat and produced a hoverboard. Its design differed from Aja and Krel’s boards in that it was engraved with one big electric blue X on its surface instead of four circles. “Queen Aja had this made for me, in case of emergencies.”

“Dude, we get our own Slayermobile?” Steve said, hopping on with Eli.

“Thanks a lot, Izita. I’ll try to get it back to you in one piece,” Eli said.

Frospecters turned on the Creepslayerz as they zipped into the air. Any that strayed close were minced to powder by Toothache, while Eli dispatched oncoming ones with his serrator rifle, his accuracy deadly and keen.

“You really are the assassin from Future Warrior 2!” Steve said.

“Skeltegs make good target pract—WAAAAHH!” Eli swerved the hoverboard as a ball of fire blazed past. Salamanders up on their hind legs were launching flames at the sky. He yelped into his earpiece, “Look out everyone!”

Steve shook off the dizziness. “Literally not cool, lizard dudes!”

The salamanders filled their cheeks with more flames, only to be cut in half by Varvatos Vex. Zadra was at his side, a blur of athleticism as she swung and twirled her double sided scythe, butchering salamanders to smoking ribbons.

“Glorious!” Varvatos shouted. He turned and found himself facing another salamander and two hellhounds. The hounds circled him, growls and flames trickling from their maws slobbering lava. One pounced on Varvatos’ back while the other tried to sink its teeth into arm. The salamander lunged and bared down on his breastplate, trying to burn through it with its iron hot claws. “GLORIOUS!!”

He flipped and slammed the salamander on its back, whaling it in the face then slashing its neck. He changed his serrator and blew back the hellhounds with a round of laser beams.

“Glorious death will have to wait,” Varvatos said.

“Glad you have patience, Vex,” Zadra sighed, ripping her blade out of a salamander’s head.

A group of one troll, two Akiridions, and three witches were facing off against a hoard of skeletal ice bears and wolves. Archie swooped down seconds before they were overwhelmed, flames erupting from his mouth. Douxie and Zoe hopped off and went to town.

“Caeru ignium pompas!” Douxie lifted his staff high, the runes on his bracelet spinning and flashing. Balls of azure flames shot into the air before exploding like fireworks, streaks of heat raining down. The wolves snarled and tried to escape the shooting fire searing their frigid hides. Archie enhanced the spell with his own flames and soon all of the wolves dissolved to steaming, oily puddles.

Zoe pointed two fingers at the sky, her aura soaking up the energy in the atmosphere and pulling her magic tight around her. She took a deep breath, concentrating. Just as the bears were closing in, Zoe’s aura went taut. At her shout, dense bolts of hot pink lightning crashed out of the clouds and conducted at her fingertips. Zoe whipped her arm down and the cords of lightning followed, flogging four massive bears and leaving them paralyzed on the electrified terrain. Charlemagne finished the job with jets of dragonfire.

Douxie smiled and sighed, fireballs and lightning exploding all around him.

“She’s bloody amazing…Can you believe it, Arch? That’s my girlfriend!”

“Yes, yes, jolly good for you,” Archie groused, shaking frost off his wings.

“S-Sorry. Is everyone alright?” Douxie asked the fighters they’d saved. The two Akiridions helped the troll to his feet. They all nodded, grateful.

“T-Thank you, Master Douxie!” one of the witches said, tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Omg,omg,omg a Master Wizard just saved us and he’s super freaking cute!!” another witch squealed to her friend.

“More like super hot tamales,” the last witch swooned while batting her lashes. “My hero! Can I have your num—eek!”

One look at Zoe’s glaring face was enough to halt the fangirling.

Douxie blushed. “It wasn’t just me. But y-yes, right, you’re very welcome, ladies. O-Off you go then. Be careful!”

The three witches zoomed away on magitech broomsticks, one of them wailing about wanting Douxie’s autograph.

“You really are the worst,” Zoe grumbled.

Douxie couldn’t help his grin. “A bit jealous there, love?”

She zapped him in the side and he yelped.

Archie landed heavily beside them and downsized, huffing and puffing as he went onto Douxie’s shoulder.

“Are you alright, Arch?” Douxie asked, cradling his Familiar’s cheek.

“Need a break from being my dad’s size,” Archie wheezed.

Charlemagne chortled, holding up his paws. “Indeed, these are big claws to fill!”

A quake pulled their attention to the center of the chaos. In the middle of giant robots and behemoths, laserbeams and whizzing frospecters, magic spells blasting and trolls walloping, were the Titans fiercely locked in battle.

Fighters below scrambled out of the way as the Forest Titan was tipped onto its back. Its deer legs thrashed as the Fire Titan pinned it down. Lava poured from the Fire Titan’s plumage onto the Forest’s belly and hot claws dug into its sides. Nari screamed in pain, her Titan writhing in distress, all while keeping the Fire Titan’s snapping jaws off its face with its halberd.

“Nari…!” Douxie cried.

The Ice Titan came up with an arm reared to strike. Gigantic roots sprang from under its feet at the last second, flinging the Ice Titan forward so that it ended up cracking the Fire Titan’s skull instead. It toppled hissing and spitting off Nari, sprays of lava splashing.

“Skrael, you imbecile!” Bellroc seethed.

The Forest Titan rolled back onto its hooves, staggering from its injuries. Burns scrawled with fiery markings marred its underside. Nari clutched her stomach, breath stuttering. She clenched her teeth and stood straight as she could, glowered at Skrael going in for another attack. The Forest Titan held its halberd out at its side and charged.

A hellhound yelped and snarled as it blindly ran in circles. Luug’s mandibles were suctioned around its face while NotEnrique and Chompsky chewed on its legs, hordes of more gnomes swarming other members of its hellish pack. Alabast bawled in terror, aimlessly stabbing the air with his heartstone spear. The other trolls of Moonglow Hollow weren’t faring any better, swinging once with their weapons before turning tail, but at least managed to lead enemies to more capable soldiers.

“F-For the Moonstone, for the Moonstone, for the Moonst—AAAHHHH!!!” Alabast came face to face with an ice bear and made a bumbling run for it. It chased him right into the line of fire of wizards and was incinerated by rampaging spells.

Ricky, Lucy, and Queen Wumpa hitched a ride on Stuart’s taco truck as he tore across the battlefield, a laser cannon firing away from the roof. The Blanks torched frospecters flying overhead.

“Boom, boom, shake the room!” Queen Wumpa exclaimed while jamming her spear into a leaping hellhound’s stomach.

“Say what now?” Stuart said out the window. He squeaked when Ricky’s chipper upside down face appeared.

“Hit the brakes, champ!” Ricky said. “Unless you have stellar insurance.”

“Wha—YIKES!” Stuart swerved before his truck was crushed against the bulk of an ice bear. He did one huge u-turn, avoiding wizards but running right over salamanders, then slammed on the brakes, all passengers jerking forward. Stuart wiped his brow. “That was close. I do have pretty lousy coverage. Maybe cause I only pay with free guacamole ....”

The ice bear roared and barreled towards them. Everyone took aim, but before the frostbitten beast could reach them, thorny vines ensnared it.

One of the huge flytrap carnifloras pulled the bear right into its grotesque mouth with a sickening crunch. Dozens more carnifloras sprang forth to consume the mobs of enemies. Bushes of pansies and primroses tore into the flesh of ice wolves. Spruce tree carnifloras tackled the bigger hulking ice bears, rows upon rows of sharp teeth hidden within their needled branches. Ravenous tangles of fireweeds dug into squirming hellhounds. Tall silversword flowers skewered salamanders with hundreds of bladelike hairs. Duos of colossal tree carnifloras and combat robots tussled with the volcanic behemoths.

“Crunchy veggies are the best!” Lucy exclaimed.

Luma danced through the warfare with her heartstone dagger, single-handedly dispatching one foe after another.

Walter sliced through frospecters in the air. There was a blast close by. He turned a second too late and was caught off guard by an explosion of flames, his knives flying out of his hands as he slammed to the ground. The salamander hissed and crawled closer. It pounced as Walter reached to his belt…and ended up butchered in half.

Another monster lunged from behind and Walter whipped around. Nomura’s scimitars clove through the ice bear’s torso. When it fell onto its side, Walter finished it off with a hooked sunset blade to the chest. But he didn’t stop. Long after the bear went still, Walter kept hacking into it, his grunts getting angrier. A hand pulled on his shoulder.

“Stricklander!” Luma looked at the bear, chopped to cold pieces, then back. Her eyes were soft. “Enough. It’s done, my friend.”

Walter held her gaze while catching his breath, then looked down. Luma lingered a moment longer before patting his shoulder and moving away.

As his stare went from the broken remains of the bear to Nomura’s frost stained scimitars, Walter simmered. He glared daggers at the Ice Titan.

“No. It isn’t.”

The Forest Titan bashed its halberd into the Ice Titan’s scrawny waist, following up with kicks to its chest. It tried to impale Nari with its sharp right elbow as Skrael struggled to command it with his one working hand. Bellroc dug the Fire Titan’s talons into the Forest’s flank. Nari gasped in pain, willing her Titan’s hair to ensnare the attacker. The vines’ whetted ends littered the Fire Titan with cuts, black feathers swept away in the storm. Bellroc screamed and loosed a fiery wave, which Nari swiftly blocked with a magic shield. The Fire Titan’s ignited claws scraped against it, fern and scarlet sparks flying. Skrael charged up behind with deadly icicles protruding from the Ice’s arm. Nari flipped the halberd in her Titan’s other hand and swung, wood and ice grating. All three Titans backed off, shockwaves of their power rippling the air.

“Your foolishness knows no bounds,” Bellroc hissed. “Here we are, so close to doing away with this loathsome world. So close to making it anew! Yet you’ve chosen to delay it because of your idiotic affection.”

“Why, Nari?” Skrael seethed. “Why do you care about the vermin more than us?”

“Why can you not see that you are making a grave mistake?” Nari said. She gripped the halberd with both hands as the Titans circled each other. “Your bitterness has made both of you blind. I see now that all we have ever done is cause pain. But my friends, these souls you call vermin, still love me.” Her eyes went to Bellroc then Skrael. “I have never stopped caring about you. It is why I am standing against you now. Please…It is not too late to change and do the right thing.” Nari extended her Titan’s hand. “Stop this. Then we can be together again, as Father would want.”

To Nari’s surprise, Bellroc and Skrael stilled. A hint of nourishment for the bud of hope in her heart.

Aja and Krel raced closer and closer to the Titans, Aja covering her brother from frospecters and attacks hurtling from below.

“What’s going on? The Titans stopped moving!” Krel said.

“That works for us!” Aja said, shooting another frospecter its hideous face. “Let’s hurr—KLEB!”

Metal screeching resounded as a combat robot stumbled in their path. They veered out of the way, watching as it collapsed under the assault of a volcanic behemoth.

“NO!” Aja shouted when the behemoth broke through the cockpit. She looked up to see more bots going down, battered by flaming claws and melted by lava. Plenty of behemoths had been slain, but new ones continued to emerge. Even the tree carnifloras were starting to be overrun. “Seklos and Gaylen…!”

“Come on, Aja,” Krel said, voice quavering with grief. “We have to keep going!”

Nari offered her hand with bated breath, searching her siblings for any sign of yielding. The Fire Titan cocked its head, copying Bellroc’s musing. The Ice Titan shifted.

“Enough of all this pain and destruction,” Nari pleaded. “I will show what I have found. My friends can be your friends. Then we will be together in peace.”

Another pregnant pause. Then Bellroc inched closer until the Fire Titan’s muzzle was just within reach of the Forest’s palm. Skrael seemed perplexed, but followed suit, bringing his Titan forward.

“Your love for us has never waned,” Bellroc said.

Nari shook her head. “No. Never.”

Bellroc smiled.

The Fire Titan snapped down on the Forest Titan’s wrist.

“AHHHH!” Nari shrieked as hot knives shredded through her.

“Skrael!” Bellroc bellowed.

Skrael strained to raise both of the Ice Titan’s arms to seize the Forest’s shoulders, serrated glaciers piercing in. Nari was pulled back and thrown to the ground, the pain excruciating as her Titan’s wrist was ripped from the Fire Titan’s jagged teeth.

Bellroc took flight with their Titan’s mouth wide open as they shot towards the Heartstone.

“No!” Nari shouted. She kicked Skrael off and stood. All of her Titan’s vines whipped out in pursuit of the Fire Titan in the air. Several snagged its feathery tail while the rest constricted its talons. The vines went taut and the Fire Titan released a furious roar as it was dragged out of the sky and slammed to the earth. The Forest Titan ran and leapt onto the downed Titan, front knees pinning its wings. Nari pointed the tip of her halberd at the Titan’s long throat.

“Go on then, Nari,” Bellroc snarled. “Do it!”

Lifeless bodies littered the battleground, friends and foes alike. Only the foes were still coming, materializing from pools of magma and clouds of frigid mist. Carniflora numbers were dropping. Statues of trolls kept appearing. Spell-casters and Akiridions were losing steam.

Jim rammed Excalibur into an ice bear’s stomach, a one-hit kill. He rushed to a Krubera troll that had been speared by an icicle.

“You’re gonna be okay,” he breathed. How many times had he said this now? “It’s okay…Come on, stay with…” The Krubera turned to stone in his arms.

Zadra gripped the hands of a dying Akiridion soldier whose core had been blackened.

“Commander Zadra…tell our Queen I’m sorry…,” the soldier uttered as they started to fade.

“Don’t be sorry!” Zadra said, voice laced with sorrow and rage. “You fought well. By Seklos, House Tarron and all of Akiridion-5 will remember you. I promise…!”

Douxie was at Clancy Pendragon’s side. Half of the wizard’s body was burned beyond salvation.

“You’ll make it, old pal,” Douxie said, trying for a healing spell anyway. Tears leaked from his eyes. “I’m really, really sorry about your turnips. I’ve got you. I’ll fix this, let me just—”

Pendragon wheezed a chuckle. “You’re…somethin’ else…C-Cas…p…rn…”

He was gone. Soot swept between Douxie’s fingers and he screamed. Archie was instantly with him, nuzzling Douxie’s face. Zoe pressed close to him.

“No…No, I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…,” Douxie sobbed. “It wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough!”

“Douxie…,” Zoe breathed, head shaking.

“You did what you could,” Archie said.

A salamander approached. Archie positioned himself between it and Douxie, growling and going up to a lion’s size. Douxie glared. He got to his feet, supporting himself with his staff before turning it on the beast.

Before the salamander could so much as hiss, it was obliterated by a violent gush of water.

They looked up to see an aquatic serpentine dragon with fin-like wings soaring over them. What came next was an echoing chorus of monstrous roars and their sources filling the air. Hundreds, maybe thousands of dragons descended from the storm. Wyverns, amphipteres, oriental dragons, dragons with fur, dragons with feathers, dragons with multiple heads, more winged sea serpents. Fire enemies were hosed down by powerful spouts of water. An outpouring of dragonfire incinerated herds of ice bears and wolves.

“Holy cats…,” Zoe gasped.

“Well it’s about time you all showed up!” Charlemagne said.

“Aye there, Charlie! Long time no see!” said one of the heads of a dragon. “Thanks for the invite!”

“You get a mane cut?” the other head said.

“Wahaha, just a trim!”

“Looks good!” a feathery dragon said.

“When we gonna play cards again, Charlie?” an oriental dragon asked.

Archie gaped at the flocks of dragons still appearing. He looked at Charlemagne. “Dad, you really…? I didn’t even know so many dragons still existed!”

“Well you should know, Archie, that a round of Draconic Cards makes quite a scene!” Charlemagne laughed.

“That must be your shapeshifting boy!” a wyvern said. “Hehe, and his stinky little human!”

“S-Stinky!?” Douxie sputtered. “Wha—I’ll have you know—”

The wyvern flew away. “Stinkyyyy!”

Ignoring that and Zoe’s muffled snickering, Douxie’s grumbling turned to awe as he stood before the rest of their majestic reinforcements. All of his friends and their allies watched the skies, the relief breathtaking.

“Well this is insanely awesome,” Zoe said.

“You’re brilliant, Charlie,” Douxie said.

Nari and the Order looked up at all the commotion. Infuriated by the additional opposition, Bellroc commanded their Titan to spew blistering flames onto the Forest Titan’s torso in Nari’s lapse in attention. She cried out in agony and backed off. The Fire Titan straightened its long neck, biting Nari’s Titan around its waist. An animalistic rasp tore from Nari and she thrust her halberd’s tip into one of the Fire Titan’s wings, lava bleeding over feathers when it pierced through. Bellroc and their Titan unleashed deafening screeches in tandem.

Krel and Aja finally made it within range of the Titans. With Bellroc and Nari having it out, Krel decided to take aim at Skrael first. He peered into the scope, trying to lock on in such unsteady conditions.

“Get the shot, little brother. Hurry!” Aja said while blasting away frospecters.

Bellroc observed the dragons overtaking their infernal monstrosities and snarled, “It. Is. FUTILE!”

The Fire Titan retched another river of molten fire while the Ice Titan smashed its bulky arm to the ground, walls of jagged ice bursting up. Enchanted magma and ice converged, the lava trickling into the magic patterns carved into the glaciers. Puffs of steam rolled off the ice until the walls shattered. Nightmarish yowls like dying demons scraped the air. When the haze thinned, new atrocities emerged.

Deformed and discolored rooster heads with blazing eyes. Ghostly pale, snaking bodies hanging from exposed ribcages. They were zombified with icicle spines and icicle claws on both talons, yet red flames streamed from their sawtooth beaks and the span of their rubbery wings ridden with tears. Legions of these fiery ice abominations tore out of the fog and collided with the dragons like starved beasts.

“Kleb!” Krel swerved his hoverboard as one came right at him.

“Little brother!” Aja shot madly at the thing. Whatever it was was way bigger than a frospecter, so instead of poofing to dust it snapped around to crunch down on her hoverboard. It splintered in the creature’s mouth and Aja plummeted.

“AJA!!” Krel cried, speeding after her. He managed to snatch her with two hands before she landed in the jaws of a behemoth.

Nearly every dragon was wrestling with one of the horrific fire-ice monsters, biting, scratching, breathing the elements. A huge one landed in front of Douxie and Zoe, its gross rooster head twitching and its notched beak dribbling flames. Archie and Charlemagne leapt to their defense.

“Dirty basilisks, always on the side of trouble!” Charlemagne snarled.

Icy blue flames blasted from the basilisk’s beak. Charlemagne countered with dragonfire, both energies clashing with rivaling power. Once the beams dissipated, the basilisk and Charlemagne rushed forward, exchanging blows with claws and teeth before shooting into the air. The basilisk was twice Charlemagne’s size but he didn’t relent in the slightest.

“I have to help him!” Archie said.

Douxie raised his staff at more enemies incoming. “Go!”

Zoe called down more lightning bolts while Douxie summoned a tornado of cerulean flames, magic flaring in his eyes. Hellhounds were electrocuted to nothing. Ice wolves and frospecters melted away. But in their place came another basilisk wailing its spine-chilling song.

“Come and get some!” Zoe shouted with fists sparking. She caught Douxie looking at her. “I’m fine.” But the fatigue on her face and her sagging posture betrayed her.

Douxie was feeling it, too, the tiring of his magic reserves. The Titans were still going at it with no indication of lost magic from either Bellroc or Skrael.

“Come on, Krel,” Douxie pleaded under his breath.

The basilisk lashed its tail, flinging dozens of its icicle spines. Zoe threw up a shield then accelerated with magic at her feet, aiming punches at its head.

“Tonitru vi forte! ” she shouted, her knuckles colliding with the basilisk’s mug with the force of a car crash. It came with three thousand volts ripping through its skeletal body, and the basilisk skid across the ground shrieking and convulsing. But by the time Zoe caught up to deal the finishing blow, it was twisting its neck and breathing frigid fire. Zoe faltered, taken aback. Freezing cold consumed her. “AUGH!”

“ZOE!” Douxie watched her slump to the ground, squeezing herself and shivering. Magic cloaked his body and he plowed towards the basilisk with a rageful yell, eyes glaring. “ADOLEBI TO CINNIHIL!”

Sigils drew themselves all around the basilisk, trapping it in a furious bright blue vortex. The sigils’ patterns flashed and their rings doused the beast with an onslaught of magic flames. The basilisk flailed with blood-curdling screeches until an explosion ruptured the spell. Only crystal ashes remained where the basilisk once stood.

Douxie rushed to Zoe’s side while coming down from such a feat. His heart dropped when he gathered her in his arms. She was shuddering like mad, freezing cold to touch and her complexion turned deathly pale. Her right bicep was maimed with frostbite.

“I’ve got you, love, I’ve got you!” Douxie clutched her close, aura burning. “Calefacto, calefacto, calefacto…” He didn’t stop saying it for a solid minute. Gradually, warmth returned to Zoe’s body and she went limp. Douxie cradled her face. “Zoe? Zoe, are you alright?”

She curled against him with one big shiver. “And this is why I h-hate wintert-time…”

Up in the air, the duel between Charlemagne and the bigger basilisk raged on. Charlemagne dipped in the air for a second but kept flapping his wings, righting himself. Scars and burns riddled his body.

“Dad!” Archie soared close, flames building.

“Stay back, Archibald!” Charlemagne rasped. “This old dragon’s still got his fangs!” He roared as the basilisk lunged, dodging its beak and latching onto its back with his claws. Charlemagne sank his teeth into its leathery nape, shaking hard to rip its skin, then torched the wound. The basilisk yowled and lashed its long tail, icicle spines erected, catching Charlemagne in the side and knocking him out of the sky.

Archie blasted the basilisk’s face with red-hot flames before diving after his father. Charlemagne crashed, pained groans wheezing out of him.

“Father, are you alright?” Archie asked, pawing his wound-ridden chest.

Charlemagne dragged himself up. “Spry as a hatchling…! Charlie’s not down yet.”

“I’m staying with you. Ah—No, no. Not a debate!” Archie crouched low as the basilisk found them. “Come on then, you cockatrice prat!”

Archie pounced, fangs blazing, but he was tossed aside like a sock puppet. Charlemagne jumped back in the air and breathed his fire, swooping out of the way when the basilisk swung its tail. It started to give chase only to be blindsided by a fireball from Archie. They were all back in the sky, Charlemagne and Archie circling and bombarding the basilisk with flames. It whirled in place, the force of its wings slicing the air pushing back the onslaught, then set its sights on Archie, the smaller target. A stabbing hailstorm blew off the basilisk’s tail. Archie morphed into a hummingbird, zigzagging out of the way, then jumped back into his lion-sized dragon form as he rushed forward, slashing his claws down the basilisk’s chest.

“Ohoho, that’s my boy!” Charlemagne said.

But the large basilisk, bruised white and bleeding lava, wasn’t slowing down. It snapped its head down, serrated beak snagging the scruff of Archie’s neck. At Archie’s sharp gasp and shaken strength, the basilisk doubled down, rending fur and skin as it shook Archie like a ragdoll before flinging him down. A cloud of icy flames struck him in the free fall, worsening the impact when it came.

“ARCHIBALD!”

“Ugh…” Archie was small again, body pulsing with pain. The back of his neck stung like a slorr. He struggled to push himself up on his forepaws and looked up to see his father over him. Charlemagne turned back to the basilisk with a ferocious snarl and launched himself at the monster.

“You dare harm my son! Back, you demon!” Charlemagne roared.

He gored the basilisk’s ribs with his horns. It shrieked and bit him in the side, kicking its talons. Charlemagne hissed then sucked in hard, filling his chest with all the dragonfire it could hold before unleashing every spark onto the basilisk’s neck and face. The basilisk screamed and writhed as it was pelted with scorching energy, on the brink of finally being overpowered. Its hideous charred face started melting like wax. Its ribcage caved inward while its skin dissolved.

But then the fire stopped.

Charlemagne’s eyes widened. Broken sounds stuttered out of him. His wings went rigid. The world tilted. He looked down, trembling.

Sticking out of his chest was the icicle tip of the basilisk’s tail. With its final breath, it ripped itself out. Charlemagne choked.

“NO!!!” Archie bellowed, watching devastated as his father and the basilisk fell out of the sky. Charlemagne crashed thirty feet away from him, the smoking husk of the basilisk landing further off and breaking apart. Archie slid towards Charlemagne’s form. “Father…No…No!”

Douxie and Zoe found him.

“Archie!!” Douxie ran to his Familiar’s side, picking him up. “Fuzzbuckets, Arch, are you still with me?”

“You really took a beating,” Zoe said, gut twisting at Archie’s bloodied neck.

“Ngh…! M-My dad, he’s…”

Douxie followed Archie’s gaze. His heart sank. “Oh no.”

He and Zoe hurried to Charlemagne. By the time they reached him, he was barely breathing. Douxie quivered at all the lacerations and burns. When he spotted the gaping wound in Charlemagne’s chest, Douxie’s legs gave out. Archie rolled out of his arms and limped to his father’s side.

“Dad?” Archie uttered, nosing Charlemagne’s face.

Charlemagne blinked, slow and bleary. His voice was only a whisper. “Archie…”

“You’re going to be alright, Dad. Just hold on. Just…”

“It pierced my heart, Archie.”

Archie buried his face and paws into his father’s mane. “No. This can’t be happening. Please…I-I’m sorry. I actually love your puns and your pies. I…I m-meant to visit you more. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll…!” He nuzzled him.

Douxie rested his hand on Charlemagne’s neck, eyes burning with tears. “Charlie…No, mate. Don’t do this to us.”

Charlemagne smiled. “This old dragon never thanked you, Hisirdoux, for taking care of my boy. Would you look after him a while longer?”

“Of course I will. Always,” Douxie sobbed. “But really, Archie’s been the one looking after me. Your son is brilliant. The best Familiar a wizard could ask for.”

“And a mighty dragon,” Charlemagne hummed. He looked into his son’s tearstained eyes. “My Archibald. How you’ve spread your wings and flown.”

“Don’t go,” Archie gasped. “Don’t go…!”

Charlemagne closed his eyes.

“Archie, he’s…,” Zoe managed through ragged breaths

Frost crept out of the hole in his chest and blanketed his body.

“Arch…I’m so sorry, Archie,” Douxie wept. “I’m so sorry.”

“D-Dad? Dad!” No response. Archie wailed. “Father…!”

Charlemagne went still.

Author’s Notes : *CRYING WHEEZING AND MUMBLING* battlescenesgivemesomuchgriefwritingisSOHARDSADFADS;LFKJADFA;DJ

Yes, Charlie was always on the chopping block ;__; I still love him, tho. My poor boy Archie T__T

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter