"I'm toast." And I can't run back to clear Does misunderstanding right now. The worst thing is, that if you let things be for too long, they tend to solidify and become a fact. If I can't solve this in time, then I will have to bail as far as possible and that is something that no adult man should ever do. Normally you are not obligated to take responsibility for someone's misunderstandings. That rule however, is deemed void, when it comes from your own ignorance. You can't just run away from already established social behaviours. In near future, I will have to either resolve this predicament and somehow talk my way out of this embarrassing situation or simply run very, very far away, for the greater good of course.
Now, to sum my current position, I'll say this. In front of me I have a girl who is clearly a villain. For better or worse, I'll call her Puma. That is because I couldn't care less about her name. I will be running with my two girl baggage the very first opportunity I have, if the negotiations fail. I say baggage because the two of them are out cold right now. Running is also a very last resort. As a man, running with two small girls under my arms in the middle of a city full of people, would be a daunting task for even the most respectable of people, especially if they never dabbled in children kidnappings. I would leave it to your imagination, how it would look like if I run with two sacks on my shoulders while wearing all that armor and being chased by dozen men. Leaving the girls behind, would automatically transition me to a status of a total a-hole, so that option is a fat no, too.
Apart from the villain girl, there were six grunts behind her, including one obese guy in a ridiculous golden plate, covering his torso and leaving his protruded belly completely in the open. His armor was as impractical as it was silly. He was also trying to hold a halberd of sorts, but due to it's size he was barely able to hold it still. It was way to heavy for him. Even to my untrained eye it was obvious this guy should have never been given a weapon, particularly of such size. To top his bizarre weapons choice, his face was a literal fountain of sweat. Big droplets were pouring from his narrow chin onto his armor making all its non metal parts, drenched. However, he had one trait I was really jealous of. Despite his looks, he has something I never had. You might ask how I know since I don't remember squat about my life but, well... I do know. It's that simple. Call it an intuition. That guy has a thinning brown hair, kept in a long ponytail, but in his eye, you could see them full determination. He was striving for something. Those eyes were fighting tooth and nail for a win. Being so weak that even I could beat him... probably, and yet his eyes where brimming with fire. I could never match this guys spirit. In that aspect, he is far superior than me.
"Ravan. Again."
Puma girl sent a piercing, 'evil' look at the guy with a halberd and then pointed in my direction with her chin. I believe I ought to explain why I've given her that super villainous name. First of all, there are no black pumas. Leopards, Jaguars and panthers could be black but those are associated mostly with good or neutral terms. On the other hand you will hardly ever hear about a puma that is in any way good, so a black puma must be even more evil than a regular one and the very girl in front does not only look super evil but also pissed. She just radiates 'evilness' and I am seriously scared shitless right now. Her looks just scream 'I like looking at peoples' entrails and as bad as it sounds, she just challenged me to a beat down.
When it comes to her age, apart from being in a totally villainous years of her life, she is most likely in her twenties. As to what the very villain looks like, well... she has an evil bob, hair cut. I believe its called angel haircut, but on her it just looks, evil. To top that evil feeling off, her green muddy eyes are somewhat clouded, like she is partially blind. I should mention that If you look close enough into them, a strange feeling of being spied on would assail you.
She would be quite pretty if not for her general disposition towards evilness. Her piercing evil glare, makes her totally feel unapproachable and what makes it even more obvious, is the fact that she is holding a sword in each of her hand. Those swords look very evil and also very, very sharp. Remember what I said about general tropes when it comes to butlers? So, as to the general trope with evil girls, this one has a tight leather pants and a shirt that makes her look dangerous in more ways than one. It clings to her in a very evil way.
Most guards I've seen so far wore some type of armor. Even the most lousy guard had at least a crappy padded shirt, but this girl has nothing of the sort. She must prefer speed and freedom of movement, making her way of fighting even more evil. Dexterity is more of a domain of assassins and thieves rather than knights.
The guy in the golden goudy armor, clumsily bowed again and opened his mouth.
"Esteemed lordship, we posses the information about feline boy you might be looking for. We are ready to hand over the information about his whereabouts. In exchange we would ask for your lordship to fulfill two of our conditions."
Goldy wasn't very happy with his role. Being pumas personal voice tube must have felt humiliating to some extent. It was quite clear, judging from his sour expression. Still, I like him. The guy is humble and excellent at buttering people up. However, it is redundant and I am already used to the way people in this world act in order to get what they want. Catnip also titles me with lord this or lord that, although it's obvious to everybody that I am no lord. I can't deny that it is nice when people try so hard to please you, even if they have an agenda.
"I beg your forgives. We are aware that forcing a divine entity to negotiate is a sin in itself, but we hope for your understanding. I humbly ask your lordship to hear us out."
I smiled at him and gave him a reassuring nod. I urged Goldy to go on with that simple gesture, but in response he paled and started to shake. Every human apart from ninja butler, foamed or fainted every time I tried to make a simple conversation and it started to wear me out considerably.
"If your lordship would be so gracious and remove the oppressing cloud, it would fulfill one of the conditions. We would also besiege your kindliness in accepting a one on one bout with Lieutenant Valerie here. As I am sure your benevolence already know, she has considerable strength. She wishes to test herself against your lordships might. We present those two small conditions in exchange for feline boys whereabouts."
This guy sure has a way with words. I would be more than happy to oblige him, but there is a problem with their conditions. For starters I have no idea how I could possibly disperse the cloud above, not to mention that there could be a Tatsu in it right now. Dealing with it could be a hurdle of impossible proportions, unless I use my Mjollet and create a tornado or a giant fan with it. Joking aside, that toy is completely useless, taking into account that it is the same size as my palm, I couldn't possibly even hammer a nail with it.
Second problem is that I am not a fighter. That villain girl is out for blood, but I have no idea why she is out to get me. Discounting the particular case of the prison before, I have not yet done a single thing in this world worth mentioning. She has six guys to command right behind her back and if only they wanted to, they could beat me to a pulp at any given time. My only guess for this challenge is that the girl is a sadist and she likes beating and hurting people. The worst of all of this is that I don't even know if I ever had any kind of a fist fight before. I would be ok with fighting a girl, but that's because I know most girls would simply have no problems taking me down. You might think its ungentlemanly, but look at it this way.
There is a difference between a girl who is a fighter and a girl who is not. Like civilians and soldiers. Like pumped up gym guy and a librarian who never used a weight in their lives. Soldiers fighting civilians is unethical. That's common knowledge. However, refusing to fight a warrior who is genuinely seeing you as another warrior and is asking for a fair duel is simply disrespectful. Saying no to fight a girl who sees herself as a combatant would instead show that I do not respect her life decisions. If I refuse her I could be offending this woman. Still, I am inclined to a rather obvious decision. Of course, I'll refuse. Why? Because she has two bloody swords and obviously knows how to use them. I am a civilian and I can't envision myself fighting with this sadist, veteran battle junky, armed with deadly sharp weapons, while my only form of defense is a wooden palm sized mallet. This is an execution, not a duel. No amount of armor on my body will save me from being cleaved in half.
I will have to think of some way to change their conditions, but the first step to negotiations are introductions. I donned my business smile and direct it at the two in front. Proper way to show myself in a good light would be a wide and open smile with all my teeth on the display. Add straight posture, extended palms in gesture of goodwill and it ends up with body language telling that I am open for peaceful and civilized talk. Both of them tensed and focused seeing me getting all serious. It's about time.
"Hello ma'am, good sir! My na..."
"RROOOARRR!!"
"..."
...This, is getting old. You might have guessed already, but I was interrupted. Again. The culprit? Most likely, a tatsu. The roar was incredibly loud and along with it, the colorful, cloudy fog above our heads started to shrink at rapid pace. It was gathering above the prison grounds we escaped from.
"Lieutenant Valerie, you own me a favor for this."
Goldy spoke loud enough for me to hear and the girl responded with a nod.
"His lordship accepted your request, you will have your duel."
What? I am sure as hell I have not accepted a thing! Damn dragon ruined my introduction and the villain girl is already readying her swords! For heavens sake It can't possibly go any worse, can it now?
***
Far, far away, beyond boundaries of space and time, on the edge of truths and falsehoods, where consciousness is already sleeping in soundless void, there is land known only as a land of dreams. It is a vast space ruled by unfathomable powers and beings that no mortal mind could ever hope to understand. For uncountable aeons, these unnamed beings observed and guarded this endless expanse, stale, unmovable in their role, never to act. Their focus, for millennia unwavering and unshakable, suddenly changed. An unthinkable happened. Rules set over the domain of this void that consist of nothing and everything at the same time, started to bend.
In that space of no beginning and no end a minuscule crack, formed. Guardians emotions swirled around it as this unprecedented event took place. Countless eyes watched as the crack in the fabric of dreams came to life. It seethed only a tiny, little bit of the dream from the boundless dream world. But a bit of everything is still everything. It took only a fraction of a second, or whole of eternity if it had any count.
Ever watchful bodies of never moving guardians, moved. Drawn by curiosity, their sight pierced the veil of reality and laid on a little rock. It was peacefully traveling in the sea of stars, not minding anyone else's business and it never suspected to be spotted by the whole dimension of unspoken horrors and beings of boundless powers.
The young world Arrana, was caught completely off guard. It watched, like a dear seeing headlights, as the universe itself focused all of its attention on the little planet, fearing that the dream would spill to reality and consume it whole.
Young Arrana, that up until now bore no significance in the vastness of space and time, became a focus of powers far beyond it and their target was a little town in the middle of southern parts of its round body. Arrana came to understand that it was unknowingly sheltering an unusual guest. That guest was currently shaking in his boots, totally panicked, screaming in his mind for his plush toy to save his skin from becoming a skewered potato. It was worth to mention that the man was an adult, late in his twenties or early thirties.
The eyes of the universe, of reality, of horrors from the abyss of dreams and the very world of Arrana itself, focused their attention on the spectacle.
It all happened because the dream answered this mans plea. A dimension without matter, known physics or any comprehensible laws defied its rulers in order to grant a wish of a single man. To allow that wish to come true a tear formed in the dream and spilled a bit of its contents to a dreamless world. A consciousness was born in the form of ever changing colorful cloud. It squirmed and fought to affirm itself in reality. It ripped the space with all its strength to take a solid form and not disappear back to a simple dream, it was desperate because it was given an important mission.
From depths of world of imagination, from the very abyss, a dragon of dreams came to the world of Arrana and its instinct screamed to protect one insignificant excuse of a man, whose very existence will cause chaos and draw the eyes of the universe and the powers of void itself.
***
I am in deep trouble. Sparkling cloud has almost completely disappeared and villainous girl is slowly closing in on me with cautious steps and sharp swords. She follows even the tiniest of my movements with her piercing eyes. It is clear she is carefully scrutinizing my armor searching for best way to cut of my head. I have a rather high guard around my neck but I doubt it will be of any help against a girl who is specialized in hitting vital areas. The armor protecting my body may save me from a hit or two but this woman is surely a veteran of bypassing such things. I am quite certain that she is one of those that strikes fast and accurately and my head is fully in the open.
I gripped the little Mjollet in my hand tighter and cursed my stupidity for not conjuring a riot shield instead. I already look like a fool while holding it. Those guys observing and the girl are already generous enough not to laugh at me. It's obvious they took pity and decided not to hurt my dignity. I already said this once before, but dignity should be the most important thing in the world for a man. And for me too, even if I sometimes lose it, I always strive to keep it intact as much as I can.
No matter how stupid I look, I will play my part with as much solemnity as I can muster. I strengthened my back and prepared myself for combat. Both of my hands gripped the toy and held it close to my right ear. I stepped back with my right foot, making a full posture of a waiting Jedi, ready to strike the first enemy that dares to come near.
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Evil girl stopped in her tracks and started to measure me up and down. After a moment of contemplation she started to circle me around, sometimes stepping forward and at times stepping back. I already confirmed her to be a sadist, so I guess it's her way of playing with her prey. I was spared the laughs but that's the only thing they spared me of. It took her three circles, but she stopped and to my surprise she lowered her swords. Her eyes directed at the sky and stayed there, observing.
"Everything has changed. I don't know what he will do. Hmm... who's that?"
"Ma'am?"
It seems Goldy is as much in the dark as I am. I have no idea what that girl is talking about. I searched the sky too, for the same enlightenment, but I can't see a thing, unless you'd like to count stars popping here and there.
It didn't even take ten seconds for the darkened sky to lighten up with a colorful wave, accompanied by a burst of sound of a rocketing jet. I felt the earth tremble below my feet and not a second later a strange shape landed in front of me. It cracked the ground with extreme force, sending pavement and parts of the street along with earth in every direction. For the next minute I watched and waited for the dust to settle down and for my emotions to be calm again.
I needed to be calm. That was a necessity, otherwise I would end being totally embarrassed. That's because It is hard to maintain calm demeanor when your dark past is looking you straight in the eyes, I don't remember it, but the shame is still etched in the mind. It is already a full minute, but the character that landed is still in the same pose. The pose of a superhero landing. This isn't a joke, tatsu and it definitely is the Tatsu, is still crouching with a leg stretched to the side, while having one hand pressed to the ground and a clenched fist of the other high in the air. The only thing that is lacking in this scene is a fancy cape and a badass entry line.
"Master! In this dark hour, to lighten your burdens and vanquish your foes, I, have arrived."
I buried my face in my hands. God damn it all. This is definitely a dragon I summoned. Normally, I would think twice when making such statement, but it isn't a rocket science and you do not need a genius to figure it out. The girl has horns sprouting from her forehead and pointed backwards, half of the body covered in scales and tail long enough to be able to constrict you two times over. But it is not what made me sure. This girl is a definition of a dark past, that many children in different countries have during early periods of their lives. The best proof is that she has not yet moved and is still crouching with that ridiculous pose, clearly waiting for some kind of response. And I am afraid that it is all my fault. When I was very young, I have been calling the plush my greatest friend and imagined it having dark and mysterious powers. Tatsu is the outcome of my desperation and my stupidity. In all the blanks in my memory, this is the clearest part.
"Master, fear not, for I have come to put my body and my soul at your hands. I will protect you, I will fight for you and together, we will conquer the world and vanquish all evil. Injustice will writhe under our feet. The poor will be enriched, tyrants will be squashed. Master! Use me and together, we will take over this world and create an utopia, where everyone is equal and you shall rule over all creation!"
Suddenly, my knees began to feel weak. I was about to drop to the ground and foam started to gather in my mouth. Oh my god! This is far worse than I could have ever feared. To start with, she clearly doesn't understand what an utopia is and she has skewed idea about equality too. For the life of me, I have no idea why I clung to something like a plush dragon for my rescue. Whoever put me in this situation and allowed for my panicked idea to actually work, must be having the laughs of his life right now. Instead of a tank or a barrier I ended up summoning an obsessed dragon with superhero complex. The worse part is that she looks and talks more like a demon, spouting some cringe and very suspicious lines.
I really need some kind of limiter or humiliations will, never stop.
"You! Woman with black hair! I can smell your dark and evil aura from a mile away. Don't even think for a second that I will allow your filthy hands anywhere near my master. If you wish to fight him, you will have to go through me, first."
"Tatsu, j-just wait a second. I too, think that the Puma girl there is evil to some extend, but it is wrong to call people that. There are things you should never voice out. Adults keep such thoughts to themselves and solve things with a dialog. First of all, could you stand up already?"
I gave her my hand and helped her up. She is a good head taller than me and I've already acknowledged that my height is not what it was before I woke up in this place. I hoped for my little speech to reach her because I desperately want to believe that this girl is the type that listens.
"Master! You have given me a strong and magnificent name! I will forever cherish it. I will love, it and master with all my heart until the day I die."
Nope, that won't happen. I have to nail my point here.
"Don't be ridiculous! Also, stop with embarrassing lines. Be reasonable. We literally met seconds ago. I am not against girls drive for romanticism or the need for acknowledgment, but spouting nonsense at the top of your lungs in the middle of a street to a complete stranger is just wrong and tatsu is not a proper name. In Japanese it's just a general naming for a dragon. You shou..."
"Thank you! Master!"
She... she isn't listening at all! I doubt she heard a thing I said. She is all gang-ho, totally focused on having a serious fight. And I fear what she is about to say next, it seems she is adamant on destroying me socially.
"Now, my master said you are called Puma, right? I won't allow you to stain my masters boots with your filthy blood. If you dare to go against my master then I will fight you, but be warned. A seal on my right hand, holds the powers of cosmos and gate to the void of eternal darkness. If only my master wished it I could have plunge this world into slaughter already, purging it of all evil. If you are strong enough I may unbind my seventh sight and then, the council of dreams will set their eyes on you."
"A fight, I accept."
Tatsu is a hardcore nutjob! The only thing she is lacking to wrap up her persona, are bandages and an eye-patch. I didn't think it could go any worse, but it just did. I am quite sure there is no such thing as a chuni in this world so in most likelihood she will be taken seriously! She is spouting delusions left and right, but people here don't know that and the fact that she is some kind of a dragon-like will only further everyone's misunderstanding. There is no council or seals, but it is possible that she really believes in what she is saying. If what she says is true, then fighting her or unsealing any of her cosmic powers would just kill everyone and that is pure nonsens. My self blowing possibility is already tested, but her supposed powers are not. She might be fast and strong but apart from that she is just delusional.
Well, looking at the bright side of things, I guess I should be happy I didn't accidentally called Klauth or Firkraag and instead summoned this pathetic excuse of a dragon. Thank god she is a dud just like my Mjollet.
Cling... Clang...
The two girls started to duke it out. Tatsu moved first and jumped with incredible speed. Her fingers transformed to sharpened claws. Dangerous heavy swings were like a blur, with force ment to overwhelm her target. I could barely fallow them with my eyes. Puma girl dodged first few strikes and smirked as Tatsu made a big step forward to throw a punch.
"You're fast, but my righteous claws will strike you down!"
To my astonishment, Tatsu was effortlessly blocked by two swords and instantly counterattacked with a strong kick to the guts pushing her away. It must have been a heavy blow, since she crouched holding her stomach.
"Ugh..."
Tatsu raised her head and moved even faster after taking that kick. Apart from wide swings she started to use her tail to make sharp quick slash's aiming for her opponents head. However, Puma was always one step ached. Tail slash's were so powerful that they were creating real air cutters, slicing everything to bits right behind their intended target. Seeing the columns being shredded next to them, the guards still standing on stairs close by, hastily scoured away.
"AARGH! Stand still you MUTT!"
Tatsu redoubled her efforts. Her blows were becoming faster and heavier. Hands that were previously swinging mindlessly became more precise with each thrust. Claws and tail were only hitting air so far, so she began using her legs, occasionally even trying to bite. Failures fueled her rage and it was growing to the point where vapor started to come out of the corners of her mouth. She clenched her fists. Stomped heavily burying both feet in the ground. One after the other she began to hit the air with crude form of punches while trying to imitate karate posture. Each of those hits had unbelievable momentum, creating air bullets and completely devastating anything in front of them. The speed and power was so great that the friction each punch created, ignited the air setting the bullets aflame, somehow ignoring standard laws of physics.
"STAND STILL YOU BITCH!"
Tatsu was growing impatient, her flurry of punches were powerful, but not even one of them managed to land a hit. Black Puma was constantly dodging with minimal movements. Her upper body was just a blur. I do not know how she was doing it, but she could beat matrix agents at their own game. If even one of those punches hit, she would be a toast, but from the glimpses of her face, you could say she was full of confidence. She even managed to make a quick counterattack while masterfully avoiding every hit.
She dexterously rotated one of her swords to a reverse grip and moved it in a way so the blade was fully hidden behind her back. At the same time she used her remaining sword to parry Tatsus flaming punch sideways, disrupting her stance and gaining enough time to crouch. Second later she shoot upwards making a stunning back flip, releasing her hidden blade in a powerful upward slash that managed to cut through dragons defenses. There was a clear cut on now fully enraged rainbow dragons magnificent horn.
"I'll. Burn. You. To. ASH!"
Tatsus vertical irises were aflame. Rage and unbridled fury poured from her like a waterfall. She made good with her word as she gathered air in her lungs and spew fire from her mouth. It was a dragons breath that could obliterate everything in its path. The flames were blue and white, liquefying the place where Puma was just a second ago. That still wasn't enough. The target of those flames was standing next to the fire with a bit of smoldered hair, but apart from that, she was unhurt. Her eyes were still showing confidence and on her face was a triumphant, taunting smile. To make Tatsu even more mad, she made a hand gesture to come at her again.
I looked at my summon but the only thing I saw was a girl that went full bonkers, her eyes were spinning like crazy. With face full of intent to kill, Tatsu made an instantaneous dash, leaving behind deep gouges in stone pavement. She was only getting faster. Flurry of fists, kicks and tail swings forced the Lieutenant Black Puma to use swords to parry from time to time. It was a fight of speed and strength against speed and dexterity. Puma had to redirect attacks sideways, diminishing their strength in order to not be swept away by the sheer power of her opponents blows while Tatsus hands were covered in hard scales protecting her arms from weaker cuts, so she didn't care about her opponents blade parries.
Suddenly, there was a change and a standstill. Villain girl moved her face to the side, miraculously avoiding her head being impaled by Tatsus sharp tail end. There was a scratch on her cheek making it one to one in score for both girls.
Puma raised her brow in surprise for a moment, but she quickly changed gears and sent an evil smirk to her opponent, her taunting words drove tatsu over the edge.
"Are we learning?"
"AAARGH!! I'll murder you, bitch! I'll bath in your blood! I'll rip off your hands, legs and cut off your head, pike it and roast it along with your spine! I'll feast on your corpse and throw your bones to the dogs."
I would like to remind that this girl was very intent on eradicating all evil just few minutes ago, spouting about justice and whatnot. She has a hero complex for sure, but in my humble opinion, she is no more a hero than she is a villain. Leaving that be for now, we are about to have a more pressing problem. There are loud voices coming from the alleys from all around the market. Here and there more and more soldiers are starting to pop up. Looks like our time has run out.
"Little lizard."
Lieutenant Valerie attacked, both with mocking statement and with her swords. With speed, skill and ferociousness, far stronger than what she showed before. Her swords danced as the sound of blade hitting scales echoed around. Tatsu used her arms to defend against bladed onslaught, but it was clear she was overwhelmed. The gap in skill and experience was just too great.
To our already dire situation, another problem started to gather in formations. Gymnast mages in their ridiculous garments decided to join up the fray. Without a doubt, they will again workout their spells against us. We have no time left. I resolved my self and decided to help Tatsu the best way I can. I'll create a distraction for her. With her strength and speed, even a second could give her the edge. I hope that this pseudo-dragon will understand what I am about to do and use the opening. I can't think of any other way for us to escape.
I checked the Mjollet in my hand and mentally prepared myself. It's just a toy. But as they say, even the smallest things can win you a battle. Please, let it work. My foot took a step back and my hand fallowed suit. Time slowed to a crawl as my focus sharpened. Her name was Valerie, I think! She was moving so fast that even with time being so slow, her hand movements were creating a mirage of having dozens of them. I looked at her chest, imagining that my dud hammer hits her square in the center.
Short Tail said that this toy had some powerful enchantments. If there is at least a little bit of truth in her words, then I'll count on them. I gathered strength in my hand and made a throw.
"Hey Val! CATCH!"
"Huh?"
"Wha...?"
What happened next was, well... How should I put it? It may come as no surprise, but the damn wolf girl, was bloody right. Right then and there I vowed to listen to her even if I do not want to. Let me explain.
The moment the Mjollet left my hand, air cracked. My skin suddenly felt like there were thousands of ants crawling on its surface. Time slowed to a snails pace. I could count every wrinkle on Valeries surprised, dumbstruck face, as we both watched the hammer not larger than the palm of my hand, flying directly for her chest.
Every meter, this ridiculously stupid toy traveled, it ripped earth and stone off the ground and sent it god only knows how far away and with a sound of a speeding bullet. The only thing left in its wake was devastation. Lightning tendrils were shooting everywhere, unfortunately hitting poor guards that were trying to scatter away. They all ended up shocked or electrocuted, spasming on their way to the ground. Fortunately it seems they will survive this electrifying encounter. At least I hope they will. The majestic statue at the top of the fountain didn't have such luck as it was blasted off, flying somewhere far into the distance. Mjollet was homing on the poor girl without stop, while making a distinct gong sound. Seeing there is no escape she started laughing in a mad creepy way.
She raised her swords trying to block the hammer, but the moment it reached her, they broke apart, sending their shards just millimeters of her face. Mjollet reached its destination hitting her square in the chest. But it didn't end there. It was only gaining more momentum. It produced a blinding light and dragged her further straight through the banana shaped magistrate building, destroying it completely. It became a speeding rocket, dragging in a tornado like whirl behind it and all the stuff it destroyed along with it. It practically demolished the most important building in the city and dragged half of the district houses roofs along with it.
It was a complete and utter disaster.
"Why is my life so hard?" I watched as the thing I called a dud made a new shining star high in the sky. My hopes of getting rid of it dashes as It reappeared in my hand just few seconds later. I realized it wasn't a one time disposable toy, but a self teleporting Mjollnir of complete devastation. It's a thing I will never, ever use again.
"I am sorry I failed you, master. You had to make a move yourself, because I was too weak. I'll accept whatever punishment master will think of."
Tatsu was cut a little here and there but generally wasn't very hurt. She hang down her head waiting for my decision, but I had no energy to quarrel with her right now. I was incredibly tired. She might have failed, but the same could be said about me. We both failed.
"Lets... lets just go Tatsu. We should escape while we still have the chance. This place is a wreck. We might be able to slip somehow in all this chaos."
"Yes, master! Please hold on to me. Ill take us out of the city."
She hugged my waist and a mushy sensation enveloped me. She is a good head taller, but I couldn't care less at the moment. The soft sensation of a comfortable bean back chair took me in and the next thing I knew I was sitting on Tatsus neck, close to the ridge. Catnip and shorty was already there with me. Her full form was large, elegant and beautiful. Her scales glittered with lustrous colors. If I were to classify her, as I said before, I would say she is a rainbow dragon.
"Tat, grab, that guy with the shiny armor and lets get out of here. I don't think I can stomach anything more today."
I gave my word to Catnip and that man has the information we need on her brother. As drained as I am, I can't miss this chance.
Sun has already finished it's job for today and night has fully taken over. Wherever future decided to guide us, for now, only two moons were accompanying us on our way forward.
With their light as a beacon, me, Tatsu, Catnip and Furry, were flying on. We were on our way to save a little boy from his cruel fate.