Story Notes:
Digladio means something in latin. see if you can figure out what it means.
Digladio
The young hunter stood at the mouth of the cavern, a chill ran down his spine. The young man was no older than sixteen, and was untested in the field of combat against a dragon. Dragons where powerful creatures of unimaginable strenght and wisdom, most where good and lived among humans in relative peace and tranquility. But some, like the shadow ones, chose to break that peace, seeing humans as weak creatures unworthy to live. The dark ones considered anyone in league with humans, the enemy. A big price had been placed on any member of the dark ones. Digladio sighted, it had been nearly six months since his father, the famed Securis had died at the hands of a dark dragon. Digladio had never really liked his father, but he at least had respected and admired him enough to take his legacy and become a hunter himself. So far, Digladio had only taken on minor hunts (Class 1) but for some unknown reason, two of the missions had nearly cost him his life. The first mission he had taken after finishing with hunter school had been to gather some rare ore found only in the volcanic belts. But he had somehow ended up in the center of the earth fighting the titan atlas for his life. Luckily for him, Atlas had deemed his efforts in combat worthy, even if they had been pathetic by pro hunter standards. Atlas had gotten some amusement out of his efforts to survive, so he granted him the 'right' to live. He also gave him not only the ore that he had been sent for in the first place, but also a small price, the Atlas lance. Now why Atlas had entrusted his lance to Digladio was a mystery. But thanks to the spear, Digladio managed to rise through the ranks with quite some speed, even helping to bring down the Shadow Groudon that had been raised by the none other than the dark ones.
The second mission that had spiraled out of hand had been when he had been sent to gather information on the dark ones. But somehow, Digladio found himself yet again fighting for his life. Not even Atlas's spear could match the dark dragon's strenght, and the dragon's constant taunting didn't help in the least either. Just as Digladio was about to get eaten and spit out, an arrow had pierced the dragon with such force that it tore it in half. The screams of the dying beast filled his ears. Too tired to even move, Digladio dropped into the cold ground, and just as he was about to pass out, the figure of a beautiful maiden clad in full battle armor graced his vision. As he blacked out, a voice rang in his head
"You're legacy will live on... even if you die... your blood will live on... in me..."
When he had awoken, he had been holding a strange weapon, a bow. His armor had been removed, and much to his surprise and embarrassment, his pants had been down and his legs covered in what had been undeniably his own semen and vaginal liquids. Digladio never told that to anyone, to him it had been clear that whoever had saved him had taken his virginity as price. And he didn't get to enjoy it one bit...
His only consolation price had been the bow. It was in the shape of an X, the strings interloping one another. The quiver filled with Screw shaped arrows. When Digladio had taken the bow back to the guild, everyone had been surprised to see the legendary weapon. The bow was none other than the legendary halo bow, named due to the halo found in the front of the weapon. According to legend, the bow had been forged by an unknown wind entity and was supposedly used by it to this day. But no one knew the exact identity of the being. The bow had the power to exploit wind, the arrow's particular shape made them super aerodynamic to the point of having a range of nearly a mile. The arrows spun in the air at such high speeds that it could rip and tear through anything, thanks to the giant stream of air that the arrow created in flight.
Because of those two hunts, Digladio had gained just as much fame as his father in the guild. He was known as "the lucky bastard" and most veteran hunters wanted him to accompany them in their hunts, hoping to have some of his luck rub on them. But all of that fame meant nothing to him now, soon he would be put to the ultimate test, he would go up against an evil dark dragon, and this time there would be no battle maiden to help him out.
Digladio took one final breath of fresh air before going over his equipment
"Dragonscale armor; Check! Elven tunic; Check! Halo bow;"
He flexed the bow to make sure it was ready for combat
"Check! Atlas spear;"
He folded the bow in half and placed it in his back. He then reached into his pouch and pulled out what looked like an insignificant piece of cylindrical crystal. He simply shook in his hand and it extended into a full-blown spear his length. It was clear enough to see through, yet stronger that even diamonds. At first it only retained the shape of a spear, but then with another shake of his hand, it turned into a scythe, then into a mace, then into a long sword, then into two handed broadswords, then into an axe, and then finally went back into a small tube no bigger than a hand. Digladio smiled
"Check! Well, that's everything"
He could already feel the cold air from the cavern. He took another sight
"Ok then..."
He rubbed his hands together as he took on a more serious look
"LETS DO THIS!"
He began to run into the cavern, carefully watching his steps for anything out of the ordinary.
As soon as Digladio was in the cavern, he was enveloped in frigid air, so cold it felt as though the place was an ice cave. He began to shake. He could clearly see his breath in front of him. Yet he pressed onwards, constantly blowing into his hands to keep warm. His mind racing over one simple fact:
"Maybe I should have brought some hot drinks to keep warm..."
That, and several other thoughts ran though his mind as he made his way deeper into the cavern. After about ten minutes of walking, he heard several voices echo though the icy air. Digladio began to tiptoe his way to the source of the voices. As he got nearer, he could clearly hear two voices arguing about something. One seemed to belong to an old man, but the other was that of a woman, she didn't sound too old. The voices grew louder
"You fool! Do you really believe it was that easy to get away? You have no idea how deep you really are?!"
The Girl's voice rang; a tint of fear could be heard in it
"STOP IT! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to see it! I don't want to do anything with it! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
The man growled, the sound of a slap bounced off every wall in the cavern. Digladio pressed himself against the damp cold wall. He carefully leaned over to catch a glimpse of what was really happening.
The man was not that old, maybe in his thirties, he had long hair that reached all the way to his back. He had a long beard formed into beads. He also had several beads in his hair, all in the front. The man had one rather nasty looking cut that ran though his nose. The woman on the other hand was no woman. She was a girl, no older than Digladio himself. She was kneeling; covering her face with her hands, silent tears dropped onto the floor. Both of them where wearing long black robes with hoods. The man simply began to laugh
"Look at you! You think crying will solve anything? It is already too late! You where marked for death the day you killed one of your brethren and mated with that impure piece of filth!"
The girl looked up in fear. Digladio finally got a good look at her, and much to his surprise, the girl was the very same one who had saved him about six months ago minus the armor. He let out a gasp of surprise, had she been the one who took advantage of him while he had been out cold? Digladio thought so...
The man shot a look in his direction, Digladio took a dive to avoid been seen. The man returned his gaze at the girl, tears where beginning to run more ferociously down her face. The man chuckled
"Pathetic"
The girl then began to beg at the man
"Please! Spare me! I won't speak to anyone! PLEASE! I HAVE CHILDREN TO TAKE CARE OFF! HAVE MERCY!!"
The girl was grabbing on to the man's leg. He shot her a look of pure disgust as he slapped it away
"It's too late. Should have though of that long ago. Now I have no choice but to kill you and your impure brats!"
The girl's eyes filled with fear. She once again grabbed onto the man's legs and began to beg
"PLEASE NOT THEM!! DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH ME BUT LEAVE THE CHILDREN LIVE!! PLEASE!!"
The man grabbed the girl by the throat. He smiled as he raised her to the level of his eyes
"Enticing offer, but alas, you have committed too many crimes against us. You cannot be spared!"
At this the man began to charge a dark aura around his hands. Digladio knew that there was no time to think. This girl had saved his life that day, it was only fitting he return the favor. Gathering his strength he took his bow and got it ready to fire. He began to pull the strings back as far as they would go, he could already feel the wind energy swirling around the bow and arrow. With one last breath, he took aim at the man's head and released the arrow. It flew with such speed and power that it kicked up dust into the air. The man smiled as the arrow got nearer. Just as it was about to strike it's mark, the man turned around and caught the arrow in mid air, only mare millimeters away from striking his forehead. The arrow was still spinning in the man's hand. Digladio could not believe what he was seeing; no creature was supposed to be able to stop one of those arrows, this was no ordinary being. The girl realized what was really happening and looked at Digladio. As soon as she did, her eyes went wide open with both shock and fear. She began to scream at the top of her lungs
"DIGLADIO!! RUN!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!"
The man turned to face the girl, tossing the arrow aside, which vanished the moment it hit the ground. The man's face was filled with both disgust and amusement
"Shira! Is this the one you mated?! HAHAHAHA! I would at least have chosen someone more powerful. You truly are pathetic!"
He tossed her aside, she landed in the ground with a loud thud
"I'll take care of you later. Right now I have someone else to finish off"
Shira tried to get up, but was blasted by something that made her stick to the ground. She struggled to move, but black robes of energy tied her down. Now she could only watch helplessly from the sidelines. The man began to laugh
"You must be the infamous Digladio I have heard so much about. I was expecting you to be more like your father!"
At this Digladio's eyes widened. He blurted out his next words; a tint of intrigue could be sensed in them
"How you know about my father?!"
The man chuckled in the most evil fashion imaginable. He seemed to be enjoying his prey's curiosity
"Easy. Because I saw him die!"
Digladio began to get worried. These where the same people who had taken down his father, which meant that they would be incredibly powerful. If this man could stop one of his arrows with one hand, just what was he really capable of? The man laughed
"By the way, I think you should know one thing before you die. Name's Ronac, remember it well, you will need to tell the devil when you get there!"
Digladio simply kept quiet, grinding his teeth. He held his bow ready, while Ronac held his hands above his head. They where surrounded by a dark aura. Suddenly, both of his hands had transformed into a pair of sharp dragon claws. Ronac smiled
"No need to go full force with you"
At this Ronac summoned a blade. It appeared to be made of some kind of gold material; it shone brightly and indefinitely like a miniature sun. Digladio held his hand in front of his eyes so as to not get blinded. Ronac began to laugh
"What's the matter? Can't handle you father's infamous Shining blade? How sad. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Digladio managed to duck in time to avoid Ronac's sword swipe. It was lunched with such massive speed and power that the very air around the blade ended sending him flying backwards. He spun in the air once while at the same time managing to draw his bow to the maximum length. Once his view came into range of Ronac, he let lose an arrow. It seemed as though it would strike its mark, but just in the last second, Ronac jumped out of the way and avoided the full impact. He was tossed several feet from his starting position thanks to the wind the arrow had picked up in its short flight though. Digladio managed to land on his feet. As he skid backwards several inches he pulled the bow back and started a volley of rapid fire arrows, not as powerful, but still lethal enough to get the job done.
Suddenly, Ronac jumped backwards and pair of black-feathered wings ripped right though his robe. They where attached to his back by a long membrane that stretched all the way to his lower back. Ronac let out a toothy smile as he moved back and forth nimbly. Thanks to his new mobility, Digladio found himself in a bad position, none of his arrows where hitting their mark, every shot he took felt like firing at empty air as Ronac dodged every shot. Ronac then moved on to the offensive as he lounged towards Digladio at full speed. Digladio barely managed to avoid the first swipe, taking a rather nasty looking cut in his arm as Ronac swept by. He raised his bow once more and shot an arrow straight at Ronac's body, who moved out of the way before the arrow could even manage to sweep past him. Digladio found himself cursing his luck. Ronac once again swept by him, this time picking him up from the ground and tossing him several feet towards the other end of the cave. as soon as Digladio landed he decided to try and change weapons, he wondered if that would give him an edge. He folded his bow in half and then pulled out the atlas spear. He changed its shape to that of a hammer. If he could manage to get a good shot at Ronac...
Ronac was laughing at the top of his lungs; the fool had pulled out a hammer! How on earth was he planning to hit him with such a cumbersome weapon? He had been better off shooting arrows at him; at the very least he had been attempting to dodge them. Ronac had to admit it; this kid was dangerous. But his mind game was working so far. It would appear that his prey had cracked under the pressure. Now was the time to administer the final blow!
Digladio managed to see Ronac pull himself back and then lounge at him like an eagle. Digladio began to charge all his strenght into this one blow. In order for it to be effective, he had to wait until the right moment, timing was everything. Ronac got nearer every second. He was now literally on top of him. Ronac put his sword in front of him, hell-bent on running Digladio though. Shira could already feel the outcome; she began to silently pray in some ancient language. Suddenly, Digladio could swear he could feel stronger and stronger. He began to hear the arcane chanting and realized what it really was. Ronac was mere seconds from impact, Digladio raised the hammer and brought it down with such force that it not only impacted Ronac and drove him into the ground, but it also left a colossal impact crater. Things where quiet for several seconds before Ronac jumped right out, managing to uppercut Digladio who stumbled back from the impact. As soon as Ronac landed, he fell on his knees; Digladio managed to look at Ronac, and realized why he was wincing in pain. Digladio's impact had not only managed a massive hit, but it had also broken both of Ronac's wings. They where both twisted in an odd angle, and one of them was broken in such a way that the bone had passed right through the skin. Blood was freely flowing from the wound. Digladio was the one to laugh this time
"Hammers may be slow, but their power should not even be questioned!"
Ronac hissed in anger. His eyes turned pitch black
"Looks like I will need to go full form to beat you after all"
Ronac tossed she shining blade aside and crossed both his arms in front of his body and began to scream. Suddenly, Ronac was engulfed in pitch-black flames that consumed his body entirely. At first Digladio was convinced that whatever Ronac had planned for him had backfired. But to his horror, a gigantic pillar of fire rose from the spot. Digladio was blown several feet backwards towards Shira by the massive shockwave. Shira's eyes where opened beyond normal, the fear in them was beyond anything imaginable. Digladio understood why. Before his eyes was a gigantic dark dragon, his body resembling a skeleton more than anything else. Ronac let out a roar that shook the entire cavern to its core. Digladio could feel the massive roar vibrate in his body; it was so loud that he had no choice but to cover his ears in other to prevent loosing them. Once Ronac had finished with his roar he spoke in a truly evil tone
"You little bastard tried my patience to the limit. No more fooling around, this time you DIE!!!!"
And with that, Ronac charged at Digladio and Shira. Digladio was still dazed from the massive roar, and was unable to do anything. Shira screamed at the top of her lungs
"DIGLADIO!!!"
But her scream was too late.
Ronac charged at them both with enormous fury. He made a huge impact on the wall as he did. Both Shira and Digladio where sent flying thought the air. As they both landed, Digladio could feel one of his legs snap from the impact. Shira on the other hand managed to land with her back, as she did, the magic black bands that prevented her movement vanished. For a few moments, she was dazed and unable to do anything but struggle to regain her posture. Once she finally managed to get up, the first thing she did was crawl towards Digladio, who was out cold. When she got there, she was horrified at the damage he had received; his leg was not only broken, the bone had ripped right through his skin. His head was torn open, and several of his ribs had been shattered, one or two where sticking out of his body. Shira could only shake in horror at the sight. At this Digladio began to recover from his knockout. The first thing he did was stand up as best as he could, his face was twisted in pain and agony as he did, but he somehow managed to stomach all of it in. Ronac turned around and once again and roared in anger. His massive roar was followed by yet another charge. Shira managed to grab a stupefied Digladio and jump out of the way. As Ronac passed them both, he made an attempt to stop his charge, as he did, he left a gigantic skid mark. Once Ronac came to a full stop, he spun around and began to charge a rather large beam of fire. Shira could feel the power that was being stored by Ronac. She got up, and stood right in front of the still laying Digladio. His eyes where dull and faded, as if he was drunk, Shira knew well that was a body reaction to lessen the intense pain from his injuries. Ronac let out a huge roar as the beam of fire shot straight at Digladio and Shira. Digladio was still too dazed to even realize that attack nearing him. Shira then extended her two wings while still in her human form and spun in place. The beam hit her back.
Shira managed to block the attack with her newly extended wings. She winced and grunted in pain as the attack began to burn her. Digladio was still too dazed to think clearly. Shira realized that Ronac would not let out his attack until both her and Digladio where nothing but ashes. Knowing that both of them would die unless she did something about it, she screamed at Digladio
"DIGLADIO!! YOU'VE GOT TO SNAP OUT OF IT!!"
Digladio began to slowly shake his head, as he did, blood dripped in every direction, it was running down his forehead as if it was sweat.
Ronac was putting even more power behind his massive blast. For Digladio, only the most basic of functions where still active. Shira stared at his eyes, as she did, she realized that there was only one way for both of them to survive. With tears in her eyes and a knot in her heart she spoke in between grunts of pain.
"Digladio... shoot through me... full... power..."
Digladio slowly shook his head; he would not harm Shira in such a manner. Shira began to scream in pain as Ronac's blast took on a whole new level of pain. Digladio gulped and raised his bow through the pain it gave him. He pointed towards Shira's abdomen and prayed it was a spot without any vital organs. His eyes where still mostly blank, but he closed them to block out the horrible image before his eyes. He drew the bow as far back as it would go, and began to charge for the attack. Shira let out a scream of agony as Ronac's attack increased even further, even her dragon skin would burn under such immense heat. With one final breath, Digladio shot the arrow.
It made a clean entry in Shira's lower abdomen. As it did, Shira closed her eyes.
The arrow made a clean exit through her body. Once the arrow was out of Shira, Digladio opened his eyes and let out a battle cry full of fury and power. Suddenly, the arrow began to spin ten times faster and picked up a gigantic stream of wind, so much that if it had been still inside of Shira it would have shredded her to bits easily. The arrow began to glow bright green, as it entered into Ronac's fire beam. Suddenly, the gigantic blast of energy began to be ripped apart by the arrow's trajectory. The arrow finally shot forwards at speed nearly impossible to see with normal sight. As the arrow traveled forward, the beam was completely disintegrated in its path, replaced instead by a stream of green light.
The arrow flew with such force, that it wiped up a small sandstorm. Finally the arrow made it's way into Ronac's gaping maw, the arrow was temporally stooped by Ronac's beam, as it spun in place, it began to tear the flesh off Ronac's snout. Finally Ronac let out one final roar of anger and fury as the shot did its damage. It entered through his mouth and began to drill right through him. It only took seconds, but the arrow plowed right through Ronac's innards with such force, that he was completely shredded in half. The arrow finally exited through his tail and impacted the wall with immense force, so much that it send a massive blast forward that what had been left of Ronac was disintegrated, and finally buried under a rockslide.
Digladio released his bow as he slumped backwards. He was panting from pain and fatigue. Shira fell on her knees, holding the spot where the arrow had pierced though her. She was coughing blood and wheezing. Digladio's eyes where the ones filled with tears of pain now, both physical, and emotional. He began to speak in a soft tone
"...Why... did... you... save... me... back... then...?"
Shira slumped over, holding her abdomen in pain
"I... saved... you... because... I... love... you..."
Digladio simply chuckled
"Some... love. But... why...?"
Digladio began to cough blood even stronger as his breath took on a whole new sound, one of death. Shira simply broke down into tears
"No! You... Can't die!"
Digladio simply laughed
"No use... trying to stop it. I knew it would happen one day... why delay it? Maybe now... I will find some peace..."
Shira shook her head as she tried to raise herself as best as she could manage
"You don't... understand... ever... since I... first saw you... I knew you where the one..."
Digladio coughed up some more blood. Shira did the same, but continued with some effort
"The one... I wanted to... have... my... children... with..."
Digladio finally spoke
"But... from... where... do you... know me... COUGH..."
Shira then closed her eyes
"I've been there... ever since... you where a... little kid... the girl... who would stand watching far away... close enough to see you... yet far enough for you to not notice me..."
Digladio finally saw the light. Was Shira that girl that would always stare at him during his training? The one who would shyly wave at him during school? He tried to get up, but only managed to increase his pain even more. He managed to get a few words out in between his grunts of pain
"But... why didn't you just say... something..."
Shira continued to cry
"Because... I knew well that you... would never love me for who I am"
Digladio simply laughed. Shira wondered what he was laughing about
"Just because my father hunted dragons didn't mean that I would not have loved you... as a matter of fact, I would have probably liked you... in the end..."
Digladio once again coughed up blood. Both him and Shira where in their final breaths. Shira then spoke
"We can't die... who will take care of the children..."
Digladio simply smiled
"So... it's true then... you where the one who raped me that day..."
Shira remained quiet. Digladio continued
"It doesn't matter. What is done... is done..."
Shira began to cry once more. Digladio could feel his life slowly leaving him. Shira could feel it as well. Her eyes changed from sorrow to determination
"I won't let you die! NO! YOU WON'T DIE!!"
She raised herself as best as she could, as she did, she continued to cough blood. She raised her hands towards the heavens and let began to chant
"Dragon gods up above...
Hear my pleads...
Give me the power...
Give me the life...
Please...
Give...
Me...
The...
HEART!!"
Suddenly, Shira began to glow like a rainbow, Digladio could have sworn that it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen his life. His pain was already fading away; he could feel the cold hands of death reaching for his soul. Shira walked up to him, all her wounds had miraculously healed. She was beginning to become translucent. She raised her hand and Digladio suddenly felt a force slowly raise him from the ground. Shira then held him close and looked into his eyes. Her voice sounded like that of an angel
"You will not die today... YOU WILL NOT DIE!!!"
And with that, she kissed Digladio. As she did, Digladio could suddenly feel life begin to flow trough him. He slowly began to regain his ability to move again. The first thing he did was hug Shira. He closed his eyes. Only one thing raced through his mind
"What could have been... is this... really... what...love... feels...like?"
Suddenly he could feel more and more life flow into him, even more than he originally had. Digladio opened his eyes, but this time his gaze was filled with horror as he saw what was happening to Shira. She was beginning to fade away. She pulled away from the kiss and smiled at Digladio, who simply stood there, his eyes beginning to fill with tears.
He knew well what Shira had done; he fell on his knees and screamed
"SHIRA!! WHY!!!"
Shira simply smiled
"Love can make you do crazy things..."
Digladio could not believe what was really happening, why would anybody give his or her soul for him? Shira smiled once more
"Don't worry. I'll be watching you... always"
Shira began to slowly fade completely from existence, but her face was not filled with grief or despair, but rather joy and happiness. She spoke once more
"Take care of our children..."
Shira finally disappeared. Digladio could only feel as though somebody had just tore out his heart. For the first time in his life, Digladio had lost something that had actually meant something to him.
Digladio hear several cracks. He began to look for the source of the sound. Once he found it, all he could really do was stand with his mouth open. Right before his eyes where ten dragon eggs. The eggs kept rocking back and forth as they slowly hatched. Digladio stood in place as he ten baby dragons slowly hatched. Digladio could only smile in happiness as he kneeled and saw the babies. His children. His voice was one of hope
"...Hello"
He turned around and saw his father's old blade. But this time, it had changed from gold, to pink. Digladio reached for it, but moved his hand away from it. He smiled
"Thank you Shira... if only... if only we could have been together like you wanted..."
Digladio knew that things had changed dramatically. What did the future hold for him and his children? Was his one of hope and happiness...?
Or one of suffering and harshness?
Only time could really tell.
Digladio walked out of the cave holding all ten of his newly born half-dragon children.
A pink blade was left stuck to the ground. It shone like diamonds.
The End?
The second mission that had spiraled out of hand had been when he had been sent to gather information on the dark ones. But somehow, Digladio found himself yet again fighting for his life. Not even Atlas's spear could match the dark dragon's strenght, and the dragon's constant taunting didn't help in the least either. Just as Digladio was about to get eaten and spit out, an arrow had pierced the dragon with such force that it tore it in half. The screams of the dying beast filled his ears. Too tired to even move, Digladio dropped into the cold ground, and just as he was about to pass out, the figure of a beautiful maiden clad in full battle armor graced his vision. As he blacked out, a voice rang in his head
"You're legacy will live on... even if you die... your blood will live on... in me..."
When he had awoken, he had been holding a strange weapon, a bow. His armor had been removed, and much to his surprise and embarrassment, his pants had been down and his legs covered in what had been undeniably his own semen and vaginal liquids. Digladio never told that to anyone, to him it had been clear that whoever had saved him had taken his virginity as price. And he didn't get to enjoy it one bit...
His only consolation price had been the bow. It was in the shape of an X, the strings interloping one another. The quiver filled with Screw shaped arrows. When Digladio had taken the bow back to the guild, everyone had been surprised to see the legendary weapon. The bow was none other than the legendary halo bow, named due to the halo found in the front of the weapon. According to legend, the bow had been forged by an unknown wind entity and was supposedly used by it to this day. But no one knew the exact identity of the being. The bow had the power to exploit wind, the arrow's particular shape made them super aerodynamic to the point of having a range of nearly a mile. The arrows spun in the air at such high speeds that it could rip and tear through anything, thanks to the giant stream of air that the arrow created in flight.
Because of those two hunts, Digladio had gained just as much fame as his father in the guild. He was known as "the lucky bastard" and most veteran hunters wanted him to accompany them in their hunts, hoping to have some of his luck rub on them. But all of that fame meant nothing to him now, soon he would be put to the ultimate test, he would go up against an evil dark dragon, and this time there would be no battle maiden to help him out.
Digladio took one final breath of fresh air before going over his equipment
"Dragonscale armor; Check! Elven tunic; Check! Halo bow;"
He flexed the bow to make sure it was ready for combat
"Check! Atlas spear;"
He folded the bow in half and placed it in his back. He then reached into his pouch and pulled out what looked like an insignificant piece of cylindrical crystal. He simply shook in his hand and it extended into a full-blown spear his length. It was clear enough to see through, yet stronger that even diamonds. At first it only retained the shape of a spear, but then with another shake of his hand, it turned into a scythe, then into a mace, then into a long sword, then into two handed broadswords, then into an axe, and then finally went back into a small tube no bigger than a hand. Digladio smiled
"Check! Well, that's everything"
He could already feel the cold air from the cavern. He took another sight
"Ok then..."
He rubbed his hands together as he took on a more serious look
"LETS DO THIS!"
He began to run into the cavern, carefully watching his steps for anything out of the ordinary.
As soon as Digladio was in the cavern, he was enveloped in frigid air, so cold it felt as though the place was an ice cave. He began to shake. He could clearly see his breath in front of him. Yet he pressed onwards, constantly blowing into his hands to keep warm. His mind racing over one simple fact:
"Maybe I should have brought some hot drinks to keep warm..."
That, and several other thoughts ran though his mind as he made his way deeper into the cavern. After about ten minutes of walking, he heard several voices echo though the icy air. Digladio began to tiptoe his way to the source of the voices. As he got nearer, he could clearly hear two voices arguing about something. One seemed to belong to an old man, but the other was that of a woman, she didn't sound too old. The voices grew louder
"You fool! Do you really believe it was that easy to get away? You have no idea how deep you really are?!"
The Girl's voice rang; a tint of fear could be heard in it
"STOP IT! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to see it! I don't want to do anything with it! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
The man growled, the sound of a slap bounced off every wall in the cavern. Digladio pressed himself against the damp cold wall. He carefully leaned over to catch a glimpse of what was really happening.
The man was not that old, maybe in his thirties, he had long hair that reached all the way to his back. He had a long beard formed into beads. He also had several beads in his hair, all in the front. The man had one rather nasty looking cut that ran though his nose. The woman on the other hand was no woman. She was a girl, no older than Digladio himself. She was kneeling; covering her face with her hands, silent tears dropped onto the floor. Both of them where wearing long black robes with hoods. The man simply began to laugh
"Look at you! You think crying will solve anything? It is already too late! You where marked for death the day you killed one of your brethren and mated with that impure piece of filth!"
The girl looked up in fear. Digladio finally got a good look at her, and much to his surprise, the girl was the very same one who had saved him about six months ago minus the armor. He let out a gasp of surprise, had she been the one who took advantage of him while he had been out cold? Digladio thought so...
The man shot a look in his direction, Digladio took a dive to avoid been seen. The man returned his gaze at the girl, tears where beginning to run more ferociously down her face. The man chuckled
"Pathetic"
The girl then began to beg at the man
"Please! Spare me! I won't speak to anyone! PLEASE! I HAVE CHILDREN TO TAKE CARE OFF! HAVE MERCY!!"
The girl was grabbing on to the man's leg. He shot her a look of pure disgust as he slapped it away
"It's too late. Should have though of that long ago. Now I have no choice but to kill you and your impure brats!"
The girl's eyes filled with fear. She once again grabbed onto the man's legs and began to beg
"PLEASE NOT THEM!! DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH ME BUT LEAVE THE CHILDREN LIVE!! PLEASE!!"
The man grabbed the girl by the throat. He smiled as he raised her to the level of his eyes
"Enticing offer, but alas, you have committed too many crimes against us. You cannot be spared!"
At this the man began to charge a dark aura around his hands. Digladio knew that there was no time to think. This girl had saved his life that day, it was only fitting he return the favor. Gathering his strength he took his bow and got it ready to fire. He began to pull the strings back as far as they would go, he could already feel the wind energy swirling around the bow and arrow. With one last breath, he took aim at the man's head and released the arrow. It flew with such speed and power that it kicked up dust into the air. The man smiled as the arrow got nearer. Just as it was about to strike it's mark, the man turned around and caught the arrow in mid air, only mare millimeters away from striking his forehead. The arrow was still spinning in the man's hand. Digladio could not believe what he was seeing; no creature was supposed to be able to stop one of those arrows, this was no ordinary being. The girl realized what was really happening and looked at Digladio. As soon as she did, her eyes went wide open with both shock and fear. She began to scream at the top of her lungs
"DIGLADIO!! RUN!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!"
The man turned to face the girl, tossing the arrow aside, which vanished the moment it hit the ground. The man's face was filled with both disgust and amusement
"Shira! Is this the one you mated?! HAHAHAHA! I would at least have chosen someone more powerful. You truly are pathetic!"
He tossed her aside, she landed in the ground with a loud thud
"I'll take care of you later. Right now I have someone else to finish off"
Shira tried to get up, but was blasted by something that made her stick to the ground. She struggled to move, but black robes of energy tied her down. Now she could only watch helplessly from the sidelines. The man began to laugh
"You must be the infamous Digladio I have heard so much about. I was expecting you to be more like your father!"
At this Digladio's eyes widened. He blurted out his next words; a tint of intrigue could be sensed in them
"How you know about my father?!"
The man chuckled in the most evil fashion imaginable. He seemed to be enjoying his prey's curiosity
"Easy. Because I saw him die!"
Digladio began to get worried. These where the same people who had taken down his father, which meant that they would be incredibly powerful. If this man could stop one of his arrows with one hand, just what was he really capable of? The man laughed
"By the way, I think you should know one thing before you die. Name's Ronac, remember it well, you will need to tell the devil when you get there!"
Digladio simply kept quiet, grinding his teeth. He held his bow ready, while Ronac held his hands above his head. They where surrounded by a dark aura. Suddenly, both of his hands had transformed into a pair of sharp dragon claws. Ronac smiled
"No need to go full force with you"
At this Ronac summoned a blade. It appeared to be made of some kind of gold material; it shone brightly and indefinitely like a miniature sun. Digladio held his hand in front of his eyes so as to not get blinded. Ronac began to laugh
"What's the matter? Can't handle you father's infamous Shining blade? How sad. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Digladio managed to duck in time to avoid Ronac's sword swipe. It was lunched with such massive speed and power that the very air around the blade ended sending him flying backwards. He spun in the air once while at the same time managing to draw his bow to the maximum length. Once his view came into range of Ronac, he let lose an arrow. It seemed as though it would strike its mark, but just in the last second, Ronac jumped out of the way and avoided the full impact. He was tossed several feet from his starting position thanks to the wind the arrow had picked up in its short flight though. Digladio managed to land on his feet. As he skid backwards several inches he pulled the bow back and started a volley of rapid fire arrows, not as powerful, but still lethal enough to get the job done.
Suddenly, Ronac jumped backwards and pair of black-feathered wings ripped right though his robe. They where attached to his back by a long membrane that stretched all the way to his lower back. Ronac let out a toothy smile as he moved back and forth nimbly. Thanks to his new mobility, Digladio found himself in a bad position, none of his arrows where hitting their mark, every shot he took felt like firing at empty air as Ronac dodged every shot. Ronac then moved on to the offensive as he lounged towards Digladio at full speed. Digladio barely managed to avoid the first swipe, taking a rather nasty looking cut in his arm as Ronac swept by. He raised his bow once more and shot an arrow straight at Ronac's body, who moved out of the way before the arrow could even manage to sweep past him. Digladio found himself cursing his luck. Ronac once again swept by him, this time picking him up from the ground and tossing him several feet towards the other end of the cave. as soon as Digladio landed he decided to try and change weapons, he wondered if that would give him an edge. He folded his bow in half and then pulled out the atlas spear. He changed its shape to that of a hammer. If he could manage to get a good shot at Ronac...
Ronac was laughing at the top of his lungs; the fool had pulled out a hammer! How on earth was he planning to hit him with such a cumbersome weapon? He had been better off shooting arrows at him; at the very least he had been attempting to dodge them. Ronac had to admit it; this kid was dangerous. But his mind game was working so far. It would appear that his prey had cracked under the pressure. Now was the time to administer the final blow!
Digladio managed to see Ronac pull himself back and then lounge at him like an eagle. Digladio began to charge all his strenght into this one blow. In order for it to be effective, he had to wait until the right moment, timing was everything. Ronac got nearer every second. He was now literally on top of him. Ronac put his sword in front of him, hell-bent on running Digladio though. Shira could already feel the outcome; she began to silently pray in some ancient language. Suddenly, Digladio could swear he could feel stronger and stronger. He began to hear the arcane chanting and realized what it really was. Ronac was mere seconds from impact, Digladio raised the hammer and brought it down with such force that it not only impacted Ronac and drove him into the ground, but it also left a colossal impact crater. Things where quiet for several seconds before Ronac jumped right out, managing to uppercut Digladio who stumbled back from the impact. As soon as Ronac landed, he fell on his knees; Digladio managed to look at Ronac, and realized why he was wincing in pain. Digladio's impact had not only managed a massive hit, but it had also broken both of Ronac's wings. They where both twisted in an odd angle, and one of them was broken in such a way that the bone had passed right through the skin. Blood was freely flowing from the wound. Digladio was the one to laugh this time
"Hammers may be slow, but their power should not even be questioned!"
Ronac hissed in anger. His eyes turned pitch black
"Looks like I will need to go full form to beat you after all"
Ronac tossed she shining blade aside and crossed both his arms in front of his body and began to scream. Suddenly, Ronac was engulfed in pitch-black flames that consumed his body entirely. At first Digladio was convinced that whatever Ronac had planned for him had backfired. But to his horror, a gigantic pillar of fire rose from the spot. Digladio was blown several feet backwards towards Shira by the massive shockwave. Shira's eyes where opened beyond normal, the fear in them was beyond anything imaginable. Digladio understood why. Before his eyes was a gigantic dark dragon, his body resembling a skeleton more than anything else. Ronac let out a roar that shook the entire cavern to its core. Digladio could feel the massive roar vibrate in his body; it was so loud that he had no choice but to cover his ears in other to prevent loosing them. Once Ronac had finished with his roar he spoke in a truly evil tone
"You little bastard tried my patience to the limit. No more fooling around, this time you DIE!!!!"
And with that, Ronac charged at Digladio and Shira. Digladio was still dazed from the massive roar, and was unable to do anything. Shira screamed at the top of her lungs
"DIGLADIO!!!"
But her scream was too late.
Ronac charged at them both with enormous fury. He made a huge impact on the wall as he did. Both Shira and Digladio where sent flying thought the air. As they both landed, Digladio could feel one of his legs snap from the impact. Shira on the other hand managed to land with her back, as she did, the magic black bands that prevented her movement vanished. For a few moments, she was dazed and unable to do anything but struggle to regain her posture. Once she finally managed to get up, the first thing she did was crawl towards Digladio, who was out cold. When she got there, she was horrified at the damage he had received; his leg was not only broken, the bone had ripped right through his skin. His head was torn open, and several of his ribs had been shattered, one or two where sticking out of his body. Shira could only shake in horror at the sight. At this Digladio began to recover from his knockout. The first thing he did was stand up as best as he could, his face was twisted in pain and agony as he did, but he somehow managed to stomach all of it in. Ronac turned around and once again and roared in anger. His massive roar was followed by yet another charge. Shira managed to grab a stupefied Digladio and jump out of the way. As Ronac passed them both, he made an attempt to stop his charge, as he did, he left a gigantic skid mark. Once Ronac came to a full stop, he spun around and began to charge a rather large beam of fire. Shira could feel the power that was being stored by Ronac. She got up, and stood right in front of the still laying Digladio. His eyes where dull and faded, as if he was drunk, Shira knew well that was a body reaction to lessen the intense pain from his injuries. Ronac let out a huge roar as the beam of fire shot straight at Digladio and Shira. Digladio was still too dazed to even realize that attack nearing him. Shira then extended her two wings while still in her human form and spun in place. The beam hit her back.
Shira managed to block the attack with her newly extended wings. She winced and grunted in pain as the attack began to burn her. Digladio was still too dazed to think clearly. Shira realized that Ronac would not let out his attack until both her and Digladio where nothing but ashes. Knowing that both of them would die unless she did something about it, she screamed at Digladio
"DIGLADIO!! YOU'VE GOT TO SNAP OUT OF IT!!"
Digladio began to slowly shake his head, as he did, blood dripped in every direction, it was running down his forehead as if it was sweat.
Ronac was putting even more power behind his massive blast. For Digladio, only the most basic of functions where still active. Shira stared at his eyes, as she did, she realized that there was only one way for both of them to survive. With tears in her eyes and a knot in her heart she spoke in between grunts of pain.
"Digladio... shoot through me... full... power..."
Digladio slowly shook his head; he would not harm Shira in such a manner. Shira began to scream in pain as Ronac's blast took on a whole new level of pain. Digladio gulped and raised his bow through the pain it gave him. He pointed towards Shira's abdomen and prayed it was a spot without any vital organs. His eyes where still mostly blank, but he closed them to block out the horrible image before his eyes. He drew the bow as far back as it would go, and began to charge for the attack. Shira let out a scream of agony as Ronac's attack increased even further, even her dragon skin would burn under such immense heat. With one final breath, Digladio shot the arrow.
It made a clean entry in Shira's lower abdomen. As it did, Shira closed her eyes.
The arrow made a clean exit through her body. Once the arrow was out of Shira, Digladio opened his eyes and let out a battle cry full of fury and power. Suddenly, the arrow began to spin ten times faster and picked up a gigantic stream of wind, so much that if it had been still inside of Shira it would have shredded her to bits easily. The arrow began to glow bright green, as it entered into Ronac's fire beam. Suddenly, the gigantic blast of energy began to be ripped apart by the arrow's trajectory. The arrow finally shot forwards at speed nearly impossible to see with normal sight. As the arrow traveled forward, the beam was completely disintegrated in its path, replaced instead by a stream of green light.
The arrow flew with such force, that it wiped up a small sandstorm. Finally the arrow made it's way into Ronac's gaping maw, the arrow was temporally stooped by Ronac's beam, as it spun in place, it began to tear the flesh off Ronac's snout. Finally Ronac let out one final roar of anger and fury as the shot did its damage. It entered through his mouth and began to drill right through him. It only took seconds, but the arrow plowed right through Ronac's innards with such force, that he was completely shredded in half. The arrow finally exited through his tail and impacted the wall with immense force, so much that it send a massive blast forward that what had been left of Ronac was disintegrated, and finally buried under a rockslide.
Digladio released his bow as he slumped backwards. He was panting from pain and fatigue. Shira fell on her knees, holding the spot where the arrow had pierced though her. She was coughing blood and wheezing. Digladio's eyes where the ones filled with tears of pain now, both physical, and emotional. He began to speak in a soft tone
"...Why... did... you... save... me... back... then...?"
Shira slumped over, holding her abdomen in pain
"I... saved... you... because... I... love... you..."
Digladio simply chuckled
"Some... love. But... why...?"
Digladio began to cough blood even stronger as his breath took on a whole new sound, one of death. Shira simply broke down into tears
"No! You... Can't die!"
Digladio simply laughed
"No use... trying to stop it. I knew it would happen one day... why delay it? Maybe now... I will find some peace..."
Shira shook her head as she tried to raise herself as best as she could manage
"You don't... understand... ever... since I... first saw you... I knew you where the one..."
Digladio coughed up some more blood. Shira did the same, but continued with some effort
"The one... I wanted to... have... my... children... with..."
Digladio finally spoke
"But... from... where... do you... know me... COUGH..."
Shira then closed her eyes
"I've been there... ever since... you where a... little kid... the girl... who would stand watching far away... close enough to see you... yet far enough for you to not notice me..."
Digladio finally saw the light. Was Shira that girl that would always stare at him during his training? The one who would shyly wave at him during school? He tried to get up, but only managed to increase his pain even more. He managed to get a few words out in between his grunts of pain
"But... why didn't you just say... something..."
Shira continued to cry
"Because... I knew well that you... would never love me for who I am"
Digladio simply laughed. Shira wondered what he was laughing about
"Just because my father hunted dragons didn't mean that I would not have loved you... as a matter of fact, I would have probably liked you... in the end..."
Digladio once again coughed up blood. Both him and Shira where in their final breaths. Shira then spoke
"We can't die... who will take care of the children..."
Digladio simply smiled
"So... it's true then... you where the one who raped me that day..."
Shira remained quiet. Digladio continued
"It doesn't matter. What is done... is done..."
Shira began to cry once more. Digladio could feel his life slowly leaving him. Shira could feel it as well. Her eyes changed from sorrow to determination
"I won't let you die! NO! YOU WON'T DIE!!"
She raised herself as best as she could, as she did, she continued to cough blood. She raised her hands towards the heavens and let began to chant
"Dragon gods up above...
Hear my pleads...
Give me the power...
Give me the life...
Please...
Give...
Me...
The...
HEART!!"
Suddenly, Shira began to glow like a rainbow, Digladio could have sworn that it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen his life. His pain was already fading away; he could feel the cold hands of death reaching for his soul. Shira walked up to him, all her wounds had miraculously healed. She was beginning to become translucent. She raised her hand and Digladio suddenly felt a force slowly raise him from the ground. Shira then held him close and looked into his eyes. Her voice sounded like that of an angel
"You will not die today... YOU WILL NOT DIE!!!"
And with that, she kissed Digladio. As she did, Digladio could suddenly feel life begin to flow trough him. He slowly began to regain his ability to move again. The first thing he did was hug Shira. He closed his eyes. Only one thing raced through his mind
"What could have been... is this... really... what...love... feels...like?"
Suddenly he could feel more and more life flow into him, even more than he originally had. Digladio opened his eyes, but this time his gaze was filled with horror as he saw what was happening to Shira. She was beginning to fade away. She pulled away from the kiss and smiled at Digladio, who simply stood there, his eyes beginning to fill with tears.
He knew well what Shira had done; he fell on his knees and screamed
"SHIRA!! WHY!!!"
Shira simply smiled
"Love can make you do crazy things..."
Digladio could not believe what was really happening, why would anybody give his or her soul for him? Shira smiled once more
"Don't worry. I'll be watching you... always"
Shira began to slowly fade completely from existence, but her face was not filled with grief or despair, but rather joy and happiness. She spoke once more
"Take care of our children..."
Shira finally disappeared. Digladio could only feel as though somebody had just tore out his heart. For the first time in his life, Digladio had lost something that had actually meant something to him.
Digladio hear several cracks. He began to look for the source of the sound. Once he found it, all he could really do was stand with his mouth open. Right before his eyes where ten dragon eggs. The eggs kept rocking back and forth as they slowly hatched. Digladio stood in place as he ten baby dragons slowly hatched. Digladio could only smile in happiness as he kneeled and saw the babies. His children. His voice was one of hope
"...Hello"
He turned around and saw his father's old blade. But this time, it had changed from gold, to pink. Digladio reached for it, but moved his hand away from it. He smiled
"Thank you Shira... if only... if only we could have been together like you wanted..."
Digladio knew that things had changed dramatically. What did the future hold for him and his children? Was his one of hope and happiness...?
Or one of suffering and harshness?
Only time could really tell.
Digladio walked out of the cave holding all ten of his newly born half-dragon children.
A pink blade was left stuck to the ground. It shone like diamonds.
The End?