Episode Twenty Four - Dragon and Mikana (Part 1)
Chapter Song Suggestion "Rivals by Alex & Tokyo Rose ft Power Glove"
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PAST | Dragon & Mikana
They were cold and starving. It was a harsh winter and they had nowhere else to go. Shivering hard, Mikana was worried about Dragon's waning strength and pale skin. He wouldn't make it through the night. She couldn't lose him; he was her only family left.
Snow clung to their lashes as they huddled in the open streets, relying on each other's heat to keep warm. It was no use. She could barely feel her fingers. They were as stiff as ice. Her hand gloves were threadbare from overuse, completely useless. Dragon had found them for her last year, though he went without.
"I-I'm s-s-sorry…M-mik-ka-na." Dragon's words drifted in the wind — weak and faint.
She gripped desperately onto her twin's hand. "Don't you dare fall asleep, Dragon! You promised you would never leave me alone!"
Eyes closed; his lips tugged in the smallest smiles. She noticed they were a frightening shade of blue. "I-I'm…an idiot. Shouldn't h-have…gone…f-fishing…,"
Mikana shook her head desperately, wrapping her arms around his cold body. Tears blurred her vision. "You were only trying to find us food. Don't blame yourself."
He was quiet. Too quiet.
She sniffled, fear making her sound smaller than the child she was. "D-Dragon?"
No answer.
She began to cry in earnest, begging him loudly not to die.
"I can help him if you'll let me."
Her head snapped up to find a man with a tall hat and a walking cane staring down at them. Distrust marred her young face when he extended a hand and asked, "What do you say? Do you want to live?"
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PRESENT DAY
Lars gritted his teeth at the radiating pain from his bleeding hand. Cutting edges of the man's spear perforated flesh and bone when he stopped it on instinct alone. Confusion and disbelief contested with the pain; his mind unable to process how this man was still alive. His head had exploded like a watermelon.
Dragon bared a feral smile, incited by the scent of blood. He licked his lips. "You're a very entertaining dog. Let me see what else you've got." He removed his spear, drawing a tortuous sound from Lars.
"How are you still alive?" Lars demanded through clenched teeth, clutching his bleeding hand. He was lucky it wasn't his dominant hand, or he wouldn't be able to fight.
"Why don't you find out," Dragon taunted, smashing the end of his weapon into Lars's cheek. "If you live long enough."
Lars spat out a mouthful of blood, glaring at his opponent before revealing a bloody smile. He ripped out a part of his suit to staunch his bleeding hand, reflecting his opponent's palpable excitement. "Brats like you never know when to pick your fights. This is one fight you won't win, kid." It was going to be a showdown between two beasts.
Distress bled into Eira's expression as she witnessed Lars's intense fight with the enemy. Everything happened so quickly. The scene was a collision of Lars's air blasts and flying sparks off the enemy's spear when their blades collided.
"Who are these people?" she asked Kaiser. "What do they want with the Razer?"
"Eira, get down!" Kaiser activated his defensive shield around them, encouraging the fireball to roll right off the invisible sphere. "Don't forget, that man came with an accomplice. She's locked onto us."
"That's an annoying weapon you have right there," a feminine voice drawled. "I'm going to destroy it. Why don't you stay down and die like the dogs you are."
More fireballs flew, rocking the shield.
Eira noticed Kaiser perspiring profusely, his jaw clenched. She levelled him a look. "Pardon me for asking Kaiser but how skilled are you in fights?"
"Unfortunately, I'm no good with long range hunters," he grunted, alert on the lookout. "My specialty is more on strategic defence."
It explained his choice of weapon, she thought. "Alright. I'm going to distract her while you retreat to safety. Save your strength for when we really need it." Sticking her fingers into her mouth, she whistled for Xue Long. "Feel free to jump in when you see an opening."
Eira leaped as soon as she caught a glimpse of white, trusting her predator to catch her.
Mikana's eyes sharpened, pinpointing Eira's identity – the peculiar. Well, this was no fun. Master would be upset if she accidentally killed that woman. Observing through her lens, she trained her weapon on the blonde man instead. "I guess I'll have to kill you first."
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No matter how many times Lars blasted a hole into Dragon, the man's flesh would knit and regenerate before his eyes. It made absolutely no sense. How was this humanely possible? Was he part of the organization they had been investigating? But if Cell III truly existed, then all of this was indeed possible. That was how powerful...and dangerous it was.
"Were your friends the one responsible for the corpses on the Oasis?" He threw out the question, hoping to get some answers.
Dragon cocked his head, his eyes narrowing. "Even if we were, why would I tell you anything?"
"Evading my question is an answer itself," Lars remarked evenly. "What is your motive?" He watched Dragon's expression closely, although the man gave nothing away, engrossed in the fight.
Dragon bound across the distance, connecting their blades in a furious clash. "You haven't won, so you don't deserve answers."
As Lars met Dragon blow for blow, his mind raced. If blowing out body parts didn't work, then he had to destroy this man's entire body. He amped up his reaper power, bypassing the maximum – the only shot he had. Once discharged, his reaper would be rendered powerless for a few minutes, leaving him partially vulnerable.
Lars reared back and swung his blade in retaliation, smug satisfaction on his face when it sunk deep into Dragon's chest. The man roared, spittle flying as tried to strike back with his spear.
Annoyed, Lars wrenched the spear from Dragon's grasp, deftly spinning it around to stab its owner in the heart.
Dragon roared again. "Fuck you!"
Driven by adrenaline in his veins, Lars sliced into the man's flesh, like cutting into butter – smooth, deliberate, and precise.
No longer quiet, Dragon was flailing and screaming in agony. It was then Lars noticed the tiniest anomaly. The more he cut, the more aggressive Dragon's body regenerated. Testing his suspicion, he made another deep cut, making sure to lodge the weapon inside.
The flesh healed before his eyes except where his knife was cradled.
A lightbulb flickered in his head. Checking his reaper, it was ready to fire. In a glorified cry, Lars bashed his thick skull against Dragon's head and sent him sailing across the cavern in a sturdy roundhouse kick. Wielding Dragon's spear in his hand, he hurled it along, watching the tip pierced Dragon's ribs, pinning the man high on the rock wall.
In steady footsteps, he approached the enemy. "I don't fucking care what your secret is. I live to kill anything that threatens mankind, and my instincts tell me you're it."
Blood gurgled from Dragon's lips, but he only laughed. "You'll regret killing me. Master will have his revenge."
"I'll deal with it when the time comes." Lars shoved his reaper into Dragon's belly. "Lights out." He pulled the trigger. It was bizarre how the man closed his eyes in exultation, revering his impending death. A blazing blue light of energy exploded around the cavern, strong winds whipping and rocking the place enough to seriously damage the interior, destroying the structure.
It was time to leave.
Lars whistled for Aeolus and hopped onto the predator's back, searching for Eira and Kaiser's whereabouts. He spotted them, engaged in a battle with Dragon's accomplice. But even they realized this wasn't the time or place to fight, not when the cave started collapsing around their ears.
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Mikana lowered her weapon, tears of sorrow filling her eyes as she felt the severed connection of her twin. Dragon was dead. And just like that, her will to live and fight ebbed away.
The cavern trembled, structures crumpling, and chunks of limestone threatened to crush them.
"Eira, we need to leave!" A man was shouting at the peculiar.
Eira's face was a battleground of turmoil, reluctance, and dismay.
"Your friend is right." Mikana made the decision for her. "Leave while you can. You shouldn't have to die here."
"I don't understand. Why are you helping me?" Confusion gripped Eira.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this for you." Mikana retracted her reaper, her expression wiped clean of all emotions. "You're a peculiar, an important chess piece for Master Veres. You mustn't die."
Eira took a step closer. "What are you saying? Who is Master Veres and what's a peculiar?"
Just then, a blinding light enveloped the area, so bright Eira had to shield her eyes with both arms. Peeking from under her lashes, she saw polished brown boots stepping out from a…portal?