[Closed]

[justiceisdue]

Characters: aiursfavoredson, justiceisdue, soulparadox, dungenessmaster

Location: Romania

Rating: PG-13

Time: December 8th

Description: Team Three Aliens and a Clone head to Romania to take care of a fire breathing dragon.

Comments

[aiursfavoredson]

Tassadar pressed on ahead not long after his words. He could sense Nataku coming up behind him, and moved to offer his arm the moment his Weapon touched against it. The gesture was well known between them, and the templar always felt some level of comfort from it. The moment that he felt Nataku's ribbon wrapping around him, Tassadar silently sent his Weapon a feeling of comfort and encouragement for what was to come after the battle.

His attention remained largely fixated on the area around him though. 'I doubt that it cares much either way for the land,' Tassadar murmured as they continued to press forward. Each movement he made was carefully placed, and despite his large size, the templar managed to move without sound.

Tracking came relatively easy to him, and Tassadar knew well that this would be a patient game. They would continue the hunt until they'd found their prey. 'We need to remain down-wind of the beast if we are to remain at an advantage,' Tassadar unnecessarily warned his companions. He wasn't certain how much knowledge Selendis had offered Karkat about their people, but he was in no mood to explain if she hadn't either.

If the beast could fly, it could be as problematic as the mutalisks he'd faced on Char. The Kishin Egg wouldn't pose as much of a risk, and while he did not have Zeratul and his Dark Templar here, Tassadar had three that he trusted without any shadow of a doubt.

[justiceisdue]

"There is little reason to worry for your Meister, Nataku," Selendis said, keeping pace with the other protoss. "Just the same, thank you for your concern. We will protect you as well."

The best way to protect one another, after all, was to fight and win. Even if the beast didn't fly, the fire was going to be a problem, and more destructive to everything around them than a mutalisk. The terrans, on the other hand, relied quite a bit on fire to do their work for them. A dragon may be just the right combination of zerg and human to slow them down, but they would overcome it.

Selendis made no move for Karkat when Nataku transformed, letting her weapon have the freedom of doing so when he wished. Just when she was beginning to think it was going to be a long walk, the wind shifted and brought with it new scents from the mountain. She stopped dead, certain Tassadar smelled it at the same moment she did. All of these monsters had a unique scent, but there was always something familiar about each Kishin that gave them away.

She said nothing, but opened her right hand for Karkat.

[dungenessmaster]

Muddy terrain or no, Karkat still preferred being his own damn troll to being carried around by his partner. He stubbornly kept up with the long-legged Protoss, at least until the wind shift brought the sharp tang of something unpleasant and definitely not human.

He grabbed Selendis's hand as she reached for him and transformed, and immediately he wondered why he hadn't just done that in the first place. Freedom to move around as he wanted was good, but in this form he had more awareness of their surroundings. At least he was sure if it'd been there, Nataku would've spoken up.

[soulparadox]

"Is it hiding?" Nataku wondered if something that was like a dragon would fear anything. Then, again, it seemed like it would be foolish of such a creature to stand before the two Protoss armed with that which could kill it. But, that is saying that it has some sense of self preservation. Most Kishin Eggs do not seem to exhibit such thoughts. "So this is the form that you are, Karkat."

It was an added, almost awkwardly so, aside. The ribbon came over to hover a little over the Weapon before returning to wrap around Tassadar's arm. He had yet to discover the reason that he was able to move was that he was taking the energy of his Meister to do so. Nataku only knew that he felt "more energetic" when he was attached to the Protoss. "A dragon. It is interesting. I wonder how we should kill it."

A plan might be prudent in this situation, seeing as the mission itself already seemed like it would be difficult. Difficult enough that it could not be completed on one's own. "Suggestions?" The ribbon turned its end toward both Selendis and Tassadar, asking the Meisters first as they were the ones that were immediately in danger. But, Karkat and I will not let them shed any blood. I believe in this.

[aiursfavoredson]

Tassadar had caught the scent on the air, and turned his attention towards the direction the wind blew in. If they were fortunate enough, the Kishin Egg was not yet aware of their presence. There was always the possibility that it had and was using the direction of the wind to lure them in, but given that they typically ate the souls of humans, that theory didn't seem to fit the situation. Humans, after all, could not catch the scent of others unless it was one strong enough for their weak sense of smell.

'It may not yet be aware that we are here,' Tassadar offered his Weapon while Nataku curiously peered at Karkat. One advantage to their retained abilities is that they did not need to speak verbally, and thus could keep their tactics purely between those they wished. It was that link that would make them strong, and as he took a step over to begin climbing up the side of the mountain, Tassadar murmured, 'If it has yet to discover our presence, then we would do best to close in on either side of the beast.'

That would also keep the fire hitting them both down to a minimum as well, but he didn't need to tell Selendis that. Heading off in one direction, he spoke to the Executor, 'Remain in sight, for I have not yet tested the limitations in regards to distance.'

Moving as quietly as he could, he focused his thoughts inwards towards his Weapon. You will need to be careful, Nataku. If we chance on the creature's head, I will get us in close enough for you to wrap around and close the Kishin Egg's mouth closed and prevent any further fire from being spilt.

[justiceisdue]

Following the scent took them off the burnt path, which was likely to wind and twist the whole way up. They might be taking a shortcut, or they might be walking into something they'd rather avoid. Times like these, Selendis sorely missed the security of air power.

Going without it, and walking into the trees, though, reminded her of the Asari Hunting Grounds on Aiur. There they relied on themselves and their senses for the hunt, and if it were not so cold she might pretend they were there now. What was left of the Grounds, anyways.

Selendis watched Nataku for a moment, considering she'd always been curious about the effectiveness of a ribbon in combat. It seemed almost absurd that the great Tassadar would arm himself with that, but she never doubted they were successful. She didn't verbally respond to Tassadar's command, as a simple thought of acknowledgement would brush his mind. While she split off from his path, they were not that far apart. It was not long before the faint scent became a stench, and it began to smell more like burned flesh than wood.

She gripped the axe handle with both hands, focusing more on resonation than speaking with her weapon. Their thoughts were all the same, though: if Tassadar and Nataku could catch the beast's mouth, she and Karkat could sever its neck without so much as a wisp of smoke.

It was only a dozen or so more steps before Selendis stopped again, tensing as movement caught her eye. The silver-blue scales blended well against the rock and snow, but they had caught the Kishin off guard this time. Finding it asleep was a good stroke of luck, so long as they didn't waste the opportunity. Again, she said nothing to Tassadar, but he would know when to move, and she would be ready.

[dungenessmaster]

Karkat's weapon form wasn't flexible, but his image could still be seen in the axe blade, leaning away as Nataku hovered near. "Yeah, this is my weird-ass form that doesn't make much sense. But whatever, as long as I can ruin a kinshin egg's face like this, who cares?"

He fell into surly silence as they broke from Tassadar and Nataku. The plan was a simple one, effective if they could pull it off, but Karkat has his reservations. Maybe it was different here, but dragons on Alternia were rare, powerful, and highly intelligent. This one had been scorching its path, making its location fairly obvious, which meant it was either stupid or had little reason to fear hunters.

Even given Terezi's annoying dragonsprite, he wasn't willing to assume this thing had lived this long causing this much damage without repercussions through dumb luck.

Without even thinking about it, he spoke to Selendis through resonation: "Watch yourself. Dragons aren't supposed to be easy kills."

[soulparadox]

I will carry out this action. Nataku mentally nodded at the plan. He would wrap himself around the dragon's mouth and the two with him shall carry out the killing blow. It was now that he was realizing that this was the first time that he would put his faith in those that were neither family nor his Meister. The first time that he would trust in those that were his friends. They will not let us down.

It was an odd sort of statement to make. He did not know if they could or could not, but he supposed that he should not go into a battle without confidence in those that he was fighting with. But I suppose I always fought alone. It is only recently that I fought with others.

The ribbon end turned to look toward Tassadar. He wondered if this too was considered growing that despite what could be called concerns, he was already dismissing them. Tassadar trusted in Selendis. He trusted in Selendis. Selendis trusted in Karkat. He trusted in Karkat. Was it because those two did so first, or was it his own decision? He did not know, but those niggling issues in his mind faded. Still, he wondered what their feelings were toward everyone -- if they wanted to safe them all or merely doing it for some other reason.

Dragons are meant to be strong. Nataku commented on something other than his thoughts to his Meister. It is why they are given their names. You be careful as well, Tassadar.

[aiursfavoredson]

Tassadar listened quietly to his Weapon as Nataku worked through his thoughts. He was pleased to see such growth when it came to his young companion, and when the talk of fighting alone was spoken, the templar murmured, The only way you ever truly fight alone is when you do not have companions in your life, he thoughtfully offered while continuing up the make-shift path he was creating.

He could feel the weight of Nataku's curiosity on him, but remained quiet while allowing his Weapon to work through his thoughts. While there was still some way to go, Tassadar had seen how much this world had changed Nataku for the better and had allowed him to grow. If nothing else, Tassadar was more than pleased to have been here to have experienced that.

I will do what I can to remain out of harms way, Tassadar offered in return moments before they rounded the rocky crop to come across the sleeping dragon in question. It appeared as though fortune was on their side, even if he and Nataku had happened on the tail end of the beast. That just meant that they needed to move quickly before the Kishin Egg caught their scent.

He didn't need to glance over to know that Selendis was on the other side. While they weren't in the ideal positions, they would simply have to make do. If they were fortunate, they could still catch the dragon off guard enough to give them time to maneuver.

The dragon in question twitched lightly as its large front claw stretched out during its sleep. The first head, one of three, yawned during its sleep before it settled back into the pleasant slumber it was currently in. The second ground its teeth together, while the third seemed to be sniffing at the air while it dreamt.

Waiting just a moment to see if it would settle, Tassadar glanced up to regard the creature's back. If he could bring Nataku as close as possible to the beast, then he'd be close enough to wrap around most, if not all of the necks before the creature could re-orientate itself. That was a plan he shared with his weapon while he regarded the dragon.

His large feet kicked off of the ground in the next moment. Rapidly closing the distance, Tassadar crouched down as he neared the Kishin Egg before he suddenly leapt up and over towards his target. His large form effortlessly cleared the tail and back legs as he landed on the creature's back. That instantly got a reaction from the beast, and even as it roared awake and began to rise, Tassadar kept his balance as he ran his way up to bring him close enough to allow for Nataku to wrap around the creature's throats.

[justiceisdue]

"We may not have had dragons on Aiur, but I do not lack experience in dealing with foes that are larger than I am." Her home planet had been a dangerous place, but the zerg were more of the threat she meant. Still, she appreciated his concern and he would know it through their resonation.

Staying low, Selendis approached the head - or rather, heads - while Tassadar was on the other side. If he and Nataku could catch all three heads at once, they should make short work of the monster. If not, well, at least she knew she was fast enough to dodge acidic spines from hydralisks. Fire would just make things more challenging, and she welcomed that distinction.

When Tassadar jumped into action, she wasn't far behind. Selendis ran forward, straight into the kishin's line of sight in order to get the attention of at least one of the heads. They had the advantage of surprise right now, and distracting it gave the other pair time to do their part. The beast was fully alert now, voicing its displeasure loud enough to scare off what little wildlife was left. Two of the heads were looking down its back, but it was doubtful it'd breath fire on itself. The third head turned on Selendis and Karkat.

Selendis planted her feet on the ground, ready to spring at a moment's notice. Either they'd be ducking fire, or running in for a quick kill.

[dungenessmaster]

Luck seemed to be on their side -- only one of the three heads was looking where it was supposed to. It wasn't enough to save them if Selendis didn't start taking this thing down quickly, but Karkat liked this situation better than what they were facing before Tassadar and Nataku jumped in. And he had fought alongside Selendis long enough by now to know he could trust her judgment. She was smart, fast, and a damn good fighter. He growled, adrenaline rushing, and focused on resonation and watching the beast's actions. If more heads swung around, or if it brought its claws or tail into this, he had to be ready.

Once again it occurred to him that being the weapon was kind of a raw deal, but hey, too late to cry about that now.

[soulparadox]

"There are three heads." A calm observation -- pointing out the obvious, he knew -- but he felt that it needed to be mentioned.

Nataku coiled himself close around Tassadar when he left before lashing out immediately when they landed. There would only be a small bit of time before they would be in "trouble." He wondered if he would have enough to wrap around all three heads, but he supposed that it was not the time to doubt himself. It seemed like the others would do the same -- to believe that they can survive regardless if logic may state otherwise. He wondered if that was correct way of thinking, probably.

As his mind carried on these thoughts, the ribbon started to warp around one of the mouths of the leftmost head while it left enough slack to go to pull down to try to pull it to wrap around the right head in a crisscross manner. If he did not have enough to bind all of them, he could do as much as he could to ensure that enough were hindered for Selendis and Karkat.

I'm so sorry for my fail at tags the last 2 weeks : <

[aiursfavoredson]

'Indeed,' Tassadar murmured. He could feel Selendis rushing into battle as he and Nataku began. Tassadar held no doubt that both she and Karkat would come out of this battle without injury, just as he would make certain that Nataku and himself would. That was why he leapt up and over the first incoming head snapped when the dragon attempted to get him off of its back.

Sighting the second one coming in from above, Tassadar kicked off to get around behind it so then Nataku would have room to reach out and snag the snout of the beast. It appeared to work, and when Nataku had a firm grip, the templar leapt up to latch onto the side of the dragon's neck. The scales made it easy to hold on, and he began to climb up further to put him in a better position to leapt to the next head.

The first head roared in anger when it missed. The second struggled in Nataku's grip as Tassadar found his footing and leapt over towards the incoming second head. All the while, the third head set its sights on Selendis and Karkat. Opening its mouth, it hissed as a long plume of fire emerged and raced towards the pair.

'Keep your hold on the first, and I will attempt to capture the second,' Tassadar called to his Weapon. He had every intention of looping Nataku around the beast's head before jumping back to the first head. If all went well, then he could at least pull those two together so that Selendis and Karkat could take care of the third.

no worries, we understand c:

[justiceisdue]

The dragon was up on all four feet now, and Selendis realized that while they'd surprised it, this wasn't going to be over as quickly as she'd hoped. Its talons dug up the earth, tail lashing back and forth and taking down trees. The good news was that it wasn't much of a multitasker, as most of the heads were preoccupied with Tassadar and Nataku.

Selendis started moving to keep the attention of the third head, but that was hardly necessary. Where she'd been standing not a moment before went up in flames, and even though it had missed, that head never took its eyes off of her. It snarled and roared as she darted back and forth, swinging the axe to entice it, but it wouldn't strike with its teeth. If it would come that close, she'd be done with it. Unfortunately, it wisely stayed out of range.

She paused for a moment to assess the situation and look for another angle, and the dragon chose that time to strike again. It snapped its jaws once, then let loose another stream of fire. Selendis hesitated, caught between her thoughts and reacting, and her instincts told her to ride it out. Nastier things had been thrown at her, and the plasma shields could withstand a lot more -

Too late she remembered her shields didn't work here. The security and reliability of them had been ingrained in her, but she'd been confident she could adjust. By the time she finally started moving, the fire was already there, and she could feel the heat bearing down on her.

yeah, no problem at all!

[dungenessmaster]

From Karkat's perspective, the fight was marginally more interesting than the usual kinshin beatdown because of the dragon's size and ability, but the whole strategy they had come up with earlier was pretty straightforward. So this thing was marginally intelligent? Big deal, he'd taken down smarter things during his travels through Sgrub.

He kept his eyes on the monster, using his admittedly very cool Weapon-related perspective to watch out for any nasty tricks, but as luck would have it, it wasn't feeling very creative; all it did was shoot more flames at them. He was about to roll his eyes and start complaining -- hadn't they already proved they could easily dodge this attack? -- but something was wrong this time.

Selendis wasn't moving.

Through resonation he could feel her calmly doing something, or at least trying to... and then having the Protoss equivalent of an "oh shit!" moment when that something failed to happen. Karkat's eyes flicked up to her, then back at the fire. She had finally reacted, but she wasn't moving fast enough, and he could already tell they were in serious trouble. He wasn't sure if Weapons could be burned, but he was pretty confident his partner could be.

His partner, who quietly accepted him and kept his secret, even if she didn't fully understand.

Desperate, he scanned the grounds for any sort of shelter, anything that could be used as a shield, fucking damn it she depended on him for survival in battle, and he hadn't thought about something this basic before now?

Another second ticked by. Heat was rushing in toward them, too much heat, and Karkat instinctively squeezed his eyes shut against it. So much for protecting his partner. Some fucking Knight he'd turned out to be.

At that moment, their resonation shifted subtly and a translucent red... round thing snapped into existence, conveniently between Selendis and the incoming ball of fire. Though it wasn't quite tall enough to cover her completely, there was room enough if she crouched.

will wait forever for you!

[soulparadox]

Tassadar. Nataku still did not know how to properly raise his his voice. Yelling never seemed like something that he should do, but he did feel a rush of something in his chest. It did not matter what it was, but he could only do what he was now -- looped over to contain the two heads yet unable to protect Karkat and Selendis. Even if he did not care about all people in the world, he did care about those two. Did they not make a promise that they would look after one another?

There was nothing that could be done at that moment. The fire was already upon them. He wondered if a Protoss's body could withstand such flames on their own, or not. The clone could only hope for the former while he tightened the hold on the necks of the beast they fought. It was all that Tassadar and he could do, correct? What was the feeling that was coming over the cold that settled in his chest? Everything was slowing down, but then it returned to normal.

What is that? Within his Weapon Form, he felt what he knew to be surprise. The two of them were safe. But how? One should not worry themselves with these thoughts. It is unimportant as of now, so long as they are safe... that is what matters. His logic was able to calm what emotion came over him. If they had died, he wondered how he would have reacted. He wondered how Tassadar would have reacted. Regardless, the beast would be killed within minutes. That was the only honorable thing to do. However, now, even though he could not say it was the most logical, he would say that Selendis and Karkat had the right to be the ones to lay the killing blow upon it.

"You two are all right, are you not?" He may be speaking prematurely with all his thoughts as they were, and so, he thought that he should make sure as he continued to move and wrap around the Kishin's body just as Tassadar instructed.