The Dragon's Bounty III:Dying Light

Chapter 12

           Dagger slammed his fist down on the table.
           "Alright, let's talk strategy." He said, looking around at all his allies. Around the table from his right to his left were Khan, Kai, Lance, Huey, Duros, Tyrannus, Qiurac, Silver, and Cyrus, king of the M'Feles, with the dwarf leader, Tyre, on his shoulder. The seven deadly sins all stood in the back of the room, listening intently. On the opposite side stood Christopher, Ethan, Alexander, Jack, Iris, and Ekpen. Cyfrin floated on another side alone, having made it obvious he wouldn't take orders.
          Tyrannus nodded. "My men are not trained in wand usage as your men are, therefore I think the M'Feles and I should be at the front."
           Cyrus nodded. "That sounds like something I can get behind."
           Silver chuckled. "Long as me and my outlaws have bullets, we'll stick with range."
           Dagger nodded. "Like Tyrannus said, my men wield wands, ranged weapons, and one of my team is an archer. He happens to be very skilled as well."
           Huey nodded. "All of us have some sort of range, but I think it might be wiser to put all of The Dragon's Bounty in the front. We can take the Demon King as long as the army takes on his legions."
           Dagger looked over at Tyrannus. "I will give you control over my men while I fight the Demon King, just let Ethan, Alexander, and Christopher advise you."
           Tyrannus nodded. "I will not lead them astray."
           The Demogorgon stepped forward. "What will we sins do during this fight?" He asked. The other four nodded.
           Dagger smiled. "I was getting to that. We will need you to take on as many of the higher ranking demons as you can, while the military take on the lower ranks and the Bounty takes on the King himself. Can you do that?"
           The Demogorgon grinned. "Sir, yes sir. Hear that everybody? We've got a job to do." The other four smiled and nodded.
            "We won't let you down." Medusa said.
            "We will crush them all!" The Minotaur shouted, raising his fists into the air.
            Hydra yawned. "Whatever helps me get to sleep faster." He said, leaning against the Minotaur's leg in mortal form.
            Gibbs smiled. "I'm sure it'll be fun to work together again."
            Tyre jumped down on to the table. "What will we do? We're not as insignificant as you might think." He pointed at Dagger with a snarl on his face.
            Dagger nodded. "What would be fantastic is if you guys could make the land unstable on enemy territory, making it harder for them to fight." He looked over to Lance. "I meant to ask, how did recruiting the other races go?"
            Lance shook his head. "They've all agreed to help. Their forces will arrive at the designated location."
            Dagger smiled. "Excellent. I think we can handle it with what we've got. As long as we work together." Everyone smiled and nodded. "Alright, so sins, get the higher ranked demons, Bounty, fight the king himself, dwarves, keep em off their feet, everyone else, keep the demons off of the Bounty while they fight, and keep them in their place. Don't let a single one get past you. Is that clear?"
            "Sir yes sir!" Everyone said together.

           Aro sat in the tavern, rocking back and forth on his chair.
           "Why didn't we get invited?" He asked.
           Andrew shrugged, sharpening his dual swords. "I guess we didn't make the cut. But don't worry. I'm sure the strategy will be shared among everyone." Aro nodded. The two sat in silence for a few moments.
            "Andrew?" Aro asked. Andrew looked over to him. "Are you afraid?" Aro asked.
            Andrew frowned. "Of course I'm afraid."
            Aro propped his chin on the table. "You don't look like it."
            Andrew chuckled. "A wise man once told me that courage and bravery don't mean you aren't ever afraid." Aro looked over to him. Andrew smiled. "It means fighting through the fear and using it to fuel your success. Never give up."
            Aro smiled. "Thanks. I needed that."
            Andrew nodded. "That man was Khan." He said.
            Aro looked over to him. "Khan said that?" Andrew nodded. Aro smiled. "I didn't know Khan was so wise." He said.
            Andrew nodded. "He has his moments."
            Micah walked into the tavern. "Guys, I'm freaking out! We have two days!" He grabbed his blue hair and started pulling. "How do you prepare for a battle this large?!"
            Andrew smiled. "Actually, we've never had a battle this big."
           Micah slumped over. "Then how do we win?" He asked.
            Aro stood. "We win by fighting together and not backing down." He spun his bowstaff around, igniting it with blue energy.
           Micah took a deep breath. "Are you sure we can win this? The sins were telling me about the Demon King, and he's no walk in the park."
            Andrew nodded. "Though that is true, he's never fought the likes of us before." He said with a smile.
            Micah nodded. "I hope you're right." He said.
            Aro placed his hand on Micah's shoulder. "Well, we have to be right. Because I don't know what we're gonna do if we're wrong." Emma stormed into the tavern and kicked over a chair, Destiny on her tail with Blake in her arms. Emma sat down and crossed her arms.
            "She's been trying all day, and still nothing." Destiny said, placing Blake on to a barstool.
            "There's no way I'll get it out before he gets here." Emma said.
            Khan practically busted down the door. "We're taking the chest to an open location, and we're making camp all around it. Let's move." Everyone inside nodded.
            "So, you coming?" Andrew asked, looking at Destiny. She shook her head, glancing at Blake, who was sucking on his toe while he floated through the air.
            Aro tapped Emma on the shoulder. "We're leaving." He said.
            "I'm not going." Emma said harshly. "I'll be no help."
            Aro shook his head. "You've fought alongside us before. Plus, what if you pull the sword out and it's too late, you can't get there in time." Emma said nothing.
           Andrew patted Aro on the shoulder. "Let me try. If you're gonna mope somewhere, why not mope in the battle camp?"
           Emma glanced at him. "Whatever." She trudged out the door. Lance flew in through the window, embracing Destiny and locking their lips with a kiss.
           "I'll be back. I promise." He said.
           Destiny nodded. "I know. Just be careful." Lance smiled and nodded, turning and ruffling Blake's hair, looking at Aro and Andrew. "Well, let's get going, shall we?" Aro and Andrew nodded.
           "No better time than the present." Andrew said. Lance nodded, walking out of the tavern with his arms over their shoulders. Khan patted the tavern's doorframe, which let out a creak, as if to wish him luck. Destiny smiled and watched them go. Blake reached for his father, a confused look on his face. Destiny picked him up and hugged him.
           "He'll be back." She said.

           The Minotaur carried the chest over the grassy knoll, the Grand Alliance army behind him. A few hours later, they had arrived at their destination and constructed a camp in a large circle around the chest, giving plenty of room for the army to pop up. Everyone continued to train, Duros experimenting with his new meteor hammer techniques. Kai blasted flames in different patterns to learn new ways of fighting. Khan practiced channeling his energy to a certain point in his body, strengthening that point to its full potential. Huey practiced his shape control, having gotten a little better at his sharper images created by water. Iris was the complete opposite of Huey, able to make spot on images, but not able to control a large amount of water. She sparred with Andrew, who had become quite the dual swordsman. Aro spun around his bowstaff and practiced transforming in between bow and staff as fast as he could. The Demogorgon let Alexander use some of his flames, absorbing and exerting them as well as other magic from other places, such as some of Khan's lightning or Dagger's dark energy, which he was attempting to learn new spells with. Ethan created two spikes from his hands, using them similar to lances, sparring with Christopher, who didn't have any magic. Emma tugged on her sword every once in a while. That night, everyone sat around their own fires and ate.
            "Sometime tomorrow he's coming." Khan said, his face overcome with worry. "Can we do this?" The other members of the Bounty smiled and held up their fists.
           "Of course we can!" Kai shouted. "As long as we work together."
           Khan nodded slowly. "I sure hope so." He said.
           "I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting some sleep." Aro said, slipping his bandana down over his eyes.
           Khan shook his head. "He could come at any moment. Missing one night of sleep is not going to have much effect on our combat abilities."
           Lance yawned. "But Satan came in the night, so the Demon King will probably come exactly a year after Satan did, which is tomorrow night, not tonight."
           Khan shook his head. "That's what they want us to think, but if we wake up fighting, it's gonna destroy our combat abilities."
           Kai nodded. "I agree. I'm staying awake."
           Aro smiled. "Suit yourself." He said. Everyone in the camp but Aro had decided to stay awake. Finally, the moon was at its highest: midnight.
           Khan shivered. "Sometime in the next twenty four hours he will arrive." He said. Everyone nodded. A few hours later, the sun began to rise. Khan stood. "I'd get ready if I were you." Everyone nodded and stood except for Emma who sighed.
            "I'll join the fight when this thing comes out of it's stupid scabbard." She said.
            Khan nodded. "If we need you before, just use one of the soldier's swords."
            Emma rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She said. Everyone stepped out of their large tents and stood in a heavily layered circle around the chest, which didn't seem to move. Suddenly, a bright purple light shot down from the sky, right on the chest. The chest busted open, the top completely obliterated.
           "Here we go!" Khan shouted, powering up his electricity, summoning Fernokanus. Lance covered his arms and Calibrus in red power, Aro planting his fist into his hand, Huey's fingers on his neck. He powered up as Huey formed a large hammer on the hilt of Borathenus. Duros' hood slithered up around his head, his meteor hammer spinning around, Zenothius coiling together in his hand. Andrew strummed a tune to grow in size while Iris created an array of water knives behind her, two water katanas in her hands. Dagger went straight to summoning Tenebrius. Kai covered his body in flames, bringing out his Phoenix wings. Medusa became the large dark snake, while Hydra sprouted three heads and roared. Gibbs began expanding, becoming a dark yellow mass with tons of mouths with a pair of shades. Micah spun his pistols around in his hands, pointing them at the chest. Jack pointed his spear at the chest, his hands covered in blue energy. The Tritanus army pointed their wands. The M'Feles army held their ground with swords and shields. The Raalian army did the same. The pixies in the armies rose into the air and pointed their assorted colors down at the chest. The dwarves dove into the ground, Nickolas giving Kai a salute before digging down. Cyfrin appeared in the air and summoned a prism, which floated out in front of his hand pointed down at the chest. Khan raised his arm, summoning his shield. A deep and maniacal laughter filled the air as the sky turned to black and the landscape darkened to a sickly grey color. "Here goes nothing." Khan said.