"We've got to get these birds refueled and restocked ASAP, so were going to pass directly over the temple at 45,000 feet. That will be your chance to infiltrate. We cant risk getting any closer just in case he set up anti air deployments." The pilot stated to us over the radios.
"Thats fine. Get Mrs.Faline some medical help when you get back to Romeo, then come back to extract us. We gotta be ready to leave incase he has anything set up as a failsafe." Tyro replied looking over my mom.
"Romeo?" I asked.
"Yeah. We were warned of Lungs plan by my buddy Nolan, who is in command of a Resistance Base called Romeo. He told me to get my ass there ASAP." He laughed.
"Close call huh?" I asked.
"Oh yeah." He replied. I looked at my mother, who was sleeping soundly against Nina. This was the first time in years she was able to sleep soundly according to her, and it was obvious that she needed it. I watched her sleep as the images of the ship we had been held on slid underneath the waves, its deck and parts of the hull on fire as its fuel caught. Something inside me said that this is the way he had wanted to go all along. That he had finally made everything right with himself, and he was ready.
"Don't worry Shadow, your mom will be taken care of, ill make sure my buddy knows that." Tyro said as he sat down beside me.
"Thats not on my mind." I replied as i watched over my mate, and my mother.
"He gave his life so you could live yours. And in turn, you have taken in his legend as your own. I think thats a good trade considering you knew nothing of his real actions." Tyro stated wrapping a wing around me.
"You think so huh?" I asked looking up at him.
"Oh yeah." He smiled.
"Thanks." I replied.
"Oh, and one more thing." He stated.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Im going to get a mask made for Ace like that." He smiled.
"He'd like it." I laughed. Tyro laughed as well before letting me go and walking to the rear hatch of the V22.
"Were coming over the temple. You've got 30 seconds." The pilot stated. Nina stood and walked to my side.
"What do you think your doing?" I asked watching as she tightened her vest around her. She then tightened the vest i managed to grab off one of the dragons who had joined the rescue team. It was a 50 Cal vest, but felt right on my back.
"Im coming along." She replied.
"No, this is between Lung and I. I don't want you to get hurt Nina." I replied.
"Ive got a bone to pick with him as well you know. He killed my father as well, so shut your muzzle, and let this happen." She stated with a smile.
"Alright then. At least one of us better come home. I don't want my kid raised my Tyro." I sighed glancing at Tyro. His ears fell against his hear and he opened his mouth wide.
"Whaaaaaaat!? Im a damn good dad." He said loudly causing us to laugh.
"10 seconds." The pilot shouted. Tyro punched the hatch release and the hatch began to open.
"Well then, ill see you all on the flip side." Tyro shouted before leaping out the hatch. Nina quickly followed him as they both disappeared into the night sky. I walked to the hatch and glanced at my sleeping mother one more time, just in case i didn't make it back to her. With one last smile, i hit the hatch close button and leapt after Tyro and Nina.
The hum of the V22's engines died off in seconds as i fell. I watched it go before flipping face down toward the temple. I could barely make out Tyro and Nina's body's in the night sky as we dove toward our targets. I could see Tyro making acrobatic twists as we flew.
"Whats got you so happy?" I asked over the coms and the roaring wind.
"Were finally going to end this." He replied through the coms, the wind around him almost overwhelming his voice. I folded my wings and tucked myself as tight as i could to gain speed. Within seconds, i was rocketing toward Nina and Tyro, quickly overtaking them as i rocketed toward the temple.
"Wow fuck!?" Tyro yelped over the coms causing me to smile.
"Slow your ass down or your going to shred your wings moron!" Nina shouted. I laughed and rolled around so my stomach was toward the ground. My speed dropped immediately.
"Were at 5,000 feet." Tyro stated as we all began to drop our speed. Soon, it was safe for us to open our wings and diving became gliding. We flew in a V formation over the temple for an observation run. Below us, we could see the bodies of the monks who had been at the temple, the bodies of a handful of adult, and child dragons.
"So, he's already carried out his orders." Tyro growled.
"Lets go. If we wait any longer he could run again." Nina stated dropping quickly toward the entrance to the temple.
"If he escapes again, this time ill follow him until he's at the gates of hell." I growled as my paws touched down. Inside the ?halls, we could see more dragon and monk bodies.
"He did all this?" I asked in shock that one dragon could kill so many.
"If so, then he is one tough dragon." Tyro replied as we walked through the puddles of blood and further into the temple.
"If he's still here, he will be in his quarters." Tyro stated as we all came to a stop.
"If thats the case, then we should split up. I know there are 3 ways in, so, you and Nina should hide and ambush him when i grab his attention." I stated starring down the hallway. Tyro nodded.
"Good idea. It seems your fathers ability to plan on the run passed to you." Tyro laughed.
"Well then, ill take the right." Nina smiled before disappearing into a dark hallway to the right of the main hallway.
"Don't die alright?" Tyro stated as he disappeared down a hallway to the left leaving my on my own. With a deep breath, i walked down the dimly lit main hallway. Torches every 10 yards were placed on either side of the wall making the darkened temple seem more ancient than it actually was. As i walked, i couldn't help but wonder what would happen after this. Would we finally be free? Free to live our lives as a separate race away from humanity? Would we live alongside humanity? Or are we setting up our own genocide? My thoughts were shut off as i made my way to a large door. It was about twice the size of Tyro, and about as wide as my wingspan. The wood was carved with images of Dragons, both western, and eastern style. I took one last deep breath before opening the door and stepping into the dark room. The room was in a hexagon shape with pillars close to the outer wall at 6 points. The roof was convex, and rounded toward the sky. On each of the pillars was a large, bright torch. But even 6 bright torches weren't enough to completely brighten the dim room. In front of me was Lung Wei, sitting with his back toward me, and his face toward a large statue of an asian style dragon. Its eyes were emeralds that seemed to follow you wherever you went.
"This is my most prized possession. The monks created it to earn access to my temple." Lung said as a loud crack filled the air.
"BLEH!!" Lung shouted before spitting what looked to be half of a Monk away from him.
"Damn monks don't even taste that good. Dragons on the other hand, they taste different with every one you try. Females taste more sweet and tender, and males taste tougher with a spice touch. Now dragonets, they taste the best. Like heaven in a small pile of flesh." Lung laughed as he spun to look at me. His claws and muzzle were covered with blood. I growled as we starred each other down.
"So, you managed to escape, and you took your fathers will with you huh?" Lung laughed.
"Im doing this for him. He gave me more than i can ever wish for, so, I'm going to return the favor." I replied, reaching a paw toward the straps on my vest.
"Such a shame really. He would have been a great addition to our cause." Lung sighed. With the pop of a few straps, my vest fell to the ground. I the reached for the mask, pulling it off and setting it with the vest.
"Its you and me Lung. Lets settle this like real males. No guns, no fancy protection. Claw to claw, teeth to teeth, flame to flame." I growled. Lung laughed loudly at my statement.
"Do you honestly think i would degrade myself to your level? Sorry i couldn't meet your standards Shadow. Do me a favor will you, stay still. I promise i wont miss." Lung smiled as he turned toward me. On his back was a 20 cal LRR with a 50 Cal secondary. The 50 cal clicked its safety and he pointed it at me. Just as he got set, Nina leapt from the roof of the room.
"Too slow!" Lung yelled as he spun and fired at Nina as she fell toward him. She roared as the rounds struck her, 4 in all.
"NINA!" I yelled as i dug my claws in the ground to run at him. As soon as i took my first step, Tyro leapt from the left side roof at Lung. As he reached him, Lung spun on his heel and struck Tyro with his tail, causing him to be thrown toward one of the pillars. He hit the pillar and fell to his stomach, unconscious.
"You bastard!" I shouted as Lung spun with his weapon pointed at me. Just as he began firing, i leapt into the air at him. One round popped off the weapon before it fell silent. It had jammed to my luck. I struck him hard, bringing my paw down on the top of his skull. He growled and flipped back away from me. With a growl he reached for his straps as well.
"I guess i should have used this vest more often. Bastard always had a problem with jamming." He growled as he dropped his best to the ground.
"Seems you'll get the fight you want. Better make it quick though, your mate will bleed out before she gets to watch you die, and i would much rather she watch as you squirm underneath my claws." He laughed.
"Well see Lung." I growled in reply. With that, lung took a deep breath in, and opened his jowls wide. Flames flew from his muzzle toward me. With a growl, i did the same, countering his flames with my own. Our flames warped and spun around one another as we fought to gain the upper hand. It wasn't long before i began to run out of breath. Jus as i reached my peak, lung appeared low to the ground. He had stopped his flames and ran underneath mine, using his long, slender body to quickly approach me. By the time i noticed him, it was too late. He struck me hard, causing me to fall back onto my hind legs.
"Not so tough now!" He yelled as i was struck in the stomach, what breath i had was gone now as i leapt away from him in order to regain my breath.
"No you don't!" He growled, staying close to me as i tried to escape. He leapt into the air and spun, bringing his heavy tail around and throwing me into one of the pillars. The strike knocked the torch on the pillar i hit to fall to my side. I could taste the blood on my tongue as i coughed, finally catching my breath.
"Your weak Shadow. You will never have a chance to beat me." Lung laughed as he approached. Thinking quickly i grabbed the torch laying by my side and threw it at him. He blocked it with one of his paws, but that made it worse. Ashes were sent directly toward his eyes, making him yelp and step back. That was my chance. I leapt up and struck him as hard as i could. He yelped and stepped back. Leaving me enough room to make another pass at him. I struck again, raking my claws across the side of his head. He yelped and quickly spat a ball of flame into my face, causing me to back off. He stepped away from me as he managed to free the rest of the ashes from his eyes.
"Smart move, but not smart enough." He smiled as he leapt at me. I attempted to block his advances, but he was too fast. With one quick and easy step he slammed into me. A searing pain flew throughout my chest. He pushed me into the pillar i had been against, using his massive strength to lift me off the ground. The pain in my chest got stronger as he did so. He pushed hard, causing me to yowl loudly.
"A real warrior never goes into battle unprepared." Lung growled as he let me go, pulling a large knife from my chest as he did so. I fell so that my rear legs held me in the air, and i was leaning against the pillar. He had managed to keep the knife on him without me noticing, and pulled it when i was unable to see. Damn he was good.
"You managed to block it. Not fatal, but your no longer a threat." He growled as he struck me once more in the side of the head, causing my vision to blur and fill with spots. The strike caused me to fall to my side, yelping loudly as i hit the ground.
"You never had a chance Shadow. Now, for your failure, you will lose everything. Your mate, your friends, your family." He smiled as he licked the blade of his knife clean of my blood.
"I may leave you alive, just so you can watch me kill your son. I like that plan actually." He laughed. My chest hurt. I could still move, but the pain was bad enough that it limited me. I could see Tyro's eyes start to open as he woke from his unconscious state. It took a moment for him to realize what was happening, but once things clicked, he jumped to his feet. As if already knowing he was awake, Lung spun and threw the knife at Tyro. The blade disappeared into his shoulder, and caused him to stumble back. Lung turned to run at Tyro in order to finish him.
"NO!" I shouted as a flame of power rose inside me. I jumped to my feet and leapt at Lung, managing to catch him before he started his run to Tyro.
"You bastard!" Lung shouted as he stood on his hind legs. With my arms wrapped tightly around his neck, he picked me off the ground.
"TYRO!!! SHOOT HIM NOW!!!" I shouted as lung tried to shake me loose. Tyro quickly righted himself and fired. The gunshots rang out, causing Lung to stumble back against the pillar behind us. Lung yelped, and i gritted my teeth as 6 shots rang out. The large rounds passing through Lungs body, and into mine. I could feel each bullet strike both of us, lungs body tensing up as the pain ran through him. The gunfire quickly subsided and Lung let out a gagged breath before falling forward. I let him go just as he started falling, so as he fell to the ground, i managed to stay standing on my hind legs, supported by the pillar.
"Ty........ro" i rasped as i looked at myself. Blood was already quickly seeping down my chest and to the ground at my feet. I could taste it on my tongue. My shaking legs finally gave underneath me. Tyro quickly grabbed me before i hit the ground.
"Shadow......don't you die!" He growled as he lay me on my side.
"Shadow........shadow!?" I heard Nina cough as she managed to stand and limp toward me.
"Is......is....it over?" I gasped, as blood started to fill my airway.
"He's dead Shadow.....but your not going to die. Not this close to the end." Tyro coughed, pulling the knife from his shoulder and tossing it to the side.
"Get a med-evac here ASAP. We got a CAT 1 casualty!" Tyro growled over the radio as he and Nina put there paws over the gun shot wounds.
"Come on Shadow. You've still got a family to raise!" Tyro stated through gritted teeth.
"Already here!" A voice shouted from the door. Tyro spun around with his weapon pointed toward 3 medics who had arrived on our exfil bird moments ago.
"Help him, NOW!" Tyro ordered as the men rushed to my side.
"Shadow, your going to be alright brother. Look at my hand, how many fingers do you see?" He asked holding up his hand.
"Two.......fingers." I replied.
"Shit, he's gone into shock." The man replied before pulling out a quick injection needle. He stuck it into my arm and my body quickly became numb.
"Just relax and look at your mate Shadow." The man said as he began pouring stuff into my wounds. My vision began to blur and my breathing slowed as i quickly bled out.
"Nina......" I growled as my vision started going dark.
"Yeah?" She asked, grabbing my paw. I couldn't reply. My entire body seemed to shut down.
"Shadow?" Tyro asked, shaking my unresponsive body. My breathing slowed more and more as i could feel the fire in my body begin to die, causing my body to begin to shake from the cold.
"Am.......i......going to....die....?" I rasped quietly as my vision darkened more and more. My breath, heart beat, inner fire, and mind beginning to slip with it.
"No.....no your going to be ok Shadow." Tyro replied grabbing my shoulder with a shaking grasp.
"You'll be ok, so you can live a happy life." Tyro said, his voice shaking.
"Tyro....." I mumbled
"Right here Shadow." He replied, giving my shoulder a reaffirming squeeze.
"Watch Taro.....will ya." I manager to growl as darkness took me over.