Brothers Page 25

  Daniel attacks her, too. He charges her from the side, and cuts into her where he can. As she feels the sting of his first attack, she turns towards him and roars at him. He doesn't stop. He keeps sinking his massive sword into her side.

  In frustration, Meliorath turns her head to the sky and lets out a loud, angry roar. Then, she turns her head towards her legs, and opens her jaws. She breathes fire onto the tentacles that have trapped her. Moments later, flames envelop her completely. But the flames do not harm her, only the tentacles. A half minute later, she breaks free from the burning tentacles.

  Zack frowns, and continues to fire magical projectiles at her. She turns towards Daniel and knocks him back with her forelegs, then she runs to Zack. As she gets within striking range, she strikes towards him without hesitation. A transparent sphere appears around him, and the swings of her forelegs are deflected. Then, she grins angrily, and turns away. A moment later, she strikes into Zack with her tail. The magical shield protects him from the impact, but he is sent flying, and a few seconds later he crashes into the ruined wall of an old building. As he tries to stand up, shaking his head, the wall simply falls onto him, burying him in rubble. I'm sure that magic shield saved his sorry ass from that, but it will take him a while to climb out of there...

  As Daniel realizes that he's on his own, he rushes towards Meliorath with an angry warcry. He raises his sword high above, and hacks into her side before she could react. She cries out in pain, and then swings her tail towards him. He jumps up and evades her tail. She swings her tail towards him again, but once more he evades it by jumping over it. She turns towards him and breathes a jet of flame at him, but the shield Zack cast on him earlier is still active, and it protects him.

  Then she moves her open jaws towards him and tries to snap them over him. He sidesteps before she could bite him in half, and her jaws bite onto air. As she begins to pull her head back, he quickly thrusts the sword upwards, and pierces her jaw. The blade enters hilt deep, and I'm pretty sure he completely pierced through her tongue.

  Meliorath groans aloud, and strikes at Daniel. His sword is stuck in her jaw, and he tries to pull it out, so he doesn't jump away. Her claws strike right into him with tremendous force, but somehow his armor protects him from the impact. She strikes him repeatedly, but the armor protects him somehow. Finally, she strikes towards his head, but just before she could rip his head off with her claws, he manages to pull the sword out and he ducks away just in time. Then he rolls away from her.

  The Dragon Queen roars furiously. Blood is dripping from the wound on her jaw. She is angry... She spreads out her large wings, jumps up, and takes to the sky. She makes a large circle high above, and then she swoops down towards Daniel. She's descending extremely fast. If she manages to strike him, the impact of this blow may very well tear him in half...

  As she gets within range, she strikes towards him. He jumps aside and she misses him by an inch, and he cuts into her as she passes him by. Meliorath cries out loud and she crashes into the ground. She stops about fifty feet away, among some rubble. Slowly, she stands up and shakes her head. She turns around and faces Daniel.

  She runs towards him, and tries to strike him in the chest. He jumps aside, but then she swiftly swings her tail towards him, and Daniel fails to evade it. The impact sends him flying, and moments later he crashes into a pile of debris. Slowly, he stands up and shakes his head. He is covered in dust.

  Meliorath slowly advances on him. Suddenly, a large brick flies towards her and hits her in the left side of the head. She groans in anger, and turns towards the left. She sees Zack. He managed to climb out from under the rubble.

  There are several large bricks floating in the air around him. A moment later, all these bricks fly towards Meliorath with surprising speed, and impact into her head one after the other. She roars in anger after the last brick, and stares at Zack with a vicious look in her eyes. Zack smiles back at her in turn, and then looks to the left, towards the remnants of a small ruined house. He points his left arm towards it, and one of the walls of the house slowly begins to move.

  Is he actually thinking to raise that whole thing? It's at least ten feet tall and fifteen feet wide...

  She stares at the sight in mild shock, but only for a second. She shakes her head and runs towards Zack, to try and stop him. But Daniel comes and cuts her way off, literally. He runs towards her and sinks his sword deep into her right side. She cries out, and faces him. She strikes towards him with her claws, but he ducks away in time, and swiftly strikes back with his sword. The blade cuts deep into her left foreleg, and she roars aloud. Then she strikes towards him with her right foreleg, and he jumps back.

  A moment later, the wall Zack has been trying to lift is raised from the ground, and the wizard sends it towards Meliorath. Before she could even realize it, the wall impacts into her back, and she is knocked to the ground. Daniel barely manages to roll out of the way, as Meliorath falls with a large wall crushing down on her.

  A large cloud of dust spreads about her. Daniel slowly stands up, and Zack approaches him.

  Slowly, the dust settles, and I can see that Meliorath is still moving. She slowly stands up and shakes the rubble off her. She moves towards Daniel and Zack. She is limping. The impact apparently broke her right hind leg.

  She's moving very slowly. Zack points his right arm towards her and fires a bolt of lightning at her. The lightning crackles all around her body, and she begins to convulse. Zack fires lightning at her again, and then one more time. Meliorath cries out loud, but even as she is shaking from the lightning attack, she slowly advances on Zack.

  Daniel moves towards her and swings his sword. She tries to block his attack with her claws, but she moves too slowly. He sinks the blade deep into her left foreleg, about at the same place as earlier, further deepening the wound. Meliorath roars aloud.

  Then, Daniel pull his sword back, raises it high above, and prepares to strike towards her belly.

  As he swings his sword, she somehow manages to block the attack with her claws. She slowly begins to retreat.

  She takes several steps back, and Daniel lowers his sword. She stares at him, and her contours begin to shake. Her image becomes blurred, and she starts to shrink and change her shape. Slowly, she assumes her human form again.

  She looks like she's barely alive. Scars litter her face, her right arm is bleeding, and she is grasping the wound with her left hand. She takes a step backwards, limping. Her right leg seems to be broken. But even now, she looks at Daniel with a fire burning in her eyes, with determination that betrays how much she refuses to give in. She would no doubt survive these wounds, if these two weren't about to finish her off.

  So ends the life of the Dragon Queen... A pity. I never thought I'd ever say this, but it's a shame. It would have been better if she had succeeded to kill these two clowns...

  It's over for her now. Daniel steps close to her and raises his sword to her neck. She stares at her steadfast, silently. She doesn't try to run.

  `I'm sorry it came to this, darling...' he tells her.

  `I am sure you are...' she replies. `...but I will return. You know it. Two centuries... I will get him. I will...'

  `I'm not going to kill you, darling.' he says, shaking his head. Meliorath narrows her eyes, and seems to be surprised.

  `You'll let me live? Why?' she asks, slowly.

  `For old times' sake...' he replies, and he slowly lower his sword, and then sheathes it.

  She slowly nods.

  `I always said that you were not like them, Daniel. I meant it, and I still do.'

  `Just go, darling. Go...' he says silently. She nods. She takes a few steps back.

  `Farewell, Daniel...' she says, and she turns around and slowly starts limping away.

  After she takes a few steps, Zack shouts after her.

  `Hey, Mel'! Next time you think about trying to fight us, try to remember an old wise saying first. If you want to swim among sharks, be sure you're the bigge
st one!'

  She stops, and slowly turns around.

  `I will find you, Zack... This isn't over...' she sneers, and she turns around and slowly walks away. Zack just smiles after her in satisfaction. While Daniel looks after her with a sad expression on his face. Even now, this lunatic has feelings for her, it seems. He stares at her like that for many long minutes. Slowly, Meliorath vanishes among the ruins.

  Brothers

  Ighttur-wor, present day (16 and a half hours after Twilightfall)

  I can scarcely believe what I just witnessed. Zack and Daniel had only themselves to rely on as they fought the greatest of dragons, Queen Meliorath, in her true form. What would it take to make these two fall? What? They defeated her just like that... With her defeat, gone are my chances of getting my stone back.

  If I ever get out of here, I will have to find some way to steal the stone from under their nose. Assuming they don't destroy it completely by then... Curse these two! Curse them!

  Meliorath has vanished, and they are still staring into the distance. Zack with a satisfied smile that says `I fucking rule!', and Daniel with a sad face of a man who just lost something precious. Suddenly, Zack pats Daniel in the shoulder.

  `Hey, lighten up, buddy!' he says. `Come on, smile!'

  `Why?' Daniel asks, slightly shaking his head.

  `Come on... We just kicked her ass like no-one ever did! Admit it, you enjoyed it!' Zack tells him, laughing. Daniel looks at him for a while, and then he smiles.

  `Yeah... You're right. It was fun!'

  `We did a Hell of a job, didn't we?'

  `Damn right!'

  `Just like old times, Danny Boy! You, the brawn, me, the brain...'

  Zack laughs and looks to the distance, towards the way Meliorath left. Daniel stares at him. The smile has vanished from his face.

  `You, the brain...?' he asks, silently.

  `Uh, what?' asks Zack absently, still laughing, as he turns back towards him.

  `You, the brain?!' asks Daniel loudly, and he pushes Zack in the shoulder. He looks angry.

  `Hey... What...'

  `You, the brain?!' he asks once more, even louder, and he pushes Zack in the chest with both hands, and knocks him down.

  Zack crawls backwards a few feet, and then he jumps up.

  `What the fuck's gotten into you?' he asks.

  `You, the brain?!' screams Daniel at him. `It's always the same thing! You think you're so smart, smarter than everybody else! You take everybody for an idiot! Well I'm sick of it!'

  `What's the matter with you, dammit?!'

  `Nothing! Nothing! I'm just sick of the way you think you're smarter than me! Just think back to the past three centuries... How many times did we end up in trouble because of you?! How many times did you get us in a big mess just because you didn't bother to think about what you were doing?! How many times did your so-called plan backfire? How many times did I have to save our skin from the trouble you caused?! Huh?! Even now, why did Mel' attack us? Because of me? No! Because of you! It's always your doing, Zack!'

  `Calm down, buddy... You're overreacting...'

  `Shut the fuck up! I've had it with your conceitedness! You think you're so smart? You think you're so much better than everybody else? You know what?'

  Suddenly he draws his sword, prompting Zack to jump backwards.

  `What the fuck are you doing?!'

  `Draw your sword, Zack! We never finished our duel, remember? Remember?!'

  `I know that... but this is not the time...'

  `This is the best of time! You think you're smarter than me, well my sword's bigger than your brain, and you know it! Now I'm going to prove it to you! Draw your sword! Or I'll make you!'

  Without hesitation, Daniel raises his sword high and strikes towards Zack.

  *

  Zack barely manages to roll out of the way. Daniel's sword impacts into the ground with tremendous force. Had Zack stayed there, he'd have been cut in half...

  So... This is what it's like when Daniel Keehmor snaps. When his insanity shows itself. To be honest, throughout all the time I spent in his company, he was calm. Now... Now he certainly does look like a raving madman... He's about to kill his best friend.

  Well, Zack, good luck to you... Haha!

  `What the Hell are you doing?!' screams Zack as he jumps up. `Are you out of your fucking mind?!'

  `Draw your sword!' comes the reply, and Daniel swings the sword towards him again. Zack jumps out of the way, but just barely.

  `Sheathe that thing, dammit! We have no time for this!'

  `Sure we do! There's always time for this!' says Daniel, and he hacks towards Zack again. Once more, Zack jumps out of the way.

  `Dammit, what the Hell's gotten into you? Now of all times?!'

  `You wanna know something, Zack? Not long ago I confessed to Beautiful over there that you're like a brother to me. So if we're like brothers, why don't we have ourselves some good old-fashioned brotherly fight? Huh?! How about that?!'

  Daniel's eyes go wide as he speaks these last few words, and he chops towards Zack with full force. Zack rolls out of the way, but Daniel's sword cuts into his coat as he does so. As he stands up, he notices the deep cut on his coat, and then looks at Daniel.

  `You wanna fight? You wanna fight?! I'll give you a fucking fight you steelbrained motherfucking crapdicked shitfaced cockbozo!' he screams, and he reaches out his right arm. Slowly, a black tentacle creeps forth from his hand. It takes the shape of a sword. The fearless sword known as the Sword of Fury. A jet black sword with a silver hilt and guard, and lightning crackling around the blade. Zack grabs the hilt with both hands, and grins viciously.

  `Bring it on, motherfucker!' he screams. Daniel lunges towards him, swinging his sword. Zack's own blade meets Daniel's, and the two swords clash with a loud screeching sound. Daniel tries to force his weapon closer to Zack's face, but before he could do so, Zack raises his foot and kicks him right where it hurts the most.

  `Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!' screams Daniel, and he takes several steps back.

  `That'll teach ya!' says Zack. Daniel takes his sword in one hand, and rubs his crotch with the other one. Then he shakes his head, and looks at Zack with the fire of death burning in his eyes.

  `I'm gonna stick your own sword up your ass!' he screams, and he grabs his sword with both hands, raises it high, and charges towards Zack.

  The black magician stands in a defensive stance, and waits. Just as Daniel gets within striking range and begins swinging his sword, Zack jumps aside with amazing speed, and as Daniel stumbles past him, he forcefully slashes his sword towards Daniel's back. The sword clashes into Daniel's armor loudly, but it doesn't cut through it. The lightning crackling around the blade however jumps over to Daniel and slowly encompasses him completely.

  He doesn't seem to care. He turns around and lunges towards Zack as if the lightning hadn't done anything to him. Before Zack could do anything, he raises his foot high and kicks Zack in the chest, knocking him down. Then he stops beside him, swings his sword above his head, and then thrusts towards Zack. The black magician just barely manages to roll out of the way. He slowly stands up, coughing. Then he looks at Daniel with a vicious grin on his face.

  `You kick like a faggot, Danny Boy!' he says. Then he coughs again.

  Instead of replying, Daniel charges towards him and slashes towards his right side. Zack moves his sword to parry, but before the two blades could meet, Daniel raises his right foot even higher than before, and kicks towards Zack. He kicks the black magician right in the face, and knocks him down once more.

  Zack quickly rolls away, and struggles to his feet. He stumbles several steps backwards, and shakes his head. He seems a bit dizzy.

  `Maybe I kick like a faggot, but you sure take kicks like a pussy!' says Daniel.

  Zack shakes his head again, and then looks at his supposed best friend with eyes wide with anger. He grits his teeth, and then points towards Daniel with his left hand. A moment later, a bol
t of lightning strikes out of his hand towards Daniel. Daniel jumps out of the way in the last moment, and charges towards Zack.

  The black magician sidesteps, and puts his foot in Daniel's way, attempting to trip him. Daniel notices it just in time, and jumps over his foot. He slows down and turns back to Zack. The cursed wizard fires another lightning at him, and this time Daniel is too slow to jump away. The lightning hits him in the chest.

  But nothing happens. The lightning crackles around the surface of his armor for a while, and then it dissipates. Daniel doesn't show the slightest sign of pain, or even discomfort.

  `What the fuck...' say Zack.

  `I eat lightning for breakfast!' comes the reply.

  Zack frowns, and then looks around. He glances at the debris lying all over the ground. Then he smiles viciously.

  `Then have some bricks for dessert!' he says, and he waves his left hand. A moment later, a large brick rises up from the ground and begins floating several feet in the air. Then, it shoots away from its place and moves towards Daniel with unbelievable speed. Daniel swings his sword towards it, and knocks the incoming brick aside before it could hit him.

  `Not spicy enough!' he says. Zack frowns.

  `Don't worry, that was just the appetizer!'

  He waves his hand again, and at least a dozen pieces of rubble rise up from the ground and start floating in the air. Bricks, rocks, and similar debris. A moment later, all this debris shoots straight towards Daniel. He swings his sword like before, and knocks one of the bricks aside, but that's all he can do. The rest of them impact into him. Most of the bricks hit his armor, and he doesn't seem to feel those blows. But two of them hit him in the head, and he groans in pain after each of them.

  `Am I a good cook, or am I a fucking good cook?' says Zack, smiling.

  Daniel presses his left hand against his forehead, right where one of the bricks hit him. Then he stares at Zack.

  `I'm seeing stars, man...' he says. `You know, that reminds me of something. I wanted to tell you for a long time, actually. Since Mel' left me all those years ago, sometimes I have strange dreams. I dream that I am a big rabbit chewing on carrots and staring at a stack of paper written full of strange text and numbers while a fly is buzzing in my ear. In these dreams, I talk to myself. Do you know what I say? I keep saying that I hit a member that was already found in another star!'