The Awakening

by Andrew Wichland

  “Now don’t go all to pieces on me,” she said, rushing over to take the bandage and apply it to the man’s wound.

  Jun fired a few rounds over the top of the car.

  “They’re winning, aren’t they?” the man demanded.

  “What do you think?” an eerie voice answered from behind them.

  Jun looked up to see the Dark Elf hovering over them. When she slowly raised her hand, a ball of swirling black energy appeared in her palm.

  Jun tackled Chikako out of the way. As he covered her, he felt the heat wave of an explosion. Something hard hit the ground in front of them.

  Uncovering his head, Jun looked around. The man’s disemboweled torso lay on the ground before him, his blank, empty eyes staring at the sky.

  As Jun reached for Chikako’s hand, a pair of clawed feet stepped into view. He looked up into the face of Maltanore, who was flanked by a pair of Sentinels.

  “Mortals,” the Anubis muttered, and Jun felt gripped by a wave of fear.

  To his surprise, Maltanore’s attention suddenly turned toward the sky. Following his gaze, Jun saw five objects streak down from the sky in an arrow formation. Pulling up, they flew into the village, and as they drew near it, Jun saw that it appeared to be several young people on sky surfers.

  As the leader neared a passing Sentinel, he drew back a fist, and as he passed, he punched a big chunk from the Sentinel, causing it to twist from the blow. Sparks flew everywhere as it fell to the ground.

  Jun and Chikako joined a small crowd of people who had gathered to watch the flyers. Overhead, two of the flyers rolled, which caused them to drop to the ground. After flipping in midair, they each landed on bended knee. Then they stood up as the remaining flyers hovered above.

  In appearance, they looked like well-muscled humans. They each had separated armored plates along the major muscle groups; these plates were surrounded by a black material that moved smoothly as the figures moved. Low on the hips was a pair of metallic rods with the same black material making up the grip. With emitters on both sides of the rods.

  However, there were differences between them. One in particular had the slim but powerful build of a young woman. The main feature that Jun noticed was their helmets and masks.

  All of them were the shape of a dragon’s head. The male on the ground had a round blunt snout with a small ridge between the eyes. On both corners of his head he had a slightly swept-back horn, with a third in the middle of the head.

  The female, who was one of the two figures on the ground, had a more pointed snout. She had a single sweptback horn in the middle of the top of her head. On the side of her head, she had long, large, pointed sweptback ears.

  One of the flyers who was still in the air had a head with an elongated wolfish snout dragon face. With catfish-like whiskers that weaved through the air as if they were being billowed in a strong wind. Two swept back horns were set in the corners of his head.

  The fourth—and most muscled—of the group had a slightly wider and squat face than the rest, with a thick, shallow dome in the center of the forehead and a line of spikes running along the side of the head.

  The last one had two front and back sweeping frills on either side of its head; and two horns swept back over his head.

  “It can’t be . . .” Maltanore gaped.

  “Oh, it is,” the male figure on the ground said.

  “Dragon Knights,” Jun said in wonder.

  Maltanore roared, “SENTINELS ATTACK! KILL EVERYONE! FIGHTERS INTO THE AIR! BOMBARD THE VILLAGE!”

  At once, several Sentinels turned and raised their arms to fire at the Dragon Knights. In a flash of movement, the two knights on the ground charged forward. In a shower of sparks, the male forced the arm of the nearest Sentinel back as the cannon fired, blowing its own head off.

  Beside him, the female Dragon Knight ripped off the arm of a Sentinel and then used the arm to knock off its head.

  The other fighters started to lift off, and the male Dragon Knight pointed as he yelled, “Get them!” in an altered voice.

  At once, two of the Knights in the air rocketed up after the fighters, while the one with the largest muscles dropped down to join the fight on the group. The leaner male nailed a Sentinel with a spin kick, knocking its head off the jaw spinning away, but when he turned, Maltanore nailed him with a hard uppercut to the chest, launching him off his feet.

  “Ryuu…,” Jun muttered in fear and worry as he watched him soar over the village by the blow with Maltanore leaping after him. As he glanced at the Knights both on the ground and in the sky he had a pretty good idea who was in the armors.

  *

  In the air, Aiolos weaved on his board, dodging laser fire from the fighter who was hot on his tail.

  “This would be so much easier if I could shoot back!” he snapped, rolling to dodge more lasers. For a brief second, he shifted his attention to the fighter holo sensor and armor readouts in front of his face.

  Suddenly a message flashed across the screen.

  “Interface commencing?” he muttered, and at a sound, he looked down.

  Below him, thin wires extended from the armor of his thigh and connected to his sky surfer. At once, his surfer began to change. Short, trapezoid wings with lasers embedded inside emerged from the base. Behind him, the engine grew slightly larger, and a set of missile tubes appeared underneath on either side of an intake ramp.

  “Now this I like,” he said with a grin.

  After glancing over his shoulder, he pulled his board into a sharp turn, firing the lasers at the fighter as it passed, blowing off a section over the missiles. Righting the board behind the fighter, he rocketed after it, and a targeting scanner appeared.

  “See how you like it! FIRE MISSILES!” he yelled, and his missiles launched forward and slammed into the exposed missiles, detonating them and blowing the wing off.

  “OH, YEAH! WHO’S THE MAN?” Aiolos shouted. He thrust his hands into the air in triumph as the fighter dropped from the sky, spinning like a top.

  *

  Ryuu tumbled over the village and came down in the forest, snapping branches as he went until he hit the ground. As he came to a skidding and rolling stop, he moaned and pushed himself onto one knee. Around him was a great clatter of wildlife as the forest animals rushed to flee the scene.

  “Ow,” he muttered. He clutched his armored chest while the torso section of his holo armor read out flashed.

  He looked up just as Maltanore landed in front of him on crouched legs.

  “So you’re the next generation of Dragon Knights,” he said as Ryuu climbed to his feet. “What makes you think you’ll have any success where others have failed?”

  Before Ryuu could reply, the sounds of an explosion filled the air above them. Looking up, Ryuu saw one of the fighters lose a wing and fall, spinning to the ground out of sight as the blast of the crash reverberated through the air.

  “Looks to me like we’re doing just fine,” Ryuu said.

  Maltanore chuckled and whipped off his cape. Now he was dressed only in a cloth, which was wrapped around his waist and his jewelry.

  “A few Sentinels and fighters are easily replaced,” the Anubis said. “Personally, I’d like to see for myself if the legend of the Knights is true.”

  “Well, then I guess I better prove it to you,” Ryuu said and charged him.

  In a flash of movement, Maltanore met him halfway and double kicked Ryuu hard in the chest. Ryuu was launched off his feet back to the ground, where he slid across the forest floor. Clutching his chest, he looked up in time to see Maltanore flipping back to land onto his feet and slip into a low stance.

  What the hell did I just get myself into? Ryuu asked himself as he curled up and leapt to his feet.

  Charging each other, the two met as Ryuu tried to kick his opponent in the knee. Maltanore blocked this move with a kick, leapt up, and nailed Ryuu in the head with a kick of his own. Then he kicked Ryuu in the gut. Moaning softly, Ryuu ducked under a spin
kick and, standing straight, threw a kick to Maltanore’s head. Ducking under it, Maltanore swept his leg out from under Ryuu, sending him spinning face-first into the dirt.

  As he started to get up, Maltanore seized him and threw him back through the air. Landing low in a stance on a boulder, Ryuu blocked a couple kicks as Maltanore leapt after him.

  After ducking under a crescent kick, Maltanore blocked a second with the same leg. Then he seized Ryuu by the throat.

  Thrusting his palm into Maltanore’s elbow, Ryuu forced him to one knee. Then, rolling his shoulder, Maltanore stepped back and forced Ryuu down, locking Ryuu’s elbow back over his shoulder.

  Ryuu tried to strike out but his fist was blocked and then doubled up as Maltanore drove his forearm into his side and flipped Ryuu off his feet. Going with it, Ryuu landed on his feet and, dropping down, tried to sweep Maltanore’s feet out from under him.

  Standing straight, he kicked out at Maltanore, who forced the kick down, sending Ryuu flipping forward. Halfway through, he grabbed Maltanore by the ears and threw him from the boulder. Landing on his feet, he was in time to see Maltanore roll onto his back. Then, curling up, Maltanore thrust forward, landing on one knee, his leg stretched before him.

  Turning to face Ryuu, he charged as Ryuu leapt over him. After blocking several more kicks, Maltanore grabbed Ryuu’s arm and kicked him in his side, forcing Ryuu back before leaping at him with a hard kick. The blow launched Ryuu off his feet, and as he landed, he slammed into a thick tree trunk.

  As he pushed himself to one knee, Maltanore charged him on all fours. Leaping up, Ryuu spun like a top and landed on a thick branch twenty feet up.

  “Where the hell did that come from?” he asked, dazed at what he had just done. Then he spun around as he heard Maltanore land on the branch behind him.

  “Before I bring this pointless but amusing exercise to an end with your death,” the Anubis called, “I have a question that needs answering.”

  He threw a kick to Ryuu’s leg, but Ryuu stepped back and it missed him.

  “Oh, yeah? What’s that?” Ryuu said. He stepped forward again and threw a punch.

  Maltanore blocked and deflected it with both hands then backhanded Ryuu across the face. As he moved to strike again with his elbow, Ryuu blocked it, and Maltanore flicked his wrist, forcing Ryuu’s strike down before backhanding him again in the head. Twisting more toward Ryuu, he nailed him with a punch to his side, sending him spinning from the branch.

  As he fell, he reached out and grabbed the branch at Maltanore’s feet, and as he started to pull himself up, Maltanore again seized him by the throat.

  “Well?” Maltanore said. “Ready for my question?”

  Before Ryuu could reply, he said, “Here it is: Why, oh why, do pests like you fight the inevitable? Why don’t you just be good little insects and DIE!”

  He followed up the last part with a palm strike to Ryuu’s chest.

  The blow sent Ryuu tumbling through the air. Hitting the ground with a roll, he stopped hard as his back scraped against a tree. Groaning, Ryuu climbed to his hands and knees.

  Maltanore dropped from the branch and landed on one knee.

  “Well, ANSWER ME!” he shouted as he stalked forward.

  “Because . . . this . . . is . . . our . . . HOME!” Ryuu shouted. The very mention of home strengthened his resolve, and he climbed back to his feet.

  Again, Maltanore charged him, and flipping like an acrobat, Ryuu sailed over him to land behind him. After blocking a kick with his knee, he kicked out at Maltanore’s other knee, then bringing the same leg high, brought his heel down on his head. In rapid succession, his leg still in the air, he kicked Maltanore several times in the chest and head before Maltanore caught a sidekick.

  Flipping forward as his leg was brought up he broke free before jumping up, spinning back to face him, throwing a kick which Maltanore ducked under. Landing back on his feet, Ryuu was swept off his feet by one of Maltanore’s clawed hands. Landing hard on his back, he was barely able to grab Maltanore’s clawed foot as he brought it down on his armored chest.

  Growing with the effort, Ryuu twisted it, sending Maltanore spinning to the ground beside him. As he started to get up, he was kicked in the face, launching him back. After spinning to his feet, he was grabbed from behind and hurled against a tree.

  As he started to climb to his feet, again Maltanore grabbed his shoulder and drove his fist into his gut repeatedly before punching him twice on both sides of his head. after being hit hard again in the chest, Ryuu soared back against a tree before leaping to his feet in a stance. With a roar, Maltanore leapt at him, and Ryuu brought his leg up and kicked him in his side sending him to the ground away from him.

  Ryuu leapt forward, and after pushing off from a tree, he nailed Maltanore across the face with a kick. Then he fell back onto his hands to avoid a blow before springing back to his feet. From there, he kicked the Anubis in the knee, then in the head. He followed up by spinning on his own head, nailing Maltanore across the face with a kick.

  Disoriented by the blows, Maltanore fell back. With a cry, Ryuu spun himself sideways through the air and brought his leg down hard across his opponent’s back.

  As Maltanore climbed to his feet, he rushed forward, seized Ryuu by the throat, and threw him hard against a tree.

  “WARNING! WARNING!” an alarm called out in Ryuu’s ear. “Further physical impacts will lead to armor retraction!”

  “Good to know,” he moaned. When he looked up, his eyes went wide as Maltanore ripped a tree from the ground.

  “I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!” Maltanore shouted. He held the uprooted tree in both arms and swung it at Ryuu.

  To dodge the swing, Ryuu leapt up into the air. But one of the roots still caught him in his midsection and sent him careening into the underbrush.

  “Armor Retraction Commencing! ETA Until Operational Use Fifteen Minutes.”

  “A lot can happen in fifteen minutes!” Ryuu growled as a sound of metal on metal met his ears.

  Some of the armor retracted off his opposite hand, moving up his arm and across his shoulder. Next, more of the armor began to retract up his legs and across his chest. As this happened, the horns on his helmet retracted into the head. Then, from the base of his throat, the helmet withdrew up and over his head. Once it reached the base of his skull, the parts over his ears slid in before it merged with the rest of the armor, which retracted across and up his chest and down his arm.

  As the last of the armor melded into his bracelet, Ryuu climbed to his feet, clutching his chest. Moaning, he moved as quietly as he could through the underbrush.

  At that sound of a heavy crash, he looked in the direction of Maltanore. Then he dropped flat on his chest, so that he was covered by a bush. As he inched forward, he heard the sound of a smaller thud nearby. It was followed by loud sniffs.

  “I know’re here,” he heard Maltanore say. “I may not see you … but I can smell you. And my sense of smell is almost as good as a Dragon’s.”

  Ryuu’s eyes darted left and right and then focused on a flower. Holding his breath slowly, he reached for it.

  Just as his fingers closed around the head, Maltanore whipped aside the bushes he’d been hiding under. Ryuu held the crushed head of the flower in his open hand and blew it hard into his enemy’s face.

  As Maltanore started coughing and sneezing, Ryuu took the opportunity to drop down into a dry river bed.

  “That should buy me some time,” he muttered. “Last time I was anywhere near that flower, I couldn’t stop sneezing all day.”

  Minutes later, just as he arrived in the testing ground he was in the night before Maltanore dropped right in front of him, and Ryuu managed to block his punch. He did not, however, manage to avoid the powerful kick to his side. Spinning through the air, he came to a skidding, rolling stop.

  Moaning as he clutched his side, Ryuu pushed himself up to watch Maltanore advance on him. His enemy was laughing.

  “Well, this is
certainly the icing on the cake, as humans say. Out of all the people in the known galaxies, the Legendary Armors chose a child.”

  “Hey, I’m still trying to figure it out myself,” Ryuu countered. “Maybe it’s the fact that my name means Dragon.”

  Hissing in pain, he pulled himself back and said, “So what happens now? You going to just kill me or make me beg, because I doubt you’re going to get a better chance for bragging rights than killing a Dragon Knight!”

  Maltanore started to take a step forward but froze.

  Slowly his eye traveled down to the wire at his ankle level. Ryuu’s eyes widened his horror as his eyes followed the wire. To the spiked log ready to swing down to impale its victim.

  Chuckling Maltanore turned back to a wide eyed Ryuu. Crossing his legs, he stepped to the side and walked around Ryuu giving the trip wire a wide birth.

  Until he stopped at Ryuu’s side and grinned wickedly down at him. “Did you really think I would fall for the oldest trick in the book?” he leered, and with a small ringing sound and he drew a rod from the small of his back. Which expanded outward with a pair of wicked looking axe blades on either end.

  For a second Ryuu just stared at him wide eyed in fear. “No,” he finally said, a grin forming.

  Before Maltanore could do more than blink at him. Twisting Ryuu slammed his hand down on the wire just behind him flattening himself on the ground. And the blaster in a tree across from Maltanore fired the shot knocking him to the ground.

  As he turned back Ryuu’s armor started to expand up his arm.

  “Oh, so now you work?” Ryuu muttered as the armor extended across his chest and his other arm.

  At a roar Ryuu whipped around. To see Maltanore soar through the air arms outstretched to grab him. Reacting he leapt into a tree and out of sight.

  Leaping after him, Maltanore crashed onto the same branch. Finding Ryuu no longer there. “NO MORE TRICKS! THIS ENDS NOW!” he roared, spinning on the spot as he searched for Ryuu. “WHERE ARE YOU?”

  In response, Ryuu, now fully armored, ran down the trunk of the tree. A rod at his hip shot into his hands.