[To Be Named] - Chapter 15

[To Be Named] - by Ho-Oh16
A QuizUp fantasy adventure story.

Chapter 15.

   "Open the door." whispered the first voice.
   "Why me?"
   "Just do it!"
   "Fine..." grumbled the second voice.
   The door slowly creaked open and I braced myself for more trouble. I signalled Shadow to get ready for a fight.
   "How much do want to bet that there's no one...here..." said the second voice as he opened the door fully to reveal him and his friend. "Chloe? Shadow?"
   "What, seriously?" questioned the first voice.
   "Uh...how long have you been here?" Anton asked.
   "You took your time..." I mumbled to myself.
   "Over an hour. It could have been worse." Shadow replied. "It could have been better too."
   "Wait... Where's Dragon?" I asked, confused and worried as to why there was only now four of us.
   "Ah...well...there's a bit of a situation..." Rashaun answered.
   "What kind of situation?" I asked, interrogating both of them.
   "You see, there was a guy who showed up, we let him inside, he asked if we were all together, we said that we weren't for obvious reasons, and then he...started to attack us." Anton replied quickly.
   "He? Describe him."
   "Uh, sort of tall... he looked like a businessman to be honest... but his hair was a fairly bright red."
   "Red?!"
   "Where is he?" Shadow demanded to know.
   "They're both outside. She insisted on fighting him, but...he can-"
   "He can turn into a dragon! And you left her on her own?!" I yelled, running out of the room and towards the main entrance doors. I could feel a slight aching in my arm but I didn't fully acknowledge it.
   "Wait up!" called someone behind me.
   I frantically opened the doors and was narrowly missed by a fireball.
   Three dragons? But they said only Fire showed up... So who's the bigger one?
   It didn't take long for me to work out the answer.
   "I see we have a spectator." hissed the smaller red dragon. It turned to the larger grey dragon and proceeded to ask it a question. "May I?"
   "Be my guest." it replied.
   Rashaun, Anton and Shadow were now stood by me and we all watched as the red dragon slowly ambled towards us, smoke trailing from its nostrils.
   "I need my arrows..." I moaned.
   "You mean these ones?" Anton said, heading back into the house. Within seconds, he reemerged with my quiver.
   "Where did you-"
   "Don't worry about that, we have other important things to focus on." Rashaun interrupted, unsheathing his sword.
   "Right. Well, if you guys are happy to deal with Fire here, I need to have a chat with a certain ghost." I remarked. I took my quiver from Anton and headed towards the side of the house, out of the way of the red reptile.
   "A ghost?"
   "She means the remaining dragon. He's called Ghost." Shadow answered, ready in his scythe.
   "Wait, how do you know their names?"
   "The details aren't important right now." Shadow replied, readying his scythe.

   I loaded my bow with one of my prized incendiary arrows. It felt good to finally have my bow back in my hands - the feeling of being lost and vulnerable had gone.
   Time to send this guy to the afterlife...
   "Hey, Ghost!" I yelled, aiming my bow at the grey dragon's neck. I drew the string back to my face and steadied my arm.
   "We meet again, Chloe." he said, not taking much notice of what I was doing. "I'll deal with you in a moment."
   "I don't think so." I replied, lowering my bow. I knew it would be a waste of an arrow if I tried to shoot him. Instead, I darted towards the dragons as they continued to battle, trying to stay out of Ghost's sight.
   "Don't be so rude." he roared, swinging his tail low across the ground. I cautiously jumped over it and took refuge near the purple dragon. Our Dragon.
   "Don't worry about them. Your fight's with me!" she snapped as she sent another blue fireball flying towards Ghost.
   Much to Dragon's horror, he had disappeared and the attack obliterated one of the rooms on the second floor of the mansion.
   "You missed." snarled a voice from behind.

   "So, how do you want to do this?" Anton asked Shadow and Rashaun.
   "A lot of dragons have a thick armour. Whether Fire is one of those dragons or not is still unknown. For now, we can assume that the only way to cause a fatal injury would be attacking him while he's not a dragon." Shadow answered.
   "There's no way he's going to change form while fighting three of us." Rashaun pointed out. "I don't suppose there's a hose pipe around here, is there?"
   "Uh...apparently not." Anton replied. "I mean, the house doesn't even have a fire extinguisher..."
   "That's not helpful..." Rashaun muttered.
   "We just need to keep attacking. If I can get close enough, I might be able to do some damage with my scythe." Shadow explained.
   "OK, let's do this." Anton said.
   "After you." Shadow insisted.
   Before anyone started to move, Fire had launched his first attack on the small group. Three consecutive blasts of fire flew towards the three of them. They were all able to dodge the attack, but not before Fire made another move.
   This time, he was creating lots of small fireballs and hurling them. Just as he had done before, Rashaun was able to deflect any that got too close with his sword, and Shadow did a similar thing. Anton's nunchucks weren't quite as effective, but he stayed unscathed.
   "Our turn." Shadow announced. He signalled to the others to move in.
   They understood, and after avoiding more plumes of fire, Rashaun and Anton were positioned behind Fire. The dragon turned to face the two of them, leaving a window of opportunity open for Shadow.
   However, before anyone was able to land a blow on Fire, he created a large wall of fire between himself and Shadow, preventing any unwanted surprise attacks.
   Feeling only slightly annoyed, Shadow turned his scythe into a sword. He was now following his instincts, and they told him to throw the sword at the dragon while he had the chance. And so he did.
   Fire roared in pain, announcing that he had been injured. Fortunately, the blade had been able to pierce his armour and he was now left with a large slash across his back.
   He turned to Shadow, knowing now where the sword had come from, and he was enraged. For a moment, he stared at Shadow, and then he stared at the other visible dragon. With a final blast of fire, he retreated into the woods, seemingly accepting his defeat.

   Startled, Dragon turned around. However, when she did, there was no one there. I was as confused as she was, but then I remembered something Ghost had said.
   "I can control, manipulate and teleport through shadows." I quoted.
   Of course!
   Stupidly, each of the seven 'Ovidii' had told Shadow what they could do. I hadn't heard each individual power, but I did hear Ghost's. It was very convenient.
   "Where are you?!" called Dragon, still perplexed as to where her opponent was.
   "Dragon, down here!" I shouted up to her. I needed to pass on the vital information. It could be the key to winning the fight, and I knew that DD needed all the help she could get.
   Believing that she hadn't heard me, I went to shout again, but was caught off-guard by my arm. It was beginning to ache more and more. Unluckily for me, it had the habit of choosing the worst times to cause me problems. Thinking quickly, I yelled at the others.
   "Watch the shadows!"
   "Watch Shadow?" Anton muttered.
   "I don't think that's what she said." Shadow commented.
   "You sure?"
   "Fairly."
   I was getting frustrated by the lack of a noticeable response from the others. My arm was now stinging and I knew that something was coming. However, I also knew that the others were in trouble, more so than I.
   The shadow cast by the house laced the ground in front of the entrance. It seemed to be stretching forwards, towards where the others had been fighting the red dragon only minutes before. It was letting off a peculiar black smoke, and that told me what I needed to know.
   I gripped my bow and called up to Dragon again, this time being successful.
   "There isn't time! Ghost can teleport through shadows, and right now, he's closing in on the others." I yelled.
   "I have an issue of my own." she responded. "I'm exhausted. I can't maintain this form for much longer..."
   "You have to try!" I shouted.
   Before Dragon had the chance to reply, she was hit by a volcanically hot plume of fire. It became clear that Fire had chosen a new opponent.
   "Go to the others...I'll be fine!" DD called, blocking the flames as effectively as she could.
   Listening to what she said, I sprinted towards the others. My arm was stinging even more, but I had to ignore it.
   "Nice of you to join-"
   "I told you to watch the shadows!"
   "Oh, so that's what you said." remarked Anton.
   "Remember that Ghost can teleport and manipulate them?". I was looking at Shadow.
   "Oh, so you remembered?" spoke a voice from Anton's general direction.
   "Yeah, I did actually."
   I looked at Anton, and then looked over his shoulder. I guess the look on my face prompted everyone to turn around.
   "I'm glad you paid attention during our little meeting." hissed the dragon as it rose from the shadows.
   "What meeting?" asked Rashaun.
   "Didn't they tell you?" Ghost asked mockingly.
   "Tell us what?" Anton questioned, now looking to me and Shadow for an answer.
   "What?" I said, defending myself. "We were going to tell you later."
   "Tell us what?" he repeated.
   "For crying out loud, if you're seriously that desperate to know, I'll say. It's hardly anything disastrous... After the maze, our good friend Ghost here," I started, gesturing towards the dragon, "decided to make an appearance and introduced us to the rest of his crazy, morphing family."
   "Family?"
   "You mean there are more?!"
   "There are seven." Shadow added. "Three of them, we've all met. Chloe and I know the others, but you obviously don't."
   "Three? But, only he and Fire are-"
   "Do you remember the dragon from the maze? The one who could create lightning and electricity and all that painful stuff? That's Storm. One of their brothers." I interrupted. "Speaking of which, my arm is reeeally hurting."
   "How long has it been hurting for?" Rashaun questioned.
   "Uh...since we left that room, I think." I replied.
   "Perfect timing." Ghost commented. He was now turning back into a regular person, much to my relief.
   "Perfect...for wha-" Anton began to ask.
   "I would love to stay and chat, but it would appear that my time is up." Ghost chuckled. "I enjoyed our little play date, but we really must be going."
   "We'll see you again soon, don't worry." added Fire, walking into the house with Ghost.
   "Wait, you're going? Just like that?! At least give us an explanation!" Rashaun yelled.
   "All I will say is that the clock is ticking, and when it reaches zero, the end will come. Now, have a good day." Ghost finished, looking at me. With a final smile, he closed the doors and they were gone.
   "Get back here!" I heard Dragon shout from behind. A final fire blast pounded the doors and left them blackened, but still in one piece.
   "Come on, maybe we could still catch them if we-"
   "Leave it. There's no point..." I muttered.
   "But surely we should t-"
   "I said leave it!"
   An awkward silence fell. DD transformed back into her normal human form and ambled towards us.
   "What's up?" she asked, clearly tired from the fighting.
   "Don't worry." I replied. I headed towards the burnt entrance doors. "I'm going inside. I'll see you around."
   And that was that. I left the door slightly ajar for anyone that wanted to come inside too, and went upstairs.

   Fortunately for me, my room was still intact after the battle. I looked towards the end of the corridor where I figured the large fiery blast had hit. Ozy's room had been at that end of the corridor, but the room that was destroyed seemed to be a smaller storage room.
   I decided to check out the damage. The wall had been decimated and the outside world was now visible. Surprisingly, nothing was on fire. I kicked about the debris and mess left by the attack.
   "Messed up. Just like this whole stupid situation..."
   My arm was still aching and progressively worsening. I left the room of chaos and went into my own bedroom. I walked over to the bed and sat down.
   "Boo."
   Startled by the random and unanticipated speaker, I turned to look in the voice's general direction.
   "...what are you doing here?!"
     I grabbed my bow, stood back up and got ready to shoot the familiar figure.
   "If you're here looking for a fight, I'll give you one, Storm."
   "Don't worry, I don't want to fight." he replied, getting out of his seat. "Besides, that bow wouldn't stop me."
   "So why are you h-"
   "Your arm." interrupted Storm. "It's hurting, correct?"
   "Right...what of it?"
   "I believe that, in your case, the final stage has begun. It may be worth pointing out that the finale isn't...fun."
   "Well yeah, I gathered that."
   "So you've accepted your fate?"
   "No, I haven't accepted it. I'm aware of what may happen, but I'm not going to give in that easily." I replied.
   "Of course. A strong will and a fighting spirit. It won't help, you know."
   "No? I guess we'll find out."
   "Do you want to know what happens in the final stage?" Storm continued to ask.
   "I like surprises." I replied. It was a lie, but I didn't want to know. I didn't trust him to tell me the truth.
   "So you're not interested?" he questioned, seemingly surprised.
   "Why are you here, Storm? You can't seriously expect me to believe that you wanted to tell me what's going to happen, out of the kindness of your heart." I sighed. "If you're just trying to mess around with me and make the most of my irritable mood, then save it for another day."
   "Not out of the kindness of my heart." he replied. "I'm not a kind person."
   *Tell me about it...*
   "So what then? What was the point of you coming here?" I continued. Something had prompted him to come, and I wanted to know what.
   "Does it matter?"
   "Yes." I replied. I raised my bow again.
   "Perhaps it is you who is looking for a fight." he commented, not even trying to defend himself.
   "And now you are avoiding the question." I scorned.
   There was a hesitation. I wasn't sure if he was just stalling or reluctant to say.
   "If you're that desperate to know, I was acting as a distraction." he replied.
   "A distraction? From what?" I questioned, as a collection of roars, screeches and bellows suddenly became audible.
   "That's my cue." Storm said, walking towards the door.
   I didn't understand what he meant. I didn't know if his brothers had returned, I wasn't sure if it was a new threat, I didn't even know if...
   "...I left them on their own..." I whispered to myself, coming to a realisation.
   "And what a mistake that was." Storm chuckled. "You're really not as intelligent as I thought."
   Ignoring his remark, I raced out of room, along the corridor, down the stairs and out of the main doors. There was no one. Anywhere.
   "Where are they?!" I exclaimed to myself, panicking.
   I heard an explosion coming from behind the house. It was followed by more roars. Sounds that were identifiably coming from dragons.
   "Safety is top priority." voiced Storm from the doorway behind me. "And yet, here you are."
   *Shut up...Just shut up...please...*
   "Tell me, what good is caring for people when you're careless enough to let them die?"