The Dragon's Bounty IV:Nightmares

Chapter 6

          An armored gauntlet with a glowing blue jewel constructed itself around Micah's fist as he slammed it into the demon's face. The demon fell over, slamming its chin into the ground. Micah landed back on his feet. The rest of the armor he had just finished constructing outside of his mind began appearing on his body piece by piece. He caught the helmet in his hand and placed it on his head, clipping it into place. In his other hand appeared the piece that went over the bottom half of his helmet, covering his mouth. He secured it in place, his fists glowing with blue energy pulsating from the jewel in his chestplate. The demon grinned and stood once again. Micah lowered his brow and let out a fierce battle cry, blasting forward again, blue energy surging from two gems in the bottoms of his boots. This time, the demon caught Micah's fist in his hand, which was much larger than Micah's. He gave Micah a punch to the face, which shattered his helmet and sent him flying backward. His helmet flew back together on his head as he shattered the large window and began plummeting downward. He steadied himself before his boots blasted him back upward, allowing him to stay in the air right outside the window.
          "The suit can fly?!" Destiny shouted.
          Micah shrugged. "Not out there. But in here, anything goes." He grinned. The demon roared and pounced on him, the two exchanging blows on the way to the ground. Micah's helmet was shattered once again. He grinned. "That's right. Anything. Goes." The two slammed into the ground, creating a massive crater. Micah stood on one side of the crater, his armor reconstructing itself as he stared at the demon on the other side of the divot. Micah flew at the demon, giving him a powered punch to the gut, sending him flying into a building. Micah chuckled as Destiny landed beside him. "I've picked something up. The stronger my mind is, the stronger I am in here, meaning that this guy stands no chance."
          Destiny smiled and nodded. "You just needed a little push in the right direction." Micah nodded and blasted forward at high speeds. As the demon jumped back out of the building, Micah gave him an uppercut that sent him high up into the sky. He adjusted his legs and blasted up after him. Once he'd arrived at the same level as the demon, he pulled back both of his fists and began a light speed flurry of attacks on the demon, fast enough to prevent him from moving as he attacked from all sides. The demon roared and reached out for Micah's shoulder, but Micah chopped his hand clean off with the swipe of his hand. The demon roared in pain as Micah stopped moving in front of him.
           "Had enough?" Micah shouted. The demon growled and reached for him. Micah smiled. "I had hoped you'd do something like that." Micah clasped his hands together and brought them above his head. In one blinding fast motion, his hands were brought down and the demon lay dead on the ground in a massive crater. Micah appeared on the outside of the crater, his helmet deconstructing and disappearing into thin air.
            Destiny appeared beside him. "Wow. You really did a number on that guy, huh?"
           Micah grinned. "No one takes hold of my mind." He turned to Destiny. "I really owe you one, but why wait until now?"
           Destiny smiled. "Now was the right time. Trust me."
           Micah nodded. "I understand." The two watched as the demon began to fade. "Guess it's back to regular old me, huh?" Micah asked.
           Destiny shrugged. "I think you're just as strong out there as in here, you just don't know it yet." Micah shrugged as his vision went black.

           Kai landed on a wooden platform, a spotlight shining down on him, darkness in every direction. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Aro landed on top of him, sending them both to the ground in a heap. Emma landed atop both of them, stepping off with a chuckle. Kai shoved Aro off of him and stood up himself, dusting his clothes off.
           Aro stood up and rubbed his head. "Where are we?" He asked. Kai shrugged. Suddenly, a voice boomed around the large room they were in.
           "And now, the stars of our show, The Dragon's Bounty! Everyone gave them a round of applause." The lights came on, revealing they were standing on a stage.
           Kai smiled. "Nice to know we're recognized." He said, staring out at the cheering crowd of people before him.
           Emma tapped him on the shoulder. "I think you've got the wrong idea." Kai looked over to where she was pointing: the other side of the stage. Out on stage walked a man with spiky blonde hair in an outfit similar to Kai's dragon skin vest and pants, with boots and cuffs to match, but it was clearly fake.
          Kai slumped over. "You've gotta be kidding me." He said. One by one, a sad rip off of each of the Dragon's Bounty came out on stage. Huey's makeup was smudged, revealing white skin beneath it. Khan's hair looked like he'd been struck by lightning, while Lance had pretty pink fairy wings. Instead of an M design in Duros' hair, it was an N, which didn't even make sense in the slightest. Dagger's armor was clunky and poorly crafted, hardly holding itself together. The six of them waved out at the crowd who cheered.
           "Did anyone else think the announcer's voice was familiar?" Aro asked. Suddenly, a man came up from the crowd and stood on stage, a wild grin on his face. He had dark blonde hair that sported an M design in the bangs. Kai, Emma, and Aro smiled.
           "Hey, Duros!" Kai said with a wave.
           The fake Duros laughed. "I'm over here, idiot." He rolled his eyes with a smile. The crowd erupted with laughter. Kai looked at the fake Duros before walking over to the real one. He placed his finger on Duros's chest.
           "Hey, buddy. You've got some explaining to do."
Duros laughed. He pushed Kai's hand aside. "Look, sir. I don't know how you got up here, but as the director of this musical, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
           Kai's jaw dropped. "You made a musical about us?!" He shouted.
           Duros laughed. "No, of course not! I made a musical about the Dragon's Bounty, the strongest heroes in all of Tritanus!"
           Kai put his palm to his face. "I hate this place." He said, thought it was muffled behind his palm.
           Emma turned Kai around by his shoulders. "Remember, we got you back with fire, so we'll have to use some sort of thread for Duros."
           Aro nodded. "Only problem is he's already wearing threads. That is what clothes are made of you know."
           Emma sighed. "It may not be easy, but we can do it." She said with a smile.
           Kai smiled and nodded. "I asked politely. Do not make me ask again." The three turned back toward Duros, who's outfit began to writhe. Kai smiled. "Hey! He still has his-" He was cut off by a wrapping of thread around his mouth. Duros launched a singular thread toward the back wall, which was covered in felt. Upon touching the wall, the felt began to unravel, shooting toward Emma, Aro, and Kai. The red strings wrapped around them and yanked them toward the back wall, tying them against it. Duros retracted his own threads, freeing Kai's mouth. "Powers." He said monotonously, finishing his previous statement.
           Emma nodded. "It would appear so."
           Duros held his finger in front of his mouth. "And now, without further ado, The Dragon's Bounty!" He gestured to the actors and hurried off the stage. The music pit, who all wore green tunics and brown leggings, began to play a tune. The actors took a deep breath.
           Kai lowered his brow. "This is going to be awful."
            Aro smiled. "I dunno, maybe it could be interesting." Emma sighed.
            "Join us for a tale you will not soon forget." The actors sang together. "The tale of six young men who were in eternal debt.
Their leader caused a storm in the capital.
Another strung and wrapped the Royal Guard.
One's flames consumed an entire town."
Kai slumped down behind the threads that held him to the wall. "One murdered the new King.
One attempted necromancy, the last one larceny.
These are the members of The Dragon's Bounty."
             Aro lowered his brow. "Nope, I hate it." Emma nodded.
           "But one fateful day the men were brought together!
And thwarted the misdeeds of an evil king.
With soldiers on their tails, they raced into the night, never to be seen again.
Until one day, when a fair young girl and her faithful archer came."
            Emma laughed.
            "Faithful archer?!" Aro shouted.
            "And revealed to them their work was not yet done.
The Dragon's Bounty rose again, like a Phoenix from the ash.
One by one, they all were found, and prepared for a great clash.
Their leader caused a storm in the capital.
One strung and wrapped the Royal Guard.
One's flames consumed an entire town.
One murdered the new King.
One attempted necromancy, the last one larceny.
These are the members of The Dragon's Bounty.
Upon arriving at the capital, everyone distraught.
Our heroes found the great kerfuffle that they sought."
            "They did not just say kerfuffle." Kai said, dropping his head.
            "They split up to fight the demons, their full power released.
All destroyed their enemies, but one had lost his life.
Only to regain it, upon unruly strife."
           Kai groaned. "Strife doesn't begin to explain it."
           "The rest of them with allies fought.
Against the leader of them all.
But each one fell down to the ground.
The leader rose into the sky with a totem in his grasp.
Awaiting orders to release his master to this realm.
But our heroes weren't finished.
They got up and United their power."
            Emma gasped. "Hey! That's not how it happened!" Aro snickered.
           "When combined their strength was unrivaled.
The evil that plagued us was gone.
All thanks to The Dragon's Bounty."
           "Boo!" Aro shouted. "It didn't even rhyme most of the time!"
           Kai laughed. "Did you notice that rhymed?" The audience clapped as if on cue.
           The real Duros raced back up into the stage waving. "I'm glad you all enjoyed the first act. Go grab yourself some snacks and sit down for the other three!" Kai, Emma, and Aro's brow shot upward.
            "There's more?!" They shouted together. "Nooooooo!"

          Aro sat down on a rock with his roasted chicken. The group had set up camp outside the dungeon, with a fire and a few chickens roasting above it.
           Ethan sat down beside him. "So, feel stronger yet?" He asked.
Aro shrugged. He looked down at his hand. "Not particularly. But then again, it's only been a day."
           Ethan nodded. "I'm sure you'll be there in no time. Now, let's get some sleep, everybody." He stood up. Everyone nodded.