| Whatever you may hold dear, you must always be prepared to fight for it. -Rules of Life, pg. 15 Part 28 � I was thinking about that myself,� Dagger replied. � Doesn�t she generally say something before leaving?� � Generally,� he confirmed. [Boy! You get your fuzzy-tailed little ass down here right now!] Zidane looked over at the edge of Madain Sari, where the cliff fell to the ocean. � Tiovex?� He wondered what the Swiftwing emperor would be doing nearby--and yelling at him besides--when all the pieces fell into place. The splash . . . Kitiane�s disappearance . . . How did she get herself into these things? He leapt up and dove over the cliff, angling himself so he headed right into the water. Something hit him from the left and threw him sideways into the rock wall. He dropped heavily into the ocean and only its frigidness persuaded him to go to the surface for air. � Tiovex!� But the emperor was nowhere to be seen. Zidane could hear him, however, and listened to the sounds of battle. They quit after a moment and Tiovex appeared around the wall. He skidded along the water�s surface as he back-winged, then slowly settled into the salty liquid. � Tiovex!� The dragon looked up. [There you are!] He swam over, using powerful strokes of his legs and tail. Pecking at Zidane�s head with slightly bared fangs, the king dragon growled, [What have you been doing for the past hour that I�ve been trying to call you?! Sleeping?!] � I was worried!� [About what? That princess?] � Don�t you ever say that in that tone of voice again!� [Who�s more important to you, Zidane? The princess or Kitiane? Choose wisely because you do not want me to choose for you.] Zidane shook his head. He felt tears of anger sting his eyes. � How dare you try to make me choose between two things that are the most important to me! What have I ever done to you?!� [Nothing. You have done nothing to most of your enemies, but they still try to kill you.] � You�re supposed to be my ally! If I can�t trust my allies, who can I trust?! Tell me!� Tiovex closed his eyes and shook his head. [Kitiane was wrong to raise a human. She meant well, but obviously humans will never care about anything more than themselves and their kin. You�ve taken her for granted for the last time, Zidane.] Zidane grabbed the dragon�s horns and pressed his face to the scaly one. � Listen to me, you bastard! Kiti gave me life! She taught me to speak, she taught me to walk, she taught me to fight, and she promised that if I ever grew wings, she would to teach me to fly! Only mothers do that and Kiti is my mother! If you don�t like that, take it up with her!� Two sets of green eyes glared at each other. One set longed to complete his heart, the other desperate to keep the only one that had ever really been there for him, no matter what the cost. Finally, Tiovex blinked and looked away. Zidane was giddy with relief at his victory. [Despite your numerous failures, boy, I am thinking of Kitiane. She cares about you more than you know. She would die for you without a second thought and all I ever see you do is walk all over her.] � Do you ever really look, Tiovex, or do you only see what you want to see? That�s what I think you�re doing.� [That may be true. I may only be coming in at the times when you act the worst. But if you don�t quit ignoring her, as this situation has proven you tend to do, I will take action.] � You�ll take her away?� he demanded. [You will never see her again,] the dragon confirmed. Zidane shoved the dragon�s head under water. � You son of a bitch! How dare you!� Tiovex tossed his head back, throwing Zidane far out into the sea. He snorted, clearing his nose of water, and headed after the tailed human. [That�s the last straw, boy! I�m going to kill you and then take Kitiane home where she belongs! Where she�s safe!] � Not if I kill you first!� Zidane snarled. He had gone into Trance and the shimmering white wings--so white they were almost silver--held him steadily off the water. [If you have wings, boy, and you can fly, what do you need Kitiane for?] � I can�t fly! These things control themselves!� [Even better. This will make things easier.] � If you want me dead, catch me!� Zidane rushed forward, suprising Tiovex just enough to get in a good slash. The dragon king hissed and snapped, tearing open a gash on the human�s arm. Zidane ignored the wound, going in for another strike. Tiovex dodged and whipped his head around, sinking his fangs into Zidane�s hand--and injecting venom in the quick bite--and then raked them up, tearing his face open. Racing away several dozen feet, Zidane held his injured cheek in stunned amazement. He couldn�t open his left eye due to the blood streaming over it and his whole body was starting to feel strangely numb. [Feeling the effects of my venom yet, boy?] Tiovex asked with a malicious laugh. His fangs were glistening red. The numb feeling receded quickly and Zidane charged Tiovex. [What?!] � I�m not a human!� Zidane roared, slicing Tiovex�s wings. The dragon wailed and dropped, now forced to exert more strength to stay up. [I�ll kill you!] He sped toward the feather-winged human-dragon and snapped desperately. <--Part 27 Part 29--> |