The shadow approached quickly, shifting into a straight nosedive as it flew over them. Bursting through the dark clouds, it moved with such speed that its small distant figure turned massive in moments, casting a dark shadow over them. That shadow passed as soon as it came, the figure pulling back, the flap of their wings enough to momentarily reveal a mound of rocky dirt, the waves blowing past the rock he and Melina waited on and quickly returning to cover it back up.
Slow beats of their wings sent constant tremors and ripples throughout the lake as it descended before them.
Noticeably bigger than the unconscious dragon near them. Gray stony skin that was nearly a perfect match for the corpse back on the island. Two different sets of wings, neither of which were a part of the dragon's arms, the bigger set growing out from the upper back to shoulder blade with the much smaller pair near the dragon's waist, its inner area appearing to be colored something close to a reflective bronze.
As it settled into the lake beside the other dragon, head level with them, the deep yellow colored eyes within its horned and spiked visage locked with his.
The hairs along his neck stood fully, her presence alone forcing goosebumps to form along his arms.
Now she was what he was looking for.
"You've not killed this one." Her voice, a deep rumble that maintained the ripples breaking out across the lake despite her stilled form, broke the silence between them. "You're reasoning?"
"Didn't have any reason to." Onyx said.
"Did you not suffer an unprovoked attack?"
"Sure, but I came here knowing it hunted around the lake." Onyx admitted. "Besides, I like dragons. I've got no problem letting bygones be bygones with this one."
The admission was meant with silence.
Suddenly the dragon raised one of her clawed front hands, water leaking off its ends, before bringing it back down. A spark of crimson arced between her horns as the limb slammed into the ground.
The unconscious dragon awoke with a jolt, a heavy breath escaping it as its eyes instantly narrowed and smoke began to escape the ends of its mouth.
It'd see he and Melina burnt to a crisp.
"Grrrrmmm." A hum, far lower in volume than the roars the attacking dragon had unleashed on them, filled the air.
It was no less intense.
As goosebumps continued their spread across his body, the primitive dragon froze from its rise on the spot, budding flames and breath alike put completely on hold in response to the sound. It was only after another low vibrating hum that it moved again.
He and Melina weren't spared another glance, the dragon breaking out into a flight without ever bothering to get a proper look at the source of the sounds.
"Be cautious." Marika warned with her far more familiar forcefulness. "Any foolishness on thee's part may result in our shared demise. Should it attack-"
Like he was worried about a sudden attack from her.
Onyx grinned, standing as the dragon's gaze turned from her retreating kin and back to him. "Want to fight?"
Marika's disbelief was immediate.
"Fight?" The dragon rumbled lowly. Bit by bit, her wide spanning wings fully stretched out, much of the distant Erdtree blocked by her massive form, as her head rose, more crimson arcs of energy sparking between her horns. "Yes."
XOXO
Onyx's back hit the ground with such force that he bounced off dirt and stone, sent tumbling through the murky waters of Lake Agheel. He didn't fight it, shifting and pushing himself out of the ground. He landed on the Grafted Blade, one foot on its guard and the other on the bottom of its handle.
Gale winds blew past him, hair and clothes whipping about as waves threatened to loosen the Grafted Blade from its place. Ahead, the unnamed dragon stood in place, the constant beat of her wings dispersing the massive blue gathering of energy that Sellen had been lobbing over as well as warding off Melina's approach. Rather than resist the winds, Melina was sent back, flipping and stabbing her dagger into the water as she landed just behind him.
This dragon was warding off on assault on three fronts.
"Stay out of this." Onyx said, dropping off the blade and sinking down into lake's rapid waters, a hand placed on the handle. "Tell Sellen to do the same." Properly grasping the handle. He ripped it from the loose dirt and winded his arm back, chucking it forward. He sprinted after it before Melina could get out a word.
Another flap of the dragon's wings, this one directed solely at him knocked the twirling Grafted Blade off course, uplifting it. He leaped after it, grasping the handle with both hands. Another focused flap failed to blow him away, mana momentarily increasing his density several times over. He fell, a heavy downward slash brought down across her neck.
A swipe shot out the moment he landed, Onyx flipping over the swinging claws and shooting off to her other arm, another two handed slash scored across the wrist.
No blood. Not even a chip in the stony skin.
The Grafted Blade could do nothing more than stagger her but even that feat had more to do with his strength than anything else. And that stagger was barely an inconvenience, another swipe already putting him back on the defensive before he could follow up.
As he leaped out from beneath her shadow, her head shot forward, Grafted Blade caught within a sharp row of teeth. Be it her skin, teeth, or the flesh of her insides, the blade wasn't nearly strong enough to leave a mark. Onyx released the handle and she sent the weapon twirling through the air with a swing of her head.
Strength was her realm anyways. He needed to rely on their speed difference.
He shot forward again, only a step ahead of her swipes and bites. Her limbs, underside, skull. Like the Grafted Blade, his fists could stagger her but that all amounted to nothing more than last second dodges to avoid her retaliations.
At best he was bruising her and that was assuming she could be bruised. At worst, all his attacks were nothing more than a child's attempt at roughhousing.
As he backpedaled from beneath her shadow, she moved a clawed hand forward, entire body beginning to turn. She twisted, tail whipping out. He jumped, grabbing hold of one of the spikes running along it and threw himself towards her center, quickly running up the length of her back.
How to go about this? The eyes?
Her rising head turned, one of her yellow eyes glued to him as he ran up her.
That wouldn't work. The difference in speed between them wasn't so great that he could score a hit like that.
Disable her? Fat chance of that. The nose tended to be a universal weakness among animals with them, but she wouldn't fall victim to a hit like that and the exact inner workings of this world's dragons were beyond him. His hits had yet to reveal anything along the line of pressure points. He could keep at it, but he was more likely to burn through all his mana before any difference was made.
So how was he-
Crimson arcs of energy raced across her spike lined spine. The air around him vibrated for a fraction of a second. He twisted and a strike of crimson lightning hit the spot he'd been standing in, dispersing into separate webs of crawling electricity. The air around him shook once more. Another strike of the artificial lightning narrowly missed him.
Onyx stayed half a step ahead of them, eyes wide as a grin crossed his face.
This lightning. Every bit of it came from her and her alone.
Just his luck though. Trying to stick to her underside meant avoiding deadly swipes and the crushing slams of her limbs while running along her meant contending with electricity that would do far more than stun or leave him with burns.
Still, they were at something of an impasse. She couldn't touch him any more than he could wound her.
With a mighty flap of her wings, all of which straightened out, her head raised into a roar that echoed through him, a storm of crimson lightning brought down not on him but around them. Unlike the previous ones that acted as traditional lightning, gone in the same instant they appeared, these persisted. They shifted and chained together, forming a dense webbing of electricity he couldn't see much of anything beyond.
He twisted and turned, the lightning all around, including above, having curved inwards to join into a ceiling of sparking bars.
A cage.
A final thicker spark descended past the arcing prison, striking her skull.
His footing loss, Onyx landed back in the lake's murky waters, the dragon nowhere to be found but-
He twisted, wincing as a dark blur shot past him. His hand dropped to his side, pressing against the set of deep gashes.
-but still very much present.
A sharp face framed by long silvery locks. Arms, legs, and a vast majority of her bare body remained wrapped in that stony shell though near her center and chest fair skin took form. All four wings remained, a set at her back while the smaller pair grew just above her hips at the small of her back. Tall horns grew out from her hair, a row of jagged stone skin outlining her face with bits growing along that fair skin around her yellow eyes and neck. A long thick tail lazily swayed along the waters behind her.
She raised her right hand, their clawed digits darkened further by his blood, up to her face, gaze lingering on it before she swung it, the liquid splashing into the water below.
"Are we done?" She questioned, her firm voice no longer joined by rumbles.
This transformation had completely eliminated his speed advantage and based off that swift attack, even if it meant she'd lost strength, she'd have little trouble tearing through the reinforcement of his mana.
"I'm not." Onyx said, reaching into his pouches. He whipped out the bloody daggers taken from that tarnished Yura beheaded, spinning them, the left settling into a reverse grip while he pointed the other towards her. "You?"
She lowered herself, the black slitted pupils of her eyes widening a smidge.
Onyx slowed his breathing, taking deep deliberate breaths. Mana alone wouldn't be enough for her.
An arc of lightning flashed down from the ceiling of the cage around them.
Onyx shifted and backpedaled, claws slicing away strands of hair. More followed, unrelenting and merciless. She might've lost a form that most would consider monstrous but lost nothing in terms of sheer ferocity. His eyes, neck, and any other vital in her reach were not spared from an attempted attack.
As he jumped away, daggers pulled far back, she shot forward with a flap of her wings.
He swung, the blades' bandages ripped away by the arcs of blood that raced out. He planted a foot on the ground as a swing of her claws dispersed them and shot right at her, taking the offensive this time. Daggers met claws, her arms faltering.
So she had lost some of her raw strength.
He took full advantage, pressing into her with rapid swings and stabs. He had to fight for it, the woman managing to fend off the constant barrage for far longer than expected but he forced her into a backpedal, giving chase as he tried to strong arm his way through her defenses. She refused to let him find out whether or not that skin of hers would be easier to rend, everything blocked and redirected by her scaled arms.
As he pressed his daggers into her forearms, her wings flapped and she flew back, his slashes sinking into the water. He instantly leaped after her, daggers brought down from above for an even heavier pair of overhead slashes.
She shifted into a turn.
Shit. His daggers met her tail. Unlike her arms, it retained all of her draconic strength, the thing clashing with his slashes for a moment before he was sent soaring to the heights of the sparking cage. A quick flap of her wings and she followed. He blocked her swipe as she passed but she turned quickly, claws poised to cut into him before he got a chance to fall.
His cheek, arms, legs. Deeper and deeper cuts were left in the wake of her swipes at him, healing only for a fresh one to replace them. Any blade of blood he sent her way was dodged or dispersed with ease, unable to slow the incoming attacks.
Keeping me airborne so she can control the fight. Brutal. Onyx thought with a widening grin.
She was perfect.
As she turned for another swipe at him, Onyx tossed aside the daggers, arms spread out, his mana speeding through them. Seizing the opening, she didn't settle for a swipe, instead driving the claws of her left hand right into his exposed side, a flash of pain spreading out as she skewered him.
He swung his straightened left arm. Narrowed eyes gave away her confusion and suspicion as she raised her free arm to meet the blow.
Stone cracked and scales gave way to tough flesh, the end of his hand digging into her arm like the sharpest of blades. Onyx snatched one of her bending wings with his other hand, the two of them spinning to a plummet as blood splattered their faces. He ripped his hand free as he pulled away, her claws sliding out as he jumped off, feet splashing into the water below.
She saved herself from a crash but landed across from him with a similar splash.
"Let's both do our best, yeah?" Onyx said, as he wiped the blood away from his face, mana flashing beneath his wounds and healing them all. Breathing techniques, mana, basic combat experience. She could handle everything he was capable of right now.
She raised her arm, crimson electricity sparking over the torn flesh. When the light vanished, just like his, the wound was gone.
Rather than prepping her claws she raised her right arm, hand open. A deafening bang filled the air, an arc of electricity descending through the cage and slamming into her open palm. She grasped, the persisting bolt shifting, lengthening, and sharpening all at once. With a swing that glided across the water around their calves, she held her newly formed weapon out to her side.
A crackling glaive made entirely of that crimson electricity.
It was small but she returned his grin, revealing a bit of her sharper than usual canine teeth.
This was going to be interesting.
They shot forward.
XOXO
Stay out of it.
That was his command. A rarity from Onyx. Melina had relayed the words to Sellen and followed them herself for a time before discarding her physical form to slip past the cage of electricity and observe the battle.
Crimson electricity raced across Onyx's form, each clash with the ancient dragon's self-made glaive subjecting him to a fresh wave. They left dark burns, some even cuts, but he didn't bat an eye, bare arms used to stab and cut at the woman.
Both suffered wounds. Both healed from them. Both grinned at one another despite the dozens of fatal attacks that could've spelled the other's end.
They were enjoying themselves, unparalleled ferocity behind their exchanges, yet not a single speck of the anger, hate, or bloodlust so common between those of The Lands Between present.
How?
Did they find common ground in the haze of battle? In spilling each other's blood? In attempting to end the other's life?
Soon things began to take a turn.
Their grins were gone, the dragon's crimson electricity intensifying, the cage itself striking down around them. As for Onyx, the dark blue flame Melina had only seen once before began to take shape. It took formed around him like an aura, trailing up into the sky above as it thinned.
It was different. Weaker than before. Translucent. And not nearly as wild.
In conjunction with that change, their exchanges grew bloodier, their sharpened and precise movements giving the other no room to dodge or back away without suffering some injury. Neither backed down, their healing supplementing that.
Until Onyx's failed him.
In such a violent battle, blood loss took its toll quickly, the price coming in the form of slowed and haggard movements. With that dragon still at her best, it wasn't long until she brought him low, Onyx collapsing to a knee as she brought her glaive to his neck.
Intense heat burned at Melina.
Stay out of it.
That was his command.
No part of her was spared, the fire at her center spreading without heed of the pain it caused.
The dragon pulled back her glaive and the burn ceded for a moment, only to flare up angrily as the weapon was raised into the air, more power gathering at its tip.
She should follow his order. She had to. He was champion to Queen Marika the Eternal. She was in no position to do anything. She-
You think too much. More of Onyx's words flashed through her mind along with the smiles that often came with them.
Melina willed herself to form behind the dragon, dagger unsheathed.
XOXO
(A/N: We can never forget that Melina got that dog in her. Lansseax might've triggered it, lol.
Onyx's access to mana catapulted him far ahead of everything in Limgrave and plenty of other areas in the game but an ancient dragon, specifically ones like Fortissax and Lansseax, especially when my own custom spin on what they're lightning allows them to do, keeps them ahead of him until he has a more unrestrained access to his power.
Aka, the dragon showed up on the best possible opportunity to avoid taking an L and providing Onyx with something very important.
Anyways, here is the link for those who want to read ahead for anything I'm writing:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
See you in the next one and all that. And if anyone's planning on asking, I'm preparing to release at least one RWBY chapter this week. Not sure if I'll follow through but that is the plan.)