Dragon Savers Episode 37

Valorous Plumage

“You... I know you three! You're from that annoying group of Roxis! What are you doing here in my territory?” the woman shouted angrily at the three. Alice landed a rage-inducing squint on the woman, showing suspicion and disgust to her.
“Oh, it's goldilocks coming in!” she ranted monotonously. Hearing this made Little slightly laugh. “Pffff… Goldilocks…”
Maeri glared at the woman with her angry eyes. “So you're the leader eh? Leave the dragons to us and get back to your base, before a battle starts here…” she ranted, showing her teeth. She can see through the woman’s eyes that she detests girls.
Little was quite surprised with what Maeri said. “Huh? Are you serious?”
The woman spoke to them, “I’m the leader of this castle, Lockheart Darkkalos. I am in no need of female workers like you failures!”
Maeri proudly replied, “Failures? Us three? You eventually failed the last time!”
Alice dipped in their talk, “Oh whatever you say guys, this woman will boast out her name, address and even her bothersome, boring cliché,” she said with a yawn. This girl Lockheart became irritated with Alice’s behavior. “I don’t care about what you say bastards. I only want Maykel to be with me forever. So if I were you, I’ll leave now and cry on your guild’s rooms.”
Maeri suddenly gritted her teeth, gripping her brush like a sword. “Oh yea? What if I don’t leave, LockFART?” she sneered.
“Maeri looks weird when she gloat the Lloyd way…” Little mumbled with a sour face. “That’s not much of a problem. Let her,” Alice replied.
Maeri said to the two, “I know I should keep my temper down as a White Artistan. Leave this girl and keep releasing the remaining dragons.”
Then, Lockheart puts out her witch wand. “The name’s Lockheart idiot! LOCK-HEART!” “Problem?” She positions herself to the fencing stance. “Guys, stay back. Do as what I said! GO!”

And then, a battle started between the two. Maeri tried to land damage onto the foe with the damaged Valor Seraph and tried to launch as many slashes as she can. But Lockheart denied her attacks and tries stopping the other two from freeing the dragons.
“This is getting worse! She’s ignoring Maeri! She knows that we have no ammo on hand!” Little stammered while dodging the magic created by Lock.
Alice was still quiet. She gripped on the dynamited remaining in her bag. “Still, I need to save my last strength from this girl. Although I still have dynamites on hand…”
“Don’t go near the baby dragons!” Before Lockheart summons magic, Maeri slashed her with the sword, landing a strong wind impact on the former's arm. “AARRGH!!” the foe screamed, then she went farther from Maeri.
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t forget I’m here. You have to pass me first!” Maeri said, pointing the sword. “You maybe a magician, but you’re weak against physical damage.”
Lockheart suddenly smirked. “Oh really? Then, she raised her wand, releasing dark pink light, healing herself. “I don’t mind it. As long as I had my wand.”
Alice blurted out, “Ghh!! Coward! Cheater!!” Maeri stretched her hand on Alice’s front, telling her to stop ranting. “Guys, I want you to stay back and give this to me. Support me if necessary.”
The woman crossed her arms. “Hmpf! Well it would be much better if this ugly one with a pretty sword would die.” Then, she points the wand towards Maeri. She successfully countered it using Meteor Strike, but she got thrown out and the sword got damaged.
“Tch! I hate witches and long-ranged shooters! Phase Vert.” She looked around and found another sword. “I have to get close…”
“Try to shield this!” Lockheart shouted, summoning lightning from her wand. Maeri quickly struck the ground with the other sword and used it as a lightning rod. “Too much magic!”
“Hmpf! Smart little one are you?” Then, she waved the wand and hollow armored knights appeared.
Maeri hissed angrily, “Grrr!!” She said in mind, “This freak magician can summon units of any number. I guess we’re trapped in a situation where we had to escape or die. But by all means, I have to find a way to hit her!”

“Now what’s happening above?” Mike sneered, looking at the portal. The two Scarecrows perked up as they heard explosions from the hole. Harmony then came out of the hole in panic. “Need help here!! They’re attacked!!”
Ruvi then took the step and tried to go up. “Let me handle this nya!” She entered the hole with the help of some dragons, before the blasting became louder.
The guards charged towards the three, until a black shadow dashed at one guard’s face and scratching it. “NYAAAAA!!!” And then, another person came out of the blue, activating her shield. “GIRLS, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”
Little recognized her. “Ruvi, you came!” She slides under the defensive shield of Girouette. “Who informed you we are here?”
“It was Harmony, nya~. She went into the portal to inform us me about the situation here. She’s currently at Dewfield for the hatchlings nya~.” She looked around.
“Hey Alice, come here!” she called her. “Okay!” Alice replied, sliding towards the shield. But a guard grabbed her on the neck.
“LET HER GO!!” Maeri roared, flailing her sword in thought of sending a long-ranged wave. But strangely, the moment she flailed herself, the damaged scarf would flick out sharp feathers at a wide angle, which cuts through the arm of the guard grabbing Alice. The latter fell on the floor, catching her breath. “Thanks for saving me, but how did you do that?”
"I don't know. Maybe..." She looked at her wing scarf, and suddenly got an idea. "I get it now!"
"Hey, are we forgetting someone?" Ruvi stammered. "LOCKHEART!!"
Maeri sensed the black aura, which went to the other door. “Trying to escape huh? Guys, clear out the place! I’ll get her this time!” And she ran to chase Lockheart.
Little was awestruck with Maeri’s slashing. “She slashed the guard with her sword. The cutting power of her wind aura is just so strong…” “Guys, look here!” Alice points on the cut guard, and on the wall where the feathers flew.
“Look at the guard. Its cuts are clean, and the feathers on the wall.” "Amazing..." Ruvi would pull out the feather being almost buried on the wall.
“The feathers are suppose to come from Maeri's wing scarf. Now if she could figure out she can device a long-ranged attack,” Little said.
“Now I know better… The damaged scarf of the Valor Seraph had eventually granted her an idea…” Alice muttered. Girouette stared on the embers, before talking, “What you mean, nya~? Is she… going to…”
“Possibly devise a new Phase Skill!!” Little replied, her sweat falls rapidly.

Meanwhile, Maeri followed the woman to the grand hall of the castle. She was trying to get at close combat, but due to the damaged scarf, she can't even jump farther. Lockheart dodges the attacks from Maeri. But the Artistan knows better than Lockheart. And then, Lock quickly jumped away from her, landing on the hall throne of the castle.
Before she talks, she falsely laughed hard. “You think you can fly with that sword you have there and catch up with my speed? Or you were just imagining things.” Maeri never answered, her bangs covering her right eye.
“You’re such a freak! You were daydreaming too much that you were doing nothing but swing your petty sword while acting like you fly in the air like a child! And what's with all the wind you're trying to fan on me? Are you some sort of a wind waker there? NOPE! Imagination is only imagination. Come on this is reality! And Reality doesn’t accept a retarded freak like you!” and she laughed more.
Maeri broke the silence in her mind, and then glared at Lockheart with her eyes. “So you think… I’m a retarded freak? Or you were just too afraid or too dumb to not look around?”
The girl stopped laughing and looked around. The floors were scratched and the walls, pillars and curtains got cuts. To her surprise, the cause of the cuts were feathers! “What? Impossible!” She looked around for some more, not noticing the incoming attack from Maeri. “KYAAAA!”
Maeri spoke out in an increasing volume, “You’re saying it’s over? I’m just starting!” She gripped on her sword in a fencing stance. The damaged wing scarf would stretched itself wide like Maeri's proud wings.
“What the hell?!” Lockheart gasped. Maeri looked at the sword she was holding. “O winds of Valor Seraph, show to this foe your billowing storms. Through the feathers which fall from your scarf, be it thrown like darts... Phase Jaunde...”
Lockheart eyed the girl. “W-who are you? Could it be…” She soon notice Maeri's aura started to whip up, causing the winds to blow around her. To her surprise, she would notice the extension on Maeri's right eyebrow. She became furious and puts out her wand. “Artistan... Ghh, damn YOU!! DIE!!” She blasted out electric bolts from the wand.
Maeri immediately dodged and leaped to the other side. “HIYA!!” She flickers her scarf, sending very sharp wind feathers.
“You can't hit me with that!!” Lockheart, in rage, fired a dark magic beam towards the feathers, causing an explosion and smoke around. She then looked around before attempting to move out, but Maeri suddenly leaped towards her with the sword ready. “Phase Amber! AERIAL BASH!!”
The sword struck the girl's wand which summoned a barrier, creating a violent explosion, shattering the barrier. The witch wand was crushed due to the impact. “NOOOO!!...” She fell on the floor in shame. “I’m… I’m defeated… by an Artistan… Why? Who is she?”
Maeri pulled out her sword from the crack. “Hmm... You lost. You know the reason why? You battled mouth first before action. And you battle with wrath and envy within your heart. A warrior shouldn’t fight with evilness inside the heart, for it shall only cause him weakness.”
She turned towards the entrance of the hall, before walking away like nothing happened. “And by the way, don’t ask me why I didn’t kill, because killing is not my will.”
“Hmpf! Foolish!” Lockheart gained the chance to kill Maeri, by throwing the feather dart enchanted with her own magic to Maeri. But the dart appeared to lose its sharpness when it comes in contact with Maeri's wind aura. Then, she turned back. “I should have left this place. Well, I enjoyed that battle, and it all thanks to you that I learned a new skill…”
Lockheart raised her hand and teleported. “Don’t think it’s over Artistan! Time will come you’ll lose and die, just like the rest of your weak comrades!!” she shouted.
Maeri looked at the fading light. “So be it.” She carried the sword on her shoulder, then looked for the others, before they ran towards her. “MAERI!!” “Guys!” she said, waving her hand. And they marched back to the storage.
“So Maeri, what will be the name of your new Skill?” Little said, while looking at the sword. Alice thought about the features as she eyed the sword. “This is supposed to be her Phase Jaunde by now. Come to think of it Maeri, you missed out filling the skill for the Phase before this."
Girouette then talked, “Maeri, I just noticed, the plumage from your scarf were like darts when you shot it to the guards.”
“Yeah, I noticed it, and made it official. It all thanks to that Blazeron's attack which damaged my wings. I figured out I could attack at a long range even if I lack flight,” she replied. Then, she looked at the sword carefully. “I know, I’ll name the Skill as Feather Storm... urrggh…” She suddenly fainted.
“Maeri!” The girls lifted her up. “Hurry, let’s bring her back to the base!”

Back in the base…
“What now?” Alastair murmured, still staring at the hole above. “It’s just me or I somehow felt the presence of that witch from inside it?” Mike mumbled, hands akimbo.
The two scarecrows stood up, watching. They later sighed in relief as soon they saw the rescue team scurried out from the hole, but it doesn't last long, as they saw the gang was hauling Maeri at the end.
“GUYS, TAKE HER TO THE INFIRMARY!!” Little shouted, lifting the unconscious girl. Girouette was holding Maeri's Valor Seraph sword which had its damaged wing scarf. The gang took her into the treatment room. Alice, on the other hand, splashed a tub of water at the hole, sealing it.
"So the paint will dissolve as soon it hits water…" Mike muttered, looking at the slowly disappearing hole. "I know right? Paint~" Lloyd hummed at the end.
"Ha, ha very funny. By the way, is that a sword that came out from Maeri's brush?" Mike asked Ruvi.
"Yah, nya. It's her Valor Seraph at Phase Jaunde, or level 3." she answered, scratching her arms. The brush somehow had turned back to normal, with its damaged tip.

Later, the gang gathered in the house, discussing about their achievements for saving the dragons.
"Eih? Where's Lance?" Nini asked, looking around, before they heard a thud and something rolling. They looked up, and saw Lance, carrying a luggage down the stairs. Watson scuttled behind, pulling Lance's hat before placing it at Lance's head.
"Where are you going, Lance?" Mike asked, feeling curious.
"Ah… visiting… you know who…" Lance grinned, putting his hands at his cheek before twitching his finger. Immediately Mike's eyes widen with disbelief.
"You gonna visit HER?!" he yelled. Nini, heard it, stood up.
"Who's the HER that Mike talked about?!" Nini ranted, grabbing Lance's collars, but Watson hissed at her, causing her to yelp, and run at Little's back.
"I'm visiting my 'MOM', got it? Sheesh, don't be over-reactive, Nini!" Lance groaned, tapping his shoulders, before lifting the luggage again.
"I thought you don't have a mom-I mean you said you're an orphan!" Nini chortled, quite bewildered.
"Naah, not anymore. Someone adopted me at Elsyrian. Well, see ya guys later." Lance moved to the lobby, before standing on an alchemy circle, that was around 10 meter radius right beside the receptionist desk. The circle seems to be able to fit around six people to stand on it.
"Eh-what's that? I saw it, but I don't know why it's there." Alastair asked. Lance then grinned.
"This is the Teleport Portal. It only works to places that had these circles, and well, you need dragocites in order to make it work, such as these." Lance put out some blue-violet crystals from his backpack. He later placed one of the stones on the circle, six of them at the outer ring and three in the inner ring where he's standing. Then the circle glowed up, and the stones started to float, before spinning around him.
"Whoa!!" the gang shouted.
"Don't touch the stones at the outer ring-it'll cancel the teleportation!" Lance yelped, when Mike came near the circle.
"By the way, I marked the places that had the rings, it's on the map right there." Lance leered on the atlas nearby the assignment board, and about fifteen tacks were placed on various regions in the map. Only from the fifteen tacks, 5 of them were blue colored, the others were red.
"The blue ones are the ones you can use. The red ones, you need to activate them first using the stones. Well I gotta go now. Journey- Elsyrian!!" Lance shouted, before the stones spun faster, and a blinding light appeared, before a laser shot out from the circle, carrying Lance, leaving leafy trails and sparkles.
"So that means we can try exploring the place with the tacks to activate the portal and we can move easier with that." Mike suggested.
"By the way, Mike, how's Lance's mom looks like? You look like you had your throat cut off when Lance say that." Nini asked, causing Mike to turn paler.
"Better not talk about it, nya." Ruvi came forward, pushing him away from Nini.

"Well, without Lance now, how we supposed to do with..Rox and Mike's dad?" Anna asked, pointing at the two scarecrows that were hanging upside down at the ceiling below the second floor, looking like enormous bats.
"Rox, stop doing that!" Ruvi squealed, pulling them down.
"Well, the worse thing of all… how to FEED them?" Nini grunted. All of them knew Rox and Vayne only eat human flesh and blood, which is the bad part, cuz they won't dare to kill other humans.
"If we can get blood supplies from a nearby hospital to feed them…" Alastair moaned. And that's when Mike got a brainstorm.
"Hey-I got an idea! Let's…" then he started to whisper at the gang, away from Rox and Vayne, but they later screamed in shock. "WHAT?!"
"Well, duh! It's the only place where we don't need to like...killing people! But seriously, I don't wanna involve myself in this blood-shedding thingamajig, but we just let these two scarecrows loose at the place where those goons live so there will be no more goons living at that place! I'm sick of them though." Mike grunted.
"But really… is it a good choice to let people's lives be thrown away simply?" Anna muttered, causing Mike to pout.
"Ok fine, that idea is deleted. So now what? Sooner or later, they gonna eat us due to starvation!" Mike groaned. Then the gang turned at Rox, who seemed to be drooling a bit, holding his tummy.
"Uh oh." Alice and Alastair gulped. Then Vayne turned around, before sniffing around the place, and suddenly flew out from the window, followed by Rox.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Ruvi scratched her head, quite having a shock. Suddenly, they heard yells, and they ran out. Both Rox and Vayne were lifting two sinister looking persons.
"Vanquisher spies!" Little yelled, pointing at them.
"No Rox, wait!" Ruvi screamed, making Rox to halt before he could bite them.
"Okay, let them into the house, we gonna have some serious questioning at them." Mike ordered, with a serious face. So the four goons were tied at a metal chair each in Lance's lab, and bright light were flared at their faces.

"So… did that witch send you guys here to spy on us again?" Alice growled, with her hands in her dress pockets filled with dynamite sticks. The goon kept quiet, only a little groan and muffles could be heard.
"If you guys don't talk, I'll let the scarecrows behind you guys eat you whole." Mike pointed at their back, where both Vayne and Rox were chained. This caused the goons to yelp and whimper.
"Yes!! Our league master ordered us!! She want us to spy on you all to get information after you guys broke through the castle before!!" one of them yelled in fear.
"Please don't let them eat us!!" another cried.
"Okay, so, cooperate with us and tell us EVERYTHING you, and that bastard was planning about." Alice snarled, pointing a firebrand at them. So all of them looked down, before they discussed with each other.
"No thinking bad thingys, the two are getting hungry, and you know very well how they'll deal with their food." Harmony chirped, sitting on Maeri's shoulder. So the four yelped, and again looked down.
"Look here, we don't want to kill people either, but those two back there only eat humans, as you might knew. So if you guys want to stay alive, just tell us the truth, why Lockheart want to kidnap the three hosts." Alastair asked politely.
"...Fine...I'll tell it." The youngest of the four spoke, causing the other three to gasp.
"Neurmal! You know our lady told us to not to leak any infos at our enemies!" another one hissed at the first one.
"Which one is more important-our lives or that creep's orders?! You know she's a bit… nasty! Last time I went near her chamber, she was like… laughing madly! Like she got something at her hands… a BIG one! And not to mention some files I found about her plans to take over the world using the dragons!" Neurmal scowled, before he turned wide eyed and turned at the gang. The gang now was looking at them seriously with wide eyes. "Ops..I guess I spilled the beans." Neurmal whimpered.
"So THAT'S her plan!! What a creep-using the dragons as weapons!" Little gasped.
"But one thing. From the three, WHY she's aiming Mike, more than the others, nya?" Ruvi asked one of them, casting a nasty leer.
"I uhh...that one… I don't know. I only work at the planning section, not the sidekick of her! Cross-Chop, tell them! You're her in-room servant, so you MUST know!" Neurmal turned at the most left goon, which gasped out loud. Mike then came closer at Cross-chop, before looking at him right in the eyes.
"Tell me, or ELSE." Mike hissed. His hair started to turn wavy again, as it's going to burn anytime.
"Ayiee!! Okay-I tell!! The reason is urm… I don't know much… but from what I heard, Mike was created to BE our lady's husband by her father, the great scientist who planned the Dragon Legion!" Cross-chop whimpered, causing Mike and Ruvi to gasp.
"Me-being that devil's husband? My ass!! She ALMOST killed my own dad!! Not to mention what she did to Drakkonan and my other family!!" Mike roared, his face turned red. Heat waves came out from his hair and cape, causing the gang to getting sweaty.
"Mike, calm yourself, you're 'cooking' people in here!!" Harmony flapped her wings at her head.
"Oh sorry!" Mike gasped, and cooled down.
"Okay, so…TELL EVERYTHING you guys know. No tricks, though, I can stare at your eyes all day long to see you are talking true or not." Alice grunted, pointing her eyes at the goons. So, the goons started to tell everything they know about Lock's plans…