My Heaven
-I Knock Twice-
By Michael James
Part 1
The distress call
Outside a prison,
intended to hold dragons...
“Hello, please send rescue, we are trapped in a cell. A drake has us locked up in here.” Essex held the communication device, the S.O.S. was coming from. He knew this wouldn't end well... at all. 2 days ago this message was sent to the Wessex. There was no way to communicate back, but the voice got more and more desperate.
From the high tower his opponent watched him enter the prison. He smiled knowing he was going to have fun and Essex walked into the prison ready for a trap.
“Help, somebody... I can hear you, please help!” Essex ran down the hall and saw 2 ruby dragon people. A mother and a son, locked in a cell. “Please you have to help us. This guy is crazy!” He asked which guy? That's when he heard 2 knocks in the distance. “Wait, where are you going? Get us the fu... out of here, now!”
“Doman, its nice to know you didn't die on that ship. I was in such a rut I didn't kill you myself.” He was touch that he knew it was him before they locked eyes. “You knock twice Doman, I know of no other being that knocks twice as an invite.”
He laughed “welcome to my play yard Essex. I am ashamed to admit, you are not the fish I wanted to catch. Never the less, I am glad to find closure with you. Shall we begin?” Lets... Essex knew where he was from his sounds. He shot fire at the location. Sapphire dragon fire is pure liquid. Essex's fire, carried explosions with the liquid.
“Heh heh, you still fight like a young dragon” knock knock. Essex told the mother and son he would come back for them. But the mother shouted to get them out now!
As Essex walked away she screamed “YOU SHI... DO NOT LEAVE US HERE!” Knock knock, the noise came from behind him now. As he ran towards the noise. It went further and further, into the heart of the prison. Finally Essex stop pursuing the knocking. At the floor 2 feet deep, and dozens of feet long. Were bones of all kinds of dragons. Essex looked up and Doman on the catwalk. He was 3 stories up, because this was pin for dragon animals.
“Let the games begin” Doman said clapping his hands twice. With that, the bones grew flesh and formed into zombie like dragons. Essex looked in front of dragon and then looked up again, Doman was gone. Soon after, the 2 knocks came again and the animals looked at him. Essex sucked in his breath and created a beam of liquid fire. It cut the undead in half, clean as cutting paper. Then he ran the opposite direction. Cause when the knocks came back, the undead rose again.
In the cell block,
for human dragons...
“You coward! Come out and fight me like a true dragon!” The knocks came again and skeletons in the cells rose. Trying to get out through the bars. Finally Doman dropped from the high level. Landing right in front of Essex. “I was wrong, you do have courage.”
Doman swung his fist at Essex's head. He evaded the punch, turning and grabbing his arm. As the arms center was over his shoulder. Essex broke the bone and then threw him into a wall.
“I forgot what a broken bone feels like.” Doman stood up and knocked the wall twice. His arm healed like it was nothing. “Heh heh, I suppose I owe you an encore. Here is your eager audience.” He clapped twice and all of the nearby cells opened.
“Coward!”
“There is a difference between fear and wanting to watch an enemy suffer. Heh heh, I await you in the wardens office.”
Part 2
The wardens office
With couple hundred,
following him...
“Well this turned into a real cluster fu...” Essex concentrated his breath on the roof of the prison to cave it in on the ones following him. When it didn't work... “Oh yeah, this is a prison for dragons. Of course breath attacks wouldn't even dent it. He saw a staircase to the right and went up it. The stairs led into a long narrow hallway. The door was open in front of him and he ran for it.
Doman appeared in the doorway. “No Essex, I will not make it that easy for you.” He shouted at Doman, don't you close that door! He did just that and locked it. Essex put all his body wait into a rush hit. All he managed to do, was hurt his shoulder.
Doman knocked on the doors other side. “Oh shut up!” The undead became faster and more menacing. Essex did see an opportunity here. He let loose his fire and charred everyone one of them to ash. 2 knocks came to the doors other side. But the ash could not be revived. “I swear when I catch up with you again. I will do much more than break your arm off.” When there was no more knocks, Essex assumed he fled. Then he attempted to get the door open, but it wouldn't budge.
In the dining hall,
a while later...
Essex heard 2 knocks, and thought hey, his buddy was back. What followed next was little problematic. A drake was trying really hard to get into the hall. Followed by a huge dragon blocking off the other exit. He shrugged his shoulders asking Doman whats the point of this? A girl dragon born dropped from the ceiling.
“Uhg, this is going to be my whole day isn't it?” The gal charged him and he met her tow to tow. They grabbed each others hands trying to win at strength. “Sweet heart, I got news for you. Undead dragons don't have immunity to fire.”
She said nothing, but did kick upward and loosened his jaw. He seemed to have more strength than her. -Knock knock- she grew more flesh and got got stronger after those knocks. Essex looking up asking the gods, what happened to fair play?
“I'm sorry the gods of dragons say you are a humiliation” spouted Doman. Essex blew his fire at her after shouting, bite me. Her body survived the fire attack. Followed by a sword being thrown to each of them. “How's this for fair play?”
She didn't hesitate and took her sword ready to cut him up. Essex grabbed his sword. Both jumped back far enough their legs hit the walls. When all was even, they charged each other. The swords made huge sparks on collision. They had a sword fight and were not giving any ground. With strikes as fast as the wind and hard as the earth.
“Oh my, it seems you are evenly matched. Well we cant have that...” knock knock. She was completely whole now, just like a regular living being. Essex went from trying to find an opening. To trying to stay alive. “My pets, give them room to run.”
Essex faced the exit and saw the drake move out of the way. He bolted for the exit. But she got in front of him and kicked him hard into the wall. His shoulder was injured and he was not going to recover from it soon. Even with his regeneration ability. Good news was, it wasn't his sword arm. He got up and ran at her.
“All right you bitc... I'll show you my skills. He transformed into a big dragon animal. And hit her with a beam of explosive fire. The blast hit her dead on and all that was left was a foot.
“Well well, I guess you want to play dirty.” Knock knock, the drake that had moved out of the way. Took a humanoid form, entered the room and grew to a drake again. Essex hit it in the throat with his beam. It didn't work the same way as, the dragon born. When the beam hit. It parted upon impact as if the drake was immune. Knock knock, the drake became stronger and bigger.
“Well, shi...” Essex moved to the exit and turned into his humanoid form again. But the drake got him in its mouth and swallowed him. A moment later its serpent body was cut in half by a beam. The scales protecting its out skin went flying off.
Essex walked out of the corps asking Doman to please cut the cra... There was no voice and no knocks. Essex stood still, after a couple minutes he looked at the ceiling and saw Doman looking right at him. There was a opening in the roof.
Doman walked into the hallway that led out of the opening. Essex looked at the ground floor exit. Nothing was in his path. He ran to the exit and out into the halls.
Hours later...
“The wardens office... finally.”
Part 3
Escape
In the office...
“I don't see what I was supposed to find in here. Its just a room with an empty desk.” Essex inspected the desk all he could. There was nothing at all in the room.
“You imbecile! Do you know how long it took me to find a drake and a dragon born? Well, I'll tell you this. I will make you suffer before death!” In my discarded playground is a gas that will kill you slowly. The exit is on the 1st floor, you are on the 3rd. The lower you get the more dense the gas becomes. Oh and don't forget about the mother and son. One more thing, the gas is highly flammable.”
The speaker Essex heard him on was in the room on the wall. He realized it was a last resort trap. And he was further from the exit than he could ever be.
In the hall to the office, were dragon humanoids. Who were there to make him miserable. They were trash though, they were there just to get in his way. No breath attacks or metal hitting metal. This was going to be a huge pain in the as...
“I'm not about to die here because of a sore loser.” Essex took the desk and used it like a steam roller. Pushing his enemies out of the way, or crushing them as he rammed them into walls. Once he was out of the corridors. He took another passage, than the one he came in. Sure enough, he was in the opening above the galley. One where the floor had hundreds of undead humanoids.
Essex fell to the floor for a moment. The gas was starting to affect him. He felt dizzy and nauseous. He wasn't going to let this creep win, he would not die! He got to his feet and stood up. He ran to the desk and to the passage. Looking for the overlay, to the cells.
In the cell block,
17 minutes later...
“Mother, why is this happening?” She told him that was a great reward awaiting them. When they died and ascended the staircase. “Mother I don't want to die.”
“And I'm not going to let you” said Essex. He was really feeling the gas now. He had found keys in a storage room upstairs. “Lady..” he said and stopped, trying to breath. “Do you know which key opens this cell?” She told him the triangle one. He got them out and picked the boy up. The mother wanted to know why he came for them. She just wasn't to curious at the moment. “Do you know how to get out of here?”
“There is a back door on the second level.” Why wouldn't they just go... cough... to the front door. “Are you stupid? Doman would have definitely closed that off already.” To the second floor then. Outside the cell were more zombie dragon animals. Trying their hardest to gobble them up. “We have to get past them to get to level 2.”
The boy was starting to cough like he did it all his life. Essex told her to take her child and run at the first opening. She didn't argue, the dragons rushed him as he led them down to his left. From a stand point, the undead monsters couldn't give a damn about the mother and son. They gave them, plenty of room to run away.
“Alight you want a piece of me!” Essex grabbed the 1st dragon by the jaw and ripped it off. He kicked the 2nd and then the 3rd, out of his path. Now there was an opening to get past them. He got to the 2nd floor with a whole bunch of humanoid undead coming his direction. Then he heard the mother scream far ahead.
No desk this time. He just plowed into the mess of creatures. To get to the woman's location. When he arrived she was dead and the boy laid on the floor half dead.
“You actually went back for them.” Essex turned around and saw Doman standing there. He had an explosive in one hand and blood on the other. “Its true you could possibly kill me Essex, but you would die in the process. Why did you go back for my slaves Essex?” Because he felt it was his duty. “You are stupid, you know that. Now I will reward your idiocy and let you escape. Because I want you to have a more gruesome death than poisoned. Head down that corridor and the door to freedom, is your 3rd left.” Essex moved to pick the boy up. “No, the boy will die here. If you try to take him I will kill all 3 of us.”
“I will look for you on the battlefield on a later hour.” Essex ran for the exit without the boy and made it out. He was in his animal form heading for the water. When the whole prison blew sky high.
Essex looked all over waiting for Doman to surface. He waited 3 hours and never saw him.
My Heaven
-Marren's Graveyard-
By Michael James
Part 1
The south and the giant
At Wessex's estate,
as Essex returned...
“He knocked twice brothers, I know for sure it was him.” Wessex was behind his desk looking at a map of Norsex's attacks. It was in a definite pattern and was growing in lost land. Sussex was concerned who else their brother had recruited. While he was quizzing Wessex about what they already knew and what his thoughts were.
“Maren” murmured Wessex. What? “It's safe to say Marren has been recruited.” Impossible, she was more likely to turn on Norsex than aid the guy. “That may be true, but I know she is wrapped up in this. A stronghold is in her ocean.” A messenger came in with a letter on a dish. Wessex took and read it. He jumped up saying their queen was attacked. HE CANT BE SERIOUS! “I have to go address this, both of you are on standby until I get back.
When Wessex was gone...
“Are you thinking about her brother?” Sussex looked Essex in the eye saying he had an errand to run. “Don't do anything stupid brother.” He wished his brother well and went on his way. Sussex was once in love with Marren. They separated when it was proven she couldn't have children. It was a dark day when they broke it off. Sussex went into an ocean portal to make his way to a grave in enemy territory.
In a dead ocean,
where no life existed...
Sussex was in the ocean that would weaken him over time. But he didn't plan to stay long enough to be effected. On the ocean bottom surrounded by caverns. Sussex approached his daughters grave. She died in the egg in the womb before being birthed.
“I was wondering who was here?” Sussex jerked his head up and saw Norsex above him. He told his brother this was holy ground. There were rules to follow. Relax little brother, I don't wish to defile my niece's grave. I'm just wondering what you are doing here.” He knew Marren would appear if he came here. “You want to talk to my general. Had you asked I would have made it happen.”
“Where is she?” Norsex smiled and told him to wait here a few minutes with him. He wanted to know some things. Then he grabbed his necklace and called for Marren. “How can I be of help?” Norsex gestured a cease fire movement, Sussex did the same. Norsex touched down on the ocean floor and wanted to know of Rapier. “Why are you asking about her?” He heard she got into a brawl in a place she shouldn't have been in. “Well, our brother is handling it.”
“Hello” Marren said from above as a humanoid girl. Norsex told his brother that he should be the one watching out for her majesty. “Why of all topics are you talking about the true queen? And not that trash that she is married to” asked Marren?
“Marren I want to talk.” Norsex told her he was leaving and to have some fun. She looked at Sussex wanting to know why he thought she would talk with him. “We are here now and we are...”
“You have a lot of nerve showing your face here. I gave you my love and soul. And you broke it off because you didn't want to try again. I cant think of any other dragon I'm more pis... at. And you say you want to talk after all these decades. Well lord of the south, I will do more then talk to you. I will bury you in a sewer.”
“Marren please!”
“Remove yourself from this place of peace.” Sussex shot up into the oceans middle and and swam to the side for about 8 miles. Marren followed close behind and when he stopped she turned into a drake. Stretching her body from beginning to end for more than a mile. Sussex in his human form was an ant to a blue whale.
“Just listen to me okay!” Why, did he want to get back together? “No I want you to stay out of this war. My brother is despicable for bringing you into this” he shouted!
“The days of you telling me what to do are long gone!” With that she started work up a breath attack...
Part 2
Eaten
Shooting from,
a lake of fire...
Sussex was going faster than the force a tsunami. Marren was filling the area with liquid fire from her mouth. But her head turned slower than Sussex could swim by a half. His speed was something he worked towards not a gift he was born with.
“You always did run away, guess its no surprise why you are good at it.” Sussex didn't give a damn about her taunt. He was waiting for an opening. Despite he was moving extremely fast. She left no room for fault. “Fight me you coward!” When she stopped talking on a part of her serpent body got cut. “Oh the pain, I think I felt an itch.” his dagger cut through her scales and flesh. She was just too big.
“Time to take this seriously!” Sussex said to himself turning into a dragon himself. The size was still a huge factor. He was huge now. But like a worm to a python.
He summoned all his strength and and spewed fire into the cut on her body. Making it open a bit and fire went inside her flesh. She started to laugh asking if that was his plan.
“You think a little stitch of fire is going to do you any good. Let me show you how a real breath attack works. She actually created a current drawing in water to breath her attack. Behind Sussex were the caverns at a distance. When she let it out. The beam of liquid fire went right through the earth behind him. Like water through tissue paper. Sussex swam right at her thinking he had a break.
His goal was to blind her. Moving extremely fast, he went for her face and she emptied her stored flame. He didn't count on her catching him in her mouth. Followed by swallowing him whole. He was sent to her stomach shortly after.
“Well shi... what do I do now?” In some situations of being eaten whole. The diner can talk with the dinner or make life more difficult. This was not such an instance. He has just trapped while her body tried to digest him. Her stomach acid which felt like acid. Was flowing around in the rest of the water in her stomach. Also he was having trouble seeing because the liquid burned his eyes, he was blind.
“Good god, okay I just have to stay out of her intestines or I really will die. Damn, if only I could see.” The good thing for him if there was an advantage was while in the stomach she couldn't take human form. Its a very complicated thing to explain, though.
“Okay, what is this? Wait... what is happening!?” New liquid came in the stomach with a couple friends. Marren must have felt he was lonely because she swallowed a shiver of sharks. “You must be joking.” As he said those words to himself here came a large whale. Now the sharks were chaotic. They didn't know what was happening or what to do. They swam around being slowly digested. Getting angrier and more violent, very soon they were attacking him.
Between the shark bites and the acid. Sussex's chances for survival were going down in number fast. He realized very soon that there was a huge whale brushing against him.
“Well this is a shot in the dark but I got nothing to lose. He took his human form and got in the whales mouth. Holding the mouth shut, his body started to heal and in the water and air inside. It was allowing him a moment to think without pain.
Well okay, I'm stuck in my Ex's stomach and inside a whale no less. To keep from being melted enough to die. How do I get myself out of this. I knew I should have paid attention in my biology lessons when I was a kid. I could try and breach her stomach sack. But then how would I get out of her body from there. There are only 3 logical ways out. And for the love of my goddess I want to go out of her mouth.”
As he was pondering the whale was dead now and being dissolved. The sharks were dead too and were no longer biting. He had minutes now before his shelter was no more.
Outside in the ocean...
Marren was curled up laying on the floor. Thinking how long was she going to need to stay like this. She could feel her food digesting nicely. But then, her insides started to flare up. She felt like a regular person with their stomach on fire. Finally, she vomited out everything in her gut. Sussex was with the third of a whale and shark jaws.
“Okay Marren, I never want to go through that again!”
Part 3
Intervene
After she stopped barfing..
“What in the hell did you do to me?”
“You ate me, you have no room to complain!” Marren was breathing in water and shooting it back out. Trying to cool down her throat. Because the lava hot acid went out her throat. In dragon biology the breath attacks never come from the throat, just the mouth. “Oh stop wining, it feels worse than it is.”
“I am going to kill you Sussex. You don't know the pain I'm going to put you through. You stupid piece of shi..!” Sussex smiled thinking he almost literately was a turd. “What the fu... are you smiling at?” Oh just a bit of humor on a play on her words. “You are pis... me off!” Sussex found the courage to giggle. “STOP LAUGHING!”
He did as requested and then asked her, “why did you eat sharks whole?” She thought he could use the company. “Was that why you ate a whale too?” No, that little snack was all for her. Did he seriously think he would be enough? Sussex didn't answer. All he did was look in her direction with a serious expression. She asked him if he heard her? “Be silent!” Marren looked at him asking what was wrong? “Can you not sense that?” She trusted him enough to look behind herself.
Something powerful was indeed coming. Neither one knew what it was, the only visual they had was a black cloud of water. Sussex readied himself figuring out what was going on. Marren asked what was this darkness creeping towards them.
“It's Amethyst.” What... why would Amethyst come here. “Oh no, it's Henry!” Marren took her human form and landed on the ocean floor. It wasn't just Henry he had several warriors at his side. Sussex touched down on the ocean floor.
As King Henry swam up...
The two showed no aggression to him. At Henry's side were 7 great war lords, all in dragon form. Henry touched down and took human form. Marren wanted to run, but knew it wouldn't help her. Sussex was hoping to negotiate for his life.
“Well well, I came upon a little love story. Tell me lord of the South, what would you say if I wanted to hurt her?” Sussex told him not to touch her! “Tsk tsk... I didn't really mean anything by it. You are enemies after all. Why give a damn?”
“Lord Henry, have we wronged you in some way?” He started laughing like a crazy man. No they hadn't done anything particularly annoying. It was just silly to think their civil feud would go unnoticed. “Do you plan to kill us?” He wasn't sure yet, he wanted Marren to strip now. “Don't you dare touch her” Sussex growled.
Just then they all looked up and liquid fire down between them. Causing damage and noise. When the flames subsided, Norsex was between the two forces. Floating over a canyon his meteor fire just created. Henry was shielded by a soldier who did not fare to well.
“Ah, the brother without a country to call his own. Well that was quite the entrance you made. Now its my turn to make a spectacle of myself.” Norsex smiled at him.
“Tell me great king do you think you can fend off all 4 of us and my generals at once?” Come again? “They are on their way. My brother Wessex especially wants to say hello to you.” Henry would just kill them now and flee the others. “I'm confident I could hold you off until they got here.” Sussex swam to Norsex's side saying to would be better than one. Marren took her drake form behind them.
“Very well, you there, warrior to my furthest left. I order you to buy me time.” The soldier took his human form with an ax in his hand. Henry swam away and Sussex knew this was a lie. Who wouldn't have thought it was. But when the enemy was hit by Wessex fire from above. Sussex looked up and saw his other two brothers.
“I am at war with the 3 of you. But I will not allow Amethyst to take what is ours. Sussex, you stood in defense of her. Should you ever want to defect. I will welcome you.” Norsex connected with the ocean and opened a portal to an ocean far away. “Come Marren.”
When they were gone...
“So now we have two enemies to worry about.” Wessex asked if he was hurt. “No brother, I am fine.” Good... Wessex punched him in the gut hard. “Brother?”
“Why would you risk your life like this!?” Sussex was gasping from the pain. Essex told Wessex he was to blame. “I'll get to you in a moment!” Wessex shouted pointing his finger in anger. Sussex told his brother he thought he could persuade Marren. Time was not a luxury they had. “Promise me you will not do this again.”
“I promise...”