A/N: Aww... It's the last chapter... ;o;
Ed: YAAAAAAAY!
Matthew: (throws confetti)
Roy: Aw, man...
FME: WAH! ):(
Link: Well, I don't have a choice...
Eliwood: But... don't you have a sequel planned?
Oh, yeah! I'll invite you guys over for that too!
Roy and FME: YAAAAAY!
Matthew: O.o... You have GOT to be kidding me...
Ed: ...you and your fat-ass mouth, Eliwood.
Eliwood: What?
Oh, I'm sorry this took a while. Something was wrong with the site, so I couldn't update. But now, I CAN! YAY! But anyways, let's get out this last chapter! Finally! OH! And thanks to CronoMaster for your support! You rule!
Dragon Blood: Chapter 10: New Resolve
The SSBM Mansion was in a slight uproar over the events of that night, but things slowly began to cool down. Vanuto was sent away to be dealt with, all property damage was being reconstructed again, and Smashers quickly recovered from any injuries they had received from the battle. And yet, not all was right.
Roy was placed in the Recovery Wing of the Mansion, and for several days the half-dragon remained in slumber since he had collapsed. Many Smashers wanted to wait until he woke up to immediately begin questioning him, but Mario would not permit anyone entrance to his room.
Finally, he allowed two people inside whom he felt deserved to know how their friend was doing. Link and Marth entered quietly, wrapped in bandages from the Deadly Strangle plants. And once inside, there they spied the boy resting in his bed. Roy was in bandages as well, though a blanket covered most of his body. His eyes were faintly sealed, breathing soft, face tranquil in sleep. The blonde and cobalt stood above him, observing his peaceful form.
A smile played across Link's face. "Heh, he looks all innocent..."
Marth couldn't help but slightly smile himself, but it slowly faded as he gently took Roy's hand, limp, yet warm. "...I just hope he'll be alright whenever he wakes up," he sighed. "After all that's happened and what he's been through..."
"Aw, he'll be fine," Link assured, leaning on the post at the foot of the bed. "Knowing Roy, he'll bounce right back into things. I wouldn't worry about it."
Somewhat comforted, Marth nodded once, running his thumb over Roy's fingers. "Huh... y'know, I never would've imagined someone like him to actually be a real half-dragon..."
Link glanced at Marth without turning his head. "...Doesn't make him any different."
"No, I know... I never really thought about it at first because we're all used to his fire powers... But when I really think about the fact that half his blood is dragon blood... It's strange, that's all..."
Link shook his head and grinned. "I dunno, having a half-dragon as a friend is pretty damn cool in my opinion."
Marth chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess... You think he'll be sensitive about it?"
"Hell no!" Link laughed. "If anything, he'll be bragging about it!"
"Yeah, he'll...!" Marth blinked and glanced down as Roy's fingers slowly but firmly curled around his own. There came a small groan, and the two watched as Roy's bright eyes of cerulean opened and blinked tiredly as the boy finally awakened to the world. As he began to recognize his surroundings, he was comforted by the sight of his two best friends in the whole world.
"Hey, Roy!" Link greeted with a goofy grin. "Welcome back to the world of the living!"
"Mmm..." Roy yawned and sat up, scratching his head with his free hand. "How long was I out...?"
"A good four days," Marth answered. "We were starting to worry."
"..." Roy was silent.
"How did you change back so easily?" Link questioned curiously.
"...The rest of my strength was subconsciously used to retain my human form," Roy responded almost robotically, and before they could ask how he knew, he looked up and asked, "What happened to Vanuto?"
"He changed back shortly after you did," Marth answered again.
"Figured as much. He needed more time to get the sufficient amount of energy to transform."
Slightly creeped out, Marth continued. "Right. He was in the Recovery Wing for a couple days, then was picked up by the National Dragonologist Society yesterday. They'll deal with him, so don't worry."
"...Oh..." Somehow, Roy seemed a bit disappointed.
"Serves the jerk right, using you for power," Link growled. "Should've known better than to recruit a sorcerer..."
Roy seemed hesitant at that. "I... I don't think he was that bad all the time..."
Link and Marth blinked in surprise at such a statement from the redhead. But before they jumped to conclusions, they decided to listen in. "What do you mean?"
Roy seemed far away as he explained. "...The study of dragons is fragile... A person studying them has to have a very steady heart and mind... It's so easy to collapse..."His eyes came up to meet theirs, clouded yet open, like a window into his soul. "...I was a dragon... it was a very powerful state... So it's possible and more likely that those only seeking knowledge will become corrupt at the promise of power... Long ago, Vanuto could've only been desiring the knowledge that dragon lore could grant him... and then power made him mad..."
Not knowing what to say in response, the elf and prince looked at each other until Link shrugged. "I... guess that makes sense..."
Marth only nodded in agreement, holding back any exceptions he could make. There wasn't a point, anyway.
Roy blinked a couple times, and the whimsical shine in his eyes vanished in an instant. There was a soft grumble, and he glanced down at his stomach. "...I'm hungry."
Marth smiled at the familiar Roy-esque comment. "Want us to go get you something?"
"Yeah, that'd be cool..." As the two began to leave, Roy thought of something and asked, "So... what are they gonna do with all of Vanuto's stuff...?"
"Well, they packed everything up in his dorm to store down in the basement. I think we're gonna move it down later today."
"Oh... alright. Thanks," Roy thanked softly, yet wholeheartedly. The two left to retrieve his request, leaving him to himself. The boy threw off the bed covers and leaped to his feet, stretching his limbs and spine needingly. He paused awkwardly, noting the absent feel of wings, and for second he regretted losing them. Groggily, he approached the window and stared out into the fresh morning skies, sighing as a complex string of thoughts moved about his mind.
----------
Later, Roy strolled down the hall, finishing off a few morsels of bread from his large sub sandwich. Most of it he had eaten during his council with Mario, whom had requested it once the news of the boy's awakening had reached him.
"Now, er..." The plumber sat across from Roy as the half-dragon devoured his first meal in days. Mario tried to ignore this. "Is there any possible way you can transform back into a dragon?"
"Dunno," Roy swallowed, picking through his teeth with his fingernails. "Maybe with the right trigger, but I don't know for sure."
"Guess we'll find that out later," Mario chuckled ironically. "Um, can you still control your powers?"
"Oh, yeah, that's not a problem," Roy answered casually, sucking on his fingertips.
"Okay, then." Mario confirmed with a nod, then leaned forward and looked levelly at Roy. "Now... I want you to stick to your old list of moves, okay?"
Roy paused before his next bite, jaw left suspended as he glanced up at Mario.
"We just... don't want any... unfortunate incidents..."
Roy lowered his sandwich slowly, glancing downward, then nodded. "...Right..."
Mario flinched, thinking he had been offending. "Ah... I-I don't want you to think that your new... discovery is a bad thing, I just..."
Roy held up a hand, stopping Mario as he took yet another bite of his sub. With full cheeks he muttered, "It's cool, it's cool..."
"Alright, if you say so..."
Roy thought about the meeting as he crunched into his last crust of bread. At last he came to his destination: a dorm door with a "Vacant" slot where a Smasher name usually was. Noises past the door indicated activity inside. Sighing to keep his cool and shoving the last bite in, Roy took the doorknob and entered.
A few Smashers occupied the dorm-Link, Marth, Zelda, Luigi, and Captain Falcon. Stacks of labeled boxes sat here and there as they were preparing to lug it all downstairs. As he stepped in, Roy's eyes and ears first fell on Falcon, grumbling as he stacked some boxes on a cart.
"This is SUCH a waste of my time..." he growled. "I should be up helping on the Tower!"
Marth turned and gave the bounty hunter an incredulous stare. "Falcon, if you can't fix something as simple as a television set without smashing it to pieces, they aren't gonna let you work on the Tower."
"GRRRR!"
Laughter filled the room, succeeding in lighting up Roy's mood. He was comforted by the presence of familiarity, glad that things were already beginning to smooth over and get back to normal before all this madness happened. He announced his presence with the closing of the door, and all eyes turned to him, most pairs brightening up.
"Yo, Roy!"
"Good to see you!"
"How you feeling, buddy?"
"Fine, fine..." Roy answered with a smile, but it faded when Falcon stepped up and stood above him with a smirk. Roy hated it when he did this, attempting to add to the illusion of the boy's short stature.
"Well, well..." Falcon grinned. "If it ain't the half-dragon."
Absolute silence.
"..." Falcon stood confused at the unchanged stare on Roy's face. "...Um..." He cleared his throat. "Well, well, if it ain't the half-dragon!"
Roy blinked. "...Oh, I'm sorry, was that supposed to be derogatory? I couldn't tell."
"...what?"
"Your insult doesn't affect him, idiot," Luigi muttered. "God, you're stupid..."
With Falcon distracted with growling, Roy pushed past him to where his friends were. He was greeted by pats on the back from his two best buds and a warm, friendly embrace from the princess.
"Oh, Roy, it's so good to see you back on your feet!" Zelda cried happily. "You wouldn't respond to any of my awakening spells, and we were all getting worried!"
Roy smiled in gratitude of her compassion. "Thanks, Zel."
Once she let go the blonde and cobalt flanked him on each side, laughing heartily as they exchanged greetings.
"Hey," Link slapped his stomach, smirking. "Nice crack at Spandex Man."
Roy burst into laughter, face full of mirth once more. "Yeah, right."
"So, what's up?" Marth asked casually, but he regretted doing so as Roy's face fell slightly as he remembered what he came here for.
"Oh, yeah... Where are his books?"
"The books? Well..."
"They're over here, in that box," Zelda pointed, making her way toward it as the others followed. She opened up the top to show him the several spines of literature, and he nodded.
"Yeah, can I take them?"
"...excuse me?"
"Uh... yeah... I'll... keep them in my dorm so they don't get all... crusty in that... cold... damp basement..." he grinned stupidly.
Zelda gave him a skeptical smirk. "Oh, really? Or is it because you're curious?"
Roy shrank a bit. "W-well..."
"Aww, don't be so hard on him, Zel..." Link grinned softly.
"I... I just want to know everything I can," Roy explained himself. "...so I can have at least kind of a grasp on all this."
Zelda nodded, lifting up the box. "Of course, I understand. Here you go." She placed it in Roy's arms. "Just don't go psychotic on us, okay?" she joked.
Roy chuckled nervously. "Ahaha... yeah. Thanks a lot."
As they watched him exit quietly, Zelda couldn't help but look worried for some reason.
"Don't worry, Zel," Link comforted. "That won't happen. He knows better."
"Yeah..." Marth sighed ruefully. "Because he's experienced it first-hand."
----------
Roy waited for a good time to start reading, leaving the books in the safety of his dorm as he let the other Smashers know he was alright and dined especially heartily at dinner. His friends were most glad to see him in a much more cheery mood after all that had happened to him. Recovery was inevitable.
As the evening began to cool down, Roy retired to his dorm for the night, ready to begin a long process. Vanuto had quite a large collection of books, after all.
The anxious half-dragon dug into the box, searching for text that most appealed to him. At last, he saw a deep red spine with no title, and curiosity (as well as perhaps fate) drew his hand to slip it out and look it over.
It was a large, red book, leather-bound and green stones set on the front cover. Dragon symbols were sketched everywhere, along with rune letters that Roy's subconscious could immediately translate to read "Drake's Complete Book of Dragons."
Seems like a good place to start. Curiously, Roy turned the book over to find a quote on the back cover in curved, silver letters:
No doubt but there is none other beeste comparable to the mightie dragon in awesome power and magestie, and few so worthie of the diligent studies of wise men.
Gildas Magnus, Ars Draconis, 1465.
Roy chuckled in irony. "Too true, Gildas, too true..."
Slowly he opened the covers and briefly glanced through the illustrated pages, gaining interest. He flipped to the inside cover and read a brief note by the author, Dr. Ernest Drake, who described his work as "the Secret and Ancient Society of Dragonologists."
Well, better get started. He opened to the first page and began to read...
Of all the natural sciences, dragonology is perhaps the most rewarding, being at the same time one of the oldest and least researched. Dragons have been studied since mankind's earliest days and yet, paradoxically, they are one of the least known of Earth's creatures. So, while many scientists believe the vast majority of the world's flora and fauna are now understood, in the little-known field of dragonology the way lies open for exciting new discoveries.
THE END
A/N: Most of my info and quotes were taken from here:
Drake, Ernest. Dragonology. ed Dugland A. Steer. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2003.
Eliwood: Ooh... MLA format...
WOOHOO! This is done! Yay!
FME: That was such a good story:)
Roy: I LIKEY!
Ed: -.-; I just wish it was OVER...
Well, I'll get to Three Renegades before I'll post the first chappie. How's that sound?
Ed: ...okay...
Matthew: ...the gods hate me... (cries)
Eliwood: Aw... POOR MATT! (huggles)
Matthew: O.o
Link: XD
Review this ficcy please!