Dragons vs. Aliens

The mountain rumbled as Dozae-Rae let out an earthshaking roar.

The sky became alive and hostile as a chunk of the enemy's air force shrieked across the mountain, swooping and turning against the Earthling fighters. Plasma and rocket fumes blanketed the air, with a few stray shots peppering the mountainside. After a minute though, the dogfight trailed away, toward the south with the victor unknown.

Only then did the EVO gunboats return to Dozae-Rae's nest. Four surrounded the keep and began to disembark across the wide altar, all attention going to the dragon. Out of thirty-odd aliens, a tall grey imp walked forward as his beasts made a semi-circle.

"Most precious Apex Predator," he said with a bow. "We hope those demons did not try to harm you."

"They did wake me from my nap," Dozae-Rae replied, looking away. "I thank you."

This filled the Grey Man with pride. "They are not to be trusted, those humans. They only seek to destroy your planet and reform it in their image. They have no sense of nature. They are parasites."

Dozae-Rae observed his familiar surroundings, allowing the group of aliens to understand and partake as well.

"The natives built this place for me, and I seem to be popular galaxy-wide." He chuckled. "They don't seem to like you either."

"It is our mission to eradicate demons." The Grey Man replied. "Surely you've seen how the lands they inhabit, how everything turns to ruin. We EVO are not that. We are pure animals."

Sam and Vinisnu reached the top of the stairs and ducked. The EVO weren't aware of them yet. With the element of surprise, it would be like a shooting range. No problem.

Dozae-Rae nodded sagely. "I don't begrudge you there," he said. "But this mountain was so full of life before the Pandemians left. Poor, pitiful Pandemians. But I don't think you've fully grasped the ways of this world either, and that makes you just as foolish."

"Nonsense! We are ascended beings, level eight and higher! You, mighty lizard, are at least level twelve or higher! I trust in your wisdom. What do I not see?"

"You're missing a key component here." The God of Rae's mouth brimmed with heat and energy. "What if I told you that I am human?"

"That's...impossible. It'd mean-."

The first triggers were pulled as Dozae-Rae blew hot, plasma-like energy into the force, his neck swinging wide to incinerate them by the lot. Pulse fire returned and singed him, but it wasn't enough to penetrate his skin. The God was too strong.

However, the aliens had brought their large dinosaur beasts, the Monos, and four of their number surrounded Dozae like hyenas approaching a lion. With fresh fury, they swung into melee with their claws and teeth. One Monos lashed out with its teeth and caught him by the neck, its kappa-like retainer cackling like a goblin as the apex predator struggled. The others moved in to tear at the dragon.

Suddenly, a shot rang out. Sam had done her best to aim, but she was out of practice, her hands wobbling her rifle until she had held her breath long enough to fire, and the kappa fell dead. Sam's first kill.

As two lizards raised their rifles to return fire, she shifted left and fired again, but these went wide, and she ducked to avoid the return plasma shots. However, through sheer dumb luck, the two rounds hit the gunboat behind them, ricocheted off a piece of railing, and straight into the back of the pilot's head. His corpse slumped onto the control keys, and the gunboat veered wildly to the right, EVO screaming in terror until it hit a pillar and spun out of control, slamming and exploding into the mountainside below. Sam's first ten kills.

As the dumbstruck aliens recuperated from the shock, Vinisnu sprung out and launched a barrage of fire at him full auto. His roar could be heard throughout the mountainside, a warcry worthy of his ancestors, and of his thirty shots in the chambers, all thirty hit and plinked off Dozae Rae's hide. He didn't even realize he was out of ammo until he could hear again.

Still, his bravado proved intimidating enough for the EVO to retreat in a hurry, their spot on the wide, flat altar proving too disadvantageous to hold. Of the four Monos nipping at Dozae-Rae's body, two were able to break off and escape, while the leaderless monster found himself thrown off the cliff with a swing and the other being crushed in the jaws of the God, burning its tongue in the process from the molten saliva.

"Hmm, very gamey," he said, crushing his prey's head. 

It took a moment for the altar to quiet down. The wounded remains of the invaders successfully took off from the mountainside, their guns still attempting to get a lucky shot at the defenders. For a moment, it seemed like they would stay, as the heavier underslung turrets had more punch to them until a heated plasma breath at maximum distance melted one of the boats and convinced the others to leave. Still, Dozae stood unhappy as he heard fresh reinforcements at the keep's base.

"It seems you are in a bind here, my servant," Dozae-Rae told Snu. "You have danger ahead of you and behind you. I guess I ought to do my duty."

Snu ran to the altar and gave his respect. "So, will you help us, my lord?" he asked.

"I assume so, although I will not protect you." He sat on this belly. "Come, let's fly."

The two got on quickly, and Dozae Rae cast himself from the mountainside. The dive was so deep that Sam felt like she was about to fly off, but holding onto Snu kept her grounded, and with a beat of his wings, Dozae banked right and back into the air, clearing the mountain range and back into Pandema's deserts.

"The gunboats went south," Sam yelled, squinting to see past the gusts of wind. "Shouldn't we hang back and stay out of sight?"

"And lose speed on our target?" asked the God. "I won't let them dishonor me again. Besides, I am not alone."

Dozae Rae went low over the hills of sand and let out a roar that shook the top layer. It was a rough but recognizable song, and with pure excitement, a pack of Redstreaks breached the surface, screeching the same song as the dragon. These were the larvae of the Redstreaks, far from reaching their true length, but once they hit the water and skimmed the salty surface, four black beings not dissimilar to Dozae-Rae pierced the water's surface and took to the air with a beat of their wings. These were proper Rae's, fresh from a hunting trip.

"This is so cool!" Sam said, clutching Snu. "We're actually flying with dragons!"

"They still look delicious to me," Vinisnu grinned.

An hour of flight time passed, and the dragons flew out of Rydia and south into the barren lands of Sermouth, a land of salt lakes and grey chasms.

It was in this time of respite that Sam got to see the world fully. She could see the mountains behind her, the jungle lining at the very edge of the planet's curvature, and the ocean both east and west. As hectic as her singular week had been, her journey across Pandema had barely begun. If she hadn't even seen this much of this world, what would that say about the galaxy at large?

"Sam, you're squeezing too hard!"

"Sorry!" She loosened up. "By the way, I hope I'm not crushing your tail."

"It's fine!" Snu blushed. "My tail can handle anything!"

"I believe it! You can do anything, Snu."

"I can, can't I? I mean, what did I promise you? Sure, this isn't my glider, but how exciting is this?"

"I guess so." The circumstances weren't perfect, though. Not proper alone time. "If we do win this, you should come home with me. I'll show you my people."

"Then we can go further? To other stars, I mean? Sam? You're squeezing me again!"

Then, as if appearing through a mirage, the EVO Lone Wolf was visible.

"I see those cretins ahead," said Dozae Rae, eyeing a trio of gunboats. "I sense that they're watching us. Hold tightly."

That did seem to be the case, as the light vessel turned as if on a pivot. It was utterly foreign to the children, a chrome white flower glistening with sleek machinery and lights.

Snu's grip on Dozae Rae's scales tightened. This was the big battle, and they were the dragon masters. With Dozae-Rae leading the charge, they were invincible, but as they got closer, the reality of the situation made her ice run cold.

Then, the tip of Flock 37's needle glowed.

"Watch out!"

While barely audible, his warning was enough for the dragon to bank. The time frame of the bank to the Lone Wolf's primary laser firing was so close that a split-second delay would have ended them. However, even at a near miss, the sheer firepower put a heavy toll on God as his belly burned from the heat. And yet the laser kept tracking them, its gunner eagerly trying to clip Dozae one way or the other. In the confusion, Dozae-Rae had to make a reverse turn so sharp that Sam lost her grip, and in an instant, the two were flung into the Pandemian skies.

"Sam! Sam!" Snu tried to shake her awake but to no avail. The sheer heat and G-Force knocked her unconscious.

There was about a minute left before they would impact, so Snu sprung into action. Using their new Earth gear, he strapped Sam to himself and grew his tail to extreme lengths. Now ten meters long, he coiled it into a massive spring. He had done this before at shorter lengths, but at terminal velocity, he held Sam tight and prayed that God would save him.

But Doze-Rae never returned, and they crashed full speed into water.