Dragon Fantasy VII: Eternal Fire, Chapter Three

[lonewolfprincess]

Sakurada gave an unimpressed hum at the field of glares and her daughter’s trembling, not a hint of surprise to be found.

“I suppose I should give you credit for figuring it out so quickly.”

Keiko shrank deeper into herself. Of course she knew her own mother’s voice, right from the start. But she’d never wished she was wrong so badly in her life.

“I-I just… Why?” The girl had to force her words out. “Why go through all this trouble, just to steal the device?”

“Ha!” Sakurada sneered. “Don’t be stupid, girl. This isn’t just about some silly piece of tech; we’d be able to produce our own in a few years anyway.” She paced in front of her audience. “No, it’s about that moronic Tohomiko. That slovenly, bumbling fool manages to charm people wherever he goes. He has the world’s tech market eating out of the palm of his hand when he looks and acts like… that! Not to mention his disgrace of a daughter, dressing and acting like a freak and running off to some random martial arts school in China instead of getting a real education! Meanwhile, I have to put in twice as much effort for half as much reward, simply because I’m a woman!”

Kimiko rolled her eyes. “Right, it’s just sexism, it’s got nothing to do with your personality or total lack of imagination…”

“Urusai!” Sakurada growled. “You and that smart mouth…” She shoved her scowl back into a steely smirk. “But no matter. Once you’re out of the way, and by Tohomiko’s own invention, not only will he be too grieved to continue working, but trust in his company will plummet, leaving room for me to claim my rightful place at the top. Then once my daughter finishes her education without any more distractions… I’ll have a proper heir to create a technological dynasty!”

Everyone’s jaws dropped as Sakurada let loose a truly chilling evil laugh, none more so than Keiko’s.

“Are you insane?!” Keiko’s voice cracked. “What on earth made you think I would be okay with any of this?! Miko-chan’s my only friend! She’s the only one in the world who makes me feel happy! Why would I want her gone for something as stupid as more money and power?!” Shaking hands held her staff up to shield the others. “I won’t let you hurt her, or her friends and family! I refuse!”

Sakurada merely groaned with a deep annoyance.

“I had a feeling you’d be like this.” That cool smirk graced her lips once more. “Well, that’s what the robot version of you is for.” She barely registered Keiko’s dazed ‘what…?’. “This way, we both get what we want. I get a daughter who isn’t so disappointing, and you get… friendship? The moral high ground?” Sakura gave a blasé shrug. “Well, at least for the next hour…”

“N-no, wait, Okāsan, please, you can’t—”

“No no, I completely respect your decision, and you should stand by it.” Sakurada chuckled. “And you’re right… I did promise you a chance to leave…” As she clicked her heels three times and her form vanished, her voice called out. “Shame that all of you are still Level 1.”

That cold cackle rang out before it was drowned by a reptilian roar. A towering swarm of pixels swirled in front of them, coalescing into… an enormous, blood red dragon with pitch black tiger stripes, emerald eyes gleaming with malice as it flared its wings and roared.



Sakurada returned to reality on her makeshift throne, pulling out her PDA again with a heavy sigh.

“Sixteen years… Such a waste. Well, just one more hour and it’ll all be worth it—”

Shattering glass rained down on the whole warehouse as an enormous dragon crashed through the roof, sending her screaming.

“SAKURADA!” The tiny man in Kendo armor at the front of the dragon’s passengers hopped off first, followed by the dozen guards who’d followed him into battle. “You’ve gone too far! Release the children at once!”

Sakura sputtered, having scrambled into a crouch in her throne’s seat. “But— I— how?!”

Toshiro shrugged one cloth-armored shoulder. “The convention center security said you were the only one still unaccounted for. And, of course, it helps that my daughter and I have friends in very high places…” He patted Dojo’s neck as the dragon shifted size. “You should try that some time… getting friends, I mean.”

Sakurada ground her teeth. “S-so?! Just because you’ve barged in with some guards and a kendoka cosplay doesn’t mean you can stop me, Tohomiko!”

Toshiro chuckled. “Oh, you think this is a cosplay?” He shook his head as he drew his bokken. “No no no… Granted, I’m a bit rusty, but I reached yon-dan before I stopped training regularly. And I’ve won, oh, one or two… dozen tournaments?” A sharp laugh as Sakurada blanched. “My teammates even used to call me Issun-Bōshi. But you might’ve known that already, if we ever had a conversation beyond you insulting our daughters and my wardrobe. Now… are we going to do this peacefully?” His glasses gleamed behind the helmet’s cage. “Or do I have to demonstrate what a real parent looks like?”

Sakura snarled in her seat. “Ninjas!”

Dozens of robot ninjas snapped to attention and drew their weapons. The guards drew their batons. Dojo… bravely shivered in the middle of the floor.

“Keep the yuki-onna distracted!” Toshiro shouted as he dashed towards the tables, the guards answering with a round of “OSSU!”

“Stop him, you worthless machines!” Sakurada screamed.

A ninja sprang forward to meet him in battle, nunchaku spinning wildly. Toshiro ducked low, weaving to the left before swinging his bokken at the robot’s knees. The sudden shift caused the nunchaku to knock the ninja’s own head clean off, the flying appendage and the body erupting in sparks before collapsing. Two more ninjas rushed out to block Toshiro’s path, swords drawn. Toshiro merely smirked, strafing easily to the side and parried one of the ninja’s katana so that it swept into its partner’s stomach. The robot sputtered and sparked, before exploding behind the already-darting-past Toshiro.

The guards fought furiously against their own opponents, refusing to let anything happen to their boss or the girl most of them watched grow up.

Dojo, unfortunately, found himself encircled by a looming swarm of ninjas, weapons all raised. The little dragon quivered… before he remembered his secret weapon.

Hastily, Dojo pulled the lid off the golden-orange bottle and chugged, chugged, chugged! The robots froze, unsure how to respond to this action. Dojo’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks, then dilated… and with a shrill “WHEE!”, the tiny dragon flew around the ring of robots, bouncing off of them like a pinball again and again and again! Finally, Dojo launched himself out of the ring of sparking robots, finishing off the rest of his turmeric drink as a round of robotic fireworks exploded in the background.

“Mm-mm-mm~~~! Okay-I-might-need-to-stockpile-this-stuff-it’s-amazing-I-can-hear-colors!”

Toshiro quietly noted to keep Dojo away from anything containing turmeric outside of emergencies as he plugged his laptop into Kimiko’s earpiece.

“Hang on, Kimiko… Papa’s coming…!”



“O Northern Winds, cut through the heart of—”

“Tori, Keiko-san?! Any chance either of you can cast a speed buff?!” Raimundo called as he barely dodged the dragon’s tail.

Kimiko shook her fist at him. “I’M CASTING AS FAST AS I CAN! MAYBE I’D GO FASTER IF YOU DIDN’T INTERRUPT ME EVERY TWO SECONDS!”

“No offense, Sempai…” Mia panted as she jumped onto a craggy rock for a better shot. “But he’s got a point!” Her arrow landed squarely in the dragon’s neck for a crit shot… which shaved two whole points off its health bar. “Oh, come on!”

Tori flicked through her spell list. “Uh… guys? I’m pretty much out of juice.”

Keiko looked at her list. “So am I… I can try for a mass heal but—wait, Miko-chan?!”

Everyone gasped as Kimiko’s form fizzled and faded in a shower of blue pixels.

“KIMIKO!” Raimundo called out.



Kimiko gasped as her mind slammed back into her body, nearly headbutting Toshiro as her body sprang into sitting up.

“What-what’s going on—!” Wait… “Papa?”

Toshiro threw his arms around his daughter, and she hugged him back just as desperately.

“It’s alright, Kimiko, I’m here…” Toshiro squeezed the hug before letting go; they both knew time was of the essence. “We need to free the others—”

“Wait, no, Papa!” Kimiko flung herself off the table and glued herself to his keyboard. “Everyone’s in the middle of a massive boss fight right now, they’re like two seconds away from a TPK!”

Toshiro’s eyes widened, but Sakurada merely cackled from her throne.

“Oh, did I not mention that I synced their game statistics to their physical vitals? Anyone who dies in the game—GAAAAAH!”

Sakurada’s gloating was drowned in a pile of chum, thrown down from one of the rafters by a little dragon carrying a bucket.

“Grrr… you stupid lizard, I’ll turn you into a coin purse—!”

“Yeah-yeah-yeah-sure-thing-Rita-Repulsa-oh-by-the-way!”

Dojo brought two claws to his lips and whistled… and a litany of growls answered from outside.

“What on earth—” A tsunami of cats, led by the bobtailed calico, rushed from the open doors and windows, throwing themselves at the chum-covered witch. “Shoo, get away, you stupid pests!”

Kimiko and her father took just a second to grin before turning back to the laptop screen, lacing and stretching their fingers.

“Now let’s patch this game…”



The dragon’s tail slammed Raimundo into a slab of rock, not only cutting away all the health Keiko’s last mass heal gave him two seconds ago but stunning him for a second. The others weren’t much better off. At least Kimiko was safe, he hoped.

“Alright, guys… You’ve still got some time left. I’ll hold off the dragon while you guys make a break for it.”

Everyone gasped. “What?!”

“You have lost your pebbles if you think—!”

“That’s an order!” he cut Omi off. “Omi, Clay, get the girls out of here, now!”

The Dragons gritted their fists and teeth, but Keiko surprised them all by storming up to him, looking like she’d be seconds away from slapping him if it weren’t for their dire health.

“Absolutely not! Even if your plan worked, do you really think any of us could look Miko-chan in the eye ever again if we lost you?! You're too important to her!” She crossed her arms at the stunned Shoku Dragon of the Wind. “We’re staying, Raimundo-san; you and your stupid martyr complex can deal!”

The Water, Earth, Sun, and Moon Dragons all smirked at him.

“Looks like you’re stuck with us, partner.”

Raimundo would probably feel a lump in his throat if he was still in his body. Instead, he steadied himself and flashed them all a smile.

“Thanks, guys.” He injected confidence into his face and stance, tightening the grip on his sword. “If we’re going down, let’s go down—”

Suddenly, their XP bars flashed overhead, and flooded from barely filled in to completely shaded, a little jingle ringing out as their health and mana not only refilled but expanded.

And again. And again and again and again, their levels climbing higher and higher, faster and faster with each second.

“What is going on?” Omi asked, even as he beamed, power coursing through his veins.

Mia grinned sharply as she grabbed another arrow for her bow. “No idea, but I am not complaining!”

The dragon, meanwhile, stared in growing terror as the puny humans grew stronger and stronger by the second, and it… oh no. Its health bar was sliced in half, and its resistances to every single type of damage? Flipped to weaknesses.

Raimundo, now Level 99, the once-plain longsword now shining with golden accents and swirling green wind magic, grinned at the dragon as it swallowed hard.

“So… who’s up for a little payback?”

“Not so fast!”

Everyone stared at the sky, the voice of that familiar mezzo as Kimiko’s avatar reappeared, floating and overflowing with auras of fire, ice, and lightning.

“Kimiko!” “Miko-chan!” “Kimi-sempai!”

“You didn’t think I’d miss out on the boss fight, did you?” Now to show off her favorite tweak yet with a snap of her fingers. “Lightning!”

Yup. All the five-second chants, all the pretentious names, modded into full blasts of pure power, summoned in a single word. The dragon barely had time to blink before a lightning bolt as thick as an oak tree surged down from the sky to smite it, its massive skeleton briefly visible as it spasmed. A tiny lightning bolt still hovered over its head as it twitched, thoroughly Stunned.

Tori grinned as she spun on one foot. “Dance of Swords!”

Everyone’s already prodigious strength shot up even more, Attack and Magic Attack boosted by 50%.

Keiko smirked as she hummed. “Well, if I don’t have anyone to heal… I guess it's time for a debuff. Doom Shroud!”

Soft green light flowed around her before striking the dragon, knocking its Defense stats down even further.

Clay brought his shield up, running at full speed… “Bull Charge Bash!” And slammed into the side of the dragon’s head, denting its health, but more importantly summoning three little birdies to circle its head in confusion.

“Nice one, Tex!” Mia grinned as she drew her arrow back. “Falcon Shot!” Another critical hit to the neck, the doubled damage stacking even higher against the Stunned and Confused conditions.

Raimundo and Kimiko shared determined smiles before turning to the dragon, hands outstretched as Wind and Fire swirled together until…

“Firestorm!”

A blasting cyclone of flames flew towards the dragon, incinerating the last half of its health bar! The dragon roared in anguish before disappearing in a cloud of red pixels!

Everyone whooped, pulling each other into high fives and bear hugs, Raimundo holding Kimiko high in his arms…



Everyone gasped as the failsafes finally kicked back in, blinking around the chaotic warehouse.

“Yokatta…” Toshiro tried to wipe his brow with a forearm, but the helmet got in the way. “Is everyone alright?”

Kimiko nodded, trying to ignore the blush she could feel now that she was back in reality, Raimundo burning even redder.

“We’re fine, Papa.” She pounded her fist into her hand. “Now it’s time to kick some yuki-onna butt—”

Oh. Everyone tilted their heads at the scene around them. Tohomiko guards all standing triumphantly against a sea of trashed robot ninjas, even if a few of the older ones were a bit winded, Dojo springing their way to blubber about how he missed them so much and how life is too beautiful… and Sakurada, tackled to the floor by a swarm of cats, covered in scratches, perfect suit and hair ruined beyond repair, desperately typing into her PDA. The calico especially seemed to delight in swatting her forehead.

Keiko stood up shakily from her table, marching over to the downed woman with a stormy glare.

“Grrr… You stupid Tohomikos…!” Sakurada growled. “I should’ve never let you even get close to my daughter! None of this would’ve happened if—”

“If you had just channeled your envy into actual work instead of cheating and looking perfect while doing it?” Keiko cut in, to everyone’s ‘ooooh’s. She plucked the PDA from her mother’s grip, laid it back on the floor… and stomped on it with her deceptively dainty boot. “I wish you put half this much effort into anything important, but I respect your decision, and you’ll have to live with it.”

Sakura growled on the floor. “You ungrateful little brat! You’re lucky I—mmph!”

Dojo patted her head as he shoved the empty bottle of turmeric drink into her mouth.

“Shhhh…”