Part 1
An old man was enjoying a cold drink in the middle of a bar trying to get his mind off from his worries. He was holding a tired expression on his face similar to someone who had not been able to sleep for the last couple of weeks.
If he remained silent he could hear conversations behind him, whispers from people scared of the dragon attacks, and praying for the barrier to hold. Some were mentioning how their end was in sight and that maybe they would have to pay for their sins, others were trying to reassure that the barrier would not break and that there was nothing to worry about.
No matter what, the dragons were the only thing on everyone's mind at that moment.
As the man was about to order another bottle someone approached him, a young man who seemed to be below the age of twenty.
"Excuse me, sir, the place seems to be pretty full today, you mind if I sit here?" the lad asked.
"Suit yourself..." The man did not mind the company as long as it wasn't another mouth talking about the bloody dragons. He was sick to death of hearing about dragons everywhere he went.
"Is there anything you recommend from the menu?" The young man said.
"Beer is always the right answer... Helps you take your mind off your problems..."
"Are there many problems on your mind right now sir?"
"Ha... You don't know the half of it... My boss hired me and my team to help with one of his schemes to make some fast money, but he keeps pushing all the hard work onto us..."
"Your boss doesn't sound very nice..."
"He's just a brat... A kid pretending to be a man by giving orders to those around him..."
"Why do you put up with him?"
"He's a pain in the neck and I want to strangle him every time I see him, but he does know how to use his brain and his plans usually do provide us with more than enough to live by."
"I see. Money is indeed important after all."
"Got that right! Listen, kid, a bit of advice, if you ever manage to find a big brain that you know can provide good results, even if he annoys the hell out of you, always do your best to hold it in... In the end, his gain will be your gain."
"I get that... I also have a boss that annoys me from time to time, but he is really good at what he does and does manage to provide me and my teammates a good lifestyle..."
"That's what I'm saying... Just stick to him until you get everything you need, I'm sure you won't regret in the end."
"Thanks... I'll keep that in mind... By the way, can I ask you something?"
"Sure kid, what's up?"
"Where did your boss put the dragon egg?"
The man froze in the middle of his drinking and his eyes almost jumped out of his head.
"... The what...?"
"You see, I have a really good sense of smell, and not too long ago I could feel the smell of the dragon egg coming from you!"
"Kid you're crazy... I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Ah! Is that so? My mistake then... Just let me check one more time!"
Daren stood up from the chair and changed into his beast form. The man who was drinking beside him started to lose all color from his face and begun to shake without stopping. Daren approached his nose closer to the man's face while trying to make a smile. He was so close that the man could not help but stare directly at his massive teeth.
"Sorry, sir... I definitely sense the smell coming from you... Are you really, really, really sure you don't know what I'm talking about?"
Each time Daren said the word "really" he would open his mouth wider and wider revealing more and more his terrifying fangs.
"I... I... I... "
"Yes?"
"I... Think I might know..."
Daren made a huge smile trying his best to stay as close to the man's face as possible, to the point were his teeth could almost touch the terrified drinker's eyes.
"Thank you very much!"
Part 2
Marceus and his group were standing outside a large dark building located in the farthest corner of the village.
"Daren, can you smell it?" asked Marceus.
"Yeah, the egg is here."
"Anything else? Is the mage or his goons anywhere around here?"
"I can sense a few smells guarding the eggs but I don't know which ones are the goons and which one is the mage..."
The rest of the team gazed at them wondering if the two would be fine going in withouth backup.
"You two sure you want to do this alone?" Gustav asked as the two were preparing to enter the building.
"It will be ok... Compared to a duo of dragons some thieves looking to make a quick buck should not be a huge problem." Marceus reassured.
"What if the mage is in there?"
"Then we deal with him."
"Maybe we should call a few candidates for backup..." Gustav suggested looking really worried, but Marceus was feeling more confident than usual.
"It will be fine. Don't worry! You ready partner?"
"Let's do this!" Daren said while nodding.
The two transformed into their usual armored lion combination. Ria seemed a bit surprised. "You guys are not doing that shiny thing?"
Daren looked at her confused, "shinny thing...?"
[She's talking about our fusion.]
"Oh that... Marceus said that only last for a short time so we are trying to save for important moments."
"I see," said Ria, a little disappointed.
Lilith came closer to the two and whispered a few words towards her friend "Daren... Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Lilith!" he replied.
At this moment, Marceus spotted another opportunity to make fun of Daren.
[What was that? Are you having a baby or something? Don't tell me... Am I the father?? Daren did you take advantage of me while we were together at night??]
"Yeah yeah, whatever... Let's get this over with..." Daren said showing no interest on engaging in Marceus's little joke.
[Argh!! My cute Daren has grown into a boring rebellious teenager!! I want my cute Daren back!! Teasing you is no fun if you don't react!!]
"Who the hell is a teenager...? How old do you think I am...?"
"Good luck you two!" Said Auren who was just looking at their little act alongside the rest of the group.
"Thanks, Auren!"
The armored lion entered the building and started to search for the egg.
[Oh... I can feel the egg's smell too now!]
"Really?"
[Yeah! Our fusion must have strengthened our connection! I can feel more of your power now!]
Daren realized that the same was true on his side. If he concentrated he could change Marceus shape by his own will. He started to remember the story about how Lilith got drunk with power and ended up taking complete control over Marceus. He hoped he would not have to go through something like that, there is no way he would be able to handle that kind of power very well.
"Hey! Who are you?" Said a voice coming from inside the place.
Someone had seen the two of them. A man who seemed to be older than thirty with a wide physique, shaved head and a black beard. At first, he was surprised by the huge monster that had come out of nowhere but then tried to compose himself back and alerted his teammates "We're being attacked!! Everyone!! Wake up!!"
Soon others started to gather around Daren. Men who were sleeping a few seconds ago were attracted by the warning and begun to ready their weapons.
[Man... You are a terrible ninja...]
"The heck is a ninja...?" Said Daren as he started to take a battle position.
[Try talking to them... Maybe they might understand our situation if we explain politely!]
"Kill him!!" Said the bearded man.
[Or not... Not is a possibility too...]
The desperate men started to gang up on Daren but with his muscular power and Marceus boosted energy they were barely a challenge.
Daren started to hit each of them with light punches trying his best not to kill anyone by accident. With his speed, he moved like a shadow covered in silver across the area.
"What the hell is this thing!!??" Said the man once again.
[Oh! Daren, he's right! We need to come up with a cool name for ourselves!]
"..." Daren simply focused on finishing the fight, not paying any mind to Marceus.
[I'm thinking of something like "Silverclaw-man"! or maybe "Armored lion guy"!]
"You're distracting me, please stop..."
[Aarghhh!! This Daren is boring!! Bring the old Daren back!!!]
Daren finally managed to knock the last member of the thief squad and returned to look for the egg "That room!"
He started to charge towards a room where he could feel the scent from the egg leaking. As he moved to open the door a wave of energy came out of the room and knocked Daren back against a wall "Guahh!"
[Daren! Are you ok?]
"Ugh... Yeah, I was just surprised... Not the worst hit I got today..."
A man stepped out of the room wearing a dark green robe covering his body. His face was that of a glasses-wearing teenager with black hair making an extremely angry expression. He was holding his hand as if making a 'Stop' sign and smoke could be seen coming out from it.
[I think we found the mage...]
"Good... I've been wanting for a chance to punch his stupid face!" Daren said as he began to close his hands and formed a fist.
[...] Marceus pondered for a bit.
"You're not gonna try to solve this 'peacefully' are you?" Said Daren wondering if they were about to have another discussion.
[... No, I'll hear his story later... Let's kick his ass for now.]
The mage took a good look at Daren and started to talk "What am I looking at exactly...?"
[Ohhh!! We are doing hero and villain trash talk! Hurry Daren, give him a good response!]
"I'm here to take the egg back!" Daren said while pointing at the mage.
[Oh, man... Was that the best you had?]
"It can talk...?" The mage said while holding his chin intrigued.
Daren rushed towards the mage and punched him in the stomach, sending him flying across the room "Man, that felt good..."
Suddenly another wave of energy was released towards Daren, but this time he was prepared and dodged it in time. Daren moved his eyes towards the origin of the beam and noticed that the mage was completely unharmed.
"You are a very powerful beast... You will make a great pet!" Said the mage with a smug expression.
[He doesn't have a single scratch! Even from a silver-powered lion punch?]
"... Did you just gave a name to my attack...?" Daren said wondering if he should even be surprised anymore by this point.
A circle of energy started to appear in front of the mage glowing with a strong red light. The mage whispered a few words and another wave of energy was released towards Daren. Marceus re-forced his defensive power and covered every single bit of Daren with silver armor. Daren crossed his arms and took the energy beam head-on, except this time, something was different.
[Hot! Hot! Hot! Get us out of here!!]
"Argh!! ok!" Daren was surprised. For a moment it felt like he could feel Marceus's pain. Was that another side-effect of making their connection stronger? Before he could organize his thoughts another energy beam was launched, but this time it was colored with a light-blue. Daren dodged the attack and noticed that the area he was a second ago had turned into ice.
[He can control the elements? That is so cool!!]
"Focus!!" Daren yelled while slapping his silver claws on one another.
[Sorry!]
The mage launched another beam, but this time the beam had an orange color and was directed towards the ground. The earth started to rise and suddenly a huge humanoid figure begun to come out of the ground.
[He can make a golem!]
Daren looked at his opponent for a moment and a thought hit his head "... Marceus... That's not alive is it...?"
[Huh... No, it's just a doll that he is controlling...]
"So we can go all out?"
[Yes!!]
Daren started to concentrate and begun to change the shape of the armor on his claws. Because of how easy it is to end a life with a sharp object, Marceus and Daren always tried their best to avoid using blades during fights. But this was a special occasion. The opponent was just a moving object, there was no need to restrain themselves. Daren started to sharpen his claws and begun to move like lightning.
The golem tried to punch the two but Daren's fast claws shredded his fist as if it was made of paper. The second fist tried to squash the lion man but Daren began to spin like a chain-saw cutting the hand of the arm.
The mage tried to send more energy to repair the golem's lost members but Daren just kept cutting it off at even greater speed. He then started to try and create even more golems around Daren to try and capture him but they all kept getting destroyed in a matter of seconds. Daren and Marceus always tried to restrict themselves and avoid taking a life needlessly, but if there was no need to hold back, the two truly were completely invincible.
The mage tried his last desperate move and started to surround Daren with a storm of magic circles, each one with a different color. This was a bad situation. He was planning to release every single one of his beams at the same time. Daren could probably survive but the thieves that were scattered around the building would definitely die, not to mention the egg was still on the room behind the mage.
"Alright, that's enough!" Daren realized the situation and charged towards the mage with his super-speed grabbing him by the throat "I assume you can't spell cast if you can't cast right?"
The mage tried to speak but Daren's claw was holding his neck too tightly for any word to come out.
"Say goodnight!" Daren slammed the mage against the floor knocking him out completely. He then proceeded to check inside the room and finally found what they were looking for.
[Gustav, tell the leader of the village that we have succeeded!] Said Marceus as he contacted his other teammate.
Daren grabbed the oval object of the size of a wine barrel and carried out of the building.
"Let's bring this baby back to its parents!"
Part 3
After that, things went incredibly smoothly. Somehow Ria managed to gather enough energy to open one last wind-scar, but only Daren and Marceus needed to enter it this time. They delivered the egg as fast as possible and rushed back towards the village with Daren's super-speed.
The group stayed on the village for the next three days to make sure the dragons had indeed stopped their daily attacks.
They also confirmed what everyone except for Balden had already figured out. The mage that had stolen the egg was using it to attract the parents and force the village to hire him for protection. It also seemed like he had some kind of ability that allowed him to absorb the energy from the egg to boost his spells. Now that the egg was returned even Auren could easily knock him out.
The rest of his gang were arrested alongside him and all were put in the same cell. That was a great opportunity for the gang members to take out their frustration on their old boss. Many screams were heard that night.
The group felt satisfied and started to prepare to return home, but Lilith suddenly decided to bring out a topic "So... Is it official then?"
"What is...?" said Marceus as he and Daren looked at her confused but the rest of the group knew what she was talking about.
"Daren! He is going to be your official partner right?"
"Oh yeah, that... "
Daren and Marceus had already had that discussion. They realized that having an "official" partner wasn't that big a deal after all and decided to just ignore the whole thing altogether.
Marceus was about to tell that to Lilith when Daren started to talk "It really means that much to you Lilith...?"
"Sorry, it's just... I always felt like I was betraying my duty for refusing to be your partner so when I saw you two together..."
Ria started to talk as well "It's the same for us too you know..."
Daren and Marceus looked at her surprised.
"We all were waiting to see Marceus finally reaching his full potential! Something that he could never do with any of us..."
Marceus looked at Auren and Gustav. It seemed like they both also felt that way. It looked like finding the definitive partner meant more to them than to Marceus himself. He always tried to avoid the topic because it felt like he would be playing favoritism and making the rest of the group feel like they were below the person chosen. But from what he saw, the fact that he hadn't chosen someone yet was making the candidates feel like they had failed him.
"Marceus... Choosing someone doesn't mean having to ignore the rest... Everyone will still be your family and will still aid you in helping you reach your dream!" Said Daren.
"..." Marceus remained silent for a moment pondering about that.
"Let's go to the next step! What do you say?" Daren said while showing one of his rarely seem smiles.
Marceus made a smile as well "Alright then. If you guys think we have played around enough already... Daren... "
Daren and the rest remained quiet waiting for the moment the entire group had been waiting all these years.
"Do you wanna make a snowma-"
Before Marceus could finish his line Daren punched him in the face sending him flying backwards.
"Aaaargh!! I'm such an idiot!! Why did I think even for a second that this guy would ever take anything seriously!??" Yelled Daren while shaking his head.
Marceus was rolling on the floor laughing like a kid while everyone just kept looking at him with faces that said "Figures...".
"Daareeen!!! You can't run away forever!! You will make a snowman with me!!!" The living weapon just kept making fun of Daren while the lion boy continued to try and smack him in the head while chasing after him.
"Shut up!! Just drop dead you useless trash!! Why did that dumb goddess had to choose an idiot like you??"
"What's that about me being a dumb goddess?" Said a voice that didn't belong to any of them.
Silence filled the atmosphere. Everyone looked behind them as they realized a beautiful woman wearing an amazing dress floating above the ground.
Marceus looked at her and started to talk "Nice to see you again miss."
"Its been a long time my champion!"