Zalan struggled under Hatewing’s claw, but the slightest movement sent pain spiraling through his body. His arm was almost certainly broken and he couldn’t move an inch from under the claw. 

He looked at his friends to see how they were doing. Rep was staring at him in horror, his mouth bloody and his arms lacking weapons. He held a small flame in his good hand to try and intimidate the monster, but it was clear it was more to comfort Rep than anything. The statue remained heavily on top of him, pinning him into place and leaving him at the mercy of the next attack from the dragon.

Still closest to the frozen exit, Yelsa was finally standing, limping heavily on one leg as the other had gained a nasty black streak running through it. She had a few golden arrows in hand, but she was trembling too much to nock any arrows. Tears flowed freely from her face as she popped her neck in consternation.

Gorb was passed out atop a pile of gold. The exertion of sending Zalan flying up in the air had been too much for him and he lost consciousness. It made Zalan feel so much worse. Even with Gorb putting everything he had to support him, Zalan still failed. 

Fran’s smile had disappeared, though she was instead filled with sheer determination. The joy of the challenge was gone and all that was left was focusing on everyone’s survival. 

“It seems its eyes require significant strength to break through,” Fran said with a set jaw. “Any other ideas, Zalan? The idea to attack the eyes was well-thought.”

Zalan coughed painfully in response. He spat up blood. 

“It was worth asking,” Fran said, as though he had responded intelligibly. 

Hatewing stared her down as she limped forward, using the sword she carried as a crutch. Zalan knew its eyes were cycling its random attack, but he couldn’t see its face. Fran stared up at it, not a hint of hesitation in her stance. Even the few Roaches that raced across her path didn’t cause her to pause. One even stopped to bite her bad leg, but she somehow ignored it. Zalan, feeling otherwise useless, zapped the Roach with lightning with his outstretched hand, relieving her of the small pain. 

“Well?” Fran boomed once she was right in front of the dragon. “Hit me with your claw!” 

Fran threw a firebomb at the dragon’s leg, the same one pinning Zalan to the floor. Zalan understood immediately that she was trying to coax it to remove its weight from Zalan’s body. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to stand up if the claw came off of him. He felt utterly broken.

“Hit me! Show me the strength of an Elemental Dragon!” Fran boomed, beating her chest defiantly. 

Zalan noticed that the largest mass of Roaches were on the dragon’s hide and above them on the ceiling. They were scampering atop one another, trying to escape the massive exchange of Elemental abilities thrown about the room but not having the brain to find an exit. It made his already dire situation feel that much worse. Surrounded by that which he hated.

“Fire!” Rep said. Zalan was confused until he realized he must have been talking about Hatewing’s eyes.

“Fire again?” Fran scoffed. “Show me everything you can do!”

Hatewing roared its ocean of flame right atop Fran. It was a tornado of heat enough to burn Zalan’s face into a bright red even with the distance between him and the fire. He was certain Fran had perished under the burn. It had to be too much output for her to redirect and he couldn’t hear her laughing. The flame continued for five agonizing seconds, then stopped. 

Fran stood tall and with one arm threw a gigantic column of fire back at Hatewing’s open maw. The flame was so large it consumed the entirety of Hatewing’s head and hit some of its back and the ceiling behind it. Several Roaches fell to the floor and began skittering toward Zalan and his friends. But even with Fran’s fire striking Hatewing’s exposed mouth, it did no significant damage to the dragon. 

“What does it take to hurt you?” Fran shouted, throwing another fireball at the dragon’s leg. “I should have sent the flames deeper, destroying your innards rather than targeting your mouth!”

Hatewing roared in her face in response, enraged at her refusal to die.

Gorb had slightly regained consciousness, rolling himself upright, but unable to stand up.

“Fran!” he called weakly. “Get away from it!”

“Come on!” Fran demanded, ignoring Gorb and goading the dragon further. “Give me something real!”

“Fran! Anything other than fire and you will die!” Gorb begged.

A small unit of Roaches were rushing to Fran and Zalan. Zalan panicked and painfully dispatched them with lightning from the arm that was pinned pointing away from him. He had to twist his hand at agonizing angles just to land good strikes against them. Fran continued to ignore them as Zalan took them out for her. She was dead-set on getting Hatwing to raise its claw. 

“Are Elemental attacks all you can do? Are you so weak that your limbs are useless?” Fran challenged, throwing more fire at its leg. It was becoming clear that the dragon was totally immune to fire. Zalan could feel the dragon’s scales against him. They felt like metal armor, tightly linked together. It was unlikely that any of Zalan’s friends were powerful enough to break into the skin. He started to believe there was no such attack powerful enough to do any damage at all. Zalan felt helpless. He didn’t want to die.

The moment felt too real to him. He confronted the idea with real consideration. This may not have been a dream world at all. These people were so genuine and the pain he felt was far too real to be a part of some ephemeral dream. He was here. He had to live through this. He desperately didn’t want to die. He didn’t want his friends to die either. 

“Fran! Get everyone out of here! You can melt the door and you might be able to escape,” Zalan said. 

“Ha!” Fran scoffed, the smile returning to her face. “And miss my chance to kill this thing? Never! To try to escape is to guarantee our death! Docrun and the other Fleshless lie in wait for us. The Homeseeker is our only way out!”

Zalan felt she was right despite his wish that there was some other way. He suddenly realized that the Homeseeker should be very close to him since it had been resting at the foot of the dragon. He looked around as fast as he could and saw it nestled at the base of a nearby pile of gold, blown away by the dragon’s Elemental and wing attacks. 

“Fran! Blue eyes! Water! Get away!” Gorb screamed. He raised his hand to cast wind and pull her away, but only a slight breeze grazed her clothing. He had no more real power to supply. 

Fran raised her sword high and stabbed it powerfully into the ground. She kneeled down and gripped the sword with one hand, then sent a blaze of fire toward Hatewing as the dragon breathed in. 

“Try me. I can take it,” Fran said. 

“The Homeseeker! Grab it and use it! Get them out of here!” Zalan tried pointing to the pile it was in, but his hand couldn’t twist that far under the claw. 

“I am not leaving anyone behind,” Fran said. “We can beat this thing!”

The waterfall dropped upon her, but her powerful fire turned a significant amount into steam before she was hit with the full force of the flood. What was left of the water washed over her like a downpour of rain, nothing near the deadly amount that came out of Hatewing. Hatewing roared once more at the sight of Fran alive, pressing more weight into Zalan’s body. He screamed in pain as his arm felt like it was being torn off in the adjustment of pressure. 

Fran tried to stand up, but withered and fell back to her sword. She had been using too much of her Elemental Power and now she had reached her limit. Her arms were trembling in exhaustion. Still, she held a grin proudly on her face.

“You might as well give up, Hatewing,” Fran said, breathing heavily. “I have you beat.”

Hatewing loomed over her confidently, recognizing her fatigue. Its eyes spun menacingly, cycling to the next Elemental.

“Grab the Homeseeker. Get everyone together and use it on me,” Zalan pleaded. “We can all go home alive.”

“What if the dragon comes with us?” Fran asked.

“The Homeseeker would send it home! This is its home!” Zalan said. 

“But what if the Homeseeker takes too long to activate and the beast has ample time to target all five of us with a direct attack?” Fran said. “It is not worth the risk.”

“It’s the only idea we have!” Zalan screamed. “You can’t take another hit.”

“Please, Fran, retreat,” Gorb agreed.

“I am surprised I took this many hits, in all honesty,” Fran said sincerely. 

“Then why do you keep asking for more?” Zalan balked. 

“Because every attack it directs to me is one that you all survive. If I can draw its attention away from you long enough for you to figure out a way out of here, then I will succeed!” 

“I already gave you a way out of here! Use the Homeseeker!” Zalan begged. 

“It may work, but… I do not have the energy to stand, Zalan,” Fran said, granting him a simple, sincere smile. 

“Fran! Move! It is going to attack!” Rep screamed. 

Hatewing began breathing in deeply, its eyes a bright yellow. Lightning. 

“Fran!” Gorb yelled. 

“This was a glorious battle,” Fran said, looking back to her brother. “Thank you for bringing me here. I could not imagine a better way to spend my time.”

A golden arrow deflected off of Hatewing’s nose, a small attempt from Yelsa to try and distract it. The dragon didn’t falter, staring menacingly at Fran as it filled its lungs. 

“Fran! Get out of the way! I will pay you triple! Quadruple! Just stay alive!” Yelsa begged.

Fran looked up at Hatewing as it stopped breathing in. She was beaming with pride, a single tear sliding down her face. 

“Zalan!” Gorb was desperate now. Tears freely streaming down his cheeks. “Zalan! You brought us here! Stop this! Tell Fran to move!”

“Fran! Please! I’m begging you!” Zalan screamed. 

“What a fantastic battle,” Fran whispered, a wide smile across her lips.

A moment later, Fran was buried in a direct blast of lightning.