User blog:TheJanadianKing/RK Contest Entry-The Pilot's Companion

The sky. A vast expanse. Humans would look upon it in awe. Monsters would gaze up at it, in times of calm. But for some, the sky was a home. It gave mobility. It allowed those lucky enough to inhabit the air an easier method of migration. It offered protection. Those who could fly were withheld from the reach of enemies and predators. It offered security. Its puffy clouds gave a natural hiding spot, and its clear winds allowed no predator to lie in wait. However, it came with a cost. Those who misjudged their strength would plummet to the ground, becoming grounded like those who walked the earth. Over time, they will return to the sky. "For once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." This is the tale of one such individual.

His name, of little concern. His history, of great concern. He was an old veteran, hardened from the fiercest air fighting the Second World War had to offer. He may be pushing seventy, but he could still go through several Gs of force and keep conscious. After the war, he had started a small, private flying service. He would rent his services as a pilot to those who wished to get to one place to another for a low price. His beloved biplane was the star of his world. Not long ago, his grandson had taken the liberty of improving it for him. The young man talked of solar panels, and of pontoon floats. The old pilot merely nodded. He was still a mechanic, and he could figure it out eventually.

One day, the pilot got a notice for a job. A different job than others. It was a job that most others would turn down, and with good reason. The route that the cargo was planned to take led directly into the heart of the most feared location in the ocean. The Bermuda Triangle. The veteran merely adjusted his cap. "I've flown through screens of flak, boy. I've taken on sandstorms in Africa, and tropical storms at Midway. No matter what it is, no weather will ever take me down." And with that, hands were shook, contracts signed. The very next day, the veteran clambered into the cockpit of his biplane, started the electric engine, and took off, straight towards the Devil's Sea.

The fierce wind was tearing at your wings, seeking to rip them to shreds, sending you down into the cold water below. You gritted your teeth and plowed on through the gale. It was no wonder others would turn down this job. You pitched up and climbed, up towards the dark, dreary clouds. In the back of your mind, a small voice whispered that you were getting too old for this. That voice promptly got shoved out the window, as you kept going. The rain was getting worse and worse, visibility was decreasing more and more. Your eyes fell on your instruments, for guidance. The compass swirled around like a drunken sailor, your altimeter was bobbing up and down like the waves below. You snorted and pressed on. "I refuse to let some bad weather claim my life!" On and on, your AN-2V flew through the rough sky. The olive-green paintjob made it stand out from the dark clouds above. You closed your eyes, as turbulence slammed into the windshield. Suddenly, all your senses went numb. It was like you were floating in thin air. Not like the adrenaline of bailing from a flaming fighter, this was...different. It was similar to the feeling of a soft bed after a long, hard day. You opened your mouth, muttered, "Well, at least I'm not dying o' cold," before you nodded off.

You groggily stretched, the early morning sun hitting your back. It was bound to be a long day, what with that courier job you had. You rubbed your eyes.....and when you opened them, you saw a wide expanse of water. Your biplane was tethered to a wooden post, though you had no memory of tying it up. Slowly, the details came rushing back. You were flying through the Bermuda Triangle, when this strange feeling hit you. You shook your head and stood up. The small beach had a trail leading into a forest. You cracked your knuckles. And hesitated. Something was off. You looked down at your body and discovered that you had apparently changed bodies. Horrified, you ran down to the water. Looking up at you was a young man's face, barely thirty years old. "I'm-I'm young again!" You had the body of a 30-year-old, but the mind of a 70-year-old. It seemed like a fairytale. To go into one of the worst storms on the planet and come out not just alive, but youthful seemed a bit too good for you. You turned to your biplane and ran over to it, looking through it to see if there were any clues to what had happened. Nothing was out of place, not even the wrapper on the floor. "This must be the afterlife. I must be dead. There isn't any other explanation for it." You slowly walked towards the trail into the forest. You moved a little quicker than before, your joints were not as worn-out as before. Your skin wasn't as weather-beaten, and the arthritis in your joints was gone. You checked on your biplane one last time, then galomphed into the woods.

The forest seemed pretty calm, although you could hear the far-off sounds of animals fighting. The trail passed a large cliff, and you could see your biplane from here. You admired the view, but a bellowing roar disturbed the silence. Thinking quickly, you dove into the nearest bush and unsheathed your Bowie knife, holding your breath. A few small furry creatures ran through the woods, followed by....lizards? They were pretty big, about the size of a dog. The only lizard that could get that large was a Komodo dragon, and they surely didn't look like Komodo dragons. Once the flurry of prey scampered by, you sheathed your Bowie knife and emerged from the bush. "This ain't real. This can't even be the afterlife. Something ain't right." You kept along the trail, but dove for cover at strange noises. Up ahead, a log cabin came into view. The people inside might be afraid at you, because god knows that people are afraid of what they don't understand. This, they could be hostile. You shrugged and took the chance, walked up to the door, and knocked on it three times.

A man opened the door and looked at you. "Who are you, and what are you doing around here? The beasts often visit this area!" You told him your name, and he ushered you in. "Come on. Get inside, before you get devoured." He guides you through a doorway into a modest living room, with no electrical devices at all. Sitting down on a worn wooden chair, he invites you to do the same and strokes his beard thoughtfully. "How old are you, lad?" You looked down at yourself. "About twenty to twenty-five, I reckon." He chuckles to himself. "You speak as though you've no idea of your age!" You shake your head. "I've got some idea. Now, I may sound crazy, but I swear, it's the truth. When I woke up this morning, I was the age you see before you. But I swear, the very day before, I was seventy years old." He looks at you for a moment, then cracks up laughing. "Oh, ho ho ho ha ha ha! You're a funny one!" You clasp your hands together, in a prayer. "No, seriously! Hear me out! I was seventy years old yesterday!" A thought occurred to you, and you snapped your fingers. "What's the year today?" The man tilts his head. "Why, it's...uhh...I don't know. Life in the Reptile Kingdom can disorient ya, sometimes." You rested your chin in your hand, with a concerned look on your face. "What do you mean, the Reptile Kingdom? I thought this was Cuba! The only thing that doesn't fit together was that roar. Nothing on Earth could make that noise!" The man looked you up and down, examining you. "Are you sure you haven't hit your head on anything, boy?" Sighing, you began your tale, from the courier job, to the storm, all the way to the log cabin.

"Well, that's one for the books. Maybe the magic of the Reptile Kingdom sent you here." You shook your head. "What do you mean, magic! Magic is nothing but illusions, for a child's birthday party!" At this, the man leans back in his chair, his glare cold a small ice. "Listen here, son. I don't know where you came from, or where you've been. But let me tell you one thing. Magic is as real as the walls in the house. It can be used to heal, to hurt, to build and demolish. But in this world, magic only really has two main uses. To seduce, and to kill." You purse your lips. "What do you mean, seduce?" The man chuckles to himself, then moves on to full-blown laughter. "Okay, now I believe you! For a man such as yourself, to have not only lived this long, but to have survived the Reptile Kingdom to this depth, to have no idea about monsters!" You hand abandons your chin. "Monsters? Like, big hairy things with, big yellow teeth, and wicked claws, and-" The man slaps his knee with laughter. "Ooooooooh! Oh boy, I haven't laughed that hard for five years. No, boy, not the flesh-eating, terrifying freaks of nature. In this world, monsters exist solely for sex. It's a complicated concept. I reckon I've got the Monster Girl Encyclopedia around here somewhere. I'll let you flip through it, while I dig up the Reptile Kingdom Handbook. He leaves the room, leaving you sitting there.

After a good hour or two of reading, occasionally looking out the window and trying to grasp reality, you close the Monster Girl Encyclopedia and stand up. "I really have to check up on my biplane. Someone or something might have gotten to it." He sticks his head out the window and raises an eyebrow. "Biplane? I ain't never heard of a Biplane! Do they have nice thighs?" You slap your face and walk to the door. "Quick question. Could I borrow this handbook?" He smiles and says, "Sure thing. I was gonna go to town tomorrow anyways." You grab the rather thick book and leave. Tracing your steps, the bushes look torn to shreds, the leaves on the trees mown down. You shudder to think of what could do that. You reach your biplane...and something doesn't feel right. Your sixth sense is tingling, and your sixth sense had saved your life countless times. You cautiously approach your biplane, hand on the hilt of your knife.

Peering into the cockpit, everything is normal. Relieved, you make a gesture of wiping your brow, more for aesthetics than actual sweat. However, the tingling keeps going and for good reason. Clambering into the cockpit, you put your feet up and relax. The sun was setting, and you briefly wondered about taking the bird out to sea so that predators wouldn't get to that. The notion was shunned when you flicked open the Reptile Kingdom Handbook and fell right on 'Mosa'. You tossed the handbook behind you, and a surprised yelp sung out from the silence. Instantly, you were on your feet, looking back behind you. A figure rose from behind a crate and stepped into the light.

The diminuative figure was quite strange. She had cat ears on the top of her head, which was covered with brown hair. Her arms were covered in white fur, as well as the rest of her, excepting her face and cleavage. Her arms and catlike feet were covered in brown fur, like the tips of her ears.She was wielding what appeared to be a large tooth or fang tied to a stick. "Who the fuck are you?" She raises both paws in a calming manner. "Nyo! Don't hurt me! I swear, I didn't touch anything!" You step forward, knife unsheathed. "Why were you hiding in my biplane? I've had a long day, and I swear, if you did something..." Your threat is interrupted by a second figure (also quite short) bursting out of a crate, holding up two gold-plated airplane badges. "Nya, lookie what I found! I got 'em meow!" She slowly looks down at the current situation, brain whirring. "Aaaah!" She leaps out at you and swings a large club at your head, with what looks like a large cat's paw on the end. You jump back, and the first one leaps out the door and onto the ground, followed by the second. She stops and waves the badges at you before seemingly burrowing into the ground. "What the hell was that?" You close the door and lock it (can't be too careful!) before locking the cockpit door and laying out a sleeping bag.​​ Settling in for the night, you reach for your flight log and mark today's shenanigans. Closing your eyes, the last thing you see is a strange black shape in the trees, staring at the cockpit.

You awaken to the sun in your eyes, shining in through the cockpit. Yesterday's activities get remembered, and a gnawing hunger elicits you to get up. You exit the biplane and look around. The morning is fresh, with clear air, beautiful trees, and tiny lizards running through the grass, with more of the cat-women chasing them. Yep, you were still stuck in this strange land. Your stomach rumbled again, and you clambered back into your biplane, using the floats to lever yourself up. Checking the crates, it seems that the client had almost known that you would deviate off course. Many of them had canned food and water, as well as equipment for cooking, cutting, filtering water, and all-around survivability. The only exception was the crate filled with gold-plated badges. Upon further inspection, it turned out that the gold was almost completely pure. You probably had upwards of five thousand dollars in that small crate. Shrugging, you pinned one onto your shirt. You looked down at the piles of stuff and noticed some odd equipment. They seemed to be made to be built into your biplane. You brushed it away, but kept it safe. Someday, you would get to that. Now would be the time for breakfast.

Putting the can of meatballs on the fire, you sighed and leaned back. The air was clean, far cleaner than the city. It was always hustling and bustling. The ocean was flat like glass, and you were almost tempted to take a dip. You take a deep breath in, savouring the smell of the food and throwing yourself to older times, to happy memories. You can still hear James in music class, strumming tunelessly on his ukulele and shouting nonsense. You open your eyes and whistle, the sharp notes contrasting the sounds of nature.

"Hey, watcha got there?" A small-no, tiny figure leaps onto your shoulder. You instinctively jerk away, sending the thing flying. "Why does everything have to be so small here?!" She shakes herself off and leaps into your lap. "Because otherwise, we get EATEN." You eventually calm down, and remember the can of meatballs. Hastily grabbing it from the fire, it seems that it's not burned. You sigh and dig in. The tiny woman crosses her arms in an expression of annoyance. "Hellooooo!" You look down at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like one? They're pretty big." Spearing a meatball on your fork, you raise it up to her. It's like a soccer ball compared to her, almost the size of her head. She takes one look and falls upon it, quickly devouring it. She accidentally bites down on the metal tines of the fork and winces in agony. "Owww!" You resume eating. "So, what's your name? You gotta have some kind of a name, right?" She boldly places a hand on her chest, puffing herself up. "My name is Megan, and I am a Compy." You cock your head in confusion. "Hmm. Stay here, I need to go find something." You get up and walk over to your biplane, leaving your can of food with the Compy. Bad decision, as she decides to scarf down three more. You return with the Reptile Kingdom Handbook, plunking yourself down in your seat. "No...nope...nah...here we are. 'Compy'. So, you guys are supposed to be quite agile?" You look up at her, and she confirms it by leaping into the air and performing a backflip off your head. Rubbing your forehead, you continue on. "They can be ferocious in packs, enough to take down larger prey. They also inhabit most of the Reptile Kingdom. Huh. Apparently, you guys live everywhere, know everything, and can kill anything." She nods in approval. "Well, I'm off. See you in a while." She leaps up after you, grabbing onto the pocket of your pants. "The jungle is no place for you! You aren't even a Hunter!" You gently pluck her off your pants and raise her to eye level. "That's because I'm a pilot."

Laying her on a branch, you clamber into your biplane and start up the engine. It starts up, the pitch getting louder and louder. The propeller spins faster and faster, and the biplane starts to taxi out to sea. Megan leaps up onto your shoulder again, clearly interested. You smile. You knew the expression on people's faces when they flew for the first time. A bit of faked turbulence wouldn't do a lot of harm, either. You flicked a switch, and the biplane pushed forward, gaining speed. Megan looked out over the waves, awe growing in her face. "This is nothing. Now this...this is where it gets fun." You pull up, the nose rising into the sky. The familiar feeling of weightlessness washes over you, and you can't help but grin. "Ohmygod! How?! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!" You chuckle, and she digs her claws into your collar. You tilt the joystick to the left, and you slowly roll over to about fifty degrees. "WAAH!" Megan must be losing her mind. You even out, flying over dense forests and jungles. "So, how do you like it? This is why I don't have to be a Hunter, whatever that is. It's hard to get eaten when you're out of harm's reach." She looks up at you, with a face that screams 'I know something you don't'. Just then, you pass over a ravine and find a very strange sight. A sepia brown fighter plane, about the size of a Me109, goes zooming by through the ravine. It's got a bright streak of flame jutting out from it, like an exhaust flare, and swept-forward wings. Closely followed by it is a dragon, with six tongues of red flames lancing out from behind it. They both zoom by, faster than light, weaving through the ravine like it was nothing. "What the-Is that even a plane?" You turn to the side, following the ravine. Pitching up, you roll over to one side, allowing you to get a view of the rapidly disappearing pair from the clouds. "Huh. That's interesting." Meanwhile, the poor Compy is staring out the cockpit at the clouds, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. Poor girl.

Spotting a nice lake, you pitch down, coming in for a landing on the water. Taxiing up to shore, you jump out and pull the old girl onto the beach. Megan looks around, then turns to you. "Where are we?" You shrug. "I dunno. I just needed to go for a flight, get a view of what I'm up against. That's a lot of jungle, you know." She looks up at you for a second, staring into space, before leaping up onto your collar, shaking it with tiny fists. "AAAGH! I GOTTA GO BACK HOME! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE WE ARE!" Undoing your backpack, you pull out the RK Handbook. Flipping forward to 'Compy', you read out loud. "Even if the tamed Compy doesn't know something, she can easily find out by asking one of the local Compies." You close the book and stuff it in your backpack, slinging it on your back. "So, go ask some of the other Compies around here. I reckon you can find your way home." She nods vigorously and leaps off into the bushes, with nothing but a "Thanks for the view!" to mark her absence. Sighing, you set off in the other direction towards a village.

The small fishing village was built almost entirely on the water, with many small boats tied up to piers. A long, rickety bridge reached up to the cliff. The wood creaked under your feet, but held. Along the way, a man with a giant sword strapped to his back passed you, headed towards cliff. He had almost no pants, a vest made out of what looked like bone, and an animal skull for a helmet. He made no sound, but you could hear him yelling from the cliff. You shrugged and continued towards the village.

The first thing that caught your attention was a young man standing on top of a box, giving out orders and waving a clipboard around. You walk past an ancient old man standing by a furnace, and past a tan-skinned woman murmuring something about "And the crowd goes wild...". You walk up to a woman behind a stall. "You're new. We already have a Hunter here, why would you come?" She gasps. "Is the Lagiacrus so bad, the Hunter's Guild sent TWO Hunters?!" You raised your hands for silence. "No, I'm afraid not, ma'am. I'm just a traveler, looking for...information." She leans forward and points towards an old man, sitting on a bench. "Go ask the Chief. He knows everything around here." Thanking her, you walk towards him and ask, "Sir, could I ask a question of you?" He nods, replying, "You young folk oughta come to me for questions more. Get some facts in yer head, before I fall over and Junior becomes Chief. Ask away, kid." You clear your throat. "Do you know how to get to the Reptile Kingdom Capital?" He shakes his head and points to a bunch of beefy men, sitting down eating lunch. "That's our fishing crew. Sometimes, they head out to other places to sell what we don't need and can't use. Ask them." You nod your head. "Gentlemen! In which direction might I go in order to reach the Reptile Kingdom Capital?" They looked at each other and laughed. "You don't know what you're saying. The Lagiacrus has taken over the entire water. We was lucky to sneak by. That kinda luck doesn't happen twice." You take a deep breath in. "Trust me on this one. How do I get to the Reptile Kingdom Capital?" One of them stands up and lays a hand on your shoulder. "Head out north until you find shore. Follow the shore and go up the river. Before long, you'll find yourself on the open ocean. Stick close to shore and go west. You'll come up on the Capital." You turn away, but he taps your shoulder. "Godspeed. You're a crazy man for thinking you can make that trip." You shrug it off. "I have my ways."

You start up the engine again, taking off. Pushing forward on the joystick, you do a flyby of the village. "I told you I could do it!" you yell out the window. You continue forwards, checking your instruments now and then and looking over the lake. Soon, you spot the shore. You ease back on the throttle and lose a bit of altitude, lining up with the shore. Through the trees below, you can spot large beasts roaming through the brush, sometimes fighting each other. You sighed and tried for the umpteenth time to wrap your head around the scenario.

The wide river burbles underneath as you fly through the trees, startling a Narga who promptly falls out of the tree onto her target. Everything seems pretty normal. Suddenly, a storm appears out of nowhere, the rain coming up behind you. The storm would cover up the solar panels, killing your throttle.....if you let it catch up to you. You slammed the throttle forward, and the electric engine whined deafeningly as the biplane strained forward. The battle was determined from the start; but you had to keep on going. You pitched up, and the shadow of the clouds got a little closer. On the horizon, you could see the ocean. If you could just get high enough, you'd be able to glide down and land on the water. The thick jungle below promised only a fiery death; the ocean is a giant runway. You sat there, with the storm chasing up on you and the ocean so far away. Jerking the joystick back, you absolutely shot up in the air. The shadow leaped forward, closing it's teeth around your wings. The engine slowly got quieter and quieter, and the propeller seemed to be slowing down. You pursed your lips together, hoping you'd collected enough altitude to simply ride the wind to the ocean. The wind had other ideas, though. It pushed from under you, sending you floating higher. Suddenly, a strong tailwind practically punched you forward, and the propeller whined a tiny bit. "I should mount some wind generators on this old kite." The wind kept playing with you, tossing you about and even making you do a wide donut, before leaving you to glide to the clean blue water below.

The storm above turned the water steel-gray, and the waves lapped against the floats. You sat there staring out the window, simply listening to the monotonous rain. The steady, ever-present sound brang peace to the stormy scene, and you sighed in contention and leaned back in your seat a little father. The rain was almost lulling you into sleep..."Hello?" The noise made you jump, looking about wildly. You stared out the window at the water below. A woman with pale-white skin was waving at you from the water. You looked over at the shore; it had to be at least a hundred metres, if not more. You looked back to the woman, who didn't seem to be uncomfortable at all. You shrugged, opened the forward door and clambered out onto the float.

She smiled up at you from the water. "Hi!" she said. "This storm is rough, isn't it?" You nod. "Yeah." She adjusted, so that she was floating on her back. "You know, the water isn't that cold when you get used to it." You shake your head. "I'm afraid not. I gotta go to the Capital, get a grip on this place." She starts to float in wide circles. "Newcomers can find the Reptile Kingdom a little overwhelming. There's the jungles, the deserts, the mountains and caves...they're all hazardous. Then tourists have to deal with the reptiles themselves." This triggers a thought in the back of your mind. "I gotta get to shore! How could I forget that!" You practically leap into the plane, searching around for some kind of paddle or oar. "Why?" You poke your head out the door. "Mosas! Giant leviathans of the deep! Lagiacrus! They'd snap up my plane in one gulp!" At this, she sits there stunned for a second, before throwing back her head and guffawing. "Ah ha ha ha! You think there's a Mosa around here? They wouldn't come anywhere close to me!" You stick your head out the window, confused. "What? Why wouldn't they come near you? Are you some sort of aquatic witch doctor or something?" Her face turns to 'Really nigga?' She swam up to a float and flopped herself on top of it, exposing her lower half. It was stripy with black and white, with a fairly sized paddle on the end that drifted in the water. "I'm a Sea Lamia. I don't get attacked by the big things. I can take care of myself." The look of horror and disgust on your face was mounting, as you took in one of the extreme cases of monster girl physique.

You leaped inside the cabin and slammed the door. The Sea Lamia asked "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?" from outside. You ignored her; you were still shaken by that tail. What ungodly man had fused a woman with a snake? Who in right mind would create such a creature? An awful thought occurred to you: maybe they were natural! Surely nature wasn't able to create such malformed things! Something ticked in your head. The first guy you met in this weird world: he said something about magic. That must be it! Magic was the only way to explain these half-human freaks. The Sea Lamia gently knocked on the door. "You still there? Are you okay?!" The tone of her voice seemed...concerned. You took a deep breath. Everyone knew the phrase: don't judge a book by its cover. You stood up and walked over to the door, slowly opening it. She was staring into the cabin, having managed to prop herself up on the float. "Are you okay? Do you have a family that you're worried about?" You sat back down in shock. You hadn't even considered your family.

You once had a family of three, your wife and your son, Jacob. She had taken him away at the age of ten, when she divorced you for some guy who served in the Army and moved to Britain. You had spent over twenty years without seeing your son. By then, he had kids of his own, including your grandson, Corey. Corey was the one who had installed the solar panels and pontoon floats on your biplane. His friend, Edward, had helped remove the old gas-powered engine and replace it with an electric one, which was also designed by Corey. By god, the kid would probably build a time machine when he grew up.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath in. The Sea Lamia looked around blindly. "What's the matter?" You replied, "I-I miss them...I miss my family, or at least the shattered remains of it. They'll never know...they'll just think I've added to the Bermuda Triangle's list of victims." You fought to hold back sobs, but a single tear rolled down your cheek, followed by another. "Please...let a guy cry in peace. It's not like I'll ever see them again..." The Sea Lamia looked down and slithered off the float, back into the clear blue water. The rain droned on endlessly above.

Eventually, the storm lifted, and you clambered back into the pilot's seat. You flicked a few switches, and the engine began to whir. It slowly got louder and higher, until the AN-2V inched forward. Picking up speed, the biplane took off, back in the direction of the shore. Already, the feeling of flying was helping your mood, and your sadness got blown away, like a newspaper thrust out the window. The capital came up, and old habit kicked in. You reached up and grabbed the radio, then spoke into it. " Ground Control, this is callsign SKh-1. I am requesting a water runway and permission to land. Do you copy?" You reached the city and flew over top of it. It was huge, by any rate. There weren't any skyscrapers, or parking lots. But there was this giant spire, right slap bang in the middle. It seemed to be sparking slightly. You spotted the airport and entered a wide circle around it; known as a 'holding pattern'. You repeated your callsign and request over the radio. After five minutes, a surprised voice replied, "Copy that, SKh-1. You may land at pier number seven." You nodded, even though no-one could have seen you nod, and headed towards the water.

Pulling back on the throttle, the AN-2V touched down. It slid gracefully across the water, passing a large red boat fashioned like a whale. "Talk about a fancy float!" you remarked as the spoilers flared out, making the plane rapidly decelerate. This created a Newton-approved occurrence in physics, wherein you slammed forward into windshield. The plane almost cartoonishly stopped, right next to the pier. You stepped out and stretched your limbs. The pier was wide enough to accept a tank. It felt like it could hold a tank, too. You turned around at the sound of giggling. A Lagia and a Sere quickly stood up straight, evidently holding back laughter. They wore matching uniforms, a navy blue blazer with matching pants. "So, I assume you're from the airport?" They swallowed and nodded. "Follow me, sir. All incoming tourists must go through customs first." You sighed, then inquired, "Are you laughing at me squished up against the window?" The Sere looked over her shoulder back at you. "No!" You secured your AN-2V to the dock, then walked off after them.

After about two hours, you emerged from the airport. "So in a world filled with magic, and reptile women, and technology from before the Victorian era, customs and immigration is still so tedious! I guess some things never change." As you walk through the hallways of the airport, a plane outside catches your eye. It has forward-swept wings, a swelled tail...by god, it was that plane from the canyon! It hovered in the air about five feet off the ground, with the nose pointed directly at the sky. "A tailsitter aircraft. Huh." A man with a brown uniform jumped out, then held up his wrist. His watch appeared to be creating some sort of frame or cradle for the plane. He tapped his curious watch again, and the plane slumped down into the frame, cutting throttle. You paid close attention to the man's uniform. It appeared to resemble a fighter pilot's....You discreetly shadowed him out the airport, keeping an eye on him. Something in your head was tellingly you that this guy, whoever he was, was a force to be reckoned with.

You followed him down alleyways and through crowds, but his light brown uniform blended in easily with the wooden buildings and the local garb. He swiftly headed around a corner, and you raced ahead to catch up. You spun round the corner...and found a dead end. That pilot was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a Tig leaped down at you from above, yelling, "HIYAA!" You just barely ducked out of the way as she slammed into the ground, then looked up at you. "You better run, prey..." She slowly sidles up to you, blocking the way out of the dead end. A shot rang out, then another. It was deafening, it must have been less than half a kilometre away...The Tig turned one hundred and eighty degrees on the spot, allowing you to get a look at her attacker. That pilot was standing right there, holding what appeared to be a comically large revolver. "Bitch I hope the fuck you do! You'll be a dead son of a bitch, I tell you that!" The man retorted. His tone sounded remarkably like an African-American woman, or a heavy parody of it. The Tig flicked out her claws and roared at him. It was even louder than the gunshot, and your ears were ringing. The man fired one last shot and then ran for his life, with that streak of brown scales going at his throat. You shot off a mock salute and merged into the crowd, thankful but confused.

Eventually, you found yourself in a bar, staring out the window. It was getting dark, and the possibility of a honest-to-god bed kept you from returning to your biplane. You absentmindedly checked your pockets, to discover no items of importance on you. You sighed and slouched down on the table. You must have started to fall asleep, because the old Wyvarian running the bar prodded you crankily. "If you're gonna stay here, get a room to sleep! I'm not having tourists hogging the tables for free!" You forced your eyes open and stood up. "I'm sorry. I don't have any money, so I guess I'll just-" Suddenly, a hand slaps your shoulder, and a handful of coins reaches out from behind you and offers them to the barkeeper. "I'll pay for us both. He got a little too carried away with the smoothies from that guy down the street." You whipped your head around and saw the pilot from before! The grumpy old Wyvarian sighed and jerked a thumb towards a staircase. "Your room's up there." He disappears behind the counter, and a key sails through the air from the counter. "Room number six. Great view of the ocean." You snag it with one hand, and a second key is caught by the pilot. "Room number three. You always know when the market's open." The two of you trotted up the stairs casually.

You step into room six, and the other pilot follows. You turn to him and say, "Thanks for saving me back there. I woulda been toast. How did you beat that Tig?" He shrugs. "Oh, you know. Tricked her into headbutting an anvil. I got worried when the anvil got dented, but then she flopped on the floor unconscious." You sat on the bed and looked out the window. The barkeeper was right; it did have a great view. "Look! You see that! That's my biplane, down there. The olive-green one." The pilot bent down a little, then stood up again. "That's a real beauty. Russian, perhaps?" You nod eagerly. "She's got a stall speed that's nonexistent! Hell, she could even go backwards in a strong wind, if she wanted!" The pilot nodded his head. "That's new. You must be running' out of gas for the old girl." You shook your head in excitement. "Nope! She's got an electric engine and solar panels mounted on the wings!" The pilot pulled a pair of binoculars out of a pocket and peered down at it. "Entirely solar, huh? What's happens when a storm hits, like the one earlier today?" You sighed and flopped backwards onto the bed. "I lose all throttle, that's what. I gotta glide down and hope that I can find a patch of water to land on." He crosses his arms. "So, would a miniature wind turbine help?" You nod. "Okay, then. See you tomorrow." You hold up a hand and wave him back inside. "What's your name? You may well be the only other pilot in the city, let alone the kingdom, asides from me." He smiled and said, "TheJanadianKing. But call me TJK." You reached out your hand, and he shook it graciously.

You wake up suddenly. The night is still dark. The wind howls outside, sounding almost...rhythmic? You stand up and look out the window. The wind is making waves a metre high. You shake your head and step away from the window. The wind seems to lower in pitch, in a somber tone. You raise an eyebrow and look out the window again. The wind increases in tone, almost like it's happy to see you. You shake your head and throw on some light clothing. You step outside and raise a hand to your forehead. Something's off about this...You spot a barrel full of fish get blasted away by a blast of storm, and you realise that the wind isn't touching you in the slightest. You walk over to where the barrel was. Still no wind. It couldn't be the buildings that provided shelter...something weird was happening. Trotting over to the end of the dock, you kneel and put yourself at the level of the water. All around you, the waves were splashing over the dock, but the waves seemed to calm down near you. You stepped away from the end of the dock. The water crashed against it, sending up a shower of water into the air. You stepped forward. It calmed down. You looked down at your hands. "What is going on..." You stare out to sea, then return to your bed in the inn. The last thing you see is a dark silvery figure in the window with large wings on its back, hovering outside your window.

Someone was knocking on your door...you woke up blearily and answered it. "Breakfast's started downstairs. Once you're up, I'll help you make some modifications to your biplane." TJK's voice floated through the door. His footsteps slowly descended to the bar, and you looked out the window. What had happened last night? Was it some sort of dream? You spotted that barrel of fish, still overturned. It hadn't been a dream, then... "Oi? You coming down or what? They've got these really nice hams! At least I think they're hams!" You pull on your clothing and go downstairs. TJK waves to you, then says, "So, you want a wind turbine. Cool. Here, let's discuss it over breakfast, and we'll make it real when we get there, okay?"

The meal was exceptionally delicious. Not too gourmet or simple, just a well-roasted steak and some interesting herbs. You tossed your room key to the barkeep/manager, and stepped out the door. "Meet me down by the dock in about an hour!" TJK nodded and kept eating. You set forth into the city. You felt like you had boundless stamina. The sun was shining, with a lovely breeze coming in from the sea. The Tokay merchants were loudly showing off their wares, yelling, "Top Quality Chocolate Holstaur Milk! Available exclusively in the Reptile Kingdom! You'll never get a better deal, tokay!" You kept walking, completely lacking in anything of monetary value. The golden badges were back on the AN-2V. The houses started to change. They got a little lower, the merchants a little shabbier. Suddenly, a man shouted, "There's a Jho here! Get out of the way! A Jho's on the loose!" Thinking quickly, you slip into a little back alley. Shouts of terror echo behind you, replaced by a wet, slapping sound. "Poor fellow. Wouldn't want to be him right now." The back alley was dark and damp.

You eventually found your way to the dock. TJK was looked down at the clock on his wrist. "Let's get to work!" He nods and follows you down to the biplane. TJK lets out a long, low whistle at the sight of it. "Woah. Cargo biplane, by the looks of it, with floats and enough space to sleep..." You nod your head. "Yep. She's pretty much a flying camper van! She can land anywhere with water, and hold up to twelve passengers!" He crosses his arms. "Alright. What are you trying to upgrade on this kite?" "The energy production system. She's powered by solar, as I've said, but she needs a little more. Just outside the Capital, I had a run-in with a storm. I had to glide down without throttle. Something weird happened, though. The wind...it sort of tossed me around. I've flown for more than twenty-five years, and I've never felt that kind of wind before." TJK stroked his chin thoughtfully. "The wind, eh...Can't be a pure wind elemental...a Sylph wouldn't be so indirect...this is most perplexing..." He waved his hand. "Anyway, back to the modifications!"

As you both worked on the biplane, you shared your backstories. It turns out that TJK came from a classified division of the Luftwaffe. Apparently, he had come from a different time period, in the later parts of the war. He said that he had been sent through a technological portal, along with his submarine. The crew to the submarine vanished, leaving him alone, both in the skies and at home. His only companions were an AI by the name of ICARUS, and a Sylph that he had recently befriended. Still, he pretty much outran, outmaneuvered and outgunned anything-or anyone-in this medieval setting. Sure, there were Harpies who were absolutely dazzling to watch, and the various Dragon subspecies all had the power of flight, but he usually left them in the metaphorical dust. "What're you doing in the Reptile Kingdom, then? If you've got a submarine that basically runs forever, and fast aerial transport, what are you doing hanging around here?" He sighed. "I heard from some sources that there's going to be a new reptile being introduced or newly discovered in the Kingdom. According to my information, it will be able to move at speeds approaching the sound barrier. That's way faster than I can go, even with the Superboost engine. Yesterday, I encountered one. I tried diving into a ravine to throw it off, but it was like a needle through thread. So far, getting driven down seems to be inevitable; it's just too fast. I'm experimenting to see what strategies work against it." You nodded and kept working.

You straightened out and stretched your arms. "Well, I reckon that oughta do it. I'll give it a spin tomorrow. It's getting close to dinner. Speaking of which..." You clamber into the cabin and grab a handful of badges. Stepping out, you dump them into TJK's hands. "Here. This pays for breakfast and the room, I hope." He looks down at the pile of gold in his hands, then up at you. Suddenly, he throws his head backs and laughs. "Don't worry, my friend! It was but spare change to the endless treasure a king possesses!" He gently sets the badges down inside the cabin, then flicks out his wrist. A large pile of crystal-clear gems fall onto the pier. You picked one up and stared into it. It glimmered with a marvelous beauty, as big as your fist and perfectly symmetrical with fourteen equally-sized sides. TJK reached over and tapped one of the sides. It glowed bright red, then faded away. "Each side offers a different colour. You could make a light show with this gem." He held out his wrist, and the pile slowly fizzled away to nothingness. "You can keep that one. Would you like it a little bit smaller? It'd be great as a wedding gift to a Dragon. They love and hoard treasure, and considering your tech and personality, you'll get married pretty soon in these parts." Suddenly, a dragon girl swept out one wing towards both of you and let out a high-pitched screech. "Say, she's not in the Reptile Kingdom Handbook. Who knows, maybe that idea of new mamono was credible after all!" TJK stepped back a bit. "Hell no!" He turned to you. "That's a Wyvern, one of the reptilian mamono that can be found outside the Reptile Kingdom. See that armband? She's with the Iron Wings!"

TJK pushed you to the side and whipped out his revolver, firing off warning shots at the Wyvern. She cries out and dives down between the buildings, then flying off into the distance. TJK holsters his revolver and offers a hand up. "Not in the Reptile Kingdom Handbook? Huh. Interesting." You dust yourself off and ask, "Who are the Iron Wings? I thought you said that you outran and outgunned everything!" He sighs and stares off into space. "The Iron Wings...huh. They're like a mix between fan club and...mercenary guild. From what I know, they originally bonded together to try and overwhelm me in the air." He shakes his head. "I excel at taking out superior numbers." He shakes it away with his hand. "Anyway, once I left them in tatters, they appear to have branched out a little bit. From the intel I've gathered, they have now started doing jobs and tasks, like mercenaries. This has led to them having a slightly positive reputation. You can do a lot of tasks when you have the higher ground, or should I say, sky." He sighs and waves his hand at you. "Come on. Help me pull this thing to a garage or something. After what's going to happen, it won't be safe for this to be out in the open. I assume you've flown a Spitfire before?"

"Okay, I've got a plan. The Iron Wings have strength in numbers, and they know that, so they're probably going to flock here in the thousands. I'm gonna lead them out to sea, where I'm most dangerous. That leaves you with two options. Stay out of the way, either on the ground or in the sky away from here, or join me in the fight. It'll be fun!" You tilt your head to the side. "Thousands of bandits versus two planes. I've taken on large groups of enemies, but never a thousand in one battle. Hell, not even a hundred in one battle." He shrugs nonchalantly. "I guess you're staying out of the way. Would you like to take to the air? If I go down, they'll do a sweep of the airport and anything that looks like a hangar." You turned to your AN-2V, locked up in the boathouse. "Okay. I can always come back here if I want. It's not like I won't have a place to land!" He nodded and tapped his PDA. "ICARUS, remotely bring the Laser Knight back to the Trieste and send me the Moose." 

You clambered into the cockpit and held up the small walking-talkie that TJK had given you. "Take off when I give the okay. Too early, and you'll fly right into their main force. Too late, and you'll have a bunch of fire-breathing dragons on your tail." You took a deep breath and sat back. According to his recon drones, the Iron Wings were going to arrive in fifteen minutes, from all around. There was no point in trying to head across the ocean. Apparently, Mosas could jump out of the water and crush a biplane in two with one bite. You looked back over at TJK. Some kind of experimental craft had flown in from out of the Kingdom and landed, all without a pilot inside. He had jumped in the thing and shot off almost immediately, soaring up towards the clouds. The engine looked a bit funny; it had some kind of propeller or fan on the end, spinning constantly. When you asked TJK about this, he replied, "Oh, that's just the propeller. It helps to move through the water." You curiously asked, "Wait, that thing can go underwater?" He chuckled over the radio and dived down at the pier, splashing into the water at the last second. You stood up in the cramped cabin and looked out over the water. Unexpectedly, he came bursting out of the water, a good hundred metres away from where he went in. His plane didn't seem damaged at all. "As you can see, I take no damage from taking a dip. However, I'm betting that the impact force will at least do something against anything that latches on." You let out a "Ah," of understanding, then sat back down again. "Alright, the drones say that they've just arrived at the outskirts of the city. I'll lure them out towards the water, then you take off and get outta here!" You picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Roger. You see that storm coming in? I reckon it'll hit in less than five minutes. To pinpoint it? Probably about seven, judging by the wind and size." TJK swoops in low over the biplane, soaring through the tightly packed waterfront. "Yeah, I see it. I reckon you could probably hide in it, if needed." You watched him twirling through the buildings, like some kind of mechanical acrobat. "Copy that. Hey, wait a second. I can see something in the distance!" You pulled out your binoculars and adjusted the focus. "Oh, damn. I'm seeing Nargas, Seres, ordinary Wyverns...what the hell is that thing? She's got some kind of flying machine!" TJK made a clicking noise with his tongue. "That's probably a Gremlin. Four feet tall, green hair, black jumpsuit?" You nodded you head. "Yeah..." He snorted over the walkie-talkie. "That's a Gremlin, all right. Didn't you Brits come up with that term?" You yelled in protest, "Hey! I'm not some tea-sculling Brit! I'm an American! I thought I told you that!" He pitched up and rose from the mass of buildings, headed right for the swarm of black dots. "Remember, when I give the signal, take off. You need any cover, tell me." You put the walkie-talkie away and started up the engine, keeping it silent but running.

The cloud of monsters slowly advanced through the sky. It seemed impossible that TJK could win, let alone put a dent in them. They blotted out the sun as they flew over the city, casting a huge shadow on the people below. He pitched up and rolled over, heading straight back towards the water in an Immelmann manoeuvre. The swarm followed. They were like moths to a flame, which is silly, because lizards eat insects. Nevertheless, you swore that you saw insectlike wings somewhere in that mass. They slowly passed over the city, like an ominous cloud. The literal clouds above opened up, starting to pelt down thumb-sized drops of rain. "That can't feel good for their wings..." Still, TJK flew on, out to sea. The last of the seemingly limitless mob flew over the city, and you murmured, "All right. They are over the water. Repeat, they are completely over the water." TJK suddenly stalled out, and the exhaust flare from his engine went out. He started falling straight for the water, still levelled out. At the last second, he flipped over, so that the top of his plane hit the water. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We appear to be encountering the enemy task force. Prepare for turbulence, and enjoy the fireworks." He popped up out the water and fired off a ball of plasma the size of his plane. It hurtled through the air, then hit a Gremlin flying machine right in the fuselage. The entire thing exploded into tiny pieces, and the superheated fragments of the plasma ball burst off in all directions, creating an expanding sphere of...stuff. It was hard to put a name to it, exactly; if it were debris or shrapnel, then it would have to be ballistic weaponry. But surely it wasn't possible to have a bullet the size of a plane...it didn't look like a bullet, anyhow. Whatever it was, it was damn effective. Any of the smaller guys hit by the plasma-shrapnel stuff went down immediately. The swarm hovered in the air for a second, observing their allies falling to the water below, then let out a blood-curdling shriek. It was like ten thousand voices of pure determination, with a bit of anger and horror mixed in. They collectively dived as one, like a giant blanket falling to the bedroom floor. "Oh god...I'm glad I chose not to stay!"

In answer to this inhumane wail and the rapidly approaching wall of bodies, TJK simply skimmed across the surface of the water. He pitched up and fired off another shot before sinking into the water. He then proceeded to bounce up and out of the water, right through the hole he punched with the plasma ball. Immediately, the swarm was upon him. They gathered all around him, trying to latch on. It was impossible to see him through the scales. "You fools! The more you group together, the easier it is for me to dispatch you!" You heard the sound of another shot going off inside the blob of monsters. "Take off! They're all focused on me now! Get out of her-agh! Get off the canopy, you scaly piece of shit! Take that!" He plunged into the water, followed by what looked to be about a thousand of the Iron Wings. You gripped the joystick in one hand and slowly raised the throttle with the other. The propeller turned to a blur as you taxied forwards. "You damn bitches...get out of MY sky..." You could hear the sound of TJK splashing up out of the water, and the spray covered your windshield. If you had been about five metres further ahead, he would've slammed right into you. You look behind you and punch the throttle, leaping forwards into the air. The sound of leathery wings came from outside, and you checked your six o'clock mirror. A Sere was flapping after you, noticing the olive-green buzzing thing. "Oh shoot! There's one on my tail!" He swung around and boosted forward. Suddenly, the Sere got struck by a cepia-coloured blur. "Got her. Those clouds are closer than before. They don't look like lightning clouds, so you should be safe. You can use them to get further inland without being spotted." You pitched straight up, getting a ton of altitude. You could now see far across the city, from one horizon to the other. "Dammit! They're not letting up! Oh, scheiße! Hilf mir, mein leiben! Aaaaah!" He really sounded in trouble down there. Don't know why he was screaming in German, though. You managed to reach the dark storm clouds, diving into their ominously fluffy rolls and puffs. Suddenly, two great roars cried out. One was high and shrill, like a bird of prey. The other one was like metal grinding on metal, a total pain on the ears. TJK murmured over the radio, "Oh, god...here comes Mrs. Sky Comet Dragon! Whoopee...just what I needed..." You grabbed the walking-talkie and shouted, "You okay?" He gasps and lets out a low whistle. "You know how I said use the clouds for cover?" You nod your head. "Yeah, what about it..." He clicks his tongue and says, "Don't check your six now, but there's a really big dragon right behind you. I mean literally RIGHT behind you. It's shiny. And it's got big wings. And it's staring right at you. You also seem to be hovering." You check your airspeed indicator. And your six. Both say that there's a big dragon, hovering right behind you. "Holy crap...that's a Kushala Daora!"

You pushed the throttle forward and rolled over, diving towards the ground. The Daora folded its wings and dove after you, easily catching up to you. Terrified, you rolled over again and pulled up and hard as you could. The Daora followed you effortlessly. "You're not gonna shake a Daora by outmaneuvering them; they've got millions of years of evolution on their side. You would have to be flying a jet to shake one off," TJK called over the radio. "All right, then. What do I do? She's on me tight, and I can't shake her!" He adjusted trajectory and came up towards you. "Lets swap dance partners. Sky Comet Dragons are insanely fast, but speed is inversely proportional to agility, I've found." By now, he was racing straight up, on a direct collision course with you. With a last-second dodge, he managed to scrape the wing of the Daora, making a terrible screeching sound of metal on metal. It roared in anger, then TJK went spinning away. "What the hell just happened? You okay?" You pitched up, then performed a loose loop-de-loop, passing through another storm cloud. You checked you nine o' clock and three o' clock, respectively. It seemed to be gone. "Something ain't right...why hasn't this Red Comet taken me down yet? She's just making lazy circles, staring up at those clouds..." You grabbed your walkie-talkie. "Funny. The Kushala Daora's nowhere to be seen. I'll gonna drop out from the clouds." You pitched down, emerging from the dreary nimbus. "Oh, that's why. She's literally right over top of you. If she wanted, she could probably tear off your wings right now, both pairs. Hmm...maybe she's...no, that's not right..." Suddenly, the Daora roared again like grinding metal, and dove down past you. The Sky Comet Dragon let loose a high-pitched scream and shot up, towards the Daora. "Oh, that's right. My info told me that the Sky Comet Dragon has a few rivalries in the air." The two dragons barreled towards each other, dull silver and bright chrome, shining in the sunlight. "Come on, let's get out of here. The Iron Wings have buggered off, and those two are more than a match for each other."

About an hour later, next to a small lake, you sit down and open up a glass bottle of Coke. "How did you manage to get these?!" TJK guffawed and replied, "I have a fancy inter-dimensional antenna on my submarine. It takes a lot of energy, and it can only be used for about ten minutes each time, but the connection is lightning-fast and with an AI like ICARUS, no file is safe, no matter how encrypted it is or how strong the firewall is." You tilted your head back and chugged the bottle down. "This beach is quite serene." He shakes his head. "The last time I came to this beach, I crash-landed and accidentally let loose an ecological terror. Just over there. If you swim over, you'll be able to see the wreckage." He pulled another bottle out from a seemingly bottomless metal lunchbox and held it up. "To flying," he said, and made a toast. He took several gulps before lowering the bottle. "Can I ask you a question?" you inquired. He stared at the bottle in his hands, before turning to you. "I guess." You sat up a bit straighter. "That Kushala Daora had all the power in the world to send me crashing into the ocean, yeah?" He held up a finger. "Sea, but yeah." You raised an eyebrow and rubbed your chin. "Then why didn't it?" TJK leaned back and stared up into the darkening sky. "There's only one thing that I can think of, and it's that the Daora had some kind of crush on you. Now, don't ask me why. God knows that the sheilas have fallen head over heels for less." You stretched your arms and yawned. "I'm gonna go to sleep. I'll be off in the morning." He quickly got to his feet, too. "You know, you're a plenty good pilot. It's not like there's not enough room on the Trieste...You want to join up with me and ICARUS, sail the seas, soar through the skies, explore the world?" You smiled and shook your head. "Maybe later. I'm only just starting to wrap my head around this entire world, starting here in the Kingdom. And I reckon that Daora wouldn't take too kindly to me rushing around, flirting with other girls." TJK nodded and shambled off towards his Rauser, which was docked in a steel frame by the water. "May your skies always be clear, my friend!" He clambered into the cockpit and punched the throttle with his left hand, shooting up into the sky like a firework before rocketing off. You gave him a mock salute and climbed into the cabin of your AN-2V. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, that was for damn sure.

[The Reptile Kingdom]