And the story continues... Slight ketchup warning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It took Yaogun several days to find Beibi, and when he did he was tired from his non-stop flight. Beibi had settled down around a small town and was devouring its citizens one by one. Yaogun quickly shifted into a tiny kitten and wove his way through the houses and towards Beibi's head. Then, shifting back into a dragon, he bit down hard. But Beibi had seen him coming and slithered away into the mountains. Yaogun chased after him, which was easy, since Beibi was seven miles long. Eventually, Yaogun caught up with Beibi near Mt. Dituhe, an active volcano. Beibi suddenly struck at Yaogun's wings, and tore a gash in one of them, making it nearly impossible for him to fly. In return, Yaogun bit into Beibi's scaly flesh, making him hiss in pain. For the next hour they continued to exchange minor blows and bites, until Yaogun's defenses slipped momentarily and Beibi lashed out at his face, ripping his left eye with his teeth. Half-blinded, Yaogun roared in pain and bit down hard on Beibi's middle. Both wounded, and covered in their own blood, they circled each other, Beibi hissing tauntingly. Without warning, Beibi struck again, lashing Yaogun with his tail and circling around his neck, meaning to squeeze his life away. Yaogun thrashed wildly, and managed to break free. But there was hardly a moment before Beibi recoiled and ripped out his right eye. Blood spurted everywhere and Yaogun topped over onto the hard rock of the mountains. Moments passed that felt like hours, and then Yoagun realized that he couldn't win anymore. Not blinded and battered as he was. Within him his spirit fluttered faintly, and then sank down through the hard rock of the mountain, and settled deep below the earth. From somewhere outside himself, Yaogun saw Beibi eat his dragon form, now lifeless and cold. But Yaogun had become the mountain, and he realized how he could overcome this foe. Straining with effort, he extended his spirit to contain the entire length and breadth of China and the surrounding lands, infusing them with his power. Then, with a great effort, he twisted the rock and earth to his will, bending them up and around the massive Beibi, and trapping him in a prison of stone. Inside the newly born mountain, Beibi struggled to break free, but the rock was solid, and would not yield. Yaogun's spirit left the ground then, and re-formed in his dog body. From there he trotted down from the mountains, and sought shelter in the nearby village where the people kindly tended to his wounds.
After several months, he returned to the mountains, hale and healthy again. But he would never see again. However, as a cat, he found he didn't rely on his sight so much as his senses of hearing and smell. Slowly, he adjusted to his new life, and after a few more months, life was almost normal again. But then, life is never normal for a guardian, is it. 00 \_/ The End (for now at least)