Against All Odds: Eric and Sora Unite

The jungle was as hot as the fires of hell. The trees blocked out most of the sun's light but did little to keep the humidity from being suffocating. Eric was covered in sweat, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were so soaked he could wring water out if he squeezed hard enough.

The fight hadn't gone well for them. They had been ambushed by a much larger force and their original plan to draw them into an open area had quickly turned into a desperate battle for survival. Most of their allies had fallen in the initial ambush and now they were down to just Eric and his brother Ajax, who was slowly advancing on him.

"It's over," said Ajax, raising his machete high above his head. "You've lost."

"No!" cried Eric, trying to get up after falling during the initial ambush. His leg hurt like hell and he wasn't sure if he could even stand up anymore. He looked around desperately for somewhere to run or someone to help him but it didn't seem likely that he'd survive until anyone else got there. Then suddenly a roar echoed through the jungle and something large crashed through the trees next to him, sending leaves and broken branches flying everywhere.

A golden dragon stood on hind legs, its back facing Eric while it faced off against Ajax. It roared again and spread its wings wide, challenging Ajax to face it in single combat. Ajax was momentarily stunned by such an unexpected sight but quickly regained his composure and charged at the dragon with his machete raised high above his head once more. The dragon reared back on its hind legs and lashed out with one of its front paws, swiping Ajax across the chest with razor sharp claws before launching itself at him. The two massive creatures collided in mid-air before crashing to the ground near where Eric was lying. The dragon drove its teeth into Ajax's neck while pinning him down with one paw, wrapping its tail around his throat to cut off any air supply. After a few seconds of struggling, Ajax stopped moving ever so slightly before finally going limp in the dragon's grasp. The dragon gave one last roar of victory before pulling its teeth from Ajax's neck and letting him fall lifelessly to the ground.

Eric sat there stunned for several minutes before looking up at the dragon that had saved his life, still standing triumphantly over Ajax's body. Its hide gleamed brilliantly in the jungle sun and its scales were smooth as silk, glistening in reds, yellows, blues and purples that seemed impossible all at once. Its eyes glowed with power as it turned towards him, looking directly into his eyes without fear or hesitation. There was something familiar about those eyes... something strangely comforting... but Eric couldn't place what exactly it was at first until he heard a voice say:

"Eric? Are you there?"

Eric snapped out of his reverie to find himself staring at a computer screen with an email from work waiting for him to reply to it. His boss had asked him earlier that day if he could send some new contracts over by five o'clock so she could review them before tomorrow morning's meeting with their biggest client yet but he kept getting distracted by thoughts of that strange dream from years ago... It felt like it was supposed to mean something important but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember anything else about it besides how real it felt... It bothered him that he couldn't remember more about it but eventually he decided that maybe it would be best just forget about it so he wouldn't be late responding to his boss' email since it probably wouldn't be too good form if I sent her my reply an hour past deadline... Besides I probably won't even remember this dream again anyway later tonight when I go back to bed..