Eternity - Jenny Haniver / Shauna Li

When we look at the legends of Shauna Li, we are looking into a long storytelling tradition of the imbued hero. They are someone who is either human, or very slightly more than human, defeating the truly inhuman. Often they are imbued with magical or mythic powers for this very purpose. Sometimes they achieve these feats through fantastical training. What ever the method, one thing is true across all these stories, everything before the Dragon is leading up to the Dragon, and after it is defeated the story is over.
But of course people are not stories.

Attributed to Nigel Phillips, University of Wales, Lampeter, in reference to the disappearance of Shauna Li in January of 2027.

“Your collar bone just broke.” the thought drifts through her mind as she clings to the beast.
“Those teeth. There is definitely some Varanus komodoensis DNA in there.” the thought doesn't make her feel any better as she desperately tries to wedge herself against its hind leg, all the while its mouth snaps at her.
“You didn't need that arm anyway.” The force of its dive, and the desperate grab at the leather straps which keep its crew safe wrenches her arm firmly out of its socket. On the upside, she now had a foot hold.
“If you wanted to die, you could have just given in to the Chironex fleckeri when you were 16.” At the trough of its dive, she is running along its back, full of fury.
“And that just doesn't belong in nature.” She slams into Naki soldier, knocking it from its harness as its eyes nictitate in surprise, disappearing somewhere over the creature's immense bulk.
“So now what are you going to do? Your arm is bust, you're on a test-tube chimera, and you have a sword.” Slowly, moving up the great beast's neck, holding tightly to the harnessing, she moves into position. Raising the sword ready to plunge it deep into the beasts eye.

“NO!”

The anguish in the voice (and even the presence of a another voice) almost stops her in her tracks.
Even as the Dragon Slayer plunges the sword into its eye, she feels herself being knocked from her feet by the Father of Wyrms.

“I didn't expect to ever see a lizard cry.” The shock is sufficient that neither can quite bring themselves to let go of each other as they fall through the air.