Are you proud of me?
Disclaimer: I am not the clever soul behind this wonderful cartoon, sadly.
Author's note: okay OKAY JenSan! I'll write you some pretty angst. pets now do you feel better? This is a thankyou for the Yami no Matsuei piccies you sent (I was very pleased to see you restrained yourself) and a yes to beta-ing your fics for your own nefarious purposes and to cut them appropriately so they can be put up here ;) SO GLAD YOU'RE NOW INTO DRAGON BOOSTER! huggles
'What on EARTH are you DOING Moordryd?' Cain screamed from the green screen the popped into life in front of the young leader. Moordryd lay down further over his handles and chose not to answer. 'You'll get caught, there's a dead end up there!'
'Not entirely, Cain…' Moordryd replied finally, the lower half of his visor sliding down to enable him to talk.
Cain gaped at him, open mouthed, apparently too horrified to speak.
'Wait for me on this side of the bridge, have the white transport gear ready, we have to get this straight to my father's citadel before the Dragon Booster catches up…'
'Moordryd, its idiocy, that bridge...'
'JUST DO IT!' He screamed deactivating the screen. Cain didn't understand. His father's ultimatum had left no room for doubt or hesitation, and he wasn't going to dissapoint his father again...
'I have already warned you once, now Moordryd…'
'Father, the Dragon Booster, he just...'
'I don't want to hear any more excuses. Get that gear back, or I will replace you as leader of your crew. I believe I warned you this may happen. Your efforts have been nothing but a disappointment to me. Do you understand?'
'Yes father.'
He urged his tired dragon onwards. The gear the Dragon Booster had taken from him days ago was in hand, as well as another the Keeper crew leader had given the disgusting hero. His father would HAVE to be impressed with this effort.
He gave a glance over his shoulder. The Dragon Booster was hot on his tail, a green comm screen in front of him as well. He looked triumphant. No doubt he thought Moordryd was heading for a dead end as well…
Ahead, he spotted Cain and picked up the pace, charging almost right at his second.
'Moordryd! Here!' Cain cried, holding his hand up.
Moordryd threw both gears towards his friend and hoped like hell he was a good catch- his pace took him past his fellow crewmember before the outcome of the throw was clear.
'Jump!' He screamed at his dragon.
The bridge was in the process of reconstruction, a huge, jagged gap separated the two ends. It was a leap of faith, especially with a tired dragon, but it was the only option he had. He HAD to draw the Dragon Booster away from Cain. Cain HAD to have enough time to send the gears, sealed in a white transport gear, up to his father.
'YES!' He cried out as they landed safely on the other side.
His exultation, didn't last for very long.
Decepshion was exhausted. The chase had been long and hard, and she just didn't have the reaction skills or speed needed to make the landing entirely safe. She skidded sideways with the momentum and a pile of water pipes and girders snared her legs. She gave a howl of surprise and pain and tumbled over, flailing her legs and tail helplessly…
'WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?' Artha shrieked as Moordryd leapt the imposing gap. He pulled Beau up right at the edge. 'Get ready boy, I don't think they'll make it…'
But even as Dragon and rider readied themselves for what would almost have to be a rescue, impossibly, the black dragon landed on the other side.
'I don't believe it!' Artha yelled angrily, pounding his fist on Beau's neck, earning him a snuff of indignation and a reprimanding look from Beau. But Artha's anger quickly faded to panic as a twin scream, one human and one dragon could be heard shrilly over the sound of falling steel.
'MOORDRYD!' Something white flashed past Artha's face as he heard Cain's horrified cry. He turned around to see the Dragon Eye crew man backing up to make the jump.
'No!' Artha warned, holding his hand out 'It's too dangerous! Come on, there's got to be another way!' he opened his link with Parmon.
'Parm, we need to get over the other side of the bridge, pronto…'
'Artha, my indicators show the gears are nearing the upper end of the city, they must have transferred them to someone else somehow... You don't need to go to the other side of the bridge, you need to take a right and…'
'No Parm! Moordryd's in trouble, just tell me how to get over this gap...' He shouted, fully aware that Cain was sneakily trying to back up for a jump again
'Well, I… if you REALLY need to, but those gears are getting away…'
'Forget about the gears! How do I get across!'
Lance's face appeared on the screen, shoving past Parmon, who looked most put out.
'Go back the way you came, take the next street on the right, take a left two streets up, then the road will circle around and it'll be dead ahead…'
'Thanks Lance! Meet us there…'
'Us…?' But Artha cut his screen.
'Oh God…' Parmon sounded almost like he was going to be sick. Lance hopped off his dragon and ran forward to see whatever had brought Artha off the chase, but Kitt caught him firmly by the shoulders and dragged him back. She looked very white.
'No you don't, little man' She said sounding a bit shaky. 'This isn't for you to see…'
'But…' He whined. He wasn't a little kid anymore, after all. He was almost eleven and had been on dangerous trips before. He stood on his tiptoes.
All he could make out was a lot of fallen pipes and girders and a large, damp hole in the road where the construction crew had been re connecting water pipes.
'It's just a hole! Why can't I see?' he whined, bouncing up and down 'Didn't Artha say Paynn was here?'
'He's here alright…' Kitt didn't sound angry or anything, just sick. Lance started trying to pull away from her.
'Lance, please, keep still…' Parm asked, peering into the hole again, face greying slightly. He looked up at Kitt.
'Could you…?' He asked, looking at her pleadingly.
'Could you what?' Lance whined. Both Kitt and Parm ignored him. Kitt was biting her lip, looking almost like she was frightened. But Lance knew Kitt never got frightened of anything. Something wasn't right at all here.
'O-okay… could you take Lance? He really shouldn't see this…' She said at last. Parm nodded and they transferred ownership. Although Parm was stronger then Kitt, he was also closer to the hole. Lance stared at it, trying to make something to explain this mystery out.
Kitt climbed over the edge, looking as if she were descending into her worst nightmare. Her teeth were clenched and Lance almost thought she was shaking.
After about a minute they heard her call up from deep in the hole.
'Oh no… Parm, we need to do something, he's... he's still…'
But just then Artha, followed closely by Cain of all people, crashed into the scene.
'Artha! They won't let me…' Lance began, but Parm cut him off, letting the boy go and almost running up to the Dragon Booster.
'Artha! It's terrible! That hole just… and oh God… it's really…' He cried, grabbing his friend's arms.
Lance was about to go up to the edge, but Cain pushed past him roughly. Landing on his backside he pouted and gingerly got to his feet again.
'Moordryd? Moordryd!' Cain looked horrified, backing a few steps before leaping into the hole with no thought of life or limb.
Now Lance REALLY wanted to know. He hurried forward, ignoring Parm and Artha's yells at him to come back.
Suddenly he dearly wished he'd heeded them.
It appeared both dragon and rider had tripped over the pipes and girders and fallen upside down into the hole on the other side. A hole filled at the bottom with broken pipe offshoots in all directions. Including up.
There was more blood then Lance had ever seen before. His stomach churned as the rusty, sickly sweet smell hit him.
To add insult to injury, a fair number of pipes and huge metal girders had avalanched on top of the pair.
It was probably a good thing one of the huge supports had quite obviously broken the dragon's neck, considering the angle her legs were at and the blood pooling from god knows where beneath her.
Moordryd however, hadn't been so lucky. He was trapped half under his dragon, a bloodied pipe rather gruesomely impaling him through the top right shoulder, just below the collar bone. A thin trickle of blood ran its merry way from the side of his mouth to the ground.
Lance ran, falling over a barrier that had been knocked over in the accident, retching hard.
His dragon had been dead before she hit the ground. At least that's what Kitt told herself over and over, hoping the image burned under her eyelids would just go away, knowing there would be many nights after this where she would wake up in cold sweat, that picture haunting her.
She had grown up in Down City, so violence wasn't a new thing to her. But when it included dragons… When it was on such a large scale… When she knew the people involved, despite her feelings towards them.
They'd done what they could for Moordryd. She was no physician, but she was savvy enough to know it was a fluke he was still alive.
And now they took him back up to his father, hoping madly he'd survive until then, until REAL doctors could look at him. Modern medical science was very impressive nowadays, they could do wonders.
She glanced back at him. Cain was carrying him rather carefully. She felt sorry for Cain. It was hard to think that Moordryd could possibly have friends, but Cain looked more then distressed right now. He kept his eyes away from Moordryd, staring fixedly ahead, mouth set. He looked like a man both grief stricken and furious. She joined him.
'You okay?' She asked timidly, knowing immediately it was a stupid question. Of course he wasn't okay.
'This was all for him, you know.' Cain said, his voice shaking with anger. Kitt blinked.
'For who?' She asked, puzzled. the statement didn't seem to make much sense
'Him!' Cain spat, his voice rising. 'Word Paynn.' He sounded as if he would tear the man limb from limb at first sight. Kitt was completely nonplussed.
'I don't quite…'
'Nothing he did was enough.' Cain continued, a slightly hysterical edge coming into his voice 'He'd tell me about it- I saw it myself. Nothing Moordryd did was good enough for Word Paynn!' He was shaking slightly now, fury twisting his features. He finally looked at her. She felt a wave of compassion.
'He just wanted approval.' Cain almost begged, as if trying to explain everything to her, apologise for a friend's actions.
Kitt felt ill. She glanced at her enemy and felt worse. What kind of life was that? She looked around helplessly at the others.
Just then, the lift stopped and the doors hissed open.
'Ah, Moordryd, your back.' A soft, silky voice came from within the room. Kitt saw Cain's jaw clench and he pushed ahead.
'Yes. We're back.' He sounded reckless, like someone who'd ceased to care.
'Moordryd!' Word hissed, standing up quite suddenly as they all filed in. He pointed to a guard. 'Get something to put him on! You!' He pointed to another 'Fetch our physician! Quick!' He hurried forward, robes sweeping.
'What's the meaning of this Cain?' He asked harshly, reaching out to take his son. Cain stepped back, out of reach. Word straightened furiously.
'He was trying to draw the Dragon booster away so you could get your stupid little trinkets…' Cain spat. However, the insult didn't hit home, it just drew Word's attention to Artha.
'You! You did this!' He snarled coming forward like a striking snake.
'No.' Cain interrupted. Word's attention snapped back to Cain. 'You did it…'
'What do you…'
His question was cut off by the arrival of what looked kind of like a divan, or an extra long foot stool. Cain rather carefully put his friend down. Moordryd made the tiniest noise of discomfort at being moved.
'You did it, you and your threats, your bullying…' Cain fumed. Word glared at him coldly and Kitt stepped back.
'How DARE you…' Word snarled
'You did this!' Cain yelled, pointing at him accusingly 'You drove him to jump that stupid gap! YOU made him do whatever it took to get those gears! YOU told him you'd REPLACE him! And you KNOW EXACTLY what your approval means to him! You USE it! He's NOTHING to you' Cain screamed, fists clenched.
Kitt looked at Artha, horrified. This wasn't right. People who were raised in Sun City had charmed lives, perfect lives…
'You know nothing.' Word said coldly, looking daggers at his son's second in command. 'You assume far too much for nothing but a minion, an offsider….'
'A friend.' Cain challenged back.
Word opened his mouth to retort but looked down sharply at his son.
Kitt gave a short gasp. Moordryd had grabbed onto his father's robes to get his attention. His bloodied hand was shaking badly and he looked like he was fighting the urge to scream. His whole body seemed clenched, but he was staring up at his father intently
'Father… I did it… I got them…' He said, every word sounded like it were an effort.
'Yes Moordryd, I know…' He said dismissively. Kitt felt hot anger rush through her. How DARE he!
'Are you…' Moordryd hesitated, glancing at the others, but obviously deciding to go ahead anyway 'Are you proud of me, father?'
Kitt had never seen anything quite this terrible in her life. The very last of her hatred for Moordryd and Cain shattered painfully replaced by a pity that made tears well in her eyes. It was the question a six year old asks when showing his family a picture he's drawn. For a sixteen year old with hideous injuries to practically beg it of his father was unbearable. She covered her mouth. Lance had his face buried in Parm, who looked ill again. Artha's expression was unfathomable and Cain was no longer glaring at Word, but looking away, eyes closed and jaw clenched.
Word didn't answer. Kitt blinked away her tears and saw Moordryd's hand let go of the robes.
Finally Word spoke.
'Yes Moordryd. I am proud of you; you've handled the family honour well. I am proud to admit you're my son.' He sounded brusque, as if trying to say it all at once and get it over with.
'Very brave of you Word.' Cain said, scathingly, though his voice shook terribly.
Kitt looked sharply at Moordryd. Something in the way Cain had said that…
Moordryd's eyes were open still, but they were blank. His posture was relaxed again, and a horrible bluish tinge coloured his lips.
'It would have been a whole lot better if your son could have lived to hear it though.'