Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh


Finding A New Partner, Dash the Dragonrider

Knights & Battle For The Throne


Dash


Today was a Dragon Dueling exciting match about to take place. I could hear the wind whistling by my face and my hair was whipping back and forth as I ride atop my great beast. A dragon with scales as brilliant as emerald and the membranes of its wings seemed to glow purple in the afternoon sun whom I named Nyx.

The buildings of Goldcircle Kingdom City rush by in blurs of silver, and neon blue. The character which is me had to force my mount to make a sharp turn over the main plaza. The streets below twinkling with the flashes of the excited crowd's cameras. I hear them calling my name, filling me with adrenaline, ready to settle the score with my rival, Marcus a hot shot dragon rider and classmate from school.

His beast was enormous behemoth with black armored scales. Its wings glowing lava red as was its eyes and its mouth looking like a furnace from hell. Marcus laughed at me even though his Life Points were far lower than mine he was rather confident that he would win the match. His black dragon was plated in engraved black armor with a flag hanging off its tail bearing the emblem of his family.

His father obviously spared no expense in giving the best for his little boy.

With the Dragonheart Tournament close at hand, none of them wanted a loss this night. And they both were getting desperate.

"You played a good game!" the rival shouted. "But it all ends here! I Synchro Summon Exlploder Dragonwing!"

(ATK/2400 DEF/1600)

"You're wide open. And now there's no stopping me from attacking with my dragon and ending this duel!"

The crowd gasped, all on the edge of their seats, waiting to see if our character will counter the attack somehow.

"Are you ready up there?" the rival asks through an intercom in his dragon-shaped helmet. "That face down card he has is worrisome."

"I've got eyes on the target, sir." A mercenary sniper said from his perch, watching the duel from his multi-vision scope. "He's not going to the tournament. I guarantee it."

"I've got to do something and fast! If I don't come up with a strategy to beat that dragon, I'll lose the duel. Wait! My face-down card."

"I activate my face-down card..."

"Fire!"

I was grazed in my right arm unable to activate my trap card. It was only half shown from how I activated it. Marcus's Exploder Dragon attacked me directly.

I lost the duel and nearly my life almost falling off my dragon. My dragon saved me though catching me before I feel off him. I loved my dragon, I just wish I wasn't loathed now by people jeering at me in the crowd.

Their boos pierced my spirit like a thousand knives thrown by a Dark Magician. Did they not care that my arm was bleeding, and that both me and my dragon were tumbling down towards them like a bullet. They were a bloodthirsty crowd, like the crowd of ancient times going crazy in a gladiatorial match. When they wanted a duel, they wanted a duel, and they would go into a frenzied riot if they didn't get what they wanted. I was a hero to them, which was a curse as much as it was a blessing. For I was loved by them all. Having said that they wanted the best from me, and if they didn't get it they would rip me to shreds for letting them down. Something was wrong with my dragon. I put my hand on its side and could feel his pulse beating like a ceremonial drum.

Something was wrong. My dragon was also shot. And he was getting weaker and weaker. I held onto the metal stirrups and pressed my chest against the saddle bracing for impact. The medical staff that always stood by during every Dragon Duel was mobilized. I could see their red lights flashing in the streets below. Their siren wailing. The head of security was shouting for the crowd to get out of the way via megaphone from inside his mobile command center.

The crowd saw that both me and my dragon were getting closer to the ground. The pointed and ran away. I clenched my teeth as we dove closer to the ground.

WHACK!

My dragon pounded into the cement road, trashing food stalls and guard rails. I fell forward and tumbled on the ground alongside my dragon who was flipping violently behind me. And then all was still.

"Get back! Get back!" I hear the security forces order the curious crowd and the nosy media.

I take a deep breath and then feel bliss as darkness envelopes me.

My dragon and I were separated because they couldn't allow outside visitors during their surgery. I too was taken in for medical care but I wanted to be free to see my dragon. What hurt more than all this losing I was given today was the stitches my doctors gave me—hurt like falling in a rough piece of stone.

"My dragon!" I cried out. "Nyx! Let me see Nyx!"

"Your dragon was shot near the heart, so he's going to be in intensive care for a while," the dotting pink-haired nurse told me, trying to keep me down.

"Whoever shot him was a pro."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that whoever it was who shot your dragon did so from eleven hundred yards away."

"What! That's impossible. That's eleven football fields! And we were going at least a hundred miles per hour."

"As I said, this sicko must be a pro. The doctors aren't sure your dragon will last the night."

"Let see him!" I shouted.

"You need to rest until your arm gets better!" the nurse said, pushing me back on my pillow. "You're lucky, we almost had to amputate it. We will keep you updated on Nyx, too. He's a good beast, and I have faith in him, just as you do. Such as shame about the duel, though. I was rooting for you. That Marcus guy is a jerk."

"You know him well, I wager," I asked, resting my good arm over my forehead to shield my weak vision from the bright light above my bed.

"He likes to flirt with my little sister. She's a dragon rider like you, and goes to the same school as you, if I'm not mistaken."

"If I see her, I'll say hello," I said weakly.

"Rest." The nurse said, before gathering her things and leaving.

"Come on, Nyx. Hang in there."


"Nyx," I said, looking at my dragon laying asleep in his cave which we fitted to be a barn. It was a shame to see such a great beast like a dragon in such a state.

"He's gonna be fine," my older sister, Kate said, pumping an elixir for dragons into Nyx's mouth with a machine. She sighed with relief, wiping sweat off her brow with a glove forearm, pushing back her straw hat. "Big guy aint gonna fly anymore in duels though."

"Damn, but the tournament is just a few months away. I'll never find another mount by then. Besides, dragons are hard to come by and training a wild one is beyond my skill."

"Well, Dash, if you weren't so obsessed with your duelin' you would've found out that Nyx's girl, Luna, laid a clutch of eggs last week in her perch above the hills."

"Oh they hatched!" I cried out.

"Well, duuur!" my sister teased. "Plenty o' good hatchlings in her clutch. And dragons tend to grow pretty fast once ya take care of 'em right. With the right amount of love and training, I reckon the hatchling you pick will grow into a decent wyvern in a few months. Go see to them. But careful, Luna's on a mean streak now that she's a mother. A dragon with babies is one mean mama. Poor Carl is lucky he still has an arm left after what she did to him."

I gulped. I did not want to get on that dragons mean side. Maybe I would get lucky and Luna doesn't want to eat a person like me. I walked in the cave and came face to face with little dragons sleeping near the belly of the mother dragon.

The babies all chirped as they ravenously devoured the carcass of a red horn, a giant woolly beast that lives in large herds in the plains outside the city. Their eyes were shut, because baby dragons are born blind, making them rather vulnerable to predators out in the wild. But the odds of them being hunted was slim to none, because while the predator stalked the babies, their mother stalked the predator. Luna looked like she was asleep which made me really nervous. I didn't want to spook her, for if I did, I would wind up like Carl, or worse.

I notice one of them getting closer to me. He was about the size of a small puppy and his horns were stubby. His scales were like onyx and he had brilliant red patters. He chirped as he wobbled towards me. But just as I'm about to reach out and pet it, the baby is yanked by the tail by his mother. Luna's eyes like molten golden looks into mine as she carries her baby back to the nest. She growls at me, showing off her teeth as sharp as swords and white as the snow atop the mountains around our farm.

She stood up on all fours, her wings spreading and she flushes blood into the membranes of her wings making them flush into brilliant patterns. That was never a good sign, it meant dragons were ready to do battle.

I feel the earth quake behind me. I turn around and sigh with relief as I see my Dueling Dragon, Nyx, entering the cave behind me, hobbling weakly into the cave. He growls sympathetically at his mate.

Amazingly, Luna backs off and puts her wings down, but she spits a ball of molten phlegm at my feet out of anger. Served me right for coming into her cave and disturbing her babies.

Nyx snarls at something in the corner, he wanted me to see it. There was a baby dragon chirping sadly all by itself. There was something wrong with it. His eyes were different colors. One was glowing teal and the other bright red and one wing was bigger than the other. He was scarlet with a cream-colored underbelly.

I felt bad for it. It seems like he's an outcast, abandoned by his brothers and sisters and looked down upon by his mother, because he wasn't allowed to have a share of the red horn she brought home. He made an attempt at the meat, but Luna angrily picks him up by the tail and drops him back in his corner on his head.

"HEY!" I shouted. "That's not nice!"

Luna roars at me, but Nyx roars in my defense. Their cries were amplified by the walls of the cave. I cover my ears with my hands until they stop their argument. Luna glares angrily at Nyx, then she picks up the outcast by the tail and drops him at my feet. I look up at Luna. she nods her head as if to say 'well, take it'.

"You mean, I can have it?" I asked. I kneel down and pick up the dragon. "Thanks," I said to Luna. She growls in response.

Nyx then leaned his head towards Luna and rubs his snout lovingly with hers, as thanks for letting me have the baby.

"Well, I guess you're stuck with me, little guy," I said to the baby dragon. I walk out of the cave and started thinking about what to call him.