Chapter 2 – All a Dream
Cynder gasped in shock as she quickly opened her eyes to find herself in the safety of her bedroom. While she looked around the room, the Twilight Storm princess breathed uncontrollably as she felt her heart racing. The dream felt so real to her.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed anxiously. "That was horrifying!"
She looked out the window to check on Draco's hut next to her. It was still dark, far from sunrise, least for a couple more hours. With Draco's hut not lit, she sighed in relief knowing that he's safe and sleeping peacefully, especially with Darky sharing the hut with him. Even so, she felt very disturbed by what she just dreamt.
"I guess I must have had a bit too much fish for dinner," Cynder said to herself. "Might be best to cut down on how much I eat at night."
Still reeling from the shock of her nightmare, Cynder made her way to the bathroom for a cool drink of water. She was perspiring a lot out of anxiety, so much so that she felt nearly dehydrated.
After drinking some water, Cynder trudged to her room and slumped on the bed feeling exhausted. The only sound that could be heard was the faint chirping of crickets coming from outside. Much as she wanted to sleep, Cynder found it hard to do so, not wanting to go through the same dream again.
Late in the morning, Cynder woke up and had her breakfast, but still groggy from not being able to sleep able. She was still feeling disturbed from her nightmare that she wanted to talk to someone about what she dreamt. On the way to Percival's hut, she could see Draco, Lily and Darky playing together.
"Hi, Cynder," said Draco when she saw her. "It's about time that you're up. Better late than never, I suppose."
"Just didn't get myself a good sleep," replied Cynder. "Anyway, I need to find Percival, is he around?"
"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Lily. "He's just inside his hut arranging his stuff."
"Thanks, Lily," said Cynder as she hurried into Percival's hut.
Percival had never felt so happy to have his own place to live after the ordeal he went through the first two nights he shared the hut with Jakkin. He was humming a little tune tidying his room when he heard Cynder open the door.
"Um, hey, Percival," called Cynder. "Pardon me if I'm interrupting whatever you're doing at this moment."
"Oh, hi, Cynder," said Percival. "No, you're perfectly fine. Do you want anything right now?"
"Well, I could use with a small glass of milk," said Cynder. "And I needed to talk to you about something that's been weighing on my mind."
"Okay, here you go," replied Percival as he got out a container of milk, poured it on a glass, and passed it over to Cynder. "So, what is it that's on your mind, my friend?"
Cynder thought real hard on what to say. "Percival, I wanted to know something about nightmares," she began.
"Nightmares, eh?" asked Percival.
"Yes, Percival," said Cynder slowly. "Last night I had a rather disturbing dream and it's just not really pleasant to talk about it."
"Well, if you don't want to mention what the dream was about, then you don't have to," said Percival. "I can't really help since personally, I don't know anything about dreams as a whole. What I do remember, however, are some things that I've been taught at the dragon monastery. Master Tanaka told me long ago that nightmares are a product of personal fears and regrets that we have."
"I see what you mean," said Cynder solemnly. She could still remember the dream vividly of Draco being captured by the Pyre Squad, herself being brought down by their contraption, and finally being influenced by Queen Vildouleur into joining the Obsidian Devourers. She also remembered how they've been taunting her of how she could have won if she had counted on her friends to help her, and she wondered if it was some kind of sign.
"Are you going to finish your milk?" asked Percival, pointing at the glass that was already half-empty.
Cynder continued to think deeply about her dream. "It was all a dream," she finally spoke as she grabbed her glass of milk. "Maybe I shouldn't have to worry about it too much."
"That's the way to look at it," smiled Percival. "No matter how much they have frightened you, dreams are just dreams, and they can't really hurt you."
"Yeah, you're right," said Cynder. She continued to gather her thoughts on what to do next, when suddenly, her Holo Caster started to light up and ring. Cynder reached down and checked her Holo Caster to notice that she just received an urgent message from Blaze the Cat. Curiously, she accepted the message and a hologram of Blaze displayed from within.
"Cynder, this is Blaze!" she began with an anxious look on her face. "I have very grave news for you, and you must listen carefully! Tails and I have intercepted one of the Dark Queen's transmissions and discovered that she is dispatching her agents to find and uncover a very mysterious interdimensional portal hidden somewhere in London, due in for the next two hours! But that's not all! They are planning to bring in deadly monsters through the portal and into our world as part of her plan for world domination! If you don't stop them, this could mean disaster for all of us! You must head to London and stop the Obsidian Devourers' latest scheme once and for all! Good luck, Cynder! You can do it!"
And with that, Blaze's hologram vanished.
Cynder and Percival looked at each other after absorbing everything they heard from Blaze's message. They are well aware that it sounded very serious.
"Queen Vildouleur is looking for an interdimensional portal hidden in London?" asked Percival.
"That's exactly what she said in the message," said Cynder. "I don't really like the sound of this."
"It could be a trap set for us," assumed Percival.
"Possibly so," replied Cynder. "But whether it is a trap or not, we cannot allow them to find the portal and cause the destruction of our world!"
"So, what's our next move?" asked Percival.
"We're going to London," replied Cynder as she made her way out to the door. "I'm going to gather everyone and see who we can take on this mission!"
Soon after finding the other dragons, Cynder rallied them at the centre of Reptiville. Jakkin and Torden were having a sparring session before she called them back. When everyone got together, they all waited anxiously for what Cynder was about to tell them.
"Well, what is it?" asked Jakkin. "What made us come back here for now?"
"Yeah!" exclaimed Torden. "What is it you have to tell us that made us prematurely end our sparring?"
"Alright, everyone," said Cynder as she raised her paw to calm everyone down. "I better make this short, because we don't have much time."
"Just relax and think what you're about to say, Cynder," said Draco. "Sounds like it must be something very important."
"It really is, Draco," replied Cynder. She straightened herself, and half closed her gold eyes, took a deep breath, and began. "I just received a message from Blaze, and she told me that she and Tails have intercepted a transmission of Queen Vildouleur. Apparently, she is planning to find a hidden portal in London so as to unleash monstrosities into the world. If we don't do something, this could be the end for a lot of us."
"So those goons are still causing trouble," said Torden as he cracked his knuckles. "I'd give them a taste of my fists if I have the chance!"
"Did you say London?" asked Lily. "Isn't that in the land of the horses, if I have heard correctly?"
"Yes, it is," replied Cynder. "Much like the place Darky originally came from before Blaze found him."
Darky felt excited when he heard that. He remembered his first few years of his life at the Other World where he was raised by magical horses.
"Now then," continued Cynder. "I'm going to need to bring a select few to assist me on this mission, while someone will stay here and keep an eye out on the village."
"So who will be going with you to London?" asked Lily.
"I have already made the decision," said Cynder. "You will stay and mind the village, Lily. I will be taking Draco, Percival, Torden and Jakkin."
Draco shuddered at the thought of going on a dangerous mission, especially when he doesn't have his Elemental Brooch like the rest of his friends.
"What about me, Cynder?" asked Darky.
"No, Darky, you can't come with us as it's too dangerous," said Cynder. "Besides, Lily will take care of you while we're away."
Darky pouted as he really wanted to go an adventure, but agreed to stay in the village with Lily. She at least provides a lot of fun for him.
"Okay," said Cynder as she took out the capsule holding the Transporter Device. "It's now or never, and we must get this started right away!"
Cynder tossed the capsule and it burst open revealing the Transporter Device after the smoke cleared. The five dragons climbed on board.
"Is everyone ready?" she asked.
"We are ready!" exclaimed Jakkin, Torden, and Percival. Even Draco joined in, though he was still reluctant.
"Please be careful while you're out there!" called Lily.
"We will be fine, Lily," said Cynder, and when she pushed the activation button, the big machine whirred loudly and then flashed rapidly. Lily and Darky could only cover their eyes while the Transporter Device kept on flashing before it vanished with all her friends inside.
Author's Note: Gotcha! The first chapter was just a crazy nightmare! Let's see how Cynder copes with it as the story goes on!