Part 1: My life as a lizard

Chapter 1: A new world

Inside the portal, it was hard for Bobby Jenkin to go straight because the shockwaves always destabilized him. As a result, he found himself doing in flips and barrels. A few seconds later, he found a wormhole and went inside.

Chimerum

When Bobby exited the portal, he hit the ground and started rolling at high speed until he went straight into a bush in front of a rocky wall. The wall stopped him, but it also injured him. The child looked back at the portal and saw that it was still opened. Monsters went out. The first one was a thin greenish white lizard with long black hairs. it also had a beak and sharp curved claws. It was so impatient and overjoyed so the boy guessed that this creature was Jasmine. The second one to come out was a slightly bulky bluish grey iguana. Its normal behavior made the chameleon believe that this monster could be Richter. The third one tripped on the border of the portal and fell on the thin lizard squashing it. Went it stood up, it removed the smaller lizard that got stuck in its big fat belly.

When the beaked lizard gained its spirits back, it turned back to the one that squashed him and yelled: "CAN'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU STEP, IDIOT!?"

The giant brown turtle apologized. The child characterised its clumsiness to Tony. The last one to get out of the wormhole was a tall muscled purple dragon. Bobby could not believe that such a monster could be Zack. He raised him when his father disappeared and allowed him to have friends and get the nickname Scaler.

When the portal closed, the presumed Jasmine jumped of joy: "Oh! Yes! Yes! Finally, we're home! Home, sweet home! I was starting to have enough of this stupid human world and I was thinking that we would never come back home! Everything was annoying me back there!"

The dragon declared: "Before we chase Scaler, we must go back to Homoldo to redirect our armies. I will call the Invader to bring us to Iridium."

The purple monster whistled and, a few seconds later, a giant green snake with tusks emerged from the sea. The monsters left the island. Bobby got out the bush and sat down on the border of the cliff where he looked at the sea and the sea snake shrinking by getting farther.

He whispered: "I don't understand. What is this place? Why would Zack want to kill me?"

He stood up and looked around. A dark green sky had numerous clouds were lightnings would sometimes strike, but they were often far away. The island was huge plains with mountains. The vegetation seemed closer to exotic or something that could be found in the Amazonian Forest, but its colors defied reality. Giant fruits grew on the ground, most of them being orange while the others were black. The child looked at the fruits from closer and bit in an orange one. It was delicious. He then headed near a black fruit but, when he touched it, it started trembling, whistling and glowed red. Bobby got scared and ran behind a rock. When he stared at the whistling red fruit, it exploded, disintegrating the ones that were too close of it while knocking back some others.

While coming out, he whispered: "Note to self: Never touch black fruits."

He kept walking into the plains and its giant trees and mountains at the same time of being fascinated by the environment. He came across a small pond and looked into it. He jumped when he saw what he became. The electricity turned him into a chameleon, but he still able to do the same things as he could as a human boy. His hairs became spiked and went to the rear, his mouth became more expanded on the front, yellow spikes grew on his elbows and, weirder, he now had a lizard tail. Despite those additions, there were also things that he no longer had. He kept walking and came to see a group of small animals he never saw back in human world. They looked like piranhas and bounced on themselves to move around. Some of them had lanterns on their head. When Bobby approached them, the piranhas stopped bouncing and stared at him.

Having no idea what to do, the chameleon asked: "Hum... Excuse me but does any of you knows if there's a town nearby so I can get some information about this place?"

The animals all opened their mouth at the same time, showing wide and long fangs. They all bounced toward Bobby. Their savagery wanted to eat the chameleon child. The boy put his hands in front of him in an attempt to protect himself. He felt a strange energy flowing into his arms and lightnings went of his hands to strike its foes. The piranhas fainted. Bobby stayed immobilized for a while and looked at his scaled hands. He was surprised that he could use the electricity he stocked as a way to defend himself. He kept walking and, finally, he saw a village not far away. A huge lake with a rotating statue was in the middle. The statue was the one of two chameleons. One held a stick while the other held a bow and was wearing a quiver. His habitants were seen as black silhouettes with some kind of black flames flowing out of them. As he was about to head into it, something grabbed him and dragged him into a nearby bush. Inside, he saw a brown slightly muscled turtle with darker brown short hairs who was different compared to other one who accidently squashed a smaller one.

The turtle said: "Are you nuts to go in a seized village like that? What were you thinking?"

The child apologized: "Sorry! I didn't know that this place was seized by someone. You see, I'm not from here. I arrived here from a portal and I'm trying to find a way back home. In fact, I'm not an actual lizard. I'm a human."

"A human? It has been long since I did not hear this word. I too do not live here and I also try to find my way back home. I have been stuck here for six years. By the way, what is your name?"

"People simply call me Scaler."

"Well, glad to meet you, Scaler. My name is Leon."

"Leon..."

Scaler slowly sat down on the ground and closed his eyes. He remembered that he wanted to find back his father and the truth, but he was too young to go on his own and there was no need to start such a mindless adventure when he still had his mother plus Zack. As for Zack, why would he want him dead? And who is he really? A tear shredded from his left eye.

The turtle put his right hand on Bobby's left shoulder and asked: "What is the matter, child? Are you crying?"

The chameleon slowly opened his eyes and answered: "My father was also called Leon, but, one day, he disappeared. The medias thought that it was either a suicide or a kidnapping, but I'm not believing those lies. I'm sure that he succeeded to create the invention of a lifetime and that he had an accident with it. There's no other valuable reasons. Well... At least, it's more credible than what the medias said."

"Don't worry. I'm sure that your father is fine somewhere."

The boy took his breath, stood up and declared: "We can't let this town under siege any longer. We must help the town folks."

"You can't fight them. Any attack does nothing because they're made of shadows. We can't..."

However, Scaler already started running into the village. The shadows noticed him and tried to kill him. A strange energy flowed into the chameleon's body, but it was different. This energy mostly stick into his hands and allowed him to hit the shadows. As they were hit, the shadows disappeared in small shadow explosions. They all disappeared.

Behind him, exhausted, Leon caught him and said: "You... Can it be?"

Bobby turned back and, having no idea of what the turtle said, asked: "What are you trying to tell me?"

Before the turtle could explain, the doors from the houses opened slowly. Villagers went out and approached Scaler. Most of them had the same colors and lines patterns but a few of them seemed different. They stayed still for a while until the child looked at them. They bowed down.

The chameleon child asked: "What's happening?"

No answer came but the villagers took the boy and rose him up as high as possible. They brought him to the biggest house in the village and dropped him here.

They told Bobby: "Go see the elder, descendant. He musts know the new."

Having no choice, Scaler obeyed them and entered the house. Inside, many trophies of different animal that he had never seen before were put on the walls and carpets covered some parts of the floor. He slowly walked into the room while looking at the trophies. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming it or living it. This world seemed too beautiful for him despite the facts that he recently discovered it and that he only partially explored a region.

A male lizard arrived in the next room that Scaler reached and asked: "Good evening, child. How may I... Oh! You are that boy who saved our town. Please, come quick. Our elder will be glad to see you."

Bobby followed him.

While they were walking, the reptile told him: "Those times are very dangerous. Dragon Emperor Looger has been ruling over Reptilia for twelve years and we lost contact with our descendant the day where we heard that the dragon emperor was unsealed."

The boy asked him: "What is Reptilia?"

"You do not know our world?"

"In fact, I come from somewhere else."

"Oh! That must explain why you almost risked your life while attempting to enter the village. Well then, Reptilia is the name of our world. Most people say that Looger created it while the rest, which are ignorants and fools, believe that the world was made by a "human goddess". Nothing proves the existence of that goddess."

"What is a descendant?"

"A descendant is the current living hero of a tribe. Sometimes, there could be more than one descendant in a family, but each tribe should have their descendant(s). A magical crystal was given to the very first member of the family. However, this member had to pass three tests: courage, wisdom and might. Again, some people assume that their "goddess" created the gems."

"Where are we?"

"Currently, you are on Chimerum, the thunder plains, home for the chamelightnings. A Chamelightning is a member of the thunder tribe. They are generally blue chameleons with yellow hairs and stripes, but some albinos appear in different colour like green, red and purple. The village is Boltnea. It is mostly known for all the vines attached to the high houses which they are used to move faster around the town."

They finally arrived into a room where Scaler saw an old chamelightning lying in a bed. He often coughed and spited a strange liquid in a small plate.

The old reptile rose his head and, seeing the chameleon child, he greeted him: "Hello there, young descendant *cough*. I am Elder Electro *cough*, but I felt sick recently *cough".

The boy asked: "What's happening here?"

"Twelve year, someone unsealed Dragon Emperor Looger and used the foul beast to reign over the world. We are still searching for the one controlling the beast, but in vain. I passed these years into searching our descendant, but no one seemed to hear where he could have gone and..."

The elder coughed loudly and screamed of unbearable pain.

He took back his speech: "Then, you have arrived, descendant. However, I became too weak to train you so I have two things to tell you."

He ordered his servant to leave and the servant obeyed.

The child asked: "Why did you ask him to leave?"

Elder Electro proceeded: "First, before I die, I must give you something, but no one musts know that I gave this to you. Now, lend me your hands and take mines."

Scaler took the elder's hands. Energy travelled from the old reptile to the young one. The child absorbed it.

Electro told him: "You now have the power to shapeshift into the Protector. It must only be used to defeat the Invader. However, due to your lack of training, you must go and see my nephew Buzz. He lives in the house nearest to the cliff. Secondly, he will train you to use the shapeshifting."

Bobby asked: "Who is the Invader?"

"The Invader is Looger's guardian that he uses to block the caustic caverns of Iridium. Even if it is not guarding it, it can set a barrier that prevents any trespassers to infiltrate further. It is known as a giant dragon snake who swims in water and acid."

The chameleon was surprised that a monster could swim into acid without melting or even suffering.

The child asked: "I fell in this world by accident ad I'm trying to find my way back home. Is there a way to send me back home?"

"There are what we call portal travellers. They can create portals to travel in other dimensions but there is a very little number of them. Now, go, descendant. Find my nephew and prepare yourself to this world."

Scaler obeyed and left the room. Outside the house, Leon was waiting for him. He told everything to him and they both headed to Buzz's house. When they arrived, they saw a notice on which was written: "Back in fifteen minutes."

The turtle asked: "What do we do now?"

The child thought and declared: "Why don't we explore the town? It's only been an hour that I'm outside."

Both the turtle adult and the chamelightning child walked around the town. They saw a group of reptile debating over something, so Bobby decided to go see them.

When he was close enough, he asked: "What are you talking about?"

One of the lizards, a greyish blue bulky iguana, turned back and told him: "Those fools don't believe that Goddess Alisa created our world and..."

"Shut up! You big fat iguana! She doesn't exist at all!"

Another reptile, a chamelightning, interrupted him. Scaler decided to leave them alone and kept walking. He entered what seemed to be a daycare. Inside, he found many children playing and some kind of pterodactyl sleeping.

The children looked at him and greeted: "Hi!"

Scaler waved them and asked: "Why is there an adult sleeping with you?"

"He's the one who directs the daycare. When Looger came, we were all in the daycare and there was no way to go out. His name's Aero. He took care of us during years but now, some of our parents died and this place became an orphanage."

The two visitors shook their head and left the daycare. They returned to Buzz's house and entered it. Inside, they saw a chamelightning wearing a leather armor. He had plenty of cicatrized scars on the face and the arms.

The armored lizard started: "Good day to you, descendant. My name is Buzz. Elder Electro told me about you and want me to make you pass the three tests to prove that you are truly a descendant. First, the test of wisdom. I will ask you a question. Are you ready?"

Scaler shook his head to confirm.

"Very well. There are many lies flying around our world. Most of them talk about the world while others speak about our missing descendants. If we do not have the gems, how can we know that a reptile is a descendant?"

The child thought deeply. He removed the possibility of a strange feeling between two persons because it required at least one descendant to work.

After a minute, Scaler answered: "Only the elder can know where a descendant is?"

"Correct. I was expecting a more detailed answer from you, but I realized that you are only a child who recently entered our world. Next question: Why do some reptilians believe that a human goddess created our world?"

"Does it come from the fear and the denial of those reptilians to accept that Looger created the world?"

"Indeed. It also comes from the fact that archeologists discover ruins that appeared to be the divine temple of Globalius where their goddess, Alisa, lived. Final question: If you have to leave after having sealed Looger, where do you wish to go?"

"I'd want to discover why I'm a descendant."

"..."

It took a while before Buzz came to tell him if he was right. When he finally spoke, he had difficulties to regroup his words.

"I will accept this as your answer. My uncle told me about a possibility that a descendant could come from somewhere else than Reptilia. He believes that gems can predict everything, but I am sure that all the descendants come from nowhere else but this world. You have passed the wisdom test. Now, the test of might. Do your worst."

The master tried to attack Scaler, but the child dodged his claws. The fight lasted quite long and both fighters got tired fast. However, Bobby succeeded to keep enough energy to defeat his opponent. Buzz fell on his knees, unable to keep fighting.

He said: "You are impressive. You defeated me and I was the strongest chamelightning next to Volt."

The chameleon child asked: "Who's Volt?"

"Volt was the previous descendant. He went missing and some of us pretend that he is still alive, but I am sure that he died because if he wasn't, he would have come back here to help us. And now, the last test and the most important: the test of courage. Follow me."

The lizard boy obeyed and followed his master outside Boltnea. They arrived in a cavern where shadows were guarding it. Inside, the walls were in a light blue due to the blue glowing crystals. On the ground, more black fruits were mixed with dozens of orange fruits that were currently eaten by those piranha-like creatures.

The master explained: "There is rumored that the shadows stole an egg and hid it in this cavern. Because you are the only one who can defeat them, I want you to investigate the place but, be careful, there are also rumors about big monsters that can breathe toxic gases. This gas sharply weakens anyone even a descendant."

Scaler understood everything and headed into the cavern.

Before fighting the first group of piranhas, he heard Buzz yelling: "REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN USE YOUR TONGUE TO TAKE OUT FOES FROM LONG DISTANCES!"

The child used his tongue to activate a black fruit. After a few seconds, it exploded and turned the nearby creature black. They all fell on the ground. The boy continued in investigation inside and defeated the shadows. He then arrived at a dead end where an egg was put on an altar. When he was going to take it, he heard a ferocious howling that came from behind. As he turned back, he saw a green giant monster with brighter green stripes glowing on him. A strange green gas was coming out of his mouth and his glowing green eyes tried to terrorise the child, but it did not work.

Scaler thought: [So that's the monster that Buzz told me. It's so big that I doubt I'll be able to fight it, but I have no choice. It's blocking the way out and I must defeat it.]

When Bobby tried to unleash the first hit, the monster blocked it with one of his big arms. It then breathed a toxic gas but the young chamelithgning avoided it. As he was still breathing the noxious gas, the child hit him hard with his claws. Thought, the monster grabbed him by the tail and threw it in an corner inside the room. When Bobby stood up, the monster was charging at him. He moved fast and the monster hit the wall, getting itself stuck inside. The boy took the egg and got out. When he reached the exit, both Buzz and Leon were waiting for him.

His master congratulated him: "You were amazing, descendant. You have recovered the stolen egg and defeated more of Looger's minions. You are now worthy to be called Scaler, descendant of lightning. Now, come with me. I will tell you our plan to put an end to this tyranny."

Scaler follower the trainer to a house high in the village. They rode on vines, climbed ladders and walls until they reached it. Inside, the child saw mercenaries waiting for a new mission. In the middle, a table where a map was showed the world's geography.

The master said: "Sirs. I present you Scaler, descendant of lightning."

Their surprise made them congratulate the chameleon child. They all sat around the table and started to discuss.

Buzz started it: "Alright, guys. The world is in great danger, but we can't take down Looger until we found all the gems of life. However, descendants have a special power that allows them to detect where they are. Now, Scaler, put your hand on the map."

Bobby obeyed and did so. An orange dot appeared near a name Bakuldo.

"Our thunder gem of life appears to be in a cavern near the seaside of Bakuldo. When you will arrive there, descendant, do not get fooled by how empty the place seems: the tidoises Agreed on helping Dragon Emperor Looger. You must gain back their thrust in their descendant. However, we no longer received any news of the water descendant so I want you to go investigate the place."

Buzz took an inked feather and surrounded both Chimerum and Bakuldo.

"One of Looger's high placed commander controls those territories. He has huge knowledge of the seaside and is rumored to be living in the cavern where our gem might be. However, he is very clumsy and as many fears. I fear that he will know true courage. His toxic breathe is one of the deadliest among the tidoise next to their descendant. I will present you a caricature of this person.

The trainer took out a picture of his bag and put it on the table. Looking at it, Scaler recognized the one he saw as Tony.

"Our target is Turbine. We must go now. I fear that he is about to unseal the monster that lives in the cavern."

A sense of regret and mercy burned the child's heart. He would never be able to harm someone that he once liked, but he had no choice. The group of mercenaries headed to some giant spider wearing saddles. They climbed on and fastened their seatbelt. The lizard boy mounted up with Buzz while Leon took one for himself.

The master told the young chamelightning: "This might be one on the very few occasions where you will be able to get some sleep. I recommend you to sleep but, if you do, don't forget to fasten your seatbelt. It is easy to fall off."

Bobby obeyed and felt asleep. Now, his true adventure began, but he also needed to return home.

Note: This chapter including the fourteen following ones are based on the places in Scaler. They will be different because they will be written in my way.