Dragon Guardians

by Hunter13hawkie

After Zarc is forced to seal his beloved dragons back to their egg-like forms in order to save them from their dangerous merged form, Yusho Sakaki seeks out new guardians for four dragon shifters in four kingdoms since Zarc cannot look after them anymore. Little does he know that another person is after the newly reborn half-boys half dragons. (More info inside)

4. Prologue - To be a Dragon Guardian

Hunter13Hawkie: *appears all happy, sunshine in the eyes and all*

Noname: Why you look cheerful today?

Hunter13Hawkie: *grins and pulls something out of nowhere* Ta-Da! This baby finally arrived! *shows the cover of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC V manga Volume 1* Look it even has a card! Better dig out my old yugioh deck!

Noname: Cool? I don't care. *finally gets the manga that Hawkie keeps showing, off their face* And who are you going to duel? Your addiction to long chapters?

Hunter13Hawkie: ...

Noname: Where were the old good days when you would write 5 pages? Then you got to 8 and 16 and now we're dealing with freaking 25!

Hunter13Hawkie: I was emotionally writing...

Noname: Emotionally what?

Hunter13Hawkie: You know when you feel bad and you eat and you can't stop eating because it feels so good? Well, I do the same thing except I write! And once I begin I can't stop!

Noname: Okay, so I guess if you will update weekly it will around 5 pages long, over 10 in two weeks and over 20 in three weeks? *Hawkie nods* Alright, but just so you know it will take me longer to fix your stuff if chapters are longer...

Hunter13Hawkie: Yeah, about that... don't you have something to say Noname?

Noname: *sighs while dragging a piece of paper out of their pocket* Yeah I actually do have a short speech prepared... *takes a deep breath* Hi dear readers. Before you start reading I have to give you my deepest apologies. This weeks chapter is currently unedited. I know that not doing the work I was supposed to do is inexcusable. I am currently swamped with schoolwork but I promise you I will revise the chapter as soon as I can. For now, you can read the unedited version. The next chapter will be edited on time, you have my word. Again, please excuse me, I have nothing but my deepest apologies to offer. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Hunter13Hawkie: Naww that was so beautiful! Don't feel bad, you're still the best editor ever.

Noname: I suppose...

Hunter13Hawkie: You know what else is beautiful? *Noname shakes their head* Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS!

Noname: Oh God! I will never hear the end of this will I?

Hunter13Hawkie: Nope *winks* The protagonist is named Yusaku and he's like Yusei's little brother and...

Noname: *walks toward the door* I really wanna hear more you know... *one foot out of the door*

Hunter13Hawkie: *has starry eyes* Nawww really?

Noname: But I really have a bunch of stuff to study and all, so... *walks out of the door* Bye!

Hunter13Hawkie: *is hit with sudden realization* Wait... was that sarcasm?

Noname: *only head peeks through* Yes, that was sarcasm sweetie. *runs away*

Hunter13Hawkie: *makes a pouty face* Who am I supposed to have an ending speech with then? *gets an idea and snatches the cell phone* You'll see once you're done with the chapter! Enjoy!

An endless grass field in the dark of the night sky, where dozens of lightings were spread across, was what Shun had seen as soon as he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure of what has transpired the last night, it was like as invisible force lead him through all that had happened. For as long as he could remember he was on his own, relying on the materialized magic he had managed to learn from someone whose face he could no longer sort out. It was as if his earliest memories had been wiped out, leaving him with only the knowledge of how to survive.

But this time he knew he was dreaming, as he recalled the same location from the time when he and his friend Kaito who was also a skilled mage travelled to the place where the XYZ Kingdom connected with its spirit worlds, the Astral World and the Barian World. That time he had only walked Kaito to the entrance since unlike him, he didn't have a connection to the spirit worlds. The blond haired mage had told him many times of his travels where he would assist other chosen mages in the battle that has been going on for too long. As much as he wanted to give him a hand, he couldn't and instead do what he could to keep XYZ Kingdom safe.

So what was he doing here now? Was it a message from Kaito? Highly unlikely since he hadn't mastered long rage communication yet. He was still in the Pendulum Kingdom right? A loud shriek from somewhere in the sky broke his thinking as he was met with a huge shadow, a pair of glowing yellow eyes pointed directly at him. Thinking it was going to attack him, Shun prepared to materialize his magic in order to fight back, only to find out he couldn't.

Right, he was really was dreaming since his magic was powerless when he was asleep. He began to run from the shadow that took on a faster pace, hoping that he could at least escape it if he couldn't fight it. Taking off in a random direction, Shun heard the thunder in the sky getting louder like it was responding to the creature in the shadow. Suddenly the teal haired boy tripped over a rock he had failed to notice, landing face down on the ground. Preparing himself for the strike from the creature since he was powerless, Shun found it surprising that the shadow merely landed on the ground and became clearer.

"We finally meet my guardian." the deep yet young voice said from the shadows as the glowing eyes became less threatening as more features revealed "Thank you for saving me."

"What?" Shun backed away as he still found whatever was in front of him anything but friendly.

"If it weren't for you, I would've been taken away along with my other two brothers and our youngest brother would've been forced to grow up without a single sibling. Thanks to you, at least I will be there for him." the creature's body looked somehow familiar to the boy, but he couldn't tell from where.

"You're welcome… I guess." XYZ mage responded, a bit puzzled why he talked so casually "Where am I?"

"Heh, you're still not seeing it." the voice had a hint of laughter in it "I thought that an acquaintance of someone chosen by the spirits would've had more of an idea. Oh well there's no harm in explaining it to you."

"Don't tell me…" Shun gasped as he picked on the extended dark wings and massive purple colored body "You're Galaxy Eyes?!"

"Not quite." the shadows completely faded off its body, revealing it to be indeed a dragon "But you're close."

Shun rubbed his eyes, now realizing it truly wasn't the same spirit as the one residing in Kaito's body, that he would witness whenever his friend would head off to Barian or to the Astral world. Instead of blindingly bright wings, this dragon had much darker ones at some parts pointed like blades. Its body was also leaner along with a longer neck and tail.

"You were destined to be my guardian long before you were born and along with the other guardians you will take care of my reborn self. I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you before I am once again reborn in your world." the dragon lowered its long neck to reach for Shun's hand who carefully petted it.

"What do you mean reborn? And what kind of a dragon are you anyway? Kaito said there is only a small number of your kind left." the XYZ mage kept observing the never before seen creature.

"You will learn soon, but our time is growing short. I'm known as the Dark Rebellion of the XYZ Kingdom, but once I'm reborn my name will be Yuto as I will be also capable of taking a human form." the dragon raised its wings flying back into the stormy sky.

"Please, make sure you that neither I nor my brother is taken." echoed Dark Rebellion's voice when everything began to spin. Countless images flashed before his eyes, full of pain, war and sorrow. He felt paralyzed with shock by the overwhelming visions of a powerful dragon and the destruction it had caused.

Shun woke up gasping, immediately feeling the dizziness from waking up fast and then a prickling pain in his right arm. He needed a bit of time to clear his head in order to focus on his surroundings and the purple colored lightning engraved in his arm that he was certain wasn't there before. He became aware of the wooden walls surrounding him along with another person seated cross-legged on a bed next to him.

"Good you're awake." the silver haired boy about his age closed the book he was reading.

"Where… am I? And who are you?" Shun found the place somehow familiar.

"I'm Reiji and you're inside of the Duel Lodge at the edge of the XYZ Kingdom's capital, Heartland. Do you feel alright?" Reiji fixed his glasses when explaining.

"I'll survive…" the XYZ mage replied, slowly getting up "Though… weren't we supposed to be in the Pendulum Kingdom?"

"My teacher brought us here in order to hide us from the Rare Hunters. They nearly got Yuto after all…" Reiji nudged at the two dragon eggs on the cushion, its shells heavily covered by crystals.

"Yuto? So the whole thing that just played in my head is… true?" Shun stared at both his mark and the black egg.

"Yeah… there was a Dragon War more than ten years ago, caused by the ultimate dragon when the four elemental dragons merged together. The only way to stop it was for their guardian to sacrifice himself in order to seal all four dragons back to their eggs and entrust four new guardians to raise them. We're two of them." the Pendulum mage said while taking the fire dragon's egg in his arms.

"I see…the whole war wasn't just a nightmare I had." Shun stared at his mark "So if I have Yuto… then you have…"

"Yuya, also known as Odd-Eyes, the fire dragon." Reiji rolled up his sleeve to show the flame mark on his arm "Unfortunately Yugo the Clear Wing wind dragon and Yuri the Starve Venom plant dragon, had been stolen by Rare Hunters. Two of the teacher's sorcerers were sent after them, but… as for now they still haven't been able to locate them and the teacher… took it really hard."

Shun reached for the egg of the lightning dragon, fully knowing that he too has now become one of the people chosen by the spirits, just like Kaito. He couldn't really decide what to think now that he realized what it meant to be one of the chosen ones. Knowing the forbidden memories of the time when all four kingdoms were joined together, when the four elemental dragons were the saviors that later became the greatest threat and when chosen mages lend their powers to the dragon guardian who sealed the dragons and to the guardian who revived the world, certainly was a big burden to carry along with protecting the growing dragon when he himself was a child.

In a way he wished he would have asked Kaito more about how he took care of Galaxy Eyes, though from what he remembered his friend's situation was a bit different. The dragon that Kaito had was after all a spirit that lived inside of his body, materializing using magic when battling. Elemental dragons were on the other hand flesh and blood, the bridge between the human and the spirit worlds.

"When will they hatch?" Shun broke the silence while analyzing the black and purple crystals around Yuto's egg.

"I'm not sure, but considering my mark has been burning pretty intensely for the last two days I think it will be soon." Reiji sighed making Shun's eyes go wide.

"I've been asleep for two days?" the teal haired boy gasped.

"I woke up yesterday… guess our minds had a lot to process. The teacher checked on us a couple of times, but other than that he has been cooped up in one of the rooms. I can't blame him though." the silver haired boy looked towards the doors from where Yusho had come from a few hours ago.

"Is the teacher that man that was with you? Who is he anyway?" Shun got curious.

"His name is Yusho Sakaki. He found me when I was six and taught me everything I know about magic." Reiji thought of all the confusing times on their travels that now made sense since it turned out that he has been protecting the dragon eggs all along.

"You mean the Yusho Sakaki? The performing sorcerer?" the XYZ mage was surprised by the familiar name "My friend Kaito told me much about him when he was in Hearland. He wanted to learn his style of magic, but he never got a chance since the spirit worlds were in trouble."

"You have a friend who was chosen by the spirits? Kind of explains why you are taking the whole 'being the dragon guardian' so lightly." Reiji fixed his glasses at the amazement.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to help Kaito and his comrades in some way, but the entrance to the Astral or the Barian World have always been as far as I could go." Shun cradled Yuto's egg in his arms "I hope I will be a good guardian."

Reiji smiled at the fellow dragon guardian's determination and was glad he wasn't alone in it. He could tell that Shun was honored for receiving such a task upon his shoulders, even though he was aware of just how difficult and risky it was.

"Then let their last guardian's sacrifice not be in vain and make sure we raise the dragons well." Reiji offered his hand to Shun who took it with ease.

"You don't need to ask me twice." Shun grinned, feeling tiny sparks from the sleeping lightning dragon.

The two dragon guardians made a promise with a handshake, sworn to never break it.

Yusho didn't know the words nor did he know how to put them together, clenching Zarc's pendant in his hand.

As soon as he got the boys to bed so they could recover from all the forbidden memories transferring in their heads and the marks connecting them to the dragons, he went to check the Duel Lodge, belonging to his old friend Kazuma from the XYZ Kingdom, to see if the spirits still kept the building and its surroundings as safe as possible. It had been built decades ago as a place where people could honor the spirits. The Duel Lodge acted as a temple, that wasn't destroyed even when the Dragon War occurred. It was Kazuma Tsukumo that kept it safe all this time and even though he wasn't one of the chosen ones, he worked hard to keep the relations between spirits and people friendly. Yusho would've been glad to meet him again, but the last time he'd seen him he found out that his son Yuma got involved with the Astral world and has been searching for him ever since. Yuma didn't belong to the spirit world either and yet he somehow joined forces with a being from the Astral world, and was helping them in the current war.

The performer sorcerer reached a hall full of wooden statues, serving as relics for people to see how some of the most powerful spirits look like. There were piles of dust covering them, confirming that even if Kazuma kept the place tidy, he couldn't keep it clean. Spider webs in the corner only added to the fact that it had been years since anyone was here. But less worried about cleaning the place where he will spend the next few years, Yusho had hard time thinking how he will pass the news to Zarc.

He could clearly remember the first time the silver haired kid became his apprentice, soon to be chosen as the guardian of the elemental dragons. The time when young Zarc would patiently wait for the dragons to hatch, the moments when he had taught them how to use their powers and how he transferred performer magic even on the dragons. The good old times when there were no wars, only harmony when his apprentice could spend time with his beloved dragons in peace.

How could he possibly tell him he broke the promise, not as a friend but as a teacher his apprentice always looked up to? After the last time he had seen him alive, when Zarc's eyes were filled with tears as he was about to seal his beloved dragons and erase himself from the world of the living, how could he outright tell him that he failed him?

Knowing that moment would come sooner or later, Yusho chanted the spell of the pendulum to call upon the soul of his apprentice. The statues glowed slightly as energy once again drawn from the symbol on the floor summoned the floating figure of Zarc in front of him.

"Teacher?" Zarc's expression pretty much outlined confusion "I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Are my dragons about to hatch already?"

Yusho remained silent, not daring to be met with the silver haired adolescent who floated closer with no idea of what awaited him.

"Teacher? Teacher!? Speak to me." Zarc raised his voice a bit, no response came from the performer sorcerer "Why have you summoned me if you won't talk to me? Is everything alright?"

"Zarc I… I have some bad news." Yusho said quietly, almost as he was whispering.

That sentence alone was enough for Zarc's spiritual form becoming more transparent. His soul was visibly shaking, his yellow eyes widening at hearing what his teacher was about to say. Yusho would always carry a neutral or smiling expression, so his saddened look meant nothing good.

"No…" Zarc covered his mouth in horror, tears gathering in his eyes "No…please no."

"Yugo and Yuri have been taken." the man finally stated.

Zarc broke down immediately; his spirit collapsing on his knees as everything came crushing down on him. He was outright terrified that would happen, that why he had used the remains of his powers to help his teacher hide them, but in the end it no longer mattered. Two of his young wards were stolen, separated from their brothers and taken somewhere where he could no longer reach their sleeping spirits. Zarc's form was shaking as tears ran down, repeating the word no over and over again like he was trying to convince himself it wasn't true.

"Tsukikage and Hikage are following the remains of the magic belonging to the kidnappers..." Yusho said, hoping it would calm down his apprentice just a little bit "It's leading them towards the Fusion Kingdom."

Zarc barely heard his teacher from all the sobbing, though he nodded slightly at the information. When the Unified Kingdom was split in four, all four kingdoms were separated as greatly as possible with Pendulum and XYZ divided by a massive mountain line and Synchro and Fusion lying in the middle of the wide ocean, hundreds of miles apart from each other. Though why would the dragon thief originated from the smallest kingdom? From what he knew the people of the Fusion Kingdom were no longer be able to use magic once they hit their twenties, making them the most non-magical nation of all four kingdoms. Who could possibly be after the dragons and why?

Too absorbed in his thinking while still engulfed in his sorrow, Zarc retreated back into the pendant, in the place where he was entirely alone; to process the events that had transpired. He was going to search through his memories to look for a possible suspect so he could help track down his dragons when he came across a memory he both cherished and missed with his whole heart.

With tears still dripping from his eyes, he took a deep breath as he relived the precious memory.

The sun shone brightly as Zarc, weighted down with a bag full of various things, passed the entrance to the part of the forest where he was the only mage that was welcome in it. Others could only get to the stone gate where they could leave their offerings and wishes to the four elemental dragons that protected the Unified kingdom. They also had a ginormous temple built right in the center of the capital, but both the dragons and Zarc chose to appear there only during important events and performances since the dragons preferred being closer to nature.

The forest where their home nest was, was more or less secluded from any signs of human civilization since Zarc was the only one who stayed there for a longer period of time, with the exception of his friend Ray and his teacher Yusho who would visit him from time to time when they would get a break from their travels. The dragons loved the peaceful serenity of a smaller lake in the clearing along with the waterfall hiding the caves leading underground and all the greenery surrounding it.

"I'm back!" Zarc called towards the seemingly empty forest clearing.

In a matter of seconds he was tackled to the ground by the red-scaled dragon with discolored eyes, the creature letting out noises that could be equivalent to the happy barking of a dog when it greets its owner. Not far behind landed the purple-scaled dragon, folding its wings, and actually having the decency to greet the silver haired man without sending him flying and merely nuzzled its head against Zarc's who was still pinned down on the ground by the overjoyed Odd-Eyes. From the noises in the background he suspected that the other two dragons were aware of his arrival too, though they were still somewhere in the distance.

With Dark Rebellion pulling Odd-Eyes' tail as if it was telling him to be careful around their guardian, red dragon let out a whine as it slowly lifted itself from Zarc who was only grinning at Odd-Eyes' being its usual self, all sweet and caring.

"There, there, I missed you too." Zarc petted both dragons "Where are your other two brothers?"

Before either of them could answer, a loud swish was heard across the sky. What seemed like a shooting star, even though it was in the middle of the day, made such quick movements that the being was hardly recognizable, doing several spins, turns and other acrobatics before getting closer and closer to the ground. It was about to do the final trick when it looked like something didn't go as it was supposed to, causing the flying creature to do a clumsy somersault before landing in the water with a giant splash, resulting in both the dragons and their guardian to be soaked to the bone. Odd-Eyes squeaked from the pain since he, as a fire dragon, didn't take to water too well. While Dark Rebellion went to comfort his brother, Zarc quickly went to the white-scaled dragon whose body was sprawled against the edge of the lake, its majestic blue wings flinching at the cold of the water.

"Gee, I know you like boosting your adrenaline, but you should be more careful when landing, Clear Wing." Zarc somehow managed to drag the dragon closer to the shore, while Clear Wing was shaking all the water off its sensitive wings "But I must say that was spectacular."

Clear Wing formed something that look like a grin as he too tackled his guardian to the ground. Zarc sighed at the white dragon's behavior, nearly identical to the Odd-Eyes', but couldn't really help the fact that his dragons thought of him as their parent. Slowly, while constantly stroking Clear Wing's head, he got out from underneath him, reaching for his bag, glad that it was waterproof.

"I have something for you." Zarc smiled, opening the bag at which all three dragons' nostrils widened "So here I have some fresh ocean fish for Clear Wing."

The white dragon would've stuck its head in the bag if Zarc wasn't used to him being a glutton, snatching the bag right from his snout and rather threw all the fish in the air so Clear Wing could continue practicing his extreme flying while enjoying his favorite food. With the wind dragon engulfing the taste of various sea fish, Dark Rebellion's mouth watered at the next item in Zarc's hands. Even though the lightning dragon preferred to hunt on his own, dried meat was one thing that could turn him from a vicious predator into a docile puppy. Zarc couldn't count all the times he used the salty treat as a bribing material for Dark Rebellion. As the lightning dragon gnawed down on the dried meat, luckily without Zarc's hand like it had happened once, Odd-Eyes excitedly wiggled with its tail since he already knew by the scent what his guardian had for him. For some reason the fire dragon liked everything that was human related, including the food, ever since he snatched some of Zarc's lunch.

"Your teeth will root if I continue to spoil you." the man caressed one of Odd-Eyes' horns "But then again how can I say no to those mesmerizing eyes?"

Odd-Eyes' impatiently nudged his head towards the bag until Zarc finally pulled a whole cherry pie out of it. The moment the fire dragon swallowed the still-warm pastry his eyes gleamed from happiness, enjoying the sweet taste of human-prepared food.

"Looks like Ray did a good job baking it." Zarc smiled, Clear Wing and Dark Rebellion turned their heads at the sound of Ray's name "I'm sorry, but she couldn't come. Something came up."

Zarc could sense a little bit of disappointment in the dragons since he was well aware that they also liked Ray's company. The fellow mage his age was always surrounded by a pleasant aura, similar to his own, but much more gentle. He remembered the times when she would visit more regularly, playing with the dragons and filling their home with her magic of creation. Just like the dragons possessed four elemental powers, of fire, lightning, air and plants, so did she, possessing the powers of animal life, plants, wind and the moon known as En powers. She didn't have any dragons like Zarc did, although she could connect with elemental creatures possessing En powers when taking care of the imbalances between the Unified Kingdom and the spirit worlds.

"Okay, Odd-Eyes just got his food, so did Dark Rebellion and Clear Wing." Zarc was back in reality, checking if each dragon got their share of comfort meals "Now where is Starve Ve..Woah!"

Before he could even finish the sentence, something caught his foot and dragged him up in the air, leaving him hanging. He didn't need to put two and two together to know it was the last of the quadruplets, the prankster of the dragon family. The head of the violet-scaled dragon peeked from the treetop, his teeth clenched in a grin as he continued to tease Zarc with a vine he was controlling.

"No berries for you if you don't let me down this instant." Zarc sighed, clearly tired of yet again being caught in one of Starve Venom's pranks.

Dark Rebellion only rolled his eyes at the situation while Odd-Eyes and Clear Wing somehow found it hilarious enough to start shrieking in delight. The silver haired mage crossed his arms in annoyance though he kept his expression neutral until Starve Venom finally let him down.

Needing some timefor all the blood rushing to his head from the upside down hanging to calm down, Zarc eventually reached in his bag for freshly picked berries , the kind of ones that didn't grow anywhere near the dragon nest for Starve Venom who was nearly as excited as his brothers had been for their snacks before. Unfortunately the berries didn't have the same effect on Starve Venom as dried meat for Dark Rebellion since the plant dragon would rather fly to his spot surrounded by flower bushes and not listen than to be bribed by the food. He was truly the most stubborn and prideful of them all.

But either way Zarc still cared for him as he did for his brothers, knowing well that each of them had different characteristics that made them who they were. His dragon family was truly one of a kind.

His thinking was broken by Odd-Eyes who pulled at his cape, like he usually did whenever he would ask for attention. Dark Rebellion also got closer as Clear Wing only wrapped himself in his wings and Starve Venom got back on the treetop like saying they won't be part of whatever the fire dragon and the lightning dragon were up to.

Odd-Eyes leaned his head forward as every single one of his scales began to glow like rubies. In a similar manner, the purple scales of Dark Rebellion started glowing as well, looking like shiny pieces of amethysts. Zarc watched astounded how their forms were engulfed separately in their elemental powers, becoming smaller and smaller. Their dragon features like Odd-Eyes' horns and Dark Rebellion's wings gradually shrunk down into their bodies, looking less like dragons by each passing second. In the end Zarc no longer saw two dragons, but what seemed like two much younger versions of himself wearing capes in the same colors as their scales.

"Surprise!" the boy with hair that resembled Odd-Eyes' discolored eyes exclaimed.

"It took us a while to master it… but here we are." the other boy whose hair was in the same colors as Dark Rebellion's body scratched his head in a slight embarrassment.

"How?" could Zarc only utter when the human version of Odd-Eyes gave him a big hug, this time not knocking him on the ground as he was now only a half of Zarc's size.

"Ray taught us!" the green-red haired boy said, his head still pressed against his guardian's stomach since he couldn't reach any higher.

"The last time we went to the temple, Odd-Eyes was so upset for making some children cry because of how terrifying he looked to them that we asked Ray if she could teach us to change our appearance." the other boy said "Starve Venom and Clear Wing still haven't mastered it though."

"You should've seen Clear Wing! He still had a tail and dragon head!" Odd-Eyes giggled which made the white-scaled dragon roar at him "What? But you looked so funny!"

"I don't know what to say… I'm so amazed of what you're capable of." Zarc proudly petted their heads "Why did you turn into me though?"

"Well we didn't have much choice since you're the only human whose appearance is engraved in our heads for a reference." Dark Rebellion smiled when crossing his arms.

"And we wouldn't want to turn into anyone but you!" Odd-Eyes still wouldn't let go of Zarc.

"Even Clear Wing and Starve Venom?" the man asked, looking at the other two dragons who seemed a bit embarrassed from not mastering the shapeshifting.

"Yeah! Clear Wing hasn't managed to change his head yet, but he was aiming for your face too. Starve Venom on the other hand is nearly done with taking a human form, but for some reason flowers start growing all over him each time he shapeshifts." this time Starve Venom was the one to roar at his blabbering brother.

"I'm glad you're learning new skills each day. You will all grow up way too fast." Zarc pulled both of his younger versions into his arms, nearly shedding tears from how emotional he had gotten. Since he has been taking care of them since when they were still just dragon eggs he has thought of them as his children, so now that they even choose to take their forms after him, it only confirmed how much they thought of him as their parent as well. The other two dragons had the urge to join the little family hug as well, but they decided to rather not due to their massive sizes.

That and the fact that someone was approaching.

Clear Wing immediately extended his wings, ready to strike any intruder with his windblast while Starve Venom mentally called for all the vines and thorns near him. Still in human form, Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion felt the unfamiliar presence too, but rather hid behind Zarc. The four of them might've been all huge in size, though mentally they were all just children.

As the unknown person came closer, Odd-Eyes began to tremble, not because he was scared but because he could feel other peoples' auras and the one approaching was the right opposite of Ray's or Zarc's. Dark Rebellion tried to calm him down by placing his arms around his brother's shoulders protectively, making him snap out of his still state when the person stepped right in front of Zarc, removing the hood off his head.

"Leo Akaba…" the silver haired mage muttered, protectively setting his arms in front of the boys "You are not allowed to enter the dragons nest."

"Even if my daughter would happen to be here?" the man said, gazing upon the duo of children behind Zarc and the duo of dragons fully prepared to attack.

"You know well she has set on another travel a day ago." Zarc clenched his teeth at the man's cockiness "So give me a good reason for preventing Clear Wing from blowing you out of the forest or Starve Venom giving you the thorn crown you deserve as the king you are."

"Watch your mouth young mage." Leo's eyes narrowed down at the insults "I only wish to talk with you."

"Then talk, I'm listening." Zarc still wouldn't move from his spot, no matter how threatening Leo looked.

"I meant more of a private talk without your… beasts." the moment the man said the last word, Odd-Eyes burst into tears, saddened by the fact that even when he was in human form people still thought of him as a monster. Burying his face into Zarc's tunic, the dragon guardian could only stroke the child's back while cooing ensuring words that he was in no way what Leo had called him. Dark Rebellion on the other hand had enough of seeing his always cheerful brother cry like that, turning back into a dragon and along with the rest of their family protectively formed around Zarc who held the upset Odd-Eyes.

"Was harassing my dragons your only purpose of intruding, or will you be actually discussing official issues concerning the Unified Kingdom? For the later I think I've made myself clear that they're to be dealt with outside of the dragon nest." the silver haired mage took the crying dragon boy in his arms since the child could barely stand from all that was happening "The dragons are my first priority and last time I checked you have more than enough people for whatever mess you're dealing with."

"Yes I'm aware of that, but the royal council has asked for your assistance personally. There's only one dragon guardian after all and should you not participate in this… I can't tell what could happen…" Leo brought out a scroll, his expression serious enough for Zarc to take it into consideration "Just read it somewhere where you'll be able to think clearly. You will still have your precious monsters in sight."

The dragons, with the exception of Odd-Eyes, all let out a loud growl at the rude remark, but Zarc raised his hand in front of them, gesturing them to calm down and patiently wait for him to finish whatever assignment he was tasked with. The dragon guardian gently placed the boy with red and green hair, who was still sobbing, on Clear Wing's back since the white-scaled dragon was the most eager to charge at Leo, in order to keep him still. Being the oldest of the dragon family, Dark Rebellion understood what was to be done, flying back to his brothers whose focus was pointed towards the youngest brother, though they would still stare daggers at Leo in the corner of their eyes. Something in that man just bothered them to the tip of their claws,

Ray might've been his daughter, but she most certainly had none of her father's characteristics. Being crowned as the ruler of the Unified Kingdom soon after she was born, Leo had been far too busy with his duties as a king in order to play the role of a parent, resulting in a very jumpy relationship between him and Ray. It only got worse when she was chosen by En elemental powers, downing the already non-functioning relation. Since Leo was secretly jealous of her gift as well as Zarc's. She'd met the silver haired boy when she started to train her powers under the skilled sorcerer Yusho Sakaki. Ray tended not to bring her father into conversations, though even without her confirmation, Zarc knew just what kind of a man Leo was from the aura oozing out of him.

Leo as a king kept the Unified Kingdom going steady so far, but Zarc couldn't shake the bad feeling he got from Leo's constant research of the spirit worlds. It started out as a way to fix those few flaws that the kingdom had, but gradually the exploration turned into an obsession that even the royal council took on. That was also one of the reasons why the silver haired mage wouldn't use Leo's royal titles for him except when they were in public.

"You can't be serious!" Zarc shouted from shock after reading the scroll.

"Elemental dragons and En powers are the link between our world and their worlds. If we only…" the man tried to convince the distraught mage otherwise.

"No! The Unified Kingdom has no need for what you're planning! Why would you want to risk the balance of life for something you don't truly understand yourself!?" the silver haired mage outright flung the scroll at Leo who reflexively caught it before it hit his face.

"There are some things you young people just don't understand, the royal council wishes to…" the man rolled the scroll back up.

"Royal council or you? I'm sorry, but I refuse this madness and if you don't know better you soon will too." Zarc was already heading back to the dragons "Stop meddling with spirit worlds already! You're supposed to research and help our own world, the Unified Kingdom and the people you're ruling, not the places only specific people were chosen for helping."

Zarcdidn't see the raging expression on Leo's face as he turned his back to him, making it clear that he was no servant of his and his loyalties lay with the spirit worlds only, even if he was a human. Once he was back with his dragons he glimpsed back to where Leo was, only to find him gone.

The former dragon guardian snapped out of his memory, suddenly connecting all the pieces together. That was it! How could he not see it before? The one man who was more than capable of both regaining the memories and finding a way to get what he wanted, it had been in front of his nose from the start.

Sending a message to Yusho to summon him again, he was back in the same room, his teacher seemingly still waiting for him to recover from his breakdown.

"I know who took Yuri and Yugo." Zarc said, his expression boiling with rage.

…

The early morning sun shone through the transparent form of the Crimson Dragon as it flew back to the kingdom of Synchro. Out of all four kingdoms it was the most secluded due to the events that took place after the Dragon War. The seemingly peaceful nation didn't get to enjoy the peace for long before another in-nation war started, this time it originated in their two spirit worlds. The battle soon moved through the Synchro Kingdom and even after it was over, it had fatefully changed both the land and its society.

The Crimson Dragon and its servants did their best to fix it, but what was done was done. All they could do now was protect the kingdom while trying to tidy up if only a little of the mess in which Synchro was now. Its people grew used to it and life went on, though it was quite obvious that deep down they wanted a change.

More rays brightened the sparkling sea among which the shining creature was flying, its claws still holding Yugo's egg. The sleeping form of a wind dragon had managed to sooth back in his sleep as the blue crystals of the egg began to glow, sending radiant waves of its aura into a specific direction.

"I see… if that's where you want to go, I'll take you there."

By that time the Crimson Dragon had already reached the first set of smaller islands, belonging to the Common area. Its form was invisible to the majority of people who were already going on with their day, but Yugo's egg on the other hand was more than obvious to spot. The Crimson Dragon hurried in the desired direction until it saw why Yugo wanted to go there. As his hatching would be occurring soon, the wind dragon was seeking out his guardian so he wouldn't hatch alone. Years ago, before finding Reiji, Yusho did visit the Synchro Kingdom, but he failed to find a guardian for Yugo so he went back to Pendulum after searching across all the land. So why would the person suitable of being the guardian of Clear Wing be present there now?

The Crimson Dragon saw a small sailing ship, slowly going towards the currents where all the trash from the Tops area was gathering. Those few people on it were going through the garbage in hopes of finding something still useful. To one them Yugo seemed to be fairly drawn to, the crystals vibrating in bright blue light like never before.

"Very well I'll leave you here then. May we meet again once you grow up."

The egg was gently placed in the water, right next to the ship's stern where one person in particular was standing, observing some of the picked objects as the mystic dragon headed back to its temple located somewhere in the Tops. Yugo subconsciously called for his guardian through the shell of his egg while the crystals gleamed, causing one more crystal that the person was wearing to glow in a similar, but green light.

The Common resident observed the strange light, stepping away from the pile of sorted out garbage in order to follow it until finding a strangely shaped crystal floating on the surface of the ocean, awestruck by the discovery. The person was pretty young, a child nonetheless, so it was pretty tricky to get the egg out with such short arms. But impossible or not, Yugo's egg was finally in the arms of his guardian, already feeling the forming of a bond.

"What is this?" the child questioned, flinching a bit when touching the crystals on the shell. For some reason they were really cold, almost as cold as ice, so the new guardian pushed it into the bag meant for retrieved objects in order to not get a frostbite and, more importantly, to prevent others from seeing it.

"Rin? Did you find anything useful?" the man, bearing a bit of resemblance to the child, asked.

"Just the usual, dad." Rin, a young girl with short green hair replied while clenching the bag close to herself "Not much, but not too little."

"Good, now let's go home before other vultures appear to get the early trash." Rin's father said as he headed to turn the ship back to their home.

Since the wind was good that day, they arrived home quite fast. The whole time Rin hoped no one would look into her bag or pay too much attention to the bracelet that was blinking in a green light like crazy. Fortunately her father and the other Commons were too busy discussing what they had found, so the little girl, no older than five grabbed the bag containing all her findings and sneaked to her room as soon as they reached their house.

She said a quick hello to her mother who was in the central room, serving as both the kitchen and dining room, already going through the objects she and her father had found the previous day. Rin entered her tiny room, big enough for only a mattress and a small closet where she stored any interesting objects that weren't sellable, but still interesting to her. She carefully reached for the still-cold crystal-covered egg that didn't glow as intensely anymore, unlike her bracelet that still wouldn't stop blinking.

Even though she was only five, Rin knew what kind of objects would sell for a good price, thanks to their parents' early teaching. But for some reason, despite knowing how well any kind of crystals would sell, she didn't want it to be sold. As a Common, she and her family had experienced enough to know what it meant to be poor and without a warm meal for a while and yet she had a feeling that any money coming from the crystal just wouldn't be right.

She couldn't really explain it why she thought like that, neither would she be able to talk with her parents about it. For some reason she trusted the mysterious bracelet with the green crystal, that has always been around her wrist, more than her own parents.

A light knock on the doors brought her back to reality, she hadn't realized that she had been staring at the weird crystal and thinking deeply for nearly an hour as her mother called her to lunch. Rin quickly wrapped all of the blankets she could find around the crystal and stuck it in the bottom of her closet, a place where you would look last. Taking the bag with the rest of the found objects, she went to the slightly swaying low table at which a steaming soup waited.

Rin's father put away all the objects he had found off the table so he would have a place for a plate of soup. Rin also had to remove all the small packages of herbs that her mother carefully prepared in the morning, which was one more thing they were doing for living. Being Commons, Rin's family had many ways how to get by financially. While she would pick any useful trash from the Tops with her father, her mother would be in the nearby woods gathering medical herbs. Besides that her parents would often leave for the bigger town, where they could get many opportunities to sell what they could.

Common grounds were after all practically impossible to use for growing crops, so hunting and gathering were the only options, especially for a tiny urban area where their house was. The only other way for a Common to succeed was if they happened to be one of the rare exceptions to possess magical powers and even then it would take years of hard work to be accepted by the Tops.

"There's a good chance that more fish will gather at the coastline around the Satellite in the following days." Rin's father said once he was done with his meal.

"So you're leaving again daddy?" the girl asked while still eating the soup.

"Yeah, but I'll be back in a week or two, so help your mother while I'm gone alright?" the man stroked his daughter's hair in a loving way.

"I will." the green haired girl smiled, watching how her father put on his rain coat along with a matching hat.

"I'll be meeting up with the others soon. We may depart today already." he announced, his wife walking him to the doors where she said her goodbye.

"Be safe dear." she said wished him before he headed towards the neighbors' house.

Rin helped her mother wash those few dishes, thinking more and more about the bracelet which's gem wouldn't stop blinking. She had managed to cover it with the sleeve of her dress, though she knew it was trying to tell her something, most probably about the weird crystal in her closet. Excusing herself, Rin practically raced to her room where she immediately set the mattress so it blocked the doors, so no one could come in.

Gently she unwrapped the crystal out of all the layers of fabric until she once again stared into the brilliantly blue color, glowing a lot brighter than before. Slowly she caressed the crystals, still feeling the cold, though she got used to it by now. Capable of analyzing the objects for any useful function, she was surprised she couldn't tell what exactly it was. Rin had seen crystals a few times, but they were not even close to the size of this one was. Nor their colors as pure as the one she held.

"Rin!"

The green haired girl flinched at the mysterious voice, not knowing where it was coming from. She was about to answer it back when all of a sudden her mind began to spin. The glow of the crystals and her bracelet didn't help much as her vision began to blur, she falling off the bed while still clenching the dragon egg to her chest.

Falling.

Falling from the sky with an extremely high speed in the middle of the day. The clouds were all puffy as she fell past them with only the wide ocean below. Rin screamed at the top of her lungs as she hated the dreams where she would have no control of what was happening. The surface of the ocean was coming closer and closer with the little girl awaiting the painful landing.

Only to be falling in the opposite direction, up.

Not really falling, but she was definitely going up. Rin carefully opened her eyes to find herself on the back of a huge creature she failed to tell what it was. It looked like an enormous snake with white scales covering its entire body plus it had four gleaming wings that only emphasized its size along with many smaller wing-looking parts that were probably meant for regulating the flight.

But regular flight or not, the creature flew quite recklessly as it was flying for its own enjoyment. Rin barely held on with her arms around the creature's neck as it started spinning and then again rapidly its head longed towards the ocean. Just when it was about to hit the water, its wings spread and force of the wind threw them back in the air.

"Sl…Slow down!" Rin shouted obviously not a big fan of heights.

"Why? It's fun!" the creature responded with the same voice that called her name before entering this weird dream.

"You can talk?!" she nearly shrieked from surprise.

"Of course I can, but I can do so much more than just talk to you. Check this out!" it began to flap with its wings in different way and as they flew through the clouds, the wind formed a spiral that followed them. Rin hated to admit it, it was quite beautiful to watch the clouds spiraling behind them like a trail as well as watching the brilliant blue wings illuminating under the sun.

"So pretty." Rin got starry eyes as the creature performed more tricks in the air, making her forget completely how scared she was before.

"Yeah, it's my favorite game – I call it high fiving the sky!" the creature giggled, making a few quick turns just for the sake of it.

"But who are you? Or… what are you?" the green haired girl again checked its features "My mom told me stories about the Crimson Dragon and its friends, but they can't be real, right?"

"Well I'm not one of the Crimson Dragon's servants, but I am a dragon. The Clear Wing dragon to be exact." he replied "But to you, my name will be known as Yugo."

"You – go? Where are yougoing?" Rin was puzzled at the weird name.

"It's my name you silly guardian!" Yugo was on the verge of cursing but he controlled himself for the sake of the five year old on his back that got already terrified by his growl.

"Guardian?" she forgot the whole name thing when being address with an even more confusing one "What is that?"

"It's what you are to me, my guardian!" the dragon cheered up a bit at the thought of no longer being alone "I will soon be reborn in your world and you will watch over me as I grow."

"Like a pet dog or a cat? My mom said I'm not allowed to have one since we're too poor." Rin scratched her head in confusion "And you're way too big to fit in our house."

"A dog?!" Yugo really needed to hold himself back from making another unintentional insult, but somehow he calmed down enough to continue "I'll be smaller so you don't have to worry. You've already held me in your arms after all, right where your bracelet has guided me."

"You are in the crystal?! But how, you're so big!" the girl kept looking at the dragon's huge body and imagining the small object in her hands.

"I've told you, I'll be reborn as a hatchling with no memories from before and I will grow throughout the years to grow up just as you will. That bracelet of yours will soon awaken something inside you that will make you nearly as powerful as me." Yugo began to fly a bit steadier "Unfortunately I'll need to go soon, but we will meet again once I'm old enough. Until then I will simply be your dragon and you will be my guardian. Goodbye Rin-Rin."

Rin blushed at the new nickname, but nodded understanding what awaited her in the future. There was a life in that crystal and she had to protect it. After all, she did want to fly with Yugo again and play his favorite game.

Together they went through the sky in the most amazing spiral wind for one last time before the entire place brightened up in a powerful blinding light.

Rin woke up at the annoying green light coming from her bracelet, realizing she had never let go of the crystal that was actually a dragon egg. The crystals had formed around it in order to keep Yugo safe the moment he was separated from his brothers.

"Are you really inside Yugo?" Rin didn't care about the cold surface as she caressed the egg "Then I'll protect you if you don't have anyone else."

The cold on Yugo's egg faded bit by bit, until her touch warmed the egg up enough for the sleeping dragon to no longer feel threatened. The glow of the bracelet also became faint while something else didn't. Rolling up the sleeve of the arm, opposite of the one that had the mysterious jewelry, Rin felt as it was freezing. To her surprise it came from a white glowing symbol of a wing engraved into the flesh of her arm.

"Do I have this because I'm your guardian?" she asked the egg, remembering the words of the dragon. The mark froze a bit like Yugo was responding to her question.

"I see…" Rin mumbled as she hugged Yugo's egg, keeping it close to her chest "Good night."

The sudden tiredness got her fast, unknown memories rushing through her head as she again began to dream about flying on the back of a dragon with the most beautiful wings she had ever seen. She hoped that this dream will one day be a reality as she reached out to the tiny Yugo inside the egg who was no longer afraid of being taken.

…

Across the ocean a terrible storm was going on, with winds blowing at unnatural speeds, waves rising in mere moments and drops of rain felt like needles. Despite all of this, a pegusus with sapphires in its wings was flying through, enduring the harsh conditions as he was carrying two boys on his back, with one being in rather bad condition. An eagle was flying beside them, blocking any danger that came too close as they were all breaking through the terrible weather.

Johan prayed that they would reach the hideout soon, as he would feel less and less life energy in his friend. Judai had been through some tough battles, but no one would ever force his inner spirit out of him to the point of death. The blue haired boy shook his head at the thought of losing the one person that had saved his life so many times, now lying in his arms, breathing very faintly.

"Hold on Johan, we're nearly there. I can already see the house." Sapphire Pegasus' sharp eyes picked up on the small house hidden among the trees of a non-populated island. It didn't take long before they landed right next to the doors, Johan immediately getting in with Judai in his arms.

The moment he set him on the first bed he had found, the blue haired boy started casting healing spells. Ruby and Winged Kuriboh appeared as well, lending their own life energy if it meant helping the barely responsive boy.

"Come on buddy, you can do this." Johan continued to cast both healing spells and transferring his life energy until he felt Judai's heart beating at a steady pace.

The brunet truly was a fighter, escaping death's clutches yet again, though this time it was really close to losing the battle with it. Judai's eyes slightly opened, luckily being in their natural brown color without any interference of the Supreme King that was almost entirely sucked out of him. Through the blurred vision he could see Johan treating his physical wounds as the two spirits assisted. He could also point out the silhouettes of Amethysts Cat and Topaz Tiger guarding the doors as the other crystal beasts were probably within Johan, lending him their energy.

"Jo…han." Judai whispered since he lost most of his voice during the torture.

"Just rest for now." the blue haired boy gently petted Judai's head though the brunet could sense the anger building up in his friend "Those people did truly awful things to you."

"They…" the brunet continued despite the advice "They were after… elemental dragons."

"The elemental dragons?!" Johan gasped, scaring Ruby and Kuriboh a bit "How would they know?"

"I don't know…" Judai took a few deep breaths "They were… hunting the spirits… they needed energy… of Supreme King… for portal."

"Easy buddy." the blue haired boy wiped the sweat off the other boy's forehead "You've been through too much to talk about this now, not to mention you're running a fever. We can continue with this tomorrow when you'll be at least a bit better, alright?"

"Academia… is not the same… anymore…" was the last sentence that Judai muttered before tiredness got the best of him.

Johan covered his friend with a blanket and set a wet cloth on his forehead in order to reduce the fever. Ruby climbed on his shoulder, nuzzling against his cheek when whispering something only he understood.

"I know Ruby… I wish I knew what happened to that magic school that Judai loved so much too." the blue haired boy stared through the window, at the storm still going on outside.

"Bii." the little spirit agreed, observing Winged Kuriboh that watched over the unconscious boy.

"What changed?" Johan asked himself while thinking about the times when he just transferred to Academia and Judai who was already a student there welcomed him with open arms.

How could a school for young mages turn into a child- soldier training facility?

…

It was days after the storm when a ship full of children aged five was sailing towards the island where Academia was. The young mages carried various mixed emotions with them. Some were already homesick, some were excited to learn how to use magic and the majority was just looking forward to the new chapter in their lives.

In the Fusion Kingdom there were only children and teenagers who were capable of using magic, once they were older the magic disappeared. It was required that once mages turn five, the age when their magic gift would start developing, they are sent to Academia, a school made especially for them. Their parents and other non-magic users would remain home, supporting the school through taxes. Academia's principal as well as some of the teachers were all from overseas, hence of why they were adults still capable of using magic.

The children would go through numerous lessons and trainings until they mastered all that they could learn. Once they graduated, they were to serve the principal, who was in a way also the ruler of the island on which Academia lied, until their magic faded. After their time as mages was over, they were to return back to the main islands and go on with their lives.

A young boy with curly red hair was probably the most excited of them all. Even before his use of magic developed, he'd loved to pretend to use it with quick hand movements and series of tricks. To finally learn the real thing was beyond his dreams.

The ship eventually arrived and while it was being anchored, a couple of teachers appeared to instruct them on what awaited them. There were twenty to thirty young mages on board, all of them nervous for the welcoming ceremony. Each was given an upper uniform, a simple red colored jacket and a badge in which their names were engraved. The teachers further explained that they were currently in the youngest class, known as the Osiris Red. There were also two more classes, the middle class Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue with students of those classes wearing the jackets in their representative colors. The names came from the three mythical creatures said to protect the homeland from which the principal was from.

As the red haired boy put on the brand new jacket and pinned on the badge like his fellow classmate, he could already notice some of the older students practicing magic at the harbor. The teachers instructed them to take their belongings and follow them as they were giving them the tour of the Academia. From the outside it looked like a massive castle, consisting of many rooms. The young mages' eyes brightened at the sight of the training grounds and classrooms where they would spend the following years. Some of the older students waved to them as a wish of good luck.

The tour lasted until the evening where all the young mages were already tired to the point of barely walking, so they were more than glad that the teachers took them to their dorms and allowed them to go to bed already, though the teachers made themselves clear that their waking hours are really early and latecomers won't be tolerated.

The rooms were shared by multiple students at once, though at that time no one really cared as long as they would have their own beds. Everyone, including the red haired boy immediately fell to their bed, some not even bothering with a change of clothes. A brand new day awaited them and they all wanted to make sure to get enough rest. A female teacher only came to magically put out the torches that lighted the bedrooms and left after checking if all the new freshmen students were where they were supposed to be. Seeing that not a single young mage had any ideas of sneaking out in the night which was in all ways forbidden, she left, locking the doors of the Osiris Red dorms. It seemed as it was going to be a peaceful first night in there for them.

But for some reason, the orange haired boy couldn't get a proper shut-eye. He was beyond tired and sleepy, especially from all that walking up and down the stairs, long hallways and outdoor areas around Academia. That really wasn't like him at all since he was usually really energetic as he had even tried to practice with Ra Yellow a bit, only to be beaten right away and even then he was ready for more action. Though even if he was unusually exhausted, why couldn't he fall asleep? Normally, he would just pass out when he would come to that point, but as of right now he could only toss and turn, only resulting in him being more awake.

It could be the fact that he wasn't used to the new bedding, though compared to the rigid pillow and tattered blanket he had back at the orphanage, the new bed felt like heaven. The homesickness also couldn't be the reason as he really had no one waiting for him there and the majority of the orphaned kids came along with him. Plus everyone else was sleeping soundly without a single snore as well as no noise was heard from the outside. So what was bothering him so much he couldn't sleep?

The boy stubbornly pulled his pillow over his head, hoping it would somehow magically drive him to the dreamland which turned out to be useless as it only cause him to block the airway. He whined quietly when he peeked his head out of the blanket, jealously observing all the sleeping classmates. The young mage really wanted to make an impression on the first school day, but how could he if he didn't get enough rest?

He tried counting Scapegoats, though the more he counted the more he was aware of a faint smell coming from somewhere in the room. The boy couldn't tell what it was, but from what he picked up from it, it smelled like fresh flowers, like the ones growing on the nearby grass field back at the main island. Except those flowers smelled much sweeter as if they were watered by honey.

Gradually the smell made his eyelids slip down, the much awaited sleep finally arriving as he slowly faded to the land of dreams. Even when he was completely passed out, the flowery smell still wouldn't leave his nostrils, enchanting him with its sweetness.

A garden, full of blooming flowers and bushes along with trees spread like its fence. The sweet smell was even more distinguishable here, mixed with the freshness of the environment.

For a moment the orange haired boy wasn't certain if he was really dreaming since he could feel the soft grass underneath his feet and the gentle blossoms of a flower he had picked . The whole scenery felt all too real to be a dream since even his imagination wasn't that… well imaginative. He would sometimes picture what laid beyond the orphanage's gates and that wasn't even remotely close to what this paradise looked like.

Curious about what the dream had in store for him, the boy stepped towards where the trees were most dense, careful to not to step on the beautiful flowers. Even the smaller forest of trees had its fair share of beauty, with many trees being covered by countless violet blossoms.

"Come closer." a deep, yet playful voice echoed through the treetops "I would like to play."

The boy couldn't tell if the invitation for a play date was downright creepy or just jokingly polite. He looked around for the owner of the voice, only to find no one in sight. Come to think of it, the whole garden was empty of any life. No small mammals hiding in the bushes or birds chirping on the branches. Even the bugs were not presented, making this place deadly silent. Trembling a bit at the revelation, the boy proceeded to get back to where he started.

"Wrong way, turn around." the voice called again, this time with slight annoyance "I don't have the whole night."

The orange haired boy flinched from surprise, but complied with the instructions, making a half turn towards the thicker part of the forest. He walked with a bit of a faster tempo as he was in a way both scared and excited to find out where he was going. The deeper he got, more of his adventurous spirit awakened, remembering all the times he would go out and explore. This was no different, with the mysterious paradise garden being a place to search.

"Just a little bit more." the voice got louder, proving he was indeed close to wherever it was leading him.

Eventually he arrived in a forest clearing where the sunlight illuminated the entire field, revealing a series of colorful flowers planted in circles, one after another. The inner circles had more beautiful flowers all the way to the middle where there was the last circle of thick pink colored bushes surrounding a giant violet flower.

The boy slowly approached the flower, walking on the stone covered path specifically made in order to avoid trampling the plants. The very same sweet smell that soothed him into this dream was presented again, originating right from the middle of the circle, from that giant flower. At last he reached it, smelling the sweetness more than ever as he observed the weirdly shaped blossom. From up close, the flower was shaped pretty weirdly not to mention it was practically gleaming because of how bright the shade was.

The young mage was about to touch it when its stem seemingly moved. Thinking it was just the wind the boy brushed it off as he grabbed the tip of the petal. Its surface was smoother than any flower he had ever held, though he had to be careful with the edges as they were pretty sharp. When he ran his fingers over the plant he felt that it was… warm? And pulsing?

The stems moved more as the flower flinched like it was going to close. The young mage stepped back, squeaking with surprise when one of the stems literally tore itself off the ground, swinging towards him. Four other stems joined as well, until the sixth one appeared with two green orbs glowing on its tip. It took the boy a while before he pointed out that what was in front of him was alive.

"Tsk took you long enough, kid." the glowing orbs turned out to be the eyes of a head belonging to an unknown creature "But at least you didn't have too much trouble getting here."

The orange haired boy was still puzzled at the being in front of him, watching in amazement how four petals divided and took different places on its back. What he thought were stems before turned out to be a lean, serpent like body, being a bit wider where the petals were and four limbs ending with sharp looking claws. Its tail swayed like a whip, dangerously close to where the boy was. Though being intimidating was all it did as it merely set its head in front of the young mage.

"What… are you?" was the first thing the boy uttered, too stunned to ask anything else.

"Ever heard of Starve Venom?" the creature asked at which he shook his head "Newsflash – I'm a dragon known as Starve Venom."

"Dragon? But you look nothing like Osiris The Sky Dragon or The Winged Dragon of Ra." the orange haired boy blabbered suddenly like it was nothing "They look much more majestic when you are… pretty?"

"Does this look pretty to you?" the violet dragon growled as the four petals turned into

carnivorous plants, complete with fangs and greenish slime prickling down their mouths.

"Wow, this is actually really cool!" the boy observed Starve Venom's body, taking in every single part. "Is there anything else you can do?"

"As much as I would love to stay and showcase my strength to you, we really have to hurry up with this stuff." the dragon set the carnivorous plants back into the petals "You're talking to my spirit as I'm currently in my reborn form as a hatchling still in its egg. As my guardian you will have to take care of me once I hatch as a newborn dragon."

"I'm a guardian?!" the young mage went pale from surprise "What do you mean?"

"Gee I forgot how you humans love to complicate things." it grumbled waving its tail in annoyance "Look, my egg has been stolen and separated from my brothers. You have to take it and run away from Academia as fast as you can. If you're lucky you will run into the members of the Resistance who will get you off the island."

"I have to take what and go where?" the boy was still confused making the Starve Venom pushed its head on the ground, probably an equivalent to face-palming.

"Damm it's like I'm explaining this to a five year old." the dragon cursed, realization kicking it quite fast "Oh wait you are five! That's just brilliant!"

"What do you want me to do? If you just explain this to me more slowly, maybe I can help." the young mage pulled at the dragon's petal.

"Not maybe, you ARE the only one who can help me!" Starve Venom slightly changed the tone of its voice "I don't have much time left as a spirit, so listen to me well. Your job as a guardian is to you keep a close eye on me as I grow up. The moment I hatch I will no longer be who am I in front of you right now, but a brand new dragon. I'll recover the rest of my memories once I fully grow up and until then I will rely on pure instinct which won't be good if I stay that way for long. I will need you to keep me human."

"Human?" the boy stared into Starve Venom's eyes.

"I will be able to take a human form known by the name Yuri, but I will still be a dragon by heart. I'm telling you all this because I'm running out of the time to talk to you." the dragon set its head in the boy's hands, bowing as if it was asking for a favor "You will receive the forbidden memories of the Dragon War that will hopefully explain your destiny, but you won't be able to complete it if I remain in someone else's clutches. That's why I'll be relying on you… my guardian."

At a loss of words, the orange haired boy could only nod while petting the dragon's head like it was a puppy he was trying to calm down. Starve Venom, or just Yuri, might've looked scary and overly confident, but deep down the young mage knew it was just a regular person hating to ask for help.

"I'll try." the boy simply threw himself at the dragon, feeling its smooth scales.

"Help me stay human… and please… take me to my brothers… I don't want to forget them…" Yuri's body gradually began to disappear as well as the dream he was in.

The young mage watched how the dragon disappeared, all the flowers from the garden not far behind. He wasn't entirely sure what just happened, but feeling his heart beat along with another one somewhere close by, he knew that something big will happen. Back in the orphanage he would often read a storybook full of legends about the spirit worlds. Some would say they were made up some would say they were real and yet all the stories sounded real, especially the ones about the many brave souls who joined the forces with the spirits and fought to keep the balance of the worlds. He read nothing about this Starve Venom or his brothers that he kept mentioning, but he was determined to keep his word and help his dragon out.

The orange haired boy gasped as he woke from the dream, feeling the cold stone below his bare feet and something oval-shaped in his arms. His head was still full; processing the memories that seemed pretty scary when a realization hit him pretty hard.

He was no longer in his dorm.

Heck he wasn't even sure where he was. He had seen most of the castle during the tour, but those surroundings didn't come even close to familiarity. The huge room was dark and cold, without windows so the only source of light were some oil lamps, all illuminating the crystal case. Strangely enough one of its walls was missing, pieces lying on the ground like something shattered it with a big impact.

Was he the one who broke it?

No, he couldn't have. He only knew a few basic spells and that was it. He couldn't just break something that would require difficult magic.

And yet he somehow held an oval shaped object that was probably previously in the crystal case.

Yuri's egg!

Suddenly it all came to him. The dragon somehow led him here in his sleep, used him to open the case and now he had to escape with the egg. The boy quickly looked for the doors to escape with only one of them being an option. He raced towards it, determined to carry on with the dragon's wish.

Only to be stopped by a group of teachers who caught him right off the bat. Two male and one female teacher trapped him with a spell, knocking him on the ground right away as the dark green egg rolled back into the room where he started. The orange haired boy was then picked by the two male teachers, each holding his arms as they pinned him against the wall while the female teacher retrieved the dragon egg.

"How did he get here?!" the first male teacher asked, staring at the broken crystal case "Each hallway is patrolled and the doors are all locked with high level spells."

"Not to mention he's in Osiris Red, a newbie!" the other male teacher grunted.

"I've seen him arrive with today's freshmen group. His name is…" the female teacher looked at his badge still pinned on his shirt "Dennis Mackfield."

"His Majesty won't be happy with this…" one of the men said, trying to keep a hold on the struggling five year old.

"I won't be happy with what?" asked a voice that gave chills to everyone, its owner slowly coming in the room "Who was chosen to protect this room and failed to do so?"

One of the teachers gulped at the sight of their superior, dressed in his usual purple royal attire accompanied by a red cape. The female teacher quickly put the egg back in the crystal case which was sealed right after by Leo. The king rested his hand on it for a while before he turned back to the two teachers who were struggling to keep Dennis still. The boy might've been only five, but he knew many ways of sneaking out. Unfortunately none of them came in handy now, not to mention he was held by two skilled mages.

"How was this room entered and how was the case destroyed." Leo asked calmly, like he had just woken up and wasn't in the mood for chatting.

"From what we suspect the spells were executed incorrectly and the kid happened to wonder here." the male teacher half-told half-lied, hoping to avoid an outrage and rather focused at keeping Dennis' fidgeting arm in one place.

"We've switched spells the previous week and it could be the cause." the other man nodded.

"Luckily it was just a freshman student at the wrong place and wrong time, I see. Well, erase his memories and get him back to the dorms." Leo grunted after checking if the crystal case was secured "Didn't you hear me? Clear his head of this night's memories and get him back to the others!"

"Your Majesty… he… he's…" the male teacher stuttered once he took a better look at Dennis' right arm while he's been struggling to keep still for a while.

"He's what?" the king grunted, barely glancing back to the staff holding the young mage.

"Starve Venom has marked him." the other teacher holding Dennis said tremblingly.

Leo's eyes widened at the information, immediately grabbing Dennis who winced when his arm was forcefully pulled up. The man practically tore the sleeve off the boy's shirt in order to see the symbol of a flower glowing on his arm in a brilliant violet color. As he stared at the mark in pure anger, Leo unconsciously began squeezing Dennis' wrist until the young mage let out a cry of pain, begging the man to let him go. Academia's principal wouldn't listen, he was too busy being engulfed in rage from seeing the mark on someone else rather than on his own arm. Only when the female teacher shouted that he was hurting the student, Leo finally stopped, dropping the child on the ground.

Dennis was in tears, cradling his arm that ached from both the lack of blood circulation and a mysterious prickling where the mark was. He failed. The dragon as prideful as it was asked him to be taken out of this place, only to be let down because of how weak Dennis was. The female teacher was cooing some words into his ear but he couldn't really hear her over how loud Leo has had gotten, ordering his people.

"Take Mackfield to the same cell you were going to transfer Starve Venom to. From this day forth he gets the same treatment as the dragon." the male teachers nodded at the order, grabbing Dennis' arms firmly "And move the ceremony by this moon rise."

"But your majesty that will be in four days! By that point the dragons will hatch prematurely!" the female teacher said in a worried tone, only to be silenced by her king.

"My dragons will hatch when I say they will." Leo headed out of the room while carrying the crystal case containing Yuri's egg.

Dennis glanced one more time at the dark green egg getting farther and farther away from him as his eyes grew heavy. He collapsed to the ground after the forbidden memories once again replayed in his head. He was supposed to protect his dragon as his guardian and yet he couldn't even get him to safety.

"I'm sorry."

This wasn't what he wanted. What he had always seen as the place to learn magic turned out to hide many dark secrets connected directly to the Dragon War. He could hear the cries of the spirits used as tools nearby and something much more terrifying somewhere closer.

Academia wasn't a school.

It was prison training child soldiers, all under the command of king Leo Akaba, the one whose aura was the darkest of all.

*doorbell rings*

Hunter13Hawkie: Coming! *opens the door with a smile* Thank you so much for coming in such short time!

?: No problem *smiles* I'm happy to help.

Hunter13Hawkie: You can take a seat at the table, let me just bring the pancakes! *rushes to the kitchen while the person takes a seat* Here you go!

?: *takes a pancake* Thank you... though what's that on the end of the table? Looks scary.

Hunter13Hawkie: Oh, that's just my assistant surrounded by textbooks. Don't mind them.

Noname: I can still hear you, you silly bird! *notices the person* Who the hell is that?

?: Nice to meet you, my name is Yuya Sakaki! I'm Entertainment Duelist and my goal is to put smiles on peoples' faces! *sees gloomy and barely alive expression of sleep-deprived Noname* Which... may take a bit longer in your case.

Noname: Seriously? I don't have the energy or the time to deal with your sunny disposition. Hawkie, please keep that cheerful nonsense embodied in a hair dye job gone wrong away from me.

Yuya: Eh... what? *is trying to put together everything that Noname just said* *Hawkie quickly covers Yuya's ears before another flood of mean comments reaches him*

Hunter13Hawkie: Noname says hi back and wishes to be left alone for a while.

Yuya: Ah okay... *smiles as he faces Hawkie* So what exactly do I need to do? Duel you?

Hunter13Hawkie: Not just yet, I just needed someone for the end of the roleplay since Noname is too busy. We can just discuss this story about your show that I'm writing right now.

Yuya: *reads the changed summary* Wow, so I'm a dragon in this?! That's pretty cool!

Hunter13Hawkie: *flies around in utter happiness, whispering* Yes, I did it! Yuya likes it!

Yuya: Naww you're smiling! What made you so happy?

Hunter13Hawkie: Nothing... *still starry eyes* ...just the fact that all this writing actually pays off! *gets an idea* Uh uh, can you do something for me?

Yuya: Sure! What is it? *Hawkie whispers on Yuya's ear at which Yuya grins* Okay! *takes a deep breath, stands up and raises his hands* LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Stay tooned for the next chapter - Dragons Reborn!

Hunter13Hawkie: That... was... perfect... *nearly faints from fangirling*

Noname: *observes Hawkie on the ground and Yuya confused of what just happened* So much about some peace and quiet...

EDIT!

Hunter13Hawkie: Hello my readers! Chapter four is edited!

Noname: I actually did it like days ago

Hunter13Hawkie: Yeah but I didn't want to post it before chapter five ?

Noname: What do you mean chapter five?

Hunter13Hawkie: Oh yeah *gives Noname stack of papers* special delivery for you!

Noname: This looks like over 20 pages again ugh... didn't you say you're gonna keep this one short?

Hunter13Hawkie: Sorry... but I just got so many ideas along the way that I simply had to include them!

Noname: Whatever *sighs* I better start editing this... say what's with the change in the chapter titles?

Hunter13Hawkie: Oh I went over and planned ahead some stuff that happens in the future chapters and to keep it more organised I added arcs so it would be more clear when certain stuff happens.

Noname: I see that, we so far have only the prologue chapters...*starts thinking*

Hunter13Hawkie: Yup that covers a pre-story- arc when the dragons are growing up and once they grow up that arc will end and another will begin

Noname: How long is this gonna be?! You lied when you said that the fic will have 20-30 chapters! You have a way longer story planned...

Hunter13Hawkie: Heh true, I just hope this will be one fic that I'll be able to keep going

Noname: Alright then, whatever, stayed tooned for the next chapter I guess, that I will hopefully edit sometime this week, during all my exams, and other work... *slams head on a wall repeatedly*

Hunter13Hawkie: Oh yeah, we both have an exam on friday!

Noname: Pray to whatever deity you worship, satanic or otherwize, that we pass this hellish exam designed by one of satan's favourite devils, that roams the earth as a professor and loves to torture students.

Hunter13Hawkie: Just imagine female version of Leo lecturing us O_O"

Noname: *wails in the moonlight* The horror!

Hunter13Hawkie: Well anyway I'll go back to my studies now *takes a deep breath and screams* Dragon babies are coming!