"Level with me – do I really look that terrifying?" Red Dragon Archfiend wasn't idly asking; he was completely serious about the question, which was aimed across the large table at Stardust Dragon. The two legendary dragons were drinking at the Duel Monsters Café. They basically had the whole joint to themselves, on account of everyone else dashing off at the sight of the fearsome looking Archfiend.
"Pretty much," Stardust answered directly. Archfiend had to grudgingly admit that he liked how honest Stardust was; most other monsters would have lied, hoping to save their skin from getting cooked by dragon fire.
"You're a huge, dark-colored dragon with devil wings and sharp teeth colored a deep red, as if they were constantly bloody. You even used to be called Demon Dragon, which didn't help things." Stardust finished with a swig of his large cup. Archfiend gripped his own hard enough to crack it.
"Yes, yes. That is why I had my name changed in the first place!" Archfiend could feel his hot temper slowly make itself known. He hated the fact that everyone tip-toed around him as if he was made of glass and would crack every second. Sure, he had anger issues, but he had never once hurt a friend (outside of a duel, of course).
Stardust shrugged his glitzy shoulders. "It takes a lot to change one's self-image. First impressions are everything, and most people probably think of you as some evil overlord."
Archfiend slammed his large fist against the stone table, cracking it. "BUT I HAVE DONE NOTHING TO EARN SUCH A REPUTATION!" Looking down at what he had done, Archfiend coughed before sitting back down, wings drooping slightly.
A Kuriboh waiter hesitantly stepped forward to bring the two dragons a plate of fried dumplings, which they had ordered minutes ago. Archfiend grumpily downed a dozen of them in his toothy mouth.
"We need to work on making you less intimidating," Stardust decided. "The first thing we have to do is work on your anger issues." Archfiend grumbled, but decided that if he ever wanted other monsters to stop treating him like a plague, he would have to listen to Stardust's advice.
Being a scary presence used to be really enjoyable, and to an extent, Archfiend even liked the reputation he got. He was certain that his master, Jack Atlas, also liked the status of being King. But after awhile, it got annoying when monsters feared him outside of dueling circles as well. Even Exodia seemed to have friends, for God Card's sake!
After finishing off their drinks, the two dragons flew to a nursery for young Duel Monsters. The caretaker, Nurse Reficule the Fallen One, was very hesitant to let the dragons inside.
"The young ones are easily frightened, and I'm not sure that such large dragons as yourselves would be a comforting image for them to see." Stardust idly flicked one of his wings.
"Ma'am, we only wish to play with the youngsters for a bit. After all, I hear that you don't have many people to help you, and there are so many kids. We could help lighten the load." Nurse Reficule still looked hesitant, until Archfiend impatiently growled. Reficule immediately paled.
After being left in, Stardust turned to Archfiend. "If you can put up with these baby monsters without getting upset or running off, your reputation will go up!"
Archfiend was unsure. "I don't want to be completely feared, but I don't want my tough-guy facade to completely vanish either. I don't know if I'll be able to live this down!"
Stardust would have rolled his eyes if he had pupils. "Oh, stop being such a child and go feed one of the babies." Archfiend gave Stardust his best death-glare before shuffling towards the small patches of grass that worked as the bedding for the small monsters.
The nursery, which was always kept at a calmingly warm temperature, was filled with Baby Dragon monsters. The majority of them were sleeping, while a handful playfully growled and nipped at one another. One, however, was yowling for some food. Archfiend realized that this was his big chance to earn some nice points, and grabbed a few biscuits from the food counter.
The biscuits were apparently designed to be edible by younger monsters, so that they wouldn't choke. Luckily, Baby Dragons already had full grown teeth, so chewing wouldn't be a problem. Archfiend had to wonder if the food tasted good, though; the biscuits were a plain white color, and it didn't seem to have much of an odor. Of course, it was possible that he had been spoiled by dining on finer food that Jack could afford.
The Baby Dragon quieted down with curiosity when Archfiend used one hand to pluck the small reptile from its nest. With the other claw, he brought the small biscuit towards the younger dragon's snout. Baby Dragon sniffed at the biscuit before moving his head to the side.
Archfiend stifled a growl. "You're a growing dragon, which means that you have to digest enough calories to keep up with your quickly expanding body. Without the proper nutrients, you could grow up smaller than your peers. Is that what you want?"
Baby Dragon seemed to think about it, before nodding its head and sticking out its tongue. Archfiend felt his body growing hot. If the brat didn't accept the food soon, he wouldn't be held accountable for whatever he did.
Then Archfiend got an idea. "Yo, Stardust! Why can't we just find a Time Wizard and have him age up these dragons? Heck, couldn't we hire a Time Wizard to age up every single child monster?" He wondered why he was the first monster to think of that!
Stardust, who had been cooing at some other Baby Dragons, gasped at Archfiend's suggestion. "Archfiend, there is a natural order to the world. There are two kinds of laws, the spoken ones, and the unspoken ones. What you just said is one of the unspoken ones!"
Archfiend made a tossing motion with his claw to signify that Stardust's words had been thrown aside. Putting down the biscuit and the stubborn child, Archfiend spread his wings and flew out of the nursery. Moments after he left, the Baby Dragon began to nibble at the biscuit.
It took Archfiend only a few minutes to sniff out Time Wizard, who was seemingly performing maintenance on himself.
"What are you doing?" Archfiend couldn't contain his curiosity. It was weird seeing Time Wizard use a screwdriver to poke around in his own body. The red dragon could even hear the gears turning inside the clock monster.
Time Wizard jumped at Archfiend's deep voice, dropping his screwdriver – unfortunately, the tool got stuck between two of his gears.
"Oh, now look what you made me do," Time Wizard complained, momentarily forgetting his fear in favor of annoyance. Archfiend sighed, before sticking his claw inside of Time Wizard.
"Ahh, get your hand out of my – never mind, that feels much better!" Time Wizard's tone changed immensely once the tool was removed. With that, Time Wizard closed the hatch on his back and lay down contentedly on the grass.
"I'll ask again: what were you doing?" Time Wizard sighed, before standing back up and dusting himself off.
"Daylight Savings Time happened. It's always the worst time of the year for me! Changing my clock is such a hassle." Archfiend could sympathize; his own clocks hadn't been changed in years, mainly because of laziness.
"Anyway, I need your help," Archfiend growled, before grabbing the befuddled Time Wizard and flying back to the nursery at top speed. By the time he got back, the clock monster had fainted dead away.
Stardust, who had been left to take care of all the Baby Dragons, wasn't pleased. "Archfiend, how could you leave me all alone? These babies are also partially your responsibility."
"Whatever, now that I have Time Wizard, we can skip that boring part." Archfiend shook Time Wizard awake.
"Pops, make these babies into full grown adults," Archfiend commanded, pointing at the children in the same way Jack always did when dueling. Time Wizard looked out at the sea of Baby Dragons before turning to the red dragon and shaking his body.
Archfiend stared at the clock with confusion until he realized that Time Wizard had to shake his whole body, as he had no head. Angered, Archfiend knocked Time Wizard's hat off.
"What do you mean? You won't help? Don't you want these kids to grow up big and strong?" Time Wizard, fearing for his life, dashed off, but soon found himself running in place. Archfiend had grabbed the clock's purple cape.
"Hey, don't be scared. I like to think I'm a nice guy!" As Archfiend uttered those words, his eyes began to glow red. Time Wizard nodded his head rapidly.
"Yes, yes! Whatever you say!" Time Wizard said hurriedly. "But there is something you should probably know." Archfiend and Stardust leaned forward, eyes wide.
"The spell I use to turn the Baby Dragons into adults is only temporary. They'd turn into kids again in less than two hours." A small pin dropped to the floor somehow, but no one heard it because of the deafening silence.
"I told you this wouldn't work," Stardust murmured to his friend. Archfiend didn't answer; he feared that if he spoke, he would end up snapping and eating Time Wizard. He had to keep his cool, and prove that he wasn't just a walking, talking anger machine.
After a few deep breaths, Archfiend's stiff reply was, "Very well. I apologize, Time Wizard, for dragging you here. I guess I will have to try to earn everyone's trust the hard way." With that, the proud dragon walked regally to one of the Baby Dragons, and proceeded to pick it up and cradle it in his strong arms.
The Baby Dragon began crying.
As Archfiend desperately attempted to calm it down, Stardust and Time Wizard exchanged glances. Archfiend had a long way to go.
Author's Notes:
Well, I finally finished the 5D's anime (I already finished Zexal). The ending gave me feels, as the kids say. Anyway, that inspired me to write a fic about Archfiend (and Stardust).
