Pookles: All right! We're finally getting somewhere!
Luna: Yay! How many more chapters do you think?
Pookles: After this one...ten? Ten at most anyway. So we're about halfway through the story.
Luna: Really? What do you have planned for the future?
Pookles: I don't know. I haven't gotten that far.
Luna: Pookles doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's
Of Dragons and Men
Chatper 10: Prepare for War: Part 1
"So the Gods have chosen us to fight in their war?" Jack inquired as he sat back in his chair. "Of course they would choose to pull our division apart."
No one responded to the man's inquiry as each member of the division stared at the floor; contemplating their losses.
"Carly, Kalin, and Leo are gone..." Luna murmured as tears stained her eyes.
Akiza and Molly began to comfort the youngest girl in Sherry's lap who had begun crying again. The men stood around either staring at the floor or with their eyes closed in frustration.
"We'll get him back Luna," Akiza cooed, "but we have to train hard so we can get everyone else back too."
The cyan-haired signer nodded and started calming herself down as the Guild Master made his way into the room, shortly followed by Yusei.
"Yusei has informed me of the situation at hand, and I must tell you that another member of the guild has been compromised by the powers of darkness as well. Roman; a member of the first division, was corrupted," Hakase explained.
"Him too?" Crow asked. "This'll be harder than we thought."
"This enemy will be difficult to defeat, regardless of who they are. The darkness if anything, has amplified their powers and made them stronger than anyone here could hope to be," Hakase began again. "So you Signers will all undergo intensive training in preparation for Primavera. You will each take a run through the Temple of Samekh, and will continue to run it solo until you are able to defeat all one-hundred monsters in a single run."
Everyone stared at the Guild Master in shock -except Akiza- at what impossible task that Master had just suggested.
"Are you mad?!" Jack shouted. "Even Yusei hasn't ever been able to do that!"
Silence fell over the room as Akiza stood by to watch the situation, unsure of what exactly they were talking about. She decided not to ask and instead listened to her comrades' outrage at the suggestion.
"Power and skill that is achieved is much stronger than that which is given to you," Hakase said sternly. "I will talk to the villagers and postpone the festival until after this darkness is defeated. Until then, the Signers will train under Deputy Lazar."
"Aw that freak?" Crow asked. "We still ain't on good terms."
"I'm aware of this," Hakase replied, "however Lazar has agreed to put his differences aside in order to help you all save the world."
Crow nodded and the Guild Master paused for a moment before speaking again.
"The five of you will leave for the temple immediately."
"We're going with them," Molly declared for her and Sherry.
"No you are not," Hakase answered. "I need you both here to help protect the guild and village if these Dark Signers try anything before Primavera."
Sherry nodded, but Molly still looked unsure until Crow whispered something to her and pulled her into a hug.
"Take care of each other," Sherry commented as the five stepped forward to follow Hakase.
"Sherry, you are temporary Commander of the Second Division until further notice," Hakase finished.
Sherry and Molly bowed as Hakase motioned for the signers to follow him out of the room. The Guild Master led them out to the flight deck where their dragons were waiting.
"They've been informed of the mission and the whereabouts of your training," Hakase began again. "I wish you all the best of luck, and that I will be able to regail all of you as heroes upon your return."
The five nodded and bowed to their master before mounting their dragons and taking off toward the Northern Forest in silence.
"Am I ready for this?" Akiza though as she tried to relax on Rose's back. "Are any of us? First we're on vacation to help throw a special festival, and now we're off to save the world?"
The burgundy-haired signer gripped her head and tried not to get dizzy from all the responsibility that'd suddenly been thrown on her shoulders. The head signer noticed this, and decided to question her about it later.
An hour or so into their journey, our heroes found themselves landing in a clearing that most of them knew lead to the Temple of Samekh. It was a cave that led into a single mountain, decorated with several skulls of monsters and animals that many of the group had never seen before. After they dismounted their dragons, said dragons shrank into adorable chibi forms and flew alongside their masters as they entered the mountain.
They arrived in a huge foyer that was surprisingly well-lit and decorated for the inside of a cave, with a large staircase leading up to a balcony that connected to the second floor. At the top of the staircase stood a short man with lavender, curled hair and make-up that reminded Akiza of one of the jesters she'd had as a kid. He wore a simple suit of armor with a blood-red cape, outlined in gold and with a sword strapped to his hip. The man laughed when he saw the group and began to introduce himself with a voice that was as annoying as it was high-pitched.
"Welcome Signers," he began. "You may call me Count Lazar and I preside over this mountain known as the Temple of Samekh. I welcome you, protectors of the world!"
He bowed to them as they approached the bottom of the stairs, and Yusei quickly grew irritated; remembering Lazar's roundabout way of getting things done and how it would just annoy him and the rest of the already-stressed-the-fuck-out signers.
"We don't have time or the patience for any games Lazar," Yusei almost hissed. "Please inform us of our training schedule so my comrades and I may rest from our journey."
"Of course Commander Fudo," Lazar replied with a chuckle. "Training begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM sharp. You will all be evaluated by my experts, then sent into the dungeon with the recommended amount of monsters to start with."
Yusei nodded and the rest followed suit, "of course Count Lazar."
"See you in the morning," Lazar finished before walking into a darkened hallway out of their sight.
Yusei turned to the group and smiled, "c'mon guys, let's get some rest."
The group of five had arrived at their sleeping quarters, which consisted of four bedrooms; each of which had their own bathroom.
"Well this is hysterical," Jack commented, smiling for the first time in the past twenty-four hours. "So who's sharing? And by the way, it's not me."
The blonde man and his dragon went into one of the empty rooms without waiting for a response and closed the door.
Crow laughed, "how about the new happy couple rooms together?"
Yusei and Akiza blushed as Crow pushed them toward a room opposite Jack's, "Just stay on that side so we don't hear you two getting busy."
Before Yusei could throttle the tail signer. he'd locked himself in the room adjacent to Jack's with his dragon and Akiza bent to the younger girl's height.
"I can room with you if you want Luna," she suggested, remembering how worried the youngest signer was.
Luna shook her head, "t's okay Aki-nee. You stay with Yusei. I'll be fine by myself."
Akiza nodded and Yusei spoke up, "if you need to talk, don't be afraid to knock."
The little girl nodded as two muffled shouts came from the two occupied rooms.
"Mom! Dad! GO TO BED!"
Luna blushed and ran into her room with Fae, while Yusei led Akiza into their shared room; both still feeling a significant blush on their cheeks. The room was red and gold, looking much like a King and Queen's sleeping chamber and way better than anything they'd had at the guild. The girl jumped at the sight of two manequins on either side of the vanity dresser.
"You okay Akiza?" Yusei asked with a chuckle as he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah...but why...?" she asked.
"They're for you to hang your armor on," Stardust answered as he flew over to a cushioned ottoman in front of the bed and curled up on it.
Yusei nodded in agreement and Rose pulled her master toward the bathroom.
"Come here Akiza, let me give you a bath," the rose dragon said in a motherly tone.
The girl sighed and let the dragon drag her into the bathroom but sent a worried look in her boyfriend's direction. The man just smiled back at her and took off his armor as soon as the door was closed and he could hear the bath start.
"So are you going to mate with her tonight?" Stardust asked bluntly.
Yusei spluttered, "first of all, we don't call it mating. We call it...well..."
"Sex?" Stardust inquired.
"Well..."
"It's too vulgar of a term, so let me rephrase: Are you going to make love to Akiza?"
"Stardust!" Yusei shouted as his face flushed red.
"Oh please," the shimmering dragon began. "I just want to know so Rose and I have time to get out of the room before you two go at it like animals."
"I doubt it'll happen," Yusei answered. "I don't want to pressure her into anything and will only do what she wants me to do."
A few minutes later, Akiza emerged from the bathroom in the same pink pajamas that shed worn at the cabin, with a motherly Rose using her wind abilities to blow-dry the girl's hair. Said girl was blushing and avoiding eye contact with her boyfriend.
"Are you okay Akiza?" Yusei asked her.
Akiza stared at Yusei, who wore nothing more than his boxers and furiously shook her head in response. Yusei smiled at his girlfriend's embarrassment and pulled her into his arms.
"It's okay Akiza," he began, always knowing when something was bothering her. "I won't do anything you don't want me to do."
"Which would be nothing right?" Rose inquired.
"Oh leave them alone," Stardust lazily replied from the ottoman. "Let kids be kids."
"Shut it Sparky."
"Sparky? Where did that one come from?"
"Simple, you sparkle. Or would you rather I call you Sparkly?"
"NO! Why would you call me that!"
"Because dragons aren't supposed to sparkle!"
Akiza let out a sigh as another fight ensued, and the girl looked up at her boyfriend with pleading eyes.
Yusei smiled and led her over to the bed. They both climbed in on either side and the male pulled the female over to lean on him as they watched their fighting dragons float about the room.
"Are you nervous for tomorrow?" Akiza asked suddenly.
Yusei let out a sigh, "not really. It's just training, so how scary can it be?"
"I see."
He looked down at her, "are you scared?"
She nuzzled into him more, "it's my first time in a real combat situation. Even though I was trained formally, I never had to fight monsters or people with my full abilities. I'm scared I might hurt someone or destroy something."
Yusei kissed her head reassuringly, "it's okay. In the Temple of Samekh, you're in a room surrounded by mirrors that go up infinitely, and when the dungeon starts, monsters spawn from them. They're generated with the magic of conjurers that work for Count Lazar, so you don't have to worry about hurting them. As for the dungeon itself, it's a room made of Orihalcum and mirrors; which means that the room is indestructible. There's no way you can destroy anything or hurt anyone."
Akiza let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into Yusei's hold. "Thank you."
"You're welcome Aki."
The girl smiled at the nickname and pressed a passionate kiss to his lips and he immediately responded by pulling her on top of him. However, a cough from a certain sparkly dragon interrupted them.
"Should we leave?" Stardust asked.
The couple blushed and retreated under the covers; each facing away from the other in embarrassment as Yusei turned out the lights.
"I'd take that as a no," Rose answered as she and Stardust settled on the ottoman to cuddle, then go to sleep.
Pookles: Sorry this took so long, but I told you to not expect a chapter each week or with much frequency.
Luna: As long as you update.
Pookles: So I'll be starting up a story for someone else after they felt they lost touch with it, and write along the plot they forged. I will give more details when I have them. I also don't have an ETA on when the next chapter of this story will be posted.
Luna: That's fine. The fans will understand.
Jack: And if they don't, they will get an Atlas Punch to the face and an Atlas Kick to the ass.
Crow: Please Follow, Favorite, Review and join us for the next installment!