Ahh, the new old standby, you always have to love em. Now, let's see what comes out of my mind this time.

Chapter 28: On The Wings Of A Monstrosity

OR

The Monster With The Most-er

I'd like to talk about the view from the back of Thunderbird, but honestly there wasn't much to see past the darkened clouds besides large swaths of menacing trees and the occasional fight to the death illuminated by holy fire or unending madness given physical form. I'd already spent a fair amount of time watching those from close up, so the majesty had kind of worn off when I saw it from the top down.

No, out of all the sights, I was more focused on the sights of electricity sparking towards and then around the vicinity in front of Thunderbird, the electric currents moving and reforming the cloudbanks we flew through as if we were never there. I was also like, 87% sure that wasn't how clouds worked, but physics had a loose hold on Duel Monsters anyway, let alone the more 'unique' interactables darting the various realms landscapes.

What was important though was that, for all intents and purposes, we were functionally invisible to anyone around us as we flew through the clouds, with one sole exception. I didn't mind though, because that same exception was exactly who we were looking for anyway. I could even tell we were getting closer, as the electricity grew more and more sluggish in its movements, trying and somehow failing to move through the increasingly thick clouds, some of them turning to literal patches of water in the sky, as dark as the sky above.

Just like Bigfoot thrived off the fear of Untamed Wilderness, and Thunderbird the fear of Storms, Nessie held claim to the fear of Dark Waters. The fear of what lurked beneath a surface one couldn't see through, no matter how hard one tried. The effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that we were a few hundred feet in the air and that I knew EXACTLY what was inhabiting this sky sea, but it still was somewhat chilling.

Especially when some of the stray water got splashed onto me from Thunderbirds wing flaps. Then it was just regularly chilling like taking a ride on the Roller Soaker at Hershey Park. Man, that was a fun birthday. On a side note, positive thoughts were a wonderful deterrent to fear in general.

Within a few more minutes of flying, the clouds had given up any semblance of pretending to belong in the sky, showing themselves as puddles of water suspended in the air and leading into whirling pools of 'currents' alongside the breeze. The view was somewhat marred by the massive shadow I could see breaching through the surfaces, the shadow darting without sense or reason throughout the water all around us no matter how large or small it was. Any and every source of water was a place Nessie could be found in after all. Fear of Uncertainty was what made the archetype so Dangerous in the first place.

A quick tug of Thunderbirds feathers had him hovering in place, and it only took a little finessing to get me in a stable standing position. Then, it was time for Face-Off Round Two, Non-Electric Boogaloo. Then only difference would be in how we started this off...

"Oh, woe is me! I seem to have become stranded in some strange place filled with unidentifiable liquids! And me without my water wings, or regular wings. I guess I'll just need to wait here until my eventual rescue while I leave my guard completely lowered!" I hammed up as much as I could, before crossing my arms and waiting.

It didn't take long at all until I saw the nearby water start to bubble, and I didn't even bother trying to stop smirking.

Physics was proudly told to fuck off as Nessie emerged from a puddle of cloud far too small and shallow to properly contain the titanic mass that neatly explained why men would illustrate dragons on maps as 'don't go there' warnings. A massive body with powerful fins to shoot himself forward, all leading up to a long, serpentine neck that could extend and strike from any angle, all topped by an arrow-tipped head broken only by its jaws of row upon row of dagger-sharp teeth, and piercing blue eyes sharp enough to resemble sapphires. All of it the perfect killing machine fast enough to avoid any wandering eye searching for it, while stealthily preparing his jaws to clamp down on his unsuspecting prey.

But all its biological advantages, the area advantage and years of experience at its disposal...

Were less than worthless in the face of pure, unrestrained power. As soon as Nessie had fully left the water, Bigfoot was a blur of motion, one hand gripping his neck, while the other was knotted deep in the depths of Nessie's scales, having broken through the steel-hard shell as easily as he would have an egg. Now we were in my favorite kind of negotiating position.

"Ah, I love the catch of the day. Now, we can do two things here. Blink once for my way, where we all get along and I get you some prime screen time and tastier prey than whatever goes screaming down your gullet most days, or you can blink twice, where I'll have Bigfoot does as nature intends and try my luck with your next incarnation. So, what'll it be?" My smirk was gone as I spoke, completely serious.

One thing that had to be understood, was that the stronger the Danger monster, the stronger the Fear they were tied too, the less they tended to act on rational thought. Bigfoot was what amounted to a tree that got up one day and started taking bites out of hikers, Thunderbird was a storm cloud that screeched with thunder and struck from the sky in flashes of light until it decided it was a bird, but Nessie? He was something that already existed with predatory instincts, a fact that was only amplified once it entered the realms of legend and campfire stories.

So he knew exactly what kind of situation he was facing, against someone with the backing of what amounted to the majority of his archetype, but more importantly his elemental opposite and superior. His scales might have protected him from the harsh deeps he called him, but did very little when in his Boss's grip. I had him beat, and he knew it.

With his head level with me, I could see his eye darting around...before closing his eye, and bowing his head. I gave another nod back, but that was more for Bigfoot to let him go, which he did, while idlily chewing at some of the scales that had gotten stuck under his fingernails.

Now I was just missing 2 more, then...I didn't really know. Sure, I would have some more options, but it had occurred to me around the time Dogman showed up that there were some ongoing issues that I would need to deal with before I went back home, no matter how much I wanted to just collapse on my comfy couch and do nothing but read, game, and gorge myself on donuts or sour gummy candy.

Instead though, I decided to actually put my newfound forces to some use, putting the last, and probably realistically the hardest, to find Danger monsters on my backburner temporarily.

It only took a few minutes to explain the plan to Nessie, but it was easy to see the light of understanding flash in his eyes, nodding rapidly before he dipped into another puddle of water far too small and shallow for his girth with nary a splash.

Then, I sat back down on Thunderbird and began directing him towards the heart of Dark World. The Castle of Dark Illusions, home to the monarchy of Dark World and bastion above The Darkness Below.

I had to...chat, with some people.

END OF CHAPTER

Okay people, we're nearly to the end of this 'arc' and then I can go back to easy and silly. This storyline has been taking a lot out of me (not really but more than it did before) and while it's been fun, it's also not what most of you came here for. That said, I'm sure you'll enjoy the next few chapters, and then the next, and the next and so on and so forth. Cause you're all great people who's passion makes me want to keep writing this and most other things I do. Now, leave your little reviews, discuss possibilities, and I'll go back to the Yugioh Writers discord where we're brainstorming ideas and possible shenanigans, some of which on motorcycles.

Cheers ya'll.