Chapter 7; Motives and Gear
Artha got up early, and decided to chat with Mortis. He found the priest sadly shaking his head. There was a newspaper on the floor, the headline read, 'Blackouts All Over East Sun City!'
"So, that's where the newspaper goes in the morning," Artha said smiling. Mortis nodded, and gestured at the paper, saying, "I fear that those are not random blackouts, that they were orchestrated by Word Payyn."
'Why would he want to cause blackouts?"
"He was most likely not attempting to cause blackouts, you see, I believe that he intends to use a lot of energy for a project that could start a war."
"I get it; he's using their power for his own purposes. Hey, wait, how could he get his hands on that power, anyway?"
"That is what you and your crew must find out, Dragon Booster." Artha nodded, and jogged out to tell everyone, as Mortis wondered what Word could be up to.
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Artha found everyone clustered around Parm, who was proudly showing off some gear he had come up with.
"You see, I call it projection gear, Turquoise Draconium, I'd rate it at level three. It creates projections of the racer and their dragon. Of course, due to the fact the only Kett and Moordryd have turquoise influences, only they can use it. Or Artha, wherever he is."
"I'm right here guys," Artha said, and before Parm lunched into a repeat of the details. Moordryd decided to test the gear out.
He was shown where to place it, on Decepshun's back right behind the saddle, and told how to activate it. Moordryd started Decepshun at a walk, and activated the gear. An exact duplicate appeared beside them, and when Moordryd looked at it, the copy of Moordryd did the same, and looked to its left with a dumbfounded expression. Decepshun snorted, and so did the copy, although there was no sound.
"Try running," suggested Lance, thus Moordryd and Decepshun took off at a fast pace, the copy did the same. Parm then called, "Use the left control to alter the distance between it and you!" So Moordryd tried this too. Suddenly the copy was fifty feet away. Moordryd laughed, yes laughed, and turned the gear off.
"Good job! This can definitely have its uses!" said Moordryd, Kett repeated the test on Belladona, then tried using the gear when she wasn't moving, it worked. Parm was teeming with glee at the good job his gear was doing.
Arhta then filled them in on the blackouts. Lance's eyes widened, and he said, 'Hey, after I went in last night, I saw some of the east city lights go out! Was that it?"
Moordryd decided to voice a concern, "Decepshun and I went out last night, and we ran into some one. Word Payyn." There was a group gasp, and Moordryd went on, "He said there was something he wanted me for, maybe this has something to do with it. And yes, I declined the offer."
"So, how does your father, em, Word Payyn," Kett stuttered as Moordryd gave her a look, "plan to start a war anyway?"
"Well, he wants unlimited wraith dragons, he gets them by tricking dragons with promises of freedom, power, that sort of thing. Really, a wraith dragon isn't aware of what it's doing; it'd be fine if you could get the gear off it. Anyhow, it won't really be a war; he'd be controlling the wraith dragons. In other words, he'll rule the world."
"Oh," said everyone, and then Lance asked, "But if he wants the dragons to win, what does he expect to become of him? I mean, if he's in charge, what will he do?
'That's what I'm wondering-"
"Oh, my! I'm late!" Parm yelled, and he shot off. Moodrdyd stared blankly, and said, "What was that?"
"Oh, he's been meeting some girl named Ophelia at a cyber café. I suppose he likes her," Kett, said dismissively, "I think he's being weird, more so than usual.
Artha sighed, "Yeah, he always talking about how she's the only one who truly understands him. But if you ask me, that girl he blabs about seems too good to be true."
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Parm happily walked into the café, and found Ophelia at her usual table. He sat down, and they began to chat, techno-babble at its best. Parm was a little cautious, her eyes were glinting wildly, and her hair seemed loose in its bun, as if she rarely pulled it up, as if she had been racing... he banished the thoughts, and went back to the conversation.
"So, Parmen, what was that about deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA to you and me) codes?"
"Oh, did I start talking about that? Well I believe that if one desperately needs a dragon of mixed Draconium, say, red and black, then they would take generally specific codes from one color species, and well, merge it with the deoxyribonucleic acid of the dragon of the other color."
"So," said Ophelia, "Has this been tested? And can one combine, for reasons I don't know, dragon genes with human genetic material?"
"Well, it hasn't been tested, the dragon-human thing. Contrary to popular belief, I think it's possible, but one would need a lot of equipment, and a justified reason," Parm said a little warily.
"Yes; the reason it most certainly, important," she said as though not paying attention, then smiled and said, "Sometimes people have no ethics, and ethics should guide science."
"Oh, I'm always saying that one must have a good reason be fore doing something, like when I repair my comrade's gear, my reason is that they need to race. That applies to all things, like Kett Wonn will race through the backstreets because her dragon had pent up energy, Kitt will stick her head in the sink because my so called 'Techno-Babble' gives her a headache, and Lance eats candy because he loves his sugar-highs."
"So, you say there's a reason for everything?"
"Yes, but not all reasons are good."
"How about my reason fort this," Ophelia said, and kissed him. On the lips.
Parm almost melted in his seat, and watched as Ophelia sauntered out the door. As soon as she was out of sight, she ran to Squire's End.
'He fell for it like a rock,' she said; her voice no longer as honeyed. She reached up and pulled her brown hair out of its bun, and it fell past her shoulders. She was talking into a wrist-com. The face on the com said, "Good work, Mecra. Now I can proceed with phase two."
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'She kissed you? That is so not drac!" yelled Lance, who looked grossed out by the fact, Moordryd's eyes widened, Kitt looked unaffected, Kett fell over laughing (she thought he was joking), Artha nearly gagged on a candy bar because he was so shocked he forgot how to swallow, and all six dragons were staring in disbelief.
"Dude," whispered Artha, "I never though I'd see the day."
"What!" snapped Parm, 'Aren't I loveable?"
"Parm-," gasped Kett between laughs, "You're like, oh I don't know, the ultimate best friend, but I mean,"
"That I have no charisma!" snapped Parm. The dragons all glanced at Cyrano, who looked like Parm's outbursts were going to make the green dragon near pass out. They were right.
"Well, duh!" Kett laughed, and Parm pounced at her. Artha and Moordryd held him back, and Kitt asked, "Parmen, what's gotten into you? You're acting like a rabid dragon!"
'She's a little brat!" snapped Parm, struggling against his teammates, "she's acting like I don't know a single thing about love!"
"Parm, that's not true, I'm just wondering if Ophelia had other motives," Kett stuttered. Sadly this just made him madder, "Oh, and I suppose if you kissed Moordryd, you'd have other motives, hmm?"
"Kiss me? Parm, we're best friend's, it'd be too weird," laughed Moordryd, as Kett had a giggle fit at the very idea. "Yeah, I'd only do it if I really wanted him to shut up!" she laughed; Moordryd flushed a little at this, but still knew it was a joke.
"Um, what were you all talking about, anyway?" asked Kitt, hoping to change the subject. Parm smiled, and said, "Oh, we were having an engagingly romantic conversation about deoxyribonucleic acid." Kitt wished she hadn't asked, more Techno-Babble.
"DNA," Moordryd mouthed. The others nodded. Kett's expression said, 'how is DNA romantic?'
"Oh, she had some engaging questions, of course they were easy for me," Parm said, still sounding like he was dreaming. Artha shot up, "What questions?"
'Oh, just some things about dragon deoxyribonucleic acid. Completely theoretical, of course."
"What did she look like?" asked Moordryd suspiciously.
"Well, she had sleek brown hair in a bun, glasses, though it's clear she doesn't need them, and the most wonderful gray eyes."
"Mecra," Moordryd muttered, and Parm walked blissfully out of the room, not hearing the ensuing discussion.
"If Word had Parm's opinion on the experiments, or whatever he's doing, then we're in big trouble," Moordryd sighed then he said, "and Parm doesn't even know it."
"Well, I'm going to go get some spare parts from the backstreets," Kett declared, once again displaying her short attention span, and she hopped onto Belladona.
"Moordryd, go with her," said Artha, "There's some weird stuff going on around here, from now on, nobody from this crew roams the streets alone. Understood?"
Moordryd rolled his eyes, but went after Kett.
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Okay, there's a link on my profile to a page where pics of my characters are. And the DNA thing is gonna come up soon, hang tight, things are going to get complex!