"I mean, almost half a moon cycle has passed. I went almost every day, even at different times, but nothing! Not once did she show up… We should also look for her with Tigrerra. No, we would be too conspicuous. But what if something happened to her…?"
A metal hoop crushed Dan's head, throbbing as if someone were striking a piece of iron. Was Draco still talking? In an hourglass he had said more words than in nearly ten years. And all for that Wiven, Wayver or whatever her name was…
He tried to look at the sea of vaporous clouds that spread around them, under a clear sky. He usually loved being up there, with the crisp air caressing his skin and the rumble of his bakugan's wings cradling him.
"I'm sure she didn't make that wound on her neck herself, though she wouldn't tell me. Yeah, that must be why she never came to the tree…" Draco continued with his endless stream of words.
Dan rubbed his brains and narrowed his eyes. His bakugan was madly in love.
At that thought, a bitter taste rose up his tongue from the back of his throat. His jaw muscles tightened. Draco had indeed abandoned him to run after a foreigner, an Elementless…
A cold wind crossed their empathic bridge and Draco fell silent abruptly, as if hearing her thoughts.
"Oh, finally! Isn't this silence beautiful?" said Dan, dropping back onto the dragon's back.
"Daniel, this is serious."
"For real? After three hours of repeating it, I never would have thought it."
Draco's anger raced through him like a speeding cart, taking his breath away.
"They summoned all the knights for a reason. It can't be a simple drill and Wavern could be in danger too! Don't you care at all?"
Actually not. But Dan certainly couldn't answer him that way.
He bit his tongue and thought about an answer, his eyes fixed on the blue sky above him. "Let's not get paranoid until we know what's going on. We'll see when we get there."
Draco huffed but didn't answer. He still seethed with concern. Dan could almost hear the thoughts racing through his head.
"And then what is the problem? Now you enter and leave the Sacred Land as if it were your home and you skip training. You can also go find your Wavern on your own. In fact, I advise you to hurry before Helios finds her." He immediately regretted saying it, but the words had slipped out of his mouth.
Draco turned his head slightly to let the boy see his gnashed fangs. A guttural growl rose from deep in his throat. "What's the matter with you, Daniel? Ever since I told you about Wavern, you seem to be pissed at her."
"Well let's say it didn't take you very long to fall for her and neglect… workouts!" Dan's rage collided with the bakugan's across the empathic bridge. He felt the shock and small electric shocks pricked his skin.
He returned Draco's fiery glare until he turned away again with a snort.
That's it! He had no right to lecture him after leaving him to be humiliated by Keith again.
"You're right," the dragon murmured.
What?
"I have neglected our workouts a lot these days. I know it's not like me and I'm sorry. I could have at least asked for your opinion, instead of harassing you with my thoughts. Sorry."
Silence again. Dan bit the inside of his cheek and gave a few shy pats on Draco's scales. "It's… water under the bridge. For real. I exaggerated too, don't worry."
A sudden calm embraced the boy and it was as if nothing had happened.
From the clouds in front of them the black spiers and the great dome of the Academy emerged.
Dan found himself pressed between the arm of the bench and a burly boy, whose belly overflowed from the waistband of his trousers. A sweaty halo surrounded his armpit, kicking up a disgusting smell.
Fantastic. Really amazing. Perhaps he could have moved… No, all the other benches were packed with Pyrrian knights as well. There were even a couple of red robes: Academy novices still without a bakugan. They were talking to each other excitedly as if it were a field trip.
Why would the Hand summon those brats too?
The bell at the back of the hall gave three metallic tolls. For a moment there was silence, then the wood of the benches creaked as everyone rose to their feet.
Velkhanos, Hand of Pyrria, marched in. He wore ceremonial armor, a ridiculous object full of golden frills and glittering gems.
Daniel smirked. He really wanted to see him in battle with that thing.
"May the fire give you light," Velkhanos greeted. He waited for everyone to answer him in a unanimous chorus and nodded his head in agreement. Beneath the Academy's dome, his bakugan was waving to his fire soldiers in the same way.
"Unfortunately, I am the harbinger of bad news" said the Hand, gravely. His mouth was almost invisible, buried under a gray stretched moustache. "Last night, a messenger arrived from the city of Amphitrite. The obscurials have broken the peace and invaded the Kingdom of Aquaria."
The whole room jumped at that information.
Daniel's stomach sank into his chest. He had been born during the time of peace but had grown up listening to his parents' stories of the war with the obscurials, the conflict in which his grandfather and his bakugan had perished, now almost fifty years ago.
All those words rained down on him like a waterfall. An invisible grip tightened on his chest.
Should he and Draco have been fighting too?
The bell rang again, harder. "Silence, in the name of Apollonir!"
The plates of Velkhanos' armor scraped with a metallic whine. The knights' eyes returned to him.
"No formal declaration of war has been made by King Dharak. However, as enshrined in treaties between our kingdoms, aggression by one violates the safety of all others. Being the closest we will be the first to send support forces to Aquaria, but Luxa and Anemos are already preparing."
His words stagnated for a few moments in the air.
A knot gripped Daniel's throat, preventing him from breathing. His heart was pounding wildly against his ribs. He had just been out of the Academy for two years, they wouldn't have sent him to war... would they?
Velkhanos' mustache came alive again. A deep line furrowed horizontally across his forehead. "I must also inform you of another thing. Aquaria's messenger reported of an unknown bakugan, which appeared as a grotesque obscurial-luxian hybrid. He said it was he who led the troops, not a subordinate of Dharak. He told of bakugan drained of all energy by this… individual. Our alchemists are studying the matter but…"
Daniel stopped listening. The Hand's words became an indistinct murmur, crushed by the beating of his heart.
No, no, no… It couldn't really be happening. It couldn't really start a war. He looked for Draco across the empathy bridge. His fear shot through him like a gust of icy wind. But then came a slight warmth as the bakugan tried to envelop him in its calm.
Dan tried to reciprocate, even though he felt his knees liquefy. As long as the two of them stayed together, everything would be fine.
Curls of thick smoke curled across the sky above Amphitrite. The white marble of the towers and palaces appeared blackened, covered with a veil of ash. The prehensile gardens appeared withered: the plants hung limp from the steps and the water overflowed to the streets and squares, flooding them.
Dan gripped Draco's saddle like a cat on a tree. He gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand, as if to make sure it was always there. But the palm was already slippery with sweat. Would he be able to fight?
His bakugan tried to give him some calm, giving off a slight warmth.
They just had to search for the citizens and bring them to safety. More experienced riders would take care of the rest. Rescue the most vulnerable citizens and bakugan. Nothing more.
Dan took a deep breath and sank his feet into the stirrups. He leaned forward and Draco began his descent. The air whistled in their ears and they landed in a deserted square. Each stone appeared white and smooth, so much so that it seemed to emanate its own light.
There was absolute silence. Maybe they were hiding…
"Hey! Is there anyone? We are Pyrrhians. Don't worry, we are here to help you!"
A roar exploded beyond the houses. The sound of stones falling on themselves like a landslide. And then tremendous screams that scratched the ears.
Draco growled, jaws already shooting sparks. Dan's eyes darted in every direction, his hand already on his sword. Which way would they come from?
His gaze then fell to the floor. In the midst of the pebbles, rivulets of water ran rapidly, a liquid path that pointed towards a side street.
"Narucho, watch out!" a woman shouted. A mighty roar then drowned out her voice.
Something lit up in Daniel's chest. His body almost moved by itself and he ran without even waiting for Draco. The hand on the sword grew hotter and hotter, and the sweat melted away in an instant.
War or not, he wasn't going to hide and wait out the end while innocent people were slaughtered.
He followed the water path into an increasingly narrow space between two rows of houses.
A shadow then fell over him. Three pairs of golden eyes stared at him. A gigantic hydra with pitch black scales towered over the houses, bloody teeth jutting out of its jaws.
A tremor went through Dan's body and his heart sank in his chest. But it was only for a moment.
Then he saw a boy with a thick blond bob in the center of the square and drew his sword.
Author's note: sorry sorry sorry for the reeeeaaaally long wait. I promise I'll try to be more regular with the updates (every two weeks during the weekend). I hope you will forgive me.
I also want to thank you Noires-Era (from deviantart) for the tips he gave me about the story.
See you soon!