Crimson stared disdainfully at the wall of her quadrant. This? This is how they accommodate the best 4% of the dragons that have competed? This barely has room for a hundred dragons, let alone 1,024. I suppose it'll get better after this round finishes…that is, if I make it past this round.
The quadrant system was rather simple. "Dragons will be divided based on performance," the host of the Dragon Games had said. "The top 1024 will be in one, dragons placing from 1025-2048 in another, 2049-3072 in the third, and 3073-4096 in the final one. In each round, dragons will only compete against dragons from their quadrant. Also, the dragons who perform the best and worst in their quadrant will be switched randomly. The quadrants will merge in the final 512." Crimson shuddered. I figured that the best quadrant would be comfortable, not cramped.
A scorch dragon (tiny and cute, evidence of the Fountain of Youth, as no Breeder in their right mind would submit a baby dragon to these contests) wiggled past her, and Crimson flew away disdainfully, bumping into the ceiling once again. She sighed and gave up. I'll just rest in the little pond, she finally concluded. There will be less dragons there than in the air. She dove into the pond.
"Stop!" said a voice as she plunged into the water. Tinges of recognition ran through Crimson's mind. It was the Fog Dragon from before. Really? It managed to get through the first round, then it got paired in the same quadrant with me, and then it somehow manages to find me. This is ridiculous. Who does this dragon think she is? "Stop avoiding me," the dragon called out to her from above the water. "I don't get why you're so antisocial."
"Could you stop bothering me?" Crimson asked, before regretting it. The fact that the dragon placed in the top 1024 indicates a worthy opponent. I can't beat a friend. I know that. She thought of Stoney. If I was against him, regardless if it was this round or the final 2, I would lose on purpose. I would forget my own ambition and think about what he wanted. I must win this. I-
"Why?" piped the Fog Dragon, snapping Crimson out of her thoughts. Don't respond. If you told her why, she would want to know more, and heaven knows where that would get us… As a response, Crimson dove deeper, smashing her nose into the bottom of the pond and waking up a Quicksilver dragon. It snapped angrily at her, and she hurriedly swam away.
Crimson looked up again to see if she had lost the Fog Dragon and saw silver sparkles next to Luna, who was flying and spinning joyously above her. First out of 98,720. You would need perfect, absolutely perfect, scores to do that. Luna will definitely be competition. I seem to have lost that annoying Fog Dragon, as well.
The magical lights in the ceiling began to dim, and one command swept through the room.
"Sleep."
Crimson shut her eyes, knowing that there was no reason not to. She would need all of her energy for the second round tomorrow. All of it. As much as she tried to fall asleep, she found her mind racing about random things. The fog dragon…the next round…tiny quadrant…my performance…Luna…4,096th place…yesterday's boring wait…blushrooms. Her thoughts began to blend into a vivid dream about racing the fog dragon in the next round to win a bunch of blushrooms.
Light snapped Crimson awake. Her eyes opened, and she scanned the room. The doors had opened, and a lot of dragons were rushing out of them. She shook herself awake and followed them through the door, finding herself in a trapezoid-shaped room with no roof. On the small end of the trapezoid, there was a group of wizards on a square platform. Crimson guessed that the other quadrants would have a shape identical to hers, forming a giant square. As she turned around, she realized that atop the building that she slept in, there were many humans, wizards, and breeders in a crowd. With a jolt, Crimson noticed her own Breeder in the front row, watching the wizards. She flew in a large loop as fast as she could, trying to get his attention.
"The announcement of the second round, as you have all been waiting for, will happen shortly." Blah, blah, Crimson thought. Can he get on with it? "This will be the only round with normal quadrants. In the next, dragons that have done very well may be placed in quadrant four. It is unpredictable." Crimson finally saw her Breeder glance at her. She circled even faster, earning a small clap from him.
"Round Two will be…an obstacle course!" announced a second wizard. Crimson smiled. That's the best they can throw at me? I'm a speedy flier. Nothing will get by me. The crowd began clapping, but there were several boos heard as well. Suddenly, the ground beneath them peeled away, revealing a dark, metal space below.
"Go in, dragons. You will wake up on the racetrack next to your match. Half of the dragons who have made it to this round will be eliminated." It's almost a shame. Half of the top 4%, who beat the odds and made it to the second round, will just be eliminated here. I will not be one of them. Crimson slowly sank to the cold, metal floor along with the 1,023 other dragons. The metal above them began to close, and Crimson felt squished as the bodies of a thousand other dragons crammed into the room. The lid shut, and they were plunged into darkness. Shouting broke out, and Crimson smelled a peculiar, sour smell in the air. All went black.
When Crimson woke up, she was on a pedestal high above the ground. She looked around; she was in the Colosseum. There was a curving path, and ahead of it she could see a large group of plants and vines hanging from the ceiling. She turned to look at another pedestal next to her; there was a shining Ruby Dragon staring at the space ahead of her.
"Match Q1#304, Crimson vs. Wocky." Crimson suddenly snapped awake. Round 2! "The obstacle course is split into stages. Each stage represents an element. The stages are in this order: Plant, Metal, Earth, Air, Fire, Cold, Lightning, Water, Sun, Moon, Treasure, Rainbow, Gemstone. Plant, metal, earth, air, cold, lightning, water, sun, moon, rainbow, gemstone, Crimson repeated to herself. Simple. "The winner of the match is the dragon who completes one lap around the track and gets back to the starting line first." Crimson prepared herself to get a running start in the race. "Interference with your opponent is allowed. The race will begin on the word start. Going before the word is said will result in a foul. Three fouls results in instant disqualification." Crimson shuddered. So this 'Wocky' could potentially attack me to win. And I could do the same…but what kind of monster would do that?
"3! 2! 1! Start!" called the wizard. Crimson took off, flying as fast as she could with her magic while twisting her neck to shoot fire out behind her, slightly boosting her speed. She quickly zoomed far ahead of Wocky behind her. She came to the first obstacle; vines, sparkling with something wet, hanging down from the ceiling, and thorny plants growing up from the ground. Crimson thought for a moment as she approached them. Should I try to avoid them? As she reached the vines, she twirled and spun around, but many of them touched her scales and got stuck. She desperately tried to wriggle free, but she was stuck tight. Exasperated, she breathed fire on the vines right as Wocky passed her, cutting the vines with his tail and sending her plummeting towards the thorny plants below.
Crimson turned and flew upwards, narrowly avoiding a thorny fate. She glimpsed the second obstacle in the distance as she made a slight turn. Shiny metal spikes crisscrossed in front of her. You could get seriously hurt on those, she thought. Avoiding them is the key, then. She began gaining on Wocky, and the Ruby Dragon turned his head and breathed red, sparkly dust on her. The dust sank into Crimson's scales, making her cry out in outrage. She went even faster, zooming past Wocky and rapidly towards the spikes. She lunged and narrowly slipped between gaps between spikes. After the spikes, there was a large metal doorway. As she flew through it, metal thorns glowing with magic shot out of the door, landing on her scales and bouncing off. Thank goodness! I don't know what would have happened if they sank in; I probably would have fallen asleep or something.
Crimson turned to look back and saw Wocky close behind, trying desperately to keep up with her. She laughed and blew a bubble at him. The Ruby Dragon swerved out of the way and gained on her. She returned her attention to the road ahead of her. There was a rocky roof directly in front of her, and it steadily got lower. Crimson flew to the ground, hovering several inches above it while being careful not to touch it. She heard Wocky struggling behind her, and the thrill of the chase rushed through her mind. Crimson went even faster.
The rock roof suddenly got so narrow that she had to crawl on the ground in order to get through. She slowed down and landed, and then climbed into one of the two small passageways. There was a small pool of water ahead of her, and she dove through and swam back to the surface. Why would that be there? She returned to crawling through the dirty tunnel, ignoring the awful look of her dirt-encrusted scales. She hoped that Wocky was having as much trouble as she was.
When Crimson emerged out of the cavern, she noticed Wocky far ahead of her, already in the air segment (which had no ground to land on, only a narrow bridge with gaps in it. Crimson lunged forward, pushing herself as hard as she possibly could. She gained on Wocky, and saw no obstacles in sight. This is what I like. A nice, straight airway. A strong tailwind blew behind her, and Crimson surged ahead of her opponent, enjoying the easy flight. Wocky once again shot dust at her, but this time she was prepared and lunged out of the way.
The bridge and wind suddenly ended, leaving her to fly without assistance. She looked back; Wocky was just a red glimmer in the distance. It'll take skill to lose this, she thought. Suddenly, she began to feel hot. She noticed a shimmering haze in the distance, and as she got closer she saw small flames on the ground. Suddenly, fire shot out of holes in the walls, enveloping her in a shroud of flame. She spun around quickly, sending the flames spiraling everywhere, and then rushed onward, through more flames. She could hear the crowd cheering as she went on. Did they thing fire could phase me? I wonder how Wocky will deal with this. Crimson couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her opponent. No. Not now.
The ground ahead of here was white, and icicles hung from the ceiling. She charged onwards, bracing herself for the cold. As she neared the icy area, snow blew at her, obscuring her vision. She continued, smashing into an icicle and dropping to the ground. She shook the blowing snow off of her. So…so cold….She tried breathing fire to avert the cold, but the few embers that came out were extinguished immediately. She continued on at a snail's pace, crawling desperately onwards. She sensed Rocky gaining on her in the distance. Steeling herself, Crimson forced herself onwards. Panic flooded through her mind. I can't get past here I can't get past here I can't get past here I can't get past here…
It felt like hours passed by the time the cold dissipated. Crimson had come very close to curling up on the ground and giving up multiple times, but she continued onwards despite the raging cold. Once safely out of the obstacle, she breathed fire to warm herself up. That was one heck of an obstacle. She looked behind her; it seemed Wocky was having the same trouble she was. That didn't set me back; or at least if it did, it's setting Wocky back at least as much. She shuddered, thinking of how horrible it was to go into there. Nobody should have to go through there again.
Crimson suddenly touched something, and an electric shock passed through her. She momentarily stopped moving and fell to the ground, where she landed on a crisscross of wires. She tried to fly out, but the electricity paralyzed her momentarily. She stood there watching Wocky get closer and closer. Finally, after a heart-stopping minute, she regained control of herself and flew onwards. Stupid, stupid, stupid! If I had been paying attention that wouldn't have happened! She easily avoided the small electric outbursts that were sparking from the walls, and soon the wires on the ground disappeared entirely. Where am I? Earth, cold, lightning…what came next? Gemstone? Rainbow?
Crimson soon saw a blue, rippling mass in the distance. She flew towards it with increased effort. Water! As she approached it, an unnatural fog came over her, and water poured down from the sky. She kept going until she reached the small pool, and she dove in. She began swimming in a flash, almost instantly cleaning the dirt and filth off of her scales.
Afterwards, Crimson left the water, shaking it off and flying steadily towards the next obstacle. That was refreshing, and there's no way Wocky will do that as easily as I did. Crimson suddenly saw two bright glows in front of her. One was a bright yellow, and one was a light grey. Sun and moon…As she approached them, she suddenly felt searing heat and an increased sense of panic come upon her. What…She felt herself pulled towards the yellow glow, and shut her eyes in a desperate attempt to stop whatever was happening to her. She fought it. What am I doing? She opened her eyes and the brightness of the yellow glow flooded in.
Crimson shut her eyes, trying to forget the intensity of the yellowness, and imagined herself flying away from the glow. You'll win this. You're almost to the end...come on, Crimson, you can do this! The end is near…Crimson felt weary, and she knew in her heart that it was over. I lost in round 2. She opened her eyes and took in the full intensity of the yellow glow. Suddenly, she spun around and flew away from it. Everything went black, but she could still hear and feel. What…She could see a purple glow in the distance, surrounded by the black. The purple glow seemed to be all there was.
She felt drawn to the purple. It seemed to be the only haven in a land of darkness, so she approached it. Reason tried to get back into her mind, but it was rudely shoved out. Crimson felt desperation come over her. This is not real. This is part of the Dragon Games. Fight it! Crimson forced herself to ignore the purple light, and all turned black, once again. She felt despair in the utter darkness, but refused to stop flying.
When light flooded back into her eyes, she was rushing ahead , back on the racetrack again. Terrified to look back, she continued onwards. What kind of insane obstacle was that? The moon in darkness, and the intensity of the sun…Is everybody going through this? I can't imagine that everybody can even get past that obstacle. Crimson knew that Wocky was probably struggling through it right now. To get through all of that…just to lose…I can't do that to anyone. She felt herself slowing down. No!
Crimson came to the next obstacle, which was apparently just a giant stone wall. She looked; there were two paths through it, one silver, one gold. She thought for a moment. Which one? The answer came to her. Which medal do I want to win? She zoomed down the gold path. As she flew down the cavern, she saw that it split once again. One path had a coin, one path had a diamond, and one path had nothing. She thought. It's not the coin. Wocky would pick the diamond, so do I pick the other one? She turned to the path with the diamond and flew through it. She bumped into a massive red, sharp crystal. Whoa. She turned back and flew back to the split. Then the one with nothing? Doubting herself, she turned to the path with the coin. She flew down it, only to bump into a massive, golden wall, making a small dent in it. Ugh! She turned back and flew to the split, this time picking the path with nothing. She emerged back onto the track, with open air above her.
Exhausted, and with her magic worn out by now, Crimson continued flying on and on. The next path was a huge rainbow in the air. There were seven colors, and Crimson found herself naming them. Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Indigo, Purple. She stopped short. There's another one. Why can't I remember? It's planty, grass, what could its name possibly be? She thought back to the vines of the first obstacle. They were that color. Why can't I remember? What's going on?
Much to Crimson's dismay, Wocky had caught up with her by now, but had stopped at the rainbow as well. Fast! What color? The cactus that Stoney and I played on…it grew only in dry conditions, and it didn't need water. It had thorns to defend-green! Crimson suddenly flew forward. How didn't I remember that? The obstacles are playing tricks on me. She flew on using her last scraps of energy until she reached the final (hopefully) obstacle.
It was a huge wall made of giant, multicolored crystals, meeting a metal ceiling at the top. She stopped short. I can't go around them…and they're just so pretty. I just want to look at them. Crimson suddenly smashed into them, trying to shatter them and proceed to the finish. It didn't work. I can' t fail! Not when I'm so close! Crimson thought of a way to get around them. She found herself staring at the vibrant colors. Maybe it's like rainbow. Maybe I have to name every jewel? She looked at them. Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Peridot, Topaz…She continued looking. She particularly liked the clear white stone and the bright, brilliant ruby. She moved towards them, and touched them lightly. Crystals…pretty crystals. There has to be some way to get past here.
Crimson suddenly noticed one particular, sparkling white gem in a corner, and flew towards it. She watched it curiously as if she expected it to move. Analyzing the wall, Crimson's gaze turned to the white gem every so often. It's so…strange. What's special about that gem? Crimson's mind wandered, exhaustion taking hold of her. How long have I been at this? An hour? Two? I can't stay focused for much longer.
Crimson uselessly tried ramming her body into the gemstone wall. She turned back and saw Wocky advancing towards her. Oh, no… Crimson smashed her body into the gems one last time. What in the world? How do you do this? It's impossible…As Wocky neared, she stopped ramming into it. I'll see how he does it, and then copy him.
Wocky reached the gemstone wall, paused for a second, and then lightly touched a ruby with his tail. To Crimson's astonishment, the gems moved out of the way, allowing Wocky to pass through. Crimson didn't hesitate and rushed through the gap. The gems closed on her tail, and searing agony passed through her before she wriggled free. Ignore it. Go faster. Go faster. Go faster. Go faster. She pushed herself as fast as her exhausted body could go.
Crimson turned the last turn. Wocky was still ahead of her. She pushed herself further and further, the finish now in sight. She reached Wocky, and both dragons zoomed as fast as they could. Wocky breathed out the red dust, and Crimson watched in horror as it went near her. Thinking fast, she blew a bubble at the dust, enveloping it. The bubble popped in Wocky's face. Crimson turned forward to see the finish directly ahead. Absolutely and utterly exhausted, she passed it and then collapsed to the ground. Did I win? she thought faintly as consciousness slipped from here. It was so close…