Well, it appears that this chapter is posted. Next chapter is called, The Downfall of Dragon City: Part IV. Which is the end of the Downfall of Dragon City chapter titles. Something dreadful happens to Word in the next one...:P I hope you like the two OC's I added in, Tryaust and Jyme.
The Downfall of Dragon City: Part III
Kitt flinched as Marianis suddenly threw the gear she had held in her lap. "Why that little, rotten, scheming, white-haired jerk!" She shouted in rage at finally knowing the only hope for Dragon City had been tricked into a prison by none other than Moordryd Paynn.
"Marianis, shhhh." Kitt said softly. Marianis bit her lip when she realized she had really yelled this time. Suddenly, a loud thud caused them all to stare silently at the gear she had flung in anger. They watched helplessly as it quickly rolled out of the tent.
"Nice one." Spynn whispered. Marianis would have glared at her, but her gaze was rooted to the flap of the tent. A large, bipedal dragon had heard the commotion and had come to investigate.
"Out the back. Underneath the tarp." Reepyr instructed. The others started to do just that, but were stopped as they saw a large shadow on the opposite side. There was a dragon right outside. There was no way to get out without being seen.
"Hide!" Kitt said, and for the moment, that was the best they could do. They scuttled behind crates and chairs and under tables. They did their best to remain unseen if the dragon near the entrance happened to glance in.
Kitt had found a hiding place between a crate and the back of the tent. The ominous shadow on the other side stalked a mere dracometer away. Only an inch thick tarp separated Kitt from discovery and imprisonment. She held her breath and stared at the ground, fearing a single motion from her would be deadly. She watched fearfully as the dragon lumbered off after a final snort at the back of the tent. Clearly it had been a wraith, she had seen the shadow of the control gear on its head. She wondered whether she would have rather it been a Prophet.
She dared a peek around the crate to look for the others. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what was staring directly at her from the entrance to the tent. Kitt immediately froze, frantically thinking of what see could do next. The orange dragon had trust his head in the tent, and was intently peering at Kitt.
It glanced back outside, then walked cautiously in, the controlled rider on his head rocking with the uneven walk. As soon as the Prophet was fully inside, Kitt noticed Reepyr start to stand from behind the desk he had been hiding behind.
"Tryaust?" Reepyr said as he rose, chancing discovery once he knew the Prophet had seen Kitt. The orange dragon looked away from Kitt to Reepyr. The human on his head spoke.
"Reepyr?" He said in a raspy voice, the control gear on the rider's head glinting in the faded light. "I'm glad I found you." Tryaust took a step towards Reepyr.
Reepyr remained cautious, and didn't move from his place behind the desk. "You were looking for me?"
Tryaust, realizing Reepyr's evident distrust of him, didn't move forward again. "Yes," he said, "I have to say that…what I did was not…I apologize."
Reepyr crossed his arms. A loud rustling caused them all to look at Spynn, who was emerging from behind a large, red chair. She stepped in front, now being the closest to the orange dragon. "Reepyr, who's Tryaust? And why hasn't he alerted the other Prophets?"
Reepyr stared hard at Tryaust. "I don't know." Spynn glared at him as best as she could while keeping an eye on the orange dragon as well.
"That doesn't help, you realize." She said. Kitt noticed Marianis slowly rise from behind another crate, full of damaged gear. Marianis and Kitt stood silent, waiting for either Reepyr or Tryaust to continue.
"Tryaust was an orange dragon I believed could be trusted. No matter what. I suppose I was mistaken." Reepyr said in a soft, flat voice. He looked back at Tryaust.
Tryaust glanced momentarily at the ground, seemingly ashamed. "Reepyr, how could I have sided with you and still be of help? The circumstances did not allow for any such thing. Had I let my true allegiance show, they would have locked me up or attacked me. And what good would I be then?"
"I admit, you would be incredibly useless then." Reepyr said with the faint hint of a smile.
Tryaust brightened. "I wish to help now. In any way I can without having my true intentions known to the other Prophets yet. I've been looking for you all over the city, Reepyr."
"I'm glad you've found me. We could use your help." Tryaust nodded at Reepyr's words, eager to comply.
Spynn, unsurprisingly, interjected. "Wait, so we're just…can we really trust him? Who is he?"
Reepyr sighed. "As I said before, Tryaust is a trustworthy dragon. I was quick to think the worst. Yes, he has sided with the other Prophets against the Dragon Booster before, but…"
"But now you're willing to trust your life with him?"
"Yes." Reepyr said. Spynn threw her hands into the air and sighed dramatically. Tryaust grinned.
Spynn looked at him. "Well I don't trust you completely just yet. Take it off."
"Take what off?" Tryaust questioned, his grin fading.
"Take the control gear off your rider…what's his name?" Spynn glared at Tryaust.
Tryaust hesitated, not liking where this was going. He sighed heavily. "His name is Jyme." Spynn motioned with her hands when Tryaust made no effort to mag off the gear. "But how will I speak?"
"I don't care. I want to talk to Jyme." Spynn haughtily shot back. Tryaust looked to Reepyr for help. Reepyr offered none, for he too, wanted to speak with Jyme. Tryaust shifted, clearly uncomfortable. Then he concentrated, and the control gear on the back of Jyme's head lifted, and came off.
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Lance and Fracshun stayed as quiet as they had ever been before in their entire lives. Lance and his dragon dared a peek around the huge fallen column. He was sure they had lost Parm and Cyrano back in the innumerable mounds of ancient rock and dirt. Frachsun chattered softly, and advanced a step from behind the column. Lance craned his head further. He saw nothing.
Fracshun then suddenly bolted behind a huge boulder a short distance away, and stood, quivering. Lance tightened his grip on the handles. He had to help Parm. Somehow. He had no idea how, and he couldn't contact anyone. When Cyrano and Parm had turned into…into a wraith, Frachsun and Lance had jumped back quickly in shock. Unfortunately, not far enough away. Cyrano had fired off a quick mag blast, and knocked Lance's communication gear out of order. Fracshun had then bolted away, with Cyrano hot on their heels. Luckily, they had been able to lose the new wraith by speed and agility. Now they were all alone.
"Do you think its safe?" Lance said to his dragon. Fracshun chattered as if to say, how should I know? "We need to help Parm." Lance aloud. He pushed forward on the handles, and they went off to search for wraith Parm. Lance still had no idea what to do once they found him.
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Moordryd flew out of his father's citadel. Decepshun ran as fast as she could, which was quite fast. Now twice as fast as any other dragon, she raced through the streets, bounding past wraiths of all types. Only then did Moordryd realize how dangerous and foolhardy this was. His father mention his original wraiths would be around, magging gear onto the remaining free dragons. He hoped they wouldn't decide to include him in their plans.
They once again took the back streets Moordryd knew well, and once, he thought he had seen an orange dragon. Of course, he had just managed to see the end part before it zipped behind a building, but he was sure it had been a Prophet. Things were just getting worse. He urged Decepshun onward.
Most of his crew were safely, or he hoped so, down in the compound in Squire's End. Most of the wraiths were up here, gathering up the festive, race hungry crowds. He was pretty sure his crew was alright, they could fend for themselves for a time. He just had to reach Swayy.
Quite a few streets and city blocks later, suddenly, Decepshun skidded to a halt, nearly throwing Moordryd off in the process. When he was straight once more, he looked ahead. "What in the…" He started to say, but immediately stopped. The three Prophets before him turned their heads in his direction. Moordryd groaned as he recognized one.
Propheci grinned. "Another! Another dragon still under the oppression of humans." He and the other orange dragons advanced a step. Decepshun growled back at them. "Don't be foolish." He said earnestly, his rider speaking the works with a gravely voice. Decepshun started to move back. She growled softly. "What?" Propheci said, slightly taken aback, then laughed. Moordryd's eyes widened in surprise. Decepshun was talking to them! "Do not joke, dragon. Come with us, come with your kind. You see what the humans have done? Don't choose this way of life…" He cooed, walking swiftly forward, but not so fast as to frighten her.
For a moment, Moordryd sat in the silence, waiting for Decepshun's answer. Propheci and the other two dragons soon stopped, waiting. Decepshun looked at them and after a while, made rumbling sounds in her throat.
Propheci looked truly shocked at her response. Moordryd noticed the other two dragons were barely stifling their laughter. Propheci growled low at Decepshun. She grinned back.
"Silence!" Propheci turned and roared at the other two. They immediately quieted as Propheci turned his attention back to them. "They rule of humans is coming to an end. They even turn on each other. How can you trust them?" He started to walk toward them once again. "He will turn on you. You are nothing more than a way of transportation to him, you are his pet." Propheci spat the last word in disgust.
Decepshun flicked her tail irritably. They were talking about him, Moordryd realized. "Hey!" He yelled back at the dragons. Propheci never ceased advancing. "I have never…"
"No, but you will." Propheci interjected. Moordryd fumed. Decepshun roared at them. No one talked about her rider that way. She knew Moordryd would never do anything, or take her for granted. She knew him. This dragon didn't.
"Rash decision." Propheci said, growling. Decepshun snorted at him, then turned and bounded away, leaving the orange dragons in surprise. Moordryd hung on for the ride. He was proud of Decepshun. He didn't know what she had said, but he was proud of her, nonetheless. All those times he had mused about owning a great dragon like the golden one, and she still stuck by him. Moordryd smiled as the wind whistled past. Decepshun was the only dragon he needed. He couldn't get the stupid dragon of legend anyway, that thing was now trapped forever.
He glanced behind, and to his relief, the Prophets didn't follow. They seemed more interested in the wraiths, at any rate. They didn't want to waste their time in dragons that wouldn't see their sense. "Girl, I don't know what you said, but you really scraped his scales." Moordryd smiled. Decepshun chuckled along with her rider. With powerful strides, they raced off to find Swayy.
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Jyme groped with his hands, and took off his helmet, gasping in the air of a suddenly bright, free world. Tryaust fell silent, and wouldn't speak again until the control gear was replaced. He stood uncomfortably.
"Jyme?" Spynn said slowly. Marianis and Kitt watched expectantly. Reepyr looked impatient.
"Jyme, are you alright?" He asked as Jyme focused his eyes on them. Kitt noticed that Jyme has the usual pale skin of the humans the Prophets controlled. His hair was a dull orange colour which split over the front of his face.
"Reepyr? Tryaust has found you." He said, using his right hand to hold the helmet and the other to brush his hair out of his face.
"Tryaust told you what he was doing?"
"Tryaust told me from the beginning, so I would not worry." He said and smiled warmly. Spynn sighed. Jyme seemed amused at her reaction. He put a hand on Tryaust's head. "He really does wish to help." He said to Spynn. Spynn shrugged her shoulders.
Reepyr spoke again, "the Dragon Booster is trapped. He has been tricked into entering the Shadow Track."
"What?" Jyme said, his eyes widening. Tryaust had the same reaction. "How…why in the Magna Draconis would the Dragon Booster enter the Shadow Track? Everyone knows it is a death trap."
Kitt jumped in. "No. It was, but the Dragon Booster destroyed it."
Jyme stared blackly ahead. "He destroyed it? But how?" Tryaust rumbled in dragon talk below him, before realizing no one could understand him. He fell silent and sulked.
Kitt shrugged. "Well, quite a few people managed to escape, so I guess it just…broke the track."
"Really? Amazing. This Dragon Booster really is a hero of legend. He destroys other legends." Jyme chuckled, then stopped. "But how is he trapped if the Shadow Track is broken?"
"Apparently," Spynn said, "this Moordryd Paynn created a huge rockslide and covered the entrance."
"But why? He…"
"His father is trying to start the next dragon-human war." Spynn explained. Jyme put a hand to his head and muttered softly.
"So we need to clear the entrance to free the Dragon Booster." Reepyr said. "We need to get down there somehow." The others paused as they thought.
"Tryaust and I could help." He offered. "We could cover you while you went down to the Old City."
"That would take too long, and it's extremely risky." Reepyr said. "We may not have enough time."
"That's the only way down there. Unless you know a better way? Oh, I know, let's go through the middle of the entire city without stepping foot outside. Or better yet, let's teleport there." Spynn said sarcastically. Reepyr tightened his mouth.
Jyme sighed. "With me and Tryaust covering you…that may be the only way. We have to risk it."
Marianis spoke up for the first time. "It is the only way. We can hide in the shadows and move quietly. Tryaust can coax other Prophets to leave, and, and the…he can fight of the wraith dragons…"
Tryaust grimaced and tried to speak again. His low bellows of dragon speak faded quietly. Jyme patted his head. "The wraith dragons would attack him, and try to force mind control gear on him. They would gang up on him. He must hide too when the wraiths come."
"I see Tryaust doesn't want to know what its like to be controlled by someone else." Spynn shot at him. Tryaust growled threateningly at her.
Kitt had been in deep thought. Should she bring them to Penn stables and use the elevator to reach the cave underneath? That was the practical way. Safe and reliable, and they would end up right in the Old City. Should she?
"We should leave now then." Marianis said. Reepyr nodded.
"Now is as good a time as any." He said. Kitt looked at them. She could trust Reepyr and Marianis, she was sure of that. But Spynn….
"Hey!" Spynn suddenly shouted loudly, startling Kitt. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked for the wraith that must have discovered them. But there was nothing. The tent remained the same as before. Except, Tryaust looked ashamed.
The shame that filled him, though, was quickly replaced by anger. He frowned and bared his teeth at Spynn.
"Stop it." Reepyr cut in. Tryaust roared as loudly as he dared. Spynn glared him down.
"What do you think you were doing? Hmm?" She crossed her arms and braced herself.
"It's alright, he must." Jyme replied from atop the Prophet. Reepyr nodded at Spynn.
"It...it's just not right." She finished.
"Tryaust must replace the gear before we go outside, otherwise all the Prophets would know of his…decision." Jyme said, and placed the control gear on his head. "It's not as bad as you may think." He managed to smile, whether it was forced, Kitt did not know, before Tryaust had it magged on him. Spynn gritted her teeth.
"Better now?" Tryaust murmured to Spynn through Jyme, who was now at his every whim.
"You lousy lizard…" Spynn stated. Tryaust hissed at her.
"Stop it." Reepyr said again. "We leave now, quietly."
"Oh, okay. I was planning on yelling my way out, but your plan sounds much more safer. Thank you for sharing your great intellect." Spynn said.
"I may just throw you to the wraiths when I see one." Reepyr retorted as he headed to the tent flap.
"Don't argue. Let's just go." Marianis said, eager to free the Dragon Booster and help Dorsull.
Kitt jumped in. "Wait." The others looked back at her.
"What now?" Tryaust asked.
"Parm and Lance are still down there, I should try to contact them first to, uh, see if there's any trouble or if they made any headway in freeing the Dragon Booster." Kitt explained.
"Good idea," Reepyr said.
"That's okay. We didn't need to know that before." Spynn said. Reepyr glared at her, but she made a point of ignoring him and keeping her eyes fixed on Kitt. Kitt sighed and turned on her wrist-comm. The screen came up green and static.
"Parm? Parm, are you there?" Kitt called to the device on her arm. "It's not…he's not…there's some kind of interference on his end, I think."
"Well, try Lance then." Marianis offered. Kitt tried Lance.
"Lance? What the…"
"What?"
"The signal…it can't find him. His comm-link is either off or broken." Kitt said, frowning. "He wouldn't have it off."
"Something must have happened, but what? Parm has interference and Lance's is broken…" Marianis left unsaid what they were all thinking. Perhaps something had attacked them, hydrags, wraiths or perhaps even Prophets.
"Did any of the two have gear on their dragons?" Tryaust asked.
"Well…Parm! He took red thruster gear with him!" Kitt nearly wailed. "I…that would explain the interference with his communication link."
"Lance might be hurt." Marianis pointed out.
"All the more reason to go. Now." Reepyr said and walked to the tent flap once more.
"Wait…I should call Connor." Kitt said.
"Who? Connor Penn? Why?" Spynn said grumpily. She was getting tired of the tent.
Kitt ignored her, and to her utmost relief, was able to contact Connor. As soon as he noticed who was calling him, he relaxed greatly. "Kitt. Are you alright?"
"Yes."
"You weren't hurt?"
"Well, Wyldfyr's a wraith now." Kitt said sadly. "And I would be a wraith right now too, but Moordryd pushed me off."
"He probably had a muscle spasm or something." Spynn said.
Kitt glared at her. "No. He meant to do it." Spynn rolled her eyes, obviously not believing her. Kitt didn't blame her.
"Did you get the draconium?" Connor asked.
"No. Wyldfyr turned into a wraith before I was able, then Moordryd ran off." The others looked at each other. Kitt had forgotten to mention the black shadow draconium to them.
"You have to get back down to the Shadow Track." Connor said impatiently.
"I know." She said.
"Come through the stables and…"
Kitt immediately cut him off once she knew where he was going. "Look. Here's Reepyr. He was here in Dragon City. Marianis and Spynn are here in the tent as well."
"Oh, bring them too." Connor said. Kitt didn't expect to hear that.
"Them? I mean…but…." She stumbled, realizing they were all staring at her. Bring them all through the stables? Didn't he hear her? Spynn was there as well.
Spynn took this opportunity to state her mind. "I don't clean stables, especially at a time like this."
"I doubt he wanted us to clean the stables." Marianis shot back at her, glaring.
"Kitt," Connor continued, "bring them all. Cyrano has been infected by the gear. You must hurry, Lance is in danger. Bring them to the cave, Kitt. All of them. We need their help. This Shadow Track, just doesn't make sense…." He trailed off and terminated the connection. He had things to do. Kitt realized she had forgotten to mention Tryaust to him.
Spynn looked incredulously at her. "Now we're hiding in the stables? I thought we had to help the Dragon Booster."
"We do," Reepyr replied before Kitt could say anything. "And to my knowledge, Connor Penn has breed the black and gold dragon of legend. He is friends with the Dragon Booster. He has a another way into the Old City." Reepyr guessed and looked at Kitt to see if he was right.
Kitt sighed, "Yes, he does. This way will be completely safe from wraiths or other Prophets."
"Well why didn't you tell us this before?" Spynn asked angrily.
"Because, I wasn't sure how far some people in this tent could be trusted." Kitt said in a voice devoid of tone. Spynn opened her mouth to retort, but thought better about it.
Tryaust shifted before speaking. "Then I can cover you while you go to these…stables."
Kitt nodded. They all prepared to exit the tent, to see if they could even make it to the stables.
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Lance and Fracshun padded along quietly. Lance shivered. He had always hated being alone, and now he was. He couldn't call the others, Artha was trapped, Kitt was gone, Moordryd had taken something dangerous with him, and Parm was a wraith. He crouched down in the saddle, trying to get closer to Fracshun's body heat. The wastelands were starting to get cold.
Suddenly, Lance heard a roar. He froze. It was behind him.
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Decepshun crouched behind the building. Moordryd leaned ahead on the saddle, peering around the wall. He had finally found her. He saw Swayy sitting calmly on her dragon as the other wraiths around her sniffed the air. Moordryd was glad he was upwind of them, he didn't dare attempt anything now. The other wraiths were his father's originals. Those two dragons had extra control gear with them. Moordryd couldn't chance getting caught. He would have to wait until Swayy was alone.
Decepshun blew at the ground in front of her. She was bored. So was Moordryd. He was itching to do something. He sat back in the saddle and stretched his arms, while Decepshun remained motionless. They couldn't make too much noise.
The carnage that had greeted Moordryd as he raced through the streets nearly made him vomit a number of times. The smashed remains of people unable to run out of the way of his father's wraith dragons turned some sections of the street to a sickly red hue.
Moordryd shook his head, trying to rid himself of those visions. He hoped he would never see anything like that again. But there was little chance of that. The war had started.
Moordryd peeked around the corner again. He tightened his grip on the handles. The two wraiths were lumbering off in the opposite direction, and Swayy still hadn't moved. He rattled the handles and Decepshun raised her head, knowing that they would be off soon. Moordryd just had to wait a few moments longer until the wraiths were completely out of sight.
Decepshun whipped her head around. She had heard something. She peered intently, but could see nothing. Perhaps it was her imagination. She tried to pierce the shadows lining the alley. The alley behind her was lit only by a single screen, advertising for a drag-café.
Awful stuff they had there. Moordryd had given her the rest of the coffee he was too disgusted to finish. And the advertisement stated that it was the finest in Mid City. Strange things she remembered at a trying time such as this. Perhaps she wanted to think of the lighter days, for the future promised too many dark ones.
The advertisement in the alley then flickered and died, bathing the secluded street in darkness. For a moment, it felt like the entire hope of Dragon City had died along with it. Whatever had been prowling in the shadows was now free to lurk about.
"Psst." Moordryd hissed at her. Then he looked behind him, to where she was scanning the shadows. "What's back there?" He whispered. Decepshun flicked her tail. She could see nothing. Moordryd cast one quick scan of the alley before dismissing it and turning back to the open street ahead. Decepshun reluctantly obeyed and moved forward. Perhaps there was nothing.
She padded silently onto the street, leaving the safety of the alley. Ahead she saw Swayy on her dragon. They hadn't noticed them yet. That was good.
Moordryd reached into his jacket and pulled out his mag-staff, then thought better of it, and pulled out his energy drain whip. He could use that on Swayy's dragon. Attempting any sort of mag move now would surely alert anything else that was near. He had to do this the old fashioned way. Decepshun slowly crept ahead, careful not too make too much noise.
Moordryd leaned down in the saddle to get closer to Decepshun's head. "Mag me after a couple more steps." He whispered. Decepshun put one foot before the other, stalking silently.
Without warning, a dragon leaped behind them, coming from the alley they had just exited. It opened its jaws wide and screamed at them. "What!" Moordryd said, alarmed. "No!" He turned from looking at the new dragon to look at Swayy again. She and her dragon snarled at him.
Decepshun snarled at the dragon behind her. So there had been something in the alley. "Phistus?" She heard Moordryd say as soon as he recognized the rider. Her eyes opened in recognition too. Phistus yelled and pulled out his hammar, swinging it in his hands. Brutarus lumbered up to them, watching them with wraith eyes.
Decepshun looked back and saw Swayy advance. They were going to gang up on them. "Decepshun, take care of Phistus. I'll free Swayy." Moordryd said, then jumped from the saddle. Decepshun caught him on a mag stream and nearly threw him to Swayy. She roared back at Phistus. If he came closer, he was going to get it.
Unfortunately, he didn't get the hint. Brutarus ran ahead at full speed, preparing to ram her. Decepshun used another mag stream to easily toss Brutarus into his side. She then aimed a quick mag burst to throw him down the street for nearly ten meters. She turned her attention back to Moordryd, her job finished for the moment.
As soon as Moordryd was within range, he snapped his whip, and soon had it latched onto Swayy's dragon. The dragon roared as its energy began to enter Moordryd's whip. Moordryd reached out his other hand and grabbed Swayy's arm roughly. His momentum pulled Swayy from the saddle, and they both crashed to the ground. Sadly, as he fell on the other side of Swayy's dragon, he lost his grip on his whip as it was pulled from his hands.
Swayy's dragon tossed his head, then quickly grabbed Moordryd's whip and threw it to the ground. He turned to look at the foolhardy young rider. He prepared to mag on Swayy. His head snapped quickly around as soon as he heard the footsteps of a running dragon. Decepshun caught him off guard, and swung her front paw, hurtling him to the side.
Decepshun skidded to a halt in front of Moordyd. Moordryd smiled up at her before turning back to Swayy. He winced as he turned too fast. He had landed hard on his right elbow when he had been trying to block Swayy from falling directly onto the street. Ignoring it for the moment, he reached out a hand to touch Swayy on her shoulder. He was instantly relieved to know she was back in her usual colours, and not the dark hues of the wraiths.
Swayy looked at Moordryd as she shakily sat on her feet. "What…" She started to say. She stopped in mid sentence as she looked past Moordryd, horrified. Moordryd sat up and turned. Swayy's dragon had gotten to his feet and was now standing beside Brutarus. Both were snarling directly at them.
"Swayy," Moordryd said, "run. Run into the alleys, anything safe. I'll take care of the dragons. Go to the compound." Swayy nodded her head, not in the mood to argue. She got to her feet, and lurched off to a safe spot.
Moordryd turned back to the wraiths. "Mag me." He said. Decepshun lifted him from the ground and placed him in the saddle. Moordryd glared at the wraiths as they screamed at him. He was getting tired of this. Swayy's dragon didn't deserve this, and, he hated to admit it, neither did Phistus. He relaxed as the familiar glow of purple surrounded him as he filled himself with mag energy.
Suddenly, the wraiths charged as Phistus raised his hammar and yelled. Moordryd grinned. His hands soon held balls of energy. He threw one hard at Swayy's dragon, then immediately threw another, less intense, at Phistus. Decepshun finished it by blasting Brutarus back.
Phistus was instantly thrown from Brutarus' saddle, and landed against a building before falling to the ground. No longer was he controlled by his dragon. Swayy's dragon was on the ground, writhing.
Decepshun walked up to him, and magged the control gear the rest of the way off. He shook his head and struggled to his feet as the gear clanged to the ground. He opened his mouth and sorrowfully moaned. "Swayy!" Moordryd called back over his shoulder. Swayy popped her head out from behind a dumpster. She noticed her dragon, and gleefully began to move forward.
Brutarus, though, got to his feet and roared at them. Moordryd half expected him to charge at them. But instead, Brutarus fixed his attention on Phistus. Phistus raised his head from the ground, then gasped in shock once he realized what Brutarus intended to do. Mag him on and make him a wraith once again. Phistus immediately scrambled to his feet and raised the hammar he had managed to hold on to. He backed away, fixing his dragon with a stern glare.
"Paynn!" He shouted.
Moordryd sighed, "What, Phistus?"
"What did you do? What has happened to my dragon?" He said, never taking his eyes off Brutarus. Brutarus snapped his jaws, then launched a mag stream towards Phistus.
Decepshun calmly met the mag stream with one of her own. "It's the gear, isn't it? Help me take it off Brutarus." Phistus spun the hammar in his hands as if he intended to break the gear off with it. Moordryd sighed. "Swayy, you…" He started to say, but stopped once he noticed what was standing behind Brutarus.
Swayy saw them as well, and both she and Phistus shared the same reaction. They looked on in near hoplessness. Moordryd noticed his whip out of the corner of his eye. Too close to the wraiths. He doubt he could grab it and get away unhindered.
The group of wraiths stood beside Brutarus. They eyed the humans and dragons before them with a fierce eye. Moordryd nearly groaned when he noticed that all had extra control gear with them. How was he to escape?
"Swayy, head to the compound, I'll lead the wraiths away." Moordryd said to her.
She shook her head. "I'm not leaving now!"
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not." She crossed her arms. Moordryd looked back a the wraiths.
"I can handle these wraiths and give you a chance to run."
"But I don't…" Swayy stopped when she noticed Moordryd's glare.
"I'm not going to let you become a wraith, again!" He nearly snarled. "Now get to the compound!" He stared her down until she turned her dragon, and ran off. Moordryd watched her go, then glanced at Phistus as he spoke up.
"What about Brutarus?" Phistus insisted.
Moordryd eyed the wraiths again. They were about to charge. "I don't know. There are too many wraiths. At least right now, but…," Moordryd paused as he gave his head a shake, "look, handle your own dragon, alright? But if I were you, Fist Face, I'd run. Fast." Moordryd said. Phistus nearly gaped at him with an open mouth, that is, until he suddenly looked back at the wraiths.
Watching Swayy's dragon run away had given the wraiths new interest in everything. They enjoyed chasing down their prey. After snapping at each other, they all charged as one. "Moor…" Phistus started.
"You're on your own." Moordryd said before Phistus could finish his name. He turned Decepshun sharply, and ran off in the opposite direction Swayy had taken. Phistus barely managed to jump behind a dumpster before the wraiths thundered past. They merely ignored him, as they all wanted the dragon running away before them.
Moordryd deviously maneuvered Decepshun on various streets, often jumping over huge piles of rubble, backtracking when possible and running past bloating corpses on purpose, hoping the stench would lead the wraiths to feast. No such luck. The wraiths remained hot on his heels, and Moordryd was finding it difficult to fend off their attacks to mag control gear onto Decepshun. He had been hoping he could lose them without mag moves of any sort, he was almost sure that was what had caused them to find him in the first place.
Decepshun ran on tirelessly as they reached Penn stables. Moordryd started. How did he get this far up into Mid City? Suddenly, just ahead, he saw a group of Prophets standing just outside of Penn stables. "Scales," He said under his breath and jerked the handles to the left.
The orange dragons nearly jumped back in surprise after Moordryd had nearly run into them. They stopped listening to one orange dragon, and turned their attention on the new arrivals. As soon as Decepshun fled from their sight, they noticed the gang of wraiths coming behind her.
Moordryd groaned. Wraiths, and now more Prophets. What next?