Next chapter up already:)
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Booster...
The Conclusion of the Siege
Kitt covered her eyes with her hand as the vivid light from the flash stick seared though her brain. Spynn! Was she okay? Her scream still reverberated off the close mounds of misshapen rubble.
Suddenly, the light vanished and Kitt was able to open her eyes. Her hurried gaze quickly darted around for Spynn as she blinked the spots out of her eyes.
"Spynn, duck!" Marianis yelled. Then Kitt noticed Spynn.
Parm had, after setting off the flash stick, advanced upon Spynn and Marianis. Spynn had been magged back by Cyrano, and was looking at him in fear as she managed to stand from where she had fallen against a huge twisted pile of metal. She held her right shoulder in obvious pain and ducked. Cyrano's mag stream attacked the place where her head had been. As she hit the ground in a small cloud of dust, she rolled away from the falling wreckage. Cyrano swung his head around and roared at her as Parmon yelled in vexation, shaking slightly with mounting rage.
Kitt then saw Marianis, a few feet off to her right. Marianis had managed to throw herself out of the way as Cyrano had tackled Spynn. "Reepyr, where's that scaling interference signal? Now could be a good time," Spynn called out to him, her face etched with worry. Cyrano flashed his teeth at her and prepared for another mag-push.
Kitt turned to Reepyr, who had the binocs firmly in hand. He pointed them at the massive dragon in front of himself, the interference signal taking effect almost immediately. Cyrano roared and his mag-push misfired, striking the ground harmlessly. "Spynn," Kitt called over Cyrano's convulsing body. His body blocked her view of Spynn, but she heard an answer from her, indistinguishable over the dragon's bellows. "Spynn, make sure Lance is alright."
She heard more groans from Cyrano before a barely audible, 'alright.' "It's working again," Marianis breathed as Cyrano collapsed to the ground in a heap.
"Watch Parm!" Reepyr shouted suddenly. Kitt noticed a movement from atop Cyrano. Parm glanced back at them and smirked, his white teeth a significant clashing colour to his otherwise darkened shades. Once again, he lifted the flash stick for another attempt.
Before Kitt could move, Marianis flung herself at Parm. Caught off guard, Parmon paused momentarily, allowing Marianis to grab the saddle with one hand and hoist herself up. With her other, she grabbed the flash stick and jerked it back. Parm recovered and maintained his strong grip on the stick, yanking it back towards himself . He sneered at her.
Kitt moved forward to help as Cyrano weakened visibly. "Foolish," Parm hissed softly, caressing the word. Then he lifted the flash stick, dangling Marianis from it.
"Kitt," Marianis grunted as Parm breathed on her, inches away. Kitt was already at Cyrano's side and looked up at Parmon, who turned to her and glared back. "He's…he's really strong…." Marianis said as she managed to grab the stick with her other hand. Parm shook it, trying to dislodge her grip. As he began to shake it more violently, Kitt had clamored on Cyrano and grabbed Parm's wrists. Reepyr's sudden voice registered in her frenzied mind. "What?"
"I said, the binocs only weaken Cyrano, they won't actually stop him from being a wraith. And apparently they don't weaken Parmon. Marianis can hold on, try to find a way to get the gear off Cyrano. Where's Spynn?" Reepyr spoke the last in shaking annoyance. Where was she while they were trying to free Parm?
Marianis nodded to Kitt, "I'll hold on and make sure he doesn't use it," she said, referring to the flash stick. Parm jiggled it, but Marianis clenched her teeth and held on. "Get the gear off." Kitt jumped to the ground beside Cyrano's massive bulk.
"Spynn," she called, "come here." Kitt walked around Cyrano and at once came face-to-snoot with Frachsun. "Lance!"
"Lance has an idea," Spynn said, resting a hand on Frachsun.
"Frachsun can mag it off." Kitt gazed into his eyes, full of worry and…could it be? Determination. Frachsun puffed out his chest and chattered.
Kitt nodded. "You okay?"
"I'm not scared. Anymore." Lance said as if to quell any doubts she may have about him.
"Do it, now." Spynn said. Frachsun turned to Cyrano.
Marianis was still hanging on, just barely. Parmon fixated his red, glaring eyes upon her. "Inconsiderable whelp," he jeered. "You cannot defeat me!" He laughed and heaved the flash stick and threw Marianis over his shoulder. She landed a surprisingly far distance away, close to hitting a sharp, jutting protrusion from the rubble, scarcely avoiding a grievous wound.
"Now!" Lance yelled, quashing Parm's mad laughter. Parm quickly looked in surprise. Frachsun concentrated his mag-stream onto Cyrano's left thruster gear, and, with Cyrano weakened by the binocs signal and unable to keep the gear magged on, it came off.
"What?" Parm cried as the gear thudded heavily to the ground.
"The other side," Spynn shouted and ran to Marianis, "take the other off!" Lance grabbed the handles and maneuvered Frachsun closer to Cyrano, but unfortunately, in such a small passage, surrounded by rubble on both sides, Frachsun could not get past without passing right by Cyrano. Parm stood up on the saddle, holding the flash stick like a mighty scepter.
Spynn looked up sharply as she knelt by Marianis. "Watch out for the flash stick!" Marianis shouted, pointing to the danger.
Parm looked at the stick in his hand, then at Lance. "Now we shall see who will have the last laugh…hey!" Kitt heaved a large rock, knocking the stick from his unsuspecting hand. It fell to the ground behind him near Reepyr. Kitt's next rock, as she silently apologized to Parm, hit him in the stomach. He lashed out with is hand as he fell from the saddle, grabbing it at the last instant, still in contact with Cyrano and still in contact with the wraith signal.
He kicked his legs and hoisted himself back onto it. The sudden wind of a blurred object rushed by him. Parm could only watch as Fracshun passed Cyrano and stood with the dragon's right thruster gear in full view.
"No!" Parm yelled as Fracshun's bright, blue mag stream ripped the thruster gear from Cyrano's flank. Cyrano lifted his head and roared weakly as he began to flash from his wraith colours to his original colours. Everyone covered their eyes as one last bright flash of light filled the air.
When Kitt put down her hand from shielding her eyes, she gasped and ran forward. "Parmon!"
Cyrano collapsed on the ground, exhausted. Parm was lying on the ground beside him, slowly lifting his tired body into a sitting position. "Wh…what? Ouf!" He groaned as Kitt swept him up in a big hug. "Well, ugh…let go, you're squeezing too hard." He managed to squeak out.
"Sorry," Kitt said and released him. Parm put a hand to his head and looked around, slightly confused.
"What…did I…ouf!" Lance had jumped off of Frachsun and had swept Parm up in the biggest hug he could give.
"You're not trying to kill me anymore!" He said happily, which would otherwise be a rather odd statement for him to say to Parm.
"Well…what? I would never try to…." Parm started, then shook his head slightly and looked at Cyrano. "Was I…were we…wraiths?" Kitt nodded sullenly, but the smile on her face betrayed her true feelings at the moment and the graveness of the situation. "Magna Draconis, the gear! Word must've implemented copious amounts of his….Reepyr?" Parm said, surprised as he noticed the pale man.
"I believe these are yours," he said, as he walked towards them with a slight swagger and handed Parm his binocs. Parm slowly looked from Reepyrs's face to the binocs he held out to him.
"My binocs! But…you used the wraith interference signal, didn't you?" Parm said gleefully and took the binocs, piecing together the fragmented memories he had from the past few hours. Kitt had never felt so relieved, Parm appeared to be alright, and Cyrano too. Cyrano shook his head and blinked his eyes, almost fully recovered and at full strength.
Parm looked up as two other figures approached, and was surprised once again. "Marianis, Spynn?" He looked at them in slight worry. Kitt could understand. Spynn grimaced slightly and crossed her arms.
"If Parmon feels ready to move on, we should." Reepyr said, his comment slicing into the good mood that had been created, changing their disposition into a drooping silence. Unwarranted images flooded Kitt's mind, images of the chaos and downfall of Dragon City. And of Wyldfyr, his normally stoic self turned into a depraved warrior. She nodded grimly, as did Spynn and Marianis.
"What? Where are you going now?" Lance asked.
"Artha," Parm interjected before anyone could speak. Kitt bit her lower lip. "He…," Parm continued eagerly, in his usual apprehensive tone. Then he caught himself and snapped his mouth shut.
"What about him?" Spynn asked.
Marianis looked to Kitt, worriment filling her eyes. Then she narrowed her eyebrows and spoke in suspicion. "Where is he even? You haven't spoken of him at all."
"Well, uh, that's because…." Kitt said, slightly flustered and unprepared for the question.
Reepyr jumped in. "Well she wouldn't have need to worry about him unless she knew he was already alright."
"Yes, yes Artha…called me earlier." Kitt turned to Parm and Lance. "Artha called me earlier, he's uh, with Connor." Parm and Lance wisely kept their mouths shut and did their best to looked relieved. Spynn shrugged, not really in the mood to care whether Penn was one of the many wraiths or one of the few free left. Marianis nodded slowly, and Kitt feared the explanation didn't suppress whatever doubts she had or what she had been thinking. Kitt barely caught Marianis glance quickly to Spynn before she nodded her head more vigorously.
Parm stood up, and looked at the others. "The Dragon Booster, he's still stuck in the Shadow Track…isn't he?"
Reepyr nodded grimly. "What exactly happened to Parm?" Lance asked. He only remembered the sudden and rapid transformation of Parm and then quickly running from him.
"The thruster gear Cyrano had on must have turned us into a wraith. But no one tampered with our gear, how would…unless…no." Parm mused.
"You're right so far. Keep going Parmon, you're on a roll." Spynn said.
"Well, I was going to say it must have been in there from the beginning, when we first purchased it. But who would sell corrupt gear like that?"
"Who made your gear?"
"Uh…I believe it's from Paynn Inc…oh." Parm said, instantly connecting the pieces, "he must have been trying to stop me from helping the Dragon Booster."
Kitt sighed. "It wasn't just you."
"What do you mean?"
Everyone grew silent as Kitt looked at the ground. "Every single gear Word has made does that same exact thing. Every dragon who had Word's gear on are wraiths. His wraiths even carry gear with them, so the dragons that weren't affected could be captured by him as well. When we left, the city was in chaos, the Prophets were fighting the wraiths and…and…"
"They need the scaling Dragon Booster!" Spynn said angrily and threw her hands up in the air. Lance cringed slightly and Parm stared at them in horror.
"What…he…really?" Parm stuttered. "Well, then let's go to the Shadow Track." Cyrano stood up then, and stretched before magging Parm on. Lance clamored atop Fracshun. "Where's Wyldfyr?" Parm asked Kitt.
"He's uh…."
"A wraith stupid." Spynn murmured, crossed her arms and stalked off. Kitt sighed. Reepyr cracked his knuckles, and glared after her. Kitt shook her head at him; Reepyr looked faintly crestfallen.
Marianis noticed Lance's worried look. "Don't worry. As soon as we free the Dragon Booster, he can…he can stop all this." Lance appeared slightly reassured, sitting up straighter on the now rested Frachsun.
"We'll make better time if you ride the dragon with us," Parm said as he held out a hand for Kitt. She grabbed it and sat behind Parm's saddle on Cyrano, and moved forward to give Spynn more room behind her. Reepyr hesitated, then scrambled up and took a seat behind her. Kitt tried to keep a growing grin to herself, careful not to let either Reepyr or Spynn see it. Was Reepyr attracted to Spynn? Kitt was almost sure of it. She glanced at Marianis, who grinned as well. She stopped instantly as Reepyr shot a venomous look at her.
Marianis walked away, but as her back was turned, Kitt heard her clamp a hand over her mouth, barely stifling a chuckle. Reepyr sighed heavily, receiving an elbow in the stomach from Spynn for making noise. "Stop moving, you twit." Kitt smirked and looked ahead as Cyrano turned himself and lumbered back down the passage. Marianis sprang blithely onto Frachsun's back, and he trotted to keep pace with Cyrano, chattering to him occasionally in dragon speak.
Spynn reached down and rubbed her feet. "So…how much further?"
Parm glanced down at his newly returned binocs and nearly patted them with affection. He then glanced at his mini-computer. "I'd say we're not too far from the Shadow Track. It seems as though Lance just ran around in a circle, which is good." Lance smiled sheepishly at them. "At a good, steady pace we should be there in less than perhaps, seven minutes." Parm estimated.
"And when we get there…?"
"Well," Parm continued, "I suppose we can use Cyrano's mag energy to help remove the rubble from the entrance. Oh, if only we had an earth-class dragon with us!"
Everyone seeped into a bitter mood, heightened by the chilly blasts of wind which was now blowing through the Old City. Is was only eight minutes later when they stopped near the clearing and saw the devastated cliff. Marianis glanced around them, at the growing darkness.
"It's late. The hydrags will start to venture out more." She said, causing everyone to peer into concealed shadows, each expecting to find one. "It's really dark."
"Well, it is practically night." Spynn said and jumped off Cyrano.
"No, I mean, darker than it should be. Even from here, we should be able to see the glow of Dragon City."
Parm frowned. "You're right. But the battles and all the chaos may have something to do with that. Perhaps it temporarily damaged the huge turbines in Shadow Town. But at least we have some light," he said as he pointed to the moons. Drakkus was shining brilliantly above them through windows in the budding clouds, while Abanddonn shimmered closer to the horizon, barely visible through the mounds of rubble.
Reepyr joined Spynn on the ground, and Kitt followed, noticing the eerie light the moons cast upon them all. Marianis soon joined them, and they all gazed at the formidable obstacle before them. Parm once again tried to contact the Dragon Booster, but had no luck. He even failed when he tried to contact Connor. The current state of Dragon City remained unexplained to them. As Kitt walked towards the crumbled cliff and the hidden entrance to the Track, she wondered what the city would be like when they returned with Artha, and whether he could undo multitudes of battles.
"Kitt, wait!" She heard Parm yell. "Stop. It's guarded!"
Kitt immediately halted, and after Parm's insistent pleas, started to walk backwards, keeping an eye on the Track all the while. She gasped as she saw the rising clouds of dust as unseen footprints appeared on the ground. Wraiths.
"Now what? Can Cyrano and Frachsun mag…never mind." Spynn started, but corrected herself as more than one set of footprints appeared, each easing closer to them.
"I think there's…um, about ten wraiths! We can't get thought that!" Parm said.
Lance pulled back on Frachsun's handles. "Let's come back later, with…with Mortis or something." Parm nodded absently.
"Leave?" Marianis nearly demanded of them. "But…we need the Dragon Booster now. Dorsull…."
"Can't be helped if we stay here," Reepyr said with authority. "We need more help. If only the wraiths…." A sudden roar behind them nearly stopped their hearts.
Everyone ripped their gazes from the petrifying and invisible danger before them, to look at the smiling wraith behind them. It screamed again, visible, unlike the others, and charged forward.
It extended it's neck, flashing intimidating fangs, reaching for Spynn, who was standing furthest from the rest and closest to the wraith. And, as this one charged, the others waiting in the shadows near the track ran forward as well, with only the suddenly materializing prints to mark their spot.
"Run, this way!" Parm shouted, pointing back in the direction they had just come from, where the danger was less, but danger nonetheless. He lowered his outstretched hand as the wraith loped closer to Spynn, nearing striking distance.
"Spyyn!" Reepyr shouted as the wraith closed in on her. He took three quick steps and reached her nearly a second before the wraith did. Pushing his weight into her, Spynn was shoved out of the way of the wraith's main attack. Spynn barely missed hitting the wraith's forearm with her head as Reepyr took the blow for her.
The wraith, though it's teeth intended for Spynn, instead sank into Reepyr's upper right arm. The wraith lifted it's head up, tearing flesh. With a cry, Reepyr tumbled to the ground on top of Spynn. Cyrano roared, his dislike of the wraiths increasing. No longer was this wraith a hapless dragon, unable to control itself. It was now a monster. Cyrano, as the wraith charged on by, blood staining it's mouth, swung his head and shoulders, making contact with the other reptile.
His powerful blow knocked the wraith over. Kitt and Marinais had to scramble desperately to get out of the way. Without hesitation, Cyrano immediately fired off a mag-push, propelling the wraith along the ground in a flurry of dirt.
"Go now! Hurry!" Kitt shouted at Spynn. Spynn was carefully lifting a groaning Reepyr off her with incredible slowness, staring at his pained face and flowing blood. But soon Spynn looked up sharply, then to behind Kitt where the other wraiths had not slowed.
Frachsun magged Spynn on his back as Lance and he blew past them, tearing Reepyr from her tightening grasp. Cyrano magged Reepyr to his back, and took off after Kitt and Marianis jumped on. Kitt did her best to keep her balance on the running dragon and keep Reepyr from falling as well.
"We have a problem, other than Reepyr's injury," Parm said, his voice almost lost as the wind whistled past their ears.
"What?" Kitt asked.
"Cyrano can't outrun those wraiths. The thruster gear is gone. I don't know if we…."
"Wait, they stopped." Marianis shouted from behind Kitt. Kitt almost didn't believe her, it seemed too good to be true. But when she turned around, the wraiths had indeed stopped and had become visible. They offered their goodbyes in blood-curling roars, swinging their heads from side to side in the moonlight. All but two turned and raced back to the track, while the remaining watched them flee into the night. Kitt turned back to the front, clutching Reepyr tightly, her throat constricting. The wraiths had been guarding the track. Word had certainly thought his plan through.
Neither of the two dragons slowed until they were some distance away, back to the place where Kitt had first met Lance and Parm, back when he had still been a wraith. They stopped near the jutting boulder, panting heavily.
Spynn vaulted off Frachsun and ran to Cyrano's side, helping Reepyr down so Kitt and she could half carry him to lean against the rock. Kitt withdrew her hand from Reepyr's arm as he groaned in pain from her touch. He twisted his head to get a better look at his wound, noticing the blood's dull gleam in the faint light.
Spynn licked her lips, face etched in worry and spoke in a shaking voice. "That…looks pretty bad."
Reepyr grimaced as the blood flowed down his arm, painting his shirt in a dark red hue. "I…I'll be fine. We just need to get back to the city…or…any people who managed to…escape."
"We should've been more careful," Spynn said and tore off a piece of cloth from her sleeve.
"I was the one who walked right into it without checking." Kitt said as Spynn wrapped the cloth around Reepyr's arm carefully, trying not to hurt him. He put on a brave expression. None of the pain touch his face, for which Kitt was grateful. She could sense Frachshun looking just over her shoulder, and knew that Lance was seeing this all as well.
Parm nearly surprised her as he walked close and crouched beside her. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "None of us knew it was guarded."
"But we should've," Spynn muttered. "You told us Moordryd trapped the Dragon Booster in there. Moordryd had ties with the wraiths, I just know it." Kitt's grimace of guilt went unnoticed by the others, save Marianis, who was watching closely. Her calculating eyes turned back to Reepyr.
"We should try to get back as quickly as we can."
Spynn nodded at her comment, and finished wrapping the cloth around Reepyr's arm as a poor, makeshift bandage. "Thanks for the…thing…the bandage," Reepyr said, surprising Kitt with his calm tone.
Spynn nearly blushed. "Well, you saved my life. It's just a sleeve."
"It's the gesture that counts."
Spynn smiled, as nicely as Kitt had ever seen her smile. For a while, they both stared at each other, until Lance had enough. "I'm cold." Kitt had to smile faintly at his attempt to break up the tender and mushy moment.
Spynn started, and glanced to the ground, the moment lost. For a while, anyway. "Here," Marianis said and moved forward, "let's get him onto Cyrano." Spynn and she gripped Reepyr under his arms and helped him to his feet. He swayed slightly as they plodded back to Cyrano.
Kitt stared at the spot they had been sitting and saw a smear of blood against the rock. A feeling of dread seeped into her as she wondered what Dragon City was like. A few seconds passed before Parm spoke. "We'll get Artha out," he whispered and squeezed her shoulder. "Now we know what to expect when we come back." Kitt hadn't realized his hand had still been there. Parm walked back to the others, his heart thudding in his ears at what might have passed between Kitt and him. Kitt smiled faintly at his back. Lance rolled his eyes.
Together, they walked back through the Old City, sometimes trotting when Reepyr told them to, then slowing down to a walk at Spynn's insistence for Reepyr's wellbeing and comfort. After what seemed hours and hours of endless walking through the night, they saw the looming bulk of the darkened Dragon City.
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Propheci hissed softly in the pressing darkness, his voice slithering on the faint breeze. "Sycundys," he cooed cunningly. Sycundys straightened unconsciously and looked in the general direction from which the voice had come from. "Tell me, besides the obvious lack of respect for your leadership, what is the problem here?"
Tryaust saw nothing, but heard everything as his other senses were heightened. He heard Sycundys shift her weight form one foot to the next, very much distraught that Propheci seemed to think her value declining. But Tryaust had seen this before. Now Sycundys was more apt than ever to demonstrate her leadership abilities just to please Propheci and their ultimate goal of dragon dominance.
Tryaust noticed that Eskhyrr suddenly fell quiet, and knew that the dragon was not about to give his location away any more. Tryaust heard Sycundys move her feet to face Propheci. Propheci moved forward, followed by more Prophets.
"I see that your faith in my plans is disintegrating. Because of the dark? Does the darkness frighten you?" The other Prophets were quiet, and the silence that soaked the air around them nearly became unbearable until Propheci continued. "The wraiths do have control of the city, and we will withdraw for the time being. Running away? No. There other matters to deal with. Many of the free humans and dragons have begun to retreat into the Old City. We have already convinced and freed a number of dragons in the city, we can do more down there without wraith complications."
The Prophets murmured amongst themselves in agreement. Of course Propheci had a plan, of course they hadn't doubted him. "We head back, stay quiet and stay together." Popheci said, and the orange dragons begun to follow his footsteps as they were the only sound besides the occasional scream far off in the distance. Tryaust felt Sycundys brush by him.
"I was about to tell the others the…" Sycundys started, then stopped as she heard Propheci abruptly stop. The entire group stopped with him.
"Tell them how you will step up in the coming days?" Propheci questioned. Tryaust was sure Sycundys was flushing in embarrassment. "What is coming is war. The Prophets will reign victorious," Propheci spoke as loud as he dared to the rest of the crew. Then he seemed to turn to Sycundys again and spoke softly. "Do not disappoint me."
Then he turned and continued the trek to the Old City. "I won't." Sycundys called after him, though he was not listening. Tryaust felt faintly sorry for her. For the past few weeks, it was beginning to be quite obvious Sycundys had taken an attraction to Propheci. Tryaust had the feeling Propheci himself knew, and was using it to his advantage, as the normally composed Sycundys tried to gain his favor by completing all tasks with vigor and to exceed all expectations on them.
Tryaust also felt jealous, though he didn't like to admit it. Sycundys was an attractive dragon, any Prophet would admit that. Her strict tone was just a cover for her real nature, he was sure. She was…Tryaust grimaced in the darkness as he felt Jyme's amusement.
"What are you waiting for?" Sycundys hissed none too nicely to him. Tryaust started as he realized most of the Prophets had gone on ahead.
"I…I'm going," he said, earning a sniff from Sycundys.
"Slowly."
Tryaust hesitated, wanting to say more. To perhaps tell her everything would be alright, or perhaps that Propheci was just…He dismissed the thought almost immediately as he followed the other Prophets without further comment. She was his superior, and talking to her in such a way was unquestionable. In the current situation, at any rate.
Sycundys waited longer till Eskhyrr passed by her as well, little knowing that two Prophets with objectionable thinking to Propheci's plans had just passed by. One with a belief that humans and dragons were to be made equal, neither one ruling the other. While the other held in his judgment that Propheci himself was not suitable for leading them, and that perhaps betraying the entire crew to a certain figure he had recently met would give him a great reward in return.
Eskhyrr grinned. A great reward.
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Moordryd opened his eyes, and stared dumbly at the revolving gears of Work Town which rotated high above his head. He felt the cool ground against his head, and realized he was lying on his back on a grimy floor of a section of Work Town.
He lifted his head a few inches off the draconic pavement, and glanced around, blinking in the bleak darkness as his night vision on his helmet made the world sprang before him in a green tinge. As a light sensation of faintness quickly passed, he sat up and stared above him. He had fallen, he was sure of that. He had been too close to the edge, and when Mortis had thrown a mag-push, he had lost his balance. He mentally kicked himself. But how could he have survived?
A scraping of heavily booted feet caused Moordryd to turn around. He could see nothing behind him, but a smooth voice seemed to float on the chilled darkness. "Do you realize what has happened?"
Moordryd looked every which way, but was unable to discern even the direction from which the voice came. He picked up his amulet, recognizing the voice to be Armeggeddon's. "Uh…I…er…fell?" He spoke to it.
"Correct. Repeat to me the events which took place today, my student."
Moordryd looked around again. The voice had not come from the amulet in his hand. He swallowed. Armeggeddon was near, and in the flesh. "Well, I…trapped the Dragon Booster in the Shadow Track and barricaded the entrance."
"Good…" The voice rumbled.
"I came back and…gave the shadow draconium to my father," Moordryd breathed as he remembered what he had done. He wondered whether that action of his had been a good one.
"I thought as much," Armeggeddon droned. "Perhaps he will find no great use for the draconium."
"What does he want to do with it, exactly?" Moordryd asked, uncertain of where to speak to.
"I doubt he will truly discover the draconium's true potential without any ancient texts to help. But what he may uncover is nothing I can't handle. Than what happened to you?"
Moordryd soon had the feeling that Armeggeddon knew this all already, and was only having him repeat it for Moordryd's own sake. Moordryd forced his thoughts in order, surprised at how jumbled they had become. "My father…I saw what his wraiths were doing on his VIDDscreens, and I noticed Swayy. So then I went and freed her, angering my father, I suppose. Then, well, the wraiths chased me to him, where I…hit him…"
Moordryd trailed off, realizing what he had done. He had hit his father with a mag-push. He instinctively took a sharp, quick intake of breath. He couldn't believe he had done that. What had he been thinking?
"Then you were unprepared when Mortis shook the pathway with his mag-push. I hope you've learned something from that." Armeggeddon ordered the last of him, compelling Moordryd to speak.
"I should've been ready, and kept my balance. But how…"
"Young fool. I saved you." The last part enabled Moordryd to pinpoint the location of his voice. Moordryd spun around, crouching on his heels and gasped when he saw a dark shape standing impressively behind him.
This was the first time Moordryd had seen Armeggeddon, and he certainly looked as deadly as he sounded. His armor was brandished with an intimidating air about it. Armeggeddon's turned his red eyes to Moordryd, inflicting him with an immediate feeling of evil.
"I…" Moordryd gulped, suddenly relieved that he was on Armeggeddon's side.
Armeggeddon then ignored him, and turned his attention up. Moordryd could see the faintly green-tinged glow of black mag energy surround him as he nonchalantly lifted a large, heavy sack, filled with only Drakkus knew what. He lifted it with his mag-pull, and moved it high to one of the gyrating gears, placing it in between the gear's studs. It fell between them, and when the large gear came into contact with another gear as they turned each other, they slowed, hindered by the obstacle. Moordryd heard the sqeal of the engines as they tried to continue, straining against the blockage. Then it broke suddenly, sounding like breaking wood, or as Armeggeddon was hoping for, breaking bones, and fell to the ground in two pieces.
Moordryd looked to Armeggeddon, who simply replied, "now your father thinks you are dead. This is an advantage."
"How…he…"
"Practically killed you himself. He knew forcing you onto that walkway was dangerous. Did he ever make any move to help you when you nearly fell the first time? Do you think he thought of you at all when the second mag-push came? Did he not make your friends wraiths? Did he try to stop you from running around the city? You hit him with a mag-push, what do you think he would have done had Mortis not come?"
Moordryd remained quiet, pondering these things. They were true, in his eyes as he thought about them. Armeggeddon continued. "Now he doesn't have you to deal with. This war will consume all his time, this is what he has been waiting for nearly his whole life. And now he has one less thing to worry about." Armeggeddon chuckled softly. "he doesn't miss you. Even now he is heading back to his wraiths. Hasn't he always said you were worthless? That dragons were more important?"
Moordryd looked down at the ground. His father hadn't exactly said the last part, but at times, that meaning came out all too well. Moordryd's faced scrunched in anger. Amreggeddon was right.
"He thinks you are dead, Moordryd," Armeggeddon said, his voice lifting Moordryd's gaze from the ground to him. "This is our opportune time to follow through with our plans. You can show the world who Moordryd Paynn really is. Not some follower of a imprudent man, but as a leader. A leader of the great Black Draconium Empire!"
Moordryd felt his hope rise. He was elated. He smirked in the darkness. "I'll show him…"
"But not yet. Not for some time. Now, when he doesn't expect you to do…anything," Armeggeddon chuckled at his little joke. "He won't send barriers and obstacles to stop you. Contact your crew and tell them to meet in the Old City, north of Dragon City. We ride to raise our empire from the dust. Then attack when the time is right, seize control of everything, and become greater then the original empire."
"You were the original leader of the Black Draconium Empire." Moordryd remembered.
"And now this will surpass my old empire." Armeggeddon said, instilling in the young Shadow Booster a sense of pride and greatness to come. Such things were important. Armeggeddon smiled in the dark.
Moordryd stood, grinning, and used his wristCOMM to contact Cain. Armeggeddon watched expressionless. His ploy was working. Moordryd believed himself to be the greatest mag warrior of all time, which of course, he wouldn't be. Amreggeddon had merely stated the false fact just to implant a sense of worth in the Dragon Eye leader. If Moordryd believed he would indeed become someone great, he would stop at nothing to achieve it. Of course, Moordryd had the potential to become a very powerful warrior, but not the best.
As Moordryd finished contacting his crew, apparently most were there in Down City, safe and for the most part, apprehensive, Armeggeddon led him to where Decepshun would be waiting. They would travel north to Vision City, the capital of the black draconium city state, and there begin their empire.
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And so, Moordryd and his crew traveled north, news of his death spread by Connor, who had seen him fall. Word eventually took control of the entire city, securing it firmly with his wraiths, his army more than quadrupled in size and might. The Prophets returned to the Old City without major hindrance from the wraiths, where they captured and, in their minds, freed many dragons from the refugees of the city that had been forced out of Down City. Kitt and the others found this group of people where Reepyr was soon taken care of, though his arm would not quite work properly again. The refugees traversed the wastelands to the closet city, White Cliffs, and there rested. A counter-attack by Captain Faier never happened as he wanted it to. Dragon City had become too well protected, and any attack was almost immediately halted and driven back by the wraiths. Dragon City laid in the hands of Word Paynn.
Of course, there was a rescue attempt to help the Dragon Booster. But with the Shadow Track thoroughly guarded by wraiths and the Old City soon falling into Word's hands as well, and along with the sudden and deadly appearance of Drakkus, any attempt was thwarted, with no hope that another could succeed.
As the years passed, as empires rose, as the Ancient Hall of Records was discovered, as the Prophets and the Keepers Crew were driven from their hideouts, as treachery and betrayal threatened to rip apart fragile alliances, and as the return of Libris came and passed, still the Dragon Booster remained trapped with his fears, barely knowing what had befallen him. Until one day, nearly fifteen years later…