Review: Two rival families, an anonymous racer, a bet... All this gives by results a situation that nobody had been able to foresee.
I'm not owner of the personages of Dragon Booster, this fics was written in order to offer awhile of diversion. Some words (Like which they appear in the vocabulary section) are invented by me or some one else whose allowed me use them. Every similitude with a real word is a coincidence.
OPPOSITE FACTIONS
By
Airshadow
CHAPTER V
DEFEATED
"WELCOME TO THE DRAGON CITY FOUNDATION ANNIVERSARY RACE," shouted Race Marshall Budge, as the people cheered happily while they waited impatiently for the appearance of their heroes.
On the dais where the principal figures of Dragon City took their seats, Silvanna Diamath finished a conversation with Rhamius that did not please her at all.
"I hope for your own good, Rhamius, that you have done your work thoroughly," the girl said coldly.
"As always," answered the boy with a malignant smile.
Silvanna cut communications without saying goodbye and coldly watched the track as Race Marshall Budge continued with his welcome speech.
--- o0o ---
"Moordryd, are you sure you want to do it that way????"
Cain looked at his leader without understanding at all what he had requested of him. Decepshun looked to her rider with astonishment. When she heard the bet, she had never thought that he was being serious.
"You heard it," replied Moordryd sharply. "I'll show that show-off gal the real Moordryd Paynn."
It was difficult to understand humans, thought Decepshun, but she knew that Moordryd counted on her, so she couldn't disappoint him.
--- o0o ---
"Do not go far, Lance," said Parm while he tried to look after the little Penn and fix a last minute failure. "Remember that this place can be dangerous."
"OK," replied a distracted Lance as he looked at Jhanus's tent and the rider's gear. Lance felt a lot of curiosity and he didn't miss any single detail about what happened in that place, but he couldn't see much; the tent was positioned in such a way that it didn't allow anyone to see who was inside.
A dragon transport carriage stopped near the tent and a group of assistants opened its door and waited as Eclypse left the carriage. The she-dragon left the carriage and calmly walked towards a side of the tent and disappeared. Elsie and Marvin were speaking near where the entrance had to be.
"Has anyone seen Zhulan?" said one of the assistants.
"Zhulan had to leave," replied Elsie dryly. "Everyone can retire. We will call you as soon as we need you."
The assistants left and Elsie started to speak with Marvin. Lance didn't miss any detail of what happened. It was very probably that Jhanus was within the tent. What if Jhanus wasn't wearing his helmet? Would it be wrong if he went to catch glimpse of Jhanus? He could tell his older bro what Jhanus looked like. Nevertheless, would that be something bad?
Lance looked at Parm who was very busy. Parm wouldn't notice anything, especially if Lance didn't delay. Quickly, Lance slipped over to the tent. He raised the fabric and looked towards the entrance which was covered by a curtain. Smiling, the little one entered and looked around. Suddenly he was frozen with fear! Eclypse was inside and she looked at him with her shinning blue eyes!
Lance didn't know what to do. He knew that not all the dragoons were friendly and amiable like Fraschun and Beau. He really didn't know what that she-dragon would do.
Eclypse watched the little one. That human-puppy was too young to be considered a threat, and moreover, he was scared of her!
They watched each other, and after several minutes that seemed like hours, the she-dragon began to wag her tail slightly. She wished to make it clear that she wouldn't hurt him. Bravely, Lance approached her slowly.
When Lance was close to her, Eclypse licked his face with her enormous tongue. Lance laughed from the tickles the she-dragon gave him, and gently began to stroke her neck and behind her ears, while Eclypse purred in a pleased manner.
Lance looked around. Jhanus wasn't there and oddly, at the back of the tent there was a metallic wall, not the usual curtain that would cover it.
"Did you lose something?"
The authoritarian voice made Lance turn around scared. Elsie looked at the boy in a glacial way. Lance's spine froze.
"Did you lose something?" insisted Elsie whereas Eclypse looked at the girl, disapproving of her way of behaving with the little boy.
Lance shook his head no.
"Then, I suggest you go back to your family before they miss you," replied Elsie with a cold and authoritarian tone.
Lance left the tent running. Elsie turned around and she saw that Eclypse had a disapproving look.
"I guess that if you could speak you would say that you do not agree, wouldn't you?" said the girl.
Eclypse made a loud raspberry sound as her only answer. Elsie, who had grown accustomed to these theatrics, just frowned.
As soon as Lance left the tent, he hid behind a dragon transport carriage and looked towards the tent. It was a pity that Jhanus wasn't there! If Eclypse was nice, then surely Jhanus would be also.
Lance continued watching the tent, not sure of what to do next. The curtains moved... Elsie and Eclypse left the tent, accompanied by Jhanus?
How could it be possible? Lance was perplexed. When he entered the tent Jhanus wasn't there. And when he left, he was sure that nobody had entered. Nobody was around, and when he hid behind the carriage, nobody had walked by.
"SO, you are here?"
Lance looked where the voice came from. It was Parm, and he didn't seem very happy.
"Do you realize that if something had happened to you we wouldn't have known where we could find you?"
"Parm, I..." Lance tried to explain what he had seen but Parm didn't listen to him.
"Can't you understand that in these places anything can happen?"
"He wasn't there!"
"See! You're not even listening to me and what do you mean by 'He wasn't there'?"
Lance told him what he had seen and not seen in Jhanus's tent, and that he saw the rider leave, but not enter.
"It's not possible, Lance," replied a perplex Parm. "It is physically impossible for somebody to appear out of nowhere."
"But he wasn't there" replied the little one.
Lance and Parmon looked at each other without understanding the mystery.
--- o0o ---
Silvanna watched the race with extreme interest. Since it had started, she didn't take her eyes off Moordryd; after all, she wasn't pleased by the prospect of having to date him, and for a month no less.
Come on, Moordryd Paynn, thought the girl while she scrutinized him with her binoculars. I know that you are plotting something. But what?
--- o0o ---
"I must WIN!"
Moordryd Paynn blocked a blow with his staff that came towards him and gave back the blow to the bold racer. Vizz attacked the racer with his equipment while Blarre pretended to do the same with Moordryd.
Moordryd "avoided" the attacks of Blarre and he moved closer to first place.
"MOORDRYD, WE AREN'T RACERS!" moaned Vizz.
"SHUT UP!" roared Moordryd. "I'VE SAID THAT YOU'RE GOING TO RUN IN THIS RACE AND YOU'LL HAVE TO DO WHAT I SAY!"
Moordryd smiled sarcastically; Blarre, Vizz, and the other less known members of his crew were clearing the way for him as he took the advantage.
With the pretend "attacks" of the members of his crew, he was safe from all suspicion as they helped him to win. Miss Congeniality could be watching the race, but her little intelligence would prevent her from discovering the truth.
Moordryd showed a malevolent smile; the Stable Brat and the idiot Jhanus were just in front of him. Almost without thinking, he moved his hand where his whip should have been, but he soon remembered that he had left it in his tent. Moordryd encouraged Decepshun to run more quickly on the left, whereas Swayy did the same on the right.
Artha was more than pleased. He was in front of all the racers, and that meant he could win the race if he continued in that way. He looked towards the sides. For some strange reason, Moordryd hadn't used his gear. Without a doubt he was plotting something.
Swayy's dragon began to shake its Tail Hammer close to Jhanus, who did everything possible to evade it. Moordryd started to fight with Artha. They blocked each other and tried to strike with their staffs.
The Tail Hammer that Swayy's dragon used struck Jhanus's saddle causing him to fall off. If Jhanus couldn't hold on, he'd be squashed by the other dragons. Alarmed, Eclypse watched Jhanus and she deliberately slowed down while avoiding another blow and at the same time, allowing Jhanus to mount again.
The finish line was getting closer and closer. Artha and Moordryd fought more and more furiously, as Swayy approached more and more.
Suddenly, Artha realized that he was between two particularly aggressive riders, and a fast observation allowed him to see that Blarre was approaching more and more on the left side of Swayy. Something bad was going to happen.
It happened! Swayy's dragon used its Tail Hammer, and struck Artha while he tried to block another of Moordryd's blows. Connor Penn's oldest son soon found himself flying and falling into a trash can.
When Artha recovered a little, he was completed covered by trash and he saw Beau's big eyes watching him with sadness and worry.
"I'm fine, my friend," said Artha painfully while Beau carefully took him by the jacket and removed him from that place. "I only have wounded my pride, it could be worse."
Moordryd watched Swayy. If he was going to deceive everyone, he had to do it well. Without prior warning, Moordryd 'attacked' Swayy and now they were the ones that 'fought' for first place. In minutes, Swavy was forced to leave the race and it wasn't possible to argue if that 'fight' was fixed or not. Swayy's equipment had suffered much damage.
Now Paynn's son was alone at the front. Decepshun ran as faster than ever before. The finish line quickly approached along with the other racers. All the eyes were on Moordryd Drakkus Paynn.
Silvanna watched thanks to her binoculars. She was tense. She carefully watched everything that Moordryd had done. Only one thing maintained her hope: that he wouldn't keep his word; that Moordryd would fall to the temptation to use his level 5 thruster gear.
Silvanna smiled triumphantly when she saw a slight movement in Moordryd's foot.
"What're you waiting for, Moordryd Paynn?" thought the girl. "Do it now!"
You cannot do it, you can't.
The voice of Silvanna resonated inside Moordryd's mind whereas it seemed to him that he was looking at the sarcastic smile of the girl.
You can't win without the aid of your gear … Without your gear, you are nothing.
Moordryd tightened his mouth with fury.
You can't …
"I WILL WIN!! AND I AM GOING TO SHOW YOU! RUN, DECEPSHUN, RUN!"
Decepshun ran like never before in her life. Moordryd asked it and that was enough for her. The crowd started to cheer as the boy approached the finish line, it was getting closer and closer.
"AND THE WINNER IS … THE UNPREDICTABLE MOORDRYD PAYNN!!!" shouted Race Marshall Budge.
"WHAT????" exclaimed Artha Penn as Beau's eyes went wide open.
"NO!" protested Silvanna from her seat. But the roar of the crowd covered the protests of the teens.
--- o0o ---
"Are you sure he didn't cheat?"
Silvanna watched the two boys like Zhulan, their clothes old and mistreated. Hirzham, the tallest of the two, had black hair and eyes. He had a robust complexion and he was 20 years old.
Nhostar was the youngest because he was 18 years old. The meaning of his name, "Rascal," was pretty accurate for him; Nhostar loved to make all types of jokes and mischief. Besides having the fame of being shameless, he was well-known for his ability to escape unpunished most of the time for the many misfortunes caused by his pranks.
Unlike Hirzham, Nhostar was thinner and had fine features. His shining brown eyes had a brightness of likeable mischievousness that was pleasing, and his long reddish brown hair gave him a certain infantile air that most people who met him found nice.
"Not once," answered Hirzham.
"And if he did it, we didn't noticed it and we had our eyes wide open," added Nhostar.
Silvanna sighed with annoyance and looked around her. There was an air of defeat about the place. Marvin watched the girl seriously; Jhanus was close to a pillar and the rider's gestures exposed the unmistakable mood; Eclypse, had her ears low and a sad look. Hirzham and Nhostar were in a corner. Only the inscrutable face of Elsie seemed unchanged, but the brightness of her eyes had been extinguished; the discouragement was total. Even Nhostar lost the desire to joke.
Moordryd walked satisfied towards Jhanus's tent. Cain and Decepshun followed him closely. The young Paynn was sure that Silvanna would refuse to keep her word and he was thinking of all the rebuttals to her possible arguments. For the young Paynn, things were going according to his plans.
As they approached Jhanus's tent, Moordryd and his companions heard Silvanna's voice. Moordryd smiled with sarcasm. Apparently, Silvanna was scolding her team.
The boys and Decepshun stopped and listened with attention
"Come on," replied Silvanna while she looked at her team. "Are we at a wake? You have done your best effort and I feel proud."
All those present looked at the girl with sadness, until Marvin spoke up.
"Silvanna, remember that this race was very important for you," said the boy. "Your bet, remember?"
"No race is more important than you," answered the girl. "And I repeat I am proud of your effort; we can't win every day." Silvanna approached the
she-dragon, and she touched her gently behind her ears. "Come on, Eclypse, it wasn't your fault that you lost the race. The only thing you did was protect Jhanus, and that speaks very well of you."
Eclypse moaned with sadness; although Silvanna was right, she couldn't avoid feeling sad. Nor did she like the idea of being Moordryd's, the son of the Tyrant, laughingstock or that Silvanna would have to date him. Nothing good would come of all this.
"Still there is the question that you must date Moordryd for a month," said Elsie.
An unexpected noise caused all to turn around to the tent's entrance. Moordryd came in without requesting the consent of anybody, and Decepshun followed him closely whereas Cain stayed near the door. Eclypse raised her neck and started to roar with fury, whereas Decepshun laughed in a sarcastic way.
"I think, Silvanna, that if you were harder with this bunch of good-for-nothings, you would have had a chance to win the race," said Moordryd with a mordacious smile.
"If I do that, I would have more enemies than is suitable for me," replied the girl.
"And what do you say now? Are you ready to go out with me for a month and to keep Jhanus away from competitions in Dragon City for that time?"
"We will have the date as you said."
Moordryd opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped astonished. He didn't expect that answer! And he wasn't the only one! Cain and Decepshun looked at the girl without believing what they heard.
"Say that again," said Moordryd who was recovering from his astonishment.
"I said that we would have the date as you said."
"You will keep your word?"
"I will," emphasized Silvanna.
"Good. Then, I'll see you today… no, this weekend at eight o'clock, I'll pick you up at your apartment."
"I will be there," sighed Silvanna. That appointment didn't excite her at all.
Decepshun made a sarcastic giggle as she and the boys left. Eclypse made a raspberry sound while she watched them exit.
The group walked away from Jhanus's tent, ready to leave and go to Squire's End.
"It seems that things are going well for you today," said Cain.
Moordryd added with a renewed enthusiasm, "And they are getting better. Look!"
Cain looked where Moordryd indicated: it was the Stable Brats. After that he observed Moordryd, and apparently he was understanding what the young Paynn would do next. Moordryd smiled in a malignant way. It was an opportunity too good to let pass by.
"Hello, Stable Brat," he said making a mordacious smile. "I guess that you've been preoccupied visiting your natural environment: the garbage can."
Artha tightened his fists with fury.
"YOU CHEATED PAYNN! I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU HAVE DONE IT, BUT YOU HAVE DONE IT!"
"Prove it, Penn!" replied back Moordryd with sarcasm. "Although I doubt that you can do it. Meanwhile: Officially I won the race fair and square."
Moordryd and his companions moved away, laughing.
"Well, Stable Boy," said Kitt. "This could have been worse."
"COULD THERE BE SOMETHING WORSE THAN BEING DEFEATED BY MOORDRYD!?" exclaimed Artha irritatedly.
"Yes," answered a cold and calm feminine voice. All those present turned around to see Elsie's inexpressive and calm face. "having a date with him."
All of Penn's crew looked at each other while the cold girl walked towards the tent to supervise the assistants as they gathered all the gear.