The odd group stood on the other side of the portal and gazed around. They were in the middle of a dark forest. They started to walk, keeping their senses alert. There was no wind and no sound besides the sound of their footsteps and breath. Caliber's dragon stretched out its enormous wings and yawned.
"I thought dragons were a lot bigger than that." Yusuke said.
"And what are you doing with a dragon in the first place?" Kuwabara asked.
"You don't know anything, do you?" Caliber turned and glared at them. "And to think, Koenma entrusts you to do this mission. You'll be dead before we reach the Land of Sand and Wind."
"Take that back!" Kuwabara commanded. Caliber snorted and turned away.
"To put it in terms even you imbeciles would understand; there are four kind of dragons. The largest of them are the ones you humans know. Then there are the ones that are only a little taller than me; ones that are the size of Kazu there; ones that fit into the palm of your hand, and ones that fit into a small shirt pocket." Nadia came in and explained.
Kuwabara used his fingers to count. "You gave five different dragons not four."
"What ever." Nadia rolled her eyes. "The answer to your second question is obvious. Caliber is a dragon rider."
With that, Hiei became interested in the conversation.
"Impressive." Kurama said. "Are you one too Rain?"
"No, Afraid not." Rain smiled. "My father refused to let me. He said no child of his would ever do something so barbaric."
"Interesting." Kurama repeated.
"Besides, I don't have 'the mark'." Rain added.
"'The mark'?" Yusuke echoed. "What is that?"
"See that mark on Caliber's face?" Rain pointed to the symbol. "If they pass the final trial they receive a symbol that relates to their personality and their relationship with their dragon or dragons."
"So you have to have a dragon in order to complete the final trail?" Kuwabara asked.
Rain nodded. "Dragon riders are only known because of their dragons. If they don't have one then you can't truly be one."
"What's the final trail of?" Yusuke asked.
"And what do you mean by dragons." Kuwabara asked.
"Wow, Caliber was right. You really don't know anything." Nadia mocked.
"If they can fight well enough then they should be fine." Zelda said, shifting the backpack.
"No one but dragon riders is allowed to know what happens." Rain continued. "Their laws prohibit them from telling. As for the number of dragons, some riders end up with having more than one dragon. I'm not sure dragons are chosen. Only Caliber could tell you and you won't get much from her."
The boys looked expectantly at Caliber but she stayed quiet.
The group walked for a long time in silence. The wood's quietness spooked Yusuke but he tried to ignore it. As they walked, a thick fog began to set in causing the forest to be even more uninviting. The girls abruptly stopped and gazed around. Yusuke almost bumped into Nadia who glared at him. Zelda's eyes widened and she threw the backpack off. She dug through it and pulled out a bunch of masks.
"Quick, put these on!" She yelled. When Yusuke finally got his on he looked at Zelda. "What's going on?"
"This is a poisonous fog." Zelda explained. "As it gets thicker it becomes even more deadly."
"There must be a hive near by." Caliber said gazing around some more.
"But there wasn't one before." Rain put in.
Must have come here recently, ya know?" Nadia said.
"What's a 'hive'?" Kuwbara asked. Before anyone could answer a muffled buzzing sound came from the distance. As they waited it became louder.
"That's what they are!" Rain yelled. She had turned around and was pointing to a few shadows that were hidden in the fog. She began to shake with fear.
"Run!" Caliber hissed. The group took off but the shadows got even closer. Rain looked behind them again and her eyes widened.
"It's a swarm!" She exclaimed.
The boys looked back to see large bee-like creatures behind them. They were yellow with large claws in the front and six long legs and had curved black bird-like beaks. Red and blue feathers were located around their necks, wrists and ankles and four wings that beat rhythmically together omitting a strange poison fog that killed everything as they passed. Large red stingers with black vertical stripes gleamed in the filtered, pale light.
Rained suddenly tripped over a root and fell to the ground. Her mask flew off and she held her breath. She tried to scramble up and grab it but her foot was tangled in the protruding root.
Caliber quickly turned and raced to her aid. She threw her mask to Rain and quickly picked up the one on the ground. Rain dislodged her foot and the two girls raced passed each other. Caliber jumped into the air and with immense speed sliced seven of them with her katana while Kazu flew around, setting six on fire.
When Rain reached the group she looked at Nadia who nodded.
"Yuskue," Naida said. "When I tell you, I need you to use your Spirit Gun."
Before he could ask anything, she held out her hand and a ball of spirit energy appeared. She positioned herself and threw it. When it got to the center of the swarm she yelled, "Now!" Yusuke used the Spirit Gun and it collided with the energy ball.
"Spirit bomb." Nadia whispered. A huge explosion was unleashed from the collision, engulfing the swarm. The area was covered in a mix of poison fog and smoke. When it cleared there was nothing left.
"Hey where's Cal-" Movement interrupted Yuskue. Caliber came from the sky and landed in front of them.
"Never mind." Yusuke said.
"You could have warned me." She glared at Nadia.
"I thought you knew." Nadia responded with an innocent look.
Caliber rolled her eyes. "Well we need to keep moving. That large of a swarm means we're near the hive."
The group nodded and quickly set off. Caliber sent Kazu ahead to scout while they kept an eye out where they were.
"What were those things anyway?" Yusuke asked.
"They're called Sky Killers." Zelda informed them.
"Fitting." Yusuke grunted.
The fog began to get thicker.
"Are we going the right way? Zelda asked.
"We should be." Kurama replied.
"Then why is the fog getting thicker?" Kuwabara asked. "It's getting creepy."
"Just admit you're scared." Hiei sneered.
"I am not!" Kuwabara yelled.
"You're not fooling anyone." Caliber mocked.
"Shut up!" Kuwabara yelled. His face was red with embarrassment and the group laughed at him.
The fog finally began to thin and the boys began to relax. But the girls still remained alert.
"What's wrong?" Kurama asked.
"Something doesn't feel right." Zelda said.
"You're paranoid." Hiei said.
"No-" Caliber was about the say more when red eyes began to glow in the fog. The group looked around and the fog began to thin out more, revealing more eyes and then the bodies of the Sky Killers.
"Just as we thought." Caliber concluded. "We've walked into the center of the hive."
Dun dun du! Oh Noes! They're in trouble! Or...are they? Well I hoped you like this chapter. More to come soon.