Hiya peeps, I'm back. Been a slow week I must admit, but I've managed to write this chapter. You wouldn't believe it, but each chapter takes me at least 2 hours to write, even though I type really fast...... It sucks. Oh, sorry GLA94Xx, I know that's your saying, so I'll use mine. Meh. There, all better. Only one other author knows who the mysterious black and red dragon is. (You know who you are, don't give it away!!! If you have anything to say about the dragon, PM me) Anyway, here's chapter 9, at least I think.... I've got no track on these things..... It should be. R&R.

Luv you all

EgyptianShadowWolf (Kiwi, Little Wolf or Shadow, take your pick) xXx

Yugi ran until he no longer heard the roar of the dragons, or, in fact, knew where he was.

He had paid no attention to where he was running, and now he regretted it. He walked down streets with tall houses on either side of the street, no idea where he was.

He knew he couldn't call upon Sukai. She was slowly getting better, but she was still in no position to fly about and train.

He walked down a few more streets before finally realizing that he was utterly and hopelessly lost. There was no chance in hell that he was going to be home anytime soon. He willed for the air dragon riders to come back.

He sat on a kerb, defeated. He was going to have to wait till morning and then ask for directions. He would look like a crazed person just come out a mental home. Yugi thought about the scenario. He was a dragon rider- without a dragon. No one would believe him. Not in the slightest.

Yugi put his hand on his white armband over his blue jacket. The dragon rider world was now divided. The main opposition of the Syoku Ryu was the Ankoku Ryu. It was up to the other armies to decide what side they were on.

So bands were made. White for Team Syoku and Black for Team Ankoku. So far, the armies that were on Team Syoku were the Bara Ryu, Kodai Ryu and the Akebono Ryu. There was going to be a giant fight at the end, Yugi could sense it.

The moon was nearer the east in the sky, so Yugi guessed it was about 3 O' Clock (PLEASE do not say in the review that I got the position wrong, I REALLY do not know at what time the position of the moon is in or anything like that )

Yugi began to notice that it was really quite cold, and he only had a thin jacket on. He hugged himself and shrank back, trying to keep more warm.

He put his head in his arms and his mind reluctantly moved to the two dragons that had been fighting. So this was Ramses' true nature? Protective?

A question Yugi had always wanted to know was why was Ramses away from Yami so much? Yugi thought for a moment, but sighed. He couldn't work it out.

Unexpectedly, anger seeped through him. How should he know? According to a lot of dragon riders, he was just a kid. A kid who didn't know how to look after a dragon. And now he was supposedly crazy, because he apparently had no dragon. Why were people talking as if Sukai was dead? She wasn't as far as he was concerned.

Yugi had a surge of panic. She wasn't dead was she? Yugi clenched his fists. He had been holding in his emotions for so long now, he had almost forgotten what it was like to let them out. Yugi gritted his teeth till he could bear it no longer.

He shouted as loud as he could, just a long frustrated shout. He shouted until his throat felt sore, before ducking his head back in his arm and sobbing. This was usually the time when he would go to someone for comfort, but there was no one here. He was alone, in this unknown place.

Everything just seemed too much now. Maybe after all, he was going crazy. He decided he didn't care. Not about anything. He didn't even care if he died. It was too much...

Yugi must have fallen asleep on the hard pavement, because the next thing he knew, he was on the back of a large burgundy dragon. The wind blew in his hair and he rubbed his eyes, peering about him. They were high up in the sky, flying above houses and fields. Yugi panicked.

Was he being abducted? He looked at his 'captor', before relaxing. This was no captor, even though he had never before seen this dragon rider. This dragon rider had what looked like a cowboy hat on, and dressed like one too. Only Australian dragon riders dressed like this. Well, from what Yugi could see, he was dressed that way, as the dragon rider had his back to Yugi.

The rider glanced round and saw Yugi awake.

"Ah, rise and shine young 'un" he said, a smile on his face.

Yep, Yugi concluded. Australian. Yugi also noticed that the sun was shining brightly in his face.

"H-How long have I been asleep?" Yugi replied, quickly finding out that his throat still hurt, for which he clutched suddenly and wincing.

"Hey, let me do the talkin'. I honestly don't know. I just found ya crashed out on the floor. Anyway, intros. I'm Kaima, and this is Yasha"

A deep rumble from the dragon told Yugi that Yasha was greeting him. He stroked her scales.

Kaima turned fully around to face Yugi. Yugi looked at Kaima's brown eyes before pausing slightly under them, noticing two arrows shaped scars on both of his cheeks. The marks of a lone rider.

All lone riders bear this mark, to tell other riders they weren't part of an army. They travelled alone or maybe in two's or three's, no more than that. A bit like a lone wolf with out a pack (that was the best example I could think of, but then, everything I think about is based around wolves. Lol ;).

Yugi couldn't help but notice that Kaima also had a white band around his right arm. Team Syoku.

Kaima noticed Yugi looking at it and laughed.

"I am Team Syoku, yes. I just think it's wrong to discriminate a dragon and rider, just because of their type" Kaima shook his head, still smiling.

Yugi smiled back. He felt at ease. Then he realized something. He hadn't seen the white band when he had first woke up, so why did he know that he wasn't being captured?

"Because that's Yasha's ability." Kaima replied to Yugi's unsaid thought.

Yugi widened his eyes in shock.

"How-How did you...." but Yugi was lost for words. He stumbled over a few more words before just giving up to just stare at this remarkable dragon rider.

Kaima laughed harder than before.

"I'll never get tired of that expression..." He said between chuckles.

Once he had pulled himself together, he explained to Yugi.

"There is a certain reason why lone riders are, well, lone. What has the army taught you about us lone riders?" he asked Yugi.

Yugi thought.

"That lone riders were a disgrace to the army, that they have to do something really bad and then they'll be kicked out, not allowed to come back and they are giving the mark of the lone rider, so everyone knows..." Yugi's voice went croaky at the end, and he coughed dryly, before wincing from the pain that shot through his throat.

Kaima rummaged in a bag next to him and tossed a bottle of water to Yugi, before smiling.

"Hm. That's what they all say. Well, that's not the reason."

Yugi took a gulp of water and then looked back at Kaima.

"What do you mean?" Yugi's voice was no longer croaky, but it still hurt. He took another gulp.

"Well, that's the what the armies tell their students. It's mainly so they leave us alone, but it makes the dragon riders scorn us. Like we're nothin'."

He paused before continuing.

"Like I said before, we are lone for a reason. And that reason is because we have powers. Powers that the armies cannot handle, so they throw us out"

He glanced up at Yugi, who was absorbed by this.

"Many a year ago, when dragon riders where rare, there was just two main armies." He glanced at Yugi once again, judging whether to tell Yugi this.

'Well,' he thought.

'If he is the one that they say he is, he should know....'

"Syoku and Ankoku"

Yugi's eyes widened once again.

"You mean, they have survived all these years?"

Kaima nodded.

"They're big armies Yugi. They were always gonna survive. Anyway, there were no lone riders. The Ankoku Ryu got greedy for power however, and started a war with the Syoku Ryu. They were mainly after the riders with powers. So, to stop the war, the Syoku Ryu got rid of any dragon riders with powers. The Ankoku Ryu held onto theirs for a few more years, before finally getting rid of them. So we became lone riders"

"So, it still happens now, because they don't want that war to restart?" Yugi asked.

Kaima nodded again.

"Soon, the lone riders began to get, well, lonely. So some teamed up with others, to make the rest of the armies that you know about today."

Yugi now understood about Lone Riders. It was a vicious cycle.

"So what are your powers?" Yugi asked.

"Mine is to read minds, Yasha's is to make your decisions for you and to basically manipulate you." Kaima smiled again, before turning round.

"You've learnt enough young un'. Next stop, the Syoku Ryu."

Yasha steered sharply to the right, dipping downward.

It only took them a few short minutes to get to the Syou Ryu care centre. Where Sukai was being cared for.

Yugi dismounted once they had landed and watched Kaima and Yasha turn around, ready to take flight.

"Wait!" Yugi cried before he took off. He wanted to know a question for a while now. Even though it seemed quite irrelevant right now.

"How do you know my name?" Yugi hadn't remembered telling him.

Kaima laughed.

"We lone riders know everythin'!"

Then Yasha took off, carrying the sounds of Kaima's laughter with her.

He watched until they were well out of sight.

He then turned, took a deep breath and entered the care centre. He was surprised to see the mage standing in front of a large dragon, laying on her front. Sukai.

The mage saw him, but warded him back. It occurred to him that Sukai was looking worse than before. She wasn't even awake.

Two hands seized him by the shoulders and pulled him back. He struggled weakly and cried out, but his throat had started to hurt again.

He turned to see the two earth heads, Imorei and Yahmata dragging him back, their dragons Armemnon and Telrious in the distance. What happened next was a blur, but he found himself standing outside the care centre, with the mage standing in front of him.

He looked up at the mage. They stood in silence for a while before the mage took a deep breath.

"I'm afraid I have very grave news Yugi..."

Yugi's heart stopped..... No.....

"We were looking at the statistics of Sukai's recovery. She was doing well until this afternoon, and she has not awoken since....."

No......

"Yugi, I'm afraid to tell you that..."

Yugi's breathing stopped.

"Sukai won't make it..."

Yugi's world tore apart, in seconds