Word was beyond furious. Once again, his plans were foiled by the Dragon Booster, and this time he had no one to blame but himself.
"How? HOW!? It was perfect. A perfect wraith dragon, powerful enough to take the Dragon Booster and the Dragon of Legend head-on! And yet it failed!" Word ranted, finishing his rant with a hard swing of his arm on the laboratory's central desk, sending tools and papers scattering on the floor.
As Word sit into his chair, placing two fingers on each of his temples in attempt to calm himself, the laboratory's doors slid open.
"Is someone trying to be fired?" Word hissed, patiently waiting for whoever was it that entered to present themselves.
"Not really, father." Moordryid said, simply walking on the narrow bridge closing in on his father.
"What is it, Moordryid? Can't you see I'm busy?" Word snarled, his eyes boring in his son's. Uncaring, Moordryid continued his approach, until he was only a couple of feet away from his father's work table. Without saying anything, he took a backpack off his back, and when he opened it he grabbed a large piece of wedge-like black gear.
"Thought that you might want it back, or at least out of Dragon City Security's hands." Moordryid said as he showed the gear to Word, who simply stared at it with disgust, a frown forming on his face.
"How thoughtful of you, my son." Word snarled, leaning from his chair to yank the gear off Moordryid's hands.
"Tell me, father, what do you think went wrong?" Moordryid asked, trying his best to keep himself from sneering.
"I don't know, but trust me, Moordryid. This was the last time I play nice with the Dragon Booster." Word growled as he looked at his own reflection in the gear's smooth draconium metal.
Geeld slowly woke up. She still shook from the memory of what happened in the past days. Looking around didn't help her feel better, either. While her head was now free to move, she was still strapped to the floor. Further inspection showed that she was in some sort of cave, although the walls were more akin to large irregular stones, rather than smooth stone. Geeld tried to move, whatever thing that was holding her to the ground creaking, but not snapping. Her efforts however yielded another thing to worry about when she let herself settle once more on the cold floor, as her belly rumbled quite audibly letting her know that indeed she was hungry.
Looking down to her belly, she saw a strange glowing green rope. Deciding that it was better than anything, Geeld tried to bring her head closer to it, snapping her jaws in an attempt to catch it. Eventually she curled up on herself, and her jaws finally clamped on the green rope, snapping it rather easily as her teeth caught the rope and she pulled. Feeling the taste of the rope was a great disappointment, causing her to promptly spit out the broken end that she tried to chew. Already, moving proved much easier, and after some more wiggling on the cold floor she felt the restraints finally give, allowing her to move freely. However, it proved to be a much bigger challenge, literally. She tried to command her legs to help her stand, but being unused to her current size caused her to loose balance for a brief moment before her instincts kicked in and helped her balance herself.
Geeld looked around once more. It then occurred to her that indeed she was also taller. Much taller. Her raised point of view was exhilarating and frightening at the same time.
"What happened to me?" Geeld whined, trying to remember what led her to be like this. She interrupted her search when her stomach rumbled its call once more.
Seeing no food in the immediate area, Geeld looked for where there could be some. She frowned when she saw no food anywhere. What she did see instead, was a large transparent green doorway. With unsure and shaking steps, she slowly approached the strange doorway, cautiously looking around her. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the doorway, causing her to yelp. Thinking something bad would happen, she looked around for a hiding spot, only to find none. Geeld stared at the doorway waiting for something to leap out at her. Nothing happened.
"I wonder where it goes..." Geeld squeaked, the sound shocking her, making her realize that even her voice was much different than what she remembered. She resumed her walk towards the doorway, which opened in a blink, exposing what to her seemed an empty room. Curious like the whelp she actually was, she stepped into the room. She sniffed at the walls, looked up to the ceiling, but before she could even wonder what was the room about, the transparent door shut closed, and faster than she could turn around the entire room moved up. Scared, she let out a loud screech.
In less time than she actually realized, the room finally stopped, the transparent door having opened and showing what at a first glance was a stable. Uncurling from the small, relatively speaking, ball of scales she curled up into, she took a deep breath of air, the scents feeling familiar to her. The familiarity of the scents infused her with a bit of confidence, enough to take a couple of steps out of the moving room that took her there. Once out of the metallic room, Geeld could see that she was indeed in a stable, although the stall where she found herself in was locked close.
Geeld approached the door, this one staying closed, unlike the transparent one from before. She nudged at the door, to see if it would open, but to no avail. She frowned at the door, sitting down on her haunches. Once more, her stomach rumbled a reminder that she still hadn't eaten. It was then that she heard something behind her. Standing up and turning around, she came to face with a nightmare.
"Y-you! B-but how?!" Geeld whimpered, trying to back away from the wraith, her wraith.
"How ungrateful... I'm here to help you and that's how you greet me?" The wraith growled at Geeld.
"H-help me?" Geeld asked, still wary of the wraith as she grinned at Geeld.
"Yes... You remember that thing that Beau tried to teach you with the can, don't you?" The wraith asked, with Geeld promptly nodding. "Do the same, but instead of pulling, you push. Think you can do it?"
"I... I don't know..." Geldi stammered, unsure if it was right.
"Do you want to eat?" The wraith asked, the golden dragon excitedly nodding her head. "Then, start pushing!"
Still somewhat wary, Geeld walked to the center of the stall, turning to face the locked door. She did like she remembered, the familiar golden glow surrounding her form, with a bright flash appearing in front of her. Unlike the first times, the flash didn't blind her, so she could focus on the stream which quickly and loudly collided with the door. The wooden door didn't budge, but the point where the energy touched was marked by a black scorch.
"Didn't work..." Geeld whined.
"Of course it didn't work..." The wraith sighed. "Try again. And keep trying until it opens. Got it?"
Nodding, Geeld once more faced the door, charging her energy, and discharging it with another stream. And another, and another again. Eventually, she depleted her energy, her hunger all the more persistent as her head drooped low, too tired to keep going. With the corner of the eye, Geeld could see the wraith shaking her head in dismay.
"Too hard..." Geeld whimpered, her legs trembling as she tried to keep herself standing.
"Of course..." The wraith rolled her eyes at Geeld, scoffing. "At this point you may as well just bash your head against the door. It's not like we're going anywhere at this rate."
Geeld felt hurt by the wraith's words. With a dumbfounded wraith staring at her, Geeld stepped forward, and she indeed slammed her head into the door, although the strength of the impact was dictated by her head's inertia, than the strength she used. Breathing hard, and with her eyes drooping low, Geeld kept banging her head against the door.
"What is it that are you trying to do?" The wraith asked, disbelieving that Geeld actually took her words seriously. "May I remind you that I'm in that head with you? That same head that you're using as bashing gear?"
"I'm hungryyyy!" Geeld whined, eyes tearing up as she looked outside through the door's exotically shaped metal bars.
Just as the wraith was opening her mouth to say something, footsteps could be heard coming their way, and with some urgency as well.
"What is going on in there?" Parmon said, followed closely by Kitt. "Is it too much to ask to have some quiet when in the middle of a very important- GAH!"
Parmon ended his rant by screaming at the top of his lungs, as opening the door caused a rather large black and gold biped dragon to flop head-first to the ground. Faster than he realized, he instinctively ran to cover behind Kitt, who rolled her eyes at Parmon's prime example of bravery.
Geeld grunted as her head met the ground, only to whimper as the impact hurt her no little.
"Come on... Get up!" The wraith tapped her foot on the ground as she stood next to the grounded gold dragon. "You're so close at eating some food! Are seriously just going to give up like that?"
"Too tired..." Geeld mewled, trying to stand for real, but her legs proving unresponsive as their strength abandoned her.
"There's no such thing as too tired in my book!" The wraith roared, stomping in front of her. "I would honestly feel sorry for you if you at least tried! So, now you get up and walk over to the feed trough over there, you hear me? Or perhaps should I do it for you?"
Once more, Geeld felt hurt by the wraith's words. She just wanted to cry, but even her tears didn't come to her. Frustrated, she did as the wraith said, trying to pick herself up from the ground. Eventually she managed, although on trembling legs, and slowly padded on unstable feet over to the common feed trough that was at the center of the stable's courtyard.
Parmon and Kitt watched with disbelieving eyes as Geeld slowly and shakily stood up, and wobbled over to the feed trough, getting several mouthfuls of food.
"She's... hungry." Kitt breathed, watching as Geeld switched between food and water. "And I'd say pretty thirsty too."
"She hasn't noticed us. Yet." Parmon whispered, still cowering behind Kitt.
"And why you say it like it was a good thing?" Kitt snarled at Parmon, who promptly detached himself from her back.
Finally free from being Parmon's human shield, Kitt walked over to Geeld, who was still eating and drinking. Hearing her, Geeld stopped, her head perking up.
"Hey, it's me, Kitt." Kitt said as softly as she could, slowing down her walk. "You remember me, don't you?"
Geeld nodded, before swallowing the last mouthful of food she got from the trough. As Kitt approached, Geeld first took a step back, afraid.
"Don't worry, I don't want to hurt you." Kitt cooed, raising a hand, that she put on Geeld's nose. At first the dragon froze, but then gave in, nuzzling her hand. "See?"
Finally, Kitt managed to get close enough to place a second hand on Geeld's neck. She rubbed the dragon's neck, the dragon letting out a pleased purr at her gentle motions.
"Disgusting..." The wraith hissed as she watched Kitt caress Geeld.
"But feels good..." Geeld chirped back, causing Kitt to giggle. The human was unaware that Geeld wasn't talking to her but to the wraith that resided in her own mind.
Suddenly, a dragon came running towards them and came a screeching halt, causing Geeld to snap out of Kitt's gentle care.
"Stay away from her!" The dragon roared. Geeld's eyes snapped open, only to find herself staring at Wyldfyr, who was menacingly growling at her. "Get away from Kitt!"
"Wyldfyr! What are you doing?" Kitt called out to her dragon, placing herself between Geeld and Wyldfyr. "Are you jealous or something?"
"Jealous? Have you forgotten what happened yesterday already?" Wyldfyr growled at Kitt, only to then mentally kick himself realizing that she couldn't possibly understand him.
"Wyldfyr, it's just Geeld!" Kitt called, approaching her dragon, that to her shock grabbed her with a mag stream and positioned her on his back, only for then slowly backing away, not taking his eyes off a very terrorized Geeld.
"Wyldfyr!" Kitt called as she climbed off his back. "You heard what Connor said!"
"And I'm sorry, but I'll believe it when I see it." He snorted.
During all this, the wraith that resided in Geeld's mind simply laughed at the show.
"Look at them! The great friends and allies of the Dragon Booster and the Dragon of Legend bickering with one another!" The wraith loudly laughed, although the only one to hear her was Geeld.
Geeld, meanwhile, couldn't do anything but watch. She watched as Wyldfyr and Kitt argued, and in her mind she found only one reason for that, herself. The golden dragon looked around with frightened eyes, searching for somewhere to go, for somewhere to hide.
"No you don't!" The wraith called, having perceived her intentions. "You're going to stay here! Running away won't solve anything."
"But..." Geeld whined. She continued to watch as Kitt and Wyldfyr kept shouting to each other.
"No buts! You said he was your friend, then go and talk to him like one!" The wraith insisted.
Geeld silently admitted to herself that the wraith was somewhat right. Wyldfyr was indeed her friend. Geeld stepped forward, taking a deep breath.
"Wyldfyr?" Geeld called, causing the red dragon to snap his eyes on her. She recoiled as he stared daggers at her with angry eyes.
"What do you want?" He growled. "If you've got anything to say, then spill it already!"
"I'm... hmm..." Geeld stammered, fidgeting on the spot. "I'm sorry..."
"Sorry? You're sorry? Is that it?" Wyldfyr snapped at her. "You threaten Beau, trap people in a square while threatening them as well, and you also hurt one that was a close friend of yours. And all that you've got to say is 'sorry'?"
"But it wasn't me!" Geeld whined, looking at Wydfyr with teary eyes. "It was the wraith!"
"Oh, yeah, the 'split personality' thing." Wyldfyr snorted, as he began circling around her. "Do you seriously expect us to believe that?"
Geeld looked down. He doesn't believe me, she thought. The wraith shook her head in dismay.
"Figures." Wyldfyr snorted as he turned away from her.
"Are you just going to let him go like that?" The wraith snarled. Seeing as Geeld gave no response but a sniffle, the wraith sighed and did what she considered the best option.
Wyldfyr had already distanced himself a few meters from Geeld when he heard a roar coming from behind him. Turning around, his eyes widened in shock when he saw Geeld taking the wraith's appearance. When she talked, he was horrified.
"You've got guts to talk to the whelp like that, hothead." The wraith snarled at him. "Here I thought I was the evil one among us."
"You! B-but you're not supposed to be-" Wyldfyr stammered. He had turned around to completely face the wraith-Geeld, slowly backing away from her.
"To be still a wraith? What a disappointment you are..." The wraith chuckled. "You mentioned something about 'split personality', let it sink in for just a moment."
The expression on Wyldfyr's face was the same as Kitt's and Parmon's, who looked at the wraith-Geeld in shock and horror, the dark dragon simply grinning at the Magma-class. Kitt and Parmon couldn't really understand what the wraith was saying, but if they were to guess by Wyldfyr's reaction it was nothing good.
"Am I so scary? And to think that I'm not even trying!" The wraith laughed as everyone was petrified in fear.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Wyldfyr mustered some courage and approached the wraith. She watched as the red dragon stomped towards her.
"Give Geeld back to us!" Wyldfyr roared in the wraith's face.
"Or what?" The wraith teased, her malicious grin unfaltering. "I can feel what she feels. She's ashamed, sad, horrified. Not just by me, though..."
"And by what else, then?" Wyldfyr asked, staring deeply into the wraith's violet eyes.
"By you! By her own friends!" The wraith roared. "Attacking her like you did earlier only served to let her know that now none of her friends will ever trust her again! Sad, isn't it?"
Realization struck Wyldfyr like an unbearable weight. The wraith once more chuckled as she saw his face turn into a self-blaming frown as he tore his eyes from hers.
"She has nowhere to go..." The wraith-Geeld continued. "No one to turn to anymore, except me. I'm always with her. You? You attack her, blame her for things that she has never actually done."
"Why? Why do you help her?" Wyldfyr simply asked, trying to look into her eyes.
"Why, you ask? I'm cruel, but not heartless! She is me and I am her. Her feelings, her memories, they're all mine too, you know?" The wraith hissed.
Receiving no answer from Wyldfyr, who simply looked away, wraith-Geeld let go, returning her body to the real Geeld, the glowing purple fading to her natural bright gold. When Geeld returned to be herself, she looked at Wyldfyr with open, horrified eyes.
Before anyone was able to react, Geeld found herself sprinting forward, running out of the stables through the main entrance. As she crossed the gates, in less than a blink something large, red and blue collided to her side, knocking both her and that dragon with his rider across the track that surrounded the stables.
Artha and Beau had been practicing at the track built around Penn Stables, until something appeared out of nowhere, causing them to collide with it at full speed.
It took both of them a moment to recover, during which Connor, Lance and the others all came running to them.
"Artha, Beau! Are you okay!?" Connor shouted as he came running towards them.
"Uh, yeah. I'm rather okay. What was that, anyway?" Artha said as he stood up, dusting himself off. Beau fared just as good as him, perhaps with only a big bruise on his nose. Looking around, he saw a black and gold dragon biped dragon laying unconscious on its side on the opposite side of the track. It was Geeld.
"Artha! What happened?" Kitt asked as she ran towards them.
"I think me and Beau collided with Geeld... what's she doing out here anyway? Isn't she supposed to be in the Dragon Temple?" Artha asked, annoyed not only that his training was interrupted, but that either him, Beau or Geeld could have been badly hurt in the worst of cases.
Connor meanwhile had approached Geeld, checking if she broke anything. After all she did get to collide with nearly twenty tonnes of dragon running at more than a hundred-fifty miles per hour, Connor thought. Checking her thoroughly, he took a relieved breath that she didn't seem to be badly hurt, except some scraped scales and a really big bruise on her side. Silently, he was thankful that whatever Word did to her seemed to grant her some good bones as well.
After having checked that it was safe to move her, they brought Geeld back to the stables, putting her in the same stall she was before the wraiths took her away to bring her to Word Paynn. To make sure she didn't get too cold, they put some more hay, to insulate her from the cold pavement.
Once they were done, Connor took Kitt, Parmon and Wyldfyr aside to talk to them.
"So, what happened?" Connor asked, not even trying to hide his annoyance.
"Well, we were in the workshop doing some gear testing, when we started hearing some very loud noises coming from the stall where the elevator to the Dragon Temple is, and when opened the door we found Geeld." Parmon began, to then continue explaining the course of events. When Connor heard of the less-than friendly exchange between Wyldfyr and Geeld, the man's eyes stared daggers at the red Magma-class, which looked away in shame.
"Let's just hope that Geeld will be fine when she wakes up." Connor sighed, giving up on the idea of scolding Wyldfyr. He really couldn't blame it on him, it was difficult even for Connor to believe that Geeld had a second personality, and just like Wyldfyr, he had to see with his own eyes.