Hey guys, here's chapter 15 of Rise of Zeo. This will feature the debut of the parody of a dragon from a certain trading card game. Here we go.
"Ok, here goes…" Zeo said, standing in the back of the Owl House as he held a water balloon in his right hand, a bucket half full of extra water balloons.
Several minutes prior, Zeo had joined with his doppelganger into their merged form. He channeled his energy, a purple colored energy, into the water balloon. The balloon sloshed around for a bit, only for it to push hard at a single point, causing it to break and the water leak out, much to Zeo's dismay. The boy sighed in annoyance. He then grabbed another water balloon.
"Zeo" He looked ahead to see Luz standing in the doorway, "It's time for school" she told him.
With a sigh, Zeo de-converged from his doppelganger, holding his card in his hand. Unlike when Luz separated from Luzura, Zeo didn't get all loopy when he separated from Zeonidas.
"Trying out a new move?" Luz asked.
"Yeah. I'm trying to channel my energy into the balloon and make the water spin. The balloon's supposed to burst, not leak out of one hole" Zeo told her.
"Ohh, you're trying to learn that move" Luz said in realization, "What direction are you spinning the water in?" she asked him.
"To the right" Zeo replied. Luz grabbed his face, "Hey, what're you…" he said as she tilted his head down, feeling her rake her fingers through his hair. After a second, Luz released him.
"Try rotating it to the left, you know, counterclockwise" Luz told him.
"To the left, huh? Eh, I'll give it a shot. For now though…" Zeo pulled out one of his cards, "Daze Raven, arise!" he tossed the card, bringing out the white raven.
The duo hopped on to the large bird's back. Daze Raven released a caw before taking off to Hexside.
Hexside Academy…
Daze Raven landed in front of the school, Zeo and Luz sliding off her back.
"I still can't believe you made a card based off Lilith" Luz commented as Zeo recalled Daze Raven back into her card.
"Eh, bound to happen sooner or later. I made a card based on mom, why no Aunt Lilly?" Zeo said with a shrug.
"Fair enough" Luz said in agreement.
The duo then went inside the building. Upon entering, Zeo threw a punch across Mattholomule's jaw, knocking him out as he fell to the floor with a bloody nose. Zeo sighed in relief. He needed that in order to release his frustrations. If that were any other student, Luz would've scolded him for that, but since Mattholomule was a jerk, she'd let it slide.
"I wonder what we're going to learn about today. Not that I really care that much since I'm the top student in the Beast Keeping track" Zeo said as they walked through the hallways.
"Ironic, considering you didn't want to be in that track in the first place and only agreed to be part of it as a compromise." Luz pointed out with a chuckle.
"I know, it's weird" Zeo replied while looking at the banners for each of the tracks. He looked at the banner for the Beast Keeping track specifically. An egg. Lots of creatures came from eggs, like birds and reptiles. Not to mention, "Dragons…" Zeo muttered to himself.
Getting an inspired, Zeo took out a pencil along with sketchpad. Luz squealed in excitement. She had always enjoyed it when he created a new beast. Some, like the Lizard Brothers and Razor-dillo, were cute; others, like Knight Owl and Daze Raven, were fierce; and then there were ones like Luzura and Zeonidas, who fulfilled all of her magical and fictional fantasies. She heard him say dragon. Would it be a cute baby dragon or a fierce adult dragon?
"Aaand… Boom!" Zeo tapped the glyph on the back of the paper, turning it into a card, "What do you think, Luz?" he showed it to the human girl.
The image showed a pitch-black dragon with blank, glowing red eyes, its mouth filled with red, fiery energy, its wing spread. It was a level 7 dark elemental. Luz couldn't help be beam at the sight of the card alone. The name of the beast was Crimson-Eyes Onyx Dragon.
"It looks awesome, Zeo!" Luz beamed, "Though, it kind of looks similar to a dragon in this one trading game that kids at my human school play that's based off an anime I saw" she added.
"I want to test this bad boy out, but is there time?" Zeo questioned. A few seconds passed, "Oh, the hell with it. Crimson-Eyes Onyx Dragon, arise!" he tossed the card.
In a flash of dark purple light, out came the black dragon, standing as tall as Knight Owl. The beast then released a mighty roar that shook the entire school.
"Awesome! Now that's what I call a dragon!" Zeo smiled.
"Yeah!" Luz said in agreement, "They say a dragon like this represents violence, anger and potential" she told him, "Hey, kind of like you!" she pointed out while looking at the silver-haired boy.
"Funny" Zeo deadpanned, "I sense great power form this guy" Zeo held his hand out, the dragon leaning its face into his touch.
"So, you're the one that summoned that thing?!" they turned to see Principal Bump, who had stern glare upon his face.
"What're you doing here, Bump?" Zeo raised an eyebrow.
"The noise made by that thing caught my attention" Bump said with a flat face.
"Yeah, a badass roar. What do you think of my dragon? Impressive, right?" Zeo asked, gesturing to the beast.
Bump looked at the dragon, who released a low growl, "Yes, it's quite impressive. Just make sure it doesn't cause any damage" he told Zeo sternly before walking away.
"Whoa!" they heard someone say. They turned to see the Blight siblings, "Is that a dragon?" Emira asked with amazement, her and her siblings approaching.
"Sure is!" Zeo said as Crimson-Eyes casted a glare at the siblings, causing Edric to hide behind Amity.
"It's cute! In a dangerous and fierce sort of way" Emira said while walking up behind Zeo, throwing her arms around him, "Kind of like you, Zeo" she said while affectionately nuzzling his cheek.
Zeo blushed, Edric, Luz and Amity chuckling at his slight embarrassment. That's when the school bell rang.
"That's our cue. Crimson-Eyes, return!" Zeo commanded his latest beast who, to Edric's relief, returned to its card state.
"Alright then" Emira kissed Zeo's cheek, "See you around, my little cutie" she whispered in his ear in a sultry tone.
Edric and Amity once again chuckled at Zeo's embarrassment before they, along with Emira, headed off to class. Well, Amity was headed off to class, her siblings were most likely going to ditch… again. Normally Luz was ok with Emira flirting with Zeo, but that kiss she gave him made her wince a bit.
Zeo sighed and headed off to class, Luz running up beside him. On the way, he received another series of visions. The first was of the Owl Paladin, but she was wielding a sword that appeared to have a hilt shaped like an owl in flight. The second showed a warrior with dragon themed armor.
"Whoa..." Zeo said while looking at the dragon card he just created, "Something tells me you have a ton of power behind you" he said to the card.
"Another vision?" Luz asked.
"How'd you know?" He asked.
"I've noticed every time you have a vision; you get this look on your face." Luz said.
"Yeah, I had a vision. One of them involved Luzura" Zeo told her.
"Ooh!" Luz said in excitement about a vision involving her doppelganger, the card of whom was still in her pocket due to strains that make it complicated.
It was funny, despite Zeo's cards being kind of like trading cards, they weren't as fragile or as easily bendable as regular paper or cardboard cards. They were surprisingly durable and flexible, kind of like those hard rubber or laminated cards.
"Speaking of which, how's this: next time we have to fight a monster, how about I let you test Luzura's new form yourself by letting you mind-meld with her and fuse with Knight Owl?" He offered.
"YES, PLEASE!" Luz said excitedly.
"Just a heads-up though, you might be more prone to being excited for battle and being seductive" Zeo warned.
"I'll be willing to take that chance!" Luz said.
"Also, the outfit... Well, let's just say guys would be all over you" Zeo said vaguely.
"Even you?" Luz asked teasingly.
"Well, I... uh, I..." Zeo stammered as Luz giggled again, "Let's... Let's just get to class" Zeo said, avoiding the question.
Beast Keeping Class…
Everyone was in class, about to learn about their next lesson. They had learned about taking care of an egg sometime prior, and now they were learning about what creatures hatched from eggs. Though most those creatures they were already aware of, like birds and reptiles. This made Zeo curious with a raise of his hand.
"Hey, who do you think would win in a fight between a full-grown dragon and a full-grown roc?" Zeo asked.
"It depends on the type of the dragon and the strength of the roc," The Beast Keeping teacher said.
"Like a dark dragon, for example?" Zeo asked, "Those guys tend to be ruthless" he added.
"That's true, Mr. Clawthorne, but I guess you'd have to see something like that for yourself to truly understand." The instructor said.
"Hm. I only asked because that egg sitting project got me wondering who's more powerful. That and I saw a Roc flying over Bonesborough on my way to school" Zeo said.
"Let's just hope it doesn't attack the school" Luz said.
"Don't jinx it, Luz" Zeo replied.
"Sorry in advance, just in case." She said with a chuckle.
"Don't worry, you two. Wild rocs only attack if they're hunting for food or if you mess with their babies" the Beast Keeping teacher, "Hopefully no one is foolish enough to do the latter"
The blue pig student looked in backpack. Unbeknownst to any of the other students, he had a large, round object in there.
Cafeteria…
"I just can't get over how cool this thing looks" Zeo said while looking at his latest card, sitting at the lunch table with Luz, Gus and Willow.
"Wait, don't you already have a dragon beast?" Gus asked.
"You can never have to many dragons" Zeo replied, "Besides, Frostfire is a fusion; Crimson-Eyes is a base beast, probably on par with Knight Owl" he told them.
"He has a point" Willow said.
"On par with Knight Owl?" Luz asked, looking at Zeo.
"That's the vibe I sensed" Zeo said with a shrug.
"Considering Knight Owl's your strongest base beast, it must be a strong vibe." Luz said, with an interested smile. That's when they heard a loud squawking sound from above. Zeo and Luz looked at each other, "Coincidence?" Luz said, hopefully, referring to what Zeo said earlier.
"With our luck, I doubt it" Zeo said with a deadpanned expression.
"I did apologize in advance, just to be fair." Luz said.
The ceiling then broke open, the giant bird squawking as it poked its head through. Zeo recognized this bird as the roc he saw flying over town earlier. This was a wild roc, so either it was searching for food or someone messed with its nest. Considering Bonesborough didn't have food big enough to feed a full-grown roc, it must've been the latter.
"Alright, which of you dumbasses messed with its nest?" Zeo asked everyone in the cafeteria.
Everyone remained silent. Zeo heard a snort. Turning around, he saw the pig student sitting at a table across from his. He appeared to have a nervous look upon his face, along with a sweat to boot. Zeo narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him.
"Alright, spill it, porky, what're you hiding?" Zeo asked, holding him up by the back of his shirt. The pig student gulped nervously, "Tell me or my owl is going to have porkchops for lunch!"
"Zeo!" Luz looked at him.
"Ok, ok!" the pig student said, holding his hands up with fear. He removed his backpack, opened it up and pulled out the very thing he was carrying with in it. An egg… a roc egg, "I found it at the bottom of a cliff, about to be eaten by a badger" the pig student said.
"You damn fool! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Zeo yelled.
"You stole a mama bird's egg!" Luz chimed in.
"Why didn't you put the egg back in the nest?" Zeo asked him.
"It was really high and I'm terrible at climbing. I was planning on taking it to the roc rancher so it could hatch properly and grow up on the ranch" the pig student said.
"How sweet. I'm sure you'll remember once that bird finishes kicking your truffle-loving ass" Zeo spat sarcastically. He looked down and saw the egg was missing from the backpack. He looked around and Luz with the egg in her hands, "Luz, what the hell are you doing?" Zeo asked with shock.
"Relax, Zeo, I'm sure the mama roc will go away once we give her egg back" Luz said reassuringly.
Luz stepped on the bench, only to trip forward, the flying out of her hands. Luckily, Willow was there to catch it, albeit accidentally. Zeo and Luz sighed in relief. It was in this moment, however, that the roc caught sight of the egg in the Plant student's hands. The giant bird screeched and leaned in, grabbing and lifting Willow by the back of her shirt.
"Willow!" Luz and Gus cried as they watched the bird take off with their friend.
"Willow…" Amity said the girl's name under her breath, having witnessed what happened, her voice filled with what almost sounded like concern or worry.
"Well, this is an ironic turn of events" Zeo said while holding a card between his fingers, "Crimson-Eyes Onyx Dragon, arise!" he tossed the card, summoning the dark dragon from earlier. Zeo dropped the pig student and climbed on the back of his dragon, "If my friend gets eaten, my dragon's going to eat you!" he threatened while pointing at the pig student.
Crimson-Eyes released a low growl, the pig student gulping in fear as the dragon glared at him.
Crimson-Eyes released a roar, and then took off into the air, flying after the giant bird.
A Cliff Somewhere…
With a screech the roc flew over a large nest that rested near the edge of a cliff. The giant bird then dropped Willow in the center of the nest where there were two more eggs behind her, the egg she was already holding resting in her lap. A cracking sound then filled her ears. Looking over her shoulder, she saw cracks on the eggs behind her, signifying that they were about to hatch.
"Uh-oh…" Willow muttered with concern. That's when the top of the eggs came off, revealing the featherless heads of two baby chicks, "Aww!" Willow said, adoring at the sight of them.
Willow then heard a rumble. Turning her head forward, she saw the mama roc gazing down at her, licking its beak. Willow's eyes widened, knowing what that meant. The roc once again grabbed the girl by the back of her shirt, flicking its head back which launched her several feet into the air. Willow saw the bird open its beak wide. She screamed as the open mouth got closer. She covered her eyes, waiting to be swallowed whole.
Fortunately, before that could happen, she was caught by something, or rather someone. Removing her hands, she looked up to see Zeo who was holding her in his arms.
"Hey Willow" Zeo greeted casually as they rode on the back of his latest dragon.
"Zeo! Am I glad to see you!" Willow said with a relieved smile.
"Yeah, a second later and you'd be bird food" Zeo pointed out.
"Let's head back to school" Willow suggested.
Zeo opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the screeching of the roc, the giant bird flying up in front of them. The roc cawed at them, Crimson-Eyes countering with a roar.
"Sorry, Willow, it looks like Crimson-Eyes wants to settle things. Plus, I've been curious to see which is stronger between a roc and a dragon since this morning" Zeo told the girl, Willow replying with a sigh then an understanding nod. Zeo pulled out another card, "Beast Weapon: Dragon Blade, arise!" he tossed the card, summoning the dragon-based weapon.
The two beasts flew at each other. The roc may have had the size advantage, but Crimson-Eyes had the advantage in both speed and maneuverability. Crimson-Eyes flew under the roc, dodging its talons and coming out from behind it.
"Command Card: Chaos Inferno Blast!" Zeo tossed the card into Crimson-Eyes.
A red flame then filled the black dragon's mouth. With a roar, it fired a beam of red flames surrounded by shadows. The blast hit the giant bird, hitting it straight in the back between its wings, causing the bird beast to screech in pain. The roc turned around flew back at them.
Crimson-Eyes maneuvered under the giant bird again. Under the bird, Zeo lunged his sword upward, impaling it in the center of its chest. The roc screeched in pain as it felt the blade down its body, practically slicing it open. The giant bird's eyes immediately closed shut as it fell from the sky, a large amount of blood spilling from its body. The roc's dead body landed in its nest in a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, they saw that the bird was lying on its back with its wings spread and legs up.
Crimson-Eyes released a mighty roar of triumph.
"Wait, are her babies—"
"Yep!" Zeo quickly answered, "But just to be sure…" he pulled out another card, "Command Card: Chaos Inferno Sphere!" he tossed the card into Crimson-Eyes.
Red flames formed in the black dragon's mouth. With a roar, Crimson-Eyes released a giant ball of red flames that surrounded by shadows. The attack hit and exploded in a dome of flames upon impact. When it dissipated, all that was left was a scorched crater with small flames.
"Don't you think that was a bit overkill?" Willow questioned.
"Don't look at me, it was Crimson-Eyes' idea. Dragons and rocs are, like, mortal enemies" Zeo told her, his dragon released a growl of agreement, "Looks like when it comes to Dragons vs. Rocs, dragons win!" Zeo said with a smirk, Crimson-Eyes releasing another roar.
"But… you're the one that technically the delivered the finishing—"
"Please don't ruin the moment" Zeo cut Willow off midsentence.
Hexside Academy…
Luz and Gus were outside the building, waiting for Zeo and Crimson-Eyes to return with Willow.
"Do you think they ran into trouble?" Gus asked, sitting on the steps.
"If I know Zeo, he's probably already taken that overgrown chicken down. Odds are he killed it in order to save Willow" Luz said.
"But he's in the Beast Keeping track, wouldn't he take it down without killing it?" Gus asked.
"He only joined that track as a compromise with Bump. Besides, he's going up against a full-grown roc and those things never let go of their food without a fight. Zeo would probably have no choice but to kill it" Luz informed him.
"You got that right, Noceda" they heard a voice. They looked up to see Zeo, Willow in his arms as they rode on the back of Crimson-Eyes Onyx Dragon, "Crimson-Eyes and I brought took that giant turkey down!" he said smugly as he hopped off his dragon's back, setting the plus-sized girl down.
"Thanks for saving me, Zeo" Willow threw her arms around him in a hug which he happily returned, "You too, Crimson-Eyes" she said, petting the dragon on his snout.
They heard someone clear their throat. They saw Principal Bump standing at the entrance, a stern expression on his face, clearly not happy.
"Before you start, the damage in the cafeteria was caused by a Roc. My dragon and I destroyed it and saved Willow's cute, plant-loving ass" Zeo explained, Willow blushing at that comment, "Are you seriously going to be mad about that?" he asked.
Bump simply turned and left, muttering some indiscernible words. The only thing that could be made out were, "Just like Eda" and "Why couldn't that basilisk have been a real Emperor's Coven inspector?"
"This must be what it felt like to be Mom when she was in school" Zeo said.
"Probably" Luz said.
The Owl House…
After school, Zeo and Luz had flown home on Crimson-Eyes. Zeo had shown the dragon to Eda and King. King ran into house the upon the dragon growling and looking at him. Eda, however, thought the dragon looked fierce, almost as fierce as Knight Owl. Although she was probably being biased since the armored bird was based off her.
A half an hour later, Zeo had merged with his doppelganger and once again he was in the back with a bucket full of water balloons. Zeo channeled his energy into the balloon. Luz had suggested rotating the water within the balloon counterclockwise, so that's what he did. As luck would have it, the balloon pushed out in multiple directions. It expanded until…
*Boom*
The balloon burst into pieces, water spilling to the ground.
"Yes! Yes, I did it!" Zeo cheered with pride.
It was an interesting day. Not only did he create and summon a new dragon beast, but was able to use it combat and kill a giant roc with it. Plus, he just finished the first step in learning the new move.
Now he could move on to step two.
And that's the end of this chapter. Finally, I was able to introduce my second favorite of Zeo's base beasts. Yes, Crimson-Eyes Onyx Dragon is a parody of Red-Eyes Black Dragon, it couldn't be helped. I know I'm probably in the minority when I say this, but if you had to ask me which dragon is my favorite between Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I'd go with Red-Eyes hands down. Blue-Eyes is kind of overrated if you ask me. That's not to say I don't like Blue-Eyes though, I still think it's pretty cool. Who knows? I might make parody of Blue-Eyes White Dragon as well.
This chapter was co-written with JTWAS1994. And yes, Zeo is trying to learn the signature move of a certain knuckleheaded ninja. His doppelganger's a ninja, might as well.
As always, if you have ideas for beasts, say it in a review or feel free to private message me. Just remember to put their name, level, element, gender (unless it's genderless), description of what it looks like, and when Zeo creates it.
Remember to Read, Review and Favorite/Follow.