This chapter is very short, so I'll upload the next one right after.
"Well, now that you've got some control over your power," Amy shot Bill a look. "You can turn into a dragon and give us a ride." They had just passed through the forest portal and into the Great Plains.
He laughed. "You, sure, but I'm not doing anything for those runts!"
She rolled her eyes. "I knew you would say that." She turned to Teeth who cocked his head. "That's why I had you come along. At least you're not a stubborn fool like somebody."
"Somebody might make you walk," Bill retorted.
"That's okay," Teeth said to Amy. "I can carry all three of you."
She shot Bill a smug look. "Well, how nice."
Amy, Bill, Dipper, Mabel, and Teeth had all left early in the morning to go to Telmak and make their way over towards the coast.
As they neared the southern portal, Bill transformed into the yellow dragon and lowered himself to let Amy climb up on his back. He flapped his wings, swooped down and shot through the portal. On the other side they were flying over flat sandy ground that led to rocky cliffs. Amy looked back to see Teeth bolt through the portal with the twins on his back.
Bill flew down over the edge of the cliff and landed on the sandy shore below. Amy slid off his back and looked up at Teeth peering over the cliff.
"Er, I wish I had wings…"
"Come on, you can do it!" Mabel patted his shoulder.
"Are you telling me to jump!?"
"You're a big dragon, eh, monster thing. It's not that far for you!"
"You'll be fine," Bill called up. "Now hurry up."
Teeth shuffled his feet nervously before backing up and jumping. He landed roughly on all fours, kicking up a cloud of sand that caused the humans on his back to cough.
Amy walked over and rubbed his head. "Good job!"
Mabel hopped down and ran over to the water's edge. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Serene! Duncan! Anyone home?!"
After a few moments of nothing happening, the water began to wake in the distance as something big came over. A large, sharp-spined sail broke through the surface and came towards the coast in a wide zigzagging pattern. As it reached the shallow water a large brutish looking serpent burst its head from the water and glared at them.
Duncan quickly recognized three of the visitors and relaxed a bit. "Yer back. Come for some more of me wife's stew, eh?"
"Do you have some?" Mabel asked excitedly.
"Actually," Dipper brushed past her. "We were wondering if you knew where we could get a Sirensong Amaranth?"
He nodded. "Aye, they grow 'round Maashva." He craned his neck around to look out at the water. "Maashva is an underwater city o'er thataway. I could take ya there, problem is it's overrun with damned shadows."
"Shadows?" Amy exchanged looks with Bill.
Duncan looked back at them. "Aye. Blasted things just showed up outta nowhere 'few days ago. Drove off most of the residents. Some 're still in the city, though. Some fightin' while others 're trapped. I was plannin' to go help, but I can't leave Serene alone with shadows runnin' amuck. She's due to 'ave a baby soon."
"Maybe we can help," Mabel looked to Amy.
"It's under water," she said.
"Maashva's magic will let anyone breathe safe," Duncan said. "Ya can come if ye want, but I ain't askin' for yer help."
"Er," Teeth frowned. "I can't swim."
"Maybe you can go stay with Serene," Mabel said. "That way she won't be alone."
"Getting there, ye have to hold yer breath. 'Less ye can breathe under water."
"What about you," Amy looked at the yellow dragon beside her. "Can you swim, or breathe under water?"
He laughed. "Swimming doesn't seem very complicated."
"Whatever you say." She shrugged.
"Fine," Duncan nodded then lowered his head. "Ya two young'uns can catch a ride wit' me."
They seated themselves behind the water dragon's head while Bill allowed Amy onto his back. Duncan kept his head lowered with his bottom jaw under the water like a crocodile and swam out into the deeper water. Bill stepped towards the water and stopped when it touched his hands.
"What is it?" Amy asked.
He wrinkled his snout. "I just remembered that time you made me take a dog bath!"
She laughed as he entered the water.
…
Amy glanced back; the cliffs were now barely visible in the distance and everywhere else around them was just ocean. They had stopped and Duncan lifted his mouth from the water to speak. "Below is the entrance to Maashva. Ye humans 'ill 'ave to hold yer breath for a minute or so. When we pass through the arch ye'll be able to breathe normal."
"Okay!" Mabel said. "Ready!"
"Hold on to me then. I'll try an' be quick." He dove down as they took a deep breath.
Amy held her breath as Bill followed after Duncan. Under the water it was dark, a deep green in all directions. Deep down below she could see a blue glowing arch lined with pink pearls. It almost resembled one of the natural portals.
Just as she felt that she was about to run out of breath, they reached the arch and passed through. On the other side she gasped and was surprised that she could breathe just like she could if she was on land. She looked around at the city. Strange pillars and buildings like dens, all beautiful shades of blue with designs like waves and fish. Colorful coral grew like shrubs and trees would in a city on land, and the pathways were lined with glowing pearls.
She realized that Bill and Duncan were standing on the ground rather than floating in the water and she climbed from his back to walk around.
Duncan chuckled. "Ya all look surprised. I told ye that ye'd be fine 'ere." He looked around and took on a more serious expression. "Normally there'd be fish swimmin' around. There'd be other dragons too. Be careful, them shadows likely ain't far."
"Look at those!" Mabel pointed. In many places outside the pathways and growing among the coral were strange aqua colored flowers. They glowed blue and swayed gently in the water from long stems like kelp.
"Those're Sirensongs," Duncan nodded. "Aqua wit' little blue spots an' a blue glow. They make a strange sound at night, like a high pitch humming. 's actually relaxing."
"We can grab one later," Amy said. "Let's see what's going on here, first."
They went over to a large building located in the back-center of the city. The building was shaped to look like a large fish and the entrance was its gaping mouth. Inside was dome shaped with a large cluster of unique coral growing at the center. Along the back wall were several doors, each shut tight with a magic spell.
"Someone sealed these doors," Amy noted.
"Makes sense," Bill shrugged. "The shadows are just that, living shadows. Some of them can pass under doors and through cracks and holes, no matter how small. The only way to prevent that is sealing magic."
"But where are the shadows?" Dipper touched one of the doors. A voice on the other side growled something in tongues causing Dipper to jump back.
The door slid up suddenly and a green and pink serpent dragon poked its head out to look at them. He looked bewildered by the presence of humans, muttered something again in dragon and retreated as the door fell shut.
"W-wait!" Dipper called.
"He said something about Alpha," Amy said.
"What does that mean?"
"Alpha," Duncan said, "is the name o' the leader of Maashva. Well, Alpha's not really 'is name. It's what dragons call leaders of cities an' villages. Guess ya humans would call 'im a mayor."
The door slid open again and a bright orange serpent with long yellow fins entered the room. He was slightly larger than Duncan and long barbed whiskers flowed from his face like a catfish. His colors were so vibrant that he appeared to glow.
"Hmm," he studied the visitors a moment before turning to Duncan. "You have brought humans…" His words trailed, almost like low growls, but it appeared to be his way of speech rather than aggression.
"They want one o' the Sirensongs."
He narrowed his eyes at them. "Hm, the Sirensongs are not something for humans… What do you want it for?"
"Um, how do we explain it?" Dipper scratched his head.
"Well, truly it does not matter now… Hm, Ragnarok is steadily pushing his way out of Necronire. And to top it off, he has started allowing shadows to slip through the cracks…"
"Has it gotten worse?"
"Hmm, I managed to seal Maashva itself so that shadows can no longer enter. We have dealt with many within the city. However, there is one lurking about that has proved troublesome…"
"Can you explain?" Amy asked.
He led them back to the dome's entrance and looked outside. "There…"
From behind one of the buildings a massive black shark crept around slowly. Its glowing red eyes carefully scanning like spotlights. Its body was strange, misty, as if it was hardly a physical thing at all, and it was far larger than any of the dragons present.
"Hmm, yes. Darkness is abundant. When it spots someone, it opens its maw to let out more shadows… It is also quite the fighter… Several of our structures have been heavily damaged already."
"How do you even kill a shadow?" Dipper watched the shark move behind another structure. He remembered last night watching the Enchiridion show them Bill fighting shadows alongside dragons. "Is it just a matter of how much damage they take?"
"Pretty much," Bill replied. "They can't die outside of their own world. If you manage to beat one, it just forces it back to its own world. They also have a hivemind."
"What does that mean?" Mabel asked.
"They all think and act the same," Amy told her. "They're good at working together."
"That could be a problem," Dipper said.
"It's like a big submarine," Mabel said.
"Yeah," Amy said. "A big one." She paused for a moment. "Big enough to swallow a dragon whole." She glanced at Bill.
He eyed her suspiciously before baring his fangs at her. "Are you joking!?"
"It might be better to attack it from the inside," she explained.
"I'm not letting that thing eat me!" he spat.
"You're the only one here who stands a chance without getting injured," she said coaxingly. "You may not be at full power, but you are really strong."
"I know what you're doing, flattering me, and it's not going to work! Though, I do like it."
"Hmm, she may be right…" Alpha nodded thoughtfully. "We can distract it…hm, unfortunately some of the structures may have to be sacrificed."
"So," Dipper looked at him. "You want to tire it out by having it run into things while Bill attacks it from the inside-out?"
"I'm not doing it!" Bill snapped.
"What, are you scared?"
Bill snarled at him. "I'm not afraid! I'm just not stupid!"
"Could've fooled me."
He was about to bite the boy's head off when Amy stepped in. She grabbed the yellow dragon's head and nuzzled him. "Come on, you big baby. You'll be fine. I'll come with you."
His mouth gaped open like he was going to say something, but he was caught off guard and only stared in shock at her. After a bit, he yanked his head away and snorted. "I don't need your help."
"That's settled." She looked to the others. "We'll go give the shark a stomachache while you guys damage it from the outside."
"What just happened?" Dipper tilted his head.
"Pretty ladies 're quite persuasive when they want some'in," Duncan grinned.
…
"As soon as it spots us it will open its jaws to release smaller shadows…" Alpha told them.
The three dragons were standing on top of a shorter building with a rounded roof. The surrounding area was filled with tall pillars and building-like structures, some of which were already damaged from the shadow's previous attacks. The twins sat on Duncan's back, his spiked sail folded down for them, while Amy was on Bill who looked greatly annoyed at the moment.
"Hmm, all of the residents are safe, so that shark can ram these buildings all it wants…"
"We'll have to sneak up behind it first," Amy said to Bill.
He grunted and flapped his wings and flew, or rather, swam towards the shark's tail end. After finally catching up to the creature, he kept directly beneath it.
"Right…" Alpha swam quickly towards the shark until he reached its red beams. The light from its eyes focused on him and the shadow let out a gurgled growl. It opened its mouth and a swarm of ugly, fish-like shadows escaped and chased after the orange serpent.
Before its mouth had closed, Bill swiftly swam through its teeth and into its throat. He spat out a ball of magic blue fire that he caught in his claws and used like a lantern in the darkness. The belly of the shadow was large and hollow, and there were no organs of any kind.
Bill noticed the darkness taking shape and creeping closer. Black misty fingers slowly reached to wrap around them. He spat out fire and the darkness retreated quickly from the light. "Hmm." He glanced around thoughtfully.
…
As the smaller shadows chased after Alpha, Duncan went up to the shark and let out a blast of hot water that hit the creature in the eye. It roared angrily and began to thrash about. Duncan had to quickly dart out of the way to avoid getting hit. The shark threw its head from side to side and slammed into several structures.
Inside, Bill and Amy had to brace themselves as the shark thrashed around. Its roars reverberated loudly around them and Amy covered her ears.
"Whatever you had in mind," she called, "do it now!"
He breathed blue fire that engulfed them in a ball and burst out in all directions.
The shark crashed through a pillar then stopped and roared as fire began bursting from its body. As the flames swallowed it, the other shadows disappeared as well, bursting into nothingness.
Alpha watched as Bill landed nearby. "Hmm…you make it seem so simple. You really are very powerful…hm?" He glanced at Amy on Bill's back. "Your presence must help as well."
"Me?" She looked confused.
…
Several fish and water dragons swam around, happy to be back home. A few of them were cleaning up debris from the broken structures while dragonlings chased playfully after small fish. Alpha surveyed everything and nodded.
"Thank you for your assistance..." he looked at the visitors and handed Amy one of the Amaranths. It hummed quietly in her hands. "Your…friend is very powerful," he said so that only she could hear. "Do keep an eye on him. Hmm, he is very lost inside…"
"Tell me about it."
To be continued…
Such a short chapter, lol. Oh, and if it wasn't clear by now, yes, Bill does have enough power stored up by now to change forms and use magic. However! It's still a little wonky. Also, he cannot take to his triangle form in physical worlds like Telmak or Avas (human world). Thanks to Ragnarok so long ago, Bill can take a physical dragon form (but he never really liked using it since it came from him), and thanks to Amy, he can take a physical "human" form. Of course, these forms each have their own limitations; their own pros and cons.