Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! How to Train Your Dragon belongs to DreamWorks, and Amphibia belongs to Disney.
A swarm of thoughts ran through Marcy's intellectual mind as the beast stood on top of the pile of junk in all its strength and glory. Many of those thoughts consisted of many emotions. Disbelief, confusion, and alarm warred at the forefront while the rest struggled to compensate for the impossible sight before her.
A dragon.
A froggin' dragon.
As far as the girl was concerned, dragons weren't supposed even to exist. She thought they were mere stories that were shared by people all over the world. Some mean to spread great wisdom, while others bring fear and darkness. But to stand before one such as the one in front of her took a massive tole for the chest master.
The pale moonlight revealed more details of the dragon's physical features than Marcy had already known. Aside from the prominent black scales and large wings that could cover the moon with its shadow, the teenage girl started to notice that the beast that stood before had striking resemblances to a large cat, mixed with a bit of salamander and a hint of a bat to go with it.
Just gazing upon this ungodly creature sent mixed emotions through Marcy's brain. On the one hand, she felt mesmerized by setting her sights on the magnificent beast. The fact alone that she was standing before a living, breathing dragon was nothing short but breathtaking for the teen girl. It was just so darn awesome to experience. And she hadn't had this kind of experience since finding Frobo in Wartwood. Never in her life did she want to start fangirling more than right now.
But on the other hand, she felt terrified. To her understanding, dragons were powerful creatures. And were significantly associated with being masters of fire. They also had a fierce reputation for being dangerous and unpredictable, like most animals seen today. And will strike anyone who provokes them without them even knowing it. But besides all that, what struck her the most was how menacing the dragon looked. She could tell this creature could eat her whole in only a few bites. And it could give an adult grizzly bear nightmares for a week.
Just thinking about the many ways it could destroy her, Marcy was left shaking like a leaf, and her terror was extreme. But with that terror also came curiosity. It is very unusual for such a creature to appear in an era such as the 21st century. Not to mention, the myths of dragons date as far back as the medieval era, with no objective evidence of their involvement in anything historians have described. This begs the question,
'What is a dragon even doing here? Let alone where did it come from?'
Before she could further give her questions any line of thought, the dragon began to stir and regain consciousness. The creature turned its head to the right and shook, likely to remove the grogginess from the back of its mind. Before she could go further into giving her answers any line of thought, Marcy stood frozen, her hands fidgeting, and a cold chill came up from her spine as the dragon let out a huge groan, rubbing one of its paws across its face as it suffered an obnoxious headache.
Luckily for the teenage girl, the dragon didn't seem to notice that she was even there. And was instead focused on the flesh wound at the center of its right forearm. She watched as it licked its wound with its tongue. It reminded her of a cat whenever it grooms itself. It was cute. But that feeling was quickly replaced when she realized that even though it may seem appealing, the beast was still pretty dangerous from her perspective.
Coming back to her senses, the young girl slowly started backing away from the disoriented beast. Taking careful steps backward in hopes of not drawing the creature's attention. However, that plan didn't exactly work out for her when...
Snap!
Marcy's eyes widened as she quickly looked down to see she had stepped on a glass bottle. When she looked back up, one of the ear appendages twitched. Shortly after that, the dragon jolted its head up, its eyes widened and on alert. Half a heartbeat later, a deep growl escaped the creature's throat, along with a high-pitch whistling sound. The dragon then leaped up in the air and shot a fireball in the direction of the said disturbance. The blast was sent across the junkyard until it collided with another scrap pile, thus causing an echoing explosion.
When the dust cleared, the dragon growled again and looked in that direction, only to see nothing—just the emptiness of the junkyard with a slightly warm breeze and the sound of scrap touching the ground midair. Though to the dragon's bewilderment, Marcy was seen hiding behind an abandoned car nearly two feet from the pile of junk. She was lucky enough to get to it before the beast could spot her. That being said, Marcy was practically mortified at the sight of the shot made.
Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she covered her mouth with both hands to keep herself from screaming. Behind the broken vehicle, she could hear the dragon sniffing from the other side. The next thing she heard was breathing. Like the sounds of the footsteps, it was soft, but there were the faintest hints of a growl. From what she could listen to, it drew closer to the car. Or at least it seemed like that. Quivering in terror, Marcy timidly looked through the vehicle's window, catching a glimpse of the beast a foot from where it originally was, with its nose buried in the ground, continuously sniffing as it inched its way to the left side.
As it continued to stalk towards the nearside, Marcy moved to her right, silently sneaking to the back of the vehicle. Once back there, she shrunk down and hid just above the offside back window of the car, with the dragon still sniffing on the other side. Every inch of the former chief ranger's body wanted to give in, but Marcy was too brilliant for that. And she knew that she would be dead if she faltered hear now. She looked slightly towards the edge to see if it was still there but pulled back when the dragon lifted its head. The black antennas that the chess master hypothesized to be ear flaps perked up. Listening to even the slightest sound, though coming short a second later.
As Marcy felt the beast's presence faltering, she looked to the edge of the car's front side. Only to catch sight of the dragon's tail slithering to the other side. Marcy slowly rose to ensure the creature was gone, only to drop back down upon hearing a thudding sound from the top of the car. And to her dismay, Marcy was left in an unsettling position: The dragon was on top of the vehicle.
Looking onward with its head right above the spot she was hiding. All it took was one fatal mistake for her position to be given away. But to the teen's luck, the window on the near side front door of the car was wide open. She quietly snuck into the window of the window without the dragon noticing her, taking shelter in the back seat. At the same time, she could see the dragon's heavy breathing from up top. From the other side of the back seat, Marcy looked through the opened window and could see the tip of the dragon's head looking downward, sniffing profoundly from the edge.
Shortly after, the teen girl heard an echoing roar from on top of the vehicle, prompting her to cover her ears. A second later, the roaring stopped, and Marcy could remove her hands from her ears. By then, the dragon let out a low growl before jumping off the car. With its back facing the window seat of the vehicle, Marcy quietly crawled up to the other side and peeked through the window. She watched through the glass as the dragon continued sniffing the ground while rolling up the window in case the dragon spotted her. There she studied the creature's every move, noticing that it was bleeding from dozens of minor wounds.
Along with that, the dragon was limping on the forearm with the hole in the middle. Which probably meant that the beast was weakened from a previous fight. It only worsened her situation, knowing that if the animal were wounded, it would probably be just as dangerous, if not more.
Half a heartbeat later, another roar was issued. Though when Marcy looked, she witnessed one of the most extraordinary things occur before her very eyes. From outside, she saw a purple aura leave the dragon's mouth and head straight into the direction of the pile, from whence it spawned while bouncing off to other trends surrounding the area. Seconds after that, the aura bounced back into the dragon's path and returned to the beast, who lifted one of its ear appendages. Instantly, the dragon released yet another growl before slowly making its way to the right.
Marcy bit her tongue, resisting the urge to fangirl at the incredible sight of what appeared to be the dragon possessing some form of echolocation. And from a dragon of all creatures. This opened a new wave of questions of possibilities. Some of which made her more eager to observe and study her curiosity. However, it was most unfortunate for her when the teenage geek realized she didn't have her journal on her. She probably would've written all this down, given a chance.
However, before she could be allowed to silently come up with more theories about the dragon's formal abilities, there was a frequent vibration buzzing from the back of her pocket. And following that was a sound that almost made Marcy want to gouge her eyes out.
Ring ring!
The ringer from her phone went off, playing the usual K-pop song she had set as her ringtone. A piece of music that she, Anne, and Sasha, played that one time when she rigged the PA system at school. Though, to the girl's dismay, as the ringtone played, the dragon spun its head around and bared its teeth. As it was silently growling at the disturbance, Marcy scrambled in the car seat to try to find her phone. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket, fumbling with it for a few seconds in panic before pulling the screen up.
Consequently, Marcy brought it up to see that her parents were trying to call her before pressing the decline button as fast as she could. Not that she wouldn't answer them anyway, but now wasn't the best time, considering she was currently occupied with trying to avoid being roasted alive by a fire-breathing dragon.
And speaking of which, after she turned her ringer off, a cold chill ran down the Taiwanese girl's spine as she suddenly saw the shadow of the creature inching closer and closer to the car from outside—followed by a nasty snarl that could be heard from the other side of the door. In quick thinking, Marcy sank below the car door, burying her legs beneath the car seat so the dragon wouldn't see her.
From the rearview mirror, Marcy could see the dragon outside the car, its paws propped up against the window, sniffing and growling, looking into the car's interior with murderous intent. As the young girl concealed herself from the dragon's prying eyes, sweat glands began to form on her forehead as she once again covered her mouth with both arms to keep her silence her ridged breathing.
The teen geek could hear the beast's growls shift into a long, raw, guttural snarl as it slightly opened up its maw, showing all of the perky white teeth that covered every corner of the dragon's mouth. As it lowered its head toward the window's glass, Marcy shut her eyes and whimpered. She could hear the dragon's hot breath press against the pane and its claws, scratching the metal exterior of the car door.
With each passing second, the snarling got louder and louder until it became permanently stuck in the girl's mind. Even though she wasn't sure of it, if the dragon noticed her at that moment, she would surely die. And just the mere thought of that sent tears down the girl's eyes. She had nearly died once in her lifetime and certainly didn't want to die a second time. She had so much to live for and accomplish; she had just gotten her friends back in and started living an everyday life for the last two months. Surely this can't be the end, could it?
Yet before she could contemplate the news headlines that would probably tell about her unfortunate demise, the moment was cut short when the dragon removed its snout from the glass and dropped back on all fours. And seconds after that, Marcy could hear the snarling fade further and further away until it became silent.
Thenceforth, she could hear the dragon's footprints distance themselves from the car until it finally became quiet a second later. From there, Marcy sat in the car for a few more seconds before slowly looking through the window to see if the dragon was gone. And to her luck, there was no sign of the dragon going onward. Marcy looked around to ensure it was safe before slowly climbing out of the car.
By the time she was out, Marcy had taken a few steps forward in the direction she had suspected the dragon had gone. She Taiwanese girl darted her eyes in different directions, ensuring she wasn't second-guessing herself. After completing a 180, she turned back to the rusty old car that was her hideaway. By then, it had become blatantly apparent to the teenage geek that it was gone. And for the first time in her life, Marcy was glad she was alone.
"Phew," she said with a sigh. "That was close."
At first, this would genuinely be the case. Yet before Marcy could be given a chance to take a moment to celebrate the fact she had just evaded sudden death for the fifth time in her life, her thoughts had betrayed her when a sharp hiss was heard from behind her. And at that moment, Marcy was frozen in fear, for she had finally realized her mistake. One that may cost the Taiwanese geek her own life.
The dragon doubled back.
As quickly as she could, Marcy spun around, only to practically wet herself when she came face to face with the beast himself, who was standing over a pile of broken-down cars that towered over her. She watched as the creature opened its maw, from which a familiar purple glow formed, along with a high-pitched sound. And before long, a fireball was shot out of the dragon's mouth and straight in the girl's direction.
Before that, Marcy instinctively leaped out of the fireball's direction and to her left. Thus barely missing the blast by inches before it struck the car from whence she hid, causing a massive explosion. By the time the dust began to clear, only one thing had come to the teen girl's mind. One that made her spur into action; simultaneously, the dragon decided to leap from the pile and slowly advance toward her.
Run.
Marcy instantly shot up from the ground and bolted down the scrap pile, thus forcing herself not to look back as she heard a dreadful bark ring behind her. She first found herself squeezing through a stack of tires and jumping backward as the dragon plunged through it, snapping at the Asian girl before she turned back and sprinted off again. Her light-footed feel propelled her as fast as she could without taking a moment's notice. The cold wind made her eyes blurry with liquid, though she found it helpful for her overstimulating lungs. She always fancied herself for being athletic to some degree. But that was to be tested as she continued to make her way across the junkyard.
Behind her, Marcy could hear metal clanging noisily, along with a roar echoing intensely from a relatively small distance. She spared a slight glance from behind to reveal a terrifying sight. That which is the dragon climbing the pile of broken down cars that surrounded the bowels of the junkyard and racing toward her. She watched it viciously scrabble across the broken pieces of debris, leaping from car to car like a leopard in the jungle and using the height advantage to gain more ground. Though to her surprise, the dragon seemed to be a lot slower in its pacing due to its injured forearm. Yet it was still fast enough to catch up to her.
She gasped as she saw the dragon leap down from the cars and straight at her with its maw wide open. The Taiwanese girl leaned left, barely missing the dragon's jaws before veering off in that direction. Using the junk piles as cover, Marcy weaved her way through the junkyard, hoping that the garbage all around her would be able to slow the dragon's advance. Though dismayed, she could hear the dragon pushing through the junk and briefly biting down a tire to grab her before moving its way through two broken buses.
Shortly after, Marcy slid underneath a broken car and jumped from the other side, the dragon attempted to go underneath it, but its head got stuck. This unfortunate circumstance from the beast allowed Marcy to gain more ground. Though unfortunately for her, the moment she started making a break for the exit, she found herself tripping over a stone in the environment, which sent her tumbling to the ground, and rolling for a few yards before ultimately coming to a short stop just outside the mouth of a wooden pile surrounded by broken down furniture.
Half a second later, Marcy found herself scrambling inside when she saw the dragon charge the pile, teeth, and claws bared. Her breaths were quick and heavy as the beast shoved his head into the mouth of the wooden bank, snapping its two jaws rapidly and swiping away the chunks of broken furniture that blocked its way. Marcy continued to distance herself by backing further into it, which resulted in the dragon changing positions by shoving his left forearm into the pile.
The creature's claw was nearly inches from her face when she decided to pull up—backing more profoundly into the confines of the pile before the beast could be given a chance to grab her. Though she retreated to her left, the dragon withdrew its head and went around, finding a small gap where Marcy had hidden and stuck its head through it. Unfortunately for the beast, the hole was too tiny and surrounded by broken furniture. But even that wasn't enough to stop the dragon as it pulled its head back again and dug through the rubble with its paws.
Once the hole was big enough, the creature stuck its head back in, still insanely eager to catch the prey before it. Finally, while Marcy was profusely backing up, the beast could lock its vice-like jaws around the teenage girl's left foot. The girl screamed in agony as she felt hundreds of pounds of pressure close down around her leg. It wasn't enough to snap the bone hole, but it was undoubtedly excruciating.
She frantically kicks the dragon's head with her free leg to free her foot. But it came no avail as the dragon tightened its grip and started dragging her out of the pile. Marcy resisted the urge to scream again as she grabbed the nearest wooden leg to keep herself from being dragged out and killed. Yanking her foot out did nothing to loosen its grip, so she desperately opted to take a rapid yet risky move. She takes her foot back and slams it directly into the dragon's left eye.
The beast shrieked in pain and finally let go of her leg, pulling its head back and clutching its hurt eye with its forearms. Seizing the moment, Marcy rushes out of the pile and breaks for it, heading as far away from the disoriented creature as she can. Unknowing to her, however, the dragon shook its head and focused back on the fleeing girl. Adrenaline clouded Marcy's vision, limiting her from any real sense of direction. She didn't know where or if she was going the right way, but one thing became clear. She needed to escape, and soon.
Yet this became very short-lived as another high-pitched sound was heard behind her, followed by a shot fired directly in her path. Marcy yelped as she came to a shortstop, only inches away from the explosion. She attempted to take the way to her right that led deeper into the junkyard but was cut off by another blast. Then she tried to double back and go the way she came from, only to be greeted by a thousand pounds baring down upon her as the dragon pounced at her.
The creature took her to the ground with its strength and power, pinning her to the ground with its forearms. Marcy desperately tries to make an effort to lift its paws off but is unable to do so because of the dragon's sheer size. With the teen girl wholly immobilized, the dragon tries to go for her face to finish her off. Instinctively, Marcy shoves her arms up and places her hands on both sides of her head. But the dragon was much stronger than her and threw away her hands with its free forearm. Then it raised its head high, intending to end her quickly instead as its maw started to glow a bright purple. Before it could enact the final blow, Marcy spotted a glass bottle to her left.
She quickly grabs it with her right hand, knowing that this is a moment of life and death, and swings it across the dragon's face, shattering the glass of it upon impact and causing the dragon to fire to its right instead. With the dragon disoriented for a second time, Marcy picks herself up and makes another run for it. She darts her head toward her surroundings to see if she can find the nearest exit. But it was without any success.
To her luck, however, the Taiwanese girl was able to spot a wired fence surrounded by barbed-wired barricades that led outside the junkyard. She rushed to it, hoping to escape what would be considered this awful nightmare. But before she could be given a chance to be home free, she caught the sound of another blast from behind her. And before she knew it, another explosion was set behind her, sending the girl flying a couple of yards.
By the time she returned to earth, she had landed roughly, with her face hitting the hard ground, and found herself rolling for a few more yards before coming to a screeching halt. The teen geek felt every muscle in her body tense, and parts of her clothing started to sizzle. Her head started to feel woozy, and she could barely move. It was probably the most pain she had ever felt since Amphibia. After a few more seconds, Marcy slowly picked herself up. She only had a few more seconds to regain her senses before her eyes caught a glimpse of the dragon slowly approaching her.
As it continued its advance, the full height of the dragon's appearance came into view. Claws of black steel. Scales as black as night. Eyes glowing green. Teeth filed into pairs of razor-sharp fangs, with a gnarly growl escaping from the tips of its lips. Marcy had briefly gotten up to her feet when the dragon's maw glowed again. Knowing what would come after, Marcy braced herself to be blasted to oblivion.
The moment never came.
Instead, the glow within the dragon's maw evaporated. The dragon responded by shaking its head and trying again, but nothing came out. Then the creature's eyes widened in shock. One of which puzzled the Asian geek. Though now that she thought about it, she counted the dragon firing projectiles six times again. And it was a bit of a surprise to her that it would stop now. However, this could only mean one thing if this was genuinely the case.
'It can run out of shots?' she wondered to herself.
In theory, this could be a logical solution. Though to her knowledge, dragons were supposed to have an infinite supply of power when it came to their fire. But the fact that it couldn't now gave her a modicum of relief. However, this didn't mean that the dragon was relatively harmless. For as the beast began to realize its peril, it turned back to her, snarling and making its approach. Marcy looked around, seeing if there was any other way out of this, but was still at odds. Even if she escaped this beast's clutches, it would still hunt her down. No matter where she went or no matter how fast she ran. She had to settle this, here and now, while she still could.
However, as she looked back, she noticed something behind her. The wired barricades separated her from outside the junkyard. She looked at it and then back at the dragon. Then suddenly, an idea popped into her head. The Taiwanese girl started backing up slowly. The dragon mimicked her movements in response, stalking her like a lioness on the prowl as she continued back toward the barricade. With each step she took, the beast continued creeping on her, sniffing, savoring the scent of the meal to come.
By then, Marcy was mere inches before the barricade when she suddenly stopped, to which the dragons also stopped. There, she stared down the black beast, not showing any sign of fear or intimidation. The dragon noticed this and started to get more agitated. Its wings tightened, and the cat-like pupils in the dragon's eyes started getting smaller and smaller. Marcy wasn't easily deterred by the angry snarl the beast threw at her; instead, she glared down the ungodly creature and too bared her teeth to taunt it.
The beast didn't take this lightly and dug its paws into the earth, wriggling its shoulders before giving another snarl. Though Marcy held her ground, not daring to move another inch. Half a heartbeat later, the dragon charged. A thousand pounds of raw reptilian muscle stampeded her way at full speed. But instead of running, Marcy closed her eyes, waiting patiently for the dragon to get closer. The black reptilian creature took one last leap before pouncing her way. It would've caught her shortly after when at the last minute, Marcy reopened her eyes and leaped directly underneath the dragon. Missing her by nearly inches, the dragon sailed from her and landed straight into the fence, where the creature found itself trapped within the barricades and entangled by the barbed wires surrounding them.
Half a second later, Marcy rushed to the fence, jumped over the dragon's head, and sailed over to the other side. As soon as she touched the ground, Marcy made a break for the opening that led away from the junkyard. And as she did before, she did not look back for a second. Not even to the creature as it started struggling against the wires. All she thought about was getting as far away from that hellish place as possible.
However, after getting to a safe distance, the Taiwanese girl stopped, being drawn to the dragon's painful cries from behind her. When she looked back, Marcy saw a very gruesome image. The creature that had pursued her had trapped its body entwined with the sharp wires, which had pierced beneath its scales and into its flesh. Its wings and tail were also tangled, preventing the beast from any means of escape. It screamed and thrashed about as wildly as possible, releasing high-pitched roars in agony. At one point, she almost thought she saw blood being drawn. Along with fresh wounds being made and replacing old ones. And then it became evident to the girl that it was effectively trapped beneath the barricade.
Though to make things worse, as soon as she looked back into the clearing, she could see the pack of junkyard dogs approaching the downed creature, being drawn by the scent of blood from the beast's wounds. At first sight, the alpha Doberman started to enclose the dragon, seeing a massive opportunity since it wasn't going anywhere. The dragon attempted to get up and defend itself, yet as it tried, the wires got tighter and thus grounded the dragon even further. By then, the dogs began to encircle the creature, with the Doberman sending in beta members to try to pick at the beast from its unguarded side. The dragon wanted to swat it away with its claws, but it only tightened the wires more and caused further pain. Then it became clear to the teen girl what may come next: the dogs would eventually eat the dragon alive.
Hearing the notion from the back of her head made the girl sick. But at the same time, her instincts told her to run while she still had her chance. Marcy turned her head uncomfortably toward the direction of home. She could take her chances and leave. It was a logical solution. The thing did try to kill her after all. And besides, this was only the natural order of things. Who was she to intervene in such things? The dogs would also do more mercy for it than she ever could. She's the reason the creature was stuck in the fence, to begin with.
Yet, at the same time, a little feeling inside Marcy told her that something was wrong about leaving the creature like this. To freeze and die alone, surrounded by scavengers looking to feast on its corpse, trapped with no means of hope or escape. And alas, at that very moment, Marcy faced a difficult choice. She could either walk away and go home to her parents and friends. Perhaps live to see her next birthday. Or she could go back, save the dragon, and even risk life and death. The decision was seemingly impossible for her to make. On one end, she could be at home, with her family, in her nice warm bed, sleeping the night and pretending none of this ever happened. On the other hand, she could probably face a quick and painless death. Who knows, maybe it wouldn't come to that.
Though the dilemma within her brain cells continued, she heard another roar in agony from the beast and looked back to the fence. As she observed the scene, she looked at the downed dragon and how scared it was as the dogs closed in on it. Then she saw the beast look up at her, or at least in the direction of where she was, before turning back to the dogs. She noticed a pleading in its eyes as a cry for mercy. Or better yet, a call for help.
And at that moment, Marcy had felt a familiar sensation swell in her muscles. Something she knew all too well. And thus, a familiar feeling awakened inside her. One she knew all too well. Along with that, she began to develop a sense of deja vu. Especially when a distant memory, one of which she thought she had buried long ago, returned to the recess of her mind.
For a moment, she saw herself down there, in the dragon's position. Trapped, surrounded, and undoubtedly about to endure tremendous torture at the hands of its enemies. Following that were the screams of her torment echoing through the hall on that gloomy day. The day of which she had become a puppet to a monstrous tyrant.
She briefly had to look away to numb herself to the pain she had experienced. Only to look back again upon hearing another roar, looking back to the fear and despair smeared all over the dragon's face. It turned into panic when a rottweiler clamped its jaws onto the base of the dragon's tail, causing it to screech again. Hearing the call made her rigid. But then it made her realize that the creature's peril was not entirely different from hers. And if she left now, she would condemn this beast to endless suffering because of her inability to act.
No. Marcy will not allow it. Sure, it did try to kill her for the past few minutes, but she was not going to let this poor creature endure a terrible fate. Nor would she be able to hear its agonizing screams go unanswered. She wasn't that type of person. She was better than that. She could save it now and thus prevent this grim fate. It wasn't too late. And if it meant risking life and death, then so be it. That being said, there was only one problem.
That being said, there was... a relatively small complication. There were at least a dozen dogs down there, and there was only one of her. She couldn't fight them all by herself, and she highly doubted that the dragon would be of any assistance to her being trapped beneath the wires. She looked down, feeling another dilemma creep underneath the very cells of her brain. Then, her eyes fell upon a nearby broken-down tennis ball machine, conveniently a few feet from her on the outskirts of the junkyard. She took a good look at it before looking back to the dogs. A second later, an idea popped into the back of her head. If it worked, then perhaps there may be a chance.
Marcy turned back around and raced back to the fence. Determined to set things right, no matter the cost. She picked up a baseball bat and a few other items along the way. Meanwhile, the rottweiler's teeth were still locked onto the dragon's tail when the scaly lizard flickered it off, thus sending it back to its pack. But with one dog repelled, three more came in its place. Ravenous, they were inching closer and closer to the wounded animal. Who continued to struggle through the barbed wires. However, it seemed to get more painful with more pressure applied to the barricade.
Many of them started barking through the cold night while the alpha stood at the front, waiting patiently for the dragon to weaken before it could make the finishing blow. As the black beast continued snapping at the aggressive canines, the betas were sent retreating to their leader's side. But refused to leave the area and instead continued their advance. The Doberman, cold and calculated as it was, began to notice a chink in the unguarded wires, one of which the dragon could not defend. If it could attack there, the dragon was finished.
Though it may not seem like it, the look on the dog's face suggested it would have much enjoyment for what it was about to do. And considering its status and ego, this would be a good prize. It crouched low, preparing itself to enact the final blow. Yet before it could be given that chance, a shadowy figure landed in front of the cornered beast with a great thud. The moonlight began to glow in the night, thus revealing the teen girl it had encountered minutes ago. Furious at the disruption, the alpha dog turned its sights to her, snarling and drooling from the mouth, with all the other dogs barking in the background. Wrapped tightly in both hands, Marcy held the baseball she had picked up at the ready. Her eyes narrowed, and her grip tightened as she stared into the hot-red eyes of the alpha junkyard mongrel.
At the height of the full moon, the Taiwanese girl looked back, noticing the expression on the dragon's face, which was a mixture of shock and awe. It was made clear that it was not expecting this. In return, she smiled at the creature before glaring at the angry dogs. The Doberman growled profusely, apparently not taking the thought of an intruder standing between it and its prey very well. Yet Marcy did not falter; instead, she locked her stance and stood fast. The dogs responded by crouching low, preparing to charge. They would have this chance for their next meal, human or not. And they would have it now.
As the pack began to close in on her, Marcy slowly removed her right hand and brought it down to her back pocket. Before the dogs could make a single move, the Taiwanese girl brought her free hand out of her pocket and held it high, revealing a small tennis ball in the center of her palm.
"Who wants the ball?!" she yelled.
The mood of the dogs suddenly shifted from greedy and impatient to eager and excited as Marcy held the tennis ball high above her head. Even the alpha itself became enthused at the sight of the green ball. They bounded around and jumped up, typical dog behavior. Many even wagged their tails. Marcy waved it around, psyching up the pack with the small object. For a moment, Marcy thought that it was pretty cute. Seeing the dogs jump up and down in anticipation of the ball. It reminded her of the puppies she had babysat a couple of months back. Though it was only to get their attention, the next part came shortly after.
"You guys want it?" she asked again, throwing her arm up. "Then go get it!"
She then hurled her arm back and threw the ball over the heads of the pack. And then, like crows to a fresh carcass, the dogs scattered in the opposite direction, bolting after the ball as it landed somewhere in the junkyard far away from the fence. As soon as they disappeared, the nerd gave a little smirk. Despite being very aggressive and territorial, a dog is still a dog. And like all dogs, they were always easily distracted.
Perfect.
With the dogs currently occupied, Marcy turned back to the dragon. She didn't estimate how long it would take for the dogs to realize their fool's errand finally, so she had to do this quickly. She assessed the damage, carefully examining the cords and wires that covered the dragon's body. It was pretty bad, but there were some parts of it that she could handle with no problem. She just needed something to cut the wires.
As she looked around to see if she could find something to use, the dragon became relatively quiet, resorting to studying Marcy's every move as she moved around to the dragon's left side. Finally, her eyes came across a switchblade, which was conveniently right before the confines of the barricade, and she gently grabbed it—briefly clicking it open before turning back to the wires.
Though at first glance at the blade, the dragon snarled. Which caused Marcy to jump back a bit. The beast seemingly did not take the sight of a lethal weapon likely. And while it was still trapped, the creature proved to be just as intimidating to the mixed nerd. But despite the dragon's guard being up, Marcy did not back down. Instead, she came before the trapped beast, setting the bat she had in her dominant hand aside and lowering it to make herself look less threatening. She also reduced the switchblade in addition to dropping the baseball bat.
"It's okay," she reassured with an exhale. "I'm going to get you out of here. But you have to stay still!"
She didn't know if the dragon could understand what she was saying, yet it didn't matter to her. Because one way or another, she was helping this creature, whether it understood her or not. Though the more she thought about it, the more she pitied the beast for not being able to speak English, let alone any form of language. That being repeated, Marcy slowly moved in to cut the first wire above the creature's shoulder, gently bringing the knife alongside the wire and carefully bringing it to the sharp end of the switchblade.
She was seconds away from cutting the wire when the creature lunged its head forth, revealing its prickly teeth and releasing another growl as a warning. Thus sending Marcy back for a second time. But the consequence was the wires tied between its wings and back legs tightening even further, causing the creature to roar in agony. The distraction allowed Marcy to jump back in and cut the wire. A rough but good start. In total, there were eight wires wrapped tightly all over the creature. But she needed to cut through the four long ones to free the dragon. Those were the toughest to deal with and covered most of the beast's body, including its chest, wings, and tail. But they should do the trick if done correctly.
She reached over to the other side to free the dragon's tail, yet as the creature craned its head back to see her coming up on its backside, the dragon snapped at her, forcing her back again. However, it did the dragon no good since it couldn't reach her from behind while coiled underneath the wires. Thus giving her more accessible access to the cables entwined around its tail. With precision, Marcy was able to cut the wires with the switchblade. But even as she did, the dragon did not seem very happy with the girl being too close to that spot, specifically around the two tail fins tied around the wire.
And before she could move onto the two wires looped around its wings, the black beast lifted its tail and smacked her in the face, sending Marcy flying a couple of yards till she hit the ground face first with a thud. The Taiwanese girl groaned, feeling like she got hit by Grime's Warhammer before picking herself back up. Only to see the dragon releasing a warning roar directly at her. Marcy clenched her fists and growled. She was trying to help this creature, which is how it repays her. Why must this be a struggle?
As she got up on her feet and marched back to the trapped beast, the Taiwanese teenager stopped briefly at the sound of barking dogs. And looked over her shoulder in a mixture of horror and dread. Guess the pack finally figured it out after all. Though it means it won't be long before they start doubling back.
Knowing she was running out of time, Marcy turned back to the dragon and continued advancing. The dragon responded with a snap, but it winced in pain as the wires tightened yet again. Thus inflicting more pain on the poor creature than before. By then, Marcy knelt before the dragon, looking it directly in the eye. The mythical creature responded by locking eyes with her in return while growling viciously and sending another chilling roar as a warning. Yet once again, Marcy did not relent.
"Look, neither of us can make it out of this alone!" she exclaimed, releasing her frustrations. "And I want to get out of here just as much as you do!"
The expression on the dragon's face suddenly dropped. And the growled stopped shortly after. She did not know what it meant, but from the look on its face, she could tell the dragon did not expect her to speak to it in such a manner. The further silence urged Marcy to press on.
"You don't have to like me," she continued. "But if you want to get out of this, you'll have to trust me. Just a little bit, okay?!"
The dragon did not reply. Instead, it stood there, still trapped beneath the coils, looking somewhat puzzled at her. It was a tricky thing to say. The creature had zero reasons to trust her, especially after it had tried to kill her for the past few minutes. And it has more of a basis to distrust her since she was kind of the reason it was in this mess. Yet it continued to stare at her, the guarded yet expressionless face still plastered, as if it was debating whether or not it should trust her.
Yet the creature's inaction caused her to act quickly. And she resumed her mission to cut the remaining wires around its wings. This time, however, she got little resistance from the dragon itself. Perhaps it was a sign, an omen to the creature considering her words? She couldn't say so. But that being said, Marcy didn't want to push her luck either. Because despite her nobility, the dragon still had its eyes on her. Watching her every move as she cut the two wires trapping the creature's wings. It took her a moment to miss the first one and even longer to cut the second one. Yet she was able to do it as fast as she could.
Finally, she returned to the front to free the wire surrounding the dragon's chest and forearms. The only problem with that was she had to be careful. It was a long strand, connecting with all the others. If not done correctly, it may simultaneously release them and coil back violently, thus wounding the dragon even further. She needed to find a shorter strand or an angle that could be more manageable to cut through. She looked around the coils, seeing if she could find one that could be easier to cut. After a moment of looking, she spotted one. A large knot was revealed from the wire connected to the rest of them. If she could carefully cut it, then the dragon would be home free.
But before she could cut through it, the dragon growled again. Snapping at her before the knife's edge could even touch the knot. The girl groaned. She thought she had made it clear with this thing. Why couldn't it just accept her help? When Marcy looked up, she noticed the usual ill-tempered, hostile expression splattered all over its face. Though to her surprise, its eyes were not fixated on her. Then suddenly, there was a shift in the wind from behind the girl. Marcy quickly spun around, only for her heart to sink from her chest to her stomach as her eyes caught the sight of a rottweiler charging full speed at her.
Instinctively, Marcy grabbed the bat she had set in the dirt with her right hand, swung it across her backside, and hit the dog's face with it. The mongrel yelped as it was sent a few yards to her right, crashing into a pile of garbage. A second later, two more dogs approached from a distance, barking with murderous intent. The Taiwanese geek responded with another swing, sending the first dog backward and another, which sent the other dog rolling back to the right side.
Though to her dismay, she looked up and saw the entire pack bearing down on her from where they came from, with the alpha Doberman hanging above the ridge. She could tell it wasn't happy with being played for a fool like the way she did. And the pack didn't seem very pleased with the neat little trick she pulled off either. One way or another, she was going to have to fight them. At least long enough to free the dragon. And it wasn't going to be pretty.
Marcy had never been one for close combat back in Amphibia. That was Anne and Sasha's style. Yet since leaving the frog world, they gave her a few lessons in their spare time. And she had some experience fighting pirates with General Yunan. So it wasn't new to her. Though what she lacked in brute strength and skill, Marcy did make up for with intellect and resourcefulness. She always prided herself in using her environment to her advantage. And luckily for her, there was enough terrain to exploit in her favor. As the approaching pack closed in on her, Marcy briefly kicked up a nearby metal scrap to shield herself from a charging bulldog. Then she followed that up by kicking some dirt up, blinding three other dogs, and stopping them dead in their tracks.
Marcy stomped on a long plank with a smirk, hitting one of the dogs from the bottom of its snout. Shortly after, she spots a small crate filled with empty soda cans and kicks it at the other two dogs. Additionally, watching it hit underneath the canines' legs and trip over themselves. Though in amiss to that, one of the dogs, particularly a German Shepard, managed to scramble back onto its feet and rush at the young girl. Who in return greeted the side of its face with her bat. Though for each dog she fought off, three more kept coming. But despite Marcy's disadvantage, she was lucky they weren't attacking her all at once. They only came in smaller numbers, up to 2 to 3 members at a time.
She noticed that most of the pack was held in reserve while a few dogs were attacking. They were waiting under the command of their alpha. Who slowly made its way down the ridge as more and more dogs pressed on. After batting away the tenth dog, she looked back to the dragon, who was continuously struggling to free itself from the wires. And for a moment, it seemed to be working. But that final knot was holding the dragon's upper body and limbs down. Half a second later, Marcy was forced to turn back when a mutt charged her from the front. She could barely stop the mongrel from biting her face off by shielding herself with the bat's base. The dog locks its jaws around, bringing them two into a stalemate. Deadlocked, Marcy struggled as the dog continued to bite down profusely with its canine teeth, growling as its fangs sank deeper. The Taiwanese girl was almost brought to the ground by the dog's weight.
Yet Marcy used her momentum to shove the dog backward and yank the bat out of its jaws before smacking the mongrel with it. Thus sending it back with the rest of the pack. After that, the young girl turned back to the wires and went to cut the last knot. She figured it was probably time to finish what she started before the pack could overrun her. She took the switchblade with her free hand and started cutting away when the dragon, who had been watching her this whole time, sent another warning roar. However, it wasn't directed at her.
Half a heartbeat later, Marcy felt a sharp pain around her right calf muscle, which caused her to shriek in agony. Looking back, she saw another mutt locking its jaws around her leg. Following that was another dog, who pounced on her from her back and bit into her right shoulder, which caused her more pain than before. Marcy screamed again as she felt its razor fang pierce into her flesh. The dog's total weight almost brought the Taiwanese girl to the ground, bringing her to one knee and inches from the dirt below. Her pain was immeasurable, with both dogs biting her from her shoulder and leg.
Despite that, she figured the dragon fretted no better than she did as it struggled against the barbed wires. Thus tightening the remaining wires even further. With two dogs holding her down, Marcy looked up, eyeballing the last remaining knot that kept the wires together and the dragon trapped. She could also hear the sound of more barks from behind her. It indicated that the rest of the pack wasn't far behind. And she knew if they joined in, she would be finished.
In quick thinking, Marcy took the switchblade from her free hand and stabbed the dog on her shoulder in the top of its snout, causing it to whimper and let go. Before being given a chance to withdraw, Marcy grapples its jaws with both hands and brings it over her shoulder. The Taiwanese girl then cries out as she brings the mongrel down and sends it crashing into the barbed wires. Thus breaking it with a single blow while also injuring the dog. Yet, in the process of severing the knot, one of the wires pulled back in her direction and smacked her straight in the face.
The young girl shrieked again as the wire scrapped the skin from her left cheek, leaving a brutal scar. Yet adrenaline forced her to deal with the pain as she felt her calf still being bitten down by the other mutt. She exerted herself into picking up her back and smacking the dog in the face to get it to let go. When it did, the mongrel jumped back and bit down on her left foot, where Marcy was tempted to violently beat the dog in the front with it until it finally let go and scampered off.
As soon as it did, Marcy had little time to react when the alpha Doberman charged her, sailing forth and pouncing her to the ground, and went straight for her head. The young girl placed her hands around the dog's upper body as it savagely snapped at her face. At the same time, she felt two more dogs biting her legs, which caused her to scream again. She did her best to hold the alpha back, but it was much stronger than her on the ground. And the added tension of the other dogs biting her legs, much of her strength and focus was starting to fade away. And by then, the pack was driven into a frenzy.
They do not turn back and will press on till the end. This means that the moment she weakens, they will kill her. Though before they could be given that chance, there was a brief sound of wires moving. And before long, the dragon lunges out of the barricade and snatches the Doberman by the neck midair while landing on the other side. The other dogs that grappled her legs pulled back. The creature takes a few steps to its right as the pack begins to distance itself from it and Marcy. Who lifted her head and chest to watch the scene unfold. The mutt struggled against its jaws, whining like a newborn pup, as the dragon locked its jaws around its neck.
The pack was forced to watch as it shook its leader like a rag doll, crushing its windpipe with its vice-like teeth while bashing its body repeatedly against the ground. It was a violent scene to watch. Marcy couldn't help but let out a small gasp at what she saw. As the black beast beat the dog to near death, the loud screeches of the alpha slowly began to drown out. And then, a heartbeat after that, the lead dog gave out one last painful whelp before its neck finally snapped, paralyzing the alpha Doberman instantly. Though the blow did not kill the dog, Marcy detested that it would take a while to recover fully.
Driven by an inconceivable rage, the dragon threw the dog's body toward the pack, earning a few yelps as they leaped back from the sudden action. The dragon panted before baring its teeth at the other dogs, trembling and whining. The defeat of their leader has now left the other dogs completely helpless. And now, all they could do was whimper and plead in hopes that the creature may let them live.
Growing rather impatient, the dragon snarls again before unleashing a deafening roar in a display of superiority, which makes Marcy cover her ears and whimper. As for the pack itself, they all scrambled into the coming night, disappearing into the confines of the junkyard without a single trace. Satisfied with the outcome and the current threat being eliminated, the dragon lets out a huff, steam coming out from its nostrils like a bull.
Marcy almost felt safe once the feral pack was gone. For a moment, she couldn't believe that she had managed to pull that off. Not only did she save a beast that had tried to kill her for the past hour, but she also fought an army of dogs on her own and managed not to get killed in the process. It, indeed, was a lot to take in. But any celebratory feeling she had shattered once the dragon turned its attention toward her.
Its cat-like eyes fixated on her wounded and grounded form. Her panic at that moment came full circle once the dragon started slowly approaching her, growling and snarling intentionally. She tried to crawl back to keep enough distance between herself and the dragon, but she stopped when she felt pinned up against an old tire.
She couldn't help but gulp. Her eyes widened as she stared at the beast, which was bleeding and covered with many scars. It was hard to tell what it was thinking as it blinked at her. But if Marcy were to take a guess, she could tell that this was the moment the dragon would decide whether it should kill her or not. She silently prayed that it would choose the latter, considering that she had just saved its life.
A second later, Marcy got her answer as the dragon opened its maw, and the familiar purple glow appeared from the back of its throat, followed by the high-pitched whistling and echoing roar. It became evident to the girl at this point that the dragon's mind did not change. And that it was sticking to the intent of finishing what it started. Though as morbid as that sounded, Marcy wasn't angry about it...she knew what she got herself into when jumping back in to save it, knowing how it would end.
At least she could do one good thing before she died. As the dragon prepared to finish her off, Marcy closed her eyes, trembling and grabbing her shoulders with both hands as she scrunched up against the tire. Tears began to swell down her eyes as the Taiwanese girl started to whimper. For a moment, it seemed like her whole life was flashing before her eyes, from when she first met Anne at that beach when she was little to when they and Sasha went to Amphibia and had those amazing adventures.
With all those special memories in her heart, Marcy continued to weep as she waited for the end. However, it wasn't death that she feared. It was that she may never get to see her friends ever again after everything she had been through. The good, the bad, the terrifying. All the lessons she learned, and the changes she made, would all come to an end. And they wouldn't be around this time. Heck, she reckoned they didn't even know where she was. It would be as she had always feared it would be. She would be alone.
And knowing this simple fact made Marcy weep even harder. The knowledge that she would die alone, without anyone knowing, devastated her. But at this point, there was nothing she could do to change this outcome. The dragon's mind has already been made up. And there was no means of escape. Plus, she spent her whole life running from her problems, and she wasn't running from this either. So what was the point? All she could do now was wait and hope that the beast would make her death swift and painless.
Or did it? Seconds passed as Marcy waited for the sweet release of death to claim her. Yet to her surprise, nothing happened. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she knew it was too long for the creature to do what it had intended. A few more seconds passed, and sooner than later, the high-pitched sound began to fade. And she could hear the beast's stance shift. Yet she refused to open her eyes, knowing that her fate had already been sealed.
The next thing she knew, Marcy heard footsteps approaching her, causing the poor girl to shiver and scrunch up even more. Perhaps the dragon wanted a close-up look at her before she died? She couldn't be sure, but she knew there was no escaping this. Not even the slightest. Half a heartbeat later, she could feel the beast's hot breath touch her bare skin, sending a cool chill up her spine. But then, something happened that she did not expect. As she waited for death to take her to the afterlife, she felt something wet and smooth touch the surface of her cheek. Particularly across the scar, she received from being whiplashed by the barbed wire.
This act caused Marcy to open her eyes, seeing that the creature was inches away from her face. The Taiwanese girl's body trembled slightly at the sight of the dragon being an eye's distance away from her. But after a moment passed, Marcy noticed something about the dragon she didn't see before. For starters, the expression on the dragon's face changed. Its eyes were more rounded instead of cat-like. And it looked her up and down in a more...curious and concerning manner. As if it was troubled by her well-being. Yet she was unable to understand it.
Though it was extremely nerve-wracking, Marcy found herself, surprisingly, easing the tensions in her muscles as she looked up at the creature. As she held the dragon's gaze, many questions ran through the back of her head. By then, the beast began to take a whiff of the girl while humming inquisitively shortly after.
There was something about the look on the creature's face that she couldn't quite put together herself. Of course, she couldn't tell what the beast was thinking, so there was that. Though the dragon's facial expression continued to soften, Marcy began to detest that it wouldn't kill her. Though if that was the case, why? Was this an acceptance of her aid? Of coming back to save its life despite the fact, it tried to take her? Maybe this was the case.
Yet her brain started to feel fuzzy as she began to think of these questions. Thus causing her to blink furiously. Half a heartbeat later, a rumbling sound was heard from a distance. And before long, the dragon turned its shoulder and looked up. Marcy did the same a second after, seeing a helicopter approaching the yard with a massive searchlight from several leagues away. The young teenager turned her gaze back to the dragon, who returned shortly after.
The dragon locked eyes with her for a moment before slowly pulling back. It shared a glance at Marcy before it nimbly bounded back into the darkness of the junkyard like a tremendous winged cat and disappeared before her very eyes. Once it had been made clear that she was alone again, Marcy sat on the ground and blinked. She stayed there for a few seconds before she figured it was time for her to leave. The young girl cautiously got up to her feet, grasping that she was still alive. And then, slowly but surely, she turned to the broken-down fence that led to the street and started making her way home.
Along the way, Marcy had so many questions. Why didn't the dragon kill me? What was it doing here? Where did it come from? What's the deal with the tailfin? And if dragons exist, does that mean unicorns and Frankenstein exist too? However, as soon as that question came to mind, the nerdy female shivered as she realized that she didn't even think about that.
She got up a couple of leagues down the street before collapsing. Exhausted from all the energy she had just burned out and the stress she had been put under. The last thing she remembered was the headlight flashing her way, along with a few occasional voices rushing to her side. And the last thing she saw was the faces of Anne and Sasha, shaking her and calling her name, followed by her parents frantically picking her up before everything became utterly black.
And that is the end of that! Wow, so much has happened in such a short time, spam. Anyways, thank you for reading this and all those still following this story. A few things before I end this: 1) I just got Marcy's Journal over the weekend. And it is AWESOME! I encourage all of you Amphibia fans who haven't gotten it to do so before they're all out. By the way, just because the journal is out doesn't mean anything changes storywise. As a matter of fact, by looking at it, I may have a few ideas in the future. Stay tuned for that. 2) Shoutout to Fanreader123456 and OMAC001 for your reviews last chapter. I highly appreciate those. 3) For all HTTYD fans that don't follow the embarrassment of a show that is: Dragons the Nine Realms, I encourage you to subscribe to Audrey Greywind, KingLavacactus, and RaisorBlade on their Instagram and Twitter. They're all good people and true fans of the franchise. 4) As I keep saying for the millionth time, please leave a review for this story. I always value your opinions, especially for this chapter in particular.
Fun fact: I've dedicated this chapter after seeing the disappointment that is Tom's first encounter with Thunder. I wrote it as my first true test to see if I could write a better story than the show's director: Tellegen. If any of you are interested, I encourage all of you right a review to tell me if I pulled it off. If I didn't, then I have indeed failed you all. And I will hang up my writing cape for good...SIKE! I'll never stop writing this as long as the Nine Realms is still breathing. And will see through it till the end (Or at least until I lose the urge to write).
Anyway, that's all for now, folks; Gunslinger signing off!
