The Choosing Part 2

Artha and Beau begin racing in the All-city races to gain money for food and figure out what happened to his father. Iris worries for her brother and wonders if she could someday race on the track with a dragon of her own.


The next day, Beau was on the all-city track in a race with Artha in the saddle on his head, wearing the jacket Parm had found at the stables. Artha's blue eyes were narrowed in concentration as he sat in the saddle. "In Dragon City, every kid dreams of teaming up with a 200-mile-per-hour dragon. Well, every kid except me, Artha Penn. That all changed one night when the Eye of the Dragon tried to kidnap Beau, the dragon of legend, the night my siblings and I lost our father, and Beau chose me to be the Dragon Booster, a hero who was supposed to stop an on-coming dragon-human war. So here I am in the All-City Races, looking for the crew responsible for what happened to my father and to stop a coming dragon-human war before it's too late."

Beau leapt across a bridge on the track and Artha pressed a button, activating white aero gear, and allowing Beau to glide through the air. He landed and Artha forgot to deactivate the aero gear, another dragon and rider came up beside them, crushing one of the gliders. Beau growled at them. The rider was too busy staring to not notice the small obstacle in front of them and they collided with it, leaving him and Beau in second place. Beau crossed the finish line and Artha jumped off the saddle and walked towards where Iris, Lance and Parm were waiting.

"Well, at least you didn't finish last this time," Parm noted as Artha stood in front of them with Beau behind him.

"Yeah, hey I'm getting better, aren't I?" Artha grinned.

"Yeah, you're finding new ways to stink!" Lance snickered as Artha handed his brother his helmet and the 10-year-old slipped it on. Beau chuckled at Lance's words.

"Lance, don't say that. Artha and Beau tried their best and did well." Iris defended her brother, shooting a glare at Lance, who shrunk back at her glare. Artha smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, Iris."

The violet-haired teen smiled back at him. Her hair with dark blue streaks through it was tied up in a bun today. A few strands of hair were parted to the sides of her face.

"Seriously, Artha, if you don't make substantial improvements in your overall racing effectiveness, and gains to the points standings, you're going to be dropped from the All-City Racing Circuit. and then what will we do?" Artha pulled out the star amulet, staring at it. "I know, Parm. I have to race. I have to get better." Beau nuzzled him gently as Iris rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Artha rested his own on top of hers, giving her a small smile. She knew her brother was worried for them and wondering where their dad had gone. She was worried too, but her brothers needed her right now and she would be by their side, no matter what!

"Well don't worry. You're not alone. You have us. Your buds! Your guys and sister, your troops, your fellowship, your..." Parm started listing what they were when Lance interrupted them, holding a flash stick in his hands. "Racing team!" Iris's eyes widened. "Lance, I wouldn't..." Her warning came too late as her brother made the mistake of looking into the flash stick, which went off, stunning himself and he dropped to the ground. Iris helped her little brother back up.

"Yep, there's my race team." Artha chuckled softly. "Look at us? Look at this gear." his aero gear sparked from being crushed by that other racer. "Ooh, what a mess!" he sighed, looking up and spotted Kitt Wonn attending to her red dragon a few feet away. Artha stared at her dreamily, since their first meeting, he had gained a crush on her.

"Artha? Artha?" Iris called, waving a hand in front of her brother's face. Artha snapped out of it. "Huh, what?"

Iris rested her hands on her hips. "You staring at your girlfriend?"

"Iris, she's not my girlfriend!" Artha defended, though his cheeks grew red. Iris rolled her blue eyes at him. Lance whispered to Parm. "Artha's in love. Artha's in love." he sang to Parm, who grinned. Artha walked over to them and turned his helmet around on Lance's head, causing him to no longer see. "Hey!" the child exclaimed.

"Artha, come on, he was just teasing you," Iris said with exasperation as she removed the helmet from Lance's head so he could see again.

"Artha, I have a plan. For the next race, try this?" Parm held out a controller handle.

"Our vid-game controller?"

"Ah ah ah! It was our vidd-game controller. Now it's my latest invention! You see, I took the wireless remote scanning interface to the racing game we designed, and reprogrammed the binary output containment chip to react to real race conditions! And then I put the silly old holo-vid communications link... in the forward... cranial shielding of your..." he trailed off as Artha, Lance, Iris and Beau looked dazed and confused by what he was saying. He cleared his throat. "Well, you can race Beau just like the game."

"Ah," Artha said and everyone smiled. Up on a nearby roof, Moordryd and Cain were watching the teens through binoculars. "So, those annoying stable brats survived the fire. And now Artha Penn is street-racing? Pfft, what a joke!"

Cain, on the other hand, was rather impressed by the red and blue dragon that stood beside the four people. "I don't know. Cool dragon."

Moordryd gave his friend an annoyed look. "Get as much green ramming, black control and light blue stun gear onto my dragon Decepshun as she can mag!" Cain's eyes widened slightly and he turned to look at his friend. "But that gear will just slow both of you down. This is a speed race."

"No anymore. Some racers have their methods, I have mine. If I'm the last one standing, I still win." Moordryd said with a smirk.


"GOOD DAY TO YOU, MY BRAVE ALL-CITY STREET COMPETITORS! I AM RACE MARSHAL BUDGE!" a slightly chubby man was standing on a raised platform, yelling into a speaker of some sort. "THE PRIZE IN TODAY'S RACE IS 10.000 DRACKLES, PLUS A NEW SET OF LEVEL FIVE GREEN RAMING GEAR!" the crowd went wild and Artha smiled, it would be great to win that type of gear. "BREATH-TAKING! THIS IS A SPEED AND AGILITY RACE, BUT IN DRAGON CITY THERE IS ALWAYS A LITTLE CONTEST, HEH!" the man started coughing.

Artha was in the saddle, the helmet modified with Parm's invention. "Okay, Parm. Here goes nothing." he pressed a button on the side of his helmet and a green screen activated on his saddle controls, showing Parm, Lance and Iris. "It works! I can't believe it, it actually works!" he exclaimed with joy and pride. Parm huffed. "Hmph, you don't need to be all that surprised about it."

Iris glared at Parm and smacked him upside the head. "Ow, hey! What was that for, Iris?" Parm exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. "For being a dork, Parmon. Leave Artha be." she snapped. Artha chuckled at his sister and his gaze found Kitt on her dragon one dragon over from him. He stared at her dreamily once again.

Kitt glanced to her right and noticed Artha on a blue and red dragon. "The stable boy? Dragon racing?" why was he in this race? Artha was too busy staring at Kitt to notice the race was about to start and once Budge hit the gong, the race was on. Beau charged forward, catching Artha off guard and making him startle out of the daydream as the race was on!

Iris, Parm and Lance cheered Artha on.

"Artha! Use the vid-gear!" Parm shouted over the com-link and Artha activated the vid-screen on his saddle. "Race like you're playing the game! Speed is lower right, racers are in yellow, adjust the tail stabilizers, more power to the side venting gears..."

Artha rolled his eyes. "Let me do this, okay Parm! I'm the one mag-locked to the back of this dumb dragon!" Beau did not like that at all and magged Artha up into the air. "Whooaa, Beau!" Artha screamed as Beau passed under a tunnel, the dragon chuckling as he came out the other side of the tunnel and magged Artha back into the saddle. "I-I mean, mag-locked to the back of this, nice dragon." he chuckled shakily, adjusting his helmet as Beau grinned, approving of the name change.

"Whoa! Great mag jump!" Parm praised as Iris shook her head at Artha calling Beau a dumb dragon for the second time.

"Yeah!" Lance agreed, coming into focus on the screen. "You don't stink!"

The dragons spread out on the track and as they rounded a bend, Kitt came up beside Beau and Artha. "Stable boy! Don't move your Draconium control so far forward. You're draining all your dragon's energy!" she advised the new rider. "Not like that. Like this!" Kitt demonstrated by activating some red thruster gear, speeding past Artha and Beau without draining her dragon's energy.

"Now what did Dad say to me? Just relax and release the power...release the dragon." Artha exhaled softly and closed his eyes, clearing his mind. "Release the dragon." as he spoke, Beau picked up speed and a white vortex appeared as he went faster and faster, breezing past the other dragons and riders, including Moordryd and Decepshun.

"What? The stable boy?" Moordryd snarled, but Artha did not hear him because he was too far ahead and too deep in concentration. Then Parm, Lance and Iris appeared on the screen, with looks of awe on their faces. "Wow, you just reached vortex velocity! You're going almost 200 mph." Parm spoke, breaking Artha's concentration. "What!" he exclaimed as Beau slowed back down to normal speed.

"What happened? What did I do? Wait, how did I do that?" Artha asked, confused, yet excited by what he had accomplished. Beau grinned at his rider. Moordryd and his dragon pulled ahead of them and the teen sent a spinning object at Artha and Beau, which Parm noticed through his binoculars. "Artha, that's a drag-box. Watch out!" he warned just as the drag-box separated into four miniature dragons that landed on Beau and crawled along his back. Artha saw them chewing through some of his racing gear. "Hey! They're eating the gear! Parm, how do I get rid of these things?" he asked Parm, who didn't answer him as he noticed something else going on out on the track.

"Parm, answer him!" Iris demanded, she then noticed him looking at something through the binocs and swiped them from the boy, electing a yelp of surprise from him as she held the binocs up to her own eyes and gasped when she saw a member of the crew that had attacked the stable plant a disruptor mine on the track. "Artha's in trouble. Contact him, now!" she demanded to Parm, who glared at her for taking the binocs but tried to get into contact with Artha.

"Artha! It's the street crew!" Parm tried to warn his friend, who unfortunately didn't get the message due to one of the mini dragons chewing through the wires of Artha's communications, cutting him off from the others.

"Parm, it's the what? Guys!"

"Artha?" Iris called her brother but he didn't hear her. "I don't think he hears you," Lance told her. "He's gone offline," Parm said and Iris tried not to panic, her brother and Beau were out on the track and there was no way to contact them! She felt her heart rate speeding up as her breathing got tighter and she stepped away from Parm and Lance, struggling to control her breathing. "Iris, are you okay?" Lance asked, noticing his sister looking panicked. She shook her head at him and Lance ran over. "Parm!" the ten-year-old shouted as he patted Iris' arm. Her legs felt wobbly and her hands started to shake badly.

"Iris, sit down," Parm said gently, helping to lower the teen to the ground. Lance was rubbing her back comfortingly. He had not seen her have a panic attack before, but he knew what it was. "He...Artha..." Iris struggled to form words, but couldn't. Lance looked at Parm with worry in his eyes.

Out on the track, Artha was growing frustrated by the lack of communication due to the little beasts chewing up the gear and having no idea that his sister was having a panic attack. "We need a mag-burst, Beau!" Beau nodded and closed his eyes, his body glowing gold and he threw the four little monsters off his back, sending them to the ground.

Moordryd collided with another dragon and rider ahead of them, sending some gear flying backwards. Artha yelped as he ducked to avoid getting hit in the head by the gear. "Hey! Watch it!" he shouted in annoyance.

As Beau pulled up beside Moordryd, the white-haired teen pulled out a device and pressed a button, it extended into a whip-like object. "Look out, Beau! Energy drain whip!" Artha shouted and Moordryd sent the whip at them, it attached to Beau's front left aero pod and Beau roared in pain as his energy was being drained. "Beau, your energy..." Artha gasped as he saw Beau's energy getting lower on the screen.

"Is now my energy!"

Beau began losing gear due to the energy drain. "Beau! Hang on!" Artha pressed his com-link multiple times to reach Parm, Lance and Iris. "Parm, Iris, Lance? Where are you guys?" Suddenly a fuzzy image of Parm and Lance popped up, but the image was breaking up as Parm attempted to talk to Artha. "Street crew, and they're setting up a disruptor flash!"

The message was scrambled, but Artha managed to get a few words. "Street crew? Disruptor... flash?" Indeed it was true as he saw the mine on the track and Beau was losing more energy by the second! "Okay, it's you and me, Beau! We only get one shot at this! We need to time this just right!" even though he was weak from the energy drain, Beau still had a look of determination on his face as they drew closer to the disruptor flash. "Three, two, one! Now!" Artha shouted and Beau jumped over the trap, dragging Moordryd and Decepshun with them due to the white-haired teen still having the whip attached to Beau's gear. The whip snapped and Decepshun stumbled and fell in front of the mine.

The mine went off as Moordryd ejected himself from the saddle and off the track. Beau panted with exhaustion, drained of energy as he stopped on shaky legs a few feet from the finish line. "Come on, release the dragon, Beau. Release the dragon, release the dragon, come on!" Artha begged, but Beau could go no further. Kitt and her dragon sped past the two, followed by another racer and she won the race. Artha looked down in shame, he had lost the race and Beau had been drained of energy.

They slowly made their way back to the tents where Iris, Parm and Lance were waiting for them. Artha saw Iris on the floor and worry flooded his body. "Iris?" he called, running towards her. Once she saw him, she staggered to her feet with Parm and Lance's help and once Artha was close, she threw her arms around him tightly, her body shaking. Artha knew she had a panic attack and hugged his sister close. "I thought..." she stammered.

Artha patted her back comfortingly. "It's okay, Iris. I'm here. Beau is here, we're okay." despite being weak from the energy drain, Beau nuzzled Iris' shoulder, trying to help calm her down. "Deep breaths, Iris. In...and out." Artha coached his sister, pulling away from the hug and instructing her to breathe deeply and slowly. Iris followed his instructions and her heart rate began to slow to normal speed. "Come on, let's go." Artha wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began to leave her and the others away from the track.

"That was quite a move you made back there," Parm commented.

"Thanks, I got your message. So, how'd I do in the race?" Artha asked as he held Iris close to him as her legs were still shaky.

"You finished second to last, and you lost most of your gear, so not so good," Parm answered.

Watching them leave were Moordryd and Cain with Decepshun behind them. "This isn't over, Artha Penn! Come on, Cain!" they left, unaware that Kitt had overheard them.

"A street crew after stable boy? This can't be good."


Later, Parm, Artha, Iris, Lance, Beau and Cyrano were back at Penn Stables. The fire had long since gone out but left bad fire damage to the main house and some of the stable. "What are we doing back at your father's stable? We can't hide here, it's too dangerous!" Parm said, looking around.

"We're not here to hide, Parm," Artha said and pressed a button on a wall that lowered to reveal a storage room full of gear. "Drac, the rest of dad's gear," Lance said in awe, looking at the various racing gear in the storage room. "You guys pack up the rig, I'll be right back. Come with me, Iris." Artha led his sister away from the boys and the two siblings entered the sitting room of the house, badly damaged from the fire.

"How are you feeling?" Artha asked his sister as she sat down on the chair their father had used. Iris looked at him before looking around at the damage done to their home by the crew that nearly kidnapped Beau and caused their father's disappearance. Her legs no longer shook, but her hands were still a little shaky from the panic attack.

"Okay."

Artha knew she wasn't okay, he had seen her have a panic attack a few times in the past and knew about the abuse she suffered from her bio mother. He gently grasped hold of her hands. "Iris, I know you're not okay."

Icy blue eyes locked onto solid blue eyes. Iris looked down. Her panic attack had rattled her since she hadn't had one for the last few months. Her anxiety and panic attacks were quite frequent when she was younger and growing up in Conner's care. The last few years, she'd had panic attacks a few times a year if something stressed her out and the one she suffered from today was due to Artha's communication being cut off and she didn't know if he was hurt or not. She cared so much for her brothers and never wanted them harmed, same with her dad.

Her mother's abuse had scarred her both physically and mentally. The scars on her body were a constant reminder of the life she lived while with her mother before she was taken by Child Services at 7 years old. It had taken her years of therapy to recover from the abuse, but it was still here in body and mind and she would often have flashbacks of her mother's abuse and that too would bring on a panic attack.

"I can't help but worry for you and Lance, Artha. You and Lance are the only family I have since Dad went missing and I don't want to lose either of you." Iris admitted as her eyes crystallised with water. Artha knew Iris was protective of him and Lance even though he and Iris were the same age, she was just a few months older than him. Artha's heart broke for her and he gathered her into his arms. "I will always be here, Iris. No matter what happens, Lance will be too. We love you just as much as you love us. We will never be apart." he told her as he hugged her tightly.

He felt Iris nod her head against his shoulder and the two siblings just sat there, holding one another tightly. They eventually released each other from the hug and Iris wiped her teary eyes, thanking her brother for comforting her. Artha just gave her a small smile, then his eyes landed on the photo of him, Lance, Iris and their dad. The photo, once large and in a frame, was now a small picture, the frame burned from the fire.

Dad, where do you go? I was chosen, Dad. I'm the dragon booster. I don't know how, but I'm gonna stop the dragon-human war. And I'll take care of Iris and Lance too until...

His thoughts were cut off by Lance walking into the sitting room. "Where's dad?" he spoke sadly. Iris opened her arms and her younger brother ran into them as Artha wrapped his arms around the two of them, the Penn siblings comforting one another.

On a ledge, Kitt watched the Penn siblings through her binoculars. "Hmm, there's Penn, where's Paynn?" she questioned to herself.


Beau and Cyrano were in their stalls. Iris was brushing Beau's scales to distract herself from her thoughts. "Hey, Iris." she looked over her shoulder to see Artha making his way into the stall. "Hey," she answered, going back to her brushing. Artha took another brush and started to brush Beau's other side.

She had left the house ten minutes ago and come to sort the dragons out and get them comfortable. "Artha?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I will ever have a dragon of my own?"

Artha stopped brushing to look at her. "Iris, of course you will. You still want to be a racer, don't you?"

Iris did want to become a racer, but due to her anxiety and lack of confidence and no dragon, she was unsure about it all. "I don't know, anymore, Artha. Maybe I should just stick to being a stable girl." she turned away with a sigh and Beau nuzzled her hair comfortingly.

Artha put the brush down and walked around Beau to grasp hold of Iris' hands. "Don't ever say that, Iris. You will have your dragon. Don't give up so easily."

Iris blinked at him before a small smile crossed her face. "Thanks, Artha."

Then they noticed Beau was looking at something. "Beau? What is it, boy? What's wrong?" Artha questioned his dragon. Beau pushed a bracket on the wall to the side, opening up a secret entrance and blinding white light. Artha and Iris stared at it in shock, they had no idea this was there. Beau then entered the light. "Beau? Beau, come back?" Iris called and Beau's tail wrapped around Artha's waist, pulling him into the light while she was pulled in via mag stream. The doors shut behind the trio and they found themselves in an elevator.

"I don't think this is a good..." Artha began to say before Beau pushed a button with his chin and the elevator went down at a rapid pace. "Idea!" Artha cried out as Iris screamed. The lift came to a stop and the doors opened to show a temple-like place beneath the stables. Statues lined the walkway and both siblings looked around cautiously. Beau growled softly and began to walk forward, the Penn siblings walked after the red and blue they passed the statues, they lit up with a gold colour. Iris gripped Artha's arm and he patted her hand reassuringly.

As they passed a statue, it was revealed to be a real person who stepped out behind the trio. Iris gasped as she turned around, still holding Artha's arm tightly as her brother and Beau looked behind them as well. The figure held a staff in one hand, the head shaped like a dragon head. "Do not be afraid. I knew you would return here."

As the figure approached, Beau inclined his head, the siblings taking no notice as the masked figure walked past them and turned to face them. "Your dragon is the one, Artha Penn. The dragon of Legend."

The masked figure then glanced at Iris, who shrunk back under his gaze. "Do not be afraid of me, Iris Penn. I mean you and your brother no harm."

"How do you know our names? How are you?" Artha questioned the masked figure.


Up in the stables, Parm and Lance were sorting stuff out and had not noticed Artha, Iris and Beau missing. Lance pushed a mag-rig towards the storeroom, humming to himself. "Make sure to get some level 3 red thruster gear, Lance." Parm directed the ten-year-old when suddenly Moordryd and some of his crew showed up.

"Where's Artha Penn?" Moordryd demanded.

"It's the street crew! Run Lance, run!" Parm shouted when Moordryd fired some green trapping gear, Parm and Lance managed to dodge it.


Down below the stables, the masked figure introduced himself. "I am Mortis. For years I have watched you. The One has chosen you and brought you here, Dragon Booster." Mortis explained, slamming the tip of his staff on the floor and causing golden energy to flow forth towards the centre of the room, forming the star sharp of the amulet, contracting inwards and forming a small golden portal where an armband floated up from the light, hovering in the air.

Iris and Artha's jaws had dropped in shock from the light show. "The ancient gold draconium armour is now yours to command," Mortis explained, gesturing to the armband.

"Armour? Where's the rest of it?" Artha questioned in disbelief. Beau grunted and smacked his rider over the back of his head with his tail. "Ow, hey, seriously. It's an armband, how am I supposed to be the Dragon Booster with an armband?"

Iris shook her head gently at her brother's words.


Back up at the stables, Parm was surrounded by Moordryd's crew's dragons while Lance was held up by his collar by Moordryd, who tossed his wrist comm off his arm. "No tricks! Where is your brother?" He demanded before a war cry was heard and they saw Kitt and her dragon charging at them. Kitt's dragon leapt over Moordryd, causing him to duck and drop Lance. Her dragon kicked up a cloud of dust, blinding Moordryd's crew and allowing Parm to escape.

"Get to the bridge!" Kitt commanded and Parm nodded. He grabbed Lance as Kitt and her dragon came to their side. Moordryd and his crew slowly advanced on them. "Okay, time to heat things up!" Kitt activated her red thruster gear, turning them forward and blasting fire at the ground, cutting her, Lance and Parm off from the street crew for a little while. "Call your brother, we can't keep this up for long!" Kitt shouted to Lance, who picked up his wrist comm.


Back underground, Artha had placed the gauntlet on his left wrist. Iris watched him examine it. "You must learn to release the secret powers of both you and Beau," Mortis explained, vanishing into the shadows.

"Huh?" Artha looked up, only to see the priest gone. 'Where did he go?" Iris questioned. "But how will I know when I'm ready?" Artha shouted, his voice echoing in the chamber. "You will know." Mortis's voice echoed. Then both Artha and Iris's wrist comms activated. "Artha, Iris, it's the street crew, we need help!" Lance's voice sounded panicked and Iris gasped.

"Hang on, Lance. We're on our way." Artha responded and turned to look at Iris. "Go, Artha. I'll just slow you down."

"But..."

She shook her head. "Go, save the others. I will wait for you." She urged him, pushing him towards Beau, who nuzzled her shoulder. "I'll be back." He promised her before climbing onto Beau's back and activating the gauntlet by putting the star into the groove. Iris watched them transform and rush off to save the others. She hoped everything went well.


A little longer than normal, but I hope you all like it. The next chapter coming soon.