Fanning the Flames
Ready for another adventure, dragon riders? I know I am. Please read, review, and favorite. Mount up and let's go!
ShiningGalaxy: Thank you so much for your review of the previous chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and hope you get well. Thank you for your support, I truly appreciate it!
Bold is for dragon talking.
It had been nearly a week since the Penn stables newest guest had literally crashed into their lives and was brought back to the stables to be healed. So far, the multicoloured hybrid dragon had slowly regained her strength and was currently eating her breakfast in her stall. Her wounds were looking a little better, but she was not out of the woods yet and still needed at least another two weeks to fully heal, her scars would forever be a reminder of the life she lived before coming to Penn Stables.
Iris was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for herself and her brothers, both of whom were still sleeping as it was 7:00 in the morning, she had already gone out and fed the dragons, including the pack/psi-class, who tolerated her at the most as she still didn't fully trust the humans. Flipping another pancake over on the stove, she set it onto a plate already stacked with other pancakes, all ready to be eaten. She turned the stove off grabbed out some orange juice and poured some into three glasses. She set the table and called out, "Breakfast is ready!"
She sat down and plated herself some nice, fluffy pancakes just as Artha and Lance both trudged in, looking tired. The brothers sat down and Iris plated up some pancakes for them. "Thanks, Iris." Artha thanked, yawning before he took a sip of the orange juice and drizzled some syrup onto his breakfast. The siblings ate quietly as Lance and Artha slowly woke up to start the day. Artha had a race today and both Lance and Parm were going with him.
"You sure you don't want to join us today, Iris?" Artha asked after he finished his food. Iris nodded, she would not be joining them today as she wanted to try and gain the pack-class' trust slowly, and she couldn't leave the dragon alone, someone, maybe her former owner, might find them and demand to have her returned. "Yeah, I'm sure, good luck with your race today, Artha."
The dark-haired teen smiled at his sister and rose from the table to go get ready for the day. Outside, in the stables, Beau and Fracshun were with the female, having decided to come to see her after they had eaten their breakfast.
"Good morning." Beau greeted the female as he stepped inside the stall. The female turned and once she saw him, she let out a small growl. "Hello."
"How did you sleep?" Fraction asked with a chirp, tail swaying.
"I slept fine, thank you." footsteps were heard and the three dragons turned to see Iris, Artha, and Lance walk out of the house. The two boys walked over to their dragons, who greeted them with nuzzles.
"Hey, Beau. Ready for today?" Artha asked as he grabbed a brush and began to brush Beau down and get him ready. "Born ready, Artha!" Beau said with a grin, but the humans could not understand him, so it just came out as growls and grunts.
The female noticed the girl, Iris standing in the doorway. The cross-breed tolerated her due to the teen keeping her distance and not crowding her much, which she appreciated. She growled softly. "You may come closer." she allowed and Beau gently nudged his human sister towards the hybrid.
Iris took a few steps forward after Beau had nudged her from the doorway to a few feet from the pack/psi-class, who regarded her with wary, green eyes. "Would you like a brush down, girl?" she asked.
The multicoloured dragon snorted at that, but she had to admit that she hadn't had a proper wash since she got here, the humans had kept their distance to make her more comfortable. She gazed at Beau and Fracshun, both of whom were getting brushed by their riders.
"Let Iris brush you, you haven't had a good bath since you arrived," Beau told her, snorting gently as Artha got his saddle on and he was geared up, same with Lance and Fracshun. The female eyed Iris, who took a step back and then she snorted and nodded her head. "Very well."
Artha and Lance mounted their dragons. "We'll be back soon, okay?" Iris nodded, grabbing the hose from outside the stall. "Be careful out there, and if I hear you being a jerk to anyone, I will scrape your scales, Artha, you hear me?" she warned, Iris knew Artha could sometimes become arrogant and self-centered at times, she did not like that at all! She gave him a look that said 'You mess up, I will grab you by the ear and shout at you'
Despite her bad upbringing, Iris was a patient and kind person, she hated those who were self-centered and arrogant, there were times in the past when Artha grew arrogant and she had on more than one occasion, grabbed him by the ear and given him an earful about being selfless and keeping an eye out of others feelings.
Artha winced, he did not like that one bit, but he understood her warning. "I promise," he vowed before he and Lance rode out of the stable with their dragons, leaving Iris and the hybrid dragon.
With a sigh, Iris turned the hose on and slowly approached the tri-coloured dragon. As she lathered up some soap, she spoke. "You know, you will need a name. I can't keep calling you girl. Can I give you a name?"
The dragon snorted in surprise. "You want to give me a name?" she'd never been named before, her previous owner just called her a lazy monster, she had no name to show who she was. Lowering her head as the warm water washed over her scales, it felt so good, she purred slightly as Iris gently ran the soap along her scales, getting under them and removing who knows how much dirt and grime.
The hybrid dragon grumbled softly and Iris looked up, the two staring at each other. Iris gave a small smile and lifted her hand, waiting to see if the creature would allow her to pet them. The multicoloured dragon sniffed her hand before she decided to take a chance, the humans had kept their distance and Iris had been feeding them every morning, so she pressed her nose to the human's palm, closing her eyes.
Iris inhaled sharply, she hadn't expected the dragon to trust her. "Wow." she breathed, stroking the dragon's nose with both hands. "How do you like the name Prisma?"
The dragon opened her eyes. "Prisma, Prisma. I like it!" she purred and the newly named dragon enjoyed the bath her new human friend was giving her, the two in a comfortable silence.
(I did originally have the council meeting scene, plus Pyrrah and Phistis trying to reach the furox, but I felt it wasn't needed. I hope everyone is alright with that.)
At the all-city track, Artha was in a race and behind a pair of racers that bashed into each other. Kitt was also in the race and came up beside Artha. "Hey stable boy, hot racing tip for today. Draft in behind, push to the outside, and use the wind boost from the other racers to pull your past. Like this." she demonstrated by pulling Wyldfyr to the back and then maneuvering him up along the side of the track, using the wind as a boost for her to get to the front of the pack. She smirked at her move.
"Uh, yeah, thanks," Artha shouted to her as Lance and Parm were in the stands, watching from their vid-controller. "Looks like Kitt's gonna win again," Lance said with a bored tone. Parm was typing something into his device.
"It is not over yet, Lance, not by a long shot."
"Uh, what race are you watching? It's the last lap and she's about to take first place." Lance spoke as he watched the positions of the racers out on the track.
"Ah, yes, but I've punched in the dragon speeds, relative positions, mass, and volume, along with the precise dimensions along with the final sections of the track, and according to this…"
As Parm was rambling, Lance saw the track narrowing into a one-lane track, too small for the dragons that were spread out.
"They're gonna collide!"
"They're going to col- wait, how did you know that?" Parm asked, wondering how Lance got it before he did. Lance had to warn his brother since Iris wasn't here to help. "Artha, look out, massive dragon pile up on the way!"
Artha saw the track narrow up ahead and two riders, both from the dragon flares crew, saw the narrow track. "Eject!" one of them shouted and both of their shoots activated, taking them away from their dragons who continued and got jammed in the narrow track, pressed tight against each other. Kitt saw the pile-up ahead. "Oh great!"
She pulled back on the handles of her saddle to slow her dragon down to avoid being in the pile-up. Artha then remembered the move she had made earlier. "Wait, draft to the outside and use the other racers for a…" he directed Beau up along the side of the track, bypassing the stuck dragons and shocking Kitt. "Woo hoo hoo, what a move!"
Wyldfyr skidded to a stop with a snort, leaving Kitt stunned. "What a move, that's my move!" she snapped angrily. How dare he use her move to win while she was stuck. Sure, she had shown it to him, but she hadn't expected him to use it against her like that! Artha and Beau finished in first place, their first win since they started racing.
Later on, back at the tents, after collecting his trophy, Artha stood beside Beau as Lance complimented the move. "Drac move, Artha!"
The teen smirked with an arrogant grin. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it? Just how good am I?"
Beau growled at him. "Excuse me?"
"I mean, we." Artha quickly changed his tone at the stink-eyed look his dragon was giving him. "I can't believe you beat Kitt, I can't believe you won. What a move! How did you do that?"
Behind them, Kitt sat with her dragon, overhearing the conversation. "Well, I guess I have someone to thank, someone whose talents and perseverance have been an example to all." Kitt began to smile, thinking he was going to thank her for showing him that move, but it was not to be. "Me," Artha said with a stupid grin.
Her mouth dropped open in disbelief! What! How could he not see it was her who showed him that move? He was being a jerk!
"And?" Parm and Lance urged, waiting for him to include them. Kitt raised an eyebrow, waiting. "And you guys, and Iris, of course, but that's it, no one else to thank." Kitt sneered at him, nice to be appreciated when she showed him that move, yet he was being an arrogant jerk.
"Why that ungrateful little stable brat. I know when I'm not appreciated!" She snarled, drawing the teen's attention before she urged Wyldfyr away from them, passing Pyrrah, who saw and heard the whole thing. A smirk grew on her face, this was the perfect opportunity to extract her plan after she had failed to retrieve the furox earlier
Later, she saw Kitt tending to Wyldfyr to make sure he was okay after the race. "Not in the mood to talk, Pyrrah, I'm having a very bad day." Kitt snapped, her back to Pyrrah, yet she knew it was the leader of the dragon flares who was behind her.
"I saw the race, Kitt, and the way you blazed through that track, till that hothead Artha stole your fire." Kitt sneered angrily. "Oh, you should have won! You got burned!" Pyrrah said as she stepped closer. "What's it to ya?" Kitt asked, glancing at her, then back to her dragon, she didn't want to be reminded of losing the race, she was one of the fastest racers in Dragon City, she had that race till she showed Artha that move and he used it to win.
"I'm looking for someone with real fire to join my crew, the dragon flares. We're a family and the family shares success. We give credit where credit is due. You are the fastest racer I have ever seen. I would be honored if you would consider it." Kitt seemed to think on this, that it would be nice to join a crew like Pyrrah's, she would fit in nicely.
She finally turned to face the other teen, one hand on her hip. "Well, it is about time someone showed me some appreciation." she would be happy to join.
"There is a catch. You will have to pass the initiation." Pyrrah added. "Just tell me when, and where?"
Back at the stables, Iris was now seated beside Prisma as she was reading a book, the pack/psi-class was now clean and looked much better than what she did earlier. Prisma laid her head down on the floor near Iris' feet, her bandages had been replaced with clean ones and most of her wounds were looking heaps better. The two enjoyed the quiet that surrounded the stable. Iris hummed softly, reaching out and gently stroking the tri-coloured dragon's nose.
Prisma purred, Iris and her brothers were the first humans, plus their doctor, to ever show her kindness and patience, all she had ever known was pain, yet she was treated equally by these humans.
The sound of footsteps was heard and both females lifted their heads as Beau, Fracshun, and Cyrano returned from the race. Iris stood up and headed over to greet her brothers when she saw the gold trophy Artha held. "Magna draconis, Artha! How did you get first place?" she asked, mystified, yet happy for his win. Artha looked at her and suddenly remembered the promise he had made her. Iris knew that look and folded her arms over her chest. "You were a jerk, weren't you?"
Her brother didn't even have time to answer before she reached out and grasped hold of his left ear. "Ow! Iris, please!" but she was having none of it. "No excuses, brother." she snapped, grabbing the trophy from his hands, electing a shout of anger from him as she dragged him inside the house. Parm and Lance both winced, though they were happy he had won, he had shown his arrogant side and Lance had explained to Parm when they met up with him that he had promised Iris he wouldn't be a jerk, but that promise had been broken.
Inside, Iris put the trophy down on their father's desk and glared daggers at her brother. "Artha Tannis Penn, what did I tell you about being a jerk!" she snapped, causing him to wince at his full name, he hadn't heard his full name being used for years, not unless he did something that truly angered someone.
"Iris, I…" he tried to speak, but she shut him up. "No! I told you that I would grab you by the ear if you became arrogant, which is exactly what you did! How did you win the trophy? Not by yourself, I take it!" she glared at him, waiting for him to answer.
"Kitt showed me a move today out on the track and there was a pile-up further ahead, so I used the move to get past the pile-up and won."
"And did you thank her for the move she showed you?"
He looked away, which answered her question. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "What exactly did Beau see in you to choose you as the dragon booster, you are arrogant and reckless, only thinking about yourself! You need to straighten that attitude or so help me I will kick your tail halfway to squire's end, you understand brother!" she snarled the last words, eying him with rage. Artha tried to move his head away, but with her grip on his ear, it was useless. "Yes." he winced.
Seeing the message get through, she released his ear and he rubbed it as she grabbed the trophy off the desk and went to put it away, out of his reach until he got over his arrogance. "Your trophy will not be seen until you change that attitude, Artha Penn!" Iris growled, glaring. Artha looked down in shame, he had broken his promise to her, and she had every right to be mad at him.
"Yeah, I understand." satisfied, she walked out of the office with Artha behind her, head down like a kicked puppy. They arrived at the stables as the dragons waited for them.
"Good, now that is out of the way, I would like you all to meet Prisma." Iris, now calm introduced them to the newly named hybrid dragon, who growled softly at them.
"Amazing, a hybrid of a pack and psi-class, and she trusts you," Parm said in awe. "For now she does," Iris answered as she stroked Prisma's neck and the female leaned into her touch. "I think she knows that I won't hurt her like I ever would."
Beau gave a dragon grin. "Prisma, I like it."
"Thank you, I like it too and Iris is as you said, a kind human, she has given me space and been nothing but patient," Prisma explained as she stood beside the violet-haired teen.
"Iris is a wonderful human, she was abused by her mother before she came to stay with us when she was young. Artha and Lance are good people too, when Artha isn't being a jerk." Beau snorted, tail coming around to whack Artha upside the head for his behavior at the track. "Ow, hey! Beau, what was that for? I already got an earful from Iris, both physically and mentally, I don't need your input."
Beau hissed lowly at his rider, flashing his fangs slightly. "Don't test me, Artha. Iris was right to go off on you for your behavior."
The teen had the sense to not test his dragon and backed up a bit. "Seems like Beau is getting annoyed with your attitude as well," Iris noted with a scowl aimed at her brother.
"What is this? Pick on Artha day?"
"Well, if the shoe fits?" Iris countered before Parm got between the two siblings with his arms outstretched to stop them from fighting anymore. "Hey, come on, that's enough you two! Iris, you've made your point. Artha, be nicer to others. Now we should go see Mortis and see if anything has happened."
The teens agreed to that and went to the secret elevator with Beau, Prisma, Fracshun, and Cyrano following.
"Who is this Mortis person?" Prisma questioned as she followed Iris into a large elevator, big enough to hold them and the humans.
"Mortis is an ancient dragon priest who is training me and Artha to be better both out on the track and as the dragon booster and dragon of legend," Beau explained as the doors closed and they went shooting down the shaft. Prisma screeched in surprise and fell against Beau, who held her up with his body.
"It's alright, I got you, Prisma." the red and blue dragon assured the scared female as she leaned against him. The elevator came to a halt and the group exited into the temple. Prisma looked around as she walked beside Beau.
"Wow, this is incredible," she said, looking at the statues as they glowed a gold color as the group walked past. Iris rested a hand on the dragon's side, reassuring her she was safe. "It's alright, girl. You're safe, I promise."
"I shall hold you to that," Prisma growled softly before a clanking noise made her snap her head up and growl, showing her teeth as a figure wearing a mask and holding a staff in one hand approached them. She hissed lowly before Beau nudged her with his chin.
"That's Mortis, he won't hurt you." Prisma continued to eye the humans as they stopped a few feet from them. "Welcome back, Penn siblings and Parmon Sean. Welcome Beau, Fracshun, Cyrano, and…" he trailed off up seeing Prisma. "Who is this?"
"This is Prisma, she's a hybrid cross between a pack-class and psi-class, the only known of her kind. She crashed into me and Beau nearly a week ago while we were out grocery shopping. We found out that she was being abused by her former owner and we brought her back here to heal. She is doing better, but still needs more healing." Iris explained as Mortis held out a hand, palm facing up for the dragon to sniff.
Prisma looked at Beau and Iris, who waited for her to make her own decision. She leaned her head forward, and hesitated for a moment, before leaning her head down and sniffing his palm. She growled lowly before allowing him to stroke her snout.
Beau grinned proudly. "You're doing so well, Prisma." she glanced at him and huffed. This would be a long roar for her, but at the moment, she trusted Iris and to an extent, Mortis. Her brothers were pretty much the same.
Mortis stroked her snout, smiling softly. "A psi and pack dragon hybrid, That is definitely a first." Mortis had never heard of, or seen a cross-bred dragon before, especially a psi/pack hybrid. "But I think she shall like it here. She seems to have warmed up to Beau and the other dragons," he noted as Beau grunted at the multicoloured dragon and she growled back a friendly noise.
"I watched the race today. That was a great outside move that Kitt taught you." Mortis praised Artha as he looked at each of the teens. Iris shot a dirty look to Artha, who avoided her gaze sheepishly as Parm shook his head at their petty bickering.
"I have learned that Word Paynn has sent the down-city crews on a terrible and dangerous quest," Mortis informed them grimly. That got the teen's attention as Beau grunted in surprise.
"Uh quest?" Parm asked the same question that was on everyone's mind.
"To the Forgotten Scale Citadel." Beau seemed to perk up and growled upon hearing that. "I know of that place."
"A fortress that protects an ancient red bone mark."
"Bone-mark?" Lance asked curiously.
"Bone marks hold the spirit of ancient war dragons. In this case, furox." Beau remembered a time when the original dragon booster and Beau fought a possessed dragon amid the ruins of a city. One thousand years ago when the war between dragons and humans began and raged on. "He battled against the original dragon booster. This bone-mark will be very powerful, powerful enough to mutate a dragon into a terrible force. And powerful enough to affect humans too." Beau snapped out of the memory and shook his head with a pained roar. "That must not happen again!"
Parm looked frightened by that. "Creepy."
"I advise you to get there as soon as possible, Artha before anyone else gets the bone mark," Mortis suggested and the teen nodded. He and Beau left the temple with Parm and Lance following, along with the dragons, leaving Iris and Prisma with Mortis.
"You won't be joining them, Iris?"
She shook her head. "Prisma may be able to walk around, but she is not strong enough to ride if she lets me. So I shall sit this one out with her." Mortis rested a hand on her shoulder. "You are a kind person, Iris Penn. Prisma is lucky to have you as a friend."
The pair left the temple and Iris went to Prisma's stall to feed her, letting the dragon enjoy her food in peace while she went inside the house to make herself some lunch, then wait for her brothers and Parm to return.
At the citadel, Artha and Beau were inside the temple while Lance and Parm were outside. So far, there were no signs of any crews from what he could see. "I don't see any crews, Beau."
"Maybe Mortis got some bad info?" Artha began to wonder if they were in the right place and maybe Mortis had gotten the location wrong when something red flashed by behind them. "Someone's going after the furox, alright, and in a hurry too."
His vid-screen popped up on his saddle and he saw Parm and Lance. "She just zoomed past us out here. I think it was…Kitt."
"Kitt Wonn?" what was she doing here going after the furox, what did she need it for? Questions swirled in his head before he grabbed his amulet. "Release the dragon!" he slid it into his gauntlet and transformed into the dragon booster as Beau changed to black and gold. He roared before they chased after Kitt and her fast dragon.
Kitt wore a look of determination on her face as she and Wyldfyr raced towards the first set of traps. The dragon booster raced past them and stopped in front of the pair, forcing the two into a skidding halt.
"I know what you're after, the furox." Kitt stuttered in surprise at his words.
"And how do you know that?"
"It is very dangerous and must not leave this temple." the dragon booster explained to her. "Who put you up to this?"
"Someone who appreciates me, Pyrrah, and the dragon flares, what's it to you anyway?" Kitt questioned with a suspicious look.
"People do appreciate you. Some might even look up to you." the dragon booster assured her.
Kitt just raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah, like who?" she sounded almost sad at the last sentence.
"Like your friend, Artha Penn."
Kitt sputtered out a laugh. "What, the stable brat? All he ever cares about is himself. He is no friend of mine." Kitt huffed, folding her arms. Dragon Booster dismounted his dragon and approached them.
"Uh, yeah Kitt." the dragon booster removed the amulet, changing him back into his civilian form. Kitt shielded her eyes from the bright light and once it was gone, her green eyes widened upon seeing Artha Penn standing before her. "He is."
Artha Penn was the dragon booster? She stuttered, unable to form any words for a few moments, completely astounded by this reveal. "Artha Penn?" she dismounted her saddle and approached him. "You're the dragon booster?" how could he be the hero behind the mask?
"Kinda, uh yeah," Artha confessed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Kitt's face morphed from a mystified look into one of hatred. "You didn't tell me!" she pushed him hard to the ground, his helmet slightly tilted from the shove. "What? Don't you trust me?"
Artha struggled to form a sentence. "Wait, Kitt…that's not it."
"Didn't think I was worth letting me in on your little secret?" she made air quotes with her fingers while sneering.
"Look, the furox is a bone mark with the spirit of a seriously bad dragon in it, you don't wanna mess with that, you can't control its energy." Artha tried to warn her about the danger but she ignored him, mounted her dragon, and urged him past the pair.
"Well, that went well, don't you think?" he asked Beau while righting his helmet. Beau shook his head at him while grunting. "That did not go how you wanted it to go, Artha. She is too angry right now."
"Time to get busy Beau. Release the dragon!" they transformed once more and rode off after the pair.
Wyldfyr raced towards the blade room and entered, Kitt's eyes widened slightly at seeing so many blades, but she narrowed them in concentration and determination, they could do this! The blades swung at them, but the pair easily moved past them due to their speed. "Ha, no sweat."
Reaching the second room, Kitt slowed her dragon to a stop Massive rectangular columns that stuck out from the sides and looked like they could crush someone in an instant! Kitt was not deterred by them. "Okay, come on, Wyldfyr!" her dragon growled and moved forward at a walk, cautious just in case the columns started to move. As they walked, Kitt noticed two columns start towards them and urged Wyldfyr into a run. "Hee yah!"
The columns shut behind them, they were lucky so far. "That's it, that's it." Kitt praised her fast and agile dragon. Two columns were closing in front of them and if they weren't fast enough, they would be trapped. "Go, go go!" the pair managed to make it past the closing columns and then Kitt saw two close ahead of them. "Forget this, we're going over!" she activated her red thruster gear and Wyldfyr leaped into the air, flying over the columns, then another came at them and Kitt ducked, Wyldfyr looked back at his rider to make sure she was safe. She reappeared. "We're through, good work, Wyldfyr." her dragon smiled at her praise as they touched down and kept moving to the third and final trap room.
"The furox!" Kitt could see it beyond the trap room. Wyldfyr walked his way forward, seeing the many dragon faces that no doubt held plenty of arrows. As he walked, he stepped on a pressure plate that glowed red and the door to the furox began to close. "The doorway's closing! Go, go, go!" Kitt urged her dragon into a run as the arrows started firing at them from all directions. She ducked as a few nearly got her head, keeping her eyes open before she grabbed her mag-staff and deflected some of them till they reached the door. As they ran inside, she noticed the mechanism that controlled the traps and leaned over the saddle as Wyldfyr tilted his body down so she could grab a decent-sized rock and tossed it over her shoulder, it landed in the gears and jammed them, the door stopped closing and the traps powered down.
"Woo, that rocked." Kitt breathed a sigh as they approached the furox and her dragon came to a stop. Kitt dismounted and approached the box, which glowed with power. "Wow!" she stared at it, mystified and awestruck.
Reaching for it, she hesitated for a second as the box glowed. "Maybe stable boy is right." she grabbed hold of the box and held it in her hands. "Somethings weird."
"You really are the fastest." A voice behind her made the teen turn around to see Pyrrah standing behind her. She had followed her into the temple once the traps had deactivated so she could get through safely.
"Pyrrah, there's something strange with this thing?" Kitt questioned the leader.
"Let's investigate that, shall we? I doubt Word would mind us taking a little peek." Pyrrah took the box from Kitt and pressed a button on the top, the box opened and the bone-mark hovered in front of her, pulsing with red energy. "Oh, what is this?"
"A bone-mark. The concentrated essence of the furox. The red battle dragon of war." Moordryd walked up behind the girls, surprising them. He turned to face Pyrrah. "I must congratulate you, Pyrrah on a master stroke of manipulation. It's always good to let others take the risks while you collect the rewards."
"What? You played me!" Kitt asked, astounded by Pyrrah's manipulation. She had been tricked, Artha had been right all along and she hadn't listened to him. He had tried to warn her, but she ignored him.
"Don't blame Pyrrah for your own mistake. You were both too angry to think straight. "Moordryd faced Pyrrah. "Give me the furox, I shall take it to my father now." he held out his hand for the relic.
But Pyrrah held it away from him. "No."
"No?"
"I was going to give it to Word, but now…" Pyrrah trailed off as she turned her head to look at the bone mark. "It's so powerful, I…" her eyes began to glow red from the energy taking over her body.
"The energy of the bone-mark." Kitt gasped as she and Moordryd backed up. A fully possessed Pyrrah, with red markings on her face, ran over to her dragon and mounted the saddle. "Now I shall rule the council, and much more!" she shouted, holding up the furox with a maniacal grin before Phorrj mag-locked the bone mark onto his forehead. His eyes, once a nice blue color, became red with a furox-shaped iris, his body went from red to purple, spikes sprouted from his back and his tail grew spikes as well, the newly released furox let loose a fearsome and loud roar.
"I AM FREE AT LAST!"
Kitt and Moordryd both wore looks of shock as Pyrrah gave a sinister grin. The furox approached the pair and Moordryd saw a gap in the floor behind him. "I'm out." he leaped over the edge as the dragon made a swipe for him, but missed. His chute activated and he smiled. "Have fun, Kitt."
The blue-haired teen was left with the newly formed furox and screamed as the dragon leaped at her, intending to do terrible harm. "Die human!" but at the last moment, she was grabbed by the dragon booster and taken to safety. "Thanks." she thanked him with a grateful look and he set her down as the furox and Pyrrah headed for the door.
"They're trying to escape the citadel, if they get to the city…" Artha trailed off, thinking about the danger the city would be in if the furox was loose. Kitt mounted her dragon again. "Then let's stop it!" then she added. "This doesn't mean I'm not totally still angry with you. Let's do it!" their dragons took off after the furox as it got closer to the door, only for someone to come charging at them.
"Coming through!" Parm announced as he and Cyrano ran at the furox, who screeched at them. "Parm?" Artha questioned as he and Kitt halted their dragons. "Die, pathetic human!" The bull-class dragon slammed hard into the possessed dragon, stunning it.
Lance rode in with Fracshun. "Parm, let's move before it gets up." the teens grouped to form a plan on how to get the furox bone mark off Pyrrah and Phorrj. "I've got a plan. If I can reactivate the citadel's defenses, maybe we can trap that thin in here." Kitt came up with a suggestion as the furox rose to its feet and loosened a shriek of rage!
Artha looked up at the red draconium lights on the pillars around the room and got an idea. "Kitt, we'll temporarily short out those draconium lights, that should buy us some time. Parm, Lance, activate your thermal goggles," he ordered and everyone activated their night vision on their visors. "Let's do it!"
Kitt and Artha ran together on different sides and their dragons magged them into the air, using their mag-staffs, the teens hit as many lights as they possibly could, powering down the remaining light temporarily and leaving the room in darkness. Kitt and Artha were magged back into their saddles and all gathered together. "Okay, let's see how powerful you are in the dark!"
With their night vision on, they could see where the furox was, but it couldn't see them. Artha held a finger to his lips and gestured with his hands for them to split into two teams, him and Lance, then Kitt and Parm. The two pairs moved quietly around the pillars, making sure not to make much noise as the furox struggled to see them.
"Where are you?" the furox growled as it tried to look for the teens.
As they passed a pillar, one of Lance's handles of his saddle hit the stone, making a noise that alerted the furox. Artha silently gestured for his brother to remain silent as the furox's fangs came dangerously close to his face.
Kitt and Parm could see the furox practically right beside Lance and Kitt knew they needed to do something to avoid Lance getting found and possibly hurt. She grabbed a dracal and tossed it away from her. The sound alerted the furox, who left Lance alone and went for the source of the noise, hissing and growling.
The four teens met up at the door. "You take Parmon and Lance through, and I'll reactivate the door and trap that thing." Kitt directed to Artha, who nodded as she dismounted her saddle and ran to the gear, sliding her mag-stick under the rock and pushing down to try and lift it. The mag-staff groaned and creaked as she tried to dislodge the rock, but it proved to be too stuck and the staff snapped, alerting the furox.
"I found you!" it screeched at them.
"He's onto us!" Lance began to panic.
"Well, at least there's no illumination for the furox to correctly visualize our exact location." Parm tried to lighten the mood, but the lights all turned on at that moment. "You were saying?" Kitt asked in a fearful voice. Just great!
The furox stood before them and unleashed a powerful mag-blast with a deafening roar, the teens ran out of the way as the blast dislodged the rock and the door slammed down, trapping them. "We're trapped!"
"If we spread out and weaken him, maybe there's a way to break the mag-lock on the bone-mark."
"But how?" Parm questioned.
Beau had a vision of the original dragon of legend unleashing a powerful mag-blast that rendered the original furox defenseless. "I have an idea!" he unleashed a powerful roar while rearing on his hind legs.
"Bring it together, guys. I think the dragon of legend has an idea!" Artha said as the others stood on his sides. The furox screeched high and loud at them.
"YOU ALL WILL DIE!"
"Not if I can help it, furox. You don't belong here!" Beau countered with a roar of defiance. He began glowing and streams of red, blue, and green energy from the other dragons flowed into his body. "Attack!" Pyrrah screeched. Beau's star mark glowed brightly and he unleashed a powerful mag-blast, the furox, and Pyrrah both screamed as the mag-blast hit them and knocked the bone mark off Phorrj.
With the bone mark no longer magged to his head, Phorrj changed back to his normal form as Pyrrah was released from the possession. Both weak for the energy that possessed them, they collapsed to the ground.
"The bone-mark!" Kitt shouted, seeing it sliding towards the edge. "You know what to do, Beau." the dragon magged his rider towards the furox and Artha attempted to grab it, but it fell just out of his reach and into darkness.
"That suckers gone," Lance commented, relieved the danger was over. Artha picked himself up. "Wow, that was some teamwork, I just wish Iris was here for it. It's not the same without her. Nice moves back there too." he complimented as Kitt walked up beside him with her dragon.
She gave him a slight sneer, still hurt by him winning the race. "So, are we friends?"
"Uh, sure," she answered, then backtracked. "What a second, friends? Let's see, you steal my moves, and take all the credit." she listed what he had done with her fingers. "And then you keep secrets from me too."
"I said that I was sorry."
"What else haven't you told me, hero boy?"
"That he totally likes you and Iris gave him an earful when we got back." Lance piped up, causing his brother to turn and glare at him. "Lance!"
Kitt tried to hide a smile that she could feel growing on her face. Artha Penn liked her, wow, who would have thought of that? Then his sister had given him an earful about his behavior after the race. She had seen the purple-haired teen once before when she came to Penn Stables for the tryouts for Beau to pick a rider.
"Yes, well, looks like everything is back to normal around here," Parm said, sending Beau into a burst of laughter as everyone joined in.
Once the laugh fest was over, Artha spoke. "Come on, guys. Let's get back to Iris and tell her what happened."
Another chapter is done, sorry if it's a bit long. Hope you all like it.
