Chapter Text
Things were strangely active, he decided. They had locked him in the yard and taken away his little shelter. From where he lay in what little shade there was, he watched as the humans ran about. Some were inside the building while others were on top of the wood wall. They had their guns on their backs. Yet with all the chatter and commotion Whitecoat was nowhere to be seen.
The humans spoke of a guest. His tail twitched and he snorted at that. What was so special about this human compared to all the others? Didn’t matter, if there was one thing he could trust Whitecoat with was that the human did not let other humans truly harm him.
A loud rumbling caught his attention, enough so that he hoisted himself up to standing on hind legs. Neck outstretched as if he could look over the wooden wall even though he knew it was pointless. The humans above twitched towards their guns but he ignored them. As long as he stayed calm so did they. The sound grew louder until it was near deafening to him and he lowered his fin, cutting of much of his senses. When the noise stopped he knew that this guest had arrived.
Lowering himself back down he returned to his original resting place. He didn’t know how long he waited, not long he figured as his shade had not changed much when Whitecoat arrived above with a creature made of metal. Dragon stilled watching Whitecoat and the new creature closely. He watched as the Metal thing scanned his yard, eyes roamed over him but never settled. For once he was never so glad that he was green. Something about this creature unsettled him deeply.
The creature speaking with the voice of a human startled him but he dared not so much as twitch.
“Where is it. You had promised a weapon.” Dragon dared not move, he did not like this human one bit.
“Use your eyes it’s in the back corner over there.” Whitecoat waved in his general direction. He tensed even more as the metal human’s eyes finally landed on him. He could hardly breath.
He was so focused on trying to keep under control that he missed what the two humans were talking about. Something about how skinny he was, a weapon. He didn’t know nor care too much for their conversation. However, when the Metal human jumped into his yard all his attention zeroed into the intruder.
Dragon jumped to standing, back arched and head lowered. He locked eyes with the human and bared his teeth. For the first time since he could remember defiance bubbled up in his chest. The human took a step closer and he snarled. For a moment the sound surprised him, he had forgotten he could make noise. The human glared and clenched his fists.
Dragon was terrified but dared not back down. Not to this thing. This wasn’t Whitecoat, or the humans that made him sleep. No this was some fool who thought he could just come up to Dragon with only a metal coating for protection. Realization struck him hard. He could gouge into metal like it was nothing, the hundreds of claw marks in his little dark cage proved that. He was big, much bigger than this tiny little human and as thin as he was, he was still stronger.
The dragon shifted stance. Wider, lower, fins lifted to their peak, claws prepped and pupils little more than slits. Bishop raised his hand; his guards raised their tranq guns towards the creature. The other scientist instantly evacuated into the building. Even from his place upon the wall he could see that fire in the dragon’s eyes, fire that he had not seen since he had broken the turtle one year ago.
Time seemed to come to a standstill, no one dare so much as move. What felt like hours but was only seconds as red and gold locked with cruel brown. The metal man was the first to break the spell. His hand twitched and that was enough. The dragon faster than anyone anticipated stuck out with his jaws clamping firmly over the intruder’s shoulder. Teeth like blades sunk though the metal like it were nothing. The taste of copper filled his mouth.
The human made a grab for him and in retaliation he shook. Teeth like knives tore into the soft flesh under metal coating. The humans above made the most horrendous of noises, yelling and screaming. He wondered why the one trapped in his jaws didn’t scream. He could feel the human’s metal claws scraping at the scales of his neck uselessly. He let up his bite to get a better grip as the man thrashed. Metal screeching as his teeth plunge through the guest’s arms. He reared back and shook hard.
Finally he tore a scream from the man as he shook him like a rag doll bones crunching and with a wet pop and the sound of taring of flesh the man’s body went flying leaving his arm still caught in Dragon’s mouth. All eyes watched as the human flew into a wooden wall with a mighty clang and bounce off onto the ground.
Silence fell around them as the only thing audible was the dripping of blood onto dirt and Dragon’s heavy breathing. All eyes on the human crumpled to the ground.
Oh.
OH.
All eyes were on the unmoving human. That meant no one was looking at Dragon. No one was looking at him. If he could rip through metal so easily, wood shouldn’t be any harder. He could hear the birds flying free just beyond the wall. His back was to the forest he spotted through the hole. Slowly carefully he slunk back into the shade. Red and gold eyes watching each of the humans for signs they noticed him. None looked away from the metal man as he slowly started to twitch his remaining hand. Each step felt like an eternity until finally his tail touched the wall. By then the Human started to slowly push himself up to his knees eyes firmly on the spot his arm used to be.
Dragon had to act fast. He would only have one chance and they would notice him scaling the wall. He dropped the arm still in his jaws and spun around. Pushing off the ground with powerful hind legs he vaulted up and up. Claws outstretched they dug into the top of the wall and hauled him the rest of the way up. Humans started yelling and shouting. He dared not look back as he leapt off the wall to the forest.
“After it! Don’t let my Dragon get away!” Whitecoat’s scream had him running the moment paws touched down. Weaving between trees and bounding over vegetation. Dorsal fin raised as high as it could go he could hear the pounding of feet behind him and the loud rumbling like the thing that brought the metal man, only so many more.
He bit his yelp of surprise down as a loud bang and something whizzed past him. He did not stop choosing to weave between more trees making him a harder target. Something large burst through the foliage just behind him and he dared a look back. His heard leapt to his throat as his eyes locked with that of White coat hanging out this loud thing with a dart gun pointed at him.
Dragon ran faster. Paws pounding across the ground taking leaps avoiding darts shot at him and more of the human machines, cars, as he ran. Vaulting over top some bushes the forest suddenly came to an end and in front of him the land itself vanished. He could hear Whitecoat call to the others that he’d be cornered.
He couldn’t go back, he wouldn’t go back. His eyes caught sight of birds flying away from the edge of the land. He’d never opened his wings fully before, let alone knew if he could fly. It was time to find out. He sped up running with all his might towards the edge. He could hear the humans calling to one another that he was not stopping. He only ducked his head as a dart narrowly hit his neck. Finally claws dug into the edge of the world and he jumped.
Snapping his wings out fully for the first time they caught air he soared.
Bishop watched his dragon fly further and further away with each beat of those massive wings. Out of range of their guns, out further and further towards open ocean. Carried on wings he had thought damaged and unusable. He had long believed that there was no mind of the turtle that the dragon once was left yet, it still managed to fool him. Let them believe those wings were unable to even open.
How much of that brilliant mind was left? He would find out. One day they’d track it down once more. And that dragon would be his once more. Of that he promised.
“Send out a helicopter to track it down. And someone escort Mr. Oroku Sakai off my property. Our deal is finished and that dragon will be wasted in his hands. And take any wounded in the chase back to base to see medical treatment.”
“Sir!” His soldiers called and rushed to do as ordered. He cursed his own shortsightedness. He should have implanted that tracker before he ever let that dragon into the yard, yet he didn’t and it was still sitting on his desk. Useless all because he had been too cocky as to believe it couldn’t get out.