Work Text:
All she saw was the darkness around her, no light to be found in this black, empty void.
How did she get here? Why was she here? And, most importantly, how could she get out of here? She couldn’t feel her body. Something was wrong. Her body felt heavy, as if she was laying down on something.
Slowly, her senses returned to her. First was her sense of touch, and she felt blades of grass gently tickling her skin. Soon, the rest of them returned as well. The smell of the air – warm, but not too uncomfortable – the light being casted upon her eyelids, the dry taste in her mouth, and the sounds of the air blowing gently.
Slowly, her strength returned, and she was able to open her eyes, the light assaulting them and causing her to wince slightly. It took her a short moment to register the ground she was laying on before noticing the large cracks in the ground around her. The girl pushed herself off the ground into a sitting position, taking a moment to catch her breath.
The young girl straightened her black, sleeveless vest as she looked around, her shoulder-length, brown hair a mess. “Hello? Anyone?” she called out, her voice echoing through wherever she had found herself in.
No one responded.
“Mom? Dad?” the girl called out before she slowly stood up, her legs shaking slightly, but she managed to stay standing.
The girl rubbed her arms as she looked around, realizing that she truly was the only one in… wherever she was. From the looks of it, she wasn’t standing on normal ground, but a large pillar with many others surrounding him, but they were close enough to each other to look like they were just cracks. She slowly walked toward the edge of his pillar, taking a cautious step back when a small part of the edge crumbled and fell off.
Swallowing thickly, she took another step back and looked around once more. Her gaze landed on the pillar closest to her, and realizing that she had no choice but to go down, the girl sighed.
“Great. Just great,” she muttered, clearly annoyed.
She spent the next few minutes in silence as she traveled down, using the pillars to slowly descend down the weird place the girl had found herself in. The only sounds accompanying her where those of her sneakers tapping against the stone ground, or the grass being scrunched under her feet.
Thump thump.
She froze upon hearing it. The young girl stood perfectly still, ears straining to try and hear it again. What was that sound? It sounded like-
Thump thump.
…A heartbeat, and she could hear where it was coming from. Maybe it was someone that could help her, a person.
She followed the sound, occasionally stopping to try and locate the sound once more. When the girl thought it had stopped for a while and made her think she had imagined it, she heard it again.
Thump thump.
She wasn’t even fully focused on her surroundings anymore, letting her legs guide her while she listened to it. The closer she got, the more… erratic it sounded, as if whoever it belonged to was angry. Part of her feared that she would find something bad, but what else could she do?
The ground suddenly changed, and the girl hadn’t realized that she was staring at the ground while she walked. Looking up, she came face to face with a temple. It looked ancient, if she had to guess from the weird language engraved in the entrance its sides.
“Where is this, anyway?” she questioned, still trying to read the weird language on them. “I don’t remember being anywhere near something like this.”
Now that the girl thought about it, she had no idea what she was doing before suddenly waking up here, and she drew a blank every time she tried to remember. She ran a hand through her brown hair in frustration, sighing softly as she did.
The girl looked behind her, making sure that no one was following her, and headed inside the temple, her own heart pounding loudly inside her chest.
The walls were lit by torches, bathing her surroundings in a soft, orange glow, as she walked through the temple its only hallway. She looked at the walls, inspecting the weird hieroglyph-like images on them, but they were incredibly faded, so she couldn’t make out what they said.
Thump thump.
The shiver that went down the girl’s spine once she heard the sound again made her remember why she was here, so she pressed on, fists clenched and resting at her sides. She stopped at a pair of large doors, the only detail on it being the large X engraved in the middle.
Part of her wondered why she was even here to begin with. This clearly wasn’t safe, but she swore that the sound came from the other side of the door.
She pressed her hands against them, feeling the stone texture against her skin, and pushed. Teeth gritted, the young girl kept pushing, slowly feeling the doors give way and open, and she stumbled when they suddenly jerked fully open. She managed to catch herself in time before she would kiss the floor.
Looking up, the girl saw that she was in some kind of safe room, a large altar in the middle and nearly reaching the ceiling. She squinted her eyes, and saw something glowing at the very top of the altar’s stairs.
Thump thump.
The sound, it came from there.
She slowly approached the altar and climbed the stairs, the thumping sounds growing louder the closer she got to the light at the top. Only a few steps left, and she’d reach it. After taking the final step, the girl slowly approached the light, shielding her eyes partially once she got closer, but it suddenly started dimming until it was completely gone, and she raised an eyebrow at what she saw.
A single pack, one she recognized would normally be used for trading card games, floated there. It was gray, and had the image of a dragon’s silhouette with a m pair of large horns growing out of it.
She reached a hand for it, but another thumping sound, this one the loudest, made her stop, her fingers almost touching the gray pack. The girl’s eyes never left it, however.
“Hello..?” she called tentatively. “Can you hear me?”
Thump thump.
What was she thinking? That it would respond to her?
Slowly, she touched the pack, expecting something to happen. Once nothing did, she finally grabbed it and held it in both hands. Part of her wanted to open it, but her instincts told her not to.
She shook her head. “It’s just a pack. What could happen?”
So, the girl slowly tore the top of it open, but it suddenly flew out of her hand and floated in the middle of the altar. The young girl held her breath, watching the pack floating there, and nothing seemed to happen.
A large burst of energy created a shockwave that pushed her back, black electricity arching wildly around it, and another explosion of pure power sent the girl flying back even farther than the initial burst, causing her to close her eyes shut out of shock. A bright light engulfed the room, and the girl rolled down the stairs of the altar before landing roughly on the cold, stone floor, knocking the wind out of her.
Another loud boom echoed through the room, and the girl could hear stone shattering, small debris falling on her and causing her to raise her arms to protect herself. She kept her eyes shut, afraid that the light would blind her, and suddenly, she felt something towering over her, so she opened her eyes.
Ruby-red eyes met crimson, round pupils staring into slitted ones, and those very obviously stared back.
A large, colossal creature looked her over, its gray and black scales blending in with its surroundings, and wore small pieces of black armor trimmed with gold on its wrists and chest. A mane of red hair framed its face, slightly messy and touching its long muzzle.
The girl saw her reflection in the large dragon’s eyes. Ruby-red eyes wide, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of her face, and her chest rising and falling a bit too fast, betraying the fear she was feeling at that very moment.
The dragon its red eyes looked her up and down, with the girl noticing the yellow sclera it had as well, before it stood up, its large tail hitting the ground with a loud thump. It looked around, narrowed eyes scanning its surroundings, before it turned to her.
“Where am I?” The dragon’s voice was deep and very distinctly male. Once the girl didn’t answer, he raised his voice. “Answer me!”
The girl nearly jumped, and she crawled back. “I-I- You’re- I don’t know!” She closed her eyes.
The girl took a shuddering breath, waiting for the colossal dragon to flatten her under his foot, but it never happened. Instead, she heard a loud ‘tsk!’.
“Figures. You look pretty useless, anyway.”
The girl opened her eyes, and saw the dragon readjusting his tattered scarf while he was looking ahead. Before the girl could speak up, the dragon stepped over her and headed to the exit of the room, leaving her behind.
The girl, still partially frozen on the floor, recovered quickly and stood up. “W-where are you going?”
The dragon didn’t answer, his retreating form already through the large doors, so she followed him, slowly catching up. Once she did, both human and dragon were outside the temple.
“Hey, wait!” she called out the the colossal creature. “Do you have any idea where this place is?”
She definitely wasn’t home anymore. Last time she checked, there weren’t any ancient temples with giant dragons inside them.
The dragon’s tail slammed down in front of the girl, stopping her, and she took a cautious step back once black electricity suddenly coated the appendage.
“One step closer, and I’ll fry you!” The dragon turned to her, red, slitted eyes glaring at her. He turned his back to the girl, but suddenly clutched his head with one hand, eyes squinted in what the girl thought looked like pain. “I… gotta get out of here.”
Gulping, the young girl took another step back as she saw the dragon crouch down while he looked like he was about to leap away. Black electricity surrounded the armored dragon, the ground shaking, and he took off into the sky, flying away from the area he woke up in.
The dragon grinned once he felt the familiar feeling of the wind ruffling his hair, feeling utterly free, but he felt a small tug at his scarf. He looked down, and his eyes bulged from surprise at the human girl clinging to it.
“What are you doing, you ignoramus!” the dragon bellowed, eyes wide with anger. “Get off!”
“If I do, I’ll die!” the girl said, her face as white as a sheet of paper.
The dragon blinked. “Oh, you’re right.” He gave her a death glare. “THEN PERISH!”
He suddenly took off at high speeds, a loud boom echoing through the empty plains he was flying over, and the girl her screams were the only thing he heard.
In a large village, where tall, white pillars stood the tallest, were two male, humanoid dragons farther away from the village, one standing while the other kneeled.
The one standing was tall and muscular, the many scars littered across his body telling everyone the many battles he went through. His silver eyes had a glint to them that showed the many experiences he went through, the many hardships, as they were trained on the other dragon, with his long, silver hair framing his battle-hardened face.
This was the Chief of the Drum clan, Fang Slade Terrestrial the XIII.
“My son, the time has come for you to travel to Earth,” Fang Slade said, his arms crossed over his powerful chest. “You are the one to succeed me one day, and inherit all I have. You have done well to study the way of the Drum clan.”
His son, a younger Drum Bunker Dragon with bright, yellow hair spiked up, grinned. He was wearing more pristine armor than his father, but the few small knicks and cuts in them showed the training he went through to get to this moment. Holding in one hand was a massive drill with several thrusters running through it, but it was inactive at the moment, with him simply leaning on it for support.
“But it is not enough.”
His son looked up, surprised. “What?”
Fang Slade continued. “I want you to experience the things on Earth that I haven’t, broaden your horizons, and grow from the experiences there.”
The younger Fang Slade stood up. “But I’m already plenty capable, father!”
“Oh?” He quirked a brow. “Is that so?”
Grinning widely, the younger one activated his drill and slammed it into one of the pillars next to him, reducing it to rubble. After he quickly admiring his handiwork, he turned to his father, the drill resting on his shoulder. “How’s that?” He raise a fist. “I’m going to become Buddies with a great- no, a perfect human!”
Fang Slade his hair flared up a little. “You foo-,” Then, he felt it.
The seal broke.
The younger Fang Slade noticed him suddenly freezing in place, eyes slowly growing wider. It unnerved him, seeing his father freeze up like this. “…Father?” He never saw his father like this.
He looked… fearful.
That snapped Fang Slade it of his daze, and he walked up to his son. “I need the Drill Ram Bunker.” He held his clawed hand out.
The younger Fang Slade didn’t understand. “Father, wh-,”
“Now!”
He quickly handed the older Fang Slade his drill before he took a step back, watching the latter turn around and quickly walk away.
Fang Slade stopped and turned to his son. “You will search for your Buddy at a later time. I have… business to attend to.”
The younger one barely managed to stop himself from gulping. “Yes, father.” He watched in silence as Fang Slade ignited the thrusters on the back of the drill and flew away, leaving him behind.
He had never seen that look on his father’s face before.
That entire trip was traumatizing.
The young girl laid with her back on the ground, next to the dragon’s discarded scarf and armor, and watched the clouds roll by.
Somehow, she managed to cling to the colossal dragon his scarf and not fall to her death. After the black dragon landed near a lake with a waterfall inside a large forest, with her sliding off his scarf and nearly fainting from relief, she collapsed on the ground and took the time to recover from the ordeal.
After she had collapsed on the ground, the human girl heard the dragon taking his armor and scarf off, muttering about how he needed to wash himself after being imprisoned for who knew how long. The girl could understand being so ridiculously grumpy if she couldn’t take a shower for so long. Still, that didn’t excuse the dragon from almost killing her.
She sat up and turned her gaze to the lake, where she saw the dragon standing underneath the waterfall, washing himself. Now that she got a proper look, the dragon didn’t look too scary. It was just the dragon his size that scared her at first. That, and his… less than approachable demeanor.
So, she decided to approach the dragon, climbing the few rocks close to the waterfall up to be able to talk comfortably to him. That, and she made sure that her clothes wouldn’t get wet.
The black dragon was surprisingly muscular underneath his armor, and two X-shaped scars were on his chest and snout. The large pair of horns that sprouted from his head looked bull-like, and a bolt of black electricity occasionally traveled from one to the other.
The black dragon immediately noticed her sitting down on a rock close to him, which didn’t surprise the girl. “You’re still here?” He narrowed his red, slitted eyes at the girl as he ran a clawed hand through his red mane once more, getting rid of a few more knots there.
“Well, some people need to recover after going as ridiculously fast as that,” she said as she sat down with her legs crossed. “Besides, I uh… don’t know how I got here.”
“And why should I care?” The dragon turned away from her, instead continuing to wash himself. Still, he turned his head ever so slightly to look at the human as he washed himself, slitted eyes narrowed.
“I dunno.” The human girl shrugged, but she suddenly perked up, remembering something. “Hey, I don’t think I got your name. I’m Eiko!” She grinned.
“That’s a dumb name.”
“Uh… I mean, maybe?” Her smile lessened a little. “What’s your name?”
The black dragon paused, contemplating if he should answer. In the end, he sighed. “Batzz.”
Eiko blinked. “Huh, never heard of a name like that before. Sounds cool though.” She tilted her head. “But is that it? No last name or something?”
The dragon flinched a little, as if he was hurt, and turned away again. “I ain’t telling you.”
The human girl raised an eyebrow. “Okay?” She shrugged and leaned back, leaning on her hands for support. “Then… maybe you can tell me about those scars,” she said, pointing at said scars on Batzz’ body. “You got them in a fight or something?”
There it was again, that little flinch, and this time, Batzz raised both hands to rub his temples, black electricity suddenly crackling around him. Eiko failed to notice it, however, too busy asking him questions.
“And what about that temple back there? How’d you get stuck inside a pack, of all things?” She finally noticed the way Batzz was slightly hunched over, eyes closed shut. “Hey, are you okay?”
The black dragon his eyes snapped open and whirled to her, eyes filled with anger while more electricity suddenly surrounded him. “I’m fine!” He walked over to the human and slammed a clawed hand down next to her, cracking the stone and causing her to jump into a standing position. “But you won’t be if you keep asking me these useless questions!”
“Hey, easy! I was just curious! No need to get angry!” Eiko put her hands up in a placating gesture. “I just wanted to know why you were in there.”
She saw the dragon’s eye twitch. “Well, if you really want to know,” Batzz leaned toward her menacingly, casting a shadow over the girl, “I. Don’t. Remember!”
Batzz stood up to his full height, giving Eiko space, and crossed his arms over his chest, teeth gritted. “There! Happy!? Now, buzz off!” Without giving the human the time to say anything, he headed to his armor.
Eiko watched him walk away before she quickly followed him. “You don’t remember?” she inquired, watching the dragon putting his armor back on. “Like, nothing?”
Once he wrapped his red scarf around his neck once more, Batzz eyed her with a dangerous look. “Do I need to repeat myself?” He kneeled down, looming over the young girl. “I don’t remember a single. Thing.”
“That… sounds horrible,” she said, a shocked expression adorning her face. “And you only remember your name?”
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Batzz looked away. “And a few other things, like how we’re in Dragon World right now.”
Eiko blinked, needing a moment to process what the black dragon had just said. “Dragon World?”
“Yeah, Dragon World. What are you? Deaf, or just really dumb?” Batzz, for the first time since Eiko had met him, looked genuinely confused, but he quickly shook his confusion off. “You’re not in your own world right now, kid.”
Eiko blinked once, then twice. “Wait, not my own world!?” She started panicking. “B-but how do I get home!? And how long will that take!? Will I ever get home-,”
“Will you shut up!?”
Yelping, Eiko raised her arms in front of her face and took a step back from the bellowing dragon, expecting to get zapped. To her surprise, nothing happened after that, and upon lowering her arms, she sees Batzz giving her an annoyed look, teeth still bared.
Batzz snorted. “I wanted to get out of here anyway. I just need to make a portal.”
Eiko looked surprised at this. “You can?”
“Of course I can!” Then, he went quiet and rubbed his chin, looking uncharacteristically introspective. “Just need to remember how.”
Batzz turned around and closed his eyes, focusing his energy into the air in front of him. Black electricity arched between his bull-like horns before two bolts were shot out of them, hitting the air in front of him and causing it to ripple a little.
Batzz frowned. “Damn, this is harder than it looks.”
Eiko watched it happen with hopeful eyes. “Can you take me home?”
“If you stop distracting me!” Batzz suddenly snapped, but quickly calmed down. “Maybe going to your world for a while sounds like a good idea.”
Eiko gave the dragon a deadpan look. “Do you even know what Earth looks like?” She crossed her arms. “Last time I checked, massive dragons don’t usually walk around there.”
“I’ll manage,” Batzz muttered, already done with the human, but chose to focus on widening the portal he was trying to make, with it slowly growing larger, before it suddenly shrunk. “Are you kidding me!? How hard can makin’ a portal be!?”
“I dunno.” Eiko shrugged, a cheeky smile on her face. “Never bothered to make one, so can you fill a girl in?”
Batzz’ crimson eyes landed on the smug human girl. “You better shut up, or I’ll actually fry you, you insignificant-” He suddenly froze.
Eiko noticed it, and dropped her smile once she saw Batzz losing focus, the portal he was making dissipating instantly. “Something wrong?”
Batzz grit his teeth and turned to the spot he was focusing on before, black lightning crackling out of his horns and into the air again to make a portal.
“Batzz?” Eiko walked to his side to look at the colossal dragon. “What’s gotten you so stressed?”
“I am not stressed!” he snapped through gritted teeth, eyes still focused on the portal. “Someone’s coming, I am not in the mood to deal with that.”
“A person?” Eiko grinned. “Hey, maybe we can ask them about where we are!”
“You really are a fool.” Batzz frowned.
The human girl looked confused, however. “What are-”
Just then, something large crashed into the ground farther away from them, causing a small shockwave that pulled Eiko her hood over her head without her realizing it. She held onto Batzz as tightly as she could, almost swept off her feet, and landed roughly on her stomach once the shockwave passed. Eiko groaned as she slowly got up, but froze once she saw the large dust cloud slowly dissipating, revealing whoever was inside it.
Another humanoid dragon, this one thankfully closer to being human-sized, stood tall, his orange and red scales reflecting the light of the sun while his silver hair flowed in the slight breeze. In his hand, a massive drill was held, one that was easily Eiko her size, perhaps slightly bigger than her.
“Demon Dragon,” the other dragon addressed Batzz, his grip tight on the handle of his weapon, “you will be sealed from the world once more, with or without force.”
Eiko finally stepped out of Batzz’ shadow, revealing herself to the other dragon. “W-who is that, Batzz?”
Batzz, eyes still on the portal he’s trying to make, grit his teeth to the point Eiko could hear them grind. “Does it look like I know!?”
The young human gulped when silver eyes landed on her, surprise quickly filling them.
“A human?” The dragon glared at Batzz. “You dare involve a human child in this?”
“Hey, stop it!” Eiko moved to stand between them, staring the newcomer down. “I dunno how you know Batzz, but he didn’t force me into doing anything! Besides, who are you anyway?”
The dragon slammed the tip of his drill into the ground. “My name is Fang Slade Terrestrial XIII, child,” he said. “That monster behind you is a threat to all of Dragon World. Step aside, and you will not get hurt.”
Eiko glanced behind her at Batzz, who turned his head just enough to watch them. She looked back at Fang Slade. “Batzz didn’t do anything wrong while he’s been out of that… seal, or whatever that thing I opened was.”
Fang Slade looked at the human with wide eyes. “You… opened the seal?” This time, he glared at Eiko, and she felt the anger behind them. “Do you know what you have done!?” he bellowed, causing the hooded girl to take a step back out of instinct. “That demon is free because of your actions, and he will put everyone in danger!”
“I haven’t done a thing, old man, so why won’t you buzz off!” Batzz yelled back, his back still turned to them.
Fang Slade let out a shuddering sigh to reign in his anger. “Your actions will be addressed at a later time, child.” He slowly strode toward them. “‘Batzz’, is it? You will be brought to justice for the sins you have committed eons ago.”
“Hey, stop it!” Eiko spread her arms wide, stopping Fang Slade. Once she was sure the orange dragon didn’t advance, she continued. “Why don’t you hear him out? I’m sure you two can come to an understanding if you do.”
“Us, talk?” Batzz barked out a laugh. “That old timer ain’t in the mood to talk, kid. I can see it in his eyes.”
“For once, we agree.” Fang Slade’s gaze pointed his drill at the human girl. “Move, child, and I can make your punishment less severe.”
Eiko looked down, her arms lowering slightly. “I…” She shook her head. “I’m not just gonna let you hurt him for no good reason. Sure, he’s grumpy-”
“Excuse me!?”
“-but he hasn’t done anything wrong in the time we’ve been together!” Eiko told the other dragon. “Look around you. Is there anything here that looks destroyed to you?”
Sighing, Fang Slade lowered his drill. “While he may look innocent now, how can you be sure that he won’t go on another destructive rampage soon?”
“Because…” the human glanced back at the black dragon, the latter’s eyes on her, “…because I know he won’t.”
Batzz blinked, not expecting that. He huffed and looked away. “Fool.”
“So if you wanna get him, then you’ll have to go through me first!” Eiko declared, arms spread wide again, but she quickly realized who she was talking to. “I mean, as long as it isn’t a fight..?”
Eyes narrowed, Fang Slade watched the hooded human for a moment. “If you truly wish to fight for him,” He let go of his drill, which suddenly started floating next to him, “then I accept your challenge to a Buddyfight.”
“Yeah, let’s- wait, what?” Eiko blinked. “What was that last part?”
“A Buddyfight,” Batzz scoffed. “Even I know what that is.”
“I uh… yeah, I know about that.” Slowly, Eiko turned her head to Batzz. “I don’t have anything to do that, though, so..?” She grinned weakly, giving the dragon a little shrug.
Batzz rolled his eyes. “Fine, but you owe me after this.”
Focusing some of his energy, Batzz summoned a few black lighting bolts that shot out of his back and stopped in front of Eiko. A small, metal box with cards inside it appeared out of thin air, and she barely caught them.
“W-what’s this?” She inspected the box. It was black with a red crystal embedded in the middle, and a golden lightning bolt moved from each corner of the box to the red crystal, just an inch short on making contact with it. “A deck?”
“Just get to the fightin’ already,” Batzz grunted, still focusing on making a portal. “Keep him busy while I’m doing this.”
“Uh, okay.” Eiko nodded to herself, looking a little unsure, and moved to face Fang Slade, who had his hand hovering over his drill, which still floated next to him.
She had no idea what he was doing, but if this could buy Batzz some time, then she didn’t mind doing this.
“So uh, shall we begin?” she asked the drill-wielding dragon.
“Of course.” Fang Slade nodded. “Are you fully aware what will happen when you lose this fight?”
“I…” Slowly, Eiko nodded. “I’m aware, yeah.”
“Good. Then, let us begin.” The area of the drill Fang Slade his clawed hand was resting on glowed a bright blue.
“Warriors of Dragon World, now is the time to unite and seal away the dark dragon once more! Luminize!” The dragon moved his hand in a sweeping motion, and six holographic cards suddenly floated in front of him while two larger ones appeared on his left side. “Guardians of the Seal!”
Jaw dropped, Eiko watched him summon the cards from his weapon. She had no idea what the logic behind that was, but it looked really, really cool… and kinda weird. She looked down at the deck box in her hand, realizing that Batzz gave it to her so she could also do this ‘luminize’ stuff.
Eiko fumbled a little with her deck. “Dragons… Do uh… protect?” She shook his head and held her deck in front of herself. “Luminize!”
In a flash of light, which surprised the hooded girl, her deck was suddenly transformed into a floating gadget shaped like an X. Each individual point each was shaped like a black lightning bolt, with a smaller, golden bolt running through each larger one as well. Between the most upper point of each traveled a bolt of black lightning that looked very similar to Batzz’ between them, creating a circle of black electricity around the object. The middle part of it, where she saw her deck sticking out with the red crystal in the middle, was shaped vaguely like Batzz’ head, minus the hair.
Eiko tapped the red crystal, and six cards flew out of it and floated in front of her, two more cards quickly following suit and growing bigger before they floated next to her.
“Uh… huh.” She nodded slowly to herself. “That’s kinda cool, I guess.”
“Good, then let us begin.” Fang Slade crossed his arms. “Raise the flag!”
Eiko blinked, again. “The uh… flag is raised.”
A flag suddenly slammed down behind Fang Slade, embedding itself into the ground. “I fight for Dragon World!” he announced.
Eiko yelped as a flag also slammed itself down behind her, scaring the hooded girl and causing her eyes to nearly bulge out. The flag was blue, and depicted on it was a shield, one half of it green and the other red with a dragon on it and a sword and spear underneath it.
“T-the same!” she said hastily.
Suddenly, three spots in front of Eiko glowed – the spot in front of her, and each on the left and right side – before the light went away, but a very small, twinkling outline remained. The same was also true for Fang Slade his side.
“Then I shall take the first turn.” Fang Slade picked a card from the six floating in front of him and threw it into the two larger ones on his side. “Charge and draw!”
Eiko watched as he tapped a spot on his drill, another card appearing before he added it to his hand. “Charge and draw, huh?”
After adding the card to his hand, the elder dragon moved his hand to the one on the far left, and raised it above his head. “I call Extreme Sword Dragon to the center area!”
The card above his head suddenly flew in front of him and shattered, turning into a magic circle with the flag’s symbol in the middle of it. In a flash of light, a humanoid, red-scaled dragon in steel armor with red gems embedded into the chest and shoulder areas appeared in front of Fang Slade. It brandished its massive sword, which was pointed at her.
“W-woah…” Eiko gulped softly, eyes widened in surprise.
“Extreme Sword, attack the fighter!” Fang Slade commanded, pointing at the hooded human.
Grunting, the red dragon complied, spreading its wings and suddenly dashing toward Eiko. The brown-haired human yelped and raised her arms to protect herself, but when Extreme Sword swung his weapon, a red and black grid appeared around the area she was hit. The force pushed her slightly back, however.
“S-sheesh, you couldn’t have warned me?!” she muttered under her breath, still slightly shocked by what just happened, but her attention was drawn to the number that suddenly appeared next to her.
The number ten floated next to the hooded girl, but it suddenly went down. From ten, to nine, to eight, and finally stopping at seven.
Lowering her arms, Eiko watched as the number slowly disappeared, as if it wasn’t there to begin with. She had seen her fair share of games before, so she knew that she’d lose once that number hit zero.
Fang Slade eyed his opponent with a calculating look. “I end my move.”
The elder dragon his declaration shook Eiko out of her thoughts, making her focus again. “Oh, r-right!”
She looked down at the six cards floating in front of himher pondering over what to do. Eiko moved a hand to her cards to ‘charge’ it, but a notification suddenly popped up in front of the card that only she could read, telling her that she had to draw first.
Eiko blushed, and was very thankful no one could see it. The young human reached for the red crystal on the gadget floating next to her and drew a card from it, which magically appeared once she touched it. After adding it to her hand cards, she finally could throw the one she didn’t like to the cards floating next to her. “Charge and draw!”
Once she added the card to the ones floating in front of her, Eiko took a moment to look through all of them. Her hands hovered in front of a card each.
She raised both hands, the cards that were floating in front of them following suit. “I call Brood Bagnag Dragon to the center, and Meteor Kick Dragon to the right!”
Batzz blinked and was taken out of his concentration for a moment. “What?” Upon seeing the portal he’s trying to make shrink, he growled and poured his energy back into it.
Meanwhile, the cards Eiko held above her flew to the two designated zones. The center one turned into a quadrupedal dragon with golden scales. Its facial features were slightly feline, but the razor-sharp teeth it bared at Extreme Sword Dragon showed that it was still a powerful creature.
Next to Brood Bagnag appeared a red-scaled, humanoid dragon, like Batzz and Fang Slade, with its feet covered in far thicker scales than the rest of its body. It took a step forward, and fire suddenly sprouted out of its knees.
The hooded girl gasped in awe at the appearance of the two dragons. “So cool!”
The two dragons finally looked at each other, eyes widening in an instant, and slowly turned to Eiko.
She looked between the two, not really liking the questioning glances they were both giving her. “What?”
Meteor Kick sighed before it suddenly started to glow a bright orange. Before Eiko could comment on it, the monster suddenly exploded, reduced to orange, holographic cards. “W-what!?”
A notification popped up in front of Eiko her cards. “I went over the ‘size limit’?” As if it heard her, the screen suddenly showed Eiko the number three, and then the two cards she had just called, a red circle surrounding the number in the upper left corner of each card. “…Oh.”
Both those cards were size two monsters which, when put together, would make four, and that exceeded this ‘size limit’.
“Okay, I guess I can work with that.” The young human nodded to herself.
Batzz could only hear a fraction of what she was muttering, but he still rolled his eyes. “I’m being protected by an idiot?” He clicked his tongue. “How fortunate for me.”
Eiko grabbed a card from the ones she still had, certain that she could use this one, and threw it to the spot Meteor Kick previously was. “I call Bear-Trap Fang Dragon to the right!”
Next to Brood Bagnag appeared a humanoid, red-scaled dragon in blue armor equipped with two claw-like gauntlets. Bear-Trap growled, flexing its claws.
“Okay, Bear-Trap, attack Extreme Sword Dragon!” Eiko pointed to the monster in question, who raised his blade.
Grunting, the armored dragon charged. Extreme Sword retaliated by swinging its blade, but Bear-Trap ducked underneath it and landed an uppercut on the sword-wielding dragon, dazing it, before it swung with its claws, slashing Extreme Sword in half before he exploded.
“Nice!” The hooded girl grinned. “Brood Bagnag Dragon, attack Fang Slade!”
Brood Bagnag roared before it spread its wings and took to the skies. The golden dragon circled around Fang Slad, but suddenly swooped down and slashes at him with its razor-sharp claws, reducing the elder dragon his life to seven as well.
Fang Slade stood there with his arms crossed as he took the attack, his gaze still on the human.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Eiko pumped a fist, a wide grin on her face. “That’s it for me!” she announced, holding four cards in her hand,
Fang Slade huffed, relaxing his arms before reaching to his drill. “Not bad, child. I draw.” After drawing a card, he threw one into the row floating next to him. “Charge and draw!”
After drawing another card, which increased the amount he had to six, Fang Slade reached for two cards from the ones floating in front of him. “I call Jamadhar Dragon to the center, and Thousand Rapier Dragon to the left!”
In front of Fang Slade stood a tall dragon with green scales in red armor, its torn scarf fluttering in the wind, and revealed its two short, but very sturdy blades. Next to Jamadhar stood a skinny, humanoid dragon with a long, red cape, a rapier held in one hand.
Fang Slade crossed his arms once more. “Thousand Rapier, attack Brood Bagnag!”
“Oui!” Thousand Rapier nodded before he dashed toward the quadrupedal dragon, his rapier glinting in the sun. Brood Bagnag swung one of its massive claws, but Thousand Rapier suddenly vanished right in front of the dragon.
Several thin lines of light went through the golden dragon, and Thousand appeared in front of it, his back turned to Brood Bagnag. The size two dragon tried to take a step forward, but Thousand Rapier grinned.
“Au revoir, beast.” Thousand snapped his fingers, and Brood Bagnag was suddenly sliced apart, leaving only slices of itself before they vanished.
Eiko gasped. “Brood, no!”
“You should worry about yourself first, child.” Fang Slade glared at the hooded human, who flinched in response. “Jamadhar, attack the human!”
Jamadhar grinned. “With pleasure.” He leaped toward the human and swung its blade, slashing at Eiko and reducing her life to five. “Pay for your sins, child!”
Grunting, the hooded girl rubbed the spot where she was hit, the grid slowly vanishing, and watched as Jamadhar Dragon jumped back to safety. “Dang, this is real bad.”
“You don’t say,” Batzz grumbled. “Get out there and do something!”
“I’m trying!” Eiko bit back as she drew a card from her deck before doing a charge and draw as well, increasing her hand to five cards. The card she got surprised her, however. “What’s this?”
She raised the drawn card to inspect it. “Looks useful.” Eiko moved the floating card in front of herself. “I uh… use Battle Spirit Fist, Dragosoul!”
A bright flash of blue light enveloped the card, with it wrapping itself around Eiko her right hand and surprising her, before it turned into a steel gauntlet that stopped just below her elbow and had orange gems embedded into it that slowly went up, ending with a larger one on the back of the gauntlet its hand.
She flexed her metal-covered fingers, eyes wide when she didn’t even feel the slightest bit of resistance. “Woah… I can fight too?” The human girl grinned. “That’s awesome!”
Fang Slade watched his opponent wearily, who punched the air with her new fist a few times with a big grin on her face. “An item card? You’re willing to sacrifice your defense for more offense?” He chuckled. “That is admirable, but very foolish.”
Batzz huffed. “How ‘bout you stop admiring it and start fighting already!”
Eiko rolled her eyes, but still focused on the match. “I know, I know!” She reached for a card in her hand, but just as she was about to call it to the center, she paused.
If she had to guess, then she had to get rid of Extreme Sword Dragon last turn to get to Fang Slade. So if she had to apply the same logic here, then there was no way she could attack with Dragosoul if there was a monster in front of her.
So, instead of doing what she originally intended to do, Eiko threw the card to the left. “I call Hammer Mace Dragon to the left area!”
Next to her suddenly stood a tall dragon with green scales wearing silver armor on its knees, chest, and shoulders, a mace held in one of its massive claws.
The hooded human pointed at the green, blade-wielding dragon with her gauntlet-covered hand. “Bear-Trap, take care of Jamadhar Dragon!”
The red-scaled dragon nodded and flexed his claws. “Yes, sir!”
Eiko paused, mouth open. “…Sir?”
Bear-Trap Fang Dragon charged forward, jumping over a slash from Jamadhar before sinking his teeth into the other dragon. The size two monster tried shaking the red dragon off, but he bit even harder and tore a piece of its neck open, the same red grid covering the wound before Jamadhar exploded.
Fang Slade raised crossed his arms in front of himself in surprise when Eiko leaped out of the holographic cards, fist raised. “Dragosoul!” She punched her opponent as hard as she could, hitting Fang Slade in the stomach and sending him back, the elder dragon his life points reduced to five.
She jumped back, and called out to the last monster that could still attack, “Hammer Mace, attack!”
Just as Hammer Mace raised his mace to throw it, Fang Slade reached for one of the cards floating in front of him.
“Cast!” The floating card turned into an orb of fire.“Dragonic Shoot!”
The fireball floating in front of his hand suddenly shot toward Hammer Mace and went through his chest, leaving a large hole behind before the green dragon exploded.
Eiko gasped. “W-what!?” She looked down at her own cards. “How could he do that?”
She heard Batzz click his tongue. “Coulda guessed he had a counter spell.” The portal, which was slightly bigger than before, suddenly shrunk again, causing him to curse under his breath and focus on it again.
Eiko heard him, however, and looked down at her three hand cards. “Counter spell?”
Come to think of it, one of her ‘spells’ did have ‘counter’ written on it. If she had to guess from the way Fang Slade used it, then she could use it on her opponent’s turn.
She thought that they just had to attack, not use spells and stuff! How was she supposed to win this if there was all this stuff to remember as well!?
Eiko looked up from her hand. “I… end my turn,” she declared, a frown on her face.
Fang Slade watched her every move with a calculating gaze. “I draw.” He moved the floating card to his hand before he reached for another one. “Charge and draw.” He threw the card into the larger ones floating next to him and drew another card, ending with four cards in his hand.
Eiko froze, noticing that her opponent was suddenly very calm, and watched as Fang Slade grabbed a card, with three of the larger cards floating next to him turning into stars and flying into it.
“It seems I have no choice but to call this card.” A powerful gust suddenly picked up, causing Eiko to shield her eyes from the winds, but her hood thankfully didn’t move. “I pay three gauge, and call Gigant Sword Dragon to the center!”
A large magic circle with the Dragon World symbol appeared in front of Fang Slade before it shattered. Towering above the other monsters and human in the fight was a humanoid, red-scaled dragon decked from head to toe in steel armor. The dragon’s most noticeable detail was its massive, jagged sword, with the blade almost as big as the dragon.
Fang Slade smirked. “This is a size three monster with eight thousand attack, defense, and a critical of four.” He turned to Thousand Rapier Dragon. “But seeing as how I’m exceeding the size limit, Thousand Rapier must be destroyed.”
The humanoid dragon in question bowed, his body already glowing orange. “It seems that I must depart.” He exploded, leaving only orange, holographic cards behind that quickly disappeared.
Eiko took a fearful step back. “T-that thing’s super strong!”
“Gigant Sword Dragon, attack the fighter!” Fang Slade ordered.
The heavily-armored dragon slowly walked closer and raised his blade, poised to strike, and Eiko panicked.
“I-I… uh…” The hooded girl looked through her hand cards, and grabbed the one she saw before. “Cast!”
Gigant Sword Dragon swung his blade down on the human, intending to hack away at her life, but a shield with a green dragon’s head appeared in front of Eiko, blocking the attack. “Green Dragon Shield!” The magical shield pulsed, the sudden burst of energy causing the size three dragon to stumble back to Fang Slade’s side.
Fang Slade huffed. “I end my turn.”
The hooded human lowered her arm, relief clear on her face if her hood didn’t hide it, and watched in surprise as her life points went up by one, stopping at six. “Huh, neat.”
Still, she was in trouble. Said trouble was the size of a massive dragon with a ridiculously huge sword.
She bit her thumb’s nail, looking nervously through the cards floating in front of her. “I-I need to defend myself and break through, but how?” Eiko shook her head and reached for the gadget floating next to her. “Draw!”
After doing her charge and draw, she picked a card from her hand. “I call Meteor Kick Dragon to the center!”
In front of her stood the humanoid dragon with powerful legs once more, who wrapped his feet in crimson fire.
Batzz snapped his head to her. “What are you doing!?”
“Protecting myself!”
“No, you need to attack, not cower behind a monster like a weakling!”
“Shut up! I know what I’m doing!” She turned back to the battlefield, but quickly realized that none of her monsters were powerful enough to take the size three dragon out. “Meteor Kick, Bear-Trap, uh… combine your powers and take Gigant Sword Dragon out!”
To her surprise, they actually charged together and closed in on Gigant Sword, causing her to gasp. “It worked!”
Meteor Kick Dragon took the front while Bear-Trap Fang ran around the gigantic dragon. Meteor Kick leaped toward Gigant Sword swung with his fire-covered feet, but the attack was blocked by the size three monster’s weapon. Meanwhile, Bear-Trap Fang Dragon managed to get behind the enemy and bared its teeth, ready to tear into the dragon’s armor.
Fang Slade chuckled. “A link attack? Wise, but foolish to charge in unprepared.” He raised a card from his hand, which started glowing gold. “Cast! Dragoenergy!”
A golden aura suddenly flared up around Gigant Sword Dragon before it instantly turned around and grabbed Bear-Trap Fang. Gigant Sword threw Bear-Trap toward Eiko her side of the field, and slammed Meteor Kick to the ground. The size two dragon weakly looked up, just in time to see a large sword aimed at it.
Gigant Sword grinned. “Counterattack!” He brought his sword down on the dazed dragon, cutting him in two before he exploded.
Eiko watched it happen in horror. “M-Meteor Kick, no!” Panicking, she looked down at the two cards floating in front of her, but quickly realized that there was nothing she could do. “I… end my turn,” she declared weakly.
Fang Slade drew a card from his drill before he threw one from his hand into the large cards next to him. “Charge and draw!” After adding the newest card to his hand and increasing the amount he had to five. “Gigant Sword Dragon, attack the girl!”
The gigantic armored dragon raised his blade before swinging it down as hard as he could, creating a shockwave that rapidly closed in on Eiko.
Panicking, Eiko looked down at the cards in front of her. “I-I uh…”
The wave hit her, sending her flying back. The hooded girl hit the flag’s pole, knocking the wind out of her, and slid down to the ground, gasping for air as her life points next to her went down to two.
Fang Slade watched her slowly stand up, using the flag as support, and sighed.
Meanwhile, Eiko her mind was going a million miles an hour. How was she supposed to turn this around? How could she win when she had no idea what she even was doing?
“Child.”
Eiko almost stumbled when Fang Slade’s voice cut through her inner thoughts. “U-uh, yeah..?”
Fang Slade gave her a long, silent look, his silver eyes looking the girl over, and crossed his arms. “You can surrender now, and I’ll make sure no one knows that you broke the seal containing him,” he told her.
“W-what, really?” she asked, genuinely surprised.
The elder dragon his gaze turned soft, almost uncharacteristically so. “I can tell that you truly were unaware of what you did. If you decide to give up now, I will let you walk away,” he said. “Please, young lady. This dragon you’re trying to protect is a threat to this world.”
Slowly, Eiko turned her head to Batzz, who was trying desperately to open a portal and escape. She looked conflicted, watching the so-called ‘Demon Dragon’ frown, and she swore she even saw him sweat a little. She looked down at the ground, hands balled into fists.
“…No.”
Fang Slade blinked. “Excuse me?”
Slowly, the hooded girl looked up. “I won’t just abandon him.” There was a fire in her eyes. “Time to end this!”
Fang Slade grit his teeth. “You would dare?”
Eiko reached for the crystal of her gadget, but immediately threw it to the ones she had floating next to her. “Charge and…” Black electricity coated the gadget floating close to her, and once she grabbed another holographic card, a trail of it followed the card, “and draw!”
She looked at the card she got, eyes widening when she quickly read it. “I can use this.” She added it to her hand before she reached for another card. “I call Brood Bagnag Dragon to the left!”
On the left appeared the quadrupedal dragon once more, its claws extended and ready to tear into the enemy.
“Brood, Bear-Trap,” she pointed at the colossal dragon, “take that one out!”
Both dragons growled in affirmation before they charged. Gigant Sword swung his weapon down, but they both dodged it. Bear-Trap ran up the side of the blade to reach the size three dragon, claws ready to tear into it.
“Nice try, child!” Fang Slade reached for a card in front of him. “Dragoenergy!”
A golden aura surrounded the dragon, empowering it as it took the attack from Bear-Trap Fang with little issue, grinning widely, and slapped him back to the ground.
“Cast!” Eiko grabbed a card from her hand and held it above her head, a bright glow surrounding it. “Dragoenergy!”
“You had one!?”
A golden glow also surrounding Bear-Trap right before the large blade was brought down upon him. He caught it with ease and broke the blade off, surprising Gigant Sword, before he slammed it into the larger dragon’s stomach. Brood Bagnag also swooped in and slashed the dragon in half with its claws, causing the large dragon to explode.
Fang Slade squinted his eyes to look through the explosion, but they widened once Eiko jumped through it, her armored fist raised. “Take this!” She punched him square in the face, causing him to stumble back and clutch his injured jaw.
He rubbed it. “You still didn’t win.”
“Who said I was done yet?” She jumped back and grabbed a card from her hand while she was still midair, the card suddenly turning horizontally. “Let’s end this right now! Cast!”
Four cards from the ones floating next to her turned into tiny stars that were quickly absorbed by the card she was holding, a bright, crimson-colored flame rapidly moving up Dragosoul. She held it above her head, somehow being suspended in the air. “Crimson Soul…”
Her eyes suddenly became a bright crimson, and gritted her teeth as she began to spin rapidly in the air, her arm pulled back. “GRENADE!” She threw the fireball that was building up in her hand as hard as she could, causing a loud boom that echoed through the forest.
The orb collided with Fang Slade, creating a large explosion that completely obscured his vision. The flag behind him suddenly glowed orange before it exploded, the holographic cards gently floating to the ground.
“No!” Fang Slade grabbed his drill and used it to fan the smoke away, just in time to see the hooded human run into a dark portal before it closed, the Demon Dragon also gone. He sighed heavily and dropped his weapon to the side. “They’re… they’re gone.”
He looked down at the ground, his grip on the drill tightening, and he closed his eyes shut from sheer frustration. “I have failed!”
Eiko stumbled out of the portal and straight into the ground. She got up, coughing out a few blades of grass, before she looked around.
She found herself into a forest once more, the bright, afternoon sun shining down on her and caressing her skin. She giggled, her shoulders shaking a little, before it turned into full-blown laughter.
“That was amazing!” She threw her hands in the air, a massive grin on her face. “That was awesome, right Batzz?”
She received no response from the dragon in question.
“Uh… Batzz?” She looked around, finding no sign of the dragon, but she swore that they both went through the same portal. Fearing the worst, she walked straight ahead, through the trees, and kept calling for him.
A little farther ahead, she saw the familiar silhouette of him standing on top of a small hill, watching the view. Eiko joined him, and she couldn’t help but gasp at what she saw ahead.
A large city, larger than anything she had ever seen before, stretched as far as the eye could see, and her eyes took in every detail. The many buildings, both small and huge, the large tower standing high above the rest, and she swore she saw a ridiculously large elementary school as well.
“This view is amazing!” She turned to Batzz, who still stared ahead with unfocused eyes. “You actually got us to Earth!”
That caused him to snap back to reality. “Of course I can!” He snapped, huffing and crossing his arms. “You fought terribly, by the way.”
Her smile was very quickly replaced by a flat look. “You’re welcome.” She huffed back and crossed her own arms. “Well, go on, fly away or something.”
Batzz, however, stayed right where he was.
The girl took her hood off and raised an eyebrow. “Uh… you okay?”
“I’m thinking, in case you hadn’t realized!” He clicked his tongue.
“About what you’ll do now?” She shrugged once he looked at her again. “What? Just because you’re big and strong doesn’t mean you can just waltz in there. Last time I checked, gigantic dragon’s weren’t a thing around here.”
“Then what do you suggest, O wise one?” Batzz’ sarcasm could almost win him an award.
Eiko hummed and rubbed her chin, deep in thought. “Well, if those dragons were part of a card game… aren’t you?” she asked him. “Can’t you turn, like, into a card or something? I can keep you in my pocket, and no one will freak out.”
“You’re telling me to sit inside your pocket?” Batzz looked at her incredulously.
Giving the large dragon a cheeky smile, the young girl put her hands behind her back. “Well… unless you want to try and survive on your own, I’m your best bet,” she said. “Besides, I’ve never been to a big city before, so having a big, strong dragon with me will definitely make me feel safe.”
“Don’t try using flattery to sway me, kid.” Batzz huffed, but she could see him relenting. “But… fine, but only because I have no other choice, you hear!?”
Eiko nodded. “Yes, yes. Now, card form, please.”
Batzz gave her one more annoyed look before a bright light engulfed him. Out of it flew a card that she caught. Eiko looked at it for a moment before she pocketed it inside her vest.
“There we go~.” She patted the spot where Batzz’ card was.
“Don’t pat me like I’m some pet!”
“Aw, so sensitive!” She suddenly realized that she could hear his voice inside her head. “Wait, how are you communicating with me?”
“Beats me,” Batzz answered. “Now, are you heading to that big city, or are you going to twiddle your thumbs here all day?”
“No, I won’t.” Rolling her eyes, she turned to the city and started walking down the hill. “Let’s go, you big palooka.”
“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?”