Title: Rise of the Spirit.
Co-authors/beta: Deathshallcome.
Genre/s: action/adventure (bit of mystery and possible romance.)
Summary: the Penn crew makes friends with a young street racer, Kaley. While she seems normal, Artha can help but feel there is something, mysterious about her. Soon, the story of an ancient lost crew and an attack by a mysterious group of dark riders, they start to wonder. Why did these men attack? What secrets from her past is Kaley keeping from her friends?
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some violence.
No of Chapters: Unsure.
Complete/Wik: Wik.
Concrit: Neutral but welcome. (Go easy. this is my first one.)
Mary-sue: possible
Disclaimer: I do not own dragon booster or any of the characters. I do own Kaley and Astrala.

Author's note: the events in this story take place after 'Wraith Booster.'
"Humans" *dragons* so you don't get confused.


Chapter One.
It was really late and Parmon, Lance and Kitt were sitting around at Penn Stables. Their dragons, Cyrano, Fracshun and Wyldfyer were in the main stall, sleeping. They looked over at the entrance. Artha had been gone for quite sometime. Moordryd Paynn and the Dragon Eyes had been making things very tense between the down city crews. Suddenly, the secret wall in the main stall opened and Mortis came out. He walked over to them and looked at each of them in turn.
“Anything?” he asked. Kitt looked up.
“Nothing.” She replied. “He hasn’t come back and he hasn’t contacted us.” She looked over at the stable entrance. “Maybe we should go and look for them.”
Parmon looked at her with a calm expression. “I’m sure they’ll be back soon.” He said with more confidence than he felt. “Artha has been very busy lately, what with Moordryd and the Dragon Eyes causing trouble.”
Suddenly, they heard a stomping sound and looked up. Artha and Beau were coming towards them, in their racing form, both looking very tired.
“There you are.” said Kitt, sounding relieved.
“Sorry I’m so late.” Artha replied. “Moordryd and his crew are getting really tight.” With that he sat down heavily next to Lance. Beau walked straight past them and lay down next to Fracshun. Mortis looked at Artha.
“You don’t look too good.” He observed.
“I’m fine.” Artha said. “Just tired.”
“I’m not surprised.” Parmon said. “What with the constant bickering of the down city crews, it’s getting harder for Phistus and his crew to keep order. With the Dragon Eyes stirring up trouble, the other crews battling, not to mention the races getting even tougher than usual and…
“Parm,” Artha interrupted him, “not now.” He knew that Parmon had been close to giving one of his confusing rants. They were hard enough to understand when he was wide awake; Artha didn’t think he could handle it right now.
“You should all get some sleep.” Mortis said. “Tomorrow we’ll see if we can’t figure this out.” and with that, he went back through the door to the temple. They all got up and went over to their sleeping mats where they laid down and fell asleep almost instantly.
Artha stayed awake for a bit, thinking. Ever since that night when Beau had chosen him as the Dragon Booster, Artha’s life had been all over the place. Not only did he have to stop an up and coming dragon human war, but he was also competing in the all city races and looking after his brother Lance. Artha was glad that he had his friends there to help him and Mortis, who had been like a father to him and Lance since they had lost their dad in a fire that had nearly destroy the stable. Thoughts still on his dad, Artha slipped into an uneasy sleep.



Not far away, a shadowy figure stuck its head around a corner of a small alley. Quickly, it with drew as two dragons passed, their riders deep in conversation. The figure moved quietly to the far end of the alley where a white and blue dragon was waiting. The dragon looked up as the figure approached. Slowly, the figure lifted its hood to reveal a young girl of around 16. She had dark brown hair and green eyes.
“We should be safe here for tonight.” She whispered to her dragon. “How are you doing?” The dragon made a deep groan and lay down. She was obviously very tired. Her rider looked at her sympathetically.
“That makes two of us, girl.” She said. Gently, she took off her cloak and lay down against her dragon. She pulled out a silver amulet and looked at it. As she looked at it, images flashed across her eyes. Memories of a night which had changed her life.
Kaley sighed and tuck the amulet away. “I just hope that we can find someone who can tell me what this means.” She said. Astrala nudged her comfortingly. Kaley turned to her friend and gave her a gentle stroke. “Good night, girl.” Silently, she lay down and the two of them feel asleep.

Not far away, Word Paynn sat at the desk in the control room of his citadel. His son, Moordryd, is standing across from him. The expression on his face shows clearly that he has just been knocked off by dragon booster.
“He is getting harder for me to deal with. We have tried nearly everything, what do you want me to do?”
Word looked at his son. Moordryd recognized that look. It normally meant that his father had some kind of plan. Word was silent for a moment, then he spoke. “Recently, I have been feeling a strange presence. Keep your eyes open during the next few days. Who knows, the answer to our problems with the dragon booster could be closer than we think.”

Astrala woke up rather suddenly. She got up, trying gently not to wake Kaley, and walked quietly to the alley entrance. She had a strong feeling that something wasn’t right here.
*Hello* she whispered. No one answered. Behind her she heard a shifting. She turned her head to see Kaley sit up. She went back over to her.
“Hey,” she said sleepily. “What is it, girl.” Astrala just looked at her, and then nudged at her pack. Kaley shook her head. “I know. You’re hungry.” She went over to her bag and pulled out some dragon munchies and gave them to Astrala. Then she pulled out a drac bar and took a bite. She looked in the pack and noticed that they didn’t have much left.
She looked over at Astrala.
“We’re almost out of food.” She said. She leaned against the entrance to the alley. “Thing is, we don’t have any money. There must be some way we can get some.”
Suddenly, from not too far away, she heard the roar of a crowd. She hurried over to Astrala, placed the pack on her back and climbed into the saddle. They left the alley and headed to where the noise was coming from. It was coming from a huge stadium. The sigh out the front read all city racing circuit. (All City Racing Circuit.)
Kaley climbed down from Astrala’s saddle and they headed over to a small fence at the edge of the stand. She leaned against the fence and looked over at the starting gate. About 8 dragons were lined up, each with a person on it. As she watched, Kaley thought back to the dragon races she watched when she was younger. She had always wondered what it would be like to fly down that track. Most of these riders looked about her age. But her gaze soon fell on two dragons, side by side. One was a red dragon with a girl in her saddle. She was wearing a pink and light blue racing suit. She had light blue hair. Next to her stood a red and blue dragon. This dragon looked very strong. Kaley stared, amazed, then looked at the dragon’s rider. He was a 16 year old boy. He was wearing a white and blue racing jacket and a white racing helmet. The race marshal signaled for them to get ready. The horn sounded and they were off. Kaley kept her eyes on the red and blue dragon and his rider. They were amazing. The way they worked together, almost as one. Kaley stood there, leaning against the fence watching as they raced around the track and crossed the finish line in first place, the red dragon just behind them.
“And Artha Penn of the Penn Racing Crew takes first place in front of team mate, Kitt Wonn.” The race marshal called out. Kaley watched as Kitt came over to Artha and gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder. They got down from there dragons and headed over to their team mates. Kaley looked up at Astrala, smiling.
“What do you think, girl?” she said. Astrala looked at her and nodded.

Over at the stalls behind the track, Artha, Kitt, Lance and Parmon were talking about Moordryd’s behavior during the race. Normally, he would be ramming them. But today he seemed distracted. He was looking around. Suddenly, Artha’s wrist beeped. He hit a button on it and Mortis appeared on the screen.
“Artha, I need to speak with you.” He said. “Come to the dragon cave as soon as you can.”
“Ok, Mortis.” Artha turned off his wrist com and looked at the others. “Come on guys, we better go.”
With that, they walked out of the stall area. But Artha was so caught up in his own thoughts that, CRASH, he walk right into someone at the entrance. He shook his head and stood up. The person he had run into looked up at him. It was a girl of around his age.
“Sorry.” She said. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“It's ok. I wasn’t either.” Artha said to her. “Are you alright?” She nodded and Artha held out his hand. She took it and he pulled her up. She gently brushed herself off. She had long brown hair that feel almost to her waist and her eyes were green with a bit of brown. She was a tiny bit shorter than Artha. She wore a very light gray top, and greenish blue pants, and a dark green cloak with a hood. Artha noticed a chain around her neck but couldn’t see what was on it. Artha stopped staring when he realized she was looking at him.
“What are you staring at?” she asked. Artha quickly looked away. He only just realized that he had been staring.
“Sorry.” He said quickly. She just smiled.
“You’re Artha Penn. of the Penn racing crew.” she said. Artha nodded, surprised. Not that many people acknowledged him. It had once really annoyed him, but he had recently found out the fame wasn’t all people made it out to be. He had learned that the hard way.
“Uh, yeah.” He replied.
“I was watching the race. You were amazing. The way you worked with your dragon, almost like you were one.” She said. Artha smiled.
“Thanks.” He replied.
“I’m Kaley.” She said, holding out her hand. Artha shook it.
“Nice to meet you. Do you race?” he asked. Kaley shook her head.
“Not really. I’m hoping to enter one of these races.”
“Artha.” Artha looked over Kaley’s shoulder and saw the others coming towards him. They stopped when they saw Kaley.
“Hey, guys.” He said going over to them. Kitt looked over at Kaley, then back at Artha.
“Oh, this it Kaley.” Artha said quickly, gesturing to her. She came over. “Kaley, this is my racing team. These are my friends, Kitt and Parmon, and my little brother, Lance.” He pointed to each of them in turn.
“Hi.” She said. They all said hello back. Beau, feeling a bit left out, came up behind Artha and gave him a whack on the head with his tail. “Ow.” Artha turned and saw Beau standing there.
*What am I, invisible?* He growled. Kaley laughed. Beau smiled at her.
“And this is Beau.” Artha said. Beau nudged him and pointed to Wyldfyer and Cyrano with his tail. Kitt and Parmon saw this and introduced their dragons. Kaley smiled at them too.
“You were great out there.” Kaley said to Kitt. “I was just telling Artha that I was impressed by the way you and he worked with your dragons. Most of the other racers were almost fighting with their dragons to get them to do what they want. But you two, I have seen team work like that in a long time.”
Artha looked at her. “Do your parents race?” he asked her. Her expression changed and she shook her head. Artha noticed that she didn’t seem happy talking about it. Just then, a large blue and white dragon came over to Kaley and nudged her. This dragon looked different to any that he had seen before. Kaley looked around and smiled again.
“Oh. Sorry girl.” She laughed. She turned to them. “This is Astrala. Astrala, this is Artha, Kitt, Parmon and Lance.” She then gestured to the dragons. “And that’s Wyldfyer and Cyrano and this one is Beau.” She pointed to Beau. Astrala looked at Beau and smiled.
*Hi* She said to them.
*Hey.* Wyldfyer and Cyrano replied. Beau was just staring at her. He thought she looked familiar. Wyldfyer brought him back to life by whacking him with her tail. Beau started. Astrala laughed at him.
*Sorry.* Beau said.
*That’s ok.* Astrala relied. She thought Beau looked familiar. *I’m sorry, have we met before?*
*Um, I don’t think so. Why?* Beau replied.
Astrala shrugged. *Don’t know. You just looked familiar, that’s all. You wouldn’t happen to be related to Beaucephulis, would you?*
Suddenly, Mortis popped up on Artha’s wrist com and woke everyone up.
“Artha, where are you? I need you to come now.” He said.
“Sorry. We’re on our way.” Artha said. He switched off the com and looked over at Kaley. “Sorry, we need to go.” He said to her. She nodded.
“That’s ok. Astrala and I should go too.” She said. “It was nice meeting all of you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Kitt said.
They said good-bye and Kaley and Astrala walked away. Artha and his friends left the stall area. As they parted, Beau couldn’t help but look back at Astrala. Astrala couldn’t help looking at Beau either. Kaley couldn’t get her mind off Artha. There was just something about him, something mysterious.

Mortis stood waiting as Artha and his friends walked out of the elevator towards him.
“Sorry Mortis.” Artha said quickly. “We got caught up.”
“I said I need to speak with you.” Mortis replied. Artha looked at him, rather nervous. Mortis just looked at him. “Anyway, the reason I asked you here is because I believe that you need to know about this. When I was young, the dragon priests told me of a forgotten race, the silver draconium empire.”
Kitt looked confused. “Silver?”
“Yes.” Mortis replied. “They had been very close friends with the ancient gold-star dragons. They believed in a strong unity between dragons and humans. They felt that no on race should be strong than the other, that they were all equal and show live that way. They tried to help the dragon priests convince the other empires of this, but they were ignored. They mostly stayed hidden during the war, not wanting to get caught up in the fighting. Their dragons, the silver bone ones, were the only dragons that didn’t turn on their masters because they had always been treated with respect. Some did leave, but many stayed. One dragon was almost killed trying to stop the fighting, but she was saved the Dragon Booster and the original Beau. This silver crew saw them as saviors. The dragon that had been saved by Beau also chose a rider. A Spirit Booster! She was able to help the Dragon Booster. Eventually, the other silver dragons joined with the dragon booster and others who wanted to stop the war. With their help, the Dragon Booster was able to stop the war. But many years after the war, they were attacked and practically wiped out. It’s not known how many survived. ”
Mortis looked at the four stunned kids sitting a few feet away. Artha’s mind was reeling. A forgotten crew that had helped the original Dragon Booster? Then Parmon’s voice brought Artha out of his trance.
“So, has anyone seen any evidence of a silver dragon since then?”
Mortis shook his head. “There have been some stories, but no one knows what happened. The ancient dragon priests believe that they are still out there, but no one knows where.”
Artha just sat, trying to absorb what he had just heard. The thought that somewhere there might be the remainder of a very old crew was a lot for him to hear. Were they still out there? And if so, how could he find them?

The afternoon, while Parmon was checking out their gear and Lance was playing on his battleground dragon game, Artha stood on the platform outside the stable, thinking. As he stood there, Beau came up and stood next to him. He put his head on Artha’s shoulder and Artha stroked him.

END CHAPTER 1.

please read and review.

cool story and great concept. Id love to see this continue. Have a cookie for your hard work :cookie:

It's a good story, keep on going on it :) . One think that I noticed that you have a lot of periods in you story. Maybe you could use some commas insead.

Hey, thanks for the tips and comments. i wasn't sure if anyone was going to look at this. I've finally finished chapter two.
let me know if you like it.

Warning: this chapter contains violence.

Chapter 2
“Well girl.” Kaley said to Astrala, her voice a little uneasy. “This is it. You ready?” Astrala looked at Kaley and gave her an encouraging nod. It made her feel a bit better. Kaley had never gone in a really big race like this. The only thing in her life that had ever come close was the play races she had done with her friends when she was younger. This would be her first real race. She had seen just from the few races she had seen yesterday that it was likely to be pretty tough.
“Kaley.” She turned around and saw Artha and his friends coming towards them. When they reached her, she smiled slightly.
“Hey, guys. Hi Artha.”
“Are you racing today?” Kitt asked. Kaley nodded.
“Yeah. I’m kind of nervous. I mean, these races seem rather tough.” Kaley said.
“They certainly are.” said Parmon. “although, with the level one speed races, I’ve managed to observe and calculate the various wind speed and resistance around the different area’s of the track and marginally figured the energy co-efficient outputs for certain gears at different points and when each can be used to most effectively contribute to the overall effect to the finally outcome of the performance of the…” Parmon stopped as everyone was staring at him with blank looks on their faces. As usual, no one had a clue what he had been saying. Even the dragons were giving him blank looks. This wasn’t helping Kaley one bit.
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”
“Don’t worry.” Artha said, “Even we don’t understand him sometimes.”
Parmon looked a bit put off. “It means that if you can keep a good, smooth speed and only use gears when necessary, you should be fine.” He told her.
“Oh, thanks.” Kaley said. Astrala went over to Beau, Wyldfyer, Cyrano and Fracshun. Beau looked at her. *You alright?* he asked. Astrala nodded.
*I’m ok, but Kaley isn’t doing so good.*
Beau went over to Artha and nudged him in the back. Artha turned around and Beau gestured to his white aero gear and then to Astrala. Kaley looked at Beau.
“What is it?” she asked. Though Artha couldn’t speak dragon, he understood what Beau was saying and nodded.
“He wants to know if you and Astrala want to borrow some of our gear for the race.” Artha explained to her. Kaley looked at Artha, then at Beau. She had only known Artha for a day and he was offering to help her. Unable to speak, she nodded to Artha and Beau magged his white aero gear onto Astrala. Kitt turned to Wyldfyer, who nodded and magged her red thruster gear onto Astrala. Kaley was overwhelmed.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” Kitt said. “Just try not to damage them.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Artha gave her a reassuring smile. “You’ll be fine. We’ll be watching you from the stand. Good luck.” Kaley started to feel better. A siren sounded to signal five minutes to race time. Kaley said goodbye to them and went off to the start line.
“GOOD DAY TO YOU MY BRAVE ALL CITY STREET COMPETITORS.” boomed the voice of the race Marshall. “I AM RACE MARSHALL BUDGE.” Kaley sat on Astrala, trying to relax. She took a deep breath. Astrala gave her an encouraging grumble, which slowed her nerves. Astrala had been her friend for a long time. Kaley knew she was safe with her. She looked up at the stand and saw Artha, Kitt, Parmon and Lance. Lance waved to her and she waved back. Even if she hadn’t known them very long, just knowing she had someone watching her made her feel better.
“Ok girl.” She said to Astrala. “Here goes nothing.” The horn blasted, the starting barrier fell and they were off. They immediately took 4th place. Kaley was overwhelmed. This feel was unlike anything she had ever felt before. As they race around the track, Kaley almost felt like she was soaring. A slight jolt brought her out of her trance and she focused herself on the track. Many of the other racers were really pushing their dragons. She relaxed herself and concentrated on working with Astrala. They speed up and passed two dragons to gain 2nd place.
Up in the stands, Artha, Kitt, Parmon and Lance were watching them, amazed. Kaley had said that Artha had work well with Beau, but he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. She was incredible. Of course, the races were very tough, so it wasn’t long before someone came up next to Kaley and Astrala and rammed into them. Kaley turned to the rider, who immediately took off in front of them.
“What’s his problem?” Kaley watched as he came level with the one in front of her rammed him hard. The other rider returned the favor. Kaley started to get nervous. “Boy, these races are tough. We better watch it.” They sped into a tunnel. A black dragon passed them on the right. It looked back and growled at them. Astrala growled back and speed up until she was level with the dragon and his rider. They came out of the tunnel, still racing neck and neck.
*your mine, loser.* the black dragon sneered at Astrala and rammed into her. She growled and returned the favor. Kaley was rocked a bit, but managed to straighten up. The black dragon over took them.
“Astrala, what was that about? If he wants to race like a maniac, let him.”
*he called me a loser.* Kaley could tell from her friend’s grumble that she was upset. “Don’t let him get to you. It’s what he wants.” She told her. Astrala nodded and speed up. They came level with the black dragon again. The rider looked over at Kaley. The dragon sneered at Astrala.
*back for more, huh?* he jeered at her. Astrala looked ahead, smiled and looked at the dragon.
*You know, it might help if you spent less time knocking others and more time actually looking where you are going.* she grinned at him.
The black rider brought out his staff. Kaley looked ahead, grinned and looked back at him.
“Not wanting to wreck your fun, but the track is that way.” She pointed in front of the rider. Both he and his dragon looked ahead and tried to brake, but they had left it a bit too late. They slammed into a sign. Kaley and Astrala past them. Astrala called back to the black dragon.
*now who’s the loser?* she laughed. Kaley smiled.
“See girl. They mess up, it’s their problem.”
Up in the stands, Artha, Parmon, Lance and Kitt were watching.
“She’s pretty good.” Artha commented.
Just then, two dragons, a green one and a blue one, came up behind her and moved to each side. Parmon saw this. “Oh dear. This doesn’t look good.”
Kaley looked at the dragons on either side of her. She didn’t need to be an experienced racer to know what they were planning. Well, if they wanted to play rough, then she was happy to oblige.
“You know what to do, girl.” She whispered to Astrala. She nodded gently. *You bet.* She answered and sped up. The other racers speed up too.
Artha and Kitt watched this. “They’re going to crush her.” Kitt yelled. Parmon was holding his breath. Artha and Lance watched, not knowing what would happen.
“Steady, girl. Steady.” Kaley braced herself. The rider of the green dragon looked over at the rider of the blue dragon and nodded. They closed in fast.
“NOW.” Kaley yelled. At the last second, Astrala stopped and the other dragons crashed into each other and piled on each other. Kaley activated the red thruster gear on Astrala and they soared over them, came down and sped up again.
“Did you see that?” Kitt exclaimed.
“That was drac.” Lance called, amazed.
“What. What happened?” Parmon, who had covered his eyes, looked up in time to see a replay on the screen.
“INCREDIBLE! SOME REAL SKILLS BEING SHOWN ON THE TRACK.” called the race Marshall. Parmon was beside himself.
“Amazing!”
Kaley was feeling very happy too. “Great job, girl.” She called to Astrala, who smiled. Kaley looked up just in time to see a jump right ahead. Astrala leaped. Kaley activated the white aero gear and they soared to the other side. They landed and Kaley released a huge breath. “That was close.” Astrala grunted in agreement. They tore across the finish line to gain 2nd place. Up in the stands, Artha, Parmon, Kitt and Lance were cheering. Kaley looked up at them and waved. They waved back. Artha could not believe what he had just seen. There really was something special about her.

Kaley met with Artha ad the others in the stall area behind the stands. Lance was still going wild.
“That was drac, Kaley.”
“yes.” Parmon agreed. “That was quite a move you made.”
“thanks.” Kaley replied. “But I can’t take all the credit. Astrala did a lot too.” She looked up at her dragon, who gave her a nudged. She looked at Artha, who smiled.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone work so closely with their dragon.” he exclaimed.
Kaley smiled back. “Thanks for letting me use the gears.” She nodded to Astrala, who looked over at Beau and Wyldfyer. She gently magged the gears off and Beau and Wyldfyer magged them back on.
“No problem.” Artha said to her.
Cyrano looked up and Astrala. *So, how come her parents didn’t come and watch?* he asked. Astrala’s smiled faded.
*They died years ago.* She replied. The four dragons looked at her.
*I’m sorry to hear that.* Beau said. *So who do you live with?*
Astrala didn’t answer. Kaley turned to her.
“We should probably go.” She turned to her new friends. “It was great seeing you all again. Thanks for your help.”
“Where are you staying?” Kitt asked.
“Well…” but before Kaley could answer, they heard an “Ow” and everyone looked around. Standing not far away were 3 people. They each had a black dragon eye on the back of their clothes. One had dark hair and dark skin, another pale skin and white hair. Three black Psi-class dragons stood near them. For a moment Kaley stood. Then she noticed the dark skin one was clutching his foot. Kaley noticed a green toy dragon near him. Everyone looked at Lance, who was holding a toy remote. The dark skin person turned to them and she saw that he was probably no more than a year older than her. As she watched, he stalked over to them. Lance quickly hid the remote behind his back and smiled nervously.
Not good, Kyra thought.
This guy was clearly not happy. “Well look what we have here.”
Artha went over and stood in front of his brother, facing this guy with a dark look. “Lay off it, Cain. He’s just a kid.”
Cain laughed. “Isn’t that sweet?”
“Stand down, Cain.” He turned to the one with the light hair. Cain moved aside and the other one came and stood in front of Artha. Kaley could see from the looks on their faces that they knew each other. “You want to keep a closer eye on your brother, Penn.” He sneered.
“You may want to keep a closer eye on you crew, Moordryd.” Artha replied. “Cain’s temper could get him into trouble some day.”
Moordryd sneered at Artha. “Though, I guess it’s hard, having to look out for that brat after what happened to your father.”
Everyone went quiet. Kaley could tell from the sudden tension in the air and the look on Artha’s face that Moordryd had hit home. Beau growled. Kitt, Parmon and Lance moved away from Artha, looking scared. The Dragon Eyes stepped back too, smiling. This was not good. Artha looked like he was going to explode. He activated his blocking staff and Moordryd did the same.
“You leave my father out of this, Paynn!” Artha yelled.
“Make me, stable boy.” Moordryd replied. They brought up their staffs. The Penn crew looked away. But as brought their weapons down, two hands shot out and grabbed the sticks, stopping them. Everyone gasped. Kaley was standing between Artha and Moordryd, arms raised, holding their staffs away from each other. Even the dragons were amazed. The two boys stared at her, not really knowing what had happened. She had a very firm look on her face. She let go of the sticks and they stumbled back. She gave Artha a firm look, and then turned to Moordryd.
“You should watch what you say.” She said. Moordryd was stunned. But he got over it quickly and looked at Artha.
“Who’s your new friend?” he asked.
“My name is Kaley.” She replied. She looked over at Decepshun and Coershun. “Nice dragons. Black Psi-class. The one with the white is female, the other two are male. The grey one slightly older than the girl. Am I right?”
Moordryd looked shocked, then his face returned to firm. Astrala came over and stood by her rider. Decepshun came over and glared at her. “Astrala.” Kaley said to her dragon. Astrala back off a bit.
“Interesting dragon.” Moordryd said, looking at Astrala. “Can’t say I’ve seen any like that before. You may want to watch it with the stable brats.”
“really.” Kaley replied calmly. Artha was amazed at how cool and calm she was. “If you not careful, that big mouth of yours could get you in to trouble one of these days.”
“ouch.” Kitt gasped from the background. Moordryd was suddenly fired up. Kaley turned to walk away, which Artha thought was a bad idea. Moordryd brought up his staff.
“Kaley, watch it.” Lance yelled. Moordryd brought his staff down, but Kaley caught it. She then brought out her left arm and hit Moordryd in the side, then crouched, swung out her leg and tripped him. He landed on the ground. Everyone stared as Kaley stood up and threw him back his blocking staff. He caught it and stood up.
“It is also not a good idea to attack when an opponent’s back is turned. It never puts you in a good light. I would have thought someone like you would know better. ” She said.
Moordryd looked beside himself. Everyone waited.
“Let’s go.” He said to Cain. He move in close to Kaley and muttered. “You have no idea what you have just started.” And with that, the Dragon Eyes left. Though Kaley felt that she hadn’t seen the last of them. She turned and saw everyone staring at her.
Parmon was the first to speak. “I can’t believe you just took on Moordryd Paynn.”
“Yeah. You sure showed him a thing or two.” Kitt agreed.
“thanks.” Kaley replied. “Well, Astrala and I should go.”
“Do you want us to come with you? The Dragon Eyes aren’t the best crew to mess with.”
“We’ll be ok.” and with that, she climbed onto her dragon and left.

A huge blast. Screams. Kaley ran into the square. People were running around, scared. Houses were on fire. The men of her town battling with dark figures on black dragons.
Her mother yelling at her to run. She was scared. She didn’t know what was going on. There was another blast.

Kaley woke up suddenly. Astrala was nudging her. She looked around, panting. They were still in dragon city. It had just been a bad dream. She sighed heavily and lay back against Astrala, breathing hard. Astrala looked concerned.
*You ok?* she grumbled. Though she didn’t speak dragon, Kaley understood what her friend was saying. She stroked her gently.
“I’m fine. Just a bad dream.” She said softly. She reached into a pocket of her bag and pulled out a very old photo. It was her at five years old. Next to her stood a man with blue eyes and short dark hair, and a woman with long flowing hair like hers and sea green eyes. Next to them stood a young boy with the older mans hair. She sighed again as she looked at them. It had been along time, but Kaley still dreamt of them. Ever since that night, she had seen them in her dreams. It was something she could never forget. The explosion, the black dragons, her parents yelling at her to get away, her home going up in flames.
Suddenly, Astrala’s head jerked up, like she had heard something.
“What is it?” Kaley asked. Astrala got up and walked over to the entrance to the alley. Kaley followed her and they both peaked out. A group of four black dragons where standing nearby. At first, Kaley though they were the group from her dream, but then she saw that they had a black dragon eye on there jackets. Moordryd Paynn was with them.
“Dragon eye crew.” Kaley whispered.
He was talking to his crew members in a low voice. Two of them nodded and slipped over to dark area. Moordryd and Cain went over to the alley opposite them. Kaley watched and saw a large carriage pulled by a green bull-class dragon coming down the street, towards them.
“This doesn’t look good.” She whispered to Astrala. Her dragon nodded.
“We should do something.” Silently, Astrala magged Kaley into the saddle and they crept along towards where the Dragon Eyes were.

The green dragon’s rider was oblivious to what was happening. Suddenly, the dragon eyes leaped out and surrounded him. The driver froze in shock. One of the riders aimed their green trapping gear at him, but didn’t fire. Moordryd had told them to wait.
“Let’s do this.” He said to the others. He and the remaining Dragon Eyes went towards the back of the carriage, when suddenly there was a loud BANG and they turned to see their crew member on the ground near a wall. They over into the shadows as Astrala emerged, growling. In the saddle sat Kaley. The dragon aimed another mag burst at Moordryd and the others. They were thrown away from the van. She turned to the driver.
“Get out of here.” She yelled. “I’ll handle them.” the driver didn’t need telling twice. He cracked the whip and the green dragon took off as fast as a bull-class dragon could go.
Moordryd watched as they got away, then got back onto Decepshun and stared at Kaley and Astrala.
“you.” He scolded.
“I’m afraid so.” Kaley replied.
“You’re going to pay for that. Surround her.” he yelled to the others. The dragon eyes moved in around Kaley and Astrala. She just calmly looked at Moordryd.
“You don’t want to do that.” She said.
“Oh, really?” Moordryd replied. “Because I believe I do.”
Astrala fired her self up. “Steady girl.” Kaley whispered.
Moordryd yelled to his crew. “Get her.” they started to move in. Astrala let off a huge mag burst, blasting them back. They got up slowly. Kaley grab her blocking staff.
“Mag me, girl.” She yelled.
*On It.* Astrala grumbled in reply and magged her rider up out of the saddle. Kaley flipped and came down, landing in a crouch with her arms spread to help her balance. She stood up slowly. Moordryd stared at her. Now he was mad. But Kaley kept a firm look.
“I really didn’t want to do this.” She extended her mag staff. “But you asked for it.” Two riders magged up behind her. Astrala took her up and she knocked them out of the air. Cain came up and attempted to whack her, but she blocked his hit and brought her stick around, sending him into a billboard. Moordryd magged up and the two of them fought hard. She knocked him down and he landed hard. She blocked a few more strikes from the other riders. Cain slipped over to Moordryd.
“She’s pretty good, Moordryd.” He said.
“yes.” Moordryd replied. “She is.” they looked up and saw her beating the other riders. She turned around sharp and Moordryd’s energy drain whip came up out of nowhere. She yelled and fell to the ground.
Astrala roared at them. *Oh no you don’t.* but then two of the others fired green trapping gear at her, pinning her against a wall. Moordryd withdrew the whip and Kaley lay on the ground, panting hard. “Get her up.” he ordered. Cain and another rider grabbed Kaley and pulled her to her feet. Another took her blocking staff and handed it to Moordryd. She stared at him, trying not to show fear. Just anger. Moordryd smiled at her.
“Very impressive.” He commented. “You’re truly a skilled fighter.” he turned to Cain. “Take her to the compound.” He turned to Decepshun.
“I don’t think you want to do that, Paynn.” A call from above made everyone stop and look up. Kaley stared as a huge dragon leaped down and landed near them. It was black and gold. The rider was wearing armor made from gold draconium. Kaley couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Could it be? She had heard stories and seen pictures, but she didn’t think that it was possible.
It was, of coarse, Artha and Beau, but no one looking at them knew that. Kaley saw only the figure from an old story. The Dragon Eyes saw someone who had been bugging them for ages.
Moordryd scowled at Artha. “Stay out of this, Dragon Booster. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Um, a down city crew capturing people for no apparent reason. I think I does.” Artha said. Kaley stood there, staring. It had to be him.
“Get him.” Moordryd yelled. Two crew members charge at Artha and Beau. But Beau just let out a mag burst and knocked them back. Kaley looked at the dragon’s mag stream. It was gold. The dragon with the gold star mark will return. He is the dragon of ultimate power. This dragon shall be the only one to choose his rider. This shall be the new dragon booster.
She looked at the dragon and saw a gold star on his head. It was him. The Dragon of Legend had returned, and with him, a new Dragon Booster. Kaley fell to her knees and bowed. Everyone stared at her. Artha was shocked. He had never got this reaction before. Moordryd just stared then looked at Cain.
“Get her up.” he ordered. Cain pulled her back to her feet to face Moordryd. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you are starting to annoy me.” He gave her a whack in the stomach and she hunched over in pain. Cain straightened her up again.
Moordryd activated his blocking staff and turned to face the Dragon Booster. “Alright, you want her. Come and get her.” Decepshun magged him up, Beau magged Artha towards him and they fought. Cain and the others were distracted by the fight. Kaley saw a chance and caught them off guard. She kicked one of the crew members in the leg and he let go of her. She brought her other hand around but Cain grabbed her wrist.
“Nice try.” He sneered. But she had been expecting that. She kicked his knee and he let go. He recovered quickly and tried to hit her but she blocked him and punched him in the chest then swung out her leg and tripped him. She grabbed her staff, which Moordryd had dropped, and fought off the other rider. Moordryd landed not far away and she looked up at the dragon booster. He magged back down. She stared at him.
“Go!” he yelled to her. “I’ve got them.”
She nodded and ran towards Astrala. She deactivated the trapping gear and hugged her friend. Astrala magged Kaley into the saddle and she looked back at Artha.
“GO. Now.” He yelled to her. Two dragon eyes ran at Artha and Beau, but he let off a mag burst that knocked them back. Astrala took off, but Moordryd magged over and knocked Kaley out of the saddle. She stood up quickly. Decepshun charged at Astrala and the two dragons fought.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Moordryd pulled out his whip and aimed it at Kaley, but she was ready. She brought up her staff to block it. The whip connected with her staff and Moordryd yanked it away. He tried to get her but she dodged it, jumped, flipped and landed in a squat. Suddenly, she heard a crash and turned to see her dragon slam into a wall. Moordryd took advantage of her sudden loss of concentration and leaped towards her. She turned just in time to see him standing in front of her, staff raised. He brought it down and she grabbed it quickly, but Moordryd hit her in the stomach and she let go. Moordryd then whacked her with his staff and she was thrown back. She hit a wall and landed on the ground. Groaning, she looked up to see Moordryd coming towards her. She tried to stand but a pain shoot through her side and she crumbled. Suddenly, a huge roar was heard and they both looked over to see the Dragon of Legend and the Dragon Booster. Kaley stared as the Dragon Booster was magged up by his dragon and landed between her and Moordryd, jak stick activated. He faced his enemy, who stared back.
“Leave her alone, Paynn.”
Moordryd raised his weapon and charged at the Dragon Booster, who brought up his weapon and blocked the blow from his attacker. Kaley watched as they fought.
While the humans battled, Decepshun powered up for a mag burst on Astrala, but she turned when she heard a roar and saw The Dragon of Legend standing near her. The two dragons faced each other.
*You’re really starting to get on my nerves.* Decepshun growled.
*That isn’t as hard as it sounds.* Beau replied.
She sent out a mag blast at Beau, but he dogged it and swung out his hind legs and tripped her. She stood up and the two dragons turned as Moordryd slammed against a wall. Decepshun roared at Beau, then magged her rider into her saddle. They faced the Dragon Booster.
“You’ve won this round. But I’ll be back.” with that, they retreated. The Dragon Booster watched till they were out of site, then turned and went over to Kaley. She stared at her hero, unable to believe it. It truly was him.
“Are you alright?” he asked her. She nodded, too stunned to say anything. He held out his hand and helped her up. She groaned in pain as she stood, but quickly hid it.
“It really is you.” She said. She bowed gently, and then straightened up.
Beau went over to Astrala and helped her up. She smiled at him.
*Thank you for your help, Beaucephulis. It’s truly an honor.*
Beau smiled back. *You’re welcome. I’ve dealt with these guys before so it’s really no problem.* the two dragons then went over and stood beside their riders. Kaley turned to her friend.
“You alright, girl?” she asked. Astrala nodded. She turned back to Beau and the Dragon Booster. “Beaucephulis. The gold dragon of legend.” Both she and her dragon bowed. When they had straightened up again, he asked her “how did you get mixed up with them?”
“I saw them hiding beside the road and a bull-class dragon with a transport carriage coming down the street.” Kaley explained. “I could guess it wasn’t good. I managed to knock them off, but Moordryd was a bit too quick for me. Thank the Magna Draconis you showed up when you did.”
“Just good timing I guess.” Artha replied. “Those guys are pretty tough.”
“I noticed.” Kaley said, rubbing her arm. She didn’t understand it, but there was something about this person. Something, familiar. “Well, thank you for your help. We should be alright from here.”
“Are you sure?” Artha wasn’t sure about just leaving them after what happened.
“Don’t worry. We’re not as fragile as we look.” She turned to Astrala, who smiled. Artha still wasn’t sure, but she insisted that it was fine.
“Ok.” Beau magged Artha into his saddle and he looked down Kaley. “Just be careful.”
“I will.” Kaley promised. “Thank you both for your help. Will I see you again?”
Artha nodded. “I’m sure you will.”
Beau looked over at Astrala. *Take care of her.*
Astrala smiled at him. *I will.*
And with that, Beau and the Dragon Booster left. Kaley watched till they were out of site. Her head was spinning. If the gold dragon of legend had returned, that meant that they could be close to a new dragon human war. But of course, the Dragon Booster wouldn’t let that happen.

Good going. People on his fourm are quite nice and supportive believe me. My Fan Fic doesn't even have many the main characters in it, and lots of people like it.

I logged in just to review this. So cool...and I mean cool. I love it how youve brought in the conflict with the dragon eyes, and the fight scenes are very detailed, much better than mine.

Please update soon, its such a cool story!!!

Hello.

Sorry it took so long. It took me a while to finish it, then i had a few computer troubles, so i had a hard time with the posting.

anyway, here it is.

Chapter 3
Nearly two weeks past and Kaley became very close friends with the Penn Crew. One thing that Artha noticed about her was how close Kaley was to Astrala. There really seemed to be a strong bond between them. She had also gone up in her level. She was now able to compete at the same level as Artha and Kitt.
Kaley was truly starting to feel at home with the other racers. She felt safe in a way she hadn’t felt in years. Artha had introduced her to some of the other racers. Phistus, leader of the grip of the dragon crew and head of the down city council. Pyrrah, leader of the dragon flares. Wulph, leader of the army of the dragon. And Khatah, leader of the Inner Order. Kaley noticed that they each wore the symbols of the ancient draconium empires.

One afternoon, Kaley sat with the Penn Crew outside the race track.
“I don’t know how to thank you. You guys have been the best friends I’ve ever had.” She told them. They all looked rather modest.
“Don’t mention it.” Kitt said.
“I’m serious.” Kaley insisted. Artha looked at her for a moment, and then finally, he asked her the question that had been nagging at the back of his mind for days.
“Kaley. How come your parents never come to watch you?”
Kaley’s face became sad and she put her head down. She had felt this coming. It had been a long time since she spoke about it.
“They’re dead.” She whispered. She looked up to see them gazing at her, shocked and sorry.
“I’m sorry,” Artha began.
“Don’t be.” Kaley said. “It happened a long time ago.”
“What happened?” Kitt asked. Kaley sat for a moment. She looked over at Astrala, who nodded. She nodded back and looked at her friends and took a slow breath in and out.
“When I was a little girl, I lived with my family in a small town, not too far from dragon city. My parents were great people. Life was great for me. I was five years old when Astrala came into my life.”

[A five year old Kaley slipped into the stable. three men were there. one was her father. They were all standing back from a small dragon, about the size of a small horse. While she was so small, she was very fidgety and strong.]

“She was only a year older than me. Just by looking at her, I knew that there was something about her, something special. The only thing was she wouldn’t let anyone near her.”
“That night, my life changed forever.”
Kaley sat on top of a rock pile. Her town was so quiet behind her. She looked out in to the distance. She couldn’t help but wonder what was out there.
“Suddenly, I heard an explosion. I turned and saw a glowing red light from my town. I climbed down from the rock pile and ran home as fast as I could.”
Kaley remembered running into the town square. Houses were burning, people were running. The men of her town were fighting these men on black dragons. Not just sticks, but with mag energy too.
“I turned and saw my parents running towards me. My father was carrying his mag staff. He told me to go with my mother. He hugged me and magged onto his dragon and they hurried towards the fight. I was scared. I didn’t know what was going on. My mother took my hand and we ran towards the stable. When we got there, she opened the door and we hurried inside. Her dragon stood waiting. She told me to stay there, that I would be safe. I begged her not to leave, but she just hugged me and said she would be back. Then they left and I was alone. At least, that was until I heard a grunt behind me. It was just Astrala. I was rather cautious, as I was still shaken. She watched me for a bit and then came over to me.”
Kaley remember that moment, Astrala approaching her. She reached out her hand and touched her. “I felt the connection with her. That strange feeling that we were meant to be together. I stayed in the stable that night. Soon the noise died down and I waited for my mother or father to come and find me. But no-one came. I got up and walked to the door of the stable. I went out and called to my parents, but no-one answered. I went towards the town square. When I got there, I was horrified by what I saw. Houses were burned, the ashes still smoking. Mag staffs and gears lay on the ground.
Kaley remembered the fear, the overwhelming feeling of disbelief and sadness that had taken over her at that moment.“When I saw there was no-one there, I was devastated. I couldn’t believe it. My family was gone. My home had been destroyed. I felt so alone.” Kaley finished and sat quietly.
The others were overwhelmed by this. Artha just sat in a state of shock.
“That’s awful.” Lance exclaimed. Kaley looked up at them. Artha thought she looked close to tears. But she kept it in.
“So, since then, you’ve been living on the street.” Kitt asked.
“Yeah.” Kaley answered. Astrala gave Kaley a reassuring nudge. Kaley smiled and hugged her friend. “But I still have Astrala. I never would have made it if it hadn’t been for her.”
“Well, you’re not alone now.” Parmon said. “You have us now.”
Kaley really felt like she would cry.

Meanwhile, a few miles away, a group of four dragons slipped into the city.

Moordryd entered the control room of his father’s citadel. Word was watching the screens above his control panel. They showed Kaley and Astrala on the race track. Moordryd stopped a short way away and cleared his throat to let Word know he was there.
“You sent for me, father.”
Word smiled at his son. “I have been watching this new racer closely, Moordryd. Her skills are very well developed for one so young. Her dragon is very unusual. It is powerful, nearly like, the dragon of legend.”
I can see where this is going. Moordryd thought.
“I want you to get me that dragon. If I can get control of it, I can turn her into a powerful weapon against the Dragon Booster.”

Kaley sat in Astrala’s saddle, trying to relax. Kitt and Artha were on either side of her. The three of them were waiting for the track starting gate to fall.
Since her first time on the track, Kaley had started to feel more confident with the races. And the fact that she was surrounded by friends made it a whole lot easier.
“You ready?” Kitt asked her.
“As I’ll ever be.” Kaley answered.
Moordryd came up on Kitt’s other side and sneered at Kaley.
“Well, if it isn’t the stable brats and the street girl.” Kaley tried to ignore him “Good luck, your going to need it here.”
“Leave her alone, Paynn.” Artha said firmly.
“It’s ok, Artha.” Kaley told him.
“You can’t protect her here, Penn.” Moordryd told Artha. “These races are rough.”
Kaley looked over at him. “You know, Paynn. If your skills on the track are half as good as your skills at causing trouble, you might be a decent racer.”
Artha and Kitt laughed. Moordryd growled and looked ahead at the track as the race Marshall called out.
“RACERS, ON YOUR MARK. GET READY.” The horn sounded, the gate fell and they were off.

Far below the track, four men in dark cloaks listened to the roar of the crowd above. One of them looked up, then over at the one of the others. He nodded and brought out a mag hammer.

Up on the track, Kaley was trying her best to keep away from Moordryd. He smirked at her and activated his blue star gear. Kaley quickly brought up her staff and hit them away. Astrala sped up and they left him behind. They quickly caught up to Artha and Kitt.
“How are you doing?” Artha asked her. She gave him thumbs up to let him know she was alright. Suddenly, Astrala pricked up her ears and growled.
“What is it, girl?” Kaley asked. Beau and Wyldfyer looked at Astrala.
*what is it?* Beau asked.
*something’s wrong.* she answered *I don’t know what, but I feel like, something bad is going to happen.*
“Astrala?” Kaley sounded worried.
What’s wrong?” Kitt asked. Moordryd whizzed past them, but their minds weren’t on the race right now.
“I don’t know.” Kaley replied. She reached out in front of her. “Hey, girl, what is…” but she stopped. Kaley had reached out her hand to touch Astrala’s head. The minute she did, the track faded. She could here crashing. The sound of a battle. She saw people fighting. Mag streams were flying. A voice, one she knew too well, calling to her. She quickly took her hand off. Artha and Kitt stared at her, worried.
“Kaley, are you ok?” she could here the fear in Kitt’s voice. Kaley didn’t know what to say. She had no idea what had just happened. But she suddenly got the same feeling as Astrala. Something was very wrong here. She looked around. Parmon suddenly came up on Artha’s com link.
“Artha. I’m getting a strange reading. It’s a high concentration of black draconium, right below the track.”
Kaley heard this. Was it possible? But how?
Suddenly, the track shook. Kaley looked up and saw a loose in front of them. It broke free.
“Look out.” the three of them steered their dragons away just as it feel.
“What is going on?” Kitt exclaimed. They entered the tunnel.

Below, the leader turned to the group member with the hammer.
“Do it.” He ordered. The hammer guy magged up and smashed one of the track supports.

Astrala, Beau and Wyldfyer heard it.
*that doesn’t sound good.* Wyldfyer said. The track behind them started to crack. Artha and Kaley looked back.
“GO!” everyone took off. Those who hadn’t enter the tunnel stayed back. Everyone else hurried out. Kaley heard a yell and looked back to see Dorsull hanging over the edge.
“We need to help him.” she urged Astrala back into the tunnel. Dorsull’s dragon was trying to help him, but he couldn’t get to him. Kaley leaped off Astrala.
“Astrala, you get him to safety. I’ll help Dorsull!”
Astrala nodded and urged Dorsull’s dragon out of the tunnel.
Dorsull looked up to see Kaley standing there, holding out her hand.
“Grab on, quick.” he reached up and took her hand and she pulled him up. Once they were back on the track, he turned to thank her.
“No time. We need to go.” The two of them hurried towards the tunnel exit. The racers were hurrying from the track as fast as they could. Kaley was a few feet away from the tunnel exit, which was holding ok, when she tripped and hit her head. The last thing she saw was Artha and Beau, before the tunnel caved in.

Everyone was in full panic. Dragon city security arrived to keep people away from the wreckage. A group of earth-class dragons were clearing away rubble. Phistus and Wulph were over at the wreck with two officers, making sure that everyone had got out ok.
Artha and Kitt looked over as Parmon and Lance ran over to them.
“Are you ok?” Lance asked them, franticly. They both nodded. Parmon looked around. Beau came over with Astrala.
“Where’s Kaley?” he asked. Artha looked over at Astrala. Kaley wasn’t with her. He didn’t see her anywhere. Astrala started groaning. Beau turned to her.
*what happened?”
*She was helping one of the other racers.* she stood frozen, then turned to the pile. Dorsull stood a short way away, being held up by Marianas. Artha relished what must have happened.
“Guys, she might still be in there.”
“Oh no!” Kitt gasped. Artha ran back towards the fallen tunnel, but was blocked by a security officer.
“Stay back, son. It’s still too dangerous.” He said.
“MY FRIEND IS IN THERE!” Artha yelled, trying to get past, but the officer had a firm grip on him. Captain Faier came over. “What’s going on here?”
“Kaley!” Artha yelled at him. “She got caught in the fall. She could be hurt.”
“Calm down. I’m sure she’s fine.” he said. But that was the last thing Artha wanted to do right now. Meanwhile, it was taking the combined efforts of Beau, Wyldfyer and Cyrano to keep Astrala back.
*She needs me.” Astrala roared at them.
*They’ll find her.* Cyrano tried to calm her.
*Let me go!*
*Astrala, calm down,*
*YOU DON’T GET IT. SHE IS MY FRIEND. I’M NOT LEAVING HER.*
“Captain Faier.” They all looked over as one of the officers at the wreck called to them. “There is someone in here.”
Two dragons moved a piece of the fallen structure and Phistus and Wulph reached inside.
Artha couldn’t take much more of this. “Let me through!”
“Young man, please.”
Artha watched as Wulph hauled Kaley out of the wreck. She was unconscious and looked badly hurt.
*KALEY!* Astrala was beside herself.
“She’s hurt. We need to get through!”
“Captain Faier, please.” Parmon said. Captain Faier looked over at Kaley and Shook his head.
“Let them pass.” He said. Artha broke free of the officer and the crew past them. Astrala broke free of Beau and the others and hurried to her friend’s side. Beau followed her. Artha knelt down next to Wulph. Astrala nudged her friend gently.
“Kaley,” Artha called to her. “Kaley, wake up, please.” Suddenly, her head moved. Wulph put a hand above her face.
“She’s breathing. Kaley, can you hear us?”
They waited. Suddenly, she moaned. “Ow.” She opened her eyes and looked at them. “Some one needs to look at that tunnel. It’s not very safe.”
Astrala laughed. Artha just smiled. Kitt, Parmon and Lance gathered over her. Wulph called over to Captain Faier.
“she’s alright.” Captain Faier waved to show that he had heard. Kaley sat up, and groaned.
“steady, not too fast.” Wulph put a hand behind her back to help her. she looked up at Astrala.
“hey girl, are you ok?”
*fine, now that I know you’re alright.* She answered with a grunt.
“we should get you checked out.” Parmon said. Kaley looked at him.
“I’m fine. Just a bit bruised.” She stood up, leaning heavily against the wreck. She took one step, and stumbled. Wulph and Artha caught her.
“you don’t look it.” Kitt remarked. Kaley open her mouth to answer, but changed her mind and shut it. She knew that she was in no real position to argue. She looked at her friends, who were all given her looks of concern.
“seems like I don’t have too much of a choice.” She said. everyone nodded and she allowed herself to be lead away by Artha and Wulph.

The Penn crew stood outside the Dragon Flares tent. Pyrrah was looking over Kaley.
Astrala stood away from the group. Beau went over to her.
*she’ll be ok.* he told her. she looked at him and smiled.
*I know.” She said. *Kaley has always been a strong one.*
Beau stood silently for a moment. *Astrala.*
*yes?*
*on the track, before the tunnel fell. You said that you felt something was going to happen. Did you know this would happen?*
Astrala stood silently for a moment, then looked away. *no. I just had this feeling. It’s hard to explain.*
*something also happened with Kaley. When she touched you’re head. what was that?*
Astrala didn’t know what to say to that. Finally, she answered. *I don’t really know. I don’t really understand it. Kaley and I have just always had this, I don’t know, connection.* After that she just stood. Beau didn’t know what to think. Something was off. thankfully, Pyrrah came out of the tent and went over to the Penn crew. Astrala and Beau went back over. Artha stood up.
“how is she?”
“nothing serious. A few bruises. Sprained ankle, but that should be fine in a few hours. She is a tough girl.”
“well, she has been living on the streets for most of her life.” Kitt said.
“well, I don’t know if that is the best option for her right now.”
Kaley came out of the tent, limping slightly, but other wise ok. another dragon flare followed, ready to catch her. Artha went over to her.
“hey, how are you doing.” She stared at him.
“Fine, just a bit tired of people asking me that.” She replied with a smile. “what about Dorsull?”
“he’s great, thanks to you.” Parmon said. Khatah and Phistus came over.
“the track has been looked over.” Phistus said. “They’re not completely certain, but it looks like one of the support post below the track collapsed. It’s just fortunate that the tunnel was so well supported or it would have been a real disaster.”
“But how could it just collapse?” Parmon asked. “those columns are incredibly strong and have been re-enforced many times. It would take a massive amount of force to bring it down.”
“right before it fell, I thought I felt the track shake, like something had rammed into it.” Artha told them. everyone stood silently.
“well, luckily, no-one was seriously hurt.” Kitt said finally. “What’s happening now?”
“the track shouldn’t take long to fix.” Khatah added. “But Dragon City security is putting all races on hold until that find out what caused this. they say that they can’t completely garuntee the safety of the racers.”
Kaley stood, thinking back. She had felt the shake, but something else had happened. When she had touched Astrala and received that vision. And, the feeling, one she knew. Was it possible? If so, then her friends were in danger. Because of her.

END CHAPTER 3.

I have almost finished chapter four, so it should be up soon. please give me feed back. this is my first one and i really want to know what people think and if i should keep going. I also have a picture of Astrala if anyone wants to see.

please respond. next chapter should be up soon.

hey. i understand that chapter three might not have been as good as the first two.
i have the next one here. hope it's ok.
let me know what you think.

Chapter 4
Later that afternoon, the official announcement was made, suspending all races until further notice. Kaley was a lot better, though she still couldn’t shake that feeling. She sat silently nearby while the Penn Crew was talking.
“How long do you think it’s going to be?” Kitt asked.
“Who knows?” Parmon said. “This has never happened before. They have to be sure it’s safe.”
“I don’t think this was an accident.” Artha said.
“What do you mean?” Kitt asked him.
“Remember how the track shook before the collapse, like it was being hit?”
“And I did pick up that reading below the track.” Parmon added.
“This is getting really weird.” Lance said.
“I think we should go take a look.” Artha said.
Beau suddenly gave Artha an urgent nudge in the back. He jumped slightly and turned.
“Whoa. Hey, what’s up with you?” Beau just grunted urgently. He sounded worried.
“Beau, what is it?”
Parmon looked around, then turned to the others.
“Um, where’s Kaley?”
They all looked around. Kaley and Astrala were gone. Khatah was nearby. Artha went over to him.
“Khatah, have you seen Kaley?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
Artha didn’t understand. Why would she just vanish? There was definitely something going on. And they needed to find out what.
“Guy’s, we need to find her.”

Kaley slipped gently out of Astrala’s saddle. They were on the level below the track, the huge columns that held it up looming above them. The two of them stared up at the huge gap in the track. A whole section had fallen away. The area of the track that held the tunnel was well supported. Some parts had fallen, but it seemed most of the damage was on the track.
Going over to the pile of rubble, Kaley knelt and examined what was left of two of the track posts.
“Parmon’s right. These look really strong. They couldn’t have collapsed on their own.” She looked up at the support post under the track.
“Can you mag me up there, Astrala?” she asked.
*Sure.* Astrala replied and carried her rider up very gently on her mag stream. Kaley noticed a dent near the top. She signaled to Astrala and the dragon stopped lifting, but kept her mag stream stable. Kaley examined the dent. It looked rather deep. The post had apparently been struck with a great force. There were imprints of spikes. Like a mallet or a mag hammer.
“Ok, a bit higher girl.” She called. She went up until she came level with the track. She looked over, and then ducked. Two men were examining the fallen tunnel.
One of them heard a sound and gestured to the other. They went to the edge and looked over. No one was there. They looked at each other, then left.
Kaley held on tightly to the support frame under the track. She listened as the two men left. Once they were gone, she gently climbed back up. Holding onto the guard rail on the side of the track, she looked closely at the tunnel frame, or rather, the part that was still connected to the track.
The frame looked like it had snapped. But the metal was too strong. It couldn’t have broken on its own. Then she noticed some of the pieces nearby were scorched, like they had been blasted.
“This was no accident.” She concluded. She looked back down and waved to Astrala, who had slipped out of the alley where she had been hiding. Kaley slid down the post and Astrala sent up a stream and caught her half way. Once she was on the ground, Kaley told Astrala what she had seen.
“I can’t believe this.” she said, leaning against the post. “I was sure they wouldn’t find us here.”
*if it is them, can we be sure they were trying to get us* Astrala grunted. *And can we really be sure it’s them anyway?*
Kaley had no idea what she was saying, but she had a good idea. “That feeling on the track, the vision. What else could they mean?”
A small piece of rock fell, making them both jump. They looked over at the pile. A piece of rubble had tumbled down the pile. Kaley looked closely at the pile. There was something there. She moved closer, knelt down and moved a few piece of the fallen track. Suddenly, she gasped and drew back, a look of fear on her face. Astrala stared at her.
*Kaley, what is it?* Kaley just stood. Astrala followed her riders gaze, and gasped. Lying near the bottom of the pile was a gear. But this one wasn’t a normal racing type gear. It was a small round one, black, green and purple. It seemed smooth, except for the spikes that lined the inner circle. In the middle, a small black button. Both dragon and rider stood, not believing this. They had seen a gear like this only once. Kaley knew it could only mean one thing.
“It is them.” she whispered. Some how, they had found her. She didn’t know how.
Images of the past few days flashed across her mind.
Her asleep in the alley with Astrala. Her standing with Artha and his friends, after they had run into each other at the stable. Artha and Kitt lending her the gear for her first race. Her and Astrala tearing down the track. The first meeting with the Dragon Eyes. The night that she almost lost to them. The Dragon Booster. That day’s race.
The day she told them about her parents.
Other memories started to come to her. One’s that she had not told her friends of.
A boy, teaching her how fight, to ride. A man, holding out an amulet. A battle. The boy yelling in pain.
Kaley turned away from the pile and started to cry. Astrala placed her head on her riders shoulder and Kaley hugged her. Images of the race that day, the tunnel collapsing, crossed her mind. It was happening again. Why? Why could she not escape this? Her past followed her where ever she went. And because of that, her friends were now in danger. And it was all because of her. She had brought this here.
“We need to go.” She said. Astrala stared at her.
“We don’t have a choice, girl. Maybe they don’t know yet, but if they find out we’re here, then everyone, Artha, Kitt, Parmon, Lance, Beau, everyone. I can’t let that happen. If we go know, then maybe they will follow us and leave Dragon City alone.”
Astrala didn’t really see how this plan could work. Nor was she very happy about leaving this place. She pulled back and shook her head.
“I know. I don’t want to leave either. But I can’t see another way. If we stay here, then we risk them finding us. And we risk putting our friends in danger.”
*What, so we just leave?* Astrala grunted. Just disappear, no explanation. She didn’t see how that would help anyone. Kaley sat down. The truth was she didn’t want to leave. These past few weeks had made her happier than she had been in years. Being with the Penn crew made her feel like she belonged somewhere. It had been great, she had a home again.
Kaley looked up suddenly. She could hear the sound of feet thumping. Quickly, she and Astrala hid. From the shadows of the side street, she saw two dragons stalk by. Kaley stared at them. They were bipedal dragon. Both were covered in what looked like black shadow and control gear. Their eyes were red. On their heads was a strange black gear that Kaley had never seen before. The really scary thing was neither dragon had a rider.
The two dragons paused and looked around. Kaley and Astrala stayed as still and quiet as possible. After a few minutes, the dragons left. Kaley and Astrala slipped out of the shadows.
“Well, what do we have here?” Kaley froze. Scales, she thought. This was all she needed right now. Very slowly, she turned to face Moordryd. He sat smuggle in Decepshun’s saddle, Cain right next to him on Coershun. Kaley heard two more come up behind her. They were surrounded.
“And what are you two doing wandering the streets at this time of night?” he said will the others laughed. “Don’t you know it’s not safe?”
“Not much is these days, Moordryd.” Kaley replied. She was trying to keep her voice steady. “What do you want?”
“Not much.” Moordryd answered her. “Just your dragon.”
Kaley looked at Astrala, then back at Moordryd. “What do you want with her?” she said firmly. Moordryd smiled and she realized it. “I don’t believe it. How could you?”
“I don’t see why I should explain myself to you. Hand over your dragon and no-one gets hurt.”
“You really think I’m going to let you take my best friend away.” Kaley reached for her mag staff, but Cain fired a trapping gear at her. It caught her right in the chest and she flew back and was trapped against a wall. Astrala roared.
*you’re going to pay for that!* she yelled at the Dragon Eyes.
*who’s going to make us? You?* Decepshun sneered.
Moordryd laughed as Kaley struggled against the trapping gear, her face furious. “But your dragon is coming with us.”
The other two Dragon Eyes fired penning gear at Astrala.
“NO!” Kaley yelled, watching her struggle as the gear drained her energy.
“Terribly sorry.” Moordryd said, not sounding the least bit sorry. Coershun fired a towing gear at Astrala. Kaley struggled harder against the gear. She couldn’t let them take Astrala.
“Let her go.” Astrala looked over at her friend. She could see the pain and anger in her eyes. Something stirred inside her. A strange power.
Suddenly, Astrala started to glow faintly. The Dragon Eyes stared at her.
“What’s happening?” Cain said nervously. Kaley watched as Astrala let out a huge roar. What was happening to her? Everyone gasped as Astrala threw off the penning gear and sent a mag stream at the trapping gear that was holding Kaley to the wall.
“Look out!” the Dragon Eyes ducked as the gear overloaded and let off a blast. Kaley was released and fell to the ground. She stood up, looked at her friend and hit the deck as Astrala let off a huge mag burst that knocked back the Dragon Eyes. The towing gear fell off. Astrala stopped glowing and went over to Kaley, who stood up. Kaley stared at her.
“Where did that come from?!” she exclaimed. In all the years they had known each other, Kaley had never seen anything like it. Astrala just stood.
They heard a groan and looked around to see Moordryd get up. He looked mad.
“I have had enough of you!” He yelled, activating his staff. He magged up and soared towards her. She grabbed her staff and magged up. They met in mid air, their staffs clashing. Moordryd aimed a blow at her, but she blocked it and retaliated. The two of them fought hard. Kaley made the final blow, knocking Moordryd back. At the same time, Astrala blasted Decepshun, throwing her back and cutting off her stream. Moordryd fell and landed right on top of Cain. Kaley magged down.
“Great work, girl.” She said to Astrala. The Dragon Eyes started to get back up. Kaley knew she didn’t really have much of a chance against all of them.
“I think we should go now.” She said. Astrala magged her up and ran, leaping over one of the fallen dragons.
“GET THEM!” Kaley could hear Moordryd yelling at his crew.

A few streets down, Parmon activated the comm. Link on his saddle. Artha spoke to him.
“Anything?” he asked.
“Nothing.” Parmon replied. It had been two hours since Kaley had disappeared and they were really starting to get anxious.
“I don’t get it. Why would she just run off?” Lance asked.
“She was rather shaken after the race.” Parmon said.
“You don’t think she could have…” but suddenly they heard a crash.
“What was that?”
“Check it out.” Artha told them. Parmon turned off the screen and Fracshun and Cyrano hurried to the entrance to a small street just off the main road. They heard what sounded like thumping. They were just a few meters away when a large dragon rounded the corner at a top speed.
CRASH! The three dragons collided. Parmon and Lance were thrown from their saddles. Parmon stood up angrily and turned to the other dragon’s rider, who had also been thrown from their saddle and was laying a few feet away.
“HEY. WHY DON’T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU’RE…” he stopped suddenly. “Kaley?” she looked up at them. She was panting. Her face was red.
“Parmon! Lance!” she got up quickly.
The dragons were also getting up.
*Fancy running into you here.* Astrala said.
*Where have you two been?* Fracshun said urgently. *We’ve been looking everywhere.*
*Long story.* Astrala said.
“What are you guys doing here?” Kaley asked them.
“Looking for you.” Parmon said. “Why did you disappear like that?”
“I, uh.” Kaley didn’t know what to say. She realized she might as well tell them. “I went to check out the track.”
“Why didn’t you wait for us?”
“I couldn’t. I needed to have a look. You were right, Parm. Those post were too strong to have broken by themselves. They…” she broke off. This wasn’t the best place to stand and talk.
“What.” Lance said.
“This isn’t really the best place. Where are Artha and Kitt?”
“Looking for you.” Lance said. Parmon activated his comm. link.
“Artha, we found her.”
“Great.” Artha’s said. Suddenly, they heard a roar and turned to see three wraith dragons.
“Like I said, not the best place to talk.” Kaley said.
The three dragons advanced slowly, growling.
“Parm, what is that?” Artha voice from the comm. link startled them.
“Just a slight wraith problem.” Parmon replied. Kaley looked at him, not understanding. Wraith? She stared back at the dragons. Their red eyes were fixed on the three humans. It was a frightening sight.
With out a second thought, Astrala, Cyrano and Fracshun magged their riders into their saddles. The group turned, but found two more wraiths coming at them from that direction.
“This complicates matters.” Kaley said. Parmon smiled and activated his green ramming gear.
“Stay close.” And Cyrano ran at the two dragons, bashing them out of the way. Astrala and Fracshun followed closely. The wraiths got up and chased after them. Kaley looked back to see them power up.
“Watch out!” the group dodged mag blasts as they ran. Kaley looked ahead and saw a large support pillar.
“Astrala.”
*way ahead of ya?* the dragon grunted to her. She aimed a blast at the post. It started to crumble.
“QUICK!” the three of them ran, just managing to make it under before the huge post fell, stopping the wraiths in there tracks. They didn’t stop, though. They rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. Phistus, Khatah, Wulph and Pyrrah were battling with a group of 7 wraith dragons.
“Oh boy.”
Suddenly, they all looked around as Kitt skidded to a halt next to them.
“What’s happened here?” she asked.
“We just got here.” Parmon replied. Kaley noticed something was wrong.
“Where is Artha?” she asked. Kitt was silent. Kaley didn’t like the look she was getting from her. “What happened?” she asked, urgently. A cold fear gripped her. Had her worst fear come true?
“We got separated.” Kitt answered.
“How?” Kaley was desperate. She didn’t see how the others could be so calm about this.
“Can we hold this?” Lance said. “We have bigger problems.”
Kaley knew he was right. She activated her blocking staff. Kitt and Parmon did the same.
“Let’s hope he’s not too far behind.” She said. They heard a roar behind them and turned to face the five wraiths that had appeared behind them.

END OF CHAPTER 4

very cool keep up the good work.

this is good. continue please?

thanks for the feedback. got the next part right here.

Chapter 5
“Khatah, BEHIND YOU!” Khatah turned and knock back the wraith dragon. But they were really starting to close in. they were having a lot of trouble. Kaley was doing her best, but she didn’t know how long they could keep this up. Suddenly there was a huge blast and at least three wraith dragons were knocked back. She turned and saw the Dragon Booster hurrying onto the scene. Kaley sighed in relief. Talk about perfect timing. But she had to duck to avoid a stray mag stream. When she sat up, he was right next to her.
“Am I too late?” he asked.
“No.” she replied. “As a matter of fact you’re just in time.”
They looked over and saw Wulph and Phistus having a hard time. “I think they need our help. Come on, boy.” Beau and Astrala magged their riders over.

Above them, a figure in a dark hooded cloak watched the battle. He signaled to three others to be ready.

Back on the ground, the down city crew members were starting to do better. With help from the Dragon Booster, they were able to drive the wraiths away.
“Great job, everyone.” he said. But Kitt wasn’t smiling. She was looking up.
“I don’t think it’s over yet.” She said. Everyone looked where she was looking. Four dark figures stood above them. Kaley froze. It was them. The figures leaped down, landing with a huge crash that shook the ground.
The dragon in the middle came forward, the rider lifted his head. Kaley was shaking. Parmon looked at her.
“Kaley, what’s wrong?” she didn’t answer. The man smiled and nodded to the others. Each dragon let off a huge mag burst. The force knocked everyone back. The three dragons on the side charged forward. So did the down city council members. Khatah and Phistus went for the one on the left. Pyrrah and Wulph took the one on the far right. The one middle right charged for Kitt and Parmon. The leader charged at Kaley. The dragon rammed into Astrala and she and Kaley were thrown back and slammed against a wall.
“Let’s get him, Beau.” The dark rider looked up as the Dragon Booster and his dragon charged at him. Both riders magged up and fought.

Kaley looked around. Wulph and Phistus were down. Kitt didn’t look too good either. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Astrala growled. Kaley stood for a moment, then an imaged past through her mind.

Her mother hurried out of an old stable on her dragon. Her town in ruins. Her, lying against Astrala in her stall. A boy, teaching her, helping her, fighting beside her. Taken down by the men she saw here.

She looked down at her mag staff. Suddenly, her fear was replaced by rage. She turned to Astrala.
“Come on girl.”
Kitt gasped as her staff was knocked out of her hands. Parmon was lying against a wall. The man brought up his staff, but just as he was bringing it down a mag stream caught him and he flew about ten feet and crashed. Artha turned when he heard the crash. Astrala had picked the guy up with her mag stream and hurled him. His eyes fell on Kaley and he gasped. The look on her face was one of pure rage and determination. He noticed a slight ting a fear, but is was only just noticeable. He turned back just in time to block a strike from his attacker.
The other man got up and signaled to his dragon, who magged him up. Astrala magged Kaley up towards him. He lashed out at her with his staff, but she brought hers up and blocked the blow. He continually tried to strike her, but she was too quick for him. She heard a crash and looked over to see the Dragon Booster knock his opponent into a wall. Her opponent took advantage of this and struck out, knocking her back. At the same time, the black dragon charged at Astrala, slamming into her and making her break her mag stream. Kaley landed hard on the ground. Her attacker soared down at her, but Kitt and Parmon came up and fought with him. The leader’s dragon aimed a blast at Beau and threw him back. His rider stood up and saw Kaley lying on the ground. Hanging around her neck, he saw it. A silver amulet. He smiled and approached her. She looked up, saw him coming towards her.
“We meet again.” He whispered.
Kaley stood quickly, raising her staff.
“Foolish child.” He whispered. “Just like your brother.” Kaley tried to stay calm, but her fear was starting to over whelm her. At the mention of her brother, she felt her rage start to flare. She took a strike at him, but he caught the staff and yanked it out of her hands, before bringing his out and whacking her. She flew back and crashed to the ground. The man pulled out a gear, just like the one Kaley had found at the base of the track. Kaley looked up, saw it and backed away from him. Very slowly, he advanced on her. She back right up against a wall and just sat there, unable to move as he drew closer. Her fear over took her as an image flashed across her mind. A boy yelling in pain, falling to the ground. A young girl screaming. She could hear the pain and fear in her voice. The figure that stood above her raised the gear at her.
*KALEY.* Astrala let out a huge roar. She tried to stand but couldn’t. Artha and Beau heard her and looked over to where Kaley sat. Artha saw the man raise the gear; saw his friend paralyzed in fear.
“BEAU, MAG ME!” he yelled. Beau magged him up and he soared at the man.
Kaley closed her eyes. But instead of hearing the gear activate, she heard a yell and a crash and looked up to see her attacker lying on the ground and Dragon Booster standing over her. She stood up gently.
“Are you alright?” He asked her. She nodded. He turned to the man, who stood up.
“Very impressive, young hero.” he said menacingly. “But you can’t protect her for ever. We will be back.” He magged up onto his dragon and called to the others. One of them held up a mag hammer and slammed it on the ground. The ground started to shake violently. The three other men magged onto their dragons and the group disappeared. The ground started to crack.
“RUN.” Everybody ran. A pain suddenly shot through Kaley’s right side and she fell. Artha saw her go down.
“PHISTUS. KHATAH. GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE!” he yelled. They both nodded and started herding everyone towards the building area. Artha ran back over to Kaley and bent down to help her.
“We need to go.” He urged her. She looked up at him, and then looked around.
“Where’s Astrala?” Artha looked around. He didn’t see her anywhere. Kaley looked really scared.
“Come on.” Artha pulled her up. Suddenly, the platform cracked and tilted. Artha and Kaley slid towards the edge and over the side. Artha could hear the others yelling, dragons roaring. Quickly, he activated the glider on his armor and soared down towards Kaley. He grabbed her and they glided down to a small shelf a few meters below. The glider folded back in and he gently lay Kaley down against a wall. He knelt down next to her. She looked badly hurt. Lance popped up on his comm. link and he gently moved away from her before answering.
“Artha, are you ok?” Lance asked.
“I’m fine.” He told his brother. “Kaley looks hurt, though.” He looked around at her, then back to Lance. “Is Astrala with you?”
“Yeah. She’s with Beau. Hold tight, we’ll get you up.” he tuned out and Artha stood there. He didn’t understand what had just happened. Those men were unlike anything he had seen before. One thing that really confused him was the last words from the leader. “You can’t protect her forever.” What did he mean? Something was up. The look on Kaley’s face when she saw them. The way she fought. The way she re-acted when the man had pulled out that strange gear. Kaley had said something about a crew that had attacked her town. But she had been hiding in the stables when they attacked. Yet she looked like she knew them. What was going on? Was it possible she hadn’t told them everything? Artha heard a slight moan behind him and turned to see Kaley stirring. He went over and knelt down beside her. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up.
“Don’t try to move. You’ve had a bad fall.” He told her. She lay back. “How are you doing?”
“Feel like I’ve crashed against a wall.” She answered.
“Guess that’s one way of putting it.” Artha said. There were a few things he needed to know.
“Kaley, what happened up there?” he asked. Kaley looked away.
“I don’t really know.”
“I think you do. I saw what happened with that man. That look you gave him. Your reaction to the gear. It’s almost like you knew him.”
Kaley was still for a moment, then she signed. She should have known. “I know him. But it’s hard to explain.”
“Why?”
Artha could see the pain in her eyes. The fear. The effect of a life of running. She seemed to be trying her best not to cry in front of him.
“I can’t believe this happened. I’ve been trying to hide from these people for years. But I don’t understand why.”
It was clear she had had a shock, so maybe this wasn’t the best time to talk about it.
“Can you stand?” he asked her. She nodded and he gently helped her up. She tried to stand on her own but the pain in her side gave out again and she stumbled. Artha caught her. She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
They looked over as grappling hook came down. Artha took hold of it with one arm and put the other around Kaley. “Hold on.” He told her. She placed her arms loosely around him and they were hoisted up. They weren’t that far away from where they had fallen from. Khatah, Wulph and Parmon leaned over the edge.
“Are you alright?” Parmon called.
“I’m ok.” Artha called back. “But Kaley’s hurt.” They reached the top and Parmon and Khatah reached down to help. Artha lifted Kaley up to them and they reached out and pulled her up. Wulph held out his hand and help Artha up. Once back on the platform, he took a deep breath and straightened up. Khatah and Parmon helped Kaley over to a stack of boxes and gently helped her sit. She groaned slightly.
Artha turned to Wulph. “How is everyone doing here?” he asked.
“We’re alright, thankfully.” Wulph replied. Kitt came over and stood next to him.
“You really gave us a scare.” She said.
Kaley looked at Parmon.
“Where’s Astrala?” she asked.
“Over there.” he replied.
Astrala came over and stood next to her. She stood up to hug her friend, but stumbled. Parmon caught her and helped her sit back down. Astrala looked concerned.
“I’m ok, girl. How are you?” Astrala grunted to show she was alright. Beau came over.
*How is she?* he asked.
*She says she’s fine, but she doesn’t look It.* she answered. She lowered her head.
*Who were those men?* Beau asked her.
* It was them.* she replied.
*Them?* Cyrano asked. *Who’s them?*
Astrala sighed. *The ones who attacked our home.*
*That was them?* Fracshun asked.
*Not all of them.* the other dragons stared at her.
*But I thought that you and Kaley didn’t see the attack.* Wyldfyer asked. Astrala looked at them, and realized that hiding the truth was no longer a good idea.
*That wasn’t the only time they attacked us.* She said.
*WHAT!!?* The four dragons stared at her.
*Why didn’t you say something?*
*Kaley.* Astrala looked over at her friend. *She doesn’t like to speak about it. The memory is still too near.*
The conversation was cut short by the sound of approaching sirens. Everyone turned to see three blue dragons pull up near them. Captain Faire got down from his dragon and Artha, Wulph and Kitt went over to him.
“Dragon Booster, what happened? We heard there had been an attack.”
“We we’re just recovering from a wraith dragon attack when these four men on black dragons came out of nowhere.” Wulph told him.
“This is troubling.” Phistus said.
“Did you see those riders?” Parmon said. “Their skill was incredible. The way they fought was, well, I don’t know how to describe it.”
“They were well trained.” Artha said. “Their style of fighting was very similar to that used in the dragon human war.”
“But what did they want?” Khatah put in.
“I don’t know.” Artha told him. “But I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of them. Phistus, Khatah, Wulph, Pyrrah.” The four crew leaders looked at him. “I need you to put all the down city crews on the look out. If they strike again we have to be ready.”
“Of course, Dragon Booster.” Phistus assured him.
“We will make sure everyone is aware of them.” Pyrrah agreed.
“Captain Faire, you’ll need to issue a warning. These men are clearly dangerous; we need everyone on the look out.”
“Yes Dragon Booster.”
Artha looked over at Kaley. It clearly wasn’t safe for her to be out here. He gestured to Parmon and Kitt. And they walked away from the group.
“Guys, I think they were after Kaley.” He told them. They both gasped and he motioned for them to be quiet.
“How do you know?” Parmon asked.
“Before you guys pulled us up, she told me that this wasn’t the first time she had seen them. I think they could be the ones who attacked her home.”
“But how would she know them. Wasn’t she hiding in the stables when they attacked?” Kitt asked. Artha saw what she meant. There was defiantly something wrong here.
“But how did they find her?” Parmon asked, looking nervous.
“And what do they want?” Kitt added.
Artha stood for a moment. “I don’t know. But I do know it’s not safe for Kaley to be out here anymore. They said they would be back, that we couldn’t protect her forever. You guys take her to the hospital, make sure she’s ok. I’ll go and tell Mortis what happened. Maybe he’ll know something?” his friends nodded and he turned and climbed onto Beau’s saddle.
“Come on, boy.” Beau nodded and they left. Kitt and Parmon watched till they were out of site, then went back to over to the others.

Artha and Beau, back in racing form, walked out of the elevator and along the passage lined with the statues of dragon priests. Mortis stood a short way away, watching a fold down screen. It showed a reporter talking about the attack.
“Dragon City residents are warned to be on the look out for this mystery crew.” the reporter said.
Captain Faire came up on the screen. “These men are armed and very dangerous. Citizens are advised to take extreme caution. Any sightings should be reported immediately. Under no circumstances are this crew to be approached.” The screen folded up and Mortis turned around to face Artha.
“This is troubling.” Mortis said. “Do you know what they were after?”
“I have a strange feeling it has something to do with Kaley. She seemed like she knew these men.”
“How?”
“Remember when she told us about her parents, how they were attacked. I think these men were the same ones. The really strange thing is she doesn’t know why they’re after her. At least, that’s what she said.”
“You have doubts.”
“Well, the look she gave the men indicated that she recognized them. The problem is, when they attacked her home, her mother got her to hide in the stable so she didn’t see much.”
Mortis was silent for a while. It was clear something was up. Suddenly, Beau received a vision. A memory of his ancestor, the original Beaucephulis.

A group of men in dark armor on black dragons. A silver and blue dragon trying to hold them back. One her head, a mark. A hand and a claw. She went down. The largest dragon advanced. Suddenly, a gold stream knocked him back. The Dragon of Legend stood there, the Dragon Booster with him.

The memory ended. Beau shook his head. Something about the silver dragon was, familiar.
“What is it, Beau?” Artha sounded concerned.
“I think Beau could be onto something.” Mortis said. “Artha, what type of dragon does Kaley ride?”
“I’m not sure.” Artha said. “Astrala is white and blue, but she is unlike any dragon I have ever seen.”
Mortis stood, thinking. Then he looked up. “What color is her mag stream?”
Artha was about to answer that it was white, but stopped. He suddenly remembered something. When they lent Kaley and Astrala some of their gear for their first race. Artha thought back for a moment, and then gasped as he released it. Astrala’s mag stream wasn’t white, it was…
“Silver!” Artha didn’t know why he hadn’t seen it before. He knew about the silver draconium crew. Astrala wasn’t like any dragon he had seen. And the bond between them was so strong. “How could I have been so stupid? I should have seen it.”
“You couldn’t have known.” Mortis told him. “It’s rather like the situation you have with Beau. You both have to hide who you are not only to protect yourselves, but those you care about.”
Artha stood there. He knew that Mortis had a point. Kaley had definitely been through a lot. Artha still had a feeling there was more to her story. But he couldn’t expect her to let everything out. She still had no idea about him and Beau. But he knew it wasn’t over. Because there seemed to be more to this than even Kaley knew.
“Where is she now?” Mortis asked.
“I got Kitt and Parmon to take her to the hospital. She was rather banged up; I wanted to make sure she’s alright.”
“I should probably speak with her. Bring her here as soon as you can. It is obvious that there is more to this than we know.”

Not far away, Word Paynn stood in the control room of his citadel, watching the battle. Moordryd and Cain stood nearby.
“It seems,” Word said, turning to face his son, “that we have underestimated our young friend. She fights with the strength and skill of an ancient warrior. I think that she and her dragon could be the answer to our problems.”
“How?” Moordryd had no idea what his father was thinking.
“Just think, Moordryd. If we could convince her to join us, she would be a powerful asset. She could help us destroy the Dragon Booster.”
Moordryd stared at his father. He could already see a hundred and one flaws in this plan.
“And, how would we do that? In case you haven’t noticed, she has already made friends with the Dragon Booster and the stable brats.”
“Not to mention she’s kicked your butt twice.” Cain added. Moordryd glared at him.
“I am aware of this, Moordryd.” Word said calmly. “But I’m sure with a bit of persuasion; we can help her to see things our way.”

“Parmon, it’s not that bad.” Kaley insisted as he supported her out of the Dragon City Hospital. After a close checkup, the doctor concluded that her injury wasn’t major, but she needed to rest it for a while.
“I just want to make sure.” Parmon said.
“I appreciate that” she told him. “But I have been living on the streets for the past few years. I survived a wraith dragon attack and a collapsed tunnel. I think I can handle a slight bruising.” Parmon thought about it for a moment, and then removed his supporting arm slowly. Kaley gently straightened up, groaning a bit from the slight pain in her side. Astrala grunted in concern.
“Hey, don’t you start.” Kaley told her. She slowly went over to her, trying not to groan or give any sign that she was hurting. Astrala bent her head and Kaley stroked her friend gently. She stood for a moment, then turned to Kitt.
“Did you manage to get a hold of Artha?” She asked.
The Penn crew stood silent for a moment. They had a feeling this was coming.
“Well…” Lance started, but at that moment they heard a thudding and everyone turned to see Artha and Beau coming towards them. Beau stopped and Artha got down. Kaley breathed a sigh of relief. They were ok, though she noticed that he looked a bit ruffled.
“Hey guys.” He went over to Kaley. “How are you doing?” he asked her.
“Bit of a bashing, but I’ll survive.” She said. “I’m not as fragile as I look, remember.”
Artha shook his head. He had noticed that Kaley had a tendency to be pretty resilient. Though that didn’t stop him worrying.
“Where were you, by the way?” she asked. “We really could have used your help.”
“Uh.” Artha knew he should have seen this. “I had a run in with a few wraith dragons on the way. Took me a while to fight them off.” Kaley looked at him suspiciously. She kept getting the feeling he was keeping something from her. But she just shrugged and turned back to Astrala. Artha was starting to feel really bad about lying to her. True, sometimes lying was necessary to protect those you care about, but in some cases, it was better to be honest. Of course, he wasn’t the only one with the problem.
“Parmon, Kitt. Can I talk to you for a second?” he asked. They nodded and Artha led then over to a nearby fallen sign.
“So what did Mortis say?” Parmon asked.
Artha relayed his conversation with Mortis. When he was done, Kitt and Parmon were silent for a moment. Finally, Kitt spoke.
“Astrala is a silver dragon!”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think Kaley knows that?” Parmon wondered.
“I don’t know. But she definitely knew that crew.”
“So you think that they were after Astrala?”
“I think they were after Kaley and Astrala. You say she went to check out the track by herself?”
“Yes.”
“Why would she do that?” the three of them stood, wondering.
“Anyway, Mortis said he wanted to speak to her. we should bring them to the dragon cave.”
They went back over to where Kaley was sitting down next to Lance. They looked up as the group approached.
“Kaley, I think you better come with us. There is someone you should speak to.”
Kaley looked a bit uncertain, but she stood up. she went over and climbed into Astrala’s saddle. Artha stood next to them, arms raised, ready to catch her if she fell. She got up alright, but when she looked back down at Artha, she noticed something one his right arm. Something gold.

END OF CHAPTER 5

please read and review. next one should be up soon.

finally finished chapter 6. let me know what you think.

Chapter 6
Kaley stared as they left the elevator. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw they were in a large stone passage. The statues of dragon priests stood along the passage. Kaley gently got out of Astrala’s saddle. Her side wasn’t hurting as much, so she could walk. She went over to one of the statues and stood there. She crossed her arms over her chest and bowed as a sign of respect. When she straightened up, Artha was standing next to her. She noticed that his eyes seemed to shine in the light from the statue.
Kaley turned suddenly. She had heard something.
“What was that?”
A sudden movement in the shadows caught her eyes. A tall man walked forward out of the shadows. Kaley could hardly believe her eyes. She thought that the original Dragon Priest Order had vanished. But there he stood. Artha walked over to the dragon priest and spoke to him. The priests then turned to Kaley. Artha gestured for her to come forward. Slowly, she approached them.
“I’m glad to finally meet you Kaley. Artha has told me much about you. I am Mortis.”
Kaley looked over at Artha, who grinned nervously. She turned back to the priest and bowed gently.
“It’s an honor.” She said. Mortis waited until she had straightened up before speaking again.
“And this must be Astrala.” He said, walking over to her dragon. Kaley just stood and Mortis reached up and touched Astrala. Then, very slowly, he lowered his hand and went back over to Kaley.
“I understand there was a bit of a disturbance this evening. It seems that you knew these men.”
Kaley stared at him. “How…”
“I heard from the Dragon Booster.” Mortis said before she could even ask the question.
She turned to look at the others.
“I knew it was them when I went to look at the track. I had a bad feeling, that’s why I went alone. If I was right, I didn’t want to get you involved because I was afraid of putting you in danger.” She explained to them about what she had discovered at the track, and about the gear.
“When I saw it, I was scared. I thought I had escaped from them. I don’t know how they found me.”
“What do you mean?” Parmon asked. But Artha already knew.
“They’re the ones who killed you’re parents. The crew that destroyed your home.”
Kaley nodded.
“But how would you know. I thought you said that you and Astrala were hidden when they attacked.”
Kaley went over to Astrala. She didn’t know what to say. The dragon stared at her. Kaley knew she was right. She took a deep breath and looked at the Penn Crew.
“I’m sorry.” She said honestly. “I never wanted to lie. Don’t get me wrong, I trust you guys. You’ve been like family to me ever since I first met you. That’s why I couldn’t tell you. I was afraid the truth would put you in danger. Plus the memory was still too near for me. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
She looked at Astrala, who nodded. Kaley knew she was right. These were here friends. They had a right to know.
“What I told you of my parents was true, but I didn’t tell you the whole story.”
Slowly, she sat down on a flat stone and looked around at them.
“After the raid, I didn’t know what to do. Astrala and I stayed in the stable for a few days. Finally some one found us.”

Kaley lay against Astrala, unable to sleep. She was weak with hunger. Suddenly, a sound out side made them both look up. Astrala went to her stall entrance as two men entered the stable. She growled, but they approached slowly.
“It’s alright.” One of them said. Astrala just stood. After a few seconds, she moved out. One of the men looked into the stall and saw Kaley there. He hurried over as she stood. She didn’t know who he was, but she knew he was one of her people. As he reached her, she took a few steps, and then fainted into his arms.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, Kaley found herself in a large cave. The room lit by great lamps. The walls were covered with drawings. Pictures of humans and dragons. At the head of the room, three men in silver amour stood before a group of young boys. Some of them had bandaged arms and legs. Each one looked rather battered.
One of the men walked over them. Astrala was silent.
“We found these two in the stable.” one of them said. The man that had come over felt her head. It seemed rather warm.
“This one’s in a bad way. She’ll need to be treated right away.”
The man who was holding her nodded and slowly carried her out of the room.

When she woke again, she was in another large room. Stone benches lined the walls, each with pillows and blankets. She was in one of the beds down the end. One man sat next to her. When he saw she was awake, he smiled. She sat up quickly, scared, but he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down.
“It’s alright, Kaley. You’re safe. You’ve just been ill. For a while we were scared you might not pull through. But you proved us wrong.”
Kaley recognized him; he was the man who met her when she came in. the one who had felt her.
“Who are you? Where am I?” she had so many questions right now, but the man stopped her before she could get too far.
“You’re in the Citadel of the Silver Dragons, one of the last remaining strongholds of the silver draconium empire. I am Cirran.”
“What happened? Where are mum and dad? Where is Astrala?”
Cirran bowed his head. He didn’t know what to say. How was someone supposed to tell a child that their parents were dead?
“I’m sorry, Kaley. The town was attack. Your parents were lost.”
The last words struck Kaley so hard that she didn’t know what to think. Suddenly, she started to cry. Cirran brushed a loose strand of hair pack from pale face.
“Not many did survive. But Astrala is safe. She is here too.” He looked around, nodded at someone and turned back to her. “there is someone else who you might be happy to see.” he stood up and moved aside as a young boy of about 9 hurried up to her bedside.
“Kaley.” She looked into the boy’s eyes. The same as her father.
“Lyam!” Her spirits lifted as she sat up to hug her brother.

After a few weeks, when everyone had had a chance to recover, Cirran gathered everyone in the main hall. Kaley noticed that she was the only girl here. And most of the boys were only a few years older than her. The only adults were Cirran and four other men.
Cirran explained to them that they were the last of there people. Not a very cheerful thing to tell a group of kids given the circumstances, but he felt it was necessary that they understand.
“The silver dragons are all but gone. But the ways of the past must be remembered. You are the only hope for our people. We will instruct you all in the ways of the ancients. The most important thing you must remember is that only when we stand together, can we truly prevail.”

Kaley sat watching the boys. Her mind was far away. Lyam looked over at her and spoke to one of his friends, who nodded? He then walked over and sat next to his sister. Astrala stood on her other side.
“Hey.” He said, bringing her back to the present. “Aren’t you going to come and have a go?”
“No.”
“You’ll never get better it you don’t try.”
She just sat there.
“Ok. What is it?”
“I was just thinking.”
“About mum and dad.”
Kaley nodded. “I miss them.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Kaley hadn’t slept properly for the last six months. Her parents’ faces still haunted her dreams.
Lyam placed an arm around his little sister. “I know it’s hard. But they wouldn’t want you to hang back.”
“But how can I keep going?”
“You still have me. And Astrala.” He gestured to the young dragon, who nudged Kaley.
“You’re strong, Kaley. Mum and Dad knew that. Astrala knows that. I know it. And deep down, I’m sure you know it too.”
“But, how can I be strong, when I’m so scared?”
“It’s alright to be scared. We all get scared. True strength and courage comes from not letting that fear control you.”
Kaley smiled at her brother. He smiled back.
“Here. I have something for you.” He placed his staff down, unhooked another one from his belt and handed it to her. She took it.
“This was my first blocking staff. Dad gave it to me when I was your age.”
“Lyam.” She stared at the staff, and then looked up at her brother. Then, unable to stop herself, she threw her arms around her brother. He hugged her back. “Thank you.”
“Hey, you’re welcome sis.” They pulled apart. “Come on.” The two of them stood up. Kaley’s hair brushed in front of her face.
“Here.” She turned around and he pulled her hair into a long plait. “That should keep it out of the way.” When he was done, the two of them walked over to the group.

7 years later.
Mag beams and ramming balls shot out from the high walls of the passage. The dragon raced along, dodging them, her rider blocking and whacking with her staff. They tore through a stone arch. Huge swinging gauntlets struck out, threatening to knock them back. But the rider ducked and leaped up and over, avoiding them skillfully. The next chamber held a series of large barriers. Some came out of the walls, others down from the ceiling, other up from the floor. The pair ducked, swerved and leaped as one, clearing the doors, racing for a closing door. One section sliding down, the other rising up.
“Come on, girl.”
The dragon speed up, her rider holding on tight. She leaped through and landed as the doors closed. She slowed as they reached a small, circular platform. The dragon stopped and her rider magged up out of the saddle, flipped, came down and landed in a squat.
A screen folded up as two men took their places. The girl stood up, facing the man directly in front of her. The other four stood around the circular platform. The head priest approached her.
“Well done, Kaley. Your skills have improved greatly. And your partnership with Astrala is one of the best I’ve ever seen.”
Kaley stood. In the past 7 years she had been working hard it build her strength and skill. She and Astrala had grown closer than ever. Their relationship had come a long way from that timid approach in the stables. They were almost inseparable.
Both of them really liked it when Cirran gave them such praise. As well as being the youngest in their Order, they were the only girls.
“That will be all, Kaley. You and Astrala may go now.”
Kaley bowed shortly and the pair left. Outside the door, they both grinned. Astrala held up one of her front paws and Kaley gave her a set of high fives. Up, down, side, back.
“Nice job, Astr.” Kaley said. “That last leap through the door, that was drac.”
Astrala smiled and nudged her friend. *Not bad yourself.* she replied.
They headed down the passage to another, slightly larger room. The boys were all in there, fooling around with there staffs. A few dragons were in there too. Seeing the girls enter, Lyam ran over.
“Hey sis. How’d it go?” he asked.
“Pretty good.” She replied. “Cirran said we have one of the best partnerships he’s ever seen.”
Lyam smiled at his sister. It was true that she and Astrala were great together. There was just something between them. Just then, a large silver, yellow and red dragon came over. Astrala grunted a hello. Kaley went over to the dragon.
“Hey Solarne.” She said. She looked up at him. “Is it just me, or is he getting bigger?” she asked Lyam.
“You sure you’re not getting smaller?” he joked. She stared at him, and then they both laughed.
A shout made them turn. Two of the boys were arguing.
“What in the Magna Draconis?” they went over to the group.
“I saw what happened, Sarton!”
“Hey.” Lyam went over to the boy who was yelling. “What is the problem?”
“Ask him.” the boy gave Sarton a sour look. “He’s the one who’s been stalking around.”
Lyam turned to Sarton.
“What is this about?”
“I don’t see why I should explain myself to you.”
“Obviously this is causing problems, so you…”
“Who died and made you boss?” Sarton snarled.
“Hey, that’s out of line.” Kaley pushed through to face Sarton, who stared down at her.
“No one asked you.”
“This kind of thing can’t go on.”
“Kaley, stop.” Lyam placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder and pulled her back gently.
Sarton sneered. “The gallant brother. You may be a hero to her, but I don’t know why you bother.”
Everyone stepped back. Kaley watched as her brother pull out his blocking staff, Sarton doing the same.
“You know perfectly well why.” Lyam said bitterly.
“Really.” They two boys brought up there staffs. There was a clang as the weapons met, the two of them glaring. They fought, no-one making any move to stop them. Striking, blocking and dodging. Twice Sarton made a move to trip Lyam, but he leaped out of the way, retaliating with a hard strike that Sarton just managed to block. He jabbed at Lyam, but Lyam ducked, and then launched himself up and flipped over and landed. The staffs clanged.
Suddenly, two silver streams picked up both the boys and hurled them away from each other, both slamming against opposite walls. Everyone turn to see Cirran standing at the entrance, looking rather angry. His right hand had his staff aimed at Lyam. His left hand towards Sarton. No-one moved or spoke. He lowered his arms.
“What is going on?” he demanded.
Lyam and Sarton stood up. “Boys, here please.” The two boys approached him, not looking at each other. “Follow me.” Slowly, they follow him out of the room.

“You both under stand the situation. There cannot be conflict with in our order. The only way to ensure the prevention of a new war is to ensure peace among ourselves. I don’t want to hear of any more brawls. Is that understood?”
“Yes.”

“They’re coming.” The group pulled back from the door as the two boys came out. Kaley had been listening at the door with three of the boys. Lyam and Sarton looked at each other. Their faces were blank. They nodded and went in opposite directions.
“That was unexpected.” One of the boys said.
“No kidding.” Another said. Kaley looked after her brother.
“Maybe I should go talk to him.” she said.
“Maybe you should.” The first boy said.
Kaley found Lyam in the training hall, practicing with his staff. His moves were rather aggressive. Kaley knew that this was the way he normally let off anger. But she had never seen him take it out on someone else. While Sarton had been out of line, it just wasn’t like her brother to retaliate with force.
“What is going on?” she asked, making him stop and look around.
“It’s not your concern.” He said. Kaley could not believe this.
“Not my concern? You’re my brother; of coarse it’s my concern. I’ve never seen you like this.”
Lyam approached his sister. “Kaley, this is for me to work out.”
“This coming from someone who hardly left me alone during our first few months here?”
“We were both recovering. You were still very young; I needed to look after you. I was worried about you.”
“Just like I’m worried about you now.”
Lyam went over and sat down on a stone bench.
“I promised mum and dad I would look after you, no matter what. I can’t have you worrying about me. It was hard for me too, but I couldn’t show it because I knew I had to be strong, for you.”
Kaley sat down next to her brother. She hadn’t heard this before. All the years he had been looking after her, teaching her, helping her, being there when she needed him. All that time, he had been struggling himself. But he had hid it, because of her. To protect her. She could see tears forming in her brothers eyes. She placed her arms around him, just as he had done all those years ago.
“You’ve done so much for me. I would never have made it this far if not for you. You and Astrala are the only family I have left. I know you feel you need to protect me, but it hurts me to see you like this. It’s like you told me. ‘True strength and courage comes from knowing that you are scared, but not letting that fear overtake you.’”
Just then, two priests entered the room. Kaley and Lyam stood up.
“Kaley. May we see you for a moment?”
Kaley looked at Lyam, who was just as puzzled as she was. He nodded at her and she followed the two men out of the room.

Kaley entered the main hall with the two men. Cirran stood at the head of the room, a solemn look on his face. She went and stood on the circular platform. The other men stood around it. Cirran approached her and she bowed.
“Kaley, you are aware of our people’s history. The values we up hold.”
“Yes. It has always been our ways to ensure equality between humans and dragons. No one race more important than the other.”
“Before the war, our people tried hard to help the Ancient Dragon Priests convince the other empires. But as you know, our efforts were unsuccessful. Because of this, the Dragon Human war began.”
Kaley knew the story. Everyone in the order knew it. About how dragons had been mistreated and turned against humans. How that war had nearly destroyed the world. How the last gold dragon had chosen a Dragon Booster, who had stopped the war by turning all dragons back to their pure gold states. But she didn’t see what this had to do with her.
“The events of 7 years ago shook our people greatly. And the incident today has added to our fears. And we have heard things. We fear that the path that humans and dragons have been treading could be the path to a new war.”
Kaley stared. The thought of a new dragon human war was frightening.
“I…” Cirran held up his hand to stop her.
“The old prophecies had foretold the return of the black and gold dragon of legend. Only he can stop this war, by choosing a new Dragon Booster. But they cannot do it alone. Our people played there part, as did those in other empires, standing together is the only way to prevent disaster.” He then pulled out a silver amulet and placed it around Kaley’s neck.
“What is this?” she asked.
“This will be the key to your destiny. We have been watching you and Astrala progress these past few years. We are now certain that it is you.”
Kaley was even more confused now than when she came in. she touched the amulet.
“I don’t understand.”
“Be patient. Soon you will know. Just remember, only when you truly join with your dragon can you release the true power inside you.”

Kaley sat next to Astrala in the stable room. Her mind was clouded. What had Cirran been talking about? She took out the amulet and stared at it.
The sound of footsteps made her look up. Lyam sat down next to her.
“Thought I might find you here.” he said. He looked at the amulet. “What’s that?”
“I’m not sure.” Kaley replied. “Cirran wouldn’t explain it completely.”
“Lyam, I’m sorry about before. I’ve just been really…”
“Hey, don’t worry sis. The truth is, if it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have made it either. Looking after you kept me from crashing.”

Suddenly, a crash made them both jump. Lyam stood up.
“Wait here.” He tore out of the room. But Kaley wasn’t going to stay there. She followed him out. What she saw made her stop abruptly. The crashes were coming from the huge door that was the entrance to the sanctuary. Someone was trying to break through. The doors didn’t look like they would hold for long. Cirran hurried up to them.
“Get to the main hall, now.”
“What’s happening?” Lyam asked, but Cirran ran past them towards the door, his dragon right behind him. Lyam took his sisters hand and the two of them follow the others. The five silver dragons stood before the entrance, their riders positioned ready to defend. With a final loud CRASH that shook the place, the door burst apart and a group of at least 8 black dragons entered. Kaley stared. Though she hadn’t seen the attack, she knew it was them. Somehow, they had found them. The leader, whose hood was pulled up so no-one could see him clearly, gave a signal to the man on his right. Cirran gave his men the signal as well. With a loud cry, both groups charged.
Kaley kept her eyes on the battle. Suddenly, one of the other boys came over to them. “Come on.” He urged. “They told us to go.”
Lyam nodded and tried to hurry his sister along, but Kaley wouldn’t move. Though all logic was telling her to run, she didn’t. She could see that Cirran and the others were out numbered. Something inside her was stirring.
“They didn’t train us to run away.” She said fiercely. By now, they had all stopped. The boys were all staring at her. But before anyone could answer her, shouts caused them to look over and see that at least 4 of the invading group had broken through.
Everyone ran. A black stream picked up Lyam and threw him back. Kaley ran to her brother’s side. A large black dragon approached them, the riders face turned to them, his face still hidden by his hood. The only parts that were visible were his eyes, which were a piercing red. Kaley grabbed her staff off her belt and stood in front of her brother.
“If you want to hurt him, you’ll have to go through me.” She said fiercely. The eyes tilted in amusement at seeing this child dare to stand against his. A black stream of mag energy suddenly shot from his hand. It caught her and she was lifted up.
“As you wish.” He hissed. He flung her aside. She crashed into a large stone post.
Lyam saw this and stood up. “Hey, you leave her alone.”
Kaley suddenly got a warm feeling against her chest. She looked down to see the amulet glowing faintly.
Another crash made them look around. The door to the stable room had burst open. Astrala stood at the head of a group of silver dragons. The hooded man had his eyes fixed on her. She roared and led the other dragons forward. Each one went to their riders. The man stared in confusion as Solarne ran to Lyam’s aid, like he had been expecting some other dragon. Lyam magged up and soared towards him, staff out. The hooded man magged up too. They met in mid air. He looked at the young boy.
Kaley saw the man force her brother against a wall. They stayed for a moment, and then the man yelled in anger and flung Lyam aside. At the same time, the black dragon rammed Solarne, causing him to break his stream. The pair fell back.
“That’s enough.” The man looked around. Again, he saw Kaley get to her feet. He started to laugh, but his look of amusement turned to one of amazement and confusion as Astrala magged Kaley into her saddle. Could it be?
Astrala ran towards them.
Kaley and the man magged up towards each other. He aimed a strike at Kaley, but she blocked it. They fought, him making the attacks, Kaley doing her best to block them. The man saw something glint around her neck. As she made to strike, he grabbed her wrist, squeezing tightly, making her drop her staff. Kaley struggled, but the man had a firm grip on her. He sneered and threw her back. At the same time, his dragon blasted Astrala. Both girls flew back through the door to the stable. Astrala landed hard. Kaley slammed against the far wall and slid down. She looked up as the man approached. She stood and ran at him, though she was unarmed. But as she tried to hit him, he grabbed her arm again. He hit her in the stomach and forced her back against the wall. She struggled, but he was too strong. Astrala tried to help her, but the black dragon fired a blast that pinned her down.
The man was now so closed that Kaley could almost see his face. She could see his eyes prick up, his mouth curve into a sneer. He reached to her chest and pulled out the amulet.
“so.” He whispered, sending a chill down Kaley’s spine. “Of all the great and better warriors here, she chose you.” His voice had an air of mock amusement. Kaley’s fear mounted. What did he mean? He tore the amulet off her neck and threw it to the ground.
“What a joke.”
“GET AWAY FROM HER!” they looked around to see Lyam hurry into the room. The hooded man turned to Kaley.
“I’ll deal with you soon.” And he released her. She fell to the ground, landing on her sore arm. She yelled in pain. The man approached Lyam.
“Now you, I might have believed. But that weak child, not a hope.”
Lyam whispered something to him that Kaley did not understand. The two of them then activated their staffs and charged at each other. Kaley tried to stand, to help her brother, but nearly every part of her ached. She could only watch as they fought, staffs clashing. It was a terrifying sight. There was a look in her brother’s eyes that she had never seen before. It scared her. The sounds from the entrance hall faded. All she saw was the two of them.
The man kicked Lyam in the chest, throwing him back. His staff flew from his hand, landing with a clatter. The man then pulled out a green and black gear.
“There is no escape this time.” Lyam pushed himself up on his hands and knees as the hooded man activated the gear. A black four point star shot out and attached to Lyam’s chest. As it connected, green cords came out of each of the points, wrapping around him. He struggled against it. The man then turned the green ring on the gear. Lyam screamed in pain as the dark star shone with a black glow. It traveled along the cords. Lyam collapsed, yelling out.
“NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Kaley was frozen in fear, watching her brother withering on the ground. He needed her. She looked over and saw the amulet lying a few feet away. She reached out and grabbed it. It shone brilliantly. Astrala started to glow. The man turned as he heard Kaley yell. She stood up, a new energy in her. Astrala suddenly blasted off the black dragon. She roared and picked the man up, throwing him back out of the door into the entrance hall. Wasting no time, Kaley ran to her brother and de-activate the gear. The arms of his shirt were torn were the cords had wrapped around him. Bruises were visible. One of the marks was bleeding. He was unconscious.
“Lyam!” She called. He didn’t answer. “Lyam, please speak to me.” He opened his eyes gently.
Sudden rubble made them look up, rocks fell from the ceiling. The cave was going to collapse.
“Kaley, you need to go.” He said. She reached to place one of his arms around her, but
She could not get his to stand. “Just go.”
“No, you’re hurt.” His