hey there. here is the edited chapters for my story. i will post them as i finish editing and then i'll start on new chapters.

Title: Rise of the Spirit.
Co-authors/beta: Me and 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’t 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. What secrets from her past is Kaley keeping from her friends? If Kaley is to truly understand her destiny, she must cast aside past doubts and learn that as long as you believe, nothing can stand in your way.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some violence.
No of Chapters: Unsure.
Complete/Wik: Wik.
Concrit: Encouraged
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: New Friends.
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.
after staring at it silently for a bit, she tucked the amulet away. “I just hope that we can find someone who can tell us what this means.” Her dragon nudged her comfortingly. She gave her a gentle stroke. “Good night, Astrala.” 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 her rider, 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 her rider 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. The girl 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. She the pulled out something called a draconi-yum bar, which she had never tried before, and took a bite. It was actually pretty good. 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.
She gently 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, she 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 them stood a red and blue dragon. This dragon looked very strong. She stared. For some reason, this dragon looked farmiliar. She 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. The girl kept her eyes on the red and blue dragon and his rider. They were amazing. The way they worked together, almost as one. She 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. The girl 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. She looked up at Astrala, smiling.
“What do you think, girl?” she said. Astrala looked at her and nodded.
*looks like fun.*

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. Her eyes were green with a bit of brown and medium brown waist length hair. 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. He 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 his 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. what did you say your name was again?*
*Beau.*
Astrala looked at him curiously.
*if you’re wondering if it has anything to do with Beausuphulis, I wouldn’t know. it’s just the name I was given.*
*You’re rider must sense greatness in you, choosing such a name.*
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 one race should be strong than the other, that they were all equal and should 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.

edited chapter 2. just a few small changes here.

Chapter 2: Living Legend.
“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. She had seen just from the few races she had seen yesterday that it was likely to be pretty tough. She reached up and started to pull her hair into a long plait.
“Kaley.” She turned around and saw Artha and his friends coming towards them.
“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, tying off the end of her plait as she spoke.
“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. that makes me feel so much better.
Astrala went over to Beau, Wyldfyer, Cyrano and Fracshun. Beau looked at her. *You alright?* he asked. Astrala nodded.
*I’m ok, but I’m more concerned about Kaley.*
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 his 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 the six dragons and their riders were off. Kaley and Astrala 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.
*you’re 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. The track turned sharply to the left and they crashed into the barrier. 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.”
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 and 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. She started fiddling with the end of her plait.
“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 at 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. she could suddenly sense that her friend was feeling uneasy. Kaley was feeling the same. Best not to get too attached.
“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, Kaley 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 boy 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. Her expression was rough. 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.
“I’ll take your stunned silence to mean yes.”
Astrala came over and stood by her rider. Decepshun came over and glared at her. Astrala stared to growl. “Astrala.” Kaley said to her dragon. Astrala backed 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. Kaley pushed her plait back over her shoulder.
“It is also not a good idea to attack when an opponent’s back is turned.” She said, her voice serious in a rather unsettling way. “It never puts you in a good light. I would have thought someone like you would know better. ”
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. Behind 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 her stood a boy a few years older. 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 looked 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.”
*if you insist.* 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. 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.
“Go!” he yelled to her. “I’ve got them.”
She nodded and ran towards Astrala. She deactivated the trapping gear and Astrala magged Kaley into the saddle. She looked back at the Dragon Booster.
“GO. Now.” He yelled to her. Two dragon eyes ran at him 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.
“yeah, I guess so.” Artha replied awkwardly.
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.

END CHAPTER 2

chapter 3 editing is nearly done. i've made some major changes there. let me know what you think so far.

Astrala

Nice story. I like it.

thanks. here is chapter 3. please give feedback.

Chapter 3: Feeling at Home.
Kaley didn’t see very much of the Dragon Booster, but before long she 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 race 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.
But Kaley started to get a bit anxious, because she was getting too close to the Penn Crew. she voiced this concern to Astrala one evening, after they had holed up in an abandoned warehouse for the night. It had been just over a week and kaley was worried about the situation.
“You think we’re getting too close here?”
*what, we’re not allowed to make friends?* Astrala grunted at her. it seemed to her that Kaley was over reacting.
“it’s not worth the risk, Astrala. You remember what…”
*give it a rest, will you. Now you’re just being stupid. Anyone would think you were trying to upset yourself.*
Astrala rolled Kaley’s blocking staff across the floor towards her. Kaley looked down as the staff came to a stop at her feet.
*and you wonder why he treated you like a pup.*
Astrala knew that she was pushing it, bringing him into the debate, but sometimes you had to be a bit tough.
Kaley just glared at Astrala in disbelief. “that’s not fair. You leave him out of this.”
She turned away from Astrala, but she could still feel her dragon’s eyes on the back of her head.
“and anyway, we’re supposed to be…”
Astrala growled at her. Kaley cut herself off. now she was just making excuses. The truth of the matter was she was really starting to like it in Dragon City. She hadn’t felt this much at home in ages. It was almost like she was determined to isolate herself and Astrala. She lifted her amulet to her eyes, deep in thought. Her trance was broken when Astrala came up behind her. Kaley turned to her.
“I really hate it when you’re right.” She said simply. Astrala tilted her head and stared at Kaley with soft eyes.
“Don’t you give me that look. It may have been cute eight years ago but now it…whoa.” Because she had been looking at Astrala’s face, she didn’t noticed the long blue and white tail curl around and swipe her feet out from under her. she landed on her butt. Astrala laughed as she sat up. for some reason that game never lost it’s humour. Though Kaley’s reflexes had developed since they were little, Astrala could still catch her out on the odd occasion.
Kaley stared at Astrala, then a wicked grin spread across her face. “oh, now you’re in for it.” She stood up, but Astrala lifted her up on a mag stream, dropping her on top of a tall box stack. Kaley eyed the laughing dragon.
“that’s cheating. Not mag streams.”
Astrala continued to laughed and soon Kaley stared laughing too.

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.
Artha looked at Kaley 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 behind her at Astrala, who nodded. She nodded back and looked at her friends.
“And the risk of stating the obvious, Astrala and I haven’t always been wandering. Nearly ten years ago, I lived in a small town, not too far from dragon city. My father was one of the owners of our local stable, as well as the best trainer I’d ever known. My mum was a historian. She knew more than anyone about the ancient draconium empires and, well she was just brilliant. Life was great for me. I was nearly six years old when Astrala came into my life.”

As she spoke, Kaley could see it happening again. The images of that day were so clear to her that it was like it was happening all over again.
A little girl, Kaley, slips into the stable. her face is soft and cheerful. She has a spring in her step. Her hair is half out, past her shoulders and slightly lighter than it is now. She goes up to her father, a tall broad shouldered man of around 37 with short dark hair and blue eyes. he is with three other men. They were all standing back from a small dragon. She is 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.
Kaley moves towards her, but is stopped by her father.
“stay back, Kaley,” He says. “she nervous, so we’re not sure what she’ll do.”
“my dad had a way of reading people like that. he was the most respected man in our town.
Three boys run in to the stable, waving small staffs at each other. One of them runs right into her father and falls back. he turns around. The boy smiles nervously.
Father just stares down at him, then shakes his head. “I’ve told you, not in here.”
Kaley still has her eyes on Astrala.
“alright you lot, out.”
He steers the boys and Kaley out of the stable.

“That night, my life changed forever.
The young kaley sits a top a rock pile, staring out into the distance. She can’t help but wonder what is 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.

As she runs into the town square, Kaley is overwhelmed by what she sees. Houses are burning, people running. The men of her town are 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.

A young Kaley stands as Astrala approaches her. The dragon lowers her head and kaley reaches up and touches 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.

It is a heartbreaking sight, the ruined and burnt buildings, weapons. A battlefield. The young Kaley stares around, tears in her eyes, alone and scared.
“When I saw there was no-one there, I didn’t know how to feel. My family was gone. My home had been destroyed. I felt so alone.” Kaley finished and sat quietly.

For a few minutes no one said anything.
“That’s awful.” Lance said finally. 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.”

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. 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.
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 ignored him. “Good luck, you’re 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 just pass as 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’s wrong?* Beau asked.
When Astrala answered, her voice was shaky. *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 hear crashing. 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?” Kaley looked at Kitt, but didn’t answer. She had no idea what had just happened. But she suddenly got the same feeling as Astrala. Something was very wrong here. 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. But, it’s unusual.”
“what do you mean, unusual?”
Suddenly, the track shook. Kaley looked up and saw a loose sign 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 and saw it.
“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. Highdyve was trying to help his rider, 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 Highdyve out of the tunnel. Highdyve hesitated.
*But what about…*
*My rider will help him.*
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 only just holding, when she tripped and hit her head.

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 realized what must have happened. He ran back towards the fallen tunnel, but was blocked by a dragon city 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 Faire 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!*
*No one is asking you too.* Beau said.
“Captain Faire.” 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.
“Captain Faire, please.” Parmon said. Captain Faire 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. Suddenly, her head moved.
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.
Kaley could feel a bruise forming on her right temple. Wulph raised a hand to examine it. she made to push his hand away, but had to pull back because it hurt to move her arm.
“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.
Beau stood silently for a moment. *Astrala.*
*Yeah?*
*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. She is a tough girl.”
“Well, she has been living on the streets for most of her life.” Kitt said.
“where are her parents?” Wulph asked.
“dead.”
Kaley came out of the tent. 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. “What about Dorsull?”
“He’s alright.” 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 posts 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 said. “But Dragon City security is putting all races on hold until they find out what caused this. They say that they can’t completely guarantee 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. Was it possible? If so, then her friends were in danger.
END CHAPTER 3.

please review

Chapter 4: Secrets of the street.
Later that afternoon, the official announcement was made, suspending all races until further notice.
“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.
“Speaking of which, what did you mean when you said the reading was unusual?”
Before Parmon could answer, however, 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. 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.
“Wasn’t she here just a moment ago?”
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 something strange going on. And they needed to find out what.
“Come on guys, lets go find them.”

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?”
*Sure.* Astrala 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 turned and 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.”
*Can we be sure that it’s them or that they’re after us?* Astrala grunted.
Kaley couldn’t understand her, but she had a good idea what her friend was trying to say. “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 poisonous green spikes that lined the inner circle. In the middle, a small black button. They had seen a gear like this only once before. The very thought of it made Kaley sick. She knew it could only mean one thing.
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. The day she told the Penn crew about her parents.

Kaley turned away from the pile. 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.
“We need to go.” She said. Astrala drew back and 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.
“I can’t do this Astrala, not 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 dragons. 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. 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 stiffened. 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. These guys were starting to get plain annoying. “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.
“I don’t see why I should explain myself to you. Hand over your dragon and no-one gets hurt.”
“Not gonna happen.” 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. “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. This couldn't be happening. She couldn’t lose Astrala too.
“Let her go.”
Astrala looked over at her friend. She could see the pain and anger in her eyes. Something stirred inside her.
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 yelled 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.
“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. Moordryd struck hard, but Kaley easily countered him, using swift, fluid movements, emanating the aura of a young yet skilled warrior.
“A word of advice.” She said. “Try to direct the force of your strike, that way you won’t have…”
Moordryd’s next strike was so rough it nearly knocked her out of the air. She made a mental note to stop with the constructive criticism during fights.
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. At any other time, she might have stayed and tried her luck, but right now she had other things to worry about.
“Sorry we can’t stick around.” 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 a hour since Kaley had disappeared and they were really starting to get anxious. Lance had suggested they try the Comm.link, but that idea had been scratched when they remembered Kaley didn’t have one.
“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 reach the street as another 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 YO…” 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.
*next time, maybe give more than 3 second warning.* Astrala groaned.
*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 wasn’t too sure how she was going to explain this. She took a deep breath. “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. They could be anywhere by now.
“What.” Lance said.
“This isn’t really the best place. Where’re 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.
Without 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. 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. They all looked around as Kitt skidded to a halt next to them.
“What in the Magna Draconis is going on?” 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

Chapter 5: Racer to Warrior.
“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. 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. His mouth and nose were covered, his eyes only just visible under the shadow of his hood. They were pure black, completely devoid of mercy. The sight of which sent a chill down Kaley’s spine. Parmon looked at her.
“Kaley, what’s wrong?” she didn’t answer. She and the hooded man kept their eyes fixed on each other, hundreds of thoughts and emotions passing between them.
She wasn’t aware of Dragon Booster staring at her. The man smiled and nodded to the others.
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 got up and looked around. Then she looked down at her mag staff. Suddenly, her fear was replaced by rage. She turned to Astrala.
“Come on girl. We gotta a score to settle.”
Kitt’s 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. In fact, she hardly seemed to be scared. 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 was faster than the last time. 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. Beau quickly magged Artha out of his saddle a split second before his back slammed against the wall, hard. Had he still been in the saddle, Artha could have been crushed.
The leader was on his feet again, but instead of going for Dragon Booster, he looked over at 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. The man shook his head.
“Foolish child.”
Kaley tried to stay calm, but she felt her rage start to flare. She took a strike at him, but he brought his staff up in a blink and blocked her. Their staffs clang loudly as they battled, taking turns to attack and defend. His attacks were swift and powerful, but though she was out matched in strength, Kaley made up for it with the precision of her strikes. Her opponent was astonished. The girl before him wasn’t as reckless and naïve as before. He almost admired her. he certainly gave her credit for persistence.
Kaley watched her opponent closely, trying to anticipant his moves so she could defend, or even use them against him. she almost felt a sense of pride. No, she had to keep her mind on the battle, pay attention or it could be her downfall. He took a direct swipe at her legs, she leaped clear at the last moment, somersaulting in the air and landing in a forward roll. She stop right in front of him and the weapons met, their wielders so close they could hear each other breathing. The man leaned forward.
“Surprising.” He said softly. “You’ve come a long way since our last meeting.”
“What do you want here?” Kaley demanded. Her heart was racing and anger threatened to overwhelm her, but she had to keep focus.
“Same thing as last time.” he answered, pushing forward so hard that Kaley stumbled back, just managing to keep herself from falling over. “And you know how far we can go.”
Kaley looked around her at her friends. The down city crew members, the Penn racing crew, the Dragon Booster. She turned back to the man in front of her, her face an image of pure hatred.
The man’s eyes tilted as he smiled.
That bare second was all it took. Without pausing to think, she struck forward with her staff. The man dodged. She brought it around again and he caught it.
“Still fueled by anger.” He brought his staff around, hitting her so hard 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 stood up quickly, looking around for her staff. She saw it lying on the ground a few feet away, but before she can get to it the man grabs the collar of her shirt and hurled her against the wall. She hit her head, winding her slightly but not knocking her out. She slides down the wall and looks up at him. Very slowly, he advanced on her. She just sat there, back flat against the wall, the cold sneer in his eyes seizing her. She is unable to move as he drew closer. Her body wouldn’t respond, like the man before her was keeping her captive with just his stare. She fought hard to keep her face straight, but he could see the fear in her eyes. The figure that stood above her raised the gear at her.
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 wanted to close her eyes, but it was like he was holding her in some kind of trance. And he was so fixed on her that he didn’t notice something flying towards him til a gold draconium boot slammed into his shoulder, throwing him back. Kaley started as she awoke from the spell and shook her head. Before she could get her bearings back, Dragon Booster was pulling her to her feet.
“Are you alright?” He asked her. Kaley looked around like she was trying to remember where she was. “Kaley!” her eyes feel on him and she nodded.
Reassured by her response, he turned to the man, who stood up.
“Very impressive, young hero.” he said menacingly.
“How about you pick on someone your own size?” Dragon Booster replied.
But the man didn’t attack. He just glared at the Dragon Booster, standing between him and his goal. “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 grabbed Kaley around her waist and activated the wings on his back. They glided down to a small shelf a few meters below. The glider folded back in and Kaley sat down, grimacing from the pain in her side, breathing fast. Artha knelt down next to her. She looked over at him.
“Just take it easy.” Artha said. Kaley waited til she was breathing normally again before she answered.
“I’m ok. It was a good thing you had those wings on the back.”
“Just wait here, I’ll see if I can get a lift.” He stood up and walked away from her. His Comlink switched on.
“Artha, are you ok?” Lance asked.
“I’m fine.” He told his brother. “We’re both fine. 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? Was it possible she hadn’t told them everything?
He turned around and went back over to Kaley. She had been staring out at the city, but her mind was else where. She looked up as a stopped next to her.
“Bet that’s something you don’t see everyday.” She commented.
“It was a bit different, I’ll admit.” His tone became serious as he knelt down next to her again. “Kaley, what happened up there?” Kaley looked away.
“I don’t really know.”
“I think you do. I saw what happened with that man. Who is he?”
Kaley was still for a moment, then she signed. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Why?”
Artha could see the pain in her eyes. 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.”
“What do you mean, you don’t understand why?” But Kaley just looked away from him. “Kaley, I can’t help you if I don’t know what is going on.”
“I don’t know if I can do this again.” she said this quietly, to herself.
“Do what?” Artha was trying to make his voice sound gentle but firm. “Kaley, what aren’t telling me? Don’t you trust me?”
Kaley looked shocked. “Of course I trust you, Dragon Booster. How could you say that?”
“Then why won’t you talk to me?”
Kaley lowered her head. It was clear that she wasn’t going to explain it any further, not matter how hard he pressed her.
“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 placed an arm around Kaley and took hold of the rope. “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.
“Yeah, we’re fine.” Artha called up to him.
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.
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. Astrala was silent for sometime.
* It was them.* she replied finally.
*Them?* Cyrano asked. *Who’s them?*
*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 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.
“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. He looked over at Kaley, who looked away from 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 certain 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 stood silent for a moment. Kitt was right, if Kaley had been hidden like she said, then how would she be able to recognize them? Something wasn’t right.
“But how did they find her?” Parmon asked, looking nervous.
“And what do they want?” Kitt added.
“I don’t know.” Artha said, “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.

END CHAPTER 5