To Catch a Raindrop

hey, you! yes, you, passing by.
this page is owned by DukBoi. if you dare steal anything from this page, you will be charged with the fine of theft and S.U.I agents will be called to your residence to arrest you. (don't steal, please.)
however, if you wish to proceed, we must warn you of upcoming violence, gore, and mild language.
you've been warned.
= Chapter 1: Serval =
Opal City wasn't the best of places, as the residents knew. it was smelly, smoke clouded the air, dragons weren't overly friendly, and sometimes criminals ran rampant. on this particular day, a couple of hours after a certain jewelry store was robbed, a Sandwing opens the door to his apartment.
laughing, he throws a bag onto a table and takes a letter and quill.
Guess who's back, baby? he writes, kicking his feet up on the desk. Sleet Diamonds just got robbed, and you know by who? me! I'm going to be rich, once I sell this.
look, to be honest, I know that we've had some screw-ups in the past, but I'm better now. we can team up again, and, heh, who knows, we might even get to Irondock Bank! I'm ready to forgive and I hope you are too.
Serval
Serval sighs and folds up the note, looking at it for a couple of seconds. what if she doesn't forgive me? he shakes his head, pushing those thoughts aside. walking down the stairwell to the mailbox, he takes the bag again not wanting it to be left out of sight.
he steps outside into the familiar musty scent of factory smoke and trash. putting his hood up, he strolls down the road, dragons bustling about. he stops at a poster nailed to the wall next to him. a picture of his face is present, and underneath it says, "100,000 Visko rewards if brought in," he takes it and rips it in half. they are getting desperate.
sliding his letter into the mail tin, he walks back to his apartment. waving to the secretary at the desk, he walks back up the stairs to find his door on the ground. peeking around the corner, he sees two dragons, both dressed in a cap and leather armor. both had the Special Unit of Investigation logos on them.
Serval ducks back around the corner. how did they find me? he grumbles and ponders the possibilities.
"Hey, you think that the tip from that Cosmo dragon is legit?" one of the dragons says to the other.
Cosmo?! that lying, lousy, piece of- Serval thinks furiously. he stops, though, when he finds an S.U.I agent looking at him down the hall. "guys! I found him!" they yell.
Serval rushes into the room, grabs the bag, and pushes aside both of the agents. he grits his teeth and jumps out the window. the chase was on.
= Chapter 2: Chase =
Serval uses his wings to extend his jump distance and lands on the opposite side of the apartment. the two S.U.I agents follow closely behind. as Serval runs along the buildings, dragons point up at him on the street, saying things and shouting. dropping down off of the roof, he grabs a pipe and smashes through a window.
a dumbfounded Swiftwing with a gold bracelet stares at him.
"Sorry," Serval says, barging out of the door. the two S.U.I agents follow closely behind. one of them shouts, "where did he go?" and the Swiftwing points to the door.
"SERVAL, YOU RAT!"
he looks behind him and sees a burly Mudwing, dressed in S.U.I Lieutenant gear.
"Arrowhead, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Serval begins to walk backward, smiling.
"Arresting you, here and now!" Arrowhead yells back.
"Well, you better wait 5 more years then, HAHA!" Serval jeers, jumping out the window at the end of the hall. Arrowhead grunts angrily and gives chase, beckoning the other S.U.I agents to follow.
Serval grabs a pipe running from the roof to the ground, and uses the bag to grind it. the S.U.I agents use their wings to dive towards the ground to stop him, but he jumps up and sends his legs out, kicking both of them in the face. Arrowhead takes out a baton and uses it to also grind the rail, sparks flying from the back.
they continue running, before reaching Crystal Plaza. Serval pushes past dragons before stopping suddenly, putting his hood on, and trying to blend into the crowd. out of the corner of his eye, he sees Arrowhead and the S.U.I agents mow through the crowd, checking every Sandwing to ensure they're him.
then, someone bumps into him, knocking the bag and hood off him. his diamonds and jewelry go spilling everywhere. Serval curses under his breath and tries to sweep his loot back in, but he already sees his pursuers pushing through the crowd. Serval takes what he can get, shoving it into his bag, and climbs a ladder connected to the scaffolding that the construction workers are using.
Arrowhead and his followers follow him, but Serval looks around, plotting every point of interest. then, something grabs his ankle and yanks on it, making him shout and lose his grip momentarily. he looks down and sees an S.U.I agent holding his foot. Serval, however just shakes his head and pulls a pin, a metal bar falling on the agent's head and knocking him out.
soon reaching a flat spot, he gets up and catches his breath, but not before something hard smacks into the back of his head. Arrowhead stands there, holding his baton and spinning a pair of handcuffs.
"can't run anywhere now, huh?" he chuckles smugly.
"Well, I can't run," Serval replies. "I can, however, walk slowly backward to escape. see you-AAAAAAH!" a crash emits from under him, and the floor collapses, sending Serval into the bowels of the site.
= Chapter 3: Fall =
Serval screams as he plummets downwards, smacking into things as he goes. the light from above slowly recedes, and Arrowhead and the authorities look down, dumbfounded looks on their faces. a bar smashes into his shoulder, sending him spinning to the right, where he gets hit by a plank, sending him backward.
he can't see anything because it was all too blurry. when he straightens himself out, a wood plank beam heads straight towards his face. he covers his eyes with his hands...
but the pain never came. he opens them and is met by a void of black. looking at his arms, a white outline borders them, making them barely visible. his sense of touch feels numbed as if ice had washed over him.
am I dead? he wonders. no. no, I can't be. he looks around for the bag of loot, but it isn't there. beginning to panic, he turns around but is still met by the void of nothing. he tries to smack his face, but he feels nothing. instead, it passes through the back of his head.
he stays like this for a little while. but before long, he begins to sense things again. he could now actually feel his body. soon, he hears a faint whistling sound. he grunts and looks around. under him, a light opens up, and the whistle gets louder. he begins to slowly fall towards it, faster and faster.
when he does go through it, he is met by glaringly bright sunlight. he notices the town square of Irondock, a shore town near the Rainwing kingdom. things would have been normal if there weren't hundreds of dragons fighting in it. a grey dragon with a helmet and a mace for a tail smashes through their enemies.
then the world goes fuzzy, and the surroundings change. now in front of him was a masked scavenger-looking creature, with a leather jacket and red goggles. another creature, this time with a metal sheet over its head and two large spikes of hair coming from its head, wields a large red sign, and the two begin to fight.
this continues for a little while. then, finally, it stops, and he gasps. he feels he is laying down on something hard. getting up and looking around, he touches the wall of whatever he was in, then recoils as slime runs down his arm. water flows past him, thick with green sludge. and the smell. Serval felt as if he would puke for the next moon. staggering towards a light, he breathes in the fresh air.
where am I? he looks around. noticing something huge, he centers on it. ...is that the mayor's monument? behind him, the mouth of a sewer tunnel gapes open, with the sound of water reverberating off of its walls.
a dragon, or what seems to be a dragon with no legs or wings, inches by. Serval runs up to them. "where am I?"
"oh, you're in Opal City," she replies, looking at him funny. Opal City? he thanks her and runs away, but then stopped when he hears a rumbling noise. it shook his insides, so he hides behind a trash can. above him, a large metal shape flies overhead, with a leathery balloon attached to the top. giant metal tubes with spinners inside churn out the exhaust as it rises higher into the air. a small compartment was attached to the bottom, with a figure of a dragon being visible.
"never seen an airship before?" the dragon says.
"airship?" Serval repeats. "listen, can I just have a map?"
"Sure, I guess," the dragon replies. they hand him a map, and his jaw drops open.
Pyrrhia seems to have grown. the Nightwing Kingdom has been connected with a much bigger mass, and the Bay of A Thousand Scales is nowhere to be seen, but a large island is connected. "wha- what happened?"
"It's been like this for years now, love. nothing is wrong," the dragon replies. Serval looks at the date. 5,171 AS?! where am I? he hands the map back and heads to Crystal Plaza.
= Chapter 4: The Party =
Serval stumbles across the road. the dragons were not like he normally sees. some had prosthetics with lights on them. others had headsets and gold trinkets and wore them like they were everyday items. some were even whole other tribes. grey dragons like the one he had seen during that black and white state strolled around, while the no-legged or winged dragons slithered about too.
there were even ones that didn't seem like live dragons. gears and cogs protruded from their underbellies as they went with their daily business. Serval holds his head. am I going crazy? what the hell is going on?
noticing a grey building with red lights strung around it, he walks over to the building. dragons were outside, all with exceptionally fancy clothes. two bouncers stood at the door, checking slips of paper the dragons handed them. all had a small mask that covered their eyes that they held by a stick. a fancy masquerade?
hm. I can probably get more information about what's going on now if I get to that party. Serval thinks, looking to a Nightwing partygoer, talking to a Rainwing. walking past them, he gets close and bumps into them.
"Hey! watch where you're going, freak!" they yell. Serval raises his hand and dips his head apologetically as the Nightwing scoffs and continues talking to their friend. he raises the Nightwings slip and chuckles to himself as he puts it in his coat pocket. now for a mask.
a dragon with a mop takes off from the ground and soars over to a nearby building. a bucket filled with soap stands there, and Serval takes it, punching out two holes with his fist. he raises it over his head and, after many failed attempts, shoves it on his head.
walking up to the guard, he hands him his slip. they nod and hand it back, saying, "rather an unorthodox mask you have there," the guard also has a contraption strapped to his belt. a grip was connected to a box, with a tube full of small silver pellets inside.
walking in, he looks up to the large crystal chandelier. dragons bustled about, socializing and laughing. one large Mudwing was eating crab cakes as if they were a light snack. a band playing light jazz music sits on the stage.
"Attention! attention, everyone!" someone says from the stage, and the band stops playing. Serval looks up and senses an odd feeling of recognition.
the dragon was a Mudwing, but a very well-looking one. they had an eyepatch covering their right eye, and a wide grin was plastered from ear to ear.
"It is of my utmost pleasure to tell you that tonight, I will be protecting your city forever," they say, putting their hand over their heart. "I have been promoted to Chief City Advisor, and I will not let anything or anyone make this fair city unsafe,"
"under my watchful eye, we will bring justice to the criminals and evildoers alike, to make sure this city stays safe, forever!" they exclaim, raising their hands in the air. the audience applauds as one of those grey dragons opens a case in front of the host.
"as you all know, it is my family's tradition in the S.U.I to keep watch of this place," they continue. "and as my grandpa said..." they begin to pull out the object from the case. it was like what the guards had outside, but slimmer and had a shorter tube.
"a skilled hunter needs but one bullet," they raise the device and point it above their head. a loud bang emits from it, and a small flash of light erupts from the end. Serval jumps from the noise, and a trail of fire runs along the ceiling, snaking down to the chandelier and branching off, lighting six banners hung on the pillars of the building. the audience applauds, and the dragon bows.
then, a dragon screams and points up. glass shatters as dragons fly down, pointing the loud boxes at guests.
and then, the chaos ensues.
= Chapter 5: Crashers =
Serval jumps behind a flipped table, next to a guard holding a loud box. the crashers wore black metal armor, with masks and attachments on their helmets. 
"Oh, no no no... I don't k-know what t-to do, what d-do I do?" the guard panics, his hands trembling. Serval puts his hand on their shoulder.
"you'll be fine. give me your.. loud box?" he pauses to make sure he got the name right.
"my spring launcher?" he gives Serval the spring launcher. he takes it and fumbles it around for a couple of seconds, before peering over the edge of the table.
the guards were busy using their launchers to fight the criminals. when a dragon used their spring launcher, anything in front of it seemingly gets destroyed. so, he raises his launcher and pulls back the switch.
BRA-KOW
Serval falls over by the sheer force and noise of it. a scream from the other side of the room, the part where the crashers were. he looks back up and sees a crasher on the floor with a hole in their neck, blood pooling around them. he grabs the guard's wrist and runs toward the backdoor exit of the building.
then, four more attackers crash through the windows, each dressed in their armor. they held sticks of sorts, but each had two prongs on the end, glowing with blue energy. the guard screams and takes out a baton, while Serval looks around for a weapon.
"How good are you at fighting?" Serval asks the guard under his breath.
"Well, I-I don't really-" the guard starts but is cut off when one of the crashers lunges at him, swinging their weapon straight towards Serval's head. he ducks under it and raises his arm, clotheslining the attacker in the face. however, they seem skilled and jump right back up.
another assailant kicks Serval in the gut, spinning around midair and smacking the stick across his face. he staggers back, holding his face, when another crasher tries to sneak up behind him, raising their weapon. Serval grabs it just as it comes down, and sends their arm down on his leg. a crack comes from their elbow as they drop their weapon, so Serval takes it and slams it down on their neck.
the dragon shouts and convulses violently as the electricity comes from the baton to the dragon, before lying still on the ground, smoking. Serval twirls the baton around, and raises his hand, gesturing for the crashers to fight him. they clash their batons together, and he notices the hate in his attacker's eyes.
they trade attacks before the dragon smacks Serval over the face with their weapon. he stumbles, then mutters a quick, "uh oh," as the dragon dropkicks him in the chest, sending him crashing to the back of the hall. the guard wasn't doing too well either, holding his baton up in defense as the crasher mercilessly bombards him with swipes and slashes.
just as the crasher prepares to shock Serval a dragon comes through the window and kicks down the crasher over the guard, before sending a shuriken straight to Serval's assailant, slamming into their neck with a gurgle. the final crasher, who Serval had just noticed had a red dot on their helmet, bolts down the hall.
the rescuer takes their hand out to the guard. "sorry I was a bit late," they say. 
"Dignity bolted," the guard says. "I couldn't get to her in time. also, this guy saved me," he points to Serval, who had a confused look on his face. all forms of fear and panic seemed to have washed away.
"what do we do now? he's already seen too much..." the rescuer says, looking at Serval.
"seems like a good recruit," the guard replies, getting up. Serval shoves the body of the crasher aside and takes the bucket off his head.
"Listen, what is going on? I-" he started, but is interrupted by the rescuer.
"Sorry about this," they say, taking their mask off and shooting a blowdart at him.
Serval blacks out.
= Chapter 6: The Red Blades =
Serval wakes up. his eyes are blurry, and he wants to scratch them, but his hands are tied behind his back. looking around, he can't see anything but a dim lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, and a desk in front of him.
a glaringly bright light cuts through the room, lighting it up, and realizing a Nightwing was standing in front of him the whole time.
"ow, cut down on the brightness a little, would you?" Serval says, squinting his eyes. the Nightwing, however, doesn't say anything. they reach up to their ear, which had a small device inside, and nod. they put their hands on the table and glare at Serval. he looks at their wings, but only realizes that the dragon has one real one. the other was metal and filled with cogs and gears.
"start talking. how much did you see?" they say.
"only when those crashers came down and started attacking everyone," Serval answers. he wanted to play it safe, as he didn't know how powerful this dragon was.
"How did you know how to use a launcher?"
"I didn't. I just followed what everyone else was doing,"
"Listen to me," the dragon sits down. "we know who you are, Serval. we've been looking for you, ever since that day that you disappeared,"
Serval stares at them. "how much time has passed?"
"Since your disappearance, 157 years," the dragon replies. "when we saw you at the party, we recognized you. Betta was put in place there to try to get your attention, and that he did,"
"Alright, so why am I here?" Serval snorts, leaning closer. "you seem to know everything about me, anyways,"
"Opal City is in the middle of a gang war," the dragon replied. "we're a group of mercenaries that do jobs, and this is our biggest one yet. if we manage to crash the 3 main gangs of Opal City, we get our biggest payday yet,"
"and you want me to help you?" Serval asks. the dragon nods.
"Since you know everything about me, I'm only going to help you if I go back to my home," Serval offers. "though, I'm not sure how to get back..."
the Nightwing strokes their chin. "I think we have an idea. so, what do you say?"
I don't have a choice, do I? Serval thinks. he nods his head at the Nightwing, who gives a satisfactory smile.
"Welcome to the Red Blades, Serval," the Nightwing says. "my name is Savior,"
= Chapter 7: The Plan =
Savior unties him from the chair. Serval flexes his muscles as his circulation ran back into his wrists. following Savior, they step out into a club area. tables and chairs were scattered about as dragons relaxed and talked, a small jukebox playing music in the corner. they both go into a storage room, where a table with the maps of both Pantala and Pyrhhia were laid out.
three dragons stood at the table. one was a grey dragon that Serval keeps seeing, another was a Leafwing with a toothpick in his mouth, and the last one was a Skywing with a stunning pair of ice-blue eyes.
"everyone, this is Serval," Savior puts his hand on his shoulder. "and yes, we've found him," the grey dragon grins and puts their hand out. hesitating, Serval reaches out and shakes it.
"what are you?" Serval asks, pulling his arm away. the other dragon laughs and says, "oh right. You from the past, yeah? I'm a Rockwing, and the name's Quartz," 
the Leafwing does a short wave to Serval. "Spurge." the Skywing stayed in the corner, shooting a glance at him, then turning back to the ground.
"Alright, we've got our roles, but let us go over this one more time." Savior leans over the table. "Spurge, Quartz. you two are going to go on the 9:00 airship to Shark Tooth, and Firestorm and Serval are going to do an atmosphere drop,"
"wait, what's that?" Serval asks. "why can't we go on the airship, too?"
"you both are wanted by the S.U.I, there are probably going to be at least a couple of agents on board that ship." he replies. "and an atmosphere drop is where you guys are going to go much higher than the clouds, and then drop into Shark Tooth Ridge."
"We have reason to believe that one of the crime bosses, Falcon, is camping out in Shark Tooth. if you manage to get to him, he could lead us to where the others are hiding out,"
"you guys need to time this PERFECTLY," he emphasizes his point by jabbing his finger into the table. "you need to jump from the bridge in the canal, use the steam tanks to get into the atmosphere, turn them off around this point," -he motions with his finger where Serval and Firestorm would be-" and start dropping at exactly 70 degrees into Shark Tooth. quick and easy."
"if you drop too early, you'll come crashing into the water at high speed and probably get your ribs crushed. if you drop too late, you'll be seen by S.U.I airships and shot. so, no pressure," 
"what do we do when we get there?" Serval asks.
"find the nearest telegraph station and call this number." Savior hands a slip with a string of numbers on it. "do not lose this, you hear me?" Serval nods. Savior slaps him on the back and leaves the room. Serval looks at the note again, then to the Skywing, Firestorm. he waves to her, but she just turns around and walks away.
ill be fine. he thinks, stuffing the note into his coat pocket. right?
= Chapter 8: Drop =
Serval stands on the canal bridge with Savior and Firestorm. he puts on the backpack with the tanks attached to it, which will give him the boost to go up and down in the drop.
"Alright, you remember what to do, yeah?" Savior asks him as he fills Serval's tanks up. "once you break cloud level, you count five minutes, and then immediately turn the tanks around and go 70 degrees down. you count two minutes, then jettison the tanks from the pack. is that clear?" Serval nods as he straps on the mask.
the mask itself was a clear visor, with a small tube connected to the front. it was a little stuffy, too, but he would need it to not blackout.
"Okay, your all set," Savior says. Serval looks over at Firestorm, who looks perfectly calm as she straps on the mask. he hops on the ledge and looks down into the canal, a twenty-meter drop into the water. Firestorm also steps onto the edge, looking over to Serval.
"ready when you are," Serval says to her. Firestorm turns around and falls off the ledge, backward. Serval looks down again and stops, a sense of vertigo coming into his head from the fall. Savior pushes him from behind, saying, "go! what the hell are you doing?"
as Serval plunged into the water, he pushed down the urge to open up his wings and stop. he folds his wings in as the water comes ever closer. Firestorm was a few meters ahead of him, unfolding her wings and pulling up a few inches above the water. Serval does the same, but with less grace, and one of his wingtips hit the water, making him lose control for a few seconds.
then, Firestorm shoots up into the air, using her massive wings to give a boost before turning on her tanks. Serval does the same and turns on his. he had never felt such speed before. his teeth felt like they would come out of his jaws, and his wings were pulled back by sheer force. his heart spiked as he tried to control his course behind Firestorm, rising higher and higher into the air. the wind whips past his face like he was inside a tornado.
and then, he breaks through the clouds. nobody back in his day would have dreamed of getting this high. looking up, all he could see was bright, blue sky, and the sun glaring down upon him. he laughs to himself at the sight as he continued ascending. it was peaceful.
then, he notices the clouds in front of him. unlike the ones he passed through, they were very dark, and lightning flashed in them. That's where we need to go down, Serval realizes. in front of him, Firestorm seems to slow down. catching up to her, Serval yells, "what do we do?" Firestorm shrugs and goes towards the clouds.
Serval's count was at four minutes now. one more minute, and he would go into a boosted freefall. flying behind Firestorm, the pair go into the cloud. rain smacks against his face and body, and lightning flashes before him, threatening to give him a toasted demise.
SKADOOSH
a bolt of lightning sears past him, and he covers his eyes and shouts, blinded. he folds in his wings as he loses control, the tanks still spewing out the steam. after he straightens himself out, he notices Firestorm.
her mask was trailing behind her, and she was falling. fast. once of her tanks was still attached to her back, but the other was flying beside her, a crater in the side and steam pouring out. Firestorm herself was spinning around in the air, her limbs and wings limp. Serval boosts towards her, panicked.
when he reaches her, he puts his hand on her neck. there was still a pulse, but it was very faint. he shakes her head, but it doesn't do anything. they break through the bottom of the cloud as lightning streaks past.
Serval's mask is clouded by steam from his breath. he disconnects his steam tanks, and they go flying down into the water. he can see Shark Tooth, but isn't over it yet and now plummeting towards the water in a freefall.
he grabs onto Firestorm and rips off her tank. he shakes her again, roaring, "WAKE UP!" but Firestorm lays still. without any other idea, Serval pulls her chute.
no chute ever came out. he looks down at Firestorm's tank and sees the part of her backpack chute, snagged onto it and hurdling towards the water. he curses and pulls his chute, holding on to Firestorm's backpack with one hand.
using his free hand, he steers the glider over to Shark Tooth. this was going to be a bumpy landing.
= Chapter 9: Shark Tooth =
Serval hits the ground, dropping Firestorm, who rolls to a stop in an alley. he gets up and tries to walk over, but grits his teeth as he clutches his leg. looking down, he sees it had a large gash, running from his knee to his foot. limping over to the alley, he takes a dirty, worn cloth from the ground, and wraps it around his leg.
"ow. why does everything hurt?" Serval turns around to see Firestorm rubbing her head.
"uh, are you okay?" Serval asks, walking over. Firestorm shouts and backs up, baring her teeth.
"Who are you?" she yells at him, getting up and into a fighting position.
"wait, you don't know?" Serval replies, confusion washing over him. "I'm your partner, we just did that crazy-storm freefall thing,"
"still don't know who you are," Firestorm says, but her face drops into a frown. "wait, who am I?"
Serval grabs her by the shoulders, shaking her. "snap out of it! your name is Firestorm. you're a mercenary for the Red Blades. What's wrong?"
"I don't remember anything," she says, pulling away and holding her head. "I mean, I remember a little bit. Savior, the Red Blades. but... nothing else,"
"oh no. well, we have to find a telegraph station," Serval says and turns. "you can come or not, not up to me,"
"I think I'm going to stay here, try to remember who I am," she replies, sitting down.
walking down the street, he gets to the telegraph. it was a small device with a lever that said send, and the alphabet was presented on keys in front of him.
he puts the input of the receiver the number on the slip, and types in, Savior, you there? and pulls the lever.
Serval? that you? the telegraph dings after a couple of minutes.
it's me, alright. he types back.
are you okay? is Firestorm okay?
I got a small cut on my leg, but otherwise, I'm fine, Serval replies. I'm not sure what's going on with Firestorm, though.
what do you mean?
she talks now, and she can't remember anything. we almost got struck by lightning on the way down here, and I think that messed something up in her head. she can remember the mission, though.
okay. Quartz and Spurge are delayed because the airship taking them to Shark Tooth is under repair. try not to let anything bad happen to you.
with that, Savior stopped relaying, and Serval walks back to the alley.
Firestorm wasn't there. claw marks were along the walls, along with burn marks and small blood splatters. the clouds above cover up the setting sun.
something smacks into the back of his head, and the world goes black.
= Chapter 10: The Hold =
Serval rubs his head. he sure was getting knocked out a lot lately. water drips from the dirty, rusted water pipe onto his face. wiping it off and getting up, he sees a desk, a metal door with a small opening, and a pan. he didn't want to know what that was for. his cut was wrapped up in a crude bandage, and even if blood was leaking out, it felt fine.
he was laying on a hard, scratchy cot. getting up, he looks out the small window in the door. other cells were beside him, and a room with a glass door is in front. dragons inside played a game of cards, laughing as they sat on nice leather couches. 
after a while of waiting on his cot and doing nothing, he hears footsteps. getting up, a pot slides through a hatch and a voice on the other side says, "dinner. best we got, so don't complain." inside the pot, something that looked like a bubbling version of mud sloshed around. the stench was like day-old rotten eggs, too.
days passed. sitting, laying down, waiting for something to happen.
footsteps sound from the hallway on day three in this place. Serval figured it was just another meal run, if you could even call it a meal. but, the door opens, and a dragon wearing a metal helmet walks in, grabbing Serval by the arms and shoving him outside.
"Hey, watch it, would you?" he spits at them, but the dragon punches him in the gut, winding him and making him double over. shoving him down the corridor, he notices how cold it is, his breath billowing out of his mouth.
the dragon opens the door to a room and shoves Serval inside. it was white, and a black mirror is in front of him.
"where am I?" Serval asks, walking up to the black mirror. suddenly, it becomes see-through, and a Hivewing with a devilish sneer plastered across his face looks back. this must be Carpenter, one of the crime bosses.
"you are in The Hold, Serval. as long as you comply with the rules here, we won't kill you. probably," he says, grinning evilly. "first, don't try to remove the needle,"
something hits Serval in the neck. he shouts and hits the ground, feeling something coursing through him.
"Now you can take it out," Serval grabs it and yanks the needle out. inside, the residue of a purple liquid sits near the bottom.
"what the hell did you do to me?" Serval coughs.
"it is a minor syrocloric acid inhibitor, pumping through your veins. we'll monitor your progress," Carpenter says, and the mirror returns to black. the guard comes back in and leads Serval back to his cell.
a few hours later, he could hear a commotion in the hallway.
"come on, you've got the wrong guy! we know each other! let me go, darn it!" his cell door opens up, and a dragon is thrown inside, rather forcefully.
it was an Icewing, with a clouded eye and scars. 
"um... hi?" Serval greets hesitantly, lifting his arm up. the Icewing goes back and bangs on the door. "let me out, you pieces of camel crap!"
eventually, after a few minutes of banging and yelling, the Icewing gives up. walking over and slumping over on the ground, Serval says, "hello,"
"damn it, Muskox! why did you have to keep your mouth blabbing? I just let everyone down..." he shouts, holding his head, sniffling a little.
"What are you in for?" Serval asks, sitting down on his cot.
"i realized what Carpenter and the other bosses were doing to their prisoners. I decided to put it against them, that's about it," Muskox replies, but his eyes get teary. "I let everyone down. I didn't even get out, even though I knew I can."
"wait, you know how to get out?" Serval perks up, going over to sit by the Icewing.
"yeah, but it's hard. you have to time everything right, get past all the defenses..." Muskox trails off. "we would probably be caught. but, I do have something up my sleeve,"
"what do you mean?" Serval asks hesitantly.
"I managed to take a vial of something when I was going past it. this might help us," he took out a vial of a clear liquid.
an idea popped into Serval's head. he took the vial poured a little onto the desk, then did a small burst of fire. sure enough, that little spark of flame ignited it, sending red plumes into the air. he shouts and jumps on the table, stamping it out as he hands the vial back to Muskox. after he's done, he turns to him and says. "you thinking what I'm thinking?"
= Chapter 11: Escape =
a few more days had passed. the feeling in Serval's arms had now grown into his muscles, and he still wasn't sure what it was. both he and Muskox had been making more fire vials. since the cell didn't have an extra bed, they switched between the bed and under the desk every night. the guards had also taken him out to get an injection two more times.
that was when the alarms started blaring. small red lights spun around on the walls, and a horn pierced the air with a shrill scream. Serval woke up instantly, Muskox at the door.
"what's going on?" Serval yells over the alarm.
"I don't know! I haven't seen anyone!" he shouts back. Serval goes up to the door and pounds on it. "hey! what's-"
to his surprise, the metal in the door warps into the shape of his fist. Muskox's mouth drops open. "you never told me you could bend metal,"
"I couldn't!" he shouts, throwing his arms up exaggeratedly. he raises his foot and kicks open the door, making it fly off its hinges.
"We need to pick someone up before we leave," Serval says to Muskox.
"why? we can pick them back up later," Muskox shouts over the alarm.
"Trust me!" Serval grabs Muskox and shakes him. "her name is Firestorm, she's a Skywing,"
Muskox stops and thinks. "I think she's down there, which is where we need to go," he replies, pointing down the hall. Unfortunately, it was blocked by two guards, one with a spring launcher and the other with one of those blue batons.
Serval picks up the door from the ground and throws it down the hall. it smashes into the guard with the launcher, making him fire into the air. the other guard charges at Serval, who brings his fist back and punches the guard in the face, the strength and speed making them flip over.
both of them run down the hall and turn the corner, Muskox taking the spring launcher as he passes it. getting to the cell block that Firestorm was supposed to be in, they begin checking cells. 
"Serval? is that you?" a voice from one of the cells shouts. he rushes over to it and finds Firestorm behind the door, trying to shake it open. Serval grabs the handle and pulls, wrenching the door from its hinges.
"what in the world is going on?" she shouts, following Serval as he runs down the hall.
"I don't know! I met this Icewing who seems to know everything about this place, so I'm just following him!" he yells back.
"We got company!" Muskox yells, firing the launcher back at three guards. Serval breaks down another door as the trio run.
"Okay, our ride should be out of this door," Muskox yells, diving behind a flipped table as bullets whizz past.
"STOP RIGHT THERE," a voice comes from down the hall. Carpenter and four heavily armored guards stand at the end of the hall. "you aren't going anywhere!"
"We are going somewhere, actually," Serval says. "out of this place that you call a prison!"
"Nobody has ever escaped The Hold alive," Carpenter scoffs. "what makes you think you can?"
"Because we have this!" Firestorm yells as she lights a vial on fire, lobbing it across the room and straight onto Carpenter's face. he screams as flaming shards of glass explode into his eyes, mouth, and neck, lighting some of the guards around him on fire too. he was dead before Serval, Muskox, and Firestorm were out the door.
freezing winds howl past them as they open the door. Serval has never been to the Icewing Queendom until now, so he staggers a bit against the cold. they run out onto a bridge, where a line of wood and metal stretches underneath.
"the train should be coming soon!" Muskox says, pointing to a cloud of smoke in the distance. a whistle rings out across the mountains, echoing.
"the heck is a train?" Serval yells at Muskox. then, it comes into view, a box rumbling across the metal line under the bridge. a smokestack billows out steam from the top as it kicks up snow.
"We have to jump!" Firestorm yells, getting up onto the ledge and jumping down. Muskox follows, and Serval does the same.
but just as he was about to jump his foot slipped, and he stumbles as he plummets towards the ground, screaming.
instead of tasting snow and frozen dirt, he looks up to see Firestorm holding his hand. 
"hold on! how are you so heavy?" she strains as she pulls him onto the box that the train was carrying behind.
"Why did you save me?" Serval asks as they both flop over onto their backs.
"I repay my debts," she replies. Muskox, meanwhile, was in a heap on another crate down the line, breathing heavily. 
"I cannot believe we just did that," he mutters.
= Chapter 12: Ambush =
as the trio reoriented themselves from what just happened, Muskox managed to find a trapdoor into one of the containers. inside was a couple of crates and a few haybales, and it was relatively warm, so they decided to stay in for a while.
later in the day, as the sun was setting, the icy, mountainous Icewing Queendom turned into an ocean, then the Skywing mountains, the train snaking through tunnels and valleys.
As Serval woke up from a nap in some haybales, Firestorm sat on the edge of the container, the doors open as she looked out onto the mountainside. Serval sat down on the opposite end, while Muskox was snoring in the corner, an old wide-brimmed hat that he had found covering his face.
"Thanks for saving me," Firestorm says to Serval, glancing over. "I didn't figure you would, you know... considering you're Serval,"
he sighs. "yeah... my old self wouldn't have done that. this new place is changing me,"
"not emotionally either," Firestorm chuckles. "you can rip off doors from their hinges now," Serval laughs.
"did Carpenter inject anything into you?" Serval asks, turning to her.
"yeah, but I haven't felt anything yet," she replies. "only small little twitches," 
"Wonder what's in those?" he asks, tilting his head towards the crates. Firestorm shrugs and they both get up to walk over to the crates.
opening one, Serval finds an acoustic guitar. he used to play one before he went into a life of crime. he strums a few chords, and Firestorm looks over. "you can play one of those?"
"not well, but..." he sits down on the edge again and starts to strum a tune. the soft rumble of the carts attempts to drown it out, but to no avail. Firestorm hums along to the song.
after a while, Serval stops and looks at Firestorm. "this may seem weird, but... I feel relieved that you're okay,"
"yeah, me too, oddly enough." Firestorm replies, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "who knew escaping from prison could be so relaxing?"
"I've never had real friends before," Serval sighs, looking out at the mountainside. "you guys are new territory for me,"
"you don't need to worry," Firestorm smiles. "we'll get through this, hopefully,"
a whirring sound catches Serval's attention. "do you hear that?" he asks Firestorm.
"yeah. it sounds like an airship, but Skywing military patrols don't come out at this time," she replies. Serval puts the guitar down.
then, a glimpse of an airship could be seen, with a box with two cylinders visibly pointed at the train. Firestorm squints but then curses. "TURRET! GET DOWN!" Muskox wakes up with a jolt.
Serval dives for cover as bullets start to rip through the metal shell of the container. Muskox loads the spring launcher, visible panic on his face.
"is that Dignity?" Firestorm shouts over the hail of bullets. Serval looks outside and sees a Rainwing, one that could pass for a queen, shouting at the crewmembers on board. she was also the second crime boss.
the turret fire stops, and harpoons get launched into the air, lodging themselves in the container. dragons jump off the airship, ziplining down to the train.
"destroy those ropes!" Muskox yells as he shoots an attacker off the ziplines. Serval grabs one and rips it out like it was a dentist to a tooth, the rope going slack and the dragons on it screaming as they plummet down. Firestorm sets one on fire, and it snakes down to the other side, burning the hands of the zipliners.
even though the trio managed to get most of them out and locked the door, some still got through. a Icewing attacker used his frost breath to carve a hole through the door, and his colleagues started to pour in. Dignity charges across one of the few ziplines that were still up, shouting, "Start RUNNING!" 
Fire and Frostbreath rip apart the container. dragons tumble off the side as they fight for their lives. Serval ducks and dodges against maces, knives, spears, and even a frying pan at one point. 
Then Dignity gets to him, dual wielding sickles. She was a ferocious fighter, and Serval could barely keep up with her attacks as she rained down tooth and steel on Serval, who only had the shattered door of the container to protect him. 
A board smashes into Dignity's skull, sending her crumpling to the ground. Muskox does a thumbs up at Serval, who thanks him, and throws the door like a spinning disk at the other dragons, who get smacked out the doorway. Muskox grabs his launcher agian and starts to shoot at the airship. 
The first shot hits one of the engines, lighting it on fire. The second hits the balloon, making it deflate quickly. The third hit the engine agian, blowing it up. Dragons on board shout and dive off as the flying ship loses altitude and smashes into the cliffs, exploding. The attacks recede as they fend off the rest of their foes. 
"That was... intense," Muskox pants. 
"Is everyone okay?" Firestorm says, turning to them. 
"Yeah, I'm fine," Serval answers. 
"Not for long!" A voice behind him cackles. He whirls around to see Dignity charging at him full tilt. He couldn't dodge as she smashes into his ribs, knocking him out of the train and down the mountain. 
"SERVAL!" Firestorm yells as she, Muskox, the train and sky become farther and farther away as he and Dignity plummet down, down, down... 
= Chapter 13: Clover =
Serval tries to grab onto the rock face, but Dignity holds onto his foot, making it much harder. He raises his foot and kicks down, hitting her in the face and sending her flying down the mountainside.
Even after he managed to get her off, he still strained to hold on. Then, rocks from above come loose and smash into his face, and his vision blurs and fades to black.
_________
Serval wakes up, again. His face was in the ground, dirt clogging up his vision. Looking around, he glances up and sees the body of Dignity, impaled by a tree, blood running down and seeping into the ground.
Rolling over, he looks up at where he fell. chunks of rock smack into the ground with heavy thunks. the railroad must be a good 150 meters above him, and it was already getting dark. a cave was nearby, so he got up to walk over. 
he immediately fell back down, shouting in pain. he clutched his leg, which didn't seem to have any injuries from the outside, but Serval suspected it was a fracture. just what he needed. he did remember having been told that you need to keep it as still as possible, so he took a large branch from a tree and crafted it into a makeshift crutch. 
an hour or so later, he got to the cave. oddly enough, there was already a campfire, burnt out in the middle. someone must have used this before him. 
"what happened to you?" a voice says from the darkness, startling Serval. he gets up, holding up a fire vial he stored, and looked around frantically. a pair of jade eyes stared back at him, belonging to a Leafwing, sitting on a ledge he hadn't noticed before. she looked bruised and beaten, her right eye swollen shut and cuts and bruises ran along her body. 
"who are you?" Serval asks, setting the vial in his ragged coat after realizing she wasn't hostile. 
"Clover, which is ironic," Clover says sadly. Serval sits back down, lighting the campfire up. "I am the most unlucky dragon who ever lived. yours?" 
"Serval," he says. "I got pushed from a train trying to escape a crime boss," 
"yeah, Dignity will do bad things to people," Clover sighs, putting her head down on a patch of moss. 
"how do you know it was Dignity?" Serval asks, puzzled. 
"its what happened to me," Clover replies. "got trapped in The Hold, managed to escape, and hunted down by that lunatic Rainwing," 
"Carpenter said that nobody has gotten out alive," Serval says. "after I, you know, killed him," 
"you killed him?" 
"yeah. flaming vial of oil right onto his face." Serval adds. "Dignity is dead too, she's just up there," 
even though Serval couldn't see her, he sensed that Clover felt a little bit happier. "that's reassuring." 
"I need to get back to my friends," Serval says suddenly. "I need to get out of this place." 
"trust me, I've tried," Clover says, looking at him. "climbing is futile, no hand holds, and your wings burn out halfway up," 
"I'm not like other dragons," he picks up a rock and crushes it with his hand. Clover nods her head slowly, grinning. 
The next day, both walk outside. Well, more or less. It was now that Serval realized how bruised Clover was, and for the first time noticing she did not have an arm, instead with a prosthetic attached. They went over to Dignity's body, taking the sickles from her hands. 
Clover bent them into a jagged turn, like an ice pick. Serval looked at Dignity's face, her gaping mouth screaming an eternal scream. 
"are you sure your ready for this?" Serval asks Clover doubtfully. 
"I'm ready for anything," she laughs menacingly. 
_________ 
meanwhile, Firestorm and Muskox arrive at Cliffside. Getting off the train, Firestorm spots Savior, Spurge and Quartz near the end of the station. 
"Where's Serval?" He asks. "Who's the Icewing?" 
"that's Muskox, Serval was tackled off the train," Firestorm says panicked. "Savior, we have to help him," 
"We can't, we're close to finishing the job. I don't want anyone else dying," Savior replies forcefully. 
As Savior, Quartz and Spurge walk away, Muskox turns to Firestorm. "How could Serval be alive?" 
"He is," Firestorm says, turning around. "I know he is." 
= Chapter 14: The Climb =
Serval slams his claws into the rock face. His crutch was hanging on his back, and his fractured ankle was limp under him. Clover followed below, using the sickles to pull herself up.
"How long will this take?" Serval yells down.
"I'm not sure, but not fast," Clover grunts.
"Just what we need," Serval sighs. The winds howl and rip past them, threatening to boot one of them off the cliff. Looking up, he sees the familiar metallic and wood train track, seemingly an endless distance away.
He grunts and keeps climbing. 
_________
In Cliffside, Firestorm and Muskox peer around the corner of an abandoned warehouse. Falcons henchmen stroll and work around a airship, armed with spring launchers. 
"How are we gonna get past all of them?" Muskox whispers. Firestorm glances over to a couple of accessories, including spiked ahouldepad's and masks, like many of the henchmen had. Firestorm beckons for Muskox to take a couple.
Dressed in their gear, the dragons walk to the airship. Getting on, a henchman waves over, and, hesitantly, Firestorm waves back. Both of them go to the helm, where thankfully no one was there. 
"Are you sure you know how to pilot one of these things?" Firestorm says to Muskox. 
"I got out of an inescapable prison, I think I can pull this off," Muskox smirks. Flipping a few switches, the airship rumbles a bit.
Then, launcher shots start to ring out across te warehouse walls. Firestorm looks out of the window, and sees the gang members shooting at a hole in the wall, where S.U.I officers begin to pour through.
"Punch it!" Firestorm shouts, grabbing a long spring launcher on the wall. Muskox grits his teeth as he flips switches and pulls levers. The churners begin to spin as the criminals and officers shout. 
"Blow that airship out of the sky!" The Mudwing from the party roars at their companions. Some start to fire at the airship, ripping holes through it. 
"What are you doing, you lunkheads? GET BACK THAT AIRSHIP!" The criminal leader shouts. 
Running out onto the deck, Firestorm opens a hatch, a turret popping out. Aiming it below, she presses down the trigger, shooting off the dragons attempting to climb aboard. 
However, this didn't last long. Thuds from behind her turns Firestorm's attention to three criminals, each holding weapons and having very angry looks on their faces. 
Firestorm unleashes a wave of flame from her mouth, scorching the dragon in front. He shouts and grabs at his face, toppling over the rail. 
Hunting axe in hand, another throws it at Firestorm, who manages to dodge it by the skin of her teeth. Smacking her tail into them, she rakes her claws across their throat, making them drop their pipe and hit the ground, dead. 
the third criminal tackles her to the ground. her head hits the floor, hard, stunning her for a short while. she tries to get up, but the criminal pins her to the ground. 
"why do you even bother?" they sneer. "you aren't getting your friend back. he's probably already dead." 
"he's not dead," Firestorm strains. out of the corner of her eye, she sees Muskox struggling against two other dragons, a long cut down his side. 
"is he, though?" the criminal continues. "just think. if he was alive, he would be bleeding, alone, scared," 
"get OFF OF ME!" Firestorm screams. 
a boom could be heard as the criminals head explodes, and his body his knocked back and off the airship, which had broke free of the cables tying it to the ground. the two dragons fighting Muskox look over in shock, which gives him enough time to shoot one with his spring launcher, then swing round and smack its stock into the back of the others head. meanwhile, the airship lifts higher into the air, the shouts from the agents and criminals fading. 
"what was that?!" Muskox shouts, running over helping Firestorm up. 
"I don't know," Firestorm says. "but I think I like it," 
= Chapter 15: The Storm =
Serval grunts as he lifts himself up onto the ledge, which was just big enough to hold two dragons. below, Clover extends her hand, which Serval takes, and hauls her up too. the frigid winds whip past the outcrop, threatening to blow them off the cliff.
"once we're up there, what do we do?" Clover grunts, sitting down. "I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere,"
"I have some backup," Serval says. "I mean, if they come,"
"you don't sound very confident,"
they both sit in silence for a bit. Serval shuffles over and props his head against a rock, turning his coat over and attempting to sleep.
"I think Falcon is doing something," Clover says. "something... huge,"
"what do you mean?" Serval asks, getting up and looking at her.
"I got caught sneaking into one of their warehouses, and... there were giant parts of... something," she continues. "they were all metal, and they looked like they connected, because in the middle they were lifting them onto each other,"
"what do you think he's going to do with it?" Serval asks.
"I'm not sure, but it cant be good," Clover says grimly.
_________
Muskox holds the steering wheel of the airship tight in his claws. turning it left and going along the mountainside, he yells to Firestorm, "when do you think we can get to him?"
"at least tomorrow or today, as long as nothing supernatural happens," Firestorm replies, looking over the edge of the airship.
a beeping sound started to ring throughout the pilot's cabin, where Muskox was. now, he wasn't fluent in the controls and directions of an airship, but he knew that a beeping sound wasn't good. flipping open the door that the light was turning off and on, he sees a board with a outlet, making loud clicking sounds as it outputs numbers. below it, a label says "wind gauge".
the numbers, however, had been getting higher and higher, and the clicking had been getting faster and faster. looking out the center windshield, he squints into the distance, and sees heavy clouds drawing nearer and nearer.
"uh, Firestorm?" Muskox shouts over the roar of the engines. "I'm not sure if we can get to him soon, it looks like theirs trouble brewing," Firestorm rushes over and looks at the clouds over the mountain, grimacing.
half an hour later, Muskox peeks out the windshield again. they were at the foot of the mountains now, the huge storm looming over them like a giant hand. snow had started to fall as Firestorm hammered the last nail into the board covering the door. "you sure this will hold up?"
"this is a 2nd Class Helsing Airship, which is built for LITERALLY the opposite of ice storms, so I hope so," Muskox says, leaning over the controls as he puts in the final number to the supposed location of Serval.
the airship rumbles as clumps of snow and rock batter the balloon and hull of the airship. Muskox spins the rudder wheel as Firestorm holds onto the door. 
A tremendous BANG rocks the airship suddenly. Firestorm peers outside and gasps, seeing the balloon of the airship ripped open, and leaking out steam. "we have a problem out here!"
"you don't say?!" Muskox shouts, struggling against the wheel as the airship began to fly towards the ground at a worrying speed.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Adventure)
Category:Genre (Romance)