Broken Ties: An Adventure Forward AU

Chapter Eight: Draconic Blitz

I walked out of the world 6 portal and stopped for a moment. Darnit, there's sand in my boot. I took it off, turned it over, and dumped some sand and rocks out of it. I turned it to the side and noticed there was a hole in between the sole and the cloth part. "Well frick." I opened my satchel, pulled out some tape, and quickly patched the hole. "I'll just stitch a patch over it later." I put the boot back on.

I started walking around. I stepped on something and it sent me upwards. "Woah!" I quickly landed on the floor above the portal. "Huh. Okay then." I looked down. Apparently, I stepped on a yellow jump pad, like the one that was right next to the tutorial center. I walked up the tilted floor and landed on the ground floor of the emporium, the w5 portal being to the right of me. I walked over to the gate with Ploque, Anshine, and Ulipse's symbol and opened it. I entered a huge purple room with a bridge connecting two sides of it. Near the underside of the bridge was a dented Chinese gate, with a tattered sign that read "Mad Dragon Festival". I grinned and walked into the portal. Dragons are real! I knew it!

I ended up on a stone path. Pagodas were closely packed everywhere. Looks like I'm in the heart of the city, assuming it's a city. I walked a couple of steps forward, the soles of my shoes click-clacking on the pavement. A pretty sunset loomed above the red and green curved rooftops. I took a moment to appreciate my surroundings. Out of the blue, the smell of smoke entered my nostrils.

"OI, GET BACK HERE YOU FLAME HEAD!!!" a feminine voice called out. It was a green to red point adorned in a samurai warrior's armor. She was hopping from roof to roof, chasing after a huge navy Chinese dragon. Wait a minute, how did I not notice that before? I contemplated as the point jumped right next to me.

"Well? Why the heck are you here?" the point asked as she landed on the ground, right beside me. "Uh- I uh..." I stammered. "Whatever, now, help me out with Rhubarb over there! He's gone crazy and I have no idea why!" she interrupted. I let out a giggle. "Rhubarb? What kind of a name is Rhubarb?"

She whipped out a katana and pointed it at me. "Shut it." I raised my hands in defense. "Ok, sheesh, I was only joking. Anyways, it doesn't look like rhubarb to me," I noted. "That's because something happened and now they aren't green and pink," she responded. The dragon continued flying over us. "HEY, YOU STUPID DRAGON! GET OVER HERE!" I called. It quickly turned around to face me, grunted, and dove. "Watch out!" the point called out.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." I jumped onto the head of the dragon just as it neared me, and quickly grabbed hold. Rhubarb the dragon noticed I was riding him, and started to shake back and forth violently to throw me off. "Woah!" I held on with all my might. Wow, they're tough, I thought as I desperately clung onto the dragon for dear life.

We kept this up for a while, taking turns, and shaking violently. I eventually managed to get back on the dragon. All of a sudden, the dragon slowed down. It must be getting tired! Then, it dropped onto a bunch of buildings. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

¯¯¯⌜later...⌟¯¯¯

My eyes fluttered open and I sat up, groaning. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times. Broken pieces of wood and furniture and whatnot were everywhere. A yellow and green Chinese dragon was also knocked out beside me. The once pretty sky was now dark, with the occasional cloud slowly drifting by.

"Now that's a lot of damage," said the female point as she hopped to where I was. "Yea... I'm sorry about that," I apologized. She placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's alright, bud. Name's Arrolin, by the way. Thanks for turning Rhubarb back to normal." I scratched the back of my head. "No problem."

"Anyways, why did you come here?" Arrolin asked. "Oh right! I came here because I need your symbol," I recalled. She nodded. "You can have it, but first, come with me. You must be exhausted." I had no choice but to follow her.

¯¯¯⌜later...⌟¯¯¯

I was sitting on a plush couch, legs on the glass table in front of me. "You've got a nice home, Arrolin," I complimented. "Thank you," Arrolin replied. "Though I'm not really known for my sense of interior design. That goes to Ploque, the woodworking Point. I assume you know her, because my world's in a section of the Emporium that requires Ploque, Anshine, and Ulipse's symbol. I can also safely say that you have Shallare and Signol's symbol, but how do you have Compale's symbol?" she asked.

"It's a long story," I quickly responded, not wanting to give Compale's secret away. "Hm, I see. I assume you've met him somewhere during his journey then." She went back into the kitchen, and came out with a tray. On the tray was an intricately designed tea cup, and some biscuits were neatly laid out next to it. Food. I quickly ate up the biscuits, and then reached for the tea.

"OUCHIE! IT'S HOT!" I quickly waved my hand back and forth. "Ow, ow, ow, owie!" Arrolin shook her head back and forth. "Every time," she sighed in disappointment.

When the tea cooled down enough for me to be able to drink it, I drank the tea. "Here's my symbol, by the way," she said as a green upwards-facing arrow popped out of nowhere. I grabbed it, put it in my satchel, and took my leave. "Goodbye Arrolin!" "See ya!"

«~~~~»

Finally! After over a month of taking a well-deserved break, I, Bluebirb, am back at it again with a new chapter! To be honest, I thought I wasn't going to get back to writing, but an overwhelming amount of people that I interact with daily online helped me get the motivation to continue writing! I really do hope you enjoy this chapter and tune in for Chapter 9, where a familiar robotic face will show up! See you soon, my birbs!