Big Nate - Dragon Training Time

The King Key

As I hovered in midair amidst the sky of the ruins, Pop N' Rock suddenly wavered in the middle of the air. I yelped, and suddenly, my butt was flung down to a lower elevation, and Pop N' Rock disappeared. And I was riding in the middle of the air! I screamed, and Pop N' Rock's melody filled my ears. Wait... Pop N' Rock had transformed into soundwaves! Whoa! I grinned. Was that a prank, Pop N' Rock? But it wasn't, it turned out. She was trying to protect herself. A golden blur raced across the sky, and I gasped. A dragon made of gold had spikes protruding from its skull, and a ruby on its forehead, which glowed with energy, had appeared, and circled us. It was so fast, there may have been even more body details than that which I couldn't observe. Then I realised there was something between its bared teeth, which didn't shift for the entire time... But I needed to get a closer look. Because, if this dragon was guarding it, then it must be important. Very important. Pop N' Rock, give this dragon a taste of heavy metal! I yelled, and Pop N' Rock not only appeared and started singing a tune based off heavy metal, but its scales morphed into thick, patterned plates of metal, and it rammed with great force into the dragon. So, I could finally get a good look at what was in its mouth. It was a golden key, which rippled and waved, and to me, it seemed as though made of liquid gold. Immediately, Pop N'Rock switched back to normal, but not yet into the soundwaves. Suddenly, her soul came flying straight out of her, and raised its claws at the golden dragon, and slashed at its neck. Along with a screech of pain, out came her prey today. Bite Dragonets, two Light Vishaps, oh, and... Wait... Francis, Teddy, Prodigy, Chad, Dee-Dee and Gina? Wow, it was my friends! I cried happily, my surprise for that special move being extinguished by something as great as a flood of relief. So they didn't leave me! I lowered Pop N' Rock to get a closer look at them, but I found something else that was the best thing of all. The King Key! I went closer to touch it, but the surprisingly-conscious Prodigy had grabbed before me, and smirked. That smirk made my blood turn into ice. Then I recited what the poem had told us: There were ill-intentioned strangers around the ruins. It didn't make sense, but that was the only explanation. So, Nate, he said calmly. I bet my life you've figured a half of it. I stammered, too discouraged to speak. True, true, true, he drawled on. You just got caught in a nightmare, where you won't like to be. The Golden Dragon, the one behind ye, is mine. Flee from I, the final danger, also the ill-intentioned stranger, but most of all, the Keeper of the Ruins, Prodigy! But there's something I need to show you, Nate, to help you understand more. He opened the Third Edition of Gems of Mystery, and went to the next page, after what we'd read. The rest of the poem, he smirked, and showed the rest of the poem to me.

But remember, who was once an ally

Can prepare the ruin's perilous finale

He will bring pain until you fail to breath

Or otherwise, the unholy concept of death

And to do this, he will go to a great length

One may call him the Multiversal Reaper

Or the Ruined Keeper

But most of all, he is the Gemkeeper.

Prodigy laughed, his grin wider than ever before. The Gemkeeper follows any attempt you have to find the Gem Dragon and your filthy group of stupid dragons, he snarled. I was seething with rage at this point. The two Pop N' Rock had been caught in a flash of blood and wounds, but I knew they'd persevere. But then, the Golden Dragon went near Prodigy, and he jumped onto it. Then shards of gold came shooting out at speeds so fast for the naked eye to see, I could only hear the impacts and a roar of pain. The soul wasn't even fazed, but still retreated to its body. I jumped onto Pop N' Rock, ready to win a Duel that would determine the fate of our all of our dragon friends. Suddenly, something came out of nowhere, and slammed Pop N' Rock into the depths of the Earth and out of sight through a hole in the ground, but I gripped on the edge of one side and cried in despair. The mysterious glimmered in the setting sun, and my friends woke up, and gasped. Beside the dragon, there was Jack Frost, Seedling, Flamethrower, and Suction! They'd all undergone changes just like Pop N' Rock, who I was moping about. Jack Frost had become a Freezelord Drake, Seedling a Quake Wyvern, Flamethrower a Wildfire Lordragon, and Suction a Gale Wyrm. Flamethrower! Squealed Dee-Dee subconsciously, and moaned under her breath. I looked back at the dragon, and my eyes nearly ruptured. The Gem Dragon was now gleaming as bright as ever, much more luminous than before. A beam of radiation came shooting out of the Gem Dragon's mouth, and I rolled out of the way just in time, but not before dealing unspeakable damage to my leg. I exploded, screeched, and wailed, and Jack Frost dashed towards me, and a piece of frostbite appeared on my arm. I gasped. The Gem Dragon was somehow controlling all of my friends' dragons, and it was making Jack Frost use its powers to make ice stick onto me! It was said that a Freezelord Drake could freeze the entire world if it wanted to. I moaned, that part of my arm feeling numb. I collapsed, and wiggled like a worm to get up. I could see Jack Frost's shadow looming over me. But I couldn't see anything else, because everything had gone black.