The Legend of Metadile

Prologue

Two blood-red spheres of light slowly rose into the thundering night, and an angry metallic roar could be heard. The Metal Crocodile swung its massive tail, wiping out multiple buildings. As people fled, the creature picked up a tower in its black fangs and threw it into the city centre. All of a sudden, a dragon swooped in. The dragon was a Sky Lighter, the largest dragon species. On its back sat a rider, holding a blade. As the Sky Lighter flew past the Metal Crocodile, the rider plunged the Elemental Dragon Sword into the robot’s chest. The robot, scratched and dented, lay motionless in the town centre as people began to chant the heroes’ names.

Chapter 1

Drago woke to see a white dragon sleeping beside him. He gave the creature a nudge and whispered: ‘Wake up, Thunder.’ Thunder lifted his head. Drago stroked him, being careful not to touch the crackling golden horns.

‘Want to train today?’ asked Drago, brushing his smooth black hair. Thunder let out a cheerful roar.

***

Drago climbed off Thunder’s back and stepped into the clearing. This was their favourite place, the centre of a peaceful forest with a clear view of the sky. The boy walked over to a hollow tree and took out the contents: parts of a robot. He unfolded the legs and arms, and attached them to a cuboid body. Then, he placed the cube-shaped head on top. The robot extended its left arm into the sky; Thunder blasted it with a lightning bolt. The robot lowered its arm and said ‘Lightning Mode selected.’ The machine pointed one arm at Thunder and launched a lightning bolt. Drago instructed Thunder to dodge. The robot then sent out multiple balls of lightning. Thunder dodged them and pushed the robot into the river which cut through the clearing. Drago ordered Thunder to blast the water. The water conducted the electricity and caused a power surge. Thunder leapt into the water and dragged the damaged robot to shore. His rider gave him a congratulatory stroke. Drago replaced the circuit board and packed the machine away. He climbed onto Thunder’s back, and they flew out of the clearing and headed home.

‘Drago! Thunder!’

Thunder landed in the city centre and Drago got off. The person who had called to them was Drago’s friend, Arc. Thunder ran over to Arc’s dragon, a Sharp Tail called Blade. As the two dragons played, Drago and Arc sat down on a bench.

‘How’s training going?’ asked Arc

‘Really well. I’ve been training Thunder to use the terrain to his advantage. How are you and Blade doing?’ replied Drago.

‘Good thanks. I’m still training Blade to use his tail as a weapon. How about a training battle to see how our dragons are doing?’

The two boys walked into a hollow and over to a battlefield being watched by a golden statue. The two dragons flew into the sky and Blade smacked Thunder with his tail. Thunder launched lightning attacks at Blade, but the Sharp Tail kept dodging or countering by summoning rocks to block the lightning bolts. The dragons landed by a pond: Thunder was on the right side and Blade was on the left. Blade flew towards Thunder, who used his tail on the water to create a massive wave. When Blade moved through the water, Thunder delivered a high-voltage shock and unleashed a victorious roar. 

‘Thunder’s really strong. You’ve trained him well,’ said Arc. ‘One day he could be as strong as Sun!’

‘Thanks, I hope so,’ Drago sighed.

‘I was in the library the other day and found a book about Sky Lighters. Their horns are always the same colour as those of the dragon’s father. As Sun’s horns were golden, Thunder must be one of his descendants.’

Drago stared at the statue of two heroes, a dragon and its rider, for a moment. ‘Great!’ I am a descendant of Ash, and now I find out that Sun is my dragon’s ancestor.

Chapter 2

‘I wonder if they met like you and Thunder,’ said Arc.

‘What?’

‘Are you alright?’ asked Arc.

‘Yeah,’ said Drago.

‘Are you sure?’ pressed Arc.

‘No! Being a descendant of a hero and having a dragon whose ancestor is also a hero is not—’

Suddenly, people ran through the city, screaming. Fear seemed to conjure up a storm, claw buildings, overwhelm people and creep into the ground.

‘Wait! What’s going on?’ shouted Arc.

The crowd ignored him, continuing to flee. Arc and Drago tried to stop the people, but they were ignored again and again. Then, Blade and Thunder shot into the sky. The high-pitched howl of a Sharp Tail combined with the booming roar of a Sky Lighter froze the masses in their tracks. 

‘What’s happening?’ asked Drago.

‘M-m-metadile,’ replied a man, ‘has returned. He’s destroying towns. He’s coming. Does Ash have a descendant? Only they can stop M-m-metadile.’

‘Yes,’ Drago said slowly.

‘Do you know them? Can you ask them to stop M-m-metadile?’

‘Yeah. We know each other very well,’ answered Drago.

The quivering man nodded and rushed away.

‘What do I do? I’m nothing like Ash,’ said Drago.

‘You are not Ash, but you are Drago,’ replied Arc.

‘I’m useless.’

‘Remember the school Ash created? Remember the motto? A hero’s true weapon is their heart. Your bond with Thunder is the strongest I’ve ever seen, it might even be stronger than the one between Ash and Sun. If anyone can stop Metadile it’s you and Thunder,’ reassured Arc as Thunder nudged Drago.

Drago stroked Thunder and said, ‘I don’t have to stop Metadile. We do.’

Chapter 3

‘Any idea where the Elemental Dragon Sword is, Professor?’ asked Drago.

Arc burst into laughter before replying: ‘Yes. The statue. Arc’s blade is pointing directly at the school clock. One of the hands must be the sword!’

***

‘Look, the minute hand doesn’t have a guard. It must be the hour hand,’ said Arc, when they reached the old stone school.

‘How do we reach it? With the roof directly over the clock and a ledge underneath, there isn’t space for a dragon and a rider to reach it,’ said Drago. 

‘Thunder could fly you up the clock tower and you could climb onto the ledge,’ suggested Arc.

Drago climbed onto Thunder, who flew up. He then reached across to the sand-coloured rim, swung off his dragon and hauled himself up. Drago walked to the white clock, his back touching the wall. A cloud of dust dispersed as Drago took another step. He took a deep breath. Suddenly, the rock crumbled under his feet and he began to fall. Quicker than a peregrine falcon, Thunder dived after Drago and caught his rider’s collar in his teeth as Drago’s boot brushed the ground. 

‘That was close!’ exclaimed Drago as he sat down on the steps.

‘Alright?’ asked Arc.

‘Apart from falling off a clock tower and nearly dying, yes.’

‘How do we reach the sword?’ asked Drago a moment later.

‘You really need me to solve every problem?’ asked Arc. ‘Sharp Tails have the longest tails of all dragon species. I can climb down Blade’s tail and grab the sword.’

‘Be careful.’

Arc nodded as he boarded Blade. The dragon rose into the sky and directed his tail towards the clock. Arc climbed down using the black spikes as steps. As his foot slipped, Blade wrapped his tail round Arc’s leg. Arc regained his balance and Blade straightened his tail. When the Sharp Tail’s rider reached the end of the tail, he carefully pulled the sword out of the clock. Blade then glided down.

‘Well done,’ said Drago; Thunder gave a congratulatory roar.

Chapter 4

‘The robot, scratched and dented, lay motionless in the town centre as people began to chant the heroes’ names. Over the following weeks, Ash and Sun carried the robot’s parts to a secret location in the south.’

Arc stopped reading The Legend of The Metal Crocodile and looked up. The library was one of the few buildings that survived Metadile’s rampage through the city 500 years ago. On the outside it was made of brick with cracks full of moss. However, the inside was smooth polished spruce with many books and levels. One of the levels was all about legends and myths. The topics varied from Greeks and Romans to sea serpents and three-headed dogs. Drago and Arc were here researching Metadile and where he could be.

‘He must be south,’ said Arc.

Drago nodded. ‘Metadile’s probably coming here to try and find Ash. Let’s go.’

***

A massive robot was destroying a small town, swinging his spiked tail, stomping his clawed feet, picking up buildings in his black fangs, and unleashing dark-purple and black beams of destruction. This was Metadile. All of a sudden, a white dragon swooped in. A rider sat on its back holding a legendary blade. Thunder charged at Metadile and Drago slashed at the robot with the Elemental Dragon Sword. However, the sword shattered on impact and the rider and dragon were frozen with fear. 

Metadile roared: ‘ASH? SUN? DIE!’ 

He started powering up a massive attack, when he was hit by flying rocks. He turned around to see a Sharp Tail with a rider. 

‘Run!’ shouted Arc as Blade threw more rocks at Metadile. ‘Let’s meet at the forest.’ Thunder and Blade flew away, Drago and Arc perched on their backs.

Chapter 5

The dragons landed in the clearing and their riders got off.

‘Is there a place to—sleep here?’ asked Arc, his words pierced by a yawn.

‘No, but I have a tent,’ said Drago, walking over to a hollow oak.

Underneath the robot parts, he found a red tent and two blue sleeping bags. After the boys set up the tent, they climbed in and quickly fell asleep. 

***

Drago crawled out of the tent into the thundering night. Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck the calm river and mist slowly rose up. Out of the mist came a figure. 

‘Who are you?’ he asked.

‘Ash,’ whispered the figure. ‘Who are you?’

‘Drago, the one who failed to defeat Metaladile.’

‘Don’t be ashamed of who you are.’

‘I failed to beat Metadile. How can I not be ashamed?’ said Drago.

‘You can not be me, you can be you,’ whispered Ash.

‘I was trying to be you. Is that why I failed?’ asked Drago, but the mist and Ash faded into shadow.

***

Drago woke up with a start. Was that a dream? He got out of the tent and into the thunderstorm. He spotted Thunder and followed his gaze to the river. Instead of being calm like it was in the dream, it was as ferocious as it had been when he met Thunder. The memory came flooding back. 

One stormy night, he’d found shelter in the forest and had fallen asleep. However, he’d quickly woken up at the sound of a roar. He had followed the sound until he had found the river and a wounded Sky Lighter. Over the following days, Drago had helped the Sky Lighter recover and named him Thunder. 

Suddenly, the storm’s final lightning bolt struck Thunder.

‘Thunder!’ Drago shouted, but Thunder seemed fine and walked over to Drago.

‘If we can’t beat Metadile Ash and Sun’s way, we need to defeat him our way. How about we train and give him a shock?’ asked Drago.

Thunder roared his approval and Drago set up the training robot. The robot extended its left arm into the sky; Thunder blasted it with a lightning bolt. The robot lowered its arm and said ‘Lightning Mode selected.’ Then, Thunder shot into the sky, folded his wings and dived. He hit the water with so much force, a wave towered over the forest. When the water was electrified by Thunder, the storm seemed to restart. The electric wave crashed down on the robot. Stunned, Drago watched as the resulting electrical overload caused the robot to explode. 

Arc walked out of the tent, a flying bolt just missing him. ‘What was that explosion? Surely no storm could have done this?’ 

After Drago explained, Arc said,‘ I know why he is so powerful now. Sky Lighters are one of the few dragon species that can become an Emperor Dragon.’ Seeing Drago’s puzzled expression,  he continued: ‘An Emperor Sky Lighter is known as a Storm Lighter. When a dragon with the potential to become an Emperor Dragon is exposed to its own element naturally, they absorb some of the energy, which activates special abilities.’

‘How many different types of Emperor Dragons are there?’

‘Four. Storm Lighters are Sky Lighters struck by lightning, Hydro Wings are Water Wings that have been caught in a whirlpool, Sharp Scales are Sharp Tails that were stuck in quicksand and Inferno Claws are Fire Claws that were exposed to lava.’

‘So Thunder is a Storm Lighter now?’ asked Drago.

‘Yes, the first known one since Sun.’

‘Is he as powerful as Sun now?’

‘Not exactly,’ replied Arc. ‘Becoming an Emperor Dragon affects dragons in different ways. They get one of three permanent abilities: the Emperor’s Wing increases speed, the Emperor’s Claw increases the dragon’s power, and the Emperor’s Roar allows the dragon to call others to his aid.’

‘Which ability did Sun receive?’ asked Drago.

‘Sun gained the Emperor’s Claw.’

‘Do you know which ability Thunder gained?’

‘From what you told me, I’d say he gained the Emperor’s Wing.’

Chapter 6

Drago looked up. Metadile was looming in the distance. He jumped onto Thunder’s back and asked Arc if he was coming.

‘Yes, I’ll just get Blade.’

Drago nodded. ‘Ready, Thunder?’

Thunder roared as Arc returned, riding Blade. The dragons soared over the lush forest towards the partially-destroyed city. Soon, they reached Metadile.

‘WHO ARE YOU?’ it demanded.

‘I am Drago, descendant of Ash. This is Thunder, descendant of Sun. Together we will defeat you,’ said Drago, flying directly above the battlefield watched by the golden statue.

‘And I’m Arc, Drago’s friend. This is Blade.’

Metadile roared and swung his massive tail. Thunder and Blade dodged. Metadile launched a destructive beam. Smoke rising from his wing, Blade spiralled down to the ground.

‘NO!’ shouted Drago, but Thunder roared. ‘You’re right. They’ll only be safe if we stop Metadile.’ 

‘NO ONE ESCAPES METADILE TWICE,’ roared Metadile, crushing buildings under his feet.

‘We aren’t escaping you, we are leading you into a trap!’ shouted Drago, before holding his breath.

Metadile’s eyes widened in shock as Thunder hit the ocean at 1000 miles per hour. A wall of water rose up and consumed the robot. Thunder launched a lightning bolt at Metadile and was thrown back by the blast. The two landed on the beach, gazing at the destroyed robot. The shadow-black fangs were either scattered on the sand or clinging to the robot’s mouth by a single bolt; the tail was cracked and twisted from when the monstrous machine was blasted into the ragged cliffs. However, Metadile’s most noticeable injury was a massive hole in his already scarred chest where the lightning bolt had struck. 

Chapter 7

For a second, Drago thought he saw movement, but he was quickly distracted by Arc calling his name.

‘Well done,’ congratulated Arc.

‘Thanks,’ replied Drago. ‘Where’s Blade?’

‘He’s back at the statue.’

‘How is he? What injuries does he have?’

‘He is in a lot of pain and his wing is bleeding.’

‘Arc, go to Blade and gather some poppy seeds on the way.’

‘Why?’

‘They’ll help Blade. Thunder and I need to go to the forest and collect some things. See you at the statue,’ said Drago, as he jumped onto Thunder’s back and flew to the forest.

***

‘Have you got what you needed?’ asked Arc.

‘Yes. Where’s Blade?’

‘Over here,’ said Arc.

Underneath an old birch tree, Blade was lying down, whimpering. Drago gave Thunder some leaves, which the dragon began to chew. Drago sat down beside Blade’s wing and placed cobwebs on the injury. Thunder spat out the compress of marigold leaves and Drago walked over.

‘Keep applying cobwebs to the scratch until it stops bleeding,’ Drago instructed Arc.

Arc nodded and covered the wound in fresh cobwebs, as Drago dipped his fingers into the chewed up leaves.

‘Done,’ said Arc, after Blade’s injury stopped bleeding.

Drago coated Blade’s wound in the compress and explained that it would prevent infection.

‘Have you got the poppy seeds? They’ll relieve the pain and help Blade sleep.’

Arc took the seeds out of his pocket and handed them to Drago.

Drago gave the seeds to Blade, who slowly swallowed them.

‘Will he be alright?’

‘Yeah. He just needs rest.’

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Arc. ‘Is it your ancestry again?’‘No. For the first time in my life, I finally feel worthy of being a descendant of Ash. But I’m worried about Metadile. How did he come back? Someone or something must have repaired him.’