FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Friendly Fire"

"Watch out."

Drake grunted as Shiron brushed past him on his way into the bathroom, slamming the door behind the wolf so loudly that it made him jump. It was still pretty early in the morning, but already his day was turning out swimmingly thanks to the rival dragon's bitter greetings. He sighed and moved his way into the bedroom where Donell was still sleeping; half curled under his sheets with a single naked leg hanging from underneath over the edge of the bed. Drake didn't want to climb back in and wake him up and so he seated himself in the beanbag chair placed a few feet from it. Pulling a phone off the nearby desk, he began to move his way through his online tasks, the screen lighting up his area of the room, but not out-lighting the sun coming through the window. It was an early Saturday morning, the birds outside beginning to make noises that could be heard through the house. As he rested back into the chair, he heard the great dane snort a snore, a clear indication that he was waking up.

"Hey Don?" He asked.

"Nnnhh..." Donell made a grumbling noise to the sound of Drake's words. Indicating he heard him, but was not capable yet of speaking.

"How long do you think we're going to be here doing this?" He asked. "I mean, you training... it shouldn't take months should it?"

"What are you talking about..." He asked with a slurring voice, the dane's face peeking out from under a pillow that didn't seem to line up with the rest of his body. He yawned wide, blinking to open his eyes. "Are you not happy here?"

"Frankly, not really." Drake admitted. "I mean, you being here's about the only reason I am. Otherwise it's too cramped all the time, and I think Shiron's out to get me."

"Oh, you're being ridiculous." Donell said dismissively. "Shiron's fine with you."

"Really? Because I'm getting the impression he's mad that you're with me and not him."

"I'll talk to him..." Donell said, still sounding sleepy. "I think he's just a little irked that something didn't go his way for once."

"And the fact you two were together doesn't have anything to do with it."

"No." Donell said sticking his head back under the pillow. "Now quit worrying about it and come back to bed."

"It's daylight." Drake added.

"Is it?" Donell said muffled under the pillow. "I must not have noticed then."

Drake grinned, watching Donell squirm about under the sheets. He knew what Donell meant, but spotting Shiron passing the doorway immediately ruined the ideas in his head. He sighed softly and got up, slapping the shape under the covers. "Come on, sleepyhead. We should probably get down and see what---chores your father has for you to do today."

Donell stuck his head back into view. "They're not 'chores' so much." He said. "More... tests than chores."

Drake let a deep breath escape and pulled Donell out of the bed, standing him up in front of him. "Well the faster you get done, the faster we can go out."

"Out?" Donell repeated. "Why Drake, are you asking me out on a date?"

"Dinner and a show." He said with a wink. "Now get dressed, I'll meet you downstairs."

Drake stepped from the room and closed the door behind him so that Donell could shower and get dressed, almost immediately running into Shiron passing by again headed toward the steps. "Hey." Drake said, making Shiron stop and take a look at him. "What is it with you?"

"What do you mean?" Shiron asked.

"Oh, don't play the innocent dragon here." Drake scoffed. "You've been trying to drive a wedge between me and Don, and when you realized that's not gonna work you've been picking on me. What is your problem?"

"My problem is with you." Shiron said sternly as he shoved the wolf with a single hand, knocking him back against the wall. "It's with your origins, it's with your attitude. You might have won Donell's eyes, but I will eventually win his heart."

"Why? Because you had some distant relationship sometime way in the past? He's with me for a reason buddy, and you're not going to impress him out of being in love with me."

"I've had about enough of your attitude." He said with the jabbing of his finger in Drake's chest. "Why don't you back off?"

"What are you going to do about it if I don't?"

With a low growl that resulted in the flick of the dragon's tail, Shiron stormed away from the wolf, stomping rather loudly down the hall until he disappeared down the steps leading away from him.

"Problems in paradise?"

Drake jumped for a moment before realizing Duo was standing behind him, Dragor not far away as well, leaving their room. He sighed at the brothers. "No, no... just having a few words with him is all."

"Sounded a bit more like a claw-to-claw fight about to happen to me." The big green dragon said stretching his arms out. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, as long as Donell doesn't fall for it I'll be fine." As Dragor approached, the brothers passed a glance at each other, then continued on down the hall past him. "H-hey!" Drake exclaimed as he followed after them. "What's that look supposed to mean?"

Donell had gotten out of his shower and had just finished putting his clothes on when a knock came at the door. He glanced at it for a moment before it cracked open, the female dragon behind it made him breathe a sigh of relief as Relena spotted him and smiled before opening the door fully.

"You weren't at breakfast." She said. "I just came to make sure you weren't still sleeping."

"Nah. Drake woke me up this morning, is dad looking for me?"

She nodded. "Your father has a task set for you today that involves you traveling to the other side of the forest across the water. He'd asked me to come and retrieve you and avoid the... whatever embarrassing situation you had last time happening again."

"He caught me a little under dressed last time." The dane teased. "What's in the forest?"

"It's something he'll have to share with you." She said. "Not even I know his methods, but I suspect it will be something that can help control your transformations more. How are you feeling?"

"Me? I'm feeling fine." Donell said. "Fit as a fiddle even, but it can feel a little crowded in this house, how long am I going to be doing these tests?"

"Until the king judges you are prepared to take his place when he is gone."

"Arnold isn't even getting a say in that? He's the oldest son isn't he?"

Relena shrugged. "I think he is simply too... independent to make a strong monarch. I think both of our faiths rely heavily on you."

"So, no pressure then?"

Relena smiled again, and then leaned in to give the dane a kiss on the forehead. "We all have our predestinations in life. I trust you will fill yours with the strength and pride of any dragon."

"Hah." Donell chuckled. "Whatever you say, my queen." He teased.

"Don't you use that tone with your mother." Relena added a sharp tone to her response, but her smirk made Donell aware that she was kidding as she bopped him on the head with a rolled up paper in her hand. "Now hurry downstairs, your father is waiting for you." She let a smirk slip across her face before stepping back through the door and disappearing again, leaving Donell to roll his eyes.

The trip downstairs was met with an aroma that hung in the air; meat, eggs and the smell of pancakes which made the house of dragons feel more like a home for the dog. He'd dressed fairly casually; a pair of blue jeans, a v-neck black tee. It was actually the most casual outfit that he's worn in the last few weeks, it made him feel almost like he was back on Earth. As he reached the first floor he was side-hugged by Drake in passing as he made his way into the kitchen. Dranzer was there; the king himself glancing up from a morning newspaper to meet his son's eyes.Tatsu and Umi were there as well; the white and blue dragons just finishing putting piles of food onto their plate before stepping over to the table, but Dranzer stopped them by clearing his throat.

"Would you two mind eating somewhere else? I must talk to my son."

There was a delay as the pair reacted with unsure expressions before quickly moving toward the kitchen's exit, spouting quick "Good mornings" at the canine who had entered. As they left, Donell maintained a chipper expression and began to serve himself some of the food on the breakfast counter. "Mother said you needed to talk to me." He said. "Something about a mission to the forest?"

Dranzer had taken a sip of his coffee and winced at the flavor. "Guuuhhhh how do people on Earth stand this tar? It helps to keep my senses sharp in the morning, but at the cost of my taste buds."

"I was surprised that you guys fixed breakfast." Donell said. "I mean, like a real... Earth breakfast."

"It was Duo's idea." Dranzer said. "He said he was tired of eating the same thing day to day and so he went and purchased... pig strips and... baby birds to consume. Also this..." He raised a bit of pancake from his plate. "He called it a 'Flapjack' but I am not even sure what this Jack is..."

"Pancakes." Donell laughed. "And you're reading a newspaper I see--anything good?"

"Huh... I am not sure. It's from England and it is dated March 16, 1969. I am not sure how they thought this would look like an authentic Earth breakfast. But I'm feeling it." He smirked.

Donell laughed a bit as he placed his plate on the table and sat across from the black dragon. "So...?"

"Ah. Yes." Dranzer said distinctly as he folded his paper up and placed it on the table. "Your mother has given you time to prepare for my mission, has she?"

"Nah. She only told me about it, I have been prepared for what I need to do next. I just had to wait for you to tell me."

Dranzer smiled. "That's what I like to hear. Okay then, in the forest that surrounds this place is a very dark thicket. Blanketed in shadow; your element, Donell. It is there you need to go, find the source of the shadow and gain its power. That will go a long way to strengthen your draconic heritage."

"When should I head out?"

"Well that depends..."

Donell looked up from his plate of food questioningly. "Huh?"

"...on if you'll be having seconds or not." The king smiled.

It was nearly noon before Donell began to prepare for his departure, the transformation into his dragon body seemed to feel a little more natural to him; ebon wings stretching out of his back, his legs popping and growing him to a new height. His fur vanishing and being replaced by scales, he was definitely a sight to behold as he glanced at himself in the mirror. It felt sort of like being a superhero, becoming something entirely different than he was on a normal basis. Shiron looked at Donell approvingly with a smile, earning a glare from Drake, who walked over to the new dragon and spoke quietly to him:

"You sure you gotta go?" He asked. "Well... I'm sure you're sure man, but I don't know, I have a feeling about this one..."

Donell looked at Drake and hugged him. "Don't worry so much. As soon as I get this thing, I'll hurry back and we can have that date you talked about."

The wolf smiled, which turned into a rather confident grin in Shiron's direction; who snorted and turned his gaze away from them. Taking a step back, Donell spread his wings and with a running jump, he leaped into the air, flapping them hard to get some lift and get off the ground as Drake's fur fluttered in the sudden gust of air and he watched as Donell made a quick disappearance over the trees of the forest and out of sight. Hearing a growl from behind him, Drake turned to see Shiron suddenly come up and shove him back. The wolf staggered a few feet and glared at him.

"You'd best mind yourself." Shiron said. "You don't want to know what it's like to have a dragon angry with you."

"Or what?"

Shiron looked surprised at Drake's sass. For a moment it appeared he was searching for a comeback before returning with a rather imposing show of size. "Or you will regret it!" He snarled before storming off in another direction.

"Oh man. What is with him?" Drake asked as he turned to a chilling sensation to see Drayzier walking up from behind. "It's like I've made his mortal enemies list."

"Shiron has always had a soft place in his heart for Donell." Dray explained. "I'm sure you know this; and the idea of someone coming along and denying him what he wants could be a bit too much to bear. I suggest the art of eggshell stepping, stay out of his way for a bit and he may come down out of it."

The wolf let out a sigh. "Right... maybe."

"Could I--ask you a question, Drake?"

Drake looked at the blue and white dragon. "Sure, what's up?"

Drayzier let out a slow breath of air, which fogged from his nostrils. This dragon truly represented the element of ice to every capacity, but today it seemed as though he were extra chilly to the air around him. "You are not like others on Earth, I've noticed. I've watched them. I've not seen any wolves that had... green fur unless they made it green... heck, I don't think any Earthly species has green fur. Green skin and scales perhaps but--"

"I get what you mean." Drake scoffed a bit. "Well, I mean I try not to be obvious about my own origins, but I am talking to a dragon and dating a dog that can transform into one, so I suppose it's not a really big surprise. I am a Digimon."

"A Digi--" Dray gasped and blinked at him. "You mean one of those digital monsters? You come from the digital world?"

"Well, my parents did." Drake admitted. "Me I was raised on Earth, and pretty much had to get along on my own."

"Wow... that changes everything." Drayzier said. "I mean, being a Digimon means you might stand a fighting chance if Shiron--"

"Don't even say it." Drake shook his head. "I don't even want to fight him if I don't have to--"

"Oh you don't?" A voice from behind turned Drake's attention back to Shiron who was now approaching. Duo and Dragor following not far behind as if they had been trying to get him to stop. "Are you afraid I would hurt that precious Digimon head of yours?"

Drake turned around to face them. "Look. I don't know why you think you're so much better than me, but I don't want a fight out of--" He grunted as Shiron came up and brazenly shoved him backward, almost making him trip over his own feet. "Hey!"

"That settles it 'Digimon'." He growled. "If one of us really wants to win Donell's affections, we're just going to have to fight it out, aren't we?"

"You know? I'm tired of being pushed around by you." Drake growled. "I'm not going to walk on eggshells either just to make you feel comfortable about Don being with me. I'll fight you and I'll beat that smug grin off your face!"

"Good." Shiron gave a grin of satisfaction. "Then we fight in the yard behind Ranshiin's house, the stadium where Donell and his mother fought. Sound good?" He didn't even wait for an answer, as soon as Shiron said this, he turned and started to walk away, glancing over his shoulder for a moment for the wolf to follow him.

Drake followed Shiron through the small wooded area at the edge of the forest back toward the house; behind him followed Duo, Dragor and Drayzier, but as they passed the other dragons; one by one they all followed: Umi, Tatsu, Patro and Voltaire. As they reached the house, they saw Dranzer and Relena come out of the back door. Ranshiin and Greedo had both left for the night, and would not bear witness to the battle about to unfold.

"Attention all dragons!" Shiron announced as he pushed his way past the border of the arena ground. He stepped to the center of the field, directly in front of the stands and pointed at Drake, causing the whole group to freeze in place. "This 'Digimon' wishes to challenge me for the right to mateship with Donell. As he is apparently of a digital origin and capable of strong battle skills, I think it would be safe to say that him testing his metal against me would not be considered 'unfair'. Do I have any objections?"

"Shiron, what is this?" Dranzer scoffed. "Has this not been settled before?"

"No, your majesty. It has not." Shiron answered. "You've denied me time and time again before allowing this creature to be with your son. I think a trial of combat will help determine exactly--who is worthy of it?"

"Should we not wait for Donell to return?" Relena asked. "He should have a say in this--"

"It's going to be the only chance I have of getting this guy off my back." Drake growled as he took his shirt off, revealing a thick, muscular body underneath it. "It's not a side of me I'd like to see Donell witness. I accept your challenge Shiron. If you win, I will submit. If I win, you need to back down!"

"Finally, something we can agree on." Shiron said as he turned to face the wolf.

Quickly, the other dragons moved to the safety of the stands as Relena and Dranzer backed away from the obviously-competitive duo glared at one another. This could be dangerous; a powerful dragon versus a powerful digimon, not even Relena could have seen this coming.

"Come on then!" Shiron cried out as he charged toward Drake.

Drake, caught off guard by the sudden charge brought his hands up and managed to catch the dragon by the shoulders before slamming his full weight into him, knocking him off his feet. Both of them falling to the ground, Shiron growled and suddenly kicked upward with his legs to knock the Weregarurumon off of him. Drake grunted, flipped forward and landed on the ground in front of him. "WOLF CLAW!" His voice echoed as a slash of red energy shot from his hands, striking the dragon and knocking him back. Drake charged in, raising his right fist to punch the dragon. Shiron recovered quickly from the energy attack and caught Drake's fist. Pulling it up high, he landed a solid blow to the wolf's stomach, making him grunt and his body suddenly lurch forward in obvious pain. Catching his breath from the sudden winding, the wolf pulled back on his arm firmly clenched in Shiron's fist and yanked the dragon toward him, landing a solid blow with his left hand and punching him so hard that Shiron's neck looked like it was about to twist off.

Shiron glared at Drake, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground before he charged the wolf again. Grabbing him around the waist, Shiron quickly lifted the digimon into the air and slammed him down into the ground hard. He lifted a second time and slammed down again, but the third time, Drake was ready for him and threw a clump of dirt into the dragon's face.

"GAH! Pffth! Pffth!" Shiron staggered as he spit dirt out of his mouth, trying to clear it from his eyes at the same time. Drake leaped into the air and then came down hard with another solid punch, this time in a downward motion that caused the dragon's head to jerk hard. Drake followed up with a solid uppercut, but Shiron caught his arm before the dog could pull it away "ENOUGH!" He roared as he clenched his fist tightly around Drake's arm and with a mighty flap of his wings, propelled himself hard into the sky.

Drake could hardly breathe from the speed at which they were travelling, but as soon as Shiron stopped his ascending, he felt almost sick over the lack of gravity before the dragon sent himself downward. Faster, and faster until finally reaching the arena again, where Shiron slammed the wolf into the ground so hard that it sounded like a miniature explosion.

Miles away, Donell looked up at the noise he'd heard. He had only reached the shadowy thicket a bit ago, but couldn't be sure if the sound he heard was coming from the forest, or somewhere back from where he came. He turned around for a moment, almost forgetting that the tree roots around him had managed to come to life and suddenly began to wrap themselves around his legs. Another thundering boom grabbed the dragon's attention as he realized it was coming from the direction of the dragon house. "Oh man, I hope everyone's alright..." He uttered before slashing into the roots trying to hold him still. "Not like I don't have plenty of problems of my own right now!"

He grunted and pulled his legs free, spreading his wings he jumped high into the air, but the trees didn't appear to be done with him; as the canopy overhead suddenly began to close around him. Donell closed his eyes and forced himself through the branches, feeling as his body was scratched and clawed at by the lumber as he exploded through the top of the canopy. He gasped in surprise at the sudden relief of the sky above before shaking off the aches on his body and glaring back down into the thicket, looking around he could see where the shadows began and ended, but he could not see where this shadowy power was. Something prevented the forest from getting sunlight and he could sense the magic but he couldn't see where it was coming from. "Alright then--" He said to himself before diving back down through the trees and their thick foliage until he slammed into the ground, causing the roots to scatter and vanish. Standing up he panted and looked around, holding his hand up and emitting his own shadowy energy to try and find the source of this magic. As he turned in place, he could see roots beginning to come to life again; he couldn't be distracted by this, he needed to find the power that created this place. "There!" he exclaimed as his hand passed over a tree at the other end of the clearing.

As if they heard him, the roots began to spring to life and leap toward him through the ground. One set grabbed his wrist and he found it was a bit of a struggle to pull himself loose; he had to get to that tree, and fast. Charging toward it, roots began to explode out of the ground, thicker, vines almost the size of trees tried to grab at him. Approaching the oak tree, Donell grasped the trunk just as a root grabbed his leg. He looked at it, it had to be a root about six or seven inches around. It was like a vine that twined around his foot and crawled up to his knee leaving him unable to move it. He grunted and reached for the tree, noticing a large knot only a few feet up that appeared hollow inside. He reached and gasped in surprise as another thick root shot from the ground and wrapped around his waist. He was being pulled away from the tree; it was as if the forest were fighting back, but he could see something flickering inside the tree's hollow. He strained his body as other roots grasped his leg and twined tighter around his chest. Reaching into the hollow with all his strength, Donell felt something cold touch his fingers and he pushed them into it.

Immediately, the roots dissipated, suddenly shrivelling up and vanishing back into the earth, leaving Donell to fall to the ground with his prize in his hand; a small globe of shadowy energy that quickly absorbed into his hand. He gasped and began to laugh, the trees returning to their normal positions and the small thicket now filtering in sunlight that it obviously had not seen for a long time. He chuckled, but then heard another loud booming noise that grabbed his attention. This time, he knew for sure that it was coming from the direction of Ranshiin's house and he had a sickening feeling that filled his gut all of a sudden: "Drake..."

"Weregarurumon Digivolve to---!" A sheen armor covered the wolf's body his arms crossing over his face revealed his left hand as it was suddenly a massive-looking cannon a helmet of metal wrapping around his head, concealing most of his face in the process as a wing-like extension appeared on his back. He growled out his name: "Magnagarurumon!" He announced as he charged toward Shiron again. "Now you get to feel my full power!" He roared.

"You think you're the only one who can become stronger?" Shiron said. "You haven't seen my commander form yet!"

Shiron leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding Drake's jet-propelled tackle. Suddenly he grew larger, his two wings becoming four wings, a shimmer of golden armor flashing across his chest, golden rings appearing in the bone of his wings as a loincloth and pants flashed around his legs. This dragon definitely seemed different and as Shiron finished his transformation, he turned to see the Digimon suddenly climbing in height to meet up with him. Barely enough time to react, Shiron bore the brunt of Drake's impact and both of them went flying back. Using his more powerful wings, Shiron grabbed Magnagarurumon by the armor and twisted their direction so they could head back toward the house. Blasting at mach speeds though, he could barely control the Digimon and both came crashing hard into the ground. "YAHHHH!" He cried out suddenly as the beam of a light sword penetrated Shiron's shoulder and caused him to double back. As Drake got up from the crater he formed by the impact, he was tackled by Shiron and punched so hard that the metal of his mask cracked. He cried out in pain and was partially blinded as the left eye of his mask shattered off center.

Drake punched Shiron with his cannon hand and knocked him back, he then jumped to his feet and tackled the dragon. Shiron's claws easily sliced into his armor though, cutting the wolf from within like a can opener was tearing into him. The two locked arms with each other, neither of them backing down as they tried to wrestle the other one to the ground. "You're--not--gonna win..." Drake uttered angrily.

"And I--won't give up... so---easily!" Shiron forced an impressive feat of strength, finally yanking Drake off his feet and twisting him back into the ground.

Drake let out a loud roar, his anger was beginning to cloud his mind. He couldn't lose, his power would only continue to grow, he needed to stop his adversary at all costs. He raised his cannon. "You will not have him! MAGNA MISSILES!" He roared as his gun came to life.

"Wait! Drake!"

The voice came too late, Drake's mind became a blank as a close target caused an explosion so intense that even he lost consciousness...

The next thing Drake saw was the sky over his head; he was lying on the ground in his typical were form. He could feel the grass under his back, he could hear the sound of birds in the sky, and then he noticed the smoke rising from in front of him. His ears ringing badly, he put a hand on his head and groaned as he sat up. The sight he saw shocked him as Duo and Dranzer were escorting a familiar looking dragon toward the house on a makeshift stretcher; it took a second to realize who they were taking: "Donell!" He cried as he leaped to his feet.

"Get back!" Dragor shouted as he slammed a hand into Drake's chest, knocking him back.

"Wait. What--what happened?" He asked.

"You about killed him with those missiles of yours!" He shouted.

Handing his end of the stretcher to Patro, Duo snarled and stormed his way back toward Drake as well. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Using a massive weapon like that should not be allowed!"

"I-I..." Drake stammered. "I don't know what happened!"

"I'll tell you what happened." Shiron said as he approached, still minding the wound to his shoulder. "Your blast knocked Donell into my arms, I fell back unhurt--well...outside of the obvious stab to the shoulder and you knocked yourself out with your own cannon." He snorted. "Do you think it's safe for Donell, much less anyone to be around something as dangerous as you? You could have killed me, you could have killed him... you might eventually kill all of us." He looked at the others. "I am going to speak with Dranzer; perhaps we don't need this outsider among us after all..."

As Shiron started to walk away, Drake took a step after him, but was grabbed by Duo. "You know, I thought we could trust you... that you meant us no harm, but after all this...?"

"You guys can't be serious. You know that Shiron goaded me into that, this was probably his plan all along!"

"So what if it was?" Dragor said. "Maybe proving how dangerous you could be could just have saved us from a lot of trouble in the future. Maybe you should go."

"But--" Drake started as the two dragons walked off, leaving him alone.

"Don't even try." The dragon said as the pair stepped into the house and loudly slammed the door behind them, leaving Drake alone to collapse onto his knees in the middle of his very own crater.

THE END