The two introduced him to Snowy and got the couch ready for the night. Rose gave a friendly look. "If there is anything we can get you, let us know! I am Rose, by the way!" The dragon sighed. "I wish I could give you my name. You are very kind, Rose." Zero thought, then came up with something. "What if we gave you a name? Like something cool... maybe something smooth like Deena, or maybe your tough like somebody named Chrome? Or what if you had a name like Thunder?"
Then, suddenly, Rose blurted out "Toxin! I know that it sounds silly, but-" The dragon spoke up. "I like it... Toxin has a ring to it I enjoy, and it fits!" Rose smiled. Zero noticed a very odd look in their eyes... possibly love. Well, he can't help who loves who.
Zero suddenly stretched out and yawned. "Gee, it is late... I think I will be going to bed now, you two have fun!" Rose shrugged and sat down to talk to Toxin. "Alright, G'night, Zero!" she said with a smile. Zero turned and left the room. He headed down a hallway, to a bedroom he hadn't seen until now, with Snowy sprawled out on one side of it.
Snowy looked at him with narrow eyes that seemed a tad bit sad. "You know we got to talk to Nimbus about this situation." Zero sighed as he lay down by her.
Snowy put a wing around him. "I know," she said as she seemed to be doing that damn future vision thing again. "I feel scared, Zero. You know just as well as I do that Nimbus is evil. No matter what we do, he will not listen to reason."
She was right. Nimbus wouldn't listen to reason. But something had to be done or more dragons may end up like Toxin.
"If he won't listen, then I will make him." Zero said as he lay down with his partner. "I won't let him harm any more dragonoids" Snowy went silent for a moment, then suddenly pushed Zero onto his back. "Well, I think we should take our minds off of that and worry about what we are gonna name our future child." Zero's eyes widened, and then the two 'bonded' all night.
Zero opened his eyes. All he saw were vivid, odd colors that had a shiny effect on them. He tried to call out but was only met with his voice being gone. He tried again, but nothing worked.
He realized that he was in some sort of field with a willow tree in the distance. He chose to walk over to it, and he saw a stone. No, wait, that was no stone, that was a grave. It was a fairly old grave and had tall grass covering the name. But what he saw when he moved the grass to the side shook him.
"Here rests the world's best hero, and an even better father. Zero Reamnent." He tried to see the date, but it had eroded to the point he couldn't read it anymore. He looked up from the grave, then realized the scenery had changed. It was suddenly cold, and hard to breathe. He watched as the willow tree rotted away right before his eyes and turn to dust when he realized that all of this was a nightmare.
There was one problem, though. He wasn't waking up. "Wake up damn it!" is all he could think of as he gasped for air, and slowly suffocated until he woke in a cold sweat. It was extremely early in the morning, and the sun had yet to rise over the horizon. He looked over at Snowy, who was curled up and still asleep, then got up. He never was the type to go on morning walks, but something compelled him to, and out he went.
He walked down a sidewalk until he went to cross a crosswalk to go to the sidewalk on the other end when an out-of-control car came down the road going straight at him. Zero had no time to react, but right before the car hit him, a wall of black stood between him and the car and blocked him from it.
He stood there, frozen for a moment, when he decided to get a closer look at the wall and realized that it was made up of his strange goo power... but it made no sense! He could never make this much before! He reached out his talon, and the goo recede into his arm, leaving behind a wrecked car... with nobody inside?
But that made no sense either! What was a car doing driving itself? He slowly went to the driver's seat and noticed a mangled-looking android of some kind. He opened the door and went to pull it out when it suddenly sprung to life and tackled Zero, hydraulic fluid dripping from what looked to be the remains of its head.
Zero knew one thing he could make. A blade. He formed a solid blade into his talons and jammed it right into the chest of the android, which made its insides spark, and then it fell lifeless on top of Zero. He pushed it off and made the blade retract and vanish. 'Why was there a damn android trying to kill me?" Zero said under his breath. "Who could want me dead? Unless-"
Zero knew exactly what happened now. Nimbus wants Zero dead, and this was one of his little projects. A killer android. He picked up the android's lifeless shell and dragged it home. Perhaps he can find a use for this thing to help stop Nimbus and whatever his plan is and what it has to do with him.
He gathered the crew together in the living room so he can explain and discuss what to do. "You said it was made to kill you?" Rose said, a hint of fear in her voice. Toxin took a hard look at it. "That's his tech, but I don't recognize what kind this one is... I only saw... the sister-" toxin got cut off. "Maybe we can see if Doctor Tenant can take a look!" Rose shouted.
Everyone looked at her. "Who?" Zero asked. "Doctor Optic Tenant! She is kind of a big deal, but maybe if she learns about this situation, she'll help us!" Rose said with an energetic expression. "Doctors..? They'll just hurt me again!" Toxin whimpered. Rose held his talon and squeezed it. "Not the bad kind of Doctor. this one is gonna help us. I promise."
Toxin took a deep breath and sighed. He seemed a lot calmer now that Rose was there, and Zero couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Zero then looked over at Snowy, who was awfully quiet. He walked over and brushed her wing. "Are you okay?" He quietly asked. "What about you? You're the one who has been getting attacked!" She looked over at him, snuggling into his chest.
He draped a wing over her. "Of course... I am just a bit thrown off by all of this the first couple of days of being home." He replied, trying to calm her. She just looked at him like she didn't believe he was alright. "You don't have to put on this act... your life is in danger, Zero. You might actually die if Nimbus goes too far. Zero simply grabbed her chin and gave her a peck on the nose. "I promise you, it's okay, snowflake."
She blushed a bit, before turning to the other two, who were planning the big trip across the continent. Zero looked at the map that had been pulled out and realized this Optic lady was further than he could have imagined. It was on the other side of the sea, and would likely take a few days at least... What if they didn't have that time?
As he had that thought, the front door was suddenly broken down by something... horrible. It was a fleshy monster that closely resembled a bad taxidermy of a wyvern that had odd boney tubes protruding out of its body. Its wings were malformed to look more like weapons, and it was bipedal. Toxin screamed, "A sister!" and ran as fast as he could upstairs. What was a sister??? Zero turned to look back at the creature as it suddenly rammed into Rose, hitting her into a wall.
"Snowy! Go get Toxin! and take the android with you!" Snowy looked between the android and Zero. "Not without you!" Snowy screamed, and blasted ice breath at the thing, blocking up the tubes which seemed to slow it down for a little. Zero wasted no time and ran and picked Rose up. "Get the android and go! I am right behind you!" Zero screamed as the ice melted off the creature, its bony tubes glowing red.
Snowy, after grabbing the android, ran upstairs, followed by Zero when he suddenly heard what was a young woman's voice. "Run while you still can, Zero." He looked back at the creature as it opened its mouth again. "We won't stop until Father is satisfied. You will die." Zero booked it and met up with the others in the bedroom.
The two looked at Zero, as though he were their leader. "We need to get to this doctor, and we need to hurry. There's no time to waste." Zero said as they heard the thing coming up the stairs. They then opened a window and flew out, towards the west. As Zero looked back, he could see what looked like that damn wyvern walking into his house. But now was no time for confrontation when that thing is on Nimbus's side. They had to get to this place, and hopefully get some straight answers.
After flying long enough, they made it into Unity City. The place was a bustling metropolis full of lights, cars, skyscrapers, and dragonoids. Rose had finally woken up and thankfully was still able to fly on her own. "Should we spend the night in a hotel maybe? I don't think I can keep going much longer..." She mumbled as they landed. Toxin nodded. "I would also like this hotel thing!"
"Alright, alright. Hold your horses!" Zero said as he went to search his bag for money only to realize he had left it in the house. "Oh... sorry guys, we don't have anything to pay for it."
"That's a pussy way of thinking, Zero. Observe." Rose said as she slipped a wallet from the bag of a passing dragon. Zero groaned "Really? We are resorting to things like stealing?" He said with a slight frown "Look, I am not sleeping in a goddamn bush," Rose smirked and tossed Zero the wallet. "Now let's go! Maybe we can grab some food as well!"
After checking into a room in one of the many hotels, the crew walked in. It wasn't exactly a 5-star hotel by any means, but the fine linens on the beds, and fresh AC were perfect after such a long day. After ordering take-out, they all got ready for a well-deserved rest. "So, Rose," Zero asked. "Could you tell me more about this Doctor?" "Sure!" she replied. "She is actually an expert in multiple fields, but she is best known for her expertise in robotics and machinery. If anyone can help, it's her."
"Huh, cool." Zero said. "How are you feeling? Anything on your mind?" Rose looked down. "Actually, yeah... You coming back was supposed to be this great thing, but now we are rushing against the clock before we get killed by a wyvern that does mad experiments... Toxin told me some of the things they did, and I feel horrible for him... poor thing has never felt loved in his life... But enough of that, I'm tired..."
Rose jumped onto a bed, and as they all lay down, Zero thought for a while about what had happened this morning. Could he do more with this power of his? would it be enough to stop Nimbus? What about that dream? What did all of this mean? Could this doctor have answers?
Before long, Zero was drifting off to sleep... back into another dream as he opened his eyes and was in a blank landscape. He saw hundreds of dragons, all crowded around him... what he didn't expect to see was his grandfather and great-grandfather there, but they were blurry. He could barely make them out.
All the dragons then were suddenly sucked into Zero's chest as a blinding light shone and made Zero have to look away. After the light faded away, he felt different. He felt stronger and his body felt as though it were brand new. He felt a way he never knew he could feel!
After a moment of silence, a weird-looking dragon that had wings with sparkles like stars, and auroras zig-zagging across them. "Hello, Zero. I am happy to meet you!" the dragon smiled. "Who are you?" Zero asked with a skeptical look. "What are these dreams about? Or are they just nonsense?"
The dragon chuckled. "That depends on your path. Maybe I should introduce myself first... I was given the name Realtneal. I am a child of the stars... one could call me an alien, but I am also one of your ancestors." Zero couldn't believe his ears, but it isn't too outlandish considering the monster he had seen in the house. "Okay, can you tell me what's happening to me? Why is this happening right now?" Zero said frowning.
Realtneal's expression stayed the same. "Well, you're in your time of need, so your ability is awakening fully. It will be your guide. Your sword. Your shield." Zero thought for a while. Could he use this to stop Nimbus and whatever his plan is? Before Zero could ask, Realtneal answered. "Yep. This can certainly be used to stop that jerk you call Nimbus. It just depends on how you use it." "How do I need to use it?" Zero asked when Realtneal put a talon on his shoulder. "You'll know, Zero. I have faith you will know. Now wake up and maybe we'll meet again someday."