Edited by Hotel_Chicken
Something strange happened while I slept in my new home. Home… heh, I can’t tell if it’s funny or sad as I was calling a cave home. Guess it’s somewhat better than living on the streets back on Earth.
I was finishing with the final details of my cave from sunrise to sunset, scratching some spots around my area to mark my territory and destroying some rocks to save up more gems. While I was working my eyes would constantly wander to the ocean that lay just a few miles away from me. Near the edge of my mountain was a steep cliff’s edge that lead down to a direct drop into the water below. There wasn’t much in that area between my mountain and the edge except for a few trees and random boulders that had rolled off of the mountain and stopped there.
I played with the idea of making it something nice, but I wasn’t a gardener and there was no way in hell I’d sully the name of Ridley by making him into one. Since I finished working on the exterior of my cave and had no real plans for the small area near the edge of the cliff I decided to turn in for the night inside my cave.
As I walked in, I saw the same orange glow that I saw when I first woke up, except now it was much livelier. The orange flaming liquid lit up the cave like a nicely lit apartment with a nice corner cloaked in darkness that I could use to rest my eyes. The lighting was nice but it’d definitely make sleeping a chore.
As I tiredly made my way to the dark corner of the cave I accidently stepped in a small pool of lava that was barely half a foot long and wide. When my toe dipped into the lava I freaked out and pulled it out immediately. When I looked at my toe however it was completely unharmed. I had planned to test out how durable Ridley’s skin was but this was more than I expected of the space pirate.
I leaned down to the small puddle of lava and dipped a pinkie finger in to experiment, starting with my white talon and slowly lowering the rest of my finger in after it. I could feel the heat through my skin, but instead of feeling like a burning pool of death, it felt relaxing and inviting like a warm jacuzzi. Not too hot but just enough to relax my stiff muscles. I guessed that the depths of Norfair were way hotter than this.
With my experiment done and a note to use one of these pools like an actual jacuzzi I curled myself up into a ball in the corner of the cave, swallowed by the darkness and lulled to sleep by the sound of bubbling magma soothing me.
It was insanely easy to go to sleep, but for some reason it didn’t feel right. I was asleep but I also felt awake, and not like lucid dreaming where you’re aware that you’re asleep, I meant I felt both at the same time. I know it doesn't make sense, but please hear me out.
I felt like I was floating in space with no surface to bump into and I couldn't even see what was in front of me. All I could do was float in a dark and endless void, but knowing for sure that I was asleep I assumed that the whole thing was a dream. I remembered going to sleep and I remember suddenly being there. Nothing in between, not me waking up in a void or me going to a void, I was just asleep and then I was there. I attempted to manipulate it like a lucid dream, willing a flashlight or torch into existence so I could see something, but nothing appeared. I gave up trying after a few minutes and tried swimming like some cartoon in space, but why bother doing it if you can't see where to go in this dark void? I was about to give up and just float in space until I heard a faint giggle in the distance. It drove me forward, making me use the wings I had actually forgotten that I had as I tried to find the voice.
Shortly, it became louder and clearer, and it started to worry me as the giggling started to come from everywhere at once. I was terrified, like a child left alone in their house after watching a scary movie. I was scared of everything I could see, and terrified of everything I couldn’t. I tried blinking my eyes and shaking my head to force myself to wake up, but the giggling still continued. I didn't know what it was but I didn’t care, I wanted it to stop, I wanted it to leave me alone, I wanted to be anywhere else.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Said a feminine voice as all the giggling abruptly stopped, "I couldn't help but laugh when I see you trying to swim out of nothing. It looks too adorable." The voice teased.
"Hold on... that voice sounds, familiar." I said quietly as I tried to identify the speaker.
"It should. From the one who gave you your new life."
"... New… You. It’s you! Where are you, who are you?! Why did you do this?" I asked in rapid succession. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hug her, kiss her, or kill her for what she did. On many levels I was living a fantasy that I might have killed for back home, but I was also taken from my friends and family without my consent. But she had also saved my life in the process. I felt so conflicted and I was about to ask more questions, but she didn’t give me any time as she started speaking again.
"Oh, don't worry, one day you will know more. In time~" she said playfully, and giggled again. Her damn giggles! I hate to admit it, but they terrified me. It was like a predator toying with a bunny before they went in for the kill.
As I hugged my legs close to my chest, I felt fabric touch my hands instead of scales. I glanced down at my body and could barely see my smaller sized silhouette. "Oh my. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Here." The woman said before I heard a gentle breeze go by. I instinctively curled myself up tighter, waiting for something terrible to happen and hoping my pathetic attempts to comfort myself would protect me.
"Do not worry my pet. All I gave you is a little light. Trust me." The woman said in a much more motherly and comforting soft tone. I looked up slightly and saw a blue flame
hovering in front of me.
Wait... Did she call me a pet?
"Go ahead. Try to hold it." she said.
I looked at the flame in front of me. It hovered in the air with an unnatural glow at the base of the fire. The fires danced across in front of my face and lit up my now human skin.
Seeing as how it was the only light source in the entire void I reached out to grab it in my normal human hands. I stopped an inch before I touched the mystical flame, using its light to look at my hands, it had only been a day but it felt like a lifetime since I had my human appendages. I wanted to see more of myself, to see if my true body really did return, so I greedily held the flame in my palms. I thought it would burn me as I held it, yet there was no pain or burning sensation, instead it felt strangely cool. I grinned a little as I held the blue flame, it was like holding a living piece of pudding that constantly moved through my fingers. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed throughout the void, causing me to drop the flame as if by touching it I had awoken some demon.
"Dammit. I can't believe she found us so soon." The voice seethed in irritation. "I am sorry my pet. I guess we will meet at another time. See you soon.~"
As she said that, the blue flame next to me started to grow before it swallowed my body, changing the black void into an endless pool of white. Only one question was in my mind.
“The Fuck?”
The white light faded and darkness started to return my vision, but unlike the void this one had an orange hue to it. I lazily opened my eyes to look at my surroundings, sure enough I was still in the cave surrounded by several random pools of lava. Several drops of lava fell on my head after dripping off of a stalactite that hung precariously over my head. Soon however the stalactite broke and became a constant flow of lava that poured over me, waking me up like a cold shower in the morning. Although unlike a cold shower, I was completely content letting the lava fall on top of me.
As I left my new lava shower area I heard the sounds of the sea and wind howl throughout my cave. It continued for some time as if it were a song, it was peaceful and nearly lulled me back to sleep. But then I remembered that damned giggling.
The fear I felt instantly woke me up as I decided to study my body. I was back to being Ridley once again.
"I guess... this isn’t a dream after all." I said to myself. Another day and I am still the deadliest alien space dragon in the land.
Now that I think about it, I wondered if there were any more like me out there in the… I think they were called the Dragonlands? Geez, and I thought Snowdin from undertale was a bad name. Anyway, getting off track, I wondered if there were any more aliens like me out there. Ember looked a lot like me and apparently, we shared the same diet and spoke the same language. It felt like it was too much to be a coincidence.
I was excited at the prospect of meeting new Aliens that were never shown in the Metroid series, but a wave of fear washed all of those happy thoughts away. I had to be in the Metroid series universe, it was the only reason I could have been Ridley, the woman wouldn’t make me Ridley and then drop me off in the Sonic universe or something. So, if I was in the Metroid universe then that meant Samus Aran was out there, and she wanted me DEAD!
“FUCK!” I yelled out. “I HAVE QUALIFIED BOBA FETT HUNTING MY ASS!” I panicked before I realized something. The universe is a big place, and I was on a planet that was never shown in the games. As long as I didn’t do anything to warrant her attention I’d be fine.
But what would warrant her attention? Were there humans on this planet who knew Samus? Did they know me? Would they attack me like I was a monster from Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter?
No, no! Calm down. Samus isn’t here, so I’m safe. Besides, I have wings now. If something tries to attack me I can just fly away, maybe I could even use my claws.
I thought, calming myself down from my miniature panic attack. Lost in my thoughts, I moved my wings in front of me and start feeling them. Since my claws were in the way, I use my knuckles to feel them. It felt leathery and hard but also had a smooth texture to it.
"Alright, now that I have wings I can actu- ACK! OW FUCK ME!" I shouted after I stood up too fast and hit my head on the ceiling filled stalactites, "Okay time to clear this shit up before I stab myself in the head again. I’d rather die to Samus than die like a dumbass! " I grumbled as I started to claw and scrape every stalactite I could see on the way out of my cave. Seriously, that shit hurts!
After doing a little clean up in the cave, I went outside to smell the fresh sea air and stretch my tense muscles. I looked at my wings to move them around, opening and closing them to test out their mobility. It felt like I had grown two more arms, but with different anatomy, almost like of thumbs and arms had a baby.
They were pretty big on my opinion, stretching out at least ten feet in wingspan which was a good size to get me off the ground, so all I need to do is practice. Based upon my best knowledge, my wings had membranes and not feathers, meaning I needed to use them for flying if cartoons were to be believed anyway.
"Time to take this experience to a whole new level. I might fall or crash in the process, but that won't stop me until I can touch the clouds. Or maybe one day, reach for the stars. No pun intended... maybe." I said to myself, stoking myself up with a new sense of determination as I walk to an open area where there weren't any rocks around. A perfect place great place to test my wings. "Alright. Let's start with some-"
*growl*
A familiar sound and feeling moved in my empty belly. "I guess I can't practice on an empty stomach." I muttered, as I made my way to my stash.
Yes. It's a stash not a horde. I'm still not accustomed on how a dragon should store their treasures. Maybe, that dragon would know. What was her name again?
"Hey, Ember! I heard you got in trouble with your dad again! Did he really send you to your room again?" An annoying dragon asked with fake curiosity.
The blue dragoness, Ember, was sitting on her usual spot with claws under her head, while being teased by two dragons that heard the news from yesterday. She didn’t pay any mind to the idiotic comments since most dragons couldn’t come up with a good insult to save their worthless hide. Instead of listening to the monotonous droning of dumb and dumber, she thought heavily about the Gauntlet of Fire. The event was scheduled for a week from then, giving dragons from far and wide enough time to fly over or wake up early from their 100-year naps if they wanted to participate. She had to plan a way to get past her father, survive the gauntlet, and grab the scepter while everydragon was in her way.
"Aww look at her, pouting like a little baby. I bet her dad even took some of her horde." Said the violet one with orange hair that is covering his eyes. If Ember cared enough to remember she’d know his name was Fume.
"Yeah. Looks like she's gonna eat plain old rocks from now on." Said the gray one with green spines who was named Charcoal. The only reason she remembered that pest was because she had a crush on him when she was little, though she’d sooner die than ever admit that.
"Hey! I suggest you both shut your trap before you really gonna get it!" Ember shouted as she tried to make her plan for retrieving the scepter.
"What you gonna do? Throw us around and smash us?" Fume mocked.
"Or throw us a huge boulder?" Charcoal added on.
"Fume! Charcoal! Let her be!" Shouted a red dragon with orange spines who just flew in. "She's had enough, just let her cry about her daddy issues from now on. You don't wanna have her dad coming here and squash both of us."
"Aw come on, Garble. We are just messing with her." Said Fume.
"Nope. I'm serious. For now. we gotta keep a safe distance away from her." Garble stated firmly, as he pushed his lackies away from Ember. But then they suddenly stopped a short distance away from Ember.
Ember knew who Garble was, ever since he came back from the dragon migration he stood out to her. Ember had some suspicions about him since his return, believing that his fun time in pony-land may have been a bit more violent than they were allowed to be. Aside from that Ember just knew that he was a real jerk, "Now you can start bugging her!" Garble shouted.
"Ha ha! She can't even do anything while we're this far." Charcoal teased.
"Yeah. Thanks to her dad, she can't go beyond his nest." Fume shouted. Ember heard what he said and was actually a bit curious. She didn’t know how dumb, dumber, and moron knew about her reinforced restrictions.
"Glad that I had to let him know, now that he doesn't have to worry about her wittle precious princess getting hurt." Garble teased. Ember's eyes widen as she heard the truth about her punishment.
"So it was YOU who snitched on me!?" She growled.
"Hey don't take it personal, I'm just following orders." Garble explained with a shit eating grin.
"... So, my father ordered you to keep me in watch?"
"Well, yes and no. But, it makes my job easier now that you're cooped up in one spot. I don't really have to worry about getting my tail snapped by your dad. But hey, at least the pay is good."
"Why you no good sniveling wingdrake!"
"Aww. I'm flattered." Garble and his friends all laughed at the blue dragoness.
In anger, Ember took a deep breath and spat a strong torrent of fire towards them. Garble was quick enough to notice the oncoming fire and avoid it, but his friends weren’t paying attention as it passed between them and hit a boulder behind them causing it to explode and hit the back of their heads. Both Fume and Charcoal laid on the ground dazed as Garble looked back at Ember with hate in his eyes.
"You'll pay for that!" He shouted as he picked up his two friends and flew away.
Ember was relieved that they got the message to not mess with her. In her mind, she never wanted to hurt them but being raised in the Dragonlands made her who she was now. Sure, she must be strong in order to live in this harsh land, but deep down she really wanted to care, to show some empathy towards them, even if they were a bunch of pricks.
Her father's harsh words kept echoing in her mind, saying “How insignificant you are” and other verbal lashings. They had all built up into a mountain of rage towards her father over the years. She tried to stand up to him, but she had to admit that she was too small to oppose him. She wished there was at least one other dragon to stand with her and go against her father's wishes.
"I really wish someone can help me get what I want…"
*Oceanside*
I never realized trying to fly would be this hard. I did the basics and just by flapping my wings alot, but once I tried to lift myself off the ground, I began crashing all over the place like a tossed ragdoll. The real issue was trying to steady myself since my wings were so big I could barely keep myself in one place while I was in the air. My trajectory was also another issue, no matter how hard I tried to fly straight I’d end up falling on one side and then the other. It was a familiar feeling, like my first time driving a car, but this was completely different. I also had some knowledge of how planes are flown, but that only applied to gliding, and I couldn’t do that until I found out her to get in the air. I was making some slight progress, nut it was slow and painful.
"Damn. I can't believe my wings are so fucking sore." I groaned. "I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. Is it the rhythm or the flap speed?"
I tried to think deeply on how I could use my wings in certain methods, but I couldn't seem to understand how. I then started to remember the Metroid games I recently played, back when I was still Jake. Ridley was massive from what I could understand, but this body definitely didn’t feel like his huge body. It was more like someone had left him in the dryer for too long and he shrunk down to about the height of, or maybe twice the height of a human.
Now how does he use his wings? They are big so he must have flapped them at a slow pace, plus he can easily glide just by spreading them.
"Hmm… maybe that's why."
Understanding what I had to do and after a few minutes of rest, I stretched my wings to relieve their soreness and began to take flight once again. This time, I flapped my wings in a slow and slightly stronger rhythm as I braced myself before I began. Little by little, I feel myself getting off the ground with each flap, but my goal was to stay in the air. I added more strength one more time and I'm slowly off the ground. I was still shaky since my recent attempts but I was definitely getting the hang of it.
"Okay okay okay." I said nervously, "I'm in the air but not flying." Technically I was just hovering since I wasn’t too far off the ground, I landed back down so I can recall some of my recent mistakes.
It's the membranes. I use too much force and flapped too fast because the webbing of my wings absorb more air. That's why I keep crashing.
"Alright. Let's try this again."
Now confident to stay in air, I used the same method to keep myself hover. I almost lost balance due to my eagerness. "Alright, now that I can hover in one spot, let's see if I can steer." I tried to lean forward to go straight but I was still in one spot, I did the same in different directions to no avail. "Okay this is new. Let's try adjusting my wings a bit." As I angled my wings forward, to my surprise I started moving. I adjusted my wings back to stop and I panicked as I start moving backwards. I was incredibly amazed by how agile they were.
Woah!
I straightened myself while keeping a steady rhythm, but the sudden wind changed my trajectory and forced me to move to the left. "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" I shouted as I tried to maintain a steady beat, but to my horror I was blown over to the direction of the ocean near the cliffs edge. "Oohhh fuck me!"
In an instant I had no ground to land on as I was now a few feet away from the cliff. Looking down, I could see the rushing water and sharp rocks below that would soon skewer me. I began to hyperventilate as I kept falling.
"No no no no no!" I began flailing my limbs, mentally thinking that I would claw my way up, but we all know that is physically impossible. Water and rock were beginning to come closer, and with it death would soon arrive to take me a second time in one week. "Argh! Dammit! SNAP OUT OF IT AND FLY!"
Both fear and frustration built up inside me, I closed my eyes shut while I stretched my wings wider and flapped down harder. I closed and widened each my wings quickly, hoping that would pull me away from my watery grave.
As I waited for my inevitable death, I noticed that the inevitable was taking a while to be… well, inevitable. Taking a peek, I saw that the rocks were getting a lot smaller than before, then it suddenly became foggy for a few seconds and then it was suddenly clear again. Looking down at the shrinking landmass, I realized why I wasn’t a Ridley-Kabob.
"... oh… fffff… shhhh… no…" I turned out to be a fool as I realized that I flew high up above the clouds. "Damn. Why do I get to do this already? I'm still learning how to use these, but this is jumping ahead too soon." I kept a still face while I was slowly descending, the only thing that betrayed my calm demeanor was my nervously wagging tail and my heart exploding out of my chest with each beat. I tried to calm myself down as the reasonable part of my brain told my body that I’d be doing this a lot in the future, so I shouldn’t let it bother me in the present.
"Calm down. I am not a helpless human, I'm now a fucking dragon. A ferocious alien space dragon look alike that terrorizes the galaxy, I became Ridley, and I won't let this goddamn fall be the end of me! Not on the second day, not the next, NOT FUCKING EVER!" I exclaimed with a new-found sense of bravery. Immediately, I tucked in my wings and started to dive down towards the water and rocks.
Ember now sitting on her usual spot, was still trying to think of a way to get the scepter. It had been an hour since the Troublesome Trio had annoyed her, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could get her claws on that scepter.
Slowly growing more frustrated as the seconds ticked by, she laid flat on her belly nearly at the tip of the cliff, hoping for something to inspire her. As she looked forward, she spotted something in the distance flying really high in the sky.
"Is that…? No it couldn't be." Muttered Ember, squinting her eyes to confirm on what she saw. "You've got to be kidding me. What is he doing?"
Seeing the familiar dragon flying high up had begun to worry her since she knew the risks of flying in high altitude. Suddenly, he stopped and started to plummet towards the ground.
"That idiot!" She shouted. "Does he know that dragons can't fly that high!? You can't even breathe!"
She wanted to go and save him but an invisible force was preventing her for doing so. It was a new safety feature put in place by the king to prevent his daughter from leaving. A small golden ring that was bound to a single gold coin in the horde that wouldn’t allow the wearer to travel more than a mile away from the coin. And since her father’s stash was full of coins she had no hope of ever finding the one that was bound to her ring. She cursed inwardly that her father's order was preventing her to leave within the nest. Hearing the words 'insignificant' play in her head over and over again.
"I hope he doesn't die." She quietly said as she stopped fighting the magical barrier.
I struggled to steady myself as the wind kept blowing me off to the side, moving me away from my destination, the ocean. I arched my wings a little to have more steer to the wind and it worked perfectly. As the land and sea grew closer, I prepared to put these wings to the test, recreating one of the coolest scenes from How to Train your Dragon.
"Almooost… Wings… don't fail me now!"
I spread them wide open and gave two more strong flaps, and angled up steer.
"AHH FUCK!" I was too close to the water, my legs and torso grazed until a lone rock appeared in front of me, sticking up ahead of me like a lighthouse.
"SHIT!" I yelped. I quickly tilted my body left and angled my wings to make a left turn similar to how a plane's ailerons work, and just grazed the rock with my tail. Now there were no obstacles ahead, and I was gliding at high velocity.
"WAAAAAAAHHHHHH HA HA HAAAA!!! TOOTHLESS CAN SUCK IT!"
The speed was an exhilarating feeling, like I had flown out of a roller coaster seat with no fear for my life. I used the same method to go the opposite way by turning right. I could feel my wingtip graze the water as I soared over the water like a majestic pterodactyl. Thinking of a way to fly upward, I flapped my wings while gliding and I started moving more away from the water. I was actually able to reach the cliffside I started on, and started circling around like a vulture as I tried to think of a way to get down.
I did by swooping upwards and let gravity to do the rest as I glide slowly back down. Once I touched the ground, I stumbled and fell to my hands and knees, panting heavily and feeling really dizzy. Not only that, my wings were also completely sore and I could barely lift them.
After recovering a bit, I sat down and leaned my back against one of the trees teetering at the edge of the cliff as I looked at the sun setting beyond the ocean. I had accomplished something that no human had ever hoped or dreamed of doing, even though I was a dragon.
"... Yeah… I can fly… Suck it Physics."
"Uggh… that moron!" Growled Ember. "I can easily tell just by looking that he is not a good flyer, but at least he is alright." She sat down in relief after witnessing the purple dragon landing safely and unharmed.
"Still, it was too dangerous to fly that high, I can't even believe this dragon is capable of doing it. No other dragon can do that. Plus, I have never seen one fly that fast!" said Ember, astonished, "He really is quite something alright, which means this might be harder to get the scepter. If he really is after it." She shuddered at the thought of that dragon.
"He could be one powerful dragon lord." She stated as she began to imagine him as the ruler of dragons, standing tall and proud with the scepter in his claw. And her by his side…
"... WHY IN TARTARUS AM I THINKING ABOUT THIS!?" She shouted out in confusion and rage.