1 was finally within sight, it's enormous crystal blue dome reflecting the light from the summer sun.

Seeing as both Jake and I live on #10, we have to go through both #9 and #8 to get to the, by all means of the word, gigantic floating platform in the middle which holds the magnificent Umbra Corporation and it's seventy stories underwater tower.

Yes, this is the amazing thing about the Umbra Corporation. When they discovered the power source back in 1996, they found a tower, in the middle of the sea. And while it would have taken one country quite longer to get down there. With the combined powers of both America and Japan, they build the floating base that later became Umbra in less than six years and reached the tower.

My father was amongst the team which first entered the tower and has told me a bit about it. Apparently it's an ancient but weird tower which is completely dry inside and there's even oxygen and no deep sea pressure like there's some sort of protective barrier around it. It really is a miraculous discovery.

After the first touchdown, things started going fast and in less than ten years, the entire island nation of Draconica was created in a joint effort between USA, Japan and Europe who joined by request from the other two.

As we finally came to our last stop, as all the employees filed out of the tram in an orderly fashion. The dome now dominated our entire view, as it spanned and area of almost twelve kilometers. Jake and I continued our random small talk as we rolled along on one of the moving sidewalks up to entrance #42 and went on in.

We were greeted by a slightly chubby little lady, who peered over her red rimmed reading glasses, "Just in time, as always," her shrill, yet bored voice rang out.

"And a good morning to you too, Doris," I replied with a bit of a deadpanned voice, "I'm doing fine, by the way. So, how have you and Mr. Sulliman been lately?"

Jake tried to stifle his chuckle from our little exchange which had become commonplace whenever Doris had secretary duty at entrance #42.

"Just move along, Mr. Black... And take Mr. Hayes with you," Her bored voice drilled into our ears.

"Aww... Do we really have to go through this procedure, Mrs. Sulliman?" Jake whined as we lined up next to the x-ray machine, dropping our belongings in a plastic tray for the guard to check through.

"Procedures is to be followed, Mr. Hayes. Now move along!"

"I'm starting to suspect that you enjoy commanding us around, Doris," I shot back.

"Whatever gave you that idea, Mr. Black?" she droned on before finally breaking into a smirk, "Not that you're wrong, of course."

"I knew it! You owe me lunch at the local burger joint," I triumphantly said to Jake who looked at Doris with his best puppy eyes only to see her break into a toothy grin.

Jake fell down on his knees and raised his fists to the sky, "NOOOOOOOOO!!!" he screamed, earning us a few confused looks from other staff members and guards. At least until they saw who it was, "How could you Mrs. Sulliman? I thought we had a special connection here..." he grumbled as he got back up on his feet, "You have no idea how much Dracen eats! I mean, He downs burgers like the rest of us downs skittles!" Jake threw his arms into the air as he huffed on and went through the x-ray machine, followed shortly after by me as Doris' laughter boomed behind us.

As we emerged from the x-ray machine, we were greeted by the now familiar sight of Umbra City, a whole city build within the dome, that acted as both offices, souvenir shops, restaurants, tourist attractions and lots of other stuff, it was like one giant expo that ran all year long, displaying the magnificence that is the Umbra Corporation. In the center of it all, you could find the 'tower' A huge building that stretched a few floors above sea level, before going down seventy stories under the sea and connecting to the ancient tower down there. Both Jake and I boarded the nearest elevator and set off towards our respective floors. I was the first one to get off at floor fifteen where my office section were located. We said our goodbyes and laters, planning on meeting for lunch at twelve o'clock. I then continued down the hallway as the elevator doors closed behind me and Jake continued down to the lab sections.

~

Work was a quiet affair, as always. I sat in my cubicle, looking over and signing papers on various subjects. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, besides my chief dropping by to see how I was faring. And soon enough, lunch time rolled in. I made my way top-side and waited for Jake at our usual place, a humble little burger joint that had somehow made it inside the city, due to one of the higher-ups loving their burgers.

"Hey Dracen!" Jake's voice rang out as he entered the store.

"Just in time, now lets get some grub! I'm starving over here," my stomach decided to agree with me by letting out a loud growl.

"Yeah yeah, just try not to eat up all my money... Please?"

Thirty minutes and five of the biggest and best cheese'n'bacon burgers on Draconica later we were both done eating.

"Good gods dude... How can you even find space for five of those!? I mean, they're huge!" Jake complained before taking a sip from his Mountain Dew.

I just shrugged, "Don't ask, I just eat and smile. That's all," I said as I grabbed my Pepsi Twist, "Anyways, we should probably head on ba-"

All my thoughts stopped as I saw who just entered the store.

"Well well well! If it isn't the Dragon of Draconica? And his little boyfriend is here too!" the lower and more blubbery of the two said.

"Hahah! You tell 'em Goda!"

Both Jake and I facepalmed at the same time, "Oh look... It's Bulk and Skull. I thought the bully type died out in the nineties."

"Hahah! Good one Dragon!" *THWACK!* "Ouch! Why'd ya do that, Goda?"

"You don't laugh at the enemies jokes, Eddie!" Goda scolded his taller, thinner and dumber counterpart.

"Just come on, Dracen. Don't let those two morons bother you," Jake tried to calm me down.

Takanashi Goda and Eddie Walton, the two bastards who made it so that I'm stuck as a paper pusher with little hope of getting further. Back when my dad died, they said some stuff during the funeral that they soon came to regret. That was also the day that I earned my little nickname. But due to me beating the everliving shit out of them, their parents who are in the top of the pecking order around here had to hit down on me as well. Sure, I didn't have to pay any sort of compensation for beating their heads together until they passed out, seeing as they had been the ones who started it and I had half the funeral guests to back me up. But they still had to punish me somehow. And as such, I'm allowed to keep on working here, but my chances of getting further have pretty much been crushed. Sure, I could just pack my stuff and leave, but I refuse to give them the satisfaction!

"Tch! Come on Jake, before I lose my calm..."

We moved to leave, only for Goda to grab my shoulder as we passed them.

"You better start showing me respect! Today is the day of the ultimate project, and then you will be begging for us to let you and your little friend serve us!"

Words of a madman I thought and slapped his hand off of me, "Just stay away, unless you want me to beat you up again..." I growled while shooting him a glare that could make a rhino drop dead where it stood.

The trip back to the office was a quiet affair. Nothing can ruin the day like those two idiots, no matter how hard you try to ignore them. At least Jake and I would be hitting the arcade after work and then there's dinner with sensei, so that's always nice. We parted ways again as the elevator reached my floor and I made my way back to finish up my work, hoping that the rest of the day would be peaceful.

~

Memories of how I had beaten those two up, kept on replaying in my head as I finished up the last work of the day. It was finally time to go unwind a bit in the arcade.

"I'll see ya tomorrow, chief," I said as I passed him on the way out.

"Right! Bright and early as usual," he said, giving me a friendly pat on the back, "And Dracen? Don't let Goda and Eddie get to you like that. We all know how big a pair of morons they are, but you need to take better care of yourself."

"I know that, Mr. O'Malley. But they can't really make my life any worse than it already is. I'm stuck here in the office for good, not that I mind," I quickly corrected, "But I would have liked to at least follow in my fathers footsteps and started working on the tower itself. And I already live on the poorest part of the islands, so they can't make that any wor-"

A blinding flash caused us all to groan out from the pain in our eyes as the sound of heavy boots on the floor resounded all around us.

When my sight finally started returning, I was greeted by the sight om Draconica's PMC's aiming their guns at us, "You are all to move to the elevators, now! And no need for any of you to play hero! We have orders to kill on sight!" the leader yelled at us.

Slowly but surely, they herded us into the elevators, sending us down to the deepest levels of the tower. The Elevator finally came to a halt as we reached the seventieth floor, amazingly enough there was no pressure. They had apparently made a way to remove the pressure one would normally feel at this depth or maybe it was the barrier from the old tower that spread to it's new add-on.

More soldiers stood by the doors, corralling us to the center where the new tower connected to the old. There, most of the employees were busy moving down the stairs to the old tower and we slowly made our way there as well.

I looked to Mr. O'Malley, who looked just as nervous as I most likely did. We finally started descending the stairs until we joined the others in a giant circular room. Weird runes adorned the entire floor and depictions of dragon like beings showed different wars on the walls all around us. Some of them looked like ancient dinosaurs fighting mammals, just that all of them had wings and spewed fire. Others looked like Neanderthals duking it out with dragon powers as well and others showed off creatures that I can't even place here on earth.

Suddenly the floor lit up in all the colors of the rainbow and in the blink of an eye, we all found ourselves in a completely different room. It was even bigger than the other one, probably around five times the size. We found ourselves on a platform suspended in the air with paths to smaller platforms where I could see people from all the other devisions on. The wall murals had been exchanged with nine gigantic statues of draconic beings, each one holding a flame of varying colors. Ranging from red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo, violet, white and finally black.

The white flame suddenly flickered violently as a light, male voice rang through the room, "Are these the final mortals?" not waiting for an answer, it continued, "Very well. I shall now see which ones are worthy of a place in the game."

Suddenly a bright ring of light seemed to scan us all, flames appearing over some of our heads, mine included.

"Divide the ones with the mark between the platforms," the white flame commanded. causing the PMC's to spring back to life as they shuffled us towards the different floating platforms. I quickly found myself amongst familiar faces, including Jake.

"Dude! Jake! What the hell is going on here!?"

"Dracen! Oh god, am I happy to see you! It's terrible! All the people that aren't branded? They-"

Sudden gunfire interrupted Jake, as we both looked back towards the center, just as they put a bullet in Mr. O'Malley's head, letting him fall off the edge along with all the others who had been unlucky enough not to receive the brand.

"We are now ready! Pick your lords!"

Suddenly all the flames started flickering as circles of different colored lights started scanning us all. I didn't feel anything until the black ring scanned my group.

"Yes, you will do just fine!" A sultry female voice said, causing the hairs on my neck to stand.

"Always hasty to take your pick, eh? Tenebrae?" a deep growly voice said, sounding like it had lived on a forty year diet of scotch and cigars.

"You know me, Metallum," Tenebrae let out a giggle, "Of course I'd want to grab this one quickly. I mean, this is THE Dragon of Draconica, son of the late Dr. Black. And his psyche is perfect for my darkness with all the hatred he's been shoving away in the corners of his mind."

"So, you have chosen your lord, Tenebrae?" the white flame asked, "Then you may take him and his group."

"Wait just a god damn minute!" Gouda's voice called from the back of my group, "You lot promised that I would become a lord, so that I could finally rule Dracen's life!" he whined at the flames.

"You? A Lord!? HAHAHAH~!" Tenebrae began, "You... Your only worth is as a pawn! Even a knight is too high class for you, you disgusting maggot!" you could feel the venom dripping from her words.

"B-bu-but you all promised!" he whined again.

"You are nothing but a speck of dust to us! Do you truly think that we would want something as pathetic as you to be a lord? No... Instead I will personally kill you when I finish fitting my new body and then I shall stuff that pawn piece so far into your wretched guts that you can never be promoted to any other class!"

In that instant, the black flame flickered even harder, before it shot from it's statue and in my direction. I then saw something crimson fly towards me as well, just a few feet behind the black flame which collided with my chest. A searing sensation hit every nerve in my body as a coldness suddenly overtook me, my vision going dark. It was then that a completely new sensation hit my again, crimson and black danced in my vision, my nerves switching from feeling cold to heat and back again. The two flames battled for control as I felt my bones, muscles and skin moving and changing in the heat of the battle. It finally came to an end as my vision turned crimson and the black flame was expelled from my body, screaming like a banshee.

"IGNIIIIIIIIS!!" it roared.

"Don't worry kid, I'm here to save you," the voice said. It sounded like someone with much wisdom, like an old teacher who wasn't cranky from dealing with young whippersnappers all the time.

And then, in an intense flash of light, we left the circular room behind. Tenebrae's scream still lingering with us.

~

"Urgh... Where am I?"

I opened my eyes to find myself floating in a white space, "What the hell?"

Looking down my body, I saw that it was a magnificent crimson color, with a tan belly and lighter red spikes.

"What the fucking hell happened to me!?" This was starting to freak me out. If I hadn't already witnessed all this weirdness, I might have broken down by this sight.

"Don't worry, my son. You are experiencing a side effect from possessing one of the Eternal Dragon Souls, or Draconis Animus as they classify themselves as," a most familiar voice said.

"Dad!? But... How? You died, how can you be talking to me?"

"Listen, Dracen! We don't have much time. Ignis is resting right now to regain some power. Crossing so many dimensions in one jump isn't easy."

"Ignis? Dimensions? What are you talking about, dad?"

"I'll get to that! Now listen up. Ignis took my soul and fused with it when I was murdered... Him and I had become quite good friends by the time that the others decided to go through with their twisted little game. We were both against it, of course. But they planned on going through with no matter the cost. And as such, I had to die since I knew too much. But Ignis and I had already foreseen this and set our plan into motion," All of this info was clashing with everything rational and logical in my mind, but I kept on listening to his tale,

"By the time that they decided to go through with my murder, we had already prepared for it. We knew that you had the potential to become one of the lords, rare humans with a frequency that matches up with eternal dragon souls, or EDS' as we'll call them for now. As such, we knew that you would probably be chosen by one of the other eight. Now this is where it becomes tricky. I let myself die, letting Ignis snatch my soul before it perished. From there, we just had to bide our time, waiting for the day to arrive. And so it did. But you got chosen by one of two strongest EDS... The Obsidian Flame, Tenebrae," I felt a shiver down my back when I heard that name,

"But we still had to go through with the plan. By baiting her into possession you and then forcing her out just after she placed her mark on you, she's stuck without another host. As such, we did just that and then Ignis jumped several dimensions to get you away from her, effectively preventing the game from ever starting."

Well that explains a lot... No it doesn't!

"Wait wait wait! What the hell is this 'game' that you're talking about?"

"Right, the game. These beings, the EDS. They have been around since before time, and as a means to stave off the boredom that follows with being eternal, they entice mortals into their sick game, by granting a single wish to the winner of their game. The game itself changes from time to time, but usually involves a few basics. Each EDS will choose a Lord, their teams leader with whom they fuse, sharing their powers with him or her. You will then use the souls of the mortals sacrificed, to buy pieces for your soldiers to use. Seeing as over nine thousand humans were sacrifi-"

"WHAT!? NINE THOUSAND!? But that's almost the entire populace of Draconica! Why didn't you try warning people about their plans!? You could have saved them all!"

"Dracen... Do you truly believe that? Do you really think that people would listen to me!? That they would listen to my insane ramblings of eternal gods trying to kill them all for their stupid game!?"

"I-! No... They most likely wouldn't... It's just, sensei, the Sulliman's, Chief O'Malley... They all died just so a bunch of bored gods can play their damned chess game! It pisses me off!"

"I know, but this was the only way that I could save you. But don't worry. Now that Ignis is gone and Tenebrae is out of the game, they shouldn't be able to continue."

"Really now, doctor... You underestimate us." the sultry voice said, causing me to go into full alert.

"TENEBRAE!? But how!? We jumped several dimensions! You shouldn't be able to follow us that easily!" my dad yelled, fear clear in his voice.

"Did you really think I lost that battle of tug-o-war with Ignis? I just planted a seed of darkness in your son and used it to track you... This game has just become even more interesting! Prepare yourself, Lord of the Obsidian Flame!"

The moment she said those last words, my body felt like it had been engulfed by the deepest reaches of space, where not even starlight reached. I looked on as my body slowly changed colors from crimson to black.

"Tenebrae! You cursed snake!" Ignis' voice boomed from within me, "You shall not claim this young man!"

"Oh? I don't plan on claiming him anymore! We came up with a new game for you all to play instead... I'm just preparing the pieces."

With that, I began falling, my consciousness barely keeping up, as I slipped in and out of it.

"And don't even think about warning him, Ignis! I'm locking his memories away for now and trapping you away in the deepest reaches of his mind. You won't be able to talk with him until it's too late!" I heard her break into a manic laughter as everything went black again.

~

"Wake up!"

Something stirred me from my nap.

"Wake up Dracen! I can't stay in this world much longer!"

That voice... I know it...

"Urgh... Where the hell am I...?" trying to open my eyes only resulted in a blindingly bright light, blocking out everything else.

"Please be strong, my beloved son. Be strong and make your mom and I proud." his last words were so low that I hardly heard them over the rush of the wind buffeting me.

I fell for what felt like an eternity, trying to come to my senses, before finally crashing.

~

"DRACEN!" Jake's monstrous voice brought me back to my senses.

How long was I out? Judging from everything around me, it must only have been a few seconds. Not that it matters... What does matter, is that I now have a connection with Ignis again and thus I now know how to save both my new and old friends. But first, I'll have to put him out of his misery!

Focusing on my claws, crimson flames shrouded them, "Alright! Now we're on even ground," preparing my punch, I leapt towards Jake who didn't even bother defending, most likely thinking that my punch would be the same as before. The moment my fist connected with his chin, there was an explosion of crimson flames which engulfed his face as he screamed in pain. I didn't take the time to admire my work, as the next punch hammered into his stomach followed by more crimson fire. I continued showering him in fiery blows as he screamed for dear life before I finished it off with a blast of my crimson fire breath.

Jake fell to the ground, charred beyond recognition and barely breathing, "I'm sorry, Jake... I truly am. But if I want to put an end to all of this, I will need to take your piece," he slowly opened his mouth to speak, but words would not form. Instead his eyes pleaded me to end it before he returned to his monstrous state, as the final remnant of my old friend shone through the rage and madness that had consumed him.

Slowly but surely a glowing orb rose from his chest, inside it was a rook chess piece. I could feel it beat like a heart as I wrapped my claws around it. And the moment I pulled it out of the orb, Jake finally found rest.

"Rest in peace, old friend. And worry not. I WILL find a way to end this madness!" I watched as violet flames engulfed his body returning it to his human form before he disappeared back to where his master were. If luck was with him, he would be out for the rest of the game and if not... Then I fear that this won't be our last battle.

With the battle over, I finally came back to my senses as I heard the ponies crying over the loss of their beloved friend. It was now or never. Focusing on the piece, the violet flame around it flickered before changing to crimson. The piece itself was still violet, showing that the holder would gain Metallum's powers and the crimson flame signified that the holder belonged to Ignis' group.

I walked over to the group with renewed resolve only to be stopped by the glare of Celestia, "You! Because of you and your kin, we have lost one of our dearest friends as well as one of the Elements of Harmony! And yet you DARE to show yourself before us again!?" her eyes shone with light, and honestly it freaked me out. But I knew something she didn't... I knew how to save Applejack!

"Move... Please."

"WHAT!?" her anger exploded.

"I said, MOVE! Or do you not want to see Applejack alive again!?"

"YOU DARE TO UTTER HER NAME!? I SHOULD BANISH YOU TO THE SUN RI-! Wait... See her alive again? What madness are you spouting now!? Not even I can bring back the departed!" Her voice cracked as her eyes teared up.

"Well, you aren't me. Now move aside, all of you!" I slowly walked past the now flabbergasted princess and knelt down besides AJ's corpse, "I hope you can forgive me one day..."

With that said, I took the violet rook piece and placed it on her chest, "With the powers vested in me as the Lord of the Crimson Flame, I request a pact with the brave being known as Applejack! May her soul be bound to mine until the battle is won!" crimson flames enveloped her body, closing and healing her wounds as she rose a foot into the air. The rook began to pulsate with the rhythm of a heart beat as it slowly sank into her body, color finally returning as life was restored in her.

She slowly descended back down, her eyes flew open as she had a coughing fit, "Ouch... *Cough* Did anypony get, *Hack* The number on that, *Wheeze* Applecart?" she looked around at her friends faces which all showed mixed emotions of disbelief, relief, sorrow from the events they just went through and joy from seeing their friend alive again. She then noticed me and realization seemed to flood back, "The battle! Did we win? Wait... But, ah died... How can ah be alive!?"

"You're alive because I gave you life. Unfortunately, it's not a permanent solution," everyones eyes filled with sadness again, "But there is hope yet. Ignis' plan was to move so far away from our old dimension as possible, to stop The Game from ever being played again."

"The game?" AJ asked, still trying to come to terms with what had happened.

"It's a game of death between nine powerful gods that have been around since the birth of time, space and the universe itself. They move from world to world, waiting for mortal men to find them, so that they might entice them with their game. The winner will get ANY wish they might have, fulfilled. And THAT is how we're gonna save you."

They all looked at me like I was mad, "So, all we have ta do, is win this 'ere game and ah'll be counted among the livin' again?"

"Pretty much, yeah. But it won't be easy. It is a death battle after all. And the two of us are the only fighters on this team."

"No you're not!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "If AJ is going into battle to win back her life, then I'm gonna follow her!" this was followed up with agreements from the other four as well.

"Well, that's fine and all, but let me just warn you. You WILL die a few times in battle and each time you do, we will lose more and more chances to bring you all back home," these ponies are amazing, they're not even fazed a bit by that knowledge. All of them are showing strong determination, "Alright, you all seem eager to go. But before that, we will need to discuss the rules and accept our place in the game. So how about we head back inside? I'm pretty sure that there's still some apple goods left to eat and drink," I tried to be a bit light about it... I would be killing off five ponies in a bit after all.