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DragonGear

Lugia

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Jun 13, 2010
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"DragonGear tells the story of the three beloved TopGear presenters as they set off on an epic quest through an entirely new world that combines science fiction and fantasy!

When an army of darkness from another dimension threatens to invade their world, Jeremy, James, and Richard must figure out how to stop them. The only way they can do this is to tame the most ferocious and deadly dragon ever to live!"

Chapter I:

Richard laid on his back, staring blankly at the old, stained ceiling. How the stains had gotten up there he had no idea; but it at least gave him something to think about each day other than his inevitable doom.

A small amount of light crept into the room through a very small barred window that was very close to the ceiling. The cell he held in was fairly small, and almost completely bare. The only things in the room were the cold, metal bed he was lying on and a filthy looking toilet and a sink in the far corner of the room. Richard had always been quite nervous to use the toilet, and he saw no point in even having the sink in the cell since the chain that he was forced to wear wouldn't allow him to reach it. The chain was connected to a thick, metal shackle that was around his right ankle and was attached to the wall just beneath the bed.

He had tried, on several occasions, to break the chain. However, each time he gave it a pull or wandered too far away from the wall, an electric shock would travel through the metal and straight into him. The shock was powerful and each time he received one he was left feeling weak and ill. Even if he had managed to break the chain, separating him from the hallway was a thick, steel door which must have been several inches thick. There was a small window in it, but even that was constructed of bulletproof glass. The barred window was out of the question.

Richard got to his feet and began to pace back and forth across the grated floor, listening to the rusty metal plates clank quietly as they shifted under his feet. He could only pace one or two steps in each direction, but it at least helped him burn off a tiny bit of the stress bubbling up within him.

How had be gotten here? Richard couldn't remember. The only memory he had was running through the dark, running away from someone, and then coming crashing to the ground. He also had a memory of two other men. He remembered that one of them was incredibly tall, and had pale-colored eyes and a head of curly, gray hair. His memory of the other man was very unclear; all he could remember was long, light brown hair and blue eyes. He didn't remember anything else about them. All he knew was the fact that they had been friends. He didn't remember how or why they had met, but he somehow knew that they had been very, very close.

And that they were in danger.

He had to get out of that jail cell as fast as he possibly could. He didn't even know why he needed to save them or what had happened; the only thing he knew for sure was the fact that he would never be able to go home without their help.

Richard eventually become so lost in thought that he had forgotten about the chain and took one too many steps. Just as he realized his mistake, a powerful current of electricity coursed through his body, stunning him. Richard howled in agony as he collapsed onto the floor, giving the chain another tug and giving himself another electric shock. His body was shaking uncontrollably as he whimpered from the pain.

An intense feeling of nausea began to rise up within him; Richard tried with little success to suppress the feeling, but eventually he completely lost control of it and vomited onto the floor. It felt incredibly painful, but after it was all over with, he was glad that he at least didn't feel as sick anymore.

It was a damned good thing that the floor of the cell was grated, as well.

Just when he thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, the door of his cell opened. Richard struggled to try to see who was coming in, but he had almost no strength left and could only sit on his hands and his knees, shaking and gasping pathetically. Richard's vision began to blur, but he could see a pair of black leather boots walking toward him. He braced himself for a violent kick, but none ever came.

As shameful as it made him feel, Richard let out one final groan of agony before collapsing onto the floor. His heart pounded as he watched a pale hand reach out and rest on his forehead. Richard looked up at the man who had touched him. He saw dirty-blonde hair and strong, blue eyes.

Could this be one of the men he had remembered? Richard was too weak to consider the thought much longer and just laid motionless on the grated floor as the man continued to look him over.

"Now just take a look at what you have done to the poor man..." the man's voice did not sound like it belonged to any of his friends. It did, however, have a powerful yet gentle tone that strangely comforted him.

"The electric shock is not lethal, it is simply to prevent prisoners from escaping the facility." Richard had not been aware that this man had brought other men with him. They must have been security guards of some sort. The other man who spoke had a deep, rough-sounding voice; that alone made Richard wish he had the strength and courage to run away from this place. Richard was somehow glad that he couldn't see his face.

The tall man gave Richard's hair a gentle stroke before speaking again, "A human is a delicate thing, my friend..." He looked into Richard's eyes and smiled gently.

"W...ho..." Richard tried to say before the man put a finger over his lips.

"Shh..." the man said, "...there is no need to worry..."

Richard, whose strength was steadily draining from his body, shuddered one last time before shutting his eyes and passing out at the tall man's feet. The man sighed quietly before sliding his hands underneath Richard, lifting him and carrying him off down the dimly lit corridor as gently as a sleeping child.

NOTE: I am still doing Showdown, however, this is simply a side-project. Every other Showdown update I will update this, probably.​
 
Werbung:
Chapter II:

Richard groaned and slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness. He blinked in confusion as his surroundings began to register in his brain. He was lying in a large bed with a golden colored quilt on top; the sheets underneath it felt soft and cool against Richard's skin. The bed itself was probably the softest thing that he'd ever slept on; it felt almost as if he were sleeping on a cloud rather than on a mattress. It was a nice alternative to cold, hard metal, at least.

His clothes had been changed as well. He was wearing white silk pajamas that had likely come from one of the many closets in the massive room that he found himself in. For a moment, Richard shuddered, feeling uncomfortable with the fact that his clothes had been removed by a complete stranger, but he finally began to realize that such a thing was the least of his worries at the moment.

The room he found himself in had peach colored walls with a shiny, golden border with symbols painted on it just below the ceiling. Just behind the bed that Richard was lying in was a massive window that stretched across the entire eastern wall of the room. Underneath the bed was a half-circle of tan carpeting, but the rest of the room had a smooth, cream-colored marble floor.

There was a fancy looking compass rose painted onto the middle of the floor, and in the center of the compass was a small fish pond. To the west, directly in front of Richard, was a massive stone fireplace. The masonry had even more unusual symbols carved into it, but Richard was too far away to be able to make them out - not that he would be able to understand them even if he was up close. To the east of the pond was a large home entertainment system, which included a large plasma-screen television with surround sound and yet another massive window behind it, as well as an L-shaped black leather sofa with a matching recliner. Many potted plants also adorned the massive room. Many beautifully colored flowers hung from pots on the ceiling, and every corner of the room was occupied by a small tree,

As welcoming as these details all were, Richard did not feel like taking the time to appreciate them, for no part of the room fascinated him quite as much as the man sitting at the desk just a few feet away from his bed. Richard sat up and coughed to try to get the man's attention.

"Oh, I see you are awake," the man stood up and stepped away from his desk, which was painted white and had some golden trim on the edges, and walked over to the bed and put his hands behind his back as he spoke to Richard. "I would like to apologize that the two of us had to meet like this."

"Uh, me too...?" Richard swallowed as he looked up at the man. He saw the same dirty-blonde hair and the same pair of mighty, blue eyes that he had seen back in the jail cell just before he'd mysteriously ended up in this place. The man's hair, however, had more of a golden color now that it was in direct sunlight. Richard took a moment to get a better look at the man standing before him. He was wearing a long, purple coat with white fur on the inside. On his feet were black leather boots that went up to his knees, and his pants were a dark green color. He also wore a thick, black belt around his waist that carried with it a deadly looking longsword. The detail that intrigued Richard the most, however, were the man's ears. They were pointed and stood almost to the top of the man's head. They were also pierced at the bottom, and small, sapphire earrings hung from the holes.

"Allow me to introduce myself, sir," the tall man cleared his throat, "my name is Alezard Aluhreth. I can tell by the confused expression on your face that you are probably curious about my ears. I am, indeed, a high elf and I am very skilled in the practice of magic. I will gladly assist you in your studies in that field, should you require it," Alezard smiled warmly, "I have always wanted to meet you, but I do believe I never caught your name?"

He's always wanted to meet me, but doesn't even know my name?! Richard was puzzled by this but decided it was best to just answer Alezard's questions. "The name is Richard Hammond."

"I am going to assume that you have lost many of your memories since you've been in jail?"

"Yes, sir, I have."
 
Chapter II (cont'd):

"That is not unusual. Many years ago, it is said that one of the jail keepers but a spell on the place to slowly erase all of the memories any prisoners may have," Alezard paused, "luckily, however, the effects of the place are not permanent, so within the next few hours you should slowly begin to remember things a little bit more clearly."

"Oh... well, er, that's... good." Richard scratched his head, still not understanding a thing that was going on.

"You still look a little bit tense, Mr. Hammond," Alezard stepped away from the bed a little, "maybe you should take a bath and clean up a little," The elf motioned toward a red door with more golden symbols painted on it, "the hot spring is just through that door if you want to use it."

"Yeah... I think that would probably be a good idea.,," Richard carefully slid out of the bed. He was a little unsteady on his feet at first, but after a bit of assistance from Alezard, he was just fine. The marble felt cold under his bare feet as he walked toward the red door, but it was a bit soothing in a way - he'd gotten tired of the rusty, jagged grates that had been in the jail cell that he had been imprisoned in for the past several weeks.

"You have some clean clothing folded up in the drawer just to the right of the sink once you finish up in there." Alezard said as he sat back down at his desk and began scribbling away in his journal.

"Alright, thanks, Mr. Aluhreth." Richard stepped through the door and closed it behind him. He was greeted with a fairly regularly sized room lit only by candles. On the far side of the room was the hot spring; a few small palm trees surrounded it and the walls were covered in pale blue tile. The floor had alternating black and white square tiles which, for some reason, felt somewhat funny underneath Richard's feet.

Richard found himself mesmerized by the shadows that moved about on the walls as the candles flickered and burned. His favorite thing about them, though, was the fact that as they burned they gave off the scent of the ocean. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; it was so strong that when he really focused, it felt as if he really were standing in the surf, watching sea gulls gliding about and feeling the wind blow through his hair.

Richard opened his eyes, letting himself come back into reality. Richard couldn't help but be somewhat curious about those candles. Alezard must have put some sort of spell on them.

He walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. Richard opened the right-hand drawer and his clothes were there, just as Alezard had told him. He opened the left-hand drawer and found basic toiletry items, including a can of shaving cream. Richard grabbed the cream and smeared it on his face. He had grown a beard while had been imprisoned and wanted to shave it off before it got too thick. He found a sharp razor somewhere near the back of the drawer; it wasn't electric but it would do for now. He shaved the newly formed beard off, being careful not to cut himself. When he was finished, he bent over to rinse the remaining shaving cream off.

When he finished rinsing off his face, Richard looked at his reflection in the mirror. He nearly jumped out of his skin in fright, however, when he noticed his right eye. He touched the right side of his face with his hand and leaned close to the mirror.

His right eye, which had once been a soft, dark brown color, was now replaced by an eye with a violent purple color and a more cat-like pupil. Richard's heart pounded in his chest as he stared into the mirror. What the hell had they done to him while he was in jail? As soon as he was finished cleaning up, he would have to tell Alezard immediately.

Richard took a few steps back from the mirror, no longer even wanting to think about what he had just seen. It was probably just something strange about this particular room... right? Richard shrugged and sighed, walking over to the hot spring. He paused for a moment before removing his clothes and sliding into the hot water.

The bubbling water felt soothing against his skin, and he could feel the fear and stress that he had been feeling just moments ago slowly beginning to fade away, and at the same time he could feel some of his physical strength returning. Richard leaned up against the side of the hot spring and closed his eyes, taking the time to try to remember as much as he could.

He started off with the most clear memory he had. The tall one. He began to rack his brain, trying to piece things back together again. He remembered that he was very tall, much taller than he was, and had brown eyes and curly, gray hair. No, wait, that wasn't right, something was wrong... was his hair... black? No, that wasn't it.. Richard growled in frustration before taking another deep breath. He knew for sure that one of his friends was definitely very tall, and most certainly had curly gray hair. But his eyes were what confused Richard. They definitely weren't brown.

That's when it hit Richard.

The man's eyes were a blue-ish color! Suddenly, it all became clear to Richard. This man's name was Clarkson. Jeremy Clarkson. He remembered everything now - almost everything, anyway. The long haired one still confused him, though. That man had been Richard's friend as well, but... no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't remember. Richard was growing weary of digging through the deepest recesses of his memory, so he closed his eyes and relaxed, trying to at least get a little bit of rest - he would need it.

After all, Richard still had no idea about what was about to unfold...
 
Werbung:
Chapter III:


Once Richard had finished up in the hot spring, he slowly climbed out of the water and found a soft, yellow towel and began to dry himself off. He put the towel down on the counter next to the sink and took his clothes out of the right-hand drawer. Richard put on the plain white short sleeved shirt before putting on a digital watch and his necklace. He put on his blue jeans before slipping on a pair of socks and black tennis shoes. His leather jacket was in the drawer as well, and he put it on before carefully combing out his messy hair.

Satisfied with his grooming, Richard opened the door and walked back into the large room, only to find that Alezard had disappeared somewhere.

"Mr. Aluhreth?" Richard began to slowly wander about the room, as if doing so would somehow cause the elf to reappear, "Mr. Aluhreth, I-"

Richard turned around when he heard footsteps. They were coming from directly in front of him, but he didn't see anyone.

"Hello?" Richard blinked, "is someone-"

"Mr. Aluhreth will be with you in just a moment, Mr. Hammond." The man who spoke had a deep, powerful voice. Richard blinked again and looked down.

Standing before him was a very short man with a long, thick beard and intense amber eyes. He wore worn looking iron armor and he had an axe that was almost as big as he was strapped to his back. His curly hair was red like fire. Must be a dwarf of some sort, Richard thought.

"Oh, uh, that's fine, I suppose," Richard said awkwardly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He began to slowly walk around the room as the dwarf walked toward and opened yet another red door with a different golden symbol on it. After just another couple of moments, Alezard came through the door.

"Mr. Hammond?" Alezard said, "I would like to speak with you for a few minutes, if that is okay. I have fixed breakfast as well, in case you are hungry."

"Oh, thanks." Richard smiled shyly as he followed the tall elf into the kitchen.

Alezard's kitchen was not as huge and grand as the other room had been, but it was still clean and elegant just like the rest of his home. The floor was the same cream-colored marble and the walls were painted a warm yellow. The room had dark brown colored cupboards as well as black, granite counter tops.

Richard sat down at the table and looked out of the window that continued on the eastern wall from the main room. As Alezard took two plates of food from the counter, his dwarf friend stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Outside, Richard could see the pinkish-colored sky as the sun rose in the distance. Far to the northeast, Richard could see snow-capped mountains with clouds concealing their towering peaks. Directly to the east, several miles away, was a massive body of water; it was either a large lake or a bay of some sort. Richard could see various creatures swimming and running around in the surf. To the south were groups of small buildings; that was probably this island's equivalent of a city.

The Earth, at least in his dimension, was not a round planet but a series of floating islands of rocks, each with its own unique landscape and culture. Many of the islands were sideways or even upside-down in relationship to each other, but each and every landmass had its own gravity. Richard still felt a bit sick to his stomach from thinking about it, though.

Alezard sat down across the table from Richard and handed him a plate with bacon, potatoes, and two eggs over easy as well as a large glass of ice water. "I hear that this sort of dish is fairly popular among the people of your island."

"Er, yeah, it's... fairly common, I suppose." Richard didn't realize until up to that very moment exactly how hungry he had been. He practically inhaled the two eggs, and only slowed down once he'd started to chew on the bacon.

"I am going to assume that you weren't fed very well in jail..." Alezard watched curiously as Richard drank half of the glass of water in just a few big gulps.

"I wasn't."

Alezard took a bite of one of his eggs before continuing, "Is something concerning you, Richard?"

"..." Richard paused uncomfortably before letting out a long sigh. He would have to tell him, "It's my right eye, when I went into the bathroom this morning... it was... purple." Richard began to feel incredibly stupid in front of Alezard, but instead, the elf raised an eyebrow.

"Purple, you say?"

"Yes, sir."

"Lean forward a bit, I would like to examine it, if that is alright with you." Alezard slowly lifted his hand toward Richard's face, and he cautiously leaned forward. Richard felt nervous as the elf's cool fingers brushed against the skin around his eye. "...I thought I'd never see another one."

"Another what?" Richard, growing more and more nervous by the second, leaned back in his hair, his eyes wide. "What's happening to me?!"

"Your right eye, my friend," Alezard said, "is a Dragon Eye."

"Woah, woah, woah, woah... wait just a second... what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Nobody knows why..." Alezard leaned back in his seat, "but every so often... one mortal being is given the gift of a dragon eye, such as yours. Many of those who receive such a gift never even realize it... I guess you could say that you were one of the lucky ones. You somehow managed to tap into its power."

"That's great. But why me? What is so special about me that I've been given this? I mean... I help to present a popular television programme on the BBC, which I guess is great, but... I'm not that important!" Alezard could easily see the fear and confusion on the young man's face, "I've never even seen a dragon!"

"The dragons are mysterious beings, my friend," Alezard's eyes held sympathy for Richard, "I have told you everything I know; but I am afraid you will have to find the rest of the answers for yourself."

"Well, that really clears things up..." Richard crossed his arms as his expression became dark and serious, "...now, enough about all this bull crap about dragon eyes or whatnot... I demand answers."

"And I will provide them to the best of my ability."

"Good. Now... hmm... where should I start... oh, yeah, right. Why am I here?" There was a long pause as Richard's deep brown eyes glared into the elf's frosty blue ones. Alezard sighed before answering.

"If I recall correctly... about a month or two ago, you and your three friends had come to this island - for reasons I am sure both of us cannot recall. Our emperor, Erotolean Iceflame, somehow knew of your eye - how he had obtained this knowledge I am also afraid I do not know - and was going to have you executed."

"Wait... I was going to be... executed?!" Richard's face turned slightly pale, "great, now not only do I look like I have some sort of eye disease, I'm also a wanted fugitive!"

"It's not what you think, Richard--"

"Oh, so all of a sudden I break out of jail and nobody cares?"

"The night before I got you out, the emperor was assassinated by a group of rogue dragon riders," Alezard paused to let his words sink in, "his son, Rerdean Iceflame, took the throne the very next day and allowed me to free you... because he knew just who you were."

"...I don't... understand..."

"This new emperor may be young, but he is much more tolerant and merciful than his father... probably because he, too, can feel what is coming..."

"Wait, feel what? What's coming?" Richard's blood began to run cold, "...whatever it is, please don't tell me I'm involved..."

"...We both will soon find out..."
 
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