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Destroy the Dragon
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish writing this story properly because of a few things that messed up my schedule and motivation for writing in general. It ended up as a strange patchwork of proper scenes and summaries, each style separated by a section marker. I hope you enjoy what I’ve got!!!
- - - ~*~ - - -
Sid stared, eyes keen as an eagle’s, as Tucker walked up to his friends.
“It’s my dad’s,” Tucker whispered. “He said I could only show you guys.”
He slowly reached into his shirt and pulled out a glittery pendant on a chain. Immediately a chorus of sickeningly sweet gasps of admiration arose around him as his friends flocked around to get a better look. Sid pretended to retch, clutching his stomach, and looked up to meet the narrowed eyes of Jayla.
“Just make sure Sid doesn’t nab it,” she muttered.
As Sid smiled at Jayla, music started playing over the speakers.
“Well, Tamatoa hasn't always been this glam, I was a drab little crab once.”
All the kids who had scattered around the playground to have their lunch turned to their classrooms and started walking.
“Now I know I can be happy as a clam. Because I'm beautiful, baby!”
Sid sidled up to the classroom door and peeked inside - Tucker was holding his cupped palm out to Mx Thompson. Mx Thompson scooped something out of it, lifting up a length of silver chain and putting it in their desk drawer.
“Did your granny say listen to your heart, be who you are on the inside?”
Mx Thompson disappeared into the storeroom as Tucker left, walking right by Sid and practically letting him snatch a $5 note out of his pocket. Poor Tucker wouldn’t get that ice cream from the cafe this afternoon.
“I need three words to tear her argument apart. Your granny lied.”
Sid crept into the classroom like an intrepid adventurer, tiptoeing across the carpet to Mx Thompson’s desk. Pulling the drawer open felt like opening a treasure chest - Sid could almost feel the golden rays of light emanate from it and light up his grinning face.
“I'd rather be shiny!”
Sid hummed as he left the classroom. Maths was as dull as usual, but at least he had something better than homework in his bag. “Fish are dumb, dumb, dumb, they chase anything that glitters,” he sang under his breath. His face split into a smile as he saw Jayla stomp over. “Beginners.”
Jayla’s eyes blazed with a frankly hilarious righteous fury. “Give it back.”
“Give what back?” Sid shrugged, walking backwards to the school gate so he could face his arch-nemesis.
“Tucker’s dad’s necklace!” she snarled, “We know you have it!”
Sid looked left, right, then up at Jayla, and let his mouth quirk into a smile. “What are you going to do about it?”
Sid held back his laughter to preserve the drama as Jayla glared at him. After a long moment he swung himself around and sauntered over to the bike racks.
Sid shoved the door open, threw his school bag onto the sofa and leapt after it. His good mood had seemingly evaporated on the ride home, but a sliver of it returned as he lifted his prize up and walked toward his room. A whole necklace, glittering in the light. Easily the best thing he’s stolen so far. He carefully took his old backpack out from under his cupboard, then pulled the shoebox out of the main pocket. He opened it to reveal the collection of his life’s work, his pride and joy. He laid the necklace on top of it all, layers of trinkets most grownups would call junk. He thought of it more like Ariel’s secret grotto, a trove of things he declared were treasure. And now it was put away, he had nothing to do.
Sid pulled himself up with the handle on his cupboard and slammed it shut. The rest of the house didn’t have any trinkets in it - at least not the parts he was allowed in. His parents’ room and office could have any number of treasures in them while the rest of the house was completely devoid of whozits, whatzits and thingamabobs. The cutlery in the kitchen was boring, all a uniform silvery metal. There wasn’t anything else in there he could take without being noticed. He considered his conundrum, looked around, saw a box of biscuits on a shelf and continued considering while enjoying the taste of chocolate. He munched contentedly for about a minute then almost spat out his chewed Tim Tam as he heard a CRASH. He sped toward it, hugging the box of Tim Tams to his chest. He spun around the corner but the end of the corridor, the source of the noise, was empty. The only change was a trapdoor in the ceiling that had opened, letting down a ladder that beckoned to Sid. He couldn’t remember ever seeing that trapdoor before. Who knew what knickknacks could be hidden up there?
Grinning at the promise of entertainment, he ran to get his phone and his old backpack and climbed up the ladder. He popped his head over the trapdoor and scanned the room. It was crammed with boxes from the floor to the ceiling, which sloped gently with the roof. The only sources of light were from a grimy little window and Sid’s phone, though he could see a lightbulb. He climbed all the way up, flicked a switch and watched the lightbulb flicker on. Other than the dirt on the window, it was a fairly well-kept room - nothing but the faintest traces of dust lingered on the walls or boxes. He looked around for the first thing to open and noticed a tiny door. It was minuscule, not as small as the curved blocks people nailed in their front yards and called fairy doors but not big enough for a toddler to go through, standing straight up, and avoid hitting their head. It was painted the same colour as the room and the only other spot of colour on it was the tarnished gold doorknob. Sid reached out to open it but found himself hesitating. His hand twitched a little on the doorknob before gripping it tighter. It felt- it felt like there was something behind it. The more he thought about it the stupider that sounded, but he couldn’t stop his heart from stuttering or force his arm to move. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. He glared at his arm, and bit by bit he could move it despite the stiffness. He tugged at the door then pulled it sideways and scrambled back as- oh, phew. Nothing’s there. Just a dull dimness. There could be more in there, though, and both meanings of that thought - the promise of treasure or the threat of danger - made his heart quicken. He scooted forward, shining his phone into the dark, and slid through the door and onto the flooOOOOOOOOAAAAAHH THAT’S NOT THE FLOOR-!!!
Sid blearily cracked his eyes open and immediately closed them again as light shone into them so brightly they burned. He inhaled a noseful of a lush lawnish smell and pushed himself up to his knees. His palms rubbed against grass and roots. He blinked at his surroundings, letting his eyes adjust, and rubbed a hand across his face, astonished. All around him were trees so tall he thought he might’ve shrunk- well, he couldn’t have shrunk, so the trees must just be really tall… and as twisted as pretzels, looping and curling around each other… with leaves coloured a sunny yellow that contrasted with the coal-dark bark…
Sid frowned as he got up and stared around. The twisting trees dominated the land for as far as he could see. No clouds drifted across the orangey grey sky, though he could see a little white mountain peak if he stretched. Despite the expanse of forest, no noises could be heard no matter how hard he strained his ears. His breathing and steady heartbeat were the only sounds in the entire wood. The dead silence was probably the reason why he jumped so high when a quiet rsh-rsh-rsh came from a tree. It was quite a thin one, maybe as thick as his head, and it swayed at the touch of whatever was leaning on it. He narrowed his eyes at the shadows and froze when he saw something stare back. Its eyes were a deep amber, almost honey-coloured, with slit pupils that dilated as he watched. It stepped forward gracefully, quiet as a falling feather, revealing striped orange fur and a feline head in the light as it slowly raised one digit to its muzzle. Frowning, Sid put a finger to his lips too, then stopped as he heard a rhythmic thumping sound from behind him. The trees shook from the force of it, filling the air with an awful cacophony that made him want the silence back. There was a wind picking up too, which blew leaves around and battered his back. He looked for the source of the sound and whirled back around as his eyes started stinging. He blinked and the thing in the shadows leapt at him, forcing a paw onto his mouth and pushing him onto the ground. A root he was lying on made his back ache but he didn’t dare speak a word, just stared up at the massive tiger with watery eyes and listened to the thumps get closer as a massive silhouette crossed the sky above the trees. After it passed, the wind and the sound of its wingbeats died away but the tiger still didn’t let him go. It just sat on him, looking at his face as its long tail twitched into a question mark. It was much larger than Sid thought a tiger should be and it was shaped like a human and dressed like one too, albeit one going to a medieval cosplay festival or something. A dull metal breastplate over a dark shirt covered its chest and wrappings of some leathery material covered its arms. It didn’t seem to be getting up sometime soon, so Sid decided to get its hand off his mouth at the very least.
“Eww!” It hissed, recoiling and wiping its paw on its shirt. “I just saved you, why did you lick my hand?!”
Sid scoffed. “Saved me? You sat on me!”
“I stopped you from getting the dragon’s attention! You’re welcome!” it spat, lashing its tail.
“Dragon?” Sid frowned.
- - - ~*~ - - -
The tiger told Sid all about the dragon, its vicious claws and its insatiable greed. It told him how it took anything that moved or shone or looked vaguely interesting to its lair. It said he looked vaguely interesting, so he’d definitely be taken and imprisoned - or worse - in the cave on top of the mountain, where the dragon kept its massive wealth of treasure. Towering heaps of gold that deserved to be called mountains on their own. The tiger spoke of freeing the captives, but all Sid could focus on was the promise of more things to take. He agreed, but the smile on his face was the same one that Jayla saw when she demanded that he return what he stole.
He picked up the things he brought in but found that they had been altered. His phone became a strange tool with a metal prong, a lightbulb and a button which turned it on, his backpack grew and gained many pockets, though the zipped middle section was kept shut by a padlock emblazoned with golden stars, and his Tim Tams became a box full of the most delicate and delicious treats he’d ever seen. He asked the tiger why his things changed and it said something cryptic along the lines of “in this world, possessions have power.” He offered to share some of the treats with it as they walked through the forest, but it declined.
- - - ~*~ - - -
Sid huffed. He tried sharing for once and this was what happened? Nope. He’d stick to hoarding in the future.
“Mysterious bipedal tiger,” Sid started, breaking the silence of the forest. He looked around and the dragon didn’t spontaneously appear and swoop at them, so he continued. “Do you have a name?”
It took a second to consider, tilting its head to the side as it loped forwards. “It’s been too long. I don’t remember.”
Sid tried to ask what it had been too long since but all he got in response was a fierce amber glare.
“Can I name you then?” Sid asked before taking a bite out of an exquisitely iced brownie.
“Perhaps,” it shrugged. “If you take it seriously, I’ll think about it.”
Sid finished chewing and swallowed. “Fluffy?”
“No.”
“Dang,” he sighed, looking at it as it flicked its tail again. It stared right ahead, reminding him of Mx Thompson’s face when he got ChatGPT to do his homework. It might move and speak like a human, but it definitely wasn’t. There was still something wild to the way it walked, making it look…
“How about Fierce?” he suggested. It didn’t immediately turn and growl at him, which was a good sign.
“…Alright,” it answered, still not looking at Sid. “You can call me that.”
Sid licked the crumbs off his fingers. “Cool.”
- - - ~*~ - - -
They continued walking but were stopped by a group of sunshine-yellow anthropomorphic chickens, wielding weapons in their wing-hands and clad in similar medieval fantasy cosplay to Fierce. They demanded that Sid and Fierce hand over any treasure they have so they can give it to the dragon as tribute. Fierce told the chickens that the dragon is incapable of mercy and will take them anyway.
As they argued, Sid heard something. A rhythmic pounding of air, getting closer and closer. He tried to warn them but they didn’t listen until the dragon, a massive silver lizard with gold coins and brilliant jewels stuck between its scales, swooped down with an unearthly shriek and picked up one of the chickens. The others lost their nerve and gave up. Fierce told them about Sid and its quest and they vowed to help.
They all continued trekking until they reached the foot of the mountain. Its jagged side had no paths or footholds, but luckily one of the chickens had a grappling hook that they couldn’t use because they didn’t have opposable thumbs. Fierce took it, grabbed hold of Sid and they grappled up the mountain. At last, they were at the mouth of the cave. The dragon’s snores shook the whole mountaintop. Fierce told him that they were almost finished, but they had to be very careful not to wake the dragon. Sid nodded, smiled and said that after that they’d have the treasure. Fierce realised that Sid only went along with the quest for his own gain and angrily called him out. They argued and both ran off. Sid sulked for a while, so caught up in his bitterness that he didn’t notice that the rumbling had stopped. He finds himself face. To face with the dragon, who has an evil villain monologue and laughs at Sid before slithering back into its cave.
Sid runs to check that Fierce is okay and finds them crying. They tell him about a memory he’d forgotten, when he stole a girl’s favourite plushie so she locked his in the middle pocket of his bag with a diary lock. His plushie was a little orange tabby cat. In this world, where possessions have power, it took on a form it could protect him in like it couldn’t protect him before. Sid apologised for being selfish and Fierce acknowledged that he became a better person and that they shouldn’t have dismissed his progress. As their determination returned and their bond strengthened, they walked into the gaping mouth of the cave.
They carefully snuck through the dragon’s lair but despite their stealth, the dragon woke up when it smelled Sid’s food. Fierce stayed behind to fight the dragon as Sid raced ahead to the prisoners and the treasure. He had a decision to make when he gets there - keep the treasure or pull a lever to use it to distract and defeat the dragon. It wasn’t even a choice anymore. He called out to Fierce, pulled the lever and watched the treasure tumble. There was a lot more of it than he realised and it completely crushed the dragon. Fierce ran up to him and they tried to find a way back to the real world, but it was up high on a ledge that the treasure once formed a ramp up to. They got out the grappling hook to get up and Sid and Fierce had a tearful farewell. Sid went through the door. Fierce stayed behind and talked to one of the chickens about what this world was going to be like now that Sid and the dragon were gone.
- - - ~*~ - - -
Jayla frowned at the things Sid had poured out of his old bag onto the floor with her mouth slightly open. Every so often she looked like she wanted to say something but she remained silent.
“Dad’s necklace!” Tucker cheered, smiling at Sid. “Where did you find it?”
All around the pile, Sid’s classmates were picking through and finding lost treasures. Stolen treasures.
After everyone had found their old trinkets and toys, only Sid, Jayla and one treasure left.
- - - ~*~ - - -
Sid and Jayla talked for a while. Jayla didn’t forgive Sid, but said it was good that he returned everything he stole. He asked if the last treasure, a tiny star-shaped key, was hers, but she just shrugged and said she lost the corresponding lock years ago. As she walked away, Sid picked up the key, looked at his old bag and grinned.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish writing this story properly because of a few things that messed up my schedule and motivation for writing in general. It ended up as a strange patchwork of proper scenes and summaries, each style separated by a section marker. I hope you enjoy what I’ve got!!!
- - - ~*~ - - -
Sid stared, eyes keen as an eagle’s, as Tucker walked up to his friends.
“It’s my dad’s,” Tucker whispered. “He said I could only show you guys.”
He slowly reached into his shirt and pulled out a glittery pendant on a chain. Immediately a chorus of sickeningly sweet gasps of admiration arose around him as his friends flocked around to get a better look. Sid pretended to retch, clutching his stomach, and looked up to meet the narrowed eyes of Jayla.
“Just make sure Sid doesn’t nab it,” she muttered.
As Sid smiled at Jayla, music started playing over the speakers.
“Well, Tamatoa hasn't always been this glam, I was a drab little crab once.”
All the kids who had scattered around the playground to have their lunch turned to their classrooms and started walking.
“Now I know I can be happy as a clam. Because I'm beautiful, baby!”
Sid sidled up to the classroom door and peeked inside - Tucker was holding his cupped palm out to Mx Thompson. Mx Thompson scooped something out of it, lifting up a length of silver chain and putting it in their desk drawer.
“Did your granny say listen to your heart, be who you are on the inside?”
Mx Thompson disappeared into the storeroom as Tucker left, walking right by Sid and practically letting him snatch a $5 note out of his pocket. Poor Tucker wouldn’t get that ice cream from the cafe this afternoon.
“I need three words to tear her argument apart. Your granny lied.”
Sid crept into the classroom like an intrepid adventurer, tiptoeing across the carpet to Mx Thompson’s desk. Pulling the drawer open felt like opening a treasure chest - Sid could almost feel the golden rays of light emanate from it and light up his grinning face.
“I'd rather be shiny!”
Sid hummed as he left the classroom. Maths was as dull as usual, but at least he had something better than homework in his bag. “Fish are dumb, dumb, dumb, they chase anything that glitters,” he sang under his breath. His face split into a smile as he saw Jayla stomp over. “Beginners.”
Jayla’s eyes blazed with a frankly hilarious righteous fury. “Give it back.”
“Give what back?” Sid shrugged, walking backwards to the school gate so he could face his arch-nemesis.
“Tucker’s dad’s necklace!” she snarled, “We know you have it!”
Sid looked left, right, then up at Jayla, and let his mouth quirk into a smile. “What are you going to do about it?”
Sid held back his laughter to preserve the drama as Jayla glared at him. After a long moment he swung himself around and sauntered over to the bike racks.
Sid shoved the door open, threw his school bag onto the sofa and leapt after it. His good mood had seemingly evaporated on the ride home, but a sliver of it returned as he lifted his prize up and walked toward his room. A whole necklace, glittering in the light. Easily the best thing he’s stolen so far. He carefully took his old backpack out from under his cupboard, then pulled the shoebox out of the main pocket. He opened it to reveal the collection of his life’s work, his pride and joy. He laid the necklace on top of it all, layers of trinkets most grownups would call junk. He thought of it more like Ariel’s secret grotto, a trove of things he declared were treasure. And now it was put away, he had nothing to do.
Sid pulled himself up with the handle on his cupboard and slammed it shut. The rest of the house didn’t have any trinkets in it - at least not the parts he was allowed in. His parents’ room and office could have any number of treasures in them while the rest of the house was completely devoid of whozits, whatzits and thingamabobs. The cutlery in the kitchen was boring, all a uniform silvery metal. There wasn’t anything else in there he could take without being noticed. He considered his conundrum, looked around, saw a box of biscuits on a shelf and continued considering while enjoying the taste of chocolate. He munched contentedly for about a minute then almost spat out his chewed Tim Tam as he heard a CRASH. He sped toward it, hugging the box of Tim Tams to his chest. He spun around the corner but the end of the corridor, the source of the noise, was empty. The only change was a trapdoor in the ceiling that had opened, letting down a ladder that beckoned to Sid. He couldn’t remember ever seeing that trapdoor before. Who knew what knickknacks could be hidden up there?
Grinning at the promise of entertainment, he ran to get his phone and his old backpack and climbed up the ladder. He popped his head over the trapdoor and scanned the room. It was crammed with boxes from the floor to the ceiling, which sloped gently with the roof. The only sources of light were from a grimy little window and Sid’s phone, though he could see a lightbulb. He climbed all the way up, flicked a switch and watched the lightbulb flicker on. Other than the dirt on the window, it was a fairly well-kept room - nothing but the faintest traces of dust lingered on the walls or boxes. He looked around for the first thing to open and noticed a tiny door. It was minuscule, not as small as the curved blocks people nailed in their front yards and called fairy doors but not big enough for a toddler to go through, standing straight up, and avoid hitting their head. It was painted the same colour as the room and the only other spot of colour on it was the tarnished gold doorknob. Sid reached out to open it but found himself hesitating. His hand twitched a little on the doorknob before gripping it tighter. It felt- it felt like there was something behind it. The more he thought about it the stupider that sounded, but he couldn’t stop his heart from stuttering or force his arm to move. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. He glared at his arm, and bit by bit he could move it despite the stiffness. He tugged at the door then pulled it sideways and scrambled back as- oh, phew. Nothing’s there. Just a dull dimness. There could be more in there, though, and both meanings of that thought - the promise of treasure or the threat of danger - made his heart quicken. He scooted forward, shining his phone into the dark, and slid through the door and onto the flooOOOOOOOOAAAAAHH THAT’S NOT THE FLOOR-!!!
Sid blearily cracked his eyes open and immediately closed them again as light shone into them so brightly they burned. He inhaled a noseful of a lush lawnish smell and pushed himself up to his knees. His palms rubbed against grass and roots. He blinked at his surroundings, letting his eyes adjust, and rubbed a hand across his face, astonished. All around him were trees so tall he thought he might’ve shrunk- well, he couldn’t have shrunk, so the trees must just be really tall… and as twisted as pretzels, looping and curling around each other… with leaves coloured a sunny yellow that contrasted with the coal-dark bark…
Sid frowned as he got up and stared around. The twisting trees dominated the land for as far as he could see. No clouds drifted across the orangey grey sky, though he could see a little white mountain peak if he stretched. Despite the expanse of forest, no noises could be heard no matter how hard he strained his ears. His breathing and steady heartbeat were the only sounds in the entire wood. The dead silence was probably the reason why he jumped so high when a quiet rsh-rsh-rsh came from a tree. It was quite a thin one, maybe as thick as his head, and it swayed at the touch of whatever was leaning on it. He narrowed his eyes at the shadows and froze when he saw something stare back. Its eyes were a deep amber, almost honey-coloured, with slit pupils that dilated as he watched. It stepped forward gracefully, quiet as a falling feather, revealing striped orange fur and a feline head in the light as it slowly raised one digit to its muzzle. Frowning, Sid put a finger to his lips too, then stopped as he heard a rhythmic thumping sound from behind him. The trees shook from the force of it, filling the air with an awful cacophony that made him want the silence back. There was a wind picking up too, which blew leaves around and battered his back. He looked for the source of the sound and whirled back around as his eyes started stinging. He blinked and the thing in the shadows leapt at him, forcing a paw onto his mouth and pushing him onto the ground. A root he was lying on made his back ache but he didn’t dare speak a word, just stared up at the massive tiger with watery eyes and listened to the thumps get closer as a massive silhouette crossed the sky above the trees. After it passed, the wind and the sound of its wingbeats died away but the tiger still didn’t let him go. It just sat on him, looking at his face as its long tail twitched into a question mark. It was much larger than Sid thought a tiger should be and it was shaped like a human and dressed like one too, albeit one going to a medieval cosplay festival or something. A dull metal breastplate over a dark shirt covered its chest and wrappings of some leathery material covered its arms. It didn’t seem to be getting up sometime soon, so Sid decided to get its hand off his mouth at the very least.
“Eww!” It hissed, recoiling and wiping its paw on its shirt. “I just saved you, why did you lick my hand?!”
Sid scoffed. “Saved me? You sat on me!”
“I stopped you from getting the dragon’s attention! You’re welcome!” it spat, lashing its tail.
“Dragon?” Sid frowned.
- - - ~*~ - - -
The tiger told Sid all about the dragon, its vicious claws and its insatiable greed. It told him how it took anything that moved or shone or looked vaguely interesting to its lair. It said he looked vaguely interesting, so he’d definitely be taken and imprisoned - or worse - in the cave on top of the mountain, where the dragon kept its massive wealth of treasure. Towering heaps of gold that deserved to be called mountains on their own. The tiger spoke of freeing the captives, but all Sid could focus on was the promise of more things to take. He agreed, but the smile on his face was the same one that Jayla saw when she demanded that he return what he stole.
He picked up the things he brought in but found that they had been altered. His phone became a strange tool with a metal prong, a lightbulb and a button which turned it on, his backpack grew and gained many pockets, though the zipped middle section was kept shut by a padlock emblazoned with golden stars, and his Tim Tams became a box full of the most delicate and delicious treats he’d ever seen. He asked the tiger why his things changed and it said something cryptic along the lines of “in this world, possessions have power.” He offered to share some of the treats with it as they walked through the forest, but it declined.
- - - ~*~ - - -
Sid huffed. He tried sharing for once and this was what happened? Nope. He’d stick to hoarding in the future.
“Mysterious bipedal tiger,” Sid started, breaking the silence of the forest. He looked around and the dragon didn’t spontaneously appear and swoop at them, so he continued. “Do you have a name?”
It took a second to consider, tilting its head to the side as it loped forwards. “It’s been too long. I don’t remember.”
Sid tried to ask what it had been too long since but all he got in response was a fierce amber glare.
“Can I name you then?” Sid asked before taking a bite out of an exquisitely iced brownie.
“Perhaps,” it shrugged. “If you take it seriously, I’ll think about it.”
Sid finished chewing and swallowed. “Fluffy?”
“No.”
“Dang,” he sighed, looking at it as it flicked its tail again. It stared right ahead, reminding him of Mx Thompson’s face when he got ChatGPT to do his homework. It might move and speak like a human, but it definitely wasn’t. There was still something wild to the way it walked, making it look…
“How about Fierce?” he suggested. It didn’t immediately turn and growl at him, which was a good sign.
“…Alright,” it answered, still not looking at Sid. “You can call me that.”
Sid licked the crumbs off his fingers. “Cool.”
- - - ~*~ - - -
They continued walking but were stopped by a group of sunshine-yellow anthropomorphic chickens, wielding weapons in their wing-hands and clad in similar medieval fantasy cosplay to Fierce. They demanded that Sid and Fierce hand over any treasure they have so they can give it to the dragon as tribute. Fierce told the chickens that the dragon is incapable of mercy and will take them anyway.
As they argued, Sid heard something. A rhythmic pounding of air, getting closer and closer. He tried to warn them but they didn’t listen until the dragon, a massive silver lizard with gold coins and brilliant jewels stuck between its scales, swooped down with an unearthly shriek and picked up one of the chickens. The others lost their nerve and gave up. Fierce told them about Sid and its quest and they vowed to help.
They all continued trekking until they reached the foot of the mountain. Its jagged side had no paths or footholds, but luckily one of the chickens had a grappling hook that they couldn’t use because they didn’t have opposable thumbs. Fierce took it, grabbed hold of Sid and they grappled up the mountain. At last, they were at the mouth of the cave. The dragon’s snores shook the whole mountaintop. Fierce told him that they were almost finished, but they had to be very careful not to wake the dragon. Sid nodded, smiled and said that after that they’d have the treasure. Fierce realised that Sid only went along with the quest for his own gain and angrily called him out. They argued and both ran off. Sid sulked for a while, so caught up in his bitterness that he didn’t notice that the rumbling had stopped. He finds himself face. To face with the dragon, who has an evil villain monologue and laughs at Sid before slithering back into its cave.
Sid runs to check that Fierce is okay and finds them crying. They tell him about a memory he’d forgotten, when he stole a girl’s favourite plushie so she locked his in the middle pocket of his bag with a diary lock. His plushie was a little orange tabby cat. In this world, where possessions have power, it took on a form it could protect him in like it couldn’t protect him before. Sid apologised for being selfish and Fierce acknowledged that he became a better person and that they shouldn’t have dismissed his progress. As their determination returned and their bond strengthened, they walked into the gaping mouth of the cave.
They carefully snuck through the dragon’s lair but despite their stealth, the dragon woke up when it smelled Sid’s food. Fierce stayed behind to fight the dragon as Sid raced ahead to the prisoners and the treasure. He had a decision to make when he gets there - keep the treasure or pull a lever to use it to distract and defeat the dragon. It wasn’t even a choice anymore. He called out to Fierce, pulled the lever and watched the treasure tumble. There was a lot more of it than he realised and it completely crushed the dragon. Fierce ran up to him and they tried to find a way back to the real world, but it was up high on a ledge that the treasure once formed a ramp up to. They got out the grappling hook to get up and Sid and Fierce had a tearful farewell. Sid went through the door. Fierce stayed behind and talked to one of the chickens about what this world was going to be like now that Sid and the dragon were gone.
- - - ~*~ - - -
Jayla frowned at the things Sid had poured out of his old bag onto the floor with her mouth slightly open. Every so often she looked like she wanted to say something but she remained silent.
“Dad’s necklace!” Tucker cheered, smiling at Sid. “Where did you find it?”
All around the pile, Sid’s classmates were picking through and finding lost treasures. Stolen treasures.
After everyone had found their old trinkets and toys, only Sid, Jayla and one treasure left.
- - - ~*~ - - -
Sid and Jayla talked for a while. Jayla didn’t forgive Sid, but said it was good that he returned everything he stole. He asked if the last treasure, a tiny star-shaped key, was hers, but she just shrugged and said she lost the corresponding lock years ago. As she walked away, Sid picked up the key, looked at his old bag and grinned.