FSE

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"In the Cards"

The sky was a mixture of black and purple, the ground of the rocky landscape was a reddish dirt with no plant growth whatsoever; a soft humming sound filled the atmosphere as sparks lit up the sky like diamonds reflecting across the sea of stars overhead.

Traximus had been in a rather perilous crash a few days prior when his ship had veered out of control and collided with this planet's surface. All aboard were dead except for him; the debris still smoldered in the great distance he had traveled since then as he had gone in search of some way to radio his distress beacon out. He was battered and bruised, dried bloody cuts covered his torso and soiled the remaining tatters of his clothing. He had taken his harness strap off and tied it around a wound received from loose shrapnel that had sliced the back of his leg along with a scrap of his pants, but otherwise there were no serious injuries from the twisting mess of metal he'd managed to walk away from. The Triceriton looked down at the communicator across his wrist and growled, pressing the signal button. "This is Traximus; my ship has gone down, my crew is dead. I am broadcasting on the emergency frequency, can anyone respond?"

There was a blip and a long static whine that told the warrior his message was not sending. "Damn." He growled. "I must find a way to boost the signal."

The planet Traximus found himself stranded on was rather desolate; almost the moon of a planet nearby that was beginning to rise on the horizon; this place had a limited atmosphere, and his breathing had become labored without the use of his mask. He needed to conserve his oxygen, and he tolerated the lower breathable environment as much as he could, only breathing in his fresh air every so often when sickness began to overwhelm him. He came to the top of a large dune of sand that sloped down into a valley below him. There didn't appear to be a way around this valley, and he didn't have much time. Carefully guiding himself off the ledge, Trax slid down the slope; slowing and controlling himself by dragging his fingers in the sand as he went downward. Reaching the bottom, the computer on his wrist began to beep. "Hmm... it would appear I'm in luck." He said.

The readout indicated a large quantity of inductive crystals, which he could use to increase his broadcast range and send out a distress signal. He inhaled sharply, then the sudden remembering of a lack of atmosphere hit him like a brick. Trax gagged and began to cough, pulling his oxygen mask out and applying it to his face where he received another surprise; a nasty, stale air entered his lungs and he could barely breathe in at all. Managing to catch his breath, he inspected the small cylinder that supplied the air and realized that there was a small crack in it; he had been leaking his air and wasn't even aware of it. "So much for conserving my air supply..." He mused aloud as he tossed the item aside. "I will have to survive without a fresh one for a bit it seems."

After several meters, Traximus spotted a cave in the rock facing him, and his console began to flash it as the origin of the crystalline growth he had been looking for. Making his way into the mouth, he looked around and saw no crystals near it, bringing up his wrist, he tapped the digital display and a soft beeping emanated from it. "Must be further in." He said as he began to make his way deeper into the dark cavern. The slope was slow at first and then grew steeper the further he traveled. Using the light from his wrist comm as his only source to see by, he watched as the walls began to grow in on him as the slope's downturn grew more and more vertical. One thing he noticed was that the further down he traveled, the easier it seemed to breathe; as if he were traveling into a pocket of his world's atmosphere the further down he went. The slope grew harder; it was more rock now than dirt, and his light was reflecting off the wall like a great diamond. He was traveling down into a great crystal.

Stopping to check the wall, Traximus placed his hand on it and felt the cold, smooth surface. It was moist, but it seemed solid. As he slipped his knife from his belt to chip the crystal away, his left foot suddenly gave under the moisture and the rest of his body followed. Trax howled in surprise as he slammed into the ground, rolled and then slid down the now-tumultuous slope of the cave. It felt like several minutes before his uncontrolled cries and hurtling through the darkness finally came to an end, and when it did, he was tossed off the end of the slope and knocked across the cave. He landed in pain and out of breath as the wound in his leg was now throbbing in agony. He had reopened the wound and it was bleeding profusely now. Thinking quickly, Trax re-dressed the cut and tightened the strap on it even tighter before slowly rising. This cavern was lit by something other than the soft glow from his communicator. Looking down at it, he realized that the screen had shattered, rendering it completely useless. A groan of frustration later, Traximus ripped the band off his wrist and threw it across the room before noticing the object glowing and filling the cave with its bluish luminous glow. It was almost blinding at first, making Trax wince and shield his eyes from it, but as they grew accustomed to it, he realized that the glow was coming from an object embedded in the wall of the cave. Its light pulsed into the cave wall, giving it the look of crystals through the entire cave. Crystals had even grown around where the small object had been embedded. Traximus reached for the item and touched it briefly, verifying that it would not hurt him by touching it. As he grabbed it, he realized it had more the consistency of a playing card than solid rock. He tugged fiercely at it and dislodged it; the cave immediately flickered its lights and fell dark, leaving only the glow of the card in Traximus' hand. He looked around and it was as if he'd fallen into a black hole; not a single wall or crystal could be seen and it looked like he was holding a single torch in the center of pure blackness. Holding onto the card like it was some sort of a lifeline, Traximus looked at it and watched an image ripple across the surface; the appearance of a large black dragon followed by a strange description: "Demon Lord Dragon, Batzz" he said aloud.

The sound of a chime echoed through Traximus' ears as he watched the light from the card envelop his hand, in an impulse, he tried to throw the object to the ground, but somehow it wouldn't let him release it. The triceratops man gasped as a cold blue light crawled up his arm, reached his shoulder and blanketed across his large body and then climbed up his thick neck, over his horns and down over his face; for a moment his entire world went blue and in an instant he felt like he had no form at all.

The world seemed more open now, as Traximus felt raindrops pelting his back. He realized that the rain was cold, and it was quickly dragging him out of his unconsciousness and into what looked to be a large stadium ring surrounding him. He'd seen this sort of setup before; a coliseum of sorts, but there was no audience, no crowds cheering; it was as though he had simply been dumped here by the universe. He looked at the card still clutched in his hand; it was no longer glowing, but that didn't matter much, with a roar, Traximus threw it to the ground and bolted upright. "Where--where am I?" He said aloud before realizing the pain in his leg was gone. He looked down and found that he was completely naked; his flaccid member drooped over his thigh as he noticed also that his leg wound had been healed. He stretched his leg, feeling very little pain, only a stiffness as he got back to his feet. He didn't care that he was naked; he'd spent many years in that state, but something about the situation still made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"Well, hello there."

A booming voice startled Traximus for a moment before he turned to see a massive black dragon behind him. He was perched on one of the stands a few feet over the Triceriton's head, looming out over the ring in which he found himself. He wasn't *much* larger than the Triceriton, but he was definitely a head or two over him and about twice as broad. "Who are you? What is this place?"

"This place is my current home." The dragon answered with a scoff. "And as to who I am, perhaps you should read the card again?"

Traximus' eyes shifted to the discarded object on the ground; it had the same dragon depicted on it, and nervously he swallowed as he responded. "Demon Dragon Batzz."

"Demon Lord Dragon, thank you very much." The dragon responded with a coy grin. "But you may call me Batzz if you prefer. I'm sure that would make it easier than using my full title." His tongue slid across his fangs, showing off their white color. "But what universe do I have to thank for sending you here I wonder?"