The ChAoS Files
Chapter 2, part 3
"All About Dragyn"
Written by Xelloss

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"So what's the prognosis?"
"His vital signs are stable, and he seems to have fully completed the 
transformation. Brainwave patterns indicate unconsciousness associated 
with physical trauma," the doctor paused to glare at Ryu - who 
scratched the back of his head sheepishly - before continuing, "but 
there's no sign of concussion or other damage. Most of his nutrient 
levels are low, but the medical bed is taking care of that. A few days 
of rest, and he'll be fully recovered."
"Good. Log the changes in his medical bio, I'll pick them up on the way
out."
The physician sighed and smiled. "All in a day's work for an EMH. Just 
a second... Done. Will there be anything..." Seeing that the person he 
was talking to had left, the Doctor trailed off. Some people were just 
so impolite!

Dracos walked back into the infirmary's waiting room. He reclaimed his 
seat at the table with Grey and Ryu. He informed them of Ken's current 
situation. Ryu nodded, but Grey remained motionless. Dracos waved a 
hand in front of the longhaired man's eyes and snapped his fingers 
twice in front of his colleague's face, frowning when neither action 
elicited a response. "I always hate it when he jacks in. He blinks and 
breathes like normal, but he's not there. It's rather unnerving."
Grey's eyes blinked out of pattern as he returned from the system and 
reoriented himself. "You really should be nicer to the Doctor, Dracos. 
His body may only be made of multifracted light, but he's still a 
person."
"We've been over this before. He doesn't register at all on my senses, 
and that makes me uncomfortable."
This discussion was all too familiar to Ryu, who knew that it would 
once again bring hard feelings between the two if he didn't change the 
subject. "You have the bio sheet downloaded, Grey? Mind if we review 
it?"
Grey broke off his previous line of conversation to answer his friend.
"Sure. Let's see here; Subject, Ken Skybolt. Age, 16. Race: Dragyn, 
subcategory 'Wyvern'? What's that mean, Ryu?"
Dracos was eager to hear more about the Dragyn race, and Ryu was made 
the center of attention.
"OK, here goes. Get comfortable, this may take awhile.
"When a Dragyn is born, its physiology is pretty much human, with only 
two differences. One, its ability to withstand Dragonian gravity, which
is five times stronger than Earth's. Two, a sac containing a mutagenic 
fluid is located inside the abdomen, near the intestines. There is very
little mutagen in the sac at first, but it gradually fills up. After 
about 16 years, the sac is filled so full of the mutagen that it 
bursts, flooding the body with mutagen in a sudden rush. This starts 
the process we Dragyn call the Change.
"With me so far? Good. OK, the Change transforms the subject in many 
ways. The first is what we refer to as the Dragyn's type, Light or 
Dark. What type they are is obvious from the color of their wings and 
tail. Light types are colored pastel green, and tend to be patient and 
intellectual, but lacking in physical ability. Lights make good 
doctors, researchers, et cetera. Dark types are colored dark green, 
often more aggressive and physical than Lights, with tougher bodies but
less intelligence. They usually end up as athletes or in the military."
"A universal physical change that separates the good from the evil?" 
Grey interjected. "That must cause problems."
Ryu shook his head. "Not good from evil. Light from Dark. Dark Dragyn 
can easily be kindhearted, and Lights can just as easily be cruel and 
evil. They just manifest differently."
"Like, perhaps, a manipulative bureaucratic Light?" Dracos mused, "Or 
a Dark athlete who strives to be a good role model?"
"Bingo! Now, listen up, there's more. The Change also further separates
Dragyn into breeds. Breed is determined by dramatic changes in the 
body. Most breeds are called by the name of a mythological creature to 
make them sound less generic.
"Normals are the ones whose bodies only go through the Dark/Light 
change. They get medium-size wings, which can hold the Dragyn and a 
proportional extra burden, and a medium-size tail. Nothing special, but
no relative deficiencies either. Light Normals and Dark Normals, unlike
the other sub-types, aren't called by any particular breed name, just 
'Light' or 'Dark'."  
"Flyers have enlarged wings, enhanced long-distance eyesight, shorter 
or thinner tails, and usually get no increase in body size from the 
Change. If they're not carrying much, a Flyer can stay airborne for 
days on end without getting tired. They can also carry aloft about 
twice their bodyweight, more or less. The support bones for their wings
extend farther than the membranes, and are very sharp, making their 
wings into natural weapons. Light Flyers are called 'Griffons', Dark 
Flyers are called 'Wyverns'.
"Landracers' legs are modified, with longer feet and shortened thigh 
and shin bones. Their tails are long, heavy, and prehensile. When they 
start running, they can point their tails straight backward and lock 
them in position, ramrod straight. This lets them go really fast by 
leaning forward and using their tails as counterweights. Those tails 
are also weapons, since all that muscle-weight makes a good bludgeon - 
at full speed, the strongest Landracer was recorded to have dented 
untempered Gigasite! Their wings aren't as good as the others', though,
and are only useful for gliding in short spurts. We call Dark 
Landracers 'Raptors' and Light Landracers 'Zephyrs'.
"Aquatics make up the fourth group. The Change gives them working gills
in addition to their lungs. Their hands are slightly larger than 
normal, with a membrane connecting the fingers up to the first joint. 
Their feet are normal, except their toes are longer and also have 
membranes like the fingers. Their wings are a lot like Landracers', 
except they can hold more additional weight when gliding and can be 
held together to act like a dorsal fin underwater. Their tails are 
normal-sized, but not very dexterous. Aquatics don't have any natural 
weapons like Flyers and Landracers, but their bodies are a lot tougher.
'Merfolk' and 'Sahagins' are what Light and Dark Aquatics, 
respectively, are called." 
"I think that about covers it."
Dracos nodded at the end of Ryu's lengthy explanation. Grey, however, 
had a question. "Okay, so Ken's a Wyvern, right?" At Ryu's affirmative 
nod, Grey continued. "So what are you?"
"Well, I'm sort of a special case. I'm a Chaos Dragyn, named that way 
because my wings and tail are black and gold, the colors of chaos." 
Seeing a questioning look on Grey's face, the Dragyn moved his tail in 
front of Grey. Sure enough, the jet black scales had a golden glow 
around them. Moving his tail back, Ryu continued."I'm the only 
one of my type - only one Chaos Dragyn is born every 10,000 Dragonian 
years. I have a memory like a Light, physical enhancements like a Dark.
I have a Flyer's enlarged wings, a tail like a Landracer, and Aquatic 
gills." Ryu flexed his neck muscles a certain way, revealing what 
looked like seams, and extended his wings and tail fully in 
demonstration. "Another thing is that unlike other post-Change Dragyn, 
my mutagen glands didn't go dormant after the Change organ ruptured. 
I've learned how to control it in some ways, like these..."
Ryu stood and removed his tunic and boots, then spread his wings to 
their full extent. Grey and Dracos watched as the bones seemed to 
lengthen a tiny bit for a split second, and then fold at points where 
joints had not been evident before. First the 'finger' struts, then the
'arm' struts folded, until the wings looked like nothing more than 
leathery strips between his shoulderblades.
"Whoa. That's gotta be pretty handy. Looked kinda like a folding 
umbrella." As usual, Grey was plain-spoken.
Ryu chuckled. "Yeah, but any Dragyn can do that. It's a part of the 
wing structure. The unusual part is this." So saying, he turned his 
back to his companions. The folded wings were pulled into his back and 
swallowed up by flaps of skin.
Grey made a face. "That was kinda gross, Ryu."
"Yeah, but it might come in handy as a disguise if I ever figure out 
how to hide the tail too. But anyway, here's why I took off my boots."
As soon as Ryu finished, his legs started to change. His feet enlarged,
while his legs shrank. When this was done, Ryu bent his knees and stood
on the balls of his feet as if it were the most natural thing in the 
multiverse.
"For running like a Landracer, right?" Dracos asked, almost to himself.
Ryu nodded his affirmative, quickly returned his wings and legs to 
normal, and redressed.
"I can't use the mutagen very often without getting tired, though. And 
the bit with the legs can really hurt if I do it too quickly. Right 
now, though, I'm bored from all the explaining. I'm heading to the 
arcade - I hear the Gundam Battle Simulator begging me to knock 
Lieutenant Uraki off his week-long winning streak." Ryu chuckled. "He 
thinks it's in his blood, and maybe he's right. But his 
great-grandfather Kou lost his share of fights too. Either of you wanna
join me?"
Dracos stood and shook his head. "I've got grav-ball practice in about 
15 minutes. The game against the Sector 34 Scorchers is next week, and 
the rest of the Sector 73 Pulsars are going to need their best power 
forward. I'll see you later."
"How about you, Texan?"
"I might, later. Depends on whether I still have enough energy to 
remain conscious after a certain someone," Grey grinned and pointed at 
the viewscreen for emphasis, "is done with me. It's been a week, if you
know what I mean!"
Ryu laughed knowingly, and the group parted. And in the infirmary, Ken 
slept a dreamless sleep.

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End Chapter 2.

Next chapter's author:
Whistler

Author's Notes:
Whew! Finally done! Sorry it took so long to get out, but
my hands don't type as fast as my inspiration, and my 'Net activity is
damn near zilch without a home connection. The information about the 
Dragyn nomenclature was a result of what happens when you throw in 
2 parts Ryu's imagination and 1 1/2 parts my inspiration, set the 
blender to the "Utterly Liquefy" setting for a few minutes, and bake 
in preheated insanity for about a month. ^_^ Further questions can be 
directed to Ryu or myself, though Ryu's more likely to be able to 
answer you quickly.
Whistler, we'll be visiting soon. Prepare the human sacrif^W^W locals 
for our arrival!
-Xel