A soft sound called to me, but I couldn't hear what the feminine voice said. For some reason, the gentle, nearly inaudible sounds called to me.

What is she saying? Who is that? My voice failed me, so I mentally reach towards the voice. Who are you?

As if I connected to the disembodied voice, I felt a warm sensation but the sounds remained just out of reach. Though the warmth stayed, the feeling of the voice's presence slowly faded.

NO! Don't go! I mentally screamed.

CLANG.

I burst awake and rose to my feet with my claws extended. After I calmed myself down from the rush of adrenaline, I tried to locate the source of the sound. Eventually, I recognized the sound and realized it was louder than the almost identical sound from before I fell asleep. Someone opened the heavy lock on my cage door. With a curious blink, I exited my nest-like sleeping place and poked my head out of the cave to investigate what happened.

A dee approached with a strange floating thing shaped like a food bowl floated over it. As the dee silently traded my empty food bowl for a smaller one, the floating thing spoke. My memories called it a robot called an I.D.R.O., but I did not care. My food kept my whole focus. "SFM001: HOSHIRYU, BZZT. AFTER YOU EAT THE PRESCRIBED MORNING MEAL, BZZZZT, YOU WILL BE TAKEN...."

I barely listened as I hastily gobbled the food, though it was the same bland stuff that I had last night: grains, vegetables, and tiny pieces of meat. It was bland; but still edible.

Though I surprised the dee with my sudden lunge for the food, it quickly recovered and waddled away at a surprisingly fast speed with my old bowl held high above its head.

After I licked the last morsel out of the dish, the floating metallic monster shone a red light over me. I struggled, but I could not move at all. I managed to release a growl, but since my mouth was frozen shut, I breathed out of my nose. I wanted to free myself, but I could not attack the being as it magically picked me up.

It electronically hummed as it carried me out of the room. My muscles strained as I unsuccessfully continued to fight against the beam. Let me go!

BUZZAP!

I exhaled through my nose in pain and remained limp except for the occasional twitch. I closed my eyes and hyperventilated slightly as I slowly recovered from the electrical magic attack.

"DO NOT STRUGGLE, BZZZT, SIMPLY OBEY." The robotic voice seemed to be scolding me, though it said everything in the same tone.

I snorted as it continued to carry me, then paused as I realized the air smelled different. Still metallic, but something smelled clean and fresh. I could not place it.

The robot stopped in front of a door and flashed three colored lights from a hidden metal arm produced from its domed head.

In response to the lights, the door swung open as water streamed out from the hole. "YOU WILL BE BROUGHT BACK, BZZZZT EITHER WHEN THE STORM OR THE DAY ENDS BZZT. THIS COLLAR WILL KEEP YOU INSIDE YOUR DESIGNATED AREA BZZZZT. DO NOT KILL ANYONE BZT." A collar snapped in place around my neck before the robot flung me into the harsh weather outside.

SPLAT. I landed in a gooey, grimy brown substance in a splatter of dirty water; the slimy substance coated my fur.

SLAM. The door closed.

Mud. My nose creased in disgust as my memories supplied a name for the slime that surrounded me. Even the name is disgusting. I stood, then shook as much of the muck off as I could. Much to my dismay, the mud-stained my yellow fur into a reddish-brown color.

BOOM BOOM Rumble rumble.

Thunder. Raindrops splashed into my eyes; a bright flash momentarily blinded me as I shook myself again. This water is annoying, but at least it is washing off the mud. My memories told me the water from the sky was the rain that fell from clouds during storms. I hate the rain.

But, if my memories were correct, Storm Day was the only time monsters were allowed outside except on missions. It was a kind of practice for navigating lands outside the fortress.

I shook myself again, then growled as I once again failed to feel any semblance of dryness. The rain came down too hard. I hate the rain. I don't care how many times I have to say it.

Lightning flashed behind me, and suddenly, I remembered the second reason for storm day. It was a tournament of sorts, and the strongest at the end received more power from Master.

RUMBLE RUmble rumble.

I grinned and lashed my tail. This is my chance to prove myself. I am going to be the strongest monster, just as strong as Master! With an excited grin, I studied my surroundings as my deep knowledge, as I decided to call it, provided information and names of things around me.

Massive trees surrounded me, but their leaves failed to block the brunt of the thunderstorm. Claw marks marred the bark, and parts of the trees showed signs of fire damage.

The metal door on the hillside behind me remained closed, and I had no idea how to operate the handleless contraption. That's useless. I refocused away from the fortress entrance and smelled the air with my ears also alert. There was a flash, sand for a brief moment I thought I saw a strange shadow.

I roared as something suddenly landed on my back and clamped their jaws on the scruff of my neck. I bellowed and rolled onto my back in an attempt to dislodge my assailant. However, the attempt failed. I growled, then stood as I gathered my magic, and summoned my armor. This time, it felt easy to surround myself with magical energy.

My attacker yowled and released. "What are you?!" The voice panted as I turned to face my opponent.

BOOMRumble

"I am Hoshiryu," I spoke in an imposing voice as lightning flashed and grinned down to the cowering blue and black lizard monster.

In the brief light, I saw the monster's rough scales were black with a blue ring around its neck along with its silver collar. The edges of his mouth seemed hazy as if my armor damaged him, but he still appeared to be stable otherwise.

With the proximity, I could sense the magic flowing through him. The monster before me was hollow like Nageneral, though a lot thinner and weaker. Despite the lizard's minimal magic, I still wanted it. Magic is magic, after all.

A perfect first target. I lunged for the pained mobster and grabbed his neck in my jaws just as my newfound prey had only moments ago. I greedily began to drain the magic inside of him.

The lizard's magic tasted a bit bland compared to Master's or Mystican's magic, but delicious all the same.

Rumble BOOM rumble.

I could feel the power coursing through me. My black armor strengthened; spikes began to rise from the armor along my spine. I continued to devour the lizard monster's magic; I felt strong, practically invincible.

beep

I blinked. What was that? It sounded like it came from his col—

ZAP

"RAAA!" I roared and released my victim. As I stumbled back, I could feel the sparks dance across my fur. What was that? I panted heavily and struggled to remain standing as my muscles twitched randomly.

I hear a robotic hum as another flying robot approached. It beeped a few times s it hovered over the lizard monster and picked him up with a beam of might. "REPORT: SFM001: HOSHIRYU BZzzZT HEAVILY DAMAGED BzzT LM486: SCELOPOR." A robotic arm emerged from its side and aimed at me. "BZzzzZZZT DELIVERING PUNISHMENT."

The bot released a metal claw towards me. I tried to dodge, but my muscles remained unresponsive as the robotic hand on a long cord flew towards me. Somehow, the arm painfully shattered my armor and slammed into my shoulder, and knocked me onto my side. I felt a prick, then weakness as the arm and the metal wire connecting it lit up with a dark purple light.

Lighting flashed, thunder roared as once again pelted me, but the nearby tree minimized the water falling onto my weakened form. I didn't want to stand back to my feet. I was too tired to care that I was on my side in the muddy grass.

As feeling finally returned to my now-pained body, the dish-shaped robot retracted its arm. "THIRTY MYSTS OF ENERGY REMOVED, BzzT. SFM001, DO NOT NEARLY KILL OTHER MONSTERS, bZzzZZZT UNLESS OTHERWISE DIRECTED." With a slightly annoyed buzz, the robot flew off with the limp lizard monster held suspended in the strange beam of golden light.

I laid down as the last of the electricity flickered out and slowed my breathing back to normal. I think that robot took twice as much magic as what I stole from the lizard. At least I'm not too hungry.

Another flash of lightning illuminated the area, quickly followed by the boom of thunder. I am alone, perfect; I felt weak and lacked energy. My muscles hurt. My mind even somehow pained me. I was close to a tree trunk, so only a few raindrops hit my side. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Laying here for a while would be ni...

NO! I growled and quickly rolled to my feet as I shoved the peaceful thoughts aside. A tiny bead of blood dripped down my foreleg, but I ignored it. I will not make that mistake again, and I will win this tournament.

BOOM.

I slowly summoned my armor again from where the robot destroyed it, but I could sense its thinness. I did not even need to look at my armor to know how thin it was. I felt weakened, and it was that stupid robot's fault. It was the one that had both shattered my armor and drained much of my magic.

I raised my yellow-furred paw to study my armor, then blinked at the prominent sprinkling of variously sized golden sparkles scattered randomly across my armor. What are those? I stared at them some more, but even my deep knowledge had an answer, other than informing me they looked like stars, whatever those were.

I tore my attention away from my armor and back onto my surroundings as lightning once again briefly illuminated the forested region. I can study that later, for now, I have to make up for the lost time. Storm day only lasts so long. I sniffed the air for traces of magic, but the storm dampened my senses. I couldn't see as far, smell as well, and the sounds of rain against the leaves flooded my ears. Except for the occasional flash of lightning, I could not see much or very far.

This is ridiculous. At least my armor mostly protects me. I huffed, then picked a random direction away from the door. No new scents reached my nose, and except for the rain, the forest seemed quiet. Someone has to be out there for me to hunt. I growled in annoyance. For several moments, only trees surrounded me as I walked.

Lighting suddenly illuminated strange parallel gashes slashed into the bark of one of the trees.

CRACK BANG.

What are those? I curiously sniffed the gashes, and much to my delight, the rain had not washed the scents away. They smell like a monster, I grinned devilishly, A new target.

I eagerly raised my nose and tested the air. If I can smell the scent in the air.... After a few moments, I snorted, as I could not pick up any smells other than the fresh rain. Okay, the hard way it is, at least my armor keeps me dry.

I snorted in slight annoyance, then scanned the area for any signs of another opponent. Much to my delight, I soon spotted another tree with the same markings. I glanced between the two trees. These are territory markers. While a weak feeling inside of me urged me to walk away and avoid the place out of fear, the rest of me wanted to go into the dense undergrowth.

With a grin, I approached one of the trees and scratched a mark with my claws, then crossed through the gatekeeper trees. I am going to claim this territory as my own. Whoever claims this is going to lose to me.

Lightning flashed.

Author Notes!

Sorry about the late update! I had three exams yesterday!

This chapter and the next one were originally one chapter, but then the chapter would have been nearly 5,000 words, so I split it up.

What do you guys think of Storm Day?