Chapter 11

The dragon was going to get more of the ancient substance, more power. He was done playing it safe and hoping for the best, because that had never worked, it was the exact reason why he and the other reptilian Anthros had always been dominated by the Canines, why they always lost and had their territory always seem to be shrinking.

The dragon knew that if he really wanted to be serious about this, to finally reclaim land for his own kind, he was going to need more of the kryptynion.

"Sir! S-stop!" Matheus blurted out, always the careful one.

But the Dragon was not going to listen to him, was not going to listen to anyone as he began to rummage through the drawers, already in the room he knew Matheus stored the kryptynion, but quickly became frustrated as he could not find it, which meant Matheus must have hidden it, as if the Dragon was still an immature child incapable of making decisions himself.

"Matheus!!!" He roared, the small Alligator flinching and stepping back, the Dragon usually not becoming this angered as to speak in this volume. "Where the fuck is the kryptynion, I know you're hiding it!"

Matheus slowly began to walk backwards, visibly trembling as if he was afraid the Dragon may go so far as to strike him.

"M-master, I don't think it's safe for you to have so much of it in your body, you may not realize it now, but I don't want you to get hurt." Matheus managed to say, the sound of his voice so quiet that the Dragon had to strain his ears in order to hear it.

"Matheus, you know you are not in charge of me, you don't get to hide my belongings... so where is it?" The Dragon growled.

"I don't want you to kill yourself, because on the path you are on, I don't know if you will survive this." Matheus squeaked.

The Dragon knew he was at his breaking point, that he should separate himself from Matheus before he did something he would soon regret, but in his rage he wasn't thinking clearly.

He slammed the Alligator into the wall, his breathing unsteady, face contorted in rage as he held Matheus against the wall, claws digging into the scaled on his throat.

"Where is it you useless lizard?!" He roared into Matheus's ear, shaking his shoulders as he did.

Matheus looked at the Dragon with wide eyes. He wasn't used to his master ever speaking to him like this, despite how moody he tended to be, he had never resorted to physical violence like this to get what he wanted, leaving Matheus to wonder whether the ancient substance was affecting the Dragons mind. And however much Matheus tried not to care so much about what happened to the Dragon, he found worry settled deep within himself whenever something happened to him.

"Here." Matheus muttered, defeat marring his words as he reached into the pocket of his tunic, pulling out the vial, the injector tool already hooked on.

The Dragon didn't was a word, only snatching the vial from Matheus's claws, nor hesitating for even a moment as he stabbed the needle right through his scales and into his bloodstream.

He barely winced in pain as he pumped the entirety of the vial into his muscular arm, ignoring the way Matheus stared at him in disbelief as the vial was quickly rendered empty.

The Dragon took a deep breath, broad chest heaving, the kryptynion immediately taking effect from within his bloodstream, magic and power rippling through his body.

In the past when he had done this, he had felt stronger, more powerful, but as the substance took effect on his body, he could feel so much magic pulsing through himself, too much magic going through him, his vision wobbling and balance unsteady as he saw his hands glow a bright green.

"M-master, all you alright?" Matheus asked, now rushing to his masters side, attempting to hold the Dragon upright even with his short stature, the dragon finding himself leaning heavily on Matheus as the dizziness became more and more prominent, causing him to lose his balance, arms wrapping around Matheus's scaly body, the dragon not able to hold himself in a standing position any more at this point in the process.

"Fuck, I think I may need to lie down." The dragon said groggily, the rage that was present in his voice just a minute or so ago completely vanished as the pain took over. Everything ached, from his snout down to his feet, the magic seeming to make its way through every part of him, and not in a very pleasant way for him.

Matheus quickly seemed to recognize how badly the magic was affecting his master as he gently walked the dragon to his private quarters, a place where Matheus knew he was never allowed to enter, but under the circumstances didn't care very much about the rules his master had set out for him.

He set down the dragon onto his bed, his master letting out a pained groan as he paged down, brows creased as he winced in pain.

Matheus put a tentative hand on the dragons shoulder, trying to silently reassure him that it would be fine... he hoped it would all be fine.

He had never seen the dragon in such a vulnerable position such as this, his master never having seemed so... helpless as he writhed on his bed, the magic likely bringing unimaginable pain onto his body, while Matheus could only watch, there was no treatment for what the dragon had done to himself, nothing anyone could do to soothe the pain.

All Matheus could do now was be there for his master, even with how cruel the dragon always was to Matheus, he still stood there with him, because he knew that his master had no one else left to care for him, not family, not friends, absolutely no one to be there for him, so that role Matheus would take.

The Alligator tried his best not to cry, not to shed a tear, but couldn't help but feel a sob tear out of him as the Dragon finally lost consciousness, slumping on the bed, only shallow and quick breath coming from his snout to indicate that he was still alive.

Matheus bent over and hugged the Dragon, tears falling freely from his eyes, not even able to understand the sadness he was feeling, the peculiar connection he felt to the dragon despite how poorly the dragon always acted to him.

Matheus simply didn't understand, his fear unexplainable, his heart beating quickly, the anticipation quickly gnawing on him, the Alligator hoping so badly that the dragon would wake up.

Because with a substance so unpredictable like Kryptynion, there was no telling if a victim who had overdosed would ever wake up again.