The instant she arrived, she scanned for danger. The girl leapt back as a blue reptilian creature ran toward her. She bumped into a table, the only furniture in a thatched cottage, and the creature caught her. The size of a large dog, the baby dragon bumped its head against her and made a burbling, happy sound.

“Oh. Oh no.” The girl was horrified, not by the dragon but by the words hanging above it.

5 HOURS 45 MINUTES UNTIL DRAGON GROWS UP. Speed up with coins? 

She tapped the words and they changed.

2 GOLD COINS TO GROW NOW, OR 500 SHARDS

With dread, she scanned her surroundings. A book sat on the table, titled QUEST LOG. The first page only held one item: OWN 1 ADULT GREEN DRAGON. The rest of the pages contained instructions and information for raising baby dragons, with several question marks in areas she hadn’t UNLOCKED yet. The page on green dragons contained many such question marks, only telling her that a yellow and a blue dragon had a ten percent chance to make a green one.

The girl scratched behind the ear frill of the baby dragon while she considered, the creature responding with delighted purrs. She still had all nine coins, so why not? 

She stepped outside, the dragon following, and confirmed her spending of two gold coins. The dragon sparkled, expanding in size until it was bigger than the cottage. Its face narrowed, its spines lengthened, its wings became mighty and strong. But, somehow, she still found the beast adorable, with wide, playful eyes. 

“Okay, next…” She flipped to the page for a yellow dragon. BUY NOW lit up in golden script on the page, for three coins. A moment later, the dragon appeared-- as a baby, of course. The girl spent two more coins, and presently had two adult dragons.

“Now, how do I…” She waved at the air in front of her, trying to find a menu.

DRAGONS MUST BE FULLY FED TO MATE. BUY FOOD?

She groaned at the extra step. How long could this drag on?

A few hours later, and eight gold coins poorer, she sat in slumped defeat next to a blue dragon egg with a day of incubation time to go. Was this really the only way to win? To wait days, perhaps weeks, until she triumphed or starved?

She opened her quest book, prepared to search for clues again. Her eyes tiredly rested on the first page, until she started awake with a realization. She didn’t need to make a green dragon, simply to own one. She flipped to the green dragon page, which now informed her that she could have bought a green dragon for nine gold coins or a ridiculous number of shards. Shutting the book in disgust, she stepped outside of the cottage. All around her were the piles of junk typical to these games that one could salvage for handfuls of in-game currency-- sheds, in this case. But perhaps there were also, at the end of the field, powerful items that usually taunted players from just outside the play area. However, this wasn’t a normal game.

“Are you useful, or are you just cute?” she asked Agate and Aqua. 

The yellow dragon purred, while the blue nuzzled her pocket, which had a few extra treats. After a sigh, the girl decided to leave them. With a determined scowl, she headed for the treeline. Along the way, she scavenged a long rope and a broken sword from the scrapheaps. At her destination, she felt a flash of hope. A yawning cave loomed ahead, the perfect place to hide a dragon.

She cautiously stepped inside, doubting that this one will be as meek as her pets. Before long, she heard the thundering snores of a very large creature. A little further and she could see it, light from a convenient opening in the ceiling glittering across the dragon’s emerald scales.

She’d never made a lasso before, so after a moment she settled for a large circle of rope tied with a knot. The girl tiptoed closer. Within arm’s reach, she threw the rope over the dragon’s head.

It awoke with a snort, the rope sliding down to its neck. She pulled and it roared deafeningly, rattling every loose stone in the cave.

“You are coming with me!” She hung on as it tossed its head. “I need to save my brother!” 

The dragon shrieked furiously, throwing her into a pile of rocks. Panting, her hands burning from where she held the rope, she stood. Dragon and girl glared at one another, until she grit her teeth and drew her rusting sword.

The dragon was a whirlwind of teeth and claws; even its tail lashed out as she scrambled and ducked away. The rope lay pooled at the creature’s feet, a mortal risk to retrieve. Again and again she darted forward, only to narrowly dodge and be forced back. The dragon swiped down with a fierce claw, meeting her blade held desperately aloft. The blade crumbled down to the hilt. The girl raised her second hand, pushing against the pressing talons while the dragon growled like thunder. Razor claws wavered above her face as her arms shook. Finally, she shoved upward and threw herself to the side. A claw raked her leg as she fell. The girl scrambled to her feet and backed away, wincing. Slowly, she stepped back to the cave entrance. Once out in the forest, she turned and ran. The dragon roared again, but did not follow.

“God, this is completely unfair.” 

Of course it is. The words instantly echoed in her mind as she rested under the trees. Fairies never fight fair. 

"Think, girl." she growled, sifting through her vague memories of myth and folklore. Those were the old games, with heroes bound by oaths and honor rather than health bars and weapon durability. She smacked her forehead as pieces clicked into place. Fairies also never used strength alone to win-- and the answer to this challenge was designed by a fairy. The playing field, however, had been strangely familiar every time.

"We could've been in a casino, huh? Maybe if I'd ever been to one." she mused at nothing in particular. Somehow, everything she'd seen was based off of her memories. She grabbed her backpack, torn and battered after the battle. Opening it, she dug around for her phone. Her lifeline to modernity was packed with games, each leeching away at her battery as it counted down the minutes, the hours, until she unlocked the next free component. The girl hated paying for anything-- she was saving for college, after all. The clock function was glitched, showing 00:00 from the start, and she had no cell service. Despite her disconnect from reality, she was down to half battery. 

Flipping through numerous apps, she found Dragon Worldz and pressed play. The stranger have owned this warped version, but the original game was hers.

#

The girl walked confidently into the cave, her steps ringing out. The dragon hissed as she approached, stretching its wings and looming at its full height. An object rolled toward the creature, flashing a soft glow of green light-- a firefly ball, the favorite toy of green dragons. The beast's eyes widened and it crouched, tail lashing. With a snarl almost like a purr and a wiggle exactly like a cat, the dragon pounced. It batted the glowing toy between its talons, rolling onto its side with a tremendous thump. The girl was completely ignored, until she took out something else.

The dragon sniffed delicately as it recognized flaming hot biscuits, the favorite treat of green dragons. Sitting on its haunches, the dragon eagerly waited. She tossed a biscuit into the air, which disappeared in a ferocious flash of emerald. The girl stepped back, holding out a second treat. The dragon followed.

As soon as she lead the dragon onto the field, a door appeared. The stranger was nowhere in sight, but the entryway clearly showed the pavilion.

The girl took a last look at her third dragon. Despite almost eating her, she found the creature’s rambunctious new attitude endearing. A small part of her wished she could take home an adorably fierce dragon, rather than a snot-nosed little brother. But, alas, that little brat was her little sibling, and just barely took priority. 

“Goodbye.” The girl rubbed the nose of her dragon and stepped through.

“Sis?”

She whirled around at a familiar voice. Standing by the glass table was Brandon, her brother. She fought the urge to say his name, merely embracing him. “Let’s talk later. We need to get out of here.” As she turned to go, she noticed eight gold coins on the table. She pocketed them and left, her brother following.

But she couldn’t help herself and scolded him, "Brother, you sold your soul for ten million gold coins in a game. That didn't seem the least bit suspicious?"

He looked away guiltily. "No, I mean, I thought it was just a gimmick."

She groans, "You're lucky Granny told us so many stories, and that I at least paid attention!"

"Rosy, why do you always have to say you’re better than me? Let's just go home now." Brandon whined. 

As he spoke, her face paled. She turned away from her brother, looking down the cobble path at the gate of marble covered in twisting vine. Leaning against one of the pillars was Him. A predatory cat, he purred, "What was your name again, child?"

“Just a second,” Rosy said with a tight smile, “I need a moment to kill my little brother.”