Try to guide the dragon to Monstro Village, so it won't be lonely anymore. And hey, maybe he'll be attracted to the mushroom lady or one of the turtles and forget about you.
Right. Get the dragon out of the volcano and into a relatively civilized place. Maybe he'll latch onto someone there and you won't have to deal with him – and with him gone, you're free to grab the Star Piece and anything else he's collected over the … years? Yeah, probably years, at least. You take a deep, calming breath; one of the reasons you've never bothered with a pet is because it's hard to respect anything that can't outwit a fairy, and if you're not going to respect it, why bother caring for it? And this lummox …. "Okay, how about we go somewhere else?" The Czar Dragon tilts its head at you, and you can almost see his brain melting as it overheats. Or … solidifies as it cools down. You put away your notebook and camera and rub your temples.
"Is something wrong, Aya?" Hatate sounds genuinely worried, for some reason, and you sort of absently wave at her. You have a dragon to convince, and she's not helping. You smile calmly at the dragon, lips together.
"Look, there's a place I know, with … other people. People who probably know … more about things you might like." Again with the blank look. Hmm … how physical do you want to get with this guy? "Outside the volcano. Up." You point up, then snap your fingers in front of his eyes and wave up, and he just looks more confused. He can fly, or at least his constituent Pyrospheres can, so … maybe it's too cold for him to exist out there? Or maybe he's just too stupid to go see what it's like. The Czar Dragon looks up, looks back down at his lava-whirlpool, looks at you – and with surprising swiftness and almost alarming gentleness clamps his teeth around your arm. You hold yourself perfectly still, and he starts to tug at you, trying to bring you down into the lava. Hatate hollers worriedly, but you just pat the dragon's snout. It's surprisingly warm – not hot, like you'd expect, just warm. Cozy, and almost comfortable. "No, I'm not going down there." The creature gives off an ear-grating whine, and tries to yank you down, but his teeth stop at your wrist, and you glare at the beast. "Let. Go." He makes a mournful, plaintive wail, and drops back toward the lava, splattering into constituent Pyrospheres that flee the area as the whirlpool vanishes. You slip sideways, dodging a splash of lava as you examine your arm, but the wounds, while long, aren't deep. Certainly not deep enough for the size of those teeth, not if he was trying to take your arm off or death-roll you or something. He really was trying to not hurt you.
"Aya! Aya, are you okay? Did you find out anything? Is it coming back?" You sigh and tune out Hatate's voice for a moment. Well, you'll at least be able to write something about the Czar Dragon. You raise your gaze toward Hinopio, and the Toad scurries out of sight; maybe you can shake some knowledge from the little twerp and put together a good article by combining his information with what you know. Maybe you'll be able to figure where – or if – you went wrong. "... Aya?" You shake your head and smile at Hatate, although that does nothing to dispel her worried look.
"I'm fine. Come on, let's go see if that Star Piece is around here." She nods, shaken, and follows you as you look around for a cave – Hinopio said that the Czar Dragon put it somewhere for safekeeping, after all. Your second try yields a positive result, and you stare at the large red star that floats just a handspan off the floor. "Right. Hatate, go stand near it, but don't touch it. I want a good size comparison." She nods, and even manages to not look particularly nervous as you take your pictures and a few notes before approaching the Star Piece yourself. It doesn't feel like there's anything radiating from it, but when – after a moment to reconsider the audacity of your decision – you reach out and touch it, you can feel it humming with power. It doesn't resist you, either; you can push and pull it, and it comes with you. And it stays exactly where you leave it, without changing position at all. You take a step back and frown, considering the thing.
"Aya … were you serious about taking it back to Gensokyo?" You nod absently.
"Yes. It's not the only thing we can do with it, of course." You could use it to try and get an audience with Smithy … or you could even give it to Mario! After all, the Star Road has proven that it can be broken, so all you would need is a magician, or maybe even an oni. And then you'd have more than one Star Piece! You glance at your companion as she looks around nervously. "What do you think we should do with it?"
"... I'm sorry. It just … doesn't it feel like someone's going to drop on us from above and start a fight?" You raise an eyebrow, making her blush at her foolishness. "S-sorry. Um … didn't we promise Mario and the others that we would hand over any that we found?" You give her a very searching look.
"No – at least, I didn't. I very specifically avoided making any promises to Geno and only told him that we would probably keep any that we found safe." You cross your arms and narrow your eyes, but Hatate just seems lost in thought, like she doesn't remember and was genuinely unsure instead of her having made promises in your stead. You sigh and shake your head, then drag the Star Piece back to the central area. Now, to get information out of Hinopio, to do something with this Star Piece, or just head back to Gensokyo?
What do you do?
[ ] Ask Hinopio about the Czar Dragon.
[ ] Take the Star Piece to Bowser's Castle and use it to get an interview with Smithy.
[ ] Find Mario and the others and give the Star Piece to them.
[ ] Return to Gensokyo with the Star Piece.
[ ] Other?
