'Do they all do that?' Flash thought, starting to get really disappointed.
Picking up one of the office chairs that littered the room, the naga hurled it in Flash's direction and then raced after it. At that exact same moment, the pain in Flash's back flared up, attacking every nerve, every sinew, every muscle he had. Immediately his legs gave way and he crumpled to the floor, which in a way was good, as the flying chair missed his head by about an inch, smashing loudly into the wall behind him. His right knee cried out in pain from the awkward landing, but with the pain in his back threatening to knock him out, he could devote it no attention. Then... the naga was upon him, straddled across his chest, raining punches down onto his face. Automatically, he flailed about, trying to deflect the onslaught of blows, but any concentration that he may have had was constantly interrupted by the excruciating pain inundating his back. At most, he was only a few seconds from death.
As the naga continued to pummel Flash, two bulky security guards careered around the corner, determined to intervene. With a bloody, bruised and barely conscious Flash lying in the middle of the floor, the naga turned its attention to the two new arrivals. Leaping up off Flash, the beast planted an expertly placed kick right into the kneecap of the first guard to challenge him, forcing the guard to cry out in pain as a loud crack reverberated around the room. As the guard doubled over, the naga followed up with a roundhouse kick that was so powerful it took the guard fully off his feet, throwing him over ten feet into the air, smashing into one of the room's computer servers housed in a glass case in the corner. Breaking glass exploded across the room, as brilliant blue electrical charges zapped across the server and the dead guard's body. With one down, the naga now turned its attention to the other, who had remained by the entrance to the room as it fought his colleague. Seemingly enjoying itself beyond belief, the naga beckoned with four fingers for the guard to bring it on.
Through all of this, Flash had only been able to catch glimpses of what was happening from his prone position on the floor, all the time wishing to God the pain in his back would subside, but it seemed to be worse than ever, showing absolutely no sign of abating. No matter how much he wanted to, and he did, he just simply couldn't move, and had resigned himself to watching yet another innocent human lose their life.
A terrified expression seemed ingrained on the guard's face, understandable really when you consider what he'd just witnessed, his friend and colleague tossed around like a rag doll, killed in cold blood. Running wasn't really an option, something the naga seemed to sense. Another short fight seemed inevitable.
Lying on the cold floor, the pain in Flash's back lessened just a touch, enough for him to experience the hurt from the other injuries he'd suffered. Blood poured from his broken nose and a cut above his left eye, flowing down the side of his face, pooling on the cold floor. His cheeks were cut, and probably broken. Despite all of this, a familiar sensation prickled at his senses, nagging away at him. It was taking all his effort to stay conscious, but there was something about this sensation, something important, something that could change everything.
Cautiously the security guard approached the very dangerous human being, a naga in disguise, who'd just killed his friend, baton in hand, ready to use. Laughing mercilessly at the guard's pitiful weapon, and wanting nothing more than to get back and finish Flash off, the naga made the conscious decision to get this over with... quickly.
'It may take up to ten seconds,' the beast thought arrogantly as it prepared to strike.
And strike it did. Using all its power and speed, it launched itself at the terrified guard in one all out, deadly assault. From his position on the floor, even Flash had difficulty in keeping up with the action. Lamb to the slaughter, the guard had absolutely no chance. As Flash forced himself to watch, sick and tired of all the bloodshed he'd seen on this mission, the single most bizarre thing happened. With the naga mid flight, about to tear his enemy in two, the expression on the guard's face abruptly changed from terrified to... smug.
'Odd,' wondered Flash through all of the pain. All of this happened in roughly three hundredths of a second, and while the prostrate Crimson Guard had no real love for what humans called Grand Prix, in that instant, he did at least appreciate how things could go from good to bad and vice versa in such a small amount of time.
Not having spotted his supposed victim's facial expression, if the beast had done, maybe it would have altered its tactics or at least felt a pang of fear. As it was, neither happened. If either had, it may have given the naga some kind of chance.
Hundredths of a second before it was about to make contact, the guard moved faster than any naga in history, bringing round his baton, and with the force of a small car, caught the beast full on in the throat, sending it tumbling head over heels across the room. The sound of the impact sent shivers racing down Flash's spine as he lay on the ground, agog. It was a sound that would have given him nightmares for years had he been human. Before the naga could even sit up, the guard, or as Flash had finally come to realise, the dragon... in human form, was on it. Much in the same way as the naga had pinned Flash down and pummelled him senseless, the guard was returning the favour. Flash breathed a sigh of relief, not just because the pain in his back had started to become manageable, but at the sight of one of his fellow dragons. Once the guard had beaten the naga unconscious, he bound its hands and legs with plastic binders from his belt. Only then did he cross the room to Flash, by which time the Crimson Guard had managed to sit up, albeit rather unsteadily. He looked a right state, blood covering his face and clothes, with bruises and cuts all over.
In the spirit of friendship the guard offered out his hand to Flash.
"Sorry that took so long and that I didn't arrive earlier. I was on the far side of the complex when I got the call about it. It wasn't until you left the north precinct that I realised you were... one of us. By then you were nearly here, and I had company in the shape of the two other guards. Anyway, I'm Simon Stock, King's Guard."
Flash grasped the offered hand lightly.
"Pleasure to meet you Simon," he said, clearly struggling with the pain. "Dendrik Ridge, Crimson Guards, thanks for the save."
"No problem," replied Simon. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"
Silently, Flash contemplated what to do. He couldn't tell Simon everything and yet he needed to know exactly what he was dealing with, and after all, he had just saved Flash's life.
"All I can really tell you is that our psychotic friend over there is a naga, a very dangerous one by the looks of things, and part of a much bigger picture, if you get my drift. It needs to be locked up... securely, with as few dragons as possible knowing about it. This is as important as it gets and I'm sorry I can't say more, but everything I've told you is in the strictest of confidence. I don't doubt the king will be in touch over the next day or so with instructions as to what to do with it. And now, I really have to get back below ground. London beckons. I need to meet with the king as soon as possible."
"I understand, I really do," added Simon, wondering quite where he was going to secure the naga. "If you sit still for two minutes, I'll fix your injuries."
"How long do we have before anyone else arrives?" Flash asked nervously.
"Could be any moment really, but don't worry, I'll sense them before they get too close."
"I need to get below ground... it's important."