"Hold him still!" demanded the shopkeeper, spreading more and more of the concoction on the gaping gash, despite Flash's protests. Once the whole area of the wound was covered, Gee Tee whispered in the king's ear. The king whispered back, so quietly that even with their enhanced senses, no one else in the room could hear what had been said. As the king kept a grip on Flash's leg, the master mantra maker placed his left hand against the edge of the king's magical ring, and then proceeded to mouth something. Pulsing bright blue light burst forth from the stone encased within the ring as it sprang to life, running across Gee Tee's entire body.
Seemingly content, the old shopkeeper leant forward and cautiously ran one of his talons along the middle of Flash's goo covered gash, all the time remaining connected to the ring via his hand. As the others looked on, blue, pulsing magical energy surged into the goo on the wound, eventually filling it up. Flash, by now, was screaming like a baby that had lost its favourite toy. Gee Tee ignored the noise and, closing his eyes, began to recite a long-forgotten mantra from a much more civilised time. Despite having a near perfect memory, Peter couldn't remember the name of the language that the master mantra maker was speaking in, but some of the words were instantly recognisable, "Obliterate," or maybe "raze," was certainly in there, alongside... um... "hazardous," or maybe "treacherous," and the words "genetic material down to the very last micron." Just when he thought it was over and that it had failed to work, Gee Tee screamed a single word at the top of his voice, a word that Peter thought roughly translated as... "UNLEASH!!!!"
With this thought running through his mind, the pulsing blue of the wound exploded out across the room into the brightest light Peter had ever seen, forcing him to close his eyes and momentarily lose his grip on Flash. Moments later his vision started to return and he immediately reached down to regain his hold on the leg. But it was gone. Using both hands, he felt around the end of the sofa... nothing! Blinking furiously, he wiped his eyes, and upon opening them was astonished to see Flash sitting upright in the middle of the sofa, looking... perfectly okay. With the exception of Gee Tee, who'd known what to expect, the others had all clearly been blinded too, and were as surprised as Peter to see Flash looking so well. Yoyo stepped forward and gently slapped Flash on the back in a gesture of goodwill.
"It's good to see you looking so healthy. I haven't lost a patient in many decades, and I'm relieved I can continue with that boast. Well done, well done."
Stepping forward at the same time, Peter and Tank shook hands with Flash before making way for the king.
"Your courage, bravery and sheer refusal to die, continue to astound me Flash... but I'm afraid I will need to quiz you further about what went on in Antarctica," announced the king, a grin etched across his weathered old face.
"Of course, Majesty," replied Flash, nodding.
"But before we do that," declared the king, "I think congratulations are in order. Once again, Shopkeeper, I find myself in your debt."
Unusually, Gee Tee looked less cocky and sure of himself than he had in all the time he'd been in the king's company. He looked... nervous, which was indeed very strange for him. Everybody in the room except Flash had picked up on it now, and all were looking in his direction to see what would happen next.
"Well," stated the master mantra maker, scratching the underside of his jaw uncertainly, "perhaps we'll save the back slapping until we make sure everything is okay."
"What's that supposed to mean?" barked the king, sternly.
"That particular mantra, Majesty, was extremely old, nearly two thousand years in fact. A mantra that old, no matter how well delivered, can have unpredictable side effects, something this mantra had even when new. I would suggest we check Flash over fully before we break open the charcoal."
The king looked livid, and to be honest, Peter really couldn't blame him. There'd been no mention of side effects before the mantra had been applied. It was all a bit rushed, Peter supposed, but still, Gee Tee could at least have said something about it.
Through all of this Flash looked ultra composed, sitting on the sofa, taking in the vast expanse of the king's living room and everything within it.
The king stood next to Flash as Gee Tee strode over.
"I feel fine, honest," announced the death defying Crimson Guard.
"That remains to be seen, youngster," replied Gee Tee softly. "Can you scroll through your different visions for me?"
"No problem," replied Flash, with the king looking on. "All works fine... as good as new."
Taking a deep breath, it was then that the old shopkeeper asked,
"Can you stand up and transform into your dragon guise... please?"
Tank and Peter swapped glances with each other. The moment Gee Tee used the word 'please,' they both had practically the same thought, which went something along the lines of: 'If he's saying please, then something really bad has happened or is about to.'
Standing up, Flash closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and... nothing! Immediately his eyes shot open in shock. Composing himself, he tried once again, with exactly the same result.
Gee Tee wrapped one of his flimsy looking wings around the Crimson Guard and whispered,
"I'm really sorry, I truly am. But I had no choice. I knew there was a chance this might happen, but you were at death's door. If I hadn't tried, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."
The king stepped in and looked Gee Tee right in the eyes.
"What's happening?"
"My best guess, and that's what it is, is that the mantra has locked Flash's DNA in place, meaning that he can't revert back to his natural dragon form. And before you ask, I don't know of any way to undo, cure or adjust what has happened. I'm sorry."
Flash plopped back down onto the sofa, with everybody else trying to comprehend what had just happened. Losing the ability to change back into his dragon form was worse than it would have been for a human to lose all of his or her limbs. It was simply unimaginable. Flash, understandably, was crestfallen as he sat with his head in his hands. Against the backdrop of the deafening silence, Yoyo acted first. Squeezing between the king and Gee Tee, he knelt down in front of the Crimson Guard.
"While I understand the frustration shared in this room that the potential side effects should have been made clear from the outset, Gee Tee is right in what he said. You would be dead now if he hadn't acted. How you managed to stave off death for so long is unbelievable in itself, but you were only minutes if not seconds away from losing the battle for life. I know after everything you've been through that you must be devastated, and I can't begin to imagine what you're thinking and feeling. But what I can say is this. In the short time I've known you, only a matter of hours, I've discovered what sort of dragon you are."
Flash looked up from the floor, anger flooding his face as he stared into Yoyo's eyes. Yoyo continued.
"And yes, you are still a dragon, no matter what you think. Your DNA maybe locked into place, but that DNA is dragon, not human. You may sit here looking like a human, but you have the heart and soul of a dragon, a brave, fearless, inventive, warrior dragon... one that I will always be happy to call... my friend, no matter what anyone else may say or do."
With that, Yoyo offered out his hand to Flash and waited to see if he would take it. The anger on Flash's face softened, with just a glint of a tear in his right eye as he reached out and shook Yoyo's hand. Peter and Tank came over and offered out their hands to the stricken dragon, telling him much the same thing Yoyo had. Flash's demeanour had changed dramatically over the last few minutes, thanks to the support of his new found friends. It was all a bit different to what he was used to. In the Crimson Guards, you all worked together, sometimes as a team, more often than not as individuals, but you never really counted on any of the others as anything more than colleagues, and certainly not as friends.