Both dragons once again looked closer at the screen. It was the getting-older-by-the-second captain who spoke first, or rather hissed,
"ROSEBLOOM!"
"So it would seem, so it would seem," muttered the monarch.
Amelia Battlehard stood up stock straight, surprising the guard beside her. Saluting, she announced,
"We won't let you down Sire. Not a chance. I'll die before I let those scum sucking traitorous leeches get hold of you."
"We all will!" growled the guard next to her.
"WE ALL WILL!" echoed from every guard, in every corner of the building.
Touched, almost to tears, the king knew they needed to see him strong, they needed him to give them strength. Standing, he turned slowly in a full circle.
"Know this! This is where we draw the line! This is where we make our stand! And notice I say WE! You and I... side by side. If this pervading threat wants to come into our home, our kingdom, our domain, then it does so at its own peril. I will not kowtow to evil, here or anywhere else. I promise to fight with you and for you. I will stand by your side. I will defend and protect you with my dying breath. I HAVE YOUR BACK! NOW AND ALWAYS!"
A rapturous cheer echoed around the room, the mood transforming instantly from one of distant hope, to a feeling that anything was possible. That... had been the king's intention. As destiny marched closer and closer, he just hoped that what they had would be enough to stave it off.
Through the tiniest slit in his bruised, battered and bloodshot eyes, Peter could just about make out where they were. If he was correct, then an epic showdown was all but impossible to stop. Abruptly he coughed, something inside him working its way up his throat. Despite the fact that he found it disgusting, he could do little else but to spit it out. Looking down at the uneven cobbles, he focused on what had just vacated his body. A huge glob of mucus wrapped in blood lay dribbling away just in front of him.
'Coughing up blood... that can't be good,' he thought, before the next regular shove in the back from the guard behind him forced his unwilling body ever forward. With his head bowed down, he took a tentative step, his knees nearly buckling from the pain. As it washed over him, he tried to put it away, compartmentalise it, as Flash had once described it to him. Plodding forward, aware of Tim struggling beside him more than he himself was, it would seem, his thoughts turned to his friends. Where was Flash and was he safe? He was supposed to have gone to the charity sports day... the one to raise funds for the rebuilding of the clubhouse, with Tank. He hoped they were both safe, but at the same time couldn't help wishing that the former Crimson Guard would suddenly make an appearance from out of the shadows, off to one side of the square they were in, with a view to putting a stop to all this... MADNESS! Right here, right now, he felt almost envious of Richie, not knowing about all this, not being involved. And although the consequences of what happened here would almost certainly reverberate around the world above at some point, just as they already had with the laminium bombs from that shocking attack, he hoped that currently she was enjoying being human and making the most of what little time the world as they knew it, had left.
Another sharp jolt in the back sent a spasm of pain straight up his back and into his neck. Fighting off the overwhelming urge to turn around and throw himself at the guard, he knew that if he reacted, he would only get hurt more, something the guard no doubt was trying to encourage, so he plodded on, biding his time, hoping against hope that either one of his friends or the king would be able to get himself and Tim out of this dire and seemingly deadly situation.
Nearly five hours had passed since they as a force had leapt into the air on the outskirts of Perth. For the most part it had all been freezing cold ocean beneath them, with rolling waves the size of houses crashing and bumping, the occasional piece of flotsam or jetsam breaking up the monotonous surroundings. The survival suits they'd been kitted up in had surprised Flash no end. Promises about just how good they were back on the deserted, dark runway had all seemed too good to be true... but they weren't. Knowing the temperature here would instantly incapacitate any dragon in their natural form, forcing them to spiral to a very unpleasant death in seas so cold that little smatterings of ice had recently started to break up the dark and foreboding waters, he appreciated even more the breakthrough work the eclectic group of young dragons had undertaken. To some degree it felt good to be back in the air, but of course it wasn't quite the same, catching a ride on the back of another dragon, when in fact he should have been flying himself. Memories of high speed chases on top secret missions in some of the remotest parts of the world dominated his thoughts, especially the ones in sunny climes, when pretty much as any other dragon would have done, he'd sailed high into the sky, allowing glorious rays of sunshine to wash over him. That all seemed light years away from where he was now. Although he had access to the vast majority of his magic, he missed the flying... as any dragon naturally would. A sudden change of direction by his ride exerted a considerable G force on his comparatively tiny, human shaped form. A stomach full of excitement threatened to spill over, as a tight turn combined with a speedy drop had his hair whipping out from underneath his suit, ever so slightly. Too afraid to use one of his hands to tuck the tiny strands back in place for fear of falling, he cast an experienced look into the distance and was rewarded with a view both breathtaking and frightening in equal measure. Far in the distance, his enhanced vision could just make out the contrasting bright colours of Casey Station, his former billet, albeit rather briefly. Smack bang in front of them, the rising peak of Law Dome jutted up out of the ice and snow, so high that it almost touched the very clouds themselves.
Due to the outstanding properties of the camouflage mantra entwined within the very fabric of the suits, Flash could only just make out the other members of the group. Approaching the mountain of ice, they all closed in on each other. Flash quelled the apprehension deep inside him that threatened to take him over. He didn't want to go back to that place... EVER! But he was here now and the fate of others, not just of this fighting force, but of all his friends on the opposite side of the world, his monarch, the naga king and Fredric Bluewillow, founder of the Crimson Guards and Peter's grandfather, all depended on his actions. Now it was time for everything he'd learned, everything he'd trained for, to come to the fore. Single-mindedness about his mission overtook him. Doubts turned to confidence in one swift stroke. The survival suits would give them an advantage, one that he planned to use to devastating effect. He would rescue the prisoners and change the whole complexion of the current situation in London and around the world.
From out of nowhere, Yoyo sidled up to the young dragon Flash was straddled across. Despite having grouped together and having slowed down, the wind howled like a banshee mistaking muscle rub for its pile cream.
"How do you want to do this?" the healer shouted.
Flash had given this particular question much thought on their journey here. His considered opinion was that if the prisoners were still in the same place, then provision for anyone coming in from the stream would no doubt have been changed after his escape. He was sure that wasn't a viable option. Also, the survival suits protected them from the cold and even, as far as he was aware, the icy chill of the water, but there was no provision for an air supply, and unlike the nagas' magical option for this, nobody here had a mantra that would replicate it or find a way around. So, like most problems in his life, he'd decided to deal with this one... head on! Slowly and loudly, he explained his plan to Yoyo, who for the most part nodded in agreement. They would fly to the summit and once there would use the heat seeking mantra to try and ascertain the whereabouts of the two captured dragons and the naga king. Once located, they would try and drill down into the rock and snow, creating a passage that should in theory allow the force to pass through, one at a time. Several one off mantras had already been procured, as well as some specific to laminium extraction and others required for the drilling stage of the plan. There were dozens of things that could go wrong, not least the fact that all the captives could already be dead, have been moved, or there could be a force of a thousand waiting there. It was impossible to know one hundred percent. So, for the most part, they'd be winging it... something Flash was born to do, in more ways than one.