'Here, now?' he thought, perplexed. Gripping Tank by the elbow as they fought their way to the front of the crowd, Flash was determined to find out what was going on and confront it head on, whilst at the same time protecting his friend. Ducking beneath the wings of two retreating dragons, all the time pulling Tank with him, Flash rose up to his full height, ready to act. But the sight that greeted him was the very last thing he expected. Automatically, his mind raced through the options open to him.
Bumped and bruised from being dragged through the crowd by his friend, Tank stood agog at what lay before them, and what the crowd in the plaza all seemed to be trying to escape from. It looked a little like a flare going off, sitting there all alone, brilliant green smoke pouring forth, like something akin to an industrial chimney. There was, however, more to the object at the middle of the mass. A shimmering, deep blackness, swirling hypnotically at the very centre, was what caught Tank's eye. There and then he knew he had only a matter of moments to react.
In less than a heartbeat, Flash's mind reached a decision, his body flying into action. Releasing his grip on Tank, he sprinted for all he was worth towards what he knew to be a highly unstable heavy element, having seen them before, many times, commonly used by terrorist groups throughout the domain. I say commonly... perhaps not so much. Decades generally pass before one of these so called terrorist groups raises their heads above the parapet, and then are normally swiftly dealt with by the dragon authorities... usually the Crimson Guards. The weapons in question come in all shapes and sizes, all with very different properties and effects, ranging from concussion and sonic blast waves to deadly area of effect explosions, able to inflict the kind of death and carnage only ever seen in a dragon's worst nightmare. Midway through his run, all his mind could think was,
'This one looks wayyyyyyy more dangerous than any of the others I've dealt with in the past.'
For all he was worth, he kept moving, enhanced by his magic.
'Oh my,' thought Tank, frozen in place, watching helplessly as his friend bombed on towards the lethal heavy element that seemed primed and ready to go off. If there was one thing he'd learned from his very temperamental boss, it was to stay as far away as possible from the materials that combined to make those things work. With that singular thought in mind, he wondered what on earth Flash thought he was doing, heading towards it at top speed.
It was nearly impossible to see the swirling dark mass at the centre now. Flash knew that he had only moments before it happened and hadn't, however, figured out what he was going to do, if in fact he reached the device before it detonated.
'Helpless' wasn't in Tank's dictionary. And so although he was too far away to do very much, there was one thing he knew for certain he could do that might make a difference to his friend.
High above, shrouded in the shadows, he looked on, waiting for them all to die. It was delicious, poetic, deserving. As he watched, the crowd backed away, some at least realising what was about to happen. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Two human shapes, one very much from his past, pushed their way to the front of the ever fearful mass of dragons.
'What in the hell...?' he thought, watching the shape he didn't recognise race forward towards all his very hard and valuable work.
Within a few yards, Flash swept the sickly green gas away from his face, his mind having reached the only logical conclusion it could: erect a shield and hope it would stop whatever the hell that thing was about to unleash. Deep inside, he knew it wouldn't be enough.
Dropping to his knees, ignoring the pain from the impact, Tank closed his eyes, searching for his magic, and his... friend. The connection was instant and just what he needed. Opening himself right up, he delved deep inside, finding his well of magical energy. Without a thought for his own safety, he sent it all off to his friend.
What they thought they could achieve, he had no idea. As he watched Tank drop to his knees and the stranger dive head first into the putrid, green smoke, his confidence shattered like a mirror being dropped from a great height.
Answering the mantra Flash had just cast in his mind, the shield sprang forth all around him, powered by the magic that was his birthright. Deep down, his mind continued to whisper that it wouldn't be enough. He really didn't need reminding. Just as he bounded into the flying leap that would put him right on top of the device, a leap that every rugby player in the world would be proud of, a sudden influx of magic wove itself all around him.
'TANK,' was all he could think, recognising the very flavour of what had been offered up, as he channelled all the magic into the shield that encased him.
For the device... the time had come! Swirling, dark, negative energy transformed into a pinprick of light on the blackest of black backgrounds. With energy fit to burst, it fulfilled the very purpose it had been created for.
Flash, and moreover his shield, hit the device just as the explosion initiated. Most of his magic took the brunt of the blast, deflecting and absorbing the deadly kinetic energy in equal measures. He though, was tossed high in the air, a rag doll flung by an out of control toddler.
Dissipated by whatever Flash had done, the shock wave knocked Tank to the floor with the force of a tempestuous hurricane. Before the blackness took him, he realised that they were all meant to have died.
"NO, NO, NO!" he screeched to no one in particular. 'They've ruined it. Totally ruined it. They're all supposed to have died, annihilated by the blast wave, bits of dragon splattered across the monorail plaza. But those two have transformed everything,' he thought, looking down at the ocean of unconscious dragon bodies. Knowing he'd get into trouble for this, it was supposed to have been a demonstration of his power and fealty towards his new master, to signify the beginning of a new age.
'DAMN!' Sweeping down in a tight spiral from his concealed, overlooking perch, he was determined to make them suffer for his failure, particularly his former classmate and the stranger.
Seemingly from out of nowhere, a refreshing breeze whipped along the enclosed tunnels and plaza attached to the monorail station, dispersing any and all remnants of the foul smelling, noxious green gas.
39
Always In Motion
Double locking all the doors and checking all the building's shields, he was now firmly ensconced in his workshop. The unusual and, to him, unsettling events of the previous weeks had him worried, more worried in fact than he'd been in centuries. And there weren't many beings on the planet that could claim that. So after Tank and Flash had left, off to some charity sporting event on the surface somewhere, he'd settled down, his course of action decided some time ago.
From out of one of the scaly pouches lining his belly, he pulled an old scroll that looked like it might disintegrate at any second if touched. Carefully unfurling the ribbon that bound it, he stretched it out on the table, using an inkwell and a mantra pen to hold it in place. The writing was all Japanese, something he found quite foreign despite all his training and language skills. Clearing his mind, focusing solely on the writing, well... more like symbols, in front of him, he closed his eyes and let the meaning of the mantra coalesce at the forefront of his imagination.