SMASH! Another flick from the evil looking, magical whip struck him across the belly, its brilliant crackling line of multi-coloured energy snapping, hissing and whining, almost splitting the air in two before burning the flesh of his taut six pack of a stomach in a straight line. Screaming in pain, he let himself react as any normal being would. At the moment the only advantage he had over his assailants was the fact that they seemingly had no idea of his past, no idea what he was capable of. Only strung up here because of his friendship with Peter and Tank, something he was immensely proud of and grateful for, it was also, he realised, something he'd die to protect and something he was determined to prolong. He needed a plan, and he needed one quickly.
It didn't take long to reach the periphery of the crowded square. Currently they were concealed behind the wreckage of what had been the bazaar stalls. Nearly all had been overturned, broken or simply destroyed, their wares littering the cobbled square, not just where they were, but as far as the eye could see. Gee Tee had cast a protective mantra over all of them on the way, one that would help conceal their very essence from the enemy, until they were spotted that is. Once that happened, the mantra would fail and their presence would become clear.
Slithering forward on her stomach, Richie peeped out through the debris strewn around her, just in time to see Flash catch another strike from the whip. Each and every one of them heard the sound of it searing flesh from his broken body, followed by his desperate howl. Anger flared from Richie's very core. Murderous intent stoked the adrenaline that flowed through her, threatening to engulf her entire being. The soft touch of a dragon wing stroked her back gently, followed by a series of very wise words.
"Save your anger child. Now is not the time. I know how you feel; it seeps through me that those two are up there. But if we are to stand a chance, we must be prepared. Look around. Unless we're ready, we'll end up like that. Is that what you want?"
From her prone position, Richie looked around, nostrils flaring. Staring into those big, square glasses had a soothing effect, enough to take some of the anger away, at least. With the red mist clearing, at least temporarily, she started to formulate a plan. It didn't take long.
"Here's what we're going to do," she said. And with that, she set about trusting and tasking each and every one of the humans with saving dragon civilisation as she knew it.
Once everyone had been briefed, they all set their watches to count down and moved stealthily into their assigned positions. Now there was no turning back. It was quite literally do or die!
For a while now, something else had been eating away inside her. She knew where Tank and Flash were, quite clearly being able to see them subjected to massive amount of pain. But where on earth was Peter? He was, of course, missing as well, but try as she might, from where they were, she could see no sign of him. She hadn't mentioned this to the others, but off to one side of where the dragons were being kept prisoner, there were bodies. Dragon bodies. Not able to see well enough to make out any, she didn't think her friend was there, but if not there, then where exactly was he?
Blood trickled down his stomach, pooled a little, and then continued flowing down his strong, muscular legs. It seemed odd to him that it was red, given that he wasn't unaccustomed to watching his own blood flow. Some of the missions he'd been on... well, let's just say that he'd lost a serious amount of blood along the way, though nearly all of it had been green, because nearly all of it had been in his natural form, if such a thing even existed for him now. Wondering, if he survived, whether these wounds would heal or become a permanent feature like the scar that sat just below his left eye, again he pushed away the pain. As he did so, he caught the briefest glimpse of movement through what were now slits in his vision. As soon as he'd glimpsed it, it had vanished. His high vantage point afforded him a fantastic view of the surrounding houses, shops and streets. Certain he hadn't been mistaken about what he'd just seen, what did it mean? A rogue dragon, one his captors had missed when rounding up all the others? Or was it more than that? A rescue mission, a full on attack? He knew not. But what he did know was that he needed to be ready. Pretty sure he could break out of the restraints holding him to the frame of the metal monstrosity, he hadn't done so before because he was seriously outnumbered and, by the look of things, he'd be killed before he hit the ground. Now though, just maybe something was in the offing. Maybe he had a chance, a chance to at least save his friend, even if it meant sacrificing his own life. Once again, he was back in the game.
Thirty seconds remained. Thirty seconds until all hell broke loose. Thirty seconds of life remaining. At least that's how she looked at it. After that she was dead. But she had a chance. She could fight, fight for her life, and those of her friends. What had she been thinking... bringing humans here, to fight... against... DRAGONS?! It was too late now though. Too late to change things. But she could fight for them. Fight for all of them. Turning her head slightly, taking in the old shopkeeper, he looked surprisingly calm and clear headed. He'd been the voice of reason ever since they'd encountered him. Richie gave a slight chuckle at that... Gee Tee, the voice of reason. It would have made Tank laugh anyway. Turning back towards her friend, hanging limply, about to be struck again by that blasted energy whip, rage consumed her. She felt it build up. She tried to dam it. Immediately the dam sprang leaks. Fury rushed through her limbs. Glancing at her watch, she knew the dam only had to last a few more seconds. After that... well, she'd see exactly how tough these bullies actually were.
Janice lay on her belly, trying not to choke on the sand and dust all around her. Situated on the rooftop of a shop that looked out over the bazaar, Hook had helped her get up here unnoticed, and she'd spent what seemed like an age crawling towards the edge. About at eye height to Tank and Flash, the roof was behind them, so there was no chance of them spotting her. Currently, they were the only ones that could have. Knowing not to peek over the edge, it had been made quite clear to her that was forbidden for now, and in fact the very thought terrified every bone in her body. She was to wait. Wait until it all kicked off. And then, she was to act, to free the other dragons and do as much damage as she could. Although terrified, strangely she felt more alive than she could ever remember. Her life up until now had been so safe, so secure, so... dull. And then she'd met Peter, someone like her... so safe, so secure. At least that's what it had seemed like at first. But she knew deep down that there was more to it than that. She didn't know what and to be honest, if she'd had a million guesses, she'd never have guessed THIS! But she loved him. Not just a little, but all consuming, all or nothing, the do or die kind of love. Having never known this kind of love before, it was totally intoxicating. So she was determined to give her best, her all. Determined to see him again.
Hook had, as Richie had asked, stationed himself in an alleyway running parallel to the bazaar, not far from the menacing looking dragons guarding the prisoners, roughly in the direction Janice was facing from the roof that she found herself on. Well concealed, he had no concerns about being spotted. In the short time that he'd had the heavy water jet pack on his back (that's what he thought its name should be, as it didn't have an official one) he'd become reasonably proficient at picking out targets with it. Gee Tee had assured him that it was impossible for the pack to run out of water, as its insides had been imbued with a replenishing mantra, whatever that was. It was good enough for Hook though, and every opportunity that he'd had, he'd been practising with it. Near or far, he'd been picking targets and had experimented with firing at them, and was quite comfortable with his accuracy, and had even found a setting on the rifle part of his newly gained equipment that changed the single stream jet of water to something more akin to a shower.