'That,' he thought, 'would be perfect for a group of dragons.' Checking his watch, there were only a few seconds to go.
It was time. Emma the lacrosse player, her friend and teammate Angela, Sam the hockey player and Taibul had circled around the square so that they were on the opposite side to Richie and Gee Tee. About three hundred and fifty yards behind the market place, tucked away in the back yard of a small house (small by the standards of the others they'd seen) in the middle of the Salisbridge urban sprawl. And they'd just found what they'd been searching for: a metal bin. At least, that's what it looked like. It could have been used for something else by the dragons, but for their purposes it seemed ideal. They'd been asked, no, ordered, to come over to this area and to make as much noise as possible with what they'd been given, and then to head away from the bazaar at speed, circling back around in a wide arc to their original positions. They were under no circumstances to engage a dragon. Bizarrely, the group were more excited than worried now.
"What exactly are we going to do?" asked Emma.
Taibul, normally very shy and introverted, whispered,
"We'll put a smoke and electrical grenade in the bin, throw on the lid, stick this heavy rock on top, and run like hell. And perhaps for good measure, leave another smoke grenade next to the bin, just in case."
They all nodded. So Taibul pulled the pins from his grenades, and with Angela ready to shove the lid on the bin, tossed them in. Angela slammed the lid on and stepped back. Sam carefully placed the large rock on top of the lid before joining the others. Emma, waiting patiently, pulled the pin on her smoke grenade and lobbed it towards the bin. All of them turned, and as fast as they could, sprinted off in the opposite direction to where all the dragons were situated.
A split second later, the pair of grenades in the bin went off. The noise was unbelievable. If that didn't get their attention, then nothing would.
Strung out over Casey's right shoulder, his long fingers delicately gripped the dull silver, reflective handle of the deadly looking whip, ready to strike again at one of the captives. Just as he was wondering which one he should hurt this time, the loudest of booms resounded from somewhere off to his right. Everyone in the square turned their heads in that direction, alert. Pointing to two of his trusty lieutenants, he signalled with his hand.
"You two... check it out. Bring back whoever's out there."
"YES SIR," they both barked back in response, quickly taking flight in that direction.
The sound was the signal, and Hook had already started drizzling a light mist over the nearest dragons guarding a group of prisoners. Careful not to hit any of the captives, he knew that their plan depended heavily on releasing them to join in the fight. Aiming again, he fired.
As the boom echoed throughout the enclave, Richie gave Gee Tee one last look as he'd just finished muttering the last word of the mantra that would slow down all their enemies. Standing staring at the bazaar, the master mantra maker had the utmost conviction etched onto his face. Grabbing Aviva's laminium dagger, Richie unleashed all her dammed anger and took off towards her friends, using the dagger's precious metal to enhance her speed.
Flash braced himself for the next strike of the whip, hoping it was for him. That way, Tank at least got some sort of respite. But just as he'd inhaled a deep breath... BOOM! A massive sound very much like an explosion shattered the quiet of the square from somewhere off to his left.
'This is it,' he thought. 'Time to act.' Tensed, coiling up all his energy ready to strike, he hoped that whatever was going on, there was more to it than just a loud noise. Moments later, he had his answer. He wasn't disappointed, but he was surprised. There on the edge of the bazaar, over a hundred yards away, directly in his eye line, was Gee Tee and by the look of things, the old shopkeeper was casting some sort of mantra. Even more surprising, and he had to blink to make sure that he wasn't seeing things this time, right next to him, up popped Richie, something glinting in her hand, sprinting with the speed of a... DRAGON, towards the action. As rescues went, this seemed the most bizarre in the history of everything. But he wasn't complaining and figured that his rather unique skill set might be required sooner rather than later.
'Oh well,' he thought, 'here goes nothing.' Releasing his pent up energy, the binders holding him snapped, and he fell ever so slowly towards the ground.
Forehead caked in sweat from the strain of the effort, it was one thing casting the mantra, but another thing entirely holding it in place over such a large area. But somewhere inside, Gee Tee smiled. This rated right up there with some of the crazy stunts that he'd participated in during his long life. And the best thing of all... they actually had a chance. Since this had started, something inside him had whispered that he was making a mistake, a fatal mistake, his last mistake. And deep down, he'd accepted it. But he had to at least try, he owed... Tank that much. He'd thought that throwing his lot in with a bunch of ragtag humans and one rather damaged dragon was a sign of desperation. But as the mayhem started, he weighed up the odds, finding them much more in favour of winning than not. Watching as the very thick, immovable air parted in front of the speeding blur that was Richie, in his mind, he wished her good luck.
Casey faced the direction from which the massive boom had emanated, his danger sense racing into overdrive. For some reason, he could barely move, with his spindly brown arms feeling lead like, and his legs feeling as though they were rooted to the ground. Having trouble turning his overly orange head, the long bony protrusions upon his cranial ridge remaining firmly facing one direction, from the corner of his eye, a momentary glance caught sight of movement heading his way from the opposite direction. Fighting with all his strength to turn around and face the threat head on, he'd turned almost halfway when he recognised what was speeding towards him. Well, not what, but who. Panic stricken, he nearly swallowed his tongue. Unable to believe she was here, sure she'd been expelled from the dragon world for good, her memories wiped forever. If there was one being that he feared more than Manson, it was her.
'Why can't I raise this blasted whip over my head?' was the thought that ran through his mind as she skidded to a halt in front of him.
Feeding off the energy from the dagger was pure ecstasy. Her speed was exhilarating. And then she focused on what had been done. What had been done to her friends anyway. In the distance her ex-classmate turned in her direction, but not fast enough.
'Gee Tee,' she thought, 'is clearly weaving his magic, and weaving it well.'
It was time. At least that's what Janice told herself. Shaking ever so slightly, her right hand clutched Fu-ts'ang tightly, as everything kicked off around her. Stomach flipping over and over, and a continued weakness assaulting her legs, it didn't help that she knew everyone was counting on her. Despite not wanting to, she took a deep breath and popped her head up above the parapet, just enough to see what was going on. The scene before her was both awe inspiring and terrifying in equal measure, and looked like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Watching as the spray of heavy water from Hook's backpack settled gently over the dragons guarding the prisoners, nerves threatened to consume her as the thick liquid dribbled across their wings and down their legs. In slow motion, the prisoners watched everything unfold nervously. It was time for her to act, she knew, so with a promise to herself to see her beloved Peter again, she ran, jumped off the roof and landed softly on the cobbles behind the guards. Clutching Fu-ts'ang for all she was worth, she crept towards them, all the time aware of the captives watching her.