'Things,' he thought, 'are about to get interesting.'
Having taken the longest route back they could, inasmuch as they figured they might be needed for the battle that ensued in the huge square. They were right. Peeking out of the shadows of an alleyway that opened out onto the square, they were all absolutely terrified as they watched monsters from nightmares breathe fire, wield swords and batter each other out of the way. Arriving just in time to see Flash spirit Janice to safety, nearly all their hearts skipped a beat, the ex Crimson Guard's save had been so close. But now it was Flash's turn to be in trouble, and despite his bravado it looked as though his time was about to be up. With courage he didn't know he had, the young waiter amongst them spoke up.
"We have to act... NOW!" It brought them all to their senses.
"Whhhaaatttt can weeee doooo?" stuttered Angela, petrified.
"The grenades," offered up Emma. "A concerted attack from all of us at the same time on that group might just work."
All agreeing, in unison they tore grenades from the bandoliers they wore.
"After three," said Emma. "One... two... three," and together the four of them let fly with their weapons.
Janice had barely taken a breath since her rescue. It was only when Flash had engaged the guard in combat that she'd realised exactly what had happened and who had saved her. Tears streamed down her face. And now as she watched, a whole gang of dragons headed his way, by the look of things, determined to tear him limb from limb. But that wasn't going to happen, not if she had anything to do with it. Thinking about the best way to help Peter's friend, it took her only a fraction of a second to realise that either jumping down next to him and joining the fight, or throwing him Fu-ts'ang was little more than futile. But what caught her eye, behind the onrushing guards, were the prisoners they'd left unattended. They were the answer, and perhaps the salvation of everyone.
Standing up, she wobbled slightly, her legs full of anxiety, like the rest of her. Facing the building next to her, she knew that if she could make the jump across the alleyway and onto its roof, she could leap down unhindered and land almost amongst the unattended detainees. The jump must have been nearly ten feet though. Gripping Fu-ts'ang tight, she ran. As the front of her trainer reached the edge of the roof, she launched herself for all she was worth. Amazingly, she cleared the chasm with ease. Landing with too much momentum, she crashed carelessly to the ground. Surprisingly, she didn't mind. On her feet in an instant and with the group of prisoners watching her every move, she climbed down the front of the building. With a quick look from side to side to make sure there was no immediate danger, she sprinted across to the group and started to cut off their restraints with Fu-ts'ang. As the first prisoner's bonds clanged to the floor, she looked up into the dragon's eyes, not knowing what to expect. She got more of a surprise than she bargained for. A loud chortle assaulted her ears, followed by words that would always stay with her.
"For such a pretty human, you have a mean attitude and an even meaner sword. Keep up the good work, little one." And off he shot to join in the battle. Janice was stunned, that is until the growls of the other dragons brought her back to reality. They, too, wanted to join the battle and this was their chance. Janice had no intention of depriving them of their wish. One by one, she set them free.
Well, he'd given it a good go. At least that's what Flash thought. Counting eight, even in the good old days, in his true dragon form, before the unspeakable encounter with those bloody nagas, he might still have struggled with that many. Alright, maybe not. His record, from what he could remember, was fourteen... in one go, anyway. Crouching low, making as small a target as possible, he looked at what he faced. Having already taken out three of them, he'd killed the first unwitting one with the splintered end of a wooden pole off a broken market stall, finding the watery crunch which had signalled the end of that first guard's life, incredibly satisfying. After that, the next two had been relatively easy. It hadn't been hard to steal the first guard's dark coloured sword and dispatch the overeager attackers. But now, for the first time today, he felt as though he were in trouble. The rest had backed off and he could see in their eyes exactly what they were about to do. They were going to rush him. As it stood, there was no way he could take five, not at once. Maybe if they all came one at a time, but even then it was unlikely that he would make it through them all. For several seconds he'd been searching for options, but he could find none that made any sense. Hoping that he hadn't consigned Janice and the others to a fiery fate, he positioned himself in classic Roman battle stance, the blade of the dark sword running alongside his head, inches from his right ear, and chose which two of the guards would be joining him in oblivion.
All five charged. Flash didn't take his eyes off any of them. And then something beautiful happened. Objects dropped out of nowhere, amongst them. Objects that his perfect memory, perfectly recalled. He smiled. The onrushing guards could make no sense at all of what they were seeing. As the air crackled around them, that was the least of their worries.
Taibul, Emma, Sam and Angela each found themselves another grenade, and in the kind of teamwork usually reserved for their respective sports, each pulled back their arms and, with a flick of their wrists, launched the ticking time bombs once more into the path of Flash's assailants.
The first grenade to go off scattered a huge electrical arc across the cobbles around the guards' feet. Two of the five tumbled to the floor. Flash didn't know where the help was coming from, but figured that his best course of action was to hold his ground. He couldn't have been more right. Almost immediately after the first, four more electrical grenades erupted amongst the group of guards, spitting sizzling bolts of crackling energy in all directions. All but one of the guards was hit, with the remaining lone dragon continuing on towards his target: Flash! Stumbling, the others fell, nearly all suffering in one way or another. As the aroma of scorched scales wafted delicately across the battleground that had once been the revered bazaar, the four dragon guards extricated themselves from the tangled muddle that the grenades had caused, and watched as their comrade reached his target. Once on their feet, they'd taken no more than a step in Flash's direction, when four more grenades landed in between them. Panic zipped across their faces.