With an ear piercing battle cry, one that caught the attention of the entire battlefield and scared the living daylights out of Vasuki and George, in one swift move, Fredric leapt to his feet, somersaulted up, out and over the shield he'd been cowering behind, and with an ice cold determination, set his sights on the source of the attack. His... DAUGHTER!
Lost to insanity, at least for the moment, Earth hadn't even seen her father leave the protection of the shield she was trying to batter into submission, that's how far gone she was. It was only on noticing an ever approaching blur out of the corner of her left eye that she realised the trouble she was in. He was coming for her, and he was MAD! Perhaps that's where she got it from.
Steaming, thick, red blood pooled across the scorched white marble next to Flash's torn apart chest, his body deathly still, a satisfied smile chiselled into his adorable features as death inducing magic thundered all around him. Fate had found her scapegoat and just perhaps, given everything that was going on, it was better this way. Better to go out like this than with a whimper. Better not to be around when the planet's ownership changed.
More than a little shaken at his friend's change in circumstance and never, ever wanting to hear that roar again, his mind raced uncontrollably, thoughts of what to do next consuming him fully. Off in the distance, he could see the courageous Amelia Battlehard and her contingent fighting valiantly, totally outmatched, part of him wondering if he should assist them first of all. And then there were those behind the shield, those that had risked everything, those currently protected by a dragon whose memory he'd had wiped and had banished to the surface. Having known all along she was special, seeing not only what she was doing now, but what she had done since she'd shown up nearly blew his mind. What a dragon! That was when he caught sight of it through his rippling shield, beneath all the magic that was being currently cast in his direction. FLASH! Was he dead? Just injured? Or indeed, saveable? His head told him there was nothing that could be done, and that even not dead, he would be too close to it to bring back. But his heart and the fierce loyalty that made him such an exceptional king told him otherwise. In that moment, he was truly torn. That is until a voice right beside him spoke up.
"Leeeett meeee seeee toooo himmm. It'ssss theee leasssst I caaan do."
"Are you sure?" answered the king, his voice a little wobbly.
"Iffff I caaaan saaavee himmm I willlll. Afterallllll heee rescueeeed ussss frooooom thaaaat prisoooon."
The king had wondered what had happened, and now he knew. Even more reason to rescue the brave Flash.
"If you can save him, I'll be forever in your debt."
"Ittttt issss I aaaand my raaaace that aare innnnn yooour debt. GO! I wiiiillll dooo my beeeeest."
Nodding his approval, in what was almost a blur, even to those magical beings all around him, he turned, converting all the energy from his shield into speed, and disappeared off in the direction of Captain Battlehard and her overwhelmed comrades.
Enhanced by magic and with a whiff of freedom soaking through his gills, Vasuki slithered off to one side just as the king's shield dissipated, hoping not to get caught by the barrage of magic. Right at that very moment however, it stopped, much to his surprise. Too intent on helping his dragon rescuer to pay any attention to why it had ceased, he slithered off across the battlefield, once more opening himself up telepathically, again broadcasting a plea for any of his race to hear, hoping against hope that they would kowtow to his wishes and stop all this madness. For the moment though, his plea fell on deaf ears.
It was all she could do to drop the assault and bring up any kind of defensive shield in time. And that was the only thing that saved her life. Immediately he was on her, pounding on her shield with his powerful fists, his fingers spitting half a dozen types of fire, the words shouting from his mouth totally incomprehensible. Paralysed but for a moment, mainly due to the shock of seeing her father in this state, something that had never happened before, it wasn't long before her sense of self preservation kicked in, followed quickly by the injustice and then the anger, fury and rage. The magical scrap of a lifetime was about to begin.
45
Definitely Not Winging It
Knowing that the enemy's forces would be more alert and on the lookout for an attack from the sky after Steel's supposed capture, Gee Tee's ragtag troupe of dragons had decided to attack from the ground, on foot, gaining the element of surprise the rationale behind it.
Stalking through the dark, a thick layer of smog and toxic, black smoke engulfing everything, a contingent spread out five across led the way, with the master mantra maker at their centre. An unusual formation to say the least, the old shopkeeper had come up with the plan, because the visibility had been so limited. Bumping into an adversary out of absolutely nowhere was a real possibility, and with one dragon out in front, it could quite possibly lead to the alarm being raised, something they just couldn't afford to happen. With five spread across, and with Gee Tee in the middle of that five, if they stumbled across one, or even two guards accidentally, they could handle it, quickly, quietly and without any fuss, ably assisted by the master mantra maker, that is unless the opposing force were using exactly the same formation, something they all thought extremely unlikely. It was unconventional to say the least, but thinking outside the box was the only way they were going to succeed against such overwhelming odds, if indeed that was at all possible.
Noiselessly skulking between buildings they'd already cleared, the dragon/human hybrid force deliberately moved at slightly less than walking pace, determined to use stealth, not be caught off guard, and be able to take down anything in front of them very, very quietly and at a moment's notice.
Midway along the line of dragons behind them, very nervous humans, each with makeshift masks made up from torn fragments of material they'd found along the way, fingered the bandoliers that held their remaining grenades in place, each wondering what the hell they were doing here, each re-examining their life choices up to this point, apart from Taibul who hadn't really had much of a life to re-examine. For him, it was all about hoping for more... more of everything. More years to experience and relish, more hockey, more banter with his friends, and if he was honest with himself... more of this! Emma, Angela and Sam, the friends he'd bonded with on this outstanding adventure, were all very much afraid, surrounded by terror, and still astounded at being here. He, however, was secretly lapping things up. Dragons... how cool was that?! Being here, in a secret underground world that had existed forever... brilliant! Tied up in a plot to thwart an evil force taking control of the world... absolutely amazing! It gave him goosebumps just thinking about it, but in a good way. Here and now, all he wanted to do was play his part, a small cog in a mindbogglingly humungous machine, but ready to do anything he could to help all the beings around him, dragon and human alike. And so, grinning like a Cheshire cat, something none of those around him could see in the cloying, choking darkness, he trailed in Emma's wake, alert and poised, ready to act when called upon, his mere eighteen years of age filling him with confidence and excitement, instead of the trepidation, fear and horror the others felt.