"Oh my God," announced Janice, her voice wobbly, her hands shaking beyond belief.
"Wow!" was all that Peter could get out, looking at the devastation the ice shrouded weapon had caused. "How in the..." he didn't get to finish, because the realisation of why he was there, and what he had to do, hit him head on.
Fredric! Ignoring the impaled dragons bleeding profusely and wailing more than a little, the hockey player turned around and started pulling the biggest chunks of rubble off his grandfather, determined to help get him back to his feet. As Fredric's moans and groans became more incomprehensible, Peter paused momentarily and, forgetting all the rubble for just two seconds, placed both his hands on his grandfather's forehead, pumping as much healing magic as he dared into the stricken dragon. It had no effect... nothing! Leaving one hand on his forehead, continuing to heal, with the other he grabbed more of the debris and tossed it away to one side, all too aware of his surroundings and the continued danger they were all in.
High above, wicked, dark dragons schemed and plotted telepathically as they continuously circled the battlefield, looking for the best way to answer the rallying cry their leader had already let out. Some had their eyes on the dome of magic users on the ground, guarded by a force shield and two dragons from above, while a few others had witnessed the brutal skewering of their colleagues only a short while ago and had vowed revenge on those that had sought to take away their brothers in arms.
From only a short distance away, Richie Rump, impromptu leader and infamous lacrosse hotshot, continued to power the shield that kept them all safe and host the array of different dragon personalities deep inside her head. At the moment, most of them seemed to be bickering, mainly about Peter and Janice's reckless actions in leaving the confined safety of the barrier. She hadn't said it yet, but there just wasn't time for all this. How could she make them see that? With her focus spread thin... powering the shield, listening to all the voices inside her and keeping an eye on her best friend and his partner in crime, her composure started to crumble, threatening to yield to her fiery temper that was an intrinsic part of her very nature. Worried for her friends, the obvious answer to it all popped right into her head totally out of nowhere.
"If we're going to move the shield to save the king and his cohorts anyway, can we not just walk it on over to where Peter, Janice and Fredric are now, on the way? Surely that would make sense, buy us a little time, keep them safe and rally a few more beings to our cause?"
The silence was deafening. Moments passed, with what seemed like brains whirring.
Finally, the young female dragon who'd instigated the plan in the first place, spoke up.
"We should be ready to go, and there's no reason not to do that. In fact, it makes perfect sense... everybody ready?"
Lots of virtual nods and yeps later, Richie could feel a little more weight from the shield being taken from her, the burden spreading out amongst them a little more evenly.
"Remember," shouted the young female dragon throughout their minds, "head over towards Bentwhistle and the two others first, and then we cut across the battlefield in a direct line towards the king. Be aware of your responsibilities, and if you have a problem, share it immediately. Good luck!"
And with that, and at walking pace, the whole of the shield started to move what was effectively sideways, very slowly getting closer to the stricken Fredric, Peter, Janice, and Fu'-ts'ang who was still skewering the two near dead dragons to the white, marble wall.
Janice, oblivious to pretty much everything else, opened herself up to her newly found friend, the weapon that had just saved them from a very gruesome end.
"Are you okay?" she whispered, wondering exactly what kind of response she'd get.
It took more than a while for the answer to come.
"What you did was exceedingly reckless. You could very easily have both been killed. What on earth were you thinking?"
"I'm pretty sure neither of us were thinking, only acting on instinct. The dragon buried beneath the rubble is Peter's grandfather. He's been imprisoned in Antarctica for decades, and was one of the ones that showed up out of the blue to rescue us."
"And might I say, what a fine job he's done," fumed the frost shrouded weapon sarcastically.
"There's no need to be like that. We all need to stick together. Getting uppity at each other will help no one."
Suitably berated, and more importantly knowing the young woman was right, Fu-ts'ang apologised immediately, informing the bar worker that the dragons he'd impaled on the wall were still alive, and that he was reluctant to pull out and let them free at the moment.
"What about you?" she replied. "You can't stay like that indefinitely. And besides, we need you in the fight."
"When the relative safety that's approaching you arrives, I'll let them drop to the floor and rejoin the fight. You didn't think you were getting rid of me that easily did you?"
"Never!" she answered, only then noticing Richie and the shield creeping ever closer.
"Go and help your love," ordered the weapon. "If you need me, call out. Once I'm free of these two, I'll try and help cut you and your friends a path towards the dragon king, at least I assume that's where you're headed."
"I suppose it is. I haven't really been informed."
"For now little one, all I'll say is that it's been a privilege, an honour and a pleasure. Like I said, if you need me... YELL!"
And with that, their link went dead.
Rushing over to her love, immediately she started helping with the rubble that was half burying Fredric. As she knelt down beside Peter, for just a split second their eyes met and through the dirt and dust in the air, despite the danger they were all in, with only a look, their hearts intertwined. There and then they knew that there'd be nobody else for either of them, and that they were meant to be together forever, however long that would be given the seriousness of everything going on around them. Content, at least for now, both turned back and with everything they had, tried to free Peter's last known relative. If only he knew the truth!
Some of those high up above had witnessed everything, including the weapon that seemed to have a mind of its own, being stuck firmly in both dragons it had skewered, and, by the looks of things, the wall. Instantly a decision was made, and four psychotic dragons peeled away from their holding pattern, heading swiftly for the ground.
Eyes closed, firmly grasping the dagger, ignoring the heat radiating out from both of the mind bogglingly valuable laminium items, ever so slowly she stepped in the direction of her friends, feeling the shield following all around her, To say it was odd was something of an understatement. It felt as though they were all trapped inside a jelly that was being dragged along with them. It wasn't, it was the shield, and it wasn't moving nearly as fast as she would have hoped. In the middle of all this, her danger sense screamed out at her. Immediately becoming ultra alert, she scanned the area, quickly determining the threat: more of the enemy coming in from above, and she knew that their current pace wouldn't get them to Peter, Janice and Fredric in time.