"Nice body, my boy. I bet you're pleased to have that back. Congratulations!"
"It wasn't the one I was born with, hence the little standoff we find ourselves in."
"Indeed," acknowledged George, "indeed."
"It's me sire... honestly!"
"If it wasn't you, that's what I'd expect you to say."
"It's Flash, Your Majesty. I wouldn't have let him through otherwise," declared Richie.
"How come he can once again take dragon form? And why is it I don't recognise him? I know what his lost form looks like, I have after all sent it on missions many times over."
"I think I may be able to answer your first question," interjected Fredric.
George turned to face his best friend.
"Really?"
"During the battle to break free in Antarctica, Flash was fatally stabbed by that son of a bitch of a jailer. Luckily at the time he'd just transformed the chains into pure, unadulterated laminium, and so using our connection I repaired the damage he'd just suffered, and in the same instant I noticed an underlying flaw in his DNA, and so repaired that as well. Up until now, I didn't think anything of it. I'm guessing that what I did allowed him retake his natural form. It might even explain his change of appearance."
It could explain things, thought the king. But he had to be sure, totally and utterly sure. If this was some kind of infiltrator, then the lives of everyone here were on the line, and he wasn't about to risk that again.
"Tell me something only I'd know," he ordered the giant silver dragon.
Without thinking, Flash just said it.
"You talk in your sleep, sire. Over and over again you go on about a failed mission, and how it was your fault you'd sent your best friend to his death. I take it that friend is Fredric there, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't your fault. Also you like to listen to 80's music when there's no one around, or at least you think there's no one around."
Chuckles from Yoyo's charges broke the ice, because they too had taken to listening to 80's music in the workshop deep beneath the computer repair shop in Australia.
"Oh... one last thing. You're utterly hopeless with technology, and can't use it worth a damn."
"Ahhhh... that one I recognise. You've always been like that," laughed Fredric, slapping his friend hard on the middle of his scaled belly, which everybody there thought was most certainly not royal protocol.
"You certainly make a compelling case, Mendrik," ventured the king, in one last gamble.
"It's Dendrik, as well you know, sire. Dendrik Ridge!"
"Owww... he's James Bond," whispered Janice, or at least that's what she thought, not knowing about the heightened sense of hearing nearly all the beings surrounding her had.
"Who's James Bond?" asked the king.
Janice blushed. Peter answered.
"A fictional super suave spy from a series of movies that the humans above absolutely adore."
"Oh?"
"That does sound a little bit like me," joked Flash, hoping that everyone, including the monarch, had come to realise it was actually him.
"One last thing please Flash... change back," ordered the king.
Of course, it made sense, but the ex-Crimson Guard really didn't want to give up his new found, mighty, magnificent dragon persona, not after all this time being unable to change back to his base DNA. Reluctantly, in front of everybody, he did so.
In but a moment, the human shape they were all familiar with, down to the very last freckle on his arms, emerged before them, much to George's satisfaction.
"It's good to see you well, Flash. I'm sorry I doubted you. But I just had to be certain. I'm sure you understand."
"I do, Your Majesty. I understand just how much you value everyone's safety."
The king nodded appreciatively, knowing that he'd been let off the hook just a little.
"Before we go any further, I don't suppose there's any spare clothing that I could borrow, is there?"
"I think now that we know it's you, perhaps you'd better change back. In either form you'll intimidate everyone with your size," declared George.
Janice chuckled. Peter blushed. Everyone else just looked on.
Moments later, the gigantic silver dragon was back.
"Can I ask what's going on?" queried Flash.
"We were just wondering if Miss Rump here could guide us in a new direction," responded the king.
"She's certainly a capable leader and not afraid of making the big calls. Next to you of course, sire, I'd follow her into a fight, anytime, anywhere."
Surprised at such a ringing endorsement from the battle hardened ex-Crimson Guard, the king's estimation of the highly unconventional, spirited young dragon went up a notch or two.
"How do you suggest we proceed Miss Rump?" asked the king, as every being there looked on.
Taking her time, composing her thoughts, finally she came up with something they could all get behind.
"I'm sick and tired of hiding from these bastards. I think it's high time we taught them a lesson in not only manners, but in the evolutionary pecking order of things around here."
If they hadn't been sure about her qualities as a leader before, then that little line absolutely did the trick, buoying each and every one of them, including the king and Fredric. It was just what each of them needed to hear. Now all they had to do was implement it. Surely that couldn't be too hard, could it?
51
Captain Courageous
"Your concern is unwarranted," whispered Gee Tee. "There's still plenty of time for them to get it done. Above all, we have to be patient. If we try rushing in and Steel hasn't set off the mantra, the chances are we'll be overwhelmed, which will be the end of our little resistance, and of course us. Keep your head down and wait for my signal."
Deferring to the master mantra maker's wealth of experience, the dragon second in command, by the name of Rhombus, stalked silently back to his position amongst all the dismembered dragons they still hid amongst.
Pulling in a long, deep breath, ignoring the nausea inducing qualities of the smell as he did so, Gee Tee gave everything he had in an effort to maintain his outwardly calm facade. In truth, he felt anything but. The deed should already have been done he knew; they'd had plenty of time to reach the inner depths of the building, the control centre if you like, where the crystal node itself was secured. Something must have gone wrong, he thought... but what? And if that were the case, what the hell were they going to do about it now? Going storming in there when they're fully alert with a full contingent of defenders would only get everyone here killed, and so in his mind was not really an option. All he could think to do was stall his cohorts, wait, and hope that whatever was going on in the bowels of that building could be turned around to their advantage, and put the original plan back on track. Without Steel using that mantra and taking out those in the inner sanctum, they were without a doubt, an inclined plane wrapped helically around an axis... or in other words, SCREWED!
Both friends had thought it a terrifying experience infiltrating this base of operations and reaching so far inside the labyrinth, but anything they'd done previously paled in comparison with what was happening now. Previously ready to fight, both had been unable to manoeuvre themselves between Steel and the crystal node at the right time, and had now lost any advantage they may have had. That first unsuspecting vicious assault on the laminium ball captain had caught them all by surprise. After that... things were pretty much all over. Given how many nagas had slithered out of their hiding places in the darkened inner sanctum, both of them together stood absolutely no chance. Not without Steel and the mantra from Gee Tee only he possessed, that should, if used correctly, take down every being there. But they both knew the moment had passed, almost certainly never to present itself again. Too scared to acknowledge each other with even the slightest look, all they could do was watch as their friend continued to suffer the most brutal torture imaginable. Half an hour of cruel punches and kicks was how things had started, the two of them finding it hard to conceive how any being could have survived that, or whether there would be any point in continuing the violence. But their mindset was nothing like that of those around them. Having used their friend as a defenceless punch bag, the vicious dark dragons pulled him up off the ground and shackled him to the wall, where he was still currently restrained, the evil woman, 'Red', right at this very moment pulling off scales, one at a time, from the most sensitive areas of his newly reborn body. It was chilling for the two of them to watch, but they could do nothing else, not without giving the game away and in turn their true identities. The anguish and suffering they felt at being so helpless mirrored their friend's physical pain. Both thought the courage he showed in adversity was a testament to the true hero he really was, on and off the laminium field of play.