"Here we are, at something of an impasse," he announced for everyone to hear.
'Imp ass!' thought one of Yoyo's young charges behind the shield, conjuring up images of a wicked demon's bottom, something that briefly brought a smile to his face in this darkest of times.
"In some ways I have to admire your fruitless heroics," continued Manson, Earth standing beside him, all the time grinning inanely. "But as you can now see, it's all been for nothing. You're heavily outnumbered, with only finite reserves of magic, and with nowhere to go. Communications across the planet have been cut off, and by the time the worldwide dragon community realises exactly what has happened, it will all be too late. The dragon domain and the planet at large will all be mine... I mean, ours," he said, turning to face his queen, much to her pleasure.
"Get on and say what you have to say numbnuts," demanded Richie, still channelling the magic from the dagger and the necklace, attempting to be as disrespectful as possible, "before we all fall asleep from boredom."
Being a dragon, you'd have thought that Manson would have had a thicker skin and be relatively immune to a barb like that. Not so.
A rising rush of red flushed from his neck up into his head, warming him up like a superheated volcano at just the thought of being spoken to in that tone, particularly in front of his entire army.
"YOU... YOU... YOU... half dragon, half human, weak willed, lily livered, dumb ass, stupid lacrosse playing halfwit," Manson managed to stutter furiously, determined to regain some sort of respect from those looking on.
From behind the magical barrier, Richie let rip with the biggest cheesy grin she could, knowing full well from his reaction that she'd succeeded in her effort to wind him up and hopefully keep him off guard. Muted admiration from Yoyo's young charges rang throughout her head, as those that accompanied her admired her brilliance.
Wrapping a comforting arm around her king's waist in an effort to keep him from actually exploding, Earth glared daggers in Richie's direction, fully understanding what the young woman was trying to do.
"It's alright, my dear, they're trying to get a rise out of you. Calm down, otherwise you'll be letting them win. And we don't want that, do we?"
Responding well to his queen's sage wisdom, Manson calmed himself down, dispersed all the heat he'd built up and eyed his father's killer with what can only be described as murderous intent.
"Now where was I? Oh... that's right, you're all... DOOMED! No rescue coming, no hope of escape, no life beyond that which I grant you here today. So I will offer you this only once. Surrender now, and stop this travesty."
This time it was Fredric's turn to mock the wicked, dark dragon leader, which he did by bursting into a raucous round of mock laughter, whilst at the same time rubbing his taut muscled belly in a circular motion, much as Santa Claus would at Christmas.
"If you had the ability to take us down, you'd have already done it by now," boomed Fredric's deep, gleeful voice through the magical barrier. "We have enough magic to survive indefinitely, something that clearly throws a spanner into the works of whatever you've got planned. As far as we're concerned, you can kiss our giant, scaly asses."
"DRAGON FILTH!" Manson screamed.
"ENOUGH!" screeched Earth, pulling back her king, who was intent on charging the barrier.
Turning to Manson, very gently she caressed his cheeks.
"You can see what they're trying to do. Hold yourself in check. Don't let them get to you. It's what they want. They're trying to keep you off guard and divide us. You know that."
"I'm sorry, my love, my temper got the better of me. It won't happen again, I assure you."
"It's okay, it's nearly all over. Things will be better then. What say we get on with what we came here to do?"
"I'd like that, I really would."
"Then let's do it," answered Earth, grabbing Manson's hand, turning to face the group of beings standing between them and planet wide domination.
Fleetingly, silence encompassed everything within the king's private residence. No beating of wings, wriggling of tails, hissing of tongues, barely even a breath as events rested on a knife edge. Now was the moment, the one they'd all been waiting for. Whatever had been planned was about to come into play. It was now or never.
Clasping her king's hand, Earth opened herself up fully to him, the madness inside them both colliding, rebounding, their separate forms of magic intermingling, unifying, together becoming more than the sum of their parts. Around their physical bodies the air became infused with magic, looking as though it had been ignited. Yellow, orange and red streaks of light danced and twirled, wriggled and twisted, weaving in and out of the couple's bodies, through their arms, fingers, hands and legs, almost engulfing them, but not quite.
Quiet panic at unrecognisable supernatural power out beyond the shield and their control, threatened to swallow up the light sided heroes, but in solidarity, they stood firm, readying their magic, prepared to fight for their lives.
Losing herself in channelling the power from the dagger and necklace, Richie formed the mother of all cohesive bonds with Yoyo's band of young dragons, melding with each of them, sharing memories, feelings and fears, their magic together giving the barrier an extra element of protection. Whatever happened, they knew the shield would shelter them, at least for now.
Hundreds of dark dragons and nagas watched in anticipation, wondering what was about to happen and whether or not they'd get their chance to attack the interlopers.
Behind the barrier the air crackled, hissed and sizzled as magic thrummed into life, ready to be dispensed at a moment's notice. With the exception of Janice and Hook, everyone else had an offensive spell ready, including Yoyo, who was still multitasking, this time healing deep tissue muscular injuries that three of the King's Guards had picked up fighting alongside their monarch.
"Aaaahhhhhh..." sighed Earth in rapture, the snakes from her head nipping and snapping, this way and that.
"Ohhhhh..." moaned Manson, fully consumed by what was going on.
And without warning, it happened.
For Richie and Yoyo's band of talented young dragons, it felt like having their magic snatched away instantly. Like opening the floodgates of a dam, all of the mana contained within Aviva's dagger and the laminium necklace surged out at breakneck speed, threatening to drain both items dry. Momentarily stunned, Richie's mind leapt into action, fighting to hold onto what was left with all her will and might. Shocked beyond belief, the cadre of youngsters sharing the lacrosse playing dragon's mind reinforced her belief, adding all their own power to hers, redoubling their efforts, hoping it would be enough to save at least some of the mana they were relying on to power the shield behind which they all sought safety. It wasn't sufficient. And as if that weren't bad enough, what little power they all still retained individually got siphoned off as well, leaving them completely defenceless in the shells of their prehistoric bodies. In a final, futile glow, the last of the supernatural power was ripped from the confines of the laminium dagger, sending a surge of superheated energy into its hilt, burning and blistering Richie's hands, forcing her to cry out in excruciating pain, as she dropped clumsily to her knees, instantly disconnecting the link in her mind with the other dragons. Looking to stave off the pain from the burns, the young lacrosse playing dragon reached into her well of magic to do a touch of healing, only to find the source of her power had run dry. Unconsciousness took her as she crumpled to the floor. Sharp intakes of breath were all that could be heard as the steadfast energy barrier that had kept their enemies at bay, saving all their lives up until now, flickered into nothing.