And so it was decided. Steel would infiltrate the main centre of Fleet Street, with a view to finding out just how heavily guarded the node exchange was.
Slipping down the stairs, the noise cancelling mantra aiding their descent, not giving away their position to the enemy, Steel announced to the others that he was off to look around. Jar Man and DomCon immediately volunteered to go with him, and much as he appreciated the sentiment, he knew it was better if he went on his own. Over the course of only a matter of hours, he'd really taken to the two of them. They were an odd couple to say the least, but their friendship was something to be admired, and their fighting spirit seemed to easily match that of anyone else here along for the ride. Bidding one last farewell, his shiny, new, yet-to-set body disappeared silently into the darkness. The entire group wished him well.
Huddled together on the ground floor, tired, weary, caked in sweat and soot, afraid, all wondering if they'd made the right decision in coming here, the four humans Sam, Taibul, Emma and Angela tried to fathom what on earth was going on. For each of them, their situation resembled a dream. It was hard to distinguish fantasy from reality. As they'd moved through the burnt out wasteland of what remained of the underground dragon domain, it had kept on getting harder. The encounter with Steel had been surreal and none of them had known where it was going. For the most part, it looked as though they'd have to fight, but the master mantra maker, who they had nothing but the greatest respect for, given what he'd done for them back in Salisbridge, had talked around the wise dragon in a newly formed body, allowing them to join in their ragtag band of misfits. Gee Tee had worked his magic... well, not literally, but more in a car salesman kind of way, selling the idea of teaming up to who they had gathered, was some kind of famous sports star. They'd all discussed it and none of them had known what the hell laminium ball was, but that didn't stop them wanting to see a match. Any sport that involved dragons taking on dragons had to be awesome. Didn't it?
Sitting in the dark silence, Sam started to massage Emma's back, not for the first time on this trip. It was just one sign of how much they'd done so far, and just how much more was ahead of them. As he stroked and pummelled her muscles, one thought weaved in and out of his mind, a thought that had remained a constant background presence throughout their journey here. What would happen if he were to die here? Nobody above ground would know, not his family or his friends. Of course there was a lot at stake, he realised that. And if they didn't complete the mission they were on, then just maybe the entire planet might be destroyed, but still... nobody knowing. It hurt just to think about it. As well, he wondered what was going on back up in Salisbridge right at this very moment. Their tiny little troupe of humans, as well as Hook and Janice, had been missing for some time. Surely people would have noticed by now, especially given the almost comical way they'd left the restaurant. Thoughts turning to his young friend's back, he dug his thumbs into her sore, tight muscles, kneading them for all they were worth, hoping to give her some sort of respite from the pain.
'It was all so different,' thought Angela, watching Sam weave his magic on Emma's back. From the acrid smell of smoke and sulphur, to the landscape with its high, cavernous roofs, sometimes impossible to see, to the buildings, or currently, what was left of them. It all seemed so alien. And then there were the dragons themselves. In this case, their teammates! How was that even possible? Taking a sneak peek at one of the nearest prehistoric monsters, she marvelled at the magnificent scales that looked utterly impregnable, the impossible wings that looked both flimsy and graceful, at the ferociousness of the mighty jaws and the soft light of intelligence ever present in the beings' bulbous green eyes. It terrified her, whilst at the same time made her heart sing. Dragons here, underground, and intelligent ones at that, helping to shape the planet and now trying to save it, was a mind blowing concept. And the whole of the human race up there, blissfully unaware of what was going on. How was this even possible? And then there was Richie... a dragon... unbelievable really, but not the most shocking thing about the last few days. Looking back though, at just some of the incredible things the young lacrosse captain had got up to, it kind of all made sense. If, of course, anything could in this bizarre world of supernatural power and ancient enemies. Curling up into a ball, hoping that Sam might turn his magic fingers onto her next, she closed her eyes, hoping to gain just a little rest.
It was all he could do to keep terrified in check. It constantly threatened to overwhelm him, and it was only the thought of letting down the others, his friends, there, that had prevented him falling apart. Young and idealistic, he'd had no idea what was going on when he'd joined Richie's disjointed party and left the restaurant, still wearing his waiter's outfit. The experience so far had been beyond his wildest imagination. And boy, did he have one of those. But all of this... wow! This was something else, barely believable, even though he'd been living amongst it for some time now. And THAT experience back in the giant market place, here underground in the world of the dragons was... EPIC! Okay, it had scared the living daylights out of him, with the blood, violence and gore forcing him to empty his stomach on more than one occasion. But what had gone on, and just how the day had been saved, was nothing short of legendary. Now here they were doing this. Gazing at the other humans, it was then that he realised just how grateful he was for their company. He couldn't imagine trying to do this without them. In fact, it would have been impossible for him to do so. Then and there though, the things that he missed flashed up in the forefront of his mind. Hook, Janice, Richie, his family, the restaurant, playing hockey and the rest of his team. Peter! Goodness, he'd almost forgotten about Peter, the person he owed so much. Thoughts turning to the other mission, he hoped that they'd saved his teammate from the clutches of evil and that everything was going well for them. Rest... he knew it was important, and so watching Angela curl up into a ball in front of him, he laid his head on his shoulder, ignored the cold biting at his back from the wall he was leant against, and closed his eyes. For Taibul, sleep was hard to come by, with all the fantastical images playing out through his head.
Earth's surface. The Blue Mountains, just west of Sydney, Australia.
Mirroring events unfolding deep underground across the dragon domain, thick, choking black smoke blazed up into the air, visible from almost fifty miles away, as what had now turned into four major forest fires razed everything in their paths, leaving blackened vegetation, crispy fried animals and a wake of destruction behind them. Planes and helicopters peppered the area with massive bombs of water to little or no effect, the pilots risking their lives in the deadly and volatile high winds.
Plumes of yellow, red and orange flame snaked into the sky, some reaching heights of nearly ninety metres, often attempting to tickle the underside of the aircraft regularly attempting to curtail their out of control nature. Others transformed into huge red, superheated tornados, spinning precariously in a multitude of different directions, their course as random as a lottery winner, the magnitude of danger increasing tenfold.
Out of control, running north to south for about sixty kilometres, a swathe of fire and astonishing heat, one of the four cut directly across both of the main arteries leading west out of Sydney, the A32 and the B59, melting the tarmac and destroying the road's substructure, rendering a mass exodus in that direction all but impossible. Having already destroyed a huge strip of the Blue Mountain range itself, the fire, with the wind having changed direction, was now encroaching on the densely packed suburbs of Richmond and Penrith. Although used to the odd forest fire or two, residents across the whole of that area, from Sydney to Newcastle, had never witnessed such intense and dramatic weather conditions, with most being stunned into relative inactivity until it was much too late. Alerts went out across the news, ordering those that could to evacuate in either a northerly or southerly direction if at all possible. Main roads, particularly the M1 northbound heading up towards Newcastle and on towards Port Macquarie soon became clogged up with vehicles because of this, becoming every traveller's worst nightmare. And still the blazes burned on. Ferries, and boats conscripted at a moment's notice, jam packed full with passengers, headed out of Sydney harbour, as well as Botany Bay, their destinations unknown, their only objective to keep people safe and away from the end of days blaze that seemed to be swallowing up everything. It was Sydney's darkest hour.