"Where did you learn that?"
"Back in the nursery ring... did you skip class that day?"
"I think I'd probably already graduated by then. Didn't they keep you behind for an extra decade?"
"Oh... ha ha!"
Pouring as much healing magic as he dared into his friend, for her part, she just stood and lapped it up. Half a minute later, her hands were fully repaired, with the dagger having cooled down considerably.
Abruptly, something slapped Peter really hard on the back.
"What have I missed?" bellowed a smirking Flash.
"FLASH!" cried Peter.
"FLASH!" exclaimed Richie.
"FLASH!" declared Janice.
With Richie unable to, both Janice and Peter hugged their friend tight, pleased to see him in one piece and back in the fight.
"How's the shield holding up Rich?" asked the ex-Crimson Guard.
"Okay for now, but it's consuming an awful lot of magic. Reserves in the dagger feel like they are well below fifty percent."
Flash nodded his understanding. It was a worry and quite a prolific problem, but difficult to know how to solve given their current circumstances.
"Any other imminent threats I need to know about?"
Richie swallowed uncomfortably, knowing that she would have to tell them about her misjudgement.
"When I raised the shield, I totally forgot about those three," she said, nodding out beyond the transparent protective barrier.
All three of them turned to face the direction in which she'd nodded.
To their horror, they could make out George and Fredric, just being joined by the naga king.
Flash's heart jumped up into his mouth, particularly when he spied the new aerial force heading their way at speed. If he didn't do something immediately, two very different realms would each lose their king.
Cauterising wounds, knitting bones and internal organs back together, Yoyo seemed to have a production line of casualties. It was hard going, and not just because of the dangerous situation they all found themselves in. It wasn't as if he was the youngest of them here either, quite the opposite in fact, and that at this very moment contributed greatly to his concern. He felt tired... truly tired, more tired than he could ever remember being, with his limited supply of magic feeling as though it were nearly depleted by everything he'd done so far today, and he still had charges that needed his care. As well, he'd been paying attention to what had been going on around him, just as his experience had taught him to do. The young girl that had been ostracised, Richie Rump as she was known, had been doing a fine job of protecting them all and keeping them safe, but he'd done the math and knew that the laminium in that dagger would only keep powering the shield they all hid behind for a limited period of time. By his best estimate, they didn't have much time left at all. What they'd do then was anybody's guess. And so with what little magic and mana was left within the group being consumed at quite a rate, a concerned Yoyo redoubled his painstaking efforts to get his charges back on their feet, pushing away the nagging worry at the back of his mind, that he'd gotten them involved in something that would ultimately lead to their untimely demise.
43
I Love you! I Know!
The security presence was much bigger than any of them had anticipated. So far they'd passed through three outer rings, each made up of about twenty dark dragons or nagas, most in their natural forms, with the occasional human shape thrown in for good measure. Passing near enough to smell the rotting body odour on most of these false figures, the three infiltrators found it impossible to discern from which race they originated. Luckily for them, they didn't need to know. All they had to do was maintain their stern faces and throw in the occasional nod. So far, it had seemed to do the trick. Reaching an unguarded section of darkened corridor on their journey towards the main control room, DomCon tried to lighten the mood.
"I feel like Boba Fett having just captured Han Solo in Cloud City."
"Does that make me Darth Vader?" asked Jar Man sarcastically.
"If I had to choose... I'd say you were more like Chewbacca," replied his friend.
"Really?" whispered Jar Man, tilting his newly formed head to one side inquisitively.
"Because of the smell," chuckled DomCon.
"Who cares about that?" declared Steel softly. "I'm Han Solo!"
"How do you even know about Han Solo?" asked Jar Man. "After all, you laminium ball players haven't been taught how to assume human form and aren't allowed anywhere near the surface."
"Not that this is really the time, but it might surprise you both to know that a great deal of laminium ball players are fascinated by the humans and the earth's surface. There are some very unscrupulous black market dragon traders that, for a price, will deliver pretty much anything you want. And don't forget... currency for us is no object."
"And so where do you fit into all of this?"
"I do love their films and books. To say I have a modest collection of each might be something of an understatement."
"NICE!" exclaimed DomCon a little too loudly.
"Since we all seem to be on the same page with this, I think that each of us should adopt these names as a pseudonym from now on," suggested Steel.
"Just call me Boba," stuttered DomCon, totally in character.
"That'll make me Chewie then I suppose," grumbled Jar Man light-heartedly, the creases in the forehead of his false form squidging together.
"Again... who cares? I'm Han," added Steel.
And as quickly as it had arrived, the merriment was over, with all three dragons getting their serious game faces back on.
Not so far away, the master mantra maker and the rest of the light sided infiltrators packed up their things and prepared to move out. In the depths of the shadows, the wily old shopkeeper delved deep into the secret pouch that circled his all encompassing belly, checking to make sure the single most important item they were carrying as a group was still there. It was! Glancing down at his masterpiece of magic, much as a parent would at their precious child, he marvelled at the sparkling, golden sheet of parchment, watching with awe as the rainbow array of colours swirled gently across it. Splicing with Tank had been as good as it could get, as far as he was concerned, and that day would be etched in his memory for as long as he remained alive, which in his case might not be that long at all. Taking one last look before shutting the pouch tight, he swore to himself there and then that he'd get the job done and unleash the mantra across the entire crystal node network in an effort to halt the nagas' nastiness.
As the group of humans finished the snacks they'd been provided with and took one last sip from their water bottles, the lumbering form of Gee Tee wandered silently up the debris strewn corridor towards them, occasionally stumbling over rocky wreckage and scraping his tail against what remained of the walls. Each and every one of them knew there should be noise accompanying his actions and found it more than a little odd that there wasn't, despite the fact that they'd had some time to get used to it.
"Ahhh... my human friends. How are you all doing?"
"Uhhh... okay thanks," volunteered Angela.
The others all nodded.
"Good to hear, good to hear. Now... I just want you to know that nobody expects a repeat of the heroics from Salisbridge. Songs will be sung about what you did there, should we turn the tide of evil away and regain control of the planet. Your bravery and courage are the reason we've got to this point. Without all of you, everything would already be lost. So... find somewhere to stay safe. If you see an opportunity to help out and use your remaining grenades... do so! If not, help in any other way you can. Nobody expects you to go into battle against a horde of malevolent dragons with just your bare fists. Use your heads."