'Come on,' he thought, 'come on.'
Sickly yellow in colour, the pure energy being brought forth out of nowhere in front of her hands carried a vivid undertone of danger, and as the disgusting, corrupted magic within her obeyed her will without question, the spell that would lead to the death of her father was ready to be released. Revelling in the glory that was about to be hers, goosebumps racing up and down both arms, on the verge of near ecstasy, a small but noticeable smile setting off those purple lips, she let go, watching intently as the broad beam of death hunted down its target.
Both friends, freshly reunited, watched in horror as a dense shaft of energy lanced in their direction, one too broken to be of any use, the other, the king, caught off guard, unable to conjure up any suitable defence in time, both dragons knowing that this was it, their final hurrah, the very end for both of them. Deep down they wouldn't have had it any other way, but both regretted the lost time and not having the chance to catch up and get to know each other once again. Regret, sorrow, anguish and pain all ripped at their souls in one infinitesimal speck of time. That and the thought of having handed the world over to these despicable beings was a torture far worse than his time in Antarctica, Fredric thought, awaiting the end. They say that in the moment before death, your life flashes before your eyes, and that's what the two of them had anticipated. Reliving all their misdeeds, lies and in Fredric's case, the beings he'd had to kill, all supposedly in the name of peace and rightfulness, along with his supposed failure with his daughter. Not sure where it had all gone wrong or how it had come to this, even during his decades in the icy, Antarctic hell hole, he'd never been able to figure that out. For George, it would have been more the political untruths, a necessity in what he'd found himself caught up in. But he'd also sent dragons to their deaths... good dragons, honest dragons... beings that hadn't deserved to die and were just following the orders of their monarch. But here and now, they were wrong about all of that. Something did indeed flash before their eyes and it wasn't their past. Of course the flash was... FLASH!
Crackling into existence seemingly out of nowhere, directly in between the two best friends and Earth, the well built human form of the ex-Crimson Guard tumbled comically in the air as time slowed for everyone involved.
Finally it happened, that one last strand locking into place. But all was not well, and he didn't know why. Perhaps he'd been stuck as a hummingbird for too long or maybe he'd just used up too much magic. Either way he didn't know. What he did know was that his psyche was suffering from some kind of lag, and although he'd cast his defensive spell the very instant he could, his magic had yet to even start creating it. With his mind in disarray and the fatal magic heading his way, all he knew was that he was going to take a hit. Having sworn his life to his king there was no way in hell he'd let him down.
Eyes fully open, fists clenched, rapture rushing through her, no being on the planet had ever been as surprised as Earth when completely out of nowhere, Flash's physical human form popped into existence directly between her and the target of her malevolent revenge. Choking at what she'd just seen, and with the first wave of magic having already left her, biting bile rose from her stomach, scratching at the lining of her throat, as the storm of her anger unleashed the thunder and lightning throughout every atom of her body. They would pay. They would all PAY!
With nothing else to do but look on, both had accepted their fate with the decency and dignity that all great beings possess. Almost as surprised as their nemesis, Fredric's daughter, only twenty metres or so away, the pair's eyes not only widened, but lit up on seeing Flash touch down on the scorched, white marble between them and a terrifying death. As one, the two of them willed him to power his shield into being and give them one last chance at life.
Poised defiantly, legs one in front of the other, facing the formidable shaft of energy locked on his position, Flash fought off the instinct to dive out of the way, knowing that if it was just him, that's what he'd do in a heartbeat, but here and now that wasn't the case. Willing his magic to save him and bring the shield up all around him, he knew it would be close. But as every moment passed, the realisation that it wasn't going to happen became ever more real, and with that, terror's grip started to close in on him.
On the edge of madness, fuelled by fury, Earth lined up her next deadly attack, ready to relentlessly bombard the beings in front of her in an all out effort to kill the father she hated so much. It would be done, today, here and now. And if it wasn't, she'd die trying.
Moments, like a rising tide, cannot be held off, and this one had arrived with a vengeance. Striking him fully in the chest, the ex-Crimson Guard had no idea what hit him. Unbelievably though, and with his magical shield yet to make an appearance, he stood there, strong and defiant, his broken and bleeding body sopping up every last drop of the lethal magic intended for someone else, despite the damage it was causing him.
All everyone could do was look on. George and Fredric, Vasuki, who'd only just turned to face the threat, more than a little late to the party, Earth raging at the injustice of it all, and from behind the faraway shield on what seemed like another planet, Richie, Peter, Janice, Hook, Yoyo and his young assortment of outcasts, all dumbfounded, all incredibly proud of their friend's valiant sacrifice and bravery. There were no words to describe what they felt.
Everything that happened next, all took place at once. What remained of Flash's crumpled, charred and blood soaked body crashed to the marble, surrounded by tiny wisps of burnt smelling smoke. Instantly George commanded his magic to shield them from another attack, a green tinged energy barrier springing into existence that encompassed all three of them. Earth, lost in the deepest, darkest despair she'd ever known, went ballistic, hurling wave after wave of the most deadly magic in the direction of her father and the others. Richie's concentration faltered just for a moment, the flickering shield that protected them all almost disappearing into nothing. But a kind telepathic word from Yoyo stopped that from happening. Briefly he reminded her that Flash would have wanted them to survive, that he wouldn't have wanted his sacrifice to have been for nothing. This was enough for her to regain her composure. Peter, Janice, Hook and the other young dragons all stifled a cry on seeing his body drop to the floor, the pain of seeing the ex-Crimson Guard in that condition almost too much.
Knee joints on fire from having been prostrate for so long, face swamped by salty tears, the agony of it all tore right through him. Freed from the icy prison that had held him captive for decades, escaping oncoming madness by only a gnat's genital, this day was something he'd dreamed of, hoped for, fought for, clung on to for all that time. But the joy of being rescued had now turned to complete and utter horror, and he could see now that he was partly to blame. It didn't matter where he'd gone wrong... but what he did know was that she was his mess, and he should have sorted it out all that time ago. And so casting off the shroud of grief that had pinned him to the floor for so long, he delved into the laminium that criss-crossed his torso, filling every fibre of his being with power, charging every one of his finely tuned muscles, and delighted at being anywhere but that damned prison.
Desperate to go on the offensive, George ploughed all his magic into holding the shield protecting them all, as the unimaginable waves of wicked supernatural energy either deflected away or were harmlessly absorbed. Mind racing with thousands of calculations every second, he wondered where this young child had learnt the vicious incarnations she was now spouting in their direction, how long she could keep it up, and just how he'd get round to any sort of attack with this kind of intense bombardment. On that last point, he needn't have worried.