Lost and alone, despite the fact that her pale, freckled face nestled snugly against Tank's finely honed chest, it felt as though her memories had been scattered throughout time. In one instant all she could remember was playing in the charity lacrosse match, celebrating afterwards, and then ending up at the Indian restaurant with her friends in town that night. From then onwards, after she'd slipped the exquisite ring she was supposed to keep safe for Peter, onto her finger, her world had descended into turmoil. Visions of vast underground cities populated by impossible prehistoric beasts flooded her very being. Flying, breathing fire and gobbling down gigantic sticks of charcoal swam throughout her consciousness. But it wasn't a dream, or anything like it. These memories belonged to her. It took some time for it to sink in. She herself, just like her friends Peter and Tank, were dragons, residing for the most part in the dragon domain, deep beneath the planet, their overriding goal to guide and protect humanity wherever possible, driven by an ancient prophecy divined far in the past by a conglomerate of races. Acceptance wasn't easy at first, but once the memories started they didn't seem to want to stop. After that it was easy... well, almost. Resentment bubbled up beneath the surface of her very being. The dragon Council had taken away everything from her. She didn't like that. Suspecting that something diabolical was going on deep beneath the surface of the planet, she'd been tempted to leave her dragon kin to whatever mess they'd gotten themselves into... but only briefly. It wasn't in her nature to back down or shy away from conflict. So the decision was made in all but an instant. What she hadn't counted on was the stubbornness of her human friends. In the end she'd had no choice. They'd had to accompany her down the rabbit hole.
What a trip that had been, first hooking up with the master mantra maker... Gee Tee! The look on her friends' faces had been a treat, and almost worthy of placing their lives in danger. Almost! Surprise and awe hadn't lasted long, and with the help of the dragon shopkeeper's ample supply of weapons and well of exotic magic, they'd overcome a force four times their size and had saved both Tank and Flash from a rather painful death.
As she tried to piece together the images of what had happened, nagging doubts surfaced briefly. There and then, and against all odds, she'd been chosen to lead. Once it was clear it was no joke and there was no turning back, that cold, calculating part of her took over. An inkling of regret deep within spat in her direction, in nothing more than a futile gesture over the torture she'd committed to gain the information that she'd needed. It had been necessary, that much she knew. After that, things became stunningly clear. She'd sent Flash to Antarctica, the one place on the planet he feared to go. That... she felt regret about, but once again knew that she had no choice. The threat to the nagas Manson controlled had to be neutralised. There was no other way.
And so they'd headed here, on their way to rescue their king. Only there was more to it than that. There always was. Briefly she wondered if they'd forgive her for what she was about to do. She hoped they would, but could completely understand it if they couldn't. It was Tank, the gentle giant whose form she currently slept across, his massive arm wrapped around her, a huge comfort, who she worried about most. He wouldn't like it, not at all. In essence he didn't have to. All he had to do was go along with it, something she hoped he'd do without much fuss. In only a few short hours, she'd find out.
A darkness the like of which the world had never known was spreading across the planet, a pervasive cancer infiltrating every nook and cranny. It wasn't obvious, quite the opposite in fact, by design. But it was there, and it was mounting one final push. Nagas and dark dragons disguised as humans had long since slipped into the surface populace, ready to act, ready to rain down terror and destruction. Whilst in the depths of the secret dragon domain, the purveyors of evil, the wicked minds behind all the dastardly deeds, rallied their troops, ready and able to take the keys to the planet's stronghold, knowing that everything the earth had to offer was nearly theirs. It was only a matter of hours away now...
1
Snowbody Does It Better
It was freezing. The scroll that Yoyo had unfurled was now solid, the letters barely visible. But it didn't matter. They had nearly reached their destination. Things had progressed well over the last hour or so, if not as fast as he'd hoped for. They'd had to move from their previously sheltered position, to one much more exposed, in order to line up the hole they were drilling, with the area beneath the ice where they hoped the captives would be. By the young dragons' calculation, they should come out within thirty or so metres of the largest heat signature down there. That hopefully, would be either Fredric, Peter's grandfather and founder of the Crimson Guards, or the naga king, or maybe both.
A shimmering ripple in the snow next to him caused Flash to turn. One of Yoyo's band of young dragons had appeared beside him. Despite his supposedly eidetic memory, he couldn't remember her name. It didn't matter.
"Two more minutes and we should be there," she shouted over the howling gale that assaulted their small team, the superbly developed camouflage suits taking the full force of the extreme weather in this, the harshest environment on the planet.
He nodded his understanding back to her.
"I don't want to hang around. As soon as we're through, I'm going in. I'll scout ahead as we agreed. If it's safe for you to come down, and you're needed, I'll let you know."
She acknowledged with a nod of her head, before disappearing completely in front of him, due mostly to the suit, with the relentless snowfall playing some small part.
Abruptly another sizeable shape materialised on the other side of him this time. He could tell it was Yoyo, because he was holding the frozen scroll in one of his camouflaged hands.
"Are you sure you want to do it this way?" he leaned in and shouted, his voice barely perceptible in the horrendous weather.
"It's best for all concerned," replied Flash, mentally readying himself for what was to come. "In essence, I should encounter little in the way of resistance. With all of you standing by up here, ready to get us out, hopefully we'll be gone before anyone even notices."
Yoyo nodded, despite the worried expression that sat across his hidden face. This, as far as he was concerned, was the most risky part of the mission. It was unpredictable. Who knew what actually lay down there? Of course it should be the prisoners that Flash had seen when he'd been captured and escorted there. But there was no knowing for sure. Not until he got down there anyway. He didn't like it, but knew better than to try and change his young friend's mind at this late stage. All they could do was remain vigilant, ready to act, and hope things went to plan.
The dizzying red light from the cutting beam of the mantra they'd been using winked out, leaving them all shrouded in darkness. Flash knew it was up to him now. Trudging through the snow, over to the lip of the precarious looking hole just about wide enough for him to fit through, he whipped off one glove, gave a quick thumbs up before instantly slipping it back on again, and with the mantra ready in his mind, leapt into the darkness.