|
Post by The Italian Dragon on Sept 24, 2008 17:47:01 GMT -5
COOOOL ! I want to see more next YFWE ^^. Keep it on !
|
|
|
Post by YFWE on Sept 25, 2008 0:08:11 GMT -5
The Dragon Chronicles
Part 3: The Mystic Fountain
Chapter 2: Given Away
“Andam saw me come in.”
Raffi’s eyes widened as she stared at Shade, and thereafter her gaze darted around to the others in the room. “Is that gonna be a problem?”
“I… don’t know…” Shade said forlornly. “Jake?”
“What’s up?” asked the American Dragon, the only person in the room that was not one of the original dragon students at the academy. The moment Shade had sealed the teleporter’s portal, he had pulled all of them into a nearby and (thankfully) unoccupied meeting room and had begun to explain to them the situation.
“Jake, you obviously know more about teleporters than the rest of us,” Shade said, facing him. “Would Andam be able to track us even though we closed the portal?”
Jake stood up and began to pace along the exterior of the small room. “No,” he said finally. “No, I don’t think so. If the portal was closed, then the portal was closed. Most teleporters automatically reset itself once this happens. There’s no way they could’ve looked on, say, the touch pad and have found anything.”
Everyone, especially Shade, heaved a sigh of relief.
“…but then, Andam would’ve been able to see through the portal. He could’ve recognized the other side.”
“What are the chances of that?” Kay asked.
“I don’t know, it depends on how long a look he was able to get of the other side… and whether or not he’s been to the convention center before,” said Jake.
“Think he has?” asked Ash.
“I would not doubt it.”
“So we’ll have to be quick here?”
Jake paused, resting his hands on his forehead for a moment. “Yeah,” he said finally. “Because even if they don’t know that we came here, they’ll know that we’ll have gone to New York. New York is my home, where all my friends are… they’ll use that against me.” Suddenly, he slammed his fist against the wall. “How could I have been so stupid?! They’ll know we’re here in New York. Why could I not have foreseen this?—we could’ve gone somewhere else!”
Before anyone had a chance to respond to this, the door flung open and Fred Nerk poked his head inside. “We could hear that out here. What’s the deal, Jake?”
“They’ll know where to find us, I’ve led them here…”
“If that’s the case, then you’d better speak to the Shar-pei now. He’s been waitin’ for a good while…”
Jake jumped in surprise. “Fu’s here?”
“Been for about five minutes now. I’d’ve come in and got you, but I didn’t wanna… interrupt.”
Jake squeezed past Fred and ran out into the hallway, dashing around people as he searched for the dog. Finally… “Kid, over here!”
Jake spun around to find Fu at the edge of the group, waving frantically. He had a rather dazed look in his eyes, and yet, at the same time, he seemed delighted to see Jake.
“Fu, hey, I…”
“Where WERE you, Jake?!” yelled Fu, grabbing Jake’s arm. “Gramps and I were worried sick about you, and you didn’t think to call us once? Let us know you were alright? I have a mind to—“
“Gramps is dead, Fu,” Jake cut in.
Fu froze. “Say that again?”
“He’s dead, Fu. Andam killed him.”
The seven dragons emerged from the meeting room and halted abruptly, as they saw that everyone else had turned to look at Jake and Fu.
Fu stared down at the carpeted floor. “I’ve been around for six hundred years and never did I meet a greater dragon. And I wonder if I ever will.”
“Same here, Fu,” sighed Jake. “Same here.”
“How did he… you know…”
“I…don’t know, I didn’t see it.”
“I think it was painless,” spoke Mark, the shape shifter. “From what I saw.”
“Then that’s all I could ask for,” Fu straightened himself up. “You do realize this’ll mean increased hours in the shop, Jake.”
“You’re sounding like him already. Fu, we’ve got a major problem… did you get us a room?” asked Jake.
“Yeah. It’s just around the corner… will you PLEASE explain to me what’s going on once we’re there?”
Jake nodded, and Fu led him around the corner and toward a group of doors. Jake turned around and beckoned for everyone else to follow.
As the group walked along, they passed a blond-haired woman who, upon seeing the massive group ahead of her, froze, eyes wide, hand to mouth, nearly dropping the stack of papers she had in her arms.
“They’re with me,” Fu said almost impassively, not even stopping to look at the woman as he passed.
“Ugh, I told her we’d have about 100 or 150 people… why would she act so surprised?” grumbled Fu as he threw open the doors. “I’ll tell ya, the management’s really lacking here so far… they’re really gonna have to work on that.”
The room they had entered was entirely too small for the entire group, but they would have to manage—and furthermore, Jake was simply glad to have found a place for everyone to stay, so at that point he really was rather content with just about anything. Almost hurriedly, Fu and Jake corralled everyone into the room, in which was a gracious amount of chairs and tables, which were quickly utilized by the various dragons and students.
“Alright, spill it,” Fu said, taking Jake off to one side while everyone else got situated. “Where’ve you all been?”
“The Reich had us hostage, Fu. They had us captive in their base ever since the explosion… until they saved us.”
“They? Who’s ‘they’?”
“Those seven,” Jake pointed the dragon students. “They’re all dragons… they’re the ones Gramps was training.”
“At the Stevenson Academy?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Glad to see the old man did something right before he moved on. Where were you held captive? I mean, where is the base?”
“…the Stevenson Academy.”
Fu stared at Jake for a moment. “Well, you’ve officially gotten me majorly confused.”
“Stevenson’s the leader of the Reich, Adam Smart, the Sovereign. He was gonna try to kill us and the students there, from the sound of it.”
“And Gramps walked right into their trap, it sounds like…” Fu trailed off.
“Trust me when I say this,” said Jake, “if he hadn’t been there, then I wouldn’t be here speaking to you now.”
Jake turned to his rear, and found that everyone—or, at least, most—had taken a seat inside. “Well, we don’t have a lot of time, so I’d better get over there. Thanks again, Fu… you’re welcome to listen in if you want.”
“I think I’ll do just that.”
With a quick nod, Jake walked back over to the group of kids and took a seat next to Shade. “Sorry about that… everything’s good now,” he grinned slightly. “Carry on.”
Shade cleared his throat, and everyone quieted down instantly. “Alright, everyone,” he started. “I’d first like to thank all of you for deciding to help us out. Raffi counted twenty of you from the academy… I know you guys didn’t have to come, so I can’t thank you enough. And as for you dragons… well, I suppose you didn’t have to come either, so thank you as well.
“So here’s the deal—obviously, we’ve got the Reich on the run, but at the same time, so are we. The Dragon Council’s after us, and until we can convince them to come to their senses, it’s gonna stay that way. We can’t let them get in our way, though—they’re really our allies, believe it or not. We can’t hurt them, so we have to avoid them.
“Now, here’s what we have to do next: while we were at the academy, Smart mentioned something about a fountain from which the Reich got their power. He claimed that if you could destroy the source of their power, then you would effectively defeat the Reich.”
“The problem,” said Ash, “is that we don’t know that he was telling the truth. After all, he IS the Sovereign… it’s very possible that he might’ve said that to lead us astray.”
“If I might say something,” a girl with a heavy British accent—the British Dragon—raised her hand, “from what I hear, apparently they were gonna kill you anyway, so what harm was there in telling you? At least, that’s what I think.”
“Good point,” said Shade. “They weren’t expecting us to fight back. So of course they would tell us.”
“Alright. Where’s this fountain?” asked Fred Nerk.
The seven dragons all sighed collectively. “We don’t… know exactly. The most we know is that it’s in Europe somewhere….”
Fu cleared his throat. “Mind if I take a crack at that?”
“Sure, Fu, go ahead…” said Jake. “Legend has it that there is a mystic fountain in the forests outside of Santiago de Compostella, in Spain. The fountain was supposed to give those who drank from it magical powers—which is why it was hidden deep in the forest.”
“…could this fountain give ANYONE magical powers?” asked James.
“Anyone. Including humans. So medieval wizards constructed the forest around it so that it was virtually impossible to find by anyone.”
“Except for the Reich, it sounds like,” Kay said. “So that settles it, then? We’re off to Spain?”
“Easy there. You don’t know the entire story of the area, and I’d suggest you hear it,” Fu said. “The fountain, it is said, only appears after dusk, and disappears at dawn….”
“Well, that’ll certainly make it harder to find,” Shade said.
“Yeah, and that’s not all. Magical beings inhabit the place at night as well…”
Kate gulped. “What kind of magical beings?””
“Let’s just say… among other things, they have a definitive werewolf problem.”
In the back of the room, a few of the dragons of the world had turned on a nearby television, and had flipped to a channel that the students had recognized as one that was often playing at the academy. It was the MBC, the Magical Broadcasting Corporation, and at that point a news show was being broadcasted. No one really minded, as this was the first real chance some of the dragons had been able to find out what was going on in the outside world.
“I’m guessing we’ll be leaving tomorrow?” asked Laura. “It is getting late here, after all.”
She was right; it had become quite late with all their activities that day. It was strange to believe, even, that just that morning they had awakened to a meeting called by Shade and the rest of the dragon students, and had later witnessed a mass of imposing magical creatures on the front lawn of their school. It seemed so distant and yet so near… and sleep had begun to sound so inviting…
“Tomorrow,” agreed Jake. “Fu, is there another teleporter we can use here? I mean, since the portal closed and all…”
“Yeah, but it’s one of the newer ones… far more restrictive. Unlike this last teleporter it appears you used, this one allows you only to teleport to another teleporter. If you can get a direct route to Santiago de Compostella, then you’ll be sittin’ well. But if that’s not the case—and I’m guessing it won’t be—then you might have a ways to travel,” explained Fu.
“That’s okay… from the sound of it, we’ll have a lot of time on our hands anyway, since this fountain doesn’t appear until the night,” said Raffi. “Right?”
“They’ll have a base somewhere around there,” said Fu. “You can count on that. And it’ll be a base that is there all the time… so you’ll be able to find it first. Not that I’d recommend trying to take out the Reich…”
“Why not?” asked Ash. “We’ve done it twice already, and there was only a handful of us. Look at us now!”
Fu put his paws up. “Hey, if you wanna go against one of the strongest evil organizations in the world in what is more than likely their stronghold, then hey, be my guest. I’m just recommending that you find the place… if you find it, the fountain is probably nearby.”
Shade nodded. “Let’s see, is there anything else to go over?”
Before anyone could answer, there came a yell from the rear of the room. “Hey!” cried a boy of Latin American descent. “Come see this!” He was pointing wildly at the television set. In seconds, everyone was crowded around the TV, some squinting to see what on the screen, as a hundred-plus people crowded around one television set did pose some problems for those seated further back.
Onscreen, a red ticker was flashing at the bottom of the screen, one that read ‘Special Alert.’ A goblin woman was speaking rapidly from behind a news desk, although she was muted, so simple subtitles were fleeting across the screen, subtitles that were undeniably delayed. “Turn the volume on!” someone shouted, and almost instantly the sound of the goblin’s voice filled the room.
“—are believed to be highly dangerous and should be approached with extreme caution. They are currently traveling in a large group of over a hundred. Dragon Councilors Andam, Omina, Kim, Alton, and Mansard are reported to be currently pursuing the vigilantes, and other correspondents have already captured hundreds of other students thought to be sympathizers of the aggressors…”
A picture was shown of many children, all in handcuffs, being led away by various people clad in police-like uniforms, children that looked all too familiar….
“It’s the other students from the academy!” shouted a girl, solidifying everyone’s fears. Thereafter, a large outcry was emitted from all in the room, for they knew what had occurred.
Shade spun around to face the rest of the group, and Raffi returned a solemn gaze. “The Reich,” he growled. “Jake, you think the Reich’s behind this?”
“Of course. They already got through to the Council; the MBC was destined to fall next,” Jake replied shakily.
Although the goblin’s voice was no longer able to be distinguished, more pictures continued to flash across the screen—including those of all the dragons of the world that were there, in a dated group photo. On the ticker at the bottom of the screen, a flashing marquee read: “Missing dragons found; under Reich mind control. “
“Great, now everyone will be looking for us,” lamented Ash. “What should we do, guys?”
“I think you’re safe here,” Fu said. “At least for the time being. Just stay calm, whatever you do—“
There was a loud knocking at the doors to the room. Everyone in the room gasped, and a few even screamed.
“I thought you said we’d be safe, Fu…” said Jake through gritted teeth.
“Believe me, I thought so,” Fu replied. “Just stay quiet, maybe they’ll go away…”
The knocking returned, slightly more rushed than the last. “H-hello?” came a woman’s voice. “Anyone in there?”
Fu let out a huge sigh of relief. “It’s just the woman that works here, the one that we passed in the hallway earlier. Let’s go see what she wants…”
|
|
|
Post by YFWE on Sept 25, 2008 0:08:54 GMT -5
They opened the door, finding the woman standing with those same papers tucked in her arms, perhaps trembling a bit. “Yes?” asked Shade shortly.
“T-terribly, sorry to bother y-you,” the woman stammered, as if the sight of all these people was infinitely frightening, “but we n-need this room, I’m sorry, I g-gave you the wrong room. If you’ll follow me, your real room is downstairs…”
Fu shrugged. “No worries, miss. Everyone, clear out, we’re moving downstairs.”
Slowly they began to exit the room. Jake strode beside Fu at the front as they followed along behind the woman, but soon pulled the dog aside. “This is the second time I’ve had to ask someone this today, Fu, but can I use your cell phone?”
“What for?”
“I wanted to make some calls… a few for my own sanity, others for… reinforcements, if you know what I mean.”
“I might,” Fu pulled out his cell phone. “Make it quick, will ya?”
The convention center, they soon discovered, was quite massive, as it seemed as if they walked around various corners and down vaguely-similar hallways for far longer than they should have. Jake was able to complete his phone calls in this time, and while no one could distinguish what he was saying, the phrases “How soon can you be here,” “I’ll be home when this is over,” and “No, it’s not true” were overheard.
“N-nearly there,” stuttered the woman again. “Just around t-this corner.” Her pace seemed to pick up at this, and ahead of them they could see the beginnings of a staircase.
“I don’t know about the rest of you all,” said Kay, “but I’m just glad to be out of that room… it was just too small, I think.” She, after Jake and Fu had gone aside, had reached the front of the group, Will by her side.
“I know what you mean,” Will replied with a small laugh. “Hopefully this one will be bigger.”
The hallway emptied out into the staircase-area, and immediately a loud bang was heard from the bottom of the stairs.
Will and Kay spun to their right, just in time to see a silver net flying toward them. Unfortunately, they had no time to react, and the net caught them squarely, sending both of them sprawling against the back wall. They hit the wall with a hard thud, slumping down as the net rooted itself to the ground, firmly securing its captives.
Pandemonium erupted in the hallway. Some rushed to Will and Kay’s aid, only to be snared by nets themselves. “Dragon forms!” roared Jake as he soared past everyone, already having become the brilliant red dragon known as the American Dragon. He flew into the stairway, beholding the aggressors from which the nets had come.
By the front doors of the convention center were, once more, the Dragon Council, as well as innumerable others, most of which appeared, at that moment, human. More nets were shot in his direction, but Jake avoided them with ease, performing amazing aerial acrobatics that a few of the dragon students had never dreamed of pulling off.
“Right behind you, Jake!” called Fred, his yellow dragon self racing after the American Dragon. Other dragons, realizing finally what was occurring, followed Jake’s battle cry and went into their dragon forms, soaring into the large stairway area.
Fu peeked around the corner and sighed in exasperation. “Looks like our lady friend here at the center gave us away. And these new councilors seem to be out for blood…”
Raffi knelt beside the dog. “What about Andam and Omina?”
“They’re hanging back right now. Looks like they’re on the fence about this… oh wait, never mind, the Chilean Dragon just sent a fireball at Andam… he never really liked him…”
Nets continued to fly up the stairway, but none appeared to be hitting any target other than the back wall. Will and Kay were motionless under their net, apparently unconscious. A few of Will’s friends, along with Laura and Kate, had rushed immediately to the silver net, trying to slash it open, but to no avail. Thus they had retreated back to the hallway, where, up to that point, no combat was occurring.
Shade stepped forward finally. “You guys willing to join them?” he asked out loud, referring to the other dragons. “We beat the Reich before, after all, didn’t we?”
“This isn’t the Reich, man, this is the Dragon Council!” Mark, the shape shifter, exclaimed.
“If you weren’t prepared to fight, you shouldn’t’ve come along,” James said. “If you wanna leave, go find the teleporter. I’m going in…”
There was a murmur of agreement. “Good luck,” Fu said. “Speaking of the teleporter, I’m gonna go find it for you guys. Whether you like it or not, you’ll have to use it eventually, even if you’re able to hold the Council back. Tell Jake that for me, will ya? I’ll signal when I’ve found it.”
Shade nodded briskly to Fu, and the dog ran back down the hallway. “Alright, then,” he said. “Ready?”
“Ready,” replied most, if not all, of the remaining group of about fifteen.
“Dragon forms, for those who have one.” And then: “Let’s go.”
Shade touched off the ground, followed closely by the five other dragons. Behind them, Mark and three other shape shifters, two girls and one boy, went into various imposing forms—a lion, a bear, an eagle, and a tiger, respectively. The other six—all wizards and witches, as it were—readied themselves as well, some muttering incantations before setting out.
The struggle was alive and well. Dragons mostly circled in the air—it was, after all, the Dragon Council that had come with the army. A few trolls, however, were scattered amongst the grounds, as were a few people that appeared to be wizards, as bright flashes of light were continuously emitted from their fingertips.
Jake Long flew through the air, his gaze continually searching the grounds, sometimes aiming a nicely-placed fireball at an unsuspecting troll. Finally, his eyes became affixed on one man, who was standing near the back of the room—attempting, it seemed, to stay out of the fracas. But Jake was not going to let him stay undetected.
“Andam!” Jake cried out with a bit of a laugh. “Wanna dance?”
The old man stared up at the approaching dragon. For a split second the corners of his mouth flickered upward, and he leapt out of the way of the dragon with seconds to spare. He transformed into his dragon form and sent a fireball back at Jake. But Jake was ready, and sent an equally-imposing ball of flame at the approaching one, creating a minor explosion that knocked both of the dragons backward.
Shade had set his sights on a troll who was repeatedly clubbing dragons that flew too close to him. Circling for a good while and avoiding other conflicts, he soared in from behind and rammed into the troll’s back, sending him sprawling.
Ash and Raffi had teamed up on a humongous beast of a dragon, which seemed impervious to most of their physical attacks. The dragon sent a long stream of jet-blue ice at Raffi and Ash, who both returned a long torrent of fire. The ice melted in midair, but the dragon did not seem remotely phased. Instead, it flew at the two dragons as quickly as it possibly could, scattering both of them.
James and Shade met midair near the ceiling of the room. “Seen Smart anywhere?” asked James breathlessly, a deep cut already present in his right arm.
“No,” returned Shade, dodging a blast of white magical energy. “He probably bailed on them, went back to Europe…”
“Hey!” Fred Nerk’s voice came from below them. “Less talkin’, more fightin’, mates!”
“He’s right,” James said. “Pleasure talking to you!” And he soared off toward Kate, who was preoccupied with a dragon of her own.
There was an enormous crash as the front doors of the center caved in, as did the part of the wall above it. Two giants stumbled inside, stepping over the wreckage.
“Dammit,” said Laura. “We’ve got company, Shade.”
“I see ‘em,” Shade replied. “Just stay as far away from them as possible…”
In a group of three were the three new Councilors—Kim, Alton, and Mansard. They were effectively eliminating the other students at the academy one by one, once any of them seemed brave enough to challenge them. But abruptly, all three were knocked aside by a forceful spell emitted by a figure on the staircase…
“Hey, guys!” Will exclaimed from the stairway, waving at his classmates. “Those nets absolutely sucked… Kay was able to get out of them almost instantly, once we woke up…”
Kay sped past him, bowling over a few trolls in the process. And then, as Kim, Alton, and Mansard were attempting to regain their stances, she promptly knocked them over as well.
Andam had retreated to the stairway and was beginning to move up it, but Jake was close behind. “Where’re you going, Andam?” Jake asked loudly. “I wanted to ask you a few questions… about my grandpa!”
Teeth gritted, Andam sent a blast of fire back at the young dragon, and soared up the stairs and around the corner, into another hallway. Jake made an attempt to follow, but was blindsided by Omina. “Jake!” she cried, pinning him to the ground. “Snap out of this! The Reich has you under their mind control. We need your help.”
“You’re the ones under the mind control, Omina,” Jake growled in return. “Smart’s got you all fooled.”
“Smart? Who’s Smart?”
Omina never got her answer, as Jake sent a healthy breath of fire into her face, rendering her defenseless for a few moments. He wriggled from her grip and took off up the stairs. “Jake!” exclaimed Omina. “No!”
“Where’s Jake going?” Raffi asked aloud.
“He’s getting Andam…” smiled Ash as she dodged a punch from a troll. “Nice.”
The battle stretched on. There had been no casualties, but already there were many dragons littering the floor, along with a few human forms.
Kate was knocked to the ground by one of the giants, much to her dismay. Looking up, she saw the giant’s enormous club raised over its head, ready to come down. She winced and shielded her face; she knew she wouldn’t be able to react in time…
“The cavalry is HEEEERE!!”
The giant was thrown to the side by a large wooden crate with wheels, in which sat an African American girl and a boy with a beanie hat covering his head. The boy had his arms raised high in triumph. “Direct hit!” he exclaimed. “Tiiiiimber!”
Behind them, a small pink dragon and long, slender blue dragon entered the center, along with a teenage boy with a long, flowing cape. The pink dragon flew quickly toward Kate, who was still in shock of what had happened. “My brother,” the dragon, a girl, said. “Where is he?”
“I-I’m sorry,” stuttered Kate. “I’m not sure—“
“Jake,” the dragon replied. “Jake Long?”
Kate pointed toward the staircase, and the pink dragon immediately sped off in that direction. “Haley!” the blue dragon exclaimed, grabbing the pink dragon around the waist. “No!”
“I have to see him, Sun! I have to help my brother.”
“No, Haley… we stay here.”
The caped boy extended a hand to Kate. “Let me help you up,” he said. “The name’s Nigel… Jake Long called us.”
Kate took his hand pulled herself up. “Hey, I’m Kate. Here’s the deal: don’t go after any of us kids, we’re all on the same team. It’s the adults—“
“Yeah, yeah, I figured as much,” Nigel said. “Spud, Trixie, are you okay?!”
From the wooden cart, the two teens emerged. “Yeah, Nigel, we good,” the girl replied. “Thanks for givin’ us the speed to take out that giant…”
“Yeah,” agreed the boy. “I knew my unfinished Trojan horse would come in handy!’
“Right, well, thanks for coming,” Kate said. “But we’re sitting ducks here… get fighting!”
“Sounds good to me!” grinned Nigel. “Be careful, you two!” he called to Spud and Trixie, and ran off toward the fight. Kate, thereafter, returned to the air.
There was a blinding flash of light, and Laura was sent flying into the street outside. “Dammit,” she rubbed her forehead, “that really hurt.” She happened to glance to her side…
Far away, where the corners of the building met, was a hooded, white-robed figure, whose hands were glowing, the glow slowly rising into the sky.
“The Reich!” Kate gasped. Quickly, she spun to her right. At the other corner of the building was a similar sight: another Reich member, the same glow rising to the sky.
“GUYS!” Laura screamed, soaring back inside. “GUYS! THE REICH, THEY’RE OUTSIDE!”
For the first time during the entire battle, everyone stopped what they had been doing to stare at Laura. She did not, however, wait for any of them to make a move toward the doors, as she turned and raced toward the robed person on the left.
The Reich member looked over, seeing the dragon approach. The glow disappeared from its hands and it leapt into the air. For a split second, the figure lowered its hood, and Kenneth Harrelson winked back at Laura. Laura grunted as she flew past Harrelson, having missed her target. Looking back, she could see that everyone, students and Council alike, had spilled out into the street, and a few had already begun to go after the Reich member on the other side.
“Abort mission,” Harrelson yelled, and his voice seemed magnified a hundred times. “I repeat: abort mission.”
“Oh no you don’t!” growled Laura, soaring wildly at her former ‘boyfriend.’ Talons outstretched, she aimed for the throat of the shape shifter. But once again, before she could do a thing, Harrelson was gone, as well as the Reich member on the opposite side.
The group congregated once more at the head of the building, Omina joining up last. “It was the star formation again,” she said wearily. “They had three others situated around the building… they were going to pull off the same explosion as they did at the Isle of Draco.”
“Then I would say that we were quite lucky to have spotted it,” Sun said. “Regardless, I believe the Dragon Council owes these students apologies… for linking them with the Reich.”
Omina stared around at, it seemed, each and every dragon and academy student individually. “You have my apologies,” the old woman said. “We were tipped off with some questionable information from Atticus Stevenson…”
“Atticus Stevenson is actually Adam Smart,” spoke Raffi, “to put it shortly. He’s the leader of the Reich.”
“Ah, then this all makes far more sense,” nodded Omina. “My fellow Councilors, do you have anything you wish to say?”
The three new Councilors, Kim, Alton, and Mansard, replied begrudgingly with apologies. For some odd reason, however, none of them seemed to want to admit that they had been wrong.
“Councilor Andam?” Omina asked. There was no response.
Shade gasped. “He’s still inside!” he exclaimed. “Andam and Jake! They were fighting—“
“Oh, no,” Omina’s eyes widened. “I will need to contact Andam, then…”
But as it turned out, she did not need to contact Andam to cease the fighting; it had ended long ago, but it had not ended the hostility between Jake and the Councilor.
They were in a hallway, Andam at one end; Jake, the other. “Jake,” sighed Andam. “I… do not wish to fight you.”
“Yeah?” Jake shot back. “Why’d you come here, then? To kill me to?”
Andam looked at Jake solemnly. “You do not understand…”
“Of course I don’t. I’m under the Reich mind control, remember?”
Andam growled. “Listen, I know you’re not. At least… I am pretty sure you are not. But you see… Atticus Stevenson is a respected man, and we wanted to see through his request.”
“Stevenson’s not even real,” Jake laughed a bit. “He’s Adam Smart. AKA the Sovereign. I’m sure you know the name…”
Andam’s eyes widened. “Indeed… indeed I do.”
“Yeah, we were held captive in that ‘academy’ for God knows how long, until the students bailed us out. And now we’re on a little journey to go take out the Reich once and for all.”
Andam grinned. “I like the sound of that,” he said. “Come on downstairs with me, back to the rest of the group. I can end the fight, and we can sort this out…”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Jake had already turned and had soared back down the hallway, Andam in tow.
(end)
They were atop a building nearby the center, having teleported there when the situation turned bleak. However, all was not lost, according to Kenneth Harrelson.
“So what if they saw us?” he laughed as he watched the entire group head back inside. “Taking them all out was only plan A. Luckily, we can commence with plan B.”
“Indeed,” Marcus Feisley agreed. “I just simply did not want it to happen this soon.”
“Nor did I, Marcus,” said LaGuardia. “But what’s done is done.” She took out a cell phone and put it to your ear. “We are commencing with the second part of the plan,” she said calmly, and ended the call without waiting for any response.
“You called the Sovereign, right?” Warburton asked.
“Smart? Of course I did.”
“I fail to see why you refer to him as ‘Smart’ when he has all but abandoned the name,” Harrelson growled. “What makes you better than us?”
“More than you’ll ever know,” replied LaGuardia coldly. She turned to the fifth member of their group. “Green, the device, if you please.” Amenably, the man brought forward a small piece of equipment, one with a tiny switch on its front. Taking the device in her hands, LaGuardia held it before her. “It is time to see if our experiments have been successful, gentlemen,” she said, and flipped the switch.
(end)
“The teleporter is on the first floor,” was Fu’s report. “It’s ready whenever you are.”
“Thanks, Fu,” Jake said. He turned to Shade. “Should we still leave tomorrow morning?”
Obviously, their group had doubled, what with the Council and its allies now joining them. Their former adversaries had been informed of the situation, and of Santiago de Compostella, and of the fountain… and now were listening intently to the conversation.
“I think we’ll have to,” Shade replied. “As much as I’d like to leave now… the Reich’ll be expecting us now, I’m sure. We’ll stay here for the rest of the night.”
“Fair enough,” Fred Nerk said. “Will everyone be going with us, then?”
“The Council will need to retreat to the Isle of Draco this evening,” Omina said. “But we can send reinforcements tomorrow morning… rest assured, we will be with you. We simply must clear up a few things with the media…”
“Understandable,” said Sun Park. “And Jake, I want you to know that Haley and I will accompany you as well… I would like to help, and it will be good practice for Haley.”
“And we’re in too,” Spud slapped Jake on the back. “For moral support, of course.”
“And since I’d just love to travel to Europe,” Trixie added.
“Aye, and myself included,” said Nigel, shaking Jake’s hand.
Shade was grinned warmly. “This is great,” he said. “We’ll have no problem stopping them now, right Jake…?”
Jake did not respond. Trixie looked at him curiously. “Hey, Jakey,” she said in concern. “…you good?”
Jake’s hand suddenly shot to his opposite elbow. The other dragons in the room—the ones that were representing the world over, that is—did the same.
“…Jake?” Trixie repeated.
Ash let out a quick gasp and whipped around to Shade. “Remember when they said they had been experimented on?!” she said quickly. “And they all showed the holes in their elbows…”
Each and every dragon stood up, their hands still covering their elbows. Their eyes began to glow white…
“…Jake!” Trixie repeated once more, beginning to back away.
They shifted into their dragon forms, eyes still glowing.
The five Council members, who had seated themselves at the base of the stairs, stood. Each dragon turned to face them.
“Hello, Councilors,” all ninety dragons spoke in unison. “The Reich sends its greetings and well-wishes.”
“Now, prepare to be eliminated.”
END CHAPTER
|
|
|
Post by Chaos on Sept 25, 2008 0:29:47 GMT -5
First of all... I really want to kill LaGuaria. I always have. XD I just HAD to make that clear.
And at the ending cliffhanger, I held my mouth again in shock. You are too good at stuff that I completely forget and bring them up in the most surprising way!
I thought it was good to see that the fountain that will play a big roll (I have assumed) has been mentioned and proved to end up being a very important part in the finale of TDC. I think of fountains of nice and serene, but this one is just making me think all dark and evil. XD
I knew the timid hotel lady was EVILLL. Or a tattletail. HAH. Bitch. The action scene that erupted from nowhere was very awesome. Shade did some awesome shtuff. Oh, and the others, too. You know, I guess. XD
And that was quick to see the 'good guys' back on our side. However, I feel that the cliffhanger will be another way of the Reich to frame us and keep us as wanted... men and women. I'm scared and excited. LET'S GO TO EUROPE! And stop at Scotland...
What!? Shade knows people! He could get... you know... reinforcements. XD Anyway, update soon and shock me some more, please. Just not with electricity or anything. PIKACHU.
Oh, one last thing. About Nigel's 'Aye', I'm not sure a Brit would say that. Just a tid-bit that I had to say. XD
|
|
|
Post by The Italian Dragon on Sept 25, 2008 7:41:16 GMT -5
I prefer to kill this son of a b*tch oth Reigh leader. And LaGuardi ain italian means '' The Guardian'', but she's a b*tch also ^^. I want to see what happens next !! It's one of the most awesome stories I ever seen. And if I'm not wrong there's people of the forum in there cuz I saw a Raffi in the fight ^^. Kinda cool BTW. And the last scene reminds me the final fight of Matrix Revolutions, when all the Smith have their eyes glowing white ^^. But I expecte that the room changing was a trap. The girl was shivering too much, so she was fearing someone really powerful and evil : the Reich's leader ^^. And I found a perfect song who fits this story. It's Ratty - Here I am. Ratty is formed by some mebers of the Scooter techno group ^^. I'm sure that you know about this group And the music fit the story in a f*king awesome way ! Here is the official videoclip : www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhB2qOSId4AThe concert in live ! OMG only watching this video makesm e shiver of emotion while listening the music : www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V4_G5xaBD4&feature=relatedAnd here are the lyrics : www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/scooter_lyrics_291/push_the_beat_for_this_jam_lyrics_1497/sunrise_ratty%27s_inferno_lyrics_17292.htmlJust do like me : turn on the music, set the music level at a very high level ( my room is almost shaking because of the basses now ^^ ), and then read your fic. You'll see, it's really f*king awesome with this ;D
|
|
|
Post by ADJLFanatic on Sept 25, 2008 23:12:27 GMT -5
In response to your PM, I got on at ten after finishing a Chemistry review packet and saw that you updated. Praise the heavens. That's the good I get for finishing my work.
Aaah, I did check on my phone though, as to not get caught staying up. But I swear to the Lord sexy mofo Jesus that I tried to review right after, but yeah. You know how "not that short" mine are, and how irritating it is to try and write one up on an iPhone. :D It took me ten minutes to do an entire paragraph. So I thought, "Oh, screw it. I'll do it tomorrow." And here I am, typing it now.
But wow, haha, that was well worth taking a break from all my homework last night. This time, what I loved most about this chapter was the never ending shock and suspense.
You pulled off the teaser from chapter two at a wonderful, remarkably perfect spot. At first, I was thinking, "Oh, this could be from the beginning of the chapter again." But when I saw that it was different, well, let's just say that I was perplexed. You're like, three large strides ahead of me.
Ohhh snaaaap shazticles. xD
It was relatively long, at least to me cause reading it from my phone made it look that way. But not only that, haha, technically speaking, that wasn't long-long like zomgmybrainisgoingtofry. It was good. Long for the average human, but the slightest bit "short" to the guy named Kevin here. That reminds me, our Key Club president's name is Kevin. Only he's Asian. And he's a senior. :DDDD I think.
So anyway, wow, where can I even begin? (As usual) Well, I did love that completely random burst of action. It wasn't TOO random, but it was good enough to catch me kind of offguard. Yeah, I'm one to talk, pffftt. But I loved the fair share of glory, and how it all wound up having the Council like totally making peace and all that.
That was awesome right there, seriously. And bringing out Spud, Trixie, Haley, and Sun. Haha, when I was reading, I think I thought that Nigel was Spud? Well of course, until I saw his name. I'm not that stupid. I was just disoriented. :P
But you know what I haven't told you yet? See, whenever I read a story, this movie pops in my head, and like, whenever I go along TDC, I imagine the entire thing in my mind. It's a television show looping in my head, seriously.
I love how when I read this story, in particular, is that I can truly picture a scene and how, if only thoughts could jump out of your brain, it would be this realistic little adventure happening right outside my nonexistant backyard. :D It feels so real that I get sucked in, which is cool. I love becoming completely absorbed in whatever I read.
So that's awesome, man. xD Like when I was reading this chapter, I was imagining the overcrowded room of dragons and magical peoples. Then the action scene was going around in my head hahaha, especially when Will and Kay were just innocently walking along then they get shot by a suckish net of doom.
Then there was that nice bring up of past foreshadowing. Like when Laura had that "fake vision" of Fred being struck by a syringe in his elbow then the whole mind control sort of thing just comes up in the near end of chapter two. Hahaha, mind control; always in every great action and adventure sort of flick (or in this case, fic).
But huh, what else? :PPP
I dunno, I'm losing my mind today. xD I'd just LOVE to say more, but I'm completely overwhelmed. At least you should know that I loved it to pieces, of course. :PP I'll be saying it a lot, but it's only for your reassurance. Whoot. Well, I better get back to all of my homework now.
P.S. You are NOT using my puppy's head as use for your own neckwear, no matter how cute it is.
...o_o
|
|
|
Post by The Italian Dragon on Sept 26, 2008 5:52:48 GMT -5
Haha Raffi you noticed it too ? YFWE if you want to use my fan char and drop it in the action you can but remember a few things : Vince is really powerful, almost as the Reich's leader He's a f*cking sadic dragon : torture stuf is what he loves. His fave is the wishes of persons : he get them as hosts and then he says that he'll release them but he never precise that he'll release only them DEAD ^^ But there's a thing that makes him wildly angry : ---> trying to kill his friends. For his enemies in that case it's 100% of chances of diying, blasted away by his hatred keep it on YFWE, I repeat KEEEP IT ON !!! It's the most awesome story I ever read ^^
|
|
|
Post by charles finley. on Sept 26, 2008 23:50:44 GMT -5
I thought it was great. :]
The only thing that bugged me was that they get into the room, and then when someone knocks on the door and asks to change their rooms ... shouldn't they be a little bit suspicious about it after the whole ordeal? I mean, they (well, Fu, but nobody really said anything about it haha) were kinda like "Oh, okay ..." Shouldn't they be watching their backs or something? I dunno, but that part just bugged me on how they were like "Okay, let's go." and they didn't even think about how the chick was all nervous. Maybe that's just me, but meh. xD
Other than that ... yeah, I seriously thought it was great. :] Even if you must always update when I'm offline for a very long time ... but still, Kevin. XD I'd ask to for you to wait, but then I'd get my head bitten off by others ... >_> I like my head, thank you very much.
Action. Yay. Where's the horror, though? XD; I lol'd when Spud and Trixie came in. Idk why ... but I always do when they come in. Took me a second to even realize that that was Spud. lol. I was like "Man with a beanie? Who's that? ... OH." XD
UPDATE WHEN I BE ONLINE NEXT TIME, K? kthkxbai.
|
|
|
Post by The Italian Dragon on Sept 27, 2008 6:29:29 GMT -5
I think that Kevin is a great fic writer ^-^
|
|
|
Post by YFWE on Oct 29, 2008 12:28:45 GMT -5
Quick preview of the next chapter here. Just a taste of possible things to come. Bodies ducked to the ground as fireballs, shards of ice, and lightning bolts streaked overhead. The battle had recommenced; the Dragon Council and its army sprang into action, countering the teenage dragons’ attacks with attacks of their own. Amidst the fracas, a voice was calling out for Shade. The blue dragon (all who could become dragons had done so following the sudden attack) whirled around, finally finding the source—Fu—at the other side of the staircase. Taking care to avoid the various blasts of magical energy around him, he flew over to the dog. “What is it?” he asked. “You gotta get outta here,” Fu said hurriedly. “Get your group and GO!” “But we can’t; look what’s going on!” “Trust me on this. If you don’t leave now, you’ll never be able to make it.” Shade scowled, but then let out a yell that he hoped would gather everyone he needed. “Soldiers!” he bellowed, thinking of the Master Shi’s Soldiers name they had once adopted. “Over here!” To his surprise, all the former academy students were assembled around him—including three extras, who had made their way over to Fu. “We need to get going,” Shade announced quickly. “Fu’s gonna show us how to get to the teleporter.” “Yeah, that’s right. And these three will be joining your party, Shade,” Fu pointed to the three that had reached him— Nigel, Trixie and Spud. “Now, we don’t have much time—follow me!” Fu turned and dashed into a nearby hallway. The others made moves to follow, but paused momentarily when a shriek was heard: “Don’t let them escape!” “Run!” Shade shouted as they tore back toward Fu. Laura, who was bringing up the rear of the group, turned to look over her shoulder, just in time to see an enormous fireball, one larger than she had ever seen, hurtling toward them. A light blue dragon emerged from behind the fireball, followed by many others. Sun Park and the Dragon Council, locking arms, formed a line across the hallway, blocking the fireball, but instead allowing it to slam into each of their backs. A few cried out in pain, while others winced. “No!” Laura screamed, freezing in her tracks. The others reluctantly paused as well. “Go!” Andam ordered, his face twisted into a grimace. “We’ll hold them off!” Another fireball collided with the dragons, and once more there came cries of pain. “Please!” cried Sun. “Please, go!” Behind them, the students could see six dragons standing together, combining their fire attacks into one, as a tiny pink dragon tried desperately to curb their efforts. “Get to the fountain,” Andam pleaded. “You’re our only hope now. We’ll find you in Europe, if we can.” Another fireball was approaching. “Let’s go!” Shade said, as up ahead he could see Fu beckoning them forward hurriedly. “It’s down that hallway!” Fu pointed, his paw shaking apprehensively. “You know what to do from there.” “What about you?” demanded Ash. “My place is wherever Jake is,” said Fu sadly. “I am his animal guardian.” And with nary another word, he ran back toward the barrier made by the Council, which appeared to be on the brink of collapsing. Down the hallway they went, Shade as the leader. “Will!” he cried out suddenly. “Yeah?” called Will back. “Will, where’s the WOPW headquarters?” “The World Organization of Powerful Wizards?” Will asked. “Um… London. Why…?” They had reached the teleporter. Shade began to rapidly enter in information on the touchpad. The portal opened. “Shade, why?” repeated Will. “We’re not going to Spain,” Shade announced. “Not just yet. I have an idea.” And with that, he leapt inside the teleporter, the others following. Beyond them, six dragons flew past the hallway, limbs hanging limp at their sides, not unlike ragdolls, as they smacked into the ground, motionless. END PREVIEW Thoughts? New chapter up soon.
|
|
|
Post by The Italian Dragon on Oct 29, 2008 16:19:39 GMT -5
OMG COOL !!!!! Keep it in this story ! It's HUUGELY cool ! ^^
|
|
|
Post by Chaos on Oct 29, 2008 17:17:27 GMT -5
Are we going to see South east-London it girl, Charley? XDD Big Brother joke.
Anyway. Haha, I'm excited now. Especially to see the whole foundation of everything: the fountain, why my knowledge of going to London is why we're going to London, etc.
Just post the real thing soon. XD
|
|
|
Post by YFWE on Oct 30, 2008 0:21:23 GMT -5
The Dragon Chronicles
Part 3: The Mystic Fountain
Chapter 3: London
Bodies ducked to the ground as fireballs, shards of ice, and lightning bolts streaked overhead. The battle had recommenced; the Dragon Council and its army sprang into action, countering the teenage dragons’ attacks with attacks of their own.
Amidst the fracas, a voice was calling out for Shade. The blue dragon (all who could become dragons had done so following the sudden attack) whirled around, finally finding the source—Fu—at the other side of the staircase. Taking care to avoid the various blasts of magical energy around him, he flew over to the dog. “What is it?” he asked.
“You gotta get outta here,” Fu said hurriedly. “Get your group and GO!”
“But we can’t; look what’s going on!”
“Trust me on this. If you don’t leave now, you’ll never be able to make it.”
Shade scowled, but then let out a yell that he hoped would gather everyone he needed. “Soldiers!” he bellowed, thinking of the Master Shi’s Soldiers name they had once adopted. “Over here!”
To his surprise, all the former academy students were assembled around him—including three extras, who had made their way over to Fu.
“We need to get going,” Shade announced quickly. “Fu’s gonna show us how to get to the teleporter.”
“Yeah, that’s right. And these three will be joining your party, Shade,” Fu pointed to the three that had reached him— Nigel, Trixie and Spud. “Now, we don’t have much time—follow me!”
Fu turned and dashed into a nearby hallway. The others made moves to follow, but paused momentarily when a shriek was heard: “Don’t let them escape!”
“Run!” Shade shouted as they tore back toward Fu. Laura, who was bringing up the rear of the group, turned to look over her shoulder, just in time to see an enormous fireball, one larger than she had ever seen, hurtling toward them.
A light blue dragon emerged from behind the fireball, followed by many others. Sun Park and the Dragon Council, locking arms, formed a line across the hallway, blocking the fireball, but instead allowing it to slam into each of their backs. A few cried out in pain, while others winced.
“No!” Laura screamed, freezing in her tracks. The others reluctantly paused as well.
“Go!” Andam ordered, his face twisted into a grimace. “We’ll hold them off!”
Another fireball collided with the dragons, and once more there came cries of pain.
“Please!” cried Sun. “Please, go!” Behind them, the students could see six dragons standing together, combining their fire attacks into one, as a tiny pink dragon tried desperately to curb their efforts.
“Get to the fountain,” Andam pleaded. “You’re our only hope now. We’ll find you in Europe, if we can.”
Another fireball was approaching. “Let’s go!” Shade said, as up ahead he could see Fu beckoning them forward hurriedly.
“It’s down that hallway!” Fu pointed, his paw shaking apprehensively. “You know what to do from there.”
“What about you?” demanded Ash.
“My place is wherever Jake is,” said Fu sadly. “I am his animal guardian.” And with nary another word, he ran back toward the barrier made by the Council, which appeared to be on the brink of collapsing.
Down the hallway they went, Shade as the leader. “Will!” he cried out suddenly.
“Yeah?” called Will back.
“Will, where’s the WOPW headquarters?”
“The World Organization of Powerful Wizards?” Will asked. “Um… London. Why…?”
They had reached the teleporter. Shade began to rapidly enter in information on the touchpad. The portal opened.
“Shade, why?” repeated Will.
“We’re not going to Spain,” Shade announced. “Not just yet. I have an idea.” And with that, he leapt inside the teleporter, the others following. Beyond them, six dragons flew past the hallway, limbs hanging limp at their sides, not unlike ragdolls, as they smacked into the ground, motionless.
(end)
“Out of your dragon forms,” ordered Shade in as loud a whisper as he could manage. The six other dragons complied, and then they began to stare around the room in which they had entered. They appeared to be in some sort of attic—there were a few cardboard boxes scattered around the wooden floor, and directly on the opposite side of the room was the top of an oak tree. Of course, the only way they had noticed this was due to the streetlight outside which illuminated the tree and, to a point, the room. Of course, the light shining from the teleporter was assistance as well. Near the window was an indenture into the floor—a small stairway.
“Should we go down?” whispered Raffi, eying the staircase curiously.
“Well, we can’t stay up here,” Kate whispered back. “Shade, where are we?”
“Somewhere in London. I don’t know where, though… I sent us to the first teleporter I could find.” Shade stepped forward, walking toward the stairs. “Let’s hope the residents are friendly…”
The smell of fresh bread wafted in their direction once they reached the stairs. Shade went first, stepping slowly so as to not incite confusion downstairs. The stairs made a sharp left turn, opening out into an open room. Shade stuck his head around the corner, finding a small bakery. There were three people in the room—one a man behind the front counter; one a customer talking to the man; and one tending to a large oven on the other side of the room.
The customer nodded to the clerk at the counter and, picking up a loaf of bread from the counter, exited the bakery. The clerk smiled and waved, opening a cash register and inserting some money. As he did this, his eyes wandered to the staircase, where he paused, mouth agape, staring at Shade’s exposed head. “Jim,” he said to the boy stocking the shelves, not removing his gaze from Shade, “take counter duty for a few minutes. I must tend to something upstairs.” He motioned to Shade that he head back upstairs, and Shade obeyed, backing up into the others until all were back in the attic.
Once the man’s head emerged from the staircase, he stated immediately, “I appreciate it when strangers don’t use my teleporter to get around London,” he growled. “What’s your business here?”
“I’m sorry, sir… we—“ said Shade.
“Ah, Americans,” the man interrupted him. “Even better.”
Nigel cleared his throat. “Not all Americans. I was born in London.”
“A fellow Londoner, eh? You brought them here, then? Thought you’d give them the grand tour?”
He paused. “Wait…” he stared around at each and every one of them. “I know you…”
“Er… know us?” asked Kay in confusion.
“You’re those kids the MBC was talking about. The rogues…”
“We’re not rogues!” shouted Ash.
“You didn’t let me finish!” the man snapped. “You’re the rogues that the MBC just acquitted. Apparently, whoever leaked the information earlier was lying.” He paused. “I just find it ironic that you all would come into my shop…”
“The magical world is in trouble,” Shade said. “We’re here to see the WOPW. I’m sorry… we got out of a tight spot just now back in America before we came. This was the first London location I found.”
“May I ask what sort of tight spot you’re referring to?”
Shade stepped forward to the man and motioned to the corner of the room, where he proceeded to explain to him their situation. The others in the group, now finally beginning to understand the reason as to why they had come to London, stood back in respectful silence.
Shade and the man walked back over to the group. “Your friend has explained what you all are up against. I am content to assist you,” said the man. “You can’t leave yet, though. It’s too late at night; no one’s at the WOPW headquarters right now. I hope you’ll understand.”
The man stepped toward the stairs. “You can stay here ‘til the time comes. I’ll have my wife bring up some blankets and some food, and I’ll be back up a little later on. Until then, stay quiet, please. We’re not exactly in the Magic District… humans come in from time to time to the bakery. It wouldn’t exactly look good if… well, you know the rest.” He bowed to them once and exited downstairs.
“So what did you tell him?” whispered Raffi curiously to Shade.
“Surprisingly, not that much. I told him about the fountain, and about the, uh, circumstances that brought us here. Didn’t go into much detail, though,” Shade replied.
“So you think we can trust him?” Kate asked.
“I think so. We’re not ‘wanted’ anymore, and the Reich’s probably not going to find us here. We’ll be fine.”
An hour passed. There came a sound downstairs of a door locking, and then footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. The man and his wife, a short and plump woman, entered the attic, blankets and a few loafs of bread in hand.
“These should be enough,” said the man, dropping the blankets to the ground as his wife began to hand out portions of bread. “I’d rest up now, if I were you.”
“But it’s not that late…” Ash said as she took a piece of bread.
“May not be in New York! But it’s two in the morning here. You’re lucky we stay open late, else you might’ve been out of luck.”
The man yawned. “The name’s Jeremiah, by the way. Jeremiah Ford. And this is my wife Lillian. We’re both wizards, as well as special correspondents to the WOPW here in London. That being said, our teleporter has access to the headquarters, although only on weekends, as WOPW officials sometimes use our teleporter as a means to travel back and forth between the common folk’s London and Magical London; they usually have business in these parts on the weekends. But, this being a Thursday, we cannot get you in through the teleporter. So you’ll have to walk.”
“May I ask what street this house is on?” asked Nigel.
“Court Street.”
“Then we’re not too far away, are we? One of the entrances to Magical London is on Union Lane, which is one block over… am I right?”
“Indeed you are,” Ford nodded. “Then I am guessing you know how to get in once you’re on Union Lane?”
“If it hasn’t changed in the past year,” Nigel said, “then we stand on the sewer grate in the middle of the lane and say the magic word!”
“Which is?”
“Er… now that I don’t remember. It was something nonsensical.”
Ford grunted. “Not nonsensical. Latin. Ostendo mihi vestri specialis.”
“That’s it. We had a school trip to the place a year ago while I was still living here. Someone from the WOPW came out and did it for us,” Nigel explained.
“Then you know how to get there?”
“More or less.”
“Terrific. If you could, please be awake and ready to leave in about five hours. We open in six hours, and it’ll be hard to get you all out once that happens. Good night!” he once again bowed and left with his wife.
Luckily, there were enough blankets for all, and within minutes of the Fords’ departure, the children had collapsed into a deep sleep. It had been a long day, starting with the meeting of all the students of the academy to the battle with the Dragon Council and its allies. And apparently, it would only get harder.
Shade lay awake against the back wall, saying nothing, but still unable to sleep regardless. His eyes were squinted, as if the idea of sleep was appealing to them, but they were still fumbling with the concept, just as the rest of his body. He had been this way for an hour and counting; the rest of the group had retired long ago.
His mind was a cloudy mess of thoughts and emotions, swirling about his head like a cyclone. Never in his life had he experienced such a thing, and he really knew not why. After all, it was not as if the worst would be occurring the next morning, he thought. They merely had to visit the WOPW headquarter, nothing more; the truly worrisome aspect of their journey, their entrance into the supposed base of the Reich, would occur later. Still, for whatever reason, he did not feel any better.
He had become the leader, something he had never intended upon becoming. At first, it had seemed to be an appealing position, and Shade had taken it in stride. But the pressure was getting to him now—he had nineteen others under his charge. What if one of them was to get hurt… or worse? However could he live with himself?
Shade had always considered himself to be a brave individual. But the fear had caught up to him.
A body stirred nearby. Shade’s gaze darted over to the moving figure as it rolled onto its side. Raffi’s sleepy eyes stared back at him.
“Can’t sleep?” she asked, with a stifled yawn.
“Nope. Been thinking,” he replied.
Raffi propped herself up with her elbows. “What about?” she whispered.
“Pretty much everything.”
Standing and stepping over James, Raffi tiptoed over to Shade, kneeling down against the wall beside him. “I hate to add to it, then, but… I had something I needed to talk to you about.”
“What a coincidence,” said Shade. “So do I.”
They both knew what was coming.
Raffi glanced up at the ceiling. “I… think we should, I dunno, take a break, or something.”
“You mean break up?”
“Yeah,” said Raffi, unable to face Shade.
Shade nodded. “That’s what I was gonna say to you.”
“Oh…” Raffi nodded. “I just don’t think being together is right for either of us right now, anyway. Not with what is happening right now.”
“I agree. Plus we kinda staggered into that blindly, you know?”
Raffi shrugged. “A little, yeah.”
There was silence once more as Raffi and Shade, eyelids heavy from lack of sleep, searched for what to say to the other.
“…we could always try again sometime in the future, also…”
“Yeah.”
“And we can definitely still be friends.”
“I’d like that.”
Raffi stood once more, her hand over her mouth as she yawned again. “You should try to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Smiling, Raffi bid Shade a good night as she walked back to her blanket. Shortly thereafter, just after four in the morning, Shade finally let the welcoming waves of sleep flow over him.
(end)
Magical London was a barren city after the hour of two in the morning, it had been determined over the years. Rarely were residents actually outside during that hour, and those that were usually had no business being out. It was a shame; the city was dazzling at night, no matter what the nighttime hour.
The imposing clock known as Big Ben chimed two, its joyous bells echoing through the city as it always did every hour, on the hour.
If one looked closely, a passerby might have been able to see, if scrutinizing Big Ben’s eastern-turned face, a figure just below the six that was not usually there. But no matter—there was rarely anything the matter with Big Ben, after all. Why should that night be any different?
The figure peered out at the London skyline, scanning the building tops for a familiar sight. The figure, a feminine one, stroked her red hair out of her eyes as she looked closer and closer… until she found what she was looking for—a large building with a great dome at its roof.
The woman grinned. She pulled her white robe around her shoulders and her hood about her head and leapt from the clock, hurtling toward the ground below.
She vanished, but reappeared on the street below. The red-haired woman began to run, occasionally disappearing once more, before materializing many paces ahead. The occasional passerby never saw the woman, but would feel a slight wind as she passed—sometimes even feeling a brush on their overcoats.
The woman darted into an alley near the building with the dome. She grinned as she viewed the building from her hiding spot, nodding to herself as she did so.
She slunk back into the shadows of the alley, removing her gaze from the building. She began to teleport once more, but not without first saying a simple word, a word which, it was later said, echoed through the streets of Magical London that very night.
“Nine.”
(end)
The sun had barely risen over the rooftops of that part of London when Ford came bounding up the stairs. “Everyone up!” he bellowed once he was at the top of the stairs. “We need to get you all out of here by twenty minutes from now. Come on down when you’re ready.”
It took them ten minutes, but soon enough, everyone had made their way into the store, where the aroma of fresh bread was already floating invitingly in their direction. “You’ll be leaving in groups of four,” explained Ford as he once again handed out bread, “so as to not attract attention to yourselves. Be sure that you all know where the portal to Magical London is—you will all be congregating there. You should be able to find your way from there, I daresay.”
“Thank you,” Shade said, shaking the man’s hand. “How can we thank you?”
“Find a way to defeat the Reich,” replied Ford shortly. “That is all we ask.”
And with this, the kids began to depart—four by four. This required an additional ten minutes, but soon enough, the entire group had reformed in the alley-like Union Lane, at which the portal within the sewer grate was located.
Nigel stood at the center of the grate. “Everyone, either grab onto me or grab onto someone who has grabbed onto me,” he ordered. He then stared down at the grate, muttering, “Ostendo mihi vestri specialis,” precisely as Ford had said the previous evening.
A radiant light erupted from the sewer grate, encompassing its surroundings—the students included. The lid of the sewer grate either disappeared or the students somehow became intangible, as a formerly unfelt force pulled them down inside the newfound hole.
Down they fell, flurries of bright colors surrounding them like a wall of vivid dyes, providing a sort of pathway to the depths of underground London, or so it seemed. Below them, a white light, tiny at first, was nearing them, all the while growing larger.
Gravity began to shift; suddenly, the students felt as if they were being flipped over so that they were instead falling upward toward the light.
Into this light they entered, emerging into a street that appeared similar to the London street from which they had just come. A slight wind rustled through the lane and the morning sun shone enticingly upon them. Nearby, the sounds of a bustling crowd could be heard.
“Welcome to Magical London,” Nigel announced, smoothing out his clothes. “Quite similar, as you’ll see, to the London of the human world, although with some important differences—namely, of course, the place to which we’ll be heading: the WOPW headquarters.”
“Sounds good,” nodded James. “Where is it?”
“Um…” Nigel put his finger in the air and whirled around once. ”That… way, I think,” he said, pointing off toward where the din of the bustling crowd seemed to be coming from. “It’s a big building, easily recognizable.”
They walked out into the next street, which was at the end of the street they had just exited from. A sort of bazaar appeared to have been erected just down the street on their left, and about a hundred meters further long, at the end of the street, was an immense white building, approximately three stories high, with an enormous yellow dome at its top. “That’s it,” said Nigel. “That’s their headquarters.”
It was nearly eight, and yet the city seemed to be wide awake—especially in the makeshift marketplace just up the road. As the group passed it, some gave fleeting stares in their direction, as if in recognition, but no one seemed to want to actually interact with them—perhaps it was strength in numbers since, after all, their group was twenty members strong by that time.
“So,” Shade tried to make conversation as they walked through the bazaar so as to curtail the awkward feelings most of them were getting, “why’d you guys come?” He was referring, of course, to Nigel, Trixie and Spud: Jake’s friends.
“We said we’d help Jake,” Nigel replied quickly, “so here we are. Figured we’d be much more of a help with you guys than with the Council.”
“Plus, I don’t wanna fight my best friend unless I absolutely have to,” Spud added. “And from what I hear, the Reich are real schemers… if there’s any puzzles or complex mathematical equations of death, I’m your guy.”
Shade glanced over at Trixie, who had not yet replied. She was instead on a cell phone, talking hurriedly to whoever was on the other line. “She’s getting a hold of one of Jake’s friends,” Spud explained. “Ninja-type. Really good fighter.”
The doors to the headquarters were uncharacteristically small, at least proportionate to the rest of the building. The doors, it turned out, were automatic, as they moved apart as soon as the group neared them.
Inside was a large atrium, one whose ceiling stretched all the way to the large dome at the top of the building. The walls were made of gray stone, but the stone did not seem to have eroded much; rather, the walls looked to be in about as perfect a condition as possible.
A statue stood at the center of the room of a tall, proud wizard, his left arm outstretched, hand balled into a fist. Fountains surrounded the statue, causing a slight mist.
Beyond the statue was a long desk at which many receptionists sat. Since it was so early, no ‘customers’ seemed to have visited yet. The receptionists’ faces turned upward when they heard the group approaching, and a few even began to whisper to others—apparently noting either the size of the group or the notoriety of a few of its members… or perhaps both.
They made their way over to the centermost receptionist, a woman with long black hair. Behind her, a TV screen flashed a map of the building that changed every-so-often.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked, glancing around at the many members of the group.
“We need to talk to someone from the WOPW,” Shade said. “The leader, perhaps?”
“Robert Francis,” added Nigel, nodding to Shade.
The receptionist seemed taken aback for a moment. “Mr. Francis… um, you’d need an appointment for him.”
“It’s urgent,” said Shade quickly. “Really…”
“Are you guys the rogues…?” asked a nearby receptionist. “The ones on the MBC that got acquitted?” Shade nodded to her. “That’d be us.”
“Maybe we should let them through, Madison,” said the other receptionist. “Mr. Francis doesn’t have any appointments now anyway…”
Madison shrugged. “I’ll try to put him on videophone. Excuse me,” she said, dialing a number on her phone and putting it to her head. “Mr. Francis? Hi. Mind going on videophone? I’ve got some kids here who want to see you… no, sir, I don’t know who they are… yes, sir, thank you very much.” She set down the phone and pressed a button nearby.
The map on the TV screen behind her disappeared, and a brown-haired man of about 30 appeared onscreen. He squinted at the group at first, but soon his eyes widened as recognition set in. “Yes, yes… send them up. No… send four up.” His face was then gone from the screen, and the map reappeared.
“Okay, you heard him,” Madison said. “Four. Then, please proceed to the elevator over there,” she pointed to a bank of elevators at the end of the desk on her right, “and go to level three. Mr. Francis will be expecting you.”
Shade turned around. “Ash and Raffi, come with me. The rest of you stay here… we’ll be back as soon as we can.”
Ash and Raffi stepped forward to join Shade and Nigel, and together the four of them made their way to the elevators. “What will we be doing up there?” asked Ash as the nearest elevator opened. “Why do we need to talk to the WOPW leader?”
Shade let the elevator doors close before he spoke. “I don’t know if we can do this alone,” he said. “We had the Council on our side for a while, but they might not be able to make it to Spain. We need reinforcements… and I think that the WOPW would be a great asset.”
The doors reopened out into a single room. A man sat at the edge of the room behind a desk, staring out of a window which had a view of a sleepy, early morning London. A few unmistakable London landmarks—including Big Ben—were visible, and Shade thought of Nigel’s earlier statement: Magical London was quite similar to the London of the human world.
“Sit down,” said Robert Francis, not yet turning around to see them. Four chairs appeared instantly on the other side of the desk, and Ash, Shade, Raffi and Nigel took them gratefully. Francis turned to face them, a smile spread across his face. “I’ve been following you all on the news lately… I figured you were still back in New York.”
“We left, sir,” Shade started. “The Dragon Council stayed behind: the Reich is controlling the other dragons!”
“Yes, I know,” nodded Francis. “On the news this morning… currently, the only people accounted for are two sympathizers with the Council who were able to escape and give their accounts of what occurred… oh, and then there are the bodies…”
Raffi gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. The others’ gazes turned downward.
“But let’s not dwell on that, shall we? What have you come to see me for?”
“Well…” said Shade. “Mr. Francis, we’ve discovered the location of the Reich’s headquarters, as well as the source of their power.”
“Excellent!”
“Yeah… we just were wondering if you’d be willing to help us. The WOPW, I mean.”
Francis paused. “You want us to send reinforcements?”
“That would definitely help.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I am just as interested in taking down the Reich as the next person… people are beginning to become frightened for their lives, and it is not good for my reign, if you know what I mean! We simply never had a lead,” his eyes narrowed. “How are you so sure that this is the place? Where IS this place, rather?”
“Spain,” Ash said. “Santiago de Compostella, Spain.”
Francis gasped quietly. “That’s where Baker’s Fountain is rumored to be.”
“Oh, it has a name?!”
“Well, it was named after the man who supposedly discovered it first!” said Francis. “People rarely actually find it, though… a man who worked here some time ago, Marcus Feisley, claimed to have received his power from it, however.”
“Feisley’s a part of the Reich,” Shade growled.
“Is he?!” laughed Francis. “Well, then this certainly makes more sense! Of course they would put their base near their power source—granted, of course, that Feisley’s not the only one that got his power from it.”
“They did,” Shade nodded. “If we can destroy the fountain, we can destroy the Reich. That’s all we’re trying to do.”
“Then you have my support,” Francis nodded. “Hell, you have the WOPW’s support!”
“Thank you, sir,” grinned Nigel. “So will you be sending troops with us?”
“Yes, of course! If you can wait until tomorrow, we will have forces ready by then. I’ll stay in touch with you.”
“…sir, we’ll need a place to stay, then,” said Shade.
“No problem at all!” Francis leapt to his feet and pulled out a piece of paper, beginning to write. “I’ll give you the address of the Jones Hotel uptown, as well as my cell phone number. They will take care of you until the time of departure comes. If anything should change, you’ll know where to contact me.”
Shade looked down at his watch. It was 8:45; they still had the entire day to themselves. “Thank you very much, Mr. Francis,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. The other three did the same. “No, thank YOU,” Francis said delightedly. “This is the best news I’ve heard in quite some time. We’re finally getting these Reich fellows, once and for all!” He waved to them as they stepped back inside the elevator and began back toward the ground floor.
“I can’t believe how easy that went!” Raffi said. “We’re actually gonna do this!”
The doors opened and the rest of the group arose suddenly to meet them, all rightfully wondering what had occurred.
“Rest easy, everyone,” Nigel announced. “The WOPW will be helping us out. We leave tomorrow!”
The group cheered and some high-fived the others. Joyously, they thanked the receptionists for their help and walked back out into the fresh air of London. The bazaar was still active outside—in fact, far more active than it had been earlier.
“So we’re heading to a hotel now,” Shade shouted over the din as they passed through the bazaar. “Nigel said that he knows the way, apparently, so we’re following him. We might be able to explore London later!”
Nigel grinned from the front of the group as he led them past the street that housed the portal from which they had entered into Magical London. He led them up the cobblestone road, up a slightly steep hill, at the top of which he claimed was this hotel.
A large brown building sat at the top of the hill. People and bellhops filed in and out of it almost religiously, all under a large sign that read ‘Jones Hotel.’
“And here we are: the most spectacular view of Magical London!” announced Nigel, turning back around to look down the hill; everyone else did the same.
Nearly all of London was visible from where they stood. People the size of ants darted in and out of its various buildings and miniature-looking cars sped through its many streets. The WOPW headquarters rose majestically above the other buildings, its yellow globe shining radiantly in the sun. A few ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ were heard from certain members of the group.
Kate sighed. “I could look at this view every day,” she said to Laura, who agreed by nodding her head. “London’s an amazing city…”
Raffi scanned the tops of the buildings, sighing languorously. There was Big Ben… and the Tower Bridge… and Westminster Abbey… and once again, the WOPW headquarters. But Raffi hesitated. There was something different. Five white lights, rising into the air…
“SHADE!”
“What is it?!” Shade had been speaking to Nigel a few paces away. His eyes followed Raffi’s pointing finger… to see the WOPW’s headquarters, with five white lights surrounding it.
“No!”
Shade shifted into his dragon form and flew, as quickly as he could, toward the building, although he knew that it was not going to matter. The lights had already joined above the building.
There was a blinding flash of white light, and the sound of an explosion. Shade flew upward, attempting to avoid any remnants of the blast if there was any. The other five dragons with flying abilities joined him.
The smell of smoke filled the air. Screams could be heard from the streets below. The light faded and Shade, blinking, looked down upon the scene.
The headquarters was devastated, more or less a pile of rubble. Buildings around the former headquarters had been pummeled with debris, as had the bazaar, at which bodies were scattered. A fire had started somewhere.
“There’s no way anyone survived that,” James said, referring to the headquarters. “No way…”
“Dammit!” Shade whirled around and soared back at the hill, where the others were waiting.
“What’s going on?!”
“Are they dead?”
“Was it the Reich?”
“We can’t wait,” Shade growled. “No more waiting. Everyone inside the hotel.”
“But Shade…”
“What?!”
“We gotta help them!” Nigel exclaimed. “We gotta search for survivors. The WOPW are the ones helping us!—we owe them.”
“Robert Francis was almost certainly KILLED just now, Nigel!” cried Shade. “As well as anyone else inside that building, which I’m guessing is most of the important people in the WOPW. They can’t help us anymore. We’re it.” “We’re going after the Reich alone?!” Will exclaimed in slight apprehension.
“It was our plan before. It is our plan now. It’s clear that we aren’t going to be able to get any help—everyone on our side has either been captured, turned against us, or killed!”
“It’s what Master Shi would’ve wanted,” Ash said. “He’d’ve wanted us to go through with this.”
“He’d’ve known that we don’t have a choice!” agreed Shade. “It’s either do or die, everyone. Tonight, either the Reich falls or we fall. Simple as that.” He didn’t wait for any objections, but instead rushed inside of the hotel, still in dragon form.
Shade flew up to the service desk, at which one woman was sitting. She had been trying to see what was going on outside and appeared to have been about to leave, but once she saw Shade approaching, she retook her seat, eyes wide in fear.
“Where is the nearest teleporter?” demanded Shade. “Do you have one?”
The woman pointed a trembling finger down the hallway behind her. Sure enough, there at the end of the hallway was a glowing teleporter, ready for the taking.
“Thanks,” Shade said quickly. He shifted out of his dragon form and hurried into the corridor. By this time, the others in the group had caught up.
“What was the name of the place?” asked Shade aloud. “Santiago de Compostella?”
“That’s it!” Kay yelled back.
Shade began to enter the location onto the touchpad. “There’s no portal there!” he yelled. “But there’s one in San Franco, which apparently is very close. That’s where we’re headed!” The portal opened. Without waiting for anyone else, Shade rushed inside, the others following. James, the last inside, sealed the portal, leaving the sudden madness of London behind them.
They had been taken to a dirt road in the center of a small town. The town appeared desolate; everyone was either in their houses or there was no one living there any longer. A lone man sat on a nearby bench.
“Excuse me!” Shade waved at the man, dashing over. “We need directions. Directions?”
The man did not seem to know any English. He shook his head, averting his gaze. Shade sighed. “Santiago de Compostella?” The man’s eyes widened. He nodded, pointing off to his right. A road led out of town, a winding dirt road with many trees and a few buildings lining it.
Shade bowed to the man and beckoned the entire group over. “He said it’s that way,” he announced. “We can follow that path just over there…”
They left, starting off on the path to Santiago de Compostella. The man on the bench watched them go, seemingly highly interested in the group.
The man stood, checking his watch fleetingly. On the palm of his hand was the head of a wolf, etched into the skin as if by a needle. The man stared down at his hand for a few seconds, grinned, and closed his palm over the marking. He glanced back up at the twenty-person group, who were already well out of the town. He chuckled to himself.
“Ellos han llegado,” he said. “They have arrived.”
END CHAPTER
A bit rushed toward the end, but I'm overall happy with the end result.
And I do hope that everyone understands the significance of 'nine.' If you don't at first, read back through and just think about it. (Although it's not a completely vital part of the story. Just for this chapter.)
|
|
|
Post by Chaos on Oct 30, 2008 0:55:13 GMT -5
Ooh, I noticed the significance of the nine before I read the bold part. I'm smart! Especially when you kept mentioning the time. It was like a symbol or motif. But you DID say that it's only for this chapter so... yeah. XD
Aw, no Scotland visit. All this 'going in just us' makes me think of an even WORSE version of the Invasion of Black Sun from Avatar. XD More epic, though, this is going to be more epic, I'm sure.
This chapter was basically awesome. You made me sad at the break-up, but you know, I was the one who did say that it HAD to happen. I mean, I have to run off with Popuri at some point and Raffi had to run off with Joe/Jacob/insert other lover here.
ANYWAY, I'm actually very, VERY curious about Jeremiah and Lillian. Baker's Fountain... sound familiar? Also, sounds a bit like some book that I've read. Silent wife=silent wife. All Lillian needs to do is start knitting and... UH. Never mind!
Speaking of symbols and motifs, I always tell myself to put more in ACE, but can't seem to put anything more in than Rosie (my cat) being a symbol. But you don't know about ACE [yet...] so why should I be rambling!? XD
ANYWAY, please update soon, please do. Shade being all Shade-like is pretty awesome. =D You just need to do that transition from iceonly to waterice. XD
Eh, there's a spider up there...
|
|
|
Post by The Italian Dragon on Oct 30, 2008 9:24:32 GMT -5
OMG, Rage, fight and all these things make a greaaaaaat story. Keep it on ! I hope that you'll do an update soon ! ;D
|
|