Tadashi and Hiro were standing outside the convention center The building was on fire.
"Professor Callaghan's still in there!" a woman said to Tadashi as she hurried past.
Tadashi made a move toward the building.
"No!" Hiro screamed.
"Professor Callaghan's in there," said his brother. "Someone's got to help."
Despite Hiro's calls after him, Tadashi ran up the steps, finding his cap behind him. He wouldn't need it.
Dragons of Isgerd
Chapter One
Tadashi dodged around flames that lapped at him and hurried up a flight of charred stairs. He reached the landing and looked for the professor but couldn't see him. However, there was a trail of Microbots, which seemed to be forming a structure…but how could they be doing that? Hiro was outside…didn't he have the visor that controlled these things on him?
Tadashi went forward, heading toward the structure which seemed to be like an egg. Only made of Microbots.
Suddenly he was surrounded by flames. He hadn't seen or heard them creep forward, he was too mesmerized by the Microbot structure. And now he knew there was no escape. He was doomed to die.
He shut his eyes, since watching himself being consumed by fire was not something he was eager to see. Not that it'd last very long given how quickly fire spread. Well, it was over anyway. But he had done what he needed to do to be a hero, even if he wasn't actually succeeding in saving anyone.
He felt a warmth around him and waited for himself to combust and to no longer exist. He waited, and waited, but he didn't feel any different. What was going on?
He squinted at the blinding fire was all around him. It was touching his skin, but he was still standing. He wasn't dead!
"Don't dance around like that," said a voice. "If I cease touching you, the fire will kill you. And we don't want that to happen."
Tadashi looked down and saw a girl there gazing up at him. She was about Hiro's height and her hair was bright orange.
"Uh, who are you?" Tadashi asked, kindly, though still wondering how she came to be there.
"My name is Purply," she said. "Yes, I know. Strange for a girl like me, eh?"
"I don't mind it," he said. "My name's Tadashi."
"I know who you are," the girl said. "You're the boy who will save the world of the pterodactyls. But it'll be a bit tought if you die by fire today, so don't let go of me."
"Huh? You're flame resistant?"
"Yes," Purply said. "And so is anyone I touch. My power also lets me start fires," she added as an afterthought.
"So you're the one who started this fire?" Tadashi asked, his eyes narrowed. He nearly backed away from her, but Purply grabbed him around the middle.
"No, I didn't start the fire," she said. "It was some freak with a visor. A guy in middle age I'd guess at least. Maybe close to fifty."
"I don't know who it could've been," Tadashi said. "But we've got to find Professor Callaghan! He must be here somewhere! If you touch him, he won't die."
"Callagahn? Oh yes, that's what the woman called him. The guy who started the fire I mean. Callaghan was his name."
"What? Professor Callaghan wouldn't do anything like that."
Purply shrugged her shoulders. "He did, though."
"We've got to find him and let him explain."
"Tadashi, I saw him do it with my own eyes. And anyway, if he's still in the building, he's dead now."
"No way, he must still be here! I cannot have failed in my mission."
"You have a more important mission," Purply said. "Like saving the world of pterodactyls from destruction."
"You're talking crazy," Tadashi said. "I mean, what you're saying sounds like a video game. Or something Fred would suggest."
"Who's Fred?"
"A weird kid who hangs around the nerd lab at my university."
Purply gazed at him very seriously now. He could see that she had violet colored mascara to contrast with her pale face.
"Okay, Tadashi. Listen up. Explaining how you survived this fire is impossible. No one will believe it if you walk out of here alive. They'll think you're a ghost come back to haunt them."
"I can kind of see that, but…"
"Please, Tadashi. Come with me. Leave this world behind. I can make you a hero."
"But I already am a hero," he insisted. "And my brother…he'll miss me."
"You can come see him again, when the time is right," Purply said.
"You promise you'll bring me back?" Tadashi asked.
"I promise. Cross my heart and hope to eat a flaming marshmallow."
"What happens if you eat a flaming marshmallow?" Tadashi asked, grinning.
"Hopefully you'll never find out. And now let's go to Pteradam."
"Um, how are we getting there?" Tadashi asked.
"My watch," Purply said. She leaned in to him while orange flames danced around them. Then she held her right hand firmly in his, after which she tapped at her watchi with her left hand.
"You're left-handed?" Tadashi asked.
"I'm ambidextrous," she said. "Some guys find that to be hot."
"You have flame-resistant powers," Tadashi said. "You're already hot."
"Thanks," said Purply. Then she twisted the knob on the side of the watch for the next minute, still holding on tightly to Tadashi's hand. And then at that moment Tadashi felt the ground under him break apart, and realized that even if he could survive fire thanks to Purply's extending touch power, he couldn't survive a fall to the death from a height of twelve feet above the ground…