Chapter 3: Plans and Schemes
Sprx woke up the next day.
Where am I? Sprx thought, There was the dragon, then I crashed, but what happened after? Sprx took in his surroundings for the first time and realized that he was in the medical bay, very early in the morning. The room was empty except for Gibson, who had fallen asleep at the foot of Sprx's bed. Sprx grinned as he realized that his brother was drooling slightly.
Then he remembered the fire.
He remembered the blinding green light and the stifling black smoke. He remembered the searing pain from the flames as they licked at him. He remembered his terror when he realized that his leg was broken and he couldn't escape, and he recalled his confusion when many of his burns stopped hurting. He was still getting burned, of that he was sure, but somehow he had stopped feeling pain in many of the burned areas. He vowed to ask Gibson about it when he woke up. He also remembered blacking out in the inferno.
"Sprx! You're awake!" A voice cut into his thoughts. It was Otto, the mechanic was holding a tool box and his green fur was covered in black smudges. "I fixed your Rocket!"
Gibson stirred when Otto dashed into the room, he saw Sprx and wore a huge grin on his face. "It is good to see that you are feeling better." Gibson stated, casually wiping the drool off of his chin as if all he was doing was scratching an itch.
In no time at all, the entire team was stuffed in the medical bay. They all surrounded Sprx with grins on their faces, Chiro and Nova seemed to be the happiest to see him awake and alert.
Yet their smiles seemed forced to Sprx, he had been a part of the Hyper Force long enough to know when the others had something on their minds. And they all looked to be worried about something, worry that they had attempted to put aside for Sprx.
Sprx instantly decided that he had to know.
"What's going on everybody?" he asked. He became concerned when he saw their masks fall away and their true emotions shone through. Something was definitely wrong. He listened intently as the others explained their present conundrum.
When they finished, Sprx too shared their worry. This was not an enemy that could be defeated easily, and he had no idea where to begin on the dragon.
They could attempt to put explosives inside of it and detonate from the inside out, like they did with the Dark One, but Sprx had doubts that they could get anywhere near the creature without being blasted away by the fierce winds or cut to ribbons by the dragon's teeth or claws. They might try to use the Super Robot to fight it, but the robot did not seem so super when compared to the incredible size of the dragon. Nor could they attempt to attack the soft skin inside the dragon's mouth without being crushed by the dragon's massive fangs or burnt to cinders by the dragon's ability to breathe fire. An aerial battle, something Sprx could handle with ease, seemed more like a suicide attempt rather than a battle tactic when the dragon could fly.
Sprx felt a sense of despair at the seemingly unsolvable dilemma, and was consumed with a sense of hopelessness and fear when he considered that the dragon might come back. They could only keep it away for so long.
Sprx suddenly had an idea, an idea that was stupid, crazy, and likely doomed to failure when actually tested in the field. But it was the only strategy that had even a slight chance at success. The only problem was, would the team agree it was necessary?
"I have an idea!" Sprx declared, then quickly explained.
"That plan is dangerous and foolhardy!" Gibson objected, "We would all be killed before we even have a chance!"
"Do you have any better ideas?" Antauri cooly asked.
Gibson looked at the ground "No." he resigned.
"Then I say it is worth a shot." Antauri reasoned, then looked at Chiro, "That is, if you think it is a good idea. Remember, the final decision is yours."
Chiro hesitated before answering, "It is worth a shot, but we will only do it when you heal, Sprx." Chiro took a deep breath and continued, "It is too dangerous to wait and see if the dragon will attack again, we will not be able to win if the dragon has the advantage."
Sprx let his joy flow through him, they were trying his idea! They would be free of the dragon and its terrifying fire, Sprx didn't want to think about what would happen if someone he cared about had to go through the same raging inferno he had to go through. The dragon had to die, for the good of Shuggazoom.
BlueDiamondJJ: Thank you for the review, until now I was afraid that people didn't like the story. It is nice to see that people are enjoying my story. Thanks for the confidence booster.
