Chapter 4: Fleeing the Hideout
Somewhere in Dragon Valley, there stood a treehouse that was unusually large and well-constructed for a house built up in a tree. The house was three-storeys high and looked bigger on the inside due to the size of the rooms it had. The house had the usual living room, kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom and the third storey acted as an attic so that anything that needed putting away had somewhere to be stored. The house was only a week old, having been built a week after Lord Brevon's servant bot Syntax had burnt the original one down. This was the home of Lilac, Carol and Milla.
The treehouse was home to two more people two. They were both Basset hounds and they were the parents of Milla. Their names were Miguel and Lela. They weren't quite as adventurous as their daughter was and after the incident with the Dark Stone two weeks ago, they had opted out of any possible adventure that they could unwillingly get sucked into. Despite this, they still very much cared for their daughter and trusted Lilac and Carol to take good care of her whenever she went out with them. They were currently at home doing the usual household chores to keep the house clean while Lilac, Carol and Milla were shopping Shuigang. They had received a surprise visit from Lilac and Milla when they had come home to get some supplies but Lilac had quickly informed them that they were breaking into the Red Scarves's hideout and were going to trick Spade by making him think they had been captured by a ninja who was actually on their side. Having once been part of the Red Scarves themselves, Miguel and Lela were horrified to hear what they had done to Dail and prayed against all odds that Lilac, Carol and Milla would save him.
Right about now, they were sitting in the living room and anxiously waiting for the trio to come home. They couldn't help but be concerned for the girls since they were breaking into the territory of a dangerous gang of thieves and assassins. They knew how dangerous Spade was in particular and that he didn't mess around in whenever he got into a fight. It was true that they didn't have to worry about Natalya anymore since she had reformed and was now in The Magister's dungeon but that didn't mean the Red Scarves would suddenly be a walk in the park now. Time seemed to tick slowly by as the two parents waited. Lela was beginning to feel restless, her stomach full of butterflies and her hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Miguel embraced his wife tenderly to ease her nerves.
"Please don't fret dear, there's nothing to worry about." the male hound said softly.
"I'm sorry Miguel but I just can't help but be concerned for those girls." Lela replied anxiously, "Especially my little Milla. I know the Red Scarves aren't exactly that much of an obstacle to overcome but breaking into their hideout is still a dangerous thing to do. Also, the Red Scarves might have the advantage since they're in their home territory. I just…I just hope they're going to make it out alive."
"Lela darling, you know they will." Miguel insisted, "Remember, Lilac took down Lord Brevon of all people and he's a million times the threat those Red Scarves are! She even managed to beat Natalya last Christmas. I assure you that they'll save King Dail and escape with their lives."
"I know, but as a mother of one child, it's my job to worry about children…" the she-hound muttered, "Milla of course I worry about the most but I still can't help but let my motherly instincts kick in when Lilac and Carol go adventuring. They're teenagers, sixteen and fifteen respectively, they're too young to lose their lives now just like our little Milla is. I'm sorry…but I just can't help but worry."
Miguel nodded understandingly. He too was concerned for the girls' safety but he tried his best to hide it be being optimistic and thinking positively about the situation. He didn't believe in being negative all the time as negativity never got anybody anywhere. A positive attitude was his idea on how to make it through the darkest of times. He held Lela close and gently began rocking her back to comfort her.
"I understand love. But just remember that worrying doesn't do anybody any favours." he said gently, "Try to be positive. You'll feel better."
"I'll try." Lela said, running her hands up and down Miguel's back, "Thank you Miguel. You're honestly the best man I could have married. You always know how to make me feel better."
"You're welcome sweetheart." said Miguel kindly, "I love you very much and I want to make you as happy and comfortable as possible. Your happiness always makes my day."
"Aww you…" the she-hound said sweetly.
She leaned forward and kissed her beloved husband on the lips. Miguel returned the kiss, the two hounds embracing each other tightly and feeling a wonderful sensation between them. But then suddenly, their loving moment was interrupted by a knock at the door. The two separated and picked themselves up from the sofa to answer it. Who could that be at this time of day? Lela opened the door and was surprised to see General Gong standing before her with a letter in his hand. The heavyweight panda waved politely at her.
"Oh, good morning sir." Lela said politely.
"And to you Mrs. Basset." Gong said gruffly, "Is Lilac the Dragon Girl home at all?"
"I'm terribly sorry sir but you missed her. She's gone to rescue King Dail from the Red Scarves." the hound replied.
"Oh, I see." Gong mused, "Well then, could you give this letter to her when she comes home?"
He handed Lela the letter. The hound took it and looked at it. It was recognizable as a letter that came from the Royal Palace of Shang Tu. What did it mean? Lela looked up at Gong.
"What's it about?" she asked.
"Natalya wants to meet Lilac in her cell whenever she's available." Gong explained, "She asked me to send her the message. Can you give it to her when she comes home?"
"Yeah, sure I can." Lela replied, "Though I can't imagine Lilac will want to meet the former gang leader given…her treatment of us. Even if she has reformed…"
"Natalya understands." Gong replied, "Anyway, just make sure Lilac gets the letter. Goodbye."
"Bye." Lela said as Gong turned around and climbed down the treehouse's rope ladder.
The moment he left, Lela closed the door and turned to face Miguel.
"It was General Gong dear." she said, "He's got a letter for Lilac. Apparently, Natalya wants to meet her."
"How can she do that if she's in prison?" asked Miguel, "Does she literally want Lilac to come to her cell and meet up with her?"
"I suppose so, yes." Lela murmured.
"I do hope that woman isn't plotting anything…" the red-haired canine murmured grimly, "If she's plotting to slaughter Lilac then she's going to be in for it…"
"Miguel, don't be silly!" the ginger-haired dog exclaimed, "Natalya reformed! She helped us beat Lord Brevon! She regrets everything she did! And those two aliens read her body language and pointed out she was being 100% honest with us! Why on Avalice would she want to kill Lilac now?"
"I dunno…it's just…I don't fully trust that witch." Miguel sighed, "I'm sorry if I sound like a jerk but you know what Natalya did to us. It's going to be hard for me to let it go and accept she's good now."
"You have no idea how much I understand." Lela replied, putting her arms around her husband, "But still, Lilac can take care of herself. If she goes to meet Natalya, I'm sure she'll be fine. And I'm sure Natalya won't hurt her."
"If she does then she's going to regret it. That I promise…" Miguel sighed.
Lela nodded, glancing back down at the letter in her hand. She was tempted to open it and read it but she knew it was none of her business to peek at letters that weren't for her. She would wait until Lilac arrived home and then give it to her…if Lilac actually does manage to come home…
Lilac quickly threw herself down onto the floor as another card whizzed through the air in an attempt to slit her throat. The card was, of course, a Joker card. Lilac didn't understand why Spade seemed to want to use that particular card to finish her off aside from it being part of his sick sense of humour. She could already imagine the criminal panda trying to think of as many jokes as he could make about killing Lilac with the Joker card. No way was he getting that satisfaction.
The fight had become hectic in the cell corridor of the Red Scarves's hideout. Weapons flew everywhere and fists launched at various different people in various different directions. Lilac and Spade had dibs on each other so they were locked in combat while Carol, Milla and Dail took on the Red Scarves. Lilac Dragon-Boosted straight into Spade and slammed him against the wall as hard as she could. The panda grunted as he felt the wind being knocked out of his lungs. As soon as he came free from the wall, he found himself being slugged in the stomach repeatedly by his draconian rival. Lilac was taking no prisoners. She was going to arrest Spade even if it meant she had to do trying to arrest him. He had to do time for his crime against Shuigang and for wanting her and Carol dead. Spade coughed and spluttered as Lilac punched him and then suddenly, the girl roundhouse kicked him in the head and threw him across the corridor. Spade groaned in pain, his head throbbing as if a fist had just reached into it and squeezed his brain as hard as possible. The ninja was back on his feet in no time at all and he drew three more cards to his hand. These were three club cards, one, two and three respectively. He waited until Lilac came running towards him before throwing the cards straight at her. Yelping, Lilac spun on her tiptoes and swatted them away with her tendrils. But the cards were not entirely meant to hit her. As soon as Lilac stopped spinning, Spade boosted towards her, leaving a train of green after-images behind himself, and he threw a terrific punch to the cheek that almost took Lilac's head off. The dragon was sent reeling backwards, her cheek already bruising from the punch. Lilac's head was spinning, unable to work out which way was up.
Now she was distracted, Space charged into her and pinned her to the wall. Lilac cried out and tried to push Spade away but the panda held her back firmly, refusing to let her go. He drew out yet another Joker card and held it at Lilac's throat. The dragon could only wonder how many Joker cards the criminal ninja possibly had. Spade looked as if he was enjoying himself, pleased that he was finally going to kill Lilac.
"You made a clown out of me Lilac…well now the joke's on you." Spade gloated, "I'll still include you in the ransom note to Shuigang so that even in death, you're still going to be useful to me."
"Spade, I have one question for you." Lilac said nonchalantly.
"Save it, I'm not interested." Spade muttered, preparing to slice through Lilac's neck with the card.
"I'll ask it anyway. Do you ever stop gloating?" the dragon retorted.
She then proceeded to drive her knee straight between Spade's legs. The panda gasped in agony and his eyes shot wide open as he felt the girl's knee violently connect with his groin. He dropped his card and fell onto his knees, fighting back the urge to cry tears of pain. Lilac just smirked at him, folding her arms and looking down at the pained ninja.
"Say goodbye to your manhood Spade." she crowed.
"You…bitch!" Spade snarled.
"Eh, I've been called worse." the dragon said casually.
She then proceeded to spin on the balls of her feet and whip Spade into the air with an uppercut from her tendrils. Spade grunted as he was whisked off of his feet by the dragon's attack and sent crashing slap-bang into a wall nearby. He fell down onto the floor, wincing as he hit it. He was full of rage now. Nobody ever made him look stupid and lived to gloat about it! Lilac had made a fool out of him once too often. It was time to end it. He forced himself back onto his feet and drew out five cards in each hand. He had four kings and a jack in one hand and four queens and a jack in the other. He drew his arms across his chest and then swiped the air with them. He sent all ten cards slicing through the air towards Lilac, their razor edges glinting in the light. Lilac knew what Spade was planning and she wasn't going to let him get the drop on her like that again. She curled up into a ball and Dragon-Boosted towards Spade, ploughing through the cards as if they were nothing. A train of sparkles tail-ended her boost. Spade tried to jump out of the way but Lilac was too fast. She hit him just as his body careened to one side, walloping him directly in the legs and sending him spinning onto the floor.
The red-scarfed ninja winced as his legs began throbbing with pain. He didn't even have the strength to stand up for a moment but he refused to give in. He forced himself onto his feet and then he braced himself as Lilac came spiralling towards him in a Dragon Cyclone attack. His arms were held out in front of him in an X shape and he let them take all the battering that Lilac inflicted on him. Once Lilac's attack had concluded, he lashed out and flat-palmed Lilac straight in the solar plexus. He remembered how Natalya loved to hit people there and he decided to try out that tactic to see how effective it was. The blow knocked most of the wind out of Lilac's lungs and threw her backwards. She coughed, trying to get the air back into her body. Spade seized his chance and boosted towards her again. He walloped Lilac with an uppercut to the face and brought her down onto her back. He then attempted to pin the dragon down but Lilac just swung her legs up and flipped him up and over away from her and onto his back as he landed on her. Spade grimaced as his back sharply hit the floor but he soon got back onto his feet and turned to face Lilac as she stood back up too. Then the dragon and panda lunged at each other, linking hands and pushing hard on each other's arms.
"Give it up Spade! You can't win this one!" Lilac declared.
"The day I give up will be the day I end up liking Natalya…which is never going to happen!" Spade growled, "I've worked too hard to pull off this plan! I'm not gonna let you ruin it for me now!"
"Why Spade? Why do you persist in this waste of life?! Why do you enjoy being such a petty criminal and killer?!" the dragon screeched angrily.
"As if I'm going to waste time explaining that to a dumb bitch like you!" the panda snarled "You wouldn't understand, especially since you double-crossed us!"
"Oh grow up!" Lilac sighed, "I betrayed the scarves, big deal. Get over it!"
"I will once you're finally dead!" Spade growled, "With you dead, none of the Red Scarves will be tempted to betray the gang ever again!"
"So that's it? You want me dead just so nobody will be tempted to betray you?" the Avalician heroine muttered, "You really are worse than Natalya!"
"Say that again and I'll cut your hair off!" the criminal ninja growled.
"YOU'RE WORSE THAN NATALYA!" Lilac bellowed as if wanting to hammer the words directly into Spade's brain and force him to remember them forever.#
That did it. Spade lost whatever control over his temper he had left, which wasn't an awful lot due to how angry he already was. He couldn't stand the idea that the impudent dragon had the gall to say he was worse than his former leader. Nobody EVER said he was worse than Natalya and lived! He pulled on Lilac's hands and dragged her closer to him. The dragon yelped as she was suddenly pulled forwards and Spade then proceeded to drive his knee straight into her gut. Lilac spluttered loudly as she felt the wind being slammed out of her by the panda. As she doubled over in pain, Spade clasped both of his fists together and slammed them both down onto Lilac's back just near the base of her neck. The dragon flopped down onto the floor, screwing her face up as spasms of pain surged through her body. Spade cackled gleefully and then he raised his leg, ready to slam it down onto the girl's back and possibly break her spine. Lilac would be paralyzed and unable to fight back with her spine broken. But the dragon was ready for him. She rolled out of the way just as Spade's foot came slamming down onto the floor on the spot where she had been lying seconds earlier.
Lilac, while still lying down, reached out a hand and grabbed Spade's ankle. She tripped Spade up by flicking his foot up. The panda yelped as he suddenly overbalanced and landed on his back. Lilac then picked herself up and pinned Spade down by pressing her knees against his chest and holding his arms down with her hands. Spade promptly spat into Lilac's face to make her let him go. The dragon wiped the spit out of her eye, giving the panda the chance to use his free arm to punch her in the nose. The dragon reeled back and clutched her nose, wincing as Spade got back onto his feet and then boosted into him, unleashing a volley of punches at speeds beyond all belief onto Lilac. The dragon tried to block the punches but Spade was too fast. The purple-skinned Avalician grunted several times as Spade hit her over and over. But then Spade made a mistake. He threw a punch at Lilac just as she was raising a hand to block it. She caught the punch in her hand and wasted no time in taking advantage of it. She twisted Spade's hand violently, sending a sharp, agonizing surge of pain flooding all the way up to his arm. The panda screamed, feeling as if Lilac was trying to tear his hand off. Then the teen-dragon pulled Spade forward, still clutching his hand, and kneed him in the gut as hard as she could, throwing Spade onto his back and knocking the wind out of him.
"You see? You're even easier to beat in a fight than Natalya is!" Lilac gloated, "You're worse than her in a fight and in personality and decency!"
"Just…keep…talking…traitor!" Spade roared.
Lilac was pleased. Spade was getting angry. Good, that meant he would make mistakes! The panda threw himself at Lilac in a blind rage, the dragon already anticipating the move. She spun out of the way and pile-dived Spade in the back, throwing him down onto the floor once again.
Meanwhile, Carol, Milla and Dail were having an easy time taking out the Red Scarves. Almost as easy a time as Lilac was having against Spade. Carol stood in a battle-ready stance as two ninja came running at her with Sais in their hands. A sai is a long dagger with two curved prongs on either side that served as protection for the hand that wielded it. The two ninjas had a pair each, ready to skewer Carol like a kebab with them. The wildcat was ready for them. The moment one of the ninjas lunged at her with one of his Sais, she spun around out of his way, leaving him to stab at empty air. Carol then grabbed hold of the ninja's wrist and twisted his hand sharply to one side, numbing his hand and forcing him to drop the sai. She quickly scooped it up and slashed the ninja across his arm with the sai. A thin bloody cut spread out across the ninja's arm as Carol slashed him. The red-hooded figure clutched his arm and winced in pain, giving Carol the perfect opportunity to kick him in the stomach and bring him down. The other ninja came slashing towards Carol with both Sais, intending to cut her to pieces. The wildcat yelped and quickly dodged the attacks. She remembered all too well on how vicious the Red Scarves could be in a fight. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes or she would be dead.
She sucked her belly in to avoid a slash from the ninja that was aimed there. Just as the ninja missed, Carol butted the side of his hooded head with the handle of her sai. The ninja cried out in pain as blood began to trickle out of the slight cut that Carol had left on his head from the attack. The tomboy feline swung the sai towards the ninja but he managed to block the attack with one of his Sais. He swiped his weapon to one side, throwing Carol's arm aside as well and he lunged at the cat, hoping to plunge his sai straight into her stomach. But Carol was fast. She weaved to one side and dodged the attack. Then she did an amazing move that she remembered practicing during her days as a Red Scarf. She grabbed hold of the ninja's arm with her sai, his wrist now in-between the blade and the left prong. Carol pulled on it and flipped the ninja over onto his back in one amazing move. The ninja was so stunned that he didn't even know what had just happened. Carol twirled the sai around in her hand, pleased with how successfully she had managed to pull it off.
"Oh yeah! I still got it!" Carol cried excitedly, "Haven't done that in a while."
But the tomboy feline should have known better than to stand around and gloat. Another Red Scarf ninja sneaked up behind Carol and grabbed hold of her from behind. The cat yelped and tried to wrestle free from the ninja's grip but he held on tight. He was too strong for Carol. However, the wildcat knew full well that you didn't always have to break free from somebody grabbing hold of you. You could make them let go of you as well. Carol stomped down hard on the ninja's foot, causing him to let her go and scream a loud, shrilling pained scream. Now free, Carol whirled around at lightning speed and whipped the ninja across the face with the handle of her sai. The ninja's head snapped violently to one side, his cheek fractured from the hard hit, and her spiralled dizzily away from Carol. Then the wildcat leaped up and unleashed a volley of kicks onto the ninja, knocking him down and taking him out of the fight. But then before Carol could do anything else, a ninja elbowed her in the back and sent her flying forwards into a wall. The wildcat hit it and groaned in pain as if she had just been in a car crash and only just managed to survive it. She turned around to face her attacker and screamed as she noticed he had a long, curved katana in his hand. Carol pressed her back against the wall, staring at the katana in fear. She was trapped and with no way of saving herself from being run through by it. The tip of the katana was pointing at Carol's heart. The ninja kept it pointed at his cornered victim, enjoying every moment of having Carol at his mercy.
"Let's see the pretty kitty dance outta this one!" the ninja sneered.
"This is why you guys need to learn to shut up for once. You just gave me an idea!" Carol taunted.
She then proceeded to leap out of the way as the ninja lunged at her with his katana. Because of this, the ninja ended up plunging his katana straight into the wall, the blade burying itself about halfway into the wall with only half of it and the handle still sticking out. Carol laughed at the ninja's misfortune and then proceeded to run straight into him and knock him down as if she was a car running down a pedestrian in the street. The ninja was knocked down, releasing his katana as he fell onto his side. Carol threw the sai away and grabbed hold of the katana's handle. She yanked it clean out of the wall and spun it around, clearly enjoying the feel and weight of the weapon in her hands. She loved weapons like the katana and always found herself loving it when she could get her hands on one. She used the katana to perfection as another ninja came running towards her with a katana in his hands. The two ninjas clashed swords with each other, Carol swinging as viciously a possible and the Red Scarf ninja trying helplessly to keep up with her. He was fighting a losing battle though for Carol was much stronger and faster than he was. She landed every katana strike she launched onto his weapon and the ninja was finding it hard to block her blows. Then Carol suddenly swung her foot straight up into the red-hooded figure's arm and kicked the katana clean out of his hand. Now he was disarmed, Carol slashed him across the torso with the katana in one swift spin and then she kicked him in the gut, throwing him off his feet and onto the floor. Carol looked down at the weapon in her hand and she squealed excitedly.
"Oh yeah, I LOVE these things! I should keep this one so I can use it again sometime!" she hollered.
She then glanced over at Milla and saw that the hound seemed to have things under control. She summoned a green energy block to her hands and threw it at one of the ninjas, hitting him in the head and knocking him over onto his back. One ninja ran up behind Milla, wielding a nunchaku and he spun it around, intending to club Milla with it. The dog heard him before he even got close enough to hit her. She turned around and summoned a shield to her hands, the ninja swinging the nunchaku down towards her and hitting the shield instead of her. The nunchaku ended up bouncing off of the shield whacking its owner in the face as if a spring had been activated and sent it flying back into him. The ninja saw stars in front of his eyes as he gibbered unintelligibly to himself. He had a big gormless grin on his face and he didn't look as if he'd be fighting for much longer. He dropped the nunchaku and fainted in a rather comical manner as if he was a character in some cartoon Milla had watched on TV at Lilac's treehouse. The dog giggled.
"Hee, hee, hee! That was funny!" she laughed, "I hope I can do that again!"
She suddenly found herself crying out in surprise as a hand seized her from behind and hoisted her clean off of her feet. The puppy squirmed, trying to get free but the ninja who had grabbed her was holding her too tightly. She couldn't get free.
"Hey! Put me down!" Milla yelped, "It's rude to pick people up without their permission first!"
The ninja ignored her and he pulled out a wicked, serrated edge knife out of his pocket. It was a knife that would likely be used for throwing into people and he now held it just above Milla's chest, ready to stab the child and kill her. Milla gulped, frightened by the wicked blade. She began to sweat rainfalls as she imagined the blade stabbing down into her chest, penetrating her heart and finishing her off.
"HELP!" she squealed.
The ninja drew the knife back, ready to finish off his young opponent. But then Carol sprung to Milla's rescue, running towards the ninja and suddenly shoving the katana straight in front of his face before he could strike the dog. The cat's eyes were narrow slits of anger as she glowered at the ninja.
"Don't you ever threaten Milla's life!" she snarled viciously.
The ninja hesitated for a moment. He didn't dare move in fear of getting cut by the katana. The blade was directly in front of his face and his knife was in the wrong position to knock it out of the way. He had no choice but to remain still as Carol kept the katana poised and ready to attack. However, it wasn't Carol who ended up striking the ninja. It was Milla. She drew her arm back and avoiding Carol's katana, she punched the ninja in the eye. The red-hooded figure let out a shrilling squeal of pain as Milla's fist sharply connected with his eye. He dropped the hound and then put a hand over his pained eye. Then both Carol and Milla lashed out at him with their feet and kicked him down onto his back. Upon taking him out, Carol and Milla high-fived each other.
"Great punch Milla!" Carol exclaimed.
"Thank you!" Milla piped, "We're a good team me and you are!"
"Yeah, we work surprisingly well together." Carol said brightly, "Almost as well as how me and Lilac work together."
The moment the wildcat mentioned her draconian friend's name, Lilac suddenly shot out of nowhere and crashed down onto the ground at Carol and Milla's feet. She had a few cuts on her arms and legs, presumably from Spade's razor card weapons. She picked herself up, fighting off the stinging pain in her limbs as her card-wielding opponent stood before her, ready to attack again. He was heavily bruised and looked as if he was beginning to get tired. Carol and Milla got the impression that Spade was more hurt than Lilac was and that he would go down first. Lilac picked herself up and panted. Spade was panting too, only much harder. This confirmed that he was indeed getting exhausted. Lilac had been giving him a tough fight and it was beginning to show. He still seemed obtusely obstinate and like he wasn't willing to give up no matter what.
"You're good…I'll give you that…" Spade panted, "But your best…won't save you now!"
"Give it up Spade! Listen to yourself! You're wearing down!" Lilac cried, "You can't possibly go on any longer so why keep trying?!"
"I…won't give in…to you!" Spade retorted.
He then suddenly leapt up into the air and fired a torrent of cards at Lilac as if he was firing them out of a gun. This was his strongest attack and Lilac knew that it was hard to dodge. She nevertheless attempted it anyway, throwing herself aside as the cards hurled towards her like projectiles. She nearly made it but the cards all ended up hitting her in the legs, knocking her aside and sending her spinning. The dragon wasn't down and out. Far from it. She picked herself up just as Carol and Milla ran over to observe her. It didn't seem to them that they needed to help Lilac get back up. The dragon simply rubbed her legs better as if she had only been bumped slightly rather than bombarded by projectile cards. Lilac turned to face her friends and she smiled her usual daring smile that always showed she was ready for anything.
"Wanna help me kick Spade's ass?" asked Lilac.
"Looks like you've done fine enough on your own but we'll help finish the job." Carol offered, winking at her best friend.
"We'll stop him together!" Milla squealed excitedly.
"Then let's give it to him girls!" Lilac cried out gleefully.
The trio all turned to face Spade just as the panda began throwing more cards at them. The cards sailed through the air, threatening to cut them to pieces as they closed the distance between themselves and their opponents. The girls were ready for them, already jumping out of the way and leaving the cards to scatter everywhere. Lilac briefly wondered how Spade never seemed to run out of those cards. He seemed to have a limitless supply. Spade could throw as many cards as he liked though, he was not going to win this battle. Lilac sprang up into the air and came hurling towards Spade in a Dragon Cyclone attack. The panda jumped out of her way but he ended up getting hit anyway for Carol had positioned herself where Spade was jumping to. The panda landed in front of her, not knowing she was there and was surprised when somebody ended up pounding him heavily in the back with a volley of fisticuffs. Every punch Carol threw felt like a hammer crashing down on Spade's back. Carol then kicked him in the small of his back, throwing him off his feet and sending him flying towards Lilac. Lilac whipped him away with her trademark twin tendrils and sent him crashing down onto his side. As Spade landed, he picked himself up only to get hammered by a huge green energy block that Milla summoned and threw at him. He was brought down onto his side once again.
Lilac, Carol and Milla stood intensely before Spade, waiting to see if he was going to finally give up and let himself be arrested. The panda pushed himself up onto his knees and glowered at his opponents, clearly intending to carry on much to Lilac's annoyance. However, he was finally stopped by the last person anybody could have suspected. The panda was suddenly walloped across the back of his head by a nunchaku. Who had done it? The girls didn't take long to find out as Spade fainted onto the floor and his attacker smirked gleefully at him. It was King Dail. After taking out several ninjas, he had decided to help the girls finish off the fight with Spade by knocking him out from behind. Spade lay still on the floor, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. He had a bump on his head from where Dail had hit him. Dail looked very pleased with himself.
"Take that…brother." he spat.
"Well, looks like Spade-y boy here just received a "Royal Flush"!" Carol exclaimed, chortling at her own joke.
"You just made TWO different puns at once with just two words Carol! I'm impressed!" Lilac snickered.
"Well done your majesty!" Milla cried out gleefully, "You knocked him out!"
"I sure did little girl." said Dail casually, "That'll teach him to kidnap me and attempt to use me for ransom. I will say though, you three were simply AMAZING in that fight!" he gasped, "Seriously, I heard you three were amazing but you defied all my expectations! Milla's got magic powers, Carol's an ace at martial arts and you Lilac…you're something to make eyes pop! Seriously, not many people can use their hair as weapons like you can! You're an ace you are!"
Lilac blushed red with pleasure.
"You-you-you're too kind…" she stammered, trying to hide her blush.
"No I mean it Lilac! You and your friends are amazing!" Dail exclaimed, "In fact, I can now totally believe you three took out Lord Brevon! With how ace at fighting you all are, it's no wonder you beat him!"
"You got that right!" Carol cried conceitedly, "Team Lilac can handle any threat no matter what it is!"
"You still haven't got a better name for us." Lilac snickered teasingly.
Carol just smiled sheepishly. She'd grown to think that Team Lilac was actually a good name for the team and didn't really want to change it.
"Anyway, we'll take my brother to be locked up and then I can announce your good deeds to the populace." Dail said brightly, "Shuigang will be so happy with you three for what you've done today. I can't thank you enough for coming to save me."
"You know us your honour, we do what's right." Lilac said casually, "People cause trouble, we fix the trouble. We're just doing the right thing and putting our lives on the line for people like you."
"And that behaviour right there is why I still wonder why Mayor Zao doesn't believe you're innocent of the atrocities you unwillingly committed under the Dark Stone's influence." the king said grimly, "Seriously, there's no way in hell you'd willingly use that death gem with the kind of mind-set you have Lilac!"
"I know and that's why I'm hoping what I've done today will finally convince the world I'm innocent and that they have nothing to fear." Lilac murmured.
"Well come with me to Shuigang and they can hear all about your good deeds." Dail said, picking up Spade's unconscious body and draping him over his shoulder.
Lilac was all too happy to go ahead with the idea. She followed Dail as he left the corridor with Spade in two. Carol and Milla followed them, leaving the battered and bruised Red Scarves behind. They would later call General Gong and tell him that this was their hideout so the panda could arrest them all and throw them back in The Magister's dungeon. The girls and the king left the Red Scarves's hideout and headed off to Shuigang once again. Unknown to them, as they left, a mysterious robed figure was watching them leave. He was dressed in a red robe with gold trimmings and he had a cane in his hand. The cane was actually an energy conductor and in the cane, the figure had the Dark Stone's evil energy swimming around inside of it. The figure watched the girls and king leave Relic Maze before striding off into the Red Scarves's hideout himself. He had actually managed to follow the trio to the hideout without them knowing. He was keen to meet the Red Scarves though he was a little disappointed that Spade had gone and got himself captured. He would break him out later. The figure entered the cell corridor, the Red Scarves picking themselves up just in time to see him as he entered. The figure smiled casually at them.
"Hello Red Scarves. I require your generous assistance for a rather big plan I have in mind…" he purred, his accent thickly British and his voice soft and pleasant, "And you'll be most interested. It involves rescuing your leader…and getting revenge on Sash Lilac…"
Much later in Shuigang, the four Avalicians had finally returned to the grandiose city with its trademark green colours and grand buildings. As expected, there was a huge crowd waiting for Dail's return and they exploded with joy upon seeing him arrive, safe and sound with no signs of any injuries or damages. It made them feel even happier to see that their beloved king was unharmed. But what made them really explode with joy was seeing that Dail not only had the man who had kidnapped him draped on his shoulder, but he had Lilac, Carol and Milla beside him, the girls showing some signs of having been in a heavy battle due to a few bruises and cuts, especially on Lilac. Carol still had the katana she'd nicked from one of the Red Scarves earlier. Dail held up a hand and ordered the crowd to be silent. The Shuigang Palace guards, who were at the front of the crowd, ushered forward and ran up to greet their king. Dail handed Spade's unconscious body over to the guards.
"Lock him up and make sure he can't escape." he ordered.
The guards obeyed and they quickly took Spade away. The moment they left, Dail addressed the excited crowd.
"My people! Your king has returned!" he announced, "But I couldn't have returned home to you all without the help of three VERY brave girls. These girls…" he motioned over to Lilac, Carol and Milla, "Have displayed amazing valour and strength today, braving the dangers of the Red Scarves and risking their lives to save mine and free me from my criminal brother's hands! Please give a warm welcome to these three, especially Lilac the Dragon Girl. She orchestrated the rescue mission so she deserves ALL the credit for my rescue."
The crowd cheered for the trio ecstatically, even the people who had believed that Lilac was evil. Lilac smiled bashfully at the crowd, taking in their praise. The people of Shuigang could see now that they had been wrong the whole time. There was no way that they could disbelieve this. Lilac had injuries from her fight with Spade, that was proof that she had willingly fought against him and risked her life for Dail's They also remembered her announcement earlier and she had been true to her word. She had come back with their king in hand. They all believed that Lilac really was good. Except for one…
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP YOU MORONS!" bellowed a terrible voice that made Lilac's face fall.
The crowd fell silent as an old turtle hobbled forward and pointed his cane accusingly at Lilac. It was, of course, Timothy Turtle again. He hadn't finished with Lilac yet and still wanted everybody to be against her. He waved his cane around as if it was a magic wand and he was trying to cast a spell on Lilac.
"Do you seriously believe for a minute that this charlatan before you is as good as she claims to be?!" Timothy barked, addressing the crowd, "How do we know she's not saving the king's life just to try and manipulate us and make us believe she's on our side?"
"Timothy, you are way out of line!" Dail snapped, "Get back in line now!"
"Oh, so now his majesty's accusing me of stepping out of line when all I'm doing is trying to warn you all of what this evil creature before you is really like?!" Timothy exclaimed, pointing his cane at Dail angrily, "So it seems that the truth has been revealed my friends…"
He turned back to the crowd and spoke again.
"We're in the middle of a giant conspiracy!" Timothy announced, "And our beloved king's involved! I bet he WANTED the Red Scarves to capture him just so he could have Lilac save him and thus, trick us into believe she's good!"
"That's a steaming pile of horses***!" Carol swore, "That's not it at all! You're just a paranoid twat who needs to stop bad-mouthing Lilac and accept her for what she is and not for what you falsely believe she is!"
"You're one to talk given you just used bad language at me!" the turtle snapped back at Carol.
"Look Timothy, you've got it all wrong!" Lilac shouted angrily, "There's no conspiracy at all! Dail had nothing to do with the Red Scarves and I went out to save his life BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!"
The crowd nodded agreeably, believing Lilac for they had no reason at all to doubt her. They all glared at Timothy, disgusted that he was trying to make Lilac look like a monster for no real reason. They even began booing him. The turtle recoiled. Lilac suddenly became terrifying when she was angry and shouting and it didn't help how the crowd was on her side. He felt weighed down by them all. Lilac continued.
"I do good things because they're the right thing to do! I saved Dail's life because it was the right thing to do! I couldn't just let Spade use him for ransom like he planned to! I stopped Lord Brevon, TWICE in fact, because I couldn't let him doom our planet! I stopped The Christmas Raid because I couldn't let the Red Scarves ruin the holiday for us! Tell me…does THAT sound like somebody who wants to manipulate you all? I could NEVER manipulate you all! I could never betray this world! I love Avalice…with all my heart!"
She put a hand over her heart as if to emphasize her point.
"I stake my life for this planet…because I love it and I want the world to be happy so it can appreciate the beauty and greatness that our world is renowned for." Lilac said, "So please…don't listen to this delusional old man here." she added, motioning to Timothy, "He's full of nothing but lies and paranoia. I am Sash Lilac the Dragon Girl, heroine of Avalice and somebody who has your best interests at heart. That…is the truth about me."
The crowd was moved quite to tears by Lilac's speech. Some of the people were dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs while others were wowed by Lilac's speech. Then they all cheered, giving Lilac all of their support and letting her know that like Shang Tu, they believed her at last. Timothy looked disappointed that the crowd was against him. He glared at Lilac with his aged old eyes, his ridiculously large eyebrows failing to add anything to his angry face.
"You win this round, but this isn't over yet dragon scum!" he growled, "I'll prove that you're a nasty little dragon who's as evil as the rest of your kind if it's the last thing I do!"
"Oh get lost you pompous old windbag!" Lilac shouted, "Nobody wants you here and nobody believes you now!"
"Yeah! Beat it you grumpy old troll!" yelled Carol angrily.
"You're a nasty man and we don't want you around! Go away!" Milla yelled.
"Please Timothy, just leave before you upset anybody else…" Dail said in annoyance.
Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, the old reptile decided to do just that. Sighing loudly, he turned and walked away. He knew it wasn't worth getting into bigger trouble when the entire populace of Shuigang was now against him. As soon as he left, Dail turned to Lilac and smiled again.
"I will say, I quite liked your testimony." he said, "That's the definitive proof that you're a heroine Lilac. I'm so happy to hear that you love our world so much."
"Well the world is the reason we all exist." explained Lilac, "We have to show how much we appreciate it for giving us life. And I am very grateful to the world for my existence."
"As am I." Dail replied, "And I'm so glad that Shuigang all believes that you're good at last."
"I hope Shang Mu will follow suit…" Lilac said glumly, "Well anyway, thank you so much for your kindness your majesty and it was a pleasure to rescue you from the scarves." she added, sounding much happier.
"You're welcome." Dail said kindly, "And with Spade locked up, the Red Scarves are going to have a harder time functioning without their leader. I'll take some guards back to the palace so we can arrest the rest of those filthy ninjas."
"Sounds like a good idea." the dragon said approvingly, "We'll see you later King Dail. We're going to go home and get some rest now."
"Rest well my heroic dragon." Dail said pleasantly, "Goodbye and thanks for everything!"
"Goodbye and you're welcome for everything!" Lilac called back.
She then turned on her heels and walked away from Shuigang with Carol and Milla walking off after them. With nothing left to see and the king now back safe and sound, the crowd departed and began continuing with their daily activities. King Dail headed back to his palace, happy that he was now back home and his criminal brother was in prison where he belonged. Unknown to anybody, Timothy Turtle was watching Lilac, Carol and Milla leave the city. His eyes were narrowed suspiciously at the girls. He was more focused on Lilac than the other two as if wondering if he could work something out about her. Then Timothy turned around and walked away, still bitter about the crowd turning on him and siding with Lilac…
Later, Lilac, Carol and Milla arrived back home at the treehouse and they climbed up the ladder to the front door. They let themselves in and were instantly greeted by an ecstatic Miguel and Lela. The two hounds embraced Lilac and Carol each, the wildcat a little embarrassed but nevertheless tolerating the hug anyway, and then they both hugged Milla. The little puppy's tail wagged happily, pleased to be back in her parent's arms.
"You're all back!" Lela squealed excitedly, "Just was we hoped you would be! Thank heavens above!"
"How did the mission go then sweetie?" asked Miguel eagerly, stroking his daughter's hair, "Did you save King Dail?"
"We did daddy, we did!" Milla squealed excitedly, "We all managed to break into their hideout and we freed the king and then we all fought the ninjas and then the king knocked Spade out and we arrested him and now the people of Shuigang love Lilac again!"
"Oh my dear child, that's wonderful to hear!" Lela exclaimed, "Thank goodness everything went so well for you three! And congratulations on redeeming yourself in the public's eye Lilac!" she added, looking over at the dragon.
"It's definitely a start, and a good one at that." Lilac said casually, "Sadly, some old coot named Timothy Turtle keeps trying to demonize me but luckily, nobody believes a word he says now. He won't cause much trouble."
"That's good." said Miguel.
Then he noticed some of the cuts that Lilac had received in her fight with Spade. Some of them had already healing, some were beginning to heal and some were still open and stinging a little bit.
"Oh my goodness, you're a mess Lilac!" the hound exclaimed, "We'll get you some plasters and antiseptic cream immediately!"
"Mr. Basset, please don't fuss over me." the dragon said hastily, "I'm fine. I don't need any first aid."
"Well have some antiseptic anyway." Lela said firmly, "We can't have those cuts getting infected."
"Do your parents always worry about injuries and cuts and bruises like this?" asked Carol, looking over at Milla.
"They don't like it when somebody gets badly hurt." Milla replied, "They're very sensitive. They fuss over me when I hurt myself."
"It's what parents do." said Lilac casually, "Mine were just the same when I was…"
The dragon suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and looked sad. It was as if the happiness had drained out of her body and sadness had replaced it. The four Avalicians read the warning signs immediately and Carol walked up to her.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing…I just, feel a little sad when I think about mom and dad…" Lilac said sadly.
"What happened to them?" asked Milla.
"Please…I don't to talk about it…" the dragon said, fighting back tears, "It's too upsetting."
"I'm sorry." the hound said guiltily.
Lilac smiled warmly at her canine friend and patted her head softly.
"It's OK." she said kindly, "You weren't to know."
Milla smiled back, pleased that Lilac had forgiven her. In order to change the subject, Miguel suddenly ran over to the nearby coffee table, an opulent piece of furniture donated from Shang Tu and baring the city's trademark colours. He picked up the letter that he and Lela had received from General Gong earlier.
"I just remembered, this is for you Lilac." said Miguel, handing the teen-girl the letter.
"For me? Who's it from?" asked Lilac curiously.
"Gong delivered it to us. It's from somebody you know." the grey-furred hound replied.
Lilac was curious. Who could be sending her a letter that required Gong to deliver it to her? Lilac opened the letter and read it. It was not from Gong himself, nor was it from The Magister. The handwriting was different to theirs but Lilac recognized it. She did know who this was from. Her heart skipping, she read through the letter. After getting to the end, she folded up the letter and looked over at her friends in surprise. Her face was surprised but not in a way that suggested fear.
"Well? Who's it from?" asked Carol.
"It's from Natalya…" Lilac replied, "And she wants to see me…"
So Lilac's got Natalya's message! But will she answer her call and see her? Or will Lilac refuse and leave her to be lonely in her cell? Find out next time...
