Chapter 10

After dropping the king and Captain Akira near the city walls, we dashed straight towards the location of the independent dragon's hideout, as pointed out by the king.

:I still don't see why the girl have to follow us on this trip,: Schumacher expressed his concern. :She could end up more of a liability.:

:Rest assured, Schumacher. She's my responsibility,: I said confidently. :She'll be well watched over.:

:See what I meant?:

I cast an annoyed glare with my right eye. Wait till you have kids of your own...

"So how long will this flight take?" Sonya asked without screaming into my ears as the wind beat noisily against her voice.

:By my guess, within a day.:

:Problem is, we don't have a day,: Schumacher corrected. By now, the sun has begun to set behind us and the horizon to the west was getting darker as minutes passed by.

:All right, we'll land and settle down for the night. No point looking for their hideout in the dark,: I agreed as we landed in an open patch of land near a river and rested for the remainder of the day.

My eyes flickered open to the light of morning as I groggily raised my head and yawned wide, exposing rows of my sharp teeth. Wait...something's amiss.

Swiveling my head around lazily, my eyes flashed open from sleepy to fully awake in micro seconds.

:Where's Sonya?:

I turned here and there looking for her but she was nowhere to be found.

:Hey, wake up!: I elbowed Schumacher hard on his ribs and he cried out in surprise. :We've got an emergency situation here!:

:Enemy dragons?: He leaped to his feet with stunning reflexes, fully awake and ready for action.

:Sonya's missing!:

:What? How on earth could you lose her? Don't tell me you've sleepwalked and misplaced her on some tree in the woods.:

:Quit the joke! This is serious.:

As I looked about for possible spots she may have wandered to, Schumacher grumbled, :Looks like we'll have to put aside our objectives for now and look for her.:

:So much for your responsibility.: I heard him grumble before moving on.

:If it wasn't for her, we could've made some considerable progress by now,: Schumacher sulked as we searched high and low in the woods; the one potential place a person could easily get lost in.

:This isn't like her to wander around without my knowledge,: I said as I kept a wary eye on anything that may look like clues to her whereabouts.

:If Anima's here, she will be so pissed by now,: Schumacher expressed his thoughts.

Ignoring his comments, we searched on as the morning sun began angling straight above us; blasting down its heated light through the treetops.

As we searched on, I noticed shadows moving fast above the canopies and I shifted my focus to the skies. :Did you see that?:

:See what?: Schumacher paused in his tracks.

:Something's above us. I know it.:

:Birds?:

I kept watch for another minute but nothing else happened. :Perhaps you could be right. Let's just move on.:

Despite the calmness in the woods, I knew deep in my heart something was watching over us, observing our every move like an eagle over a flock of hares.

Enemy dragons? I hope not.

We arrived at a steep waterfall when I caught sight of a small child sitting on a rock on the opposite side of the river bank. The child had white hair and she was facing into the woods...

:Sonya!:

The girl spun around and was surprised to see me. "Edea, I-" Her words were cut off when a lion-like dragon leaped out from the trees and stood ahead of Sonya.

:Stand back, child!: the dragon exclaimed as she stood in a defensive stance and roared into the sky. :I will not let you harm her!:

We were taken aback unexpectedly by the dragon's fierce nature. :Who are you?: I growled back as I took one step forward. :She was with us.:

:You don't fool me,: she hissed back without taking her eyes off us.

:Stand back, Edea. Let me handle this,: Schumacher volunteered and he advanced towards her.

"Guys, wait-"

:I think not,: she sneered at us as moments later, two heavy thumps were heard atop the waterfall as two new dragons watched over our little confrontation.

Schumacher snorted, :Three against two? Not a chance against us Raikoos.:

On cue, two more dragons appeared from the woods behind the lion-dragon and another one- a serpent-looking type- remained in the air above the rest of us.

:How about six against two?:

:Nice timing, Schuey,: I whispered sarcastically at him.

Before tensions got any higher, Sonya leaped and darted pass the lion-dragon towards us, much to her surprise. "Wait, don't fight them! They're my friends."

The lion-dragon's eyes were bulging wide at her remark. :Your friends? You know them?:

"Yeah." Looking at the other new dragons surrounding us, she proclaimed, "It's okay, everyone. They're not with the enemy, they're now allies to the humans."

The dragons were stunned at Sonya's fluent tongue and stood down cautiously, their eyes were still locked on me and Schumacher.

She then turned to me, "Edea, these are the independent dragons that the king spoke to us about. Goraoh, the lion-looking one, confirmed that."

:You told her about our mission?:

"Well, for starters it's best to ask someone who knows, right?"

I sighed and explained, :The only risk I fear is if she's an agent of the Master...:

Goraoh heard us and replied honestly, :Rest assured, we have no affiliation with the Master and we will never serve him.:

:Well, that's good to our ears,: Schumacher said.

The dragon on the waterfall leaped down and approached us; this one looked more like a cross between a wolf and a dragon. :You may be able to speak in our tongue, but I'm not easily convinced about your allegiance.:

:You may not be, Kampa, but I am,: Goraoh spoke up. :She has told me her side of the story, and if these two dragons are with her, that means they can be trusted.:

The white serpentine one landed next to the dragon named Kampa and added, :But that doesn't mean they can be fully trusted just because you heard one side of the story.:

:Air Blast is right there,: Kampa agreed.

As Goraoh pondered, I introduced ourselves, :My name's Edea, and my partner here is Schumacher. We are here on a peaceful mission to seek out dragons who are living independent of the Master, as mentioned by humans living nearby. We meant you no harm, you have my word on that.:

The other dragons looked to each other and pondered my words.

:If we do let you through, how can we be certain that you stay true to your words?: Air Blast checked cautiously.

:Because, technically, we too are like you, no longer bound to the Master's rule,: I added. :We are independent dragons now.:

Despite Kampa's scepticism, we were allowed entry into their territory as we moved deeper into the woods, towards the wide mountainous region.

With Goraoh remaining in the woods fo her guard duty, we flew past the various jagged peaks of the mountains before arriving at one with a giant crater, which turned out to be a snow-covered volcano.

:It's been dead for millenias,: Air Blast explained as we descended down into the 'mouth' of the long-dormant volcano. Just like its peak the rocky ground was blanketed in thick snow; tiny icy particles kicked up like dust upon our landing.

Looming before us was a massive cave, most likely built into the volcano's wall by the dragons themselves.

:Who's there?: A voice spoke out from the darkness of the cave.

:It's us, Thunderbolt. Air Blast and Kampa,: the white and green serpentine dragon addressed to the mysterious voice.

:And what about those two foreign dragons by your side?:

:Visitors from afar who wished to meet our leader. They claimed they are not under the services of the Master.:

Seconds later, a rust-coloured dragon appeared from the dark cavern and stood authoritatively before Air Blast and us; the extra eye on his forehead compensated the blinded right one as they glared sternly at us.

:Hmm.: Thunderbolt eyed us cautiously again before turning for the cavern. :Follow me.:

We followed the larger dragon into the dark cave as Air Blast left the volcanic lair, presumably to carry on with his duties.

Traversing through the mazy but wide hallways and ramps littering the interior, Thunderbolt eventually led us to a chamber that was long and massive enough to fit approximately two hundred dragons comfortably.

:Pardon for the interruption, but we have guests who wished to meet you,: Thunderbolt addressed as we approached the opposite end of the room. Six pair of eyes turned towards us and Thunderbolt as the latter bowed his head before the group. Seeing his action, we did the same.

Three of the dragons nearest to us stepped aside, leaving the remaining three before us. But when we got back up, Schumacher's eyes went wide with disbelief. :Senkokura?:

I turned to Schumacher and back to the trio of dragons; the one on the right looked rather surprise. :Who?:

:Don't you remember? He was the one Anima mentioned to us before; the last surviving rebel before you.:

The three dragons who stood aside suddenly approached and confronted us. :How do you know of Senkokura? Were you sent here by the Master to eliminate him?:

Before things got worse, Sonya sprung up and interrupted their confrontation. "Stop, they're not with the Master! They're friends to the humans."

The confronting dragons stopped in their tracks when they heard Sonya's plea.

:Stand down, my brethrens,: the dragon named Senkokura spoke and the others obliged without hesitation. :I know of your kind, of how far superior your variant is compared to the normal dragons. But I will not be cowed by your superiority, any attempts to assassinate me will only result in failure like the others before you. Speak now of your intentions to be here.:

:Well firstly, we have no intentions of assassinating you,: I promised while keeping my tone honest and pure as I introduced ourselves and explained our mission- again.

:So, you wish to forge an alliance with us, you're saying?: the dragon on our right- another serpentine type- queried.

I nodded. :As our leader intended, to end the Master's reign of terror, whoever he is.:

Senkokura chuckled. :I never thought I would see this opportunity come knocking on my door. I will gladly join your rebellion, but as for the others,-: he turned to the dragon by his left side, :I'll let Guancu decide.:

:An interesting proposition,: the center dragon spoke as he stood tall with pride; his tone deep and authoritative. :But will your leader provide sufficient support for such a large-scale rebellion?:

:Our leader is bringing back the entire Raikoos with her as we speak,: Schumacher revealed confidently. :With us by your side, the Master will have plenty of reason to worry about us.:

:Hmm,: Guancu pondered a moment before replying, :We will consider this proposition, once we meet up with your leader. Any idea when will she return?:

:I bet it will be about two or three days tops,: Schumacher guessed.

:In that case, we will provide you our warmest hospitality for your stay before your leader returns,: Guancu offered.

:We thank you sincerely for the offer, Guancu. We greatly appreciate that,: I replied.

END OF CHAPTER 10

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