The Dragon Chronicles

Part 2: The Rescue Mission

Chapter 5: The Reich's Secret

She didn't know exactly what it was that she was facing, but Ash believed it to be some kind of large wolf—one significantly larger than what she knew wolves to usually be. And then, of course, there were the red eyes—once more, not a normal characteristic of a common wolf. It was the red eyes that she had first viewed, and thus had caused her to scream in surprise—thereafter, she noticed the rest of the creature's figure as it came into view.

The wolf had begun to growl menacingly shortly after, letting out the long roar that had followed Ash's scream (it hadn't howled, another way that this wolf differed from others). Its red glare pierced Ash's eyes, and she felt powerless to move—even though she wanted to more than anything. The wolf inched closer, one step after the other, its tail wagging back and forth slowly and anticipatorily. And then, it jumped—

When she saw the wolf leap, the connection that had been present between Ash's eyes and the wolf's eyes were broken, and Ash quickly darted to her side—but not before one of the wolf's extended claws nicked her right ankle. "Uhh!" grunted Ash, rolling onto the ground and propping herself up with her arms. At that moment, she wanted more than anything to address the wound she had just received, but she couldn't—the wolf was back on the offensive.

The wolf lunged for her again, its dagger-like fangs bared and its front claws outstretched. But this time, Ash was ready—or, at least, as ready as she'd ever be. She dashed to the side again, sliding across the floor just as the wolf passed her. The wolf was unable to stop in time, and thus it smacked into the stone wall in front of it, dazing the wolf for a few moments. Ash recognized this as her best chance to catch a break in the action, and jumped to her feet. "I don't appreciate you catching me off guard like that…" she said, trying to sound as confident and unwavering as possible. "Now it's time for a little payback—courtesy of Lao Shi's Soldiers." At these words, Ash leapt forward, shifting into her dragon form quickly. With a singular beat of her wings, she rushed towards the wolf, which seemed to have recovered from its aforementioned daze. But it hadn't any time to react, and Ash, her right shoulder lowered, slammed into the wolf forcefully. The wolf went sprawling—and Ash, to an extent, did as well. But to her surprise, the wolf recovered quickly, giving Ash a feral side glance as it cam to it feet.

Ash growled in frustration. "Still standing, eh? We'll have to change that, won't we?" She lunged once more, readying herself to send a ball of fire at the wolf, hoping that it would have a more adverse effect on her opponent.

But then, the wolf did something highly unexpected and extremely paradoxical. It leapt vertically, and then seemed to disappear—or, so Ash thought at first. "Where did it go?" she said aloud, spinning round and round in search of her enemy. "C'mon, show yourself!"

Ash was then knocked aback by some sort of unseen force. It slammed into her jaw, but she was able to stay on her feet, although the blow itself was still numbing. "Where are you?!" she exclaimed once she had regained her composure. There, of course, was no answer, but soon after this, Ash finally found the wolf—only it wasn't a wolf anymore. It was small, and brown and white, with a beak and wings…

"An eagle?! What happened to the wolf?"

Then she realized it, although she didn't have much time to really think fully. "You're a shape shifter…" she whispered, and then dove out of the way as the eagle soared at her head. Once she got back up, she paused. "Kenneth Harrelson, one of the Reich's leaders…"

But unfortunately for her, Ash hadn't paid as much attention this time, and therefore when the eagle returned, she wasn't prepared for defense. Talons first, it slashed at the back of Ash's head, and Ash cried out awfully, clutching the back of her head to feel a few large gashes, all of which were oozing blood. Pain throbbed through her head, causing her to wince and drop to the ground, one arm propping herself up and the other still at the back of her head, trying in vain to cease her bleeding.

Her vision began to blur and darken. She looked up ahead of her, where she found the eagle to have landed (A/N: I crack myself up) about ten feet away. Suddenly, the eagle's feathers began to recede, sucking up into her body. The eagle began to grow in size, its shape contorting and twisting into a new one. The beak softened, melting into its face, and its wings shriveled and reformed into slightly more familiar arms—those of a human.

The figure continued to fill out, taking a noticeably human shape. Through her failing vision, Ash could see that the figure seemed to be completely white—dressed in white, perhaps? Yes, that was it—fully white, from head to toe. There even appeared to be a white hood pulled over its head…

A wave of realization came over her soon after—she had been right, it had been the Reich. The figure began to walk toward her, and desperately she wanted to jump up and surprise it. But she couldn't—the darkness overtaking her eyesight had become more abundant, and it felt as if all her strength was leaving her…

The Reich member known as Kenneth Harrelson knelt beside her, eying the dragon amusedly. "Sweet dreams," he whispered sinisterly. But Ash never heard him.

(end)

"How did you know we were coming?" demanded James.

Marcus Feisley shrugged. "It was a hunch, I suppose. What—did you honestly believe that we wouldn't expect someone to come and try to free our captives? Especially their fellow dragons?

Feisley took another step towards Kate and James. "But, of course, discovering that someone had decided to come through our front door assisted in our discovery as well. But, does it matter now?—you're here, I'm here… now, tell me, what is there to do now?"

"Someone will come eventually," Kate said defiantly. "Atticus Stevenson sent us, and he's got even more powerful people with him! More powerful than you!"

Feisley laughed heartily. "Oh, Atticus Stevenson, that man is a joke. If only you children knew…"

"No, you're wrong! Atticus is a good man!"

"Good man or not, he is still weak, and not without his faults. In fact, you would be better off coming to work for my leader, the Sovereign—I think you'd find a few similarities in their methods. Unfortunately for you, there are no current job openings…"

"We don't need any job from you!" snapped James. "We'll never abandon Atticus!"

"Then perhaps it is about time that I finish what I came to start," Feisley said plainly. He took another few steps towards the two teens.

"Don't you come any closer!" Kate cried.

"Or what?"

"Or we'll fight!" growled James. Kate nodded in agreement.

Feisley reached up at his hood, and slowly pulled it down and around his neck. He had short, fiery red hair, spiked to the tips, and a face with a vilifying grin and deep blue eyes that appeared to have emotions of their own. "Now, that's the silver lining I've been searching for!" he exclaimed brightly. "Not only an excuse to take off that damned hood, but… dare I say it, a challenge?"

"That's right," Kate announced in reply. "We've been trained by Lao Shi, one of the greatest dragons in the world!"

"Lao Shi? I thought we killed that bloke…"

"Lao Shi survived the Dark Dragon, the deadliest magical creature of all time. What makes you think that you would pose more of a threat?"

"Well, the common conception is that the blast created at the Isle of Draco was to kill about ninety-nine percent of all living things in its vicinity—a smaller number than normal, because of the great size of the area covered. I did know that there were a few survivors… I simply did not expect Lao Shi to be one of them."

"You'd better believe it now!" exclaimed James. "What—are you scared of him?"

"Of Lao Shi? Young man, you do know how to make one laugh," Feisley snickered. "No, I am not scared of Lao Shi. We will just have to finish him off next time around…"

"Next time around?"

"Oh dear, I've said too much—clumsy me," said Feisley. "Don't you worry about any of that, though—you shall not be among the living when that time does come."

"That's enough!" James yelled. In a swift motion, he shifted into his dragon form and soared wildly at Feisley's idle figure. The man merely grinned, staring straight ahead, unwavering, as the black dragon at him. Kate looked on, not entirely ready to join in with the fight just yet. She saw James flying at Feisley, and in seconds it seemed as if they would collide… but instead, James halted quickly, having passed the spot where Feisly stood—or, at least, had stood.

"How rude of you!" Feisley's voice came from behind James. "You didn't even give me fair warning of our start!"

James whirled around, to behold Feisley, standing with his hands placed on his sides and a smug grin on his face. "But wait, perhaps I was wrong in my aforementioned statement. Tell me—is our combat to be turn-based?"

James lunged forward again, even more wildly than before. But once more, he was met with an empty space where Feisley had stood.

"My turn."

Feisley had appeared behind James again—he was teleporting! "Look out, James!" Kate called quickly, but James had no time to react. Before he could turn around, he was flying involuntarily into the air, and then stopped, as if he was being held there by some invisible force—or, perhaps, magic.

Kate stared in shock at James, and then slowly averted her gaze to Feisley. Both of his arms were outstretched forward, and surging light radiated from the tips of his hands. "This'll keep you from going out of turn again."

Slowly, James' body, which had now been rendered immovable by James himself, began to float toward Feisley. "You see, I have been called an assortment of dishonorable things in my life—and, as it might be said, for good reason—but I am a fair fighter nonetheless."

"No, you're not," grimaced James, his mouth and eyes the only parts of his body he was able to move. "You're crazy."

"That's nothing I haven't heard before," replied Feisley. "Now… shall we choose to await our turn before trying to attack next time?"

"No," James said. "I say we have a free-for-all, no turns—unless that's out of your nature."

"A rules change?" asked Feisley. "Hm… I think I could acquiesce that." He paused. "Then, in that case… let round one commence." And with this, Feisley threw his arms out in front of him in a sideways motion, and James was hurled to his right, smashing into one of the stone walls and collapsed in a heap.

"No!" Kate blurted. She shifted into her dragon form on the spot, and sent a group of thick vines hurtling at Feisley's figure. But Feisley, who had merely glanced at this unfolding occurrence, put up his right hand and produced an invisible force field, against which the vines smacked and writhed to the ground.

James blinked, trying to shrug off the daze that he had been put in by his impact against the wall. He stared up at Feisley, who was still standing in his exact-same spot, but was now eying Kate irately. "I was not aware that you were a part of this," said Feisley. "But if you insist…"

In a split second, Feisley vanished, but reappeared moments later… right behind Kate's unknowing figure.

"Kate!" James exclaimed as loud as he could. "Behind you!"

But Kate had no time to counter, as Feisley quickly threw an arm around her neck, holding her at her spot. "Had I not made it clear that this would be a moral conflict?" he whispered into her ear. "I am quite sure that I did. Now, what will we do about this…?"

"Please…" Kate cried, her eyes squinted in fear and her voice faltering.

"Perhaps…" whispered Feisley thoughtfully. "you shall be the first to join your friend in the afterlife." From his robe, he produced a small dagger, which he soon held against her neck. A few drops of blood trickled from the spot where Feisley held the dagger. "And, oh yes, I am certain that Mr. Harrelson has already finished off your friend… Ashleigh, is it? He always gets his prey…"

He paused, and then whispered even more quietly, "As do I…"

(end)

"It came from this way; I'm certain of it!" exclaimed Kay, as she rounded a corner rather sharply. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!"

Shade and Raffi followed closely in tow. The trio had reacted to hearing Ash's scream speedily, and had taken off in what Kay presumed to be the direction from whence the scream had come. But, with all of the twists and turns, she could've been wrong…

But she was right, they had to hurry—time was of the essence. A second wasted could prove fatal for Ash, or for any of the others.

Up ahead shone the bright columns at the center of the maze, a place where Kay and Shade had not yet been—but where Raffi, however, had been. "That's the center of the place right up there!" she called out as they ran. "It's where I started at. It's like a hub—there are paths leading in all directions there."

"Good," replied Shade. "Then that can be a meeting place from now on, especially if we can get to Ash in time…"

And he left the last part of the sentence off, as he did not know, and nor did others, what had happened to Ash, what had caused her to scream. They couldn't know if the situation she was in was deadly, or if it had been some sort of false alarm. They sure hoped it was the latter. But even so, they were in no position to make assumptions—they had to know for sure.

After rounding another corner, Kay found there to be a figure up ahead—could it be Ash? "Ash?" called Kay uncertainly as she continued to run. "Is that you?"

"No, it's Laura!" called the figure back. Upon nearing it, Shade, Kay, and Raffi were able to determine that it was Laura, who had apparently been venturing in their direction. "I heard someone scream—it sounded like Ash. What's going on?"

"We don't know," huffed Kay. "That's where we're headed…" She sprinted past Laura without the slightest hesitation, and thus Laura began to trot slowly after her. Soon, Shade and Raffi caught up to her. "Raffi!" Laura exclaimed. "I was just looking for you… I got a vision while in the central chamber that you were here, so I had come to look for you…"

"A vision?" asked Raffi curiously.

"I'll explain later," Shade replied shortly; then, turning to Laura, whispered, "I thought we said not to use that power anymore."

"I was fine, Shade!" Laura said. "I saw Raffi's pen, and I knew how much we needed to find her, so I just concentrated really hard and… I didn't even pass out!"

"Still, let's not make it a habit," whispered Shade in return. "We can't risk what happened last time."

"Okay. D'you think you could slow Kay down? I know where Ash was last, or at least the general area, so I can get us there the easiest without getting lost, I think."

"Yes, good point," Shade said. Then, calling to Kay: "Slow down, Kay. Let Laura lead—she has a better idea of where she's going."

"Good, because I don't," said Kay with a sigh of relief. She dropped back, and Laura pulled out to a slight lead.

In moments, they were at the central chamber of the maze. Laura did not stop, however, so Kay and Shade were given only seconds to survey the room's contents—the stone bed, the lightning bolt—inscribed towers…

It was about a minute later when the group reached the same long corridor that Jay, Laura, and Ash had split up in. "Ash went straight…" said Laura thoughtfully. "So she's gotta be down around the corner somewhere… either to the left or to the right."

They moved again. They neared the end of the corridor soon after, rushing out into the middle of the path that traversed their former path. They looked to the left… and found nothing. But of course, Laura thought, Jay would've gone that way; Ash wouldn't have as well. But it made her wonder nevertheless—where was Jay during all this? Had he reacted quicker to Ash's scream and was already on the scene? Hastily, they turned to the right… and off in the distance, there appeared to be a figure—maybe more. But it was dark, and the supposed figure was rather far way, so mere assumptions were the object of the game.

Without a word, the group began to run again—quicker, this time, for finally they had found something that might be of interest. As they ran, it did not become darker (luckily), and the figure did become more distinguishable. Suddenly, Shade, who had been out at the front of the group at that point, began to slow. The three others followed suit, although they did not know the reason for the hindrance of speed. Finally, Shade had come to a stop. They stared ahead—and found why, exactly, he had been so hesitant.

A white-robed humanoid figure was faced away from them, knelt down onto its knees. And now, given their close proximity, they could make out another figure—a dark-bluish dragon, sprawled out on the ground…

"Ash!" Kay cried out, unable to maintain the silence. She clasped her hands over her mouth agonizingly thereafter, horrified at what she had just done.

Slowly, the robed figure began to arise. It turned once it was at its full height, and although they could not see the face of the figure because of its large white hood, they knew now what it was…

"The Reich!" growled Shade.

There was a short silence that followed Shade's statement, but then, the figure spoke in a low, dark tone: "I expect you've come to join your friend?"

"Step away from her!" Laura yelled. "You're not going to hurt her—we won't let you!"

"Hurt her? Well, I think you're a bit late to prevent that, my dear," replied the robed figure coldly. "For if you'll notice, she appears to be slightly indisposed at the moment…"

Ash's frame had not moved since they had reached the Reich member.

"I don't care what you've done to her…" said Shade, "'cause now, you're gonna have to fight us…"

"Four against one, eh?" shot back the figure. "I do like a challenge, especially when, it seems, the odds are stacked against me."

"Yeah, and you've got none of your Reich cronies to help you out!" Raffi taunted.

"You're a smart one, aren't you? Yes, you're right, I am all alone. But you're unaware of one aspect of my being… and a highly key facet, at that."

"And that is…?"

"Patience, my dear…" said the Reich member.

"God, I'm tired of this!" Shade exclaimed. He rushed forward, shifted into his dragon form, and sped swiftly at his opponent. But to his surprise, the Reich member essentially disappeared in front of him, taking some sort of new form…

"He's a shape shifter, Shade!" Raffi yelled, and then paused in thought. "Kenneth Harrelson!"

"Thanks, I think I've got that!" barked Shade as he spun around to find Harrelson, who had, as with his battle with Ash, taken the form of an eagle. But this was only for a few moments, as shortly after, Harrelson changed into a new form—a non-flying one, at that.

"He's a bull now!" shouted Laura in warning. "Look out!"

Harrelson, now a bull, rushed at Shade, a mad gleam in its eyes. But Shade was ready, at least partially, and, using what strength he had, gripped the bull at the head, planting himself as firmly as he could on the ground. But still, the impact of the bull against his body caused Shade to skate backwards, although it was apparent that he had been able to disrupt some of Harrelson's momentum.

"Guys, I could use some help over here!" yelled Shade through gritted teeth.

"He's right!" Kay exclaimed, turning to Raffi and Laura. "There's no way he can take all four of us!"

The others nodded in agreement, and together the three girls morphed into dragons and hurried in Shade's aid. "Y'all wanna try a sideswipe?" Laura asked.

"A what?" asked Raffi timidly.

"Kay, you remember, right?"

"Do I?" smirked Kay.

"Raffi, just hang back," announced Laura. "Leave this to us."

Laura and Kay soared through the air, two abreast, in Harrelson and Shade's direction. They separated slightly, so that the space between them was tantamount to the width of Harrelson's bull form. When they were mere feet from the warring duo, Laura and Kay stuck out their claws—Laura, her right; Kay, her left. They flew past the bull, slashing their claws against Harrelson's rough skin.

The bull roared in pain, its legs buckling underneath it. Laura and Kay kept their claws set against Harrelson all the way to his neck, at which point they peeled away, so as to avoid crashing into Shade's stature.

Shade's struggle against Harrelson was finally able to cease. He stepped back vaguely, surveying his debilitated enemy. "Laura! Kay!" ordered Shade. "Go tend to Ash; make sure she's alright!" Then, he turned to Raffi. "Raffi, let's finish him…"

Raffi nodded, although she was unsure what, exactly, Shade had in mind. Quickly, Shade grabbed the bull by the horns (A/N: Oh lolz there I go again…) and, his face clenched as he attempted to utilize as much vigor as possible, spun Harrelson around and tossed him into the air. "Kick it!" called Shade to Raffi as the bull came careening toward her. "We learned this in training one day, remember? Kick him back to me!"

Raffi did remember—it had been about halfway through their stay at the academy, and Lao Shi had worked with them on 'volleys,' wherein they would either kick or punch an airborne object back where it came from. Granted, Raffi knew that this would be rather hard to do, given the bull's large mass, but it was worth a try. "Comin' back at you, Shade!" she exclaimed, with a hint of indecisiveness in her voice, although not enough to be fully noticed. She flew into the air and, when Harrelson was in her vicinity, threw out her right leg in a kicking motion. And, although it moderately hurt her leg to do so, she was able to connect with the bull, and thus Harrelson was sent back in the opposite direction, although not as high as he had been.

This did not give Shade much time to react, but he had already planned out his course of action prior, so he was ready. He sent a long stream of ice at Harrelson, one wide enough to encompass his entire being. It took a few moments, but soon, Harrelson was covered from head to toe in a solid block of ice. Shade then moved swiftly, so as to avoid Harrelson's incoming figure. And finally, Harrelson's frame thudded against the ground, ice scattering all over, although the sheet of ice surrounding Harrelson was so thick that not all of the ice was broken, and thus he was still rendered immobile.

Raffi rushed to Shade's side. "Amazing!" she exclaimed brightly, embracing him in a tight hug. "Was that your plan all along?"

"Yeah, actually," replied Shade. "But I didn't expect the ice to hold like it did. I figured it'd break on impact."

"So… does that mean we've won?"

"Yeah… it looks like it," nodded Shade.

(end)

Feisley's eyes widened, and then his gaze dulled considerably. His arms were still holding Kate against him, the dagger at rest alongside her throat. James lay nearby, still attempting to snap out of his daze so that he could stop Feisley. But he couldn't… he felt powerless to do so… even in Kate's time of dire need…

Feisley growled. "It would appear…" he said coldly, "that the status of my colleague, Mr. Harrelson, has been gravely altered."

James grinned slightly. This had to mean that the others had stopped Harrelson…somehow.

In a quick motion, Feisley removed the dagger from Kate's throat and shoved her to the ground. He slid his weapon back into his robe, and then stared forward at Kate and James, as James had risen and had come to Kate's aid, albeit slowly. "Do not think of this as a victory," Feisley began, "for I warn you—we will meet again. Do recall, a good number of the greatest battles in history were not continuous. Thus, our little conflict, inside this war, shall be so." He brought his hands to his hood, and pulled it over his head. "I repeat, my children, this is not over. I will not meet you again here, in this place… but rest assured, a conclusion to our divergence shall come in the future. Until that day comes (and I look forward to it), well, I bid thee farewell."

Before either James or Kate could respond, Feisley walked over to the nearest wall, and, as he had entered into their presence, dissolved into the wall, becoming an ethereal dark shadow on its side. It left their presence quickly, sliding among the wall and off into the distance.

James watched the shadow until it was out of sight, and then turned to Kate. "Are you alright?"

"…I've never been so scared in my life…" stuttered Kate in reply.

"But without you, he surely would've killed me," James said as he helped her onto her feet. He rested a talon on her shoulder. "And I thank you for that…"

Kate nodded slowly. "I had to distract him somehow, I guess…"

James smiled. "And that you did." He then turned in the direction where Feisley had left. "C'mon, I have a feeling that whatever has stopped Harrelson has something to do with the others…" And with that, they left to pursue Feisley, wherever he was off to…

(end)

"Yeah, he's definitely not moving…" commented Shade on Harrelson's bull form, which was still idle inside the block of ice. "I don't think he can even shift his form now!"

"Agreed," added Raffi. "So what should we do with him?"

"Well, we should try to contact Jay, Kate, and James… get them over here," Shade replied. "We can go from there. I dunno what to do with him right now…"

"…then perhaps I might be able to take him off of your hands!" shouted a voice from behind them.

Before they could react, Raffi and Shade were both knocked to the ground by a certain force. They then quickly turned their heads, so as to determine what—or who—had knocked them to the ground.

Now knelt beside the block of ice that contained Harrelson was another white-robed figure, another member of the Reich. "It looks like Kenneth finally met his match…" spoke the robed figure. "This quite interests me, if I am to be frank." He placed his hands on the ice, and, as if by magic, the ice began to melt away.

"Stop!" yelled Shade. He leapt from the ground and bounded at the Reich members. But the kneeling figure, with a flick of his wrist, sent Shade sprawling backward. Kay and Laura, who had been tending to Ash's idle form, had stopped momentarily to watch these events unfold.

Soon, the ice was completely melted away, and slowly, the bull began to lessen in size, reverting to human form—its dark brown hair receding into its body, the snout diminishing as human facial features began to form, its hooves splitting into five separate digits. Soon, Harrelson's human form lay where the bull had been, although the bloody scars on his sides that had been inflicted by Kay and Laura were still present, and at that point his eyes were shut tight.

"How unfortunate," muttered the other Reich member. He laid his hands on Harrelson's figure once more, and in a flash, both disappeared into the air, nowhere to be seen.

Raffi stood up, and then walked over to Shade, helping him up. "Thanks…" he mumbled, brushing himself off. "I wonder what that was all about."

"Apparently, someone had come to save Harrelson and take him back to…wherever," said Raffi. "D'you think it's over?"

"For now," Shade replied. "Here, let's go see how Ash is doing…"

They walked over to Kay and Laura, who were still knelt beside Ash—still in her dragon form. Kay and Laura, however, were already human once more, and soon after, Shade and Raffi joined them. "How's she doing?" Raffi asked.

"Breathing," replied Kay. "Apparently, Harrelson couldn't finish the job… I think we got here just in time."

"Has she responded yet?"

"No, but we're working on it," Laura said. "It's the back of her head; I think that Harrelson was in his eagle form and sliced the back of it. If we could just wake her up and get her back into her human form, it would be easier to at least hinder her wounds… luckily, she has stopped bleeding, though…"

Shade turned to Raffi. "If we could splash some water on her, we might be able to wake her up… and that would clean up the back of her head, as well. If I can lay out some thin ice on her head, and you can heat it up… maybe it'll work."

"Worth a try," nodded Raffi. "Let's do it…"

(end)

"How did this happen?" Feisley asked sternly.

Harrelson slumped into a nearby chair. "They ganged up on me, Marcus. I had Ashleigh nearly finished off, when they showed up…"

Feisley sighed, and paced around the room they were now in—a white-walled room, with an enormous screen and various controls and buttons on one side; on the other side, a row of individual doors, which stretched on much further than the room they were in. "I had thought, Kenneth, that you, of all people, would foresee this! You, of all people, would know the children's strengths and weaknesses!"

"I do," grimaced Harrelson. "I have been studying them for quite some time. But I was greatly outnumbered! Four to one! What was I supposed to do?"

Feisley stepped towards one of the doors, saying nothing immediately. "ARGH!" he grunted, slamming his fists against the door. Then, keeping one fist raised against the door, cocked his head slightly toward Harrelson. "The Sovereign will not be pleased… he'll have our heads for this."

"It's not over yet!" exclaimed Harrelson, who stood up quickly, but then sat back down, clutching his sides in pain. "We can still finish the job later on…"

Feisley turned completely toward Harrelson. "You heard his instructions!—dispose of all of the children. They are now our principal threat, and after today, they have become only more imposing." He began rubbing his forehead methodically. "It's the training they received at the academy, I just know it… it wasn't supposed to be like this."

Harrelson stood up again and, ignoring his abrasions, ambled over to Feisley until he was right at his face. "Do not worry," he said in a low, hushed voice. "This all can still be righted."

"How so?" asked Feisley.

"Report back to the Sovereign, and explain to him that we shall need a bit more time with the children. Convince him to speed up the injection process on our captives."

"And what about you?"

"I will continue my studies," said Harrelson with a pained grin. "As such, I will be sure that the children find their way out of the labyrinth. No matter what occurs after that, they will return to the academy. We can converge on them while they are there…"

"Do you think that will work?" Feisley asked doubtfully.

"Of course it will work," Harrelson nodded. "That academy is not as reclusive, nor as safe, as they believe…"

"Let the power of the Sovereign be with you," said Feisley. He placed his hands on Harrelson's sides, where his wounds were. Harrelson winced at this, but soon was soothed. He unbuttoned his robe halfway, so that he could view his midriff. The scars were disappearing, leaving the skin as bare as it had been previously. In seconds, one could not tell that Harrelson had ever been attacked.

"Thank you, brother," Harrelson bowed to his colleague, buttoning up his robe. He turned on his heel and started out of the room, while Feisley rubbed his head once more and then teleported away.

(end)

Ash coughed, her eyes fluttering open. She moaned soon after this, and rolled over onto her back. "Hello…?" she asked weakly.

"It worked," Shade grinned at Raffi. "Awesome." He then turned to Ash. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Was I dead?"

"No, but you probably would've been, if we hadn't shown up," Kay chimed in.

Ash grunted, raising and propping herself up with her arms. "Where's Harrelson?"

"Gone," replied Raffi. "We beat him bad, in fact."

One of Ash's hands went to the back of her head. "Why is my head still wet?" she asked. "I'm not still bleeding, am I?"

"No, it's water. It's how we woke you up… we weren't able to any other way."

"I guess I should thank you guys, shouldn't I?"

"No need to," said Shade. "We're just glad to have you back." He held out a hand, and Ash took it, so that she could be helped up. She slowly reverted back to human form, and when she was fully human, began to collapse again.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Shade, as he grabbed one of her arms. Laura quickly grasped the other. "I guess you're not gonna be able to stand by yourself yet…"

"Just give me a sec," Ash replied. "I'll be…fine."

There were footsteps reverberating through the stone corridors, and it seemed to be coming from the area from whence they had initially came. "Not again…" whispered Raffi. "I think someone's coming!"

And there was someone coming, although their intentions were friendly. "It's James and Kate!" Kay exclaimed. "They must've heard us!"

"We came as quick as we could!" said James, gasping for breath, when the duo reached the larger group. "Has he been here?"

"Harrelson? Yeah, and he left rather quickly, I would say…" beamed Laura.

"No, not Harrelson… Feisley! Marcus Feisley!"

"Marcus Feisley is here too?" Shade asked alarmingly. Then, he receded into deep thought, before saying, "He was the other robed figure…"

"So he's been here?"

"Yeah," replied Shade. "And he took away Harrelson before we could figure out what to do with him. They're both gone…"

James sighed in disappointment. "Well, at least we're all alright…" Then, looking at Ash: "Most of us, at least."

"Did you guys find an exit?" asked Kay.

"No, did you?" Kate replied.

Everyone shook their heads. "It's like this place has no exit…" grumbled James. "But it's gotta…"

"We could go back to the central chamber of the labyrinth," Raffi suggested. "We could regroup there, and send everyone out from there. We haven't checked everywhere yet…"

The group could hear more footsteps. This time, it seemed to be only one person. This unnerved the group—could Harrelson or Feisley be returning for round two?

"Who's there?" asked Kate aloud.

"It's me," came Jay's voice. "I've missed everything, haven't I?"

"You sure have!" Kay exclaimed as Jay came into full view. "Where have you been?!"

Jay walked up to them slowly, clutching, it seemed, at his head. "I was just walking," he started, "when I saw something up ahead! I thought it might be a door outta here, or something, so I ran ahead. But when I neared what had caught my eye, I found that it definitely wasn't a door.

"It was a white-robed man!" he continued. "He was crouched, as if he had been waiting for me to walk by, but had been hiding. When I saw him, though, he arose, and said something… I couldn't tell what, exactly. And then, before I could react, he disappeared… and then I felt something hit my head from behind me… and that's all I remember.

"I woke up after that," said he, "and heard you guys. So I came to find you…"

"It must've been Harrelson," Ash said. "He did the same thing to me."

"But Feisley's a teleporter," said James. "It could've been him..."

"Either way," Shade said, "we're all together now. And I say that we go with Raffi's idea."

"Sounds good to me," Laura said. "Since Shade and I gotta help Ash, we'll lead. Everyone follow us…"

And about ten minutes later, they were in the central room of the maze, where Raffi's tenure in the labyrinth had begun and where Laura had received her most-recent vision. Shade and Laura propped Ash up onto the stone bed, while the others began to talk of a plan.

"So… do you think we should split up into pairs?" asked James. "Eight of us, four different paths…"

"This didn't work last time," Jay said. "What makes you think it will this time?"

Laura turned away in disgust. She knew that this would not end well… in the end, no one would be able to figure anything out. It was this maze that was doing this to them… this maze that had no apparent exits…

But then, something caught her eye: the lightning bolts on the columns that lit the chamber. What were they for? Why lightning bolts?

"Do you have a better idea?" James asked.

"As a matter of fact, no," replied Jay. "This place has no exit; I'm sure of it. The Reich just wants us to stay here. The best thing to do is to stay here, so that we're at least all together!"

James scowled, staring down at the ground. Then, he was about to say something else… but instead, his gaze rested on something else.

"Laura, why are you in your dragon form?"

"I have an idea…" Laura said, glancing around at the four columns. "Pay attention, everyone… I don't want anyone to get hurt."

She pointed one talon at the closest column. And then, she sent a current of electricity at the column—or, rather, the glowing lightning bolt.

At this, the bolt glowed brighter. Brighter, brighter… and then a beam of light shot at the column next to it. This process repeated until all four columns were glowing bright, and beams of light connected all of the columns.

There came a sound of rumbling from inside the chamber. The stone bed began to shake, causing Ash to leap from it as quickly as she could, holding herself up on James' arm. The bed then started to move to the side, scratching against the stone floor, as it revealed something underneath where it had once sat.

The rumbling stopped, and so did the bed. The temporary brightness of the columns dimmed, and soon, all was back to the way it had been at first—save, of course, for the new location of the bed.

Jay walked over to the spot where the bed had once sat, and then stepped back. "It's a staircase…" he announced to the rest of the group. "And a short one, at that. I can see the bottom from here!"

Shade looked at Jay in awe, and then turned to Laura, who was back in her human form. "How did you…?"

"I remembered the flame symbol on the wall a while ago," explained Laura, "and how it activated the door to get down here. When I saw the lightning bolts, I wondered if that would have some kind of similarity to the flame symbol… and it looks like I was right."

"Shall we go down, then?" Jay said, returning attention to the newly-found staircase.

"If it's a way outta here, count me in!" Kate exclaimed. She rushed over and hurried down the stairs without hesitation. The others followed, James and Shade helping Ash down the stairs.

They came to, at the bottom of the stairs, a moderately-sized room… a room that emptied into a long, narrow corridor, which was lined by doors as far as the eye could see. The walls were completely white, and the place itself was only dimly-lit. On one side of the room they had just entered into was a large screen, with many controls around it, as well as a few chairs—perhaps some sort of supercomputer.

"…are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Laura asked, eyes wide.

"It's the place! It's where the captive dragons are!" Raffi cried out. "Don't you think?—there's all these doors! This is what Feisley and Harrelson were trying to keep us from."

"One problem," announced Kay, standing at the nearest door with her hand on the handle. "Locked doors."

"There's gotta be a button somewhere…" said Shade. "A universal one, that opens all of the doors. Everyone, get looking!"

The group spread out throughout the room, scrutinizing every aspect of the room. "It's probably over here," Jay said from the area of the room where the controls and buttons were.

"Yeah, and I think I've found it," Raffi said. She pointed at a large red button that was not labeled. "It just kinda screams 'don't push me,' don't you think?"

"Push it," Shade said. "Let's find out."

Raffi complied, and as if on cue, all the doors opened synchronically. "Alright!" Kay shouted with glee. She rounded the door and went into the room, expecting to see either a kid or a dragon… but instead…

"There's nothing in here!"

Shade's eyes widened. "Someone check the other rooms!" he ordered. The next five rooms were checked—and still, nothing. It looked as if no one had ever been in the rooms, for that matter.

The large screen in front of them flickered on noticeably. All eight teens turned to look, and joined each other at the center of the room.

A white-robed figure had appeared on the screen. It was seated on a large wooden chair, with the backdrop of a tinted wall and a glowing fireplace, and various adornments on the wall.

"Greetings, children," spoke the figure, whose mouth could not be seen because of the large white hood over its head. It was a man—and, as it seemed, an old one at that. "I am the Sovereign.

"If you are receiving this message, you have not only made it out of the labyrinth, but you have evaded two of my most powerful constituents. Be it known, however, that while I make this message for you in the case that my plan fails, I do not expect this message to be used, as I expect Mr. Feisley and Mr. Harrelson to eliminate you once you are inside the labyrinth. If, however, I am proved erroneous, there shall be much elucidation needed if I am to spare my two dear contemporaries.

"As I am sure you have noticed, the ninety captive dragons are not here. Confused? Yes, I am sure you are. Allow me to let you in on a little secret—they never were here! We planted false information for your friends at the academy in order to lead you all here. And while, it seems, we have failed in our initial plan, this will not change a thing.

"We still have the dragons. They are currently being held at our real headquarters. Where that is, I will not say—you've made it this far; I am sure that, given time, you might be able to figure it out for yourselves. But I doubt that, I really do—if you have not determined where the dragons are hidden yet, I doubt you ever will.

"I know that one among you is named Laura, and Laura, I know that you have some questions for me. And to answer you—yes, it is true that we were able to activate your psychic ability. However, the vision that you saw in the operation room was a fabrication, a lie—it never happened… at least, in that room. We awakened your ability so that you could witness this vision, which we planted there in hopes that you would come across it, so that your group would continue to search our 'headquarters.' If we did not create a reason for you to believe that the dragons were here, would you have stayed? No, I do not think so.

"So, you all might be asking yourself, 'What now? Where do we go from here?' I have just one answer for you, children—run, and hide. Your academy is not as safe as you think it to be; if you return there, we will know, and we will find you. Your only option is to find a secure place, until we can pinpoint your exact location. You see, there is no way out of this—despite what you have been told, you are not prophesized to vanquish us, the all-powerful Reich. You are destined to die at our hands.

"Regrettably, I believe that I have exceeded my time I designated for this message. I have things to do, people to see, and magical creatures to exterminate… I hope you'll understand. There is a door at the end of the long corridor that will open upon the ending of this message—it is the exit. Do not fear, there will not be an ambush waiting for you. I will give you a head start. Not that it will matter…

"And with this, my children, I bid thee a pleasant return home, or a return to wherever you are headed. I expect that I, or at least one of my colleagues, will be meeting with you soon. But until then… it's your move."

END CHAPTER