Chapter Ten: For a Kiss?
Stepping through the gateway they would find themselves seemingly back on the roof. The sky above and around them still thundered and poured down on them.
"What in the world? Did it not work?" Mallory questioned with widened eyes.
Tanya looked over her scanners on her omnitool, "It says we definitely went through the door."
"Everything looks exactly the same, and I don't see Heart anywhere!" Nosedive said in confusion as he glanced down from the rooftop.
Yet as the blonde drake fixed his blue eyes on the sights below he would then say, "Hey guys, where did Wing's statue go?"
Wildwing looked with his brother to find the stone guardian gone from the doorway of the building they stood on, "How did that happen?"
"Perhaps we're in a similar dimension as our own?" Grin offered.
Duke was looking at his comm, hoping to find her signal. As he found nothing answering him from her he began to fear the worst.
Niobe noticed his worried expression and mentioned, "Maybe her comm just got damaged during the transport here, or even during the fight? I'm sure she's okay."
Before Duke could say anything a loud roar caught their attention. Looking out over the city that they soon realized while similar in set up, was quite different in style and structure. Hanging off shop signs were metalic depictions of mythical creatures such as dragons and other beasts. As they scaled down to the streets below they would find other such differences. Rather than televisions in window displays they saw crystal balls. They would pass by a sign that Wildwing read aloud in bewilderment, "Spells and Potions?"
Walking inside their awe would continue to see several bottled liquids, odd ingrediants, and other such things stocking the shelves.
"Man this is weird," Nosedive commented while distracted by the oddities around them.
Wildwing, Niobe, and Tanya went right to the center desk towards the back of the shop. There they found a short pale man with pointed ears and a long pointed nose. He'd been reading the paper when Wildwing asked, "Excuse me...but what are you?"
The short man raised a brow and questioned, "What you don't know a gnome when you see one?"
"Look where are we?" Tanya asked.
"What, you're in Anaheim where else? A once proud kingdom, now reigned over by the vile sorceroer Asteroth! It disgusts me just to say it!" He answered quickly before grimacing, "But...uh, don't let it get around that I called him that alright?"
Before any of the three could respond he whipped out some bottles in an attempt to make a sale, "Now can I interest you in some nice bat wings, some eye of newt maybe?"
"Uh...we're just sorta gonna browse," Tanya replied while backing away from the glass viles.
As they turned around the gnome grumbled disheartened, "Man first that cursed princess tries to buy from me...probably put a hex on my shop...now this."
"Wait, what did you say?" Niobe spun around on her heel to ask.
"Oh nothing that would interest you. In fact you'd do well to stay away from her," the gnome warned with a shrug, "Those scales of hers are a dead give away."
"Scales? Did you see where she went?" Niobe asked.
Duke had been looking over a nearby shelf when he heard this and looked over.
"I don't know! I told her to get out as soon as she came through the door! I don't need her bringing trouble to my shop!" the salesman retorted.
"How would she bring trouble to your shop?" Wildwing asked.
"Look, all I know is when she showed up last time our kingdom got taken over by Asteroth!" the gnome exclaimed, "Now if you're not going to buy anything please leave! I have work to do!"
He then went back to reading his paper, leaving the group more perplexed than they had been upon entering his shop. They decided staying wouldn't get them much more information and left. In a window pane they would catch an advertisement for some breakfast item in a crystal ball.
"Woah! This is blowing my mind daddy-o-man!" Nosedive pondered while scratching his head.
"Can somebody please explain what is going on here?" Mallory questioned with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, hey it's obvious. We came to Anaheim from another dimesion right?" Duke started sorting it out.
The others nodded along as he continued while drawing his saber with an eagerness emerging from him, "So we've come to a completely different dimension; a dimension that's ruled by magic, sorcery, adventure! Oh yeah! This is my kinda town baby!"
He had slashed through the air a couple times to emphasize his words before pausing and mentioning a bit tempered back, "She'd have fun adventurin' here with us wouldn't she...?"
"We'll find her Duke," Grin offered some assurance.
Though it was clear that they all were pondering over what the shopkeeper had said.
"It might not be her," Mallory attempted, "This place seems to have dragons as a motif so it could be anyone."
"That would be a huge coincedence," Tanya said.
"It couldn't be her," Nosedive tried to reason, "He said this girl showed up before whoever this Asteroth is. Heart lives with us back in our Anaheim!"
"Dive..." Niobe mentioned carefully as he looked to her, "We still don't know who she was before all of that. Yes she's our friend...but..."
"She's not some cursed princess!" Nosedive snapped startling everyone a bit.
Only now did Wildwing realize how worried his brother had really been through all of this. Looking to him now he could see that his hands had balled into fists as he was being forced to focus on the questions running through their heads. Niobe recoiled a bit to see him so frustrated.
"Heart's just Heart! She's our sister! She doesn't go around putting hexes on shops and kingdoms! She's out there somewhere trying to find her way back to us while we question who she used to be?!" Nosedive pushed.
"Easy Dive," Wildwing rested a hand on his brother's shoulder, "We know she's our sister, and we'll find her. Regardless of who she was before, nothing has changed."
He glanced at Duke and added, "Well...most things haven't changed."
"Man why aren't you standing up for her?" Dive questioned after thinking a moment on this.
Duke wasn't sure how to answer this, but never got the chance when they heard some sort of struggle occuring nearby. The screech of some winged creature was pulling them nearer to investigate before they saw it. A vulture like beast was flinging bolts of magic down upon a shielded figure as he batted the lightening back up at it.
"Fowl creature, be gone!" The shielded fighter declared as the bolt struck the winged beast, causing it to shriek and fly off.
Upon hearing the group running up to him the warrior turned around and laughed proudly, "Ha! Asteroth sends more bird creatures to capture me?! Can't he think of something original?!"
With that the gnome swordsman flung his blade, sending it flying around Nosedive who was trying to dodge it. Just before it hit him Duke stepped forth and knocked the sword away with his own saber. The point of the blade stuck into the ground at the gnome's feet.
"Hey take it easy!" Duke said, "You can poke somebody's eye out with that thing, I should know."
The slight tension from that comment was felt by each of his teammates, yet he didn't seem bothered by it himself.
"You appear to be manevolent creatures," the warrior stated while looking them over with caution.
"Yeah well looks can be deceivin'," Duke told him, "We are friends to anyone who struggles for a good cause!"
The others looked to one another and wondered if Duke was being genuine in his eagerness, or masking the worry he harbored. None the less they shrugged and let him take charge for the moment.
"Well then friend, I am glad to see you!" The blonde gnome declared with a true smile before offering a hand for Duke to shake, "I am Borg, reigning prince of Anaheim!"
"Your heighness maybe you can help us," Wildwing mentioned with some hope, "We're actually looking for someone. One of your subjects mentioned seeing her?"
Borg raised a brow at this, but the unease in his eyes about gave him away. He knew this and relaxed back into a hopeful smile, "Perhaps you can help her then."
"Hurry with me!" Borg waved for them to follow as they did just that, "It is not safe for me to linger out in the open!"
As they slipped through the city streets Duke couldn't help but look out at the mountains in the distance passed the kingdom's walls. A part of him felt a yearning to explore those vast landscapes, but another drive brought his focus back. For more than any of them knew, even Nosedive trying to cal him out earlier, Duke was thinking about what had been said.
"You know where Heart is then?" Niobe asked.
"Aye," Borg nodded, "Though I am curious as to how you know her?"
"Heart came to our world about half a year ago," Wildwing explained, "Dive and I took her in and she's been with us since."
The prince's blue eyes widened a bit when he heard this, "I see."
He then gave a slight smile, "I am glad she was doing well it sounds...perhaps you can take her away from here again."
Duke raised a brow at this comment, and grew worried when Borg added, "If we can get to her in time."
"Get to her? What happened?" Wildwing asked.
The young prince then began weaving the tale of his stolen kingdom as they walked, "Anaheim has been usurped by Asteroth, Lord of the Red Dragon. He enslaved the people, made my palace a citidel of evil, and sends monsters to hunt me down."
While they listened Tanya looked at her omnitool and mentioned, "The doorway's just closed."
"So this doorway brought you here?" Borg asked.
"It pulled Heart in and we sorta followed after her," Nosedive confirmed.
"Now we need a new way back home after we find her," Wildwing added with rising concern, "to continue the mission we left back in our realm."
"My friends, perhaps we can help one another!" Borg exclaimed with a burst of eagerness in his eyes and tone.
"How your heiness?" Duke inquired.
The group turned to listen carefully to the prince's plan as he stood on the top of the dumpster he'd sat on, "The key to Asteroth's power is his amulet, help me defeat him and it can return you to your world!"
Wildwig smiled through the mask and offered a finger for the prince to shake with his much smaller hand, "Your heiness, it's a deal!"
Duke then asked the prince, "You said ya know where Heart is by the way?"
Borg nodded with worry touching his vivid blue eyes, "I sensed her magic nearby when it happened. Yet she was ensnared before I could reach her and spirited away to what was once my palace."
"Then the sooner we get there the better," Wildwing confirmed.
"Let us head out then!" Borg declared as he lead the way.
Meanwhile Heart opened her eyes slowly with a dull ache in her head and a stinging spirring her awake from her arm. Yet they snapped wide open when she realized she didn't know where she was. The last thing she remembered was being on the roof of the pond with the others. Duke had been there with someone trying to...She then remembered. She couldn't forget the fear she'd felt when she thought she wouldn't reach him in time, and how certain she'd been when she saw him nearly taken from them by Kay's blade. Her heart in her chest tightened when she also knew very well what she'd said in regards to the ex-thief of their team. If she saw him again there'd be no hiding from it.
She then began looking around the dimmly lit room she found herself in. There were a few shelves holding tomes and scrolls. At the center of the chamber was a bubbling cauldron. Beside it stood a crimson cloaked figure that turned to her. A cruel grin crept over his white goateed face as his green eyes cast their sights on her, "Ran out of places to hide did you?"
"What?" Heart asked with a heavy voice trying to wake up.
"You don't recognize me?" he scoffed with some surprise, "Really now?"
"I seem to have forgotten some things," Heart admitted as she now realized her hands had been bound by chains that held them up against the cold stone wall.
She also realized that in her unconscious state she'd undergone a few more changes. From the base of her spine a reptilian tail had grown out. It's scales matched the rest that had formed on her thus far. Her hands were scaled now with the tips of claws emerging from her nails. She remained in her sleepwear and stocking feet without her gear or glaive to defend herself with.
"How true dragon magic was wasted on a mere wench like you I'll never understand," he sneered at the girl as she tried to pull her wrists free.
Heart's eyes widened to hear this remark. She looked up at the elderly robed figure as he shook his head in disgust. Then he regained his cruel smile, "No matter, I have a bit of that magic to harness."
He caressed the emerald green amulet hanging from a gold chain around his neck and chuckled, "Do you recognize this at least?"
Heart didn't and did at the same time. For a second she could have sworn that it was watching her somehow as it gleamed in the low light cast by the lit torches around the chamber. He raised a brow and pondered, "You have forgotten everything?"
Then he waved this off as well as he assured her, "Do not fret over that for long. Soon the spell I cast on you will leave you serving me and you will have no need to remember much else at that point."
"I'm not staying here!" She assured with a growl in her voice, "I am not serving anyone!"
"You never did in the first place," he taunted, "No one would let the likes of you into their ranks. You were cast out for the scales that hadn't even grown in yet. Now that you have them they will forsake you even more. However, I will not let some talent go to waste. Do not resist my offer child, lend me that power and I will take good care of you."
"I don't know what you're talking about! Now let me go!" Heart snapped while trying to ignore the thoughts racing through her head.
"I think you do know that at least," he snickered as energy softly sparked around her bound frame in warning.
It was then that something from within the cauldron pulled his attention away. Outside the walls of his fortress he could see feathered warriors aiding the elusive prince in an attempt to defeat the guards he'd posted on the roof. To his surprise they managed to best the two warped soldiers and were heading to the front gate. His white haired brow raised before furrowing as he gave a dark chuckle. Heart's eyes widened when she heard two voices from the echoing cauldron.
First was one she vaguely recognized, "We must face many parels to get to Asteroth's stronghold!"
"Aw you're just saying that to cheer us up right?" Nosedive laughed.
"Dive?!" Heart gasped in alarm and relief all at once.
Asteroth turned to her with sudden intrigue, "You know these feathered allies of Borg?"
Heart couldn't hide it. Then the warlock snickered, "Well then, let's send them a greeting party shall we?"
With that he walked over to another corner of the room where a pile of bones lay resting. As he raised his hands up he chanted until they started to glow, "The bones of those I have defeated, arise my vanquished ones and destroy these intruders!"
Heart watched in horror as the bones began to shift and put themselves together, forming fallen soldiers and warriors alike. Their makeshift bodies rattled with their movements. As they did Heart realized this may be her only chance. Taking advantage of the distracting sounds she pulled on her shackles, the chain clinked and clanked with their armor and bones. Finally with the new strength in her scaled arms she managed to snap her chains, her arms dropping before her. The cuffs would remain on, but at least she could make a break for it. So she did. Heart bolted down the hall after sneaking around the cauldron while Asteroth was distracted by giving orders to his skeleton army, "Now go!"
Heart would then find herself in a winding labyrinth, daunting and confusing. Behind her the skeletons could be heard. An idea occurred to her as she ducked into a wrong turn and waited for them to pass. Once they passed she began following after them.
Sure enough they lead her to the very one she was seeking as they charged into a council chamber.
"Heads up!" Nosedive exclaimed when he saw the undead warriors filling into the room with weapons raised.
Heart would see Duke step forth and draw his saber and say in jest, "I guess Asteroth's got a few skeletons in his closet huh?"
"Let's rock ducks!" Mallory shouted.
Realizing she wasn't armed Heart looked around for something she could use. As she did she then saw Duke in the middle of a dual with a sword wielding skeleton. His blade collided into it's shield a few times before he managed to lunge forward, detaching the head that flew up and landed in his open hand as he chuckled, "Well that's one way to get ahead!"
Heart would hear other such bone related puns given by her teammates as she now ran in to help them. With or without her glaive she realized there may be a way for her to help as she grabbed one lunging at Niobe and knocked it into the nearby wall with her tail. Hearing the shattering of bones behind her Niobe turned around and exclaimed with relief, "Heart!"
"Need some help with these boneheads?" Heart asked.
Niobe tried not to laugh as they heard Nosedive nearby exclaim, "Sis! You're okay!"
In the moment Heart allowed her recent confusion and fear drift away as she smiled at her twin instead. She then noticed Duke looking over at her with relief in his eye. There was a certain skip in her chest when she saw he was there and seeming to be okay. However before she could say anything to him she noticed a skeletal fighter come up to his side with a spear in hand.
"Look out!" She called to him as the drake turned in time to block the attack with his saber.
He jabbed forward, stiking the spine of the warrior that now let out an odd laugh. Duke chuckled in reply, "Ah, right in the funny bone!"
With that he dismantled the skeleton and the others fell as well in their own battles against their teammates. Duke now hopped down from the wooden table he'd been fencing on and regrouped with the others, "The coast is clear!"
"Woah!" Duke suddenly exclaimed as a dark shadow was cast over them.
Heart looked up with them to see a massive giant skeleton towering over them as he raised his blade over high. Duke turned swiftly, shielding Heart as he held out a hand, "Except for him. Got a spare puck Wildwing?"
Their leader obliged and set one in the rogue's hand. With a click of the button Duke chucked the explosive at the giant just as it went off, stopping the attack instantly. With bones and bits of armor raining down Duke asked, "Anybody got anymore bone jokes? No? Let's move on!"
They hurried back to the hall Heart had just escaped. Catching their breath they took in Heart's changes now. None the less Nosedive and Wildwing both pulled her into a bear hug as her twin exclaimed, "We were so worried about you girly-girl!"
Heart smiled and hugged them back just as tightly. Niobe let out a sigh of her own to see her friend safe and sound it seemed. She then glanced up at Duke as he seemed to hold back from taking Heart from her brothers, as he had thus far. Niobe wondered for a moment what was going through his head now that they had all heard Heart confess to loving him.
Before going any further Tanya tended to Heart's arm, cleaning and bandaging it for her. She couldn't help but tease to lift her spirits, "Can you ever stay in one piece?"
Heart shrugged apologetically.
"So let's go send that sorry sorceror packing and get back home!" Nosedive proclaimed with a puff of pride in his chest.
Duke however paused and seemed to take in the fact that Heart still was dressed for bed without her usual means of defense. Though he noted the claws and tail she now had he turned and glanced at the fallen warriors and walked over to one. He picked up a sword that was light in weight, but sturdy. He then approached Heart and handed it to her by the hilt, "Here, it's better than nothin' right?"
Heart gave a nod as she took the blade from him, "Thank you."
As she grasped the hilt Heart would feel him brush his hand against hers gently before closing his over hers briefly. Another skip was felt in her chest and he hid from his doing just the same. Then he pulled his hand away. At least that's what he was going to do.
Instead he looked at the young woman standing in her sleepwear as she had when risking her life for his. She deserved to know what was going through his head as he stood there with her, but knew it wasn't the time...but what if he lost his chance again? What if she got hurt again?
Their attention was then pulled back to the group and to the prince as he stated, "Now my friends, there is one more thing that stands in our way, the maze of infinite parrel."
After exchanging a few jokes about this and how it related to the matching building back in their Anaheim they headed forth. As they walked they began to ask Heart about what had happened to her.
"All I know is when I woke up here I was in this dungeon," she started before she was reminded of the warlock's words in regards to her, "And...I think...this may have been my home..."
"Borg told us that as well. It seems he knew you from before you came to find us on Puck World?" Niobe mentioned.
Heart looked to the prince, but nothing would register as she did. Anything from before waking up in Wildwing and Nosedive's home simply couldn't be found. However the scales that covered her were more than enough evidence to back up this claim. Then she remembered Asteroth's cruel taunts. She looked to her teammates as they walked along through the twists and turns of the labyrinth.
"Asteroth seems to know me from before as well," she mentioned to them.
"How do you know this creep?" Niobe asked.
Heart noticed Borg watching her with worry in his eyes and asked, "Can you explain this prince?"
"I can, but I worry what it will do your memory hearing some of it. They've told me of your injuries from when you left here and I don't wish to hurt you my friend," he replied.
"I need to know," Heart answered without realizing Duke's hand was closing over hers in silent support.
"My friend, unlike Asteroth who stole his magic for his own use from the dragons, you were given those talents out right," he started carefully.
Heart nearly froze in her steps at hearing this. Her friends looked to one another in equal bewilderment and shock. She quickly grasped the prince's shoulders, pulling away from Duke's hand, "You know why this is happening to me?!"
"Easy Heart," Wildwing rested a hand on her shoulder now.
"Do you know how to stop it?" Heart asked, ignoring her brother.
Borg shook his head, carefully telling Heart, "That I don't know. Dragon magic is rare, and most of my people won't even try to learn about it. Asteroth has twisted their reputation, and yours as well I'm afraid. By declaring himself the Lord of the Red Dragon, he has damaged how my people look at them entirely."
Heart recoiled a bit from this, as though remnants of something she barely understood tugged at her. She couldn't remember what had happened, but felt the glares not unlike daggers once looking at her.
"That's why he said that..." she realized in an uneasy breath, hugging her arms tightly against her chest.
"What did Asteroth say to you?" Niobe inquired carefully.
"That I was cast out for these scales before they'd grown, that soon I will have no choice but to serve him. He placed some sort of spell on me and claims I won't need to remember anything when I join him. I don't want this! I don't want this magic!" She began to panic, "I'm not like him! We're not like him!"
"We?" Nosedive scratched his head.
"The other dragons," Borg realized while trying to reach Heart, "My friend, I know you're not like Asteroth. Try to keep your senses."
Niobe went to rest a hand on her friend's shoulder when Heart at first pulled away. Her claws nearly dug into the scales on her arms when she then felt a pair of hands rest on her shoulders from behind her. She would have pulled away from him as well had Duke not said quickly, "Heart, we're not goin' to let this happen to ya. We came lookin' for ya didn't we?"
"It'll be okay sis," Nosedive assured her with a wide smile.
This time Heart accepted the hug Niobe offered to try and bring her some understanding and comfort, "We're in this together."
Heart gave a nod and then they continued forth.
"Heart, didn't you escape from him? Do you know where to go to find him again?" Grin then inquired.
Heart shook her head, "I just followed that horde of skeletons...he had ordered them to go after you."
"Then we could be stuck getting more lost by the second?" Mallory asked with some frustration surfacing in her voice.
"Forgive me my friends, but my magic isn't powerful enough to get us through the maze," Borg told them with his own despair in his tone.
"Mine is!" Wildwing assured as he activated the mask and began looking around, examining the paths before them until he at last proclaimed, "That way!"
With that they charged forward, following Wildwing's lead as they blasted their way through the twisting walls of the labyrinth. As they made their way Wildwing told them, "We're almost there!"
Just then with another blast from their leader's gauntlet they made their way through a door once locked that now stood no longer. They gathered together in a proud line before the waiting figure inside. Though Duke couldn't help but notice as Heart faltered and nearly stepped back. Seeing this unease in her he shifted in stance to offer himself as a shield. When she tried to protest he said to her quietly, "I told ya I wouldn't fail ya this time."
Before she could respond they would hear the warlock snickering as he turned around, "So, you've survived the journey to my stronghold?"
He looked to see Heart among them and gave a wicked grin, "And you've found my little lost pet as well."
"That old geezer is Asteroth?!" Nosedive laughed in surprise.
"This won't even be a scourmage!" Mallory mocked.
Asteroth shook his head with a grimmly dark growl in his throat, "No one challenges the Lord of the Red Dragon and lives!"
With this he placed a finger against the amulet he wore and his eyes began to glow along with it. In an instant the wizened frame of the mage bulked up as his form shifted into that of towering crimson scaled dragon right before their eyes. The group of them looked upon this in awe, but remained standing together. Heart's heart leapt to her throat for everyone as the transformed warlock then let out a breath of seering flames to roast them alive. To her relief Wildwing reacted quickly and raised his shield. The fires lapping the plate of ice and energy disappated. She also noticed Duke had pushed her further back behind him as this had occurred.
"Foolish warriors! You will perish in the fire of the Red Dragon!" Asteroth taunted with another flame breathed down over them that they evaded this time.
As she leapt out of harms way from the flames Heart would feel another heat emerging from her core in response. Energy began to spark around her again as her scales crept up her neck and to the sides of her face. Asteroth laughed upon seeing this, "You can not escape what you are for much longer! Join me in my conquest! You have little choice but to submit!"
"I'm not giving in to this! I'm not leaving them!"
"Do you think they will be any different than those of this kingdom?!" He scoffed as he glided around the large chamber.
The dragon then landed, standing on his hind legs and sneered at Heart with glowing eyes, "They will fear you like the others, and you certainly can't protect them any more than you did others!"
Before Heart could question this the crimson beast went to cast another breath of flame at her. She went to brace for it, knowing she couldn't move out of the way in time. Suddenly she felt someone grab hold of her and realized the flames never engulfed them. She looked to see Wildwing shielding her before glancing up to see Duke holding her against him, his back to where the fires would have caught him instead. Their teammates then hurried over, regrouping as Wildwing decided, "It's time for a mass body check!"
"I'm with you my friends!" Borg declared as they all charged forward and crashed into the dragon.
Together they managed to gain leverage and began shoving him and through the window. As he crashed through and they all fell with him Duke quickly grabbed hold of Heart, using himself to soften the fall for her. As expected she landed atop of him with him still holding her.
He smiled up at her as she started to push herself up, catching her off guard with the charm in his remaining eye, "Ya okay?"
Before she could anwser they would hear Asteroth bellow with embarrassment, "You'll pay for this!"
As they all got to their feet they would find themselves evading further bursts of flame. Asteroth continued to chase them as they tried to think of a way to fight back. They had nearly made it down a street when Asteroth cut them off with a wall of fire set in their path. As Heart had been running Duke caught her hand and pulled her back before she was caught in the blazing wall.
Niobe nearby noticed how extra protective and alert their team rogue now was with their teammate and hoped it was a good sign, for her sake.
Duke then began looking around the area as he realized, "Hey, hey! What's the one thing a fire breathing dragon would fear?"
After a few good humored guesses from his teammates Duke answered, "Those were all very good, but no, water!"
He gestured to the sidewalks and explained, "Yeah if we can keep him penned in with those fire hydrants I think I can get the amulet!"
With that they went to find their positions while Grin and Niobe distracted Asteroth. When Duke went to begin scailing a nearby building he would notice Heart following him.
"You should stay with your brothers Heart," he attempted as he reached up to start climbing up the wall.
"I don't want you going alone," she protested while glancing at the side she knew he'd neglected to check on through all of this, "Please...?"
For a moment Heart feared he would turn her away. Then she smiled when he did the same and said, "Alright Heart."
With that the two climbed their way up to the roof. Duke planned his movements carefully but was able to scale the wall rather quickly. Heart beside him used her claws to make the purchases needed to follow alongside him. Once he'd reached the roof Duke bent down and offered a hand to her that she accepted. Together the two watched as Asteroth glided around the area, casting another breath of fire upon a nearby building.
"Now Wildwing!" Duke called out once he saw everyone in place.
Upon command their teammates fired at the nearby hydrants, causing them to burst out and upward with water. The powerful spouts caused Asteroth to back away and fly upward as he exclaimed, "Water! No!"
As the transformed mage flew near them Duke and Heart readied for the leap they took as the drake said, "We've got ya now!"
The two together landed on the crimson scaled back of the mage. He roared in anger, "Feathered vermon! Get off me!"
He snarled and gnashed his jagged teeth to try and force Duke to let go. However the drake held on with Heart behind him resting her hands on his shoulders firmly to give support. As she did this Duke felt the soft sparks of energy giving a warning of her own to the mage.
Asteroth scoffed and continued to fly, trying to shake them both off that way. Taking his chance Duke drew his saber and focused on the gold chain secured to the beast's neck. In one quick swipe the metal was cut and the amulet fell to the streets below.
"My pendant! No!" Asteroth cried in outrage.
Heart suddenly felt Duke turn and swiftly wrap an arm around her before taking a leap of faith with her in his steady grip. Though out of instinct Heart threw her arms around his neck and shoulders as that grip of his tightened around her waist. He couldn't help but laugh a bit, "I missed ya too darlin'."
Heart caught this remark and her heart skipped in her chest once again. As they fell Duke shot out his grappling hook that wrapped around a nearby lamp post, allowing them to swing down to the streets unharmed. Once he was standing steadily he set Heart down and gave a quick glance over her to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"What have you done?!" Asteroth snarled and wailed as he changed back to his wizened old frame.
Before he could move the group gathered around him with Borg taking center, his sword and shield drawn. Asteroth looked around with contempt in his old eyes.
"Now sorceror, you have no power! Be gone!" Borg commanded while pointing his blade at him to emphasize.
"Don't be so sure about that princeling!" Asteroth snickered in a low growl as he set his sights on the group, and then Heart in particular, until Duke shielded her from the warlock's view, "You think you can stop me you worthless thief?"
"Try me," Duke warned with a glare and a steady stance between them.
"Enough creep!" Nosedive snapped, before Asteroth could make another move, and drew his blaster to took aim, "Last warning!"
Asteroth simply laughed to himself before a pair of crimson wings emerged from his back. With that he flew off, leaving the group to watch him carefully as he vanished. Once he was gone they relaxed a bit.
"Duke?" Heart looked to the rogue with uncertainty in her eyes as he turned to face her.
He offered a smile to assure her. With this and the others gathered around her, Heart found it easier to let the warnings from the warlock go for the time being. Then a smile of her own finally curved her lips as she looked to them. Before she knew it the others gathered into a group hug with her, her brothers closest to her and relieved to have her back.
"Thank you my friends! How can I ever thank you?" Borg asked with joy in his eyes.
"You can get us out of here!" Tanya told him, "This place is weird city!"
"Easily done!" Borg assured while handing Wildwing the stolen amulet, "You must all touch the amulet and speak the incantation, which is-"
"Don't tell me, "There's no place like home?"" Nosedive asked in jest.
"How did you know?" Borg inquired in bewilderment.
"Eh, I own the video," Nosedive shrugged.
Yet before they went to do as instructed Borg looked to Heart. With a hopeful smile he offered, "My friend, try to bare in mind that your power differs from his. He took his magic and twisted it. Yours was a gift, and as such you can control it. Don't be afraid of this, instead use it to protect what you have now."
"Do you know who I was?" Heart asked him.
"Aye," he nodded with a bittersweetness in his eyes, "And you are far different than how I knew you before my friend."
"How so?"
"You're happy," he said with relief in his breath, "I believe in my heart of hearts that it's by no small part played by your friends standing with you."
"I feel you're holding something back prince," Niobe mentioned, reading the reluctance he was trying to hide, "What about the things we heard before?"
"I'd rather not burden Heart with the things she lost, I'd prefer that she celebrate and hold onto what she has now," he said earnestly.
"Doesn't she deserve to know?" Mallory questioned.
"In time, but not now," Borg insisted, "Please."
They all looked to one another with some lingering worry. Then Duke looked to a once again uncertain Heart and quickly felt some sort of instinct to attempt with a smile, "I think he's right."
"Yeah?" Niobe asked with a raised brow.
Duke nodded, "It's time we bring Heart home like we came here to do."
"I'd say you're right. It's been a very busy week for even us," Wildwing agreed.
"May you have safe travels my friends, and may we meet again!" Borg prayed as they all reached for the amulet glowing in Wildwing's open gauntlet.
Nosedive then repeated the incantation, summoning up a burst of light as they were pulled into a doorway similar to the one they'd walking in through. However this one was more like a whirlwind that tossed them about as they traversed through dimensions. When the funnel outward appeared they braced themselves for the fall.
Once again Duke looked to Heart and reached a hand out to her. She at first reached out, but then paused when she noticed her claws. Before she could recoil Duke grasped her hand tightly and pulled her into him. Then they were all dumped back onto the roof, scattered atop the pond.
"We're home!...Well, sorta?" Nosedive half cheered, half shrugged as they started to get up.
Once again when Duke looked he found Heart atop of him as they lay there on the roof. When he'd grabbed hold of her the gateway had dumped them out and she'd fallen on him. So once again Heart, looking a bit startled and uneasy, was trying to get off of him. That is before she noticed he was still holding onto her hand. She also found the claws and scales once there were gone.
Then she recalled what had happened...when he'd grabbed her hand she had been afraid of hurting him with those claws. She had held back from reaching out to him...Until he went and grasped for her anyway. In that instant her scales had begun to receed, breaking away to leave her in the humanlike state she was used to.
Now, with her hands resting on his shoulders as she tried to sit up, he still held onto the one. He was reminded of how small her frame was as she sat on his lean stomach, frail yet strong. Her eyes met with his. For a moment he wondered why he'd tried to turn away from them before. Neither of them seemed to register that the others were all still on the roof with them. As he held her hand still he could feel her trembling in his grasp. He could also hear her heartbeat clear as day, or was that his as it pounded against his chest? Could she feel it?
Gathering himself, Duke abruptly and swiftly sat up. As he did he ran his free hand along to her back and pulled her against him. Still holding Heart's other he leaned close to her with a sudden kiss now being shared between them. Heart's eyes shot wide open, as though she didn't believe what was occuring. Then he felt her relax, her eyes closing, as she gave into that kiss.
When Heart finally pulled away slightly Duke looked to see her blushing, her cheeks nearly matching her hair as though she were trying to guess why he'd done this. He smiled and told her softly, "I love ya Heart."
"Y-You do?" She stammered with lingering confusion.
"Of course I do sweetheart," he assured while brushing the loose strands of her hair out of her eyes, caressing her cheek as he did this, "An' I'm so sorry I made ya think that I didn't...I was tryin' to protect ya...an' instead I ended up hurtin' ya...I hope I haven't lost my chance to be with ya though?"
Heart's answer to him was throwing her arms around his neck and shoulders, hugging him tightly as he in turn embraced her.
"I love you!" she at last told him without someone or something between them, her fears rapdily washing away as his hold on her grew stronger.
"I love ya too," he promised her.
From near the door to the roof the others tried not to watch them. However Nosedive couldn't help but nudge Wildwing with his elbow and say, "Told you it wouldn't have worked."
"I guess nothing else can be done then," Wildwing half chuckled.
"You two are okay with this?" Niobe asked.
"Wouldn't matter whether we are or not," Nosedive grinned as he watched Duke help Heart up to her feet, "Our little sister's grown up and made her own decision."
"I guess you're right," Niobe said as she looked to the two briefly before following the others back down to their headquarters, leaving the two to be alone for a bit.
As they stood together with the rising morning sun peeking through the lingering storm clouds Heart looked up at the drake holding her hands in his. After all that had happened over the last week she almost couldn't believe it.
"Heart..." Duke then said softly.
"Yes?"
"I want ya to know that I loved ya before all of this happened...I just...didn't believe for some reason that you were willin' to look at me that way," he told her, "I also was tryin' to protect ya from if we ever wanted to go back home. I thought you'd want to stay with your brothers, an' I didn't want ya to worry about havin' others watchin' my every move waitin' for me to slip up. I guess I twisted myself up a bit thinkin' like that, an' went after somethin' I didn't really want..."
"Then what changed your mind?" Heart asked.
"When I saw I'd nearly lost ya all together," Duke replied, "Both the other day an' last night. Then...when ya let me near ya to talk like before, an' when I saw how ya still looked at me...I realized I'd rather be with ya, an' protect ya in that way then worry about bein' pulled away from ya somehow. If ya want me?"
Heart couldn't help but blush when hearing this, smiling as she assured him, "More than I can say."
No longer holding back Duke pulled her close to him once more as he requested gently, "Then let me steal a kiss sweetheart, seein' how you've stolen my heart?"
With that he bent forward and did just that as they held onto one another as they wished to at last.