AN: What's this? Another update, without months of silence in between? No, your eyes are not deceiving you!
Thank you so much for your response to the last chapter! I was completely blown away by your enthusiasm. 4 reviews on one chapter! To be honest, I was a little worried that many of my readers would've lost interest in Unexpected Places since I hadn't updated in five months, but I see now that I had nothing to fear.
Maybe I should write cliffhangers more often if that's what it takes to get people to review. :P (Just kidding!)
Last week, I happened to post on Thursday. Some of you may remember that Thursday was my update day in the very early weeks of this story, when I actually had some chapters pre-written (which is almost unheard of now). Now it is again Thursday, so that means I'm going to do my best to get back into weekly updates! I don't know how long that'll last, but I'm going to try to post once a week at least through September. So if a Thursday goes by and I don't have a chapter ready for all of you, someone yell at me, okay?
Actually, don't yell, but feel free to send a strongly-worded PM. :D
I usually like to reply to reviews via PM, but I can't do that with guests, so I'll just put it here.
Guest (8/23): Thank you so much! Your review really made my day! :D
Its1InTheMorning: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far! Here's your update!
Guest (8/24): Thank you for letting me know! I didn't really notice as I was writing, but I see now that Ozone's "spark", as you put it, did get a little buried under all the action with the SandWings and whatnot. I'll do my best to bring it back into the spotlight in future chapters.
All right, that's it! Back to the story!
Ozone's feeling of relaxation didn't last long. If he had been counting the minutes since he'd parted with Gale in the hallway, he would've been cut off just before twenty-nine. Spark stepped into the cave he'd been resting in, a frown deepening the already creased scales on the old dragon's forehead.
"Were you dragonets hollering again?" he asked.
Ozone looked up at the soldier, puzzled. "You mean just now?" Gale had raised her voice at him earlier, but he wouldn't have described it as hollering, and if that was what Spark was talking about, this was quite a delayed reaction.
Spark harrumphed impatiently. "Of course I mean just now."
Maybe Gale and Sard were arguing over some petty detail somewhere, though it seemed unlike them to fight when there was a serious mission going on. Ozone listened hard, but he didn't hear either of their voices echoing through the stone halls. And what were the odds that Spark, of all dragons, would hear something that he couldn't?
After a few moments of silence, his mind started to play tricks on him.
Ozone! he heard, as if from far away. Ozone!
Sard came stomping into the room a few seconds later. "Someone's shouting like a maniac outside," she told Spark, completely ignoring Ozone. "I don't know who it is or what they want, but they won't go away. What should we do about it?"
It was quite the twist of fate for her to be consulting Spark about anything, but he was the only one she was on speaking terms with at the moment, and he was the oldest. And it was only natural that Sard didn't know what should be done about the problem. No dragon had ever come close to the SkyWings' base before. If there was some kind of emergency, the soldiers were obligated to do what they could about the problem, but it would be unwise to reveal the location of their base if they could help it.
"I knew I heard somethin'," said Spark.
"What are they saying?" asked Ozone.
"You don't hear it?" his friend said sharply. "Clean out your ears and listen."
Ozone shrank back from her harsh words. He closed his eyes, as if the pattern of the torch-light flickering against the stone walls might be distracting him somehow, and strained his ears. He still didn't hear anything other than the phantom voice calling out his name, but that couldn't be real, could it?
"Ozone! For the love of the Great Ice Dragon, this is important!"
There was no way he could have imagined that.
Great Ice Dragon? He only knew one dragon who might invoke a being like that. But what was Cornice doing here? And why was he calling for Ozone?
"I don't know who that is," growled Sard, lashing her tail. "I don't know who you were idiotic enough to tell the location of our base to, but you'd better get out there and tell them to go away before they blow our cover."
"I didn't tell anyone," he protested. "But this sounds urgent, don't you think?"
She shoved him hard. "Just go!"
Ozone looked guiltily to Spark, who gave a short nod expressing his permission. The old soldier didn't look any more pleased about their uninvited visitor than Sard did. "But you have a lot of explaining to do when you get back, dragonet."
"Understood," he said weakly, and then fled.
He ran to the entrance hall and peered out anxiously, his eyes landing on a white shape weaving frantically back and forth above the valley. For a moment, Ozone feared that Cornice's wing was failing, but no—the IceWing just didn't know exactly where the base was. His blue eyes were scanning the cliffs. "Ozone, where are you?"
"Down here!" he called out, cupping his talons around his mouth to help his voice carry farther through the open air. "Come quickly!"
Cornice spotted him and dove hurriedly to the mouth of the cave. Ozone hopped back to give him room to land, glancing nervously at the blue sky the IceWing had flown in from. To his relief, he didn't see anyone else out there who might've followed Cornice to the base. Still, he grabbed his friend by the shoulders and pulled him farther into the caverns, where he knew they wouldn't be seen from the outside.
"What are you doing here?" he asked incredulously. It felt almost surreal to see the ice dragon here, glittering pale orange in the light from the torches.
Cornice was breathing heavily, as if he'd flown here as fast as his wings could take him. He seemed desperate to explain his sudden appearance, but he could barely get the words out. "Dragons—coming here—going to be attacked."
Ozone's stomach lurched. "Who's coming? What are you talking about? Wait, don't stop and answer that right now. Follow me, quickly."
He hurried farther down the hallway, Cornice stumbling after him. Ozone had to take his friend to Spark; the old SkyWing needed to hear this.
Cornice grabbed his shoulder, the chill of his touch making Ozone stop short. "You don't understand! They're coming to attack you right now!"
Ozone's blood turned as cold as the IceWing's claws. "What?"
At that moment, there was a whooshing sound, and the cave went pitch black.
Something hit Ozone hard, knocking him over. His scales were scraped against the stone wall hard enough to draw blood, and he gasped at the sudden pain.
A rush of cold air blasted past him—Cornice's freezing breath, aimed at Ozone's attacker—and he heard a roar of surprised agony that shattered the quiet. Whoever was attacking them had clearly not expected to encounter an IceWing at the SkyWings' base. Cornice didn't hesitate, launching himself over Ozone's head at the invader.
All around Ozone, there were footsteps and growls and hisses, and the truth of what was happening hit him with the force of a rockslide.
Not invader. Invaders.
His head reeled. We're under attack. We're actually under attack.
Ozone struggled to his feet in the darkness. He lashed out blindly with his front talons, first hitting only solid rock, and then scales. But the grunt of pain was his only indication that he'd done any actual damage. It was like trying to fight shadows.
A scorched scent touched his nostrils, and he realized that their attackers had not only extinguished the torches but also filled the tunnels with smoke. Even if he relit the torches, there was no way they'd be able to see anything clearly. He blinked back tears as the dry heat of the smoke stung his eyes.
There was a loud thump, as if someone had been thrown into the wall. A yelp, as if someone had been clawed in a sensitive spot. Ozone hoped neither one was Cornice.
Through the din, he heard the sound of racing footsteps, followed by Gale's sharp voice. "What's going on here? I can't see a thing!"
"Intruders!" Ozone yelled. "We're under attack!"
Warm talons—SandWing talons?—grabbed for his mouth, trying to silence him, but Gale had already heard, and was running for the gong to sound the alarm. Ozone bit down hard on his attacker's talons, making them hiss in pain.
"Get out of here right now, out the back tunnel!" yelled Gale in the distance. "As fast as you can, get Claret and the others! We need help!"
For a wild moment, Ozone thought she'd been talking to him. But he was right in the middle of the battle; there was no way he'd be able to reach the back tunnel like this, when he could barely even tell where he was or what direction he was facing.
Then he heard Sard protest, "But I can fight—"
"We don't have time to argue!" Gale shouted. "I have an infected wound, Spark's older than the Scorching, and the front entrance is blocked. You're the only one who stands a chance of catching up to them! Now go!"
If Sard responded, Ozone didn't hear it over the chaos.
He hoped she'd listened to Gale for once. In a crisis like this, seconds could mean the difference between survival and a painful death. Sard needed to hurry.
A moment later, he saw flames as Gale leapt back into the fray with a roar. Spark was right behind her—Ozone saw the imprint of his snarl before the orange light faded and they were plunged back into total darkness.
A fish-scented wing suddenly hit him over the head, dazing him momentarily.
He batted it aside. Is that a SeaWing? Who are we up against?
Ozone heard someone inhale behind him and whirled around, lashing out with his talons, but they met nothing but smoke and air. He blundered forward a few steps, trying to find something solid in the seemingly empty darkness. He could have sworn he saw motion, but he couldn't tell who it was or what they were doing.
Heavy claws hit Ozone just above the eye and he stumbled back, seeing stars. His attacker took advantage of his surprise and lashed out again, digging their talons deeply into the scales on his neck. Ozone yelped in pain.
His opponent tackled him, beating him with powerful wings. Ozone pushed out with all four limbs, trying to shove them off. His wildly flailing talons found the grooves of old battle scars, and without thinking, he dug his claws into them as hard as he could, feeling a burst of grim satisfaction as blood gushed out and his attacker howled in pain.
He twisted free from his opponent's grip and darted away.
Someone's tail struck him hard in the side. Even as he stumbled, he managed to pounce on it, trapping it between his front claws, and bit down on the end of it, where in the back of his dizzy mind, he knew that all tribes had a sensitive spot. He grimaced as he heard a roar confirming that he'd found it.
Suddenly, someone else jumped onto his back from behind, squishing the air out of his lungs. Ozone turned his head and did his best to breathe fire, though it was feeble without enough oxygen and petered out a moment later.
He saw the silhouette of a flat-headed dragon ducking under his attack and felt the MudWing pin down his wings with heavy feet. Thick claws grabbed the back of his neck, with the force of someone preparing to snap it. Ozone cried out in pain and terror, flailing his legs and tail as fiercely as he could. "Help!"
With a war cry, Gale cannoned into his attacker, knocking the MudWing off.
"Thanks," he gasped, leaping to his feet. He sucked in air and gathered fire into the back of his throat, keeping his jaws parted to act as a lantern. There wasn't enough light to see colors, but he could make out the forms of fighting dragons through the haze of smoke. For a moment, he couldn't tell who was on his side.
Then he recognized Spark, fighting talon-to-talon with a familiarly spiky dragon. He leapt to interfere. "Stop, Spark! He's on our side!"
Spark looked at him incredulously, glanced back at Cornice, and then backed off, leaping at what might have been a SandWing instead.
"Thanks," grunted Cornice. His scales, glittering in the faint light, were covered with blood, but Ozone couldn't tell if it was his own blue or the enemy's crimson.
There was another blast of fire, and they turned hurriedly to see Gale, a whirling ball of fury, taking on dragons who were attacking her from all sides.
Ozone and Cornice hurriedly leapt to pull some of them off of her.
Ozone felt stronger with chill of Cornice's scales beside him; as he fought mostly defensively, the IceWing ducked and twisted and lashed out with amazing speed. The crowd around Gale dispersed, doing their best to avoid the white dragon's assault.
"Get behind me!" Cornice called sharply. "Back-to-back!"
Ozone leapt to do as the IceWing instructed, turning until he felt Cornice's cold spikes pressed against his back. Together, they lashed out at any dragon who got close, defending each other from the enemy's attempts to attack from behind. Ozone exhaled bursts of flame whenever he had the breath to, slowly making sense of which way he was facing—inward—and how many dragons they were fighting against—at least ten.
"We need to push them in your direction," he told Cornice, in between strikes at their opponents. "We have to get them to the entranceway, where there's daylight!"
Cornice inhaled sharply, realizing what he meant. These dragons clearly didn't want to be seen. If the SkyWings and Cornice forced them into the open, where their identities would be revealed, they might flee even without being physically defeated.
That was Ozone's only hope. There was no other way to win this.
Even if they flew as quickly as they could, it would still take much too long for Sard to return with Claret, Ridge, and Buzzard. Had whoever was attacking their base known somehow that their strongest dragons would be gone today? That didn't seem possible. The only dragon he'd told about the mission was Cornice—
Ozone winced as his strike missed and one of the invading dragons hit back. Like usual, he wasn't concentrating, and in battle the consequences could be much worse.
Focus now, think later, he told himself.
Cornice had begun advancing on his opponents, and Ozone backed up so that any space between their spines would be too small for an enemy to get in and divide them.
Slowly, steadily, they continued moving. It's working. My plan is working.
One of their enemies inhaled sharply, realizing what was happening. The dragon suddenly leapt into the air, vaulting over Ozone and Cornice while narrowly avoiding the ceiling. "We can't let them trap any of us inside!"
Oh, right, thought Ozone stupidly. We should probably try to take a prisoner.
No, that wasn't important—it would be a miracle if they even managed to survive.
Deeper inside the cave, there was a roar of pain, so loud that it seemed to shake the stone all around them. Ozone's heart leapt into his throat. He wanted to run over and make sure it wasn't Gale or Spark, but he couldn't abandon Cornice.
The IceWing seemed to sense his indecision. "Stay with me, Ozone! We have to finish this!" He hissed in pain as one of their enemies landed a ferocious attack.
Shaking with fear, Ozone continued to fight back-to-back with the IceWing. He's right. We have to—we have to finish this. He landed strike after strike, his mind fading into a world where there was only motion. No sound, no thoughts, only his attacks and the enemy's. He barely even felt the sting of his wounds.
He couldn't tell how much time was passing, only that he was still standing, still fighting, and Cornice was still behind him. That was all that seemed to matter.
And then the numbness was shattered as one of the enemy dragons made an odd clicking noise in the back of their throat. It had to have been a signal, because all at once dragons were rushing past him in blurs of scales and wings, and the hallway was flooded with new plumes of smoke. Ozone gagged as the smell of ash and blood overwhelmed him, hitting him with a force that felt almost physical.
And then their attackers were gone.
"We did it," said Cornice, his voice ragged with grim satisfaction. "We won!"
"I g-guess we did," Ozone replied. His voice sounded slightly slurred even to his own ears. "But we need to get out there—we need to see them fly away."
The IceWing reached out to stop him as he stumbled forward on shaking legs. "It's all right, Ozone. Ozone. You've done enough. And I saw some of them—enough to recognize who they are. I'll tell your fellow soldiers everything I know."
The hallway was illuminated by orange light as someone relit the torches. It was Gale, wading toward them through the smoke. Her face was set in a grim mask.
"How about you start with who you are, and how you know Ozone?" she growled, glaring at Cornice with a ferocity that Ozone was all too familiar with. "And why you led those dragons straight to our base?"