Chapter 6 – Close Call
Blaze the cat eyed Bowser and the Pyre Squad as they disappeared into the forest. She was not shocked at Bowser working with the Obsidian Devourers for she knew that Queen Vildouleur had mind control powers, but she could tell that it must have been very confusing for those who knew he was a good guy who used to be bad, especially Draco, Cynder and Darky. The dragon master turned to her friends, feeling very pleased to have saved them just in time.
"Phew!" she remarked. "That was a close call! Are all of you dragons okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine," said Cynder. "Boy, we sure are lucky that you have come and stopped Bowser's attack with you pyrokinesis. Thank you for saving our lives, Blaze."
"It was nothing," replied Blaze.
Cynder looked at Draco who was still feeling pain in his injured leg. "Although now, Draco needs medical attention," she said. "He tripped over and hurt his leg when we trying to get away from Bowser and the Pyre Squad."
"I've got just the treatment for that," said Tails as he rummaged through his backpack. "Let's see what I have on my first aid kit, we got bandages, gauze, and, ah! Here we are, a Hyper Potion! That should do the trick!"
Tails took out from his backpack what appeared to be some kind of spray bottle. It was white on top with pink at the bottom including the nozzle, and it looked like it was intended to spray on any part of the body that was bruised or wounded.
"So that's a Hyper Potion?" asked Darky.
"Yes it is, Darky," replied Tails. He turned to Draco. "Show me which leg is hurt," he said.
Draco slowly lifted the right cuff of his jeans to expose where he got hit when he tripped. Tails examined his ankle and cringed when he noticed how swollen it was.
"Whoa, that's a nasty bruise!" he exclaimed. "Not to worry, Draco, we'll fix you up."
Draco felt slightly nervous, remembering how any kind of Potion tended to sting. Cynder held his arm tightly. "Just calm down and hold still, Draco," she said. "You'll be alright when this is over."
Draco slowly nodded and waited for Tails to spray the Potion on his bruise. He felt a little sting as Tails started spraying, but it was not as painful as he remembered it. After that, Tails wiped the sprayed bruise with a cotton ball and finally wrapped it with some gauze.
"It will take a couple of days until the bruise is finally gone," he said. "At least for now, you should be able to walk since the Potion does help speed up the recovery."
"Thanks you, Tails," sighed Draco, feeling very relieved.
Tails smiled as his Charizard friend slowly managed to get back up. All the dragons including Blaze and Tails engaged in a group hug with him.
Later, Blaze, Tails and the dragons were making their way towards the Tornado, which had been left in the outskirts of the Saiko Lake. Cynder was telling Blaze and Tails everything that happened while they were in Japan.
"So you all have become Japanese citizens after solving a power outage crisis in Narita, Chiba?" asked Blaze. "Well, I must say congratulations for that!"
"Yeah," replied Cynder. "That sure was quite adventure, though what we've been through recently wasn't the most pleasant experiences we ever had."
"I thought it was a bit of a fun adventure!" exclaimed Lily. "I mean, sure we've been chased by the bad guys, but other than that, we explored the Fuji Five Lakes and settled in that village, even if it wasn't a real one, and I must say that was a welcome change from camping out every night!"
"After what we've been up against, I doubt I ever want to repeat that again," said Draco, still remembering that Bowser was still under Queen Vildouleur's control.
"It must have been a very intense moment for you guys when you faced the Dark Queen," said Blaze.
"I'm sorry for asking, but who is Queen Vildouleur?" asked Torden.
Blaze paused for a moment. "Queen Vildouleur is one of the evilest dragons to have ever lived," she began. "She is very dangerous and is a complete radical dragon supremacist."
"And she is the leader of the Obsidian Devourers, ain't I right?" asked Jakkin.
"Indeed she is," replied Cynder. "She has been gathering many followers, either through bad inspiration or brute force. Anyone who stood up to her were either brainwashed against their will like Bowser, or in the case of non-dragons or hybrids, ended up dead. Many of the dragons who joined the Obsidian Devourers were a mixture of the dragons that were fearful, power-hungry, or just plain malicious, and the majority of them shared the same ideologies as their leader."
"I don't understand," said Percival. "What is it that Vildouleur has against us?"
"It seems to me that she sees you all as a threat to her goals," said Blaze. "The fact that you, Cynder, Lily, and Torden don't uphold the prejudices that the Obsidian Devourers possess, that Jakkin is an Eastern dragon, and that Draco is a Charizard, that makes you all mortal enemies in her eyes."
"That is absolutely terrible!" exclaimed Darky.
"This is why you all need your Elemental Brooches," continued Blaze. "Draco needs to find his, of course, if he were to stand a chance against the Obsidian Devourers."
"So you're saying that we're destined to fight Queen Vildouleur?" asked Draco.
"I'm afraid to say it, but yes, that is reason why King Kurotsuki and I created the Elemental Brooches, and that's why I sent Cynder into her mission of finding a group of friends," confessed Blaze.
"Is this like those prophecies?" asked Percival.
"Not necessarily," replied Blaze. "This is all just a test of friendship and teamwork, not to mention a quest of self-discovery."
"That's understandable," said Draco.
"Here we are, you guys!" exclaimed Tails as they arrived at a clearing where the Tornado was rested. "Since you're all having trouble trying to find a location for you to set up village, I thought I could help out, and I know just the place!"
Tails led the way after starting up his Tornado. He, Blaze, and the dragons all flew to the southwest until they eventually reached a certain place by the sea. It was full of lushing green forests and the seaside looked very peaceful.
"Here's the place, everyone!" he called happily. "Ise-Shima National Park, it's huge and has lots of potential spots for you to set up your village."
"Now we must find the right place," said Cynder.
"That won't be a problem," said Tails as he readied his jet to land. "I'm very good at finding proper locations."
Soon, they arrived at a remote location in the national park. Tails boarded off the Tornado and surveyed the scene. It was quite reclusive as the forest was very dense, and it wasn't far off from the Agowan Bay.
"This looks like the best place to set up village," he said. "So, what do you guys think?"
The dragons looked around with great interest. Cynder noticed that it was fairly close to the beach. This made her delighted as she loved going swimming and hunting for fish. The others even thought that it looked very promising.
"Tails, you have picked a very good spot," smiled Draco.
"I'm glad I did," said Tails. "Hope you guys will have a nice stay."
"Where do we go from here now, guys?" asked Torden.
"Well, I think you dragons can have a look around the forest or even at the beach," suggested Blaze. "I could accompany you while Tails gets to work with making the village."
"That sounds like a darn good idea," said Jakkin.
Blaze smiled. "Alright, follow me," she said. Jakkin, Lily, Torden, and Percival followed Blaze out to the beach while Cynder, Draco and Darky decided to have another look at the forest for the time being. Tails went off to the other direction in order to begin construction of the dragons' village.
"Are you three comin' along with us?" asked Jakkin.
"We will pretty soon!" called Cynder. She wanted to console Draco and Darky as she is well aware that they still feel distraught about what happened to Bowser.
"Draco and Darky," she began. "I know yesterday and this morning may have been a very scarring one for you both due to Bowser being under Queen Vildouleur's, but at least none of us ended up like him."
"Yeah, I know," said Draco slowly. "I could only hope that we will get him back to normal."
"I sure hope so too," said Darky. "He's like a big brother and father to us."
"I understand that, you two," said Cynder. "We may not have been able to do so today, but there will come a time when we will finally free Bowser, defeat Queen Vildouleur and put an end to the Obsidian Devourers." She looked on out to the open sea, feeling determination welling through her. "Once we find the last Elemental Brooch, we will be ready," she said with confidence. "No matter what it takes, we must stop the Obsidian Devourers, for Tails, for Blaze, for Bowser, and for the world!"
To Be Continued...
Well, this story has been a really intense one! The ending may have been bittersweet since Bowser isn't free from the Queen Vildouleur's spell, but at least our heroes now learn what their main goal is, and must accomplish the task of finding in the sixth Elemental Brooch if they are to succeed! See you all again in the next story!