Chapter 5 – Draco's Cunning Plan

The Pyre Squad waited patiently for Draco, Lily, and Darky to arrive in their hideout at Lake Biwa. Flora was still locked in her cage, but she was already sound asleep and sucking her big claw.

"It won't be long before those three will show up," said Ciara, relishing on the thought of their plan coming to fruition. "Victory is going to be ours soon!"

"What a clever plan," laughed Scorcher. "And we owe it all to you, Cronk!"

"Anytime, my chums," said Cronk. "We better get started with the second phase of our plan. Draco, Lily, and Darky will be here at any minute now, and they'll come asking for the baby back, so we'll pretend to do so by leaving her in the spot. When the three grab her, the cage above will fall right down and trap them. Then we'll lure the rest of their friends with them as bait, and when they're all trapped, we'll be able to take them to Lord Sardius!"

"What about the little kid?" Scorcher asked.

"We'll still be taking her to Lord Sardius as we planned," said Cronk. "He will be very pleased when he hears our plans for her, for we're going to train her to become a new member of the Obsidian Devourers!"

"Excellent plan, Cronk!" cackled Ciara. "This is absolutely brilliant! Lord Sardius will certainly give us a promotion!"

"I am so excited for that!" exclaimed Scorcher gleefully. "At last, fortune is smiling upon us!"

"You got it right," said Cronk. "Now, let's hurry and get this over with. Those fools must be getting close by now."

Unbeknownst to the Pyre Squad, Draco, Lily and Darky already reached Lake Biwa, and they have managed to find their hideout. After hearing everything the Pyre Squad was plotting, they consulted together, realising that they will have to find a way to get back Flora without falling into their trap.

"Oh goodness, oh geez, this is really bad," said Draco anxiously. "Those three goons are prepared for our arrival, so rescuing Flora is not going to be easy."

"We need to think to up of a plan, and fast," said Lily. "The time is ticking by, and it won't be long until Uncle Linden and Aunt Iris returns and find that we're missing along with the trashed house."

"I don't know how it would be possible," said Darky. "They got the trap set, and the only we can be able to avoid getting caught is if one us go in disguise and ambush the Pyre Squad."

"Like how are we going to do that?" asked Lily. "It would be hard to think up of a very clever disguise that would fool the Pyre Squad. Maybe if we tried to use that dummy they tricked us with, but then again, they'd probably be the wiser."

"Hold on a second!" exclaimed Draco as an idea finally struck his mind. "What did you say about the dummy Flora doll?"

"I said we could have used it against the Pyre Squad, but they might not fall for that," said Lily. "It's not like as if we could be able to trade it for Flora, and all the same, the dummy had lost its head."

"Lily, you are a genius!" said Draco brightly. "We could be able to switch the two together with another baby dragoness, and then trap the Pyre Squad right where they stand!"

Lily was confused. "Are you serious, Draco?" she asked. "How on Earth are we going to find another baby dragoness? It's impossible!"

"Not unless someone poses as a baby and distract the Pyre Squad while we rescue Flora," said Draco. "And I know just the right one to carry it out!"

"Who could it be? Is it Darky?"

"No, it's going to be you, Lily," replied Draco.

Lily was speechless. "I beg your pardon?" she exclaimed in disapproval. "You're telling me that I have to dress up as a baby?"

"Well, Darky's too young to fight the Pyre Squad," said Draco. "And you're cute enough to make an adorable baby. As friends, we're in this together, so it's best that we cooperate on this."

"Look, I understand I am your friend," said Lily crossly. "But in all seriousness, this is CROSSING THE LINE!"

"Hey, you got to remember that this is the only way we to help get Flora out of there," said Draco with optimism. "If we stop this discussing and hurry, we can get back to Minabe Village in time to clean up the cottage before your Uncle Linden and Aunt Iris return."

"Come on, Lily," said Darky. "We can't do this without you, and we don't have much time anyway."

Lily thought deeply about it. She did not want to go along with doing something very undignifying, but she knew that Draco and Darky were right that they have to rescue Flora from the Pyre Squad and get her back to Minabe Village very quickly.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it," she conceded. "Gotcha, not a problem, but keep this in mind and I'm going to make this very clear, Draco, you owe me a LOT in return after this."

"Okay, anything you say, Lily," said Draco. "Now, let's put our plan into action!"

With that, the three dragons began by borrowing Lily's capsule which contained a wide variety of clothing. They managed to find some pyjamas that could easily pass off as baby attire. Then they used a large white blanket to fit it snugly under Lily as if it were a diaper. Finally, they extracted some branches out of a tree and made a large out of it. Lily reluctantly climbed onto the basket and tried to appear as cute as possible.

"Perfect!" smiled Draco. "You look very convincing."

"Now to get their attention," said Darky. "Knock on the door, and leave the basket right in front."

Draco tapped on the door to the Pyre Squad's hideout, and both he and Darky quickly hid themselves while Lily started making baby noises. Ciara opened the door and was surprised when she saw the basket with Lily inside, though to Ciara, she looked like a big pink baby dragoness.

"Goo-goo, gaga!" gurgled Lily. "I miss mama and dada!"

"What is this?" asked Ciara. "Did someone leave a baby in our doorstep?"

"No doubt they did," said Scorcher.

"Very unusual indeed," said Cronk. "But maybe we could double the bait since Draco, Lily, and Darky are likely to come and save this baby."

"Ah, good thinking," said Ciara. "Bring this one inside!"

Scorcher and Cronk lifted the basket and followed Ciara into their hideout. They did not notice, however, was that Draco and Darky snuck their way inside and were waiting patiently for Lily to begin her ambush.

"Phew!" remarked Scorcher. "This is a heavy one!"

"You wimp!" scoffed Ciara. "Surely that kind of work isn't too much for a man like you, eh?"

"Oh, I'm going to be a lot more than work for you three!" laughed Lily.