As with every chapter before and to follow, Kim Possible and all related characters (other than those of my own creation for the purpose of this story) are the property of The Walt Disney Company. Everything else is all mine.
After about fifteen minutes of journeying through Everlot with the Tunnel Lord, James the Swift and Timothy the Resourceful were getting rather restless. They had figured a journey with the Tunnel Lord would be filled with lots of action and adventure, but so far they had had little of either.
The only action they had experienced thus far was the rescuing of a damsel from a brash young dragon. While the damsel was definitely pretty, and her family unquestionably rich, she was a whinny, self-centered motor mouth. Worse still, she was an insomniac.
After a week's worth of 24/7 chattering and sleep deprivation, the dragon had decided that the anticipated ransom was not worth further torture. He was ready to have her as a side dish for dinner when the three journeyers arrived on the scene.
A blast from the Tunnel Lord's horn announced their arrival. At the sound of the horn, the dragon was at first annoyed that his meal had been interrupted. Then, realizing the opportunity handed to him to rid himself of the damsel with little if any backlash from her family, he gladly postponed dinner.
Although he would have gladly handed over the damsel without a fight, the dragon's pride and reputation necessitated that he at least feign resistance. So, he flew out to meet the Tunnel Lord, who had approached the mountainside alone.
The dragon roared his acceptance of the Tunnel Lord's challenge to battle, then, as he and the Tunnel Lord were a distance away from the damsel and the two other journeyers, he spoke in a low voice, "Tunnel Lord, I know well your reputation here in Everlot. I would be a fool to presume I could defeat you in battle. In truth, I am desperate to rid myself of this damsel. She talks day and night without ceasing, and I have had precious little rest since carrying her to my cave."
"Therefore, I will gladly release her to you. All I ask in return is that you do battle with me for a short time, so that I might retain my pride and reputation in these parts. Now here is what I propose we do…"
The dragon carefully outlined his proposal step-by-step.
"Young dragon, you are wise beyond your years. Yes, I agree to your proposal."
"Excellent! Let the battle begin at the sounding of your horn."
The Tunnel Lord rejoined his two traveling companions.
"What took so long?" asked Timothy. "I always thought that challenges to battle in Everlot were like those in pro wrestling: short and loud."
"Nay, lad. Challenges here can be lengthy affairs, sometimes lasting many hours. There is more to be done than simply shouting "I'm gonna take you down" back and forth several times. Rules of battle must be agreed upon. That is how we spent most of our time."
"You two shall stay here. I will fight the dragon alone."
"Why can't we help?" protested James and Timothy.
"Because you were not included in the rules of battle. Besides, I believe for now you gain much more observing than fighting."
The Tunnel Lord inspected his gear. Judging that all was in order, he raised his horn to his lips.
The attention-grabbing sound of the horn echoed across the field of battle and could be heard by people and wildlife miles away.
The Tunnel Lord rapidly marched across the field of battle toward where the dragon was hovering some one hundred feet above the ground. As his foe approached the midway point, the dragon ascended another one hundred feet, then began his descent, accelerating faster and faster the closer he came to the ground.
As he swooped down upon his foe, the dragon spouted flame at the Tunnel Lord. However, because he was keeping a safe distance from the Tunnel Lord's sword, the dragon's flame fell short of its target.
This same sequence, with minor deviations, was repeated four more times.
On the sixth swoop, the dragon inexplicably swerved to within striking distance of the Tunnel Lord's sword. The Tunnel Lord's sword came down hard across the dragon's back, only just before the blade struck, he intentionally twisted his grip so that the flat of the blade, not the edge, made contact.
The dragon crashed in a heap and lay on the ground moaning and groaning.
James and Timothy ran up, yelling, "Finish him off! Vanquish the dragon from Everlot forever!"
The Tunnel Lord shook his head. "Nay. The dragon has pleaded for mercy. Mercy I have given him. In return, he has pledged his life to me and has promised that, whenever I have need of his services, he shall come without delay."
"You actually believe him?" exclaimed James. "While I make no claim to be an authority on dragons, I do know that you should never trust them to stay true to their word."
"That is what I have heard as well", added Timothy. "Why should we expect this dragon to be any different?"
"Your points are well taken. However, I am a reader of hearts, whether it a man's or a beast's, and, odd as it may seem, I see in this young dragon a true heart. He can be trusted to keep his promise."
"I also foresee that in the days to come, he will prove himself to be indispensable on our journey through Everlot."
At that moment, a voice from the real world could be heard loud and clear.
"Jim! Tim! Time to wrap things up and get to bed!"
"Aww, Mom! Can't we stay up until Ron picks up Rufus?" responded Jim.
"No. You've both had a busy first week of high school, plus the J-V soccer tryouts start at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. You do want to make the team, don't you?"
"Yeah, but from what I hear we should be shoo-ins", said Tim.
"Don't be too sure about that. Remember, you two tested out of 8th grade over the summer. You're freshmen academically, but still 8th graders physically."
"Can we have ten more minutes, Mom? P-l-e-a-s-e?" Jim pleaded. "The Tunnel Lord had just defeated a dragon and we want to see where we'll be headed next on our journey."
"O.K. Ten more minutes but then get to bed. And don't forget to brush your teeth… thoroughly!"
"What about Rufus?" asked Tim.
"He seems to be behaving himself, so I don't see any reason why he can't stay on Kim's computer until she and Ron get here."
Turning their attention back to Everlot, Jim and Tim were relieved to see they had not missed anything.
"What shall be done with the damsel?" inquired James.
"We will escort her back to her family's castle, and then continue our journey", replied the Tunnel Lord.
While they were speaking, the dragon managed to struggle to his feet. The three journeyers began the trek to the dragon's cave, with the dragon hobbling along behind them. At the ledge in front of the cave, the dragon thought it would be best if he not be seen by the damsel. With obvious difficulty yet without making a sound, the dragon became airborne and slowly flew around to the far side of the mountain.
Approaching the cave's entrance, the damsel was nowhere to be seen. Timothy called out, "Lady, the Tunnel Lord has defeated the dragon! We have come to take you to your home!"
Moments later an attractive young lady emerged from the cave. Both James and Timothy were quite taken by her beauty, which was still very much apparent even after spending a week cooped up inside a filthy dragon cave. Then she had to spoil it all by speaking.
"It's about time you showed up! What took you so long? I've had to spend seven entire days in this awful dragon's cave, waiting for someone to rescue me. Do you have any idea what that's like?"
"Nay, my Lady. I cannot say I have had such an experience", said the Tunnel Lord.
"Well, now that you've finally rescued me, don't you think it's a good idea to take me home?"
"Yes, my Lady. That is our very intent."
"So, just how are you planning to get me home? I'm certainly not going to walk!"
"My Lady, while we ourselves travel by foot, we have brought from the castle a donkey on which you may ride. It is tied up at the base of the mountain."
"A donkey? You have got to be kidding!"
"Would my Lady prefer to walk?" asked James.
"No. I would rather ride in my carriage."
"Unfortunately, my Lady, we could not bring your carriage", replied Timothy. "As you may recall, it was smashed to bits by the dragon moments after he kidnapped you."
"Oh, that's right. sigh Very well, then, let's stop wasting time and get going."
"If you would prefer, my Lady, James and I can take turns carrying you down on our backs."
"I'm quite capable of climbing down on my own, thank you."
"As you wish, my Lady."
The four began their descent. Several times the damsel stumbled and would have fallen had it not been for James, who was in front of her, or Timothy, who was behind her. After each stumble they again offered to carry her on their backs, and each time the offer was curtly refused.
By the time they reached the fields at the base of the mountain, the damsel's feet and legs were so sore and bruised that she actually welcomed the opportunity to ride on the donkey.
Meanwhile, the dragon had flown back around to the cave entrance. Crawling as deep into the cave as possible, the dragon did a celebration dance, shouting "Y-e-s! She's gone! I'm free! I'm free! I'm free at last!"
"Did you hear something?" asked the damsel. "It sounded like the dragon shouting."
"Nay, my Lady", replied the Tunnel Lord. "It was only the wind."
The journey back to the castle was uneventful. Nevertheless, by the time they reached it, the three journeyers were exhausted from having to listen to the damsel give them what seemed like a minute-by-minute account of her time in the dragon's cave.
An invitation to stay the night at the castle and replenish their supplies in the morning for the next leg of their journey was gladly accepted.
They had but one request: to be spared any more contact with the damsel. The request was empathetically granted.
"Alright, boys", broke in Mrs. Possible. "Your ten minutes are up. Time to get to bed."
"Okay, Mom," answered Jim. He sent an IM to Tim saying it was bedtime, and another to Rufus, thanking him for the fun night in Everlot, inviting him to come back soon, and saying he was welcome to stay online until Ron picked him up.