Chapter 3 – Crash Landing
Jimmy wept his brow in relief as the aircraft he and Heronix have stolen have made it out of the Obsidian Tower. Heronix manned the weapons so that Jimmy can focus on piloting the aircraft. Since he was a dragon who can fly, he never felt required to be a pilot, so he needed someone who knew how to use an aircraft, and he was lucky that Jimmy had the qualifications and expertise.
"Thank you so much for getting me out of that prison," said Jimmy. "What made you decided to help me out when you're an Obsidian Devourer?"
"I realised that it was not in me to kill anyone," replied Heronix. "I thought that the Obsidian Devourers were an organisation dedicated to bringing peace to the world, but I was wrong."
"That took a lot of guts over there," laughed Jimmy. "Say, I never got to know your name. Can you tell me?"
"Um, my name is Heronix."
"Heronix?" asked Jimmy. "That's a bit for me to be able to pronounce properly. I might have to think up of a nickname you can go by."
"If you wish to do so," smiled Heronix.
"You know," said Jimmy, all of a sudden. "What you did over there was pretty heroic, so how does the nickname 'Hero' sound to you?"
Heronix thought for a moment, and then he nodded in agreement. "Yes!" he said. "Hero the Dragon – I like the sound of that!"
"Okay, Hero it shall be," smiled Jimmy.
"Where exactly are we going?" asked Hero.
"We're going to Japan, of course," replied Jimmy. "I have to get there to find my pet phoenix Firestorm before they do."
"What is it that they have with your pet?"
"He's got the map to the location of their hideout," continued Jimmy. "It needs to be brought to the Anthro League of Kyoto."
"Ah, I see," said Hero.
"I will be a bit hard telling them about your defection from the Obsidian Devourers," said Jimmy. "But we'll think of something."
Long afterwards, Jimmy and Hero were getting closer to Japan. Jimmy points Hero to the radar, assuring him that they will reach their destination very soon. All seemed well, until suddenly, the two felt a sudden jerk. Then, the alarm blared and all the lights on the instrument panel were flashing red.
"Uh-oh," groaned Jimmy. "This doesn't look good."
"What happened?" asked Hero.
Jimmy clicked on the flight instruments desperately, but found that it was useless. "Seems like we've been hit," he said. "They must have caught up to us!"
"We've got to do something!" exclaimed Hero as he could feel the aircraft spiralling downward.
"I'm trying!" said Jimmy as he held the control column tightly.
Without warning, another missile blast struck the aircraft, which knocked Jimmy unconscious. In a state of panic, Hero reached for the control column and adjusted it so that the aircraft continues to go down diagonally. As the aircraft got closer to the surface, Hero pushed the ejection button and he was launched out of the aircraft. Spreading his wings, he flew for safety to the shore ahead. Hero then turned around to face the ocean and could see that the aircraft had splashed into the sea. Desperate to save Jimmy, the dragon dove in and swam towards the sunken aircraft. He checked the cockpit, but found no sign of his lion friend, except for the jacket that was still on the seat. Quickly, Hero grabbed the jacket and swam back up to the surface as the aircraft continued to sink further into the depths.
Returning to the shores, Hero felt very grieved at the thought that Jimmy possibly drowned. Looking down to his Obsidian Devourer belt, he unbuckled it, and after handling it for a short while, the dragon tossed it to the sea, wishing not to remember being in the organisation ever again.
Hero found himself in a lush green forest as he explored the Japanese shores. He had no idea where he was, but he was hoping to search for Jimmy's pet phoenix and rest at the next town before delivering it to the Anthro League. He may not be part of it, but it's the least he could do for Jimmy. Eventually, Hero reached a part of the forest where he heard some laughter in the distance. Curious, he rushed to the scene where he saw a pink dragon girl playing with a phoenix. As soon as he noticed the collar with a small case attached, he realised that it must be Jimmy's pet. Slowly he moved forward to get a closer look.
Firestorm was enjoying his time with Lily. He now knew that this pink dragon girl might be possibly of the good sort. Just then, he sensed that someone was watching. The little phoenix turned around, and saw a silver-coloured dragon wearing a jacket that looked exactly like that of his master. He flapped his wings in alarm, which caught Lily's attention.
"What is it, little guy?" she asked. "Do you sense something?"
Lily looked up to the direction Firestorm was facing, and that's when she saw the dragon looking at them. Since Firestorm was flapping his wings and squawking in such a panicked state, she picked up from him that the dragon was wearing the jacket that belonged to his master. "You there!" she called.
Realising he was in trouble, Hero started to run from the angry dragoness. It seemed as if he had lost her, but just then, Lily appeared right in front and she knocked him to the ground. She looked down at him with a very fierce expression on her face.
"I finally caught you, thief!" declared Lily.
"Me, a thief?!" spluttered Hero.
Firestorm caught up and angrily pecked at Hero.
"The jacket!" hissed Lily. "This bird right here is telling me that you stole it!"
"Excuse me, lady!" snapped Hero. "I had quite a day, so I'd appreciate it that you don't accuse me of – ouch! Stop pecking me!"
"Where did you get the jacket?" asked Lily as Firestorm pecked Hero even more. "It belongs to the bird's owner!"
Gasping nervously while still pinned to the ground by Lily, Hero looked at her earnestly to assure her he was being truthful. "It belongs to Jimmy Lionheart," he said, and he turned to Firestorm. "That's his name, isn't it?"
The phoenix nodded, and Lily listened attentively.
"He was captured by the Obsidian Devourers," continued Hero. "I helped him escape, but our plane crashed, and…" he hesitated to reveal what happened next, but he knew it was best for them to know. "…Jimmy didn't make it. I did my best to help him, but, I'm so sorry…"
Firestorm sadly lowered his head at the news, and he walked silently away.
"Tell me," began Lily. "Are you from the Anthro League?"
Hero realised that if he told the dragoness where he truly was from, he'll be toasted. Quickly, he got himself up, and thought carefully what to say. "Yes, I am!" he replied. "I am with the Anthro League. I know I may not look like it, but there are a lot of different folks from the League."
"Firestorm told me that he's on a secret mission," said Lily. "He needs to find the Anthro League."
"Apparently, he has the map revealing the location of the Obsidian Devourers' hideout, and they're after him" said Hero.
"A map, you say?" asked Lily.
"Yes, indeed," replied Hero. "With it, the Anthro League can be able to take down the Obsidian Devourers."
"I believe we haven't introduced each other," smiled Lily. "If you want to know my name, it's Lily. What about yours?"
"Nice to meet you, Lily, mine is Hero."
"Sounds like a pretty cool name," said Lily as she shook Hero's paw.
Hero was about to respond, when Firestorm returned feeling very frightened. Hero wonders what was going on, but Lily knew all too well that trouble was nearby.
"Stand back," she warned. "I think someone's coming."
Everyone stood back, anticipating for something to happen. Suddenly, a giant robot shaped like a bipedal dragon emerged into view through the trees. Hero and Lily recognised it as a contraption of the Obsidian Devourers, and manning the robot was the Pyre Squad.
"Well, well, if it isn't the traitor himself!" said Ciara with a nasty smirk.
"And he has gift-wrapped the phoenix and one of those meddlesome dragons for us!" laughed Scorcher.
Lily was confused. "What do they mean by that?" she asked. "You mean you're not really from the Anthro League?"
Hero gulped. He realised that his cover was blown now. "Well, I…" he stammered.
Just then, the Pyre Squad's robot reached out its arms to grab Lily and Firestorm. Hero jumped in just in time to keep Firestorm from getting caught, but Lily wasn't so lucky.
"Let me go!" she shrieked.
"Absolutely not!" laughed the Pyre Squad.
"Hang on, Lily!" called Hero. "I'll try to find some assistance!"
As Hero disappeared deep into the forest, the Pyre Squad checked the other arm.
"Darn, we didn't catch the phoenix," pouted Scorcher. "Heronix must have him in his possession."
"Shall we go after him?" asked Cronk.
"That will not be necessary," said Ciara. "Heronix is going to look for the rest of Lily's friends, which means they'll all be sitting ducks once they try to face us! Too bad the Dark Queen doesn't take kindly to traitors, or else she would have given our renegade a very special reward! Let's just wait until those scoundrels show up. They will never know what hit them!"
Author's Note: Yes, we finally get to see the main cast, at least in the next chapter! Hope the new characters were welcome additions (though let's hope Jimmy is okay). As for the Pyre Squad, these guys seriously don't know when to quit, do they? Expect another showdown to take place as the story continues!
