Chapter 3
The blonde teen heard footsteps and as the door opened, she braced herself for what the villains would say or do to her then.
Gentleman Ghost entered. "Time to go ashore," he said, grabbing her arm and helping her up. Though his grip was firm, she noted it was gentle, too, but she wasn't fooled, knowing that despite him acting like a gentleman, he was a dangerous villain.
"So, what am I supposed to do or expect on this little treasure hunt of yours?" Lea asked, curiously.
Clock King came up to them. "You'll travel through a cave to get a prized Emerald," he said. "You'll have one hour to reach where the Emerald is and grab it as in less than an hour now, the Emerald will be out in the open for fifteen minutes. Come out with the Emerald and you will be safely returned back to the city. If you try anything, you'll be trapped down here forever. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I get it," Lea responded, avoiding eye contact from Clock King.
Gentleman Ghost nodded. "Let's move," he said, guiding Lea as Clock King led the way.
Lea moved forward, still keeping it together while being cautious. The mystery stalker of the villains already surfaced and carefully got out of the water, after seeing it was safe and where the group was heading.
Lea wasn't going to let her fear show, but she was still counting on Batman to find her. "Hurry, Bats," she said softly, still holding onto hope.
Just as she said that, Batman had arrived and was moving quickly, having a feeling Lea was going to be in real trouble soon. "I'm coming, Lea," he said in promise. "I'll find you."
Soon, Clock King led them to a platform. "Ah, right on time," he said before turning to Lea. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing for her to get up on the platform.
Gulping, the blonde teen went on top of the platform nervously. "Such the charmer," she muttered, not liking this on the inside.
Both joined her and the platform went up a few feet until stopping at a path. At the far end looked to be a treasure room. "All right, walk down the path and to the room," Gentleman Ghost said.
"Once there, the Emerald will appear where you can grab it and bring it back here," Clock King said.
"Once you start, do not look back or try to backtrack," the ghostly villain said. "The traps are time sensitive. Once they go off, they will reset when the podium holding the Emerald goes back to its hiding spot."
"To which you will have to run through before the traps reset," the clock villain said. "Do you understand these instructions?"
"I believe so, yeah. It's basically a 'straight forward' plan of no return," Lea said, unable to help but quip on that statement.
"Go on, then," Gentleman Ghost said, giving her a light push forward.
Glaring from that little push at Gentleman Ghost, Lea already started walking to the path. She wasn't sure what to expect when going in the room nor about trusting the two villains keeping their word when getting the treasure that they seek, but her options were limited where there wasn't another way.
It's clear that, despite being somewhat civilized villains, they're most likely going to leave me behind or worse the moment I do what they ask of me,Lea said to herself in deep thoughts, looking around cautiously while not stopping nor looking back. While I could go as Midnight Hope and escape, the two villains might piece together my identity and tell others. Putting not just myself but also the people I care about in danger.
Thankfully, she soon reached the end of the tunnel and just a moment later, a podium holding the largest Emerald she had ever seen appeared before her.
"Whoa...I guess that's the special jewel both Gentleman Ghost and Clock King are eager to get," Lea stated, knowing she needed to watch herself when getting it while taking a few steps forward. "Hopefully, there's no weight-sensing trap after I take the emerald. The last thing I need is one of those giant boulders coming down like in the movies."
"She's almost got it," Clock King said, eagerness in his voice.
"What should we do with her, once she hands us the Emerald?" Gentleman Ghost asked.
"We'll have to dispose of her," Clock King said. "We can't have her going to the police."
Turns out, the mystery stalker hiding in the shadows overheard the two villains' scam. One that they didn't like one bit.
Clock King saw Lea pick up the Emerald. "She's got it," he said, eagerly awaiting to get his hands on the gem.
Suddenly, the two villains started hearing an audible growl unlike anything they'd heard.
"What was that?!" Gentleman Ghost asked, startled.
Gentleman Ghost and Clock King tried tracing where that sound was coming from until hearing a different ominous voice boom which startled the two a bit.
"ONLY THE PUREST OF HEART CAN KEEP MY TREASURE AND LEAVE UNHARMED!"
"Who is there?!" Clock King asked.
Hearing something up ahead and seeing the two villains distracted, Lea decides to use that to her advantage by picking up her speed until running and dodging through Gentleman Ghost and Clock King.
Gentleman Ghost saw her. "She's getting away with the Emerald!" He said urgently.
"After her!" The clock villain yelled.
The blonde teen girl kept moving and tried to find her way out while looking for a private place to hide. However, her captors were not far behind.
"Give up, girl! There's no escape!" Gentleman Ghost called to her.
She then started to climb up some rocks where it appeared that Clock King and Gentleman Ghost have her now. However, none of them noticed something big and glowing red heading their way.
"End of the line, maiden," Clock King growled. "Give us the emerald! Now!"
The same growl from earlier was heard again...only louder. All three turned their attention in seeing what looked like an odd dragon. It had the body of a dragon, yet it also had a fish-like head with whiskers, an insectile antennae, and a pair of talon-like hands on both its arms and its wings.
"YOU WILL NOT HARM THE GIRL!" The creature roared, its glaring eyes in fiery flames looking through the group's souls. HOW DARE YOU BOTH TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER KINDNESS AND ONLY USE FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH GREED!"
"What is that monstrosity?!" The ghost villain exclaimed.
"You tell me! Didn't whatever legend you guys read ever mentioned a guardian before kidnapping me?!" Lea remarked, a little surprised that her captors had no clue about this creature...yet it looked somewhat familiar to her.
"There was no mention of a guardian!" Clock King snapped.
"You sure you didn't skip that part?!" Gentleman Ghost asked.
The dragon-like creature snarled before using its tail to swing and whack the two ungentlemanly perpetrators away from Lea. That hit sent them flying to a wall harshly. When it was only the blonde teen left, the creature carefully moved forward and lend down a hand to grab her gently. Although still skeptical and a little scared in confusion, she didn't panic at all in feeling the creature hold her firmly yet carefully. Whoever or whatever this creature was, it was offering to help her and at the moment, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Ummm...Where are you taking me?" Lea asked.
"AWAY FROM THE RUFFIANS AND RETURN YOU BACK," The creature answered, navigating through the tunnels nonstop with its wings acting like extended front legs to walk forward. "I PROMISE YOU THAT, DEAR HUMBLE MAIDEN. KEEP MY TREASURE SAFE AND DO NOT LOSE WHAT MATTERS TO YOU FROM WITHIN."
After saying that, the dragon turned from red to blue. Something Lea noticed.
"Whoa...," The blonde teen muttered; her eyes wide in wonder.
The dragon looked at her and smiled. "NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU, DEAR MAIDEN. I AM A DRAGON OF MY WORD."
So he IS a dragon, Lea thought to herself, studying the creature carefully. He sounds male and looks like a phantom dragon from the single-color glow. While we did just met, I can't help think that I've seen this dragon before. But where?
As Lea contemplated about her dragon rescuer, the mystery stalker swiftly moved until jumping, climbing, and landing on top of the now blue dragon to watch both the front and behind. They also seemed to be carrying something with them that glowed the same color as the dragon.
The dragon looked at her. "IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT TRAPS, THERE ARE NONE. I CAN SEE THROUGH THE CAVE WALLS. IT IS A STRAIGHT SHOT OUT OF THIS CAVE," He said.
As Lea was contemplating to trust him, Clock King and Gentleman Ghost had recovered and were very angry. "Find her!" Clock King said. "The gem is mine!"
"Keep your head on!" The ghost snapped. "That dragon is powerful enough to hit the likes of me. As if he is made of Nth metal or a poltergeist itself. We must get the girl and find a way to slay that beast!"
"THEY ARE COMING," The dragon warned, still moving forward yet can sense the two villains on their way from behind. "TELL ME WHERE IN GOTHAM YOU WISH TO BE SO I CAN SEND YOU THERE."
"Take me to the Gotham City Park...please," Lea said, putting her trust to the dragon.
Nodding, the dragon then turned into a purple hue color that began to glow bright. The mystery stalker revealed to be carrying a retractable staff with a glowing crystal...which is part of the source involving the dragon.
Just as the villains were catching up, the dragon picked up Lea and held her protectively. "HOLD ON TIGHT," he said before moving fast and out of the cave. The villains were following the trail, but just as they reached the exit, they saw the dragon fly upwards with the girl.
"NOOOO!" Clock King yelled in anger.
The figure noticed the villains spotting them take their leave. Smug smirking behind the silhouette, the mystery stalker waved their free hand plus fingers to the two villains in a 'Toodle-loo' manner before disappearing in a flash with Lea and the dragon.
Just then, Batman appeared, drop-kicking Clock King while punching Gentleman Ghost. "Where is the girl you're holding prisoner?!" He asked.
"You're a little late, Batman," Clock King groaned. "A dragon grabbed her and took her and the Emerald away."
"A dragon?" Batman asked, looking at Gentleman Ghost, who nodded.
"As crazy as it sounds, Batman, he is telling the truth," the ghostly villain said. "I saw it, too. Felt it, as well. Whatever that dragon was, it's not mortal nor natural. Even changed colors from red to blue to purple."
The Dark Knight was surprised to hear this news. A dragon helped Lea escape as much as take the Emerald before Gentleman Ghost and Clock King had the chance? That only left Batman with more unanswered questions. With one of them wondering where Lea was now.
Any of you want to take a guess as to who rescued Lea? :)
Next chapter will be the epilogue. :)
Please leave Redbat132 and myself a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418