"Whew!" Starre gasped, sinking to her knees. "That was...exciting, eh?"
"It was horrible," Yorin said flatly. "Now, I must thank each and every one of you from the very bottom of my herat. You've saved my life. Now, I must go. My wife is still hidden somewhere, I hope, and I only wish to find her and get out of this cursed place and into America. Best of luck to you."
"Same to you," John said, beaming with pride. "Well, guys, let's go ourselves."
"Bye, Yorin!" Starre said, shaking the man's hand before following the rest of her family.
Then, she paused. "Wait, guys," she said quickly. "Where's Gana? And Kivo and Io?"
Nina clapped her hand over her mouth. "I was so worried about you three that I...oh, no, Starre, we've got to find them!"
Starre groaned softly, but she knew that Nina was absolutely right. "But...we don't all have to go back in. John, Stevan, you get back to the hotel. But take off those uniforms first," she added, not wanting to arouse suspicion.
"Okay," Nina said bravely, stepping up beside Starre.
"Wait," John said fiercely. "You're not going in without me --"
"We'll be fine," Starre replied sharply. "Besides, you are kin, and you should get as far away from here as you can. You've been here enough, and it's mostly my fault that Gana, Kivo, and Io got into this mess in the first place."
"But --" Stevan protested, but Starre shook her head. The boys both knew how fierce the girls could be when they wanted something, so, despite nervous glances back, they returned to the hotel to fret.
Nice going, Rai commented slyly.
"We have got them wrapped around our little fingers," Nina joked, trying to make light of the despairing situation.
Starre grinned, but returned her focus quickly to the task at hand. "We should pretend that...um...we're supposed to take them somewhere. It seems like, if you're talking to an inferior, no questions are asked as to what you're going to do."
Nina nodded. "We'll just ask someone where the rebel dragons are. It'll be easy."
Rai dipped her head quietly. She seemed rather distant, though Starre couldn't figure out why. However, when Rai noticed Starre watching her, she perked up considerably, and nodded in approval of the plan.
Starre nodded as well, and the group marched back into the building.
"Alright," Starre said under her breath. "Look, let's ask him. He looks like he's not doing much."
"Okay," Nina replied. "Oi!" she called to the boy, who whirled around and bowed slightly.
"Yes, ma'am?" he asked.
Nina, a bit surprised at the polite reply of the boy, retaliated quickly. "Do you know anything about the three rebel dragons captured at the protest today?"
"Aye!" he replied, nodding earnestly. "I was right there when it happened! The grassy one fought sonething fierce. Took five men to take him down! Why, are you the ones to take them off?"
"Yes!" Starre replied, grinning with relief. "Yes, can you tell us where they are?"
"In the prison hall," he replied, pointing to the sign that, again, meant a trip to level 6. "Good luck. Remember, watch out for the big green one. He's nearly blind, but he's bad. Fought something fierce. Took five men."
Rai nodded. Five men, she replied, could easily be replaced by one dragon.
Starre hid a smile as the boy stared, wide-eyed, at Rai's wings. "Aye," he breathed. "They well could."
Nodding their thanks to the boy, the three jostled themselves over to the elevator, where they took another cramped ride to the prison. They stumbled out, and began to practically run down the hall to the cells. They passed the four guards they had stolen uniforms from; all looked rather flustered, but they were too busy clutching their clothes to their bodies to notice Starre, Nina, and Rai.
Finally, they shook off all other people. They looked frantically into every cell they could, but most of them were empty, save a few with sleeping kin on the cots. Starre tried not to look at the thin, mangy bodies of her people, but the sight only motivated her more. It had to be stopped.
Soon, all of the cells were empty, and there was no sign of the dragons. Still, they kept running, beginning to shine with sweat. Rai had taken to gliding above them, flapping her wings.
Are you sure that boy was right? Rai asked. I mean, I don't see any -- what was that?
"What was what?" Starre asked, but then, all there heard the faint, yet familiar call.
Starre? Gana called from far down the hall. Is that you?
Gana! Rai sent, using one of the most powerful signals she could muster, and beaming it straight at the thought of her friend Gana. Are you okay?
Our hearing's busted, a cynical voice replied, But we're fine. Thanks for the wakeup call, Raistlin.
Starre grinned. "Tell them we're coming fast, Rai," Starre said.
We're coming fast, Rai oblidged. Hang in there.
We're hanging, Gana replied as the group began to run even faster. Gana's voice became clearer and clearer, until the group turned to face the three dragons in a small cell near the end of the hallway.
"Hi!" Nina sniffled, pressing the button to open the cell. Kivo came bounding out, and she nuzzled up to Nina like a little puppy. Io made a face, and Gana kicked him lightly. Little harm had come to them, Starre thought. They were okay.
"Let's get out of here," the kin girl suggested, and everyone agreed with the plan. The dragons came up with some leashes from a storage center, and everyone cringed when Gana walked into the wall beside the door.
My eyes, Gana admitted, Are not what they used to be. So the other two dragons found a leash made with a stiff, solid material, which could be used to guide Gana while he pretended to be upset. Kivo and Io wore regular rope leashes, and they (Io in particular) put up quite a show of not being too happy with the current arrangement. Starre took Kivo, Nina took Gana, and Rai took Io.
The group made it to the elevator without much trouble. In fact, it was as though the crowd magically parted to let them through. It was understandable why; Gana was nearly foaming at the mouth, and Nina was practically losing his lead. Still, they found the elevator comfortably vacant, and getting outside was a breeze.
The six began to run along the sidewalk, the dragon's muscles working heavily as they thundered forward. When no one was looking, Nina and Starre ducked behind some bushes, removed their outfits, and put them in a backpack that Nina ran and bought out of desperation. Then, they returned to the hotel without much disturbance at all.
"Whew!" Starre exclaimed as she flung open the door to their room. "That was just wonderful. I...Amaryllis? Er...why are you here?"
Amaryllis stood up, and smiled, patting Starre on the shoulder. "I wanted to say again that I am so, so sorry for doing that to you," she said, biting her lip. "It just makes me feel horrible. I'm just glad you're all safe."
Starre nodded. "Well," she said thoughtfully, "perhaps some good could come out of this. While we were walking home, I had an idea. I want to run it by you guys, and see what you think."