Bound: The Gift of Desire Ch. 12

Chapter 12 - Freedom

Taking Genie's previous suggestion, George asked to be turned into a housefly, the strangest feeling transformation yet, and zipped undetected through the halls toward the dragon who'd taken Piper's tablet. The building was on high alert, and every available body was scrambling to find them. Meanwhile, the five that were trapped in the cell were still there. George hoped there wasn't a spare key within easy reach. But Charlie still had his radio, and George could hear him barking orders when he flew by. Piper had found a hiding spot under the stage in the court and seemed secure enough for the moment, which left George and the genie time to complete their part of the quest.

And all the while, he couldn't get over how much she looked like the Genie. Or, more accurately, how much the Genie resembled a porned-up version of Piper. The most significant difference was in their body proportions, which his companion pushed to the limit. And then there was their hair. Where Piper's was a deep velvety red with shocks of gold streaming through it, the Genie had light brown hair, like shiny polished bronze.

"Genie, she looks just like you," he remarked.

"I noticed. It's probably not a coincidence."

He zoomed over the heads of a confused goon who looked like he might be buzzed or high. "But she didn't look like that before."

"And yesterday, you thought bread tasted like dirt. Remember, the curse altered your perception. Good things were bad, and bad things were worse. As to why I look like her, I'm essentially an amalgamation of all the best qualities you admire in others. From my body down to my soul, whatever is most pleasing, harmonious, or beneficial to you."

"So you're saying you look like her because it's what I like?"

"Exactly. And might I say, you have excellent taste."

"You would say that," he joked.

George finally arrived at the infirmary and squeezed through the space under the door. The lights were off, but even though the sun was low, there was still enough natural light to see. The air was thick with heavy clouds of something laced with THC. Two men were lying on examination tables. One was passed out, snoring loudly with a pile of empty beer cans and a bottle of pills tipped over on the floor. The other was taking long drags of his weed pen and scrolling on Piper's tablet.

The Genie said, "There's our man."

"These guys are really messed up. Piper must've gone full anime."

"I keep hearing that term. What is anime?" she asked innocently.

Being pressed for time, George condensed his definition into something he knew she would understand immediately. "It's like hentai, but without the tentacles. For now, just know that you never go full anime unless you mean it."

"If it means multiple broken ribs, head trauma, and a dislocated knee, anime sounds awesome!"

"He looks pretty out of it. Maybe I could pass for one of them and confiscate it without drawing attention." George summoned his best football captain impression and became a perfect replica of Charlie Plumber. Then, he opened the door and closed it again, pretending that he just entered the room.

The sleeper stayed asleep, but the other said, "Hey, yo, Cap, this shit is great."

George puffed out his chest. "Yeah, only the best for my crew. How's your knee?"

"Oh, I dunno, I am flyin' right now. But hey, was I trippin'? Did the girl break out again?"

"Pfft, where did you hear that?"

"I thought I heard you talkin' on the radio. Bruh, don't let her find me. I can't take this shit." The man was clearly intoxicated, but his fear of Piper seemed genuine.

"Relax, she's secure," said George in a firm yet reassuring tone he imagined Charlie would adopt. However, comforting any of Piper's kidnappers felt gross, and he wanted to get out of there quickly. "I am gonna need her tablet."

"Aww, man, Cap, why, though? The wi-fi ain't workin' anyway. I got like zero bars, dude. Like, zero."

Thinking quickly, George said, "We think she may have put a curse on it. Anyone who uses it to look up porn, their balls fall off in three days unless they give the tablet to someone else."

His face contorted in panic. "No way! Really?" Then, he shoved the tablet at George. "Bruh, take it! Take it!" George snatched it eagerly.

"Well, that was easy," said Genie.

"How does the expression go? Like stealing candy from a weed-addled jock who's high on painkillers."

Suddenly, Charlie's voice came through on the radio sitting on the nightstand at the other side of the bed from George. "I want a status update! Someone tell me they've eyes on the girl!"

George and the patient locked eyes as understanding swept over his zonked affectation.

"Uh-oh," said the Genie.

They both reached for the radio simultaneously, but the goon was closer. "Bruh, Help! Infirmary..." he managed to get out before George could get a hand over his mouth.

Charlie replied, "Gordie, respond! Gordie!"

Meanwhile, George and Gordie struggled. Though he was high, Gordie managed to put up a decent fight. The dragon symbol on his bracer glowed faintly as he resisted George's efforts to subdue him.

Charlie continued, "Someone check the infirmary, now! And find my damn keys!"

Finally, George got the upper hand by placing Gordie in a sleeper hold. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep..." he chanted, hoping he was doing it correctly. It had been years since his father taught him, and he was rusty. But it eventually worked, and Gordie went limp. Knowing he had only a few precious moments before the room was swarmed with Manticore, he pulled one of the empty beds over and wedged it against the door. Then he picked up a cabinet and stacked it on top.

"That'll hold them for a minute," he muttered.

"I can turn you into a fly again. We can slip out through that vent." She highlighted it in pink for him.

Multiple glowing guards were heading in his direction. Meanwhile, Charlie's voice came over the radio once more. "I'm warning you idiots again! Do not look directly at her! Do not let her say anything! And if one of you kills her, so help me, I'll murder you myself!"

"They think she's in here," he said to himself. "Genie, can you mimic Piper's voice?"

To answer him, Piper's voice rang through his mind, "Dummy! I hate that I love you so much!"

"It'll do," he said as he stacked more heavy objects in front of the door.

Someone on the other side tried the handle, and when the door didn't budge, they began throwing their shoulder against it. It was holding, but there was no telling for how long. "I want you to pretend to be Piper. Make her sound really threatening. Make them scared to get too close. Keep them busy for as long as you can. I'll return the book to Piper, and we'll see about her spell."

"Ooh, roleplay! I'm so ready for this!"

And then, a carbon copy of Piper appeared before him in a puff of pink smoke. "Take my spellbook, and don't you dare go looking for nudes," she winked. "Ooh, before you go, take his bracer. We'll need one for Piper so she can get through the shroud."

"Good thinking." He yanked it off of Gordie's arm while checking his pulse. He was still alive but out cold. Meanwhile, the sleeper hadn't stopped snoring since George entered the room. George remarked, "I figured you'd just make another one like you did for me."

"I can only do stuff like that for you. Read the manual, ya goofball."

"Open up, bitch!" shouted someone from outside, followed by another crash against the door. "We know you're in there! There's no way out!"

George took that as his cue to leave. But before turning him back into a fly, the Genie masquerading as Piper gave him a quick smooch.

"Was that for luck?" he asked.

She grinned. "With me, you don't need luck. Now shoo, little fly." She transformed him, then blew him toward the vent. As he entered, he heard Piper's voice. "I'm in here, needle-dicks! Come any closer, and I'll turn Gordie's nuts into actual nuts!"

George hurried through the vents toward Piper's silhouette. It was harder to do than he thought it might be. In stealth video games, designers would allow the player to crawl through vents to hide or take shortcuts, but George learned quickly that actual ventilation systems, especially ones as old and ignored as the Filmore's, are dark, dirty, and cramped. Being a fly made it possible, but George also learned that flies have terrible vision for navigating a dark network of tunnels while under a time crunch. Instead, he found an exit the first chance he got and continued buzzing through the well-lit corridors.

Charlie and the rest were still stuck in the cell when George reached the stage. Piper was underneath, blocked from view by a decorative purple curtain. So, he slipped between the folds and landed on her shoulder. "Okay, Genie, change me back, please." He immediately grew back to his original form, and Piper jumped in fright at his sudden appearance.

"Gah!" she yelped.

"Shh! Sorry, it's just me. I've got your spellbook."

Piper clutched her chest and said, "Christ, George, you scared the poop out of me." She took the tablet from him and hugged it close to her chest, "Oh, how I missed you, old friend. I'll never complain about bad wi-fi ever again." Then, she swiped on the screen in a precise, well-practiced swooping motion, bringing the device to life. "Assholes," she spat.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Of course they'd drain the battery, probably looking for nudes. I've got less than five percent."

"Your magical spellbook needs electricity?"

"Shoosh. It's one of the tradeoffs of modern magic," she said while scrolling through what looked like a database of thousands of cool-sounding words, like 'Explodiate' and 'Gravity Banger.' "Casting spells isn't free. It takes concentration and willpower and drains the wielder. The more powerful the spell, the more it takes. But by using things like the internet and Cloud Storage, we can offload much of the heavy lifting into a collective pool. But you still need to charge your batteries." She stopped when she reached the section on portals. "Here we go. Stage two."

George waited anxiously for her to continue, but she ignored him. Looking over toward the infirmary, most of the dragons were still stuck at the door. "Well?" he asked finally.

"I'm reading," she said simply.

Suddenly, the Genie interjected, "Master, I've got them believing the door will shock them if they touch it. It's freaking them out, but you might want to hurry."

"How did you convince them of that?" he asked.

"These guys may be attuned, but they don't know much about magic works. They pretty much believe anything I say in Piper's voice. She must have scared the shit out of them."

Piper finally finished reading and said, "I think I got it. I just need to know what kind of portal it is. Is it safe to come out?"

"Yeah, let's hurry."

They scrambled out from under the stage and made for the podium. She stood between the two pillars and regarded the manacles. "These were meant for me..." she said solemnly.

George had avoided thinking about the implications of what Coach Veiss might have had in mind for Piper, but standing beside her and seeing the grim realizations take hold made him want to puke. He gently touched her shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"

But it was obvious that she wasn't. She was visibly shivering and clutched her tablet tight against her chest. But it didn't take long for her horror to turn into rage. George watched as fierce determination took hold of her. "They messed with the wrong witch," she said through her teeth. Then, she noted each symbol glowing on the stone ring and drew them onto the screen. "Where do you go?" she mumbled angrily.

"Ooh, Master, they're breaking through," said Genie, like her assailants were a puddle of puppies. She added sarcastically, "Wow, they are so brave going after a single, cornered, half-naked woman."

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"These goons can't even perceive me if I don't let them, let alone harm me. Do what you have to do, quick like."

He addressed Piper, "Are you almost there?"

"I've barely started. I need a few minutes."

There was a heavy thumping noise coming from the locker room. George could see Charlie and his cadre's glowing silhouettes still trapped in the cell, but they were collectively ramming the adjoining wall to bash it down. It was only a matter of time before they broke out. "I set up a diversion, but they'll find us if we stay here much longer, and the ones in the prison are breaking free. We need to hurry, Piper."

Piper's fingers were a blur across her spellbook, and George watched it glow while the hum from the portal intensified. But she remained steadfast. "These assholes have been abusing everyone for too long. They think they're special because they know a little bit more than everyone else, but they're nothing but bullies. I'm not leaving until their toy is toast." She turned to him and said, "I'm not letting them get away with this anymore."

George recognized that steely grit and fiery persistence. It was the same look she gave him the day before in the rain when she pleaded with him to be brave and follow her. At that moment, something inside him unlocked. Piper wouldn't give up. She'd find a way, no matter how scary or difficult.

They were interrupted by the sound of the doors banging open. "Here!" someone called.

Piper, though brave, was still shaken by the sudden disturbance. She looked to George, pleading silently for help.

He gazed back into her glistening blue eyes and knew that from then on, he'd follow her anywhere. "Cast your spell," he said calmly.

Her expression softened, and she looked at him like she saw him for the first time. With her confidence bolstered, she nodded and returned to the portal.

Five men, led by Darren, filed into the room. Rocko was with them and three others who George recognized but couldn't remember their names. They approached cautiously, seemingly weary of what might be in store for them next.

"What the fuck," muttered Rocko. "What's wrong with his face?"

"I don't know," said Darren. He grabbed his radio and said, "Cap, we got'em. They're at the altar. The girl looks like she's up to something. But the other... I don't know. I can't make them out."

"That's the dopple," Charlie grunted through the radio. His group was still tearing the wall down, and George could hear the rhythmic pounding in the adjoining room. "Be careful. They could shift."

"Fuck this," said Rocko. "Let's mess him up." But he didn't leave his place beside Darren.

"Permission to engage," Darren said.

"Granted," huffed Charlie. "Subdue and detain. Non-lethal force only. Backup is on its way."

George hopped off the stage, and the group backed away from him. Though they seemed ready to pounce, they all had an underlying fear.

"I'm hiding your identity," said Genie. "Piper will see through it, but they won't."

He hadn't thought about it, but he wasn't surprised. The Genie always looked out for him, encouraged him, and built him up. Through her steady belief in him, she'd taken him from a cursed weakling to a force of nature that struck fear into the hearts of his tormentors. For the first time, he believed he could win.

George shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet and brought his right foot back, ready to strike. It had been a long time since he had tried to defend himself. But he and the Genie were all that stood between them and Piper. After years of aimlessly wandering through an empty desert of loneliness and pain with no way out, George was precisely where he needed to be. There was a fire in him. A purpose.

There were a few tense moments before Rocko lunged forward with his baton. But before his blow could land, time seemed to slow until he was barely moving.

"Twice in one day, huh, Master? Tisk, Tisk. You really do need my help," she quipped. "So, how do you want to do this? Are we still against deterrence via genital discombobulation?"

With a moment to think, George took note of his attackers. Darren was clearly the oldest and the most experienced. The younger members, including Rocko, followed his directions like he was a field commander or a quarterback. They were a team, similar to George and his companion.

"For now," he replied.

She whined, "Aww."

"I was actually thinking it might be fun to even the odds. Remember our huddle from before with your cheerleader friends?"

"Uh-huh. Would you like a cheering section?"

"No... actually sure, but that's not why I asked. This place is a total sausage fest, so I thought we could use some feminine energy. Could you make five copies of yourself, one for each of them?"

"Yeah! Team Genie!" she squealed. "Although... Master, I don't know how good I'll be at fighting."

"That's okay, I'll do the fighting. I just want them distracted so they don't go after Piper. Be flashy, be loud, put on a show. It'll be your big debut."

The Genie materialized next to him and excitedly bounced up and down. She sang, "Oh my gosh, this is so cool!" She gasped and stopped suddenly, "I need music and costumes! Oh fuck, it's opening night, and I'm not ready!" She began rapidly switching between outfits like she'd done during lunch, but now she was changing her skin color, hair, and body shape as well. George could hear the first half-second of a song play before being switched to another.

George knew she was listening and continued, "No matter what happens, we keep her safe. Okay?"

Several misty clouds sprung out of her and landed nearby, each slowly taking shape into a person. "Got it. And if twisting a ballsack will help?"

"You can do whatever you want, just... don't kill them. And try not to do any permanent damage."

She sighed and said, "You're too nice, Master." Meanwhile, the foggy copies of her began to take on more distinct features. Each of them varied in appearance, with different ethnicities and body proportions, and one was clearly male. However, each wore a sexy cheerleader outfit and looked like they stepped off a photo shoot. George admired her handiwork and thought he might be looking at Genies from alternate universes.

"What about you?" asked Genie.

George watched Rocko, his face contorted into an aggressive snarl, slowly getting closer. He had the business end of the baton ready to thrust into George's ribs, the energy arcing between the prongs. "Make me look like him again. I want to freak him out."

"Now we're talking," she said with malicious glee. The music she'd been sifting through stopped changing. George heard the familiar opening bars of George Michael's 'Freedom! '90.' Genie gasped, "Ooh! What is this? I like this!"

"That was Dad's favorite song," said George. They would turn up the volume in the car and sing it at the top of their lungs. It was his father's anthem. If he'd heard this yesterday, he'd have been crushed. But the Genie dug it up, dusted it off, and made it ready like his own personal DJ. With Piper at his back and the Genie at his side, the pop gospel sound was fresh and hopeful, empowering him just like the Genie did. He was so excited that he was bouncing on his toes. "Crank it up and count it down."

The lights came down, and the volume rose. A disco ball reflected tiny beams of light across the court, and light pink fog rolled over the floor. "Raising the curtain in three... two... one..."

The flow of time caught up with them, and Rocko's wild stab with the baton connected, striking George just under his rib cage and letting out a jolt worth thirty thousand volts. It should have been enough to incapacitate him. Instead, George felt a pleasant tickling sensation that didn't even make him flinch. Rocko looked up and saw his own hooked nose and spikey hair glaring down at him, smiling. The blood drained from his face, and his eyes went wide from terror. The rest of the former Dragons stepped back as their numbers advantage disappeared.

In a panic, Rocko stabbed George repeatedly, each jab sending more electricity through his body without effect. Finally realizing that shocks weren't working, he brought the baton back and angled it to come down on George with an overhead strike. George raised his arm above his head out of reflex and blocked the solid metal club with his forearm. It should have shattered the bone like balsa wood, but the baton bent instead.

"I won't let you down, I will not give you up..." sang George Michael as the keyboard kicked in.

George's smile widened.

From the stage, Piper called out, "Is that... Oh shit! I love this song!"

Rocko was distracted by the Genie's sudden special effects, and George took advantage. With a quick flourish and the proper leverage, George disarmed him, stole the baton, and whacked him hard in the thigh, right across the sciatica. "Gah!" cried Rocko as he crumbled to the ground. George kicked him in the stomach hard enough to make him slide across the floor, past his mates, and collide into a row of chairs. Then, George wound up and threw the baton, end over end, at the scoreboard and struck one of the functioning lights. Sparks exploded from it, and the old board flickered briefly before darkening.

"Because I would really, really love to stick around, oh, yeah..." sang the Genie in George Michael's voice, split between her troupe of sexy cosplayers. Each goon had a conjured spotlight shining down on them while the Genie's copies danced to the beat.

Darren grabbed his radio and spoke with a noticeable tremble. "Cap, this ain't a normal dopple! And now there's more than one!"

"Don't let the girl fuck with the artifact, or we're all dead!" shouted Charlie.

Charlie's reminder galvanized Darren. "You heard the man! Get her!"

The remaining Manticores charged George and his phantom cheerleaders, turning the area in front of the stage into an all-out brawl. Bruisers all, the goon's bracers glowed brightly as they flung themselves into their attacks, trying desperately to overwhelm George and the Genie with raw power. However, like during the chili barrage, George waded through the chaos with precognizant reflexes and lightning speed.

"Heaven knows I was just a young boy, didn't know what I wanted to be..."

The Genie, in the form of one cheerleader or another, flowed around him, perfectly synchronized. When Darren lunged for him, team George was already gone and exploiting an opening in someone else's defense. While George had forgotten much of the technique his father had taught him, his body had not. And with his supercharged physique and nigh-invulnerability, he could pull off maneuvers he'd only seen in a comic book movie.

As the pre-chorus began, George sang along even as he playfully dodged a few punches from Rocko. "I think there's something you should know; I think it's time I told you so; there's something deep inside of me; there's someone else I've got to be..." Then, George spotted an opening and struck him across the jaw just as George Michael sang, "Sometimes the clothes do not make the man!" It was so perfectly timed with the song that he couldn't help but wonder if the Genie was influencing the scene to make him look and feel as cool as possible. Rocko landed in a heap on the floor, splayed wide in an undignified pose. Even so, his bracer glowed bright, and he was already recovering.

Charlie's voice could be heard over the radio, "What is that music? What the fuck are you idiots doing?"

But Darren couldn't answer him. He was too distracted by several cheerleaders taking turns twirling him like a tango dancer despite his best efforts to land attacks.

"All we have to do now... is take these lies and make them true somehow..." sang George Michael. Genie erupted with joy, hollering and laughing with excitement at every encounter. While George dodged attacks as efficiently as possible, the Genie, in the form of her five proxy cheerleaders, literally danced circles around her assailants. Her movements were exaggerated, flashy, and, in some cases, impossible were it not for her vaporous nature. She was a whirling dervish of pink mist, sparkly pom-poms, and pleated skirts.

"All we have to see... is that I don't belong to you, and you don't belong to me. Yeah! Yeah!"

By the time the chorus rang out, the goons were on the floor, recovering from a vicious strike from George or being tripped and embarrassed by the Genie. Her copies were writhing against George, singing, "Freedom! Freedom! You've got to give what you take!"

Meanwhile, the runes etched into the portal were now glowing white, and the hum it emitted was beginning to vibrate the stage. Likewise, Piper's tablet was arcing power between her fingertips and the screen. Her eyes were closed as she chanted something in a language George had never heard in time with the music.

Darren and his force regrouped, their bracers glowing bright purple as their wounds healed and their stamina recharged, and he gave them cryptic orders in some kind of football speak George didn't get. Then, the goons ran in from different directions, trying to fake out Team Genie like they were running a play to get a ball into the endzone. Darren lunged at George, but it was just a ruse to give Rocko a chance to sneak by and tackle Piper. But no matter how clever their plans were, they were too slow, and George quickly stopped them in their tracks with barely an effort.

The vibrations were getting more intense, and George asked, "Is it supposed to be shaking like that?"

The Genie was busy flicking the ears of one dragon to distract him while another of her squad kicked his shins. "I don't think so. She must be trying to overload it. Risky."

George shoved his elbow into someone's kidney and asked, "Risky, how?"

"If she isn't careful, she could cause an explosion. Or worse, an implosion. Suck us all through it with no way back."

George watched as Piper's fiery hair began to flow around her like she was underwater. "I hope she knows what she's doing," he said.

Suddenly, a loud boom came from the women's locker room, followed by the sound of crumbling concrete. George watched the silhouettes of those trapped in the shower prison pick themselves off the ground and stumble toward the exit.

George called out to her, "Piper, they broke free! You need to hurry!"

But she ignored him. She was so engrossed in her ritual that she didn't notice when Charlie and his cadre burst through the locker room door covered in dust and debris from knocking the wall down. Outnumbered once more, the Genie summoned more cheerleaders from the rolling pink fog along the ground. Then, the Genie conjured animals made of shimmering plasma to enhance her performance. Birds dive-bombed, squirrels scampered up pant legs, all while George Michael sang his heart out, turning the basketball court into a full-blown musical number like something from an animated feature film.

Charlie surveyed the carnage, his eyes narrow with intense rage. He ran straight for Piper, but George was there to stop him while the Genie dealt with the rest. She'd methodically stolen their stun batons and playfully zapped them in time with the music.

But Charlie wasn't like the others. He was single-minded in his determination to reach Piper and the portal, neither fooled by the Genie's power nor impressed with George's Rocko disguise. Charlie had been a phenomenal football player, a defensive end, and specialized in breaking through offensive linemen to sack the quarterback, a record he still held at the Stafford Regional to that day. He used every weapon in his arsenal to leverage his way past George. His bracer glowed so bright it radiated heat and left distortions in the air. George pushed back and struck him several times in the ribs, but Charlie kept coming, ignoring the damage like a raging berserker, even knocking George's hat off. They banged into the stage, and the weight of two large men shifted it slightly. It wasn't much, but enough to disrupt Piper's concentration. She lost her balance, and the energies she'd been manipulating began swirling within the portal's ring, forming a tight ball of bright white energy at its center and pulsating uncontrollably.

"Master, It's gonna blow!" warned Genie.

Realizing pushing back against Charlie was a losing proposition, George lifted him over his head and threw him at a group of goons, knocking them all to the floor. "Piper! Get clear!" he yelled.

But Piper just stood there, frozen with fearful uncertainty, unable to act.

Without thinking, George leaped onto the stage and stepped in front of her just before the portal exploded.

Genie's scream echoed through his mind, "No, Master! The magic! I can't..."

But it was too late. He'd already wrapped his arms around Piper to shelter her from the impending blast.

There was a sudden pull toward the portal as the vibrations ceased and a moment where all the sound in the world dropped to nothing. Finally, there was an ungodly noise as enchanted stone shards and magical plasma were thrown in all directions. The cheerleaders disappeared into the mist as Genie rejoined him. Charlie and his goons were thrown back. But George held fast as the world around them was obliterated.

He anticipated pain, unlike anything he had ever felt. This was, after all, his first explosion. However, what he felt was all too familiar. The curse attacked, trying to crush his heart until it stopped. Though his head was pounding, he wouldn't let go of Piper. He'd endured before, and he trusted the Genie would come to his rescue. It was only a few moments, but to George, it felt like an eternity. He focused on Piper's breathing, counting her breaths on each exhale to keep his mind off the pain.

The smoke cleared, and the room was eerily quiet. "George?" whispered Piper.

When he didn't respond, she wiggled free from him to get a better look. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. "Holy..." she marveled when she saw the wall of pink fog between them and the blast. It swirled in deliberate patterns and sparkled with magical power. And then, with blinding speed, the mist funneled itself into George, aiming directly at his chest. He gasped as the curse was once again locked away.

"I've got you," the Genie said frantically.

"What happened?" he groaned.

To his surprise, Piper answered, "I lost control. I-I'm sorry, I was almost there, and then it all just... unraveled. Are you okay?"

George got up slowly with Piper's help, rolled his neck and shoulders, and took stock of his faculties. "I'm good," he said, finally.

"Thank god," Piper said as she let out a tense breath. "But... how? How are you good? That should have killed us, source or no source."

Genie said, "I couldn't protect you from the curse and the boom at the same time. Sorry, won't happen again."

George was about to devise an alternative explanation to share with Piper, but then he noticed that the dragons were getting up. Most were beaten up, singed, or unconscious, but they were recovering. "Maybe you should ask them."

Piper's shoulders slumped as her heart sank. "Fucknuggets," she muttered.

Charlie got up first and began barking orders. "Get up. All of you, let's go!" he yelled as he clutched his side where George had punched him. He looked at Piper and George on what was left of the stage near the smoldering ruins of the portal. There was murderous rage in his eyes, and his bracer glowed even brighter than before, as was everyone else's.

"So," began George, "what did you have in mind for stage three?"

"Stage three is run," she said, trembling. "Stage three is run!"

Happy to oblige, George slung her over his shoulder and took off.

"Hey," she whined.

Charlie got Darren to his feet and pushed him forward. "Get them! Don't let them escape!"

"You heard the cap!" Darren replied obediently and gave chase with the rest of the dragons.

Charlie hung back and pulled out his phone. "Fuck this shit," he muttered as he dialed the number.

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Author's Note - Don't forget to vote and leave a comment. Thanks for reading! - DM