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Opening her eyes, Nogard groaned. It felt as though someone had run her head through a cheese grater. Shaking her head to clear it a little, she looked about Med Deck.

Lady Holly and Lord Avondale were both lying on beds; Lady Holly looking a little more worse for wear than Lord Avondale. Shalimar and Wynn were standing apprehensively next to the door of the med deck next to Rose and her crew. Nogard herself was strapped rather tightly to a bed--though she could not recall why.

"What is going on?" Nogard asked. Ears twitching, both Shalimar and Wynn turned to look at her.

"Nog," Wynn replied "what's with your voice?"

"What do you mean?" Nogard asked.

"It's different," Shalimar said. "It's softer...and kinder...than before."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Nogard said. "But please, what is happening?"

At that moment, the door to the med deck was forced open and several creatures that appeared to be Reavers swarmed in. Just behind the fifty or sixty creatures, I could see Nissa, Dragon, and a girl in armor fighting another group.

"Vez!" [+1] one of the creatures said. "Only one is here!"

"Then take her in our god's name!" another said. "We will find the other later!"

In a fury of movement and fighting, Nogard suddenly found the straps on her bed snapped and she herself was yanked off the bed.

"Release me!" Nogard demanded, struggling against her captors. As she was about to say something else, one of the creatures injected Nogard with a tranquilizer. Sliding back into unconsciousness, Nogard said, "Oh Draco..."

Fighting side by side with Shalimar, Wynn paused a moment when she heard the Reavers speak. "Shal, remind me. Reavers don't speak do they?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Shalimar replied. "Nerissa?"

"These are not Reavers," Nerissa said, her hologram form appearing next to Wynn and appearing to be quite bored in the melee. "Reavers do not speak any known language."

"Then what in all that holy to dragons are we fighting?" Wynn asked, ducking.

"Keep one for research!" Dragon yelled over the fight. "Get to the injured and protect them!"

"Right-o!" Wynn said, creating a pad of air beneath her to shoot over the heads of all the Reaver-like creatures. Landing in front of Lord Avondale's and Lady Holly's beds; Wynn was surprised to see that Nogard did not fight back when the creatures took her.

Feeling a hand on her arm, Wynn glanced over her shoulder and saw Holly was peering at her through one eye. "Don't let...them take...her..."

"Aye," Wynn said, nodding. Turning back to the fight, Wynn took one step towards the two creatures when they vanished in a flash of blinding white light. Blinking to clear her eyes, Wynn saw that all but a few dead creatures had vanished in the light.

"Is everyone okay?" Dragon asked.

"They got Nogard," Wynn said. "And she didn't fight back..."

"Sure mom," Xink said, creating a portal for him and Xangord to walk through. "Where to?"

"Jwulit'x hioxa," [+2] Xangord replied, looking over her shoulder at Se'rox and the Zuchax doubles. Letting Xink lead the way, Xangord entered the portal.

Once on the other side, Xangord made sure that Xink had properly closed the portal. In the lab, Xangord began to set up security precautions that would prevent any unauthorized portals--meaning, anyone but Se'rox's and Xink's portals--from opening within the grounds. Then she further enhanced the existing security precautions to allow no ships except the Nerissa Altsoba to fly within the 5 mile radius of the house. Also, Xangord set a precaution so that no subterrain, over the land, or under the water access onto the grounds.

"Mom," Xink said, watching his mother, "aren't you being a bit paranoid?"

"Xaldin had laced the blade of his spear," Xangord said. "I am powerless right now and can't protect either of us."

"What?!"

"Just what I said. Whatever Xaldin had placed on the blade of the spear that stabbed my shoulder is blocking all my powers--even the ability to transform into a dragon."

"What are we going to do then?"

"Hope Dragon gets home soon and get Ikkit to come up with an antidote."