Dizgaia ~ The Dreamfinder's Daughter

Chapter 20 ~ Yokai and the Battle for Tron

She was falling.

She was going to die.

Mia had just enough time to think, Maybe the Light Cycle will help cushion my fall. Maybe I'll only be gravely injured.

But in all likelihood, it seemed that this was the end - a unique but horribly tragic way to die at the young age of 19, before she'd really gotten the chance to truly live. She closed her eyes, not wanting to bear witness to her inevitable demise.

"OH NO!" cried Figment. "MIANDRA!"

He flew over the balcony to try to do... something. But really, what could he do? If he were a full-sized dragon, he could swoop beneath her and catch her on his back or in his claws. But there was not enough time to make the transformation. Still, he had to try something! But what?

A fuzzy red streak flew past him, glowing with borrowed rainbow energy. The little creature zoomed beneath the falling bike, laying a track of rainbow light.

"Hey! Fuzzball!" Figment cried delightedly.

The Light Cycle gave a jolt as it landed. Mia felt a smooth surface under its wheels. This was not what falling hundreds of feet to the ground should feel like. She opened her eyes, risking a peek. The Light Cycle was riding along a rainbow track, which was being laid by the strange creature that had accompanied Captain EO. Its butterfly wings carried the curious feline-monkey hybrid through the air just ahead of the Light Cycle, leaving the rainbow trail in its wake.

Mia let out the breath she was holding. Her heart rate began to slow as she realized she wasn't about to die. She followed the rainbow track, and the funny little creature, down to the ground. The Light Cycle screeched to a halt on the cobblestone. The creature hovered in front of her and let out an inquiring squeak, tilting its head as though trying to decipher if she was okay. Mia grabbed him and hugged him against her, planting a kiss against his furry little forehead.

"I don't know what the hell you are, but I LOVE YOU!" she cried.

The little creature gave a delighted squeak followed by a purr. Then, much like any cat who's had his fill of cuddling, he wriggled free from Mia's grasp and flew to his master, alighting upon Captain EO's shoulder. The captain reached up and scratched the creature's fuzzy cheek.

"Nice work, Fuzzball."

Fuzzball let out a little 'prrrp' sound. EO's heavily painted eyes moved to Mia. "Are you all right, Miandra? You're not hurt?"

Mia rose from her bike. The Light Cycle disappeared in a collection of pixels and the white baton returned to her hand. Slowly, Mia took a couple shaky steps towards Captain EO. Now that she was safely on the ground, the reality of what had almost befallen her came crashing down around her. Mia ran to EO and hugged him tightly.

"You saved my life," she said, tears welling in her eyes. "There's nothing I could ever, ever do to thank you enough."

A gloved hand took her chin and tilted her head up. "Your smile is all the thanks I need," said Captain EO in his soft, gentle voice.

Meanwhile, the battle between Tron and Yokai raged on. Tron repeatedly flung his disc at the microbots, but it seemed a futile effort, for every time he sent them scattering, they quickly rejoined once more, refueling Yokai's arsenal.

"I didn't want to hurt you," said Tron, "But you leave me no choice. The only way to stop these things is by stopping you." He threw his disc at Yokai, but Yokai dodged, riding his wave of microbots as he sent more at Tron.

Tron dodged his attacks, and, instead, the concentrated mass of microbots slammed into nearby buildings, shattering windows, cracking walls, and resulting in collateral damage. With another throw of his disc, Tron nearly hit Yokai in the face, but Yokai smacked it away with a giant hand-shaped mass of microbots. He threw out his arm and made a fist . The giant microbot hand did the same, grabbing Tron and squeezing him tightly.