In an instant, Lin was once again standing before the familiar sight of the daycare, this time with Morgan conscious by her side. The brunette stumbled forward, clutching her mouth in an attempt to keep down this morning’s breakfast. Teleportation always did leave some sense of nausea. 

     A layer of webbing continued to cover the area, their threads now pulsing an eery deep blue.

     She looked over to Morgan, and to her surprise caught the blonde finding it somewhat difficult to breathe. Had her magic always been so tiring? Come to think of it, she had mentioned being tired from this morning as well.

     "I figured you would come back eventually,“ echoed the voice of the lair’s queen. "Have you come to your senses at last?”

     "The witch?“ asked Morgan. 

     "The witch.” Lin replied. 

     "I do have a name you know?“ the woman appeared, her figure standing atop of the roof. "Aisa the Spider Dragon. Your pleasure, I’m sure." 

     The space around her bent in a swirl of distortion. Then, like a rubber band, it snapped back into place. There she stood, unharmed. Morgan meanwhile stood dumbfounded with arms outstretched, her magic failed. 

     "Didn’t you hear a word I just said?” Aisa crossed her arms, amused. “A fool though you may be, you should at least know that a dragon’s scales are impervious to magic.”  

     “Dragon, witch, hag, whatever!” Morgan threw a snide grin. “Just reverse whatever it is you did to our town!" 

     "Oh?” The dragon woman stood confused. Then, she began to laugh. “Oh! Ohohoho! You don’t have the faintest idea of what’s going on, do you?” Black wings sprouted from her back, and like night she descended. 

     “Why don’t I show you?" 

     Purple fire coursed through her being as teeth quickly became fangs and fingers were replaced with claws. As her shadow grew to envelope the two girls below, soon she was nearly half the size of the building standing behind her. 

     Instinctively stepping backwards, Lin wasn’t sure if she could believe what was standing between them and the daycare. Where was once the witch called Aisa, now stood instead a six-legged dragon, its dark scales shimmering from the lights cast by the inner dome, and its four purple eyes like sapphire staring down with overwhelming presence. And from its deep maw, came a roar that shook the very earth.

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     "BUWOOAAAARR!!!” 

     This… This was a dragon.

     “Lin.”

     The voice snapped the teen back to her senses. She looked over and saw Morgan, though visibly shaking, still had on her a face of unwavering resolve. 

     “I’ll hold her off here. In the meanwhile, you go inside and find Arthur.”

     What was she doing? Here she was freaking out, while Morgan her junior was ready to fight to the last. 

     “Y..yeah,” Lin took a breath, doing her best to calm down. She had to calm down! “Kick her butt, alright?" 

     That said, she then broke into a sprint towards the building. Her feet beat furiously against the pavement as she ran under the dragon’s shadow, under the dragon’s belly, and then the approaching swing of the dragon’s tree-sized tail…

     CLANG! 

     The tail recoiled as it was hit with the metal of a teleported playground slide. 

     "GO!” Shouted Morgan. 

     Not needing the encouragement, she ducked away from the battle and disappeared behind the building’s doors. 

     The dragon smiled. “I suppose Avalon’s pet will have to wait." 

     Her attention then focused on Morgan, with surprising speed her claws struck out, strong enough to tear iron apart. 

     But the claws tore into nothing but air, as Morgan had of course warped away. Above the dragon’s head she stretched opened a portal with both hands, and tearing away the nearby jungle gym, she cast its entirety downwards in a rain of plastic and steel. 

     No effect. 

     The equipment, heavy as it was, only dented in itself when faced with the hardness of the dragon’s hide. 

     On and on the game of tag continued. Each time Aisa would spit fire or swing her body like a wrecking ball, only to hit nothing as Morgan would warp away. Just the same, Morgan would then retaliate with dropping and flinging more playground equipment and debris, only to have her projectiles harmlessly bounce away. Soon enough, the field in front of the daycare was nothing but a scrap-collector’s dream.

     "Arthur’s going to be SO mad when he sees this,” Morgan panted, skidding backwards through the sand. Using this amount of magic in itself was a chore, but there was something else that also seemed to be sapping her strength.

     Her eyes widened in horror as she realized the cause.  

     “No… That… That’s impossible!" 

     "You’ve realized, have you?" Aisa laughed. In contrast, she appeared not only unscathed, but was just as rested as she had been since the fight began.  

     "No.. No no… NO!" 

     Opening one portal into the ground, and a connecting portal high in the air, Morgan threw the remains of the slide between them. Caught in the infinite loop, the metallic spear could only continue to fall as it quickly built momentum. In seconds all that could be made of it was a dangerous blur, screaming to be released. 

     The top portal then titled, its barrel aimed at the mouth of the dragon.

     "No." 

     Like a cannon, Morgan’s spear aimed true, and with its fire sent Aisa the Dragon crashing into the building behind in a cloud of dirt and debris.