Onyx

Chapter 30: Cryotubes

"We need to get the army assembled and ready. Get the smiths to start repairing any chipped or broken-"

Keanu closed the door behind him. Xenon stopped talking and faced him. "Sorry to interrupt, I had to make sure Onyx was alright. What are the plans?"

"You would have known if you were here like you should have been immediately after you read the letter. Why did Cato have to come bring it here?" His father scolded.

"Onyx needed a second to get situated, I was making sure she was okay."

"Cato can easily do that," he walked towards Keanu and whispered in a rough voice. "Do not let this girl distract you. You've always had the bigger picture in mind.... Don't lose sight of it."

"I think my priorities are the least of your concerns right now."

Xenon cocked an eyebrow. "We can discuss this later." He strode back to the table with the other elders.

Elder Gregory, a short stubby dragon, spoke up. "There is no way we can get everything fixed and ready for war within a week. Our troops have grown lazy and content hidden behind this barrier. They are unprepared and unskilled."

Keanu furrowed his brows. "I'm confused. Why do we have an entire military base then, if no one uses it. I thought we had troops in constant rotation training and sharpening their skills?!"

Xenon sighed. "I admit. We have not been as productive as we should have been. Concerning skill, there's nothing we can do. But what we can do is make sure our troops are properly equipped."

Elder Gregory scowled. "Thats like giving a baby a spoon expecting it to feed itself. It's useless and a waste of resources."

Xenon glared at him. "So what do you expect we do?"

Elder Gregory leaned back. "Pray to the great dragon we can at least survive this war."

"Thats absolutely irresponsible and reckless," Xenon fumed. "You condemn us to die! We can't just sit back and do nothing."

"We can transform, that's all we need. These extra weapons would give nothing but an advantage to the enemies. They would knock it out of our hands and use it against us. These dragons don't know the difference between a sword and an ax."

"Why is that? Who was supposed to train them?" Xenon glared at all the elders. Everyone was silent.

Elder Farek, a tall beefy dragon, cleared his throat. "The only one skilled enough would be Keanu...So I suppose he should have trained them."

All eyes turned to him.

Keanu scowled. "This is ridiculous. If you wanted me to train them, you should have told me years ago, not a week before a war! Who is in charge of the base? Why is nobody sure of anything around here? You guys are the 'almighty' elders! You should know everything, run everything!"

Xenon glared at him. "Watch your tone. You know who you're speaking to."

"You're right I do. A bunch of old dragons, who have grown fat and lazy on prosperity, and throw their responsibilities on others in times of crisis."

The entire room went silent.

"Get out." Xenon whispered.

"Are you-"

"GET OUT!" he roared.

Keanu stormed out the room, slamming the door behind him. Absolutely insufferable. They're mad because they can't handle the truth.

They had an entire military base for years, and it was absolutely useless. Unless....

Keanu jogged out of the castle and looked at the military base on the lower part of the mountain.