2.04 Dragonfire

The Titlecard.

"Dragonfire" is the fourth episode of the second season of Lincoln City.

## Episode

It's a windy afternoon in Lincoln City and on the river banks of the local river, the River Witham, a couple can be seen walking hand in hand along the muddy paths as they trek with the wide river flowing quickly to their right. The man is tall with dark hair, wearing a brown coat over his blue jeans, while his companion has long red hair tied back into two braids, also dressed in jeans but with a white t-shirt under her green hoodie, the woman looks up at the man: "Scott...what are we doing out here?" - Scott smiles: "Well, we're becoming one with nature" he says throwing his arms out to his side as if to show off the lack of civilization around them. He then turns to face his love and kisses her softly, she sighs happily, wrapping her arms around his neck - "I feel like I'm in a move Natasha" Scott points out as the embrace continues, "This would be a great location for something like that."

Natasha giggles and pulls away from him, "That was very nice" she tells him, Scott tries not to cringe at this comment as he finds it very cliche, but he knows that his girlfriend loves those sorts of movies so he plays along, "Oh really?" - Natasha shrugs and leans over to kiss him again; "Because it feels like you just made me your queen" she whispers in his ear before breaking away to look up at the cloudy sky, the couple continue their walk and soon have to navigate a narrow trail with an electric fence on one side and the water on the other - once this is cleared a huge gust of wind blows through, almost knocking Natasha into the water however Scott catches her by the waist and steadies her - "You okay?" he asks worriedly "Yes!" she answers smiling brightly - "I guess it wasn't quite as romantic as we thought..."

The couple stop walking and look at each other, both feeling a little embarrassed however another look at the sky later and Natasha seems perplexed by something as she starts looking up in part awe and part shock, this causes Scott to follow suit and the two see a single large wing poke out from the layer of the cloud above them "What's that?!" Scott asks curiously, but Natasha simply replies with a 'hmm' however the creature seems to notice them and the two begin to divert away from the river walkway to avoid it. They don't need to go far though before the wing becomes visible and the two can clearly make out its silhouette, it's large, black, and terrifying - yet strangely beautiful - "What is that thing?!" Scott exclaims fearfully - Natasha looks confused for a moment but then laughs nervously: "Don't worry, it's probably nothing...but I've never seen anything like it before..." Scott nods in agreement and takes hold of her hand, reassuring himself that she will be safe - but when they think they are safe a pair of huge talons emerge from the sky and grab Scott by his shoulder! - "No! No no no no no!" he screams, trying to pull himself free from the claws but is soon taken by the beast as Natasha screams, she chases after the beast as it flies along without a care in the world, strangely down the riverbank where there isn't any cover or hiding spots, the chase continues until a busy road gets in the way of Natasha as she begins to cry, not knowing what took Scott however she isn't worrying for long as another pair of talons emerge from on top of a nearby gas station sign, grabbing her arm and pulling her away too.

In the suburbs of Lincoln City, Shane can be seen reading what he deems a strange article in his garage, which acts as his "base of operations" following the destruction of the Torchwood base under Lincoln City: "Couple taken by unknown flying creatures" Shane says as he reads the headline, his voice filled with curiosity and wonder as he begins to speak to himself without stopping for breath "Not everyday you get a case like this and yes I am assuming that this is a case because no bird could carry a full size human" - Shane puts the tablet with the article on it down on the table beside him and heads out to the River Witham to see if he can discover anything as the article is very vague and only a location of the abductions were given.

After navigating a muddy field, Shane soon arrives at the river bank - his eyes are drawn too a nearby telegraph pole which appears to have a massive scratch through it and there also appears to be something on the floor near to where Scott was taken from. As he approaches he notices that the object is a random assortment of scales which weirds out Shane even more, however he keeps his composure and goes about checking out the area for any evidence - he then notices a few feathers sticking out of the ground and he kneels down to pick them up, holding one between his fingers he examines it closely: "Hmm...nope, THAT is a bird" he then holds up one of the scales "YOU however aren't" he states and walks around the area "So what are these things? And how do you explain this?" he asks as he inspects the telegraph post which has no other damage apart from the scratch, he soon puts the scales in his pocket however and heads down river to the gas station where Natasha was abducted, he walks onto the forecourt and finds more scales scattered all over the place, he picks them up and puts them in his pockets "Well this doesn't help much now does it?" he mutters, he is noticed by a store clerk who wanders out (she seems fed up with her job) to ask if she can help him - Shane says "Ah hello, I know this looks strange but bare with me here...were you on duty this morning?" she shakes her head "no why?" he responds "well there are some strange things going on and I'm just wondering if you saw anyone come by earlier today?" she stares at him blankly "I see alot of people, this is a gas station afterall, I mean yeah, maybe someone came in but I didn't really pay attention to their face, I'm sorry" Shane thanks the store clerk and decides to go back the same way he came (along the river bank) to see if he can find anything or if anything strange will happen again, he soon reaches the telegraph pole and finds another scratch running down it as well as a scale on the ground - "Hmmm...scratch, scale, scratch, scale..." he repeats aloud "Whatever came here...very clumsy."

Somewhere else entirely, Scott wakes up in a car park - he seems to have just been disposed of by the beast but kept alive somehow - "What the hell happened to me? Where did she go!?" Scott questions himself, he looks around and sees several cars parked and people walking about, he slowly tries to stand up but is knocked down by an unseen force and lands awkwardly on the ground. He quickly gets up and starts walking towards the exit of the car park when suddenly he is grabbed by a pair of arms, he struggles and fights against the grip and manages to break free and run off into the street - he runs into the middle of the road and trips over a kerb causing him to fall flat on his face, he looks back to see no one there as another gust of wind can be felt.

Back in Shane's garage, he lays out the scales carefully and uses an old Torchwood scanner to try and identify them - "Hmm..." he ponders to himself "Looks like they're made of reptile skin...or maybe...bat?" he thinks to himself "But how do we know this is real? Could this be fake? Could some sicko just be covering their tracks?" Shane decides to keep searching for evidence as the article he is following updates to say that Scott, one of the abducted people, has been found - he leaves his garage and heads off into town to investigate further and to talk to Scott - "Let's see if I can find out more about this mysterious creature!" he exclaims as he sets off - "This is so exciting!" he comments to himself "The possibilities are endless!"

He soon arrives at the site where Scott was found and takes a closer look at the scene, nothing seems out of ordinary, he finds Scott talking to the local police, Shane flashes his Torchwood ID to the cops, who sigh at the sight of it, "Alright alright, get on with it already!" they say "You got it" Shane says bluntly as he walks over to Scott and introduces himself "Hello, my name is Shane and I'm here to talk to you about this morning, I'm investigating these happenings like our police friends here however I'm more...private let's say, can you tell me what happened during your walk along the River Witham this morning?" Scott looks confused "Um...why am I being questioned by a private investigator? What is this?" he wonders, Shane explains "Well...you were abducted by something strange and we need to make sure that you weren't hallucinating or anything like that" Scott shrugs "Maybe I was, maybe not, but I don't remember much about it anyway" Shane nods "That's understandable, you were with someone else?" to which Scott nods "My girlfriend Natasha, her sister Laura too, I think" Shane frowns "Her sister? A third person isn't mentioned..." Scott shrugs again "I don't really know what went on myself" Shane ponders for a second before asking: "Where was this Laura taken from?" Scott tells him "Outside Natasha's, she was coming home from a late shift at a food packing place or whatever, she lives up in the city somewhere I think" Shane nods as Scott writes down a location for Shane, "Anything else?" asks Shane "Yeah, I hope you can find Natasha...I love her, I've known her since school" Shane smiles sympathetically "Of course I will, don't worry."

Shane then leaves Scott with the police as he heads to a suburban estate in the north of Lincoln City where Laura went missing, he gets off the bus he took there and makes his first stop at a set of shops presented in a sort of curve shape, he approaches one of the shops and enters inside, he speaks to the shop assistant, a woman who looks to be in her fifties "Excuse me ma'am, can you help me?" she replies "Yes sir, what can I help you with today?" he asks her "Ahh...I'm looking for a girl called Laura, I was told she lived round here" she nods "Oh yes! She does indeed! Is something wrong?" Shane wonders what to say before blurting out that she's missing "She disappeared last night, according to the witness I have talked to, abducted by some kind of weird creature, we're trying to find her now!" she gasps "What?! Why didn't you call the police?!" Shane protests "There looking into it, as for me...I'm private...Freelance even, I look into weird things that don't quite make sense and I have to say this estate...nothing ever makes sense here because I always find myself back here" he pauses for a moment "If you could give me directions to Laura's house would be great" she gives him directions, he thanks her and heads outside "Ok, well thank you very much, bye!" - Shane comments to himself on how talking to people is hard however just as he reaches a large area of grass in the middle of the estate, a large gust of wind blows across the open space and knocks him to the ground, he hits the floor and looks up to see a large flying creature with bat-like wings and sharp claws hovering above him, Shane seems bewildered and takes a photo of the beast before running across the open park area in fear, the creature then lands on the floor in front of Shane and looks down at him, he looks terrified as the creature stares down at him, it looks over at one of the houses and soon flies away deeming Shane unimportant.

Back in the city centre, Scott can be seen recuperating in a hotel room while speaking to the police about Natasha and Laura's disappearance, he begins to go into detail of what the creature looked like however as he does so, something with wings smashes through the window, when it gets up however it looks human and has a strong build and wears black street clothes and is laser focused on Scott, it speaks in an unknown language: "Niid gein fen alun Mindok, hi talk too pogaas" - the two officers in the room attempt to intervene but are thrown against a wall by the figure who approaches Scott and using some kind of Pyrokinesis, puts a glowing hand on Scott's head causing Scott to scream in agony as it starts melting his skin away and it begins to even melt the brain due to the intense heat, it then turns its attention towards the other officer in the room "Dein out do thdro" - the officer falls to the ground dead as the creature leaves Scott's and the officers' lifeless body in the room before flying out and turning back into its true, monstrous, form.

Shane can be seen back in his garage, looking at the photo he took of the creature as well as many lore: "I need help" he mutters to himself "Someone needs to know what happened to these girls, they deserve justice..." - he then closes his eyes and attempts to speak vague Latin in order to summon his arch-nemesis turned ally Lamashtu, a demon who has vast knowledge of everything supernatural, "Lamashtu, If you're around, I have a case for you" Shane says to no one in particular after his summoning spell fails. However, Lamashtu appears anyway, having been summoned to Shane's garage "Hello Shane" Lamashtu says, standing there in an all black suit with a black trenchcoat, Shane gets straight to the point and shows him the photos and articles of the case he is working on - Lamashtu looks over them and then sighs "Well, this is going to be difficult..." Lamashtu states with a level of uncertainty, "You see, the thing we've got here is something that many people don't even know exists, let alone how to fight it..." - Shane seems unamused: "You gonna tell me what it is? I've been trying to work it out all day" he asks, Lamashtu nods "Indeed, yes...there Dragons" Shane's face drops immediately "D...Dragons? Like...fire breathing...dragons...like the ones from fairytales?" he asks in disbelief, Lamashtu chuckles "Exactly, except they're supposed to be a myth" Shane stares at the demon for a few seconds "So why am I seeing evidence of their existence?" he asks, Lamashtu smiles "Just because it's a myth doesn't mean that it doesn't exist" Shane nods in agreement "I guess you're right."

Suddenly, Shane's gaze is caught by the article which has updated to say that Scott and two officers have been murdered by an unknown assailant at a Lincoln City Bed and Breakfast, Shane looks at Lamashtu: "This Scott guy was abducted by them, along with his girlfriend and her sister, yet he's been killed?" Shane asks, Lamashtu nods "I see that, I don't think the Dragons have any use for him" he replies, Shane then states his intention to investigate however Lamashtu is adamant to also come along for the ride, Shane agrees knowing that two is better than one, even if it is against a supposedly mythical monster.

The two arrive at the hotel room and find it bloody and torn apart, Shane sees the body of Scott, the head of Scott still warm from where the creature, in human form, used it's Pyrokinesis to burn through his head. Lamashtu inspects the corpse of one of the officers and finds the mark of a clawed hand on his neck, "It's definitely a dragon" he whispers, Shane goes over to look at the dead body of the other officer, she's also found to be burned by a similar attack, however the cause of death is actually a head trauma, presumably caused by the same creature that killed Scott - as the two investigate, Scott's phone rings in his pocket, Shane reaches into the pocket and answers the call but doesn't say anything, he then listens to what sounds like a woman screaming on the other end of the line, Shane hangs up as Lamashtu looks concerned "Trace the call Shane" he orders, Shane complies and tries to trace the number and, using a GPS, the two leave the hotel room and track the call which weirdly ends in the estate where Shane encountered one of the creatures before, after some travelling - the two trace the call successfully to an abandoned church on the estate - "What are Dragons supposedly doing in a church?" Shane asks, Lamashtu shrugs "Not sure, never really bothered to ask" he answers sarcastically, they both enter the building and hear crying and whimpering coming from the back of the chapel, they follow the noise and find Laura and Natasha locked in a cage together, both women are bound and gagged and looking scared, Shane speaks his mind: "Why would a Dragon need these two?" which causes Lamashtu to respond: "According to Dragon lore, they abduct virgin women to be used as a vessel for whoever this group of Dragons are following" - Lamashtu then notices various treasures and items confined to one corner, he tells Shane to have a look at them and Shane deducts that they are Tamrielic of origin meaning these Dragons are only abducting people as a diversion while they steal these artifacts, he then takes a closer look at a large chest containing various weapons and armor - Lamashtu suddenly shouts "SHANE" as three humans with bat-like wings land near the entrance of the church and wander inside, they seem confused at Shane and Lamashtu's presence: "Hello Dragons" Shane says to the three humans "Nice disguises" Lamashtu looks at Shane as if to say "What are you doing?" however the human in the center lets out a growl and in a very deep voice says: "How dare you locate us in such an hour of darkness? You shall pay for your insolence!" - Shane tilts his head: "You know for a flying bat, you're very well spoken" this causes Lamashtu to speak up: "We know what you are" he seems more serious in his delivery "You're Dragons but why go through the effort of kidnapping these two women when you have a whole treasury over there?" - The human in the center, who seemed to be their leader responded angrily: "These women are an offering, a new vessel for a spirit of the one we follow and the owner of these treasures...she used to walk among humans in, her name was Kasuti" Shane shudders at the name as he knows it well "Why are you doing this for her? If you don't mind me asking" Shane says in a very respectable manner this time - The humans snarl and turns away from him "Her spirit is restless, we just do her bidding after she was banished from this world, she was fluent in our language so we felt endebted to her" Shane is shocked at this revelation.

Lamashtu asks the Dragons: "And these girls? Why abduct them?" - The Dragon in the centre responds again: "A consolation prize in case we needed to do things the old fashioned way and give her a vessel" Lamashtu lets out a sigh and walks over to the cage, melting the lock with his fire powers - "Shame about that" he says dryly, the Dragons are not amused by this and charge at Lamashtu and Shane who both attack them together, they manage to hold their own against them however the Dragons are easily strong enough to easily break free from them and fly off into the night, taking all of Kasuti's treasures and Tamriel possessions with them, Natasha and Laura thank the pair for freeing them and head off into the night quickly meaning Shane didn't have time to tell Natasha about Scott's death - now in an empty, abandoned church Shane wonders whether to let the Dragons go and close the case or to track them down and stop them from resurrecting their disciple Kasuti once more.

Lamashtu can be seen outside surveying the area for any signs of activity before walking inside, he then proceeds to climb up the stairs and enter a room where he begins to meditate, a distant screech can be heard as it somewhat shakes the old church and he rejoins Shane as another Dragon flies into view and turns to human form upon landing - "Your gang's just gone" Shane shouts out in surprise to the newly arrived Dragon however the Dragon simply says: "I know...you two have no right to be here...DON'T come and find us" however he is met with a fireball from Lamashtu, which the dragon just shrugs off, it begins to brutally attack Lamashtu who asks: "Where did your friends go?" however the Dragon does not respond - Shane notices that one of Kasuti's old swords from Tamriel has been left by the Dragons that were previously here so, in a bit of a hail Mary moment, he throws the sword at the Dragon, hitting it square in the chest knocking him back - the Dragon looks down at the blade with confusion before looking back up at Shane who asks: "Where did the others go?" - the Dragon says nothing causing Lamashtu to get up and twist the sword causing the Dragon to go limp as a massive electrical current runs through his body and the Dragon seemingly dies.

Outside the church, Shane examines Kasuti's sword and asks Lamashtu how it was able to kill the Dragon however Lamashtu simply responds: "If it was forged in Dragon blood then that's why...they did mention a close connection with her, so what if this group of Dragons were only endebted to her because she may have killed their kind before...either way, they may hear the news of their dead friend and will inevitably try again at some point, so my advice would be keep her sword around as we may need it" Shane thanks Lamashtu for helping them and the two depart from the church - Shane heads home while Lamashtu walks the other way.

That night, Shane has a dream where he is walking through the estate on his own, he notices Kasuti walking behind him but says nothing to her in the dream as he walks on, he soon wakes up with thoughts of Dragons still fresh in his mind.

## Characters

* Shane
* Lamashtu
* Natasha
* Scott