AN: So, here we go. The three parts of this chapter are about things happening while the dragon sleeps. So, expect updates on the world, the people, and the douche bag. This particular update is about what the girls are doing.

Chapter 39.1: As the Dragon Sleeps

Life did not stop just because the master of the city slumbered in the basement of his castle. People needed to be housed. Resources needed to be collected. Plans needed to be carried out. Scott would awaken in either one week or two days, depending upon the world one might be in currently. In that time, a few things needed to happen.

Sonja walked back and forth in front of the small crudely maintained formation of people in front of her. She wore a mildly perplexed scowl upon her face. "You? You're the warriors of Earth?"

She stopped walking then snorted. "Three year old children from my tribe are more capable. For that matter I have had diarrhea more powerful than the strength that I see before me."

A few grumbles echoed from the loosely formed collection of people. She glanced at them then said, "Someone doubts me?"

Several grumbles escaped the crowd once more. Sonja gestured with her hand. "Fine, if anyone would prove me wrong then step forward."

"I'll give you a go." said Mark, a lopsided grin on his face.

"You doubt me?" Sonja asked with a snort. He had actually seen her in action a few times. He should know better.

"Nope. But I don't think anyone else here can take me in a straight-up fight, so I'll save them some trouble." said the large former backroom employee. He stepped out and loosened up his muscles.

"Big talk." said another man, this one a full head taller than Mark, and with much broader shoulders. He looked like a fantasy barbarian who had learned how to wear modern clothes.

Mark and the big bruiser shared a glance, but before anything happened, a few other men and one woman spoke up. They had taken more offense at what Mark had said than what Sonja had said before.

Sonja spoke up. "You misunderstand. I did not mean to set up a series of single trials. Anyone who disagrees with what I have said, step up." She inclined her head then grasped her massive wooden training sword in both hands. It was more like a plank than a weapon, but it would do. "I'm a big girl. I'll play with all of my toys at once."

The gathered crowd milled around for a moment. Sonja snapped out. "All of you, come at me!"

No one moved so she gripped the handle of her blade tight enough to make her knuckles go white. "Fine, then I shall come to you."

Sonja smirked then a dangerous light awoke within her eyes. She ran forward suddenly, her taut muscles pressed against the earth with such force that clods of grass were torn and spent behind her. She whipped her blade around with incredibly ferocity and struck out at the center of the panicked crowd. People fled the scene as quickly as they could when an invisible force sent the closest unfortunate souls flying back and away.

The braver people in the crowd tried to fight back, but it was like facing an impossibly beautiful ghost dancer. A blade whirled pitifully toward Sonja's back. She casually twisted to the side and avoided the attack completely before whipping her blade around to slam into the side of the massive barbarian wannabe who had attacked her. Ribs snapped and an excitable cry of pain erupted from his throat.

Several men, including Mark, all raced toward her at once. Each of them tried to at least score a hit on the super human fighter, but it was for naught. Her speed and grace were such that they might as well have been standing still. Sonja slammed her blade down atop one man's shoulder. His clavicle snapped readily, and his shoulder was badly damage to the extent that his sword fell from nerveless fingers.

The next two strikes occurred so quickly that it would have appeared to be a single attack that hit two opponents at once to the casual onlooker. Mark received a powerful strike to the chest that snapped his ribs and sent him flying, but Sonja whipped her body to the right and arced her blade into a hard diagonal strike tore a powerful gash across the chest of another man. He fell to his knees, a pained scream erupting from his lips.

No one else came to fight after that. Sonja pressed the tip of her wooden sword to the chest on the kneeling man. "Do you have words for me?"

"N-naw, we cool." He panted a little as blood poured freely from his terrible wound. She pressed the blade against his chest once more and he threw up his hands. "We cool, dammit!"

Sonja smirked. Her left eyebrow rose into the air then she turned artfully on her heel. She glanced at the horribly injured men on the ground then snorted. "Drink some apple juice and get back in formation. There's no time to act like a bunch of crying children."

She shook her head as the dogs that she had whipped dragged their battered carcasses away. Such weakness. She had her work cut out for her.

While Sonja made friends and influenced people, Shara set about the task of gathering intelligence on local monster groups. It would be important for when the teams that were to be trained had to go out and actually fight. It would be best to coordinate their hunting activities to maximize their combat experience and resource acquisition.

Shara had a five man team, though the men were actually women. There was not a single man on the squad. So far the men who had chosen to join the faction officially and had also acquired tracking and reconnaissance skills had proven to be either better suited to Sonja's training, or for the hunting squad that was being made. A few might have been a decent addition, but she had other requirements that those few had not met. As things stood, she had something similar to five low-budget kunoichi to train.

"Big sister." said one girl as she knelt down to give her report to Shara. She was a former high school senior who wore a pink tank top and tight jeans. Her honey blonde hair and lithe frame gave lie to the fact that she was actually the most skilled person in the group save for Shara.

"Yes, Melanie?" asked Shara. For today's exercise Shara had chosen to wear her ridiculously low cut red outfit that resembled the outfit of Mai Shiranui of Fatal Fury fame.

Melanie grinned a little. "We found a large group of wolves, about sixty of them near the center of the forest."

"Ah. Good. That's probably the last of the dire wolves on the island. Once they are taken out we can start cultivating." said Shara.

The would-be ninja squad went back to work after that. The American ninjas and their ninja goddess leader set about cataloging the monsters in the area. Afterward Shara put them through their paces in order to teach them a few other arts that might prove useful in their lives.

Melanie frowned as the ropes were pulled a little tighter than was comfortable. "This is a little tight, big sister."

"Well, it's supposed to be!" said Shara cheerfully. She finished off the rope pattern and showed it to the other girls. "Do you see the cute little diamond pattern? It's called a turtle binding pattern."

The other girls nodded in unison their eyes wide and their cheeks slightly flush. Melanie was tied up in such a way that her breasts and rear were heavily accentuated. Shara continued to teach them of the ways of the ninja, and they dedicated their hearts to learning their new ninja mistress's knowledge with their body and soul.

Back at the castle Ashton continued to run the numbers on their new enterprise while she acted as a guard for Scott. He had not awakened in his dream form when he had undergone his dragon sleep. Somehow, his nature had overridden that rule of their current existence. Even Shara had been surprised to see that happen.

Loud ripping and tearing sounds came from the other side of the heavily reinforced door. Ashton shuddered slightly. Scott was sleep eating again. It seemed like every hour on the hour he awoke slightly and started to gnaw on the closest thing to him.

She gazed at the door now and then in surprise. The sounds that came from the other side had become louder over time. At first they were barely noticeable but over the course of the last few days they had grown to nightmare proportions. It was like some huge beast was on the other side of the door instead of the cute little dragon she remembered.

A loud and obnoxious rumbling sound echoed outward from the other room. Not long after a disturbingly humorous scent entered the room from the cracks of the door. She wrinkled her noise. "There's a lady present you know."

Ashton pulled out a bottle of air freshener and spritzed at the air. Next time someone else would pull dragon-sitting duty. The job really stunk.