Jack's Dragon's World

“What are you thinking about right now, Titus?” Sarah asked in a soft, concerned voice.

“A lot.” Titus answered, still making no movements whatsoever.

“You know what I mean Titus. What specifically is on your mind? Maybe I can help you sort out your thoughts.” Suggested Sarah.

Finally, Titus sat up, removing his cupped hands from his face in the process. His hands slapped his knees and he faced Sarah who took note of the unsettled look on his face.

“Well…” Said Titus with a sigh. “See, there’s just a lot that I’ve been trying to make heads or tails of. We still have no idea who Alan really is and now people have begun to disappear again. But…the latter is what’s confusing me the most.” Titus said contemplatively.

Just at that moment, Drake, Jake, Crystal, and Sean walked down the stairs and returned to the living room. Sarah asked them if Alan was okay to which Crystal explained that Alan had locked himself in Drake’s room and had repeatedly yelled at them to go away.

Drake scoffed, folding his arms in an annoyed fashion. “Yeah, he locked himself in MY room. It’s not like we didn’t give him his OWN room or anything.”

“I understand, Drake, but try to give Alan a break. The poor kid’s been through a lot.” Said Sarah empathetically.

“I know…” Sighed Drake exasperatedly, trying to be more empathetic to Alan’s situation but still feeling annoyed that he had barricaded himself in his room.

Groaning, Drake lowered his head somewhat and rubbed his temples. Crystal patted his back to try and comfort her friend. As she did, she thought about what the news report had told them and the more she pondered over it, the more she came to determine that the report made no sense to her.

“Hang on a sec!” Exclaimed Crystal as she removed her hand from Drake’s back. “Drake, you and your family defeated Saulstrance and his minions, right?”

“Yeah?” Drake answered in a confused tone.

“So, if Saulstrance and his followers were defeated, how are people once again disappearing?” Inquired Crystal.

“Because you only defeated the Followers.” Jake quickly chimed in, his fists clenched as he looked down at the ground with a troubled expression on his face.

Everyone gazed over at Jake who glanced back at each of his family and friends. From the look on his face, they were quick to determine that out of all of them, Jake seemed to be the most affected by the news. They figured that this was because, as Saulstrance’s son and as one of two surviving members of his group, he felt as though he was responsible.

“But that’s what I’m saying: we beat your dad’s followers. In that case, the only thing that should be left is to find the people who were taken.” Crystal retorted, not understanding the meaning behind Jake’s words.

“No, just—Look, you are right Crystal. You guys did defeat me and the other Followers but we weren’t the only group who worked with my dad. See, my dad had two groups that worked under him. The first one is the Followers. They were the group that I belonged to. Our job was to join my dad, help him find places and people to conquer, and then attack. However, should anything have happened to us, that’s where the second group came in.” Jake explained, his expression changing from one of concern to a more serious look.

“The second group?” Sean parroted.

Jake turned to Sean and nodded. “The Apprentices. From what I’ve heard from my dad, the Apprentices had two tasks: the first was to take care of the humans we captured, make sure they were fed and had enough to drink, and, under their supervision, be allowed to walk around outside for short moments at a time. The second task my dad gave them was less a task and more of a failsafe: if anything were to have happened to us, it would then fall on the Apprentices to continue from where we left off.” The half-dragon teen finished explaining.

Titus and the others took a moment to process everything Jake had revealed to them. In that time, it had suddenly occurred to Titus and his family that they had, in fact, heard of the Apprentices before. It was during their last journey when they encountered Rikai. The crazed dragon had introduced himself to the group as one of Saulstrance’s five apprentices and had been chosen by Saulstrance himself to assist him and the Followers in conquering the world.

Continuing to recall everything he had learned from Rikai all those years ago, he remembered Rikai mentioning something that, at the time, didn’t strike Titus as weird but looking back, Titus had realized that it truly didn’t make sense: despite being an Apprentice, Rikai had made a claim that he had never met any of the other Apprentices. This was peculiar to Titus as he rationalized that in order for the Apprentices to have been taking care of the captured humans for as long as they had, they had to have been working together at least since Saulstrance had set his plans into motion. Were this the case, Titus thought to himself, then why had Rikai never met any of the other Apprentices? If there were truly five of them, then why was Rikai the one to be selected to join Saulstrance, Jake, and the others?  

Titus asked Jake if he knew why Saulstrance had chosen Rikai to work with them to which Jake denied knowing.

“When it came to Rikai, dad never talked that much about him or why he was working with us instead of the other Apprentices.” Explained Jake.

Sean followed up Titus’s question for Jake with a question of his own: he asked his friend if he had ever met any of the Apprentices before.

Jake shook his head. “No. Other than Rikai, I have no idea who the others are or what they’re like.”

“Then, in that case, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to assume that they may have others among their ranks. If these Apprentices are continuing from where Saulstrance left off, then I think it’s quite likely that there’s more than four of them. And…if this is the case, then that leaves us with four questions: Who are the Apprentices? How many dragons do they have working with them? Who is their leader and where are they keeping the humans they’ve taken?” Said Sarah contemplatively as she leaned forward and cupped her hands together, resting her elbows on her legs.

“Well…” Began Jake. “My dad did mention having a Champion before. If the Champ is working with the Apprentices, then I think –”

Before Jake was able to complete his sentence, a portal suddenly opened up right in the living room, startling everybody and causing Drake, Jake, Sean, and Crystal to jump back a foot. They all watched as from the portal emerged a strange man. This man was bald and wore a black business suit with a blue tie and matching black shoes and pants. A serious look plastered on his face, he scanned the living room while everyone’s gazes remain transfixed onto him. Titus groaned, leaning back on the couch and held his hand over his forehead as he held his head straight up for a few seconds before turning back to face the man.

“You know, in our world, it’s proper etiquette to knock before coming into someone’s home.” Scolded Titus, both sounding and looking irritated.

“Oh, shoot, I’m sorry!” The man quickly apologized, his serious expression changing to one of nervousness as he fidgeted somewhat. “It’s just that…well, I’ve only been to this world so many times and Lady Minasha opened this portal for me, and… and in our world, it’s fine for dragons to…” The man began to drone on.

“Look…” Said Titus, holding his hand up to assure the man everything was fine. “It’s okay. I’m guessing if my mom sent you though, then she or dad must need me for something.” Titus deduced.

At Titus’s reassurance, the man’s face quickly reverted back to its prior serious appearance. The man confirmed Titus’s theory to be true. He explained to the dragon and his family that Titus’s parents…or rather Lady Minasha and Lord Cerquil had a very important matter they needed to discuss with Titus, Drake, and Jake. Immediately Titus and the others were able to determine what that important matter had to have been in regards to.

“I’m sorry to rush you and your sons, sir Doulstraz but your parents made it clear to have you brought to them as soon as possible. We should be going.” Said the man as he prepared to open up a portal.

Sarah snickered, nudging Titus. “Well, well, ‘Sir Doulstraz’, huh? How ‘bout that?”

Titus snickered back, grinning a toothy grin. “Right? It’s enough to make a guy feel like royalty.” He stated.

Deciding not to keep their guest, who had just created another portal waiting any longer, Titus stood up and began to take a step forward but stopped after four steps. He assured the man, or rather the dragon in human form that they would be going but that he first wanted to ask him two things. At this request, the dragon agreed to answer Titus’s questions and proceeded to close the portal.

“Okay, so first, you never did tell us what your name is.” Stated Titus accusingly as he folded his arms.

“Yes, I apologize for that. You see, my name is Clim. I’m the captain of your mother’s guards and I also serve as her aide.” The dragon whose name was given as Clim explained.

Titus found himself skeptical about this. He had visited both of his parents at the Leader’s fortress frequently following his mom’s being given the role of Leader and his dad the role of Champion and not once had he ever remembered encountering a dragon named Clim. When Titus asked Clim about this, the latter assured Titus that they had met on some occasions, or at least in passing and that the reason they probably hadn’t talked as much was due to him either training the guards or taking care of a task given to him by Lady Minasha or Lord Cerquil.

Clim could tell from the look on Titus’s face that he still wasn’t totally convinced. He figured that the best way to get his Leader and Champion’s son to believe him was to show everyone his true form. Taking several steps back, Clim took in a deep breath and focused. His body began to change as his muscles grew and bones rearranged. In just a matter of seconds, Clim had changed back into his true form: a golden scaled dragon with deep green reptilian eyes and a silver underside. It was upon seeing Clim’s true form that something sparked within Titus’s mind and he realized that Clim had been telling the truth. Indeed, the two of them had met on a few occasions but normally Titus, when visiting his parents would see Clim busy training the guards, taking care of a task, or generally just running around like a chicken with its head cut off. In the four years since Minasha and Cerquil became their village’s Leader and Champion, neither Titus nor Clim had ever gotten the chance to truly speak to each other. Titus knew nothing of Clim aside from what he had just been told and all Clim knew of Titus were the stories Minasha and Cerquil had told of him.

“Okay, that actually does explain a lot. Now, for my last question: why are you wearing a business suit, and how are you bald in your human form? I always thought a dragon’s human form would always have hair.” Asked an intrigued Titus as he contemplated how such a thing could be possible.

“Oh, that’s your last question? Well, funny story about that actually. You see, despite my role as captain of the Leader’s guards, I’m still rather young as a dragon. Granted, I’m still much older than you, Doulstraz but I digress. Anyway, until just eleven years ago, I had never even gotten the chance to visit this world. I had spent the majority of my life training to work as a guard and eventually make my way up to captain, or at least that was what my father wanted from me. Because of this, I never received the chance to learn about humans or their customs. So, once I became older and received the rank of captain among the guards, I chose to celebrate by journeying to this world for the first time and it was then that I laid my eyes on my very first human. He was what you call ‘bald’ and wore a black outfit much like mine and carried a large square container around with him.” Clim began to explain.

“That’s called a suitcase.” Commented Sean in a slight deadpan tone.

Clim continued with his story. “I liked the look of this man and wanted my human form to take an appearance similar to his. And that was when I did it. Studying this person and visualizing a human such as himself in my head, I transformed. However, shortly after I learned that humans were more…concerned with concealing themselves than we dragons are. I narrowly escaped but, upon subsequent visits, I found outfits much like those of that man and would always be sure to bring them back with me when I returned.”

“Very well then. In that case, we should be going.” Said Clim as he proceeded to reopen the portal.

Both Titus and Sarah stood up and approached the portal as did Drake, Jake, Sean, and Crystal. Titus hugged Sarah, promising that the three of them would be back soon. Drake and Jake made the same promise to Crystal and Sean. Sarah, Sean, and Crystal wished them luck and told them to hurry back. Titus nodded and proceeded to step through the portal followed by Jake, then Drake, then finally Clim. As soon as Clim had stepped through, the portal closed behind them. At the time, nobody had noticed but from the corner of the steps, Alan had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Slowly, Alan peaked his head out from around the corner and watched Crystal, Sean, and Sarah as Crystal expressed her hope that whatever they were being summoned for, the three of them be okay.  

Titus, Drake, Jake, and Clim traveled through the portal. After a short time, the four found themselves standing in a grassy field encircled by plateau. To their left rested a small pond surrounded by several trees in which four young dragons were playing under the watchful eyes of their parents who had been lounging by the pond their offspring played in. Further ahead several dragons conversed amongst one another while, to the right of the four, two slightly older dragons who were around the same age as Drake and Jake play fought close to a wooded area.  One dragon lunged at the other who swiftly dodged his attack then proceeding to swing his tail at his friend who had also attempted to dodge only to no avail. As he tried to leap out of the way, his friend’s tail smacked him in the side, knocking him to the ground. Several hundred feet ahead of them were two other dragons around their age who whispered to each other, making glances over in the direction of the two dragons and two half-dragons.

Titus, Drake, and Jake were confused. They thought that they were going straight to the fortress so why were they in Aanki itself? Titus questioned Clim on this, asking him if they were still going to the fortress.

“Oh, we are. But first, I wanted to do something for the villagers of Aanki. I thought it only fair to allow them to be able to see the heroes who defeated the villainous Saulstrance! The heroes of not only Earth but of Zalphonia as well!!!” Clim explained in a grandiose fashion.

Neither Drake, Jake, or Titus could understand why Clim made this seem like such a big deal. It wasn’t as though this had been the first time they had visited the dragon realm since defeating Saulstrance and it wasn’t as though this had been the first time since then that they had visited Aanki.

“Denizens of the village of Aanki! Please gather ‘round and give a warm welcome to the heroes who saved the human and dragon realms! Sirs Doulstraz, Drake, and Jakol!!” Exclaimed Clim in an overly dramatic way.

Paying heed to the captain of their Leader’s guards, the villagers gathered, talking amongst each other and wishing Titus a good day. Some gathered around Titus while completely ignoring Drake and Jake. This act took the two half-dragons, Drake especially, by surprise.

“Gee, thanks. It’s not like I didn’t have a hand in helping my dad stop Saulstrance.” Fumed Drake, folding his arms and glaring at the dragons who had surrounded his dad.

Jake sighed, placing a hand on Drake’s shoulder. “I know dude but…that’s sadly just how things are for us. I think they know but just don’t want to admit it.”

“That still doesn’t make it right.” Drake grumbled. “What did half-dragons even do to make dragons and humans hate them so much?” The discontented half-dragon asked.

“I wish I knew...” Was all Jake said, looking glumly at his brother.

While Clim was happy to witness a hero being given the respect and admiration he deserved, he understood that this couldn’t last all day. Lady Minasha and Lord Cerquil had requested an audience with their son and grandsons and, with how busy they had been as of late, he felt it wasn’t good to keep them waiting any longer than need be. He broke the group that had swarmed Titus away, telling them that, while they would like to stay, they had urgent matters to attend to and that they must return to them. Clim asked the dragons to form a line on each side so that they could be seen off. Complying with the captain’s request, the villagers formed a straight line to the left and the right of the dragons and half-dragons.

“Thank you all. Now then, shall we?” Asked Clim.

Clim, followed by Titus, Drake, and Jake, made their way past the lines but just as they were passing by the last dragon in each line, Jake found himself attacked from the side as one of the young dragons who had been talking with his friend ran up to and then rammed into Jake, sending him skidding several feet and knocking him to the ground. Drake, Titus, and Clim gasped as everyone fell silent at what they had just seen.

Jake laid on his side, his head, right leg, right arm, tail and wings resting in the grass while his left arm and leg were draped over his right. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing his head and leapt to his feet. He scowled at the dragons who had knocked him down. In response, they grinned mockingly, no doubt proud at what they had done.

“Ow! What the hell!” Exclaimed Jake, looking furious as he instinctively clenched his fists.

Jake’s anger towards being attacked caused the dragons to laugh somewhat.

“Look, Doulstraz might be a hero but we will never look at two skin tails like you as heroes.” The dragon who attacked Jake declared.

Some of the dragons who had witnessed this gasped as others began to whisper to each other, taken by surprise at the term that had just been used. Titus and Drake both glanced around, unsure of what was going on but were able to judge by the tones in the dragons’ voices that whatever it could possibly be, it wasn’t anything good.

“Hey now, that is way out of line! Remember, THESE are the grandchildren of our Leader and Champion, so regardless of your feelings towards half-dragons, you will treat them with respect! Now apologize!” Demanded Clim as he stared furiously at the dragon, eyes widened.

The dragon gulped nervously, his cocky smile having faded from his face. Slowly, he proceeded to open his mouth. He turned to Jake who stood in a pose that suggested he was ready to attack if need be. Then he turned back to face Clim.

“Master Clim, sir, I deeply respect you, I truly do. But I will never apologize to a skin tail. They’re freaks that have no race to call their own. They’re not human and they’re not dragon. They have no race to belong to and neither race wants them.” Said the dragon with an intense unyielding hatred in his voice.

“Hey, screw you, asshole!” Drake exclaimed furiously.

At that moment, everyone’s gaze fell on Drake who stood with tightly clenched fists, his teeth showing slightly as his body shook. He stood before the dragon who had been insulting half-dragons with immense anger in his eyes. The dragon stared at Drake, intrigued but feeling no sense of intimidation.

“You’ve got a problem with half-dragons?!” Yelled Drake in an outraged tone.

The dragon scoffed. “Me and just about the rest of our worlds.” He said matter-of-factly.

Drake snarled, his body shaking ever more violently. He closed his eyes, lowering his head, and changed into his half-dragon form. Without any warning, he lunged at the dragon, his eyes widened in fury as his fingernails changed into claws. The dragon took a defensive stance, preparing himself for Drake’s attack but before either was given the chance to strike, Titus, having morphed into his dragon form, leapt in front of Drake. Another dragon had also jumped in front of the dragon who had been taunting Drake and Jake.

“Get outta my way dad!!” Demanded Drake, looking at his dad with a furious look on his face like that of a wild animal.

“Drake, stop it! He’s not worth it! Besides…grandma and grandpa sent for us. We shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer.” Titus commanded as he tried to calm his son down and talk some sense into him.

But Drake wasn’t listening. The half-dragon hyperventilated, remaining desperate to get a swing in at the dragon for saying such horrible things about his race. Groaning, Jake proceeded to stand up, brush the dirt off himself, and approached his brother. Jake placed a hand on Drake’s shoulder. Drake looked behind himself to see Jake standing next to him. Jake frowned, a pleading look in his eyes. It was a look that Drake was able to determine right away meant.

“Drake, just listen to dad and let it go. Please.” Begged Jake in a soft tone.

Drake was about to speak when he suddenly felt Jake grip his shoulder tighter, his arm starting to shake. At that moment, Drake’s anger had begun to subside when he realized that Jake, whose body had been shaking just as Drake’s was, was just as angry about what that dragon had said as he was, perhaps moreso. While Drake still wanted to beat that dragon up for insulting half-dragons, Drake knew that his dad and Jake were right. This was not the time to get into a fight. They were summoned and they had to find out what they had been summoned for.

His head feeling heavy, Drake sighed again. With a glum look on his face, he informed his dad, Jake, and Clim that he was okay and that they should get going. Without taking a look back, he proceeded to walk towards the direction of the Leader’s fortress. The other three prepared to do the same but were stopped when the dragon who had stepped in to protect the heckling dragon called out for Doulstraz. Titus stopped upon hearing his dragon name and turned to face the dragon.

“Word of advice: watch that creature of yours. If it ever tries to lay a hand on my son, it’ll be a half-dragon with half an arm.” Jeered the dragon, still shielding the younger dragon who he revealed to be his son.

It was then that a surge went up Titus’s back. Bearing his teeth and digging his claws into the ground, Titus swung around, digging up some ground as he did and marched up to the dragon, getting up close enough to the dragon that their faces were mere inches away from each other. Titus’s eyes had grown wide from rage upon hearing this dragon insult his son.

“Listen to me and listen good: I don’t care what you say about me. I don’t give a crap if you think I’m a hero or whatever, but I’ll be DAMNED if I let you talk badly about EITHER of my sons! Drake is not a ‘creature’ and he’s not an ‘it’! He’s my son and you’d do best to recognize that!” Titus spat sharply and threateningly.

Taking five steps back, his gaze still focused on the dragon who stared back at Titus, scowling and not breaking eye contact, Titus swung around once more and rejoined Jake, Drake, and Clim. Without another word being uttered by either the four of them or the villagers, the quartet made their leave and continued along their path, with Drake taking one last look back at the dragon and his father. Flashing them an angry look, Drake held out his left hand which had been curled into a fist and extended his clawed middle finger at the two before he and the others disappeared into the woods that lay near the outskirts of Aanki.

Drake trailed ahead of the group, his finned ears flattened and anger still there but having quelled somewhat. His head was clouded with conflicting emotions, namely anger and sadness. It just made no sense to Drake whatsoever. What did half-dragons do to make them so hated by humans and dragons alike? While he couldn’t speak for any past half-dragons, he knew that he had never done anything to intentionally hurt someone and Jake, despite not having always made the best choices, was still a good person. As these thoughts continued to plague Drake’s mind, he hadn’t noticed as his pace started to pick up and his dad called for him to slow down.

“Hey, Drake, slow it down a bit! We’ll get there soon so relax!” Titus called out for his son only to have his words fall on deaf ears.

Titus hurried after Drake to try and get his attention. While he preoccupied himself with Drake, Jake walked alongside Clim. He took in a deep breath and exhaled as the events that had just transpired replayed over and over in his head. Being attacked, having his race and his family insulted, it all angered Jake just as much as it had Drake but there was one part of that that stuck out in Jake’s mind the most. It was a certain term that dragon had used when referring to half-dragons: skin tail. Curious as to its meaning, Jake asked Clim what skin tail meant. From just looking at Clim’s face after having asked, Jake was quick to deduce that whatever it meant, it wasn’t anything good.

“Skin tail is a horrible name used for anyone who’s born with human and dragon blood in them. While there are dragons these days who don’t mind half-dragons, there are still those who hold immense hatred towards them and take no issue with using such a vile name.” Explained Clim, a disgusted and uncomfortable look on his face.

Clim’s statement about there being dragons who didn’t mind half-dragons rang true, Jake thought. After all, Eig’nia, Theian, and Z’haer didn’t mind his status as a hybrid, he had been adopted by a dragon, and Eig’nia especially, had always tried to be there for Jake ever since he was little, basically acting as his surrogate mother. This helped Jake to remind himself that even though there were dragons and humans who had distain for half-dragons, there were also those who did like them and knowing many of those dragons and humans helped to make Jake feel better.

His mind slowly drifted away from what had previously transpired to thoughts of Eig’nia. While it never made Jake happy to see Eig’nia locked up, just getting to see her period and knowing that she was being well taken care of by his adoptive grandparents was enough for him. Just as Drake had when it came to getting to see his grandparents, it always made Jake happy whenever he and his family would visit the dragon realm and he was able to see Eig’nia. He would tell the dragoness about how his life had been going since his adoption and how Titus and Sarah had been taking good care of him. These stories were enough to reassure Eig’nia, and left her with no doubt in her mind that she made the right choice in leaving Jake in their hands.

Clim and Jake had caught up to Titus and Drake, Titus having managed to get Drake to slow down and listen to what he had to say. Drake, whose mood had improved at least slightly, apologized to Jake and Clim for rushing ahead of them and to his dad for not having listened prior.

“It’s okay. I understand how you must be feeling right now.” Said Clim empathetically.

Drake exhaled through his nose and nodded. “Yeah…” Was all he said.

“However…while I can’t say I much approve of your etiquette, I think it was admirable for you to stand up for yourself and your fellow half-dragons. I can’t pretend I wouldn’t have done the same. So, in that regard, well done.” Clim smiled proudly at the teenage half-dragon.

As they continued along their way, Drake examined his hand, clenching it into a fist once more. While he extended each finger out one by one, he wondered aloud if the dragons he had flipped off knew what the gesture meant.

“I’m pretty sure they know. Many dragons from our world do tend to visit the human realm much, much more than their distant ancestors used to and, as a result of this, have even managed to converse with humans without them ever learning the truth to their identities. Nowadays, even their youngest hatchlings have learned to take on human forms. And, since they visit your world so often, they’ve also learned more about human customs…and their gestures. So, in that regard, I think it’s very likely they know what you meant.” Explained Clim.

What Clim had said intrigued Drake, especially the part about dragons interacting with humans without the latter knowing. With this in mind, Drake had to ponder if perhaps he had ever spoken with a dragon in the form of a human yet never knew.

The group continued through the forest until eventually reaching a clearing. Once they had made their way through, they came upon a large fortress with an appearance similar to that of a castle and a moat surrounding it. From the center of the fortress stood a cylindrical structure which acted as a guard post and as the only way in from the top.  

The quartet approached the two guards who had been stationed in front of the ground entrance to the castle. Clim informed the guards that he had returned with the Leader and Champion’s family and asked that they be allowed entrance.

“Yes sir, Captain Clim and it is good to see you, sirs Doulstraz, Jake, and Drake.” Said the guard, stepping to the side to allow entryway for their guests.

“It’s good to see you too. I wish we could stay and chat but…well you know.” Said Titus as he and the others continued past the guards.

“We understand sir. You have urgent matters which need to be attended to. We can catch up some other time.” Said the guard understandingly.

Their grandparents’ fortress was the one place in all of the dragon realm where Drake and Jake could truly feel wanted. Back on Earth, the two half-dragon boys were able to make friends with little problem but in Zalphonia, not everyone saw them as heroes, let alone potential friends. While neither Drake nor Jake had ever been physically assaulted by any dragons until recently, they could tell that not all the dragons from Aanki looked at them as favorably as they did their dad.  It was for this reason that whenever they came to visit their grandparents, the two boys always wished to go straight to the fortress as opposed to interacting with the villagers of Aanki. Many of the guards who protected the fortress and Minasha and Cerquil always appeared willing and able to get along with Drake and Jake, treating them not as heroes nor as mistakes but as they would any other dragon. The other guards the two half-dragon boys were never able to get to truly know due to them either being too busy or out on assignment when they’d visit.

The group continued through the castle courtyard which was rounded and surrounded on both sides by walls made of rock. Two guards were posted at the far end of the courtyard next to a gate which led to the inside of the fortress. Spotting the group approaching, the guard on the right ordered for the gate to be opened. As Clim, Titus, Drake, and Jake drew near, the guards stepped aside, allowing them passage into the fort.

“Welcome back, Captain Clim.” Greeted the dragon who had given the order.

“And a good day to you, sirs Doulstraz, Drake, and Jakol.” Welcomed his partner.

“Hi there.” Drake greeted back, raising a clawed hand at the guard.

“Good to see you guys.” Smiled Jake.

“Hello.” Said Titus.

Once inside, the dragon who had allowed the four of them in gripped the chains used to pull the doors open from the inside and shut the doors behind them.

“If you’ll kindly follow me, the Leader and her Champion are in the master’s chambers.” Said Clim as he headed left.

Clim led the family to the master’s chambers. Along the way, Titus, Drake, and Jake watched as dragons frantically hurried back and forth, talking amongst one another in regards to issues that, as far as the three of them could tell, could very well be related to what they had been summoned for.

As they entered into the master’s chambers, Titus and the others saw Minasha and Cerquil frantically working, speaking amongst their subordinates and issuing them orders. Once they had finished speaking, the couple sat next to each other and sighed exasperatedly. Both of them understood that becoming Leader and Champion to their village was not going to be an easy task but even they couldn’t prepare themselves for the ensuing crisis. However, they found their stress somewhat alleviated as they saw their son and grandsons standing at the entrance to their chambers. This brought a wide smile to their muzzles as they happily called out their names. Appreciative of their giddiness, Titus, Drake, and Jake couldn’t help but smile back at them as led by Clim, they approached the two overworked dragons.

“It’s good to see you three. Thanks for coming on such short notice.” Minasha said gratefully.

“Yeah. It looks like things have been pretty busy around here.” Noted Titus as he watched dragons hurry in and out of the chambers, two of which flew overhead.

The smiles on Minasha and Cerquil’s faces faded away. They sighed and confirmed Titus’s observation. Indeed, things had been busy around the fortress and while they wanted to take a moment to speak with their family and see how they were doing, they knew that this was not a good time for catching up. In a tired tone of voice, Minasha began to explain why the three of them had been summoned by.

“It’s started again Doulstraz. People in your world have begun to disappear once more.” Minasha began.

“Yeah…We’re aware. Before Clim came, we saw a report on the news about the town you’re talking about, mom.” Explained Titus, looking troubled at the mention of the people who had vanished.

While Minasha and Cerquil both were pleased to hear that their family was aware of recent events, they still appeared perturbed.  Titus took note of the disconcerted looks on his parents’ faces and asked them what was wrong.

“Doulstraz…” Minasha sighed. “There have so far been three cities whose populations had disappeared.” The dragoness corrected.

This revelation rattled Titus and his sons, eyes widened as their mouths gaped open slightly.

“Wait a minute! Three?!” Exclaimed Titus.

“Actually, so far reports have confirmed that three places have lost their populations although we expect that there may be more.” Clim explained as he approached Minasha and stood at her side.

“One of these locations is outside where you live…” Minasha began as she opened up a scroll and read off the names of the locations that her guard had provided her with. “Mason, Wisconsin is the first one. The second is closer to where you live: Sidney’s Point in California. The last one is…” The dragoness paused.

“What?” Asked Jake.

Minasha looked down at the scroll once more then back up at her son and grandsons. The same concerned look she had on before had returned. Titus asked his mom for the name of the last town, unsure as to why she had been hesitating so much with unveiling the identity of the third location. Reluctantly, Minasha disclosed the name of the place, knowing full well that what she was about to tell her family was not going to be easy for them to hear.

“The last one is a place we’re more than familiar with: Baker Valley.” Answered Minasha in a solemn tone.

Titus gasped, his mouth dropping open and a horrified look filling his eyes. He couldn’t believe it, he didn’t want to believe it but he knew that neither of his parents would tell him this as a cruel prank or anything of the sort.

“Lee…Jimmy…”  Drake said breathlessly to himself.

“Adam…Frank…” Titus muttered to himself as well.

Jake clenched his fist and looked glumly at the rough, rocky floor, feeling an extreme amount of guilt for what had happened to the citizens of those cities. Even if he hadn’t had any hand in attacking them directly, he still felt that, as Saulstrance’s son, that somehow made him responsible in a sense.

“I know how you two are feeling but…please, Doulstraz, Drake, don’t blame yourselves. Doulstraz, understand that even though the humans from Baker Valley look at you as a hero, you’re only one dragon. You can’t always be there to protect them.” Cerquil said, trying his best to help his son understand that what happened wasn’t his fault.

“I get that!” Cried Titus. “But still…”

“Right now, the best thing we can do is travel to these places and see if we can find any survivors. That’s why we summoned you. Doulstraz, Jake, Drake, we want you four to go to these locations and see if you can find anyone who may not have been taken. Get from them a description of the dragons who attacked their towns and an estimate of how many of them there were. Afterward, report back here and relay any information you acquire to us. Once that’s been done, we’ll send some of our guards to go and assist them with anything they may need.” Ordered Minasha.

While the order given to them by their mother and grandmother had been quite clear, there was one aspect of what she had said that confused them: four? They were sure she meant to say three. When Titus brought this up, Minasha assured them that she did indeed mean four and that they would be accompanied by one of her guards: a dragon around the same age as Drake and Jake who had personally asked to be allowed to assist Doulstraz and his sons on their assignment.

“I’ve already briefed him on the task so he’ll be able to help you with anything you may need. Taioe!” Minasha called out.

Upon hearing his name, a dragon slightly smaller than the other dragons in attendance ran from across the room up to his master, a wide, ecstatic smile on his muzzle. This dragon had very light blue scales, dark brown eyes, and dark blue leather in his wings and finned ears as well as his scutes. His tail wagged around happily at the prospect of getting to work alongside his hero.

“I’m Taioe. It’s an honor to meet you.” The young dragon introduced himself.

“Lady Minasha and Lord Cerquil have told me so much about you three, as did Eig’nia but…EEEEEE, hearing about Doulstraz and his sons just wasn’t the same as actually getting to see them up close!” Taioe said giddily.

Taioe’s mention of Eig’nia made Jake remember that Eig’nia was being held in the very same fortress that they were currently in. Following the death of Saulstrance and Eig’nia’s arrest, the dragoness was first held in the summit that was protected and cared for by the Guardians. However, after a year, Minasha was able to convince both the Guardians and her fellow Leaders to allow Eig’nia to be transferred to a cell in her fortress. She felt that doing this would be fair to both Eig’nia and Jake since this would allow the two to see each other whenever Jake and the others were to visit.

While Jake desperately wished to see Eig’nia, he knew that this wasn’t the time. He, Drake, his dad, and Taioe had an urgent task that they needed to take care of.

“Well…” Titus laughed somewhat nervously. “I’m not sure how I feel about having a fanboy but I look forward to working with you, Taioe.” Said the darker blue scaled dragon as he extended a paw out to the younger light blue scaled dragon.

“Likewise. I swear, I won’t let you down.” Said Taioe, smiling confidently as he shook paws with Titus.

Alan didn’t respond. He looked down, embarrassed over what had happened. Titus took note of the look on the boy’s face and took a step towards him.

“Alan, don’t beat yourself up. You couldn’t control yourself at that moment, ok? I don’t hold it against you so don’t hold it against yourself.” Said Titus as he tried to cheer Alan up, placing a hand on Alan’s shoulder.

As Alan raised his head to look at Titus, he nodded in understanding, giving Titus a meek but grateful smile. Titus smiled back at Alan, happy to see that his words seemed to have gotten through to the troubled boy. Afterwards, Titus turned his attention to his sons and their friends.

“Go on, guys. Take Alan inside.” Titus instructed his sons and their friends.

“Okay.” Drake replied to his dad’s order.

“C’mon Alan. Let’s go inside.” Said Crystal as she placed her hand on Alan’s back.

Drake, Jake, Alan, Laurie, Tim, Sean, and Crystal made their way past the adults and into the house where they went upstairs, retiring to Alan’s bedroom. While they watched as Tim who was trailing behind the others disappear above the stairs, Sarah’s warm, happy expression changed to one of contemplation. She folded her arms and stared down, feeling troubled. Taking note of this, Jessie asked Sarah what was wrong, breaking her from her thoughts. Sarah looked up, unfolding her arms and turned to face her sister-in-law.

“Got something on your mind, Sarah?” Lucas asked as he went to stand beside her.

Sarah glanced over at Lucas then turned back to face the sliding glass door. Her eyes dotted around the yard as she returned to her thoughts. Discerning his wife’s unsettled body language, Titus asked her what was going on. Placing her left hand over her right arm and gripping it, Sarah let out a sigh.

“This is going to sound pretty weird…but…” Sarah paused.  “…Well, ever since we brought Alan into our home, I’ve just had this nagging feeling that I’ve seen him somewhere before.” Sarah finally brought herself to explain to her friends and family.

Titus and the others were initially unsure of what to make of what Sarah had just told them. They entertained the idea that Sarah may have just passed Alan and his family while she was either heading home from Angela’s shop or to or that Alan may have, at one point, visited the shop and she just couldn’t remember.

“See, that’s what I thought at first too but…I dunno. So many people stop by to the shop every day and their faces do tend to blur together at times but…hmm…I AM pretty sure I’ve never seen him around the mall. I know it sounds crazy but I’ve just had this feeling ever since we brought him home.” Sarah tried her best to explain to everyone.

“I don’t know. One thing’s for sure though: something really bad happened to that poor kid and whatever it was, it must have had something to do with why he hit me.” Titus mulled over while he rubbed his chin, scratching at the hairs of his goatee.

“Oh yeah! Speaking of which, Titus!” Lucas exclaimed.

“What’s up?” Asked Titus as he looked curiously towards his friend.

“Well, see I was wondering if you had any idea what Alan meant when he said ‘Give them back’ and ‘You’re going to pay for what you did’. Anything?” Inquired Lucas.

Titus shook his head and shrugged. He was just as unsure of the meaning behind Alan’s words as his family was. After a moment, Titus looked shocked at Lucas.

“Hey, wait!” Exclaimed Titus. “You don’t think I did anything to him, do you?!” Asked Titus offendedly at what he perceived was a possible accusation from his best friend, his right hand placed over his chest.

“No way, dude! Of course not. I know you’d never do anything like that to someone. We all do. It’s just that…this whole thing with Alan is getting stranger and stranger.” Lucas cleared up.

“It is.” Titus concurred.

A brief silence fell over everyone before it was broken by one of Titus’s neighbors, an older man appearing to be in his mid 50s to early 60s called out to Titus, asking if everything was okay and mentioning that he had been hearing a lot of noise coming from Titus’s house.

“Everything’s fine, Mr. Wilson! Sorry about the racket!” Titus hollered back to his neighbor.

“You sure? ‘Cause I could have sworn I just heard a kid over here screaming bloody murder.” Mr. Wilson continued to pry.

Titus assured his neighbor that everything was well and that the kid who screamed was the boy with amnesia who they were looking after. Titus went on to explain that Alan may have remembered something in that instant and that whatever it had been had freaked him out.

“Alright, dragon man. Well, I’ll let you get back to your business. Just take good care of that kid. Until he gets his memory back, he’s going to be counting on you and your family.” Advised Mr. Wilson.

“We know. And we’re going to do everything we can to help Alan get his memory back and find his family.” Promised Titus.

Following Titus and Drake’s battle with the Followers at the mall, some of the Flamel family’s neighbors had come to realize that they were living next to a dragon, his half-breed son, his adopted son who was also a half-breed, and his fully human wife. Others, however, remained skeptical and Titus was thankful for that. His only wish for his family following the defeat of Saulstrance was that they be allowed to live without disturbance or to be made into a spectacle.

So, if most of his neighbors didn’t believe that he was actually a dragon or that his sons had the blood of dragons running through their veins, then he was more than fine with allowing them to continue to live next to them, unaware of his and his family’s true identities.

A short time later, everyone began to return home one by one until eventually, it was down to only Laurie. As the sun began to set, Titus, along with his family and Alan, walked Laurie to the bus stop which was a short way from their house. The bus that Laurie needed to take would take her straight home back to Spring Heights, the lively yet town where Laurie lived with her adopted family. Just five miles from Spring Heights was another town which was just as bustling as Spring Heights known as Sidney’s Point. This was the town where Laurie and Alex lived during their days at A Piece of Home Orphanage and it was at this town that Sarah resided in and where she tended to the orphanage.

“Thanks so much for your help.” Sarah said, smiling at Laurie.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m just sorry I couldn’t have been of more help.” Apologized Laurie.

“Don’t worry. You don’t need to say sorry. None of us had any real luck anyway so you’re good.” Titus said with a smile of his own.

“Have a safe trip home.” Drake said.

“Yeah. And come back anytime. We’ll be waiting.” Agreed Jake.

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Jake. Next time, all of us need to actually hang out together.” Laurie grinned at Jake, placing her fist on his chest.

“Deal!” Jake promised.

Just as the Flamel family was preparing to head back home, Sarah turned back to Laurie. She asked the teenage girl if she wouldn’t mind some company until her bus arrived. With a grateful smile on her face, Laurie assured Sarah that she’d be okay. Sarah, however, insisted, noting that it could take awhile for her bus to arrive. Not wanting to seem rude, Laurie took Sarah up on her offer.

Laurie watched as the sun slowly set over their Californian town. She looked over at Drake and Jake who were sitting next to each other right across from her, Drake’s hands cupped together and Jake’s arms rested over his legs. They too were watching the sky just as Laurie had been. She then turned around to face Titus who was standing behind his sons and then turned to Sarah who was standing behind her. Laurie pulled out her phone and checked the time. Only five minutes had passed since she got to the bus station. With a sigh, she decided now was as good a time as any to ask. It was something that she’d had on her mind for awhile ever since she had gotten the chance to know Drake and Jake a little better.

“Y’know, I’ve been wondering something: what’s it like being half-dragons?” Laurie asked Drake and Jake.

Both half-dragon boys looked at Laurie with a hint of confusion in their eyes. Being part dragon was never something Drake or Jake truly thought too heavily on. For them, being hybrids was as normal as drinking, eating, and sleeping.

“Well…” Jake thought best how to answer Laurie’s question. “I’ve never really been anything else so for me, it’s always felt natural.” Jake tried to explain.

“Oh…that makes sense. Guess it would feel normal when that’s what you’ve always been accustomed to.” Stated Laurie, sounding as if she was expecting a more fantastical answer.

“I feel the same way. I’ve always been proud to be a half-dragon. My wings, my tail, my fins, and my claws. I’m sure a lot of kids would probably just look at them and think that they’re just extra parts of my body but to me they’re not. My dragon parts are just as much me as my fingers or toes or hair and I wouldn’t give them up for anything.” Said Drake confidently, flashing a proud smile as he spoke.

“Ditto to that.” Jake concurred. Then suddenly, a thought entered his mind.

“Ooh! Laurie!” Jake exclaimed as he bolted up from his seat.

“Ooh! What?” Laurie repeated back to Jake teasingly but also with a hint of surprise at Jake’s spontaneous exclamation.

“You want to see what a half-dragon’s powers are like? Now this, THIS is the coolest part of being a half-dragon!” Jake said excitedly with a very wide, eager smile on his face.

Jake quickly glanced around the area, making sure that no one was in sight. With a sigh, Jake removed his shirt, placing it on the bus seat he had been sitting on, then proceeded to pull the back of his shorts down slightly to allow his tail to grow without ripping the seams of his shorts apart. Laurie wasn’t sure if she liked where she thought this was going. She asked herself, feeling more than weirded out what Jake was going to do. Before she got the chance to ask, he closed his eyes and proceeded to change into his true form. Laurie watched Jake’s transformation in stunned silence, her eyes widened and mouth hanging slightly open. She had seen both Drake and Jake in their true forms before but this was the first time she was getting to truly witness a half-dragon’s transformation in real time.

“And that’s what a half-dragon’s transformation is like.” Said Jake who was now standing before the awestruck girl as the creature he truly was.

“Wow.” Laurie mouthed as she scanned Jake’s body. She watched as his tail moved around behind him and his wings hung out behind him, their full glory visible for everyone to see.

“Does it hurt when you transform? I mean, your ears get pulled out, you have a tail and wings growing from your back. I’d imagine that’s got to hurt pretty bad.” Asked Laurie.

Jake shook his head. He explained that whenever he’d transform, his body never really experienced any real pain from his transformation. He believed it was because as Drake said: their wings, tails, and finned ears were just parts of their body so maybe their bodies recognized this and, as a result, didn’t produce a pained sensation when they changed. While she definitely believed it could be possible, Laurie had to wonder if that was truly the case. She asked Jake if his body was similar to that of a lizard’s in that regard. Jake tilted his head at Laurie’s question, asking her what she meant.

“Well, when a lizard loses its tail, the tail regenerates afterward. It’s called ‘autotomy’ and lizards do it when they’re faced with a threat. I was thinking since you and Drake are part dragon and…well I guess dragons are sorta giant lizards, that maybe your bodies have some form of autotomy which is why when you transform, you don’t feel any pain. After all, when lizards regrow their limbs, the autotomy process is painless for them.” Laurie explained.

Not just Drake and Jake, but Titus and Sarah as well stared at Laurie with surprised looks on their faces, feeling as if they had just sat through a science class and impressed by how knowledgeable Laurie was. None of them had ever considered autotomy as a possibility before. Drake, Jake, and even Titus had transformed so many times and with the process always feeling natural to them, never truly gave it much thought. To them, this was all just part of who they were. Jake scooped his tail up into his hands and looked down at it. What Laurie said did make some sense to him. After all, his tail was that of a reptile’s, even if that reptile was a mythical one.

“I guess that makes some sense. Huh. So then…me and Jake are essentially part lizard, huh?” Drake wondered aloud.

Titus snickered at his son’s statement. “Y’know, as a full blooded dragon, I’m not sure if I should find being compared with lizards offensive or not.”

Laurie snickered as well. Never in her life would she have ever guessed that she would be discussing, let alone hypothesizing on how the bodies of people who had dragon DNA in them worked.

At that, two thoughts suddenly crossed the teenaged girl’s mind.

“Say…Mr. Flamel.” Laurie began.

“You can call me Titus.” Said Titus.

“Okay. Titus, what’s it like being a dragon? I…man, I’m sorry. I just have so many questions I want to ask you guys. Like Drake and Jake, what’s school like for you guys and Sarah, what’s it like being married to a dragon? I know I’m asking a lot of questions but I—“

Laurie was cut off by Sarah who assured her it was okay and that they didn’t mind answering her questions. Sarah went first in answering Laurie’s questions. She explained to Laurie that she loved every bit about her life and that she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Getting to be the wife of not just an amazing dragon but an amazing person in general and getting to be the mother of two half-dragon boys was, in Sarah’s own words, “Like living my own personal fantasy story”.

Titus answered next. He explained to Laurie how, for the first thirteen years of his life, he never even knew he was a dragon, recounting the events that had happened in the dragon realm which led to his being sent to the human realm and being discovered by his adoptive brother, Ben. He went on to explain how, when he found out the truth about his past, he felt devastated, believing that everything about his life up to that point was nothing more than a lie.

“However, there was someone there who helped me see that both my human and dragon sides are as real as the other and that who I was and who I wanted to be was dependent on me.” Said Titus, smiling at Sarah as he rested his head on her right shoulder. In response, Sarah placed a hand on the side of Titus’s head, her fingers rubbing through his hair and rested her head on top of his.

“Aww!” Exclaimed Laurie, smiling at the last part of the answer Titus had given her as well as seeing the affection between him and Sarah.

For the final question, Drake answered first. He told Laurie that being a half-dragon who was going to school with humans had never truly been that bad for him. Sure he had gotten picked on in the past but aside from a few bullies who used to mess with him and his friends, Drake had never really been treated poorly for being a half-dragon.

“In fact, when I was in fifth grade, my classmates discovered I was a half-dragon after me and my dad were sent to the hospital from fighting the dragons who destroyed the mall. When I showed them my real form, they actually thought it was pretty cool and since then, my life at school’s been pretty much normal. I guess that aside from Sean and Crystal and the kids who were in fifth grade with me, the other humans I go to school with didn’t believe what they saw on tv four years ago.” Drake explained.

“Well, at least there was one half-dragon who got to live a decent life.” Laurie smiled sadly as she thought back to how poorly treated Alex was back at the orphanage. “How about you, Jake? How have kids treated you at school?” The girl asked.

Jake looked uneasy. Laurie could tell from the look on Jake’s face that whatever he was about to tell her couldn’t be good. Despite his feelings on his past, however, Drake and his parents had told Laurie how they’ve felt and what happened in their pasts so Jake figured it only fair that he tell her too. Jake told Laurie how, like Drake, he too was proud to be a half-dragon yet had a difficult time getting kids to accept him as a half-dragon. While he had only revealed his true form to a select few kids, he always feared that kids friends would think he was a freak if the only thing he showed them were his draconic appendages. So, to try and make himself appear cool to them, he would try and show them his powers: the ability to breathe fire and manipulate elements. Every time he did this, however, things ended badly.

“Back then, I didn’t have a good grasp of my powers and because of this, I ended up hurting more friends than I wanted to. Because of that, kids used to make fun of me. They’d call me names like ‘Fire Boy’ and claim that I was going to burn the school down one day.” Said Jake, a dour look on his face.

“God…they were actually saying that about you?” Laurie asked, a look of disbelief on her face.

“Yeah…yeah, they did. Eventually I came to fear my own powers, even hate them to an extent and I thought I’d never be able to learn to control them so, for awhile, I chose to keep my powers a secret. I didn’t want them to end up hurting anyone else. But that changed shortly after my eleventh birthday. I met two kids my age. A boy and his twin sister named Jericho and Cassie. Me, Jericho, Alex, and two dragons who used to work with my dad, Theian and Z’haer, went on a camping trip and during that trip, Jericho was almost attacked by a bear. To my surprise, Alex helped protect Jericho and, with no other choice left, I used my fire and my ability to control elements to trap the bear in a prisonlike box of fire.” Jake finished explaining.

Laurie repeated Jericho and Cassie’s names. She then asked Jake where they were now, if they went to another school or moved. Jake’s face became even further sullen. With a long, drawn out sigh, Jake told Laurie about what had happened to the twins.  It was one of many things that Jake was never able to forgive himself for, even if Jericho, Cassie, and their family had. Jake would always tell himself that what happened to their house was his fault and if he had just kept his distance from them after being told to, they would never had lost their home or any of their belongings.

“I was told that I couldn’t see them again but I didn’t listen. They were my best friends and I didn’t want to lose them. So, because I didn’t listen, Alex and I got into a fight and because of that, Jericho and Cassie lost their home. Afterward, they left for San Francisco. I think they might still be living out there.” Jake finished, a heavy feeling making itself known in his gut as he looked towards the ground.

Exhaling through his nose, Jake grabbed his shirt and sat down on the bus seat, cupping his hands and sitting them in his lap. Laurie, feeling guilty for upsetting Jake, apologized for bringing those memories back up, assuring him that she wasn’t trying to make him sad or anything of the sort. Jake, turning his attention from the ground, looked at her, smiling a somewhat sad smile, and told her he knew that she wasn’t trying to hurt him and that it was okay.

To try and take his mind off of the past, Jake reminded Laurie that he promised to show her something cool, something which Laurie, who had gotten so caught up in learning about her new friends, had almost completely forgotten about. Laurie smiled, her guilt fading away somewhat as she noticed how genuinely happy and excited Jake looked at the moment.

Backing up a ways to try and make sure he didn’t hurt his new friend or his family, Jake promised Laurie that now he had far better control of his powers and that he wouldn’t let them hurt her. Taking in a deep breath and then exhaling, Jake took in another deep breath, this time clenching his mouth tightly shut after doing so, and then exhaled once more only this time, instead of just air, a flame was expelled from Jake’s mouth. Laurie yelped, taking by surprise at the sight of her new friend breathing fire. She watched as Jake held his hand out and ceased breathing fire. The flame stream had formed into a ball the size of a coconut.

“Wh-Whoa!” Laurie stuttered at a loss for words, eyes grown wide at what she was witnessing.

“Oh, just wait! You haven’t even seen the best part, Laurie!” Said Jake, smiling proudly and confidently.

With his hand still held out in front of him, Jake took the hand he had that was still free and moved it in front of the fire. Laurie watched, eyes still as wide as ever as the ball of fire stretched out, becoming thinner. Once it was at a sufficient length, Jake moved his hand back once more, this time focusing on the center of the flame. He pulled his right hand back, once to the right, then moving it around to the left side and pulled his right hand back once more. Nearly finished, he moved his right hand under his left, placed his index and middle fingers slightly under his palm, and pulled the last part of the flame closer to him.  To conclude, he raised his right hand slightly above his newly changed flame and swiped his hand downwards in a quick motion, thinning out the flame. Once Jake had finished, not just Laurie and Alan, but Titus, Sarah, and Drake as well gaped in astonishment at what they were seeing: hovering right above the palm of Jake’s hand was a sword made of fire. Jake moved his hand up, the sword following with it. He swiped his hand down as his newly created sword followed his movements, a few small embers being released in the process.

“Jake…When did you learn to do that?” Asked Sarah, staring awestruck at her adopted son’s homemade, or rather lung made weapon.

“Hmmm…” Jake tried to think how long it had been since he had learned to manipulate his fire into different forms.

“Maybe a month or two ago? It’s something I had been trying to learn to do since seventh grade. Until recently, however, I couldn’t get my fire or any other elements I tried to control to work the way I wanted them to. Even now, the only forms I can manage are my flame sword and I can also turn my fire into flame gauntlets.” Explained Jake.

“Flame gauntlets?” Titus repeated questioningly.

“Yeah! Let me show you.” Jake said.

But before he could get the chance to, Sarah ordered Jake to put his flame sword out and change back into his human form, claiming that it seemed as though Laurie’s bus was coming. The bus read 46 and the destination read Spring Heights. Indeed this was Laurie’s bus. The girl stood up and walked to the edge of the sidewalk as Jake flapped his wings in fast succession to put his sword out. He then closed his eyes, changed back into his regular form, and grabbed his shirt, hurriedly putting it back on, then finally pulled the back of his shorts up.

The bus pulled up and opened its doors as three people stepped out. Once everyone who was getting off of the bus had done so, Laurie climbed aboard, saying goodbye to her new friends and promising that she’d be back to visit soon. Drake told her they’ll be looking forward to it. Afterward, Laurie paid her bus fare and went to take her seat. The Flamel family and Alan watched as the bus drove past them, its next destination: Spring Heights.

A short time after dinner, Titus called Ben and Rick, informing them on what they missed and what had happened involving him and Alan. Both Ben and Rick reacted to this with shock, asking Titus if they knew anything else about what prompted Alan to attack him other than that he saw Titus’s dragon form. Titus explained to both his brother and brother-in-law that during the time in which Alan had his episode, he said to “Give them back” and that Titus was “Going to pay”. This just served to give Ben and Rick more questions than answers. However, with how little Titus knew about Alan, they knew they wouldn’t be able to get anymore answers from him just yet. They figured that they would have to wait until Alan was able to recover his memory. With nothing else left to discuss, Rick and Ben thanked Titus for filling them in on what they had missed and promised him that if he and his family needed any help taking care of Alan, they shouldn’t hesitate to give them a call. Titus thanked the two of them then wished them a good night.

After hanging up the phone, Titus exhaled, then went over to the couch and sat down. He leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and cupped his hands as he tried to make sense of everything that had transpired earlier. Alan’s words rang through Titus’s mind, repeatedly screaming at him to “Give them back” and that he’ll “Make Titus pay”. Titus knew that the trigger for Alan’s PTSD episode earlier seemed to be Alan’s seeing him in his true form yet he couldn’t figure out why that was. He asked himself if Alan’s attacker truly had been a dragon and if so, why? As far as Titus could tell, Alan seemed to be a normal teenager. What would a dragon want with him? Titus was sure there had to be another reason for it, he just wasn’t sure what that reason was. As he ran over several different possibilities in his head, he didn’t notice as Alan walked down the steps and hid around the corner, watching intently as Titus sat and thought to himself.

The next day, Sean and Crystal had gone over to Drake and Jake’s house to hang out with the half-dragons and Alan. There, the five of them spent their time in Drake’s room playing video games together and occasionally taking a break to either talk or watch shows and videos online on Drake’s laptop.

Drake was in his bed, laying on his stomach, controller in hand as he faced his TV. Crystal, Sean, Jake, and Alan sat leaned against the foot of Drake’s bed with Sean, Alan, Jake, and Crystal wielding controllers of their own. The friends had just booted up their favorite game to play for whenever they were together: Super Smash Brothers. Sean and Crystal brought their own controllers from home, Sean having brought an extra one for Alan to play with them.

“Hey Alan, can you remember if you played this game before?” Asked Sean.

Alan tried to recall if he had ever played Super Smash Brothers before. He was sure that before his memory loss he played a lot of games but he couldn’t be sure if he had ever played this particular one. With a shrug of his shoulders, Alan simply informed Sean that he wasn’t sure if he had or not.

“That’s okay. In that case, why don’t we quick let Alan do training mode before we play for real?” Suggested Sean as a way to let Alan become accustomed to the game.

After pushing the start button, the menu screen came up. Sean went through the menus, coming upon the training mode. As he selected it, he instructed Alan to pick a character for him to practice with and then to pick a character to be used by the computer. Sean suggested Mario, citing him as a good all-around character for beginners. At Sean’s suggestion, Alan browsed around the character select screen for Mario for ten seconds, unsure of who Mario was.

“Move the cursor to the upper left. He’s the guy with the red hat.” Sean pointed out to Alan.

“Oh! Oops, sorry!” Alan said embarrassedly. He hovered the cursor over the avatar of Mario’s face and pressed the A button.

“Now who should I pick to fight me?” Asked Alan, looking at the roster.

“It doesn’t really matter. You can pretty much tell the computer what to do in the pause menu so if you don’t make them do anything, they’ll just stand there while you wail on them.” Jake explained.

“Huh. Really…” Alan said curiously in response.

Moving the cursor around the screen once more, Alan decided to go with Marth for his opponent. Afterwards, he was brought to the stage select screen. After choosing the stage, the training match began. Drake, Jake, Crystal, and Sean watched as Alan experimented with the controls, at first simply tapping A which resulted in Mario simply executing a standard array of punches. He then pushed forward and then back on the control stick making Mario dash back and forth around the stage.

“Alan, try pushing the control stick towards your opponent then pressing A.” Instructed Drake.

Doing as Drake suggested, Alan pushed the control stick in the direction of Marth who had remained idle in the same spot since the match began. Once close enough, Alan pressed A causing Mario to do a sliding tackle damaging Marth.

“Yeah! There you go! Now you’re starting to get it Alan!” Complimented Crystal.

“Thanks. I’m just gonna keep practicing until I’ve gotten the hang of it.” Said Alan.

“That’s fine, go for it. We’ll give you any pointers if you need any.” Said Sean as he placed his controller in his lap.

Time quickly trickled down as Alan continued to practice. Drake checked his laptop’s clock to see just how long Alan had been practicing. Ten minutes had passed. The four friends continued to watch as Alan kept practicing different move sets but never trying anything else such as choosing the computer’s actions or using different items. While at first they were happy to help Alan get into the game, they eventually found themselves becoming bored as they sat for what felt like hours doing nothing except watching Alan practice.

Drake checked his computer once more. This time, fifteen more minutes had passed. He asked Alan if he needed any help but Alan assured him that he was doing fine and that he felt that he was getting the hang of it. Not wanting to seem rude, Drake said nothing else other than “Okay” and allowed Alan to get back to his training.

The four friends were becoming ever more bored and impatient. Sean groaned in annoyance, his head slouched over his right shoulder as he stared at the wall, mouth hanging open. Crystal was laying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, trying to imagine it as something else like the sky or a beautiful endless sea. Anything else so long as it was enough to keep her mind occupied. Jake had changed into his true form and was busy playing with his tail watching as he twirled it around in his hands and it flopped from left to right with each movement of his hands. Drake had rolled over onto his back and was watching his TV screen upside down. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he tried to determine just how long they had been sitting and watching Alan practice. He took another look at his computer’s clock and noticed that another five minutes had passed. It was at this point that Drake had decided he couldn’t take it any longer. He and his friends were becoming bored out of their skulls. Initially he didn’t want to come off as mean or rude to Alan but he felt that this was truly beginning to push it.

“Hey Alan, you’ve been practicing for a long time. I think you’re good enough now that we can play for real, y’know?” Drake said, trying to sound as nice as he could as a way to mask how impatient he had become.

“I think you’re right. Okay. I guess that’s enough practicing. Now how do I exit out?” Asked Alan as he looked down at his controller.

Sean told Alan to press the start button to pause the game and was about to tell him how to exit out of a match but before he was able to, Sean was interrupted by Sarah who was calling for the kids from the stairs.

“Hang on, Alan. Don’t unpause just yet.” Said Drake as he leapt out of bed and hurried over to the steps.

“Yeah mom?” Drake hollered back as he peeked over the railing to see his mom standing at the foot of the stairs.

“Drake, could you and your friends come down for a moment? There’s something we need you all to see.” Asked Sarah, a sense of urgency and unease in her voice.

Drake took notice of the unsettlement in the tone of his mom’s voice. With this, he told his mom that they’d be down in a second and returned to his room.

“Is everything okay, Drake?” Asked Sean.

“I’m not sure. All my mom said was that there was something we all needed to see. It sounded urgent.” Drake explained.

“Urgent, huh? I wonder what it could be?” Crystal thought out loud as she stood up.

Everyone stood up and made their way downstairs where they found Titus and Sarah seated on the couch, looking worriedly at the TV. As Drake, Jake, and their friends approached, Drake asked his parents if something was wrong.

“Just watch the TV.” Answered Sarah in a cryptic manner.

The teens turned their gaze to the TV. A commercial was playing for a mattress sale. The friends shot each other confused looks as they pondered if this was what Sarah wanted them to see.

“You wanted to show us a commercial for mattresses?” Asked Drake quizzingly.

“What? No, you goof! Just wait. It should be right after this commercial.” Answered Sarah.

After one more commercial played, the channel switched back to the news. The news anchor announced that they were reporting in with reporter Trisha McCarthy on site at Sidney’s Point where the entire population of the town seemed to have just disappeared over night. This rattled Jake as a shiver ran through his body.

“Tom, just behind me is a town that, just last night was full of people. I now stand in a ghost town without the slightest hint of life to it. Men and women, their pets and their children, their neighbors and friends have all disappeared leaving only numerous destroyed and burnt down buildings remaining. If we go down this block, you will see the Piece of Home Orphanage. Here there lived more than forty orphaned children along with the nuns who took care of them but just like the rest of Sidney’s Point, this building sits without a single occupant residing within it. Tom, this situation is reminiscent of the disappearance of the population of the small town of Whiteridge which had happened four years ago and, to this day, Whiteridge’s people still remain missing. Tom.” Trisha McCarthy reported.

As the news cut back to the anchorman, Titus, Sarah, and everyone else either sat or stood with their eyes glued to the TV, perturbed looks plastered on their faces as they slowly came to realize what this recent turn of events meant.  

“Titus…?” Sarah asked in a nervous, shaky voice, looking at her husband with a disquieted look in her eyes.

A serious yet troubled expression appeared on Titus’s face. He faced Sarah and nodded, knowing right away what she was about to ask. Titus then turned back to face the TV as he lowered his head slightly and cupped his right hand over his eyes and sighed.

Just then, Jake’s cellphone went off from within the kitchen.

“I got it.” Announced Jake as he headed for the kitchen.

Grabbing his phone from the counter, Jake discovered that the number calling him registered as 619-727-6416 and the name above the phone number read Laurie Strong. With a swipe of his finger, Jake accepted Laurie’s call.

“Hello?” Jake answered.

“Oh, God! Jake, it’s Laurie. Are you guys watching channel 9 right now?!” Asked Laurie, her voice frantic.

“Well we are watching the news right now but I don’t know if it’s channel 9. Let me go check.” Jake responded.

With his phone still to his ear, Jake went back to the living room and asked Titus if they were watching channel nine to which Titus answered that they were. Jake then confirmed that they were with Laurie.

“We have just received an update on the situation in Sidney’s Point: twelve bodies have just been discovered around the town with five of them confirmed to be those of children. We are told that the wounds sustained to the victims appear as if something similar to a wild animal had slashed them open. Strangely enough, we have also been informed that at least three of the bodies have been horribly burned and are unable to be identified.” The reporter said, a subtle yet slightly disturbed look on his face as he spoke.

“Oh, God!” Laurie gasped, sounding as though she was about to be sick. “Jake, Sister Sarah lives there! I tried calling her before I called you but…You don’t think she or the orphans were…no…no…” Laurie repeated, not wanting it to be true but fearing the worst for her former guardian and the children who were under her care.

“Laurie, listen, I don’t think she or the kids are among the victims.” Jake said, hoping that his words would help to calm Laurie.

“But, then where are they?! How can a town’s entire population just vanish with only a few peoples’ bodies left over?!” Laurie asked excitedly.

Jake paused for a moment as he thought carefully about what to say to Laurie. She was panicking quite a lot and Jake worried that if he said the wrong thing, it would just make matters worse for her. With a sigh, Jake proceeded to speak.

“I don’t know where they are. See, my dad…my birth dad…he was the one that started this whole thing. We were the ones who attacked Whiteridge, me, my dad, Alex, and a group of other dragons who worked under my dad. Only my dad knew where they were sent and…he’s dead.” Explained Jake, fearing that what he said may have just poured gas onto the fire.

Laurie paused this time. Jake awaited her response with a tense feeling in his stomach. After a few seconds, Laurie finally responded to what Jake had told her.

“And how do you know that Sarah and everyone else who was taken are still alive?” Asked Laurie skeptically.

“Because…the point of our capturing people was to turn Earth into my father’s kingdom. He always talked about how he wanted to keep as many humans as possible alive so that they could be his subjects. That’s why, wherever Sarah and the other people who’ve been taken are, I’m sure they’re still alive.” Jake explained, feeling confident in his belief.

“Okay Jake. I do trust you.” Laurie said, the tone in her voice less hectic and more solemn.

“Thanks. I promise you, we will bring her and everyone else back home.” Assured Jake, a serious and determined look on his face.

“I have one last question, Jake.” Said Laurie.

“What’s up?” Asked Jake.

“Do…you regret what you’ve done?” Laurie asked almost accusingly.

Laurie’s words took Jake by surprise. He began to wonder if what he told Laurie about his past might have changed her opinion on him. From what he could gauge from the sound of Laurie’s voice, she sounded crestfallen with him. The thought of this depressed Jake but, even then he had felt much worse for having a hand in not just killing but also destroying the lives of people who had never done anything to him. Releasing a deep sigh, Jake answered Laurie’s question.

“Every day. Not a day goes by where I don’t feel guilty about what I did.” Jake answered regretfully, little tone reflecting in his voice.

“I see…” Was all Laurie said in a similar toneless voice to Jake.

“Do you think I’m a bad person?” Jake asked as he walked away from his family and friends and back into the kitchen.

“I think good people can make bad choices but I don’t think that one bad choice suddenly means they’re bad. I still think you’re a nice guy, Jake but will the people you captured before think that when you finally find them?” Laurie replied.

“That’s true. It scares me to think of how they’ll react when they learn that I was one of the ones who took them from their homes…but, I know if I want to make this right, then I have to do it. Thanks, Laurie. And thanks for not giving up on me just yet.” Said Jake, still sounding a little sad but also more optimistic.

As Jake concluded his conversation with Laurie, Titus, Sarah, Drake, Crystal, and Sean looked over to the kitchen, watching as Jake walked back and forth a little. Jake’s question on whether or not Laurie found him to be a bad person had made Titus and the others feel horrible. They knew that Jake wasn’t a bad person and they didn’t want him to think he was one. They believed that even if he did have a hand in kidnapping the people from Whiteridge that he still had a chance to make up for it and see to it that all of the people who were taken were returned home safely.

Just as the report came to an end, Drake noticed Alan who had a twisted, almost pained look on his face. He stared at the TV trembling, teeth gritted and muscles tightened as small gasps escaped from his clenched teeth.

Jake was the last to finish admiring his home. He couldn’t believe that he had lived there for four years. It felt much shorter than that. A huge part of him did miss his old home and on many occasions, he even found himself wishing he could go back, even if just for one day. Since his adoption, every time Jake would go through the neighborhood he once lived in, he would always take a moment to observe his old house and would feel a strong sense of longing.

Thankfully for Jake, however, he knew that his old house would be in good hands. Crystal, who had been his neighbor for a short time, met the family who had moved into Jake’s former house. The family consisted of a young father, mother, and their infant son who appeared to be in their late twenties to early thirties. Crystal and her parents had gone to welcome the new family to their neighborhood. Shortly after, the two families had become fast friends and Crystal was even given the chance to babysit the couple’s son on occasion. Since then, the Silvers and the family who had moved into Jake’s old house, the Krugers remained friends and Crystal would still look after their now four year old son John from time to time.

“I think you’ll like it here, Alan. Mom and dad, they’re really good people. They actually saved my life once.” Said Jake with a reassuring smile.

Alan was surprised at the mention of his new foster parents having saved Jake’s life. He wondered what must have happened to Jake for his parents to need to save him.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Jake ushered Alan to the veranda where the rest of Jake’s family was waiting for them.

Stepping into the house, Alan looked around, drinking in his new surroundings. He peered into the kitchen for a second and then walked in, observing everything from the fridge which was placed in the far right corner of the kitchen to the kitchen counter which encompassed the remainder of the wall. He then walked towards the living room. In front of him sat two chairs, a couch, and a recliner all seated in a circle around a small mahogany coffee table. To Alan’s left were two large shelves lined with DVDs and books. A 32 inch flat screen TV hung on the wall next to the shelves. Curious as to what movies and books they had, Alan approached the shelves and looked over all the titles Titus and his family had in their library. The Flamel family watched as Alan continued through the rows of movies and books with Sarah noting to her husband that they may have found out one thing about Alan: he seemed to have an interest in books and movies. Titus concurred but then mentioned how that had to have been a given. After all, who could possibly dislike books or movies?

“So what do you think Alan? We have a pretty nice house, wouldn’t you say?” Titus asked.

“Yeah. You have a lot of cool things.” Complimented Alan with a small smile.

Titus grinned at the boy. “Yeah, well, it can only get better. Why don’t you come up stairs with us? We have something we want to show you.”

Alan followed his foster family upstairs. There, they led him into a room where a blow up bed lay in the center with a desk situated near the doorway. On top of the desk rested a journal. Sarah led Alan over to the desk and showed him the journal.

“Here Alan. This journal is for you. We figured that maybe if you had something to write your thoughts in, then maybe you’d be able to remember something. I mean, you can use it however you want, you don’t just have to write in it. If you want to draw or, write stories or whatever, you can. I just thought that having something to record your thoughts in might help you to get your memory back.” Sarah explained.

Alan gave Sarah a small smile. “Thanks. If I think of anything, I’ll be sure to write it down.” He assured.

“That’s good. I hope it’ll be able to help you, kid.” Said Sarah.

“Well, we’ll let you get comfortable Alan. If there’s anything you need, be sure to let any of us know. We’re here to help you if you need it.” Titus told Alan, hoping that Alan knew they were there to help him.

Alan thanked Titus and the rest of his foster family and went to lay down in his bed. As everybody made their way to the door, Sarah turned back to Alan and informed him that they would be having dinner in a couple of hours. and that she would let him know when it was ready.

Sometime later, the family had a small quiet dinner consisting simply of ham and cheese sandwiches. As they ate, the family watched in utter amazement as Alan wolfed down his sandwiches in little time. Still feeling hungry, Alan asked for a few more slices. Sarah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. With how quickly Alan had consumed his sandwiches, he should have been pretty close to full, she thought. She’d had plenty of experience with large appetites given all the times she had cooked for Titus, Drake, and Jake but she had never seen anything like this before. Still with a sense of awe, she rose from her chair and returned to the kitchen to prepare a second helping for their new guest.

A short moment later, Sarah returned with a plate consisting this time of four slices of ham and cheese sandwiches. Immediately Alan got to work on his second course. He gobbled away at the sandwiches as the Flamels all watched in amazement and consumed their own dinner.

“Well I guess we know another thing about Alan.” Titus noted in a perplexed tone.

“What’s that?” Asked Sarah.

“The kid’s a big eater.” Answered Titus.

“Yeah, no kidding. I’ve seen how much you three can eat but even then, you don’t eat as fast as he can.” Sarah also noted.

“Oh, just the three of us are big eaters? Yeah, okay Sarah.” Said Titus sarcastically as he nudged his wife.

Sarah laughed. She had to admit, she herself also had a rather large appetite. While she wasn’t quite sure hers was as big as her sons and her husband’s, she knew that she could eat quite a lot too if she wanted.

Sometime after dinner, as everybody was winding down for the evening, Alan walked past Jake’s room. He took a quick glance inside to see Jake standing by his closet, his back facing Alan. While Alan wasn’t able to get a clear look at it, it looked as if Jake was holding something. Curious, he stepped into Jake’s room and asked him what he was holding.

“Oh, hey Alan.” Greeted Jake in a somewhat surprised tone, having been caught off guard by Alan.

“Check this out: this is a sword my dad’s friend used to own.”

Jake held the sword out in both of his hands, his right hand holding onto the hilt while his left hand held the blade. Amazed that he was getting to see a real sword, Alan stared down at the blade in amazement. As his eyes scanned every inch of the blade, he saw that something had been carved into it. His focus zoned into the word on the blade, Alan tried to pronounce it but found it difficult to do so.

“Two-er…tore…uh…jay e?” Alan said unsurely.

“Actually, the way I always heard my dad and his friend pronounce it, it’s ‘Two-er-uh-sh-a.” Explained Jake as he slowly sounded out Tourajé’s name for Alan.

Alan repeated the pronunciation Jake had provided him. He did this once more before trying to speak Tourajé’s name without needing to sound it out. Jake nodded in approval, informing Alan that he got it right. Jake then asked Alan if he wanted to hold the sword to which Alan obliged. Jake gripped the sword in his right hand and pointed the blade towards the ground so that the hilt was facing upwards. He held it out in front of him and allowed Alan to take it from him. The other boy held the sword, amazed and in disbelief at what he was holding. The feeling of holding a sword was incredible and Alan felt stronger just gripping the hilt in his hand.

“It’s a pretty cool sword, isn’t it? Believe it or not, that sword’s over two hundred years old!” Jake exclaimed, a wide smile growing on his face.

“Two hundred years old…wait, you said this was your dad’s friend’s sword. Did he buy it somewhere?” Asked Alan.

“No. See, my dad, well, my biological dad, not Titus was actually a dragon who had been alive for a little over 200 years. When he was my age, he and his friends went to this world and the oldest of my dad’s friends, Tourajé, took part in this tournament where he got this sword.” Jake explained.

“A dragon?!” Asked Alan, a look of shock suddenly forming on his face.

Jake confirmed Alan’s question and explained how he himself was a half-dragon who was born to a male dragon and a female human. Feeling as though Alan could be trusted with seeing his secret, Jake was about to switch to his true form when he noticed an uneasy expression on Alan’s face.

“Hey, Alan, are you okay?” Asked Jake as he tried approaching Alan.

Alan jerked away, causing Jake to pull back somewhat. He looked worriedly at Alan, pondering what was happening. Alan held his head low for a minute before looking back at Jake.

“Sorry I…I don’t feel good. I’m…gonna lay down.” Alan said as he hurried out of Jake’s room.

“Hey! Alan!” Jake called out as he followed after Alan.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Drake watched as Alan made his way past him. Drake greeted Alan but was met with no response. He watched as Alan entered his room and closed the door behind him. As Jake came up to where Drake was standing, the two boys stood in the hallway, watching the door to Alan’s room.

“Jake, what happened? Is Alan okay?” Drake asked puzzlingly.

“I don’t know...I mean, all I did was tell him about my dad’s sword and then told him about what we were then he had this really upset look on his face and just left.” Jake tried to explain as best he could.

“That is weird. I wonder what you said made him react like that.” Drake thought out loud.

Together the two half-dragons approached Alan’s room. Jake knocked on Alan’s door asking if he could come in. There was a brief moment of silence before the doorknob turned revealing Alan who stood before the two boys in the middle of the doorway. To Jake’s surprise, Alan appeared to suddenly have gained a more calmer expression than he had just a moment ago.

“Alan, are you okay? What happened?” Asked Jake worriedly.

“Sorry. I just…suddenly had a headache. I feel a little bit better but I still need to lay down. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Replied Alan hurriedly before once more closing the door.

Drake and Jake stood in front of Alan’s room for a moment. The two half-dragon teens looked at each other as Jake quietly asked his adoptive brother what just happened. Drake gaped open mouth, raising his finger as he was just about to say something but then proceeded to lower his finger and close his mouth. He glanced away from Jake as he tried to contemplate a reasonable explanation. Unable to come up with one, Drake looked back at Jake and shrugged his shoulders.

The next day, Drake, Jake, Crystal, and Sean were having lunch together outside of the pizzeria right across from Sarah’s shop. The four of them sat at a table outside the restaurant enjoying the shade that was casted by the umbrella that had been inserted into the hole in the center of the table whilst trying not to let the scorching hot weather get to them. After swallowing the part of her pizza she had bitten off, Crystal then asked Drake and Jake how Alan’s first day living with them had gone. The two half-dragons looked at one another unsurely.

“Well, for the most part it went fine…but…” Jake replied.

“But what? Did something happen to Alan?” Crystal inquired, taking a sip of her Coke.

“See, last night, I was showing him my dad’s sword, right? Well, he seemed pretty interested in it at first but then after I mentioned that Drake and I were half-dragons…he suddenly seemed uneasy. I know this might sound pretty strange but I wonder if he might have remembered something.” Jake explained, a quizzical look on his face.

“I don’t know. It’s possible but why would hearing about half-dragons trigger a memory if he’s way more than likely never met a half-dragon before?” Sean asked skeptically.

“Well, what I—sorry, I just remembered that what he reacted to wasn’t when I mentioned me and Drake being half-dragons; it was when I said ‘dragon’.” Jake corrected himself.

“Oh?” Replied Crystal with peaked interest, taking another sip of Coca Cola.

“Yeah. When I mentioned how I was the son of a dragon, Alan suddenly had kind of a grimace on his face. Then suddenly he just…left my room. I went to check on him and then all of a sudden, when he opened the door to his room, he seemed fine. Like nothing had happened. That’s why I’ve been wondering if maybe he remembered something.” Jake finished detailing the events of the previous night.

The other three friends went quiet as they mulled over what they had been told by Jake. Indeed, it seemed possible to them that Alan, for possibly even a brief moment, did remember something however, of all the words to trigger something within Alan’s mind, why would it have been the word “dragon”? They highly doubted this meant that Alan’s attackers were dragons. The wounds on his body looked nothing like the wounds that could be caused by a dragon and, they thought, even if a dragon had attacked Alan, why of all places would they leave him in a cemetery?

After taking a sip of his coffee, Sean spoke up and offered his thoughts on what it could mean.

“Ok, so I highly doubt that Alan was attacked by a dragon. I mean, if he was, then why leave him in a cemetery?” Sean asked.

Drake shrugged his shoulders. “Some sick sense of irony?” The boy suggested.

“Even still…why go after Alan?  What I think could have happened is that either before or after Alan was attacked, he might have seen a dragon on something like, say a statue of one or a picture somewhere. Maybe if we check the neighborhood where we found Alan or check any stores around, perhaps we could find a clue, maybe somebody who knows who he really is?” Sean suggested.

Drake agreed, feeling that Sean’s plan was a good one. He informed his friends that his parents were busy working on flyers and were going to get everyone together so that they’d have a better chance of finding where Alan came from. Drake also mentioned to his friends that his parents were hoping to have the flyers ready by tomorrow so they could begin searching for Alan’s parents right away.

“Alright. Then tomorrow begins the search.” Sean stated.

As Sean took another sip of his coffee, Crystal snickered to herself. Sean noticed this, asking her what was funny. Crystal assured him it was nothing, just that she found it humorous that Sean had started drinking coffee, especially with how he used to declare it to be “gross grownup stuff” when he was younger.

“Well, I’m growing up. I have to start trying more adult things.” Sean rebutted somewhat defensively as he took a larger gulp of his coffee, his eyes growing wide as the burning sensation brought on by his drink traveled down his throat.

“Uh-huh…” Crystal scoffed, shaking her head afterward. “Sean, you’re fifteen. You’re not that old. Besides, even when I’m an adult, I plan on sticking with good ol’ water and soda.” The teenage girl proudly declared as she took a large gulp of soda.

“I’m good with soda and water too. Some juice as well. Although, I wouldn’t mind trying some champagne when I turn twenty-one. I’ve had sips of it before but I’ve never had a whole bottle.” Said Drake as he took a drink from his cup of water.

“I wouldn’t mind trying some pot when I get older.” Jake said.

Suddenly, all focus turned to Jake who stared back at his friends, holding onto his soda cup and looking at them nervously as if he had done something wrong. With the three of them talking about drinks, they found themselves caught off-guard by Jake’s revelation of wanting to try some marijuana when he was older.

“…What? I mean, I can breathe fire. I’m basically a walking lighter already.” Protested Jake in a half joking manner.

“Yeah that’s true.” Drake laughed. “Well Jake, you can go ahead and smoke all the weed you want…so long as you share some with me.”

The four friends laughed amongst each other at this. Jake told Drake, in between moments of laughter, that he’d hold him to that. Drake retorted by telling Jake that in that case, he better not forget making that promise. Crystal and Sean added to this, informing Jake that that went triple for them.

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Jake exclaimed in an overwhelmed voice, laughing as he held his hands up in front of him.

As their laughter died down, the four teens finished their lunch. As soon as they were done, they returned to Sarah’s shop to help her set up the first set of fliers. The fliers were of Alan. They asked if anybody had seen him and listed his features such as his hair color, eye color, and gave a rough estimate of his age which was listed as being between the ages of thirteen to sixteen. At the very bottom of the fliers was the Flamel family’s landline informing anyone who may have had information regarding Alan to call the number displayed below.

The night prior, while Drake and Jake slept, Titus and Sarah worked on creating fliers in order to help them locate Alan’s parents or, at least someone who may have known him. Just as Alan was about to fall asleep, Titus came up to his room, asking the amnesiac boy to stay up for just a short moment longer. After capturing a picture of Alan on his phone, Titus sent the boy back to bed and uploaded the picture he had taken of Alan onto his laptop. With Sarah’s help, the two of them spent the night creating a flyer that they were sure would have to get the attention of somebody who knew Alan.

Later that day, Titus contacted each of his family and friends explaining the events regarding Alan to them and seeking their help in finding his family.  Much to Titus’s surprise, everyone happily obliged to help. However, not everyone would be able to help right away. Rick, Ben, Jessie, and Crystal and her family had either errands or work but informed Titus that as soon as they got the chance, they would be willing to come and help in any way that they could. Thanking them, Titus suggested that if they wanted, he could just email them a copy of the flier and then they could print out some copies to make it easier. Agreeing to this, Titus and Sarah emailed Rick and the others a copy of the flier, attaching to the email a message asking them to either show or distribute the flyers around their areas, Titus’s reason being that even though Alan was found in one neighborhood that didn’t necessarily mean that he lived there.

The next day, it was early in the afternoon when everybody who was able to make it arrived at the Flamel residence. Much to Drake, Sean, and Jake’s surprise and delight, Crystal had shown up as well. She explained to her friends that even though she did need to take care of some things with her parents, they had decided that it was better that she help find Alan’s family instead and that they’d join in the search a little later.

Gathered in the living room were Sarah, Lucas, Kyle, Jackie, Jessie, Laurie, Sean, Tim, Crystal, Jake, and Drake. After Titus had finished speaking with everybody, Jake contacted Sarah and Laurie hoping to get their help in finding Alan’s parents. While Sarah did want to offer her assistance, she informed Jake that she would simply be unable to as she had a lot to take care of at the orphanage but that if they wanted to, they could send her an email with the flyer attached and she’d make some copies to put up around town. Sarah gave Jake her email which Jake had written down and then given to Titus. With the email sent, Jake thanked Sarah for all she and Laurie had done for them. Sarah assured Jake that it was nothing and that she was just happy to help. Laurie told Jake that she should be able to make it and that she would just need to take the train down. Because of this, she arrived slightly later than everyone else but to her relief, found that she hadn’t missed anything. Originally, Jessie had planned to go with Ben who was going to be doing a reading of one of his books at the Barnes and Noble down the road from Sarah’s shop. However, Ben insisted that he’d be okay and that Jessie should go help Titus and everyone else and that he would come help as soon as he was done.

Before the group stood Titus and Alan, the latter of whom looked around at everyone in attendance, noticing some new faces as well as familiar old ones. On the living room table sat a stack of papers. These papers were all the fliers of Alan that Titus and Sarah had worked on. In this pile were more than fifty fliers. While Titus and Sarah had felt that they might have made a few too many, they rationalized that the more fliers they had printed, the better their chances in finding Alan’s family.

“Jessie, Kyle and Jackie, since you weren’t with us then, this is Alan. He’s the boy Drake, Jake, and their friends found and the one whose parents we’re going to be looking for today.” Explained Titus.

For a split second, Alan’s eyes widened and he felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of his parents. But before anyone noticed, his shocked expression switched back to one of blankness.

Jackie, Jessie and Kyle approached Alan and introduced themselves. For a moment, Alan didn’t utter a single word. The trio frowned, wondering if perhaps Alan didn’t like them. Finally, Alan spoke to them, telling them that it was good to meet them and offering a small smile in addition. This caused the three of them to smile back at the boy, taking solace in knowing that they hadn’t scared him and that he was willing to give them a chance.

“He seems like a good kid.” Complimented Kyle.

“I think he is. It’s just been rough for him given all that he’s been through.” Titus said.

“Yeah. Poor kid. I hope we’ll be able to find some way to get your memory back.” Said Jackie sympathetically.

“Well, even if we can’t find his parents, at the very least, finding someone who knows him will go a long way. Which brings me to what I called you guys here for.” Titus noted.

“You want us to put up fliers, right?” Lucas asked as he pointed to the stack of flyers sitting on the table.

“Well, yes and no.” Titus affirmed.

“It would help if some of these went up but you guys should at least hold onto one each. See, I was thinking that just because our kids found Alan in the cemetery, that doesn’t mean he was from the neighborhood the cemetery’s in. I think it could be possible that whoever attacked him could have left him at the cemetery.” Titus explained.

“Sounds like they may have had some sick sense of irony.” Stated Kyle.

“That’s what I said.” Drake responded to his older cousin’s statement.

Titus passed out several fliers to each of his family and friends. He suggested that they split into groups and search around their neighborhoods and around town to try and Alan’s family. Titus, Sarah, and Lucas made up the first group while Jessie, Kyle, and Jackie made up the second. Finally, Drake, Jake, Crystal, Laurie, Sean, and Tim made up the last group and would be accompanied by Alan himself.

As everybody was preparing to head out, Jake mentioned to the adults what he had told his friends about how Alan seemed to have a reaction to the word “dragon” and how he believed that it may have meant that it triggered a memory if even for a brief moment.

“Dragon, huh? Well in that case, we should be sure to keep an eye out for anything dragon related. Keep a lookout for anything with a dragon on it or something like a dragon statue or plushie.” Instructed Sarah.

“Let’s meet back here in three hours. We’ll search around and then report back with whatever we find.” Suggested Jessie as she placed a hand on the doorknob.

Jessie, Kyle, and Jackie made their way to Jessie’s car as Titus, Sarah, and Lucas headed for the backyard where Titus changed into his dragon form and took to the air with Sarah and Lucas sitting on his back, and the younger members of the group headed for the light rail station. Drake and the others decided long before the search had even begun that they would return to the neighborhood where the cemetery that Alex was buried in was located in an attempt to find anything about Alan. The others journeyed down different neighborhoods hanging up fliers and speaking with the people who lived in said neighborhoods asking if they had seen Alan. Each person responded with the same answer: they had never seen Alan before. Remembering what Jake had told them, both Titus’s and Jessie’s groups decided to check the stores within the area. As they browsed around, they made sure to keep an eye out for anything dragon related as they believed that whatever they found may hopefully provide something of a clue for them. After they would find something involving a dragon, the groups would then speak with either the managers or the employees of the stores, handing them a flier with Alan’s information and asking them if he had been in their stores three weeks ago. While many of them were unable to remember whether or not Alan had been a patron, some were able to assure the groups that Alan had not been in their stores.

Meanwhile, the group consisting of Drake and his friends arrived in the neighborhood where they had found Alan. Since they were in such a large group, Sean suggested that it might help if they split into two groups and ask around about Alan.

“Yeah, I think that would work best. We’ll be able to cover more ground then.” Jake agreed.

“I could take Crystal and Alan and look down that way.” Said Laurie as she pointed to the row of houses facing ahead of them. “Why don’t you guys take those houses? After we’ve spoken to some of the people who live here, we’ll go check some of the stores around this neighborhood.” Laurie concluded, pointing to the row of houses behind them.

“’K. That sounds good. See you in a bit.” Said Drake.

“Yep. ‘Til then.” Crystal smiled as she waved to her friends.

Drake, Sean, Jake, and Tim went one way while Laurie, Crystal, and Alan went the other. They hung up fliers around the neighborhood and spoke with the people who resided there, asking if they had seen Alan or anybody who may have been with him three weeks ago. Like with Titus and Jessie’s groups, the kids were all met with the same answer. With the responses all being the same, the kids were starting to feel as though finding somebody who knew Alan was becoming fruitless.

“This is so hopeless!” Crystal exclaimed in frustration, her fingers clutching at her hair in annoyance.

“Crystal, relax. It’s not going to do us or Alan any good to get angry.” Laurie said in a soft, calm voice as she tried to calm Crystal down.

“I know. I just…GUH!!” Crystal spat, her temper subsiding slightly.

Crystal turned to Alan who was walking slightly behind her and Laurie and apologized for getting so frustrated. Alan assured her it was okay and apologized himself for not being helpful but Laurie told him that he had nothing to apologize for and that this wasn’t his fault.

“No matter what, we’ll help you find your family or someone you might know and hopefully that should get you your memory back.” Laurie said, smiling warmly at Alan.

Alan smiled back and thanked her and Crystal for doing all this for him.

After some more houses on the boys’ side, they too had begun to feel as though they’d never manage to find anyone who may have known Alan.

Sean sighed in exasperation. He clutched one of the fliers in his hand and looked squarely at the small rectangular picture of Alan printed in the upper left section of the paper.

“I guess Alan isn’t from this neighborhood.” Said Tim as he cupped his hands behind his head and gazed into the sky.

“It doesn’t seem that way, little bro.” Sean agreed as he broke his attention from the flier.

“Well, should we go check some of the stores around here?” Offered Drake who was sounding almost as fatigued as his best friend.

Sean took in another breath then nodded a few times as he exhaled. “Yeah. Who knows? We might have better luck if we do that.” He said.

As the boys departed from the neighborhood, the girls and Alan tried three more houses before they themselves decided to throw in the towel.

“Well, we haven’t found anything out here. Wanna go check the stores now?” Crystal asked with a sigh of exhaustion.

“Yeah. Who knows? Maybe the stores will give us the luck we need.” Laurie said tiredly. The three of them made their way through the neighborhood. As they did, Crystal tried to think of something to talk about to pass the time. Suddenly, an idea for what they could discuss crossed Crystal’s mind: since it was just her, Laurie, and Alan right now, she believed that now might be a good time to get to know Laurie a little better.

“Hey Laurie. There was something I was wondering about.” Began Crystal.

“What’s up?” Laurie asked.

“Well, you and Alex grew up at the same orphanage. Do you remember what he was like back then?” Crystal asked.

“Hmm…” Laurie took a moment to think of how best to describe Alex from when she knew him. “Well…Alex had a lot of trouble making friends. The other kids were horrible to him because he had a tail, finned ears, and wings… even some of the grown-ups didn’t care much for him, especially not the mother superior, that horrible old hag.” Laurie explained, a strong sense of bitterness and hatred in her voice when she brought up her former mother superior.

“Mother superior?” Crystal noted, taking intrigue in the way Laurie spoke of her.

“She was horrible. She never spoke of Alex as a person and just looked at him as a thing. I’m glad she left the orphanage. She made that place hell for a lot of us, especially since she loved to play favorites. See, the kids used to pick on me too before Alex came. They’d kick me, hit me, throw things at me, one time a kid even bit me. I still have a scar from it right on my right shoulder.” Laurie explained, a grim, saddened look on her face.

“Jesus…” Said Crystal in complete disbelief at what Laurie was telling her.

“After Alex arrived, the kids torment gravitated towards him and I was left alone. I always hated the way they treated me but the way they picked on Alex was somehow even worse. I had seen kids try to squeeze Alex’s tail as hard as they could until he couldn’t even stand anymore and one time this group of bullies pinned Alex to the ground as one of them sat on his back and tried pulling his wings off.” Laurie continued, a sickened and saddened look washing over her face.

“Oh, God, that…that’s way too cruel…” Said Crystal empathetically, appearing just as saddened as Laurie.

Alan listened silently to the story Laurie was telling them. He wondered if maybe the reason he was found bloodied and beaten was because some bullies decided to hurt him just as how Alex’s bullies had done to him.

“I think that’s part of why I tried to stand up for Alex. Really though, I like to think I would have tried to be there for him even if I hadn’t been bullied myself, y’know? In a weird way, I think that trying to protect Alex actually helped to make me braver. Before I met him, I never would have tried to defend myself the way I came to defend him. I don’t want to say what happened to him was good but I am glad that he was able to give me strength. I just hope that, in the end, I was able to do the same for him.” Laurie concluded, now a small hopeful smile formed on her face.

Crystal smiled back at Laurie and told her that she believed that she had been able to give him strength. Crystal explained that while she didn’t get to know Alex for too long during their first and only confrontation, she did feel that he was a strong willed person albeit a somewhat misguided one. Interested in Crystal’s description of what her best friend from the orphanage became, Laurie asked Crystal to explain to her what had happened after Alex was adopted. For the rest of their journey through the neighborhood, Crystal recounted the last adventure she had embarked on with her friends leading up to Drake’s battle with Alex and finishing at the final confrontation with Saulstrance. As soon as Crystal had concluded, Laurie was left awestruck. Her mouth fell slightly open as she tried to process everything she had been told. Even though the proof had been right in front of her in the form of Alex, Laurie still couldn’t believe that there was really a world where dragons came from and that one of those dragons who ended up being Alex’s adoptive father and Jake’s biological father had tried to turn Earth into his own kingdom. She felt as if she was being told the story to a movie.

At that same moment, Jessie and her grown children had just finished speaking with an older man who had been out walking his dog around the neighborhood. Sighing, Kyle raised his hand up and dropped it back down, shaking his head, unsure of what else they could do.

“I hope the others have been having better luck than us.” Jackie said.

“Yeah. I hate to say it but I don’t think we’re going to find anybody who knows Alan here.” Jessie admitted, sounding defeated.

“Should we maybe just head back and wait for everybody? I mean, we’ve tried the stores, we’ve checked at a ton of different houses, we’ve spoken to some people on the streets, and there’s nobody who knows who Alan is! I think we should just go back to Uncle Titus’s house and wait for everybody.” Kyle suggested, sounding somewhat irate.

“That might not be such a bad idea, Kyle. Besides, it’s been almost three hours anyway. By the time we get back, everyone else should either be there or just be arriving.” Jackie agreed with her younger brother.

With the three in agreement, Jessie and her children returned to the former’s car and drove back to Titus’s house. Along the way, Jessie asked how things had been going for Kyle and Jackie. Kyle informed his mom that he had been enjoying living with his girlfriend, Michelle. When asked why Michelle didn’t join them in looking for Alan’s family, Kyle explained that Michelle was out of town visiting her family in Solana Beach and wouldn’t be back until Wednesday.  

“Well I hope she’s having a good time.” Smiled Jessie at her son. “By the way, Kyle, have you been regulating your drinking?” She asked somewhat accusingly.

“Don’t worry, mom. I haven’t fallen off the wagon. Not since…well, you remember.” Kyle answered his mom somewhat nervously.

“Remember what?” Asked Jessie, raising an eyebrow at Kyle.

“Yeah. What are you talking about?” Jackie asked, also not understanding what her brother was talking about.

Kyle, who had been sitting in the backseat of his mom’s car, leaned forward and whispered into his mom’s ear and then into his sister’s.

“Oh yeah. That.” Jessie said in a deadpan tone, an unamused look on her face.

“Yeeeeeeaaaah…John sure wasn’t happy with me after that…” Kyle laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck in nervousness as he did.

“Speaking of John, why wasn’t he with you, sweetie?” Jessie asked her daughter.

“John got called into the office last minute for a meeting. He said that he wanted to help but that it sounded rather urgent.” Explained Jackie.

“Well that’s too bad. I would’ve liked to have seen my future son-in-law…and my future daughter-in-law too.” Jessie teased, a small grin on her face.

Both Jackie and Kyle gasped at the same time, their faces turning bright red. Indeed, the two siblings did want to eventually marry their significant others but both of them worried that that time would still be in the far future. While John and Jackie both had rather nice incomes from their jobs at the office, the two of them were often so preoccupied with their work that they worried that they wouldn’t truly be able to tie the knot or even start a family anytime soon. The same went with Kyle who, unlike his older sister, had been stuck working a dead end part time job at a small convenience store since leaving college. Kyle was only able to retain his apartment with the help of Michelle. Kyle would often say that if it wasn’t for Michelle and her job which, unfortunately for both of them, only paid slightly better than Kyle’s, then he and she would more than likely have had to have moved back into either Kyle’s parents’ house or Michelle’s parents’ house.

“Well, I dunno about that just yet mom. I mean, someday I’d like to start a family with John but…that might not be for a long time yet.” Jackie responded to her mom’s lighthearted teasing somewhat disappointingly.

“Yeah. I’d like to get a career going myself but…all the web design places I’ve applied for just won’t aren’t biting. It’s been the same with Michelle. She’s applied to so many different gaming companies but not one of them accepted her.” Kyle sighed, leaning back in his seat. “I’m tired of this crappy 9-5. I wish there was something I could do.” He said in a melancholic tone.

“Kyle, you’ll get there, sweetie. You just need to keep applying. I know sooner or later you’ll be able to land yourself a career.” Jessie smiled, trying to offer her son some words of encouragement.

“Mom’s right Kyle. You’ll both get there. You just need to keep trying and sooner or later it’ll happen. Besides, trust me, careers aren’t always the most enjoyable things around.” Jackie smiled knowingly.

“That is true.” Jessie chuckled slightly, agreeing wholeheartedly with her daughter.

Sometime later, Titus, Lucas, and Sarah flew through the sky as they made their way home. Just like with the other two groups, they as well had no luck in finding anyone familiar with Alan or his family.

“Well, I hate to say it but I guess that was a bust.” Lucas stated reluctantly.

“Well, you never know Luke. We didn’t find anything today but that doesn’t mean something won’t come up somewhere down the way.” Said Titus, trying to be optimistic and hopeful.

Sarah agreed with her husband, adding that something might very well come up soon but they’ll just have to wait a little longer.

Arriving home, Titus looked below and noticed that Jessie’s car was parked in the driveway and that parked in front of it was Ben’s car. Titus presumed that Ben must have arrived shortly before everyone got back. He also wondered if his sons and their friends were back as well.

Swooping down, Titus touched down in his backyard. He crouched down as he allowed Lucas and Sarah to climb off. As soon as they were, he called out for Ben, Jessie, and the rest of the group, informing them of their return. Titus noticed as Drake came to the sliding glass door and pulled it open as he rushed outside to greet his parents and Lucas followed by Ben, then Laurie, then Jessie, Kyle, Crystal, Tim, Jackie, Jake, Sean, Tim, and finally Alan.

Still in his dragon form, Titus and the rest of his friends and family walked towards each other, meeting halfway. Before Alan could take five steps away from the steps of the porch however, he gasped when he noticed Titus’s dragon form. His eyes grew wide and he began to breathe heavier. His body trembled and his muscles convulsed as slowly he began to back away, whimpering loudly. Both Sean and Jake who were standing the closest to Alan, took notice of this and tried to approach the petrified boy.

“Alan? Hey, what’s the matter?” Sean asked concernedly, trying to extend a hand out to him.

Alan’s heave breathing had turned into hyperventilating. A horrified expression was plastered onto his face. Suddenly, Alan released a loud, ear piercing shriek which startled everyone around him and caused their attention to shift towards him.

“Hey, Alan, what’s wrong?” Titus asked as he changed into his human form and tried to approach Alan.

Still hyperventilating, Alan shook his head in terror. He screamed once more only this time, instead of backing away, he dashed towards Titus, clenching his fists, and sucker punched Titus in the left side of his jaw. Just then, everything went silent as everybody looked on in shock at what they had just seen. Titus was gasping, holding his hand over his cheek that Alan had hit as he stared down stupefied at the frightened boy who was glaring at Titus, his teeth bared and his left fist still clenched tightly.

Crystal’s father shook his head. He went on to explain that, during his time while he was unconscious, the doctors had gone through the clothes the boy was wearing only to find no belongings on his person. He wasn’t sure if this meant that the items he had on him were stolen or he had simply left them at home although he had hoped it was the latter.

With a soft yet noticeable sigh, he turned to face the seven people who had found him. They smiled, happy to see that he was awake. Laurie and Sarah approached his bedside and Laurie handed him the gift she had bought for him. As she held the bag containing his gift out in front of her, the kid observed the bag, not sure what she was doing. Laurie told him it was okay and that he could have it. Slowly, the boy grabbed the bag from her hands and removed the object that was inside. It was a plushie of a velociraptor. He studied the toy, looking over it and turning it over in one hand.

“Do you like it?” Asked Laurie hopefully.

The boy stopped what he was doing and looked at Laurie. He glanced down for a moment before focusing his gaze back at Laurie and nodding.

“Thanks.” The kid said in a soft, toneless voice.

Laurie smiled warmly at him. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”

Sarah was the next to present her gift. She delicately placed the potted flowers on his table, taking a moment to adjust one of the buds before she walked over and stood by the closet door closest to the exit. Once she was done, Sarah, Drake and Jake’s mom, approached the boy’s beside. He turned to face her as she kneeled down to his level.

“They were the ones who found you. They called an ambulance for you and worried the most for you when you were still unconscious.” Sarah explained, speaking to the boy in a soft tone as she gestured towards her sons and their friends.

The boy turned his head once more to face Drake and the others. Tim held his hand up to the kid as a way of saying hello. One by one, Drake, Jake, Crystal, Sean, Tim, Sarah, and Laurie introduced themselves. In a soft, meek voice, the boy responded to them with a “Hi”. With a smile, Jake returned his hello with one of his own and told the boy he was happy to see he was doing better.

A knock came from the door as the doctor allowed himself in. Sarah, Laurie, Jake, and Crystal cleared a way for the doctor to come in.

“Sorry, excuse me. I just need to quick check up on him.” Said the doctor as he approached the boy’s bed.

“No, it’s okay. We can wait. Take your time.” Said Titus in response.

The doctor thanked Titus and tended to his patient. He began his treatment by first testing the kid’s eyes. He took out a small, thin flashlight and shone it in the boy’s eyes, causing him to instinctually close his eyes and turn his head away slightly to block out the bright light. After a short moment, he turned the light off and slipped it back into his pocket. He grabbed his pen from his pocket and jotted down a two under eye response. After this, he then asked the boy if he was able to remember his name or age, or what year or month it was. The kid glanced around at the people who surrounded his bed and then looked back at the doctor. With a sigh, he answered in a soft voice that he didn’t know. For this, the doctor wrote down a four under verbal response. For the last part of his test, the doctor asked if the boy could look up. The boy did as he was asked and slowly lifted his head up to the ceiling. The doctor then asked the boy to lower his head. Once more the boy obeyed his doctor’s instructions. Lastly, the doctor placed one finger in front of the boy’s face telling him to simply use his eyes to follow along with his finger. Moving his finger around, the doctor found that his young patient had little trouble keeping up with his hand movement. He wrote down a six under motor response. His tests completed, he then asked to speak with the boy’s visitors out in the hallway. The kid watched as his visitors followed his doctor out into the hallway. With Lucas being the last one out, he turned to the boy smiling and assured him that they’d be right back. The group gathered outside the boy’s room and listened as the doctor began to speak.

“See, the thing is, after he had been admitted here, we checked to see if he had anything on his person and…well, we weren’t able to find anything. He had no phone, wallet, or id with him. I’m not sure whether this means that his attackers stole his belongings or if he simply didn’t have them with him when he left his house but regardless, with that in mind and this child being unable to remember anything about himself, we obviously can’t contact his parents and let them know he’s okay.” Explained the doctor, a troubled look on his face.

Titus nodded in understanding. He walked back to the entrance of the room and looked in at the boy who was still sitting in his bed watching outside the window. As Titus watched the kid, an idea formed in his mind. He asked to speak with Sarah alone letting the doctor and everyone else know that they would be right back. They made their way past the group and headed toward the end of the hall. There, the doctor and the rest of the group watched as the husband and wife held a discussion with each other. Drake and Jake especially watched their parents with quizzical expressions on their faces as they pondered what their parents could possibly be talking about. While everybody watched, they were able to make out bits and pieces of what Titus and Sarah were saying such as, “It would only be for a little while” and “Would they even let us do that though?”

The discussion between Titus and Sarah carried on for a little bit before the two of them rejoined the others. Titus apologized to everybody for the wait and explained to the doctor that he and his wife had been discussing the possibility of being able to look after the boy until they were able to locate his parents. This surprised everyone, especially the doctor who never, in all his years as a doctor, had ever been asked by people who were complete strangers to his patients if they could take care of his patients once they had been released. Of course, he had also never seen a case such as this boy’s before.

“Well it could be done. However, in order for you and your wife to gain custody of the boy, you would have to take part in a closed-door judicial proceeding and would need to provide character reference witness. And, given the state your boys found him in, there should be no problem with the courts giving you temporary guardianship.” Explained the doctor.

“It would be that complicated huh? Well, when it comes to the law, nothing’s ever easy that’s for sure. Still, we can’t just leave him like this. Not if he can’t remember who he is.” Said Sarah empathetically.

“True. And even if you and Titus need help, Sarah, you know you can ask any of us.” Lucas gave his friend an assuring smile.

“Thanks Luke.” Said Sarah gratefully with a smile of her own.

“And if you need mine or Laurie’s help, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We found him too after all so it’s only right that we see to it as well that he gets better.” Sarah said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

Sarah and Laurie exchanged numbers with their new friends and assured them once more that if they need anything that they’ll be there to help.

With his plan to take custody of the boy set, Titus and the others returned to his room where the boy turned to see them walking in, a dazed look still warn on his face as his mouth hung slightly open.

“If you’re going to look after him, Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, you’ll have to provide a name for his papers. Unfortunately, given the circumstances…” The doctor explained.

“Yeah…we can’t quite give them his name when even he doesn’t know what it is.” Titus added, looking at the boy with a hint of pity in his eyes.

“Well, perhaps we could give him a name to go by for the time being until he remembers what his real name is?” Suggested Sister Sarah.

“That sounds like a good idea. Besides, if Sarah and I are to look after him, we’re going to need to provide some kind of name to put on his documents.” Responded Titus as he cupped his chin in his hand and looked down at the ground as he ran through in his head the process it would take to gain guardianship over the boy.

Everyone took a moment of silence as they brainstormed names to give to the boy. The kid watched the group that surrounded him, curious as to what name they were going to decide on for him. Curious though he may have been, the boy still wished that he could remember who he really was. It was his hope as well as the hopes of those around him that he would regain his memories soon despite how unlikely it seemed.

Just then, Lucas spoke, being the first to offer his suggestion for a name.

“What about Roy? That’s a good name.” Lucas proposed as a name for the kid.

“I don’t know. It kind of sounds like a trucker name.” Crystal’s dad said unsurely, not finding the name Roy to be fitting for the child.

“How about Tim?” Tim suggested in a half joking way.

“No.” Said Sean tonelessly, immediately shooting down his brother’s suggestion. “One Tim is more than enough.” He concluded teasingly.

“Timmy? Or Timothy?” Tim tried to offer as alternatives.

“It’s not happening, little brother.” Sean said in a more serious and strict tone of voice.

“What about Kenny? That’s a pretty cool name. Would you like that to be your name?” Drake asked the boy.

But the boy didn’t answer him. He looked away with a soft sigh which Drake took to mean that he didn’t care for the name Kenny. Everybody continued to try and think of names to give to the boy until finally, Laurie offered a name that seemed to sit well with the child.

“What about Alan? It’s easy enough to remember and, to me he looks quite a bit like an Alan.” Said Laurie.

“Alan huh? Well, would that be an okay name to you?” Titus asked the boy.

The boy looked around at everybody in the room who were staring back at him waiting for his answer. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling, the kid nodded and, in a soft yet still perceptive voice, said “Okay.”

“Alright then. For now, your name will be Alan.” Declared Titus, smiling down at the boy who was now known as Alan.

With the boy’s new name chosen, the doctor told the group that they would keep Alan in the hospital for another week just to make sure that he wouldn’t be facing as much confusion as he currently was upon his release and to perform some physical tests on Alan. The doctor suggested that, in the meantime, Titus should probably get Alan’s paperwork taken care of with the courts if he was serious about taking care of him.  Titus agreed with the doctor’s advice, assuring that he’d get the paperwork squared away as soon as possible.

Their business at the hospital taken care of, Titus and the others thanked the doctor for taking good care of Alan and bid the two of them goodbye, promising Alan that they’d come back to visit him soon.

The group left the hospital and made their way through the hospital’s parking garage. There, Sarah and Laurie bid farewell to the group however before they could make their way to Sarah’s car, Sarah asked the two of them to wait. She approached the other Sarah and stared her in the eyes with a serious expression on her face. Sister Sarah stared back at Sarah, growing a little uneasy as she tried to determine what the woman she shared her name with wanted.

“So, your name is Sarah too huh?” Sarah asked as she eyed the woman who stood before her.

“Umm, yes?” Replied Sister Sarah a little nervously.

“And Jake told me that you work at the orphanage where Alex lived.” Sarah detailed.

“Well I use to work there. I also lived there for awhile when I was a little girl.” Sister Sarah corrected although she still wasn’t sure what the other Sarah was trying to get at.

“Really? So you used to be an orphan too, huh?” Sarah took notice of what the other Sarah had told her.

“’Too?’” Sarah parroted, an eyebrow raised at the notice of Sarah’s statement.

Sarah went on to explain to Sister Sarah that when she was a little girl, her parents were killed in a car crash and that, because of this, she spent most of her life as an orphan. She told Sister Sarah about the park she grew up in, how she met Rick there, and how the two of them became brother and sister. She recalled most of the major events in her life leading up to the moment she met Titus and Angela. As the two Sarahs bonded over their similar pasts, everyone around them just watched incredulously.

“I never thought I’d see the day…two people forming a friendship over tragedy.” Commented Lucas.

Titus wasn’t sure whether to find Lucas’s comment humorous or not considering the events that had transpired in the lives of the two Sarahs.

Sister Sarah explained to Sarah how when she was just a baby, her parents, being only in their late teens at the time, gave her up for adoption being unable to care for a child at the time. Sister Sarah explained that similar circumstances had occurred in Laurie’s life as well although her parents put her up for adoption because they weren’t financially stable, their explanation being to Sarah that they felt they wouldn’t be able to give Laurie the life she deserved.

“I was able to track down my birth parents and I still keep in contact with them. Sometimes I even visit them. Three years ago, they had a little boy they named Raymond and luckily, they’re better off now than they were when they had me. I just hope they’ll be able to give Raymond the life they couldn’t give me.” Explained Laurie, a sad yet also happy smile on her face.

“I guess you don’t miss your birth parents, right? I mean, I was adopted too and, no lie, sometimes I do miss my mom and dad.” Asked Jake.

Titus and Sarah were both taken by surprise at Jake’s comment although they also understood his feelings. Although they loved Jake and they knew Jake loved them, they also understood that, for the longest time, Saulstrance was the only living biological family Jake had left and that he never the chance got to meet his mom. Since their adoption of Jake, the two of them had always tried their hardest to give Jake a good life and to be the parents they knew he needed but despite this, they knew they would never be his biological parents. Even with that knowledge, however, even though they knew they weren’t related to Jake by blood, they still loved him just as much as they loved Drake and still wanted him to grow up happy and healthy.

“Sorry, mom, dad.” Jake apologized, turning to both Titus and Sarah.

“It’s okay Jake. Your mom and I both understand.” Smiled Titus assuring, hoping his smile would let Jake know that he wasn’t hurt or offended by his words.

“That’s right sweetie.” Added Sarah who gave Jake a smile of her own.

“To answer your question Jake? Not really. I mean, not just because I still get to see them but because I have another set of parents too and I know, just like my birth parents, my mom and dad want what’s best for me too. And besides, two sets of parents means two sets of siblings. Including Raymond on my birth parents’ side, I’ve got an older sister, an older brother, and another younger brother from my adoptive parents. So, I’m actually pretty happy with my life.” Laurie answered, smiling proudly.

Jake found Laurie’s answer to his question very encouraging. Indeed, he felt the same way. After all, not only did he also have two sets of parents, but he also had two sets of brothers as well and while part of him could never forgive his dad for nearly killing him four years ago, he also realized that his dad had his own demons and that what happened to him in his youth had greatly warped his view of the worlds. While it didn’t make up for what he did, Jake still believed that his dad did have some good in him, however latent it may had been.

The group parted ways with each other, bidding farewell with Laurie and Sarah promising to keep in contact with their new friends and reminding them that if they need any help with taking care of Alan, to not hesitate to ask for their help. Crystal’s family was next to leave with Crystal saying goodbye to her friends, telling them that she’d see them at school. Titus and Lucas’s families watched as the Silvers family got into their car and pulled out of the parking lot. Following shortly behind them was Sarah’s car. As she drove past the two families, she and Laurie waved to them before turning and driving down to the lower level of the garage.

“Well…” Said Lucas as he swung his arms back then clapped his hands together. “I think me and the boys are gonna be heading home too. You sure you’ll be alright with three kids, guys?”

Titus and Sarah looked at each other and nodded back at one another.

“Yeah. I think we’ll be able to manage.” Answered Titus confidently.

“Alright man. Well, we’ll see ya later.” Lucas said as he and his boys prepared to leave.

“See ya Luke.” Titus said.

“Be safe getting home.” Sarah said.

“Always am. Well rather, we always are. Right boys?” Lucas reassured, grinning at his lifelong friends.

“Yep.” Tim answered, looking up and smiling at his dad.

“That’s right.” Sean responded next with a smile of his own.

Titus and Sarah smiled back at Lucas and his sons. As the families prepared to part ways, Lucas stopped and asked the Flamel family to wait a moment. Turning to Lucas, Titus asked Lucas what was up and if everything was okay.

“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to say that you and Sarah have always had big hearts and it’s nice that you’re doing all this for that boy.” Complimented Lucas.

“Oh! Well…thanks, dude.” Titus responded with a hint of surprise to his voice.

“And like the other Sarah said, we’ll help in any way we can. But…if I can give you a word of advice Titus: don’t overdo it man. You’re only one man…er, dragon. You can’t always be there to help everyone.” Lucas said.

“I know. I don’t expect to.” Replied Titus somewhat defensively.

“I understand, Titus. I really do. I’m just saying that you don’t always have to be the protector. Or rather, the lone protector in some circumstances. We can help you. Just like your parents have been trying to help you locate those people Saulstrance captured.” Lucas explained himself.

The mention of the people who were captured by his father sent a jolt through Jake’s heart as his eyes widened. He felt a sudden shortness of breath. This had been a touchy subject for Jake. Ever since he, his father, and his fellow Followers captured their first group of humans, Jake had felt somewhat uneasy about what he was doing. This unease only grew over time as Jake continued to question what it was he was truly trying to accomplish. As the years passed, Jake’s concern for the people that had been captured grew and grew, eating away at him and providing him intense amounts of stress. He wished more than anything that he and his family could find them as soon as possible. When, or, in a worst case scenario, IF they found the missing people, Jake just hoped they’d be able to forgive him, although he knew deep down that more than likely would not happen. If those people were to find out who he really was and what he had done, there was no way he’d get their forgiveness.

As Titus and Lucas’s conversation concluded, the two families parted ways and headed for their cars. On the way home, Jake, who was sitting in the back with Drake stared out the window lost in his thoughts. A sullen expression worn in his face as he leaned his head against the car window. As Titus drove, he took notice of his son’s dull expression. With his focus still on Jake through the rear view mirror, he asked Jake if everything was okay. Jake raised his head and looked towards his adoptive father.

“No.” He answered in a melancholic voice.

“What’s wrong, Jake?” Sarah asked worriedly.

But Jake didn’t answer right away. He sighed and looked down at the car floor as he cupped his hands in his lap.

“Jake, what’s going on? Come on, you can tell us.” Drake urged his brother to tell him and their parents what was wrong.

Jake sighed, deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to let them know how he was feeling. After all, the teenage half-dragon thought, letting his family in would help a lot more than keeping his emotions bottled up.

“See, the thing is…well, what Luke said? About those people who were taken because of…because of me…and the other Followers? It just made me think: do I really deserve all this? To have such a good life with all of you? I mean, those people are either suffering or dying because of me, my dad, and the other Followers. We killed those they cared about and ruined their lives.” Jake confessed his feelings to his adoptive family.

At the moment, Titus, Sarah, and Drake were unsure of what to say. They watched as Jake let his hands lay in his lap, release an elongated sigh, and then continue to pour his feelings out to them.

“Not only that but sometimes, and I never told anyone this for the past four years, but sometimes I feel as though I don’t deserve a family like you, especially with how I treated Drake when we fought at Baker Valley. I wanted to kill him for what happened to Alex and…and…what I felt then is something I’m never going to be able to forget.” Said Jake somberly, feeling intense disappointment and self-loathing.

The family was rendered speechless. None of them had any idea that Jake had been feeling that way. Ever since they had adopted him, Titus and Sarah believed that Jake was growing up happy and proud of who he was. They wished they would have noticed how Jake truly felt sooner or that Jake would have just come to them from the beginning about how he was feeling. They felt that maybe they could have better helped him then.

“Jake…” Titus began. “You DO deserve the life we’ve given you and you DO deserve to be a part of our family. Even if you’ve done bad things, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad person. Good people do end up doing bad things…and sometimes, even bad people can do good things. We all know you’ve got a good heart.” Titus said, smiling reassuringly at his adopted son.

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t like that you wanted to kill me sure, but…I also understand how much Alex meant to you man and…well, I think that if something ever happened to someone I loved, I’d probably feel the same way. You don’t have to keep beating yourself up over what happened Jake. You wanted to kill me but you didn’t. I’m still here and we’re on better terms now, right?” Drake said, also smiling at Jake to let him know everything was okay.

“Also, Jake, sooner or later we WILL find those missing people. Grandma and Grandpa have been spending the last few years trying to find any clues as to their whereabouts. Once we find them, hopefully you and the rest of us will be able to help them rebuild their lives. Until that day comes, don’t try to keep this bottled inside. Let your troubles be our troubles. We’ll help you through them. After all, isn’t that what a family does?” Sarah said, smiling as well.

Jake looked at his adoptive father, mother, and brother who were all smiling warmly at him. This helped to ease Jake’s worries and doubts somewhat. While they still lingered in his mind, he felt extremely grateful to his parents and his brother for their kind words. He thanked them and promised that he would try to be more open with how he felt.

“That’s good to hear Jake. And remember, even if you, your dad, and the others did terrible things, that doesn’t mean you yourself are terrible. It’s like a certain wise someone once told me when I was your age: you are who you are. You are who you want to be.” Said Titus with a knowing smile directed toward Sarah who returned his smile with one of her own.

“Who I want to be…” Jake said to himself as he contemplated his mom’s words.

In the following two weeks, Titus had spent a good majority of his time at a judicial proceeding wherein he provided character reference witnesses in the forms of Drake and Jake. Upon convincing the jury that he could be a suitable guardian, the next part was spent filling out Alan’s paperwork. In the meantime, while Titus was taking care of this, Sarah, Drake, and Jake, when they weren’t with Titus would be busy at home preparing a room for Alan. Because they didn’t have a normal bed to provide him, Sarah went out and purchased a blow-up bed while Drake and Jake brought in an old desk accompanied by a chair for Alan so that he had somewhere to sit and eat. In addition, Sarah also bought a notebook and some pens and pencils for Alan. She believed that if Alan were to document his thoughts in a journal, then maybe, somehow, something would spark a memory and they’d hopefully get one step closer to finding out who Alan actually is.

Finally, with everything taken care of, it was time for Alan to be discharged from the hospital. In the two weeks that the Flamel family had spent preparing everything for Alan, Alan’s state had greatly improved. While still faced with confusion from time to time, he was now able to speak more coherently and was capable of forming full sentences.

After paying for Alan’s hospital bills, Titus, along with Sarah, Drake, and Jake showed Alan to the car. Sarah opened the right back door for Alan as Titus placed a hand on the amnesiac boy’s shoulder.

“Well Alan, you’re going to be staying with us for awhile until we can locate your parents. Is that okay, buddy?” Asked Titus.

At that moment, Alan’s eyes widened. Tensely he bit his lip and he felt his muscles tighten but then, not even a few seconds later, he relaxed. Sarah, who had been standing in front of Alan with her hands rested on top of the door, took notice of the boy’s reaction to what Titus had just said to him. She wondered if perhaps the mention of his parents may have almost triggered something within him. Could he have almost remembered something just then?

As Sarah continued to observe the boy, she suddenly got a strange feeling from him. She wasn’t sure what it was however but for some reason, she felt off as she watched him as if…no, that’s impossible, she thought to herself. It had to have been nothing.

“Okay. Sure.” Alan answered as he turned to face Titus and the rest of his foster family.

Titus smiled at Alan, placing his knuckles on his sides. “Glad to hear it. I promise you Alan, we will take good care of you.”

“Thanks.” Alan said.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes before Sarah’s car. The second it pulled up to the entrance to the emergency room, the back doors of the ambulance burst open and out came the two paramedics. After removing the stretcher that the unconscious boy rested on out of the back, they hurried into the emergency room, one paramedic pushing the stretcher ahead of him while his partner pushed it from the back.

Sarah’s car pulled into the hospital’s parking lot shortly after. As they stepped out, the group noticed the ambulance parked in front of the ER entrance. Seeing that the back doors to the ambulance were still opened, they figured that this had to be the ambulance they called. The seven of them hurried into the ER where they saw the paramedics go into a room carrying the boy in on the same stretcher they used to pick him up at the cemetery. Sarah approached the receptionist desk with Drake, Laurie, Crystal, Jake, Tim, and Sean following behind her.

“Hello. We’re the ones who found that boy the paramedics just brought in.” Sarah said to the receptionist.

“You are? Thank you very much. We can take care of him from here. This could take awhile so you may wish to come back at another time to see him.” Suggested the receptionist as she stood out of her chair.

“We understand. And thank you. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could I please be notified once that boy regains consciousness?” Sarah asked.

“Of course. You can give me your name and number and I’ll be sure to give it to the doctor when I get the chance.”  Said the receptionist, smiling kindly at Sarah.

“Could you also let us know too?” Drake asked, pointing to himself and his friends.

“Of course. I’ll be sure to have the doctor give each of you a call once that boy is awake.” Replied the receptionist.

Everyone recited their phone numbers for the receptionist including their house and cell numbers. Once the receptionist had finished jotting down their numbers, she nodded and reassured each of them once more that they would be contacted once the boy had woken up.

Once outside of the hospital, Sarah announced that she felt like it was time to head home. She asked the five friends if they’d like her to drive each of them home but they assured her and Laurie that they’d be okay and that they would contact their parents and have them pick them up.

“Okay then. It was very nice meeting all of you. Drake, Jake, Sean, Crystal, Tim, you have a good night.” Sarah said, smiling kindly at the five kids.

“Thanks. You have a good night too.” Sean responded, smiling back at her.

Sarah nodded and informed Laurie that she should be getting her home. Laurie agreed but asked Sarah to wait for just a moment.

“Hey Jake? I just wanted to say thanks.” Said Laurie.

“For what?” Jake asked, looking puzzled.

“For telling me about Alex. You really have no idea how relieved I am to know that in the end, he was truly happy. Thanks.” Laurie said, smiling gratefully at Jake.

Jake smiled back. “It’s no problem. I’m real glad I got to meet him.”

“See you around, guys.” Laurie said as she waved to her new friends.

The five friends waved goodbye to Laurie and Sarah as they made their way to the latter’s car. Once they had disappeared from sight, Drake and the others proceeded to contact their parents, letting them know that they were at the hospital and that they needed to be picked up. As if like clockwork, their parents asked them at the same time why they were at the hospital. While still on their phones, Drake, Sean, and Crystal walked a short ways from each other as they explained to their parents what had brought them to the hospital and how they had gotten there.

“Yeah. Tim just found him there. I’m not sure. I don’t think I saw him when we got to the cemetery.” Sean explained to his father.

“Mmm-hmm! The woman at the front desk said that she’d have the doctor give us a call when he woke up.” Said Drake as he spoke with his mom on the phone.

“We got a ride from this woman who knew Jake’s adopted brother and…no, not Drake, Jake’s other brother, Alex. Yeah, he was the other half-dragon.” Crystal explained to her father.

“Yes, dad. You and mom have been telling me that ever since I was little but I had Drake and Jake with me there. If she really wanted to try anything, I think Drake and Jake would have been able to protect us.” Finished Crystal in an exasperated tone.

“Alright. Well, we’ll see you in a bit mom.” Drake said.

“That sounds good. See you soon dad.” Sean finished.

“Okay. Love you dad.” Crystal concluded.

Sean, Crystal, and Drake concluded their calls to their parents and went back to join Jake and Tim who were still standing near the entrance to the ER waiting for them. As the five friends waited for their parents to pick them up, they discussed the boy they found at the cemetery.

“Do you think that guy will be alright?” Asked Tim worriedly as he glanced over to the front doors of the ER.

“I sure hope so, little buddy.” Sean answered his little brother, sounding hopeful but unsure.

“He was in pretty bad shape when we brought him in but I think he should be alright. The doctors will be taking good care of him after all.” Said Drake optimistically, trying to ease Tim’s concerns.

“You know, when he does wake up, we should come pay him a visit. I’m sure that would help him feel better.” Suggested Crystal.

Jake nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I’m sure he’d like to know who it was that found him. And…I’m sure it would make us feel better too knowing for sure he’s okay.”

“Alright then. That’ll be the plan: once he’s awake, we come back here and check up on him.” Said Drake with a smile on his face as he summarized their plan.

With that, the five friends were all in agreement: as soon as they got the word that the boy was better, they would come to visit him as soon as they could.

A short while later, the five kids were picked up by their parents. Lucas was the first to arrive at the hospital then followed by Crystal’s mom and dad and shortly after that, Titus arrived to pick up Drake and Jake.

On the way home, Titus asked his sons about the boy they found. Drake explained that it was Tim who first spotted the kid and that when they approached, they discovered that the boy was unconscious and terribly beaten, blood and swollen bruises covering his body and that he could barely breathe.

“I’m just glad we found him when we did. Who knows how long he was laying there before we found him?” Jake said.

“No kidding. I hope they catch the sick creeps who attacked that poor kid.” Declared Titus in an appalled tone.

Drake placed his hand over his chin in contemplation. He mused over the last part of what Jake had said about that boy, about how long he had been laying under that tree before they had found him. As Drake analyzed the appearance of the boy as he and his friends had found him, he remembered that the blood of the boy was still fresh. This suggested to Drake that whatever had happened to this kid had to have happened rather recently. Possibly just shortly before the five of them had arrived, Drake assumed.

Both Titus and Jake took notice of Drake’s silence and deep, thoughtful gaze. Titus asked his son what he was thinking about, breaking him from his train of thought. Drake proceeded to explain his thoughts to his dad and his adopted brother.

“That is actually a good point Drake. I must have been too shocked by what I saw because I didn’t even consider how fresh his blood still was.” Jake noted as he himself started to think more heavily on the state the kid was in when they found him.

“In that case, whoever attacked him must have fled shortly before you guys arrived at the cemetery. Did you see anyone else when you were there?” Titus asked.

Jake shook his head. “No. The only other people we saw were this girl around our age and a woman who was with her but I don’t think they had anything to do with it. They got to the cemetery a little after we did and they were friends of Alex’s when he was little so I think they can be cleared as suspects.” The half-dragon teen explained.

“Friends of Alex’s?” Titus parroted.

“Yeah. The girl was a friend of his when he was at the orphanage and the woman was one of the sisters who worked there. They tried to look out for him and protect him from bullies but the sister had to leave and the girl became scared of Alex after he beat on another kid for picking on him.” Jake told Titus.

“Huh. In that case, you might be right Jake. Besides, Drake, didn’t you say that you guys got a ride with her to the hospital? If they had done something to that kid, I seriously doubt they’d be so willing to make sure that he got to the hospital.” Contemplated Titus.

“Yeah. I don’t think Sarah and Laurie are bad people. I doubt they would ever do something like that.” Said Jake optimistically.

“Sarah?” Titus noted once more, surprised by the mention of one of Alex’s friends having the same name as his wife.

“Yeah. She was the nun who worked at the orphanage Alex was from.” Explained Jake.

“Hmm…Is that right? Well, if she’s a Sarah, then I’m sure she’s pretty cute. Not as cute as mom of course though.” Titus joked, giving a slight chuckle.

Jake gave a small shrug. “I don’t know, I guess she looked okay.” He responded, having not given much thought on Sarah’s appearance from having met her.

“Yeah. I thought Laurie was cuter. ‘Course, she was closer to our age.” Drake stated.

Jake chuckled at Drake’s statement. “You’re lucky Crystal wasn’t here to hear that. She’d probably kill you if she heard you say you thought another girl was cute.” Jake teased his brother.

“I doubt it. Besides, Crystal and I haven’t been together for at least more than a year anyway.” Drake retorted.

A puzzled look suddenly appeared on Jake’s face. He asked Drake why he and Crystal decided to break up especially since the two of them hadn’t been together for very long. Drake went on to explain that ever since he and Crystal met on their first day of Kindergarten, he’d always had a crush on her. Together with Sean, the three of them ended up becoming the best of friends looking out for one another especially when it came to bullies. Drake, however, having fallen for Crystal, wanted to be more than just friends with her but was always too nervous about asking her out.

By the time eighth grade was underway for them, Drake was at long last able to muster the courage to ask Crystal out. Crystal herself had always had a bit of a crush on Drake as well and was more than excited to give dating Drake a try. Following their first date, however in which they had gone to see a movie, both Drake and Crystal felt as though they just weren’t ready to start dating yet. In addition, both teens agreed that while they did indeed love each other, they both felt that they saw each other more as siblings than as lovers.

“…But, we did also decide that once we’re a little older, if we still wanted to try going out together, we’d give it another try.” Concluded Drake.

Titus smiled, feeling great pride in his son for growing up and making such adult decisions. While he knew how much both Drake and Crystal meant to one another, he was deeply proud of both of them for choosing to take their time and see where things went for the two of them. Even with this feeling of pride, however, deep down, Titus did hope that perhaps Drake and Crystal would be together once they were older. He felt that no other girl was as deserving to be with Drake as Crystal was.

As soon as they arrived home, Titus filled Sarah in on everything he had learned from Drake and Jake. While Sarah felt disgusted and horrified as to what had happened to the boy her sons and their friends found, she was also proud of them for helping the poor kid and seeing to it that he was able to receive the help he needed. She commended Drake and Jake which prompted the two half-dragon teens to smile at each other proudly.

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot to mention.” Exclaimed Drake. “Once he wakes up, me, Jake, Sean, Crystal, and Tim decided that we were going to go back and pay him a visit.” Drake announced his and his friends’ plan to his mom.

“I really think he would like that. I think we should check up on him then as well.” Sarah suggested to Titus.

Titus nodded and smiled. “More the merrier.” He said.

The next four days passed by as normal with no updates from the hospital on the boy’s status. This concerned Titus, Drake, and the others as they had hoped to have heard at most even a minute update as to how he was. They knew with how badly beaten the boy was, he would most likely be out of it for a time but they hadn’t expected it to be almost a whole week.

Another two days had passed with no new news from the hospital. Despite this, Sarah and Laurie had chosen to visit the boy, bringing with them each a set of flowers they had purchased from the hospital’s gift shop. They left them on a table right next to the boy’s bed.

They sat and watched as the boy lay in his bed. His body had the blood cleaned off and his bruises, despite still being rather swollen, were slowly starting to fade. His breathing had also returned to normal. Although they, as well as the nurses and doctors, couldn’t be sure when he would awake, Sarah and Laurie couldn’t help but smile at just how much better he looked. Just six days ago, they had discovered this poor kid with blood and bruises covering his body who could barely manage to breathe. Now, here he was, almost a week later sleeping peacefully as he recuperated.

With little else to do, Sarah and Laurie stayed for only ten more minutes before deciding to leave. Just as they were about to leave the room, they could hear soft yet noticeable groans coming from behind them. When they turned back to the sleeping boy, they were surprised to find that he wasn’t sleeping anymore.  The young boy moaned as slowly, his eyes began to open. Relieved and yet surprised to see that he was starting to come to, Sarah and Laurie hurried out of the room to get the doctors and the nurses.

Less than two hours later, Drake, Sean, and Crystal’s households were contacted by the hospital as promised, informing the kids that the boy they found was awake. Together with their parents, Drake, Jake, Crystal, Sean, and Tim proceeded to the hospital as soon as they could.

The Flamel family entered into an elevator and rode it up to floor seven where the boy’s room was located. With a “DING!”, the elevator opened upon reaching the seventh floor. They made their way to the waiting room where they spotted Crystal, and Sean and Tim’s families.  Crystal spotted the Flamel family coming into the room and waved to them to get their attention. Drake smiled, waving back to her and, with the rest of his family, made their way over to Crystal, her parents, Sean, Tim, and Lucas.

“Hey Luke. Hey Ken and Marci.” Greeted Titus as the parents of his sons’ friends stood up and approached him.

Ken and Marci were the names of Crystal’s parents. Both of her parents were around ten years older than Titus, Sarah, and Lucas. Ken sported hair which was a mix of black on the side with a dark brown adorning the top. In some spots of his hair he was beginning to gray. He wore a thin rim pair of glasses, khaki pants, and a dark black Smashing Pumpkins t shirt. Marci’s hair was also brown, albeit a lighter brown than that of her husband’s. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail and she wore a dark blue pair of jeans, a dark brown jacket, and a plain red shirt underneath.

“How’s it going, Titus?” Lucas asked.

“Well about a week ago, our children found a kid about their age who was badly beaten and since then, we’ve all been pretty worried for that poor kid, hoping that he’ll be alright. Other than that, not much else has changed.” Titus summarized.

“The good news though is that according to the doctor, that boy is awake now.” Crystal’s dad pointed out.

Just as Crystal’s dad was about to speak again, he was interrupted by two police officers who approached the three families, asking for a moment of their time. One of the officers was an older white man who appeared to be in his early to mid fifties. He sported short, shaven hair and a somewhat muscular build. His partner was a younger black man who appeared much younger than his senior officer. He appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties and just like his partner, he had short hair and sported a black goatee as well.

“Of course. Are you ready to speak with our kids now?” Asked Lucas.

Drake tilted his head a little, confused as to what two cops would need to speak to them about. Jake was concerned that perhaps he and the others had done something bad. His body tensed up slightly. Noticing this, Crystal explained to Drake and Jake that they weren’t in any trouble and that the officers only wanted to inquire with them in regards to the kid they had found. At the mention of this, Jake relaxed, his tension quickly fading away.

“If it’s okay, we’d like to speak with the five of you alone if that’s alright.” One of the policemen said.

The five kids looked at one another, then glanced over at their parents. Both sets of parents nodded approvingly, giving their kids and the police the go ahead to begin the interrogation.

Crystal, Sean, and Tim stood up and together with Drake and Jake, followed the officers over to the elevators. They stood off to the side to make sure that they didn’t get in the way of anybody getting on or off the elevator.

“My name is Officer Brian McGuire, and this is my partner, Officer Mitchell Moore. We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions regarding the boy you found.” The officer, now identified as Brian McGuire explained.

“Before we tell you what we know, how is he, sir?” Asked Crystal worriedly.

“Aside from a few bruises which still haven’t fully gone away yet, he should be just fine. Well, actually, that’s not the only thing.” Answered Officer McGuire in a troubled voice.

“Not the only thing?” Drake repeated, trying to understand what the officer meant.

“See before we spoke to you five, we talked with the kid but…well, we couldn’t get any information from him.Nothing about his attacker or attackers, not his name, age, address, family, anything. Poor kid can’t remember a single thing about himself.” Explained Officer Moore.

“So, in that regard, we were hoping we would be able to get your side of the story since the seven of you were the ones who found him. The other two should be joining us shortly.” Said Officer McGuire.

“The other two? I didn’t know Sarah and Laurie were here.” Jake said, surprised and happy to hear that they were at the hospital as well.

“Yes. They said that while we waited, they wanted to pick up a gift for the kid to celebrate his waking up. I’d imagine they should be getting back, right. A-bout. Now.” Officer McGuire said expectantly.

As if just on cue, the elevator door closest to them opened and Sarah and Laurie emerged. Sarah carried another set of flowers and Laurie held in her hand a bag from the gift shop which contained a dinosaur plushie. Her thinking was that even though flowers were a nice gift, she wanted to give him something that would last him and present him with a gift she was sure he would love. After all, Laurie figured, who didn’t love dinosaurs? Especially plush ones.

“Sorry about the wait, we’re here.” Laughed Sarah nervously.

“It’s fine.” Officer McGuire smiled. “We were just about to begin.”

“Sure. We’re ready when you are.” Said Sarah as she and Laurie walked over to where the five kids were standing.

The police began their interview by first asking Sarah and the kids to give them their name, age, and occupation.

“Sarah Warner. 42 years old. Current owner of A Piece of Home Orphanage.” Said Sarah.

“Laurie Strong. 18 years old. Senior at North Valley High School.” Laurie said next.

“Crystal Silvers. 15 years old. Freshman at Ocean Clear High School.” Said Crystal following Laurie.

“Drake Flamel. I’m 15 and a freshman at Ocean Clear High School.” Drake answered.

“Jake Flamel. I’m also 15 and a freshman. Same school and grade.” Jake said, giving the abridged version of his answer as he felt that saying the same sentence as Drake and Crystal would be redundant.

The officers paused for a moment, perplexed that not only did these two boys have the same last name but that their first names also sounded so similar to each other.

“Drake and…Jake huh? Your parents seem to have an interesting naming convention.” Noted Officer McGuire.

“Well actually, I was adopted by Drake’s family. Also, my full name is actually Jakol.” Jake corrected the officer.

The two officers paused once more. Officer Moore asked Jake about his full name, suggesting that it sounded somewhat Australian. Just as Jake was about to say something in regards to the officer’s statement, he paused. He figured that he might as well just tell the officer that he wasn’t sure if it was meant to be Australian or not. What else could he say? That his birth parents gave him a dragon name? Jakol was already a pretty weird sounding name but at least it sounding foreign had more plausibility than it being a name from a world inhabited by dragons. So Jake went along with his idea and simply told the officer that he wasn’t sure where his parents got the name.

“Huh. Is that right? Well, anyway, we should get back to the interview. Sorry for going off topic, sir.” Officer Moore apologized to his superior.

“It’s fine. Now then, would you two boys please give us your names?” Asked Officer McGuire, gesturing to Sean and Tim.

“Of course. I’m Sean Lloyd. 15 and a freshman at Ocean Clear.” Said Sean.

“And I’m Tim Lloyd. I’m 9 and in 3rd grade over at Elwood Elementary.” Tim concluded the introductions.

Officer McGuire finished writing down everyone’s information. Once he had finished jotting down Tim’s, he began the interrogation. He explained that for the interrogation, he would be speaking with each of them separately in a vacant room prepared for them by the nurses. McGuire asked Sarah if she wouldn’t mind being the first to speak with him to which Sarah obliged. With that, McGuire asked his partner to wait and stay with the others.

“Of course, sir. In the meantime, we’ll wait with your families until Officer McGuire asks for you.” Instructed Officer Moore.

Drake, Jake, Sean, Crystal, Tim, and Laurie did as they were told and went back to wait in the waiting room with their friends and family. In the meantime, Sarah followed the officers into the specified room. Officer McGuire pulled a seat up for Sarah and then one more for himself. Gesturing towards the chair nearest the wall, Sarah thanked the officer and took a seat as did McGuire who sat across from her. He pulled out a journal and a pencil and proceeded along with the interview.

“Now Sarah, to start, I’d like to first ask what you were doing at the cemetery the day you found that boy.” Officer McGuire inquired, resting the lead of his pencil against his journal’s paper, ready to jot down anything Sarah had to say.

“Both Laurie and myself had gone to pay a visit to one of the orphans who used to live at the orphanage I run now. Unfortunately, he had passed away four years ago.” Explained Sarah, a saddened expression suddenly appearing on her face at the mention of Alex’s passing.

“Oh…I’m…sorry to hear that.” Said Officer McGuire empathetically.

Sarah passed McGuire an understanding nod. “Alex…he had been through a lot in his life. When he was just four years old, his father killed his mom and then himself right in front of Alex.” Sarah continued to explain.

“My God…” Uttered Officer McGuire breathlessly and horrified. With how long he had been a cop and with how many cases he had taken which had similar circumstances, it never got any easier for him to deal with.

“Yeah…and then when he was sent to A Piece of Home, the other children picked on him ruthlessly. The only other child at the orphanage who gave him a chance was Laurie. It was sweet. The two of them were always together and Laurie always stood up for Alex when the other kids tormented him. I tried to protect him too. Although I was supposed to tend to all the children, I tended to Alex the most. I didn’t like the way those children treated him and I wanted that poor kid to know that there were those at the orphanage who were looking out for him and did love him.” Sarah finished.

“It sounds like you really loved that boy.” Stated the officer.

Sarah nodded again. “I did. I wish I could have brought him and Laurie with me when I left the orphanage but…at the time I had to take care of my mom who had become sick and I wouldn’t be able to take care of her and raise two four year olds at the same time. At the time, I didn’t have enough money to adopt them beside.”  Said Sarah guiltily. Despite knowing that there was nothing she could do for either of them, she still felt ashamed for not being able to Alex when he truly needed it.

“I see.” Was all Officer McGuire said.

With that, Sarah apologized for veering off topic to which the officer assured her that it was fine. They continued with the interrogation.

“Anyway, back on topic. Ever since Laurie was adopted, the two of us have kept in contact and I’ve become pretty close with her adoptive family. Every now and then the two of us get together to come and visit Alex. On the day that we found that boy, that was also when we met Jake, Alex’s adoptive brother and his friends.” Sarah said.

“So, you never met those kids until then?” Officer McGuire asked.

Sarah shook her head, then continued. She went on to explain that after she and Laurie met up with Jake and the others and paid their respects to Alex, just as they were leaving was when they spotted the unconscious boy. McGuire asked if they had seen him as they were coming into the cemetery. She tried to recall if he had been there before they got there but Sarah wasn’t sure.

The interrogation continued for some time until eventually, Sarah returned to the waiting room accompanied by Officer McGuire. The second person McGuire asked to speak with was Sean. Together, the two made their way to the room where the officer had spoken with Sarah.

Sean sat in the same seat that Sarah had sat in as Officer McGuire sat back down in his chair. He turned to a fresh page in his journal and asked Sean the same questions he had asked Sarah.

“After we had picked up my little brother from school, me and my friends decided to go visit Alex at the cemetery at Jake’s request. When we got there, we met Sarah and Laurie and went to see Alex together.” Sean explained.

“Okay.” Said McGuire as he wrote down what Sean had told him. Once finished, he asked Sean to continue.

“As we were coming back, Tim noticed something lying under a tree. I asked him what it was and he pointed over to the tree he was looking at. We went over to it and that was where we saw that kid.” Sean concluded.

McGuire wrote down what he had been told in his notebook. Once finished, he asked Sean if he could determine how long he believed the boy had been there. Sean mulled over this for a moment. He remembered the freshness of the blood that he was covered in as well as the bruises on his body which had appeared to be caused rather recently at the time. With these factors in mind, Sean determined that he was probably there for at most, five to ten minutes.

“And you’re sure you hadn’t seen him beforehand?” McGuire asked.

“I’m absolutely sure of that.” Answered Sean confidently.

“Did you or your brother see anyone…perhaps carry him into the cemetery or perhaps see the boy wander in and then collapse by the tree?” McGuire suggested.

But Sean was still one hundred percent sure in his answer. Although it had rained rather hard that day, he was still certain that he didn’t see anyone with the boy or the boy himself come into the cemetery.

The next person to speak with Officer McGuire was Tim, followed by Crystal, then Laurie, then Drake, and finally Jake. It had taken nearly two hours by the time McGuire had finished speaking with all of them. With all their testimonies gathered, he reviewed the information that they had given him. Their stories were all similar to each other which made him certain that they weren’t lying to him. This had also been why he had Officer Moore stay in the lobby with them just to make sure they didn’t try to come up with a false narrative.

“Well, after reviewing the information you all provided, it seems like everything checks out.” Said Officer McGuire somewhat uncertainly.

“Wait a minute. You don’t think we did that to that poor boy, do you?” Sarah asked in a panicked tone.

“No, of course not. Besides, Mrs. Warner, you said you run an orphanage. Now I take pride in my ability to read people and I can tell you’re not a bad person. There are horrible caretakers out there but I don’t see you as being one of them.” Said the officer with a kind smile.

Sarah smiled and blushed, flattered by the officer’s depiction of her.

“It’s just this whole thing seems rather strange. None of you believe you saw that boy when you were making your way to your friend’s grave. You also say that you don’t recall seeing anyone bringing him into the cemetery. I’m not saying I suspect any of you but this just seems a little strange. It feels like there’s something missing.” Officer McGuire said thoughtfully.

“Well, the cemetery is located in a neighborhood. Couldn’t it stand to reason that whoever beat that boy up did so somewhere close by and then left him to wander around disoriented?” Sarah suggested.

“We do consider that a strong possibility. Which is why tomorrow we’ll be asking around the neighborhood the cemetery is located in. We have a photo of the boy with us so hopefully if we speak to enough people, one of them should be able to tell us who he is and hopefully point us in the direction of his attackers.” Explained Officer Moore as he reached into the left pocket on his shirt and pulled out a photo of the boy they had taken prior to his waking.

With one last thank you to the seven of them, the police officers bid them good day and made their departure, leaving Sarah, Drake, Jake, Laurie, Sean, Crystal, and Tim by themselves in the waiting room. While they had been speaking to the cops, their families had gone in to the boy’s room to see him. A nurse had come by to see if they were ready. She informed them that if they were done speaking to the police, she could lead them to the boy’s room.

“Should we go check on him?” Crystal asked the others.

Drake nodded. “Let’s go see how he is.”

The seven of them stood up and proceeded to follow the nurse in the direction of the room they had the kid staying in.

“I already asked your families of this but while you’re in there, please refrain from asking him any personal questions.” The nurse informed the group.

“We know. The officers told us. He’s got amnesia, right?” Jake asked.

“According to the doctors, that seems to be the case. Since he woke up, we haven’t been able to get anything from him. In fact, he has barely even uttered a peep since.” The nurse confirmed.

Tim and Sean made their way to their father’s Ford Focus. Thanks to Eig’nia, Lucas’s old car was blown up during the battle against Saulstrance and his Followers. Several days after Lucas and the others returned home, Lucas contacted his insurance company and with their help, he was able to pay for a brand new Ford Focus.

With how much room Lucas’s new car had, Lucas offered to Titus, Sarah, and Crystal’s parents to drive Drake, Jake, and Crystal to and from school should they ever need it. Grateful to Lucas’s offer but not wanting him to burn up so much gas, Crystal’s parents as well as Titus and Sarah offered instead to switch up who would take their children to school. On one day it would be Lucas while on another day it would be either Crystal’s mom or dad, and then on the next day, it would be either Titus or Sarah. Liking this plan, Lucas agreed with his son’s friends’ parents.

Sean sat up front, placing his backpack right in between his feet while Tim sat in the back, his arms wrapped around his backpack as he held it tightly against his chest. Lucas took his place in the driver’s seat. After inserting his key into the ignition, Lucas pulled out of the driveway and drove in the direction of Titus’s house.

Drake and Jake stood by the sidewalk right outside their house. Jake turned his attention to the right of the road and leaned forward slightly, checking to see if Lucas was coming. Two cars passed the boys by but neither of them belonged to Lucas. Neither Drake nor Jake had to wait too much longer as just a few minutes later, Lucas’s car pulled into the driveway. They hurried over to the car and got in, setting their bags on the floor.

“Morning Drake. Morning Jake.” Lucas greeted as he pulled out of the driveway.

“Hey Uncle Lucas.” Drake greeted back.

“How are you two doing today?” Asked Lucas.

“Tired.” Answered Jake with a yawn.

“I hear ya, Jake.” Lucas responded with a yawn of his own following. “Oh, don’t do that Jake. You’re making me yawn now.”

Lucas’s car made its way down the street. The next destination was Drake, Jake, Sean, and Crystal’s old elementary school, Elwood Elementary. Since Crystal’s house was close to the grade school, this made it easy for Lucas to kill two birds with one stone as he would be able to drop Tim off and then he could just pick Crystal up right in front of the school instead of having to drive to her house.

As the car continued along to its destination, Drake asked Tim if Ms. Thermacker was still having him come in to tell the older kids the story of how they beat Saulstrance and saved the world. Since Drake and his friends graduated from grade school, their old fifth grade teacher, Ms. Thermacker would have Tim come to her class sometimes to tell her students about how Tim and his friends and family set off to stop the ones responsible for destroying the mall.

The day after returning home, before Tim had started going to school, Ms. Thermacker asked Drake, Jake, Crystal, and Sean to tell the class everything that happened during their journey. Neither she nor her students had ever heard anything like it. The tale Drake and the others recalled would have been too fantastical for them to believe if not for Drake himself. Since Drake’s teacher as well as his classmates had witnessed him change into a half-dragon firsthand, they knew that this wasn’t just a made up story by four young kids.

The hardest part of the story would always be the end. It was hardest for Sean and Crystal to tell since they very nearly lost their best friend that day, it was hard for Drake since he would have ended up as the world’s only surviving half-dragon if not for the incredible kindness exhibited by his dad, and it was difficult for Jake since he lost his dad.

The first time Drake and the others told their story, Jake feared that his classmates and possibly even his teacher would either come to fear or hate him since his dad was the one responsible for the attack on the mall as well as the deaths and captures of numerous humans. The reaction he received instead was one he could never have expected: his classmates and teacher showed him compassion and understanding. They held no ill will towards Jake, they weren’t afraid of him. If anything, they felt sorry for him for losing his father. Just like Drake’s father, Ms. Thermacker and her class understood that just because Jake’s father may have done some bad things, that didn’t mean that Jake himself was a bad person. Although they had only gotten to spend a short time with Jake before he, Saulstrance, and the rest of the Followers left for Death Valley, in that short time, they had gotten to see that Jake wasn’t mean or evil and thus were more than willing to welcome Jake back with open arms.

“Yep! It’s always really fun getting to tell that story.” Beamed Tim as he nodded excitedly.

“Do you think any of the fifth graders believe it though? I mean, Drake, you and dad were on TV so I’m sure most of California, if not most of the country saw the news report back then but…even then there are those people who don’t believe what the news showed them.” Jake inquired thoughtfully.

“Yeah, I…I don’t know.” Responded Drake with a shrug of his shoulders.

After several more blocks, Lucas came upon Elwood Elementary. There by the playground equipment stood Crystal. Behind her there were a rather large group of kids playing on the jungle gym, waiting for the day to start for them. She waved to the car as it stopped right beside her. The back car door opened and out from it came Tim.

“Hey Crystal.” Tim greeted Crystal with a wide smile on his face.

“Morning kid. You have a good day Tim.” Crystal smiled back at the younger kid.

“You too Crystal!” Tim said as he hurried past Crystal as he noticed his friends standing by the building talking amongst each other.

Crystal took her seat in the same spot that Tim had been sitting in. She sat her book bag on the ground next to her friends’.

Before taking off, Lucas looked out the window that Sean was seated next to. He watched as Tim approached two girls and two boys who were the same age as him. Lucas immediately recognized the girls as Rick’s daughters, Samantha and Elisa. When Tim began his first day of school, Lucas and Rick learned that their children would be going to the same school together. The three of them became fast friends and then a year later, Tim met two boys in his first grade class, one of whom was a new student just starting over at Elwood whose name was Sawyer. The other boy, named Wyatt had befriended Sawyer and through him became friends with Tim as well as Samantha and her twin sister Elisa.

Lucas smiled. It always made him feel good to see his sons together with their friends. With Tim having been dropped off and Crystal picked up, Lucas drove some way down the street, pulled into the driveway of the house that Jake once called home, and pulled out, driving away in the opposite direction.

Following Jake’s adoption by Titus and Sarah, his old house was put up for sale. While Jake hated to leave behind his old home, he also realized that 1. He was much too young to be able to take care of a house all by himself let alone live on his own and 2. Titus and Sarah would have no way of being able to pay for both their house and Jake’s. The day after returning home from Baker Valley, Titus and Sarah got to work right away on helping Jake clear his, Saulstrance’s, and Alex’s belongings from the house, many of which had been stored away in boxes while other things such as Jake’s consoles and lava lamp as well as Alex’s drawing that Jericho made for him and Saulstrance’s, or rather Tourajé’s sword Jake kept in his room, the latter two which he saw as mementos of his deceased father and adopted brother both of whom he thought of just about every day.

Lucas drove in the direction of his son’s and his friends’ school. Along the way, Crystal asked her friends if they had finished their homework.

“Mmm-hmm!” Drake nodded as he pulled his backpack up from between his legs and patted the front of it. “It took me a while but I was finally able to finish it last night. With Jake’s help of course.”

“Well maybe with the math portion but you helped me a lot on my English homework.” Said Jake, smiling at his adoptive brother.

Drake beamed back at Jake. “Well, math was never my forte but I’ve always done pretty well when it came to English.” The teenage half-dragon stated.

“What about you Sean? Did you get your homework done?” Asked Crystal.

“Uh huh. It took me a little bit to get everything taken care of too but with my dad’s help, I think it should be alright.” Sean answered.

“Well I’m glad I could help you Sean but I have to say that trying to help you and your brother with your homework and his at the same time sure isn’t easy. It can be pretty hard just to keep track of who’s working on what. Especially when both of you have a lot of homework that needs to be finished.” Stated Lucas.

Sean sighed, feeling a little troubled. “I know dad. It’s just that lately Tim hasn’t been asking me to help him with his homework. I don’t understand why. Maybe he thinks that now that I’m in high school, I don’t have time to help him with anything.” The teenager theorized.

Crystal, Drake, and Jake shot a glance at each other. They had a feeling there was more to it than Tim just believing his big brother was busy. They recalled last Saturday at the park with how Sean was acting more like a parent to Tim than a brother, scolding Tim not to eat so fast or to run slower so that he didn’t make himself sick after eating. While the three understood that Sean only wanted to look out for his younger sibling, they were also sure that Tim wasn’t too happy with how overprotective Sean could be. The three teens believed that Tim more than likely just wanted Sean to lay off him a little and to stop being so overbearing.

A short time afterward, Lucas drove his car up to the front of Drake, Jake, Sean, and Crystal’s high school, Ocean Clear High School. The four friends grabbed their bags, thanked Sean’s dad for driving them, and made their way into school. The hallway was full of kids, many of whom were at their lockers either putting their belongings away or acquiring the materials they needed for their first classes of the day while the other students were hurriedly making their way to their first class.

It was at this point that Drake and his friends bid their goodbyes to each other, letting one another know that they’d hang out during lunch just as they always did. With that, Drake headed for his locker with Sean, Crystal, and Jake making their lockers their first stops as well. Once they had finished putting away the belongings they didn’t need for their first class, Drake headed to his first class for the day which was history while Sean made his way to his first class, art, and Jake and Crystal walked together to their science class which was in the lowest level of the school.

Four classes later, the lunch bell rang, letting the first wave of students know that it was time for them to acquire food. At Ocean Clear High School, there were two different lunch periods. The first one began at 11:45 and went until 12:20. The second lunch period would then begin shortly after with that one starting at 12:35 and ending at 1:00. Drake, Jake, Sean, and Crystal had the first lunch, something which made all four of them happy since, during their first semester of ninth grade, Sean ended up being separated from his friends as he was given the first lunch period and Drake, Jake, and Crystal had the second. While Sean didn’t mind this too much as he, like his friends did have other friends from school who had the same lunch period as him, he still wished he could have gotten to eat with his best friends. By the time the second semester came and Sean learned he would finally be getting to eat with Drake, Jake, and Crystal, the teenaged boy was overjoyed. Drake and the others showed Sean to the table they had been eating at the previous semester and since then, the four friends ate lunch together every day.

After getting their food, the four teenagers walked together to their usual spot and sat down. Drake and Sean sat next to each other while Jake and Crystal sat across from them. Shortly after the four of them had each taken their first bite of their lunch, Crystal had a question for Drake and Jake.

“So guys, there’s something I’ve been wondering about for a pretty long time.” Announced Crystal as she finished taking a drink of her soda.

“What were you thinking about Crystal?” Drake asked as he reached for his taco wrap and proceeded to take a bite.

“Well, Drake, we know that when you’re in your half-dragon form, your claws are able to absorb elements like water or fire, right?” Crystal began with her question. Drake sat his taco wrap down on his tray. He flashed a confused look at Crystal and then held the back of his hand up to his face as he examined his fingernails.

“Right…” Drake answered in an unsure tone, not understanding where Crystal was going with her question.

“And Jake, you can manipulate elements.” Crystal stated.

“Uh huh…” Jake also wasn’t sure what point Crystal was trying to make.

“Well, I’ve been wondering if you two might be able to manipulate the weather. Say for instance if it were to rain then maybe Drake could use his claws to absorb some of the rain or perhaps Jake could control some of the rain and you could keep yourself from getting wet.” Crystal suggested. Drake and Jake looked at each other. Neither of them were sure how to answer since the thought of being able to control the weather never crossed their minds before. Both Drake and Jake, however were certain that such a feat wasn’t something they could do.

“Umm, Crystal, I don’t think we could do something like that. I mean, we’re half-dragons, we’re not gods.” Said Jake in a slightly unsure tone.

“Well it is supposed to rain a little after school. Why don’t we see if we can do it on the way home?” Drake suggested, taking a drink of soda.

“Yeah. I wanna see myself if you two can do such a thing. I mean, I kind of doubt it myself but it would be cool to see if it could be done.” Sean agreed with Drake’s suggestion.

With the interests of their friends, as well as their own intrigue peaked, the four teenagers agreed to give what they called “Operation Weather Control” a go. They just hoped that it wouldn’t start raining before school let out for them.

“So long as we’re going to be commencing Operation Weather Control, I was wondering if maybe you guys wanted to go visit Alex after school with me.  I was planning to go visit him before we went home but I think he’d like it if we all went.” Said Jake.

“I wouldn’t mind going to see Alex.” Said Sean as he finished taking a drink of his chocolate milk.

“It’s been a little bit since I last paid a visit to his grave. I think you’re right Jake. I think he would like it if we all visited.” Crystal said, giving a kind smile to her friend.

“You already know my answer Jake.” Said Drake, flashing a smile of his own at his adopted brother.

Jake smiled back at his friends, thanking them for being such good friends to him and to Alex.

Before anything could be set in stone however, Sean quickly made mention that if they were going to go see Alex that he’d first need to make a stop over at Elwood so that he could pick up Tim.

Crystal was somewhat surprised as she had thought that Lucas would be picking them up from school. When she mentioned this to Sean, Sean informed her that his dad had to work a little later today so he wouldn’t be able to pick them up from school.

“Is this okay, Jake?” Sean asked.

Jake shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”

Sean smiled at his friend. “Thanks dude.”

Jake nodded and smiled back at Sean.

The rest of the school day went as normal for the four teens. Come 2:40, the bell rang signaling the end of the day. Jake grabbed his things from his locker and waited outside by the front doors of the school. He eyed the doors as he waited for his friends to come through them. Since his last class was closer to his locker than the others’, Jake knew that it would probably take them a little while to collect their belongings. He just hoped that it wouldn’t take them too long. Dozens of kids continued to pour out from the school doors but none of them were Drake, Crystal, or Sean. Jake sighed, becoming somewhat impatient. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was 2:49. While it hadn’t been that long, he was also sure that by this point, one of them would have finished up by now. He was about to call Drake’s number when suddenly he was startled by a tapping on his shoulder. With a loud “Geez!”, Jake swung around to find Drake, Crystal, and Sean standing behind him.

“Whoa! Sorry Jake, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Said Drake who was just as surprised by Jake’s response as Jake was to his being poked.

Jake took a deep sigh. “It’s alright. That was just…pretty unexpected that’s all. Anyway, you guys ready?”

“Mmm-hmm!” Said Drake with a nod.

“I’m good to go.” Sean responded.

“I’m ready. Let’s get going.” Answered Crystal.

The four friends departed from school. Their first stop was their old elementary school to pick up Tim. Their school was about half an hour to forty-five minutes away from Elwood so by the time they arrived, they either wouldn’t have to wait too long or Tim would have just been getting out. Dark rain clouds were slowly forming overhead as the temperature dropped somewhat. As Drake, Jake, Sean, and Crystal continued along their way, they would periodically look up into the sky to see if any raindrops were starting to fall. As they got closer to their old grade school, they noticed that not a single drop of rain had fallen. They hoped that the rain wouldn’t pass over them. This was one of the very few times of year where they actually got rain and Sean and Crystal especially were interested in finding out if Drake and Jake could use their powers on the weather.

After walking for almost an hour, they came up to Elwood Elementary School. Cars and school busses were parked close to the building while others filled the parking lot and several parents and older siblings waited near the front of the school to collect their children or younger siblings. Just as they approached the school, the bell rang.

“Good timing.” Crystal stated.

“No kidding.” Sean chuckled a little.

Suddenly, waves of younger kids came bursting through the doors. They spread out in different directions, some of the children running for their parents’ cars while others ran up to their parents and/or brothers and sisters who were waiting to pick them up. Some of the kids also ran for the playground equipment, wishing to get some last minute recess in before returning home.

Sean, along with his friends, kept an eye out for Tim, making sure they didn’t miss him in case he couldn’t find them right away. It was hard for them to keep an eye out for the younger kid with all the children who were still pouring out of the school doors.

Eyeing the school doors carefully, Sean spotted another group of kids exiting the building, amongst them was Tim. He was accompanied by his friends Samantha, Elisa, Wyatt, and Sawyer. Sawyer and Wyatt bid farewell to Tim, Samantha, and Elisa as the two boys ran for a nearby bus which was parked close to the flagpole at the front of the school.  Tim and the twin girls headed in the opposite direction towards the parking lot. Sean wondered where Tim and the girls were going. Their dad told both of them that he would be working a little later than usual and that Sean would be picking him up by the jungle gym so Sean wondered why Tim was going past where they were supposed to meet up. He tried to call his brother’s name but the chatter from the kids and their families drowned his voice out. Sean hurried after Tim with his friends following behind him.

Stopping in between two other cars, Sean, Crystal, Jake, and Drake watched as Tim and his friends stopped in front of a dark brown car. From the front window, they could see that the people inside of this car were Rick and his wife. Rick’s wife sat in the driver’s seat while he sat upfront in the passenger’s seat. During the battle against Saulstrance and his Followers, Rikai, who was one of Saulstrance’s Five Apprentices, had badly burned Rick’s legs as well as the lower half of his back. As a result of this, Rick had lost the use of his legs and had been confined to a wheelchair for the past four years. Originally, Rikai had intended his fire to be used on Sarah but thanks to Rick’s sacrifice, Sarah was barely able to escape being burned alive.

With Tim’s back turned to his brother and his friends, an idea suddenly formed in Sean’s mind: he was going to prank Tim. Slowly, he approached his brother. He noticed Rick’s family catch sight of him and put his finger up to his mouth letting them know that he didn’t want them to give him away to Tim. As he got behind his brother, he tapped him on the shoulder, startling his younger sibling who let out a small gasp as he jumped and spun around to see who it was that was behind him.

“Oh, hey Sean. You scared me.” Gasped Tim as he took some deep breaths to try and calm himself.

Sean chuckled, ruffling his little brother’s hair. “Sorry, lil’ buddy, I just couldn’t resist.”

“Hey Uncle Rick, Aunt Becky. Hey Sammy and Ellie.” Drake smiled, greeting Rick and his family.

“Hey guys. Did you just get out too?” Rick asked.

“About an hour ago. We’re just here to pick up Tim then we’re going to go to the cemetery.” Explained Sean.

“Go see Alex?” Rick asked.

Jake nodded.

“Is that okay Tim? You can come with us if you want.” Sean asked his brother.

“Yeah, I’ll come.” Answered Tim.

“Well, trust me guys, I’d give you all a lift if you wanted. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’d be able to fit all of you in.” Rick said, nodding towards his back seat which only had enough room for about two to three people.

“It’s okay. The cemetery’s a way’s away but we’ll make it. We can just take the light rail train.” Said Crystal.

Tim groaned in annoyance. If it was going to be as crowded as it was last time, then Tim wasn’t looking forward to having to ride the train again. If they really were going to have to take the train, Tim thought to himself, then he hoped that at least it wouldn’t be jam packed with people again.

“Well if that’s your plan, then we’ll leave you to it. In the meantime, the four of us have some errands to take care of before we head home. See you Drake, Jake, Crystal, Sean, and Tim.” Said Rick, bidding goodbye to his nephews and their friends.

“See you later, guys.” Becky smiled, waving goodbye to Drake and the others.

“See you tomorrow Tim.” Sammy said.

“Bye.” Tim said, waving to the twins.

Samantha and Elisa hopped into the backseat of their mom’s car. Once they were buckled in, Becky backed out of the parking space and drove out of the parking lot, leaving the five kids to their own devices.

Shortly following Rick and his family’s departure from the school, the five kids soon followed. They made their way down the street towards the nearest light rail station which was about thirty minutes away from the grade school.

Along the way, Sean asked his little brother if he wanted to see something cool. This caught Tim’s interest as he wondered what the cool thing was that his big brother wanted to show him. When he asked Sean what it was, Sean explained to his little brother that they were going to try an experiment to see if it was possible for Drake and Jake to manipulate the weather in anyway.

“Whoa! Really?! You think you’ll be able to do it?” Tim asked excitedly but still slightly skeptical. Despite being only nine years old, even Tim knew there was no realistic way that anybody, even two half-dragons like his friends could do something like control the weather.

Drake and Jake shrugged. They weren’t so sure themselves. As they had said before, despite having their incredible powers, they weren’t gods. Even Drake and Jake knew that their abilities had their limits and that being able to manipulate the weather would probably mean that they were rather overpowered.

Despite these thoughts however, they thought it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot. They, like their friends, just wished that the rain would commence soon. With how dark the clouds were getting, Drake and the others were surprised that it hadn’t even so much as begun drizzling. They had to wonder if maybe the weather knew of their plan and was trying to hold off for as long as possible on the rain just to taunt them.

Upon arriving at the station, the five friends took a seat and waited for the light rail train to arrive. While they waited, they watched the lingering clouds above them as full as ever yet still refusing to provide even a light shower. For a moment, the sound of thunder rumbled throughout the sky. The five kids thought that if it was beginning to thunder then maybe it would start to rain soon. They just hoped that the rain wouldn’t start coming down too hard while they were on the train.

About ten minutes passed and the train eventually pulled into the station. Several people exited the cabins. Drake, Jake, Tim, Sean, and Crystal squeezed past the group of people going past them and took their seats with Drake, Jake, and Crystal sitting together in one row while Sean and Tim sat in the row across from them. To their relief, especially Tim’s, the cabin was almost completely empty save for them and just three other people which ended up becoming five other people as two more boarded just a little after they had.

The doors to the cabin closed and the train departed from the station, beginning its journey to the next station. From inside the train, Drake and the others could hear the sound of the thunder once again only this time, it sounded somewhat louder. They figured that the rain must be coming soon. If this was the case, they hoped that it wouldn’t start before they got out. The cemetery was a bit farther away from their houses than Thelway Park was. It would take them two more stops before they arrived at their destination. When at last they finally did arrive, it was still a five block walk for them before they made it to the cemetery.

As the train came to a screeching stop, Drake, Crystal, Sean, Jake, and Tim stood up and left. They promptly made their way down the road that the cemetery was on. They passed through two neighborhoods which contained a group of apartments on the first block as well as some houses for the same block and then the block after that. At the third block, the area became slightly busier as more businesses, namely restaurants and a single bar along with a daycare center occupied the area. This quickly changed as by the fourth block, the five kids found themselves walking through another neighborhood until finally coming across one final neighborhood. It was in this neighborhood in which the cemetery where Alex was buried was located. The cemetery was right across the street from a row of houses and was large enough that it encompassed almost the majority of the neighborhood.

Drake, Jake, Sean, Crystal, and Tim crossed the street and walked around the corner to where the entrance to the cemetery was. Along the way, they could feel several raindrops pelt them. Looking up into the sky, they noticed that it was beginning to rain.

“Finally.” Sighed Sean.

“Well, Drake and Jake, you guys going to try it?” Crystal asked.

Drake looked over at Jake. The two of them shook their heads.

“Not just yet. Let’s wait until it starts to come down harder. And when we’re in a spot where there aren’t a lot of people around.” Suggested Drake.

“Okay. That sounds like a good idea.” Crystal agreed.

The five friends continued into the cemetery. On their way to Alex’s grave, they felt the temperature start to drop and the rain begin to pick up as well as the loud rumbling of thunder overhead. They were sure that at any moment, it would start to pour.

As they continued a little further along, their hunch was proven right as slowly but surely, the rain began to come down a little harder and the thunder grew a bit louder. Although the rain was picking up, Drake and Jake still chose to hold off on trying their powers out on the rain until it picked up just a little more.

Eventually, Drake, Jake, Crystal, Sean, and Tim made it to where Alex was buried. By that point, the rain was now coming down at a much faster pace. Thunder boomed loudly in the sky as the five friends looked up. Drake and Jake turned to each other, nodded knowingly, and transformed into their half-dragon forms. Drake was the first of the half-dragons to try. He raised his hand into the sky, concentrated as his fingernails grew thicker, forming into claws and his scales covered his arms and ended at his shoulder blades. He could feel the raindrops pelting his claws and although he couldn’t tell, Drake was sure that his claws were absorbing them.

After about five minutes, Drake was sure that he had gotten at least a somewhat sufficient amount of rainwater absorbed into his body. He lowered his hand and turned to Sean. A devilish grin on his face, he began to raise a clawed finger. Sean, however, knew right away what Drake was planning. “Don’t even think about it Drake.” Warned Sean, sounding annoyed at Drake for even thinking about spraying him in the face yet again.

“Come on Sean.” Laughed Drake. “It might feel pretty refreshing.” The half-dragon boy teased.

“Then spray yourself dude! If I was a half-dragon and I had your powers, I wouldn’t keep spraying you in the face with water.” Sean protested.

“Yeah you would.” Drake said knowingly, smirking. He knew Sean better than that and he knew that Sean was every bit of a prankster as he was.

“Eh…point proven.” Sean yielded, his tone quickly changing.

Crystal, Jake, and Tim smiled at the two boys, snickering to themselves as they listened to their friends bicker. Drake and Sean took notice of this, grinned at their friends, and laughed along with them.

Drake held out his index finger and aimed it into the sky. An extremely minute stream of water expelled from Drake’s claws, flying several feet into the air before dropping to the ground.

“Well…I guess I can…kind of do it.” Drake said in a questioning tone.

“Well it also hasn’t really started raining that hard. Now if it was really pouring you might be able to get some more rainwater into your claws.” Theorized Crystal, looking closely at Drake’s claws.

“Probably…” Drake said unsurely as he looked down at his hand, watching as he changed his claws back into his regular fingernails and his scaly arms regain their usual flesh.

“Alright then, it’s all you Jake! Let’s see what you can do!” Sean said excitedly.

“Okay then.” Jake nodded as he raised his own hand into the sky.

Jake held his hand up in front of him for a few moments before slowly moving it to his left. Nothing happened. He tried to quickly jerk his arm to the right. Still no results. Jake then tried up and down even zig zagging but the raindrops didn’t follow his arm whatsoever.

As Jake lowered his arm, suddenly, a loud, booming thunder erupted through the sky, followed by a bolt of lightning. As Jake watched the lightning disappear, an idea suddenly formed in his brain. Although unlikely, Jake pondered if it might be possible that he could control lightning. Curious, Jake focused his attention on the part of the sky where the lightning flashed and held his hand out in front of it. As the lightning flashed once again, Jake thrust his arm out in an attempt to get the lightning to come to him but before anything could happen, Crystal grabbed Jake’s shoulder and asked him what he was trying to do.

“Huh?” Jake asked, suddenly knocked back to his senses. “Oh, sorry Crystal I…I just wanted to see if I could manipulate lightning.”

“LIGHTNING?!” Sean exclaimed, scared by Jake’s answer to Crystal’s question. “Look, Jake, A for effort and everything but I’d rather not end up well grilled Sean.”

“I don’t exactly want to end up a cooked half-dragon either.” Added Drake.

“Or a medium rare girl.” Crystal chimed in.

“I wouldn’t wanna be a deep fried kid either.” Tim finished, grinning.

“Okay guys, I get it. Sorry, I know I wasn’t thinking.” Apologized Jake, laughing nervously.

“It’s fine dude. Just…promise you won’t try to do anything crazy like that again.” Drake assured his adopted brother.

Jake smiled and nodded in agreement. “I promise.”

Just before Drake, Sean, Tim, Jake, and Crystal were able to continue on their way to Alex’s grave, they could hear the sound of a car approaching. They looked back to see a car pulling up alongside them. They watched as two people stepped out of the car, a woman who appeared to be in her later thirties to early forties who had long light brown hair and beautiful blue eyes and a girl who appeared to be about the same age as the four teenagers. The girl’s hair was a darker brown than the older woman’s and ran down to her shoulders and her eyes were an emerald green. The girl looked surprised as she laid eyes upon Drake and Jake whose half-dragon appendages were still visible. Drake and Jake noticed that they were still in their half-dragon forms and gasped in shock, realizing they had unintentionally just revealed their true forms to other humans.

The five kids took note of the surprised looks in the woman’s and the girl’s eyes. While Drake, Sean, Crystal, and Tim believed it was just because they were surprised to have seen two boys with draconic appendages attached to them, Jake believed there was another reason for their reactions. While he couldn’t be certain, he felt as though he had seen the woman and girl somewhere before but he couldn’t place where he had seen them.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to gawk. It’s just that when I saw you two, I was reminded of an old friend of mine.” The girl finally spoke.

Surprised washed over the five kids as their eyes widened in shock to what the girl had just said. Their dragon parts reminded her of an old friend of hers? Drake, Crystal, Sean, and Tim were confused. If Drake and Jake reminded her of a friend of hers, they pondered, then could she have been friends with another half-dragon? Just who was this girl, the four kids thought to themselves. Jake, however, had another thought. He was certain now: this girl and the woman she was with, he had seen them before or rather, younger versions of them.

“This old friend of yours. Was his name Alex?” Jake asked, although he was certain he already knew the answer.

“Yeah. Alex and I lived in the same orphanage. Back then we were best friends until something happened and I…” Said the girl in a saddened tone.

“Then…you’re Laurie! And you’re Sarah, right?” Asked Jake, pointing to both of them as he said their names.

Sarah and Laurie were surprised to hear that he knew who they were. Laurie confirmed that Jake was correct but asked how he knew who they were. Of course, Jake couldn’t mention to them that he knew who they were thanks to the help of a friend of his and Alex’s using a spell which allowed him to see into Alex’s memories. Despite them knowing that he, Drake, and Alex were half-dragons, Jake was sure that they’d never be able to believe something like that. Instead, Jake told them that while he and Alex grew up together, he would always tell Jake stories about the only two people who were ever kind to him at the orphanage he used to live in.

Laurie gasped in surprise. With the way things had ended between her and Alex when they were little, she never would have expected that he still thought about her or Sarah. This brought a smile to Laurie’s face. She teared up a little, happy to know that, in the end, her old friend didn’t hate her like she thought.

“So then I guess I don’t even need to ask that you and Alex…” Sarah began to ask.

“Yep. Alex was my adopted brother. My name is Jake and I’m a half-dragon like Alex.” Said Jake, introducing himself.

“This is Drake. He’s also a half-dragon and his family adopted me. These are my best friends. Sean and his younger brother Tim. And this is Crystal. The three of them are pureblooded humans.” Jake finished as he introduced the rest of his friends to Sarah and Laurie.

“Hi there.” Greeted Sean, holding a hand up as a way of saying hi.

“It’s nice to meet all of you but…um…Jake, maybe you could explain some things to us? Like, what is a half-dragon for starters. Also, you said that Alex was adopted by your family but then you were adopted by Drake’s family, right? What exactly happened and did it have something to do with how Alex died?” Asked Sarah hurriedly, attempting to make sense of everything she had been told.

“Well, it’s a pretty long story but I guess I could try to shorten it as best as I can. Come on. I’ll tell you two on the way to Alex’s grave.” Jake said, waving everyone in the direction of Alex’s gravestone.

Along the way, Jake explained to Sarah and Laurie what a half-dragon was as well as the journey he and Alex had undergone four years ago. Drake also gave his side of the story. Despite Jake’s attempt to keep the story as short and as sweet as possible, he and Drake ended up chronicling almost every step in their last adventure. Laurie and Sarah were left awestruck once Drake and Jake had finished.

“That’s really hard to believe. It’s like something out of a fantasy novel.” Noted Sarah as she held her thumb and index finger over her chin contemplatively.

“I know but it’s true. Every word of it.” Jake assured Laurie and Sarah.

“Well…here we are…” Said Jake in a slightly sadder tone of voice.

The group walked past the line of tombstones that Alex’s was located in. It was the fifth one from the end. Jake and the rest of the group stopped before Alex’s grave and looked down at it. Jake exhaled a melancholic sigh. No matter how many times they visited Alex, it never got any easier for them, especially for Drake and Jake.

Jake squatted down, getting at the same level as Alex’s tombstone, his tail dropping into the dampened grass as he held his left hand over his right and sighed again.

“Hey Jake, I’m sorry. Really I…”  Said Drake in an almost toneless voice as he placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“Drake, every time we come to visit Alex, you always say you’re sorry. You don’t have to keep apologizing. You know I know you didn’t mean to do what happened.” Jake smiled both a sad yet understanding smile.

Drake smiled back at Jake. He knew that Jake no longer blamed him for what happened even if he had been the one responsible for Alex’s death but nonetheless, this was an incident that, despite having occurred four years ago, continued to remain fresh in Drake’s mind. It was because Drake was so haunted by the memory of his tail stabbing Alex through the stomach that he swore that should he ever fight again, he would never kill anyone else, not even if that person was as bad as Saulstrance. No matter what, Drake never again wanted to be the one responsible for taking a life.

“Hey, Sarah, Laurie? Do you hate me for what I did?” Asked Drake, a sad, regretful look in his eyes.

“Well…” Sarah began in a breathless tone. “I can’t say I condone taking a life. It’s one of, if not the worst sin a person can commit.”

“Oh…” Drake said sadly as he looked to the ground, his finned ears flattening and his wings drooping, now feeling even worse.

“However…” Continued Sarah. “When I look at you, I know that you’re not a bad person, Drake. I understand that what happened between you and Alex was an accident and that you would never be the type of person to enjoy hurting someone else. Trust me. I’m known for being a pretty good judge of character.” Sarah said, smiling kindly at the young half-dragon.

Drake smiled back at Sarah and thanked her for her kind words, his spirits having been lifted. Sarah nodded in return.

“Like Sarah, I don’t hold anything against you either Drake. If anything, I hate myself for not sticking by Alex when he needed me most. I think if I had stuck up for him back when we were little instead of getting scared by him, maybe he would never have run away.” Laurie said guiltily, hanging her head in shame.

“But then Alex and I would have never met and we never would have become brothers. You don’t have to blame yourself, Laurie. It wasn’t all bad in the end. Besides, Alex was also able to find people other than me who really cared about him. Quite a few of those people were actually human, much to his surprise I’m sure.” Jake said, sounding slightly peppier as he turned his head, looking over at Laurie who was standing to his left.

Jake’s words helped make Laurie feel somewhat better. Still, however, she wished that she hadn’t driven him away back then after he had attacked that kid for throwing dodgeballs at him. Even though Laurie knew she was only a little girl back then, she still blamed herself.

“Right Alex?” Asked Jake as he turned his focus back to his adopted brother’s grave.

“I just wanted to come by and visit you Alex. I brought Drake, Sean, Tim, and Crystal with me. And Sarah and Laurie are here too. We hope you’re doing alright. Right guys?” Asked Jake.

“Yep.” Laurie agreed.

Laurie took a step forward. She kneeled down and placed a hand on her deceased friend’s grave.

“Hey Alex. It’s Laurie. Like Jake said, Sister Sarah’s here too.” Said Laurie, a sad smile still worn on her face.

“Laurie, you don’t have to call me ‘sister’ anymore. I haven’t been a nun for fourteen years.” Sarah said.

“I know. It just feels a little strange otherwise. Anyway…Alex, there’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time. I’m sorry. You and I were best friends back at the orphanage and I sure didn’t treat you like one the night you ran away. Ever since you left, I’ve always felt awful for the way I treated you.” Laurie said, sniffling twice as she spoke to Alex.

Laurie stopped speaking for a quick moment. After taking in a deep breath and then exhaling followed by another sniffle, she continued with her message to Alex.

“I wish you were here Alex so I could say I’m sorry to you face to face. I know you probably wouldn’t forgive me but I just hope you know that I really am sorry.” Laurie finished, choking up as she spoke, wiping her eyes.

Sarah placed her hand on Laurie’s shoulder. She wrapped her arms around the teenager, hugging her to try and help her calm down. Laurie continued to wipe her eyes as she began to lightly sob. Drake, Jake, and their friends watched as Laurie cried, feeling bad for both her and Alex. Seeing this made Drake wish more than ever that he hadn’t killed Alex so that he could hear his friend’s apology with his own ears. Perhaps then, thought Drake, Laurie’s apology would have been able to soften Alex’s stance on humans and get him to see that not all humans were bad.

“Alex, if you are listening, please forgive Laurie. And me too. If I had been able to take you away from that horrible place, I would have done so. Believe me. But…with the things as they were for me at the time, it was simply impossible for me to do so. Since I left, I felt guilty as well because I knew how much you suffered while you were at the orphanage yet, I couldn’t be there to make things better for you. At least I can take some solace in knowing that you were able to find those who did love you.” Sarah said with a sad yet relieved smile that Alex was at least able to find a better life for himself.

Jake looked over at Laurie and Sarah. He smiled at both of them, happy that after so many years had passed, they had never forgotten Alex and that even after Alex had scared Laurie when they were little, in the end, she still considered him her friend.

Turning his attention back to Alex’s tombstone, he placed his hand on top of it and sighed.

“Well, I think we’re going to get going Alex.” Jake said, smiling as he stood up, his hand still rested on top of Alex’s grave.

He stared down at the grave, smiling for a short moment before his smile quickly changed into a frown.

“I love you brother…and I sure have missed you.” Jake said in a soft tone.

Everyone walked away from Alex’s grave, bidding him farewell and promising that they’d come back to see him. Jake led the way back to the entrance to the cemetery. As they made their way over to Sarah’s car, Crystal asked Sean if he still didn’t like Alex.

“It’s not that I don’t like him. What I don’t like is that he hurt you and Drake.” Sean explained in a more serious tone of voice.

Nobody said anything in response to Sean’s explanation. Drake and Crystal both understood where Sean was coming from but knowing what they knew about Alex, they felt that they couldn’t hold it completely against him. They both knew that Alex, at the time truly believed that Saulstrance’s plan to turn the human realm into his kingdom was what was best for both himself, Jake, and everyone else and that, if Saulstrance were to become the ruler of the human realm, then maybe he and Jake would be able to be treated like people instead of like monsters.

“However, what happened to him is terrible. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, no matter who or what they are. So, while I can’t forgive him for hurting my friends, I do feel sorry for him. Hopefully, wherever Alex is now, he’s happier.” Sean concluded, a small, hopeful smile on his face.

Drake smiled to and agreed with Sean. While he did wish that Alex could be there with them, and that they could have all become friends, he wanted to believe that wherever Alex was, he was probably making all kinds of friends, perhaps even meeting some half-dragons that lived long before they did.

As they neared Sarah’s car, something caught Tim’s eye. Over at a nearby tree, while he couldn’t be too sure, it looked as though there was someone laying under it. Sean noticed that his little brother’s gaze was fixated on this specific tree.

“What’re you looking at, Tim?” Asked Sean.

Tim pointed to the tree. Drake, Jake, Crystal, Sean, Laurie, and Sarah all looked in the direction that Tim was pointing in. Although the rain was starting to come down harder now, through the rainfall they were certain that they could also see someone laying under the tree. None of them could remember seeing another person around but regardless, they chose to check it out.

They hurried to the tree and were shocked at what they saw: lying beneath this tree was an unconscious, badly beaten boy around the same age as Drake and his friends. His entire body was bruised and bloodied. He lay on his stomach, his breathing shallow. Everyone stared down at the poor boy with horrified expressions on their faces. Crystal and Laurie held their hands over their mouths as Sean tried to keep Tim facing him so that he didn’t have to see the horrific sight.

“Oh my God…” Sean said breathlessly.

“This is awful. Who did this to him?!” Asked Jake disgustedly.

“I don’t know but we need to call an ambulance!” Sarah exclaimed as she pulled her cellphone from her jeans pocket.

“Yeah…” Crystal barely managed to say as she nodded nervously, taking deep breaths and trying to keep herself calm.

And then the lights came on.

“Drake, what are you doing?” Crystal asked as she looked down at her friend who was still laying on the ground.

Sean and Jake hurried over and joined Drake and Crystal who were in the middle of the laser tag arena. Drake opened his eyes and turned to his friends, grinning as Sean reached out his hand and helped his best friend up.

“Come on, admit it: I’d make a pretty good actor, right?” Drake asked, smiling proudly.

“Yeah. For a B movie.” Sean scoffed.

Drake snickered at his friend’s burn. “Ouch.” He replied back.

It had been four years since Drake’s father Titus had put an end to the dragon Saulstrance, the biological father of Jakol, or Jake as he was better known as. With no other known family to turn to, Titus and Sarah adopted Jake and since that day, the young half-dragon was finally able to live the life of a normal boy with his adoptive parents and brother.

The four friends returned their laser tag equipment to the front desk. Hung high on the wall behind the desk was the scoreboard. Their names appeared on the scoreboard with Sean in first with a total of 3,000 points followed by Crystal whose score was 1,800, then Jake with a score of 1,400, and lastly Drake whose score was a measly 300 points.

Drake groaned, disheartened at not only being in last but also having such a pitiful score.

“Man I suck at this game.” Said Drake, head hung low as he scratched behind his neck, trying not to take another look at his score.

“Hey c’mon man, it’s just a game. Besides, there are plenty of video games that we’ve never been able to beat you at.” Sean smiled, trying to cheer his friend up.

At the mention of that, Drake raised his head, his confidence in himself suddenly completely rejuvenated. He turned to Sean, a big bright smile on his face.

“That’s true! I mean, you’ve never been able to beat me at Smash Bros. for instance!” Boasted Drake, grinning widely.

“Oh yeah? Well you’ve never been able to beat me at Street Fighter!” Jake chimed in.

“And I’m about as good as you are when it comes to Mario Kart, Drake!” Crystal teased, giving Drake a playful nudge.

Drake laughed. “Fair enough.” He said as he and his friends paid the man at the counter.

“See you later guys!” Said the man at the counter.

“Bye Greg!” Said Sean as he and the others walked out of the laser tag arena.

The laser tag arena was the newest addition to the strip mall having gone in less than a year ago. It was three stores away from the toy shop that Drake and Jake’s mom Sarah owned. Sarah had in fact been the one to inform Drake and his friends of the new laser tag arena that was going in next to her store. She believed that her son and his friends would get quite a kick out of it. Jake, Drake, Crystal, and Sean were there for the grand opening and since that day, the four of them had become regulars at the laser tag arena.

“Well that was pretty fun. Like always, right?” Asked Jake, smiling at his friends.

Sean chuckled. “Yeah. Especially for me.” Sean gloated in a teasing way.

“Ha ha ha.” Said Crystal sarcastically, giving Sean a small nudge as he laughed.

“Hey c’mon! I’m just kidding!” He exclaimed, grinning as he staggered slightly from Crystal’s push.

Drake laughed as well. “Just remember Sean: nobody likes a bragger.”

Drake, Jake, Crystal, and Sean approached Sarah’s shop. Walking into the store, they saw Sarah standing behind the counter with Titus leaning against the left side of the counter. Several other adults were scattered around Sarah’s shop. Among them was Titus’s lifelong friend Lucas. A couple older kids were in attendance as well, most of them being the older siblings od the younger kids and others having been fans of Ben’s books when they were younger. All of them were watching as Ben, Titus’s adoptive brother was telling a story to a group of eleven young kids. The story Ben was telling was of the battle between Titus and Saulstrance. The children all listened closely, entranced by the tale Ben shared with them.

“And then, just as things seemed their darkest, and the hour of doom was at hand, suddenly –” At that moment, the timer on Ben’s phone went off, informing Ben and the children that story time was over.

“And that’s all for today! But be sure to come back next week to hear the end.” Exclaimed Ben in an excited tone.

“Aww!” The kids all protested at once. All of them had been enjoying the story so much that they didn’t want to have to wait a week to hear how it ended.

“C’mon Mr. Flamel! Please tell us how it ends!” One boy who appeared to be around six or eight begged.

The other children in attendance, with the exception of Tim gathered around and begged to hear the rest. As both Drake and Jake watched the kids pester Ben to tell them how it ends, they overheard one child, a small girl who appeared to be around five or seven years old say that she wanted to know what happened to Blake and James. Drake and Jake looked at each other in confusion, Drake repeating the name “Blake” and Jake repeating “James” questioningly. Was she talking about them the two half-dragon teens wondered.

“Hey, my brother Sean was there! He can tell you what happened!” Exclaimed Tim, pointing to Sean who, along with his friends, stood silently by the door.

Suddenly the other children went quiet and turned towards Sean. With an exasperated groan, Sean shook his head.

“Tim, you idiot, that’s supposed to be a secret.” Sean whispered under his breath.

Although most of the city knew of the existence of dragons by now thanks to a news report four years ago which showed Titus and Drake in between their transformations from dragon and half-dragon respectively back to humans, many of the citizens of the city were still skeptical. Despite the overwhelming evidence, some people believed that the attack on the mall was all a hoax and that what really happened was being covered up by trying to make people believe that dragons destroyed the mall. One theory that had circulated around suggested that Titus and Drake were actually the results of some kind of strange government experiment that tried to combine human DNA with the DNA of an animal and that they were able to disguise themselves as regular humans.

Very few humans knew the truth about what Titus and his family had done for them. Drake and his friends’ fifth grade teacher, their classmates from back then, and the citizens of the desert town Baker Valley were the only ones and in Baker Valley, Titus had become known as their local hero. Since that day, Titus and his friends still made visits to Baker Valley thanks to the portals that connected the human realm to the dragon realm. The people of Baker Valley were always elated to see them return and even four years later, the memory of Titus protecting their town as well as the whole world remained fresh in their minds.

The adventures he had embarked on with Titus and the others became inspiration for Ben’s then budding writing career. Many of his works, most of which were geared towards children, had become big hits. As a result of becoming a local talent, Ben had gone on to do signings at book stores within the area and with some help from Sarah, began a weekly story telling session at her store which helped to bring in more customers than ever before. Every story Ben shared would have the kids and even adults captivated and leave them wanting more and seeing the excitement and joy Ben was bringing to children and adults alike brought him joy as well and made him strive to create even better works.

Knowing that Titus and the others wouldn’t want to be made into a spectacle, Ben promised not to use their real names for his books and, when his first book was about to be published, chose to omit its declaration that it was based on a true story. Ben’s other reasoning had been that even if he had said it was based on a true story, people probably wouldn’t believe it anyway. The kids glanced back at Tim then back to Sean, then finally back to Tim. With a confused look on his face, one of the boys asked Tim what he was talking about because in the story Ben was telling, Sean’s name was changed to John.

“Yeah! And besides, it’s not a real story. Mr. Flamel made it up.” A little girl said.

An awkward silence suddenly filled the room. As happy as Sean was that the kids didn’t believe what his little brother had said, he couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit sorry for Tim. Sean assumed that part of the reason Tim said that was because he wanted the other kids to think he was cool yet in the end, he simply made things weird for himself.

“Well let’s give Mr. Flamel a big round of applause.” Sarah said as she began clapping, soon being joined by everyone else.

“Thank you all very much.” Ben smiled at his audience.

After the kids and their families made their purchases and left, only Titus and his family remained. Ben let out a sigh of relief and stood up.

“Man, those little tykes just have way too much energy for an ol’ hound dog like yours truly.” Ben said as he approached the counter.

Sarah and Titus stifled their laughter. Noticing this, Ben asked them what was funny about that.

“Nothing Ben. It’s just…hound dog? Really?” Asked Sarah in an amused voice.

“Besides, you’re only 52, Ben. I think you’re still pretty young. I wouldn’t say you’re an ‘ol’ hound dog’ just yet.”

Ben chuckled. “I guess not. I just wish I didn’t have to get any older. Kinda wish I had a bit of a longer lifespan like you Titus.”

Suddenly, at the mention of his lifespan, Titus’s smile went slightly uneasy. For Titus, his extended lifespan was a touchy subject for him. As a dragon, Titus was estimated to be able to life for at least three hundred years. Unfortunately for Titus, he never saw this as a great thing as he knew it meant that his friends and family would all pass long before he did. This included Drake and Jake as well who, due to being half-dragons, were also believed to have half the lifespan that a dragon did. The very last thing Titus ever wanted was to outlive his own son and adopted son. He always hoped that he would be able to pass on when his family did.

“Y’know Ben, having a longer lifespan isn’t always a great thing.” Said Titus somberly.

“Oh shoot! Titus, I—I’m sorry man. I know it bugs you I just--”

“It’s alright Ben. I know what you meant.” Titus said, trying to smile a little brighter so as to let Ben know that he truly was okay.

“Maybe it’d be best to change the subject.” Suggested Lucas.

Sean agreed with his father and asked Tim how Drake’s uncle’s story hour was. Tim happily exclaimed that it was really fun, declaring that Ben was the best storyteller he had ever heard. With a small

“Heh”, Ben smiled in response to Tim’s statement, feeling great pride in that his books had become so beloved.

“What about you Sean? How’d you do at laser tag?” Tim asked.

Sean grinned at his little brother. “How do you think I did kid? I won, like always!” Sean gloated, trying to make himself look cool for Tim.

Drake groaned and sighed. He hadn’t paid too much mind to Sean’s gloating in the beginning but now it was starting to get a little old. It was only a laser tag match after all. He thought of a way that he could get Sean to be quiet. Then it came to him. He went behind the counter and rummaged through the small fridge that his mom kept plugged in under the counter. There were a couple of water bottles lined in the fridge. Drake grabbed one and unscrewed the cap then he changed his fingernails into claws, his blue scales forming along his arms, and poured a small amount of water onto his claws.

“Drake, what are you doing?” Sarah asked her son.

Drake grinned impishly. “You’ll see.” Was all he said.

Sarah wasn’t sure what Drake was planning or even if she should like it. She, Titus, and Ben watched as Drake stood up and went back over to Sean.

“Hey Sean!” Drake said to his friend.

“Yeah?” Asked Sean as he turned around.

Without warning, Sean found himself sprayed in the face. He instinctively squished his eyes shut as the water that sprayed from Drake’s claws splashed in between his eyes. Tim, Crystal, and Jake giggled at this as Sean wiped the water off his face.

“What was that about Drake?” Sean asked, confusedly.

“Just wanted to make sure that the glory didn’t go to your head.” Drake joked.

“Huh?” Sean didn’t understand what Drake meant.

“Your gloating. It’s…kinda getting old.” Explained Drake, trying to sound as nice as possible.

“Oh, that? I was just joking man.” Said Sean.

“We know it’s just getting annoying.” Crystal said.

“Fair enough. I’ll stop.” Sean promised.

“Thanks.” Jake said with a small laugh.

A short time later, everyone was getting ready to leave. Lucas had some errands to take care of before heading home and Ben was going to make a stop at the grocery store to pick up some dinner for himself and Jessie. Titus opted to stay and help Sarah take care of some things before closing up shop for the evening. Because their families had things to take care of, Drake, Sean, Jake, Crystal, and Tim decided to make their way home on their own.

“Alright. Just be careful getting home you guys.” Sarah said, standing outside her store as she saw her sons and their friends off.

“We always are.” Drake said confidently.

“See you at home.” Titus said.

The five friends departed from the store and made their way over to the light rail station. The station was across the street from Sarah’s shop. They waited for about five minutes before the rail train pulled into the station.

Drake and the others boarded. Only three other people occupied the cabin. Drake, Jake, Tim, Sean, and Crystal sat in two rows across from each other. Drake, Jake, and Crystal sat in the seats on the right hand side while Sean and Tim sat in the row on the left side. The train departed the station, its next destination the light rail station downtown. The five friends watched the passing scenery, trees, houses, businesses, and people passing them by. As the train entered downtown and came upon its stop, Sean leaned over to where Drake, Crystal, and Jake were sitting.

“So I was wondering if you guys wanted to do anything else before we head home.” Sean asked.

“Like what?” Inquired Jake.

“I dunno. Maybe get some food from somewhere. I’ve still got a little money.” Sean answered.

“I kinda want to go to the park if that’s okay.” Tim chimed in, leaning forward in his seat so that Drake, Jake, and Crystal could hear him.

Everyone turned their attention to Tim. The park sounded like a good idea to them. Although they still had some money, they didn’t want to use it all up in just one day. Aside from that, the four teens knew that their parents would give them a ton of grief if they did blow all their money that quickly.

“The park huh? Yeah, that could be fun.” Crystal suggested.

“It has been a long time since we went to the park. Good thinking Tim.” Drake said, beaming at Tim.

Tim smiled widely back at Drake, feeling proud that he was complimented by an older kid. With a light chuckle to himself, he blushed as he looked away from the older kids, facing towards the window.

The train pulled into the station. In no time at all the cabin went from being nearly empty with only a minute group of people occupying it to being almost full. Some of the occupants stood in between the seats that Drake and his friends were occupying, making it hard for the five of them to communicate. As the train embarked for its next destination, all they could do was thank their lucky stars that they were able to grab themselves some seats before the train became so crowded. Seven uncomfortable minutes later, the train pulled into the next station. Drake, Crystal, Sean, Tim, and Jake squeezed through the immense crowd of people and left the train as quickly as they could before the new wave of boarding people made it even harder for them to get out.

The five friends were still aways away from their homes. They had gotten off at a light rail station that ran past a residential area. In front of them were a group of apartments and to the right of these apartments was a road that would lead them to the park they were heading to. With no approaching traffic in sight, the five of them hurried across the road and journeyed down the small street.

“Glad we’re finally out of that train. I hate crowds.” Said Tim, breathing a sigh of relief.

“No disagreements there, squirt.” Sean agreed.

“I don’t mind being around people just…not in such a small area like that.” Drake said exhaustedly.

“Well if you guys don’t like crowds, you’d hate being at a convention.” Crystal said matter of factly.

Drake, Sean, Jake, and Tim flashed each other confused looks.

“But we did go to a convention. Remember back in 7th grade when we went to Comic Con?” Jake inquired.

“Oh yeah that did happen. Well I remember that after a while, you guys wanted to get away from all the people in the exhibition hall and we spent a good hour just hanging around outside.” Crystal told her friends, giving them a teasing smirk.

“That was partially because we spent two hours walking around looking at all the booths and our feet were getting tired. And besides Crystal, I remember you being the first of us to suggest leaving the exhibition hall for a bit to find somewhere to sit down.” Sean argued.

“Well, you’ve got a point there Sean. Truth be told, I don’t really like crowds that much either.” Crystal admitted with a sigh.

“Comic Con was really good for me and Jake.” Drake grinned, trying to add in some optimism to their Comic Con discussion.

“Yeah.” Agreed Jake. “Since everyone was in costume, we got to go out in our real forms and nobody said anything. Well, except for how cool our ‘costumes’ were.”

“And we got some people to take pictures of our ‘half-dragon costumes.’” Drake added, still grinning excitedly.

The friends passed through seven more neighborhoods before finally coming upon the park they were looking for. Thelway Park. This was the same park that Drake’s mom grew up in.

The park was empty, no adults or kids in sight. As the friends made their way into the park, the sudden sound of an ice cream truck’s jingle could be heard in the distance. It steadily grew louder as it approached.

“What do you say guys? Want to get some ice cream?” Asked Drake.

“Aw yeah! ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM!!” Chanted Tim.

The ice cream truck pulled up alongside the five kids. They all ordered the same kind of treat: chocolate ice cream bars. The bars were $2.00 apiece. The four teens all paid separately with Sean paying a little extra for an ice cream bar for Tim.

After thanking the driver of the truck, they immediately removed the wrappers on their food and went over to a picnic bench. As the ice cream melted in their hands, they continued to chew away at the tasty treats. After several bites, Crystal held her head in one hand.

“Oh, ow ow ow ow! Brain freeze! Ooh that doesn’t feel good.” Crystal said quickly, closing her eyes and trying to make the pain go away.

“You okay Crystal?” Asked Jake.

“I’m fine. It’s gone. I think I just ate too fast, that’s all.” Answered Crystal, taking a moment to let the brain freeze subside some more before continuing her ice cream.

Sean looked over to his little brother who was sitting right beside him on the bench. He was surprised when he saw just how quickly Tim had consumed his own ice cream bar. Sean scolded Tim for eating so fast, asking him if he saw what had happened to Crystal and asking him if he wanted to get brain freeze of his own.

Looking down at his almost finished ice cream and then up to his big brother, Tim continued to eat his food at a much slower pace than he had been going.

“Sorry Sean.” Tim apologized in a meek, toneless voice, mouth still full of half chewed ice cream bar.

“It’s okay Tim. You don’t need to be sorry. I just don’t want you getting sick.” Sean responded, smiling at Tim to let him know that he wasn’t angry at him.

His brother’s smile made Tim feel better. Once the five friends had finished their ice cream, Tim asked Sean if he could go play on the playground equipment. Before he had time to answer him however, Tim was already racing over to the jungle gym.

“Hey Tim! Go a little slower! You just finished eating and that’s not going to be good on your stomach!” Sean called out to his brother.

But Tim didn’t listen. He continued running over to the playground. Sean groaned agitatedly. He sighed and shook his head, wishing his younger brother would listen to him.

“Sean, he’s not a baby anymore.” Crystal protested in an attempt to get Sean to ease up on Tim.

“No but he’s still just a kid. He still needs somebody to look after him!” Sean testified. Drake placed a hand on Sean’s back as he stood up, standing right by his friend’s side.

“Sean, we’re still kids too, y’know. You don’t need to be talking like an adult just yet. A little bit of fun isn’t going to hurt Tim.” Said Drake.

“Besides…” Drake continued. “Since we’re kids, we should go have some fun ourselves! Come on!” Drake exclaimed as he hurried over to the jungle gym that Tim was playing on.

“Hey wait up Drake!” Jake called to his adoptive brother as he bolted up, hurrying after Drake.

Sean and Crystal watched, smiling as the two half-dragons went to join Tim in the fun. The past four years for Drake and his friends had been some of the most enjoyable moments of their lives. No longer having to worry about taking down an evil dragon and his cohorts who sought to seize control of their world, Drake, Sean, Crystal, Tim, and Jake were able to simply enjoy being kids. Even still, however, this didn’t mean that the four teenagers didn’t have worries of their own to contend with.

“Hey Sean. Do you think we’ll always be together?” Crystal asked.

“Hmm? Why do you ask?” Sean asked Crystal back.

“Well it’s just that we’re already in high school right?” Crystal began.

“Uh, yeah?” Sean asked again, not understanding what Crystal was getting at.

“It won’t be much longer and then we’ll be looking at going to college or starting careers or something like that. When that happens, do you think the four of us will still be able to see each other? And what if one or even all of us go to colleges or work in some other part of California or even in another state?” Crystal fretted.

“Well if that happens, couldn’t we just keep in contact with each other online?” Sean asked, hoping to provide an alternative so that Crystal wouldn’t have to be so worried.

“I suppose…it’s just that it’s not the same as actually being together.” Crystal answered in a saddened voice.

Sean sighed. Crystal’s worries were beginning to rub off on him. He realized that Crystal had a good point. He had known Drake, Jake, and Crystal for so long that to him, they weren’t just his best friends, they were like siblings to him. Having to be away from them for an unspecified period of time or even no longer getting to see them at all was hard for both Sean and Crystal to swallow. As much as Sean mulled it over, he knew that in the end, there may be nothing the four of them could do. Until it came to that point, all Sean and his friends would be able to do is hope for the best. He chose to remain optimistic about what the future would bring them. His hope for their futures was that he, Crystal, Jake, and Drake work hard when they go off to college or when they start their careers and spend their downtimes together as much as they can.

When Sean presented his hope for their futures to Crystal, he was able to alleviate the teenaged girl’s worries.

“I like that. I hope it comes true. Thanks Sean.” Crystal said, smiling gratefully at her friend.

Sean nodded and smiled back at Crystal, thankful that he was able to cheer Crystal up. The two of them then looked over at the playground equipment to see Drake and Jake playing with Tim. The two boys had cornered Tim on the jungle gym’s walkway.

“There’s nowhere to go now Tim.” Drake grinned mischievously as he slowly approached the younger boy.

“Nooooo!” Exclaimed Tim, giggling as he tried to look for a way to escape.

Finding himself incapable of getting past Drake or Jake, given how much bigger they were than him, Tim improvised and climbed over the railing. He loosened his grip on the bars somewhat and allowed himself to slide down them, gripping them tightly once again when his hands were by the ends of the railing. Once he was a few feet from the ground, Tim let go of the bars and dropped down. Jake and Drake watched as Tim ran past them, having narrowly avoided being caught by them.

“Darn it! The prisoner’s escaping Drake! We got to go after him!” Jake commanded as he took off in the direction Tim was heading.

Drake followed shortly behind his adopted brother as the two of them slid down the slide and continued their pursuit.

“Want to go join them?” Asked Crystal eagerly.

“Yeah. Let’s go!” Sean answered excitedly.

As Drake and Jake chased after Tim, the three of them stopped when they heard Sean call out his brother’s name.

“Tim! There’s no escaping from us!” Sean exclaimed as he continued running towards his little brother.

“That’s not fair!” Tim whined in a playful way. “Now I’ve got four bigger kids chasing me?”

“You should have never escaped in the first place Tim! The bigger kids have to keep the smaller kids locked up! That’s just how it is in our town!” Jake said, smiling as he continued to chase after Tim.

“But I don’t wanna be locked up! I’m a big kid too!” Tim objected as he ran from the playground equipment and into the grass.

Suddenly, without warning, Tim tripped and fell, landing face first in the grass. Everybody gasped, surprised. They hurried over to the younger boy to make sure he was alright.

Tim rolled onto his side and sat up. Drake, Sean, Crystal, and Jake gathered around Tim, all of them looking concerned for the boy.

“You okay Tim?” Sean asked worriedly, kneeling beside his younger brother and placing a hand on his back.

With a slight groan, Tim looked himself over. Aside from some dirt and bruises covering his arms and legs, he seemed okay.

“I think I’m okay. I hurt a little bit but it’s not too bad.” Tim answered his big brother. Sean smiled with relief. He stood up, helping Tim to his feet. He brushed some of the dirt off Tim’s clothes as Tim wiped away some of the dirt that was covering his arms and legs.

“It’s a good thing you tripped in the grass instead of on the pavement. That would have hurt a lot more. I should know…” Jake said to Tim as he remembered back in fifth grade, when Zack and Jacob, two kids who used to pick on him pushed him to the ground causing Jake to smash face first into the sidewalk which resulted in his nose bleeding.

“By the way Tim…” Sean whispered to his brother.

“Yeah Sean?” Tim asked.

“GOTCHA!!! There’s no escape now, criminal scum!” Sean exclaimed as he grabbed Tim’s sleeve, pulling him over to him and wrapping his arm around his neck.

“Gaah! No fair! I had a serious injury!” Yelled Tim as he struggled to break free of his older brother’s grasp.

“Ooh, NOW it’s a serious injury. What happened to that big tough kid who said, ‘it hurts a little bit but it’s not too bad’?” Sean playfully teased.

The five friends laughed together as Sean gave Tim a noogie. Tim screamed and laughed, begging his brother to stop, only for Sean to loudly decry, “Never!” and follow up with a second noogie.

The friends continued to play together for a short while before deciding to head home for the day. It was already starting to get late and the five of them had homework they needed to finish before Monday rolled around. As it was already Saturday, they knew they had to get going on their work. Once they got to Crystal’s street, they went their separate ways.

Standing in front of their old elementary school, Drake and the others said their goodbyes to each other and headed for home. Eventually only Drake and Jake remained on the block.

“So Jake, want to take the express route home?” Drake asked, grinning knowingly at Jake.

Jake grinned back at Drake. “It has been awhile since we did that.” Jake said.

“Too long.” Agreed Drake.

Drake led Jake a few blocks down to the same alley where Jake revealed to Drake that he was a half-dragon just like him. That one moment remained fresh in Drake’s mind for the past four years. For Drake, it was one of the most important moments of his life because on that day, he learned that there were other half-dragons just like him. This was also the case for Jake as, before he met Drake, he always believed that he and his adopted brother Alex were the only half-dragons in the world.

However, what had happened back then was also a bit of a sore subject for the two half-dragons. When Jake revealed the identity of his biological father to Drake, in a panic Drake pushed Jake to the ground, screaming at him to stay away. This, combined with Jake being forced to leave his last school which two of his best friends Jericho and Cassie attended had deeply affected Jake. Eventually, the two hybrids were able to reconcile and start over as true friends. Drake and Jake both glanced around, making sure there was no one around who would be able to see them transform. Once they had confirmed the coast was clear, the two half-dragons looked at each other, nodded, and closed their eyes. Their bodies underwent a metamorphosis as their ears grew pointed, changing into fins, followed by two lumps pressing against the fabric of their shirts, these lumps then changing into two pairs of leathery wings. Their transformations concluded with their tails growing out of the backs of their shorts.

Their true forms revealed, Drake and Jake flapped their wings, lifting themselves off the ground. They ascended into the sky and flew for home.

The past four years, both Jake and Drake had been training their wings in order to make them stronger. Whenever they’d get the chance, the two boys would change into their true forms and often fly home if they were returning home late from school or if they were coming back from somewhere else. Of course they wouldn’t do this if there were many people in the area. By doing this so many times, Drake and Jake were able to make it so that their wings didn’t become as tired as quickly as they used to when they’d fly for long periods of time.

With how much practice they had, Drake and Jake were also both now capable of flying at much faster rates and were even able teach themselves some tricks to perform while in the air. Drake demonstrated this by doing barrel rolls in the air several times then flying high above Jake and then swooping back down, screaming “WAHOO!” while he did this.

Jake smirked at Drake as the latter flew back down at his side.

“Showoff.” Teased Jake.

“Oh please! You can do that too, man.” Said Drake, smirking back.

“I know. I’m just saying you’re a showoff.” Jake said knowingly.

As they flew, they observed the activity going on below them. Cars and people all moving below them and yet, they were so high above everyone that they all looked like ants. Despite the ability to fly being a part of who they were as half-dragons, neither Drake nor Jake could ever not be amazed when it came to flying. Just about each time felt like a new exciting experience for them.

“You did awesome Jake!” Drake complimented his adopted brother.

“We did awesome, man. I couldn’t have beaten the Champion if it wasn’t for all of you helping me.” Jake corrected.

"Great job, little brother!" Alex smiled, giving Jake another pat, only this one was on his shoulder instead of his tail.

A weary and worn out Jake smiled back at Alex. "Thanks, big brother!"

And indeed Jake was right. While he had battled the Champion, Titus and the others contended with the other Apprentices. The Apprentices had been formidable opponents although not quite as strong as Saulstrance was. Just as Saulstrance and his Followers had done long ago, the Champion and the fellow Apprentices had pushed Titus and the others to their limits but through their struggles, Titus, Drake, Jake, Alex, Eig’nia, and Titus’s parents, Cerquil, his father, and his mother Minasha were eventually able to overcome their enemies.

“So then, this is…really the end huh?” Crystal asked as she glanced around at the unconscious Apprentices.

“I suppose so…” Wondered Lucas. “I mean, we’ve stopped Saulstrance and his Followers and now we’ve defeated his Apprentices and Champion. But…”

“I think I know what you mean Lucas.” Jessie said. “This is it but…it doesn’t feel like it is.”

Suddenly, the Champion, whose head was now facing Titus and the others, laughed at Jessie’s statement.

“That’s because it isn’t.” The Champion laughed knowingly. “Do you really think that Saulstrance was the only one behind all this? There was another.”

This news surprised Titus and everyone else. Could the Champion’s words be true? Was there really someone else behind the atrocities Saulstrance had wrought on the human and dragon realms? Eig’nia was certain that she knew who the other person was the Champion was speaking of.

“You mean Léruc, don’t you?” Asked Eig’nia in a troubled tone.

The Champion laughed at her question and assured the dragoness that it went much deeper than Léruc. With another laugh, he gestured towards a cave.

“If you want to know the truth behind everything, just go look in that cave. You’ll find all your answers there. But I wonder- - are you going to like what you find? I guess that’s for you all to find out.” The Apprentice said with a toothy grin.

Choosing to heed the Apprentice’s words, Titus, Drake, Jake, Alex, Sarah, Crystal, Lucas, Sean, Tim, Kyle, Jackie, Ben, Jessie, Eig’nia, Rick, Cerquil, and Minasha approached the entrance to the cave. There they noticed a stairway which led underground. The entrance was dark with only several torches to light the way. The stairs looked as though they could go on forever.

The group journeyed down into the deepest darkest catacombs of the cave. As they did, they considered what they had been told by Saulstrance’s Champion. Was there really someone else behind Saulstrance’s attacks on the human and dragon realms? And what exactly did the Champion mean about liking what they would find? Titus and the others couldn’t help but wonder just what was waiting for them at the bottom.

After what felt like hours, the group had come across two sets of large wooden doors. These doors had a medieval appearance to them and appeared to be held in place by the cavern walls.

“Doors huh? You don’t see those in this world.” Kyle noted.

“You sure don’t.” Responded Titus’s father, just as surprised to see doors in their world as Kyle himself was.

Titus and the others stared at these doors nervously, pondering if whatever waited for them behind those doors really did contain all the answers to their questions.  

“Well I…suppose we should open it?” Asked Ben unsurely.

“We’ve come this far, haven’t we? We can’t just turn back now.” Rick said.

Both Titus and Eig’nia agreed with Rick’s sentiments. Whatever was behind those doors, they knew they had to be willing to face it. If whatever it was was the true reason behind everything, then they needed to confront it. Only then would they truly be able to put Saulstrance’s goals to rest for good.

Sarah and Ben gripped the door handles and pulled the doors open. When they saw what was inside waiting for them, everybody’s jaws dropped, eyes wide at what they were seeing.

“Oh my God…” Titus uttered in bewilderment.

Everyone else couldn’t bring themselves to form words. They simply stared in shock at the figure that sat before them. Sitting at a rock which was being used like a desk was a small blue dragon. This dragon had blue scales and also had red impish looking eyes with only reptilian slits in the center. The insides of his wings, finned ears, horns, claws, and underside were the same red as his eyes. However, what caught everyone’s attention was the green hair nestled atop the little dragon’s head. Despite being dragons themselves, Titus, his parents, and Eig’nia never even knew that it was possible for dragons to have hair.

The dragon looked at the large group nervously. Slowly he turned away from them and placed his left paw over his mouth.

“Umm…pay no attention to the small dragon you see before you for he is…uh…just my pupil. Now if you will, please avert your eyes.” Said the small dragon, throwing his voice in an attempt to make it sound loud and booming.

But when the dragon glanced back, he saw that none of them had looked away. Annoyed by them not listening to his instruction, the dragon turned back and placed his paw over his mouth again.

“Seriously, look away from the small blue dragon. If you do not, then I will be forced to…to…” The small dragon tried to think of an intimidating threat to get them to stop looking at him.

“What is he doing?” Sean whispered to Drake.

Drake shook his head. He was just as clueless as to what was going on as his friend was.

The dragon let out a frustrated sigh. He turned around so that now he was facing the rock that he had been using as a desk.

“I didn’t want to do this but I guess there’s no other way.” The dragon said to himself.

Closing his eyes and focusing, the dragon’s body began to undergo a transformation. His tail, horns, wings, and claws retreated into his body as he grew bigger. When his transformation came to an end, Titus and his friends and family were left even more surprised than they had been prior. This small dragon had become a human! His hair was no longer green but had instead become brown much like his eyes. He sat in front of Titus and the others without saying a word. He simply watched as the group tried to make sense of what they had just witnessed.

“So wait a minute. Is this guy a human or a dragon? I mean, he had hair in his dragon form and no other dragon I know of has hair so…” Said Lucas, thinking out loud as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

“Back when I was turning back into a dragon, Angela told me a story about a human who was turned into a dragon by a dragoness. She said that no one knew what happened to the dragoness or the human she turned into a dragon, but… I think this is him.” Titus explained. “So then he never really went missing. But then what happened to the dragoness?” Ben asked.

Before they could get any answers the dragon turned human (or human turned dragon), turned towards his desk. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and jotted something down. Before they got the chance to ask him what he was writing…

Titus awoke. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He shifted onto his side as he contemplated the strange dream he just had. Titus had had dreams before that felt real to him but never to this extent. It almost felt as though he and the others were really there, fighting Saulstrance’s Champion and Apprentices but…that couldn’t be he thought to himself. And then there was that dragon…the one who turned into a human or rather the human who turned into a dragon. Titus wasn’t able to think of the right way to describe it but that person seemed much different than anyone else he had ever encountered. It was almost like this person wasn’t from either the human or dragon realms. But that made no sense, Titus thought to himself. If that person from his dream wasn’t from Earth or Zalphonia then what could he be? As Titus continued to lay in bed and mull over the meaning behind the person from his dreams, a strange thought suddenly crossed Titus’s mind.

“Wait what? Say that again?” Asked Sarah confusedly as she raised an eyebrow at her husband.

Titus, Sarah, Alex, Drake, and Jake were sitting at the kitchen table enjoying breakfast together. Drake, Alex, and Jake had chocolate milk and cereal while Titus and Sarah drank white milk and ate apples.

Sarah, Drake, Alex, and Jake stared at Titus with surprised and confused looks on their faces. He had told his family of the dream he’d had that night and what he thought it might have meant. The three of them thought his theory on the meaning behind his dream sounded rather crazy.

“Alright so just hear me out. After I woke up, that dream got me to thinking: what if all of this is just fictional? What if our two worlds were just created by a guy who’s obsessed with dragons?” Titus wondered.

“Titus, you say some weird stuff sometimes but that’s weird even for you. Not to mention, pretty oddly specific.” Sarah retorted.

“Yeah dad! If we weren’t real then how can I be talking to you?” Drake asked.

“Or how can Alex, Drake, and I turn into half-dragons whenever we want?” Added Jake.

"How would we even be half-dragons if this wasn't real?" Alex chimed in.

When Titus thought about it, he decided that the four of them did have a point. There was no way their worlds could be made up. The five of them were flesh and blood or scales and blood depending. Same with their friends and the rest of their family.  Perhaps it was all just some strange dream. It wouldn’t have been the first time Titus had a bizarre dream.

Very few remained who remembered Saulstrance for who he used to be. As time passed within Zalphonia, word of Raolef, Léruc, and Tourajé’s deaths spread and it eventually came to be believed that Saulstrance was responsible for all three deaths. While there were two certain dragons who protested this assumption, their words fell on deaf ears. Even though they knew Saulstrance better than anyone, and even though they knew he was indeed responsible for killing Léruc, nothing they could say or do would be enough to clear him of the other two deaths. While Raolef and Léruc would continue to be remembered for their statuses as Leaders, Tourajé’s name would eventually be lost to time, remembered only by his remaining friends and his little brother. One hundred years after his passing, Tourajé’s parents would join their oldest son in the afterlife, leaving behind Utzie as the sole survivor of their family.

Feeling he had learned enough about the human realm and its customs, Saulstrance saw fit to begin the next phase of his plan. If he was truly going to become the leader of the human realm, then he wouldn’t be able to do it all by himself. He would need willing dragons to assist him in his conquest. For this, he returned home to Zalphonia. While Saulstrance did not have a specific number in mind for how many dragons he wanted to join him, he figured he would need quite a sufficient amount.

His first stop was to the village that the dragon Raolef proudly led over, the village Aanki. Immediately the dragons of the village knew who Saulstrance was and, with fierce glares on their faces, circled around Saulstrance and slowly approached him, hoping that the dragon would feel intimidated being faced by so many opponents that he would simply turn tail and run. This wasn’t the case, however as Saulstrance calmly glanced around at the dragons who surrounded him. While Saulstrance knew he should feel threatened by these other dragons, he felt no fear or unease at being surrounded. Instead, Saulstrance sat in the center of the circle, taking in a deep breath and exhaling before he spoke.

“I seek to build an army. Together, under my lead, we will take to the human realm and claim it for ourselves. To do this, we will capture any and all humans. Should any try to resist us, we will execute them to set an example. This will be our way of showing humans that they have every right to see us as the fierce beasts they speak of in their stories and that we dragons are the domineering species.” Saulstrance proudly announced.

The dragons around him were left stunned at what they had just heard.  Some looked at Saulstrance with expressions of utter disbelief on their faces while others talked amongst themselves asking one another if he was serious. While some were unsure if Saulstrance meant what he was saying, others could tell just by looking at his face that he meant every word he said.

Just ahead of Saulstrance, several of the dragons moved to the side, revealing another dragon standing behind them. This dragon stepped into the circle and approached Saulstrance. He had dark green scales, a smooth yellow underside, the same yellow also being apparent in the leather in his wings and his fins. His claws were white as were his horns, his irises colored gold.

As this dragon stood before Saulstrance, the dragons that surrounded them went deafly quiet. They watched carefully as Saulstrance stood up and stared at this dragon with the same lifeless look he’d had on since arriving in their village.

“You want to take over the human realm? For what purpose? Is it truly just to prove that our race is superior? What do you gain from doing this?” The green dragon asked, convinced that there were details Saulstrance was hiding from them.

“While I do wish to prove our race superior to the humans, there is another reason for doing so: by establishing ourselves as the superior race, we can help to unite humans and dragons. If I were to become leader of both Earth and Zalphonia, I can bring the two races together and perhaps even bring peace to both worlds. Of course, the humans may not be as understanding to this as a dragon may be. This is why I want to gather a decently sized army to assist me in this. I would love to have the entirety of our world join me in my conquest but, given my…unfortunate reputation, that would be easier said than done. So then, what do you, villagers of Aanki say?” Explained Saulstrance.

“I say it sounds like a wonderful plan but no thank you.” Said the dark green dragon with a hint of sarcasm as he said the word wonderful. “How can we trust that you, one of our world’s most infamous criminals wants to unite humans and dragons for purely unselfish reasons? If anything, it sounds to me like you just want to bring our two races under yourself and rule over them both.”

This suddenly caused Saulstrance’s lifeless expression to change. He and the green dragon exchanged glares as the two of them began to circle around each other, as if they were preparing for a fight. Angered by this dragon’s assumptions, Saulstrance did all he could to keep himself composed. This dragon, he thought, had no right to criticize his plans. He had no idea how much this goal meant to Saulstrance.

“And you think you have a better idea? How do you think it’d be best to bring our two races closer together?” Said Saulstrance in an increasingly agitated voice.

“I don’t know. I truly don’t. But what I do know is that striking fear into humans is not the right way to go about it, neither is trying to take over their world or ours.” The green dragon said as he stopped circling and returned to the place he had been standing in before.

The dragons that surrounded cheered in agreement for his answer. While they did appreciate the idea of uniting humans and dragons together, they agreed with the green dragon that the way Saulstrance wished to make this ideal real was not the right way to go about it.

“Well said Lord Izzieol!” Several of the dragons exclaimed.

Their chanting and cheering for their Leader’s response only served to further infuriate Saulstrance.

“Izzieol…” Saulstrance loudly growled, flashing his fangs to Izzieol and the rest of the dragons that surrounded them. “You’ve all made a big mistake today.”

The cheers and chants died down as soon as Saulstrance said this. As eager as he had been to attack Izzieol or one or two of the other dragons, Saulstrance opted instead to take his leave. His wings unfolded from his back and he flew into the distance. As he flew, he promised to himself that he would return to Aanki and he would show them that he was a dragon of his word.

Three weeks later, having heard that Saulstrance had been to Aanki, Eig’nia journeyed to the village herself in an attempt to gather information on his whereabouts. Thankfully for Eig’nia, any knowledge of her having some form of involvement in the slayings of two of the dragon realm’s past Leaders had become all but forgotten. This was also helped by her choosing to remain low for the past one hundred eighty four years.

She stood atop one of the caves and peered down at the dragons below her. Just as the dragoness was about to descend to the ground to speak with the village’s citizens, from off in the distance, she could see a figure approaching the village. As this figure came closer and closer, Eig’nia could tell right away who it was. Even if it had been decades since she had last seen him, Eig’nia could recognize his orange red scales anywhere. Saulstrance moved toward the side of a cave to try and better hide so that the villagers wouldn’t see be able to see him as well.

Slowly moving closer towards the center of the village where some of the citizens were speaking amongst each other, while others watched as their offspring played together or played with their parents, Saulstrance hid against the side of the cave and carefully observed the dragons of Aanki. Still angered by the villagers’ dismissal of his goals, Saulstrance watched the dragons, carefully choosing which one to attack first. Eig’nia crouched down and eyed Saulstrance carefully, trying to keep herself hidden from him. Her eyes glued to Saulstrance, she watched him as she anxiously anticipated whatever it was he was about to attempt.

After taking some time, Saulstrance finally chose his target: a dragon with bright blue scales who had been playing with his son, a small light brown dragon. The little dragon was chasing after his dad, the two of them laughing together as the young dragon tried to catch his dad.

Just as they passed by, Saulstrance leapt at the father dragon, pouncing him and pinning his head to the ground. Holding the dragon’s head tightly in his paw, he squeezed tighter, causing the father to wince his eyes as he moaned in pain. The father dragon struggled to get himself free but stopped when he found that all he was doing was making his pain worse as Saulstrance squeezed his head tighter.

“NO!!!” The little dragon shrieked, horrified at what he was seeing happen to his dad.

The dragons that were within the area heard the terrified screams of the hatchling. They hurried over to try and help his dad but Saulstrance warned them to stay where they were.

“If you move any closer, I won’t hesitate to crush his skull from under my paw.” Saulstrance threatened, glowering at the dragons before him.

“Please don’t! Don’t hurt my dad!” The hatchling desperately pled as tears rained down his face.

Saulstrance turned to the devastated hatchling with a blank, uncaring look on his face. Unmoved by the small dragon’s pleas, Saulstrance pressed down even harder on the head of the little dragon’s father. His claws dug into the father’s head as some blood ran from the wounds that were left. The father screamed even louder as he thrashed around violently, trying desperately to free himself.

“DAD! JUST STOP IT PLEASE!!!” The hatchling screamed hysterically, crying even harder as all he could do was stand by and watch as his father was tortured.

“What did I tell all of you? You made a big mistake.” Said Saultrance as he flashed his fangs at each of the dragons.

Eig’nia had decided that even if Saulstrance was her friend, she couldn’t stand by and let him do this. She knew that Saulstrance wasn’t simply making an idle threat on the life of the dragon he had pinned to the ground. He had full intention to kill him. As she watched as the hatchling continued to beg for his father to be let go, she remembered back when she was a young dragon and how she lost Tourajé, Mayza, and Shashala as well as being disowned by her own family. The pain she felt when she lost her friends and family was something she would remember for the rest of her life. The very last thing she wanted was to see someone else go through that exact same pain.

It was now or never. Eig’nia prepared to make a move but just before she could get down there and assist the villagers of Aanki, she saw the Leader of the village, Izzieol fly over the crowd. He flew several hundred feet to the right of them and then, once he was lined up with Saulstrance, Izzieol flapped his wings as hard and as fast as they would allow. He flew right into Saulstrance, knocking the reddish orange dragon to the ground and releasing the father of the once inconsolable hatchling. As the small dragon’s father stood up, his son ran to his side and nuzzled against his dad as tears continued to rain down his face only this time, his tears weren’t of sadness but of happiness.

“All of you, return to your caves right this instant! I don’t want anyone getting in the way!” Commanded Izzieol who was planning to take on Saulstrance all by himself.

“But sir!” The dragon who had been previously captured by Saulstrance attempted to say.

“Just do it! Remember, all of you that if anything does happen to me, I prepared all of you with my backup plan. I truly, truly hate to ask it of you all but this may be the best chance we’ve got if it means ridding Zalphonia of one of its greatest criminals.” Izzieol said.

All the villagers stood silent for a second. The last thing they wanted was for anything to happen to their beloved Leader. They knew that Izzieol didn’t obtain the role of Leader for nothing but they also knew just as well as he did that he was going against a truly dangerous enemy and Izzieol’s belief that something may happen to him during his fight with Saulstrance didn’t sit well with the other villagers. Just then one certain dragoness stepped forward and spoke.

“We understand sir. Please, do be careful.” Said the dragoness with great concern in her voice.

“I always am. You just worry about yourself and the other villagers Minasha.” Izzieol replied, smiling towards the dragoness in an attempt to assure her that he’d be fine.

Minasha nodded as she and the rest of her fellow villagers retreated to their caves. They all watched from the foot of their caves as Izzieol and Saulstrance prepared to fight. Eig’nia, meanwhile had returned to the stance she had taken before and also bare witness to the coming fight.

“That’s truly touching Izzieol. You definitely live up to the title of Leader and for that I must applaud you.” Said Saulstrance mockingly, smiling in a way which further served to anger Izzieol.

“I don’t enjoy becoming involved in conflicts. However, I also don’t appreciate when someone threatens the lives of my fellow villagers. Even if I die fighting you Saulstrance, I’ll die happily if it means I get to drag you to hell with me and save the world I love!” Izzieol said, greatly determined to put a stop to Saulstrance and his plans.

Not feeling even a tad bit threatened by Izzieol’s declaration, Saulstrance burst out laughing in a very creepy way, a crazed look in his eyes as he did.

“You’ll drag me to hell? Izzieol, I’ve already been in hell.” Saulstrance declared, an amused look on his face.

Without saying another word, Izzieol swung his head at Saulstrance in an attempt to headbutt him. Saulstrance swiftly avoided the attack and expelled a flaming rock from his throat, hitting the left side of Izzieol’s face, causing the dragon to hiss in pain as he felt the sting that was left by the combination of earth and fire.

Before Izzieol had any time to retaliate Saulstrance raised into the air so that he was standing only on his back legs. Putting just enough strength into his front legs, Saulstrance stomped them on the ground, causing the ground around them to shake violently. The dragons who were watching their battle braced themselves, putting all their strength into their front and back legs in order to keep themselves up. Izzieol however, being closer to Saulstrance as well as being more taken aback by his opponent’s ability, was not as lucky as his fellow villagers. Within seconds, he collapsed to the ground, unable to keep his balance.

Once the tremors finally stopped, Izzieol returned to his feet. Still shell shocked he asked Saulstrance what that ability was. He had never, in all his life ever experienced an ability such as his before. He had no idea that a dragon could even possess such a power.

Eig’nia was left just as stunned as Izzieol and the villagers were. She had never seen this power from Saulstrance before. She knew that Saulstrance did have a second ability which allowed him to ingest earth and then combine it with his fire to be used as a more powerful projectile but she never knew that he was capable of doing something like she had just witnessed. Eig’nia couldn’t help but wonder- - what else did Saulstrance learn in the time since they had last seen each other?

“Sometime after having killed Léruc I still found myself in a blinded rage. Thanks to my anger, my regret, and my sorrow, I was able to discover a second part to my second ability. Originally I believed that all my second ability would allow me to do was consume earth and then launch it from my throat in the same way I launched my fire. That whole time, I remained blissfully unaware of what my second ability was truly capable of. Depending upon how much strength I put into my front legs, I’m capable of causing short tremors. What you just experienced, Izzieol, was only about seventy five percent of my second ability’s power. Anymore and I may have ended up leveling your caves and possibly even killing you and your villagers.” Saulstrance explained, sounding deeply proud of his powers.

“Well that sure does sound dangerous Saulstrance. However…” Said Izzieol as his wings unfurled from his back and he flew a couple feet from the ground. “Your power is only useful if your opponent is on the ground. As long as I remain airborne, it won’t do you any good I’m afraid.”

Saulstrance closed his eyes and snickered amusedly to himself.

“You aren’t wrong Izzieol. My ability is useless so long as my opponent isn’t on the ground too. However, it’s a good thing that’s not all there is to my second ability.” Said Saulstrance, watching Izzieol as he flew overhead.

“What, do you plan to use more of your burning rocks? I may not know the ins and outs of your powers Saulstrance but I do know with utmost certainty that you only have a finite amount of rocks within your stomach. Use those up and your second ability is just about useless.” Izzieol said, confident that he had Saulstrance’s power just about figured out.

Saulstrance was growing intrigued by his opponent. Izzieol had never seen the kind of power that he possessed yet his observations were right on the mark. However, Saulstrance, having spent most of his life training and becoming stronger, knew better than to rely on only one power. Even before engaging Izzieol in combat, Saulstrance had sworn to himself not to overuse his second ability. After all, relying on only one ability, Saulstrance thought to himself, was such an amateurish mistake.

Saulstrance opened his wings and launched himself into the sky. Both he and Izzieol flew over Aanki shooting balls of fire at each other. They then flew right for one another with Izzieol clutching his paw into a fist and smashing it into Saulstrance’s chin. Saulstrance flinched as his head swung back. He swung his head forward, smashing it into Izzieol’s. Both dragons were left momentarily staggered by the headbutt as they moaned from the pain. Recovering from the pain a little before Izzieol, Saulstrance took the opportunity to swing his tail at Izzieol who, in the nick of time, flew above Saulstrance just barely missing being struck by his tail.

Just as Saulstrance had done when they were on the ground, Izzieol raised both of his front paws and he slammed them into the top of Saulstrance’s head, causing the dragon to fall headfirst out of the sky sending him plummeting to the top of a cave. Stopping himself just a mere ten feet away from the cave, Saulstrance gently touched down on the top of the cave then flew back into the sky.

Back in the sky, Saulstrance chased after Izzieol. He was close on his enemy’s tail as a jet of fire streamed from Saulstrance’s mouth. The fire engulfed the beginning of Izzieol’s tail sending a burning sensation through Izzieol’s back. Realizing that he would not be able to outrun Saulstrance, Izzieol spiraled higher into the air and, once Saulstrance was behind him, spiraled downward striking Saulstrance in the back. Saulstrance roared as intense piercing pain shot throughout his body. Izzieol then let his back legs fall through the air as they swung into Saulstrance’s side causing him even more pain. The dragons down below as well as Eig’nia watched speechless at what they were witnessing. This whole time, with the foreboding warning Izzieol had left with them, the dragons feared that they may lose their Leader in this battle and yet, it seemed as though they were worried over nothing. Izzieol was beating Saulstrance. This sight made the villagers more confident. They wondered if perhaps they wouldn’t have to resort to utilizing Izzieol’s backup plan. Eig’nia, however, wasn’t as certain. Although Saulstrance was her friend since they were hatchlings, she also didn’t want anything bad to happen to Izzieol. Still, Eig’nia found something off about the fight. Although she knew that Izzieol was indeed strong, she couldn’t help but feel as though either Saulstrance wasn’t really trying or Izzieol was just that strong. Because she hadn’t seen Saulstrance in so long, she couldn’t gage for herself just how strong he had become since then. She did think it possible that Izzieol was indeed just that powerful but she remained skeptical.

As Izzieol moved away from Saulstrance, Saulstrance lunged at Izzieol with the intent of stabbing him with his horns. As Izzieol attempted to dodge the attack, he felt his left front paw become impaled by one of Saulstrance’s horns. Izzieol roared in excruciating pain as he looked down at his paw seeing the small bit of ivory horn that had gone through it. Izzieol’s eyes twitched as he slowly tried to move his paw and try to slide it up and over Saulstrance’s horn. “It hurts, doesn’t it, Izzieol? Well if you want, I can help you.” Teased Saulstrance cruelly as he bucked his head up sending his horn further into Izzieol’s paw.

Izzieol howled again, blood oozing from the puncture wound and running over the sides of his paws. Saulstrance continued to do this. He would buck his head and try to move around which also caused his horn to move in Izzieol’s wound.

Eig’nia was horrified by how cruel Saulstrance was being. This wasn’t the dragon she once called her best friend. Far from it. This was just a monster wearing his flesh. The Saulstrance she knew, the Saulstrance she loved would never take such glee in torturing another dragon. It was that moment that a thought suddenly hit Eig’nia: Perhaps Tourajé and Shashala weren’t the only ones who died that night so long ago. Clearly the kind, loving Saulstrance she once knew also perished back then too. Part of Eig’nia was glad that Tourajé, Shashala, and Mayza weren’t alive today to see just how far Saulstrance had fallen. As much as she had missed them even to that day, the last thing she would have wanted was for them to witness what Saulstrance had become. Roasch as well, despite still being alive, was another one of her friends she was glad wasn’t around to see this. Back when they were young, Roasch had a difficult time dealing with the loss of his baby sister as well as Mayza. This would probably have done him in.

With Izzieol’s paw still impaled by his horn, Saulstrance flew through the sky. He swung his head back and then thrusted it forward, launching Izzieol towards the ground and freeing his paw. Izzieol lay on the ground motionless. His breathing was slow and somewhat shallow. His paw was drenched in blood which was beginning to stick to his scales.

Seeing their Leader laying beaten and having difficulty breathing began to dash the villagers’ hopes that Izzieol would be able to beat Saulstrance, looks of horror on theirs as well as Eig’nia’s faces.

Landing on the ground, Saulstrance approached the beaten dragon, a triumphant smile on his muzzle.

“I don’t know if you can hear me but you did well Izzieol. I’m truly that for someone who had never seen the kind of power I possess that you were able to deduce how it worked as well as you had. You were quite a smart one.”

Suddenly, Saulstrance’s smile changed into a frown. He exhaled a melancholic sigh, sounding unusually disappointed in what he knew he would have to do.

“It’s a true shame. You’re strong, smart. You would have made an excellent addition to my group. In the end, the only one you can blame is yourself.” Saulstrance said as he raised his tail, preparing to stab Izzieol in the throat with it.

As his tail neared Izzieol’s throat, Izzieol suddenly sprung back to life and bit Saulstrance’s tail. Saulstrance roared as a sharp jolt shot through his body. Izzieol’s fangs bit deeply into Saulstrance’s tail as small trickles of blood poured out of the bite marks made by Izzieol’s teeth.

Saulstrance clenched his paw into a fist hitting Izzieol and forcing him to let go. Izzieol staggered back as he regained his footing. Both dragons stared angrily at one another as Saulstrance held the end of his tail in pain and Izzieol held his other paw over the one that had been stabbed by Saulstrance’s horn.

“Pretty sneaky, Izzieol. I will admit that for a moment, I thought I had actually killed you.” Said Saulstrance, holding his paw over the bite marks Izzieol had left in his tail.

“I promised you Saulstrance: the only way I’m dying is if I take you with me.” Izzieol remarked, wincing from the stinging in his paw.

The two dragons butted heads with one another, the both of them proceeding to try and push the other back. They braced themselves, growling and groaning loudly with each one trying to overpower the other.

Just at that moment, while Izzieol’s eyes were locked with Saulstrance’s, Saulstrance took this opportunity to use the wound he had inflicted onto Izzieol’s paw to his advantage. Izzieol didn’t notice as Saulstrance raised his paw which was directly lined up with his. Saulstrance slammed it as hard as he could into Izzieol’s wound, causing the dragon to stumble a foot and yell in searing pain.

Izzieol’s eyes bulged and he whimpered loudly, holding his paw over the wounded one. He cringed, the pain unbearable, his entire body twitching as he sat in place covering his wound.

Saulstrance suddenly shot towards him, ready to finish Izzieol off. Noticing this, Izzieol quickly released a stream of fire from his throat. Unable to avoid it, the stream engulfed Saulstrance’s head. Saulstrance roared from the pain as the fire came to an end shortly after. His head was covered in numerous burn marks some of which had thick black smoke rising from them.  

Saulstrance continued his advance towards Izzieol. Desperately, Izzieol thought of something, anything else he could do to stop Saulstrance. He didn’t have much fire left in his body and the pain in his paw was becoming too much for him to handle. Knowing this and even knowing that he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise of taking Saulstrance down with him, Izzieol opted to continue fighting until his final breath. Izzieol had only one hope left: he hoped that once Saulstrance was defeated, either by the villagers or by someone else, that his village, no, his world would be able to live peacefully.

Izzieol stood up and ran straight towards Saulstrance. Undeterred, Saulstrance stood in place. Then, just as Izzieol was merely a few feet from him, Saulstrance’s tail whipped from behind him, slapping Izzieol in the face which stunned the dragon. Before Izzieol could make another move, Saulstrance wrapped his tail around Izzieol’s neck. It coiled around like a snake as Saulstrance kept a tight squeeze on Izzieol’s neck.

Izzieol struggled to get free, choking and gasping trying desperately to get oxygen into his lungs. The villagers and Eig’nia watched stunned and horrified. They knew that no matter what they did, they wouldn’t be able to help Izzieol beat Saulstrance, or, at the very least, not Saulstrance the way he was now.

In the cave of two certain dragons, Minasha, along with her mate Cerquil and their friends Ontrix and Angela watched as their Leader continued to struggle fruitlessly to get free from Saulstrance’s tail. Suddenly, a reluctant sigh came from Cerquil.

“It’s now or never. We have to cast the spell now. If we’re going to start a family, then our future children deserve to grow up in a peaceful world; one which doesn’t have a monster like Saulstrance in it.” Cerquil said turning to his friends.

“You’re right Cerquil. Even if Izzieol can weaken Saulstrance, I still doubt that any of us would be able to put an end to him.” Agreed Minasha, looking glumly at her mate.

“I’m ready whenever you three are.” Angela said reluctantly.

“Okay then. I’ll let the rest of the villagers know.” Said Ontrix who was just as reluctant to cast the spell as her friends were.

While informing their fellow villagers through their tails would more than likely have been more discreet and allow them to transform Saulstrance without his knowing, Ontrix knew she didn’t have enough time to communicate with them one by one. She called out to the rest of the villagers, informing them to get ready to cast the spell. Having heard this, Saulstrance curiously turned towards the villagers who were coming out of their caves. They approached Saulstrance as they chanted an incantation. Saulstrance had never heard this spell before. He was certain though that whatever the spell did would not be good for him.

Just then, his suspicion was proven true. Saulstrance noticed something odd happening with his body. He watched in horror as his muscles began to shrink. His tail had unwrapped itself from Izzieol’s neck, dropping the dragon to the ground as the tail grew smaller and smaller. The same happened with the rest of his body.

As Saulstrance watched his body undergo its bizarre transformation, he realized that he was changing into his human form. Although he had transformed so many times before, this time he was left paralyzed in fear. He didn’t understand why this was happening. He didn’t choose to change into human form. It must have been that incantation he thought to himself. It was the spell that was changing him into a human. When Saulstrance realized this, he smiled wickedly as he chuckled at the villagers.

“So that’s all your spell does? Change me into a human? What good will that do? I’ll just change back into my true form and take all of you down.” Gloated Saulstrance, convinced that he had discovered the fatal flaw in the villagers’ and Izzieol’s plan.

“Not this time, Saulstrance. You won’t be changing into a dragon ever again.” One of the villagers said.

Saulstrance looked at the villagers with a hint of confusion on his face. How could that be possible? So long as he possessed the ability to shift between human and dragon forms, how was it possible for him to be stuck in one form or the other? When Saulstrance asked the villager what he meant, Cerquil stepped forward and answered the rapidly changing dragon’s question.

“This spell not only traps its victim in the body of a human but it also prevents said victim from returning to their original form. That form is locked away severely limiting and crippling a dragon’s abilities.” Cerquil explained.

“Wha-what!” Stuttered Saulstrance, his eyes wide and his voice filled with shock.

As Saulstrance’s body concluded its change, the dragon who was now trapped in the body of a human couldn’t believe it. Was he truly doomed to live out his days as some feeble feckless human? Not believing their words, Saulstrance tried to transform but it was just as they said. No longer could Saulstrance transform. His true self had been locked away.

Saulstrance screamed in frustration. “There has to be a way to regain my true form. Nothing, not even your little spell is perfect. I will find a way to regain my real body and once I do, I will turn the human realm into my kingdom!”

Suddenly a portal opened up behind Saulstrance. He looked back, taken by surprise at its sudden appearance. As Saulstrance turned back, he saw Cerquil stepping forward.

“No Saulstrance. Your goals end here. You will never be able to turn humans into your subjects but you’ll still get to live with them. That way, while you spend the rest of your days among the humans, you can reflect on how you will never be able to conquer their race or their world. Farewell Saulstrance. May you never find your way back to Zalphonia.” And with that, Cerquil shoved Saulstrance into the portal. Immediately after Saulstrance had gone through, the portal closed.

All of the villagers gathered around Izzieol. Although they had succeeded in banishing Saulstrance from their world, they were unable to save the Leader of their village. Saulstrance had claimed his life before his transformation had begun. The sight of their deceased Leader brought tears to all of the dragons’ eyes. All of the dragons of Aanki greatly looked up to Izzieol. Although he was the strongest of their village, he was also the one who loved peace the most. The only time he would ever become part of a conflict was if two or more villagers found it impossible to agree on something. Before his battle with Saulstrance, he never had to worry about anything like a dragon who wanted to take over the human realm and wanted him and his fellow villagers to assist him in this endeavor.

In that moment, the villagers had lost both their Leader and portions of their lifespans. That was the price they had to pay in order to use the spell. In exchange for trapping a dragon in a human body, a dragon would lose some of its lifespan.

“Goodbye Izzieol.” Several of the villagers said as they all bowed their heads and paid their respects to their fallen Leader and fellow dragon.

Eig’nia watched from atop the cave. Even though she hadn’t been the one who killed Izzieol, she still felt that she was every bit responsible. Because of her inability to kill Saulstrance that night, another dragon ended up dying instead and now her best friend or rather, whatever remained of him may have been lost for good. She had no way of knowing where Saulstrance had ended up in the human realm and, for all she knew, the villagers more than likely had no idea either. With nothing left for her, she silently took her leave but not before taking one last look back and apologizing to Izzieol in her mind.  

More than a decade had passed since then. Since then, rumors of Saulstrance’s return began to circulate around the dragon realm. The dragons claimed that Saulstrance had regained his true form and had slain another dragon and consumed his or her blood in order to do so. Eig’nia, having discovered this, knew that Saulstrance would return to their world. More than likely he would still be looking for able and willing dragons to assist him in fulfilling what he believed was Tourajé’s greatest wish.

Were this to happen, Eig’nia pondered what that meant for her. Would Saulstrance try to find her and convince her to join him? Did he even believe that she was still alive? They hadn’t seen each other in more than two hundred years. For all she knew, Saulstrance more than likely believed she was dead. Having seen firsthand the kind of dragon that Saulstrance had become, Eig’nia personally hoped he didn’t think she was still alive.

On one particular day, as Eig’nia was journeying through the dragon realm, in what seemed like a case of incredible coincidence, Eig’nia saw as a familiar face approached her. To her surprise, the stories the dragons spoke of were true: Saulstrance had indeed regained his real body and he also knew that she wasn’t dead.

Eig’nia felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even if Saulstrance was her lifelong friend, she had no way of knowing what he would try to do to her now. The Saulstrance that stood before her was not the same Saulstrance she knew as a hatchling. It wasn’t just what she had witnessed Saulstrance do that made her feel this way, it was also the look in his eyes. They held no emotion in them, no life. Just looking at Saulstrance’s eyes made Eig’nia feel as though she was staring into an abyss. It scared her but at the same time, it made her pity her friend because through all of that, she could see that there was something else that was behind those cold, emotionless eyes: pain. Pain that had stuck with Saulstrance since he was only sixteen. Eig’nia knew this because she too, had experienced it as well. However, while Eig’nia had managed to at least somewhat overcome her pain, Saulstrance had completely succumb to his. Watching his friends die, being forced to kill Agcro, killing Léruc, and learning the true fate of his parents was simply too much for Saulstrance to handle all at once. All Eig’nia could do back then was watch helplessly as these events changed her friend for the worse.

“It’s been a long time Eig’nia.” Saulstrance greeted with a small smile on his face.

“Saulstrance…” Eig’nia said sadly, finding it difficult to read whether Saulstrance’s smile was of genuine happiness to see her or if it was because he thought he found someone to join him in turning the human realm into his kingdom.

“You don’t need to sound so sad Eig’nia. I’m here, back in my real body. The dragons of Aanki believed that by trapping me in my human form, I would be powerless and thus unable to do a thing to the human realm. However, in that time, I was able to amass what began as a small following of humans which only grew bigger and bigger.” Saulstrance explained to Eig’nia.

“Humans? Then…YOU were the one behind those attacks! The ones where those baby dragons were taken from their families!” Said Eig’nia, horrified by the realization that her own friend was responsible for such horrible tragedies. Even Saulstrance had become the way he was now, Eig’nia didn’t want to believe that he even he would do something as terrible as kidnapping and selling children as slaves.

“I was. I had two reasons for kidnapping those hatchlings: the first was in hope that one of the hatchling’s parents would come after me in an attempt to save their offspring. This way, I would be able to kill one of the adult dragons and drink their blood to regain my true form. However, the dragons got it into their heads that I was selling their children into slavery. Because of this, they probably believed they’d never see their children again and didn’t make an attempt to chase after us to get their hatchlings back. There was a part two to my plan which involved harvesting the blood of these baby dragons. However, because of unfortunate circumstances, that plan fell through. Of course, those circumstances weren’t too bad for thanks to what happened, I was able to regain my real body.” Saulstrance finished with his explanation.

“So you killed a dragon anyway in order to regain your real body…” Eig’nia said, feeling disappointed in Saulstrance.

Saulstrance nodded. Eig’nia closed her eyes and scoffed, turning away in disgust.

“I can’t believe you Saulstrance. What happened to you? Don’t you remember? You hated the idea of becoming a killer. You hated it so much that even when you had the chance, you didn’t kill Agcro. And now you kill like it’s nothing at all!” Exclaimed Eig’nia, anger swelling within her voice.

With a sigh, Saulstrance turned his head away from Eig’nia for a moment then turned it back to face her.

“You’re right, I did hate killing. However, when we lost Tourajé, Mayza, and Shashala, I learned our worlds don’t care about what we or anyone else want. Earth and Zalphonia, they’re both cruel in their own ways. However, I can change that Eig’nia. If I were to bring the entirety or our world to our side and succeed in conquering the human realm, I can bring peace to both worlds by uniting them under myself. Through my power, I’ll create worlds where nobody has to be needlessly killed like Tourajé or Mayza, be discriminated like Cyrus, or sacrifice themselves like Shashala.

Tourajé’s dream to unite the two worlds won’t be a dream anymore; it will be a reality. However, I can’t do this alone Eig’nia. If I could choose any dragon to join me in this, it would be you. What do you say, Eig’nia?” Asked Saulstrance, his eyes lit up at the mention of his late friend’s plan.

Eig’nia hesitated for a moment. She knew this wasn’t the right thing to do. Like Saulstrance, she too wanted to see Tourajé’s dream become a reality but not like this. She didn’t want humans and dragons to come to respect one another through fear. While she knew Saulstrance’s heart may have been in the right place, she also knew that taking over the world the humans called home wasn’t the right way to bring peace to either world.

Against her better judgement, Eig’nia agreed to join Saulstrance. While Saulstrance himself was overjoyed to hear that he and his childhood friend would be together again just like in the old days, Eig’nia wasn’t as happy. However, just then, a thought suddenly crossed her mind: joining Saulstrance could actually work to her advantage. By staying by his side, she would be able to keep a better eye on him and possibly even come up with a way to stop Saulstrance without either having to kill him herself or witnessing him be killed by another.

However, as she spent more time with Saulstrance gathering more members for their cause as well as looking after Saulstrance’s young children, his son Jake and his adopted son Alex, Eig’nia realized that in the end, it would most likely fall upon her to do what she knew in the back of her mind needed to be done. Until that day came, she opted to prepare herself mentally. She did this by trying to suppress her emotions at all times, even going so far as trying to kill her emotions and feelings so that she wouldn’t feel any regret for what she would do. However, try as she might, deep down Eig’nia couldn’t suppress her true feelings.

Half a year had passed following the death of Saulstrance. Following his death, Eig’nia turned herself over to the dragon realm’s Leaders. While her assisting of a dangerous criminal would have resulted in her execution, because she had also assisted in the stopping of said dangerous criminal, the Leaders and the Guardians both agreed to lessen the severity of her sentence. Eig’nia was given fifty years in a cell. True to what she had told Minasha, Eig’nia accepted her punishment without any resistance on her part.

Eig’nia sat in her cell recounting bits of her story to a young dragon with very light blue scales. A shackle had been placed around her neck. While normally, Eig’nia’s wings, tail, and her front and back legs would also be bound, Minasha was able to convince the Guardians to be more lenient on Eig’nia. Because of how compliant she had been with them the first few months, they eventually agreed with Minasha’s request. While two of the other three Leaders were also fine with this decision, Tomi, the third and oldest of the Leaders strongly disagreed with this choice although in part this had more to do with Eig’nia being the last remaining dragon responsible for his master Raolef’s death. Much to Tomi’s chagrin, he inevitably had no choice but to comply with the wishes of the Guardians and the other Leaders.

“In the end, all Saulstrance ever wanted was to be reunited with his parents. He wanted to become our master’s apprentice because he believed that through this, news of his exploits would travel through our world, perhaps even catching the attention of his mom and dad, hoping that this would make them proud of their son. Unfortunately for Saulstrance, his actions would become known to Zalphonia but not in the way he wished. Zalphonia will forever remember him as its worst criminal but I’ll always remember him as who he used to be: my best friend. Eig’nia explained.

Eig’nia stopped for a second. She closed her eyes and let out a saddened sigh trying her hardest to hold back her tears. The young dragon sat beside her cell, watching curiously as he waited for Eig’nia to continue with her story.

“No matter how many times I told myself it had to be done, that I had to do it if it meant saving both worlds, I still couldn’t bring myself to end his life. I thought I would never be able to put a stop to Saulstrance myself. But…then I met a dragon and his friends who showed me I didn’t have to do it alone. Even though I was their enemy, they still accepted me and even though he defeated me, this dragon gave me a chance to make up for my mistakes. In addition to giving me a chance at redemption, he also, in an incredible act of kindness considering who he was, saved the only other surviving Follower and allowed him a second chance at life.” Eig’nia continued.

“That dragon…you wouldn’t happen to mean…Lady Minasha and Lord Cerquil’s son, would you?” Asked the young dragon, eyes lit up at the possibility of this dragon being the son of his beloved Leader and Champion.

Eig’nia smiled at the young dragon and nodded. Her smile continued to grow wider as she slowly opened her mouth and spoke his name out loud.

“Doulstraz.”

Suddenly, no longer able to hold them back, a stream of tears rained down Eig’nia’s face. She sniffled, sobbing, her wide smile still shown on her muzzle as she wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her paw.

“Doulstraz, his sons, and their friends…they truly are an amazing group. Being around them for the short time that I got to know them and seeing the love and dedication they had to one another reminded me of the love and dedication my friends and I had for our families and one another. Just as Léruc had hurt Saulstrance, Saulstrance too had done something that hurt Doulstraz. However, unlike Saulstrance, Doulstraz managed to overcome his pain and not lose himself to it. That’s why I believe that they’ll be the ones to undo everything that Saulstrance and I had done and save the humans that had been captured by us…wherever Saulstrance may have sent them…” Eig’nia said, her voice straining as tears continued to rain down her face.

At that same moment, in the human realm, Titus sat on a park bench, his hands folded in his lap. He watched as his sons Drake and Jake played together with their friends Crystal and Sean on the playground equipment. Together with Sean’s little brother Tim and Rick’s twin daughters, Samantha and Elisa, the seven kids ran around chasing each other, laughing cheerfully and without a care in the world. Titus smiled. It always made Titus happy to see Drake, Jake, and their friends just goofing off and getting the chance to just enjoy being kids. He was sure it made them happy as well since the worse they had to worry about wasn’t a dragon who wanted to take over the world but just finishing their homework.

However, even with how peaceful the past half a year had been following Saulstrance’s defeat, Titus knew that he still had one last thing he needed to do: he had to find and free the humans captured by Saulstrance and his Followers. Since Saulstrance wanted to turn the human realm into his kingdom and make humans his subjects, Titus was certain that the humans he had captured were still alive somewhere and being looked after by someone. At first, he believed that Jake may have known where the captured humans were but when he asked, Jake assured him that only his dad knew where they were going and that none of the other Followers knew either. Despite this setback, Titus was still determined to find these humans and save them no matter what.

“Titus!” Lucas’s voice called to his friend.

Broken out of his train of thought, Titus turned to see Lucas walking towards him. His hands slipped into his pants pockets, Lucas stood by Titus as the two of them turned to watch their children playing.

“You looked pretty deep in thought.” Noted Lucas.

Titus nodded. “Just a lot to think about. Y’know, Luke, when I was just thirteen and when I saw Saulstrance kill Angela, that solidified in my mind that he was the ultimate evil. I thought he was truly among the worst of the worst. But now, after finally stopping him, I wonder if, maybe there was more to him than that. Maybe what Eig’nia said was true, I mean, she did know him far longer than we did. Who knows? Maybe at one point, he was a pretty decent dragon. You know?”

Lucas looked down at Titus and smiled. “Well Titus, that’s what we call growing up. When you get older, you realize that the world and people, or dragons in this case aren’t as black and white as you once thought they were.”

Titus looked up at Lucas this time. Titus smiled and scoffed, shaking his head a little.

“You of all people should not be giving anyone a lecture on what it means to grow up. Besides, we’re the same age, Luke!” Titus said, his smile wider. Lucas laughed. “Fair enough. But I had to lecture you at least once. After all, pretty much everyone else has.”

Titus’s happy demeanor changed into a look of confusion after Lucas said that. Just then, he saw Sarah approaching them. She stopped beside Lucas and smiled at her husband.

“What were you guys talking about?” Sarah asked.

“Well…this has been troubling me a bit but…” Said Titus as he stood up from his seat. “There are still people who really need me. They’re waiting for me to rescue them. I don’t know where they are but I want to find them as soon as possible.” Hearing Titus’s concern for the people captured by Saulstrance warmed Sarah’s heart. However, one thing that her husband said caught her attention.

“But how can you find them if you don’t know where they are?” Asked Sarah in a knowing tone of voice.

“Well…” Titus knew what Sarah meant. However, Titus also knew that those people were suffering and wanted to locate them right away.

“Besides, it’s not just you they’re waiting for Titus. We’re all going to help you find them but, until we do know where they are, you should try and take it easy. I mean, you just saved the world! I think that warrants rest and relaxation before you go on another adventure! Take it easy, try to find some clues to where they could be, and then once we know for sure where the captured humans are, then we rescue them. Doesn’t that sound good?” Sarah said, assuring Titus that he didn’t have to do this alone.

“I agree with Sarah, Titus. We will find them but the first step needs to be locating where the humans are.” Said Lucas.

“I have to agree too. You both have good points. Alright then…” Titus smiled at his wife and best friend.

The three of them looked into the sky. With a look of determination on his face, Titus clenched his fist and said…

“Just wait you guys. I promise, one day I will fix everything.”

“It’s not like either of us can turn back now, Eig’nia. Whatever happens is going to happen regardless.” Saulstrance answered, not turning his attention from the fortress.

“I know that Saulstrance!” Exclaimed Eig’nia. “But still I’m worried about you. Mayza, Shashala, and… Tourajé are gone, and Roasch is in no condition to help us. We’re all that’s left and I just…I don’t want to lose someone else I care about. That’s all.”

Saulstrance took notice of his friend’s worry. Finally breaking free from his gazing at the fortress, he turned to Eig’nia and looked at her with a sympathetic look on his face.

“You’re not going to lose me Eig’nia. I promise you that. However, should Léruc say something I don’t like, I can’t guarantee he won’t end up lost.” Said Saulstrance, his tone changing from warm and empathetic to cold and uncaring at the end of what he said.

Eig’nia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This didn’t sound like the Saulstrance she knew whatsoever. Just a few hours ago, he was talking about how he didn’t want to kill and wouldn’t even kill Agcro, a dragon who had killed countless innocent dragons and now even humans.  Yet, now Saulstrance was telling her how, if Léruc told him something that didn’t sit well with him, he’d kill him. Eig’nia understood that Saulstrance was angry, and rightfully so about what Léruc had done to his parents. However, even then, she didn’t want to see Saulstrance fall the same way Léruc had.

“Saulstrance…please just no more killing, okay? We’ve already experienced far too much of it.” Eig’nia pled with Saulstrance.

But Saulstrance didn’t respond. This brought more worry to Eig’nia. Although she didn’t want to bear witness to any more death, she worried that Saulstrance may actually attempt to kill Léruc.

After awhile of standing and discussing what they would do, the two of them finally made their way inside. In that time, Tourajé’s body had finished changing back to its true form. This made it harder for Saulstrance to be able to carry his friend. Eig’nia backed up beside him, offering her support as together, the two of them supported Tourajé’s weight evenly and continued through the fortress.

“Master!” Eig’nia called out, her yell echoing through the fortress.

“I’m in here.” Léruc’s voice answered from the Leader’s hall.

They headed in the direction of Léruc’s voice. The room where Léruc was waiting for them was the very same room where their exams were held. As they approached this room, a sudden wave of nostalgia washed over the two dragons. Memories from the exam came rushing back to them. Eig’nia remembered her battle with Mayza and how she was able to make Mayza surrender by drooling on her. A small yet sad smile formed on Eig’nia’s muzzle as she reminisced. At the same time, Saulstrance recalled when he and Shashala fought. Back then, he thought that Shashala was extremely annoying and boastful. It was these things that gave Saulstrance the drive to defeat Shashala and become his master’s third apprentice. He remembered how hard he and Shashala fought during their first of many battles. Both dragons have their all but in the end, Saulstrance emerged victorious.

Each one of Saulstrance’s fights with Shashala flashed through his mind, including the ones that ended with Shashala defeating him. Saulstrance smiled as well at these memories. He knew that he had always been Shashala’s biggest inspiration and that he had always pushed his rival to be the best he could be. Saulstrance felt the same way about Shashala. With each battle the two of them fought, Saulstrance believed that Shashala had been pushing him as well, making him stronger and more confident in his abilities.

Both dragons’ smiles changed into frowns. With how much they had thought about the past, in the end it just made them feel worse. Half of their friends were gone and all they wanted was the chance to see their faces again. They would have given anything to just be able to return to the days before all of this happened. To go back to flying with and visiting Cyrus and his family, to return to sparring against Shashala, going on missions together with Tourajé, or simply getting to be with Mayza, Roasch, their families, and the others. Saulstrance and Eig’nia wanted those days back more than anything.

The two dragons stepped into the room where they found Léruc waiting for them in a darkened corner which shrouded the dragon in blackness. He stepped from the corner and approached Saulstrance and Eig’nia.

“Saulstrance and Eig’nia, at last…what has happened to the others?” Asked Léruc as he looked around and glanced behind Saulstrance and Eig’nia, expecting to see his guards or even the dragon who had gone with Tourajé to the human realm.

“They’re gone. We’re the only ones who survived.” Eig’nia answered with a solemn look on her face.

“Even the guards have died?” Léruc asked.

“Everyone is gone. The guards, Agcro…and… Shashala and Tourajé…” The dragoness answered once more.

Léruc was taken back when he learned that Tourajé and Shashala were among the casualties. At the mention of Shashala’s name, he immediately deduced that the dragon who followed Tourajé through the portal he had created was Shashala himself. He wondered if Shashala had heard anything they discussed while Léruc showed Tourajé his memories.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia both gently set Tourajé’s body down before them and Léruc, the latter of whom approached the body and inspected it. As he observed Tourajé’s corpse, he could see right away that he hadn’t been killed by a dragon. The hole that had been left in the side of his head was much too perfectly rounded for it to be done by either a fang or a claw. He also looked over the rest of Tourajé’s body to see if there were signs of anything else that could have ended the dragon’s life but he found nothing else of note. While Tourajé had gotten hurt during the battle with Agcro, he hadn’t suffered anything too severe. Thus, Léruc determined right away that the person who killed Tourajé must have been a human. Léruc was completely bewildered. He would have never guessed that a human would be capable of bringing down a dragon.

“How did Tourajé die?” Léruc asked as he raised his head and looked over at his pupils.

“It was a human who killed him. She…used this thing that she called a gun. At first, she was going to shoot Saulstrance but then Tourajé…” Eig’nia was unable to continue with her explanation. The dragoness began to choke up.

“…He was shot instead of me.” Saulstrance said, glaring coldly at Léruc.

Léruc took note of Saulstrance’s glare but paid it no mind. He had assumed that Saulstrance was still angered by the death of his friend. While he was also certain that Tourajé had revealed the truth about what had happened to Saulstrance’s parents to him, Léruc believed it made no difference. He could tell just by looking into Saulstrance’s eyes that he was experiencing the same pain he felt when he lost his family. It was what he needed to make Saulstrance into his proxy.

“Although we have suffered many a great loss, take comfort in knowing that their deaths weren’t in vain. Tourajé, Shashala, and the guards will be remembered and celebrated as heroes for their role in stopping one of the dragon realm’s most notorious killers. For now, you two should rest. I’m sure the deaths of your friends have taken a terrible toll on you. I will personally present Tourajé’s body to his family tomorrow and tell his, as well as Shashala’s families that their sons died as heroes. In the meantime, you should--“

But before Léruc could finish his sentence, Saulstrance interjected. He felt that Léruc was feigning his sympathies. After all, if he was truly the one who allowed Agcro to escape, then he was indirectly responsible for the deaths of the guards, Shashala, Tourajé, and the humans who were killed by Agcro. Saulstrance realized that even Agcro himself had in the end been a victim in all of this too. He was used just as much as any of them had been.

“You were the one who released Agcro, weren’t you?” Saulstrance asked accusingly, still glaring at Léruc.

“Saulstrance!” Gasped Eig’nia, surprised by how direct Saulstrance was being. She hadn’t been expecting Saulstrance to just come out and ask Léruc.

Despite his pupil’s question, Léruc wasn’t taken by surprise, almost as though he had expected that Saulstrance would ask him sooner or later. With a sad look in his eyes, Léruc turned away from Saulstrance and answered his question.

“Yes. That was me.”

Even with this answer, Saulstrance wasn’t satisfied. His anger swelled as he grew tense, his breathing getting heavier. It was already becoming hard for the dragon to keep himself from attacking Léruc but he did all he could to retain what little composure he may have had left.

“If you’d already suspected me of releasing Agcro, then I assume that Tourajé has told you everything else.” Said Léruc as he walked away from Saulstrance and Eig’nia.

“He did. But I want to hear straight from you what happened, Léruc. I won’t be satisfied until then.” Said Saulstrance in a demanding voice, his focus honed squarely on Léruc.

Saulstrance’s demanding tone annoyed Léruc. He was the Leader while Saulstrance was meant to be the follower. How dare that dragon think himself in a position to make demands Léruc thought to himself. And to refer to him simply as Léruc as opposed to Lord Léruc only served to anger Léruc even further. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to swing around and slap Saulstrance with his tail but, just like with Saulstrance, Léruc opted to try and keep himself composed. He would answer Saulstrance’s questions and would then continue from there depending on Saulstrance’s actions.

Stopping one hundred feet away from Saulstrance and Eig’nia, Léruc turned around and focused on his two remaining students. The whole time, Eig’nia said nothing. She felt it wouldn’t be her place to intervene. Whatever was to happen next would be squarely between Saulstrance and Léruc.

“I already take it that Tourajé told you I took your parents’ lives shortly before your hatching.” Léruc assumed as he sat down.

Saulstrance didn’t answer. He too simply took a seat on the ground and listened intently to what Léruc was about to tell him.

“I’m sure there isn’t much left I can tell you that Tourajé hasn’t. Your parents did everything within their power to keep you safe. They fled from village to village trying to hide anywhere they could until eventually finding their way back to ours. Eventually I was able to locate them and, upon discovering that your mother had laid your egg, saw that as the perfect opportunity to remove my two biggest obstacles. It seemed as though the two of them still retained a shred of loyalty to me as neither one of them attempted to fight back. Or maybe, they simply knew that no matter what they tried, even if they killed me instead, an outcome where everything was to work out for them simply wouldn’t be feasible. Had your parents killed me, they would have had to retreat to the human realm and live the rest of their days as fugitives always looking over their shoulders to make sure they weren’t being followed.” Léruc explained.

“Perhaps they should have killed you.” Said Saulstrance coldly, staring at Léruc with a cold, icey glare.

While Eig’nia kept her silence, she just couldn’t believe what Saulstrance was saying. She wondered what was going through his mind at that moment and wished that there was something, anything she could do to help Saulstrance. She didn’t like hearing Saulstrance who, before all this had always been so kind and cheerful talking about killing another dragon or how his parents should have killed him. She knew that Saulstrance was in a dark place but she wished that there was something, anything that she could do to help him.

Léruc took notice of Saulstrance’s cruel words as well. The old dragon was surprised by just how quickly these recent events had changed Saulstrance. To him, it was beginning to feel as if he was in the presence of a completely different dragon. While Léruc took some iota of satisfaction in this as he felt that if Saulstrance experienced the kind of pain he had, then he would be more willing to fulfill his lifelong ambitions, at the same time he felt contempt for his actions. He remembered the smiling face of the kindhearted, loving dragon that Saulstrance once was and, deep down, truly wanted him back. Even then, as Léruc had told Tourajé before, it was too late for him and for Saulstrance. He had already fallen into darkness long ago and believed that all he could do was plunge himself even further into it. He didn’t see any way he could ever make up for all the pain he had caused especially to Saulstrance. Even then, Léruc desperately hoped that someday he would be able to be absolved of his sins if it meant that, when his time came, he would be able to see his family again.

“Had your parents killed me, then what would that have meant for you, Saulstrance? Had I died, you never would have met Tourajé, Eig’nia, Mayza, Shashala, or Roasch. Would you truly have been happier having never met them and having to live the life of a fugitive with your parents?” Léruc asked.

Although angered by the question, Saulstrance found himself unable to provide Léruc with a true answer. As badly as he’d wanted to have been with his parents, it wasn’t easy for him to simply pick them over his friends. After all, for Saulstrance, his friends had been just as much his family as his parents were. Saulstrance’s answer was that he simply didn’t have an answer. He just couldn’t pick one over the other.

When Saulstance gave his answer to Léruc, the old dragon wasn’t sure how he felt about it. While he found Saulstrance’s love and dedication towards his friends truly admirable and understandable, at the same time, he truly believed that family was one of the most important things in both worlds, a belief he had held ever since his boyhood.

“Why not give a Saulstrance a third option?” Asked Eig’nia, finding herself no longer able to keep silent and just watch. “What about having never killed his parents to begin with? You should know better than anyone how it feels to lose your family. Why give Saulstrance the same pain that you felt and destroy his life the same way those humans destroyed yours? If what you really wanted was to make both worlds better, we would’ve helped you. You didn’t have to do any of this.”

“Even if I do agree with you, it doesn’t matter now anyway. Besides, Saulstrance’s life was never his to begin with.” Said Léruc, his eyes growing wide.

“Wha-what?” Saulstrance barely managed to say, his voice filled with shock and confusion.

“Ever since you hatched, your life was always meant to be mine. You were always to serve as my proxy and continue my goals when I passed. To make sure you fulfilled the life mission I entrust to you, I had to make sure you felt the same kind of pain I did when I lost my family. I wanted you to have friends, a chance to see and learn about the two worlds, and…to have your friends become the family you never got to have. Then, when the time was right, those things would all be snatched away from you Saulstrance, just as they were taken from me.” Léruc explained.

Neither Saulstrance nor Eig’nia could believe what they had heard. Saulstrance especially was having a difficult time handling what he had just learned. Tears ran down the dragon’s face as his body shook violently, his teeth grinding as he glared at Léruc with intense burning hatred in his eyes. Then, suddenly, something snapped within Saulstrance’s mind. He released a blood curdling roar which rang out throughout the entire fortress.

Saulstrance’s wings unfurled as the dragon took to flight. He roared once more as he launched himself at Léruc. Just as Léruc opened his wings and prepared to defend himself against Saulstrance, he folded his wings onto his back once more and closed his eyes, accepting whatever Saulstrance was about to do to him. Léruc felt that, with everything he had put Saulstrance through, this would be a more than fitting end. At the very least, with this, Léruc believed that he may be able to see his family.

Saulstrance bit deeply into Léruc’s neck, blood trickling from the teeth holes left by Saulstrance’s fangs. Saulstrance flew around the hall with Léruc’s neck still clamped tightly in his jaws, tears flying from his eyes. While he flew, he slammed Léruc against the walls, causing the older dragon to release pained roars. After awhile, the pain became too much for Léruc to take, causing him to lose consciousness. Despite this, Saulstrance didn’t cease. He continued to relentlessly smash Léruc against the walls, eventually breaking some of Léruc’s bones.

All Eig’nia could do was watch with a horrified expression on her face. With the way Saulstrance was acting, she had to wonder if Saulstrance was even in control of himself. She couldn’t believe how relentless Saulstrance was being. She knew that Léruc was finished, he couldn’t fight anymore but despite this, Saulstrance still continued. Eig’nia didn’t want to believe any of this was happening. This wasn’t Saulstrance. This was someone…or something else, in his skin.

When Saulstrance finally finished, smashing Léruc around, the older dragon was just barely breathing. Several of Léruc’s bones were broken and blood ran from different areas of his body. Eig’nia’s mouth dropped open, an immensely saddened look on her face. She was left speechless at the sight of the bloodied, broken dragon she and Saulstrance once called their Leader.

To finish, Saulstrance swooped down, smashing Léruc into the ground. When he removed his fangs from Léruc’s neck, Eig’nia saw that Léruc’s already shallow breathing had halted completely. His neck was broken and his body lay motionless.

Saulstrance was breathing erratically. For a time, Eig’nia just watched, not saying a word to Saulstrance. Then, all of a sudden, Saulstrance swung his head back and emitted a loud, agonized roar. As soon as Saulstrance’s roar came to an end, he began to make a strange sound which sounded like a cross between gasping and crying. Nervously, Eig’nia slowly and carefully approached Saulstrance, hoping that she would be able to comfort him.

“Saulstrance?” The dragoness said softly.

But Saulstrance didn’t answer to her. He continued to make the strange noise while his body shook.

“Saulstrance!” Eig’nia said a little louder.

This was enough to get Saulstrance to turn to her. Slowly he proceeded to stand up. As Saulstrance approached her, something within Eig’nia’s mind was telling her to be careful. She felt a sense of danger coming from her friend. While she didn’t realize why at first, it became clear to her right away: it was the look in Saulstrance’s eyes. No longer the kind, tender eyes of her lifelong friend, Saulstrance now had a look that made him appear more like a feral animal. Eig’nia could tell that even if Saulstrance’s body was before her, his mind wasn’t.

Eig’nia began to back away from Saulstrance as he approached her. Saulstrance raised his tail as it drew closer to Eig’nia. It wrapped around her neck tightly as it strangled the dragoness. Eig’nia choked and struggled as she tried to somehow get free. While she tried to break free from Saulstrance’s grasp, she caught a glimpse of her friend’s eyes. They were filled with unbridled insanity. Eig’nia knew that Saulstrance either wasn’t or couldn’t think properly. His mind had completely collapsed but even knowing this, she also knew that deep down, Saulstrance was still in there and she had to back him back before it was too late for both of them.

“Please Saulstrance!” The dragoness gasped and choked. “Don’t do this!”

But Eig’nia’s words were lost on Saulstrance. She gripped his tail with her paw and tried to pull it off of her.

“Saulstrance…please! It’s me, it’s Eig’nia!” The dragoness cried, hoping that the mention of her name would be enough to snap Saulstrance back to reality.

Saulstrance’s cold, emotionless face soon twisted into a look of shock. With a gasp he released his hold on Eig’nia as the dragoness leapt away from Saulstrance, ran a few feet from him, and tried to get air into her lungs. As she tried to breathe, she watched as Saulstrance swayed back and forth, groaning and holding his head in pain.

“Saulstrance, listen to me!” Eig’nia called to her friend. “I know you’re hurting right now. I can’t even imagine how bad it must feel but please Saulstrance! I’m begging you! Don’t lose yourself to the pain! You’re stronger than this! I know you can overcome it!”

Staggering back a few feet, Saulstrance then stood in place still holding a paw over his face as he groaned and panted loudly. Eig’nia watched feeling greatly worried for her friend. Just then, Saulstrance released another ear piercing roar then proceeded to shoot a ball of fire at Eig’nia. The dragoness easily avoided the attack but was then knocked off her feet after Saulstrance smashed into her. Just as Eig’nia was halfway back to her feet, Saulstrance attacked her again, sending her crashing into the wall. Just as Saulstrance was about to pounce on her, Eig’nia quickly leapt out of the way as he slammed his front paws into the ground.

“Saulstrance…” Said Eig’nia as she rose to her feet. “… I’m begging you. Fight the pain, Saulstrance! I don’t want to have to fight you! Not like this!” The dragoness pled, her voice beginning to strain.

However, no matter how hard she tried, her words could not get through to Saulstrance. He swung his tail at her, causing the dragoness to leap out of the way once again. As much as Eig’nia wished it wouldn’t have to come to it, she was starting to realize she had no other choice. Saulstrance was beyond helping himself now. The only one who could help him regain himself was Eig’nia and to do that…

“There’s no choice then. Saulstrance…I’ll fight you if it means I’m successful in bringing you back to your senses. So get ready Saulstrance because I’m not going to stop until you’re back!” Declared Eig’nia with newfound resolve.

Eig’nia dashed towards Saulstrance, shooting a fireball at him which struck him in the face, staggering him for a second. Her wings unfolded as she flew over Saulstrance and soared high into the air. Saulstrance opened his wings and flew after Eig’nia, shooting a barrage of fireballs at her. While successful in avoiding a few, there were simply too many fireballs for Eig’nia to avoid altogether. Most of them struck Eig’nia which not only caused her pain but also slowed her down somewhat.

The two dragons flew around the room for a moment with Saulstrance following closely behind Eig’nia. The dragoness then swooped down and landed back on the ground as did Saulstrance. Eig’nia swung her tail at Saulstrance, striking the latter in the side of his head. In response, Saulstrance swung his tail, hitting Eig’nia with it except that just as he was about to pull it back, Eig’nia bit down on Saulstrance’s tail. She bit it as hard as she could, hoping that the pain from her fangs going into his tail would be enough to snap Saulstrance out of his rage. This effort, however was proven futile as Saulstrance roared in pain and attacked Eig’nia with a stream of fire which engulfed her head. When the attack stopped, Eig’nia’s teeth were still deep in her friend’s tail. Her head was covered in burn marks, some of which had fumes rising from them. She winced in pain as her fangs slowly retracted from the bite marks they made in Saulstrance’s tail.

Saulstrance swung around. He and Eig’nia headbutted each other as the two of them stood locked in place, each one trying to overpower the other. As they struggled for a time, Eig’nia was eventually able to push Saulstrance back. She then clenched her paw tightly into a fist, hitting Saulstrance in the side of his face. With an angered roar, Saulstrance headbutt Eig’nia then proceeded to slam his fist into her chin.

Eig’nia staggered back several feet. Panting heavily, the dragoness rubbed the underside of her chin where Saulstrance had hit her. As she and Saulstrance stared one another down, she thought back to the very first time she ever met him and the rest of her friends. It was in this very room. The six of them all desperately wanted to study under Léruc and show the world their true potential however, only three of them would go on to become their Leader’s pupils. In the end, Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia herself passed the exams and since then, the three of them had been as close as family to one another.

“Saulstrance…” Said Eig’nia in a somber voice. “Do you remember the first time the six of us met? You, me, Tourajé, Shashala, Mayza, and Roasch? It was this exact room where we first met each other. I had no idea back then that the five dragons who had also made it to the final part of the exams with me would become my best friends growing up.”

Eig’nia smiled sadly. Saulstrance rushed towards Eig’nia, launching a stream of fire at her which she swiftly avoided. Saulstrance kept trying to attack Eig’nia, the latter of whom was able to avoid each strike. While she evaded Saulstrance’s onslaught, Eig’nia reflected on everything that had happened to her and her friends.

“I wish it had never gotten this bad. I don’t regret becoming our master’s student or getting to see the human realm, meeting Cyrus and his family, or getting to know you and the rest of our friends. The one thing I do regret is not being able to stop what had happened. Our friends’ deaths, you learning the truth about your parents, our killing Raolef. I wish I could somehow undo everything that had happened. I’m sorry.” Eig’nia finished, sniffling, her eyes filled with regret, looking as though she was on the verge of tears.

Even though Eig’nia knew that not all of it was her fault, she still couldn’t help but feel guilty for having paid witness to these events. She truly wished that there was a way that she could fix everything. However, even she knew that was one spell that a dragon would never be able to use.

It was becoming harder for Eig’nia to keep dodging Saulstrance’s attacks. With a swing of his tail, Saulstrance struck Eig’nia on the side of her head. This was followed by three balls of fire which, despite Eig’nia’s attempts to dodge, all three ended up hitting her left wing.

“Gaah!” Eig’nia exclaimed as the fireballs pelted her wing.

Eig’nia took to the air once more, trying to ignore the pain in her wing. Saulstrance followed shortly after her. They flew around shooting streams and balls of fire at each other. As Eig’nia flew past Saulstrance, she contemplated what to do with Saulstrance should she be able to somehow incapacitate him. Saulstrance wasn’t listening to a word she said and because of this, she couldn’t be guaranteed that he would be back in the right state of mind even if she was successful in knocking Saulstrance out. Suddenly, a possibility crossed Eig’nia’s mind. It was something she didn’t want to consider but knew she may end up having to do: just as it was with Mayza, Eig’nia realized that she may have to kill Saulstrance.  Try as she may have to fight it, Eig’nia knew deep down that this may be the only way. The damage had already been caused. She had seen since Agcro forced Saulstrance to kill him that Saulstrance was changing, becoming colder and more hate filled. With Léruc having confirmed to him the true fates of his mother and father, she feared that whatever remained of the Saulstrance she grew up with may have been gone for good.

Although she knew Saulstrance wouldn’t listen to her, against her better judgement, Eig’nia decided to try one final time to get through to him. She desperately hoped that this attempt would work. She didn’t want to die but she didn’t want to kill Saulstrance either.

“Saulstrance, can you remember Cyrus? He’s the half-dragon we befriended in the human realm. He kept practicing flying, trying to make his wings stronger so that he could fly with the three of us. This didn’t happen too long ago but do you remember when his village discovered he was a half-dragon and they wanted him and his family to leave? All of us, even some of the villagers fought to let them stay. I know they’ll never forget that Saulstrance and you shouldn’t either. Cyrus, Thomas, and Miranda, I’m sure they’re all waiting for us to return.” Said Eig’nia in a desperate sounding tone, hoping that this would be what snapped Saulstrance back to his senses.

Suddenly a gasp came from Saulstrance. His face contorted as if something inside of him was causing the dragon great anguish. His teeth grinding, he lowered his head, groaning and panting. Saulstrance’s wing flaps became more tense as his body experienced several spasms. Eig’nia watched, hoping with all her heart that this would be what it took to snap Saulstrance out of his rage.

“You can do this Saulstrance. If thinking of me and the others are too painful then at least think of Cyrus. Let him be the one to help you through this.” Eig’nia said to herself.  

As much as Eig’nia wanted to call out to Saulstrance and let him know that she would be right there with him, she felt that it was not her place to intervene. Right now, Saulstrance’s battle wasn’t with her but rather with himself and unlike any encounter they had before, this was one that she wouldn’t be able to help Saulstrance with. He had to truly overcome this on his own.

Saulstrance brought both paws to his head, holding it in pain. His groaning and panting grew louder until eventually he threw his head back as another loud ear shattering roar erupted from his throat.  Without warning, a fire stream launched from Saulstrance’s throat which Eig’nia narrowly evaded. Saulstrance rushed at Eig’nia but before he could slam her into the wall like last time, Eig’nia flew above Saulstrance. Not allowing him any time to react, Eig’nia grabbed Saulstrance’s head in her claws.

As Saulstrance roared and struggled to get free, Eig’nia dove straight out of the air and smashed Saulstrance faced first against the ground. With just enough force, Eig’nia was able to knock him out. Panting, Eig’nia observed the unconscious form of her friend. He lay on the ground, his head resting in the same spot Eig’nia had slammed it into. There were several small cracks in the ground that lay underneath Saulstrance’s head. She half expected him to awaken any second and continue to fight her. To her great relief, this wasn’t the case. Saulstrance was truly incapacitated.

Her body feeling weak from her fight, Eig’nia sat down. She considered what to do with Saulstrance now that he could no longer fight. She wasn’t certain what Saulstrance would be like if and when he awoke. Would he be in a better state of mind or would be still be the rampaging beast she had fought just a moment ago? Just then, another thought crossed her mind: even if he were back to his senses upon waking up, would he even want to continue living knowing that his parents and half his friends were dead and that with everything that had happened to him, his life had ultimately been destroyed. As much as Eig’nia wished she didn’t have to do it and as much as she didn’t want to do it, she felt that perhaps, this was the kindest thing she could do for Saulstrance.

As the thought of ending Saulstrance’s life swam through her mind, Eig’nia found it difficult to breathe. She felt tears forming in her eyes as she hesitated. For what felt like the longest time she just sat there, motionless like a statue, trying to summon up the willpower to end anymore suffering Saulstrance would no doubt face.

Finally, she slowly began to raise a paw off the ground. She brought her claws closer to Saulstrance’s neck, ready to slit his throat open.

“I’m sorry Saulstrance.” Said Eig’nia as a stream of tears ran down her face.

Releasing a hefty sigh, Eig’nia held her breath as she prepared to put an end to her dearest friend. However, she found herself unable to move a single claw forward. She continued to keep her claws pointed at Saulstrance’s neck until her paw started to shake. She moved her paw away from Saulstrance and placed it back on the ground.

Eig’nia sobbed as tears rained down her face and spilled onto the ground. She just couldn’t do it. She lowered her head as she asked herself how things became this bad. Shaking her head and sniffling, she saw out of the corner of her eye that one of Saulstrance’s paws was extended out. Eig’nia moved closer and placed her paw over Saulstrance’s. She looked at her unconscious friend one final time then turned her attention to the corpses of Léruc and Tourajé. Seeing the bodies of the dragon she once proudly called master and one of her best friends caused the dragoness’s tears to hit her even harder.

A cold breeze blew past Eig’nia as she tearfully left the fortress. With no home to go back to or any destination in mind, Eig’nia disappeared into the night.

At the same moment, Utzie sat outside of his family cave. The little dragon stared into the night sky, his only thoughts being about how he wished he would get to see his big brother again very soon. Ever since his parents told Tourajé not to return home, Utzie had missed him terribly and wanted nothing more than for Tourajé to come back.

Mayza’s younger sister was also awake then. While her parents slept, the little dragoness couldn’t help but feel as though it just wasn’t the same without Mayza. When Mayza was still alive, she would cover her little sister with one of her wings to keep her warm. Mayza’s sister always loved when she did that for her.

Shashala’s parents hadn’t slept a wink since their son left to help his friends. While he promised them he would return, they still worried greatly. All they could do for the time was hope that Shashala would be back soon and that he and his friends were safe and sound.

Eig’nia’s entire family slept peacefully that night, blissfully unaware of the traumatic experiences that had befallen their daughter and sister as well as her friends.

Like Utzie, Roasch was also sitting at the entrance to his family’s cave, staring up into the sky. Since Mayza’s death, Roasch had been beating himself up, feeling guilty that he had run off and not stuck with his friends to help them. He believed that he truly let them down. Despite Roasch knowing how painful it was for him to lose someone else he cared about, and even though he knew his friends fully understood, this still didn’t help Roasch feel any better.

“Saulstrance, Tourajé, Eig’nia, Shashala, next time I see you four, I promise I’ll apologize for not sticking with you.” Roasch said softly to himself.

In the human realm, Cyrus lay in his bed. He looked through his window into the night and thought to himself about how Tourajé, Saulstrance, and Eig’nia were doing. He knew that the three of them were tough and that no matter what they were dealing with, they would be able to get through it together. He was anxious for the three of them to return.

“That’s incredible. Said Shashala incredulously. “I wonder if I might be able to do it.

“NO!!” Tourajé exclaimed, his eyes wide and his palm reached out in front of Shashala to prevent him from trying to change.

“Huh? Why not?” Asked Shashala, not understanding why Tourajé wouldn’t want him to attempt something that they seemed to have become rather adept at.

“Just…trust me, okay? Once all of this over, I promise I’ll teach you how to change into a human.” Tourajé said, looking uneasy about seeing a naked human Shashala.

While Shashala still didn’t understand why Tourajé was objecting to him attempting transformation, he inevitably decided to go along with Tourajé and remained in his dragon form.

As Tourajé had visited the human realm more and more, he slowly began to understand why humans weren’t quite as keen as dragons were when it came to seeing each other without clothing. Much like Shashala, Tourajé at first saw no issue with being nude as he had never worn any clothes as a dragon but the time he spent around humans slowly began to change that.

While the dragons talked amongst themselves, Saulstrance couldn’t stop staring at his hands. Even though they were clean and even though he was in human form, he could still feel the blood in between his fingers and covering his palms. Images of his claws impaling Agcro played through his mind, causing the reddish orange dragon to wince several times as he tried his hardest to get those images to leave his head. Even if it hadn’t been his choice to end Agcro’s life that still didn’t change that he had. His breathing growing heavier and his mind leaving reality, he was only called back when Tourajé shook him several times to get his attention.

“Saulstrance, are you okay?” Tourajé asked out of deep concern for his friend.

“Huh?” Saulstrance replied without thinking, being snapped out of his train of thought.

“I was asking if you were alright.” Said Tourajé, standing up and looking down at his friend.

With a loud sigh, Saulstrance nodded, a look of daze and exhaustion on his face. Tourajé, however, knew better. It was obvious to him as was it to everyone else that Saulstrance was anything but alright. Saulstrance had been trying to make sense of everything that had just occurred. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Agcro said: that Léruc was the one who released him. That couldn’t have been true thought Saulstrance. There was no way Lord Léruc would do such a thing…right? Tourajé’s backing up what Agcro said was beginning to cast doubt in Saulstrance’s mind. What if Agcro was indeed telling the truth?  And if he did indeed get help from Léruc, then did that mean that what Tourajé said was also true? Did Léruc really want him to be the one to kill Agcro? If so, for what reason? Was it just as a precaution to protect Zalphonia or did Léruc have something else in mind for them?

So many thoughts and possibilities swam through Saulstrance’s mind. He was extremely fixated on trying to make sense of everything. Then suddenly, a new thought popped into his brain: instead of trying to figure things out on his own, it may be better to ask Tourajé as he already seemed to know quite a bit about what was truly going on. And so, with another sigh, Saulstrance stood up and approached Tourajé who had just proceeded back towards Eig’nia and Shashala, the latter of whom remained in dragon form and hid behind some trees as a precaution in case any humans came by then they wouldn’t be able to see him as well.

“Tourajé!” Saulstrance called his friend’s name.

Tourajé turned around so that he was facing Saulstrance. “Yes?” He asked.

“Is what Agcro said actually true? Was Lord Léruc truly the one who released him? What’s really going on?” Asked Saulstrance a little frantically.

Tourajé felt wary answering Saulstrance’s questions. He knew eventually he would have to let Saulstrance know everything that Léruc told him although this still did not make things any easier for Tourajé. He worried how Saulstrance would react once he learned the truth about Léruc, what his real intentions were, and especially what had actually happened to his parents.

“Saulstrance, what I’m about to tell you is going to be, without a doubt the hardest thing you’ve ever had to hear. I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t have to tell you any of this.” Said Tourajé regretfully knowing full well that he would no longer be able to keep what he learned a secret from either Saulstrance or Eig’nia.

As Tourajé had expected, Saulstrance did indeed look unsettled. He wasn’t certain just what Tourajé would tell him, however, whatever it should be Saulstrance knew he had to be ready. He steeled himself as Tourajé spoke.

“I guess I’ll start with what you’ve wanted to know about the most Saulstrance: your parents.” Tourajé began.

At the mention of his parents, Saulstrance’s eyes widened as he felt a jolt run through his heart. While he anticipated what would undoubtedly be bad news, Saulstrance still held an inkling of hope that what Tourajé was about to tell him would actually be good news. He hoped that perhaps Tourajé had learned where his parents had been all this time.

“Saulstrance…your parents were never missing.” Tourajé said.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Saulstrance asked, not understanding what Tourajé meant.

“There was a reason you never found any clue as to where your parents were Saulstrance. Your parents…” Tourajé paused for a moment to breathe a hefty sigh and prepare himself for what he was about to say. He just hoped that Saulstrance would be even more ready.

“Your parents…are dead. They were killed by Lo…by Léruc. He then staged it to make it appear as though Agcro had been the one who took their lives.” Tourajé finally managed to say, a glum look on his face.

This news surprised everyone including Saulstrance. They were all speechless. Saulstrance slumped to the ground, a horrified expression on his face. His mouth dropped open, eyes widened as his body shook. He was breathing faster as he shook his head slightly in disbelief. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. Why would his own master, the very dragon who looked after him his whole life, the dragon he looked up to as a father figure do this?

Saulstrance turned to Shashala. In a straining voice, he asked Shashala if what Tourajé was saying was true.  While Shashala hadn’t gotten the chance to see Léruc’s memories as Tourajé had, he indeed overheard what Léruc told Tourajé. The whole time, Shashala had stood beside the entrance to Léruc’s chambers, listening as he told Tourajé his story. Just like his friends, Shashala didn’t want to believe what Léruc was saying yet the evidence lay right in front of him straight from Léruc himself.

Although he knew how Saulstrance would react to this, Shashala and Tourajé also both knew they couldn’t hide the truth from Saulstrance for much longer. With regret in his eyes, Shashala nodded at Saulstrance confirming that what Tourajé had said was true.

Despair washed over Saulstrance. He lowered his head, squishing his eyes shut as he began to cry.

“No…no…” Whimpered Saulstrance as he wiped the tears from his eyes only for new ones to form immediately after the old ones had been wiped.

The three dragons felt horrible for Saulstrance, especially Tourajé. He remembered yelling at Saulstrance when he was trying to comfort both him and Eig’nia. Back then, he had said to Saulstrance that it was easy for him to tell the two of them that everything would be okay as he never even had a family to lose. Ever since that incident, Tourajé had felt awful for saying such a terrible thing to his best friend but learning that Saulstrance’s parents were dead since before he even hatched made Tourajé go from feeling awful to feeling lower than dirt.

Tourajé, Eig’nia, and Shashala didn’t say a word to Saulstrance. There was nothing they could possibly say to make Saulstrance feel better. What could be said? The three of them still had families to return to. Saulstrance was completely alone. He may have had his friends to call his family but as far as biological families went, Saulstrance had no one.

Rubbing his eyes one more time, Saulstrance raised his head, exposing the most distraught expression his friends had ever seen from him. Tears endlessly rained down his face as his lip quivered.

“Why? Why would Lord Léruc do this?!” Asked Saulstrance in a tearful voice.

With a sigh, Tourajé continued on with his explanation. He went on to tell Saulstrance and the others about how Léruc originally wasn’t born in their world and was found as an egg by two humans who lived more than two hundred years ago. He revealed to them everything that he had learned including how when Léruc was thirteen years old, he underwent a transformation back into a dragon and how as he grew older, he eventually became the father of a little half-dragon girl named Lilly. Tourajé concluded the story by explaining that following the deaths of his family, Léruc spent the next several decades terrorizing the town where the people who took his family from him lived. During his raids, Léruc would kidnap up to five children and eat them as payback to the villagers, their children, and their children’s children for taking his family from him. Eventually, in his desperation, Léruc managed to open a portal that led to their world where he eventually ended up becoming a Leader.

These revelations from Tourajé left Saulstrance and Eig’nia in utter shock. This whole time, they thought they knew the Leader of their village almost as well as they knew themselves. Little had they known that in reality, they knew almost nothing about the true Léruc.

“But then…what is Léruc seeking, Tourajé? Why would he do all these horrible things to Saulstrance? To us?” Eig’nia asked.

“Léruc claims to have the same goal that I do: he wants to unite the human and dragon realms. However, he wants to unite them under himself. He thinks that by doing this, humans and dragons will be able to live together in peace. That was why he had us kill Raolef and why he was going to make us kill the other Leaders.” Explained Tourajé, a troubled, serious expression on his face.

Even with the explanation Tourajé had provided them, Saulstrance and Eig’nia still didn’t understand why Léruc would do such terrible things if he truly had the worlds’ best interests at heart. They would have been more than willing to help if it meant making the two worlds better for both dragons and humans. They understood and even empathized with Léruc over the pain he had been feeling since his family’s deaths. They felt that no one should ever have to go through such a horrible experience as he had. Despite this however, the two of them, Saulstrance especially, didn’t feel it was right that Léruc would inflict the same pain he had felt onto them or the rest of the worlds for that matter.

Just then, the four dragons heard rustling. They could see a figure cloaked in shadow moving through the wooded area that sat parallel to where they were. This person was moving towards them. As this person stepped out of the woods, the dragons saw that it was a woman. Her eyes appeared bloodshot and she was panting heavily. Her clothes appeared slightly tattered, her dress torn slightly on the left side and the right sleeve having a small tear where her hand came out. She slowly approached the dragons brandishing a flintlock pistol which she held out in front of her. As the dragons had never seen a gun before, they didn’t understand what she was holding or what she planned to do with it.

“I finally found you.” The woman spoke keeping a firm grip on her gun and eyeing the dragons carefully should they try anything funny.

“Excuse us?” Eig’nia asked, not having any clue as to what this woman was talking about.

“Don’t think me for a fool. I know what you creatures really are. You destroyed my home, killed my family and friends. I escaped before I met the same fates they did. Where are the rest of your friends? Are they looking for more towns to leave in ruin?” The woman asked angrily.

Saulstrance, Tourajé, Eig’nia, and Shashala had no idea what she was talking about. They assumed she must have thought that they were with Agcro. Slowly, Eig’nia calmly tried to approach her, about to inform her that she was mistaken and that most of the villagers had escaped but before she could tell the woman, she pointed her gun at Eig’nia, telling her not to move and for the others to stay where they were as well.

“Do you not know what this is? Being demons, I suppose I shouldn’t expect you to. This is called a gun. It can kill other humans and beasts like yourselves and before you can change into your demon forms and kill me like you did my village, I’ll use it to kill the four of you!” Exclaimed the woman, growing angrier and more unstable.

“Please, just listen to us!” Tourajé pled. “Your home can still be rebuilt and while some of the villagers did lose their lives, most of them are still alive. If you follow us, we’ll show you for yourself.” The dragon promised.

But the woman wouldn’t have any of it. She didn’t believe Tourajé’s words. She was certain that, if she did as he said, they would kill her. Saulstrance spoke up for Tourajé, promising the paranoid woman that they wouldn’t do that. He pointed towards the village, telling her to look and she’d see for herself that it could be rebuilt and that her fellow villagers would already be returning. This time, she complied with Saulstrance and looked towards her village. While it was indeed still inhabitable, even from as far away as they were from the village, she could still see that there was no one there. When she pointed this out, Saulstrance couldn’t believe it. By now he was certain that the guards would have started bringing the villagers back. Desperately, he pleaded to the woman to believe them and that they never intended to hurt her or her fellow villagers.

“Enough!” Exclaimed the woman. “I’ve heard enough! I won’t be tricked by you monsters anymore!”

She held her gun outright, pointing it at the four dragons who were standing there motionless, wishing there was some way to get through to her. They didn’t want this to end badly for them or for her.

The woman pointed her gun at each of the four dragons. She started with Shashala, then moved onto Eig’nia followed by Saulstrance and then finally Tourajé. Each dragon looked at her nervously. While they knew in the back of their minds they most likely wouldn’t get hurt in their true forms, they didn’t transform as they hoped that by not doing so, they would be able to show her that they had no intentions of hurting her or the surviving villagers.

Slowly, she moved her gun two more times over each dragon before inevitably deciding on the first dragon she would kill…Saulstrance. She held her gun in front of him as she placed her finger over the trigger. Tourajé’s eyes grew wide, his jaw dropping open as he moved toward Saulstrance without even thinking, his reflexes just suddenly taking over.

“SAULSTRANCE!!! LOOK OU—“

Then everything fell silent save for a single gunshot that rang throughout the woods.

At that moment, it felt as though any kind of noise that existed within the world suddenly muted.  Tourajé’s body dropped to the ground, blood pouring from the holes that had been left in his head, the blood on the right side of his head spilling onto the grass and staining it a scarlet red. His eyes were still open but there was no sign of life to be found in them and his mouth hung open slightly.

Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Shashala were petrified. They couldn’t believe what they had just seen. They stared down at their recently deceased friend’s body speechless. The woman who had just killed Tourajé was also left in a state of shock. With her gun still aimed at the remaining three dragons, she lowered her head and stared wide eyed at the body of the dragon she had just executed. Despite her prior boasting about how she was going to kill them, she couldn’t actually believe that she was capable of doing such a thing. While at the time she may have wanted to avenge her village by killing those who killed them, now that she actually killed one of the dragons she believed was responsible, she didn’t feel any form of satisfaction. She just felt empty.

Gasping several times, Saulstance dropped down in front of his friend’s body. He began to hyperventilate as his body shook. He threw his head back and, instead of a loud roar, a pained, horrifying scream emanated from the depths of his throat, emitting all throughout the woods.

Still panting, Saulstrance turned to the woman who had killed Tourajé. With a fierce glare, he slowly stood up and began to change into his true form. Nervously, the woman held her gun at Saulstrance, ready to shoot him if the situation called for it. He slowly approached the woman growling like a wild animal, saliva dripping from his mouth. With each step, the woman grew more and more terrified, finding herself unable to do anything. Her fear had left her completely paralyzed. At that moment, Saulstrance lunged at her, resulting in the woman releasing a scream of her own which also echoed throughout the woods.

Eig’nia and Shashala were left even more horrified once Saulstrance was done. Nervously, they approached Saulstrance who stood over the body of the woman. Eig’nia and Shashala both gasped as Eig’nia brought her hands to her mouth upon observing the remains of the woman.

“Oh my God…Saulstrance…” Shashala could barely manage to say, his body shaking at the sight.

They had never seen a dragon do such terrible things to either a human or another dragon. While Eig’nia and Shashala felt bad for both Saulstrance and Tourajé, they were also starting to become a little scared of the former. While neither of them wanted to admit, deep down, they knew that Saulstrance was changing. They had witnessed it first hand when they first fought Agcro and just now, they had seen it again with Saulstrance’s brutal killing of this woman. They knew this wasn’t the Saulstrance they had known their whole lives. They wished that they could somehow, someway prevent Saulstrance from getting any worse but with what he had just learned as well as Tourajé’s death, they wondered if perhaps it was too late to stop it.

“Saulstrance…” Said Eig’nia softly as she cautiously approached her friend.

Slowly Saulstrance changed into his human form. As his transformation concluded, he turned to Eig’nia and Shashala. They looked into his eyes and noticed that any sign of malice he may have had when he killed the woman was now gone. Without warning, Eig’nia wrapped her arms around Saulstrance and hugged him tightly, whimpering slightly as she embraced him. Saulstrance hugged her back, hoping it would be enough to comfort her.

Saulstrance’s hug was able to not only comfort Eig’nia but also assured the dragoness that even though what they’ve been through may have been changing Saulstrance, deep down he would always be her best friend. No words were said amongst the two of them as they stood there for a time trying to comfort one another. Shashala approached his friends shortly after and nuzzled against them. He wanted them to know that they weren’t alone and that together, the three of them would stop Léruc and allow Mayza and Tourajé’s spirits to rest.

A short time later, Saulstrance figured that the guards must have finished returning the survivors of the village to their homes. Just as he was about to make his way back to the village, Shashala urged him to wait.

“Before we do anything just yet Saulstrance, we’d best plan our next move.” Shashala suggested.

“Our next move?” Asked Saulstrance quizzingly. He wasn’t sure what Shashala meant.

“We know the truth about Léruc thanks to both Agcro and Tourajé. However, the guards don’t. Even if we tell them, there’s a good chance they won’t believe us.” Shashala explained.

“That is true.” Agreed Saulstrance, holding his hand over his chin as he tried to think of up ways to get the guards to believe them.

“Léruc’s got the upper hand here because he has something we don’t: power. If he chooses to, he could turn not just the guards against us but possibly even all of Zalphonia. It would be our word against his.” Eig’nia added.

“Well then what should we do? Even if some of the guards are gone, the three of us by ourselves still wouldn’t stand much a chance against the remaining six and if they were defending Léruc, then we wouldn’t even be able to get close to him.” Saulstrance asked in a slightly frantic voice.

Shashala thought about it for a moment. Saulstrance had a good point. Even if the three of them each faced two of the guards, that still put them at a disadvantage. Just then, two ideas formed in Shashala’s mind, one of which he was sure would work. He shared his plans with Saulstrance and Eig’nia.

“I think I might have some ideas.” Shashala announced.

“You do? Well let’s hear it, Shashala.” Said Eig’nia excitedly, hoping that Shashala’s ideas would be a great help to them.

“Well, I was thinking about what I said before about the guards not believing our word. Well, there is a chance that we can get them to believe us. However, it would require a lot of convincing. This would be easier if I knew the memory spell Léruc used…I take it neither of you know it either?” Shashala explained.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia shook their heads. Neither of them had even seen this spell casted before. Shashala sighed. Of course this would have been easier said than done.

“What was your second plan Shashala?” Saulstrance asked.

Shashala glanced towards the entrance to the mine shaft. He informed his friends that he would tell them what his plan was inside the mine.

“First, we should move Tourajé out of sight. If the guards see that he was killed away from where we fought Agcro they might find suspect us. There should be another entrance to the mine. Let’s look for it.” Suggested Shashala.

Shashala crouched down as Saulstrance and Eig’nia lifted their fallen friend onto Shashala’s back. Per Shashala’s suggestion, Saulstrance and Eig’nia also climbed onto his back as he felt it might be best to have them hold onto Tourajé’s body so it didn’t fall off while Shashala was flying.

The three dragons circled around the mine, looking for another way in. They kept a close eye out while Saulstrance who was sitting up in front, held his arms around Shashala’s neck while he made sure Tourajé’s body was secured safely in between his arms and Shashala’s neck. It proved hard for Saulstrance to do this especially with what had just happened to Tourajé but he knew that if he didn’t, then Tourajé’s body would more than likely end up unable to be recovered. Eig’nia noticed her friend’s unease and rubbed his shoulder. Saulstrance turned to her as she smiled empathetically at him. She nuzzled her head against his as Saulstrance nuzzled back.

A short time afterward, Shashala found another entrance. This entrance wasn’t too far from where the first entrance being only a couple hundred meters away from it. Shashala swooped down, landing right before the second entrance to the mine. With Tourajé’s arm draped over his shoulder, Saulstrance brought his friend’s body over to a nearby mine cart and propped him up against it. As soon as he did this, Saulstrance kneeled down and watched as Tourajé’s head fell lifelessly to the side. Saulstrance sniffled as he tried his hardest to hold back his tears. He just couldn’t bring himself to believe that his best friend was truly gone. He knew that this was no time to cry but…having learned the true fate of his parents as well as seeing his closest friend die right in front of him and learning that the dragon he had come to look at as a surrogate father was actually the one responsible for taking his real parents from him, it was simply the most unbearable pain Saulstrance had ever been in. He could no longer hold back his tears as he lowered his head and sobbed to himself.

Eig’nia approached Saulstrance. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked down at the body of her deceased friend with a woeful look on her face. She placed a hand over her mouth as just like Saulstrance, she too felt as though she was about to cry.

“Keep it together Eig’nia. This isn’t the time for tears.” The crestfallen dragoness whispered to herself.

She looked over at Shashala who looked back at her with sad, apologetic eyes. He looked down at Tourajé’s body, shaking his head and tensely biting his lip. Just like his friends, it was hard for Shashala to keep his composure after having seen one of his closest friends die right before his eyes. Before it became too much for him, Shashala turned from his friends and opened his wings. He informed them that he was going to fly back to the village and get the guards. In the meantime, he wanted Saulstrance and Eig’nia to make their way into the mine shaft and memorize the way out in case things didn’t turn out as planned. With that, Shashala took to the sky and headed into the direction of the village.

“Let’s go, Saulstrance.” Said Eig’nia in a sad toneless voice.

“Okay.” Saulstrance agreed.

The two dragons proceeded towards the entrance to the mine. Saulstrance took one last look back at his deceased friend.

“We’ll be back, Tourajé. I promise.” Saulstrance said softly to himself.

The inside of the mine was rather big yet it wasn’t big enough to support a fully grown dragon. Luckily for Saulstrance and Eig’nia, the two of them were still young and small enough that even within these mines, they would still be able to change into their true forms without any compromises.

Lanterns hung atop the ceiling, illuminating the way. The cavern walls were covered by wooden boards which were connected to support beams that held the mine up. The path into the mine stretched for what felt like miles. Neither dragon could determine just for certain how long they had been walking. Eventually, the two of them came upon a much larger section of the mine which they determined must have been the main section.

They waited there for Shashala. While they waited, Eig’nia asked Saulstrance if he was alright. Saulstrance simply shook his head.

“Saulstrance, you know you can talk to me if you want. I want to help you.” Eig’nia said worriedly.

“There’s nothing to help. My family is gone, the dragon who was like a father to me was using me my whole life and killed my parents, and two of my friends are dead. Even if there was a way to help, I wouldn’t want it right now.” Said Saulstrance coldly, a disgruntled look on his face.

“Saulstrance…I just…I’m sorry…” Eig’nia said sadly.

Eig’nia turned away from Saulstrance whose gaze was fixated on the entrance parallel to the one they had come through. She held her left hand over her right arm and looked down at the ground. She looked back at Saulstrance one more time. He simply stood where he was, motionless like a statue. Seeing her friend like this was truly painful for the dragoness. All she wanted was just to help him through this. She knew that even though all three of them had suffered a great deal since all this began Saulstrance was the one who was suffering the most. All she wanted was to let him know that he didn’t need to take on all his pain by himself. She was more than willing to bear some of it with him if he felt it would help and if it would let him know that he wasn’t alone.

Some time later, Shashala entered into the mine section of the mine. However, Saulstrance and Eig’nia both noticed that the guards weren’t with him. When asked about this, Shashala explained that the guards were still helping the citizens of the village back to their home. He informed the guards that they would be waiting for them inside the mine.

“Well while we wait for them, there was something I wanted to ask you, Shashala.” Eig’nia said.

“What is it, Eig’nia?” Shashala asked.

“You mentioned awhile ago that you had a backup plan in case the guards don’t believe us. Does it have something to do with this mine?” Eig’nia asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice.

Shashala sighed. With a forlorn look on his face, he nodded.

“It does. I was thinking about what Saulstrance said. He mentioned that even if the three of us fight two of the guards each, that still won’t guarantee anything. We’re strong but the guards are stronger. If we are unable to convince them to help us stop Léruc then…this mine may be the best way to take them all out at once. I’ll use my tail to destroy the area around us while you two make your escape.” Shashala explained.

“But then what about you?!” Asked Saulstrance, feeling a mix of both horror and worry at Shashala not saying that he would escape with them.

Shashala looked away, an intense look of sadness in his eyes. He didn’t have to say a word for Saulstrance and Eig’nia to know what he had planned for himself.

“You’ll die with them.” Eig’nia stated bluntly.

Shashala didn’t respond.

“No. NO! I refuse to let another dragon I care about die! I’m not going to let another one of my friends be killed!” Objected Saulstrance angrily.

“Do you think I planned this because I want to die Saulstrance?! We might not have any other options. If it does come to that, then you two should be the ones to escape and stop Léruc.” Shashala exclaimed in a straining voice.

“Shashala…” Saulstrance said stunned.

Shashala snickered to himself. “It’s funny. Just right now I thought about all the times the two of us fought one another. Growing up, you were my biggest rival, Saulstrance. My parents always told me that I didn’t need to push myself as hard as I did. They said knew I was good enough as I was. Looking back, I felt like I had something to prove to the world but in reality, I think I just wanted to prove something to myself. I wanted to believe that I was capable of anything, that I could always be the best. But, the more I fought you, the more I realized that nobody could ever be the best at everything. You didn’t destroy my belief in myself or ruin me. You tempered my ego and made me realize that there were some things in this world more important than being number one. Thanks Saulstrance. I mean it.” The dragon smiled a sad smile to his friend.

Saulstrance didn’t know what to say. Hearing Shashala disclose his feelings to him almost brought Saulstrance to the brink of tears.

“If it does come down that, I want you to tell my parents something for me: tell them that in the end, their son was fine with who he was and that he died a hero.” Said Shashala, still smiling sadly at his friends.

“Tell them yourself, Shashala! Saulstrance is right, we’re all coming out of this together!” Eig’nia objected. Just like Saulstrance, she absolutely refused to see another of her friends die.

Shashala shushed the two of them. The sounds of footsteps and voices grew closer. The guards were coming. One by one, each of the six remaining guards came into the larger part of the mine. Being fully grown dragons, they found the pathway to be a little cramped but were still able to make their way through without too much hassle.

“Why did the three of you wish to meet us in this place? And…where is Tourajé? Asked one of the guards suspiciously.

“Tourajé…didn’t make it. Agcro killed him.” Eig’nia said in a saddened tone. She knew that if she told the guards what had really happened they more than likely wouldn’t believe her.

“Ah…I’m…sorry. Tourajé was a good hatchling.” Said one of the guards empathetically, a distraught look on his face after hearing of Tourajé’s demise.

“One of the best.” Saulstrance followed up.

“So why did you three wish to speak to us in here?” Another of the guards asked, confused as to why they would choose a location like this of all places to speak.

The three dragons looked at each other nervously. Now was the moment of truth. Would the guards believe what they were saying? For everyone’s sake, they hoped that they would.

Shashala explained to the guards everything he had overheard Tourajé and Léruc discussing. Although Shashala had provided the guards with a rather convincing (and true) argument, as they had feared, the guards were unable to believe what he was saying. They glared at the three dragons with looks of disgust and disbelief on their faces.

“How could you even say such a thing about Lord  Léruc?! Saulstrance, you can’t truly believe what Shashala says right? Léruc’s been like a father to you!” A guard exclaimed.

“He was.” Saulstrance glared back at the guards. “Until I found out he was the one who really killed my parents. He was also the one who ordered you to kill Mayza, wasn’t he?”

“Well…yes.” Said one of the guards nervously. “But we had to do it per Lord Léruc’s orders. She had attempted to assassinate him.”

“And you truly believe that Mayza, MAYZA of all dragons would ever try to do such a thing?! Mayza was one of the nicest and most cheerful dragons I had ever met. She would never do something like that and if you fools hadn’t so blindly followed every order uttered by that rotten old dragon, you would have seen that too!” Saulstrance exclaimed, his muscles becoming tense as his eyes widened in anger as a vein pulsated in his neck.

“Saulstrance stop! This isn’t helping!” Shashala said, surprised and even a little shaken at seeing just how angry Saulstrance was. Neither he nor Eig’nia had ever seen Saulstrance so angry let alone ever heard him say the kind of things he had just said to the guards.

The guards wouldn’t have Saulstrance badmouthing their Leader. They too grew furious after hearing Saulstrance refer to Léruc as a rotten old dragon.

“No! I won’t stop Shashala! That monster took everything from me! I don’t have a family to return to like you guys do! I don’t have anything left!” Saulstrance continued to yell, the anger in his eyes swelling as he began to breathe at a more rapid pace.

“That’s not true Saulstrance. You do have something. Even if your mom and dad are gone, Eig’nia and I are still here. We’re your family too.” Said Shashala in a soft voice, hoping desperately that his words would get through to Saulstrance.

Slowly, Saulstrance’s rage began to quell. His breathing was becoming less frantic until it had eventually returned to normal. Saulstrance thought about what Shashala had said to him. He realized that indeed there was truth to Shashala’s words. His biological family may have been gone but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a family anymore. His whole life, Tourajé, Eig’nia, Shashala, Mayza, and Roasch, they had always been there. They weren’t just his dearest friends, they were also his family. He apologized to everyone around him including the guards.

However, by this point, the guards had had more than enough of what they perceived as Saulstrance badmouthing their master. It infuriated them to see what they thought was Saulstrance showing no respect for the dragon who took him in and raised him as his own child. They weren’t as willing to accept Saulstrance’s apology as his friends were.

“We’ve heard enough from you and your friends Saulstrance. After everything Lord Léruc had done for you, this is how you repay him?! By insulting him and accusing him of seeking to take over both our world and the humans’ as well as being the one who really killed your parents? Lord Léruc deserves better than to have such an ungrateful whelp as his apprentice. After what you three have said of Lord Léruc, none of you deserve to leave here alive.” Said a guard with an intensely hateful gleam in his eye.

The guards prepared to swarm Saulstrance, Shashala, and Eig’nia but before most of them were able to do so, Shashala stepped in between the guards and his friends. With a mighty swing of his tail, he hit one of the cavern walls and then proceeded to strike another wall. As a result the mine was starting to collapse. The guards all looked around, horrified, knowing immediately what Shashala planned to do.

Small rocks began to fall around them, soon joined by bigger rocks. Eventually even larger rocks fell from the cavern ceiling. The guards tried to avoid the falling debris but soon found it next to impossible to do so as one of the rocks finally landed on top of one of the guards, crushing him under its weight.

“Saulstrance! Eig’nia! Why are you two still here? LEAVE!!” Yelled Shashala in a frantic voice.

“No! I said it before: I’m not going to let another of my friends die! You’re coming with us!” Saulstrance retorted.

“This is the best opportunity we’ve got Saulstrance! Don’t waste it on me! You two are the only ones who can stop Léruc’s plans. Now GO!!!” Shashala yelled even more furiously, sounding almost as though he was begging them to leave him.

As the dragons argued, another guard became trapped under a large piece of the collapsing ceiling. The debris was coming down much faster, harder, and more frequently now. Shashala knew that if they didn’t get out of there soon, Saulstrance and Eig’nia would be killed with him.

“Eig’nia, get Saulstrance out of here! Please!” Shashala pleaded desperately, not wanting his friends to meet the same fate he was about to.

Without giving Shashala any resistance, Eig’nia complied with his final request. She grabbed Saulstrance’s hand and kept the tightest, firmest grip she could muster and pulled him towards the exit as he tried as hard as he could to break free and return to Shashala. Saulstrance screamed Shashala’s name several times as he and Eig’nia disappeared from sight.

“After them!” One of the guards commanded the other remaining guards.

Just as they tried to make their way to the exit so that they could give chase, Shashala stepped in front of them and attacked. The guards leapt back and before they could retaliate, they too met the same fate as their comrades.

Eventually only Shashala remained. Rocks fell all around him, one very large rock in particular eventually landing on his tail, crushing it. Shashala roared in pain as he felt the bones in his tail break. He collapsed to the ground as he tried to get the rock off his tail only for each attempt to be proven futile. As he squirmed more and more, the pain only got worse. Shashala was slowly beginning to realize that he was trapped. He wasn’t going to be getting out of this. He snickered to himself as he realized that when he was going over his plans with Saulstrance and Eig’nia, he had no issue talking about possibly dying if things went bad with the guards. Now that it was really going to happen, he didn’t want to die. As strong as Shashala tried to appear to his friends so that they wouldn’t feel as though they needed to stay with him, in truth, he was terrified. Despite his fear, however, he closed his eyes and chose to face his death with dignity.

“Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Roasch…please continue to live. Never forget that I, Mayza, and Tourajé will always be with you.” And with this, Shashala was completely crushed by the debris.

Eig’nia and Saulstrance barely made it out of the mine as the wall and wall supports came crashing down, obscuring the way in and out of the mine shaft. They sat on the ground for a moment, panting, their hearts beating rapidly, almost as though they had narrowly escaped certain death.

Saulstrance clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it into the ground. He lowered his head as though he had been defeated and drove his fist into the ground one more time. He screamed in sadness and frustration, feeling like he was about to cry.

“I’m so PATHETIC!! I could have saved him! I could have prevented him from dying!! If only I hadn’t opened my stupid mouth Shashala and the guards would still be alive! And now, in just one night, I’ve lost two of my friends! Tourajé, Shashala, they’re gone and all I could do was watch! You were always better than me Shashala. I’m just nothing. A failure who couldn’t protect anyone!” Saulstrance screamed as he cried, his tears dripping onto the ground.

“That isn’t true Saulstrance. Shashala didn’t die because of you. He willingly gave his life because he wanted you, or rather us to live. Even if he, Tourajé, Mayza, or even your parents and the guards are dead, that doesn’t mean they’re lost forever. What they’ve done, and how you remember them is what keeps them alive inside of you. So, I’m going to try to live and keep those memories of them alive. But in order to do that, we need to stop Léruc but…I can’t do it myself Saulstrance. I need you now more than ever.” Eig’nia said.

Saulstrance wiped the tears from his eyes. He stood up and looked at Eig’nia. To her surprise, she noticed a sudden change in Saulstrance. The recently broken Saulstrance was gone replaced by a more confident and determined Saulstrance. With his fist still clenched tightly, he proceeded away from the recently destroyed mine shaft. Eig’nia grabbed Tourajé’s body which was slowly beginning to change into its original form and draped his arm over her shoulder so that it would be easier to carry him. She followed shortly behind Saulstrance, looking nervously at her friend.

Just before Shashala got the chance to answer Tourajé, a bright light appeared within the portal, signifying that the dragons were just inches away from their destination. They moved through the light and appeared upon a road surrounded by rows of trees on the left and right side. To the left lay a large lake which had a bright glow casting off of it.

“Roasch is okay, all things considering. He’s still pretty shaken up from what happened with Mayza.” Shashala explained.

“I would imagine so. This is now the second time Roasch has seen someone he cared about die before his eyes. That can’t be an easy thing to go through.” Tourajé said sympathetically.

“Indeed. Which is why I suggested to him that he not get involved any further.” Shashala said, feeling somewhat guilty for suggesting this to Roasch yet knowing in his heart that it was for the best.

Tourajé agreed with Shashala’s decision. With Roasch having lost his baby sister just mere moments after she was born and with Mayza’s recent death, the two dragons felt that if Roasch saw another one of his loved ones die, it would end up destroying him.

“…And besides, if something happens to us, someone needs to survive to tell the tale.” Tourajé concluded.

Shashala concurred. With Léruc’s true goals having been discovered by him and Tourajé, he was certain that things would only get more dangerous from there.

The two dragons looked towards the lake where they noticed the bright glow that was reflected upon it. They looked into the night sky where they saw smoke and flames rising. They immediately deduced that that must have been where Saulstrance and the others were. The two of them looked at each other and nodded knowingly.

As they made their way to the source of the fire and smoke, they encountered four bodies spread out on the ground, two to their left and right and the other two lying right in the middle of the road. The two of them recognized these bodies as being the corpses of some of Léruc’s guards. Tourajé and Shashala moved closer to inspect the bodies. As they had suspected, the four guards were indeed dead. Strangely enough, upon closer inspection, they found that their bodies hadn’t had their names carved into them. They asked themselves if this meant that Agcro wasn’t the one who killed them or if he just hadn’t gotten the chance to leave his mark. If this were the case, then they were even more worried for Saulstrance and Eig’nia’s safety. They continued along the path and hurried towards the source of the smoke and the fire. The two dragons hoped that they weren’t too late and that their friends were okay.

Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered a small town very nearly burnt down to the ground. Countless homes and businesses lay in ruin while some remained standing but slowly burned. Several bodies lay amongst the ruin bloodied, some even badly burnt.

“Oh my god…” Said Shashala horrified, feeling like he was going to be sick.

“This is awful…” Said Tourajé with a distraught look on his face, feeling deeply sorry for the people who lost their lives.

Suddenly, the dragons saw something crash through one of the houses. It was Saulstrance. He lay several hundred feet from where the two of them were standing. He stood up and leapt over the wreckage. Tourajé and Shashala followed after Saulstrance and saw him and Eig’nia fighting Agcro. Oddly enough, Tourajé and Shashala didn’t see the other guards with Saulstrance and Eig’nia. Their first thought was that the other guards had also been killed just like the four they came across but they couldn’t be sure. Although they had found some dead bodies, they were certain these weren’t all of the people from this town. Perhaps, they thought, the guards were helping to evacuate the surviving humans who lived there.

“SAULSTRANCE!! EIG’NIA!!!” Tourajé called to his friends.

Startled by their friend’s voice, the two dragons turned around to see Shashala and Tourajé standing behind them, the latter of whom ran over to them, thankful and relieved to see them safe.

“Tourajé, Shashala! What are you two doing here?” Asked Saulstrance, surprised to see his friends.

“Master told us that he was only going to send you if something happened to us. Is everything okay?” Eig’nia asked, feeling somewhat worried although she knew she should have been happy to see Tourajé and Shashala.

Neither Tourajé nor Shashala were eager to tell Saulstrance or Eig’nia the truth behind what had been happening. Tourajé was especially worried about how Saulstrance would take it if he found out that Léruc, the dragon he had looked up to and come to see as his adoptive father, was in fact the one responsible for the deaths of his parents and that it was through him that things had ended up the way they had. He worried that it might end up destroying Saulstrance once he learned the truth. Even then, however, Tourajé knew it was much too late to change things. Saulstrance would eventually discover what had really happened whether it be from him or from Léruc.

“Saulstrance…after we’re finished here, we have some things we need to discuss. And…they won’t be easy things for you to hear but you need to hear them.” Said Tourajé with a pained look in his eyes, showing that he truly didn’t want to have to reveal the truth to Saulstrance.

Just from looking at his friend, Saulstrance could tell that whatever Tourajé had to tell him must have been very bad. Saulstrance became troubled by this. What did Tourajé have to tell him that made him appear so distressed?

Suddenly, Agcro erupted into a fit of laughter. This startled the four dragons as they quickly turned to face the crazed dragon.

“After we’re finished here, the young dragon says, seemingly not realizing that last time we fought, there were six of them and now they’re down two. Do you earnestly believe that just the four of you will be able to defeat me when you barely managed to do so the first time?” Agcro asked amusedly, a somewhat shaky smile on his muzzle.

“We’ll have to see, won’t we?” Said Tourajé, smiling confidently.

Shashala and Eig’nia rushed towards Agcro while Saulstrance and Tourajé’s wings unfurled as the two of them took to the sky. The two dragons on the ground launched streams of fire at Agcro who countered with a fire stream of his own. The streams were caught together, locking the three dragons in place. With this, Saulstrance and Tourajé took the opportunity to launch their own assault against Agcro. Tourajé swooped down, smashing into Agcro’s side which knocked the latter off his feet. Once Saulstrance had landed, he swung his mighty tail at Agcro, knocking the dragon back which also caused the opposing dragon to get burnt somewhat by Shashala and Eig’nia’s fire.

Agcro jumped to his feet. With a flick of his tail, he swung it at Tourajé, hitting him against the side of his head. As Tourajé staggered, Agcro swung around and bit into Tourajé’s right leg. The younger dragon winced in pain as he felt Agcro’s teeth sink into his leg. To get Agcro’s teeth out of his leg, Tourajé jerked his leg forward, taking Agcro by surprise and forcing him to relinquish his hold on Tourajé’s leg.

“GAAH!!” Yelped Tourajé as he felt Agcro’s teeth get pulled out of his leg. He raised his front leg and observed the marks left by Agcro’s teeth.

The four dragons ran straight for Agcro, surrounding him from all sides. Before they could get too close, Agcro’s wings unfurled as he took to the sky. He flew high enough until he was obscured by the smoke and fire. The four dragons gathered together and pelted the sky with enormous balls of fire, all except for Saulstrance who instead combined his ability to breathe fire with his ability to consume earth and then launch it from his mouth. Although the four dragons couldn’t see where Agcro was, Agcro himself was likewise unable to see where their attacks would be coming from. He tried to avoid the attacks as best he could although he found himself getting hit by several fire blasts and two burning rocks. In return, Agcro rained down a barrage of long, pointed ice shards. Immediately the four dragons used their fire to melt the first set of large icicles, however, with more and more falling their way, they found it increasingly difficult to keep melting them one after another.

Suddenly, an idea formed in Shashala’s mind. He ordered the other three to get close to him as he formed a ring of fire around himself and his friends. Next, he told them to aim their fire towards the sky. He believed that this would be enough to protect them from Agcro’s assault.

Doing as Shashala suggested, Saulstrance, Tourajé, and Eig’nia, with Shashala’s assistance, used their fire breaths to form a protective dome made of fire around them. Any ice shards that would have gotten through quickly melted away thanks to their fire. However, they knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever. They would eventually begin to tire and if they tired before Agcro, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves from his attacks. All they could do was hope that they held out longer than Agcro.

Agcro’s assault eventually ceased. Shortly after, Saulstrance and his friends’ fire also finished. Panting heavily, the four dragons used their wings to put out the ring of fire they had created to protect themselves. Likewise, Agcro, who had now returned to the ground, was also taking in deep breaths, trying to get oxygen into his lungs.  

“Agcro.” Panted Tourajé. “We don’t have to do this. We aren’t your enemies.”

“Not my enemies? How do you figure that?” Agcro asked.

“First, why don’t you tell us who it was that released you?” Tourajé retorted with a question of his own.

Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and even Shashala turned to Tourajé with looks of surprise on their faces. What did he mean that someone released Agcro? Eig’nia asked Tourajé this and assured him that Léruc informed them that Agcro had found a way to escape and then made his way to the human realm. Tourajé, however, assured them this wasn’t the case and what Agcro said next confirmed it.

“Well if you hatchlings must know, it was dear ol’ Master Léruc who set me free.” Said Agcro with a smile.

“YOU LIE!!” Saulstrance roared, infuriated that this horrible dragon would accuse his own master of doing such a thing.

“He’s not lying.” Tourajé quickly contradicted, looking straight at Saulstrance with a very serious grim look on his face.

“But how can you be sure Tourajé? Just because Agcro said it doesn’t mean it actually was Lord Léruc.” Said Shashala. Just like Saulstrance, he was certain Agcro was lying.

Tourajé explained to his three friends that when he and Léruc were in the holding chambers, he inspected the cuffs that had been used to bind Agcro. They hadn’t been destroyed or pulled off their chains which could only have meant that Agcro had to have had help in escaping.

“But couldn’t one of the guards had let Agcro out? I thought we were certain they were the ones behind everything!” Exclaimed Eig’nia, finding herself confused and at the same time, a little uncertain.

Tourajé shook his head. The way Léruc talked about Saulstrance potentially killing Agcro cemented in his head the idea that Léruc was indeed the one who let Agcro go free.

“Léruc promised I could go free under one condition: I help him protect our world by taking care of a small township of humans who were looking to invade our world.” Agcro explained, a proud, confident smile on his muzzle.

“Agcro, listen to me. Léruc is using you. He used all of us. He wants Saulstrance to kill you. Even if you do survive, he’ll have you killed too.” Tourajé said, hoping desperately that what he was saying would get through to Agcro.

Unfortunately, Tourajé’s efforts were ultimately for nothing as Agcro suddenly burst out laughing. He didn’t believe a single word Tourajé had said to him. Saulstrance, however, was left speechless by what he had just heard. Léruc…wanted him to kill another dragon? Why? What Tourajé had said couldn’t possibly be true…could it? What was he supposed to believe? He didn’t want to believe that his own master and adoptive father would wish for him to do such a horrible thing like killing another dragon yet he also couldn’t bring himself to disbelieve everything Tourajé said.

“Is that correct? He believes that this dragon alone would be able to kill me?” Asked Agcro amusedly. “Well, I would truly enjoy seeing that. Come, little dragon! Let’s see if you can fulfill your master’s wish!”

Just as Saulstrance readied himself to attack, Tourajé dashed past him. He charged at Agcro like a raging bull, horns pointed at him. Agcro quickly took to the sky with. Tourajé stopped in the spot where Agcro had been standing. He opened his wings and chased after Agcro. The two dragons flew around each other for a bit, then proceeding to fly straight towards each other. They did this a couple times before Tourajé flew towards Agcro, swiping his claws at Agcro and slashing the side of his face. Four deep cuts were left by Tourajé’s claws, causing the dragon to cringe in pain as his wounds stung. Blood ran down the side of Agcro’s face, dripping off the side. Using the back of his paw, Agcro wiped off the blood, leaving behind small damp smudges on his face. Growling angrily, he flew after Tourajé, smashing into the dragon and then smacking the top of Tourajé’s head with his tail which sent Tourajé falling from the sky and crashing into one of the few houses that hadn’t been lit on fire. The building was split in half as Tourajé was almost completely covered by the rubble, dust being kicked into the air.

As Tourajé moved from amongst the rubble and returned to his feet, he saw Shashala launch himself into the night sky. Shashala slashed at Agcro several times only for each attempt to miss. He then proceeded to swing his tail at Agcro which was once more avoided as Agcro soared above Shashala. He flew over his enemy and used his ice breath to freeze Shashala’s wings. Shashala felt the ice begin to envelope his wings but was unable to free them as shortly after, he fell from the sky, flailing his limbs around as he screamed, eventually crashing into the ground.

“Shashala!!” Saulstrance exclaimed as he rushed to his friend’s aide.

Just as Shashala was getting back to his feet, Agcro, who was hovering overhead, stopped flapping his wings and fell through the sky, about to bodyslam into Shashala. By the time Shashala noticed this, Agcro was quickly closing in on him, leaving him without much time to counterattack or get out of the way. However, he was saved by Saulstrance who pushed Shashala out of the way, knocking both of them off their feet and causing Agcro to slam into the ground instead of Shashala.

“Thank you Saulstrance.” Said Shashala as he stood up and turned to face Agcro.

“Are you okay?” Saulstrance asked.

“I’ll be better once I can move my wings again. Replied Shashala, turning his head to look at his still frozen wings.

Before Shashala could begin unthawing his wings, Agcro charged at the two dragons, but was quickly stopped by Eig’nia who attacked him from behind. She pounced on Agcro, smashing his head into the ground. As Agcro stood up, Eig’nia jumped between him and her friends, eager to protect them.

“Eig’nia!!” Saulstrance exclaimed.

“Help Shashala unfreeze his wings! I can handle Agcro myself.” Said the dragoness, assuring her friend she would be okay.

Complying with Eig’nia’s suggestion, Saulstrance helped Shashala thaw out his wings. Meanwhile, Eig’nia flew after Agcro who had once more taken to the night sky. As she and Agcro fought, Tourajé, who had moved from amongst the rubble, launched himself into the air, and joined Eig’nia in battle. Although they had Agcro outnumbered two to one, Agcro was still able to hold his own against them.

As the two dragons attacked Agcro from both the left and the right, shooting two fireballs at him, Agcro quickly swooped down below them then launched himself towards Eig’nia, headbutting her directly in the stomach. The dragoness’s eyes widened in pain as Agcro flew above her and whipped his tail, smacking her with it and sent her plummeting out of the sky. Eig’nia crashed into one of the houses, knocking part of it down. She quickly stood up, some of the wreckage that had covered her falling to her feet.

While Eig’nia unfurled her wings and returned to helping Tourajé who was now struggling against Agcro, Saulstrance and Shashala had just finished unfreezing the latter’s wings. A cold, numb sensation still lingered in Shashala’s wings so to get rid of it, Shashala flapped his wings a few times to get rid of the numbness.

“Are you okay, Shashala?” Asked Saulstrance as he watched Shashala continue to flex his wings.

“I’ll be fine. I still don’t have much feeling in my wings but that’ll pass.” Answered Shashala as his wings ceased flapping.

The two dragons looked towards the sky. They saw Agcro bite into Eig’nia’s neck then swoop out of the sky, slamming the dragoness into another house. As she lay amongst the debris, Agcro slammed his paw down on Eig’nia’s muzzle. The dragoness struggled as hard as she could to get free but ultimately found her efforts fruitless. Agcro coiled his tail over the top of Eig’nia’s neck. He removed his paw from the top of her snout allowing the dragoness a brief moment of freedom. However, before Eig’nia could get the chance to land an attack, Agcro’s tail wrapped around her neck, tightening as the dragoness struggled to breathe, barely able to even move.

Tourajé descended to the ground and was about to try and help Eig’nia but was stopped by Agcro who assured Tourajé that should be try anything, he’ll snap Eig’nia’s neck. With this, Tourajé froze in place, growling, a fierce look on his face. Agcro snickered, knowing that he had the upper hand.

“Of course, I could always go ahead and break your pretty little neck regardless of what your friend does.” Agcro said with wicked gleams in his eyes.

Agcro’s tail became even tighter around Eig’nia’s neck. As she struggled to breathe, she gripped his tail and tried to pry it from her neck but found herself unsuccessful in doing so. Agcro simply laughed mockingly at her efforts as slowly, the dragoness’s grip on Agcro’s tail began to loosen but before she began to slip into unconsciousness, Shashala launched a fireball at Agcro, scorching his left eye and causing him to scream in agonizing pain. His hold on Eig’nia was released and Agcro staggered, groaning from the horrible burning pain in his eye. He roared in discomfort as he shut his eye and placed the back of his left paw over it in an attempt to stop the stinging.

Eig’nia ran back to her friends. She, along with Tourajé, Saulstrance, and Shashala watched, almost feeling slight pity for Agcro as he continued to cry out in pain, roaring and occasionally shooting streams of fire into the sky. Agcro kept staggering back and forth, his left eye closed, keeping the right one open as he focused on the dragons who may have caused him to lose his eye.

With an angry, ear shattering roar, Agcro lunged at Shashala in a blind rage. While he had always enjoyed tormenting his victims and making sure that their torture was as slow and agonizing as possible, to get back at Shashala, he was willing to make an exception. He was simply going to kill Shashala.

Before he could attempt anything, however, Saulstrance tackled Agcro, pinning him to the ground. He clenched his paw into a fist, driving it straight into the side of Agcro’s face. He then clenched his other fist and hit Agcro with that one as well.

Saulstrance hit Agcro over and over while his friends watched. They hoped that eventually, Saulstrance would cease but this never happened. For a solid minute he just rested on top of Agcro, hitting him over and over as the older dragon either made no effort or couldn’t to get free.

Unable to take anymore, Shashala stepped forward. Standing behind Saulstrance, he spoke.

“Saulstrance, that’s enough! He’s done…” Shashala said, somewhat sadly.

Regaining himself, Saulstrance stopped hitting Agcro whose face had been badly bruised and beaten. Blood dripped from his nostrils as he lay on the ground, breathing faintly. While Saulstrance hadn’t noticed, Agcro used his hind legs to kick Saulstrance off of him. He sent the dragon very nearly crashing into Shashala, the latter of whom leapt back just before both he and Saulstrance found themselves laying on the ground.

Weakly, Agcro proceeded to stand up. He coughed a little as he struggled to keep his footing. Panting heavily, he watched as Saulstrance stood up and moved in between him and his friends in order to protect them.

“Was that all you had, little dragon? I couldn’t feel a thing.” Agcro laughed, swaying side to side.

Slowly, Agcro proceeded towards Saulstrance but collapsed to the ground as his front legs gave out. He tried to stand up but found that he didn’t have the strength. Saulstrance walked closer to Agcro, being advised by Tourajé to be careful just in case he tries anything.

Saulstrance looked down at the beaten and broken dragon. Weakly, Agcro lifted his head, his usual creepy yet always triumphant smile now replaced with a scowl and his eyes filled with anger, hatred, and a hint of sadness.

“You finally got me, so what are you waiting for?” Agcro scoffed, sounding more annoyed that he was beaten than worried for his life.

“Even after you killed so many innocent dragons and now humans, I still can’t understand what would make someone want to do such a horrible thing.” Saulstrance said fiercely, glaring down at Agcro.

Agcro laughed weakly. “Does everything have to have some kind of deep meaning? Perhaps I killed just because it was fun to me. Maybe my family wasn’t so good to me. Or perhaps it was a bit of both.” He said.

Saulstrance closed his eyes and shook his head. With a sigh, he stood up and turned around, heading back to his friends. Agcro was surprised by this. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Saulstrance had the perfect opportunity to finish him and yet, he was just walking away.

“Where are you going? Get back here and finish this!” Demanded Agcro angrily.

Saulstrance looked back towards Agcro. With an angered look on his face, he said to Agcro…

“No. I won’t become a killer. What I will do is turn you over to one of the other Leaders once this is all over. Then they can decide what to do with you from there.” Saulstrance said, soon proceeding to turn around and continue towards his friends.

“Let’s go. We need to find the guards. They’re probably finishing helping the townspeople evacuate.” Saulstrance said to his friends.

“Was that where they’ve been this whole time?” Asked Tourajé, surprised but finding it understandable since he hadn’t seen any of the other guards.

Saulstrance nodded. “I was surprised that they were so eager to help out the humans who lived here. Maybe we were wrong about master’s guards. Even though they did kill Mayza, maybe there is some good in them.” The reddish orange dragon smiled hopefully.

Just as the dragons were about to take to flight, Eig’nia caught everyone’s attention when she turned around to see Agcro back on his feet. Growling and breathing heavily, he muttered under his breath, “I will NOT…be disgraced”.

Summoning what remained of his strength, he put everything he had left into rushing towards Saulstrance and his friends. He tried to attack Saulstrance several times but each attack missed. Finally, as Saulstrance leapt out of the way, Agcro grabbed hold of Saulstrance’s left paw. With Saulstrance’s claws extended out, Agcro stabbed himself with them. This act took everybody, Saulstrance especially by surprise.

Saulstrance pulled his paw back as he watched Agcro, who was coughing up blood, stagger backwards and eventually collapse once more to the ground. The crazed dragon laughed as blood trickled down his chin.

“So this…is what it feels like. I guess…I really am…a monster.” Agcro said, his voice growing softer and less audible.

With a smile on his muzzle, Agcro closed his eyes and took his final breath. Saulstrance stood horrified by what had just happened. He raised his paw and observed his claws which were damp with Agcro’s freshly spilled blood. His paw shook violently and Saulstrance let out a horrified, ear piercing shriek. Even if it wasn’t his choice to take Agcro’s life, his claws were still the instruments that performed the deed. Despite it being involuntarily, Saulstrance had just been turned into the one thing he wished never to become. He had become a killer.

Saulstrance’s whole body began to tremble as he tried desperately to get the blood off his claws. “Get off! GET OFF!!” He panicked, eyes widening and his voice growing more and more desperate. He was soon hyperventilating.

“Saulstrance.” Eig’nia said, placing a wing on her friend’s back. This helped to calm him down somewhat.

Turning to his friend with sad, apologetic eyes, Saulstrance rested his head on Eig’nia’s shoulder, his chin wobbling and eyes shut. Eig’nia wrapped her wings around Saulstrance as her way of hugging him and to try and calm her friend. Tourajé and Shashala approached Eig’nia and Saulstrance and both dragons nuzzled against Saulstrance, letting him know that they were there for him and would do everything they could to help him.