Death Heart

by Fudogg

What happens when a horrific battle injury sends one dragon hurtling towards villainy? An introductory "film" for a major recurring villain in the next series, Jake Long III.

Death Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own American Dragon. Just my OCs.

A/N: Okay, so now that FDRL has come to an end, I mentioned that I plan plan to continue the series, which will follow Jake and Rose's grandchildren (in a way, this is like how Jeff Goode said that the series was designed so that it could go on for as long as possible and not just follow Jake and co.). This will focus on a pretty major villain in the next series and it takes place in June 2084, three months before the start of Jake Long III.

At a round table, three soda glasses clashed as three people cheered. Then, they took their glasses away and all drank. Two girls sat across from each other, while boy sat at their side. The girls wore green graduation gowns and a cap. The first girl, who had long brown hair that was in a pony-tail had a black dragon on the chest area of her gown, while the second girl, who had clear eyes and had long, grey hair that was in a pony-tail, a black streak going down her pony-tail, had a black crystal ball on her gown. The boy, on the other hand, wore a football jacket with a Stil de grain yellow-colored T-shirt underneath. The boy had short brown hair and was of Spanish descent. All three of them had what looked like a steel cuff on one of their wrists. All three of them looked to be about eighteen.

All three of them, after gulping down their drinks, set their glasses down on the table. "Want another?" The brown-haired girl with the dragon on her gown asked with a smile. "Josie, I know you want another."

"I don't." The other girl replied with a small smile. "That was enough."

"Well..." The boy clapped his hands together as he smiled. "...Happy graduation, you two."

"Thanks, Phoenix." The brown-haired girl said with a dreamy smile on her face as she turned her head to the side.

"Okay, don't you two start smacking lips at the table." Josie crossed her arms. "If you want to do that, you can go get a room."

"We won't." The other girl said with a smile on her face as she turned her head back to normal.

"At least, not now." Phoenix smiled. "Right, Melissa?"

"You bet!" The second girl, Melissa, said as she turned her head to the side again.

Still smiling, Phoenix crossed his arms. "Man, you two are lucky." He said. "You're on summer break now. I still have two more weeks left."

"Well, that's what you get for going to a normal school." Josie said as she turned her head to the side. "I mean, you live in a magical town, but you go to school in a completely different town. You must be the only magical creature there."

"I'm not." Phoenix replied. "At least, I don't think I am. Besides, as you both should know from your history classes, humans have slowly been getting more used to us since the 2020's. I, for one, like going to my school. Plus, I have human friends."

"Yeah, they're nice." Melissa said with a smile as she turned her head to the side.

"So..." Phoenix changed the subject, placing his hands on the table. "...What are you two going to do over your summer?"

"This is my chance, Phoenix." Melissa continued to smile. "...Now that I'm free from school, I can go on to do something great as a dragon. I can really become quite a magical hero. You know, like the American Dragon." Her face lit up. "I know! Maybe the Dragon Council would let me take over the job! I mean, the American Dragon's old, right? She's got to be ready to keel over, if she hasn't already."

"The dragon that you speak of, Haley Long, is still alive." Josie said as she played with her soda glass, her words, making Melissa turn her head back to normal. "And no, she isn't the American Dragon anymore."

"Then that's what I want to do with my life." Melissa smiled. "I want to become the next American Dragon."

"You can't." Josie said dryly.

"Why not?" Melissa's smile faded.

"First of all..." Josie held up a finger. "...The job is passed down through generations. If you're not a Long, then you're not the American Dragon. Second." She held up a second finger. "The next American Dragon has been chosen. Her name is Rosaline Long."

"Well..." Melissa smiled again, although the smile was small. "...I'll think of something else..."

LINE BREAK

Together, Melissa and Josie were walking down the street. It wasn't a very nice town that they lived in. The shops and the houses were rather run down, there were no sidewalks and the street had cracks and bumps.

Josie sighed. "What?" Melissa asked, turning her head to the side.

"Just thinking." Josie replied.

"About what?" Melissa asked as she turned her head back to normal.

"About how everything is only going to get worse." Josie said glumly.

"Jeez, Josie." Melissa rolled her eyes. "Get a grip. Life is only going to get better. It's just your issues talking. Go home and take your medicine."

"I take it in the morning." Josie grumbled. "It doesn't work all that well."

"Just look on the bright side of life." Melissa smiled. "It's all going to be good."

"Not really." Josie said with a sigh. "My parents want me to go be a fortune teller at Magus Bazaar."

"How well does that pay?" Melissa asked, turning her head to the side.

"It doesn't matter!" Josie replied spitefully. "What matters is that I don't want to work there!"

"Well, then don't." Melissa smiled as she turned her head back to normal. "It's really as simple as that."

LINE BREAK

A short time later, Melissa opened the front door of her house, and she walked into the dark house. "Strange." She said to herself as she glanced around the room.

When she turned and stepped into the kitchen, she gasped as the lights switched on, both of her parents jumping up from behind the round kitchen table, which had a cake and three presents that were wrapped on it. "Happy graduation, Melissa!" They both declared.

Melissa's mother, Willow Owen, wore a pair of tight fitting jeans and a teal sweater with sleeves that were a tad too long. She had long Beau Blue-colored hair. Julius Owen, Melissa's father, had somewhat long and shaggy brown hair and he wore a pair brown cycling shorts and a red sweater with sleeves that were too short.

"Oh..." Melissa's eyes widened and she blushed. "...You guys didn't have to-"

"We're proud of you, Melissa." Julius told her daughter.

"You only graduate high school once." Willow added.

Smiling, Melissa walked over to the kitchen table.

LINE BREAK

The next morning, Melissa, now wearing a Beau Blue-colored blouse, black jeans and red sandals, with her hair now down, opened the door to her house, and after closing the door, started to walk down the steps, going into the street.

Once Melissa was in the street, she lifted up her wrist with the steel cuff on it. Melissa then pressed a button that was on the cuff.

LINE BREAK

In her room, Josie was lying on her bed, wearing a grey tank-top and a grey pair of boxer shorts. Her eyes were closed like she wanted to sleep, but her facial features showed distress. Moaning, she quickly rolled over onto her side, just as a ringing came from the steel cuff around her wrist.

Groaning, Josie sat up and pressed a button on the cuff, causing a holographic image of Melissa to appear. "Still in bed?" Melissa asked with a smile.

"I can't sleep." Josie growled.

"Then get up."

"I want to sleep."

Melissa sighed. "I was calling you for a reason." She said.

"I don't care." Josie grumbled.

"So, I take it you don't want to hang out with me today?" Melissa asked.

"Nope." Josie replied, rather coldly. "Now goodbye." Josie then pressed a button on her cuff. Once the holographic image of Melissa had vanished, Josie groaned and fell back down onto her bed.

LINE BREAK

It was about three o'clock, and for the past few hours, Melissa had been sitting on the porch of Phoenix's house for a few hours. Even Phoenix's younger sister, eight year old Nayeli, who had long brown hair and wore a Rich Maroon-colored T-shirt and matching running shorts as well as a steel cuff around her wrist, had come home from school and, with her backpack at her feet, was sitting next to Melissa.

"So, how is your training going along?" Melissa asked with a smile as she turned her head to the side.

"Fine." Nayeli answered.

"Good to hear." Melissa said, turning her head back to normal, just as Phoenix arrived, accompanied by his two friends. All three of them wore their football jackets, and surprisingly, both of Phoenix's friends were more muscular than him, even though they were humans.

To Phoenix's right was his first friend, Arturro. Arturro was tall and had long blonde hair. To Phoenix's left was his second friend, Rocco. Rocco was about two inches shorter than Arturro and had red hair that was a little bit longer than Arturro's blonde hair.

"Melissa." Phoenix seemed somewhat surprised, although pleasantly so.

"Hey." Melissa smiled.

"I wasn't expecting to see you." Phoenix said. "Why'd you come?"

"Josie wants nothing to do with me for now." Melissa said.

"Aw." Nayeli said, putting a hand on Melissa's shoulder.

"Well, I-" Phoenix started, but before he could finish, Arturro put his hand on Phoenix's shoulder.

"It's okay." Arturro said.

"What?" Phoenix asked as he turned around. "What are you saying?"

"Hang out with your girlfriend." Arturro said with a smile on his face.

"What about you guys?" Melissa asked.

"Don't worry." Rocco added, smiling as well as he and Arturro took a step back. "We understand. We'll be okay. We have other stuff to do."

"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Phoenix replied.

"Yeah." Rocco said. "Sounds good." Phoenix watched as Rocco and Arturro then turned and walked away.

With a small smile on his face, Phoenix turned around to face his younger sister and his girlfriend. "Thanks a lot." Phoenix teased. "Now my two friends think that I think you're more important than they are. They just might never forgive me. I hope you're happy."

"Oh, stop." Nayeli laughed at her brother. "Be nice!"

"So, what do you want to do?" Phoenix asked his girlfriend as he put his hands on his hips.

"Hmm..." Melissa pretended to think as she put a finger to her chin, Nayeli snickering. "...I don't know. Oh!" Her face then lit up. "I know! Do you want to know what I came up with?"

"Tell him!" Nayeli exclaimed excitedly.

"Go on." Phoenix's smile widened. "Tell me. I'm all ears."

"How about a nice flight?" Melissa continued to smile.

"That...sounds perfect." Phoenix told her.

LINE BREAK

In their dragon forms, both Melissa and Phoenix landed at a park. Melissa was a Beau Blue-colored dragon and Phoenix was a Stil de grain yellow-colored dragon. Staring at the park before them, they could see an old rusty slide and a swing-set with two swings.

Smiling, Phoenix turned his head to the side. "I'll push you on the swing." He offered.

Smiling, Melissa chuckled. "I think I'll have a hard time sitting on that swing as a dragon."

A few seconds later, the human-formed Melissa sat down on the swing, Phoenix walking up behind her. Putting his hands on her back, he gently pushed Melissa, causing her to swing forward.

Smiling as she swung back, once again getting pushed by her boyfriend, this process being continued. "This is good." She told him.

"You want me to stop?" Phoenix asked as he pushed her again.

"No." Melissa told him. "Keep going. Just don't make me go any higher."

"Got it." Phoenix smiled as he pushed her again.

After Phoenix told her this, Melissa's smile slowly faded. "Hey, Phoenix?" She asked him.

"Yeah?" He replied, pushing her again.

"What are you going to do once you graduate from high school?" Melissa asked.

"Go to college." Phoenix answered as he pushed her again.

"Where?" Now, Melissa was sounding worried.

"Oh, I know where this is going." Phoenix said as he pushed her again. "Every couple fears this when the time comes. You're afraid that I'm going to go away to college and I'm going to forget about you, huh?" As he finished saying this, he pushed her again.

"I guess so." Melissa replied.

"It isn't true." Phoenix pushed her again. "I'll go to college close by if you want me to. Or, you could come with me."

"I'm not much of a school girl." Melissa said with a small smile as she was pushed again. "You could not go to college and focus on a career of being a magical hero with me."

Phoenix chuckled as Melissa came back and he pushed her again. "I love that about you." He told her. "I love how you aim for the heavens. You won't settle for anything but a life of glory." He pushed her again.

"You don't want that?" Melissa asked.

"Not really." Phoenix told her as he pushed her again. "I know I'm a dragon, and I know that I have a responsibility to protect magical creatures..." He pushed her again. "...But it's not like I'm the American Dragon."

"I want to be better than the American Dragon." Melissa smiled as she was pushed by Phoenix again.

"And I want to go to college and be successful as a person." Phoenix said, pushing her again.

"Then what's going to happen with us?" Melissa asked.

"I'm not going to forget you, Melissa." Phoenix promised her right then and there as he pushed her again. "And I won't go too far away to go to school. We'll stay together." As he finished saying this, Melissa came back, making Phoenix push her on the swing again.

"That's all I want to know." Melissa said, a smiling appearing on her face once again.

LINE BREAK

The next morning, at Melissa's house, Melissa, who was wearing a Beau Blue-colored T-shirt that went down to her knees, turned and walked into the kitchen, only to stop and gasp as she saw Josie sitting at the kitchen table, wolfing down a waffle while Julius sipped coffee and Willow sipped orange juice.

""Josie?" Melissa asked, making Josie turn her head to the side.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"What are you doing here?" Melissa asked.

"You wanted to hang out with me yesterday, didn't you?" Josie asked.

"That was yesterday."

"Oh, come on, Melissa." Willow said to her daughter as she set down her glass. "Josie's your friend."

"I know." Melissa replied. "I'm just wondering why she wants to hang out with me today when she didn't want to hang out yesterday. That's all. Are you feeling better, Josie?"

"Nope." Josie replied after swallowing a bite of waffle. "Mom and Dad told me I needed to get out of the house."

"Oh." Melissa replied. Then, she smiled. "Well, let's hang out today."

"Great." Josie replied before she put another piece of the waffle into her mouth.

"What do you want to do today?" Melissa asked.

LINE BREAK

Josie sighed as she and Melissa, who now was wearing her normal clothes, walked down the street.

"That was something new." Melissa spoke.

"What?" Josie asked.

"As far as I know, this was the first time that your parents told you to leave the house."

"It is." Josie nodded. "They really get tired of my constant talk about death and my overall disinterest, plus my temper, my behavior and my thoughts that I'm better than them when I'm in a good mood. Now that I'm done with school and I'm a legal adult, they have the right to make me leave."

"That's true, I guess." Melissa replied.

"Look, are we actually going to do something or are we just going to keep walking?" Josie asked as she turned her head to the side.

"I don't know." Melissa shrugged. "Is there somewhere you want to go?"

Before Josie could say anything, both girls froze when they felt the entire area jolt, followed by the sound of terrified screams. Both Melissa and Josie turned to see different colored dragons flying down the next street and turning as they tried to flee. They could also see some leprechauns and even some goblins.

"RUN AWAY!" One of the leprechauns shrieked as there came another jolt, making both Josie and Melissa stagger back.

"What is going on?" Josie asked, just as a ringing came from Melissa's steel wrist band.

"Hello?" Melissa asked, lofting up her arm as a holographic image of her mother appeared. "Mom?"

"Melissa, you need to get home." Willow said.

"Why?" Melissa asked.

"The Hursulie is rampaging." Willow said, just as another jolt hit.

"Um, Melissa?" Josie asked, her eyes widening as she looked ahead, making Melissa lower her arm and look up.

"What is i-?" Melissa started, but she stopped as she saw the Hursulie coming down the street, headed right for her and Josie.

While Josie looked frightened, Melissa couldn't help but smile. This was her chance to use her dragon powers. She would be the only magical creature in the neighborhood to stand up to the creature. She would be the hero.

"Dragon up!" Melissa cried, transforming into her dragon form just as Josie gasped, her eyes glowing as she had a vision.

"Stay here." Melissa said with a smile on her face as soon as the transformation was complete. "I'll take care of this." Then, with a flap of her wings, she took off.

Immediately, Josie reached out as her friend left her. "Watch out for the beast's claws!" She shouted in warning. Only, she knew deep down that her warning was futile...

Swooping up above the creature, Melissa opened her mouth and blew out a fireball, which hit the creature in the back. With a roar, the creature looked up and roared at Melissa.

Taking that as a cue to keep going, Melissa smiled and swooped down, starting to hover in front of the creature instead of above it. "You need to head on back to wherever you came from, beastie." Melissa told it.

In response, the Hursulie roared again and swiped its claws at her, Melissa grunting as she pushed herself back, just barely missing the claws and being slashed by them. "Watch out for the claws indeed." Melissa muttered. "Alright." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm through! Now, I'm going to be serious!"

Opening her mouth, Melissa prepared to blow out a torrent of fire, but before she could blow anything, she roared in pain, the Hursulie ramming its claws into her chest. As quickly as its claws had gone into her, the Hursulie ripped its claws out, making Melissa gasp and gurgle. For, in the claws of the Hursulie was Melissa's heart.

BLACKOUT

Moaning, Melissa slowly opened her eyes, staring up at the fluorescent lights. She was lying on a hospital bed, tucked under the covers, clad only in a hospital gown. Moaning, Melissa turned her head to the side, seeing Phoenix and Josie, both of them smiling at her.

"Hey, look who's awake." Phoenix's smile widened.

"Wh...Where am I?" Melissa croaked.

"The hospital!" Josie exclaimed happily. "Thank God you're alive!" Then, her eyes flashed. "Ooh!" Her smiled widened, turning into a wide grin. "Guess what? You're going to get sweet revenge on that creature! Awesome!"

Confused as all hell, Melissa opened her mouth to say something, but before she could form any words, Phoenix spoke, holding out a card. "Here." He told her. "Nayeli made this for you. It's just a get well card."

"Thanks." Melissa croaked as she reached out and took it. "Wh...What happened?" She asked as she placed the card down on her stomach.

"You don't remember?" Phoenix asked.

"Not at the moment."

"The Hursulie attacked the neighborhood." Phoenix told her. "You tried to be a hero and got your heart ripped out. It actually ripped your heart clean out your body."

"And I'm still alive after that?" Melissa asked. "But...But how?"

"I think I can answer that." A male voice from behind Josie and Phoenix. Having just entered the room were Julius, who had red and poofy eyes from crying, but now looked elated, a doctor with short black hair, golden plastic glasses and wore Dark Goldenrod-colored scrubs underneath a white doctor's coat, and finally, Willow, who was crying tears of relief and had relieved smile on her face. "Do you two mind if I talk to Miss Owen alone?" The doctor asked.

"Of course not." Phoenix said politely as he and Josie turned around. As Phoenix and Josie walked away from the bed, the doctor and Melissa's parents walked up to the side of the bed. Slowly, Melissa turned her head back to normal.

"It is indeed a miracle that you are alive, Miss Owen." The doctor said. Then, his eyes widened as if he had just realized something important. "Pardon me. May I ask: Do you prefer to be called Miss Owen or Melissa?"

"Melissa." Melissa smiled, and then added: "Of course."

"Well, Melissa." The doctor explained. "Please call me Doctor Loucas. Now, the beast ripped your heart out. Miraculously, your friend found you quickly and we got you into emergency surgery before it was too late."

"Surgery?"

"Heart transplant." Dr. Loucas smiled. "You are a very lucky one, indeed."

"Wow..." Was all Melissa could say, just as Willow sniffled.

"I'm so happy we didn't lose you." Willow managed.

"Whose heart did I get?" Melissa asked.

"I'm not sure." Dr. Loucas replied. "I can check if you'd like."

"Nah, it doesn't matter." Melissa replied. "It's mine now, anyway..."

'That's the idea." Dr. Loucas smiled.

"So, how long am I going to have to stay here?" Melissa changed the subject.

"Oh, Melissa." Her father replied in a no-nonsense tone. "How is he supposed to know?"

"No, it's alright." Dr. Loucas smiled. "It really depends, Melissa. How about we check on you tomorrow morning? Just sleep today. We'll take care of you."

"I guess that sounds alright." Melissa replied. Then, she turned her head to look out the window, staring at the morning sun.

"Is there anything we can get you, Melissa?" Her mother asked.

"We should just let her sleep." Julius replied as Dr. Loucas turned and started to walk out of the room. Nodding in agreement with her husband, Willow then turned along with Julius and they started to walk out of the room.

LINE BREAK

A few days later, at the Owen residence, Melissa, who had been home for a day or two, was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly, both Josie and Phoenix turned and stepped into her room.

"Melissa?" Phoenix asked.

"Yeah?" Melissa asked as she turned her head to the side.

"Josie wants to go to the mall." Phoenix told her while Josie just smiled. "Do you want to come with? Do you think you feel well enough?"

"Sure." Melissa quickly answered. "Yeah, I...I can come with."

A few moments later, Phoenix and Josie walked past the entrance to the kitchen, with Melissa turning and walking into the kitchen, where she found her mother sitting at the table, writing something.

"Mom?" Melissa asked, immediately getting her mother to look up and turn her head to the side.

"Is anything wrong?" Willow asked.

"No, not at all." Melissa replied with a small, rather sad smile.

"Then what is it?" Willow asked.

"Um, Josie and Phoenix are going to the mall." Melissa replied. "They asked me if I wanted to come with."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Willow asked.

"Mom, I feel fine." Melissa replied. "Remember what Dr. Loucas said?"

"I don't think I'll be able to forget." Willow replied.

"Alright." Melissa replied, taking a step back. "I'm going to go and I'm going to be okay. I should be back in an hour or two." Then, she turned and left the room.

LINE BREAK

At the mall, Melissa was walking in-between Phoenix, who had his arm around her, and Josie, who had three plastic bags hanging from the steel cuff around her wrist. Josie was looking around the mall, looking at all of the futuristic-looking stores.

"Ooh." She said as she finally spotted a store she wanted to go into. She quickly walked off to the side.

Now alone, Phoenix turned his head to the side, seeing that Melissa looked a little sad. "Something wrong?" He asked her.

"Not really." Melissa replied.

"Bull." Phoenix replied.

"It's really nothing much." Melissa replied as she turned her head to the side.

"But it's still something." Phoenix said with a small smile. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"It's-" Melissa tried to explain, but she found it difficult, so she turned her head back to normal. "It's-I-It's..."

"You don't have to struggle like this, Melissa." Phoenix told her gently.

Sighing, Melissa turned her head back to the side. "It's what Dr. Loucas told me the morning I left the hospital."

"What did he tell you?"

FLASHBACK

Lying in her hospital bed, Melissa could do nothing but stare out her window, her head turned to the side. However, on this morning, there was a smile on her face. Dr. Loucas had deemed her well enough to return home to continue recuperating.

As Melissa continued to stare out the out the window, the door to her hospital room opened and Dr. Loucas walked inside, followed by Willow and Julius. "Good morning, Melissa." Loucas said as he made his way to the bed.

Smiling, Melissa turned her head in the other direction, her doctor and her parents stopping at the side of the bed. "Are you ready to go home?" Dr. Loucas asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure that she's well enough to go home?" Willow asked.

"She just had her heart replaced." Julius agreed, turning his head to the side.

Dr. Loucas just smiled. "Things aren't like they used to be." He said. "Now, Melissa. Can I talk to you about something important?"

"Sure." Melissa replied.

"Should we be here?" Julius asked as he turned his head back to normal.

"I think that would be best." Dr. Loucas replied. "Yes. Now, times certainly have changed. Medical advancements have made surgeries and recuperations much easier. Seventy years ago, if you had a heart transplant, your life expectancy post operation was only about fifteen years."

"Huh?" Melissa asked, confused. "What do you mean, Doctor?"

"What do you mean?" Dr. Loucas crossed his arms. "What confuses you?"

"This is going to shorten my life?"

"Well, yes." Dr. Loucas replied. "Transplants have consequences. Fortunately, your median survival rate has doubled since the 2010s."

"So, what was the longest time that someone who got a heart transplant lived?" Melissa asked.

"Um, about 30 or 31 years, I believe." Dr. Loucas replied, toying with his glasses.

"So, I'm going to live for another sixty years?" Melissa replied.

"No, actually." Loucas replied. "You see, that was the longest that any transplant recipient has lived. The average is fifteen years. It has doubled. Your median survival rate is about thirty years."

"What is the point of you telling me this?" Melissa asked, looking like she had just been captured and been told by her captors that she was going to be put to death the next morning.

"So you can think reasonably, Melissa." Dr. Loucas replied. "I've talked to your parents. They say that you want to be just like the American Dragon."

"I can't be?" Melissa asked.

"Well, I suppose you can." Loucas shrugged. "You just need to be careful. You're not indestructible like a lot of kids your age think. You need to be aware of that...and you need to be careful."

END FLASHBACK

Sighing, Melissa turned her head back to normal. "That's a bummer." Phoenix replied as he turned his head back to normal as well. "But it's going to be okay." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe I can be just like that person who lived for thirty years, double his life expectancy." Melissa suggested. "Maybe I can live another sixty years."

"Or..." Phoenix suggested, turning his head to the side again. "...You could just live your life to the fullest. You could have been killed, Melissa."

"I know."

"You should just be grateful that you're alive." Phoenix told her.

LINE BREAK

Later that afternoon, Julius opened the door to the house and walked over into the kitchen, where he found his wife sitting at the table, still writing. "You're home." Willow acknowledged.

"How's Melissa?" Julius asked.

"Fine." Willow replied, looking up and turning her head to the side. "Dr. Loucas was right."

"About what?"

"Today, Melissa went out with her friends." Willow explained with a small smile. "Nothing happened. She came home and was perfectly fine."

"Nothing happened?" Julius asked. "She was perfectly fine?"

"Nothing happened." Willow repeated. "She's perfectly fine."

However, at that moment, a thud came from upstairs, followed by a pained cry. Gasping, Willow quickly stood up from her chair. "Did you hear that?" She asked her husband.

Julius looked troubled. "Yeah." He replied. "I did."

"That might have been Melissa..." Willow said, starting to panic.

"Might have?" Her husband replied before he quickly turned around and started to run out of the kitchen. Without a second thought, Willow ran after her husband.

LINE BREAK

Up in her room, Melissa cried out in pain again. She was lying on her back after having collapsed near her window. Crying out for a third time, Melissa dug her fingernails into the boards of her floor.

Just as Melissa cried out for a fourth time, trying to weakly move, the door to her room swung open and Julius ran inside, followed by his wife. "My baby!" Willow wailed right before she and Julius reached Melissa's side, both falling to their knees beside her.

"What is it, Melissa?" Julius asked as calmly as he could, just before Melissa cried out for a fifth time.

"I...I think it's m...my heart." Melissa managed as she slowly reached up and put her hand over her heart.

"Julius, do you think it could be one of those complications that Dr. Loucas told us about?" Willow asked as she turned her head to the side. "Could her body be rejecting the donated heart?"

"I don't know." Julius replied as Melissa cried out again, making Willow turn her head back to normal. "I'm going to call the hospital." Julius declared as he started to stand. Then, he turned and ran out of the room as Melissa once again cried out in pain.

BLACKOUT

With a gasp, Melissa awoke, her eyes snapping open. Panting heavily, she lied underneath the covers of a hospital bed. Miraculously, her pain was gone. "Melissa?" Came the sound of her mother's voice.

Slowly turning her head to the side, Melissa could see her parents sitting at the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?" Willow asked.

Melissa opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, the door to the room opened and Dr. Loucas walked into the room. "Is she awake?" He asked in a grim tone.

"Yes." Julius replied, Dr. Loucas walking up to his side. "Do you know what happened?" Julius asked as he turned his head to the side.

"Yes." Loucas said grimly, closing his eyes.

"How did you find out?" Melissa asked.

"We opened you back up." Dr. Loucas replied, opening his eyes again. "And we took a look at that new heart of yours."

"And?" Melissa asked. "Is it going to happen again?"

"Your prognosis is grim, Melissa." Dr. Loucas told her, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to lie to you."

"How can you be so sure?" Willow asked, turning her head to the side.

"The heart that was donated..." Dr. Loucas said. "...Was cursed."

"Cursed?!" Willow repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yes." Dr. Loucas replied. "Cursed by a witch."

"So..." Melissa was worried, but confused at the same time. "...What does that mean for me? You said that my prognosis is grim. So...what's going to happen?"

"Will this happen again?" Willow asked.

"Yes." Dr. Loucas replied. "Yes, it will. As for what this means for you, Melissa, this means...that your time is limited."

Her mouth wide open, Melissa blinked twice before she answered. "Bu...But...you told me th...that I had thirty years left, give or take."

"I was wrong." Dr. Loucas replied. "I had no idea that the heart I had given you was cursed."

"How do you know that it was cursed by a witch?" Julius asked.

"Well..." Dr. Loucas said as he turned his head to the side. "...Witches and wizards are the only magical creatures, that I know of, that are capable of cursing things."

"How long does Melissa have left?" Willow asked, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Hard to say." Dr. Loucas said. "A year, give or take, perhaps." Then, Dr. Loucas turned his head back to normal. "I'm terribly sorry, Melissa." He told the speechless young dragon.

LINE BREAK

Later that night at the hospital, Melissa was lying on her side, facing the window; she would have been in a fetal position if she could have been. From behind her, the door to the room opened and Dr. Loucas walked inside. "Melissa?" He asked as he walked over to the bed, finally reaching the side of the bed.

"Look..." He continued as he reached into the pocket of his white coat. "...Please turn around, Melissa."

Sighing, Melissa turned around to face Dr. Loucas, who pulled out a clear syringe from his pocket. "What's that?" Melissa asked in a depressed tone.

"It's for your heart."

"Will it save me or help me in some way?"

"No and...not really." Dr. Loucas replied. "The only thing it will do is help with the pain."

"It will?" Melissa didn't seem like she cared all that much.

"It won't stop the attacks." Dr. Loucas replied. "But it should help with the pain. You will probably still feel some pain, but this should lesson it. I'll just give it to your parents. You're going to be able to go home tomorrow, just so you know."

"Okay." Melissa replied, uninterested.

Sighing, Dr. Loucas turned around and started to walk towards the door. Just as he reached the door, he froze when he heard the sound of Melissa's voice: "Dr. Loucas?"

"Yeah?" Dr. Loucas asked as he turned around to face her.

"Do you think it's possible to find out who cursed the heart?" Melissa asked.

"Melissa, I-"

"Maybe, if I could find the witch who did it..." Melissa said. "...I could convince them to remove the curse." Melissa then gave a small smile. "Maybe the witch didn't even mean to do it."

"I highly doubt that, Melissa."

"But I think it's worth a try, Dr." Melissa said, lifting her head up.

"I would need to run tests, Melissa." Dr. Loucas replied, crossing his arms. "That means you wouldn't be able to leave tomorrow morning."

"It's worth it." Melissa said, narrowing her eyes.

LINE BREAK

The next afternoon, Melissa was sitting in a wheelchair, wheeled by her father, while Willow walked at her husband's side, a devastated look on her face. As they reached the exit, they found Dr. Loucas standing at the mechanical sliding door.

"Yes, Dr.?" Julius asked as he and his wife stopped.

"You have the medicine I gave you, right?" Dr. Loucas checked.

"Of course." Julius replied.

"Okay." Dr. Loucas said as he reached into his white coat. "Now, Melissa..." He went on as he pulled his hand out of his coat, holding a piece of paper. "...I finished the tests."

"And?" Melissa perked up.

"This is the wand that cast the curse." Dr. Loucas said as he handed it to Melissa. Melissa took it and stared at the piece of paper, finding that all that was on it was a simple code.

"And this is?" Melissa asked, looking up at her doctor.

"I can't tell you who the wand is registered to." Dr. Loucas put his hands on his hips.

"Then how am I supposed to track this witch down?" Melissa narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure that's safe, Melissa?" Willow asked with a worried tone.

"Unless you want me to die horribly, Mom, yes it is." Melissa replied.

"You're going to have to go to the Dragon Council." Dr. Loucas replied. "If they can't help you, then I don't know what to say."

LINE BREAK

The next morning, at the Owen residence, Holly Jennings squinted as she looked at the code on the piece of paper. Holly was sitting at the kitchen table, across from Melissa.

"Yes..." Holly said as she set down the piece of paper. "...I think I know who owns this wand."

"You do?" Melissa couldn't help but smile.

"Yes." Holly replied, instinctively reaching for her walking stick that was leaning against the table.

"Can you tell me the witch's name and where she lives?" Melissa asked.

"I understand what has happened to you, Dragon Owen." Holly said. "But this is not guaranteed to work."

"Councilor, I need to try."

"Life isn't always fair, Dragon Owen." Holly said.

"Councilor, I don't want to die like this!" Melissa slammed her fist against the table, startling the elderly Dragon Councilor. "Sorry." Melissa quickly said, realizing that a lash-out like that was not a wise thing to do in front of a 90+ year old woman.

"It's quite alright." Holly smiled.

"Can you please tell me her name and where she lives?" Melissa asked again.

"Her name is Piper." Holly gave in quickly. "And lucky for you, she lives in this neighborhood."

"She does?!" Melissa's face lit up.

At this moment, Willow walked into the kitchen. "Mom!" Melissa said with a smile on her face as she turned her head to the side. "Councilor Jennings told me everything!"

"Did she now?" Willow couldn't help but feel concerned.

"Dragon Owen, I do feel the need to warn you..." Holly said, making Melissa turn her head back to normal. "...Can you please just hear an old woman out?"

"I-"

"Yes, she can, Councilor." Willow said as she crossed her arms. "Please talk some sense into her."

"Well, I don't think I'll do that exactly." Holly replied. "I really just want to warn her. Dragon Owen, in my opinion, and also in my experience really, a curse this devastating wouldn't be cast on accident. I highly doubt that you are going to get this witch's sympathy. That's why you need to be careful."

"I will be." Melissa said. "Now please tell me where Piper lives."

In response, Holly sighed. Then, she opened her mouth: "Alright. She lives at..."

LINE BREAK

A short time later, Melissa, in her dragon form, landed in front of the location that Holly had given her. She found herself staring at a small cottage cut off from other buildings and homes.

"Well..." Melissa said to herself. "...Here goes nothing."

Then, she started to walk towards the door to the cottage. As soon as she reached the front door, Melissa quickly knocked three times. Then, she took two steps back and waited for about fifteen seconds before the door opened and a witch stepped out.

The witch was of average height, wore black robes and a hat and had long green hair. "Um, are you Piper?" Melissa asked.

"Yes." The witch replied. "What do you want, dragon?" Surprisingly, even though Piper called her "dragon", it was not in a disparaging way.

"Do you think I could talk to you?" Melissa tried to be as polite as possible.

"What about?" Piper asked.

"Um..." Melissa put her clawed hand to her scaly chin. "...I don't really know how to put this. Um, have you been doing any cursing lately?"

"Cursing?" Piper raised an eyebrow.

"You cursed a heart." Melissa told her.

Piper seemed shocked and taken aback for a few seconds. "Alright, come in." Piper quickly said as she walked backwards into her home.

"Thanks." Melissa said before she followed Piper into the cottage.

LINE BREAK

A few moments later, both Piper and the still dragon-formed Melissa were seated at a round, wooden table. Piper took a sip of a green drink, no doubt some kind of potion, then set her glass back down on the table.

"Am I in some kind of trouble?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow again.

"No." Melissa replied. "I'm just curious why you cursed a heart."

"I'm curious how you know." Piper replied. "Does the Dragon Council know?"

"Only the head of the Council." Melissa replied.

"How does she know?" Piper asked. "Councilor Holly Jennings, right?"

"Yeah."

"How does she know?" Piper repeated.

"I told her." Melissa replied, as if Piper was foolish not to think of the obvious answer.

"Why would you do something like that?" Piper asked in a low growl.

"Because I have that heart that you cursed." Melissa told her, getting down to business.

"How did you get it?"

"A couple days back..." Melissa answered. "...A magical creature attacked the neighborhood. I tried to take it on, but it ripped out my heart with its claws. The doctors replaced my heart with the one that you cursed."

"Really?" Piper asked, a small and curious smile appearing on her face. She took her hand off of her glass and brought it down below the table. In a flash of green light, her wand appeared in her hand.

"Yes." Melissa continued. "That's why I'm here."

"The effects?" Piper asked curiously.

"I'm going to die, Piper." Melissa said. "That's why I'm here."

"No, I know you're going to die." Piper said, smiling. "It's a very powerful and deadly curse that I placed on that heart of yours. I'm curious about what it's doing to you in the meantime."

"Pain." Melissa replied. "Lots of it. It was...the most intense pain I have ever felt in my life. Not even getting my heart ripped out hurt that much."

"Hmm, very interesting..." Piper replied.

"Look, I've got my whole life ahead of me." Melissa tried to finish up what she needed to say. "And I don't want to go through that again. Could you please remove the curse? Ple-"

"No." Piper quickly replied, cutting her off and pointing her wand at Melissa.

Melissa grunted as she was pushed back, her chair falling over as she was pushed back against a wooden post in the room. Before Melissa could move, the smiling Piper flicked her wand, and in a green light a very long length of chain appeared around Melissa, starting at her shoulders and going all the way down to her ankles, pinning her arms at her sides and binding her to the post.

"What are you doing?!" Melissa was dumbfounded.

"I've always wanted to see the damage that my curse would cause." Piper said as she walked over to the chained up dragon, stopping right in front of her. "Why do you think I cast it in the first place?"

"I just told you what happens!" Melissa said, getting angry now. "It causes unbearable and unbelievable pain."

"I'd like to see that happen." Piper replied, smiling evilly as she crossed her arms.

"I don't know when it's going to happen next!"

"I've got time...and so do you..."

"Please." Melissa pleaded. "Don't do this..."

"That's not going to change my mind." Piper stated simply. "I want to watch the effects of my curse."

"No!" Melissa protested, trying to struggle against the chains that held her, but the chains held tight. "You can't do this to me!"

"I already did." Piper smiled.

Grunting, Melissa gave one last struggle, but then she froze and her eyes widened as she felt a searing pain in her chest. "No..." Was all she could say as the fact that she had not taken her medicine yet. After all, she wasn't sure if she was going to need it. Then, Melissa cried out as the pain increased tenfold.

"Is this the pain you talked about?" Piper asked.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?!" Melissa screamed as she pulled against her chains, only to cry out in pain again.

Piper smirked. "Now we're talking." She said as she lowered her arms to her sides.

LINE BREAK

Back at the Owen residence, later that afternoon, Willow was standing a foot or two away from the door, a worried look on her face. Then, the door opened and Julius walked inside. "I'm home." He told her, then noted the look of worry on his wife's face. "What is it, Willow?" He asked her.

"It's Melissa." Willow said, sounding like she was near tears.

"Did it happen again?" Julius now sounded worried.

"No." Willow told him. "It's worse."

"What could possibly be worse?!"

"Councilor Jennings came here earlier this morning." Willow explained. "She told Melissa where to find the witch that had cursed the heart. Before she left, Melissa said that she'd only be gone for 45 minutes, maybe an hour. Julius, it's been a few hours."

"Do you know where Melissa went?"

"Yes, I-"

"Then why didn't you go there and find out what's happening?" Julius asked his wife. In response, Julius could see something flash through Willow's eyes. The look that appeared on her face told him that she hadn't thought of that, let alone do anything other than just stand at the door and worry.

"Come on!" Julius declared. "What are we waiting for?"

LINE BREAK

Back at Piper's cottage, Piper watched in amusement as Melissa suffered. After crying out in pain, Melissa lowered her head. "PLEASE!" She begged before she threw her head back up and cried out in pain again. "Oh...HAVEN'T YOU HAD ENOUGH?!"

"Not nearly." Piper's smile widened. "I could watch this all day."

At that moment, the door to the cottage was shattered into many pieces right before Julius, in a red dragon form, flew in, accompanied by his teal-colored dragon wife. Seeing Piper turn her attention away from his chained up daughter, Julius growled with rage.

Narrowing her eyes, Piper quickly waved her wand around, quickly disappearing a bright green light.

With Piper gone, Willow rushed over to her daughter's side. "Melissa, sweetie!" She cooed with worry, just before Melissa cried out in pain again.

BLACKOUT

Moaning, Melissa slowly opened her eyes, starting to stare up at the fluorescent lights. She was back in the hospital. Moaning, Melissa turned her head to the side, surprised to see two human-formed Dragon Councilors sitting at her bedside, Dr. Loucas standing in-between them. The first Councilor was a 34 year old female who wore Mulberry-colored robes and had long Mulberry-colored hair that was in a pony-tail. The second Councilor was a 52 year old man who wore Papaya Whip-colored robes and had a bald head.

"Who are you?" Melissa croaked out.

"This is Councilor Yara." Dr. Loucas said, putting his hand on the woman's shoulder. "She is the Brazilian Dragon. This..." He put his hand on the man's shoulder. "...Is Councilor Asil. He is the Turkish Dragon."

"Oh." Melissa didn't seem to care.

"Your parents explained what happened." Dr. Loucas seemed remorseful. "That must have been terrible."

"Actually, it was quite pleasant." Melissa grumbled in annoyance.

"It was probably wrong of me to encourage you to try to make things right." Dr. Loucas said, closing his eyes briefly before he opened them again. "I'm your doctor. My job is to take care of you, not put you in danger."

"Like I care." Melissa narrowed her eyes. Then, she sighed. "I failed."

"Unfortunately, that appears to be the case." Dr. Loucas said.

"Dragon Owen..." Councilor Yara said with a small smile on her face. "...Dr. Loucas talked with us last night while you were asleep."

"Yeah?" Melissa replied.

"There is nothing that we can do for you." Councilor Asil added. "All we can do is deliver some simple comforts to make the time you have left easier."

"Dr. Loucas provided medicine for you..." Councilor Yara continued.

"And you have something for me?" Melissa raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Councilor Yara told her.

"What?" Melissa asked.

"This." Councilor Asil said as he reached into his robes, pulling out a futuristic watch.

"What is that?" Melissa asked.

"It is a special watch that we made by combining magic and technology." Asil explained. "What is does is it tells you how much time you have left to live."

"How?" Melissa asked.

"Just told you." Asil said, sounding annoyed. "Magic and technology."

"Well, how will this help me?" Melissa asked.

"It will help you prepare for the inevitable." Yara explained as Melissa slowly reached out and took the watch from Asil. "You will know how much time you have left exactly, giving you time to plan for everything."

"As well as possibly helping you come to terms with your fate." Dr. Loucas added.

Rolling onto her back, Melissa lifted up her other hand and brought the watch over to her wrist. "Do you need help?" Dr. Loucas offered.

"No." Melissa told him, managing to get the watch on her own. The second the water, was fastened, the watch magically came on. 302 Days, 7 hours, 34 minutes, 53 seconds, the seconds slowly counting down.

"302 days..." Melissa said sadly before she dropped her head down onto the pillow. "...Not even a full year left..."

LINE BREAK

The next morning, Melissa sat on the porch of her house, sticking the needle of her syringe into the veins on her arm. After injecting the medicine into her body, Melissa carefully took the needle out of her arm and turned her arm around, looking at the magic watch, only to find that the medicine hadn't changed anything. Dr. Loucas had said that it wouldn't, but a girl could hope. Until now...

After sighing, Melissa looked up to see Josie standing before her, an angry and bitter look on her face. "I heard." Josie said.

"Are you here to tell me that it's all going to be alright?" Melissa asked sarcastically.

"No." Josie replied. Josie then sat down next to her.

"Do you want to think about death with me?" Melissa rolled her eyes.

"Shut up." Josie grumbled.

"Then what are you doing here?" Melissa asked, turning her head to the side.

"Can't I visit a friend in need?" Josie asked. "What are you doing here?" He turned her head to the side as well.

"I live here."

"No, I mean sitting on the porch all alone." Josie said.

"Thinking." Melissa replied as she turned her head back to normal. "Thinking about how much I want to destroy that witch..." She growled.

LINE BREAK

A short time later, Josie returned home, where she found Phoenix sitting on the stairs that led up to her porch. "What are you doing here?" Josie asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I was hoping that Melissa would be with you." Phoenix replied honestly.

"Well, she isn't." Josie replied, crossing her arms.

"Do you know where she is?" Phoenix asked as he stood up from the stairs.

"She went off." Josie said. "She said that she needed to be left alone."

"So, you don't know where she is?"

"That's what I just said. Now get off those stairs and get away from my house!" Josie snapped.

"Whoa, no need to get hostel." Phoenix said, holding his hands up. "I just want to find Melissa."

"Well, why don't you go look for her?" Josie narrowed her eyes as she lowered her arms to her sides. "It would serve you better than just standing her pestering m-" However, before she could finish, she gasped and her eyes widened as they glowed. "Oh my God." She whispered.

"What?" Phoenix asked, concerned.

"Melissa..." Josie could only say. Then, Josie turned and ran away before Phoenix could even finish opening his mouth.

LINE BREAK

Sniffling, Melissa continued to stare at the seconds on her watch ticking away. With tears in her eyes, Melissa lowered her wrist and brought up her other hand, wiping away the tears from both eyes, sniffling again.

"Aw, look at the sad, cursed baby dragon..." A familiar voice came from above Melissa, making her stop in her tracks.

Gasping, Melissa looked up to see Piper the witch smiling down on her from the roof of the building that Melissa was at.

"Looks like I finally found you." Piper finished.

Narrowing her eyes, Melissa growled with anger as she transformed into her dragon form in a bright light. As soon as the transformation was complete, Melissa flapped her wings and flew up to the roof, making Piper walk backwards as she landed on the roof.

"You were looking for me?" Melissa growled.

"Of course." Piper smiled. "I wasn't done with you. You got lucky with those two dragons."

"Those were my parents." Melissa growled.

"Hmm..."

"Have you any idea what you did to me?" Melissa growled. "You destroyed my life!"

"And your parents destroyed my fun..."

Roaring with rage, Melissa charged for Piper, but the witch just continued to smile as she reached into her robe and pulled out her wand. "I'd stop where you are if I were you..." Piper warned as she pointed the wand at Melissa.

Having stopped, Melissa just growled. "What are you going to do?" She asked. "Kill me?"

"Then I can't have any more fun with you." Piper said.

Roaring with rage, Melissa continued to run at Piper. Narrowing her eyes, Piper made a glowing green hand come from the tip of the wand, the hand flying towards Melissa. However, Melissa managed to jump up and flip over the giant green hand, and she managed to bring her tail down and slap the wand out of Piper's hand.

Piper could only gasp as Melissa landed right in front of her. "You should have just killed me yourself!" Melissa shouted right before she shot her clawed hand forward, digging her claws into Piper's chest, right into her heart, making Piper's jaw drop, but no sound came out.

At that very moment, something clicked in Melissa's mind. It occurred to her...that she no longer had to die a slow and painful death. "That's it..." She whispered to herself, her eyes widening. Then, she pulled her hand out of Piper's chest, Melissa clutching Piper's heart.

Her knees giving way, Piper collapsed onto them. Finally, something came from her mouth: An anguished cry. The cry quickly died off, then Piper fell to the side.

Now breathing heavily, Melissa dropped the slain witch's heart onto the roof. With her clawed hand soaked with blood, she slowly turned around.

Down on the street, Josie panted from exhaustion as she finally reached the building whose roof Melissa was standing on. Stopping, the tired oracle started to look around. "Melissa?" She asked, just as Melissa flew down to the ground.

Turning to look at her friend, Melissa gasped as she saw Melissa's bloody claws. "No." Josie's eyes widened. "I was too late. You killed the witch..."

"She deserved it." Melissa said darkly as she shook the blood off of her hand.

"Because she refused to help you?"

"Because she wanted to watch me suffer." Melissa narrowed her eyes. However, she then quickly smiled. "Besides, something good came out of this."

"What could possibly be good about you killing someone?" Josie growled as she crossed her arms.

"I no longer have to wait a year to die an excruciating death." Melissa continued to smile. "The idea popped into my head just as I killed her."

"What was the idea?" Josie was now frightened, but didn't want Melissa to know that.

"If I look hard enough..." Melissa said. "...I can find someone who can kill me quickly."

"How about the Dragon Council?" Josie suggested. "If they find out that you murdered that witch, they'll sentence you to death."

"They won't." Melissa crossed her scaly arms. "Because, even if they find out that Piper is dead, I'll be long gone. Josie, you're going to help me do this." She finished, taking a step forward.

Before Josie could finish opening her mouth, Melissa added: "I already know who I want my slayer to be."

"Melissa?" Josie managed.

"Yeah?"

"You're going to kill me if I refuse, aren't you?"

"Have a vision?" Melissa's smile widened.

"I didn't need to." Josie told her nervously. "I can see that look in your eyes."

"Well?" Melissa asked. "Are you going to help or not?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Alright then." Melissa said as she turned so her back was to Josie. "Before we start, we need to dispose of Piper's body."

LINE BREAK

"And how are we supposed to find the Hursulie?" Josie asked as she and Melissa, now in her human form, walked down a street.

"It'll be hard." Melissa said. "But it won't be impossible. I believe it will return."

"Yeah, but it could be at least a year." Josie countered.

"Don't think like that, Josie." Melissa told her friend. "I can't have that."

"I'm just saying." Josie justified her words.

"I'm aware of that." Melissa said. "Here's what we'll do: We'll search the neighborhood today. If that doesn't work, then we'll do some research."

"What kind of research?"

"We'll try to look up where the Hursulie's habitat is." Melissa answered. "Now come on. Let's keep looking."

"I think we'd know if the Hursulie was in the neighborhood." Josie growled.

"Maybe he'll show up."

LINE BREAK

Later that evening, Josie and Melissa arrived back at Melissa's home, Melissa looking notably disappointed. "So, what now?" Josie asked nervously as she turned her head to the side.

"We'll do some research tomorrow." Melissa replied as she turned and started to walk up the steps. "We'll find out where the creature lives." Melissa continued as soon as she reached the top of the steps, her back to Josie. "We'll then track it down and have it finish me off. Fitting, isn't it?"

"Don't even go there." Josie growled.

LINE BREAK

Late in the middle of the night, Melissa was lying on her side on her bed, fast asleep, when she felt the entire house jolt, forcing her out of her sleep. Rolling over onto her back, she heard a ringing coming from her wrist cuff.

Groaning as she sat up, Melissa held up her arm, looking down to see a holographic image of a very annoyed looking Josie appear. "Guess what?" Josie asked as there came another jolt.

"The Hursulie."

"Bingo." Josie replied. "It's back for more."

"And this time..." Melissa smiled. "...It's going to get all of me."

"What do you want me to do?" Josie asked just as there was another jolt.

"Meet me here in ten minutes." Melissa narrowed her eyes. "We're going to find this thing."

LINE BREAK

By the time Melissa opened the door of her house and walked out onto the porch, Josie was already there, waiting with a sour look on her face.

"Let's go." Melissa said as she hurried down the steps.

As the two of them started to walk away from Melissa's house, another jolt rattled the neighborhood.

LINE BREAK

The Hursulie roared as it reached the end of one block and stepped into the next. Lowering its head, the creature started to sniff around, just in time for a fireball to hit it in the side. Quickly, the Hursulie lifted its head up, turned its head to the side and roared, seeing Melissa hovering in the air, Josie jumping off of her back and onto the street a few feet below.

"Remember me?" Melissa called out to the creature. "I sure hope you do!" Then, Melissa blew a fireball into her clawed hand and grunted as she threw it at the creature. The Hursulie ran at Melissa, dodging the fireball.

"C'mon." Melissa muttered to the creature as she extended her arms out. "Come on and finish the job."

Having finally reached her, the Hursulie jumped up and brought its clawed paws down on Melissa, making her grunt as she was slammed to the ground, the Hursulie looking down on her. Then, it roared right in her face.

"Yeah!" Melissa smiled and shouted. "Finish me off! Do what you failed to do before!"

However, before the Hursulie could strike, or do anything for that matter, a loud clang came from behind it, drawing the creature's attention away from Melissa, making it turn around, allowing the now shocked and angry Melissa to sit up. Melissa watched as the Hursulie started to gallop away.

"No!" Melissa shouted before she flapped her wings and started to fly after the creature.

"Hey!" She shouted at the Hursulie as she flew up to its side. She then turned her head to the side and blew a fireball into it, making it roar with pain. "We're not through here!" Melissa shouted at it as she turned her head back to normal.

Flapping her wings harder than she had been before, she flew up further and turned to face it. Blowing out a fireball, Melissa watched as the ball of fire hit the Hursulie in the face, making it come to an abrupt halt, Melissa and the creature now facing off.

"Come on!" Melissa challenged. "Finish me!"

In response, the Hursulie just roared in Melissa's face. After five seconds of just roaring, the Hursulie closed its mouth and walked around Melissa, going on its way. Shocked, Melissa slowly turned around to watch the Hursulie leave.

In a flash, a look of anger appeared on Melissa's face. Flapping her wings, she flew after the creature, going as quickly as she could. Melissa quickly flew in-between the Hursulie's back legs and glided down its belly and went up to its chest, quickly rolling over in the air and reaching up towards the creature's chest, ripping into it. After being impaled by Melissa's claws, the Hursulie stopped in its tracks and roared in pain.

"Disappointing." Melissa growled, right before she pulled her clawed hand out, clutching the Hursulie's heart.

From where she was waiting, Josie's eyes widened after she saw the Hursulie collapse dead to the ground. "Melissa, what did you just do?" She muttered to herself.

A few seconds later, Melissa flew up to Josie and landed on the ground, dropping the Hursulie's heart. "Is that...?" Josie asked in shock, her voice hushed.

"The stupid beast didn't have murder in mind." Melissa said bitterly as she crossed her scaly arms.

"But you did." Josie said softly.

"And I still do." Melissa replied.

LINE BREAK

A short time later, Josie and the now human-formed Melissa returned to Melissa's house. Sighing, Melissa sat down on the first step. "What am I going to do, Josie?" She asked as she looked up at her friend.

"I don't know." Josie said grumpily, crossing her arms. "Can I go home and sleep now?"

"No!" Melissa narrowed her eyes. "I have to figure out who's going to end up killing me now that that creature is dead."

"Beats me." Josie grumbled.

"Well, have a vision!"

"It doesn't work that way." Josie narrowed her eyes.

Sighing, Melissa lowered her head, just as a beeping came from the cuff around her wrist. Slowly lifting her head up, Melissa lifted her arm up, just as a holographic image of Phoenix appeared.

"Phoenix?"

"Hey, Melissa." He said with a small smile on his face.

"Why are you calling?" Melissa asked. "At this time of night?" She quickly added.

"I was just worried about you." Phoenix told her. "I also heard thudding. It sounded like-"

"It was." Melissa cut him off. "It was the Hursulie. No need to worry. He's gone."

"And you're okay?"

"I'm..." Melissa grew a smile. "...Perfectly fine. Great, even."

Josie watched nervously as Melissa lowered her arm, smiling. "Um, what are you planning?" Josie asked nervously.

"I know who's going to kill me." Melissa smiled. "Phoenix is."

"Phoenix would never do that to you." Josie said. "He cares too much about you."

"If he cares about me..." Melissa crossed her arms. "...Then he will oblige my last request."

"What if he doesn't oblige it?" Josie asked.

"Then I'll make him listen to me." Melissa blurted out. "How does that sound, Josie? Is that good enough for you?"

"I-"

"Good." Melissa cut her friend off. "Since you insist, I'll think about it over the night. I need to get a few hours of sleep in. Meet me here tomorrow morning. I'll have everything figured out by then."

LINE BREAK

Early the next morning, Josie and the human-formed Melissa walked into Magus Bazaar. "You still haven't told me anything." Josie said grumpily. "I'm not in the mood to shop, Melissa."

"We're not here to shop." Melissa told her. "I need two things before we head on down to Phoenix's house."

"But he's still in school."

"I know." Melissa said. "But Nayeli got out for summer yesterday."

"What are you planning?" Josie lowered the tone of her voice.

"You'll find out soon enough." Melissa said, starting to walk ahead of her friend. As soon as Melissa was in front of Josie, she stopped and turned around to face her.

"What?" Josie asked.

"I want you to stay here." Melissa said. "I'll be right back. This shouldn't take too long." She finished as turned back around. Then, she went off on her own, leaving Josie alone.

A few moments later, Melissa arrived at a stand, where a young male goblin was standing. "Can I help you?" The goblin asked in a raspy voice as Melissa reached into her pocket and pulled out some money.

"I understand that you sell potions." Melissa said with a smile on her face as she set the money down on the wooden counter.

A short time later, Josie, who was still standing alone, spotted Melissa walking back towards her, a brown paper bag in her hands. "I'm done." Melissa declared as she reached her friend.

"What did you buy?" Josie asked.

Smiling, Melissa opened the bag and reached in, pulling out a coil of rope. "What is that for?" Josie asked nervously, only to have Melissa ignore her and place the rope back into the bag. Then, Melissa pulled out a small vial filled with yellow liquid.

"What's that?" Josie asked.

"This is a very special potion." Melissa said as she put the vial back into the bag. "It's going to be needed. Now, let's go."

LINE BREAK

Inside her house, young Nayeli sat all alone on the couch in the living room, drawing on a piece of paper. However, when there was a knock on the door, Nayeli quickly looked up.

A few moments later, Nayeli opened the door. "Really, Phoeni-" She started, thinking that the person at the door was her brother, only to stop when she saw that it was Josie and Melissa, Melissa still holding onto the brown paper bag. "Oh." Nayeli said in realization.

"You home alone?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah." Nayeli said. "Although Phoenix should be home from school soon."

"Well, you look lonely." Melissa smiled. "Do you want me and Josie to hang out with you?"

"Sure!" Nayeli smiled.

A few moments later, Nayeli walked back into the living room, followed by Melissa and Josie. As Nayeli sat back down onto the couch, Melissa smiled and reached down into the bag, pulling out the potion.

"Hey, Nayeli?" She asked.

"Yeah?" Nayeli replied, turning her head to the side.

"Do you like lemonade?" Melissa asked as she turned to look at the young girl.

"Yeah!" Nayeli smiled.

"Well, I tried a secret Owen family recipe." Melissa lied, keeping a friendly smile on her face. "I really want to know if I did a good job. Would you be my critic?"

"Sure." Nayeli agreed.

"Here you go." Melissa said as she took two steps forward, allowing Nayeli to take the vial. Quickly, Nayeli took the top off and put it to her lips, drinking the potion down in two sips.

"How was it?" Melissa asked, still smiling.

"That...That didn't taste like lemonade..." Nayeli pointed out as she slowly turned her head to the side.

"It didn't?" Melissa played innocent."

"N-" Nayeli started to say, but it quickly broke off into a moan and she fell sideways onto the couch.

"You didn't just poison her, did you?" Josie asked in a worried tone as she watched.

"Nope." Melissa said as she reached back into the bag and pulled out the coil of rope. "It was simply a potion that would put her to sleep. She won't remember anything when she wakes up."

"But Phoenix sure will." Josie pointed out. "And what about me? How do I fit in here?"

"I'll tell Phoenix that my intent was not to hurt his sister." Melissa said. "And before he kills me, I'll request that he doesn't tell Nayeli about what happened. As for you, I don't need your help any more. You can go."

"I can?" Josie asked hopefully.

"Yes, and goodbye." Melissa said.

A short time later, the door to the house was opened and Phoenix walked inside, followed by Arturro and Rocco. Together, the three friends turned and walked into the living room, but they all froze when they saw the unconscious Nayeli sitting in a wooden chair, her head lowered and her arms pulled behind the back of the chair, bound with ropes. However, what was more surprising was the fact was that Melissa, in her dragon form, was standing beside the chair, her scaly arms crossed.

"Melissa, you-" Phoenix started, but before he could finish, Arturro cut him off.

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded.

"Arturro. Rocco." Melissa said calmly. "You don't belong here. This is about me and Phoenix."

"I don't think so!" Rocco countered. Then, the two human jocks ran at her. Arturro reached Melissa first, allowing Melissa to grab him by his arms and fall back onto the ground while she shot her tail forward, impaling Rocco in the side of his chest, making him yelp in pain. On her back, Melissa easily reached up and dug her clawed hand into Arturro's chest, making him cry out in pain twice, the second time being when she pulled her hand out, clutching his heart. Melissa then brought her legs up and kicked the dying Arturro off of her. His body flew forward and hit the wall before it crashed down to the ground. Then, Melissa pulled her tail out of Rocco's chest, her tail wrapped around his ripped out heart. Rocco then fell sideways to the floor, leaving a horrified, now dragon-formed Phoenix.

"They shouldn't have done that." Melissa said as she climbed back up onto her feet.

"Melissa, are-are you mad?!" Phoenix could only say.

"Not at all." Melissa smiled.

"Really?" Phoenix retorted, pointing down at Rocco's body as he continued: "Well, you just killed my two friends."

"I didn't want to." Melissa said, as if she thought that made it alright.

"Why?" Was all Phoenix could ask.

"Phoenix, I don't want to hurt your sister." Melissa explained. "This was just supposed to be a ploy to get you to kill me out of mercy. Your friends weren't supposed to die. Only I was."

Phoenix stared back at his girlfriend as he took a deep breath. "You're crazy." He told her. Then, with a grunt, he charged.

"Phoenix, no!" Melissa tried, but when Phoenix didn't stop and was about to reach her, Melissa flapped her wings and flew over his head, landing in the front room near the front door. Quickly, she turned around to see Phoenix lunging for her, swinging his clawed hand upwards. Grunting, Melissa jumped back and avoided.

"I'm not crazy!" She told her panting boyfriend. "And don't slice me! That won't kill me!"

"How do you know it won't?" Phoenix growled.

"Just reach into my chest and rip my heart out." Melissa gave her instructions.

"I'm not trying to kill you, Melissa." Phoenix growled.

"You aren't?" Melissa raised an eyebrow.

"That would be the easy way out." Phoenix told her. Then, he lunged at her. However, before he could reach her, Melissa lifted her leg up and planted her foot into his belly, making him grunt and hunch over.

"Sorry, Phoenix." Melissa said before she threw a punch, hitting him in the face and making him grunt again as he stumbled back.

"So, you're not going to kill me?" Melissa asked as she shook her hand out.

"Of course not." Phoenix growled after he wiped his face with the back of his clawed hand.

"Then what are you going to do?" Melissa challenged.

"You don't deserve a quick death by my claws after what you just did." Phoenix said before he charged at her again. However, before he could reach her, he grunted and stopped in his tracks after Melissa's clawed hand dug into the side of his chest.

His eyes widening in shock, Phoenix looked down just in time to see Melissa pull her clawed hand out of his chest, ripping out his heart in the process. With his mouth slightly open, Phoenix looked back up at her, blood starting to drip down from out of his mouth. Groaning, he then fell back onto the floor.

Barely alive, the dying dragon could only look up at his girlfriend, who ranted, unconsciously squeezing the heart in her hand, making it slowly pop, blood streaming down her scaly wrist. "You were so stupid, Phoenix!" Melissa seemed quite distraught. "No one was supposed to get hurt! I should be on the ground dying right now, not you!"

However, when she heard a key go into the doorknob of the front door, Melissa turned her head to the side, her eyes widening. Dropping Phoenix's heart to the floor, she turned and bolted into the kitchen, just as the door opened and the mother of Nayeli and Phoenix walked inside. Immediately, she saw her dying son on the floor and gasped.

"Phoenix!" She wailed as she collapsed on her knees, Phoenix weakly lifting his head up. "Angel..." Mrs. Rodrigo looked her elder child in the eyes.

"M..." Phoenix struggled. "...M..." It was as if he was trying to address his mother one last time. However, before he could get any further, the light died from his eyes and his head fell back onto the floor with a thud.

"No, my Phoenix!" Mrs. Rodrigo cried before she buried her face in her hands, starting to weep. However, as she did, she could hear faint whispers coming from the window in the kitchen. Taking her face out of her hands, Mrs. Rodrigo turned her head to the side and then got to her feet slowly.

"Is someone there?" Mrs. Rodrigo asked as she stepped into the kitchen. Through the open window, she could see a figure, but she couldn't make out who it was. "Alright, who's there?" She demanded, taking a step forward, but at that moment, the figure bolted.

Quickly, Mrs. Rodrigo pressed a button on her wrist cuff, a female's voice immediately sounding: "911, what is your emergency?"

LINE BREAK

Together, Josie and the now human-formed Melissa were running down the street. "I thought I told you that you could leave!" Melissa said.

"I know, and I should have." Josie shot back. "Seeing as you only got us deeper into this mess! You killed Phoenix?!"

"It just got out of control." Melissa defended herself.

Then, the two girls turned around the corner and ran down into the next street. "You really messed up now!" Josie said. "There's no way in this green earth that we're going to get away with this."

"Don't be a Negative Nancy!" Melissa replied, just as a futuristic police cruiser turned around the corner and started to come down the street that Josie and Melissa were running down.

"Oh, great!" Josie said sarcastically as she and Melissa stopped right beside an alley.

"Come on." Melissa said, quickly grabbing Josie's hand with her bloodied one, quickly leading her down the alley, making the cruiser come to a quick, screeching halt.

Inside the cruise, a middle-aged female police officer, wearing a skin-tight blue cop's uniform watched the quick movement. The woman had long orange hair that was in a pony-tail, with a blue-ish/green circle in the center of her scalp.

"Hmm..." The woman said. Then, she brought her arm up, speaking into her wrist cuff. "I spotted some suspicious movement." The police officer declared. "It might be the fleeing killer. It even looked like two people. I'm going to check this out."

"Uh, you sure about this, Officer Demko?" A voice on the other end asked.

"I'm sure." Officer Demko replied. "He, she or even they just ran into an alley. This won't take long."

Seconds later, Officer Demko opened the door of her cruiser and got out. Reaching for her gun with one hand, she closed the door with her other. Then, she reached over and across to her side and placed her free hand down, wincing and hissing in pain as she started to walk.

A few seconds later, Officer Demko turned around the corner. Seeing this, Josie's eyes widened as she started to walk backwards. "I told you, Melissa." She hissed. "What now?"

However, instead of getting an answer, Josie grunted as she walked into the wall at the very end of the alley. "Huh?" Looking up, she could see the dragon-formed Melissa flying off. Melissa had abandoned her.

"No!" Josie shouted as she turned and tried to climb up the wall, to no avail.

Watching this with her gun aimed, Officer Demko discharged her regular cartridge of bullets and quickly put in a cartridge that was glowing green. Placing her second hand on the gun, she fire, a glowing green bullet coming out.

However, before it could hit the panicking Josie, the bullet broke off into many different pieces and electrical green lightning came out and assaulted Josie. Crying out in pain, Josie fell backwards onto the ground.

As Josie panted, Officer Demko reached her, looking down at the captured oracle, where she could see the blood on Josie's hand. "Well..." Officer Demko said. "...It looks like I caught the killer. Funny." She added as she looked back up. "I could have sworn I saw two people. Guess not. I guess I was just seeing things."

Josie could only pant as she stared up at the police officer with wide eyes. She knew it was over.

LINE BREAK

Melissa was flying high in the sky after her getaway. Soon, she arrived over the Rodrigo home, making her halt and hover above, looking down at Mrs. Rodrigo and the released Nayeli, both standing before a male uniformed Dragon Council Agent, who had rather long and unruly Ash Grey hair, even though he was quite young; about 23 years of age. The Agent also had a Urumi sword tucked into a holster on the belt of his uniform.

Nayeli looked confused and terrified as her mother talked. "I just got a call from the police." Mrs. Rodrigo said. "The killer of my boy and his friends was caught. It was one of his friends."

"Yes, it was Josie Fancher." The Dragon Council Agent said grimly. "I got word as well. I almost find it a shame that you went to the human police. The Dragon Council would have been honored to find the killer of young Phoenix. He was a good dragon. I assure you, Mrs. Rodrigo, any Dragon Council Agent, myself included, would have given anything to catch the killer of your son. Lives included."

Hearing this, Melissa's eyes widened. "Hmm..." She thought. The more Melissa thought about it, the more she liked it. She had another chance to find a quick and easy way out of what was sure to be a slow, agonizing death. After about ten seconds of thinking it over, Melissa smiled as she decided that it was a good idea. Then, she flew off with a flap of her wings.

LINE BREAK

"I was told when I was younger..." On the Island of Draco, in the Main Hall, Holly sat alone at the large table in her human form. "...That when I was older, things would fly by. Well, they were right." Holly smiled sadly. "Maybe it was just because the evidence was damning, but Josie Fancher is already a convicted murderer. I'm sorry, Dragon Owen."

"Thank you for your sympathy." Melissa said, standing before the Councilor with her medicine syringe encased in a sling bag that was so small that it could only contain her medicine.

"Now, let me get this straight..." Holly changed the subject. "...You...want to become a Dragon Council Agent?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Melissa asked.

"Well, you are quite young." Holly said. "Don't get me wrong, we really don't discriminate against young dragons, but you have not been trained to be a Dragon Council Agent. Around your age, dragons who want to be Dragon Council Agents are in training. Second, your condition."

"I understand that, Councilor." Melissa said. "However, I have what I need here in this bag."

"I understand that." Holly said. "But your prognosis-"

"Please, Councilor Jennings." Melissa pleaded. "I know I don't have long left. However, this is my chance to leave my mark on this world. I want to do some good."

Hearing this, Holly couldn't help but smile. "Okay." She quickly gave in. "You got me. You worked through my old, cold heart. I'll let you do this."

"Thank you, Councilor Jennings." Melissa smiled.

"You will need two things." Holly said. "You will need a uniform. I will provide you that. The second thing you will need is your own battle weapon. We used to issue staffs, but we stopped doing that a while back. This weapon will be personal and will belong to you and you only. Get it as soon as possible."

"You got it." Melissa's smile only widened.

LINE BREAK

A short time later, Holly used her walking stick to help her walk alongside Melissa, who now wore her own Dragon Council Agent uniform. "Where are we going?" Melissa asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." Holly answered with a small smile.

Eventually, they came across the same Ash Grey-haired Agent, who was sparring with a girl of seventeen who wore a Agent-In-Training Uniform with long, curly blonde hair that was in a pony-tail. The girl wielded a Katana against the Agent's Urumi. The Agent spun in circles and lashed out in every way possible with his flexible, almost whip-like blade. Using her Katana, the Agent-In-Training was able to block each blow.

"Sillian." Holly said, making the Agent pull away from the girl and turn to face Holly and Melissa.

"Yes, Councilor?" He asked with a small smile.

"Oh, that will be all for your spar session with Sillian, Regan." Holly said with a smile.

The seventeen year old nodded with understanding and turned, walking away, while Sillian was left alone. "What is this all about, Councilor?" He asked. "Do you think I'm too hard on Regan?"

"Absolutely not." Holly said as she put a hand on Melissa's shoulder. "It's just that I have a special task for you."

"How long will this take?" Sillian asked.

"A few months." Holly continued to smile. "Worry not, it will not interfere with your other duties."

"Oh, okay." Sillian replied as he continued to stare at the two before him while expertly wrapping his weapon into a coil without even looking at it. "What do you want me to do, Councilor?"

"Watch after Melissa here." Holly said. "She's quite sick and has been told that she has less than a year to live."

"She doesn't look sick to me, Councilor." Sillian pointed out.

"Heart condition." Melissa said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Anyway..." Holly continued. "...She nobly wants to do some good in her time left, so I allowed her to become a Dragon Council Agent. Since she is young, I'd appreciate it if you would look after her."

"Until she...?"

"Yes." Holly answered him.

"I will do as you ask, Councilor." Sillian said respectfully, lowering his head slightly.

"Glad I could count on you." Holly said as she patted Melissa's shoulder. Then, she turned and started to walk away.

Melissa turned around herself and watched Holly walk away as Sillian walked up to her side, smiling as he put a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"So, I'm Sillian." He told her.

"Melissa Owen." Melissa replied, a smile growing on her face as she watched Holly disappear from sight.

If Melissa had her way, Sillian would be free from baby-sitting duty very, very soon...

BLACKOUT; END

A/N: Wow, this was pretty short. Well, it's done now. So, what did you think? Did you think that Melissa is a crazy psychopath or a sympathetic victim? How about Josie? I'm curious.

Oh, and speaking of Josie. My intention was to make her a Bipolar oracle. When she's going through the manic phase, she has good visions and when she's going through the depression phase, she sees bad visions. I also tried to put some other symptoms in there, but I'd like you to tell me how you thought I did.

Please review.