Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Four)
A/N: I don't own American Dragon or any of the characters.
Chapter/Episode 1: Helping Claws
Even though it was pitch black outside and no one else was out, Savannah and Cherri were both walking along the grass in their dragon forms. "She wanted to stay and see her husband and sister again." Cherri told Savannah, turning her head to the side as they walked.
"I thought Rose knew that that wouldn't be possible..." Savannah shook her head. "...It would have only caused problems for this team."
"That's what I told her." Cherri said. "But she's still upset..." As she said this, she stopped walking, and Savannah took another step before she turned around to face her.
"She'll see them again..." Savannah said softly. "...As soon as we find whoever killed her parents, she'll go back to her old life. It's that simple."
LINE BREAK
The next morning, all of the members of the team sat at the table in the dining hall in their human forms with their medallions around their necks. However, Cherri turned her head to the side when she heard footprints.
Savannah stepped into the dining hall, also in her human form and also wearing her medallion. Although she looked tired, Savannah looked at the table, sighing as she saw that Lono's chair was empty. "Still no Lono?" She asked as put her hands on her hips.
"No." Cherri answered.
"Look who else is missing..." Lista pointed out and Savannah looked over to where Rose was supposed to be sitting, only to find it vacant.
"Oh boy..." Savannah muttered.
LINE BREAK
In the kitchen, a male mermaid turned on the water, which fell down onto a stack of plates. As the mermaid picked one up and began to scrub it with his hands, the still human Savannah, who was standing behind his shoulder, smiled as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Thanks..." She told him sincerely before she took her hand off and turned to the side to look at Cherri, who was leaning against the wall.
"...She never showed up..." Savannah said with disappointment.
"She seemed upset last night, but..." Cherri started.
"But what?"
"...But if she didn't even leave her room to come have breakfast..." Cherri finished. "...It could be worse than it looked."
"She'll be fine..." Savannah said, but it came out softly, a tone of worry.
Cherri looked like she was about to say something. However, just as she opened her mouth, she closed it again as she heard footsteps; Cherri turned her head just in time to see Joel enter the room in his human form.
"Something wrong, Joel?" Savannah crossed her arms.
"I was just wondering if you knew why Rose never showed up for breakfast..." Joel said.
"We have a good idea..." Cherri said as she returned her head back to normal.
"What's wrong with her?" Joel asked, turning to the side to look at Cherri, who also turned to the side.
"She's not in a great mood right now..." Cherri beat around the bush, crossing her arms.
"Maybe someone should go talk to her." Joel said, a small smile crossing his face as he slowly started to turn around, walking toward the exit.
"And you think you're going to do it?" Joel stopped as he heard the sound of Cherri's voice and he quickly turned his head to the side as Cherri stepped beside him. "I'll do it..." Cherri said, taking her hand off of his shoulder.
LINE BREAK
"Rose?" standing in front of Rose's closed door, Cherri brought up her hand and pounded on the door three times. "Rose?" She shouted again as she pounded. Then, as she lowered her hand and took a step back, Cherri sighed as she stared at the still closed door.
"Tail of the dragon..." Cherri said softly. In a bright light, her Verdigris-colored tail appeared and moved over to the door.
LINE BREAK
The door to the room opened and Cherri stepped into the dark room, her tail disappearing in a bright light. Looking around the room, Cherri found Rose lying on her side on her bed. "Rose..." Cherri said, starting to walk over to her friend.
As soon as Cherri reached the bed, she knelt down, sitting on her knees as she stared at Rose, finding that the blonde woman was awake, and even though she blinked and stared right at Cherri, Rose acted as if she wasn't there.
"Rose?"
Simply blinking, Rose continued to ignore Cherri. "Rose." Cherri said, bringing her hand over to Rose's face and snapping her fingers. "Talk to me..." Cherri ordered gently as she pulled her hand away from Rose's face.
Blinking again, Rose finally opened her mouth: "Go away..." She croaked.
Her eyes wide, Cherri could only stare at the unmoving woman on her side. Finally, Cherri sighed as she got to her feet. "Okay, Rose..." Cherri said as she turned around. "...I understand." As she started to walk toward the door to the room, she added: "You need time to yourself..."
LINE BREAK
In the dining hall, Savannah and Joel were sitting on the opposite sides of the table, still in their human forms. Hearing the door creak, both Joel and Savannah turned their heads to the side to see Cherri slowly stepping in.
"Well?" Savannah asked, concern in her tone.
"I forced myself into her room..." Cherri reported as she slowly walked over to the end of the table.
Savannah waited until Cherri stopped right at the side of the table before she asked: "And?"
"She's depressed." Cherri sighed, hugging herself. "At first I thought that she wasn't even aware that I was in there. It was kind of like she was looking right through me. But then..." She continued as she lowered her hands to her sides. "...She told me to leave."
"She told you to leave?" Savannah raised an eyebrow.
"She misses the two members of her family that she has left, Savannah..." Cherri turned her head ever-so-slightly to the side to make eye contact with her best friend as she held her arms out and leaned over against the side of the table. "...You should see her. It's...pathetic...and sad."
Taking a deep breath, Savannah took in what her friend said. However, before she could say anything, Joel turned his head to the side. "I could try to talk to her..." He said eagerly, only to turn his head back to normal as he heard the table creaking, Savannah standing up and stepping over the bench.
"Maybe I will, Cherri..." She told her friend.
LINE BREAK
Pushing Rose's door open with a loud creak, Savannah stepped into the room with a black blindfold dangling from her hand. She immediately saw Rose lying on her side.
"Oh boy..." Savannah groaned. "...She wasn't kidding..."
Walking over to the bed that Rose was lying on, Savannah knelt down as soon as she reached the side of the side of the bed, staring at Rose's face as the older woman just blinked, almost as if she wasn't even aware that Savannah was in the room, just like Cherri had said.
"Rose..."
"Go away..." Rose suddenly grumbled. "...I want to be alone..."
"Obviously..." Savannah cracked a smile. "...But it's not good for you, Rose." She added as her smile faded. When Rose just blinked, saying nothing, Savannah took a deep breath as she opened her mouth again: "Rose, I don't want to do this, but now that you are a member of this team, I am your superior. Don't make me order you out of bed..."
Still, Rose said nothing. She just sighed sadly as she continued to stare at Savannah, not sitting up.
Exhaling sharply, Savannah slowly rose back up into a standing position as she held up her hand with the blindfold. "Rose." Her tone was much sharper, showing that she wasn't in a mood for nonsense. "I promise you that you will see your sister and husband and son again. Now is not the time, though."
"When?" Rose blinked, just listening as she didn't even bother turning her head up.
"Once we find and capture the one or ones that took your parents' lives." Savannah told her. "But until then, you're going to need to cheer up."
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Rose nonchalantly replied, rolling her eyes as she still refused to depart from her pillow. "...Did you ever have to part with your family?"
Looking down at Rose, Savannah's eyes quickly narrowed. "Shut up, Rose." She growled. "I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. Get out of this bed..."
LINE BREAK
"Joel, you really should let Savannah handle this..." Cherri said as she quickly walked after Joel, who was nearing Rose's room, a determined look on his face. "...Savannah won't be happy..."
Still, Joel ignored and continued walking. However, as the door to Rose's room opened, Joel abruptly stopped and his eyes widened as Rose, with a blindfold and with her hands pulled behind her back, shouted as she was escorted out by Savannah, who was in her dragon for and who was holding Rose's hands behind her back.
"Let go of me!" Rose demanded loudly as she pulled against Savannah's grip against her as Savannah walked Rose over to Joel and Cherri, who reached Joel's side, a look of shock on her face that matched Joel's.
"Let go of ME!" Rose shouted again. "And get this blindfold off of my face!"
"Stop struggling..." Savannah looked down at the older woman. "...And stop yelling...and come quietly. Then..." She looked back up at Joel and Cherri. "...I'll let go of your hands..."
"Savannah, what are you doing?" Cherri asked.
"I'm going to cheer Rose up." Savannah smiled as she brought her hands up to her shoulders, allowing Rose to return her arms to the side.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Joel asked.
Savannah's smile only widened as she lowered her clawed hands. "Why should I tell you when Rose is right beside me? That'd only ruin the surprise for her..."
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
"Okay, Rose..." Even though she could hear the sound of Savannah's voice, Rose was still in darkness as the blindfold was still over her eyes. "...We're here."
"Where is here?" Rose retorted in an annoyed tone.
"You're about to find out..." Came Savannah's reply. Within seconds, Rose could feel the blindfold slipping away from her face and she found herself blinded by sun light. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, Rose found that she was standing in front of a restaurant.
Her eyes widening with shock, Rose turned her head to the side to see the now human Savannah standing beside her, smiling as she put her hand on her shoulder. "You kicked me out of bed so you could take me to get food?"
"Is that wrong?" Savannah asked, briefly turning her head to the side before she turned her head back to normal, only to have her face light up. "Ooh! It's Happy Hour!"
"What?" Rose asked, turning her head back to normal, just in time to see a female employee putting up a sign: Happy Hour: 9AM-11 AM.
"I don't drink..." Rose pouted as Savannah took a step toward the restaurant. Hearing Rose say this, Savannah turned around and smiled at her. "...Really." Rose told her. "I've had maybe one alcoholic drink in my entire life."
"Who says you have to drink, Rose?" Savannah told her.
"You...seem happy that it's Happy Hour..." Rose replied slowly, not knowing what the other dragon meant.
"Yes, Rose." Savannah replied. "It's Happy Hour. That means you should be happy."
LINE BREAK
Sitting across from Savannah at the table, Rose pouted as she watched Savannah bury her face into her menu. "So, what do you want, Rose?" Savannah asked as she lowered her menu, revealing her perky expression to Rose.
"I'm not hungry." Rose crossed her arms, just as a female employee with black hair that was in a pony-tail stepped up to their table, holding a notepad.
"Can I take your order?" She asked.
LINE BREAK
Rose's arms stayed crossed as she watched as Savannah set down the fork she had been using down onto the empty plate in front of her. However, as Savannah looked up at Rose, her satisfied expression changed into one of disappointment.
"Rose..."
"Can we go now?" Rose cut her off.
"Rose, you need to cheer up." Savannah put her hands on the side of the table. "You should have known that you were going to have to keep away from them. If they found out-"
"Well, at least I care about the people I love." Rose said.
"What do you mean?" Savannah asked.
"Angela..." Rose cocked her head to the side as she held up her arms.
"Are you...?" Savannah started, a confused look taking hold of her face. "...Trying to say that I don't care that one of my friends just died? Is that what you're trying to say?"
"Pretty much..." Rose nodded.
"Well, I do..." Savannah said, narrowing her eyes. "...And I don't know what's gotten into you today, Rose." Sighing, Savannah just stared at Rose for a few seconds before she shook her head twice. "Yes, Rose." She then said as she started to rise from her seat. "We can go now..."
LINE BREAK
In his room, Coen was in his human form with his medallion around his neck, lying on his back on his bed, his arms folded behind his head. However, he jumped up into a sitting position as the he heard a thud, the door to his room swinging open as a dragon Joel, his medallion around his neck, storming into the room, a look of anger on his face.
"Frustrating!" Joel exclaimed as he turned to the side, starting to walk over to his accomplice. "No matter what I do, I just can't get alone time with Rose."
"Unfortunate..." Coen managed.
It took Joel a second to react, but when he did, he clenched his clawed hands into fists and his eye twitched in annoyance. "It's really a shame that you're not taking this seriously, Coen!" He growled. "That device doesn't just restrict your ability to speak."
"I know..." Coen said as he stood off of his bed and turned to the side.
"You are at my mercy..." Joel said in a much calmer tone as he slowly took steps toward his accomplice. Stepping right in front of him, Joel looked down. "...I can kill you..."
"You need me..." Coen managed as he looked up.
"I do need you..." A mischievous smile crossed Joel's face. "...You're right. So..." Looking up, the Peridot-colored dragon turned around and put his scaly arms behind his back. "...I'm having difficulty getting to Rose. According to Cherri, she's depressed."
"Depressed?" Coen managed, looking up.
"Something about..." Joel started. "...About...About...I actually don't care." He then turned back around just as he reverted to his human form. Coen watched, raising an eyebrow as Joel pulled something out of his pocket, holding it up to be a detonation device. "All I care about is that you can help me out..." He smiled as he stared at Coen's now wide eyes. "Can you do that?"
"Just spend ti-" Coen started, but he stopped, straining to speak.
"Something wrong?" Joel smiled as he watched Coen put his hand up to his neck. His eyes quickly narrowing, Coen lowered his hand and turned to the side, walking over to his desk. "I bet you want me to let you free of that thing, huh?" Joel said smugly as he turned to the side, watching as Coen sat down at his desk.
Smiling, Joel started to walk over to the desk, reaching it just as Coen set down his pen and turned to the side in his chair with the paper in his hand, holding it up for Joel to read as he turned his head to the side.
"Spend time with her?" Joel raised an eyebrow as he read. "Coen, you're not-"
"I am..." Coen told him.
"No, you don't understand..." Joel said firmly said, clenching his fists as he turned to the side. "...She wants to be alone. I can't get to her."
Rolling his eyes, Coen opened his mouth again: "You can..."
"How?" Joel put his hands on his hips.
"Console her..."
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
The doors to the elevator opened and Savannah and Rose both stepped out onto the grass in their dragon forms. With the doors sliding shut, both reverted to their human forms in a bright light. As soon as the lights faded, Savannah turned her head to the side, only to see that Rose was already walking off. Sighing, Savannah turned her head back to normal.
LINE BREAK
Stepping into the dining hall, Savannah was surprised to see a human Cherri sitting down at the table, looking down at the surface. "What are you doing here?" Savannah asked, taking another step inside, making Cherri look up and turn her head to the side.
"Just...thinking..." She answered. "...You're back already?"
"Rose is in a vindictive mood today..." Savannah shrugged as she walked over to the other side of the table.
Cherri turned her head back normal and waited until Savannah sat down before she opened her mouth: "What do you mean? How so?"
"She's just giving me grief..."
"She's depressed and she wants to be left alone." Cherri told her friend. "Just give her a day or two or three to just bounce back. Trust me. It'll happen."
"Yeah..." Savannah responded as she clasped her fingers together. "...But she said something that got me thinking..."
"What?"
"She said that I don't care and that's why I want her to cheer up." Savannah replied. "If I cared, I would know how she feels. She even brought up Angela, seeing as we haven't really done anything in her memory..."
"But you know that to be false..." Cherri said, slowly starting to move her right hand toward Savannah's clasped ones. "...You miss Angela. I miss Angela. We all do. What could we do for her, though? She's dead."
"I know and I do care about her." Savannah said as she pulled her clasped hands away, dropping them off of the tabletop and into her lap. "But Rose's parents..."
"You care about bringing that monster to justice..." Cherri assured her, pulling her hand back.
"I do." Savannah confirmed. "But-"
"As long as you care..." Cherri said, holding up her index finger, balancing her elbow against the tabletop. "...That's all that matters."
LINE BREAK
As Rose neared her room, she was surprised to see that Joel, in his human form, was leaning against the wall next to the door to the room, his arms crossed. "What are you doing here?" Rose asked as she stopped in front of Joel.
"Waiting for you." Joel said, putting a friendly smile on his face.
"Why?" Rose asked slowly as she took a step back.
"Cherri said that you were depressed..." Joel said, still smiling as he lowered his arms to the side and stepped away from the wall, taking a step closer to Rose, who only took another step back as she put an unnerved look on her face.
"Look, Savannah already tried to make me feel better..." Rose held up her hands, warning Joel to stop, which he did, allowing Rose to lower her hands and put them on her hips. "...It didn't work..."
"Well, maybe I can try." Joel shrugged his shoulders.
"I just want to be left alone for the day..." Rose said softly as she dropped her hands. "...Is that too much to ask for?"
"Of course not." Joel told her, turning his head to the side as Rose walked passed him. He then turned around as he watched Rose reach her door. "But we are a team, Rose." Joel said as he took a step toward Rose. "I think you may have noticed by now that we try to help each other out. We're almost like a family. We have a deep loyalty to one another..."
He thought he could hear Rose sigh as she opened the door to her room, and as Rose stepped inside, Joel smiled as he started to follow Rose into the room and as soon as he stepped inside, he could see Rose sitting down on her bed.
"Come on..." Joel continued, continuing to walk over to the bed. "...Let me help you out..."
"You can't help me." Rose told him, turning herself to the side, putting her feet up on the bed. She then lied down onto her back, her knees still bent.
"Sure I can..." Joel said softly as he stopped right at the side of the bed, Rose turning her head to the side.
"How?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You just need to find a way to let out some of your pain..." Joel said as he put his hands on his hips. "...Instead of just lying on your bed and feeling sorry for yourself. If you trust me, I can help you out..."
"How?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrow again.
"I can..." Joel shrugged as he took a step back. "...Help you out. I can..." A smile crossed his face. "...Give you some ideas for things to do today that will...keep your mind off of what saddens you..."
"Like what?" Rose asked, annoyance in her tone as she slowly sat up, her head still turned to the side.
"Well, first..." Joel clasped his hands together. "...What would make you feel better?"
"Seeing Jake and Daisy again..."
"Well, that's not really possible." Joel continued, lowering her hands, putting them back to his side as he pulled them apart. "What would be the next best thing for you?"
"Some help you are..." Rose rolled her eyes. "...You do know that I already know what would make me feel better."
"But you're not doing it!" Joel told her. "Are you feeling better by just lying here! You need to take action, Rose. Do something to help yourself! Contact them!"
"That's what I've tried to do twice already." Rose told him as she turned back to the side, putting her feet on the floor, pushing herself up onto her feet as she stood. "But I never got an answer. Maybe..." She put her hand to her chin in thought. "...Maybe I could now..."
"Now there's an idea..." Joel smiled.
"You have a communication device?" Rose asked as she lowered her hand.
"No." Joel shook his head once. "I don't. But I do...have a better idea..." He smiled.
LINE BREAK
"I'm back..." Joel said after he opened the door to Coen's room, stepping inside. Coen was still sitting in his chair, so when he heard the door opening, followed by the sound of Joel's voice, he turned around in his chair.
"...And I just might finally have a way to get Rose's blood..." Joel said as he continued to walk toward his accomplice.
"Good..."
"Yes." Joel said as he topped in front of Coen. "But..."
"But what?" Coen managed.
"...There's something I'm going to need from you..." Joel smiled as he crossed his arms.
LINE BREAK
Rose was sitting on the side of her bed with her head lowered, looking down at her lap. However, as the door creaked, Rose snapped her head up and watched as Joel walked into the room, holding a piece of paper in both of his hands.
"What's that?" Rose asked.
"We're improvising..." Joel said as he reached Rose's bed. "...Since I don't have a communication device, you can write them a letter." After he said this, he extended his arms out to Rose so she could take the paper.
Slowly, Rose reached out and took the piece of paper. "Okay..." She said. "...But do you have a pen?"
LINE BREAK
With his back against the wall, Joel watched with a smile on his face as he held the envelope in his hand, watching Rose sit up from her bed, folding the piece of paper that she had written her letter on. "Here..." Joel said as he held out his arm, walking toward Rose and away from the wall.
"Thanks..." Rose said, walking toward Joel. The two met and Rose held out her palm. Smiling at Rose, Joel lowered the envelope at an angle so that when the envelope reached Rose's hand, the blonde woman hissed in pain, pulling her hand away, looking down at her hand, seeing a cut with some blood on the index finger of her hand.
"Ow..."
"So sorry, Rose..." Joel said with fake concern. "...Here..." He held up his other hand. "...Let me help you..."
"No, no..." Rose shook her head as she brought up her bloody finger to her mouth. "...I've got it..."
Joel then watched, his eyes widening with disbelief as Rose put her finger in her mouth and sucked on it. Then, after three seconds, she pulled her finger out of her mouth. "See?" She gave him a small smile. "I got it. No harm done..."
Then, Rose held out her palm again. "Envelope?" She asked.
LINE BREAK
In her dragon form, Rose wore her unbuttoned cloak as she held the envelope in both of her clawed hands. She was nearing the elevator when she froze, hearing the sound of Cherri's voice: "Rose!"
Turning around, Rose could see Cherri, in her human form, running toward her. "Where are you going?" Cherri asked just as she stopped in front of her.
"I'm going to go deliver this to my sister and maybe even my husband..." Rose said, holding up the letter ever-so-slightly.
"What does it say?" Cherri asked.
"It just says that they shouldn't worry about me..." Rose said. "...And that I'm alive and perfectly safe. That...That I'm feeling better than ever."
Cherri just stared at Rose for a few seconds and in that time, Rose's eyes slowly started to widen in fear. Finally, Cherri gave a small smile. "I trust you, Rose." She said. "Just don't get seen..."
"That's why I'm wearing this..." Rose said.
Still smiling and giving a nod, Cherri slowly started to turn around and then she started to walk away, only stopping when she heard the sound of Rose's voice: "Cherri?"
"Yeah?" Cherri asked, turning around.
"Thanks for understanding..." Rose smiled at her. "...Savannah was cool with me contacting them, but...this feels different. This feels...a little therapeutic..."
LINE BREAK
The door to Coen's room slammed open as a growling Joel stormed into the room, finding Coen sitting in his chair, facing him with his arms crossed. "No blood?" He asked.
"No..." Joel said as he used his foot to close the door. "...She even got a paper cut. She just sucked up the blood..." Sighing, he started to walk over to his accomplice. "...You got any other ideas?"
"Me?" Coen asked, pointing to himself in surprise.
"Yes, I'm asking you..." Joel said, crossing his arms as he reached his sitting accomplice.
"Why?" Coen asked. Then, after another ten seconds, he spoke again: "This is you..."
"Because you're the smart one..." Joel told him.
"You're smart..." Coen crossed his arms.
"Not as smart as you..." Joel lowered his arms to his sides.
"You..." Coen started, but he froze and as Joel smiled, Coen sighed as he spun around in his chair and hunched over. Waiting, Joel's smile vanished and crossed his arms again. After waiting for forty-five seconds, Coen finally spun back around and held up a piece of paper, Joel looking at it:
"You were able to create the device that binds me to you..." Joel read, a smile breaking out onto his face as he lowered his arms, shaking his head back and forth. "...Coen, please. I'm not that intelligent. I got it at a black magic shop..."
"Wh...?" Coen managed, his eyes widening as he lowered the piece of paper.
"I got it at a black magic shop." Joel repeated, giving a nod of confirmation as he grinned. "I find that you are the only dragon that I know who can actually create devices. That's why I'm glad that you are the one who...got into this mess..."
As he said this, he looked down as he held up the hand that had his black Chinese dragon mark. "...I make good use of your brains..." Joel continued as he looked up, lowering his hand again. "...Because to be honest, my plans aren't as well thought out as yours. I'm running out of ideas. I need more. Coen, the sooner we get her blood, the sooner you can get that hunk of metal out of your mouth. You'll be free of me and you'll be free of the danger of me killing you. So, ideas?"
LINE BREAK
Flapping her wings, the cloaked and hooded Rose neared the house that she shared with her sister.
Finally, Rose reached the sidewalk and lowered onto it. Reaching into her cloak, Rose pulled out the envelope. Then, she started to walk up the steps and once she reached the front porch, she just stood there, looking at the front door.
"Hope you aren't too worried about me..." Rose said as she lowered her head. "...I'll be home soon..."
Then, she sighed as she leaned over and set down the envelope right in front of the door.
Quickly, Rose then stood straight back up. Without a second thought, she then turned back around and spread her wings. Starting to flap them, taking off into the air, leaving the envelope and her letter behind.
BLACKOUT; END EPISODE
A/n: So, there it is. The season opener. What did you think? Why don't you tell me with a review. I hope you liked it.
It's a little short, but oh well.