A/N: I'll admit, I'm a real fantasy buff. I can't help but insert it everywhere. Including the lives of NCIS. This is in Ziva territory, so Kate's regrettably not here. And though it's never mentioned, Jenny Sheppard is still Director. Only read this if you are completely open to crazy ideas.
NCIS: King of Dragons
"Ahh!" I yelled as I woke up thrashing. It was the same nightmare I had had for as long as I could remember. After Kate, a fellow member of NCIS or Naval Criminal Investigative Service, was killed by Ari, a terrorist, the dream had escalated. It was always violent and vicious. And I always woke up feeling like I was needed somewhere. The nightmare was the worst part of my life. I looked at clock which read 5 o'clock A.M. and decided that the night was forfeit. I took a quick shower to wash the sleep out of me and got dressed. The ride to work was short due to the early hour and I was able to get a good parking space. I rode on up and saw that I wasn't the first to get there. Timothy McGee, the computer expert was typing away. I rolled my eyes.
"Hi, McGee. Why are you here so early?" I pestered him.
"I could ask the same of you." He raised an eyebrow. Not wanting to discuss my nightmares, I changed the subject.
"Who else is here?" I asked. He shrugged. We were interrupted by simultaneous beeping from our beepers. I looked.
"New case." We said at the same time. It wasn't a long wait for Jethro Gibbs, our moody leader, and Ziva, an Iraqi spy turned to our side.
"Hi, Tony." Ziva greeted me stiffly.
"Dinozzo." Gibbs nodded.
"Hi, Ziva. Hi, boss." I answered in turn. McGee pulled up the details of our new case on the big screen. There were several photos of sailors.
"Here's the deal. Five sailors either on leave or retired have been murdered. We have a serial killer." Gibbs informed us. "Tony, I want you and Ziva to go to the last crime scene. McGee, we'll go to the first."
"Got it." I called as Ziva and I walked into the elevator. "Ziva, maybe I should drive this time. I still don't think you have American driving down."
"I can drive." Ziva said defensively.
"Not very well." I replied.
"Tony, I'm driving." She demanded. I looked at her with raised eyebrows and reluctantly nodded.
The ride was short because of Ziva's fast and wild driving. The crime scene was surrounded and roped off. An officer let us in.
"Ziva, I think you gave me whiplash. Again." I complained. She shrugged.
"Maybe you're just too weak." She stated smugly.
"Yeah right." I muttered. Ziva opened the door to the apartment and I followed her in. I stopped as my phone rang. It was Gibbs.
"Dinozzo. This first crime scene is a bust. Some idiot has already screwed it up. The scene is compromised. McGee and I are headed over to yours. Make sure no one messes it up too. " Gibbs' voice sounded annoyed as usual. I agreed quickly and hung up.
"Ziva, we're gonna get company. The boss and McGee are on their way here. Turns out their crime scene was already compromised by someone." I informed her. She nodded. I got out my camera out and started taking crime scene photos. The body looked like it had been stabbed by some kind of knife.
"Hey, Ziva, what kind of knife wounds do you think these are?" I asked. She didn't answer. I turned around. She was no where to be seen. "Dang it, she probably walked into the other room."
I turned back around and nearly jumped in shock. There was a guy standing over the dead body holding a knife. "Who are you?" I asked as I drew my gun. He looked at me with cold eyes. They seemed slightly confused.
"I thought I made sure no humans were in the room when I left. Odd." His face took on a puzzled stare. "Oh well. That is easily taken care of."
"Ziva!" I called. Before I could act, though, he somehow rushed me. The knife swept up and knocked my gun out of my hand. I heard it clatter on the floor. I instinctively ducked and felt the knife slice my left arm. I grunted in pain and grabbed at the wound. I tried to dodge again, but he was too fast. The knife darted in and buried itself in my shoulder. I'm pretty sure I screamed but the pain caused me to partially black out for a minute. When I could focus my eyes again I saw Ziva kneeling over me.
"Tony! What happened?" She said, quite loud. I could tell she wanted to pull the knife out, but knew that would release the pressure and allow me to bleed to death. I coughed, gasping at the pain.
"There was a man. He just came out of nowhere. I tried to fight, but he was so fast." I struggled to speak. I drew in a ragged breath. "Who's the kid?"
"Kid? Tony, there's no kid here. This is the police liaison. He must be delirious." She explained. She got up to meet Gibbs and McGee as they walked in. She busied herself informing them of the situation. No one but me heard the "police liaison's" reply.
"Or not." She said thoughtfully leaning over me. She gasped and fumbled at her neck. "Could it be?"
"Who are you?" I asked. Instead of a police officer in uniform, I saw a young teenage girl that was dressed in robes.
"You can see me as a teenager?" Her voice was full of disbelief. Realization dawned. "Unless… Good Lord, could it be?"
"How are you doing Tony?" Gibbs walked over and kneeled by me.
"Fine, sir, unless you count the piece of metal sticking out of me." I coughed again. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. The girl leaned over me again and this time brushed her finger over my wound. Her hand felt cool and relaxing.
"Miss, could you watch him while we discuss the case further?" Gibbs asked reluctantly. She nodded. As he walked away she turned her gaze back on me.
"I know this is going to sound strange, but have you had a recurring nightmare recently?" She asked nonchalantly.
"How could you know that?" I asked, staring. She didn't answer. "Answer me."
"Sir, we need to get you to a healer. I can take you to one, but you have to trust me." She said. I was skeptical, but the pain in my shoulder and arm convinced me.
"My friends have to go wherever I do." I demanded weakly. From the stubborn look in her eyes I could tell that she was going to ignore me. I think she tried. She frowned and her eyes scrunched together in thought.
"Fine. Sir, he wants to talk to you." She called to the team. They hurried over. She grabbed my arm. As I grimaced at the pain she grabbed McGee's leg. Before anyone could cry out she closed her eyes. Purple light laced with gold surrounded us. I blacked out.
* * *
"What the hell?" The NCIS leader reacted by drawing his gun. The girl and other guy followed suit. I put the injured guy in the closest bed.
"Please put those down. They won't do you any good here anyway." I stated calmly. I dropped the illusion of the police officer I was pretending to be. Their eyes widened. "None of the Lands' inhabitants can be injured by anything except that knife or dragon fire."
"Dragon fire? Dragons aren't real." The one they referred to as McGee scoffed. I smiled thinly.
"Shows how much you know." I answered. I turned as Cyrene, the palace healer, entered.
"Celeste! What have you done?! These are humans!" Cyrene demanded, eyes wide.
Cyrene, I believe this injured man is the king. I thought-spoke to her, a common ability among dragons. He saw through my form, knew of the nightmares, and my charm has never before burned this bright. You know what that means. You must heal his wounds. Be careful about the dagger, it's made of dragon-forged metal. I mentally advised. She nodded and turned to "Tony".
"What just happened? You didn't say anything, but she nodded. What's going on?" Gibbs asked suspiciously, their guns still drawn. I sighed. They were a very perceptive bunch.
"Very well. I will tell you everything if you agree to put your guns down. She is Cyrene and she is a skilled healer. She's the best there is." I gave in. I had to trust that our king's associates were honest and trustworthy. They cautiously holstered their primitive human weapons and I ushered them into another room so we wouldn't disturb Cyrene's work.
"Here's the story. It's quite long, so you might want to sit down. What I'm about to tell you is a secret. Never repeat it. Thousands of years ago, dragons, humans, and all manner of creatures coexisted. Dragons, however, were rare and sought after for magical spells. In frustration, the Dragon King, Firewing, called the dragons together and used the collective power to create the Dragonlands. It exists in another realm and was safe from enemy beings. Many dragons decided that they wanted to visit the human realm, though. Their wish created our human halves. This way, we can pass undetected among humans. Dragons are immortal unless killed by another dragon's fire or by dragon-forged metal like that knife in your friend's shoulder. When they are killed, their souls survive and begin their search for another human soul to attach to. This usually happens to teenagers like myself. The soul haunts the kid giving them nightmares that would terrify even you, Gibbs. Dragon souls aren't exactly all fluffy and sweet. The dreams often include memories of vicious acts committed by dragons. Usually the kids speak up and are discovered by dragons masquerading as psychiatrists. Once we are given our necklace charms that allow our dragon half and human half to merge, we stop aging unless we want to, of course. We can appear to be any age, but most of us keep to our merging age. That is why a majority of the palace staff is so young. We are powerful dragons and cursed with the most vivid dreams. In fact, if your friend is who I think he is, he should have had horrible dreams since he was about twelve. It's amazing that he never complained to anyone. I assume he covers for these with some false bravado or machismo." I concluded. They nodded slightly.
"How do we know you are telling the truth?" Ziva asked, still suspicious. I motioned for them to follow me outside. As we emerged from the palace, I heard gasps of amazement from the agents. A sapphire blue dragon wearing the bag of a palace messenger was winging his way over the castle's towers and out to the rest of the Dragonlands. The crystal blue sky was clear except for a few random dragons exercising their wings. The castle was the royal colors: purple and gold.
"This is amazing." McGee said, astonished.
"You said if Tony was who you thought he was, but who do you think he is?" Gibbs asked. Again his perceptiveness amazed me. I considered my possibilities carefully. If the king was really "Tony" I hoped he would forgive me for telling these humans the truth.
"About fifteen years ago, a traitorous dragon, Devilfire, tricked Firewing's human into a lethal trap. He had recovered some dark magic, spells that could eternally kill a dragon and its soul. He baited the trap with Daniel's, that is the human with our king's soul, wife. We managed to rescue her, but not before Daniel had surrendered himself. Daniel knew that the dragon race relied on our king for guidance and the amount of power Firewing's soul carried. While Devilfire was chanting the spell that would end a several thousand year old dragon's soul, but ironically leave Daniel untouched with no dragon memories, Daniel committed the Great Sacrifice. You see, as long as a dragon is killed by dragon fire or dragon-forged steel, his soul is set free. Daniel sacrificed himself to allow Firewing to find a new human soul. He plunged the same knife that is stuck in your friend's shoulder into his own heart. He is a martyr and a hero to all loyal dragons. Devilfire has continued to strike at our forces. What I was investigating when I ran into your team was the fact that five potential dragons had been killed within one night. They were all being investigated by a local dragon-psychiatrist. I think this is the work of Devilfire. He must have returned to make sure that the bodies were too badly rearranged for anyone to track him down. He is showing an annoying talent and ability to foil human forensic protocols and dragon magic. I believe he returned and Tony startled him by seeing him just the way he saw through my disguise. I believe that, well, your friend is the new incarnation of the king, Firewing." I ended my monologue reluctantly. Ziva raised her eyebrows.
"You believe Tony is the reincarnation of the king of dragons." McGee stated dryly. "He is never going to let us live this down."
"How do you know?" Gibbs asked.
"Devilfire believes humans to be the slaves of dragons. He actually considers you to not be worth the effort of killing, and he certainly wouldn't want to be discovered with the body. He would set the transportation spell to not work if there was a human in the same room as the body. One problem is that potential dragons do not register as humans to dragon spells. Therefore, Tony was able to surprise him when he teleported. Second, when I came to investigate the fifth body and found him lying there, my necklace burned brighter than it had ever before." I brought out my necklace, the standard dragon claw that all dragons souls used to combine with humans. "All dragons' necklaces burn in the presence of dragons or potential dragons. "Lastly, when I talked to Tony while he was injured, by the way he confirmed he had nightmares, I offered to take him to a healer. He insisted that you go wherever he does. I then attempted to teleport him alone anyway. I was unable to. Even the human soul has the ability to order any loyal dragon, especially me, the commander of security for the royal dragons, and they would have to obey."
"So Tony is Firewing's choice. How? You said the stronger the dragon soul, the more horrible the dreams." Gibbs responded.
"Tony is an extremely rare case. His dreams were probably so horrible that he woke up screaming every night. Somehow, he managed to keep sane enough to get himself a job. There is also a theory that the sea suppresses the power of a dragon's soul, thus lessening the dream's impact while he was near water. He probably worked near rivers and the ocean all his life to avoid going nuts. It probably also gave him an unfailing sense of crude humor. Everything's funny when you are constantly scared out of your wits by visions of death and mayhem when you sleep." I theorized.
"I always thought Tony was scared of commitment and relationships, but I never imagined it was because every time he slept he had a dragon king giving him nightmares." Ziva mused. I shrugged. I received a silent mind call from Cyrene.
"Come on, Tony's about to wake up. Cyrene says she managed to heal him up as good as new." I motioned back inside. The NCIS team sighed in relief. We headed into the healer's rooms. Tony was lying on the bed wearing new robes.
"What's with the robes?" McGee asked.
"His old clothes were bloody. I used a simple spell to replace them with the robes." Cyrene answered calmly. "Shall I wake him?"
"Yes, please." Gibbs answered, sounding slightly sarcastic.
"Careful, Gibbs, she is quiet skilled in healing and killing. I wouldn't bait her." I warned. He looked a little shocked and the others bit back a chuckle.
"Very well." Cyrene said wryly. She raised her hand and a green wave descended on Tony. He started to move around and groan.
"Where am I?" He struggled to get up. Cyrene held him down.
"Whoa there. Don't get up too fast. You might tear open your scar. It's still new skin." Cyrene said, impatient. He saw that his team members were in the room and relaxed.
"Hey, Tony. You're never gonna believe this but we're in the Dragonlands." Ziva told him wryly. His eyes revealed his shock.
"What? You said healer, not some Dragonlands." He looked at me accusingly.
"There are some things you need to be made aware of." I explained the situation to him. His face was skeptical at best.
"Tony, I think she's telling the truth. She took us outside and we are not in D.C. anymore. We're in a gold and purple castle. She even told us that nightmares are why you're always so macho." McGee tried to convince him. He got a little uncomfortable at the mention of his nightmares.
"Look, why don't you come outside and see for yourself?" I offered. He cautiously agreed. Gibbs and Ziva helped him up and escorted him to the door. When he walked outside I could hear his surprised gasp. We walked along the wall. He gazed around, taking everything in. Several officers standing watch looked over at us curiously. They realized that there were humans in the Dragonlands, but with the king and prince still officially gone I was in charge. They trusted me to keep the Dragonlands safe. Well, as safe as I could, considering Devilfire was still running around somewhere. Suddenly my head snapped up as I sensed a certain presence gliding towards the palace. Before I could react further I was thrown backwards as Devilfire himself landed on the parapet in dragon form. He growled.
"So, this is the guy who saw me. And you think he is the human half of the great Firewing? Pathetic." Devilfire towered above us. I would have fought him, but his spell was strong enough to leave me paralyzed. He cocked his head and, lightning quick, grabbed Ziva. "Let's see how much he's like his predecessor, Daniel."
"Stop!" Gibbs ordered futilely. Ziva, surprisingly, didn't scream as Devilfire took off. He soared into the air above the clouds until he reached a lookout where the clouds parted to reveal a sheer drop into our heat source, the Sun. Then he pulled out a simple choker that bore the standard dragon claw. It was in the royal colors. I gasped in recognition.
"Well, Firedancer? What do you think? I pulled it off of Daniel's bleeding body. Isn't it pretty?" Devilfire sneered as he used my dragon name. "Now I know this human can't survive a sun dive like dragons. Send over the King's potential human or I drop the girl. But it's your choice. The King and his necklace or the human girl? What'll it be?"
* * *
"Ziva!" I muttered under my breath. What the heck was going on? I crouched out of sight beside Celeste. She looked very stiff. "Celeste, what's going on? Can you move?"
"No, I don't have enough strength. Devilfire's spells can only be broken by the king or the prince, whose soul hasn't resurfaced after he died in a training accident 12 years ago. We've been looking, but no luck. Look, I'm sorry. You must think we dragons are all insane." She barely moved her lips as she talked.
"I forgive you. Now are you positive I'm this king? And that if I put that choker on I'll be able to change into a dragon?" I asked carefully.
"Grab my necklace." She instructed. I did as she said and her claw flared into a brilliant gold. My sight blurred and an image of a golden dragon head tinged in purple filled my sight. I shook my head to clear it and let the necklace go. "You saw him didn't you? He's your destiny. If you go out there, he'll make sure Firewing can't escape again. At least you won't be hurt. Go and save Ziva. He'll uphold his side of the bargain."
"All right." I agreed, but secretly, a plan was forming. I turned back to Devilfire and stood. "How do I get out to you?"
"Walk." He waved and a path of air solidified. He changed back into the steely-eyed man from the crime scene, keeping hold of a struggling Ziva with superhuman strength. I slowly stepped forward onto the invisible walkway. It was a long way down to the sun. Once I made it all the way across to him the path behind me disappeared. "Ah, so predictable, so noble, so stupid. There's no way out now, Tony is it?"
"Yeah, it's Tony." I answered and did something he would never expect. I jumped into him using his surprise to grab both the choker and Ziva. My momentum took all of us tumbling over the edge. Devilfire changed back into a dragon and soared away, but Ziva and I fell.
"This is your plan? This is crazy!" She yelled at me as we plummeted. Everyone in the castle was watching in terror. I took a breath and slipped the choker around my neck, fastening it. The golden light surrounded me and I felt my very soul combine with an ancient and powerful one. As I had prayed would happen, I felt my body lengthen and change into the golden dragon I had seen in my vision and my dreams. Suddenly my wings unfurled and we were no longer falling but soaring upward on an updraft. Ziva clung to my arm/talon.
"Whoa! This is awesome!!!" I shouted. It came out as a deeper growl, but still recognizable. I flapped until I was level with the castle wall and lowered Ziva. McGee and Gibbs were both staring at me with open mouths. I, somewhat clumsily, landed and changed back to my old self. "That was SO fun! You have no idea. Oh, right, where's Devilfire?"
"He took off as soon as you put the choker on." Gibbs answered, still staring. He looked unnerved, which was unusual for my boss. Then I remembered Celeste. She still wasn't moving. I crouched down beside her.
"Is the spell still there?" I asked. Her face was filled with joy.
"Yes, but just tell me to move. As an order from the king, I have to obey. It'll break the spell for me." She explained. "It's easier than actively using power, sir."
"You don't have to sir me. All right, Celeste, get up." As soon as the words were out of my mouth she jumped up and hugged me. "Easy there. Is everything okay?"
"Are you kidding me? The king is back. This is wonderful!" She was ecstatic. "I can't believe you managed to change right after you merged. It usually takes humans awhile to acclimate to being a dragon."
"I guess he had good motivation. Though you could have been gentler. Or gave me a hint that you knew what you were doing." Ziva said shakily. I shrugged.
"I'm just glad it worked." I answered. It did feel a little strange. I could hear better and see farther and I could sense someone at the back of my mind.
"So I guess this means that you really are their long-lost king, huh?" McGee looked intrigued. Again I shrugged.
"I guess." I looked at Celeste. "What does this mean for me?"
"Well, you're job just got a lot easier." She replied.
"Huh?" I asked. I had figured I would have to give up everything to be their 'king.'
"What? You didn't think we'd make you stay, did you? No, dragons are fiercely independent. Firewing is really only needed to enforce the laws on rebellious dragons like Devilfire. And we don't want you facing him until you're trained. You can definitely stay in the human realm if you want. I will probably be keeping an eye on you though. If anything were to happen to you now, I think the entire Dragonlands would kill me. You can come here on your days off and I'll get someone to teach you the ropes. Sir." She grinned and bowed. I shifted uncomfortably. I wasn't used to people calling me sir and bowing. In fact, as I looked around, all the people on the wall were bowing.
"Thanks, but you don't have to bow. I'm still mainly Tony." I looked at Gibbs who was chuckling in mirth. "Oh, shush."
"Hey, you can't order me around, your Highness. I'm still your boss." Gibbs's voice became stern. I gulped and ducked my head.
"Yes, Boss." I responded quickly. Celeste's eyes registered shock at this exchange.
"I can't believe Firewing's just sitting there taking orders from a human." She looked to be at a loss for words.
"Well, he seems to be just relieved to be able to manifest again. I think being a spirit for 15 years was a bit boring for him." I reasoned.
"How do you know what he's thinking?" Ziva asked. I shrugged.
"He's me, except not me. Kind of like a side part of my mind. I can hear him think and he can hear me think. Symbiotic. He could probably use my mouth, but he's more of a silent partner. At least, for now." I struggled to explain.
"He'll probably stay that way until you need him. You'll find your dragon half usually isn't too pushy. And look at it this way, you'll never get bored on stakeouts. Just ask Firewing to tell you a story in dragon history. That'll keep you busy." She smiled knowingly. I nodded. Suddenly I felt Firewing assert his presence for the first time. My lips seemed to move on their own and my voice took on a commanding tone.
"I will give you one condition, Gibbs. No more head slaps. You don't want to startle newly merged humans; they easily lose control of their newfound power and it's easy for someone to get seriously hurt. Especially the one who keeps hitting them. Understand? You can keep teaching him in your special way, just no physical violence. Oh, and don't get him mad, anger is a hard emotion to control and often unleashes a bad side of new dragons." Firewing's voice resounded in the silence. I felt him release my lips and looked at my boss sheepishly. His eyes were wide at this new development. And Cyrene was still bowing.
"Well, at least Firewing's got guts." McGee whispered to Ziva. Even though they were ten feet away and he was speaking extremely quietly, I could still hear him as if he was standing right next to me.
"Sorry, Boss, that wasn't me. As you could probably tell." I apologized uncomfortably. You shouldn't have done that. I mentally told my silent half. I have to work with him and I don't need to be creeping him and my other coworkers out. He mentally shrugged.
Sorry, but what I said was true; you have to be careful. Trust me. He replied.
"Yeah, the glowing eyes kind of hinted at that." He said wryly as he stared at me.
"Really? They glowed? That's slightly weird." I commented, a little freaked.
"Let me get this straight, you turn into a dragon and you're concerned about the fact your eyes glow when your alter ego talks?" Ziva raised her eyebrows.
"Well, I think it's cool. Oh, and they turn gold. Just so you know." McGee replied defensively. Trust the fantasy buff to stand up for me.
"Sorry to change the subject, but I need to ask you something. Can you willingly change? If so, we need to plan the official coronation. That way, you'll be better protected and the dragon population can see that their king has returned." Cyrene asked cautiously. I consulted with Firewing.
"All right, I'll try. I should say that, since I don't have the motivation of someone I know being threatened, I may not be able to." I warned. I backed up to give myself enough room and concentrated. This time the change was harder and slower. There was no panicked swoosh as I transformed. Instead, I felt my body physically lengthen and grow scaly. Then I felt the changes quicken and stop. I looked around with my new eyes. My claws were gold and scales purple.
The royal colors. Firewing informed me.
Oh, okay. I answered.
"Wow, you're a natural. That was one of the smoothest changes I've seen in a long time. We'll have the coronation as soon as possible. Excellent." Cyrene closed her eyes and concentrated. I felt a mental whisper as she contacted palace members and told them the news. Evidently I was able to overhear any conversation among Firewing's subjects. I tried to tune out the sudden buzz as the palace staff reacted to her announcement. I attempted to concentrate. I gradually turned back to my normal self and absently rubbed my ear. My dragon half chuckled. Takes some getting used to, doesn't it?
Yeah. I agreed with his silent comment. But from what I can tell, I'll have a long time to adjust. She did say immortal. So, does this king thing come with any cool benefits? Like cool cars and hot girls?
* * *
A/N: OK, a little corny I'll admit. But Tony would ask about girls. And this ties into my Fantasy/Sci-Fi universe that I write in. (See my profile page.) I will probably write a sequel some time in the distant future under Stargate:SG-1 to tie this one to the events in my story Sang Real and Star Girl. So there will be more with this story.