Brother Protector: Holly Jennings
Disclaimer: I don't own American Dragon.
A/N: Here it is. The first film. This takes place in 2031, and as I said, it's about Holly and her mother.
Oh, and there was something I forgot to mention at the end of my author's note in the finale of "Future Dragon". Everyone you didn't see at Rose's funeral (who should have been there!) passed away in the sixty year time passage between the last episode and the final battle episode. Holly, Cherri, Savannah, Leah, Destiny, Fu Dog, Lista and Trixie are all still alive. Spud, Arkadi, Lexy, Maverick, Carter, Sun, Jake and Haley's parents and Callum are all dead.
The door to a nice home in Manhattan opened and Riley Jennings, now a fully grown 34 year old with a family walked inside the house from the front door after opening it, a Sinopia-colored Great Dane at his side, a fourteen year old boy wearing a Phthalo Blue-colored, zipped up jacket and a pair of jeans, following him.
A dragon tail appeared from Riley's rear and he used it to close the door, just as a woman, who was about 33 years old, had long black hair and wore a pair of Electric Magenta-colored sweatpants and a white T-shirt underneath an un-buttoned Mikado Yellow-colored baseball jersey. The woman had a knowing smile on her face.
"Oh, hey honey." Riley smiled innocently. "You're back! Um, how was Carmela's game?"
At that moment, a rather short twelve year old girl with black hair that was in a pony-tail and who wore a Mikado Yellow-colored baseball player's uniform and cap rushed out of the kitchen, looking excited.
"Daddy, we won!" She exclaimed.
"That's great, Carmela." Riley smiled.
"Daddy, did you take Stennis out for dragon stuff?" Carmela asked, her smile fading. "How come I didn't get to come?"
"Carmela, why don't you go up to your room?" Her mother advised, crossing her arms. "Stennis, you too. Your father and I need to talk."
LINE BREAK
A few moments later, Riley's wife sat down at the kitchen table, across from Riley. "Riley, Stennis' Dragon Master is not going to be happy."
"He'll never need to know." Riley said. "Simple as that."
"Well, what happened?" His wife asked.
Unbeknownst to both Riley and his wife, the Great Dane was watching them, hiding against the wall, peaking into the kitchen. The Great Dane then moved from the wall, silently trotting over to the front door of the house.
LINE BREAK
The Great Dane made its way to a cave. As soon as it set foot inside the cave, it froze as a swirling purple light engulfed it. As soon as the light had faded, Affendi Zakhlis was in his dragon form, on all fours.
Groaning, Affendi slowly got up, just as the smiling Mrs. Jennings, also in her dragon form, walked out of the darkness, not having aged a day since the day she had been captured by her daughter for the second time.
"Glad to see that you're back." Mrs. Jennings said. "Well? I'm running out of shapeshifting potion, Affendi. I hope you have good news."
"The boy is ready." Affendi said.
"You're not just saying that, are you?" Mrs. Jennings asked as she crossed her scaly arms.
"Why would you think that?" Affendi asked.
"Because of how quickly you have declared the boy ready." Mrs. Jennings replied, dropping her scaly arms to her sides. "I knew my son was ready from the day we started spying on him and his family eight years ago. You declared his wife ready after only two weeks of spying on them."
"I've spied on the kids for eight years."
"Obviously." Mrs. Jennings smiled bitterly. "When we started this, the boy was only six, the girl four. Neither of them had developed their powers yet."
"You said I declared him ready so soon."
"Yes, because you declared the girl ready only three weeks ago." Mrs. Jennings told them. "But, if that is what you think, then I have no choice but to believe you." Then, Mrs. Jennings turned around. "However, before we go, I do have to make one call."
"Understood." Affendi replied. "I'll be waiting outside."
Affendi then turned around and started to walk out of the cave.
LINE BREAK
Back at the Jennings home, the last light went out, and inside, Riley lied down on his bed, rolling over to face his smiling wife.
"Stennis is really skilled, Storm." Riley told his wife.
"I know." His wife, Storm, replied. "Now, it's late. Can we please cease the chit-chat until tomorrow morning?"
"You got it." Riley smiled.
"See you in the morning." Storm told him before she rolled over so that her back was to him. Riley then sighed as he rolled over as well. Taking a deep breath, Riley closed his eyes and tried to calm himself so he could easily fall asleep.
Outside, both Affendi and Mrs. Jennings swooped down and landed. "Alright, here's the plan..." Mrs. Jennings said, narrowing her eyes. "...I'm going to go after Riley and his wife. You're going to go after the kids. Got it?"
Affendi just nodded. Then, Mrs. Jennings walked up the stairs to the front porch. Using her tail, she broke the door down, causing a loud thud.
Up in his room, Riley's eyes snapped open. A few moments later, he stepped out of his room, in his dragon form. Turning, Riley crept down the hall and started to walk down the stairs, then he turned and finished walking down the rest of the stairs, stepping into a large and long hallway.
"Where are their rooms?" Came the sound of Mrs. Jennings' voice. This made Riley gasp and turn his head to the side.
"Mom?" He whispered. Then, he turned to face the entrance into the hall, just as his mother turned around the corner, stepping into the hall, Affendi at his side.
"Mom." Riley repeated.
"Hi, Riley-boy!" Mrs. Jennings smiled.
"I thought you were in jail."
"I got out early for good behavior." Mrs. Jennings told him.
"I was told it was a life sentence." Riley replied, not knowing what was going on. Why was his mother in his house?
"Well..." Mrs. Jennings replied, her smile fading. "...Perhaps you should stop asking questions."
Then, Mrs. Jennings lunged for her son, slamming him and dragging him into the floor. As Affendi strode over to her, Mrs. Jennings turned her head to the side and looked up.
"Affendi." She said. "Go up stairs and search for the rest of his family."
Nodding once, Affendi turned and started to walk up the stairs, just as Riley managed to throw his mother off of him. Then, Riley managed to jump up onto his feet. "No!" Riley shouted as he turned to follow Affendi, but before he could, his mother wrapped her tail around his chest, pulling him away from the stairs and throwing him to the ground, where Riley grunted as he landed. "Storm!" He shouted, lifting his head up.
Up above, Affendi was walking down the hallway when Storm opened the door and walked into the hall, only to freeze when she saw Affendi.
"Who are you?" Storm demanded, right before Affendi's tail slammed into her side, throwing her to the side and sending her crashing through the railing and falling to the floor, where she landed on her side with a grunt, watching her husband dodging a swipe being delivered by a large silver female dragon.
Back upstairs, Affendi made his way to the next door in the hallway. Opening it, Affendi walked inside and saw a bed in the middle of the side of the room, and he could see the image of the person sleeping in the bed.
Affendi quickly made his way to the bed and quickly reached down, pulling off the covers, only to gasp when he saw that the outline that he had seen was only there because three pillows were placed together under the covers to fool him.
At that moment, Stennis' dragon tail came down from the ceiling and hit the side of the bed, causing the bed to flip over onto its side and hit Affendi, throwing him into the wall.
As Stennis landed on the floor, in full dragon form, Affendi used his tail to slice the bed in half. Then, Affendi ran towards Stennis...
Back down in the hallway, Storm watched with wide eyes as her husband and the large silver dragon fought back and forth, clinging to one another. It was like an arm-wrestling match, only they were using their whole bodies.
Grunting, Riley used all of his strength to force his mother to the side so that her back was facing the entrance of the hall. Then, he started to walk her backwards.
"My, you've gotten strong..." Mrs. Jennings smiled at her son.
"Get out." Riley told his mother.
"Don't you love me, Riley-boy?"
"You killed my brother!" Riley shouted. "How could I ever love you?!"
"Ouch." Mrs. Jennings remarked just as Riley pulled away and then slammed his tail into her. Mrs. Jennings grunted and flew back, landing on the floor right outside the hallway.
"Affendi wasn't kidding when he told me that you were ready all those years ago..." Mrs. Jennings said with a smile on her face as she sat up.
"What are you talking about?" Riley asked.
"Affendi's been spying on you for me for eight years!" Mrs. Jennings stated, smiling.
Riley's eyes widened with shock, but only briefly, for he then narrowed his eyes. "Come on, Riley-boy!" His mother goaded him. "Let's continue this! You'll still lose, though."
"No, get out." Riley said. Then, he opened his mouth and blew out a large torrent of fire.
The smile was completely wiped off of Mrs. Jennings' face when she saw the fire. Quickly, she got to her feet and ran away from the flames.
Closing his mouth, Riley could hear the front door to the house slam shut, his mother escaping.
Back upstairs, in Stennis' room, Stennis managed to throw Affendi away. "Who are you?" Stennis demanded.
"You don't recognize me?" Affendi smiled.
"Of course not." Stennis scowled.
"Well, that's too bad." Affendi replied. Then, he charged for the young dragon, but before he could reach him, Affendi froze as he heard the booming sound of Mrs. Jennings' voice, coming from outside:
"AFFENDI! TIME TO ESCAPE!"
"Well, boy..." Affendi said. "...I guess you're lucky. For now..." With that, Affendi flared his wings and flew over Stennis' head, Stennis turning around in time to see Affendi crash through the window, making his escape.
LINE BREAK
"Honey, are you okay?" Riley asked his wife, who was now sitting on a chair in the kitchen in her human form, Riley still in his dragon form. Storm looked dazed and confused, but Riley couldn't find any injuries. "Honey?"
"Yeah." Storm answered weakly. "I'm fine."
"I couldn't find any sign of any physical injuries." Riley told her. "You should be fine."
"I am fine." Storm assured him.
At that moment, Stennis, now in his human form, walked into the kitchen. In his human form, he wore his T-shirt with a pair of boxer shorts. "Dad?" He asked, making his father turn around.
"It's okay, son." Riley smiled. "Come and sit down"
"Dad, a dragon came into my room and almost attacked me." Stennis said.
"What happened?" Storm asked. "He didn't attack you?"
"No, he just fled."
"Riley, do you know what just happened tonight?" Storm asked, bringing a hand up to the side of her head.
"Yes." Riley replied, his back to her. "I know who the female dragon was, too."
"You do?" Stennis asked.
Riley took a deep breath before he answered. "That was my mother." He said.
"What?!" Stennis asked, his eyes widening. "Your mother came here?!"
"Riley, you said that your mother died only a few months before we met." Storm said, lowering her hand from her head.
"For all intents and purposes, she was." Riley said. "At least, to me. She was dead to me."
"Well, not to the world." Stennis replied.
Sighing, Riley turned to face his wife. "Twenty-three years ago..." He explained. "...She murdered my older brother."
"Older brother?" Storm asked. "Riley, you told me that you were an only child."
"I lied." Riley replied. "But I'm going to tell you the truth now, because I fear I have no other choice."
"Darn right, you don't." Storm crossed her arms.
"I was the youngest of three." Riley explained. "I had an older brother named Teddy and an older sister named Holly. Twenty-three years ago, my mother tried to have both Teddy and Holly killed so that I would be the only child she had to raise. She was caught, but then she was freed from her prison. She murdered Teddy before she was recaptured. I thought that my mother was safely locked up, but I guess I was wrong."
"And by eight years, too." Storm said. "I heard her say that she and that other dragon had been spying on us for eight years."
"You didn't tell us that your dangerous mother was out of prison, Dad?"
"I didn't know." Riley said. "I swear. Holly never told me."
"Holly's alive?" Storm asked.
"Of course she is." Riley replied. "Or, at least...I think she is."
"How could you not know?" Storm asked.
"We never got along very well." Riley answered, putting his clawed hands on his hips. "I haven't seen her in a very, very long time. The last I knew, she was a member of the Dragon Council."
"Wonderful." Storm rolled her eyes.
Riley sighed again. "This is bad." He said. "My mother wants something from us. We're not safe."
"What are we going to do, Dad?" Stennis asked.
Riley sighed once again before he answered: "It looks like we're all going to be making a trip to the Island of Draco tomorrow."
LINE BREAK
Together, Mrs. Jennings and Affendi were flying through the air, the sun just starting to come up. "Why did we leave?" Affendi asked as he turned his head to the side. "I could have taken his son."
"What about his daughter?" Mrs. Jennings asked.
"I didn't even find her."
"Exactly." Mrs. Jennings replied. "You weren't kidding when you told me that my son was skilled. I underestimated him."
"That's why we're fleeing?"
"I think we should get some back-up." Mrs. Jennings announced.
"Back-up?" Affendi asked. "You don't mean...?"
"Yes." Mrs. Jennings smiled. "We should find dragons to help us."
"But surely they will know that we are escaped prisoners." Affendi said. "We won't be able to tempt them over to our side. We just won't!"
"You have a point, Affendi." Mrs. Jennings replied. "That is why we'll need to find other magical criminals."
"But where will we find them?" Affendi asked.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew their way, a piece of paper being carried by it. The paper smacked Mrs. Jennings in the face, making Affendi snicker as Mrs. Jennings took the paper away from her face, looking at it.
Mrs. Jennings saw that the piece of paper had colored pictures of four dragons. The first picture was of a Regalia-colored dragon with long white hair and a nose ring, the name "Maritza Schlosser" under it. The second picture was of a Field Drab-colored dragon who looked like he had been using his claws to pick at his body, the name "Diomed Worcester" under it. The third dragon was Medium Champagne-colored and he had a grenade for his left eye, the name "Skuld" under it. The final picture was of a Pearl Aqua-colored dragon with black hair so long that some of it was tied around her neck and was over her head, serving as a hood and a cape, the name "Thi Phạm" underneath it. Below the pictures was the text:
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
THE DRAGO-TERRORISTS
"Drago-Terrorists?" Mrs. Jennings raised an eye, interested. Then, she smiled as she turned her head to the side.
"Drago-Terrorists?" Affendi asked, confused.
"Oh, yes." Mrs. Jennings replied. "I think we found our helpers..."
LINE BREAK
On the Island of Draco, later the next morning, Holly sat in the Main Hall, her walking stick on top of the table as a uniformed human police officer stood before her.
"Six years ago tomorrow..." The police officer said, putting his hands on his hips. "...Four dragons started to commit terrorist attacks on September 11th."
"I know that, officer." Holly rolled his eyes. "And I know that tomorrow is 9/11. I know that, most likely, these dragons are going to stick to tradition and they're going to do it again. You don't need to tell me this."
"Fortunately, these attacks have been fairly small..." The officer said, ignoring her. "...The loss of life wasn't too great."
"Any loss of life is a terrible tragedy." Holly growled, narrowing her eyes.
"We need to find these dragons before tomorrow." The officer said. "And I want to know what you and your kind are going to do about it."
"My kind?" Holly asked. "Look Officer Whoever-You-Are, you lectured me about something I already know about, so I guess it's my turn to lecture you on something that you know about." Holly smiled. "You should be aware that, over ten years ago, President Victoria Brock declared it illegal to actively discriminate against 'my kind'. Now, I just want you to know that I take that statement of yours as discrimination. Now, don't think that because you're an officer of the law, you are above it."
"Let me tell you something, Councilor Jennings." The police officer cut her off, pointing at her. "You're telling me what I'm doing wrong, but let me tell you what you're doing wrong: you're not cooperating with the law."
"Yes, I am, Officer." Holly crossed her arms. "I'm trying to be civil with you. Now, let's get back on the subject at hand. You're right, we do have to find these terrorists before they strike again, but I know that that will be hard, maybe even impossible. So, it is my opinion that instead of trying to capture these dragons, we should take precautions."
"It's that attitude that has let these dragon scumbags get away with these attacks!" The officer accused. "The people of New York know what's coming! If they're smart enough, then they should be preparing for tomorrow."
"And yet, every year, lives are lost to these attacks." Holly said.
"That's because they're all too stupid to live." The officer replied.
At that moment, the doors to the Main Hall opened, and Jake stepped inside. "Holly?" He asked, a nervous look on his face.
"THANK YOU!" Holly cried as she quickly stood up from the table as quickly as she could, grabbing her walking stick.
"Wh...What?" The police officer asked as Holly started to walk by him.
"Sorry, officer." Holly said as she continued to make her way over to Jake. "Unfortunately, something just came up. I'm afraid I'm booked for the rest of the day."
A few moments later, Jake and Holly were walking across the grass. "Thanks for getting me out of there." Holly said with a smile on her face. "That police officer was an ignorant ass."
"Did you come up with a plan to catch those four punks, though?" Jake asked.
"Nope." Holly replied. "Now, what's this about?"
"You, uh, you have company." Jake replied. Then, the two of them stopped and Holly's eyes widened.
Standing before them was Riley, who was in his human form. At Riley's side were his wife, who was wearing a pair of jeans and an Electric Magenta-colored T-shirt, Stennis, and Carmela, who was still wearing her baseball uniform.
"R...Ri...Riley?" Holly asked.
LINE BREAK
Thi, Maritza and Diomed were all in their dragon forms, standing before the dragon formed Skuld, who was toying with the safety pin of the grenade that served as his left eye. Then, Skuld lowered his clawed hand. All four of them were standing in a large one-room lair that was rather messy and had four wooden posts in the back of the room. Diomed was using his claws to pick away at his right shoulder.
"As you three know..." He started. "...Tomorrow is the day that we once again attack New York. It will be our sixth time."
"Do you know what we're going to do?" Maritza asked.
"I've thought long and hard about it." Skuld answered. "And I think I've finally decided. I was planning on using this..." He pointed up at his grenade. "...On the fiftieth anniversary, but after careful consideration, I've decided that the thirtieth anniversary of that day will do fine enough."
Skuld then crossed his scaly arms. "Tomorrow, we're all going to go out with an even bigger bang. For, I will detonate myself in one building, and each of you will all detonate yourself in another building of your choosing. I will be giving you each of bomb."
"Are you sure about this?" Maritza asked while Diomed started to pick harder at his shoulder.
"Why are you choosing to cut this off so early?" Thi asked with a Vietnamese accent. "We've got something great here!"
"If we keep this up any longer..." Diomed answered, ceasing the picking of his arm. "...We could get caught."
"True indeed." Skuld replied. "But it's not just that. This could get stale. It's better to go out with a bang while the people of this state are still in a state of fear."
"Honestly..." Maritza told him. "...I think we should wait a couple years. Then, we should strike again."
"You all have your own ideas, but this is mine." Skuld replied calmly. "You don't like it? Well, tell me. I'll react accordingly."
At that moment, a knocking came from the door to their lair, making all four dragons turn to the side to face it.
"You don't think we've been found, do you?" Diomed asked.
"Thi, go get our guns." Maritza ordered.
However, before Thi could move, the door was blasted to splinters as Mrs. Jennings used her tail to enter the room. She then walked inside followed by Affendi.
"Who are you?!" Thi demanded.
"You're not with the Dragon Council, are you?" Diomed asked nervously, starting to pick at his chest.
"No, but my daughter is." Mrs. Jennings smiled as she put her clawed hands on her hips. "But don't worry, I hate my daughter. I want her dead."
"How did you find us?" Maritza asked.
"It wasn't hard." Mrs. Jennings replied. "Magic certainly helps."
"What do you want?" Skuld growled.
"I want you to help me." Mrs. Jennings said as she crossed her scaly arms. "I have a son that I need to get to. I need to get to his family as well."
"That's no concern of ours." Skuld growled. "We have big plans for tomorrow."
"Not anymore." Mrs. Jennings smiled.
"No, you don't have any plans anymore." Skuld growled. "Thi, Maritza! Kill both of them!"
Both Maritza and Thi started to walk towards Affendi and Mrs. Jennings, but after only three steps forward, they froze as Mrs. Jennings spoke: "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You see, if I really wanted to, I could tear you both to pieces."
"That's big talk for an old hag!" Maritza barked.
"Well, you're lucky that I don't want to kill you." Mrs. Jennings said. "Apparently, you four don't know who I am. If you did, I'm sure that you would be more respectful."
"Who are you, then?" Thi asked.
"I am the daughter of The Dark Dragon." Mrs. Jennings smiled.
"Like we care!" Thi replied.
"You should." Mrs. Jennings said.
"We don't." Maritza replied.
"Well..." Mrs. Jennings replied, sounding disappointed. "...I guess I'll have to kill you then."
"Hmm..." Skuld smiled with amusement. "...Thi, Maritza. Stand back. I'll take her."
"Oh will you now?" Mrs. Jennings smiled, amused herself.
"I'm certain that you will be leaving this place on your belly." Skuld said as he walked up to Mrs. Jennings. Then, he turned his head to the side. "Thi, go get the guns. When she's crawling out of here, you can shoot her in the back of the he-"
However, before he could finish, Mrs. Jennings scowled and slammed her tail into his chest and belly. Skuld grunted as he was thrown backwards, and his three fellow terrorists were forced to duck as he flew passed them. Grunting again, Skuld slammed into the wall and fell to the floor.
Flaring her wings, Mrs. Jennings flew into the air and flew over the heads of Maritza, Diomed and Thi, making them duck back down again. Landing before Skuld, Mrs. Jennings wrapped her tail around his neck, lifting him up onto his knees. She then brought her head down to his level and spoke:
"Perhaps you'd be willing to take me seriously now." She growled. "Now, I don't really know nor care what your plans are for tomorrow. You're most likely going to do something that a terrorist would do. Now, your plan is for tomorrow. I'm talking about you helping me today. This is my deal: You can refuse and die right now. Or, you could agree to help me out today and live to fulfill your plans tomorrow."
After saying this, Mrs. Jennings let Skuld think about it for a moment. After all, what chouce did he really have?
"Alright." Skuld growled.
LINE BREAK
Back on the Island of Draco, Holly could only stare at her brother and his family. "So, this is Holly?" Storm asked, crossing her arms.
"Jake, who are these people with Riley?" Holly asked.
"I'm his wife." Storm replied.
"Oh." Holly was wide-eyed. "I...I...I...I take it that those are your kids..."
"Holly, this isn't the time for this." Riley crossed his arms as well. "We're here for a reason. Mom paid us a visit last night."
"What?" Holly asked.
"I didn't even know that she was free." Riley said, ignoring his older sister. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Is the entire Council just keeping this a secret?" Storm asked.
"No." Holly shook her head once, trying to defend herself. "No, we're trying to re-capture her."
"We were." Jake corrected her.
"Jake, go take a hike." Holly growled.
"Got it." Jake quickly replied, and as he turned and walked away, Holly sighed and took three steps forward.
"What do you want from me, Riley?" Holly asked.
"Protection." Riley answered.
"I'd like to know why you haven't brought yourself into this family." Storm added.
"I had no idea that my little brother started his own family." Holly said.
"You could have tried to stay in contact with him." Storm replied.
"Storm, it's not her fault." Riley came to his older sister's aid, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We haven't been in contact. I should have told you about her." Then, Riley took his hand off of his wife's shoulder.
"You want protection?" Holly asked.
"Yeah."
"O...Okay." Holly told him. "I can do that for you."
"Are you going to look for her?" Storm asked. "Are you going to try and re-capture her?"
"We are trying." Holly lied.
"Your friend said that you were." Storm said. "There's a difference between 'are' and 'were', Councilor. That dragon just broke into our house last night."
Holly waited for about five seconds before she grinned. "What?" Riley asked.
"I love your wife." Holly said in a sarcastic tone. "You've got good taste in women. Ooh boy, is she a keeper."
Riley sighed before he turned his head to the side, looking at his wife. "Now do you see why I didn't tell you guys about her?" He asked.
"Yep." Storm replied, getting a smile from Riley in response. "You're still not forgiven, though." Storm added, making Riley's smile vanish.
Sighing again, Riley turned his head back to normal. "So, you will help us out?"
"Yes, I will." Holly answered, sincere this time.
LINE BREAK
A short time later, Holly opened the door to a bedroom and walked inside, Riley following her, with Storm and their two kids following her.
"Until mother is caught." Holly said as she turned around to face her brother. "You can stay here."
"Do you have anything bigger?" Stennis asked.
"Nope." Holly replied. Then, she glanced over at Stennis and Carmela. "So, I have a niece and a nephew?"
"My son's name is Stennis." Riley said. "And my daughter's name is Carmela."
"Carmela." Holly smiled. "I like that name."
"Thank you." Carmela smiled.
"And I can see that you like football." Holly grinned again.
"Huh?" Carmela looked confused, glancing down at her baseball uniform."I don't-"
"Honey, if there's one thing you need to learn about your Aunt..." Riley said as he turned his head to the side, his daughter turning her head to the side as well. "...It's that she's a bit wacky."
"Oh." Storm said before she forced a chuckle. "Riley, I really don't like her." She then muttered to her husband.
Holly cleared her throat, making Storm's eyes widen. "Perhaps you'd like to be more discreet the next time you say something about me." Holly said. "I could hear you, you know."
"Look..." Riley changed the subject as he turned his head back to normal. "...Storm, why don't you take the kids out? I'll talk with my sister alone."
LINE BREAK
Mrs. Jennings landed right in front of the house that she had paid a visit to the night before. Affendi landed next to her, and then Skuld, Thi, Diomed and Maritza all landed behind them.
"See?" Mrs. Jennings asked with a smile, her question directed at Skuld even though he was behind her. "This won't take long. You'll be back making plans for tomorrow before you know it."
"I already have the plans set in stone." Skuld growled before he Thi, Diomed and Maritza started to follow Mrs. Jennings and Affendi towards the broken down front door.
Mrs. Jennings entered the house first, followed by Affendi, then Thi, then Maritza, then Diomed and finally Skuld. The six of them lined up together, Mrs. Jennings turned her head to the side, giving her orders: "Search the house. Find my son and his family. You don't need to know what they look like."
LINE BREAK
Back on the Island of Draco, Holly sat down on the bed in the room, still clutching her walking stick.
"Why didn't you tell me that Mom escaped from prison?" Riley asked, and just as Holly opened her mouth, he added: "And don't lie to me and tell me that she just escaped. Last night, she said that she had been spying on my family for eight years."
"Well, that explains it." Holly said.
"It explains what?" Riley asked.
"We did search for her." Holly explained. "The only problem was that we couldn't find her. She escaped from prison, but then it was like she vanished from the face of the earth. What you just told me explains that. She was laying low. That was why we couldn't find her. That's why we gave up."
"You gave up?" Riley was shocked. "Holly, don't you remember that she murdered Teddy?"
"I try to forget every day." Holly said grimly. "I can't, though. Riley, I'll never forget that she took TJ away from me."
"Well, then?" Riley asked. "What are you going to do?"
"I told you." Holly answered. "I'm going to keep you protected and I'm going to catch her."
LINE BREAK
Back at Riley's house, Mrs. Jennings was waiting at the doorway, her arms crossed. She watched as Affendi, Skuld, Maritza, Thi and Diomed all walked back over to her.
"Where are they?" Mrs. Jennings demanded impatiently.
"They're not here." Thi said as they all stopped in front of Mrs. Jennings.
"No one is here." Maritza added.
"What?!" Mrs. Jennings hissed. Then, she extended her clawed hand at Affendi. "Give it to me." She ordered. Thi, Skuld, Diomed and Maritza all watched as Affendi then gave Mrs. Jennings a leather strap that had several holders on it. In each of the holders was a vial with a potion in it. Mrs. Jennings quickly pulled out a vial with a red potion inside.
"What is that?" Diomed asked nervously, instinctively reaching up to his scaly chest.
"Dark magic." Mrs. Jennings said with a smile as she took off the cap of the vial. "What did you expect? I'm the daughter of The Dark Dragon. Now, move."
Wordlessly, Thi, Maritza, Diomed and Skuld all moved to the side, allowing Mrs. Jennings to speak again, Affendi walking up to her side. "This will tell us where they went." Mrs. Jennings said. She then tossed out the red potion, which changed into red powder as soon as it left the vial. When it hit the floor, it quickly morphed into the outlines of Riley and his wife, replaying the scene from the night before:
"I was the youngest of three." Riley explained. "I had an older brother named Teddy and an older sister named Holly. Twenty-three years ago, my mother tried to have both Teddy and Holly killed so that I would be the only child she had to raise. She was caught, but then she was freed from her prison. She murdered Teddy before she was recaptured. I thought that my mother was safely locked up, but I guess I was wrong."
"And by eight years, too." Storm said. "I heard her say that she and that other dragon had been spying on us for eight years."
"You didn't tell us that your dangerous mother was out of prison, Dad?" The sound of Stennis' voice could be heard, even though he wasn't part of the replaying scene.
"I didn't know." Riley said. "I swear. Holly never told me."
"Holly's alive?" Storm asked.
"Of course she is." Riley replied. "Or, at least...I think she is."
"How could you not know?" Storm asked.
"We never got along very well." Riley answered, putting his clawed hands on his hips. "I haven't seen her in a very, very long time. The last I knew, she was a member of the Dragon Council."
"Wonderful." Storm rolled her eyes.
Riley sighed again. "This is bad." He said. "My mother wants something from us. We're not safe."
"What are we going to do, Dad?" Stennis asked.
Riley sighed once again before he answered: "It looks like we're all going to be making a trip to the Island of Draco tomorrow."
"Oh great." Affendi said sarcastically. "Now what?"
"Now we know that Holly is in the picture..." Mrs. Jennings said as she crossed her scaly arms.
"We can't just go to the Island of Draco." Affendi said.
"I'm well aware of that." Mrs. Jennings replied. "That's why we need to lure Riley away from the island. Perhaps, we'll even be able to get Holly, too."
Mrs. Jennings then uncrossed her scaly arms, looking down at the leather strap with the vials tucked in to it. "I think I know exactly how to get them to come right into my claws..."
LINE BREAK
Now, Holly and Riley were walking along the grass on the Island of Draco, Riley watching his sister. "What's with the stick?" He asked her.
"I need it." Holly answered. "It helps me walk."
"How so?" Riley asked.
"Have you ever felt something hitting your leg so hard that it causes every bone in your leg to not break, but shatter?" Holly asked him.
"No."
"I have." Holly told her brother. "Now, I have a very, very bad limp and it hurts to put too much weight on the leg."
"When did that happen?" Riley asked, turning his head back to normal.
"Eight years ago."
"Happen during Mom's escape?" Riley asked.
"No, it was a few days before." Holly answered. "Maybe even a week before, I really can't remember when it was exactly."
"Can you walk without it?"
"Never tried." Holly answered. "I'm sure I can, but I'm just as sure that it would hurt like Hell."
"Can you still fight and protect, just like you promised?"
"Riley, you worry too much." Holly told him, but at that moment, the two of them froze as Holly heard a ringing coming from within her robes. "I've got a call." Holly told her brother.
"Obviously." Riley said, turning his head to the side as Holly reached into her robes and pulled out her communication device.
Holly quickly pressed a button, which omitted a holographic image of Haley, who was in her dragon form.
"Haley, what is it?" Holly asked.
"Holly, I saw your mother." Haley announced.
"What?" Holly's eyes widened. "Haley, where?"
LINE BREAK
Back at Riley's home, Haley Long stood in her dragon form. A few seconds later, a purple, swirling light engulfed her, and once the light was gone, Mrs. Jennings was standing where Haley had been. She then smiled at Affendi, Skuld, Thi, an enraged looking Maritza and a nervous Diomed, who reached for his shoulder.
"That was so stupid!" Maritza raged. "How could you tell a Dragon Councilor the location of our hideout?!"
"Down, girl." Mrs. Jennings continued to smile. "You have nothing to worry about."
"How can you be so sure?" Diomed asked.
"Well, my son and his family will be seeing things from my point of view after today is over." Mrs. Jennings said smugly. "As for Councilor Holly, my daughter, she'll be dead. Now let's go."
With that, Mrs. Jennings turned around and walked out the door of the house.
LINE BREAK
Storm was sitting in the cafeteria with her two kids sitting across from her. "Well, this is boring." Carmela said, her chin in her hand. "There's nothing to do here."
"You could always play baseball." Stennis suggested with a smirk.
"Don't." Storm told her daughter sternly. "Don't you dare, Carmela."
"Storm." At that moment, Riley, now in his dragon form, walked up to the table, making his family turn their heads to the side.
"What?" Storm asked.
"We've got my Mom's location." Riley said.
"Can we go, Dad?" Carmela asked, her face lighting up. "It's so boring here! There's nothing to do."
"I...I don't see why not." Riley replied, not quite knowing what else to say.
LINE BREAK
At the lair of the four dragon terrorists, Mrs. Jennings flew in first, followed by Affendi, then Skuld, then Diomed, then Maritza and then Thi.
Affendi and Mrs. Jennings landed on their feet together and then they turned around, Mrs. Jennings smiling as she saw the four dragon terrorists standing together.
"Just think..." Mrs. Jennings said as she started to walk towards the four dragons, finally reaching them. "...In about an hour or two, I will have what I want, and then I will be out of your lives. You will be able to go on with your plans."
"You better not be trying to fool me..." Skuld growled.
"Trust me, I am going to keep my word." Mrs. Jennings crossed her scaly arms. "What are you planning on doing tomorrow, anyway?"
"Why should we tell you?" Skuld asked.
"Well, the way I see it..." Mrs. Jennings said. "...We're going to have to wait for them to get here. Might as well...talk."
"That's not something that we should be talking about." Maritza said, narrowing her eyes.
"How about that grenade of yours, then?" Mrs. Jennings smile. "Have to do with your plans tomorrow?"
Skuld said nothing.
Mrs. Jennings took this as a prompt to continue. "You're going to blow something up." She said. "You'll be taking yourselves with your victims."
"Okay." Skuld narrowed his one eye. "You're good. I'll give you that."
"What could you believe in so passionately that you would be willing to take your own lives?" Mrs. Jennings asked, putting a clawed hand to her chin. "I see nothing that is worthy of death. What statement do you believe in?"
"Who said anything about a statement?" Thi asked.
"It's a special day." Skuld grinned.
"Is it?" Mrs. Jennings smiled.
"A fascinating day to be brought into this world..." Skuld said. "...Dark, but fascinating. A fascinating day to recreate on each anniversary. A proper day to leave this world. It's going to be a big one." Skuld smiled.
"But...not as big as today..." Mrs. Jennings added.
LINE BREAK
Holly, in her dragon form, opened the door to a large shed-like room and walked inside, where she was surrounded by shelves with items on them. The dragon forms of Riley, Carmela, Stennis and Storm were all waiting outside.
"What is she doing?" Storm asked impatiently.
"I don't know." Riley answered, trying to hide the fact that he was annoyed by his wife's recent change in attitude.
"Here." Holly said, turning around as quickly as she could, tossing out two blue-colored cubes. Stennis caught one, while Carmela caught the other.
"What are those?" Storm asked.
"Traps." Holly said as she turned back around.
"What kind of traps are they?" Stennis asked as he looked over the one he had caught with his claws.
"Magical." Holly simply answered as she reached up with her free arm. "Is that a good enough answer for you?"
"Don't talk to my child that way." Storm said angrily.
"Can I talk to you that way, then?" Holly asked as she turned back around, three more of the blue cubes in her clawed hand.
"Shut up." Storm growled.
"Catch." Holly said, easily tossing two of the three out to Riley and Storm, who easily caught the cubes. "To answer your question fully..." Holly continued. "...Each of these cubes have been magically imbued with a trap. The one I'm holding right now has a lasso inside. All I have to do is use it on my mother, she'll be roped up tight, and I'll be able to bring her back to her jail cell."
"What do I have?" Stennis asked.
"Um, I think a magical net." Holly answered in an unsure tone. "Don't quote me on that, though."
"How about mine?" Carmela asked with a smile.
"I don't know." Holly shrugged. "You'll find out when you use them."
"Oh, but you know what yours it." Storm narrowed her eyes.
"Yours is sleeping gas." Holly smiled. "You want to know why I gave it to you?"
"Holly. Storm." Riley tried, holding up his two clawed hands. "Can you both be civil with one another, please? Be adults and be good examples for the kids."
"I don't know, Dad." Carmela smiled. "I think it's entertaining."
"Whatever." Holly grumbled. "Let's just go. According to Haley's instructions, it'll take us a while to get there."
LINE BREAK
The sun was just about ready to start setting when Holly and Riley swooped down, followed by Storm, Stennis and Carmella. Together, they all landed in the front of a very run down, small building.
"Are you sure this is it?" Storm asked.
"We followed the instructions Haley gave us." Holly answered.
"Who is Haley, anyway?" Storm asked.
"The current American Dragon." Holly replied. "Alright, listen up. I've got a plan. I'm going to go in first. You'll wait outside."
"How will we know when to come to your aid?" Stennis asked, turning his head to the side.
"I'll cue you." Holly smiled.
LINE BREAK
Holly slowly walked into the building, where she immediately saw her mother standing in the back of the room, right in front of the four wooden posts, her back to Holly.
"Long time, no see." Holly spoke up.
Smiling evilly, Mrs. Jennings turned around, but her smile immediately vanished when she saw that Holly was alone. "Where's Riley?" Mrs. Jennings asked calmly, even though it was evident that she was mad as hell.
"He's safe." Holly smiled. "So is his family. We just talked this morning. It was surprisingly pleasant. We really should have kept in contact."
"Don't lie to me, Holly." Mrs. Jennings growled, crossing her scaly arms. "I know my Riley visited you."
"He didn't." Holly said.
"You lie."
"I assure you that I'm not lying." Holly said. "In fact, to show that there're no hard feelings between us, why don't we talk as humans?"
"I don't think so, Holly."
"Well, you don't mind if I go human, do you?" Holly continued to smile.
"Absolutely not." Mrs. Jennings smiled herself. Watching as Holly reverted to her human form, Mrs. Jennings continued: "How have things been, Holly? It's been so long. How have you been since I killed TJ?"
There was a flash of anger in Holly's eyes, but she forced herself to smile as she reached into her robes. "I've held up and I've managed to make it big in the Magical World. How was prison? I'm really disappointed, to be perfectly honest, that it didn't age you to the point where you look like a witch, 'cause you are one."
"Don't be a brat, Holly." Mrs. Jennings continued to smile.
Holly just continued to smile as she pulled out her cube. "You know what this is?" She asked.
"No, and I don't care." Mrs. Jennings replied. "Do you know who's behind you?"
"Huh?" Holly asked, just as Affendi's tail came down on the back of her head. Mrs. Jennings' smile widened as she watched Holly's eyes bulged and her walking stick fell to the floor. Holly soon followed, hitting the ground face-first with a thud, Affendi standing behind her.
"Good work." Mrs. Jennings told him.
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Riley and the others were all still waiting outside. "Is she always this slow?" Storm asked, crossing her scaly arms.
"Not that I know of." Riley answered.
"Maybe something happened." Stennis suggested.
"If that's the case..." Storm said. "...Then I think we should just leave."
Unbeknownst to the family of dragons, Skuld, Thi, Maritza and Diomed were all landing a few inches behind them. "You're not going to go anywhere." Skuld spoke, making Riley and his family spin around.
"Who are you?" Carmela asked.
"You all look familiar." Storm agreed with her daughter.
"Um, I think I know why they look familiar." Stennis pointed out. "Mom, I think you saw them on those wanted posters that are posted all over the city."
"The boy's good." Maritza said.
"You're those Dragon Terrorists." Riley said.
"Indeed we are." Thi smiled.
"You're not going to kill us, are you?" Storm asked nervously.
"We'll be waiting until tomorrow for that." Skuld smiled.
Riley and his family all continued to stare at the four dragon terrorists, but Riley's eyes widened and both of his ears twitched after he heard the sound of his mother's voice: "Riley-boy! We meet again." Now, Mrs. Jennings was standing right outside the building, a smile on her face. "Riley, be a good boy and come over to me. We don't need to fight."
"Yes." Riley said. "We do." Then, in a flash, he turned around and ran over to his mother.
"Riley!" Storm shouted as she and her children turned around to watch him.
"No you don't." Skuld growled right before he charged at Storm, and before she could move, tackled her to the ground.
"Mom!" Stennis and Carmela both cried, turning their heads to the side to see their mother hitting the ground. Quickly turning their heads back to normal, the two young dragons flapped their wings and took off into the air.
Seeing this, Skuld glanced up. "After them!" His shout was directed his three lackeys. Thi, Maritza and Diomed flapped their wings and took off into the air, following the kids, but while Skuld was distracted, Storm took the opportunity to elbow Skuld in the side of the face.
With a grunt, Skuld hopped off and took three steps back. Growling with anger, he watched as Storm slowly got up on her feet, facing him. Without warning, Skuld lashed out with his tail and slammed it into her face. With a grunt, she fell back against the ground. She moaned briefly, then was still.
Meanwhile, up in the air, Thi and Maritza slammed their tails into Stennis and Carmela. Both dragons flew back, where Diomed was waiting for them. With a grunt, Diomed used his tail to hit both Stennis and Carmela, sending them back over to Thi and Maritza, who both flew up higher in the air.
Managing to look up, both Carmela and Stennis watched as Thi and Maritza came down on them, slamming their tails down.
Back on the ground, Riley managed to jump back in order to avoid a punch that his mother was throwing at him. When Carmela and Stennis hit the ground, each with a loud thud accompanying their impact, Riley gasped and turned his head to the side, just as his mother threw another punch. Mrs. Jennings' punch hit its mark and Riley grunted, staggering back.
"Mommy doesn't want to hurt her baby..." Mrs. Jennings said.
"Then don't." Riley took a fighting stance.
"We don't have to fight, Riley." Mrs. Jennings said. "All you have to do is agree to join me."
"Join you?" Riley scoffed. "Join you in what?"
"Right, after you killed my brother?" Riley replied. "You wish, mother!"
Mrs. Jennings looked disappointed as she took a deep breath and then exhaled. "Fine." She said. "I won't hurt you, but you leave me no other choice."
"No other choice?" Riley asked, confused. "What?"
With a grunt, Mrs. Jennings lunged for her sun. When she hit him, she managed to knock Riley off of his feet, and together, they somersaulted as they rose up into the air. As they ascended and somersaulted at the same time, Mrs. Jennings grunted as she managed to get her feet up against Riley's belly. Then, she pushed as she flared her wings. Mrs. Jennings stopped while Riley continued to somersault and ascend into the air.
Finally, Riley came to a halt, and as he looked around dizzily, Mrs. Jennings lunged toward him, her arms extended out as if to punch him.
Riley regained his senses quickly; with a quick shake of his head, he was back to normal, and he could see his mother charging at him. With wide eyes, Riley managed to react quickly and he managed to avoid collision by flying downwards, his belly scraping against his mother's back. After they had parted, Riley came to a halt, leaving himself vulnerable for when his mother was able to attack.
Riley then grunted as his mother slammed her tail into his back, sending him flying down to the ground. With a grunt, Riley hit the ground right at the doorway to the building.
Coughing, Riley slowly started to sit up on his knees a few seconds later, just as his mother landed right behind him and quickly managed to capture him in a headlock.
"It's over, Riley." She then. Then, Mrs. Jennings managed to force her son up onto his feet and she turned him so that he could see his fallen family members, Skuld, Maritza, Thi and Diomed standing victorious.
"Absolutely pathetic." Mrs. Jennings said, addressing his family. "I was told good things about them. I was told that they were skilled."
"They are skilled." Riley said defiantly.
"They were defeated in ten seconds." Mrs. Jennings said. "Absolutely pathetic. They are no longer desirable."
"Then let them go." Riley said.
"I don't think so." His mother narrowed her eyes. "I really don't think so..."
BLACKOUT
Groaning, Holly slowly opened her eyes, only to see that the early morning sun was high in the sky. Then, to her surprise, her mother loomed over her, smiling. "Happy 9/11." She said.
Holly attempted to lunge at her, but that was when she found that she was lying on her back on the docks, in her dragon form, black-colored and heavy-feeling ropes wrapped around her snout, her wings, her wrists, her upper body, her ankles and her thighs.
Mrs. Jennings laughed as she watched her daughter start to flop around on her back, struggling to get free.
"Oh, stop it, Holly." Mrs. Jennings said. "Those ropes are re-enforced with unicorn horn and are also enforced with a weight adding spell." Mrs. Jennings then turned and walked over to the edge of the dock. "These waters..." She extended her arms out as Holly lifted her head up. "...Will be your grave. After all these years, you're going to get to see TJ again."
Holly tried to voice her protests, but it was futile.
"I've heard it isn't as bad a way to go as most think." Mrs. Jennings told her daughter as she started to walk back over to her daughter. Once she reached her, Mrs. Jennings grabbed Holly by her hair and started to drag her over to the end of the dock, flipping Holly over onto her belly. Holly continued to struggle, but it did no good.
Finally, Mrs. Jennings reached the end of the dock, and she effortlessly threw her daughter over the edge. In the blink of an eye, Holly disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
"So long, Holly." Mrs. Jennings smiled evilly. Then, she turned and walked over to where Holly had been lying, an old walky-talky right above where Holly's head had been. As soon as Mrs. Jennings reached that area, she bent over and picked up.
"Affendi." She said, putting the walky-talky close to her mouth.
LINE BREAK
"Yeah?" Back at the hideout, Affendi answered Mrs. Jennings' call with a walky-talky of his own.
"I've disposed of Holly." Came Mrs. Jennings' response.
"Great." Affendi said. He was standing beside the still dragon-formed Riley, who was sitting on his knees, a length of chains wrapped around his upper body four times, her clawed hands chained behind his back. Riley was multitasking, paying attention to Affendi's call and watching his dragon-formed family, Carmela, Stennis and Storm all chained up to three of the four posts. "So what do you need me to do?" Affendi asked.
"The Empire State Building." Mrs. Jennings replied.
"What about it?" Affendi asked.
"Go there and bring my son with you." Mrs. Jennings answered, her tone implying that she thought Affendi was a total imbecile. "I'll meet you there with the dark magic."
"Got it." Affendi said before he lowered the walky-talky.
"Wait." Riley said as he turned his head to the side and then looked up at Affendi. "Dark magic."
"Shut up and get on your feet." Affendi said, not even bothering to look down at him.
A few seconds later, Riley was forced out the door, Affendi then walking up to his side as soon as he had exited. However, the two only walked right into Skuld and Thi.
"Where are you taking him?" Skuld asked as he and Thi took a step back.
"I have orders to take him to the Empire State Building." Affendi answered.
"And what about the others?" Skuld asked.
"Keep them here until further notice." Affendi answered.
"What about our plan?" Thi demanded.
"Your friend promised us-" Skuld started angrily, pointing at Affendi, but Affendi cut him off.
"That's not my problem." Affendi said. "Take that up with her, not me."
"How about if I kill you?" Skuld threatened.
"Look." Affendi narrowed his eyes, getting impatient. "Just calm your tail down! Just wait another hour or two. You still have all day."
"We want to make an impression on the day." Thi said.
"And you still can." Affendi said. "Now, if you'll excuse us..."
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Holly landed at the bottom of the body of water on her belly. Struggling to get free so she could live, Holly managed to roll over onto her back, her eyes as wide as large dinner plates. She was already starting to run out of air, and she was panicking.
After about five more seconds of useless struggling, Holly squeezed her eyes shut, taking in a deep breath of water. Her body desperately needed air, but all she got was water, causing her body to instinctively cough and gag, but she couldn't because of the ropes keeping her mouth shut.
Panicking, Holly could do nothing but glance around from side to side, trying to think of something to do to save herself.
Finally, she got an idea. Calming herself, Holly closed her eyes and focused, light coming from her body and forming into a doppelganger.
The newly formed doppelganger glanced down at its creator, who gave it a panicked look.
LINE BREAK
A few moments later, Holly, now free, emerged from the water, taking a deep breath of air. Holly grabbed hold of the dock and, taking many deep breaths, forced herself up. Once on the dock, Holly rolled over onto her back. Her doppelganger then flew out from the water and landed down on the dock right in front of its creator, looking down.
"Thank you." Holly managed in a relieved tone after she had caught her breath.
"Do...Do you need help up?" Her doppelganger asked.
"That'd be great..." Holly managed. She then reached up and grabbed her doppelganger's clawed hand. "Just...be careful." Holly ordered.
"Why?" Her doppelganger asked. "Is it the leg?"
"Yep."
LINE BREAK
On the Empire State Building, Riley grunted as he was tossed down onto his back. Affendi turned and walked over to the edge of the roof, while Riley grunted, forcing himself up into a sitting position.
"Where are you?" Affendi growled to himself, wondering where Mrs. Jennings was.
LINE BREAK
Back on the dock, Holly's doppelganger helped the real Holly get up onto her feet, the doppelganger's arm behind her neck.
"Thanks." Holly said as her doppelganger stepped away.
Exhaling, Holly reverted to her human form. "What are you doing?" The holly doppelganger asked, turning its head to the side.
"I've got to find Riley." Holly said as she reached into her robes. "I'm going to call him." She said, pulling her communication device out of her robes.
"Are you sure you'll be able to find him?"
"I think this thing has caller ID..." Holly replied as she pressed a button on the device.
LINE BREAK
Back on the Empire State Building, Riley grunted, struggling against the chains holding him as he watched Affendi, who still had his back to him, waiting for Mrs. Jennings to arrive.
However, Affendi could hear Riley's grunts and he could hear the sounds of the chains being pulled at. "Sit still." Affendi ordered as he turned his head to the side.
Riley growled at him in response, but nonetheless sat still, only to have his eyes widen as he heard a ringing coming from within his person a few seconds later.
"What is that?" Affendi demanded, spinning around quickly.
"My...My communication device." Riley answered.
LINE BREAK
Back on the dock, Holly placed her communication device back into her robes. Then, she turned her head to the side. "He's on the Empire State Building." She announced to her doppelganger.
"What do you think he's doing there?" Her doppelganger asked.
"He must be in danger."
"Do you need help?" The doppelganger offered.
"Sorry, but I think I can handle it." Holly replied. Then, she turned her head back to normal and her doppelganger morphed into blue light, going back into Holly's body.
With the doppelganger gone, Holly transformed into her dragon form in a bright light. Flapping her wings, she took off into the air.
LINE BREAK
Mrs. Jennings arrived at the Empire State Building and landed on the roof, a ball of glowing light blue magic in her clawed hands. She could see that Affendi was standing next to her seated son. "Miss me?" Mrs. Jennings asked her son with a smile.
"Not really." Riley replied. "What's that you've got?"
"Your future." Mrs. Jennings said as she started to walk over to her son.
"I don't think so." Riley protested.
"Don't worry, Riley." His smiling mother said as she stopped in front of him. "It won't hurt you at all. I am telling you the truth. You won't even be changed by it." Then, after a beat, her smile widened. "Okay, maybe that was a lie..."
"I'm fine with my personality right now." Riley replied.
"But that just won't do." Mrs. Jennings said. "I've got other plans for you!" With this declaration, Mrs. Jennings raised the magic up above her head, as if to throw the magic into her son's body.
However, before she could, a torrent of fire went right by Mrs. Jennings and hit Affendi, making him grunt as he was thrown back. "Huh?" Mrs. Jennings asked, lowering her arms back down while Riley's eyes widened. Mrs. Jennings turned around, only to see Holly hovering right above the roof.
"I thought I killed you..." Mrs. Jennings growled.
"Now, Mom..." Holly smiled. "...Didn't I prove to you back when I was a teenager that I'm a hard one to kill?"
"True." Mrs. Jennings said, watching as Holly landed down on the roof, wincing as she put weight down on her bad leg. Mrs. Jennings chuckled.
"What's so amusing?" Holly asked.
"I can't help but think of how similar out circumstances are to mine and Teddy's, all those years ago." Mrs. Jennings continued to smile. "We were high up on a building and we were fighting for the last time. How do you think it's going to end now, Holly?"
"Differently." Holly narrowed her eyes.
"Indeed it will." Mrs. Jennings said. Quickly, she spun around to throw the dark magic into her son's body, but when she saw that Riley was no longer behind her, her eyes widened. Then, she yelped in pain, dropping the dark magic to the ground, where it vanished into thin air, as Holly's tail slammed into her back, throwing her upwards towards the pole all the way up at the top of the building.
Grunting, Mrs. Jennings managed to reach out and grab onto the pole, putting her feet against it at well. Turning her head to the side, Mrs. Jennings smiled as she watched her daughter flying after her. Letting go of the pole, Mrs. Jennings flew higher into the air. Seconds later, Mrs. Jennings' tail came down and wrapped around Holly's neck, making her daughter stop and widen her eyes.
"Hey!" Holly protested right before her mother forced her head-first against the pole. Dazed, Holly flew back, right into a headlock that her mother trapped her in. "Let me go!" Holly ordered as she struggled.
"Let's end this, Holly." Mrs. Jennings told her, smiling evilly.
Back on the ground, Affendi groaned as he started to stand up after hitting the wall. However, as soon as he was on his feet, he cried out and grunted as he was once again thrown against the wall, Riley using his foot. Affendi narrowed his eyes as he stared at Riley, who, while still held in chains, was fighting back.
"You can't take me." Affendi growled. "Not like that."
"I'm willing to find out if you are." Riley growled.
Affendi smiled briefly before he opened his mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, making Riley cry out as the fire hit him and pushed him back. Grunting, Riley landed on his back.
"This should be easy." Affendi declared.
Riley grunted as he forced himself up into a sitting position. "I'm all for making it easy for you." He said.
"Then let's finish this." Affendi started to walk towards Riley, but before he could reach Riley, Riley slammed his tail into Affendi's chest, making him grunt and fall to the ground.
"Oops!" Riley smiled. "I guess I lied.
Growling as he rolled over onto his belly, Affendi watched as Riley reverted to his human form in a bright light, his chains becoming loose. Affendi continued to watch as Riley pulled himself free from the chains and stood up.
"No!" Affendi shouted. Jumping up, Affendi charged at Riley, but just before he could reach him, Riley bent his knees and jumped into the air. Looking up, Affendi watched as Riley twirled as he ascended, becoming engulfed in a bright light as he transformed into his dragon form again.
"I don't think so..." Affendi growled to himself.
As soon as the light faded from around Riley, he grinned and looked down, only to see that Affendi was gone. Quickly, Riley turned around, seeing Affendi fly as far away from the building as quickly as he could.
LINE BREAK
Back at the lair of Skuld and the others, Stennis grunted as he struggled against his chains. His mother and his sister on the other hand, watched Skuld, Thi, Diomed and Maritza, who were all together huddled in a circle.
"I'm sick of this." Skuld growled. "I don't want to just wait around and watch over these three. I want to go out and fulfill my plans!"
As the terrorist dragons discussed matters that were important to them, Stennis grunted as he tried to get his arms behind the post that he was chained to.
"Stennis, just-" Storm started as she turned her head to the side to look at him, but she froze when she saw that Stennis had gotten his arms behind the post and was now trying to reach up to the lock to his chains with one of his clawed hands.
"What are you doing, son?" Storm asked in a hushed voice.
"Trying to get free." Stennis answered after grunting again, struggling to reach the lock.
"Do you think you'll be able to?" Carmela asked, turning her head to the side as well.
"I don't know." Stennis answered, then grunted again.
Back at the dragon terrorist's circle, Thi spoke up: "I think we should just go ahead and leave these three. They're chained up. They can't go anywhere."
"That dragon will have it out for us if we leave, though." Diomed replied, reaching up to his chest and starting to pick.
"We'll be dead." Skuld growled. "Why should we care?"
"I think it would be wise to just wait." Maritza said. "Just one more hour."
"An hour?!" Skuld did not like this idea.
"The day is young, is it not, Skuld?" Maritza asked, crossing her scaly arms. "Just one hour. If the others aren't back by then-"
"Then screw it." Skuld growled.
"Exactly." Maritza said with a nod.
Meanwhile, Stennis grunted as he managed to get his index claw into the lock of his chains. His mother and younger sister both watching with wide eyes, Stennis grunted as he managed to turn his claw, unlocking the lock with a click.
The chains fell to the floor and Stennis quickly walked around his mother's pole and put one of his index claws into the lock of the chains. With a turn of his claw, accompanied by a clicking sound, Storm smiled with relief as her chains fell to the ground.
"Free your sister!" Storm whispered as she spread her wings. "Then join in the fight!" With a flap of her wings, she took off into the air, just as Maritza, Thi, Diomed and Skuld all returned to a single line to watch over the prisoners. Storm slammed into both Thi and Skuld, pushing them both back, causing Maritza and Diomed to turn their heads to their sides in shock.
However, both dragons quickly turned their heads back to normal, just in time to see Carmela's chains fall to the ground. Carmela and Stennis then started to fly towards them.
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Holly and her mother continued their fight, each diving down the side of the Empire State Building. Grunting, Mrs. grunted as she pulled her arm back and delivered a punch to her daughter's face.
Grunting, Holly flew back and spread her wings, stopping her descent, while Mrs. Jennings continued to descend. Turning as she flew down, Mrs. Jennings then made a u-turn upwards and opened her mouth, glowing a large torrent of fire up at her daughter. The fire hit Holly, making her scream as she was pushed upwards.
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Storm jumped back in order to avoid a punch from Thi and a whack from Skuld's tail. Growling in anger, Thi charged at Storm, but Storm flipped backwards, standing on her clawed hands as she lashed out with her tail, hitting Thi in the chest, and making her screech as she was thrown at the door. Storm landed on her feet again just in time to see Skuld charging for her.
Outside, Thi grunted as she landed on her back, briefly skidding across the ground. Growling, Thi slowly got up onto her feet, completely unaware that Riley was returning to the building, descending down.
Reverting to his human form, Riley landed right behind Thi. Reaching into the pocket of his pants, Riley pulled out the cube his sister had given him. Briefly, Riley looked at it, and then he narrowed his eyes and threw it at Thi, who started to walk back towards the entrance of the lair. After only two steps, the cube hit her in the back, exploding into a green, electrical net. Shrieking, Thi fell forward onto her belly, trapped under the net.
Smirking, Riley transformed back into his dragon form in a bright light. As soon as the light faded, the now dragon-formed Riley stared at the doorway, able to see his wife's fight with Skuld. Riley watched as Skuld managed to punch his wife in the face, making Storm stumbled back, but as she did, Storm managed to wrap her tail around Skuld's ankle, pulling him and making him fall over onto his back.
LINE BREAK
Back at the Empire State Building, Mrs. Jennings blew a ball of fire into her clawed hand and then threw it at her daughter, who moved to the side in order to dodge it.
"You're nothing but a coward, Holly!" Mrs. Jennings mocked with a grin. "Why don't you take a hit like a real dragon?"
"Why don't you?" Holly spat back.
Without another word, Mrs. Jennings then started to fly at her daughter, lashing out with her tail as soon as she reached her. The tail hit Holly in the chest and threw her back, twirling out of control with a yell.
As soon as Holly stopped flying backwards and twirling, she quickly opened her mouth and blew out a torrent of fire. Mrs. Jennings did as well, and their torrents of fire met, blocking one another's out.
LINE BREAK
Stennis grunted as he was forced to jump back in order to avoid Maritza swiping him with her claws. Growling in anger, Maritza quickly took a step forward and tried to punch Stennis, but he quickly ducked and lashed out with his tail, hitting Maritza in the chest, throwing her backwards where she landed on her back with a grunt.
Turning to the side, Stennis watched as his sister and Diomed wrestled with each other, their clawed hands locked.
Quickly, Stennis decided to go to the aid of his sister, but after only one step, Maritza slammed into him, slamming his back against one of the wooden posts.
"You're not going anywhere!" Maritza growled as she wrapped both of her clawed hands around Stennis' neck, starting to choke him.
LINE BREAK
In the air, Mrs. Jennings and Holly were still locked in a battle of flaming torrents of fire. Quickly, Mrs. Jennings cut her fire off and quickly lowered herself. Then, she started to fly towards her daughter below the flames.
Reaching Holly, Mrs. Jennings rammed her head into her belly, causing Holly to close her mouth and once again, throwing her backwards while she twirled. This time, though, Holly managed to stop herself sooner.
"Stop that!" She ordered.
"Make me." Mrs. Jennings smiled.
"Oh, trust me." Holly narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to." Then, with a smile, she reverted to her human form, starting to plummet down to the ground below.
"What the...?" Mrs. Jennings quickly looked down, her eyes wide with shock.
"Come on, come on!" Holly whispered to herself as she fell, panicking as she fished around inside her robes. "Come on! Where are you?"
Finally, her face lit up as she found what she was looking for; as she pulled her hand out of her robes, she held onto her cube that she had brought with her. Then, in a bright light, she transformed back into her dragon form.
As she saw her daughter stop falling after she had transformed, Mrs. Jennings growled and dove down.
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Maritza had an evil grin on her face as she continued to choke Stennis. To the side of them, Diomed hit Carmela in the chest with his tail, throwing her backwards onto the ground.
"Stay down." Diomed ordered, but Carmela refused and slowly got up on her feet.
"No." She said. Growling, Diomed charged at Carmela and tackled her to the ground.
Meanwhile, Maritza tightened her grip around Stennis' throat. Stennis was struggling for breath and he was glancing in all directions, panicking. Finally, his eyes widened as he realized the solution to his problem.
Sighing, as if in defeat, Stennis allowed himself to revert to his human form in a bright light. Thinking she had won, Maritza smiled victoriously and pulled her clawed hands away, but once the light had faded, she could see Stennis, prepared to defeat her with the cube Holly had given him in his hand. Maritza's smile vanished as Stennis lunged for her, the cube touching her scaly belly.
As the cube touched her by one of its points, the cube shattered into many pieces. Quickly, Stennis pulled his hand back and watched as a light, transparent blue glow spread around the shocked Maritza, trapping her in a force-field that was shaped like her body.
"Carmela!" Stennis shouted as he turned, running over to his sister's aid.
LINE BREAK
Back at the Empire State Building, Mrs. Jennings continued to fly down to attack her daughter. Holly narrowed her eyes and then threw the cube up at her mother. However, Mrs. Jennings managed to stop and caught it with her tail before it could hit her.
"Now, what is this?" Mrs. Jennings asked as she tossed it up into her waiting clawed hands.
"Give it to me and you'll find out." Holly said as she flew up to her mother's level and then held out her clawed hand.
"I don't think so." Mrs. Jennings replied.
"Then I'll make you!" Holly shouted before she flew at her mother.
LINE BREAK
Diomed and Carmela were locked together, wrestling against each other with their claws. Finally, Diomed got the upper hand and he turned to the side, throwing Carmela backwards and making her hit the wall.
Diomed started to walk towards Carmela, but after only one step, he grunted as Stennis tackled him behind, knocking him to the ground.
"Stennis, what are you doing?" Carmela asked with wide eyes.
"The cube snare that Dad's sister gave us!" Stennis shouted at her as he struggled to hold down the struggling Diomed. "Where's yours? Use it!"
"Um, okay!" Carmela shouted back with a nod.
Reverting to her human form, Carmela reached into her baseball jersey and pulled out the cube. "Now throw it at him!" Stennis shouted.
"Um, okay..." Carmela seemed unsure about this, but nonetheless raised it above her head, preparing to throw it.
"No!" Stennis shouted. "Wait until I get off!"
"Then get off!" Carmela shouted.
At that moment, Stennis grunted as Diomed jumped up, throwing Stennis from his back. "Now!" Stennis shouted, even as he flew back. Then, he grunted as he hit the floor.
Diomed took a step forward, but Carmela threw the trap at him. "No!" Diomed panicked. However, before he could do anything, the cube hit him, shattering into many pieces and causing a giant magical blue hand to appear and grabbed the shocked and horrified dragon.
Meanwhile, Riley continued to watch both the trapped Thi and his wife, who was pushed back by Skuld's tail. Storm was panting, and she had several bruises on her body, but she was still standing. Skuld, on the other hand, looked fine and fit. Skuld smiled.
"Why don't you just give in and make this easier on yourself?" He asked her.
"Never!" Storm spat.
"I captured you so easily last time..." Skuld mused, sounding disappointed that she was putting up a fight now.
"That's because you caught me by surprise." Storm replied. "That's not going to happen this time."
"It doesn't need to." Skuld replied simply. Then, he lashed out with his tail.
LINE BREAK
Up in the air at the Empire State Building, Holly, who was right by her mother tried to reach up to grab the cube that Mrs. Jennings held, only to grunt as her mother pushed her back with her tail.
"Very weak, Holly." Mrs. Jennings taunted. "Surely, you can do better than that."
Growling, Holly flew at her mother, who smiled and then blew out a torrent of fire. Holly, however, managed to duck and fly below the flames, just like her mother had done. When Holly reached her mother, she rammed her head into her belly.
Grunting, Mrs. Jennings closed her mouth as she and her daughter went flying backwards, twirling together.
As mother and daughter went flying back, Holly stayed by her mother and faced her as she tried to grab the blue cube that her mother held onto. However, Mrs. Jennings growled and pulled her hand away from Holly's.
However, Holly thought quickly and attacked, head-butting her mother. As Mrs. Jenkins grunted and threw her head back, Holly managed to grab the blue cube.
By that point, the two of them had stopped twirling, but Holly still flew back for a few more seconds before she came to a stop. Immediately, Holly smiled victoriously and hoisted her arm into the air.
"I did it!" She declared, right before her mother's tail came down right on her head, causing her to start plummeting to the ground.
"No, you didn't, Holly." Mrs. Jennings said as she looked down at her daughter as she fell. Then, Mrs. Jennings dove down after her.
A few seconds later, Holly landed down hard on a sidewalk right in front of an office building. As she grunted, her blue cube flew out of her hand and bounced/rolled down by her leg and past her feet, finally coming to rest about a foot away from her.
Moaning, Holly sat up, only to have her mother land right in front of her. "The fall that TJ took wasn't half as long as the one you just survived." Mrs. Jennings seemed disappointed. "And he died."
"I must be special." Holly replied. "You really can't kill me."
Growling with anger, Mrs. Jennings leaned over and picked Holly up by her shoulders, turning her and slamming her into the building, holding her there.
"How are you still alive?!" Mrs. Jennings demanded.
"The same could be said of you." Holly replied calmly. "Aren't you going to be like 80 or something?"
"I'm not that old!" Mrs. Jennings shouted. "I'm seventy-one, you brat!" Mrs. Jennings then aimed a punch for her daughter's face and quickly threw it, but Holly was able to break free from her mother's hold and was able to duck. Mrs. Jennings' fist hit the building right before Holly slammed into her and pushed her away.
Back on the sidewalk, Holly turned her mother around and threw a punch, hitting her mother in the face. Grunting, Mrs. Jennings grunted as she flew back, landing on the blue cube. Gasping, Mrs. Jennings could do nothing as a magical lasso rope ensnared her, pinning her arms to her sides.
As Mrs. Jennings struggled, Holly limped over to her. As soon as she reached her mother, she smiled. "You look great for seventy, Mom." She said. "You haven't aged a day since I last saw you."
"Shut up, Holly." Mrs. Jennings growled as she stopped struggling.
"Maybe that means that you're going to live an extra long life." Holly continued to smile.
"That makes you happy?" Mrs. Jennings smirked. "You don't want to kill me?"
"It's not that I don't want to kill you." Holly shrugged. "It's that I just want to watch you rot in prison, which you're going to."
"Not likely." Mrs. Jennings smiled. The next thing Holly knew, Mrs. Jennings brought her tail up, her tail holding an old walky-talky, Mrs. Jennings putting it to her mouth. "Come in!" Mrs. Jennings said.
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Skuld threw back Storm with his tail. As Storm hit the ground with a grunt, Skuld's eye widened as he heard the sound of Mrs. Jennings' voice from his person.
"Come in." She said.
"I'm here." Skuld said.
"Good." Mrs. Jennings replied. "Use that grenade in your eye. You want to use it to take some lives? Well, your chance is now. Kill the prisoners."
LINE BREAK
Grinning, Mrs. Jennings took the walky-talky away from her face. "Riley's wife and kids are going to have an explosive afternoon!"
"No!" Holly declared, her eyes widening.
"Oh, what are you going to do about it, Holly?" Mrs. Jennings mocked, lifting her head up.
"I...I..." Holly could only say. Wincing as she took a step back, she finished: "I...I have to save them!"
"Good luck." Mrs. Jennings scoffed.
Holly paid no attention to this; turning around as quickly as she could, she flapped her wings and took off into the air, flying away.
LINE BREAK
Back in the lair, Skuld grinned as he reached up to his eye, preparing to take out the safety pin. However, before he could, Storm got to her feet and shouted as she charged at him.
"You've got to be kidding me." Skuld rolled his eye before he opened his mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, which hit Storm in the chest, making her grunt as she was thrown backwards, landing on her back.
"You can't stop me." Skuld said as he slowly reached up to the safety pin. "And now, this whole building is going to go up in flames!"
"No!" Storm shouted as she got back onto her feet, running at Skuld. As she reached him, Storm tried to throw a punch, but Skuld managed to jump back, and then he lashed out with his tail, hitting Storm in the chest.
Storm was thrown backwards and once again, she slammed against the ground. "No..." She weakly protested as she lifted her head up, watching as Skuld reached up and grabbed the safety pin.
Closing his eye, Skuld took a deep breath as he prepared for the end. However, before he could pull the pin out, Holly's tail came down on the back of his head. Skuld grunted, and he opened his eye as it bulged out.
Storm's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she watched Skuld fall down onto the floor, Holly standing behind him, with Riley standing right behind her.
"Y...You..." Storm muttered.
"You okay?" Holly asked. She then started to limp over to her, and once she reached her, offered her a clawed hand. "Need help?" Holly smiled.
"Y...Yeah." Storm said easily before she took Holly's hand. "Thanks, I guess. I guess you aren't all that bad."
"That really warms the cockles of my heart." Holly replied. She then winced as she took a step back, helping Storm get to her feet. Then, their hands parted.
LINE BREAK
A short time later, Skuld, Thi, Diomed and Maritza all sat against the poles in the back of the room, bound with chains, Carmela and Stennis walking over to them to stand guard.
Meanwhile, Holly, now with her walking stick back, watched Storm scorn her husband. "Why didn't you help me take that goon?" Storm demanded. "He thrashed me one! You could have helped! But no, you just stood there!"
"Storm, I was watching over one of the dragons." Riley defended himself.
"She was under a net!" Storm hissed. "She wasn't going anywhere!"
"Storm, I-"
"Don't." Storm narrowed her eyes. "You're really angering me. All you've done recently is prove to me that I made the wrong choice when I chose to marry you."
Hearing this, Riley's eyes filled with hurt. "Storm, I-"
"Hey, Storm." Holly said, narrowing her eyes, making Storm and Riley turn around to face her. "He's my little brother. Only I can treat him that way."
"Holly, don't get involved." Riley advised.
"All I'm saying..." Holly said, her tone softening. "...Is to cut him some slack. No one is perfect and Riley does his best."
"Thanks, Holly." Riley smiled genuinely while Storm stared at Holly with an unsure look growing on her face.
"Just give him one last chance." Holly said. "Just think about it." As she said this, she took a step back.
"Going somewhere?" Riley asked.
"Mother's waiting to be taken back to prison." Holly smiled. "She looked so awfully excited when I left her to come to your rescue. I'd hate to leave her waiting too much longer."
"You just left her?!" Riley asked, his eyes widening while Storm face-palmed.
"Hey, give your big sister some credit." Holly's smile widened. "Mom was trapped in my snare. There's no way she could have escaped."
LINE BREAK
Mrs. Jennings had indeed escaped, leaving behind the sliced through lasso rope on the sidewalk. The sound of flapping wings could be heard as Holly flew down, landing in front of the cut ropes.
Immediately, Holly dropped her walking stick and her eyes widened.
"No..." Was all Holly could say.
LINE BREAK
On the Island of Draco, Holly, now in her human form, sat in the Main Hall, staring at the holographic image of the police officer, which was coming from her communication device.
"You never again have to worry about those dragon terrorists." Holly said with a smile on her face. "They're all on this island, where they will remain locked in separate cells for the rest of their lives."
At that moment, the doors to the Main Hall were opened and Jake walked inside with the human forms of Riley, Storm, Stennis and Carmela.
"Make sure they remain locked up." The police officer said before his holographic image faded, Jake and the others stopping right in front of the table.
"Did you work everything out?" Holly asked Riley.
"One last chance." Storm replied, taking her husband's hand.
"Good." Holly smiled again.
"What are we doing here?" Stennis asked.
"Well, I failed to capture my mother." Holly said. "Who knows how long it will take to recapture her. What we do know is that all of you are in grave peril."
"What are you going to do about that?" Carmela asked.
"My suggestion is that you all go into hiding." Holly said. "Change your names, change your appearances; Hell, even give away your magical lives and instead go live normal ones."
"That isn't nearly as fun." Carmela said.
"Do you want to be in constant danger?" Holly asked.
"No." Carmela replied.
"Okay then." Holly said. "So...what's your verdict, Riley?"
Riley and Storm both looked at each other for a few seconds before they turned their heads back to look at Holly. "Yes." They said in unison, then Riley took over: "I think that's a good idea."
"I'll contact the Magical Creature Protection Program." Holly told them.
LINE BREAK
Later that night, Riley, Storm, Stennis and Carmela, all in their dragon forms, all walked to the ledge of the island, where the human-formed Holly was standing with two cloaked figures at each of her sides, four pieces of paper in her hands.
"Well..." Holly said as they stopped in front of her. "...This is it. You are no longer Riley, Storm, Stennis and Carmela Jennings."
"We aren't?" Carmela seemed distressed by this.
"Of course you are." Holly smiled. "You will always be Carmela Jennings. People just won't know that. They'll think you're..." She paused briefly to look down at the papers she held. "...Bethany Jones."
"I don't like that name." Carmela said.
"I'm sure you'll grow to like it." Holly said as she looked up from the paper. "Stennis, you're going to be Douglas Jones. Riley, you're going to be Dante Jones. Storm, you're going to be Kelly Jones."
"Where are we going to be living?" Riley asked.
"That I don't know." Holly said.
"Wait, so we're never going to see you again?" Stennis asked.
"It...doesn't look like it." Holly replied as she lowered the papers. "Yeah...Um, if it's any consolation, I enjoyed being your Aunt Holly for two days."
"It sure was interesting." Stennis forced himself to smile.
"Thank you, Holly." Riley said as he took a step forward. "Really, for everything. Without you-"
"She would have gotten us." Stennis took over.
Holly took a deep breath as her brother walked over to her, looking down. "It was really nice to see you again, Holly." Riley said. "I thought it wouldn't, but-"
"I agree." Holly said as she looked up to look him in the eye. "You've really grown up, Riley."
"You have too." Riley smiled.
"You're not such a little turd after all, are you?" Holly asked as she reached out and touched her brother's scaly chest.
"Funny." Riley's smile widened. "I never thought that I was."
A few moments later, Holly watched as her younger brother and his family all flew away from the island, following the two cloaked figures.
As soon as they were out of sight, Holly sighed before she turned and started to walk away from the ledge of the island.
BLACKOUT; END
A/N: Please review. Next up, we have the next film, which will focus on a villain from the next series. It will be called "Death Heart". It'll be up soon.