Chinese Dragon: Luong Lao-Shi: The Bodyguard Dragon

by Fudogg

The first of four "films" that goes into Lao-Shi's back story.

Chinese Dragon: Luong Lao-Shi: The Bodyguard Dragon

A/N: This is the first of four films that serve as a prequel to AD:JL, AD:HL and FD:RL. Also, unless it says different, everything is said in Chinese (even though English was apparently the official language in Hong Kong up to about 1974) and the opening italics is narration, which is one of the things that is in English.

Disclaimer: I don't own American Dragon or any of the characters. Just my OCs.

Hong Kong, 1957. At age fifteen, I, Lao-Shi, was the Chinese Dragon. It was the grooviest thing imaginable. I was a large, powerful dragon; I could do just about anything I wished. The Magical World appreciated my hard work and I was quite a celebrity. Unfortunately, being a dragon also had disadvantages as well...

Out of the clouds flew a young blue-colored dragon and an old, wrinkly Jazzberry Jam-colored dragon with long, flowing grey hair, who were side-by-side. Smiling, fifteen year old Lao-Shi looked down at the ground.

All the way down, he could spot five girls walking along the sidewalk. "Lao-Shi!" The voice of his Dragon Master made Lao-Shi stop smiling as he looked up. Stopping the flapping of his wings, Lao-Shi turned his head to the side to see that his Master had stopped.

"My apologies, Master Zhuo..." Lao-Shi said as he turned around in the air.

"You must pay attention to where you are going, my pupil." Zhuo told her student sternly. "My home is not that way, it is this way..." As she said this, she extended her arm and pointed out into the distance beside her.

"I am aware..." Lao-Shi answered respectfully.

As the two dragons flew off, the five girls continued to walk down the sidewalk, all five of them wearing the standard school uniform for girls: a long-sleeved white blouse with the school insignia, a tie, a skirt that went down to their knee-caps and a pair of high-heeled shoes. The first of the five girls had long, straight black hair that went down to her back, while the second girl had short brown, slicked hair like a boy's. The third girl had hair that went down to her back like the first girl's, but unlike the first girl's, the third girl's hair was black on half of her head and blonde on the other half. The fourth and fifth girls were identical, both of them having long Tea Rose-colored hair that was in a loose pony-tail.

"I feel like we're being given too much homework!" Complained the second girl as they walked.

"Tell me about it!" The first girl smiled, turning her head to the side. "I feel overly worked here! I'm only fifteen years old and I'm swamped with not only school work, but also drag-" However, before saying anymore, the first girl stopped in her tracks and quickly turned her head back to normal. "Never mind..."

"No, say it, Bao..." The second girl smiled.

"No, just forget it..." The first girl, Bao, replied.

"You two actually think that homework is the worst that could happen?" The third girl spoke up. "I can name something far worse!"

"What?" The first girl with the Tea Rose-colored hair asked, turning her head to the side.

"Today, in Math class, Mrs. Liu used her ruler on my wrist three times..." Lifting up her wrist, she looked down on it and said in a pathetic tone: "...It still stings..."

"That's because you misbehave all the time, Jia Li." The second girl said as she turned her head to the side, making Jia Li look up, lower her wrist and turn her head to the side. "Maybe if you behaved more often like us, you wouldn't have so many bruises."

"I do behave!" Jia Li defended herself.

"I'm just saying..." The second girl replied with a smile on her face as she slowly turned her head back to normal.

"Well, at least I try to live a good life, unlike you, Hsiu Mei!" Jia Li replied, turning her head to the side. "You're so uptight, just like Mrs. Liu!"

"Having fun doesn't mean taking actions that will always get you reprimanded." The second girl, Hsiu Mei turned her head back to the side to stare at Jia Li. "Just ask Bao, Riu or Niu. I have fun. And it's safe fun..."

By this time, the five girls had reached a large building, all of them stopping as Bao turned to the side, smiling at them. "Alright, guys." She said. "This is my stop. I'll see you all tomorrow. Hsui Mei..." She acknowledged, making Hsui Mei turn her head to side and smile.

"...Jia Li..."

"See you." Jia Li replied as the two Tea-Rose hair-colored girls turned to the side.

"Niu. Riu." Bao smiled at them.

"See you in class tomorrow!" Both girls said in unison.

Smiling again, Bao turned around and reached out, pulling open the glass door to the building and stepping inside. As the door closed behind her, Bao smiled pleasantly as she walked down the hall of the building before reaching a flight of stairs, which she started to climb.

LINE BREAK

In an apartment room, a balding man lied on a couch wearing only boxer shorts, while a black-haired woman lied on top of him, kissing him passionately, while wearing nothing herself except for lingerie.

However, with the sound of the door to the apartment room opening and closing, both man and woman, who lifted her head up, turned their heads to the side to see Bao stepping into the room. Upon seeing both the man and the woman, Bao sighed as she turned around and closed the door. Then, she turned back around, putting her hands on her hips, a scowl on her face.

"What, sweetie?" The balding man asked.

"Don't say that to me!" Bao snapped at him. "You seeing that woman all the time is the reason why I don't see Mother anymore!"

"Bao..." The balding man tried, but Bao ignored him and instead turned, walking away.

Entering the kitchen, Bao walked over to the refrigerator that was on the other side of the room. Upon reaching it, Bao quickly pulled it open, reached in and pulled out a bottle of soda. Closing the refrigerator, Bao turned back around, only to gasp. As she heard the sound of the front door of the apartment closing, she watched as the balding man walked into the kitchen.

"Bao, please..." He said.

"Leave me alone..." Bao narrowed her eyes as she said this, walking to the exit and passing by the balding man.

However, the balding man would not give up; turning around, he called out: "I'm your father, Bao! Show me some respec-!" However, before he could finish, he flinched as he heard the sound of the door slamming.

LINE BREAK

Sliding off her backpack, which dropped to the floor, Bao started to walk over to her bed, which was in the center of the room.

As soon as Bao reached her bed, she slowly turned her head to the side to look at her nightstand, where on top of her alarm clock, was a wizard wand with a chain around it.

Turning to the side, Bao reached out and took the wand gently in both of her hands.

FLASHBACK

Bao was standing in a room wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of black shorts and she stared at the door to the next room as it slowly opened. Black high-heeled shoes made contact with the ground repeatedly before they stopped in front of Bao.

"My child..." A soft female voice said as two gentle hands came up, holding a wand with a chain attached. "...Even though you have taken after your father in that you have dragon powers and not wizard skills, I still believe that you should have this..."

Bao blinked back tears as she slowly reached up and took the wand from the hands of the woman. "Do you really have to leave me, Mother?" She asked.

"Unfortunately so..." Replied the woman as she slowly lowered her hands. "...But I also believe that you should have something to remember me by. Also, in case you get into any trouble that not just your dragon powers can solve..."

"You mean..." Bao asked, looking down at the want. "...That...That this actually works?"

"I have put some of my own magic into that wand." The woman replied. "So, yes. It is useable."

"I'll use it well, Mother." Bao promised as she looked back up at her mother. "I promise..."

"I'm certain that you will, my child..."

END FLASHBACK

Back in her room, Bao's head was lowered as she held the wand close to her chest. "Mother..."

LINE BREAK

Meanwhile, an apartment room had its window wide open. Seconds later, Dragon Master Zhuo flew into the room and landed on the floor as Lao-Shi flew in through the window as well, landing on the floor.

As Dragon Mast Zhuo turned around, still in dragon form, Lao-Shi revered to his human form in a bright light. As soon as the light faded, Lao-Shi was standing in his human form: He had black hair and was very short for his age. He wore a school uniform of a white, button-up shirt and tie underneath a buttoned-up dark blue jacket with the school insignia on the side, completed with a pair of dark blue pants and black shoes.

Shaking her head once, Dragon Master Zhuo put her clawed hands on her hips. "Very well, Lao-Shi." She said. "Then that is all for today. You may go."

LINE BREAK

Lao-Shi was walking down the streets of the city. However, as he passed by a building, he froze when he heard the sound of a male's voice, yelling in English: "Lao-Shi! Up here!"

Looking up, Lao-Shi could see a boy with short brown hair that was slicked back looking down at him. The boy wore the exact same uniform as Lao-Shi, although his jacket was unbuttoned, and along with it, he wore a smile on his face as he looked down at Lao-Shi.

Returning the smile, Lao-Shi called up to him, in English as well: "Khircy! Funny to be running into you here!"

"Actually, Lao..." The boy, Khircy, called back down to his friend. "...You should say something along the lines of: 'Funny to run into you here' or something like that."

"Whatever!"

"No, man!" Khircy's smile only widened. "I'm learning your language! I think it's only fair that you suffer with me by learning a new language! Who knows, maybe it will help you in the long run!"

"Unlikely!" Lao-Shi waved him off.

"Come on up here!" Khircy shouted down.

His smile widening, Lao-Shi turned to the side and started to walk toward the door of the large building where Khircy's apartment was in. Opening the door, Lao-Shi disappeared inside the building.

Khircy Cason was a dragon born and raised in the United States. However, the Dragon Council had him stationed in Hong Kong for reasons that neither of us knew. Strangely, unlike myself who was The Chinese Dragon, Khircy was not The American Dragon, as the United States did not have a titled dragon in the States...at least, not at the time.

Hearing his door open, Khircy turned to the side so that his feet touched his floor while he sat at his window, watching as Lao-Shi closed the door to his room behind himself.

"Took you long enough..." Khircy smiled.

"I came up as quickly as I could..." Lao-Shi said in Chinese as he made his way to the window.

"Aw, come on, Lao-Shi." Khircy crossed his arms playfully. "You're supposed to be speaking in English..."

"I'll push you..." Lao-Shi said jokingly in English as he stopped in front of his friend, whose smile returned.

"That's better, Lao..."

LINE BREAK

The sun was starting to go down and Lao-Shi and Khircy were both still in Khircy's room, sitting on Khircy's bed, facing each other.

"Okay..." Khircy said in English as he held up both of his hands. "...Repeat after me: I hate learning new languages."

"Tell me about it!" Lao-Shi scoffed in Chinese.

Although smiling, Khircy did his best to try and hide it as he lowered his hands. "Come on, Lao." He said. "This is serious. You really should learn how to speak English."

"Why?" Lao-Shi replied, still in Chinese.

"Well, if I had that same attitude..." Khircy replied. "...Why should I learn to speak Chinese?"

"You're placed in Hong Kong." Lao-Shi switched to English.

"Living in." Khircy corrected.

"Whatever..." Lao-Shi once again waved him off, still in English.

LINE BREAK

Sometime later, the sun had completely gone down and had been replaced with the moon. In her room, Bao had changed out of her school uniform and was now sitting on her bed wearing an aquamarine-colored bathrobe with a book in her hands.

However, the door to her room soon creaked as it slowly opened, the balding man, wearing a green-yellow-colored bathrobe of his own and in his hand, was a mug.

"What?" Bap asked as she turned her head to the side, watching as her father reached the bed, kneeling down and holding out the cup. "What is that?"

"Warm tea..." The balding man said softly. "...Bao, you need to respect me. I'm your father."

"And I'm your daughter." Bao retorted. "You don't seem to respect me."

The balding man's eyes widened in shock as he started to stammer: "Ho...How can y...you say th...that? I res...respect you. I lo...love you. How co...could you say something like th...that?"

"Father, if you respected me..." Bao told him as she closed her book. "...Then you wouldn't be bringing home a different woman every night. You had an affair, and that's the reason why Mother left."

"Bao..."

"You should be ashamed of yourself." Bao told him as she turned her head back to normal, opening her book back up.

Sighing, Bao's father slowly stood straight back up and turned to the side, placing the mug of tea onto the nightstand. Slowly, he turned in the direction of the door and started to walk toward it just as slowly.

LINE BREAK

Later in the night, Bao had fallen asleep while reading; as she inhaled and exhaled in her sleep, her still open book slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor with a thud, making Bao gasp as her eyes snapped open.

Slowly sitting up as she smacked her lips, Bao moaned as she turned to the side and set her feet on the ground, sitting up and then slowly started to walk toward her door. As soon as she reached it, she smacked her lips again before she grabbed the door, turned the knob, opened the door and stepped outside.

Bao's room was empty for a few seconds after she left. However, the window to her room slowly started to slide open, a pair of dragon claws slowly it. As soon as the window was fully opened, there was a flash of red as a female Cadmium Red dragon with long black hair that was tied in an orb-ish bun with a red string landed on the floor, followed by another flash, only the flash was an old gold-colored flash as an old gold-colored dragon landed at the red dragon's left, followed by a crimson glory-colored flash, a crimson glory-colored dragon landing at her right on the floor.

"Kong..." The female dragon whispered as she turned her head to look at the crimson glory-colored dragon. "...Kuo..." She turned her head in the other direction to look at the old gold-colored dragon. Then, she turned her head back to normal. "...This is the place. Remember what our job is..."

LINE BREAK

In the dark kitchen, Bao was running the kitchen faucet, filling a glass cup with water. Yawning, Bao turned off the water and brought the now full glass of water to her lips as soon as she finished yawning.

After finishing the entire glass of water in five gulps, Bao lowered the glass into the sink and then slowly turned, making her way out of the kitchen.

LINE BREAK

Back in Bao's room, all three of the intruder dragons were waiting patiently. Until...

"Where is she?" Growled the old gold dragon, Kuo. "We've been here for-"

"Patience, Kuo..." The Cadmium Red dragon smiled as she soothed his impatience. "...The money that we're going to get for this job will be well worth the wait for her to come back..."

At that moment, the door to the room creaked as it slowly opened, Bao stepping into the room. At first, Bao did not notice the three intruders, as she quickly turned around to close the door to her room.

As soon as the door clicked closed, Bao turned back around, only to gasp as she saw the three dragons. "Who...Who...Who are you?" She demanded, her eyes widening.

"No need to fear, child..." The Cadmium Red dragon spoke. "...My name is Hong. This..." She pointed to the side at the old gold-colored dragon. "...Is my friend Kuo. And this..." She pointed in the other direction to the crimson glory-colored dragon. "...Is my brother Kong."

"And what are you doing here?" Bao asked.

"Come with us and you'll find out." Said the crimson glory-colored dragon, Kong.

Bao slowly started to back up, watching as the three dragons started to walk toward her, but after only step, Bao gasped as he back collided with the door. Quickly turning her head to the side, she quickly spun around and grabbed her doorknob. However, before she could turn it and open the door, Hong and Kuo both landed behind her and grabbed hold of her shoulders, making Bao gasp again as they yanked her away from the door, making her stumble passed them and into Kong's reach; Kong grabbing her by her wrists, pinning her arms to her sides.

Both Hong and Kuo turned around to face Bao and Kong, Bao struggling as she was held on to.

"Keep hold of her." Hong told her brother as she and Kuo walked passed him and Bao, making their way toward the window. As Kuo and Hong reached it, Bao took the opportunity to grunt as she tried to pull away from Kong.

"Forget it." Kong told her as he tightened his grip. "You're coming with us."

"Come on, brother." Hong said as she turned her head to the side to look at her brother.

Nodding once, Kong tried to turn around. However, grunting, Bao managed keep her feet planted on the ground. "Dragon up!" She shouted, making Kong's eyes widen as a bright blue light engulfed Bao.

"Now we're in for it..." Kuo muttered as he and Hong turned around, watching as the light faded, Bao in an aquamarine-colored dragon form. With a grunt, she quickly pulled her wrists out of the shocked Kong's grip. Quickly, Bao then brought up her claws and reached behind her shoulders, grabbing Kong's.

Grunting, but with much ease, Bao managed to lift Kong off of his feet, flipping him over her, making Kong yell out as he flew back, his back colliding with the door to the room, making a loud thud before he slid to the floor head-first with a grunt, making another thud.

LINE BREAK

In the bed of another room, the balding man was lying on his side with his eyes closed. However, upon hearing the loud thudding noise, his eyes snapped open.

After rolling over onto his back, the balding man gasped as he sat upright in his bed. "Bao..."

LINE BREAK

Back in Bao's room, Bao flapped her wings as she flew into the air, while behind her, Kong moaned as he slowly stood back up. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you're going to get!" Kong shouted up at her before he started to flap his wings, flying up to her. Meanwhile, Hong and Kuo both started to flap their wings, flying up into the air as well as Bao looked in both directions for something to help her.

As Kong reached her from behind, Bao gasped and she spun around, just in time to see Kong grunt as he threw a punch at her. Quickly, Bao brought up the right arm to block the punch. As Kong pulled his hand back, Bao lowered her arm, only to have her eye widen as she heard flapping wings, both Kuo and Hong flying up from behind her. Bao was trapped. Knowing this, Bao gulped.

However, before any more blows could be delivered, the door swung open and the balding man stepped inside. "Bao!" He shouted, however, when he saw that the room was empty and the window was open, his eyes widened. However, as his ears finally picked up on the sound of the flapping wings, he slowly looked up to see his surrounded daughter grunting as she lowered herself in the air, Hong using her tail to swipe at her.

"Bao!" He shouted again, a bright light consuming him. As soon as the light vanished, the balding man was in a green-yellow-colored dragon form. With a mighty flap, he took off into the air, flying toward Hong and Kuo, stopping right in-between them.

Quickly turning to the side, the green-yellow dragon lashed out with his tail before Hong had even finished turning to the side. His tail hit the Cadmium Red dragon, making her grunt as she was thrown back.

The green-yellow dragon watched as Hong stopped, only to grunt himself as he was pushed forward, Kuo pulling back his tail. With a growl, Kuo lunged for the green-yellow dragon. Prepared for the attack, the green yellow dragon lowered himself so that his back was facing the floor, so that as Kuo got to him, the green-yellow dragon was able to use his tail so that it came up and hit Kuo from behind, making him grunt as he was thrown across the room, tipping over to that his head was facing the ground. Grunting, Kuo came to a halt as he hit Hong, who also grunted, both dragons subsequently falling to the floor, causing a thud upon hitting.

Meanwhile, both Bao and Kong grunted as they struggled against each other, their hands pushed against one another's, their claws digging into the back of the other's scaly hand. As she struggled, Bao grunted as she turned her head to the side and looked down, her eyes widening as she saw her wand.

However, before she could turn her head back to normal, Kong grunted as he was slammed into from the side. As he flew back, Kong managed to turn to the side as the green-yellow dragon pushed him back, Kong grunting as he was slammed right into the wall as Bao landed on the ground, looking down right at her wand.

"...In case you get into any trouble that not just your dragon powers can solve..." She could hear her mother's voice in her ears.

Back up in the air, the green-yellow dragon grunted as he pulled himself away from the wall, taking Kong with him, which the green-yellow dragon spun around, shoving him back. Before Kong even had a chance to recover, the green-yellow opened his mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, which hit Kong, making him yell in pain as he was blasted back some more.

With a grunt, Kong landed on his back with a thud, right next to Hong and Kuo, who were both starting to stand up.

"That's what you get for messing with my daughter..." The green-yellow dragon said as he crossed his scaly arms.

Back on the ground, Bao turned around to face the three intruders, Hong turned to the side as she helped her brother back on his feet.

Pointing the wand at the three as Hong turned back to normal, she yelled out: "Wizard spells, aches and pains! Bind the intruders with chains!"

As she lowered the wand, Bao could see glowing around the waists of the three dragons. The three intruders all looked down as well; as the glowing faded, Bao could see that there was a large manacle around each of the dragons' waists, a chain attached to each manacle so that all three dragons were confined to each other.

"What?" Bao asked with wide eyes, looking down at the wand in her hands. "That's not what I wanted..."

"What is this?!" Hong demanded as she brought her claws down to the manacle and tried to pull at it, while Kuo and Kong both looked up, growling as the green-yellow dragon landed right next to Bao.

Grunting as she failed to break off the manacle, Hong looked up and stared at the two dragons that had defeated them. "Let's get out of here." She told her two companions.

From outside, part of the wall, including the window, was blasted away by a fiery explosion. Through the smoke, out flew Hong, Kuo and Kong, all attached to each other by chains attached to their manacles.

Back in her room, the still dragon Bao set her wand back down on her nightstand before she turned around, seeing her still dragon father standing at the hole in her wall. "They got away." He said.

"I know." She replied. "But at least they're gone now."

"They'll come back, Bao." Her father told her as he turned to the side to look at her. "You're not safe."

LINE BREAK

In the night, a wooden sign with the words "Aberdeen Harbor" could be made out on the dock. High up in the air, Hong, Kuo and Kong flew out into the open water. Looking down, Kong could see a houseboat floating in the water.

"Down there." She pointed down, all three of them swooping down.

Seconds later, they all landed on the front of the deck, looking at a pleasant, but small home. "Let's get this over with." Hong said as she, Kuo and Kong started to walk to the door. However, as they reached the porch, there came a swirling blue light out of thin air, making all three dragons jump back in surprise.

As the blue light vanished, the three dragons saw a woman forty years of age with long black hair. She held a wand and wore a dark blue full-body, one-piece dress. The top was buttoned up and had loose-fitting short sleeves. Tied around her waist was a blue sash and below was the rest of the suit, short enough to be considered a skirt, not even going down to her knees.

"You're back..." The woman said as she lowered her wand and tucked it through the sash so that it was handing at her thigh. "...And I take it..." She continued as she took a step closer to the three dragons, her black high-heels making the wood creak. "...That you failed to obtain my daughter..."

"Look at us!" Hong exclaimed, pointing down to the manacle around her waist and the chains keeping Kong and Kuo close to her.

"Did my daughter do that?" The woman smiled hopefully.

"Who else?!" Hong roared.

"Why would she do that?" The woman asked as she brought up her hand to her chin. "After all...you did exactly as I told you. She shouldn't have had a reason to attack you. Unless...you didn't FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS!" The woman finished with a shout as she lowered her hand from her chin and clenched both of her fists at her sides.

"We tried." Kong told her. "But before we could tell her, she tried to run. Kuo and my sister didn't have any other choice but to strike."

"My orders..." The woman was still furious, but her tone was not as loud. "...Were for you to not frighten her. You were supposed to tell her that I sent you. You were supposed to tell her that I wanted to see her. Now she'll never believe your word!"

"To be honest, ma'am..." Hong said as she crossed her scaly arms. "...At the moment, I'm more concerned about, Kuo, my brother and myself."

"Well, maybe if you had just mentioned my name, you three wouldn't be chained together." The woman crossed her own arms. "I have no pity for you."

"We don't want your pity." Hong said as she lowered her scaly arms. "We want you to free us. It was a wand that caused this. Your wand should be the one to free us."

Bao's mother continued to stare at the three dragon with her arms crossed for a few more seconds. Finally, she blinked and lowered her arms. "As far as I'm concerned..." She told them. "...You deserve this. Now go back and try again. You have one more chance. Now be gone." She finished as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the three dragons. "Oh dreaded leprechaun's poem, remove these three from my home!"

Several feet away, still in the deep water, Hong, Kong and Kuo all yelled as they flew back and splashed into the water, disappearing head-first under the water.

LINE BREAK

At Bao's home, Bao was lying on the couch in the front room of the apartment in her human form. Lying on her back, bundled up under a blanket, she slept peacefully while her father, still in dragon form, stood against the front door.

"You're not safe, my daughter." He said softly, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "You need protection. But I may not be able to protect you at all times..." As he said this, he slowly started to lower his head. "...And I feel that is what you need: someone to keep you safe twenty-four hours a day..."

LINE BREAK

It was pitch black on the Island of Draco. Despite this, a man wearing Ceil-colored robes stood at the edge, his robes rustling in the wind. The Dragon Councilor stared intently out into the night, his arms behind his back. The Councilor appeared to be in his mid-fifties; he had a few wrinkles on his face.

As he stared out into the night, he jumped in surprise as there came a poof from beside his head. Quickly turning his head to the side, the Councilor could see a messenger fairy appear. "Message to Councilor Klyntvo of the Dragon Council from Dragon Shaoqiang Chun." It said in English as it held up an envelope.

"Thank you." Klyntvo said in English, but with a Danish accent as he reached out and took the envelope.

"Just doing my services to the Magical World." The fairy said in a bored tone. Then, it was gone in another poof.

Turning back to face the edge, Klyntvo ripped the envelope in half, spilling out a bunch of smoke which formed into a screen, which showed the green-yellow dragon's face.

"I apologize for contacting you at this time of night." The green-yellow dragon, Shaoquiang, said in Chinese. "But this is urgent. Not even an hour ago, three dragons broke into my home with the intent to attack my daughter, Bao."

LINE BREAK

Klyntvo sat alone in the Main Hall, staring at the doors, which opened a few seconds later. Stepping into the room came two men who wore Cambridge Blue-colored robes and Carnelian-colored robes; both looked quite young. Following them in was a wrinkly man who looked to be 70 years old wearing Dark Terracotta-colored robes and using a wooden cane to help himself walk. Following him was a woman with darker skin and brown hair that went down to her shoulders; she wore white robes. Following her came another female with chocolate-colored skin and black hair that was in a pony-tail. She wore Chamoisee-colored robes.

"What is this about, Councilor?" Asked the Councilor with the Carnelian robes in English as he and the rest of the Councilors stopped together in a line in front of Klyntvo.

"I just received a letter from Dragon Shaoqiang Chun from Hong Kong..." Klyntvo told them in English as he stood up, putting his arms behind his back. "...He said that three dragons attacked his daughter."

"A dragon attacking another dragon?" Asked the wrinkly Councilor with the Dark Terracotta robes in English. "Unheard of!"

"Well, according to Shaoqiang..." Klyntvo continued. "...That's what happened. As a result, he is requesting a bodyguard for his daughter. What we must decide...is what dragon should protect her?"

"How about Dragon Cason?" Suggested the white robe wearing dragon with a heavy Spanish accent, although she spoke in English.

"But he is still trying to master the language of Hong Kong." Countered the Carnelian robe wearing Councilor.

"Then who do you suggest, Councilor Zkryo?" The white robe wearing asked as she turned her head to the side to look at him.

Before Zkryo could open his mouth, the Cambridge Blue robe wearing dragon opened his mouth, speaking in English: "Councilors, I suggest Dragon Luong Lao-Shi. He is the Chinese Dragon, after all."

"Yes..." Spoke up the Chamoisee robe wearing Councilor. "...Yes, that is a very good idea, Councilor Calyx." As she spoke in English, she turned her head to the side to look at him. "Like you stated, he is the Dragon of China. As a plus..." She turned her head back to normal to look at Klyntvo. "...He is living in Hong Kong."

"Then it's settled..." Klyntvo finished as he leaned over the table, putting his hands on the surface. "...Luong Lao-Shi will be the one who protects Bao Chun."

LINE BREAK

In his own room, Lao-Shi was lying on his back on his bed, snoring loudly. Unbeknownst to him, from the view of his room window, Dragon Master Zhuo was visible as she flew toward it in her dragon form.

Outside, Dragon Master Zhuo reached the window. After taking five seconds to catch her breath, Dragon Master Zhuo brought up her claws and knocked against the window three times.

Inside the room, Lao-Shi was exhaling when he heard the knocking. Gasping, Lao-Shi's eyes snapped open and he sat up, rubbing his eyes just as three more knocks hit the window.

"What the...?" Lao-Shi asked in Chinese before he turned to the side in his bed, jumping from the side and landing on the floor, wearing nothing but an extra long white T-shirt that touched his ankles.

Walking around his bed and making his way over to the window, Lao-Shi opened it, only to see his Dragon Master. "What are you doing here at this time of night?" He asked her.

Upon hearing this, Dragon Master Zhuo frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Respect, Lao-Shi..." She told him.

"It's just a question..." Lao-Shi mumbled.

"...If you must know..." Dragon Master Zhuo told him, her facial expressions softening. "...I received a call from the Dragon Council. They demand our presence on the Island of Draco."

"When?"

"Right now." She told him. "I am not certain why, but they say we must arrive there and return back here all before sunrise."

"Is that even possible?" Lao-Shi's eyes widened.

"We're about to find out..." Was his Dragon Master's response.

LINE BREAK

Not even an hour later, the doors to the Main Hall opened and Dragon Master Zhuo and Lao-Shi both walked in, still in their dragon forms.

As he walked toward the table, Lao-Shi looked at all of the Councilors, all sitting at the table. Finally, Master and Student stopped in front of the table. "Lao-Shi..." Dragon Master Zhuo said, turning her head to the side. "...Be polite. Address the Councilors."

Nodding once, Lao-Shi looked at the end of the table, looking at the old, wrinkly Council member. "Councilor Sinley." Lao-Shi addressed in English. Then, he looked at the white-robed Councilor. "Councilor Zoila." Then he looked at the Chamoisse-robed Councilor. "Councilor Cantata." Then, he looked at Klyntvo. "Councilor Klyntvo." Finally, the last two were Calyx and Zkryo. "Councilor Calyx. Councilor Zkryo." Lao-Shi finished.

"Dragon Luong Lao-Shi." Klyntvo said in English as he stood up, switching to Chinese: "I'm very pleased that you came. My apology counts from all of us when I say that I am deeply sorry for waking you up during your time of sleep."

"It is no problem at all." Dragon Master Zhuo told him. "I speak for both Lao-Shi and myself when I say that serving the Magical World is more important than our own personal needs..."

Nodding once, Klyntvo continued: "Lao-Shi, it is your duty as the Chinese Dragon to protect all magical creatures in China. This means even other dragons. I'm telling you this because earlier this evening, Dragon Bao Chun was attacked. Fortunately, her attackers retreated, but her father now requests that she have protection. Luong Lao-Shi, it is by decision of the Dragon Council...that you will serve as her bodyguard."

LINE BREAK

The next morning, Lao-Shi lowered a map of an apartment building as he walked through the halls of it. He wore a pair of black pants and wore a white T-shirt.

Turning, Lao-Shi stopped at a door, staring at the number on the door: 518. "This is the place..." Lao-Shi said to himself.

Then, he slowly brought up his fist and knocked on the door five times, as quickly as he could. Then, he lowered his arm and took a step back. The second he stepped back, the door opened and Lao-Shi could see the balding man standing before him.

"Uh, Shaoqiang Chun?" Lao-Shi asked, looking up.

"Yes?" Shaoqiang asked as he looked down at Lao-Shi. "Can you please tell me who you are?"

"My name is Lao-Shi." Lao-Shi smiled as he crossed his arms. "I'm the Chinese Dragon and I'm the one who has been assigned to protect your daughter."

"You?" Shaoqiang's eyes widened in surprise. "You're the dragon? But...you're so...short..."

"So what?!" Lao-Shi's cocky smile vanished and he lowered his arms. "That don't mean anything!"

"Okay, whatever..." Shaoqiang relented as he stepped back into his home and turned to the side, allowing Lao-Shi to full walk inside. "...She's in her room."

LINE BREAK

In her room, Bao was sitting on her bed as she finished tying her tie around her neck. As soon as she was finished, she lowered her hands and stood up, fully dressed in her school uniform. Sighing, she walked over to her backpack which was on the floor and bent over to pick it up.

Straightening back up, Bao slipped it over both shoulders and then started to walk to the door. Grabbing her door knob, Bao opened the door and stepped outside, seeing her father close the door.

"I'm going to school." She told him.

"Of course you are." Shaoqiang was smiling as he turned around to face her. "But you aren't leaving without your bodyguard."

"My...bodyguard?" Bao asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey there..." Lao-Shi suddenly said, suddenly poking half of his body up from behind the back rest of the couch.

Although her eyes were wide at first, Bao soon recovered from her shock and frowned, narrowing her eyes. "A bodyguard?" She asked her father.

"It's what's best." Shaoqiang nodded once.

"How is he supposed to protect me?" Bao asked as she pointed at Lao-Shi. "He's so short. What can he do that I can't? After all, I'm the drag-" However, her eyes widened upon the time that she realized what she was saying. "Uh, never mind..."

Chuckling, Lao-Shi shook his head. "Do not worry." He told her as he stopped shaking his head. "I know that you are a dragon."

"You...You do?" Bao asked.

"It was the Dragon Council that assigned me this task." Lao-Shi told her. "I am the Chinese Dragon."

"Oh..." Bao replied softly. However, in a blink of an eye, her expression once again turned into one of annoyance and anger. Putting her hands on her hips, she started: "What do I even need a dragon for? I'm a dragon! If I can't protect myself, what makes you think he can, Father?"

"Weren't you listening?" The cocky smile returned to Lao-Shi's face. "I'm the Chinese Dragon."

LINE BREAK

Bao's angry expression didn't change as she pushed open the doors to the apartment building and she turned, walking down the sidewalk, followed by Lao-Shi, who exited and turned as well, having to run in order to catch up with Bao.

"I can't believe this..." Bao grumbled. "...I'm a dragon. I can take care of myself. I don't need a bodyguard."

"Well, your father thinks you do." Lao-Shi replied, glancing to the side. However, as Bao was walking faster than him, Lao-Shi ended up getting a clear view of the back of her skirt and the way it moved with her legs as she walked. "Oh!" Lao-Shi made out as his eyes widened, only this came out in English.

"What?" Bao asked, turning her head to the side, only to see Lao-Shi having stopped, staring at her as if mesmerized. Growling, Bao stopped and turned around to face him. "What are you doing, bodyguard?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips, saying the word "bodyguard" in a sarcastic tone.

However, the mesmerized Lao-Shi couldn't reply with words. All he could do was give a provocative whistle. Upon hearing the whistle, Bao's eyes widened and she blushed in embarrassment.

"I hate you." Bao muttered.

LINE BREAK

A short time later, both Bao and Lao-Shi, who was behind Bao, arrived at the front of Bao's school, four girls wearing the same uniform as Bao walking up the steps to the front doors.

"Okay..." Bao said as she turned around and looked down at Lao-Shi. "...I can take it from here. I'll be safe in there. Besides, this is an all-girls school."

"I understand." Lao-Shi said, trying to avoid eye contact as he looked up at her. "I'll be out here waiting for you."

Without saying another word, Bao turned around and started to walk toward the steps, leaving Lao-Shi alone.

LINE BREAK

Inside the halls of the school, Jia Li, Hsui Mei, Niu and Riu, all wearing their uniforms, were leaning against the wall by the doors. "Bao is never this late." Hsui Mei said out loud.

"There's a first time for everything." Jia Li replied, just as one of the two doors opened and Bao stepped inside.

"There she is." Riu said, starting to smile.

Bao didn't seem to notice her four friends, for she kept an angry look on her face as she walked down the hallway as quickly as she could. "Hey, Bao!" However, when she heard the sound of Jia Li's voice, she came to a stop and slowly turned around, watching as the four girls walked toward her.

"Where are you going?" Riu asked.

"Yeah, you went right by us." Niu added.

"Sorry, guys..." Bao said as the four others reached her. "...I'm just in a very bad mood."

"What's wrong?" Jia Li asked.

Bao didn't answer for a few seconds; in that span of time, she turned back around and started to walk down the hall, Niu and Riu walking at her right side and Jia Li and Hsui Mei walking at her left side. Finally, after fifteen seconds, she opened her mouth and spoke as all four of her friends looked at her.

"Father thinks I need protection." She explained. "He hired a bodyguard."

"Male or female?" Jia Li smiled sheepishly.

"It's a male."

"Is he cute?" Jia Li asked.

"He's a pig." Bao scoffed. "The first thing he does as we walk down here is check my body out. He's disgusting!"

"Looks like someone might like you." Niu said.

"Please, like I'd ever return his affection." Bao scoffed again. "I hate him. I hate him so much. I...I wish that something bad would happen to him."

LINE BREAK

Lao-Shi had his arms crossed as he leaned against the outer wall of the school. Blinking, Lao-Shi decided to look up at the sky, where he could see a flock of birds flying by from above.

However, about ten seconds later, Lao-Shi thought he could see two dragons flying by.

"Huh?" Lao-Shi muttered in English, bringing up his hands and rubbing his eyes. However, after lowering his eyes, he was surprised to see that both dragons were still in the air. The only difference was that his vision was much better. He could clearly make out the colors of the dragons. One of them was Ceil-colored and the other was Jazzberry Jam-colored. The two dragons were Councilor Klyntvo and Dragon Mast Zhuo.

"There he is!" Lao-Shi could hear the sound of Dragon Master Zhuo's voice.

Then, Lao-Shi could see two bright flashes of light, both of the dragon forms fading and being replaced with human forms, which dropped from the sky. Lao-Shi quickly brought his head back down to normal just in time for Dragon Master Zhuo and Klyntvo to land in front of him on their feet.

"Chinese Dragon." Klyntvo started in English, only to abruptly switch to Chinese as he continued: "Your Dragon Master and myself decided to check up on you on your first day. How is everything going?"

"Lao-Shi..." Dragon Master Zhuo was the only one of the two who seemed to realize who was absent. "...Where is Dragon Bao Chun?"

"Oh." Lao-Shi replied, smiling. "She's inside the school."

"What?" Came the response from both Dragon Councilor and Dragon Master.

"You mean you're not watching over her?" Klyntvo asked as he looked down on Lao-Shi along with Dragon Master Zhuo.

"She's safe in there." Lao-Shi replied as he looked up at them.

"Not if there are three dragons who are willing enough to do anything to attack her!" Klyntvo scolded Lao-Shi angrily.

"It's an all girl's school!" Lao-Shi defended himself, extending his arms out.

"That doesn't matter!" Dragon Master Zhuo told him sternly.

"This is your job!" Klyntvo continued, pointing down at Lao-Shi. "I don't care if it's an all girls school. Go in there and keep Bao Chun safe! Because if you don't stay with her and something happens to her, it will be on your claws!"

LINE BREAK

Back inside the school, the bell rang out, causing all of the classroom doors to open. Out of one of the doors stepped Jia Li, followed by Hsui Mei and then Bao, who was in turn followed by both Niu and Riu. All three girls then started to walk down the hall.

"Finally, school is out." Jia Li smiled.

"And it's even more of a miracle that you managed to make it through the day without getting into trouble..." Hsui Mei replied sarcastically, making Bao smile despite knowing what was ahead of her and outside the school.

LINE BREAK

The doors to the school were pushed open, making Lao-Shi, who was once again leaning his back against the wall with his arms crossed, turn his head to the side. Lao-Shi watched as a good dozen of girls walked down the stairs before he finally saw Bao exit and start to walk down the steps all by herself.

As soon as Bao reached the bottom step, she turned to the side and started to walk toward Lao-Shi, while Lao-Shi stepped away from the wall and walked to the center of the sidewalk as Bao reached him.

"You can take me home now." Bao said as Lao-Shi turned to the side, the two of them starting to walk away from the school. "My father can take care of me."

"No can do." Lao-Shi told her.

"What?" Bao asked, looking down and turning her head to the side. "What do you mean? I want you to take me home and I want you to leave me alone!"

"Well, that's not going to happen." Lao-Shi told her. "I just got chewed out a few hours ago for letting you go in the school all by yourself. That's not going to happen again. I don't want to be the one responsible for you getting hurt."

"I'm not going to!" Bao insisted loudly as she turned her head back to normal. "My home might have been attacked, but it's not going to happen again! I chased the three dragons off. They'd be the biggest imbeciles on the planet if they went back there!"

LINE BREAK

Still attached by the chains on their manacles, Hong, Kong and Kuo all flew side-by-side as they neared the hole in wall that they had caused. "We're here." Hong said.

Seconds later, the three dragons landed inside the room, Kuo turning his head to the side to look at Bao's bed while Kong turned his head to the side to look at the wall and Hong looked around the rest of the room.

"She's not here." Kong and Kuo both said in unison.

"You think I can't see that?" Hong replied as she crossed her scaly arms. "She must still be at school. Come on. I have an idea..."

LINE BREAK

In his room, Khircy was lying on his stomach on his bed reading a book, still dressed in his school uniform.

However, as the door to his room opened, he turned his head to the side to see Lao-Shi step into the room followed by Bao. "Hello." Khircy said in Chinese, directing it at Bao, who frowned as Khircy grinned, looking back down at Lao-Shi. Switching back to English, he told him: "See, I'm actually speaking some Chinese. Unlike you..."

"Whatever..." Lao-Shi said in English. "...Bao, introduce Khircy."

"I think you mean 'meet'." Khircy corrected his friend.

"Aiya..." Lao-Shi rolled his eyes before he turned around, looking up at the girl he was guarding. Speaking in Chinese, he said: "Bao, this is my friend Khircy. He's an American. And a dragon."

"Like I care." Bao said as she crossed her arms. "I just want to go home."

"Well, you're not going home." Lao-Shi told her as he crossed his arms. "I told you before we got here: I got in trouble with my Dragon Master and Councilor Klyntvo for letting you go inside the school all by yourself."

"And that should be my problem because?" Bao asked as she looked down.

"Because I'm in charge!" Lao-Shi told her in an annoyed tone as he threw his crossed arms down to his side.

Gritting her teeth, Bao growled as she looked up and spun around, quickly walking out of the room while Lao-Shi spun around to face the bed and Khircy.

"So..." Khircy smiled as he spoke in English, rolling over so that he was lying on his side. "...How long have you been in charge of her?"

"Not even one day." Lao-Shi answered, also in English.

"I pity you, Lao..." Khircy said, his smile fading.

LINE BREAK

Bao's mother's houseboat continued to float in the water as the sound of flapping wings neared it. Seconds later, Hong, Kong and Kuo all landed on the deck.

"What is she going to do to help us?" Kuo asked.

"We're going to get information." Hong answered as the three of them started to walk toward the front door.

LINE BREAK

Inside the houseboat, there appeared to be no one inside the front room. The door to the home opened and Hong grunted as she pulled herself inside, Kong and Kuo both getting stuck against the doorframe until Hong grunted, taking another step, freeing her brother and Kuo from the door.

As Kuo and Kong stumbled over to her side, Hong looked around the first room, only to find no sign of life. However, just as she looked, Bao's mother stepped in through the doorway that led to the kitchen, stirring a mug that she held in her hand with a spoon.

Upon seeing the three dragons, Bao's mother gasped and her eyes widened at first, but she soon returned her facial expressions to normal. "What happened now?" She asked in a bored tone, continuing to stir her drink.

"Nothing." Hong told her.

"Except that we can't find her." Kong added.

"We went to the apartment again." Hong continued. "But she wasn't there."

"Exactly." Bao's mother replied. "Normally, she wouldn't be getting home from school until about this time."

"That was my guess." Hong told her. "So now, I'm hatching an idea. But for this plan to work, I'm going to need to know where she goes to school."

LINE BREAK

Back at Khircy's, Khircy was now sitting on his bed while Lao-Shi sat cross-legged on the other end.

"Okay..." Khircy said in English as he held up a piece of lined paper. "...Repeat after me: My name is Lao-Shi and I am the Chinese Dragon."

"Fool, I can speak that!" Lao-Shi said in English.

"You can say that." Khircy corrected him. "Okay, then I want you to-"

However, before Khircy could finish, her turned his head to the side when he heard the door creaking as it opened, Bao stepping inside. "I'm bored." She said in Chinese. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Drinks?" Khircy asked in Chinese. "In the kitchen."

Without saying a word, Bao turned back around and walked out of the room. As soon as he knew that Bao was gone, Khircy turned his head back to normal. "Okay." He said in English. "Where were we?"

LINE BREAK

Several hours later, the sun was setting and Bao was sitting at the table in the kitchen of Khircy's apartment, finishing off a bottle of soda. As soon as she gulped down the last sip, she removed it from her lips and set it down on the center of the table, next to five other empty bottles.

"Hey." Hearing the sound of Khircy's English speaking voice, Bao gasped and turned her head to the side to see Khircy and Lao-Shi walking into the room. "Don't drink all of those!"

"Come on, Bao." Lao-Shi said in Chinese. "Let's go."

"Where are we going now?" Bao asked sarcastically as she reached down the side of the chair and grabbed her backpack. "Are we going to your apartment now?"

"I'm taking you home." Lao-Shi told her. "That's what you want, isn't it?"

LINE BREAK

At Bao's house, Shaoqiang, Dragon Master Zhuo and Councilor Klyntvo were all sitting on the couch, each holding a mug. Taking a sip of the liquid in the mug, Councilor Klyntvo smiled as he moved the cup away from his mouth.

"That's some delicious tea." He told Shaoqiang in Chinese, turning his head to the side, just as the door to the apartment opened and Bao stepped inside, followed by Lao-Shi.

"Aw, Lao-Shi..." Councilor Klyntvo continued in Chinese as he turned his head back to normal.

"What are you doing here?" Lao-Shi asked as Bao turned around and closed the door to the apartment.

"We understand that you cannot spend every moment of the day guarding Dragon Bao Chun." Klyntvo told him. "Even though one might expect you to..." As he said this, he turned his head to the side to look at Shaoqiang, who frowned.

"...I will take it from here, Lao-Shi." Klyntvo said as he turned his head back to normal to see a small smile starting to grow on Lao-Shi's face. "You may go home and get a good night's sleep. However..." He added, lifting up a finger. "...You must be back here first thing in the morning to take Dragon Bao Chun to school. And remember..." He finished as he lowered his finger. "...Do not let her out of your sight."

LINE BREAK

The next morning, Lao-Shi panted as he ran down the hall of the apartment building. Turning around the corner, Lao-Shi could see Bao further down the hall, fully dressed for school, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

Bao had a frown on her face as she looked at the opposite wall. However, as she heard Lao-Shi's panting, she turned her head to the side to see him stop at her side.

"Took you long enough." Bao said as she stepped away from the wall and turned to the side. "What kind of bodyguard shows up late?"

"Sorry..." Lao-Shi managed as he leaned over, putting his hands on his knees.

"Come on." Bao told him impatiently as she walked around him and started to walk down the hall, forcing Lao-Shi to lift up and turn his head to the side. "I'm going to be late."

LINE BREAK

"Come on, bodyguard!" Bao said in an annoyed, mocking tone as she ran toward her school, Lao-Shi panting as he tried to catch up to her from behind. "If I'm late for class, Mrs. Liu is going to punish me! If she punishes me..." She stopped to turn her head to the side to look at Lao-Shi. "...I'm going to kill you."

Seconds later, the bell to the school rang out, just as Bao and Lao-Shi arrived. "No." Bao moaned as the two of them stopped at the side of the building. "Class started. I'm late!"

"It's not the end of the world." Lao-Shi told her as he turned his head to the side. "If we hurry, we can only end up being a minute or two late. Right?"

"You don't understand, bodyguard!" Bao said in an annoyed and disparaging tone as she shook her head. "Mrs. Liu rules with a wooden ruler. She'll-" However, she abruptly stopped and turned her head to the side and looked down at her bodyguard. "We?" She asked.

"Yeah." Lao-Shi said as he looked up at her. "We. I'm coming with you. You heard Councilor Klyntvo."

"I don't care what he said." Bao told him as she looked up and turned her head back to normal, starting to walk closer to the school. "I'm going in alone. I won't let you come with me."

"That's nice." Lao-Shi replied sarcastically after he walked after her, starting to jog as he finished arriving at her side.

LINE BREAK

Bao had a scowl on her face as she opened the door to Mrs. Liu's classroom, closely followed by Lao-Shi. All of the girls were seated in their seats, including Niu, Riu, Hsui Mei and Jia Li, who were all seated in the front row with an extra seat at the end that was empty. Upon seeing Bao enter the room, Niu and Riu both turned their heads to the side and gasped.

Mrs. Liu, a woman wearing a business suit and slacks and who had short black hair and glasses, turned to the side when she heard Bao's footsteps. Frowning, the teacher put her hands on her hips as Bao stopped in front of her, Lao-Shi stopping at Bao's side.

"Miss Chun..." Mrs. Liu said sternly. "...You know that I don't tolerate tardy students..."

"I apologize, ma'am." Bao said, looking down and clasping her hands together.

Mrs. Liu continued to scowl, until Lao-Shi, who crossed his arms and frowned as he looked up at her, caught her attention. Her eyes widening, Mrs. Liu looked down, only to frown again. "Who may I ask is this?"

"I am-" Lao-Shi started, but his eyes widened as Mrs. Liu cut him off.

"This is a school for developing women, sir." Mrs. Liu said sternly. "You are not allowed here under any circumstances."

"But I'm her-" Lao-Shi started as he lowered his arms only to be cut off again as Bao quickly looked up and lowered her hands, speaking:

"He's the reason why I am late, Mrs. Liu." Bao told her, making her teacher look up at her. "As Lao-Shi stared up at the dragon he was supposed to be protecting with a look of shock on his face, Bao continued: "You see, ma'am..."

Taking a step toward her teacher, Bao finished: "...He started to stalk me on my way here. I tried to get him to leave me alone, but he followed me all the way here."

By now, the look of annoyance was gone from Mrs. Liu's face and was now replaced with a look of shock.

LINE BREAK

The doors to the school were pushed open as two uniformed security guards, who shared Lao-Shi as they held him, one holding Lao-Shi's right arm while the other held his left, stepped outside with the complaining teen.

"Don't do this!" Lao-Shi made out before the two security guards threw him away. As the two security guards turned and walked back into the school's hallways, Lao-Shi screamed as he missed all of the steps and grunted as he landed hard on his back on the sidewalk.

Moaning, Lao-Shi started to sit up. "What kind of moron buys that kind of preposterous lie?"

Unbeknownst to Lao-Shi, there was the sound of a pair of flapping wings as Hong Kong and Kuo all flew toward the school. "This is it." Hong smiled. "This is the school Bao attends."

LINE BREAK

The bell rang through the halls of the school, and once again, the classroom doors opened. Once again, Jia Li walked out first, followed by Hsui Mei and then Bao. Finally, Niu and Riu walked out of the classroom.

All five of them walking in a line with a smiling Bao in the middle, Jia Li turned her head to the side to look at Bao. "Was that boy that bodyguard you were talking about yesterday?" She asked.

"Of course." Bao told her, her smile vanishing.

"Then why did you lie to Mrs. Liu about him?" Hsui Mei asked. "That was pretty reprehensible of you."

"I said that because I don't need him." Bao answered. "I can take care of myself. Besides..." She smiled again. "...It got me out of trouble with Mrs. Liu..."

LINE BREAK

The doors to the school were open, many girls who attended the school walking down the steps. Finally, Bao and her four friends started to walk down the steps. As soon as they reached the bottom, the four friends split up, Jia Li, Hsui Me, Niu and Riu all walking to the left while Bao walked away alone to the right.

Looking in front of her, Bao smiled. "And my annoying bodyguard is nowhere to be seen..." She said happily, starting to pass by an alley.

However, before she could finish passing the alley, she froze as she heard a "Psst" noise.

"Huh?" Turning around, Bao looked into the alley, only to gasp as she saw Hong, Kuo and Kong stepping out of the darkness in their dragon forms.

"You three?!" Bao gasped as she took a step back. Breathing heavily and with her eyes wide, Bao turned her head to the side, only to see three girls from her school walking toward her. "No..." Bao moaned. "...They'll see me if I use my powers..."

"Bao..." Hong said in a soft voice as she, Kong and Kuo all took another step toward the exit of the alley, making the terrified-looking Bao turn her head back to normal. "...You don't have to worry about us. We just want to talk to you."

"What could you three possibly want to talk to me about?" Bao asked, taking another step back.

"Your mo-" Hong started, only to be cut off by a new, male voice:

"Leave her alone!" The voice seemed to be coming from above. All three of the chained dragons turned their heads to the right and looked up, seeing Lao-Shi in his dragon form standing on the roof of the building that ended at the start of the alley. Then, Lao-Shi spread his wings and leapt from the roof, diving into the alley and slamming into Hong, Kuo and Kong as they turned to the side, slamming them into the wall of the alley.

Bao watched with wide eyes as the three school girls all walked by her, one of them walking by Bao by passing in front of her. However, none of them heard the noise as Hong, Kong and Kuo all opened their mouths and blew out fire, making Lao-Shi grunt as he was thrown back, slamming against the opposite wall.

"Lao-Shi!" Bao shouted with concern.

"This doesn't concern you, dragon!" Hong growled as she, Kuo and Kong all stepped away from the wall. "All we want to do is talk to Bao."

"Is that why you attacked her the other night?" Lao-Shi demanded as he took a fighting stance.

"She tried to run..." Growled Kuo.

"Maybe because...you attacked her!" Lao-Shi exclaimed right before he lunged at them.

Hong growled in annoyance as she watched Lao-Shi fly toward her. As she growled, she, Kuo and Kong all started to flap their wings, flying up into the air, just as Lao-Shi reached them, making it so that Lao-Shi had to come to an abrupt halt to avoid hitting the wall.

Looking up, Bao could see the three dragons hovering above. "Forget this!" Hong looked down and shouted, allowing her to see Lao-Shi, who straightened up and lifted his head up to look up at the three conjoined dragons. "It's not worth it!"

Then, Hong looked back up and the three dragons continued to fly high up into the air, escaping. As they continued to fly up, Hong said in a hushed voice: "No more trying to talk to her. We're going to use a different method next time..."

Back in the alley, Lao-Shi turned his entire body to the side before he reverted to his human form in a bright light. As soon as the light faded, Lao-Shi could see just how shaken Bao looked: her eyes were still wide and her hands were clasped together.

"Th...Thank you, Lao-Shi..." Bao managed gratefully as Lao-Shi started to walk out of the alley.

"It was what I was ordered to do." Lao-Shi told her as he exited the alley.

"Still..." Bao replied, lowering her hands as she looked down at her bodyguard. "...And...I'm sorry that I lied to Mrs. Liu and got you kicked outside. Maybe you were right. Maybe I'm not safe even at school."

"Hmm..." Lao-Shi replied as he took in what she said. Then, he turned to the side and started to walk down the sidewalk. "...Come on." He said.

"Huh?" Bao asked as she turned her head to the side, watching Lao-Shi. "Wh...Where are we going now?"

"I'm hungry." Lao-Shi called back. "Lunch sounds good!"

Slowly, Bao turned to the side and continued to watch her bodyguard walk away. At first, she started to open her mouth, but then her eyes widened; closing her mouth, she turned her head to the side to look into the alley. Then, Bao quickly turned her head back to normal and quickly started to jog after Lao-Shi.

LINE BREAK

A short time later, both Lao-Shi and Bao sat at a table at the outside section of the local diner. Sitting across from Lao-Shi, who was sitting in three booster that were stacked up together, Bao slowly lowered her chopsticks onto her empty plate before she reached for the napkin that was in her lap.

While Lao-Shi sipped the tea from his cup, Bao used the napkin to wipe off her lips. Lowering the napkin, she gave Lao-Shi a small smile. "Thank you for being there in the alley." She said.

"That's the third time you've said that." Lao-Shi said as he lowered his cup. "How many more times are you going to say that?"

"I'm done now." Bao said in a rather small voice.

"Glad to hear it." Lao-Shi said as he lifted his cup back up. "Because I must say that you seem to have changed your attitude quite quickly. You couldn't stand me just a few hours ago."

"I couldn't stand you an hour ago." Bao told him.

"Hmm..." Lao-Shi replied as he lowered his cup again, starting to stand up from the third booster seat. "...Come on. Let's go."

"Where now?" Bao asked, her eyes widening.

"To Khircy's..." Lao-Shi answered as he turned to the side and hopped off of the chair, grunting as he landed on his feet.

As Lao-Shi and Bao walked away from the diner, the two were completely unaware that Hong Kong and Kuo were all standing on the roof of a tall building that was across the street.

"So, this new method consists of just spying on them?" Kuo asked as he turned his head to the side to look at Hong. "Why don't we do something? We can attack now!" As he said this, he turned his head back to normal.

"We're following her..." Hong said as she crossed her scaly arms. "...So that when the right time arrives, we will be able to attack both of them. And win..."

LINE BREAK

At Khircy's apartment, Bao was sitting against the door, holding onto a bottle of soda as she watched Lao-Shi and Khircy, who was still dressed in his school uniform, sitting on Khircy's bed.

"Okay..." Lao-Shi said in English. "...My name are Lao-Shi-"

"Is." Khircy cut him off. "Remember, I just said 'is'. I didn't say 'are'."

"Fine." Lao-Shi rolled his eyes. "My name is Lao-Shi. I am living at Hong Kong."

"In Hong Kong." Khircy corrected him. "But fine." He held up his hands. "That was good enough. Okay, why don't you try this one: My job-"

"Hey." Lao-Shi cut him off in English. "You are supposed to go next." He finished in Chinese.

"I understood what you just said." Khircy tried, crossing his arms. "I'm exempt."

"No way." Lao-Shi told him English.

Bao, who was taking a big sip of drink from her soda bottle, stared at the two boys as she pulled the bottle away from her lips. "What are you two talking about?" She asked in Chinese, making both Lao-Shi and Khircy turn their heads to the side.

"He's trying to teach me to speak proper English." Lao-Shi told her in Chinese. "While he's the one that should be learning Chinese."

"Are you making any progress, Lao-Shi?" Bao asked.

"Eh." Lao-Shi said in English as he turned his head back to normal, finishing in Chinese: "At least I'm better at it than I was when I first started."

Sitting silently as she continued to watch the two boys, Bao finally made up her mind; slowly setting down her bottle of soda, Bao slowly got to her feet and then started to walk over to the bed, making both Khircy and Lao-Shi turned their heads to the side to look at her. As Bao reached the side of the bed, she smiled as she sat down on her knees.

"What?" Lao-Shi asked.

"I'd actually...like to hear your friend speak some Chinese." Bao told him.

"What is she saying?" Khircy asked in English as he turned his head back to normal to look at Lao-Shi, who was smiling at him.

"She wants you to say Chinese words." Lao-Shi told him in English.

"She wants me to speak in English?"

"What I just said." Lao-Shi nodded.

"What does she want me to say?"

"What do you want him to say?" Lao-Shi asked Bao in Chinese as he turned his head to the side to look at her.

"Anything." Was Bao's response.

"You choose." Lao-Shi said in English as he turned his head back to normal.

"Okay, then." Khircy said in English as he smiled confidently. Then, he cleared his throat, speaking in Chinese: "I want Bao...to stop...eating all the socks." As he finished saying this, Khircy closed his eyes and smiled, crossing his arms.

However, when he only heard the sound of Lao-Shi's laughing, his smile vanished and he opened his eyes to see that Bao had a confused look on her face while Lao-Shi was now lying on his back, his feet kicking out as he laughed hysterically.

"What?!" Khircy demanded in English over the sound of Lao-Shi's laughter. "What's so funny about what I just said? I said that I wanted Bao to stop drinking all of my soda!"

As he slowly stopped laughing, Lao-Shi slowly sat up. "No-No you didn't." He said in English.

"Then what did I say, huh?"

"You said-" Lao-Shi started, only to stop as he snickered. "You said that...Bao eats socks..."

"No I didn't." Khircy said defensively as he started to lower his arms.

"Bao..." Lao-Shi said in Chinese as he turned his head to the side to look at Bao, Bao turning her head to the side as well so she could look at him. "...Did he say that you eat socks?"

"That's what he said, alright." Bao replied in Chinese, turning her head back to normal to look at Khircy, who looked as if he were suffering from a terrible case of denial.

"She says yes." Lao-Shi said in English as he turned back to normal, making Khircy's denial fade away; Khircy's eyes widened and his lips slowly started to part. Looking at the way Khircy looked, Bao couldn't help but smile. Then, before she knew it, she had to put her hand to her lips to stifle a giggle.

LINE BREAK

A knock came against the door to Bao's apartment. Shaoqiang, who was sitting on the couch, got to his feet and started to walk to the door. As soon as Shaoqiang reached the door, he turned the knob and pulled the door open, stepping back and stepping to the side as a human Dragon Master Zhuo, followed by a human Councilor Klyntvo stepped inside, walking toward the couch.

Silently closing the door, Shaoquiang turned around to watch the two human formed dragons sitting down on the couch. "What are you doing here?" Shaoqiang asked.

"I thought I made it clear yesterday." Klyntvo said in Chinese. "Dragon Lao-Shi cannot keep your daughter safe every second of the day. During the night, Dragon Master Zhuo and I will be here to keep an eye on your home while you two sleep."

"Oh..." Shaoqiang said as he stepped away from the door, walking over to the couch. "...Well, Lao-Shi should be bringing Bao back any time now..."

LINE BREAK

The sun was starting to set as Lao-Shi and Bao exited the apartment building, a smile on Bao's face. "Lao-Shi?" She said as she turned her head to the side and looked down.

"Yes, Bao?" Lao-Shi returned as he turned his head to the side and looked up at her.

"That was...That was fun..." Bao told him, a small smiling forming.

Unbeknownst to Lao-Shi and Bao as they turned to the side and started to walk down the sidewalk, Hong, Kuo and Kong were standing on the roof of the tall building that was across the street from Khircy's apartment, watching down on them.

"The time is now." Hong said. "Come on."

Upon Hong's words, all three of them started to flap their wings, lifting off of their feet.

Meanwhile, back on the sidewalk, both Bao and Lao-Shi were walking slowly. "Bao..." Lao-Shi suddenly said, making Bao turned her head to the side and look down.

"Something wrong, Lao-Shi?" She asked.

"Nothing's wrong." Lao-Shi shook his head once. "It's just-"

"It's just what?"

"This might seem...a little sudden..." Lao-Shi told her. "...But I was wondering if you would...like to have me...have me fly you home?" He finished asking, turning his head to the side and looking up. "It's okay if you say no." As he said this, he started to lower his head.

"Lao-Shi." Bao quickly said, making Lao-Shi slowly lift his head back up. "It is very sudden." She continued. "But...I'd love it if you flew me." As she finished saying this, there was once again a small smile on her face.

Moments later, if any human had been standing on the roof of the tall building that Lao-Shi and Bao had been walking passed, they would have been able to see the bright flash of light on the ground. As the light faded, a blue dragon flew up into the air, Bao sitting on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Flapping his wings, Lao-Shi started to fly forward instead of just up into the air. "How does it feel to just sit back and relax while another dragon does all the flying?" Lao-Shi asked with a smile on his face as he turned his head to the side, trying to get a good look at Bao as she removed her arms from around his neck and sat up straight.

"It feels-" Bao started to say. However, she was cut off as three separate dragon tails slammed into Lao-Shi's side. Both Lao-Shi and Bao were thrown to the side, Lao-Shi rolling over, which threw Bao from Lao-Shi's back, making her scream as she fell down toward a roof of a tall building, Lao-Shi, still in his dragon form, falling after her.

As she fell, Bao grunted as she managed to wave her arms in front of herself, allowing herself to be consumed by a bright light, while Lao-Shi just continued to fall, falling right passed her as the light faded, Bao flaring her wings, stopping her fall.

With a grunt, Lao-Shi collided against the roof of the tall building that he had been hovering over, his back hitting first, and then his head.

From up above, Bao was looking in both directions for Lao-Shi, finally looking down, where she saw him. "Lao-Shi!" She gasped.

Lao-Shi didn't move as he lied on his back on the roof, not even as the sound of Bao's flapping wings got closer and closer to him. Finally, Bao landed right at his side and then got down on her knees, looking down on his as she put both of her clawed hands on his chest.

"Lao-Shi..." She begged silently. "...Come on. You need to wake up. Lao-Shi...please..."

"Oh dear..." The sound of Hong's voice made Bao gasp and look up, just in time to see Hong, Kuo and Kong all land on the roof on the other side of Lao-Shi's body.

"That was you that knocked us out of the sky!" Bao growled. "You could have killed us!"

"But we didn't." Kong said. "Well, you at least. I don't know about him." He pointed at the unmoving Lao-Shi, making Bao's eyes widen before she looked down at her bodyguard again.

"Bao, this isn't about him..." Hong said as she and her two companions that were chained to her started to walk closer to Bao and Lao-Shi. "...This is about you and us." The three dragons stopped right at Lao-Shi's side as Bao gritted her teeth, looking up at them.

"We've tried to talk to you twice now." Hong told her as she, Kuo and Kong all looked down. "That's all we've wanted. But you've always insisted on a fight. So...you're going to get one..."

As Hong said this, Kong grunted as he lashed out with his tail. With a grunt of her own, Bao flapped her wings as hard as she could and flew into the air just as Kong's tail whizzed by her. With wide eyes, Hong looked up into the air as Bao flew higher.

"Come on!" Hong ordered as she lowered her head back down, all three of them starting to flap their wings.

Slowing down as she got higher in the air, Bao finally stopped as she took a deep breath. Then, she looked down at the ground, seeing that she was about at the same height as she was when she and Lao-Shi had been thrown out of the sky. However, she could also see Hong, Kong and Kuo coming right up to her.

Gasping, Bao looked back up and tried to fly higher. Unfortunately, before she could get much higher, Hong reached up and grabbed onto her tail, pulling her back down. With Bao now at their level, Hong wasted no time in punching her right in the jaw, making Bao grunt as she backed up slightly, allowing Hong the opportunity to lift up her leg and swing it up toward Bao's body.

Groaning, Bao rolled to the side, only to grunt in pain again as she was hit from behind, being pushed forward as Kuo lowered his arm.

Coughing once, Bao turned around as quickly as she could and opened her mouth, blowing out a torrent of fire. However, all three of her attackers managed to avoid this with a flap of each of their wings, lifting them into the air, safely away from the fire before it hit them.

Soon, Bao closed her mouth, trying to take a deep breath as she saw that the area in front of her was vacant; Hong, Kuo and Kong were nowhere to be seen.

However, Bao's eyes soon widened as she heard the sound of yelling, which sounded like Hong's. Just as she looked up, the three conjoined dragons came down on her, Hong's fist hitting Bao in the back of her left ear.

Her eyes widening, Bao managed a gasp before she fell back and then started to plummet toward the ground.

As Bao continued to fall, Hong, Kong and Kuo all quickly lowered themselves at the same speed, stopping just below her as Hong held out both of her arms, Bao falling right into them, Bao's armpits hitting Hong's wrists.

Moaning, Bao closed her eyes as she leaned her head forward Hong's chest, Hong smiling. "Did...Did you kill her?" Kong asked, turning his head to the side.

"Of course she didn't..." Kuo replied in an annoyed tone as he crossed his scaly arms.

"Why would I do that, brother?" Hong asked with a smile on her face as she turned her head to the side. "If I killed her, what would I tell her Mother? What would we deliver to her?"

LINE BREAK

Inside her boathouse, Bao's mother was sitting in a rocking chair using a spoon to stir a mug of tea, her eyes directly on the door.

Seconds later, the door opened and Kuo walked inside slowly while walking sideways, followed by Hong. Finally, Kong walked inside, with a now human Bao in his arms. As soon as all the dragons were inside, they all turned to the side, allowing Bao's mother to see Bao, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and sinking as she breathed.

"Aw..." Bao's mother smiled as she leaned forward in her chair to the point where she was able to set her tea mug on the floor. Then, she straightened back up and stood up from her chair. "Well done..."

"We apologize for her being unconscious." Kong said. "We tried to do as you said. We waited for her after school, but-"

"But?" Bao's mother asked, narrowing her eyes as she slowly crossed her arms. "But there is no excuse for you damaging my daughter."

"She refused to listen to us!" Kong exclaimed.

"She even got herself a bodyguard dragon." Hong added. "We had to do what we had to do."

"Even hurting my daughter..." Bao's mother said as she lowered her arms to her sides.

"She is not hurt badly." Hong promised, holding up one of her clawed hands, as if she were making a pledge. "At most, when she wakes up, her left ear will be a little soar." As she finished saying this, she lowered her clawed hand.

Bao's mother stared at the three dragons for a few seconds, somewhat of a disappointed look on her face. However, she nonetheless reached down for her wand and pulled it out from her sash. "Very well." She said, her facial expression still not changing. "You did what I hired you to do. It is now time for me to keep my end of the business deal." She finished as she raised her wand up to the side of her head. "Remind me...how much money did I offer?"

"You can keep your magically produced money..." Hong said as she, Kuo and Kong all stepped toward her. "...All we want is to be released from these chains." As she said this, she reached down with one of her clawed hands and touched the manacle around her waist.

"Then perhaps you should make a deal with another wizard." Bao's mother said after a few seconds, the disappointed look still on her face. "That wasn't my offer..."

"Offers can change..." Hong growled.

"You said it..." Bao's mother scoffed, starting to lift up her wand to the side of her head again. "...But this way, if my daughter is seriously hurt, I can just hunt down all three of you at the same ti-ughh!" However, before she could finish speaking her threat, Hong's tail slammed into her chest, making Bao's mother drop her wand as she was thrown across the room, grunting again as she collided with the wall right behind her.

Hong watched as Bao's mother moaned as she slid to the floor, now sitting against it. "Come on." Hong told Kong and Kuo, all three of them starting to walk over to the wizard.

As soon as the three conjoined dragons reached Bao's mother, all three of them knelt down as Hong reached out with her claws and grabbed the collar of Bao's mother, pulling the half-conscious woman away from the wall.

"If you're going to have an attitude like that..." Hong told her with a slight growl. "...Then perhaps we'll keep your daughter while you come to your senses. Once you change your mind, meet us at the dock at midnight. You set us free, we'll set Bao free."

"Bao..." Bao's mother moaned, but before she could moan again, Hong pushed her back against the wall, her head hitting the wall hard. Bao's mother whined out in pain before her eyes finally closed, the female wizard sliding to the side, her side meeting the floor as Hong, Kong and Kuo all started to stand back up.

LINE BREAK

The sun had completely set, but it was still bright enough to see when one was outside. Inside Bao's apartment, Shaoqiang was pacing back and forth in distress while Dragon Master Zhuo and Councilor Klyntvo watched.

"Shaoqiang, sit down." Dragon Master Zhuo said calmly. "Give my student another half hour. Now that the sun has gone down, he's probably bringing Bao home as we speak."

Dragon Master Zhuo's words seemed to have an effect on Bao's father, who stopped pacing and slowly turned around. "Just one more half hour." Dragon Master Zhuo assured him.

"I am afraid that I agree with Shaoqiang's worry..." Klyntvo suddenly spoke up in Chinese, turning his head to the side. As soon as Dragon Master Zhuo got the sense that she was being looked at, she turned her head to the side as well to return Klyntvo's gaze.

"Do you doubt Lao-Shi's skills, Councilor?" She asked.

"Not at all..." Klyntvo said as he turned his head back to normal. "...I just find it reckless and irresponsible of Lao-Shi to keep Dragon Bao Chun out late when he knows that there are three dragons that mean her harm." As soon as he finished saying this, he stood up from the couch as Dragon Master Zhuo continued to watch him. "I suggest we go out and look for them."

"But you have no idea where they're going to be..." Shaoqiang said as he took three small steps toward the two dragons. "...How are you going to be able to find them?"

"All I can say is that we're going to need to search quickly." Klyntvo said as Dragon Master Zhuo stood up from the couch, standing at the Dragon Councilor's side.

"We?" Shaoqiang asked.

"Dragon Master Zhuo and myself." Klyntvo confirmed. "You..." He lifted up his hand at pointed at Shaoqiang. "...Stay here in case Lao-Shi and your daughter come back."

LINE BREAK

Bao was in her human form, lying on her back on a mat inside a shack, her eyes closed. However, the still unconscious girl flinched in her sleep as a Cadmium Red-colored claw clutching a damp rag neared her left ear, gently placing the rag there. "Shh..." Came the sound of Hong's voice.

Moaning, Bao slowly opened her eyes; as soon as they were opened fully, Bao slowly rolled her head to the side, forcing Hong to pull her claws away as Bao gasped, seeing Hong, Kuo and Kong all sitting on their knees at her side.

Gasping, Bao quickly sat up, her arms pulled up in front of her, Bao not noticing this until she was sitting up. With wide eyes, she slowly looked down to see that her wrists were bound in front of her, an iron bar wrapped around her wrists two times.

Grunting, Bao started to pull at her restraints, but Hong quickly grabbed both of her wrists with one clawed hand, making Bao turn her head to the side to watch Hong, Kuo and Kong as Hong shook her head once.

"Are you going to kill me?" Bao asked.

"No." Hong told her. "We have no desire to kill you or to even hurt you. All we wanted was to talk to you."

"You have a funny way of showing me that you just want to talk." Bao said, but then added: "What did you want to talk about?"

"Your mother." Kong said.

"She hired us to tell you that she misses you and wants you to come live with her." Hong said. "But before we could tell you, you tried to run, forcing us to try to keep you back. Then, this happened." She pointed down at the manacle around her waist.

"Then why are you keeping me here?" Bao asked.

"Because you had to go and chain us together." Hong told her in an annoyed tone. "You're the only way that your mother will release these chains. So, we're going to use you." She then removed her hand away from Bao's already trapped wrists as she continued to talk: "Look, we know that with your strength, you can break free. But it's not worth it." Hong narrowed her eyes. "Just wait it out. That way, you'll see your mother again..."

LINE BREAK

As it got darker, Councilor Klyntvo, in his Ceil-colored form, and Dragon Master Zhuo, in her Jazzberry Jam-colored dragon form, were flying alone in the air.

"We've checked her school and the home of Dragon Cason." Klyntvo said in Chinese. "Dragon Cason said they left a good hour ago."

"Maybe we should split up..." Dragon Master Zhuo suggested, turning her head to the side to look at the Councilor as Klyntvo looked down. "...We might be able to-" However, Zhuo was cut off as Klyntvo gasped, looking up.

"Look!" Klyntvo said, pointing down.

Doing as she was told, Dragon Master Zhuo did as she was told, gasping at what she saw. Lao-Shi was in his dragon form, lying on his back on the roof of the building right below them.

LINE BREAK

It was pitch black on the Island of Draco. Dragon Master Zhuo and Lao-Shi were both standing before the Council in their dragon forms, Lao-Shi holding an icepack to his head. Klyntvo, Zkryo, Calyx, Cantata, Sinley and Zoila were all in their human forms and were all standing up, angry looks on all of their faces.

"Unbelievable, Lao-Shi." Klyntvo said loudly in Chinese. "You don't know where Bao Chun is?"

"How can I?" Lao-Shi asked as he pulled the icepack up from his head. "I was attacked. I fell. I lost consciousness. I didn't wake up until you two had found me."

"You allowed yourself to be attacked by the three dragons." Klyntvo continued in a harsh tone as he crossed his arms. "You let them take her."

"With all due respect, Councilor Klyntvo..." Dragon Master Zhuo spoke up as she took a step forward. "...It was not completely Lao-Shi's fault. According to him, he was caught off-guard."

"That might be so, Dragon Master Zhuo." Councilor Zkryo spoke up in Chinese. "But he still allowed Dragon Bao Chun to be taken. Who knows what those three dragons are doing to her."

"Dragon Lao-Shi..." Klyntvo said as he leaned forward, placing his palms on the surface of the table. "...You must find Dragon Bao Chun."

"But it's late." Lao-Shi protested as he put the icepack back on his head. "It's almost 11 o'clock."

"I don't care!" Klyntvo shouted as he stood straight back up. "She is your responsibility!" The Councilor continued to shout as he extended his arm out to point at Lao-Shi. "And you must find her! For if you do not and Bao Chun is forever lost, it will be on your scales." Klyntvo finished in a much calmer tone as he lowered his arm, leaving both Dragon Master Zhuo and Lao-Shi with wide eyes.

"Now go look for her." Klyntvo finished, sitting down in his chair, all of the other Councilors following his example.

LINE BREAK

Inside her houseboat, Bao's mother was still lying on the floor in her unconscious state. Moaning, her finger twitched as she opened her mouth, moaning again. Slowly, her eyes cracked open; moaning once again, Bao's mother slowly opened them all the way.

"My head..." She moaned, putting her hand to her head as she slowly sat up. "...What happened?" She asked herself as she slowly took her hand away from her head. "I don't know..." She admitted to herself as she looked down at her lap. "...What happened here? Think..."

"...Think..." Bao's mother squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth together as reached up and put both of her hands on her temples, trying to think. "...Something bad must have happened here. Otherwise, I never would have-"

However, before she could finish speaking, Bao's mother gasped and her eyes shot open, everything coming back to her.

FLASH

Hong's tail hit her in the chest, sending her flying back until she hit the wall.

Then, Hong, Kong and Kuo had all been kneeling in front of her, Hong holding onto her collar. "...Meet us at the dock at midnight." Hong had said. "You set us free, we'll set Bao free."

FLASH

Looking up from her lap, Bao's mother's eyes were wide as she just sat there. "They have her..." Was all she could say. "...I...I have to do something..."

Grunting, Bao's mother struggled to get back up on her feet. As soon as she was standing, she reached down for her wand, but found that it was no longer tucked in-between her side and her sash.

Gasping, Bao's mother looked down before she looked back up, looking in both directions before she looked in front of her, finally finding her wand on the floor a couple inches away. Taking no time in getting to it, Bao's mother rushed over to it and then collapsed on her knees, reaching down and grabbing the wand.

"When I find them, I'll reduce them to slime." Bao's mother chanted. "Oh wand, show me the time."

As she finished the chant, a green glow came from the tip of the wand, shooting up to the sky. Looking up, Bao's mother could read the time from the green light on the ceiling: 11:05 PM.

LINE BREAK

Over the streets and the buildings of Hong Kong, Lao-Shi and Dragon Master Zhuo were flying in the air in their dragon forms. Panting, Lao-Shi brought up his scaly arm and wiped away the sweat that was forming on his forehead.

"Man, it's hard to fly all the way from the Island of Draco back to Hong Kong..." Lao-Shi complained.

"I know, Lao-Shi."

"...And they expect us to continue flying?" Lao-Shi continued. "How are we supposed to know where those three are holding Bao?" As he asked this, Lao-Shi turned his head to the side to look at his Dragon Master.

"There is no way for us to know, Lao-Shi." Dragon Master Zhuo replied without turning her head. "That is why we have to search the entire city."

LINE BREAK

At the dock, three sets of flapping wings could be heard as Hong, Kuo and Kong all landed on the dock, Kong holding the still bound human Bao in his arms bridal style. As soon as his feet touched the ground, however, Kong lowered his arm that was holding Bao's legs, making Bao grunt as her feet hit the wooden dock. Turning to the side so she was facing in the same direction as her three captors were, she stumbled forward, only to be stopped as Kong wrapped his scaly arm around her neck, holding her in place.

"Patience, child." Hong told Bao. "Your mother will be here any minute now."

"I'm already here." Came the sound of Bao's mother's voice, making Hong gasp. Seconds later, Bao's mother lowered down onto the wooden dock as she held her wand high above her head. As soon as her feet touched the wood, Bao's mother lowered her wand, watching with a scowl on her face as Hong smiled at her.

"I knew you'd come..." Hong said.

"Of course." Bao's mother replied. "You kidnapped my daughter. I'd be a horrible mother if I didn't come to her rescue."

"Glad to hear it." Hong said as her smile faded. "So does that mean that you're ready to make the exchange? Your daughter for our release? I swear to you that the second these chains are released from us, you and Bao will never see us again."

"The only question I have is how are we going to do this?" Bao's mother asked, her scowl fading as she held onto her wand with both hands. "How do I know that as soon as I free you, you won't take off with Bao?"

"Because we have no use for her." Kuo replied with a growl. "I think a better question is how do we know that after we give you back your daughter, you won't put us back in these chains?"

"Simple." Hong answered as she crossed her scaly arms. "We make the exchange at the exact same time. You aim your wand at our chains as Kong releases Bao."

"Works for me..." Bao's mother said, narrowing her eyes as she lifted up her arm and her wand again.

Smiling, Hong turned her head to the side to look at her brother. "Kong, let her go."

"Go on." Kong ordered as he removed his arm from around Bao's neck.

All three of the dragons watched as Bao slowly made her way to her mother's side. As soon as Bao reached her mother's side, she turned around to watch the action, only to see an impatient and angry look on Hong's face as she clenched her clawed fists.

"What are you doing?!" She demanded.

"Release us now!" Kuo joined in.

Closing her eyes, Bao's mother took a deep breath as Bao turned her head to the side, her eyes wide. Slowly, Bao's mother opened her eyes and spoke swiftly, almost a hiss: "Wind Spell!"

A strong wing, looking almost like steam shot from the tip of her wand, flying over to Hong, Kuo and Kong quickly. Both Kuo and Kong quickly both ducked, while the shocked Hong could do nothing. The wind hit her in the face, blowing the red string out of her hair.

As soon as the wind faded away, both Kong and Kuo straightened back up while Hong's long and now messy black hair fell back against her back. "What was THAT?!" Hong roared while Kuo and Kong both growled. "WE HAD A DEAL!"

"I just broke the deal." Bao's mother narrowed her eyes as she kept her wand pointed at the three, Bao still staring at her mother. "You kidnapped my daughter after hurting her to the point where she lost consciousness. You crossed the line..."

"And so did you..." Hong growled. "...NOW!"

Upon Hong's order, all three of them lunged for Bao and her mother, flapping their wings quickly. Still, Bao's mother kept her wand on them. "They wasted my time, tick-tock, tick-tock." Bao's mother chanted. "Blast these three off the dock!"

Just as Hong, Kuo and Kong were about to reach Bao and her mother, all three of them grunted as a force jerked them back. Within seconds, all three of them were shouting as they were thrown over the edge of the dock by a magical force, hitting the water with a splash.

Back on the dock, Bao turned her head back to normal as she watched her mother run over to the edge. As soon as she saw her mother reach the edge, Bao looked down as she lifted up her bound hands. A bright light consumed Bao, and as soon as it faded, she was in her dragon form. Grunting, Bao looked up as she pulled against the bar used to restrain her. However, when her efforts proved futile, she gritted her teeth as she pulled harder. It was then that she managed to free her wrists, pulling them far apart as the iron bar shatter into many pieces.

Without reverting to her human form, Bao walked over to the edge of the dock, stopping at her mother's side, her mother having lowered her wand and was now looking down at the water. Looking down at the water herself, Bao's eyes widened.

"What do you think of my handy work, Bao?" Her mother asked with a small smile.

In the water, Hong, Kong and Kuo were all floating, trapped in a large, thick piece of ice. While Hong grunted and fought against the ice holding her, Kuo just growled and Kong stared up at them with wide eyes.

LINE BREAK

With a flick of Bao's mother's wand, the manacle around Hong's waist unlocked. Lowering her wand, Bao's mother reached down with body hands and pulled it away. Standing up, Bao's mother, looked down on the three dragons that had kidnapped her daughter. All three of them were now lying face down on the dock, two a length of chains wrapped around each of their upper bodies twice, binding them; Kong's arms were pulled back slightly by the chains and were now resting on the back of his legs while Hong was lying on her arms, which were resting on her belly, and Kuo's were pinned to his side.

With soaking wet hair, Hong growled as she rolled over slight, her shoulder sticking up ever so slightly as Hong turned her head to the side. "Now you take them off..."

"Of course..." Bao's mother said as she took a step back, holding Hong's manacle in her hands, while Kuo's and Kong's dangled in the air. "...You three have worked so hard. You deserve to at least have separate jail cells."

With a small smile on her face, Bao's mother turned away from the three chained dragons and faced her still dragon daughter, who took a step closer to her. "Care to do the honors?" Bao's mother asked as she held up the manacles.

Without saying a word, Bao reached up and reached out, taking the manacles in both of her clawed hands. Taking a step back from her mother, Bao turned to the side and walked over to the ledge of the dock. Looking down at the water, she dropped the manacles. As they hit the water, there was a single splash and all three manacles vanished.

LINE BREAK

Lao-Shi and Dragon Master Zhuo were up in the air, flying toward the dock. As the two of them got closer to the dock, they could start to see the outline of a dragon starting to fly into the air, the outline of three other large figures right below her.

"What is that?" Lao-Shi asked as the two of them stopped.

"That should not concern you, Lao-Shi." Dragon Master Zhuo said as she turned her head to the side to look at him.

However, even as Lao-Shi and his Dragon Master just hovered in the air, the figures got closer and closer, to the point where Lao-Shi could make out the fact that there was a woman on the dragon's back and that she was holding onto something to keep the other three figures with her.

Finally, the dragon came into full view as the dragon reached the point where it was only a few feet from Lao-Shi and Dragon Master Zhuo. Lao-Shi gasped as he recognized the dragon. It was Bao, with a woman on her back, holding three sets of chains that held the three captured dragons.

"It's Bao." Lao-Shi said, making Dragon Master Zhuo turn her head back to normal, just as Bao reached them, Bao stopping. "Bao..." Lao-Shi spoke.

"Lao-Shi, you're okay..." Although she wasn't smiling, there was a relieved sound in her voice.

"I am now." Lao-Shi replied as Dragon Master Zhuo looked down at the three captured dragons, all three of them pouting in their defeat.

"We were looking for you." Lao-Shi continued as Dragon Master Zhuo looked back up at Bao and the woman who was sitting on her back.

"You were?" Bao asked.

"I am your bodyguard, aren't I?" Lao-Shi gave her a small smile.

Seconds later, Bao was flying off in-between Lao-Shi and Dragon Master Zhuo, her mother still on her back. Lao-Shi held the chain that was connected to the chains wrapped around Kuo, while Bao kept her hold on the chain attached to Hong's chains, and Dragon Master Zhuo holding onto the chain attached to Kong's chains.

LINE BREAK

Back at the Island of Draco, Lao-Shi and Dragon Master Zhuo were standing in front of the entire Council once again, still in their dragon forms, while the now human Bao and her mother were standing in the back of the room, watching as Councilor Klyntvo stood up.

"Congratulations on finding her, Dragon Lao-Shi." He told him in Chinese. "A job well done, indeed."

"Thank you, Councilor..." Lao-Shi said as he bowed.

"Well, if that is all you wish to say..." Klyntvo continued. "...I would appreciate it if you and your Dragon Master leave. The rest of the Council and I need to talk to Dragon Bao Chun."

Bao and her mother watched as Lao-Shi and Dragon Master Zhuo turned around and started to walk toward them, intending to exit.

As Klyntvo and the rest of the Council watched as Bao and her mother walked toward them, Councilor Calyx leaned to the side and muttered to Councilor Zkryo in English. "Perhaps you and Councilor Klyntvo weren't too hard on Dragon Lao-Shi after all.

"Hard?" Zkryo whispered back in English. "That wasn't hard at all. Sometimes a dragon needs to have harsh treatment. It could be good for them. Of course, we could have been a lot harsher."

By this time, Bao and her mother were now standing side-by-side, facing the Council as Klyntvo sat down. Klyntvo then clasped his palms together and put his elbows on the tabletop. "I am glad to see that you are okay, Bao." He said in Chinese. "Furthermore, I am glad that those three dragons that threatened you are now all locked away. You did well, Mrs. Chun."

"Thank you, Councilor." Bao's mother said, a nervous hint in her voice.

"But..." Klyntvo countered as he pulled his arms off of the table and leaned back in his chair. "...There is still the fact that you are the one who enlisted them in the first place..."

"It was never my intention for this to happen, sir." Bao's mother said sadly. "I did not hire them to attack Bao. I hired them to talk to her. To tell her that I missed her. That I wanted to see her. That I...wanted her to come live with me..."

"Be that as it may, Mrs. Chun..." Klyntvo continued as he crossed his arms. "...You still are responsible for this. While your heroic actions in defeating your daughter's kidnappers leaves me hesitant to place you under arrest at this very moment, the Council will have to make an official decision in regards to your fate."

By the time Klyntvo finished saying this, there was a look of fear on the face of Bao's mother. Trying her best to hide her fear, she clasped her hands together and looked down at her feet. "I understand, Councilor." She said.

LINE BREAK

Sometime later, Bao's mother was standing at the ledge of the island, listening to the clashing waters as she looked out into the distance.

From behind, the human Bao watched, her eyes wide. Taking a deep breath, Bao narrowed her eyes with determination and started to walk toward her mother, reaching her side a few seconds later. "I missed you too." Bao said quickly, making her mother turn her head to the side.

"Bao..." She said in a soft tone, a smile growing.

"And I'd love to come live with you, Mother." Bao said as she turned her head to the side as well.

Her smile only growing, Bao's mother could only turn to the side, making Bao do exactly the same thing, mother and daughter facing one another. "You don't know how much I'd like that..." Bao's mother said softly. "...The idea of leaving you with your father always hurt me, but he won custody. But I couldn't stay with a man who cheated on me."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Bao told her sincerely as she reached over and grabbed her upper arm with her opposite hand.

"Oh, Bao..." Her mother's smile only widened. "...I would love it if you would come and live with me, but...the Dragon Council..."

"They might decide to sentence you to prison time..." Bao said sadly as she took her hand away from her arm.

"It's a very big possibility..."

Unbeknownst to the mother and daughter, they were being watched by Councilor Klyntvo, whose robes rustled in the wind. He watched the two with a sorrowful look in his eyes. However, his mouth gaped open as he watched the two embrace each other.

Closing his eyes, the Council member sighed.

Bao and her mother continued to hold each other, with no intention of letting go...until they heard Councilor Klyntvo calling out to them in Chinese: "Mrs. Chun!" Both daughter and mother pulled apart and turned to the side to see Klyntvo walking up to them.

"Yes?" Bao's mother asked.

"You should be happy to know..." Klyntvo told both of them in Chinese as he stopped a few inches away from them. "...That the Council has reached a decision." Smiling, Klyntvo crossed his arms. "We've decided that you cannot be held accountable for what those three dragons did. You don't need to worry about jail time. Well, goodnight."

Holding up his hand in a friendly gesture, Klyntvo quickly lowered it as he turned around, starting to walk off. "Now to tell the Council about the decision they've made..." He said in English.

LINE BREAK

In his dark apartment, Shaoqiang Chun had fallen asleep on the couch, lying on his side. However, as he heard a knock coming from the door, his eyes snapped open.

Seconds later, he slowly reached the door and pulled it open, looking outside, only to see his daughter and his ex-wife standing outside in the hall. "Dawei?!" Shaoqiang asked, his eyes widening even more.

"I brought Bao home." His ex-wife, Dawei, smiled at him as she put her hand on Bao's back, gesturing Bao to start walking inside. Taking steps backward, Shaoqiang watched as Bao entered, followed by Dawei, who used her foot to kick the door closed.

"Bao, sweetie..." She said softly, making Bao turn around to face her. "...Why don't you go get ready for bed? Your father and I need to talk."

LINE BREAK

Sitting at the kitchen table, Dawei faced Shaoqiang as she stirred a mug of tea with a spoon. "So this was all your fault?" Shaoqiang asked angrily, his eyes narrowed.

"It wasn't my fault that Hong, Kong and Kuo took matters into their own hands." Dawei said in her defense as she continued to stir. "They even turned against me."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Shaoqiang asked as he folded his arms on the table.

"Because I missed Bao." Dawei said simply, but then she continued: "And she told me that she misses me. Shaoqiang, the reason why I'm here is not to talk to you. In fact, your affair hurt so much that I would love to never see you again."

"Then why are you here?"

"I want custody of Bao."

It took a moment for Shaoqiang to react, but when he did, he gave a forceful laugh as he pushed his chair back and stood up, turning to the side and walking over to the sink. As soon as he reached it, he turned on the water and turned his head to the side.

"After what you just told me..." He said. "...I'm convinced that you don't deserve her. She could have been killed because of you."

"Bao wants to live with me..." Dawei said softly as she turned to the side in her chair.

"That changes nothing." Shaoqiang stated as he turned his head back to normal.

"It is no surprise to me that you don't care about Bao's happiness..." Dawei said as she got up from her chair and reached down for her wand, which was tucked in-between her side and her sash. "...Seeing as you hurt both of us with the affair you pulled." Dawei continued. "But I do care about her happiness." She finished as she held up her wand. "Shaoqiang?"

"What?" Her ex-husband asked in an annoyed tone as he switched off the water and then turned around, only to have his eyes widen and gasp as Dawei started to chant:

"Even if not grand, grant my one demand."

LINE BREAK

The next morning, Bao was lying on her bed on top of the covers on her side, still wearing her school uniform. As the sun lit up her room, she moaned as she slowly opened her eyes.

Slowly sitting up, Bao yawned loudly as she stretched her arms up into the air. As soon as she finished yawning and stretching, Bao got off her bed and made her way to the door.

LINE BREAK

As Bao stepped into the kitchen, she was surprised to hear laughing. Her eyes wide, she was even more surprised to see that the laughter was coming from her divorced parents, who were sitting across from each other at the table.

"Thank you for being so considerate." Dawei said.

"Well..." Shaoqiang shrugged as he leaned back in his chair. "...I'm a nice guy."

"You sure are." Dawei told him, before she felt her daughter's presence, turning her head to the side. "Bao!" Her face lit up even more.

"Hello..." Bao said awkwardly.

"Bao, have I got news for you." Her mother said. "You remember how last night, you told me that you'd love to come live with me?"

"Yes."

"Are you still up for it?" Dawei asked. "Because your father agreed to grant me custody..."

"R...Re...Really?" Bao stammered, her eyes widening.

"Don't you worry about a thing." Dawei told her. "You head on over to your school and then come straight over to my house. All your stuff will be there. Before you go, I'll give you the directions."

LINE BREAK

Lao-Shi had his hands in the pocket of the jacket of his school uniform as he walked alone on the sidewalk. Looking ahead, he could see the school just a couple feet away, his ears twitching as the bell to the school rang out.

The doors to the school opened and several uniform-wearing schoolgirls made their way down the steps as Lao-Shi reached the side of the stairs.

Turning his head the side, Lao-Shi's eyes widened as he saw Bao exiting, alone. Bao quickly walked down the steps amidst a crowd of about four other girls and as soon as she reached the bottom, she turned to the side and stepped away to the steps, only to stop and gasp as she saw Lao-Shi standing in front of her. "Lao-Shi..." She acknowledged.

"Hey." Lao-Shi returned.

"Are...Are you okay?" Bao asked. "Are you...feeling any better?"

"I have a little bit of a headache." Lao-Shi told her. "I know it will go away in a few days, though."

"Well, what are you doing here?" Bao asked softly. "You don't need to protect me anymore."

"I know." Lao-Shi told her. "I was just walking by, but now that I'm here...I could...walk you home..."

"Sorry." Came Bao's response, making Lao-Shi's eyes widen. "But I'm moving." She continued. "I'm not going to live with Father anymore."

"Where are you going to live?"

"With my mother." Bao said, clasping her hands together in front of herself. "I think it's really going to be good for me."

"Oh..." Lao-Shi replied, slowly taking a step back. "...Well, that's good. And I guess...I guess we'll part ways now..."

Slowly, Lao-Shi turned around and then started to walk away, only to stop when he heard the sound of Bao's voice: "Lao-Shi, wait!" Turning his head to the side, Lao-Shi could see Bao's face as she continued to talk: "I didn't-I mean, I-I would like it very much if you flew me to my new home."

LINE BREAK

Flying in the air, the dragon forms of Bao and Lao-Shi flew out toward Aberdeen Harbor. While Bao looked down at the map she had been given as they flew, Lao-Shi's eyes were wide. "Your mother lives out here?"

"According to the map, she does." Bao said as she looked up from the map. "She must live in one of those houseboats. There are quite a few of them out here." As soon as she said this, she looked back down, but at the waters instead of the map.

Seconds later, they came across a houseboat, where there was a woman standing out in front of the parch. "There she is!" Bao pointed down toward the houseboat. Indeed, Dawei was standing at the edge of her boat, looking up into the sky with a smile on her face.

Seconds later, Dawei took a step back as the sound of flapping wings neared her houseboat. Seconds later, both Bao and Lao-Shi landed on the edge of the boat.

Upon seeing Lao-Shi, Dawei's smile slowly started to fade, even as both of them reverted to their human forms in bright lights, both of the lights fading quickly.

"Bao, I recognize this boy from last night." Dawei said as she crossed her arms. "Do you mind telling me who he is?"

"I am Lao-Shi." Lao-Shi said. "I was her bod-"

"He's a friend, Mother." Bao cut him off quickly. "He's a...He's a friend..." Bao repeated as she turned her head to the side and looked down on Lao-Shi, a smile on her face.

"Well..." Dawei said as she lowered her arms. "...Any friend of my daughter's is welcome here." Then, smiling, she slowly started to turn around. "Come on inside, Bao. I'll show you your new room." As she finished saying this, she finished turning around and started to walk toward her open door.

Lao-Shi and Bao both watched as Dawei disappeared inside. "Well, Lao-Shi..." Bao asked as she started to walk after her mother. However, after only four steps, she stopped and turned her head to the side. "...Are you coming in or not?" Then, she turned her head back to normal and continued to walk to the entrance.

Not being able to help a small smile, Lao-Shi shook his head three times before he stopped shaking his head and slowly started to follow the two inside.

BLACKOUT; END

A/N: Ta-da! The first of four films complete! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, leave me a review. I can't think of a single writer on this site that doesn't like reviews. And as a head's up, the second film will be posted after the Season Four finale of FD:RL.

Oh, and as an FYI, when Councilor Sinley says that it is unheard of that a dragon has attacked another dragon, he's not saying that it has never happened. He's more or less voicing his shock and horror. Attacks have happened, but they are very rare.