Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Eight)

Disclaimer: I don't own Am Drag.

Chapter/Episode 1: The Guilty Party

On the grass, Rose and Savannah faced each other, both of them in their dragon forms. "Well, Savannah..." Holly said with a smile on her face. "...I'm supposed to train you. Are you ready?"

"Are you?" Savannah smiled back. "That cape of yours might slow you down."

"It never did before." Rose said, her smile only widening. "I fail to see how it could start now."

"Aw..." Came the sound of Councilor Callum's voice, making both Rose and Savannah turn their heads to the side to see Callum, in his human form, stopping just a few inches away. "...I would love to see you train with Dragon Rogers."

"Feel free to watch." Savannah said with a cocky smile on her face as she and Rose turned to face the Dragon Councilor.

"Perhaps later." Councilor Callum said as he crossed his arms.

"Why not now?" Rose asked.

"Because..." Councilor Callum told her. "...Earlier today, you said that you believe your parents to be victims of murder and that you can name a suspect."

LINE BREAK

Now in her human form, Rose sat in a chair in the Main Hall, facing Callum, Jake and Rin, who were all in their human forms and were all seated at the table, without Holly.

"Um, actually..." Rose said rather nervously. "...I wasn't telling the whole truth when I told you that I could give a physical description."

"What do you mean, Rose?" Jake asked.

"I didn't see the guy's face." Rose explained, putting her hands in her lap. "In fact, I didn't see much of him."

"Where did you even see him, anyways?" Jake asked.

"Uh, in the Underworld." Rose said awkwardly.

"The Underworld?" Rin asked.

"Yeah." Rose said. "Uh, Jake. I'm sure Mrs. Jenkins sends you wishes for the best."

"You went to the Underworld?!" Jake asked.

"Yes." Rose said. "Yes, I did."

"Well, what did you see of this punk?" Jake asked.

"Well, he is a dragon." Rose said. "I can tell you that. I did see his color."

"Really, that's all we need to know." Jake told his wife. "Many dragons in the world share the same color, but we have tabs on them all."

"So, you can just call every single dragon that matches the color over here?" Rose asked.

"You bet." Jake smiled.

"What color was he, Agent Long?" Rin asked.

"Wheat-colored." Rose answered.

LINE BREAK

Now in her human form, Savannah was lying on her back, staring up at the sky. "Savannah?" She heard Rose's voice, prompting Savannah to turn her head to the side to see Rose and Jake standing about a foot away.

"Oh, hey." Savannah said as she sat up, her head still turned to the side. "So?"

"So what?" Rose asked.

"What's going to happen now?" Savannah asked. "How are we going to act?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Savannah." Jake told her. "The Council's got it covered."

"But how?" Savannah asked.

"It doesn't really concern you, Savannah." Jake told her, running a hand through his hair. "You're still in training. I think you and Rose should get back to that, by the way." Then, without another word, Jake turned around and walked away, leaving Rose alone with Savannah.

Now alone, Rose wordlessly transformed into her dragon form in a bright light while Savannah got up to her feet, starting to walk over to her friend as the light faded, Rose now standing in her dragon form. Once Savannah reached Rose, she too became engulfed by a bright light, having transformed into her Bondi Blue-colored dragon form by the time the light faded.

"Ready?" Rose asked.

"Can you tell me what's going on with your parents' killer first?" Savannah asked.

"They're going with what I just told them." Rose said.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that every dragon in their system..." Rose explained. "...That is the same color as the dragon that killed my parents is going to be getting a call from the Dragon Council."

"They're all going to be coming here?" Savannah asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah." Rose smiled. "Hopefully, from there, I will be able to recognize the dragon."

"When do you think the dragons could get here?" Savannah asked.

"I don't know." Rose answered. "The Council, on the other hand, thinks that it's possible for all of them to be here on this island by late afternoon."

"You know what that means, don't you, Rose?" Savannah asked with a smile on her face as she crossed her scaly arms. "This whole thing is going to be coming to an end real soon."

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

Later in the afternoon, a female Wheat-colored dragon with long Tiffany Blue-colored hair that was in a pony-tail landed on the grass.

"Aw, Dragon Wetzel..." She could see Councilor Callum, in his dragon form, walking toward her.

"Am I late?" Dragon Wetzel asked as Callum reached her.

"Well, you are the last one to arrive..." Callum said. "...But no worries..."

"Okay..." Dragon Wetzel said as she ran a clawed hand through her hair. "...Do you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Callum told her. "Now, if you don't mind, please follow me."

LINE BREAK

The door to the room where Savannah's team had been held for identification opened and Dragon Wetzel stepped inside, only to stop and gasp as she saw thirty dragons that had the same color scales as her, all in the same room.

"What is going on?" Dragon Wetzel asked with wide eyes as Callum stepped up to her side.

"You'll find out soon enough." Callum repeated, holding up a clawed hand with a vial of truth serum in it. "You're going to need to drink this."

"Truth serum?" Dragon Wetzel asked as she took the vial. "What is going on?" She asked, turning her head to the side, only to get the cold shoulder as Callum turned around and walked out of the room.

Sighing as the door closed behind Callum, Dragon Wetzel turned her head back to normal and looked down at the vial in her claws.

"Ferne!"

However, when Dragon Wetzel heard her name being called, she quickly looked up to see another Wheat-colored dragon, only with short, greasy black hair walking up to her.

"Harley?" Dragon Wetzel asked. "You're here to?"

"From what I've heard..." Harley said as she reached Dragon Wetzel. "...Every dragon that shares our color was asked to come here."

"There's more than I thought there'd be." Dragon Wetzel said. Then, she looked down and took off the cap of her vial. Then, she quickly downed the truth serum. "Do you know why we've all been asked to gather here?" Wetzel asked as lowered the empty vial from her mouth.

"Not a clue."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the thirty or so Wheat-colored dragons, Rose was standing in-between Jake and Councilor Rin, all three of them in their dragon forms.

"There are more than I thought there'd be." Rose said, her eyes wide.

"There are a lot of dragons in the world, Rose." Jake said as all three of them watched all of the Wheat-colored dragons line up. "Well..." Jake said as he put a clawed hand on his wife's shoulder. "...Apparently one of these dragons killed your parents."

"Are you sure?" Rose doubted. "What if these aren't all of the dragons in the world that are of this color?"

"These are all of them." Rose told her. "Now, what you need to do is go through them all and tell us which ones you think match the dragon that Mrs. Jenkins showed you down in the Underworld."

LINE BREAK

Moments later, Rose sat in Holly's seat at the table in the Main Hall, with Callum, Rin and Jake also sitting at the table. The door to the Main Hall opened and a dragon-formed Dragon Council Agent walked inside with Dragon Wetzel at his side.

"The others are all waiting outside." The Dragon Council Agent said.

"Good." Rose said. "Keep them all calm."

"Yes, ma'am." The Agent said before he turned around, leaving Dragon Wetzel alone with the Councilors and Rose.

"Okay, can you please tell me what's going on?" Wetzel asked.

"You are a suspect in the murder of Agent Longs' parents." Councilor Rin said. "Agent Long has selected you and eight others as possible matches for the crime."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Dragon Wetzel said, holding up her clawed hands.

"Do you mind telling me your name?" Rose asked.

"Ferne Wetzel."

"And where do you live, Ferne?" Rose asked.

"I live in Syracuse."

"Do you remember hearing about an explosion in the streets of Manhattan?" Rose asked.

"Yes."

"Where were you on that day, Ferne?"

"I was home." Dragon Wetzel said. "I had the flu. If you want, you can talk to my parents. They're both in the order."

"No need, Dragon Wetzel." Rin said. "We gave you a truth serum for a reason."

"So, is that all?" Wetzel asked.

"Yes, you can go now." Rose said. "And tell the next dragon to come in."

LINE BREAK

Now, Harley stood in front of the Council. "Uh, my name's Harley Grier, ma'am." She said politely.

"And you are from?" Rose asked.

"Syracuse."

"Do you know Ferne Wetzel?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, we're pretty good friends..." Harley said as she reached over and grabbed her opposite arm.

"And what have you heard about an explosion in Manhattan?" Rose asked. "It was a car. It killed two people."

"Ferne told me about it, I think." Harley said. "Sounds like a freak accident."

"It was murder." Rose said, but then she sighed. "I take it you know nothing about it?"

"No, I was training with my Master all day that day."

LINE BREAK

Now, a male dragon with short red hair stood in front of the Council and Rose. "Tell me, Dragon Pyle..." Rose said. "...Do you know anything about an explosion in Manhattan?"

Instead of a verbal response, Dragon Pyle just slowly shook his head.

LINE BREAK

Next, a male dragon stood in front of the Council and Rose. "Jonas Creech." He said. "My name's Jonas Creech."

"Jonas, can you tell me if you know anything about an explosion in Manhattan?" Rose kept asking the same question. "It killed two people. We want to find the person who caused the explosion."

"It wasn't me." Jonas said. "I live all the way in Utah."

"And that's where you were, Jonas?" Rose asked.

"Why would I be here when I could be in my home state?" Jonas asked.

LINE BREAK

Now, another male dragon stood in front of the Council and Rose. "Di...Did I do something wrong?" He asked timidly.

"I don't know." Rose gave him a threatening smile. "You tell me. What's your name?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just tell me..." Rose growled, getting impatient.

"His name is Reuel Herzberg." Jake said. "He's from Jamestown."

"What is this all about?" Reuel asked.

"An explosion that killed my parents." Rose said. "You come down to Manhattan from Jamestown to cause it?"

"No!" Reuel narrowed his eyes.

Sighing, Rose leaned back in Holly's chair. "Then get out of here..." Then, she put a hand to her forehead, not knowing how much she could take.

LINE BREAK

Now, another male dragon, with dirty and long black hair stood in front of Rose and the Council. "Name?" Rose asked.

"Dwight Poirier." The dragon said.

"Where do you reside?"

"I'm actually from The Bronx." Dwight said, smiling. "All the bigger and tougher kids wanted to beat on me when I was younger, but all I had to do was go dragon."

"That's very nice, dragon." Rose said, getting more and more annoyed with each passing second. "Look, I just want to know if you know about an explosion in Manhattan."

"Yeah, it took place earlier this month." Dwight said, crossing his scaly arms. "It sounds like it was a tragic accident."

"It wasn't." Rose said.

"How do you know that?" Dwight asked.

"Because I saw an attacker." Rose said. "It was murder."

"Man, that sucks."

"Yes, and possibly for you." Rose smiled. "Because the dragon was a wheat-color, such as yourself and had the same body shape as you."

"So, that is what this is all about?" Dwight asked. "We're all suspects?"

"Can you just tell me what I need to know?" Rose asked. "Were you the killer?"

"Ma'am, I'm honestly appalled that you would think that." Dwight said. "I'm a protector of magical creatures, not a murderer of the innocent."

"Then leave." Rose said. "I'm not looking for a noble dragon, I'm looking for an evil scumbag."

"Alright..." Dwight replied, put off by Rose's growing temper. "...But if you need some help finding the perp, I could help."

"Thanks for the offer." Rose said. "But I don't think you'll be needed."

Shrugging, Dwight turned around and started to walk towards the exit. "Oh..." Rose called out to him as she leaned back in Holly's chair, crossing her arms. "...Once you get outside, tell the final three to come in all together. I just want this done."

"Got it." Dwight called back as he opened the doors, stepping outside. The doors closed after him, but about five seconds later, the doors opened again and three Wheat-colored dragons stepped inside, all of the same body shape. The first two were female and the third was male. The first female long, straight brown hair while the second female had blonde hair on only the right side of her head. The male had rather short black hair.

"Alright, let's make this quick." Rose said as the three dragons stopped in front of the table. "One of you has to be the killer."

"What?!" The first female dragon asked, her eyes widening.

"What's your name?" Rose asked the first girl.

"Jules Rooney." The dragon answered. "Look, I-"

"Save it." Rose said, holding up a hand. "Where are you from?"

"Well, I was born in France, but my parents are American, so they-"

"Where do you live now?" Rose asked.

"Albany."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Rose asked.

"I'm a dragon, ma'am." Jules replied nervously. "Sometimes you have no choice."

"Oh?" Rose asked. "Who have you killed, Jules?"

"I accidentally killed a goblin." Jules answered. "But it was an accident, I swear!"

"Any humans?"

"No."

"Alright, how about you?" Rose asked the second female. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kelsey Oliver and I'm from Oneida." The second female answered. "I've never killed anyone, magical or human. My Dragon Master told me never to, not even if it's in self defense."

"That's kind of stupid." Rose replied.

"I agree, ma'am." Kelsey replied. "If I may ask, though, why are you asking us if we've ever killed anyone?"

"Yeah, I'm confused." Jules said.

"Well..." Rose smiled. "...You may be confused..." Then, she grunted as she put her hands on the table and launched herself out of Holly's chair, flipping over the table and landing on her feet. "...But I don't think this guy is..." She walked over to the third dragon, the only male.

"...How about it, buddy?" Rose asked, her smile only widening as she put her arms behind her back. "You're the last dragon of all the ones that I hand-selected. Look at you." She quickly looked him down before making eye contact with him again. "You've got the color and the same body shape as the assassin. Well? Why don't you confess? You killed my parents...didn't you?"

The male dragon's lip quivered briefly before he narrowed his eyes, and before Rose could act, he opened his mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, which hit Rose and knocked her back, making her fall onto the floor.

Without a second the glance, the male dragon turned around and ran, while both Jules and Kelsey turned around with wide eyes, watching as the male dragon pushed open the doors and ran outside.

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

The doors to the Main Hall once again opened, but this time, it was Rose who ran out, in her full dragon form.

Seeing the killer of her parents running towards the edge of the island, Rose grunted and forced herself to run faster. As she ran, she reached down to her belt and pulled out her shrunken down staff. Taking it out in front of her, Rose quickly pulled the staff out to its full length.

Then, she allowed herself to stop and as she panted, she carefully took aim with her now blazing staff. "You're mine." She growled. Then, she fired.

The glowing green plasma raced toward the fleeing Wheat-colored dragon, finally hitting him in the back. The assassin dragon roared in pain as he fell forward onto the grass, motionless.

Smiling smugly, Rose lowered her staff; using it as a walking stick, she started to walk towards the fallen dragon. As soon as she reached him, she took a deep breath and once again reached down to her belt, but this time for her shackles.

However, while Rose did this, the assassin dragon quickly rolled over, making Rose gasp in shock as he lifted up his feet and kicked Rose in the knees, making Rose fall back as she dropped both her cuffs and her staff.

Quickly, the assassin dragon got up on his feet and continued running, while Rose sat up as quickly as she could.

"I don't think so..." Rose growled. Then, she flapped her wings and lifted into the air.

Seconds later, the assassin dragon gasped and came to a halt as Rose landed right in front of him. "You're going to jail." Rose said. "Now." Then, she threw a punch, hitting the assassin dragon in the face, making him grunt and throwing him back onto the ground, where he reverted to his human form in a bright light. Once the light faded, Rose recognized the man, making her gasp.

"You!" Rose hissed, her eyes narrowing as she stared down at Apep Kerberos.

"'Fraid so." Apep grinned. Then, with a grunt, he launched himself up, kicking Rose in the face, throwing her back as Apep landed on his feet.

"I'm sure that we'll meet again, Mrs. Long." Apep said with a smile on his face. Then, he transformed into his dragon form in a bright light, flying into the air out of the light as soon as he had finished transforming.

As she lied on the ground, Rose gritted her teeth as she watched Apep Kerberos, the killer of her parents, fly away.

LINE BREAK

"Apep Kerberos." Rose said as she stood before the entire Council in her human form in the Main Hall. "That's the name of our dragon."

"The man from the funeral of your parents?" Jake asked.

"That's the guy." Rose said as she crossed her arms.

"Unfortunately..." Rin said. "...Even when knowing the human form of this dragon, it's going to be very hard to find him. We have no idea where he lives."

"Especially now..." Callum added. "...He is probably in hiding. It's going to be very hard to find him, indeed."

"Well, she's not alone." Came the voice of Savannah, as she, in her human form, walked up to Rose's side.

"Dragon Rogers..." Jake tried.

"Isn't it Agent Rogers, now?" Savannah asked.

"That may be so, but-" Rin started, only to be cut off by Savannah again.

"Councilors, give me a chance." Savannah pleaded. "Please. I can show you that I am well trained."

"Savannah..." Jake tried.

"I believe in her." Rose said as she put a hand on Savannah's shoulder. "I've seen her. She is capable of holding her own in a fight."

"Thanks, Rose..." Savannah said softly, smiling as she turned her head to the side.

"And you know what else?" Rose smiled as well as she also turned her head to the side. "I know of several other dragons that are also competent in a fight..."

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

A/N: Please review! What did you think of the season premiere? Personally, I kind of hoped that it would be the first episode to reach 14-15 pages long in over a season. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.