~Chapter 1~

"Fu, there's no time!" Jake yelled to the voice on the other side of the phone. He flapped his wings to gain altitude, his red dragon scales shimmering against the moon's faint glow. Occasionally he passed under thin, short clouds and the reflection was momentarily deluded. Under normal circumstances it would be a very peaceful scene. But these were no normal circumstances.

"You think I don't know that?" the voice on the other end shouted back. "Listen, kid, I'm typing as fast as I can; my paws are about to fall off!"

"Well you need to do better. Things aren't looking good right now..." Jake's word trailed off as he circled around a hill. Some of the landscape was already wearing away. It only proved how grim things would be in a few short weeks.

"I know, why else would I be on this computer for six days straight!"

A strong gale pushed him back a little bit. He chose to land, sensing another oncoming storm. The patch of dirt under his left flank gave way, tripping him and forcing him to crawl back up.

"Scratch that last part. It's worse than we thought," he said.

"What do you mean worse? We only have about six months and I still have nothing to go on. How can it possibly get any worse than that?"

He sighed. "Well, the hill might as well be melting at this point. I don't think we have that long. I would say we probably have about two months. What do you think will happen after those two months are up?"

"Well, kid, you can kiss the world goodbye, that's what'll hap- Wait!" The sound of typing was heard over the line. "I think I found something. It's called 'the voice of the dragon'. Says here it's a music box with an enormous amount of power."

Feeling water droplets and seeing heavy clouds, Jake lifted himself into the air and started back toward his home.

"Kid?" the voice said.

"It's great that you found a magical box to help us, but even if it had the power of a thousand suns, how do we even find it? Music boxes are usually small. We don't even know what it looks like!"

"Well, that's the thing. There's a sketch of it, but it's not exactly the most detailed picture in the world. I don't think a little girl's finger painting will come in handy. The description says it's actually an evil box, and it'll destroy whoever tries to touch it," the voice said.

"I thought you said it was helpful!" Jake cried. "How are we going to control a-"

"Hold up, hold up! Listen, it's supposed to contain an enormous amount of power. If we can get it without directly touching it, maybe we can release that power. And before you say anything else, I'd think about giving it a shot. All the dragons combined couldn't defeat the Dark Dragon. You need to get Rose and tell her about this. Oh, and another thing, keep in mind that there's no vortex to suck him in this time," the voice explained. "We'll need to bring him down once and for all...or else the world will be engulfed in evil. Life as we know it will be completely obliterated."

"Yeah, about Rose... She's really ticked off at me and she hasn't listened to a thing I've said for the past three weeks," he murmured.

The frustrated voice on the other end sighed deeply. "What did you do this time?"

Just now realizing he had lost about twenty feet of altitude, Jake flapped his wings and caught an air current. His wings assumed a gliding position, and he rode effortlessly on the winds beneath them. He truly had no idea why Rose was so angry. He hadn't done anything wrong, not that he could remember anyway. It just sprung up out of the blue and continued on into a three week time frame, stretching for a fourth week. He didn't know what was going on with her, only that she was furious with him and brushed off all his apologies for whatever it was he did wrong. It had to have been pretty bad, too, being as she absolutely refused to answer his phone calls. Any voice mail he left was ignored. She had all but shut him out of her life. She wouldn't even tell him why...

Jake hung up at that point. Rose meant the world to him, and he would do anything and everything to make her happy. Even when she was a member of the heinous Huntsclan, even when she was convinced that dragons were disgusting creatures worthy of destruction, even when she was determined that it was her destiny to slay a dragon and take her place as a fully recognized dragon slayer, even when she was bent on slaying him...he never tried to hurt her. Huntsgirl wasn't just a human that had spent her entire life training to slay mythical creatures, she was found out to be Rose. As a dragon, he had told her she was different, that she there was another side to her. She fought against the idea, truly believing she was meant to help the Huntsclan rid the world of mythical creatures. However, that special side of her emerged when she had chained him to a tree, in a manner which he couldn't escape.

He remembered that scene all too well.

Her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed as she ran toward him at an amazing speed. "It's over, dragon. Say goodbye!" she growled, holding up her advanced tool, designed for killing mythical creatures.

"Rose! No!" he cried.

She stopped dead in her tracks. "Wha...What did you call me?"

"Rose," he replied. "And if you want to say goodbye, say it to my human face."

He reversed his dragon form and showed her his human disguise, or rather, his human identity. Black dragon claws shrunk back into vulnerable hands, feet, and nails. Reptilian scales and the ridges on his back pulled back, leaving defenseless human flesh. His tail moved back to its rightful place as a tailbone. His maw, nozzle, sharp teeth, and pointed ears were forced back into his skull, leaving the most important part of his identity. His face.

"Rose, it's me," he said.

A look of pure shock rushed over her. "Jake?"

She pulled off her mask. There was a decision that had to be made now. Jake was a dragon, and she was a dragon slayer. She would either have to destroy the boy she loved to prove herself to the only family she'd ever known, or let him live and disgrace the Huntsclan.

Jake, on the other hand, had no say in the matter. Either he would die tonight, or she would spare him a bloody death. The only thing he could do was hope she would make the right choice.

In the final moment that decided whether a dragon was to be terminated or whether a human would be spared his life, she raised her weapon high in the air.

"And she set me free," he mumbled to himself.

He continued on the current's path. The moon still had such a beautiful glow to it, and with its light still reflecting off his scales, it was still the perfect picture of mysterious beauty. If he was going to get Rose to listen to him, maybe he should start putting a little more effort into their relationship. But what could he do? Rose was, at one time, convinced that dragons were hideous, nasty reptiles. Even though she'd afterward told him she didn't care what he looked like, which just so happened to be at the time he was shedding his skin, he still wondered if that was actually true. All her life she had been told these stories about mythical creatures, dragons especially. Unicorns were worthy of hunting for their horns, something to be a prized trophy, and something that would sell dearly on the black market. Many other creatures were caught and used as tests for trainees to show off the skills they'd learned thus far. But the ultimate prize was no unique appendage or stolen piece of gold from a leprechaun, nor was it the dust of a pixie or a vision from oracle twins. No...the ultimate prize was the pelt of a dragon.

Thankfully, Jake or any other mythical creature had to worry about the Huntsclan anymore. It all happened so fast, like a vague dream. Rose had helped the Huntsmaster to collect all thirteen Aztec skulls, which, when brought together, would grant the holder of the thirteenth skull a wish. Right when the Huntsmaster was about to wish for the riddance of mythical creatures, Rose pushed him out of the way, quickly grabbed the crystal skull, and made her wish. But it was a wish Jake had never once anticipated. She wished for the destruction of the Huntsclan, even though she was one of them. As each of them were pulled up by a dragon-shaped birthmark, Jake held Rose down, too reluctant to let her go. Now it was his turn to make a wish, even though his primary mission was to destroy the skulls so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. He wished Rose had never been taken by the Huntsclan. Rose was saved by his wish, but she'd lived a completely different life now, and therefore had no memory of the Huntsclan or the existence of mythical creatures. He threw the thirteenth Aztec skull onto the concrete pavement of the rooftop. It smashed, and destroyed the other twelve skulls. He flew away after that, devastated at the fact that he was unlikely to ever win Rose over again.

The problem, when Jake finally found her in Hong Kong, was trying to get her to remember him. The only way she'd gotten her memory back was a picture of Jake and her left at her apartment by accident, one that depicted the two of them at the school dance back before any of this crazy chain of events happened. Jake hadn't wished for complete and permanent amnesia, and it was because of that that she was able to remember everything despite having lived a different life.

After that, she helped Jake and all the other dragons take down the Dark Dragon, an evil dragon who wanted mythical creatures to rule the Earth, just as they had before humans came along and forced them into hiding. He was twisted, though, and was completely consumed with darkness. However, the only reason he was defeated was by Rose managing to shove him into a vortex that would keep him contained for another thousand years, when the mystical tower of dragons would appear once more.

The problem now was that the Dark Dragon had gained so much power through a special potion. Now he was using that power to gradually dig his way out of the vortex, and the hill on which the tower had rested was starting to give way as the Dark Dragon came closer and closer to freedom. If they couldn't find a way to stop him, he would break free entirely and fulfill his wish. Last time they managed to get away by the bare skin of their teeth, but now would be so much different...

"Fu was right. We need Rose," Jake mumbled, trying to keep his thoughts in order. "But she won't answer my phone calls and I can't just go up to her door and start talking about magical creatures in front of her parents and twin sister. I don't really have a way to talk to her, and even if I did, she wouldn't listen."

He continued trying to figure out what he did so wrong to have made her this angry. He couldn't come up with anything though. He'd been a good boyfriend, loving, caring, compassionate... He liked to surprise her every now and then with chocolates or flowers. Lately chocolates and flowers weren't working. And the chocolate, that was powerful stuff! He'd never met a single girl who wasn't a chocoholic. Rose especially loved it. She could wipe out an entire box in just one day. So her refusal of chocolate was big; it meant he'd done something horribly wrong. Maybe she was disappointed in him for something...? But what?!

He sighed as he got off the current, flapping his wings again as he prepared to land. His dad finally found out about the whole dragon business, as well as the fact that there was a whole world of magic awaiting discovery.

His feet touched the ground. The talons on his toes dug into the earth so he could keep his balance. He had no choice. If Rose wouldn't listen to his phone calls, then she would listen to him face to face. He looked down. The storm was setting in, meaning it was a bad time to wait near her window until she acknowledged him. Nonetheless, and bad time or not, he flew up to her window, remembering her address. There he hovered, finding no place to land or cling to. If he stayed in dragon form, the chances of her coming out to talk to him were greatly heightened.

For hours, he pumped his wings, trying to stay level with the glass. The rain had started, and soon became a downpour. She would see him any minute now... Yeah, any minute she would come into her room and see him right outside her window, where he would wait for days if he had to.

Another hour passed. His wings had had plenty of flight during training, so the muscles were built up pretty well. They were straining slightly, but not nearly enough to get tired. Any minute...any minute... How long was a minute supposed to last exactly?

Two more hours passed. His wings were becoming a little tired, but they could hold up for awhile longer. Besides, they couldn't give out now if the wanted to. Rose was finally home, and even more exciting, she was entering her room.

She pulled a hairband out of her golden locks and set it on her dresser. Jake could only watch, hoping she would see him soon.

The rain continued to fall, pattering against his scaly armor, sliding off his back and wings. It was truly bone-chilling. The moon's light was entirely blocked out by the storm cloud. A mysterious haze fell about him. It was actually a good thing. The whole magical world was completely unknown to humans, and it was planned to stay that way. Seeing a dragon hovering in the air above their heads would alarm everyone. If they found out about mythical creatures, they would be curious about them. Biologists would be more than happy to look further into the matter, even if it meant capturing and dissecting so many unfortunate victims. As was proven by the Huntsclan, humans had the power and intellect to create such harmful weapons. If they wanted, they could wipe out every living thing, even the protectors of the magical world...dragons. No mythical creature wanted to take on the entire human race. To protect a mythical creature that needed to come out of hiding, dragons had assumed a human disguise to blend in with the human world. No one, aside from the few humans that truly believed there was another world just waiting to be discovered, attempted to look into the matter. Thus, no detection was established.

For another three hours, Rose went about her business without knowing where he was. His wings were getting cramped, making flying both painful and difficult. She didn't notice him. She didn't even wonder why he hadn't called yet, being as he called her every day. She didn't look out the window. She didn't seem to be worried about him. It was like she didn't even care.

He looked down at the pavement. His wings could use a rest after holding him in the air for so long. Once his feet touched the ground, he transformed into the human disguise he'd been forced to wear since birth. It was considered natural now; many generations of dragons before him had done it. He wasn't told he was a dragon until he first breathed fire at a school camping trip. It was then that his grandfather, a wise and experienced dragon, began training him the skills he needed to protect himself and the magical world. His grandfather was the Chinese dragon, yet lived in New York. Having skipped his mother's generation, Jake was left as the American dragon. His little sister, Haley, was a dragon as well. She was second in line for the title of the American dragon. If something happened to Jake, she would take his place. For this reason, Haley also underwent dragon training. Her trainer was the Korean dragon, Sun. Each dragon was assigned a specific country to protect. Jake, in fact, was the first American dragon. His rival, Nerf, was the first Australian dragon.

And speaking of countries to protect, dragon masters, and old rivalries, the Dragon Council was waiting for the other dragons to gather. The meeting would be held in Britain. The host, not surprisingly, wasn't the British dragon, but the Council itself. It consisted of the wisest and most experienced dragons. And unfortunately, the only reason for the world's dragons to come together was to devise a plan for defeating the Dark Dragon. He was a very powerful foe, the most powerful of all dragons. Lao Shi, Jake's grandfather, was the only dragon to engage in battle with the Dark Dragon and live.

Until, that is, Jake himself had taken on the Dark Dragon twice. He had proven himself as a brave dragon worthy of admiration. More importantly, he had surpassed his dragon master and by doing so, became the most powerful of dragons. The exception was the Dark Dragon. Jake had only taken him on once by himself, but when the Dark Dragon appeared again with ten times the power he had before, Jake couldn't beat him alone. While he was considered a hero for his courageous attempts and otherwise reckless actions, Rose was the one who managed to push the Dark Dragon into a vortex that spanned time itself.

And now she had to do it again. To be able to claw his way out of a warp in time, it proved that his power had heightened beyond belief. Rose's skills as a dragon slayer had proved extremely helpful before, but now it would take a miracle to save the world.

That was why the dragons had to come together. This time was different; Rose couldn't do it alone. A precise plan was needed, as well as countless other backup plans.

Jake put two hands up to shield himself from the rain and snuggled against the brick wall. Rose was three stories up and was unlikely to see him all the way down here. She was needed more than ever this time.

Sadly, standing out in the pouring rain wasn't going to help anything. Rose wasn't likely to notice him out here anyway.

He transformed and spread his wings to take flight.