A big hello to everyone! To all the readers that like my Danny Phantom stuff and are interested in my eventual dive into the Secret Trio fandom, welcome.

So this story is half a celebration of me finally getting around to finishing both seasons of American Dragon Jake Long as well as both seasons of Randy Cunningham Ninth Grade Ninja. It's a bittersweet feeling just like finishing any series is.

The other half is that this is going to act like a Prequel/Preview thing to my eventual Secret Trio story. Well, probably more like a test run than a Prequel. It will still be a bit before I can write the actual story, given that I'm still working on Pondus Omnium and Master Challenge.

Okay, we're almost done, just a few notes:

Danny's physiology may change depending on the type of story or crossover I'm writing with him in it. This is just something to be mindful of, especially for those that have read my Pondus Omnium story.

This oneshot takes place after Hong Kong Longs.

I believe I'm going to use Season 2's designs of the characters. I think I like them better, and yeah even the dragon designs too. I thought I would end up using a mix of the two seasons, but I eventually grew attached to Season 2's designs.

I couldn't find Haley's age so I'm putting her at 8 in Season One and 9 in season two. (The oldest she could be is 10, since she appears to be in elementary school, seeing as Jake drops her off at a different building.)

As a final note, I have finished American Dragon and RC9GN, but I'm still working on memorizing and really familiarizing myself with all lore of both shows like I have Danny Phantom. So if I happen to make some sort of mistake politely tell me and I'll see what I can do.

Okay I think that's all. I hope you enjoy!

"I'm so proud of you, Jake-a-roo!"

Jake gave a shy and slightly awkward smile at his father's excitement. The young dragon gave a more sincere smile before nodding happily. "Thanks, dad." The teen then turned to try and shove the last of his things into his suitcase and ended up turning his arms into dragon arms and forcing the bag shut.

His family and two best friends, Spud and Trixie were all standing around and waiting. Lao Shi and Fu dog were actually absent, but he would be meeting up with them shortly. Today was a big day. He was heading to the Island of Draco to receive his full title over all of America, more specifically the U.S. Up until now, he'd only had reign over New York and temporary reign over any given area in the U.S. when he'd traveled. Two more years of dragon training since the final battle with the Dark Dragon in Hong Kong had passed and his Gramps and the Council believed him to finally be strong enough in mind, body, and spirit to have this greater responsibility put upon him, even if his Gramps wasn't done training him.

"It's such a shame we aren't invited. I wanted to be able to dump cool-aid or something over your head." Spud sighed as though a terrible crime was to be committed.

"Boy, you do realize that's kinda a sports thing, right?" Trixie asked, raising a brow high.

"Protecting magical creatures could be considered a contact sport," Spud mumbled.

"Just make sure you don't make a complete and utter fool of yourself!" Haley perked up, never dropping her cheer.

"Gee, thanks." Jake rolled his eyes and snorted. He'd eventually gotten to the point were Haley's jabs didn't annoy him much anymore. He gave his little sister a wink. "I'll keep that in mind."

Jake pulled his suitcase off his bed and took a couple steps closer to everyone. "I'll be back in a couple days." He looked over everyone's face before locking back onto Haley. "Think you can hold down the fort for me until Gramps and I come back? Spud and Trixie should be able to give some help too."

"I can handle it!" Haley declared. The girl was twelve now and her hair was pulled back into a neat and high single ponytail. She tended to wear a pink shirt and white skirt with a pair of Mary-Janes.

Spud, Trixie, and Jake had all kept most of their same style, with the exception of Jake's current jacket being only red with dark red stripe accents near the zipper. All the kids had grown taller, especially because three of them had gone through puberty, though Jake was still a bit shorter than his two friends.

Jake flinched when his mother swooped in and planted a big kiss on his forehead. "Mooooom!"

"I can't help it, sweetie." Susan held her face with her hand. "I just can't believe how time flies."

"Imagine! Our first kiddie will be a junior in high school before you know it!" Jonathan declared exuberantly.

Jake snorted a bit. Though he was almost starting to feel a bit bittersweet from the emotions that were suddenly assaulting him, he shook his head and grinned. "Alright, alright! I've got to get going or the Council might change their mind about me!"

"The Mac-daddy needs to actually BE at the ceremony, right?" Trixie smirked at her friend.

Jake smirked back. "Word."

A few more goodbyes were said before Jake transformed into his dragon form and shot through the window. Though his dragon form was still thin, matching up with his specific dragon heritage, it had come to have a bit more bulk to it to match his growing human body. He wasn't quite like he was after his adventure with the Avemetrus, whom turned Spud and Trixie into old people and him into a twenty-one year old, but he could tell at this rate it was certainly in his near future.

Jake clutched his bag and flew towards his Grandpa's store.

zz

"You only get a few moments! So do hurry up, Jake!" Jake nodded quickly as he watched his Grandfather scurry around with Fu dog to lock up everything, magical and non-magical, that needed attending before his departure to Island of Draco. The teen turned and trotted over to a crystal ball that acted as a communication device.

He placed his hands on the object and focused. "Rose." After a few moments of the ball glowing a faint blue, he finally heard his girlfriend's beautiful voice come through.

"Jake!" She sounded so cheerful that Jake couldn't stop a smile from coming to his face. "Today's the day, huh?"

Jake rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, "Yeah, sure is."

"Congratulations, Jake. You've earned this and you deserve it."

Jake relaxed some, feeling touched by the girl's words. "Thanks Rose… God I miss you."

She giggled a bit, which was something she didn't do very often. "We saw each other a week ago for Spring Break."

"A week is far too long."

"Really turning up the charm are we Mr. Long?"

"Only for you."

"Well the good news is that I'll eventually be coming to America to go to the same college you've been looking at. We can also still visit each other until then. We've still got two Summer Breaks, Christmas Breaks, and another couple Spring Breaks until then too."

"I'll be counting the moments."

"Oh stop, you ham."

Jake grinned, just knowing she was smiling in amusement on the other end. "Never."

"JAKE!"

Jake flinched and looked over his shoulder. "Oops, duty calls. G, has sounded the 'We're going to be late because of you' alarm."

Rose let out a laugh. "Okay, I'll let you go." Jake heard a door open on Rose's side of the connection.

"Rose, dear? Who are you talking to?"

"Oh just a friend on the phone."

"Oh okay. Dinner will be ready soon."

The door shut again. "Sorry, that was my mom."

"Well, I don't want to keep you. I'll call again when we get back."

"Alright. Bye, Jake."

"Bye, Rose."

Jake then let his hands off the crystal ball and felt the connection fade. After two years, Rose hadn't told her family about their relationship or the memories Rose had reclaimed. Currently, they weren't sure what to do about it. They would keep anything about the magical world away from her family, which included evidence that Rose used to hunt said creatures. As for her relationship with human Jake? They weren't sure if the family would recognize him as the boy they had called the police on two years ago. It was something of a complicated mess. Both Spud and Trixie had actually been taking Jake's place at the airport when Rose was telling her parents she was meeting up with a few friends from her old school. Going to college together would be a nice rest from that stress, until eventually, if their relationship was going to progress, they'd have to meet Jake and the couple would have the hope he wasn't recognized.

"JAKE! Nǐ mǎ shàng gēn wǒ gǔn chū lái" (Get your butt out here now!)

Jake yelped and snatched up his bag before sprinting to the shop's entrance.

"It's easy to be distracted by a beautiful lady, Lao Shi! Am I right, kid? A Ga Goo!"

zz

"Remember to be respectable. You aren't a child anymore. They will not be as lenient from now on."

"Gramps, I know."

"Don't hide your hands in your pockets. Don't try to act over confident-"

"Gramps."

"Don't forget the words to the oath-"

"G!"

Jake saw his grandfather pause and blink at him. Jake gave the man a smile and then a hug. "I've got this."

Lao Shi's face fell a bit before a smile took over his features. "Ah… I see. I suppose I was just…"

"Having trouble letting go?" Fu dog questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Lao Shi narrowed his eyes at the dog. "Aiiyaah… Be quiet you!"

Jake chuckled a bit before releasing his master. "Let's get this over with, alright? Everyone can chillax once we get it out of the way."

Lao Shi nodded and put away the last of his things in their room in one of the temples on the isle. The small group of three then walked out and made their way to the meeting hall.

zz

Lao Shi felt a fine sheen of sweat start to form on his skin as the four dragon council members, Andam, Kukulkhan, Kulde, and Omina had a stare down with Jake.

"Are you ready to take the oath, Jacob Luke Long of the Shuǐjīng Lineage?" Andam put forward.

Jake nodded once as he spoke. "I am." Simultaneously Jake and the council members transformed into their dragon forms. Jake stretched his wings out and then let them rest at a neutral position. He watched as Andam, in his large purple dragon form, Kukulkhan, in his brown antlered dragon form, Kulde, in his maroon dragon form, and Omina, in her blue and thinner dragon form, move around the council table and step closer to Jake.

The teen took a quick breath and began to speak. "With my body I will shield the magical world, with my mind I shall be fair and just, with my all my spirit I pledge myself to the pursuit of peace among all of the Earth's creatures, both magical and non-magical. I Jacob Luke Long, do solemnly swear to this oath. If I should ever fall short of these things I have promised, then I shall surrender the dragon chi that rests within my soul." Jake bent slightly, dipping his wings and pulling back his ears a bit as he bowed.

After a moment of silence, Andam spoke again, "The council has heard your oath Jacob, and we agree to grant you dominion over the region known in this age as the United States of America. May your guardianship last for many years to come."

"Rise and brace yourself," Kulde concluded.

Jake came out of his bow and got only a couple moments before the chis of the Dragon Council members crashed into his own. He could feel channels in his body opening up and it was both exhilarating and painful. Jake grit his teeth and fought against arching his spine and throwing his head back in pain. Instead, he tried to focus on his training the last two years.

As he had entered into high school, the training had become more specialized and intense. Though his Grandfather had kept his word about lessing the load of his dragon duty schedule, the man had explained that the next step would be to get more good old fashioned experience. Originally, Jake had had lesson after lesson and technique after technique drilled into his head. Lao Shi had done this in order to make sure Jake knew the limits of every aspect of his body to the tiniest degree. He'd also tried his best to make sure Jake's knowledge and recall of magical artifacts and common potions and items had been nearly as easy to access. It was these two reasons that had caused his schedule to seem so hefty and repetitive in the past.

The new tasks had included some stents of extensive travel. Jake had been sent out to start handling more jobs outside of New York.

Near the Great Lakes, he'd had to clear out a horned snake nest that had grown too large as well as too close to a large non-magical town. These types of missions, had been difficult seeing as he'd needed to simply chase the creatures away from populated areas, rather than defeat or kill, seeing as the latter wouldn't really follow the whole protecting the magical world theme.

While still in the Great Lakes region, he'd helped a Werewolf that called himself Wulf out of a patch of Wolfsbane and some red flower which had cause him to give off red smoke and whine in pain. He'd wondered a bit about that experience for a while, since as far as he remembered, red smoke wasn't one of the signs of Wolfsbane poisoning. That was the time he'd learned from his Grandpa that not all ghosts were evil and the werewolf had in fact been harmed by the red flower known as Blood Blossom. The dragons now kept some in Lao Shi's shop as a part of his various potions and magical trinkets.

The most memorable mission had been to capture a large Mongolian Death worm that had taken a section of the Mohave Desert as its territory. He'd been tasked with wearing it down enough for some Giants to cage it and relocate it back into a Subterranean Desert known to provide suitable habitat for the creatures. It had been a long and drawn out battle and Jake had nearly been poisoned, electrocuted, or become worm food more than once due to pure exhaustion-induced mistakes.

Even more memories of the last few years flashed through his head, reminding him of just how much he'd grown as a dragon as well as as young man.

"We, the Dragon Council, present Jacob Luke Long, the American World Dragon."

Jake let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as the chi from the other dragons pulled away and left his body feeling like jello. The teen controlled his desire to let out a sigh or a show of tiredness and nodded respectfully. "Thank you."

"Congratulations, Jake Long." Andam gave a rare smile. "We are expecting great things from you from this point on."

The dragons all transformed back into their human forms as Lao Shi and Fu dog walked up.

Kulde looked at Fu dog. "Have you been thinking about who would possibly make a good Animal Guardian for Jake?"

Jake looked down at Fu dog in thought. It had been decided early on that Fu dog acting as his Animal Guardian would only last as long as his tutelage under Lao Shi did. Fu dog was technically his grandfather's Animal Guardian and he'd simply become Jake's as a side effect of being taught about his duty by his grandfather. Now that he was practically on his own, he'd be given a new Animal Guardian. Jake could only hope he got someone good and not traitorous like Bananas B.

"I've been looking at a few different options and I think I've settled on one." Fu dog then looked at Jake. "I've set up a meeting in about a week's time."

Jake nodded quietly as the council members approved of things going smoothly.

The two groups were about to say their goodbyes and Jake, Lao Shi, and Fu dog were about to leave for their temporary quarters, when a portal opened up before all of them through the use of two clock hands. Two figures walked out, one looking much more familiar than the other.

Marty, the current Grim Reaper, pointed his scythe at Jake. "I have come for you, Jake Long!"

"Wait what!?" Jake tensed up and everyone was completely dead silent.

"Pffft! Ha ha ha ha! Just kidding you should've seen your face though! Ahhhh classic." Marty laughed and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Must you do that every time?" Jake tried to rest his beating heart as he took in the other figure which had just spoken. The being seemed to be some type of spirit, with a purple cloak that covered most of his body and hooded his head. A clock and several gears and mechanisms ran inside a glass case in the spirit's chest and watches were worn up and down his arms. He grasped a large staff in his right hand, which was topped with a smaller clock. Jake flinched when the being changed from the form of a young man to a child with buck teeth. "Jacob just went through quiet the strenuous process. You might at least try not to take advantage of that."

"Ah, Clockwork… you're no fun." Marty sighed.

"We are not here for fun."

Andam moved forward and Jake watched in surprise as the Dragon Council member bowed briefly as a show of respect. "Master Clockwork, what brings you here?"

Clockwork frowned before looking at Jake. Said dragon felt a shiver go down his spine from having to stare into the ghost's red pupil-less eyes. "I have seen… a vision of a terrible disaster."

"Yeah apparently something freaky. I was having a chat and playing chess with Clocky here and he suddenly stopped playing me and looked like he'd seen a ghost." Marty wiggled a boney brow and Clockwork shook his head.

"Why would you try to play chess with a Time Lord, Marty? You can't win." Fu dog snorted.

Marty grinned and looked at Clockwork, who sighed in exasperation. "Yeah, but he can't cheat Death."

"Martin… We have important business." Clockwork then slowly shifted into the form of an old man. He looked back at Jake. "Something terrible is going to happen. I can't tell any of you what it is or even hint at it yet. Normally I would not have to get involved in even something like this. There is however exceptions. In order for disaster to be hopefully avoided, a few things need to occur and the ball won't start the preverbal roll until you do me one favor."

Jake blinked and then nodded with slight determination. "Name it."

Clockwork gave a smile, that was eerily knowing. "I thought you'd say that." The being became a young man again as he waved his staff and a portal appeared.

There was a young man with white hair, green glowing eyes, and wearing a black and white suit of some kind. Jake watched in silence as the teen found himself stuck in some sort of trap. Something green and glowing was tangled about his right leg. After a while of him struggling, he was suddenly ambushed and attacked by a group of men in white dress suits and wielding strange weapons.

Jake looked up at Clockwork after the visage had disappeared. "What was that about?"

"That was Daniel James Fenton AKA Daniel James Phantom."

Andam rose a brow and then hummed. "The second Halfa."

"Whata?" Jake asked.

Fu dog coughed. "It's a somewhat new creature within the last half century. Something of a hybrid. It hasn't really been our jurisdiction."

"Why?" Jake asked.

"You must understand, young dragon. Most ghosts, which are not mere shades or wraiths are under a ruling of their own known as the Observants. It is their laws that the ghosts follow, not ours," Lao Shi explained calmly.

Jake furrowed his brows. "Wait, ghost? A Halfa is-"

"A half-ghost and no they aren't natural hybrids if you know what I mean," Fu dog joshed slightly.

Jake blinked. "Jacob." He looked up when he heard Clockwork address him.

"Daniel is my apprentice or at the very least I am his Guardian, though I can not often play a big role or even a meager role in his life. Those men are vicious towards ghosts and will no doubt let their bigotry blind them. They won't care if he starts to bleed crimson blood or if he shows signs of pain."

Jake felt the blood start to drain from his face. "Wait you mean-"

"They wish to understand how ghosts work. Daniel constantly fears the repercussions of being caught by humankind, even if, just like you, he is human as well to some degree. He has a family and friends, a life. The nightmares you've had before about being experimented on are about to become reality for my young charge."

Jake nodded. "You got it, Stopwatch. Where is he?"

Clockwork nodded, seemingly pleased. "Indiana, near Lake Eerie. He is currently stuck in that trap and in quite the sour mood, so try your best to ignore him if he gets snippy. You don't have much time. You might not make it there before they capture him and take him to their governmental facility."

"Where is that place? Just in case."

"Thirty miles outside of Amity Park, Indiana."

Jake grabbed his chin in thought. "I might need Spud for something like this." He looked at Lao Shi. "I need to book it, G. I'll see ya in a couple days hopefully!" Lao Shi tried to shout after him but the teen had already transformed and flown away.

Lao Shi turned around and looked at Clockwork, with barely contained worry and irritation. "You know very well that he is weakened from the Chi ceremony with the Councilors here. That is why we were going to rest here for a whole twenty four hours before returning home."

"Lao Shi, he shall have help. This must be done."

Lao Shi sighed and pinched the bring of his nose. "Wǒ xīwàng rúcǐ." (I hope so.)

"Xiāng xìng nǐ de xué shēng." (Have faith in your pupil.) Clockwork murmured, causing Lao Shi to look up at him again and give a resigned nod.

"So wait that's it? I thought you were going to give us the juicy details, Clocky," Marty whined a bit. "What's got you so troubled? No offense against your apprentice but you wouldn't cause such a hullabaloo if it was just his life in danger."

Clockwork didn't change his facial expression even as he switched into the form of a child again. "You are right. It's not just that, but I can say no more. I worry that I've already done far too much."

Those still present, stood quietly, soaking in the ominous feelings behind Clockwork's tone.

zz

The clicking of clocks was the only things that reached his ears until his friend's voice piped in. "Now you've just got to talk to that kid from Norrisville, right?"

"Yes… I'm fairly certain the Nomicon has already sensed something is amiss though. It will not be too difficult to gain his attention." Clockwork glanced over at a time portal, watching as a massive blizzard consumed a landscape and ice started to form on palm trees. "The time is coming. I can only hope I have given them enough of a head start to prevent the inevitable."

Marty eyed the vision and thought he saw a flash of red feathers in the corner of the screen. His red eyes widened in their dark sockets. "Oh Hell. Is this what I think it is? My workload might be getting heavy, huh?"

Clockwork did not respond and let the silence of his Citadel answer his friend's questions.