G'day everybody!!! I noticed my paragraphs were a little bunched up, so I'll try my best to keep them separate. And thankyou to lavanderpaw for being the first to review my story! Yay 2 you! PS. My grammar can sometimes be a little confusing, and I sometimes miss a letter or two in a word. This laptop just doesn't feel like typing the right letters! Please review! PS. In this story Cara can see good stuff and Sarah can see bad stuff, I can really remember the real order! DOH!

Chapter 2: The Mission

Gramps had anxiously been awaiting his grandsons return at the shop. As the clock struck 12, he gingerly pulled a small vile of clear liquid out of his sleeve to drink. Many would have thought it to be mere water, but this liquid was a potion brewed especially for Loa Shi's needs. As the tasteless potion tickled down Loa Shi's throat, he thought of Jake. The poor boy had no idea what was wrong with his grandpa, only he had been going out to dragon missions less and less.

"Yo G!" came Jake's voice from the main desk. Hurriedly stuffing the vile back into his sleeve, Gramps walked through the drape of purple cloth that separated the two rooms to his electronic shop.

"We're back!" Jake reverted back to his 14 year old human self, grinning. "And you said the Am Dragon wasn't ready!"

"Yes, Jake." Gramps placed a hand on Jake's shoulder. "I underestimated you. It is true you have grown through your experiences. Well done."

"Thanks G." Jake said beaming with pride; but beneath his smile Jake was feeling slightly guilty for taking credit of the hydra's demise all to himself. "Umm, can I go home now? I gotta maths test tomorrow and all…"

"Of course… Fu Dog!" Loa Shi barked. "We must talk. I had an interesting call from the Dragon Councill whilst you were out." As Jake closed the shop door with a small click, he began to think. Wonder what the Dragon Councill are up to…

Almost absentmindedly, the teenager slowly walked from street to street on his route home. No doubt Dad will waiting for me…give me another lecture about 'sneaking out'. If only he REALLY knew what was going on…

He looked down at his right hand. While Fu wasn't looking, Jake rubbed off the purple cream (he regretted it now. It was stinging again). For some strange reason he didn't feel like sharing the fact he had been rescued by a girl to his Gramps.

"Should have left it on…" he mumbled to himself walking past a dark alleyway.

"Yeah, ya should have. That was my last batch as well..." Jake jumped so violently he crashed into nearby bin with a mighty CLANG! Covered from head to toe in God knows what, Jake looked up to see a dark haired and eyed girl leaning casually against the alley wall. She was no older or younger than Jake himself, and her eyes had a strange yellow tinge…

"You! Alex!" he exclaimed. The girl walked over to the trash can, hand extended.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Taking her hand, Jake brushed a banana skin of his shoulder.

"Where do you go?" he asked. "I was gonna introduce you to one of my friends." Alex gave a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, after living with yourself for years you kinda get a bit more cautious. I've been travelling the world since I was a kid." She explained seeing Jake confused expression. Somewhere down the road, a police siren sounded; and by the sounds of things it was heading their way.

"Uh oh…better get out of here." Jake murmured. He turned around to show her to his house, but Alex wasn't there.

"Say what? Where did she go this time?"

"Up here." Jake looked up to see Alex, already on top of the nearest roof. How did she get there so fast? She didn't even make a sound!

"How did you-?" Right before his eyes she seemed to melt out of sight, and the next thing he knew there was a tap on this shoulder. Alex was standing behind him!

"They don't call me the Phantom Dragon for nothing." She said slyly, with a strange smile. Weeeeeeeeeeeee-whoooooooooooo-wheeeeeeeeeeeeee-whoooooooooooooooo (that's a police car by the way!) Jake felt Alex grasp his arm tightly; suddenly he couldn't see, his feet left the ground, he couldn't feel, he couldn't breathe. Only seconds later his vision came flooding back, his feel were back on the ground and his breathing was normal. But he wasn't in the alleyway anymore…looking around frantically he noticed the number of the house…812…his house!

"Whoa! How did you do that?!" still giving him that strange smile, Alex let go of his arm and disappeared once again.

"I'm not joking!" Jake exclaimed indignantly to Trixi and Spud the next day. He had just recalled the hydra incident, and everything that happened after. "She just disappeared!" Exchanging glances, Trixi and Spud sat down in the cafeteria.

"Dude, are you feeling alright?" Spud asked while trying to open a stubborn milk carton. "Stupid little piece of cardboard…they always make the bendy tabs so hard…"

"Give it here Spud." Trixi swiped the carton out of Spud's fingers. "Are you sure you weren't just dreaming Jakey? There we go. Don't spill it!" She handed the carton back to Spud carefully.

"I wasn't dreaming- and no I'm not taking medication!" he added seeing the look in Spud's eyes. Looking disappointed, the tallest of the three teenagers began drinking.

"Cummon!" Jake threw his arms into the air. "Why don't you believe me? I mean- you guys see as much as I do of the magical world, why is it so hard to believe?"

Exchanging glances again with Spud, Trixi leaned forwards.

"We just think you're over working yourself. Even with the Huntsclan gone it's still takin' a toll on you. Maybe you should just…" she seemed to be trying to find the right words with insulting Jake. "Chill out…Let Haley take the reins for a while. She'll need the training anyway."

"'Chill out'? You think Gramps is gonna let me chill for one second? He goes off at me if I'm a bit late for training! It's not like he's just gonna let me hand the Am Drag title to a 9 year old."

BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! (School bell!)

Trixi sighed heavily. Spud imitated.

"Suppose your right…Cummon. We've got that maths test. Fractions…ugh."

Alex walked past Millard Fillmore Middle School and sighed with longing. She had never been to school, but had taught herself to read, write, fight and live. She caught glimpses of kids her age throwing paper airplanes, chatting casually, making faces and gestures at the teacher while his back was turned.

"But the city just isn't for me…" she mumbled, kicking a stone into a nearby gutter. It was true, Alex hated cities. All the noise, cars, busy people. There was no fresh air to fly in, only polluted gas. No trees to whisper stories of old to her while she slept in their branches, only the trees that spoke of nothing but tourist. But New York was different to other cities…for the first time Alex had shown and introduced herself to someone. Normally she would help defeat the creature, and then vanish before anyone got a glimpse. But not this time…she had actually made a friend. Friendship, like cities, was something Alex often avoided. She never wanted to grow too attached to someone, only to have them torn away…just like her parents…

Her parents had been like any other: caring, protective, loving…but one night 10 years ago the Dark Dragon had arrived, destroying her dragon mother and wizard father. He tried to reach Alex, but her parents were one step ahead, apparently expecting the Dark Dragon to come. With extra magic as well as dragon powers, she had fled her home in Perth Australia with nowhere to go. She had been travelling since, to afraid to bond with anyone just in case the same fate was to meet the friends she made. Awaking from her deep thoughts, Alex looked back into the classrooms; wishing nothing more than to be like the students inside. Normal and untroubled.

Jake sat pouring over a book intently. Never in his whole life had he been interested in reading, but he found himself scanning the fragile pages to Fu's Guide to Dragons. He was over halfway now, and he had spotted a lot of dragons he knew. Gramps, Sun Park, Haley, Fran Nerk, Chang and himself. There were many he recognised from the Dragon Summit, and others he never even heard of.

"Cummon Jake," Trixi moaned, lying on the couch watching MTV with Spud doing an air guitar solo near the door. "Can ya look later? If we wanna get to the skate park before next Christmas we better go now."

"Almost finished…" he replied for the tenth time. Jake's eyes scanned to page at top speed, occasionally flipping a page. The words were in such a small print he had to squint, but he was determined to prove the existence of the Phantom Dragon to his friends. He continued reading.

American Dragon: Jake Long. Sister Haley Long second in line for title.

Canadian Dragon: Beyonce Timberlake. Whereabouts unknown since 1986. (Jake couldn't help smiling)

French Dragon: Jacques Snicket. Was burned at the steak, many in village of VFD presume dead, but survived. (Jake swore he heard that name and story line in a book before…)

African Dragon: Rafeif Ismail. Next in line for Councill position when of age. (NOTE: if you know me personally, that's my little joke! If you don't…never mind!)

NON COUNTRIES

Dark Dragon: Identity Unknown. If you any information about this dragon's identity contact the Dragon Councill IMEDIENTLY. ("Typical…" Jake murmured.)

Phantom Dragon: Alex Darke. Mother's maiden name Darke, Father's surname unknown. Also known as the Emerald Dragon.

"There it is!" he cried triumphantly, pointing at the name. Trixi jumped off the couch, taking the book out of his hands. As Spud joined her (still air guitaring) Trixi apologised.

"Yo, sorry Jakey. We just though-"

"That you were going off you nut." Spud said simply. Rolling her eyes, Trixi handed the book back over.

"Now can we go to the skate park? All this reading is makin' my head sore, and Jakey was the one doin' it all!"

Speeding down the half-pipe, Jake, Trixi and Spud lost rack of time. All too soon it was quarter to seven, so they started heading to Gramps shop.

"G was tellin' Fu about something important last night as I left." Jake recalled. "Hope it's a good mission!"

"Merpeople!" Spud exclaimed excitedly.

"No way Spud," Trixi teased. "It's gotta be werewolves! I've always wanted to kick some were-dog booty!"

"Well I just hope it's not another hydra. Personally, I reckon one account is enough." Jake held up his slightly blistered hand. He was going to ask wether they thought it was something to do with the Huntsclan, when-

Doo-be-doo-doo-de-doo. Doo-be-doo-doo-de-doo. (American Dragon ring tone believe it or not!) Jake pulled his Motorola mobile out of this jean pocket. FU CALLING it said.

"Yo Fu." He said quickly "We're coming."

"Ah, good. We got some important news to tell you, are Trixi and Spud there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Good. They need to come to. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Why?" Jake asked curiously. "Why do we need 'all the help we can get'?"

"This is gonna be a big mission kid. I'll call the Sun and Haley, they're gonna need to help to…if only we had more dragons…" the last comment from Fu was more to himself than Jake.

"I know another dragon…" Jake said hesitantly.

"Kid, Nerk is in Australia. He had his own country to look af-"

"No Fu, not Nerk. Look, I'll try to find her. I might be a little late ok? Holla."

"Her? Who are you-" Jake snapped the phone shut and turned to Trixi and Spud.

"Ok, Fu says we all need to go. It's gonna be big. But I'm gonna go find Alex, we need more help. You guys get to the shop, ok?" Trixi looked a bit doubtful.

"Do you really think you'll be able to find her?" Spud seemed to share the same view as Trixi, but didn't say anything.

"You don't need to find her." Whispered an Australian accented voice in Trixi's ear. Trixi spun around so fast Jake was surprised she didn't fall over.

"Who are you?" Spud blurted out. Alex smiled at him and Trixi, quiet pleased with herself. Ignoring Trixi's suspicious glare, she went on introducing herself.

"Phantom Dragon: Alex Darke, at your service. Sorry 'bout the scare." She extended a warm hand and a cheery smile. Still suspicious, Trixi took it.

"I'm Trixi Carter, this is Spud." She inclined her head to Spud. Alex stood at nearly Spuds height, only skinnier. Jake couldn't help being a little bit annoyed by the fact there was another girl who was taller than him.

"How long have you been standing there?" Trixi asked curiously. Alex gave her strange smile-the unreadable smile.

"Long enough. So what's the big emergency?"

It was quarter past seven when the four teenagers arrived. The shop was fuller than normal, there was: Gramps, Fu, Haley, Sun Park, Cara, Sarah, Veronica the Spider-Lady, Stan the Sewer Troll, Marty, Silver and Ex-Principal Derceto ("Yo Prizzy D! What's up?"). They all looked up when they entered with smiles of greeting, but it was easy to tell they wanted to get down to business.

"Kids!" Fu cried happily. "Great! Who's this?"

"Fu, this is the reason I'm still alive. This is Alex Darke, she's a dragon too." He added as Fu opened his mouth. "She held of the hydra for me last night. She disappeared after you woke up." Alex looked highly embarrassed, but shook Fu's paw all the same.

"OK EVERYONE!" Gramps called over the babble. "TO THE REASON WE ARE HERE!" Everyone stopped talking, watching Gramps intently. As Jake looked closely at his grandpa, he noticed something was wrong. The old man was limping, and looked as if he hadn't slept for days. Concerned looks appeared on everyone's faces; even Alex, who didn't know the old man, was looking worried.

"The Dragon Councill has reported the finding of some ancient artefacts-amulets as a matter of speaking. Most of us know the amulets can store great power, but these are extremely dangerous. To powerful. It has been reported the Dark Dragon has returned once again (oh boy…), and is in search of these amulets. Fu and I have done some digging, and if our research is correct there are 5 amulets in total. One in the Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia and America. It is crucial that they do not fall into the hands of the Dark Dragon, or it could be the demise of humans …and magical creatures. I doubt the Dark Dragon will be able to completely control the power these amulets possess when combined together, and it is a great possibility it will destroy both worlds. That is why we need all the assistance possible. The Australian, South African, Mongolian, British and now American Dragons will be searching for these. Mermaids," Derceto and Silver raised their heads a little higher. "We need you to watch the seas for the amulets, and the skies for any sing of the Dark Dragon. The smallest of information may result in victory; leave nothing unreported. Cara and Sarah, do you see anything? Any vision of where they amulets may lay?" Both the Oracle Twins closed their eyes, concentrating as hard as possible.

"I see…" Cara mumbled. "Mountains…5 mountain ranges…"

"I see…" Sarah mumbled. "Yes…mountains…5 mountain ranges…" They open their eyes slowly.

"That's all." They said in unison.

"Very well, thankyou. Your help will be invaluable." Lao Shi made a signal to Fu, who jotted down every piece of information. "Stan, we need any information wether the Dark Dragon- or Chang- had been in the sewers. If you could gather the rest of the trolls to do so to it would be much obliged."

"Of course!" Stan exclaimed.

"Marty and Veronica, you both get around. Ask anyone and everyone if they have any leads. Try to make it look casual; we don't want anyone onto us at this point of time." Marty and Veronica nodded determinedly. "Dragons and humans, we must do our part and search. We shall have to work around school and parents, but it will be done. Both worlds depend on it."

After the meeting, everyone hung around chatting and catching up. Jake introduced Alex to his magic friends; Gramps had a very long talk to Derceto; Cara and Sarah were getting requests from Trixi, Spud, Silver and Veronica about their futures; plus Fu, Stan, Marty were planning a prank to plan on Big Ernie.

"Ooooh!!! Let me do it!" Marty bounced up and down on his stool like a school child. "Ernie such an easy target! If I even rock up on his doorstep unannounced he'll go bonkers! Whoohooohoo!!!"

"Spud…you will be asked to dance at your next homecoming…" Cara said gloomily.

"YAY!!!!" Spud did a sort of victory dance "Stacey? Is it Stacey?"

"Oh, I've flown over the Pacific tonnes of times! It's great isn't it?" Alex and Silver were in deep conversation about the different oceans.

"It really is." Silver said. "Antarctic oceans just too cold for me. Some of my family lives there, I can't even visit them coz every time I do I freeze like a fishicle!"

Jake sat and listened to the conversations, schemes and prophecies buzzing around him. The talk was making him sleepy, even though it was only 10 o'clock. He felt himself dropping off in his chair, vision growing darker and darker. Very soon he was in deep sleep, head lolling to one side; with dreams of vicious looking mountains, beautiful shining amulets and the Dark Dragon's evil snarling face swimming in and out of his dreams.

That's chapter 2! I hope the writing turns out better this time! Pretty please review! Chapter 3 coming real soon!!!

Holla!

AH