Hi again! First real chapter here :) This one's a bit on the short side, but it needed to end where it does, so I didn't really have a choice. I have a tendency to be a bit excessive with my writing and I really tried not to do that with this story and to stick more on-topic, so we'll see how well it works.
Thanks to everybody that read/reviewed/followed/favorited/etc - glad to have you on board!
Ready for the real plot introduction? Heeeeeere we go!
The Red Hunter. That was the name that the magical world had started calling her. And to be honest, she supposed it fit. After all, she was something of a hunter, and she did wear all red. What else could she have expected? Though she had never asked for the name, at the end of the day, she had to admit she liked it. It gave her a reputation. And in that, it made her feel like she had a purpose, like she was strong – someone to be feared and respected. And where was the harm in that?
The Hunter smiled to herself as she crept up to the back of the small house in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, her face hidden beneath her hood and the shadows from the setting sun providing her the perfect cover. She prided herself in her ability to sneak into any place she set her sights on, no matter how guarded or fortified. As practiced as she was breaking into Huntsclan strongholds, she found it almost laughably easy to pick the lock on the back door of the simple, urban dwelling and slip inside the kitchen beyond it.
The room was empty, but she could hear muffled voices coming from the door against the opposite wall. There were dishes in the sink and on the counter was perched a tall, beautifully-frosted cake with writing adorning it in fancy lettering. The Red Hunter eyed the cake silently and crept across the floor. When she noticed the knob on the opposite door turn, she dashed into the shadows just to its left, dropping out of sight as it was pushed open from the other side.
A young, teenage girl with dark hair walked easily into the kitchen, not having noticed the Hunter hiding beside the door. With a soundless smirk, the Hunter stepped forward and grabbed the girl from behind, causing her to scream in surprise and spin around with alarming speed.
"Rose!" the girl breathed with a sigh of relief as the Hunter started to laugh. "I didn't think you were coming!"
Rose pulled down her hood to reveal her smiling face. "What, and miss the American Dragon's fourteenth birthday? Wouldn't dream of it." She wrapped Haley Long in a tight hug, laughter dying down.
"Well, you're just in time for cake!" Haley told her as she picked the cake up off the counter and carried it back toward the living room door. "Come on!"
The living room was occupied by Haley's parents and grandfather, as well as Fu Dog and Trixie Carter (Rose supposed Haley had had a separate birthday party with her school friends, none of whom knew about her secret second life). They all greeted Rose fondly as she took a seat on the sofa next to Trixie.
"What's crack-a-latin', girl?" Trixie said, bumping a fist against Rose's gloved hand as she moved over to make room.
"Where's Spud?" the hunter asked her friend.
Trixie took a sip of her soda and set it on the table. "Home-boy's got some big exam in the A.M.," she explained. "Said he had to 'rest his noggin'."
"It's September," Rose pointed out in wonder. "How's he having exams already?"
Trixie shrugged. "Think his prof wanted to 'test the class's knowledge' or somethin'."
"Are you hungry, Rose?" Susan asked from across the room. "There's some leftover lasagna in the fridge, if you want it."
"No, thanks, Mrs. Long," Rose replied with a polite smile and a shake of her head. "I ate already."
"Well, you can't say no to a slice of my wife's famous vanilla pudding cake," Jonathan cut in, picking up the knife on the cake plate and cutting into it. Rose laughed and accepted a thin slice, admitting that it was indeed delicious.
"How long are you staying?" Haley asked once the cake had been distributed.
"I can stick around for a few days and catch up with you guys," Rose replied. It had been almost three months since her last visit, after all.
"Well, you know you're welcome to stay here," Susan offered. "Our guest room is always open."
"So, what'cha been up to?" Trixie asked after a moment.
Rose leaned back against the cushion and swallowed the bite of cake in her mouth. "Oh, the usual," she answered. "Hunting the Huntsclan, saving the world. I actually just came off a job back in Boston. And speaking of which…" She set her plate down and reached into the bag attached to her belt. She pulled out a small, gift-wrapped box and held it out to Haley. "Happy Birthday!"
Haley's eyes lit up as she took the box and tore the paper from it. She opened it and extracted a thin, chain necklace from which hung a spherical pendant. The sphere itself was a translucent cream color, and inside it swirled an unknown substance of varying shades of blue. "Wow…" Haley breathed, transfixed by the gem.
Fu Dog's ears perked up as he eyed the necklace. "Is that a mermaid pearl?" he asked incredulously.
"Sure is," Rose replied. "I got it from a mermaid tribe in the Boston Harbor. A group of Huntsclan had stolen their treasure horde and kidnapped one of their sisters. When I saved her and returned everything, they let me keep the pearl as a thank you." She looked at Haley and pointed a finger toward the gem. "Mermaid pearls are supposed to contain strong healing magic."
"The strongest," Fu Dog agreed, eyeing the stone with an appreciative gaze. "You should hold onto that, kid," he told Haley. "Might come in handy someday."
"I will," Haley promised, fastening the chain around her neck and setting the pearl neatly against the collar of her shirt. "Thanks, Rose!" Rose smiled and nodded in reply.
Just then, a ringing sound cut their conversation short. Fu Dog reached into one of the folds of his fur and produced a cell phone, which he promptly lifted to his ear, pressing a button. "Talk to the Fu," he said into it as Lao Shi turned to watch him expectantly. Everyone was silent for a moment, until the dog finally said, "Got it, sweetheart. Help's on the way." He hung up the phone and looked at Haley. "That was Veronica. Looks like a group of mountain trolls is causin' trouble in the Magus Bazaar, say they're lookin' for the Oracle twins. Veronica's hidin' the girls, but you better get your tail on over there and clear 'em out before they do too much damage."
"Sure thing," Haley replied dutifully, before swallowing the rest of her cake in one large bite.
"Why do these things always happen on school nights?" Susan asked rhetorically, shaking her head.
"I can go instead, if you want," Rose volunteered, sitting forward on the couch.
"No, that's okay," Haley insisted, rising to her feet. "You look kind of tired. You should stay here and rest a bit; I can handle a couple of mountain trolls." She grinned confidently, and Rose smiled to herself. The younger girl was really starting to remind Rose a lot of her brother.
After Haley had bid goodbye, Susan and Jonathan insisted that Rose head upstairs to get some sleep (Rose had never had parents of her own that she knew, so the Longs had seemed to take those roles upon themselves in the past few years. She often insisted that they needn't fuss over her like they did, but her assurances always fell on deaf ears. She didn't often say it, but she was more than grateful that they cared so well for her). With a final thank you and goodnight, Rose gathered her things and climbed the stairs. When she reached the guest bedroom she took a step through the doorway, but paused when her eyes traveled unbidden down the hall. She remained still for a few long seconds, chewing on her lip in thought, before she carefully set down her pack and weapons in the doorway and stepped back into the hall, coming to rest in front of a closed door just feet from the guest room. Her fingers danced against the knob as she eyed the woodwork, which looked just the same as it always did. The corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile as she twisted the knob and pushed the door open.
The room was simply furnished, looking almost identical to the guest bedroom in which she often stayed. But the feel of it was very different. Before the incident three years ago, she could count the number of times she'd been inside Jake's room on one hand. Since then, however, she had quickly lost count. At first, she had worried that she was intentionally subjecting upon herself some form of torture by continuing to visit, as it brought her nothing but pain and sadness amid the reminder that he was gone and never coming back. But now, when she entered the room, she was instead reminded of fond memories and happier times, and it always brought a smile to her face.
"I thought you might'a snuck in here again," a voice said from behind Rose, and she turned to see Trixie leaning against the doorframe with a knowing grin.
Rose smiled somewhat sheepishly. "I know it's not his room anymore, I just… I don't know," she said, eyes scanning around her. "It still feels the same."
"Yeah…" Trixie muttered, following Rose's gaze. "It's weird to think how things 'round here have sorta gotten back to normal." She looked down and shook her head, an almost sad smile on her face. "But then sometimes I still catch myself feelin' like there's somethin' missin'."
Rose didn't answer, but she knew the feeling. She'd felt it herself countless times in recent years, whenever she had nothing to keep her busy but her own thoughts and memories. She was happy with her life, there was no denying that, but at times she couldn't help but feel that weak sting of nostalgia for a time when things were different. 'Normal' now was still so different from 'normal' then, it was almost as if she was looking back on the lives of two completely different people. And she supposed that in a way, she was.
"Well, anyway," Trixie went on after a moment of comfortable silence, "I just came to tell you to drop by the school tomorrow, if you can. You know them kids love your surprise lessons." Rose giggled at the thought, remembering the last time she'd stopped by the karate school Trixie taught at. She'd barely been able to escape.
"Sure, I'd love to," she replied honestly.
As Trixie turned to leave, she stopped at the last second and leaned around the corner. She looked at Rose with a serious expression, a soft smile on her face. "You know I bet he'd be proud o' you," she said, "Miss Big-and-Bad Red Hunter." She offered a light-hearted grin, and disappeared down the hall.
Rose considered what she'd said, and found she couldn't help but smile. Not just me, she thought as she left the room and closed the door behind her. All of us.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Go on, get out of here!" Haley shouted at the rapidly retreating forms of the gang of trolls, all of whom were fleeing with their arms raised high in surrender. "And don't let me catch you causing trouble around here anymore!" Once the trolls were out of sight, Haley dropped down to the ground as Veronica, flanked by the Oracle twins, emerged from behind a nearby shop.
"Looks like they're gone for good," Kara predicted in a dull, monotonous voice. "Yippee."
"Thanks, Haley," Veronica said. "It's good to know they won't be bothering us again."
"Why were they looking for you two, anyway?" Haley asked the sisters.
"Something about a gang war," Kara explained half-heartedly as Sara giggled for no apparent reason.
Haley shrugged. "Maybe I'll walk you home just to make sure," she suggested, before they bid Veronica goodnight and set off down the now empty street. "It must be hard, doing what you guys do," Haley observed conversationally as they walked. "Don't you get tired of people trying to use your visions all the time?"
"It isn't easy," Sara admitted in a light voice, "but we like helping people!"
"Yeah, yeah," her sister scoffed, waving a hand, though Haley could tell she agreed. "You're the same way, aren't you?" Kara went on, eyeing the dragon girl. "Everybody depends on you to help them with every little stupid thing. But you do it anyway because you want to." Haley considered this and realized she couldn't deny it. The job of the American Dragon was a tough one, but it was her duty, so she didn't complain. Maybe the Oracle twins looked at their gift in the same way.
"Ooh, it's about to smell really bad around here!" Sara interrupted, her tone just as bubbly as ever. "Everybody hold your nose!"
Haley barely had time to wonder what she meant before the air around them suddenly grew thick with some sort of noxious gas. She spread her wings and tried to leap into the air, but already the gas had entered her lungs and her vision was beginning to blur. She was vaguely aware of Sara and Kara dropping to the ground beside her before she was forced into a drug-induced sleep.
-0-0-0-0-0-
When Haley woke, the first thing she registered was that her hands had been chained together and attached to something above her head. The second was that she was in human form, and strangely weak. She tried shifting to her dragon form and quickly found that she could not, so instead she settled for inspecting her surroundings. She was in a large underground room with a wide opening to her left, beyond which was only darkness. The room was lit by a single torch perched on the wall opposite the one she sat against, and the surfaces around her were pure earth, as though the chamber had been dug out of the ground just recently. To her right, Kara and Sara were tied back-to-back, slowly coming around as well.
"Psst, hey," she whispered to them. Sara, who was facing her, glanced up at her voice. "Where are we? Did you guys see anyone?"
Sara shook her head. "We're in quite the pickle, here!" she sang, giggling quietly.
Haley let out an exasperated sigh, wracking her brain to come up with a plan – or at the very least, an explanation. It could have been the Huntsclan that had taken them, she supposed, but thanks to Rose their numbers had been steadily dwindling recently, especially on the east coast. Could there have been a group that had managed to escape her radar? Haley struggled against the chains that bound her, attempting to break free.
"Don't waste your time," a voice suddenly broke through the silence, causing Haley's gaze to snap toward the chamber opening as two men strode purposefully into the room. The shorter one looked to be about her parents' age, with messy, brown hair and plain, tattered clothing. The taller one was likely a bit older, going by the light gray streaks in his short, black hair. He wore a long, black trench coat and a haughty expression. "Those chains are reinforced with unicorn horn and imbued with sphinx hair," the same voice explained, and Haley saw that it had come from the taller man. "You are virtually powerless."
"Who are you?" Haley demanded, not recognizing either of them.
"My name is Donovan Hayes," the tall man in the black trench coat supplied, offering her a short, polite bow. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I have an interest in meeting with a friend of yours. And from what I hear, the Red Hunter is very difficult to contact directly."
"The Red Hunter?" Haley repeated, trying to keep her voice level as her worry grew. "I barely even know the Red Hunter. If you think she'll come just because you threaten me, it'll never work." Haley knew that was probably a lie, but the last thing she wanted was to endanger Rose. Maybe there was a way she could lead this Donovan off her trail.
"We'll see about that," Donovan said with a light smirk, eyeing Haley carefully.
"Why do you even care about her?" Haley asked curiously, deciding to go for a different approach.
Donovan turned and took a few aimless steps across the ground. "She poses a potential risk to my plans," he answered simply.
Haley narrowed her eyes, her mind racing. "What plans?" she said sharply. Rose was now a known defender of the magical world. If she was a threat to this man, then he must have been plotting something dangerous. "Who are you, really?"
He halted near the torch, the light playing off his evil smirk and reflecting a dangerous gleam in his dark eyes. "I'm a shadow," he replied in a low voice, "a fraction of what I once was. But soon enough, that will change, and this shadow will cover all the world in its darkness." He stepped back from the torch and his body was suddenly covered in dark flames. Haley shrank back against the wall involuntarily as the flames stretched and grew, and when they faded there stood in Donovan's place a great dragon with scales as black as night and covered in sharp, violet spikes. He let out a low, rumbling chuckle and Haley's eyes widened in fear. If she hadn't recognized his human form, she definitely recognized him now.
"You're…" she gasped as her mind and body went numb with cold, "…the Dark Dragon."
Remember, gang - no Season 2 in my timeline, which means no Hong Kong Longs and no 'Dark Dragon gets lost in a dimensional rift' thing, or whatever it was that happened there (to be honest, I don't completely remember, it's been so long), haha.
That being said, no one ever knew his human identity in the series, but it always sort of interested me. I have this picture in my head of what he'd look like, so I decided what the heck? Let's use it!
Also on a side note, I love writing the Oracle twins. That's why they ended up showing up in here, haha. I think they're great characters and have a lot of potential for fun writing.
Review for me and I'll see ya again soon!
-oMM