Hey guys!

Look, an unexpected update! Hurray!

Ok yeah so I suddenly got a burst of inspiration for this story yesterday/today and I wrote chapter two :3 How cool am I? (Not very but ya know.)

I don't even know what to say right now so go ahead and read on. :D

Chapter 2 – Innocent 'Blue' Jays

"Jaaaake!"

A teenager's head shot up, colliding into the shelf above him that held various cleaning supplies. With a pounding heart and wide eyes, the addressed boy burst from the cleaning closet in his grandpa's shop.

"Huh? What?" Jake stumbled around the hall with his hands out. "Where are you guys? Why is it dark?" he called with a distressed voice.

"Young dragon," the sound of his grandpa's voice echoed through something plastic. "What are you doing with a bucket on your head?"

Jake cringed at the irritation in Gramps voice as he sheepishly removed the plastic tin on his head and looked at the floor. "Oh you know. I'm just, uh, checking for sprites?"

The elder glared at him. "Well quit checking and get to work. This shop won't clean itself, Jake."

The teenage boy sighed as he grabbed the mop from inside the closet. Mumbling to himself, he began wiping the floor in the front room of the shop. A chuckle came from behind the counter.

"By now I would have thought that you'd stop napping in that closet."

"Are you kidding?" Jake said with amusement. "If I can get away from chores, anywhere works, Fu."

"Hey if it works for you than by all means go ahead," The wrinkly dog padded out from under the desk. "I'm just keeping tally of how many things fall on your head. So far this week I've counted 36."

Jake moved the rug by the couch and began moping. "Now you're making things up."

"Including dragon fights I'd say that's about accurate," Fu laughed. "And that's only when I've been there. Next time I'll have to let Trixie and Spud in on it."

Jake rolled his eyes with a smirk and continued cleaning. He bent down to mop under the shelves and something toppled out of his pocket, causing a clank to sound out as it hit the wooden floor.

"What's that?" Fu asked with ears perked.

The teen's heart fluttered and he hastily scooped the stone up. "Uh, nothing. Just dropped a, um, penny from my pocket." Fu shrugged and disappeared into the back room while Jake sighed with relief. He had forgotten that was in his pocket. Glancing toward the curtain that divided the shop from the back, Jake sat down on the couch and pulled the gem back out, feeling a wave of power fill him as he moved it between his fingers. He had grown more attached to the red and black jewel as the days had gone on from the first night he had found it. He'd wanted to tell Trixie or Spud about it too, but he just couldn't. It was like a force was stopping him, and in a way it made him feel guilty that no one else knew he had it.

The teen put the stone away and picked up the mop once again as he stood back to his feet. The shop door swung open and a teenager that looked to be Jake's age walked inside, looking around. Jake looked up and furrowed his eyebrows at the appearance of the other. He was dressed in red baseball sleeved t-shirt with golden yellow trimming and an oddly black paint splotch on the chest. He had black jeans that were ripped in various spots. His hair was pitch black, frizzing in every direction and red tennis shoes marked the bottom his body. But the most eye catching thing about the boy were his eyes. The irises were an amber color so deep that they almost appeared red, the pupil itself looking tinted crimson.

"Hey," Jake called. "How can I help you?"

The boy glanced over, lifting an eyebrow. "Hi. I'm looking for a special someone. Maybe you can help."

The teen hero tilted his head slightly in confusion. "All you'll find here are electronics. But there are a few restaurants nearby that have social events later today."

"Nah," The boy casually strode over to a shelf lined with DVD players and brushed his finger along the top of one. He wiped the dust onto his pants and shrugged. "I need the American Dragon. I was told I would find him here."

Jake put his hands in his pocket, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "And what for?"

The other teen turned to Jake and eyed him. "I need his help finding something. A portal."

"Why?"

"Some friends of mine are inside and I need to get to them, except the portal disappeared."

"Who are you? What kind of creature are you?"

"The name's Jay," He chuckled. "Like the bird. You could say I'm related to them in a way. Any more questions you want to ask me? I thought I was the one looking for answers."

"Oh, my bad," Jake grabbed his arm in embarrassment. "I just need information before outing myself to someone. I'd be the one you're looking for."

Jay blinked. "Oh. I was expecting someone…"

"Taller?" The short teen smirked. "I get that a lot. I'm Jake."

Jay nodded and stuck out his hand to shake. "When can you help me?" He asked after the greeting.

"I'm free now."

"Great. I can take you to the place they disappeared."

The two boys walked out of the shop and turned right, heading towards the more rural part of town. But, the farther they walked towards the barren part of town, the more Jake felt uncomfortable. Something was off. He just couldn't figure it out.

"Here," Jay said as they slowed down next to a clump of trees. They had walked for a good hour once the city had left the horizon. The trees loomed above Jake and Jay, giving off an eerie feeling.

"Why would you guys want to go in there?" The dragon teen asked curiously.

"We saw something green and glowing," Jay snickered. "And we're teens. We had to investigate."

"I'm gonna assume it was the portal right?"

"Right," Jake hopped over a log, Jay close behind. "And then they jumped through. I was skeptical about it, but once I had made up my mind to follow, the portal was closing and I landed in a pile of leaves after I leapt for it."

"What'd it look like?" Jake asked.

"Green and swirling. That's pretty much it."

"Sounds familiar…" The two boys stopped in a clearing lined with pine trees. Jay walked forward and patted the ground.

"Right here. Open and closed."

Jake stood over the spot before surveying the area, his eyes narrowed. The air felt heaviest here and he felt the need to shudder. When the 15 year old looked over, Jay seemed completely unfazed by the atmosphere, his face expressionless, which made Jake feel even more uneasy.

Suddenly the wind stopped and the chirping from nearby birds ceased to exist. Everything was still.

Definitely another bad sign. He thought.

"How long since you've been here?"

"About a day and a half," Jay replied.

"And you think the portal is gone for forever?"

"I'd assume so. I checked yesterday too."

Jake stood from his kneeling position on the ground. "I think we should go."

"What?" Jay's face twisted into irritated confusion.

"I don't think it's safe," The dragon hero elaborated. "Don't you feel the atmosphere? Nothing is here, it's like everything living around here has vanished. We should probably go."

Jay stepped back, his eyebrows creasing into an angry expression and pupils dilating with fury. "But we haven't found them yet. We have to find them."

Jake stepped forward. "Jay, it's not-" An explosion sounded from behind the boys as they went flying into the nearby bushes. The entire sky lit up emerald and the wind began swirling. Jake's head popped out from the bush, his eyes watching the clearing in alarm. A small sphere was forming in the center of the area and was gradually expanding.

"Dragon up!" The hero triggered his dragon aura, allowing the power to drain from his body and into the open. His dragon form remained when the blue flames had cleared and he stood in a protective stance in front of Jay.

"I think this is it!" Jay yelled, his face lighting up with hope and excitement. "This has to be the portal they disappeared into!"

Jake nodded, waiting for the swirling energy to come to a halt, but instead it kept growing, the wind increased its whistling and the force of the suction was getting stronger. The ruby dragon had to grip the ground hard just to keep from getting caught into the current. He closed his eyes, waiting for the calm.

Unexpectedly, something jammed into his spine and caught him off guard. Losing his footing, Jake gasped in surprise and tried to grab the nearest thing to him, but to no avail. The one second of lost balance caused him to get swept into the vortex of green, all of his bearings completely lost. With a dying scream, Jake felt himself practically disappear.

A thud rang out across the terrain, dust swirling around from the origin. Jake laid on the ground, stunned and winded while a pair of feet stood next to him. He groaned and sluggishly rubbed his head before he sat up and looked around.

The new terrain was brittle, dead. The few rocky hills visible stood tall and eerie over the flat, ashen ground. A jade sky was the only light source which bathed the already gloomy area in an unsettling green glow while a calm breeze swept through, seeming to whisper. Jake involuntarily shivered.

"What is this place?" He breathed, finally climbing to his feet.

Jay shrugged as he turned in a full circle. "I don't know. But it probably isn't inviting to trespassers."

"Then we should definitely get a move on and try to find an exit," Jay shot Jake a glare. "And your friends meanwhile."

"Are you capable of moving? You hit the ground pretty hard."

"I'm fine. I've taken a lot harder hits," Jake dismissed the question. "And anyway, how did you go unscathed?"

"I managed to right myself up while we were falling and then fly to the ground." Jay said.

Jake blinked. "You can fly?"

"Yeah. I said you could say I'm related to jay birds."

"Then why didn't we just fly to the clearing?" The dragon asked with curious annoyance.

Jay rubbed the back of his neck, smiling from embarrassment. "You didn't ask. I just assumed you wanted to walk."

The two individuals began making their way toward one of the hills as they planned to find some shelter. Jake was on full alert even though everything was quiet. He still had the same creepy feeling tingling up his spine from the clearing, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe something was watching him?

The teen glanced at Jay sideways, contemplating whether to ask his question or not. When he opened his mouth to speak, he closed it again in hesitation, instead settling on small talk.

"So…" Jake began. Jay remained expressionless. "What're your friends' names?"

"Dean and Artie." Jay put simply. "We've known each other since birth practically. They're like brothers."

Jake nodded. "That's cool. I've got some friends like that too."

"Yeah. We do everything together, even get lost in portals." Jay laughed at this then quieted. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" The dragon returned to full defense mode, scanning the area with his eyes. Uneasiness once again filled his body more vigorously than when they had first arrived.

"I swear I heard a something like a whoosh…"

"It might have been the wind."

"No…" Jay twisted to look behind Jake, his eyes widening. "Look out!"

Instinct kicking in, Jake hurriedly rolled to the side, barely missing something that exploded upon reaching the ground. The serpent looked up to see who or what had been fired, but the sky was empty. He walked over to the singed ground and inspected the burn before feeling a sense of familiarity wash over him. Could it be…?

Another shot sounded from behind the teen and he took to the sky as the beam whizzed past him. He twisted in the air, attempting to get a better view of his attacker. Another ray was shot, and another, and a third one. They were seemingly appearing from nowhere.

Jake growled as he swiftly dodged the attacks. "Show yourself!" He cried out.

The only thing that appeared, however, were several more blasts of light. Following the trail the beams took, Jake pinpointed a position in the sky he thought may be where the attacker was. He shot straight for the spot and hurled fireballs to counter the energy balls. Putting most of his strength in his speed, Jake tore through the air at impressive speed until he reached his destination, and to his astonishment, he collided with something.

The dragon and object dropped to the earth, Jake aiming to land on top of whatever he was holding. An echoing boom rang out when the two met contact with the ground. As he had hoped, Jake was now sitting on something invisible, who in return was thrashing underneath him, struggling to escape.

"Alright coward," Jake sneered awkwardly at the ground. "Show your face so we can have a real fight."

The thing beneath the dragon stopped moving and Jake thought for a moment that it had escaped. Then a familiar voice called out.

"Jake?"

The serpent cocked his head in confusion. "What? Who-"

Suddenly, the being beneath him appeared into reality with bright, neon emerald eyes staring up at him in shock, a mini grin beginning to spread across his face.

"Wait," Jake laughed, standing up. "Danny? What are you doing here?"

So what do ya guys think? Hopefully you all enjoyed it!

I'm also curious to know what you guys think of Jay? Why would I throw him in, right? Maybe I'm just a terrible writer. XD Tell me your thoughts in the reviews!

Updated 05/24/14