Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Eight)
Chapter/Episode 3: After the Afterlife
Inside the home that Mrs. Jenkins' mother had attacked Rose and Savannah in, Mrs. Jenkins' mother roared as she, with her body rammed into Jake's, ran forward, pushing Jake forward. Jake finally grunted as Mrs. Jenkins' mother slammed him against the wall.
As Jake moaned, sliding down the wall into a sitting position, the Dark Orange dragon took a step back, watching with amusement as the weakened Jake grunted, pushing himself up towards her. However, Mrs. Jenkins' mother just grinned as she punched Jake in the face, slamming him against the wall again.
"I'm shocked by you, honestly." Mrs. Jenkins' mother said as she turned around, starting to walk away. "I'll give you this: You're stronger than I-"
However, before Mrs. Jenkins' mother could finish, Jake snarled as he jumped on her from behind, ignoring the hissing sounds as the contact with her body caused his body physical pain.
Groaning, Rose slowly rolled over onto her back as she watched her husband being slammed into the wall again. "How do you do it?" Mrs. Jenkins' mother demanded as she stood in front of Jake, her clawed hands on her hips. "How do you keep getting back up?"
"You...You've hurt my wife..." Jake growled. Then, with all of his strength, he grunted as he brought his tail up, pushing it forward and using it to punch the Dark Orange dragon in the face, throwing her backwards, making her slam against the wall on the other side of the room. Landing in a squatted position, Mrs. Jenkins's mother growled in anger while Jake grunted, getting to his feet slowly.
"Let's finish this." Jake growled.
"You got it..." Mrs. Jenkins' mother said with a cruel smile on her face before she stood up. Then, she charged at Jake. Grunting, Jake used all of his might to lift up his tail, which he shot towards the Dark Orange dragon, hitting her in the face, throwing her back.
As she flew back, Mrs. Jenkins' mother growled and narrowed her eyes in anger as a circle of fire magically appeared out of thin air against the wall that she was being thrown into. Mrs. Jenkins' mother disappeared into the fiery-rimmed hole, escaping back to the Underworld. Jake watched with wide eyes as the fiery-rimmed hole vanished into thin air.
LINE BREAK
Outside, Maverick helped Savannah out of the alley and into the street, Savannah's arm behind Maverick's neck.
"I'm okay, Maverick." Savannah told him. "I can stand on my own."
Just then, from the house, Cherri emerged, walking down the stairs, followed by Jake, and then by Rose, Jake and Rose both moving rather slowly.
"Hey." Cherri said as she reached Savannah's side, after Maverick had let her stand on her own. "What happened to you?"
"I fell out the window." Savannah said as she turned her head to the side.
"I just don't get it." Jake said as he and Rose reached Cherri's side.
"What?" Cherri asked as she turned to the side.
"We didn't find Apep Kerberos." Jake said as he turned to the side as well, along with Rose. "However, we did find someone else."
"Who?" Cherri asked as Maverick walked up to her right side and Savannah stepped up to her left.
"What happened in there?" Maverick asked. "I just caught Savannah and saved her from falling out the window. Who was that dragon?"
"I don't know." Rose narrowed her eyes. "But now we've got another enemy to look out for."
"It was so strange." Savannah said. "When that dragon was near me...I felt so weak, so crappy."
"I know." Jake said. "I felt it too."
"But now that she's gone..." Savannah said.
"...We all feel better." Rose finished for her.
"Look..." Jake said as he held up his clawed hands. "...All of you stay here. I'm going to get the others." As he lowered his hands, he finished: "I think we've had enough for today."
LINE BREAK
Mrs. Jenkins was standing in the Underworld, at the ledge that led down to the River Styx. Unbeknownst to her, her mother was walking up from behind.
"Did you get her?" Mrs. Jenkins asked as she turned her head to the side.
"Does it look like it?" Her mother replied as she stopped in her tracks.
"Mother, Mother..." Mrs. Jenkins chastised as she turned around and started to walk towards her, finally stopping in her tracks. "...I really thought you'd be able to catch her."
"I thought so, too..." The Dark Orange dragon growled, narrowing her eyes. "...But there were two others."
"I know." Mrs. Jenkins put her hands on her hips. "I said they'd be all yours."
"One was easy to defeat..." Her mother said. "...But the second one, a male, fought my grip on him. He fought back. No one ever did that before."
"Who was this male?" Mrs. Jenkins growled.
"I don't know." Her mother growled back. "He was a red dragon. He said that your target was his wife.
"Jake!" Mrs. Jenkins' face contorted with rage before she spun around. "Him!" She clenched her hands into fists. "He defeated me fifteen years ago and now he's once again turning into a thorn in my side!
"You know what?" Mrs. Jenkins said as she turned back around to face her mother. "Forget Jake Long and forget all of the other dragons that are with Rose."
"What?" Her mother's eyes widened with surprise. "But you promise me-"
"Just focus on Rose." Mrs. Jenkins said. "Jake's power is strong enough on its own, but his determination could lead to disaster."
Mrs. Jenkins' mother now looked angry; her eyes were narrowed and her teeth we gritted. Nonetheless, she growled in response: "Fine."
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Back at the Island of Draco, Jake, now in his human form, slowly opened the door to the room that he shared with his wife, poking his head in. "Can I come in now?" He asked with a playful smile on his face.
Looking in the room, he could see that Rose had changed out of her Dragon Council Agent uniform and was now wearing a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
"Sure you can, honey." Rose said as she sat down on the bed.
"Actually..." Jake said, still smiling as he pushed the door all the way open and walked into the room. "...I was just coming in here to see if you were going to get some rest."
"Some rest?" Rose raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that dragon really drained your energy." Jake said. "Maybe you should get some rest."
"I need rest just as much as you need rest, Jake."
"I'd love to come in here and rest with you, baby." Jake's smile widened. "But I've got to go to a meeting with the rest of the Council. I should be back soon."
LINE BREAK
"Here's the plan..." Down in the Underworld, Mrs. Jenkins and her mother were standing at the ledge, looking down at the River Styx. "...You go get Rose and bring her down here. Then, she'll be killed. And I already know how I want her to die..." Mrs. Jenkins smiled evilly.
"How?" Her mother asked, turning her head to the side.
"You'll see soon enough, won't you?" Mrs." Jenkins replied as she turned her head to the side to look her mother in the eyes. "Just go. I'll take care of all of the arrangements here."
Without another word, Mrs. Jenkins' mother turned around and started to walk away while two of Mrs. Jenkins' hunched over minions walked over toward Mrs. Jenkins, who turned around to face them as they stopped in front of her.
As her hunched over minions slowly lifted up their heads, Mrs. Jenkins spoke, crossing her arms. "Go down into the river. You know whose soul I need..."
LINE BREAK
Back on the Island of Draco, Jake walked pushed open the doors to the Main Hall and walked inside, seeing Councilors Rin and Callum sitting at the table and Savannah standing to the side of the table.
"Right on time, Councilor." Callum said.
"Now..." Councilor Rin said. "...Agent Rogers has told us that you have not yet found Kerberos."
"No we haven't." Jake said as he reached the table.
"You ran into another threat?" Rin continued.
"Yes." Jake answered.
"And this dragon..." Rin continued, a confused look on her face. "...Cause you, Agent Rogers and your wife to become ill?"
"Yes." Jake answered.
"We don't understand." Callum said.
"Neither do we." Jake admitted.
"I do not know of this kind of magic." Rin said, drumming her fingers against the surface of the table.
"What if..." Savannah started, slowly turning her head to the side. "...It...wasn't magic?"
"What are you talking about, Agent Rogers?" Rin asked in an annoyed tone as she turned her head to the side.
LINE BREAK
Back in the Underworld, Mrs. Jenkins stood beside Angela's lifeless body, her arms crossed as she watched the two hunched over minions coming back over the ledge, each of them carrying Angela's flopping soul.
Turning to the side, Mrs. Jenkins watched as the hunched over minions dragged Angela's soul over to her body and threw her soul into the body.
Immediately, Angela's eyes snapped open and she gasped for breath, rolling over onto her side only to look up at Mrs. Jenkins, who was smiling cruelly as she looked down at her.
"Hello, my special friend..." Mrs. Jenkins said.
"Why?" Angela asked. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Just let me rest." Angela said.
"In peace?" Mrs. Jenkins mocked. "No, I don't think so. You're a damned soul. You don't get to rest in peace. I'll do whatever I please with you."
"What do you want now?" Angela narrowed her eyes.
"You see..." Mrs. Jenkins said as she crouched down. "...I still haven't given up on claiming your friend's soul..."
"Rose." Angela growled. "Leave her alone. Let her live her life in peace."
"But then I won't get her soul." Mrs. Jenkins feigned a hurt tone. "I want it. And guess what?" She grinned with sadistic joy.
"What?" Angela growled.
"You're going to kill her..."
"What?!" Angela's eyes widened in horror, but then she narrowed them again. "There is no way you can make me take her life."
"Actually, my dear damned soul..." Mrs. Jenkins continued to grin. "...All I have to do is tell you that you're going to kill your friend and you do it. You know why? Because I own your soul. Once my mother brings Rose on down, you'll kill her. If you're lucky, Rose won't hold it against you and you can spend your afterlives together."
LINE BREAK
Back in the Main Hall on the Island of Draco, Savannah was now standing at Jake's side. "How could this dragon's powers not be magic?" Rin asked. "Agent Rogers, I know a lot about magic."
"And yet you haven't heard anything about this kind of magic." Savannah said. "So I pose the question: What if it's not magic?"
"What else could it be?" Callum asked.
"I don't know." Savannah replied.
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, in her room that she shared with Jake, Rose had managed to fall asleep. Now lying on her side, Rose was completely oblivious to the ring of fire that magically appeared on the ceiling, the Dark Orange dragon swooping down and landing on the floor at the foot of the bed, a coil of rope hanging from one of her shoulders.
The mother of Mrs. Jenkins chuckled evilly as she watched Rose.
After about five seconds of Mrs. Jenkins' mother being in the room, Rose's peaceful nap came to an end.
Opening her mouth, Rose coughed, and about five seconds later, she broke into a coughing fit. Moaning, Rose slowly rolled over onto her back, coughing again as she slowly opened her eyes, seeing the Dark Orange dragon standing in front of her, grinning evilly.
"Hi." Mrs. Jenkins' mother spoke.
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
"Shh, shh, shh, shh..." Mrs. Jenkins' mother soothed as Rose moaned while the Dark Orange dragon used some of the rope to bind Rose's hands behind her back. Rose's ankles were already bound and she had more of the rope wrapped around her upper body.
There was nothing Rose could do about it, either. Sweat was rolling down her forehead and she coughed weakly.
"Well, we're all set..." Mrs. Jenkins' mother said as she reached down, grabbing Rose's sides, right below the rope wrapped around her, making Rose cry out in pain before she was lifted up off of the bed.
With Rose now slung over her shoulder, Mrs. Jenkins' mother turned around and looked down as the fiery circle appeared in the floor. Quickly, the Dark Orange dragon jumped into the hole, taking Rose with her.
As soon as Mrs. Jenkins' mother had vanished into the hole, it vanished.
LINE BREAK
"So what was that all about?" Jake asked Savannah as he and Savannah were walking along the grass of the island.
"What?" Savannah asked.
"The whole 'what if it wasn't magic' thing." Jake said.
"It was just a thought." Savannah said.
"A strange one to say the least." Jake replied. "Where did you even come up with that anyway? What would make you think that?"
"I don't know." Savannah replied, starting to get annoyed with Jake.
"What, do you think it was supernatural or something?" Jake asked.
Immediately after Jake said this, Savannah's eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks, Jake not noticing this until about five seconds later.
"What?" Jake asked as he stopped and turned around. "What is it?"
"That's it." Savannah breathed.
"What's it?" Jake asked, confused.
"Supernatural!" Savannah explained. "Jake, do you believe in those kinds of things? You know, like ghosts and the afterlife?"
"Well, I didn't used to..." Jake answered. "...But being the American Dragon taught me otherwise."
"So you do believe?"
"Yeah, but where are you going with this?"
"Back when Rose first was brought to the team..." Savannah explained. "...We ran into things like that. Rose, myself and another member of our team came in contact with the Underworld."
"Seriously?" Jake asked.
"Yes." Savannah answered. "Our friend died there and later came back. Look, Jake..." As she continued, Savannah reached up with both of her hands and ran her hands through her hair. "...This isn't easy to explain, but Rose and I came in contact with the forces of Hell."
"That's not very hard to believe." Jake told her. "I encountered ghosts and the ruler of the Underworld all by the time I was fifteen."
"What I'm trying to say, Jake..." Savannah concluded. "...Is that Councilor Rin was unfamiliar with this dragon's power. What if the power isn't of this world?"
LINE BREAK
Back in the Underworld, Angela was standing beside Mrs. Jenkins, while an army of about five of her hunched over minions were at her other side. "Please..." Angela pleaded. "...Don't make me do this."
"You're going to do it." Mrs. Jenkins told her coldly, despite the smile on her face.
At that moment, Mrs. Jenkins' mother stepped out of the darkness, grinning evilly as she still held the bound Rose on her shoulder, making Angela gasp.
Rose gave a weak grunt as she plopped down on the ground on her stomach, facing Mrs. Jenkins and the others.
"Go on." Mrs. Jenkins said as she turned her head to the side to look at Angela. "Kill her."
Her eyes filling with regret, Angela slowly started to walk forward, passing by the Dark Orange dragon. As soon as she had passed by the mother of Mrs. Jenkins, Angela closed her eyes and whispered: "Please, God. Help me. Don't let this happen. Don't make me kill my friend. Please help me. Please help Rose."
After finishing her on-the-spot prayer, Angela slowly opened her eyes and stared at the moaning Rose. However, something caught Angela's attention in the pocket of Rose's jeans. She could see her cross that she had worn in life magically appear out of thin air at the top of Rose's pocket. Once the cross had fully materialized, it fell to the other side of her pocket.
At first, Angela's eyes widened, but then she smiled. "Thank you..." She whispered.
At this point, she reached Rose, who moaned as she weakly lifted her chin and head up. "Angela?" She asked weakly.
"Don't worry." Angela smiled as she looked down at her friend. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"What are you waiting for, soul?!" Mrs. Jenkins suddenly shouted out of impatience while her mother and minions stood at her sides. Growling, she turned her head to look at her mother. "Deal with them!"
Nodding once, her mother walked forward. "Hey, what are you doing?" Mrs. Jenkins' mother demanded as she stopped behind Angela.
Angela, seeing that Rose moaned in pain in the Dark Orange dragon's presence, lowering her head, narrowed her eyes. "Nothing." Angela said as she looked up.
"Then stop wasting time and destroy her!" Mrs. Jennings' mother ordered.
"Well, about that..." Angela started, only to spin around and lash out with her tail, hitting the Dark Orange dragon hard enough to send her flying off of her feet and flying back. The Dark Orange dragon flew over the heads of Mrs. Jenkins and the hunched over minions, screaming as she fell over the ledge and down into the River Styx.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Mrs. Jenkins shouted with rage.
"I'm not going to kill Rose." Angela said bravely as she narrowed her eyes.
Mrs. Jenkins' face contorted with anger briefly before she pointed at Angela. "I DON'T CARE IF SHE'S ALREADY DEAD!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, shouting at her hunched over minions. "DESTROY HER!"
With her order, the five minions started to charge towards Angela. With her eyes still narrowed, Angela charged into battle, while Rose, whose strength had returned without Mrs. Jenkins' mother around, pushed herself up onto her knees, Angela's cross falling out of her pocket as she did so. Quickly, Rose transformed into her dragon form in a bright light.
When the light faded, Rose was in her dragon form, but this only made the ropes holding her tighter. Fortunately, this did not last long, for Rose simply smiled before she grunted and flexed her body, her bonds snapped completely.
As Rose slowly got to her feet, she watched as Angela, who was hovering in the air, used her tail to knock four of the hunched over minions off of their feet onto the ground. However, one of the minions ran around Angela and ran towards Rose.
Narrowing her eyes, Rose took a step back and lashed out with her tail as soon as the minion got close enough, sending the hunched over minion flying back.
Rose smiled cockily, however, her smile slowly faded as she caught sight of Angela's cross, which was right to her side.
"What's this doing here?" Rose asked as she got down on her knees, picking it up. However, when she heard a roar coming from Angela, she turned her head to the side and saw Angela on her back, trying to lash out at the four hunched over minions that had her pinned down.
"Rose!" She shouted. "Help me!"
"How?" Rose shouted back.
"The cross!" Angela shouted, just before she grunted, getting kicked in the face by one of the minions.
Confused at first, Rose narrowed her eyes with dedication and stood up, then turned to face Angela. Grunting, Rose prepared to throw the cross, but before she could release her grip, her eyes widened as she watched the chain that went around ones neck started to expand, moving over to the hunched over minions, wrapping around them, binging them all together.
Immediately, the minions screeched in pain, their forms melting away until they were nothing more than the transparent souls of four random people Rose had never seen before. The souls continued to screech in agony until they all vanished in a puff of white mist.
With the only hunched over minion left at her side, Mrs. Jenkins trembled with fury as she watched Rose walk over to Angela, give her a hand and help her up.
"Rose, destroy it." Angela said as she stepped back to Rose's side. "Destroy this place. You have to!"
"How?" Rose asked.
"You can't!" Mrs. Jenkins spat angrily and then grinned. "You can't destroy the Underworld. You don't have that kind of power."
"Wanna bet?" Rose narrowed her eyes.
Getting down on her hands and knees, Rose took Angela's cross in both of her clawed hands and rammed it into the dark ground.
Pulling her hands away, Rose's eyes widened as she watched the cross started to glow and the dark ground started to crack before it burst into millions of tiny pieces. As the ground below her cracked, Mrs. Jenkins shrieked as she and her hunched over minion plummeted down into the River Styx.
"Rose, I think you did it!" Angela said happily as Rose stood back up.
The two female dragons both looked down to see that the glowing cross was now hovering in thin air, and they were both standing in the air. Below them, the River Styx started to glow white and the damned souls started to get lifted out of the water.
Both Angela and Rose looked up, and with wide eyes, watched as four random souls from the river floated up into view. All of the souls were screeching in agony, and one of them even lifted their arms into the air before they all vanished in a poof of white mist.
Looking back down, Rose and Angela could see that all of the damned souls were vanishing in poofs of white mist. They could also see that the River Styx was gone, and in its place was complete darkness. The only light was coming from a white bubble that imprisoned Mrs. Jenkins, her mother and the one hunched over minion.
However, a few seconds later, another bright white light shone down on the darkness. With wide eyes, both Rose and Angela looked up to see that it was coming from high above. Looking back down, Rose could see that the still glowing staff was now rising to her level.
Sighing, Rose slowly reached out and took it before she turned her head to the side, her eyes widening even more as she watched as Angela closed her eyes, her mortal body simply vanishing into thin air, only her soul being left.
"Angela?" Rose asked right before Angela opened her eyes and smiled pleasantly.
"It's time for me to go home." Angela said softly.
Turning her head back to normal, Rose watched as the bubble containing Mrs. Jenkins, her mother and the hunched over minion was lifted into the air, ascending to another world.
"Don't worry, Rose." Angela said. "Those three are going to be punished. You will never see them again."
Then, Angela started to walk forward, heading towards the light.
Glancing down at the cross in her hand, Rose quickly made up her mind. "Angela, wait!" She called as she glanced up. About a foot ahead, Angela stopped and slowly turned around.
"Yeah?" She asked, smiling.
"Your cross." Rose offered.
"I don't need it anymore." Angela said. "What you need to do is get out of here. Go back to the mortal world."
"Got it." Rose said, slowly lowering her hand that carried the cross.
"Good luck finding the killer of your parents." Angela said, still smiling. "We'll see each other again, one of these days."
"I know." Rose answered.
Then, Angela turned back around and continued walking towards the bright, heavenly light. Rose watched as Angela finally reached it. Angela then slowly started to ascend into the air.
Sighing, Rose then turned around, seeing a white, heavenly portal that showed her the room she shared with Jake on the Island of Draco.
Smiling with relief, Rose started to run through thin air to get to the portal. Once she reached it, she grunted as she jumped through, the portal closing immediately after she went through it.
With Rose gone, the heavenly light faded away altogether, leaving nothing but darkness, the Underworld forever destroyed.
BLACKOUT; END EPISODE
A/N: So ends this little two-parter that does nothing more than offer closure to the Angela story-line and the Underworld story-line. Tell me what you thought with a review.
I'd also like to add a little fun fact. Mrs. Jenkins' mother is a fictionalized version of Ajatar, which is a mythological creature (and yes, even though I never call her by that name, the character's name is Ajatar).
