CHAPTER THREE:
私の友人になってください！どのような赤ちゃん竜の起源は何ですか？
Please Be My Friend! What is the Origin of the Baby Dragon?
"Hello! I'm the amazing Dr. Rupert who knows everything! Today I'm going to teach you about the Hawaiian language! It's FASCINATING, so I've decided to write down a bunch of words and terms you should know and carry around so that you can practice them all the time…because let's face it, we ALL want to retire to Hawaii when we're 60-something years old…"
Thank you: Mahalo!
You're welcome: He hea iki!
Sure thing: Oia'i'o!
Oh dear (crap or any other similar exclamation): Aue!
Good morning: Aloha kakahiaka!
Good evening: Aloha ahiahi!
Good afternoon: Aloha auihala!
Great: Nui!
Very Great: Nui Ioa!
How Are You: Pehea 'oe?
What's that: He aha kela?
Alright: Hiki!
All right then: 'oia ho'i ha!
It's alright: 'oia ae lano!
No: A'ole!
Yes: 'Ae!
"Now then…be sure to put these words to good use…'oia ho'i ha! On with the story!
"Ahh." Dr. Rupert said, stretching his arms. "What a lovely place for a vacation."
He and Page had decided to take a trip to the one and only California. Specifically, San Francisco. Page had been very anxious to see the "Golden Gate Bridge".
Now they were waiting in the airport baggage claim area for their stuff. Page was happily reading through C.S. Lewis's "Surprised by Joy" while the doctor stood by the baggage dock. Then something happened…
The doctor smelled it first. Then he saw it…a string attached to his bag…and a little being attached to that string!
"…you're…a dragon experiment, aren't you." Dr. Rupert commented, crossing his arms.
"Gon-gon-gon-gon!" The little thing said happily, bouncing up and down. It was a cute little dragon with big eyes, a happy smile, and refined, gentle-looking wings. It had rather small claws that appeared sheathed at the moment which were made of silver, just like the talons on it's feet. It had a big white heart insignia on the front of it's scaled chest, and had a crest of silver spikes running down the top of it's head to the end of it's tail.
"Aw, you're a cute little thing." Dr. Rupert remarked.
"Oh my." Page remarked as the little dragon hopped off the baggage claim strip, untying itself. It began to lick Page in the face over and over. "Ha-ha-ha! Stop that, I'm-I'm ticklish!" He protested.
"Aw, you know Page, little dragon?" Dr. Rupert asked, reaching forward.
The dragon promptly bit his hand. Then chewed.
"YEEEEOOOOWWWW!!"
…
…
…
… "You're a HORRIBLE little beast!" Dr. Rupert muttered. "And you're not staying in this hotel with us!"
"Come on! It's unchristian to turn away a person in need!" Page insisted, putting one furry paw/hand on his chest. "Love thy neighbor!"
"Yes, well don't you call Satan "an old dragon"?!" Dr. Rupert defended, pointing at the Gideon Bible on the room's tabletop.
"Yeah, but this is a little kid." Page defended. "And everyone knows that if you care for a child properly, it'll usually grow up to be a good, kind adult."
"I can't deny that sort of logic, considering I believe in the "nuture over nature" argument." Dr. Rupert admitted as the little dragon bounced up and down on what SHOULD have been HIS bed.
"Come on, little dragon, let's go to the exercise room! I'll hold onto a pair of weights and you roll me around like a wheelbarrow!" Page suggested. "But first, I'll go get you some soda! Would you like a root beer?"
The little dragon nodded.
"Okay, be right back." Page said, waving as he left the room.
"Baun-baun-baun!" The dragon laughed as he kept bouncing on the bed. "Baun-baun-baun!"
"Ugh. I have a bad feeling about-what the?"
Dr. Rupert had opened up the back pocket of the bag that the dragon had tied itself to. And there…was a book…an experiment's book. It was colored the same peaceful emerald green as the dragon was.
"You ARE an experiment." Dr. Rupert remarked.
"Washa-washa!" The experiment said, holding the book up. It was tied in such a fashion that it was made into a makeshift backpack thanks to the rope that was wrapped around it. Then the thing tried to untie it.
"…" It frowned as it realized it couldn't untie it's own knot. "Giri-giri…" The little thing mumbled.
"Hold on." Dr. Rupert said, holding up some scissors. He cut through the ropes.
The dragon held the remains of the ropes in his hands. He tried to put the two pieces together…no luck. "Gata-gata…gata…gata…"
Then he stood up and pointed at the doctor, yelling. "POKU-POKU-POKU! POKUPOKUPOKUPOKUPOKUUUU!"
"Don't worry, I can understand every single word that you're saying." Dr. Rupert said.
The little dragon's eyes widened. "Ji?"
"Nope. Lie." Dr. Rupert said cheekily.
The little guy went blind with rage as his teeth gnashed.
Five…minutes…later…
"Doctor, look who's also staying in the hotel with us!" Page said as he entered with Yuuku and Crystallene.
"Life sure is funny, huh?" Yuuku began to say…
Then they gasped. A little emerald dragon was beating the crud out of Dr. Rupert!
"OW-OW-OW-OW-OWWWW!"
Page pulled the dragon off. "What's the matter? Did the doctor tell a lie again?"
The dragon nodded over and over.
"Honestly. You should know better than to make a widdle baby draggy CWY." Yuuku said as she petted the little thing.
"Look at this face! I think he almost broke my cheekbone!" Dr. Rupert gasped out. "I'M the victim here! He attacked me for no reason!"
"Aw, he's cuuuute!" Crystallene said as the dragon licked her face over and over, going "Don-don-don". "You just need to open your heart."
"I'm not sure that alone shall do it." Dr. Rupert said sadly. "Dragons EAT prey-type beings like me!"
"Just give it a try!" Crystallene said. "Repeat after me…Don-don-don!"
"…don-don-don." Dr. Rupert remarked.
"More OOMPH! Don-don-don!" Crystallene said, pointing in the air.
The doctor felt a warm, fuzzy feeling enter him. "Don-don-don!"
"Now come on! Whole-heartedly!" Crystallene said, clapping her hands.
"Don-don-doooon!" Dr. Rupert said, spreading his arms out in a big hug gesture. You could really feel the love…
The little dragon promptly fell onto his back, the snorting of air that came from his nose had been jet-propelled! Now he was barely able to stand up because he was unmistakably laughing so hard it was difficult to breathe. "HUA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!"
"AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!" Dr. Rupert howled, waving his hands in the air as he bounced up and down, tail lashing on the ground. The dragon watched it go up and down, eyes going wide. "I'M TRYING TO BE NICE AND YOU'RE TOTALLY…YOU LITTLE…AAARRRGGH!"
Then the dragon grabbed his tail and chomped on it.
"NUOOOOOOHHHHH!!"
Dr. Rupert hit the ceiling and was embedded in there for a few minutes. Naturally the dragon had let go of his tail when that had happened. They all watched as his form was stock still…
Then he spoke.
"That…is it. Get out. Now. You followed us back without invitation, you bit me, you insult me…GET OUT OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO A PAIR OF BOOTS!!" He howled, falling out of the ceiling and pointing at the little dragon, eyes-ablaze. "YOU ANNOYING LITTLE WYRM, GET OUT OF HERE!"
The little dragon's eyes filled with tears. Sobbing, it grabbed it's book and ran out the window, down the sidewalk and out into town.
"How can you be so mean to him!" Yuuku said angrily.
"He's an experiment." Dr. Rupert said. "Eventually he'd trick us and try to fight…"
"That's not it." Page said angrily. "You were just mad at him for biting you and you have prejudice against his species!"
Dr. Rupert was quiet for a few moments. Then he crossed his arms. "I'm sure his book owner was just lying in wait until we…until…we…"
An idea hit him.
What if…
"FOLLOW THAT DRAGON!" He shouted, jumping out the window and running down the sidewalk.
"What the?!" Yuuku shouted.
"Just go with it!" Page yelled as they ran after him.
…
…
…
…Dr. Rupert watched from a tree branch as the little dragon tried to get people to pay attention to him in the middle of San Francisco. He had his book open and was showing the inside to people…but nobody seemed to be paying enough attention to him. Furthermore, for those who WERE stopping to pay attention to him…
"Aw, what a cute little lizard! It must be a new breed."
"Where's your owner, little dude?"
"What a HIDEOUS creature!"
Nobody could read the inside of his book. Not a single person.
Dr. Rupert crossed his arms, thinking.
"I get it." He realized to himself, tail held aloft. "He's without a master and not merely that, he's desperately showing it to every person around. He must feel so alone…scared, anxious, lonely. In a world where almost every face you know is a stranger or an enemy…"
Dr. Rupert sighed. "He liked Crystallene and Page because they were fellow experiments. He's like a little child…he could tell I didn't belong with the people around here, and he could tell I wasn't an experiment, so he was frightened of me…and he can't even speak our language, so there's no way he could converse with me in an intelligent manner…"
Dr. Rupert smiled as he approached the dragon and tapped him on the shoulder. "Say…can I talk to you?"
The dragon blinked. "You...help?" It asked in one of the few "Basic" sentences it knew.
"Yes…I want to help."
…
…
…
…Page, Yuuku, Crystallene and Dr. Rupert looked at the little dragon as it held it's book. They were standing on the walking area of the Golden Gate Bridge.
"You're feeling very lonely…and I was insensitive. I should have been more conscious of your feelings. For that…I apologize." Rupert said, bowing down. "It can get lonely when you're on your own in this world. So until you find your book owner, you can stay with us!"
The little dragon's eyes went wide. Then it happily hugged Dr. Rupert, bouncing up and down. "YAAAAAY!"
"But we don't even know your name."
The little dragon blinked. Then it slapped it's chest, then pointed at it's wings. They blinked.
"…er…right." Dr. Rupert remarked. "Well, luckily for you, I WAS able to decipher the front text of experimental books. It has their designation on it. So we'll call you by your designation…421!"
The dragon sighed sadly.
"Which is fitting." The rabbit/gerbil/hamster doctor went on. "Because if you add 4 by 2 and then add one to that, you get seven. And the Beast is supposed to have 7 horns, and seven heads…"
…
…
…
…"AAAH! STOP BITING ME, STOP BITING ME, STOP BITING ME! DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE "TENDERLOIN" WRITTEN ON MY FOREHEAD?!"
"421, STOP!"
"TUG HARDER! HARDER!"
"I'M TRYING!"
PREVIEW!
Dr. Rupert: Ah ha! At last we see new fighters!
Page: Who are they again?
Dr. Rupert: 621 and his book keeper have specific goals and strong wills...
Page: Well so do we! Let's see if they're worthy of knowing "the truth"...let's test them out on the next "Alternate Fate: Fantasy"!