Thanks goes to Adeleidhis for helping me brainstorm for this chapter. :)

*.*.*

Dragon's Hallow was a village standing in-between the plains and the grasslands. A jungle stood in the distance, as did some cliffs. The village had smooth walls and thatched houses. It would remind anyone of the First World if they had lived there, before its untimely explosion. There were a couple of gates guarding the rounded outer wall, protecting the villagers from intruders.

Parker stopped his speeder bike on a hill. He waited until Eliza did the same, before speaking to her again. He looked at his son in relief. He survived the trip.

"There it is," Parker said with a sigh. "Our new home."

"Parker, are you sure it's a friendly village?" Eliza asked, worried.

"Why not? It looks safe to me," Parker said, zipping towards the village. He looked back, surprised to see Eliza speed towards him. At last, they stopped in the village square. There was a grey stone fountain spewing freshwater. He gasped upon seeing Aslan, the golden-brown Lion of Narnia. The moment they locked eyes, Parker said, curious, "Aslan, what brings you here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Aslan said, watching Eliza and Parker turn off their bike's engines, as well as dismount them, helping their son get off the bike, too. "What brings you here?" He repeated.

"The Dooley Mansion was burned down," Eliza admitted. "Parker, his sister, and his brother are all that's left of his family."

"Yes, but I see he has a new one," Aslan said, nodding. He looked at Parker with suspicion. "But I see the darkness has touched you already."

"Yes," Parker said, somber.

"Well then," he said, gathering his wits, "you're all allowed to stay here for as long as possible. This will be your new home. Use it well and wisely."

"Where is our new home?" Parker asked the Great Lion, curious.

"It's here," Aslan said, showing them a large thatched house that looked almost like a cozy cottage. "It's yours now."

"Really?" Eliza said, leading her son inside the house.

Parker was shocked. "How can we repay you for this?"

"By igniting the balance within the Force. That is all I have to say," Aslan said with candor. He walked away, leaving the Dooley family to their next task. Parker looked at the Lion in wonder. Now, what were they supposed to do?

~o~

Maxin spent the next nine years in Dragon's Hallow. As he aged, the more he dreamt of becoming a fighter pilot. His short blond hair was unkempt in some places. His bright blue eyes were filled with wonder and mischievous delight. And his face was fair and rugged. A boy's face no doubt, but one who grew up with the strangest creatures anyone could ever hope for. Today, he wore brown knee-breeches, a white dress shirt, and sported a brown jacket. He sped out of the Dooley house before his mother could catch him.

Ah! Finally, his skateboard was in the shed. Today, he would fly his wooden skateboard, with its sail attached to it, just like Jim Hawkins, the man he read about in stories. This was Maxin's day! The day in which he would prove to his parents, prove to everyone, that he wasn't just some fourteen-year-old boy who daydreamed too much.

"Now, be careful!" a raven-haired man named Silver, with his wooden peg leg, told him, cross and fair-minded.

"Don't worry! I'll be back!" Maxin said, rolling his skateboard out of the shed and down the dirt road.

After a few peddles, he was off! He moved his foot off the dirt road and onto the skateboard, feeling the wind blowing in his face. He swung to the left, keeping on his guard at all times as he moved around the crowd. He was going to make it to the academy! Wait and see!

"Oops!" Maxin cried, upon diving past a woman carrying a fresh supply of eggs.

"Road hog!" the woman screeched out of annoyance.

"Ha ha!" Maxin chuckled softly. "Whoa!" He dodged left and right, doing his best to avoid people, but eventually bumping into another woman. He fell, skinning his knee on the dirt road. "Ow!" He checked his left knee. There was a scab there, blistered and bleeding, but not badly. He looked up in time to catch the gaze of a brown, fully-grown horse, eyeing him suspiciously. Maxin sat still, trying to recover.

"Hmm," the horse questioned him, "you might want to cure that bruise, lad."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Doppelganger," Maxin said, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "Do I make it into the academy this year?"

"No," Mr. Doppelganger said, flat out.

"Come on! You know I'm born for this job!" Maxin said, enthralled.

"Yes, you have skills, but you're also a troublemaker like your father," Mr. Doppelganger told him. "Remember not to get in his way."

"My father hasn't turned into a human for quite some time. The last time anyone's seen him as a human was nine years ago. I hardly remember a thing!" Maxin said, annoyed.

"Here," one of the healers, a toad, said, checking his wound for infections.

"I just thought if I could get into the academy, then I could prove to my dad that I'm not just his human son," Maxin said, seething.

"Watch yourself!" The toad healer declared, stiffly. "You are half-human, but you also have dragonoid blood in your veins. Don't forget that!"

"I know," Maxin said with a sigh. He looked at Mr. Doppelganger, curiously. "So, do I get into the academy."

Mr. Doppelganger shook his head. "Maybe someday, when you can prove your worth, prove to me that you're not some runt who invades the streets with his solar skateboard on hand, twenty-four seven, then we'll talk. Until then, you are dismissed." He walked away, leaving the boy wallowing in his sorrows.

"Oh man!" Maxin cried, disappointed.

"There!" The toad healer said, cleansing his wound and bandaging it. "All better."

"Ow!" Maxin cried again, feeling his bandaged knee.

"A little pain doesn't hurt anyone," the toad healer said, encouraging him. She asked, out of curiosity, "Say, where did your parents run off to this time?"

Maxin chuckled. "My mom's waiting for me to come home. I guess I'd better go see her." He said, picking up his solar skateboard.

"Just don't ride that thing around when you get back to your parents' house!" the toad healer said, annoyed.

"Yes, Mrs. Trudy!" Maxin said, waving to her as he walked back to his parents' house.

~o~

Steadily, he slid his skateboard into the shed. There were so many tools placed on the wooden workbenches that it was difficult to say which tool was meant for what gear. The mechanics didn't bother him, as they repaired cars and ships, so it was easy for him to sneak around much. If he was lucky, he wouldn't get caught by his father or mother.

His mother Eliza didn't bother going into the shed. She was usually at home, preparing their next meal or doing something during the day. His father Parker, on the other hand, was a rarity. He would often come into the shed whenever his speeder bike needed repairing. Sometimes, he would do the job himself, if given the chance. The mechanics were friendly to the Dooley family. So, that's what counted!

However, Maxin was not so fortunate to bring his skateboard into the shed this time around. He jumped upon hearing his father's voice ring in his eardrums. How did that red dragonoid manage to throw his voice around the room? Was it a trick he just pulled?

"You've been out skateboarding again," Parker said, getting his son's attention.

"How did you know?" Maxin asked, not wanting to be caught.

Parker chuckled, standing up. "Because I see the same fire in you that I have, that your mother has, and that anyone whose a fierce teenager would understand. I may be in my early forties, but I'm still a youth at heart."

"You don't age," Maxin said, curious.

"No," Parker said, smiling, "and neither does your mother. You see, anyone with dragonoid in their blood or has a companion that's a dragonoid, especially a dragon, will live on to a grand age. Your mother and I…" he whispered loudly, "…we're still young. Almost like teenagers."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Maxin said, confused.

"I knew you wouldn't," Parker said with a friendly smile. "You're young, but still new to the world. Maybe someday, you will understand."

"I'd rather be a pilot," Maxin grumbled.

"Well, you're learning," Parker admitted. "Although, I've never seen a fourteen-year-old pass his driver's test so quickly."

"I've learned from the best," Maxin said, joining his father.

"Yes, I can tell," Parker said. "But they still won't let you pilot."

"Do I need a reason? Perhaps I'm doing something wrong," Maxin said, saddened. "You haven't transformed into a human in nine years. Why? I would rather like to see you human again. Why won't you change for me?"

"For my own reasons and for others like it," Parker said, calmly.

"Riddles don't scare me. I know you're hiding something," Maxin said, suspicious.

"One day, you will find out," Parker said, serious. He glanced at Maxin's knee, spotting the bandage. "You scrapped your knee again."

"It's nothing! It's fine. All better," Maxin lied, weakly.

"You know I can detect a lie anywhere," Parker said, keenly. He chuckled as Maxin fumed. "Don't worry. We'll explain to your mother before we head off to the Pridelands and check on the new dragonoid eggs."

"Do you think I'll own a dragonoid? Let that dragonoid be my companion?" Maxin asked, curious.

"No," Parker shook his head. He spoke again, before Maxin protested, "Maxin, you don't choose a dragonoid. That choice, that bond, must come under the dragonoid's terms. And you're part dragonoid. I think it's a bit more complicated for you." He gestured to the entrance. "Shall we?"

"Whatever you say," Maxin said, following his father. So much for that plan.

*.*.*

References:

Long John Silver is the same man, the same pirate, from Robert Louis Stevenson's book, Treasure Island.