Disclaimer: See the Prologue


Chapter 7 – Kids With Guns


Back at Canal Street Electronics, Lao sat at his desk in the back, pondering over the events of last weekend. They still heard nothing from the Dragon Council, which was quite a surprise considering he's the American Dragon's master. He was more interested in Councillor Rowan's last words: Heaven Smile.

'Heaven Smile?' he thought, 'It's impossible. They were all wiped out thirty years ago by…'

His eyes then widened when it suddenly hit him; practically like a blast from the past.

"Unless…"

"Unless what?"

Lao spun around to find something floating in a corner behind some boxes. He queered his eyebrows as he got up from his seat.

"Who is there?" Lao asked, "Show yourself."

Suddenly, it phased through the boxes, revealing what appeared to be a human spirit dressed in red bondage gear and was hanging from the ceiling by a bungie cord. His eyes were stiched closed and his finger was raised in front of his mouth as if in a 'Be Quiet' motion. Lao's eyes widened.

"Wenzel Diel Boris Iwazarskof VII!" Lao gasped, startled at seeing a ghost pop up in his own store.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," the ghost replied in a cynical tone, not moving an inch but just floating there, "How long has it been Mr. Lao Shi?"

"I…I thought we'd seen the last of you," Lao said.

"As long as my master exists, so will I," the ghost replied, "I live to serve him, and I bring an urgent message from him regarding an old foe."

Just there and then, Fu entered the door, looking over a magazine.

"Hey Lao, you checked out what the President just declared…EEEKKKK!" Fu suddenly cried out, dropping his magazine as he saw the ghost, "Iwazaru!"

"Hello, Fu Dog," Wenzel Diel Boris Iwazarskof VII, or known simply as Iwazaru replied, "Fancy seeing you here."

"I…I meant to pay you back the Soul Shells money, I swear!" Fu exclaimed, then begun to sulk, "But now you're here to haunt me! Oh why me? Oh why?"

"That was a hundred years back, dog-breath," Iwazaru pointed out, "Back when I had my body. It won't matter much to me now."

Fu suddenly calmed down and chucked sheepishly, "Oh. Right."

"What is the meaning of this?" Lao replied, crossing his arms and frowning, "What message do you bring?"

Iwazaru turned his body to face Lao and explained, "My master wishes to converse with you and the American Dragon in a short while. For He has returned."

Lao eye's widened and gasped, "The God Hand?"

"That very man," Iwazaru said, "My master's servants are already among you. Even now, one of them is with the American Dragon and they are headed for trouble."

"What?" Fu cried, "The kid's in trouble?"

Lao's eyes widened, "From what? What's going one?"

"But don't worry, it's nothing he can't handle, not with his new friend around, which I believe you knew once as well," Iwazaru continued.

This was becoming way too much for Lao to handle. Too many questions and not enough time to answer them, so he asked the question that was plaguing him the most.

"Who is he?" Lao replied, "Who is Jake's new friend?"

"My time's up," Iwazaru said, "Remember that we've returned to finish the job once and for all. Don't forget that, old man."

"But…"

Iwazaru suddenly bounced upwards out of sight thanks to his bungie-cord, but not without finishing, "In the name of Harman…"

With that, he faded out of sight, leaving a very shocked Lao and Fu standing there.

"The kid's in trouble?" Fu cried.

"I'd know where'd he be," Lao said, where he frowned, "Instead of coming here immediately after school for training, as he should."

----------

"Hey Con, wait up man!"

Jake called to Con as he walked out of the school, him Trixie and Spud running to catch up with him, still quite shocked at seeing him almost snap Brad's arm off. Con slowed down and stopped just outside the gate, where he exhaled sharply. They caught up with him.

"Man," Jake begun, "I'd never seen anyone go all eggroll on Brad. You almost ripped his arm off."

"And you bowled over those other jocks like they were pins," Spud added, "That was like…whoa!"

"Yeah, what gives?" Trixie added.

Con, taken by all this sharp questioning, replied, "Sorry, I guess. I'm just touchy about that subject."

Jake was surprised, "What? Being blind."

Con nodded, which Trixie promptly laughed, eyes closed in amusement.

"That ain't anything to lose your cool over. You're not blind, right?"

Trixie opened her eyes and stopped laughing, noticing that Con was 'staring' at her quick blankly.

"Right?"

Con licked his lips slightly, not knowing what to say. He chuckled softly and rubbed his left arm, "Well…"

Spud's eyes widened, "No way!"

He then smiled brightly, as if this was the most incredible thing he has ever seen in his life. Sure, him finding out that Jake was a dragon was incredible, but this…

"I should've guessed with the bandanna pulled over your eyes, dude," Spud continued, hand rubbing the back of his head, "You're really, really blind?"

Con nodded and said sarcastically, "Yeah. I live in a very dark, scary void where every sound drives me closer to insanity."

Jake stared at Con in disbelief; "This is deep, man. You really can't see a thing?"

"What did I just say, yo?"

"Hey, if you're really blind," Trixie said, eyes narrowed, "Then how come you act like you're not? You can move around and not bump into things and you don't wave one of those canes around."

Con 'looked' their way and breathed softly, "Promise not to laugh?"

Jake, Trixie and Spud looked at one another questioningly, before Jake said, "Yeah. Lay it on."

Con smiled and answered, "Sonar."

----------

Watching from the roof of a nearby building was both the Huntsman and Spectre, accompanied by a dozen Huntsclan. From behind his binoculars the Huntsman spied on the group as they walked away from school, talking and laughing.

"Who is that new kid with them, master?" Spectre asked, squinting at Con.

"I don't know apprentice," the Huntsman replied, "He appears to be blind and a friend of Long. If that's the case, he won't see himself pay along with the dragon's friends for daring to interfere in the Hunt."

'Poor guy,' Spectre thought where he downcast his eyes, before he asked, "Do we trail them?"

The Huntsman nodded, then gripped his staff and stood up, where he looked over the clan.

"Move out!"

----------

The group of friends were on their way to the Skate Park, listening in to what Con had to say, all revolving around Sonar…

"You're jokin' me?" Trixie cried.

Con shook his head, "I listen out for the sounds in the air and jus' picture what's in front of me. It's that easy."

"Yeah, like a bat right," Spud asked, "With that soundwaves bouncing off the walls and objects and coming back, right?"

Con nodded, then thought irritated, 'Did potato-boy get a lobotomy or somethin'? He's a dumbass one-minute and Einstein the next.'

"Professor Spud's in the house, once again," Jake sounded off smiling, sensing one of the Spud's random moments of intellect, "Hey, Daredevil…?"

Con turned to face Jake, amused at being named after that particular superhero.

"…get out your deck. We're not gonna walk all the way to the skate park, eh?"

Con smiled, "Word!"

The punk then opened his bag, which Spud managed to have a glimpse of it's contents, where he then turned white as a sheet, just as Con pulled out what appeared to be a foldable skateboard deck. It was coloured jet black with what appeared to be the number 7 in red underneath it. A few clicks later the deck was assembled and ready to roll.

"Nice deck, man," Jake commented, folding his arms, "Ready to roll?"

Con dropped the deck on the floor, where he put a foot on it.

"First one there's the champion of the universe," Con cried as he took off down the footpath.

Jake chuckled, "You're on!"

Jake followed suit, then by Trixie. But Spud stood there, somehow having lost control of his nervous system, all to fright.

"C'mon Spud," Trxie called out, "What'cha you waiting for?"

Spud suddenly shook his head, before he dropped his board on the ground and followed Con, Jake and Trixie, thinking about what he thought he just saw in Con's bag, and deciding whether they were real or it was just his head.

'It's all in my head,' he thought, 'Yeah! That's it.'

----------

Not far off and walking through the crowds on the sidewalk, Rose was thinking about the first thing she would have to say once she caught up with Jake. She had been thinking about this all through the weekend. She knew that she wasn't going to last for much longer on the streets, so she decided she would turn to the only person who would understand her situation.

Maybe even take her in.

'Jake, I'm so sorry,' she thought, then decided, 'Yeah, that'll do.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when felt herself get grabbed by the arm…

"AHH! HELP!"

…and get pulled into a nearby alleyway, where she was thrown into some garbage cans and smacked her head, almost giving her a concussion. She opened her eyes painfully to see a couple of guys dressed in trenchcoats, broad hats and black sunglasses.

"The Huntsgirl?" one of them queried.

She rubbed the back of her head and got up, where she glared straight at her abductors. She then put her fists up, ready to defend herself.

"Yeah," she growled, "What's it to you?"

The both of them then produced a couple of smiles, which spread across their faces. They then tore of their trenchcoats to reveal the monsters they were slowly morphing into, where Rose's eyes widened in horror, seeing the smiling demon-like creatures standing before her.

It was the mutant zombie suicide bombers, with rough purple skin and horrific smiles.

"Kill Huntsclan!" one of them exclaimed, "Purge the scum!"

"Destroy Huntsgirl!"

They then laughed maniacally and lunged at Rose, who cried out and dove out the way. She then ran down another alleyway, not wanting the expose these creatures to the public.

'What kind of magical creatures are these?' she thought, 'They don't look…normal.'

She then felt a claw slash against her face, leaving a gash on her cheek. She screamed in pain and stood back, seeing another smile suddenly appear out of thin air, as if invisible. Her eyes were that of panic and the pain from his gashed face felt like it was spreading to other parts of her body.

"What are you things?" she cried out, sensing the two other smiles moving in from behind.

The three of them then lunged at her, which she glared and jumped into the air, rebounding off the nearest wall and delivering a jump kick, striking their smiling faces and instantly killing one, where it turned into red particles and dissipated. The two remaining smiles looked at one another, laughed and dove at her again. Rose shoved her hand into her left pocket and produced a pocket knife, switching the blade out. She then slashed the next smile quickly, spilling blood all over the alleyway.

It was still laughing, which was starting to drive Rose mad. She shoved the knife into it's chest and delivered a punch to it's face, sending it onto the ground. It then dissipated as white particles. The remaining smile charged at her, where she drove her foot in it's face, where it exploded in red particles.

"Awwwkkk!"

Rose was sent of her feet by the force of the particles hitting her face, which she tasted blood on her face. She wiped her face, freaked out.

"What were those things?" she cried in distress, before she thought, 'I've got to find Jake.'

She then got up on her feet and took off, not wanting to stick around to see if any more of those 'smiles' appear. She immediately thought of where to find Jake.

'The skatepark,' she thought, 'He's bound to be there.'

----------

At the skatepark, Jake and co. were practically blown away by Con as he showed off his skateboarding techniques, performing some fancy midair grabs and moves, followed by a couple of lip-tricks; where he was practically flying up and down the half-pipe. Trixie, eyes wide and mouth gaping, as was the case for Jake and Spud, shook her head softly.

"No, no. This can't be happening," she said, where she closed her eyes, "Nah-uh! Not seeing this."

"Well, you are," Jake said, "And Con's now officially Daredevil-slash-Tony Hawk."

"I agree," Spud added.

Con finished up with an impressive McTwist before landing before Jake and co., feet firmly on the ground and crouched over. He then looked up to see their bewildered faces.

"You're comin' along for the ride?" Con asked, "Or playing spectator?"

Jake smiled, "Comin' along!"

And with that they were all tearing up the pipe, the sounds of wheels grinding against wood filling their eyes and the feelings of adrenaline pumping through their bodies. As if time slowed down around them, Jake looked over at Con, who was smiling as he was practically flying up and down the pipe.

'Man, this guy's for real,' Jake thought, 'He's a top dude all right.'

His smile then faltered.

"His last name's 'Smith'?' he then thought, 'What's up with that? Gotta ask him about Dan, and besides…where is that guy anyway?'

Suddenly…

"Hey, you there?"

They turned to their heads to see a group of five young-adult skateboarders standing near the pipe. Jake jumped off his board and landed before them. He saw that they were all adorned in full skating gear and were carrying their decks under their arms.

"Yeah, what's up?" Jake greeted.

"We just saw that little punk bust some really cool moves," one of the skateboarders said, "What's his name?"

Con landed next to Jake and smiled, "Name's Con Smith. Next to the Birdman, the greatest skateboarder on the planet."

"You wish, Con-man!" Trixie sounded off as she and Spud got off their boards, where they were all before the mysterious skateboarders.

"So who are you guys?" Con asked, "Birdhouse? Element? Girl? Lookin' for the best, you're standing right before them."

"Thanks, man," Spud said, patting Con on the shoulder.

"Actually," the skateboarders shook their head, "We're here to kill you."

Con's smile faltered, "Wha...?"

The skateboarders then smiled big, where their eyes lit up blood red. Jake and co. stepped backwards away from the skateboarders, who slowly morphed into the mutant zombie Kamikazes. Jake's eyes widened.

"No!" he exclaimed.

The Smiles stepped forward, "Time to die, Dragon!"

Jake glared, "That ain't gonna happen, yo. Dragon UP!"

Making sure that no one else was around, Jake quickly morphed into his dragon form and swung his tail, knocking the Smiles away, where they landed on the other side of the skatepark. Spud and Trixie's were understandably startled.

"What the heck are those things?" Trixie cried, petrified.

"Those 'Smiles' I told you about," Jake replied, then noticed Con, 'Aw, nuts. Hope he doesn't sense I'm a…'

Con mouth gaped and dropped his skateboard, completely stunned, "Is that a…dragon?"

Jake smirked, "Er…yeah. Hi…"

Con's mouth then begun to gape, "Jake?"

"Er…no."

The Smiles then got up and lunged at Jake, where he turned to face them. Jake inhaled deeply and released a stream of fire at them. They swerved to avoid the blaze and continued to run towards Jake, Trixie, Spud and Con.

"GET OUTTA HERE, YOU GUYS!" Jake cried.

Jake then flew towards them, getting ready to deliver hopefully one punch, which would hopefully kill them instantly before they'd explode, leaving Trixie and Spud standing there.

"JAKE!" Trixie cried, then noticed that Con was missing, "Con?"

"Huh?" Spud said, "Hey, where'd he…?"

They saw that his bag was opened and his skateboard was gone too, then they heard the sounds of automatic gunfire erupt. They looked ahead to see the Smiles suddenly convulse as bullets tore through each of them, before they exploded in white particles, leaving a dumbfounded Jake to be covered in them.

"HEY!" he cried, where he wiped the white particles off himself, "HOW'D THE…Con?"

They saw Con standing nearby Jake, where he held two smoking automatic pistols in his hands, his head bowed slightly. He then raised his head and blew the smoke away from his guns, before smiling big.

"Thought you could use some help, American Dragon," Con said, "Those things are nasty, yo!"

Jake looked at Con bewildered, seeing him armed with a pair of heaters and having knocked off those Smiles with precision. Suddenly, laughter erupted all around them, where suddenly more Smiles appeared out of nowhere.

"Awww, man!" Jake cried.

"You said it," Con replied, "Prepare for ass-cappin'!"

----------

Meanwhile, the Huntsclan was watching from the roof of a nearby building, seeing the battle beginning to unfold. The Huntsman peered at Jake and Con, and the approaching monsters, where he could see their hideous smiles spread across their faces.

'What manner of creature are those?' he thought, 'They don't look like magical beings.'

"Master," Spectre begun, disturbing the Huntsman's thoughts, "Shall we move in?"

Lowering his binoculars and smiling, the Huntsman turned and replied, "No, apprentice. Let's see how this plays out."

Spectre stood alongside the Huntsman and squinted to make what was going on down below. He focused on Con, where he scratched his head.

"Is that punk carrying a pair of GLOCKS?" Spectre queried out loud.

----------

Down below, Trixie and Spud ran towards Jake and Con, seeing that the Smiles would go for the defenceless first. Spud looked over at Con, bewildered.

"Those guns weren't my imagination after all," Spud remarked.

Con smiled and looked his way, "Never leave home without something that kills!"

The Smiles grouped together, where their laughter varied between low decibels to all right cackling. They then at lunged towards the group, where Jake pounded his fists and ready to take them up close, but then suddenly Con rushed forward.

"Hey!" Jake exclaimed.

Turning his head sideway so that his ears were up front as if to hear them properly, Con pulled the triggers of his automatic pistols and unleashing lead death at the Smiles, who were all still laughing as they felt bullets tear through their bodies. Jake and co. watched Con fight the Smile's single handedly. One Smile lunged at Con from behind where the punk spun around, where he cried out smiling…

"LATER!"

…and skidded onto his back, firing up at the attacking Smile which was projected into the air, where it exploded in white particles. A few Smiles snuck up behind Jake, where he suddenly turned around and delivered a jump kick, killing them and scattering their particles to the winds.

"Nice kick, Dragon!" Con called out to him as he rolled over back onto his feet.

"Thanks," Jake called back, 'I hope he didn't recognise my voice…oh…who am I kidding?"

He flew towards Con where they stood back to back as more Smiles approached them from all sides.

"Where are these freaks comin' from?" Trixie cried.

"Nowhere!" Con responded, "They always do!"

The Smile all lunged straight at them, where Con suddenly jumped up on Jake's back…

"OW! HEY!"

…where he leapt off Jake and spun upwards into the air, guns blazing and spraying the entire area with lead, where the Smiles all laughed maniacally as bullets tore into them. They then all exploded in white particles just as Con landed back on the ground, where the empty magazines in his guns dropped out and Con reloaded…

"WHOA!"

…by pushing clips into his gun seemingly out of nowhere using his feet as if playing a game of Hackysack, in full view of Jake, Trixie and Spud, who cried out in amazement.

"Where'd Jake go?" Con queried, turning to Spud and Trixie.

He then turned to Jake, where he smiled.

"And where'd you come from, Dragon-Boy?"

"He's right there," Spud replied, "In front…OW!"

Trixie suddenly stepped on Jake's thought, "Shush!"

Con looked Jake's way, where he slowly begun to walk towards him, as if not recognising him as a dragon, which Jake hoped he wouldn't, "J…Jake…is that…you?"

Jake sighed, "Yeah. I'm right here."

The punk stretched his hand forward and surprisingly caressed Jake's draconic face, as if trying to recognise him through touch. Con's mouth opened in surprise, before he smiled big and cried out ecstatically.

"WOW! YOU'RE THE AMERICAN DRAGON! AWESOME!"