The First Attack

Jake and Fred remained in the same, ready-for-battle stance. There was no running. There was no hiding. This time, there was only fighting.

And with that, the Dark Dragon began to unleash the supreme powers he had been holding in for months. Flames reached up towards the blackened sky. The wind, now carrying dirt and debris, picked up and circled him as energy began to build within his body.

Jake and Fred could do nothing but change into their dragon forms and hope for someone to come to their rescue. They could never face him alone.

Even though they had both come face to face with the Dark Dragon before, they were certain that there was no way out of the battlefield alive. The Dark Dragon had grown and gained much since they last fought him in Hong Kong months ago. He was stronger, wiser, larger, more evil, and more powerful than ever before. All around, he was virtually impossible to defeat.

Jake was pulled out of his train of thought when a strong gust of wind blew towards him, sending both Jake and Fred flying into a nearby tree. Jake slowly stood up, using the tree for support while Fred, having temporarily got the wind knocked out of him, remained on the ground awhile longer.

"You will never defeat me!" The Dark Dragon cackled down to the two boys, still recovering from the last blow. The Dark Dragon laughed mercilessly, sending off more flames into the night sky.

XX

Not far from the scene of the battle, a cloaked figure stood hidden behind a tree. He hadn't much to worry about as it was night, and the participants of the battle were currently occupied.

Even though Yanak was a decent fighter, he decided against joining in the battle, mainly because he hadn't fully decided what side he was truly on. On paper, he was a responsible, reliable dragon master, but in his mind, he craved the power and attention that the Dark Dragon had to offer.

Yanak had heard all about the Dark Dragon's quest for power and the creation of the Dark Mafia. From what he had heard, the Mafia was good, but not great. They could use another dragon. Perhaps one more experienced in the field of battle. Someone who could secretly spy on the council and pretend to remain on their side, and he could think of no one better than himself.

Yanak smiled to himself. The council trusted him, no doubt. It would be easy to double-cross them behind their backs. The Dark Dragon, however, would be difficult to convince. He would probably assume that he was simply a spy, sent to learn of the Dark Dragon's plans before they were carried through.

He knew it was going to be difficult, but Yanak had made up his mind; he was going to join the Dark Mafia, and he was going to help the Dark Dragon in his plan for world domination.

XX

Meanwhile, Jake and Fred frantically dodged a lightning bolt that the Dark Dragon shot their way. It was beginning to look hopeless. The Dark Dragon was ten times more powerful than Fred and Jake put together. On top of that, he had so many tricks up his sleeve, he was nearly impossible to predict.

The Dark Dragon let out an evil cackle before sending a wave of fire across the entire premises of the field. The force from the wave sent Jake and Fred flying up into the air and right into the center of a giant tree. Both boys transformed back to their human forms and fell ten feet before hitting the ground with a thud.

A numbing pain swept over Jake's body, and he struggled to remain conscious. He lifted his throbbing head up slowly only to narrowly miss a fire ball. The taste of blood filled his mouth as he looked over at Fred, who appeared to be unconscious. Jake moaned and used his last bit of strength to stand up. This was it. There was no way he was going to make it out alive.

The Dark Dragon smiled down at him evilly. "So this is how the great American Dragon will go down. Such a shame. I thought it would be much more challenging than this."

Jake remained silent, awaiting the final blow to come to him and take him out of his misery. But it never did. Instead, Jake heard the Dark Dragon swear and growl in pain. Jake opened his eyes to find his grandfather and Fu standing a few feet away from him, ready to fight.

Jake smiled and crouched down next to the tree. He needed to regain a portion of his strength before striking back against the Dark Dragon. Jake looked over at Fred again, making sure he could see the rise and fall of his stomach before turning away. Jake assumed that he would be alright, as there was only a little blood and he hadn't landed on his head. He was merely unconscious.

His grandfather shot back into action while Fu Dog quietly slipped over toward Jake. "You all right, kid?"

"I think so. I think Fred will be alright too."

"Good," Fu's voice dropped to a whisper. "I called Rose on our way up here. She's on her way, but for now, it's up to you and gramps to keep him from destroying the whole city, got it?"

"Yeah," Jake clutched his arm in pain, "I think we can handle it."

Jake made sure he could change forms before he sprang back into action, attacking the Dark Dragon from the back. The Dark Dragon was caught off guard, but recovered quickly and came back to strike Jake with his claws. Jake yelped in pain taking a few short seconds to feel how long the scratch was. From what he could tell it extended from his chin to his lower neck.

Jake recovered and sent a line of fire at the Dark Dragon while his grandfather smacked the Dark Dragon with his tail.

Meanwhile, Fu stood watching helplessly off to the side. Being a dog, there really wasn't much he could do. Slowly he made his way over to Fred to make sure he was still alive. Fu was relieved to find that he had a pulse and he was breathing.

"Fu!" A voice came from behind him.

Fu Dog turned around to see Rose standing a few feet away, staff in hand. "Rose! Good thing you're here! I would say Jake and Gramps could use a little help."

Rose glanced over at Jake and Lao Shi, then back at Fu Dog. "Where's Fred?"

Fu Dog nodded his head over to Fred's unconscious body, laying only a few feet away.

"Is he ok?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I think he's fine. Just unconscious," Fu looked back anxiously at the battle. "You better get out there. Try to take him by surprise."

"Kay Fu," Rose replied.

Fu watched as she disappeared into the trees. She was obviously going to enter the field from a different angle. Probably one that would catch the Dark Dragon off guard, giving Rose a chance to zap him with her staff.

Fu glanced back nervously at the battle, which was growing more intense by the second. Jake shot a fire ball towards the Dark Dragon's head, but instead of hurting him, the Dark Dragon deflected the flames right back at Jake, sending him flying once more into the ground.

Then out of nowhere, there was a sudden burst of green light, followed by painful cry from the Dark Dragon. He momentarily fell to the ground and turned around. There in front of him was the same slayer from the Thousand Year Toast in Hong Kong months before.

The Dark Dragon brushed himself off as Rose sent another blast of energy his way. This time, he deflected away harmlessly into the night.

"So, the American Dragon called on his girlfriend for help?" The Dark Dragon smiled down at Rose. "Touching."

"There's nothing wrong with th-" Jake was cut off when the Dark Dragon sent a wave of blue energy his way, knocking him once again, to the ground.

"I'd love to stay and chat," The Dark Dragon cackled, "but I'm needed elsewhere."

"But trust me," the Dark Dragon continued, "we will meet again, and you will fall."

Once again, flames reached up toward the night sky, letting off almost as much light as if it were daytime. Winds circled around the Dark Dragon, mercilessly laughing once more. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the winds and flames died down, and the cackle of the Dark Dragon faded into the night.

Yay new chapter!

If you haven't figured out who Yanak is, I must be better at writing surprises than I thought I was XD

Thanks for reading! Reviews are always great!

~ada69