Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Five)
Chapter/Episode 10: The Dragon Inside My Mind
Rose, Savannah and Cherri all stood in the elevator, all wearing their medallions around their necks. However, unlike Savannah or Cherri, Rose held in her claws the shackles that she had personally made, playing with them.
Turning her head to the side, Savannah glanced down. "Why did you bring those things, Rose?" She asked.
"Why not?" Rose asked as she slowly turned her head to the side.
"This dragon might suspect trouble because of those things." Savannah said simply.
"Once she sees us..." Rose said. "...She'll know that something's up, seeing as, we're not her Animal Guardian."
"That's true, but-"
"Besides..." Rose cut Savannah off as she slowly turned her head back to normal. "...This dragon has been sending her Animal Guardian to spy on me. I want to know what she knows, even if it means taking her prisoner."
Hearing Rose say this, Savannah's eyes lit up. "Oh." She said. Turning her head in the other direction, she mouthed to Cherri: "Us..." Then, she held up one clawed finger. "...The Dragon Council..." Then, she made a "0" with her thumb and index finger.
LINE BREAK
Carter sat in a small room in a chair, another chair that was empty facing Carter. Sighing, Carter leaned back in his chair, just as the door to the room opened and Jake walked inside, followed by Councilor Callum, who was carrying a cardboard box, filled with pieces of paper.
"Sorry if we kept you waiting." Jake said as he walked up to the chair across from Carter and sat down.
"What is this all about?" Carter asked.
Jake waited until Callum had reached his side and then turned around before he answered: "Councilor Callum and I just want to run some questions by you."
"What kind of questions?"
"You told us the name of one of the dragons..." Jake said.
"Yeah, Savannah Rogers."
"Well, we would like to know if you could identify the other dragons that you saw." Jake said.
"How many did you say that you saw?" Callum spoke up.
"Uh, there were five others, I believe." Carter answered.
"Alright, we're making process..." Jake grinned. "...But we still have a long way to go. Stay patient with me, Carter. This is going to take a while."
"How long?"
"As long as it takes you to describe the appearances of these five dragons for me." Jake answered, leaning forward in his chair, placing his arms on his knees.
LINE BREAK
Dakota stood on the dock in her dragon form with a scowl on her face and her scaly arms crossed as she waited. "Where are you, Enid?" She growled, narrowing her eyes.
Below the dock, the water started to bubble before the transparent submarine emerged from the water, Dakota dropping her scaly arms to her sides as she smiled. "About time..." She said.
The hatch to the submarine opened and the escalator started to rise out of the submarine, soon making contact with the dock.
"Enid?" Dakota asked, taking a step forward, just as Savannah and Cherri both flew up and out of the submarine, making Dakota's eyes widen as the two dragon whizzed up into the air. Then, Dakota whirled around as Savannah and Cherri both landed.
"Who...Who are you?" Dakota demanded, narrowing her eyes.
"It's not us you should be worrying about." Cherri said.
"Then who should I be worrying about then, huh?" Dakota asked sarcastically as she put her clawed hands on her hips.
"The dragon behind you." Savannah smiled.
"There is no dragon b-!" Dakota started, but she stopped and her eyes widened as Rose tapped her shoulder. Taking a step forward, Dakota turned around to see Rose slowly lowering her clawed hand while holding the shackles in her other hand.
"Hi." Rose smiled at Dakota. "You may not know me, but my name is Rose. You sent your Animal Guardian to spy on me."
Her eyes now even wider, Dakota took a step back. "He was caught?" She asked. "Where is he?"
"I don't know." Rose said honestly. "All I know is that you and I are going to have a nice, long talk."
"I don't think so..." Dakota said as she narrowed her eyes. Then, she flared her wings, flapped them and took off into the air.
"After her!" Savannah shouted as she and Cherri both looked up into the air.
LINE BREAK
"So, um..." Carter said as he leaned back in his chair. "...What exactly is in that box?"
"You'll find o-" Jake started, but his eyes widened as Callum cut him off:
"These are the files of all of the dragons that have strayed from the Order." Callum said. "There are more than you would think. Some of them went missing, some were expelled from the order, and some just walked away for no known reason."
"Wow..."
"Now that you know what's in the box..." Jake said in a rather impatient tone as he crossed his arms. "...Would you mind describing the appearances of these five dragons that are not Savannah Rogers?"
"Well, one of them has the same color as a tangerine." Carter explained.
"Tangerine-colored, look for a dragon that's Tangerine-colored." Jake said as he turned his head to the side to look at Callum, who nodded before he started to flip through the pieces of paper. As Callum did this, Jake returned his attention to Carter. "Continue." Jake said. "We need to know more. There's more than one Tangerine-colored dragon in this world."
"Looks like there is only one in this box, though..." Callum said as he pulled out a stapled packet of pieces of paper. "...Take a look..." Callum said as he handed the packet to Jake, who took it in both hands.
"Is this the dragon?" Jake asked as he turned the packet over for Carter to see Lista in her dragon form in a picture on the upper left-hand side of the first sheet. Below the picture of her in her dragon form was one of her in her human form.
"That's one of them, yeah." Carter said, prompting Jake to turn the piece of paper over, reading out loud from it:
"Linda Costa." Jake read. "She's sixteen years old and has been missing for about a year."
LINE BREAK
As she flew away from the dock, Dakota chanced a look back, seeing that Cherri and Savannah were flying as quickly as they could after her, Rose to their side and significantly behind them. "Should be a piece of cake to lose them..." Dakota said with a smile as she turned her head back to normal.
Meanwhile, from behind, Cherri turned her head to the side, seeing Rose pant as she slowly flapped her wings, struggling to keep up with Cherri and Savannah.
"Savannah..." Cherri said as she reached out and grabbed Savannah's shoulder, making Savannah stop.
"What is it?" Savannah asked impatiently as she, now stopped, turned her head to the side.
"We should wait for Rose." Cherri said as she turned her head to look at Savannah as the sound of Rose's panting got closer and closer. Turning her head back in the other direction, Cherri watched as Rose slowly flew up into view about five seconds later, stopping.
"You okay?" Cherri asked.
"Yeah..." Rose answered as she slowly turned her head to the side. "...And thanks for waiting for me."
"No pro-"
Cherri started with a smile, but her smile vanished when she heard Savannah's hiss: "Great!"
"What is it?" Cherri asked as she turned her head to the side to see Savannah's angry expression.
"Good going, Rose!" Savannah spat as she turned her head to the side. "I just lost sight of her. She got away!"
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Savannah was now facing both Cherri, whose eyes were wide, and Rose, who had an unreadable look on her face. Both stared at Savannah, who had a scowl on her face. "It's...my fault?" Rose finally asked, a small amount of hurt in her tone.
Hearing the sound of Rose's voice, Savannah's scowl slowly started to fade as her gaze softened. "Well, I'm sorry, Savannah..." Rose said.
"Oh, Rose..." Savannah sighed. Shaking her head, she continued: "...I didn't mean-"
"That's what it sounded like." Cherri said. "It sounded like you were blaming Rose."
With another sigh, Savannah stared at her two friends. "I'm sorry, okay." She said. "I'm not mad at you, Rose. It's just...I want to get this dragon."
LINE BREAK
"Describe another dragon to me." Jake said as he leaned back in his chair.
"Uh..." Carter said as he glanced over at Callum, who was still holding the box. "...Maybe it would just be easier if you let me go through the contents of the box..."
"And let you pick out the files of the dragons you recognize?" Callum asked. "That works for me."
LINE BREAK
Savannah, Cherri and Rose were now all flying at the same speed, about to pass right by a tall building. "What happens if we don't find her?" Cherri asked.
"Then we don't." Rose answered just as Savannah started to open her mouth. "It will suck, but it's not the end of the world."
"I actually think it will be a little worse than that, Rose." Savannah finally spoke up. "That dragon sent the Ear Worm in to find some information. She could have it. We need to find her."
Just as soon as Savannah said this, all three stopped and gasped as two fireballs whizzed right down from in front of them. "What the-?" Rose asked, just as two Dakotas hovered down in front of them.
"There are two of them?!" Cherri asked with wide eyes, while Rose slowly lifted her head up, seeing Dakota standing on the edge of the roof of the building. As Cherri grunted and was blasted back by a fireball and as Savannah flew toward the doppelgangers, Rose slowly turned to the side and then slowly started to flap her wings, slowly starting to fly up to the roof.
As Dakota saw Rose flying up, her smile faded into a scowl. As Rose finally reached the roof, Dakota opened her mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, Rose retaliating, their fires making contact.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Rose blew harder, Rose's fire starting to overcome Dakota's. As Dakota's fire started to get pushed back, Dakota widened her eyes and closed her mouth, jumping into the air before Rose's fire could hit her.
"Huh?" Closing her mouth, Rose slowly looked up to see Dakota flying into the air. Before Rose's eyes, Dakota made a downward u-turn, now flying right toward the roof. "Oh boy..." Rose muttered to herself as she slowly lowered her head, watching Dakota crash through the roof, breaking through and flying inside the building.
Grunting, Rose slowly started to jog over to the hole in the room. Once she reached it, she immediately jumped into it.
LINE BREAK
"Here." Jake said as he dropped five packets on the floor, Cherri's packet on top.
Sitting at the large table in the Main Hall, Holly grabbed all of papers and turned then around and then spread them out, Jake crossing his arms as he watched.
"These are the five dragons Carter picked out." Jake said. "The ones he saw."
"Linda Costa?" Holly asked as she picked up Lista's file, which was in the middle. "She's a child."
"I don't know what to tell you, Holly." Jake shrugged.
Sighing, Holly set Lista's file down and then looked down at all of the files. "At least we've found her." She said before she started to read off all of the names, left to right: "Gilda Addamo, Arkadi Dyalov, Linda Costa, Lexy Feara and Cherri Solorio."
"Good." Holly said with a smile as she looked up at Jake. "Very good. Now, we can make our move..."
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Savannah slammed her tail into one of the Dakotas, pushing it back. With a grunt, Savannah then threw a punch, but then gasped as the grinning Dakota easily caught it, holding her fist in place.
From behind Savannah, Cherri grunted as she and the other Dakota struggled against one another, their hands locked together. However, when the Dakota opened its mouth, Cherri's eyes widened and she immediately let go, while the Dakota blew out a torrent of fire. The torrent of fire hit Cherri, making her grunt as she was blasted back.
LINE BREAK
Inside the building, Rose found herself in a deserted office room, the lights off. Seeing that the door was wide open, Rose slowly started to make her way out of the room. Slowly stepping into a hallway with all of the doors closed, Rose gasped and slowly turned her head to the side when she heard a door to her right creaking.
Seeing the door open, Rose slowly turned to the side and slowly made her way to the door. Pushing the door open, Rose looked into the room, which was lit only by the hole in the ceiling. Slowly looking up, Rose could see Dakota standing at the hole.
"Who are you?!" Rose demanded, and in response, Dakota jumped over the hole.
"Come and get me!" Rose could hear Dakota shout.
Out on the roof, Dakota ran to the other end of the roof and jumped over the edge, flaring her wings and stopping her fall. Smiling, Dakota turned around and put a claw to the window and started to make a circular movement with it, carving into the window.
Meanwhile, Rose slowly flew up out of the hole and landed on the roof. Slowly looking in both directions, she finally looked straight ahead and slowly started to walk toward the edge of the building.
As soon as she reached it, Rose slowly looked down to see that the window just below her had a hole in it. Slowly flying into the room, Rose landed on the floor, seeing that the door was open. "Great..." Rose muttered to herself before she started to slowly walk toward the door.
Stepping out into the hallway, she turned her head slowly to the left, seeing Dakota run around a corner. "Who are you?" Rose shouted as she slowly turned to the side, slowly starting to walk down the hall, as Dakota pressed her back toward the wall.
"Took you long enough to find me." Dakota mocked.
"Why do you want to know anything about me?" Rose demanded. "You don't know me and I don't know you."
"Money, of course." Dakota smiled. "It's not what I want to know. I could care less about you."
By this time, Rose reached the corner, allowing Dakota to turn to the side. Grinning she lunged for Rose. Rose grunted as Dakota slammed into her, slamming her into the wall. Grabbing Rose's neck, Dakota threw her to the side and onto the ground.
Groaning, Rose slowly lift her head, looking up at the grinning Dakota. Dakota then lifted her foot up and then brought it down on Rose's chest, Rose gritting her teeth in anger.
"You're pathetic, you know that?" Dakota sneered. "I expected more from the wife of the very first American Dragon."
Despite her situation, Rose managed a small but cocky smile. "Despite my frail demeanor..." She said. "...I'll do my best to give you what you expected."
Then, Rose opened her mouth and blew out a ball of fire. With wide eyes, Dakota grunted as she jumped back, landing on the floor a good foot away, watching with a scowl on her face as Rose grunted, slowing standing up.
"You want an opponent?" Rose asked. "Well, here I a-"
However, before she could finish, Rose grunted as Dakota's tail slammed into her, throwing her back onto the floor as Dakota landed on her feet. As Dakota started to walk toward her, Rose groaned as she slowly managed to sit up.
However, once Rose was sitting up, she grunted as Dakota kicked her in the chest, knocking her back down onto her back and making her lose her grip on her handcuffs, which slid across the floor.
"Just...stay down." Dakota said as she stood over Rose, looking down on her. Then, once again, Dakota lifted up her foot and placed it down on Rose's chest. "Your two friends are as good as dead. I doubt they'll be able to stop my doppelgangers. And you..."
"What about me?" Rose replied defiantly.
"You were just too easy to beat." Dakota replied. "I should just kill you and be on my way."
"I don't think you're the killing type." Rose smiled at her.
"And what makes you think that?"
"I would have thought that if you were..." Rose said. "...Then you would have had your Ear Worm buddy kill me after he got the information."
"That would have been pointless..." Dakota replied. "...You would have known nothing. But now you know everything."
"Actually..." Rose grinned. "...I don't know enough..."
Then, Rose closed her eyes and focused. Then, she started to glow a light blue color, making Dakota's eyes widen. Dakota took her foot off of Rose's chest and took a step back, however, this did not protect her from being slammed into by a Rose doppelganger. With a grunt, both Dakota and the doppelganger fell to the floor.
Meanwhile, Rose grunted as she got to her feet and them she walked over to the handcuffs that she had made. Grunting as she slowly crouched down, Rose grabbed the handcuffs.
Slowly standing up, Rose slowly turned around to see that her doppelganger was still holding Dakota down, and Dakota had her head turned to the side, scowling at Rose.
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Rose finished locking the second cuff around Dakota's wrist; with Dakota now restrained, Rose slowly put her hands on Dakota's shoulders, Dakota pressed belly-first against the wall and then slowly stepped back, walking Dakota away from the wall.
"Call your doppelgangers off." Rose ordered from behind her. "Reabsorb them."
With a sigh, Dakota gave a submissive nod.
LINE BREAK
Back outside, Dakota's first doppelganger slammed its tail into Savannah's chest, making her grunt and fly back, slamming into Cherri's side, Cherri backing up to avoid the second doppelganger's strike.
Grinning, the first doppelganger started to fly toward Savannah, its claws extended with the intent to impale. However, before it could reach Savannah, the doppelganger vanished in a blue light, the blue light flying toward the building that Rose and Dakota were in.
As Savannah stared in shock, Cherri hovered up to her side. "Uh, the doppelganger I was fighting just disappeared..." Cherri said awkwardly as she brought her hand up and scratched the back of her neck. "...Yours?"
"Gone." Savannah answered.
"Hey, guys!" However, when the two heard the sound of Rose's voice, they both turned to the side and looked up to see Rose standing on the roof of the tall building, holding the arm of the captured Dakota. "I got her!"
LINE BREAK
A short time later, the transparent submarine descended down toward Mermaid City, Dakota, with an unreadable look on her face, was pressed against the wall as Rose faced her. "Who are you working for?" She demanded.
"Rose..." Rose slowly turned her head to the side when she heard the sound of Cherri's voice. Both Cherri and Savannah were standing against the wall on the other end of the submarine. "...You've been asking her this question since you captured her."
"She hasn't answered and frankly, I'm starting to feel like you're wasting your time." Savannah admitted.
"Then what do you suggest I do?" Rose demanded, narrowing her eyes.
"Hold off." Savannah replied. "She's our prisoner. She's not going anywhere. We'll get the answers out of her eventually.
A short time later, the transparent elevator doors slid open, Savannah walking out first. "Okay." Savannah said with a smile on her face as she turned around, seeing Rose and Cherri each holding onto one arm of Dakota's. "You two take her to the jail."
"Where are you going to go?" Cherri asked.
"I'm going to go tell Lono about our little find..."
LINE BREAK
The door to a damp, square-shaped prison cell was opened and Dakota grunted as she was pushed inside, stumbling with her hands cuffed behind her. Finding her balance in the middle of the cell, Dakota turned around just in time to see Cherri closing the cell door.
With the door to the cell closed, Cherri and Rose now stood in a dimly lit hall. Turning to the side to face Rose, Cherri smiled. "All done."
"What do we do now?" Rose asked.
"Savannah didn't say." Cherri said as she brought her claws up to her chin. "I guess we can go see Savannah and Lono..."
LINE BREAK
"Lono..." Savannah said after she opened the door to Lono's dark room. She immediately found him, slouched in a chair, only a shadowy figure in the dark room. When he heard her voice, he groaned as he lifted his head up.
"Savannah?" He asked as the smiling Savannah walked toward him.
"None other." She said proudly as she stopped in front of him. "And I bring you great news! Rose, Cherri and I finally caught someone!"
"Really?" Lono asked.
"The prisoner is in the jail right now." Savannah continued to smile as she crossed her scaly arms. "We're going to question her later."
"So..." Lono said. "...Do you believe this prisoner to be responsible for the death of Rose's parents?"
"I don't know." Savannah's smile started to fade. "I suppose...it is possible, though."
"Well, in that case..." Lono said as he slowly stood up. "...I think it's time..."
"Time, sir?"
"...Time for me to finally introduce myself to Rose..." The shadow figure of Lono said as he put his clawed hands on his hips. "...Savannah, go find her and bring her to me."
"Yes, sir." Savannah said, her smile returning. Then, she turned and walked out of the room. "Oh, and Savannah..." Savannah stopped once she heard the sound of Lono's voice.
"Yes?" Savannah asked as she turned her head to the side.
"Question the prisoner first..." Lono said as he sat back down. "...Yes, I think that would be best."
"Yes, sir." Savannah said as she turned her head back to normal, leaving the room.
LINE BREAK
Now sitting down in her cell, Dakota closed her eyes and sighed in defeat before she spoke. "Enid, come in." She said. "Enid, where are you?"
"Dakota?" Came Enid's response about five seconds later, making Dakota open her eyes again. "Dakota, where are you?"
"I'm in the prison." Dakota growled. "Find me."
"But-"
"I don't care how long it takes." Dakota cut him off. "Find me. And when you finally do...kill me."
"What?!"
"That's an order, Enid!" Dakota barked, narrowing her eyes. "These dragons are going to question me repeatedly. Eventually, they just might break me and make me sing. So it doesn't happen, kill me..."
LINE BREAK
Cherri and Rose were walking slowly along the grass together. "How long do you think it will take to get answers out of our new friend?" Rose mused out loud.
"Don't know." Cherri answered. Just then, the two women heard the sound of flapping wings. Glancing up, they could see Savannah diving down from the air as she spotted them.
"Orders from Lono..." Savannah said as she landed on the grass in front of her two friends, putting her clawed hands on her hips. "...It's time to interrogate our prisoner."
LINE BREAK
The door to Dakota's cell was opened and Savannah walked in first, followed by Cherri, and then finally Rose. As the three female dragons lined up side-by-side, they stared into the middle of the cell, where Dakota was lying on her back.
Sighing, Savannah walked over to Dakota and stopped at her side, turning to the side. "Get up." Savannah said harshly as she nudged Dakota's Arm with her foot, getting no movement from her. Groaning, Savannah looked down to see that Dakota's mouth was open and, although her eyes were open, they were rolled back into her head.
"Uh, we have a problem..." Savannah said as she turned her head to the side to look at Rose and Cherri.
"What is it?" Cherri asked.
"She's...unresponsive."
"Check to see if she has a pulse." Rose advised.
Nodding twice, Savannah turned her head back to normal and crouched down, reaching out and placing two clawed fingers on Dakota's neck, pressing down. About five seconds later, Savannah's eyes widened.
"Oh, crap..."
LINE BREAK
"Lono..." Savannah now had a small voice as she slowly stepped into the room where Lono's shadowy figure was sitting in his chair. "...Lono..." Savannah repeated as she slowly walked into the room.
"Any information?" Lono asked. "And is Rose outside?"
"No and no." Savannah said as she stopped in front of her superior. "Lono, I'm afraid I have bad news."
"Bad news?"
"The prisoner is dead." Savannah reported. "I don't know what happened, sir."
"Dead?" Lono asked. "How could that have happened?"
"I just said that I don't know."
Savannah could hear Lono sigh before Lono finally spoke again: "Where is Rose now?"
"That's the reason I came here, sir." Savannah said. "I was wondering if you still wanted to personally talk to her."
"Of course I do, Savannah." Lono said. "This is unfortunate indeed, but that doesn't change my mind. It's time for Rose and I to finally meet face-to-face."
BLACKOUT; END
A/N: So ends the season. What did you think? Please review. I'll just say that I originally planned for Dakota to be taken alive and be left incarcerated. However, while writing either Episode 9 or 8 of this season, I realized that if Dakota revealed that she was working for someone, she'd probably need to die because it's not yet time for Rose to find out who is behind her parents' murder and Dakota would probably be questioned until she broke. So, I had Enid off her by choking her. As for Enid, he skedaddled. You won't be seeing him again.