Well, I definitely updated quicker on this than usual. That's good, right? :

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 3: The Mystic Fountain

Chapter 2: Given Away

"Andam saw me come in."

Raffi's eyes widened as she stared at Shade, and thereafter her gaze darted around to the others in the room. "Is that gonna be a problem?"

"I… don't know…" Shade said forlornly. "Jake?"

"What's up?" asked the American Dragon, the only person in the room that was not one of the original dragon students at the academy. The moment Shade had sealed the teleporter's portal, he had pulled all of them into a nearby and (thankfully) unoccupied meeting room and had begun to explain to them the situation.

"Jake, you obviously know more about teleporters than the rest of us," Shade said, facing him. "Would Andam be able to track us even though we closed the portal?"

Jake stood up and began to pace along the exterior of the small room. "No," he said finally. "No, I don't think so. If the portal was closed, then the portal was closed. Most teleporters automatically reset itself once this happens. There's no way they could've looked on, say, the touch pad and have found anything."

Everyone, especially Shade, heaved a sigh of relief.

"…but then, Andam would've been able to see through the portal. He could've recognized the other side."

"What are the chances of that?" Kay asked.

"I don't know, it depends on how long a look he was able to get of the other side… and whether or not he's been to the convention center before," said Jake.



"Think he has?" asked Ash.

"I would not doubt it."

"So we'll have to be quick here?"

Jake paused, resting his hands on his forehead for a moment. "Yeah," he said finally. "Because even if they don't know that we came here, they'll know that we'll have gone to New York. New York is my home, where all my friends are… they'll use that against me."

Suddenly, he slammed his fist against the wall. "How could I have been so stupid?! They'll know we're here in New York. Why could I not have foreseen this?—we could've gone somewhere else!"

Before anyone had a chance to respond to this, the door flung open and Fred Nerk poked his head inside. "We could hear that out here. What's the deal, Jake?"

"They'll know where to find us, I've led them here…"

"If that's the case, then you'd better speak to the Shar-pei now. He's been waitin' for a good while…"

Jake jumped in surprise. "Fu's here?"

"Been for about five minutes now. I'd've come in and got you, but I didn't wanna… interrupt."

Jake squeezed past Fred and ran out into the hallway, dashing around people as he searched for the dog. Finally…

"Kid, over here!"

Jake spun around to find Fu at the edge of the group, waving frantically. He had a rather dazed look in his eyes, and yet, at the same time, he seemed delighted to see Jake.

"Fu, hey, I…"

"Where WERE you, Jake?!" yelled Fu, grabbing Jake's arm. "Gramps and I were worried sick about you, and you didn't think to call us once? Let us know you were alright? I have a mind to—"

"Gramps is dead, Fu," Jake cut in.

Fu froze. "Say that again?"



"He's dead, Fu. Andam killed him."

The seven dragons emerged from the meeting room and halted abruptly, as they saw that everyone else had turned to look at Jake and Fu.

Fu stared down at the carpeted floor. "I've been around for six hundred years and never did I meet a greater dragon. And I wonder if I ever will."

"Same here, Fu," sighed Jake. "Same here."

"How did he… you know…"

"I…don't know, I didn't see it."

"I think it was painless," spoke Mark, the shape shifter. "From what I saw."

"Then that's all I could ask for," Fu straightened himself up. "You do realize this'll mean increased hours in the shop, Jake."

"You're sounding like him already. Fu, we've got a major problem… did you get us a room?" asked Jake.

"Yeah. It's just around the corner… will you PLEASE explain to me what's going on once we're there?"

Jake nodded, and Fu led him around the corner and toward a group of doors. Jake turned around and beckoned for everyone else to follow.

As the group walked along, they passed a blond-haired woman who, upon seeing the massive group ahead of her, froze, eyes wide, hand to mouth, nearly dropping the stack of papers she had in her arms.

"They're with me," Fu said almost impassively, not even stopping to look at the woman as he passed.

"Ugh, I told her we'd have about 100 or 150 people… why would she act so surprised?" grumbled Fu as he threw open the doors. "I'll tell ya, the management's really lacking here so far… they're really gonna have to work on that."

The room they had entered was entirely too small for the entire group, but they would have to manage—and furthermore, Jake was simply glad to have found a place for everyone to stay, so at that point he really was rather content with just about anything. Almost hurriedly, Fu and Jake corralled 

everyone into the room, in which was a gracious amount of chairs and tables, which were quickly utilized by the various dragons and students.

"Alright, spill it," Fu said, taking Jake off to one side while everyone else got situated. "Where've you all been?"

"The Reich had us hostage, Fu. They had us captive in their base ever since the explosion… until they saved us."

"They? Who's 'they'?"

"Those seven," Jake pointed the dragon students. "They're all dragons… they're the ones Gramps was training."

"At the Stevenson Academy?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Glad to see the old man did something right before he moved on. Where were you held captive? I mean, where is the base?"

"…the Stevenson Academy."

Fu stared at Jake for a moment. "Well, you've officially gotten me majorly confused."

"Stevenson's the leader of the Reich, Adam Smart, the Sovereign. He was gonna try to kill us and the students there, from the sound of it."

"And Gramps walked right into their trap, it sounds like…" Fu trailed off.

"Trust me when I say this," said Jake, "if he hadn't been there, then I wouldn't be here speaking to you now."

Jake turned to his rear, and found that everyone—or, at least, most—had taken a seat inside. "Well, we don't have a lot of time, so I'd better get over there. Thanks again, Fu… you're welcome to listen in if you want."

"I think I'll do just that."

With a quick nod, Jake walked back over to the group of kids and took a seat next to Shade. "Sorry about that… everything's good now," he grinned slightly. "Carry on."



Shade cleared his throat, and everyone quieted down instantly. "Alright, everyone," he started. "I'd first like to thank all of you for deciding to help us out. Raffi counted twenty of you from the academy… I know you guys didn't have to come, so I can't thank you enough. And as for you dragons… well, I suppose you didn't have to come either, so thank you as well.

"So here's the deal—obviously, we've got the Reich on the run, but at the same time, so are we. The Dragon Council's after us, and until we can convince them to come to their senses, it's gonna stay that way. We can't let them get in our way, though—they're really our allies, believe it or not. We can't hurt them, so we have to avoid them.

"Now, here's what we have to do next: while we were at the academy, Smart mentioned something about a fountain from which the Reich got their power. He claimed that if you could destroy the source of their power, then you would effectively defeat the Reich."

"The problem," said Ash, "is that we don't know that he was telling the truth. After all, he IS the Sovereign… it's very possible that he might've said that to lead us astray."

"If I might say something," a girl with a heavy British accent—the British Dragon—raised her hand, "from what I hear, apparently they were gonna kill you anyway, so what harm was there in telling you? At least, that's what I think."

"Good point," said Shade. "They weren't expecting us to fight back. So of course they would tell us."

"Alright. Where's this fountain?" asked Fred Nerk.

The seven dragons all sighed collectively. "We don't… know exactly. The most we know is that it's in Europe somewhere…."

Fu cleared his throat. "Mind if I take a crack at that?"

"Sure, Fu, go ahead…" said Jake.

"Legend has it that there is a mystic fountain in the forests outside of Santiago de Compostella, in Spain. The fountain was supposed to give those who drank from it magical powers—which is why it was hidden deep in the forest."

"…could this fountain give ANYONE magical powers?" asked James.

"Anyone. Including humans. So medieval wizards constructed the forest around it so that it was virtually impossible to find by anyone."



"Except for the Reich, it sounds like," Kay said. "So that settles it, then? We're off to Spain?"

"Easy there. You don't know the entire story of the area, and I'd suggest you hear it," Fu said. "The fountain, it is said, only appears after dusk, and disappears at dawn…."

"Well, that'll certainly make it harder to find," Shade said.

"Yeah, and that's not all. Magical beings inhabit the place at night as well…"

Kate gulped. "What kind of magical beings?""

"Let's just say… among other things, they have a definitive werewolf problem."

In the back of the room, a few of the dragons of the world had turned on a nearby television, and had flipped to a channel that the students had recognized as one that was often playing at the academy. It was the MBC, the Magical Broadcasting Corporation, and at that point a news show was being broadcasted. No one really minded, as this was the first real chance some of the dragons had been able to find out what was going on in the outside world.

"I'm guessing we'll be leaving tomorrow?" asked Laura. "It is getting late here, after all."

She was right; it had become quite late with all their activities that day. It was strange to believe, even, that just that morning they had awakened to a meeting called by Shade and the rest of the dragon students, and had later witnessed a mass of imposing magical creatures on the front lawn of their school. It seemed so distant and yet so near… and sleep had begun to sound so inviting…

"Tomorrow," agreed Jake. "Fu, is there another teleporter we can use here? I mean, since the portal closed and all…"

"Yeah, but it's one of the newer ones… far more restrictive. Unlike this last teleporter it appears you used, this one allows you only to teleport to another teleporter. If you can get a direct route to Santiago de Compostella, then you'll be sittin' well. But if that's not the case—and I'm guessing it won't be—then you might have a ways to travel," explained Fu.

"That's okay… from the sound of it, we'll have a lot of time on our hands anyway, since this fountain doesn't appear until the night," said Raffi. "Right?"

"They'll have a base somewhere around there," said Fu. "You can count on that. And it'll be a base that is there all the time… so you'll be able to find it first. Not that I'd recommend trying to take out the Reich…"



"Why not?" asked Ash. "We've done it twice already, and there was only a handful of us. Look at us now!"

Fu put his paws up. "Hey, if you wanna go against one of the strongest evil organizations in the world in what is more than likely their stronghold, then hey, be my guest. I'm just recommending that you find the place… if you find it, the fountain is probably nearby."

Shade nodded. "Let's see, is there anything else to go over?"

Before anyone could answer, there came a yell from the rear of the room. "Hey!" cried a boy of Latin American descent. "Come see this!" He was pointing wildly at the television set. In seconds, everyone was crowded around the TV, some squinting to see what on the screen, as a hundred-plus people crowded around one television set did pose some problems for those seated further back.

Onscreen, a red ticker was flashing at the bottom of the screen, one that read 'Special Alert.' A goblin woman was speaking rapidly from behind a news desk, although she was muted, so simple subtitles were fleeting across the screen, subtitles that were undeniably delayed. "Turn the volume on!" someone shouted, and almost instantly the sound of the goblin's voice filled the room.

"—are believed to be highly dangerous and should be approached with extreme caution. They are currently traveling in a large group of over a hundred. Dragon Councilors Andam, Omina, Kim, Alton, and Mansard are reported to be currently pursuing the vigilantes, and other correspondents have already captured hundreds of other students thought to be sympathizers of the aggressors…"

A picture was shown of many children, all in handcuffs, being led away by various people clad in police-like uniforms, children that looked all too familiar….

"It's the other students from the academy!" shouted a girl, solidifying everyone's fears. Thereafter, a large outcry was emitted from all in the room, for they knew what had occurred.

Shade spun around to face the rest of the group, and Raffi returned a solemn gaze. "The Reich," he growled. "Jake, you think the Reich's behind this?"

"Of course. They already got through to the Council; the MBC was destined to fall next," Jake replied shakily.

Although the goblin's voice was no longer able to be distinguished, more pictures continued to flash across the screen—including those of all the dragons of the world that were there, in a dated group photo. On the ticker at the bottom of the screen, a flashing marquee read: "Missing dragons found; under Reich mind control. "

"Great, now everyone will be looking for us," lamented Ash. "What should we do, guys?"

"I think you're safe here," Fu said. "At least for the time being. Just stay calm, whatever you do—"

There was a loud knocking at the doors to the room. Everyone in the room gasped, and a few even screamed.

"I thought you said we'd be safe, Fu…" said Jake through gritted teeth.

"Believe me, I thought so," Fu replied. "Just stay quiet, maybe they'll go away…"

The knocking returned, slightly more rushed than the last. "H-hello?" came a woman's voice. "Anyone in there?"

Fu let out a huge sigh of relief. "It's just the woman that works here, the one that we passed in the hallway earlier. Let's go see what she wants…"

They opened the door, finding the woman standing with those same papers tucked in her arms, perhaps trembling a bit. "Yes?" asked Shade shortly.

"T-terribly, sorry to bother y-you," the woman stammered, as if the sight of all these people was infinitely frightening, "but we n-need this room, I'm sorry, I g-gave you the wrong room. If you'll follow me, your real room is downstairs…"

Fu shrugged. "No worries, miss. Everyone, clear out, we're moving downstairs."

Slowly they began to exit the room. Jake strode beside Fu at the front as they followed along behind the woman, but soon pulled the dog aside. "This is the second time I've had to ask someone this today, Fu, but can I use your cell phone?"

"What for?"

"I wanted to make some calls… a few for my own sanity, others for… reinforcements, if you know what I mean."

"I might," Fu pulled out his cell phone. "Make it quick, will ya?"

The convention center, they soon discovered, was quite massive, as it seemed as if they walked around various corners and down vaguely-similar hallways for far longer than they should have. Jake was able to complete his phone calls in this time, and while no one could distinguish what he was saying, the phrases "How soon can you be here," "I'll be home when this is over," and "No, it's not true" were overheard.

"N-nearly there," stuttered the woman again. "Just around t-this corner." Her pace seemed to pick up at this, and ahead of them they could see the beginnings of a staircase.

"I don't know about the rest of you all," said Kay, "but I'm just glad to be out of that room… it was just too small, I think." She, after Jake and Fu had gone aside, had reached the front of the group, Will by her side.

"I know what you mean," Will replied with a small laugh. "Hopefully this one will be bigger."

The hallway emptied out into the staircase-area, and immediately a loud bang was heard from the bottom of the stairs.

Will and Kay spun to their right, just in time to see a silver net flying toward them. Unfortunately, they had no time to react, and the net caught them squarely, sending both of them sprawling against the back wall. They hit the wall with a hard thud, slumping down as the net rooted itself to the ground, firmly securing its captives.

Pandemonium erupted in the hallway. Some rushed to Will and Kay's aid, only to be snared by nets themselves. "Dragon forms!" roared Jake as he soared past everyone, already having become the brilliant red dragon known as the American Dragon. He flew into the stairway, beholding the aggressors from which the nets had come.

By the front doors of the convention center were, once more, the Dragon Council, as well as innumerable others, most of which appeared, at that moment, human. More nets were shot in his direction, but Jake avoided them with ease, performing amazing aerial acrobatics that a few of the dragon students had never dreamed of pulling off.

"Right behind you, Jake!" called Fred, his yellow dragon self racing after the American Dragon. Other dragons, realizing finally what was occurring, followed Jake's battle cry and went into their dragon forms, soaring into the large stairway area.

Fu peeked around the corner and sighed in exasperation. "Looks like our lady friend here at the center gave us away. And these new councilors seem to be out for blood…"

Raffi knelt beside the dog. "What about Andam and Omina?"

"They're hanging back right now. Looks like they're on the fence about this… oh wait, never mind, the Chilean Dragon just sent a fireball at Andam… he never really liked him…"

Nets continued to fly up the stairway, but none appeared to be hitting any target other than the back wall. Will and Kay were motionless under their net, apparently unconscious. A few of Will's 

friends, along with Laura and Kate, had rushed immediately to the silver net, trying to slash it open, but to no avail. Thus they had retreated back to the hallway, where, up to that point, no combat was occurring.

Shade stepped forward finally. "You guys willing to join them?" he asked out loud, referring to the other dragons. "We beat the Reich before, after all, didn't we?"

"This isn't the Reich, man, this is the Dragon Council!" Mark, the shape shifter, exclaimed.

"If you weren't prepared to fight, you shouldn't've come along," James said. "If you wanna leave, go find the teleporter. I'm going in…"

There was a murmur of agreement. "Good luck," Fu said. "Speaking of the teleporter, I'm gonna go find it for you guys. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to use it eventually, even if you're able to hold the Council back. Tell Jake that for me, will ya? I'll signal when I've found it."

Shade nodded briskly to Fu, and the dog ran back down the hallway. "Alright, then," he said. "Ready?"

"Ready," replied most, if not all, of the remaining group of about fifteen.

"Dragon forms, for those who have one." And then: "Let's go."

Shade touched off the ground, followed closely by the five other dragons. Behind them, Mark and three other shape shifters, two girls and one boy, went into various imposing forms—a lion, a bear, an eagle, and a tiger, respectively. The other six—all wizards and witches, as it were—readied themselves as well, some muttering incantations before setting out.

The struggle was alive and well. Dragons mostly circled in the air—it was, after all, the Dragon Council that had come with the army. A few trolls, however, were scattered amongst the grounds, as were a few people that appeared to be wizards, as bright flashes of light were continuously emitted from their fingertips.

Jake Long flew through the air, his gaze continually searching the grounds, sometimes aiming a nicely-placed fireball at an unsuspecting troll. Finally, his eyes became affixed on one man, who was standing near the back of the room—attempting, it seemed, to stay out of the fracas. But Jake was not going to let him stay undetected.

"Andam!" Jake cried out with a bit of a laugh. "Wanna dance?"

The old man stared up at the approaching dragon. For a split second the corners of his mouth flickered upward, and he leapt out of the way of the dragon with seconds to spare. He transformed into 

his dragon form and sent a fireball back at Jake. But Jake was ready, and sent an equally-imposing ball of flame at the approaching one, creating a minor explosion that knocked both of the dragons backward.

Shade had set his sights on a troll who was repeatedly clubbing dragons that flew too close to him. Circling for a good while and avoiding other conflicts, he soared in from behind and rammed into the troll's back, sending him sprawling.

Ash and Raffi had teamed up on a humongous beast of a dragon, which seemed impervious to most of their physical attacks. The dragon sent a long stream of jet-blue ice at Raffi and Ash, who both returned a long torrent of fire. The ice melted in midair, but the dragon did not seem remotely phased. Instead, it flew at the two dragons as quickly as it possibly could, scattering both of them.

James and Shade met midair near the ceiling of the room. "Seen Smart anywhere?" asked James breathlessly, a deep cut already present in his right arm.

"No," returned Shade, dodging a blast of white magical energy. "He probably bailed on them, went back to Europe…"

"Hey!" Fred Nerk's voice came from below them. "Less talkin', more fightin', mates!"

"He's right," James said. "Pleasure talking to you!" And he soared off toward Kate, who was preoccupied with a dragon of her own.

There was an enormous crash as the front doors of the center caved in, as did the part of the wall above it. Two giants stumbled inside, stepping over the wreckage.

"Dammit," said Laura. "We've got company, Shade."

"I see 'em," Shade replied. "Just stay as far away from them as possible…"

In a group of three were the three new Councilors—Kim, Alton, and Mansard. They were effectively eliminating the other students at the academy one by one, once any of them seemed brave enough to challenge them. But abruptly, all three were knocked aside by a forceful spell emitted by a figure on the staircase…

"Hey, guys!" Will exclaimed from the stairway, waving at his classmates. "Those nets absolutely sucked… Kay was able to get out of them almost instantly, once we woke up…"

Kay sped past him, bowling over a few trolls in the process. And then, as Kim, Alton, and Mansard were attempting to regain their stances, she promptly knocked them over as well.



Andam had retreated to the stairway and was beginning to move up it, but Jake was close behind. "Where're you going, Andam?" Jake asked loudly. "I wanted to ask you a few questions… about my grandpa!"

Teeth gritted, Andam sent a blast of fire back at the young dragon, and soared up the stairs and around the corner, into another hallway. Jake made an attempt to follow, but was blindsided by Omina. "Jake!" she cried, pinning him to the ground. "Snap out of this! The Reich has you under their mind control. We need your help."

"You're the ones under the mind control, Omina," Jake growled in return. "Smart's got you all fooled."

"Smart? Who's Smart?"

Omina never got her answer, as Jake sent a healthy breath of fire into her face, rendering her defenseless for a few moments. He wriggled from her grip and took off up the stairs. "Jake!" exclaimed Omina. "No!"

"Where's Jake going?" Raffi asked aloud.

"He's getting Andam…" smiled Ash as she dodged a punch from a troll. "Nice."

The battle stretched on. There had been no casualties, but already there were many dragons littering the floor, along with a few human forms.

Kate was knocked to the ground by one of the giants, much to her dismay. Looking up, she saw the giant's enormous club raised over its head, ready to come down. She winced and shielded her face; she knew she wouldn't be able to react in time…

"The cavalry is HEEEERE!!"

The giant was thrown to the side by a large wooden crate with wheels, in which sat an African American girl and a boy with a beanie hat covering his head. The boy had his arms raised high in triumph. "Direct hit!" he exclaimed. "Tiiiiimber!"

Behind them, a small pink dragon and long, slender blue dragon entered the center, along with a teenage boy with a long, flowing cape. The pink dragon flew quickly toward Kate, who was still in shock of what had happened. "My brother," the dragon, a girl, said. "Where is he?"

"I-I'm sorry," stuttered Kate. "I'm not sure—"

"Jake," the dragon replied. "Jake Long?"

Kate pointed toward the staircase, and the pink dragon immediately sped off in that direction. "Haley!" the blue dragon exclaimed, grabbing the pink dragon around the waist. "No!"

"I have to see him, Sun! I have to help my brother."

"No, Haley… we stay here."

The caped boy extended a hand to Kate. "Let me help you up," he said. "The name's Nigel… Jake Long called us."

Kate took his hand pulled herself up. "Hey, I'm Kate. Here's the deal: don't go after any of us kids, we're all on the same team. It's the adults—"

"Yeah, yeah, I figured as much," Nigel said. "Spud, Trixie, are you okay?!"

From the wooden cart, the two teens emerged. "Yeah, Nigel, we good," the girl replied. "Thanks for givin' us the speed to take out that giant…"

"Yeah," agreed the boy. "I knew my unfinished Trojan horse would come in handy!'

"Right, well, thanks for coming," Kate said. "But we're sitting ducks here… get fighting!"

"Sounds good to me!" grinned Nigel. "Be careful, you two!" he called to Spud and Trixie, and ran off toward the fight. Kate, thereafter, returned to the air.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Laura was sent flying into the street outside. "Dammit," she rubbed her forehead, "that really hurt." She happened to glance to her side…

Far away, where the corners of the building met, was a hooded, white-robed figure, whose hands were glowing, the glow slowly rising into the sky.

"The Reich!" Kate gasped. Quickly, she spun to her right. At the other corner of the building was a similar sight: another Reich member, the same glow rising to the sky.

"GUYS!" Laura screamed, soaring back inside. "GUYS! THE REICH, THEY'RE OUTSIDE!"

For the first time during the entire battle, everyone stopped what they had been doing to stare at Laura. She did not, however, wait for any of them to make a move toward the doors, as she turned and raced toward the robed person on the left.



The Reich member looked over, seeing the dragon approach. The glow disappeared from its hands and it leapt into the air. For a split second, the figure lowered its hood, and Kenneth Harrelson winked back at Laura. Laura grunted as she flew past Harrelson, having missed her target. Looking back, she could see that everyone, students and Council alike, had spilled out into the street, and a few had already begun to go after the Reich member on the other side.

"Abort mission," Harrelson yelled, and his voice seemed magnified a hundred times. "I repeat: abort mission."

"Oh no you don't!" growled Laura, soaring wildly at her former 'boyfriend.' Talons outstretched, she aimed for the throat of the shape shifter. But once again, before she could do a thing, Harrelson was gone, as well as the Reich member on the opposite side.

The group congregated once more at the head of the building, Omina joining up last. "It was the star formation again," she said wearily. "They had three others situated around the building… they were going to pull off the same explosion as they did at the Isle of Draco."

"Then I would say that we were quite lucky to have spotted it," Sun said. "Regardless, I believe the Dragon Council owes these students apologies… for linking them with the Reich."

Omina stared around at, it seemed, each and every dragon and academy student individually. "You have my apologies," the old woman said. "We were tipped off with some questionable information from Atticus Stevenson…"

"Atticus Stevenson is actually Adam Smart," spoke Raffi, "to put it shortly. He's the leader of the Reich."

"Ah, then this all makes far more sense," nodded Omina. "My fellow Councilors, do you have anything you wish to say?"

The three new Councilors, Kim, Alton, and Mansard, replied begrudgingly with apologies. For some odd reason, however, none of them seemed to want to admit that they had been wrong.

"Councilor Andam?" Omina asked. There was no response.

Shade gasped. "He's still inside!" he exclaimed. "Andam and Jake! They were fighting—"

"Oh, no," Omina's eyes widened. "I will need to contact Andam, then…"

But as it turned out, she did not need to contact Andam to cease the fighting; it had ended long ago, but it had not ended the hostility between Jake and the Councilor.



They were in a hallway, Andam at one end; Jake, the other. "Jake," sighed Andam. "I… do not wish to fight you."

"Yeah?" Jake shot back. "Why'd you come here, then? To kill me to?"

Andam looked at Jake solemnly. "You do not understand…"

"Of course I don't. I'm under the Reich mind control, remember?"

Andam growled. "Listen, I know you're not. At least… I am pretty sure you are not. But you see… Atticus Stevenson is a respected man, and we wanted to see through his request."

"Stevenson's not even real," Jake laughed a bit. "He's Adam Smart. AKA the Sovereign. I'm sure you know the name…"

Andam's eyes widened. "Indeed… indeed I do."

"Yeah, we were held captive in that 'academy' for God knows how long, until the students bailed us out. And now we're on a little journey to go take out the Reich once and for all."

Andam grinned. "I like the sound of that," he said. "Come on downstairs with me, back to the rest of the group. I can end the fight, and we can sort this out…"

"Yeah, let's do that." Jake had already turned and had soared back down the hallway, Andam in tow.

(end)

They were atop a building nearby the center, having teleported there when the situation turned bleak. However, all was not lost, according to Kenneth Harrelson.

"So what if they saw us?" he laughed as he watched the entire group head back inside. "Taking them all out was only plan A. Luckily, we can commence with plan B."

"Indeed," Marcus Feisley agreed. "I just simply did not want it to happen this soon."

"Nor did I, Marcus," said LaGuardia. "But what's done is done." She took out a cell phone and put it to your ear. "We are commencing with the second part of the plan," she said calmly, and ended the call without waiting for any response.

"You called the Sovereign, right?" Warburton asked.



"Smart? Of course I did."

"I fail to see why you refer to him as 'Smart' when he has all but abandoned the name," Harrelson growled. "What makes you better than us?"

"More than you'll ever know," replied LaGuardia coldly. She turned to the fifth member of their group. "Green, the device, if you please." Amenably, the man brought forward a small piece of equipment, one with a tiny switch on its front. Taking the device in her hands, LaGuardia held it before her. "It is time to see if our experiments have been successful, gentlemen," she said, and flipped the switch.

(end)

"The teleporter is on the first floor," was Fu's report. "It's ready whenever you are."

"Thanks, Fu," Jake said. He turned to Shade. "Should we still leave tomorrow morning?"

Obviously, their group had doubled, what with the Council and its allies now joining them. Their former adversaries had been informed of the situation, and of Santiago de Compostella, and of the fountain… and now were listening intently to the conversation.

"I think we'll have to," Shade replied. "As much as I'd like to leave now… the Reich'll be expecting us now, I'm sure. We'll stay here for the rest of the night."

"Fair enough," Fred Nerk said. "Will everyone be going with us, then?"

"The Council will need to retreat to the Isle of Draco this evening," Omina said. "But we can send reinforcements tomorrow morning… rest assured, we will be with you. We simply must clear up a few things with the media…"

"Understandable," said Sun Park. "And Jake, I want you to know that Haley and I will accompany you as well… I would like to help, and it will be good practice for Haley."

"And we're in too," Spud slapped Jake on the back. "For moral support, of course."

"And since I'd just love to travel to Europe," Trixie added.

"Aye, and myself included," said Nigel, shaking Jake's hand.

Shade was grinned warmly. "This is great," he said. "We'll have no problem stopping them now, right Jake…?"



Jake did not respond. Trixie looked at him curiously. "Hey, Jakey," she said in concern. "…you good?"

Jake's hand suddenly shot to his opposite elbow. The other dragons in the room—the ones that were representing the world over, that is—did the same.

"…Jake?" Trixie repeated.

Ash let out a quick gasp and whipped around to Shade. "Remember when they said they had been experimented on?!" she said quickly. "And they all showed the holes in their elbows…"

Each and every dragon stood up, their hands still covering their elbows. Their eyes began to glow white…

"…Jake!" Trixie repeated once more, beginning to back away.

They shifted into their dragon forms, eyes still glowing.

The five Council members, who had seated themselves at the base of the stairs, stood. Each dragon turned to face them.

"Hello, Councilors," all ninety dragons spoke in unison. "The Reich sends its greetings and well-wishes."

"Now, prepare to be eliminated."

END CHAPTER

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Wasn't that just fun?

I apologize for this chapter, actually. As compared to the previous chapter, I did not exactly find it up to standards. It was most certainly rushed. In addition, I would've liked to do more with the battle scene.

The problem is that I'm a terrible action writer; I hate doing it. Maybe when less characters are involved, sure. Like in the labyrinth earlier in this story. I can do that. But not this.

Ah well, the next one should be better… in fact, I have not decided yet, but it might be the final chapter.

I'll know soon. Thanks for reading, and reviews are always welcome!



Yours in fiction,

YFWE