Chapter 21: It Has Begun

Jake felt his back stiffen as he looked up to see the face of his enemy before him. Somehow, the Dark Dragon looked even bigger and more powerful than he had in Hong Kong only months before.

Standing just beyond the Dark Dragon, the Mafia was in attacking position, ready to charge into battle at any given moment. Just from a quick glance, Jake estimated that there were about 50 mafia members, all wearing the same, long black cloak.

The street in which he stood was completely in ruin. Smoke and fire almost completely surrounded the area, and cars lay upside-down on the hot, cracked pavement. Trash cans and dumpsters lay tipped over and forgotten on the abandoned streets.

The sidewalks, usually bustling and crowed, were deserted, and there were no people standing in plain sight of the monster that had invaded their home. Though looking carefully, Jake could see a stray camera man or two hiding in a dark alley or nearby building filming the Dark Dragon's every move.

To Jake, the sight of his home in such ruins was heartbreaking. Who did the Dark Dragon think he was to just charge in and destroy the lives of innocent people? Who did he think he was to destroy New York?

Jake could feel his blood boiling in rage, and he tried his best to look like as much of a threat as possible to the Dark Dragon. Though Jake knew that in the eyes of the Dark Dragon, he was nothing but a weak, scared little kid.

Jake stood ready, waiting for the Dark Dragon to make the first move.

"So," the Dark Dragon glared down at him, "I see you've gathered an army of your own. Very impressive, no doubt, but it won't be enough to defeat me."

"We'll see about that," Jake replied, doing his best to keep his appearance strong and emotionless.

The Dark Dragon chuckled. "You really think that you could ever stand a chance against me?" The mafia slowly began to inch closer to their master, prepared to jump into action the second the Dark Dragon gave the word. "I am the most powerful being on earth, and you are nothing more than a weak little teenage boy."

Jake squeezed his eyes shut and felt his jaw lock. He had to find his composure. He was unraveling fast, and he needed to get a grip before it was too late.

Jake took a deep breath. He knew that his enemy was playing him. This was nothing but a game of cards, and the Dark Dragon planned to use whatever cheats he could to come out on top.

Jake opened his eyes and turned to face his enemy once more. "Well in case you haven't noticed, I'm not alone here, am I? You and your mafia are outnumbered Dark Dragon. Today, you will be the one to fall."

The Dark Dragon smiled. "I wouldn't be so sure. I've got a secret weapon that I think might just give me a victory here today," he replied.

The Dark Dragon turned his back to Jake and snapped his fingers, cueing his army.

Out of the surrounding buildings, Huntsclan members of all ages and rankings jumped down on to the street, landing just a few feet in front of the Dark Dragon. The Huntsman stood in the front of the mob, ready to attack the very dragons that had eliminated him in the first place.

Jake felt the color drain from his face at the site of his former enemy before him. He could have never imagined that the Dark Dragon and the Huntsclan would ever work together. Yet, as he stood in disbelief at the evidence right in front of his eyes, he knew that it had happened.

He quickly glanced over at Rose, making sure that she was going to be ok. Though she looked pale and her eyes were filled with fear, Rose's face held a certain bravery that convinced Jake she would be ok. Her courage and inner strength was one of the things that Jake admired most about his girlfriend.

"So," Jake shifted his attention back to the enemy, "the rumors are true. You have returned."

"Indeed we have, dragon," the Huntsman replied, "and we will defeat you."

"But why?" Jake asked. "You're dragon slayers. So why would you ever agree to work with a dragon?"

"Because," the Huntsman replied coldly, "we have a common enemy, and we have a common goal."

Jake shook his head. "Don't you see?" He snickered. "The Dark Dragon is using you to get what he wants, and as soon as he does, he won't need you anymore. He's playing you."

"If the dragon turns on us, then we will simply turn on him and take him out," the Huntsman replied.

Jake laughed. "Yeah. Right. Your power doesn't even come close to his. You won't stand a chance."

"Last time I checked," the Dark Dragon cut in, "your power doesn't compare to mine either, American Dragon."

"Army," the Dark Dragon shifted his attention from the Huntsclan to the rest of the Dark Mafia, "attack!"

It took less than a second for the Dark Mafia to respond to their master's request, springing forward into battle almost instantly.

It had happened so fast that Jake didn't have time to react. The next thing he knew, he was being slammed into a brick building, and blood was dripping from his chin. Dazed and slightly confused Jake opened his eyes to see three mafia members surrounding him, pointing their spear like weapons at his chest.

"Stop," he heard the Dark Dragon call to them, "the American Dragon is mine! Now go take care of the others!"

Jake shook off the numb feeling that was beginning to consume him and watched as the mafia members that had been surrounding him ran off to attack his friends.

Realizing that he wasn't in his dragon form, Jake quickly stood up to transform.

Jake landed on the ground with a thud. Now that he was fully in dragon form and had recovered from the previous blow, Jake noticed that the Dark Dragon was coming at him fast.

Reacting faster than he had the first time, Jake moved out of the way, sending his enemy flying into the same brick building that he had been slammed into only a few minutes before.

"What goes around comes around," Jake thought smiling to himself. Though his smile quickly vanished when he saw fire coming towards him out of the corner of his eye. He dodged skillfully, earning a growl of frustration from the Dark Dragon.

"Impressive," the Dark Dragon said. "Unfortunately for you, you cannot escape me so easily."

XX

Rose couldn't believe it. Her worst nightmare was now a real life situation. The Huntsclan was back, and they were most likely looking for revenge. Since Jake was occupied with the Dark Dragon, and Fred and Nigel were busily fighting off the mafia, that left Rose to take on the Huntsman.

"Huntsgirl," the Huntsman said, "how nice it is to see you again."

"Don't call me that!" Rose replied through clenched teeth. She turned her staff on and aimed it for her previous master, reminding herself to thank Jake later for making her bring it.

"You're a traitor to the Huntsclan," he continued, "and for that, you deserve to be punished. Surely you remember me telling you that the lives of your parents would only be in danger if you did not cooperate nicely the night I put my annihilation plan into action."

Rose clenched her hand into a tight fist. She knew where he was going with this, and there seemed to be little she could do to stop him.

"You broke your promise, Huntsgirl," he smiled, "and for that, your parents shall pay the price of your actions."

"No!" Rose shouted. "You're going to have to get by me first."

"Very well, Huntsgirl," he replied, "that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

And with that, the Huntsman's staff came down quickly on top of her.

XX

Fred quickly scanned the area. Jake was hard at work, battling back respectively against the Dark Dragon, while Rose was fighting off the Huntsman with ease. Nigel was nearby, taking on ten mafia members at once with the assistance of Trixie and Spud. Lao Shi, Haley, and Sun had arrived only minutes before and were fighting off the entire Huntsclan apart from the Huntsman.

Fred weighed his options, trying to decide where he was needed the most. In the end, he decided to assist Nigel, Trixie, and Spud in taking out the Dark Mafia.

He flew over to where they stood, ready to attack the first mafia member that came anywhere near him. Two cloaked figures came from behind, almost knocking him to the ground right away. Fred spun around and shot two fire balls straight at his enemy. The Mafia members ducked quickly, only missing the fire by inches.

Frustrated, Fred flew into them full speed, knocking them both onto the hot pavement below. In the process, the long black hoods that concealed their identities flew back off of their heads, revealing their faces to the young dragon before them.

The sudden realization and truth of everything that had happened up to that point hit him with full force as Fred looked into the eyes of his master before him.

XX

Problems guys…major internet problems…that's why this is up later than I thought it would be. Very very sorry. Nothing I could do about it. But obviously, that's all fixed now so here you go! I may be busy for the next couple of days and believe it or not, this took about 3 or 4 hours to write. Soooooo I don't think I'm going to post the next chapter until Tuesday. Very sorry. I'll try for Monday but I just don't think that's possible right now.

Thank you lots for reading! :) Reviews are welcome. Lol

~ada