A/N: Don't worry. I haven't given up on ADJL. I've got some interesting stories that I have to show you other than this. It's just that I needed to finish this first so that this will be done. I'm planning on making a fic on other places than ADJL.
It's been almost a month now and I guess I'm glad I finally updated. Next chapter might come in soon. I'm finally about to show you the action part. We're almost there. The hell with this and let's get this over with.
Chapter 21
A C-130 with a couple of Marines had just taken off from Hawaii. Luckily, they left unnoticed. The group did not talk much as they started to wear their special uniforms. A man then enters the compartment room and approaches them. He had already worn his special outfit. The group was silent, a bit intimidated but they did not budge. The man then removes his mask. It was David.
"Do you know why you're here?" David asked.
"Sir, yes sir!" The whole group said in unison.
"Good. Our drop off point is about two hours away so listen carefully. The USAF, USMC and the CIA have decided to coordinate this assault. They have tasked me to be your CO. Are there any questions?"
"Sir, no sir!" They all said.
"Listen, I'm not a military personnel so you don't need to talk like that. Got it?"
"Sorry, it's just force of habit." One of the soldiers said.
"I understand. Now here's the plan."
Meanwhile at USS Kitty Hawk, the men and the dragons prepare as they start their attack.
"Hope aboard." Jones said.
Vance and his men hop aboard while the dragons take flight.
"Thanks mate." Vance said. Their helicopter soon takes off following a group of other helicopters. The carrier was now significantly far away, the men could see jets and helicopters along with magical creatures dotting the sky. Vance then notices Jake and thought of radioing him.
"American Dragon, this is Whisky two – three. Over." He said referring to his call sign.
It was decided that the dragons be given radio communicators so that their actions can be recorded and that people would know who's doing what.
"What?" Jake said.
"Whisky two – three is our call sign. Yours is American Dragon."
"Okay. I got it."
"So, how's everything on your side?"
"It's cool. How about you?"
"Same here."
There was a short pause on the conversation.
"Okay then." Vance said and the conversation ended.
Jake looked at Nerk who was looking at him. "Okay, that was weird." Nerk said.
"You're telling me."
About a good thirty minutes and the strike force was able to see the island at their line of sight. When they got closer and closer, the dragons and the armies are somewhat puzzled. Was this the island? If it was, why was there nothing stopping them. It seemed that the place had been a ghost town.
"This is the place right?" Vance asked.
"We better ask our dragon buddies here." Jackson said.
"Guys, Saddle up! LZ is in sight!" Jones said as he prepares the chawk for an aerial drop off.
Vance radios the Jake. "American Dragon, is this the place?"
"No doubt about it Whisky two-three. There are some familiar landmarks here." Jake said.
"If this is it, why is there no one stopping us?"
"I don't know." Jake ended.
"I get the feeling that they're expecting us Jakeroo." Nerk said.
"Me too. Keep your guard up. Who knows what surprises they have in store for us." Kulde said.
"Go! Go! Go!" Jones said signaling that it was clear for the guys at the transport hawk to drop off. Vance and the guys grabbed the ropes and slide down away from the helicopter. Other helicopters continue to follow as they drop off their own set of soldiers. The air assets soon left in a considerable distance away from the island for a good reason. When the ICBM hits the island, the resulting EMP shock will definitely fry all electronic equipment within its area of effect. The dragons soon landed and met with the soldiers at the entrance of a cave. As Jake passed by the cave, he could remember his dad's story of trying to get out the island. Vance and his group along with some of the soldiers and some of the dragons came inside the cave. Among them were Jake, Nerk and Councilor Kulde. They got deeper within the cave. The dragons had no problem since they could see in the dark. It was time for the men to turn on their night vision. Not long, they encountered multiple forks along the way.
"We'll cover more ground if we split up." Jake said.
They decided not to go to their homogeneous pairings. Each group would have dragons and human personnel as a team. Some of the soldiers teamed up with some of the dragons and soon headed off. Vance's team was split. Jackson and Wesley would come with Councilor Kulde and Nerk while Jake would come with Vance and Desmond. They headed off to their respective paths. They slowly moved where the path would take them.
"Do you know where this place leads?" Vance asked Jake.
"I don't remember. It's all fussy now." Jake replied.
They continued walking until they reached the end of the path. They saw that tables with an entire chemistry set on top. The place was a mess with papers scattered all over as if someone was making a really long thesis. There was also a television and a bed. Desmond touched the sides of the television. It was still warm.
"Someone was recently here." Desmond said.
"Whoever the person is seemed to be in a hurry." Vance said.
Jake explored the room further until he reached another part of the cave. He noticed more beds there but this time they had straps. Something about this place was familiar. He tried to feel the beds and it suddenly came to him. He was strapped here.
(from the Dragon Identity Chapter 18)
Jake was at his dragon form. He was wrapped around in chains.
"This isn't over Cha…" his mouth was wrapped around in chains.
"Don't worry. This is just the beginning." She pulled a syringe out. "This won't hurt a bit." He was shot and blacked out.
Abbott stood at the side. "He's the last of 'em?"
"Yeah." Chang smiled. "You know what they say, save the best for last. I assure you this dragon will not disappoint us."
"So this is it. Your dream has become reality."
"Yes… But, there are still some who can threaten this along the way." She continued. "I heard about Pandarus backing out of the program."
Abbott looked down as if there was something he was embarrassed about. "I don't what happened. He ju…"
"We need his funding Abbott! More importantly his support! You need to keep an eye on him Abbott or the worst is yet to come."
Jake now understood Abbott's role in all this. He finally accepted that Abbott was not one of the main culprits and that he should have trusted him sooner. Only one thing mattered now, bring Chang to justice. He left the room and was about to head back to his team but as he left, someone had struck the back of his head with a metal bat. He fell to the ground somewhat stunned but still awake. He tried to move but he could not. He then got a glimpse of who smacked him but the bump on his head gave him a blurry vision. The figure then smacked his head several more times until the figure was sure he was knocked out for good after which the figure tightly grabbed right foot and dragged him across to somewhere.
Desmond turned the television on and was surprised that CNN was the last thing the person watched. The news currently broadcast was the conflict happening in Hawaiian theater. They saw the military holding off but it seemed that they could not sustain the losses.
"They have cable?" Desmond commented.
They listened to the news reports. A sudden realization came to them.
"Whoever this man is definitely well-informed of the situation." Vance said.
"Do you think they knew about us coming here?"
"Colonel Carter said it was top secret. They wouldn't divulge it to the media."
Vance decided to radio Jake for this realization. "Jake, come over here. I think we got something." They waited for a reply. After he failed to reply, Vance looked Desmond to the face. Something must have happened to him. "Jake?" Again no response. They became more vigilant after the realization one of their members was missing.
"Where did he go?" Vance said.
"I think he went to the other rooms a bit ahead of us."
They immediately came to that certain room and realized their worst fear. They saw Jake's communicator lying on the floor.
"We should tell the others." Desmond said.
Jake slowly regained consciousness though, he was still stunned from the attack, or was he? He realized that his wrists were cuffed. It soon came to him that his neck and his ankles were also cuffed. His mouth was also tightly strapped with a belt as well. He could not move or break free. He could not even turn his head around or speak.
"Relax. It's pointless to fight…" The familiar voice then put a chair in front of him and sat down. It was Chang. "… American Dragon."
Jake was furious at the first of his face. He moved violently wanting to get his revenge on her but his effort was in vain.
"I'm telling you. The chair your sitting is composed of a carbon-fiber composite, as well as the cuffs being made of unicorn horn as well." Chang smiled. All Jake could do is watch her smile.
"So you like how I redid the place. You know your grandfather was a big help in redecorating the place. A big help…. So big a help, that he, along with my other minions, are pursuing your friends as we speak."
The last words of Chang brought horror on Jake's face to the point that Chang could see it.
A sudden movement caught Vance's eye. He thought he saw something.
"Did you see that?" Vance said.
"We're not alone." Desmond replied.
Suddenly, Desmond caught a glimpse of it pass. "I think I saw something move."
"They're on to us. They're toying us." Vance said. "Flashbangs ready."
"Ready sir."
"Good. Your call lieutenant. I'll cover you."
They were still in night vision. It felt that their encounters were getting a lot frequent. Also, It appeared that they were more than one and that they were getting closer and closer. Still, Desmond waited for the right time. He waited until everyone or the lot of them would get a good look at the flashbang. They could finally see their figures getting closer. Desmond finally let the pin go and threw it on the ground and started to run. Vance saw this and took the cue to run as well. The dragons saw this and started to fly to catch up to them. Then, the grenade flashed, giving a sudden burst of energy that stunned anyone near it or was temporarily blinded by the sudden flash. Vance and Desmond were far enough not be affected by the blast while the dragons flew aimlessly in that part of the cave. Finally, they thought they were far enough and thought of taking a breather.
"Looks like the coast is clear sir." Desmond said.
Out of nowhere a blue tail of some sort hit Desmond knocking him out. Vance turns too see a short old man coming near him. Vance pulled a flashbang from his uniform but before he could pull the pin, the old man's blue tail hit him hard. He fell to the ground letting go the grenade without pulling the needle. He tried to get up and when he looked to the man, he saw a tall blue dragon in-front of him. Realizing the odds were against him, he fell to ground and only passed out. Moments later, he could feel that he was being dragged with the dragon's right hand with the left hand dragging the lieutenant.
Jake noticed Chang was preparing a mixture of some sort. He could not tell what it was but he had a bad feeling about it.
"You know this mixture was perfected by a man I used to work with. Shame, I had to kill him in the end."
Jake tried to say something as if trying to guess who it was. Chang understood who his guess was.
"No, it wasn't Pandarus." She said coming close to Jake and showing to him a syringe. Again, Jake tried to move even if he knew that he could not. He knew what she was up to with that syringe. Chang put the needle near his face letting it touch the tip but not piercing the skin. "Fear, I see it in you."
He then let the syringe away giving Jake a sigh of relief.
"You have outlived your purpose American Dragon, but perhaps, I have underestimated you. Perhaps, you have not outlived your purpose after all." This time she is preparing something else. She came in front of Jake once more holding a vial of which inside she wanted to show. It was a chip. "The humans create such interesting technologies. This chip is usually inserted somewhere near the center of the brain. Somewhere near the hypothalamus. It complements the drug's effects of controlling emotions. Incredibly, this tiny chip only five hundred micrometers long has an astonishing capacity of one gigabyte, more than enough room to put a sophisticated software with millions of commands. Being in the center of the brain, it sends its specific ultra-high frequency that distorts or even silences the mind, relinquishing its control of body to the microchip." Chang made a small laughter. "But enough small talk. You are like a prodigal son American Dragon. You have been lost, but now, have been found. Now that you have been found, it's time to turn you to one of us again." She said leaving the vial on top of a table in front of him. "Don't worry, it will be a quick and painless process. However, that can wait. As soon as your friends arrive, I will show them a demonstration of what would when they are killed by one of their own."
She then unveiled another syringe and started drawing out blood from Jake's arm. "I feel like a very lucky girl who gets what she wants. I have been trying to complete my plan but something was missing and it just so happens that you come to my doorstep. We are entering a new era Jake. An era where dragons will forever rule the face of the earth." She then grabbed the syringe and the vial leaving Jake alone.