It seems that I left a lot longer than I had anticipated. I would like to formally apologize about that. You know how life can be. It can sneak up on you quite easily. Let us hope that I don't randomly disappear again. This story is nearing it's completion anyhow so I might as well run the rest of the marathon. You may review if you wish but I'm not forcing you. Forced reviews are not satisfying at all.
Chapter 52
Back in the Dragon Realm
There was a knock at the door. Whatever was going on inside the house ceased almost immediately. The owner of the home groaned as she made her way to the door, somewhat provoked by the sudden interruption. As soon as the door opened, the dragoness met a gray dragon, almost her size. She didn't know him in any way.
"Can I help you?" the black dragoness aggravatingly asked.
The gray dragon didn't seem offended. He didn't answer, he silently handed over a small envelope to her and took his leave. As soon as he was on his way down the street, the black dragoness retreated back into her home.
"Who was that Cynder?" A voice called out from the bedroom.
She stayed silent as she opened up the envelope. Cynder pulled out a small sheet of paper and tossed the envelope to the side. She grew a bit confused to what the letter stated.
It was a bill for an order from Lateef's restaurant.
"Hey Spyro, have you been to Lateef's lately?" Cynder asked as she walked into the bedroom.
Spyro sat up on the bed as Cynder made her way inside. "No, why?
"It's a bill from his restaurant. Someone had a buffet of fish recently."
"Fish?" Spyro repeated questionably. "I'm more into meat than fish. It wasn't me."
Cynder set the bill down on a nearby nightstand. "Is there anyone we know that likes fish more than anything else?"
Spyro placed a paw underneath his chin in thought. "I wonder who it could be."
Meanwhile
Isis happily grinned as a plate of leftover fish was set down for her. Without even any thanks to Kali, she dug in as if she hadn't eaten in days.
"Whoa Isis, slow down. I don't think the food is going to run off," Kali promptly suggested.
The black cat didn't even pay her any attention. If the blue dragoness didn't know any better she would say that Isis was becoming addicted to fish. She sighed as she made her way back into the living room, lonely as usual.
She set her eyes on her special music box on the end table as she sat down on the couch. She didn't think much about it. She had already bothered her sister enough today. Without Cosmo around, things were really beginning to get dull. Isis would occasionally help with that but most of the time she was nowhere to be found. Now that she could use her telekinesis power as often as she could, the cat would come and go as she pleased.
It worried Kali about where Isis would run off too. Most of the time she would be gone during the day. But more recently Kali has caught her sneaking out in the middle of the night as well. What business would a cat have out in the city in the middle of the night?
Isis didn't take long to finish her dinner. The cat slowly peeked into the living room to see if Kali was around. When the dragon spotted the cat, she let out a fake smile.
"Finished already?" Kali bluntly asked. "Did you even taste it?"
Isis shrugged her small shoulders, as she slowly made her way toward the couch. She pounced onto it without hesitation and quickly made herself comfortable on the soft cushion.
Truth was, Isis hadn't really been talking lately. Aside from the late night sneak-outs, this also had her worried. Were the two connected somehow? Maybe something happened that Isis didn't want to talk about.
Little did she know, there actually was.
Forty-Five hours ago
It was a simple job really. Hunt for trouble, find it, get rid of it, then repeat. Isis was doing just that. It amazed her on how much trouble she could find in just one night.
Burglaries had been becoming more and more common throughout the city. It seemed as if not every dragon obeyed the laws as they should. Of course, Isis found it to be distressful. Even the burglary that was about to happen right in front of the cat's eyes didn't surprise her anymore.
A small dragon was trying to open a window, but was having trouble with it. Isis only smiled as she slowly approached the young, soon-to-be thief.
It was a small deserted street near the walls of the city. The house itself look pretty luxurious though. Isis could understand how it could get attention from a burglar like this one.
"Excuse me," Isis softly said.
The young gray dragon stopped in his tracks. He slowly took his paws away from the window and slowly turned around, expecting to be asked a series of questions on what he was doing. Strangely, he couldn't find anyone. However he was still uneasy about the whole situation.
"Down here Sherlock Rob Homes," Isis smirked.
The dragon looked down to see a cat. A black cat looking straight up at him.
Isis continued in her calm voice, "Yeah hi there. Can I ask you a quick question?"
The dragon swallowed hard. Never before in his life had he seen a creature like this before. He read about them but they weren't supposed to talk.
Without an answer, Isis just asked away, still calm about the whole situation. "Why are trying to rob a home? Don't you know that burglary is wrong?"
The dragon was a bit speechless. When he finally spoke, his voice sound younger than what he looked. "I . . . but-."
"No buts," Isis replied. "You should know better than that."
"You can talk. Why are you talking?"
Isis sighed, "Out of all things that's your response?" She began to sound a little more serious. "Listen. I don't know if you've been on a crime spree of if this is your first time. I assume it's your first because of how horrid you were doing but anyways that's not the point. You know the golden rule?"
The dragon thought, a bit afraid at the moment. "Err . . . what goes around comes around?"
"To put it simply," Isis began. "You wouldn't want anyone to steal your stuff right?"
The gray dragon responded with a quick nod, hoping he would get out of this situation easily if he obeyed.
"Okay then. You shouldn't steal someone's belongings either. Have you ever heard of karma?"
The young dragon shook his head.
"Well you wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley," the cat explained. "Now I want you to go home and think about what you were going to do. And if I catch you doing something like this again, I won't go so easy on you next time."
The dragon looked unconvinced for a moment. At least until he began to loose his footing on the stonework beneath him. The dragon looked down and noticed that he was beginning to float up in the air.
"Hey! What's going on? Why am I floating?" The gray dragon began in a panic.
Isis smiled, "I'm just making sure you will remember me." She made the dragon float even higher using her telekinetic ability. She knew he was too young to fly so she was using it as an advantage. It wouldn't have been the first time she had done this so she had some experience in making large objects of even small dragon float with her ability. However that was all she could do with large objects at the moment.
"Okay okay!" The gray dragon frantically pleaded. He was floating as high as the house he was trying to rob. "You win! I promise I won't try to steal things anymore!"
Isis still hold her smile from before, finding this to be quite amusing. "That's all I wanted to hear."
Suddenly, Isis heard some commotion nearby. It startled her to the point where her concentration was broke for a small second, bringing the young, floating dragon into a short free-fall. He shouted as he fell, seeing the concrete rushing up toward him. Without even looking at the dragon, Isis, used her ability to catch the dragon and set him down safely. She was more worried on what that noise was. It sound as if something was running down a nearby alleyway.
The younger dragon didn't stick around long enough for her to even see him disappear down the street. The cat was too worried about something else that had recently stole her attention. That was fine with the scared dragon. Who knew a cat could be so dangerous?
Isis heard a shout nearby. Now she was worried. Something was going down and she had to see what it was. She was quick on her feet as she followed the sounds. She found herself roaming down the dark empty street a little ways before turning into a trashy alley. But this particular one wasn't empty. Her night vision kicked in and as soon as it did, she spotted a light yellow dragon being chased by a darker one. If Isis didn't know any better, it was a dark being.
She quickly took off as fast as he feet would take her. She had to be quick if she was going to save the damsel in distress.
As she ran down the alley, she could hear the noises getting closer, meaning she was gaining on them. But she had to hurry. The occasional alleyway didn't always have their exits. And as she dashed on by the next corner, her assumption was correct. She spotted a dead end ahead and the yellow dragon was cornered. As Isis got closer she realized this dragon was a she, and she was beginning to take action herself. She spread her wide wings and leaped up into the air to escape the clutches of the dark being, but the dark dragon had other plans. Before she could take off, the dark being leaped at the dragoness and tackled her before she could get anywhere. Both of them fell back down to the ground and unfortunately, the dragoness ended up landing hard on the concrete with a dark dragon in her face.
"No!" Isis yelled at the top of her lungs.
But she was too late. The dark dragon had already attacked the dragoness with his claws, tearing her to shreds. Isis could see the life leaving the poor dragon's eyes. The cat couldn't believe it. Never before has this happened. Never before had she been able to save someone, until now.
Isis clenched her teeth. Anger was beginning to fill her as the dark being turned to face her, blood dripping from it's claws.
The cat didn't know what happened after that. She raised a paw in front of her as the dark being slowly began making it's way toward her. Fueled by anger, she used her ability of telekinesis to lift the dark being into the air. The dark being growled as it floated up a few feet from the ground, immobile and completely helpless. It didn't take long for Isis to use her ability in a way she never did before.
Using her telekinesis, she concentrated on nothing but killing this murderer. The dark being's growling suddenly began to stop as Isis crushed the insides of the dragon using nothing but telekinesis and a sudden hatred. Before long, the dark dragon became limp and lifeless. Isis just dropped the body onto the ground with a care in the world. As soon as she did, her head began to pound in pain as if a massive headache struck her.
She held her head for a couple of minutes in pain until it finally subsided. The cat knew it was because she overused her ability. But she didn't care.
Isis looked at the body of the yellow dragoness. A small tear formed in her eye as she turned and began to head back home.
Present Day
Kali watched as Isis silently fell asleep beside her on the couch. The dragoness sighed. She hadn't had anyone other than her sister to talk to lately. She hoped that whatever happened to Isis wasn't going to affect her much longer. Kali wanted that crazy cat back.
The Next Day
Fairy Realm
Cosmo finally awoke to greet the new day. He yawned from the bed he lied in and looked around. Nothing out of the usual, everything seemed to be in place. Except for Myrianda. She was nowhere to be seen.
"Must have had an early start," Cosmo thought as he shifted the covers out of over him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes for a short moment. "Or at least I hope."
He couldn't help but think about how she was. A drinking female dragon with a short temper out loose in the castle of a bunch of fairies. It made him shiver.
Cosmo forced himself to stand to his feet. He wasn't completely awake until his feet touched the cold floor in the hallway. As soon as he felt the rushing cold shiver in his feet, he wanted to jump back into his room for warmth. But he began to ignore it as he kept his pace.
It took a little while but Cosmo found his bearings in the castle and made his way outside. A few fairies noticed his presence but they grown used to the dragon being around. Some of them even greeted Cosmo by name. It seemed he was getting popular among the fairies, which didn't surprise him. Being the first dragon in the fairy castle had con's and pro's but he didn't let it get to his head. He wasn't gonna be here much longer anyways. Zoe had told him the before he went to sleep last night that she was nearly ready to cast another spell to send him back home. He was ready for it. Cosmo had been gone for far too long. He just hoped Kali would forgive him for disappearing like that.
The day passed on by. Cosmo went on his business, finding nearly anything to do amusing for a little while. The world of fairies was no place for a dragon. Myrianda eventually found him in the castle garden and decided to stick with him for a little while. At least until she thought of something to do or some fairy to playfully insult. Cosmo had told her repeatedly that calling a fairy a fluttery go happy firefly wasn't nice, but she insisted that they didn't mind.
A few hours passed until the two dragons finally received the news from Zoe's friend Cloe, that Zoe was ready for them. Exchanging relieved glances, Cosmo and Myrianda left the garden and followed Cloe through the decorated castle. A few quiet minutes passed until they were led into a small empty room. Only a few empty bookcases decorated the room along with a red velvet carpet. If it wasn't for the small chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling the room would have been pitch-black. It didn't take but a few moments for Zoe to join them.
"Are you ready?" Zoe kindly asked the two dragons.
Cosmo looked at Myrianda to make sure. The pink dragoness wasn't in the mood for waiting though. She quickly replied as if her patience had already run out. "Of course we are Mrs. Firefly. Do your thing."
The yellow dragon could have face-palmed himself. "Please don't make our only way back home mad Myrianda."
Zoe still showed a smile, not even offended in the slightest. "Alright then. I will cast a dual spell on you two. As soon as you are transported back into your world, your size will return to normal."
"That's fine," Cosmo replied thankfully. Then he remembered something he meant to ask a while back. "Wait a second. I wanted to ask you something before we sent us off."
"Yes?"
"Is there any way you can help me out in the dragon realm?"
Zoe raised an eyebrow, "In what way?" she asked, intrigued.
Cosmo thought for a moment on the best way to approach the matter. He finally came up with an answer as he saw how impatient Myrianda was getting with him. "I have a friend who has had a terrible curse laid upon her and I'm afraid fairy magic may be the only chance of lifting the curse."
"You mean Isis?" Zoe smiled. Before Cosmo could say anything the fairy continued. "I know about it. Don't worry, Ignitus filled us in on the tragedy through a type of telepathy." Zoe digressed a little. "We assume it was from some sort of magical pool he did it from but I can't say for certain."
It grew quiet for a moment while Cosmo and Zoe were lost in thought.
"Hey," Myrianda snapped, eager to leave. "So you gonna help us out of here or what?"
"Oh right," the fairy giggled. "Of course."
She raised her wand and began circling it over her head as she built up the spell she was going to use. As soon as it was good and charged, she let the spell loose. A small ball of light collided against Cosmo first, then Zoe quickly set loose another to hit Myrianda. Light enveloped the two dragons as they slowly began to disappear from the realm.
"Finally," Myrianda uttered before she completely disappeared.
As soon as they were gone, Zoe smiled at a job well done.
"Oh yeah," Cloe said as she remembered something important. Zoe nearly forgot she was there. "I was supposed to tell you earlier that Spyro was spotted in the sheep field again."
Zoe sighed, "How many sheep are missing?"
"Four," Cloe answered with regret.
The fairy shook her head, "I wonder if Cosmo's dimension has any dragon that chases sheep as much as Spyro."
"Or cocky," Cloe added.
Zoe showed her usual smile, "Yes, that too."
Dragon Realm
They appeared out of thin air basically. The two dragons slowly began to get their bearings back as they began to materialize back into the city. It had been a good while since Cosmo last seen this place . . . but there was a problem. They appeared in the market with a lot of eyes watching them.
"Oh . . . snap," Myrianda muttered.
"Didn't see that one coming," Cosmo followed.
All the dragons were frozen in their spots, mouths agape. Some of them even dropped whatever they had in their grasp, too shocked for words.
"What the hay?" A nearby dragon said aloud.
"Where did they come from?"
"How did they do that?"
"Am I drunk or high?"
Cosmo faked a small smile. "Err . . . hey there."
Myrianda softly nudged the yellow dragon and whispered, "Maybe we should walk on out of here ASAP."
Although it was more of a quick pace, the two dragons made their way through the stunned crowd. Anyone that was standing in the duo's path immediately stepped aside as if they were scared of them. If only they knew what had really happened to them a few days back, they wouldn't be acting this way. But Cosmo wasn't the one for giving speeches and Myrianda was the type who could care less about it.
Finally, they found their way through the crowd and quickly walked down the dark street. The sun was setting and it made loosing the crowd easier. It was also a bit chilly. Cosmo kept looking back in the market, making sure someone wasn't curious enough to follow. He didn't feel like answering a bunch of questions to a stranger. The city was getting to the point where you had to be careful who you had your conversations with.
"I think we left them behind," Myrianda spoke the obvious. "Well, it was nice meeting you Cosmo. I'm going back to the bar."
"What?" Cosmo rhetorically said in surprise. He stopped her before she could turn around. "Wait, you can't leave."
"And why not?" Myrianda speedily asked. A bit frustrated already with Cosmo.
Cosmo sighed. He looked around a bit before saying, "I can't explain it here."
"Riiiiiiight," the pink dragoness slurred as she rolled her eyes. "Well then I'll see ya around."
"Aren't you curious in the slightest?" the determined dragon questioned. The dragoness stopped before she got any farther in her steps.
Myrianda looked back at Cosmo with an inexpressible look on her face. "Alright. I'll humor you. Curious about what?"
Finally he was getting somewhere. "About why you . . . look I can only explain this in private. If the knowledge I am willing to share with you is heard by the wrong ears then we might be in trouble."
Cosmo could tell he got Myrianda thinking. She sat in her spot for a few moments, very quiet. Only a warm breeze was heard as it blew through the cloudless air.
"Fine," the dragoness finally answered. Cosmo felt relief rush through his body. "But you're going to buy me drink. Deal?"
Cosmo sighed. "Whatever. But you really gotta stop with all this drinking nonsense. I don't see how you can go through with it."
Later
It took a little longer than Cosmo thought to get to where he wanted to go. With darkness beginning to overwhelm the city, moonlight easily began to shine down. It was such a ravishing sight. It reminded Cosmo of that time he spent with Kali down at Twilight Falls.
When he finally arrived, Myrianda noticed she was stopped in front of a small, one story house. "You live here?" she assumed.
"Well . . . yeah you can say that." He turned back toward the door and took a deep breath. "This may be a bit awkward seeing as I've been missing for a few days."
"Wait, do you live here by yourself?"
Cosmo shook his head. "No," he simply answered.
The sooner the better. Cosmo reached for the door handle and turned it without hesitation. The door slowly creaked open, revealing two dragons sitting down on the couch. One of them turned their heads revealing to be a dragon Cosmo hadn't seen in a while. A black dragoness by the name of Cynder. It seemed as if whatever she was doing didn't matter any more.
"Cosmo?"
Almost immediately, the dragoness next to her jumped to her feet on the couch itself and turned around without second thoughts. When Cosmo saw her he made an embarrassing smile.
"Hey there Kali."
Without any words to return, Kali jumped over the back of the couch and crashed into Cosmo with a hug. It knocked the breath out of him but it was an understandable reaction. He returned the hug without second thoughts. He was more than happy to be back, safe and sound.
"I was wondering when you would be back," Kali quietly said. Cosmo could tell she was happy to see him.
"I'm sorry I took so long," Cosmo apologized.
"No. It's alright," Kali assured.
The hug broke and Kali looked Cosmo in the eyes. "I'm glad you're safe."
Then a certain dragoness from behind cleared her throat, obviously tired of being left out in the street.
Kali immediately took notice. "I'm sorry. You must be Myrianda."
The pink dragoness looked a bit surprised. "You know me? How?"
"I'll explain later," Cosmo interrupted. He looked passed Kali and at Cynder who seemed to be smiling at the reunion. "Hey Cynder."
"Good to see you are still in good spirits," Cynder replied.
Kali stepped to the side to let Cosmo and Myrianda inside and immediately shut the door afterward. Cosmo was pleased to see a warm fire burning in the fireplace. The chilly outdoors was beginning to give him the chills.
"How's Spyro doing?" Cosmo considerately asked Cynder.
Cynder grinned. "He's doing just fine. Especially for the last couple of days."
"Where's Isis?" Cosmo inquired, noticing she was missing. He didn't give what Cynder said enough time to click in his head.
Kali shrugged. "I don't know. She's been disappearing like this lately."
"Any idea where?"
The blue dragoness shook her head, "Unfortunately no. She hasn't been her usual self either."
"Wait," Myrianda interrupted. "Who's Isis?"
"My pet cat," Kali answered. "Well considering recent events, pet is out of the question now." Then she turned to Cosmo. "So, how was the fairy world?"
"How did you know about that?"
Kali smiled, "I had some help from the Chronicler. Cynder knows about it too. I knew you were safe this whole time. I just missed having your company."
Cosmo slightly nodded in understanding. He began to tell his story from when he found Myrianda and how they escaped the bar through the underground tunnel. He left out the part where Myrianda was using her ability to influence him of course so he just skipped ahead to where he ran into Phantom. He told of how Phantom almost defeated both of them and how the fairies came into play. Kali seemed a bit surprised, especially the part about them being stuck in the painting. He left out the part about Myrianda's father in that plane crash. He thought that should be kept private. He continued on to the part where he met the faun Elora and eventually the story was told.
"That was quite a story," Cynder gestured. She stood to her feet in satisfaction, "Well I better get going. Spyro might be wondering where I went off to." Before she left she asked a quick question. "Hey Cosmo you remember Lateef's restaurant?"
He didn't even have to think to remember it. "Yeah, why?"
"Is there any chance that you might have eaten fish there before you disappeared?"
Cosmo shook his head. "I'm not really a fish fan. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, it's no big deal really. But I was given a bill from his restaurant recently and someone ordered fish and sent us the bill."
"You can do that?" Myrianda asked in astonishment.
"Myrianda," Cosmo began. "Don't even think about it."
She just frowned and shrugged in response.
"It was Isis," Kali sighed. Realizing who it was. "It had to have been."
"It doesn't matter," Cynder replied, not surprised in the slightest. "It's not that expensive anyways. Besides . . . Lateef always gives me and Spyro discounts for saving the world as we know it."
"I sense a bragger," Myrianda quietly murmured under her breath. The only dragon that heard was Cosmo, who was shaking his head disappointingly at her.
Cynder finally took her leave and walked back to her home. Kali and Cosmo bid her farewell while Myrianda just checked the place out. Kali shut the front door and looked questionably at Cosmo.
Cosmo immediately realized why she was giving him that look. "Don't look at me. That's just how she is."
"Straightforward?"
The yellow dragon shrugged and nodded, "Pretty much yeah."
"Is there any drinks around here?" a voice came from the kitchen.
Cosmo could have face-palmed himself. "And a bit of a drinker unfortunately."
It didn't take long for Myrianda to return to the living room with a look of disappointment in her face. "I didn't see any drinks."
"I'm not a drinker," Kali quickly answered. "I don't see what's so great about getting drunk and waking up in the morning with a hangover and no recollection of the night before."
Myrianda stared at her blankly. "Leave it up to you to take something as good as drinking and making it sound bad."
Cosmo smiled at the response. "Well, she is right after all."
"Whatever," the pink dragoness muttered. "Well I better be off then." She began to make her way toward the door before Cosmo stepped in front of her.
"Wait a minute. Where are you going to stay for the night?"
Myrianda shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know an inn maybe."
Cosmo continued, "Do you know where the Riverside Beauty is?"
"Yeah I'm pretty sure. Why?"
"I want you to stay there for now."
Myrianda her eyes on Cosmo. "Why should I?" She seemed a bit discontent on being told what to do.
That look wasn't bothering the yellow dragon. He had already seen it one too many times for it to take any kind of effect on him. "You know how to use the elements?"
The pink dragoness sighed in annoyance, "I've been in this world for quite a while. I know them. Ice, fear, electricity, and gamma."
"Gamma?" Kali repeated, wondering what kind of element that was.
"It's a very rare element," Cosmo answered. "Remember when I told you how we got to the fairy realm earlier?"
"Oh yeah," Kali replied upon realization. "You stole Myrianda's gamma element for a little while in your fight against Phantom."
Cosmo smiled as she remembered. Though the smile didn't last that long when another thought popped into his head. "We still have to figure out a way to change him back to Clover."
"Maybe Shivertail will know what to do, or that Chronicler fellow."
The yellow dragon stretched his wings for a moment before answering back in a satisfied tone. "You're probably right. I'll have to pay him a visit tomorrow. There's also that other dragon . . . what was his name?"
"Blaze?" Kali reminded.
"Hello?" Myrianda interrupted in a noisy tone. "I've been waiting to leave for the last longest now."
Cosmo showed a short smirk but it disappeared quickly. "Anyways, I want you to go stay at the Riverside Beauty inn for now. There should be a white dragon by the name of Yin working the counter. Tell her you're with me and to give you room. I'll be there tomorrow to pay for your room if it is necessary."
"You got money?" Myrianda asked, remembering what happened the first time they met in the bar.
"I believe a talk to Shivertail would straighten out any . . . financial issues. Being one of the six has to have it's perks right?"
The pink dragoness just shrugged it off. "Alright I'll go along with your little plan. But if I don't get my room then I'm coming back here with a vengeance."
It didn't take long for her to leave the house. Ignitus was right about her being cocky. She could definitely be a little bit too assertive.
Later
Tathric Range
The winding trail up the cold, snowy white mountains was definitely a workout itself. It was steep and the ground was rocky and uneven. It wasn't all that wide either.
Frederick looked toward his right to see a sudden drop down the side of the mountain. He remembered how it bothered him the first few times he walked up the trail, but now he had grown used to it. After all this was the only way up to his home. He wondered how Jazz was getting along with it being this chilly.
As he neared the top of the trail, his home came into view. The large stonework walls looked over the edge of the mountain. Frederick spotted one of his colleagues on the edge of the wall, holding a torch and looking out toward Warfang in the distance. He noticed Frederick and gave a quick wave. Frederick returned the favor as he neared the large doorway built into the wall. He pushed it open and closed it back as soon as he was on the other side of the wall. He climbed up the stairs and headed straight for the green topped dojo in front of him. He noticed a large pile of material toward the left side of the dojo's front door. It must have been for Jazz's new home they were going to build. He wondered where that dragon was for a short moment before he found himself at the front door.
He made his way inside the dojo to find most of everyone already gone. Frederick looked around the room to spot only three others sitting in front of a warm fire. As soon as he shut the door behind him, all three of them turned to see who it was. Frederick knew the three faces by heart. Aruto, Isaac, and Kindra.
"Hey there," Kindra greeted from the comfy chair she sat in front of the fire. Aruto and Isaac occupied the other two chairs as well. There were a few more chairs to sit in but Frederick knew that if he sat down he wouldn't stand back up for a little while.
"Hey," Frederick replied in a tired voice as he approached them. "What are all three of you doing up so late?"
"Is it late?" Aruto rhetorically asked. "I didn't notice."
Isaac yawned, "I did. Just haven't felt like getting up."
Aruto shifted positions as Frederick stood beside his chair to warm himself in front of the fire. "Anything to report from Warfang?"
Frederick smiled, "As a matter of fact, yes there is. Cosmo has returned along with Myrianda."
Aruto took a deep breath of satisfaction. "Then all that remains is Phantom. It's making me a bit edgy."
Isaac stood to his feet with a sigh. "Can't we just have one normal day around here?"
Kindra quickly answered back in a tired tone, "Well nothing happened yesterday and you're saying that isn't normal?"
"I had to go hunt yesterday," Isaac complained. "And I was attacked! Did you forget that?"
"Attacked? How come no one told me?" Kindra asked, looking around the room.
Frederick shrugged, "Thought you knew."
"I got time," Isaac said, sitting back down in his seat. "I'll tell you the story."
Yesterday
Midday
Snow was everywhere. It covered the ground, tree limbs, bushes, and it was slowly falling from the sky. The cold breeze was soft but still could make anyone shiver without warmth. Gray clouds covered the blue sky and the sun's rays managed to slip through any crack in the clouds it found.
Isaac wore his light jacket and brown furred pants to keep him warm as he hunted for tonight's meal. An average sized quiver was slung around his back as he carried a brown long bow as he looked throughout the snow topped woods. He often found himself vaulting over a thick log every now and then but the forest was pretty clean.
"This forest seems dead," Isaac said to himself. "The only thing I've seen are rabbits. No birds, deer, and thankfully no bears."
He continued walking through the ankle deep snow, still not finding any signs of deer. "I'm not even that good with a bow. Why was I picked to hunt today?"
Isaac pulled an arrow out his quiver and nocked it in the bow. He slowly pulled it back and aimed at a tree that was a good ten feet away. When he felt content on his aim, he let the arrow loose. The arrow flew right on by the tree and disappeared into it's self-made hole in the snow beyond it. If it wasn't for the black gloves he wore, the arrow's fletchling would have scraped his hand.
"Even if I do see a deer I'm better off hoping a log will fall on it."
Isaac was still equipped with a small steel dagger on his hip but it wouldn't work well unless he was close. He looked down at it, thinking maybe he could just throw the dagger at his prey and maybe he'll get lucky. But at the moment it seemed luck was working against him.
The young swordsman sighed, "I'm no bowman. I don't know what Aruto was thinking. I swear this better not be some prank."
Time passed. I felt like a good hour before Isaac felt like he was going to go crazy. All he seen the whole time he was in the woods was a few rabbits and the occasional bird. He did manage to catch a glimpse of a fox but it ran off when he saw it. Maybe he could just stab a few rabbits to death and everyone would settle for that. It was certainly better than bringing back nothing.
Then Isaac heard a crack. He grimaced and slowly turned around. He grew surprised and scared at what he saw. A dark dragon was looking at him a few yards away.
"Oh god," Isaac muttered. "Well this sucks."
The dark dragon growled at Isaac's presence as the swordsman frantically pulled out an arrow and nocked it into place. He quickly took aim at the dark dragon as he growled again, then he charged. Immediately Isaac let the arrow fly. The dark dragon stopped long enough to see the arrow fly a few feet over his head. He looked at Isaac, looking a bit confused at the moment.
Isaac shrugged, "Hey I suck at the bow give me a break."
The dark dragon snapped back to his active duty and growled at Isaac, warning him to run. Isaac quickly obliged with the dark dragon giving chase.
"Oh crap oh crap oh crap, running running running!"
Then he remembered that he brought along his dagger. He used his free hand to grab the dagger out into his grasp then looked behind him. The dark dragon was right on his tail. Isaac decided it was time to be brave and turned around quick enough to use the dark dragon for batting practice. He swung his bow at the dark being, cracking him in the head. The blow stunned the dark being long enough for Isaac to swing his dagger at the dark being, but it seemed it wasn't enough. The dark being somehow evaded the swing and pounced on Isaac, taking him down to the ground. The snow broke some of the fall but it still knocked some of his breath out him, and his dagger.
The dark being roared in his face. Isaac flinched but put his fist to use and struck the dragon on the side of his cheek, knocking him silly. Isaac tried his best to get out of the situation he was in, but the dark dragon wouldn't let him.
"Well, this is it." Isaac admitted to himself. "Oh well. So be it."
But it seemed his luck turned the other way as he heard a voice. "I don't think so my friend."
It was quick, but another dragon jumped the dark being on top of Isaac, tackling him to the side. Isaac looked over, nearly in shock from how close he was to dieing. He saw a red dragon letting loose flames onto the dark being. He could even feel it's warmth from where he was laying.
The dark being pushed the red dragon off and tried to pounce onto his enemy. The red dragon was too agile for him though and jumped to the side. Isaac was confused at this point. Didn't the dragons hate humans? Isaac looked over toward the side and spotted his dagger that he lost earlier. He looked back at the battle at hand and saw that the red dragon seemed to be winning.
The red dragon let more flames loose onto the dark being. A few moments passed until he had to take a breather and became satisfied to see the dark being seemed to be singed. Still alive, but hurt and singed, somehow still standing.
Isaac stood to his feet with his dagger and was about to finish him off when the red dragon interrupted him. "Stop. Do not kill him."
"He tried to kill me," Isaac replied in a bushed voice. "I want to return the favor."
"I can heal him if you give me the chance," the red dragon said as he reached behind his wing.
"Heal him? Are you crazy?"
The red dragon grabbed a fairly small bottle he hid behind his wing. It couldn't have been any bigger than the palm of Isaac's hand.
"What is that you got there?" Isaac asked, still keeping his dagger ready.
"Pure essence," the red dragon answered.
Isaac couldn't tell what this dragon was thinking. He couldn't figure out if that was confidence in his voice or fear. He figured that if this dragon was going to kill him he would have already done it by now. It made him a bit more comfortable but he was still ready for anything funny.
Isaac's new friend unscrewed the cap of the bottle and cautiously made his way toward the dark being. He was collapsed on the ground, still breathing but struggling to stand to his feet. He seemed to be too weak though. All it took was one drop from the bottle to fall onto the dark being to make it started having spasms. Isaac was ready more than ever. The dark being was groaning as the red dragon backed up to give him some room so he wouldn't get hurt.
The dark being tried it's best to stand to his feet but he just couldn't. It seemed like he was in pain somehow. Then Isaac realized what was happening. A spot of black on the dragon's scales began to change colors. As more of the black color disappeared off the dragon's scales, Isaac began to put the pieces together of what this red dragon did. It didn't take long before the dark being wasn't dark anymore. Instead, he was replaced with a bright yellow male dragon with a spiky tail and gray wings. The only bad news he saw was that he was unconscious.
"What did you do?" Isaac simply asked.
"I cured him," the red dragon answered worriedly. "But he needs to get to a hospital at the moment."
"Wait," Isaac began. "That . . . pure essence . . . can cure these dark dragons?"
The red dragon nodded. "Yes, though it is hard to come by. Unfortunately I'm afraid our conversation must be cut short. This dragon needs medical attention."
The red dragon slung the unconscious dragon over his shoulders and began walking south. Isaac had to admit, he was stronger than he looked. Taller too.
"What's your name?" Isaac yelled out.
The red dragon stopped for a moment, then finally answered. "Jaggle. We'll see each other again." Then he resumed his pace.
Present Time
"Jaggle huh?" Kindra wondered aloud. "You said he was all red?"
Isaac nodded, "Yeah. Everything about him was red. Red scales, wings, whatever."
"Seems somehow familiar," she replied then went to thinking.
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A/N: Hope no one is mad that I took so long to upload this chapter. Life can take you through unexpected turns. I can't tell you when I'll get the next chapter up. But I will be working on it.
