Disclaimer: I have no excuse for taking so long to up-date this, I am deeply, deeply shamed. And sorry. There was a scene in this part that just did not want to be written, which I'm sure you will all be able to guess why when you read it. Plus I was ill, yet again... This chapter comes with a warning. There is an unpleasant death in this part, with fire and well... I'll leave that to your imagination. Just so you all know, the first PoV is the death, so if anyone really doesn't want to read a scene like that... then just miss it out. The story might not make much sense if you do that though... anyway, here are the shout outs;

ElvenBookwyrm:- We shall see... ::Tries to look mysterious. Fails.::

angel-flame:- A dream? Well... sorry... it's not, but as for fixing it, you'll have to read and see.

freedomfighter82:- ::Looks seriously scared:: Yes... eeep... umm... please don't kill me, because... even though Tom's dead, you still see him? And put that very sharp... pointy... axe down...

Funky In Fishnet:- Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed that prologue, hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Queerquail:- Well, at least you won't kill me. I wish I could say the same for other people... Stay dead? Well, if I told you, that would spoil the suspense, now wouldn't it ;)

readheaded tom lover:- I killed him because I had to kill him otherwise the plot wouldn't work. Plus what would my life be like without people threatening to kill me? ... besides peaceful and safe.

Stargazer:- Very slight glimpse of dragons in this part, but you'll have to wait a little longer to see them in all their glory.

Marcus Lazarus:- Yep, Sawyer's dead, I killed him good. As you will soon see. Hopefully this chapter will go some way to explain who and how, though for the 'why', you'll just have to wait. And he will indeed be popping up, though not in the way most people think I believe...

Crystal Nox:- Killing a League member is easy. Surviving people trying to kill you is the real challenge. Everyone loves dragons. Dragons are cool.

Kingleby:- I'm very sorry, but he is. Dead. Very dead. Thanks for the compliment.

GothicAngel5:- Well, Skinner was blamed because he wasn't seen in public for a while after Tom's death, the reason for which will be reveled in a later chapter. The plot sounds familiar? Really?

Raven Silvers:- ::Hides and whimpers:: Please don't do that! I'll be good! Look, new chapter...

Lady Lilrin:- I never said he was coming back. I said they find out a secret. :) Ohhh, Trip plushie!! You're right, he is hot.

DeathKall:- Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Rai:- Ummm... no, he died before. Read the prologue again :D

Clez:- You loved it even though Tom was dead??

Jo:- Eeep! ::Ducks baseball bat:: Moving was the emotion I was going for.

And now...

Here Be Dragons

Chapter 1:- Back Where They Fell

The heat was intense, fire springing up all around around them. Skinner looked over at Tom Sawyer who was scanning the area, hunting for an escape route that hadn't been blocked off by fire. There was the sound of footsteps on the other side of the flames and both men tensed, Tom gripped his empty Colt pistols, spinning them so he could use them as clubs. The sound stopped suddenly and there was silence except for the greedily crackling of the fire as it burnt away at everything it touched. Tom and Skinner exchanged looks, confused.

Suddenly, there was a roar and something gold smashed through the flames. Skinner only caught a glimpse of fire, teeth and large leathery wings before there was a shout and he felt something knock into him, pushing him again. There was a creaking sound as part of the roof lost it's support to the fire. Then, Skinner's world went dark.

He groaned, as slowly the world swam back into focus. Everything hurt, though amazingly he seemed to be unharmed in any major way. He pushed himself up from the ground, looking around with a bemused expression on his face. The thing that had attacked them... had that... had he seen... a dragon?

"Tom?" Skinner called out, seeing that the fire had mostly died down. He couldn't see his friend anywhere... then he looked down. And swore. Crouching down, he reached out to touch Tom... or what remained of him. He was terribly burnt and as the fire was dying down, Skinner guessed Tom had been caught in the flames of the Dragon.

"S-sskinner... don't..." Tom rasped, his voice shaking, even as his body fought desperately to survive. Tears welled up in his eyes, toppling over his eyelids and running down his face, the salty water stinging at his burnt flesh. He would have winced, if only he had the energy to do so.

"Tom, I'm going to go and get help." Skinner said

"No.. not a-alone... please.. don't wanna g-go..." He panted out, a fearful look in his eyes. Skinner glanced around the remains of the room, listening hard in case the gold... dragon was coming back, before looking back down at Tom. He tried to smile, to fight back the tears that that were threatening to fall. Tried not to let Tom see how scared he was, how worried he was. Because the wounds... Skinner's drew in a hissing breath as he looked over Tom's body again, taking mental notes of every burn, every torn part of flesh. The burns were almost black in color, curling up at the edges, to show red, raw flesh under.

"You're not going anywhere Tom, do you hear me?" Skinner said, managing to keep his voice steady. He looked around again. What the hell is taking them so long? "The rest of the League will be here soon and Jekyll will have you fixed up in no time."

"I... it hurts..." Tom whimpered, oblivious to the words of comfort Skinner was trying to give him. His eyes found Skinner's and some inner light seemed to extinguish. "S-sorry..." Skinner shook his head in disbelief, his mouth falling open.

"No... no..." Skinner muttered. Tom smiled very faintly, the edges of his lips just turning upwards. He let out a finale, long breath, all his life fleeing with the sound as he head lolled to one side, the once bright eyes now already cloudy in death. Skinner stared down at his friends body in shock, still muttering 'no' under his breath.

He wished he could say that death had restored a kind of dignity to Thomas Sawyer. That among the burnt items and the ruined building there was something gentle about the way he lay, quietly as if in sleep, lulled that way by angels. Truthfully though, there was just something indescribably sad and almost pathetic about the bundle of hair and burnt skin that lay on the ground in such a haphazard manner.

Already Skinner was distancing himself from the body. Because that wasn't Tom Sawyer lying at his feet, not anymore. That was just an empty shell, a broken container with the precious contents forever split and lost. He staggered to his feet and moved away, heading in the direction that the League were sure to come from. He wasn't even 100 yards away from the fire ravaged building when there was a tremendous crashing sound behind him, of wood and stone splintering and shattering. Skinner spun on his heel, his face partly visible through smears of greasepaint that had not come off. He had lost his hat somewhere in the building, along with his jacket, meaning the only other part of him that was visible was part of his hand, where Tom had bled on him. He took a step back towards the building -

- and almost fell off his bed, his breathing loud and rapid. He looked around the room, in a vain attempt to calm his breathing. Skinner clutched at his chest, even though there was no way to see for sure. He shook slightly, reaching out for the bottle of whiskey that remained forever by his bed.

Why had he suddenly remembered that?

---

"Mina... Mina..." The voice entered into Mina's thoughts, dragging her away from her blissful darkness. She blinked once, twice and then suddenly, she was standing by water, the sea breeze bowing gently on her face as she stared out away from the land, the sand resting under foot.

"Interesting choice." The voice said, a male voice with an American accent, a hint of the man's southern upbringing slipping into the two words. Mina turned her head to the right. A couple of meters away, sitting on a large gray boulder, his own head turned to face hers with Agent Tom Sawyer. He was dressed in the same clothes as he had been wearing the day he died; the white shirt, black trousers with his hostlers hanging down as always. The long black duster swirled around him, resting by his ankles where the pair of feet were encased by boots. In his hands he held his treasured Winchester rifle. The soulful soft green eyes were sparkling softly as he looked at her, a genuine smile on his lips. The blond hair hung around his head as always, yet it seemed to be hanging differently now, a small change not even measurable.

"Mina, I don't have much time." Tom said urgently, slipping down from the large rock and crossing the sand between them. "It's dangerous enough me even being here."

"You died." Mina said flatly, staring at her friend. Tom actually looked embarrassed by this fact and he froze in mid stride.

"Well..." His face screwed up into a grimace, a smile tugging at one side of his face. "Yes, I suppose I did, didn't I."

"So this is all just a dream." Mina carried on in her dreamy tone, as if she hadn't heard Tom's answer.

"Vampire's don't dream Mina." Tom replied, a faint frown growing on his forehead, plucking at his skin. Mina raised and eyebrow, a sneer on her face before turning away from him and walking in the opposite direction. Tom groaned and ran after her, darting in front of her path, his hands spread out in a surrender gesture.

"Okay, okay." He said quickly, gazing into her face. "You're right, this is a dream. However, it most certainly is not just a dream. Think of it as a warning, a message from mystic powers." He pleaded. Mina stared back at him coolly, searching his face for lies or deceit. She found none.

"Very well... I am listening." She answered. Tom's boyish face lit up in relief.

"Oh good!" He told her, before the light faded away. He suddenly looked a lot older and tired.

"It's back Mina. The thing that killed me five years ago. I thought it was dead, everyone thought it was dead but somehow it survived. Not only that, but this time it has friends and a human with it. The gold dragon is back." Tom said, his shoulders slumped.

"Dragon's do not exist Agent Sawyer." Mina snapped. "You – or rather the real you, not a dream you – was killed by fire yes, but not dragon fire."

"Dragons don't exist?" Tom asked in amusement. "Oh yes, they don't exist in the same way Vampire's don't exist?"

"The only person to witness your death was Skinner and he does not not remember what happened." Mina replied, ignoring Tom's answer. The American looked uncomfortable.

"Actually... he does now." Tom muttered. He rushed on, noticing the icy look he was being given. "Well, I tried to warn him first but instead all I managed to do was unlock that memory. Go and find him, ask him. If he does remember, he'll tell you about the dragons."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Reform the League." Tom told her. He pointed behind the female vampire, towards the rock where she had first spotted him. "You have to stop her." Mina looked over her shoulder. There standing on the boulder, as if frozen in time and space was a young woman, who didn't look much older than Tom himself.

Her hair was short and black, reaching her ears but not much further. The skin was pale on her face, the pale brown eyes almost yellow as they stared out towards the sea. The young woman's clothes fit her slender frame perfectly, the outfit completely black aside from a bracelet on her wrist made of simple gold, absent of any gem stones or engraving. She had a black tunic on, the neck line square, the arms flaring out at the wrist and the only way Mina could even see the gold bracelet was because the girl had her arms thrown upwards, as if she was calling or signaling something. A black skirt and black lace up boots completed her outfit as as stood there before fading away on the breeze. Mina turned back to Tom, who had the look of a man running out of time of his face.

"How can we stop something that may or may not be real." Mina said, still doubting if this was really some kind of prophecy style dream. She had had such dreams before, but never like this, never talking to someone dead and never for this long. Usually they lasted just a few seconds time wise and she would wake to find a minute at most has passed since she had fallen asleep.

"When you reform the League, you must find out everything you can about the 'Dragon encircling the World'. It's your only chance to stop this." Tom said. He reached out a hand and gently touched Mina's face, a tear dropping from his eyes.

"God, I've missed you... I've missed you all. Now go, wake up and kick some dragon butt." he said, pulling his hand back and placing it in his pocket. He bowed to her in farewell and turned to leave. Mina watched him walk away, unable to move.

"Tom... you're dead. How can I believe any of this?" She asked. Tom stopped, his head bowed slightly, though he didn't turn back to face her.

"Death is rarely the end. You of all people should know that Mina."

---

There was no noticeable abrupt ending of the dream. There no real ending either. One moment Mina was dreaming, her eyes lightly closed and the next she was wide awake, her eyes open, though her body was still in a relaxed position. She rose from her bed gracefully, slipping out from under the bed covers and gliding over to the window to stare down at the quiet village of Whitby. The dream's warning still echoed in her mind and a slight frown marred her delicate features.

What was she going to do?

To Be Continued...

Hope everyone enjoyed that and once again, I'm very sorry about the Tom death thing. Really, I am. But it is necessary to the plot.

- Sethoz