Ok, here's the second part of the fanfic "The Friends My Dad Had", by yours truly. Sorry it took so long to update; I've got a life:D I'm still experimenting with formats to fix the problems I've been having with separating paragraphs, and I hope that I may be able to fix the problem. We'll see...

I don't own any of the stuff I said that I didn't own in the last chapter, (But now I own Pepto-
Bismol...really, I'm serious...why are you giving me that strange look...aw, hell, nothing gets past you guys. You're smart, so you get a cookie. Or a PopTart. One of the two.)

The Friends My Dad Had:Part Deux

"Your...uncle", Grandpa frowned. "Well, that's, er, nice to know."

"Yeah, that kinda raises the stakes, doesn't it?", Jake laughed nervously. Gary Long was really his uncle. Uncle Gary was his dad's brother, and was just like him- jumpy.

"Well, then this makes it more worth our while. Now come, let us be off", said Grandpa.

UUUUUUUUUUUU

(I'm gonna try separating my paragraphs with these things, see if that works.)

The convenience store across from Spirits was probably the safest store in that part of NYC (and that's a strong word, considering it was still broken into at least once a month). The store, called "The Store Across From Spirits" (I'm so creative with my names, aren't I? Come on.), was owned by a guy named Tariq Abdullah, nicknamed "Papa John" (don't ask why...really). Papa John, even though he was well-liked by a lot of area residents, just wasn't able to stand up to some of the people who came in, and so he was robbed, mugged, etc. very often. Ok, once a month. He actually did pretty good, though, at least compared to Franklin Pierce V (who claimed he was distantly related to the president), as he could easily be confused and...well, you know the rest. Jake had actually stolen something once from his store- a dare, no less, and was never caught...until Haley found out, and Jake had to help out there for two weeks. (In the day, when nothing bad happened).

It was about 7:00 when Jake and Grandpa arrived at the Papa John's store. They stood at the street corner, trying to remain oblivious until Gary arrived. Papa John was thumbing through the latest "Nuts about Newts" magazine, as no one was in the store at the time. It was about 7:20 when Gary Long finally entered the store.

"Hello, Tariq", said Gary. "How are things?"

Papa John looked up from his magazine. "Oh, just fine, Gary. Thanks for asking. You know...", he pointed to the calendar, "No break-ins this month. Maybe they are finally realizing to not mess with me."

"Uh, huh, I sure hope so", replied Gary. "Uh, what was it they stole last time?"

Papa John looked Gary right in the eye, as if he was about to admit a God-given secret only known to himself, "They..stole...my...Little Debbies!"

Gary strained himself not to laugh.

"I'm serious, man! Do you know how hard it is to get those things nowadays?"

Gary shook his head. Really, how would it be hard to get stocks of Little Debbies?

"Well, it is hard. Everyone wants them. I'm thinking about switching to Hostess or something. I think the Sunoco station's the only one that has 'em"

"Okay, Tariq, whatever you say", said Gary, setting a case of SlimFast on the counter."

Papa John looked at the case repulsively. "How can you drink this stuff, man?"

Gary grimaced. "Doc says I need to lose some weight. What do you think?"

Papa John laughed, "Hey, I'm no doctor. Still, you do look a little bigger than your brother...Jeff, is it?"

"Yeah, Jeff's always been on the skinny side. Hey, seen his boy Jake lately? He's been getting big; he was so small as a boy".

Jake grimaced.

"Naw, maybe I'll look for him later. Have a good evening", Papa John replied as Gary walked out the door.

UUUUUUU

Gary walked outside, looked at his watch, and turned hurriedly away.

"Yo, Gramps, nothing seems t' be goin' down. Are you sure?", Jake asked.

"I am not sure. It was a hunch. Maybe I was wrong. Still, the air doesn't feel quite right...like we are being watch...Jake, look out!", he yelled as he pushed Jake out of the way. Jake felt a huge gust of wind as something seemed to blow past him, and towards Gary Long.

"Uncle Gary!", Jake yelled.

"Wha? Jake?", Gary turned around, only to be hit full force by the "thing".

"Oomph!", his wind was knocked out of him as he fell backwards and landed on the hard sidewalk. The creature was on him in a flash. It was now that Grandpa and Jake were able to get a look at the thing.

The creature was covered in thick brown fur. Long claws were extended from its hands and feet. It had a long muzzle, with long dagger-like teeth that were dripping of saliva.

"Yo, look over here! Dragon Up!" yelled Jake as his body morphed into his dragon form. The thing looked back for a second, but turned back to Gary, who was screaming for help.

Papa John was still shaking his head over the whole Little Debbie ordeal, when he looked outside to see a wolf-like creature on top of Gary Long, threatening to rip him to shreds. "Holy shit!", his eyes widened as he ran for the phone. "9-1-1! Officer!"

On the other line, Larry McKinnis, four-year cop of that district, rolled his eyes. He, along with the rest of the department, knew Papa John all too well, what with him calling all too often, "Well, well, what is it this time, Tariq?"

"Oh, Larry! Good to hear you! Need help here!", Papa John screamed in broken English as he stared out the window. "There's some kinda big dog or something attacking a man outside my store, and...and there's a dragon! Holy shit! A dragon just flew in and picked up the dog! I dunno what's going on, but...no!", he stared in disbelief as the dragon (Jake) crashed through the window.

"Uh, huh. Well, Tariq, I thought that we told you to stay off the drugs. Well, since nothin' else seems to be going on tonight, I'll be down in a few."

"Oh, thank you so much...bye!", said Papa John as he hung up the phone from behind the counter. Grandpa had joined Jake, and they had cornered the wolf-thing by the Emerald Nuts. The wolf, or not necessarily a wolf as it stood on two legs, spotted Gary getting away, and with blinding speed sped past the two dragons and toward the running Gary.

He never had a chance to defend himself. The thing dug its claws into the back of his shirt, obviously into the skin, and turned to look at its prey.

Gary fell to the ground, bleeding from his back where three slash marks had torn the fabric of his coat. The creature, sensing victory, threw its head back and howled for the longest time. "No!", yelled Grandpa as he ran toward it, changing to dragon in the process. It was ready, though, and it merely stuck out its claws, and the dragon never saw it coming; he ran right onto its claw. "Oh!", screamed Grandpa, falling backward and revealing a huge bloody gash on his stomach. He reverted back to human form, but the gash was still there.

"Grandpa! No!", Jake yelled, hurrying toward the spot where Grandpa had fallen. His breathing was scarce and heavy...but he was still alive. Nearby was Gary Long, who also seemed to still be alive. The creature had left its mark...again.

"Jake...", struggled Grandpa. "You...must...follow..it."

Jake, on the verge of crying, looked up at the spot where the wolf had been...but it was gone. "No..Grandpa..." But then he heard the faint sound of police sirens and leapt to a window ledge above where it all had taken place.

Larry McKinnis, not expecting anything, was driving up to the site when he saw the two bodies lying on the sidewalk. "Oh, my...HQ! There's been an attack! Two down! Bring an ambulance! Immediately!" He jumped from his car, and ran toward the limp figures of Lao Shin and Gary Long.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance arrived, and just as quickly attended to the two. Jake was still in disbelief. "Don't worry, Grandpa", he whispered as his grandfather and uncle's bodies were carried into the ambulances. "I will find it. I will...I'll find the..."

End of chapter

Yay, cliffhanger! Again!

Sorry if anyone was offended of the blood and gore stuff...that's not something I'll do often. And don't worry, nobody dies in this story. I won't kill off Grandpa. In the immortal words of the narrator from "George of the Jungle", "They just get really big boo-boos!"

Hope you liked it. Please read and review, and maybe I'll be able to finish the next chapter soon. Later!

Your master. Or YourFavoriteWriterEver. Or Spudstix. They'll all work; but I like the first one better, don't you:D