Chapter Three: Explanation

The three of them ran away from the smoldering body. However, instead of taking the main streets, Sean led them through several alleys. Of course, he had no idea where he was, so he just kind of wandered around until finally emerging a ways away. Police were making their way in, as well as medical personnel. Sean ducked back and tried going through more allies.

Robert spoke up. "Sean, where are we going?"

"I'm trying to find a way out that will not involve police and paramedics?" He poked his head out of another alleyway.

"Why?" Ben asked.

Sean looked around and whispered. "No one can know."

"Why?"

"Follow me and I'll explain everything." He began jogging away. Ben and Robert looked at each other.

"How far do you think this will go?" Robert asked.

"What do you mean?" Ben replied.

"How crazy do you think it'll get?"

"Who can tell? All I know is Sean has the answers, so I'm gonna follow him."

Robert sighed. "Me too, but why do I have a feeling that once we're pulled into Sean's little web, there's no crawling out?"

-----

Ben had lived in this town all his life and Robert most of it. Even so, neither one of them knew where it was they were going.

Sean led them both out of the city, far away from the buildings and the bustling streets and the large crowds. The human creations waned and nature began showing itself more and more. When they got to the suburbs, Sean snuck around his own house and found what he had hidden: A sword in its sheath. It seemed thicker than Ben's, and about as long.

He didn't say anything, no matter how much Ben and Robert asked. Finally, they subjected themselves to silence.

Sean brought them far from even the suburbs and into the thick of a deep, wooded area. They fought with the trees for space, often losing. There were a few slightly clear paths, but they mostly pushed and shoved through bushes and branches, getting cuts and scrapes everywhere.

"This is insane!" Robert said. "No one in their right mind would go through here."

Sean replied, "That is why it is the ideal place to go."

The boys looked at each other, then shook their heads and continued on. Ben finally got smart enough to use his sword to hack through bushes, but Sean stopped him.

"You will eventually grow used to the roughness of this trail, but we do not want anyone else to."

"Eventually?" Robert noted. "You mean we'll be coming here more?"

"A lot more, if you two comply."

Sean just kept on speaking in riddles. Of course, they had no option but to follow him, as he was the only one who knew the way to whatever destination they were going to, as well as they way home.

At long last, they entered a clearing in the woods, and a large one with that, complete with lake.

"Finally." Robert said, relieved, "A clearing."

"We can rest." Ben said, sitting down.

"No need, really." Sean said. "We're here."

"Here?!" Robert exclaimed. "We're in the middle of nowhere!!"

"Exactly."

"I can't take it anymore!! Speak English, man! Tell us what on earth is going on, and I mean now!!"

"What exactly do you want to know?"

Robert wanted to punch him right there, but restrained himself. "What do I want to know? Let's check the list, shall we? What happened back there?! What happened to us, what was that monster, why can't we tell anyone about it, where are we, why is this such a good spot, why do we have to keep coming back here, how do you know all the answers I know you're about to produce, and above all, WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME?!"

Sean kept his blank face the whole time. "Why did you follow me and do as I asked even though you had all those questions?"

Robert searched had for an answer. When he couldn't find one, he said, "I asked you first!" Then, he crossed his arms in some sort of victory.

Sean shook his head. "Alright, let's narrow it down. What question do you want answered first."

"What happened to us?" Ben asked automatically.

Sean nodded. "Alright. What happened was this: you two were transformed into two of the most incredible warriors this planet has ever known: Dragoons."

"Come again?" Robert asked.

"When a dragon dies, it-"

"Whoa, hold up. Dragon?"

"Yes, they exist. Well, they used to exist. I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out. When a dragon dies, it has the ability to pass it spirit on to a human. Those orbs on your necklaces are spirits of two dragons. We call them Dragoon Spirits."

"Okay…" Robert said, "But that still doesn't explain what happened."

"Sure it does. When a dragon passes its power on to a human, certain things come with it. One is the armor you two wore. That armor is as hard and resilient as the dragon's scales were when it was alive. Those weapons are part of the deal also. The second thing is the ability to fly. I'm sure you noticed the wings coming from your backs. They also belonged to the dragon in its life. The third thing is the most important. When in Dragoon form, you possess the skills and abilities that the dragon once did. Now, you don't have them all yet, not by a long shot. Humans were not made for great quantities of power. The dragons have to break you in, you see."

"Alright." Ben said, kind of liking this. "So…Robert and I are these Dragoons?"

"Yes, you are."

"And we can use all the dragons' powers. That would explain the fire."

"Indeed it would. In life, Ben, the dragon that gave you its powers was known as the Red-Eye Dragon, a dragon of fire."

"And mine?" Robert asked.

"The Jade Dragon, ruler of the wind."

"Wind? That lame."

"You say that after seeing just a tiny hint of what you can do with that power?"

"Well…okay, but I have a quick question. How were we flying back there?"

"You, of course, have no experience in flying, and there was no time to teach you. That being said, the dragons themselves took control of the wings and left the rest to you."

"Took control…you mean…they can think?"

"Yes. They are the spirits of the dragons, after all, they have a conscious mind."

Ben looked down at his spirit, and it looked back up at him. Ben quickly looked up, to avoid freaking out.

"We cannot force the dragon to give us their powers. They choose their spirits on their own free will. They're dragons. Nobody tells them what to do. These particular dragons have chosen you to be their bearers."

"Well, I feel special." Robert said, sarcastically.

"You should." Sean said. "Billions of people in the world and the dragon chose you, a simple human, to use its powers."

"Important question." Ben said, raising his hand as if he were in class. "What does this all mean? I mean, if the dragons chose us, there's got to be a reason. After all, this hasn't happened before."

"Yes, it has." Sean corrected. "But it was a long time ago. 800 years, to be exact. 11,000 years before that it also happened. We are the third generation of Dragoons."

"Uh-huh…"

"You'll understand later. And as for your question, it means one thing: trouble."

"I was afraid of that."

"Dragons don't just give their powers to humans for no reason. Dragoons are called to fight. That's their purpose in life. We are called to do battle."

"With what?" Ben wasn't so sure he really wanted to know.

"Anything and everything; anything that threatens the human race. Dragons have taken a liking to humans, so they're helping us in wiping out anything that threatens us. I, myself, have taken on quite a few of these enemies. I've wiped out a number of races that plan to destroy us all."

"How come we never hear about these enemies?" Robert asked. "Is this what they're hiding in Area 51?"

"Nope. They never hear because I never tell."

"Why not? And why couldn't we tell anyone about us transforming?"

"A number of reasons. Mainly, the world just isn't ready for Dragoons. Humans tend to worry too much. It is better for them to not know about what we do. That why I never tell anyone about my battles."

"So we save the human race and get no credit?!" Robert said. "That bites!"

"We're not here for publicity, Robert. We're here to protect. Nobody can know our secret, not your friends, you family, no one. Only the Dragoons themselves can know of the evils threatening to destroy us all. It's just the way it has to be."

"You keep saying 'we'." Ben noticed. "And I notice you also have a Dragoon Spirit, so I'm going to put two and two together here. You're a Dragoon as well, obviously. Which one are you?"

"My Dragoon spirit comes from the most powerful of all dragons: The Divine Dragon."

"So, I'm guessing your Dragoon is more powerful than ours."

"Indeed."

"Why didn't you help us fight back there, then?" Robert asked.

"I needed to test you two, and to throw you right into the heat of battle. You did well."

"What was that monster, anyway?"

"It's a hideous being called a virage."

"One of the evils that threaten to destroy us?"

"I'm not sure, really. You see, I thought they were all extinct. But even so, virages don't just attack somewhere." He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it needed food, though I doubt it. Maybe it was a vendetta against us Dragoons, seeing as dragons are the virages' archenemies. However, I think there's more to it."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"I believe someone, or something, may be behind the attack today."

"Who?"

"I wouldn't know."

There was a short silence, then Robert spoke up again. "Alright, so, basically, we all have superhuman powers given to us by dead dragons, and the three of us are expected to save the world?"

"Not just the three of us. There are more."

"More?"

"Yes. There are a total of eight Dragoons, including us. We need them all together to be at our strongest."

"So where are the rest?"

"Therein lies the dilemma. There's almost no way to tell where the other Dragoons are. They could be anywhere. The spirits have long since been scattered. I have been searching for them for a long time now, and found nothing until now. I've made a wide radius around my own home and I know where the Dragoons are not. Thankfully, we know where one more is, other than us."

"We do? "Ben asked.

"Yeah!" Robert said. "Melissa O'Riley!"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Melissa is the Dark Dragoon." Sean said, "A very unique and powerful element. Do you two know anyone else who has a Dragoon Spirit?"

Robert shook his head, but Ben scratched his chin. "Well, I think so."

"Who?" Sean asked.

"A girl at our school, Christie Seedley."

"Oh," Robert said. "You mean your soul mate, your true love, the one female you absolutely cannot live without??" Robert voice grew increasingly sarcastic.

"What?" Sean wondered.

"Remember that girl I told you Ben liked? That's here. He's liked Christie since I can't remember."

"What color is her Dragoon Spirit?" Sean asked, getting back to the point.

"White."

"The White-Silver Dragoon, Dragoon of light. Very good, she'll be very helpful."

"How?"

"The White-Silver Dragon is filled with healing magic. She can aid us in battle."

"So," Robert said. "We gotta pull Melissa and Christie into this?"

"We have to."

"Alright."

"We also must keep our eyes peeled for the other Dragoons. Now, any other questions?"

"Yeah." Robert said. "Why are we here? And how do you know about this place? We don't even know about it and we live here!"

"I went searching for a private spot and this place was perfect."

"You went through all that trouble just to find a place to tell us all this?"

"Not just that. This is where we will be training."

"Training?" Both boys asked.

"Of course! You two are only novice Dragoons! It will be my job to teach you everything about Dragoons-how to fight, fly, use magic, the whole shebang. I wouldn't send you out into battle inexperienced. And this is the perfect place to do so because, well, look at it! It's in the middle of nowhere. And all the thick brush we had to get through to get to here? It was a nightmare. Most people would just turn back and go another way, so we will not be disturbed. We can come here and train every day."

Ben and Robert looked at each other.

"Well, I've answered all your questions, so now I ask you one. What do you say? You ready to join me in the fight to save our species?"

Robert scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, man. I mean…this is all pretty intense."

"It is at first, but you'll get used to it."

"I don't know if I want to get used to it! This is totally crazy. Besides, you seem to do pretty well on your own."

"Thus far, but not forever. I am going to need your help and the other Dragoons' help soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

Sean hesitated, trying to put it into words. "Something is coming. I can feel it, and I know it's stronger than anything I've even known. I cannot beat it on my own. I'll need your help."

There was a long silence. Finally, Robert spoke.

"Look after that ordeal with the…what was it…virage, my mom's gonna be freakin' out, so I gotta get home." He turned and left just like that. Ben stayed for another few seconds.

"Just…give us some time to think about it, okay?" Then, he left.

Sean sighed.

You did all you were supposed to do. The Divine Dragon said to him. This decision is their own. Of course…it doesn't mean we can't influence them.

"You mean I should try again?"

No, I mean their dragons will do it for you.

-----

Ben had a little trouble sleeping that night, for his mind kept going back to Sean's story. He couldn't really argue with the truthfulness of it. But could he accept it?

After two hours of tossing and turning, Ben finally drifted into slumber. What seemed like a second later, Ben woke up again. He wasn't in his room. Ben's eyes opened wider. He rubbed them to make sure he was seeing straight.

Ben was in, what seemed to be, and endless space. Everything was red and there seemed to be fire everywhere, yet nowhere. It was kind of a translucent type of red flame.

"Okaaay." Ben said. "This is without a doubt the weirdest dream ever."

"It's not a dream."

Ben nearly jumped out of his skin. "Who said that?!"

"Calm down already."

"What?!" Ben pinched himself. "OW!!"

"I told you so." The voice chuckled.

Ben rubbed his sore arm. "Who is that?! And where are you?!"

"I'm right here." A group of the translucent flames formed together and took shape. The bigger they got, the more uncomfortable Ben became. Finally, its shape became fully apparent. It was long and deep red. It head was like an arrow, tall in the back and coming together at the end. Its mouth was underneath the arrow. It had two green eyes and two very large red wings. It stood on four legs and red blades came from its shoulders and smaller ones rode down its back, and across its tail.

"What…what…what?!" That was all Ben could bring himself to say.

"Hm." The creature said. "Perhaps this form is too intimidating." It became flames once again and began shrinking. When it formed together, it was the same shape, but smaller. When it held its head up, it was as tall as Ben. "There we go."

"Eh?! Wh-what…are you?!"

"I am the Red-Eye Dragon. Didn't Sean tell you about me?"

"Eh??"

The dragon let out a strange dragon sound, which Ben later learned was a chuckle. "Calm down, Ben. I don't bite." He laughed at his own joke. "Seriously, though. You have nothing to fear."

"Really?"

"Honestly. I'm on your side."

There was a long silence between the two of them.

"You…you're the dragon who gave me those powers?" Ben finally asked.

"I am."

"Oh…wow…I…"

"Didn't expect something like this?"

"No, not really."

"Understandable." The dragon said, nodding. "My body is dead, but my spirit lives on, therefore it has a consciousness to it. While my mind can wander, I am mostly confined to this place."

"Where is this place?" Ben finally asked. "And…why aren't I getting burned by the fire?"

"You are in my realm. Well…sort of. Your body is still sleeping, or, more in a trance, really. I was able to bring your mind to this place. Your mind is inside the Dragoon Spirit."

"…"

"Confusing, I'm sure, but this is our best means of communication. I waited until you were asleep so it wouldn't look odd when your mindless body went into a trance."

"So…my mind is in the Dragoon Spirit, which is why I'm able to see you, and my body is still sleeping in a trance-like state?"

"Yes. You catch on quickly."

"Yay. And the fire?"

"Oh, yeah. It only burns who I want it to burn."

"????"

The dragon sighed. "Never mind. You'll understand later."

"Is there any special reason why you brought me here?"

"Just proving my existence for one." The dragon replied. "And verifying Sean's words."

"So, everything he said was true?"

"Yes, it was. You're not the first human I've had to convince. I've had two other spirit bearers, but they were both long ago, and one had everything explained to him by another human, lightening my load, so, it's been a while, and please forgive me if I don't make sense."

"Nothing does anymore."

"Exactly, so keep an open mind. I have not felt a spirit like yours in 800 years."

"You felt my spirit?"

"Unfortunately, that's been the limits of my powers lately, until today. You see, the less I use them, the weaker they become. Once my power is awakened again, I'm back in action. Yesterday, I could not speak to you like this. Anyway, when someone holds my spirit, I can feel their presence; I can feel their soul. I can search through it and discover who they are. Throughout the centuries, I've felt many spirits, but yours is unique."

"Why so?"

The dragon hesitated. "You wouldn't understand if I told you."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't fully understand it myself. You have something in you, something that Dart had."

"Dart?"

"My last bearer; a good man, a good fighter, and a good friend. There's something about you that reminds me of him. I can't quite pinpoint it, but I know it's a good thing. So many people would abuse my powers, but you would not, I can feel it."

"Okay." Ben said, still a bit confused.

"In any case, I wanted you to bear my powers. I've grown to like humans and will try to protect them. Unfortunately, my body is gone, so I cannot do it myself. The only way I can do anything to help is by entrusting my powers in a human. Conversely, the only way humans can really do anything to save their race is to use our powers. So, it's a symbiotic relationship, really. I'm going to need you, and you're going to need me."

"But what if I don't want to do this? What if I don't want to be a Dragoon and save the world?"

"Then the human race is doomed."

"Just because I wouldn't join?"

"All Dragoons must come together now. There are times when single Dragoons can defeat the enemy, but this is different. I now feel what Sean was talking about. I don't know what it is, but it's incredibly powerful. It will take all of our strengths combined to defeat him."

"All the Dragoons powers can beat it?"

"It's not only a matter of powers, Ben. Each dragon has different interests in different humans. Every time we get them all together, everyone's spirit bearer has something that none of the others do. Combined powers will be a big factor, yes, but combined skills and combined abilities will be too."

"Like you said, with the symbiosis thing. We all need each other, the strengths of the humans combined with the strengths of the dragons. Without one group, we all will fall?"

The dragon made a strange expression, Ben thought it was a dragon smile.

"This is what I love about humans."

"But…how can I do this? I mean, what if I screw up completely?"

The smile faded into a troubled look, which Ben thought was a frown.

"This is what I hate about humans. Look, just follow Sean's instructions, as well as mine, and you'll do fine. Sean is a grand fighter and he can teach you a lot about your blade, as well as other weapons."

"How do you know?"

"The Divine Dragon and I talked for a bit, telling each other of our spirit bearers. You can learn a lot from Sean. But, then again, he has a lot to learn from you."

"What could I possibly teach him?"

"It's not for me to say. You'll learn in time."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"We dragons tell each other things about our bearers so we can strategize, not to gossip. It's a personal thing to Sean. You'll learn soon enough. Trust me. He's going to need your help, as well as help from everyone else."

Ben scratched the back of his head, taking all of this in. "Why me?" He finally asked.

"I told you. You have something no one else I've seen has."

"Well, why did I have to have that special something?"

"Nobody knows why we have what we have, or why we can do what we can do. All we can do is use what we have and what we can do to make our lives worthwhile, because nobody else can do it for us."

It made perfect sense. "So, I have to do this?"

"You don't have to do anything, Ben. It's your choice, and yours alone."

"I hate those situations."

"Get used to it. You may have to do it some time in the future, and then, it may be the choice that ends or continues someone's life."

"That why I don't want to do this. What if it does come down to that? I don't want someone's life in my hands."

"Why not?"

"Because…" He hesitated at the thought. "Because I don't want to…to fail."

"You're going to fail, Ben, one way or another. Nobody is perfect. However, there are certain things you can succeed at. Choice is almost always one of them. You'll make the right choice."

"How will I know what the right choice is?"

"You'll know."

"I…I don't think I can trust myself that much."

"I'm the Red-Eye Dragon, Ben. I am the ruler of fire. I could destroy cities, had I my body. And yet, I'm giving you my powers. You know what that means? It means I trust you with them. Now, you must trust yourself to know what to do when the time calls for it."

Ben looked down.

"It'll be a rough ride, Ben, I can tell you that much. It will involve a lot of pain, but a lot of good will come from it as well. They're going to need you, Ben…and so will I."

There was a long silence. "A lot can go wrong." Ben finally noted. "So many things can happen. But…maybe…if I'm there…I can stop them."

"That's the spirit."

"Alright. I'll do it, just because I hope I can do some good, and I like my species."

"I like it too. Humans can be very weak, but when they put their minds to it, and unite, they can become a force that the mightiest foe could not hope to destroy."