Disclaimer: I don't own nothin but the plot and Arianna.

Author's note: I decided to work on two American Dragon stories at a time. Ari's thoughts are underlined. R&R!

A slim girl, wearing a golden coat ran through the rainy streets of New York, trying to escape the hurt that was welling within her. She was about Jake's size, though she didn't know that. Her chestnut hair had a golden hue, and her large blue eyes had gold and silver scattered around in them. She tripped on a rock, and fell on her pretty face. She got up and continued, sobbing.

There's a wound deep inside my heart

People on the streets walking home just glanced at her, and then went on walking. Why is the Dark Dragon after me and my family? We didn't do anything to him. She increased her pace, running with unnatural speed. She couldn't focus on anything but her pain, the horrible empty spot in her heart where her parents used to be. She crashed into a boy with a red coat on.

"Oh, man!" the boy whined, his black hair now soaking wet.

"Yo, Jake, you ok?" a black girl asked.

"Yeah," Jake answered.

"Dude, you better be more careful where you're go-," Jake stopped as the strange girl lifted her head.

"Sorry," she said, and she got up. Jake was staring at the cut on her cheek and her tears. The girl's blood was gold, and so were her tears.

That just won't ever heal

Jake stared after the girl as she ran hurriedly off. He had to remember to tell Gramps about that later today.

Ari ran towards a building that was apparently closed for the night. She quietly went behind it and shivered. She spotted a shack with a lock on it. Her nose and mouth sparkled as it formed into a golden dragon's muzzle. Ari heated the lock using a stream of blue fire, and then quickly pulled it open. She grabbed a stack of wet newspapers and went inside.

"I'm telling you, G, her tears were gold!" Jake said, in the back of his Grandfather's shop.

"That is impossible, Jake. Now drop the matter! We are going to work on your dragon training!" Grandpa insisted. Jake sighed in defeat. He guessed he would have to wait until he saw the girl again. Then he would show G.

Arianna shivered by the fire, and rested her head on her knees. Her tears slid down her face, glittering in the blue firelight. She out a photo album out of her coat pocket, the only thing she had left from her parents. The door to the shack opened, and she froze in fear of getting caught. Then she saw a familiar dog step in.

"Fu?" she asked in shock.

"Ari?" the dog said, equally shocked.

"Yo, G, hasn't it been like an hour since you sent Fu to get the supplies?" Jake asked, jumping as his grandpa whipped his tail under him.

"You're right. We should go see what has become of him," the old dragon replied, becoming a small elderly man once again. Jake followed suit, and they both walked out the back door. The rain had lessened, but it was still pouring down hard. Grandpa saw that the lock to the shack had been left open. He sighed at the dog's laziness. Opening the door, he saw was a blue fire that meant only one thing.

"What's up, G?" Jake asked, and he looked around his grandfather. He shrugged when he saw the blue flame. The old man was surprised when he saw Fu Dog patting the back of a small girl that was sobbing. The dog's eyes widened when he saw them, and he put a paw's nail to his lips.

I know that I'm falling a part

Jake and his grandfather quietly stepped into the shack. The girl looked up, and gold tears hung from her chin. Jake wondered where the cut on her face he had seen earlier was.

"Ari, this is Jake Long, the American Dragon, and my owner, his grandpa," Fu introduced.

"Hey, you're the boy I knocked down earlier," Ari said, and she smiled.

Grandpa glared at Fu dog for telling Ari who Jake really was. Ari suddenly coughed, and golden wings shot out of her shoulders. She sneezed, and her wings flapped sideways, sending her full on top of the fire.

"Oh no," she groaned as her body was forcefully transformed fully into a large dragon's. She coughed again, and blue fire shot out of her mouth. Ari suddenly had a coughing fit, and Jake stood aghast as he watched ice, water, lava, and fire stream out of her mouth.

"Gramps, I thought you said dragons can only blow one type of energy from their mouth," he said.

"They can, usually," his grandfather answered.

"Kid, this is no ordinary dragon. She's a guardian dragon. At least, a very young one," Fu dog said.

"Questions will be answered later," Grandpa said, and he turned into a dragon. Jake watched as his grandpa tried to lift the coughing dragon, still in shock.

"What are you waiting for? Come over here and help Grandpa!" grandpa yelled.

"Oh, right," Jake said, embarrassed.

"Dragon up!" he yelled, and fire covered his body as he became the American dragon. He helped carry the surprisingly heavy young dragon into the shop. Fu dog followed worriedly. They set Ari on the couch, and she began to cough extremely hard. But instead of the different energies that Jake had seen before, dark green smoke came out of her mouth. Her eyes dulled, and her dragon body went limp.

It must've been the gas that the Dark Dragon had set off. It must have contained poison! But then she remembered. Guardian Dragons aren't affected by regular poison. It probably had been made by the Dragon himself! Poor mom and dad……..that's why they hadn't been able to fight as well.

I just can't bear to feel

Fu dog dialed the emergency number for magical creatures. Right away he started shouting so loudly it was hard to hear what he was saying.

"I NEED A PROFESSIONAL DRAGON DOC OVER HERE! PRONTO!" he yelled. I strained my ears.

"Sorry, sir, all the doctors are booked," I heard a voice on the other end say. Funny how when you're sick, your senses get a lot sharper.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! WE HAVE A POISONED YOUNG GUARDIAN DRAGON OVER HERE DYING!" Fu yelled angrily. I heard a thump on the other end, like someone had fallen out of a chair. Dully I wondered why everyone made such a big deal on what kind of dragon I was.

"Well, in that case, we'll send our best doctor over," I heard the secretary stutter. There was a click, and the line went dead. I started to feel light-headed and dizzy. My eyesight began to get blurry, and a dim warm sensation began to creep over my body, becoming hotter and hotter.

"Where is the young dragon?" I heard an unfamiliar voice ask.

"Right here," Fu said. Suddenly, black smoke began to rise from my body. At first I was puzzled, then the first spasm hit. It felt like I was being burned alive. I started shaking and sweating like crazy. The doctor shoved a thermometer in my mouth. It exploded in seconds. Something was poked into my side, then I was aware no more.

I woke up, shivering and shaking. I was in a hospital bed, and wires were attatched everywhere. I felt cold. Oh no, I thought. I started sweating uncontrollably. The next spasm hit. Only it was worse. It felt not only like I was being burned, but also like someone was clawing at my mind. A monitor of some sort started beeping like crazy. But suddenly, I felt relief wash over me. All the pain was gone. I stopped shaking and got up, my stomach churning. Elves and Dwarves rushed in only to find me plucking off the wires that were attatched to me. They stood there, just puzzled, and suddenly I felt sick. I ran into the bathroom and threw up-well, the dragon way of throwing up; spitting green balls of fire into the toilet. I got up, feeling much better, and I quickly thanked the doctors, then flew out. I didn't bother to ponder on how I ridded myself of the poison, but flew straight up to the clouds.

I needed to find out something. I finally decided to try to find out why the Dark Dragon had tried to kill me and my family. And that meant going back to the one place where he was most likely hiding, waiting for my return.

I flew back to the place where the dragon council lived. Seeing the golden palace brought tears to my eyes.

-flash-

"Daddy, this is fun!" a girl cried, riding on top of her dad's golden back.

"If you think this is fun, kiddo, then hold on, because it's about to get a whole lot more fun," the dragon said, turning back his head and grinning with fangs pointed.

-flash-