Hello again, everyone. Update number two. And it's this one. (Obviously). I'm writing this on July 4, so... happy Independence Day, all Americans! Go blow each other up with the wonderful exploding thingys that God created! And they light up, too! Rock on! Hehehe. Hey, reviewers!

Alright, here it is! See you at the end of the tunnel, and stay away from the light! (That's me, using my flashlight as a diversion.)

Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of: Ch. 2

YFWE

(Jalobin's POV)

This was quite strange. Yet understandable. Our race... we were dead. So... no one had been able to stop the Ambers from killing us.

It made sense.

But it still didn't change anything.

It made me wonder...

"Any mention of what happened to Asailan and I on that day?" I asked. I wished to know at least this...

"Hm...", Grandpa turned the pages of his old history book, "... Yes, I think so." He showed te page to us. I gasped.

Asailan and I... we had gone out fighting.

"Just as I said we would", Asailan murmured.

"So, we were... war heroes?", I asked, shivering with both fear and wonder.

Grandpa nodded slowly. "Come with me. There is something that I think you two would like to see. Oh", before leaving he motioned to himself, "I am Lao Shei. And this is Jake. We are dragons. Actually, he is the first American Dragon." He referred to the boy standing closeby.

Jake struck a pose for us, grinning.

"They... we are finally represented by dragons?", I was in a bit of amazement. "I though that the council would never allow it..."

"Well, they did! But why would you guys care?", asked Jake, "You're dead!"

I winced. I think Asailan did, too.

Lao poked Jake in the ribs, to which he answered with an "Ow, jeez, Gramps! What was...?", but Grandpa motioned for him to keep quiet.

He turned back to us, "follow me. There is something that I would like to show you..."

(End)

End Jalobin's POV

They had made their way to the Magical Village. Asailan and Jalobin wore cloaks to keep their identities unknown. For it would not exactly be the best thing if others saw two extinct creatures. Plus, although rare, Ambers were still sometimes spotted in the area. Now THAT would be the worst scenario.

The two Sharfs were led by Grandpa along the road. Left and right, many a salesman attempted to stop them and sell them things, as it was the busiest day of the week for the village.

But Grandpa never stopped. He continued up the road, seemingly on a mission. If you didn't move quick enough, it could become quite hard to keep up with him.

Asailan did not know what to think. Just a few hours earlier, he had time traveled 50 years and had ended up in a crazy man's laboratory in New York City. Why they had ended up in NYC, instead of Boston, where they'd started, was beyond him.

Finally, after a while of walking, Grandpa led them to a small building. They must've been on the outskirts of town, as there didn't seem to be much civilization out there. The building had a sign reading... 'The Sharf Bar'.

The Sharf Bar. Asailan gasped. Jalobin stared in wonder. Here... in the Magical Village of New York City... there was bar, a place named after their people.

"Shall we?", Grandpa asked, motioning toward the rickety wooden door.

(End)

Jalobin's POV

It was amazing. Even for a bar, it was amazing.

Once we were inside, we were immediately taken aback by the overall presentation of the place. It was... quiet, relaxed. The kind of place that you could visit for some peace and quiet. Also the kind of place that would possibly house a bar fight, if given certain circumstances.

There was not too many people in there, understandable given its location. Not too many would likely venture out this far, making myself wonder how this place even got enough business to stay open.

The most beautiful part of the bar, seemingly the emotional centerpiece of the place, was in the very center of the room.

It was a statue. A statue of two Sharfs. One dead, the other alive. The living one was holding the other in his arms, looking up at the sky, as if to cry out, "Why?"

Below the statue, a plaque read, "Dedicated to the Sharf people, who lost their lives in June of 1955 in Boston, Massachusetts". Then it descended off into some Latin writing, for which I didn't care for as I knew no Latin, nor was I Latin.

After marveling at this statue, Asailan and I were led to the bar table, where a young female cyclops was taking drink orders.

I wondered what they had. We Sharfs had always been accustomed to fine wine; my family actually had owned a vineyard in the agricultural section of Sharf City.

"Rebecca here is alright", Grandpa told us, referring to the cyclops, "But I am unsure of the others that are here. You may want to keep your cloaks on."

At first I was unsure, but then I knew what he meant. If Rebecca was to see a Sharf, she would be no doubt surprised, but she wouldn't report to anyone about us... for example, to the World Magic Council. Or yet, an Amber. The others in the bar; Lao must not have known them, and thus would not take any chances.

"May I help you?", Rebecca asked us, "Don't recognize you two. Need a menu?"

I nodded. She reached underneath the bar, and pulled out two small, dusty menus and handed them to Asailan and I.

I skimmed the selections, not seeing much familiar, until...

"There!", I whispered to Asailan, "Read this!"

He read what I was pointing to, and with each word read, his eyes widened, "Amoncasa", he whispered back.

Amoncasa was our main- actually, only, I believe- wine made in Sharf City, made up mostly of grape flavoring, as is many wine selections. But... how did they get this? Production would've stopped when we all... died, right?

"You tow ready?", she asked, all the while averting her eyes behind us. What she was looking at, I wasn't sure.

"Is this...", I stuttered, "Amoncasa? As in, the wine that we... I mean, the Sharfs made?"

"Amoncasa? Yeah. When the WMO went out to clean up all the wreckage out there in Sharf City, they must've found about 1,000 bottles of this stuff. Then ten years ago, when they opened this place, they gave us all of it! Well, except for maybe 10. Think they used that for the WMO's New Years' Eve Party in '99. That what you two want?"

We both nodded in unison.

"Okay, then be right back. Hey you!", she yelled back behind us, "If you're a minor, you gotta be in here with an adult!"

We spun around. She was yelling at Jake, whom I'd forgotten was even with us, he had been so quiet. Jake looked up accusingly, and was about to say something when Lao stopped him.

"It's okay, Rebecca. He's with me", he glared at her from below the counter.

"Lao! Lao Shei! Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't see you down there! You're just so short, y'know?" she laughed.

"Yes, yes, I know."

"Are these two with you?", she asked, referring to us.

"Um... yes, they're friends. They're very interested in the Sharf story, actually."

She turned to us, "Are you really?"

"Well...", Asailan answered for us, "More of what happened for all of them to die, that's all."

"Hm? Well, you seem to be the dreary type", she checked the people at the other tables, "Well, everything seems to be fine. Okay, let me go get your drinks. Then I'll tell you everything that I know..."

END CHAPTER

Ok, second update completed. Not much else to say, except that in case you didn't know, "Ordinary" has been updated as well. And DIP is next. Read and review! Later!

YFWE