(A/N): Oh I am evil, aren't I? Told you last chapter was going to get really messed up. Okay I didn't expect you guys to freak like you did, so to ensure my safety, here is the next chapter. LOL. Once again, I don't own ADJL or any of the characters.
Rose had left Jake for a reason. Her uncle would stop at nothing to get her, and would obliterate anyone who got in his way. Jake would be the first to get in his line of fire, and that's why Rose was doing what she was doing. The sphinx hair net would hold him long enough for her to at least get out of New York. One of his friends would find him and by that time, she'd be long gone.
Yes, she was running again, but this time she wouldn't be back. It was foolish of her to come in the first place, but it was even more foolish for her to find Jake and try to rekindle things. She had such high hopes for this place. She was certain she and Jake could fight the forces that kept them apart, but she wasn't thinking clearly. The Hunts Clan was too much for them to fight. No force on Earth could protect her from her uncle, not even the mighty American Dragon.
She cut through the back streets, trying to reach the subway as soon as possible. This, she later reflected, was not exactly her smartest move. In the shadows, she could've sworn she saw something move. She was jumpy, she decided. Suddenly, a green bolt of energy shot out of nowhere and wound around her tight like a rope. She fell to the ground with a thud and looked up to see the glowing red eyes of the Hunts Man. Her heart skipped a beat and fear washed over her. He glared down at Rose and barked to the Hunts Clan members to carry her back to the Hunts Lair.
A few hours later, Trixie tried to call Jake several times. He wouldn't answer, and this time, she brought Lao Shi, Fu Dog and Spud with her. They were surprised to find Jake under the sphinx hair net.
"What happened to you?" Fu asked.
"Rose, " Jake said as they helped him to his feet, "She walked in when me and Shauna were talking and it upset her pretty bad. She thought I was replacing her, and she locked herself in here."
"Yeah, like a locked door could keep a full fledged dragon out," Spud said sarcastically.
"That's what I said. I came in anyway and explained Shauna to her, and I thought she understood," Jake said. "Then she used her Hunts staff on me and started talking like Hunts Girl and ran off. I think she's going to find her uncle."
"But he might kill her!" Spud cried. "Why would she do that?"
"Oh man, we've got to get her before Hunts Man does," Fu said.
"Hold up!" Trixie said, raising her arms for silence. "This is just the thing she'd want you to do. It's a trap, Jake! She played you, boy. Don't you get it?"
Jake glared coldly at Trixie.
"I love her," he said in a deadly tone, "and I know her better than you. I know she's not still with the Hunts Clan, and I think she's trying to protect me. I'm going to find my Rose, and I'll barbeque anyone that gets in my way."
Suddenly, the TV in the living room blinked to life. They all went to inspect the situation. Hunts Man's face appeared on the screen and his red eyes glared at them.
"Hello American Dragon," he said coolly. "I suppose by now you've noticed Rose is gone and that I have her."
Off screen, Rose was heard snarling threats and fighting. Two Hunts men brought her beside the Hunts Man and she ceased her struggling.
"Care to say something to your American Dragon?" Hunts Man asked nonchalantly.
Rose was brought up front and center and she glared at them with cold eyes. Anger flared in them and she let loose a verbal fury.
"I HATE YOU!" Rose screamed. "Don't you get it, you stupid dragon? I've always hated you! All those times you thought I was falling for you? Well that was me just using you to get what I wanted. I fed you that stupid sap story about running from the Hunts Clan, and you soaked up every word I said. Now, American Dragon, you are alone and suffering of a broken heart, just like I planned."
Rose grinned evilly.
"You see, Dragon, there are fates so much worse than death," she said triumphantly.
Rose kicked a button on the keyboard, breaking the connection. She looked at Hunts Master and smirked at his shocked expression.
"He'll never come now," she said with a triumphant smirk. "I made sure of that."
Hunts Man slapped Rose hard in the face. The side of her face stung and she tasted blood.
"Lock her away," he snarled.
White noise covered Jake's TV as they all stared at it in disbelief. Jake shook his head.
"She's a lousy liar," he said.
Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.
"Young dragon, " Lao Shi said. "What…"
"Call up the Dragon Council," Jake cut in. "We're gonna need all the dragons we can get."
"What makes you think they'd help?" Fu asked.
"They owe us a favor after we exposed Chang," Jake said. "Fu, call everyone you know and tell 'em we're going after the Hunts Clan. We need every magical creature we can get to help."
Lao Shi looked questioningly at his grandson.
"A dragon is supposed to be a champion, protector, and leader," Jake said. "Always in the fairy tales, the dragon guarded the princess, keeping her safe from anyone that would hurt her. Well, my princess needs me and this dragon's not going to let her down."
Lao Shi smiled and nodded.
"You heard him, everyone," he said to the group. "We have a huge battle ahead of us, and we must prepare ourselves."
Everyone had a job to do and they went right to it. Lao Shi went to the Isle of Draco to personally persuade the Dragon Council. Fu called in favors and, with Trixie's help, prepared potions. Spud and Jake went to Magus Bizarre to round up more help.
"You disappoint me, Rose," Hunts Man said, pacing in front of the chained girl. "I had such high hopes for you, but you went and fell in love with a dragon. You ran from me for six years and eluded me."
"Blame yourself for that one," Rose said. "You taught me stealth and I used it. I'd have pulled it off longer if I'd been smart and stayed away from New York."
"You're foolishness will cost you your life," he remarked icily.
"Well leading the American Dragon right to you wasn't exactly a bright idea," Rose retorted. "Not that he'd come."
She smirked at her uncle's irritated glare. He left the dungeon to go check his monitors again. Rose's smirk faded and she sighed. She was scared. Hunts Man was going to slay her for sure, and she never got to tell Jake how much she really loved him.
'Oh well,' she thought. 'It's best he doesn't know.'
She just hoped her acting was good enough to fool Jake. Hopefully, his friends absolutely despised her and would not let Jake come.
Lao Shi was successful in his journey and came back with eight Dragon Council members. Fu managed to call in a substantial amount of old friends and business associates. Jake and Spud had a run of good luck at Magus Bizarre and added a good number of warriors to the army.
They met just outside of New York's city limits that night and Jake looked upon his small army with pride. The red dragon flew slightly above everyone and began to speak.
"Okay everyone, you all know why you're here," Jake said. "For centuries, the Hunts Clan has tormented magical creatures and slain them for profit. He's captured an innocent girl and is using her as bait. He called out a challenge to the Am Drag, but he didn't expect me to bring some friends along for the party."
Some cheered and the others roared their support.
"The Hunts Clan's reign of terror ends now!" he shouted above everyone else. "Now let's go kick some Hunts Clan butt!"
They were only about a quarter of a mile away from Hunts Clan Headquarters, so the march didn't last long. The dragons (including Fred Nerk whose motives for the long journey from Australia to New York where questionable), led the way.
"Okay, here's the plan," Jake said to the group. "Nerk and I will go in and draw 'em out. Get them out here on our terms. Fu, I want you to sneak the gremlins in and let them loose on the Hunts Clan's technology. Gramps will lead the mountain trolls in through the back way. Once you guys are in, I want you to demolish the place. Everyone else, fight the Hunts Clan with everything you've got. Each of you has special powers, and I want you to use them to wreak havoc on the Hunts Clan."
He turned to Nerk.
"Ready?" he asked.
"More than," Nerk replied shortly.
Jake smiled and turned to Fu and Lao Shi.
"Guys, get your groups ready and in position," he said.
Then he and Nerk flew off. Jake blasted one of the walls of the building with a fireball and made a hole big enough for at least three dragons to fly through. He flew through the halls, randomly spewing fireballs and making lots of noise.
Down in the dungeon, Hunts Man and Rose were surprised to hear a ruckus going on upstairs.
"What on earth is going on up there?" he asked in bewilderment.
A mighty roar and the screams of several surprised Hunts men answered his question. Rose knew all too well what was happening. Jake had come to her rescue. She grinned at Hunts Man.
"Told you the TV message was a bad idea," she said with a smirk.
Hunts Man wordlessly left and picked up his Hunts staff as he went. Rose cringed and her heart sank.
"Jake, I hope you know what you're doing," she whispered.
"Nerk!" Jake called. "Come on!"
The Australian Dragon flicked a Huns man away with his tail and followed Jake out. They flew out the hole Jake created earlier and the dragons waited. Just like they planned, the Hunts men, and Hunts Man himself poured out of the building and ran right into Jake's army.
"You go and help them," Jake ordered. "I'm going to find Rose."
Nerk nodded and joined the others in the battle. Jake dove back through the hole and thought.
"Now if I was the Hunts Man, where would I put my guest of honor?" he mused aloud.
A grin spread across his lips and the answer came to him. The dungeon.
Rose vainly struggled against the chains that bound her. She growled in frustration and gave up. Even if she did get out of the chains, she'd never get out of the cage. The chains were really chafing her skin and she was getting sores from struggling.
She heard a crash that sounded like a door being kicked down. She jumped in surprise and dreaded seeing what would come down the stairs. A large red dragon soared into view and halted in mid air when he saw Rose. Her fears withered away and her heart did a flip. Jake overcame his surprise and dove down in front of the cage. With almost no effort, he ripped the entire side of the cage off and with one swipe of his claws her chains fell away. Which was a little frustrating considering she'd been fighting them for hours and it took him less than a second to do away with them.
With his all-too-charming smile, he extended a clawed hand to her and she took it. He pulled her to her feet and in for the warmest hug of her life. He held her close and she didn't have the slightest desire to even attempt to move away. Just the opposite, actually, she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him in that dreamy way. He knew what was coming. She pulled him down and stood on tiptoe. Jake grinned when he thought how bizarre this looked. A gorgeous creature like Rose was smooching on a huge lizard. Neither of them seemed to mind as their lips met. Both of their hearts skipped a beat. Rose's arms wrapped around Jake's neck and he lifted her off her feet.
Jake remembered the war going on outside, and regretfully separated from her.
"Babe, I'd love to do this all day, but there's a whole army of magic folk outside beating on the Hunts Clan that might wonder where we are," he said with a wink.
Rose's jaw dropped. Jake hadn't come alone! They stood a chance! Jake exposed his back to her and looked over his shoulder with a smile.
"Hop on," he said.
Rose went to retrieve her staff, and found only the Hunts Man's. The realization of what happened struck her and she laughed heartily. Jake looked at her like she was crazy.
"Uh…Rose?" he said uncertainly.
She was able to calm herself and held up her uncle's Hunts staff.
"He took mine by accident," she explained. "Darn thing went on the fritz yesterday and is totally useless."
She hopped on Jake's back, with Hunts Man's staff gripped tightly in one hand and the two hurried to get outside.
Fu had taken the gremlins in and they were currently dismantling the Hunts Clan's weapon room. The main computer was in the adjacent room and Fu sent some gremlins in to take care of it. One of the ones in the weapon room called his attention.
"Look," it said, gesturing to a large glowing green crystal ball.
"Well what do we have here?" Fu asked.
Upon closer inspection he noticed the green glow matched the ones coming from the Hunts weapons. He wondered what would happen if someone 'accidentally' pulled the plug. He slapped his muzzle when he realized it was actually plugged into a wall outlet like a huge lamp. He walked over to it and pulled the plug. The humming noise that came from it stopped and at the same time, the green glow from the weapons faded away. He grinned.
"Bingo," he said crossing his arms in satisfaction.
Lao Shi brought a mountain troll in to smash the power source to bits, congratulating Fu and the gremlins on their work.
Jake's army was holding their own, but they were matched with the Hunts Clan. Even with the Dragon Council's help, they couldn't get the upper hand. Suddenly, the Clan's weapons glow went dark and all they were left with was a stick to fight dragons and the like. The realization hit them and they tried to run for it. The magical army wouldn't have it and surrounded them.
Jake and Rose exited at that moment and were stunned at what they saw. The Hunts Clan was being bound in chains by the very same magical creatures that they had hunted. Rose looked at the dormant weapons and at the staff in her hands.
"Looks like your army found the power source," she said to Jake.
She surveyed the group of magical creatures in awe. Jake had every magical creature she knew, including a handful of dragons. One of which she recognized with an inward groan.
"Nice choice on soldiers, but was Nerk necessary?" she asked.
"He volunteered," Jake explained.
"Fine, but I'm going to stick to you like glue," Rose muttered.
Jake looked over his shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a threat?" he asked.
Rose let out short laugh and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Jake's neck.
"That's a promise," she murmured in his ear.
She looked down and her heart skipped a beat.
"Where's Hunts Man?" she cried frantically.
Suddenly a loud cry erupted from behind them and Hunts Man leapt onto Jake's back, knocking Rose off. Luckily, Nerk was close enough to swoop in and catch her. Rose looked up and saw Hunts Man furiously pounding Jake while the dragon struggled to throw him off. She freed herself from Nerk's grasp and climbed onto his back. She spurred him in the sides, and he cried out in surprise.
"IDIOT!" she yelled furiously. "Move it!"
To avoid getting kicked in the sides by her high-heeled boots, Nerk hurried to Jake's side. Rose leapt from his back to Jake's, planting the heel of her boot into Hunts Man's face. He cried out in pain and loosened his grip on Jake. Rose dropped down and clung to Jake's neck.
"Barrel roll!" she called and Jake did so immediately.
Hunts Man fell, but grabbed Jake's tail in the process and kept himself from plummeting to his death. In a vengeful fit, he reached up and grabbed Rose's ankle, jerking down hard. She was caught off guard and screamed as she fell. Once again, Nerk was there to catch her. Jake turned on Hunts Man then, fury blazing bright in his eyes. He reached down and grabbed Hunts Man by his throat.
"Keep your hands off her," he snarled in a deadly voice that didn't sound like him.
His clawed hand tightened around Hunts Man's throat, claws digging into the human's skin and bringing blood. Hunts Man frantically tried to free himself, but he couldn't even phase Jake. Rose looked on, stunned. She shook herself out of the trance, realizing that, even though he didn't mean to, Jake would kill her uncle. She got on Nerk's back and called out to him.
"JAKE!" she cried frantically. "I'm okay! See? Jake! Look at me!"
He tore his eyes away from Hunts Man, who was gasping for air. The anger in his eyes frightened her.
"Jake, let him go," she pleaded. "The Dragon Council will deal with him. You're not a killer, Jake. You're the American Dragon. Now be a dragon and let him go."
Jake's expression softened and he closed his eyes. He loosed his grip, and Hunts Man gasped a lungful of air. He lowered himself to the ground and dropped Hunts Man. Everyone stepped back and gave Jake plenty of room in case he felt like strangling someone else. Lao Shi, Fu Dog, Spud and Trixie looked on anxiously. Nerk and Rose landed beside Jake. She jumped onto the grass and studied Jake as one of the Dragon Councilors tied Hunts Man up. Nerk backed off with everyone else, with Rose being to only one brave enough to slowly come closer to a dragon that had been on the warpath a moment ago.
Jake's eyes were still closed as he took in a deep breath to calm himself. Rose reached out a gently touched his shoulder.
"Jake…" she said softly, curiously.
He opened his eyes, and smiled.
"Hey beautiful," he said with that charming grin of his.