A/N: And here is the next chapter for Gabe's story. This is where we would get more background on the dragon itself, as well as some development between Frankie and Gabe's relationship. UwU I hope you all enjoy it. :)
Chapter 3: How to Train Your Extremasaur
That next morning, Gabe was hurrying back to Foster's. As he got closer to it, however, he noticed something off. There wasn't anyone to be seen out by the gate. And there wasn't a table in sight.
"Huh. I guess the sign ups are over and done with."
He slowed to a stop just to see that the gate was closed. Of course, it wasn't locked, so he let himself in and closed it. Then, he recalled the dragon's roar that happened two days in a row.
"Hmm… I wonder if Frankie's at the Extremasaur cage?"
Gabe raced over to the Extremasaur cage, hoping to find Frankie there. Odds are, she won't have forgotten about its breakfast, especially when the signups were over. But instead, he found none other than…
"Madame Foster?!"
The old lady turned to Gabe, seeing him come over in a rush.
"Hello, dearie. You came just in time."
Gabe raised his eyes in puzzlement.
"Uh, in time for what?"
Madame Foster opened the lock and the door, showing that the red and black-spotted dragon was waiting.
"For adoption, of course."
In response to that, Gabe and Madame Foster heard Frankie's voice outside.
"What? What do you mean by adoption?"
Frankie walked over to the two of them as her grandmother explained it to them.
"Well, I've been talking with this big fellow, and it turns out, he's really just a big puppy. Aren't you, boy?"
Madame Foster scratched under its chin, making it purr as it wagged its tail. When she was done, she continued.
"It also told me about how you two played with it for two days, now. It was really sweet of you two."
Frankie looked at the dragon, puzzled about how the dragon could've told Madame Foster about their short time together.
"Wait, you mean it could talk?"
"No. But I am a bit of an imaginary friend whisperer these days."
The dragon nodded in agreement as it walked out of the cage before it laid down on the grass beside Frankie and Gabe. They both turned to Madame Foster as she spoke.
"But more importantly, this big fellow had a bit of a rough time in there since he first hatched."
Frankie looked at Madame Foster in surprise.
"Hatched? You mean nobody created him?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that."
Madame Foster made a gentle laugh for a second before she got her stern expression back.
"Point is, he grew up in a cage all by himself, constantly surrounded by big, hulking extremasaurs. It felt pretty lonely in there. So, I thought I'd take it on myself to visit him and give him the love he needed. For a while, it worked. But once the fellow reached puberty, he began to get testy with me, so I visited him less and less until… well, I stopped visiting him altogether."
Frankie felt saddened by this part of the story. As far as she knew, Madame Foster didn't do anything wrong.
"But why?"
"I thought he hated me at first. But as it turned out, he didn't want anyone in the cage to get hurt by those big brutes like he was. My guess is he's been trying to be the bigger dragon and solve the problem himself."
Gabe and Frankie looked back at the dragon, feeling sorry for what it had to go through. It was hard to imagine a good dragon like theirs to end up all alone with nobody else to help look out for it. Of course, they got some of the story in the past couple of days, but to hear that context in addition… maybe it was trying to be brave, too. Gabe and Frankie gently brushed their hands on the scales, letting it purr softly. They gave their two cents about it as they smiled.
"You sure are a brave one, huh?"
"Yeah. You're a really good dragon."
The dragon began to grumble with a smile at their touch. It seemed Madame Foster was right about it being a puppy.
"Yes, he is. So, I thought it would be nice for it to have a family to take care of it. He deserves that much after all."
The dragon placed its head directly under Gabe's palm as he inquired about how to achieve that.
"And how exactly are we gonna do that?"
Madame Foster turned back to Gabe with a big smile as she spoke up.
"Oh, I already thought of that, dearie. We'll just have him participate in the talent show."
The dragon looked particularly excited as it stood up on its hind legs with its tongue sticking out.
"If we debut him as the final act, a lot of people are going to see him in action, and they might even want to adopt him."
Frankie smiled at the prospect. If the Talent Show was able to give him the attention, he could get adopted in no time.
"That's not a bad idea, Grandma."
"I'm glad you agree. Because your assignment for today is to train him for the talent show."
Gabe and Frankie were certainly not expecting to hear that. Of course, they planned on tending to their residential dragon, but not like this.
"What?"
"Really? You're asking us to train him, Grandma?"
"That's right. I'll let Herriman know right away so he won't give you as hard a time as he usually does."
Gabe and Frankie looked at each other for a moment. They couldn't help but smile just thinking about the fun they could have, especially since it turned out nicer than they first thought.
"Well, thanks, Madame Foster."
"We'll get on it right away."
Madame Foster smiled back at them with a giggle. She had a feeling they'd be eager for it.
"Oh, that's wonderful, dearies. Hope you have a fun time."
Madame Foster went back inside the house via side door, but not before she gave a wink to the two of them. The two of them looked back to each other before turning to the dragon as Frankie wondered about what the dragon's talent could be.
"So, what do you think its talent is, Gabe?"
"Well, there's only one way to find out."
The next moment later, Gabe and Frankie were on top of the red and black dragon. They borrowed a saddle from the unicorn pen to help make it easier to ride. Of course, Gabe is the one in front with Frankie in the back. However, she was looking particularly anxious about it.
"Uh, are you sure this is a good idea, Gabe?"
"Not really. But it's the best I've got. Just hold on."
Frankie made no hesitation to do so as she practically squeezed him.
"Okay…! Okay…! Just try not to squeeze me, please."
Frankie eased up on the pressure before looking out by his side as she apologized.
"Sorry."
Gabe and Frankie were looking at a trampoline in front of them as he gently rubbed its snout.
"Okay, we're gonna jump on that trampoline, and your wings will pick up the wind current, and then we'll be flying. Sound good?"
The dragon only gave him a blank stare for a moment. It looked as though it didn't understand any of what he said. To be certain, Gabe told him the simplified version.
"Okay… maybe just jump on the trampoline and spread your wings when you're in the air. Got that?"
Fortunately, the dragon understood that and gave him a nod with a slight gurgle of confirmation. Gabe took the reins that came with the saddle as he focused on the trampoline. At the same time, Frankie held onto him, not quite sure what would happen.
"Alright. We'll go on three. One… two… three!"
On cue, the dragon sped up towards the trampoline, nearly knocking Gabe and Frankie off of it in the process. With how fast it ran, it seemed likely that they'd fall off before they'd ever take to the air. But nevertheless, Frankie held onto him as Gabe pulled himself closer to the dragon.
"Okay…! A little… faster than I thought. But it's alright. We just need to get to the air."
It appeared easier said than done. The trampoline didn't seem like it'd hold the weight of an Extremasaur before it would break. Frankie seemed especially doubtful of it, and she wanted to talk him out of it, but she hadn't forgotten the first thing she learned at Foster's: nothing is always what it seemed. She could only close her eyes and hope for the best as Gabe shouted.
"Hold on…!"
"What do you think I'm doing right now?"
Suddenly, the dragon did a mighty jump, looking as though it would pounce on the trampoline as it pushed its paws against it. Then, the dragon jumped up into the air with a heavy bounce that followed. After which, the dragon opened up its wings and felt the wind currents brushing against them. Gabe and Frankie closed their eyes for a moment, but after a while, they slowly and cautiously opened them, finding themselves flying high in the sky.
Their eyes widened in wonder, and they gasped in awe as the wind blew past their hair and jackets with Frankie's flapping by her side. She was in utter disbelief as she looked all around her.
"Whoa… this is amazing."
Gabe looked at the scenery below. One is usually not to look down if they had a fear of heights, but the sight was too beautiful not to.
"Yeah. But it's not as amazing as underneath us."
Frankie took a look below her, gasping at such a magnificent sight. There were buildings, apartments, cars in traffic, and people themselves as far as the eye could see. She could've sworn for a moment she felt like she was dreaming.
"Wow…! Now that is a good view."
As luck would have it, they happened to be flying over a theater building. The red letters at the display said "Imaginary Friend Talent Show". Gabe could make a wild guess about what that meant as he turned to Frankie.
"Hey, is that where the talent show is gonna be tonight?"
"Yeah. We needed a stage big enough for everyone to perform in. It's not like we could do it at the foyer."
"Huh. Makes sense."
After a short few seconds, Gabe turned back to Frankie, wondering what the plan would be next.
"So, now that we got the hang of it, what do you want to do?"
Frankie looked at the dragon, who looked back at her curiously, wondering where it was going before she made a soft smile as she held Gabe close to her.
"I think I have a few ideas…"
A moment later, Frankie, Gabe, and the dragon were now flying in the background of a forest with a hill overlooking the lake below. When they got close enough, they ended up landing on top of the hill where the grass was blowing with the wind. Gabe and Frankie got off of the dragon and looked around, though he was quite curious.
"So, not that I'm complaining, but what are we doing around here, Frankie?"
Frankie made a gentle smile as she looked at the dragon and softly stroked it.
"Well, I just thought that since it was stuck in that cage the whole time, I thought it'd be nice for him to be able to roll around and play in the great outdoors."
The dragon gurgled with joy as Gabe saw her point. If he were cooped up inside for as long as the dragon was, he'd want to play outside, too.
"I can see that. So what do you want to do first?"
A moment later, Frankie and Gabe were rolling down the hill's patch of grass together as they laughed while the dragon followed them as it rolled around, too, keeping its wings around the body. When they were done, Frankie and Gabe were covered in grass buds as they looked at their clothes. When they noticed the dragon barreling towards them, they jumped out of the way before it slowed to a stop. The two of them looked at the dragon as it sat up and began licking one of its armpits, their laughter returning as a result.
Next, they were playing around in the forest with Gabe looking around in the forest.
"Ready or not, here I come!"
While Gabe looked around, Frankie did her best to hide amongst the trees as she held her hands over her mouth to keep from making noise.
"Now where did she go?"
Gabe looked left and right as he made a coy smile.
"Did she disappear? Did she turn invisible?"
Frankie held in her giggle as Gabe got closer.
"I just have no idea…"
A few seconds later, however, Gabe jumped out and tried to catch her.
"Gotcha!"
However, when he jumped out, Gabe couldn't see anyone there.
"Huh. Like I said, I have no ide—"
Suddenly, Gabe was ambushed and pushed to the grass by Frankie as they yelled out with Frankie pinning him to the ground.
"Gotcha!"
Frankie laughed as Gabe got slightly defensive, though he smiled. It was a bit of a surprise maneuver. And it made him happy to see her smile and having fun.
"Come on, Frankie. It's hide-and-seek, not hide-and-tackle."
"Hey, if I'm gonna get caught, I might as well take you with me."
Gabe and Frankie sat up as he laughed to himself.
"Fair enough. Now, where's our little dragon friend?"
As if to answer, the dragon dropped down near them, its skin having changed to blend in with the environment, and the tail holding onto the branch and making him appear to be a giant possum holding a big smile on its face as the skin changed back to normal. Gabe and Frankie were struck with awe at how well it managed that.
"Huh. I guess that answers that question."
"Remind me not to play hide-and-seek with him back at Foster's."
Later, Frankie and Gabe were watching the sunset with the dragon laying behind them. After a whole day of playing, they decided to finish the day with looking out to the horizon. And, the dragon was especially captivated by such a sight. It didn't go unnoticed by the two of them as Frankie smiled.
"Looks like it's the first time you've ever seen a sunrise, isn't it?"
The dragon purred with a nod in response. Gabe and Frankie could practically see the tears in its eyes as it looked at the horizon. Who could blame it, really? The sight was truly magnificent. Gabe had to agree with it.
"Yeah. It's pretty great that we get to look at it like this.."
The two of them leaned closer to each other as Gabe wrapped his arm around her, inadvertently making Frankie blush for a bit before she smiled and wrapped her own arm around him. A moment later, Frankie spoke up softly.
"Today was really great, wasn't it?"
"I'll say. I never thought we'd get to do something like this."
After a few seconds of silence, Frankie took advantage of the lapse, planning to give him a small peck on the cheek to repay him from his kiss yesterday. But just as she tried, Gabe turned his head, about to ask her something.
"So, Frankie, did you ever—?"
Before he could finish, his and Frankie's lips connected, however brief it was. That moment made Gabe blush as hard as Frankie did. And the dragon seemed quite intrigued by this as it looked at the two. After a few seconds, Frankie began to feel embarrassed. In fact, she began to freak out a little bit, almost to the point of hyperventilating.
"Oh, no…! I'm so sorry, Gabe! I wasn't trying to kiss you! Well, I was, but I was just gonna do the cheek!"
Before she could flip out anymore, Gabe gently put his hands on her shoulders as he tried to get through to her.
"Hey, Frankie. It's okay. Really."
Frankie looked at Gabe hesitantly at first, but his reassuring smile put her at ease.
"R-Really? You're… you're okay with that?"
"Of course. I wanted to kiss you on the lips back then, too. But I wasn't sure how well you'd like it."
Frankie began to blush like a hot mess as she laughed a bit.
"You too, huh? I thought the same thing. I was… well, anyway, you're really okay with it being on the lips?"
Gabe gently cupped her cheek and helped it look to him as he replied softly.
"As long as you're okay with it."
Frankie began to smile bigger than she ever did. If her heart could skip a beat, it might as well run a marathon at this point.
"Yeah. I think I am."
Gabe and Frankie leaned closer to each other's faces as they closed their eyes, about to embrace their first kiss. They gently pressed their lips together, locking them as they felt the outstanding euphoria that came with it. The dragon that watched the scene put its front paws over its snout in surprise before they removed their lips from contact. Frankie and Gabe smiled at each other as the former spoke breathlessly.
"Wow… that was… really good."
"I'm glad you liked it."
Frankie made a gentle laugh before they heard a phone ringing. It was coming from Frankie's jacket pocket. It was fortunate that it hadn't fallen off of it during the initial flight.
"Oh, sorry. I gotta take this."
Frankie picked up the phone and answered it with a happy tone in her voice.
"Hello?"
In response to her voice, it was her grandmother calling back to her.
"Hello, dearie. How's the training coming along?"
Frankie was quick to answer as she replied.
"Well, it's going really well, actually. We just found out it can camouflage itself."
Madame Foster was no doubt pleased to hear that.
"Oh, well that's wonderful news. I hope you're not going to be late for the talent show tonight."
This made Frankie wince a bit to herself. With all the fun they had, she almost forgot about it. But on the bright side, she remembered the first thing about dragons: they can fly.
"Well, don't worry. We know the way. But I'll let you know if anything comes up."
Madame Foster replied with a smile as she nodded.
"No problem, Frankie. Just take your time. As long as it's before the show."
With that, the call ended. Frankie sighed as she set her phone aside. Gabe could already tell what it was about.
"So, we're needed back at the talent show, huh?"
"Yeah. The sun is getting low. Besides, I probably won't hear the end of it from Herriman if I ended up late. Mostly because I never do."
Gabe and Frankie stood up from the grass as the latter spoke.
"Still… it was really nice to spend the day like this for once."
Gabe and Frankie looked at each other, noticing the blushes that formed as he spoke, beginning to get the feeling about what it was.
"So, it was… like a date?"
Frankie's face turned just as red as her hair from hearing that. But upon remembering the kiss, it died down as she smiled.
"Yeah. I guess it was."
Frankie and Gabe hopped back on top of the dragon with the redhead riding in front this time as she gently rubbed its snout.
"It looks like you had some fun, too, didn't you?"
The dragon purred from Frankie's touch. Gabe was a bit uncertain of their position since she was a bit anxious last time.
"Are you sure you're okay being up front? You didn't seem comfortable flying last time."
Frankie turned to Gabe with a reassuring smile as she answered.
"Don't worry, Gabe. I'll be fine. After all, I know you're right behind me."
Gabe gently wrapped his hands around Frankie's waist as he leaned closer to her.
"Okay. I'll trust you."
Frankie, feeling more than appreciated with those words, turned to the sky and spoke to the dragon.
"Okay, time to go."
With that, the dragon took off into the sky, its wings flapping against the wind.
Later, as the sun set on the horizon, Frankie and Gabe were back at the city, flying past the theater to land just behind it. When they got there, the back gate was left open with Madame Foster standing just outside. She had an expectant smile, as if she knew they'd be back. Frankie was the first to notice as she and Gabe got down.
"Hey, Grandma. I hope you weren't waiting too long."
She walked over to the two of them and their dragon as the elderly woman spoke up.
"Oh, no. I'd say you're just in time. Let's get you inside."
The group then went in through the back gate. When they got inside, it turned out to be a storage room. The dragon didn't seem to particularly like that as it moaned before Frankie soothed it.
"Aw, don't worry, Scarlet. You won't be in there forever. When it's time, you'll be up on the stage, okay?"
As Frankie reassured Scarlet, Madame Foster and Gabe became puzzled by the name as they spoke at the same time.
"Scarlet?"
"Yeah. I figured the dragon needed a name. It goes pretty well with the red and black color, don't you think?"
Gabe smiled back at her as he walked up and petted it next.
"Yeah. I think it does."
Madame Foster saw their bond as the two hugged Scarlet before she smiled softly, knowing that the dragon finally had some time to be free. Of course, like they say, the show must go on.
"Okay, I have to get back to judging the talent show. When all the other acts are done, Scarlet can be the closer. You two can keep an eye on him until then, won't you?"
Gabe and Frankie took note of Scarlet's sad mood earlier. After what they saw back at Foster's, it's not hard to see why. The large empty room reminded it all too well of that cage it was forced to live in all these years.
"I don't think you needed to ask, Madame Foster. Of course, we will."
"We still needed to come up with a routine anyway."
Madame Foster saw no harm in it as she nodded.
"Glad to hear it. See you then."
Madame Foster walked into the door to the backstage room and closed the door, leaving the two of them alone with the dragon. Gabe and Frankie looked at each other, feeling confident in their abilities after the time they had together.
"Well, this oughta be interesting."
"I'll say. Madame Foster couldn't have picked better trainers. Right, Scarlet?"
Just as she turned around, however, Frankie noticed that Scarlet was gone. It was as if it vanished in thin air.
"Scarlet? Scarlet?!
Gabe was just as worried for it. A second ago, it was standing behind them. How could it have gone away so quickly, they wondered.
"Scarlet? You still in here?"
As if to answer, two eyes revealed themselves in the air, each of them looking at Gabe and Frankie as they searched for it. After a moment, Gabe and Frankie looked back, causing the eyes to disappear as she became worried.
"This is really bad. How could Scarlet have gotten away?"
Once Gabe heard these words, he began to see her point. How could it have gotten away without leaving any evidence? It certainly didn't smash the gate open; otherwise, there would've been a mark. This could only mean one thing.
"Uh, Frankie… I don't think Scarlet left at all."
Frankie widened her eyes as she turned to him.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well, if it did leave, the gate would've been smashed. Or there would've been a hole in the ceiling."
Taking them in context, Frankie began to see his point.
"Oh. Scarlet must be hiding."
"Yeah. But why?"
Suddenly, Gabe was picked up by the hood of his jacket, making him exclaim in surprise as Frankie took notice of the dangling young man and gasped.
"Hey! What's going on?!"
To answer him, two dragon-like eyes popped up seemingly from nowhere. And sure enough, Gabe and Frankie recognized those eyes.
"Huh? Scarlet, is that you?"
The invisible dragon responded by blinking its eyes twice. Frankie assumed it was playing around as she spoke to it.
"Scarlet, this isn't the time for playing. We need to help you get ready for the—"
Before she could finish, however, Frankie began to get an idea as she put her finger to her head.
"Talent… show…"
Gabe began to see where it was going; he even guessed it.
"We're both thinking the same thing, aren't we?"
"Oh, yeah."
Later on, it was near the end. Gabe and Frankie were headed towards the stage with Scarlet behind them. They caught up just in time to see Mac's mom cheering at the stage.
"Way to go, Mac! You and Bloo did it!"
Richie, on the other hand, was furious with his imaginary friend, Blake Superior. Apparently, he wasn't as superior as he thought, and Richie was very frustrated with this fact.
"This is insanity! You can't lose to him! You're Blake Superior! Blake Superior!"
Mac and Bloo took the opportunity to make a wisecrack to get back at him.
"More like 'inferior'."
"To me."
Richie and Blake both took off from the stage as they cried while Mac and Bloo laughed. With Richie and Blake running past them, Gabe had a feeling he got schooled hard.
"Woof. Talk about exit stage left."
Mr. Herriman then spoke up with his pointer finger raised to the air.
"Oh, yes. The honorable hiccup bests the boorish burp every time."
And with that, Wilt came up onto the stage, looking more sure of himself. That was no doubt thanks in part to Gabe's advice from yesterday. He wasn't even holding a speech card, either.
"Well, that was an astonishing performance tonight, wasn't it? But before we get to the winner, we have one more surprise contestant to introduce you to. Is that okay?"
There was a brief pause in the audience as they gasped and whispered amongst themselves. Frankie and Gabe turned to Scarlet with smiles on their faces as they spoke softly.
"Okay, Scarlet. This is your big chance."
"You can do it, buddy."
Scarlet grumbled positively before it disappeared and walked to the stage as Wilt continued.
"Regardless, even I don't know who this contestant is. And even better, he's up for adoption!"
The crowd applauded in excitement as Wilt continued.
"So, without further ado, it's time for you to come on out!"
The audience clapped with Wilt waiting for the contestant to come up on stage as the clapping died down. After a few seconds, Wilt repeated himself, beginning to think he missed the cue.
"I said, 'it's time for you to come on out!'"
In response, two dragon-like eyes appeared behind Wilt, making the audience gasp in wonder before they disappeared just as Wilt turned around.
"What is it?"
The audience was taken aback by the disappearance themselves. All poor Wilt could do was scratch his head as he tried to figure it out.
"Am I missing something?"
In that moment, Scarlet's head became visible as it went over the top of Wilt's head, making the audience gasp even louder before Wilt turned around, seeing nothing.
"What?"
The head itself didn't disappear, but instead, it went over Wilt before looking at the audience as they held their hands over their mouths. Then, it lifted a paw up before placing a nub on its mouth and imitated a shushing motion. The kids began to giggle at its playfulness before it disappeared while Wilt was clueless.
"Alright, you guys are messing with me right now."
At the very moment he turned around, the dragon disappeared without a trace once again. Hoping for better luck in finding it, Wilt turned to the audience.
"I'm sorry, but do you know where our new friend is?"
The audience all pointed to stage right to answer as they shouted.
"Over here!"
"Really?"
Wilt walked closer to where they were pointing, trying to look past the stage, but he couldn't find anything.
"Sorry, guys. I still don't see him."
However, they could see Scarlet. He became visible before walking closer to Wilt and licking at him from his head. Wilt became surprised by this sudden licking and turned around to see Scarlet on all fours as the audience laughed.
"Oh, there you are. You're a big fella, aren't you?"
Scarlet made a happy gurgle in response as the audience clapped for the dragon while Wilt introduced him.
"Ladies and Gentleman, our new imaginary friend, the red and black dragon."
The audience clapped as the dragon bowed its snout and used one of its wings to bow as Madame Foster even made a whistle.
"Way to go, Scarlet! You really brought it to the house!"
As the audience clapped and cheered for him, Scarlet looked all around at the crowd. It certainly felt nice. But after a moment, it started to become overwhelming. It turned to its left, seeing Frankie and Gabe smiling for him. Seeing them being so happy made Scarlet begin to tear up before it disappeared, puzzling Wilt and the audience, as well as Madame Foster, Frankie, and Gabe. After a moment, Wilt spoke up, having a theory about his sudden departure.
"Oh, well. Guess he must be shy. Anyway, if you want to see him again soon, please come over to Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends."
A short moment later, Frankie and Gabe felt Scarlet go past them as loud thumping was heard. From the sound of it, it was obvious where it was going.
"Scarlet?"
"Wait! Come back!"
Frankie and Gabe went after Scarlet as they headed backstage. Madame Foster saw the scene from her point of view as opposed to the audience's. She had a feeling they might need her help, or if nothing else, she at least needed to check on them.
"Wait here, Funny Bunny. I have to go check on them."
Backstage, Frankie and Gabe arrived just in time to see the gate broken through from inside. She showed great concern as Gabe looked out of the hole in greater worry, realizing that Scarlet could be anywhere in the city.
"Scarlet's loose!"
"Oh, come on!"
Frankie and Gabe went out of the gate (or rather what was left of it) as she began to fear the worst..
"This is really bad. Scarlet's all alone in the city. It hasn't seen anything else around here. If we don't find him, there's no telling what could—!"
Before Frankie could finish, she suddenly fell forward, hitting the ground. She yelled out in frustration at first as she vented her panic.
"And as if that weren't bad enough, I tripped on a—"
Frankie looked behind her to point to the object that tripped her, but alas, she couldn't. There wasn't anything there. That made Frankie reconsider her temper as she immediately thought of what it meant.
"Scarlet."
Frankie stood back up and looked around near where she tripped, hoping she would be able to find the dragon as Gabe joined in, but not before he checked on her.
"You alright, Frankie?"
"Never mind me. Scarlet's still here."
Just as she mentioned him, they began to hear whimpering of a sort close by. That noise was something they never thought they'd hear, least of all from an extremasaur. It sounded… lonely. But how could that be?
It had fun all day with Frankie and Gabe. How could it be so sad now? They wanted to know, but they kept in mind that it was going through a rough patch. So they cautiously approached the whimpering, invisible dragon as Frankie spoke softly to it.
"Hey… are you okay?"
The invisible dragon opened its eyes before blinking only once. She and Gabe knelt down by its face as she tried to reassure it.
"Hey, you did great out there, Scarlet. Nobody's scared of you. Everyone seemed ready to adopt you."
The dragon moaned sadly from this. For a good while, they had no clue why. But Gabe seemed to get the picture.
"You… you don't want to get adopted, do you? You don't want to leave me and Frankie."
Scarlet nestled itself against Frankie and Gabe before they stroked its snout.
"Aw, you poor thing. Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"If we knew you wanted to stay with us…"
The dragon moaned softly from their generous and warm touch. Frankie looked at Gabe with a sad frown as she spoke softly.
"Gabe… I think we should tell Madame Foster that we can't go through with this."
Fortunately, they didn't need to.
"There's no need. I saw the whole thing."
Madame Foster walked closer to the group as they held their heads down with Gabe speaking up to her.
"We're sorry, Madame Foster. We had no idea it'd be so sad about leaving."
"No. It's my fault, Gabe. I spent so much time thinking about what Scarlet needed after what he's been through that I never stopped to think about what he wanted. Just like back then."
Scarlet looked back to Madame Foster with a curious look as she held her hand out while she spoke.
"Oh, Scarlet, I was only trying to do right by you after I left you in that cage. I thought you'd be better off with someone who can care for you far more than I did. I hope you can forgive me."
The dragon paused for a moment before it rested its head below her hand. Madame Foster showed surprise at first, but she welcomed the answer the dragon gave as she gently rubbed its snout. Frankie and Gabe smiled at the affection as they spoke on that and the matter to come.
"It looks like it already has, Grandma."
"So, I guess he's not going to be adopted after all. But what do we do now? The audience already saw Scarlet, and we said he's up for adoption. We can't take that back now."
Madame Foster put her finger on her chin as she began to smile.
"I think I have a plan."
The next morning, Scarlet was now flying through the city with a young girl and Frankie on board. She had red-colored hair with pigtails and a purple dress as she cheered all the way until they landed back at Foster's. The girl had a bright smile as Frankie helped her off.
"Thanks for the awesome ride!"
Frankie gently rubbed the girl's head as she replied with a gentle smile.
"Aw, you're welcome, sweetie."
As the girl walked away, Gabe spoke up to the next person in line.
"Next!"
And as it happens, the one at the line was none other than Richie Wildabreath. And he appeared to be back to his old self since last night's failure at the talent show.
"Here's the payment for the ride."
Gabe took the money from Richie. And as he did, he recalled the skirmish from a couple days later.
"Hey, I remember you. From the talent show sign-ups. Wasn't your name Richie Wildabrat?"
He immediately took offense as he went up to his face.
"It's Wilda-breath!"
"Yeah. Right. Where's Blake Superior? Wasn't he always with you?"
"He's just busy refining his superior talents. You probably know about that, don't you?"
Richie then walked towards Scarlet, leaving Gabe puzzled about whether or not it was meant to be an insult or a complement. Frankie picked up Richie and placed him in front of her as she leaned a bit forward.
"So, where would you like to go?"
Richie only responded in his usual tone and demeanor.
"Yeah, just take me around the block to the bowling stadium. And make it snappy if you please."
Frankie didn't take kindly to it at all. Ordinarily, she'd punch someone's lights out, but she kept in mind the fact that he was a kid. So, she had a different idea in mind.
"Oh, I'll make it snappy, alright. Let's go, Scarlet. Triple speed."
Scarlet nodded to her before the dragon suddenly took off as Richie's screams echoed in the air as the children looked on in awe. It was right at that point that Madame Foster came up.
"Hello, Gabe. How's the sale going?"
Gabe got out a huge jar of money to prove his point as he answered her.
"Better than I thought. It's way more than people usually pay for regular adoptions. But how did you manage to pull that off?"
"Oh, dearie. I said he's available for adoptions. I didn't say how long the adoptions themselves would be."
Madame Foster made a gentle laugh before Gabe began to see a darker side of it to worry about.
"You don't think they're mad about that, do you?"
Madame Foster only replied with a carefree smile.
"Please! Adopting a dragon as big as that for life? I don't think they'd be able to afford it!"
Gabe wasn't sure if he should be worried about that. But as he looked up and saw Scarlet flying in the distance with Frankie on top, he couldn't help but see her point. No amount of money would ever be enough to keep Scarlet from his true home: at Foster's.
"You know? You're right."
A/N: And this is where the chapter end: on a high note. :) That said, I also plan on making a separate story for the more saucy chapters between Frankie and Gabe, so you can still enjoy this story as a whole. If the new story is something you're interested in, keep in mind that it'll be rated M for mature content. Anyway, I hope you all have a good day and night wherever or whenever you get to read this. :)