Somehow, Sisu and Jarek managed to make their way back to Dragontown with little consequence. The minute they did, Sisu's present siblings quickly attended to Jarek's wounded claw. Thankfully the wound wasn't anything that couldn't be treated easily. Before long Jarek's wound was disinfected and a wrap placed around it.

As he felt the herb mixture soothe the pain, Jarek let out a relieved sigh, "Much better."

But Jarek's relief gave way to pain as he cried out.

"Ow! What was that for!?" Jarek demanded Sisu.

Sisu had a look of pure disgruntlement upon her face, "For being an idiot! What were you thinking storming off like that!?"

"Well we fought and I was mad!" Jarek snapped.

Sisu considered her words before relenting, "Okay fine...I don't blame you, but still, you went and got yourself stabbed! What if had been worse?"

"Fine, I'm sorry!" Jarek snapped again, but then taking a few calming breaths he added, "For everything."

"Everything?"

"For lying to you," Jarek clarified.

Sisu eyed the statuette, picking it up and examining it closely. It was hard to believe such a small object had such power in it. Power enough to turn a human into a dragon.

Still, Sisu had to know, "Tell me, did you mean to go out and look for this?"

Jarek stared the blue dragoness in the eyes. Her gaze was a serious one, one he knew he couldn't get around, "To be honest? No, I didn't even know where to look, I found it by chance."

Sisu's expression softened, apparently picking up on the honesty of the black dragon's words.

"But believe me, when I got it I intended to give it back to Heart," Jarek admitted.

"Really?" Sisu asked.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Jarek replied, "Let's just say you're contagious, you and my sister. That and I cared about what you thought about me."

"Is that so?"

"I mean, ever since you found me, you've been nice to me, nicer than I deserve," Said Jarek, "And well...I wanted to repay you."

A tiny smile formed upon Sisu's face, "Oh Skippy," She replied earnestly.

"Let's face it, I have to say besides my niece, you're probably the best and only friend I have," Jarek further added.

Before Jarek could utter another word, Sisu grabbed Jarek in a large dragon hug, "Apology accepted Skippy."

Though shocked by the sudden hug, Jarek smiled and replied in kind. The morning followed without much incident. Jarek was well enough to fly, and so he and Sisu traveled to Heart to return the artifact Jarek had stolen. Needless to say, surprise followed upon learning the bearded dragon before they were the very same thief who had stolen one of their tribe's treasures. Though Raya was a bit more skeptical, Chief Benja was a tad more receptive. The object held no damage, and it wasn't as if he was forlorn about its loss anyway.

Nonetheless, Sisu was happy that her student had given back what he had stolen, so much she had responded, "Skippy, you've earned an A+."

And Jarek couldn't have been happier. But this was only one stop on their journey. There was still one more place for Jarek to visit.

XXX

Rapi stared at her reflection which mirrored back from the small pond she was kneeling at. The pond itself was a place she and Jarek had visited often in their youth, away from the hustle and bustle of Talon. Little Padi lay beside her mother, not fully understanding, but knowing it had significance to her mother. Though she was still young, Padi assumed her mother was thinking of her Uncle Jarek. She didn't ask, but being a perceptive child, she picked up on it. All the while she clung to her Sisu doll her uncle had gotten for her as a present.

Indeed Rapi was thinking of her brother. It had been a long time since Jarek had set out on his "job". But she had heard no word back from him. It was strange normally her brother would contact them, especially after something like this. The way he had talked he would be in and out with word back to them in no time. But sadly that wasn't to be.

And Rapi couldn't help but worry.

"Rapi!"

Rapi shot her head up upon hearing her name called. Looking around, she could see nothing, but she knew the voice.

"Jarek?"

Upon hearing her uncle's name, Padi shot up and called out, "Uncle Jarek? Is that you?"

"Yeah, sorry you two, didn't mean to be gone so long," Jarek's voice called.

Rapi tried to search through the woods. Jarek's voice sounded close, but she couldn't tell where it was coming from, mostly because she couldn't see where Jarek was.

"Are you hiding?" Rapi asked.

"Sort of," Jarek replied.

"What do you mean sort of?" Rapi asked.

"Look, sis, don't be afraid," Jarek's voice pleaded.

Rapi's brow wrinkled in confusion, "What are you-"

The mother was cut off as something materialized in front of her. It was long, tall, black, with a curved horn, and seeing it made Rapi nearly fall back.

"Woah Woah sis relax! It's me!" The dragon spoke.

Rapi was alarmed at the sudden appearance of a dragon, but more so as she listened to the voice coming out of it. At first, she blinked in confusion, but when she noticed the beard, suspicion entered her head.

"Uncle Jarek?" Padi questioned, beating her mother to the punch.

The dragon shrugged with a sheepish grin, "Surprise."

Rapi still couldn't believe her eyes as his jaw hung, but her daughter was quick to the punch once more.

"UNCLE JAREK!" Padi dove into her uncle.

The child showed bravery, and from this, Jarek knew she knew it was him without a doubt.

Padi broke away from her uncle and stared in awe, "You're a dragon?! That's so cool!"

"Oh the surprise gets better kid," Jarek chuckled.

Just as Padi was about to ask, a sleek blue shape came into view and seeing it made Padi gasp in awe.

Staring back at her was a blue dragoness, one very famous throughout Kumandra.

"So you're Padi eh? I hear you're a fan," Sisu said slyly.

Padi stood silent for a few moments before letting out a squeal of delight, "You know Sisu!?"

"Yeah your unc has been my student," Sisu remarked proudly.

"Sisu's been your teacher Uncle Jarek?" Padi asked, when Jarek nodded, Padi could only go, "That...is...so...cool!"

"Impressed huh? Just wait till you see my backstroke!" Sisu bragged, "Say, why don't we let your mother and uncle talk while we have some girl time?"

"Girl time? With you?" Padi repeated.

When Sisu nodded, that only provoked another pleased squeal from Padi.

As Sisu and Padi left, Jarek caught faint traces of a conversation, something about the doll having a perfect likeness.

Chuckling to himself, Jarek shook his head and turned to his sister, "Look sis, I know you have a lot of questions-" But Jarek's sentence was cut off as he felt a hard punch against his leg, "OW!"

"You idiot! What happened to you!? I was worried sick!"

"Hey, sis cut it out!"

Padi halted her beating and allowed Jarek to speak.

"Okay, first off, I pricked my finger on a statue I stole and turns out it had dragon essence in it," Jarek explained.

"Dragon essence? What's that supposed to mean?" Rapi asked.

Jarek's mouth hung slightly agape before he answered, "I don't know...it was never made clear."

"Okay...so you just got jacked up full of it and became a dragon?" Rapi continued.

"Not exactly...the woman who hired me stabbed me in the gut then tossed me in a river. When I woke up I was a dragon," Jarek answered.

Rapi looked as if she had heard the craziest story ever, "So let me get this straight? You got stabbed, died, and then turned into a dragon?"

The story sounded unbelievable, but it was the truth, "Yes."

Upon hearing that, Rapi's assault continued, with Jarek protesting.

"Hey sis stop it!" Jarek pleaded.

"You stupid idiot I was so worried! I told you this would end badly and you didn't listen!" Rapi ranted.

"Sis cut it out! Sis!" Jarek grabbed hold of Rapi's arms, holding them tightly.

The two siblings stared into each other's eyes, and it was soon apparent that tears were forming in Rapi's eyes.

"Sis, it's okay. I'm okay," Jarek reassured.

With a mighty pull, Rapi broke free and dug herself into Jarek's mane. At last, she let the tears flow and she didn't care.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," She sobbed.

Jarek hugged his sister tightly before he broke away.

"Don't worry Rapi, it's fine, what matters is I'm alive now," Jarek stated.

Rapi wiped her eyes and gazed upon her brother's new form, "So is this like a temporary thing?"

Feeling his new form, Jarek responded, "I think this is more like a permanent thing."

Taking a few moments, Rapi examined her brother more closely, taking in the serpentine shape, along with the curved horn and the black fur, "Wow...a dragon huh?"

"Yeah," Jarek smirked, "And you were worried I wouldn't make anything of myself."

"If only Ma and Ba could see," Rapi stated.

"Yeah…" Jarek trailed off as he remembered his parents.

He and Rapi both recalled the happy family moments, days long past. Things had changed, but Rapi knew at his core Jarek was still Jarek. But, even then she could tell something was different about him, inside that is.

"So what are you going to do?" Rapi asked.

"Probably going to stay with the dragons for now," Jarek answered, "I mean I'll send for my stuff, after that my shack is yours."

Rapi chuckled, "Thanks...No matter what, you're still my brother. Never forget that."

Jarek smiled and nodded, "Yeah. You and Padi are still my family, no matter what form I'm in."

And with that said, Jarek knew his place, and in that place, he had realized what he had gained: a heart of a dragon.

The End.

A/N: Now this was a project. This was the first full-length Disney fanfiction. I wanted to thank everyone who read and supported this story. And no worries, there is more to come for Jarek and Sisu. To give you an idea of what comes next, this is what the eventual sequel will be called: The Courtship of Sisudatu.