Jermaine Deon Carter
April 7, 2022
Darkness and Shadows
One day, the Dragon Council invited me and my family to Hong Kong for what I thought was a vacation. Rose, her family, and all our friends were also invited. The Council paid for all our expenses. As Rose and I did some sightseeing, the Council directed our attention to a group of hills.
"The tallest one is called Victoria Peak, but it's known by the locals as the back of the dragon. The first dragon temple was built on that very summit, thousands of years ago," Councilor Kulde said.
"That's amazing!" I said.
"Pretty cool!" Rose said.
"You see, that temple only appears on the hill once every thousand years during a very rare lunar eclipse, which just so happens to be tomorrow night," Councilor Andam said.
"On that night, all of the world's dragons gather there for a mandatory meeting," Kulde said.
"However, the eclipse only lasts for a couple of hours," Andam said.
"So, we're here on dragon business," I said.
"Indeed, young dragon," Andam said.
I spent the rest of the day taking in the sights with my family and friends. We used the brochures, one of which was magical, and tour guides to help us determine what to do and where to go. We visited a snail farm, which I didn't even know was a thing. We went to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. We visited the Hong Kong Botanical Gardens. We went to multiple museums.
At the One Thousand Years Toast the following night, the Dark Dragon gate-crashed the event. Chang and the Shade Demons were at his side as usual. However, they had new allies this time: an evil wizard named Eli Pandarus, a trio of gorgon sisters, a kelpie, and a siren named Vicky Fickling.
"Greetings, my dragon brothers and sisters. Allow me to propose a new toast…to dragons ruling the world! It's useless to fight me!" the Dark Dragon said.
"The Dark Dragon speaks the truth. I have imbued him with powers you can't even imagine," Chang said.
"I'll give you all one last chance. Join me in ruling the world, or prepare to meet your death," the Dark Dragon said.
"If we have to choose between death and joining you, we'll take death every time!" I said.
"Then, you shall have it!" the Dark Dragon said.
I dragoned up and flew into battle, but not before contacting Rose to tell her what was going on. Even with the combined might of every dragon on Earth, the Dark Dragon and his henchmen were just too powerful. They quickly overwhelmed us. The same thing happened when Rose and the rest of our magical friends came to help.
As the eclipse drew to a close, a portal appeared right below the temple. The temple began to crumble as it was sucked in. The Council said the temple was about to disappear for another thousand years. Everybody fled outside. The Dark Dragon's minions (save for Chang and the Shade Demons) took the opportunity to escape the scene altogether.
"Cowards!" the Dark Dragon said. In all the confusion, I charged at him and tackled him into the portal.
"If I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me!" I said. He grunted and screamed as we were trapped by falling debris.
"Jermaine!" Rose said.
Chang charged towards Rose. Rose used her staff to blast Chang back. Rose flew in on Andam to try and save me.
"Rose, it's too late. You gotta let me go," I said.
"I'm not losing you!" she said.
She reached her hand out towards me. I grabbed it, but the Dark Dragon wrapped his tail around my leg. He was determined to trap us all with him. She blasted his tail, forcing him to lose his grip on me.
She, Andam, and I just barely made it out of the portal before it closed. Afterwards, we and the others soon dispatched the Shade Demons. The Council re-arrested Chang and returned her to custody. Everyone applauded me and Rose for our efforts.
"Good job, young dragon. Once again, you've made me proud," Andam said.
"Thanks, Andam," I said.
"You've made me proud again too, Jermaine," Rose said. We shared a hug and a kiss to end the night.