Meanwhile, in a cold dark dungeon, Romeo was sitting on the floor, his hands chained to a wall as he sighed in frustration.

"She was the Princess?" Romeo exclaimed to himself. "I can't believe it. I must've sounded so stupid to her!"

"Yoo-hoo! Romeo!" A familiar voice called out. Romeo looked up to see Asuka appearing at the window at the top of the dungeon. "Where are you?"

"Asuka! Down here!" Romeo cried, before Asuka climbed down. "Man, am I glad to see you. Help me outta these."

"Hmph," Asuka grumbled. "I don't see any reason why I shouldn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Romeo asked.

"I tell you what I mean," Asuka explained, before she gets very angry and threw a tantrum, "It's that new girl from the marketplace! You've been paying attention to her so much just because you think she's CUTER than me! IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?!"

"Asuka, I…" Romeo tried to explain.

"Well, I'm a girl too!" Asuka screamed. "And I'm WAY cuter than Miss Blueberry!" She imitated Wendy, "Oh, look at me! I'm Wendy, the prettiest girl in the world! I get Romeo's attention away from her best friend in the whole wide world!" She returns to normal. "What's wrong with you, Romeo?! I thought we're supposed to be best friends! You can't hang out with a big dork like her, after all the time we spent together!"

"But we ARE best friends, Asuka!" Romeo protested. "I had to help Wendy because she's in trouble." He then sighed innocently. "It was worth it, anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Asuka rolled her eyes, as she jumped on Romeo's shoulders and pulled a small set of tools out of her pocket, and began to work on freeing Romeo. "I still don't like you hanging out with that blueberry goofball."

"Don't worry, Asuka. I'll never see her again," Romeo agreed with Asuka. "I'm a street rat, remember, and there's a law. She's gotta marry a prince."

Asuka finally freed Romeo's hands, "Ta-da!"

Romeo added as he rubbed his wrists, "She deserves a prince." He sighed sadly, "I'm a fool."

"You're only a fool if you give up, boy," a mysterious voice echoed.

Romeo turned to where the voice came from and saw an old man dressed in a black cloak and holding a cane. This was someone neither Romeo nor Asuka had seen before.

"Who are you?" Romeo asked.

"My name is of no importance. I'm simply a lowly prisoner like yourself," the old man answered. "But together, perhaps we can be more."

"I'm listening," Romeo leaned closer.

"Me too," Asuka followed suit.

"There is a cave, boy," the old man continued. "But not just any ordinary cave; it's the legendary Dragon Cave of Wonders. A mysterious place filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams."

To prove his point, the old man opened his hand and showed Romeo and Asuka a handful of rubies. The two kids stared at them in complete awe.

"Pretty…" Asuka said goofily, unable to resist the beauty of the rubies.

But before she could begin to take the rubies, the old man closed his hand. He continued, "Treasure enough to impress your princess, I wager."

Just as the old man turned his back, Cobra (still in his snake form) stuck his head out of the hood of the old man's cloak. It's clearly obvious that it's Brain in disguise.

"Brain, could ya hurry it up? I'm dyin' in here! And the guys back home are getting impatient!" Cobra whispered, sweating from the heat inside the cloak. Brain growled and smacked him back into the cloak with his cane.

Romeo said, "But the law says that only a prince can marry—"

"You've probably heard of the golden rule, haven't you, boy?" the old man/Brain said. "Whoever has the gold makes the rules?" He grinned, showing a hideously bad mouth.

"Eww, gross!" Asuka cried in disgust. "You really need to brush your teeth!"

"So, why would you want to share all of this 'wonderful treasure' with me?" Romeo asked curiously.

"I needed a young boy with strong legs and a strong back to go after it," the old man/Brain replied.

"Hey! What about me?" Asuka shouted.

"You could say that," the old man/Brain chuckled. "The boy does need a helping hand. After all, he's useless without you."

"Hey!" Romeo protested.

"Well, you gotta admit, that's the truth," Asuka giggled, and she saw Romeo giving her an upset look. "But not always."

"You got that right, cowgirl," Romeo said sternly. He turned to the old man, "One little problem, mister. We're stuck here. There's no way out except the door, and the window Asuka came down is high to reach."

The old man/Brain shook his head and grinned, "Mmm, mmm, mmm. Things aren't always what they seem." He walked to a wall and pushed open a hidden exit. He extended his hand, "So, do we have a deal?"

Romeo looked at Asuka, who shrugged, "Why not?"

Romeo smiled and nodded to the old man/Brain, "Let's do it."

Moments later, Romeo, Asuka, and the old man were making their way through the desert during a sandstorm. The old man was leading a horse with Romeo and Asuka on it. Once the sandstorm cooled down, they arrived at the already summoned Dragon Cave of Wonders. Romeo and Asuka looked at the dragon head entrance in amazement.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" asked the cave.

Romeo answered nervously, "It is I, Romeo Conbolt."

The cave carefully looked at Romeo for a few seconds. This time, the dragon head's eyes widened. It spoke, "Proceed. Touch nothing but the dragon scale."

With a roar, the dragon head opened its mouth, and the staircase formed in front of Romeo. The old man called out to him, "Remember, boy! First, fetch me the dragon scale! And then, you shall have your reward."

Asuka whispered to Romeo, "What's so important about a dragon scale?"

Romeo whispered back with a shrug, "I don't know, but we're going to find out. C'mon, Asuka." And thus, the two kids held hands, descending into the cave by taking the staircase.

As Romeo and Asuka reached the bottom, they found themselves in a golden chamber full of dozens of treasure as far as the eye can see. The two kids looked astounded.

"Would ya look at that," Romeo said in awe.

"Cool!" Asuka said in delight.

"Just a handful of this stuff would make me richer than the Prime Minister," Romeo remarked.

"YAY! WE'LL BE RICH! RICH! RICH! RICH! YAHOOOOOOOO!" Asuka screamed with joy and eagerly rushed forward to grab the treasure, but Romeo quickly noticed what she was doing.

He yelled, "Asuka!"

The cowgirl stopped in her tracks, turning to Romeo, "Huh?"

Romeo approached Asuka and said, sternly, "Don't. Touch. Anything. We're trying to find that dragon scale."

Asuka groaned in disappointment, "Fine. Whatever."

Romeo and Asuka continued walking onward, but unknown to them, a creature was watching them from behind a pile of gold. The creature looked out, revealing to be a small blue Exceed with a white underbelly, big black eyes, pink ears, a tail with white fur on the top, and wearing a small green pouch tied to its back.

"Gosh, I wonder who they are," the creature whispered to himself. "They must be treasure hunters lucky enough to enter the cave."

The blue cat followed Romeo and Asuka quietly, and was approaching Asuka from behind. Asuka was starting to get the feeling they were being followed.

"Huh?" Asuka wondered, before she turned around and the Exceed hid behind some treasure. She shrugged and moved on. The Exceed began to follow Asuka again. Again, Asuka turned back, but the Exceed rolled himself into a carpet leaning against a pile of treasure. But this time, Asuka caught a glimpse of the blue cat.

"Romeo! Romeo! You've gotta see this!" Asuka cried, and she ran towards Romeo and tugged on his jacket.

Romeo turned to Asuka and stopped her a moment, "If you're looking for a treasure hunt, tough luck."

Asuka scowled, but continued walking nonetheless. The blue Exceed followed again, but this time when Asuka turned around, the Exceed spreads his wings and leapt to the other side. The Exceed reached down and pulled Asuka's skirt. Asuka yelped in surprise, before she jumped around and the Exceed flew off. This time, Asuka landed in a karate stance, panting angrily. The Exceed flew again, reached down and took off Asuka's cowboy hat, and puts it on himself.

"Hey, where's my hat?" Asuka wondered as she sat down thinking for a second, until the Exceed tapped Asuka's shoulder and she turned to see the Exceed in front of her.

"Oh, it's only a blue cat," Asuka said calmly.

"And you're just a cowgirl," the Exceed said calmly.

But just as they realized this, their eyes widened in horror.

Asuka yelled, "A BLUE CAT?!"

The Exceed yelled, "A COWGIRL?!"

Asuka and the Exceed jumped in alarm and ran away screaming. Asuka tackled Romeo while shouting continuously, "ROMEO! ROMEO! ROMEO!"

Romeo looked up and shouted, "Asuka! What, are you crazy?!"

Asuka shrieked, "LOOK UP!" She grabbed his head and pointed it in the direction she had seen the blue Exceed.

"What the big deal?" the blue Exceed asked, poking his head out from behind a pile of treasure.

"Wow!" Romeo exclaimed in amazement. "A rare Blue Exceed!"

"A Blue Exceed? Rare? What's so rare about it?" Asuka asked.

"This one's the rarest of Exceed species," Romeo explained. "To be honest, I've never seen one myself."

"Are you some kinda bookworm?" Asuka raised her eyebrow.

"Hey, I went to school, too!" Romeo protested angrily. "Blue Exceeds hardly show themselves, but I heard their flight is extraordinary. They never hit an obstacle when they fly." He then smiled and turned to the Blue Exceed, trying to coax him out. "C'mon. Come on out. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"But are you sure your friend's not gonna?" the Blue Exceed asked nervously, completely appearing out of the pile of treasure.

"Nah," Romeo smiled. "Asuka's like that when she clueless."

"No, I'm not!" Asuka protested.

Romeo laughed, "Just kidding!"

The Blue Exceed slowly flew to Romeo and Asuka, picked up Asuka's hat, and dusted it off with his paws. He held the hat out to Asuka and said, "Here's your hat back. Sorry I took it. I thought it would be nice on me."

Asuka angrily snatched it and put back on her head. She said, "Thanks. It's no trouble at all." Then she shouted angrily while shaking her fist, "Now get outta here! Take my hat again, and you're cat soup!"

"Okay, I'll go away," the Blue Exceed nodded. "I won't bother you anymore." He turned and began to fly away sadly.

"Hey, wait a minute. Don't go," Romeo stopped the Blue Exceed. "Maybe you can help us."

The Blue Exceed turned around, beaming with excitement, "Really?!" He then flew over and wrapped around Romeo's chest.

"Hey, whoa!" Romeo exclaimed. "You know your way around here?"

"Uh-huh!" the Blue Exceed nodded. "I've been living in the Dragon Cave of Wonders for years. I know everything there is to know about it. There's some fresh fish to eat at the underground chambers, a nice warm bed I can sleep in… anything I need to make myself comfy! After all, this is a 'cave of wonders', and wonders are absolutely the best!"

"Sweet! We'd be glad to let you help us," Romeo smiled. "My name is Romeo Conbolt." He gestures to Asuka. "And this is my friend, Asuka Connell."

"And I'm Happy!" the Blue Exceed introduced. "I'll be your personal tour guide throughout the cave!"

"He sure is 'happy', isn't he?" Asuka asked Romeo.

"No kidding. He's like a bluebird of happiness," Romeo remarked. He turned to Happy, "We're here looking a dragon scale. You know where it is?"

"Like I said, I know everything," Happy nodded. "I know a shortcut. Follow me!"

"Great! Lead the way!" Romeo smiled.

"Aye, sir!" Happy cried joyfully as he flew in the direction of an exit, Romeo and Asuka chasing after him.

The group passed through a long cave, until they emerged in a giant underground cavern. In the center of the room was a tall pillar with a staircase going up to it. It was surrounded by water with unevenly placed stones forming a bridge, and a pillar of light shining down.

"Here it is, guys," Happy said. "The Chamber of the Dragon Scale. Keep a steady pace while taking the stairs and you'll be fine."

Romeo simply winked his eye to Happy. He then whispered to Asuka, "Wait here."

Romeo began to cross the bridge as he made his way towards the stairs. Meanwhile, something suddenly caught Asuka's eyes. It was a ruby the size of a football being held by a weird statue. Asuka is hypnotically drawn to it, drooling and wanting to touch every inch of it.

Once Romeo crossed the bridge, he began to climb the stairs. Just as he was, Happy quickly noticed Asuka moving towards the ruby and quickly tried in vain to hold her back. "No! Asuka, don't!" Happy cried.

Once Romeo had reached the top of the stairs, he saw a red dragon scale on a pedestal and picked it up.

"This is it?" He said as he examined it. "This is what we came all the way down here to—" Just as he was saying this, he glanced over to see Happy trying to hold Asuka back, but she broke free and lunged towards the ruby. Romeo yelled, "ASUKA! NO!"

But it was too late.

Asuka picked up the ruby, until she heard the cave roar, "INFIDELS!"

"Uh-oh," Asuka and Happy said in unison nervously.

"You have touched the forbidden treasure!" The cave growled furiously. Asuka smiled sheepishly as she puts the ruby back, but both the ruby and the statue began to melt into molten lava. "Now you will never again see the light of DAY!"

The place where the dragon scale had been found a while ago burst into flames. Romeo quickly placed the scale in his pocket and began to run down the stairs. But as he did, the stairs flattened into a ramp. Romeo slid down and was launched into the air. The water had now changed into lava, and Romeo screamed as he began to fall towards it, until Happy spreads his wings, appeared out of nowhere, and caught his back with his paws.

"I got ya!" Happy cried.

"Thanks, Happy," Romeo thanked. "Where's Asuka?"

"ROMEO! HELP!" Asuka's voice screamed.

"There she is!" Happy spotted Asuka standing on one of the rocks of the bridge, watching as the rest of the rocks explode into lava, one by one.

"ROMEEEEEOOOOOOO!" Asuka screamed frantically, tears streaming down her cheeks. Asuka might be adventurous, but she was still a 6-year old kid. She definitely doesn't want to be a roasted cowgirl today. In the nick of time, Happy flew over, allowing Romeo to quickly snatch Asuka off the rock with his arms before it exploded.

"I've got you, Asuka," Romeo assured. "It's alright."

"R-R-Romeo…" Asuka sobbed. "I-I-I-It's… s-s-s-s-s-so… s-s-s-s-scary…"

"It's okay, it's okay," Romeo comforted her. "I'm with you. No matter what happens, I won't let go. I promise." He turned to Happy, "I guess I owe you big time, huh? And you have no problem lifting two at once?"

"I've got paws of steel!" Happy smiled proudly.

Romeo looked back and noticed a wave of lava starting to follow them. He yelled, "LESS TALKING, MORE FLYING!"

"AYYYYEEEEE, SIIIIIRRRR!" Happy screamed. Holding tightly to Romeo, just as Romeo held tightly to Asuka, Happy raced the two kids through the cave, dodging walls and falling debris. At one point, after a close call, Asuka screamed frantically as she jumped onto Romeo's head and covered his eyes.

"ROMEO! ROMEO! ROMEO!" Asuka shrieked.

"ASUKA!" Romeo shouted, trying to pull her off of his head. Finally, he succeeded as he glared, "ASUKA, THIS IS NO TIME TO PANIC!"

But then, he saw they were about to fly into a wall.

There was a moment of silence before Asuka nervously asked Romeo, "Can we panic now?"

"Yes," Romeo shuddered, sweat dropping and almost about to cry.

"HOOOOOLLLLLD OOOOOONNNNN!" Happy cried. They all screamed as the Exceed went into a dive and pulled Romeo and Asuka through another cave before they emerged through the internal entrance, breathing hard, before they had to dodge the rising flames.

Outside, the cave was growling furiously and is about to close.

Inside, Romeo and company were reaching the mouth of the cave until a boulder fell and knocked Happy down. "WHOA!" He exclaimed.

Romeo almost fell, but Asuka held tightly on his chest. Romeo quickly grabbed onto the edge of the crumbling stairs, before he saw the old man at the top within reach.

"Help me up!" Romeo yelled.

"Throw me the dragon scale!" The old man shouted, holding his arm out.

"I can't hold on!" Romeo shouted frantically, before he tried to reach for the old man's hand. "Give me your hand!"

"First, give me the scale!" The old man demanded.

Not wanting to argue, Romeo pulled the dragon scale out of his pocket and managed to give it to the old man. He held the scale over his head, laughing maniacally.

"YES! AT LAST!" the old man laughed evilly as he puts it in his cloak, before he noticed Asuka trying to pull Romeo to safety.

"Romeo! Hang on!" Asuka cried.

However, the old man kicked Asuka aside and grabbed Romeo by his wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Romeo shouted.

"Giving you your reward!" The old man grinned, before his voice changed into a dark tone, "Your eternal reward." He pulled out a crooked dagger. Romeo's eyes widened in horror, realizing the old man was about to stab him.

But Asuka quickly noticed this and cried, "NO!" She scrambled over and bit the old man on the wrist, making him scream in pain and let go of Romeo. The old man shook Asuka off him and flung her into the cave.

Happy quickly saw Romeo and Asuka falling and quickly pulled himself free from the boulder. He flew up to rescue the two kids, but Romeo was already unconscious from hitting the wall several times during his fall.

On the surface, the cave roared one last time, then sunk back into the sand.

The old man just stared for a moment before he chuckled evilly, "It's mine." He pulled off his disguise, revealing Brain's face. "It's all mine! I—"

But then he realized it wasn't anywhere in his pockets. "Where is it?" Brain searched his pockets frantically, but all he could feel is nothing but air.

"No…" Brain whispered shockingly before he kneeled and slammed his fists to the sand in frustration, screaming, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Brain's shout of anger echoed into the night. He had failed to get the dragon scale once again.

To Be Continued…