A/N: I posted this chapter at around midnight. HAPPY NEW YEAR! (balloons and confetti come falling down as Auld Lang Syne is playing in the background)
Chapter 6: The Dragon Retreat
Two months later
"Dad? I still don't get it" Ben said. "I thought we were going on a Dragon Retreat"
"We are" Jake said enjoying every minute of his son's confusion and now knowing why his grandfather had done some of the things he had done.
"So why are we taking a train to an island on the other side of the world?"
"Ben. I'm going to tell you something my grandfather/dragon-master told me" Jake warned "Don't be ridiculous…. We're taking the elevator"
Ben froze in his tracks.
"I'm sorry Dad. I must not have heard you right. I could have sworn you said we're taking the ELEVATOR"
Jake walked over to said elevator and pushed the buttons in a code and twisted the board
"I thought the same thing too" Jake explained to his son who's jaw had dropped as the elevator door opened to reveal a goblin.
"Welcome to Enchanted Elevators. Where service always comes with a smile" the goblin said in a monotonous voice forcing said smile. "Please prepare for departure"
"Hold on tight Kid" Fu warned Ben.
"Why Fu?" Ben asked as Jake moved Ben over to where he was…FAR away from Fu.
"Because I haven't made it through once without my friend Ralph Upchuck making a big splash"
"Going down" the elevator goblin warned
A few minutes later, they arrived at the location
"Ben Long. Welcome to the Isle of Draco" Fu said to the young teen who was swaying a bit.
Ben's jaw dropped at the sight of the other dragons.
"Wow" Ben gasped
"JAKE!" a voice called
Ben, Jake, and Fu turned to see a yellow dragon fly over to them and landed. The dragon then turned into his human shape to reveal a man Jake's age and the same build.
"Fred! How's it going Man?" Jake asked as he shook the other man's hand.
"It's going alright. I'm just signing up to be put on the optional dragon-master list. You?"
"The retreat" Jake said putting his hand on Ben's back. "Fred. This is my son Ben. Ben. This is Fred Nerk. The Australian Dragon"
"Nice to meet you Kid" Fred said shaking Ben's hand. "Your Dad's helped me out in a tight spot many years ago."
"Are you referring to the Dark Dragon or the Yowie?" Jake asked
"Okay. A FEW tight spots" Fred said before turning to Jake. "Are you going to show the kid that statue?"
"You bet I am" Jake said
"You have your own statue?"
"No" Jake said. "Come on Ben. I'll show you the statues, then I'll introduce you to the World Dragon Council. Fred. Good to see you again"
"Likewise"
The two shook hands again before Fred transformed and flew off.
0000
A few minutes later, Ben found himself in the gym looking at a bunch of statues.
"These, Ben, are the Top 13 dangers to magical society." Jake informed his son. "Cyclops, Hobgoblins, Minotaur, Krylock, Abemetrix, Hydra, Chimeras, Kraken, Roc, Huntsman, Stregoi, Basilisk, and the Dark Dragon. Some are more dangerous than others and others you just shouldn't have to worry about anymore, but we keep their statue up as a reminder."
(A/N: I would like to thank T-rex 989 for his/her help on this list as he/she made some good points in a P.M. conversation we had back in October of 2010)
"How are some of these dangerous?" Ben asked
"Some are just because they're a threat of exposure" Jake explained. "Others…are just plain evil"
"The Huntsman…" Ben whispered as he went to the Number 4 bad guy "Isn't he the guy who trained Mom and Uncle Seth?"
"Yes" Jake confirmed. "But you shouldn't have to worry about him. Your mother took care of him"
"And what about this guy?" Ben asked pointing at the Dark Dragon's statue
"The reason why I'm training you and not someone like Ms. Park or someone else." Jake said. "The Dark Dragon. He was defeated by your great-grandfather a long time ago. The Dragon council thought he was gone for good. Gramps…your great-grandfather, insisted that he train me in case he came back. And he did. It took a lot of people to bring him down, but we managed and he SHOULD be gone for another 1000 years…well…actually 986 more years, but…Gramps and I both think we shouldn't hold our breaths. He's come back twice before"
"Paranoid much?" Ben asked
"I almost lost you when you were born Ben. I'm not taking the chances" Jake said
"You did?" Ben asked not having heard the story
"You were premature" Jake said. "You had me and your mother downright scared. But you're a strong kid like I was. If I can defeat the Dark Dragon, you can."
"You really think so?" Ben asked
"Ever heard the phrase, 'Like Father, Like Son'?" Jake asked
Ben groaned. Even though he loved his Dad, he HATED that phrase
"You're more like me than you want to be" Jake added "However, you must take the training seriously. I'm trying to make it as fun as possible for you, but the Dark Dragon is a part of our family's history. Both because your great-grandfather was the first to fight him and live to the fact that…"
"What?" Ben asked
"Do you REALLY want to know?" Jake asked
"Yeah" Ben said though not really sure
"He almost killed you" Jake said
"That makes no sense" Ben said. "You said he was gone for 14 years. I'm 13"
"To be more specific, he's been gone, as of your birthday, 13 years, seven months, and three weeks" Jake said "I just rounded up"
"You mean…Mom was pregnant with me?"
"Yes. We didn't know it at the time, but you were pretty lucky. You've been having near misses all your life Ben. ESPECIALLY when you were a baby. That's the other reason why we've been insisting that I be the one to train you. Because you'd have me, your aunt, your uncle, and your mother to train you"
"But Dad. I haven't had any accidents when I surf" Ben said
"That's because I have the mermaids keep an eye on you" Jake said "Now come on. Let's meet the Dragon Council"
"You mean I've been babysat by MERMAIDS when I'm out with my friends?" Ben asked
"Yeah. By the way, where did Mark get the idea that I work for the government?"
"I'm never talking when surfing again" Ben declared realizing that the mermaids probably told his father everything.
0000
A few minutes later,
Jake, Fu, and Ben walked into a room where a long table was stationed at one end. On the other side of the table were five dragons.
"So this is the new American Dragon," the light blue dragon mused.
"Yes Councilor." Jake said. "Ben. These are Councilors Andam, the African Dragon; Kulde, the European Dragon; Omina, the Atlantian Dragon; and Kukulkan, the Central American Dragon. All of these Councilors preside over the dragons of the individual countries."
"Dad. You missed one" Ben informed his father pointing at the dark blue-almost purple dragon who was smiling knowingly
"I wanted to introduce him privately" Jake said returning the smile towards the dragon.
"Quite understandable" Kulde said. "So I trust that young Benjamin is definitely a dragon?"
"Show him" Jake instructed
"DRAGON UP!" Ben shouted as he transformed
"He is his father's son" the un-named dragon mused fondly "How long have you been training young dragon?"
"Two months. Would have been three, but I had some issues to work out" Ben explained
"Truthful. Impressive" Andam said to Jake
"I learned from the best" Jake said looking at the un-named dragon
After being quizzed on some stuff, Ben was getting the lowdown on the Dragon Council from Fu.
"Oh yeah. Each of them were once dragons of their own countries. And in a few years, your Dad will be joining the council as will Nerk once they declare their replacements. Jake would have been a council member already, but Haley already had seven years being the Am Drag and she didn't want to go full time."
"So she chose being an artist over this?" Ben asked.
"That's right."
"But what about that Dragon Dad wanted me to wait to meet privately."
"Let's just say, you've met this guy before" Fu hinted as if in on the secret
"Ben!" Ben looked up and saw his father with a short elderly man who looked vaguely familiar to Ben
"Yeah Dad?" Ben asked
"You wanted the introduction" Jake informed his son that this was the un-named Chancellor. Ben. This is the Asian Dragon…Lao Shi."
"Isn't that…you mean you're…" Ben stuttered.
"Yes Young Dragon" Lao Shi said. "I am your great-grandfather"
"But…but I thought you were dead!"
"Not dead" Lao Shi said with a laugh in his tone. "Just retired to the Isle of Draco"
"Does Grandma and Aunt Haley know?" Ben asked his father
"Of course" Jake said. "You think Gramps would just leave his store with anybody?"
"How are your mother and sister?" Lao Shi asked Jake
"Fine. Mom and Dad moved to Florida once Dad retired and Haley and Seth took over the shop. Haley's a full time artist and Seth basically runs the shop while Fu and I take care of the magical aspects and Rose teaches in my stead."
"And young Karen?"
"Boarding school for Dance in France" Ben answered
"Takes after her mother." Lao Shi mused. "And young Juliet?"
"Annoying as ever" Ben answered
"She's good. Doesn't have her powers yet except for that one time like Ben here, but we figured if we give her time, she'll develop much like Haley did" Jake said rustling his son's hair
"Very good" Lao Shi before turning to Fu. "And I trust that you've been behaving yourself, Fu Dog?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Fu asked
Lao Shi just raised his eyebrows as did Jake.
"Okay. I could be a BIT better behaved" Fu admitted. "But then I wouldn't be me now would I?"
"No, I guess not" Lao Shi mused before turning to Jake. "Jake. The World Dragon Council has decided that, like they did you, they would test young Benjamin. However, the tests will be in 4 months. Have him trained and ready or else you risk the same thing I did when you took the tests."
"Don't worry Gramps. Ben will be ready" Jake said before turning to his son. "Let's just hope that you won't have to worry about what I did"
Ben gulped
"Don't sweat Kid" Fu said. "With Jake as your teacher, you'll know all the ropes. You wouldn't BELIEVE the messes he got into so he knows all the tricks of getting out"
"Really?" Ben asked Fu though looking at his father "Like what?"
"How about the time he took a Nix to a school dance?" Fu suggested.
"Rose was already going with Brad" Jake defended
"And that Nix what Hot" Fu added
"It was to make Rose jealous and I was only 13. Tell me Ben. What would you have done if Mark went with Ron to the school dance"
"DAD!" Ben gasped amazed that his father knew about his crush on Ron.
"Ben. I have pixies, fairies, sprites, mermaids, leprechauns, and ever other magical creature keeping an eye on you as a temporary favor of me looking after them." Jake said. "You're not hiding anything from me."
"Do I have ANY privacy?" Ben asked
"Your room and the bathroom" Jake answered. "Though once you get on that fire escape, you're in the care of the sprites"
"Great. Now I'm going to be as paranoid as you" Ben said sarcastically
"That's the idea" Jake said under his breath as his son went with Fu to be introduced to some other dragons his age.
TBC
Tomorrow (hopefully):
"Uh…I mean…" the dragon said before clearing his throat and deepening his voice. "Humans! How DARE you infiltrate my training?"
"How dare WE?" Ron asked "how dare YOU keep such a big secret from us, Benjamin Long?"
"Ron. That's a dragon. Not Ben" Mark told her