Well, I'm back! Sorry for the lack of updates everyone, I had really bad writer's block which turned into lack of interest. I had pretty much given up on this story, if it wasn't for fairyberry who lit a fire under my lazy butt. I also plan on rewriting the other chapters sometime soon; just because when I read through them I discovered a lot of mistakes that need to be fixed. Anyways, enjoy the new chapter! Also, this chapter is dedicated to fairyberry, who inspired me to get this story up and running again. Thank you!

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Chapter 4: Tasks and Twilights

Deep in the center of Central Park, a dark figure staggered through the trees. Stopping, the Drakion leaned heavily against a nearby tree, gasping for breath. He had failed. He had failed and his master was not going to be happy. Moving away from the tree, he continued on his way, walking a little better now thanks to his quick healing abilities. After walking for a few more minutes, he stopped and dropped down on one knee in front of a large crack in the ground. At his arrival, a large black cloud floated up ominously from the crack; glowing red slits that resembled eyes formed in the center and looked down at the kneeling creature.

"Master…" said the Drakion, keeping his head bowed.

'So, you dare return after you failed to bring me what I wanted.'

"Master, please forgive me! I will not-"

'Silence! You know the penalty for failure. However, because you are my most loyal creation, I will show you mercy this one time…"

"Thank you master! I will not fail you again." Said the Drakion as he stood up to leave but was stopped by his master.

'That does not mean you have escaped punishment my creation.'

Suddenly, blinding, white-hot, pain erupted from within the Drakion's chest that quickly spread throughout his body. Screaming loudly, he collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. The pain seemed to last forever but, in reality, it only lasted a few minutes and just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Panting heavily, he slowly pushed himself up and kneeled once more on his knees.

'Let that serve as reminder of what will happen if you fail me again.'

"Yes master…" the Drakion replied weakly.

'There are only two more days left until I can put the next part on my plan into action. If I do not have the American Dragon by that time then my whole plan will fall to ruin.'

"I will capture the American Dragon master and I won't fail this time." Promised the Drakion.

'See to it that you don't. Now go!'

With that said, the black cloud vanished back into the crack in the ground. The Drakion stood back up and left the clearing, a dark scowl on his featureless face.

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Jake moaned as he slowly started to regain consciousness. Opening his eyes, he slowly pushed himself up off the soft ground. Eyes wide, he looked down and saw that it was not hard concrete he was sitting on, but springy, bright green, grass. 'Grass? But how…?'

He looked up and his jaw fell open once he got a better look at his surroundings. There was nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. Night had almost completely fallen; the sky still had a tint of blue to it and the stars and moon shinned brightly from above. Standing up, he looked around, trying to spot anything other than grass.

"Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone there?"

When he received no answer he sighed and began walking in a random direction. After about ten minutes of walking around aimlessly, he flopped down onto the ground and sighed in frustration. He looked up at the stars and frowned a little in confusion.

'That's strange. I don't recognize any of these constellations.' He thought, memories of his Grandfather drilling them into his head coming to his mind. 'But the moon looks the same as it does back home. What does that mean?' Lost in his troubled thoughts, he looked down at his hands.

"What is this place…?" He asked out loud.

"This place is known as the Twilight Realm Jake." Answered a soft, feminine voice from behind him.

Gasping in surprise, Jake's eyes widened as he turned around to face the person who spoke to him. His eyes widened even more when he saw who it was. Floating above the ground was the same white and gold dragon who had saved him in his dream the night before.

"It's you!" He exclaimed as he stood up and faced her.

"This is one of the four realms that separate the living world from the spirit world." She continued as if he had said nothing. "All spirits pass through these realms before they can continue on to the next world."

"Wait, so if I'm here does that mean that I'm, you know, dead?" he asked, filled with dread.

The dragoness laughed softly, "No Jake. In fact, you are far from it. I brought you here temporarily so that I can talk to you without any interruptions."

Jake let out a great sigh of relief and looked back up at the she-dragon as she landed several feet in front of him. "So what do you want to talk you me about? Are you going to tell me why I was attacked by that strange creature? What was that thing anyways?"

"The creature that attacked you tonight was just one of the many followers of the being known as the Darkness."

"The Darkness? What is that?"

"A vile being born from the dark souls of the most evilest of creatures. It has been around for hundreds of thousands of years and has grown powerful, almost unstoppable, over that time." She looked at him sadly. "I'm afraid to say that you have already had an encounter with the monster. You remember, don't you? The dark presence that nearly consumed you last night?"

"Yes I remember…" He replied softly, a shiver running up and down his spine from the memory. "But what does the Darkness want with me?" He asked, more confused than ever.

She gave him a small smile, her eyes filled with sadness once again. "It wants you because you are the descendant of the last ruler of the magical world. Me."