Sorry for the delay. I was updating my fanfics. :) Thanks goes to LadyPorpoise for helping me figure out the Kakamora, especially for the first scene. :)

*.*.*

The fire crackled and popped. All Parker could see was darkness. Was his sight working? Did he know where he was? And why did he hear coconut shells? Mm. Coconuts. Coconuts?!

Parker's eyes snapped open. Before he was an onslaught of coconut men with arms, legs, and even wearing masks. The dragonoid nearly chuckled at the sight of them. He knew what these creatures were. The only problem was: why was he roped up and on a post? A moving post? Wait a minute.

"Put me down!" Parker told the coconut men. They didn't respond. Instead, they carried him further up a mountain. "Kakamora! Please, release me! You don't want to summon my dragonoid powers, now do we?!" Still no response. This was getting ridiculous! Did he have any powers? His fire died out in his throat a long time ago. Now, he was just a dragonoid with no fire breath and no way of getting himself out of this jam. Oh! If only he had listened to Falkor—

No. Wait. He already did that. Oh!

"Falkor, where are you?" Parker mumbled.

Whack! A giant stick smacked him across the face! The red dragonoid glared at the coconut man who whacked him! What a shameful turn of events!

"Well, it couldn't get any worse," Parker shook his head. Why did he smell fire? He just managed to look up when a spout of lava crashed to the ground. Wait a second. What? He belted out in haste to the Kakamora, "Please, you guys! You've got to let me go! I don't want to die! We can be friends! Please?!"

The Kakamora just refused to listen to him. They climbed higher and higher up the mountain, reaching the very top, where Parker found himself in front of a lava pit. Well, this was not good at all.

"Falkor now would be the time!" Parker cried out in terror. He did not want to suffocate out here or die! Not by lava! That was the worst kind of death imaginable! He screamed, "FALKOR! Falkor, where are you? Falkor!" The lava was getting closer. The Kakamora had to seek reason. He would figure it out before he died, wouldn't he? "Why are you doing this? What have I done to you?"

The Kakamora tapped sticks against their portable drum sets. They beat the drums faster and harder, keeping up with their tense, angry rhythm. Uh oh! The dragonoid knew they meant business, and he had a feeling what that business was about.

Oh, this was not good! Not good at all!

"FALKOR!" Parker screamed out again, stunned to find his pleas answered the moment Falkor swooped down and picked up his post. The red dragonoid laughed in triumph, watching the Kakamora stare at the two dragons in confusion, before running down the mountain, chasing after them. Parker looked up at Falkor in fright. "Falkor, you had better move quickly. They're not happy with me."

"What did you do, Parker, to cause such pain?" Falkor asked, curious.

"Oh, I just stole their sacred fire one time and dumped water on it." Parker grinned mischievously. "It made them angry at me."

Falkor laughed. "I can see why." He added, "Hold on! We're about to head into the next realm!"

Parker looked back at the coconut men as they vanished from view. He and Falkor were through the portal, straight into a realm filled with jungle. The moment Falkor cut him free from his bonds, Parker ran around excited, getting the tension out of his system.

"Whoo! Thank you, Falkor!" Parker smiled at the dog-like dragon.

"Don't mention it." Falkor yawned, taking his nap. Parker chuckled, sitting down on a log. He wasn't going through that experience with the Kakamora again. That was for sure.

.

The dragonoid sat up. He just finished eating some cooked beef and some fruit. He wasn't ready to go to sleep. He wanted to have conversations. Maybe he could wake Falkor up and talk to him a little bit. Hmm… that was a possibility.

"Falkor! You awake!" Parker whispered loudly to the Luckdragon.

Falkor yawned. "I'm listening."

"Are we near my village?" Parker asked, curious.

"We're close," Falkor said, sleepily. "Why do you ask?"

"I keep getting this strange feeling like I've been here before." He answered. How could that be? There was nothing but jungle out here… or was there? He'd been in the healer's house for too long to know any different.

"Go to sleep, Parker," Falkor said, closing his eyes.

Parker sighed. Perhaps he wouldn't know. "Falkor," He asked next, "what price did you pay to find me? It couldn't have been a lot, could it?"

"I wouldn't know." Falkor shook his head. "We have our place in the world. Just know that the price I'd paid to get you is a good one." He yawned again. "It's time to go to sleep now! Goodnight Parker Dooley." The Luckdragon said, falling asleep again.

.

Parker drifted off to sleep, thinking about the day's events. It was clear he wasn't going to get enough sleep today, but if he did, if he dared to even think of what this experience taught him. More than anything, the lesson here was that he shouldn't put out someone's fire. That he, instead, should keep the flame alight, in order to keep the happiness going.

This made sense, given his time with Elizabeth Bowler was only for four years. Then there was nothing but darkness in his life. Oh, how he wished Elizabeth – Eliza, as she called herself – would return to him, to be with him. Sadly, some things weren't meant to be. He would have to move on. But how do you move on from love?

The darkness embraced him at last, causing him to enter a strange dream.

He was standing in a long, dimly-lit corridor, with nothing but a torch to guide his way. There was something… or someone at the other end. Another dragonoid. How could that be? The time of the dragonoids was coming to an end, as far as he knew.

That wasn't the only odd part of the dream. This dragonoid, with battered and bloody deep red scales, brandished a red-beamed laser sword. Parker recognized the weapon. It was a lightsaber, from the Galaxy Far, Far Away. No way! How did this dragonoid get here? He was charging forward, straight at him!

Parker was thrown to the ground. No! NOOO!

Parker awoke from the dream, dazed and confused. What was going on in that dream? That dragonoid… he looked an awful lot like him, but he hadn't seen another dragonoid in the last few years. Was his village in danger? If it was, then he'd have to go back. He couldn't waste another second in this jungle!

He would have to wake Falkor and tell him the news.

He approached Falkor now, who was still sound asleep. He whispered in the Luckdragon's ear, "I have to leave. We must go. My village is in danger!"

"Oh yes," Falkor awoke, sleepily. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"I can't go without you," Parker admitted.

"I'll meet you in the village," Falkor said, gazing at him. "Oh, don't worry, Parker! The way to your village is through that cave." He showed him a cave, standing close by. "But it would take one of us to pass through that portal first. I can't follow you. Not yet, but I'll meet you on the other side."

"If you're sure you'll be all right," Parker said, encouraging the Luckdragon.

"Don't worry about me. Go! This is your quest," Falkor said, supportive.

Parker nodded. "What about my stuff?"

"They'll be with me," Falkor admitted. He said, encouragingly, "I'll meet you there!"

"Right," Parker said, taking a good look at the cave. It was massive, but he would have to go in there. He waved to Falkor one last time, before making his advance into the cave.

*.*.*

References:

The Kakamora tribe comes from Disney's animated movie "Moana". The lightsaber and the Galaxy Far, Far Away are part of the "Star Wars" universe.