American Dragon: Haley Long (Season One)
Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.
Chapter/Episode Two: Who Let the Dog In?
Thunder boomed and lightning flashed in the sky and rain started to pour down on the streets of New York. In a dark alley, there came a whimper as a small, young golden retriever was lying on its stomach. The young animal had a bent back paw and several bruises all over its body. After another flash of lightning, the animal whimpered once more and tried its best to scramble over to a small cardboard box near a bunch of other discarded trash, such as smashed televisions and Blu Ray Players. As the dog tried to get under the box, it suddenly felt a sensation in its stomach. The dog was hungry.
The dog whimpered slightly as it got to its feet and limped over to the other side of the alley where there was a large dumpster. The dog struggled to get up to the lid of the dumpster where it peaked in to see what kinds of scraps were available. Just as the dog was about to dig for something, it sensed a rumbling in the pile of trash. A second later, the dog fell backwards with a scared whimper as a large figure emerged from the trash.
As the dog looked up at the creature, its eyes widened in fear; the figure was big and it was completely covered by a long, grey cloak and hood, covering his face and entire body. "Good doggie…" the figure said slowly as he reached his arm out, making the dog gasp; claws. The figure was a dragon.
"P…Pl…Please don't hurt me!" the dog begged in a female voice.
"Aw…" the dragon said. "Excellent…Magical…"
"Wh…What do you want from me?" the dog asked, nearly shaking as the cloaked dragon started to approach her. "Please! Don't come any closer!"
"I'm not going to hurt you…" the cloaked dragon said in a dangerous way. "In fact…I want to help you…"
The dog slowly got up on her paws, whimpering slightly as she put weight on her bad paw as the rain dampened her fur. "H…How can you help me?"
"Hungry?" the cloaked dragon asked simply as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a piece of paper. "Is your paw hurting? I'll tell you what. If you bring me something from Canal Street Electronics, not only will I pay you with your dinner, but I will relieve you of your pain…What do you say?"
The young dog stared at the cloaked dragon for a moment, shivering from the pouring rain. Finally, she looked down at her injuries and listened to her growling stomach. "Alright…" the dog said. "I'll do it…"
"Fantastic…" the cloaked dragon tossed the dog the paper; the dog catching it in her mouth. "Now go…"
As he watched the young golden limp away, the cloaked dragon turned around and started to laugh evilly.
BLACKOUT; THEME SONG
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
At Millard Fillmore High School, Haley Long burst through the doors of the school just as the bell rang. "No!" Haley groaned to herself as the hallway started to become crowded with students trying to get to their class. Haley rushed into the crowd, trying to get passed several of the students, but all this resulted in for her was being pressed against a row of lockers. Sighing, Haley clenched her fists as a bright light consumed her body and her pink dragon form appeared.
Haley hovered above the other students and sped down the hallways. Haley finally came to a stop at the door of Mrs. O'Yrael's classroom where she lowered herself to the ground and reverted to her human form. If O'Yrael caught her in dragon form, she would be in so much trouble. Haley grabbed the knob and pushed the door open, stepping inside to see all the students sitting at their desks. Mrs. O'Yrael sat at her desk, a cruel grin evident in her facial features.
"What a shame…" the teacher sighed. "You're just on time. Take your seat, Miss Dragon."
Haley sighed as she turned around and started to walk over to her desk, oblivious to the fact that Sierra Tatlock was removing her hand from her chair and also the fact that Olivia Mears and Dena Mahen were now giggling. Haley sighed as she stopped at her desk, turning around and sitting down. But, as her rear touched the seat, a loud raspberry sound came from below her.
As the rest of the class burst into hysterical laughter, Haley yelped in surprise, jumping out of her seat as a bright light consumed her and she landed on the floor in her dragon form. "SILENCE!" O'Yrael's voice boomed out, silencing the class as she slowly approached the pink dragon. "Well, well, well…" she grinned.
"Mrs. O'Yrael…" Haley tried to explain. "It's not what it looks like!"
"Miss Long…" O'Yrael grinned. No doubt she was relishing in this moment. "You are aware that this school has a strict policy about magical students using powers, are you not?"
"Well, yes…" Haley reverted to her human form before she answered. "But…please, ma'am. I was just startled…"
"Haley…" Sierra's voice cut her off. "Just stop while you're ahead. You need to be responsible for your own actions…" As Sierra spoke, Olivia and Dena started to snicker.
Haley's eyes narrowed and she whirled around, placing her claws on the mean girl's desk, making the other two stop their snickering. "You…" Haley growled. "You pranked me!"
"Miss Long!" O'Yrael's voice made Haley turn back around. "I have had enough! Get your things and go to the office. You are suspended!"
LINE BREAK
"You're WHAT?" Thirty minutes later, Haley sat on the couch at her house with her head in her hands as her father yelled at her. "I never thought I'd live to see the day! My daughter suspended from school!" As he continued to rant, Jonathan seemed to cool off a little bit, temper wise. "I can't believe you, Haley. I'm sorry, but I have no choice. You're grounded."
Jonathan sighed as he walked into the kitchen, and Haley lifted her head as her mother walked over to her from the corner and sat down on the couch next to her. "Haley…" Susan said softly. "Haley…"
"It isn't fair, Mom…" Haley growled. "It wasn't my fault."
"Your principal said that the teacher said that you threatened three of your classmates." Susan said, not scornfully, but in utter bewilderment. Susan could not believe her daughter's actions. "He said that if you had just gone into your dragon form, you would have only been suspended for two days, but…"
"The three girls startled me!" Haley exclaimed. "They wanted me to get into trouble! And I didn't threaten them! I would never do that!" Haley was near tears; her perfectly clean school record had now been smudged because of a prank. "Mom…"
Susan sighed as she stood up. "I don't know what to say, dear. Perhaps you should apologize to those three girls."
"What?" Haley suddenly shot up, shocked. "Mom, they are the reason that I got in trouble! You want me to apologize to them?"
"You know what?" Susan said after a moment. "Yes, I do. I think it would be good for you. Maybe you could become friends with at least one of them. And good lord knows you need a friend…"
LINE BREAK
It was pitch black outside, and unlike the night before, it was no longer raining. A small whimper came from the young golden retriever as she approached Canal Street Electronics. The dog whimpered as she took one more step so that she could look into the windows. The shop was completely dark.
The dog limped over to the front door and brought her good front paw up to the door and started to move it in a circle, carving a hole in the door. The dog nudged to glass with her nose, knocking it out of its slot as she slowly got inside the shop. The dog then shook herself as the piece of paper slid out from her fur. The dog looked down at the paper as she stared at the object she was to steal.
Now knowing what to look for, the dog bit down, chewing the piece of paper before swallowing, and then she searched. The dog limped over to the counter where the cash register was resting. The dog got to one of the drawers and used her mouth to pull it open, the drawer hitting the ground as it was removed from its place. There was a rather loud thud noise as all of the goods in the spilled out onto the floor. The dog was about to start to look through the items when she heard a female voice.
"Fu Dog?" the voice asked, and a moment later, Sun Park walked into the room. "Fu Dog?" she repeated. "Are you in here?"
The young dog waited until the dragon had turned around and started to walk back to the other room before she decided to flee. The dog leapt over the counter, letting out a whimper of pain as she landed on the floor, the whimper attracting the attention of Sun, who whirled around just in time to see the dog jumping up and crashing through the glass door. Sun jumped into the air as a blue light engulfed her, transforming her into her dragon form.
The Korean Dragon flew out of the shop and into the night, landing on the ground and looking in all directions for the intruder, but to her surprise, the intruder had vanished into the night. Sun blinked in shock.
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Haley stood on the top step of the stairs of Sierra Tatlock's home. Haley mentally groaned as she curled her fingers in a fist before bringing them up and knocking on the door. Haley sighed as she brought her fist away from the door and stood back as the door opened and Sierra's smug grin appeared.
"Haley!" Sierra acted surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Haley looked down at her feet, but before she could open her mouth, Sierra continued: "Oh, I know why you're here. Your mother called and said that you wanted to apologize to me. That's so big of you, Dragon-Girl. But I hardly doubt that it would relieve me of the nightmares I'm destined to have for the rest of my life…"
Haley could feel her temper starting to flare up, and she clenched her fists. Gritting her teeth, Haley looked up and stared at Sierra's smug and victorious look. "You know what?" Haley growled. "Forget it!" Haley then turned and stormed down the stairs before she transformed into her dragon form and flew off.
LINE BREAK
The next morning, Haley found herself groaning as she felt someone shaking her. Haley slowly opened her eyes and found her mother shaking her awake. "Just because you were suspended and don't have to go to school doesn't mean you get to sleep in." Susan Long told her crossly. Haley groaned as she sat up in bed, and her mother continued. "Sun called. Apparently there was a break in at the shop last night."
"What?" Haley asked as she got to her feet, sliding off the bed. "What happened? Did Sun say anything?"
"No." Susan replied. "Sun didn't say anything. All she said was that she wants you down there."
LINE BREAK
Around the same time, the young golden retriever whimpered as she put pressure on her injured paw as soon as she had finished climbing up a fire-escape which led to the roof of a building. Waiting for her was the cloaked dragon.
"Well?" The dragon demanded. "Did you get it?"
"No…" the dog lowered her head in shame, making the dragon growl and start to approach her slowly, threateningly. "But I'll get it!" the dog added, backing away in fear. "Please, just give me a little more time! There was someone inside! I barely made it out!"
The cloaked dragon seemed to think this over. Finally, the dragon growled. "Fine…But only because I need this object…If I didn't…"
The next thing the dog knew, there was a flash and a loud crashing sound as the dragon slammed his tail against the roof, sending a chunk flying up. The next thing the dog knew, there was a swift movement of the cloaked dragon's arm as his claws sliced the chunk of plaster into three pieces.
"…That would be you…" the dragon growled as the three chunks came crashing down.
Now terrified, the young golden whimpered as she backed up, nodding as she turned. "I won't fail this time!" she said. "I'll get it this time." And she was off…
LINE BREAK
Fu Dog snored loudly as he lied on the couch in the back of the shop. The 600 year old dog had slept right through the break-in the night before, and was now sleeping through Sun pacing around the room. Finally, Sun stopped pacing and she turned to Fu. "Fu Dog…" she said politely. "Fu Dog, do you mind waking up for me?"
"Wh…What?" Fu Dog's eyes snapped open and the 600 year old dog sat up. "What? Did you say something?"
"Fu Dog, there was a break-in last night." Sun said calmly. "I'm trying to think. No offense, but I can't do that when you're snoring."
"Fine…" Fu jumped from the couch and started to walk out the door. "I get it. You don't want me around."
"Fu, you know that wasn't what I meant." Sun said softly, mentally kicking herself for giving the dog that idea.
Before Fu could say another word, the bell above the door rang and Haley, in dragon form, quickly rushed into the room, struggling to catch her breath. "Sun!" she declared. "I'm here!"
After Haley made her entrance, Fu finished speaking. "It's okay, Sun." the dog said. "I know that you didn't mean it that way. It's just…things haven't been the same since Jake left and the old man passed on."
"Whoa…" Haley broke in. "What did I miss?"
"What I'm saying is, and I've been thinking about this for about a month…" Fu finished. "I think Haley should find her own animal guardian."
"What?" Haley asked, now aware of what was going on. "You mean…"
LINE BREAK
"You want to leave the order?" Holly Jennings nearly shouted as Haley, Sun and Fu all stood in front of her on the grass outside of the main hall on the Island of Draco. As she spoke again, Holly didn't shout this time: "But…why? Fu, you're a great animal guardian. Haley needs you."
Haley stared at her older brother's friend. At age 25, Holly had achieved what her brother had wanted to: becoming a member of the Dragon Council and she wore purple robes, similar to the late Councilor Andam's, which looked slightly large on her. Unfortunately, that was where the good news ended. Holly had been devastated by her brother's death, and her appearance showed it. Despite her young age, she looked significantly worse for the wear—her previously wavy red hair was now straight and now had strands of gray. Her eyes, which had previously had a fire and a brightness in them had now all but died away and had been replaced with a dull and depressed look.
"I'm just not feeling it anymore…" Fu answered honestly.
Holly sighed. "The rest of the Council will not be happy about this…"
"They never are…" Haley crossed her arms. Holly looked at the younger dragon, failing to keep a small smile away. Haley lowered her arms and smiled back. Haley felt bad for Holly and felt that if she could do anything to make her feel even slightly better for even the slightest amount of time, she should go for it.
"Well…" Holly turned her attention back to business. "Shall we go inform the rest of the Council?"
After a rather short walk, Haley found herself in the main hall where all of the councilors sat. Councilor Fachtna sat in the middle, and to the right of him sat Councilor Ulixes, who was the dragon of Greece. She wore dark blue robes with some white stripes on them. Sitting next to her was Haley's older cousin, Gregory, or Greggy. Haley had no idea how her sniveling worm of a cousin had become a council member, but he had anyway, and he wore dark green robes. To the left of Fachtna was the seat belonging to Fred Nerk, followed by Holly's empty seat and then the seat belonging to Councilor Callum, the Dragon of England, who wore white and red robes.
"Councilor Jennings…" Fachtna started. "What are they doing here?"
Greggy scoffed. "Maybe they found the proof that a hunter survived the Huntsgirl's wish!" As he finished mocking his cousin, he burst out into a loud cackle. Listening to this mockery, Haley growled as Holly made her way over to her seat.
"Silence!" Councilor Fachtna cut Greggy off. "Why have you really come here, Dragon Long?"
"Well…" Haley started, but Fu cut her off and walked up to the entire council with his head lowered.
"Well…I…" Fu stuttered. "I…kind of want to step aside as the kid's magical guardian…"
"What?" Councilor Ulixes suddenly shouted. "How dare you even suggest that? You have a duty to the Magical World and the American Dragon! There is no room for this dragon to get behind in her training."
"I agree." Councilor Callum added. "When it comes to the American Dragon's training, you are essential. It is not the right time for you to be leaving."
"Dog…" Ulixes continued. "Back in 1972, you swore your services to the Chinese Dragon when you chose to become his so called 'sidekick'. What makes you think that your vow should be revoked?"
"No, no…" Fachtna cut her off, and as he continued, Ulixes gasped in surprise. "Times have changed, Ulixes. Fu Dog made the vow to Master Lao-Shi, who is no longer with us. And as he is no longer with us, I find that if Fu Dog, who has done what he has vowed to do, cannot be forced to serve anymore. Dragon Long, we will find you a new animal guardian. Fu Dog, you are free to go."
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
A small whimper could be heard as the young golden retriever finally made it to the front of Canal Street Electronics. The dog stared the door down, and to her surprise, she could see that the hole she had made when she first broke in had been patched up. The golden let out a small sigh as she slowly made her way to the door, and bringing up her paw, started to carve a small hole in the door with her paw.
As the glass fell out of place, the dog slowly climbed through the hole and started to look throughout the shop. The dog once again made her way over to the counter and pulled out all of the drawers and spilling all of the things onto the floor.
"Come on!" the dog begged silently as she nudged through the items with her nose. "Please be here!"
LINE BREAK
"Really?" Fu Dog asked, as Sun and Haley gaped in surprise behind him. "You really mean that? You don't mind?"
"Why would we mind?" Facthna asked, although it was obvious that all of the other councilors cared. "It would be wrong to force a creature to do something that they do not wish to do. Do not worry, Fu Dog. You are not abandoning Dragon Long. We will find her a new animal guardian."
Fu lowered his head, trying to show his respect. "I respect your understanding, councilors." The dog said. "Thank you."
Haley turned her had with her jaw lowered as the shar-pei turned and slowly left the room. "Councilors…" Sun spoke. "Are you sure about this? Fu Dog has been a very capable and loyal guardian. I do not think it is wise to let him go."
"You are not the only one, Dragon Park." Callum agreed.
"Then why don't we do something to stop him?" Holly demanded. "In my opinion, Fu Dog is the only animal guardian fit to work with the American Dragon!"
"Yes…" Ulixes scowled. "Or perhaps Fu Dog was part of the problem…" Facthna grinned as she spoke. "Think about it, Jennings. That dog was a crook before Lao-Shi found him. Perhaps the dog's life of crime wore off on the previous American Dragon…"
"What?" Nerk spoke up. "Jake-a-roo…" Nerk suddenly stopped, not wanting to disagree with the beliefs of the rest of the members of the council.
"Enough!" Facthna declared. "My decision is final, and as the head of the council, it is my decision. Dragon Nerk, I am assigning you the chore of finding Dragon Long a new guardian."
"Yes, sirs…" Nerk stood up before walking over to Sun and Haley. "Shall we begin looking?"
"No, Councilor Nerk…" Sun replied respectfully. "Haley and I should probably be getting back. Her parents probably want her back home. We will look later."
LINE BREAK
The golden retriever was beginning to get nervous as she knocked down every object in the shop, but she could not find the object she was supposed to retrieve anywhere. The dog started to whine with anxiety as she started to look even harder.
"It has to be here!" the dog moaned as she started to frantically turn her head in both directions. If she didn't get the object for the dragon, she would be destroyed by his claws. In her greatest moment of panic, the young golden took off running, not paying attention to her injured paw and ramming into the wall. However, there was a tearing sound and a piece of plaster fell to the ground, revealing a safe hidden behind the wall.
All of her anxiety fading away, the dog let out of small bark of relief as she brought her paws up on the wall and pulled down the rest of the plaster so she could see the entire safe. The dog looked quizzically at the safe, wondering how she should go at opening it. Just as the dog finally made her decision, she froze in fear as she heard the door open as the bell over the door rang out.
"Don't worry, Haley…" the person spoke in a female voice. "We'll find you a new animal guardian…"
The young golden frantically looked for a place to hide, finally deciding on a place under the nearest couch. Ignoring the pain in her paw as she ran, the dog slid across the floor and disappeared from view underneath the couch as Sun entered the room. Looking out from her hiding space, the dog stared at the dragon that had almost caught her in the act just the previous night.
Back in the front room, Haley sighed as she walked over to the counter, pulling up a chair and sitting down, putting her head in her hands. She couldn't believe it. Fu Dog had left her. Haley sniffled as she lifted her head, looking down at the floor. "What the…?" Haley asked herself before she stood up and rushed to the next room where Sun was standing, alone.
"Sun!" Haley exclaimed, but before she could continue, Sun motioned for her to be quiet.
"Shh!" Sun ordered, before turning to her pupil and whispering: "Someone is in here…"
LINE BREAK
Fu Dog had gotten off of the elevator that led to the Isle of Draco and was now leaving the subway station. After finishing walking up the steps, Fu turned and walked down the streets of the city. Fu felt guilty about turning his back on Haley and Sun, but he was Jake's animal guardian, and he never thought he could miss anyone as much as he missed the kid. He missed the old man, too. And things just hadn't been the same since Lao-Shi had passed away and since Jake had been forced to leave. Things were just so depressing. Fu was just a little too tired of the depressing turn life had taken.
Fu lowered his head as he continued to walk aimlessly down the streets until he heard a yell. Fu lifted his head just in time to see an elf running terrified from a corner; Fu had to stop in his tracks in order to avoid a collision. "Yeah, that's right!" the shar-pei suddenly heard a familiar voice, and the next thing he knew, the vigilante dragon appeared in the alley. "You better run! That's what you get for messing with an innocent human!" The vigilante then looked down and looked at Fu.
"What are you doing?" Fu demanded.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" the vigilante retorted. "I'm doing my job…unlike you…"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Fu growled.
"Aren't you supposed to be an animal guardian?" the vigilante asked, leaning against the wall of a run down building.
"I've been let go…" Fu growled.
"Really?" the Vigilante Dragon grinned slightly. "Or did you leave them?"
"Does it matter?" the shar-pei shot as he tried to walk away, but the dragon's voice called him back.
"Of course it matters." The vigilante said. "You may think that I'm being too wise for my own good, but I don't think that you should be leaving the American Dragon now. Every dragon needs an animal guardian. Are you just going to abandon her now of all times?"
"What do you mean 'now of all times'?" Fu demanded, turning to face him.
"Remember what I said before?" the vigilante asked. "Everything is going to get worse before it gets better? I talk from experience; I think the American Dragon needs a loyal animal guardian to help guide her. A dragon master can't do all of the work…"
As The Vigilante Dragon finished, he flared his wings, flapping them and lifting off of the ground, flying into the day and leaving Fu Dog alone.
LINE BREAK
Back at the shop, Haley and Sun were now looking around the shop. Sun stopped in front of the safe and put her hand on it. "Do you think the thief broke into it?" Haley asked.
"No." Sun answered, turning from the safe. "Unless the intruder could go intangible and get what they wanted and then just walk out, I doubt it. Fortunately, the intruder is still in here. I can feel it." Sun then turned and closed her eyes, trying to get a good sense of the shop. Finally, Sun opened her eyes and slowly walked over to the couch that the dog was hiding under.
Sun got down on her knees and bent down, peering under the couch and making eye contact with the dog. The young golden took this opportunity to leap from her hiding area, knocking Sun against the nearest table as the dog ran.
"Haley!" Sun shouted as the Korean Dragon rolled over onto her stomach.
A bright light engulfed Haley, making her dragon form appear. Haley leapt from her place on the floor as the dog ran passed her as quickly as possible. Despite her injury, the dog was still able to outrun Haley, who hit the floor, her claws poking into the floorboards as the dog disappeared from the room.
The dog skidded around the corner and ran for the door, crashing through it once again, and landing on the cement right in front of Fu Dog. For a moment, the shar-pei looked rather surprised at the scene unfolding in front of him, but he soon realized what had happened.
Before the young golden could react, Fu Dog growled and leapt, ramming into the young golden. The dog was thrown from her feet, crashing through the glass door to Canal Street Electronics, completely shattering it. The dog flew into the room and slammed into the counter, sliding down to the floor dazed as Haley and Sun entered the room. "Fu Dog!" Haley suddenly exclaimed as she noticed the presence of the shar-pei. Reverting to her human form, Haley rushed over to Fu, knelt down and hugged the dog.
On the other side of the room, the young golden groaned as she tried to get up, but before she could, she felt something attach to her collar and she heard a click. Looking up, she could see that the light blue dragon had attached a leash to her. "I don't think so, pup…" the dragon said.
LINE BREAK
The doors to the main hall on the Isle of Draco opened as two dragon guards entered the room with the young golden, which was restrained with a leash around her neck, making it so she would be going nowhere. Sun and Haley, who had been speaking to the council turned around to face the dog, who looked terrified.
"Good. You're here." Fachtna stood up and went over to the dog, kneeling down so that he was leveled with the dog. "What is your name?"
The dog's eyes were wide and her lips trembled, but she still blurted out: "Lu Dog!" she cried. "Please, have mercy!"
"We'll see about that…" Fachtna stated. "Why did you break into their shop?"
"I…" Lu Dog started. "I…Someone offered to heal my paw…" But before Lu could even finish, Fachtna stood straight up and walked back over to his seat and sat down.
"Very well, dog." Ulixes spoke. "Then, if you are all done explaining your reasons, we will now decide your sentence."
"Wait!" Haley spoke up. "Don't you want to know what she was trying to steal?"
"It doesn't matter!" Ulixes spat. "She didn't steal the item, and she never will. Therefore, we do not need to know."
"Yeah, dog-punk!" Greggy piped up. "You're sentenced to death, fool!" Haley rolled her eyes as Greggy spoke; her cousin had not changed one bit.
"Would you be quiet?" Fachtna turned to Greggy, shooting the younger councilor a glare. Turning his attention back to Lu, he narrowed his eyes. "Dog, before you committed this crime, you should have taken into account that we do not show mercy to felons. You're looking at the rest of your life in a prison cell."
"There's just one problem…" Ulixes frowned. "All of the cells are currently inhabited."
"All of them?" Nerk asked.
"There are many criminals out there, Dragon Nerk…" Ulixes rolled her eyes. "Well, what should we do with her?"
"I think I have an idea…" Holly suddenly smiled slightly. "What if, um, Lu Dog stays with Dragon Long and Dragon Park?"
"What?" Haley demanded.
"…That way…" Holly continued. "Perhaps the dog can full her sentence by serving the American Dragon. Perhaps…she'd be a…animal guardian of sorts…"
"That won't be necessary." Fu suddenly spoke. "She won't need a new guardian. I'm staying."
"What?" Haley turned her attention to Fu. "Are you serious?" And when Fu nodded in confirmation, Haley smiled and bent down, wrapping her scaly arms around him. "Thanks, Fu!"
"She doesn't have to be an animal guardian." Councilor Callum spoke. "She could just serve her time at your so-called 'shop'."
Councilor Fachtna and Ulixes both stared at Holly and Callum, but nonetheless, Fachtna nodded and spoke: "Very well. The dog will stay at your…shop…with you in order to serve her sentence."
LINE BREAK
As Sun tied the leash around Lu Dog's neck to the couch leg, Haley, who was still in dragon form after the flight back to the shop, walked over to Fu, who was lying on the counter chewing on a bone.
"Uh…Fu…" Haley spoke, drawing the dog's attention away from the bone. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything, kid."
"I thought you wanted to leave." Haley spoke. "Why did you come back?"
"Well, kid." Fu continued. "I kind of ran into a little advice, I guess you could say. A goo-goo-goo. You know what I'm saying?"
"No." Haley answered honestly. "Not at all…"
"Well then, perhaps you just aren't supposed to know." Fu smiled. "I would think that the fact that I am back would be enough."
Haley couldn't help but smile. Putting her clawed hand on Fu's head, she patted him. "I am glad that you're back. I just hope that you're staying."
"Kid, you know I'm staying."
LINE BREAK
Holly stood in her quarters, which she had set up like a regular bedroom. The young dragon council member walked over to a small desk and sat down by it, staring right at a photograph that was taped to the wall. In the picture, there stood Holly on her ninth birthday, the day that she had completely mastered her dragon form. Holly stood there in full dragon with a wide and proud smile on her face and with her older brother, TJ at her side. Behind TJ, with her hand on his shoulder, was his future murderer, his mother. In that picture, Mrs. Jennings had been smiling, but no one would know that, as Holly had scribbled her face in with a marker.
Holly smiled slightly as she looked at the picture, but she was forced to stand up and face the door as the door opened and Councilor Ulixes stepped inside. "Can I help you?" Holly asked.
"You are going to listen to me, Jennings." Ulixes growled. "I don't know what you want for the American Dragon—"
"What are you talking about?"
"SILENCE!" Ulixes roared. "You know what I'm talking about! And since you do know, I'm only going to tell you once: if the American Dragon ends up like her brother, you'll be sharing a cell with him!"
Holly was about to open her mouth, but Ulixes turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her.
LINE BREAK
After closing the door, a grinning Ulixes turned around as Councilor Fachtna stepped out of the shadows. "Well?" Fachtna asked. "Did you warn her?"
"Yes."
"Good." Fachtna grinned. "Fu Dog could be a bad influence on the young dragon. And we must prevent her taking the same road that her brother took."
"And how are we going to prevent it?"
"We'll have to remove the dog somehow…"
"How?"
Fachtna turned and looked into Ulixes' eyes, his filled with the fires of determination. "Well, we'll just have to come up with something, won't we?"
BLACKOUT; END EPISODE
A/N: What do you think? Fu wanting to leave isn't all that original; it's been done before in other movies. And the end kind of reminds me of TWAT from Avatar, but I needed to get the point that Fachtna and Ulixes are bad news out.