Jake Long III (Season Two)

Chapter/Episode Thirteen: My Heart To Slay Part 2

Melissa took the shackles off of the belt that was around the waist of the Dragon Master she had just killed. Straightening up, Melissa turned to face Gussie, who was shaking in fear. "I'm not going to kill you." Melissa said as she started to walk over to the younger dragon.

Swallowing hard, Gussie tried to act brave. Taking a deep breath, the younger dragon took a fighting stance. "Of course you're not." She said. "Because I'm going to fight you...and win."

"Oh please." Melissa rolled her eyes before she looked down at her watch. "I don't have time for this!" She exclaimed as she looked back up at the younger dragon.

Opening her mouth, Melissa blew out a large torrent of fire. To avoid it, Gussie jumped to the side, only to grunt as Melissa slammed her tail into her chest, having flown up to her as she jumped out of the way. Gussie grunted again as she landed on her back, reverting to her human form.

"Alright, now is this game of yours over?" Melissa asked impatiently. "I told you that I'm not going to kill you."

"Then what are you going to do?" Gussie asked as she got to her feet.

Not answering, Melissa shot her tail out and wrapped it around Gussie's neck, making Gussie gasp as she was pulled forward, being forced to pass by Melissa herself as Melissa turned around and pulled Gussie's hands behind her back, binding her hands together with the shackles.

"Alright, now listen up." Melissa said as she put her clawed hands on Gussie's shoulders. "Whatever you do, do not transform into a dragon. If you do that..." She told her terrified captive. "...Then you will give me no choice but to kill you. Believe me when I say that you're no good to me dead."

"Wh...What are you going to do with me?"

"We're going to go see the Dragon Council." Melissa told her as she started to walk Gussie forward.

LINE BREAK

Meanwhile, the doors to the Main Hall were opened, both Dingane and Jake III walking in. As he followed Dingane, Jake III could see Councilors Asil, Agata and Yara standing beside a dragon that had an Army Green-color, with orange lines on his legs, red lines on his right arm and black lines on his left arm. When the dragon saw Jake, he smiled warmly.

"Mr. Long..." Asil said as Jake III and Dingane came to a stop. "...Are you ready to meet your new master?"

"Sure." Was Jake III's response.

"Meet Agent McClellan." Asil said. "He is your new master."

BLACKOUT; PLAY THEME SONG

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

In 2033, Rose, Rosie, Noelia, Patience, Lucero and Essence all were panting from exhaustion as they turned around a corner, continuing on. "Do you think he'll be okay?" Lucero asked, talking about Bracewell.

"I hope so." Was Rose's response.

"Where exactly are we going?" Patience asked.

"We're not going to just hide, are we?" Noelia asked.

"No." Was Rose's reply. "No, that's out of the question now. Our situation has changed. Now, we just get the hell out of here. We're not going to stop flying until exit this place and get far enough away."

"Do you know how much time we have left?" Noelia asked, turning her head to the side.

"Does it look like I have a watch right now?" Rose snapped.

"You're right." Noelia relented, turning her head back to normal. "We'll know when it's time. Essence." She turned her head back to the side again. "Essence, can you do me a favor?"

"What?" Essence asked, turning her head to the side.

"See if we're being followed." Noelia said.

"We probably are." Rose said.

"Okay, Noelia." Essence replied before she looked back, seeing that there was nobody following them. "Um, no." Essence smiled with relief. "Right now, there isn't-" However, before she could finish, she stopped in her tracks as Creed turned around the corner, flying after them.

"N...Never mind." Essence said as she turned her head back to normal. "I think we should hurry up and get out of here."

As he flew after them, Creed watched as Rose and the others all started to speed up. Effortlessly starting to glow red, Creed summoned five doppelgangers of himself. "Go and kill the young ones!" Creed ordered as he pointed at his escaping targets. "The oldest one is mine!"

Without saying anything, the five doppelgangers all sped ahead. Essence was watching this happen with wide eyes. "We've got doppelgangers to deal with!" Essence declared before she turned her head back to normal.

Quickly, Rose and the others turned around a corner, but as she turned, Essence gasped and then screamed as a doppelganger's tail snagged her ankle and pulled her back around the corner. "We lost Essence!" Noelia was distraught.

"Are they going to kill her?" Patience asked.

"What do you think?!" Noelia shot back.

"Okay, okay!" Rose said, holding up her clawed hands. "Just keep going. Try and find a way out of here. I'll go back and help your friend."

"But what about-?" Noelia started, turning her head to the side, but before she could finish, Rose fell back. Landing on the floor, Rose turned around as Creed's doppelgangers all passed by her. Scowling, Rose watched as Creed landed right in front of her.

"Where's the girl?" Rose asked.

"She's about to die." Creed told her.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Rose replied before she charged.

Meanwhile, Rosie and her remaining friends kept flying and they were about to reach a flight of stairs that led down. "Maybe that'll lead us to the exit!" Patience suggested.

"I doubt it!" Noelia replied. "I don't think we're all going to make it out of here."

"Don't talk like that!" Lucero jerked her head to the side.

"She's right, Noelia." Rosie spoke up. "We've got to make it out of here. We'll-" However, before she could finish, she grunted and cried out as one of Creed's doppelgangers came down on her, grabbing her. Within seconds, Rosie and the doppelganger had fallen back.

"Rosie!" Noelia shouted, looking back as she, Lucero and Patience all reached the stairs.

Grunting, Rosie and Creed's doppelganger hit the ground and started to roll back, all the way back over to where Rose and the real Creed were fighting. As soon as Rosie and the doppelganger came to a halt, Creed's doppelganger was on top, and he tried to punch her. However, Rosie quickly opened her mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, blasting the doppelganger off of her. With a grunt, the doppelganger hit the wall and fell to its side.

Getting to her feet as quickly as she could, Rosie turned and watched as Rose threw a punch at Creed. As Creed ducked, Rose managed to grab her foe by his shoulders and throwing him against the wall.

Turning her head to the side as Creed struggled, Rose could see her granddaughter standing still, an unsure look on her face. "Go check on your friend!" Rose ordered. "Now! Before it's too late to save her!"

Reluctant to listen to her grandmother, Rosie quickly decided to help her friend and quickly ran down the hall, passing Rose just as Creed managed to overpower Rose and throw her away from him, slamming her against the opposite wall.

Within seconds, Rosie turned around the corner and could see Essence getting trashed by Creed's doppelganger. Essence grunted as the doppelganger punched her in the belly, followed by the head. As Essence staggered back, the doppelganger grabbed her and pushed her up against the wall. Breathing heavily, Essence coughed up blood as she stared the doppelganger in the eyes.

"HEY!" Rosie shouted, making both Essence and Creed's doppelganger turn their heads to the side to see a very angry-looking Rosie, her clawed hands clenched into fists. "Let her go." Rosie growled.

"Gladly." Creed's doppelganger said before he pulled Essence away from the wall.

"What are you-?" Rosie started, but she stopped and gasped as she watched the doppelganger slash Essence down the chest and belly. "NO!" Rosie shouted, watching as Essence fell back onto the ground.

Growling with rage, Rosie flapped her wings and, as soon as she reached the doppelganger, slammed her tail into it, throwing it back. The doppelganger grunted as it landed on the floor. However, as it landed, it made view for Rosie to see Mrs. Jennings and Affendi, who were walking down the hall. As she saw Rosie land on the ground, Mrs. Jennings smiled evilly.

Meanwhile, Rose was on her back with the real Creed on top of her. With her teeth gritted, she fought against her enemy, their lands clasped together. With a grunt, Rose finally managed to throw Creed off of her, getting up to her feet in the process.

Breathing heavily, Rose started to walk over to the wall that Creed was slumped against, but after only one step, she froze when she heard Mrs. Jennings warn her: "Stop right there, Agent!"

Slowly, Rose turned to see that Mrs. Jennings was holding Rosie hostage, pinning Rosie's arms behind her back. "Strike him and I will kill this one." Mrs. Jennings warned.

"Don't!" Rose begged.

"Surrender." Mrs. Jennings said. "Surrender...or I will kill her."

"If..." Rose reached out, trying to reason with her granddaughter's captor. "...If...If I surrender, will you promise to let her go?"

"We've already been through this before, Agent." Mrs. Jennings rolled her eyes. "There is no way on this green Earth that I will let her go."

"Please!" Rose continued. "Please, I beg of you! She's my granddaughter! Please!" Slowly, Rose got down onto her knees. "She's my granddaughter. She can't hurt you."

"Yes, I can!" Rosie snapped, angrily defending herself.

"She hasn't even been born yet and I doubt I'll ever truly get to know her properly." Rose continued. "But I love her. Please, in twenty minutes, she'll be sent back to her rightful place in time. Please let her go back there with her life. You can do whatever you want with me. Just don't hurt her."

Mrs. Jennings' nostrils flared with anger. She had had enough of this. At this point, she just wanted her enemies put in their places and she wanted to find her son. "Fine!" She exclaimed. "If you come quietly and don't put up a fight, I will spare the life of your future granddaughter."

"And her friends." Rose quickly added.

Smoke came out of Mrs. Jennings' nostrils as she exhaled. "AND HER FRIENDS!" She bellowed in agreement. "JUST STOP YOUR PITIFUL PLEAS!"

Grinning, Creed got to his feet and walked over to Rose, forcing her to her feet and pinning her arms behind her back.

LINE BREAK

Back in 2085, the Council, Agent McClellan and Jake III still stood in the hall. Taking a deep breath, McClellan took a deep breath and stepped forward, offering a clawed hand to Jake once he reached him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Long." McClellan said right before Jake III took his hand, nervously shaking it. "And don't worry, I know that you're a human. I won't treat you like a dragon. I won't force you to do things that I know humans can't do."

"Glad to know." Jake said as parted hands. "It's Jake, by the way."

"I'll take that into account." McClellan told him.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" The sound of Melissa's voice made Jake III and Councilor Dingane quickly spin around.

Everyone in the Main Hal could see the smirking Melissa in the doorway, still holding Gussie captive.

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

As Melissa stood in the doorway, holding her terrified hostage, everyone stared in shock, except for McClellan, who was staring at Melissa with a look of seething rage. "Gussie!" He shouted.

"Dad!" Gussie tried to get away from Melissa, but Melissa held her tight.

"What are you doing with my daughter?!" McClellan demanded.

"I'm not going to hurt her, if that's what you're thinking." Melissa said before she smirked. "I'm not going to tear her heart out."

Melissa then watched as the entire Council transformed into their dragon forms. "What are you doing out of prison?" Dingane demanded as he took a fighting stance.

"I came for a certain relative of the very first American Dragon." Melissa said before she shoved Gussie to the side, Gussie grunting as she hit the floor, landing on her side. "I can see that he's here."

"You will not touch him." McClellan growled, grabbing Jake III by the shoulder.

"Please, I really don't have time for all this explaining." Melissa said. "I just want to get down to the good, old fashioned fight to the death." She finished, narrowing her eyes.

LINE BREAK

In 2033, Rosie watched, being held in place by Affendi as Mrs. Jennings shackled the still dragon-formed Rose to the wall. After slapping the second shackle around Rose's wrist, Mrs. Jennings stepped away with a cruel smile on her face.

"You're going to get me my son." Mrs. Jennings said.

"Good to know." Rose said with narrowed eyes. "Now all you need to do is hold up your end of the deal."

"Before I sent Creed to deal with the body of one of those girls..." Mrs. Jennings continued to smile. "...I had him call back his doppelgangers. Too bad you didn't convince me to spare the girls before that one got killed."

Then, Mrs. Jennings turned to face Affendi. "Let her go." Mrs. Jennings said. Wordlessly, Affendi complied, throwing Rosie to the floor. As Rosie sat up on her knees, tears in her eyes, Affendi and Mrs. Jennings walked out of the dungeon, slamming the door shut.

Outside the dungeon, Mrs. Jennings turned her head to the side to look at Affendi. "Go find Creed." She ordered. "He's served his purpose. Kill him." Then, she turned and walked away.

Inside the dungeon, Rosie sniffled as she got to her feet. "I'm sorry about your friend." Rose said sadly.

"Yeah, of course you are." Rose said bitterly, crossing her scaly arms. "You're a slayer. You don't feel bad about the lives that are taken."

"That's not true."

"What is your deal?" Rosie demanded, spinning around to face her grandmother. You act all loving, all supportive."

"I am." Rose said.

"And everyone thinks you're just so great!" Rosie ranted. "They think you're a bloody hero!"

"I'm no hero."

"Isn't that the truth!" Rosie continued, pointing. "You...are a slayer. You are evil. No one who has served the Huntsclan, no one who has hunted an innocent magical creature can be good."

"I-"

"Don't." Rosie stopped her. "I don't want to hear it." She crossed her scaly arms.

LINE BREAK

A steel door slid open in the Huntslair-turned home. Dragging Essence along the ground, Creed grunted as he managed to pull the motionless dragon into the room. Arriving at a steel table, Creed turned to the side and released Essence's body. Then, he walked up to Essence's side and crouched down, slipping his scaly arms underneath her back.

With a grunt, Creed managed to pick the girl up and place her on the table. Breathing heavily, Creed then turned around only to see that Affendi was standing in the doorway.

"What?" Creed asked.

"I have orders." Affendi said as he stepped into the room, walking up to Creed.

"Oh?" Creed asked as Affendi reached him. "Do I have to do with those orders?"

"Indeed you do." Affendi said before he lunged forward and grabbed Creed by the arms. Creed yelped and was pulled around, being dragged to the floor. As Affendi got down and started to try and murder Creed, Essence groaned from the table that she was lying on, slowly opening her eyes.

On the ground, Creed struggled to breathe as Affendi strangled him. However, when he heard the sound of a slab of metal being ripped from a table, Affendi stopped and his eyes widened just in time for Essence to slam the steel slab into his side.

Screaming in pain, Affendi slammed against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position. Once he was sitting down, Affendi squeezed his eyes shut and painfully touched his side. Creed on the other hand, had Essence's tail wrapped around his neck. He was then pulled up off of the ground and was hurled across the room. He hit the wall like a ragdoll before he fell to the ground.

As Affendi continued to hiss in pain, Essence reached him and bent down, picking him up by his armpits. Looking Essence in the eyes, Affendi growled. "You brat! You broke my ri-AAAHH!" He shouted as Essence angrily slammed him against the wall.

"I don't care!" Essence told him. "Tell me where my friends are!"

"Bite me!" Affendi, even though he was in pain, remained defiant.

"TELL ME!" Essence shouted as she slammed Affendi against the wall again, making him cry out in pain.

"Fine! Fine!" Affendi caved.

"Where are they?" Essence asked.

Affendi took a deep breath before he answered: "Most of them probably got out."

"How do you know?" Essence narrowed her eyes.

"Because..." Affendi replied. "...Because Creed called off his doppelgangers. It was part of the deal that your friends went free."

"What deal?"

"The Agent gave herself up."

"Where is she?" Essence demanded, her eyes narrowing.

"She and her granddaughter are down in one of the dungeons of this place." Affendi said.

"Tell me how to get to this dungeon." Essence growled dangerously.

LINE BREAK

Down in the dungeon, Rose watched as her granddaughter sat facing the door of the dungeon. "You won't be here too much longer." Rose told her. "Probably not even twenty minutes left. It feels so much longer, doesn't it?"

"Don't talk to me." Was Rosie's response.

Sighing, Rose looked down at her feet for a few seconds. Then, she looked up, her eyes narrowed. "No, I'm going to talk to you. Do you know what I'm going to talk to you about?"

"Do you think I care?"

"We're going to talk about the Huntsclan." Rose told her. "Get up and turn to face me." Almost reluctantly, Rosie did as she was told. "Good." Rose smiled. "Now all you need to do is listen."

"Do I have a choice?" Rosie asked, crossing her scaly arms.

"Look..." Rose began. "...I didn't choose to be in the Huntsclan. I didn't want that life."

"That doesn't change what you did." Rosie narrowed her eyes.

"I never killed a magical creature when I was in the Huntsclan." Rose said. "And believe me when I tell you that I'm so grateful that I never did. I'm not proud of being the Huntsgirl. I have to live with that every day."

"Oh, but you never killed anyone." Rosie rolled her eyes.

"No, but I committed smaller crimes." Rose said. "Robbery, I helped capture the Dragon Council once and your grandfather several times..."

"And yet everyone forgives you!" Rosie exclaimed. "They treat you like a hero!"

"In a way..." Rose said. "...It doesn't matter what they think. It does matter, but at the same time it doesn't. Am I making sense?"

"I guess..." Rosie mumbled.

"What matters...more than what the others think..." Rose continued. "...Is how I feel about myself. Can I forgive myself for what I did?"

"Well, obviously..." Rosie said. "...You did."

"That's because I have to." Rose said. "I know that...there was nothing I could have done. This might just assure you that I am evil, but I'm a victim of the Huntsclan. They took me from my family...and they lied to me for the entire first thirteen years of my life."

Having no choice but to listen to her grandmother's explanation and to take it all in, Rosie slowly lowered her scaly arms to her sides.

Taking a deep breath, Rose finished. "I'm very thankful that that part of my life is behind me, literally. Just know...that if I hadn't been in the Huntsclan and I hadn't destroyed them, you would have been in the clan."

LINE BREAK

On the Island of Draco, Holly was sitting in her bed, reading an old book when she heard a ringing sound, the sound coming from the communication device inside her robes. Holly closed the book and set it down before she reached into her robes, pulling out her ringing communication device.

Taking it in both hands, Holly pressed a button that caused a holographic image of her mother to appear, making Holly gasp.

"Hello, dear Holly."

"Mother." Holly growled.

"You really need to learn how to respect your elders, Holly." Mrs. Jennings mock-scolded her. "Especially the elder that brought you into this world."

"And tried to take me out of it." Holly growled. "Too many times." She added.

"Well, Holly..." Mrs. Jennings changed the subject. "...Believe it or not, there is a reason why I called you. You see, I want the other child that I brought into this world."

"Riley." Holly growled.

"Very good." Mrs. Jennings mocked. "You always were a smart girl."

"I don't know where Riley is."

"Of course you do." Mrs. Jennings' smile widened. "You sent him into hiding. You can bring him out. And...you're going to need to, unless you want blood on your hands."

"What are you talking about?"

"Vixen Caccavo and Cimberleigh Joplin played you." Mrs. Jennings gloated. "It was all a trap. Now, all but one of those Agents is dead."

"No." Holly whispered, her eyes widening. "No, Rose."

"She's the one that's alive." Mrs. Jennings said. "And not only will she remain that way if you deliver Riley to me, but I'll also give her back her freedom."

Holly waited a few seconds before she spoke again: "I don't trust you. How do I know you haven't killed her already? Show me. Show me that Rose is alive and your prisoner."

"Gladly." Mrs. Jennings smiled again.

LINE BREAK

Awakened by the sound of Affendi's grunts, Creed groaned as he returned to the world of reality. Grunting, Creed managed to get to his feet where he saw that Essence was gone, and Affendi was lying on the table, two steel straps melded back to the table binding him to it by his upper body and his ankles.

Quickly, Creed flapped his wings and flew over the table that Affendi was tied to before he landed at the steel door, which slid open.

However, as he stepped out, he froze when he heard Affendi calling to him: "Hey! Hey get me loose!"

"I don't think so." Creed said as he turned his head to the side, Affendi growling with anger. "Not after you tried to murder me."

Then, he turned his head back to normal and flapped his wings, flying off, Affendi's enraged scream echoing throughout the hall until the doors slid shut.

LINE BREAK

Back in the dungeon, Rose watched her granddaughter's back. Rose opened her mouth, thinking about saying something. However, she quickly closed it, not wanting to anger the young dragon.

Sighing, it was Rosie who finally broke the silence. "How much longer do you think it will be until I get sent back?"

"I don't know." Rose answered. "The important thing, though, is that you're going to be safe. You're going back. You'll just have to wait a little bit longer."

"Yeah." Rosie replied.

At that moment, both dragons could hear the lock to the dungeon door being worked on. Quickly, Rosie got to her feet just in time for the door to open and Essence to step into the room.

"ESSENCE?!" Rosie was in shock.

"Rosie!" Essence cried happily, the two friends running forward and embracing each other, Rose smiling as she watched.

"I thought you were dead." Rosie said as the two pulled away. Tears of happiness were rolling down Rosie's face.

"It appears not." Essence said.

"That means that you can come back home." Rosie said.

"Yeah, we're getting out of here." Essence smiled.

"But...But they're letting us go free." Rosie's smile faded.

"What about your grandmother?" Essence asked.

"No, no." Rose shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

"Nonsense." Essence said as she walked around Rosie, Rosie turning around. "They'll kill you." Essence said as she reached Rose.

"I know." Rose replied. "But...But if you girls are all okay, then...then I have no complaints."

"Can you get free?" Essence asked, ignoring what Rose said.

"No." Rose replied.

"Well, we'll think of something." Essence said as Rosie walked up to her side.

"Like what?" Rose asked.

"Hmm..." Essence thought out loud, putting a clawed hand to her chin.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not going to work." Rose tried to convince her. "I think you should just wait here until you are sent back to your time. I promise you. I'll be okay."

"Our tails!" Essence declared.

"What?" Rosie asked, turning her head to the side.

"Our tails." Essence repeated, turning her head to the side as well. "We'll hit the chains with our tails. Hopefully, that will break the chains."

"That's not going to work." Rose said.

"It will." Essence insisted, she and Rosie turning their heads back to normal. "We'll just keep hitting the chains until they break. You are going to help, aren't you, Rosie?" She turned her head to the side again.

"I guess." Rosie replied.

"Alright, let's do this!" Essence cued before they slammed their tails into one of the chains each. Pulling their tails away, they found that Rose had been correct when she had said that using their tails wouldn't work.

However, Essence refused to give up. "Again!" She cued, and once again, she and Rosie whacked at Rose's chains with their tails.

LINE BREAK

Back in 2085, in the Main Hall, Melissa held her foot down on the side of the terrified Gussie. "Come on!" She challenged. "Strike, dragon boy! I want to see what you've got!"

In response, Agent McClellan walked Jake III to the side, allowing the rest of the Council to walk up to Dingane's side.

"Dragon Owen, you have completely lost it." Councilor Agata said.

"The only thing I'm losing is TIME!" Melissa shouted.

"What is it that you want, Dragon Owen?" Yara asked.

"A fight." Melissa smirked. "A fight to the death with the first American Dragon's grandson. I thought I made this clear."

"You're not fighting him." Yara said.

"But we will gladly fight you in his place." Asil finished.

The four Dragon Councilors then flapped their wings and all flew toward Melissa. Taking her foot off of Gussie, Melissa grunted as she rushed forward.

Jake III and McClellan watched as Melissa and the Council clashed. "Shouldn't you be helping?" Jake III asked, turning his head to the side and looking up.

"I am helping." McClellan said as he looked down at his new pupil. "I'm keeping you safe."

"Daddy!" Gussie called for help as she remained alone on the floor. This call made Jake III look down and Agent McClellan look up to see Gussie roll over onto her back. "Daddy, help!"

"I...I..." McClellan seemed to be talking to himself, gripping Jake's shoulder harder. "...I...I...I don't know what to do."

"Dad!" Gussie cried again.

"Ohhhhh..." Immediately, McClellan released Jake and rushed over to where his daughter was lying. As soon as he reached her side, he crouched down and looked down, smiling at his distressed daughter. "It's okay, Gussie." He said comfortingly before he rolled her onto her back to focus on the shackles that bound her wrists.

Councilor Dingane lashed out with his tail, hitting Melissa in her chest. Grunting, she stumbled back, but was able to stop herself.

Breathing heavily, Melissa turned her head to the side, seeing that Jake III was alone and defenseless.

"Aha!" Melissa said happily as she turned and started to run towards him. Seeing this, Jake gasped in shock and took a step back, but there was nothing else he could do to stop the deranged-looking Melissa from getting closer and closer to him...

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

A/N: Please review!

Oh, and another thing: You may have noticed how there is too much left to cover in the two episodes left in the season. Well, I have decided that I'm going to extend the series by another two seasons. There will be a lot of new arcs, including two which I had intended to be their own thing (Rosie in boarding school was going to be its own mini-series and Fu Dog going to get his new Animal Guardian license was going to be a film). Now they'll just be part of Jake Long III.