I do hope that you all didn't think I died. Far from it I've been editing and completing this chapter, the longest chapter I've ever written. Please enjoy and review. More reviews the faster I get my work done.


Chapter 10

No Pain No Gain

"The master must learn to control the dragon within him in order to use it for the side of good. Training will be required."
-Excerpt from book of trails


Water Temple, Hiroshima Japan March 15th 12:30


"Man my back hurts, I don't remember my bed being this stiff, huh?", the memories of the prior days events filled Sion's mind.

("Yesterday was a little rough, but you can relax for awhile. Nall and the rest will be around shortly to explain everything.")

Sion got up and rummaged through his bag, he pulled out some green cargo pants and his Joe boxer shirt. Just as he was getting changed the door to his room opened.

"Alright kid time to wa…, opps", Jamie quickly noticed their new guests state of 'undress'.

"My, so the chosen one's a fan of Bugs Bunny?", Jamie noted Sion's boxer shorts, which he had on.

"And you seem to be a fan of peeping on people while their changing", Sion's comment made a blanket of silence fall on the room,"After that you could at least tell me your name."

"Jamie, what's yours kid?"

"First off judging from your slightly undeveloped body I'm at least a year older than you, so stop calling me kid", Sion's harsh critique seemed to hit home, "My names Sion."

"Well until I say so its kid!", Jamie walked out of the room and slammed the door.

On the other side of the wall a conversation between Jamie and Nall occurred.

"My, my Jamie you could at least let him sleep first. With what he went through last night I think flirting with a girl is the last thing on his mind."

"Uncle Nall if you were anyone else I'd pound you into the wall."

"Well thank you Jamie, I'm glad I mean something to you."

"So I'll do this instead", Jamie picked up a pail of water being used to mop the halls and dumped it on his head.

"I hate water", Nall turned to Ruby, "If I got it this bad I wonder how Sion fared?"

"I'm sure he was a gentleman about the matter", Ruby smiled.

As they open the door they caught Sion thinking out loud, "That stuck up, flat chest'd bitch! If she calls me kid one more time, Damn it!"

"Well maybe he just needs to get used to her", Ruby's voice caught Sion's ear as he turned to face them, now fully clothed.

"Ah…heh sorry you had to hear that. I guess that girl just got a little under my skin."

Nall took a seat at the table in the room, Ruby sat besides him, "That's just Jamie for you. She's a rough type and likes to get on people's nerves", Nall smiled when he realized what he had to say next, "Fortunately for you, she'll be serving as your martial arts instructor."

Sion's face instantly drained when he realized just what was about to happen, "You mean I have to learn how to fight from a girl?"

"Yep."

"And that girl is the same one who just walked in on me changing?"

"Well she left that part out, but yeah that's the one I'm afraid."

Sion joined Nall and Ruby at the table, after all that had happened he was eager to get some answers, "So what exactly is going on here?"

Nall smiled slightly, "Well you don't waste much time do you? Well I guess I'd be curious as hell if I went through the same stuff yesterday."

Nall shifted in his seat a little before starting to explain the situation to Sion. He went over a little bit of information Sion already knew about, with a strong evil presence, how he has amazing powers hidden within him, how he has to save the world, and how they have to find a special girl.

"About this girl thing, Lucia told me I had to join with her in some way to unlock this hidden power. She also told me you could show me the right girl that I had to do that with, what she mean by that?"

Nall almost fell out of his chair, "Well by join I guess you can realize what that means."

Sion's face went white, Nall had to use all his willpower to keep from laughing, then Ruby decided to butt in by slamming her elbow into Nall's stomach, "What my husband here means Sion is that you have to kiss her, she also has to be wearing a special pendent at the time of the kiss for the process to work."

Sion seemed to relax some after hearing that, "And how do I know if I kissed the right girl?"

Nall sat back up, "That's where is gets real complicated, you see we've got this old book that's supposed to tell us just what to do, but it mentions that your gonna have to choose between four different girls. I can guess what you're thinking, your friends Caitlin, and Amy are most definitely one of those four."Sion looked a little shocked, "…ok so just why are there four different girls?"

"Well there are four dragons on this planet that hold the power of the Dragonmaster, White, Red, Blue, and Black so there's one girl for each of the dragons, but only one has the key to unlock your hidden power."

"Wait there's dragon's on this planet?"

Nall smiled at Ruby, "Yeah I know it's hard to believe but there are, and you'll get to meet all four."

"I find this really hard to believe."

"What if I told you you've met two of them already?"

"I don't get it."

Nall stood up and then was surrounded quickly by a bright light, then he was replaced by what looked like a flying cat.

"Holy crap your…your, well your honestly not a very big dragon."

Ruby walked over and grabbed Nall by the wings, "I thought we were gonna wait to show him our adult form."

"Oww hands off, I just wanted to prove we existed, Sion what your seeing now is what we call the baby dragon form, I can't really transform into my adult form in this small room."

Nall changed back into a human, "I'm the white dragon, my wife over there is the red dragon, there are two others, the blue and black dragons, but they usually stay in their caves. Me and Ruby take care of this temple with what used to be an orphanage, but now the Dragon Kids have grown up, and some of their decedents are the one's you see helping around here."

"Is Jamie one of those decedents?"

"No that's actually another story."

Nall went on to tell Sion about how they had made a mistake when they went to look for the Dragonmaster when they should have waited. They had gone to New York City and looked for the Dragonmaster around there, however they didn't find what they were looking for. They did happen to run up on a fourteen year old girl that was about to be beat up and raped by a rival gang of hers. Nall and Ruby had rescued the child, and after finding out she was an orphan they brought the girl back home with them. They said that had been three years ago.

"So she's seventeen?"

"Yeah, with my hearing I heard that comment you told her. Made me laugh my ass off but I think it hurt her a little."

Sion dropped his head, "I'll go apologize to her later on."


Sion's House March 14th 10:38 PM North County, NC
Caitlin wanted to reach out and kill the reporters that had surrounded the house. She would have if she wasn't still crying her mind out, both her and Amy hadn't stopped crying since the news had come on yesterday. They had all stayed over night at Sion's to comfort everyone. Sion's mom, Sally, and her husband Tim seemed to take the news best, maybe it was just because everyone was grieving more than enough for everybody. The reporters had shown up just hours after the broadcast and were stationed around the house. Some of the questions they asked infuriated Caitlin as well as the rest of the family. When one had asked if Sion had any connection to Al Queda that had been the last straw, no more questions were to be answered for the press. The FAA was the only agency that the family was talking to now, surprisingly they had sent over two representatives around the same time the news broadcast had come over the news, and actually grieved with the family.

They explained that pilots are sort of like a fraternity, and that all the general aviation pilots in the area were grieving over Sion's loss. Many were flying over the crash sight dropping flowers over it. Sadly they explained that with the force of the crash that the plane had completely vaporized when it hit the ocean at such a high speed, not even the voice and data recorder, famously known as the black box, would have survived the crash.

The only thing the FAA could offer is the invitation from several pilots to fly them over the crash sight. Sally accepted the phone numbers of the pilots so they could contact them. While Sally and Tim went over some questions and paper work with the FAA, the others sat and talked or cried in the living room.

"It's not fair! He said he was coming back!" Caitlin yelled, Amy put her arm around her and held her.

"I know its not fair, I don't want to live without him either", both Amy and Caitlin fought against the tears as they talked to each other.

Jeff was sitting on the other side of the room depressed, "Man if only you hadn't gotten on that plane, you'd be here with us now."

The mood in the rest of the room was somber; no one else said a word.


March 14th 11:15 PM ?

The room had hardly any lights. A man sat watching a computer monitor. He had large earphones on and seemed to be listening to the numerous news reports coming through the screen.

"humm?", the man noticed one news report in particular. He adjusted the volume to listen to it.

"Early yesterday morning a young boy flying a Citation business jet crashed into the Atlantic. Pilots from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base stated the plane vaporized upon contact with the ocean after a nose drive form over forty one thousand feet. All on board, which was just the 17 year old pilot, were killed. No recovery operations have been planed since the plane vaporized upon contact with the ocean."

The man set his head set down and picked up a phone. Slowly dialing a number he waited for a response.

"Yes?" The voice on the other line sounded a little rough.

"Have you seen the news on the plane crash?"

"Yes, the Virgo group isn't interested in it; people have been blasting stuff like plane crashes up through the media because of the September 11th event. The boss doesn't believe it's connected to the one we're looking for."

"As you wish sir."

The man hung up the phone and went back to looking at news broadcasts.


Water Temple, T.C.C. (Tactical Command Center)March 15 12:30 PM


Sion had thought the dragon thing had blown his mind, but this definitely took the cake. After their impromptu meeting, Nall and Ruby had taken him on a brief tour of the center. One of the stops Nall mentioned was the TC center, Sion had no idea what he had been talking about. When Nall stopped at a narrow slit and slid what appeared to be an ID card through it, Sion's curiosity peaked. Then when a piece of the wall opened reveling a large dark room filled with monitors, and a large world map projected up on a glass screen that seemed to be tracking numerous objects Sion couldn't think of what to say. The equipment looked more advanced than anything Sion had ever encountered.

"Just out of curiosity where did you get the money for all this stuff?"

Nall turned to Sion, "We'll we've been around for over ten thousand years, so we saved a lot, but we have a steady income from the government of Japan as a mercenary force."

"Mercenary force, I thought we fought for Althena and all that stuff?"

Ruby joined Nall's side, "We do still fight for good, they call us in when the situation is a little too touchy for actual JSDF forces to deal with. Mainly hostage stuff. You'll be involved with it too as a part of your training."

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for this kinda stuff, I mean are you sure I'm meant to do this sorta work?"

Nall put his hand on Sion's shoulder, "buddy you flew a huge jet straight into the ocean believing in every thing you've been told that you'd still be alive instead of being vaporized, and you believed you had it in you to do what it took to get here. I'll be Damnmed if anyone can tell me differently that you don't have it in you."

"I'm not that convinced yet!", everyone turned to see Jamie in the door way leaning up against the sliding door.

"Well Sion I know you met Jamie earlier this morning, she will be your martial arts instructor."

Sion walked over to Jamie and extended his hand, "Look, we got off on the wrong foot this morning, I'm really sorry about my comments, your actually really pretty", Nall caught a blush forming on Jamie's face when Sion said that, "How about we start over, my names Sion, what's yours?"

"I don't do, do-overs kid", Jamie grabbed Sion's hand and flipped him over her back, "but I will say I appreciate the complement, see you at training,…kid."

Nall looked down at the fallen Sion, "Well it looks like she likes you, love hurts huh?"

"Just help me up."

After that they headed for the cafeteria to get something to eat. Nall led the way.

"So what do you guys have to eat here anyways, Mc Donald's is out I guess, don't tell me you live on rice."

Nall opened the door revealing a Japanese style sitting room; a large kitchen was at the far back. Some of the people were eating traditional style Japanese food, others were eating pizza, and still others were enjoying some American style burgers.

"Now this I can get used to, you guys have food from all over the world?"

"We have to, all our people come from all over the world", Nall motioned for Sion to sit beside him. Ruby went to the kitchen.

"My wife has been around a long time too, she's learned to cook dishes from so long ago people can't even remember them. She's the best. Some of the younger girls love her, Ruby teaches them to cook since they aren't old enough to help with the other stuff."

"Sounds like it's a pretty tough life around here."

"It can be, so what'll it be, its already past lunch, and you haven't eaten all day?"
"I think I'll just go with a burger."

Someone slammed a tray down next to Sion, they placed a salad in front of him.

"The first day you train is pretty rough, just eat this instead kid."

Sion was getting really confused with Jamie's motive, but the kid thing got on his nerves a little, "You are really starting to confuse me. First you walk in on me changing, then you flip me over your back and slam me into the ground, then you try and make it look like your looking out for me, and the entire time you keep on calling me kid even though I'm almost a year older than you are."

Jamie looked like she was about to explode, "Look kid don't get the wrong idea. From this day until your finished training I'm one of your teachers, so get used to it. I just don't want you throwing up everything you eat here all over the gym."

Sion looked at the salad then back up at Jamie, "Whatever, thanks anyways."

After Jamie walked away Sion started to eat the salad, Nall watched in amusement before he decided to speak, "Taking her advice?"

"I'll just say she must know what she's talking about, its not like I like her or anything. Besides I guess I sorta still have a girlfriend."

"That thinks you're dead, that you're never coming back, and that you were an idiot for leaving her?"

Sion instantly felt the coldness fill his heart when he realized the situation. Caitlin must hate him right now. After all it was he who decided to go on that jet. It was he who decided to leave her behind that day, in pursuit in what she probably thought was some impulsive adventure.

"I don't know what I am to her now. Everyone thinks I'm dead, so I guess I'm dead to her too."

"Hey now, love does funny things you know. Besides, we've got TV over here. If anything comes on I'll be sure to have it recorded for you. When you go back you'll get to see the expression on all their faces, and you'll get to save them all."

Sion finished eating his salad, "I guess your right. I did what I had too; no matter what they think about me now."

"There you go, besides when this is all over you'll be a big hero."

They both stood up and started making their way to the gym, "For some reason Nall, that doesn't really make it any easier to bear right now."

Nall through his arm around Sion's shoulder, "Buddy, you've done a lot already, and there's a hundred times as much left to do. Its hard some times to move forward when everything keeps trying to pull you back."

Sion sighed, "Then how am I supposed to move forward?"

Nall opened up the gym door to reveal Jamie warming up in her karate gi, "Find something strong enough to pull you forward."

Just then Jamie noticed Sion's arrival, "Hey kid, your gi's in the locker room over there, get dressed today's gonna be hell."

Sion went to change into the karate gi, Nall was messing with a large object in his hands. Jamie noticed the object and wondered what was going on, "Uncle Nall what's that thing?"

"Humm oh this, just a little help for Sion if you start getting too rough", Nall smiled he started to twirl the string around the object.

"You know if that's a weapon it not fair, you want me to get hurt or something?"

"Now Jamie you of all people should know I look out for your better interest. I promises it's not a weapon, but I think it'll surprise you."

"Can't you at least tell me what it is?"

"Sorry, secret."

Sion emerged from the locker room dressed in the karate gi Jamie had supplied him. The uniform fit nearly perfectly but bared his chest a little, unfortunately for Jamie it caused a blush to form on her face.

"So sensei, are we ready to begin?"

Jamie took a moment to collect herself before beginning, "Alright kid first were going to start with a basic warm up and see how you do with it. Then we'll come back in here and I'll give you a small test to see just where we need to start."

Sion frowned, "Just what kind of warm up?"

"Oh the usual, running, sit-ups, push-ups, and some stretching. Why something wrong?"

"I hate warm ups, especially the running part. How long?"

"Oh not bad, just one lap around the compound. Its just about 6 miles with all the caves and ruins we'll run around. Besides it'll be a great way for you to tour the place."

"Oh joy."

Nall could only chuckle as he watched Sion groggily follow Jamie out of the Gym outside, "I'll wait for you two here have fun!"


Outside the complex


"You were just kidding about the six mile thing right. I mean this place can't be that big."

Jamie was a little ways ahead of Sion, but wasn't having nearly as hard a time keeping pace with him. She turned her head to look at him for a second and then started running backwards, almost mocking him.

"You know we haven't even run a full mile yet and you're winded? Yeah the complex is six miles around. It takes up most of this land reserve. What isn't built on there's a tunnel or something under. Like over there", She pointed out some older looking buildings, "those are in the forbidden area. Uncle Nall told me it's where the trials are going to be conducted for the Dragonmaster, so I guess you'll get to go there."

"What's in them?", despite his body pleading for oxygen Sion couldn't help but ask.

"Don't know. I hear it's haunted and stuff, real old too. I've been here for awhile but I've never gone in there, no one has expect for Uncle Nall and Aunt Ruby."

The jog continued, they went around the main building where Sion and the others stayed and ate. Then after passing the outside training centers they passed the main training building. Jamie explained to Sion that was where the covert training took place; like sneaking, marksmanship, data analysis, and other thing were taught. Sion would be taking a crash course through the subjects later on in the year. They passed through a large cave, inside was the staging area for the units water craft as well as aircraft. Sion was amazed when they started running up the underground ramp that connected the aircraft staging area to the main hanger. Once up there Sion caught sight of the Citation X he had flown the other day.

The painful memories of leaving Amy, and Caitlin behind resurfaced. For some reason it just made it easier for Sion to run.

Within an hour the two were back in the Gym. Jamie still had plenty of energy and was prancing around. Sion on the other hand had to lay down for awhile to catch his breath. The basic exercises and stretching went on without too much trouble. Jamie gave Sion a hard time when she found out he wasn't very flexible. However when she tried to help Sion bend over to touch his toes Nall couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't you think your taking it a little bit too fast there?"
"Uncle Nall shut up!", Jamie's face was beat red, "Alright kid now for your placement test."

Sion stumbled to stand up, every muscle in his body ached and burned, "Plac…placement test?"

"Yep, I'm gonna attack you and you're gonna try and defend your self. Don't hold back, I want to figure out how good you are naturally and prefect your style from there alright?"

"Jamie I really don't think this is a good idea, I'm in no condition to defend my self right now."

"Sorry kid no choice."

Jamie rushed towards Sion and threw a punch at his stomach, it connected. Sion took a knee and breathed heavily for awhile. Jamie walked up to him and picked him up by the shirt one handed.

"Well kid it looks like were gonna have to start from scrat…"

Jamie was cut off when Sion threw a fake punch to the side of her face. Gracefully he brushed her face with the back of his hand and then grabbed the underside of her wrist. He then turned away and grabbed her wrist keeping it behind her back. Quickly moving forward to keep Jamie off guard he took her down to the mat and then squeezed her wrist in causing pain to shoot through her arm.

"Aikido beginners technique, not bad kid."

"Thanks, I guess"

"But not good enough"

With expert skill Jamie brought her freed hand under Sion's chin. Pressing a pressure point caused him to release her wrist. With both hands free she grabbed onto Sion's shirt and rolled. Using her feet against Sion's chest she sent him flying over to the other side of the gym.

"Did you really think such a basic technique could actually hold me. They teach you that kind of stuff to over power the dumb jocks you meet at school, not overcome another martial artist. If I hadn't underestimated you, you wouldn't have even been able to finish the technique. Sorry kid."
"You know I'm the same age as you, could you stop calling me kid", Jamie hid a smile on her face.
"Only if you can beat me,…kid."
"You know if you were a little nicer you'd be a real catch."
Jamie blushed, she couldn't hide it. So she decided to change her mood to mask it, "SHUTUP AND FIGHT YOU PUSSY!"
Nall decided this was the prefect time to interject, "Well now Jamie, are you saying you'll address Sion by his name if he can manage to take you down to the mat using his own abilities?"
"Yeah sure, if he can get me to the mat I'll stop calling him kid and call him by his name."

"Well now Sion this is a very tempting prize isn't it? I'm sure you'd like to try for it?"

Sion didn't hesitate, "Of course, but as much as I hate to admit it I don't think I have much of a chance against the likes of her."

"Oh now Sion your not investing much in your natural talents. Remember you are the future Dragonmaster, and you have some natural gifts endowed to you by Lucia. You just need the ability to access them, here", Nall threw the object to Sion. Jamie instantly recognized it as her eyes grew wide.

"The Lucian pendent? Why are you letting him wear it?"

"He's the future Dragonmaster Jamie. It belongs to him."

("I'll warn you Sion, that pendent will allow you to access the limited abilities I've given you since birth. But you don't have much experience at controlling them"), Lucia's voice was a welcoming distraction for Sion.

"But what about the movie theater, how did that happen? I didn't have the pendent on then."

("You don't have to have the pendent on to access the powers. However you have to train hard in order to do so. Your desire to protect Amy allowed you to subconsciously access your abilities to save her life.")

"This is complicated, but I'll try it", Sion slipped the pendent around his neck. The cold steal pressed against his chest, but quickly started to warm.

Suddenly Sion felt energized and the tiredness and gasping for breath stopped. He looked at Jamie intently, ready to start the battle.

"So the same prize still stands?"

"Of course kid. Besides that hunk of metal will only slow you down. Even if it does unlock some abilities of yours, there still there naturally I guess. So let's go!"

Jamie rushed at Sion hardly holding back at all. To a bystander they could have sworn it was inhuman the speed she was obtaining. To Sion however everything slowed down. Noticing that Jamie was throwing each arm out but keeping each in a defensive position across her stomach each time she took a step Sion formulated his first technique. He rushed forward at an even faster speed to meet Jamie and then grabbed at her left arm. He pushed it backward to her stomach and then curved his back. Jamie flew over and quickly realized her predicament.

Nall couldn't help but smile when Jamie came out of the roll almost ending up on her back from the throw.

"Careful Jamie that was almost the end there."

"Whatever Uncle Nall!"

Sion now ran at Jamie and tried to put her in a head lock. Jamie wrapped her hand around Sion's wrist and pulled it around. Sion's arm sent a painful impulse up to his shoulder warning him he was about to hyper extend it. He jumped forward and rolled to untwist his arm, then rotated it to break Jamie's gasp.

Jamie was surprised to no longer feel Sion's wrist in her hand. Then when she realized Sion's back was to her she jumped on him. Taking her legs she wrapped them around his waist. She tightly squeezed hoping to get him to submit. Sion took his arm and leaned toward the ground. Rolling across his back he effectively crushed Jamie and got her off his back. However Jamie wasn't stupid and kept with the roll so she wouldn't end up on the ground. Using his momentum Jamie popped up from the roll and landed a kick to Sion's shoulder. It hurt, a lot.

Taking in the pain Sion grabbed Jamie's other leg and snatched her out of the air. It seemed to happen in slow motion as Jamie slowly came down to the ground.

From Jamie's perspective she was horrified, and not just because of the fact she was about to lose the match. But Sion's ki reading had quickly changed. She noticed once he put on the pendent it grew tremendously but it was a cool, kind aura. But, as the battle progressed it became an aura of despair and anger.

Nall noticed that Sion's eyes were starting to turn red. Once Jamie hit the mat Nall ran over to Sion and removed the pendent from Sion's neck. Once he did Sion fell to the ground gasping for breath.

Jamie stood and looked at Sion, "Well I guess deals a deal, Sion from now on it is. Man that's weird, I'll have to get used to it."

She looked down at Sion a little concerned, "Hey, Sion are you alright, you don't look too good."

That was the last thing Sion herd before he blacked out.


Water Temple Living Area, 8:12 PM March 15th

"Oh man, my head is killing me."

"Don't worry, we'll get you used to it through training. Before you know it you won't even need the pendent for basic powers."

Sion jumped when he herd Nall's voice. Looking over he saw Nall sitting in a chair next to his bed. Nall smiled at him before continuing.

"I guess I sorta jumped the gun when I let you use the pendent. Took a lot out of you buddy didn't it?"

Sion tried to sit up but grabbed his forehead and laid back down when he got dizzy.

"I wouldn't try that, you're too exhausted."

As soon as Nall finished Sion's door opened. Jamie walked into the room with a tray of food, and laid it on Sion's bed.

"Well if it took this much out of you to get me to the mat I guess it wasn't that much of a loss."

Sion just coughed.

"But deal's a deal. Eat up Sion. I'll leave you and Uncle Nall alone, I'm sure you've got a lot to talk about."

Jamie left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Sion Nickson, and a smiling Nall behind.

"I really don't understand her."

Nall just laughed, "I've been around for thousands of years and I still haven't figured women out. I'm afraid you don't have any chance of figuring them out in your life time."

"Oh well there goes one of my life goals."

The two laughed some while Sion began eating.

"Seriously though Nall, my girlfriend back home isn't nearly as complicated as her."

"I'm afraid Jamie's had a rather difficult past before we found her."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"I'm afraid that's something I'll have to let her tell you herself. Look I've got something else I've got to show you. Let me go get it."

Nall left Sion alone. Sion looked at the meal in front of him, it was nothing like the side salad he had for lunch. There were mashed potatoes and gravy, a dinner roll, and some steak. The sweet tea was good too. The meal reminded Sion of the times he and his grandfather would eat dinner at the local cafeteria on Sunday nights. He started to get homesick remembering the time spent with his family.

"This is sad, it hasn't even been a day and I'm already missing everyone."

("Its not like that's a weakness. Most people get homesick right after they leave home anyways. Its something you'll get used to")

"Sounds like you speak from experience Lucia."

("All my friends died off around me. After many years I chose to become mortal and join them in the afterlife.")

"Sorry, touchy subject I guess."

("No its fine, I've had centuries to get over it, now the only two friends I've left behind are Nall and Ruby. Thanks to my powers I'm still able to talk to them. It must be just as hard if not harder for you. My friends had died off, your friends and family are still alive.")

"Guess your right", Sion started to drift off into his own world when Nall walked back in holding a video cassette.

"What's with the long face Nall?"

"You remember when I told ya when ever we saw a broadcast with your family we'd record it for you?"

"Sure I remember."

Nall looked down at the tape before continuing, "We'll we got one that was broadcast while you were asleep last night", Nall walked over to the VCR and put in the tape. After a few seconds the tape started playing. Nall pressed the pause button when the broadcast started and turned to Sion.

Sion looked at the picture. He recognized the station, WRAL, and the camera had a wide shot of his entire family and friends at his home. He saw his mom and dad holding hands trying to smile for the reporter. Jeff just looked down at the ground, Sion smiled when he saw him holding Christy's hand. The last image however brought tears to Sion's eyes. Amy ,and Caitlin. Caitlin was trying to look strong, Amy had her face buried in Caitlin's shoulder crying, holding her hand. Caitlin looked like she had been crying for hours, Sion wanted to reach up and brush off what looked like a tear hanging on her chin. He snapped back when he remembered Nall's question.

"Go ahead, play it."

"This is Debby Moore reporting from the Nickson family home. Home of the young pilot who's plane plummeted to the Atlantic and vaporized due to an auto pilot failure. The FAA stated that for some freak reason the plane did not break apart when it reached speeds far exceeding the stress strength of the planes body. Upon contact with the ocean the plane vaporized, and because of this the infamous black box or data recorder was also destroyed. Now according to the limited information I've received from the FAA this plane was not equipped with a voice recorder; it only had a data recorder."

The screen switched to a cut away view of the data recorder, "Just to give you an idea of the impact of the plane here. The black box is constructed out of material that is usually used in what is called hot parts, or nickel alloy. These are the same parts that are used in the after burners of our military jets. That's what the outer casing of the black box is made out of. It would take a temperature of over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit to melt it. That's how bad the crash was. Nothing was left, so a salvage operation was not formed."

The screen changed back to the family outside the house, "Now we have a very special exclusive for you. The girlfriend of the pilot has agreed to a brief interview for us in a few minutes, stay tuned."

Nall fast forwarded through some commercials then stopped when Sion's living room came up, the camera was placed behind Ms. Moore, and Caitlin was in view of the camera, a tear falling from her cheek.

"Now Ms. Turner if you don't feel well enough to do this we'll understand."

"No…no I have too", Caitlin spoke in between sobs, but seemed to compose herself.

"Were all very sorry for your loss Ms. Turner, I'm sure Sion was a great guy."

"No, he was wonderful. But he's confused all of us."

"I'm sorry Ms. Turner, what do you mean?"

"First let me explain Ms. Moore. I took this interview because I didn't want Sion's parents or his friends to go through it. You reporters have been very harsh with your questions about my late boyfriend."

"Late boyfriend?", even though Sion understood why Caitlin said it-it didn't make it any easier to listen to. The interview continued.

"Some reporters are very privy to get information, were all sorry as a community you have to bear it."

"Yes Ms. Moore, but questions like 'Did your boyfriend have any connections to Al Queda' are very hurtful to people morning someone's loss."

"I can assure you Ms. Turner if you describe that reporter and if he's employed by us he'll be talked to."

"Thank you, please ask your questions."

"Thank you Ms. Turner. You mentioned at the beginning that Sion was a wonderful person, but confused you all. Can you elaborate on that?"

"I can't speak for Sion's parents but I can for the rest of us. We were all shocked yesterday morning to find Sion gone on what seemed like an impulsive adventure."

"That is impulsive; can you tell us anything that led up to the crash that may have caught you off guard?"

"A couple of day's ago Sion did ask me what I would do if he died. I told him I would eventually move on, but would be sad about it. It threw me a little off guard, but I just thought it was some weird question couples ask each other once they get close. I never thought…"

Ms. Moore noticed that Caitlin was about to start crying again so she changed the subject some, "So what do you plan on doing now?"

"Well I do plan on grieving more than a day Ms. Moore."

"I'm sorry Caitlin I didn't mean immediate plans, I meant your future."

"No I'm sorry Ms. Moore I'm just really touchy with all that's happened. I plan on keeping my promise to Sion. I'll move on. I'll always keep close to the Nickson's. Sion's mom has been a wonderful person, as well as his father. Sion's friends have helped me grieve, especially Amy. I guess it's just hard to accept you're single again after your boyfriend dies."

"I wish I could tell you I understand what you're going through Ms. Turner."

"Thanks Ms. Moore, but trust me you don't want too."

The camera faded out, and Nall removed the tape from the VCR. Sion looked at the clock on his night stand.

"8:45 PM March 15th. So it's 6:45 AM same day back home. So it has been a day since it happened."

"Yeah", Nall put the tape on the night stand and was about to leave the room when Sion stopped him.

"Nall why didn't you show me the tape this morning?"

Nall looked down at the floor ready for an angry out burst from Sion, "I figured I'd give you some time to get used to the place, and meet some people. Otherwise you would have just locked your self up in your room", Nall waited for the backlash.

"Thanks."

Nall was taken back but looked at Sion and just smiled. He left the room thinking to himself, "This kid may have become the chosen one by luck, but I can't think of a better guy."


Two Hours Later 10:45 PM
Sion couldn't sleep, the images would let him. Caitlin had told the reporter she was single again. That had hurt the worst.

"What are you thinking? She thinks your dead. What is she supposed to think! That she's still attached to some vaporized corpse?" Sion openly criticized his train of thought.

"This is just too cramped a place to think, I've gotta go for a walk or something."

Almost all the other people in the building had gone to sleep. Sion started to wonder around outside when he herd the faint whisper of someone singing. It was so beautiful; he couldn't help but follow the sound. When he got towards the underground cave area he could make out the words.

"In your dreams, magical thoughts, all things are real, unless you dream their not."

Sion could tell the voice was female, but he couldn't picture who's.

"In your dreams, love is the plot, Carried on wings of hope."

As he got closer Sion could see the girls back. She had beautiful dirty blonde hair that came to her shoulders. She was slender, her voice was intoxicating, Sion crept closer.

"Each of our soles intertwines when we do. Instantly we see it, the time to grow and be it. When everything is pinned on a hope."

The girls slightly tanned skin reflected with the waves projected on the cave walls from the underwater lighting at the dock.

"Let ride the dreams of your hearts, that innocent youth, careless and kind…huh?"

The girl spun around and caught sight of Sion diving behind one of the transport helicopters.

"Come out Sion. I saw you."

When the girl wasn't singing Sion instantly recognized the voice, "Jamie that was you singing?"

Jamie looked like she was about to send Sion flying into space when she walked over to him, "So you think I couldn't sing huh?"

"No, no it's just not a side of you I expected."

"Well you better not tell anyone about it, unless you want to meet my meaner side."

"No problem."

Both of them walked over to the edge of the underground dock and sat.

"What are you still doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"
"Well I'm not a kid you know."

"Don't rub it in, you just got lucky."

The two sat in silence for awhile. Sion looked up and saw the waves dancing on the cave's ceiling. Everything was so peaceful in here. The sounds of water splashing against the walls echoed through out the cave, almost like a symphony of light and sound. Jamie eventually broke the silence.

"So what really brought you down here?"

Sion smiled as best he could, "I had to do some thinking so I figured I'd take a walk. When I got outside I just barely heard your singing and followed it down here. I didn't recognize you with your hair down."

Jamie had a small blush on her face unnoticeable to Sion through the darkness, "So what did you have to think about anyways?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Humm ok."

Just when it seemed silence would rule again Jamie spoke up, "You know when I was little I loved going to aquarium. Of course my parents never took me, I went with one of the daycare groups, or sometimes with the YMCA. I come down here a lot at night, reminds me of the aquarium."

Sion jumped at the chance to learn about Jamie's past, "So why didn't your parents ever take you?"

Jamie's face grimaced as she remembered her parents, "My dad was some big CEO. My mom found out about him sleeping around with all his interns", Jamie slammed her fist into the cement, "after that my parents divorced and I went with my mom to live in the Bronx. Until she met her new boyfriend Joey. That guy was a bastard."

"You mind if I ask what happened."

"Joey never liked the idea my mom had 'baggage' left over from her marriage. He hated me. Sometimes he'd come home drunk with my mom nearly passed out from drinking. He'd beat me some times, yell at me, slap me. That's when I took up martial arts. I was only 11."

"Did it help?"

Jamie sighed; the anger left her replaced by sorrow, "Eventually I got confident enough to defend myself. I was 13 when my mom and Joey came home from a New Years eve party. Mom was drunk but wasn't passed out. Joey was furious for some reason, and as usual he decided to take it out on me. We fought and I beat him. Then my mom turned on me, she called me a violent bitch and told me to never come home. I left and joined a gang, never came back."

"So how'd you end up here?"

"When I was 14 our gang got involved in a turf war. One night I was walking back from the aquarium of all places when I was jumped. A bunch of guys fought with me, when they all pulled out knives I thought I was done for."

"Let me guess Nall and Ruby?"

"Yeah those two showed up and fought all of them back. Of course the sight of a huge dragon would scare the crap out of anyone. They took me with them and now I'm here. That was all around my 14th birthday."

"When is your birthday any way's?"

"June 23rd."

Sion looked out at the water trying to calm himself down. Jamie leaned over to look at his face," Well I told you about my past. Can't you at least let me in on what's bothering you?"
Now it was time for Sion to fell sorrow's coldness, "Maybe it'd be better if I got it off my chest anyways."

"That's right, so what's up?"

"Last night Nall recorded a news broadcast from my town about my 'death'. It was kind of weird seeing my family when they thought I was dead."

"Yeah that must have been weird."

"It got worse though, my girlfriend agreed to an interview with one of the reporters. To sum it all up she told them she was going to move on, and that it was hard to realize you're single again when your boyfriend dies."

"Don't worry Sion cheer up!"

That caught Sion a little off guard, "My first girlfriend breaks up with me because she thinks I'm dead, when I'm not. I could call her right now and end the confusion and keep her, but I can't. Everyone thinks I'm dead because of my recklessness, and no one knows the truth."

"You're wrong Sion."

"About what?"

"I know the truth, Nall knows it, Ruby knows it. Heck Lucia knows it too, I know you can talk to her like Uncle Nall and Aunt Ruby. We all know the sacrifices you're making to do this ya know. Sure I gave ya a hard time when you got here, that's just me. Uncle Nall and everyone are here to help you. It might be weird at first, but this place can really grow on you; the people too."

Sion was silent for a little while letting everything settle in his mind, "thanks, I guess I've just got to get over losing my first girlfriend."

Jamie smiled, "Well for an old looking place like this there is some modern stuff too. Like did you know we have a huge rec room?"

Sion smiled, "By modern I hope you mean video games?"

"Oh of course, but I'm afraid even the pendent isn't going to help you beat me in Halo!"

They both walked toward the living area, Jamie led the way as they both went to drown their sorrows in fun.


Water Temple: Forbidden Area 11:15 PM March 15th

Nall looked over at the ocean watching the waves hit the rocks. No one else was around, at least to the naked eye.

"This place reminds me of old times Lucia."

("I wish they could have lasted forever.")

The wind blew harshly in the dragon/human's face, "You know if it wasn't for Ruby this would almost be unbearable."
("Love does help things keep moving forward through the worst times. I don't know what I would have done on the Blue star all those years without Hiro.")

Nall sighed as he folded his arms over the ledge and placed his head in them, "The kids good for the position, but in one year! That's asking a lot, even out of a guy like him."

("We were lucky enough to get him out of the area without drawing suspicion.")

"How long will that veil last though Lucia? There are too many small holes we left with that stunt that could be pried open. The Virgo group will be sure not to over look that when it comes up."

("And would we be better off just leaving him there to be killed when the press dove into the incident at the movie theater.")

"So you gave the media something bigger to chew on before the case about the strange blue light could get out?"

("Exactly")

"What about the story about how a multi million dollar jet appeared out of thin air?"

("Sion covered telling them it belonged to his Uncle. I don't think they'll go into too many details. The plane had proper registration with the FAA and there's a record of it being built and delivered to Sion's uncle. The only problem is Sion's uncle doesn't know he owns the plane.")

"But you put up a smoke screen right?"

("Yes, the address I gave them is false, as well as the Uncle's real name. I don't think they'll dive into it too much. I already took the liberty of filing the necessary paper work with the FAA electronically after the crash before they met with his uncle.")

"That'll buy us a lot of time, but once it gets blown out of the water we'll have to be ready for it."

("You can do this Nall. Sion can be trained in the limited time we have.")

"I guess we don't have a choice whether or not we can", Nall slumped over; "Question is can the guy handle it?"

("If we all have faith in him then he should.")

"And the girl?"

("At this point I can't even tell who it might be. They all have equal strength and I can't tell if one is better from the other.")

"Do you know at least which girl corresponds to which dragon?"

("Not until we find the forth, that is if your right about Jamie being the third.")

"I think you can trust my judgment on that one Lucia", Nall turned to look at a near by security monitor back inside the building, "In fact it seems like they're both getting along nicely right now."


Water Temple: Living Area Rec. Room 11:32 PM March 15th

"Ah ha beat you again kid!"

"Hey don't start that again, you promised!"

Jamie smiled, "Sorry Sion, guess I just got too caught up in the moment there."

"Yeah well I did run you over with that tank a couple of times."

"Now Sion me getting run over twice gives you no excuse to fall to my sniper rifle twenty five times now does it?"

Sion put the controller on the small table in front of him, "You know what, how about another game?"

"Good idea, you don't have a chance in beating me in Halo, this is starting to get boring."

Sion looked around the room briefly, his eyes widened when he spotted a table covered by a tarp, "Well then how about a game of pool then?"

Sion got up and took the cover off the pool table, "Oh great, something else for me to beat you in. Isn't there something else we can do that might at least be a challenge for me?"

A smile formed on Sion's face, "Well Jamie we could play the quite game, but I think you'd explode."

"Ooo Mr. Sion just made a comeback. Don't hang around Uncle Nall too much. Remember he's immortal, your not."

A slight chill went down Sion's spine, "Well then how about we get this going? Since you're the lady here I'll let you break the balls."

Jamie swung her cue stick right between Sion's legs. With a loud grunt Sion fell to the floor.

"That was for the quite game joke, and don't ever give me the upper hand just because I'm a girl!"

Sion slowly got off the floor, "Yeah, I'll remember that. Just remember I am supposed to be the future Dragonmaster."

Jamie got the pool balls and was busy racking them, "I meant to ask you about that. Doesn't it feel weird to just all of a sudden have to leave everything behind and follow a complete stranger to some other country?"

"Well I could ask you the same thing."

Jamie lifted the triangle off the table, "I didn't leave anything behind. This place gave me somewhere to start over. You on the other hand; you had a family, friends, even a girlfriend. I guess a better question is, how did it feel when Lucia told you that your gonna save the world."

"It was kind of weird. She made me go into a comma and then talked to me in person. Well I guess you could call it in person."

"You met Lucia, what's she look like?"

"Well medium-short height, long teal hair. Red robe, funky looking hat, and she had some black and red outfit under that. At least that's what she was wearing the first time."

"And the second?"

"Whoa there inspector. She was wearing some drab with a colorful skirt, had a hair band too. What do you want all this info for?"

Jamie smiled, "Aunt Ruby used to tell me about Lucia all the time when they first brought me here. I used to get restless at night; Aunt Ruby would come in and tell me all these stories of her and Nall's adventures. I guess I just identified with Lucia the best, she just became my hero."

Sion decided he'd break since Jamie had refused, he got a solid in.

"So what got you so stuck on Lucia?"

Jamie watched as Sion knocked in the 1 ball, "She was a girl in a brand new place, she knew nothing about. Not only that Aunt Ruby would talk to her, and then she'd tell me things like 'Lucia said good night' or 'Lucia says to believe in yourself'. It always calmed me down. Guess I was jealous, I never got to see her, or talk to her."

("I didn't know I was admired that much.")

Sion miss-cued and missed his shot, "Geeze Lucia you said you wouldn't come in out of nowhere like that."

Jamie's eye's lit up, "She's talking to you now? What's she saying?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, she likes to jump in from time to time."

("Nall said you two were getting along nicely, so I decided to drop in your mind for awhile.")

"Well she messed up my shot when you told me about how much you like her. She said she never knew she was admired that much. Then she said she decided to drop back into my mind because Nall said we were getting along nicely."

Jamie couldn't contain herself, "Tell her that my Uncle Nall doesn't know what he's talking about."

("Sion tell her I can hear her.")

"Umm Lucia say's she can hear you threw me. Wait Lucia can't you just talk to her?"

("Actually with you here I can. But you'll have to willingly let me take control of you for a second.")

"Excuse me Jamie. What do you mean let you take control of me? Are there limits?"

("Well yes I'm only able to control minor movements for brief periods.")

"So in other words it's only for a couple on minutes."

("Right, and the Bind of Sprit prohibits me from anything other than peaceful actions that help people.")

"Bind of Spirit?", Sion noticed the weird looks Jamie was giving him, "Were in a conference here, just a second."

("The Bind of Spirit is like a restraint. I'm able to keep in contact with specific mortals, and in certain circumstances obtain a quasi physical form, or some form through one of the mortals I can contact.")

"Just who can you contact, out of curiosity?"

("Only you, the future Dragonmaster. Nall and Ruby are not mortal.")

"Alright so how do we do this."

("Just give into the feeling. I can't do this for long, five minutes at the max. You'll just feel like you're asleep. You will regain control after my time is up.")

"Jamie just how bad do you want to talk to Lucia?"

Jamie's eyes lit up even brighter, she ran over to Sion and jumped over the sofa, "Really, really, really bad. Can I?"

Sion had to keep him self form laughing. Jamie looked like a kid in a candy store, "Yeah through me, Lucia will my voice change or anything?"

("Only while I'm in control.")

"Ready Jamie?"

Jamie could only nod her head.

"Alright Lucia's lets do this."

A warm fuzzy feeling filled Sion quickly. He felt his left hand trying to move on its own, he gave in and slowly each part of his body followed suit. Finally his breathing and other involuntary functions also seemed to be working at a noticeably different beet. Then the warm fuzzy feeling left, Sion tried to move his hand and nothing happened. Then a teenage girl's voice came through Sion's mouth.

"Hello Jamie."

Jamie took a step back and feel onto the couch, "Sion either you can do a real good girl impersonation o…or…or your really Lucia."

"That's my name."

"Wow your really you. Aunt Ruby told me so many stories about you I have so many questions."

"I wish I could answer them all for you Jamie", Lucia sat down on the couch, "so I'll guarantee I'll answer one."

"Al…alright", Jamie looked a little bashful, "Aunt Ruby told me about you and Hiro. How did it feel to be in love with him, an…and how did you know you found the right guy?"

Lucia smiled, "To be honest I had no idea what love was. When I first met Hiro all I told him was that I needed to see the goddess Althena, and asked him to take me to her. "

"Then how did you know?"

"As soon as we left the temple I was poisoned by Zophar, a dark god. Hiro took me to his house to care for me", Lucia paused, "Then when his uncle told him he had to take me to a high priest to cure me, he didn't hesitate to leave his uncle and take me to a village far away to be cured."

"Was there more?"

"Oh yeah. After I was cured I left to continue the journey alone. I was stupid, and got captured by Leo the white knight. Hiro came and saved me, risking his life, and getting branded as an outlaw for it. Later he rescued me from Zophar, but that wasn't the biggest thing."

"What then?"

Lucia smiled, "Even after all that I left for the blue star without Hiro, to carry on my task. He set out on another journey, and battled the star dragon. Then he left his entire world to live with me on the Blue Star. He lived with me there until the day he died; when we married I also became mortal and died soon after. We loved each other very much."

Jamie was crying form the story, "Aunt Ruby mentioned some things, but I didn't know a guy would go through all that for a girl. I guess if you could answer a second question, how do I find a guy like that?"

Lucia stood up and pulled Jamie into a hug, she leaned forward and whispered into Jamie's ear, "You'll find your hero one day. He might be closer then you think."

Jamie smiled taking in what Lucia was telling her.

"My times up for today, you can talk to me through Sion anytime. Maybe some other day we can have a talk like this again."

Lucia didn't break the embrace. Sion slowly realized he was regaining control as the room became visible. Oddly the warm feeling didn't go away, he looked around and noticed Jamie was hugging him.

"Uhh Jamie I'm back."

Jamie didn't break the hug, "I know."

"You can let go now."

Jamie hugged him a little tighter, "Sorry I'm a little emotional from talking with Lucia, just let me stay this was a little longer."

The two stood there for awhile until the PA system kicked in.

"Attention, Dragonfire units A and S report to the main briefing room for immediate mission brief. This is a class S operation. I repeat units A and S report to main briefing room!"

Sion looked confused, "what's that mean?"

Jamie slowly pulled her self away, but not entirely. She made sure Sion kept his arms on her waist while she kept hers around his neck, "it means we have to get to the briefing room."

Sion was too excited about this mission situation to realize his hands were around Jamie, "Where is it?"

Jamie grabbed Sion's hand and ran out of the room with him, "This way come on were gonna be late!"


Preview For Chapter 11

Discoveries On The Battlefield

By the time Jamie noticed the gun pointed at her it was to late. All she herd was bang. Sion turned in time to see it. The anger boiled up in him, everything slowed down again. Stretching out his hand blue light swirled into a ball in his palm. When he squeezed it tight a bright blue blade shot out through his hand.

"JAMIE NO!"


GD: I bet you all thought I was just slacking off all Christmas break huh? Didn't expect a twenty some page chapter did you?

Ruby: Well you did have that break over half a year when you didn't write anything.

GD: Writers block ok.

Nall: Yeah lay off the guy, he brought me into the picture and everything turned out great.

Ruby transforms back into human form

Ruby: Nally-wally were you just telling me to lay off?

Nall: No, no of course not

Ruby: Wanna kiss handsome?

Nall: Hell ya

Ruby: Gotta catch me

Ruby runs out of the room, Nall tries to follow her but gets slammed in the face by a steal door.

GD: Ouch that hurt. She's got you wrapped around your finger.

Nall: You know what (tries to think of a comeback), shut up!

GD: Well everyone hope you enjoyed this ridiculously long chapter, tune in next time around the end of January. More suspense! What's this new mission about? Is Jamie falling for Sion? Is there enough time to train the next Dragonmaster? Will Nall be able to resist Ruby's charm or will he spinelessly chase her human form off the face of the earth?

Nall: SHUT UP ALREADY!