THERE BE DRAGONS!

Chapter 5: Dragons are real?

Though it took more than five months, the report was finally drafted. It took another two weeks and many disagreements before the dragons finally agreed to the document. Dr. Sinian sighed in relief as she finalized the document, sent a new draft to her fellow scientists and awaited their responses.

Over those long months, the dragons kept more under cover than usual. They didn't want any premature exposure to ruin the reveal. So they did not meet except once a month and only if necessary.

Meanwhile the city was fairly quiet except for one incident involving Dr. Viper. Fortunately, he had been unusually stupid and was caught before he could do any real harm. Just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time...or the right time if you were the SWAT Kats as they were the ones to stumble onto the lizard during his attempted commission of the crime.

It was a true relief to get a break that was longer than just a few weeks. So, many of the city's inhabitants enjoyed the peace and dared to go out and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather the city was experiencing for what usually was a wet and chilly onset of Spring.

At the garage where Jake and Chance worked, the intake had been steady and, without the constant interruptions of omegas, they were finally able to make a bit of money. They even went to Atakata Island again for a much needed break to enjoy some fun in the sun, one long weekend recently.

The hidden dragon breathed more easily as well. Mention of dragons was not as prevalent again and he felt more relaxed and could focus on his job. Sleep at night was easier and he even went so far as to take some time off just for himself.

But, despite feeling a little more at ease, he could never forget that brief glimpse, all those nights ago, of the dragon soaring through the night sky. It haunted his dreams more than once a week.

The harder he tried to pretend he hadn't really seen what he thought he did, the more the longing to see the dragon in person became. He didn't understand why he was so fixated lately. All those years growing up in the restrictive atmosphere of his home life, he never once felt any need to be what he truly was but lately, something within him ached and badgered him that all was not right and he could not shut it up nor push it from his mind as he once so easily did. It troubled him and left him confused as to why this was happening now. Too bad he couldn't see into the future as a few of his kind could...his questions, whether he liked it or not...were about to be answered.

On the sixth month, the vivid picture of Adair as a dragon becoming a Kat with ease, was splashed prominently on the cover of the Aristal Archaeological Magazine which was snapped up immediately by the scientific news desks then reached the sharp ears and eyes of the media which in turn broadcasted the event on every radio, TV, and newspaper around the world creating an instant sensation. 'Dragons are real' was on everyone's lips shortly thereafter and excitement ran wild all over the planet.

It was the top subject in every place people congregated and it wasn't long before a division formed between those who thought dragons were really cool to have around and could be useful...to those who were fearful and wanting the dragons rounded up and identified for the safety of all. Fortunately, the ones who loved the idea of dragons outnumbered, thoroughly, the ones who were afraid of the creatures.

Visitation to the museums increased three-fold causing long lines of people waiting to view the dragon exhibits. Museums saw their profits soar as dragon fever swept the world. The museum that saw the biggest crowds was, of course, Megakat City because of the real dragon they had on display there. No where was safe from dragon-itis, as it was being dubed by the news medias. The magazine, with the red dragon on its front, sold out repeatedly, keeping the publishing houses and distributors very busy.

"Wow! Jake, this dragon business is incredible but I'm having a hard time believing dragons could take on the form of Kats," Chance Furlong scoffed, watching a recap on the news about the magazine article. He shook his head at the image of the red dragon and thought the whole thing was staged to gain publicity for the museum and their city.

"Why don't you believe it buddy?" Jake asked cautiously.

"Oh come on, Jake. We saw dragons. They are big, ugly and stupid," Chance snorted.

Jake winced and felt a sudden stab of anger in his chest. Perhaps it was time to clue his partner in at last. After all, that was why they had done this although, none of them had made a grand appearance yet. Even the boldest of them were having butterflies about soaring blatantly in the sun filled skies. Someone would have to be first and that's why he'd done it but coming out to his partner still worried him. However, he couldn't allow Chance to continue being so skeptical, so he came to a decision and stood up from the couch, turning to face his friend.

"Come with me, Chance. I have something very important to show you!"

Chance stared up at his friend in puzzled confusion and concern as he noted the serious expression on Jake's face as well as a hint of anger glinting from his brown eyes. 'Huh? Why is he angry all of a sudden?'

"Okay," he agreed reluctantly, getting up from his seat and following his partner into the kitchen then down the trapdoor hidden by a throw rug. Once in the hangar, he watched his friend stride out to the middle of the floor, turn and change completely.

"Oh my God!" Chance gasped in stunned amazement as he stared upward at a huge red dragon.

The dragon lowered its head until he was looking straight into his friend's green eyes with his shimmering red fauceted ones. "I'm a dragon, I do exist and I know you know I'm a long ways from being stupid!"

"Jake?" Chance breathed in awe.

"Actually, my name is Adair."

"Adair?...Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you never tell me?"

"Chance! Weren't you listening to all the information being disseminated about us? It told you why!" Adair said, a bit exasperated with his partner.

"No, I understand why your species hid. What I don't understand is why you didn't trust me enough to tell me," the tabby said, a hurt note in his voice. Suddenly, all those little clues his subconscious had been saving up and puzzling over for years...suspicions that his best friend was hiding something from him...something really important...was now revealed. It even explained the odd question about the subject Jake had asked him some months ago.

Rearing back on his feet, Adair frowned in surprise then morphed back to his form as Jake Clawson so he could be face to face with his upset friend.

"Aw, Chance...it wasn't like that! My community felt it wasn't safe for us to reveal ourselves to anyone...no exceptions. But, I would have disobeyed if I wasn't afraid it would change the dynamics of our friendship as well as our partnership as the SWAT Kats. I just couldn't take that risk. However, I want you to know, over the long years of my existence, no one has ever been as good a friend as you and I cherish that very much. It is a rare thing to find and I couldn't bear for anything to happen to it. Forgive me! I never intended to hurt you, I love you as a brother...a brother of the soul as none other has been to me ever before," he said sincerely, every word from his heart.

"Wow! Guess that's a true testament of what I mean to you. I've never had anyone that means as much as you do to me either," Chance said quietly. "Okay, I forgive you. It's obvious you really didn't have a choice," he sighed in resignation, believing his friend's sincerity. "Hey, I just realized...was that you on that magazine?" He asked.

Jake blushed a bit. "Uh, yeah it was."

"Who knew about you before me?"

"Dr. Sinian. We chose her as the best person to give an honest report on us and to be able to convince her peers. It was a joint effort between scientists and the dragons to put out this report. I felt it would be easier on the public if the facts about dragons came from the scientific community first and allowed them to leak it to the people slowly...rather than shock them. This way the subject of dragons changing to Kats would be more likely to be believed."

Chance thought about that for several minutes before saying, "You were the one to come up with it, huh?"

"Yes. I felt it was time something was done and soon. Kat kind was on the verge of finding us and I didn't want our discovery made that way. We needed to be the ones to initiate our own revealing so that it could be done the way we wanted it and not by accident which could easily have caused a panic among Kats and dragons."

The tabby nodded his head. "I can see why and it was a good idea. Okay, you're off the hook for leaving me last. Had to have been really hard for you to keep such a secret from me," he said. Then he gave Jake a pointed look, "so, are you, perhaps, one of their leaders since it seems you have a great deal of influence to pull something like this off?"

"Well, not exactly. We don't have a leader but a council that decides the things we do but as an elder, I do have more say than most of my brethren," Jake admitted.

"An elder huh? So just how old are you?" Chance asked, thinking it might be a hundred or so...the news piece had said they were long lived.

Jake smirked and said cheekily, "ohh, old enough to be your grandfather perhaps four times removed."

"Aw come on Jake..tell me!"

"Alright, but promise you won't freak out?" Jake said, relenting.

Chance's eyebrows rose. "That old huh?"

"I'm four hundred and fifty-six years old, exactly."

"Holy...! Crud Jake...Adair...uh...! Dang it! This is going to be confusing remembering what to call you!'

"Why? You remember to call me Razor," Jake asked innocently, pulling Chance's chain a bit to keep things light.

"That's different..." Chance huffed, a little overwhelmed by all that he'd seen and heard.

"It's okay, buddy," his partner said soothingly, coming to his friend's side and giving him a hug. "You can still call me Jake since that is my Kat name."

"Oh, that's right, you guys have two names...I forgot about that," Chance said, feeling a bit addled. "Could I see you as a dragon again. I think the shock factor is over and I really would like to take a closer look at you."

"Sure," Jake said warmly as he walked back out to give himself more room then morphed to dragon.

Chance stared for a long minute drinking in this amazing sight then he slowly walked up to his partner and studied him closer from his jeweled eyes down to his heavily clawed feet and long spiked tail.

"Wow. You look truly amazing buddy...much better than that magazine cover," he said admiringly then added, "How about that? I have a dragon for a partner."

Adair laughed deep in his chest. "Have you seen enough?"

"Yeah, hey can you breath fire?" Chance asked, eyes lighting up like a kitten.

Laughing at Chance's excitement, Adair answered, "yeah, Chance I can breath fire and fly and resist most weapon's fire."

"Cool!" The tabby said then a thoughtful look passed over his face. "You know, you could take on old Dark Puss without much trouble and Viper. Put them down for good perhaps."

"Hmm, you know I never really took the time to think about how my dragon shape could be of more help to the city than my Kat one but wouldn't you be upset if I wasn't in the cockpit with you?"

"Heck no! You're not there most of the time anyway, remember? Only this way, I wouldn't be as worried about you as I am now when you go head on into danger as a Kat," Chance said firmly.

"Well there is that. You're right, perhaps this might be the way to introduce people to a real live dragon and show them how we can be a benefit to Kat kind and take away the concern of many that we might be a danger. That has been our most serious worry."

"Yeah, you guys certainly weren't treated very well. I find it hard to believe Kats could have been so selfish back then and greedy."

"Well, see it from their point of view Chance. They were growing in number, much faster than dragons could and they needed more food and water. Though there were other places they could have moved to that had these things, why should they move when they had what they needed right where they were and on top of that, the land was extra fertile because of the rich soil from the volcanoes, the warmth under the ground, and the hot springs. Seen from their perspective, I could see why they thought they had a right to the lion's share of the surrounding area. However, they weren't alone and they did take over the dragon's territory and they weren't very nice about it. But there were bad dragons as well that exasperated the problem making it more of a mess than it should have been. So there you are, a bitter war, a friendship ended and fear to replace it equals a species nearing extinction and too afraid to reveal itself," Adair said.

Chance could only shake his head. "That's a rather magnanimous attitude to have, Adair, considering how many of you Kat kind had killed and such a waste too. Well, I hope we don't repeat our mistakes now. We're more advanced and should no longer need to take someone else's space to exist."

"I hope you're right, Chance. I truly hope you're right. But your idea of me fighting the omegas as a dragon is a good one. However, I cannot be seen as Razor changing into a dragon and you must never call me by my call sign in my dragon form...use only Adair. It is our only area of protection in case things go fubar despite our efforts. In the case of me though, it is my Jake persona that's my safety net and I definitely don't want my Razor persona associated with my Adair one. Though Dr. Sinian knows it, she won't reveal it and now you know it. So promise me you will keep that secret at least for a little while longer," Adair said seriously.

A sad look came into Chance's eyes. He could well understand Jake's fear even if he had never lived undercover most of his life as Jake had. He had gotten used to keeping a secret due to his dual identity as T-Bone. He couldn't imagine what it was like for Jake to have two secret identities. He shook his head mentally, but out loud he said, "I promise, buddy. It's my fervent wish that you won't have to hide for much longer."

"That is my hope too buddy," Adair sighed as he allowed his form to return to his Jake persona once more. As they walked back to the ladder and went upstairs to get some lunch, Jake was thinking about what Chance had said about fighting the omegas.

As Chance searched the fridge for the sandwiches they'd gotten earlier and set them out on the counter then grabbed the milk, Jake watched him for a minute before speaking.

"You know, Chance, though I can't have you call out to me, we do need to communicate somehow. I'm going to tinker around and see if I can come up with a small hand's free radio to hook to my ear so I can speak with you allowing us to coordinate our attacks."

Chance glanced over at his friend, pausing from pouring the milk. "Good idea, buddy! I don't like the idea of being totally out of touch with you," he said, relieved that problem was going to be dealt with. He turned back to finishing what he was doing.

Jake moved to his side and helped him set the table then sat down to eat. "I'll get to it after lunch."

Chance just nodded as he took a big bite of his sandwich and ruminated over all he'd learned the past hour. Then a new question struck him, "hey, Jake, when you said not to give away you're Razor when you're in dragon form, does that also mean your fellow dragons don't know you're a SWAT Kat either?"

"That's correct, buddy. It was to give us a way to hide from each other when squabbles, jealousy spats, and enmity might rear their ugly heads. We are so few and the stresses we live under so great, that taking this step was necessary to keep us alive. But, those problems have lessened significantly over the past couple of decades and I'm seriously thinking we need to jettison that behavior now," Jake mused. "It actually could be a serious detriment to us."

"You might be right. That's a lot of responsibility to rest on your shoulders, Jake," the tabby said, worriedly.

Jake gave him a wane smile. "Par for the course lately, Chance. But change is necessary if we are to move with the times and increase our numbers."

Chance could only nod at that as he finished his lunch. 'Things were sure going to get very interesting around here,' he mused.