A/N: Chapter 9 of American Dragon Worldwide Crisis. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. ADJL belongs to the rightful owner.

A special thanks to the reviewers, I truly appreciate it.

Chapter 9: Snug in the jug

Downtown...

"Where are you? Cowards!" The Dark Dragon roared, looking in every nook and cranny the buildings had to offer. After Jake and Rose detached themselves from the rest of the group, he took the bait and trailed after them. He lost sight of them once they entered the heart of the city.

"Hey Dark Dragon, where do you think you're looking at? Come get me!" Jake laughed as he retreated down the street. Taking the taunt, the Dark Dragon stomped after him, only to run into more vacant alleyways.

"You are so slow! Over here you giant salamander!" This time, Rose's voice broke through the silent air and the giant dragon managed to catch a glimpse of her silhouette disappearing around the corner. Stomping furiously, he tried to keep up with the girl before she vanished from view completely. Roaring, he punched a nearby brick wall before spewing dark flames on parked cars, trash cans and other materialized items.

"Oh my, he has quite the tantrum doesn't he?" Rose whispered as she watched from a safe distance.

"He's still an adolescent teen yearning for his mother." Jake snickered before he heard Fu Dog's voice over an ear piece.

"Hey kid, can you hear me?" Luckily there wasn't anything to interfere with the sound waves, so his voice was loud and clear.

"Fu, we're right here. What is it?" Jake and Rose huddled together.

"Kid, make your way to the bridge pronto. Everyone is waiting for the giant finale."

"Okay, we'll be right there." Jake responded before shutting the ear piece off and held out a clawed hand. "Come Rose, they are waiting for us." Smiling, Rose jumped on his back and wrapped her arms lovingly around his scaly neck.

"All right, don't forget that big baby down there."

"Who wouldn't?" Jake retorted as he spread his wings and took to the air. Flying low, he diverted the Dark Dragon's gaze away from terrorizing a local doughnut shop. "Come catch us...if you can!"

"You won't get away from me this time!" Beating his own wings powerfully, the dark entity rose quickly and flew after the red speck.

Bridge...

The magical army surrounded the structure, waiting for any sign of either the American Dragon or the Japanese Dragon.

"Are they here yet Fu? My back is killin' me!" Trixie stretched, releasing a sigh as she heard the bones crack and pop.

"Pipe down, I'm lookin' right now." Using a pair of binoculars, he could make out a small outline in the sky. "H-here they come!"

"Jake!" Rose pointed at the dark lengthy shape underneath the clouds, "There's the bridge, we have to hurry!"

"I see it Rose, hang on!" Jake tucked his wings in and started to drop, the wind whistling past their ears. Seeing the red dragon diving down, the Dark Dragon growled as he followed suit. Both dragons burst through the clouds faster than a speeding bullet.

"Here they come! All dragons into positions now." Fu dog called out, the dragons rose up as one and flew in like a pack of bats.

"Wh-wh-what?! What is this!" The Dark Dragon exclaimed as the dragons surrounded him, their wings beating heavily as they kept the tight formation like a school of minnows.

"Fu, we're here!" Jake swooped down and landed smoothly, folding his wings with a small snap.

"Good. While the others keep the Dark Dragon occupied, we have to wait for Yuki to arrive."

"Fu! Jake! I'm here!" The group looked up as Yuki descended, crouching down so that Spud slipped off.

"Good. Did you bring that thing?"

"Say no more see? I got the thing right here." Spud grinned as he produced the jug, shaking it in his hand.

"Terrific! Just leave the rest to the AmDrag." Jake held out his claws and Spud handed the item over. Beating his wings, Jake rose up into the air and took careful aim. The tight ball of flying dragons started to loosen very slowly, each dragon kept one eye on the American Dragon while keeping the other eye on the Dark Dragon, who flew around on the inside feeling frustrated. He roared and spewed dark flames, causing a part of the dragons to disperse, leaving a gaping hole before other dragons flew in to patch it up quickly. Seeing that his flames won't work, he atoned to use his claws which spurred some of his captors to retaliate just as furiously.

"Steady...steady." Jake took aim carefully, using one hand to steady the other one. Fu dog was chewing on his nails, Trixie was clinging on to Spud while Rose clasped her hands together, her eyes looked pleading. Yuki rose up into the air, looking at the scene with bewildered eyes. Sensing the timing just right, Jake opened the lid a magical beam shot through the air from the jug and the dragons parted, letting the beam fly through.

"Thought you could catch me like that? Ha, pathetic!" At the last moment, the dark lizard dropped straight down and out of the way. "There's no way I'm getting caught by a whimsy beam like that!"

"One more time!" The dragons circled the Dark Dragon one more time, flying in a swirling mass of scales. Snorting with fury, the Dark Dragon flew around in search of an opening to escape. Jake took aim once more, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Trusting his gut instinct and getting the timing right, he fired and the beam went straight and true to the target. Sensing immediate danger and getting annoyed with the same trick, the Dark Dragon tucked his wings and watched the beam go over his head. He chuckled loudly.

"That same old–What?!" Looking up with a baffled expression, the beam followed his movement and turned, heading straight for him.

"Curses! Stop following me!" He roared as he started to fly around with the beam on his heels before it surrounded him once more. He tried to slash his way through but his claws touched nothing. "No this can't be happening!" He snarled as the force started to suck him in. In desperation, he tried to fly away, his wings flapped hard to escape the bonds like it did the first time but it was useless. Inch by inch, he started to get closer and closer to the jug.

"Come on, you little troll. You know you can't resist the light of the jug." Jake smirked.

"I won't, I can't. I will NEVER surrender to the likes of you. Mark my words, I shall return one day!" With a last act of defiance, the Dark Dragon roared before disappearing into the jug with a pop. The dragons broke formation and started to rejoice, filling the skies with colors as they released flames from their mouths. Trixie and Spud high-fived while the magical army whooped and hollered. Rose and Jake hugged and kissed, prompting wolf whistles everywhere.

"That...was amazing!" Rose murmured as she leaned her head against Jake's chest.

"Yeah, we totally kicked the Dark Dragon's butt!"

"Jake, I was talking about the kiss." she looked at him with a hurt expression.

"Oh. Right, sorry." Jake scratched the back of his head sheepishly before Rose pulled him in for another smooch.

"All right kids, break it up here." Fu dog decided to end their little romance scene before getting serious. "I'm sorry Jake that I interrupted your little 'make out' session but we have one more thing to do."

"We have to return this jug back to the Dragon Council huh?" Jake asked, looking at the jug that glowed slightly. "Hopefully this time, the Dark Dragon is gone for good."