It was the following day and Jake, Spud and Trixie were gathered in Lao Shi's workshop, the kids sitting on the sofa while Lao paced back and forth. Fu looked up at the situation every few moments from his newspaper before sighing and resuming his browsing of the previous day's race results. Jake glanced at the talking dog, still not quite able to get his head around the fact that a dog could talk, let alone read a newspaper, but then, he had a lot of things he needed to get his head around right now.

"I cannot believe it," Lao said at last. "The city of New York without its greatest hero."

"What about Spider-Man?" Jake asked without missing a beat. He, Spud, Trixie and even Fu laughed uproariously at his joke.

"This is serious, young dragon!" Lao screeched. "The magical community depends heavily on you! Without you, chaos reigns!"

"He's not kidding," Spud exclaimed. "I can't believe how lucky Trix and I were."

"Yeah, it's a miracle that the riot in the Magus Bazaar died out when it did. We could've gotten killed!" Trixie added.

"Yes, luck was on our side this time, but who knows what the future will bring?" Lao mused, staring solemnly out the window before turning to face Jake. "Jake, I need to know that you can live up to expectations, that you can be the American Dragon."

"Gramps, I told you, I can't," Jake insisted. "I'm not a dragon hero. Maybe I was once, but I don't remember any of that. I don't even know how to change into a dragon."

"But last night-" Trixie started.

"Last night was a fluke," Jake insisted. "I only changed in reaction to a nightmare I had."

"Not a fluke, young dragon - an instinct." Lao corrected him.

"Please stop calling me that."

"The point is, you have the power to transform into a dragon within you. Dragons are amongst the most powerful magical creatures and you were born with the gift of that power. You can transform, and you will transform because it is in your blood, because you are the American Dragon and because I, your grandfather, believe in you."

Jake stood up with a sigh. "Believe in someone else, Gramps. If I did have it in me, I don't anymore."

"Nonsense, boy! Nonsense created by the doubtful!" Lao cried dramatically. "Come now - have faith in yourself and you will be able to unleash the dragon within you. Give it a try right now," the old man insisted, casting a look in Spud and Trixie's direction. They got the message.

"Yeah, come on, Jake. Just give it the ol' Dragon Up and show us some awesome!" Spud said encouragingly.

"Yeah, give it a go, Jake. What've ya got to lose?" Trixie inputted. She and Spud then started chanting in unison. "Do the dragon! Dragon! Dragon! Dragon…!"

"Okay, fine, I'll try it!" Jake said, frustrated. "But I need quiet. If I'm to have any hope of doing this, I need full concentration." He walked into the centre of the room, stood motionless and exhaled deeply. "Okay. Here goes." He raised his arms. "Dragon... Up!"

Nothing happened.

"No, say it like you mean it. You've got to want it, Jake. Come on, really put some heart and soul into it!" Spud told him.

"What would you know about heart and soul, potato boy?" Trixie asked. "You don't even have a brain!"

"Hey, I resent that!" Spud declared, picking his nose. Jake shuddered at the sight and straightened up, ready to try again.

"Okay, for real this time. Dragon… Up!"

Fu looked over the top of his newspaper. "No dice, kid," he said simply. "Hey, there's a circus in town," he added, noticing an article about it.

"You see? I just can't do it," Jake declared, his defeatist attitude prominent. He walked out of the room, heading to the fridge in the storage area for a snack. Lao shook his head sadly.

"His doubts and fears are holding him back," he concluded. "It's not that he can't become a dragon; he just doesn't want to. He doesn't want to accept the truth. He's behaving the way any mortal does when they learn about the existence of magic. He wants to close himself off, tune it all out and enforce the belief that everything is normal upon himself."

"Maybe there's a way to sort of, I dunno, bring out his dragon powers or something?" Spud suggested. "Like, some kind of trigger, perhaps?"

"Hmm. You may be onto something there, Spudinski," Lao mused. "But how?"

"We need to put him in a situation where he must be the hero," Spud stated. "Not just because he needs to be in the eyes of others, but because he knows in his heart that he has to be. I've got a plan…"

Jake sat in the back room, mulling everything over in his head while munching on a slightly stale muesli bar.

"I can't be this 'American Dragon'. I'm just not cut out to be," he said to himself. "I'm just a normal kid, really. Maybe I've got some powers, but they're best kept under wraps where they can't cause any trouble."

He then coughed. It was a bit dusty in the back room. His cough resulted in a puff of smoke and a few embers floating out of his mouth.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, fanning the smoke away with his free hand. "I won't let this freaky magic stuff control my life! I'm a person in my own right! I'm not tied to any destiny or whatever!" He got up and started heading for the main area of the workshop. "There's nothing on this Earth that could make me utilise my dragon powers in any way! Nothing!"

A sudden loud scream made him jump and he hurried out into the main room. The sight that met his eyes made him drop the half-eaten muesli bar, his mouth hanging open.

Trixie was curled up on the floor, a hooded figure advancing on her with an axe. The blade of the axe was aflame and the figure's face was completely hidden by the shadow of the hood. Trixie cowered and whimpered as the figure raised the axe above his head, about to bring it down on the terrified girl.

"Trixie!" Jake cried, worry flowing through him. Then something else flowed through him. Compassion. Compassion for his threatened friend. It filled him like boiling water. Steam was actually coming out of his ears. There was a sensation in his chest, a burning sensation, as though his concern for his friend was a spark that had ignited to become a flame that was ever growing. Bigger. Hotter. Brighter. It was all he knew. Bright, burning compassion that was completely unrivalled. It gave him strength, power, determination. The heart of a hawk. The heart of a lion. The heart of a dragon…

"No one hurts my friends," he hissed softly. "DRAGON UP!"

It was like an instinct. The transformation came naturally, feeling so right, so good. It was like a refreshing and invigorating energy. Burning energy. Literally. Flames engulfed Jake and he began to grow, his body becoming lager, tougher. His arms and legs grew longer, fingers and toes becoming tipped with lethal-looking long claws and talons respectively. His mouth and nose became a long reptilian snout and jaw, teeth becoming canines and fangs. His ears became pointed, his hearing becoming sharper, his eyesight quickly following suit. The wings and tail protruded from behind him. The American Dragon stood tall and proud, ready to defend the weak, the scared, the innocent.

Moving swiftly, Jake grabbed the hooded figure by the collar in one clawed hand, causing him to drop the axe, which fell to the floor, its flames going out. Jake then lifted the figure with powerful, scale-covered arms and made to throw him into the wall-

"Jake, stop! STOP! It's me!"

"Spud?!" Jake exclaimed in disbelief. Spud pulled back the hood to reveal that it was indeed him, smiling meekly. Jake dropped him instantly, causing the slow-witted boy to grunt in pain as he hit the floor.

"Ow! You could've just put me down gently, you know!"

Jake was hardly listening. He was staring down at his clawed hands, horrified. With a small pop unbefitting of the process, Jake instantly returned to human form. Once he was sure he was completely human again, he grabbed Spud by the collar once more and started shaking him violently.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" he roared. "I MIGHT'VE KILLED YOU, YOU IDIOT!"

"Jake, I doubt you'd ever be the one to kill me. You're my best friend," Spud said matter-of-factly. "Besides, it got you to Dragon Up, didn't it?"

"You…!" Jake growled, shoving Spud away. "What if I had hurt you? I'd never forgive myself! This is exactly why I don't wanna be a dragon!"

"Jake, get your head on straight!" Trixie told him, dropping the act now that the cat was out of the bag. "You don't just turn into a dragon; you are a dragon! You're not a boy who can take on a dragon form; you're a dragon who can take on a human form! You can't run away from who and what you really are! I get that you're scared, but you need to man up, come to terms with reality and accept yourself as you are! It's the only way you can hope to be happy!"

"Is that a fact?" Jake demanded. "Okay, then! I'll come to terms with myself! I'm the boy who has had it up to here with magic and dragons and whatever else! I'm the boy who is going to go home right now, make himself a toasted sandwich, watch cartoons and maybe have a good laugh for the first time since he lost his memory! How's that for self-identification?!" he shrieked madly. With that, he stormed out of the shop, slamming the door so hard that the glass shattered. Trixie just watched as Jake stormed off up the street, then wheeled around to face Spud.

"Well, brainiac, any more 'brilliant' ideas?" she demanded. "That went about as well as the time you tried to make chicken flavoured custard!"

"Hey, that was an embarrassing day for all of us!" Spud replied as he took off the hooded cloak and tossed it aside. "And yes, I do have another idea, actually."

"This'll be a treat," Fu muttered from behind his newspaper.

"What's the one thing Jake cares about more than anything?" Spud asked. He waited for an answer. None came. "Okay, let me try again: Lao, do you have a phonebook for Hong Kong?"

"Well, yes, but how is that supposed…?" Lao started, but then he caught on. "Oh!"

"So, what exactly do you have in mind?" Trixie asked.

"Well, you know that thing in the movies when…?" Spud finished his explanation by whispering into her ear.

"Oh, you've gotta be kiddin' me." Trixie exclaimed. "Spud, that doesn't work in real life!"

"We're living amongst dragons and you expect me to believe that there's something that's not possible?" Spud asked in disbelief. "Look, just get me the phonebook."

"Okay, but I think I should be the one to do the talking, actually," Trixie pointed out. "An explanation from you always sounds bizarre and sketchy…"

It was two days since the unpleasantness at the workshop. Jake was at home, sitting on the couch with a big bag of barbecue flavoured potato chips, watching the lineup of prime time shows. He was feeling quite relaxed and content. He looked up at Haley as she came over.

"How're you feeling, Jake?" she asked pleasantly, taking a seat beside him and helping herself to a chip.

"Pretty good, sis. It's nice to just chill out once in a while and spend time at home with the family. I feel like going skateboarding tomorrow. Wanna come?"

"Skateboarding?" Haley repeated, surprised. "But that's how you lost your memory in the first place! How about we go do something else tomorrow, just you and me?"

"Like what?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow. Haley had that look in her eye that younger siblings always got when they wanted something. Something that the older sibling wouldn't be particularly keen on giving them.

"Oh, I don't know... We could go out for ice cream, see a movie, practice using our dragon powers…" Haley said in what she probably thought was a casual manner.

"No!" Jake said firmly. "I told you and everyone else that I don't want anything to do with that. I may have powers, but as far as anyone knows, I'm just a normal teenage boy and that's the way I like it. All that stuff is behind me now. I'm just Jake Long, casual, easy going guy-"

"And Mac Daddy Dragon of the NYC," Haley finished for him. "You can't just turn your back on who you really are, Jake," she said, cloaking her arm in flame so that it became pink and clawed, causing Jake to tense slightly at the sight. "Sooner or later, you're just gonna have to accept that, whether you like it or not."

She got up and walked away, Leaving Jake to stare sadly after her.

"No. She has to accept that I'm not the American Dragon," he said quietly, "And that I never will be again. Maybe I never was in the first place."

A short while later, Jake's parents headed into the living room, all dressed up for something formal.

"We're going out for dinner and dancing with Grandpa," Susan said. "Will you be alright to watch Haley for the night?"

"Sure thing," Jake said, stifling a chuckle at the thought of an old man like Lao Shi on the dance floor.

"That's my Jake-a-rooni," Jonathan said, smiling. "You kids have fun, and don't stay up too late."

Haley watched from her bedroom window as her parents got into the car and drove away. She pulled out Jake's phone and punched in a number.

"Phase one complete," she said quietly to the person on the other end.

"Roger that," Trixie replied. "Everything is set. All you have to do is act casual until… y'know."

"Oh, you mean when Ro-" Spud started to say loudly, but Trixie clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up!" she hissed. "If Jake hears Haley talking on his phone, it might blow the whole thing!"

Haley hung up and waited patiently in her room, still awake long after Jake had gone to bed, reading a book to help her stay awake. Her eyelids were just starting to droop when she heard two sharp raps on her bedroom window, making her alert once more.

"Showtime," she whispered.

Jake awoke in the middle of the night, needing to go to the bathroom. He got up, looking down at himself as he turned on the light.

"Still human. How sweet it is," he said brightly, stepping out into the hallway and heading to the bathroom. He had just finished up in there and walked out when he heard a noise behind him. He turned, seeing nothing. Another sound then occurred to his right - a light whoosh. He gulped, starting to feel nervous. He then shook his head, deciding he had imagined it. He started to head back to his room.

SMASH.

Jake nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden noise. He turned to see that an expensive looking vase had been knocked over, broken pieces of the ceramic jar now strewn about on the hallway floor. He hadn't been anywhere near it, so that meant someone else had knocked it from its position atop the nearby small table. Something was wrong. Jake could feel it. Someone was here. Someone who shouldn't be. But who? And where?"

"Ear of the Dragon," Jake whispered instinctively. He then paused, raising his eyebrows. "Ear of the dragon?" he repeated. Why had he said that? He reached up and felt his right ear. It was pointed and the skin felt rough. Reptilian. "Huh. Weird," he said with a shrug. He then noticed that he could now hear every little sound. The faucet dripping in the kitchen downstairs, behind a closed door, no less. A clock ticking in his room, which he was still standing across the hallway from. A cricket chirping… in the neighbour's backyard? He could even hear the TV in the house across the street, detailing the highlights of a football game. The score was fifty to seventy-five. "Enhanced hearing. Kind of cool, I guess," he said, again shrugging. Then he heard a new sound. It was a boot pressing softly against the carpet, its wearer breathing ever so quietly.

The sound was coming from Haley's room.

Jake raced across the hallway and burst in to his sister's room. All was quiet. Nothing moved. Haley was still asleep in bed. She then opened one eye, noticing her brother.

"Jake? What's wrong?" she whispered. "Wait, why is your ear-?"

"Shush!" Jake hissed sharply. He could still hear it. There was still something out of the ordinary in this room. He walked slowly around the bedroom, Haley watching him worriedly. Jake pressed his reptilian ear against the closet door.

The breathing was coming from within.

Jake flung the closet door open and threw a desperate punch in amongst the clothes, completely missing the figure dressed in ninja gear, who leapt out of the closet with a somersault, standing upright in the bedroom. The ninja was a girl, her braided blonde hair hanging behind her, face hidden by a black mask, only her eyes visible. She glared at Jake with those piercing blue eyes.

"Nice to see you, dragon boy," she sneered. "I was just going to capture your sister, but now that I know you're here…"

"You were going to…?" Jake started, his face becoming a mask of outrage. "Oh, no, you didn't. DRAGON UP!"

Haley watched with barely hidden excitement as her brother changed into his dragon form. Jake threw a punch with his now reptilian fist, but the ninja dodged with effortless ease, got behind Jake and kicked him in the middle of his back, sending him sprawling forward.

"Catch me if you can!" the ninja taunted, backwards somersaulting out of the room. Jake growled and leapt up, hurrying after her.

"Phase two complete," Haley whispered to herself.

Jake glanced left and right in the hallway. The ninja was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, she dropped from above and tackled him to the floor, showing surprising strength.

"Hey, get off me!" Jake cried, surprised when she did just that. She chuckled at the sight of him sprawled on the floor.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" the ninja declared. She didn't sound threatening anymore. To the contrary, she sounded rather playful. "Put your back into it, dragon boy! You call yourself the American Dragon?"

"I am NOT the American Dragon!" Jake protested, scrambling up in time to have the ninja grab him in a headlock and give him a serious noogie. She let go and giggled at the annoyed look on his face before racing off into the darkness of the house. "What is her deal?!" Jake wondered aloud, bewildered.

The boy looked at his wings. He willed them to flap. Once. Twice.

"Alright, let's see what these can do," Jake said, taking off and soaring through the narrow corridor and downstairs, following the sounds of the soft but hurried footsteps that his dragon ears brought to his attention. He landed gracefully in the kitchen, glancing this way and that. He looked up, expecting the ninja girl to drop from above again, but she sneaked up behind him and tickled him under the arms. He yelped and leapt forward before whirling around to glare at her.

"A ticklish dragon," the girl mused. "Priceless." Before Jake could react, the girl had tackled him to the floor once again and started tickling him all over.

"Hey! What-?!" he exclaimed in surprise. He then started laughing in spite of himself. He couldn't help it; he was very ticklish and this strange girl was starting to seem fun, as crazy as that sounded even inside his own head. "No! St-Stop!" he pleaded, giggling uncontrollably. He then managed to roll right over, reversing the positions of himself and the ninja girl so that she was pinned down instead of him. He changed back to human form and started tickling her, his mischievous side getting the better of him.

"Wha…? Jake, no!" the girl protested, giggling more than he had. "How…?! Stop!"

Jake did stop. Quite suddenly, in fact. He stood up, reminding himself that this girl had shown up to make trouble. She wasn't some playmate or anything like that. "Alright, enough messing around!" he said angrily. "What's with you? You show up looking to start something with me and my sister and then you try to get chummy! Just who are you?"

"Why don't you tell me, dragon boy?" the girl said, pulling off her mask. Jake was taken aback. She was beautiful. She looked to be about his age. There was something about her, something almost… familiar…

An image flashed in Jake's mind's eye. Only for a moment and then it was gone. He was standing in a room filled with glowing skulls that were floating. Thirteen in total. He was holding a staff in hand. The ninja girl was floating up towards a portal. He could feel a great sadness somewhere deep inside in response to the image…

At the memory…

"I wish Rose was never taken by the Huntsclan!"

Those words were his. They were in his voice, and yet, he couldn't recall ever saying them. Not with his mind, anyway. With his heart, however…

"Jake," the ninja girl said gently, interrupting his thoughts. She placed a hand on his cheek. "Do you know who I am?"

"Rose…" Jake mumbled softly, the name sounding so clear, so correct. "Your name is Rose, but… how do I know that?"

"You saved me, Jake Long. A while back, you saved me. I literally owe you my entire life. I love you."

"I don't even remember who you are, but… I feel the same way about you," Jake admitted, realising just how true this was. Acting solely on instinct, he began leaning towards Rose. She smiled and leaned towards him. Their lips met and Jake could see colours exploding behind his closed eyelids like fireworks. The sensation he found himself experiencing was amazing. It was everything. It was the ultimate. The ultimate truth. He loved Rose and she loved him.

Jake started to see other things in his mind's eye. The exploding colours turned into images and sounds. Memories…

"Kid, we ain't got time for no dress rehearsal," Fu was saying, "And you haven't even mastered going full dragon yet!"

"Oh, yeah? Watch me," Jake declared smugly. "DRAGON UP!" In a flash, he had become a dragon. It was the first time he had been able to fully transform without botching it. "I… I did it!" he gasped in amazement, proud of himself. "I'm the American Dragon!"

The American Dragon…

He's gonna stop his enemies with his dragon power.

Dragon teeth, dragon tail, burning dragon fire…

A REAL LIVE WIRE!

Lights clicked on all over the place in Jake's brain. He had gone to school with Spud and Trixie, having to endure the frustrating lessons and grouchy attitude of Professor Hans Rotwood. He had fought the Huntsclan, finding out that the one destined to kill him was the girl he had feelings for. He had helped Rose defy and destroy the Huntsclan before using powerful magic to rewrite history so that Rose could live out a better, normal life starting from scratch. He had gone on to face the Dark Dragon, subsequently reawakening Rose's lost memories of their time together, as she had done for him just now…

The passionate kiss ended and Jake and Rose broke apart. "It's… It's true," Jake gasped. "I'm the American Dragon! The magical protector of the NYC!"

Silence followed the boy's statement. Then-

"AW, YEAH!" he cried. "I'm the dragon, I'm not braggin' and I'm back to stay! I think I speak for all of us by saying HOORAY!"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You did not just say that," she exclaimed, grinning.

"Right now, I just have one thing to say," Jake stated seductively. "I love you, you awesome, brilliant girl, you."

"You're not too bad yourself, dragon boy," Rose declared slyly. They kissed again, just in time for Jake's parents to walk in through the front door. The two young teens broke apart hurriedly.

"Oh! Um…" Jake stammered, his cheeks reddening. "I... I've got my memories back," he said, hoping that this statement would distract his parents from the fact that he had just been caught up in some excessive snogging.

"Is that so?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Then you probably remember that YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE GIRLS OVER WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, YOUNG MAN! ESPECIALLY NOT AT THIS HOUR!" he declared, earning a very disapproving look from his wife.

All Jake could say was...

"AW, MAN!"

The End!