Jake Long III (Season Five)
Chapter/Episode Six: The Mafia's The Fu
Panting, Lin-Lin ran down the halls of the school. As she passed through several doors, she shouted: "Jake?! Jake, can you hear me?! Please answer me if you can!"
Down in the basement where he was tied up, Jake III grunted as he turned his head to the side and lowered his head, brushing the gag in his mouth against his shoulder, trying to get it out. One, two, three, four, five times he brushed the gag against his shoulder, but after these five times, the gag was no closer to coming out than it had been when his dog captors had first put it in his mouth.
Groaning in frustration, Jake once again tried to pull against the ropes binding him, but he failed to loosen the ropes. Breathing heavily, Jake just sat there for a few seconds, trying to calm down. After sitting still for about five seconds, Jake took a deep breath and turned his head back to the side, lowering it and then started to rub the gag against his shoulder again. One, two, three, four times he brushed it against his shoulder. After the fourth brush, when he lifted his head up, he glanced down to find that the gag was starting to come out of his mouth. He could now open his mouth and use his tongue to push the gag down lower.
After pushing the gag as far down as he could with his tongue, Jake turned his head back to normal and then started to shake his head back and forth, making the gag pass down his chin and drape down to his neck.
Ceasing the shaking, Jake just sat there for a few seconds, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. After a few seconds, Jake swallowed and turned his head to the side, grunting as he pulled at the ropes that bound his wrists. Those ropes not giving, Jake took his frustration out by pulling against the ropes that held his upper body to the chair, grunting again.
"Jake?!" The sound of Lin-Lin's voice made Jake stop focusing on his bonds and instead made him turn his head back to normal, his eyes widening with relief. "Jake, please answer me!"
Swallowing again, Jake did what Lin-Lin wanted him to do: he called to her. "Lin-Lin!"
Back up in the hallway, Lin-Lin continued to run down the hall, but when she heard Jake's call, she froze. "Jake?!" Lin-Lin called out, looking in both directions, catching sight of the first two doors in front of her, one on her left and one on her right. "Jake, where are you?!"
"In the basement!" Jake's reply came to her ears.
"Are you okay?!"
"Just peachy!"
"You're not hurt?!"
"No!" Jake's replied.
"Okay! Well, just be patient!" Lin-Lin called. "You're close, but I don't know which room the basement is!"
When she didn't get an answer from Jake, Lin-Lin just immediately walked up to the door that was to her right. "Please be in here, Jake..." Lin-Lin muttered to herself as she reached out for the doorknob. Opening the door, Lin-Lin stepped into the room, looking down the stairs to see that Jake was indeed in the room, tied to a chair.
"Jake!" Lin-Lin's face lit up.
Jake smiled back at her. "I'm glad to see you!" He told her before he tugged at the ropes. "Come down here and get me free!"
"Okay." Lin-Lin replied, more to herself than Jake, before she started to hurry down the stairs. Within seconds, she reached the bottom of the steps and jogged over to Jake. As soon as he reached him, she immediately crouched down, setting down his sword and starting to untie his feet.
"What exactly happened?" Lin-Lin asked she looked up at Jake, continuing to work on freeing his feet.
"I don't know." Jake replied. "One of the dogs knocked me out."
"Was it Pixel or Lime?"
"No, but the next thing I know, they're tying me up down here."
"Okay." Lin-Lin said as she finally managed to free Jake's ankles. Dropping the loose rope to the floor, Lin-Lin took hold of Jake's sword again and stood up. Quickly, she leaned over and gave Jake a kiss on the lips, quickly pulling away. "I'm just glad that you're okay." She told him before she walked around the chair and stopped behind him. Immediately, she crouched down, setting down his sword and setting down to free Jake from the chair.
"Did you get Fu Dog and the girls?" Jake asked as the rope around his upper body slowly but surely started to loosen.
"Yeah."
"Where are they?"
"They're in the room." Lin-Lin replied. "Once you're free, we're getting out of here."
Seconds later, Lin-Lin managed to finish untying the rope around Jake's upper body. As the rope fell into Jake's lap, Lin-Lin started to work on his hands. Jake just sat there, waiting patiently, but then Lin-Lin asked: "Do you know where Lime and Pixel are now?"
"Not here." Jake replied. "They just left me here."
"I can see that." Lin-Lin replied. "But did they mention where they were going?"
"All they said was that they're going to look for whoever told Fu Dog about those three dogs coming here to kill him." Jake answered.
"Jackal and Cadence." Lin-Lin said just before she finally managed to free Jake's hands. Without another word, Jake started to rub his wrists, while Lin-Lin picked up Jake's sword and walked around the chair. Stopping in front of his chair, she held out his sword for him to take.
As the sword was held in front of him, Jake stopped rubbing his wrists and reached out to take the sword. Lin-Lin took a step back, allowing Jake to stand up and put his sword back in its sheath.
BLACKOUT; PLAY THEME SONG
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Back in Fu Dog's room, Pixel grunted after he was thrown across the room, slamming into the wall. Dropping to the floor, he moaned as Jackal and Cadence turned to face him. Moaning, Pixel lifted his head up. Staring at Cadence and Jackal, as well as Nayeli, Encarna and Shae, who were all in their dragon forms and all hovering in the air, he weakly managed to call out for aid. "Lime..."
Her eyes widening with realization, Nayeli lowered back down onto the ground. She had forgotten all about Lime. Walking over to the bed and crouching down, she used her clawed hand to lift up the covers that were draped over the side of the bed. As soon as she had done that, Nayeli got down lower so that she could look all the way under the bed.
She could see Lime, who, at first, was trembling. However, when Lime saw Nayeli, she immediately turned feral; snarling, Lime lunged forward, once again knocking Nayeli back onto the floor.
Quickly turning, Lime tried to bite Nayeli in the face, only to grunt as Encarna and Shae both smacked her away with their tails. Lifting her head up, Nayeli could see Shae and Encarna lowering themselves onto the floor. "Thanks." Nayeli said with a small smile.
"Don't mention it." Shae replied.
"Get up." Encarna said. "Before Lime tries to attack again!"
Growling as Lime got to her feet, she watched as Nayeli got to her feet as quickly as possible, her back to her.
Meanwhile, Pixel, once he had gotten to his feet, faced Jackal and Cadence. Snarling, Pixel tried to lunge forward, but Cadence did the same, only faster, ramming her head into his, throwing him back against the wall.
Lime quickly charged for Nayeli, Shae and Encarna, who were all standing together. As Lime got closer and closer, the three young dragons opened their mouths and blew out a torrent of fire each. Trying her best to avoid the flames, Lime yelped and swerved to the side. As a result, she tripped over her own paws and grunted as she fell to the floor.
Seconds later, Lin-Lin and Jake III (Jake holding the rope that had been used to bind him in one of his hands) turned and rushed into the room, finding that the two dogs had been taken down, Fu Dog was still on the bed, and Nayeli, Shae and Encarna were reverting to their human forms.
LINE BREAK
A short time later, Lin-Lin finished tying Pixel and Lime together with the rope that had been used on Jake. Both dogs grunted in discomfort as they were pressed tightly together. As soon as she had finished with the two dogs, Lin-Lin grunted as she got to her feet. She then walked over to Jake III, who was facing Nayeli, Shae, Encarna, Fu Dog, Cadence and Jackal.
"Well, it's good that you found Jake." Fu Dog said with sarcasm in his tone. "Though it's too bad that you left us alone to take care of these two dogs!"
"Oh, get over it." Jake put his hands on his hips. "You did better than I did.
"Where were they?" Lin-Lin asked. "Did they just come in here and attack?"
"No." Nayeli replied. "They were under the bed the entire time."
"So, when I came back in here to tell you that I couldn't find Jake, they were already in here?" Lin-Lin asked.
"I guess." Nayeli replied.
Although down, Pixel didn't consider himself defeated. So, there was no use in just staying quiet. As Pixel chuckled mockingly and contemptuously, both Lin-Lin and Jake found themselves turning to face him. "What?" Lin-Lin asked.
"We were in here far before that." Pixel said. "We were in here before you even brought Fu Dog in here in the first place."
"What are you so happy about?" Jake crossed his arms. "You two are going to jail!"
"You think you're getting out of here?!" Pixel grinned. "You're not! Once you step out of this school, Caribou, Jughead and Chopsticks are going to attack you and kill Fu Dog."
Now, it was Lin-Lin's turn to smile. Putting her hands on her hips, she told him: "You mean those three other dogs?"
"Those are the ones." Pixel said with malicious glee.
"Yeah, I went outside when I went looking for Jake." Lin-Lin put a hand on Jake's shoulder. "They weren't there."
"What?" Pixel's eyes filled with anger.
"They weren't there." Lin-Lin repeated as she took her hand off of Jake's shoulder. "They were nowhere to be seen. If you ask me, that means that we'll be able to leave without being attacked. You'll be taken to the Dragon Council, then we'll focus on those three other dogs, and once they're taken down, Fu Dog will be coming back here."
Hearing this, Cadence grinned with anticipation, but when Jake and Lin-Lin turned back to face their group, she wiped the grin off of her face.
"Okay..." Lin-Lin continued. "...With these two defeated, you'll be safe in here for a few more minutes."
"What are you going to do now?" Fu sounded annoyed.
"We need to talk to the principal." Lin-Lin crossed her arms.
"What for?" Fu Dog demanded.
"Well, I kind of forgot to tell him that Pixel and Lime are working for the Magical Mafia." Lin-Lin said. "He should know why we're taking them away while they're wrapped up in ropes."
Fu groaned, but he knew she was right. "Fine." He replied. "Just hurry."
LINE BREAK
In his office, the principal was seated at his desk, looking down at some papers he was studying. However, when he heard three knocks at his door, he was forced to look up. "Who is it?" He called out.
"It's me!" Lin-Lin replied.
"What do you want?" The principal asked. "If you want to know when Fu Dog will be taking his test, I don't know yet."
"It's not about that." Lin-Lin replied. "Can we come in?"
"We?" The principal asked. "Fu Dog?"
"No." Lin-Lin replied. "Jake is with me."
"Fine." The principal replied.
Within a second, the door opened and Lin-Lin walked inside, followed by Jake III. Within seconds, the two stopped in front of his desk. "Okay..." The principal leaned back in his chair. "...So, what do you want?"
"We're leaving." Lin-Lin crossed her arms.
"You already told me that."
"Well, there's more to it." Lin-Lin told him.
"How so?"
"We're taking Pixel and Lime with us."
The principal acted with surprise at this. His eyes widening, he started to stammer. "Wh...What? W...Wh...Why? Y...You can't do that! Why?!"
"They're under arrest." Lin-Lin told him.
"Why?!" By now, the principal's temper was starting to flare. This woman! First, she had interrupted Fu Dog's test, and now she was telling him that the two dogs that funded his school were under arrest. "What have they done?!"
"Hey, calm down." Jake warned him, narrowing his eyes.
"I want to know what they've done!" The principal slammed his palm down on his desk. "You may not realize this, but if you take Pixel and Lime out of the picture, this school will fail! They provide funding! They are needed!"
"I know they fund the school." Lin-Lin said.
"Then how can you expect me to just stand by and let you take these very important dogs?!"
"Have you ever wondered where they got the money?" Lin-Lin narrowed her eyes. She was losing her patience.
"I don't ask." The principal crossed his arms. "That would be rude."
"Well, why don't I tell you?" Lin-Lin said with a phony smile on her face. "They're informants for the Magical Mafia!" As soon as these words left Lin-Lin's mouth, the principal's annoyed look vanished, and was quickly replaced by a look of complete and utter shock. Satisfied by this, Lin-Lin smiled genuinely before she continued: "They've played a part in this attempt on Fu Dog's life."
"H...How can you know for sure?" The principal asked.
"Jake and I overheard them talking to the three dogs that were sent here to kill him." Lin-Lin put a hand on Jake's shoulder. "If that's not enough proof for you, they tied Jake up in the school basement. We know what we saw."
"Well, what about funding?" The principal asked.
"You're asking the wrong person." Lin-Lin said dismissively as she took her hand off of Jake's shoulder. As the principal frowned at this response, Jake decided that he had to do something to make the principal feel a little better.
"Principal Dianuga..." He said as he took a step forward, stopping right in front of the desk. "...I'm probably the wrong person to talk to, but I think the Dragon Council could help you out with the funding for this school."
LINE BREAK
Back in the classroom, Fu lied back down on the bed while Jackal and Cadence lied down on the floor across the room. Still tied to Lime, Pixel remained quiet and watched as Encarna, Nayeli and Shae all stood together.
Taking a deep breath as he thought about what to do, he finally smirked as he thought of an idea. As Encarna, Nayeli and Shae all turned to face each other so they could talk, Pixel feigned a pathetic, pleading look. Then, he started to whimper.
This whimper caught the attention of all three girls, who turned to face the two captured dogs. Pixel continued to whimper, even going so far as to whine harder, so that the girls knew that it was him.
"I wonder what's wrong..." Encarna muttered.
"I suppose we have to find out?" Shae asked. "Who's it going to be?"
As the girls talked amongst each other, Pixel started to whine harder, straining against the ropes holding him, making the so-far-silent Lime grunt in discomfort.
"Fine, I'll do it!" Encarna declared with annoyance as she quickly started to walk away from Shae and Nayeli, the two other girls reacting with shock at Encarna's annoyed tone.
Pixel didn't stop whining until Encarna stopped in front of him and Lime. As soon as she did, he looked up at her with pleading eyes. "What is it?" Encarna asked as she looked down at him and Lime.
Trying his best not to smirk, knowing that he had gotten what he wanted, Pixel began to play her like the sucker she was. "We're...We're..." He said with the best 'innocent' voice he could muster. "...We're getting a little uncomfortable here. Can you help us out?"
"Help?" Encarna raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"Well..." Pixel pretended to think about a solution. "...Well, maybe you could be so kind as to...loosen our ropes..."
"Uh..." Was all Encarna could say before her interaction with the captured dog made Fu turn his head to the side.
"Hey, what's going on over there?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "Kid, get away from them."
Quickly, Encarna turned around to face Fu Dog and the other two girls. "Pixel says he's uncomfortable." Encarna said.
"So?" Fu asked.
"He wants me to loosen the ropes."
"Absolutely not!" Fu declared. "Are you insane?! Do you know what it took to capture them?! And you just want to make it easier for them to escape?! No!"
"I didn't think it could do that much harm..." Encarna said softly.
"Well, it can." Fu said before he turned his head back to normal and set his head down. "So, don't do it."
Taking in Fu Dog's words for a few seconds, Encarna blinked before she turned her head to the side, glancing over her shoulder to stare Pixel in the eyes. "Sorry, can't help you." She said before she turned her head back to normal and started to walk back over to the two other girls. Lowering his head, Pixel narrowed his eyes.
Just as Encarna stopped in front of Nayeli and Shae, Pixel started to whine again, pulling against the ropes that held him and Lime together, Lime grunting in discomfort. Pixel did not stop struggling until the door to the room opened.
In response, Fu Dog lifted his head up and turned it to the side, seeing Lin-Lin and Jake III entering the room. "Well?" Fu asked.
"We got Principal Dianuga to allow us to take Lime and Pixel." Lin-Lin said, putting her hands on her hips. "As of right now, there is nothing keeping us here. Time to get up, Fu Dog. We're leaving this school."
BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK
BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW
Caribou's front paws stepped down off of the curb. As her entire body stepped down into the street, Jughead and Chopsticks stepped down after her, the three dogs walking across the street, heading back toward the school. Seeing no sign of Pixel or Lime outside, Jughead growled. "No sign of them..."
"Perhaps that's a good thing." Caribou replied.
"No, it's a bad thing." Jughead replied bitterly. "It means that we could have stayed for desert!"
"It did look good from the picture on the menu..." Chopsticks agreed.
A few seconds later, the three dogs stopped right in front of the school. "So, now we just wait..." Jughead growled.
"Don't worry about it." Caribou sounded annoyed. "We may not have to wait very long for them to come back out."
Only about three seconds after she said this, the doors to the school opened. "See?" Caribou added with a smirk before she, Chopsticks and Jughead turned to face the stairs, only to see Lin-Lin and Jake III (carrying the still bound Lime and Pixel together), Fu Dog, Jackal and Cadence reach the bottom of the stairs, turning to face them. Immediately, they froze, looks of shock on all of their faces.
Caribou, Jughead and Chopsticks all shared their look of shock. "Wh...What is the meaning of this?!" Chopsticks demanded, while Caribou narrowed her eyes, growling at Jackal and Cadence.
"You two?!" She demanded. "You two are the ones who told Fu Dog about us?!"
"We did." Jackal replied.
"Why?!" Caribou demanded, taking a threatening step forward.
"Because there's no way that I'm going to allow you to kill Fu Dog!" Cadence replied. "He's mine!"
Although seething with rage, Caribou managed a wicked smile. Chuckling evilly as Cadence and Jackal, she replied: "You should have just accepted your failure. You failed fair and square, and we were assigned this mission fair and square. But because you two had to protect your bruised egos, the boss will have your heads once I tell him about your treachery!"
"No. He. Won't." Cadence replied.
"Hey, you know what?" Caribou smiled. "You're right. The boss won't have your heads. Because I will have ALREADY REMOVED THEM FROM YOUR BODIES MYSELF!"
Caribou, Jughead and Chopsticks all then snarled as they charged towards Fu Dog's protectors. As Lin-Lin and Jake III dropped Lime and Pixel to the ground, unsheathed their swords and charged, Fu Dog panicked; yelping, the shar-pei turned and fled, running up the stairs to the front doors of the school.
Growling, Jackal and Cadence stood their ground while Caribou and Chopsticks charged at them. Within seconds, Caribou slammed into Cadence, throwing her back, while Chopsticks slammed into Jackal, throwing him back.
On her back, Cadence grunted as she managed to use both her front and back paws to shove Caribou (who was trying to maul her in the face), off of her. Grunting, Caribou flipped through the air before she landed on her paws. Caribou watched as Cadence grunted and rolled over, getting up on all fours. Snarling, Caribou charged, and after a few seconds of gaining speed, jumped into the air and came down on Cadence's back, making Cadence cry out as she was knocked to the ground.
Chopsticks and Jackal, meanwhile, were exchanging blows with their paws. Grunting, Chopsticks tried to swipe at Jackal's face with one of her paws, but Jackal was able to lean back, avoiding the blow. As Chopsticks reacted with shock, Jackal responded with his own blow, grunting as he swiped at his enemy with one of his own front paws, hitting Chopsticks in the face. With Chopsticks distracted, Jackal leapt on top of her, taking the Kooikerhondje to the ground.
Meanwhile, Lin-Lin grunted as she swung her sword at Jughead. However, she missed, and Jughead succeeded in jumping over her. Landing on the ground, Jughead kept running, headed straight for Jake III, who grunted as he raised his sword high above his head. Quickly looking down, Jake tried to bring it down, but Jughead dropped onto his belly and rolled out of the way before Jake's sword hit the concrete.
After rolling over a few times, Jughead managed to get to his feet. Quickly turning to face Jake, he snarled and charged. Seconds later, just as Jake started to turn, Jughead leapt into the air and slammed into him. Grunting, Jake dropped his sword as he was thrown back onto the ground.
Caribou was on top of Cadence, trying to bite her in the face. Grunting, Cadence managed to move her head to the side as Caribou brought her head down, resulting in Caribou biting into thin air.
Grunting again, Cadence managed to lift up one of her front paws, whacking Caribou in the side of the face. Grunting, Caribou jerked her head to the side before she quickly pulled her head up, not wanting to get hit again. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cadence brought her head up and rammed it into Caribou's chin/neck area. Grunting, Caribou was thrown off of the panther, landing on her back.
Meanwhile, Jake III was lying on his back, grunting as he tried to hold back the murderous Jughead, forcing him back by the neck while Jughead tried to bite at Jake's face. "Stop holding me back!" Jughead demanded before he started to try at Jake's face again.
"N...Not happening!" Jake managed.
In response to this, Jughead lifted up one of his hind legs and brought his paw down in-between Jake's legs. As Jake gasped in pain, he unconsciously let go of Jughead's neck, allowing the Karelian Bear Dog to start bringing his face down so he could bite Jake. However, before Jughead could even move an inch, he was stopped as Lin-Lin brought the blade of her sword to his neck.
His eyes widening, Jughead glanced upwards to see the scowling Lin-Lin looking down at him. "Unless you want your neck cut open, dog, I suggest you stop what you're doing." She said, then added: "Now get off of him.", before she kicked him in the side, throwing him off of Jake.
On his back, Jughead lifted his head up, just in time for the tip of Lin-Lin's blade to be pointed at his neck. Glancing to the side, Jughead could see Lin-Lin smiling victoriously down at him, while Jake grunted as he got to his feet.
Lifting her head up and turning it to the side, Lin-Lin spoke to Jake: "See about the other two dogs."
Nodding, Jake turned and walked away, Lin-Lin looked back down at Jughead and smirked at him again.
After only two steps forward, Jake froze when he saw that Caribou and Chopsticks had already been defeated, and that they were lying on their sides together, apparently unconscious. The only problem was that Jackal and Cadence were gone. Moaning, Chopsticks regained consciousness, slowly sitting up on her belly.
"Damn it..." Jake whispered to himself before he hurried over to the two dogs. Stopping in front of the two dogs, Jake quickly crouched down and grabbed Chopsticks by the scruff of her neck, making Chopsticks cry out.
"Where are they?!" Jake demanded. "Where are Jackal and Cadence?!"
"I...I...I don't know!" Chopsticks replied. "They're gone! They just left!"
"Crap!" Jake exclaimed before he turned his head to the side. "Lin-Lin!" He called.
LINE BREAK
Only an hour or two later, at the Animal Guardian Academy, Councilor Asil (in his human form) and Fu Dog stood in Principal Dianuga's office. Dianuga sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "And now he's going to stay..." He said in annoyed tone.
"Am I missing something?" Asil asked.
"Not in the slightest." Dianuga said sarcastically. Then, the principal started to rant: "No, you see, this dog just can't make up his mind. He's such a hassle!"
"Hey!" Fu voiced his protest at being called this.
"I schedule him for a test, he can't take it." The principal continued to rant. "He says that he has to leave, now he's going to stay! I really wish that he'd just make up his mind!"
"Hey, blame a dog for being targeted by the Magical Mafia!" Fu retorted.
"Fu Dog is right." Asil agreed. "He was in danger. I'm sorry that it had to be so hectic and stressful for you, but it wasn't Fu Dog's fault."
"Hmm..." Was all the principal said as he crossed his arms.
"Besides..." Asil continued. "...The five dogs that threatened Fu Dog's safety have been captured. All five of them are being transported to a magical prison as we speak. They won't be seeing the light of day for a very long time."
"And that's another thing!" Dianuga slammed his fist against his desk. "Because of Fu Dog, the two dogs that funded this school are going to magical prison for the rest of my lifetime! Because of him, this school is doomed!"
"Now, let's be reasonable." Asil said. "The money the school was receiving was coming from the Magical Mafia. Are you really that desperate for funding?"
"It's the only way to keep this school going."
"Don't worry about that, Principal." Asil replied. "I am sure that the Council will be willing to help your school."
LINE BREAK
Meanwhile, Nayeli, Encarna, Shae, Lin-Lin and Jake III were all sitting in the room where Nayeli, Shae and Encarna had been in when Dianuga had introduced them to Fu Dog. While Nayeli, Encarna and Shae all sat on one side of the room, all reading old magazines, Lin-Lin and Jake III sat together on the other side. Lin-Lin was twiddling her thumbs, while Jake sat slumped to the side in his chair, his balled-up fist on his chin.
When Jake sighed, Lin-Lin stopped twiddling her thumbs and turned her head to the side. "What?" She asked.
"It's over." Jake said.
"The mission?"
"No, Christmas Day." Jake replied sarcastically, turning his head to the side to look at Lin-Lin. He sighed. "Just when it was getting exciting."
Lin-Lin smirked. "So, you did have fun." She said.
"Yeah." Jake replied. "It really felt like I was a Dragon Council Agent. It felt like I was no different than you, rather than being your sidekick." As Lin-Lin smiled even more, Jake sighed again. "You were right. This really wasn't that bad. My position really is no different than yours." Turning his head back to normal, he sighed for a third time. "Now, I guess I'm going to have to wait another several months before another mission like this is given to us."
"Oh, I don't know about that." Lin-Lin told him before she put a hand on his shoulder, making Jake turn his head to the side again. "I could always ask the Council for the next mission that comes along."
"You'd do that?" Jake asked, a small smile appearing on his face.
Lin-Lin nodded. "For you." She promised before she leaned over to him and kissed him on the lips.
At that moment, the door to the room opened, and as Lin-Lin quickly pulled herself away from Jake, Councilor Asil and Fu Dog walked into the room. Knowing that this was important, Nayeli, Encarna and Shae got up from their chairs.
"I think you girls will be happy." Asil said with a smile.
"Is he staying?" Shae asked.
"Yep." Fu replied. "No more distractions. We'll take our test."
LINE BREAK
On the Island of Draco, later that evening, Jake III and Lin-Lin stood before Asil, Holly, Yara, Agata and Dingane. "Very well done." Holly said with a smile on her face. "Because of your actions, Fu Dog is, for now, completely safe from the Magical Mafia. Very good work."
"That is all." Asil added. "You two are dismissed."
Without a word, both Jake and Lin-Lin turned and started to walk away. However, after only a few steps, Lin-Lin froze, watching as Jake continued to walk towards the exit. Lin-Lin didn't even care that the entire Council was watching her with confused looks on their faces.
"Agent Clark?" Asil asked, just seconds before Jake exited the Main Hall. "Agent Clark?" He asked again, making Lin-Lin turn to face the Council. "Agent Clark, why aren't you following him?" Asil asked. "We said you could leave."
"There's something I need to ask you, first." Lin-Lin told him.
"Oh?" Holly asked. "What?"
"Jake really enjoyed the mission." Lin-Lin tried her best to explain. "It's the most excited and the happiest that I've seen him in awhile. So, I'd like to ask...if you can give us assignments as often as possible?"
LINE BREAK
Even later that night, at the Magical Mafia's lair, Cadence and Jackal were walking towards their boss' office after getting the order to head down there. "Do you think he knows?" Jackal asked softly. "I hope you didn't get us killed, Cadence."
"I didn't." Cadence replied, just as softly.
Seconds later, they reached their boss' open door, turned, and entered the almost pitch black room.
Stepping into the light from the overhead lamp, Jackal and Cadence stopped in front of their boss' desk. "You wanted to see us, boss?" Jackal asked.
"Yes, it's about Fu Dog..." Their boss replied.
Jackal swallowed hard, while Cadence remained unfazed. "What about him?" She asked hopefully.
"Caribou, Chopsticks and Jughead failed to kill him..."
"Do you know why that is?" Cadence asked.
"They were captured by two Dragon Council Agents..."
While Cadence tried to conceal her smirk, Jackal spoke: "That's unfortunate. Now it looks like Fu Dog will get away from us."
"Actually, he won't." Their boss replied.
"You have a plan?" Jackal asked.
"Indeed I do." Their boss told him. "That's why I called you two here."
"Oh?" Cadence asked.
"You two still have one strike left before you are out..." Their boss said. "...So, I am willing to give you one more chance to redeem yourselves. You have one more chance with Fu Dog. Kill him, and I just might be able to see you two as competent once again."
By now, Cadence had given up on trying to hide her gleeful smile. Sounding like a giddy child, she replied: "Boss, you won't regret this!"
BLACKOUT; END EPISODE
A/N: Please review.