Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! How to Train Your Dragon belongs to DreamWorks, and Amphibia belongs to Disney. Warning: Some content in the following chapter may contain topics, words, or phrases that some readers may find VERY controversial. If you happen to be offended by such controversies, I apologize in advance.


Marcy started feeling somewhat better when she woke up the next day. Anne and Sasha stayed with her the whole time, except for a few hours of catching up on what she missed for school. When night came around, the doctors could relieve her for the day, and Marcy was clear of all charges. And as soon as the teen girl returned home, she headed straight for her journal. She was writing about everything she had experienced the night before without missing a single detail.

The funny thing is a majority of her journal entry included her terrifying encounter with the dragon. For some weird reason, she couldn't stop thinking about it. The way it looked, moved, and even smelt if she was going, to be honest with herself. The geeky teenager had nearly been up all night just writing about it. She was only stopping near midnight to get some shut-eye.

It was mind-boggling to perfectly recollect such a magnificent yet terrifying beast, let alone survive its horrible onslaught. What struck the 13-year-old girl the most was: why she was still alive. The creature had the opportunity to finish her and passed it off. Why? Did her act of saving the ruthless beast work? Did the dragon suddenly grow bored with chasing her? Had the action alone invoked some form of debt? All these questions seemed to rattle in her head throughout the night before the geeky teenager dozed off into a deep slumber.

The next thing she knew, Marcy woke up, and everything seemed to return to normal. The sun shone, and the pigeons were chirping on the rooftops outside her window. And for a brief moment, the girl felt truly at peace. That was until the alarm on her phone went off, indicating it was time for her to get ready for school. Afterward, frequently rubbing her eyes to clear her vision, she exited the bed and stretched her arms before doing her usual morning routine. Firstly, Marcy went to a mirror next to the door. From there, she looked at her reflection and took a deep breath. The young teen pushed out any insecurities that could ruin the mood and thought of nothing but positive thoughts. It was a clever technique she learned from her therapist. One that has helped Marcy get through most of her days in the last two months.

Shortly after getting dressed and ensuring she didn't look like a complete mess, Marcy sauntered to breakfast, thinking everything was right with the world. And for another brief moment, it was. By the time she got to the bottom of the stairs, the geeky teenager had found her mom in the kitchen, probably cooking breakfast, as usual. And her dad was found at the dining room table going through his typical morning newspaper.

Upon entering the living room, her father dropped the newspaper he had at first sight of her and rushed to hug her. Naturally, Marcy felt surprised by the affection her parent was giving her. But she welcomed it nonetheless.

"Umm..good morning," She spoke, feeling slightly confused.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he replied. "How are you feeling?"

At first, Marcy hesitated. Even though she was technically exhausted from being up late, the thirteen-year-old still managed to hold up. In hindsight, the dorky teen wasn't quite sure how she felt. But all Marcy knew was that she was feeling much better than yesterday.

"Better," she answered. "If I'm gonna be honest with myself, that was my best sleep in a minute."

"That's great to hear," her father replied. "I knew yesterday hadn't been easy for you."

"I know too, but rest assured, Dad, I'm fine," Marcy said proudly. However, there was a slight hint of doubt on her father's face. "Might be a little famished, though."

"Don't worry, honey," her mom said from the other room. "Breakfast will be ready shortly."

The older parent rubbed the top of Marcy's head before returning to the couch. Naturally, Marcy joined her father on the other side why breakfast was still being made. For a moment, there was a long silence. And Marcy turned on the TV, hoping not to make herself feel awkward.

In doing so, however, she was greeted with a booming sound and flashing lights. And then showed the daily news, with some rather disturbing highlights. From this, there were two new reporters present to discuss the report. One resembled a tall, middle-aged man with an impressive-looking tuxedo, and the other a woman with astonishing curly red hair.

"We're back again with shocking news," said the female news reporter. "The LAPD, FBI, and National Guard have been deployed after last night's sudden power outage. A time of relative peace was shattered when reports of unidentified creatures appeared in the center of downtown Los Angeles."

The channel cut to showcase several images of the attacks the reporter referred to, which showed some pretty gruesome footage. Most of that footage included a large portion of downtown LA on fire. There was fire and destruction everywhere, from Chinatown to the Arts District. And above the smoke and ash was a great winged creature, one of which Marcy found very familiar.

However, one video showed explosions going off to what seemed to be one of the windows of what turned out to be the Sofi Stadium and outcoming to a creature coated with a silver hide, along with metal plates on the base of its head. Crowds of people ran and screamed as the beast delivered a sharp roar, unleashing a bright blue fireball at the police officers waiting outside the museum entrance before taking off to the skies.

And if that wasn't bad enough, a third video revealed a blue, flat dragon that seemed to resemble that of a baby whale shark circling the Santa Monica pier. At first, the dragon didn't seem very interested in the dock. Yet its mood shifted quickly when a police chopper fired sniper rounds above the Ferris wheel. And to their horror, Marcy and her dad watched as the dragon produced a concussive blast that sent the helicopter and Pier's Ferris wheel toppling. The screams of the guests echoed across the dock as the wheel crashed into the wooden planks. It was cutting through the rafters and landing straight into the ocean.

"While not much is known about these creatures, local authorities have warned that they are incredibly violent and unpredictable. Over 50 people have been confirmed dead after the first attack, with over 120 injured or missing. And this is after the first attack. The numbers keep heightening in the attacks following. And the CDFW warned they could spread all over LA county by the end of the week. I'm scared out of my mind. And for a good reason. Where these creatures came from is anybody's guess."

More footage of the gruesome attacks was shown. It almost made it very baffling for Marcy to comprehend. At the same time, it also intrigued her with the knowledge that there were other dragons. Dragons with different shapes and varieties differed from the one she unceremoniously encountered the other night. However, her father seemed less concerned about this than she was.

"Relax, Marcy," he attempted to reassure her. "I'm sure it's all just exaggerated."

Usually, the younger teenager would agree with this. But because she had met one up close and personal, she found that very hard to believe. And surprisingly to the young Chess Master, her mother had a second opinion on the subject.

"I don't know, honey," her mom said from the kitchen. "It looks pretty serious."

"That's what they say to frighten people," he scoffed. "Watch; after a few minutes, they'll say everything's fine, and it's just a conspiracy."

"You don't think this could be happening?" she questioned. "People are dying out there."

"Well, have you ever seen these "creatures?" he asked honestly. The irony of it almost made Marcy laugh. "I only believe what my eyes and ears see. And the media shows a lot of things. Most of them are hoaxes or conspiracies to undermine the government. If nothing else, it could be a..."

Then without warning, a massive two-headed dragon burst through the wall behind the reporters. The left head headbutted the male reporter, sending him straight into a wall, while the other snapped at the other, causing her to flee in terror. However, in doing so, she bumped into the camera and caused it to topple over. The filming crew was disarmed, and the entire set was almost torn down.

Yet, despite the chaos, the camera was still intact. Eventually, the heads of the dragon hovered over it. The beast roared at the people fleeing the set, dispelling fear and chaos. From the footage, the dragon seemed like it was about to leave. That was..until the dragon's left head sniffed a bit before looking directly at the camera. The right head followed suit before moving closer to it.

Soon both heads of the dragon were up close and personal with the screen, sniffing and giving a guttural, growling sound. Not a moment sooner did the right head grab the back of the camera with its jaws, thus bringing it closer to the left. Curiosity killed the dragon's mind as it sniffed the screen. Then suddenly, a green gas came out from the creature's mouth, followed by what seemed to be the sound of a spark being ignited.

BOOM!

An explosion was set off before the tv went utterly static. Marcy and her dad stood there, eyes widened, and jaws dropped. Utterly shocked at what they had just seen. From the kitchen, her mother was just as stunned as they were. For a short period, there was a long sullen silence in the room before a dinging sound came from the oven. And thus, Mrs. Wu was allowed to break the tension.

"Um...breakfast is ready."


A Few Minutes Later...

Marcy finally zipped up her bag and was ready for school. Before that, she had double-checked to see if she had everything ready, pulled out her phone, and was pleased to know she was on schedule. As the Taiwanese teen looked at the time, Marcy wondered how to play, showing up after what happened at the party. Surely, Tracy would be there, and she couldn't show her face around her after being humiliated by her and her lickspittles. She'd probably still pick on the poor girl like she always does.

At the same time, however, she wasn't too worried about that. Her main focus was getting there on time since she missed school yesterday. She'll make it up as she goes. Marcy was close to flying out the door when a sharp voice stopped her from behind.

"Whoa there," her mom spoke. "Slow down, babycakes."

Marcy cringed at the word 'babycakes.' She didn't mind the cute and loveable nicknames her mom would give her. But at the same time, it was getting pretty old. She was thankful her mother was dignified enough to call her those names in public.

"Before you leave, I've got a little surprise for you."

The young Asian girl tried so hard not to roll her eyes. It was unlike her to be so irritated, but regardless, she was on a strict schedule. So she didn't have that much time for chitchatting. Otherwise, she'll be late for school and have a serious "No tardy" spree. One that she had always dedicated her entire school experience to upholding.

"Mom, I kinda in a hurry," she tried to excuse herself. "So, can you please make this qui-"

She suddenly gasped at seeing what her mom supposedly had for her. What seemed to be a Chinese steamed dumpling was then revealed to be a small bag with a cute sticker with a picture.

"Surprise!" her mom exclaimed, earning a giddy cry from her daughter. "I made these myself. Take as a good luck charm for your first day back."

If there was one thing she loved in the wide world besides books, chess, strategy-based games, and her two best friends, it was her mom's homemade dumplings. It was her favorite food besides red velvet cupcakes with Ube frosting. And already she wanted to cry just seeing it. She could already feel tears swelling up from her eyes.

"Aww, you shouldn't have," she replied.

"You're my daughter; of course, I have to," her mother responded. "Listen, these last few days haven't been the best. But we'll get through this. I promise you that. You have to be strong. Have faith in yourself. And I swear to you that things will start to get better."

As Ms. Wu graciously handed her daughter the bag, Marcy was speechless. It wasn't normal for her parents to be so extra friendly and supportive of her. Still, considering what she'd been through these last few months, she didn't mind any of it, primarily as the teenager was about to go through what would seem like a very stressful day, considering all the schoolwork she missed yesterday.

"Listen to your mother, sweetheart," her father added from around the corner. "Things will start to turn up. You'll see."

Marcy felt very weak in the knees. She still couldn't believe that her parents treated her this way, even after everything she had done. Most parents would shun their kids for running off or outright disown them for disobeying them. But then she remembered the first thing they told her when she returned from Amphibia. That everything she had done didn't matter, and what mattered was that she was safe. Of course, she didn't figure they'd take that to an entirely new level.

"Thanks, guys," she said as she ran up to hug them. "You're the best!"

"Of course, sweety," her mom replied. "Now run along, or you're gonna be late."

And with that, Marcy raced out of the door. When the two parents reached the front porch, Marcy was already half a yard across the block.

"Be home before dark now, missy," her father shouted.

"I will," Marcy shouted back, nearly dodging a passing car.

The two parents then shared a laugh before going back inside, possibly getting ready for their respective shifts. However, unknowing to them, or their daughter, a shadow passed over the neighborhood. A shadow of a great beast with enormous wings and large horns as it flew across the skies to who knows where.


Lunch Time, 12:30...

Things became odd when Marcy arrived at school, for more police cars were patrolling the surrounding streets than usual. It may have had to deal with what was happening in the news this morning. Either than that, Marcy just went to school like normal. Regrettably, she didn't get to meet with Sasha and Anne like usual since she only had a few minutes to get to her first class.

So Marcy was on her own for the first half of that day. Luckily, she texted them both to meet her at the outside tables before slipping into homeroom class. However, Marcy intended to be discreet after that whole party debacle. The last thing she needs is another run-in with Tracy right after the treacherous harpy humiliates her in front of everybody.

For the first half of the day, Marcy could make it through her first few classes without issue. The only downside of today was that every kid in this school constantly eyeballed her as if she was now suddenly the talk of the town. The overall feeling of having eyes on her made Marcy physically and socially uncomfortable. The very notion of eyes all around her everywhere she went was very unsettling. And she could've sworn she heard some whispering her name, too. Some of which were mocking her, no doubt.

But despite all the pressure, Marcy ignores them. Did most of her dignity go down the drain after the party? Yes. But she was still the smartest kid in the school. And everyone and their mother knew that little miss nerdy, dorky, socially awkward Marcy Wu was considered the class's only valedictorian. Only one other student has come close to her in the last few months. So no matter the spiteful and frivolous hate comments the other kids could give her, she still knew she was the best. And none of them could take that away from her.

Well...most likely, anyway.

The best part was that there was no sign of Tracy or her goons. A promising sign, no doubt, but she'll show up before the day ends. She always does. When it was time for lunch, things started to take a drastic turn for the young teen. As promised, she met Anne and Sasha by a table beside a large oak tree. The only difference was that Maggie joined them, to Anne's extent. Marcy preferred that it would be just the three of them, but she was okay with the extra company. Friends were hard to come by now these days. She was right in the middle of pulling out her lunch when she was abruptly interrupted by her cute and awkward Thai friend, who seemed to be riled up about something.

"Can I go on a record and say how much boys SUCK?!" she started.

There was a long pause since Anne's outburst was out of the ordinary. Maggie was shocked, considering it was her first time seeing Anne like this. Marcy felt surprised but suspected that something must have ticked her off in her history class since she knew that was the class Anne had before lunch. On the other hand, Sasha wasn't as amused as Anne was. That being said, she was still concerned enough to dive deeper into the situation.

"Umm...are you okay, Anne?" Sasha asked curiously.

"Where do I even begin?" Anne groaned, banging her head against the table. "So, yesterday, my history teacher assigned partners for this dumb presentation due by today. And who do I get partnered with, you ask?-"

She scoffs in disgust before continuing.

"-Only the dumbest boy in the class. So fast forward to today, and what happens next?"

She pauses again. She was expecting someone to answer her rhetorical question, though her face started to burn up when nobody said anything. Finally, Sasha decided to indulge her already hot-headed Thai friend with a question of her own.

"What happens next, Boonchuy?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Sashmine," Anne replies, acknowledging her blonde friend's sarcastic expression. "So, halfway through the presentations, I call him up to prep for ours. Before this, I asked him to do half of the slides for our presentation, which he agreed to do. And I discovered that instead of doing it as he told me to, he spends the whole week playing Fortnite...FORTNITE!"

There was another pause following Anne shouting. She did not have it in her today, wasn't she?

"So anyway, I spent that whole time finishing the slides he didn't do. And when the time came to present, I did most of the talking. And I had to improv for half of it. And the worst part is, he didn't even do anything. Except steal all the credit from me. It's bad enough that you couldn't do the one thing I tell you to do but steal everything I did, too?!

Anne then groans again before slamming her head back into the table again. She tried her best sulky face to get her best friends to pity her. And it worked at first, for already Marcy was starting to feel bad for her cheesy Thai girlfriend. Waybright, on the other hand, did not seem pretty amused.

"You sure you aren't overdoing it, Anne?" Sasha asked, beating Marcy to the punchline for once in all the years they'd been together, voicing her skepticism over Anne's ambiguous outburst.

Sasha would guess she was desperate for attention if she knew her friend well. And in this regard, she didn't blame her. No one likes to have a group project; only one person is presenting it. Though on that note, Anne has had a habit of losing her patience with people who don't cooperate with her in situations that require focus.

"I mean, maybe it slipped his mind," Sasha suggested. "Sure, spending a whole day playing video games is pretty lame."

"Hey," Marcy commented, taking offense to her friend's statement.

"Sorry, Marce, but it's kinda the hard truth," Sasha defended, earning a pout from her Taiwanese besty. "But the point is, you forget a hundred things every day. Maybe that was one of them.",

Anne frowned in response. She was taking no pleasure or indulgence in Sasha's chastising comments.

"Sasha, I told him a thousand times yesterday!" the Thai girl said. "There was no way he could've forgotten."

"But at least cut him some slack," Sasha pressed on. "Besides, not all boys are complete douchebags. Trust me, I would know."

Anne was about to argue, but Maggie took the opportunity to butt in before being given a chance.

"I don't usually like to pick sides, but she does have a point, Anne," she said. "Boys aren't all bad. Take it from me. My little brother is a menace. But I still love him from the bottom of my heart."

"Yeah, and don't forget that number one fan who was gushing over you at the party," Sasha reminded, though she couldn't recall the boy's name. "What was his name, Twig? That's kinda a lame name if you ask me."

By that point, Anne started to lighten up a bit. Even though she was bitter about the whole issue, she could see where her muscular blonde friend was getting at. Shortly after the other teens got her point across, she finally caved in.

"Well, I guess you guys have a point," Anne sighed. "I wish people didn't have to rely on me so much. And do some fricking work for a change."

"Now, on that much, I agree," Sasha acknowledged.

"Though now that I think about it," Maggie chimed in. "That Twig guy seems pretty cute, doesn't he?"

The Thai girl's eyes widened at the mention of the word 'cute.' Which was topped by the girl's cheeks turning hot red.

"Don't start with me, Maggie!" she lashed out.

"What?" the ginger teen defended, putting her hands off while looking innocent. "I'm just saying."

While Anne, Sasha, and Maggie continued to talk about boys, Marcy remained at the back of the group, keeping to herself. She was reticent throughout the lunch period. This mostly has to deal with her being overwhelmed with everything she had been through the last 48 hours. Most of it pertained to the never-ending molasses waterfall and her fortuitous encounter with the black dragon the other night.

For some weird reason, she couldn't get the thought out in the first half of school. Let alone the image of the dragon itself. She remembered drawing sketches of it during her previous class and almost getting caught by her teacher. Even though this usually wouldn't be an issue, Marcy could not focus because of this dilemma.

But her internal struggle mostly revolved around whether or not she should tell her friends about it. The thought never really came to her until a few minutes ago. And it didn't get any easier now that the word 'unidentified creature attacks' is going around. Even though everyone had a clear idea of what they were. On top of all that, she felt like this should be something they should know. They were her friends, after all. Who knows what could happen?

Yet before she could open her mouth, she suddenly stopped herself. A new wave of thoughts entered her intellectual mind. Even if I did tell them, what comes next? Will they believe me? And if they do, will they trust me? Or better yet, will they tell anyone else? And if someone else were to know, it won't be long before the military finds out. And if they do find out, then...

And on that note, she decided it was best not to tell them. Only when she knows what she's dealing with. But alas, that was easier said than done. As much as she wanted to keep her little discovery a secret, Marcy felt it was wrong in her gut. She had already kept secrets from them once and almost lost them in the process. Who knows what risks she would unfold if they discovered she'd been hiding things from them again?

Before she could debate with herself any further, her consciousness was interrupted when a familiar yet mysterious voice was heard from behind her.

"Hey."

The act caught Marcy off guard. Thus causing her to yelp and fall backward, flat on the grass floor below. When she looked up, she saw that it was no other than Haddie, who was once again surprised that she managed to startle the geeky teen for a second time.

"Haddie," Marcy responded. "I didn't see you back there."

"Oh, sorry about that," she said, offering the other girl a hand. "I gotta keep working on that."

Still startled, Marcy paused for a moment before hesitantly accepting her aid. After climbing back up to her feet, there was a period of silence, making it slightly awkward for the two teens. The mixed kid found herself grabbing her arm and blushing. Finally, Haddie decided it was time to break the tension.

"Listen...about the party," Haddie started, Finding it difficult to put into words. "I'm sorry that I didn't...I couldn't.."

"Haddie, it's fine," Marcy abruptly stopped her. She thought it best not to mention anything about that party. "Really."

"No, it's not," the goth girl insisted. "I could've stopped it somehow. But I didn't. And I feel bad. I wish that I-"

"Seriously, Haddie," the Taiwanese girl suddenly grabbed her hand with both hands. "It's okay...but thanks for being there for me at the hospital. It meant a lot to me."

The goth girl's eyes immediately widened. And as she stared into Marcy's beautiful brown eyes, she couldn't help but shed tears. It was apparent that she's never had anyone compliment her. Nor has anyone placed her at such a high value. But then again, Marcy was known for having fewer friends in this school. Yet it still felt good that someone other than herself cared about her.

Shortly after, Haddie wiped away ushering tears before anyone else could see her and composed herself. She couldn't risk having anyone in this bloody school judge her for shedding tears, could she now? To lighten the mood, gothic teenagers thought it best to change the subject. Though as she thought about it, there was one thing that came to mind. And she didn't doubt that her new friend would be as interested as she was.

"Besides all that, did you see the news lately?" Haddie asked curiously as they both sat down on the table.

At first, Marcy didn't know what she was talking about. But then she soon realized what the gothic teen was referring to after remembering what she saw this morning.

"Oh yeah, with all those creature attacks?" she recalled. "Yeah, it was some...pretty interesting stuff."

"Interesting indeed!" Haddie exclaimed, applying a giddy expression in her voice. "When I turned on the tv, I replayed it three times. Can't you believe it?"

She quickly pulled out her phone and scrolled to the news channel, which revealed images of the recent attacks Marcy had no doubt seen this morning. Most of them consisted of the episodes she had already seen, which included the Santa Monica Pier and the SoFi Stadium. However, there were some that she had not noticed before. Some were as recent as today and much more gruesome.

As the goth geek zoomed in on one particular footage, one of which was able to get a better visual description of the beast, Marcy gasped as she was shown the attack on the night of the party in Downtown LA. From which undisputedly revealed no other than the creature Marcy encountered at the junkyard. The Taiwanese girl covered her mouth as she saw the dragon blasting police cars and bringing a helicopter down with a single blow.

'No wonder he was so banged up when I found him,' she thought.

"I've counted four so far," Haddie added. "But I have a feeling that they are more out there. Isn't it exciting?"

Marcy didn't know what to say. All she could think of was the dragon and how it may be responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths. Of course, she couldn't know that for sure, could she? The Taiwanese just needed some time to think about it. In hindsight, she felt it best to humor Haddie to take her mind off it.

"You know, the more I think about it," she said, bringing up some other videos with different dragons, particularly the one seen at the SoFi Stadium. "It's fascinating how this one can shoot sharp spikes from its tail."

"I know, right?!" Haddie exclaimed, briefly engaging in geek mode. "Or, what about how this one has two heads, where one breathes gas, and the other lights it with a spark."

"Oh, oh, what about this one?" Marcy brought up another image of the incident at the Pier. "And how its body goes completely flat until it opens its mouth.

"What?!" Haddie responded. "But that's impossible."

"Well, judging from the shape and width of the dragon," Marcy theorized. "I'd say it expells all of the oxygen from its lunges to flatten its body."

The two girls giggled as they continued to geek out about the creatures they had already dubbed to be 'dragons.'

"Honestly, it's almost bizarre just thinking about it," Marcy commented. "I mean, from our standards, dragons shouldn't exist."

The goth girl almost took offense to her statement but then remembered that half of the world believed they were made up. Of course, that didn't stop her from giving her friend her most honest opinion about this subject.

"Marcy, dragon stories have been around almost every country and culture," Haddie explained. "Sure, nobody's seen one in the flesh, but that doesn't mean they're made up. But now we have actual proof that they exist."

This made Marcy pause to think about her friend's opinion. And if she was going, to be honest with herself, the Taiwanese girl no doubt believed she was right. That meant if these dragons were real, they were extremely dangerous, too—no doubt they would cause many deaths and destruction. Then again, there was still that dragon that resided in the junkyard. It couldn't harm anyone after the wounds she had seen all over its body.

"True, but what do you think if-"

"What's that Mar-Mar?"

It took half a second for Marcy to realize that Anne and Sasha had overheard their conversation and were interested in what she and Haddie were looking at. At first, she hesitated. But then Marcy realized they were her friends and had no reason to worry. She trusted them enough to share stuff like this. And besides, it was all over the news, so they would find out sooner or later.

"Oh, it's just some highlight I found on the news," she answered, panning her phone sideways so they could see. "It's pretty much everywhere now."

The three other girls scooted closer to get a better look. However, as soon as their eyes were on the footage, they were filled with different expressions. Sasha was quite surprised, considering she had seen many things. Maggie was devastated beyond belief at the many horrible things the reports showcased. And Anne was more concerned that this was happening close to home.

"Woah," Anne expressed, her eyes widened in an unsettling manner. "When did this happen?"

"Just yesterday," Marcy replied. "We both think they're some kind of species of dragons."

"DRAGONS?!" Anne and Sasha exclaimed in sync.

"Well, yeah," Haddie answered, with a hint of sarcasm escaping her voice. "What else could they be."

"But that's impossible," Maggie commented in denial. "Dragons don't exist."

"I don't know, Maggie," Anne argued. "I've seen many things in my life. Half of them I didn't believe in. But these look pretty real from where I'm standing."

"Yeah," Sasha pitched in. "We've faced everything from giant man-eating bugs to highly trained frog robots to alien newt invaders."

"Don't forget the giant moon," Marcy added.

"That too," Sasha acknowledged. "Though these guys don't look so tough."

"What guys?" a male voice sounded off.

Next thing they knew, the two twins, Twig and Molly, appeared from behind Maggie, who was not too surprised about their unexpected entrance.

"Twig, Molly," she whined. "This is a private convo!"

"Sure it isn't," Twig challenged. "It's not private if you're talking in public."

"Yeah, WE WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS!" Molly yelled.

Despite the ginger girl's protest, Marcy was obligated to show the twins the highlights. Unlike her friends, they were slightly more excited than scared or concerned. Explicitly Molly.

"Oh, wow, firebreathing monsters!" Twig exclaimed. "Fire-breathing monsters."

"They're dragons, Twig," Haddie corrected. "Not monsters."

"You mean shooting out flames and burning stuff?" Molly guessed. "Cool."

"Did I miss out on all the hot goss?" Gabby suddenly butted in from out of nowhere.

"Nope, you're just in time," Molly answered.

"Maggie and her friends here were just talking about dragons burning things."

"Again, Molly, they're not-"

"Omg!" she burst out, briefly cutting Haddie off. "Really?!"

"Yeah, come check this out," the twin girl insisted.

Soon, all seven teens began crowding around the poor Asian girl, who was still trying to grasp the very notion of the situation she had just put herself in. Thus, putting herself into what seemed to be a pickle. 'This has escalated much quicker than I thought,' she thought.' I shouldn't tell them about my discovery after all.

As they all gossiped amongst themselves, the other students from all over the courtyard began to notice and observe anonymously. Soon every single teen got word of such gossip. Including one person whom Marcy hoped she wouldn't meet today.

"Oh, looky who it is," a familiar voice sounded off. "The dumb freak and loyal friends are talking about fairy tales."

The expressions of the Asian girl suddenly dropped as they realized who the voice belonged to. And as soon as all eight kids turned around, they were devastated to see no other than Tracy and her two friends looking down at them from the right side of the table. But in light of that, the mean girl's unexpected appearance did not go unnoticed. And before long, Ann was already giving her a hateful glare while Sasha groaned before rolling her eyes. None of them wanted to deal with Tracy and her shenanigans again. Especially Marcy was still pretty roughed up after her little stunt at the party.

"Not this again," she muttered under her breath.

The spoiled rich girl rudely placed her hands on the table board. She was trying to get close and personal with the two nerds on the opposing side. Marcy tried not to look her in the eye, but Tracy didn't give her much choice. However, what was different about her was that she had a large bandage strapped across the bridge of her nose.

"Honestly, I think it's super lame hearing nerds talk about silly dragons," she said coldly.

"They're not silly, Tracy," Haddie said in defiance. "And they're not fairy tales either. It's all over the news!"

Tracy laughed. She was probably taking amusement in what Haddie conceives as evidence of her statement.

"First of all, I don't watch the news," she pointed out. "Second, it's probably some woke conspiracy to scare people into following liberal agendas."

"This has nothing to do with stupid politics, Tracy," Maggie lashed out.

"Everything's about politics, Maggie!" Tracy fired back.

"Oh, come on, Tracy," Haddie said in defiance. "Don't you have anything better to do besides picking on other people?"

The bully girl fixated her eyes on the smaller goth, making herself seem more extensive than she already was. Haddie felt a chill go down her spine as Tracy moved in closer.

"For you," she scoffed. "I always have time to pick on the likes of you."

She then turned her attention to Marcy, whose eyes were already drawn to the floor. Though it made her wicked smirk widen even further.

"Hey Wu," she greeted coldly. "Didn't see you there."

Marcy did not reply. Instead, she tried hard to ignore her and channel all her thoughts into only happy ones. Unfortunately, it was all shattered when the spoiled little rich girl opened her mouth.

"By the way, you made the highlight yesterday," she said, pulling out her phone to show her something. "You're famous."

When she looked up to see it, Marcy was devastated to catch a glimpse of what seemed to be a video posted online of the party.

Showing in perfect detail the humiliation she endured that day. And what made things worse was that it housed over a thousand views, with the numbers climbing with each passing second. Marcy was already on the verge of tears, knowing that this video would permanently ruin her.

However, as she continued to glimpse the video in despair, Tracy started eyeballing the little bag with her mom's homemade dumplings. Thus managed to bring a devilish smirk to the brat's face. With cruel and heartless intent following through.

"Aw, is this for me?" she asked, briefly getting Marcy's attention. Her eyes instantly widened when she noticed the mean girl eyeing the bag. Tracy beat her to the punch before she could keep it out of her grubby hands. And could only watch her bully snatch away a precious thing before her eyes. "You shouldn't have."

"Hey!" Marcy yelled. Grabbing onto the edge of the bag and hanging onto it weakly. "That's mine!"

"Oh really," she mocked before yanking it out of the more diminutive teen's hands and turning to leave. "Well, it's mine now, dork."

"Hey!" Anne shouted, stopping Tracy in her tracks. "You can't just take things from my friends."

"I just did," Tracy fired back. She was about to take off when Anne fiercely grabbed the bag with her free hand.

"Not without me having anything to say about it."

Tracy groaned, taking no amusement from the Thai girl's threats.

"When will you ever learn, Boonchuy?!" she questioned rhetorically. "I'm the most popular girl in this school now. I can take whatever I want."

"That's quite enough!" Sasha stated as she got up from her seat to size Tracy up.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it, Waybright?" Tracy challenged. "Less you forget who's the new captain of the cheerleader squad."

Everyone in the schoolyard gasped at the sudden news. Marcy, in particular, was just as shocked. And the blonde girl herself started blushing red in embarrassment.

"The only reason you have that position is that your dad threatened to sue me," Sasha lashed out. However, Tracy didn't seem fazed by it. Instead, she felt proud of it.

"Yeah, and the fact he didn't is such a shame," she spat out. "Still, that means I'm in control now."

Sasha clenched her fist hard. And was almost about to reel it back when a familiar Thai hand grabbed her shoulder to stop her. Maggie held her other shoulder to keep her from doing anything impulsive. Sasha turned around, a relentless fire burning in her eyes, only to set upon Anne's compassionate, heartful eyes.

"Sasha, don't," she insisted. "She's not worth it."

The old Sasha probably wouldn't take such insults or listen to Anne's hollow warnings. But alas, she wasn't that person anymore. And she valued Anne's council, no matter how hard it was to abide by. The muscular blonde girl gave one last scornful look at the spoiled princess before regretfully backing out. The Thai girl then watched as Sasha let out a frustrated groan before returning to her seat at the table. All the while, Tracy gave a diabolically victorious smile.

"Thanks for the assist Boonchuy," Tracy hollowly thanked. "Now, if you'll excuse me-"

Just before she thought she was home free, Anne didn't let go of the bag she still held onto. Tracy tried to yank it out just like Marcy, but the Thai hero's grip was much more firm than her Taiwanese friend's, backed up by an insistent look at the beauty queen. Thus, it was clear to the bully girl that she wasn't letting go of the bag she attempted to steal. And also making it clear to her that, unlike her friends, she's not backing down from this.

At first, Tracy stood firm, her ego not allowing her to be denied by a Thai freak with messy hair. But the snobby bully finally caved in after she saw Anne was not bluffing or playing around, and the other glaring eyes looked down at her from all sides. Therefore, rudely let go of the bag which Anne held in her hands.

"You suck the joy out of everything, don't you, Boonchuy?" she scoffed. "Whatever. I don't even like Chinese food anyway."

Anne silently scorned her before watching her leave with her posse and throwing a "Later losers" comment right on the way out. As she was walking, the Twins through slander gestures behind her back. One of which included Molly silently giving her the finger. Once she was out of sight, Anne turned her attention back to Sasha, who was already fuming.

"Sasha, calm down," she tried to ease, but her blonde friend didn't have it. "Just breathe."

"She didn't even earn it, to begin with!" she vented. "What makes her think she can waltz in and think she owns the place?! She's nothing but a spoiled dingus. She's just so- "

Sasha paused for a moment before banging her fist against the table. Thus causing it to shake a bit. Anne rubbed her back to soothe her anger while the poor girl breathed heavily. Slowly but surely, her nerves started to calm. And at a moment's notice, Sasha was finally put at ease. Or at least to the point where it was guaranteed that she wouldn't punch through a wall.

"It's okay, Sash," Anne tried to reassure again.

"But it's not alright, Anne!" Sasha fired back. "How can I defend my friends if jerks like her take charge? She didn't even win the spot fair and square. She flippin' blackmailed me."

"Well, you hit her at the party," Anne implied. "So you kinda gave her that opportunity, to begin with."

This fact made Sasha laugh, mainly because of how true it was. She did hit her at the party. And also did fight her on behalf of her humiliated best friend. One that she loved deeply besides Anne and Grime. And now she had to face the consequences of those actions, whether her intentions were good.

"You have a point there," the blonde teenager admitted. "Though technically, I broke her nose."

"Yeah, and she deserved it, too!" Gabby agreed. "After everything she's putting us through."

"She should be medicated," Twig commented.

"She should be in a full body cast drinking through a straw!" Molly suggested, with a sadistic smile running across her face. The entire group went silent shortly after. Giving a long, sullen pause as if the earth had stopped turning. "What? It's true, isn't it?"

The next thing she knew, the group laughed at the malicious twin girl's antics. To which she began to laugh alongside them. Though in hindsight, the attention of the two girls was drawn elsewhere, mainly toward the sound of sniffling. They saw Marcy with her head down and covered with both arms. No doubt was the poor nerd crying from the shame she must be feeling from all of this. Haddie rubbed her back to ease the pain, but it only worsened.

"Hey, what's wrong, Mar-Mar?" Anne asked.

A tear-driven Marcy lifted her phone, revealing the disgusting video Tracy had posted on social media. Thus, leaving both Calamity girls completely devastated at what Tracy had done. However, the worst part about it was not just the video itself but what Tracy had managed to caption it as titled in all caps, 'Marcy Wu: The Freak in Red.' Which everyone thought was very revolting.

"How could she do that?!" Gabby questioned with disgust. "That's like so wrong!"

"Yeah, this is low, even for her," Twig commented.

However, it didn't help Marcy in any way. It only made her break down harder. If she wasn't humiliated enough, then she was now. Because now every school kid would know what happened at the party. She'll be considered what Tracy keeps referring to her as—a freak. And everyone in every corner of the country would know about it too. Thus, forcing her to have to deal with this unfortunate gossip. Fortunately for Marcy, her friends didn't see it that way. And both would do everything in their power to comfort her. Same as Anne was about to do now as she moved across the table to settle her best friend down.

"Why would she do this to me?" Marcy wondered as the tears kept pouring down. "What did I ever do to her?"

"Marcy-.."

"I don't deserve any of this...," Marcy sobbed. "All I ever wanted was to spend time with my best friends. And she does this to me. Why? What did I ever do to her? What did I-"

"Hey, look at me Mar-Mar," Anne urged, coupling her cheeks with both hands. "It's going to be okay. We can get through this."

"Yeah, Marce," Sasha added, coming up from the other side. "Remember all the fun adventures we used to have?"

Upon hearing the question, Marcy started to wipe away the tears. She took the time to breathe before answering it.

"You mean the ones where I almost got you both killed?" Marcy rhetorically asked. Thus earning a laugh from the two girls.

"Well, technically, we were all in on it," Anne admitted. "So that wasn't entirely your fault."

"But it still was," Marcy pointed out.

"Yeah, sorry, Anne, but it's true," Sasha agreed.

Anne started to gibber a bit, fearing that she was making Marcy feel worse than she already was.

"Well, the point is," Anne tried to brush off, getting straight to it. "We're here to back you up no matter what. We're a team. And we look after each other. Regardless of what the world throws at us."

As comforting as the Thai girl's words were, Marcy found that hard to believe with that humiliating video going viral. Still, she trusted her friend enough to know she was telling the truth. And there was no way she would doubt her friendship with Anne or Sasha. Not after everything they've been through. Despite all that, now that Marcy thought about it, she had faced much worse than Tracy Chandler. And half of them, she had to put an end to herself.

Before the young mixed teen could get ahead of herself, her eyes glanced at the footage of the attacks across the city. And it was there that she began to remember the dilemma of the mysterious dragon and everything that comes with it. Now that was something that none of them could handle on their own. Especially after her unfortunate encounter the other night.

"What about that?" she asked, referring to the news.

It took them only a short time to grasp what Marcy was implying. Yet the expression on Anne's face didn't change, nor did Sasha's.

"We'll handle them too," she reassured with some optimism. "If they ever hit us. Sure, they look pretty scary but admit it. We've fought way worse."

'You sure about that, Anne?' Marcy muttered under her breath. Luckily no one was able to notice.

"She's right about that, Marce," Sasha backed up. "If we can fight an entire moon and walk out of it victorious, we can handle anything. Dragons are just child's play."

"See, it'll always be us against the world," Anne repeated, holding the palm of Marcy's hand with both hers. "Always."

Like before with her mom, the encouraging words of her Thai friend lit a spark in Marcy's heart, knowing that her friends were still supporting her when she needed them the most. At the same time, Marcy wasn't sure if she shared Anne's optimism regarding what was happening. A weird feeling began to creep up from the back of her neck about this new potential threat they were about to face. If it even is a threat at all.

There was still much about dragons she did not understand. The only semblance of knowledge relates to their myths and stories of how they would steal princesses and hide in hoards of treasure, waiting for an honorable knight to slay them. These dragons are much smaller compared to those in the stories. And what she had seen that day would only mean that they were brilliant too. Capable of strategic thinking and coordinating with extreme devotion.

Yet could they be ready for such an inconceivable threat that they know nothing about? Sure, they've faced enemies back in Amphibia that are twice as big and twice as deadly. But after remembering her experience from that night, how long will it be until she comes to a crossroads with a beast just as powerful and dead as Anne and Sasha? How well would their superior technology protect them when the skies glow orange and red?

It was a cruel and twisted thought. But one that was nonetheless important to Marcy. But either way, they were her friends. Her best friends. She had been through everything with them, and they had been through everything with her.

"I love you guys," she said before hugging her arms around her two best friends and hugging them.

"We love you too, Queen Regina," Sasha added snarkily.

The very mention of the word made Marcy want to pull out and retract her hug. But by then, it was too late. They'd already had her in a deadlock of warm embraces and cute cuddles. And all it ever did was make her laugh. Of course, it was all topped with the rest of the group just watching them, observing it as if it were a romance scene in a drama tv show.

"Awww," Gabby commented. "I don't mean to offend, but you look so cute now."

"None was taken, Gabby," Anne acknowledged.

In hindsight, Molly was gagging in the background, taking no interest in any of the love fests happening now. She was close to making a rude comment, only to be silenced by her twin brother after he nudged her shoulder. Though before any of them could get comfortable, the bell rang. Thus, signaling the end of lunch and telling the kids it was time for them to get to class.

"Sooooo," Marcy said in an attempt to break the silence. "Any of you guys have plans this weekend?"

It was a good question because neither Sasha nor Anne came up with an answer. That was until something came up from the back of Boonchuy's mind.

"Well..." she hesitated at first. "I have to be Thai Go tomorrow. I promised my mom I'd help around the restaurant."

"Yeah, I told Maggie and Gabby I'd go shopping with her at the mall tomorrow," Sasha added. "Right, ladies?"

At first, they were confused but picked up what Sasha was implying.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Maggie said. "Almost forgot about that."

"I have to be at my dad's workshop tomorrow," Haddie adjoined. "He's an auto mechanic, so.."

Everyone looked at the twins, expecting an answer from them.

"We're booked too," Twig put.

"What's the occasion?" Anne asked out of curiosity.

"Can't say," Molly denied, zooming in at the Boonchuy girl and whispering, "It's a secret."

Anne's eyes widened as she sensed a creepy feeling swelling up. But was able to brush it off rather quickly.

"Okay, moving on," she said before returning to Marcy. "What about you Mar-Mar? You got any plans for the weekend."

Marcy opened her mouth to speak but then retracted after suddenly realizing she had no idea. She couldn't hang around with her friends since they were currently occupied. And Marcy had no other plans for the weekend either. However, it made her feel bad that she'd spend more time with her friends. But at the same time, there was still that little dilemma in her head that suggested she had unfinished business to attend to.

"You know, I think I'm just gonna be at the library tomorrow," she said. "And just take in that beautiful smell of fresh knowledge."

This earned a chuckle from the group, more specifically from Anne and Sasha. Considering how corny and cheesy it was, they knew that's what she'd go for.

"Okay," Sasha acknowledged. "Well, know. You can always crash with the three of us if you want."

"And I'm free on Sunday," Haddie added. "So if you wanna, you know. Stop by for a brief study period; my door's open."

"I'll keep that in mind," Marcy smiled as she started collecting her things. She then turned back to her best friends and gave them another hug. "You guys are the best."

"We know, Mar-Mar," Anne admitted. "Now we better get going. Don't wanna be late for class now, do we?"

"Agreed," Sasha professed before turning back to the others. "Alright, everybody, the show's over. Let's get to class before we spend the weekend in detention."

In seconds, everyone started clearing out and heading to what seemed to be the last period of the day.


Patterson's Class...

Finally, it was almost the end of the day, and Marcy wanted to go home. It was one thing for that spoiled brat to humiliate her at a party publicly, but to make a video about it and post it on social media felt very agonizing. Sure, Anne and Sasha's words afterward were very comforting, but even that couldn't heal the wound that that obnoxious brat had inflicted upon her. The only ounce of joy she could get out of this was the teacher, his charming charisma, and his delightful lessons that always brought a smile to her face. However, it didn't necessarily help because Tracy was also in that class. So she expected this class to be most unpleasant.

But boy, was she so wrong. For the first half of the class, he showed the class a half-hour-long documentary of George RR Martin's take on the long reign of Jahaerys and Alysanne, which had many exciting stories and dragons that lived during that time, including the heartbreaking yet intriguing tale of King Jahaerys himself and Queen Alysanne.

By then, they were already at the Fourth Dornish War, where things started to get very interesting.

"So, without looking in the book, can somebody tell me who the opposing fractions were during this conflict?" Patterson humbly questioned. Sadly there was no one at first to answer it. "Anyone?"

By then, one brave student, other than Marcy, mustered a glimpse of courage to raise his hand and pray that he'd answer it right.

"Prince Morion Martell," he answered.

"Yes, that is correct," Patterson acknowledged. "It was the newly crowned Prince Morion. Who was still quite upset about his father's unfortunate demise at the hands of King Jaehaerys during the Third Dornish War. Can someone tell me what the war was most known for?"

Once again, there was blessed silence in the room. And almost all of the kids bore looks that suggested they didn't want to be there—except Marcy Wu, who raised her hand anxiously to answer the question.

"Yes, Marcy," Patterson called out with a nod.

Marcy took a deep breath, mentally prepping herself before engaging in full-on geek mode.

"It was best known for its historical record of winning a battle without a single man," Marcy explained. "Jaehaerys already knew that Morion would land his fleet in the Stormlands. The prince thought he'd take the iron throne by surprise by attacking during the night. But he didn't know that Jaehaerys was already waiting for him at Cape Wrath with his two sons, Aemon and Baelon, with all three of their dragons, Vermithor, Caraxes, and Vhagar."

"Of course, as an extra precaution, the king had Boremund Baratheon, the current Lord of Storm's End, waiting at the peninsula in case the Prince of Dorne got past the dragons. But unfortunately for the Storm Lord, he would never have the chance to meet them. Since the dragons made short work of them. By the time Jaehaerys was-"

Some unexpected laughter suddenly cut off Marcy from behind her. She could already guess who it was coming from. Her first impulse was to ignore it and get back on course.

"By the time Jaehaerys and his sons were finished with the fleet, Boremund Baratheon had nothing to fear. Before the sun went down, all of the ships of Prince Morion's fleet were decimated by all three of their dragons. They were burning, as Gyldyan put it, 'like a hundred candles floating on the sea.' And it was done without losing a single man. An accomplishment that not even Aegon the Conqueror could-"

The noirette girl was cut off once again by the laughter. Only this time, she could also hear something all too familiar for her. More explicitly, she heard a familiar tune she had listened to not too long ago. The music was no other than the fabulous song "Wipe Out." Which was played during the night of the party.

When she turned around, she saw Tracy and a group of other kids in the back, hovering over her and staring at her phone. And to Marcy's horror, she knew exactly what was on it. She turned back forward and covered her ears to tune out the sound of the video playing and the continuous laughter that followed. All the while, the snarky Queen Bee herself was looking at her with an evil grin crawling up her mouth. Thus intending to make the poor Taiwanese geek miserable.

However, to what seemed to be Marcy's unfortunate dismay, it turned out that she wasn't the only one who seemed to notice. Only this time, there weren't any kids in the classroom.

"Excuse me!" Mr. Patterson suddenly calls out. "What happens to be so funny that you would disrupt my class, Ms. Chandler?!"

The back group went dead silent after grabbing the attention of the history teacher. Upon instinct, Marcy lifted her head, drawn to the commotion at an instant. She saw some of the kids back away to their seats while Tracy herself tried to play it off due to her being a complete egomaniac.

"It's none of your business, sir!" she said, puffing her chest out with pride.

"Oh, is it now?" he challenged, squashing whatever self-esteem the spoiled teenager was building up. "If that's the case, why don't you share it with the class? I'm sure everybody will be delighted to see it for themselves."

Marcy whimpered silently. It was one thing for everybody in the school to know about that humiliating night, but for the teachers to know about it, too, would be just as embarrassing. A part of her wanted him to retract his request and drop it. Yet at the same time, as she looked back to the scene, she saw the look on Tracy's face. To which was filled with a sliver of fear, though her ego put it out. And that was when things started to get interesting for her since it was rare to see Tracy afraid because of how arrogant and famous she was.

"Um, it's a private video," she downplayed. "So, like, I can't."

The teacher remained unconvinced, much to her manipulative whitewashing and the snobby teen's overbounding confidence.

"Then, if that's the case, give me your phone," he demanded.

Marcy and the whole class gasped. This was an unexpected move by Mr. Patterson.

"WHAT?!" Tracy exclaimed.

"You heard me, Ms. Chandler!" the history teacher elaborated. "Cellphones are not allowed in my classroom. And everyone's already put theirs up. All except you. So hand it over.

Tracy immediately went pale. Something Marcy had never seen before besides that one early that week when Anne pinned her up against the wall of her locker. Perhaps it was because this was the first time Mr. Patterson had asked her to do such a thing.

"I so don't need to do this," Tracy commented before attempting to put it away."

"That's up to you, Chandler," Patterson acknowledged. However, he remained firm to his word. "But violating class rules will result in an immediate detention. So either show me what's so funny, or I'll be forced to confiscate it myself."

The teacher extended his arm, insisting that she give him the device. Once again, Marcy hoped she wouldn't, fearing what he would think of her as soon as he saw it. However, to her loss, Tracy finally caved in and handed her phone over to him. Since the phone was unlocked, the history teacher had already accessed the video. And with the click of a button, the video's theme song played again.

Marcy buried her head against the table, the shame washing over her as the song played again. And to add it on, she heard the other students giggling in the background, making her feel much worse than she already was. The poor girl felt like sobbing right then and there, knowing that the humiliation she had endured that day was rendered humorous by everyone in the class. So to speak.

However, as the video ended, she looked up to see that the teacher was still looking at the phone. Yet, unlike the other kids, Marcy found his expression to be much more different. His reaction was quite the opposite of the other students, who found the video hilarious.

Mr. Patterson was disgusted.

His first instinct was to turn to Marcy. Who's head was still down. In an unexpected turn, Mr. Patterson knelt to eye level to get her attention, and she was forced to look up at him.m

"Marcy, did this happen?" he asked her gently. She can tell by the tone of his voice that he was devastated by what he saw in that video. "Did it?"

At first, she hesitated, still driven by fear and nervousness. But at the same time, after looking back at Tracy, who was still a doornail, she realized that this might be an opportunity to make herself even.

"Yes," she said timidly.

He then turned back to Tracy, the sick look on his face not daring to leave. The obnoxious brat grew paler and paler with each step he took to approach her.

"When was this taken?" he questioned.

The overly confident girl hesitated. It became apparent at this point that he was not playing around anymore. To which everybody soon came to realize.

"Answer me!" he raised his voice.

"Okay, jeez," Tracy nearly jumped. "A couple of days ago. It was just a prank. And why do you care? It's not a big deal."

"Oh, no big deal, huh," he commented. Every muscle in the teacher's body tensed. "You call this a sick excuse of a video, not a big deal? You call tormenting one of your classmates and sharing it with others not a big deal?!"

The whole class froze at his outburst. And Tracy soon went rigid. In situations like this, intelligent people would swallow their pride and admit their actions were wrong. But alas, Tracy could have been more competent. And her ego was just as big as everyone thought it was.

"Well, okay, you've seen it, now give me back my phone," she insisted, reaching out to grab it from his hands.

To her dismay, the teacher denied her request and drew back his hand, her phone.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," he said to her with a slight crack. "No, this will not stand. Not in my classroom."

"That's an invasion of privacy!" she accused.

"Oh, don't worry, Ms. Chandler," he reassured her. "You will get your phone back. Right after, I show it to the principal."

There were a series of oohs and aahs going around in the classroom. And Marcy felt genuinely surprised, considering all the messed up things Tracy had gotten away with so far. Plus, for a girl who was as high and mighty as she claimed to be, this was the first time she had ever been called out in such a manner. And by a teacher, nonetheless.

"Along with three weeks detention, starting today," Mr. Patterson added before heading to his desk and putting her phone inside one of the drawers. "I won't touch such disgusting slanders in my classroom."

Of course, being who she is, Tracy didn't take that quite well—considering what would now be her wounded pride. The gall that the teacher would have to steal her phone was something that she would not likely take.

"Wha-this is bulls**t!" she cursed. "You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can. I am the instructor," He reminded. "And I want you out of my class! NOW!"

The class was still speechless. Even Marcy, in particular, was still sitting at her desk, watching the scene play out.

"But I didn't do anything," she tried to play off. Then she set her eyes upon Marcy, who in return looked downward, not even bothering to make eye contact with her. "Tell him, Marcy. Tell him it was just a harmless prank."

In return, Marcy said nothing simply because it was all a lie. And she would not give her the satisfaction of lying about her trauma to the teacher. Not while she can still watch her suffer for it.

"Straight to the Dean's with you!" he ordered. "Or should I call him to pick you up himself?"

In a split second, Tracy had no other words. She looked around, seeing the other kids watching with utmost observance. Save for Marcy, who still had her eyes pinned to her desk, pretending the bully girl wasn't even there. Though without showing it, the Taiwanese nerd was immensely enjoying the scene. Seeing the girl who humiliated her at the party, nobody invited her to be destroyed by a teacher, was very satisfying.

But at the same time, she could tell that Tracy was looking at her with murderous intent, as if she was personally blaming Marcy for all of this. Of course, this could only mean that she had something planned for her in the future, which she would, unfortunately, have to deal with sooner or later. But for now, the noirette mixed girl enjoyed the moment while it was still hot. Once again humiliated in front of her peers, the snobby brat stormed out of the class. Thus, she let out a frustrated groan as she relentlessly opened the door and slammed it shut on the way out.

Everyone could hear her shouting and cursing from outside. After a brief moment, her voice faded gradually until there was nothing but silence. Before anyone could get comfortable, Mr. Patterson turned his view back to the class. The stern, serious look was still plastered on his face. He was still working on it.

"And let me make myself clear," he said to the rest of the students. "Anyone else who dare laughs at such slanders will be joining her. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Patterson," everyone said all together.

"Good," the tone in his voice shifted back to being calmer and more reasonable. "Now, shall we continue."

The class continued with the section on the Dornish War and the start of King Visery's thirty-year reign for another half hour until the school bell finally rang again. Thus, signaling the end of the course. As everyone exited the room, Marcy was still packing and grasping what she had just witnessed. She had never seen a teacher stick up for something like this, especially since the video had been taken outside school. Though, making a video about it and playing it all across campus also counts. So there's that to take into consideration.

Though she will admit, Tracy deserved every second of what she got. And whatever punishment the teacher and principal give her in the seemingly viable future, she deserves every bit of it. Yet what amazed her remarkably was that Marcy didn't have to say a single word to achieve justice. And it was there she thought to herself, 'Is this a sign? Is this a sign from the universe that things will start to get better?

However, there was no doubt that Tracy would be back for this. If she could get away with blackmailing Sasha into being the new cheerleading squad captain, then there was no telling what she'd do to Mr. Patterson. Though at the same time, that was another battle for another day. And Marcy was glad that that heartless monster finally got what was coming to her.

Another moment later, she was already packed up and ready to go. She was about to fly out the door when the familiar voice caught her before she could be home free.

"Marcy," he called to the petite teenager. "Can I have a word with you? Before you leave?"

She turned to see Mr. Patterson sitting at his desk, presumably waiting for her.

"I won't be long," he reassured her. "I promise."

At first, Marcy hesitated. Thus having a familiar feeling in her stomach when it came to confrontation. At the same time, he saved her from another humiliating experience. The least she could do was hear what he had to say to her. She owed him that, at least. So, she swung to the front of his desk and sat in the chair. As the Taiwanese girl waited to hear what it was he wanted to talk to her about, she started to notice that his hands were trembling. And his breathing was relatively rigid.

Almost as if he felt sorry for her, for what he had seen in that video. Either that or the video had him seriously traumatized. Though she honestly couldn't blame him. Anyone would be traumatized if they'd been brutally bullied at a party and had a video posted about it online. Yet to his mind, seeing her now was his priority. Whatever reason it was, she did not know for sure.

"I just want to say," he started. "I am so sorry that this has happened to you. Nobody should have to put up with what you've gone through."

"It's fine, Mr. Patterson," she attempted to ease. "I mean, sure, she was being a bit of a hardhead to me all week, but at this point, I'm used to it."

Mr. Patterson hardened his gaze in response. He wasn't convinced that one of his top students was okay with being bullied.

"Marcy," he said, his tone getting more profound and more severe. "I know this must be hard for you. But I need to know the truth. Are you sure you're fine with all of this?"

"It's fine, honest," she said, putting her hands up. "Though I appreciate what you did back there."

For some reason, the teacher remained unconvinced that everything was fine. But respected her enough to believe she was telling the truth.

"Tracy will not get away with this," he swore to her. "I'll talk to the principal and her parents about her behavior. And ensure she doesn't pull another stunt like this again."

Marcy was relieved that the teacher was taking action, even if it felt unnecessary for him to get involved.

"But in the meantime," he added after quickly writing something down on his clipboard. "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

Though Marcy seemed pretty grateful that the school teacher was offering her his support, she had a little feeling in her head that suggested there was nothing more he could do for her. Especially now that she knows Tracy will find some way to get back at her again since this would be the second time she would be humiliated in front of the whole class. Yet still, Marcy was nonetheless grateful that somebody in this school was doing something about it.

"I think I'll be okay, Mr. Patterson," she replied. "Might need a few days to recuperate from all this. But I'll be fine."

Mr. Patterson sighed. The thirteen-year-old student could tell that her history teacher was disappointed. But at the same time, he seemed to respect her decision to dismiss help. It pained him to see her in such conditions without being provided as much emotional support as she could. But at the same time, Mr. Patterson understood that whatever Marcy was going through, it was only her and her business. And that it was best that he'd do only what he could. And nothing more.

"Okay," he responded. "Thank you for staying a bit longer. I won't keep you waiting."

And just like that, Marcy got up from the chair and went to the door. Yet as the master RTS player was about to head out, she stopped. A lingering thought came into mind. And as fast as a lightning rod, familiar images flashed before the mixed girl's eyes. All of which involved a similar dragon, which she had been thinking about until now. And, like a light bulb, another thought came into mind. One that could help her with this over-stimulating dilemma that has been rotting in her brain.

"Hey, Mr. Patterson," she returned to face the teacher, who was immediately drawn to her voice. "Before I go, can I ask you about the reading?"

The teacher was surprised. Nobody had ever asked him a question about the reading before. Considering nobody had ever cared about reading the books anyway. Though at the same time, he figured if there were anybody who'd even remotely manage to ask about the reading, it would be Marcy of all people.

"Anything in particular?" he asked, relating more to specifics.

"Mostly about the Targaryens and their dragons," she elaborated. "Did the maesters...ever mention anything about how they were able to control them? Or at least how could Aegon and his sisters ride them without being thrown off or incinerated?"

He took a moment to grasp the meaning of her question. As he did, Marcy felt another chill crawl up her spine. Which then made her feel nervous for whatever reason. Perhaps it was in the borderline anticipation of what answer her teacher was cooking up in his intellectual brain. Nonetheless, as an expert on the subject, it only took him a moment's notice to finally respond to the question.

"It's simple," he answered, getting up from his desk before focusing on his book version. In light of this, the teacher was kind enough to turn on a projector screen so Marcy wouldn't have to hover over him. "The first thing they did was learn to accept that they weren't fully in control."

Marcy nodded her head before pausing. Thus forcing her to think thoroughly before being taken aback by that last part.

"Wait...what?"

She felt baffled at that notion. 'How can a race of people, who had complete control over fire-breathing war machines, believe that they did not control them?' she thought. 'That makes no sense.' Of course, before she could get ahead of herself, Mr. Patterson elaborated on his statement.

"To them...the idea that they controlled the dragons...was an illusion," he explained thoroughly, turning to a page that showed a picture of King Jaehaerys petting his dragon Vermithor, with Lord Roger watching from a distance. "They considered them a power humanity should never have trifled with. One that led to Valyria's doom."

This made Marcy slightly confused. Considering the Targaryens knew everything about the dragons, including how to harness their power and use it to their advantage, she found it quite bewildering that they would not accept the belief that they'd control them. Why else would they use them in battle if not because they had complete control of them? It just didn't make any sense.

"By understanding this simple concept," he continued. "And understanding their nature..they were able to treat them as equals. Thus building mutual respect among both the creatures and their riders. And allowing both to benefit off one another from Maegor up until the Dance."

Though she was still baffled about it, Marcy also found it intriguing to learn about. Considering it was all based on the subject she wanted to know of.

"But if you wanted details," he went into depth. "There were many ways one could bond with a dragon. Though it wasn't as easy as it looked."

He then turned the page and revealed a picture of a 16-year-old girl beside a giant mud-brown dragon with a half-eaten sheep in its mouth.

"Take the dragon seed Nettles and Sheepstealer, on Chapter 15, page 445," he exemplified, thus showing a brief picture of a girl and a dragon with a sheep in its mouth. "If you've read ahead, you would've known that Nettles had a strong bond with the wild dragon. Bringing sheep to its den every morning until the beast became too familiar with her."

He then turned back a few pages, thus showing a much younger boy approaching a huge but ancient dragon, who seemed to have its mouth open, ready to incinerate him. Though to her surprise, the boy remained calm as he extended his hand toward the dragon's muzzle.

"Or take Aemond One-Eye Targaryen, the last rider of the oldest and largest dragon, Vhagar," he continued. "Whether it was boldness or sheer luck, he won Vhagar's trust and flew her twice around the towers of High Tide."

He then shows more pictures featuring more Targaryen and their respective dragons. Many of them seemed proud to be alongside such magnificent beasts. But then there were a couple of photos that showed various people getting mauled in their attempts to tame the beasts.

"Now, of course, there were many drawbacks," the teacher described. "There was a period during the dance called the "Red Sowing" where dozens of bastards intending to claim the dragons were either burned or maimed. Remember that dragons aren't like horses, even if the Targaryens treated them as such. And their first instinct is to attack rather than run."

Marcy cringed at gruesome pictures. It was as Mr. Patterson had thoroughly explained the dangers of dealing with such powerful creatures. But then again, this was a reminder that these creatures aren't like your average house pets. However, the more she thought about it, Marcy wondered if this would also apply to the dragon she encountered—a rather obvious conjecture.

"Nonetheless, by grasping the nature of the beasts, they were able to achieve three hundred years of peace," he went on. "And thus, humans and dragons coexisted for generations. Something that had never been achieved before. Until tragedy came to both species by the end of the Dance, ambition, and arrogance on the human side led to the house splitting. Leading up to the extinction of the dragons and the Targaryens with them."

To further emphasize the last part of his statement, Mr. Patterson then turned to a page featuring 'The Storming of the Dragon Pit' where savage people attacked the dragons in the pit and killed them without mercy. But then again, considering everything she had learned back in Amphibia, she wasn't a stranger to falling to ambition. And her time in the mindscape with the Core has taught her a thing or two about arrogance. She found it heartbreaking that these magnificent creatures would be subjected to such horrible brutality.

"Does this have anything to deal with the incidents that have been going around?" he questioned out of curiosity. "Which I haven't seen or heard of, unfortunately."

Marcy hesitated. Although this was why she asked Mr. Patterson the question, she didn't feel comfortable discussing it with anyone, at least for the time being.

"No reason," she answered. "I've read a lot about the dragons in this book, and I find it fascinating."

In return, Patterson smiled. He knew that his best student was a maestro at the subject. Though he found it very intriguing, she went out of her way to go further into depth with the topic, especially the case around the dragons.

For nearly half a second, he kept his gaze on the younger girl, seeing the raw potential within her. Though unknowingly for her, the teacher saw something in Marcy that she might not see in herself. Regardless of what it was, it made him very hopeful for her future.

"You know, you are a good kid, Marcy," he told her softly. "With a bright future. My only wish is to see you succeed in life. Wherever you go."

Hearing this from her teacher continued to put a smile on the Taiwanese girl's face. It had already become clear that he cared very much about her. Maybe it was because she was his favorite student. It may have been more. Whatever it was, she was glad to see that, someone other than her friends had her back once again.

"And because you stayed after, you get ten extra credit points," he added as he started packing up.

Within seconds, Marcy's face lit up again, mainly because he had never been given extra credit points in the class.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Patterson," she replied.

"Anything for my best student," he responded in return. "Now it's getting late. I suggest you get home and rest that bright mind of yours."

As he made his way to the door, Marcy had the courtesy to open it for him. He smiled for a second time before heading down towards the exit. Though half a kilometer away, he stopped and turned back. To which Marcy was still there, watching him briefly depart.

"Have a good weekend, Marcy," he farewelled, "I hope to see you next week."

"By Mr. Patterson," she waved back, watching him return to the exit and descend further into the hall.

Shortly after, she turned in the other direction and started going to her usual exit. Thus, concluding another school day would be considered her life's most critical and unusual time.


Nighttime, 10:30 p.m...

Restless could not even begin to comprehend what Marcy was feeling now.

For some odd reason, Marcy found herself unable to sleep that night. Thinking about what Mr. Patterson had told her while simultaneously thinking about the dragon she had encountered. So many other things were going through her mind. But the dragon was above all the most that she thought of.

It went to the point where she abruptly decided to text Anne and Sasha, despite it being somewhat late in the night. However, there was yet to be an answer from either of them. The noriette teen theorized they were probably asleep by now. After another 15 minutes of waiting, Marcy alternatively decided to pick up where she had left off with last night's journal entry.

There she spent almost half an hour airing her grievances, from Tracy's haunting bullying to the pure imagery of her experience with the dragon. Her latest addition to her journal was a complete drawing of what she could remember of the beast, despite it being day two since the encounter. And she decorated the picture with dozens of question marks.

Thus suggesting what she should make of this or what she should do next. There already wasn't much she didn't know about it. And as hard as she didn't want to admit it, she was obsessing over it. However, she could hardly blame herself for that. It wasn't like every day that she went through a crisis involving her almost getting killed by a fire-breathing reptile.

The memory of the encounter was so vivid that it was unlikely that she would forget it anytime soon. Heck, for some weird reason, she half expected it to appear from her window and strike her right then and there. It was partly why she was still awake. But she doubted that'd be the case. She wasn't even sure if the dragon would entertain leaving the junkyard's confines in its current condition.

Besides that, she felt empty in her chest, which was the second half of what kept her awake. Marcy did not know what it was, nor did she know how to explain it to herself. But deep down, she felt this urge to see it again as if it was some unfinished business. Yet, it only proved too dangerous, considering her last encounter with the creature. And if she could recollect, the beast was somewhat injured too, making it impossible even to attempt to approach it without getting blown to bits.

However, as Marcy continued sketching the beast's picture, the air started to get cold. And there was a quick shift in the atmosphere inside her room. A familiar feeling began to arise. And before long, Marcy began noticing something in her shadow. One of which involved four typical horns coming out from the edges of what was perceived to be her head.

Before long, an orange light appeared behind her. Thus prompting Marcy to turn her head back. Only to come face to face with the abomination formally known as Darcy. Who unexpectedly made herself comfortable at the edge of her bed.

"Well, well," she chuckled sinisterly. "Isn't this a nice establishment you have for yourself?"

The Taiwanese girl responded with a groan before planting her head against the board of her desk. Marcy did not want to deal with the illusion inside her head, especially after dealing with so many other things in the last 48 hours. But it seems that she can never get a break.

"Go away," Marcy said with a whimper.

"Why?" the Core laughed. "We love having our little chats. It reminds us of the good ol' days. Just the two of us, where we still had control over your body. And you will live your best life in our little mindscape."

Marcy cringed. Her left hand slowly curled up into a fist out of pure irritation. The last thing she wanted to consider was her time in the nostalgic mirage from which she had been rejected months ago.

"This isn't real," she told herself to ease the pain. "This isn't real! This isn't real!"

"So, what little sketches have you drawn up today?" Darcy questioned. "No doubt something very amusing to us."

Suddenly, the hallucination started coming up from behind her. Peering over Marcy's shoulder as the thirteen-year-old ex-ranger continued to discourage the Core's existence in her head. The shadow of the Core squinted all of its ten eyes to get a better only. Only to gasp when it was satisfied with the image that it saw.

"Oh, would you look at that?!" Darcy exclaimed in excitement. "It's the little beast that nearly tore you apart recently."

The Taiwanese girl paused at the very mention of the dragon. She found it slightly absurd that it called the creature little, considering it was nothing of the sort.

"You've always had a good taste for indigenous creatures, Marcy," Darcy teased before looking back at the drawing. "Though now that we think about it, it would've made a good pet for us. After all, beasts were always easier to control than most. Probably easier to control than you."

This was where Marcy drew the line. Even though she knew this was an illusion, the relentless tormenting was too much for her.

"Get OUT!" she shouted, rising from her chair and swinging her right arm behind her shoulder. Only to miss as the illusion backed up. "Just get out! Get out of my head! Out of my life!"

The hallucination paused for a clean second. Before it, it burst into laughter as Marcy stared with dagger-like eyes. It found her outburst amusing, much to the girl's dismay.

"Oh, we now see where this is getting out," the Core satirized. "You're thinking about trying to befriend it, right?"

For the second time now, Marcy froze. A cool chill began to develop in her spine. She did not know what madness the monstrosity formally known as Darcy's yarn was springing, but clearly, it knew something about her that she did not know. And Marcy was not sure if it was anything good.

"Don't try and deny it; we can see it in your eyes," Darcy elaborated. "You want to return to the layer where the mindless beast lurks in, gain its trust, and then when you're all good friends with it, you'll ask it how it came to be here. Thus, embarking on a grand quest to solve this mystery to get some gratification that will boost your self-confidence."

Marcy opened her mouth to try and say something, but no words came out. Instead, she contemplated whether or not the hallucination was speaking the truth. During her time in the mindscape, Marcy was taught that the Core's words were lies. But could this be true? She was considering returning, but could it be what she wanted?

"You can try all you want, but it won't change who you are," Darcy insulted. "No matter what you do, you will always be an outsider wherever you go. It is your destiny. And you nothing you can do to stop it."

Then slowly but surely, the hallucination, formally known as Darcy Wu, faded into dust until no further traces were left. As soon as the illusion was gone, Marcy collapsed back in her chair. Tears began to stream down her eyes, and Marcy was thrown into another sob as she buried her head on the desk board and covered her face with her arms.

No matter where she went, that wretched abomination continued to haunt her dreams like a terrible itch that never went away. The worst part was that nobody else knew about it except her. Not even her best friends Anne or Sasha, who she had never got the chance to tell of her experience.

As if moving on was hard enough as it was. She would probably live with this for the rest of her life. And that was a scar that will never fully heal. However, as the poor girl continued to wallow in self-pity, a small glimmer shined from the corner of her eye.

When she looked up, Marcy caught a glimpse of something from outside her window. The Taiwanese girl briefly opened it up and gazed at what turned out to be a full moon, whose light shined upon her like a pearl in the black sea. Aside from that, the stars began to shine brightly. Many in different shapes and patterns. It made the young girl smile.

Marcy always fancies herself as a fan of astrology, especially regarding the theoretical alignment of various stars. However, one particular alignment stood out as she gazed into the night sky. One that was pretty unique compared to all the others. As the teenage nerd squinted her eyes, she was surprised to see that it resembled what turned out to be nothing more than a dragon.

And not just any dragon, either. The more she looked at it, Marcy recognized some familiar features. Until finally, it hit her.

It was similar to the dragon she had just met.

Marcy quickly rubbed her eyes, clearing her vision so that she wasn't playing tricks with herself. Then she looked back at it, only for the alignment to disappear. Thus leaving Marcy extremely baffled. But at the same time, it invigorated her. Was this a sign? Was this her brain telling her that there was something big at work? And that she has some part to play? One would involve her returning to see the creature that tried to kill her.

She remained unsure about it. Nor was Marcy sure if it was wise to go back again. After all, as she thought before, it is too risky to meet up with a dangerous beast and somehow coerce it into not tearing her apart. That was until she looked up and saw the bag of her favorite dumplings that she never got to eat sitting at the corner of her desk. Thus, an idea began to crawl up the back of the kid's mind, along with a theory that if done right, perhaps she could pull it off.

Then it had finally become clear to her what Marcy must do. And even though it was still risky, it was a risk that she was willing to take.

She has to go back to the junkyard and see the dragon again. And figure out this unsolvable mystery.


Hello everyone! It's your boy again, back and better than ever. Sorry for such a long wait. I know it's been some time since my last post. But rest assured, I am back, at least for now. Before I end this, I want to say a few things: 1) In response to my last review, I want to say that I had already installed Grammarly before writing this story. So thanks for telling me to get what I already have. Though on that note, I take getting a beta writer into consideration. 2) Shoutout to Fanreader123456 and OMAC001 for once again leaving their reviews for the last chapter. 3) If there are any inconsistencies with the chapter, I apologize in advance. It took every brain cell in my head to put this chapter together. 4)As I keep saying in my previous chapters, I encourage readers who enjoy this story to at least leave a review, even for a simple question. Maybe I'll find the motivation to keep writing this story if you do.

Either than that, that's all for now, folks; Gunslinger is signing off!