CH 8

In hindsight, Artha will never know how exactly their trio made it untouched all the way to the Lower City depths. Frightened, exhausted, and numb, he barely remembers stumbling along after Beau and Lance in flashes of awareness. Either way, somehow they found themselves posted up in the back of an unused, open garage. The garage was largely empty, with a few bits of dirty and broken gear or equipment.

The debris was pushed haphazardly towards the front of the garage, giving them a makeshift wall. Artha gratefully sank down to lie on his belly behind the wall, out of sight as far as the casual passerby was concerned. Beau similarly sank down, allowing Lance to slide off of his broad back.

Artha couldn't speak, but he felt so utterly shaken that he didn't have any words to say anyway.

Lance didn't have the same issue.

He turned to stare at Artha as soon as he slid off Beau's back. "Artha! Where's Dad? What happened? Why did someone attack us?"

Artha crooned softly, wishing he could speak. Not that he knew entirely what happened either, or why. But Lance was his little brother and Artha felt an instinctual need to reassure him after their shared nightmare experience.

Lance scooted closer to Artha, seeking comfort, despite Artha's unfamiliar appearance. Artha arched his head down, allowing Lance to wrap his fingers around his chin and head, pressing his own temple to Artha's in a silent plea for reassurance.

Despite himself, Artha felt himself start to tear up, the events of the night surfacing now that the trio was out of danger. He hadn't known dragons could cry.

"Hey," a young male voice spoke, "I know it looks bad right now, but it's gonna be okay. I promise, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you two."

The reappearance of the voice made Artha jerk, instinctively lifting his large head- allowing Lance to clutch his neck instead- and looking around their makeshift haven. There shouldn't be anyone else here and Artha hadn't seen anyone follow them from the stables. Nor had Beau alerted them to an intruder.

An idea, impossible and fantastic, popped into Artha's mind and he turned his golden gaze to Beau, slitted eyes wide.

Stumbling over his words- and well aware that Lance would hear him as a collection of warbles and growls, he asked, "Beau? I-is that you?"

Beau tilted his two toned head to one side, considering Artha in what appeared to be shock. "Oh, you hear me now."

Beau scooted forward across the concrete floor, leaning down to nuzzle Lance's shoulder where he was still sniffling into Artha's scaled neck. "I've been waiting so long for you to hear me, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

Artha watched Beau snuffle softly into Lance's shoulder, only for Lance to turn about and wrap his arms around Beau's massive head, now crying softly against his muzzle instead. Artha opened his mouth, intent on asking questions about the golden constellation, about the dragon booster, or anything really, but what he asked was, "Are you okay?"

Artha found his eyes fastened on Beau's large forelegs, where bits of shrapnel still stuck out between a few of his scales- remnants from destroying the black gear.

Beau shifted his legs with a huff. "That's my line, twerp. These are just some splinters. You can pull them loose once we get you back on two legs again. Are you okay? I saw them pin you to a wall. And little dude."

Beau glanced down his nose with concerned eyes at Lance. Now that they were out of immediate danger, Artha also looked down at Lance. The goons hadn't touched him, but he had been knocked back with Artha when they had used that green containment gear. Artha thanked his lucky stars that Lance was short for his age. Any taller and his head would have been directly between Artha's considerably massive ribcage and the concrete stable wall. As it was, he just got tangled up in Artha's forelegs.

Artha dipped his head, nosing at Lance's back. "I think he's okay. They didn't touch him. Or me, really. How did you know about me?"

Beau rolled his eyes, a surprising human behavior he had picked up from the boys several years ago. "I've only been with you since infancy, give me some credit. Of course I knew you were the golden dragon. It's obvious to dragons that spend enough time with you. Now, are you sure you're alright? No bumps or scrapes?"

"We're fi- but, wait! They got Dad! Beau, they set the house on fire!"

Arth twisted, trying to get his alien limbs back under him again, fully intent on returning to the Penn Stables property. "Help me up! We need to go back for him."

Beau snorted, gently tugging his head free of Lance's arms to stare Artha down. "Absolutely not."

Lance sniffed and lifted his hands to scrub at his eyes, starting to calm down as he looked between the two dragons to either side of him.

Rather than calm down at Beau's blunt refusal, Artha bristled, his new spines and fins flaring dramatically as he pushed himself into a clumsy sitting position. His hind legs were easy enough to maneuver once he was standing up, but trying to get the foreign joints to cooperate into a standing position was difficult.

Now with a significant height advantage, Artha glared down his nose at Beau. "I'm not leaving him! He could be hurt!"

Despite Artha's obvious aggressive posturing, Beau remained stoic, refusing to react other than asking, "And how, exactly, are you going to help him right now? Two loose dragons and a child aren't exactly a discrete rescue team, Artha."

"Hey! Hey! Stop fighting, you two!" Lance, no longer crying, had caught on to the tension between the two reptiles. As a result, each of them got a small, cold hand to the nose, pressing them away from one another. Red, puffy eyes glanced from one dragon to the other. "Please, we can't fight right now."

Though small, the pressure from Lance's hand managed to disbalance Artha enough that he slid back down to a prone position with his forelegs sprawled haphazardly, trembling slightly from the exertion of trying to get up.

Beau huffed, making eye contact with Artha across the top of Lance's scarlet head. "That proves my entire point, kiddo. You're not fit to be rescuing anyone."

Artha stared at Beau, aghast. Surely Beau would want to rescue Dad too? Where was that loyalty that stood between them and the dragon-nappers?! "But-But, Dad-"

"Can take care of himself. He's a very capable man. And, besides, they're not after him. They're after you. So they have no reason to hurt him if you're not there," argued Beau.

What Beau said made sense, but Artha was too upset and worried to listen to him. He opened his mouth, intent on arguing some more, but Lance interrupted him. "Are you guys… talking?" He asked, glancing between Beau and Artha with confusion.

"Don't respond," Beau told Artha, continuing to look at Artha, as though Lance hadn't spoken.

Artha glanced down at Lance and nodded. He didn't know why Beau didn't want Lance to know that they were talking, but after everything that was happening that night, Artha wasn't going to blatantly ignore or lie to his brother.

"Hey!" Growled Beau, showing his first sign of aggression yet. "You're not allowed to do that!"

"Do what?" Asked Artha. He tilted his head to the side quizzically, aware that Lance was avidly watching the pair of them with curious, worried eyes.

"That!" Huffed Beau. "They're not supposed to know we understand them."

"Okay, but Lance already knows I can understand him. And what's the big deal, anyway? It's just Lance. Wouldn't it be better if people knew you could talk?"

For a moment Beau was silent, eyes darting rapidly from Lance to Artha with a downward turn to his long muzzle. Artha supposed it must be akin to scowling for dragons. Perhaps it would look less alien on a dragon with a shorter nose.

Then, with a dramatic groan, Beau threw himself down across the concrete, slitted eyes turned upward in exasperation- or perhaps defeat- and said, "Oh, fine. But, don't do that with other humans, it's bad."

"But why?"

"Because it- it… It just is! Quit asking and just believe me."

Having hit Beau's metaphorical limit for questioning his obstinate demand, Artha frowned again and said, "Okay, but, I still want to go back for Dad. I understand we're not the best rescue team, but he needs us!"

Still staring at the ceiling, Beau grouched, "I've already told you. He's fine. And, even if he's not, there's not a thing you, or I, or Lance can do at this point. Trust me, we need your shift to wear off first, before we go anywhere. You walk like you're dying and humans don't like that, it makes them worry. And even if you didn't, two loose dragons will get the attention of animal control faster than you can say 'Pound.'"

Artha scowled, unable to argue with Beau's logic, despite his desperate yearning to return to their home and rescue his dad.

Beau continued, "When does this wear off, again? Do you know when you first shifted?"

Artha flinched, remembering his agonizing transformation the previous day. "Err, the middle of the afternoon, I guess."

Beau narrowed his eyes in calculation. "Good," he said eventually. "You should be human again by daybreak, probably before."

"It's-it's not going to be like it was before, will it? It won't hurt?"

Beau turned his head away, uncomfortable. Rather than answer Artha's question directly, Beau replied, "It'll be easier as you get older and grow more accustomed to your dual nature. The legends describe it as a 'growing pain' that each black and gold dragon must go through; a rite of passage."

At Artha's horrified expression, Beau amended, "It should be easier, now. Going to human form is more familiar for you than the other way around."

"But it may still burn…"

"..Yes.."

As Artha continued to stare at Beau, Lance, tired of being ignored due to lack of translation, made his presence known again by tapping them both on the chin. "Hey," he said, "I dunno what's going on, but we need to find Dad. And get help, we should call the police. Tell them we were attacked, right?"

As he spoke, Lance reached out and pulled his phone, or "com-link", out of his pocket, a small device with a bright glowing screen hovering over the top.

Beau immediately gently pulled it from Lance's fingers, not allowing him to have it back when he reached for it.

Artha gently pressed his chin against Lance's shoulder, keeping him from reaching again. While part of him wanted to call the police, call reinforcements and have the professionals handle the break in, he knew it wasn't a possibility. For starters, they couldn't understand him. And, even after he turned human, he had no idea how to explain the attack without mentioning this dragon booster stuff. Even if they didn't think he was looney, he couldn't trust them to keep silent.

On the off-chance that Artha could explain the incident without mentioning his family's secret, it would list him and Lance as witnesses in the case, placing them at the scene. While the goons might have caught a glimpse of Lance towards the end of the altercation, it was dark and Lance hid behind Artha the whole time. They would never recognize him in the daylight. And Artha hadn't ever been seen at the scene of the crime. That left one option for placing him at the scene and Artha didn't want to key the goons in to his identity of dragon booster. As it was, it would only take a little research to find out that Lance is Connor Penn's son and thus the most likely child to be at the stables that night.

Artha winced as he followed that train of thought. Those goons wouldn't give up easy. If they didn't find another lead to catch the golden dragon, they would try to go after Lance.

Artha curled around Lance protectively, humming softly to try to calm him down. "Sorry, Lance," he said, despite knowing that Lance couldn't understand him. "No police, this time. We're gonna have to fix this on our own."

"But, Artha!" Lance tried to argue, understanding the gist of what Artha was saying despite the language barrier. "Dad's in trouble! We've got to-"

Whatever Lance was going to say next was lost on Artha as a spasm ripped through him. He went boneless in shock and pain, his head slipping down to flop limp across Lance's shoulder as his vision and hearing went white with static.

He came back to himself a short time later to Lance's concerned voice and Beau gently lowering his chin onto the floor. His breath stuttered in and out in great gasps and he could feel himself shaking. at the edge of his vision, Artha could see those dreaded golden sparks criss-crossing his forelegs.

"Artha? Artha! What's wrong?" Asked Lance, whose hands were hovering concernedly about Artha's head. Artha was grateful Lance hadn't tried to touch him; he wasn't sure if those sparks would hurt him, too.

As though reading his thoughts, Beau nipped onto the back of Lance's shirt and dragged him backwards across the floor on his bum.

"Wait! No! Beau, something's wrong with Artha!" Protested Lance, who struggled and tried to get back to Artha.

Beau simply pulled him closer to his body, curling his massive, heavy tail across Lance's squirming body to hold him in place. "Sorry, little bud," Beau murmured, sad eyes glued to Artha, "Nothing's wrong, but you can't be near him when he's going through this. He might hurt you."

Artha bristled and managed to perk up the strength to raise his head, glaring at Beau. "What!" He growled. "I would never hurt Lance!"

Lance, oblivious to their conversation, continued to struggle. "Let go, Beau! I mean it!"

Beau tightened his hold on Lance, while replying to Artha, "I know you woundn't, or at least not on purpose, but-"

Artha missed the rest of what Beau had to say as his vision and sight left him again. This time, he was distantly aware of his flailing limbs through the pain and he thought he might have heard a crack! under the sound of his pounding heart and quaking bones, but the agony of shocks overshadowed all of his senses.

He came back to himself as Beau kept talking. "You're not in control of your body right now, Artha, and you're very strong. Much stronger than Lance, right now."

As though to prove Beau's point, the first thing Artha saw when his vision cleared was a broken cabinet, split right up the side with the metal shelves within dented and visibly cracked. Based on the trajectory, his flailing right forepaw must have been the culprit during the spasm.

Lance, too, was staring at the broken cabinet with a mix of awe, disbelief, and horror.

Beau nuzzled the top of Lance's head in reassurance, glancing back at Artha with sad eyes. "Sorry, kiddo. There's nothing you or I can do to help him right now. We just have to wait it out."

AN: ... hi!

I'm back! For a week... I'm on spring break, explained below, so after this, you may not hear from me until after graduation... School is hard.

The next part is a long explanation and celebration of events in my life. I have summarized the main points like this. So, if you don't want to read it all, just read those.

So! Great news! I made it! I'm in PA school! Those three years of work and applications and interviews paid off! I love where I'm at and it's such a privilege to be able to learn to treat patients at my school. I am so grateful and blessed. It's all God's doing and His timing. I ended up getting into the school that I first applied for the very first year- my application was late because my school actually ran out of transcript paper- and I didn't get an interview that year. But I kept applying till my third year, in 2022, and I got accepted to 2 different schools! It is very, very difficult to get into PA school and I'm so thankful I was accepted to the school I'm in now, it was my dream school and my top choice even the very first year I applied to schools.

If any of my readers are interested in PA school and the application process, please let me know! I have a few tips that I learned through my application process and I would be super happy to help in any way I can.

Also!

My sister and I published our book! It's a full length novel with illustrations- my contribution- called Reborn as a Defective Drake (it abbreviates to RADD, and I love it!). It's an isekai about a college student that falls prey to bus-kun (like all the good isekais) and wakes up in another world as a baby dragon. He survives being a baby dragon- pretty helpless- for a bit until he meets a princess and they become friends and go on adventures together.

It's a very cute story, but it's also appropriate for kids and adults, with an interesting plot even for older adults- my grandmother reads it and enjoys it. If you like fantasy and dragons (which, if you're reading this story, you do) you will probably enjoy the book. Also, I would absolutely love it if you read it and told me what you think.

AND! It's free! Or, it will be! My sister and I just finished book 2 to the series and it's being released on the 29th! In the 5 days leading up to it, Book 1 will be FREE. Please enjoy it! Oh, and if you like it, book 2 is on sale while it's on pre-order. (If you don't want to pay money for book 2, just get the month long free kindle unlimited trial, they're both free on there, and my sister and I get paid for every page read on kindle)

although,,,,,, it feels kind of weird to tell everyone to go read the book when it has my name on it, haha. Like, oh no! my secret identity is out! Also, if you guys want to support me with my art, or just have proof of life more often than these chapters, my instagram is vanvan_art. It has updates for the book and occasionally my life- although I don't like putting personal info on social media, too paranoid.

If you go to our website, , we also have free content available as short stories. AND we have a free newsletter subscription that sends you updates on the series and free content- like posters and stuff. Please subscribe! We don't send meaningless emails, I promise. And I draw the art that gets sent out with it so it would make me happy. ^v^

OKAY- shameless self promotion over! I wasn't kidding earlier when I said you may not see me for a while... PA school is really hard. Unfortunately, I have to be very judicious in how I spend my time and I have made the decision that PA school is my priority right now, with my sister's book series' illustrations being second. After that, my time goes to my family. I'm on spring break right now, till next Sunday, but to put this in context, prior to this week, I hadn't been back to see them since January. No time for weekend trips. So, unfortunately, fanfiction, though I love this story!, is like... maybe my 6th(?) priority on the list.

I really want to post more regularly. I looked at my story management page and about had a stroke when I realized I've been writing this for over 10 years and have less than 10 chapters... Also, I apologize for my writing. I'm sure practicing this craft once a year has really made it a poor quality read. Thank you all for sticking with me with such support and loyalty! It really encouraged me during my interview process for PA school when I got so many reviews wishing me well. I'm gonna try to get another chapter out by the end of the week, so, hey, plot continuance! After that. Hmm. I'll maybe see you over Christmas break, if my sister doesn't have more book illustrations for me to draw.

Sorry for the long AN, I just wanted to share how amazing my life has been and how hard my sister and I have worked to get here. I am so, so grateful that ya'll keep reading this story and supporting my, somewhat limited, literary endeavors. Thank you all so much. You make my day! God bless you all and I hope this encourages you to keep trying to achieve your dreams, too! 3

With great joy-

Dragon Courage