Alrighty, time for Chapter 2. As I expected, Chapter 1 got very little attention, but that seems to be the case with most of my fanfics when they're just getting started. I don't think even "Meeting Grojband" got its first review until Chapter 2, probably because that was the chapter Grojband was introduced and Chapter 1 was all about Jackie, a character nobody knew yet. Hence, I tend to not worry too much about my introduction chapters not being recognized because the characters readers are coming to read about aren't in them.

That being said, I'm kinda putting all my faith in attracting viewers in this chapter alone. I consider it to be the chapter that's going to "make or break" its popularity. So...if you're a big Devon and Cornwall fan...your time has come...

Here we go. It's time to enter...

Chapter 2

The Dragon

The next morning, Mrs. Porter decided it would be a good idea to get out of the house and have a family beach day. As their car drove down the road, Madeline stared out the window, Sir Sprinklehooves in her arms. She then looked over at Marcus, who was playing with a pair of dragon toys.

"Roooaaarrr! Prepare to be vanquished! Grrrr!"

Cookie was strapped into the front seat, barking at a squirrel he saw outside.

"Arf! Arf! Arf!"

"Cookie, get down!" Mrs. Porter scolded.

"Mom?" Madeline spoke up. "Why do we have to go to the beach again?"

"Well, you two have been cooped up in the house for the last few days and I figured it's time we did something as a family."

"But…what if there are…" Madeline gulped as Marcus poked her with one of his dragons repeatedly. "…dragons on the beach?"

"Yeah, Mom," Marcus snickered. "There could be tons of them hiding under the sand or in the water. Madeline might just get herself eaten! Heh, heh, heh!"

Madeline covered her face with Sir Sprinklehooves.

"Don't be silly, Marcus." Mrs. Porter replied as she parked the car. "Dragons aren't real and even if they were, they certainly wouldn't live on a beach."

Madeline and Marcus stepped outside to help their mom unpack. Cookie jumped out of the window and spotted a seagull flying above him.

"Arf! Arf! Arf!" the puppy barked as he followed the bird.

"Maybe not," Marcus continued. "But I bet they would live in that dark, spooky cave!"

The boy pointed across from the family, where there was indeed a creepy-looking cave. Madeline gasped and clutched onto Sir Sprinklehooves.

"Hey, Madeline!" Marcus said, nudging his sister in the arm. "I dare you to go inside and have a look around!"

"W-W-What?" Madeline shivered. "But…but I…"

"C'mon! You're not chicken, are ya?"

"Huh?"

"Madeline's a chicken! Madeline's a chicken!" Marcus sang. "Bok, bok, bok, bok, bok!"

"I am not!" Madeline insisted.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Arf! Arf!"

Cookie continued to chase the seagull until it flew away. Thinking he could still catch up to it, the canine ran into the cave.

"Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Mrs. Porter set down her supplies. "Oh no! Cookie, wait! Stop!" she sighed. "Well, great. Say, could one of you kids go get him while I set up the umbrella?"

"Sure, Mom! Madeline would be happy to!" Marcus lied.

"I-I-I would?"

"You did say you're not a chicken, right?" Marcus smirked.

"Well, yeah…but…"

"It's okay, Madeline." Mrs. Porter reassured her. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Mom's right, Madeline. You should stay here and help her." Marcus suggested. "Everyone knows caves aren't for little babies!"

Madeline glared angrily at her older sibling. "No, really, Mom. I can do it. Because I'm not a baby at all and I'll prove it!"

Marcus just laughed.

"Well, okay, sweetie." Mrs. Porter said. "But be careful."

"Yeah, Madeline," Marcus teased. "Wouldn't want you running into a…dragon! Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Madeline took a glance at the dark, scary cave. She could hear Cookie's barks becoming fainter and fainter.

"Oh…Sir Sprinklehooves? Help me be brave."

The young girl took a deep breath and then slowly stepped inside the cave. It was even darker and scarier than she imagined and she was beginning to regret wanting to prove Marcus wrong. Perhaps if she just called Cookie, he would come back and she wouldn't have to go any further.

"Cookie! Here, Cookie! Here, boy!"

But he didn't come. Madeline knew she would have to actually go deeper into the cave to find him now. She noticed a trail of paw prints in the sand and started to follow them, all the while, squeezing Sir Sprinklehooves tightly.

"There's no such thing as dragons…there's no such thing as dragons…there's no such thing as dragons…there's no such thing as-"

"This is all your fault!"

Madeline froze, for she thought she heard a voice coming from the end of the cave.

"My fault?" another voice went. "You're the one who suggested we come this way!"

"Well, if you weren't such an embarrassment, we wouldn't have gotten kicked out, now would we?"

Madeline peeked around a corner to see who else was in the cave with her. But all that was there was a big rock.

"Oh, I'm the embarrassment? I don't see you putting forth any effort!"

"Why would I put effort into humiliating ourselves when you do it all for me?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Well, at least I do know some stuff. Unlike you!"

"Oh! How rude! You wouldn't last a day without me!"

"Maybe not, but it'd be a good day!"

Madeline took a step forward. "H-H-Hello?"

"Eep! Someone's here!" the second voice yelped.

"Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was all alone." Madeline sighed relievedly. She knew she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, but she couldn't stand being by herself any longer.

"Um…I'm looking for my dog, Cookie. I saw him come in here a minute ago. Have either of you seen him?"

Madeline could hear the two voices whispering to each other.

"'Dog'? What's a 'dog'?"

"Why ya askin' me? I don't have a clue!"

"Well, I thought you knew more than me."

Madeline's face was riddled with worry. "Oh, I hope he's okay. He must be so scared being in a dark cave all by himself. Where could he be?"

"Say something!" the first voice said to the second.

"Uh…well, perhaps he's gone outside!" the second voice guessed.

"Um…uh, yeah!" the first agreed. "Maybe you should go look for him out there instead of in here!"

Madeline pondered over this suggestion.

"Hm…you may be right. And it would be better than looking in this creepy place. Thanks for the idea! I'll go check! Anything to get outta here! Hey, maybe you'd better leave, too. You never know, there could be dragons lying around."

"Did you hear that?" the second voice said. "She's hiding from dragons, too! Say, would you mind if we come along with you?"

"What are ya, crazy?" the first voice responded. "We don't even know this kid! How can we trust her?"

"Oh, what is it with you and never giving anyone the benefit of the doubt?"

"You're kidding! I don't know how you can say that with how many times we've been double-crossed! You can't trust anybody nowadays!"

Madeline looked up at the cave wall and her eyes widened in fear as she noticed two shadows rising up from behind the rock. One was tall and thin and the other was short and thick, but both of them had horns on their heads, big snouts, and sharp-looking teeth. Then the owners of the shadows came into view, revealing themselves to be two purple dragons giving each other harsh stares. The short one kept talking.

"You remember what happened with all the other-"

"DRAGONS!" Madeline screamed.

"Dragons?" the taller dragon turned his head. "Where?"

Without looking back, Madeline began to run in the opposite direction. At that point, she didn't care that she hadn't found Cookie because she assumed he had gotten himself eaten and she didn't want to be next. Before she could get very far, however, she tripped and got her foot stuck in the sand. While trying to get herself free, she noticed the so-called dangerous reptiles weren't even pursuing her.

"I don't see any dragons." the taller of the two said to the shorter.

The shorter dragon grabbed the taller by his snout and pulled him behind the rock.

"You moron! She's talkin' about us! Now's our chance to prove ourselves!" he cleared his throat and raised his voice. "That's right, little girl! We are dragons! Ferocious, hungry dragons! So go away before we eat you! Roooaaarrr!"

Madeline turned around and saw another shadow, except this one looked a lot like a hand puppet with pointy teeth. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Good show, Corny!" the tall dragon commented. "That is clever! Here, let me have a go."

Madeline then saw a shadow puppet in the shape of a rabbit. As she watched it hop and sing, she realized that she wasn't the least bit scared anymore. In fact, she started to giggle.

"Oh, great. The bunny of death."

The shorter dragon wrapped his fist around the rabbit's "neck" and dragged it down.

"Guck! Gack! Help!" the "rabbit" gagged.

"She's probably cringing with fear."

Madeline was really laughing now.

"Let go! I was just starting to scare her!"

"Yeah, right!"

"No, really! Listen! I think she's crying!"

"Hee, hee, hee, hee! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

The two dragons stuck their heads out.

"She's not crying, stupid. She's laughing."

"Laughing? But…but why?"

Madeline stood up, her foot unstuck, and held her belly.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Hee, hee, hee! You're…you're not scary dragons! Hee, hee! You're…silly dragons! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee!"

"Silly?" the tall dragon became forlorn and started sobbing all over the short one. "Oh no! It's true!"

Madeline stopped laughing. "Wait, don't cry! I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings."

"Nah, kid." the short dragon answered. "You've got every right to laugh. We're used to it by now."

The tall dragon sniveled. "It's hopeless! We're pathetic! Just look at us! You can hardly call us a dragon!"

"Huh? Then what are you?" Madeline asked.

The tall dragon wiped away his tears. "Well…frankly, we're the reason cousins shouldn't marry…"

Both dragons stepped out from behind the rock, showing themselves to actually be one dragon with two heads.

"Whoa…" Madeline went.

"Not a pretty sight, is it kid?" the short head said.

"Oh goodness! How rude of us to not introduce ourselves!" the tall head bowed. "I'm Devon. And this growth on my neck is Cornwall."

Cornwall glared at his other half. "But I go by 'Corny' for short."

"Yes, short on wit, manners, and charm." Devon claimed. "Everything I hold dear."

Cornwall stuffed his fingers in Devon's nostrils. "How 'bout holdin' your breath?"

"Oh. Um…I'm Madeline…." Madeline continued to stare over the beast. "Wow…you look…uh…"

Cornwall let go of Devon's snout. "Yeah, yeah. I know. We're a freak, right? You can say it."

"No, it's not that." Madeline explained. "It's just…you remind me a lot of the dragon from these stories my brother told me. It had two heads just like you. Only it was a lot scarier in my imagination."

"Oh, sure. I suppose you humans assume that all dragons are ferocious, fire-breathing monsters, don't ya?" Cornwall remarked.

"Uh…kinda…why?"

"Well, let's just say we're not as lucky." Devon informed the child.

"Yeah, ya see, unlike most dragons, he can't breathe fire or fly! Heh. Sad, really."

Cornwall pointed to the tiny wings he and Devon shared. They looked practically useless.

Devon glowered. "Oh, excusez moi, Mr. Self-Denial, but we can't breathe fire or fly."

"Only 'cause you're holdin' me back! I could do a lot of things if I didn't have you stuck to my hip! Not to mention, those other dragons would finally respect me."

Madeline frowned fearfully. "There…are other dragons?"

"Well, you didn't think we were the only one, did you?" Devon asked.

"Oh, there's lots more, kid." Cornwall continued. "And each one is just as mean and nasty as all the others. They don't show any mercy! You'd better thank your lucky stars you've never met them because they'd make you their dinner in an instant!"

"R-R-Really?" Madeline shivered. "Are they in this cave, too?"

"Not to worry," Devon assured her. "They live in Dragon Country, a realm completely separate from the human world. Even if they wanted to come here, they couldn't."

Madeline was going to ask why that was, but Cornwall cut her off.

"Thank goodness for that. I wouldn't wanna share a cave with those fire-breathing bullies, and I guarantee you wouldn't either, kid."

"Yes! They're always picking on us!" Devon complained. "Calling us names, pushing us around…I hate them!"

Madeline crossed her arms as she thought about all the times Marcus picked on her.

"Well, I know how that feels…So, if all the other dragons are in 'Dragon Country,' why aren't you with them?"

"Um…to put it simply, we were banished! Ostracized! Exiled…" Devon answered dramatically.

"Basically, kicked out." Cornwall finished.

"But why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Cornwall replied, exasperated. "Only the fiercest, toughest dragons are allowed in Dragon Country! I'm talkin' real dragons! The kinds that give every human they meet a lifetime of nightmares, including the adults! And look at us! We can't even scare a six-year-old!"

"I'm eight." Madeline corrected him.

"Like it matters, kid."

The two-headed dragon turned away.

"Oh, if only society didn't have all of these absurd expectations on us." Devon lamented. "You humans have it easy. You have the ability to choose your path in life and how everyone views you. You can be intelligent, charitable, even famous! Like a famous actor!" he sighed. "I've always wanted a career in the performing arts. But alas, when you're a dragon, the only career option you have is scaring the pants off of humans."

"And if ya can't do that, you're not good for anything." Cornwall shook his head sadly.

Madeline winced as the reptile hung their heads. Never did she think she would be feeling sorry for a dragon.

"…Well, for what it's worth…I'm glad you're not like other dragons."

Devon and Cornwall turned to her.

"You are?"

"Sure! I mean, a second ago, I thought you were going to eat me!"

Devon had a look of disgust. "Eat you? Heavens no! Humans are much too fatty for our liking."

"Plus, they taste like old socks." Cornwall mentioned. "We'd never eat something that tastes as disgusting as you."

"Uh…thanks, I guess." Madeline tried to ignore the insult. "Anyway, it's not a bad thing to be different. If anything, that's what makes you special. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone was exactly the same? It'd be sooo boring. So I say, who cares what those other dragons think? They sound like real meanies. I wouldn't listen to them and I don't think you'd want to be like them either."

Devon and Cornwall glanced at each other as they processed Madeline's words of wisdom. But their thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"Madeline!" Mrs. Porter called. "Are you okay in there, honey?"

"I'm fine, Mom!" Madeline replied. "I'll be out in a minute!"

She looked back at the dragon.
"Well, I gotta go. But it was nice meeting-" Madeline gasped suddenly. "Wait! I still haven't found-"

"Arf!"

That's when a black-spotted dog popped out of a pouch on Devon and Cornwall's belly and jumped into Madeline's arms.

"Cookie!"

"Oh yes," Devon recalled. "That furry thing came up to us and he wouldn't stop barking, so we put him away to calm him down. We didn't realize he was yours."

"Oh, that's okay." Madeline pet Cookie as he licked her face. "I'm just glad you didn't eat him."

"No way!" Cornwall gagged. "He's way too fuzzy. We'd probably choke to death from all that fur! Or at the very least we'd be coughin' up hairballs. One time Devon swallowed a squirrel in our sleep and my throat was scratchy for days!"

Madeline giggled.

"Madeline!" Mrs. Porter yelled again.

"Coming!" Madeline answered. "Thanks you two. Good luck with everything. C'mon Cookie, let's go."

"Arf! Arf!"

Madeline put Cookie on the ground, picked up Sir Sprinklehooves from the place she had dropped him, and then she left with Cookie following behind her. All the while, Devon and Cornwall watched her leave.

"My, what a nice little human." Devon observed. "Wasn't she, Corny?"

Cornwall shrugged. "I guess so."

"Say, I've got an idea. Let's go with her! She seemed to like us, I'm sure she wouldn't mind a bit."

"Are you off your rocker? She's a human! And you know the dragon cardinal rule!"

"What? 'Never wear brown shoes with a blue suit'?"

Cornwall slapped Devon in the face. "No, you moron. 'Never be friends with a human.'"

"We wouldn't have to be friends. We could just…stay at her home until we find some other place to live. Or until we get this whole 'flying and fire-breathing' thing down and the other dragons allow us back in. Whichever comes first. After that, we'll never have to see her again! Promise!"

"Yeah, right! I know what's gonna happen! After just one night, you'll be attached to her! Forget it!"

"Well, would you rather stay in this dreadful, smelly cave and have nothing to eat except sand and rocks? Besides, I think it might be fun to learn how humans live. Why don't we just give it a chance? Please? Please, please, please, please, pleeeeaasseee?"

"Ugh! Fine, fine! At least then maybe I could hear somethin' that's not you blabberin' all the time."

"Oh, you're just jealous because you don't have a voice as appealing as mine."

And so, the two-headed dragon discreetly followed Madeline outside.

Well, there you have it. The dragon has entered...

Also, for those wondering why I didn't make them sing "If I Didn't Have You," don't worry, I still plan to have them sing it. I'm just saving it for a more opportune time. It'll be a little while, but I promise it'll come up.

Review if you'd like. See you next week!